Page:The naturalist on the River Amazons 1863 v1.djvu/374

 here introduced. I descended the river from Ega to the capital, a distance of 1400 miles, in a heavily-laden schooner belonging to a trader of the former place. The voyage occupied no less than twenty-nine days, although we were favoured by the powerful currents of the rainy season. The hold of the vessel was filled with turtle oil contained in large jars, the cabin was crammed with Brazil nuts, and a great pile of salsaparilla, covered with a thatch of palm leaves, occupied the middle of the deck. We had, therefore (the master and two passengers), but rough accommodation, having to sleep on deck exposed to the wet and stormy weather under little toldos or arched shelters, arranged with mats of woven lianas and maranta leaves. I awoke many a morning, with clothes and bedding soaked through with the rain. With the exception, however, of a slight cold at the commencement I never enjoyed better health than during this journey. When the wind blew from up river or off the land, we sped away at a great rate; but it was often squally from those quarters, and then it was not safe to hoist the sails. The weather was generally calm, a motionless mass of leaden clouds covering the sky and the broad expanse of waters flowing smoothly down with no other motion than the ripple of the current. When the wind came from below, we tacked down the stream; sometimes it blew very strong, and then the schooner, having the wind abeam, laboured through the waves, shipping often heavy seas which washed everything that was loose from one side of the deck to the other.

On arriving at Pará, I found the once cheerful and