THE CATARACTS OF THE UAUPÉS.
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, I 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 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 again 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 caxaça, 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 interpret 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 garafão of caxaça, 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 beforehand, 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 Jauarité, 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 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 Jacaré
caxoeira, and thus I was a second time deceived.
On starting, I missed João, 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 João 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 "Uacú" (a fruit), "Uacará" (Egret), "Mucúra"
(Opossum), and "Japóna" (oven) caxoeiras. At Uacará there was a malocca
of the same name; and at Japóna another, where we passed the night.
All these rapids we ascended without unloading; but the Uacará 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 Uacará 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
Tucunaré 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 1st._--We passed the "Macáco" (monkey) caxoeira early. The
rocks here, and particularly about Oomarie 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 "Irá" (Honey) and
"Baccába" (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 "Arára Mirí" (Little Macaw),
"Tamaquerié" (Gecko), "Paroquet," "Japoó" (a bird), "Arára" (Macaw),
"Tatú" (Armadillo), "Amána" (Rain), "Camóa" (?), "Yauti" (Tortoise);
and, finally, about three P.M., arrived at "Carurú" (a water-plant)
caxoeira. The last five of these, before arriving at Carurú, 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 Arára 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 Carurú for assistance, when he suggested that by
getting a long sipó (the general cable in these rivers) we might obtain
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 Carurú would have occasioned a great and very annoying delay.
The river from Jauarité may be said to average about a 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. Carurú 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
Tushaúa 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 sipós; 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 Tushaúa 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 Carurú; so I opened negotiations
to purchase a very large "obá" of the Tushaúa, 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 tastefully 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 "Ananás" or Pineapple 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 carurú, 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 "Juriparí," or Devil-music of the
Indians. One evening there was a caxirí-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 along 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 Uaupés Indians, that
they consider 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 proscribed 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 the case. I was of course anxious to purchase articles to which
such curious customs belong, and spoke to the Tushaúa 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
Tushaúa was a "homen muito civilizado" (a very well-bred person).
After four days' delay, we at length started, with a comparatively
small complement of Indians, but with some extra men to assist us in
passing several caxoeiras, which occur near at hand. These are the
"Piréwa" (Wound), "Uacorouá" (Goat-sucker), "Maniwára" (White Ant),
"Matapí" (Fish-trap), "Amána" (Rain), "Tapíracúnga" (Tapir's head),
"Tapíra eura" (Tapir's mouth), and "Jacaré" (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; 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 has to be
heaped together in a hurry,--palm-leaves cut, and the more perishable
articles covered; but boxes, _rédés_, and numerous other articles are
sure to be wetted, rendering us very uncomfortable when again hastily
tumbled into the overcrowded 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 "Taiéna" (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 "Macucú"
(a tree), "Anacás" (Pineapple), and "Uacú" (a fruit) caxoeiras; all
very bad and difficult ones. We had left Carurú 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 "beijú," which they had brought with them. Of a passing
Indian I bought a basket of Ocokí, and some fish. The Ocokí 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 esteemed 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. "Ocokí," was the answer to my inquiries as to the cause
of their sudden disappearance; and I soon found they had discovered an
ocokí-tree, and were loading themselves with the fruit to satisfy the
cravings of hunger, for an Indian's throat and mouth seem invulnerable
to all those 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 ocokí" for three succeeding mornings.
The rocks from Carurú often present a scoriaceous appearance, 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 resembles pitch, but consists of scoriae,
sand, clays, etc., variously cemented together.
On the 10th we passed the "Tapioca," "Tucáno" (Toucan), "Tucunaré"
(a fish), "Uaracú piními" (a fish), and "Tyeassú" (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 understand 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
extensive collection.
The next three falls were small rapids; but the last, which 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 11th, early, we reached Uarucapurí, 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 pirahíba 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 remaining caxoeiras, which were near. Close
to the village we passed the "Cururú" (a toad), and "Murucututú" (an
owl) falls, both rather bad; and, soon after, arrived at the "Uacoroúa"
(Goatsucker), the last great fall on the river below the "Juruparí,"
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 luckily a short
one, passed over. Loading again and proceeding onwards, we passed
three small rapids, the "Tatu" (Armadillo), "Ocokí" (a fruit), and
"Piranterá" (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 Mucúra, 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. Nicoláu and Bellarmine were both out, and their little
palm-leaf huts were evidently quite inadequate to my accommodation.
The only other house was a small Indian malocca, also made entirely
of "palha;" 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 Juruparí 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 sipó attached to the
canoe, instead of a rope, we were pulled without much difficulty.
About eighteen were very bad and dangerous, requiring 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 Carurú, 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 Tushaúa's smaller obá, 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 "saía," 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 powerful is the effect of
education and habit!
Having been told by Senhor Chagas that there was an excellent hunter in
the Codiarí, a river which enters from the north a short distance above
Mucúra, 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 Nicoláu 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 "corrál," in a small stream near the house. On
arriving, he sent to fetch it, but found it had escaped, 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
Sebastião up the Codiarí, 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 sitio, and purchase all that was to be had. In two days, however,
they returned, having been no further than Philippe had gone, Sebastião
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 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
Juruparí 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 Solimões,--that many
trees, birds, and fish peculiar to the Solimões 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 Nicoláu 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, which I had been long
searching for, the "anambé 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 São 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 Tushaúa, 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 Tushaúas, or chiefs, of the Uaupés and Isanna rivers to Barra, to
receive diplomas and presents. An Indian, sent by him, had arrived at
Carurú caxoeira, and wished to buy the obá of the Tushaúa, 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 Mucúra, I left, much
disappointed with regard to the collections I had made there. The same
day I reached Uarucapurí, whence I could not proceed without a pilot,
as the falls below are very dangerous. There was hardly a male in the
village, Messrs. Jesuino and Chagas having taken all with them up the
river, to assist in an attack on an Indian tribe, the "Carapanás,"
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 Tushaúa to go with me as pilot to Jauarité,
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 sandbank 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, notwithstanding 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 Carurú,
where the Tushaúa 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 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
Uarucapurí.
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 caxirí and caxaça 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 Jauarité; so I started immediately 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 obá, 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 Jauarité, 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 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
Jauarité. 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 payment he had received for the voyage from Carurú to
Jauarité. At the last caxoeira, close to Jauarité, 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 São 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 Caturú 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 São 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 Carurú 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. Sometimes 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 Tushaúa; and then, having nothing to keep me at Jauarité, and
having vainly endeavoured to get some Indians to go with me, I left for
São Jeronymo. On arriving at the first great fall of Pinupinú, we found
only one Indian, and were obliged to send to the village for more. That
afternoon they did not choose 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 Panoré, and arrived safely at the village
of São Jeronymo. Here we disembarked, and unloaded our canoes, taking
possession of the doorless "casa da nação," 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 Tushaúa to get me Indians. In two days, however, the Tushaúa also
left for Barra, without giving me a single Indian, notwithstanding the
promises and threats I had alternately employed.
The two Indians who had remained with me now left, and the two boys
who had come from São 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 Jauarité, and had
now been down to São 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 Capitão Ricardo to order
them on to Barra.