There were, of course, many drawbacks to the amenities of the place as a residence for a European; but these were not of a nature that my readers would perhaps imagine.There was scarcely any danger from wild animals-- it seems almost ridiculous to refute the idea of danger from the natives in a country where even incivility to an unoffending stranger is a rarity.A jaguar, however, paid us a visit one night.It was considered an extraordinary event, and so much uproar was made by the men who turned out with guns and bows and arrows, that the animal scampered off and was heard of no more.Alligators were rather troublesome in the dry season.During these months there was almost always one or two lying in wait near the bathing place for anything that might turn up at the edge of the water-- dog, sheep, pig, child, or drunken Indian.When this visitor was about every one took extra care whilst bathing.I used to imitate the natives in not advancing far from the bank, and in keeping my eye fixed on that of the monster, which stares with a disgusting leer along the surface of the water; the body being submerged to the level of the eyes, and the top of the head, with part of the dorsal crest the only portions visible.When a little motion was perceived in the water behind the reptile's tail, bathers were obliged to beat a quick retreat.I was never threatened myself, but I often saw the crowds of women and children scared while bathing by the beast making a movement towards them -- a general scamper to the shore and peals of laughter were always the result in these cases.The men can always destroy these alligators when they like to take the trouble to set out with montarias and harpoons for the purpose; but they never do it unless one of the monsters, bolder than usual, puts some one's life in danger.This arouses them, and they then track the enemy with the greatest pertinacity; when half-killed, they drag it ashore and dispatch it amid loud execrations.Another, however, is sure to appear some days or weeks afterwards and take the vacant place on the station.Besides alligators, the only animals to be feared are the poisonous serpents.These are certainly common enough in the forest, but no fatal accident happened during the whole time of my residence.
I suffered most inconvenience from the difficulty of getting news from the civilised world down river, from the irregularity of receipt of letters, parcels of books and periodicals, and towards the latter part of my residence from ill health arising from bad and insufficient food.The want of intellectual society, and of the varied excitement of European life, was also felt most acutely, and this, instead of becoming deadened by time, increased until it became almost insupportable.I was obliged, at last, to come to the conclusion that the contemplation of Nature alone is not sufficient to fill the human heart and mind.I got on pretty well when I received a parcel from England by the steamer, once in two or four months.I used to be very economical with my stock of reading lest it should be finished before the next arrival, and leave me utterly destitute.I went over the periodicals, the Athenaeum, for instance, with great deliberation, going through every number three times; the first time devouring the more interesting articles; the second, the whole of the remainder; and the third, reading all the advertisements from beginning to end.If four months (two steamers) passed without a fresh parcel, I felt discouraged in the extreme.I was worst off in the first year, 1850, when twelve months elapsed without letters or remittances.Towards the end of this time my clothes had worn to rags; I was barefoot, a great inconvenience in tropical forests, notwithstanding statements to the contrary that have been published by travellers; my servant ran away, and I was robbed of nearly all my copper money.I was obliged then to descend to Para, but returned, after finishing the examination of the middle part of the Lower Amazons and the Tapajos, in 1855, with my Santarem assistant and better provided for making collections on the upper river.This second visit was in pursuit of the plan before mentioned, of exploring in detail the whole valley of the Amazons, which I formed in Para in the year 1851.
