140 
TRAVELS ON THE AMAZON. \Beptemher, 
overgrown with grass. The church is a handsome 
building with two towers, and the houses are mostly co- 
loured white or yellow, with the doors and windows 
painted bright green. There is no quay or wharf of any 
kind, everything being landed in montarias, so that you 
can seldom get on shore without a wet shoe and stock- 
ing. There is a fine beach extending for some miles 
above and below the town, where all the washing of the 
place is done, the linen being beautifully bleached on 
the hot sand. At all hours of the day are plenty of 
bathers, and the Negro and Indian children are quite 
amphibious animals. At the back of the town are exten- 
sive sandy campos, scattered over with myrtles, cashews, 
and many other trees and bushes, and beyond are low 
hills, some bare, and others covered with thick forest. 
The trade here is principally in Brazil-nuts, salsapa- 
rilha — which is the best on the Amazon, — farinha, and 
salt-fish, — some of which articles are obtained from the 
Mundrucus, an industrious tribe of Indians inhabiting \ 
the Tapajoz. There are here, as in Para, many persons 
who live an idle life, entirely supported by the labours of I 
a few slaves which they have inherited. The local exe- 
cutive government consists of a “ Commandante Militar,’’ 
who has charge of the fort and a dozen or two of sol- 
diers ; the “ Commandante dos trabalhadores,’’ who su- 
perintends the Indians engaged in any public service ; 
the “ Juiz de direito,” or civil and criminal judge of the 
district ; the “ Delegardo de policia,’’ who has the ma- 
nagement of the passport office, the police, etc., the Vi- 
cario,’’ or priest, and a few subordinate officers. In theji 
evening some of these, and a few of the principal tradersjT 
