Page:A narrative of travels on the Amazon and Rio Negro.djvu/110

 passion-flowers, which hung like golden apples in the thickets on the banks. His cane-field this year was a mile and a half long and a quarter of a mile wide, and very luxuriant; across it were eight roads, all planted on each side with bananas and pine-apples. He informed me that when the fruit was in full season all the slaves and Indians had as much as they liked to take, and could never finish them all; but, said he, "It is not much trouble planting them when setting the cane-field, and I always do it, for I like to have plenty." It was altogether a noble sight,— a sample of the over-flowing abundance produced by a fertile soil and a tropical sun. Having mentioned that I much wished to get a collection of fish to preserve in spirits, he set several Indians to work stopping up igaripés to poison the water, and others to fish at night with line and bow and arrow; all that they procured being brought to me to select from, and the rest sent to the kitchen. The best way of catching a variety was, however, with a large drag-net fifty or sixty yards long. We went out one day in two canoes, and with about twenty Negroes and Indians, who swam with the net in the water, making a circuit, and then drew it out on to a beach. We had not very good fortune, but soon filled two half-bushel baskets with a great variety of fish, large and small, from which I selected a number of species to increase my collection.

Senhor Calistro was now going to send several Indian hunters up a small stream into the deep forest to hunt for him, and salt and dry game, and bring home live tortoises, of which there are great numbers in the forest. I particularly wanted a large and handsome species of Tinamus, or Brazilian partridge, which is found in these forests, but which I have not yet met with since I saw one being plucked for supper on the Tocantins; I was also anxious to procure the hyacinthine macaw: so he kindly offered to let me go with them, and to lend me a small canoe and another Indian, to return when I liked, as they were going to stay two or three months. All the Indians took was farinha and salt, with powder and shot; but my kind host loaded my canoe with fowls, roast meat, eggs, plantains, pineapples, and cocoa-nuts, so that I went well provided. It was about half-a-day's journey further up the river, to the mouth of the narrow stream or igaripé we were to enter; after going up which a short distance we stayed at the cottage of some acquaintances of our men for the night. The next morning early we