8(5 
THE AMAZON AND MADEIRA RIVERS. 
staiidiug' for litturs ou one log, and alligators lying so inotionloss at 
<IiG mouth of some rivulet that their jaggy tails and scarcely pro- 
truding skulls might easily ho takem for some half-sunk(',n trunks, arc 
the oidy animals to ho seen ; and certainly they do not increase 
the liveliness of the scone. Dreary and monotonous as the laudscape, 
the days too pass in unvaried succession. 
With the first dawn of day, hcforc the white mist that hides the 
smooth surface of the river has di.sappeared with the rays of the rising 
sun, the day’s work hegins. The boatswains call their respective crews ; 
the tents are hroken up as quickly as possible ; the cooking apparatus, 
the hammocks find hides that served as beds, are taken on board 
together Avith our arms and mathematical instruments ; and every one 
betakes himself to his post. The pagaias (paddles) are dipped into 
the water, and the prows of our heavy boats turn slowly from the shore 
to the middle of the stream. Without the loss of a minute, the oars 
arc plied for three or four hours, at a steady but rather quick rate, 
until a .sp(d on shore is discovered easy of access and offering a dry 
fire-place and some fuel for the preparation of breakfast. If it be ou 
one of the long sandbanks, a roof is made of one of the sails, that 
rarely serve for anything else ; if in the Avood, the undergroAvth, in the 
shade of some large tree, is cleared for the reception of our little table 
and t('nt-chairs. 
The functions of the culinary chef for the Avhitc faces, limited to 
the preparation of a dish of black beans, Avith some fish or turtle, are 
simple enough, but, to bo ajipreciated, certainly require the hearty 
appetite acquired by active life in the open air. The Indians haA "0 to 
cook by turns for their respective boats’ crcAvs ; their unalterable bill 
of fare being a pap of flour of Indian corn or mandioca, Avith fresh or 
ibied fish, or a piece of jacare (alligator). 
Most of those who are not busy cooking, spend then.’ time prciparing 
ncAV bast shirts, the material for Avhich aa'us found almost everywhere 
in the neighbourhood of our haltiug-x)laces. Soon the Avood is alive 
Avith the sound of hatchets and the crack of falling trees ; and, even 
before they are summoned to breakfast, they return Avith pieces of a 
silky bast of about 4| j'ards long and someAvhat less than 1^ yard Avidc. 
Their imjAlemcnts for shu’t-making are of juimitiA^e simplicity, — a heavy 
Avooden hammer with notches, called maceta, and a round jnccc of wood 
to Avork uiAon. Continuously beatem AA'ith the maceta, the fibres of the 
