Page:The naturalist on the River Amazons 1863 v2.djvu/394

 territory of the tribe extends to the Moco, an affluent of the Japurá, with which there is communication by land higher up the Tunantins, the two rivers approximating within about fifteen miles. From what I saw and heard of the Caishánas, I was led to the conclusion that they had no close genealogical relationship with the Múras, but were more likely a degraded section of the Shumána, or some other neighbouring tribe. Scarcely any of them had the coarse features, the large trunk, broad chest, thick arms, and protuberant abdomen of the Múras, and their features, although presenting a wild, unsteady, and distrustful expression like the Múras, were often as finely shaped as those of the Shumánas and Passés. Senhor Bitancourt told me their "girio," or tribal language, had much resemblance to that of the Shumánas. I have before shown how scattered hordes have segregrated from their original tribes, and by long isolation, themselves become tribes, acquiring totally different languages, habits, and, to a lesser extent, different corporeal structure.

My first and only visit to a Caishána dwelling, was accidental. One day, having extended my walk further than usual, and followed one of the forest-roads until it became a mere picada, or hunters' track, I came suddenly upon a well-trodden pathway, bordered on each side with Lycopodia of the most elegant shapes, the tips of the fronds stretching almost like tendrils down the little earthy slopes which formed the edge of the path. The road, though smooth, was narrow and dark, and in many places blocked up by trunks of felled trees, which had been apparently thrown across by the timid Indians