248 
EXCURSIONS AROUND EGA. 
Chap. IY. 
of Shimum lies in the middle of the north-easterly 
channel, and is reached by passing round the end of 
Baria. Two miles further down the broad, wild, and 
turbid river, lies the small island of Curubaru, skirted 
like the others by a large praia ; this is not, however, 
frequented by turtles, on account of the coarse, gritty 
nature of the deposit. The sand-banks appear to be 
formed only where there is a remanso or still water, 
and the wooded islands to which they are generally 
attached probably first originated in accumulations of 
sand. 
We landed on Curubaru ; Cardozo wishing to try the 
P090S (wells, or deep pools) which lie here as in other 
praias between the sand-bank and its island, for fish and 
tracajas. The sun was now nearly vertical, and the 
coarse, heated sand burnt our feet as we trod. We 
walked or rather trotted nearly a mile before reaching 
the pools : there was not a breath of wind nor a cloud 
to moderate the heat of mid-day, and the Indians who 
carried the fishing-net suffered greatly. On arriving at 
the ponds we found the water was quite warm ; the 
net brought up only two or three small fishes, and we 
thus had our toilsome journey for nothing. 
Re-embarking, we paddled across to Shimum, reaching 
the commencement of the praia an hour before sunset. 
The island-proper is about three miles long aud half 
a mile broad : the forest with which it is covered rises 
to an immense and uniform height, and presents all 
round a compact, impervious front. Here and there a 
singular tree, called Pao mulatto (mulatto wood), with 
polished dark-green trunk, rose conspicuously amongst 
