164 
THE UPPER AMAZONS. Chap. III. 
rest and change, and to cook our two meals — break- 
fast and dinner. There was another passenger beside 
myself — a cautious, middle-aged Portuguese, who was 
going to settle at Ega, where he had a brother 
long since established. He was accommodated in 
the fore-cabin, or arched covering over the hold. I 
shared the cabin-proper with Senhores Estulano and 
Manoel, the latter a young half-caste, son-in-law to 
the owner of the vessel, under whose tuition I made 
good progress in learning the Tupi language during 
the voyage. 
Our men took it in turns, two at a time, to go out 
fishing ; for which purpose we carried a spare montaria. 
The master had brought from Barra, as provisions, 
nothing but stale, salt pirarucu — half-rotten fish, in 
large, thin, rusty slabs — farinha, coffee, and treacle. In 
these voyages passengers are expected to provide for 
themselves, as no charge is made except for freight of 
the heavy luggage or cargo they take with them. The 
Portuguese and myself had brought a few luxuries, such 
as beans, sugar, biscuits, tea, and so forth ; but we 
found ourselves almost obliged to share them with our 
two companions and the pilot, so that before the voyage 
was one-third finished, the small stock of most of these 
articles was exhausted. In return, we shared in what- 
ever the men brought. Sometimes they were quite 
unsuccessful, for fish is extremely difficult to procure in 
the season of high water, on account of the lower lands 
lying between the inlets and infinite chain of pools and 
lakes being flooded from the main river, thus increasing 
tenfold the area over which the finny population has 
