1848.] 
IGARIPE MIRl. 
53 
In the evening, at sunset, the scene was lovely. The 
groups of elegant palms, the large cotton-trees relieved 
against the golden sky, the Negro houses surrounded 
with orange and mango trees, the grassy bank, the noble 
river, and the background of eternal forest, all softened 
by the mellowed light of the magical half-hour after 
sunset, formed a picture indescribably beautiful. 
At nine, a.m., on the 28th, we entered the Igaripe 
Miri, which is a cut made for about half a mile, connect- 
ing the Moju river with a stream flowing into the To-= 
cantins, nearly opposite Cameta ; thus forming an inner 
passage, safer than the navigation by the Para river, 
where vessels are at times exposed to a heavy swell and 
violent gales, and where there are rocky shoals, very 
dangerous for the small canoes by which the Cameta 
trade is principally carried on. When about half-way 
through, we found the tide running against us, and the 
water very shallow, and were obliged to wait, fastening 
the canoe to a tree. In a short time the rope by which 
we were moored broke, and we were drifted broadside 
down the stream, and should have been upset by coming 
against a shoal, but were luckily able to turn into a little 
bay where the water was still. On getting out of the 
canal, we sailed and rowed along a winding river, often 
completely walled in with a luxuriant vegetation of trees 
and climbing plants. A handsome tree with a mass of 
purple blossoms was not uncommon, and a large aquatic 
Arum, with its fine white flowers and curious fruits, grew 
on all the mud-banks along the shores. The Miriti 
palm here covered extensive tracts of ground, and often 
reached an enormous height. 
