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356 TRAVELS ON THE RIO NEGRO. \March^ f 
tlieir little palm-leaf huts were evidently quite inadequate 
to my accommodation. The only other house was a 
small Indian malocca, also made entirely of ''pallia;’’ 
and I agreed with the owner to let me have half of it, 
giving him a small knife and mirror in payment, with 
which he was well contented. We accordingly cleared 
and swept out our part of the house, unloaded and ar- 
ranged our things, and I then sent my giiardas to a 
malocca, about which were said to be plenty of Indians, 
to see if they had any farinha or pacovas to dispose 
of ; and also to let them know that I would purchase 
birds, or fish, or any other animals they would obtain for 
me. The men were all out ; but the same afternoon 
they came in great force to see the " Branco,” and make 
an attack on my fish-hooks and beads, bringing me fish, 
pacovas, farinha, and maiidiocca-cake, for all of which 
one of these two articles was asked in exchange. 
I was now settled at the limit of my expedition, for I 
could not think of going a week further up only to see 
Jurupari caxoeira, — wasting the little time I had to rest, 
before again descending. We had made a favourable 
voyage, without any serious accident, up a river perhaps 
unsurpassed for the difficulties and dangers of its navi- 
gation. We had passed fifty caxoeiras, great and small ; 
some mere rapids, others furious cataracts, and some 
nearly perpendicular falls. About twenty were rapids ;^ 
up which, by the help of a long sipo attached to the 
canoe, instead of a rope, we were pulled without much 
difficulty. About eighteen were very bad and dangerous® 
requiring the canoe to be partially unloaded where prac- , 
ticable, and all the exertions of my Indians, often with 
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