Very little is known of the original customs of the Passes.The mode of life of our host Pedro-uassu did not differ much from that of the civilised Mamelucos; but he and his people showed a greater industry, and were more open, cheerful, and generous in their dealings than many half-castes.The authority of Pedro, like that of the Tushauas, generally was exercised in a mild manner.These chieftains appear able to command the services of their subjects, since they furnish men to the Brazilian authorities when requested; but none of them, even those of the most advanced tribes, appear to make use of this authority for the accumulation of property-- the service being exacted chiefly in time of war.Had the ambition of the chiefs of some of these industrious tribes been turned to the acquisition of wealth, probably we should have seen indigenous civilised nations in the heart of South America similar to those found on the Andes of Peru and Mexico.It is very probable that the Passes adopted from the first to some extent the manners of the whites.Ribeiro, a Portuguese official who travelled in these regions in 1774-5, and wrote an account of his journey, relates that they buried their dead in large earthenware vessels (a custom still observed among other tribes on the Upper Amazons), and that, as to their marriages, the young men earned their brides by valiant deeds in war.He also states that they possessed a cosmogony in which the belief that the sun was a fixed body, with the earth revolving around it, was a prominent feature.He says, moreover, that they believed in a Creator of all things; a future state of rewards and punishments, and so forth.These notions are so far in advance of the ideas of all other tribes of Indians, and so little likely to have been conceived and perfected by a people having no written language or leisured class, that we must suppose them to have been derived by the docile Passes from some early missionary or traveller.I never found that the Passes had more curiosity or activity of intellect than other Indians.No trace of a belief in a future state exists amongst Indians who have not had much intercourse with the civilised settlers, and even amongst those who have it is only a few of the more gifted individuals who show any curiosity on the subject.Their sluggish minds seem unable to conceive or feel the want of a theory of the soul, and of the relations of man to the rest of Nature or to the Creator.But is it not so with totally uneducated and isolated people even in the most highly civilised parts of the world? The good qualities of the Passes belong to the moral part of the character: they lead a contented, unambitious, and friendly life, a quiet, domestic, orderly existence, varied by occasional drinking bouts and summer excursions.They are not so shrewd, energetic, and masterful as the Mundurucus, but they are more easily taught, because their disposition is more yielding than that of the Mundurucus or any other tribe.
We started on our return to Ega at half-past four o'clock in the afternoon.Our generous entertainers loaded us with presents.
There was scarcely room for us to sit in the canoe, as they had sent down ten large bundles of sugar-cane, four baskets of farinha, three cedar planks, a small hamper of coffee, and two heavy bunches of bananas.After we were embarked, the old lady came with a parting gift for me--a huge bowl of smoking hot banana porridge.I was to eat it on the road "to keep my stomach warm." Both stood on the bank as we pushed off, and gave us their adios: "Ikudna Tupana eirum" (Go with God)-- a form of salutation taught by the old Jesuit missionaries.We had a most uncomfortable passage, for Cardozo was quite tipsy, and had not attended to the loading of the boat.The cargo had been placed too far forward, and to make matters worse, my heavy friend obstinately insisted on sitting astride on the top of the pile, instead of taking his place near the stern, singing from his perch a most indecent love-song, and disregarding the inconvenience of having to bend down almost every minute to pass under the boughs of hanging sipos as we sped rapidly along.The canoe leaked but not, at first, alarmingly.Long before sunset, darkness began to close in under those gloomy shades, and our steersman could not avoid now and then running the boat into the thicket.The first time this happened a piece was broken off the square prow (rodella); the second time we got squeezed between two trees.A short time after this latter accident, being seated near the stern with my feet on the bottom of the boat, I felt rather suddenly the cold water above my ankles.A few minutes more and we should have sunk, for a seam had been opened forward under the pile of sugar-cane.Two of us began to bale, and by the most strenuous efforts managed to keep afloat without throwing overboard our cargo.The Indians were obliged to paddle with extreme slowness to avoid shipping water, as the edge of our prow was nearly level with the surface; but Cardozo was now persuaded to change his seat.The sun set, the quick twilight passed, and the moon soon after began to glimmer through the thick canopy of foliage.The prospect of being swamped in this hideous solitude was by no means pleasant, although I calculated on the chance of swimming to a tree and finding a nice snug place in the fork of some large bough wherein to pass the night.
At length, after four hours' tedious progress, we suddenly emerged on the open stream where the moonlight glittered in broad sheets on the gently rippling waters.A little extra care was now required in paddling.The Indians plied their strokes with the greatest nicety; the lights of Ega (the oil lamps in the houses)soon appeared beyond the black wall of forest, and in a short time we leapt safely ashore.
