The waters were now nearly at their lowest point; but this made no difference to the rate of travelling, night or day.Several of the Parana mirims, or by-channels, which the steamer threads in the season of full-water, to save a long circuit, were now dried up, their empty beds looking like deep sandy ravines in the midst of the thick forest.The large sand-islands, and miles of sandy beach, were also uncovered, and these, with the swarms of large aquatic birds; storks, herons, ducks, waders, and spoon-bills, which lined their margins in certain places, made the river view much more varied and animated than it is in the season of the flood.Alligators of large size were common near the shores, lazily floating, and heedless of the passing steamer.The passengers amused themselves by shooting at them from the deck with a double-barrelled rifle we had on board.The sign of a mortal hit was the monster turning suddenly over, and remaining floating, with its white belly upwards.Lieutenant Nunes wished to have one of the dead animals on board, for the purpose of opening the abdomen, and, if a male, extracting a part which is held in great estimation among Brazilians as a "remedio," charm or medicine.The steamer was stopped, and a boat sent, with four strong men, to embark the beast; the body, however, was found too heavy to be lifted into the boat; so a rope was passed round it, and the hideous creature towed alongside, and hoisted on deck by means of the crane, which was rigged for the purpose.It had still some sparks of life, and when the knife was applied, lashed its tail, and opened its enormous jaws, sending the crowd of bystanders flying in all directions.A blow with a hatchet on the crown of the head gave him his quietus at last.The length of the animal was fifteen feet; but this statement can give but an imperfect idea of its immense bulk and weight.The numbers of turtles which were seen swimming in quiet shoaly bays passed on the road, also gave us much amusement.They were seen by dozens ahead, with their snouts peering above the surface of the water;and, on the steamer approaching, turning round to stare, but not losing confidence till the vessel had nearly passed, when they appeared to be suddenly smitten with distrust, diving like ducks under the stream.
We had on board, among our deck-passengers, a middle-aged Indian, of the Juri tribe; a short, thickset man, with features resembling much those of the late Daniel O'Connell.His name was Caracara-i (Black Eagle), and his countenance seemed permanently twisted into a grim smile, the effect of which was heightened by the tattooed marks--a blue rim to the mouth, with a diagonal pointed streak from each corner towards the ear.He was dressed in European-style black hat, coat, and trousers--looking very uncomfortable in the dreadful heat which, it is unnecessary to say, exists on board a steamer, under a vertical sun, during mid-day hours.This Indian was a man of steady resolution, ambitious and enterprising; very rare qualities in the race to which he belonged, weakness of resolution being one of the fundamental defects in the Indian character.He was now on his return home to the banks of the Issa from Para, whither he had been to sell a large quantity of sarsaparilla that he had collected, with the help of a number of Indians, whom he induces, or forces, to work for him.One naturally feels inclined to know what ideas such a favourable specimen of the Indian race may have acquired after so much experience amongst civilised scenes.On conversing with our fellow-passenger, I was greatly disappointed in him; he had seen nothing, and thought of nothing, beyond what concerned his little trading speculation, his mind being, evidently, what it had been before, with regard to all higher subjects or general ideas, a blank.The dull, mean, practical way of thinking of the Amazonian Indians, and the absence of curiosity and speculative thought which seems to be organic or confirmed in their character, although they are improvable to a certain extent, make them, like commonplace people everywhere, most uninteresting companions.
Caracara-i disembarked at Tunantins with his cargo, which consisted of a considerable number of packages of European wares.
The river scenery about the mouth of the Japura is extremely grand, and was the subject of remark among the passengers.
Lieutenant Nunes gave it as his opinion, that there was no diminution of width or grandeur in the mighty stream up to this point, a distance of 1500 miles from the Atlantic; and yet we did not here see the two shores of the river on both sides at once;lines of islands, or tracts of alluvial land, having by-channels in the rear, intercepting the view of the northern mainland, and sometimes also of the southern.Beyond the Issa, however, the river becomes evidently narrower, being reduced to an average width of about a mile; there were then no longer those magnificent reaches, with blank horizons, which occur lower down.
We had a dark and rainy night after passing Tunantins, and the passengers were all very uneasy on account of the speed at which we were travelling, twelve miles an hour, with every plank vibrating with the force of the engines.Many of them could not sleep, myself among the number.At length, a little after midnight, a sudden shout startled us: "Back her!" (English terms being used in matters relating to steam-engines).The pilot instantly sprung to the helm, and in a few moments we felt our paddle-box brushing against the wall of forest into which we had nearly driven headlong.Fortunately, the water was deep close up to the bank.Early in the morning of the 10th of September we anchored in the port of St.Paulo, after five days' quick travelling from Ega.
