THE WILD INDIAN TRIBES OF THE MADEIRA VALLEY. M.5 
shyly and ,sn,spieiously at tlicm from undor thoir large-brimmed hats. 
“ Xo Christianos I ” whispered in my ear Remigio, our bigot capitano 
and steersman, in who.se mind the doctrines he had been taught in the 
former Mission of Trinidad had lallen on but too fertile ground. Pro- 
bably he meant it as a last, though unsuecessfrd, protest against any 
intercourse with his unbaptized naked cou.sins. He, whose ancestors 
less than two centuries ago must have presented about the same 
appearance, cotdd not discover any worse fault in them than that they 
were “no Clnistians,” while his own Christianity, of wliicli he thought 
so highly, barely went beyond hcai'iug mass, mumbling his rosary, and 
singing endless litanies. 
IIoAvcvor, oui' heathens did not seem to heed the sulky looks of their 
brown relations since they were received kindly by the white-faces ; 
aud, without waiting for a further invitation, the steersman of the 
nutshell, as soon as he had put her along,side of our heavy barque, leapt 
over with an engaging gi'iu, and sat dow'ii among us just as if he wore 
an old friend. lie was a lively fellow of twenty-live or thirty years. 
With a quick eye he took in everything around him : our arms, guns, 
cutlases, and wood-knives, suspended beneath the palm-leaf awning of 
mu' boats, seemed especially to interest him; and I am sure he did 
not forget to mention them in his report to the chieftain. Unfortunately, 
our conversation, carried on for the most part by signs, was perforce 
a very limited one, and though “ The Driving Cloud,” or “ The Tiger’s 
Claw,” or whatever else he might be called,* did not disdain to accept 
a knife, a little mirror, and a row of white beads (of which he already 
Avore such a quantity round his neck that they formed a sort of cuirass 
on his chest), we could only make out of his gibberish that “at home” 
they had much SAveet macacheira, that is mandioca ; which we regarded 
as a sort of rustic iuA’itation. 
The Mojos — oui' most Christian Eemigio even included — obeyed the 
order avo gUA^e them to follow the bark-canoe, shooting rapidly ahead, 
Avith better grace than might haA^e been expected. Mayhap the be- 
haA'iour of the “ no Chi’istianos ” had not struck them as being so very 
ferocious aud caunibal-likc, or the mention of the greatly longed-for 
root sounded SAveet in their ears. As aa'o approached the opposite 
* With the Coroados of tlie South, such names as “Falcon’s Eye,” and tlie like, 
reminding of the North American red-skins, ai'o very common, while the softer 
(juaranis call themselves after fruits, trees, stars, &c. 
I. 
