192 
TRAVELS ON THE RIO NEGRO. 
Henrique bought it of him, in order to have something 
worth showing from our excursion. 
We then proceeded homewards, many of us dozing ; ■ 
and our Indians rowing hard, but hardly able to keep 
their eyes open. Now and then, one would regularly 
drop off to sleep, but keep on paddling mechanically, ■ 
without pulling very hard. One of his companions ' 
would then tickle his nose, and rouse him up, and ; 
his look of astonishment to find he had been sleeping 
would set all in a roar of laughter at his expense. It 
was midnight when we reached Barra, and we were all 
pretty glad to seek our hammocks. v 
Several weeks more passed wearily, till at length we 
had news of the long-expected canoe; one of the own- ' 
ers, having arrived beforehand in a montaria, informing . ; 
us that it would be up in two days more. There was at : 
this time in the city a trader from the upper Bio Negro, 
a Portuguese, and generally considered a very good sort 
of fellow. He was to start the next day,, but on Senhor 
Henrique’s representation, he agreed to stay till Senhor ,| 
Neill Bradley’s canoe arrived, and then give me a pas- F 
sage up to the Palls of the Rio Negro, or to any other 
place I might wish to go to. The next afternoon the 
expected vessel reached Barra; about six in the evening 
I got a long arrear of letters from Para, from England, 
from California, and Australia, some twenty in number, 
and several dated more than a year back. I sat up till 
two in the morning reading them, lay down, but slept 
little till five in the morning ; I then commenced an- ? 
swering the most important of them, — packing up- 
buying forgotten necessaries for the voyage — making up 
