37 
jR. Schomburgk^ Dr. Phil. 
but with confidence in the stainless honesty of those children 
of nature, who had not yet come into contact with Europeans, 
from whom they generally learn first their vices and bad 
habits, we left the parcels behind under the safe protection of 
the old chief, quite convinced that we should on our return 
find everything untouched — which was indeed the case. 
Torong-Yauwise, where we had spent such an interesting 
time, is situated under ^ 16' N. latitude and 60° 18' W, 
longitude. 
A few days before starting we dispatched two Indians to 
acquaint the inhabitants of the far settlements we should 
touch at of our approach, and to induce them to prepare 
bread — in short, to get us provisions. 
Our caravan left the village on the 29th of October at 
daybreak, amounting, women and children included, to eighty 
people~the old chief, with his wives, escorting us for a few 
days. 
The road took us in a north-westerly direction, through an 
undulating valley, here and there interspersed with small 
oasis of a dwarfish vegetation, while the surface of the 
savanna was generally covered with sharp-edged fragments 
of quartz and granite, which rendered our travelling most 
difficult, the sharp-edged quartz fragments penetrating our 
shoes. A dense vegetation, distant about two miles, made us 
believe that we were near the bed of a river. It was the 
Cotinga, which was flowing from the north-east. For want 
of a boat we had to wade the river, which was managed after 
great difficulty, the current being very rapid — the water 
reaching to our armpits, and the bottom being full of sharp 
pebbles, made our footing very insecure. The Indians had to 
take the packages on their heads, and the women crossed with 
the children on their shoulders. 
After reaching the oj)posite bank we proceeded on our 
journey, in a northerly direction, wet to the skin, and the 
road brought ns over a mountain from 250 to 300 feet 
high, which was covered with large blocks of granite and 
quartz. One of the prettiest views towards the mountains, 
lining in every direction, compensated us richly for the exer- 
tion of ascending. For some time we were walking silently 
on the ridge between large blocks of rocks, till we came to the 
northerly declivity, which we descended into a beautiful 
valley, watered by a small river called ^^Ariopa,^^ winding 
between dense groups of that beautiful palm the Mauritia 
