304 
TRAVELS ON THE RIO NEGRO. 
\June, 
full of holes and wounds as to render walking painful, 
as I had experienced at Cobati and Javita. I however 
escaped pretty well, seldom having to take out more ,« 
|f 
than two or three at a time, partly I believe owing to i| 
my being a good deal in the forest and to my always 
wearing slippers in the house. When a person has only n 
one or two now and then, it is a trifling afiair, and one 
is apt to think, as I for a long time did, that the dread 
of chegoes was quite unnecessary, and the accounts of l| 
their persecutions much exaggerated. Let any one, how- I 
ever, who still thinks so, take a trip into this part of the 
country, and live a month in an Indian’s house, and he ; 
will be thoroughly undeceived. ! 
After staying here six days, finding little to be done, I 
^ we proceeded on our downward passage to Sao Jero- j 
nymo. On the second day, in the morning, we reached I 
Urubuquarra, the malocca of Bernardo, situated just I 
above the falls. There is a path from this place through i| 
the forest, about three miles, to the village; and as | 
there were no Indians here to assist us in passing the 
falls, we set om*s to work, carrying part of the cargo ■ 
along it. In the afternoon Bernardo’s son, who had re- 
turned before us with a canoe-load of farinha, came in, 
and we arranged to pass the falls the next morning. 
The river had risen considerably since we ascended, 
and had now reached a higher point than had been i 
known for several years, and the rapids were propor- 
tionably more dangerous. I therefore preferred going || 
through the forest, carrying with me two small boxes, 
containing the insects I had collected, and my drawings l|j 
of fish, — the loss of which would have been irreparable. 
