The daily gazette., 1879-05-10

nd Iac1i "a4H4NSSIONs DEt SAI IURDAY, MAY TO- 1879
The AMaxen and fss Branches.
BKNEsr MoDRTs's LECTURE BEFORE THE
"LoNG lsLAND nIsToMoAL SOCIETY.

Feel f-.it llt " I'LL :. - - G
nRNEsr MoDRIs's LECTURE BEroRE THE
oLoNG lsLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Mr.. Eriest Morris, tile enthusiastic
young naturalist ahd explorer, addr. ssed
the Long Island His orical Society last
evening on "The Amazon" The mem
bers OF the society gave him large au-
dience, and many antiquarians listened
tentively TO the story oftLe young trav-
eller. Mr.. Morris had prepared notes for
his lecture, but be was so overfowine
with Information about the strange places
which he has visited during the past three
or four years that he did not once refer
70 his notes. He could not refrain, he
said, from b. ginning his narrative with
an account OF his sail up the Amazon
from the mouth, for although great deal
had been wtitten about the lower Anna
xon no published accounts had yet 90
much as b,gun to d. full justice to the
subject. But after attempting to describe
the imp essions he received during his
fourth and latest trip up the first sou
miles Of the Amazon be LEFT off sud,enlv
saying his audience would have to trust
To i'm ,gination for the rest as in fact he
expacted to do himself until he had made
good many more trips up and down
that river. He then continued his narra-
ton from San Teran, point 500 mil,s
from the mouth Of the river, where the
stream was still "forty miles In width
fr0m highland to highland"
He spoke particularly about the tribe
Of MandrucA Indians, who inhabit vii
lags on the Tapajos River, the stream
Vh1Ah Mr. N rrp l., a A.. :
year ago, remaining among Its solitudes
Tor fourteen months. On his last visit he
arrived at the village of the Mandrucas
late In the evening, just when they were
All assembled in great, palm -thatched
shed to celebrate an important festi val
He Was welcomed by the chief, given
good meal Of monkey slow, and later was
provided viii hammock to sleep In.
The festival was tept up nearly the
Whole night, b.t BY II O'Clock nearly all
the Iudians had become intoxicated on
'oaxaca, y kind of rum. The music for
the dancers WAS furnished by an orches-
ira Of four, one playing rude sort of
drum, one hddhng on = stick cut full of
notches, and the other two twanRinR
away on old guitars. .---~..es,.- :. 2.
All the interesting specimens which
Mr. Morris brought home he was obi ged
TO steal. He could have bought boy or
girl for knife or coat, but such thing
A. An old skull, an old piece of clay pot
tsry, an arrow or alittls poison such as
they use to'tip the ends Of their wcapons
with, could not be bought for love or
money. The manners and customs of the
na0vcs be would nut attempt to describe,
exorpt 70 say, in the language of q mis-
sionary TO the South Sea Islands, "They
had no manners and their customs were
Simply disgusting" The women per-
formed al the drudgery, while the lazy
lords laid OF" aud smoked bad tobacco.
The greater part Of the work done by
the women was tho making of rubber
out Of the Juice of trees. Crops of corn
aud fruits grew of themselves, and the
only work required to supply the table
was to catch n Ash now aud then when
the "lords" craved a little change of dies.
bad as were the rations most of the
American laborers who had been sent
dew sss aasg sasss e "a SYd HssE4ag ageaagd
them, for they drank "caxaSa" morning,
noon and night Mr.. Morris discovered
one peculiar tribe of Indians who could
mover indulge in q little caxaca without
Its making them begin right away to cry,
and they always cried and sobbed v hile
the effect of the spirits remained. The |
popular idea that the forests of Brazil
abounded in wild animals, richly plu- |
maged birds and enormous reptiles was
great mistake. During his four years OF |
roaming about the forests he had eeme
across not more than half q dozen |
snakes. They we're big ones it was true.
Sometimts he had heard the tigers at
midnight, but he never feared them ex-
cept y hen he WAS without firearms. He
spent many mouths in the woods with
out any weapon except long knife.
The terrific explosi ons heard In the soil
tude OF tho great forests each year just
before the rainy season sets In were
spoken Of, but he was as yet unable to
account for them. 1t was believed by
the natives that these explosions were
oausnd by .'gold-bursting." On going
through the f6rest after these explosions
had been heard, in mense trees would be
found shivered from roots and furrows
had been an earthquake. Ho believed
that the exPlO- ions were caused by the
mere force OF capillary attraction, az the
sap suddenly ascended and flied all the
pores Of the trunks of the trees. $50
Mr.. Morris said it was his intention to
60 10 South America again In June or
July, AFTER which he would undertake.
thorough exploration Of tho inundated
forests to tue north Of the Amazon. He
the tributaries of the Amazon, and try
to descend the River Niger, as 1t was
believed that there was coinmunicat-
ing ann between those two branches OF
The Amazon. The vast country north
Of the Amazon was almost totally unin-
habited and very little was known of 1t.
The waters Of the rivers there, all of
which How into the Amazon, were a.
black as ink when seen frem boat, but
1t q glassful was dipped up it was ~ clear
- f0rystai.
TMr. Morris IA Mt present stavip0 with
friends at 256 Ry erson street, Brooklyn,
and Is trying To- mako preparations for
starting out on his next lonely trip with
better outfit than he has yet been able
to procure. He coptenplates writing
book In which lie will mbody the resulta
Of his personal explorations and nothing
more. He has already discovered many
errors il the statements OF some OF the
mos t distinx uished Souh American
travellers.
To BE Hung. M
The coming Spring, 10000 pieces of
nall vorn~ onA fn0 pa;r. 1c xx,s,