Page:The naturalist on the River Amazons 1863 v2.djvu/321

 our host, having listened to my praises of the fruit, sent down to our canoe a large basketful as a present. The conversation after dinner turned on the difficulty of getting good houses built at Ega; on the backward condition of the province; the disregard of the interests of the agricultural class shown by the Government in taxing all the produce of the interior on its reaching Pará, and so forth. Senhor Gaspar had just finished the erection of a substantial town-house at Ega. He told me that it was cheaper to send down to Pará (2800 miles there and back) for doors and shutters, than to make them at Ega; for, as there were no large saws anywhere on the Solimoens, every plank had to be hewn out of the tree with a hatchet.

On our return to the mouth of the Cayambé, whilst in the middle of the lake, a squall suddenly arose, in the direction towards which we were going, and for a whole hour we were in great danger of being swamped. The wind blew away the awning and mats, and lashed the waters into foam: the waves rising to a great height. Our boat, fortunately, was excellently constructed, rising, well towards the prow, so that with good steering we managed to head the billows as they arose and escaped without shipping much water. We reached our igarité at sunset, and then made all speed to Curubarú, fifteen miles distant, to encamp for the night on the sands. We reached the praia at 10 o'clock. The waters were now mounting fast upon the sloping beach, and we found on dragging the net next morning that fish was beginning to be scarce. Cardozo and his friends talked quite gloomily at breakfast time over the departure of the