TRADING LAUNCHES 
the latter had Mongolian characteristics; others were 
more of the Malay and Papuan types. 
After the first day or two the voyage on the launch 
was tedious. One got tired of the endless conversation 
and of listening to the bargaining. The perpetual drink¬ 
ing which had to be witnessed was of little interest to a 
teetotaller. One seldom saw money change hands, all 
being done by barter, the merchandise we had on board 
being exchanged chiefly for rubber. Even so far up the 
river civilization had well set in, and great caution was 
needed in buying balls of rubber. It was advisable to 
split them in two before purchase, as they generally con¬ 
tained all kinds of rubbish instead of pure coagulated 
latex. 
After Brazil, however, the villages and houses of Peru 
looked clean and neat. 
The prices of food were somewhat high, chickens fetch¬ 
ing 4s. each, whereas in Iquitos they fetched from 8s. to 
10s.; eggs sold for 6d. each, and were generally bad, the 
good ones being eaten by the people themselves. 
We went up the Tapiche River, a tributary on the 
right bank, and visited the estate newly bought by an 
American company. In fact, we were there at midnight 
of December thirty-first, and drank in the New Year with 
Mr. Anzelius, the director, and his Polish and Italian 
assistants. 
On January second, 1912, we saw a great many 
Indians along the banks of the river, who ran away when 
they saw the camera pointed at them. 
The people on that river were fond of giving very 
high-sounding names to their houses. We passed a place 
called Philadelphia, where a large farm with lean cattle, 
ducks, and fowls, could be seen, looking as miserable as 
possible; there was also plenty of banana palms and 
sugar-cane. 
Some way off, after passing the large saw-mills of 
3 65 
