354 
TRAVELS ON THE RIO NEGRO. 
\March, 
The next three falls were small rapids ; but the last, 
which we reached late in the evening, was fearful. The 
river makes a sudden bend, and is confined in a very 
narrow channel, which is one confused mass of rocks of 
every size and shape, piled on one another, and heaped 
up in the greatest possible confusion. Every stone which 
rises above high-water mark, is covered with vegetation ; 
and among the whole the river rushes and foams, so as 
to make the task of pilot one of no ordinary difficulty. 
Just as it was getting dark, we passed out of these 
gloomy narrows into a wider and more cheerful part of 
the river, and staid at a rock to sup and sleep. 
On the 11th, early, we reached Uarucapuri, where 
are a village and several maloccas. The first which we 
entered was inhabited by people of the Cobeu nation. 
There were about a dozen handsome men, all clean- 
limbed and well painted, with armlets and necklaces of 
white beads, and with the ears plugged with a piece of j 
wood the size of a common bottle-cork, to the end of 
which was glued a piece of porcelain presenting a white 
shining surface. We agreed with these men to help to 
pass our canoe up the falls, and then proceeded with our 
walk through the village. My old friend Senhor Chagas 
was here, and with him I breakfasted off a fine pirahiba, 
which his men had caught that morning, and which was 
the first I had eaten since my illness. 
With some difficulty I succeeded in buying two or 
three baskets of farinha ; and being anxious to get to my 
journey’s end, which was now near at hand, about mid-^: 
day we proceeded. Our pilot and his son left us, and we 
had now only six paddles; but four or five additional! 
