148 
YOYAGE UP THE TAPAJOS. 
Chap. II. 
Heavy seas beat now and then against the prow of our 
vessel with a force that made her shiver. If we had 
gone ashore in this place, all my precious collections 
would have been inevitably lost ; but we ourselves could 
have scrambled easily to land, and re-embarked with 
Senhor Honorio, who had remained behind in the Pini, 
and would pass in the course of two or three days. 
When night came I lay down exhausted with watching 
and fatigue, and fell asleep, as my men had done some 
time before. About nine o'clock, I was awoke by the 
montaria bumping against the sides of the vessel, 
which had veered suddenly round, and the full moon, 
previously astern, then shone full in the cabin. The 
wind had abruptly ceased, giving place to light puffs 
from the eastern shore, and leaving a long swell rolling 
into the shoaly bay. 
After this I resolved not to move a step beyond 
Paquiatuba without an additional man, and one who 
understood the navigation of the river at this season. 
We reached the landing-place at ten o'clock, and 
anchored within the mouth of the creek. In the 
morning I walked through the beautiful shady alleys 
of the forest, which were water-paths in June when 
we touched here in ascending the river, to the house 
of Inspector Cypriano. After an infinite deal of trouble 
I succeeded in persuading him to furnish me with 
another Indian. There are about thirty families esta- 
blished in this place, but the able-bodied men had been 
nearly all drafted off within the last few weeks by the 
Government, to accompany a military expedition against 
runaway negroes, settled in villages in the interior. 
