OF THE AMAZON. 
509 
able at once from tbe surrounding tribes by a wavy and 
almost curly hair, and by being rather lanky and ill 
formed in their limbs : I am inclined however to think 
that this latter is partly owing to their mode of life, 
and the hardships and exposure they have to undergo ; 
as some that I have seen in the houses of traders have 
been as well-formed and handsome as any of the other 
Indian tribes. 
The Curetus are a nation inhabiting the country about 
the river Apaporis, between the Japura and Uaupes. I 
met with some Indians of this tribe on the Rio Negro, 
and the only peculiarity I observed in them was, that 
their cheek-bones were rather more prominent than 
usual. Rrom them, and from an Isanna Indian who had 
visited them, I obtained some information about their 
customs. 
They wear their hair long like the Uaupes, and, like 
them, the women go entirely naked ; and they paint their 
bodies, but do not tattoo. Their houses are large and 
circular, with walls of thatch, and a high conical capped 
roof, made like some chimney-pots, with the upper part 
overlapping, so as to let the smoke escape without allow- 
ing the rain to enter. They do not wander about, but 
reside in small permanent villages, governed by a chief, 
and are said to be long-lived and very peaceable, never 
quarrelling or making war with other nations. The men 
have but one wife. There are no pages, or priests, among 
them, and they have no ideas of a superior Being. They 
cultivate mandiocca, maize, and other fruits, and use 
game more than fish for food. No civilized man has 
ever been among them, so they have no salt, and a very 
