ACROSS UNKNOWN SOUTH AMERICA 
In the full moon of a glorious night we could discern 
to the north a mountain region, with elevations of over 
3,000 feet. Between those mountains — the Serra de 
Almerin — and ourselves, lay a long flat island, the 
vegetation on which was, for that particular region, com¬ 
paratively sparse. That island of mud had formed dur¬ 
ing the last fifteen or twenty years, and was at the time 
of my visit several kilometres in length. It was called 
the Pesqueiro. Islands have a way of forming in a very 
short time in the Amazon, while others change their shape 
or disappear altogether. 
On November seventh we were facing the principal 
outlet of the Amazon to the northeast. That main estuary 
is, however, not as navigable as the one south of it, 
through which most of the big ships pass. An archi¬ 
pelago had formed at that spot. The fortress of Matapa, 
very ancient, stood on the largest outlet. 
We went through the channel called the Itoquara. 
Another, the Tajapurozinho, was to the south, forming 
a boundary on that side of the large island, which we 
skirted to the north in the Itoquara channel. The beau¬ 
tiful island of Uruttahi was now in sight, to the north 
of the largest outlet. Like all other islands in that neigh¬ 
bourhood, it was flat and of alluvial formation. 
In order to avoid the open waters, where the small 
ship, upon which I was, tossed about considerably, we 
kept to the smaller channels between the islands, going 
first through the channel of Limao and after that through 
the Tajapuru. It was practically the same course as the 
Itoquara, which was called by different names in different 
parts. It was narrow and tortuous, and required great 
skill in the navigation of it; but it was extraordinarily 
deep — so deep that all the big ocean steamers entering 
the Amazon followed this channel in preference to the 
main outlet of the river, which is not navigable owing to 
many sand banks. 
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