Page:The naturalist on the River Amazons 1863 v2.djvu/314

 and sparingly scattered. My companions were greatly elated, and on approaching the encampment at Catuá made a great commotion with their paddles to announce their successful return, singing in their loudest key one of the wild choruses of the Amazonian boatmen.

The excavation of eggs and preparation of the oil being finished, we left Catuá on the 3rd of November. Carepíra, who was now attached to Cardozo's party, had discovered another lake rich in turtles, about twelve miles distant, in one of his fishing rambles, and my friend resolved, before returning to Ega, to go there with his nets and drag it as we had formerly done the Aningal. Several mameluco families of Ega begged to accompany us to share the labours and booty; the Shumána family also joined the party; we therefore formed a large body, numbering in all eight canoes and fifty persons.

The summer season was now breaking up; the river was rising; the sky was almost constantly clouded, and we had frequent rains. The mosquitoes also, which we had not felt whilst encamped on the sand-banks, now became troublesome. We paddled up the north-westerly channel, and arrived at a point near the upper end of Catuá at ten o'clock p.m. There was here a very broad beach of untrodden white sand, which extended quite into the forest, where it formed rounded hills and hollows like sand dunes, covered with a peculiar vegetation: harsh, reedy grasses, and low trees matted together with lianas, and varied with dwarf spiny palms of the genus Bactris. We encamped for the night on the sands, finding the