198 
THE UPPER AMAZO^TS. 
Chap. III. 
know. It was inexpressibly touching to hear her as 
she lay, repeating by the hour the verses which she had 
been taught to recite with her companions in her native 
village : a few sentences repeated over and over again 
with a rhythmic accent, and relating to objects and 
incidents connected with the wild life of her tribe. We 
had her baptized before she died, and when this latter 
event happened, in opposition to the wishes of the big 
people of Ega, I insisted on burying her with the same 
honours as a child of the whites ; that is, as an ''anjinho" 
(little angel), according to the pretty Roman Catholic 
custom of the country. We had the corpse clothed in a 
robe of fine calico, crossed her hands on her breast over 
a "palma " of flowers, and made also a crown of flowers 
for her head. Scores of helpless children like our poor 
Oria die at Ega, or on the road ; but generally not the 
slightest care is taken of them during their illness. 
They are the captives made during the merciless 
raids of one section of the Miranha tribe on the terri- 
tories of another, and sold to the Ega traders. The vil- 
lages of the attacked hordes are surprised, and the men 
and women killed or driven into the thickets without 
having time to save their children. There appears to 
be no doubt that the Miranhas are cannibals, and, 
therefore, the purchase of these captives probably saves 
them from a worse fate. The demand for them at Ega 
operates, however, as a direct cause of the supply^ 
stimulating the unscrupulous chiefs, who receive all the 
profits to undertake these murderous expeditions. 
It is remarkable how quickly the savages of the 
various nations, which each have their own, to all 
