THE WILD INDIAN TIHBES OF THE MADEIRA: VALLEY. 
US 
to content himself with showing the arrows sticking in the boat as 
rm-j)us delicti. His wisdom, however, was at an end ; and he could 
not hit upon any better plan than asking the President of the province 
for one hundi'ed soldiers more, with a view to taking more energetic 
measures. Of course he was gh en to understand that the Government 
hy no means intended opening a campaign against the Indians; and, 
even if such had been the case, Sua Eeverendissima should certainly 
not he troubled with the conduct of the military operations. The 
champion of the Church, who, perhaps, on that field might have 
given better proofs of capacity, returned, rather offended, to his convent ; 
; and the mestizoes of the Eio Negro, in-iziirg their tibim somewhat, 
! help themselves as they did before; that is, they kill every wild 
• Indian they can set hands on, and eveiytliing remains in the old had 
state. 
i Very different from these Indians, and the above-mentioned Paren- 
tiutins and Araras, are the Caripunas, Avho live a little higher up, 
t in the region of the Madeira rapids. They also do not enjoy a rrery 
• high reputation for peaceableness : but, at least in oar case, they 
■ condescended to have friendly intercourse. Perhaps their good 
: hehaviour was influenced by our numbers, six white men armed with 
f sous, and eighty Indian paddlers with knives and bows, though they 
? certainly must have known that the latter are not much to be feared 
in case of a fight. As we passed one morning the smooth below the 
i rapid of Caldeirao do Infenio, we saw three bark canoes, full of 
• Indians, half-hidden under the overhanging boughs of the opposite 
! shore. Before we had time to think of the course we should pursue, 
• one of them was turned round, and in a few moments had reached 
! us. There were two Indians and a verj^ corpulent female in it, all 
quite naked, save a small apron on the latter. They were strong, 
A\’oll-shaped figimes, of middle size, with long black hair hanging 
down to their shoulders; one of the men had it twined into a big 
plait. They had the long curved fore-teeth of the eapivara* stuck 
through their ears, and both males and female wore small bunches 
of red feathers, looking like scarlet mustachios, in their noses, which 
gave them quite a queer and sti-angc appearance even to us, who had 
* IlHilrocltmrm Capivara, a rodeut of die size of our tamo pig, and muoli rosombliug 
tho Guiiiea-xng, is found in uuinorous troops on the shore.s of almost all the South 
Aineriean rivers. 
