Page:The naturalist on the River Amazons 1863 v1.djvu/174

 displaying talent and enterprise, for it shows that degeneracy does not necessarily result from the mixture of white and Indian blood. The Cametaenses boast, as they have a right to do, of theirs being the only large town which resisted successfully the anarchists in the great rebellion of 1835–6. Whilst the whites of Pará were submitting to the rule of half-savage revolutionists, the mamelucos of Cametá placed themselves under the leadership of a courageous priest, named Prudencio; armed themselves, fortified the place, and repulsed the large forces which the insurgents of Pará sent to attack the place. The town not only became the refuge for all loyal subjects, but was a centre whence large parties of volunteers sallied forth repeatedly to attack the anarchists in their various strongholds.

The forest behind Cametá is traversed by several broad roads, which lead over undulating ground many miles into the interior. They pass generally under shade, and part of the way through groves of coffee and orange trees, fragrant plantations of cacao, and tracts of second-growth woods. The narrow brook-watered valleys, with which the land is intersected, alone have remained clothed with primæval forest, at least near the town. The houses along these beautiful roads belong chiefly to mameluco, mulatto, and Indian families, each of which has its own small plantation. There are only a few planters with larger establishments and these have seldom more than a dozen slaves. Besides the main roads, there are endless bye-paths which thread the forest, and communicate with isolated houses. Along these the traveller may wander day after day without