166 
THE UPPER AMAZONS. 
Chap. IlL 
which, salted, forms the staple food of all classes in 
most parts of the Lower Amazons country. It darted 
past with great speed close to the surface of the water, 
exhibiting its ornamental coat of mail, the extremely 
large, broad scales being margined with bright red. One 
of the Indians seized a harpoon and, jumping into the 
montaria, was after it in a moment. He killed it at 
the distance of a few yards, as it was plunging amongst 
the entangled beds of grass. The fish was a nearly 
full-grown one, measuring eight feet in length and 
five in girth, and supplied us all with two plentiful 
meals. The best parts only were cooked, the rest being 
thrown most improvidently to the vultures. The 
Indian name Pirarucu, or Anatto fish (from Pira, 
fish ; and urucu, anatto or red), is in allusion to the 
red colour of the borders of its scales, and is a sample 
of the figurative style of nomenclature of the Tupi 
nation. 
Notwithstanding the hard fare, the confinement of 
the canoe, the trying weather, — frequent and drenching 
rains with gleams of fiery sunshine, — and the wofiil 
desolation of the river scenery, I enjoyed the voyage on 
the whole. We were not much troubled by mosquitoes, 
and therefore passed the nights very pleasantly, sleeping 
on deck wrapped in blankets or old sails. When the 
rains drove us below we were less comfortable, as there 
was only just room in the small cabin for three of us to 
lie close together, and the confined air was stifling. I 
became inured to the Piums in the course of the first 
week ; all the exposed parts of my body, by that time, 
being so closely covered with black punctures that the 
