THE MORI BROTHERS 
be applied indiscriminately to all we had met so far — 
had greatly excited my men. 
Some thirteen kilometres farther, the river being 
smooth but swift, we came to a basin 700 metres broad, 
where the river turned toward the northeast. We came 
upon a large clearing on the hillside on the left bank. 
There we saw the remains of two or three huts which 
had been destroyed by fire. We perceived one or two 
people, and we landed. We found an enterprising Peru¬ 
vian trader who had established himself there in order 
to collect rubber. Only a few days before we arrived a 
great fire had taken place, which had destroyed nearly all 
he possessed; but — fortunately for us — they had saved 
a few things, and I was able to purchase a quantity of 
rice, biscuits, dried meat, beans, farinha, condensed milk, 
banho (liquid lard in tins), and a number of other things, 
such as clothes, shirts, rope, nails, axes, etc., which we 
needed badly. 
The Peruvian trader — of the Brothers Mori’s firm — 
must have had a handsome store indeed at that place, a 
quantity of jewellery, rifles, pistols, etc., all badly injured 
by the fire, being seen strewn on the ground as we walked 
about. 
The Peruvians are wonderful traders, most remark¬ 
able people for exploring unknown regions and carrying 
on commerce at the most distant points where human 
beings are found. That particular Peruvian firm had 
foreseen that this region will some day develop to a great 
extent, and they had therefore established their store at 
the most distant point where it was possible to navigate 
the river without extraordinary dangers. 
The prices charged by the Peruvian, even when 
circumstances might have led him to put a high price on 
the goods he sold me, were far lower than those of the 
Jew in his dying moments. 
The river was there 1,000 metres wide, and of amazing 
vol. ii. — is 225 
