# A narrative of travels on the Amazon and Rio Negro/Chapter 12

Contents
CHAPTER XII.
the cataracts of the uaupes.
Start for the Uaupés — São Jeronymo and Jauarité — Indians run Away — Numerous Cataracts — Reach Carurú — Difficult Passage — Painted Malocca — Devil Music — More Falls — Ocokí — Curious Rocks — Reach Uarucapurí — Cobeu Indians — Reach Mucúra — An Indian's House and Family — Height above the Sea — Tenente Jesuino — Return to Uarucapurí — Indian Prisoners — Voyage to Jauarité — Correcting the Calendar — Delay at São Jeronymo.
At length, on the 16th of February, two months and twenty-three days after my arrival at São Joaquim, I left on my voyage up the Uaupés. I was still so weak that I had great difficulty in getting in and out of the canoe; but I thought I should be as well there as confined in the house; and as I now longed more than ever to return home, I wished first to make this voyage, and get a few living birds and animals to take with me. I had seven Uaupés Indians that Senhor L. had brought from São Jeronymo, in order to take me up the river. Three more, who had already received payment for the voyage, did not appear; and, though they knew very well the time of my leaving, had fixed on that very day to give a feast of fish and caxirí, Antonio, my former pilot to Barra, was one. I met him coming to the village from his sitio, and he flatly refused to come with me, unless I waited some days more for him; I therefore made him send his Macu boy, João, instead, to go and return, and so pay for what both owed. This he did, and we went on our way rejoicing, for Antonio was what they call an Indian "ladino," or crafty; he could speak Portuguese, and, strongly suspecting him of being an expert thief, 1 was not sorry to be without his company.
On Saturday evening, the 21st, we arrived at São Jeronymo, where I was cordially received by Senhor Augustinho. The ​1851.] DIFFICULTIES WITH INDIANS. 237
next day was occupied in paying my men, and sending for Bernardo to conduct my canoe up the falls, and get me more Indians for the voyage.
On Monday he arrived, and I let him take the canoe, but did not go with him, as, for some days past, the ague had agam attacked me, and this was the day of the fit ; so I sent the two guardas, my head men, who could speak Portuguese, to take charge of the canoe and cargo, and remained myself till the next day. In the evening a small trader arrived from above, very tipsy, and an Indian informed Senhor Augustinho that it was with my caxaga, which the men whom I had brought specially to take charge of my cargo, had opened. This I next day found to be the case, as the seals had been broken, and clumsily refastened with a burning stick. These men were half-civilised Indians, who came with me as hunters, to inter- pret for me with the Indians and take charge of my goods, on account of which I paid them extra wages. They ate with me, and did not row with the other Indians ; but the temptation of being left alone for nearly a day, with a garafao of caxaga, was too strong for them. Of course I passed all over in silence, appearing to be perfectly ignorant of what had taken place, as, had I done otherwise, they would probably both have left me, after having received the greater part of their payment before- hand, and I should have been unable to proceed on my voyage.
With Bernardo's assistance, I soon got ten paddles in my canoe ; and having paid most of them out of my stock of axes, mirrors, knives, beads, etc., we went along very briskly to Jauarit£, where we arrived on the morning of the 28th. I was anxious to pass the caxoeira immediately, but was delayed, —
paying two Indians, who left me here, and procuring others ; so my ague fit fell upon me before we left the village, and I was very weak and feverish when we went to pass the falls. We unloaded the whole of the cargo, which had to be carried a considerable distance through the forest; and even then, pulling the canoe up the falls was a matter of great difficulty. There are two falls, at some distance from each other, which make the land-carriage very long.
We then re-embarked, when Bernardo coolly informed me that he could go no further, after having received payment for the whole voyage. His brother, he said, should go in his ​238 TRAVELS ON THE RIO NEGRO. [March,
place ; and when I returned, he would pay me what he owed me. So I was forced to make the best of it ; but shortly after I found that his brother would only go to Jacare" caxoeira, and thus I was a second time deceived.
On starting, I missed Joao, and found that he had left us in the village, telling the guardas that he had only agreed with me to come so far, and they had never said a word to me about it till now, that it was too late. Antonio's debt therefore still remained unpaid, and was even increased by a knife which Joao had asked for, and I had given him, in order that he might go on the voyage satisfied.
The river now became full of rocks, to a degree to which even the rockiest part of the Rio Negro was a trifle. All were low, and would be covered at high-water, while numbers more remained below the surface, and we were continually striking against them. That afternoon we passed four more falls, the " Uacu " (a fruit), " Uacara " (Egret), " Muciira " (Opossum), and " Japona " (oven) caxoeiras. At Uacara there was a malocca of the same name ; and at Japona another, where we passed the night. All these rapids we ascended without un- loading; but the Uacara' was very bad, and occasioned us much trouble and delay. The next morning, when about to start, we found that another Indian was missing : he had absconded in the night, and it was useless attempting to seek him, though we knew he had gone to Uacara Malocca, where he wished to stay the day before, but where all knowledge of him would be denied and he well hidden, had we returned to fetch him. He was one who had received full payment, making three who had already gone away in my debt; a not very encouraging beginning for my voyage.
We passed the " Tyeassu " (Pig) caxoeira early, and then had a good stretch of quiet water till midday, when we reached the " Oomarie " (a fruit) caxoeira, where there is a sitio. Here we dined off a fine fresh Tucunardi, which an old man sold me ; and I agreed with his son, by the temptation of an axe, to go with me. We pulled the canoe up this rapid without unloading, which is seldom done, except when the river is low, as it now was. The rest of the day we had quiet water, and stopped at a rock to make our supper and sleep.
March st. — We passed the " Macaco " (monkey) caxoeira early. The rocks here, and particularly about Oomarie ​1852.] NUMEROUS CATARACTS, 239
caxoeira, were so full of parallel veins, as to give them the appearance of being stratified and thrown up nearly vertically ; whereas they are granitic, and similar to those we had already seen. We then soon reached the " Ira " (Honey) and " Baccaba " (a Palm) caxoeiras ; at both of which there are figures or picture-writings on the rocks, which I stayed to sketch. In passing the latter rapid, we knocked off one of the false keels I had had put to the canoe previous to starting, to preserve the bottom in the centre, where it was worn very thin by being dragged over the rocks by its former owner. We therefore stopped at a sandbank, unloaded the canoe, and plugged up the nail-holes, which were letting in water very fast.
The next day we passed in succession the "Arara Miri" (Little Macaw), "Tamaquerie" (Gecko), "Paroquet," " Japoo" (a bird), " Arara " (Macaw), " Tatii " (Armadillo), " Amana " (Rain), " Camoa " (?), " Yauti " (Tortoise) ; and, finally, about three p.m., arrived at "Caruru " (a water-plant) caxoeira. The last five of these, before arriving at Caruru, were exceedingly bad ; the passage being generally in the middle of the river, among rocks, where the water rushes furiously. The falls were not more than three or four feet each ; but, to pull a loaded canoe up these, against the foaming waters of a large river, was a matter of the greatest difficulty for my dozen Indians, their only resting-place being often breast-deep in water, where it was a matter of wonder that they could stand against the current, much less exert any force to pull the canoe. At Arara fall, the usual passage is over the dry rock, and we unloaded for that purpose ; but all the efforts of the Indians could not get the heavy canoe up the steep and rugged ascent which was the only pathway. Again and again they exerted themselves, but to no purpose ; and I was just sending by an old man, who was passing in a small canoe, to Caruru for assistance, when he suggested that by getting a long sipo (the general cable in these rivers) we might obtair a good purchase, to pull the canoe up the margin of the fall, which we had previously tried without success. We accordingly did so, and by great exertions the difficulty was passed, — much to my satisfaction, as sending to Caruru would have occasioned a great and very annoying delay.
The river from Jauarite may be said to average about a ​240 TRAVELS ON THE RIO NEGRO. [March,
third of a mile wide, but the bends and turns are innumerable ; and at every rapid it almost always spreads out into such deep bays, and is divided into channels by so many rocks and islands, as to make one sometimes think that the water is suddenly flowing back in a direction contrary to that it had previously been taking. Caruru caxoeira itself is greater than any we had yet seen, — rushing amongst huge rocks down a descent of perhaps fifteen or twenty feet. The only way of passing this, was to pull the canoe over the dry rock, which rose considerably above the level of the water, and was rather rugged, being interrupted in places by breaks or steps two or three feet high. The canoe was accordingly unloaded, quantities of poles and branches cut and laid in the path to prevent the bottom being much injured by the rocks, and a messenger sent to the village on the other side of the river to request the Tushaiia to come with plenty of men to our assistance. He soon arrived with eleven Indians, and all hands set to work pushing the canoe, or pulling at the sipos ; and even then, the strength of five-and-twenty persons could only move it by steps, and with great difficulty. However,- it was at length passed, and we then proceeded to the village, where the Tushaiia lent us a house.
The canoe was so weak in the bottom in one place, that I was fearful of some accident in my descent, so I determined to stay here two or three days, to cut out the weak part and put in a strong board. I now also saw that this canoe was much too heavy to proceed further up the river, as at many of the falls there was no assistance to be obtained, even in places as difficult to pass as Caruru ; so I opened negotiations to purchase a very large " oba " of the Tushaiia, which, before leaving, I effected for an axe, a shirt and trousers, two cutlasses, and some beads. We were delayed here five entire days, owing to the difficulty of finding a tree of good wood sufficiently large to give a board of twelve or fourteen inches wide ; and at last I was obliged to be content with two narrow boards, clumsily inserted, rather than be exposed to more delay.
There was a large malocca here, and a considerable number of houses. The front of the malocca was painted very taste- fully in diamonds and circles, with red, yellow, white, and black. On the rocks were a series of strange figures, of which I took a sketch. The Indians were of the " Ananas " or Pine​1S52.] DEVIL-MUSIC. 241
apple tribe ; I bought some dresses and feather ornaments of them ; and fish, mandiocca-cakes, etc., were brought me in considerable quantities, the articles most coveted in return being fish-hooks and red beads, of both of which I had a large stock. Just below the fall, the river is not more than two or three hundred yards wide ; while above, it is half a mile, and contains several large islands.
The large black pacu was abundant here, and, with other small fish, was generally brought us in sufficient quantity to prevent our recurring to fowls, which are considered by the traders to be the most ordinary fare a man can live on. I now ate for the first time the curious river-weed, called carurii, that grows on the rocks. We tried it as a salad, and also boiled with fish ; and both ways it was excellent ; — boiled, it much resembled spinach.
Here, too, I first saw and heard the "Juripari," or Devil- music of the Indians. One evening there was a caxiri-drinking ; and a little before dusk a sound as of trombones and bassoons was heard coming on the river towards the village, and presently appeared eight Indians, each playing on a great bassoon-looking instrument. They had four pairs, of different sizes, and produced a wild and pleasing sound. They blew them all together, tolerably in concert, to a simple tune, and showed more taste for music than I had yet seen displayed among these people. The instruments are made of bark spirally twisted, and with a mouthpiece of leaves.
In the evening I went to the malocca, and found two old men playing on the largest of the instruments. They waved them about in a singular manner, vertically and sideways, accompanied by corresponding contortions of the body, and played a long while in a regular tune, accompanying each other very correctly. From the moment the music was first heard, not a female, old or young, was to be seen ; for it is one of the strangest superstitions of the Uaupes Indians, that they con- sider it so dangerous for a woman ever to see one of these instruments, that having done so is punished with death, generally by poison. Even should the view be perfectly accidental, or should there be only a suspicion that the pro- scribed articles have been seen, no mercy is shown ; and it is said that fathers have been the executioners of their own daughters, and husbands of their wives, when such has been
iS ​242 TRAVELS ON THE RIO NEGRO. [March,
the case. I was of -course anxious to purchase articles to which such curious customs belong, and spoke to the Tushaua on the subject. He at length promised to sell them me on my return, stipulating that they were to be embarked at some distance from the village, that there might be no danger of their being seen by the women.
On the morning previous to that on which we were to leave, two more of our Indians who had received full payment on starting, were discovered to have left us. They had taken possession of a canoe, and absconded in the night ; leaving me no remedy, but the chance of finding them in their houses on my return, and the still more remote chance of their having anything to pay me with.
The Indians here have but little characteristic distinction from those below. The women wear more beads around their necks and arms. The lower lip is often pierced, and two or three little strings of white beads inserted ; but as the nations are so mixed by inter-marriages, this custom is probably derived from the Tucanos. Some of the women and children wore two garters, one above the ankle and one below the knee — swelling out the calf enormously, which they consider a very great beauty. I did not see here so many long tails of hair ; most of the men having probably been to the Rio Negro with some trader, and thence worn their hair like Christians ; or perhaps because the last Tushaua was a " homen muito civilizado " (a very well-bred person).
After four days' delay, we at length started, with a com- paratively small complement of Indians, but with some extra men to assist us in passing several caxoeiras, which occur near at hand. These are the " Pirewa " (Wound), " Uacoroua " (Goat-sucker), "Maniwara" (White Ant), "Matapi" (Fish- trap), "Amana" (Rain), " Tapiracunga " (Tapir's head), "Tapi'ra eura" (Tapir's mouth), and "Jacare" (Alligator). Three of these were very bad, the canoe having to be unloaded entirely, and pulled over the dry and uneven rocks. The last was the highest j the river rushing furiously about twenty feet down a rugged slope of rock. The loading and unloading of the canoe three or four times in the course of as many hours, is a great annoyance. Baskets of farinha and salt, of mandiocca- cakes and pacovas, are strewn about. Panellas are often broken ; and when there comes a shower of rain, everything ​iSS2.] ANNOYANCES OF THE JOURNEY. 243
has to be heaped together in a hurry, — palm-leaves cut, and the more perishable articles covered ; but boxes, redes, and numerous other articles are sure to be .wetted, rendering us very uncomfortable when again hastily tumbled into the over- crowded canoe. If I had birds or insects out drying, they were sure to be overturned, or blown by the wind, or wetted by the rain, and the same fate was shared by my note-books and papers. Articles in boxes, unless packed tight, were shaken and rumpled by not being carried evenly ; so that it was an excellent lesson in patience, to bear all with philosophical serenity. We had passed all these falls by midday ; and at night slept on a rock, where there was a small rapid and a house without inhabitants.
On the 8th we had tolerably quiet water, with only two small rapids, the " Taiena " (Child), and " Paroquet " caxoeiras. On the 9th, in the morning, we reached the " Pacu " fall, and then had a quiet stream, though full of rocks, till the afternoon, when we passed the " Macucu " (a tree), " Anacas " (Pine- apple), and " Uacii " (a fruit) caxoeiras ; all very bad and difficult ones. We had left Caruru with very little farinha, as none was to be had there, and we had seen no inhabited sitios where any could be purchased ; so our Indians were now on short allowance of " beiju," which they had brought with them. Of a passing Indian I bought a basket of Ocoki, and some fish. The Ocoki is a large pear-shaped fruit, with a hard thick outer skin of almost a woody texture, then a small quantity of very sweet pulpy matter, and within a large black oval stone. The pulp is very luscious, but is so acrid as to make the mouth and throat sore, if more than two or three are eaten. When, however, the juice is boiled it loses this property ; and when made into mingau with tapioca, is exceedingly palatable and very highly osteemed in the Upper Rio Negro, where it is abundant. It takes at least a peck of fruit to give one small panella of mingau.
On the next day, the 10th, in the afternoon, the Indians all suddenly sprang like otters into the water, swam to the shore, and disappeared in the forest. " Ocoki," was the answer to my inquiries as to the cause of their sudden disappearance ; and I soon found they had discovered an ocoki-tree, and were load- ing themselves with the fruit to satisfy the cravings of hunger, for an Indian's throat and mouth seem invulnerable to all those ​244 TRAVELS ON THE RIO NEGRO. [March,
scarifying substances which act upon civilised man. The tree is one of the loftiest in the forest, but the fruit falls as soon as ripe, and its hard woody coating preserves it from injury. Baskets, shirts, trousers, etc., were soon filled with the fruit and emptied into the canoe ; and I made each of the Indians bring a small basketful for me ; so that we had " mingau de ocoki " for three succeeding mornings.
The rocks from Carurii often present a scoriaceous appear- ance, as if the granite had been remelted. Sometimes they are a mass of burnt fragments, sometimes a honeycombed rock with a shining surface. In some places there are enclosed fragments of a finer-grained rock, apparently sandstone, and numerous veins and dykes, which often cross each other in three or four sets. The rocks are, in many places, so broken and cleft vertically, as to appear stratified and thrown up on end. The rounded form and concentric arrangement, observed in the Rio Negro, is here also constantly met with. The interstices of the rounded and angular masses of rock are often filled with a curious volcanic substance, which outwardly re- sembles pitch, but consists of scoriae, sand, clays, etc., variously cemented together.
On the ioth we passed the " Tapioca," "Tucano " (Toucan), " Tucunare " (a fish), " Uaracii pinimi " (a fish), and " Tyeassu " (Pig) caxoeiras. The first was very bad, and both difficult and dangerous to pass ; it consisted of many distinct falls among huge masses of rock. At one place the canoe remained stuck fast, amidst foaming waters, on the very edge of a fall, for nearly an hour ; all the efforts of the Indians could not move it forward. They heaved it over from one side to the other, but with no effect ; till I began to despair of getting out of the difficulty before night. At last the canoe suddenly moved on, with apparently not so much force as had been before applied to it ; but my Indians, being of several nations, did not under- stand any common language, and it was impossible to get them to act in concert, or obey any leader. It was probably some chance combination of forces, that at last extricated us from our unpleasant situation. At this fall, on the rocks, were very numerous figures, or picture-writings, and I stopped to make drawings of them ; of which I had by this time a rather ex- tensive collection.
The next three falls were small rapids ; but the last, which ​1852.] CURIOUS ROCKS. 245
we reached late in the evening, was fearful.^ The river makes a sudden bend, and is confined in a very narrow channel, which is one confused mass of rocks of every size and shape, piled on one another, and heaped up in the greatest possible confusion. Every stone which rises above high-water mark is covered with vegetation ; and among the whole the river rushes and foams, so as to make the task of pilot one of no ordinary difficulty. Just as it was getting dark, we passed out of these gloomy narrows into a wider and more cheerful part of the river, and stayed at a rock to sup and sleep.
On the nth, early, we reached Uarucapun, where are a village and several maloccas. The first which we entered was inhabited by people of the Cobeu nation. There were about a dozen handsome men, all clean-limbed and well painted, with armlets and necklaces of white beads, and with the ears plugged with a piece of wood the size of a common bottle-cork, to the end of which was glued a piece of porcelain presenting a white shining surface. We agreed with these men to help to pass our canoe up the falls, and then proceeded on our walk through the village. My old friend Senhor Chagas was here, and with him I breakfasted off a fine pirahiba which his men had caught that morning, and which was the first I had eaten since my illness.
With some difficulty I succeeded in buying two or three baskets of farinha ; and being anxious to get to my journey's end, which was now near at hand, about midday we proceeded. Our pilot and his son left us, and we had now only six paddles ; but four or five additional men came with us to pass the re- maining caxoeiras, which were near. Close to the village we passed the " Cururu " (a toad), and " Murucututii " (an owl) falls, both rather bad; and, soon after, arrived at the " Uacoroua " (Goatsucker), the last great fall on the river below the " Juru- pari," which is many days further up. Here the river is precipitated over a nearly vertical rock, about ten feet high, and much broken in places. The canoe had to be entirely unloaded, and then pulled up over the rocks on the margin of the fall, a matter of considerable difficulty. To add to our discomfort, a shower of rain came on while the canoe was passing ; and the Indians, as usual, having scattered the cargo about in great confusion, it had to be huddled together and covered with mats and palm-leaves, till the shower, which was ​246 TRAVELS ON THE RIO NEGRO. [March,
luckily a short one, passed over. Loading again and proceeding onwards, we passed three small rapids, the " Tatu " (Armadillo), "Ocokf" (a fruit), and "Pirantera" (a fish) caxoeiras; and our additional Indians here left us, with their payment of fish-hooks and arrow-heads, as we now had only smooth water before us. In the afternoon we passed a malocca, where one of the Indians wished to land to see his friends ; and as we did not stay, at night he took his departure, and we saw no more of him.
Early the next morning we reached Muciira, where two young Brazilians, whom I had met with below, were residing, trading for salsa. I was now in the country of the painted turtle and the white umbrella-bird, and I determined to make a stay of at least a fortnight, to try and obtain these much- desired rarities.
Messrs. Nicolau and Bellarmine were both out, and their little palm-leaf huts were evidently quite inadequate to my accom- modation. 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 arranged our things, and I then sent my guardas to a malocca, in which there 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 could 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 mandiocca-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 Juruparf 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 navigation. 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, re​1852.] AN INDIAN FAMILY. 247
quiring the canoe to be partially unloaded where practicable, and all the exertions of my Indians, often with additional assistance, to pass ; and twelve were so high and furious as to require the canoe to be entirely unloaded, and either pulled over the dry and often very precipitous rocks, or with almost equal difficulty up the margin of the fall. At Carurii, as I have said, four-and-twenty men were scarcely able to pull my empty canoe over the rock, though plentifully strewn with branches and bushes, to smooth the asperities which would otherwise much damage the bottom : this was the reason why I purchased the Tushaua's smaller oba, to proceed; and it was well I did, or I might otherwise have had to return without ever reaching the locality I had at length attained.
The next day, the 13th, I was employed drawing some new fish brought me the preceding evening. My hunters went out and brought me nothing but a common hawk. In the afternoon, the father and brother of the Indian I had found in the house, arrived, with their wives and families ; so now, with my six Indians and two hunters, we were pretty full ; some of them, however, slept in a shed, and we were as comfortably accommodated as could be expected. The wives of the father and two sons were perfectly naked, and were, moreover, apparently quite unconscious of the fact. The old woman possessed a " saia," or petticoat, which she sometimes put on, and seemed then almost as much ashamed of herself as civilised people would be if they took theirs off. So power- ful is the effect of education and habit !
Having been told by Senhor Chagas that there was an excellent hunter in the Codiari, a river which enters from the north a short distance above Muciira, I sent Philippe, one of my guardas, to try and engage him, and also to buy all the living birds and animals he could meet with. The following day he returned, bringing with him one " Macaco barrigudo " (Lagothrix Humboldtii), and a couple of parrots. On most days I had a new fish or two to figure, but birds and insects were very scarce. This day Senhor Nicolau returned. On my first arrival I had been told that he had a "tataruga pintata " (painted turtle) for me, but that he would give it me himself on his arrival ; so I did not meddle with it, though my Indians saw it in a " corral," in a small stream near the house. On arriving, he sent to fetch it, but found it had escaped, ​248 TRAVELS ON THE RIO NEGRO. [March,
though it had been seen in its cage on the preceding day. I thus lost perhaps my only chance of obtaining a much-desired and probably undescribed river turtle, as the time of egg-laying was past, and they had now retired into the lakes, and become very scarce and difficult to be met with.
As my Indians were here doing nothing, I sent three of them with Sebastiao up the Codiari, with beads, hooks, mirrors, etc., to buy monkeys, parrots, or whatever else they could meet with, as well as some farinha, which I did not wish to be in want of again. I sent them with instructions to go for five or six days, in order to reach the last stitio, and purchase all that was to be had. In two days, however, they returned, having been no further than Philippe had gone, Sebastiao saying that his companions would not go on. He brought me some parrots and small birds, bows, bird-skins, and more farinha than my canoe would carry, all purchased very dearly, judging by the remnant of articles brought back.
Being now in a part of the country that no European traveller had ever before visited, I exceedingly regretted my want of instruments to determine the latitude, longitude, and height above the sea. The two last I had no means whatever of ascertaining, having broken my boiling-point thermometer, and lost my smaller one, without having been able to replace either. I once thought of sealing up a flask of air, by accurately weighing which on my return, the density of air at that particular time would be obtained, and the height at which a barometer would have stood might be deduced. But, besides that this would only give a result equal to that of a single barometer observation, there were insuperable difficulties in the way of sealing up the bottle, for whether sealing-wax or pitch were used, or even should the bottle be hermetically sealed, heat must be applied, and at the moment of application would, of course, rarefy the air within the bottle, and so produce in such a delicate operation very erroneous results. My observations, however, on the heights of the falls we passed, would give their sum as about two hundred and fifty feet ; now if we add fifty for the fall of the river between them, we shall obtain three hundred feet, as the probable height of the point I reached above the mouth of the river ; and, as I have every reason to believe that that is not five hundred feet above the sea, we shall obtain eight hundred feet as the probable limit of ​1852.] DISAPPOINTMENTS. 249
the height of the river above the sea-level, at the point I reached. Nothing, however, can accurately determine this fact, but a series of barometer or " boiling-point " observations ; and to determine this height above the next great fall, and ascertain the true course and sources of this little-known but interesting and important river, would be an object worth the danger and expense of the voyage.
There is said to be a week's smooth water above this place, to the Jurupari caxoeira, which is higher than any below it ; and above this no other fall has been found, though traders have been ten or fifteen days up. They say the river still keeps as wide or wider than below, — that the water is as " white," or muddy, as that of the Solimoes, — that many trees, birds, and fish peculiar to the Solimoes are there found, — that the Indians have Spanish knives, ponchos, and coins, — and relate that, higher up, there are extensive " campos," with cattle, and men on horseback. All these interesting particulars seem to show that the river has its sources in the great plains which extend to the base of the Andes, somewhere near where the sources of the Guaviare are placed in most maps; but the latter river, from all the information I can obtain, is much smaller, and has a much shorter course. Having only a pocket surveying sextant, without any means of viewing two objects much differing in brilliancy, I endeavoured to obtain the latitude as accurately as I could, first by means of the zenith-distance at noon, obtained by a plumb-line and image of the sun, formed by a lens of about fifteen inches focus ; and afterwards, by the meridian altitude of a star, obtained on a calm night, by reflection in a cuya of water. I took much care to ensure an accurate result, and have every reason to believe that the mean of the two observations will not be more than two or three minutes from the truth.
My expectations of finding rare and handsome birds here were quite disappointed. My hunter and Senhor Nicolau killed a few umbrella-birds of the Rio Negro species ; but of the white bird such contradictory statements were given, — many knowing nothing whatever about it, others saying that it was sometimes, but very rarely seen, — that I am inclined to think it is a mere white variety, such as occurs at times with our blackbirds and starlings at home, and as are sometimes found among the curassow-birds and agoutis. Another bird, ​250 TRAVELS ON THE RIO NEGRO. [March,
which I had been long searching for, the " anambe de catinga," a species of Cyanurus, was here shot ; and before leaving, I obtained four or five specimens of it, and as many of the commoner black-headed species. One or two small birds, new to me, were also obtained ; and these, with two or three scarce butterflies, and about a dozen new species of fish, composed my natural-history collections in this remote and unvisited district. This was entirely owing, however, to my unfortunate and unforeseen illness, for birds in great variety had been very abundant, but the time of the fruit was now over ; fish and turtles, too, were in extraordinary plenty at the commencement of the fall of the river, two months back; and during that period, constituting the short summer in these districts, while I lay half dead at Sao Joaquim, insects were doubtless more numerous.
But as there was now no remedy I made myself as contented as I could, and endeavoured at least to complete my collection of the arms, implements, and ornaments of the natives. The Indians here were mostly " Cobeus," and I obtained several of their peculiar ornaments and dresses, to add to my collection. I also took advantage of the visit of a Tushaiia, or chief, who well understood the Lingoa Geral, to obtain a vocabulary of their language.
Just as I was about to leave on my voyage down, I received a note from Senhor Chagas, requesting, in the name of Tenente Jesuino, the loan of my canoe, to ascend higher up the river ; which, as the time of his stay was very uncertain, I was obliged to refuse. This Tenente, an ignorant half-breed, was sent by the new Barra government to bring all the Tushatfas, or chiefs, of the Uaupes and Isanna rivers to Barra, to receive diplomas and presents. An Indian, sent by him, had arrived at Caruni caxoeira, and wished to buy the oba" of the Tushaiia, after I had paid for and got possession of it, and even had the impudence to request me to give it back again, in order that he might purchase or borrow it ; and my refusal was, of course, quite sufficient seriously to offend the said Tenente.
On the 25th, having been just a fortnight at Mucura, I left, much disappointed with regard to the collections I had made there. The same day I reached Uarucapurf, whence I could not proceed without a pilot, as the falls below are very dangerous. There was hardly a male in the village, Messrs. ​1852.] RETURN TO UARUCAPURI. 251
Jesuino and Chagas having taken all with them up the river, to assist in an attack on an Indian tribe, the " Carapanas," where they hoped to get a lot of women, boys, and children, to take as presents to Barra. There was scarcely anything to be had to eat : fish were not to be caught, though we sent our Indians out every day ; and though fowls were abundant, their owners were out, and those in charge of them would not sell them. At length, after four days, I succeeded in persuading the son of the Tushaua to go with me as pilot to Jauarite, he not being able to resist the knives, beads, and mirror, which I spread out before him.
I had collected scarcely anything in this place, but a single specimen of the beautiful and rare topaz-throated hummer {Trochilus pyra) and a new butterfly of the genus Callithea. I heard of the handsome bronze Jacana being found here, but my hunters searched for it in vain.
On the morning after we left, we saw a fine deer on a sand- bank near us, so I sent Manoel into the forest to get behind it, while we remained quietly watching from the canoe. After walking about the beach a short time, it took to the water to cross the river, when "we followed in pursuit ; and, notwith- standing its turnings and doublings, soon came up, — when the poor animal was despatched by a blow on the head, and pulled into the canoe. The Indians then went briskly on, rejoicing in the certainty of a dinner for the next day or two, in which I heartily joined them. At Tapioca caxoeira we stayed two hours, to cook and salt the deer, and descended the fall without any accident.
On April 1st we passed a host of falls, shooting most of them amidst fearful waves and roaring breakers, and arrived safely at Caruru, where the Tushaua gave us his house ; for, having two canoes, we were obliged to wait to get more Indians. I was still too weak to go out into the forest ; and, besides, had my live stock to attend to, which now consisted of four monkeys, about a dozen parrots, and six or eight small birds. It was a constant trouble to get food for them in sufficient variety, and to prevent them from escaping. Most of the birds are brought up without being confined, and if placed in a cage, attempt constantly to get out, and refuse food till they die ; if, on the other hand, they are loose, they wander about to the Indians' houses, or into the forest, and ​252 TRAVELS ON THE RIO NEGRO. [.April,
are often lost. I here had two new toldas made to my canoes, but all attempts to hire men were fruitless. Fowls and fish were tolerably abundant, so we were better off than at Uarucapurf.
On the 4th, in the afternoon, Senhors Jesuino and Chagas arrived with a whole fleet of canoes, and upwards of twenty prisoners, all, but one, women and children. Seven men and one woman had been killed ; the rest of the men escaped ; but only one of the attacking party was killed. The man was kept bound, and the women and children well guarded, and every morning and evening they were all taken down to the river to bathe. At night there was abundance of caxiri and caxaca drunk in honour of the new-comers, and all the inhabitants assembled in the great house. I spoke to Jesuino about obtaining some Indians for me, which he promised to do. Next morning, however, his first act was to summon my pilot, and scold him for coming with me at all, — frightening the poor fellow so, that he immediately went off with his father down the river. Before he had left, however, having been told by my guardas what was going on, I applied to Jesuino about the matter, when he denied having said anything to the pilot, but refused to call him back, or make him fulfil his engagement with me. Soon after Jesuino left, having first sent five Indians to take me to Jauarite ; so I started immedi- ately after him. The men, however, had had instructions to go with me only a short distance, and then leave me where I could not procure any more ; and about noon, much to my surprise, they got into a little oba, and intimated their intention to return, saying that they had only been told to come so far. I had overtaken Jesuino at this place, and now appealed to him ; but though the men would have immediately obeyed an order from him he refused to give it, telling me that he had put them in my canoe, and now I must arrange with them as well as I could. I accordingly told the Indians, that if they came on with me to Jauarite, I would pay them well, but that, if they left me at this place, they should not have a single fish-hook ; but they knew very well what Senhor Jesuino wanted, so without another word they paddled off, leaving me to get on as I could. I had now only one man and one boy in each canoe, to pass rapids which required six or eight good paddles to shoot with safety ; but staying here was useless, so ​iSS2.] VOYAGE TO JAUARITE. 253
we went on, — drifting down the stream after Senhor Jesuino, who, no doubt, rejoiced in the idea that I should probably lose my canoes, if not my life, in the caxoeiras, and thought himself well revenged on the stranger who had dared to buy the canoe he had wanted to purchase.
In the afternoon we passed a caxoeira with considerable danger, and then, luckily, persuaded some Indians at a sitio to come with us to Jauarite. In the afternoon I stayed at several houses, purchasing fowls, parrots, bows and arrows and feathers ; and at one of them I found my runaway pilot, and made him give me two baskets of farinha, instead of the pay- ment he had received for the voyage from Caruru to Jauarite. At the last caxoeira, close to Jauarite, we were very near losing our canoe, which was let down by a rope, I remaining in it ; but just in passing, it got twisted broadside, and the water rushing up from the bottom, had the curious effect of pushing it up against the fall, where it remained a considerable time completely on one side, and appearing as if every minute it would turn over. However, at last it was got out, and we reached the village, much to the surprise of Senhor Jesuino, who had arrived there but a few hours before us. My friend Senhor Augustinho, of Sao Jeronymo, was also there, and I spent the evening pleasantly with them.
I found that we differed in our calculations of the date, there being a day's difference in our reckonings of the day of the week and the day of the month. As I had been three months up the river, it was to be supposed I was wrong ; yet as I had kept a regular diary all the voyage, I could not at all make out how I had erred. This, however, is a common thing in these remote districts. When two parties meet, one going up and the other coming down the river, the first inquiry of the latter, after the usual compliments, is, " What day is it with you ? " and it not unfrequently happens, that there are three parties present, all of whom make it different days ; and then there is a comparison of authorities, and a determination of past Saints' days, in order to settle the correction of the disputed calendar. When at Caturu caxoeira, we had found that Messrs. Jesuino and Chagas differed from us on this important particular ; but as they had been some time out, we thought they might have erred as well as ourselves. Now, however, that Senhor Augustinho, who had recently come from ​254 TRAVELS ON THE RIO NEGRO. [April,
Sao Gabriel, whence he had brought the correct date, agreed with them, there was no withstanding such authority. A minute examination of my diary was made, and it was then found that on our first stay at Caruru we had reckoned our delay there as five days instead of six. The Indians generally keep accounts of the time very accurately on a voyage, by cutting notches on a stick, as boys do at school on the approach of the holidays. In our case, however, even they were most of them wrong, for some of them agreed with me, while others made a day in advance, and others again a day behind us, so that we got completely confused. Sometmies the traders residing at the Indian villages pass many months, without seeing a person from any civilised part, and get two or three days out in their reckonings. Even in more populous places, where all the inhabitants depend on the priest or the commandante, errors have been made, and Sundays and Saints' days have been desecrated, while Mondays and common days have been observed in their place, much to the horror of all good Catholics.
The next morning I took a turn round the village, — bought some paroquets and parrots, and some feather ornaments and small pots, of the Tushaua ; and then, having nothing to keep me at Jauarite, and having vainly endeavoured to get some Indians to go with me, I left for Sao Jeronymo. On arriving at the first great fall of Pinupinu, we found only one Indian, and were obliged to send to the village for more. That afternoon they did not cnoose to come, and we lost a beautiful day. The next morning, as was to be expected, commenced a soaking rain ; but as the Indians arrived we went on, and about noon, the rain clearing off a little, we passed the fall of Panore, and arrived safely at the village of Sao Jeronymo. Here we disembarked, and unloaded our canoes, taking possession of the doorless " casa da nacjio," and made up our minds to remain quietly till we should get men to go down the river.
The same afternoon Jesuino arrived, and the next morning left, — kindly inquiring when I intended to proceed, and saying, he had spoken with the Tushaua to get me Indians. In two days, however, the Tushaiia also left for Barra, without giving me a single Indian, notwithstanding the promises and threats I had alternately employed. ​1852.] CORRECTING THE CALENDAR. 255
The two Indians who had remained with me now left, and the two boys who had come from Sao Joaquim ran away, leaving me alone in my glory, with my two "guardas" and two canoes. In vain I showed my axes, knives, beads, mirrors, and cloth, to every passing Indian ; not one could be induced to go with me, and I might probably have remained prisoner there for months, had not Senhor Victorino, the " Juiz de Paz," arrived, and also Bernado, my old pilot, who had left me at Jauarite, and had now been down to Sao Joaquim. Between them, after a delay of several more days, some Indians were persuaded to receive payment to go with me as far as Castanheiro, where I hoped to get Capitao Ricardo to order them on to Barra.