Page:The naturalist on the River Amazons 1863 v2.djvu/293

 was given to every fresh occupier of the place. There was then good scope for wit in the invention of nicknames, and peals of laughter would often salute some particularly good hit. Thus a very lanky young man was called the Magoary, or the gray stork; a moist gray-eyed man with a profile comically suggestive of a fish was christened Jarakí (a kind of fish), which was considered quite a witty sally; a little Mameluco girl, with light-coloured eyes and brown hair, got the gallant name of Rosa branca, or the white rose; a young fellow who had recently singed his eyebrows by the explosion of fireworks was dubbed Pedro queimado (burnt Peter); in short every one got a nickname, and each time the cognomen was introduced into the chorus as the circle marched round.

It is said by the Portuguese and Brazilian townspeople lower down the river, that much disorder and all kinds of immorality prevail amongst these assemblages of Upper Amazons rustics on the turtle praias. I can only say that nothing of the kind was seen on the occasions when I attended. But it may be added that there were no traders from the "civilised" parts present to set a bad example. Town-bred Indians and half-castes will be disorderly and quarrelsome, like uneducated people everywhere, when they can get their fill of intoxicating drinks. When low Portuguese traders, who are most certainly the inferiors of these rustics whom they despise, attend the praias, they corrupt the women, and bribe the Indians with cashaça to steal their masters' oil; these proceedings, of course, give rise to disturbances in many ways. There were none of these