Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-10-29

FLOATING POPULATION OF THE AMAZON.
rooms. On the lower decks, where second class
passengers swarm, there are no berths, but
men, women, and children. besides the crew
herd in hammocks hung SO thckly together
that it would be impossible to pass between
them, though one might scoot beneath them in
case of emergency, such as coming aboard al
midnight from some way station. When Prof.
and Mrs. Agassiz made their celebrated journey
up the Amazon in 1865 the latter wrote: Thus
far the hardshIps of this South American jour
ney seem to retreat at our approach and it ID
impossible to travel with greater comfort than
here surrounds us. The state rooms are hardly
used at night for in this climate hammock on
deck is far more comfortable. Our deck, rooted
in for its whole length and with awning to
let down on the sides il needed, looks like q
comfortable, unceremonious sitting room. A
table down the middle serves as a dinner table
but is at this moment strewn with maps, Jour
nails, books and papers of all sorts. Two or
three lounging chairs aud half dozen ham,
mocks furnish our drawing room and supply
all that is needed for work and rest"
Again she SAYS lone is quite independent in
the matter of bedding nobody in Brazil travels
without his own hammock and the net, which
IL, In many places. a necessary accompaniment
on account of the mosquitoes Beds and bed
ding are almost unknown, but there are none 80
poor as not to possess two or three Of the
strong, neat twine hammocks made by the In
Amazon region the refreshment of hammock
is the first act Of hospitality that Is offered to
one who has arrived from a distanUe b. In this
latitude one does not see much OF the world be-
tween and o'clock in the afternoon. These
are the hottest hours Of the day, and there are
few who can resist the temptation Of the cool
swinging hammock, slung in some shady spot
within doors or without"
THEIR CHARACTER AND COST.
II hat he L
been used in Brazil from earliest times, 10,
Columbus. in the narrative of his first voyage
speaks Of the "hammscas'' or nets in which the
Indians slept. Today, beside the palm fiber
nets of the Amaz oman Indians others are made
from hemp or cotton, hsnd-woven into firm
cloth, often beautifully ornamented or embroid-
cred, and finished at the sides with
deep fringes or Melted lace. They cost
all the way from IS to SIS, according to
size and amount Of work upon them The
other day your correspondent put forty-five
greenback dollars into one Of these portable
beds-a large square of lace-bordered white
linen, warranted to ''wear" for a lifetime, and
feels every day that never was an equal amour,
OF money SO well invested Farther up the Rio
Negro am told that there are wonderful. and
almost priceless hammocks wrought with the
feathers OF rare and beautiful birds, like the
cloaks Of the Aztec emperor-but We have not
yet seen any Of them The greatest virtue OF
the ordinary hammock is that it makes the clean
est, as well as the coolest Of beds, because when
soiied it can be washed and ironed as easily as
a sheet, and therefore the white ones are in the
greatest demand and command the highes,
price. But 1t requires considerable practice to
learn to sleep easily in one--and then you dis
cover that hot, bug-harboring. disease-breed-
ing pillows are no longer necessary. Try il
Brazilian fashon-that is, lying obliquely with
your head in one corner and your feet in the
corner diagonally opposite.
FANNIE B. WARD.