Page:A narrative of travels on the Amazon and Rio Negro.djvu/269

 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