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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of On the Banks of the Amazon, by W.H.G. Kingston
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: On the Banks of the Amazon
+
+Author: W.H.G. Kingston
+
+Illustrator: W.H.C. Groome
+
+Release Date: May 8, 2007 [EBook #21385]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ON THE BANKS OF THE AMAZON ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England
+
+
+
+
+On the Banks of the Amazon, by W.H.G. Kingston.
+
+________________________________________________________________________
+
+This is a quite long book, very well written, about a trip down the
+Amazon.  There is rather a lot of "Natural History", but not too much,
+because it has all been made easy to follow, and is very interesting.
+All sorts of interesting things happen on this voyage.
+
+The copy used for digitisation had a rather furry and small typeface.
+Not one of the clearest we have ever seen.  Consequently it was rather
+heavy labour trying to iron out the misreads and typos, and it may well
+be that some remain, though nowhere near the prescribed limit of 99.95%.
+
+There are 132,948 words in the book, so 1 in 2000 means that we must
+have less than 66 errors still remaining, which I am sure is the case.
+
+It is a rather curious thing that one is reminded at times of
+Ballantyne's "Martin Rattler," written very much earlier, even down to
+to the presence of a "recluse".  That doesn't mean you won't enjoy the
+book just as much as you might have enjoyed "Martin Rattler."  Best, as
+always, as an audiobook.
+
+________________________________________________________________________
+
+ON THE BANKS OF THE AMAZON, BY W.H.G. KINGSTON.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER ONE.
+
+MY SCHOOL-BOY DAYS AND FRIENDS.
+
+I might find an excuse for being proud, if I were so,--not because my
+ancestors were of exalted rank or title, or celebrated for noble deeds
+or unbounded wealth, or, indeed, on account of any ordinary reasons,--
+but because I was born in one of the highest cities in the world.  I saw
+the light in Quito, the capital of Ecuador, then forming the northern
+part of the Spanish province of Peru.  The first objects I remember
+beyond the courtyard of our house in which I used to play, with its
+fountain and flower-bed in the centre, and surrounding arches of
+sun-burned bricks, were lofty mountains towering up into the sky.  From
+one of them, called Pichincha, which looked quite close through the
+clear atmosphere of that region, I remember seeing flames of fire and
+dark masses of smoke, intermingled with dust and ashes, spouting forth.
+Now and then, when the wind blew from it, thick showers of dust fell
+down over us, causing great consternation; for many thought that stones
+and rocks might follow and overwhelm the city.  All day long a lofty
+column of smoke rose up towards the sky, and at night a vast mass of
+fire was seen ascending from the summit; but no harm was done to the
+city, so that we could gaze calmly at the spectacle without
+apprehension.  Pichincha is, indeed, only one of several mountains in
+the neighbourhood from the tops of which bonfires occasionally blaze
+forth.  Further off, but rising still higher, is the glittering cone of
+Cotopaxi, which, like a tyrant, has made its power felt by the
+devastation it has often caused in the plains which surround its base:
+while near it rise the peaks of Corazon and Ruminagui.  Far more dreaded
+than their fires is the quaking and heaving and tumbling about of the
+earth, shaking down as it does human habitations and mountain-tops,
+towers and steeples, and uprooting trees, and opening wide chasms,
+turning streams from their courses, and overwhelming towns and villages,
+and destroying in other ways the works of men's hands, and human beings
+themselves, in its wild commotion.
+
+These burning mountains, in spite of their fire and smoke, appear but
+insignificant pigmies compared to that mighty mountain which rises in
+their neighbourhood--the majestic Chimborazo.  We could see far off its
+snow-white dome, free of clouds, towering into the deep blue sky, many
+thousand feet above the ocean; while on the other side its brother,
+Tunguragua, shoots up above the surrounding heights, but, in spite of
+its ambitious efforts, has failed to reach the same altitude I might
+speak of Antisana, and many other lofty heights with hard names? but I
+fancy that a fair idea may be formed of that wonderful region of giant
+mountains from the description I have already given.
+
+I used often to think that I should like to get to the top of
+Chimborazo, the way up looked so easy at a distance; but no one has ever
+reached its summit, though several valiant philosophers and others have
+made the attempt.
+
+The mountain range I have described, of which Chimborazo was long
+considered the highest point, till Aconcagua in Chili was found to be
+higher, rises from the ocean in the far-off southern end of America, and
+runs up along its western shore, ever proud and grand, with snow-topped
+heights rising tens of thousands of feet above the ocean, till it sinks
+once more towards the northern extremity of the southern half of the
+continent, running along the Isthmus of Panama, through Mexico at a less
+elevation, again to rise in the almost unbroken range of the Rocky
+Mountains, not to sink till it reaches the snow-covered plains of the
+Arctic region.
+
+But I am becoming too scientific and geographical; and I must confess
+that it was not till many years after the time of which I am speaking
+that I knew anything about the matter.  My father, Don Martin Fiel, had
+been for some years settled in Quito as a merchant.  His mother was
+Spanish, or partly so, born in Peru--I believe that she had some of the
+blood of the Incas in her veins, a matter of which she was not a little
+proud, I have been told--but his father was an Englishman, and our
+proper family name was Faithful.  My father, having lived for many years
+in the Spanish South American provinces, had obtained the rights and
+privileges of a Spaniard.  He had, however, been sent over to England
+for his education, and was a thorough Englishman at heart.  He had made
+during his younger days several visits to England for mercantile
+purposes, and during one of them had married my mother.  He was, though
+really a Protestant--I am sorry to have to make the confession--
+nominally a Roman Catholic; for he, being a Spanish subject, could not
+otherwise at that time have resided in any part of the territories of
+Spain and carried on his business with freedom: but I feel now that no
+person has a right to conceal their true faith, and to pretend to
+believe what is false, for the sake of any worldly advantage.  My
+mother, however, had stipulated that all her children should be brought
+up as Protestants.  To this he had agreed, though he found when he had
+sons that he was in consequence subjected to considerable annoyance from
+the priests, who threatened to denounce him as a heretic.  To avoid
+this, he had to send his children to England at an early age for their
+education; indeed, had we remained at Quito we could only have obtained
+a very poor one at any public school or college.  It will be understood
+from what I have said, that though we were really English, and I have
+always felt like an Englishman, we had both Spanish and native
+connections, which will account for some of the circumstances which
+afterwards occurred to us.
+
+My father, though he himself resided at Quito, had also a house of
+business at Guayaquil, which imported European manufactured goods, and
+exported in return Peruvian bark and other articles, of which I shall
+by-and-by have to speak.  He was greatly respected by his
+fellow-citizens, although they might have been somewhat jealous of him
+for succeeding in his business through his energy and perseverance,
+while they themselves, sitting idle all the day smoking their cigarettes
+without attempting to exert their minds, were left behind.  My dear
+mother lived very much alone, for the society of the ladies of Quito,
+though they are very charming in manner, afforded her but little
+satisfaction, from their utter want of education.
+
+I remember the joy which the arrival of my eldest sister, Fanny--or Dona
+Francisca, as the Spaniards called her--who had gone to school in
+England, and Aunt Martha, who brought her back, caused in the family.  I
+had another sister, Ellen, much younger; a sweet, dear little girl, of
+whom I was very fond.  She was indeed the pet of the family.  My elder
+brother, John, was at school in England.  I remember thinking Aunt
+Martha, who was my mother's elder sister, very stiff and formal; and I
+was not at all pleased when she expressed her intention of teaching me
+and keeping me in order.  My mother's health had been delicate, and I
+had been left very much to the care of old Domingos, a negro servant of
+my father's, who had been with him since his boyhood, and with my
+grandfather before him.  He was the butler, or major-domo, the head over
+all the other servants, and, I believe, deservedly trusted.  Among them
+I remember best little Maria, a young negro slave girl who attended
+especially on Ellen; and Antonio, a Gallego from the north of Spain, a
+worthy, honest fellow, who had been in the family from his boyhood, and
+was much attached to us all.  I soon learned to like Aunt Martha better
+than I had expected, for though I thought her looks very terrible at
+first--and she was certainly firm--she was really kind and gentle.
+Under her instruction I gained the first knowledge of the letters of the
+alphabet, of which I was before profoundly ignorant.  Of course she was
+very gentle with Ellen, as everybody was, and Fanny seemed to be very
+fond of her.  She was courageous, too, as I before long had evidence.  I
+remember one night being suddenly lifted in her arms, and carried out by
+her into the patio of courtyard.  There was a strange rumbling noise
+underneath our feet, and I could see the stout walls of our house
+rocking to and fro; and yet, though the earth was tumbling about, she
+did not tremble in the least, but I heard her telling the servants not
+to shriek out or to pray to the saints, who could not help them, but to
+put their trust in God, who made the world, and who would save them from
+danger if it was his good will.  It was a very fearful night, however,
+and though I believe the earthquake did not last long, it tumbled down,
+during the few minutes of its duration, a number of buildings, and many
+of the inhabitants were buried beneath the ruins.  Our house, however,
+which was on the outskirts of the city, and had no upper story, although
+some of the walls were cracked, escaped without further injury; and
+before morning we were in our beds again, and I, for my part, was
+sleeping soundly.
+
+A short time after this I found that some great event was about to take
+place, and I saw trunks being packed; and my mother, who had been ill
+for some time, was very busy, and looked, I often thought, somewhat sad;
+and then I heard that she and Ellen and I were going to England, to be
+accompanied by Domingos and Maria, and that we were to remain there some
+time, and that I was to go to school, and then, if my father did not
+join us, that John and Ellen and I were to come back together with our
+mother, unless she returned before that time.  Aunt Martha and Fanny
+were to stay and take care of my father.  Of course I was highly
+delighted when I heard this, and began packing a box with my playthings,
+and all sorts of articles, and was very indignant when Maria told me
+that they were not to go.  I do not remember much about the journey,
+except that my father came with us, and that the party rode on mules;
+that Domingos carried me before him; that we went up and down mountains
+and into deep valleys; and that sometimes it was very hot, and sometimes
+very cold; and that we stopped at very uncivilised-looking
+resting-places at night; and that at last we reached a large town, close
+to the sea, which was, I have since learned, Guayaquil.  I remember
+seeing some magnificent fruits--pine-apples, oranges, lemons, limes,
+alligator-pears, melons, and many others--and eating some of them, or
+probably I should not have recollected the circumstance.  The place was
+very busy, and far more people were moving about than I had been
+accustomed to see at Quito; and in the harbour were a number of
+vessels--large ships and small ones, and curious rafts, on which the
+natives were sailing or paddling about, called _balsas_.  They were made
+of light balsa wood, which is very buoyant.  They were of all sizes, and
+some had come in from a considerable distance along the coast.  Then my
+father accompanied us on board a big ship, and took an affectionate
+leave of my mother and sister and me; and we all cried very much at
+parting, at least Ellen and I did, though I was so well pleased with all
+the sights I witnessed that I soon forgot my sorrow.  Then the sails of
+the _Pizarro_--that was the name of our ship--were set, and we glided
+out of the harbour, while the boat containing my father returned to the
+shore.  The _Pizarro_ was, I should say, a Spanish ship, commanded by
+Captain Lopez, a very worthy man, in whom my father had great
+confidence, or he would not have committed our mother and us to his
+charge.  At that time Spanish vessels alone were allowed by the
+Spaniards to trade to the ports of their colonies, which contributed
+with many other causes greatly to retard their progress.  I, however,
+knew nothing about such matters at that time.  I remember the compass in
+the binnacle placed before a big wheel, at which a man was always
+standing steering the ship, and I was told that we were sailing south.
+I thought the ocean, which was blue, and calm, and glittering in the
+sunshine, must be very wide, and wondered where it could end, or whether
+it had an end towards the west.  On the east was the coast of Peru, and
+I could see the lofty snow-capped mountains rising up out of the plain,
+looking as if they were intended to bear up the sky should it come down
+towards the earth.  Day after day we glided on.  There they were as high
+as ever, apparently quite close to us, though I heard the captain tell
+my mother that they were fifty miles off or more.  I scarcely believed
+him, though I did not think so big and grave a man could tell a story.
+I did not understand at that time to what a distance objects can be seen
+in that pure, clear atmosphere.  We after that stood off the coast for
+many hours, and yet they appeared almost as high as ever.  The mountains
+I saw were the Andes or the Cordilleras, among which I had lived so long
+without having a clear idea of their extent.
+
+We were not idle during the voyage, for our mother set to work the
+second day we were at sea to give us our lessons.  She had made a point
+of teaching us English as soon as we could utter a word; but though
+Ellen spoke it very well from being always with her, I spoke Spanish
+mixed with Quichua, the native Indian tongue, much more readily.  We
+now, however, learned all our lessons in English, and read a great deal,
+so that I got on rapidly.
+
+The weather at length began to grow unusually cold, and the sky was
+covered with clouds.  We put on warm clothes, and kept much oftener than
+usual in the cabin.  The ship too began to tumble about, and I thought
+sometimes would be sent right over.  I remember inquiring seriously if a
+_waterquake_ were taking place; for I had hitherto seen the ocean so
+calm, that I fancied it would always remain so, and that it was only the
+earth which was given to shaking and tumbling about.  The wind whistled
+and roared, and the spray flew over the deck, and the sailors went out
+on the yards and reefed the sails; but no one seemed to mind what was
+happening, so I was soon content, and thought all was right; and when I
+looked on the waves, it struck me that they were not a quarter as high
+as the mountains I had been accustomed to see, and wondered how they
+were able to tumble the great big ship about in the way they did.  Still
+on we went day after day, and I discovered that we were sailing in an
+opposite direction to that we had before steered.  I could not make it
+out, till the captain showed me a chart, and gave me my first lesson in
+geography on a grand scale; and I then saw that we had come down the
+west coast of South America, and were now sailing northward along its
+eastern coast.
+
+I was very glad when I could go on deck again without greatcoat, and the
+sun shone forth as brightly almost as it does at Quito.  Then in a
+little time the weather got very hot again, and there was no wind, and
+the ship lay on the glassy sea, her white sails flapping against the
+masts.  There we lay day after day, and I began to think that at that
+rate we should never get to England; but Captain Lopez told me that I
+need not trouble myself about the matter, as the wind was sure to come
+some day or other, and that then we should glide along as fast as ever.
+I found that he was right, though we were becalmed several times after
+that.
+
+At length we saw the crew very busy in polishing up the ship, and
+ranging the cables along the deck, as getting them ready for anchoring
+in called; and men were aloft all day looking out ahead; and then came
+the shout of "Terra! terra!--Espana!" and I found that we were
+approaching the coast of Spain.  The next morning when I went on deck
+the ship was at anchor, surrounded by land, with a large city on one
+side, and other towns or villages scattered about on the other.  This
+was the beautiful Bay of Cadiz.  Near us lay a large ship with the
+English flag flying at her peak.  Captain Lopez went on board her, and
+then hurried on shore with certain papers in his hand; and when he
+returned, we all went on board the English ship.  Soon after, the anchor
+was hove up, the sails let fall, and away we sailed out of the harbour.
+Thus we did not even set foot on Spanish soil.  I asked my mother the
+reason of this: she replied, that finding the ship on the point of
+sailing, she did not like to lose the opportunity of going to England in
+her; that the ship was called the _Inca_, commanded by Captain Byles,
+with whom she and my father were acquainted.
+
+I remember that Captain Byles was very kind and attentive, that the
+cabin was very neat and clean--a quality for which that of the _Pizarro_
+was not remarkable--while the English crew, many of whom were old
+men-of-war's-men, paid off at the end of the war, were far more orderly
+than the Spaniards.  There was a black cook, Sam by name, and a white
+goat.  With the former we soon struck up a friendship, for he was
+good-natured and kind to us, and a most intelligent fellow; the latter
+used to chase us round and round the deck, and several times tumbled me
+head over heels when I jumped before her to prevent her from butting at
+Ellen.  Of Sam I shall have to speak more by-and-by.  I do not remember
+many more incidents of the voyage till one day I saw the men heaving the
+lead, and I found that we were in the chops of the Channel; and then I
+heard the shout of "Land! land!" from one of the crew at the mast-head,
+and I was told that England was in sight; and after a time I saw a
+light-blue line away over the bow on the left side, and heard that it
+was the Lizard, which I explained to Ellen was not a creature, but a
+point of land at the west end of England.  With a fine breeze,
+studdingsails on either side, the colours flying, the sky bright and the
+sea blue, the big ship, her canvas glittering in the sunlight glided
+proudly up Channel.  Even the gruffest old seaman began to smile, and
+every one seemed in good spirits.  At last a little one-masted vessel
+came dancing over the small waves towards us, our sails were brailed up,
+a boat put off from her, and a big man with huge whiskers, and rough
+greatcoat, and broad-brimmed hat climbed up the side, and shook hands
+with the captain; and I heard that the pilot had come on board, and that
+we were sailing into the Downs.  I went below, and on returning on deck
+I looked up and saw, instead of the broad sheets of white canvas which
+had so long been spread, the long yards above my head with the sails
+closely furled.  The ship was at anchor.  In a short time the boat came
+alongside, and my mother and sister and I, with our attendants, were
+lowered into her.  We rowed on shore, and went to a big house, where all
+the people were wonderfully polite.  I asked if this was to be our
+future home, but my mother told me it was an inn--very unlike the
+resting-places we had stopped at on our journey from Quito.
+
+The next day we were all seated inside a yellow carriage, with Domingos
+and Maria on the outside, and rolling away over the smooth road at a
+great rate.  We went on and on, changing horses every now and then,
+through a country dotted about with houses which looked very large and
+grand, and green trees which looked very small after those I had been
+accustomed to see.  At length the houses became thicker and thicker, and
+we were driving through long streets with numberless carriages dashing
+here and there, and carts, and vans, and vehicles of all sorts; and my
+mother told me we were in London.  We drove on, and I thought we should
+soon be on the other side; but I found that we had not got nearly into
+the centre of it.  I had thought Quito a large city, but this, I
+guessed, must be ten times larger.  All the houses, too, looked
+wonderfully high, and I thought if an earthquake were to occur, how
+quickly they would all topple down.  I asked my mother how people could
+venture to build such tall houses.  She laughed, and said that happily
+in England there were no earthquakes; and that, in another city in the
+north, there were houses ten stories high.
+
+We stopped at last before a house in a long, dull-looking street, and a
+gentleman came to the door and handed us all out, and kissed my mother
+and Ellen and me, and welcomed us to England; and I found that he was
+Uncle James, my mother's brother; and there was our aunt, his wife, and
+a number of cousins, boys and girls; and we were all soon quite at home
+and happy, though I did not exactly know what to do with myself.
+
+A few days after that, Uncle James and my mother and I drove out in a
+carriage, and there was a box on the top of it full of my clothes, and
+several other things; and then I found that I was going to school.  I
+was rather pleased than otherwise; not that I wished to leave my mother
+and Ellen, but I wanted to know what sort of a place school was.  We
+went some distance away from London, and stopped before a house with an
+iron gate, and a huge stone lion on each side of it.  We got out, and
+were shown into a drawing-room, and there we sat, till a tall gentleman
+dressed in black, with a very white head, made his appearance, and my
+mother and Uncle James talked to him for some time; then he called me
+up, patted me on the head, and told me he hoped that I should be a good
+boy, and learn my lessons well.  I did not feel quite comfortable when
+my mother got up and kissed me again and again, and looked somewhat sad;
+and then Uncle James wished me good-bye; and out they went, while the
+tall gentleman kept me by the hand.
+
+"Now, Harry Faithful," he said, "I will introduce you to your
+school-fellows;" and he conducted me through a passage, at the end of
+which was a door which opened out into a large open space covered with
+gravel, with high walls on either side.  A big tree stood in the centre,
+and a vast number of boys of all ages were running about.  Some had
+hoops, others were jumping over long ropes, and others, with reins
+fastened to their arms held by bigger boys, were scampering round and
+round, playing at horses.  Some were leaping over each other's backs,
+and others were hopping about with their arms folded charging at each
+other.  I thought it very good fun, and hoped that was the way they were
+always employed.
+
+The tall gentleman, after waiting a minute or two, called out, "Antony
+Nyass, come here.  Here is the son of an old friend of your father's.  I
+expect you to look after him."
+
+Then he turned round to me, and said, "When the bell rings, you will
+come in with the rest, and we will lose no time in placing you."
+
+"And so you are the new boy," said my companion.  "What is your name?"
+I told him.  "Well, I am very glad you are come," he observed, "for I
+want a chum.  We will have all sorts of fun together.  Will you have a
+hoop?  I have got a prime one which beats all those of the fellows in my
+class; or will you go shares in a pair of leather reins?"  I told him
+that I should be very glad to do what he liked, and that I had plenty of
+money, though I could not say how much, as I was not accustomed to
+English coin, and could not remember what it was called.  "Oh, I will
+soon put you up to that," he said, laughing; "but do not show it now.
+We will see by-and-by what you can do with it."
+
+While we were speaking, a number of other boys collected round us, and
+began to ask me all sorts of questions--who I was, who my friends were,
+where I had come from, how old I was, and if I had ever been to another
+school.
+
+"Do not tell them," whispered Nyass.
+
+"What is that you are saying, Master Tony!" exclaimed one of the boys.
+"You are putting him up to some of your own tricks."
+
+"I will tell you all by-and-by," I answered, taking my new friend's
+hint.
+
+"Can you run?" asked Tony.  "Tell them that you will race any one of
+them," he whispered.
+
+"I do not know, but I will try," I replied.
+
+"Who is for a race?" exclaimed Tony.  "He will run you down to the
+bottom of the play-ground and back again, and if he does not beat all
+the fellows of his own size I shall be surprised."
+
+I was light and active, and though I had never before run a race, having
+no companions to run with, I did my best to follow out Tony's
+suggestion.  At the word, off I set as hard as I could tear; five or six
+other fellows besides Tony ran also.  He kept up with me, though we
+distanced the rest.  He touched the wall at the bottom, and I followed
+his example.
+
+"Now, back again as hard as you can go!  I am the best runner of my size
+in the school," he cried out, as he kept close to me; "if you beat me,
+your fame is established, and the fellows will treat you with respect
+after that."
+
+I felt, however, very doubtful whether I could beat Tony; but I did my
+best, and as we neared the point we started from I found myself drawing
+ahead of him.  "That is it!" he shouted; "keep on, and you will do it."
+I suspected that he was letting me get ahead of him on purpose, and I
+reached the starting-point four or five paces before him.  I felt,
+however, that I could not have run another minute if my life had
+depended on it; while he came in without the slightest panting.  The
+other fellows followed mostly together, a short distance behind.
+
+It is curious how slight a thing gives a boy a position at once in a
+school.  Thanks to Tony, I gained one at once, and ever afterwards kept
+it.  I do not intend to give an account of my school-life and
+adventures, as I have more interesting matter to describe.  I was placed
+in the lowest class, as might have been expected.  Although I knew
+nothing of Latin, I was up to several things which my class-mates were
+not, and as I did my best to learn, I soon caught up a number of them.
+My friend Tony was in the class above me, and he was always ready to
+give me any help.  Though not quarrelsome, I had several battles to
+fight, and got into scrapes now and then, but not often, and altogether
+I believed I was getting on pretty well.  Tony, my first acquaintance,
+remained my firm friend.  Although now and then we had quarrels, we
+quickly made them up again.  He used to listen with eager ears to the
+accounts I gave him of my voyage, and the wonders of my native land.  He
+never laughed at my foreign accent, though the other boys did; but I
+very soon got rid of it.  I used to try to teach him Spanish, and the
+Indian language, which I had learned from the servants; but I soon
+forgot them myself, and had difficulty even in recalling a few words of
+the tongue which I once spoke with ease.
+
+"I say, Harry, I should so like to go out with you to that country,"
+said Tony to me one day.  "When you go back I must try and get my father
+to let me accompany you."
+
+I, of course, was well pleased at the proposal, and we talked for days
+together of what we should do when we got out there.  At last we began
+to think that it was very hard we should have to wait till we had grown
+big fellows like those at the head of the school, and Tony proposed that
+we should start away by ourselves.  We looked at the map, and considered
+how we could best accomplish our object.  We observed the mighty river
+Amazon rising at no great distance--so it seemed on paper--from Quito
+itself, and running right across the continent into the Atlantic.
+
+"Will it not be fun paddling up by ourselves in a canoe!" exclaimed
+Tony.  "We will have guns to go on shore and shoot birds and beasts; and
+when we grow tired of paddling we will sail along before the wind; and
+we will have a tent, and sleep in it at night, and light a fire in front
+of it to cook our suppers and keep off the wild beasts; and then, when
+we arrive at the upper end of the river, we will sell our canoe to the
+Indians, and trudge away on foot with knapsacks on our backs up the
+mountains, till we reach your father's house; and will not he be
+astonished to see us!"
+
+I agreed with him in his last idea certainly, but I was puzzled to think
+how we were to reach the mouth of the Amazon, and when we were there how
+we were to procure canoe.  All the rest appeared pretty easy in the way
+Tony proposed it, and, after all, even on a big map, the river did not
+look so very long.
+
+"Well, my idea is," said Tony, "that we should save up all our
+pocket-money, and then, some day when we have got very hard lessons to
+do, or anything disagreeable takes place, run off, and get aboard a ship
+sailing to South America.  I should not mind being cabin-boy for a short
+time; and as you know Spanish and Indian, you could tell the captain you
+would interpret for him, and of course he would be very glad to have
+you; and then, you know, we should soon learn to be sailors; and it will
+be much pleasanter climbing about the rigging and up the masts and along
+the yards than sitting at our desks all day bothering our heads with
+Caesar and Ovid and sums and history and geography, and all that sort of
+thing."
+
+"But I have not got Caesar and Ovid to do yet," I observed; "and I want
+to have a little more schooling; for Uncle James says I shall not be fit
+for anything until I do.  Do not you think we had better wait till I get
+into your class, or rather higher still?"
+
+Tony said he was much disappointed at my drawing back, which he argued I
+was doing when I made these remarks.  However, I spoke in perfect
+sincerity, and fully believed that I should enjoy the adventure he
+proposed just as much as he would.  I had my doubts, however, whether we
+should receive so favourable a reception at the end of our journey as he
+supposed.  However, he continued talking and talking about the matter,
+till I agreed to consider what could be done during another half.
+
+I spent my first holidays in London at Uncle James's, and my brother
+John came there, and I was surprised to find what a big fellow he was.
+We were very good friends, and he took me out to see a number of the
+sights of London.  We went, among other places, to Exeter Change, where
+there were all sorts of wild beasts.  I had no idea until then that
+there were so many in the world.  I was highly interested, and learned
+the names of nearly all of them; and John told me where they had come
+from, and all about their habits.  Then Uncle James gave me a book of
+natural history, which I read with great delight.  I found by the book
+that the beasts I had seen at Exeter Change were only a very small
+number of those which exist in different parts of the world.  I liked
+that book of natural history better than any I had ever read; except,
+perhaps, "Robinson Crusoe," which Tony had lent me, and which he said
+was the best book that ever was written.  I thus gained a very
+considerable knowledge of the quadrupeds and the feathered tribes of the
+animal kingdom, and Uncle James said he thought some day I should become
+a first-rate naturalist, if I had opportunities of studying the
+creatures in their native wild.  I resolved the next summer holidays,
+which were to be spent in the country, to catch as many of the creatures
+as I could, and form a menagerie of my own.  I should say I had not told
+John of the plan Tony and I had in contemplation--of exploring the
+Amazon by ourselves.  I thought, from some of his remarks, that he
+possibly might not approve of it.
+
+I soon got tired of London, after I had seen the usual sights, though I
+was glad to be with my mother and Ellen and my cousins.  John also was
+very kind, but he was such a big fellow that I stood in as much awe of
+him as I did of my uncle.  I was not sorry, therefore, to find myself at
+school with companions of my own age.  As the weather was very cold,
+Tony and I agreed that we would put off our expedition till the summer,
+and in the meantime we talked of the menagerie I proposed making, and
+other subjects of equal importance, which prevented us thinking about
+the former matter.
+
+I had a good many friends among my school-fellows.  Arthur Mallet, next
+to Tony, was my chief friend.  He was by several months my junior--a
+delicate, gentle boy, amiable, sensible, and clever.  He was liked by
+the masters as well as by the boys, and that is saying much in his
+favour.  Poor fellow, notwithstanding this he was frequently out of
+spirits.  I asked him one day why he looked so sad.  He was silent for
+some minutes.  "I will tell you, Harry," he said at length.  "I am
+thinking of my mother.  She is dying.  I know it, for she told me so.
+She never deceived me.  When she has gone I shall have no one to care
+for me--and--and--Harry, I shall have to depend on the charity of
+strangers for support.  She urged me to work hard, that I might be
+independent; but it will be a long time before I can become so.  For
+myself I do not so much mind, but it troubles my mother greatly; and
+then to have her die--though I know she is going to heaven--I cannot
+bear the thought."  He said more in the same style.  "And then, should
+my father come back--oh, what will he do!" he added.
+
+"I thought from what you said that you had no father," I remarked.
+"Where is he then, Arthur?"
+
+"That is what I do not know," he answered.  "Do not speak about it to
+any one, Harry.  He went away a long time ago, on account of something
+that had happened.  He could not bear to stay in England.  But he was
+not to blame.  That is all I know.  He could not take her with him; and
+my grandmother and aunts with whom she was left died, and their fortune
+was lost; and what she has now got is only for her life, and that
+troubles her also greatly."
+
+I tried as well as I could to comfort Arthur, and after this felt more
+than ever anxious to stand by him an a friend.  "I may some day be able
+to help him," I thought--but I did not tell him so.  Our friendship had
+been disinterested, and thus I wished it to remain.
+
+I said that I had many friends at school, but there were some few whom I
+looked upon in a contrary light; especially one big boy, Houlston, of
+whom all the little ones were dreadfully afraid.  He used to make us do
+anything that seized his fancy, and if we ventured to refuse, often
+thrashed us.  Poor Arthur Mallet frequently came in for his
+ill-treatment, and bore it, we all thought, with far too much patience.
+At last Tony and I and a few other fellows agreed that we would stand it
+no longer.  One day Houlston and one of the upper form boys, who was
+younger than himself, had a dispute.  We thought that he was going to
+thrash the other fellow; but the latter standing up in his own defence,
+Houlston walked off, not venturing, as we supposed, to encounter him.
+This, of course, gave us courage.  A few day afterwards Tony was
+reading, when Houlston, coming by, seized his book, saying he wanted it.
+Tony watched his opportunity, and snatching it up, made off out of the
+school-room, through the play-ground into a yard on one side, which, not
+being overlooked by any of the windows from the house, was the usual
+place for pugilistic encounters.  Houlston followed.  I saw Arthur
+Mallet and several of those who had promised to side with us standing
+near.  Arthur joined us, though somewhat unwillingly.  We made chase.
+Tony, who had fled to the yard, was at length overtaken by his pursuer,
+who began hitting him over the head and shoulders.  I signed to my
+companions, and making a spring, jumped on Houlston's back and began
+belabouring him with might and main.  I shouted to the others to come on
+and attack him on either side.  He was furious, and struck out right and
+left at them; but I, clinging pertinaciously to his back, prevented his
+blows having due effect.  My companions on this closed in, and two of
+them seizing him by the legs, down he came, with me still clinging to
+his back.  The rest now threw themselves upon him.  Handkerchiefs were
+brought out, and in spite of his struggles they managed to tie his arms
+behind him, while I kept him down.  Though he kicked out furiously, by
+jumping on his body we succeeded in securing his legs, and we thus had
+him in our power.  It was in the evening of a half-holiday.  On one side
+of the yard was a wood-shed.  Into this we dragged him.  Astonishment
+and the efforts he made to free himself had prevented him from shouting
+for help.  Before he had uttered a cry, Rawlings, one of the biggest of
+our party, running up, shoved a handkerchief into his mouth, which
+completely gagged him.  We then all ran away, leaving him without
+compunction in the dark and cold.  Assembling again in the school-room,
+we agreed to leave him till somebody coming by might release him.
+Tea-time came, and Houlston did not make his appearance.  I began to
+grow anxious, and communicated my fears to Arthur, who sat next to me.
+Still he did not come.  Tea was over.  At last Arthur entreated that we
+would go and ascertain what was the matter.  It was now quite dark.  I
+remember quite well the uncomfortable feeling I had, as, stealing out,
+we groped our way in the dark to the yard.  On approaching the
+wood-house we heard a groan.  Could it proceed from Houlston?  My heart
+beat more tranquilly, though, for the groan showed that he was alive.
+We crept in.  He was where we had left him; but his hands were icy cold.
+I bethought me first of withdrawing the handkerchief from his mouth.
+Some of the fellows proposed leaving him again.
+
+"Oh no, no; pray don't do that!" exclaimed Arthur.  "Perhaps he will
+promise to give up bullying if we agree to cast him loose."
+
+"You hear that, Houlston?" said Tony.  "Will you become a good fellow
+and treat the little chaps properly, or will you spend the night out
+here?"
+
+Houlston only grumbled out some words which we could not understand.  At
+last we heard him say, "What is it you want?"  It was evident from his
+tone that he was greatly humbled.  That is not surprising, for he must
+have been very cold and very hungry, and Tony repeated the question.
+
+"He will not promise.  We must put the gag in again," said two or three
+of the other fellows.
+
+"Will you promise?" asked Tony again.
+
+"Oh, do let him go!" again exclaimed Arthur, whose kind heart was moved
+by the pitiable condition of our captive.  "He will promise--I know he
+will; and I do not mind if he bullies me ever so much.  We should think
+any one very cruel who kept us out in the cold as we have kept him.  I
+am sure that he will promise what we ask--won't you, Houlston?"
+
+"No, he will not," said another boy.  "He will have a couple of hours to
+wait till the names are called over, and perhaps somebody will then come
+and look for him.  He will be much colder by that time."
+
+"Oh yes, I will promise!" cried Houlston.  "Let me go, and I will not
+bully you little fellows any more.  Just try me.  And I will remember
+what Mallet said--he has more feeling than any of you; I did not expect
+him to have spoken as he has, for I treated him always worse than any of
+you."
+
+"You promise, on your word of honour," said Tony; "and you will not go
+and complain of us?  You must promise that too."
+
+Houlston was completely humbled.  He promised all we demanded.
+
+"We may trust to his word.  I am sure we may!" exclaimed Arthur.  "Oh,
+do let us loose him!"
+
+"Thank you, Mallet.  Thank you, Faithful.  I am much obliged to you,"
+whispered Houlston, as Arthur undid the handkerchief which bound his
+wrists.  The others were in the meantime casting off those round his
+legs.  We lifted him up, for he was so numbed and chilled that he could
+not walk.  Arthur had brought a slice of bread and butter doubled up in
+his pocket.  He offered it to Houlston, who took it gratefully.  His
+clothes, I felt, were covered with chips of wood and dust.  We brushed
+him with our hands as well as we could in the dark, and then led him
+back into the playroom, where the boys were collecting after tea.  I
+watched him narrowly, fearing mat he might tell some of the big fellows
+what had happened; but he went to his box without speaking to any one,
+and then taking up his books, proceeded to the school-room to learn his
+lessons for the next day.  We kept our counsel, and were convinced that
+Houlston wisely kept his, for not a word did he utter to any of his
+companions of what had occurred.  From that day forward he was generally
+kind and good-natured, and especially so to Arthur Mallet.  He helped
+him in his lessons, and was constantly making him presents of such
+things as boys prize, though older people may not set much value on
+them.  Though he might lose his temper with others, he never did so with
+Arthur, and always seemed anxious to show his friendly feeling in a
+variety of ways.  I have seldom seen a fellow so greatly changed for the
+better as Houlston became, owing, I believe, greatly to the way Arthur
+had pleaded his cause when the rest of us seemed inclined to revenge
+ourselves still further than we had already done.
+
+I should not have mentioned the circumstance, except for the sake of the
+moral it taught me.  There is an old saying, that when a bull runs at
+you the best way of escaping him is to seize him by the horns; and from
+the manner we overcame Houlston, I am convinced of the wisdom of the
+advice.  Ever since, when a difficulty has occurred, I have seized it
+boldly, grappled with it as we grappled with Houlston, summoned up all
+my courage, resolution, and strength, just as Tony and I called our
+companions to our assistance, and dragged it, metaphorically speaking,
+to the ground, gagged it as we gagged the bully, and not let it loose
+again till I have been convinced that it would no longer trouble me.
+Again, when I have had any difficult thing to do, I have done it at
+once, or tried my best to do it.  I have never put off a disagreeable
+thing which I may have had to do till another day.  I have got it over
+as soon as possible, whatever it may have been.  I have generally found
+that the anticipation is worse than the reality.  I cannot understand
+what made Houlston take to bullying; and I must say after this he showed
+much good feeling, and became a firm friend both to Tony and me, not
+appearing to harbour any ill-feeling for the way we had treated him.
+
+I must hurry over my school-boy days.  I was not able to carry out my
+plan of the menagerie the next summer.  My uncle, instead of going to
+his country house, took us all to the sea-side.  I, however, on that
+occasion picked up a good deal of knowledge about vessels and boats, and
+fish, and marine animals; and instead of a menagerie we had an aquarium,
+into which we used to put the small fish and other creatures we caught
+in the pools on the rocks.  I was making an important step in the study
+of natural history--gaining the custom of observing the habits of
+creatures.  The following year I carried out my long-intended plan,
+having induced one of my cousins to join me in it.  We made several
+cages and boxes; and among our captives we numbered a couple of rabbits,
+a weasel, hedgehog, ferret, and stoat, with a number of pigeons and
+other birds, and, I may add, three or four snakes.  We caught a viper--
+or, as it is frequently called, an adder--the only venomous creature
+which exist in England; but my uncle objected to our keeping it alive,
+though he consented to its being turned into a bottle of spirits.  We
+killed another, and cut off its head to observe its poisonous fangs.  On
+dissecting the head, we found that the fangs exist on either side of the
+upper jaw, in which they lie down flat towards the throat.  They are on
+hinges, the roots connected with little bags of poison.  When the
+creature is irritated and about to bite, these fangs rise up.  They are
+hollow, with small orifices at their points.  When biting, the roots of
+the fangs are pressed against the bags of poison, which thus exudes
+through the orifices and enters the wound they make.  All venomous
+serpents are provided with fangs, but in the jaws of some species the
+fangs, instead of lying down, are always erect, ready for action.  The
+nature of the poison varies in different species.  The poison of some
+produces paralysis; that of others causes the body when bitten to swell
+and become putrid.  The venom of some is so powerful that it rapidly
+courses through the veins and destroys life in a few minutes; that of
+others makes much slower progress.  The English viper, or adder, has but
+a small quantity of poison in its bag, and its bite rarely produces
+death.  Some of the smallest snakes, in tropical climes, are the most
+venomous.  However, I shall by-and-by have a good deal to say on the
+subject.
+
+From what I have mentioned, it will be understood that I had already got
+a taste for and some insight into natural history, and when I returned
+to school I was able to discourse very learnedly on the subject.  This
+made Tony more anxious to carry out our long-projected undertaking.
+Still, as we were very well treated at school, we had no excuse for
+running away, and put it off from day to day.  At length, in truth, we
+began to grow wiser, and look at it in a different light.  Tony, indeed,
+one day confided his plan to Houlston.
+
+"Well, when you make up your mind to go, just tell me," said Houlston.
+
+"What I would you go with us?" exclaimed Tony.  "That would be capital.
+With a big fellow like you we should be able to make our way anywhere."
+
+"Not exactly that," was the answer.  "I'll tell you what I should do,
+Nyass.  As soon as I found that you had started, I should make chase
+after you and bring you back.  Depend upon it, it would be the best mark
+of friendship I could show you!  Time enough by-and-by--when you have
+gone through school and been at college, and got a little more knowledge
+than you now possess in your heads--to start on such an expedition.  I
+have a great notion that I should like to do something of the sort
+myself; so, if you ever start on an expedition to South America or any
+other part of the world, find me out if you can, and let me know, and
+then perhaps I shall be ready to accompany you."
+
+These sensible remarks of Houlston put Tony completely off his purpose,
+and we finally agreed to follow the advice of our school-fellow, and
+wait patiently till we had finished our studies.
+
+In the meantime I should say that my mother had rejoined my father at
+Quito.  When I first came to England I thought that the time when I
+should leave school was a very long way off.  It seemed like a dream
+when I found myself at last a big fellow of sixteen at the commencement
+of the summer holidays.  There was Ellen, almost a grown-up young lady--
+in my eyes, at all events--and John, who had been in Uncle James's
+counting-house in London, a man with big whiskers.
+
+"Well, Harry," said Uncle James, "would you like to go back to school,
+or accompany John and Ellen to South America?  Your father wishes to
+have John's assistance, and perhaps you also can make yourself useful."
+
+Although by this time I found school a far pleasanter place than when I
+was a little boy, yet, as may be supposed, I did not take long to
+decide.
+
+"I will accompany John," I said without hesitation.
+
+"We shall have to part with you soon, then, I am sorry to say," observed
+my uncle; "for Captain Byles, who still commands the _Inca_, is about to
+sail for Guayaquil.  In consequence of the emancipation of the Spanish
+South American provinces from the iron yoke of the mother country, their
+ports are now free, and ships of all nations can trade to them, which
+was not the case when you came home.  Captain Byles has twice before
+been to the Pacific, and we have resolved to send the _Inca_ there
+again.  He will be very glad to have you as passenger.  You must lose no
+time, therefore, in getting ready."
+
+I replied very honestly that I was sorry to leave him and aunt and
+cousins; but, at the same time, I could not help feeling delighted at
+the thought of again seeing my father and mother and Fanny, and
+revisiting the magnificent scenes which had made so deep an impression
+upon my mind, besides being able to indulge on a large scale in the
+study of the natural history of that wonderful region.  I did not forget
+my friends, Tony and Arthur Mallet, and as soon as I had time I sat down
+and wrote to them both.  At the end of a week I received the following
+reply from Tony:--
+
+"Dear Harry,--Your letter threw me into a state of wild commotion.  You
+to be actually starting for the country we have so often talked about,
+while, as far as I could see, I was destined to stick quietly at a desk
+in my father's counting-house.  After thinking the matter over, however,
+and recollecting how kind and considerate he has always been, I
+determined to show him your letter, and tell him frankly of my
+long-cherished wish to go abroad.  He talked to me a good deal to
+ascertain whether I was in earnest.  `I did not wish to send you from
+me,' he said at last; `but I will now tell you that a few months ago I
+received a letter from a cousin of mine who has lately established a
+house of business at Para in Brazil, requesting me to send out two
+steady lads as clerks, adding that he should be very glad to receive a
+son of mine if I could spare him.'  I jumped at the idea; for though I
+should have liked to have gone out with you, Harry, yet, as I have no
+means of doing that, I am delighted to go to Para, because, as it is at
+the mouth of the Amazon, it is the very place of all others I should
+have chosen.  It is where we proposed going to when we used to talk of
+our expedition up the mighty river, and perhaps, after all, we may be
+able somehow or other to realise those wild fancies of our early days.
+To be sure, when I come to measure off the distance on the map, which we
+did not then think of doing, I find that Quito and Para are a tremendous
+long way apart.  Still, perhaps some day or other we may be able to
+accomplish a meeting.  At all events, I told my father that I was
+willing to accept our cousin's offer, and at the same time I put in a
+word for Houlston, from whom I had heard a few days before, telling me
+that he was looking about for something to do, and ready to do anything
+or go anywhere.  He has no parents, or brothers or sisters, or any tie
+to keep him in England.  I showed his letter to my father, and told him
+that he was a big, strong fellow, and that though I did not much like
+him when I was a little fellow, he was greatly improved.  My father on
+this said he would send for him, and should he possess the necessary
+qualifications, he should be very glad to recommend him for the
+appointment.  Houlston came, and as he writes well, and is a good hand
+at arithmetic, and has a fair amount of knowledge on other matters, my
+father told me that he would recommend him for the appointment.  The
+long and short of the matter is, that Houlston and I are to go up to
+London with my father in a few days, to get our outfits, and to secure a
+passage by the first vessel sailing for Para or the nearest port to it
+in Brazil.  We shall meet, Harry, and we will then talk matters over,
+and, I hope, strike out some plan by which we may be able to carry out
+our early designs, although perhaps not in the same way we formerly
+proposed.  Houlston sends his kind regards to you, and says he shall be
+very happy to meet you again _Adeos, meu amigo_--that is, Good-bye, my
+friend.  I have lost no time in beginning to learn Portuguese, which is
+the language the Brazilians speak, and I intend to work hard at it on
+the voyage, so as to be able to talk away in a fashion when I land.--
+Your sincere old friend, Antony Nyass."
+
+I was very glad to get this letter, but was much disappointed at not
+hearing from Arthur.  Another day's post, however, brought me a letter
+from him.  I should have said that he had left school three months
+before, and that I had not since heard from him.  His letter was a very
+sad one.  I gathered from it that what he had dreaded had come to pass.
+His mother was dead, and he was left almost destitute, though he tried
+to hide from me as much as possible the fact of his poverty.
+
+I at once made up my mind what to do.  I took the letter to my uncle,
+told him all about Arthur, and entreated that he might be sent out with
+us in the _Inca_.  "I will answer for it that he will amply repay all
+the kindness he may receive," I added.  Uncle James said that he would
+consider the matter, and in the course of the day told me, to my great
+satisfaction, that I might write to Mallet and invite him to come up to
+town.  Arthur lost no time in obeying the summons.  My uncle was much
+pleased with him, and Arthur gratefully accepted the proposal that he
+should accompany us to Quito.
+
+Two days afterwards Tony and Houlston arrived in London.  A ship for
+Para was on the point of sailing.  They had therefore to hurry on their
+preparations.  They spent the evening with us at my uncle's, and John
+told me that he liked Houlston very well, and hoped some day to see him
+again.  Tony he thought a capital fellow--so enthusiastic and
+warm-hearted, yet not wanting in sense; but Arthur, as I knew he would,
+he liked better than either.  Tony brought with him a beautiful black
+cocker spaniel.  "Here, Harry, I want you to accept this fellow as a
+keepsake from me," he said, leading the dog up to me.  "Pat him on the
+head, call him True, and tell him you are going to be his master, and he
+will understand you.  He can do everything but talk; but though he does
+not often give tongue, he is as brave as a lion."
+
+I warmly thanked Tony for his gift as I patted True, who jumped up and
+licked my hand.  "But you want a dog for yourself.  I scarcely like to
+take him from you," I said.
+
+"Set your mind at rest; I have his brother--whom I left at our
+lodgings--his equal in most respects, if not quite so great a beauty,"
+he answered.  "You will excuse me, I know.  I have called my dog
+`Faithful,' after you.  As I cannot have you with me, I wanted something
+to remind me of you; and faithful I am sure he will prove to me, as
+yours will prove true to you."
+
+I thanked Tony for his kind feeling for me, and assured him that I
+considered it a compliment that he had called his dog after me.
+
+True was indeed a beauty--a Welsh cocker--somewhat larger than usual
+perhaps.  He came up in his moral qualities to all Tony had said about
+him.  He took to me at once, and a true friend he ever proved.  We
+accompanied our friends aboard their ship, which was a Portuguese,
+called the _Vasco da Gama_.  She was a fine large vessel.  The crew were
+small and swarthy, but active-looking fellows, most of them wearing long
+red caps on their heads, and blue or pink-striped shirts, with knives
+stuck in their girdles.  They jabbered and shouted tremendously as they
+got under weigh.  Tony and Houlston stood on the poop bidding us
+farewell.  "We shall meet, Harry! we shall meet!"  Tony cried out.
+"Good-bye, Harry; good-bye, Arthur; good-bye, old fellows!"
+
+"Perhaps we shall overtake you on the voyage!" shouted John.
+
+"Not much fear of that," answered Houlston.
+
+We were soon too far off to exchange further words, though we could hear
+the voices of the crew even when we had got to a considerable distance
+from the ship.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWO.
+
+OUTWARD BOUND.
+
+Nearly a week after this we were on board the _Inca_, silently gliding
+down the Thames, the only voices heard on board being that of the pilot
+or the officers who repeated his orders.  We had a quick run down
+Channel, and Captain Byles said he should not be surprised if, after
+all, we should reach the Equator before the Portuguese ship.  I found
+that several of the crew had been on board when I came to England, Sam
+the black cook among the number.  He was the only one, however, who
+remembered Ellen and me.  I inquired after my old friend the goat.
+
+"What! you remember her, Massa Harry!" exclaimed Sam.  "Dat good.  Goat
+gone to live on shore; eat fresh grass instead of hay!"
+
+He was well pleased to find that I had remembered the dumb animal, and
+still more so that I had not forgotten him.  Sam told me that he had
+become a Christian since I had seen him.  I told him I thought that he
+was so then.
+
+"Berry different, Massa Harry, between what is called Christian and real
+Christian.  One night I was on shore, and not knowing where I go, I turn
+into small chapel where a man talk to de people, and I heard him say,
+`God lubs you!'  He lubs bad man and bad woman, and black man, and brown
+man, and white man all de same.  Him pure, holy God, and no bad, impure,
+unholy person dwell wid him; and all men ever born unholy, impure, and
+so dey must all be punished.  But he say he let One be punished for de
+oders, and so him sent his Son into de world to suffer for dem, and dat
+ebery one who trust dat Son, and lub him, go free, and come and live wid
+him for ever and ever.  You ask how dat is.  Hear God's words: `God so
+loved de world dat he gave his only-begotten Son, dat whosoever
+believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.'  Oh, he is a
+kind, good, merciful God!  Him hear de prayers of all who come unto him.
+Him no want any one to say prayers for dem; but dey may come boldly
+t'rough Jesus Christ, and he hear black man pray, and brown man pray,
+and leetle child pray, just as well as learned white man; and so when I
+hear dis I say, `Dat just de God for me;' and so I go to de minister--
+dat is de man who was preaching--and he tell me a great deal more; and I
+go ebery day I was ashore, and now I bery happy, because I know dat when
+I die dere is One who has taken my sins upon himself, who was punished
+instead of me who paid de great debt I owed to God."
+
+I have tried to give Sam's remarks as nearly as I can in his words.
+They made a great impression on me; for before I must own that I did not
+understand God's simple plan of salvation.  Sam had a Bible, which he
+was constantly reading, and delighted to explain to the crew.  He had
+gained considerable influence with them, and though many were careless,
+and did not listen to him, all treated him with respect.  Captain Byles
+spoke in very high terms of Sam, who had, I found, been the means of
+bringing home the truth to him.  He had prayers every day, when the
+weather permitted, in his cabin, and a service on the Sunday for the
+whale of the crew, while I never heard a harsh or wrong expression
+escape his lips.
+
+"You t'ink, Massa Harry, perhaps, I go into dat chapel by chance,"
+observed Sam to me one day; "now I t'ink dere is no such t'ing as
+chance.  God orders everyt'ing.  He sees us all day and all night long,
+and orders all for de best."
+
+I agreed with Sam, and I may say that I never forgot the lessons I
+received from him.  I found great pleasure in listening to him while he
+read the Bible and explained it in his own somewhat curious way, as far
+as language was concerned.  I had before been accustomed to read the
+Bible as a task, but I now took to reading it with satisfaction and
+profit.  From others of the crew I learned a good deal of seamanship,
+especially how to knot and splice,--an art which I found afterwards very
+useful.
+
+We had been several weeks from England, and had thus far carried the
+fine weather with us, when clouds appeared in the horizon which soon
+began to rush in dense masses over the sky.  The sea, hitherto so calm,
+tossed and foamed, and the wind howled and shrieked through the rigging.
+I asked the captain if he thought we were going to have a severe gale.
+
+"It looks very like it," he answered, "but we must do our best and trust
+in God.  Once I used to think that while I was doing my best, God was
+fighting against me, but now, Harry, I see it the other way.  It is a
+great thing to feel that the All-Powerful who rules the world is with
+us.  It makes a man far happier and more courageous."
+
+The crew had gone aloft to furl the sails, and the ship was soon under
+her three closely-reefed topsails.  Still the wind increased, and the
+seas rose up on either side as if they would overwhelm her.  The night
+was coming on.  The captain held a consultation with his mates.  The
+first mate and one of the best hands went to the helm.  The main and
+mizzen-topsails were furled, the helm was put up, and the ship was kept
+away before the wind.  The huge seas followed close astern, roaring and
+hissing after us.  Arthur and I had remained on deck.
+
+"I must beg you to go below," said the captain; "for if one of these
+seas was to break on board, you might be swept off, and no one could
+save you."  Still, I was very unwilling to obey.  John, however, coming
+on deck, saw the danger we were in, and pulled us down the hatchway.  We
+found Ellen in the cabin kneeling at the table with Maria at her side.
+She had the Bible open, though it was a difficult matter to read by the
+flickering light of the lamp, which swung backwards and forwards.
+Still, every now and then, by keeping her finger on a verse, she was
+able to catch a few words; while Maria, with her large eyes wide open
+fixed on her young mistress, was listening eagerly to what she said.  So
+engaged were they, that neither of them observed our entrance.  Now
+Ellen stopped, and I heard her lifting up her voice in prayer for the
+safety of the ship and all on board.  John and I, making our way to the
+other side of the table, knelt down likewise.  Though she saw us she did
+not stop.  We remained thus for some time, when a shout from the deck
+reached us.  I could not help rushing up again.  John followed me.
+During the few minutes we had been below the darkness had increased, but
+at that instant a vivid flash of lightning bursting from the sky, showed
+a large ship ahead of us.  We were running on towards her.  Again all
+was darkness, and I expected to hear the fearful crash of the two ships
+meeting.  Again another flash, followed by a fearful peal of thunder,
+lighted up the atmosphere.  The ship was no longer there, but an object
+floating on the foaming waves.  It was a boat full of people.  It seemed
+impossible that she could live many moments in so fearful a sea.
+Presently I saw our crew running with ropes to the side.  Already the
+stern of the boat was sinking beneath the waves.  There was a thundering
+sound, as if a big gun had been fired.  Our foresail had burst from the
+bolt-ropes.  We rushed on close to the boat.  John, Arthur, and I sprang
+to the side.  Several persons were clinging to the ropes which had been
+thrown over to them.  We assisted in hauling them up.  A sea struck us
+at that moment, and two were washed away.  Three others clung on, and
+were partly hauled and partly washed on board; while a dog which was
+swimming near them was lifted up by a wave and let directly down on the
+deck.  We and they had to cling to the bulwarks to save ourselves from
+being carried off to leeward.  One of our men, who had let go his hold
+while assisting the strangers, was carried off by the rush of water
+across the deck, and before any one could help him, he was seen
+struggling amid the foaming billows astern.  On flew the _Inca_ over the
+spot where the ship had just before been seen.  We managed to drag the
+strangers to the companion hatch, and, with the assistance of Sam,
+carried them below, followed by the dog which had been so curiously
+saved with them.  True, when he entered the cabin, instead of barking,
+ran up to him wagging his tail and showing every sign of pleasure.  I
+observed how like the two animals were to each other.  The mystery was
+soon solved.  The officers and crew remained on deck to bend another
+sail.  As the light of the lamp fell on the features of the first person
+we got into the cabin, what was my astonishment to recognise my old
+friend Tony Nyass.  His surprise at seeing me was equally great.
+
+"Is Houlston saved?" were the first words he uttered.  "He was close to
+me!"
+
+"Yes, all right!" exclaimed a young man, who, helped by Sam, tottered
+into the cabin.  It was Houlston himself, though I should not have known
+him, so pale and scared did he look.  The third was one of the mates of
+the Portuguese ship.
+
+"And Faithful, too," cried Tony, kneeling down and embracing his dog.
+"My old fellow, I am indeed very glad you have escaped."  Faithful
+seemed as well pleased as his master; and True knew him at once, and
+welcomed him by leaping up to lick his face, though as he did so the
+ship gave a tremendous roll, and over he tumbled to the other side of
+the cabin.
+
+I need not say how thankful we were that the lives of our old
+school-fellows had been preserved.  They were shivering with cold, so,
+taking them into our cabin, we got off their wet clothes and put them to
+bed.  Tony then told me that after the commencement of the gale, the
+ship had sprung a leak, and that though the crew had behaved very well,
+and stood manfully to the pumps, the water could not be got under.  When
+it was found that the ship must go down, the boats were prepared.  He
+and Houlston, with the second mate and several of the crew, had got into
+one of them, and shoved clear of the ship just as she sank; but the
+other, he was afraid, had been immediately overwhelmed; indeed, it
+seemed scarcely possible that any boat could have lived many minutes in
+the heavy sea then running.  It was wonderful that the boat he was in
+had remained long enough afloat to allow our ship to get near her.
+
+During the whole of that night the hurricane blew as hard as ever, we
+continuing to run before it.  Every moment I expected to hear that the
+ship had sprung a leak, and that we should have to share the fate of the
+unfortunate _Vasco da Gama_.  We were dreadfully knocked about.  Our
+bulwarks were stove in, and two of our boats carried away.  We lost our
+topmasts, and received other damage; but the stout old ship still
+battled bravely with the seas.  As the morning broke the wind began to
+abate.  By noon the sun was shining brightly, and the sea had gone much
+down.
+
+"Perhaps, after all," observed Tony, "we shall go round the Cape with
+you to Quito, and then have to find our way down the Amazon to Para, as
+I suppose that will then be the shortest road there."
+
+"I am afraid, young gentleman, you would find that a very long road,"
+observed Captain Byles.  "As the ship requires repairs, I must run into
+Rio de Janeiro, and from thence you will more easily get to Para, though
+I should have been very happy to have had your company round Cape Horn."
+
+Tony was much disappointed on hearing this.  We had still a long run
+before us, and the prospect of Tony and Houlston's company on board for
+many days.  The Portuguese mate, Mr Lima, had friends at Para, and he
+undertook to assist Houlston and Tony in getting there.  He was a very
+well-mannered, amiable man, and as he spoke a little English, we were
+able to converse together.  He gave me much information regarding the
+Brazils, which is by far the largest country in South America.  Although
+a very small portion only is cultivated, it is also the richest both in
+vegetable and mineral wealth.  He told me of its magnificent forests,
+its plantations of coffee and tobacco, and certain of its valleys, in
+some of which gold in abundance is found, and in others diamonds of
+extraordinary value.
+
+"What do you say, Harry--shall we go and hunt for them?" exclaimed Tony
+when he heard this.
+
+Mr Lima laughed.  "The Government are too wide-awake to allow you to do
+that," he observed.  "No one is allowed to go into that part of the
+country except those employed in collecting the diamonds; but I will
+tell you one thing, it is the poorest part of the Brazils.  If the same
+number of people who are engaged in collecting the diamonds were
+employed in cultivating the waste ground, the country would, I believe,
+be far richer.  However, perhaps my friends here may obtain permission
+to visit the mines, and if so, I dare say they will some day give you an
+account of them."
+
+Of course Tony said he would do so.  If he was fortunate enough to get
+there.
+
+When the weather grew fine we passed our time very pleasantly, for we
+had a number of interesting books, especially of natural history, in
+which we old school-fellows fortunately took great delight.  Houlston
+and Tony had agreed to make collections of objects of natural history
+when they were settled at Para, and as they had lost all their own
+books, I gave them some of mine, as there was little prospect of their
+getting any at Rio de Janeiro--so the captain told us.  At length one
+morning, just at sunrise, when I went on deck to enjoy the cool air, I
+heard the shout of "Land!" and looking out, I saw a line of blue
+mountains rising out of the water.  The breeze carried us quickly
+towards them, and in a short time we could distinguish a lofty height,
+shaped like a sugar-loaf, which stands at the south side of the entrance
+into the harbour of Rio.  A little to the left rose three peaks, which
+Mr Lima, the Portuguese mate, called the _Tres Irmaos_, or the "Three
+Brothers," with the lofty peak of Corcovado a little further south.  On
+the right of the entrance we could distinguish the white walls of the
+fortress of Santa Cruz, which commands it, with another range of
+mountains rising above it, and terminating in a bold, lofty promontory,
+known as Cape Frio, while far beyond towered up the blue outline of the
+distant Organ Mountains.  We sailed on, passing between the lofty
+heights I have described, being hailed, as we glided under the frowning
+guns of Santa Cruz, by a stentorian voice, with various questions as to
+who we were, whence we came, our object in entering the port, to all of
+which Captain Byles replied through his speaking-trumpet.  It would be
+difficult to describe the beautiful scene in which we now found
+ourselves,--curious-shaped canoes and boats of all rigs, manned by
+half-naked blacks, sailing about, and a number of vessels at anchor in
+the vast harbour; numerous white forts, backed by picturesque hills
+rising above them, covered with the richest verdure, and villages
+peeping forth here and there in beautiful little bays; while higher up
+the bay the vast city appeared, extending for miles along its irregular
+shore, and running back almost to the foot of the Tijuca Mountains, with
+hills and heights in every direction.  In the midst of this scene we
+dropped our anchor under the frowning fortress of Villegagnon, the first
+castle erected by Europeans in that region.
+
+I cannot hope to convey by words a correct idea of the beauty of the
+scenery or the magnificence of the harbour.  All visitors agree that it
+is one of the finest in the world.  We went on shore, and were very
+kindly received by an English merchant--the correspondent of the house
+to which the _Inca_ belonged.  John and I were anxious to help Tony and
+Houlston as far as we had the power, but our new friend undertook to
+supply their wants, and to enable them to reach Para by the first vessel
+sailing for that port.
+
+I will not attempt to describe Rio fully.  It is a large city, with
+heights rising about in various parts, covered with buildings.  Most of
+the streets are very narrow, the architecture very unlike anything I had
+seen in England.  Numbers of priests; gangs of slaves, carrying loads;
+ladies in black hoods reaching to the feet, called mantilhas; gentlemen
+in cloaks; soldiers on foot and on horseback, were moving about in all
+directions.  We made a few interesting excursions in the neighbourhood
+of the city, and several expeditions about the bay.
+
+Captain Byles was, of course, anxious to proceed on his voyage, and
+therefore used all expedition in getting the ship ready for sea.  We,
+however, had time to make one long excursion with our new friend to the
+Organ Mountains, which we could see from the bay in the far distance.  I
+was sorry that Ellen could not go, as it was considered that the trip
+would be too fatiguing for her.  We sailed up to the head of the bay for
+many miles in a pleasure-vessel belonging to our friend, sleeping on
+board the first night.  Early the next morning we started on mules
+towards the mountains.  The air was most delicious, pure, though warm,
+and the scenery very beautiful, as we made our way among heights covered
+with a great variety of tropical trees and creepers bearing magnificent
+flowers.  Among them were the tall, gently-curved palmetto, elegant tree
+ferns, unsurpassed by any of their neighbours in beauty, fuchsias in
+their native glory, passion-flowers, and wild vines, hanging in graceful
+festoons, and orchids with their brilliant red spikes.  As we passed
+through the valley we saw directly before us the mountains we were about
+to visit, and from their shape we agreed that they were well called the
+Organ Mountains; for as we then saw them, the centre height especially
+wore the appearance of a huge organ.  "A grand instrument that," said
+Tony, "such as I suppose an angel might choose to sound forth the music
+of the spheres."
+
+We wound our way up amid the tame beautiful and wild scenery till we
+reached the summit, whence we enjoyed a magnificent view over the
+surrounding country, with Rio and the blue ocean in the far distance.
+We had not come without provisions, nor had the scenery taken away our
+appetites.  We had also brought our guns, and led by our friend, we
+started off on foot in search of game.  We had gone some distance, when,
+as we were approaching one of the numerous pools of dear water which are
+found even in the higher parts of the Organ Mountains, our friend
+stopped us and pointed towards a large tree, beneath the shade of whose
+wide-spreading boughs lay a creature apparently asleep.  At first I
+thought he was a large horse or hornless cow, but as we crept closer to
+it, and could see the shape of its head, I discovered that it was a very
+different animal.  "That is a tapir--the largest wild animal we have in
+South America," whispered our friend.  As we approached the animal got
+up and looked about.  We remained perfectly quiet, to examine it at
+leisure.  It appeared to be nearly four feet in height, and perhaps six
+in length, the colour a deep brown, almost black.  It had a stiff mane,
+and a very short stumpy tail, while its body appeared destitute of hair.
+It was not so, however, as I afterwards found; but the hair could not
+be perceived in consequence of being closely depressed to the surface.
+Its legs were short and thick, and its feet of great size.  The head was
+unlike that of any other animal I had ever seen.  It was very long, and
+the upper lip or snout was lengthened into a kind of proboscis, which
+looked as if it might grow up into the trunk of an elephant.  We were to
+leeward of the animal, but it quickly discovered us, and began to move
+off, when Faithful and True rushed forward, barking vehemently.
+Houlston fired, but the shot bounded off the tapir's thick shield-like
+hide, and away it went dashing through the dense underwood with a force
+which broke down the shrubs opposing its progress.  We had great
+difficulty in getting back our brave little dogs.  They returned at
+length, panting with their exertions.  Fortunately the tapir was
+frightened, or they would have found him more than a match for them.
+Our friend told us that it has four toes on its front feet, and three on
+the hinder ones, cased with horn.  It manages with its flexible upper
+lip to tear away the leaves and to pick up the water-melons and gourds
+which it finds when it goes forth at night in search of food.  However,
+it is in no way particular, being almost as omnivorous as the hog.  Its
+senses of smell and hearing are very acute.  Its eyes, though, are small
+and its ears short.  Its voice is a shrill kind of whistle, such as one
+would not expect to proceed from an animal of such massive bulk.  It is
+extremely fond of the water, and delights in floundering about in the
+mud.  It can swim and dive also admirably, and will often remain
+underneath the surface for many minutes together, and then rising for a
+fresh supply of air, plunge down again.  It indeed appears to be almost
+as amphibious as the hippopotamus, and has consequently been called
+_Hippopotamus terrestris_.
+
+We all laughed at Houlston's ill success.  It was the first attempt, I
+believe, he had ever made at shooting.
+
+"The aim was not bad though," observed Tony, "and if the hide had been
+soft, the shot would have gone into it."
+
+"It was a good large object, however, to aim at," said John.  "A bullet
+would have been more effectual in bringing the creature to the ground."
+
+"I am not quite so certain of that," observed our friend, "for its tough
+hide is almost bullet-proof."
+
+Houlston stood our bantering very good-naturedly, and managed in the
+course of the day to bring down a couple of birds.  "You see, I improve
+by practice," he observed; "and one of these days I may turn out a
+dead-shot."
+
+I have described the tapir here as it was the first I met, but I
+afterwards had better opportunities of observing the animal.  As soon as
+our mules had rested we commenced our return, as our friend could not be
+long absent from Rio.  We were at length once more on board the _Inca_.
+
+Tony and Houlston expected to start with the Portuguese mate for the
+north in the course of two or three days, and they promised to send me
+an account of their adventures as soon as possible on their arrival at
+Para.  The _Inca_ appeared once more in fit trim to encounter any storm
+we might meet with in our passage round Cape Horn.  At first the weather
+was very lovely; but as we were running down the coast of Patagonia a
+heavy gale sprang up from the southward, which threatened to drive us
+back again.  Fortunately a sheltering bay was near at hand.  Running
+into it, the ship was brought to an anchor, and we there lay as calmly
+as if no storm was raging without.  The country, however, was wild and
+desolate in appearance.  I should have thought no human beings would
+have been found on it, but on looking through our glasses we observed a
+number moving about, some on horseback, others on foot, apparently
+watching us.  "Are you inclined to go on bore, gentlemen?" said the
+captain to us.  Of course we replied Yes.  Ellen begged that she might
+go likewise.  We objected, fearing that she might be exposed to danger.
+"She will be perfectly safe," answered Captain Byles; "for though the
+people on shore are not very prepossessing, I have always found them
+perfectly harmless.  We will, however, carry our muskets, and the crew
+shall be armed likewise."
+
+We were soon on shore, proceeding over the rough ground towards the
+natives.  They seeing Ellen and Maria in our midst, advanced without
+fear.  They halted, however, at a little distance from us, when we put
+out our hands and walked towards them.  They were big, stout men of a
+brown complexion, with long black hair hanging down their necks.  Their
+only dress consisted of skins fastened across their shoulders, leaving
+bare their enormous limbs.  When we put out our hands they put out
+theirs.
+
+"Good day, my friends," said Captain Byles.
+
+"Good day," exclaimed the savages in almost the same tone.
+
+"Hillo! what, do you speak English?" cried Arthur.
+
+"Hillo! what, do you speak English?" echoed the Patagonians.
+
+"Of course I do," answered Arthur.
+
+"Of course I do," said the natives.
+
+Indeed, whatever words we uttered they repeated.  We on this burst into
+fits of laughter, our new acquaintances doing the same, as if we had
+uttered a capital joke.  They beat us, however, at that, for though we
+stopped, they continued laughing--ay right heartily.  At all events they
+knew what that meant.  Friendship was thus speedily established.
+Pointing to their skin tents at no great distance, supported on poles,
+and in shape like those of gipsies, but rather larger, they seemed to
+invite us to them.  We accordingly accompanied them.  In front of the
+tents sat a number of women.  They differed somewhat from the men, by
+having more ample robes of skin, and their hair bound by fillets round
+their heads.  They were, however, very unprepossessing-looking ladies.
+They all seemed to regard Ellen with looks of astonishment now gazing at
+her, now at her black attendant, and were evidently discussing among
+themselves how it was that they were of such different colours.  We saw
+a number of horses scattered about the plain, and several of the men
+were riding backwards and forwards armed with bows, and having at their
+backs large quivers full of arrows, and small round shields.  The women
+were broiling meat at fires before the tents.  They offered us some, and
+from the bones and feathers scattered about, we concluded that it was
+the flesh of the ostrich, which bird inhabits in large numbers the vast
+plains of Patagonia.  Savage as they looked, they evidently wished to
+treat us civilly, for they spread some skins on the ground inside one of
+their tents, and signed to us to take our seats on them.  To please them
+we ate a little of the food they set before us, although I must say
+their style of cookery was not attractive.  After we had sat for some
+time, they continuing to imitate everything we said or did, we took a
+stroll round the encampment.  We had not gone far when a large grey bird
+with a long neck and long legs, having three toes on its feet, stalked
+up to us, and putting out its head, grunted in our faces.  Arthur and I
+took off our hats and made it a bow in return, greatly to the amusement
+of the Patagonians, who burst into loud fits of laughter at the joke.
+We recognised the bird at once as the _Rhea Americana_, or American
+ostrich.  As we did not retreat, it uttered a sharp hiss, and then
+poised itself as if it was about to attack us, and so I think it would
+have done, had not the natives driven it away.  It was about five feet
+high, the neck completely feathered, the back of a dark hue, with the
+plumes of the wings white.  It is said that the male bird takes care of
+the eggs which several hens lay scattered about on the sand.  He sweeps
+them together with his feet into a hollow, which serves as a nest, sits
+to hatch them, and accompanies the young till they are able to look
+after themselves.  On such occasions he will attack a man on horseback
+who approaches his charges, and will leap up and try to kick him.
+
+Captain Byles now told us it was time to return on board.  We
+accordingly shook hands and made our way towards the boat.  The people,
+however, began to assemble round us in considerable numbers.  The
+captain therefore ordered us all to keep together and to hurry on,
+without, however, showing any signs of fear.  I was very thankful, for
+Ellen's sake, when at last we reached the boat in safety.  Whether the
+natives had thought of attempting to stop us or not, I do not know.
+Perhaps they only purposed to do us honour by thus accompanying us to
+the beach.  We agreed that though the men at first looked gigantic, yet
+this was owing probably to their style of dress; and the captain was of
+opinion that very few of them were much above six feet.  He told me that
+they live chiefly on flesh--that of horses, or emus, or guanacoes (a
+species of llama), and any other animal they can catch.  We did not
+venture on shore again; and after waiting a few days, once more put to
+sea.  I thought that these natives were about as savage in appearance as
+any people could be.  I discovered, however, shortly afterwards, that
+there are other people sunk still lower in the scale of humanity.
+
+Captain Byles purposed running through the Straits of Magellan.  Just,
+however, as we were entering them, a strong south westerly gale sprang
+up, which prevented us from making the attempt.  We accordingly stood
+into a sheltered bay in Terra del Fuego.  The shore looked very
+inhospitable--dark rocks rose up at a little distance from the water and
+seemed to form a barrier between the sea and the interior.  There were a
+few trees, all stunted and bending one way as if forced thus by the
+wind.  Still, John and Arthur and I had a fancy for visiting the shore,
+in the hope of obtaining some wild fowl.  Having landed with one of the
+mates and True, we took our way along the shores of the bay till we
+arrived at some high rocks.  Over these we climbed.  On descending, we
+found ourselves on the side of an inlet.  We had reached the shore, when
+heavy showers of snow began to fall, driven against our faces by the
+sharp wind.  We were about, therefore, to turn back, when we saw several
+figures moving at a little distance.  Curious to see the natives, which
+we concluded these were, in spite of the snow we pushed on.  We advanced
+cautiously, keeping a much as possible behind the rocks till we were at
+a short distance from them.  We were thus able to observe them before we
+were discovered.  They were wild-looking savages.  Their colour was that
+of mahogany or rusty iron; their dresses, skins loosely wrapped round
+them and very scanty.  One fellow was seated on the side of a canoe with
+a couple of dogs near him; while a woman, perhaps his wife, sat at a
+little distance, crouching on the ground, covered by her skin robe.  As
+soon as they discovered us, instead of approaching as the Patagonians
+had done, they sat stupidly gazing at us, lost apparently in
+astonishment.  They did not, however, exhibit any sign of alarm as we
+walked up to them.  At length they got up, shouting out some words and
+patting their breasts, which we concluded was a sign of friendship.
+Their dogs snarled at True and he barked in return, and I had to hold
+him tight to prevent his flying at them.  Perhaps they understood each
+other better than we did the ill-favoured curs' masters or their masters
+did us.  Still the greeting did not sound amicable.  The natives were
+small, thin, and dirty in the extreme.  Their weapons were bows and
+arrows.  The only habitations we could see were wretched lean-tos, just
+capable of sheltering them from the wind.  Having an old clasp-knife in
+my pocket, I presented it to the chief, who received it with evident
+signs of satisfaction.  As there was no inducement to hold further
+intercourse with him, we returned by the way we had come, without having
+seen a single bird near enough to shoot.
+
+"Yet, Harry, those people have souls, destined to live for ever," said
+Arthur, in answer to a remark I made that they were little better than
+brutes.  "Don't you think if the gospel were taken to them it would have
+its never-failing effect?  I will speak to Captain Byles on the subject
+when we get on board."
+
+He did so.  Long since then several noble Christian missionaries visited
+that benighted region.  Some perished, but others are still labouring to
+make known the glad tidings of salvation to the rude inhabitants of
+Patagonia and Terra del Fuego.
+
+Finding it impossible to pass through the Straits, we had to go round
+Cape Horn.  A couple of weeks, however, elapsed before we were clear
+into the Pacific.  After this we had a quick run, and once more the
+lofty summits of the Cordilleras greeted our eyes.  Though I was but a
+young child when I had last seen them, so deep was the impression they
+had made on me that I recognised them at once.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THREE.
+
+A JOURNEY ACROSS THE CORDILLERAS.
+
+At length the _Inca_ was at anchor off the city of Guayaquil.  I had a
+faint recollection of its appearance, with Chimborazo's snow-capped dome
+towering up in the distance.  Ellen, who had forgotten all about being
+there, was delighted with the scenery.  Guayaquil is situated at the
+mouth of the river Guayas--the largest on the Pacific coast.  On going
+on shore, however, we were somewhat disappointed, as the buildings,
+though grand at a distance, have a tumbledown appearance, partly owing
+to the earthquakes to which they are subjected, and partly to the
+carelessness of the inhabitants in repairing them.  We had great hopes
+of meeting our father, but his correspondents in the city had not heard
+from him for some time.  The country, we found, was in a very unsettled
+state, owing to which, probably, he had not come down from Quito.  We
+bade farewell to our kind captain and the crew of the _Inca_.
+
+Some time before, Peru, Chili, and the other Spanish provinces of South
+America had thrown off their allegiance to the mother country, forming
+themselves into republics.  Their government, however, especially in the
+northern provinces, had been as yet far from well established.
+Disturbances were continually occurring, preventing the progress of the
+country.  First one party took up arms to overthrow another in
+authority, and in a short time those who had been superseded played the
+same trick to those who had stepped into their places.
+
+We lost no time in making preparations for our journey, the first part
+of which was to be performed on board a boat,--seventy miles up the
+river to Bodegas.  We were there to engage mules to proceed over the
+mountains to Quito, of the difficulties of which journey I had some
+slight recollection.
+
+We spent two days at Guayaquil.  Had we not been anxious about our
+father and the rest of our family, we should have been well amused.
+From the balcony of our house we had a magnificent view of the towering
+range of the Andes seen from the east of us, and extending like a mighty
+wall north and south.  Far away on the left, and fully a hundred miles
+off, appeared the mighty Chimborazo, whose snow-capped summit, rising
+far above its fellows, formed a superb background to the range of lesser
+mountains and grand forests which cover the intermediate space.  I have
+before mentioned the delicious fruits that may be found in abundance in
+the city; and I described the curious balsas, on board of which the
+natives navigate the coasts and rivers.  We all supplied ourselves with
+straw hats, such as are shipped in great numbers from this place under
+the name of Panama hats.  They are made from the leaves of an
+arborescent plant about five feet high, resembling the palm called
+_toquilla_.  The leaf grows on a three-cornered stalk, and is about a
+yard long.  It is slit into shreds, and after being immersed in boiling
+water is bleached in the sun.  The plaiting is very fine, and the hat is
+so flexible that it can be turned inside out, or rolled up and put into
+the pocket.  It is impenetrable to rain and very durable.  The chief
+export from the place are chinchona, tobacco, orchilla weed, hides,
+cotton, coffee, and cacao.
+
+Our friends, we found, were anxious about the difficulties we might
+encounter on our journey, on account of the disturbed state of the
+country.  They advised us, indeed, to postpone our departure till our
+father's arrival, or till we should hear from him.  The thought,
+however, that he and our mother and sister might be exposed to danger
+made us the more desirous of proceeding; and at length our friends--
+against their better judgment, they assured us--concluded the
+arrangements for our journey.  We were seated taking coffee the evening
+before we were to start, with the magnificent scene I have described
+before us, when a stranger was ushered into the room.  He wore over his
+shoulders a gay-coloured poncho, and held a broad-brimmed hat in his
+hand.  His breeches were of dark cloth, open at the knee, and he had on
+embroidered gaiters, and huge spurs, with rowels the size of a
+crown-piece.  His jet-black hair, which hung over his shoulders, his
+reddish-olive complexion, dark eyes, and somewhat broad face, though his
+features were in other respects regular and handsome, told us at once
+that he was a native Peruvian.  Our friends saluted him as Don Jose.  He
+addressed us in a kind tone, and told us that, having heard we were
+about to proceed to Quito, as he was also going in that direction, and
+might be of service, he should be happy to accompany us.  Our friends at
+once replied that we would thankfully accept his offer, and all
+arrangements were quickly made.  We were glad to obtain so intelligent a
+companion.  His kind and gentle manner at once gained our confidence,
+and though his dress and appearance were those of ordinary Indians of
+the upper class, he looked like one accustomed to receive the respect of
+his fellow-men.  That he was no common person we were sure.  Why he took
+the interest in us which he evinced we could not tell.  John and I
+talked the matter over, and at length, recollecting that our father's
+mother was of Indian descent, we came to the conclusion that besides
+being a friend of our father, he was connected by the ties of blood with
+our family.  Still, from the way our friend spoke, there appeared to be
+some mystery about him; but they did not offer to enlighten us, nor
+could we with propriety ask them, he also was evidently not inclined to
+be communicative about himself.
+
+Next morning at daylight we went on board our boat.  In the centre was
+an awning, or _toldo_, which served as a cabin.  The crew, consisting of
+eight native Indians, urged her on with long broad-bladed oars when the
+wind was contrary, while their chief or captain stood astern and steered
+with another.  When the wind was favourable a large sail was hoisted,
+and we glided rapidly up the river.  The banks are beautifully green,
+and covered with an exuberant growth of many varieties of trees; indeed,
+the plains on either side vie in richness of vegetation with any other
+spot between the tropics.  Several times we cut off bends of the river
+by narrow canals, the branches of the trees, interwoven by numberless
+creepers, which hung down in festoons covered with brilliant blossoms,
+forming a dense canopy over our heads.  Although the stream is sluggish,
+we were unable to reach Bodegas that night.  We stopped therefore at the
+house of a gentleman engaged in the cultivation of cacao.  The tree on
+which it grows somewhat resembles a lilac in size and shape.  The fruit
+is yellowish-red, and oblong in shape, and the seeds are enveloped in a
+mass of white pulp.  It is from the seeds that chocolate is prepared.
+The flowers and fruits grow directly out of the trunk and branches.
+Cacao--or, as we call it, cocoa--was used by the Mexicans before the
+arrival of the Spaniards.  It was called by them _chocolatt_, from
+whence we derive the name of the compound of which it is the chief
+ingredient--chocolate.  So highly was it esteemed, that Linnaeus thought
+it worthy of the name of _theobroma_--"food for gods."  The tree is
+raised from seed, and seldom rises higher than from twenty to thirty
+feet; the leaves are large, oblong, and pointed.  It is an evergreen,
+and bears fruits and blossoms all the year round.  The fruits are
+pointed oval pods, six inches long, and contain in five compartments
+from twenty-five to thirty seeds or kernels, enveloped in a white pithy
+pulp with a sweet taste.  These seeds when dried form the cocoa of
+commerce, from which the beverage is made and chocolate is manufactured.
+There are three harvests in the year, when the pods are pulled from the
+trees and gathered into baskets.  They are then thrown into pits and
+covered with sand, where they remain three or four days to get rid of,
+by fermentation, a strong bitter flavour they possess.  They are then
+carefully cleaned and dried in large flat trays in the sun.  After this
+they are packed in sacks for the market.  Our friend in the morning
+showed us some blossoms which had burst forth from the roots during the
+night, which happened to be somewhat damp and warm--an example of the
+expansive powers of vegetable life in that region.  An oil is extracted
+from another species of cacao, the nut of which is small and white.  It
+is called cacao-butter, and is used by the natives for burns and sores
+and cutaneous diseases.  A large quantity of cacao for the manufacture
+of chocolate is exported to Spain.  Among the trees were numbers of the
+broad-leaved plantain and banana, which had been planted to protect the
+young cacao trees from the heat of the sun.  The fruit of the banana,
+one of the most useful productions of the Tropics, is eaten raw,
+roasted, boiled, and fried.  It grows in large bunches, weighing from
+sixty to seventy pounds each.
+
+Continuing our voyage the next day, we passed amid groves of oranges and
+lemons, whose rich perfume was wafted across the water to us.  Here also
+the mango, bearing a golden fruit, spread around its splendid foliage;
+while, above all, the beautiful cocoanut palm lifted its superb head.
+Now and then we saw monkeys gambolling among the trees, as well as many
+birds of brilliant plumage.  Among others, a beautiful bird got up from
+a bed of reeds we were passing, spreading wide its wings and broad tail
+directly before us.  John shot it, and the small canoe we sent to pick
+it up.  It was about the size of a partridge, with a crane-like bill, a
+slender neck, and shorter legs than ordinary waders, though a wader it
+was.  The plumage was shaded curiously in bands and lines with brown,
+fawn-colour, red, grey, and black, which Ellen said reminded her of a
+superb moth she had seen.  It was the caurale, or sun-bird (_Scolopax
+Helios_), our books told us, found also in Demerara.  Less attractive in
+appearance were the gallinazos, or vultures, the scavengers of those
+regions; while frequently on the mud banks we caught sight of alligators
+basking in the hot sun, often fast asleep, with their mouths wide open.
+
+We reached Bodegas early in the day.  It is a large village, built on a
+flat.  In the rainy season it is so completely flooded that the people
+have to take refuge in the upper stories of their houses.  Thanks to our
+friend Don Jose, and the exertions of his chief attendant, Isoro, mules
+were quickly procured; and as the attractions of Bodegas were not great,
+we immediately set off towards the mountains.  John called Isoro Don
+Jose's henchman.  He was, like his master, of pure Indian blood, but of
+not so high a type.  Still, he was good-looking, active, and
+intelligent.  His dress differed only from that of Don Jose in being of
+coarser materials.  We were at once struck with the respect and devotion
+with which Isoro treated his master, and with the confidence Don Jose
+evidently reposed in him.  We had a journey before us of two hundred
+miles, which would occupy eight or ten days.  The first village we
+passed through was built high up off the ground on stilts, for in the
+rainy season the whole country is completely flooded.  After passing the
+green plain, we entered a dense forest.  Road, I should say, there was
+none.  Nothing, it seemed to me, could surpass the rich luxuriance of
+the vegetation.  On either side were numerous species of palms, their
+light and feathery foliage rising among the other trees; bananas, with
+their long, glossy, green leaves; and here and there groves of the
+slender and graceful bamboo, shooting upwards for many feet straight as
+arrows, their light leaves curling over towards their summits; while
+orchids of various sorts, many bearing rich-coloured flowers, entwined
+themselves like snakes round the trunks and branches.  Don Jose told us
+that in the rainy season this road is flooded, and that then the canoe
+takes the place of mules.
+
+We put up the first night at a _tambo_, or road-side inn, a bamboo hut
+of two stories, thatched with plantain leaves.  As the lower part was
+occupied by four-footed animals, we had to climb into the upper story by
+means of a couple of stout bamboos with notches cut in them.  We here
+hung up our hammocks, and screened off a part for Ellen and Maria.  Next
+day we began to ascend the mountains by the most rugged of paths.
+Sometimes we had to wind up the precipice on a narrow ledge, scarcely
+affording footing to the mules.  It was trying to the nerves, for while
+on one side rose a perpendicular wall of rock, on the other the
+precipice went sheer down for several hundred feet, with a roaring
+torrent at the bottom.  Wild rocks were before and above us, trees and
+shrubs, however, growing out of every crevice and on each spot where
+soil could rest, while behind spread out a wide extent of forest, amid
+which we could distinguish the river winding its way to the Pacific.
+Few birds or beasts were to be seen--the monkeys and parrots we had left
+below us; gallinazos, or black vultures, were, however, still met with,
+as they are everywhere throughout the continent, performing their
+graceful evolutions in the air, wheeling round and round without closing
+their wings, in large flocks, above the watery region we had left.  The
+black vulture (_Cathartes atratus_), which closely resembles the
+well-known turkey buzzard in habits and appearance, performs, like it,
+the duty of scavenger, and is protected therefore by the inhabitants of
+all parts of the country.  It may be distinguished from the latter by
+the form of the feathers on the neck, which descend from the back of the
+head towards the throat in a sloping direction; whereas the turkey
+buzzard has a frill of them completely round the throat.  The head and
+part of the neck of the black vulture are destitute of feathers, and are
+covered with a black wrinkled skin, on which a few hairs only grow.
+"See, what grand fellows are these!" exclaimed Arthur.  I gazed up.  On
+a rock close above us stood a couple of large birds, which were
+unmistakably vultures.
+
+"Dreadful-looking creatures," cried Ellen.  "They make me shudder.  They
+seem as if preparing to pounce down on some little innocent lambs to
+carry them off."
+
+"It would prefer a dead mule, I suspect," observed John.  "Like other
+vultures, it is not nice as to the nature of its food.  It is called the
+King of the Vultures (_Sarcoramphus papa_), properly so, for it is the
+strongest and bravest of the vulture tribe though inferior in size to
+the condor.  Observe its head and neck, brilliantly coloured with
+scarlet and yellow to make amends for the want of feathers.  On the
+crown of its head, too, is a rich scarlet patch.  Close to the eye there
+is a silvery blue mark, and above it part of the skin is blue and part
+scarlet.  The bill is orange and black, and those curious lumps or
+carbuncles on its forehead are rich orange.  At the lower part of the
+neck it wears a black ruff.  The wing feathers and tail are black, and
+the lower part of the body white, and the rest a fine grey satin
+colour."
+
+While John was speaking, the birds, spreading out their huge wings,
+glided off the rock, and then by an imperceptible movement of them
+soared upwards, and, hovering for a few seconds in the air, they darted
+downwards into the plain, and were lost to sight.
+
+"You need not be afraid of their attacking any living creature, Senora
+Ellen," observed Don Jose.  "They have no relish for meat till it has
+gained a higher flavour than we should like, and dead lizards and snakes
+are much to their taste.  Even those they discover, I believe, rather by
+sight than by scent."
+
+We had been proceeding along a somewhat broader part of the road than
+usual, though, as it was very steep, we climbed but slowly.  Now
+rounding a sharp point, we came to a spot which made me wonder if those
+ahead could possibly have got by; and I could not help gazing anxiously
+downwards, almost expecting to find that some one had fallen over the
+precipice.  Ellen kept up her courage admirably, and never hesitated to
+follow where others led.  I could not help asking once if she did not
+feel afraid.  "No," she answered.  "I always look upwards when I come to
+a difficult place, and so pass without alarm."  Ellen's plan is the
+right one, metaphorically speaking, to adopt in all the difficulties and
+trials of life: look upwards, and we shall be carried safely through
+them.  On we went till we found ourselves among a chaos of mountains,
+separated by ravines so deep that the eye could scarcely distinguish the
+rapid streams which found their way below.  On one side rose into the
+clear blue sky the majestic summit of Chimborazo, while other peaked and
+round-topped mountains reared their heads proudly around.  At length the
+summit of the sierra was reached, and our mules commenced a descent into
+the valley, drawing their legs together and sliding down with fearful
+velocity.  I had bean anxious before, I was doubly so now; but the
+animals with wonderful sagacity kept the centre of the path, and in time
+I lost all sensation of fear, and could admire the beautiful scenery.
+
+The tambos, or road-side inns, we stopped at were mostly huts of the
+rudest kind, with mud walls and floors, kept by Indians, and dirty in
+the extreme.  The entertainment provided for us was boiled chicken and
+potato-soup, called in the mountains _locro_.  Wooden spoons were served
+to enable us to ladle up the soup, but our fingers had to be used for
+the chicken, instead of knives and forks.
+
+We seldom had an opportunity while on mule-back of exchanging thoughts
+except at the top of our voices, as in most places we were compelled to
+travel in Indian file, one following the other.  We were once more
+ascending the steep side of the mountain, when, on rounding a point, we
+saw coming towards us a single traveller.  As he caught sight of us he
+stopped his mule, and made signs for us to come on toward the spot where
+the greater width of the road would allow us to pass him.  As we got up
+to him I saw that he was a negro, dressed in the usual poncho and
+broad-brimmed hat of the traveller in the Andes.  Don Jose, John, and
+Arthur had ridden by, when the stranger's eye fell on Maria.
+
+"It must be, after all!"  I heard him exclaim in Spanish.  "Maria! yes,
+it is you!  Si, _si_, and I rejoice greatly."
+
+"And you are Domingos; I am sure you are," exclaimed Maria.
+
+"Yes, that is true," answered the old man.  "I have come expressly to
+find you.  I have brought bad news; but it might be worse, so be not
+alarmed."
+
+"What is it?"  I asked eagerly.  "Are my father, or mother, or sister
+ill?"
+
+"No; they are all well," said Domingos; "but sad events have occurred at
+Quito.  There has been a great disturbance--a revolution--no new thing
+unhappily; and your father's house has been burned down, and they have
+had to fly, and try to escape from the country.  They are safe by this
+time, I hope.  I came on to conduct you to them.  I have been riding
+fast to try and meet you to prevent you taking the direct road to Quito.
+A body of troops are marching along the road, and if you were to fall
+into their hands you would be ill-treated.  We will descend some
+distance by the way you have come, and take shelter in yonder forest
+which clothes the side of the mountain.  We shall be safe there, and I
+doubt not obtain shelter in one of the huts of the chinchona gatherers."
+
+Domingos had given me this account in a few hurried words.  I instantly
+called to the rest of our party who were ahead, and we were all soon
+collected in a nook in the side of the mountain, where we held a
+consultation as to what should be done.  We quickly agreed to follow the
+advice of Domingos.  Don Jose was greatly agitated at hearing what had
+occurred.
+
+"They would treat me with but scant ceremony, were I to fall into their
+hands," he observed; "and I am afraid that you would suffer also were I
+to be found in your company.  However, we may easily escape in the
+forest should any search be made for us, and therefore let us lose no
+time in seeking its shelter."
+
+While he was speaking, I caught sight of some figures high up the
+mountain, at a point round which the path wound its way.  I pointed them
+out to Domingos.
+
+"They are the soldiers," he exclaimed; "I see the glitter of their arms!
+We have no time to lose.  Move on, my friends, move on!  If we were
+overtaken it would fare hard with us."
+
+Don Jose, who had also been looking towards the point, made us a sign to
+follow, and rapidly led the way down the side of the mountain, our
+native muleteers being evidently as anxious to avoid the soldiers as we
+were.  The Indians had, it appeared, taken an active part in the
+insurrection which had just broken out, and our guides knew, therefore,
+that, should they be caught, the party in power would very likely wreak
+their vengeance on their heads.
+
+We descended for a considerable distance along the path by which we had
+come.  Occasionally looking back, I caught sight of the troops as they
+wound their way in a thin column down the mountain.  We, however,
+appeared to be keeping well ahead of them; and I hoped that our small
+party might have escaped observation.  At length Don Jose stopped, and
+getting off his mule, surveyed the side of the hill which sloped away
+below us.  Coming back, he took the bridle of his mule, and made it leap
+off the path on one side on to what appeared a mere ledge of rock.
+"Come on," he shouted; "I will show you the way; but you must all
+dismount and follow the mules on foot."  We accordingly got off our
+animals, which were made to leap down to the ledge below us, and
+willingly followed the first mule, which Don Jose was leading.  John and
+I took charge of Ellen, while Domingos helped Maria along.  The path was
+very narrow and steep, but where the mules had gone we had little doubt
+that we could follow.  In a short time we found ourselves descending by
+a zig-zag path among trees which grew out of the side of the mountain,
+here and there huge blocks of rock projecting among them.  Thus we went
+on for a considerable distance.  Once when we stopped I looked upwards,
+and caught sight of the head of the column of troops just as they were
+reaching the very place we had left.  At length we reached the bottom of
+the valley, through which a stream went foaming and roaring downwards
+over a rocky bed.  The mountains rose up on either side, completely
+surrounding us.  "This stream will be a safe guide," observed Don Jose;
+"and if we proceed along its banks, we shall reach a spot where we can
+remain concealed even should a whole regiment come in search of us."  We
+proceeded on foot some distance, the active mules leaping from rock to
+rock, while we scrambled on after them.  Sometimes we could with
+difficulty get round the rugged points at the foot of which the stream
+forced its way, while the cliffs towered up high above our heads.  Here
+and there we caught sight of the snowy pinnacles of the mountains rising
+towards the sky.  At length we emerged into a more open valley, and were
+once more able to mount our mules.  We now entered the forest.  Don Jose
+led the way by a path which was scarcely perceptible.  I observed here
+and there notches on the barks of the trees, which I concluded served to
+guide him.  Through an opening in the trees I saw the sun setting
+towards the valley below us; and had I not possessed great confidence in
+our conductor, I should have been afraid that we were about to be
+benighted.  Directly afterwards we entered a thicker part of the forest.
+Often it was with difficulty we could see our way amid the dense
+foliage.  Don Jose, however, did not hesitate.  After proceeding for
+some distance, the sound of a woodman's axe reached our ears, and we saw
+through an opening ahead several persons engaged cutting away at the
+vines which had prevented the tall tree they had just hewn down from
+reaching the ground.  A little way beyond was a hut, and in its
+neighbourhood several persons were at work.  "These are my friends,"
+said Don Jose, "and they will willingly afford us shelter for the night,
+and protect us to the best of their power."
+
+While he was speaking, the man who appeared to be the director of the
+party came forward and greeted him.  A short conversation ensued.
+
+"We will remain here for to-night," said Don Jose, "but it may be more
+prudent to proceed further into the depths of the forest to-morrow.  It
+is possible that our enemies may discover the road we have taken and
+come here to search for us, and, besides the risk we ourselves should
+run, we should bring trouble on our friends."
+
+Riding up to the hut, our mules were unloaded, and our hammocks and the
+packages were taken inside.  It was a large shed, far better built than
+many of the tambos we had stopped at, with thick walls and roof to
+protect the bark from the effects of the weather.  It was already about
+half full of bundles of this valuable commodity.  Each bundle was
+tightly done up, and weighed as much as a man could carry up the steep
+mountain's side.
+
+We as usual set to work to form a separate chamber for Ellen and her
+attendant: this we did with bundles of the bark, leaving a door and
+window for ventilation.  Ellen thanked us for our trouble, saying that
+she had not had so comfortable a room since the commencement of our
+journey.  John, Arthur, and I slung our hammocks in the building, while
+the rest of the party were accommodated in the huts of the
+bark-gatherers.  A rough table was soon formed within the large shed,
+and benches were brought in, and a substantial repast made ready.  The
+chief dishes were the usual potato-soup and some roast meat.  We could
+not at first make out whether it was venison or mutton, but found on
+inquiry that it was the flesh of a vicuna, which had been shot by the
+sportsman of the party in the morning.  It is an animal resembling the
+llama, the well-known beast of burden of the ancient Peruvians.  Don
+Jose and his friend sat down to table with us, and Domingos waited.
+
+"But of what use is this bark!" asked Ellen, looking up at the huge
+bundles piled up on either side.  "Is it for tanning?"
+
+"Oh no," answered John.  "This is the celebrated Peruvian bark, to which
+the name of chinchona has been given.  It was bestowed on it in
+consequence of the wife of the Viceroy of Peru, the Countess of
+Chinchona, having been cured of a tertian ague in the year 1638.  The
+count and his wife, on returning to Spain, took with them a quantity of
+the healing bark; and they were thus the first persons to introduce this
+valuable medicine into Europe, where it was for some time known as the
+countess's bark or powder, and was named by the celebrated naturalist
+Linnaeus chinchona, in memory of the great service the countess had
+rendered to the human race.  The Jesuits were great promoters also of
+the introduction of the bark into Europe.  Some Jesuit missionaries in
+1670 sent parcels of the powder or bark to Rome, whence it was
+distributed throughout Europe by the Cardinal de Lugo, and used for the
+cure of agues with great success.  Hence, also, it was often called
+Jesuit's bark, and cardinal's bark."
+
+"Yes, I have heard of that," observed Don Jose, laughing; "and I am told
+that for some time it was in consequence opposed by the Protestants, and
+especially favoured by the Roman Catholics."
+
+"Yes," said John, "I believe that for a very long time a very strong
+prejudice existed against it; and even physicians opposed its use,
+considering it at best a dangerous medicine.  It is now, however,
+acknowledged to be a sovereign remedy for ague of all descriptions.  I
+believe the French astronomer De la Condamine, who went to Quito in the
+year 1735 to measure an arc of a degree, and thus to determine the shape
+of the earth, was the first person who sent home a full account of the
+tree."
+
+"We call it quinquina," (bark of barks), observed Don Jose.  "Some of
+its virtues, if not all, were known to the Peruvians long before they
+were discovered by Europeans."
+
+"Ah! that is the reason it is called quinine by the English," observed
+John.  "I did not before know the derivation of the word."
+
+"Since its use became general in Europe, the export trade of the
+quinquina has been very considerable," observed Don Jose.  "Forests
+containing groves of these trees are found in various regions throughout
+the northern parts of the Cordilleras.  My friend here has been engaged
+since his boyhood in collecting the bark, as was his father before him.
+When searching for new districts, it is the custom for the
+cascarilleros, or bark-collectors, to set forth in parties of a dozen or
+more men, with supplies of food and tools.  They make their way into the
+unknown forest, where they suppose, from its elevation above the sea and
+its general appearance, that the chinchona trees will be found.  They
+are always accompanied by an experienced searcher, called the
+_cateador_.  He climbs the highest tree in the neighbourhood, and
+searches about till he discovers the _manchas_, or clumps, of the
+chinchona trees by their dark colour, and the peculiar reflection of the
+light from their leaves, which can be distinguished even in the midst of
+a wide expanse of forest.  He then, descending, conducts the party
+through the tangled brushwood, often for hours together, marking his way
+with his wood-knife, till he reaches the clump.  Here they build rough
+huts, such as you see around us, and commence their work.  The first
+operation is to cut down a tree, when the bark is carefully stripped
+off, and kept as free as possible from dirt or moisture, as it easily
+becomes mouldy, and loses its colour.  It is important to cut the tree
+as close down to the ground as possible, in order that fresh shoots may
+grow up.  There are various species of the quinquina.  One is known by
+the name of grey bark, another as the red bark, which is considered the
+most valuable.  The bark which you see around you is of the latter
+species; and the men employed in collecting can each make from one to
+two dollars a day.  In the more distant forests, however, they have to
+undergo great danger in the work.  Sometimes they have been known to
+lose themselves in the forest and having exhausted their provisions,
+have died of hunger.  They are compelled also to carry the load of bark
+on their own backs, and occasionally a man breaks down under the weight
+and can proceed no further, when, if he is separated from his
+companions, he has little hope of escaping with life.  There are,
+besides the species I have mentioned, a vast number of chinchona, though
+the bark of some yields little or none of the valuable drug."
+
+As soon as supper was over we retired to our hammocks, that we might be
+prepared to set out at an early hour to a more secure spot in the
+forest.  John and I lay awake for some time, talking over our prospects.
+Of course we were very anxious about what might happen to our family;
+for though Domingos had evidently not wished to alarm us, we saw that he
+was uneasy about them.  We also could not shut our eyes to the
+difficulties and dangers we should have to undergo; not that we cared
+much about them on our own account, but on Ellen's.  Though she was a
+brave girl, we were afraid that she might suffer from the hardships she
+might have to endure in travelling over that mountain region.  What our
+father had done to draw upon himself the hostility of the Government
+party we could not tell.  He had, however, always shown an interest in
+the natives, and by his just and kind treatment of them had won their
+regard.  We concluded, therefore, that he was in some way supposed to be
+implicated in the outbreak which had lately taken place.  At length we
+dropped off to sleep.
+
+The rest of the night passed quietly away.  I awoke as the grey dawn was
+stealing into the hut, and at once turned out of my hammock.  I stood
+contemplating the wild scene for some minutes, admiring the size and
+variety of the trees which rose up in the forest before me.  Some had
+enormous buttress trunks, which sent down rope-like tendrils from their
+branches in every direction.  There was the gigantic balsam-tree, the
+india-rubber-tree, and many others.  Among them were numerous palms--one
+towering above the rest with its roots shooting out in every direction
+from eight feet above the ground, and another slender and beautiful; but
+the most remarkable of all was the _sayal_--so Don Jose called it--the
+monarch of the palms of these forests.  It had rather a short, thick
+stem, the inner fibres of its stalk being like black wool; but its
+remarkable feature was its enormous leaves, which grew erect from the
+stem for forty feet in length.  They must be the largest leaves, John
+and I agreed, in the whole vegetable kingdom.  There were many bright
+and scarlet flowers, and numberless beautiful orchids hanging from the
+branches of the trees.  Beyond the forest rose rugged cliffs, dark black
+rocks with lofty ranges of mountains towering above them.  I was soon
+joined by my companions, and in a little time Ellen and Maria came
+forth.  As it was almost dark when we reached the spot, we had formed no
+idea of the wonderful scenery surrounding us Domingos did not appear,
+and John inquired of Don Jose what had become of him.
+
+"He has gone to ascertain in what direction the troops have marched," he
+answered.  "We shall have to take our road accordingly.  Besides the
+high road, there is another by which I can lead you, but it is still
+more steep and difficult yet, as we shall thus avoid the risk of meeting
+with enemies, it may be the safest for us."
+
+A couple of hours passed away, during which we breakfasted on some
+delicious chocolate prepared by our host.  Still Domingos had not
+returned.  The mules, however, were got ready, that we might start,
+should it be necessary, immediately he appeared.
+
+"I trust the honest man has not been taken prisoner," observed Don Jose;
+"it might fare ill with him.  But I am sure he would endure any cruelty
+rather than betray us; and if he does not soon appear we will proceed on
+our journey, and my friend here will send a man to show him the road we
+have taken."
+
+An hour passed, and as Domingos did not return, we mounted our mules and
+proceeded through the forest.  Had we been on foot we might have
+followed some paths which the bark-collectors had cut; but many of them
+would only allow of a person proceeding in a stooping posture under the
+numberless creepers which were interwoven amid the branches of the
+trees.  We had therefore to make a considerable circuit.  At length we
+came to a less frequented part of the forest, and here we were compelled
+to use our knives and hatchets to clear away the art-work of creepers
+which impeded our progress.  We all dismounted, and led the mules
+through the path we had thus formed.  In several places we found, after
+an hour's toil, that we had not progressed more than half a mile.
+
+"We shall reach more open country by-and-by," said Don Jose, "so we need
+not despair."
+
+At length we came upon a small party of men engaged in stripping off the
+bark from a tree which they had lately cut down.  Don Jose spoke to
+them.  They saluted him with marks of respect, and one of them, throwing
+his arm over his shoulder, led us through the forest to a small hut
+concealed by the surrounding trees.  Its interior was not very tempting,
+but it would afford us shelter from the night air should we be detained
+there.  It was destitute of furniture, with the exception of several
+hammocks hung up at one end, and a few pots and other cooking apparatus
+in the corner.  Our attendants, however, at once began to sweep it out,
+while Ellen and Maria sat down on a log outside.
+
+"The night is likely to be fine, and our friends will gladly give you up
+their hut," said Don Jose.
+
+"We will wait here till Domingos appears.  I have made arrangements that
+we should have ample notice should any enemies come in pursuit of us.
+We are surrounded by friends, and I have no doubt we shall be able to
+escape."
+
+Don Jose had secured a fresh supply of food, so that in a short time an
+ample meal was spread on the ground, round which we collected in picnic
+fashion.  We had just concluded it when we heard footsteps approaching.
+As we looked out, Domingos appeared before us.  His countenance
+exhibited anxiety, and taking Don Jose aside, he conversed with him for
+some minutes.
+
+"We must proceed at early dawn by the road I have mentioned to you,"
+said our friend, returning to us.  "Domingos has had a narrow escape of
+being made prisoner.  He tells me that the soldiers are pursuing the
+patriots and natives in every direction, and treating them with the
+greatest cruelty, shooting and hanging them whenever they are found.
+Although they would not venture probably to ill-treat you, you might be
+subjected to great inconvenience, and certainly detained and prevented
+from reaching your parents.  However, I trust that we shall be able to
+avoid them, and to reach the eastern slopes of the Andes without
+interruption.  Your father has ever proved my firmest friend, and I
+rejoice therefore to have the opportunity of showing my gratitude by
+being of service to his children.  We shall be able to remain here
+during the night, and will recommence our journey by dawn, so as to
+reach the most difficult pass by mid-day, and I trust before evening to
+have gained a place of safety."
+
+"You will do well, my dear masters, to trust our friend thoroughly,"
+said Domingos to John and me, while Don Jose was at a little distance.
+"I know your father has a great regard for him, and whatever he promises
+he can perform.  You are indeed fortunate in meeting with him.  He is a
+cacique, whose fathers once had great power in the country; and though
+deprived of his lands, he is still looked up to with respect by the
+natives in all parts of the country."
+
+"Then how comes he to be called Don Jose?"  I asked.
+
+"That is the name by which he is known to the whites, and it is the
+safest by which to speak of him," answered Domingos.  "I know not if I
+ought to tell his real name; but you will be cautious, or he might be
+displeased with me."
+
+"Yes; do tell me," I said; "I am curious to know more about him."
+
+Domingos looked around.  The person we were speaking of was still out of
+hearing.
+
+"I will tell you, then," he replied.  "His real name is Pumacagua.  His
+father, who headed the last attempt of the Indians to gain their liberty
+before the revolution, when numerous tribes gathered to his standard,
+was defeated, made prisoner, and shot.  Young Jose, our friend, after
+fighting bravely, escaped, and though sought for, was not discovered.
+Your father had concealed him at great hazard, and afforded him shelter
+till better times came round.  He and I were the only persons in the
+secret.  Jose Pumacagua has, therefore, reason to be grateful to your
+father, besides being connected with him by the ties of blood."
+
+Just then Don Jose, as I will still call him, came up, and we were
+unable to ask further questions of Domingos.  Ellen was much interested
+when we afterwards narrated to her what we had heard, and said that she
+should try and get Don Jose to tell us his adventures, as she was sure
+they must be very curious.
+
+We were soon left quite alone; for the cascarilleros, having loaded
+themselves with the result of their labour, took their way through the
+forest.  Our friend told us that they were carrying the bark to a
+village out of the forest, where it would be free from damp, and be
+exposed to the drying influence of the sun.  When thoroughly dried it
+would be conveyed to the town of Guaranda, and then sent down by mules
+to Guayaquil.  I should have mentioned that the chinchona trees
+surrounding us were very beautiful and graceful.  They had large, broad,
+oval, deep green, shining leaves, with white and fragrant flowers, and
+the bark was of a red colour.  The trees varied in height from forty to
+sixty feet.  There were other trees in the neighbourhood which looked
+very like them, but Don Jose showed us the difference.  The nature of
+the bark is known by its splintery, fibrous, or corky texture.  The true
+bark is of the former character.
+
+Having cleaned out the hut, we made our usual arrangements for passing
+the night.  Don Jose and Domingos, I saw, were somewhat uneasy, and two
+of the men were sent out as scouts to watch the path by which we had
+reached the hut.
+
+"It is well to take precautions against surprise," observed our friend.
+"However, our enemies, if they do follow us, will not travel during the
+night, so that we shall be able, by moving early, to have a good start
+of them."
+
+At length, two hours after sunset, the Indians returned, reporting that
+they had seen no one.  I was awaked by hearing Don Jose's voice--"Up,
+friends, up!  We will be on the road, and not breakfast till we reach a
+spot where no foe is likely to follow us."  He held a torch in his hand,
+by the light of which we got ready to mount.  The Indians had meantime
+saddled the mules, which were brought round to the door of the hut.
+"Follow my example," he said, producing from a bag which he carried
+slung over his shoulder, under his poncho, some dried leaves.  "This
+will enable you to travel on for many hours without hunger, and assist
+in preventing the damp air of the forest from having any ill effect."
+Sitting down on the trunk of a felled tree, he placed the bag before
+him, and put leaf after leaf into his mouth, till he had formed a small
+ball.  He then took out from the bag a little cake, which I have since
+found was composed of carbonate of potash, prepared by burning the stalk
+of the quinoa plant, and mixing the ashes with lime and water.  The
+cakes thus formed are called _llipta_.  The coca-bag, which he called
+his _chuspa_, was made of llama cloth, dyed red and blue in patterns,
+with woollen tassels hanging from it.  His attendants followed their
+master's example, as did John, Arthur, and I.  Domingos, however,
+declined doing so, and speedily prepared some chocolate for Ellen,
+Maria, and himself.  A little time was thus occupied, and mounting, we
+turned our mules' heads towards the east, just as the grey light of dawn
+appeared above the mountain-tops, the stars still shining with a calm
+light out of the deep blue sky above our heads, not glittering and
+twinkling as in northern climes.  We were thus initiated by our friend
+in the use of the far-famed coca.
+
+"How do you like it?" he asked.
+
+"I find the smell of the leaf agreeable and aromatic, and now I am
+chewing it, it appears to give out a grateful fragrance," I answered.
+It caused, I found, a slight irritation, which somewhat excited the
+saliva.
+
+"Ah! you will be enabled to go on if you wish till noon without eating,
+and then with a fresh supply continue on with active exercise till
+nightfall," he observed.  "It is with this wonderful leaf that the
+running chasquis or messengers have from time immemorial been able to
+take their long journeys over the mountains and deserts.  It must not be
+used to excess, or it might prove prejudicial to the health, yet in
+moderation it is both soothing and invigorating.  It will prevent any
+difficulty of respiration also as you ascend the steep mountain-sides."
+
+The coca-plant grows, I should say, at an elevation of about 6000 feet
+above the level of the sea.  It is a shrub from four to six feet high,
+the branches straight and alternate, and the leaves, in form and size,
+like tea-leaves.  They are gathered three times a year.  They are then
+spread out in a drying-yard and carefully dried in the sun.  The dried
+leaf is called coca.  They are afterwards packed in sacks made of banana
+leaves.  It is most important to keep them dry, as they otherwise
+quickly spoil.
+
+Daylight at length enabled us to see our way along one of the wildest
+and most rugged paths on which I should think it is possible for animals
+to proceed.  Up, up we went, with a roaring torrent on one side, and a
+glorious view beyond of mountain above mountain, some snow-covered,
+others running up into sharp peaks--others, again, considerably lower,
+clothed even to their summits with graceful palms, whose feathery tops
+stood out against the sky.  Sometimes we had to cross narrow chasms on
+the fallen stems of trees; now we arrived at a wide one, to be crossed
+by means of a suspension bridge, which swung frightfully from side to
+side.  It made me giddy as I watched those who first passed along it.
+It was composed of the tough fibres of the maguey, a sort of osier of
+great tenacity and strength, woven into cables.  Several of these cables
+forming the roadway were stretched over buttresses of stone on either
+side of the bank, and secured to stout timbers driven into the ground
+beyond them.  The roadway was covered with planks, and on either side
+was a railing of the same sort of rope as the rest of the bridge.  Light
+as it appeared, the mules one by one were led over.  We followed, not
+venturing to look down into the foaming torrent, rushing impetuously
+along a hundred feet or more below us.  Soon after this a ladder of
+rocks appeared in front of us.  We were here compelled to dismount, Don
+Jose and John helping up Ellen, Domingos assisting Maria, Arthur and I
+scrambling up by ourselves while the Indians, waiting till we had
+reached the summit, remained behind to drive on the mules.  Every
+instant I expected to see one of them roll over; but they climbed up
+more like monkeys than quadrupeds, and at length joined us on a small
+level spot at the summit.
+
+"A dozen bold men might hold this pass against a thousand enemies,"
+observed our friend.  "Few but our people know it, though.  We will
+proceed yet higher, and cross the most elevated pass before we stop for
+breakfast, if your sister can endure hunger so long."
+
+"Oh yes, yes!" exclaimed Ellen.  "I would not have you delay on my
+account.  The chocolate I took prevents me feeling any hunger, even
+though this pure air is calculated to give an appetite."
+
+On and on we went, at as rapid a rate as our mules could move, upwards
+and upwards, the scenery if possible growing wilder and wilder at every
+step.  Huge masses of rock rose above our heads, with snow-topped
+pinnacles peeping out at each break between them.  We had gone on some
+way further, when at a short distance on our left I saw perched on the
+top of a rock a huge bird, its head bent forward as if about to pounce
+down upon us.  Presently we saw its wings expand.  It was of great size,
+with huge claws, a pointed, powerful beak, a neck destitute of feathers,
+and a huge comb on its forehead.  The feathers were of a glossy black
+hue, with a white ruff at the base of the neck.
+
+"Do you think he will attack us?"  I said to Don Jose.
+
+He laughed.  "No; he is a coward!  We can easily drive him off if he
+make the attempt."
+
+He shouted loudly.  At that instant the condor, for such was the bird
+near us, spreading out its huge wings, slowly glided into the air.  At
+first the weight of its body seemed to keep it down, but gradually it
+rose, mounting higher and higher, until it appeared like a mere speck in
+the blue sky.
+
+"He has gone off to the distant ocean," observed our companion; "or to
+seek for prey among the flocks on the plains below.  He will not return
+till evening, when probably we shall see him, or some of his brothers,
+flying over our heads, and pitching on the lofty peaks amid which they
+dwell."
+
+The highest point of the pass was at length reached.  We all felt a
+difficulty in breathing, and even our hardy mules stood still and gasped
+for breath.  We let them proceed slowly, while we had time to admire the
+magnificent spectacle which the mountain scenery afforded.  Around us on
+every side rose up lofty peaks and rugged heights, prominent among which
+appeared the snow-capped, truncated peak of Cotopaxi, looking like a
+vast sugar-loaf.  The rocks, too--huge masses of porphyry--were broken
+into all sorts of shapes, and were of every variety of colour, from dark
+brown to the brightest lilac, green, purple, and red, and others of a
+clear white, producing a very curious and beautiful effect, and at the
+same time showing us to what violent throes and upheavings that region
+has been subjected.  Below our feet was spread out that gloomy plain
+which has been so frequently devastated by the lava and ashes which the
+mountain has cast forth.
+
+Descending, we reached a sheltered spot, where grass was found for our
+tired mules.  Our saddle-bags were unpacked, the fires lighted, and in a
+short time cups of boiling chocolate and a steaming stew, previously
+cooked, were arranged for us on the grass.
+
+While wandering a little way from our temporary camp, I saw some large
+pale yellow flowers growing on a low shrub.  Presently several small
+beautiful birds appeared hovering above them, in no way daunted by my
+presence.  As they dipped their long bills into the flowers, I could
+observe their plumage, and was convinced, though found at so great an
+elevation, that they were humming-birds.  After watching them for some
+time, I called Ellen and Arthur to look at them.
+
+"Ah, yes, they are worthy of admiration," exclaimed our Inca friend.
+"The bird is the Chimborazian hill-star humming-bird.  It is found
+16,000 feet above the ocean, close to the region of snow, and seldom at
+a less elevation than 12,000 feet."
+
+The head and throat of the little creature which had excited our
+admiration shone with the most brilliant tints, though the rest of the
+body was of a more sombre hue.  The upper parts of the body were of a
+pale, dusky green, except the wings, which were of the purple-brown tint
+common to humming-birds in general.  The head and throat were of the
+most resplendent hue, with an emerald green triangular patch on the
+throat, while a broad collar of velvety black divided the brilliant
+colours of the head from the sober ones of the body.  The hen bird,
+which was mostly of a sombre olive-green, was flying about under the
+bushes, and almost escaped our notice.
+
+Don Jose told us that a similar bird inhabits the sides of Pichincha,
+with different marks on its neck, and that neither at any time visits
+the other, each keeping to its own mountain, on which they find the
+food, flowers, and insects best suited to their respective tastes.  It
+would have been barbarous to have shot the beautiful little birds; but
+even had we wished it, it would have been difficult to do so.  So rapid
+was their flight, that it was only when they were hovering over a flower
+that we could have taken aim.  Ellen wanted to have one caught to keep
+as a pet; but Don Jose assured her that it would not live in the low
+region of the Amazon, but that we should there find many still more
+beautiful species of the same family, some of which she might very
+likely be able to tame.  After watching the birds for some time, we
+returned to the camp.
+
+Domingos was the first to mount his mule, riding on ahead, that he might
+ascertain if the road was clear, while he promised to return and give us
+notice should any enemies appear, that we might have time to conceal
+ourselves.  This we hoped to be able to do among the wild rocks which
+rose up in every direction.  We rode on, however, without interruption
+for the remainder of the day, and stopped towards evening at a small mud
+hut, inhabited by a Quichua family, who willingly agreed with Don Jose
+to conceal and protect us with their lives.  In the morning we proceeded
+in the same way as on the previous day.  Thus for several days we
+travelled on, resting during the night at rude tambos, the inhabitants
+of which, directly Don Jose spoke to them, willingly undertook to give
+us accommodation.  The weather was fine, the air pure, bracing, and
+exhilarating; and in spite of the fatigue we underwent, none of us
+suffered.  Ellen and Maria bore the journey wonderfully.  Although we
+were making our way towards the east, frequently we found ourselves
+riding round a mountain with our backs to the rising sun.  Now we were
+ascending by the side of steep precipices, and now again descending into
+deep ravines.  At length Don Jose gave us the satisfactory intelligence
+that we had left Quito behind us to the north-west, and that we might
+hope to escape falling in with hostile forces.  "Still," he said
+privately to John and me, "I cannot promise that we are altogether safe.
+We must use great caution, and avoid as much as possible the beaten
+tracks.  Parties may have been sent out to the east in search of
+fugitives; but we will hope for the best."
+
+As we were ascending a mountain-side, we saw before us, winding
+downwards, a long line of animals.  A couple of Indians walked at the
+head of the troop, while several other men came at intervals among them.
+Each animal carried a small pack on its back; and we soon knew them to
+be llamas, as they advanced carrying their long necks upright, with
+their large and brilliant eyes, their thick lips, and long and movable
+ears.  They were of a brown colour, with the under parts whitish.
+
+As we approached, in spite of the efforts of their conductors, they
+scattered away up and down the mountains, leaving the path open to us.
+The Indians, however, made no complaint; but as we gained a height above
+them, we saw them exerting themselves to re-collect their scattered
+cavalcade.  They were going, Don Jose told us, to the coast, to bring
+back salt--an article without which human beings can but ill support
+life in any part of the world.
+
+We soon after found ourselves travelling on a wide, lofty plain, bounded
+by still higher peaks.  In several directions we saw herds of llamas, as
+also a smaller animal of the same species--the alpaca.  It somewhat
+resembles the sheep, but its neck is longer, and its head more
+gracefully formed.  The wool appeared very long, soft, fine, and of a
+silky lustre.  Some of those we saw were quite white, others black, and
+others again variegated.  There were vast herds of them, tended by
+Indians, as sheep are by their shepherds in other parts of the world.
+
+The following day, descending from the plain and passing through a deep
+valley, we caught sight of a herd of similar creatures, which Don Jose
+told us were vicunas.  Their shape appeared slighter and more elegant
+than that of the alpaca, with a longer and more graceful neck.  The
+colour of the upper part of the body was a reddish yellow, while the
+under side was of a light ochre.  A peculiar shrill cry reached our ears
+as we approached, and the whole herd turned, advancing a few paces, and
+then suddenly wheeling round, off they went at a rapid rate.  Don Jose
+told us that they are hunted with the bolas, as cattle are in the
+plains.  There is another animal, the huanacu, which is larger than the
+llama, but resembles it greatly.  It is considered by some naturalists
+to be a wild species of the llama.  Huanacus live in small troops.
+Their disposition is very different from that of the llama.  Though
+easily tamed when caught young, they can seldom be trained to carry
+burdens.
+
+John reminded me of an account he had read of the llama, which is
+likened to the dromedary of the desert, the services it is called upon
+to perform being similar.  Though it has not the ugly hump of the
+dromedary, it possesses the same callosities on the breast and knees;
+its hoof is divided in the same manner, and is of the same formation.
+Its internal construction, which enables it to go for a long time
+without drinking, is also similar.  It will carry about one hundred
+pounds, and proceed at the rate of twelve or fourteen miles a day.  When
+overloaded, however, it lies down, and nothing will induce it to rise
+till it has been relieved of part of its cargo.
+
+Llamas were the only beasts of burden employed by the ancient Peruvians.
+Mules and horses were introduced by the Spaniards, and have now in many
+places superseded the llamas, as mules will carry a much greater weight,
+and are far more enduring and patient animals.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER FOUR.
+
+ADVENTURES AMONG THE MOUNTAINS.
+
+We had been travelling on for many days, yet had made but slow progress.
+This was not surprising, considering that we had to climb up steep
+mountains and to descend again into deep valleys, to cross rapid streams
+and wade through morasses, again to mount upwards and wind round and
+round numberless rugged heights, with perpendicular precipices, now on
+one side, now on the other, and gulfs below so profound that often our
+eyes, when we unwisely made the attempt, could scarcely fathom them.
+Still almost interminable ranges of mountains appeared to the east.  As
+we looked back, we could see the lofty heights of Pichincha, Corazon,
+Ruminagui, Cotopaxi, Antisana, and many others.
+
+We had a mountain before us.  Our patient mules slowly climbed up it.
+The summit reached, the ridge was so narrow that parts of the same rocks
+might have been hurled, the one down into the valley towards the setting
+sun, the other in the direction of the Atlantic.  We there stood fifteen
+thousand feet at least above the ocean, our animals panting with the
+exertion, and we ourselves, though inured to the air of the mountains,
+breathing with difficulty.  Still before us there was a scene of wild
+grandeur,--mountain rising beyond mountain, with deep valleys
+intervening, their bottoms and sides clothed with a dense unbroken mass
+of foliage.
+
+"I fear beyond this we shall find no pathway for our mules," observed
+Don Jose, as we were descending the height; "but we will endeavour to
+procure bearers for the luggage, and will, in the meantime, encamp in
+some sheltered spot, and try and ascertain in which direction my friend,
+your father, and his party have gone."
+
+We were nearly an hour descending, our mules carefully picking their way
+among the rocks and lofty trees, and along the edges of yawning chasms,
+which threatened to swallow us up.  Sometimes we passed through wooded
+regions, where the giant trees, falling from age, remained suspended in
+the network of sipos or wild vines, which hung from the branches of
+their neighbours.  Now we had to make our way round the trunks, now to
+pass beneath them.  As I looked up, I could not help dreading that the
+cordage which held them might give way, and allow them to fall at that
+instant and crush us.  At last we reached a level spot or terrace on the
+mountain-side, but still the bottom of the valley seemed far down below
+us.
+
+"We will encamp here," said our friend, "and remain till we can
+ascertain the direction we must pursue to come up with our friends.  We
+are here above the damp and close air of the valley.  From yonder
+torrent we can obtain the water we require," (he pointed to a cascade
+which came rushing and foaming down, at a little distance, through a
+cleft in the mountain), "while the forest around will afford an ample
+supply of provision.  We are at such a distance from the usual track,
+that we shall not, I hope, be discovered, should any of our enemies
+venture in this direction."
+
+John at once agreed to our friend's proposal.
+
+"Our mules," continued Don Jose, "are of no further use, for it would be
+almost impossible for them to make their way amid the tangled forest
+through which we must pass.  We will therefore send them back to a
+solitary rancho or farm, the proprietor of which is my friend, where
+they will remain in safety till better times, when they can be forwarded
+to their owners."
+
+This plan being agreed on, the animals were unloaded, and our native
+attendants set to work to build huts, which might afford us sufficient
+shelter for the night.  We all helped; but we found that they were so
+much more expert, that they had erected three huts while we had not
+finished one.  Long stakes were first cut down.  Two of them were driven
+into the ground and joined at their top, and about twelve feet beyond
+them, other two were driven in, and connected by a long pole.  Against
+this a number of stakes were arranged to serve as rafters.  Meantime a
+quantity of large palm-leaves had been procured, which were attached to
+the rafters by thin sipos or vines, beginning at the bottom, so that
+they overlapped each other in the fashion of tiles.  They were so neatly
+and securely fastened, that it was evident the heaviest shower would not
+penetrate them.  In a short time we had seven or eight of these huts up,
+sufficient to accommodate the whole of the party.  The natives then
+descending into the forest, brought back a quantity of wood, which they
+had cut from a tree which they called _sindicaspi_, which means the
+"wood that burns."  We found it answer its character; for though it was
+perfectly green, and just brought out of the damp forest, no sooner was
+fire put to it than it blazed up as if it had been long dried in the
+sun.
+
+We were still at a considerable elevation, where there was but little of
+animal life.  Even here, however, beautiful humming-birds flew among the
+bushes.  They seemed very like the hill-stars we had seen at
+Chimborazo--wonderful little feathered gems; but they flew so rapidly
+about that it was difficult to distinguish their appearance.  Now a
+gleam of one bright colour caught the eye, now another.  Now, as they
+passed, all their hues were blended into one.
+
+"I should so like to have some of those beautiful little creatures as
+pets," said Ellen.  "I wonder if they could be tamed!"
+
+"No doubt about it," said Don Jose.  "The difficulty is to catch them
+first.  But, small as they are, they are in no degree timid; and if you
+could take some of them young, you would find that they would willingly
+feed off your hand; but, bold and brave, they love freedom, and will not
+consent to live in captivity.  Perhaps Isoro may catch some for you.  He
+knows all the birds and beasts of this region, and trees and herbs, as,
+at one time, did all the people of our race.  The study of God's works
+is a truly noble one, and such the enlightened Incas considered it; and
+therefore it was the especial study of young chiefs in bygone days.
+But, alas! in these times of our degeneracy, in that, as in many other
+points, we are grievously deficient compared to our ancestors."
+
+"Oh, thank you," said Ellen.  "I shall indeed be obliged to Isoro if he
+can show me how to tame some of these beautiful little birds."
+
+"I would rather have one of those fellows I see perched on yonder
+pinnacle," observed Arthur, pointing to a rock at some distance, whence
+a huge condor, with outspread wings, was about to take flight.  "What a
+grand thing it would be to get on his back, and make him fly with one
+over the mountain-tops.  He looks big and strong enough to do it."
+
+"I am afraid that, with all his strength, he would find it a hard matter
+to lift a heavy youth like you from the ground," observed Don Jose.
+"Yet even a condor can be tamed, and if he is well fed, becomes
+satisfied with his lot.  Large as he is, he is a mean creature, and a
+coward."
+
+While Don Jose was speaking, the condor came flying by.  Not a movement
+of his wings was perceptible.  We hallooed and clapped our hands.
+
+"He seems not to hear our voices," I observed.
+
+"He is too far off for that," said our companion.  "Though we see him
+clearly, he is at a greater distance than you suppose.  In this pure
+atmosphere, objects appear much nearer than they really are; indeed,
+even with long practice, it is difficult to ascertain distances by the
+eye alone.  See there, on yonder slope!  It would take an active man an
+hour or more to reach the height over which these vicunas are bounding,
+and yet they seem almost within reach of our rifles."
+
+He pointed to a shoulder of the mountain which projected some distance
+into the valley, over which several animals were making their way,
+scrambling up rocks which I should have thought the most agile deer
+could scarcely have attempted to scale.
+
+Isoro had received a hint from his master; and after being absent from
+the camp for some time, returned with a beautiful little live bird,
+which he presented, greatly to her delight, to Ellen.  Though its
+bright, sharp specks of eyes were glancing about in every direction, it
+remained quietly in her hand, without attempting to escape.  The greater
+portion of its body was light green, bronzed on the side of the neck and
+face, and the lower part of the back was of a deep crimson red.  The
+wings were purple-brown, and the throat metallic green; but the tail was
+its most remarkable feature.  That was very long, brown at the base, and
+the greater part of its length of the brightest fiery red, tipped with a
+velvety black band.
+
+"Why, its tail is a perfect comet," exclaimed Ellen, who had been for
+some time admiring it.
+
+She had given it the name by which it is chiefly known--the Sappho
+comet, or bar-tailed humming-bird.  It is a migratory bird, seldom,
+however, found so far north.  It is a native of Bolivia, where it is
+found in gardens, and near the abodes of men, of whom it seems to have
+no fear.  In the winter it flies off to the warm regions of eastern
+Peru, so Isoro told us.
+
+"I am afraid that it will not live in captivity," he remarked.  "Shall I
+kill it for you, senora?"
+
+"Oh no! no!" exclaimed Ellen.  "On no account.  If I cannot make a pet
+of it, I would not keep it even as an unwilling captive.  Pray, let it
+go at once."
+
+Isoro let the bird perch on his finger.  It looked about for an instant,
+and then expanding its glossy wings, off it flew, its long tail gleaming
+like a flash of lightning in the air, and was in an instant lost to
+sight.  Isoro had, I believe, caught the little creature by the bill,
+with a sort of bird-lime, placed in the lower part of a flower, where it
+was held captive long enough to enable him to seize it.
+
+We did not fail to keep up a large fire in the centre of our camp during
+the night, lest any prowling puma might venture to pay us a visit.  The
+warmth, also, which it afforded in that keen mountain air was grateful.
+
+After Ellen and Maria had retired to their hut, which had been made as
+comfortable for them as circumstances would allow, we sat up discussing
+our plans.  I found that Don Jose and John had become anxious at not
+finding our father.  Our friend had sent out several Indians in
+different directions to search for him, with orders to come back to the
+spot where we were now encamped.  I was surprised to find the influence
+he possessed among all the natives we had met.
+
+As soon as we had encamped, Isoro and two other Indians set off to
+forage in the neighbourhood, as well as to obtain information.  They
+came back late in the evening, driving before them three hogs, which
+they had purchased at a native hut some distance off.  A pen was soon
+built, in which to confine the animals: one of them was destined to be
+turned into pork the following morning.  The mules had already been sent
+away, and True and the pigs were the only four-footed animals in the
+camp.
+
+Our whole party had been for some time asleep, when I was aroused by a
+horrible squeaking, followed by a loud bark from True, who was sleeping
+under my hammock.  The squeaks and a few spasmodic grunts which
+succeeded them soon ceased.  The voices of my companions outside the hut
+showed me that they were on the alert; and knowing that True would
+attack our visitor, whether puma or jaguar, I tied him to one of the
+posts of the hut before I went out--a proceeding of which he did not at
+all approve.
+
+"Cuguacuara! cuguacuara!"  I heard the Indians exclaiming.
+
+"A puma has carried off one of the hogs," said John, who appeared with
+his gun ready for action.
+
+"Where has it gone?"  I asked.
+
+"That is what we are going to ascertain," he answered.
+
+We set out with Don Jose, Isoro, and several of the Indians, the latter
+armed only with their spears.  There was a bright moon, so we had no
+great difficulty in seeing our way, though in that region of precipices
+it was necessary to be cautious.  Isoro and the Indians led the way,
+tracing the puma by the blood which their keen sight discovered on the
+ground.  We had not gone far when they stopped and signified that the
+beast was near.  Turning a point of rock, we saw before us, in a hollow
+on the side of the mountain--a shallow cavern overgrown with shrubs,
+into which the moon shone brightly--not only one, but two huge pumas,
+the nearest with its paws on the hog it had just stolen.  We had formed
+our camp close to their lair.  The savage brutes, thus brought to bay,
+and unable to escape, snarled fiercely at us.  No animal is more hated
+by the Indians than the puma, on account of the depredations it commits
+on their flocks and herds.  They had little chance, therefore, of being
+allowed to escape.  I expected, moreover, at any moment to see them
+spring at us.
+
+"Do you take the nearest," said Don Jose, calmly, to John; "I will take
+the other.  Reserve your fire, Harry, in case one of them should
+spring."
+
+He and John fired.  The nearest puma gave a tremendous spring forward.
+I had my weapon ready, and drew the trigger.  The bullet struck him,
+and, first rising in the air, he fell backwards, and lay without moving.
+The Indians rushed forward, and, with shouts of triumph, soon knocked
+out any sparks of life which remained in the animals.  They then,
+fastening some sipos round the bodies, dragged them and the hog to the
+camp.
+
+I had just time to measure one of them, before they were skinned and cut
+up.  It had a body four feet in length; and a tail two and a half feet
+long, black at the tip, but without the characteristic tuft of the lion.
+Its limbs were very thick and muscular, to enable it to climb trees and
+spring a great distance.  Its coat was of a light tawny tint, and of a
+greyish-white below.
+
+The Indians, delighted with their prize, sat up the rest of the night
+cooking and eating the flesh, and telling anecdotes about the creatures.
+The puma (_Leopardus concolor_) will seldom face a man when encountered
+boldly.  It attacks his flocks, however; and hunts deer, vicunas,
+llamas, and, indeed, all animals it meets with except its rival, the
+jaguar.  It takes post on the branch of a tree, pressing itself so
+closely along it as scarcely to be distinguished; and from thence
+springs down on a passing deer or other animal, seizing it by the head,
+which it draws back till the neck is broken.  I shall have by-and-by to
+recount another adventure with pumas of a far more terrific character;
+so will say no more about them at present, except that we found the
+flesh very white, and much like veal.
+
+We spent three days at the encampment.  At length one evening Don Jose
+declared his intention of setting forth himself with Isoro.  I begged
+that I might accompany him, and John also seemed anxious to go.
+
+"No, Senor John," said our friend; "it is your duty to remain and take
+care of your young sister.  But I will consent to take Harry with me,
+and we will set forth to-morrow morning by daybreak.  John, Arthur, and
+your servants will be sufficient to guard the camp; but do not move out
+beyond the point which intervenes between this and the pass, lest you
+may be perceived by any enemy travelling on it.  And let me advise you
+also to be cautious how you receive any stranger who may perchance find
+his way here.  At night be careful to keep a fire burning, and to set a
+watch.  If you strictly follow my injunctions, I shall have no fear.  I
+need not remind you of your young sister, whom it is your duty to watch
+over; and the consequences to her, as indeed to us all, would be sad
+through any carelessness."
+
+John, though evidently disappointed, promised to follow our friend's
+advice.  Next morning, even before the sun had risen above the tops of
+the eastern mountains, while the valley was concealed by a dense mist,
+which looked as if a sheet had been drawn across it, we were on foot,
+and had finished breakfast.  Don Jose, Isoro, and I were each provided
+with long, stout staves.  Our rifles were slung at our backs; wallets
+containing our provisions were hung over our shoulders; and our feet
+were shod with alpargates, which are sandals made of aloe fibres.  They
+are invariably worn by the natives, as any ordinary boots would
+immediately be cut to pieces by the rocky ground.  These, indeed, did
+not last more than three or four days.  We had supplied ourselves,
+however, with a considerable number at one of the last places at which
+we had stopped, as well as with axes and wood-knives, and several other
+articles which we should require in our journey through the forest.  We
+had obtained also two bales of cloth, some clasp-knives, glass beads,
+and trinkets, with which to pay the Indians for the services we might
+require of them.
+
+Ellen came out of her hut just as we were ready to start.  She seemed
+very anxious when she heard that I was to be one of the party.  Don
+Jose, however, assured her that he would run into no unnecessary danger,
+and that our journey was absolutely necessary to ascertain whether our
+father had passed by that way, or was still in the mountains behind us.
+"I, too, am well acquainted with the country," he added; "and even
+should any of our enemies come in this direction, I shall easily be able
+to elude them."
+
+I wished to take True with me; but Don Jose said that he would be of
+more use at the camp,--that he might possibly betray us where we were
+going, and insisted on his being left behind.  Poor fellow, he gazed
+inquiringly into my face when I tied him up, to know why he was thus
+treated, and seemed to say, I thought, "You know I shall watch over you
+better than any one else, and you may be sorry you left me behind."  Our
+friend was, however, so peremptory in the matter, that I was compelled
+to yield to his wishes.
+
+Bidding farewell to our friends, we took our way for some little
+distance along the path we had come, and then, turning off, proceeded
+northward, by which we should intersect, Don Jose said, another passage
+across the mountains.  Had I not been in active exercise every day for
+so long, I should have found great difficulty in scaling those mountain
+heights; but my nerves were firm, and from so frequently looking down
+precipices, I no longer felt any dizziness, even when standing on the
+edge of the deepest.
+
+We travelled on for several days--sometimes through forests, at others
+along the bare mountain-sides, above the region of vegetation.  Some
+nights were spent in huts, which we erected for ourselves, such as those
+I have just described.  The natives, when we stopped at their abodes,
+always received our friend with great respect and attention.  The
+accommodation they could afford, however, was but scanty.  They were
+built of reeds thatched with palm, and consisted of but one room.
+
+I have not yet described the natives of this region.  They were of a
+bronzed colour, with a sad and serious expression of countenance.  They
+were seldom five feet high, and the women were even shorter.  They had
+somewhat broad foreheads; their heads covered with thick, straight,
+coarse, yet soft, jet-black hair, which hung down their backs.  Their
+mouths were large, but their lips were not thicker than those of
+Europeans, and their teeth were invariably fine.  They had large,
+well-formed chins; cheek-bones rounded; their eyes somewhat small, with
+black eyebrows; and little or no beard.  They had broad chests and
+square shoulders, and well-made backs and legs, which showed the
+strength possessed by them.  They were pleasant-looking people.  The men
+wore a short kilt, with a poncho over their shoulders; the women, a
+petticoat of larger dimensions.
+
+They offered us, on entering their huts, cups of the _guayusa_ tea.  It
+is an infusion of the large leaf of a tall shrub which grows wild in
+that region.  We found it very refreshing: though not so powerful a
+stimulant as coca, it supports the strength, as do the leaves of that
+plant, and we found it enable us to go for a considerable time without
+food.  The cleanest corner of the hut was assigned us for our
+sleeping-place at night, with mats and dried leaves in the place of
+mattresses.  Our friend made inquiries as to whether any white people
+had passed in that direction; and, by his orders, the natives were sent
+out to gain information.  I saw that he was uneasy, though he did not
+explain to me the reason.
+
+One morning we were on the point of again setting forward, when a
+native, with a long mountain-staff in his hand, entered the hut.  He
+exchanged a few words with Don Jose.
+
+"We must hasten away, Harry," said our friend; "there is not a moment to
+be lost.  The enemy have been tracking us, I find; but I trust that your
+father has escaped them, and will ere long gain the banks of the Napo,
+down which he may voyage to the Amazon.  We shall be able to reach the
+same river by a longer route, along which there will be less fear of
+being followed."
+
+He made these remarks as we were throwing our wallets over our backs.
+Taking our staves, he leading, we hurried from the hut, following a
+narrow path which led up the side of the mountain.  We had approached
+the hut by a lower and more frequented path than we were now taking; but
+we were, I found, going in the direction from which we had come on the
+previous day.  Don Jose went first, I followed, and Isoro brought up the
+rear.  Though I exerted all my strength, I had some difficulty in
+keeping up with my friend.  Anxious as I was to obtain more particulars
+of what had occurred, we could not exchange words at the rate we were
+going.  Every now and then, as we were climbing the cliffs, whenever I
+happened to look back I saw Isoro turning an uneasy glance over his
+shoulder.  It was evident that we were pursued.  We reached the edge of
+a deep ravine, which appeared to bar our further progress.  Don Jose,
+however, without making any remark, continued climbing on along it; and
+at length I saw what appeared to be a rope stretched across the chasm.
+
+"Hasten, master! hasten!"  I heard Isoro cry out: I knew enough of the
+Quichua language to understand him.
+
+We continued on till we reached the end of the rope, fastened to the
+stump of a tree, and stretched across the chasm to the opposite side,
+where it was secured in the same manner, a platform being raised to the
+same elevation as the rock on which we stood.
+
+"Harry," said my friend, turning to me for the first time, "I have seen
+your nerves thoroughly tried, and I know your muscles are well-knit, or
+I would not ask you to pass along this perilous bridge."
+
+The rope was formed of the tough fibres of the maguey--an osier which
+grows in the moist ground of that region.  It possesses a great degree
+of tenacity and strength.
+
+"Master, let me go first," exclaimed Isoro, springing forward.  "If it
+breaks with me it will matter little, and you will have still a chance
+for life."
+
+Without waiting for Don Jose's answer, Isoro threw himself upon the
+rope, and, holding on by hands and feet, began to work himself along.  I
+watched him anxiously.  It was indeed a fearful mode of crossing that
+awful gulf; and yet I knew that I must pass as he was doing.  I was
+thankful that the distance was not great, at all events.  I breathed
+more freely when at length I saw him alight on the platform.  I
+entreated Don Jose to go next.  "It will give me more courage," I said.
+"As you wish," he replied.  "Let me caution you, only before I go, to
+shut your eyes, and not to think of the gulf below you.  You will then
+find the passage perfectly easy."
+
+Saying this, he took hold of the rope, and began to work his way across.
+Scarcely, however, had he got into the centre, when I saw Isoro
+pointing in the direction we had come from.
+
+"Hasten! hasten!" he shouted out.
+
+I looked round, and caught sight of two enormous hounds approaching at
+full speed.  I could hear their loud, baying voices as they came on
+panting up the mountain-side.  I did not hesitate a moment, when urged
+by Isoro to cross at once.  "The rope will bear you," he shouted
+out--"not a moment is to be lost!"
+
+Seizing the rope, I shut my eyes and began the awful passage; for awful
+it was, as, in spite of my resolution, I could not help thinking of the
+deep chasm over which I was making my way.  I should be unwilling again
+to attempt so fearful a passage; and yet, perhaps, once accustomed to
+it, I should have thought nothing of the undertaking.  I was surprised
+when I felt my friend take my arm.
+
+"You are safe," he said; "lower your feet;"--and I found myself standing
+on the platform.
+
+On opening my eyes, and looking towards the cliff from which we had
+come, I saw two huge blood-hounds, with open mouths, baying at us.
+Isoro, I should have said, had taken my rifle as well as his own, and
+placed it against the tree.
+
+"We must get rid of these animals," said Don Jose, "or they will betray
+the road we have taken."
+
+Saying this, he levelled his piece, and one of the dogs, as it sprung
+forward on receiving the bullet, fell over the chasm into the depths
+below.  Isoro followed his master's example.  His bullet took effect;
+but the blood-hound, though wounded, was not killed outright, and
+retreated a few paces.  I was afraid he would have escaped; but before
+he had gone far, he fell over, and after a few struggles, was dead.
+
+"The animal must not remain there," observed Isoro, throwing himself
+upon the rope; and in a few minutes he had again crossed the chasm.
+
+Seizing the dog by the legs, he drew it to the edge, and hurled it after
+its companion.  Then, searching about in the crevices of the rocks for
+moss and lichens, he strewed them over the ground where the dog had
+fallen, so as to obliterate the traces of blood.  He was some time thus
+occupied before he had performed the operation to his satisfaction; and
+then he once more crossed the chasm, with as much unconcern as if he had
+been passing along an ordinary road.  I proposed letting go the rope to
+prevent our pursuers following.
+
+"That is not necessary," said Don Jose.  "It would cause trouble to our
+friends, and I doubt whether our enemies will venture to cross.  At all
+events, the so doing would betray the route we have taken, and they may
+find the means of crossing some leagues further down the stream."
+
+We accordingly proceeded as before.  We now came to a track, which, had
+I been alone, I could not have followed, as it was generally, to my
+eyes, altogether undistinguishable; yet Don Jose and Isoro traced it
+without difficulty.  It now led us along the edge of a precipice, where,
+it seemed to me, so narrow was the space between the cliff on one side
+and the fearful gulf on the other, that we could not possibly get by.
+Our leader, however, went on without hesitation.  At length he appeared
+to reflect that my nerves might not be as firm as his.
+
+"Here, Harry," he said, "take hold of the centre of my staff; Isoro will
+hold the other end, and you may pass without risk."
+
+I did as he directed, keeping my eyes away from the gulf as much as
+possible.  Now and then the path became somewhat wider; then again it
+narrowed, affording just space to support our feet.  I leaned against
+the cliff, unwilling to throw more weight than I could possibly help on
+the staff.  I breathed more freely when we were once more ascending the
+mountain-side.  We were making our way round a rugged point of rock, and
+Don Jose's head had just risen above it, when he called to us to stop.
+
+"I see some people coming this way," he observed.  "They may be friends,
+but they may be foes.  Harry, I am sorry to have exposed you to this
+danger; for it is me they seek, not you.  However, they have not seen
+us, and we have yet time to conceal ourselves.  Fortunately I know of a
+place near here where we shall be able to do so; and unless yonder band
+have these savage blood-hounds with them, we may yet escape capture."
+
+Saying this, he began rapidly to ascend the mountain-side among the wild
+and rugged rocks with which it was covered.  After climbing up for some
+distance, we saw before us a small opening in the rocks.
+
+"This is the spot I was seeking," observed our friend; "and unless it is
+known to our pursuers, we shall here remain in security till they have
+passed by."
+
+He leading the way, we all entered the cavern.  It soon opened out into
+a large chamber with rugged sides.  The passage to it also had several
+buttresses or projecting rocks, behind which we might take post, and
+could have fired down without being seen on any one approaching.  From
+the entrance, also, we could watch the pathway by which we had come; and
+it was so small and overgrown with shrubs that it could not be perceived
+at any distance.  Don Jose told me to climb up behind one of the rocks,
+while he and Isoro took post behind others.  So completely were they
+concealed, that I could not discover where they were except by their
+voices.  We waited anxiously, till at length a band of armed men was
+seen winding round the hill.  Already they had passed under the cave.
+
+"We might follow, and without difficulty hurl every one of those fellows
+into the abyss below," observed Don Jose.  "But we will spare them; they
+obey but the orders of their superiors."
+
+After waiting a little time longer, Don Jose emerged from the cavern,
+and looking about, told us that the road was clear.  We accordingly
+descended, though it required great caution to avoid making a rapid
+descent into the deep ravine below us.  For the greater part of the day
+we continued toiling on, supported by the coca with which we
+occasionally replenished our mouths.  At length, towards evening, we
+made our way to a native hut, where we were received as usual.  Here
+hammocks were slung for us between the pole on which the roof rested,
+our hosts undertaking to keep careful watch to prevent surprise.
+
+I had become very anxious about the rest of our party, fearing that they
+might have been discovered.  At the end of two more days I recognised
+the features of the spot where we had left them.  No one was to be seen.
+My heart sank.  Had they been seized and carried off to Quito, or had
+they made their escape?  Great was my satisfaction when, on rounding a
+rocky point, I caught sight of the huts, and saw Arthur running towards
+us.  "We are all well--very thankful to see you return!" he exclaimed,
+"for we began to fear that you might have been lost."  Directly
+afterwards John and Ellen emerged from their huts, and now all the party
+were gathered round us.  Poor dear Ellen welcomed me with tears in her
+eyes.  Her spirits revived when Don Jose told her he had reason to
+believe that our parents were in safety.  True could not restrain his
+joy, but kept leaping up and licking my hands and face, and jumping
+round and round me.  Wherever I went he closely followed, determined not
+again to lose sight of me.  At supper he sat by my side watching my
+face, nor would he leave me even though John and Arthur tried to tempt
+him away with offers of bits of pork or parrots' legs.
+
+All the party were eager to set out at once, but it was necessary before
+we could do so to procure bearers to convey our luggage along the long
+and intricate path we had to take through the forest.  This our friend
+undertook to do by the following day from a village at no great distance
+off.
+
+The next morning a dozen stout natives--young, active men--made their
+appearance.  They all had at their backs large baskets bound by withes
+passing across the forehead and chest.  They were but lightly clothed.
+A small poncho covered their shoulders, and the usual cloth and kilt was
+worn round the loins, a wisp of leaves preventing their backs being
+chafed by their burdens.  Each man also carried a long staff in his
+hand, and a bag of roasted corn as provision for the journey.  The
+burdens were soon adjusted.  One of them had a sort of chair at his
+back, which Don Jose had ordered to carry the senora, as Ellen was
+denominated.  She insisted, however, that she was well able to walk, and
+not without difficulty we persuaded her to take advantage of the
+conveyance which had been provided.
+
+We forthwith set out, and descending the mountain, were soon in the
+midst of the thick forest.  Two of the Indians, who carried lighter
+burdens than the rest, went ahead with axes in their hands to clear the
+way.  It was extraordinary with what rapidity they cut through the
+sipos, or hanging vines, which threw their serpent-like coils from tree
+to tree.  So quick is their growth in that moist region, that other
+travellers following in a few weeks would have to perform the same
+operation, our friend told us.  As we advanced the forest became thicker
+and thicker, the dark foliage forming a lofty vault through which no
+sunlight can ever enter.  The air felt cool and excessively damp,
+compared to the exposed sides of the mountains.  A constant mist seemed
+to hang on the branches.  Not a sound was to be heard; scarcely a bird
+did we see in the swampy shades.  The stillness and gloom, indeed,
+became almost painful.  From the lofty trees hung down thousands of
+lianas, or air-roots, some forming thick festoons, others perfectly
+straight, of all lengths, many reaching almost down to our heads, others
+again touching the ground and taking root in the soft earth.  Here and
+there some giant of the forest, decayed by age, had fallen, to remain
+suspended in the loops of the sipos.  Thus we went on, following in
+Indian file.  I kept near Ellen to cheer her up, while True followed
+close at my heels, every now and then licking my hands and jumping up,
+as if to ask me what I thought of the strange region we had entered.  We
+found it rather difficult to converse.  Sometimes we walked on for a
+considerable distance in silence.
+
+We had thus been progressing for some time, the only sound heard being
+that of our footsteps on the rustling leaves, or that produced by the
+sharp axes of our pioneers, when suddenly our ears were startled by a
+loud crash, which, contrasted with the previous silence, made it seem as
+if the whole forest was coming down together.  Ellen gave way to a
+slight cry of alarm.  "Do not be afraid, my young friends!" shouted Don
+Jose.  "It is only an ancient tree, weary of standing so long."  In a
+short time the crashing sound ceased, and directly afterwards we came in
+sight of a vast trunk, which had fallen across the path we were about to
+pass along.  We had to make a circuit therefore to avoid it.  We could
+not but feel thankful that it had not delayed its fall till we were
+passing beneath, although we might possibly have had time to escape, in
+consequence of its being upheld for a few seconds by the sipos, till its
+vast weight had dragged them down.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER FIVE.
+
+THE RIVER REACHED AT LAST.
+
+We were not yet free of the mountains, for numerous spurs of the mighty
+Andes run eastward, between which the many streams proceeding from their
+snow-capped heights make their way towards the Amazon.  Once more we
+were compelled to ascend a steep height, and then to proceed along the
+ridge for a considerable distance; then again we descended, to find at
+the bottom a roaring torrent.  This had to be crossed.
+
+The huge trunk of a tree had been placed by the natives over the deeper
+part, resting on the rocks on either side.  The water hissed and bubbled
+round it, threatening every instant to carry it away.  Isoro, however,
+urged us to cross without delay.  He observed signs in the west, among
+the mountains, of a coming storm, he said, and should it break before we
+were safe on the other side, we should be prevented from crossing
+altogether.  Still, as we looked at the frail bridge, John and I were
+very unwilling to expose Ellen to the risk she must run.  At length Don
+Jose ordered the Indians to form a long rope of sipos, and to stretch it
+across the stream, that it might assist to steady the bearers on their
+passage.  This caused some delay.  "Hasten! hasten!" cried Isoro.  "I
+hear a sound which tells me that the waters are coming down!"
+
+Don Jose on this led the way.  Arthur kept close to him.  I followed
+with True in my arms, for I had taken him up for fear of his being
+carried away by the current.  Ellen's bearer same next.  John walked
+close behind her, to render her assistance should it be required.  With
+one hand I grasped the long sipo, with the other I kept tight hold of
+True.  The rest had the advantage of being able to steady themselves
+with their poles.  Domingos assisted Maria.  The water, even before we
+reached the trunk, came roaring and hissing down round our legs, and I
+had some difficulty in stemming the current.  I was thankful when our
+leader reached the trunk, and began his passage over it.  I found it,
+however, very slippery with the spray which broke over it.  I dared not
+look back to see how it fared with Ellen.  I heard her voice, however,
+as she cried out, "Do not be afraid, Harry; my bearer steps firmly, and
+I am looking up at the blue sky and the waving tops of the tall trees; I
+do not feel any alarm."  Still there was a wide extent of bubbling water
+to be crossed beyond the end of the slippery trunk, and I could hear the
+loud roar of the waters which came down from the mountains through the
+ravine.  I saw Don Jose hastening on, and more than once he turned and
+beckoned us to proceed more rapidly.  The end of the bridge was reached.
+Arthur hesitated to leap into the boiling water.  Don Jose turned round
+and seized his hand and led him on.  I followed.  It seemed that every
+instant the depth of the water was increasing.  I trembled for Ellen's
+safety, and yet could not venture to look back to ascertain how it was
+faring with her.  I thought too of John, Maria, Domingos, and our
+Indians.  The danger for those who came last would be greatly increased.
+Had it not been for the sipo, I could scarcely have kept my footing.
+Now I was wading up to my middle, now climbing over a rock worn smooth
+by the never-resting waters.  The water was here somewhat shallower.  I
+looked round.  Ellen's bearer was following with firm steps, and was
+close behind me.  "On! on!" cried John.  Our leader was already near the
+edge, and I hoped we should soon be in safety, when I heard Ellen utter
+a shriek of terror.  I sprang on to the bank.  Her bearer followed.  She
+had not been alarmed on her own account; but now looking across the
+stream, I saw the bearers following closely on each other, pressing
+along the bridge.  From above the water, in a vast foaming volume, was
+coming rushing down, roaring loudly.  John turned round, and taking
+Maria's hand, assisted her up the bank.  Domingos clambered after her.
+Our peons came close together behind.  One man was still on the bridge,
+when the torrent, striking it with fearful force, lifted it off the
+rock, and away it went wheeling downwards.  The peon kept his footing
+for an instant, then, as it began to turn over, he sprang off it towards
+the shore; but unable to disengage himself from his burden, he was borne
+downwards amid the tossing waters.  The Indians ran down the bank to try
+and render him assistance.  John and I followed, with Don Jose, who
+seemed unusually agitated.  Now we saw the man clutching hold of a rock;
+soon again he was torn off, and went floating downwards.  Still he
+struggled on bravely, making his way towards the shore.  I expected
+every moment to see him give up the unequal contest, for the mighty
+waters seemed to have him in their grasp.  Fortunately the bundle he
+carried was large, and though heavy out of the water, was light in it,
+and instead of sinking, assisted to float him.
+
+John and I continued to make our way along the banks with the rest.  We
+had got some distance down, when we saw what appeared to be an eddy or
+backwater in the river.  Below it the stream rushed on with the same
+impetuosity as before.  I called to John.  "I think we may save him," I
+said; and signed to the Indians to cut some long sipos which hung down
+from the branches above us.  Several flexible ones were speedily cut and
+fastened together.  Both John and I were good swimmers.  He secured one
+to his waist, as did I, signing to the Indians to hold the other ends.
+Then we dashed into the stream, swimming out towards the struggling
+Indian.  In another moment he would have been carried by us.  I reached
+him just as I was at the extreme end of the sipo.  John seized his arm
+directly afterwards, and together we towed him towards the bank, calling
+to the Indians to haul the sipo gently in.  Soon reaching the bank, we
+dragged up our nearly drowned companion.  Not till then did we discover
+that he was Isoro, who, it appeared, had taken the load of a sick bearer
+unable to carry it.
+
+Isoro, as soon as he had recovered sufficiently to speak, thanked us
+warmly for preserving his life.  Don Jose, who had come up, also added
+his thanks.  "I value him much," he observed, "and should have grieved
+deeply had he lost his life."
+
+We had little time for talking, however, for we had to hurry back to
+where we had left our companions, as the storm which had been brewing in
+the mountains now threatened to break over our heads.  Our party,
+therefore, piling up their loads, made haste to erect some sheds similar
+to those we had already several times built.  A quantity of the
+_sindicaspi_, or "wood that burns," was speedily cut, and fires were
+lighted, at which we dried our drenched clothes.  Scarcely had our
+preparations been made, when the threatening storm burst over us, the
+wind howling and whistling through the trees, which waved to and fro,
+making a loud rustling sound; while every now and then we could hear the
+crashing noise of some patriarch of the forest, as it sank beneath the
+blast.  The rain came in torrents, and the river, surging and swelling,
+rapidly increased its breadth.  We had indeed reason to be thankful that
+we had not delayed our crossing a moment longer.  Our fires were soon
+put out, and water came rushing down on either side of us through the
+forest.  We, however, had chosen a slightly elevated spot for our camp,
+which, though surrounded by water, had hitherto escaped destruction.
+The rain continuing to pour down in a perfect deluge, compelled us to
+remain in our camp.  So secure, however, had the roofs been made, that
+we kept dry inside.  Occasionally John, Arthur, and I ran into Ellen's
+hut to pay her a visit.  We found her and Maria sitting very composedly,
+employing themselves with their work, which they produced from one of
+the bundles they had unpacked.  Don Jose remained in his hut, attended
+by Isoro.  He was much more out of spirits than we had yet seen him.
+
+"My young friends," he said, "I must soon bid you farewell.  I had
+resolved to accompany you till I could see you embarked on the river.
+We shall reach it, I hope, in three or four days at furthest, but I
+cannot be longer absent from my people in these troubled times.  I hope
+that you will soon overtake your father and family, who, from the
+accounts I have received, intend to wait for you at the mouth of the
+river, where it joins the Amazon.  Though I must return, Isoro has
+expressed a wish to accompany you.  You will find his assistance of
+value, as he has been among the wild tribes you will encounter on your
+passage, and knows their habits and customs.  They are very different
+from the people you have hitherto met, and may give you much annoyance,
+unless cautiously dealt with."
+
+We were very sorry to hear of Don Jose's intention of leaving us, as we
+had hoped that he intended to accompany us till we could overtake our
+father, though we were greatly obliged to him for his proposal of
+allowing Isoro to remain with us.
+
+Once more, the clouds clearing away, we proceeded on our journey.  We
+made, however, but slow progress, as in many places the sipos which had
+overgrown the path had to be cut way to allow of our passage through the
+forest.  I can scarcely attempt to convey in words an idea of the dense
+mass of foliage amid which we had to force our way.  Vast roots like
+huge snakes ran out over the ground in all directions, their upper parts
+forming huge buttresses to the giant stems.  Then large ferns shot
+upwards, while a thick network of vines hung festooned in every possible
+form above our heads, many hanging down straight to the ground, while
+numberless curious air-plants hung suspended from the branches.  Now and
+then gaily-plumaged birds were seen flitting amid the thick shade; but
+we were surprised at the paucity of animal life which existed.  Not a
+quadruped was to be seen.  A few monkeys and parrots were occasionally
+heard, though rarely caught sight of.  We had numerous streams to cross;
+often, indeed, the same stream to cross several times.  Frequently the
+passage was almost as dangerous as that I have described.  Sometimes we
+stopped at the huts of the natives, where we were as usual well
+received.  They were built of bamboo, fastened together with lianas or
+sipos, the roofs covered with large palm-leaves.  They willingly
+supplied us with such provisions as they possessed.  The chief article
+was _yuca_ flour, with which we made cakes.  It is the beet-like root of
+a small tree about ten feet high.  When not hunting, the men appeared to
+spend their time in idleness.  The women, however, were occasionally
+employed in manufacturing a thread called _pita_ from the leaves of the
+aloe, which they carry to Quito for sale.  Occasionally the men
+collected vanilla.  It is a graceful climber, belonging to the orchid
+family.  The stalk, the thickness of a finger, bears at each joint a
+lanceolate and ribbed leaf a foot long and three inches broad.  It has
+large star-like white flowers, intermixed with stripes of red and
+yellow, which fill the forest with delicious odours.  They are succeeded
+by long slender pods, containing numerous seeds imbedded in a thick oily
+balsamic pulp.  The seeds, which are highly esteemed, are used for
+flavouring chocolate and other purposes.  Monkeys are very fond of them,
+and pick all they find, so that few are left on the wild plants for
+man's use.  Vanilla is, however, cultivated in Mexico and other parts of
+the world.  The Indians also collected copal.  It is a gum which exudes
+from a lofty leguminous tree, having a bark like that of the oak.
+
+However, I must hurry on with an account of our journey.  When we met
+with no habitations on our way, we were compelled to build sheds in the
+driest and most open spots we could find.  At length, through an arched
+opening in the forest, the bright sheen of water caught our eyes, and
+hurrying on, we found ourselves standing on the bank of a stream, which
+opened up to us a watery highway to the Atlantic.
+
+Still, we were well aware that we had many dangers to encounter.  For
+many hundred leagues we could not hope to meet with Europeans, and
+although the natives among whom we had hitherto travelled had been
+friendly, we knew that numerous tribes existed along the banks of the
+Amazon or its tributaries, who might prove hostile to strangers.  Our
+chief anxiety, however, was about our father and mother.  When we might
+once more meet, we could not tell.  Still we felt sure that they would
+not willingly proceed till we had overtaken them.
+
+We had arrived at a part of the river at a distance from any native
+village.  We had therefore to depend on ourselves for the means of
+making our intended voyage.  We were prepared, however, to build canoes
+of sufficient size for the accommodation of our reduced party.
+Accordingly we set to work to erect huts of a more substantial character
+than those we had hitherto built, in which we might live in some degree
+of comfort till the work was accomplished.  With the assistance of our
+bearers, in a few hours we had a good-sized hut of bamboos put up, and
+strongly thatched with palm-leaves.  One portion was walled in with a
+division forming two apartments.  The larger was devoted to the
+accommodation of Ellen and her sable attendant.  In the other, our goods
+were stored; while the rest of us slung our hammocks in a large open
+verandah, which formed, indeed, the greater part of the building.  It
+was completed before nightfall.  In front, between us and the river, a
+large fire was made up, which, fed by a peculiar kind of wood growing
+near, kept alight for many hours without being replenished.
+
+We were seated at our evening meal, when we heard footsteps rapidly
+approaching, and an Indian appeared and saluted Don Jose.  He was a
+stranger, and had evidently been travelling rapidly.  Presenting a
+packet, he sank down on the ground with fatigue.  A cup of _guayusa_ tea
+soon revived him.  Don Jose meantime opened his packet, and hastily read
+the contents.
+
+"My young friends," he said, "I regret that I must immediately bid you
+farewell.  I cannot longer be absent from my people.  I know not what
+may occur; but if their leaders are away, they will have no hope of
+obtaining their freedom.  Your father, however, was right to escape from
+the country.  I am thankful to say that I can give you tidings of him.
+He has reached the mouth of the Napo in safety, and is there encamped,
+awaiting your arrival.  Here, John, is a missive your father desires me
+to deliver to you."
+
+Our friend handed my brother a note written hurriedly in pencil.  It ran
+thus: "The messenger is about to leave, so I must be brief.  We are all
+well, and purpose waiting your arrival on this healthy spot, near the
+mouth of the Napo.  You will without difficulty find it, though we shall
+be on the watch for all canoes coming down the stream.  Pass two rivers
+on your left hand, then a high bluff of red clay interspersed with
+stripes of orange, yellow, grey, and white.  Proceed another league,
+till you pass, on a low point, a grove of bamboos.  Rounding it, you
+will find a clear spot on a low hill overlooking the stream.  It is
+there I have fixed our temporary abode."
+
+"Oh, surely there will be no difficulty in finding them!" exclaimed
+Ellen.  "I wish that the canoes were ready--or could we not set off by
+land?"
+
+"I fear that you would have to encounter many difficulties," observed
+Don Jose, "if you were to make the attempt.  I must counsel patience,
+the most difficult of all virtues.  I wish that I could accompany you--
+or, at all events, remain till the canoes are ready; but you will find
+Isoro a skilful builder, and I will direct him to procure the assistance
+of some of the natives of this region, who will afterwards act as your
+crew, and navigate your canoes as far as they can venture down the
+river.  After that, Isoro will return with them, as I am afraid that I
+could not induce him to remain away longer from me, though I would
+gladly let him accompany you if he would.  Still I hope that you will
+have no great difficulty in accomplishing the short remainder of your
+voyage till you find your father and the rest of your family."
+
+John and I thanked Don Jose again and again for the aid he had afforded
+us, and the sacrifices he had made on our account.
+
+"Do not speak of them, my young friends," he replied.  "I owe much to
+your father; and we are united by ties of which he, perhaps, will some
+day tell you."
+
+We wished that our friend would explain himself more clearly, but he
+evidently did not intend to do so, and we therefore could not attempt to
+press the point.  We sat up talking for some time before we turned into
+our hammocks.
+
+Our hut was romantically situated.  Before us flowed the rapid river; on
+either side rose the thick forest of palms and other trees, round the
+stems of which circled many a creeper, hanging in festoons from the
+branches overhead.  In the far distance towered the outer range of those
+lofty mountains we were leaving, perhaps for ever; while round us were
+scattered the temporary wigwams which our attendants had put up for
+themselves.  The never-ceasing murmur of the waters tended to lull us to
+sleep in spite of the strange sounds which ever and anon came from the
+forest, caused by tree-toads and crickets; while occasionally owls,
+goat-suckers, and frogs joined in the concert with their hooting,
+wailing, and hoarse croaks.  My faithful dog True had taken up his usual
+place at night below my hammock.  Suddenly I was awaked by hearing him
+utter a loud bark; and looking down, I saw by the fire, which was still
+burning brightly, a huge alligator poking his snout into the verandah,
+having evidently climbed up the bank with the intention of making a meal
+off the dog, or, perhaps, off one of the sleeping natives.  True stood
+bravely at bay, barking furiously, and yet refusing to retreat.  Leaping
+from my hammock, I seized a log, and dashed it in the huge saurian's
+face.  All the party were speedily on foot.  Isoro and Domingos came
+rushing forward with their long poles to attack the monster; while John,
+seizing his gun, fired at its head: The ball, however, glanced off its
+scaly coat.  The reptile, finding itself disappointed of its expected
+feast, and that the odds were against it, retreated, and finally fell
+over with a loud plash into the stream.  The incident warned us of the
+midnight visitors we might expect, and of the necessity of keeping a
+watch when sleeping near the river's bank.  The fire was made up afresh.
+We were all soon again asleep, with the exception of one of the men,
+who was directed by Don Jose to keep watch for the remainder of the
+night.
+
+The next morning our kind friend bade us farewell, and, accompanied by
+the bearers, took his way through the forest to the Andes.  We saw him
+go with great regret.  We remembered the dangers he would have to
+encounter, and we felt how probable it was that we should never again
+see him.  Our party now consisted of Ellen, Maria, John, Arthur and I,
+Domingos and Isoro.  John and I had our rifles; and Domingos a brace of
+long horse-pistols, which he took from his holsters when the mules were
+sent back; with a fair supply of ammunition.  We had axes, and a few
+other tools for building our canoe; a stock of provisions, which had
+been carefully husbanded; and some bales of cotton and other articles
+with which to repay the natives for their services, or to purchase food.
+Isoro was armed with a long bow and spear, and Arthur was anxious to
+provide himself with similar weapons.
+
+As soon as Don Jose had gone, Isoro set out according to his directions
+to find some natives.  We were still, it will be remembered, within
+Peruvian territory; and although but slight communication was kept up
+with the natives of the scattered villages, yet the Spaniards had for
+some years past made their power felt, as the Incas had done in former
+ages, even in these remote districts.  Isoro said he had therefore no
+fear of being ill-treated by any of the natives he might encounter.
+
+As soon as breakfast was over, while John and Domingos remained at the
+hut, assisting Ellen and Maria to overhaul and re-arrange our goods,
+Arthur and I strolled out to try and shoot some birds.  We had not gone
+far when we heard, at a little distance off, some loud, shrill, yelping
+cries.  I was sure they were produced by birds, yet Arthur could
+scarcely believe it.  The noises came, it seemed, from above our heads.
+Looking up, we at length caught sight of several large birds, perched on
+the higher branches above us, with enormous bills.  We approached
+cautiously, hiding ourselves underneath some wide palm-leaves, between
+which we could observe the noisy assemblage.  The birds seemed to be
+shouting out "To-o-cano, to-o-cano," and it is on this account that the
+Indians give them the name from which we derive that of toucans.  One
+was perched above the rest, and he kept bending his neck downwards, and
+looking about in the most knowing way, as if to ascertain what sort of
+creatures we could be.  The rest seemed to be employing themselves in
+picking some fruit, every now and then throwing up their huge beaks as
+if to let it slip down their throats.  As we were anxious to procure
+some fresh food for dinner, I had been getting my gun ready as quietly
+as possible, and having selected the bird nearest to me, I raised it to
+my shoulder and fired.  Down came the bird, fluttering among the
+branches, and we ran forward to secure our prize.  On examining it, we
+found that its feet were like those of a parrot.  It was of a black
+colour, with a gloss of green; about fifteen inches in length, with a
+long tail and short wings; the feathers at the bottom of the back being
+of a sulphur hue.  The cheeks, throat, and fore part of the breast, were
+of the same tint, while across the lower part of the breast was a broad
+crimson bar; the under part being also crimson.  The remainder of the
+flock having flown away, I was unable to obtain another shot.  These
+birds we afterwards saw in great numbers.  Their large beaks give them
+an awkward appearance when flying, yet when climbing about the trees
+they are evidently of great assistance, as also in picking fruit, or
+catching the insects they find among the bark.
+
+We went some distance before I could get another shot.  I then killed a
+green parrot, and soon after another.  Arthur could scarcely believe
+that we should find them fit for eating.  I was on the point of taking
+aim at a monkey which came peering out at us among the boughs, when he
+drew back my arm.
+
+"You surely will not kill that creature!" he exclaimed.  "I could never
+bring myself to eat it, if you do; and I am sure your sister would not."
+
+I told him that monkeys form the principal food of many of the tribes in
+the country.
+
+"Oh, but then they are no better than cannibals," he answered.
+
+"Wait a little till we are pressed for want of food," I said.  "Remember
+our stock of provisions is but small, and if we were to be
+over-particular, we should starve."  The monkey, however, by his
+intervention escaped.
+
+We went on for some time, gradually entering a denser part of the forest
+than we had yet reached.  Sipos hung down from every bough, forming a
+curious tracery of living cordage above our heads, and more completely
+uniting the tall trees than even the masts of a ship are by the rigging,
+so that an active midshipman, or a still more agile monkey--I hope the
+former will pardon me for mentioning them together--could have no
+difficulty in progressing high up from the ground for miles together
+through the forest.  Strange air-plants swung suspended from the
+branches, some like the crowns of huge pine-apples, others like parasols
+with fringes, or Chinese umbrellas--indeed, of all shapes and hues;
+while climbing plants of the most diverse and ornamental foliage
+possible wound their way upwards, and then formed graceful and elegant
+festoons, yet further to adorn this mighty sylvan palace.  Such a scene,
+though often witnessed, seemed fresh and beautiful as at first.  As I
+wished to get another shot or two, we crept slowly on, concealing
+ourselves as much as possible, lest any birds perched on the boughs
+might see us and fly away.  There was little difficulty in doing so
+amongst the huge fern and palm-like foliage which surrounded us.  In a
+short time we heard ahead of us a strange chattering and rustling in the
+trees, and moving cautiously on, we caught sight of a number of dark
+objects moving about at a rapid rate among the sipos.  Stealing
+cautiously forward, we discovered them to be monkeys at their gambols;
+and curious gambols they were too.  They had white faces, with black
+coats and thin bodies and limbs, and still longer tails, which kept
+whisking and twirling and whirling about in the most extraordinary
+style.  Not for a moment were these tails of theirs at rest, except when
+they had hold of branches to allow their other limbs more freedom.  I
+did not suppose that such muscular power could have existed in an
+animal's tail.  They seemed to be playing each other all sorts of
+comical tricks.  Now one would catch hold of a horizontal sipo, and
+swing vehemently backwards and forwards; now two or three would scramble
+up a perpendicular one, and a fourth would catch hold of the tail of the
+last and hang by it, whisking about his own tail meantime till it had
+found a branch of liana, when he would let go, and bring himself up
+again by that wonderful member of his, and skip away to a distance from
+his playmate, who might attempt to retaliate.  If one happened for an
+instant to be sitting quietly on a sipo, or gently winging backwards and
+forwards, another was sure to come behind him and pull his tail, or give
+him a twitch on the ear, and then throw himself off the sipo out of the
+other's reach, holding on, however, firmly enough by his long appendage.
+One big fellow came creeping up thus behind another, and gave him a sly
+pinch on the neck.  So funny was the face which the latter made as he
+turned round and lifted up his paw to give the other a box on the ear,
+that Arthur and I burst into fits of laughter.  This startled the whole
+flock, who peered about them, skipping here and there, chattering to
+each other, as if to inquire the cause of the strange sounds which had
+reached their ears.  At length one, bolder than the rest, creeping near,
+caught sight of us, when back he went to communicate the intelligence to
+his companions.  A hurried consultation was evidently held by them, and
+then more came to look down at us, keeping wisely in the upper branches.
+We tried to be silent; but so extraordinary were the grimaces they made
+with their funny little white physiognomies, that we again burst into
+shouts of laughter, in which True joining with a loud bark, off
+scampered the monkeys, whisking their long tails, along the sipos and
+branches, till they were hid from sight, although we could still hear
+their chattering in the distance.  I could not have had the heart to
+fire at such frolicsome creatures, even had we been more pressed for
+food than was the case.
+
+"I wish that we could get one of them to tame," exclaimed Arthur.  "It
+would make a delightful pet for your sister, and a capital playmate for
+True.  They would become great friends, depend on it.  He sadly wants a
+companion of his own amount of intellect, poor fellow."
+
+"I doubt as to their having any intellect, and I don't think True would
+consider himself complimented by having them compared to him," I
+answered, laughing, though a little piqued that the sense of my
+favourite should be rated on an equality with that of a monkey.  We
+discussed the matter as we went along.  I was compelled to acknowledge
+at last that though True had sense, he might not even have reason, only
+instinct verging on it strongly developed.
+
+"And what are those monkeys?" asked Arthur, who had not quite agreed
+with me, and wished to change the subject.
+
+"I have no doubt that they are what the French call `spider monkeys,'" I
+answered.  "I found a description of them in my book, under the title of
+Ateles, or Coaita.  The white-faced species is the _Ateles marginatus_.
+There are several species very similar in their appearance and habits."
+
+I have more to say by-and-by about these spider monkeys.
+
+We now found that it was time to begin our return to the river.  As we
+were walking on we caught sight of some object moving among the tall
+grass.  Arthur, True, and I followed at full speed.  I had my gun ready
+to fire.  It was a huge serpent.  It seemed, however, more afraid of us
+than we were of it.  On it went like a dark stream running amidst the
+verdure, moving almost in a straight line, with only the slightest
+perceptible bends, and it soon disappeared among the thick underwood.
+From its size it would have been an awkward creature to be surprised by
+unarmed; and True, I suspect, would have had little chance of escaping.
+
+Shortly afterwards, looking up among the branches, we saw overhead a
+large flight of parrots.  From their curious way of moving they seemed
+to be fighting in the air.  Presently down one fell from among them,
+pitching into a soft clump of grass.  I ran forward, expecting to find
+it dead; but scarcely had I taken it in my hand, than it revived, and I
+had no doubt it had been stunned by a blow on the head from one of its
+companions.  It was of a bright green plumage, with a patch of scarlet
+beneath the wings.  "I am sure your sister would like it for a pet,"
+exclaimed Arthur; "do let us take it to her!"  The parrot, however,
+seemed in no way disposed to submit to captivity, but struggled
+violently and bit at our fingers.  I managed, however, to secure its
+beak, and we carried it in safety to the hut.
+
+"Oh, what a beautiful little creature!" exclaimed Ellen as she saw it.
+"I have been so longing to have some pets, and I am much obliged to you
+for bringing it to me."
+
+"I have tamed many birds," said Maria, "and I hope soon to make this one
+very amiable and happy."
+
+Domingos, however, declared that the bird could not be kept without a
+cage.  Some bamboos were growing at a short distance.  He cut several
+small ones, and in a short time had constructed a good-sized cage, with
+the bars sufficiently close prevent the little stranger escaping.  He
+then set to work to pluck the birds we had killed, and they were quickly
+roasting, spitted between forked sticks, before the fire.  While we were
+engaged in preparing dinner we caught sight of several persons coming
+along the banks of the river.  Isoro led the way; six natives followed.
+They were clad in somewhat scanty garments--a sort of kilt of matting,
+ornamented with feathers, round their waists, their cheeks and body
+painted with red and yellow.  They were, however, pleasant-looking men.
+They had quivers at their backs, and long tubes, which I soon found to
+be blow-pipes, in their hands.  True at first evidently did not approve
+of their presence, and went growling about, showing his teeth; but when
+he saw us treat them as friends, he became quiet, and went and lay down
+at the entrance to Ellen's room, eyeing them, however, as if not quite
+satisfied about the matter.
+
+Isoro introduced the tallest of the party, whose kilt was rather more
+ornamented than those of his companions, as their chief--Naro by name.
+He had agreed to build us a couple of canoes, of sufficient size to
+convey us down the more dangerous parts of the river.  After this we
+were to proceed in one, while he and his men returned in the other.  We
+were to repay him with a dozen yards of cloth, a couple of knives, some
+beads, and other articles.
+
+As soon as we had finished our roasted toucans and parrots, we set forth
+with our new allies in search of suitable trees for the shells of the
+boats.  We hunted about for some time before they could fix on one.  At
+length they pointed out one about fifteen feet in circumference.  Some
+of the bark being cut off.  I saw that the wood was of a yellow colour,
+and of a soft nature, which could be easily worked.  The Indians,
+however, shook their heads, declaring that though the wood was good for
+a canoe, the tree was too large to be cut down.  Isoro, in answer, told
+them that if they could make a canoe out of it, he would undertake to
+fell it.  He soon showed his countrymen that he would make his words
+good, and wielding his sharp axe, he quickly cut a deep notch in the
+tree.  Naro now seemed satisfied.  While some of the party hewed at the
+trunk, others climbed the neighbouring trees to cut away the festoons of
+sipos and other creepers which might impede its fall.  A road also had
+to be cleared to the river for the distance of nearly a quarter of a
+mile.  All hands assisted in this work, and by evening we had made
+considerable progress.
+
+The Indians camped round us at night.  One of them had broken his
+blow-pipe, and was employed in taking it to pieces for the purpose of
+mending it.  I had thus an opportunity of seeing how it was made.  It
+was about ten feet long, and composed of two separate lengths of wood,
+each of which was scooped out so as to form one-half of the tube.  Their
+tools appeared to be made of the teeth of some animal, which I
+afterwards found were those of the paca.  These two pieces thus hollowed
+out are fastened together by winding round them long flat slips of the
+climbing palm-tree called the jacitara.  The tube is then covered over
+with black bees'-wax.  A mouth-piece made of wood is fastened to one
+end, which is broader than the other.  From this it tapers away towards
+the muzzle.  I was surprised to find how heavy the instrument was when I
+came to try and shoot from one.  It is called by a variety of names--by
+the Spaniards, _zarabatana_; by some natives, the _samouran_; by others,
+the _tarbucan_; by the Portuguese, the _gravatana_.  The arrows are made
+from thin strips of the hard rind of the leaf-stalks of palms, and are
+scraped at the end till they become as sharp as needles.  Round the
+butt-end is wound a little mass from the silk-cotton tree, which exactly
+fits into the bore of the blow-pipe.  The quivers were very neatly
+formed of the plaited strips of a plant growing wild, from which
+arrow-root is made.  The upper part consisted of a rim of the red wood
+of the japura, highly polished; and it was secured over the shoulder by
+a belt ornamented with coloured fringes and tassels of cotton.  We
+afterwards saw blow-pipes formed in a different way, two stems of small
+palms being selected, of different sizes, the smaller exactly to fit
+inside the larger.  Thus any curve existing in the one is counteracted
+by that of the other.  The arrows are tipped with the far-famed wourali
+poison, which quickly kills any animal they wound.
+
+Next morning we returned to the tree, and worked away as before.  Arthur
+and I undertook to cut down some smaller trees, to serve as rollers on
+which to drag the huge trunk to the side of the river, where it was to
+be hollowed out.  We had, however, to supply ourselves with food, and
+two of our new friends prepared to go in search of game with their
+blow-pipes.  Arthur and I begged to accompany them; but they made signs
+that we must not fire off our guns, as we should quickly put the game to
+flight, and that we must keep at a distance behind them.
+
+"I wonder what they are going to shoot," asked Arthur.
+
+"We shall soon see," I answered, as we followed our friends.
+
+The noise of our operations in the forest had driven away most of its
+usual inhabitants from the neighbourhood.  We therefore had to go some
+distance before we came in sight of any game.  We kept, as we had
+promised, a little behind our friends.  Suddenly one of them stopped,
+and raising his blow-pipe, a sound like that from a large pop-gun was
+heard, and we saw a bird, pierced by an arrow, fluttering among the
+branches.  Gradually its wings ceased to move, and down fell a parrot.
+Advancing a little further, the Indian made us a sign to stop; and
+looking up among the branches, we caught sight of a troop of the same
+curious little monkeys with long tails which we had seen the day before.
+They kept frisking about, now climbing up the sipos, now throwing
+themselves down, hanging by their tails, and swinging backwards and
+forwards.  Presently one of the natives lifted his blow-pipe, from which
+sped an arrow, piercing one of the poor little creatures.  It hung for
+an instant by its tail round a branch, and then fell with a crash among
+the thick leaves.  The others kept jumping about, apparently not aware
+of what had happened to their companion.  Thus three or more were
+brought down before the rest discovered the enemy in their
+neighbourhood.  They then all went off at a rapid rate, swinging
+themselves from branch to branch, but stopped again at a short distance
+to watch us.
+
+"I would give anything to have one of those active little fellows
+alive!" exclaimed Arthur.  "Don't you think, Harry, that we could make
+the Indians understand what we want?"
+
+"We will try, at all events," I answered.  "But I beg that you won't
+laugh at my pantomime."
+
+Galling to the Indians, I took one of their arrows, and pointing it
+towards the monkeys, which were still to be seen a little way before us
+among the trees, eyeing us curiously, I shook my head violently, to show
+that I did not want it killed.  Then I ran forward, and pretended to
+catch one, and to lead it along.  "Now, Arthur, you must act the
+monkey," I exclaimed.  On this he began frisking about, putting out his
+hand behind to represent a tail, while I pretended to be soothing him by
+stroking him on the head and back, and thus inducing him to accompany
+me.
+
+The Indians watched us attentively, and then nodding their beads, began
+to talk together.  They soon seemed to be agreed as to what we wanted,
+and signing to us to remain quiet, one of them again crept cautiously
+towards the monkeys, still frisking about within sight, while the other
+sat down with Arthur and me.  We eagerly watched the Indian.  He first
+selected an arrow, the point of which he scraped slightly and wetted.
+Presently he placed his blow-pipe within the loop of a sipo.
+
+"Why, he's going to kill one of the poor creatures after all!" exclaimed
+Arthur.
+
+"It looks very like it," I answered.  "But we shall see."
+
+The Indian waited for a few seconds, and then out flew his tiny dart
+with a loud pop.  One of the monkeys was hit.  "Oh dear! oh dear!" cried
+Arthur.  "They could not have understood us."  The monkey had been
+struck when hanging to one of the lower branches; it fell before it had
+time to save itself with its long tail, and the Indian instantly
+springing forward, caught it, and pulled out the dart.  He then took
+something out of the bag hanging at his waist, and put it into its
+mouth, which he kept closed to prevent it from spluttering it out.  The
+poor creature seemed so stunned or bewildered by its fall, and at
+finding itself suddenly in the grasp of a strange being twenty times its
+own size, that it made no resistance.  The Indian brought it to us in
+his arms, much as a nurse carries a baby, and showed us that it was not
+much the worse for its wound.  As we went along we observed that its
+eyes, which were at first dim, had quickly recovered their brightness,
+while its tail began to whisk about and coil itself round the native's
+arm.  We were at a loss to account for the wonderful way in which it had
+so speedily recovered; nor did the Indians seem disposed to tell us
+their secret.
+
+"I should so like to carry the little creature, it seems already so tame
+and gentle," said Arthur.
+
+"You had better not take it from the Indian, or it may give you an ugly
+bite, and be off and up a tree in a twinkling," I answered.  "It has no
+cause to love us as yet, at all events."
+
+Arthur still insisting that he could carry the monkey, asked the Indian
+to let him have it.  The native shook his head, and signified that the
+monkey would to a certainty escape if he did.  At last, however, he and
+his companion stopped, and fastened the creature's tail tightly to its
+back, then they wound a quantity of fibre round its front paws, and
+finally put a muzzle over its mouth.  "There; you may manage to carry
+him now," they seemed to say.  "But take care, he may slip out of his
+bonds even yet, if you do not hold him fast."
+
+The monkey glanced up at the countenance of Arthur, who looked down
+kindly at the creature, and carried it gently so as not to hurt it.
+
+"I should like to give it a name," he said; "something appropriate."
+
+"We will consult Ellen on that important matter," I answered.  "When she
+sees how active it is, I think she will call it Nimble."
+
+"Oh yes; that would be a capital name.  Do let us call it Nimble," he
+exclaimed.
+
+"You and Ellen shall choose its name, and I am sure that John will agree
+to whatever you decide," I replied.
+
+This made Arthur perfectly contented, and he walked along stroking the
+monkey and talking gently to it, till the animal evidently began to feel
+confidence in him, and lay perfectly quiet in his arms.
+
+The Indians did not as yet appear satisfied with the amount of game they
+had killed, and were on the look-out for more.  I kept my gun in
+readiness for a shot.  "Pray, Harry, do not kill another spider monkey,"
+said Arthur; "it would make Nimble so unhappy, I am sure."  I promised
+that I would not; indeed, I had not the heart to wish even to shoot one
+of the merry little creatures.
+
+We soon afterwards, however, came in sight of several much larger
+monkeys, with stouter limbs, but excessively active, and furnished with
+long, strong, flexible tails.  I recognised them as the species called
+by the Portuguese _Macaco barrigudo_, or the big-bellied monkey.  The
+Indians shot one of them with their blow-pipes, the rest wisely swinging
+themselves off.  The creature had a black and wrinkled face, with a low
+forehead and projecting eyebrows.  The body was upwards of two feet in
+length, and the tail not much less.  As the Indians held him up, Arthur
+and I agreed that he looked exactly like an old negro.
+
+By the evening we had as many birds and monkeys as we could carry.
+Arthur offered to carry some of the birds in addition to Nimble,
+declaring that he could not bring himself to eat our four-handed game.
+"And that negro-looking old fellow, I would starve rather than touch
+him!" he exclaimed.  "And as for Domingos, I should think him a cannibal
+if he were to eat him."  Arthur, as we went along, kept trying to
+prevent his little charge from seeing its dead companions.  "I am sure
+that it would make him unhappy," he observed; "for how can he tell that
+he is not going to be treated in the same way!"
+
+So like was one part of the forest to another, that I had no idea we
+were near our huts when we came in sight of them True heard us
+approaching and came bounding forth to meet us, leaping up first to lick
+my hands and then sniffing up at poor little Nimble, who trembled at
+seeing him, and after vainly endeavouring to escape, clung tightly to
+Arthur for protection.  "Do call off True; there's a good fellow!"
+exclaimed Arthur.  "He will frighten poor little Nimble to death; but
+when they are better acquainted they will become very good friends, I
+dare say."  I called True to me, and presently Ellen and Maria came
+running out of the hut towards us.  Ellen was greatly pleased with
+Nimble, and thanked Arthur very much for having brought him.  We carried
+Nimble into the hut, and Domingos found a leathern strap to fasten round
+his waist, by which he was secured to one of the beams in the roof.
+Here he could run from side to side of the hut, out of the reach of
+True.  He kept looking down on us somewhat scared at first at his novel
+position, but in a short time took some nuts and fruit readily from
+Arthur's hand, and after examining and cautiously tasting them, to
+ascertain that they suited his palate, ate a hearty meal.
+
+Ellen told us that she and Maria had been greatly alarmed during our
+absence by the appearance of a large creature--from their account a puma
+or a jaguar--which had come close to the hut.  True had behaved nobly in
+standing on the defensive, while they had screamed and waved sticks to
+try to frighten it off.  For some time, however, they were afraid that
+it would attack them, but at last it turned tail and retreated into the
+forest.
+
+Domingos and our Indian friends lost no time in preparing the game which
+we had killed.  Arthur and I watched them, when Domingos, without at all
+recognising the likeness which Arthur and I had discovered in the
+_macaco barrigudo_ to himself, began without ceremony to skin it, and in
+a short time had it spitted and roasting before the fire.  We had formed
+a rough table, and the first article of food which Domingos placed on it
+was a portion of the big monkey on a plantain leaf.
+
+"Ah!" he said, "I have reserved this for you; for the meat is superior
+to that of either the other monkeys or the birds.  Just try it, and you
+will agree with me."
+
+Had he not talked about the monkey, probably no one would have objected
+to the meat, which did look very nice; but Ellen and Arthur both begged
+to have some of the birds, with the addition of some roasted plantains
+and farinha cakes.  We made a very substantial meal, John and I agreeing
+that the big _macaco_ was very nice food.  Domingos thought so also, as
+he had claimed a joint as his own share.
+
+I was awoke at night by hearing a strange rushing noise round my head,
+and raising it above the hammock I caught sight of numberless dark
+creatures with huge wings which kept sweeping round and round here and
+there through the verandah.  Presently one of them pitched on the clew
+of my hammock.  There was sufficient light from the bright stars to see
+its shape, and I beheld a creature with large ears standing out from the
+sides and top of its head, a spear-shaped appendage on the tip of its
+nose, while a pair of glittering black eyes and a grinning mouth gave it
+the appearance of a little imp.  Presently it expanded its large wings
+and floated towards my head.  I could stand this no longer, and singing
+out, dealt it a blow with my palm which sent it flying away.  The cry
+awoke my companions, who jumped out of their hammocks, wondering what
+was the matter.  We were quickly engaged in driving out the intruders,
+which we now discovered to be vampire bats.  "Hillo!" cried Arthur,
+"what is the matter with my foot?  There is blood flowing from it!"  We
+found that one of the creatures had been sucking his too.  John bound it
+up, and in a short time tranquillity was restored, and we were all soon
+in our hammocks.  Hideous as these creatures appear, they are harmless,
+as the puncture they make is but slight, and the wound quickly heals.
+They showed their sense by selecting our hut for their night quarters,
+as they there found themselves more secure from the beasts which prey on
+them than in their abodes in the forest.
+
+In the morning we examined several we had knocked down.  They measured
+twenty-eight inches across the wings, which were of a leathery
+consistency, the bodies being covered with grey hair.  We found their
+stomachs filled with the pulp and seeds of fruits, with the remains of a
+few insects only.
+
+Our new friend Nimble soon became reconciled to his lot.  Though he took
+food readily enough from Arthur, and by degrees let Ellen and Maria
+stroke his back, when any one else came near him he clambered up as high
+as he could reach into the roof.  He soon discovered that True could not
+climb up to his perch, and in a short time he would swing himself off by
+his tail within a foot or two of the dog's nose, stretching out his paws
+as if he were going to catch him by the ear, taking good care to be
+ready to spring again far out of his reach should True show the
+slightest signs of leaping up.
+
+"It won't be long before we see Master Nimble riding on True's back, and
+using his tail as a whip," said Arthur, who had been watching the two
+animals.  He was right; and in a few days Nimble and True became very
+good friends.
+
+Our boat-building proceeded well.  A log of twenty feet in length having
+been cut off and placed on the rollers, we secured a number of tough
+lianas to it, and using them as traces, dragged it down to the river.
+We could, however, move it but slowly, and two whole days were thus
+consumed.  The upper side being smoothed off, a slit was made down the
+whole length, which was opened slowly by wedges.  Having cleared out a
+considerable portion of the inside, it was turned over and raised on
+trestles.  Beneath it a fire was made along the whole length.  Other
+pieces of hard wood were gradually driven in with wedges to increase the
+opening, the larger ones being in the centre, where the width was to be
+the greatest.  In about eight hours the work was thus far completed.
+The bow and tern were made of hewn planks in a circular form, fastened
+with wooden pins.  A plank on each side was next secured, and benches
+fixed in.  The seams were caulked with gum collected from trees growing
+near, mixed with resin, which exuded from the trunks of others.  We thus
+constructed a vessel, of sufficient size to make a voyage of upwards of
+one thousand miles down the mighty river, solely of materials found in
+the wilderness.  Paddles were also quickly formed by the Indians of the
+tough wood of another tree, which they split into boards.  They then
+wove some mats for sails, lianas of different thicknesses serving as
+cordage.
+
+After this our native friends selected another tree, from which they
+proposed to form the second canoe.  This was to be smaller, that they
+might be able to paddle it up against the stream.  It was built in the
+same way as the first, but without mast or sails.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER SIX.
+
+VOYAGE ON THE RIVER COMMENCED.
+
+All was now ready for our departure from our first halting-place.  Early
+in the morning, having carefully laden our two vessels, we embarked.
+John, Ellen, Maria, and Domingos went in the larger one, accompanied by
+Nimble and Poll, with Naro and two of his followers; while Isoro,
+Arthur, and I embarked in the smaller, with two of the other men.  True,
+of course, went with us, his usual post being the bow, where he stood
+with his fore-feet on the gunwale, as if it were his especial duty to
+keep a look-out ahead.  Isoro acted as captain, and Arthur and I and the
+two Indians, with paddles in our hands, formed the crew.  Shoving off
+from the bank, we rapidly glided down the river, the current carrying us
+along at a great rate with little aid from our paddles.  The large canoe
+took the lead, we following in her wake.  The water whirled and eddied
+as we glided on.  On either side rose the giant trees of the primeval
+forest--while, looking astern, we could see far away across the mighty
+mass of foliage the range of the Andes, with the beautiful cone of
+Cotopaxi standing out boldly above its fellows.
+
+We soon, however, had something else to think of.  Several dark rounded
+rocks rose up ahead of us, between which the water furiously rushed,
+dashing against their sides, and throwing up clouds of spray, while
+whirling, boiling eddies came bursting up from the bottom, as if some
+subaqueous explosion were taking place.  Short cross waves curled up
+round us, with here and there smooth intervening spaces, the more
+treacherous for their apparent calmness; for as we passed through them
+we could with difficulty keep the head of our small canoe in the
+direction of our leader.  The Indians plied their paddles with redoubled
+vigour, while the helmsman of John's canoe every now and then gave vent
+to loud, wild shrieks.  Isoro sat calmly clenching his teeth, and
+looking out eagerly ahead.  The large canoe went gliding on.  And now we
+saw her passing between two rocks, over which the water dashing formed
+an arch of spray, almost concealing her from our sight.  Presently we
+also were passing through the same channel.  It seemed as if our small
+canoe would be swamped by the swelling waters.  The clouds of spray
+which broke over her almost blinded us, the loud roaring, hissing sound
+of the waves as they rushed against the rocks deafened our ears, while
+the whirling current so confused our senses, that we could scarcely tell
+in what direction we were going.
+
+"O Harry, what has become of the other canoe?" exclaimed Arthur.
+
+A dark rock rose before us.  No canoe was to be seen.  A horror seized
+me.  I feared that she had been engulfed.  But presently, Isoro turning
+the head of our canoe, we shot past the rock, and to our joy again saw
+the other canoe rushing on with still greater speed towards another
+opening in the channel.  We followed even faster than before.  The
+current seemed to increase in rapidity as we advanced, pressed together
+by the narrower channel.  Yet, fast as we went, we could scarcely keep
+pace with our leader.  Now we glided on smoothly, now we pitched and
+tossed as the mimic waves rose up round us, and thus we went on, the
+navigation requiring the utmost watchfulness and exertion to escape
+destruction.  We, perhaps, in our smaller canoe, were safer than those
+in the larger one; indeed, I thought more of them than ourselves.
+Should we meet with any accident, however, they could not return to help
+us, whereas we might push forward to their assistance.  We followed the
+movements of the Indians.  When they paddled fast, we also exerted
+ourselves; when they ceased, we also lifted our paddles out of the
+water.  I was very glad that we were thus employed, as we, having plenty
+to do, thought less of the danger we were in.
+
+After being thus tossed about for I cannot judge how long, every moment
+running the risk of being dashed on the rocks, now on one side, now on
+the other, we found the river again widening and the current flowing on
+more tranquilly.  In a short time, however, we came to another rapid.
+Once more we were amid the wild tumult of waters.  The current rushed on
+with fearful speed.  Now we saw the stern of the leading canoe lifted
+up, and it appeared as if her bows were going under.  I could not
+refrain from uttering a shriek of horror.  Isoro and the Indians
+remained calm, just guiding our canoe.  John's canoe disappeared.  On we
+went, expecting the same fate which I dreaded had overtaken her.  An
+instant afterwards we saw her again gliding on calmly.  Downwards we
+slid over a watery hill, the Indians paddling with might and main, we
+following their example.  We had descended a fall such as I should
+scarcely have supposed it possible so small a boat as ours could have
+passed over in safety.  Our companions continued plying their paddles,
+sending out their breath in a low grunt, as if they had been holding it
+in for some minutes.
+
+We now came up with the other canoe, which had been waiting for us.
+
+"That was nervous work!" exclaimed John "I am thankful we are through
+the falls; they are the worst we shall meet with."
+
+Paddling on till nearly dark, we landed on an island, where it was
+proposed we should pass the night.  There were but few trees in the
+centre, the rest consisting of sand and rock.  This spot had been
+selected to avoid the risk of being surprised by unfriendly natives or
+prowling jaguars.  The canoes were hauled up, the goods landed, and
+fires were lighted, round which we were soon seated taking our evening
+meal.  The Indians then cut a number of stout poles, which they drove
+into the ground, forming a square, the roof being thatched over with
+palm-leaves, extending some distance beyond the poles, so as to form
+deep eaves.  To these poles were hung up our hammocks, a small part
+being, as usual, partitioned off for Ellen and Maria.  This was our
+usual style of encampment.  When the trees grew sufficiently wide apart,
+we sometimes secured our hammocks to them, with a roof such as I have
+mentioned above our heads.  The fires were kept up all night, and a
+watch set to prevent surprise, should any unfriendly natives find us
+out, and come across the river in their canoes.  Isoro advised us always
+to select an island for our night encampment.  "Indeed," he observed,
+"it would be safer never to land on the banks, if you can avoid so
+doing."
+
+Our Indians, besides their usual blow-pipes, had come provided with
+harpoons and lines for catching fish.  Generally, at the end of our
+day's voyage, they would go out in the smaller canoe, and invariably
+come back with a good supply.
+
+Arthur and I, with True, one day accompanied Naro and two of his men.
+While the Indians remained in the canoe, we landed and walked along the
+sandy shore of the island.  True ran before us, shoving his nose into
+the tall reeds and rushes.  Suddenly out he backed, barking furiously,
+but still retreating, and evidently less disposed than usual for battle.
+Fully expecting to see a huge anaconda come forth, Arthur and I retired
+to a safe distance, while I got my gun ready to fire at the serpent when
+he should appear.  We stood watching the spot which True still faced,
+when the reeds were moved aside, and the oddest-looking monster I ever
+set eyes on came slowly forth, and for a moment looked about him.  True
+actually turned tail, and fell back on us for support.  He would have
+faced a lion, but the creature before him had not a vulnerable part on
+which he could lay hold.  It meantime, regardless of him or us, made its
+way towards the water.  It was as grotesque and unlike what we fancy a
+reality as those creatures which the wild imaginations of the painters
+of bygone days delighted in producing.  How can I describe it?  It was
+covered all over with armour--back, neck, and head.  On its head it wore
+a curiously-shaped helmet, with a long tube in front serving as a snout,
+while its feet were webbed, and armed with sharp claws at the end of its
+thick and powerful legs.  From the chin hung two fringe-like membranes,
+and the throat and neck were similarly ornamented.  Naro was not far
+off, and came paddling up at a great rate, crying out to us to turn the
+creature from the water.  Its formidable appearance and size made us
+somewhat unwilling to get within reach of its head; for it was fully
+three feet long, and its covering would, it appeared, turn off a bullet.
+Arthur, however, bravely ran in front of it, and True kept barking
+round it, keeping wisely beyond its reach.  We thus impeded its
+progress; but still it made way, and was just about to launch itself
+into the river when the canoe coming up, Naro's harpoon, struck it under
+the shield at the neck.  It struggled to get free, but was hauled again
+on to the sand, and soon dispatched by the Indians.  They seemed highly
+pleased at the capture, and signified that, in spite of its strange
+appearance, it was excellent for food.
+
+"Why, after all, it is only a tortoise!" exclaimed Arthur, who had been
+examining it.  A tortoise it was, though the strangest-looking of its
+tribe, but not at all uncommon.
+
+The strange creature we had found was a matamata (_Chelys matamata_).
+It is found plentifully in Demerara, where its flesh is much esteemed.
+What we took to be a helmet, consisted of two membraneous prolongations
+of the skin, which projected out on either side from its broad and
+flattened head.  The back was covered with a shield, with three distinct
+ridges or keels along it, and was broader before than behind.  It had a
+stumpy pointed tail.  I should add that it feeds only in the water,
+concealing itself among reeds by the bank, when it darts forward its
+long neck and seizes with its sharp beak any passing fish, reptile, or
+water-fowl--for it likes a variety of food--or it will swim after them
+at a great rate.
+
+We carried the matamata to the camp, and on landing it drew it up with
+sipos, with its neck stretched out.  Ellen could scarcely believe that
+it was a real creature.
+
+"I am very glad that I did not meet it when by myself on the sands.  I
+am sure that I should have run away, and dreamed about it for nights
+afterwards!" she exclaimed.  "It was very brave, Harry, of you and
+Arthur to face it; and as for True, he is worthy to take rank with Saint
+George, for it must have appeared a perfect dragon to him."
+
+"Barring the want of tail, my sister," observed John with a laugh.
+"True will find many more formidable antagonists than the matamata in
+these regions, and he must be taught to restrain his ardour, or he may
+some day, I fear, `catch a Tartar.'"
+
+Maria meantime stood behind us, lifting up her hands and uttering
+exclamations of astonishment, as she surveyed the creature at a
+respectful distance.
+
+The next evening we again accompanied the Indians.  It was very calm,
+and the water in a narrow channel through which we went smooth and
+clear, so that we could look down to a great depth and see the fish
+swimming about in vast numbers.  Presently I caught sight of a huge
+black monster gliding silently up the channel just below the surface.
+It was, however, too far off for the harpoons of the Indians to reach
+it.  We followed, they intimating that we should very likely come up
+with it.  We had not gone far, when they ceased rowing and pointed
+ahead.  There I saw, on the other side of a clump of bamboos which grew
+on a point projecting into the stream, a creature with a savage
+countenance and huge paws resting on the trunk of a tree overhanging the
+water.  It was of a brownish-yellow colour, the upper parts of the body
+variegated with irregular oblong spots of black.  It was so intently
+watching the stream that it did not appear to observe us.  Had it not
+indeed been pointed out to me, I might not have discovered it, so much
+had it the appearance of the trunk on which it was resting.  Presently
+we saw a huge black head projecting out of the stream.  In an instant
+the jaguar, for such was the animal on the watch, sprang forward and
+seized its prey.  The creature which had thus ventured within the grasp
+of the jaguar was a _manatee_, or sea-cow, the _peixe boi_ of the
+Portuguese.  A fearful struggle ensued, the manatee to escape, the
+jaguar to hold it fast.  I lifted my gun to fire, but the Indians made a
+sign to me to desist.  If I should kill the jaguar the manatee would
+escape, and their object was to allow the latter to be too exhausted to
+do so, and then to shoot the jaguar.  Now it appeared as if the jaguar
+would drag the water-monster out of its native element, now that the
+former would be drawn into it.  The sea-cow struggled bravely, but the
+beast of prey had got too firm a hold to let it escape.  The surface of
+the water was lashed into foam.  The jaguar's claws and teeth were
+firmly fixed in the thick hide of the sea-cow.  Slowly it seemed to be
+drawn higher and higher out of its native element.  So eager was the
+savage beast, that it did not even observe our approach, but continued
+with its sharp teeth gnawing into the back of its defenceless prey.  We
+now paddled closer.  It turned a look of savage rage towards us, seeming
+to doubt whether it should let go the manatee and stand on the
+defensive, or continue the strife.  The way it held the sea-cow gave us
+a notion of its immense strength.  Gradually the efforts of the manatee
+began to relax.  It was very clear how the combat would have finished
+had we not been present.  At a sign from the Indians I lifted my rifle
+and fired.  The ball passed through the jaguar's neck.  Though wounded,
+the fierce animal stood snarling savagely, with its fore-feet on the
+trunk of the tree, as if prepared to make a spring into the canoe.
+While I was reloading, the Indians raised their blow-pipes and sent two
+of their slender arrows quivering into its body.  Still the jaguar stood
+at bay, apparently scarcely feeling the wound.  Meantime the huge
+cow-fish was slipping off the bank.  Naro, on seeing this, ordered his
+men to paddle forward, while, harpoon in hand, he stood ready to dart it
+at the manatee.  Every moment I expected to see the jaguar spring at us.
+Just as the manatee was disappearing under the water, the harpoon flew
+with unerring aim from Naro's hand, and was buried deeply in its body.
+Again we backed away from the bank, just in time, it seemed, for in
+another moment the jaguar would have sprung at us.  Having got out of
+its reach, the Indians shot two more of their deadly arrows into its
+body.  Still it stood, snarling and roaring with rage at being deprived
+of its prey.  Gradually its cries of anger ceased, its glaring eyes grew
+dim, its legs seemed to refuse it support, and slowly it sank back among
+the mass of fern-like plants which bordered the bank.
+
+Meantime, the Indians were engaged with the harpoon line, now hauling in
+on it, now slackening it out, a ruddy hue mixing with the current
+showing that the life-blood of the manatee was fast ebbing away.  In a
+short time the struggles of the huge river monster ceased, and the
+Indians paddling towards the bank, towed it after them.  I was all the
+while looking out for the jaguar.  A movement in the shrubs among which
+it had fallen showed that it was still alive.  I was sure that my shot
+had not injured it much, and I could scarcely suppose that those light
+needle-like darts could have done it much harm.  I reminded Naro of the
+jaguar.  He shook his head in reply.  "He will no longer interfere with
+us," I understood him to say.  The manatee was soon hauled on shore, and
+as it was too large to be taken bodily into the canoe, the Indians,
+having thoroughly knocked out any spark of life which might remain,
+began cutting it up.
+
+The creature was between seven and eight feet long, and upwards of six
+in circumference in the thickest part.  The body was perfectly smooth,
+and of a lead colour.  It tapered off towards the tail, which was flat,
+horizontal, and semicircular, without any appearance of hind limbs.  The
+head was not large, though the mouth was, with fleshy lips somewhat like
+those of a cow.  There were stiff bristles on the lips, and a few hairs
+scattered over the body.  Just behind the head were two powerful oval
+fins, having the breasts beneath them.  The ears were minute holes, and
+the eyes very small.  The skin of the back was fully an inch thick, and
+beneath it a layer of fat, also an inch or more thick.  On examining the
+fins, or fore-limbs, as they should properly be called, we found bones
+exactly corresponding to those of the human arm, with five fingers at
+the extremity, every joint distinct, although completely encased in a
+stiff inflexible skin.  The manatee feeds on the grass growing at the
+borders of the lakes and rivers.  It swims at a rapid rate, moved on by
+the tail and paddles.  The female produces generally only one at a
+birth, and clasps it, so Naro told us, in her paddles while giving it
+suck.
+
+Having cut up the cow, with which we loaded the canoe, we paddled in
+towards where the jaguar had been seen.  The chief and one of his
+followers without hesitation leaped on shore: Arthur and I followed,
+when to our surprise we saw the savage brute lying over on its side
+perfectly dead.  It had been destroyed by the poison on the tip of the
+arrows, not by the wounds they or my bullet had produced.  It was
+quickly skinned, cut up, and part of the meat added to our store, while
+the skin, which I thought was the most valuable part, was at my request
+taken on board.
+
+On emerging from the inlet, we steered for the island, guided by the
+light of the camp-fire.  We were welcomed with loud shouts by the
+generally impassive Indians, who were delighted with the supply of flesh
+which we had brought.  No time was lost in cutting the meat into small
+pieces, each person fastening a dozen or more on long skewers.  These
+were stuck in the ground, and slanted over the flames to roast.  The
+meat tasted somewhat like pork, I thought, but John considered it more
+like beef.
+
+We were one evening approaching a long island with a sand-bank extending
+from its side.  Isoro told us that the Indians were unable to proceed
+further, and that after this we should find the navigation tolerably
+easy.  The sand-bank, he said, was frequented by turtles, and they hoped
+to be able to supply us and themselves with a good store of eggs, and to
+catch also some turtles.
+
+Having hauled up the canoes, and formed our sleeping-places as usual,
+leaving Domingos in charge of the camp, we all, including Ellen and
+Maria, set out to search for turtles' eggs, our Indians having in the
+meantime woven a number of baskets of reeds in which to carry them.
+Each of the Indians carried a long stick in his hand.  We proceeded a
+short distance along the bank, till we came to a somewhat higher part.
+The sand felt quite hot to our feet.  The Indians pointed out some
+slight marks in it, which they told us were made by the turtles.  Going
+on, one of them stuck his stick into the sand.  It sank easily down.
+Instantly he and his companions were on their knees digging with their
+hands, and soon cleared out a hole full of eggs.  Upwards of one hundred
+were collected from that hole alone.  In the meantime the rest were
+searching about, and we were soon all on our knees, busily engaged in
+picking up the eggs.  The eggs were about an inch and a half in
+diameter, somewhat larger than an ordinary hen's egg.  They have thin
+leathery shells, an oily yoke, and a white which does not coagulate.
+Having laden ourselves with as many as we could carry in our baskets, we
+returned to the camp.  Domingos at once set to work to make cakes,
+mixing the eggs with flour.  Others were roasted.  The Indians, however,
+ate them raw.
+
+While we sat round our camp-fire, Isoro excited our curiosity by an
+account of the way the turtles lay their eggs, and we agreed to start
+away the next morning before daybreak to watch the process.  He called
+us about two hours before daybreak.  We found that Naro and two of his
+men had already gone off to try and catch some of the animals.  After
+walking a short distance, we discovered the Indians squatting down
+behind a shelter of branches, which they had put up to conceal
+themselves from the turtles.  They told us to take our seats by them,
+and remain quiet.  We had not been there long before we saw a number of
+dark objects moving over the light coloured sand.  Two or three came
+close to us, when the Indians rushing out, quickly turned them on their
+backs, and again ran under shelter.
+
+We waited for some time till the light of day enabled us to see more
+clearly, when, as far as our eyes could reach, we observed the upper
+part of the bank covered with turtles, all busily employed with their
+broad-webbed paws in excavating the sand, while others were apparently
+placing their eggs in the holes they had made.  As the morning drew on,
+they began to waddle away towards the river.  The margin of the upper
+bank was rather steep, and it was amusing to see them tumbling head
+foremost down the declivity, and then going on again till the leaders
+reached the water.  We now all rushed forward, and were in time to catch
+several, turning them over on their backs, where they lay unable to
+move.
+
+The first comer, Isoro told us, makes a hole about three feet deep.  In
+this she lays her eggs, and then covers them up with sand.  The next
+reaching the shore lays her eggs on the top of her predecessor's, and so
+on, several turtles will lay one above the others, till the pit, which
+holds about one hundred eggs, is full, when the last carefully sweeps
+the sand over the hole, so as to make it appear as if it had not been
+disturbed.  It is only, indeed, from the tracks made by the turtles
+themselves as they are returning to the water that the nests can be
+traced.  In the settled parts of the country great care is taken not to
+disturb these sand-banks till the whole body of turtles have laid their
+eggs.  Sometimes they occupy fourteen days or more in the business.
+People are stationed at some elevated spot in the neighbourhood to warn
+off any one approaching the bank, and to take care that the timid
+turtles are in no way disturbed; otherwise it is supposed they would
+desert the ground altogether.
+
+We had now a large supply of turtle and turtle eggs.  Our Indian
+friends, well satisfied with their expedition, loaded their canoe almost
+to the water's edge.  We also took on board as many as we could consume.
+Naro and his followers had behaved very well, but they were
+uninteresting people, and had done nothing particular to win our regard.
+John wrote a letter to Don Jose for Isoro to carry, and we all sent
+many messages, expressing our affectionate regard.  Had it not been for
+Don Jose, we might have been subjected to much annoyance and trouble,
+and been prevented probably from following our family.  We each of us
+presented Isoro also with a small remembrance.  We parted from him with
+sincere regret; and I believe that had it not been for his devoted love
+to his master he would gladly have accompanied us.  He and his
+companions waited till we had embarked in our own canoe, and cast off
+from the shore.  A light breeze was blowing down the river.  We hoisted
+our mat sail, and Domingos taking the steering oar, we recommenced our
+voyage down the river.  The Indians then set forth on their toilsome one
+up the stream, having to paddle with might and main for many days
+against it.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER SEVEN.
+
+OUR DISAPPOINTMENT, DANGER, AND ANXIETY.
+
+The tributary of the Amazon, down which we were proceeding, was in many
+places more than half a mile wide: what must be the width of the mighty
+river itself!  This comparatively small stream was often tossed into
+waves, and we were thankful that we had the prospect of embarking in a
+larger vessel, with more experienced boatmen, for our further voyage.
+On either side of the river were clay banks, above which the lofty trees
+formed impenetrable walls; while here and there islands appeared, the
+soil of some raised but little above the river, while in others we could
+see evidences of the stream having separated them at no great distance
+of time from the mainland.  We continued our custom of landing at
+night--indeed, whenever we had to put to shore--at one of these islands.
+They all supplied us with wood to light our fires, and poles for our
+huts: some were large enough to furnish game.
+
+Thus several days passed away.  We were, by our calculations,
+approaching the spot at which our father had led us to expect that we
+should find him.  It may be supposed how eagerly we all looked out for
+the expected marks.  At length the curiously-coloured bluff hill he had
+mentioned appeared in sight.
+
+"There it is! there it is!" exclaimed Ellen.  "I am sure it must be the
+spot papa speaks of."
+
+We surveyed it with eager eyes, and agreed that there could be no
+mistake about the matter.  With redoubled energy we paddled on, the
+breeze, though light, being in our favour.  And now in a short time we
+came in sight of the expected group of bamboos.  We quickly rounded it;
+and there, before us, appeared the hill.  We looked out for the huts on
+its summit, but none were visible.
+
+"Oh! perhaps papa thought it better to build them lower down, under the
+shade of that group of palms," said Ellen; and we agreed that she was
+probably right.
+
+A small stream ran at the bottom of the hill, connected, probably, with
+one of the larger rivers we had passed.  We paddled up it a short
+distance, hoping to find a convenient place for landing.  Our hearts
+misgave us on finding no one come down to welcome us on shore.
+
+"They probably do not observe us coming," observed Ellen.  "Mamma and
+Fanny are in the house, and papa and the servants are out shooting."
+
+I saw by the cheerful way she spoke she felt none of the apprehensions
+which John and I were experiencing.  We soon found a clear spot, where
+the waters in the rainy season had carried away the trees and shrubs.
+Securing our canoe, we eagerly stepped on shore.  The bank was somewhat
+steep; but we managed to climb up it, and, cutting our way through the
+intervening jungle, reached the foot of the hill.  Even now I began to
+doubt whether, after all, this could be the spot our father spoke of.
+Not the slightest sound was heard, and there was no appearance of human
+habitations being near.  True, as soon as we had got into the more open
+ground, went scampering along in high glee at finding himself on shore.
+John led the way, anxiously looking about on very side.  We soon reached
+the top of the hill, gazing eagerly down towards the group of palm-trees
+Ellen had espied.  No huts were to be seen.
+
+"They cannot have been here!" exclaimed Ellen.
+
+Just then John gave a start, and immediately hurried forward.  We all
+followed.  Before us we saw several posts standing upright, but they
+were blackened and charred, while several others lay scattered about.
+The grass around was burned, and the ground covered with ashes.  It was
+too evident that a hut had stood there, which had been destroyed by
+fire; but whether it had been inhabited by our family or not, we in vain
+endeavoured to discover.  No traces of them could we find.  We looked at
+each other with anxious eyes.  Ellen burst into tears, fully believing
+that something dreadful had happened.  We wished to reassure her, but
+our own fears made this a hard matter.  John stood silent for some time.
+Then again he walked over the spot, and examined narrowly the ground,
+looking among the neighbouring trees.
+
+"Perhaps this was not their house," suggested Arthur; "or if it was,
+they may have escaped.  Surely we should not give way to despair."
+
+"I think the master is too cautious a man to have been taken by
+surprise," observed Domingos.  "He is probably not far off, and we shall
+see him soon."
+
+Maria did her best to comfort her young mistress.
+
+"Do not cry, Dona Ellen; do not cry.  We shall soon see them all," she
+said, putting her arms round her as she used to do when she was a child,
+and trying to comfort her.
+
+Wishing to ascertain John's opinion, I went towards him.
+
+"We must proceed further on," he said.  "I am surprised that our father
+has not left any sign by which we might learn where he has gone."
+
+"Perhaps he had to retreat in too great a hurry for that, yet he might
+have escaped in safety," observed Arthur.
+
+"Do you think they were attacked by natives, and driven away?"  I asked
+of John.
+
+"About that I am doubtful," he answered, in a low voice, so that Ellen
+should not hear.  "Yet had the hut simply been burned by accident, they
+would have rebuilt it.  Our friend Naro gave the Indians of this part of
+the river a bad name.  He called them _Majeronas_; and said that they
+are cannibals, and attack all strangers.  I did not believe the account
+he gave of them; and had I done so, I would not have mentioned it, for
+fear of unnecessarily alarming Ellen.  Still, Harry, I confess I am
+very, very anxious."
+
+"So indeed am I, now you tell me about the _Majeronas_," I observed;
+"but still we must hope for the best.  I cannot believe that anything so
+dreadful has happened as our fears suggest.  Our poor mother, and sweet
+Fanny and Aunt Martha, to have been carried off and killed!  Oh, I
+cannot think it true!"
+
+"Don't you think it possible they got notice that they were about to be
+attacked, and made their escape in good time?" observed Arthur, in a
+more cheerful voice.  "The natives, when they found that their prey had
+escaped them, would very naturally burn the house; and if they found any
+signals which Mr Faithful might have left, would have destroyed them
+also.  I will ask Domingos; I think he will agree with me."
+
+When we told Domingos what Arthur had said, he declared that he thought
+that was the most likely thing to have occurred.  The suggestion raised
+our spirits.  Domingos, however, advised as not to remain on the spot,
+lest the natives might discover us.  Having made another search round,
+we accordingly took our way back to the canoe.
+
+Shoving off, we went down the stream into the main river.  As we paddled
+slowly along the shore, we examined it carefully, still in hopes of
+finding some signals which might direct us.  We had gone on for some
+short distance, when Arthur, looking up at the hill, exclaimed, "See!
+who can those be?"
+
+There we saw several figures with bows in their hands and high feathery
+plumes on their heads.
+
+"They must be the _Majeronas_," exclaimed John.  "We have indeed only
+just retreated in time."
+
+"Oh, perhaps they will follow us!" cried Ellen.
+
+"I do not think we need fear that," said Arthur, "as we have seen no
+canoes."
+
+The Indians appeared only just to have discovered us.  We saw them
+gesticulating to each other; and then they hurried down towards the
+river.  We at once turned the canoe's head away from the bank, and
+paddled out into the centre of the stream, where we should be beyond the
+reach of their arrows.
+
+By working away with our paddles we soon ran out of sight of them.
+
+Having rested for some minutes to recover from our exertions, we
+continued on down the stream.  As the day was drawing on, it was
+necessary to look out for an island on which to encamp, as we had
+received so strong a warning not to land on the main shore.  We kept a
+bright look-out, but no signs of an island could we see.  The wind,
+which had hitherto been light, now increased to a gentle breeze; and as
+it was in our favour, we hoisted our sail and stood on, glad to be
+relieved from the labour of paddling.  Thus we continued our progress,
+hoping to get before night to a distance from our savage enemies.
+
+The night came on, but there was still sufficient light to enable us to
+steer down the centre of the river.  John proposed that we should form
+two watches; he and Arthur in one, Domingos and I in the other.  This,
+of course, was agreed to.  After some difficulty, we persuaded Ellen and
+Maria to lie down on the hammocks which were spread in the middle of the
+canoe under the awning.  John and Arthur took the first watch; Domingos
+coiling himself away in the stern of the canoe, and I in the bows; to be
+ready for service should we be required.
+
+Tired as I was, it was some time before I could manage to go to sleep.
+I lay looking up at the dark sky--out of which thousands of bright stars
+shone forth--and listening to the ripple of the water against the bows
+of the canoe.  At length the sound lulled me to sleep, though I felt
+conscious that Arthur had covered me up with a piece of matting.  It
+seemed but a moment afterwards that I heard his voice calling me to get
+up and take his place.  I raised myself, and saw Domingos at the helm,
+and the sails still set.  Arthur then lay down in the place I had
+occupied; and I did him the same service he had rendered me, by covering
+him carefully up so as to protect him from the night air.
+
+It was the first time we had voyaged at night; and as we glided calmly
+on, I could not help regretting that we had not oftener sailed at the
+same hour, and thus escaped the heat of the day, the mosquitoes on
+shore, and enjoyed the cool breeze on the river.  As I did not feel at
+all sleepy, I proposed to Domingos that we should allow John and Arthur
+to rest on, and continue ourselves on watch till daylight, when perhaps
+we might find some spot on which to land with safety.
+
+We thus glided on for some hours, and were expecting to see the dawn
+break over the trees on our larboard bow, when the channel became even
+narrower than before.  Had it not been that the current still ran with
+us, I should have supposed that we had entered some other stream; but
+the way the water ran showed that this could not be the case.  We
+therefore continued on as before.  A bright glow now appeared in the
+eastern sky.  Rapidly it increased till the whole arch of heaven was
+suffused with a ruddy light.  Suddenly John awoke, and uttered an
+exclamation of surprise on finding that it was daylight.  His voice
+aroused the rest of the party.  Just then the sun, like a mighty arch of
+fire, appeared above the trees; and directly afterwards we saw, running
+across the stream down which we were sailing, another and far broader
+river.  The mighty Maranon, as the natives call the Upper Amazon--or the
+Solimoens, as it is named by the Portuguese--was before us, having
+flowed down for many hundred miles from the mountain lake of Lauricocha,
+in Peru, 12,500 feet above the sea-level.
+
+As we gazed up and down the vast river, no object intervened till sky
+and water met, as on the ocean; while, on either side, the tall forest
+walls diminished in the perspective till they sank into thin lines.
+Even here, however, it is narrow, though already very deep, compared to
+the width it attains lower down.  Our satisfaction at having escaped
+from the savages and arrived at the high road, along which we were to
+proceed, was counterbalanced by our anxiety for our family.  We might,
+after all, have passed the spot where they were waiting for us; and yet
+it was not likely they would remain in the neighbourhood of such savages
+as the Majeronas had shown themselves.  We agreed, therefore, at all
+risks, at once to row in towards the shore, and examine it carefully as
+we proceeded downwards.
+
+We had not gone far, when we came in sight of a sand-bank, which offered
+a favourable spot for landing.  We accordingly rowed in, looking
+carefully about for any signs of natives.  As no huts or any human
+beings were to be seen, we landed.
+
+While Domingos and Arthur were collecting wood for a fire, John and I,
+followed by True, with our guns, made our way through the forest, that
+we might survey the country, so as not to be taken by surprise.  We had
+not gone far when I caught sight of three animals, which I should have
+taken for young hogs, from their brown colour, long coarse hair, and
+their general appearance, had they not been sitting up on their
+haunches, as no hog ever sat.  They had large heads, and heavy blunt
+muzzles, and thick clumsy bodies without tails.  They cast inquisitive
+looks at me, and would have sat on apparently till I had got close up to
+them, had not True dashed forward, when, uttering low sounds, between a
+grunt and a bark, they rushed towards the water.  I fired at one of
+them, and knocked it over.  The rest reached the river, though pursued
+by True, and instantly dived beneath the surface.  John came up, and on
+examining the animal's mouth, we found it to be a rodent, and thus knew
+it to be a capybara, the largest of its order.  When alarmed, it rushes
+to the water, swims as well as the otter, and takes its prey in a
+similar manner.  It is, from its aquatic habits, often called the
+water-hog.  It had short legs, and peculiarly long feet, partially
+webbed, which enable it to swim so well.
+
+Directly afterwards, True turned a smaller animal out of a hollow trunk.
+It made off through the forest at great speed; but John shot it just as
+it was running behind a tree.  It proved to be an agouti, also a rodent.
+It is in some respects like a hare or rabbit, with the coarse coat of a
+hog, but feeds itself like a squirrel.  It is classed with the
+guinea-pig.  It feeds on vegetables, and is very destructive to
+sugar-canes, which it rapidly gnaws through, and does not object to
+animal food.
+
+While I carried our prizes down in triumph to Domingos, that he might
+prepare a portion of them for breakfast, John continued his search
+through the woods.  I was on the point of joining him, when I heard him
+cry, "Look out!" and at the same instant another animal burst through
+the wood with True at his heels.  I fired, and killed it.  This also was
+a rodent; and John said that it was a paca, which lives always in the
+neighbourhood of water, to which it takes readily when chased.  It has
+its habitation in burrows, which it forms a short distance only beneath
+the surface.  The opening it conceals with dried leaves and small
+branches.  Once in the water, it swims and dives so well that it
+generally escapes from the hunter.  It was of a thick and somewhat
+clumsy form, about two feet in length and one in height.  The hinder
+limbs were longer than the front ones, and considerably bent.  The claws
+were thick and strong, fitted for digging.  It had rigid whiskers, and
+the ears were nearly naked.
+
+Presently I heard John cry out.
+
+"Harry, I believe that I have been bitten by a snake on which I trod,"
+he said, in his usual calm way.  "I killed the creature, and I think it
+is poisonous; so go and call Domingos, for he will perhaps know what to
+do.  But get him away if you can, so as not to frighten Ellen."
+
+I ran off as fast as my legs could carry me, and was thankful to find
+that Ellen and Maria were sitting under the awning in the canoe, while
+Domingos was cooking at the fire, assisted by Arthur.  In a breathless
+voice, my heart sinking with alarm, I told him what had happened.
+
+"There is a bottle of agua ardente, and there is another thing we will
+try," he said, and rushed to the canoe.
+
+I was afraid that he would tell Ellen; but he stepped on board with an
+unconcerned manner, as if he wanted something for a culinary purpose,
+and returned with two of the paddles, and a bottle and cup.
+
+We found John seated on the bank, taking off his boot and sock.
+
+"Here, Senor John, drink this," he said, giving him the cup full of
+liquid.  "Senor Arthur will hold the bottle for you, while Senor Harry
+and I are making a grave for your leg.  We must bury it.  Don't despair,
+my dear master.  The remedy is a wonderful one."
+
+We were digging away, while he spoke, with the paddles, and in a few
+moments John's leg was buried deep in the earth, which was pressed down
+over it.
+
+"Why, this is brandy," exclaimed John, as he swallowed the contents of a
+second cup which Arthur gave him.
+
+"Of course, my dear master," answered Domingos, who, folding his arms,
+stood by, watching the effect of his treatment.  "Some people think one
+remedy the best, some another.  It is wise to try both.  The brandy
+drives, the earth draws the poison forth."
+
+Oh, how anxiously we watched John's countenance!  No change took place.
+
+Arthur and I went back, lest Ellen might be alarmed at our absence,
+leaving Domingos, who stood unmoved, in the same attitude as at first,
+watching his patient.  At last Ellen put her head out from under the
+toldo, and asked when breakfast would be ready, as she and Maria were
+very hungry.
+
+"What shall we tell her?" asked Arthur.
+
+Just then I looked up, and saw Domingos coming towards us, waving the
+dead snake in his hand, and John following, walking as briskly as if
+nothing had been the matter with him.
+
+"A wonderful cure has been wrought," he exclaimed, as he reached us.
+"But don't tell Domingos yet.  Finding myself much as usual, I bethought
+me, as I sat with my leg in the hole, of looking into the reptile's
+mouth; and though it has a set of sharp teeth, I could discover no
+poisonous fangs.  I am only sorry that so much good brandy was expended
+on me, which may be wanted on another occasion."
+
+We now summoned Ellen, and told her in English what had occurred.
+Arthur and I having examined the head of the snake, to assure ourselves
+that John was right, cut it off and threw it into the river, while True
+breakfasted off the body, which we cooked for him.  Domingos did not
+discover the truth till some time afterwards; and we heard him
+frequently boasting of the certain cure he knew for snake bites.  I
+cannot, however, say that his remedy would not prove efficacious.
+
+Having made a good breakfast on the agouti, we once more embarked, and
+glided down the stream.
+
+I have not dwelt much on our anxiety, but, as may be supposed, we felt
+it greatly, and our conversation could not fail to be subdued and sad.
+Ellen, however, after her first grief had subdued, did her utmost, dear,
+good little sister that she was, to cheer our spirits.  Often she kept
+repeating, "I am sure they have escaped!  We shall before long find
+them.  Depend on it, papa would not allow himself to be surprised!  I
+have been praying for them ever since we commenced our journey, and I
+know my prayers will be heard."
+
+Although I had felt great despondency, I could not help being influenced
+by Ellen's hopeful spirit.  Still it seemed to me that the probability
+of our discovering them along the wide-extended banks of the river was
+but small indeed.  They, too, how anxious they must be feeling on our
+account; for if they had been in danger, as we supposed, they must know
+we should be subjected to the same.  However, I will not dwell longer on
+this subject, but only again repeat that our parents and our aunt and
+Fanny were never absent from our thoughts.  A light breeze springing up,
+we hoisted our mat sail, and glided down the river.  Nothing could be
+more delightful.  The light air cooled us, and kept off the mosquitoes;
+and as the nights were bright, had we not been anxious to examine the
+shore, we agreed that we might have continued our voyage till it was
+necessary to land and procure food.
+
+Suddenly, however, the wind again dropped.  The sun, which had hitherto
+been casting his undimmed rays down on our heads, became obscured, as if
+a thick curtain had been drawn across it.  The whole sky assumed a
+yellow tinge.  Domingos looked anxiously round.
+
+"I do not like the look of the weather," he observed.  "It would be wise
+to lower the sail."
+
+We had just got it down, when a low murmur was heard in the distant
+woods, increasing rapidly to a subdued roar.  A white line appeared
+across the river.  It came rapidly towards us.  Now we could feel the
+wind blowing against our cheeks, and the whole surface of the water
+became suddenly rippled into wavelets, from which the white foam flew
+off in thick sheets.  The sky had again changed to a greenish hue.  The
+waves every moment increased in height.
+
+"A hurricane is coming on," observed Domingos.  "We cannot face it."
+
+We put the canoe's head towards the shore.
+
+"Paddle, my masters! paddle!" exclaimed Domingos.  "We must reach the
+shore before the storm breaks with its full violence, or we may be
+lost!"
+
+We had not paddled many strokes before we felt the canoe driven forward
+by the wind at a rapid rate.  We exerted ourselves, running before the
+wind, and edging in at the same time towards the northern shore.  Every
+instant the hurricane gained strength; and as we looked upward, the
+whole sky, we saw, had assumed a red and black appearance.  A little
+ahead appeared a sand-bank, on which stood a number of tall-legged
+birds, cormorants, white cranes, and other waders, large and small.  We
+might land on the island, and save our lives; but the wind setting
+directly on it, we might lose our canoe, or, at all events, the water
+would break into her and destroy our goods.  Domingos steered the canoe
+admirably, while we made every effort to keep off the island.  Presently
+down came the blast with greater fury than before.  Some of the smaller
+birds were carried off their legs and borne away by the wind.  Others,
+throwing themselves down, stuck their beaks into the sand, and clung on
+with their long claws, their feet extended.  In spite of our danger,
+Arthur and I could not help laughing at the extraordinary appearance of
+the birds, as they thus lay in great numbers along the sand, looking as
+if they had been shot, and were lying dead till the sportsman could pick
+them up.  On we drove, narrowly escaping being thrown upon the bank, on
+which the foaming seas broke with terrific force.
+
+"Here it comes again!" cried Domingos.  "Paddle bravely, and be not
+alarmed."
+
+As he spoke, another blast, still more violent, struck us, and in an
+instant the covering of our canoe was torn away and lifted up.  In vain
+we attempted to catch it.  It was borne off by the wind towards the
+shore.  So high were the waves which thus suddenly rose up, that we
+expected every moment to be overwhelmed; while we feared that unless we
+could manage to anchor we should be driven on the bank to leeward, where
+the canoe would be filled with water, and everything in her carried
+away.  To resist the fury of the waves was impossible.  In vain we
+strove to get under the lee of the island.  Destruction yawned before
+us, when we saw, amid the thick forest trees which lined the bank, a
+narrow opening.  It was the entrance, we hoped, to an igarape,--one of
+those curious water-ways, or canoe paths, which form a network of canals
+many hundred miles in extent, on either bank of the Amazon.  We exerted
+ourselves to the utmost to reach it, although the seas which struck the
+side of the canoe threatened every moment to upset her before we could
+do so.  Ellen and Maria had got out their paddles, and laboured away
+with all their strength, Maria's stout arms indeed being a very
+efficient help.  Domingos kept working away with his paddle, now on one
+side, now on another, now steering astern as he saw was requisite,
+twisting his features into a hundred different forms, and showing his
+white teeth as he shouted out in his eagerness.  The tall trees were
+bending before the blast as if they were about to be torn from their
+roots and carried bodily inland.  My fear was, on seeing them thus
+agitated, that should we get beneath them they might fall and crush us.
+Still we had no choice.  It seemed doubtful whether we should reach the
+mouth of the igarape.
+
+We redoubled our efforts, and just grazing by a point which projected
+from the shore, on which, had we been thrown, we should have been upset,
+we darted into the canal.  Even there the water hissed and roared as it
+was forced into the narrow channel.  As an arrow flies through the
+zarabatana, so we sped up the igarape.  For a few seconds Domingos had
+to exert himself to steer the canoe in mid-channel, to prevent her being
+dashed against the roots of the tall trees which projected into it.  At
+first the roar of the wind among the trunks and branches was almost
+deafening.  Gradually it decreased, and in a short time we could hear
+only the distant murmur of the tempest on the outside of the woody
+boundary.  We were not, however, to escape altogether from it, for down
+came the rain in a pelting shower, to which, from the loss of our
+awning, we were completely exposed.  We quickly, however, rigged another
+with our sail, which afforded shelter to Ellen and Maria.  Having
+secured the canoe, we all crept under it, and consulted what we should
+next do.  What with the mantle of clouds across the sky, and the thick
+arch of boughs over our heads, so great was the darkness that we could
+scarcely persuade ourselves that night was not coming on.  We sat
+patiently, hoping that the rain, which pattered down with so loud a
+noise that it was necessary to raise our voices to make each other hear,
+would at length cease.  In about half an hour, the shower-bath to which
+we had been exposed came to an end.  But still drops fell thickly from
+the boughs, and the darkness proved to us that the clouds had not yet
+cleared away.
+
+After our unsatisfactory meeting with the natives, we were anxious not
+to remain longer on that part of the shore than necessary.  Accordingly
+we once more paddled down the igarape.  We soon found, however, that the
+wind was blowing too hard to allow us to venture out on the main stream.
+
+On passing downwards we observed a somewhat open space on the north
+side, and despairing of continuing our voyage that night, we determined
+to encamp there.  Securing our canoe, in which Ellen and Maria sat under
+shelter, the rest of us, with axes in our hands, set to work to clear
+the ground and build a couple of huts.  We had become such proficients
+in the art that this we soon accomplished.  On account of the weather we
+built one of them, not only with a roof, but with back and sides, in
+which Ellen and her attendant could be sheltered.  To our own also we
+built a side on the quarter from which the wind came.  Our difficulty
+was to light a fire.  But hunting about, we found some dried leaves in
+the hollow of a tree, and there was no lack of wood, which, after
+chopping off the wet outside, would burn readily.
+
+Having made all preparations, we conducted Ellen and Maria to their hut,
+and carried up our goods, which we placed within it, under shelter.  We
+felt somewhat anxious at our position; but we hoped that the rain would
+keep any natives who might be in the neighbourhood from wandering about,
+and by the following morning we should be able to proceed on our voyage.
+Should we not meet with our father on our way down, we resolved to stop
+at the nearest Brazilian town on the banks, and there obtain assistance
+in instituting a more rigid search than we could make by ourselves.  Of
+one thing we were certain, that had he escaped, and got thus far, he
+would stay there till our arrival.  Still we did not abandon all hopes
+of finding him before that.
+
+We had taken everything out of the canoe, with the exception of the
+paddles, even to the sail, which served as a carpet for Ellen's hut.  We
+next turned our attention to cooking further portions of the animals we
+had killed in the morning.  In spite of the storm raging outside, and
+our anxiety, as we sat round the blazing fire, Ellen and Maria having
+joined us, the smoke keeping the mosquitoes somewhat at bay, we all felt
+more cheerful than might have been expected.  Midnight had now come on;
+and having cut up a further supply of wood to keep the fire burning, we
+slung our hammocks and turned into them, trusting to True to keep watch
+for us.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER EIGHT.
+
+ADVENTURES IN THE FOREST--WE MEET WITH NATIVES.
+
+The hours of the night passed slowly by.  I awoke several times.  Few of
+the usual noises of the forest were heard.  The tempest seemed to have
+silenced its wild inhabitants.  Now and then the cry of a howling baboon
+reached our ears from the depths of the forest.  I had a feeling that
+something dreadful was about to occur, yet I was sufficiently awake to
+know that this might be mere fancy, and I did my best to go to sleep.
+The fire was still burning brightly.  I looked down from my hammock.
+There was True sleeping tranquilly below me, as my companions were,
+around.  When I looked away from the fire into the forest, I was struck
+by the unusual darkness.  Not a ray of light appeared to come from the
+sky, which was still covered with a thick mantle of clouds.  I succeeded
+at last in dropping off to sleep.  How long my eyes had been closed I
+could not tell, when I heard True uttering a low bark.  I could just see
+him running to the edge of the hut, and looking out towards the river.
+I sprang from my hammock, calling to my companions.  They were on foot
+in a moment; but the darkness, was so great that we could see nothing
+beyond a few feet from where we stood.  As we sprang up, True rushed
+forward.  We heard him barking away in front of us.  The fire was out,
+and with difficulty we found our way back.  I called to True, and at
+last he returned, but we were still unable to discover any cause for
+alarm.  After a time we agreed that the wisest thing we could do would
+be to turn into our hammocks again.  I scolded True for alarming us so
+needlessly, and he came back and lay down in his usual place.  The night
+passed away without any other disturbance.
+
+When we arose in the morning the wind had ceased, the clouds had cleared
+away, and the weather was as fine as usual.  Getting up, we prepared
+breakfast, and agreed to continue our voyage as soon as it was over.  As
+we had sufficient provisions, there was no necessity to search for any.
+We therefore remained at our camp till our meal was over.  John was the
+first to take up a load and proceed with it down to the canoe.  I
+followed.  When still at a little distance, I heard him utter an
+exclamation of dismay.  He turned back, and I saw by his countenance
+that there was something wrong.  Now he looked up the igarape, now down.
+
+"Harry," he exclaimed, "I cannot see the canoe!"
+
+"You must have mistaken the spot where I left it," I answered.  "I
+secured it well."
+
+I returned with him to the bank.  In vain we searched up and down the
+banks of the water-path.  Not a trace of the canoe did we discover.
+
+"She must have broken adrift, then, during the night," I observed.
+"Perhaps she has driven up the igarape."
+
+"I will go one way and you the other, then," said John.
+
+I made my way as well as I could through the tangled wood from the
+river, while John went towards it.  Wherever I could, I got down to the
+edge of the water.  Now I climbed along a trunk which overhang it; but
+though I thus got a view for a considerable distance, I could see no
+canoe.  At length I returned, hoping that John might have been more
+successful.  I met him on the spot where we had parted.
+
+"I cannot see her," he said.  "Harry, I am afraid she has been carried
+off!"
+
+The same idea had occurred to me.  We now carefully examined the spot
+where we had left her.  I found the very trunk of the tree round which I
+had secured the painter.  It was scarcely rubbed, which it would have
+been, we agreed, had the canoe been torn away by the force of the wind.
+We were soon joined by Arthur and Domingos, who had come along with
+loads, surprised at our not returning.  We communicated to them the
+alarming intelligence.  Domingos was afraid that we were right in our
+conjectures.  We returned to the camp to break the unsatisfactory news
+to Ellen.
+
+"If our canoe is lost, we must build another," she remarked, in her
+usual quiet way, concealing her anxiety; "but it is very trying to be
+thus delayed."
+
+Still it would not do to give up without a further search for the canoe.
+As the wind had set up the igarape, I knew that, should the canoe have
+broken away by herself, she must have driven before it.  It was
+therefore settled that Arthur and I should go up still further in that
+direction, while John would try and make his way down to the main river,
+searching along the bank.  Ellen and Maria, with Domingos and True to
+take care of them, were to remain at the camp.  Arthur and I had our
+axes, for without them we could make no progress.  I had my gun; Arthur
+a spear, with bow and arrows, which Naro had presented to him.  Thus
+armed, we hoped to defend ourselves against any jaguar or boa we might
+meet.  We had little to fear from any other wild animals.  As we had
+seen no traces of natives, we did not expect to meet with any.  We soon
+gained the point I had reached in the morning.  After this, we had to
+hew a path for ourselves through the forest.  Sometimes we got a few
+feet without impediment, and then had to cut away the sipos for several
+yards.  Now and then we were able to crawl under them, and sometimes we
+were able to leap over the loops, or make our way along the
+wide-spreading roots of the tall trees.  Thus we went on, every now and
+then getting down to the edge of the igarape, and climbing out on the
+trunk of one of the overhanging trees, whence we could obtain a view up
+and down for some distance.
+
+We had just reached the bank, and were looking out along it, when I saw
+a troop of monkeys coming along through the forest.  I kept True by my
+side, and whispered to Arthur not to speak.  I could scarcely help
+laughing aloud at the odd manner in which they made their way among the
+branches, now swinging down by their tails, now catching another branch,
+and hanging on by their arms.  They were extraordinarily thin creatures,
+with long arms and legs, and still longer tails--our old friends the
+spider monkeys.  Those tails of theirs were never quiet, but kept
+whisking about in all directions.  They caught hold of the branches with
+them, and then hung by them with their heads downwards, an instant
+afterwards to spring up again.  Presently they came close to the water,
+when one of them caught hold of a branch with his fore-hands and tail,
+another jumped down and curled his tail round the body of the first.  A
+third descended and slung himself in a similar manner.  A fourth and
+fifth followed, and so on; and there they hung, a regular monkey chain.
+Immediately the lowest, who hung with his head downwards, gave a shove
+with his fore-paws, and set the chain swinging, slowly at first but
+increasing in rapidity, backwards and forwards over the water.  I
+thought to myself, if an alligator were making his way up the canal, the
+lowest would have a poor chance of his life.  The swinging increased in
+violence, till the lowest monkey got his paws round the slender trunk of
+a tree on the opposite side.  Immediately he drew his companion after
+him; till the next above him was within reach of it.  That one caught
+the tree in the same way, and they then dragged up their end of the
+chain till it hung almost horizontally across the water.  A living
+bridge having thus been formed, the remainder of the troop, chiefly
+consisting of young monkeys who had been amusing themselves meantime
+frisking about in the branches, ran over.  Two or three of the
+mischievous youngsters took the opportunity of giving a sly pinch to
+their elders, utterly unable just then to retaliate; though it was
+evident, from the comical glances which the latter cast at them, that
+the inflictors of the pinches were not unnoticed.  One, who had been
+trying to catch some fish apparently during the interval, was nearly too
+late to cross.  The first two who had got across now climbed still
+further up the trunk; and when they had got to some distance, the
+much-enduring monkey, who had been holding the weight of all the others,
+let go his hold, and now becoming the lowest in the chain, swung towards
+the bank.  As soon as he and his companions reached it, they caught hold
+of the trunk either with their hands or tails.  The whole troop thus got
+safely across.
+
+The shouts of laughter, to which Arthur and I could no longer resist
+giving way, startled the monkeys.  They looked about with inquisitive
+glances, wondering probably what sort of strange creatures we could be
+who had come into their territory.  At length, espying us, off they set
+at a great rate through the forest.
+
+They had chosen the narrowest part of the igarape to cross.  Going on
+further, it widened considerably.  We still continued making our way
+along its margin; but the ground at length became so swampy, that we
+were obliged to turn off to the left.  After this we came to somewhat
+more open ground, which had been cleared either by fire or by the hand
+of man.  It was, of course, overgrown with vegetation of all sorts; but
+not sufficiently so to prevent us making our way through it.  Our
+intention was to go round the swamp or lake, and again reach the border
+of the water-path.  We proceeded on for some distance, when we saw
+through an opening a high clay bank; it could scarcely be called a hill.
+But few trees grew on it.  We thought that, by getting to the top, we
+could obtain a view of the country around.  We accordingly made our way
+towards it.  It formed apparently the eastern edge of the high country
+through which the Napo runs.  We found, here and there, veins of that
+curiously-coloured clay which we had before seen.  Looking eastward, a
+vast extent of forest was spread out before us, extending far as the eye
+could reach.  No opening was visible except the long line of the
+Solimoens, at some distance from where we stood.  We could look westward
+towards its source in the Andes; and eastward as it flowed on towards
+the far distant Atlantic, hundreds of miles away.  The whole igarape was
+entirely shut out from view.  We thought, however, that by continuing
+towards the north we might possibly again get sight of it, when we
+purposed to continue our search for the canoe.  We had faint hopes of
+finding it, we could not but confess.
+
+We had gone on some way, when, passing round a clump of trees, we saw
+before us two natives seated on the top of a hill, looking out, it
+seemed, over the country beyond them.  Their bodies were tattooed or
+painted all over in curious devices, and their heads were decked with
+war-plumes, while each of them had a musket resting on his arm, as if
+ready for immediate use.  Our first impulse was to retreat, hoping that
+we had not been seen; but their quick eyes had caught sight of us.  They
+beckoned to us to approach.
+
+"They must have had intercourse with white men, or they would not have
+those muskets," observed Arthur.  "Perhaps they may prove to be
+friends."
+
+To escape them, I saw, would be impossible.  I therefore agreed with
+Arthur that the best way was to go forward at once in a frank manner and
+try to win their confidence.  We climbed the hill, therefore, and as we
+get up to where they were waiting for us, put out our hands and shook
+theirs.  They were accustomed, apparently, to the European style of
+greeting.  They addressed us, and seemed to be inquiring whence we had
+come.  We explained as well as we could by signs--pointing in the
+direction of the Andes, and then showing how we had glided down in the
+canoe.  While they were speaking, I thought I detected a few words which
+sounded like Spanish; and listening more attentively, I found that the
+eldest of the two was speaking the _lingua geral_--a corrupt Portuguese,
+mixed with Indian words, generally used throughout the whole length of
+the Amazon.  It was so like the language Naro and his Indians had
+employed when speaking to us, that I could make out, with a little
+difficulty, what was said.  I understood the elder Indian to say that he
+was a friend of the whites; and that, as Arthur had supposed, he had
+obtained the muskets from them.  Finding the natives so friendly, I
+invited them to our camp.  They shook their heads, and pointed to the
+north-west, letting us understand that they were about to start away on
+an expedition against an enemy in that direction; but that, on their
+return, they would without fail come to visit us.  They signified that
+if we would accompany them to their village, we should be hospitably
+received.  When speaking of the enemy, they uttered the word "Majeronas"
+two or three times.
+
+"Those must be the people you think attacked your father," observed
+Arthur.  "If he and your family are prisoners, they may be the means of
+releasing them."
+
+"I am afraid the Majeronas are too fierce and savage to make prisoners,"
+I answered.  "We might accompany these Indians and avenge their death,
+if they have been killed."
+
+"That is not according to the Christian law," observed Arthur mildly.
+"I would run any risk, though, to obtain their release, should they have
+been made prisoners."
+
+"I feel sure that they have not," I answered.  "Had they not escaped in
+their canoe we should certainly have found some remains of her on the
+shore, or some traces of them.  Oh no; I feel sure they got off, and we
+shall overtake them before long."
+
+As I ceased speaking, a band of Indians appeared coming through the
+woods.  They were--like the first two, who were evidently chiefs--decked
+in feathers and paint, but otherwise unencumbered by clothing.  They
+were armed with bows and spears, but not a musket did we see among them.
+They were certainly the lightest of light troops.  The two chiefs
+seemed to look upon their weapons as of immense value, as a general does
+his heavy guns.  I saw the chief eyeing my rifle; and he then addressed
+us, inviting us to accompany the expedition.  In spite of what I had
+just said, I felt greatly inclined to go, Arthur, however, urged me
+strongly not to do so.
+
+"Think of your sister and brother.  How anxious our absence would make
+them!" he observed.  "You do not know what dangers they may be exposed
+to; and suppose we were surprised and killed by the enemy, what would
+become of them?"
+
+I agreed that he was right, and explained to the chief that we could not
+leave our friends.  He then asked me to make over my gun to him; but, of
+course, I could not deprive myself of our chief means of defence, and
+therefore turned a deaf ear to his request.  The troops had halted at
+the foot of the hill; and we accompanied the two chiefs, who went down
+to meet them.  The natives looked at us without much surprise, as if
+white men were no strangers to them.  Arthur now advised that we should
+return, as it would be a serious matter should we be benighted in the
+forest.  Before parting from our friends, we endeavoured to ascertain
+whether they had seen our canoe, but we could obtain no information from
+them.  Still I could not help thinking that she had been carried off by
+some of their tribe, who might have found her on their way up the
+igarape.  When, therefore, the chief again pressed us to pay a visit to
+his village, we accepted his invitation.
+
+Several lads had accompanied the army.  As they only carried blow-pipes
+in their hands, I suspected--as proved to be the case--that they were
+not to proceed further.  The chief called one of them up to him; and
+from the way he spoke, I had little doubt that he was his son.  The
+chief made signs to us that the lad, whom he called Duppo, would go back
+with us to the village, and that we should there obtain any food we
+might require.  Duppo appeared to be about fourteen years of age, and
+more intelligent and better looking than most of the Indians; indeed,
+the two chiefs we had first seen were superior to the rest in
+appearance, and Duppo was very like them.  We came to the conclusion
+that they were brothers; and that Duppo, as I have said, was the son of
+the eldest.  This we found afterwards to be the case.
+
+The chief, having wished us farewell, gave the signal to advance; and
+leading the way, the Indians set off in single file along the bottom of
+the hill.  We, having watched them for some time, accompanied Duppo,
+followed by the three other lads who had come with him.  We asked him
+his father's name, and understood him to say it was Maono, that his
+mother's name was Mora, and that his uncle was called Paco.  Had we
+judged by Duppo's manner, we should not have supposed that his friends
+had gone on a dangerous expedition; but yet, knowing the character of
+the Majeronas, we could not help feeling some anxiety for the result.
+We found that Duppo was leading us towards the further end of the
+igarape, in the direction we had ourselves before proposed going.  We
+had, however, delayed so long, that I feared we should not have time to
+return.  Arthur suggested that we might possibly find a canoe, in which
+we could go back by water, or, if not, we might build a balsa, such as
+we had seen used on the Guayas.
+
+"An excellent idea," I replied.  "We will put it into execution should
+we not find a canoe."
+
+Our young guide led the way with unerring instinct through the forest.
+We had gone some distance, when we heard a deep, loud, and
+long-sustained flute-like note.  It was that of a bird.  The young
+Indian stopped, and pointing ahead, uttered the word _nira-mimbeu_,
+which I afterwards ascertained meant fife-bird, evidently from the
+peculiar note we had just heard.  The whole party stopped in the
+attitude of listening, and looking among the branches, we got a good
+view of a bird a short distance beyond us, with glossy black plumage,
+perched on a bough.  The bird itself was about the size of a common
+crow.  It had a remarkable ornament on its head, consisting of a crest
+formed of long, curved, hairy feathers at the end of bare quills which
+were now raised and spread out in the shape of a fringed sunshade.
+Round its neck was a tippet formed of glossy steel-blue feathers; and as
+we watched it, while it was singing it spread these out, and waved them
+in a curious manner, extending at the same time its umbrella-formed
+crest, while it bowed its head slightly forward and then raised it
+again.  I knew at once the curious creature to be the rare umbrella-bird
+(_Cephalopterus ornatus_).  The bird was continuing its flute-like
+performance, when Duppo, advancing slowly and lifting his blow-pipe,
+sent forth with unerring aim a tiny dart, which pierced the bird's neck.
+Much to my sorrow, the note ceased; but yet the bird stood on its perch
+as if scarcely aware of the wound it had received.  We all stood
+watching it.  For nearly a minute it remained as before, till gradually
+its head began to drop, and finally it fell to the ground.  Duppo ran
+forward, and taking a pinch of white substance from a wallet which he
+carried at his side, placed it in the bird's mouth, and then carefully
+pulling out the arrow, put some into the wound, just as our Napo Indians
+had done when they shot our monkey, Nimble.  We then went on, he
+carrying the apparently lifeless bird carefully in his arms.  In a few
+minutes it began slowly to lift its head, and then to look about it as a
+hen does when carried in the same way.  In a short time the bird seemed
+to be as well as if it had not received a wound, and began to peck at
+the bare arms of our young guide.  On this he took from his bag some
+small pieces of fibre.  On piece he wound round its bill, and another
+round its legs, taking great care not to hurt or injure it in any way.
+
+We went on for some distance, our young guide keeping his sharp eyes
+roving round in every direction in search of some other bird or animal
+on which he might exercise his skill.  We were naturally surprised at
+the wonderful way in which the bird he had shot had recovered.  I could
+scarcely believe that the arrow had been tipped with poison, and yet I
+could not otherwise account for the manner in which the bird fell to the
+ground.  I inquired of Duppo, but could not understand his reply.  At
+last he took out of his bag some of the white stuff we had seen him
+apply and put it on his tongue.  "Why," exclaimed Arthur, to whom he had
+given some to taste, "it is salt!"
+
+Salt it undoubtedly was; and we now first learned that salt is an
+antidote to the wourali poison.  People, indeed, who eat salt with their
+food are but little affected by it; while it quickly kills savages and
+animals who do not eat salt.
+
+We had seen as yet no signs of habitations, when Duppo stopped and
+pointed through an opening in the trees.  We saw, in the shade of the
+wide-spreading boughs, a woman kneeling before a bath, in which a little
+child was seated, splashing the water about with evident delight.  The
+woman was almost as primitive a costume as the warriors we had seen.
+Her only ornament was a necklace, and her sole clothing consisted of a
+somewhat scanty petticoat.  She, however, seemed in no way abashed at
+our presence.  Duppo ran forward and said a few words to her, when,
+rising from her knees, and lifting up her dripping child in her arms,
+she advanced a few paces towards us.  She seemed to be listening with
+great interest to what Duppo was saying, and she then signed to us to
+follow her.  We did so, and soon came in sight of several bamboo huts.
+The walls, as also the roofs, were covered with a thatch of palm-leaves.
+On examining the thatch, I saw that it consisted of a number of leaves
+plaited together, and secured in a row to a long lath of bamboo.  One of
+these laths, with a row of thatch attached to it, was hung up on pegs to
+the lowest part of the wall intended to be covered; another was fastened
+over it, the thatch covering the first lath; and so on, row after row,
+till the upper part was reached.  The roof was formed in the same
+manner, secured by rope formed of aloe fibres or some similar material.
+Round the village were numerous fruit-trees.  The most conspicuous were
+bananas, with their long, broad, soft, green leaf-blades; and several
+pupunhas, or peach-palms, with their delicious fruit, hanging down in
+enormous bunches from their lofty crowns, each a load for a strong man.
+The fruit gains its name from its colour.  It is dry and mealy, of the
+taste of chestnuts and cheese.  There were also a number of cotton and
+coffee trees on one side, extending down to the water, which showed that
+our friends were not ignorant of agriculture.  We also saw melons
+growing in abundance, as well as mandioca and Indian corn.
+
+The lady conducted us into her house with as much dignity as a duchess
+would have done into her palace.  The interior of the building, however,
+had no great pretensions to architectural grandeur.  The roof was
+supported by strong upright posts between which hammocks were slung,
+leaving space for a passage from one end to the other, as also for fires
+in the centre.  At the further end was an elevated stage, which might be
+looked upon as a first floor, formed of split palm-stems.  Along the
+walls were arranged clay jars of various sizes, very neatly made.  Some,
+indeed, were large enough to hold twenty or more gallons; others were
+much smaller; and some were evidently used as cooking-pots.  They were
+ornamented on the outside with crossed diagonal lines of various
+colours.  There were also blow-pipes hung up, and quivers and bags made
+of the bromelia, very elaborately worked.  In addition, there were
+baskets formed of the same material of a coarser description, and
+dressed skins of animals, with mats, and spare hammocks.
+
+Our hostess, whom we discovered to be Duppo's mother, invited us to sit
+down on some mats which she spread in a clear space on the floor, a
+little removed from the fire.  Duppo went out, and in a short time
+returned with a young girl, who looked timidly into the opening, and
+then ran off.  He scampered after her, and brought her back; but it
+required some persuasion to induce her to enter the hut.  We rose as she
+did so, struck by her interesting countenance and elegant form; for,
+although her garments were almost as scanty as those of the older woman,
+our impulse was to treat her with the respect we should have paid to one
+of her more civilised sisters.  Having got over her timidity, she set to
+work to assist her mother in cooking some food.  We asked Duppo his
+sister's name.  He gave us to understand that it was Oria--at least, it
+sounded like it; and, at all events, that was the name by which we
+always called her.  It was a pretty name, and well suited to such an
+interesting young creature.
+
+Several parrots of gorgeous plumage, which had been sitting on the
+rafters, clambered down inquisitively to look at us; while two monkeys--
+tame little things--ran in and out of the hut.  The most interesting
+creature we saw was a charming little water-fowl--a species of grebe.
+It seemed to be a great pet of the young girl.  It was swimming about in
+a tub full of water, similar to the one in which we had seen our hostess
+bathing her baby.  The girl took it out to show it to us, and it lay
+perfectly happy and contented in her hands.  It was rather smaller than
+a pigeon, and had a pointed beak.  The feet, unlike those of
+water-fowls, were furnished with several folds of skin in lieu of webs,
+and resembled much the feet of the gecko lizards.  After exhibiting it
+to us, she put it back again into its tub, and it went swimming round
+and round, very much like those magnetic ducks which are sold in
+toyshops.  On examining the tub I have spoken of, we found that it was
+formed from the spathe of the palm.
+
+In a short time a repast was placed before us in several bowls.  In one
+was fish, in another was a stew of meat.  Arthur, without ceremony, ate
+some of the latter, when he came to a bone which I saw him examining
+curiously.
+
+"Why, I do believe," he said, in a low voice, "it is a bit of monkey!"
+
+"I have very little doubt about it," I answered; for I had discovered
+this some time before.  "Try this other dish; it seems very nice."
+
+Having eaten some of it, we bethought ourselves of inquiring of Duppo
+what it was; and he gave us to understand that it was a piece of snake
+or lizard, for we could not exactly make out which.
+
+"I think I would rather keep to the fish," said Arthur, in a subdued
+voice.  Indeed, with the fish and some mandioca porridge alone, we could
+have managed to make a very ample meal.
+
+We had also several delicious fruits--guavas, bananas, and one, the
+interior of which tasted like a rich custard.  A jar of a somewhat thick
+and violet-coloured liquor was placed before us to drink.  It was made,
+we found, from the fruit of the assai palm, which our hostess, Illora,
+showed us.  It was perfectly round and about the size of a cherry,
+consisting of a small portion of pulp lying between the skin and the
+hard kernel.  The fruit pounded, with the addition of water, produces
+the beverage I have described.  It was very refreshing, but stained our
+lips as do blackberries.
+
+Having finished our meal, we thanked Dame Illora for it, and tried to
+explain that we were in search of a canoe in which to return down the
+igarape.  For some time we could not make her comprehend what we wanted.
+Suddenly Duppo started up, and leading us to the water, by signs
+explained that all their canoes had been taken away.  "Then, no doubt,
+the same people who took theirs, carried off ours," observed Arthur.  I
+agreed with him.  Still, I hoped that a small canoe might be found.  We
+searched about, but I could not find one.  The channel ran through the
+forest till it was lost to sight, and as there was a slight current in
+the water, we came to the conclusion that it was connected with some
+other river, up which the canoes had been carried.
+
+"Then let us build a raft as we proposed," said Arthur.  "If we do not
+return to-night, we shall alarm your sister and John.  The current is in
+our favour, and we shall have no difficulty in descending to our camp."
+
+At once we tried to explain to our friends what we proposed doing.
+Several other persons appeared, but they were mostly old men and women.
+The rest had evidently gone off to the war.  We began by cutting down
+some small trees which grew at the edge of the igarape.  Then we cut
+some sipos, and formed an oblong frame of sufficient size to support
+three or four people.  After a little time Duppo comprehended our
+purpose, and we saw him explaining the matter to his people.  Several of
+them on this set to work on a clump of bamboos which grew at a little
+distance, and brought them to us.  Looking about, we also discovered
+some long reeds growing on the margin of the swamp at no great distance.
+Arthur and I collected as many as we could carry, and the natives,
+following our example, soon supplied us with what we required.  Having
+fastened the bamboos lengthways on the frame, we secured the reeds both
+under and above them, till we had completely covered over the framework.
+The whole machine we strengthened by passing long sipos round it, and
+thus in a short time had a buoyant and sufficiently strong raft to carry
+us safely, we hoped, down the igarape.  The natives had been watching
+our proceedings with looks of surprise, as if they had never seen a
+similar construction.  We had cut a couple of long poles with which to
+push on the raft.  "I think we should be the better for paddles,"
+observed Arthur.  One of the trees, we found, very easily split into
+boards.  We soon made three paddles, agreeing that a third would be
+useful, in case one should break.  "But perhaps Duppo would be willing
+to accompany us," said Arthur.  "He seems a very intelligent fellow.
+Shall we ask him?"
+
+We soon made our young friend comprehend our wishes.  He was evidently
+well pleased with the proposal, though his mother at first seemed to
+hesitate about letting him go.  We pressed her, explaining that we would
+reward him well for his services.  Our point gained, Duppo's
+preparations were quickly made.  He brought with him his zarabatana or
+blow-pipe, his bow, and a quiver full of arrows, as also a basket of
+farinha, apparently supposing that we might be unable to provide him
+with food.  Seeing the curious umbrella-bird secured to a perch
+projecting from the wall, I asked him to bring it, as I wanted to show
+it to Ellen.  He quickly understood me, and taking it down, again
+fastened up its beak, and brought it along perched on his shoulder.  The
+whole remaining population of the village came down to the water to see
+us embark.  We took off our hats to Oria, who scarcely seemed to
+understand the compliment.
+
+Our raft was soon launched with their aid, and, greatly to our
+satisfaction, floated buoyantly.  We got on board, and shoved off into
+the middle of the channel.  The water was fat too deep to allow our
+poles to be of any use.  Duppo, however, showed that he well knew the
+use of a paddle.  Taking one in his hand, he sat down on one side of the
+raft, while Arthur sat on the other, and I stood astern to steer.  The
+current was sluggish, and did not help us much.  We therefore had to
+exert ourselves vigorously.  The igarape soon widened out into a broad
+lake-like expanse.  We could distinguish the channel, however, from its
+being free of reeds, which appeared in all directions in the other
+parts, forming thick broad clumps like islands.  From amidst them
+numerous water-fowl rose up as we passed.  Now and then an alligator
+poked up his ugly snout.  Numerous tortoises and other water-creatures
+were seen swimming about.  Others which rose near us, alarmed at our
+appearance, made off to a distance, and allowed us to proceed unimpeded.
+
+We were delighted with the progress we made, and went paddling on as if
+we had been long accustomed to the work.  We kept up most of the time a
+conversation with Duppo, although it must be owned that we could
+understand but little of what he said, while he had equal difficulty in
+comprehending us.  We asked him several questions about his family.  I
+told him that he must bring Oria down to see my sister, as I was sure
+she would be glad to make her acquaintance.  I was, however, not very
+certain whether he understood me.  He was evidently a quick, sagacious
+fellow; though his manners, like most of the Indians we had met, were
+subdued and quiet.
+
+As we were paddling on, we were almost startled by hearing a sound like
+a bell tolling in the midst of the forest.  It ceased, and we paddled
+on, when again it struck our ears loud and clear.  Again it came within
+the space of a minute, and we almost expected to see some church steeple
+peeping forth through an opening in the primeval forest.  We tried to
+ascertain from our young companion what it could mean, but he only
+nodded his head, as much as to say, "I know all about it," and then he
+gave a glance down at his bow and quiver which lay by his side.  We went
+on for some minutes more, the sound of the bell reaching our ears as
+before, and then Duppo began to look up eagerly into the trees.
+Suddenly he ceased paddling, and made signs to Arthur to do the same.
+Gliding on a few yards further, we saw, on the topmost bough of a tree
+overhanging the water, a beautiful white bird, about the size of a jay.
+At the same time there came forth from where it stood a clear bell
+sound, and we saw from its head a black tube, rising up several inches
+above it.  Duppo cautiously put his hand out and seized his bow.  In an
+instant he had fitted an arrow to the string.  Away it flew, and down
+fell the bird fluttering in the water.  We paddled on, and quickly had
+it on board.  I could not help feeling sorry that he had killed the
+beautiful creature, whose note had so astonished us.
+
+It was, I found, a specimen of that somewhat rare and very wonderful
+bell-bird (_Casmarhynchos carunculata_), called _campanero_ by the
+Spaniards.  From the upper part of the bill grows a fleshy tubercle
+about the thickness of a quill, sparingly covered with minute feathers.
+It was now hanging down on one side, quite lax.  It was evident,
+therefore, that the bird, when alive, elevated it when excited by
+singing or some other cause; indeed afterwards, on examining it, we
+found it connected with the interior of the throat, which further
+convinced us of this fact.  I was sorry that we could not have it taken
+alive to Ellen, and I tried to explain to Duppo that we wished to have
+living creatures if possible captured, like the umbrella-bird.
+
+We had been paddling on for some time beneath the thick overhanging
+boughs, almost in darkness, when a bright glow attracted our attention.
+"We must be near the camp," exclaimed Arthur, and we shouted out.  We
+were replied to by True's well-known bark, and directly afterwards we
+could distinguish through the gloom the figure of Domingos making his
+way amid the wood, with True running before him, down to the bank.
+There they stood ready to receive us.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER NINE.
+
+LOST IN THE FOREST.
+
+"I am thankful to have you back, my young masters," exclaimed Domingos,
+as he helped us to land.  "But what! have you not brought back the
+canoe?  I thought it was her you had returned in, and that the third
+person I saw was Senor John.  He set off some time back to look for
+you."
+
+We briefly explained what had happened, and introduced the young Indian.
+Having secured the raft, we hastened to our encampment.  Ellen and
+Maria came out to meet us.
+
+"I am so glad you have come back," said Ellen, "for we were growing very
+anxious about you.  I hope John will soon return.  I am surprised you
+did not see him as you came down the igarape."
+
+I explained to her how easily we might have passed each other.  "I dare
+say we shall see John in a few minutes.  When he found night coming on,
+he would certainly turn back," I added.
+
+We now brought Duppo forward and introduced him, telling Ellen about his
+sister Oria.
+
+"Oh, I should so like to see her!" she exclaimed.  "Do try and make him
+understand that we hope he will bring her here."
+
+Though modest and retiring in his manner, Duppo soon made himself at
+home, and seemed well pleased at being in our society.  Ellen was
+delighted with the curious bird he had brought her, and Maria undertook
+to tame it, as she had the parrot and Nimble.  John had fortunately
+killed a paca in the morning, and Maria had dressed part of it for
+supper.  We were, however, unwilling to begin our meal till his return.
+We waited for some time, expecting him every instant to appear.  We made
+the fire blaze brightly as a signal, and Domingos and I went to a little
+distance from the camp, first in one direction, then in another,
+shouting at the top of our voices; but we in vain listened for his in
+return.  I then fired off my rifle, hoping that, had he lost his way,
+that might show him the position of the camp.  We stood breathless,
+waiting to hear his rifle, but no sound reached our ears.  We now became
+very anxious, but were unwilling to go further from the camp, lest we
+might be unable to find our way back.  True, who had followed us, added
+his voice to our shouts.
+
+"Hark!" said Domingos; "I hear a sound."
+
+We listened.  It was a low, deep howl.  It grew louder and louder.
+
+"That is only one of those big monkeys beginning its night music," I
+observed.
+
+True, when he heard it, was darting forward, but I called him back,
+afraid lest he should meet with a prowling jaguar or huge boa, which
+might carry him off before we could go to his assistance.  At length,
+with sad forebodings, we returned to the camp.  We did our best to
+comfort Ellen, yet it was very difficult to account for John's
+non-appearance.
+
+"He must certainly have gone further than he intended," observed Arthur;
+"then, not having the sun to guide him, must have taken a wrong
+direction.  He will probably climb up into some tree to sleep, and when
+the sun rises in the morning he will easily find his way back."
+
+"Oh, thank you, Arthur, for suggesting that!" said Ellen; "I am sure it
+must be so."
+
+"At all events," I said, "we will start away at daybreak to look for
+him; and with our young Indian friend as a guide, we need have no fear
+in venturing into the forest."
+
+We had none of us much appetite for supper, but Domingos persuaded us to
+take some.  We then made up a fire, intending to keep watch during the
+night, hoping every moment that John might return.  Domingos, however,
+at length persuaded Arthur and I to lie down in our hammocks; indeed, in
+spite of our anxiety, in consequence of the fatigue we had gone through
+during the day, we could with difficulty keep our eyes open.  He made
+Duppo get into his, saying that he himself would keep watch.  Every now
+and then I awoke, hoping to hear John's cheery voice.  Each time I
+looked out I saw our faithful Domingos sitting before the fire, busying
+himself in throwing sticks on it to keep it blazing brightly.
+Occasionally I observed him get up, go to a little distance, and stretch
+out his neck into the darkness.  Then he would come back again and take
+his seat as before, while the various tones of croaking frogs, or huge
+crickets, or the fearful howls of the night-monkeys, which came, now
+from one direction, now from another, from the far-off depths of the
+forest, sounded as if they were keeping up a conversation among
+themselves.  This dismal noise continued throughout the night.
+
+At daylight Arthur and I leaped from our hammocks, and roused up young
+Duppo.  We tried to explain to him that one of our number had gone away,
+and that we wanted to go in search of him.
+
+"Stay!" exclaimed Domingos; "you must not go without breakfast.  I have
+been boiling the cocoa, and I will soon roast some paca."
+
+While we were breakfasting, Ellen and Maria came out of their hut.
+Ellen looked very pale and anxious, as if she had passed a sleepless
+night; and she confessed that she had not closed her eyes for thinking
+of John, and what might have become of him.  We were doubtful about
+taking True; but when he saw us preparing to start, he ran off, and
+would not return, for fear of being tied up: we decided, therefore, to
+let him go with us, thinking that he might be of assistance in finding
+John.
+
+Having done my best to comfort Ellen, we set out in the direction
+Domingos told us John had gone.  We had stored our wallets with food,
+that we might not run the risk of starving should we be kept out longer
+than we expected.  Duppo had followed our example, having brought his
+bag of farinha on shore.  He carried his bow and blow-pipe; and Arthur
+was armed with his bow, as well as with a long pointed staff; and I had
+my rifle and a good store of ammunition.  Our Indian guide seemed to
+understand clearly our object, and led the way without hesitation
+through the forest.  After we had gone some little distance, we saw him
+examining the trees on either side.  Then he again went on as before.
+He made signs to us that the person we were searching for had gone that
+way.  After a time he again stopped, and showed us how he had been
+turning about, now in one direction, now in another.  Then on he went
+again, further and further from the camp.  As we were making our way
+onwards, Duppo stopped, and signed to us to be silent; and then pointed
+to a tree a little way in front.  We there saw on a bough a short-tailed
+animal, with white hair.  After waiting a minute or two, it turned
+round, and a face of the most vivid scarlet hue was presented to us.  It
+seemed unconscious of our presence for it did not move from its post.
+The head was nearly bald, or at most had but a short crop of thin grey
+hair; while round the odd-looking face was a fringe of bushy whiskers of
+a sandy colour, which met under the chin.  A pair of reddish eyes added
+to its curious appearance.  The body was entirely covered with long,
+straight, shining white hair.
+
+Presently it moved along the branch, and began picking some fruit which
+grew at the further end.  Duppo cautiously lifted his blow-pipe to his
+mouth.  An arrow sped forth and struck the creature.  The instant it
+felt itself wounded, it ran along the branch till it reached another
+tree.  Duppo made chase, and we had no little difficulty in following
+him.  On the creature went from tree to tree, and it seemed that there
+was but a slight chance of his catching it.  Presently we saw it again,
+but moving slower than at first.  Slower and slower it went, till Duppo
+could easily keep close under it; then down it fell, almost into his
+arms.  True, who was ahead of us, darted forward, and, had I not called
+him back, would have seized the creature.  The Indian, meantime, was
+engaged in pulling out the arrow; and having done so, he put a pinch of
+salt into the creature's mouth.
+
+On examining it, we found it was a veritable monkey, one of the most
+curious of the race I ever saw.  It was of the genera of _Cebidae_.
+Duppo called it a _nakari_ (_Brachyurus calvus_ is its scientific name).
+The body was about eighteen inches long, exclusive of the limbs.  Its
+tail was very short, and apparently of no use to it in climbing; and its
+limbs were rather shorter and thicker than those of most monkeys.  In a
+short time it began to show signs of life.
+
+We soon afterwards caught sight of another, with a young one on its
+back, which our guide told us was a mother monkey.  It, however, got
+away before he could bring his blow-pipe to bear on it.  As soon as the
+little captive began to move, Duppo secured its front hands with a piece
+of line, and threw a small net over its head to prevent it biting.  He
+then secured it on his shoulder; and we again pushed on through the
+forest as fast as we could go.  We were at length obliged to stop and
+rest.  We had taken but a slight breakfast.  Arthur said he was hungry;
+and Duppo showed that he was by taking out a cake of farinha and some
+dried meat from his bag.  Anxiety, however, had taken away my appetite.
+
+While I was sitting down, I observed close to us what I took to be a
+seed-pod of some aerial plant, hanging straight down from a bough, at
+about six feet from the ground.  On going up to it, I found to my
+surprise that it was a cocoon about the size of a sparrow's egg, woven
+by a caterpillar in broad meshes of a rose-coloured silky substance.  It
+hung, suspended from the tip of an outstanding leaf, by a strong silken
+thread about six inches in length.  On examining it carefully, I found
+that the glossy threads which surrounded it were thick and strong.  Both
+above and below there was an orifice, which I concluded was to enable
+the moth, when changed from the chrysalis which slept tranquilly within
+its airy cage, to make its escape.  It was so strong that it could
+resist evidently the peck of a bird's beak, while it would immediately
+swing away from one on being touched.  I afterwards met with several
+such cocoons; and once saw a moth coming forth from one.  It was of a
+dull, slatey colour, and belonged to the silkworm family of
+_Bombycidae_.
+
+Arthur persuaded me at last to take a little food; and having rested
+sufficiently, we again moved on.  At length Duppo came to a stand-still,
+and signed to me to keep back True.  I could hardly hold him, however,
+he seemed so anxious to push forward.  Duppo had slung his blow-pipe at
+his back, and held his bow with an arrow to shoot.  Then I saw him
+examining the ground on every side under the boughs, many of which hung
+close down to it.  Presently the report of a gun reached our ears.
+
+"That is certainly your brother John!" exclaimed Arthur.
+
+The shot came from some distance, however.  Then another, and another,
+followed at intervals of a few minutes.  We now hurried on more eagerly
+than ever, in spite of Duppo's signs to us to be cautious.  I felt
+convinced that John alone could have fired those shots.  Again another
+shot sounded close to us; and on emerging from the thicker part of the
+forest, we saw at a little distance the ground covered with a herd of
+hog-like animals--though smaller than ordinary hogs--which I guessed at
+once were peccaries.  They were in a great state of commotion--running
+about in all directions, turning their long snouts up into the air.
+Going a few yards further on, there was John himself, seated high up on
+the bough of a tree, to which numerous sipos hung.  His gun was pointed
+down towards the herd of peccaries, several of which lay dead on the
+ground.  Some of the others kept running about, but the greater portion
+were standing looking up at him.  There he sat, with his usual
+composure, regularly besieged by them.  The attention of the savage
+creatures was so occupied with him that they did not perceive our
+approach.
+
+I was somewhat surprised at the eager signs which Duppo made to us to
+climb up a tree by means of some sipos which hung close at hand.  We
+were hesitating to follow his advice, when he seized Arthur by the arm
+and dragged him up.  I thought it prudent to follow his example, as I
+had formed a good opinion of his sense.  I lifted up True to Arthur, who
+caught him in his arms; and then I swung myself up to the branch after
+him.  We had just taken our seats facing John, when the peccaries
+discovered us; and a number of them turning round, charged across the
+ground on which we had stood.  Duppo had got his bow ready, and shot one
+as they passed.  He killed another as, turning round, they charged back
+again, and then ran about looking up at us, as they had been watching
+John.
+
+"I am very glad to see you safe!"  I shouted out to John; for hitherto
+we had not had time to speak to him.  "But why should we be afraid of
+these little creatures?  They have more reason to be afraid of us, from
+the number you have killed, I should think."
+
+"Just look into their mouths, and you will soon see that they are not so
+harmless as you suppose," he answered.  "I have had a narrow escape of
+losing my life; for one of them caught me in the leg as I was climbing
+this tree, and had I let go my hold, the whole herd would have been upon
+me, and I should have been cut to pieces in a few seconds.  Those tusks
+of theirs are as pointed as needles and as sharp as razors.  I am very
+glad you found me out, too; for I left my wallet hanging on a branch,
+just before I had to run for my life from these fellows.  But how did
+you get back?"
+
+I briefly told him of our adventures.
+
+"You must have been anxious about me at the camp," he observed.  "But
+the honest truth is, I lost my way, and at this moment scarcely know
+where I have got to.  I had, however, few fears about myself; but have
+been very sorry for poor dear Ellen, while I could not tell whether you
+were safe or not.  However, we must drive away these savage little
+brutes."
+
+Saying this, he knocked over another.  I followed his example.  Arthur
+and Duppo were meantime shooting their arrows at the herd.  Undaunted,
+however, the animals stood collected below us.  It was evident that they
+were influenced rather by dull obstinacy or ignorance of their danger
+than by courage.  At length their obtuse senses showed them that they
+were getting the worst of it.  The survivors began to turn their fierce
+little eyes towards their dead companions, and it seemed to strike them
+that something was the matter.
+
+"Shout!" cried out John--"shout! and perhaps we may frighten them away."
+
+We raised our voices, Duppo joining in with his shrill pipe.  The
+peccaries looked at each other; and then one moved to a little distance,
+then another, and at last the whole herd set off scampering away through
+the forest.  We sent reiterated shouts after them, fearing that they
+might otherwise stop, and perhaps come back again; but they at last
+discovered that discretion is the better part of valour, and the
+trampling of their feet became less and less distinct, till it was lost
+in the distance.
+
+We now descended from our perches.  I handed down True into Arthur's
+arms.  True had been very dissatisfied with his position, and, to
+revenge himself, at once flew at one of the hogs which was struggling at
+a little distance, and quickly put it out of its pain.  We shook hands
+with John; and, congratulating him on his escape, introduced Duppo to
+him, and told him how we had become acquainted.
+
+"Here," he said, "look at these creatures, and you will see that I had
+good reason to be afraid of them."
+
+On examining their long and apparently harmless snouts, we found that
+they were armed with short tusks, scarcely seen beyond the lips; but
+being acutely pointed and double-edged, and as sharp as lancets, they
+are capable of inflicting the most terrible wounds.  Peccaries are the
+most formidable enemies, when met with in numbers, to be found in the
+forests of the Amazon.  The creatures were not more than three feet
+long, and a whole one was but an easy load to carry.  The bodies were
+short and compact, and thickly covered with strong, dark-coloured
+bristles.  Round the neck was a whitish band, while the under part of
+the body was nearly naked.  Instead of a tail, there was merely a fleshy
+protuberance.
+
+"What a horrible odour!" exclaimed Arthur, as we were examining one of
+them.
+
+We found that it proceeded from a glandular orifice at the lower part of
+the back.  Duppo immediately took this out with his knife, and then
+began scientifically to cut up the animal.  Following his example, we
+prepared others to carry with us, and thus each made up a load of about
+thirty pounds.
+
+The learned name of the animal is _Dicotyles tajacu_.  It eats anything
+that comes in its way,--fruits, roots, reptiles, or eggs; and it is of
+great service in killing snakes.  It will attack the rattlesnake without
+fear, and easily kills it.  The meat appeared perfectly destitute of
+fat, but we hoped to find it none the worse on that account.
+
+John, as may be supposed, was very hungry, and thankful for some of the
+food we brought with us.  After he had breakfasted we commenced our
+return to the camp, loaded with the peccary meat.  Duppo carried a
+portion in addition to the scarlet-faced monkey.  The little creature
+sat on his shoulder, looking far from at ease in its novel position.
+
+"Oh, we will tame you before long, and make you perfectly contented and
+happy," said Arthur, going behind Duppo and addressing the monkey.
+"What will you like to be called, old fellow?  You must have a name, you
+know.  I have thought of one just suited to your red nose--Toby; Toby
+Fill-pot, eh!--only we will call you Toby.  I say, Harry, don't you
+think that will be a capital name?"
+
+I agreed that Toby was a very suitable name, and so we settled, with
+Ellen's approval, that Toby should be the name of our scarlet-faced
+friend.
+
+John walked on in silence for some time.  "I am very much ashamed of
+losing my way," he said at length when I joined him.  "Setting off
+through the forest to meet you, I went on and on, expecting every
+instant to see you.  I fancied that I was close to the igarape, but
+somehow or other had wandered from it.  The gloom increasing, I had
+still greater difficulty in finding my way.  At last I determined to go
+back to the camp, but instead of doing so I must have wandered further
+and further from it.  It then grew so dark that I was afraid of
+proceeding, and so looked out for a tree where I could rest for the
+night.  I saw one with wide-spreading branches at no great distance from
+the ground.  Having cut a number of sipos, I climbed into my intended
+resting-place, dragging them after me.  I there fastened them to the
+surrounding branches, making a tolerably secure nest for myself, I
+cannot say that I was very comfortable, for I could not help thinking
+that a prowling jaguar might find me out, or a boa or some other snake
+might climb up, and pay me a visit.  I shouted several times, hoping
+that you might hear me, but the only answers I got were cries from
+howling monkeys, who seemed to be mocking me.  The whole night long the
+creatures kept up their hideous howls.  The moment one grew tired
+another began.  So far they were of service, that they assisted to keep
+me awake.  I can tell you I heartily wished for the return of day.  As
+soon as it dawned I descended from my roosting-place, intending to make
+my way back as fast as possible.  However, as the sun had not appeared,
+I had nothing to guide me.  I tried to find the water, but must have
+gone directly away from it.  I was walking on, when I saw the snout of
+an animal projecting from the hollow trunk of a large tree.  Taking it
+for a pig of some sort, I fired, when it ran out and dropped dead, its
+place being immediately supplied by another.  I killed that in the same
+way, when out came a third, and looked about it; and presently I
+discovered several other heads poked out from the surrounding trees.  I
+was on the point of cutting some pork steaks out of the first I had
+killed, when I caught sight of the sharp little tusks projecting from
+its mouth.  Suddenly the accounts I had heard of the dangerous character
+of peccaries flashed across my mind, and at the same instant I saw a
+number of the animals coming out of their holes.  Prudence urged me to
+beat a quick retreat.  I was making my way through the forest, and had
+already got to some distance from where I had first seen the creatures,
+when a large herd, which had apparently collected from all quarters,
+came scampering after me.  I at once began to clamber up into a tree,
+where you found me.  On they came at a great rate; and, as I told you, I
+narrowly escaped being caught by one of the savage little brutes.  I
+must have spent a couple of hours or more besieged by them before you
+came up."
+
+As we neared the camp we uttered as cheerful a shout as we could raise
+to give notice of our approach, and Domingos soon appeared, followed by
+Ellen and Maria.  Ellen ran forward, and throwing her arms round John's
+neck, burst into tears.  It showed us how anxious she had been on his
+account, although she had done her best, as she always did, to restrain
+her own feelings and keep up our spirits.
+
+We were all of us glad, after our exertions, to get into our hammocks
+and rest.  We found on waking that Domingos and Maria had exerted
+themselves to prepare a plentiful repast.  While eating it we discussed
+our future plans.
+
+"We must either recover our canoe or build another, that is certain,"
+said John, "before we can continue our voyage.  However, if we could be
+sure that this is a secure and healthy place for you to remain in, I
+should like to arrange with some of these Indians to make an excursion
+along the shores in search of our parents.  Perhaps they are all this
+time encamped or at some village, on this or the opposite bank, not far
+off.  It would, I think, be unwise to go further down without staying to
+ascertain this.  What is your opinion, Harry?"
+
+I agreed with him, but said that I would rather run the risk of the
+adventure, and let him remain at the camp.  "Or perhaps Arthur might
+like to come with me," I added.  "Two people might succeed better than
+one; and we could even manage a canoe by ourselves independently of the
+natives."
+
+"Oh yes," said Arthur, "do let me go with Harry.  We can take Duppo to
+assist us.  He seems so intelligent that we should easily make him
+understand what we want."
+
+"Then I propose that early to-morrow morning we set off to the village
+to search further for our canoe, or to purchase one, as John suggests,"
+I said.  "I am afraid we shall not be able to get up there on our raft,
+and we shall therefore have to make a journey round by land.  With
+Duppo, however, as a guide, we shall have less difficulty than before in
+making our way to it."
+
+It was finally settled that John, Arthur, and I should set off early the
+following morning to the village, guided by Duppo, while Domingos
+remained at the camp to take care of Ellen and Maria.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TEN.
+
+AN ENCOUNTER WITH SAVAGES.
+
+As there was still some daylight remaining, John took his gun to kill
+some parrots or other birds which might prove more palatable food than
+the peccary flesh.
+
+"Take care that you do not lose yourself again," I could not help saying
+as he was starting.
+
+"Do not mock me, Harry," he answered.  "I wish to gain experience, and
+depend on it I shall be careful to take the bearings of the camp, so as
+easily to find my way back to it.  I do not intend to go many hundred
+yards off."
+
+Arthur and I were in the meantime engaged in trying to tame Master Toby
+and the umbrella-bird, which we called Niger.  Both seemed tolerably
+reconciled to captivity.  Ellen's little pet parrot, Poll, kept casting
+suspicious glances at its feathered companion, not satisfied with the
+appearance of the curious-headed stranger, while Nimble watched every
+movement of his cousin Toby.
+
+After assisting Ellen to feed her pets, Arthur and I agreed to go out in
+search of John, taking Duppo with us as a guide.  We had not gone far
+when we saw him coming limping towards us.  We were afraid that he had
+hurt his foot.  "What is the matter?"  I asked, when we met.
+
+"That is more than I can tell," he answered.  "I have been for some time
+past feeling a curious itching sensation in my feet, and now I can
+scarcely bear to put them to the ground."
+
+We helped him along to the camp, when, sitting down on a log, he took
+off his boots.  We examined his feet, and found a few small blue spots
+about them.
+
+"I suspect, Senor John, I know what it is," said Maria, who saw us.
+"Some chegoes have got into your feet, and if they are not taken out
+quickly they will cause you a great deal of suffering."
+
+"But I can see nothing to take out," said John, looking at his feet.
+
+"To be sure not," answered Maria, "because they have hidden themselves
+away under the skin.  Let me see what I can do.  My mother was famous
+for taking out chegoes, and she showed me the way she managed."
+
+Maria, running into the hut, returned with a large needle.  "Now, sit
+quiet, Senor John, and do not cry out, and I will soon cure you."
+
+Maria sat down, and taking John's foot on her knee, instantly began to
+work away with as much skill as the most experienced surgeon.  We all
+stood by watching her.  After a little time she produced between her
+finger and thumb a creature considerably smaller than an ordinary flea,
+which she had taken out alive and uninjured.  Giving it a squeeze, she
+threw it to the ground with an expression of anger at its having dared
+to molest her young master; and thus in a very short time she had
+extracted three or four insects from each of his feet.  We had meantime
+begun to feel something uncomfortable in ours, and on Maria's examining
+them, we found that a chego had taken possession of each of our big
+toes.  The chego is a black little creature, which makes its way quietly
+under the skin, where, having got to a sufficient depth, it lays its
+eggs, and unless removed immediately, causes annoying and dangerous
+ulcers.  Ours were not there when we started to look for John, and by
+this time they had worked their way completely out of sight.  After that
+we carefully examined our legs and feet every night before going to bed,
+as during the time we were asleep they would have made themselves
+completely at home in our flesh, with house, nursery, and children to
+boot.
+
+Next morning, our feet being once more in good order, we put on thick
+socks, and our alpargates over them, and John and I with our guns,
+Arthur with his bow and spear, accompanied by True, and led by Duppo,
+took our way through the forest.  I kept True close to me; for after the
+experience we had had, I was afraid of his encountering a jaguar, or
+peccary, or boa, knowing, however formidable the creature might be, he
+to a certainty would attack it.  I need not again describe the forest
+scenery.  After going on for some time we stopped to lunch, when Arthur,
+who was at a little distance, called out to me.  "Come here, Harry," he
+said, "and look at this curious wooden caterpillar."  On joining him, I
+found on a leaf the head of a caterpillar projecting out of a wooden
+case fully two inches long.  It was secured to the leaf by several
+silken lines.  I took it up and examined it.  There could be no doubt
+that the case was the work of art, and not a natural growth, and that it
+was formed of small pieces of stick fastened together with fine silken
+threads.  Inside this case the creature can live secure from its enemies
+while feeding and growing.  We afterwards found several of the same
+description.  Another sort had made itself a bag of leaves open at both
+ends, the inside being lined with a thick web.  It put us in mind of the
+caddis worms which we had seen in ponds in England.
+
+We took care when going on always to keep in sight of each other.
+Arthur and I were together, and Duppo a little ahead.  "Hark!" exclaimed
+Arthur, "some one is singing in the distance."  I listened, and felt
+sure that some native, who had climbed up a tree not far off to get
+fruit, was amusing himself by singing.  John and Duppo stopped also,
+attracted by the same sounds.  We looked about in every direction, but
+could see no one.  Now the tones changed somewhat, and became more like
+those of a flageolet, very sweet, and we expected to hear it break into
+a curious native air, when presently it stopped, and instead of the
+flute-like notes, some clicking, unmusical sounds like the piping of a
+barrel-organ out of wind and tune reached our ears.  Not till then had
+we supposed that the songster was a bird.  Again it struck up in exactly
+the same way as before.  Though we all four looked about in the
+direction whence the notes came, the mysterious songster could not be
+discovered.  Duppo was evidently telling us a long story about it, but
+what he said we could not comprehend.  I afterwards found that the bird
+is called by the Portuguese the realejo, or organ-bird (_Cyphorhinus
+cantans_).  It is the chief songster of the Amazonian forests.  The
+natives hold it in great respect, and Duppo seemed very unwilling to go
+on while the bird continued its notes.
+
+At length we reached the village, and were received in a friendly way by
+our young guide's mother.  Oria also seemed very glad to see us, and the
+little fat child whom Arthur called Diogenes, because he had first seen
+him seated in a tub, put out his hands to welcome us, in no way alarmed
+at what must have appeared to him our extraordinary appearance.  Our
+hostess appeared somewhat anxious, and she had good cause to be so, for
+no news had been received of the war-party.  Duppo explained what we had
+come for.  She replied that she was afraid all the canoes had been
+carried off, though it was possible a small one might have been
+overlooked further up the stream, and, if such were the case, she would
+do her best to persuade the owner to sell it to us.
+
+We wanted to start off immediately, but she insisted on our partaking of
+some food, which she and Oria set to work to prepare.
+
+As we were anxious to know whether a canoe could be procured, we spent
+little time over our repast, and again set off along the bank of the
+igarape.  We inquired at each of the huts we passed about a canoe, but
+Duppo invariably shook his head, to signify that he could not hear of
+one.  Still we went on, searching in every spot where he thought a canoe
+might be concealed.  After some time, finding a tree bending almost
+horizontally over the water, we climbed along it for some way, that we
+might get a better view up and down the channel.  Arthur was the
+outermost of the party.  "Why, what can that be?" he exclaimed.  "See
+there!" and he pointed up the canal.  There, bending over the trunk of a
+large tree, which hung much in the same manner as the one we were on, I
+saw a huge jaguar.  Its claws seemed ready for immediate action.  Its
+eyes were evidently fixed on the surface of the water.
+
+"It is fifty yards off.  It is looking out for a cow-fish, as was the
+one we saw the other day," whispered Arthur.
+
+We told John, who was coming along the trunk, what we had seen.
+
+"We will let it catch the cow-fish first, then, and perhaps we may kill
+both creatures," he observed.
+
+While he was speaking, the creature darted out one of its huge paws, and
+drew it back again with a fish hanging to it.  Instantly the fish was
+torn to pieces and transferred to its jaws.  We waited till the jaguar
+had begun to watch for another, and then crawling along the tree, made
+our way towards it.  John and I got our guns ready, hoping to kill the
+beast before it had discovered us.  Just as we got near, however, it
+having caught another fish in the meantime, its eyes fell on us.  Rising
+to its feet, it stood for a moment as if doubtful whether or not it
+should attack us.  I lifted my rifle to fire, but at that moment the
+animal gave a bound and darted off through the thick foliage, amid which
+it was hid from sight.  We looked about, expecting to see it returning,
+but it had probably satisfied itself that we were too formidable enemies
+to attack.  We found some of the fish it had been eating on the trunk of
+the tree, and the remains of several others near it, which showed that
+it had been successful in its sport.
+
+While searching round the tree Duppo gave a shout of satisfaction, and
+hastening up to him, we found a small canoe hid away under a thick bush.
+He soon discovered also two pairs of paddles, and made us understand
+that we were welcome to the canoe.  It was, however, so small that it
+would barely carry all the party.  It would certainly not have done so
+with safety, except in the very smoothest water.  We launched it, and
+John and Arthur, using great caution, got in.  One of the paddles had
+been left behind.  Duppo ran back to get it.  We saw him eagerly
+glancing down an open glade which extended some distance into the
+forest.  Suddenly he turned round, his countenance exhibiting terror,
+and stepping into the stern of the canoe, made signs to us to shove off
+and paddle away.  He also began paddling with all his might.  We
+followed his example without stopping to inquire the cause of his alarm.
+We had got to some distance, when I happened to look round.  I saw that
+Duppo was doing the same.  At that moment several figures appeared on
+the bank near the spot we had left.  They were savages, with their
+bodies painted and decked with feathers.  Bows were in their hands.
+They had apparently only that instant discovered us.  The next a flight
+of arrows came whizzing after the canoe.  They fell short, however, and
+we redoubled our efforts to urge it forward.  Still, deep in the water
+as it was, we could scarcely hope to get beyond their reach.
+
+"Majeronas!  Majeronas!" shouted Duppo, labouring away with his paddle.
+
+"On, boys, on!" cried John.  "We must not allow them to come up with us.
+Active as they are, the forest is thick, and we may be able to get
+along the water faster than they can make their way among the trees."
+
+Disappointed at finding that we were already beyond their reach, the
+savages uttered piercing shrieks and cries to intimidate us.  The water
+bubbled and hissed as we drove our little canoe through it, coming
+frequently over the bows.  Still on we went.  I could not, however, help
+every now and then looking round, expecting to see the savages on the
+bank neat us.  Their shouts had ceased.
+
+"I am afraid our friends have been defeated," observed Arthur; "and
+their enemies have come to attack the village."
+
+"If so, we must defend it," said John.  "They may possibly stand in awe
+of our firearms.  We must, however, try to get to the village before
+they reach it, to warn the inhabitants."
+
+"But there are only old men, boys, and women to defend it," said Arthur.
+"Could we not try to come to terms with their enemies?"
+
+"I am afraid the Majeronas, if they have been victorious, are not likely
+to listen to anything we have to say," said John.  "We must show them
+our rifles.  They will understand that argument better than anything
+else."
+
+All this time we were paddling along as at first.  Before us was a
+narrow part of the igarape, and I fully expected every instant to see
+the savages appear on the bank.  Still, we had made considerable way,
+and it was possible that we had kept ahead of them.  I said nothing,
+however, lest it might discourage my companions.
+
+We were nearing the dreaded point.  I saw that Duppo was keeping the
+canoe over to the opposite side.
+
+"Would it not be better to get our guns ready to fire?"  I said to John.
+
+"No, no," he answered.  "Keep paddling away.  There is no honour nor
+advantage to be gained by fighting.  If we reach the village, we shall
+meet the foe on better terms."
+
+It was anxious work.  We could not tell whether the next moment might
+not be our last.  Then what would become of poor dear Ellen?  We knew
+that Domingos and Maria would do their best.  Still, how could they
+escape alone?
+
+"Now," said John, "we must dash by that point as fast as we can!  Never
+mind if we ship a little water.  We must not let the savages kill us if
+we can help it."
+
+The point was reached.  I expected to see a party of the Majeronas start
+up from among the bushes.  On we went.  I held my breath as I paddled
+away.  The point was passed.  No savages appeared.
+
+"Hurrah!" cried Arthur, who was seated in the bows.  "There is the
+village!"
+
+In three minutes more we were on shore.  Duppo set off running, shouting
+at the top of his voice.  The boys collected round him as he went, but
+instantly dispersed to their huts.  Before he was out of sight they had
+again collected, some with bows and arrows, others with _sumpitans_.
+Several old men appeared also, armed with larger weapons of the same
+description.  Altogether, fully fifty men and boys were collected.  We
+came to the conclusion that the enemy had hoped to surprise the village,
+and were approaching for that object when Duppo had discovered them.
+
+John advised that a breastwork should be thrown up, extending from the
+igarape across the path the Majeronas were likely to come by.  After
+some time, our friends seemed to comprehend what we wanted.  Some
+timbers for building a new hut were fortunately at hand.  We drove
+several into the soft earth to form a palisade.  The natives, on seeing
+us do this, understood what we wanted, and immediately the whole
+community were busy at work, bringing up posts, and placing them as we
+directed.  They even pulled down three or four huts which stood near,
+the materials of which were suited to our purpose.  The women worked
+away as well as the men; and thus, with so many willing hands, in a
+short time we had a fortification erected, which, though not very
+strong, was sufficiently so to resist the attack of a party of naked
+savages.  We encouraged them by explaining that our guns might do good
+service in their defence.  By degrees we had formed a complete
+half-circle, the ends resting on the igarape.
+
+As there still appeared to be time, we thought it better to fortify the
+water side also.  The people seemed clearly to understand our object.
+
+The evening was now drawing on.  I was afraid that Ellen might become
+anxious at our non-appearance.  I saw that something was on Arthur's
+mind.  He came up to me.
+
+"Harry," he said, "I do not wish to alarm you unnecessarily, but it has
+just occurred to me that the savages may have made a circuit, and found
+their way to our camp.  Would it not be wise to go there in the canoe;
+you and Duppo, for instance, and leave John and I to assist these
+people?"
+
+"Oh no!  I cannot desert John," I answered.  "But what a dreadful
+thought!  No; you must go, Arthur, and take them off in the canoe; or,
+as the canoe cannot carry you all, load the raft, and tow it out into
+the river.  The risk is great, but anything will be better than falling
+into the hands of the savages."
+
+"I will do as you wish," said Arthur; "but I do not like running away
+from the post of the chief danger."
+
+"Why, Arthur, you see you could do but little with your bow," I
+answered; "John and I will stay with our guns.  But I do not suppose the
+savages have gone round that way; for recollect there is the lagoon to
+pass, which must compel them to make a wide circuit; and I do not see
+how they can know anything about our camp.  Still, I wish you could go
+to Ellen, and tell her what a strong fortification we have thrown up,
+and that there is really no cause to be alarmed."
+
+I must confess, however, that all the time I was speaking I felt
+fearfully anxious.
+
+At that moment, two or three bigger boys, who had gone out as scouts
+into the forest, came running back, and shouting out to the people.  The
+next instant, men, women, and children rushed into the enclosure loaded
+with household goods and provisions; and the men set to work to block up
+a narrow space, which had hitherto been left open.
+
+A few minutes only had elapsed after this was done, when, as we looked
+through the palisades, we caught sight of several human figures
+stealthily creeping among the trees.  Our friends crouched down to the
+ground.  We also carefully kept out of sight.  The strangers approached
+nearer and nearer.  Now they stopped, looking suspiciously at the fort.
+They evidently could not understand what it was.  Several others,
+emerging from the depths of the forest, joined them.  They seemed to be
+holding a consultation.  Their numbers kept increasing, till they formed
+a formidable band.  They were sufficiently near for us to distinguish
+their appearance, and we were thus sure that they were the same people
+who had shot their arrows at us from the bank of the igarape.  That they
+came with hostile intent was very evident.  After they had talked for
+some time, one of their number crept forward, close to the ground,
+keeping as much under shelter as possible; yet I could easily have
+picked him off had it been necessary.  Having approached quite near, he
+again stopped, and seemed to be surveying the fortress.  Presently we
+saw him making his way back to his companions.  It was well for him that
+he had not come nearer, or he would have received in his body a poisoned
+arrow from a bow or blow-pipe.  Several of our Indians were preparing to
+shoot.  Again a long consultation was held.  And now once more the
+savage warriors began to move towards us.
+
+I waited for John to give the order to fire.  I saw the boys dropping
+arrows into their blow-pipes, and the old men getting ready their bows.
+Even Arthur, though hating the thought of injuring a fellow-creature,
+was fixing an arrow to his bow.  The enemy advanced slowly, extending
+their line on both sides.  In a little time they were near enough for
+their arrows to reach us.  Never having seen a shot fired in anger, I
+felt a repugnance at the thought of killing a fellow-creature.  I
+daresay my companions felt as I did.  I knew that Arthur had often
+expressed his horror at having to go into battle, not on account of the
+risk he might run of being killed, but at the thought of killing others.
+Still, I had persuaded him that, if people are attacked, they must use
+the right of defending themselves.
+
+Again they came on; and then suddenly once more stopped, and, drawing
+their bows, shot a flight of arrows.  Most of them stuck in the
+palisades, but fortunately none came through.  We kept perfectly silent,
+hiding ourselves, as before, from the enemy.  I was still in hopes they
+might take the alarm and go away without attacking us.  Now, led by a
+chief, in a head-dress of feathers, with a long spear in his hand,
+uttering loud shouts and shrieks, like the war-whoops of North American
+Indians, they dashed on.  As they got within twenty yards of us, our
+native garrison sprang up, and shot forth a shower of arrows from their
+bows and blow-pipes.  The enemy were thrown somewhat into confusion by
+so unexpected a greeting, and sprang back several paces.  Two or three
+of their people had been struck, as we saw them drawing the arrows from
+their breasts with looks of alarm, knowing well that though the wounds
+were slight they were nevertheless likely to prove fatal.
+
+"If they come on again we must fire," said John.  "It may be true mercy
+in the end."
+
+We waited, expecting to see them once more rush on; but they evidently
+had not calculated on opposition, and seemed very unwilling to court
+danger.  They retreated further and further off.  Still we could see the
+chief going among them, apparently trying to induce them to renew the
+attack.  The muzzles of our rifles were projecting through the
+palisades.
+
+"I am covering the chief," said John.  "I think it would be better to
+pick him off; and yet I am unwilling to take the life of the ignorant
+savage."
+
+While John was speaking, the chief disappeared behind a tree; and the
+next instant his companions were hid from sight.  We began to hope that,
+after all, they would retreat without attempting to attack our fortress.
+We waited for some time, when I proposed that we should send out our
+young scouts to try and ascertain what had become of them.  Just as we
+were trying to explain our wishes, some of our people gave vent to loud
+cries, and we saw smoke rising from the furthest-off huts of the
+village.  It grew thicker and thicker.  Then we saw flames bursting
+forth and extending from hut to hut.  It was too evident that the
+savages had gone round, and, to revenge themselves, had, after
+plundering the huts, set them on fire.  Had we had a few active warrior
+with us, they might have rushed out and attacked the enemy while thus
+employed; but as our fighting men were either too old or too young, no
+attempt of the sort could be made.  The poor natives, therefore, had to
+wait patiently in the fort, whilst their homes and property were being
+destroyed.
+
+While most of the party were looking towards the village, I happened to
+cast my eyes in the other direction, from whence the enemy had come.
+There I saw a large body of men making their way among the trees.  My
+heart sank within me.  I was afraid that our enemies were about to be
+reinforced.  And now, with their numbers increased, they would probably
+again attack us.
+
+"It cannot be helped," I said to John.  "We must allow no feelings of
+compunction to prevent us from firing on them.  Had we shot the chief,
+his followers would probably not have attempted to commit this barbarous
+act."
+
+At length I called Duppo, and pointed out the fresh band now
+approaching.  Instead of being alarmed, as I had expected, his
+countenance brightened, and he instantly turned round and shouted out
+some words in a cheerful tone.  The whole of the villagers on this
+sprang up, and a look of satisfaction, such as Indians seldom exhibit,
+coming over their countenances, they began to shout in cheerful tones.
+Then several of them rushed to the entrance last closed, and pulling
+down the stakes, hurried out towards the new-comers.  As they drew
+nearer, I recognised one of the chiefs whom we had met--Maono, Duppo's
+father.  A few words only were exchanged between the garrison and the
+warriors, and then the latter rushed on towards the village.  In a few
+minutes loud cries and shouts arose, and we saw our late assailants
+scampering through the woods, pursued by our friends.  The former did
+not attempt to stop and defend themselves.  Several, shot by arrows or
+pierced by lances, lay on the ground.  The remainder were soon lost to
+sight among the trees, pursued by the warriors who had just returned,
+and who seemed eager to wreak their revenge on the destroyers of their
+village.
+
+No attempt was made to put out the flames; indeed, so rapidly did they
+extend among the combustible materials of which they were constructed,
+that the whole of the huts standing within reach of each other were
+quickly burned to the ground.  We now ventured to accompany Oria and her
+mother out of the fort.  They were met by Maono, who received them in
+calm Indian fashion, without giving way to any exhibition of feeling.
+He, indeed, seemed to have some sad intelligence to communicate.
+Whatever it was, they soon recovered, and now seemed to be telling him
+how much they owed their preservation to us--at least we supposed so by
+the way he took our hands and pressed them to his breast.  After some
+time the rest of the warriors returned, and, as far as we could judge,
+they must have destroyed the greater number of their enemies.  Maono
+showed more feeling when he spoke to his son, who gave him an account of
+what had occurred.  As we hoped to learn more from our young friend than
+from any one else, we set to work, as soon as we could detach him from
+his companions, to make him give us an account of the expedition.
+
+As far as we could understand, Maono and his brother with their
+followers had been unable for some time to fall in with the enemy.  At
+length they met them in the neighbourhood of their own village, when a
+fierce battle had been fought according to Indian fashion.  Several men
+had been killed on both sides, and among others who fell, pierced by a
+poisoned arrow, was Duppo's uncle, whose musket also had been captured.
+Several others had been taken prisoners, and, the lad added with a
+shudder, had been carried off to be eaten.  In the meantime, it turned
+out, another party of the Majeronas, hoping to find our friend's village
+unprotected, had made their way through the forest to surprise it.
+
+It was very satisfactory to us, at all events, to find that we had been
+the means of protecting the families of these friendly Indians.  They
+took the burning of their village very calmly, and at once set to work
+to put up shelter for the night; fires were lighted, and the women began
+to cook the provisions they had saved.  Maono invited us to partake of
+the meal which his wife and daughter had got ready.  We would rather
+have set off at once to the camp, but night was now coming on, and when
+we proposed going, Duppo seemed very unwilling that we should do so.  We
+understood him to say that we might encounter jaguars or huge snakes,
+and we should be unable to see our way through the dark avenue of trees.
+As Ellen did not expect us to return, we agreed at length to follow his
+advice.  I observed that our friends sent out scouts--apparently to
+watch lest any of the enemy should venture to return--a precaution I was
+very glad to see taken.
+
+As far as we could understand, the expedition had been far from
+successful, as none of the canoes had been recovered, and our friends
+did not even boast that they had gained a victory.  From the terrible
+character Duppo gave of the enemy, they perhaps had good reason to be
+thankful that they had escaped without greater loss.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER ELEVEN.
+
+DANGERS BY LAND AND WATER--A NEW FRIEND FOUND.
+
+Our Indian friends, although their people are generally so
+undemonstrative, endeavoured by every means in their power to show their
+gratitude to us for the service we had rendered them.  When we offered
+to pay for the canoe, which we were anxious to retain, Maono entreated
+us to accept it, intimating that he would settle with the owner.  We
+were very glad to obtain the little craft; for, though too small for our
+voyage down the Amazon, it would enable us to carry out our project of
+searching the neighbouring shores for our parents.  Though we had not
+preserved their village from destruction, we had certainly saved the
+lives of their women and children, and did not therefore hesitate about
+accepting the canoe as a gift.
+
+The chiefs sat up the greater part of the night, holding a council.
+Next morning it was evident that they had arrived at some important
+determination.  The inhabitants were busy collecting their scattered
+goods, and doing them up in portable packages.  When we explained to
+them that we were anxious to set off immediately for our own camp, they
+intimated that they purposed accompanying us.  As this, however, would
+have delayed us greatly, we got Duppo to explain that we would gladly
+meet them again at any spot they might appoint, but that we would go
+down by the igarape in the canoe.
+
+A hurried meal having been taken, we prepared to embark.  Meantime the
+men were employed in loading the women and children with their goods.
+We thought that they were reserving some of the heavier loads for
+themselves; but this, we soon found, was not the case, as they were
+placed on the backs of the stronger women.  Even our hostess--the
+chief's wife--had to shoulder a load; and we felt very indignant when we
+saw that Oria had to carry one also.
+
+"I say, Harry, don't you think we ought to save her from that?"
+exclaimed Arthur.  "I am sure I would gladly carry it for her."
+
+"You would somewhat astonish her if you made the offer," observed John;
+"and I suspect you would fall in the estimation of our warrior friends.
+Their creed is different from ours.  They consider it derogatory to
+manhood to carry a load or to do more work than they can help.  However,
+as Ellen would perhaps like to have Oria with her, we might induce her
+parents to let her accompany Duppo.  We cannot do without him, at all
+events."
+
+We tried to explain our proposal to Duppo, and after some time he
+comprehended us.  Oria, however, seemed very unwilling to accept the
+offer, as she clung to her mother, and turned away her head from us.
+Duppo at length came back, and we all got into the canoe.  Our friends
+insisted on our taking as many articles of food as we could possibly
+carry--dried fish and meat, bananas and farinha, as well as fruit and
+vegetables.  True as usual took his seat in the bows.  We were just
+shoving off, when Maono and his wife came down to us leading Oria.  The
+chief addressed us and his son, but what he said we could not of course
+understand.  However we agreed that it was all right, and Duppo seemed
+highly pleased when his sister stepped into the canoe and took her seat
+in front of him.
+
+Bidding our friends adieu, we now began carefully to paddle down the
+igarape.  We were some time in sight of the village, the whole
+inhabitants of which we saw moving off, the men stalking first, with
+their bows and spears in their hands and their blow-pipes at their
+backs, and the women following, bending under the weight of the loads
+they carried.  Even the children, except the smallest, who sat on their
+mother's backs or were led by the hand, carried packages.
+
+"I am very glad we have saved the poor girl a heavy trudge through the
+forest," observed Arthur; "but I cannot say much for the chivalry of
+these people.  I was inclined to think favourably of the warriors when I
+saw them going forth so bravely to battle, but the example they have
+given us of the way they treat their women lowers them sadly in my
+estimation."
+
+"Very true, Arthur," remarked John.  "It is a sure sign that a people
+have fallen into a degraded and uncivilised condition when women do not
+hold an honourable position among them.  But there are some savages who
+treat their females even worse than these do.  From what I have seen,
+they appear in many respects kind and gentle to them.  The Australian
+savage--who is, however, the lowest in the scale of civilisation--when
+he wants a wife, watches till he finds a damsel to his taste, and then
+knocks her down with his club, a sign to her that she is henceforth to
+be a submissive and dutiful wife.  I am sure our friends here would not
+be guilty of such an act."
+
+"No; I hope not indeed," exclaimed Arthur.  "Dreadful to think that Oria
+should have to submit to such treatment."
+
+We had, as may be supposed, to paddle carefully to prevent running
+against a bough or sunken trunk, as the least touch might have upset our
+frail craft.  Though we might easily have scrambled out, yet we should
+have run the risk of losing our guns and wetting our ammunition; besides
+which, an alligator might have been lurking near, and seized one of us
+in its jaws before we could escape to land.  These considerations made
+us very careful in our navigation.  After some time, we began to feel
+sadly cramped from being unable to move.  Oria sat quiet and silent,
+close to her brother, somewhat surprised, I dare say, at finding herself
+carried away by the three white strangers.  John told us to keep our
+tongues steady in the middle of our mouths, lest we should make the
+canoe heel over; and, indeed, if we leant ever so slightly on one side
+the water began to ripple over the gunwale.  Duppo steered very
+carefully; and I, having the bow paddle, kept a very bright look-out
+ahead for any danger which might appear under water.  I could not help
+thinking of the big cow-fish we had seen, and dreading lest one of them
+coming up the igarape might give the canoe an unintentional shove with
+his snout, which would most inevitably have upset her.
+
+Thus we went on.  The lagoon was passed, and again we entered the
+channel with the thick trees arching overhead.  How cool and pleasant
+was the shade after the heat of the sun to which we had been exposed in
+the more open parts!  As we approached the camp our anxiety to ascertain
+that all was well increased.  The nearer we got the more I longed to see
+the smiling face of our dear little sister, and I thought of the
+pleasure she would have when we introduced Oria to her.  At length we
+could see in the far distance the landing-place near the camp.  In our
+eagerness we forgot our caution, and very nearly sent the canoe under
+water.  "Be more careful, boys," cried John, though he was paddling as
+hard as either of us.  As we drew near I looked out for the raft at the
+spot we had left her moored, but could not see her.  An uncomfortable
+misgiving came over me, yet I could not bear to think that any accident
+had happened.  I said nothing, and on we went.
+
+"Why, where is the raft?" exclaimed John.
+
+"Oh, perhaps Domingos has drawn her up on the bank," observed Arthur.
+
+"That is more than he would have strength to do," said John.  "Besides,
+I can see the bank, and the raft is not there."
+
+As we drew near we raised a shout to attract Domingos, True joining us
+with one of his cheerful barks.  No one answered.
+
+"Domingos has probably gone out shooting," observed Arthur.  "We shall
+see your sister and Maria running down directly."
+
+We looked eagerly towards the camp, but neither Ellen nor Maria
+appeared.  We at length clambered out of the canoe up the bank, leaving
+Duppo to help out his sister, and on we ran, breathless with anxiety, to
+ascertain what had happened.  The huts stood as we had left them, but
+the occupants were not there.  We looked about.  The goods had been
+carried off.  Had the Indians been there--or had Ellen and her
+attendants fled?  These were the fearful questions we asked ourselves.
+If the Indians had come, where had they carried our sister, and what had
+they done with her?  We searched around in every direction.  No signs of
+violence were to be discovered.  Yet, unless the Indians had come, why
+should they have fled.  The savage Majeronas would certainly have burned
+down the huts.  True was running about as surprised as we were to find
+no one there.  Now he ran into Ellen's hut, then searched about in the
+surrounding wood, and came back to us, as if he could not make up his
+mind what had happened.  Duppo and Oria now arrived, having waited at
+the bank to secure the canoe.  We tried to make Duppo understand that we
+wanted to know his opinion.  Though very intelligent for an Indian, we
+could seldom judge his thoughts by the expression of his countenance.
+At last he comprehended us, but made no reply.  After waiting an
+instant, he went into Ellen's hut, and then, as True had done, examined
+the surrounding thickets.  At last he came back and had a talk with
+Oria.  They seemed to have arrived at some conclusion.  We watched them
+anxiously.  Then we asked Duppo if the Majeronas had been there.  He
+shook his head, and then, taking my hand, led me back to the water,
+narrowly examining the ground as he went.  On reaching the igarape he
+pointed down towards the great river.  I understood him.
+
+"John!  Arthur!"  I shouted out, "they have gone that way on the raft.
+I am sure of it from Duppo's signs.  Perhaps they have not got to any
+great distance, and we may overtake them."
+
+"Stay," said John; "perhaps they are hiding somewhere near.  We will
+shout out, and they may hear us."
+
+"There is no use in doing that," I remarked.  "Had the raft still been
+here I might have thought so, but it is evident that they have gone away
+on it.  It would easily carry them and all our goods, and for some
+reason or other Domingos has persuaded them to escape on it, hoping that
+we should follow."
+
+"Would not Ellen have left a note for us, or some sign, to show us where
+they have gone to," observed John in a desponding tone.  "That she has
+not done so puzzles me more than anything else."
+
+To satisfy John, we all shouted at the top of our voices again and
+again; but no reply came.  We were going to get into the canoe, when
+Duppo showed us that we might prepare it with a little contrivance for
+encountering the rougher water of the river.  Some sipos were near.
+These he cut down, and with Oria's assistance bound into two long
+bundles, which he neatly secured to the gunwale of the canoe, completely
+round her.  By this means the sides were raised four or five inches, and
+would thus, I saw, greatly assist to keep out the water, and at the same
+time would enable her to float, even should she be partly filled.  Duppo
+now beckoned to us to get into her.  We took our seats as before, and
+once more we paddled down the igarape.  Duppo's contrivance completely
+kept out the water, which would otherwise have broken on board; and we
+had no longer any fear of driving the canoe as fast as we could through
+it.  We soon reached the open river.
+
+"Which way shall we turn--up or down the stream?"  I asked.
+
+"Down, certainly," said John; "the raft could not have gone up it."
+
+We accordingly made signs to Duppo to turn the canoe's head towards the
+east.  Before us appeared the island on which we so narrowly escaped
+being wrecked during the hurricane.  We steered down near the mainland,
+examining narrowly the shores on either side.  No raft could we see, nor
+any one on the land.  The water was smooth in the channel through which
+we were passing, but when we got to the end of it, we found the surface
+rippled over with waves, which, although small, threatened to be
+dangerous to our deeply-laden little craft.  I proposed that we should,
+notwithstanding, endeavour to paddle up along the other side of the
+island, in case Ellen and her companions might have landed on it.  We
+made signs to Duppo to steer in that direction; but he, instead of doing
+so, pointed to a spot some way down the river, signifying to as that he
+wished to land there.  We concluded that it was the place where his
+father had appointed to meet him.  "Perhaps he sees the raft; it may
+have drifted there," exclaimed Arthur.  "At all events, I am sure it
+will be better to do as he proposes."
+
+We accordingly paddled on under Duppo's pilotage.  Now that we were
+exposed to the breeze blowing across the river, our heavily-laden canoe
+could with difficulty contend with the waves, which, in spite of the
+raised gunwale, every now and then broke into her.  Had it not been for
+the young Indian's thoughtful contrivance, we should inevitably have
+been swamped.  After going on for some distance, we reached the mouth of
+another igarape.  Just outside it, facing the river, was a small open
+space, free of trees, with a fringe of rushes growing between it and the
+water.  With some little difficulty we forced the canoe through the
+rushes, and we then, by scrambling up the bank, reached the spot I have
+described.  Duppo made signs to us that it was here he wished to remain
+for the arrival of his father.
+
+"We may as well do as he proposes then," said John, "and we will set off
+and look for the raft.  If we do not find it--which Heaven forbid!--we
+will return and obtain the assistance of the Indians in making a more
+extended search."
+
+The spot was a very beautiful one, open entirely to the river in front,
+while the trees behind, not growing so closely together as usual,
+allowed the air to circulate--a very important consideration in that hot
+climate.  "It is just the place I should have chosen for an encampment
+while we are searching for our father," said John.  Arthur and I agreed
+with him; but as we were eager to be off again, we had no time to talk
+about the matter.  Landing the greater part of the provisions, we
+explained our intentions to our young friends.  They understood us, but
+seemed unwilling to be left behind.  John also proposed that Arthur
+should remain on shore.  "I will do as you wish," he answered; "but I do
+not like to be separated from you."  While we were speaking, standing on
+the bank, looking out over the river, he exclaimed, "See, see! what is
+that speck out there towards the other side?"  We eagerly looked in the
+direction he pointed.
+
+"I am afraid it is only the trunk of a tree, or a mass of grass floating
+down," said John.
+
+"Oh no, no!  I am nearly sure there are people on it!" cried Arthur,
+whose eyes, as we had found, were keener than ours.
+
+"At all events, we will go towards it," cried John.
+
+We hurried down and slipped into the canoe.  "Yes; I know that you may
+go faster without me," said Arthur.  "You know what I should like to do;
+but if it is better, I will remain on shore."
+
+We thanked him for his self-denial, and I was about to propose leaving
+True with him, when the dog settled the point by jumping in.  John and I
+shoved off, and paddled on with all our might.  Now that we had fewer
+people on board, we made much better way than before, and floated
+buoyantly over the mimic seas which met us.  We had marked the direction
+of the object we had seen.  From the water it was at first scarcely
+visible.  As we went on we again caught sight of it.  How anxiously we
+watched it!  One moment I thought it must be the raft, the next I was
+afraid it was but the trunk of a tree, or a flat island of grass.  How I
+longed for a spy-glass to settle the point, but unfortunately we
+possessed none.  For some minutes neither John nor I spoke.
+
+"Harry!" he exclaimed, at length, "I see some one waving.  Yes, yes; I
+am sure it is the raft!"
+
+I strained my eyes to the utmost.  I too thought I saw people on the
+object ahead of us.  If people they were, they were sitting down though.
+
+"Probably Domingos is afraid of standing up," said John.  Then I
+remarked this to him.  "I am glad the wind is across the river instead
+of up it, or it would be fearfully dangerous for them."
+
+"Then you do think it is the raft?"  I asked.
+
+"I am sure of it," answered John.
+
+We redoubled our efforts.  Every instant the object grew clearer and
+clearer.  We could scarcely be deceived.
+
+"Heaven be praised!" exclaimed John; "I see Ellen and Maria, one on each
+side, and Domingos working away with his paddle at one end.  They are
+trying to come towards us."
+
+I saw them too, and could even make out Nimble, and Toby, and Poll, and
+Niger.  My heart leaped with joy.  In a few minutes more we were up to
+the raft.
+
+"We will not stop to ask questions," exclaimed John, as we got
+alongside.  "Here, Maria; hand me your painter, and we will secure it to
+ours, and tow you back to the north bank.  You must tell us what has
+happened as we go along."
+
+"Oh, but Arthur! why is Arthur not with you?  Has anything happened to
+him?" exclaimed Ellen.
+
+"No; he is all right," answered John, pointing to the shore.
+
+While he was speaking, we transferred our painter to the stern of the
+canoe, and secured it as a tow-rope to the raft.  We put the canoe's
+head the way we wished to go, and paddled on.  The wind was in our
+favour; and Domingos, with Ellen and Maria, worked away with their
+paddles also on the raft.  We were exerting ourselves too much to speak.
+Our dear sister was safe; but yet it was somewhat difficult to restrain
+our curiosity to know what had occurred.  The wind was increasing every
+moment; and as we neared the shore we saw that there might be some
+danger of the water washing over the raft should we attempt to land
+under the bank.  I proposed, therefore, that we should steer for the
+igarape.  It was no easy matter, however, to get there, as the current
+was carrying us down.  Domingos tried to urge the raft in the direction
+we wished to go.  The wind continued to increase, and the current swept
+us further and further to the east.  The seas rising, tossed the raft,
+now on the one side, now on the other; and every moment I dreaded that
+those on it might be thrown off or washed away.  We entreated them to
+hold on tightly.  Even the canoe, though before the wind, was tossed
+considerably.  We could now distinguish our friends on shore watching us
+anxiously as we approached.  Already we had drifted down below them.
+They were trying to make their way through the forest to follow us.
+
+"We must drift down till we can see some place where we can get on shore
+with a prospect of safety," observed John.
+
+I agreed with him that it was our only alternative; yet I knew that
+sometimes for miles together along the banks such a place might not be
+found.  We turned the head of the canoe, however, down the stream,
+anxiously looking out for a fit spot to land.  I dreaded, as I cast a
+look over my shoulder at the sky, that such a hurricane as we had before
+encountered was brewing; and if so, our prospect of being saved was
+small indeed.  I saw that Domingos also was casting a glance back at the
+sky.  We could see the tall trees on shore bending before the blast.
+Every moment our position became more and more perilous.  If landing in
+the daylight was difficult, it would be still more so to get on shore in
+the dark.
+
+Down the mighty river we floated.  The last rays of the sun came
+horizontally over the waters, tinging the mimic waves with a bright
+orange hue.  Then gradually they assumed a dull, leaden tint, and the
+topmost boughs of the more lofty trees alone caught the departing light.
+Still no harbour of refuge appeared.  I proposed running in, as the
+last desperate resource, and scrambling on shore while we could still
+see sufficiently to find our way.
+
+"We shall lose our goods, and the canoe, and the raft, if we make the
+attempt," answered John, "and perhaps our lives.  We must still try to
+find a safe place to land at."
+
+We were yet at some distance from the shore, though, driven by the
+fierce wind, we were rapidly approaching it.  The storm increased.  Dark
+clouds were gathering overhead.  A bright flash of lightning darted from
+them, crackling and hissing as it went along the water: another, and
+another followed.  Suddenly, as if a thick mantle had been thrown over
+us, it became dark, and we could scarcely have distinguished an opening
+in the forest had one been before us.  John was more unwilling than ever
+to risk landing; and we therefore steered down the river, parallel with
+the shore, so as to prevent the raft as long as possible from being
+driven against it.
+
+"Paddle on, Harry!" cried John, with his usual coolness; "we may yet
+find a harbour of refuge."
+
+We could judge pretty well, by the varying outline of the leafy wall
+close to us, that we were making rapid way.  The wind, too, had shifted
+more to the west, and drove us therefore still before it.  Arthur and
+our Indian friends would, I knew, be in despair at not seeing us land;
+while it was certain that they could not keep pace with the raft, as
+they had to make their way through the tangled forest.  Now that
+darkness had come on, they would probably be compelled to stop
+altogether.
+
+The wind blew harder.  The raft was tossed fearfully about.  Another
+rattling peal of thunder and more vivid flashes of lightning burst from
+the clouds.  Maria shrieked out with terror; while the two monkeys clung
+to her, their teeth chattering--as alarmed as she was, Ellen afterwards
+told me.  Then again all was silent.
+
+"I am afraid, Harry, we must make the attempt," said John at last.  "But
+the risk is a fearful one.  We must tell Ellen, Domingos, and Maria to
+be prepared.--Be ready, dear Ellen!" cried John.  "Hold on tightly; and
+when I call to you, spring towards me.  We must manage by some means to
+get on shore.  Domingos will help Maria.  Harry will try to secure the
+guns and ammunition; our existence may depend upon them.  The animals
+must take care of themselves.--Domingos, are you ready?" he asked, in
+Spanish.
+
+"Si, si, Senor John.  But look there, master; what is that light on
+shore?  It must come from some hut surely, where we may obtain shelter.
+Let us try to reach the place.  Even if there are savages there, they
+will not refuse to help us."
+
+As he spoke, we observed a bright light bursting forth from among the
+trees, at a short distance off along the bank.  Now it disappeared--now
+it came again in sight.  We paddled down towards it.  It was apparently
+a torch held in a person's hand.  We rapidly approached the light, but
+yet failed to discover any place where we could land with safety.  We
+shouted loudly, hoping to attract the attention of any one who might be
+near.  Presently a hail came off the land.  We answered it.  Again a
+voice was heard.
+
+"Can you tell us where we can land with safety?" cried John, in Spanish.
+
+The answer was unintelligible.  Presently he asked again in English; and
+in a little time we saw the light moving along the bank.  Then it
+remained stationary.  We exerted ourselves to the utmost to steer for
+it; and we now saw a division in the wall of trees, which indicated that
+there was a passage between them.  Again the thunder reared, the
+lightning flashed, and the wind blew with fearful force.
+
+Maria shrieked loudly, "The water is washing over the raft!"
+
+"Hold on! hold on!" cried John; "we shall soon be in safety."  And in
+another minute we were entering the mouth of a narrow channel.  "We will
+turn the canoe round," said John, "and let the raft go first.  We may
+thus prevent it being dashed on the bank."
+
+We did as he advised.  Scarcely, however, had we turned the raft round
+when we found it had reached the shore.
+
+"Do you, Domingos, help the senora and Maria to land!" shouted John.
+
+By the light from the torch we saw a tall figure standing on the bank.
+He flung the light so that it might fall across us.
+
+"Females!" he exclaimed.  "A sorry night to be buffeting with the waves
+of the Amazon!  Give me your hands, whoever you are.  I should little
+have expected to find my countrymen in such a plight in this remote
+region."
+
+While he was speaking he helped Ellen and Maria up the bank, the two
+monkeys following, while Poll and Niger clung fast to Maria's shoulders.
+Faithful True did not attempt to leap on shore, though he could easily
+have done so, but remained with me in the canoe.  Domingos, meantime,
+was hastily throwing our goods on shore; while we continued exerting
+ourselves in preventing the raft being lifted by the force of the water
+and upset on the bank.
+
+"All the things are safely landed," cried Domingos at length.
+
+We then, casting off the tow-rope, paddled round, and ran the bow of the
+canoe on shore.  Not till then did True leap out of her.  Domingos and
+the stranger coming down, helped us to drag her out of the water.
+
+"We may save the raft also," said the latter.  "You may require it to
+continue your voyage; as I conclude you do not intend to locate
+yourselves here, and compel me to seek another home in the wilderness."
+
+I was struck by the morose tone in which the stranger spoke.  He,
+however, assisted us in dragging up the raft sufficiently high to
+prevent its being knocked about by the waves, which ran even into the
+comparatively smooth part of the channel in which we found ourselves.
+
+"We heartily thank you for your assistance," said John.  "We owe the
+preservation of our lives to you; for, with the increasing storm, we
+could scarcely have escaped destruction had we been driven further down
+the river."
+
+"You owe me no thanks, young sir.  I would have done the same for a
+party of benighted savages, as you call them," answered the stranger.
+"Your dumb companions are equally welcome.  I am not ill pleased to see
+them.  It speaks in your favour that they follow you willingly, instead
+of being dragged about with ropes and chains, or confined in cages, as
+civilised men treat the creatures they pretend to tame.  I have,
+however, but poor shelter to offer you from the deluge which will soon
+be down on our heads.  Follow me; there is no time to be lost."
+
+"But we must not allow our goods to remain out," said John.
+
+"I will assist you, then, to carry them," answered the stranger, lifting
+up double the number of packages which we usually carried at a time.
+
+We then all loaded ourselves.  Ellen insisted on carrying a package, and
+followed the stranger, who went before us with his torch.  We could not
+even then exchange words, as we had to proceed in single file along a
+narrow pathway, fringed on either side with thick shrubs--apparently the
+after-growth of a cleared spot, soon to spring up again into tall trees.
+We soon found ourselves within the forest, where, so dense was the
+gloom, that without the torch to guide us we could not have made our
+way.  Its ruddy flame glanced on the trunks of the tall trees, showing a
+canopy of wide-spreading boughs overhead, and the intricate tracery of
+the numberless sipos which hung in festoons, or dropped in long
+threadlike lines from them.  Passing for a few yards through a jungle,
+the boughs spreading so closely above our heads that we often had to
+stoop, we found ourselves in an open space, in which by the light of the
+torch we saw a small hut with deep eaves, the gable end turned towards
+us.  It was raised on posts several feet from the ground.  A ladder led
+to a platform or verandah, which projected from the wall of the gable,
+in which was a small door.
+
+"Here you are welcome to stow your goods and rest for the night," said
+the stranger.  "No human being but myself has ever entered it; for I
+seek not the society of my fellow-men, either savage or civilised,
+so-called.  To-morrow, if the weather clears, you will, I conclude,
+proceed on your way; or if you insist on remaining, I must seek another
+home.  Let that be understood, before I make you further welcome.  Now,
+enter, and such accommodation as my hut affords shall be yours."
+
+There was something in the tone of the speaker which, though his dress
+was rough and strange, made us feel that he was a man of education.
+
+"We cordially thank you, sir," answered John, "and accept your
+hospitality on the terms you propose; but as a portion of our goods
+still remain near the river, we would ask you to give us another torch
+to enable us to fetch them before the rain comes done."
+
+"I will myself accompany you," he answered, "when I have introduced the
+young people to my abode."
+
+Saying this, he stepped up the ladder, and assisted Ellen and Maria to
+reach the platform.  He then led the way in, and lighted a lamp which
+stood--we could see through the open door--on a table near it.
+
+"I am sorry I have no better accommodation to offer you," he said,
+looking at Ellen; "but such as it is, you are welcome to it."
+
+He came down with another torch in his hand, and proceeded with rapid
+strides back to the river.  We had some difficulty in following him.
+Again he took up a heavy load; and we, dividing the remainder of the
+goods between us, followed him towards the hut.  Ascending the ladder as
+we reached it, he desired us to hand up the goods, which he carried
+within.  As soon as we were on the platform, he drew up the ladder.
+
+"I always secure myself thus in my fortress at night," he remarked; "and
+as I have taken means of preventing any snakes crawling up the posts on
+which it stands, I can sleep more securely than many do in the so-called
+civilised portion of the globe."
+
+On entering the house, we found that it was larger than we had supposed
+from its appearance outside.  It was divided into two rooms.  The outer
+was fitted up, in somewhat rustic style, as a sitting-room, while we
+concluded that the inner one was a sleeping-room.  Round the walls were
+arranged shelves, on one of which were a considerable number of books,
+with a variety of other articles.  In one corner was a pile of nets and
+harpoons, and some spears and other weapons for the chase; in another
+stood an Indian mill for grinding flour, and several jars and other
+articles, apparently for preparing or preserving food.  Against the
+walls stood several chests.  Though the table was large enough for the
+whole of us to sit round it, yet there was but one stool, showing that
+our host, as he had told us, was unaccustomed to receive guests.  He,
+however, pulled the chests forward, and by placing some boards between
+them, we all found seats.
+
+"If you have not brought provisions, I will supply you while you stay
+with me," he observed; "but my own consumption is so small that I have
+but a limited amount to offer you."
+
+"We would not willingly deprive you of that, sir," said John; "and we
+have enough to last us till we can supply ourselves with more."
+
+"That is fortunate," remarked the recluse.  "While your servant gets it
+ready, I will prepare my room for the young lady and her attendant.  I
+have no cooking-place under shelter, and while the rain is pouring down,
+as it will begin to do presently, a fire cannot be lighted outside.  You
+must therefore be content with a cold repast."
+
+While the recluse--so I may call him--was absent, we for the first time
+had an opportunity of asking Ellen what had occurred to drive her and
+her attendants away from the camp.
+
+"I was indeed unwilling to do so," she said, "till urged by Domingos.
+He had gone to shoot at a short distance from the hut, when he came
+hurrying back with a look of alarm, and told me that he had caught sight
+of some savages making their way through the forest.  He insisted that
+they were trying to find us out, and that our only hope of safety was by
+instant flight.  I pleaded that you would come back, and finding us
+gone, would fancy we had been carried off or killed.  He argued that on
+your return, finding the raft gone, you would know we had embarked on
+it.  At length he agreed, that if we would assist to carry the goods
+down to the raft he would again search round the camp, and should the
+natives appear to be going in a different direction, we might carry them
+back again.  He had not gone long, when he returned with dismay on his
+countenance, asserting that they were coming towards us, and that if we
+did not escape we should certainly be killed.  You may suppose, my dear
+brothers, how fearfully agitated I was.  I knew how alarmed you would be
+on returning not to find us, and yet, if we should remain it might be
+still worse.  Domingos and Maria settled the matter by seizing me by the
+arms, and dragging me to the raft before I had time to write a note or
+leave any signal.  I scarcely thought, indeed, of doing so, till
+Domingos had pushed the raft off from the bank.  I entreated him to go
+back; but he replied that it was impossible without the risk of being
+caught by the savages, and began paddling the raft down the channel.  I
+looked back, and seeing no natives, again urged him to return.  He
+replied that he was sure they would lie in ambush to catch us, and that
+it would be destruction to do so.  Feeling that he wished to secure my
+safety, I could not complain.  He did his best, too, to comfort me about
+you.  He said that as you were probably with the friendly natives, you
+would be defended from the Majeronas; and that by the time you had come
+back, those he had seen would have gone away, and you would certainly
+guess that we were not far off.  I did my utmost to arouse myself and to
+assist Maria and him in paddling the raft.  The wind was light, the
+water smooth, and there appeared to be no danger in venturing out into
+the river.  A light wind was in our favour, and he accordingly steered
+towards the opposite bank, saying that we should be safer there than
+anywhere else, and might more easily get back than by going down the
+stream.  I looked frequently towards the shore we had left, but still
+saw no natives.  Poor Domingos was evidently anxious about you, though
+he did his best not to alarm me more than he had done already.  We
+found, after getting some way across, that the current was floating us
+down much faster than we had expected, and I begged Domingos therefore
+to return.  He insisted that, having got thus far, it was better to
+continue our course towards the southern bank, and wait there for a
+favourable wind for getting back.  I was thankful when at length we
+reached a sandy beach, where we could land without difficulty and secure
+our raft.  Domingos fortunately shot a paca, so we had plenty of food;
+and Maria and I assisted him in putting up a hut.  Had I not been so
+anxious about you, I should have had no cause to complain.  They both
+exerted themselves to the utmost; and I do not think Domingos closed his
+eyes all night, for whenever I awoke I saw him, through an opening in
+our hut, walking about or making up the fire.  We spent the morning on
+the bank, watching in the hope of seeing you come to look for us.  As
+soon as the wind changed, I entreated Domingos to put off, and at last,
+though somewhat unwillingly, he consented to do so; but he blamed
+himself very much for yielding to my wishes, when the wind began to blow
+so violently.  Had you, indeed, not arrived to assist us, I suspect that
+our raft would have been in great danger of being overwhelmed."
+
+"We have reason to be thankful, dear Ellen, that you were preserved,"
+said John.  "I am very sure Domingos acted for the best.  I wish for
+your sake that our expedition had come to a favourable end, although the
+rest of us may enjoy it."
+
+"Oh, if it were not for anxiety about papa and mamma, and dear Fanny,
+and Aunt Martha, I should like it too," said Ellen.  "When we once find
+them, I am sure that I shall enjoy our voyage down the river as much as
+any of you."
+
+"You are a brave girl," said the stranger, who at that moment returned,
+"though, perhaps, you scarcely know the dangers you may have to
+encounter.  Yet, after all, they are of a nature more easily overcome
+than many which your sisters in the civilised regions of the world are
+called to go through.  Here you have only the elements and a few wild
+beasts to contend with; there, they have falsehood, treachery, evil
+example, allurements of all sorts, and other devices of Satan, to drag
+them to destruction."
+
+While we were seated at supper, the rain came down in tremendous
+torrents, as the recluse had predicted.  The strength of his roof was
+proved, as not a drop found its way through.
+
+"I am protected here," he remarked, "from the heat of the summer months
+by the leafy bower overhead; while, raised on these poles, my habitation
+is above the floods in the rainy season.  What can man want more?  Much
+in the same way the natives on the Orinoco form their dwellings among
+the palm-trees; but they trust more to Nature, and, instead of piles,
+form floating rafts, sufficiently secured to the palm-trees to keep them
+stationary, but rising and falling as the floods increase or diminish."
+
+I was struck with many of the remarks of our eccentric host, but the
+more I saw of him the more I was surprised that a man of his information
+should have thus secluded himself from the world.  We had just time to
+give Ellen an account of our adventures, when he expressed his wish that
+we should hang up our hammocks, as it was past his usual hour for
+retiring to rest.  This was an operation quickly performed, as we had
+only to secure them in the usual way to the posts which supported the
+roof.
+
+"We should not part," said Ellen, somewhat timidly, "without our usual
+prayer; and we have cause to thank God for our preservation from
+danger."
+
+The recluse looked at her fixedly.  "You are in earnest, I am sure," he
+muttered.  "Pray, young people, do not depart from your usual custom; I
+will wait for you."
+
+Arthur, I should have said, though the youngest, always led us in
+prayer.  "As he is absent," I remarked to Ellen's request, "I will do
+so."
+
+"Oh, you have a young chaplain with you," said the recluse; "and what
+pay does he receive?"
+
+"None at all, sir," answered Ellen.  "He is only earnest and good."
+
+"I should like to meet him," said the recluse.
+
+"I hope you may, sir," said Ellen, "if you come with us."
+
+A short prayer was offered up.  I spoke with the earnestness I felt.
+Ellen then read a portion of Scripture from the Bible she had always at
+hand in her trunk.  Our host listened attentively, his eyes fixed on our
+young sister.  I had not observed a copy of the blessed Book on his
+shelves.  He made no remark, however, on the subject, but I thought his
+tone was less morose than before.
+
+We were soon in our hammocks, a small oil lamp, which was kept burning
+on the table, throwing a subdued light through the chamber.  True, I
+should have said, from our first meeting with the stranger, had eyed him
+askance, having apparently some doubts as to his character.  He now came
+and coiled himself up in his usual position under my hammock.  He had
+kept as far off from him as he could during the evening, and did not
+seem satisfied till the tall figure of the recluse was stretched out in
+his hammock near the entrance of the hut.  The rain pattering overhead,
+and splashing down on the soft ground round us, kept me for some time
+awake.  It ceased at length, and soon afterwards, just as I was dropping
+off to sleep, a chorus of hideous sounds commenced, coming apparently
+from no great distance in the forest.  Now they resembled the cries and
+groans of a number of people in distress.  Now it seemed as if a whole
+troop of jaguars were growling and snarling over their prey.  Now it
+seemed as if a company of Brobdignag cats were singing a serenade.  Now
+the sounds for a moment ceased, but were instantly taken up again by
+other creatures at a distance.  After a time, the same sounds
+recommenced in another quarter.  Had I not already been well accustomed
+to similar noises, I might have fancied that we had got into some forest
+haunted by evil spirits bewailing their lost condition.  I was
+sufficiently awake, however, to guess that they proceeded only from
+troops of howling monkeys, though we had never yet heard them so near,
+or in such numbers.  In spite of the hideous concert, I at last fell
+asleep.
+
+The voice of our host aroused us at daybreak.  "As soon as you have
+broken your fast, I will accompany you to find your companions," he
+said, "unless you desire to proceed by water.  In that case, you will
+scarcely meet them; but I would advise you to leave your canoe and raft
+here, as I can conduct you through the forest by the only open paths
+which exist, and by which alone they can make their way in this
+direction.  I am afraid, unless they had their wits about them, they
+must have been exposed to the tempest last night, and may be but ill
+able to travel far this morning."
+
+John at once decided to go by land, as the canoe was not large enough to
+convey all our party.  The recluse looked at Ellen.  "She will scarcely
+be able to undergo the fatigue of so long a walk," he remarked.  "If she
+wishes it, she and her attendant can remain here, while we go to meet
+your companions; and you can then return and remove your property, or
+leave it till you can find the means of continuing your voyage.  I did
+not purpose to allow my solitude to be thus broken in on; but,"--and he
+looked again at Ellen--"she reminds me of days gone by, and I cannot
+permit her to be exposed to more trials than are necessary."
+
+John thanked him for his proposal, though Ellen seemed unwilling to
+remain behind.  We also did not like to leave her.  At last John
+suggested that Domingos should remain also.  The recluse pressed the
+point with more warmth than I should have expected, and at last Ellen
+agreed to do as was proposed.  She was certainly better off in a
+well-built hut than she had been for some time, and strange and
+eccentric as the recluse appeared, still we felt that he was disposed to
+assist us to the best of his power.
+
+Our early breakfast over, John and I, shouldering our rifles, followed
+by True, set off with the recluse.  Ellen looked rather sad as we were
+going.
+
+"You will find poor Arthur?  I know you will," she said in a low voice
+to me.  "I thought of him a great deal last night, out in the fierce
+tempest, with only two young Indians to assist him; and he is not so
+strong as you are, and has no gun to defend himself.  I could not help
+thinking of fierce jaguars roaming in search of prey, or those dreadful
+boas, or the anacondas we have heard of."
+
+"Oh, drive all such thoughts from your mind, Ellen," I answered.
+"Arthur, if not so strong, has plenty of sense and courage; and, depend
+upon it, the Indians will have found some hollow tree, or will have
+built a hut for themselves, in which they would have taken shelter
+during the night.  I should not have minded changing places with Arthur.
+It is all right.  We will bring him back safe enough."
+
+With these words I hurried after John and the recluse.  We had not gone
+far, when I saw them looking up into a tree.  True darted forward and
+began to bark, when, in return, a chorus of terrific barks, howls, and
+screeches proceeded from the higher branches, and there I saw seated a
+group of several large monkeys with long tails and most hideous faces.
+Every instant they threw up their heads, and the fearful sounds I had
+heard issued forth from them.  I could scarcely suppose that animals of
+such a size could make so much noise.
+
+"You have there some of my friends who serenaded you last night,"
+observed the recluse, when, after a few minutes, the monkeys ceased
+howling.  "These are the _mycetes_, or ursine howlers.  The creature is
+called in this country _araguato_, and sometimes by naturalists the
+_alouatte_.  It is known also as `the preacher.'  If he could discourse
+of sin and folly, and point out to benighted man the evil of his ways,
+he might howl to some purpose but his preaching is lost on the denizens
+of the forest, who know nothing of sin, and are free from the follies of
+the world.  Observe that with how little apparent difficulty he gives
+forth that terrific note.  It is produced by a drum-shaped expansion of
+the larynx.  The hyoid bone, which in man is but slightly developed, is
+in these monkeys very large.  It gives support to the tongue, being
+attached to the muscles of the neck.  The bony drum communicates with
+the wind-pipe, and enables them to utter those loud sounds."
+
+Had Arthur been with us, I am sure we should have indulged in a hearty
+laugh at the curious faces of those thick-jawed creatures as they looked
+down upon us inquisitively to ascertain what we were about.  They were
+considerably larger than any we had seen; indeed, the howler is the
+largest monkey in the New World.  The fur is of a rich bay colour, and
+as the sun fell upon the coats of some of them above us, they shone with
+a golden lustre.  The thick beard which hung from the chin and neck was
+of a deeper hue than the body.  Our friend told us that those he had
+caught were generally about three feet long, and that their tails in
+addition were of even greater length.  We went on without disturbing the
+assemblage in their aerial seat, greatly to True's disappointment, who
+would evidently have liked to measure his strength with one of them.
+Like the spider monkeys, they live entirely in trees, making good use of
+their long tails as they move about from branch to branch; indeed, the
+tail serves the howler for another hand.  When by any chance he descends
+to the ground, he moves along very awkwardly, and can easily be caught,
+as we afterwards discovered.
+
+Our new acquaintance was but little inclined to talk; indeed, had he
+been so, we could seldom have enjoyed much conversation, as we were
+compelled in most places to follow him in Indian file.  Now and then he
+had to use his hatchet to clear the path, and we very frequently had to
+force our way by pressing aside the branches which met in front of us.
+Still he went on without wavering for a moment, or appearing doubtful of
+the direction he should take.  After going on some way further, he again
+stopped, and pointed to a tree, the branch of which rose a few feet off.
+I knew by the way True barked that some creature was there; and looking
+more narrowly, I observed some animals clinging to the lower branches,
+but so nearly did they resemble the bark to which they were holding,
+that had they not been pointed out to me I should have passed them by.
+The animals turned listless glances at us, and seemed in no way disposed
+to move.
+
+"There," observed the recluse, "are creatures in every way adapted to
+the mode of life which they are doomed to lead.  Place them in any
+other, and they will be miserable.  You see there the _ai_, or
+three-toed sloth (the _Bradypus torquatus_).  Though its arms, or
+fore-legs more properly, are nearly twice as long as the hinder ones, it
+finds them exactly suited for climbing the trees on which it lives.
+Place it on the ground, and it cannot get along.  It passes its life,
+not above, but under the branches.  When moving along, it suspends
+itself beneath them; when at rest, it hangs from them; and it sleeps
+clutching them with its strong claws, and its back hanging downwards."
+
+One of the creatures was hanging as our friend described; the other was
+on its way up the tree.  It stopped on seeing us approach, and turned
+its round short head, with deeply sunk eyes and a large nose, to look at
+us.  The animals had long powerful claws on all their feet.  The hair
+was very coarse and shaggy, more like grass or moss than anything else.
+
+"The sloth suckles its young like other quadrupeds," observed our
+friend; "and I have often seen the female, with her little one clinging
+to her, moving at a rate through the forest which shows that the sloth
+does not properly deserve its name.  See now--give a shout--and then say
+if it is too sluggish to more."
+
+John and I shouted together, and True barked loudly.  The sloths gave
+reproachful glances at us for disturbing them, and then began to move
+away at a speed which an active sailor running up the rigging of a ship
+could scarcely equal.  In a short time, slinging themselves from branch
+to branch, they had disappeared in the depths of the forest.
+
+"Let them go," observed our friend.  "You do not want a meal, or you
+would find their flesh supply you with one not to be disdained."  The
+last remark was made as we again moved on.  Once more we relapsed into
+silence.  When, however, a bird, or moth, or any creature appeared, our
+guide stopped for an instant, and turning round, told us its name and
+habits.  We passed several curious trees, one of which he pointed out
+rising from the ground in numerous stalks, which then united in a thick
+stem, and afterwards, half-way up, bulged out in a long oval, again to
+narrow, till at the summit six or eight branches, with palm-like formed
+leaves, spread forth, forming a graceful crown to the curious stem.  He
+called it the _Iriartes ventricosa_, or bulging-stemmed palm.  Again we
+passed through a grove of urucuri palms (_Attalea excelsa_).  Their
+smooth columnar stems were about forty or fifty feet in height, while
+their broad, finely pinnated leaves interlocked above, and formed arches
+and woven canopies of varied and peculiarly graceful shapes.  High above
+them rose the taller forest trees, whose giant branches formed a second
+canopy to shade them from the glaring rays of the sun.  Many of the
+trees rose eighty feet without a branch, their stems perfectly straight.
+Huge creepers were clinging round them, sometimes stretching obliquely
+from their summits, like the stays of a ship's mast.  Others wound round
+their trunks, like huge serpents ready to spring on their prey.  Others,
+again twisted spirally round each other, forming vast cables of living
+wood, holding fast those mighty monarchs of the forest.  Some of the
+trees were so covered with smaller creepers and parasitic plants that
+the parent stem was entirely concealed.  The most curious trees were
+those having buttresses projecting from their bases.  The lower part of
+some of them extended ten feet or more from the base of the tree,
+reaching only five or six feet up the trunk.  Others again extended to
+the height of fully thirty feet, and could be seen running up like ribs
+to a still greater height.  Some of these ribs were like wooden walls,
+several inches in thickness, extended from the stem, so as to allow room
+for a good-sized hut to be formed between them by merely roofing over
+the top.  Again, I remarked other trees ribbed and furrowed for their
+whole height.  Occasionally these furrows pierced completely through the
+trunks, like the narrow windows of an ancient tower.  There were many
+whose roots were like those of the bulging palm, but rising much higher
+above the surface of the ground.  The trees appeared to be standing on
+many-legged pedestals, frequently so far apart from each other that we
+could without difficulty walk beneath them.  A multitude of pendants
+hung from many of the trees, some like large wild pine-apples, swinging
+in the air.  There were climbing arums, with dark-green arrow-head
+shaped leaves; huge ferns shot out here and there up the stems to the
+topmost branches.  Many of the trees had leaves as delicately cut as
+those of the graceful mimosa, while others had large palmate leaves, and
+others, again, oval glossy ones.
+
+Now and then, as I looked upwards, I was struck with the finely-divided
+foliage strongly defined against the blue sky, here and there lighted up
+by the bright sunshine; while, in the region below through which we
+moved, a deep gloom prevailed, adding grandeur and solemnity to the
+scene.  There were, however, but few flowers; while the ground on which
+we walked was covered with dead leaves and rotten wood, the herbage
+consisting chiefly of ferns and a few grasses and low creeping plants.
+
+We stopped at last to lunch, and while John and I were seated on the
+branch of a fallen tree, our friend disappeared.  He returned shortly,
+with his arms full of large bunches of a round juicy berry.  "Here," he
+said, "these will quench your thirst, and are perfectly wholesome."  We
+found the taste resembling that of grapes.  He called it the _puruma_.
+We were too eager to find Arthur to rest long, and were once more on our
+journey.
+
+"From the account you gave me, I hope we may soon meet with your
+friends," observed the recluse, "unless they have turned back in despair
+of finding you."
+
+"Little fear of that," I observed.  "I am sure Arthur will search for us
+as long as he has strength to move."
+
+Still we went on and on, and Arthur did not appear; and we asked our
+companion whether he did not think it possible that our friends might
+have tried to make their way along the bank of the river.
+
+"No," he answered, "the jungle is there too thick; and if we find signs
+of their having made the attempt, we shall speedily overtake them; for
+though we have made a considerable circuit, they by this time could
+scarcely have progressed half a mile even with the active employment of
+sharp axes."
+
+This somewhat comforted me; for notwithstanding what the recluse said, I
+felt nearly certain that Arthur would attempt to examine the whole
+length of the bank, in hopes of discovering what had become of us.  We
+went on and on till we entered a denser part of the forest, where we
+were compelled to use our axes before we could get through.  At length I
+caught sight through an opening of what looked like a heap of boughs at
+a distance.  The recluse, quickening his pace, went on towards it.  We
+eagerly followed.  It was a hut roughly built.  Extinguished embers of a
+fire were before it.  We looked in eagerly.  It was empty, but there
+were leaves on the ground, and dry grass, as if people had slept there.
+It had been, there was little doubt, inhabited by Arthur and his
+companions.  It was just such a hut as they would have built in a hurry
+for defence against the storm.  But what had become of them?
+
+"I believe you are right," said the recluse at last, having examined the
+bushes round; "they certainly attempted to make their way along the
+bank.  I trust no accident has happened to them, for in many places it
+is undermined by the waters, and after rain suddenly gives way."  These
+remarks somewhat alarmed me.  "This is the way they have taken, at all
+events," he added; "though they have managed to creep under places we
+might find some difficulty in passing."  Again he led the way, clearing
+the path occasionally with his axe.  We were close to the edge of the
+river, though so thickly grew the tangled sipos and the underwood that
+we could only occasionally get glimpses of it.  As we went along we
+shouted out frequently, in hopes that Arthur might hear us.
+
+"Your friend and his companions have laboured hard to get through this
+dense jungle," he observed, "but we shall soon overtake them."
+
+Still on and on we went, now and then having to turn aside, being unable
+otherwise to force our way onwards.  We at length, on returning to the
+river, found below us a sand-bank, which extended for some distance
+along it.
+
+"Here are the marks of their feet!" exclaimed John, who had leaped down
+on it.  "See the way they are turned!  We shall soon overtake them."
+
+This discovery restored my spirits, for I had begun to fear that after
+all, unable to get along, they had turned back.  We hastened forward
+along the bank, but the sand was very soft, and walking on it was almost
+as fatiguing as through the forest; while the heat from the sun striking
+down on it was intense.  Climbing up the bank once more, we proceeded
+through the forest.  We went on a short distance, when we found
+ourselves in more open ground--that is to say, we could get on without
+the use of our axes.  We continued shouting out, and every now and then
+making our way to the bank as before.
+
+"Hark!" said John, "I hear a cry.  See! there are natives coming towards
+us.  Yes; I believe they are the two young Indians."
+
+"They are Indians," remarked our guide.  "They are beckoning us.  We
+will hasten on."
+
+In another minute we saw Duppo and Oria running towards us.  They kept
+crying out words that I did not understand.  As soon as they saw the
+recluse they hurried to him, and took his hands, as if they knew him
+well.
+
+"They tell me your young friend is ill," he remarked.  "They have left
+him a little further on, close to the water, where, it seems, unable to
+proceed, he fainted.  They entreat me to hasten on lest he should die.
+They fancy I can do everything, having occasionally cured some of their
+people of slight diseases."
+
+As he said this he allowed himself to be dragged forward by Duppo and
+his sister, who, in their eagerness, seemed scarcely to have recognised
+us.  The ground over which we were proceeding was somewhat swampy, and
+sloped down to a small lagoon or inlet of the river.  John and I
+followed as fast as we could at the heels of our guide.  Presently he
+stopped, and uttering an exclamation, threw aside the hands of the young
+Indians and dashed forward.  We followed, when, what was our horror to
+see, under a grove of mimosa bushes, Arthur in the grasp of a huge
+serpent, which had wound its coils round his body.  I shrieked with
+dismay, for I thought he was dead.  He moved neither hand nor foot,
+seemingly unconscious of what had occurred.  The recluse dashed forward.
+John and I followed with our axes, and True went tearing boldly on
+before us.  It was an anaconda.  Already its huge mouth was open to
+seize our young companion.  Without a moment's hesitation the recluse
+sprang at the monster, and seizing its jaws with a power I should
+scarcely have supposed he possessed, wrenched them back, and held them
+fast in spite of the creature's efforts to free itself.  "Draw him out!"
+shouted the recluse; and John, seizing Arthur, drew him forth from amid
+the vast coils, while I with my axe struck blow after blow at its body
+and tail.  The recluse did not let go his hold, although the creature,
+unwinding its tail, threatened to encircle him in its coils.  Now it
+seemed as if it would drag him to the ground, but he recovered his feet,
+still bending back the head till I could hear the bones cracking.  I
+meantime had been hacking at its tail, and at length a fortunate blow
+cut it off.  John, placing Arthur at a little distance, came back to our
+assistance, and in another minute the reptile lay dead at our feet, when
+True flew at it and tore away furiously at its body.
+
+"Your young friend has had a narrow escape," said the recluse, as he
+knelt down and took Arthur's hand; "he breathes, though, and is not
+aware of what has happened, for the anaconda must have seized him while
+he was unconscious."
+
+We ran to the river.  The dry shells of several large nuts lay near.  In
+these we brought some water, and bathed Arthur's brow and face.  "He
+seems unhurt by the embrace of the anaconda," remarked the recluse, "but
+probably suffered from the heat of the sun."
+
+After this he lifted Arthur in his arms, and bore him up the bank.  John
+and I followed with a shell of water.  The contrast between the hot
+sandy bank and the shady wood was very great.  As we again applied the
+water, Arthur opened his eyes.  They fell on the recluse, on whom he
+kept them steadily fixed with a look of surprise.
+
+"I thought John and Harry were with me," he murmured out.  "I heard
+their voices calling as I lay fainting on the bank."
+
+"Yes; we are here," John and I said, coming forward.  "Duppo and his
+sister met us, and brought us to you."
+
+"I am so glad," he said in a low voice.  "I began to fear that you were
+really lost, we wandered on so far without finding you.  I felt ready to
+die too, I was so sick at heart.  And your sister--is she safe?" he
+asked.  "Oh yes; I am sure you would look more sad if she were not."
+
+"Yes, she is safe and well, Arthur," I said; "and we must take you there
+to be nursed, or, if it is too far to carry you, we must build a hut
+somewhere near here, where we can join you."
+
+The stranger looked at Arthur, and murmured something we did not hear.
+
+"It is a long way to carry the lad," he said; "though if I had him in my
+hut I would watch over him."
+
+"Perhaps it may be better to build a hut at the spot we proposed, and
+bring our sister and goods to it," I said.
+
+"No; I will take the lad to mine," answered the recluse.  "You can build
+a hut as you proposed, and when he has recovered I will bring him to
+you."
+
+I was very glad to hear this, because I was afraid that Arthur might
+suffer unless we could get him soon placed in a comfortable hammock, and
+give him better food than we should be able to prepare without our
+cooking apparatus.
+
+"I am ready to go on whenever you wish it," observed Arthur, who heard
+the discussion; "but I am afraid I cannot walk very fast."
+
+"I will carry you then," said the recluse; "but it will be better to
+form a litter, on which you can rest more at your ease.  We will soon
+get one ready."
+
+Duppo and Oria stood by watching us eagerly while we spoke, as if they
+were anxious to know what we were saying.
+
+"You stay with your young friend, while your brother and I prepare the
+litter," said the recluse to me, replacing Arthur on the ground.
+
+I sat down by his side, supporting him.  He did not allude to the
+anaconda, and, I suspected, was totally unconscious of the danger he had
+been in.  While the recluse and John were cutting down some poles to
+form the litter, Duppo and his sister collected a number of long thin
+sipos, showing that they understood what we proposed doing.  In a short
+time the litter was completed.  John and I insisted on carrying it,
+though we had some difficulty in persuading the recluse to allow us to
+do so.  He spoke for some time to Duppo and his sister, who looked
+greatly disconcerted and sad.
+
+"I was telling them that they must go and find their people," he said,
+"and that they must build a house for you on the spot you selected.
+They will be true friends to you, as they have ever been to me.  I
+advise you to cultivate their friendship by treating them with kindness
+and respect."
+
+The young Indians seemed very unwilling to take their departure, and
+lingered some time after we had wished them good-bye.  John and I took
+up the litter, on which Arthur had been placed.  As we had already cut a
+road for ourselves, we were able to proceed faster than we did when
+before passing through the forest.  We hurried on, for the sun had begun
+to sink towards the west, and we might be benighted before we could
+reach the hermit's abode.
+
+We proceeded by the way we had come.  After we had gone some distance,
+Arthur begged that he might be put down and allowed to walk.  "I am sure
+I have strength enough, and I do not like to see you carry me," he said.
+Of this, however, we would not hear, and continued on.
+
+At last we sat down to rest.  The spot we had chosen was a pleasant one.
+Though shaded, it was sufficiently open to allow the breeze to
+circulate through it.  Round us, in most directions, was a thick jungle.
+We had brought some water in a shell of one of the large nuts, and
+after Arthur had drunk some, we induced him to take a little food, which
+seemed greatly to revive him.  We were seated round the contents of our
+wallets, John and I, at all events, feeling in much better spirits than
+we had been in the morning; even the recluse threw off some of his
+reserve.  We took the opportunity of telling him of our anxiety about
+our parents, and of the uncertainty we felt whether they had passed down
+the river.  He in return asked us further questions, and seemed
+interested in our account.
+
+"I may be of use to you," he said at length, "by being able to make
+inquiries among the Indians on the river, who would probably have
+observed them should they have passed; but promises are so often broken,
+that I am ever unwilling to make them.  Therefore, I advise you to trust
+to your own exertions," he added.
+
+We were on the point of again taking up Arthur to proceed, when a loud
+sound of crashing branches was heard in the distance.  It seemed as if a
+hurricane was sweeping through the forest.  It came nearer and nearer.
+
+"Oh I what can it be?" cried Arthur.  "Leave me and save yourselves.  It
+seems as if the whole forest was falling."
+
+The crashing increased.  Boughs seemed broken off, shrubs trampled under
+foot.  Presently we saw, bearing down upon as, a large dark-skinned
+creature, though its form could scarcely be distinguished amid the
+foliage.
+
+"Stand fast!" said the recluse.  "It will not harm you.  See! it has an
+enemy to contend with."
+
+As the creature drew nearer, I saw that it bore on its back a huge
+jaguar, distinguished by its spotted hide and its fierce glaring eyes.
+Its jaws were fixed in the creature's neck, to which it clung also with
+its sharp claws.
+
+"The animal is a tapir," said the recluse.  "I am not certain yet though
+whether the jaguar will conquer it.  See, the back of the latter is
+bleeding and torn from the rough branches beneath which the tapir has
+carried it."
+
+As he spoke, the animals came close to us, the tapir making for the
+thick branch of a fallen tree kept up by a network of sipos, which hung
+like a beam almost horizontally a few feet from the ground.  The tapir
+dashed under it, and we could hear the crash of the jaguar's head as it
+came in contact with the hard wood.  Still it clung on, but its eyes had
+lost their fierce glare.  Blood covered the backs of the animals, and
+the next moment the jaguar fell to the ground, where it lay struggling
+faintly.  Twice it tried to rise, but fell back, and lay apparently
+dead.
+
+John had lifted his rifle to fire at the tapir.  "Hold!" said the
+recluse; "let the victor go; he deserves his liberty for having thus
+sagaciously liberated himself from his tormentor.  Would that we could
+as easily get rid of ours!  How eagerly we should seek the lower
+branches of the trees!"  He gave one of those peculiar, sarcastic
+laughs, which I observed he was apt to indulge in.
+
+We cautiously approached the jaguar, feeling uncertain whether it might
+not yet rise up and spring at us.  John and I kept our rifles at its
+head, while True went boldly up towards it.  He had been an excited
+spectator of the scene, and I had some difficulty in keeping him from
+following the tapir.  The jaguar did not move.  Even a poke with the
+muzzle of my rifle failed to arouse it.  True began to tear away at its
+neck; and at length we were convinced that the savage creature was
+really dead.  "There let him lie," said the recluse.  "Strong as he was
+a few moments ago, he will be food for the armadillos before morning."
+
+We again lifted up Arthur, and proceeded onwards, the recluse leading
+and clearing away the branches which might have injured Arthur as we
+passed between them.  Of course we now required a broader passage than
+when we came through ourselves.  We took exactly the same route; our
+guide never faltering for a moment, though in many places I should have
+had difficulty, where the marks of our axes were not to be seen, in
+finding the road.  Several times he offered to take my place, observing
+that I might be tired; but John and I begged him to allow us to carry
+our young friend, as we did not like to impose the task on him.  Thus we
+went on till my arms and shoulders began to ache, but I determined not
+to give in.  Arthur had not spoken for some time.  I looked at his face.
+It was very pale, and his eyes were closed.  I was afraid he had
+received more injury from the fearful serpent than we had at first
+supposed.  We hurried on, for it was evidently very important that he
+should as soon as possible be attended to.  We did not stop, therefore,
+a moment to rest.  Thinking that he would not hear me, I expressed my
+fears to John.  "Oh no, no," said Arthur; "I do not feel so very ill.  I
+wish you would put me down, for I am sure you must be tired."
+
+I was greatly relieved when I heard him speak; at the same time his
+voice was so weak, that we were unwilling to do as he begged us.  It was
+getting late, too, as we could judge by the increasing gloom in the
+forest.  Looking up through the occasional openings in the dark-green
+canopy above our heads, we could see the sky, which had now become of
+the intensest shade of blue.  A troop of allouattes commenced a concert,
+their unmusical howlings echoing through the forest.  Numerous macaws
+passed above us, giving vent to strange harsh cries; while whole
+families of parrots screamed in various notes.  Cicadas set up the most
+piercing chirp, becoming shriller and shriller, till it ended in a sharp
+screeching whistle.  Other creatures--birds, beasts, and insects--added
+their voices to the concert, till the whole forest seemed in an uproar.
+As the sky grew darker, and the shades of night came thickly round us,
+the noises gradually ceased, but were soon succeeded by the drumming,
+hoohooing, and the croaking of the tree-frogs, joined occasionally by
+the melancholy cries of the night-jar.  "Follow me closely," said the
+recluse, "and step as high as you can, not to catch your feet in the
+tangled roots.  My eyes are well accustomed to this forest-gloom, and I
+will lead you safely."
+
+At length we found ourselves passing through a narrow passage between
+thick bushes, which reminded us of the approach to the recluse's hut.
+Emerging from it, we saw light ahead, and now reached the steps which
+led to the verandah.
+
+"You have come on well," he observed.  "I will carry up your young
+friend.  Leave the litter on the ground."
+
+I had to stop and assist up True, for although he made several attempts
+to mount the ladder by himself, it was somewhat too high for him to
+succeed.  On entering the hut I found Ellen, in a state of agitation,
+leaning over Arthur.
+
+"Oh! what has happened?" she asked.  "Will he die?  Will he die?"
+
+"I trust not, young lady," remarked our host.  "He wants rest and
+careful nursing, and I hope in a few days will have recovered.  I will
+now attend to him, and afterwards leave him under your care."
+
+"Do not be alarmed, Miss Ellen," whispered Arthur.  "I only fainted from
+the hot sun and anxiety about you all.  Now I am with you, I shall soon
+get well."
+
+"As I have by me a store of medicines, with which I have doctored
+occasionally the poor natives, I can find, I hope, some remedies which
+may help to restore your friend," observed the recluse.  "Rest is what
+he chiefly now requires."
+
+Arthur was put into his hammock, and after he had taken a mess which
+Maria had prepared, fell asleep.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWELVE.
+
+THE RECLUSE--MORE ADVENTURES IN THE FOREST.
+
+Three days passed away, and Arthur had almost recovered.  We none of us
+had liked to ask the recluse any questions about himself, and he had
+given us no information as to who he was, where he had come from, or how
+long he had lived in that secluded spot.  He had merely told us that he
+was English, and he certainly seemed from his conversation to be a man
+of education.  He made no inquiries about us, though he listened from
+politeness, apparently, rather than from any interest he took in the
+matter, to the account we gave him of our adventures.  One thing was
+very evident, that, though he bore with our society, he would rather be
+left alone to his usual solitude.
+
+I awoke early the following morning, and found John already on foot.  He
+proposed going down to the igarape to bathe, and asked me to accompany
+him.  Our host, we found, had already left the hut.  Arthur was asleep,
+so we would not disturb him.  Domingos also had gone out, and we
+concluded had accompanied the recluse to obtain provisions, as he had
+taken with him a couple of baskets which usually hung on the wall at the
+entrance of the hut.  At all events, they were not there when we looked
+for them.  Taking our guns, we proceeded as we proposed.  The rays of
+the rising sun came through the few openings among the tall trees, their
+light flashing on the wings of the gorgeous butterflies and still more
+brilliant plumage of several humming-birds, which flitted here and there
+amid the opening in the forest.
+
+There was a sandy spot where we thought that we could venture into the
+water, without the risk of being seized by an alligator or anaconda.  We
+were making our way towards it, when we caught sight of a small canoe,
+in which a man, whom we at once recognised as the recluse, was seated.
+He was paddling slowly up the igarape.  We watched him for some time,
+till he was lost to sight among the thick foliage which lined the banks.
+We naturally concluded that he was merely taking a morning excursion,
+perhaps to fish or bathe, and expected to see him again at breakfast.
+
+While John took a bath, I stood by and beat the water with a long pole,
+to frighten away any alligator which might be near, and he performed the
+same office for me--a very necessary precaution, from the number of the
+huge reptiles which swarm in all the rivers.
+
+Much refreshed, we returned to the hut.  We waited for the recluse some
+time before beginning breakfast, which Maria had prepared; but he did
+not appear, nor did Domingos.  We all agreed that we ought no longer to
+impose our society on our strange friend.  The first thing to be done
+was to build a canoe, but we had not found a tree in the neighbourhood
+of the hut exactly suited to our purpose.
+
+"We may perhaps discover one near the place at which we landed the other
+day, and we may get our Indian friends to help us to build a canoe," I
+observed.  "Or it is possible that they may have recovered some of
+theirs, and be ready to sell one of them to us."
+
+"Then the sooner we find them out the better," observed John.
+
+"I wonder Duppo and his sister, or some of the other Indians, have not
+come here to look for us," said Arthur.  "I thought Duppo, at all
+events, would have shown more regard for us."
+
+"Perhaps the recluse has taught them not to visit his hut without his
+leave," I remarked.  "They seem to hold him in great respect."
+
+While I was speaking Domingos appeared at the door, with his baskets
+loaded with fruit, vegetables, and birds--chiefly parrots and toucans of
+gay plumage.  He gave a note to John, which he had received, he said,
+from the strange senor early in the morning.
+
+"I will not conceal from you that I have departed greatly from my
+accustomed habits in affording you an asylum," it ran.  "If you wish it
+you can remain, but I desire to be once more alone, and can find a home
+elsewhere till you take your departure.  I have communicated with your
+Indian friends, and they will assist you in building a lodge more
+suitable for you than this, in the situation you first selected.  A
+party of them will appear shortly to convey your goods; and they will
+also construct a montaria of a size sufficient for you to continue your
+voyage.  I will, in the meantime, institute inquiries about your missing
+friends, and, should I hear tidings of them, will send you word.  I beg
+that you will return me no thanks, nor expect to see me.  The life of
+solitude upon which your appearance has broken I desire to resume, and
+it will therefore cause me annoyance should you attempt to seek me.
+Accept such good wishes as a wretched outcast can venture to end."
+
+This strange note caused us much regret.  "He is so kind and gentle, in
+spite of the strange way he sometimes expresses himself, that I should
+grieve not to see him again, and thank him," said Arthur.  "Do you not
+think we could leave a note, asking him to let us come and visit him
+before we go away altogether?  Surely he would not refuse that."
+
+"I am afraid, from the tenor of his note, it would be of no use," said
+John; "but if you wish it you can do so; and it will show him, at all
+events, that we are not ungrateful for his kindness."
+
+We waited all day in expectation of the arrival of the Indians, but no
+one appeared.  John went out, and shot some birds and a couple of
+monkeys.  In our rambles, which were further than we had yet been, we
+came upon a cleared space containing a plantation of bananas, maize, and
+several edible roots; and, from the neat and scientific way in which the
+ground was cultivated, we had little doubt it belonged to the stranger;
+indeed, from the supplies he had brought us, notwithstanding his first
+remark, we had suspected that he was not without the means of supporting
+himself with vegetable food.  Although he had allowed us to cook the
+animals we killed, we had remarked that he did not touch any of the meat
+himself.
+
+Early next morning, as I was standing on the verandah, True poked his
+nose forward and began to bark.  I thought he had seen some animal in
+the woods, and got my gun ready to fire at it, when I caught sight of a
+figure emerging from the narrow path of which I have spoken, and,
+greatly to my satisfaction, I recognised Duppo.  As soon as he saw us he
+ran forward.  I went down to meet him.  He took my hand, and, by his
+action, and the gleam of satisfaction which passed over his impassive
+countenance, showed the satisfaction he felt at again being with us.  He
+then made signs that others were coming, and soon afterwards a party of
+eight Indians, with his father at their head, made their appearance.
+Maono gravely saluted John and I, and signified that his men had come to
+convey our property to another place.  Duppo asked whether any of us
+would like to return in the canoe.  We agreed that it would be a good
+plan for Arthur and Ellen to do so.
+
+"Oh, let me go through the woods," exclaimed Ellen; "I should like to
+see the country."
+
+"But then, who is to look after Arthur?  He is not fit to walk so far
+yet," said John.
+
+"Oh, then I will go and take care of him," answered Ellen.
+
+It was finally arranged that Maono and Duppo should paddle the canoe,
+and look after Ellen and Arthur.  They formed a sufficiently large
+freight for the little craft.  The Indians now shouldered our goods,
+each man taking a load twice as heavy as any one of us could have
+carried, although much less than our Napo peons had conveyed down to the
+river.  Before starting, Arthur wrote the note he had proposed to the
+recluse, and left it on the table.  We could not help feeling sorry at
+leaving that shady little retreat.  At the same time, there was no
+chance while remaining there of obtaining tidings of our family.  Having
+handed Ellen and Arthur into the canoe, with Nimble, and Ellen's other
+pets, we watched her for some minutes as Maono paddled her along the
+shore, which presented as far as we could see one wall of tall trees of
+varied forms rising almost from the water.  "We shall meet again soon,"
+exclaimed Ellen as she waved an adieu.  "Who knows what adventures we
+shall have to recount to each other!"  We could not tear ourselves from
+the spot while the canoe remained in sight.  As soon as she disappeared
+we hurried after the Indians.  Domingos and Maria had gone on with them.
+We walked on rapidly, fully expecting, as they had loads, that we
+should quickly overtake them.  John was a little ahead of me, when
+suddenly I saw him take a tremendous leap along the path.  I was
+wondering what sudden impulse had seized him, when I heard him exclaim,
+"Look out, Harry I see that creature;" and there I observed stretched
+across the path, a big ugly-looking serpent.  I sprang back, holding
+True, who would have unhesitatingly dashed at the dangerous reptile.  It
+was nearly six feet in length, almost as thick as a man's leg, of a deep
+brown above, pale yellow streaks forming a continued series of
+lozenge-shaped marks down the back, growing less and less distinct as
+they descended the sides, while it had a thin neck, and a huge flat
+head, covered with small scales.
+
+As we had our guns ready, we did not fear it.  It seemed disinclined to
+move, and, had it not lifted up its tail, we might have supposed it
+dead.  We soon recognised, by the shape of the point, the fearful
+rattlesnake;--fearful it would be from its venomous bite, had not the
+rattle been fixed to it to give notice of its approach.  We threw sticks
+at it, but still it did not seem inclined to move.  Again it lifted up
+its horny tail, and shook its rattle.  "Take care," cried John; "keep
+away."  The serpent had begun to glide over the ground, now looking at
+one of us, now at the other, as if undecided at which it should dart.  I
+took John's advice, and quickly retreated.  He fired, and shattered the
+reptile's head.  As it still moved slowly, I finished it with a blow of
+my stick.
+
+As it would have been inconvenient to drag after us, we cut off the
+tail, that we might examine it at leisure.  We found that the rattle was
+placed with the broad part perpendicular to the body.  The last joint
+was fastened to the last vertebra of the tail by means of a thick
+muscle, as well as by the membranes which united it to the skin.  The
+remaining joints were so many extraneous bodies, as it were, unconnected
+with the tail, except by the curious way in which they were fitted into
+each other.  It is said that these bony rings or rattles increase in
+number with the age of the animal, and on each casting of the skin it
+acquires an additional one.  The tip of every uppermost bone runs within
+two of the bones below it.  By this means they not only move together,
+but also multiply the sound, as each bone hit against two others at the
+same time.
+
+They are said only to bite when provoked or when they kill their prey.
+For this purpose they are provided with two kinds of teeth,--the
+smaller, which are placed in each jaw, and serve to catch and retain
+their food: and the fangs, or poisonous teeth, which are placed without
+the upper jaw.  They live chiefly upon birds and small animals.  It is
+said that when the piercing eye of the rattlesnake is fixed on an animal
+or bird they are so terrified and astonished that they are unable to
+escape.  Birds, as if entranced, unwillingly keeping their eyes fixed on
+those of the reptile, have been seen to drop into its mouth.  Smaller
+animals fall from the trees and actually run into the jaws open to
+receive them.  Fatal as is the bite of the rattlesnake to most
+creatures, the peccary attacks and eats the reptile without the
+slightest hesitation; as, indeed, do ordinary hogs,--and even when
+bitten they do not suffer in the slightest degree.
+
+This encounter with the rattlesnake having delayed us for a little time,
+we hurried on as rapidly as we could to overtake our companions.  We had
+gone some distance, and still had not come up with them.  I began to be
+afraid that we had turned aside from the right path.  In some places
+even our eyes had distinguished the marks of those who had gone before
+us.  We had now lost sight of them altogether, and as the wood was
+tolerably open, and the axes had not been used, we could only judge by
+the direction of the sun how to proceed.
+
+We went on for some time, still believing ourselves in the right
+direction; but at last, when we expected to find the marks of the axes
+which we had before made, we could discover none.  We searched about--
+now on one side, now on the other.  The forest, though dense, was yet
+sufficiently open to enable us to make our way in a tolerably direct
+line.  Now and then we had to turn aside to avoid the thick mass of
+creepers or the fallen trunk of some huge tree.  We shouted frequently,
+hoping that Domingos and the Indians might hear us.  Then John suggested
+that they, finding it an easy matter to follow the right track, did not
+suppose we could lose it.  At last we grew tired of shouting, and agreed
+that we should probably fall in with the proper track by inclining
+somewhat to the right; and I had so much faith also in True's sagacity
+that I had hopes he would find it.  However, I gave him more credit than
+he deserved.  He was always happy in the woods, like a knight-errant in
+search of adventures, plenty of which he was indeed likely to meet with.
+
+Still in the belief that we were not far wrong in our course, we walked
+briskly forward.  We had gone some distance, when True made towards the
+decayed trunk of a huge tree, and began barking violently.  While we
+were still at a considerable distance, a large hairy creature rose up
+before us.  True stood his ground bravely, rushing now on one side, now
+on the other, of the animal.  It had an enormous bushy tail, curled up
+something like that of a squirrel, but with a great deal more hair, and
+looked fully eight feet in length.  As we drew nearer we saw that it had
+also an extraordinary long snout.  It seemed in no degree afraid of
+True, and he evidently considered it a formidable antagonist.  Presently
+it lifted itself up on its hind legs, when True sprang back just in time
+to avoid a gripe of its claws.  Still the creature, undaunted by our
+appearance, made at him, when, seeing that he was really in danger, John
+and I rushed forward.  We then discovered the creature to be a huge
+ant-eater, which, though it had no teeth, was armed with formidable
+claws, with which it would inevitably have killed my brave dog had it
+caught him.  A shot in the head from John's rifle laid it dead.
+
+It was covered with long hair, the prevailing colour being that of dark
+grey, with a broad band of black running from the neck downwards on each
+side of the body.  It lives entirely on ants; and on opening its mouth
+we found that it could not provide itself with other food, as it was
+entirely destitute of teeth.  Its claws, which were long, sharp,
+pointed, and trenchant, were its only implements of defence.  Its hinder
+claws were short and weak; but the front ones were powerful, and so
+formed that anything at which it seizes can never hope to escape.  The
+object of its powerful crooked claws is to enable it to open the
+ant-hills, on the inhabitants of which it feeds.  It then draws its
+long, flexible tongue, covered with a glutinous saliva, over the swarms
+of insects who hurry forth to defend their dwelling.
+
+The scientific name of this great ant-eater is _Myrmecophaga jubata_.
+There are, however, several smaller ant-eaters, which are arborial--that
+is, have their habitations in trees.  Some are only ten inches long.
+One species is clothed with a greyish-yellow silky hair; another is of a
+dingy brown colour.  They are somewhat similar in their habits to the
+sloth; and as they are seen clinging with their claws to the trees, or
+moving sluggishly along, they are easily mistaken for that animal, to
+which, indeed, they are allied.  Some are nocturnal, others are seen
+moving about in the daytime.
+
+True seemed to be aware of the narrow escape he had had from the
+formidable talons of the ant-eater, for after this encounter he kept
+close behind my heels.  I hoped that he had received a useful lesson,
+and would attack no animal unless at my command, or he might do so some
+day when no friend was at hand to come to his rescue.
+
+We had been walking on after this occurrence for some time in silence,
+when True pricked up his ears and began to steal forward.  I could,
+however, see nothing.  The undergrowth and masses of sipos were here of
+considerable denseness.  Still, as he advanced, we followed him.
+Presently the forest became a little more open, when we caught sight of
+a creature with a long tail and a tawny hide with dark marks.  "It is a
+jaguar," I whispered to John.  "It is watching some animal.  In a moment
+we shall see it make its spring."  It was so intent on some object
+before it, that it did not discover our approach.  On it went with the
+stealthy pace of a cat about to pounce on an unwary bird or mouse.  It
+did not make the slightest noise, carefully avoiding every branch in its
+way.  True, after his late adventure with the ant-eater, was less
+disposed than usual to seek an encounter, and I was therefore able to
+keep him from dashing forward as he otherwise would have done.
+
+"The creature is about to pounce on some deer he sees feeding in the
+thicket," whispered John; "or perhaps he espies a tapir, and hopes to
+bring it to the ground."
+
+Unconscious of our approach, the savage animal crept on and on, now
+putting one foot slowly forward, now the other.  Now it stopped, then
+advanced more quickly.  At length it stopped for a moment, and then made
+one rapid bound forward.  A cry reached our ears.  "That is a human
+voice!" exclaimed John; "some unfortunate native caught sleeping."  He
+fired as he spoke, for we could still see the back of the animal through
+the thick underwood.  The jaguar bounded up as it received the wound,
+and the next moment the tall figure of the recluse appeared, bleeding at
+the shoulder, but otherwise apparently uninjured.
+
+"What, my young friends," he exclaimed, "brought you here?  You have
+saved my life, at all events."
+
+"We chanced to lose our way, and are thankful we came up in time to save
+you from that savage brute."
+
+"Chance!" exclaimed the recluse.  "It is the very point I was
+considering at the moment;" and he showed us a book in his hand.  "Your
+arrival proves to me that there is no such thing as chance.  I was
+reading at the moment, lost in thought, or I should not have been so
+easily surprised."
+
+John then told him how we had waited to see Ellen and our young friend
+off; and then, in attempting to follow our companions, had lost our way.
+
+"We should have got thus far sooner had we not been delayed by an attack
+which a great ant-eater made on our dog."
+
+"If you have lost your way, you will wish to find it," said the recluse.
+"I will put you right, and as we go along, we can speak on the point I
+mentioned.  You have some distance to go, for you should know that you
+have come almost at right angles to the route you intended to take.  No
+matter; I know this forest, and can lead you by a direct course to the
+point you wish to gain.  But I must ask you before we move forward to
+bind up my shoulder.  Here, take this handkerchief.  You need not be
+afraid of hurting me."
+
+Saying this, he resumed his seat on the log, and John, under his
+directions, secured the handkerchief over the lacerated limb.  He bore
+the process with perfect composure, deep as were the wounds formed by
+the jaguar's claws.
+
+"What has occurred has convinced me that chance does not exist," he
+said, resuming his remarks as we walked along.  "You delayed some time,
+you tell me, in watching your friends embark; then, losing your way, you
+were detained by the ant-eater, and thus arrived at the very moment to
+save my life.  There was no chance in that.  Had you been sooner you
+would have passed me by, for I sat so occupied in reading, and ensconced
+among the roots of the trees, that I should not have heard you.  Had you
+delayed longer, the fierce jaguar would have seized me, and my life
+would have been sacrificed.  No, I say again, there is no such thing as
+chance.  He who rules the world ordered each event which has occurred,
+and directed your steps hither.  It is a happy and comforting creed to
+know that One more powerful than ourselves takes care of us.  Till the
+moment the jaguar's sharp claw touched my shoulder, I had doubted this.
+The author whose book I hold doubts it also, and I was arguing the point
+with him.  Your arrival decided the question."
+
+While he was speaking I missed True, and now heard him bark violently.
+I ran back, and found the jaguar we thought had been killed rising to
+its feet.  It was snarling fiercely at the brave dog, and in another
+moment would have sprung upon him.  True stood prepared for the
+encounter, watching the creature's glaring eyes.  I saw the danger of my
+faithful friend and fired at the head of the savage animal.  My shot was
+more effectual than John's.  It fell back dead.  John and the recluse
+came hurrying up.
+
+"We should never leave a treacherous foe behind us," observed the
+latter.  "However, he is harmless now.  Come on.  You have a long walk
+before you; though, for myself, I can find a lodging in the forest,
+suited to my taste, whenever I please."
+
+The recluse, as in our former walk, led the way.  For a considerable
+distance he went on without again speaking.  There was much that was
+strange about him, yet his mind seemed perfectly clear, and I could not
+help hoping that we might be the means of persuading him to return to
+civilised society.  He walked forward so rapidly that we sometimes had
+difficulty in keeping up with him; and I remarked, more than I had done
+before, his strange appearance, as he flourished his sharp axe, now
+striking on one side, now on the other, at the sipos and vines which
+interfered with his progress.  He was dressed merely in a coarse cotton
+shirt and light trousers secured round the waist by a sash, while a
+broad-brimmed straw hat sheltered his head.  His complexion was burned
+almost red; his features were thin, and his eyes sunken; but no tinge of
+grey could be perceived in his hair, which hung wild and streaming over
+his shoulders.
+
+True, after going on for some time patiently, began to hunt about on
+either side according to his custom.  Presently he gave forth one of his
+loud cheery barks, and off he bounded after a creature which had come
+out of the hollow of a tree.  Calling to John, I made chase, getting my
+gun ready to fire.  The ground just there was bare, and I caught sight
+of an animal the size of a small pig, but its whole back and head were
+covered with scales.  In spite of its awkward appearance, it made good
+play over the ground, and even True, with all his activity, could
+scarcely keep up with it.  It turned its head here and there, looking
+apparently for a hole in which to seek shelter.  He, however, made
+desperate efforts to overtake it.  The base of a large tree impeded its
+progress, when, just as he was about to spring on it, it suddenly coiled
+itself up into a round ball.  True kept springing round and round it,
+wishing to get hold of the creature, but evidently finding no vulnerable
+part.  I ran forward and seized it, when, just as I got hold of the
+ball, I received so severe a dig in my legs from a pair of powerful
+claws which it suddenly projected, that I was glad to throw it down
+again.
+
+"You have got hold of an armadillo," said the recluse, who with John at
+that moment arrived.  "If you want a dinner, or wish to make an
+acceptable present to your Indian friends, you may kill and carry it
+with you; but if not, let the creature go.  For my part, I delight to
+allow the beasts of the forest to roam at large, and enjoy the existence
+which their Maker has given them.  The productions of the ground afford
+me sufficient food to support life, and more I do not require.  Yet I
+acknowledge that unless animals were allowed to prey on each other, the
+species would soon become so numerous that the teeming earth itself
+could no longer support them: therefore man, as he has the power, so, I
+own, he has the right to supply himself with food which suits his taste.
+I speak, therefore, only as regards my own feelings."
+
+While he was speaking he seemed to forget that he had just before been
+in a hurry to proceed on our way, and stood with his arms folded, gazing
+at the armadillo.  The creature, finding itself unmolested, for even
+True stood at a respectful distance, uncoiled itself, and I then had an
+opportunity of observing its curious construction.  Its whole back was
+covered with a coat of scaly armour of a bony-looking substance, in
+several parts.  On the head was an oval plate, beneath which could be
+seen a pair of small eyes, winking, as if annoyed by the sunlight.  Over
+the shoulders was a large buckler, and a similar one covered the
+haunches; while between these solid portions could be seen a series of
+shelly zones, arranged in such a manner as to accommodate this coat of
+mail to the back and body.  The entire tail was shielded by a series of
+calcareous rings, which made it perfectly flexible.  The interior
+surface, as well as the lower part of the body, was covered with coarse
+scattered hairs, of which some were seen to issue forth between the
+joints of the armour.  It had a pointed snout, long ears, short, thick
+limbs, and stout claws.
+
+"There are several species of the armadillo," observed our friend.  "The
+creature before us is the _Dasypus sexcinctus_.  It is a burrowing
+animal, and so rapidly can it dig a hole, that when chased it has often
+its way made under ground before the hunter can reach it.  Its food
+consists of roots, fruits, and every variety of soft vegetable
+substances; but it also devours carrion and flesh of all sorts, as well
+as worms, lizards, ants, and birds which build their nests on the
+ground.  In some parts of the continent the natives cook it in its
+shell, and esteem it a great delicacy."
+
+Whilst our friend was giving us this account, the armadillo, suddenly
+starting forward, ran off at a great rate into the forest, True made
+chase, but I called him back, and he came willingly, apparently
+convinced that he should be unable to overtake the creature, or
+overpower it if he did.
+
+We were once more proceeding on our way.  The day was drawing to a
+close, and yet we had not overtaken our companions.  "You are scarcely
+aware of the distance you were from the right road," observed the
+recluse.  "When once a person gets from the direct path, he knows not
+whither he may wander.  It may be a lesson to you.  I have learned it
+from bitter experience."  He sighed deeply as he spoke.  At length we
+saw the bright glare of a fire between the trees.  "You will find your
+friends there," said the recluse, "and, directed by that, can now go
+on."
+
+"But surely you are going with us to the camp?" said John.
+
+"No; I shall seek a resting-place in the forest," he answered.  "I am
+too much accustomed to solitude to object to be alone, even though I
+have no sheltering roof over my head.  Farewell!  I know not whether we
+shall meet again, but I would once more give you the assurance that I do
+not forget that you were the means of saving my life; and yet I know not
+why I should set value upon it."
+
+In vain John and I entreated him to come on.  Not another step further
+would he advance; and he cut us short by turning hastily round and
+stalking off into the depths of the forest, while we hurried on towards
+the camp.
+
+"Oh, there they are! there they are!" exclaimed Ellen, running forward
+to meet us as we appeared.  "I have been so anxious about you, and so
+has Arthur!  Domingos told us he was sure you would come up soon, but I
+could not help dreading that some accident had happened."
+
+We had to confess that we had lost our way, and that, had it not been
+for the stranger, we should still be wandering in the forest.
+
+"And why would he not come to the camp?" she asked.  "Arthur is longing
+to see him again.  Duppo has been telling him of the way in which he
+rescued him from the anaconda.  I was at last obliged to tell him what
+occurred."
+
+Arthur now came up.  "I must thank him!" he exclaimed.  "I will run and
+overtake him."
+
+We had great difficulty in persuading Arthur of the hopelessness of
+finding him, and that he would be more likely to lose his own way in the
+forest.
+
+The Indians had been busily employed in putting up huts for our
+accommodation.  Ellen and Maria, with their pets, had already possession
+of theirs.  We hung up our hammocks in the more open shed which had been
+prepared for us.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THIRTEEN.
+
+OUR NEW RESTING-PLACE, AND THE ADVENTURES WHICH BEFEL US THERE.
+
+Next morning Maono and his people began erecting a more substantial
+habitation for us, signifying that his white friend, meaning the
+recluse, had desired him to do so.  It was built on the spot we had
+previously selected near the igarape, and overlooking the main river.  A
+number of stout poles were first driven into the ground, and to their
+tops others were joined and united in the centre, forming a conical
+roof, the eaves projecting below to a considerable distance.
+Palm-leaves were then fastened, much in the fashion I have before
+described, over the roof, layer above layer, till a considerable
+thickness was attained.  The walls were formed by interweaving sipos
+between the uprights, a space being left for ventilation.  We had thus a
+substantial hut erected, which it would have taken us, unaided, many
+days to build.  While the Indians were working outside, John and I, with
+Domingos, formed a partition in the interior, to serve as a room for
+Ellen and Maria.  "We must manufacture a table and some stools, and then
+our abode will be complete," said John.  Some small palms which grew
+near were split with wedges into planks.  Out of these we formed, with
+the assistance of Domingos, a table, and as many rough stools as we
+required.
+
+When all was complete, Maono begged by signs to know whether we were
+satisfied.  We assured him that we were better accommodated than we
+expected to be.  He seemed highly pleased, and still more so when we
+presented him and his men each with a piece of cloth, he having three
+times as much as the others.  We gave him also an axe, a knife, and
+several other articles, besides a number of beads, which we let him
+understand were for his wife and daughter.  He, however, seemed rather
+to scorn the idea of their being thus adorned in a way superior to
+himself, it being, as we observed, the custom of most Amazonian tribes
+for the men to wear more ornaments than the women.  We understood that
+his tribe had settled a short way off, in a secluded part of the forest,
+where they might be less likely to be attacked by their enemies the
+Majeronas.
+
+We now tried to make Maono understand that we were anxious to have a
+large canoe built, in which we might proceed down the river.  He replied
+that he would gladly help us, but that he must return to his own people,
+as they had first to be settled in their new location.  To this, of
+course, we could not object, but we begged him to return as soon as
+possible to assist us in our work.  As soon as he was gone we agreed to
+hold a consultation as to what we should next do.  We took our seats
+under the verandah in front of our new abode, John acting as president,
+Ellen, Arthur, Domingos, and I ranging ourselves round him.  True,
+Nimble, and Toby stood by the side of Maria, as spectators, the latter
+almost as much interested apparently as she was in the discussion, while
+Poll and Niger stood perched on the eaves above us.  The question was
+whether we should devote all our energies to constructing a large canoe,
+or make excursions in the small one we already possessed, as we before
+proposed?  We requested Ellen, not only as the lady, but the youngest of
+the party, to speak first.  She was decidedly of opinion that it would
+be better to build the large canoe, as she was sure that our parents had
+already proceeded further down the river.
+
+"But what reasons have you for so thinking?" asked John.
+
+Ellen was silent.  "Pray do not insist upon my giving my reasons," she
+said at last.  "I can only say that I feel sure they have gone further
+down.  If they had not, I think we should have found them before this;
+indeed, my heart tells me that we shall find them before long if we
+continue our course down the river."
+
+John smiled.  "Those are indeed very lady-like reasons," he observed.
+"However, we will record your opinion; and now wish we to know what
+Arthur has to say."
+
+"I should like to agree with Miss Ellen, but at the same time cannot
+feel sure of a matter of which we have no evidence," said Arthur.  "We
+have not examined the banks up the stream or on the opposite side.
+Although we have good reasons for supposing that, after quitting their
+first location, your family proceeded downwards, as the labour of
+paddling against the current is very great, yet, as they may have
+stopped at some intermediate spot, I advise that we examine the banks on
+both sides of the river between this place and that where we expected to
+find them."
+
+"Now, Harry, what do you say?" asked John.
+
+"I agree with Arthur," I replied.  "As we came down a considerable
+distance at night, I say we should examine the shores we then passed.
+As the greater part of our voyage was performed by daylight, I do not
+think it at all likely we could have missed them had they been sailing
+up to meet us.  I also advise that we make the excursion we proposed in
+the small canoe in the first place, while our Indian friends are
+constructing the larger one."
+
+Domingos had been standing with his arms folded, as was his custom,
+watching our countenances.  He had perfectly understood what was said.
+Taking off his hat, he made a bow to Ellen, saying, "I agree with the
+senora.  I feel sure that my honoured master would desire to place his
+family in safety at a distance from the savage tribe who attacked him,
+and that, therefore, he has moved further down the river, probably to
+one of the nearest Portuguese settlements on the banks.  But knowing his
+affection for you, his children, I believe he would have sent back
+messengers to meet us should he have been unable to return himself.  It
+is they, in my opinion, we should look out for; probably, indeed, they
+have already passed us.  I am sorry that we did not leave some signals
+at our stopping-places, which might show them where we have been, and
+lead them to us.  Then, again, as Senor Fiel might not have been able to
+procure messengers at once, and as the voyage up the stream is
+laborious, they may not have got as far as this.  Thus we are right in
+remaining at this spot, whence we can see them should they approach.  I
+therefore hold to the opinion that the large canoe should be constructed
+without delay, in which we might continue our voyage, but that we should
+keep a look-out both by day and night, lest our friends might pass by
+without observing us."
+
+"It becomes, then, my duty as president to give the casting vote in this
+important matter," observed John, "as the members of the council are
+divided in opinion.  Although the opinion expressed by Ellen and
+Domingos has probability on its side, yet it must be considered
+theoretical; while that given by Arthur and Harry is undoubtedly of a
+more practical character.  Should we on exploring the shores higher up
+find no traces of our relatives, we shall then proceed with more
+confidence on our voyage, buoyed up with the hope of overtaking them.
+In the other ease we might be sailing on with the depressing
+consciousness that, not having searched for them thoroughly, we might be
+leaving them behind.  I therefore decide that, while our Indian friends
+are engaged in building a canoe, in which work, from our inexperience,
+we cannot render them any effectual aid, we employ the interval in
+making the exploring expeditions we proposed.  The point to be settled
+is, how are we to carry out that plan?"
+
+"The small canoe will not convey more than three people at the utmost,"
+I observed.  "I should like to go with Arthur and Duppo, as I at first
+suggested; while you, John, stay to take care of Ellen, and superintend
+the building of the canoe.  You will be better able than any of us to
+keep the Indians to their work, and guard Ellen, should any danger occur
+from hostile Indians, or of any other description."
+
+"I should certainly have liked to have gone myself," said John.  "But
+your argument is a strong one.  I am sure I can trust you and Arthur,
+and Duppo, from his acuteness, will be of great assistance to you; and
+yet I do not like you to run the risk of the dangers to which you may be
+exposed."
+
+"It would not be worse for us than for you," remarked Arthur.  "I would
+willingly stay to defend Miss Ellen; but I am afraid I should not manage
+the Indians, or act as you would do in an emergency."
+
+I saw that John put considerable restraint on himself when he finally
+agreed to let us go.  Yet as we were as well able to manage the canoe as
+he was, and much lighter, we were better suited to form its crew.  At
+the same time, it seemed evident that Ellen would be safer under the
+protection of two grown-up men, than of lads like Arthur and I.  It was
+necessary, however, to wait to arrange provisions for our expedition,
+and obtain also the advice of Maono on the subject.  We much regretted
+that we could not communicate with the recluse, as he would have
+interpreted for us, and would also have given us his advice.
+
+While taking a paddle in our canoe, we agreed that she required
+considerable alterations to fit her for our intended expedition.  Our
+first task was to haul her up, and strengthen her bulwarks; for it will
+be remembered that they were before put up in a hurried manner, and were
+already almost torn off.
+
+We were thus engaged in front of the hut when we heard Ellen exclaim,
+"There is some one coming."  And looking through an opening in the
+forest, I saw Duppo and his sister approaching, carrying baskets on
+their backs.  Arthur and I ran forward to meet them.  They made signs
+that they had brought a present of farinha to the young white lady, as
+they designated Ellen; not by words, however, but by putting a piece of
+white bark on their own brown cheeks.  We then conducted them to Ellen.
+
+"I am so glad to see you," she said, taking Oria's hand; and though the
+Indian girl could not understand the words, she clearly comprehended the
+expression of my young sister's countenance, which beamed with pleasure.
+Maria grinned from ear to ear, not at all jealous of the attention her
+young mistress paid the pretty native; and all three were soon seated in
+front of the hut, talking together in the universal language of signs.
+It was extraordinary how well they seemed to understand each other.
+Oria's garments were certainly somewhat scanty; but in a short time
+Maria ran into the hut, and quickly returned with a petticoat and scarf,
+part of Ellen's wardrobe.  Nothing could exceed the delight of the young
+savage (for so I may properly call her) when her white and black sisters
+robed her in these garments.  Pretty as was her countenance, it usually
+wanted animation; but on this occasion it brightened up with pleasure.
+The clothes seemed at once to put her more on an equality with her
+companions.  When they had talked for a time, Ellen called out her pets
+to introduce them to Oria, who signified that if it would gratify her
+new friend she would undertake to obtain many more.
+
+"Oh, yes, yes!" exclaimed Ellen.  "I should so like to have some of
+those beautiful little humming-birds which have been flying about here
+lately, feeding on the gay-coloured flowers growing on the open ground
+around, or hanging by their long tendrils from the trees."
+
+Neither Duppo nor Oria could understand these remarks, but they did the
+signs which accompanied them; and they both answered that they hoped
+soon to obtain for her what she wished.
+
+We then took Duppo down to the canoe, and I tried to explain to him our
+intention of making a voyage in her.  This he understood very clearly;
+indeed, the recluse had, we suspected, already intimated to the Indians
+our anxiety about our missing friends.  Duppo was of great assistance to
+us in repairing the canoe and putting on fresh bulwarks.  We determined,
+in addition to the paddles, to have a mast and sail.  We had some light
+cotton among our goods, which would answer the purpose of the sail, and
+could be more easily handled, and would therefore be less dangerous,
+than a mat sail.
+
+We found that Oria had taken the invitation as it was intended, and had
+come to remain with Ellen.
+
+"I am so glad," said our sister, when she discovered this.  "I shall now
+be able to teach her English; and, I am sure, we shall be great
+friends."
+
+"But would you not also be able to teach her about the God of the
+English?" said Arthur, in a low voice.  "That is of more consequence.
+She now knows nothing of the God of mercy, love, and truth.  From what I
+can learn, these poor savages are fearfully ignorant."
+
+"Oh yes," said Ellen, looking up.  "I shall indeed be glad to do that.
+I am so thankful to you, Arthur, for reminding me."
+
+"We should remember that that Saviour who died for us died for them
+also," said Arthur; "and it is our duty to make known that glorious
+truth to them."
+
+"It will be a hard task though, I fear," remarked Ellen, "as Oria does
+not yet know a word of English; and though we may make signs to show her
+what we want her to do, I do not see how we can speak of religion until
+she understands our language."
+
+"The more necessity then for teaching her without delay," observed
+Arthur.  "She seems very intelligent; and if we lose no opportunity of
+instructing her, I hope she may soon acquire sufficient knowledge to
+receive the more simple truths, which, after all, are the most
+important."
+
+"Then I will begin at once," said Ellen.  "She has already been trying
+to repeat words after me; and I hope before the end of the day to have
+taught her some more."
+
+Ellen was in earnest.  Our dear little sister, though very quiet and
+gentle, had a determined, energetic spirit.  It was very interesting to
+see her labouring patiently to teach the young Indian girl.  Duppo had
+already learned a good many words, and seemed to understand many things
+we said to him.  We scarcely ever had to repeat the name of a thing more
+than two or three times for him to remember it; and he would run with
+alacrity to fetch whatever we asked for.
+
+We had much more trouble in teaching manners to our dumb companions; for
+in spite of Master Nimble's general docility, he was constantly playing
+some trick, or getting into scrapes of all sorts.  One day he was seen
+by Duppo trying to pull the feathers out of Niger's head; and on another
+occasion he was discovered in an attempt to pluck poor Poll, in spite of
+her determined efforts to escape from his paws.  He often sorely tried
+True's good-temper; while if a pot or pan was left uncovered, he was
+sure to have his fingers in it, to examine whether its contents were to
+his liking.
+
+We were working at the canoe one morning when I heard Maria's voice
+calling to us.
+
+"See what it is she wants, Harry," said John, who was busily employed.
+
+I ran up to the hut.
+
+"O Senor Harry!" exclaimed Maria, "Nimble has scampered off into the
+woods, and enticed Toby to go with him; and Senora Ellen has run after
+them, and I do not know what may happen if there is no one near to
+protect her."
+
+I took up my gun on hearing this, and followed Ellen, whose dress I
+caught a glimpse of among the trees.  Presently I saw her, as I got
+nearer, throw up her hands, as if she had seen some object which had
+alarmed her.  I hurried on.
+
+"What is it, Ellen?"  I shouted out.
+
+"Oh, look there, Harry!" she exclaimed.  "They will catch Nimble and
+Toby."
+
+I sprang to her side, and then saw, just beyond a thicket of ferns, two
+huge pumas, which were on the point of springing up a tree, among whose
+branches were clinging our two pets, Nimble and Toby, their teeth
+chattering with terror, while their alarm seemed almost to have
+paralysed them.  In another instant they would have been in the clutches
+of the pumas.  I was more concerned about my dear little sister's safety
+than for that of her monkeys.  At first I thought of telling her to run
+back to the hut; but then it flashed across me that the pumas might see
+her and follow.  So I exclaimed, "Get behind me, Ellen; and we will
+shout together, and try and frighten the beasts.  That will, at all
+events, bring John to our help."
+
+We shouted at the top of our voices.  I certainly never shouted louder.
+Meantime I raised my gun, to be ready to fire should the pumas threaten
+to attack us or persist in following our pets.  Scarcely had our voices
+ceased, when I heard True's bark, as he came dashing through the wood.
+The pumas had not till then discovered us, so eagerly had they been
+watching the monkeys.  They turned their heads for a moment.  Nimble
+took the opportunity of swinging himself out of their reach.  Ellen
+shrieked, for she thought they were going to spring at us.  I fired at
+the nearest, while True dashed boldly up towards the other.  My bullet
+took effect, and the powerful brute rolled over, dead.  The sound of the
+shot startled its companion; and, fortunately for gallant little True,
+it turned tail, and bounded away through the forest,--John, who had been
+hurrying up, getting a distant shot as it disappeared among the trees.
+Arthur and the two Indians followed John, greatly alarmed at our shouts
+and the sound of the firearms.
+
+Nimble and Toby, still chattering with fear, came down from their lofty
+retreat when we called them, and, looking very humble and penitent,
+followed Ellen to the hut; while we, calling Domingos to our assistance,
+set to work to skin the puma.  The meat we cooked and found very like
+veal, and Domingos managed to dress the skin sufficiently to preserve
+it.
+
+Duppo had clearly understood Ellen's wish to have some humming-birds
+caught alive.  We were always up at daybreak, to enjoy the cool air of
+the morning.  He had gone out when the first streaks of dawn appeared in
+the eastern sky, over the cold grey line of the river.  When we could do
+so with safety, we never failed to take a bath.  We had just come out of
+the water, and were dressing, when Duppo ran up, and signed to us to
+follow him.  We called Ellen as we passed the hut, and all together went
+towards the igarape, where, in a more open space than usual, a number of
+graceful fuschia-looking flowers, as well as others of different forms,
+hung suspended from long tendrils, intertwined with the branches of the
+trees.  Into this spot the rising sun poured its glorious beams with
+full brilliancy.  We cautiously advanced, when the space before us
+seemed suddenly filled with the most beautiful sparking gems of varied
+colours, floating here and there in the bright sunlight.  I could
+scarcely believe that the creatures before us belonged to the feathered
+tribes, so brilliant were their hues, so rapid their movements.
+Sometimes they vanished from sight, as they darted with inconceivable
+rapidity from branch to branch.  Now one might be seen for an instant
+hovering over a flower, its wings looking like two grey filmy fans
+expanded at its sides.  Then we could see another dip its long slender
+bill into the cup of an upright flower.  Now one would come beneath a
+suspended blossom.  Sometimes one of the little creatures would dart off
+into the air, to catch some insect invisible to the eye; and we could
+only judge of what it was about by its peculiar movements.  As we
+watched, a tiny bird would perch on a slender twig, and rest there for a
+few seconds, thus giving us an opportunity of examining its beauties.
+Ellen could scarcely restrain her delight and admiration at the
+spectacle; for though we had often seen humming-birds before, we had
+never beheld them to such advantage.  The little creature we saw had a
+crest on the top of its head of a peculiarly rich chestnut, or ruddy
+tint.  The upper surface of the body was of a bronzed green hue, and a
+broad band of white crossed the lower part, but the wings were
+purple-black.  The chief part of the tail was chestnut.  The forehead
+and throat were also of the same rich hue.  On either side of the neck
+projected a snow-white plume, tipped with the most resplendent metallic
+green.  The effect of these beautiful colours may be imagined as the
+birds flew rapidly to and fro, or perched on a spray, like the one I
+have described.  Another little creature, very similar to it, was to be
+seen flying about above the heads of the others.  It also had a crest,
+which was of the same colour as the others, but of a somewhat lighter
+tint; while at the base of each feather, as we afterwards observed, was
+a round spot of bronzed green, looking like a gem in a dark setting.
+The crest, which was constantly spread out, appeared very like that of a
+peacock's tail, though, as Ellen observed, it would be a very little
+peacock to have such a tail.  On searching in our book, we found that
+the first of these humming-birds we had remarked was a tufted coquette
+(_Lophornis ornatus_), while the other, which we seldom saw afterwards,
+was the spangled coquette.  These birds, with several others of similar
+habits and formation, are classed separately from the _Trochilidae_, and
+belong to the genus _Phaethornis_.  They are remarkable for the long
+pointed feathers of their tails, the two central ones being far longer
+than the rest.  We met with a greater number of them than of any other
+genus on the banks of the Amazon.
+
+After we had enjoyed the spectacle for some time, Duppo begged us to
+come a little further, when he showed us a beautiful little nest,
+secured to the innermost point of a palm-leaf.  On the top of the leaf a
+little spangled coquette was watching her eggs within.  Unlike the nests
+of the _Trochilidae_, which are saucer-shaped, it was of a long,
+funnel-like form, broad at the top and tapering towards the lower part.
+The outside, which was composed of small leaves and moss, had a somewhat
+rugged appearance; but the inside, as we had reason to know, was soft
+and delicate in the extreme, being thickly lined with silk-cotton from
+the fruit of the sumauma-tree.  Below the first was perched a tufted
+coquette, looking as boldly at us as any town sparrow.  The little
+creatures, indeed, kept hovering about; and one came within a few feet
+of our faces, as much as to ask how we dared to intrude on its domains.
+More pugnacious or brave little beings do not exist among the feathered
+tribes.
+
+I cannot hope to describe with any degree of accuracy the numbers of
+beautiful humming-birds we met with in different places; for though some
+are migratory, the larger proportion strictly inhabit certain
+localities, and are seldom met with, we were told, in any other.  The
+humming-birds of the Andes, of which there are a great variety, never
+descend into the plains; nor do those of the plains attempt to intrude
+on the domains of their mountain relatives.  Although they may live on
+the nectar of flowers, they have no objection to the tiny insects they
+find among their petals, or which fly through the air, while many devour
+as titbits the minute spiders which weave their gossamer webs among the
+tall grass or shrubs.
+
+"I should not think that any human being could catch one of those little
+creatures," said Ellen, as we returned homewards.  "The sharpest-eyed
+sportsman would find it difficult to hit one with his fowling-piece."
+
+"He would certainly blow it to pieces," observed John, "if he made the
+attempt.  They are shot, however, with sand; and perhaps our young
+Indian friend himself will find the means of shooting one, if he cannot
+capture it in some other way."
+
+"Oh, I would not have one shot for the world!" exclaimed Ellen.  "Pray
+let him understand that he must do nothing of the sort for my sake."
+
+While we were at breakfast, Duppo, who had disappeared, came running up
+with one of the beautiful little creatures which we had seen in his
+hand.  It seemed much less alarmed than birds usually are in the grasp
+of a boy.  Perhaps that was owing to the careful way in which Duppo held
+it.
+
+"Oh, you lovely little gem!" exclaimed Ellen; "but I am sure I shall
+never be able to take proper care of it."
+
+Duppo, who seemed to understand her, signified that Oria would do so for
+her.  Oria, who had been watching us taking sugar with our tea, and had
+by this time discovered its qualities, mixed a little in a spoon, which
+she at once put before the bill of the little humming-bird.  At first it
+was far too much alarmed to taste the sweet mess.  At length, growing
+accustomed to the gentle handling of the Indian girl, it poked out its
+beak and took a sip.  "Ho, ho!" it seemed to say, "that is nice stuff!"
+and then it took another sip, and very soon seemed perfectly satisfied
+that it was not going to be so badly off, in spite of its imprisonment.
+Oria intimated that she would in time make the little stranger quite
+tame.
+
+"But we must keep it out of the way of Master Nimble's paws, for
+otherwise he would be very likely to treat it with small ceremony,"
+observed John.  "Why, Ellen, you will have a perfect menagerie before
+long."
+
+"Yes, I hope so," she answered; "I am not nearly contented yet.  I
+should like to have one of those beautiful little ducks you were telling
+me of, and as many humming-birds as I can obtain."
+
+"Perhaps you would like to have a jaguar or puma," said John.  "If
+caught young, I dare say they can be tamed as well as any other animal."
+
+"I am afraid they would quarrel with my more harmless pets," answered
+Ellen.  "And yet a fine large puma would be a good defence against all
+enemies."
+
+"Not against an Indian with a poisoned arrow.  He would be inconvenient,
+too, to transport in our canoe.  I hope therefore you will confine
+yourself to small animals, which will not occupy much space.  You may
+have as many humming-birds as you like, and half-a-dozen monkeys,
+provided they and Nimble do not quarrel."
+
+"Except some pretty little monkeys, I do not wish for any others besides
+those I already have," said Ellen.
+
+Duppo and Oria understood Ellen's wish to obtain living creatures, and
+they were constantly seeking about, and coming back sometimes with a
+beautiful butterfly or moth, sometimes with parrots and other birds.
+
+While we were getting the canoe ready, Ellen and Maria, with the
+assistance of Oria, had been preparing food for us--baking cakes, and
+drying the meat of several birds and animals which John had killed.  We
+had hoped to see the large canoe begun before we took our departure, but
+as the Indians had not arrived, we agreed that it would be better to
+lose no more time, and to start at once.
+
+We took an experimental trip in the canoe before finally starting.  We
+could have wished her considerably lighter than she was; at the same
+time, what she wanted in speed, she possessed in stability.
+
+Early in the morning we bade Ellen and John, with our faithful
+attendants, good-bye.  Oria, we thought, exhibited a good deal of
+anxiety when we were about to shove off, and she came down to the water
+and had a long talk with her brother, evidently charging him to keep his
+wits about him, and to take good care of us.  Dear Ellen could scarcely
+restrain her tears.  "Oh, do be careful where you venture, Harry!" she
+said.  "I dread your falling into the power of those dreadful savages."
+John also gave us sundry exhortations, to which we promised to attend.
+
+We were just in the mouth of the igarape, when we saw in the distance a
+small canoe coming down it.  We therefore waited for her arrival.  She
+drew nearer.  We saw that only two people were in her, and we then
+recognised our friend Maono and his wife Illora.  They were bringing a
+quantity of plantains and other fruits, with which the centre of the
+canoe was filled.  Among others were several crowns of young palm-trees,
+which, when boiled, are more delicate than cabbages, and are frequently
+used by the natives.  Maono was dressed in his usual ornaments of
+feathers on his arms and head, his hair being separated neatly in the
+centre, and hanging down on either side.  Round his neck was a necklace,
+and his legs were also adorned like his arms.
+
+"I have been thinking a good deal lately about the account of the early
+voyagers, who declared that they met a nation of warrior-women on the
+banks of this river," observed Arthur; "and looking at Maono, it strikes
+me that we have an explanation of the extraordinary circumstance.  If a
+party of strangers were to see a band of such men, with shields on their
+arms, guarding the shores, they would very likely suppose them, from
+their appearance, to be females, and consequently, not having had any
+closer view of them, they would sail away, declaring that they had met a
+party of Amazons, who had prevented their landing.  It was thus this
+mighty river obtained the name of the Amazon.  The idea would have been
+confirmed, had they seen in the distance a band of people, without
+ornaments of any description, carrying burdens on their backs.  These
+the strangers would naturally have supposed to be slaves, taken in war,
+and employed to carry the baggage of the fighting ladies."  I agreed
+with him that it was very likely to have been the case.
+
+As our friends drew near, Duppo spoke to them, and told them where we
+were going.  He then explained to us that if we would wait a little
+longer, they would accompany us and assist us in our search.  On
+reaching the shore, they carried up their present to Ellen, Illora, I
+must confess, bearing the larger portion.  Some of the plantains and
+fruits they put into our canoe as they passed.  They had another long
+talk, by the usual means of signs, with John and Domingos, who managed
+tolerably well to comprehend their meaning.  We asked Duppo how it was
+they came to have a canoe.  He replied that they had found one which had
+been left behind by the Majeronas, and, as we understood, they had
+brought it down through the igarape, which communicated with another
+river to the north of us, running into the main stream.  When I heard
+this, the idea struck me that we were not yet altogether free from the
+danger of being attacked by the Majeronas, who, having possessed
+themselves of our canoe and those of our friends, might some night come
+down and take us by surprise.
+
+I jumped on shore and took John aside, so that Ellen could not hear me,
+that I might tell him my fears.  "You are right to mention them to me,"
+he answered; "at the same time, I do not think we need be alarmed.  I
+will, however, try and explain your idea to the Indians, and get them to
+place scouts on the watch for such an occurrence.  I certainly wish we
+were further off; but yet, as we are now at a considerable distance from
+their territory, we shall be able to hear of their approach, should they
+come, in time to escape.  We must make our way through the woods to the
+hut of the recluse, and I am very sure that he will be able to afford us
+protection.  From what he said, he is well-known among all the
+surrounding tribes, who appear to treat him with great respect.  Though
+we may lose such of our property as we cannot carry off, that will be of
+minor importance if we save our lives.  For my part, however, I am under
+no apprehension of the sort; and I am very glad you did not mention your
+fears in the presence of Ellen."
+
+Though I hoped I might be wrong in supposing an attack possible, I was
+satisfied at having warned John before going away.  Arthur and I tried
+to make Duppo understand our plans, that he might describe them to his
+father and mother.  They, in return, signified that they would proceed
+part of the way with us, and make inquiries as they went along, having
+been requested to do so by their white friend--meaning the recluse.
+
+John, Ellen, Domingos, and Maria came down to the edge of the water once
+more to see us off, accompanied by Nimble and Toby--Toby placed on the
+shoulders of Domingos, while Nimble perched himself on John's arm,
+holding him affectionately round the neck with his tail.  Poll and Niger
+always accompanied Ellen.  "We shall soon be back!"  I exclaimed, as I
+shoved off; "and who knows but that we may be accompanied by papa,
+mamma, Fanny, and Aunt Martha!  Ellen, you must get out your books, for
+she will be shocked at finding that you have been so long idle."  With
+these and other cheerful remarks we backed away from the shore, then,
+turning the canoe's head round, proceeded after our Indian friends.  By
+keeping close to the banks we were out of the current, and thus made
+good way.  Sometimes I steered, sometimes Duppo.  Arthur always begged
+that he might keep at his paddle, saying he did not like to take the
+place of those who had more experience than himself.  A light wind at
+length coming from the eastward, we hoisted our sail, and got ahead of
+Maono and his wife.  The wind increasing, we ran the other canoe out of
+sight; but Duppo assured us that his father and mother would soon catch
+us up, and that we need not therefore wait for them.  We looked into
+every opening in the forest which lined the bank, in the faint hope of
+seeing the habitation of our friends; but not a hut of any description
+was visible; indeed, the shores were mostly lined with so dense a
+vegetation, that in but few places could we even have landed, while
+often for leagues together there was not a spot on which a hut could
+have been built.  The wind again falling, we were obliged once more to
+lower our sail and to take to our paddles, when we were quickly rejoined
+by our Indian friends.  As it was important to examine every part of the
+shore carefully, we had agreed, if we could find an island, to land
+early in the evening on it.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER FOURTEEN.
+
+OUR EXPLORING EXPEDITION--FEARFUL DANGER.
+
+A week had passed away.  We had crossed the stream several times to
+examine the southern bank of the river, and every inch of the northern
+bank had been explored.  Sometimes we met Maono and his wife to compare
+notes, and then we again separated to continue our explorations.  We
+were now once more proceeding up the Napo, with high clay banks
+surmounted by lofty forest trees above our heads.  "I see some people
+moving on the shore there.  O Harry! can it be them?" exclaimed Arthur.
+Several persons appeared coming through an opening in the forest, at a
+spot where the ground sloped down to the water.  We could, however, see
+no habitation.
+
+"It is possible," I answered.  We passed this part of the river in the
+dark, and might thus have missed them.
+
+Having been exploring the western bank, we were crossing the river at
+that moment.  As we paddled on, my heart beat with excitement.  If it
+should be them after all!  The people stopped, and seemed to be
+observing us.  We paddled on with all our might, and they came down
+closer to the water.  Suddenly Duppo lifted up his paddle and exclaimed,
+"Majeronas!"  We looked and looked again, still hoping that Duppo might
+have been mistaken; but his eyes were keener than ours.  Approaching a
+little nearer, we were convinced that he was right.  To go closer to the
+shore, therefore, would be useless and dangerous.  We accordingly
+paddled back to the side we had just left, where we once more continued
+our upward course.
+
+We had parted two days before this from Maono and Illora, who were to
+explore part of the bank we had left unvisited, and to meet us again at
+the island where we had been so nearly wrecked at the mouth of the
+igarape.  We had almost reached the spot where we had expected to find
+my father and the rest of our family.  The shores of the river were
+occasionally visited, as we had learned by experience, by the Majeronas,
+though not usually inhabited by them.  It was therefore necessary to use
+great caution when going on shore.  We landed, however, whenever we saw
+a spot where we thought it possible our friends might have touched on
+their voyage, in the hope that they might there have left some signal or
+note for us.  The banks were here very different from those lower down.
+In many places they were composed of sand or clay cliffs of considerable
+height, often completely overhanging the river, as if the water had
+washed away their bases--indeed, such was undoubtedly the case.
+Frequently the trees grew to the very edge of these cliffs, their
+branches forming a thick shade over the stream.  To avoid the hot sun we
+were tempted to keep our canoe close under them, as it was very pleasant
+to be able to paddle on in the comparatively cool air.  Thus we
+proceeded, till we arrived at the spot where we had been so bitterly
+disappointed at not finding my family.  No one was to be seen, but we
+landed, that we might again examine it more carefully.  The ground on
+which the hut had stood still remained undisturbed, though vegetation
+had almost obliterated all the traces of fire.  After hunting about in
+vain for some time, we took our way back to the canoe.  We had nearly
+reached the water's edge, when Arthur exclaimed that he saw something
+white hanging to the lower branch of a tree, amid the thick undergrowth
+which grew around.  We had some difficulty in cutting our way up to it.
+We then saw a handkerchief tied up in the shape of a ball.
+
+"Why, it is only full of dried leaves!" exclaimed Arthur, as we opened
+it.
+
+"Stay a moment," I answered.  "I think there is something within them
+though."
+
+Unrolling the leaves, I found a small piece of paper, torn apparently
+from a pocket-book.  On it were written a few lines.  They were: "Dear
+Brothers,--I trust you will see this.  Enemies are approaching, and our
+father has resolved to quit this spot and proceed down the river.  We
+hope to send a messenger up to warn you not to land here, but I leave
+this in case you should miss him, and do so.  Where we shall stop, I
+cannot say; but our father wishes, for our mother's sake and mine, and
+Aunt Martha's, not again to settle till we reach a part of the river
+inhabited by friendly natives.  That will, I fear, not be till we get
+some way down the Amazon.  I am warned to finish and do this up.  The
+natives are seen in the distance coming towards us."
+
+This note, the first assurance we had received that our family had
+escaped, greatly raised our spirits.  We had now only to make the best
+of our way back to John and Ellen with the satisfactory intelligence.
+We accordingly hurried back to the canoe, and began our downward voyage.
+We had gone some distance when we saw a small opening in the river,
+where, on the shore, two or three canoes were hauled up.  They might
+belong to friendly natives, from whom we might obtain some fish or other
+fresh provisions, of which we were somewhat in want.  We were about to
+paddle in, when we caught sight of several fierce-looking men with bows
+in their hands, rushing down towards the bank.  Their appearance and
+gestures were so hostile that we immediately turned the head of our
+canoe down the stream again, and paddled away as fast as we could.  We
+had not, however, got far, when, looking back, we saw that they had
+entered one of the larger canoes, and were shoring off, apparently to
+pursue us.  We did our best to make way, in the hope of keeping ahead of
+them.  I should have said the weather at this time had been somewhat
+changeable.  Clouds had been gathering in the sky, and there was every
+sign of a storm.  As I have already described two we encountered, I need
+not enter into the particulars of the one which now broke over us.
+Under other circumstances we should have been glad to land to escape its
+fury, but as it was, we were compelled to paddle on as fast as we could
+go.  On looking back, we saw that the Indians were actually pursuing us.
+"Never fear," cried Arthur.  "We shall be able to keep ahead of them!"
+The lightning flashed vividly, the rain came down in torrents, but
+through the thick wall of water we could still see our enemies coming
+rapidly after us.  Although the current, had we stood out into the
+middle of the stream, might have carried us faster, the shortest route
+was by keeping near the bank.  The Indians followed the same course.
+True rushed to the stern, and stood up barking defiance at them, as he
+saw them drawing nearer.  I dreaded lest they should begin to shoot with
+their poisoned arrows.  Should they get near enough for those fearful
+weapons to reach us, our fate would be sealed.  Only for an instant
+could we afford time to glance over our shoulders at our foes.  Nearer
+and nearer they drew.  Duppo courageously kept his post, steering the
+canoe, and paddling with all his might.  Every moment I expected to see
+them start up and let fly a shower of arrows at us.  I might, of course,
+have fired at them; but this would have delayed us, and probably not
+have stopped them.  Our only hope of escape therefore depended upon our
+being able to distance them.  Yet they were evidently coming up with us.
+We strained every nerve; but, try as we might, we could not drive our
+little canoe faster than we were going.
+
+My heart sank within me when, looking back once more, I saw how near
+they were.  In a few minutes more we might expect to have a shower of
+arrows whizzing by us, and then we knew too well that, though we might
+receive comparatively slight wounds, the deadly poison in them would
+soon have effect.  This did not make us slacken our exertions, though
+scarcely any hope of escape remained.  Still we knew that something
+unforeseen might intervene for our preservation.  I do hold, and always
+have held, that it is the duty of a man to struggle to the last.  "Never
+say die!" is a capital motto in a good cause.
+
+The rain poured down in torrents, the lightning flashed, the thunder
+roared, and gusts of wind swept down the river.  We were, however,
+greatly protected by the bank above us.  The storm blew more furiously.
+We could see overhead branches torn from the trees and carried into the
+stream.  Still the Indians, with unaccountable pertinacity, followed us.
+We scarcely now dared look behind us, as all our energies were required
+to keep ahead; yet once more I turned round.  Several of our pursuers
+were standing up and drawing their bows.  The arrows flew by us.  "Oh, I
+am hit!" cried Arthur.  "But I wish I had not said that.  Paddle on!
+paddle on!  I may still have strength to go on for some time."  Now,
+indeed, I felt ready to give way to despair; still, encouraged by
+Arthur, I persevered.  For a moment only he ceased paddling.  It was to
+pull the arrow from the wound in his shoulder; then again he worked away
+as if nothing had occurred.  The next flight of arrows, I knew, might be
+fatal to all of us.  I could not resist glancing round.  Once more the
+Indians were drawing their bows; but at that instant a fearful rumbling
+noise was heard, followed by a terrific crashing sound.  The trees above
+our heads bent forward.  "Paddle out into the middle of the stream!"
+cried Arthur.  Duppo seemed to have understood him, and turned the
+canoe's head away from the shore.  The whole cliff above us was giving
+way.  Down it came, crash succeeding crash, the water lashed into foam.
+The spot where the canoe of our savage pursuers had last been seen was
+now one mass of falling cliff and tangled forest.  Trees were ahead of
+us, trees on every side.  The next instant I found myself clinging to
+the branch of a tree.  True had leaped up to my ride.  Duppo was close
+to me grasping the tree with one hand, while he held my gun above his
+head in the other.  I took it from him and placed it in a cleft of the
+trunk.  Without my aid he quickly climbed up out of the water.  The
+canoe had disappeared, and where was Arthur?  The masses of foam, the
+thick, down-pouring rain, the leaves and dust whirled by the wind round
+us, concealed everything from our sight.
+
+"Arthur!--Arthur!--where are you?"  I cried out.  There was no answer.
+Again I shouted at the top of my voice, "Arthur!--Arthur!"  The tree,
+detached from the bank, now floated down the stream.  I could only hope
+that it would not turn over in the eddying waters.  Still the loud
+crashing sounds of the falling cliff continued, as each huge mass came
+sliding down into the river.  The current, increased in rapidity by the
+rain, which had probably been falling much heavier higher up the stream,
+bore us onward.  Oh, what would I have given to know that my friend had
+escaped!  I could scarcely feel as thankful as I ought to have done for
+my own preservation, when I thought that he had been lost.
+
+The whole river seemed filled with uprooted trees; in some places bound
+together by the sipos, they formed vast masses--complete islands.  On
+several we could see creatures moving about.  Here and there several
+terrified monkeys, which had taken shelter from the storm in a hollow
+trunk, were now running about, looking out in vain for some means of
+reaching the shore.  Ahead of us we distinguished some large animal on a
+floating mass, but whether jaguar, puma, or tapir, at that distance I
+could not make out.  No trace of the Indians or their canoe could we
+discover.  It was evident that they had been entirely overwhelmed;
+indeed, as far as we could judge, the landslip had commenced close to
+the spot where we had last seen them, and they could not have had the
+warning which we received before the cliff was upon them.  Not for a
+moment, however, notwithstanding all the terrifying circumstances
+surrounding me, were my thoughts taken off Arthur.  Wounded as he had
+been by the poisoned dart, I feared that, even had he not been struck by
+the bough of a falling tree, he would have sunk through weakness
+produced by the poison.  It made me very sad.  Duppo was trying to
+comfort me, but what he said I could not understand.  Our own position
+was indeed dangerous in the extreme.  Any moment the tree might roll
+over, as we saw others doing round us: we might be unable to regain a
+position on the upper part.  Should we escape that danger, and be driven
+on the bank inhabited by the hostile Majeronas, they would very probably
+put us to death.  I had, however, providentially my ammunition-belt
+round my waist, and my gun had been preserved; I might, therefore, fight
+for life, and if we escaped, kill some animals for our support.  Should
+we not reach the land, and once enter the main river, we might be
+carried down for hundreds of miles, day after day, and, unable to
+procure any food, be starved to death.  Ellen and John would be very
+anxious at our non-appearance.  These and many similar thoughts crossed
+my mind.  I fancied that had Arthur been with me I should have felt very
+differently, but his loss made my spirits sink, and I could hardly keep
+up the courage which I had always wished to maintain under difficulties.
+Duppo's calmness put me to shame.  True looked up in my face, and
+endeavoured to comfort me by licking my hand, and showing other marks of
+affection.  Poor fellow! if we were likely to starve, so was he; but
+then he did not know that, and was better able to endure hunger than
+either Duppo or me.
+
+The rain continued pouring down, hiding all objects, except in the
+immediate vicinity, from our view.  I judged, however, that the falling
+cliff had sent us some distance from the shore into the more rapid part
+of the current.  Providentially it was so, for we could still see the
+indistinct forms of the trees come sliding down, while the constant loud
+crashes told us that the destruction of the banks had not yet ceased.
+Thus we floated on till darkness came down upon us, adding to the horror
+of our position.  The rain had by that time stopped.  The thunder no
+longer roared, and the lightning ceased flashing.  The storm was over,
+but I feared, from the time of the year, that we might soon be visited
+by another.  We had climbed up into a broad part of the trunk, where,
+among the projecting branches, we could sit or lie down securely without
+danger of falling off.  My chief fear arose from what I have already
+mentioned,--the possibility of the tree turning over.  This made me
+unwilling either to secure myself to the branches, or indeed even to
+venture to go to sleep.
+
+Hour after hour slowly passed by.  Had Arthur been saved, I could have
+kept up my spirits; but every now and then, when the recollection of his
+loss came across me, I could not help bursting into tears.  Poor, dear
+fellow!  I had scarcely thought how much I had cared for him.  Duppo
+spoke but little; indeed, finding himself tolerably secure, he probably
+thought little of the future.  He expected, I dare say, to get on shore
+somewhere or other, and it mattered little to him where that was.  True
+coiled himself up by my side, continuing his efforts to comfort me.  In
+spite of my unwillingness to go to sleep, I found myself frequently
+dropping off; and at last, in spite of my dread of what might occur, my
+eyes remained closed, and my senses wandered away into the land of
+dreams.  Duppo also went to sleep, and, I suspect, so did True.
+
+I was awoke by the rays of the sun striking my eyes; when, opening them,
+I looked about me, wondering where I was.  Very soon I recollected all
+that had occurred.  Then came the sad recollection that Arthur had been
+lost.  Our tree appeared to be in the position in which it had been when
+we went to sleep.  Numerous other trees and masses of wood, some of
+considerable size, floated around us on either hand.  The banks were
+further off than I had expected to find them.  True, pressing his head
+against me, looked up affectionately in my face, as much as to ask,
+"What are we to do next, master?"  It was a question I was puzzled to
+answer.  I had to call loudly to Duppo to arouse him.  After looking
+about for some time, I was convinced that the tree had been drifted into
+the main stream.  On and on it floated.  I began to feel very hungry; as
+did my companions.  We were better off than we should have been at sea
+on a raft, because we could, by scrambling down the branches, quench our
+thirst.  I brought some water up in my cap for True, as I was afraid of
+letting him go down, lest he should be washed off.  I was holding it for
+him to drink, when Duppo pointed, with an expression of terror in his
+countenance, to the upper end of the tree, and there I saw, working its
+way towards us along the branches, a huge serpent, which had probably
+remained concealed in some hollow, or among the forked boughs, during
+the night.  A second glance convinced me that it was a boa.  To escape
+from it was impossible.  If we should attempt to swim to the other trees
+it might follow us, or we might be snapped up by alligators on our way.
+I might kill it, but if I missed, it would certainly seize one of us.
+It stopped, and seemed to be watching us.  Its eye was fixed on True,
+who showed none of his usual bravery.  Instinct probably told him the
+power of his antagonist.  Instead of rushing forward as he would
+probably have done even had a jaguar appeared, he kept crouching down by
+my side.  Unacquainted with the habits of the boa, I could not tell
+whether it might not spring upon us.  I knelt down on the tree and
+lifted my rifle; I did not, however, wish to fire till it was near
+enough to receive the full charge in its body.  Again it advanced along
+the boughs.  It was within five yards of us.  I fired, aiming at its
+head.  As the smoke cleared away, I saw the huge body twisting and
+turning violently, the tail circling the branch on which it was
+crawling.  Duppo uttered a shout of triumph, and, rushing forward with a
+paddle which he had saved from the canoe, dealt the already mangled head
+numberless blows with all his might.  The creature's struggles were at
+length over.
+
+Pointing to the boa, Duppo now made signs that we should not be in want
+of food; but I felt that I must be more hungry than I then was, before I
+could be tempted to eat a piece of the hideous monster.  When I told him
+so, he smiled, enough to say, "Wait a little till you have seen it
+roasted."  I had my axe in my belt.  He asked me for it, and taking it
+in his hand cut away a number of chips from the drier part of the tree,
+and also some of the smaller branches.  Having piled them up on a broad
+part of the trunk near the water, he came back to ask me for a light.  I
+told him that if I had tinder I could get it with the help of the pan of
+my gun.  Away he went, scrambling along the branches, and in a short
+time returned with a bird's nest, which he held up in triumph.  It was
+perfectly dry, and I saw would burn easily.  In another minute he had a
+fire blazing away.  I was afraid that the tree itself might ignite.
+Duppo pointed to the water to show that we might easily put it out if it
+burned too rapidly.  He next cut off some slices from the body of the
+boa, and stuck them on skewers in the Indian fashion over the fire.
+Though I had before fancied that I could not touch it, no sooner had I
+smelt the roasting flesh than my appetite returned.  When it was done,
+Duppo ate a piece, and made signs that it was very good.  I, at length,
+could resist no longer; and though it was rather coarse and tough, I was
+glad enough to get something to stop the pangs of hunger.  True ate up
+the portion we gave him without hesitation.  Duppo then cut several
+slices, which, instead of roasting, he hung up on sticks over the fire
+to dry, throwing the remainder into the water.
+
+He tried his best to amuse me by an account of a combat his father once
+witnessed in the depths of the forest between two huge boas, probably of
+different species.  One lay coiled on the ground, the other had taken
+post on the branch of a tree.  It ended by the former seizing the head
+of its opponent with its wide open jaws, sucking in a part of its huge
+body, gradually unwinding it from the tree.  It had attempted, however,
+a dangerous operation.  Suddenly down came the tail, throwing its coils
+round the victor, and the two monsters lay twisting and writhing in the
+most terrific manner, till both were dead.  I have given the account as
+well as I could make it out, but of course I could not understand it
+very clearly.
+
+The clouds had cleared away completely, and the sun's rays struck down
+with even more than their usual heat.  Still, from the storms we had had
+of late, I suspected that the rainy season was about to begin.  I could
+only hope, therefore, that we might reach the shore before the waters
+descended with their full force.  Slowly we floated down with the
+current.  On either side of us were several masses of trees, and single
+trees, such as I have before described.  The rate at which we moved
+differed considerably from many of them.  Now we drifted towards one;
+now we seemed to be carried away again from it.  This, I concluded, was
+owing partly to the different sizes of the floating masses, and to the
+depth they were sunk in the water; and partly to the irregularity of the
+current.  The wind also affected them, those highest out of the water of
+course feeling it most.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER FIFTEEN.
+
+VOYAGE DOWN THE AMAZON ON A TREE.
+
+All day and another night we drifted on.  The flesh of the boa was
+consumed.  Unless a strong breeze should get up which might drive us on
+shore, we must go on for many days without being able to obtain food.  I
+again became anxious on that point, and was sorry we had not saved more
+of the boa's flesh, unpalatable as I had found it.  Again the sun rose
+and found us floating on in the middle of the stream.  Duppo, although
+his countenance did not show much animation, was keeping, I saw, a
+look-out on the water, to get hold of anything that might drift near us.
+Presently I observed the small trunk of a rough-looking tree come
+floating down directly towards us.  As it floated on the surface, being
+apparently very light, it came at a more rapid rate than we were moving.
+At length it almost touched the trunk, and Duppo, signing to me to come
+to his assistance, scrambled down towards it.  He seized it eagerly, and
+dragged it up by means of a quantity of rough fibre which hung round it.
+He then asked me to help him in tearing off the fibre.  This I did, and
+after we had procured a quantity of it, he let the trunk go.  When I
+inquired what he was going to do with it, he made signs that he intended
+to manufacture some fishing-lines.
+
+"But where are the hooks? and where the bait?"  I asked, doubling up my
+finger to show what I meant.
+
+"By-and-by make," he answered; and immediately on regaining our usual
+seat, he set to work splitting the fibre and twisting it with great
+neatness.
+
+I watched him, feeling, however, that I could be of little assistance.
+He seemed to work so confidently that I hoped he would manage to
+manufacture some hooks, though of what material I was puzzled to guess.
+The kind of tree which had so opportunely reached us I afterwards saw
+growing on shore.  It reaches to about the height of thirty feet.  The
+leaves are large, pinnate, shining, and very smooth and irregular.  They
+grow out of the trunk, the whole of which is covered with a coating of
+fibres hanging down like coarse hair.  It is called by the natives
+_piassaba_.  This fibre is manufactured into cables and small ropes.  It
+is also used for brooms and brushes; while out of the finer portions are
+manufactured artificial flowers, baskets, and a variety of delicate
+articles.
+
+While Duppo was working away at the fishing-lines, I was watching the
+various masses of trees floating near us.  One especially I had observed
+for some time a little ahead of us, and we now appeared to be nearing
+it.  As I watched it I saw something moving about, and at length I
+discovered that it was a monkey.  He kept jumping about from branch to
+branch, very much astonished at finding himself floating down the river.
+He was evidently longing to get back to his woods, but how to manage it
+was beyond his conception.  I pointed him out to Duppo.  "He do," he
+said, nodding his head.  It was a great question, however, whether we
+should reach the floating island.  Even when close to it the current
+might sweep us off in another direction.  Still, as we had drawn so
+near, I was in hopes that we should be drifted up to it.  Had I not been
+hungry, I should have been very unwilling to shoot the monkey but now, I
+confess, I longed to get to the island for that very object.  The
+creature would supply us and True with food for a couple of days, at all
+events.  By that time Duppo might have finished his fishing-lines, and
+we might be able to catch some fish.  Had we been on a raft, we might
+have impelled it towards an island; but we had no control over the huge
+tree which supported us.  All we could do therefore was to sit quiet and
+watch its progress.  Sometimes I doubted whether it was getting nearer,
+and my hopes of obtaining a dinner off the poor monkey grew less and
+less.  Then it received a new impulse, and gradually we approached the
+island.  Again for an hour or more we went drifting on, and seemed not
+to have drawn a foot nearer all the time.  Duppo every now and then
+looked up from his work and nodded his head, to signify that he was
+satisfied with the progress we were making.  He certainly had more
+patience than I possessed.  At length I lay down, True by my side,
+determined not to watch any longer.  I fell asleep.  Duppo shouting
+awoke me, and looking up I found that our tree had drifted up to the
+floating mass; that the branches were interlocked, and as far as we
+could judge we were secured alongside.  The monkey, who had been for a
+brief time monarch of the floating island, now found his dominions
+invaded by suspicious-looking strangers.  For some time, however, I did
+not like to venture across the boughs; but at length the trunk drove
+against a solid part of the mass, and Duppo leading the way, True and I
+followed him on to the island.  "Ocoki! ocoki!" he exclaimed, and ran
+along the trunk of a tall, prostrate tree of well-nigh one hundred feet
+in length.  On the boughs at the further end grew a quantity of
+pear-shaped fruit, which he began to pick off eagerly.  I did the same,
+though its appearance was not tempting, as it was covered with an outer
+skin of a woody texture.  As he seemed eager to get it, I did not stop
+to make inquiries, but collected as much as I could carry in my wallet
+and pockets.  He meantime had filled his arms full, and running back,
+placed them in a secure place on the trunk of the tree we had left.
+
+The monkey had meantime climbed to a bough which rose higher than the
+rest out of the tangled mass.  Hunger made me eager to kill the
+creature.  I took good aim, hoping at once to put it out of pain.  I hit
+it, but in falling it caught a bough with its tail, and hung on high up
+in the air.  Duppo immediately scrambled away, and before long had
+mounted the tree.  Though the monkey was dead, its tail still circled
+the bough, and he had to use some force to unwind it.  He brought it
+down with evident satisfaction, and now proposed that we should return
+to our tree and light another fire.  We first collected as much dry wood
+and as many leaves as we could find.  Duppo quickly had the monkey's
+skin off.  True came in for a portion of his dinner before ours was
+cooked.  I saw Duppo examining the smaller bones, which he extracted
+carefully, as well as a number of sinews, which he put aside.  He then
+stuck some of the meat on to thin spits, and placed it to roast in the
+usual fashion over the fire.  While this operation was going on, he
+peeled some of the fruit we had collected.  Inside the rind was a
+quantity of pulpy matter, surrounding a large black oval stone.  I found
+the pulpy matter very sweet and luscious.  I ate a couple, and while
+engaged in eating a third I felt a burning sensation in my mouth and
+throat, and, hungry as I was, I was afraid of going on.  Duppo, however,
+consumed half-a-dozen with impunity.  I may as well say here that this
+fruit is of a peculiarly acrid character.  When, however, the juice is
+boiled it loses this property, and we frequently employed it mixed with
+tapioca, when it is called _mingau_ by the natives.  It takes, however,
+a large portion of the fruit to give even a small cup of the mingau.  It
+grows on the top of one of the highest trees of the forest, and as soon
+as it is ripe it falls to the ground, when its hard woody coating
+preserves it from injury.  The natives then go out in large parties to
+collect it, as it is a great favourite among them.
+
+As may be supposed, we were too hungry to wait till the monkey was very
+much done.  I found that I could eat a little ocoki fruit as a sweet
+sauce with the somewhat dry flesh.
+
+Although the island was of some size, yet, as we scrambled about it, we
+saw that its portions were not firmly knit together, and I thought it
+very likely, should a storm come on, and should it be exposed to the
+agitation of the water, it might separate.  I therefore resolved to
+remain on our former tree, that, at all events, having proved itself to
+be tolerably stable.
+
+We were engaged in eating our meal when my ears caught that peculiar
+sound once heard not easily forgotten--that of a rattlesnake.  Duppo
+heard it too, and so did True, who started up and looked eagerly about.
+At length we distinguished a creature crawling along the boughs of a
+tree about a dozen yards off.  It had possibly been attracted by the
+smell of the roasting monkey, so I thought.  It seemed to be making its
+way towards us.  Perhaps it had long before espied the monkey, which it
+had been unable when alive to get hold of.  At all events, it was a
+dangerous neighbour.  I had no wish for it to crawl on to our tree,
+where it might conceal itself, and keep us constantly on the watch till
+we had killed it.  Now I caught sight of it for a moment; now it was
+hidden among the tangled mass of boughs.  Still I could hear that
+ominous rattle as it shook its tail while moving along.  Though its bite
+is generally fatal, it is easily avoided on shore, and seldom or never,
+I have heard, springs on a human being, or bites unless trodden on, or
+suddenly met with and attacked.  In vain I looked for it.  It kept
+moving about under the boughs, as I could tell by the sound of its
+rattle.  Now it stopped, then went on again, now stopped again, and I
+dreaded every instant to see it spring out from its leafy covert toward
+us.  I kept my gun ready to fire on it should I see it coming.  I was so
+engaged in watching for the snake, that I did not observe that the
+island was turning slowly round.  Presently there was a rustling and a
+slightly crashing sound of the boughs, and I found that our tree was
+once more separated from the island, and just then I saw not only one
+but several snakes moving about.  One of the creatures came along the
+bough, and lifting its head, hissed as if it would like to spring at us,
+but by that time we were too far off.  Again we went floating down with
+greater speed than the floating island, and, judging from the
+inhabitants we had seen on it, we had reason to be thankful that we had
+escaped so soon.
+
+Duppo, since he had finished eating, had been busy scraping away at some
+of the monkey bones, and he now produced several, with which he
+intimated he should soon be able to manufacture some hooks.  Having put
+out our fire lest it should ignite the whole tree, we once more
+scrambled back to our former resting-place.  Duppo, having got a couple
+of lines ready, worked away most perseveringly with the monkey bones,
+till he had manufactured a couple of serviceable-looking hooks.  These
+he bound on with the sinews to the lines.  He was going to fasten on
+some of the knuckle-bones as weights, but I having some large shot in my
+pocket, they answered the purpose much better.  The hooks, baited with
+the monkey flesh, were now ready for use.  Duppo, however, before
+putting them into the water, warned me that I must be very quick in
+striking, lest the fish should bite the lines through before we hauled
+them up.  As we were floating downwards we cast the lines up the
+current, taking our seat on a stout bough projecting over the water.
+There we sat, eagerly waiting for a bite, True looking on with great
+gravity, as if he understood all about the matter.  I almost trembled
+with eagerness, when before long I felt a tug at my line.  I struck at
+once, but up it came without a fish.  Again, in a short time, I felt
+another bite.  It seemed a good strong pull, and I hoped that I had
+caught a fish which would give us a dinner.  I hauled it up, but as it
+rose above the water I saw that it was not many inches in length.
+Still, it was better than nothing.  It was of a beautiful grey hue.  On
+getting it into my hand to take it off the hook, what was my surprise to
+see it swell out till it became a perfect ball.  "_Mamayacu_!" exclaimed
+Duppo.  "No good eat."  I thought he was right, for I certainly should
+not have liked attempting to feed on so odd-looking a creature.  When
+going to unhook it I found that its small mouth was fixed in the meat.
+When left alone it gradually resumed its former proportions.
+
+I soon had another bite, and this time I hoped I should get something
+worth having.  Again I hauled in, when up came a fish as long as the
+other was short and round, with a curious pointed snout.  This, too, had
+been caught by the tough monkey meat, and promised to be of little more
+service than my first prize.  I caught two or three other curious but
+useless fish, though, if very much pressed for food, we might have
+managed to scrape a little flesh off them.  Duppo sat patiently fishing
+on.  Though he had got no bites, he escaped being tantalised as I was by
+the nibbling little creatures which attacked my bait.  Perhaps he sank
+his lower down.  I could not exactly make it out, but so it was; and at
+length I saw his line pulled violently.  His eyes glistened with
+eagerness.  He had evidently, he thought, got a large fish hooked.  He
+first allowed his line to run to its full length, then gradually he
+hauled it in, making a sign to me to come to his assistance.  He then
+handed me the line.  I felt from the tugging that a fish of a
+considerable size was hooked.  He meantime got an arrow from his quiver
+and fitted it to his bow.  Then he signed to me to haul in gently.  I
+did so, dreading every instant that our prize would escape, for I could
+scarcely suppose that a bone hook could withstand so strong a pull.
+Kneeling down on the trunk, he waited till we could see the dark form of
+the fish below the surface.  At that moment the arrow flew from his bow,
+and the next all resistance ceased; and now without difficulty I hauled
+the fish to the surface.  Stooping down, he got hold of it by the gills,
+and with my assistance hauled it up to the trunk.  It was nearly three
+feet long, with a flat spoon-shaped head, and beautifully spotted
+striped skin.  From each side of its head trailed thin feelers, half the
+length of the fish itself.  I felt very sure that with such tackle as we
+had that I should never have been able to secure so fine a fish.  We had
+now food to last us as long as the fish remained good.  We had just time
+to light a fire and cook a portion, as we had dressed the monkey flesh,
+before darkness came on.
+
+The night passed quietly away, and the morning light showed us the same
+scene as that on which the evening had closed, of the far-off forest,
+and the wide expanse of water, with single trees and tangled masses of
+underwood floating on it.  After we had lighted a fire, and cooked some
+more fish for breakfast, Duppo put out his lines to try and catch a
+further supply.  Not a bite, however, did he get.  He hoped, he said, to
+be more successful in the evening.  We therefore hauled in the lines,
+and I employed the time in teaching him English.  I was sure that Ellen
+would be greatly pleased, should we ever return, to find that he had
+improved.
+
+Another day was passing by.  The wind had been moderate and the river
+smooth.  Again it came on to blow, and our tree was so violently
+agitated that I was afraid it would be thrown over, and that we should
+be washed off it.  As we looked round we saw the other masses with which
+we had kept company tossed about in the same way, and frequently moving
+their positions.  Now we drove on before the wind faster than we had
+hitherto gone.  There was one mass ahead which I had remarked from the
+first, though at a considerable distance.  We were now drifting nearer
+to it.  I had watched it for some hours, when I fancied I saw an object
+moving about on the upper part.  "It must be another monkey," I said to
+myself.  I pointed it out to Duppo.  He remarked that it moved too
+slowly for a monkey; that it was more probably a sloth.  Then again it
+stopped moving, and I could scarcely distinguish it among the branches
+of the trees.  I hoped that we might drift near enough to get it.  It
+would probably afford us more substantial fare than our fish.  After a
+time I saw Duppo eagerly watching the island.  Suddenly he started up,
+and waved his hand.  I looked as keenly as I could.  Yes; it seemed to
+me that the figure on the island was again moving, and waving also.  It
+was a human being; and if so, who else but Arthur?  My heart bounded at
+the thought.  Yet, how could he have escaped?  How had he not before
+been seen by us?  Again I waved, this time with a handkerchief in my
+hand.  The figure held out a handkerchief also.  There was now no doubt
+about the matter.  It was very doubtful, however, whether we should
+drift much nearer the floating island.  The wind increased; a drizzling
+rain came down and almost concealed it from sight, so that we could not
+tell whether or not we were continuing to approach it.  This increased
+my anxiety.  Yet the hope of seeing my friend safe, once kindled, was
+not to be extinguished; even should we not drive close enough to the
+island to join each other, we still might meet elsewhere.  All we could
+do, therefore, was to sit quietly on the tree, and wait the course of
+events.
+
+One of the most difficult things to do, I have found, is to wait
+patiently.  Hour after hour passed by.  The wind blew hard, and often so
+high did the waves rise that I was afraid we might be swept off.  What
+would become of us during the long, dreary night?  I felt the cold, too,
+more than I had done since we began our voyage.  How much more must poor
+Duppo have suffered, with less clothing!  I should have liked to have
+lighted a fire; but with the rain falling, and the tree tossing about,
+that was impracticable.  We all three--Duppo, True, and I--sat crouching
+together in the most sheltered part of the tree.  Thus the hours of
+darkness approached, and crept slowly on.  Did I say my prayers? it may
+be asked.  Yes, I did; I may honestly say that I never forgot to do so.
+I was reminded, too, to ask for protection, from feeling how little able
+I was, by my own unaided arm, to escape the dangers by which I was
+surrounded.  I tried to get Duppo to join me.  I thought he understood
+me; but yet he could scarcely have had the slightest conception of the
+great Being to whom I was addressing my prayers.  I hoped, however, when
+he knew more of our language, that I should be able to impart somewhat
+of the truth to his hitherto uncultivated mind.
+
+In spite of the rain, the darkness, and the movements of our tree, I at
+length fell asleep, and so, I believe, did Duppo and True.  I was awoke,
+after some time, by a crashing sound, similar to that which had occurred
+when we drove against the floating island.  I started up.  True uttered
+a sharp bark.  It awoke Duppo.  Presently I heard a voice at no great
+distance exclaiming, "What is that?  Who is there?"
+
+"Who are you?"  I shouted out.
+
+"I am Arthur!  And oh, Harry! is it you?"
+
+"Yes," I answered.  "How thankful I am that you have escaped!"
+
+"And so am I that you have been saved," answered Arthur.  "But where are
+you?  I cannot find my way among the bough.  Have you come off to me in
+the canoe?"  I told him in reply how we were situated.  "Can you join
+me?" he asked.  "I have hurt my foot, and am afraid of falling."
+
+"Stay where you are," I answered; "we will try to reach you."
+
+I made Duppo understand that I wished to get to where Arthur was.  It
+was necessary to move very cautiously, for fear of slipping off into the
+water.  We could not tell, indeed, whether the butt-end or the boughs of
+our tree had caught in the floating island; all we could see was a dark
+mass near us, and a few branches rising up towards the sky.  I was
+afraid, however, that if we did not make haste we might be again
+separated from it as we had been from the other island.  We scrambled
+first some way along the boughs; but as we looked down we could see the
+dark water below us, and I was afraid should we get on to the outer ends
+that they might break and let us fall into it.  I thought also of True,
+for though we might possibly have swung ourselves across the boughs, he
+would have been unable to follow us.  I turned back, and once more made
+my way towards the root-end, which, by the experience we had before had,
+I hoped might have driven in closer to the mass we wished to reach.  We
+had to crawl carefully on our hands and knees, for the rain had made the
+trunk slippery, and we might easily have fallen off.  As I got towards
+the end, I began to hope that it was touching the island.  I again
+called out to Arthur.  His voice sounded clearer than before.  When I
+got to the end among the tangled mass of roots, I stopped once more to
+ascertain what Duppo advised we should do.
+
+I sat some time trying to pierce the gloom.  At length I thought I saw a
+thick bough projecting over the extreme end of our tree.  If I could
+once catch hold of it I might swing myself on to the island.  There was
+one fear, however, that it might give way with my weight.  Still I saw
+no other mode of getting to Arthur.  True, I hoped, might leap along the
+roots, which were sufficiently buoyant to bear his weight, at all
+events.  Having given my rifle to Duppo to hold, I cautiously went on.
+I got nearer and nearer the bough.  With one strong effort I might catch
+hold of it.  I sprang up, and seized it with both hands.  It seemed
+firmly fixed in a mass of floating wood.  After clambering along for a
+short distance I let myself down and found footing below me.  I now
+called to Duppo, and holding on to the bough above my head with one
+hand, stepped back till at last I was able to reach the rifle which he
+held out towards me.  True sprang forward, and was in an instant by my
+side.  Duppo followed more carefully, and at length we were all three
+upon the island.
+
+"We shall soon find our way to you," I cried out to Arthur.
+
+"Oh, thank you, thank you!" he answered.
+
+It was no easy matter, however, to make our way among the tangled mass
+of trunks and roots and boughs without slipping down into the crevices
+which yawned at our feet.  I could judge pretty well by his voice where
+Arthur was.  Duppo pulled at my arm.  He wished that I would let him go
+first.  This I was glad to do, as I had great confidence in his judgment
+and activity.  Following close behind him, we at length got directly
+under where Arthur was perched.
+
+"Here we are," I cried out, "on a firm trunk.  Could you not manage to
+come down?"
+
+"I am afraid not," he answered.
+
+"Stay, then; I will climb up and assist you," I said.
+
+Putting my gun down, I made my way up the branch.  Most thankful I was
+again to press his hand.
+
+"I am somewhat sick and hungry," he said; "but now you have come, I
+shall soon be all right."
+
+"Well, let me help you down first," I replied.  "We have brought some
+food, and when you have eaten it we will talk more about what has
+happened to us.  I hope we shall manage somehow or other to reach the
+shore before this island is carried out to sea."
+
+"Oh yes, I hope so indeed," he said.  "I have never thought that
+likely."
+
+I now set to work to help Arthur down.  Duppo stood under the branch and
+assisted me in placing him at length in a more secure position.
+
+"Oh, I am so thankful you have come!" he kept repeating; "my only
+anxiety was about you.  Still I hoped, as I had so wonderfully escaped,
+that you might also be safe.  All I know is, that I was in the water,
+and then that I found myself clinging to a bough, and that I gradually
+pulled myself up out of the water.  I believe I fainted, for I found
+myself lying among a mass of boughs; and when I managed at last to sit
+up, I discovered that I was floating down the river.  Not for some time
+did I feel any sense of hunger.  At length, when I did so, I found,
+greatly to my satisfaction, that I had my wallet over my shoulders, well
+stored with provisions.  They were, to be sure, wet through; but I ate
+enough to satisfy the cravings of hunger.  In the morning I looked about
+me, hoping to see you on one of the masses of trees which were floating
+down the stream round me.  You may fancy how sad I felt when I could
+nowhere distinguish you.  I knew, however, that it was wrong to give way
+to despair, so when the sun came forth I dried the remainder of the
+food, which has supported me hitherto."
+
+"But did you feel any pain from your wound?"  I asked.  "That has been
+one great anxiety to me.  I thought you were truck by a poisoned arrow."
+
+"No," he answered.  "I pulled it out at once, and had forgotten it, till
+I felt a pain in my shoulder.  Then the dreadful thought that it was
+poisoned came across me, and I expected, for some time, to feel it
+working within my system.  It was perhaps that which made me faint; but
+as I did not feel any other ill effects, I began to hope that, either in
+passing through my jacket the poison had been scraped off, or that it
+has, as I have heard, but slight noxious effects on salt-eating
+Europeans."
+
+I agreed with him that this must be the case; indeed, he complained of
+only a slight pain in the shoulder where the arrow had struck him.  In
+the darkness which surrounded us, I could do no more than give him some
+of the food we had brought with us.  The remainder of the night we sat
+on the trunk of the tree, Duppo and I supporting Arthur in our arms,
+while True crouched down by my side.  We could hear the water washing
+round us, and the wind howling among the branches over our heads.  The
+rain at length ceased, but I felt chilled and cold; and Arthur and Duppo
+were, I feared, suffering still more.  Thus we sat on, doing our best to
+cheer each other.  So long a time had passed since Arthur had been
+struck by the arrow, that I no longer apprehended any dangerous effects
+from it.  Still, he was very weak from the long exposure and the want of
+food, and I became more anxious to get him safe on shore, where, at all
+events, he might obtain shelter and sufficient nourishment.  Wherever we
+might be cast, we should, in all probability, be able to build a hut;
+and I hoped that with my gun, and Duppo's bow, we should obtain an ample
+supply of game.
+
+"Now we have found each other, I am afraid of nothing," said Arthur.
+
+"Neither am I," I answered.  "Still I fear that Ellen and John will be
+very unhappy when they do not see us."
+
+We had been talking for some time, when we felt a violent shock.  The
+water hissed and bubbled up below us, and the mass of trees on which we
+floated seemed as if they were being torn asunder.  Such, indeed, was
+the case.  Duppo uttered a cry of alarm.
+
+"What shall we do?" exclaimed Arthur.  "O Harry, do try and save
+yourself.  Never mind me.  What can have happened?"
+
+"We have driven ashore," I answered.  "I am nearly certain of it.  All
+we can do till daylight is to cling on to this trunk; or, if you will
+stay here with Duppo, I will try and make my way to the other side, to
+ascertain where we are."
+
+"Oh, do not leave me, Harry," he said.  "I am afraid something may
+happen to you."
+
+We sat on for a few minutes.  Still the crashing and rending of the
+boughs and sipos continued.  At length I was afraid that we might be
+swept away by the current, and be prevented from reaching the shore.  I
+therefore told Duppo what I wanted to do.  He taking Arthur by one arm,
+I supported him by the other, and thus holding him up we tried to force
+our way among the tangled mass.  Now we had to hang on by our hands,
+finding no firm footing for our feet.  In vain we tried to force our way
+onwards.  In the darkness I soon saw that it was impossible.  A thick
+wall of sipos impeded our progress.  It was not without the greatest
+difficulty that at length we got back to the trunk we had left.  Even
+that was violently tossed about, and I was even now afraid that we might
+be thrown off it.  Once more we sat down on the only spot which afforded
+us any safety.  Gradually objects became more clear, and then I saw,
+rising up against the sky, the tall upright stems of trees.  They could
+not be growing on our floating island.  I now became aware that the mass
+on which we sat had swung round.  It seemed once more to be moving on.
+There was no time to be lost.  Duppo and I again lifted up Arthur, and
+made our way towards the end of the trunk.  Not till then did I discover
+that it was in actual contact with the shore.  We hurried along.  A few
+feet only intervened between us and the dry land.  "Stay, I will go
+first," I exclaimed, and made a sign to Duppo to support Arthur.  I let
+myself down.  How thankful I was to find my feet on the ground, though
+the water was up to my middle.  "Here, Arthur, get on my back," I cried
+out.  Duppo helped him, and in another minute I was scrambling up the
+bank on the dry ground.  Duppo let himself down as I had done, and True
+leaped after us.  Scarcely were we on shore when the trunk we had left
+floated off, and we could see the mass, with several detached portions,
+gliding down the river.  Where we were we could not tell, but daylight
+coming on would soon reveal that to us.  We sat ourselves down on the
+bank, thankful that we had escaped from the dangers to which we should
+have been exposed had we remained longer on the floating island.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER SIXTEEN.
+
+OUR RETURN.
+
+Where we had been cast we could not tell.  Daylight was increasing.  The
+clouds had cleared off.  We should soon, we hoped, be able to see our
+way through the forest, and ascertain our position.  We all remained
+silent for some time, True lying down by my side, and placing his head
+upon my arm.  While thus half between sleeping and waking, I heard a
+rustling sound, and opening my eyes, half expecting to see a snake
+wriggling through the grass, they fell on a beautiful little lizard
+making its way down to the water.  At that moment a pile of dry leaves,
+near which it was passing, was violently agitated, and from beneath them
+sprung a hairy monster, with long legs and a huge pair of forceps, and
+seized the lizard by the back of its neck, holding it at the same time
+with its front feet, while the others were firmly planted in the ground
+to stop its progress.  In vain the lizard struggled to free itself.  The
+monster spider held it fast, digging its forceps deeper and deeper into
+its neck.  I was inclined to go to the rescue of the little saurian, but
+curiosity prevented me, as I wished to see the result of the attack,
+while I knew that it had already, in all probability, received its
+death-wound.  The struggles of the lizard grew feebler and feebler.  Its
+long tail, which it had kept whisking about, sank to the ground, and the
+spider began its meal off the yet quivering flesh.  I touched Arthur,
+and pointed out what was taking place.  "The horrid monster," he
+exclaimed.  "I must punish it for killing that pretty little lizard."
+Before I could prevent him, he had jumped up and dealt the spider a blow
+on the head.
+
+On examining it I found that it was a great crab-spider, one of the
+formidable _arachnida_, which are said to eat young birds and other
+small vertebrates, though they generally, like other spiders, live upon
+insects.  This spider--the _mygagle avicularia_--will attack
+humming-birds, and, indeed, other small specimens of the feathered
+tribe.  When unable to procure its usual food of ants, it lies concealed
+under leaves as this one had done, and darts out on any passing prey
+which it believes it can manage; or if not, it climbs trees and seizes
+the smaller birds when at roost, or takes the younger ones out of their
+nests.  It does not spin a web, but either burrows in the ground, or
+seeks a cavity in a rock, or in any hollow suited to its taste.
+
+I had never seen any creature of the spider tribe so monstrous or
+formidable.  Under other circumstances I should have liked to have
+carried the creature with us to show to my companions.  As soon as
+Arthur had killed it, Duppo jumped up and cut off the two forceps, which
+were as hard and strong as those of a crab; and I have since seen such
+set in metal and used as toothpicks, under the belief that they contain
+some hidden virtue for curing the toothache.
+
+The rest had almost completely cured Arthur's sprained ankle, and on
+examining his shoulder, I found that the arrow had inflicted but a
+slight wound, it having merely grazed the upper part after passing
+through his clothes.  This, of course accounted for the little
+inconvenience he had felt.  Still, I believe, even had the wound been
+deeper, the poison would not have affected him.  I was indeed very
+thankful to see him so much himself again.
+
+We were now aroused, and, getting on our feet, looked about as to settle
+in which direction we should proceed.  We soon found that we were at the
+western end of an island, and as the distant features of the landscape
+came into view, we felt sure that it was the very one, near the entrance
+of the igarape, where we had first landed.  We had supposed that we had
+floated much further down the river.
+
+"The first thing we have to do is to build a raft, and to get back to
+our friends," I said to Arthur.  "We shall have little difficulty, I
+hope, in doing that.  We must lose no time, and we shall be able to
+reach them before night."
+
+This discovery raised our spirits.  We had first, however, to look out
+for a bed of rushes to form the chief part of the intended construction.
+The experience we had gained gave us confidence.  We explained to Duppo
+what we proposed doing, and set forward along the northern shore of the
+island.  We were more likely to find on that side, in its little bays
+and inlets, the materials we required.  The axe which Duppo had saved
+was of great importance.  We had made our way for a quarter of a mile
+along the beach, when the increasing density of the underwood threatened
+to impede our further progress.  Still we had not found what we
+required.  "I think I see the entrance of an inlet, and we shall
+probably find reeds growing on its banks," said Arthur.  "We can still,
+I think, push our way across these fern-like leaves."
+
+We pressed forward, though so enormous were the leaves of which he
+spoke, that a single one was sufficient to hide him from my sight as he
+made his way among them.  Duppo and True followed close behind me, but
+True could only get on by making a succession of leaps, and sometimes
+Duppo had to stop and help him through the forked branches, by which he
+ran a risk every instant of being caught as in a trap.
+
+"I think I see the mouth of the inlet close ahead," said Arthur.  "If we
+push on a few yards more we shall reach it.  Get the axe from Duppo and
+hand it to me; I must cut away some sipos and bushes, and then we shall
+get there."
+
+I did as he requested.  I had broken down the vast leaves which
+intervened between us, when I saw him beginning to use his axe.  He had
+made but a few strokes when a loud savage roar, which came from a short
+distance off, echoed through the wood.  His axe remained uplifted, and
+directly afterwards a sharp cry reached our ears.  "That is a woman's
+voice," I exclaimed.  "Where can it come from?"  Duppo, as I spoke,
+sprang forward, and endeavoured to scramble through the underwood, as
+did True.
+
+"Cut, Arthur, cut," I exclaimed.  "Unless we clear away those sipos we
+shall be unable to get there."
+
+Arthur needed no second bidding, and so actively did he wield his axe,
+that in a few seconds we were able to push onwards.  Again the savage
+roar sounded close to us, but the cry was not repeated.  "Oh, I am
+afraid the brute has killed the poor creature, for surely that must have
+been a human being who cried out," exclaimed Arthur.
+
+We dashed on, when, reaching the water, we saw, scarcely twenty yards
+off, on the opposite bank, a canoe, in which were two persons.  One lay
+with his head over the gunwale; the other, whom I at once recognised as
+our friend Illora, was standing up, no longer the somewhat retiring,
+quiet-looking matron, but more like a warrior Amazonian--her hair
+streaming in the wind, her countenance stern, her eyes glaring, and with
+a sharp spear upraised in her hands, pointed towards a savage jaguar,
+which, with its paws on the gunwale, seemed about to spring into the
+canoe.  It was too evident that her husband had been seized, and to all
+appearance killed.  What hope could she have of resisting the savage
+creature with so slight a weapon.  That very instant I dreaded it would
+spring on her.  Poor Duppo shrieked out with terror; but though his
+mother's ears must have caught the sound, she did not withdraw her
+glance from the jaguar.  She well knew that to do so would be fatal.
+Duppo made signs to me to fire, but I feared that in so doing I might
+miss the jaguar and wound one of his parents.  Yet not a moment was to
+be lost.  My rifle, fortunately, was loaded with ball.  I examined the
+priming, and prayed that my arm might be nerved to take good aim.  Again
+the brute uttered a savage growl, and seemed on the point of springing
+forward, when I fired.  It rose in the air and fell back among the
+foliage, while Illora thrust her spear at it with all her force.  Not
+till then did she seem to be aware of our presence.  Then waving to us,
+she seized the paddle and brought the canoe over to where we were
+standing.  Duppo leaped in and lifted up his father.  The blood had
+forsaken his dark countenance; his eyes were closed, his head was
+fearfully torn--the greater part of the hair having been carried away.
+Illora knelt down by his side, resting his head upon her arm.  Arthur
+and I felt his pulse.  It still beat.  We made signs to his wife that he
+was alive, for she had evidently thought him dead.  I fortunately had a
+large handkerchief in my pocket, and dipping it in water, bound up his
+head.  He appeared to revive slightly.  Illora then made signs to us
+that she wished to go down the river.  We did not even stop to look what
+had become of the jaguar, convinced that he was killed.  No time was to
+be lost.  Having placed Maono on some leaves in the stern of the canoe,
+she seized one of the paddles and urged it out into the main stream.
+Duppo took another paddle.  Fortunately there were two spare ones at the
+bottom of the canoe.  Arthur and I seized them.  Illora paddled away,
+knowing well that the life of her husband depended on her exertions.
+However callous may be the feelings of Indians generally, both she and
+Duppo showed that they possessed the same which might have animated the
+breasts of white people.  Every now and then I saw her casting looks of
+anxiety down on her husband's face.  He remained unconscious, but still
+I had hopes that if attended to at once he might recover.
+
+"I am thankful a jaguar did not spring out on us as we were passing
+through that thick underwood," observed Arthur.  "How utterly unable we
+should have been to defend ourselves."
+
+"Yes, indeed; and still more so that we did not take up our abode
+there," I remarked.  "Probably the island is infested with jaguars, and
+we should have run a great chance of being picked off by them."
+
+"I doubt if more than one or two would find support there," he remarked.
+"How that one, indeed, came there is surprising."
+
+"Possibly he was carried there on a floating island," I answered.  "I
+doubt whether intentionally he would have crossed from the mainland; for
+though jaguars can swim, I suppose, like other animals, they do not
+willingly take to the water."  This, I suspect, was the case.
+
+We tried to learn from Illora how her husband had been attacked.  She
+gave us to understand that, after looking about for us, they had put in
+there for the night, and were still asleep when the savage brute had
+sprung out of the thicket and seized Maono.  She heard him cry out, and
+had sprung to her feet and seized her lance just at the moment we had
+found them.
+
+"We should be doubly thankful that we were cast on the island and
+arrived in time to rescue our friend," I observed to Arthur.
+
+As may be supposed, however, we did not speak much, as we had to exert
+ourselves to the utmost to impel the canoe through the water.  I was,
+however, thankful when at last we saw the roof of our hut in the
+distance.  We shouted as we approached, "Ellen!  Maria!"  Great was our
+delight to see Ellen and Maria, with Domingos, come down to the edge of
+the water to receive us.  As I jumped out, my affectionate little sister
+threw her arms round my neck and burst into tears.
+
+"Oh, we have been so anxious about you!" she exclaimed; "but you have
+come at last.  And what has happened to the poor Indian?  Have you been
+attacked again by the Majeronas?"
+
+I told her briefly what had occurred, and set her anxiety at rest with
+regard to our parents by giving her Fanny's note, and telling her how we
+had found it.  I need not repeat her expressions of joy and
+thankfulness.  I then asked for John, as he understood more about
+doctoring than any of us.  He had gone away with his gun to shoot only
+just before, and might not be back for some time.  The Indians were at
+their own settlement, a couple of miles off.
+
+"What can we do with him!"  I exclaimed.
+
+"Why not take him to the recluse?" said Ellen.  "He will know how to
+treat him."
+
+I made Illora comprehend what Ellen proposed.  She signified that that
+was what she herself wished to do.
+
+"Then, Ellen, we must leave you again," I said.  "We must do our best to
+save the life of our friend."
+
+Arthur agreed with me, and entreating Ellen to keep up her spirits till
+our return, we again, greatly to Illora's satisfaction, jumped into the
+canoe.  "We hope to be back to-morrow morning!"  I cried out, as we
+shoved off.
+
+Though somewhat fatigued, we exerted ourselves as much as before, and
+having the current in our favour, made good progress.  Examining the
+banks as we went along, I saw how almost impossible it would have been
+to have effected a landing on that dreadful night of the storm, when we
+had the raft in tow, for one dense mass of foliage fringed the whole
+extent, with the exception of a short distance, where I recognised the
+sand-bank on which Arthur had been nearly killed by the anaconda.  Maono
+every now and then uttered a low groan when his wife bathed his head
+with water--the best remedy, I thought, she could apply.
+
+The voyage was longer than I had expected, for nearly two hours had
+passed before we reached the mouth of the igarape, near which the hut of
+the recluse stood.  Having secured the canoe, Illora lifted up her
+husband by the shoulders, while we put the paddles under his body, and
+his son carried his feet.  We then hastened on towards the hut.  As we
+came in sight of it, Duppo shouted out to announce our approach to the
+recluse.  No one appeared.  The door, I saw, was closed, but the ladder
+was down.  We stopped as we got up to it, when Duppo, springing up the
+steps, knocked at the door.  My heart misgave me.  The recluse might be
+ill.  Then I thought of the ladder being down, and concluded that he was
+absent from home.  Again Duppo knocked, and obtaining no reply, opened
+the door and cautiously looked in.  No one was within.  What were we to
+do?  Were we to wait for the return of the owner, or go back to our
+settlement?  I advised that Maono should be carried within, and proposed
+waiting till he appeared.  We lifted him up and placed him under the
+shade of the verandah.  Meantime Duppo collected a number of dried
+leaves, with which to form a bed, as he was not in a fit state to be
+placed in a hammock.  I then advised Illora to send Duppo for water,
+while Arthur and I went out and searched for the recluse, in the hope
+that he might be in the neighbourhood.  We first went to his plantation,
+thinking that he might be there, but could nowhere find him.  It
+appeared, indeed, as if it had not been lately visited, as it was in a
+far more disordered state than when we had before seen it.  We were
+afraid of going into the forest, lest we should lose our way; we
+therefore turned back and proceeded up the igarape, which would serve as
+a guide to us.  It grew wilder and wilder as we went on.  At length we
+reached a spot which we could not possibly pass.  The trunks of the
+mighty trees grew close to the water, their roots striking down into it,
+while thousands of sipos and air-plants hung in tangled masses overhead,
+and huge ferns with vast leaves formed a dense fringe along the banks.
+Near us the trunk of an aged tree, bending over the water, covered with
+parasitic plants, had been seized by the sipos from the opposite side,
+and hung, as it were, caught in their embrace, forming a complete bridge
+across the igarape.  I have already described these wonderful
+air-plants.  They here appeared in greater numbers and more varied form
+than any we had yet seen.  Flights of macaws and parroquets flew here
+and there through the openings, or climbed up and down, cawing and
+chattering in various tones.  Although I should have liked to have
+obtained some, I saw that, should I kill any, they would have fallen
+where it would be impossible to get at them, for even True could not
+have made his way through the wood; and I was afraid that if they fell
+into the water, he might be snapped up by an alligator who might be
+lurking near.
+
+We were on the point of turning away, when Arthur exclaimed, "I see
+something moving high up the igarape, among those huge leaves."  I
+scrambled down to where he was standing, and presently, amid the dim
+light, a human figure came into view.  At first it seemed as if he was
+standing on the water, but as he slowly approached we saw that a raft of
+some sort was beneath his feet.  He was hauling himself along by the
+branches, which hung low down, or the tall reeds or leaves fringing the
+banks.
+
+"I do believe it is the recluse," whispered Arthur to me.  "What can
+have happened to him?"  We waited till he came nearer.  He looked even
+wilder and more careworn than usual.  He had no covering on his head
+except his long hair, while he had thrown off his coat, which lay on the
+raft.  Slowly and not without difficulty he worked his way on.  He did
+not perceive us till he was close to where we stood.
+
+"Can we help you, sir?"  I said.  "We came to look for you."
+
+"What induced you to do that?" he asked.  "I thought no human being
+would care for me."
+
+"But we do, sir," said Arthur, almost involuntarily.  "You can be of
+service to one of your friends, a poor Indian, who has been severely
+hurt."
+
+"Ah! there is something to live for then!" he exclaimed, looking up at
+us.  "But I must have your assistance too.  I have injured my leg; and
+had I not been able to reach the igarape and construct this raft, I must
+have perished in the forest.  I have with difficulty come thus far, and
+should have had to crawl to my hut, as I purposed doing, had you not
+appeared to assist me.  My canoe I had left a league or two further
+away, and could not reach it."
+
+"Oh, we will gladly help you, sir," exclaimed Arthur; "and if you will
+let us, we will tow the raft down nearer to the hut."
+
+"It is strange that you should have come; and I accept your offer,"
+answered the recluse.
+
+We soon cut some long sipos, and fastening them together we secured one
+end to the raft.  The recluse sat down, evidently much exhausted by his
+previous exertions; and while we towed the raft along, he kept it off
+the bank with a long pole.  When we got down opposite the hut, we
+assisted him to land.  He could not move, however, without great
+difficulty.
+
+"Let me go and call Mora and Duppo, that we may carry you in the litter
+on which I was brought to your hut," said Arthur.  "No, no; I can get
+on, with your assistance, without that," answered the recluse, placing
+his arms on our shoulders.  He groaned several times, showing the pain
+he suffered; but still he persevered, and at length we reached the hut.
+We had great difficulty in getting him up the ladder.  When he saw
+Maono, he seemed to forget all about himself.
+
+"My hurt can wait," he observed.  "We must attend to this poor fellow."
+Having examined the Indian's head, he produced a salve, which he spread
+on a cloth, and again bound it up.  "A European would have died with
+such a wound," he observed; "but with his temperate blood, he will, I
+hope, escape fever."
+
+Having attended to his guest, he allowed Arthur and I to assist him in
+binding up his leg, and in preparing a couch for him in his own room,
+instead of the hammock in which he usually slept.  He explained to
+Illora how she was to treat her husband, and gave her a cooling draught
+which he was to take at intervals during the night.  Having slung his
+hammock in the outside room, Arthur and I lay down, one at each end;
+while the Indian woman sat up to keep watch, and Duppo coiled himself
+away on one of the chests.
+
+At daybreak, Arthur, hearing the recluse move, got up and asked him if
+he could be of any service.
+
+"Yes, my good lad," answered our host; "you can help me to bind this
+limb of mine afresh.  Bring me yonder jar of ointment!"  I heard what
+was said, though I could not see what was going forward.  "Thank you, my
+lad," said the recluse.  "No woman's hand could have done it better.
+Now go and see how the Indian has passed the night."
+
+Arthur came out, and having looked at Maono, reported that he was still
+sleeping quietly.
+
+"He must not be disturbed then," was the answer.  "When he wakes I will
+attend to him.  Now, go and see what food you can obtain.  My
+plantations will afford you some; or if not, your brother will be able
+to shoot some birds.  He will find troops of toucans and parrots not far
+off.  Some farinha will be sufficient for me."
+
+"Harry will, I am sure, do his best to kill some game," said Arthur;
+"but you called him my brother.  Though he is a dear friend, we are not
+related.  He has father, and mother, and sisters; and the gentleman you
+saw is his brother; but I have no relations--none to care for me except
+these kind friends."
+
+"I know not if you are to be pitied then," said the recluse.  "If you
+have none to care for you, you are free to take your own way."
+
+"Oh, but I do care for the kind friends who brought me out here,"
+exclaimed Arthur.  "And I feel that I care for you; and I ought to do
+so, as you took care of me and nursed me when I was ill."  The recluse
+was silent, and Arthur came into the larger apartment.
+
+The recluse was sufficiently recovered during the day to be placed in
+his more airy hammock in the outer room.  His eyes, I observed, were
+constantly following Arthur.  "It is strange," I heard him whispering to
+himself.  "There is a resemblance, and yet, it is so unlikely."
+
+Maono was going on favourably; and the recluse was able to crawl from
+his hammock to attend to him as often as was necessary.  I was very
+anxious to get back to Ellen and John; especially to assist in finishing
+the canoe, that we might at soon as possible recommence our voyage down
+the river.  I proposed, therefore, that Arthur and I should set off at
+once, as I thought we could find our way through the forest without
+difficulty.  The recluse seemed far from pleased at my proposal.
+
+"I would not deprive you of the society of your friend," he said, "but
+he will be of great assistance to me if he can remain; and you can call
+for him when you come down the river.  Instead of him, take the boy
+Duppo with you.  He may be of more use in guiding you through the
+forest.  The Indian woman will probably wish to remain with her
+husband."
+
+I found that Arthur was ready to stay with the recluse.  "Poor man," he
+said, "I may, I think, be of some service in soothing his mind, as well
+as assisting him as he wishes.  I do not like to leave you, Harry; but
+if you do not object, I will remain.  I wish, however, that you would go
+in the canoe."
+
+"She is too heavy, I fear, to paddle against the stream," I answered;
+"and if I have Duppo as a guide, I would rather return through the
+forest."
+
+I explained this to the Indians, who at once consented that Duppo should
+return with me; while Illora remained to nurse her husband.  As there
+was time to reach our location before dark, I begged to set off at once.
+Duppo and I stored our wallets with fresh farinha; and I hoped to kill
+a toucan, or a brace of parrots, on our way, which would afford us
+sufficient food.  As no time was to be lost, we set off at once.  Duppo
+showed some affection when parting from his mother.  She was certainly
+less demonstrative, however, than a European would have been.  He was
+evidently very proud of being allowed to attend on me.
+
+He led the way with unerring instinct through the forest; and I felt
+that there was no danger of losing the path, as John and I had done when
+travelling in the same direction.  I kept my eyes about me as we
+proceeded, hoping to shoot some game, as we had but a limited supply of
+food.  I got a shot at a toucan, which was climbing with bill and claws
+up a tree above our heads.  It hung on to the branch for an instant, and
+I was afraid I should lose it.  Its claws and beak, however, soon let
+go, and down it came, its beautiful plumage shining in the sun as it
+fell.  I could scarcely bring myself to kill it; but I had to confess
+that necessity has no laws, and should as willingly at that moment have
+shot the most gaily-coloured macaw or parroquet.  It would, however,
+afford Duppo and I, and True, but a scanty meal; I therefore kept my gun
+ready for another shot.
+
+Going on a little further, directly in front of us a beautiful deer
+started up from behind a thicket.  True darted forward, and flew at the
+creature, which turned round and round to defend itself.  I thus had the
+opportunity of having a good aim, and wounded the deer in the neck.
+Duppo started off in pursuit.  He had brought his father's blow-pipe
+instead of his own, which he had lost.  It was too heavy, however, for
+him to manage.  I thought we should have lost the deer; but kneeling
+down, he raised it on a hanging sipo, and let fly an arrow, which struck
+the animal.  He had time to send another shaft before the deer got out
+of sight.  Then calling to me, he urged me to pursue it.  Away we went
+through the forest, True at the heels of the deer, and I following Duppo
+as closely as I could.  Still, notwithstanding its wounded condition,
+there seemed every probability of its escaping.  Duppo thought
+otherwise, and continued the pursuit; though I could not perceive either
+the animal or its track.  He was right, however; for in ten minutes we
+again caught sight of it, moving slowly.  Just as we reached it, it sank
+to the ground.  It was the first deer we had killed; though I had seen
+several scampering in the distance through the more open parts of the
+forest, and I believe they are numerous along the banks of the Amazon
+and its tributaries.  We packed up as much of the flesh as we could
+carry, and hung the remainder on the branch of a tree.
+
+We were walking on with our loads, when a loud crashing sound echoed
+through the forest.  I had never seen Duppo show any sign of fear
+before, but he now came close up to me, trembling all over.  "What is
+the matter?"  I asked.  All was again silent for some minutes.  Then
+came from the far distance the melancholy howl, which had often kept us
+awake at night--the cries, I felt sure, of howling monkeys.  They again
+ceased; and a loud clang sounded through the forest, such as I had read
+of in that wonderful romance, "The Castle of Otranto."  Duppo grew more
+and more alarmed; and now caught hold of my jacket, as if I could
+protect him.  I was puzzled to account for the sound; but still I saw
+nothing very alarming in it.  When, however, a loud piercing cry rent
+the air, coming, I could not tell from whence, I confess that I felt
+somewhat uncomfortable.  Poor Duppo trembled all over, and clung to my
+arm, exclaiming, "_Curupira_! _curupira_!"  True pricked up his ears,
+and barked in return.  "Do not be afraid, Duppo," I said, trying to
+encourage him.  "It may have been only the shriek of a monkey, caught by
+a jaguar or puma."  He, however, seemed in no way disposed to be
+satisfied by any explanations which I could suggest of the noises we had
+heard.
+
+As we proceeded, he tried to explain to me that he was sure that that
+part of the forest was haunted by a spirit, which made the noises.  It
+was like a huge monkey, covered with long shaggy hair.  He committed, he
+said, all sorts of mischief.  He had a wife and family, whom he taught
+to do as much harm as himself; and that, if they caught us, they would
+certainly play us some trick.  I tried to laugh away his fears, but not
+with much success.
+
+At last he gained a little more confidence, and walked on ahead to show
+the way.  No other sound was heard.  He looked back anxiously to see
+that I was close to him.
+
+Among the fruits I observed numbers of a curious bean-like description.
+Several species had pods fully a yard long hanging to delicate stalks,
+and, of course, very slender.  Others were four inches wide, and short.
+While I was looking down to pick up some of the curious beans I have
+mentioned, I saw the big head of a creature projecting from a hole.  For
+a moment I thought it was a large serpent, but presently out hopped a
+huge toad in pursuit of some little animal which had incautiously
+ventured near its den.  Presently it gave sound to a most extraordinary
+loud snoring kind of bellow, when True dashed forward and caught it.  I
+rescued the creature before his teeth had crushed it.  On recovering its
+liberty, it croaked away as lustily as before.  On measuring it, I found
+it fully seven inches long, and as many broad.  It had a considerable
+enlargement of the bone over the eyes, while the glands behind the head
+were of great size.  I knew it thus to be the agua toad--_Bufa agua_.  I
+had no doubt that he and his brothers produced some of the hideous
+noises we had heard at night.  I have since read that these toads will
+kill rats, and that a number of them were carried to Jamaica for the
+purpose of keeping down the swarms of rats which devastated the
+plantations of that island.  I found, indeed, the bones of several
+rodent animals near its den.  It was somewhat remarkable, but a few
+minutes afterwards I saw another toad lying quietly on the ground.  I
+kept True back, not wishing to let him hurt the creature.  I saw some
+small animals moving on its back, and stooping down, what was my
+surprise to see a number of little toads scrambling out of holes
+apparently in its skin.  First out came one, and slipping down the fat
+sides of the big toad, hopped along on the ground.  Another little head
+directly afterwards burst its way through the skin, and imitated the
+example of its small brother.  Several others followed.  Even Duppo, in
+spite of his late fright, could not help bursting out laughing.  The
+colour of the big toad was a brownish-olive and white below; but the
+head was most extraordinary, as it had a snout almost pointed, the
+nostrils forming a kind of leathery tube.  The creature was, I at once
+guessed, the Surinam toad--_Pipa Americana_--which I knew was found, not
+only in Surinam, but in other parts of this region.  It is, though one
+of the ugliest of its race, one of the most interesting.  The male toad,
+as soon as the eggs are laid, takes them in its paws, and places them on
+the back of the female.  Here, by means of a glutinous secretion, they
+adhere, and are imbedded, as it were, in a number of cells formed for
+them in the skin.  Ultimately a membrane grows over the cells and closes
+them up.  The eggs are here hatched, and the young remain in them till
+their limbs have grown and they can manage to take care of themselves.
+The skin of the back is very thick, and allows room for the formation of
+the cells, each of which is sufficiently large to contain a small-sized
+bean placed in it edgeways.  As soon as the brood have left the cells,
+they are again closed, giving a very wrinkled appearance to the back.
+Duppo made signs to me that the creature was good to eat; but I must
+say, I should have been very hard pressed for food before I should have
+been tempted to try it.  I succeeded in dragging True away, and
+prevented him interfering with the family arrangements of the wonderful
+_batrachian_.
+
+We met with several other curious frogs and toads, but the creatures
+which abounded everywhere, and unfortunately surpassed all others in
+numbers, were the ants--_termites_.  The termites, I should remark,
+differ from the true ants by appearing out of the egg with their limbs
+formed, and in the same shape they bear through life.  Some we met with
+in our walk were an inch and a quarter in length, and stout in
+proportion.  The creatures were marching in single file, coming out from
+a hole formed in the roots of a small tree.  I took up one to examine
+it, and received a sting for my pains, but the pain soon went off.  We
+all suffered much more from the stings of several smaller ants,
+especially the fire-ants, by which we had on more than one occasion been
+attacked.
+
+Although I had twice before made the trip through the forest, I still
+felt certain that we were far from the hut, when Duppo signified to me
+that we should soon reach it.  Just then I heard a shot, and a
+magnificent macaw fell down a short distance ahead of us.  True dashed
+forward, and directly afterwards I heard John's voice.  I hurried on.
+
+"Yes, we are all well," answered John to my inquiries, as he took my
+load of venison and slung it over his more sturdy shoulders.  "The canoe
+is finished, and we were only waiting for your return to set out.  No
+positive news about our parents; but the Indians describe having seen a
+canoe with white people, women among them, pass down the river several
+weeks ago Ellen feels sure it was they who were seen; though, as is
+sometimes the case with her, dear girl, she can give no other reason
+than her own feelings.  I am disappointed at not seeing Arthur; but we
+must put in to take him on board, and save him the journey through the
+forest."
+
+Of course John wanted to know all about our adventures, and I briefly
+recounted them as we walked homewards.
+
+"It is, indeed, a mercy that your life was saved," he observed.  "I
+would almost advise you not to tell Ellen all the fearful dangers you
+went through; it will make her nervous, for she even now sometimes
+dreads that the Majeronas will again attack us."
+
+"They will certainly not come so far by water," I remarked; "and our
+friends will give us warning should they venture by land.  Still, as the
+canoe is ready, we ought not to delay in commencing our voyage."
+
+As soon as we emerged from the thick part of the forest, we caught sight
+of Ellen watching for us in front of the hut.  She came running forward,
+followed by Maria and Oria, and not only by Nimble and Toby, but a whole
+troop of other creatures.  John laughed.  "There comes our little
+sister," he said, "with her happy family.  She and her young companions
+have not been idle.  It is wonderful how they have contrived to tame all
+those creatures."
+
+In another minute Ellen and I were in each other's arms.  She looked
+very well, and glad to see me, but her eye roved about in quest of
+Arthur.  She was satisfied, however, when I told her that he had
+remained behind to attend to the recluse.
+
+"I am not surprised at it," she said; "for I could not help fancying
+that there was some relationship between the two.  Our strange friend
+was evidently more interested in Arthur than in any of us.  In spite of
+his cold and repelling manner, Arthur, too, took greatly to him.
+However, perhaps I am wrong."
+
+"Yes; I suspect, Ellen, it is but one of your fancies.  You would like
+it to be the case; it would be so interesting and romantic, and so you
+cannot help thinking that it must be so," observed John.
+
+Ellen was eager at once to introduce me to her pets.  Nimble and Toby
+knew me immediately, and climbed up my back without hesitation.
+
+"Here," said Ellen, "is a dear little bird."  It was a small heron of a
+very graceful shape.  The plumage was variegated with bars and spots of
+several colours, as are the wings of certain moths.  She called it, and
+it immediately came up to her with a peculiarly dainty, careful gait.
+An insect was crawling along the ground.  It immediately afterwards
+pierced it with its slender beak, and gobbled it up.  It was the _ardea
+helias_.  John said he had seen the birds perched on the lower branches
+of trees in shady spots: their note is a soft, long-drawn whistle; they
+build their nests in trees, of clay, very beautifully constructed.
+
+"Now I must introduce my _curassow_ turkey," she said, calling another
+very handsome bird, almost as large as an ordinary turkey.  It was of a
+dark-violet colour, with a purplish-green gloss on the back and breast.
+The lower part was of the purest white, while the crest was of a bright
+golden-yellow, greatly increasing the beauty of the bird.  John called
+it the crested curassow--the _crax alector_.
+
+"See," she said, "I have greatly increased the number of my feathered
+friends.  Look at this beautiful marianna."
+
+It was a small parrot, with a black head, a white breast, and orange
+neck and thighs--a most lovely little creature.  As soon as she called
+it, it came down from its perch and sprang upon her wrist.  When she
+again let it go, off it went, poking its head into the various articles
+on the verandah, examining a basket of fruits which Oria had just
+brought in, and the pots of which Domingos had charge; now pecking at
+one thing, now another.  Our Indian friend had brought her another
+parrot called an _anaca_.  This was also a beautiful bird, its breast
+and belly banded with blue and red, while the back of the neck and head
+were covered with long bright-red feathers margined with blue.  True
+approaching it, up went the crest, looking remarkably handsome.  From
+this crest it obtains the name of the hawk-head parrot.  It came when
+called, but quickly retired in rather a solemn fashion to its perch.
+
+"Do you know," said Ellen, "Oria has brought me that beautiful little
+duck you described.  I would rather take that home with me than all the
+other pets, and yet I should be sorry to lose any of them."
+
+"I tell Ellen that her menagerie is a mere bait to jaguars or boas, or
+other prowling animals of the forest," observed John.  "What a nice
+breakfast one of them would make if it found its way into our
+settlement!"
+
+"You shall not frighten me with any such ideas," she answered; "and I
+hope before we leave the country that I may add many more to my
+collection.  But I have not shown you my humming-bird yet," she said.
+"I keep it in a cage in the house for fear the others should get at it;
+but it takes a flight by itself every day, and comes back again when it
+wants a sip of sirrup, or wishes to go to roost.  I must show you some
+nests of the beautiful little birds which have built not far off.  Would
+you like to go and see them at once?"
+
+Knowing it would please her, while Domingos and Maria were preparing our
+evening meal, I accompanied her to a little distance, where, hanging to
+some long, pendant leaves, she pointed out two little purse-shaped
+nests, composed, apparently, of some cottony material bound together
+with spider-web.  A graceful little bird was sitting in each of them,
+with tails having long, pointed feathers.  The upper part of their
+bodies were of a green bronze, except the tail-coverts, which were of a
+somewhat rusty red; while the tails themselves were of a bronzed tint,
+broadly tipped with white.  I knew them by the shape of their bills and
+their nests to belong to the genus _Phaethornis_.
+
+"They are quite accustomed to me now," she said, "and will not fly away
+even when I go near them."
+
+While we were looking, the mate of one of the birds came up and perched
+close above the nest.  As we were going away I saw two others pass by
+us, of the same size, it seemed to me.  Another settled on a flower near
+at hand, when the idea seized me that I could catch it.  I struck it
+with my hat, and down it fell.  Ellen uttered a cry of sorrow; but
+stooping down, what was my surprise to find, instead of a humming-bird,
+a moth so exactly in shape and appearance like the humming-birds, that
+it was no wonder I had been deceived.
+
+"You would not have killed a humming-bird so easily," said Ellen; "but I
+am sorry for the poor moth."
+
+The moth, however, though stunned, was not killed.  On taking it to the
+hut I compared it with her tame pet, and was struck by the remarkable
+similarity in the shape of the head and position of the eye.  The
+extended proboscis represented the long beak of the bird, while at the
+end of the moth's body was a brush of long hairs, which, as it flew
+along, being expanded, looked very much like the feathers of the bird's
+tail.  Oria, when she saw the moth, told Ellen that it would some day
+turn into a bird; and Ellen, I believe, did not succeed in persuading
+her that such would certainly never happen.  The resemblance, of course,
+is merely superficial, their internal construction being totally
+different.  I have not as yet described nearly all Ellen's new pets; but
+just then, as I was very hungry, I had something else to think of.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.
+
+OUR VOYAGE RECOMMENCED.
+
+I was awoke the following morning by an unusual commotion among our
+four-footed and feathered friends.  The monkeys were chattering away and
+running along the rafters, up and down the posts; the parrots were
+talking energetically together; while True every now and then ran to the
+door and gave a peculiar bark, coming back again under my hammock.  John
+and Domingos were quickly aroused by his barks.  "What can be the
+matter!"  I exclaimed.  "Some animal is outside," answered John,
+springing out of his hammock.  "It has probably been trying to find an
+entrance into our hut.  If a puma or jaguar, we will soon settle him."
+
+"Oria thinks it is some big serpent, from the way the animals are
+frightened," said Ellen, from her room.
+
+"Whether big serpent or savage beast, we need not fear it, my sister,"
+answered John, going to the door, which we always kept closed at night
+for safety's sake.
+
+What was our dismay to see a huge serpent coiled round the post of the
+verandah, with its head moving about as if in March of prey.  Duppo
+sprang forward and shut to the door, exclaiming, "_Boiguaeu_!"  Even
+True ran behind us, not liking to face the monster.  From the glimpse we
+got of it, it seemed of enormous size, and might readily have crushed
+two or three people together in the folds of its huge body.  John and I
+went back and got our guns ready, while Domingos and Duppo kept guard at
+the door.
+
+"I said those pets of Ellen's would serve as baits some day for one of
+those creatures!" exclaimed John.  "However, if we can hit it in the
+head, we need not fear its doing us any harm."
+
+Having carefully examined the loading of our firearms, we told Domingos
+again to open the door.  He seemed, however, very unwilling to do so,
+alleging that the serpent might dart in and seize some one before we
+could kill it.  Not till John had insisted upon it would he consent.
+"Oh, my dear young masters, do take care!" he exclaimed.  "If you would
+but wait, perhaps the creature would crawl away.  Suppose you miss it,
+you do not know what may happen."
+
+"Now," cried John, "calm your fears, and open the door."
+
+Domingos on this pulled open the door, springing back himself at the
+same time, while John and I stepped forward with our rifles, ready to
+fire.  The serpent was gone.  We looked about in every direction.  It
+was not pleasant to know that so dangerous a monster was in our
+neighbourhood.  Domingos said he was sure it was hid away somewhere, and
+Duppo agreed with him.  We hunted about anxiously, but nowhere could we
+discover it.  Believing that it had altogether gone away, we told Ellen
+and her companions that they might venture out.  Ellen came fearlessly,
+but Maria and the Indian girl were evidently far from satisfied, and I
+saw them glancing round anxiously in every direction.  However, as the
+snake did not appear, we had breakfast, and then went down to work at
+the canoe.  John told me that he had engaged four Indians to paddle her,
+and that he expected them that morning.  We were working away, when we
+heard a low cry, and Oria was seen running towards us with looks of
+terror in her countenance.  She uttered a few hurried words to her
+brother, the meaning of which we could not understand; but he soon
+showed us by signs that something had happened at the hut.  On getting
+near--for it was concealed where we were at work--we saw, to our dismay,
+the boa-constrictor coiled as before round one of the outer supports,
+and evidently intent on making an entrance into the hut.  The door was
+closed.  We heard Ellen's and Maria's voices calling from within.  We
+had unfortunately left our guns in the verandah, and could not get at
+them without approaching dangerously near to the huge reptile.  Every
+moment I dreaded to see it break through the slight door.  John and
+Domingos had hatchets in their belts, but we were possessed of no other
+weapons.  How to get rid of the creature was the question.  We shouted
+at the top of our voices, hoping to frighten it away, but our cries had
+no effect.  Every moment we knew, too, that it might come down and
+attack us.  Ellen and Maria were naturally in a great state of alarm.
+They had secured all their pets, though John suggested that by
+sacrificing some of them they might possibly satisfy the boa.  He
+shouted out to them a recommendation to that effect.  "No, Senor John,
+no!" answered Maria from within.  "Senora Ellen says she would remain
+here for a week, rather than give up one to the horrid monster."
+
+As we stood at a respectful distance, the serpent now and then turned
+his head, as if he would dart at us, when Domingos cried out, "Oh, my
+young masters! fly! fly!  The boiguaeu is coming!"
+
+"We must cut its head off if it does!" exclaimed John, "I have a great
+mind to dash in and get hold of my gun."
+
+I entreated him not to attempt so rash an experiment.  While we were
+watching the serpent, the Indians we had been expecting appeared,
+emerging from the thick part of the forest, Duppo and Oria ran towards
+them.  They seemed to be telling them about the boa.  Instead of coming
+on to our assistance, however, away they started back into the forest.
+
+"The cowards!" exclaimed John; "they have run off and left us to fight
+the battle by ourselves."
+
+"I am not quite so certain of that," I answered.
+
+We waited.  Still the boa did not move, but continued watching the door.
+Probably through one of the chinks its eye had caught sight of Nimble
+or True, who had also fortunately been inside.  After waiting till our
+patience was nearly exhausted, the Indians re-appeared, carrying between
+them a young peccary, while others carried long coils of sipos.  At some
+little distance from the hut they stopped, when one of them climbed a
+tree, to which he secured a loop of sipos, passing through it another
+long line.  At the end of this a loop was formed.  With a stake they
+secured the peccary close to the loop, so that to get at it the serpent
+must run its head through the noose.  The peccary, having its snout tied
+up, was unable to squeak.  As soon as the arrangement was made, they
+retired to a distance, holding the other end of the line.  One of them
+then unloosed the peccary's muzzle, when the creature instantly began to
+grunt.  At that instant the serpent turned its head, and, unwinding its
+huge body, made its way towards the animal.  In another moment almost
+the peccary was struck, and the huge serpent began to fold its body
+round it.  Its own head, however, was meantime caught in the noose, but
+this it apparently did not feel, and opening its wide jaws, began to
+suck in the animal.  As it did so the Indians pulled the noose tighter
+and tighter.  The teeth of the reptile are so formed that it could not
+again force the peccary out of its mouth, while the noose prevented it
+swallowing it.  John and I eagerly sprang forward and seized our guns,
+but Duppo now coming up, told us that there was no necessity to use
+them, as in a short time the boa would be dead.
+
+As the boa lay on the ground John boldly rushed up and gave it a blow
+with his axe.  The natives now without fear forced their spears into the
+creature's mouth, and dragged out the mangled body of the peccary.  This
+done, they hoisted the serpent up by the neck to the branch of the tree,
+whence it hung down, showing us its full length, which could not have
+been much less than twenty-five feet.  To make sure that it would not
+come to life again, one of them climbed up, and with his knife split
+open the body.  Even during the short time it had coiled itself round
+the peccary it had broken every bone in the creature's body.  I observed
+that it placed coil above coil, as if to increase the force of the
+pressure, and it had instantly begun to swallow its prey without first
+lubricating it, as it is erroneously described as doing.  The part of
+the peccary which had entered the mouth was, however, covered with
+saliva, but this had only been poured upon it in the act of swallowing.
+
+We thanked the Indians for the assistance they had given us in killing
+our enemy.  They had come, they said, to finish the canoe, and also to
+inquire about Maono and Illora, whose absence had caused the tribe great
+alarm.  They had also brought us some mandioca-flour and a supply of
+fruits.  Farinha or flour, I should say, is produced from the same
+root--cassava, or manioc--as is tapioca, and is like it in appearance,
+only of a yellower colour, caused by the woody fibre mixed with the pure
+starch which forms the tapioca.  There were also several cabbage-palms,
+always a welcome addition to our vegetables.  Among the fruit were some
+pine-apples, which had been procured in a dry treeless district--so we
+understood--some miles in the interior.
+
+Ellen begged that they would remove the body of the serpent to a
+distance, as she did not at all like seeing it hanging up to the tree
+near us.  Fastening sipos to it, they accordingly dragged it away.  By
+the following morning not a particle of it remained, it having furnished
+a feast to several armadillos, vultures, and other birds of prey.
+
+The last evening of our stay had arrived.  Our provision were ready for
+embarking, and all our goods packed up.  I was awoke by hearing Domingos
+cry out--
+
+"Some rats, or other creatures, have got into the hut, and are eating up
+the farinha."
+
+On striking a light, we hurried to the corner in which our provisions
+were stored, intending to drive out the intruders, when, instead of
+rats, we found a column of ants passing to and fro between the door and
+our baskets of food.  Each of them carried a grain of a tapioca-like
+substance as big as itself.  In vain we tried to drive them off.  Though
+hundreds were killed, others came on in a most determined manner, as if
+they had resolved to rob us at all cost.  At last John proposed that we
+should blow them up.  We called out to Ellen not to be alarmed, and then
+spread a train of powder across the column, when we set it on fire.
+This seemed to stagger them, but others still came on.  Not till we had
+performed the operation three times did they seem to discover their
+danger, when the first coming on turned round and warned those behind,
+and the whole took their departure.  The next morning we traced them to
+a spot at a considerable distance, where we came upon a mound of earth
+between two or three feet high, and nearly eleven yards in
+circumference.  This we found was the dome which protected the entrance
+to the abode of our visitors of the previous night.  It was a wonder
+they had not found us out before.  It was of a different colour to the
+surrounding ground.  This was owing to its being composed of the
+under-soil brought up from below.  We perceived a number of small holes
+in the sides--the commencement of galleries.  We discovered, on digging
+into it, that each led to a broad gallery four feet in diameter.  This
+again led down into the centre of the wonderful habitation.
+
+"Hilloa!" cried Arthur; "here comes Birnam Wood in miniature."
+
+He was at some distance from us.  On going up to him we found what
+looked like a vast number of leaves moving along over the ground.  On
+examining them, we discovered that each was of the size and shape of a
+small coin, and carried by an ant.  On tracing them back we found the
+tree at which they were at work.  It was covered by vast multitudes.
+Each ant was working away at a leaf, cutting out a circle with its sharp
+scissor-like jaws.  As soon as the operation was complete, it lifted it
+up vertically and marched away towards the mound.  As one lot of
+labourers descended, others ascended and took their places, so that in a
+short time the tree was denuded of leaves.  These leaves were used, we
+discovered, to thatch the domes of their galleries and halls to keep
+them dry, and protect the young broods in the nests beneath them.  One
+body of workers was employed in bringing the leaves which they cast down
+on the hillock, while another placed them so as to form the roof,
+covering them with a layer of earth brought up in single grains with
+prodigious labour from the soil below.  There appeared to be three
+different classes of workers--some employed entirely below, others
+acting as masons or tilers, and others entirely engaged in bringing the
+materials from a distance.  There were, besides, soldiers armed with
+powerful mandibles, who accompanied the workers for defence, and walked
+backwards and forwards near them without doing anything.  They have also
+a queen-ant, who dwells in the centre of their castle, and is engaged in
+laying the eggs, not only to furnish broods for the colony, but to send
+forth vast numbers of winged ants to form new ones.  At the commencement
+of the year the workers can be seen clearing the galleries, and
+evidently preparing for some important event.  Soon afterwards a vast
+number of winged males and females issue forth, the females measuring
+two and a quarter inches in expanse of wing, though the males are much
+smaller.  Few of them, however, escape to enjoy existence, for they are
+immediately set upon by numbers of insectivorous animals and devoured.
+The few females who escape become the mothers of new colonies.
+
+While digging, we came upon a snake-like creature about a foot long.
+Directly Duppo saw it he entreated us not to touch it, as it was
+fearfully poisonous, and called it the mother of the saubas.  We,
+however, knew it to be perfectly harmless.  He declared that it had a
+head at each end of its body.  We convinced him, however, that he was
+wrong, by showing him the head and tail.  The body was covered with
+small scales, the eyes were scarcely perceptible, and the mouth was like
+that of a lizard.  He asserted that the sauba-ants are very much
+attached to the snake, and that, if we took it away, they would all
+desert the spot.  In reality, the snake found a convenient hiding-place
+in the galleries of the ants, while, when in want of food, it could at
+all times make a substantial meal off them.  When the ant-eater opens
+one of these galleries, the workers immediately run off and hide
+themselves, while the soldier-ants rush forth to attack the intruder,
+and, of course, immediately fall victims; thus preserving, by the
+sacrifice of their own lives, the rest of the community.  The peculiar
+motion of the snake we found, scientifically called _amphisbaenae_,
+wriggling as it does backwards and forwards, has given rise to the idea
+of its having two heads.  Duppo told us many other stories about it,
+which I have no space to mention.  These ants sometimes form mounds from
+thirty to forty yards in circumference, and have been known to burrow
+even under rivers.  As they attack fruit-trees, they are a great pest to
+the inhabitants of the settled parts of the country, and are sometimes
+destroyed by forcing fumes of sulphur through their galleries.  Their
+chief use in the economy of Nature seems to be the consumption of
+decayed vegetable matter, as they are exclusively vegetarians.
+
+While the Indians were getting the boat down to the water, and Ellen and
+her attendants, assisted by Domingos, were packing up, John, Duppo, and
+I took a ramble into the woods to kill some more game, as we were not
+likely to have anything but fish for some time to come.  As we were
+going along, I heard the twittering of some dull-plumaged birds in the
+bushes, and was trying to get a shot at them, when I saw John, who was a
+little way ahead, jumping about in the most extraordinary manner.  Duppo
+cried out, on seeing him, "Tauoca!" and made a sign to us to run off,
+himself setting the example.  John followed.  "I have been attacked by
+an army of ants," he exclaimed.  "See, here are hundreds sticking to
+me."  Duppo and I went to his assistance, and we found his legs covered
+with ants with enormous jaws, holding on so tight to the flesh that, in
+pulling them off, the heads of many were left sticking in the wounds
+they had made.  We caught sight of the column which was advancing, about
+six deep, with thinner columns foraging on either side of the main army.
+Creatures of all sorts were getting out of their way with good cause,
+for whenever they came upon a maggot, caterpillar, or any larvae, they
+instantly set upon it and tore it to pieces, each ant loading itself
+with as much as it could carry.  A little in front of them was a wasp's
+nest, on a low shrub.  They mounted the twigs, and, gnawing away at the
+papery covering, quickly got at the larvae and the newly-hatched wasps.
+These they carried off in spite of the efforts of the enraged parents,
+who kept flying about them.  They were ecitons, or foraging ants, of
+which there are numerous species.  They also came upon a bank, in their
+course, in which was a nest belonging to a large species of white ant.
+They forced their way in, attacked them, and dragged out the bodies of
+the slain.  These were cut into three or four pieces, each of which was
+lifted up by an eciton and carried off.
+
+However, a volume could be filled with accounts of the numberless ants
+and termites of South America, and their curious and varied habits.  One
+species is quite blind; others tunnel as they go, or form ways to enable
+them to make their attacks in secret.  For this purpose the little
+creatures will form miles of covered ways.  Some build their nests of
+clay in trees, and others hollow out abodes under the bark.  They vary,
+too, in size and form.  Some are half an inch long; some white, others
+red and black; some sting furiously.  The ants inhabiting trees are
+those which commit depredations in houses chiefly.  The most annoying of
+the species is the fire-ant--a little creature of a shining reddish
+colour.  They live in the sand, where they form subterranean galleries
+covered by a sandy dome.  They enter houses, and attack eatables of all
+sorts.  When they attack human beings they fix their jaws in the flesh,
+and, doubling up their tails, sting with all their might; and a very
+fearful sting it is.  When we met with them we were obliged to smear the
+ropes of our hammocks with balsam of _copauba_.  Eatables are suspended
+in baskets by ropes covered with the same balsam, and the legs of chairs
+and footstools are also covered to prevent their climbing up and
+stinging those sitting on them.  Villages have sometimes been deserted
+in consequence of the attacks of these fierce little insects.  However,
+they are only found on the sandy banks of the river and drier parts of
+the country.
+
+After this digression I must continue my narrative.  We shot only two or
+three birds, and then had to hurry back to prepare for our departure.
+Our new canoe floated well, but was smaller than we could have wished.
+Over the centre was an awning of palm-leaves, under which was seated
+Ellen, with her black and brown attendants and her numerous pets,
+surrounded by our goods and chattels.  Four Indians sat in the bows to
+paddle, while John and Domingos took it by turns to steer.  Duppo had
+especial charge of the various pets, while I was glad to be relieved
+from the labour of paddling.  I had my gun ready for a shot, and we kept
+out our books of natural history, which I wished to search through, and
+two or three others for reading.  We were thankful to be once more on
+our voyage, but still we could not help looking with some interest and
+regret at the beautiful spot in which we had spent the last few weeks.
+"All on board?" cried Domingos.  "On, boys, on!" and giving a shove with
+his pole, we left the bank and glided down the stream, our dark-skinned
+crew keeping time with their paddles to the monotonous song which they
+struck up.  Although the wet season was commencing, the weather promised
+to be fair for a time; and we hoped soon to have Arthur on board, and to
+continue our voyage without interruption till we should at length fall
+in with those dear ones of whom we were in search.
+
+I have already described the broad river, and the wall of strangely
+varied and lofty trees which border it.  We kept along the left bank,
+not to run the risk of missing the entrance to the igarape of the
+recluse, as we called it.
+
+"Do you think we shall persuade him to come with us?" asked Ellen.  "I
+should be so delighted if we could draw him out of his strange way of
+life and restore him to society."
+
+John thought there was little chance of our doing so.
+
+"If anybody can, I think Arthur may," I observed.
+
+"Then you agree with me in my notion?" said Ellen.
+
+"It is possible you may be right," I answered; "but yet it would be very
+strange."
+
+The recluse formed the chief subject of our conversation during the
+day's voyage.  At length we approached his igarape.  I almost expected
+to see him and Arthur standing on the bank, but looked out in vain.  To
+give them notice of our approach, I fired off my rifle.  We had already
+made the canoe fast at our former landing-place.  Ellen, John, and I
+were going towards the hut when Arthur appeared.  "O Arthur will he
+come--will he come?" cried out Ellen.
+
+Arthur shook his head.  "I am very glad to see you," he said; "but if
+you had delayed a few days longer perhaps he would have made up his
+mind.  However, you must come and try what you can do."
+
+"And how is Maono?"  I asked.
+
+"He is wonderfully recovered, but is still unable to move."
+
+"I hope he and his wife will not insist on Oria remaining with them!"
+said Ellen.
+
+"I think not," answered Arthur.  "Were it not for their other children,
+they would like to come themselves, I suspect, were Maono better.  But
+you must come and see our friend; he has been so kind and gentle, and
+talked a great deal to me.  I have been greatly puzzled to know the
+meaning of some of his questions.  Sometimes he spoke as if he would
+like me to remain with him; but when I told him that I could not leave
+you, my old friends, he agreed that I ought not."
+
+As we entered the open space before the hut of the recluse he advanced
+to meet us, and courteously invited us to remain till the next day.  We
+had wished to push on, as we had still some hours of daylight; but
+Arthur begged us so earnestly to remain, that at last John agreed to do
+so.  The Indians built themselves a hut near the canoe, in which
+Domingos remained to watch over our goods; while we passed the night at
+the hermitage.  Ellen tried her utmost to persuade our host to accompany
+us; but he declined, saying that he could not abandon his present mode
+of life, and would not desert his patient Maono till he had recovered.
+Maono and Illora showed more pleasure at seeing us than is usually
+exhibited by Indians.  His head was still bound up, and both he and his
+wife appeared clothed in light garments, which, though not so
+picturesque as their savage want of attire, made them look much more
+civilised.
+
+The next morning we were on foot before daybreak, and having
+breakfasted, and bid farewell to the chief and his wife, repaired at
+early dawn to the canoe, attended by the recluse.  Again Arthur
+entreated him to accompany us, observing that Maono had so far recovered
+that Illora might attend to him without his aid.  He seemed to hesitate,
+but finally shook his head, saying, "It cannot be; no, it cannot be!"
+
+"Then do you wish me to remain with you?" asked Arthur, looking up in
+his face.
+
+The recluse seemed to be agitated with contending feelings.  "No, boy,
+no!" he answered.  "I cannot allow you to leave friends who have shown
+that they are interested in your welfare.  But take this packet, and do
+not open it till you have rejoined Mr Faithful's family.  You will, I
+doubt not, ere long find them, for from the information I have obtained
+they some time ago proceeded down the river.  Where they are settled I
+cannot tell, but two if not more messengers have been despatched by them
+in search of you, some of whom have either gone higher up the river, or
+have fallen victims to the treacherous savages."
+
+Arthur took the packet from the recluse with a look of surprise.
+
+"It will explain all," said the latter.  "Put it by now, and keep it
+carefully.  I have acted for the best, and you will acknowledge that
+when you come to notice the contents."
+
+Saying this, he pressed Arthur's hand, and assisting Ellen into the
+canoe, waved an adieu, and turning hastily round, with long hasty
+strides hurried back towards his abode.  The Indians stood up and
+saluted him with signs of respect, and then, at the command of Domingos,
+began to ply their paddles, and we once more recommenced our voyage.
+Arthur watched the recluse till he disappeared among the trees.
+
+"It is very, very strange," I heard him say to himself; "I cannot
+understand it."  Several times he pulled out the packet and looked at it
+wistfully.  "I must not disobey him," he added aloud, "and yet I long to
+know what he meant by giving me this."
+
+"So do I," said Ellen; "but I am sure you ought to obey him."
+
+Arthur started; he seemed not to be aware that he had been speaking
+aloud.
+
+John looked at Ellen.  "Sister," he said rather gravely, "do not utter
+your ideas; whatever they may be, you are likely to be wrong."
+
+Ellen was silent.  Arthur replaced the packet in his wallet, and the
+subject was not again alluded to.  For several hours we glided down the
+stream without interruption.  In the middle of the day we landed to give
+our crew rest and to cook our dinner.  While the men were resting, we
+rambled through the forest with Duppo.  We took Duppo that we might not
+run the risk of losing our way.  We had gone on for some distance, when
+he exclaimed, "_Jacare tinga_!"  I called True close to me, knowing that
+the words meant alligator.  Duppo crept cautiously on.  Every moment we
+expected to come up with the monster, though on dry ground we knew we
+had little cause to fear it.  "What is that?" exclaimed John, and he
+fired his rifle at a creature which went bounding through the forest.
+For a moment I caught sight of a jaguar, and directly afterwards we came
+on an alligator which had evidently just been killed by the jaguar.  I
+should have liked to have seen the combat in which the fierce mammal had
+come off victorious.  What mighty strength it must have put forth to
+kill the huge reptile which lay mangled before us, a considerable
+portion of the interior devoured.  Duppo, on seeing it, began to search
+about in the neighbourhood, and came before long on a conical pile of
+dead leaves, from among which he dug out upwards of twenty eggs.  They
+were nearly twice the size of those of a duck, and of an elliptical
+shape.  The shells were very hard, of the texture of porcelain, and
+extremely rough on the outside.  Duppo rubbed them together, producing a
+loud sound.  Then he shook his head, as much as to say, "If the mother
+were alive that would bring her, but there she lies;" and he then told
+us that it was the way his people had of attracting alligators when they
+found a nest, knowing that the female is sure to be near, and will come
+to see what is the matter with her eggs.  We carried them on board as a
+present to our crew, knowing that they would be acceptable, as the
+natives are very fond of them.  At night we landed on an island, and
+built our huts in the same style that we had done on descending the
+Napo.  And thus, with various incidents which I have not space to
+recount, we proceeded on our voyage for several days without
+interruption.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.
+
+JOYFUL NEWS.
+
+Day after day we sailed down the mighty Amazon, often the opposite shore
+appearing like a blue line in the distance, and yet we were upwards of
+twelve hundred miles from the mouth.  Now it again narrowed into more
+river-like proportions.  Sometimes we found ourselves navigating between
+numerous islands, cut off from the mainland by the rush of waters; but
+along the whole extent, often for a hundred miles together, not a hut
+was to be seen, not a sign of a human habitation.  Whenever we came near
+the abode of man we landed, and Domingos or John and one of the natives
+approached cautiously to make inquiries; but hitherto without success.
+Here and there we came to a mission establishment of the Portuguese.
+They consisted generally of the priest's house, a larger building for
+the church, and a few huts scattered about, inhabited by natives.  As
+far as we could judge, these so-called Christian natives were but little
+raised above their still heathen countrymen, while the effect of the
+religion they had assumed was to make them more idolatrous and
+superstitious than before.  The priests, however, were very civil, but
+there was nothing to tempt us to remain at their stations; we therefore,
+after gaining the information we required, pushed on and camped in our
+usual way.  We agreed that our father had probably acted in the same
+way, for we could gain no certain news of him.  We heard, however, what
+gave us some anxiety--that the country was in a greatly disturbed state,
+and that the natives had, in several places, risen against the
+Portuguese, and driven them from their settlements.  The poor priests,
+indeed, seemed unhappy about themselves, and not at all confident that
+their flocks might not rise and treat them in the same way.  One,
+indeed, gave out strong hints that he would like to accompany us, and
+would undertake to pilot us down the river; but our canoe had already as
+many on board as she could carry, while our provisions were so greatly
+diminished that they would not hold out much longer.
+
+We frequently avoided the main channel, the navigation of which in bad
+weather is dangerous, and made our way through some of the numerous
+channels filled by the rising waters on either side.  Thus we paddled on
+through channels sometimes so narrow that the boughs arched almost
+overhead, at other times spreading out into lake-like expanses.  I have
+already so frequently described the vegetation, the numberless palms and
+other trees, some of enormous size, with their festoons of air-plants
+and climbers of all sorts, that I need not again draw the picture.
+Emerging from a narrow path, we entered a calm and beautiful lake, when
+there appeared before us, floating on the water, a number of vast
+circular leaves, amid which grow up the most gigantic and beautiful
+water-lilies.
+
+"Oh, what flowers!" exclaimed Ellen; "do gather some."
+
+"Surely those cannot be leaves!" exclaimed Arthur.  "See, a bird with
+long legs is walking over them!"
+
+John fired, and the bird fell in the centre of the leaf on which it was
+standing, and which still supported it in the water; and taking it off
+the leaf, alongside which we paddled, we found it to be a jacana,
+remarkable for the great length of its toes, especially the hinder one,
+and their spine-like claws.  It was a wonderfully light bird also, and
+these peculiarities enable it to walk over the leaves of the
+water-plants and procure its food, which consists of worms.  The beak
+was orange colour, but the greater part of the body black, with the back
+and wing-coverts of a bright chestnut, with a few yellow touches here
+and there, and the legs of a greenish-ash colour.  We heard the shrill
+and noisy notes of its fellows in the trees near us.  "Ah, that is a
+_piosoca_!" said Duppo, "and that leaf is its oven;" and so it was in
+shape like the pans in which the natives roast their mandioca meal.
+
+Ellen had, in the meantime, been examining one of the beautiful flowers
+which the boatmen picked for her.  The outside of the leaves was of a
+delicate white, deepening in colour through every shade of rose to the
+deepest crimson, and then fading again to a creamy-yellowish tint at the
+heart.  Many of the leaves were five feet and upwards in diameter, and
+perfectly smooth on the upper surface, with an upright edge of an inch
+to two inches all the way round.  We managed, though not without
+difficulty, to pull up some stalks, and found them covered with long
+sharp spines.  The construction of the leaf was very curious, it being
+supported below by a number of ribs projecting from the stalk, and
+giving it greater buoyancy and strength.  One of the boatmen, plunging
+down, brought up a young leaf from the bottom.  It had the form of a
+deep cup or vase, and on examining it we discovered the embryo ribs, and
+could see how, as they grew, their ramifications stretched out in every
+direction, the leaf letting out one by one its little folds to fill the
+ever-widening spaces.  At last, when it reaches the surface of the
+water, its pan-like form rests horizontally above it without a wrinkle.
+This beautiful lily, then unknown to science, has since been called the
+Victoria Regia.
+
+Nothing could exceed the beauty of this calm lake, covered for a
+considerable distance with these magnificent flowers.  Among the lilies
+appeared a variety of other water-plants, some gracefully bending over
+like bamboos, others with large deep serrated leaves, while the
+different forest trees in varied forms rose round us, fringed by a broad
+band of feathery grass.  Several trees floated on the borders covered
+with water-fowl, among which were many ducks and ciganas, while amid the
+lofty branches of the living forest flew numerous macaws of a red,
+green, and yellow species, and one of the small flock of the still more
+beautiful blue macaw, appeared to add their lovely tints to the
+landscape.  Such was the scenery through which we passed during the
+greater part of the day.  Had we felt sure about the safety of our
+family, how much more should we have enjoyed it.  Our anxiety again
+increased.  We had good reason to be anxious about ourselves.  Our stock
+of provisions was almost exhausted; all our luxuries except coffee had
+come to an end, and of that we had very little, while we had only a
+small supply of farinha remaining.
+
+We encamped at the end of our day's voyage through that labyrinth of
+canals on the only spot we could find free from trees, the rising waters
+having covered nearly all the ground.  While looking for some poles for
+our hut, I saw on the branch of a tree overhanging the water, gazing
+down upon us, a hideous monster, fully five feet long, which at the
+first glance I took to be a species of alligator with which I was
+unacquainted.  Presently, as I gazed at it, it filled out a large bag
+under its throat, and opened its hideous mouth.  It was covered with
+scales, had a long tail, the point of which was hid among the branches,
+and enormous claws at the end of its legs.  I beat a quick retreat,
+calling to John to come to my assistance with his gun, for I fully
+believed that the creature would leap off and attack me.  The Indians,
+hearing my voice, came towards me, and cut down some long thin sipos, at
+the end of which they formed a running noose.  Thus prepared, they
+boldly advanced towards the creature, and one of them throwing up the
+noose, adroitly caught it round the neck.  The others, taking the end,
+gave it a sudden jerk, and down it came to the ground.  As soon as it
+regained its feet it boldly made at them, but they nimbly leaped out of
+its way; and as its movements were slow, there seemed but little risk of
+its catching them.
+
+"Why, that must be an iguana!" exclaimed John.
+
+While some kept hauling at the creature's neck, turning it when it tried
+to get away, others ran to the canoe and brought their spears, with
+which they ran it through the neck, and quickly killed it.  It was an
+iguana (_Iguana tuberculata_).  Though the head was very different from
+that of the alligator, being blunt, yet, from having a number of sharp
+teeth, it could evidently have given a severe bite.  Its head was
+somewhat large, and covered with large scales.  It had an enormous wide
+mouth, while under its chin was a sort of big dew-lap, which, as it had
+shown me, it could inflate when angry.  At the sides of the neck were a
+number of tubercles, while the tail was very long, thin, and tapering.
+It was of a dark olive-green, but the tail was marked with brown and
+green in alternate rings.  The creature was nearly six feet long.  The
+Indians seemed highly delighted with their prize, and as soon as our
+huts were built, commenced skinning and cutting it up.  Domingos assured
+us that it was very good to eat, and produced a fricassee for supper,
+which we could not help acknowledging was excellent.  A part also was
+roasted.
+
+Shortly afterwards I saw another iguana on the ground.  True darted at
+it, and I shouted to him to come back.  Fortunately for itself, my
+shouts startled the iguana, which took to the water, and swam away,
+sculling itself forward by meant of its long tail at a rapid rate.
+
+Arthur had manufactured a net for catching insects.  As soon as we were
+seated in front of our hut, enjoying the cool air after the sun had set,
+Ellen exclaimed, "Oh, see what beautiful fireworks!"  At a short
+distance from us there appeared suddenly to rise thousands of sparks of
+great brilliancy.  Arthur ran forward with his net, and quickly
+returned, placed the hoop on the ground, and lifted up the end, when so
+bright was the light which came from the interior that we could without
+difficulty read a page of the book on natural history we had been
+examining a short time before.  On taking out some of the insects he had
+caught to look at them more narrowly, Arthur placed one on its back,
+when it sprang up with a curious click and pitched again on its feet.
+On examining it we found that this was produced by the strong spine
+placed beneath the thorax, fitting into a small cavity on the upper part
+of the abdomen.  It brings this over its head, and striking the ground
+with great force, can thus regain its natural position.  The creature
+was about an inch and a half long, and of a brown colour.  The light
+proceeded from a smooth, yellow, semi-transparent spot on each side of
+the thorax.  We found that even with a single one passed over the page
+we could see the letters clearly.  Ellen ran and brought a vial, into
+which we put a dozen, when it literally gave forth the light of a bright
+lamp, sufficient to write by.  It is known in the country as the cocuja.
+It is the elater, or still more scientifically, the _Pyrophorus
+noctilucus_.  The forest behind the hut was literally filled at times
+with brilliant sparks of light, now vanishing, now bursting forth with
+greater brightness than at first.  The Brazilian ladies wear these
+beetles alive secured in their hair, and sometimes on their dresses,
+which thus glitter brightly as they move about in the dusk.
+
+The next morning at daylight Duppo was busily employed hunting about in
+the neighbourhood, and at length shouted to us to bring a basket.  We
+found he had just discovered the nest of an iguana, filled with eggs.
+He assured us that they were excellent.  On boiling some for breakfast,
+we agreed with him.  Like those of the turtle, they did not harden by
+boiling, but only became somewhat thicker, and were filled almost
+entirely with yellow, having very little albumen.  We all set to work to
+hunt for more, and were fortunate in finding another nest, the eggs
+being a welcome addition to our scanty supply of food.  The Indians
+meantime, while we were finishing breakfast, set off into the forest,
+and just as we were ready to start came back with another iguana.
+
+We were constantly employed in trying to teach Duppo English.  Arthur
+was explaining to him the animals of our country, and was mentioning the
+cow, and describing its milk.  He seemed much interested, and then gave
+us to understand that they also had cows in their land, which, instead
+of walking about on four legs, grew in the ground, and were of great
+size.  After this he was constantly looking out along the banks, and at
+length he shouted out to the men, "Massaranduba!" and they at once
+paddled in for the bank.  One of them accompanied us with an axe.  As we
+passed along we found on the ground a number of woody vessels, which had
+evidently contained seeds.  Duppo picked up one of them, and found
+another piece close by which fitted on to it, and then told us that they
+were called monkeys' drinking-cups; the Portuguese call them _cuyas de
+macaco_.  These shells had contained nuts.  When falling off the tree--
+the sapucaya--the tops split off, and the nuts are scattered on the
+ground.  Duppo made us understand that these cups would serve well to
+collect the milk from the cow he promised to show us.
+
+I may observe that the trees which bear the monkey drinking-cups are
+closely allied to the Brazil-nut tree, the fruit of which we had often
+seen sold in England under that name.  Its seeds are also enclosed in
+large woody vessels, but they, having no lid, fall entire to the ground,
+and are thus easily collected by the natives.
+
+Supplied with these vessels, we went on a few yards further, when we
+stopped under an enormous tree, one of the giants of the forest.  Its
+trunk was covered with deeply scored reddish and rugged bark.  Duppo
+patted it, saying, "This my cow."  Another tree of the same species, but
+much smaller, grew near.  He ran to it, and saying, "Small cow give
+better milk," began to attack it with his axe.  After making a few
+strokes, out flowed a perfectly white liquid, which John, kneeling down,
+caught in the monkey-cup.  As soon as it was filled I handed him
+another, the milk continuing to flow in great abundance, so that we soon
+had four cups filled full of the tempting liquid.  On tasting it we
+found it sweet, and of a not unpleasant flavour, and wonderfully like
+milk.
+
+We returned to the boat with our prize.  Domingos had meantime been
+boiling some coffee; as we had now no sugar, the fresh milk proved a
+most valuable acquisition.  The Indians, however, recommended us not to
+take much of it.  We kept it, intending to use it again in the evening,
+but on taking off the lid of one of the monkey-cups, we found that our
+milk had thickened into a stiff and excessively tenacious glue.  "My cow
+good?" asked Duppo, as he saw us tasting the liquid.  When we showed him
+the gluey substance in the evening, he inquired sagaciously whether the
+milk of our cow would keep so long, and we confessed that, in that
+climate, it would be very likely to turn sour.  After this, on several
+occasions we obtained fresh milk from the cow-tree for our breakfasts
+and suppers.
+
+We encamped at night on a bank, and found two sorts of tiger-beetles,
+with very large heads, running about on the sand.  It was extraordinary
+how rapidly they moved.  Arthur and I tried to catch them, but each time
+they baffled us.  One was very similar in hue to the sand over which it
+runs, the other was of a brilliant copper colour.  Arthur, who was very
+acute in his remarks, observed that the white species ran far more
+swiftly than the copper-coloured one.  As they only appear in the gloom
+or night, the white is far more easily seen than the darker one; and
+this has by the Creator greater means afforded it of escaping from its
+enemies.  The dark-coloured one, however, he discovered, is not left
+without means of defence; for when at last Duppo caught one for him, he
+found that on touching it it emitted a strong, peculiar, and offensive
+putrid odour, which is not the case with the whiter one.
+
+"How delightful it is!" he exclaimed, "to examine the habits of God's
+creatures, and see how admirably adapted they are to the life they are
+destined to lead."
+
+I must not, however, attempt to describe the numberless insects and
+creatures of all sorts we met with on our voyage.  Duppo brought us a
+large wood-cricket, called the _Tanana_, the wonderfully loud and not
+unmusical notes of which we had often heard.  These sounds, we found,
+were produced by the overlapping edges of the wing-cases, which they rub
+together.  In each wing-case the inner edge, near the lower part, has a
+horny expansion.  On one wing this horny expansion is furnished with a
+sharp raised margin; on the other, the strong nervure which traverses it
+on the other side is crossed by a number of short, sharp furrows, like
+those of a file.  When, therefore, the insect rapidly moves its wings,
+the file of one expansion scrapes sharply across the horny margin of the
+other, thus producing the curious sounds.  The wing-cases, which are of
+a parchment-like nature, and the hollow drum-formed space which they
+enclose, assists to give resonance to the tones.  The music they make is
+employed undoubtedly to serenade their mates, for the same object which
+induces the feathered tribe to utter their varied notes in the forest.
+
+We had once more entered the main stream, which, after the confined
+navigation of the last few days, appeared to our eyes almost like the
+wide ocean.  We landed rather earlier than usual, as a favourable spot
+appeared, and we could not tell how far off another might be found.  We
+had formed huts as usual, our camp-fire was lighted, and Domingos and
+Maria were engaged in cooking our evening meal, making the most of the
+scanty fare we had remaining.  A point was near from which we believed
+we could get an uninterrupted view for a great distance down the river.
+As we found we could make our way to it without much difficulty, we
+begged Ellen and Oria to accompany us.
+
+On reaching the point we sat down on a bank.  A small object appeared in
+the distance on the water.  Arthur was the first to espy it.  I thought
+it was but a log of wood.  We pointed it out to Oria.  She at once
+declared that it was a canoe.  It was certainly approaching, and at
+length we made out a small canoe gliding over the smooth water; and as
+it came near we saw a white man in the stern steering, and ten natives
+urging her on with rapid strokes.  "What if those people should be able
+to give us news of our father!" exclaimed Ellen.  "Do call them, lest
+they should pass by."  John hailed the canoe.  Presently we saw the
+white man stand up and look towards us.  Instantly the head of the canoe
+was turned in our direction.  We hastened down to the point where they
+would land, and the white man stepped on shore.  He gazed first at one,
+then at the other, with an inquiring glance.
+
+"Can you tell me, my friend," asked John, "if an English family are
+stopping anywhere on the banks down the river?"
+
+"Indeed I can, senor," answered the white man; "for I have been sent up
+by the master to look out for some part of his family who ought long
+since to have arrived.  He has already sent two messengers to inquire
+for them; and his heart, and those of the senora and senorita, are
+well-nigh worn out with anxiety on their account.  At last I begged that
+he would let me go; and I promised not to return without gaining tidings
+of them."
+
+"Why, then you must be Antonio, and we are those you are looking for!"
+said John.
+
+"Heaven be praised!" exclaimed Antonio, our father's old servant, who,
+rushing forward, seized John in his arms, and gave him a warm embrace.
+He then turned to me, and gave me the same affectionate yet respectful
+greeting.  "And this is the senorita!" he exclaimed, turning to Ellen.
+"Oh, it does my old heart good to see you.  How little did I think that
+before the sun set I should behold those I so longed to find.  And
+Domingos and Maria; surely they have come with you!"
+
+"Oh yes," said John; "they are at the camp.  Send your montaria round
+the point, and come with us.  We shall soon be there."
+
+As may be supposed, we had numberless questions to ask about our father
+and family; how far off they were from us, and all that had happened.
+
+"Oh, senor, I should like to have a dozen tongues in my head to reply to
+you," answered Antonio.  "They are well and safe now, though the times
+are perilous.  And, Heaven be praised, they have passed numberless
+dangers unharmed.  It has taken me two weary weeks to come thus far, but
+I hope that we may descend the river to them in far less time.  How
+could I have expected to meet with you when others, we had cause to
+fear, had failed.  First, a Brazilian trader, who was proceeding up in
+his montaria, undertook the task, promising without fail to find you,
+and speedily to send down notice; but after waiting and waiting some
+weary weeks, no news came, and my master, your father, was resolved to
+go himself, though unwilling to leave the senoras without his
+protection, when, just then, two young Englishmen arrived from Para, and
+made themselves known to your father as friends of yours; and hearing
+that you were missing, agreed to go up in search of you."
+
+"Why, those must be our two school-fellows, Houlston and Tony Nyass!"  I
+exclaimed.
+
+From the description which Antonio had given of them, we had no doubt
+that this was the case.  But what had become of them?  A few minutes
+before I had thought all our anxieties were over, but now they were
+again aroused on account of our friends.  What if they had fallen into
+the hands of the Majeronas, or been exposed to some of the storms we had
+so narrowly escaped!  "You forget how easily they may have passed us,"
+observed Arthur.  "We might have been not a quarter of a mile apart, and
+yet have passed without seeing or hearing each other."
+
+Dear Ellen was so agitated with the thoughts of meeting those we loved
+so soon, that she could scarcely speak.  She overheard, however, the
+remarks between Arthur and myself.  "And why do you doubt that all will
+come right in the end?" she exclaimed.  "Think of the many dangers we
+have gone through, and how we have been preserved from them all.  Let us
+hope the same for our friends."
+
+Domingos was standing over the fire with his frying-pan when we came
+round the point with Antonio.  At that moment he happened to look up,
+when, forgetting what he was about, he let the frying-pan and its
+contents fall into the middle of the fire, thereby spoiling a delicious
+fricassee of iguana, and sprang forward to welcome his fellow-servant,
+and to make inquiries for their master.  The two rushed into each
+other's arms, and the tears fell from the black man's eyes when he heard
+that our father was well.
+
+We spent the evening at our encampment, hearing from Antonio all that
+had occurred: how our father had received information of the intended
+attack of the Majeronas, and had embarked just in time to escape them.
+He would have waited for us higher up the river had he not been
+compelled, for the sake of obtaining assistance for our mother, to
+proceed downwards.  They had all been hospitably received at the farm of
+a Brazilian family, where she having recovered, he determined to wait
+for our arrival.  The first messengers he had despatched not having been
+heard of, on the arrival of Houlston and Tony Nyass, they had insisted
+on proceeding upward.  As they also had not returned, Antonio, with the
+party we had met, had been sent to search for us.
+
+It was the happiest evening we had spent since the commencement of our
+journey.  Anxiety about our friends did not damp our spirits, as we
+hoped that they would hear of us at some of the places at which we had
+called; and that we should soon all meet, and continue our adventures in
+company.  "Fancy Tony and I, and old Houlston, after all, sailing
+together on the Amazon, just as we used to talk about at school!"  I
+acclaimed.  "It will be jolly, will it not, Arthur?"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER NINETEEN.
+
+A HAPPY MEETING.
+
+A week had passed away.  The two canoes keeping in company, we no longer
+felt the solitude which had oppressed us as we navigated that vast
+stream, or the intricate labyrinth of channels, often far away from the
+main shore.  Several times we had inquired of Antonio whether we were
+approaching the farm of Senhor Pimento, where our family were living.
+"Paciencia; logo, logo," was his answer--"Patience; soon, soon we shall
+be there."  We turned off from the main stream, and ascended an igarape
+thickly shrouded by palms and other trees, completely shutting out the
+sky above us.  At the end of the vista the bright sunlight shone on an
+open space, where appeared a small lake, on the opposite side of which
+we could distinguish several buildings raised on piles--a large one in
+the centre with a deep verandah, the palm-thatched roof of which
+extended beyond the walls; the whole surrounded by plantations of
+mandioca, cacao, peach-palms, and other trees.
+
+"Is that where we are going?" asked Ellen eagerly of Antonio.  "We shall
+see--we shall see, senorita!" he answered.  Rounding a point, we
+observed a hut beneath a grove of inaja palms; their leaves springing
+almost from the ground, and spreading slightly out from the slender
+stem, so as to form an open vase of the most graceful shape.  Few
+objects of the vegetable kingdom are more beautiful.  "Oh, what lovely
+trees!" exclaimed Ellen.  "And see! there is some one coming out from
+among them."
+
+As she spoke, a person emerged from the wood, engaged apparently in
+reading.  As his back was towards us, he did not observe the approach of
+the canoes.  "Oh, it is papa!" exclaimed Ellen; "I am sure of it."  And
+in another instant we were on shore, and Ellen flying over the ground.
+
+It was indeed a happiness to see her in our father's arms.  "And my boys
+too, safe after all your dangers!" he exclaimed, as he embraced us.
+"And your young friend too!"
+
+Maria and Domingos came running up to kiss his hand, pleasure beaming in
+their dark countenances.  We hurried forward to the house, and in a few
+minutes had the happiness of seeing our mother and Fanny.  Even Aunt
+Martha, I thought, looked far more kindly than she used to do, and was
+as gentle and affectionate to Ellen as she could be.  It was indeed a
+happy meeting.
+
+We, of course, had to recount all our adventures; and thus most of the
+talking was on our side, as Antonio had already told us all that had
+happened to them.  Our Brazilian friend, Senhor Pimento, was a fine
+burly old gentleman, habited in light nankeen jacket and trousers, with
+a broad-brimmed hat.  He was of a somewhat dark hue, and his wife, who
+was a slight, active old lady, was considerably darker.  Their family
+consisted of a son, who was away hunting at the time, and two daughters.
+I cannot call them fair, but they were attractive, lively girls, who
+had lived in that remote district all their lives, and knew nothing of
+the world beyond, believing Para, next to Rio, to be its largest city.
+Fanny and her Portuguese friends were much pleased with Oria and Duppo,
+and delighted when they found that they could speak a little English, a
+language the two latter were trying to learn.  The house was of
+considerable size, built of palm-trees, thatched with palm-leaves; and
+even the doors and windows were composed of palm-leaves, not opening on
+hinges, but being hooked up or taken down like mats.  There were open
+galleries round on either side, and several of the rooms were open also;
+and in these the hammocks of the men of the party were hung up.  The
+floors were also of split palm-trees, and were raised about ten feet
+above the ground, so as to be at a sufficient elevation during the
+higher floods which occasionally inundate the larger portion of that
+region.  None of the inmates of the house were idle.  Senhor Pimento was
+constantly out, superintending his labourers; while Donna Josefa, his
+wife, was engaged in household matters.  The young ladies, it must be
+owned, were the least industrious of the family.
+
+Arthur had said nothing of the packet he had received from the recluse,
+yet I was sure that he would not lose a moment in opening it after the
+time had arrived when he had permission to do so.  Ellen came running to
+me the following morning, I having gone out before breakfast to look
+round the farm.  I saw by her beaming countenance that she was full of
+some matter of importance.
+
+"It is as I told you, Harry!" she exclaimed.  "The recluse is Arthur's
+father--I knew it--I was sure of it.  Arthur read to me last night some
+of the letter he gave him.  Poor fellow, he is in a great state of
+agitation, and blames himself for having come away and left him.  The
+recluse--that is to say, Mr Mallet--speaks somewhat vaguely of a
+fearful event which compelled him to leave England; and he says that,
+though yearning to have his son by his side, he will not take him out of
+the path which Providence has placed him in, and from the protection of
+kind friends--that he himself, long an outcast from his fellow-men,
+cannot help him, and that by starting alone in life he will have a far
+better prospect of success than should it be known whose son he is.
+These remarks, though Arthur is thankful to have found his father, have
+made him very unhappy.  He will talk to you by-and-by, when he has
+thought the matter over; and do you know, the recluse--I mean, Mr
+Mallet--says that papa is an old friend of his, and that Arthur may tell
+him so, as he is sure that though papa may not desire to meet him, he
+will not in consequence withdraw his protection from his son."
+
+"That I am sure papa will not," I exclaimed.  "Poor Arthur!  I do not
+know whether to be sorry or glad at what you have told me.  Had he
+spoken to me I might have been better able to advise him."
+
+Ellen looked into my face.  Perhaps she thought that I felt a little
+jealous that Arthur had not first consulted me.  We agreed not to say
+anything about the matter, but to let Arthur speak to our father
+himself, being assured that he would do what was kind and generous, and
+act as he judged for the best.
+
+Arthur during the day was, I observed, more silent than usual.  He was
+waiting, I suspected, to become more acquainted with our father before
+venturing to speak to him.  I was not present when he did so.
+
+The day after our arrival Duppo came to me with a countenance of alarm.
+"We get among witches!" he exclaimed, looking round cautiously.  I asked
+him what he could mean; and he then told me that he had seen the two
+young ladies in a wood close to the house, amusing themselves by playing
+with venomous snakes, which he was sure they could not do if they were
+like other human beings.  "Come, you see them," he said, wishing to
+prove his assertion correct; and he led me round the house, through the
+grove of palms, where, sure enough, seated on a bench, from whence there
+was a lovely view of the lake, were the two daughters of our host.  I
+confess I was almost startled on seeing them with a number of brilliant
+looking snakes.  One was round each of their necks, while others they
+had twisted like bracelets, encircling their arms; and one of the girls
+was holding another in her hand, allowing its forked tongue to dart out
+towards her face.  They were of a bright grass-green colour, with
+remarkably thin bodies; and it was curious to see the graceful way in
+which the lithe, active creatures crawled about, or lay coiled up
+perfectly at home in their laps.  Unwilling to be an eavesdropper, I was
+retiring, when I met Fanny and Ellen, and told them what I had seen, and
+Duppo's suspicions.  Fanny laughed, saying they were perfectly harmless,
+and had been tamed by their friends, and returned with me to where the
+girls were seated.  Duppo, however, beat a retreat, evidently unwilling
+to be in such a dangerous neighbourhood.  They were highly amused at
+hearing of Duppo's alarm, and showed me that the snakes were perfectly
+harmless.  I took one in my hand, when the creature coiled itself round
+my arm, and I could admire at leisure its colour, and the beautiful
+topaz yellow of its eyes.  The snakes were between two and three feet
+long.  They were so thoroughly tamed, that though placed on the ground
+they did not attempt to escape, but came back immediately they were
+called by their young mistresses.  So slender were their bodies, that
+when coiled completely up I could place one on the palm of my hand.
+
+Though I told Duppo afterwards that I had actually handled the snakes,
+he was not convinced of their harmless character, and insisted that it
+was another proof that they had been charmed by the white witches, which
+he still evidently considered our Brazilian friends.  Oria, however, was
+far braver; for when she saw Fanny and Ellen play with the creatures,
+she without hesitation took one of them up, and allowed it to coil
+itself round her neck, where it made a pretty ornament on her dark skin.
+
+Pedro, the son of our host, returned the next day with a boat-load of
+turtle and fish which he had caught; as well as a number of birds, some
+of them of exquisite plumage.  John, Arthur, and I begged to accompany
+him the next time he set out on a similar expedition; and we found that
+he proposed starting again the following day.  Meantime Senhora Josefa,
+with the assistance of her slaves, was employed in salting and drying
+the fish and fowl she had just received.
+
+We started in the morning with two canoes, equipped with nets, spears,
+and lines, bows and arrows, and blow-pipes as well as guns.
+
+The lower portion of the banks of the Amazon were at this time covered
+with water on either side, varying in height from one to ten feet, and
+in some places reaching twenty.  This district, known as the Gapo,
+extends from the Napo upwards of seventeen hundred miles, to the very
+borders of Peru.  It thus becomes a region of countless islands,
+separated by expanses of water--but not open water, as forest trees
+appear growing out of it in all directions; while in other parts there
+are numbers of lakes of all sizes--some many miles in extent, others
+mere pools, dry in summer, but all abounding in fish of various sorts,
+in turtles and alligators.  We could often, in consequence of the
+flooded state of the country, make short cuts in our canoe directly
+through the forest, in some places with a depth of five to ten feet
+below our keels.
+
+As we were paddling on through a scene such as I have described, we
+passed near a raft secured to the trunks of four trees, on which was an
+Indian family, with a small fire burning on it.  The mother was cooking
+fish, while the father lay in his hammock suspended between the trees.
+A small, crazy looking canoe was moored to it.  The family appeared
+perfectly contented and unconcerned, and accustomed to the curious mode
+of life.  Pedro told us they were Muras Indians.  During the dry season
+they live on the sand-banks, employed in catching turtle in the large
+river; and when the rainy season sets in they retire to these solitudes,
+whence they sally forth in their canoes to catch manatees and turtle,
+and fish of many sorts.  We were proceeding away from the main stream by
+a broad water-path, with numberless narrower paths leading off in all
+directions.  During the first part of our voyage we could see for a
+considerable distance through the irregular colonnade of trees; but as
+we progressed the path became narrower, and the trees grew closer
+together, their boughs frequently stretching forth over our heads.  From
+many of them beautiful bright yellow flowers hung down, the stems
+several feet in length, while ferns and numerous air-plants thickly
+covered the trunks of the palms or drooped over from their summits.  Now
+and then we passed through a thicket of bamboos, their slender foliage
+and gracefully-curving stems having arranged themselves in the most
+elegant feathery bowers.  Crossing through the forest, we passed a grove
+of small palms, their summits being but a few feet above us.  They bore
+bunches of fruit, which our Indians cut off with their knives.  We found
+it of an agreeable flavour.  The birds feeding overhead now and then
+sent down showers of fruit, which splashed into the water round us.
+Frequently we heard a rustling in the leaves, and caught sight in many
+places of troops of monkeys peeping down from among the dense foliage.
+Then off they would go, leaping from bough to bough through the forest.
+Here a flock of paroquets appeared in sight for a few moments.  Now one
+of the light-blue chatterers, then a lovely trogon, would seize a fruit
+as it darted by; or the delicate white wing and claret-coloured plumage
+of a lovely pompadour would glance from the foliage; or a huge-billed
+toucan would pitch down on a bough above us, and shake off a fruit into
+the water.  Gay flowers, too, were not wanting, of the orchid tribe:
+some with white and spotted and purple blossoms; the most magnificent of
+a brilliant purple colour, called by the natives Saint Ann's flower,
+four inches across.  We plucked some, which emitted a most delightful
+odour.  At last we came out once more into the bright sunshine, at a
+small lake, the surface of which was adorned in many parts with
+numberless beautiful water-plants--graceful lilies, yellow
+bladder-worts, and numbers of a bright blue flower, which contrasted
+with the green leaves.  The whole track, indeed, consisted, we found, of
+igarapes, lakes, and gapo; here and there patches of high and dry land
+so mingled together that we could not have told whether we were on the
+main shore or on an island.
+
+At length we reached another lake with higher banks, where Pedro told us
+we would encamp and commence fishing.  The little lake extended over an
+area of about ten acres, and was surrounded by the forest.  The borders
+were somewhat swampy, and covered with a fine grass.  On these borders
+the hunters erected little stages, consisting of long poles, with
+cross-pieces secured by lianas.  The pool abounded with turtle.  Our
+hunters mounted the stages, armed with bow and arrow.  The arrow was so
+formed that the head when it struck the animal remained in its body,
+while the shaft floated to the surface, though remaining attached to it
+by a long line.  We remained in a larger canoe to watch proceedings,
+while Pedro and two Indians entered a smaller one.  The Indians did not
+even wait for the turtles to come to the surface; but the moment they
+saw a ripple in the water, the man nearest shot his arrow with unerring
+aim, and it never failed to pierce the shell.  As soon as one was shot,
+Pedro paddled towards it, and, taking the shaft and line in his hand,
+humoured the creature as a fisherman does a salmon, till, exhausted, it
+rose to the surface, when it was further secured by another arrow shot
+at it, and then with the two lines easily hauled into the canoe.  John
+and I tried our skill; but our arrows missed their aim, and I very
+nearly shot our friend Pedro instead of the turtle.
+
+Another small canoe had been sent for, which now arrived.  So rapidly
+were the turtle shot that both canoes were actively engaged in picking
+them up.  Fully forty were thus killed in a short time.  The net was
+then spread at one end of the pool, while the rest of the party began
+beating the water from the opposite side with long poles, some along the
+edges and others in the canoes.  We could see the backs of the turtles
+as they swam forward.  When they got close to the net the two ends were
+rapidly drawn together, surrounding a large number of them; and then all
+hands uniting at the ropes, quickly dragged it towards the shore.  As
+they appeared above the water, the men seized them, and threw them into
+the canoes, which came up to the spot.  Many, however, managed to
+scramble out again before they were turned on their backs.  Arthur and I
+rushed in with the rest to assist in their capture, when suddenly I felt
+an extraordinary sensation in my foot.
+
+"Oh, I have been bitten by a water-snake!"  I exclaimed, leaping up.
+
+"And so have I!" cried Arthur.  And we rushed on shore, both of us
+looking anxiously down at our legs.  No wounds, however, were to be
+seen.
+
+When the net was finally drawn on shore, after a vast number of small
+turtle had been taken out of it, several curious fish were seen, and
+among them five or six eel-looking creatures, with large heads.  The
+Indians cried out something; but not understanding them, I took up one
+of the creatures to examine it, when instantly I felt the sensation I
+had experienced in the water, and now discovered that they were electric
+eels.  To prove it yet further, I took out my knife, and Pedro, Arthur,
+and I, with several Indians, joined hands, when instantly the rest,
+greatly to their astonishment, felt the shock as if they had touched the
+fish itself.  We persuaded the other Indians to try the experiment; and
+they were greatly amused and astonished at finding the electric spark
+pass through their systems.
+
+Altogether we caught upwards of a hundred turtle.  We then moved on to
+another lake with a sandy shore, where the net was again drawn for the
+sake of obtaining fish.  I had never seen so many and various fish taken
+together.  It would be impossible to describe them.  Among them was a
+beautiful oval-shaped fish, which the natives call _acara_.  There are
+numerous species, we heard: some of them deposit their eggs in the sand,
+and hover over them until the young are hatched; but there are others
+which take still greater care of them, and have a cavity near the gills,
+in which the male takes up the eggs and carries them there, not only
+till they are hatched, but actually keeps the young fry in safety within
+them.  When able to swim they go out and take exercise; but on the
+approach of danger they rush back into their parents' mouths for
+protection.  This cavity is in the upper part of the bronchial arches.
+I should scarcely have believed the fact from the report of the natives,
+had I not actually seen both the eggs and the young fry in their
+parents' head.  There are several species of fish in the waters of the
+Amazon which are thus wonderfully supplied with the means of protecting
+their young.
+
+"You shall now see another way we have of taking fish," said our friend
+Pedro.
+
+We paddled off to a still part of the lake.  He then poured out of a
+calabash some coloured liquid.
+
+"And now let us land," he said, "and while we take our dinner, watch the
+result."
+
+The liquid, he told us, was produced from a poisonous liana called
+_tambo_.  This is cut up into lengths, washed, and soaked in water,
+which becomes thus impregnated with the juice.
+
+Before dinner was over, as we looked out on the pool we saw the surface
+covered with fish floating on their sides, with their gills wide open.
+The canoe then pushed off, and collected them in great numbers.  The
+poison appeared to have suffocated the fish, although only a small
+quantity had been poured into the water.
+
+We were as successful in shooting birds, monkeys, and other game, as we
+were in fishing.  One of the Indians used his bow in a curious way,
+which we had not before seen employed.  Throwing himself on his back, he
+placed his feet lifted up above his body against the bow, and drew the
+string to his head with both his hands.  It was surprising what a
+correct aim he could thus take.  He quickly brought down several birds
+on the wing at a great height.  He showed us also that he could shoot up
+in the air, and make the arrow fall wherever he pleased.  Several times
+it descended within a few inches of his own head or feet, where it stuck
+quivering in the ground.  We dreaded that it might stick into him; but
+he laughed at our fears, assuring us that there was not the slightest
+danger, as he had practised the art from his boyhood, and could perform
+still more difficult feats.  Darkness coming on prevented him from
+exhibiting them.  We spent the night on the driest spot we could find on
+the banks of the lake.  Blazing fires were lighted to keep jaguars,
+pumas, and boas at a distance.
+
+Next morning, loaded with the spoils of the chase, we commenced our
+voyage homewards.  We were passing a dry, thickly-wooded island, when we
+caught sight of a number of people among the trees, while fires were
+burning in the centre of several open spots.  We asked Pedro what they
+were about.
+
+"They are my father's labourers," he said.  "You shall come on shore,
+and we will see how they are employed."
+
+We found a number of Indians and a few blacks busily engaged in various
+ways; some in making gashes in the stems of trees, under each of which
+they placed a little clay cup or a shell, into which trickled the sap
+issuing from the wound.  This sap we found was of the consistency of
+cream.  And now we saw for the first time the india-rubber with which we
+had only before been acquainted when using it to rub out our pencil
+strokes when drawing at school.  The trees which were thus treated had a
+bark and foliage not unlike that of the European ash; but the trunks
+were of great size, and shot up to an immense height before throwing off
+their branches.  People with large bowls were going about from tree to
+tree, and emptying the contents of the little cups into them.  From
+thence they were carried to their camp.  Here we found large bowls full
+of the cream-like sap.  The labourers were provided with a number of
+clay moulds of various shapes, though most of them were in the form of
+round bottles.  These moulds were dipped into the liquid, and then hung
+up to dry.  As soon as one layer was dry the mould was again dipped in,
+and thus coat after coat was put on.  Pedro told us it took several days
+before the coating was considered sufficiently thick.  It was then hard
+and white.  This operation being finished, it was passed several times
+through a thick, black smoke which issued from fires.  We found that
+this smoke was produced by burning the nuts of the inaja and other
+palm-trees, by which means the dark colour and softness are obtained.
+The process is now complete; and the moulds being broken, the clay is
+emptied out, and the rubber is fit for sale.
+
+The Brazilian india-rubber tree--the _Siphonia elastico_
+(_caoutchouc_)--differs from the _ficus_ which furnishes the
+india-rubber of Africa and the East Indies.  It bears a small flower and
+circular fruit, with strongly-marked divisions in the rind.
+
+Having left some of our game for provisioning the camp of the
+india-rubber collectors, we made the best of our way homewards.  Evening
+was coming on.  We were still at some distance from home.  The sky had
+become overcast, and rain had begun to fall.  It seemed impossible that
+we should find our way through the forest in the darkness.  We entered
+at length a channel, the land on one side of which was elevated some
+feet above the water.  As we were paddling along it, Pedro proposed that
+we should land and camp.  Just then we caught sight of a fire burning in
+a shed at some distance from the bank.
+
+"We may there find shelter," said Pedro, "without having the trouble of
+building huts, which, after all, would not keep out the rain."
+
+We three accompanied him towards the fire.  We found two Indians
+standing near it, both busily employed in concocting some mixture in a
+large pot simmering over the flames.  They were evidently, by the manner
+in which they received us, displeased at our coming.  Pedro, however,
+told them that we proposed spending the night at their hut; and sent to
+the canoe for some game, which put them in better humour.  He inquired
+what they were about.
+
+"I see what it is.  They are making the wourali poison for tipping the
+arrows for their bows and blow-pipes.  See! we will make them show us
+the process."
+
+After a little talk with the Indians, they consented to do as he wished.
+First they showed us some long sticks of a thin vine--the wourali
+itself.  This, with the root of a plant of a very bitter nature, they
+scraped together into thin shavings.  They were then placed in a sieve,
+and water poured over them into an earthen pot, the liquid coming
+through having the appearance of coffee.  Into this the juice of some
+bulbous plants of a glutinous nature was squeezed, apparently to serve
+the purpose of glue.  While the pot was simmering, other ingredients
+were added.  Among them were some black, venomous ants, and also a
+little red ant, which stings severely.  They seemed to set great value
+also on the fangs of two snakes, which, when pounded, were added with
+much ceremony.  One, Pedro told us, was the venomous _labarri_; and
+another, the largest among the venomous reptiles in America, known as
+the _curucu_, or bushmaster (_Lachesis mutus_).  The Indians, however,
+call it the _couana couchi_.  It is of the most beautiful colour.  Its
+body is brightly tinted with all the prismatic colours; and sometimes it
+is to be seen coiled round the branches of a tree, ready to strike its
+prey.  It is allied, I should say, to the fearful _fer de lance_, which
+strikes its prey with so rapid and straight a stroke that it is
+impossible to escape it.  A quantity of the strongest Indian red pepper
+was lastly added; and as the ingredients boiled, more of the juice of
+the wourali was poured in as was required.  The scum having been taken
+off, the compound remained on the fire till it assumed the appearance of
+a thick syrup of a deep brown colour.  Whether all these ingredients are
+necessary, I cannot say.  Others also, I believe, are occasionally used.
+
+I should have observed that we, as well as the other Indians, were
+desired to keep at a respectful distance during the operation, as it is
+considered that even the vapour ascending from the pot is injurious to
+health.  Having been pronounced perfectly made, the syrup was poured
+into a number of little pots, and carefully covered over with skin and
+leaves.  We observed that the two Indians who manufactured it washed
+their hands and faces frequently.  Pedro purchased several pots which
+had thus been manufactured, as the poison is an article of commerce
+throughout the country.
+
+The Indians' hut was at some distance from the shed.  After supper we
+hung up our hammocks, and after turning into them, went to sleep.
+Little did we think of the fearful danger we ran that night.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY.
+
+ANOTHER FLIGHT.
+
+Early the next day we arrived at Senhor Pimento's farm.  The turtles
+were turned into a large tank near the house, staked round so as to
+prevent the creatures from getting out.  Here they would live for many
+months.  Most of the Brazilian, as well as many of the natives' houses,
+have similar reservoirs attached to them, in which turtle are kept
+alive, to be taken out as required for use.
+
+We found our two sisters seated by the bank of the lake, and little Oria
+with them.  They seemed somewhat agitated.  Oria had been out the
+previous day, they told me, in the forest to gather fruit, and had
+unwisely wandered on, without waiting for Duppo, who was to follow her.
+Unaccustomed to that part of the country, she had lost her way.  As
+evening approached, she found an Indian hut, when, the rain coming down,
+she crept into it for shelter.  No one was there.  She had thrown a mat
+over her, and had dropped off to sleep, when she was awakened by hearing
+several persons talking.  Although their dialect was very different from
+her own, she could understand them.  As she listened she became more and
+more interested.  They were speaking of a plot to surprise the whites,
+and put them to death, so that not a Portuguese should remain in the
+country.  This plan, Oria understood, was very soon to be carried into
+execution.  Fanny and Ellen cross-questioned Oria, and seemed satisfied
+that they clearly understood her.  They then begged me to go and call
+our father, that we might have his opinion before alarming our host and
+hostess.  I fortunately found him near the spot.  He came to the
+conclusion that Oria's opinion was to be relied on, and at once
+determined to warn Senhor Pimento.
+
+Soon afterwards I met Duppo.  He drew me aside, with a mysterious look.
+He, too, evidently had something which he wished to communicate.  He in
+vain, however, tried to find words to explain himself.  Just then we
+caught sight of the daughters of our host in the distance.  He shook his
+head at them, and then made signs that no good could come from living
+with a family who could play with poisonous snakes with impunity; and
+then pointed to the canoe, and urged us to go away from so dangerous a
+neighbourhood.  I felt sure, however, that he had some other reason,
+which he was afraid to communicate.  I told him so, and I asked him if
+he did not believe that the natives in the neighbourhood were about to
+attack the plantation.  He looked surprised, evidently not being aware
+that Oria had already warned my sisters.  At last he confessed that such
+was the case, and implored me earnestly to induce my family to fly.  On
+this I went in search of John, who had talked of going out to shoot.  I
+persuaded him, though not without difficulty, to remain at home, and
+come and consult with our father.  He had, in the meantime, found Senhor
+Pimento.
+
+"I am afraid that I shall be unable to persuade our Portuguese friend to
+take precautions against an attack of the natives.  He declares that
+they have always been on good terms with him, and he sees no reason to
+be alarmed," he observed.
+
+"What, then, do you mean to do, father?"  I asked.
+
+"To take the wisest course," he answered.  "I have directed Domingos and
+Antonio to get the montarias ready, and to ascertain the feeling of the
+Tucuna Indians who came with you.  They are, however, anxious to return
+homewards; and I have promised them one of the canoes, and additional
+payment, if they will accompany us in our flight to a place of safety.
+There is an uninhabited island some way down the river, where, I hope,
+we may remain concealed, should what we apprehend take place.  As delay
+may be dangerous, I have told Senhor Pimento that I purpose starting
+this evening; and I have urged him to have his own montarias ready, and
+manned by negroes in whom he can place confidence.  I shall be very glad
+if I can, at all events, induce him to take this precaution, so that,
+should he see any likelihood of his being attacked, he may, at all
+events, get on board, and save the lives of his family and himself.  We
+will, as soon as the canoes are ready, carry our own property down to
+them.  But we must take care that we are not observed by the natives,
+who might attempt to stop us, or watch the direction we take.  Your
+mother and sisters are engaged in packing up, and I hope that soon all
+will be ready."
+
+Though Senhor Pimento appeared to be incredulous as to the sinister
+intentions of the natives, I thought that possibly Pedro might be
+induced to believe them.  I therefore went in search of him.  I told him
+what we had heard.
+
+"It may be," he answered.  "I have had many black looks of late from
+those who used at one time to be ready to kiss my feet.  I am,
+therefore, inclined to agree with you that some mischief is intended.  I
+will try and persuade my father to act prudently; but he has been so
+long accustomed to look down upon the natives, it will be difficult to
+persuade him that they will dare to injure a white skin.  I think your
+father is very right to escape from hence, though we shall be sorry to
+part from you."
+
+I thanked Pedro for his kind feelings, and urged him to try and induce
+his father to act with caution.  As all the natives on the estate were
+absent gathering caoutchouc, our operations were conducted with less
+difficulty than would otherwise have been the case.  Our own Indians had
+fortunately remained behind.  It was settled that two should go in our
+canoe.  John should act as captain of our father's, and Domingos of
+ours.  Our goods were quickly conveyed on board.  We found that Senhor
+Pimento had sent a supply of farinha, as well as several turtles and
+other provisions, on board each of them, as a mark, he said, of his
+good-will.
+
+We bade him and Senhora Josefa and their two daughters farewell.  Pedro
+accompanied us down to the canoe.
+
+"Do not fear," he said, "about us.  I suspect we shall soon be following
+you.  But should nothing happen to us, forget not those who held you in
+affectionate esteem."
+
+I am, of course, only translating his words.
+
+The canoes shoved off, and working our paddles, we glided across the
+lake.  It was nearly dark before we reached the entrance to the igarape
+down which we were to proceed.  It was a perfect calm.  The tall trees
+were reflected in the mirror-like expanse of the lake, sprinkled, as it
+were, with the myriads of stars which shone forth from the clear sky.
+Here and there a night-bird darted from its covert in search of its
+insect prey.  The tree-crickets had begun to utter their evening notes,
+and from far and near came forth from the forest the numberless sounds
+which often to the solitary traveller make the night hideous.
+
+"Oh, what can that be?" we heard Ellen exclaim from the other canoe.
+"See! see!"
+
+We looked astern, towards the plantation we had left.  Bright flames
+were darting up from among the buildings very instant growing higher,
+while dreadful cries, coming across the water, struck our ears.
+
+"Oh, I am afraid our friends have delayed too long to escape," exclaimed
+Arthur.  "Could we not go back to help them?"
+
+I asked our father if he would allow us to do so.
+
+He hesitated.  "They have their montarias; and should they have been
+attacked, you can render them no assistance."
+
+Still, I did not like the thought of deserting our friends, and
+promised, should we not meet with them, to return at once.  At last he
+consented to our going; and turning the head of our canoe, we paddled
+back towards the shore we had left.  We had nearly reached it, when we
+saw a boat approaching.  It might have our friends on board, or might be
+manned by natives.  We approached cautiously, ready to turn round at a
+moment's notice.
+
+"Who goes there?"  I asked.
+
+I was greatly relieved by hearing Senhor Pimento's voice.
+
+"Turn round!" he exclaimed.  "Fly! fly!  I fear we may soon be pursued.
+We are all on board.  I wish we had followed your advice."
+
+Back we paddled, as fast as we could urge our canoe through the water.
+Meantime the whole plantation appeared in a blaze--not only the
+buildings, but the fields and groves of fruit-trees seemed to have been
+set on fire.  We made for the mouth of the igarape, where we found our
+father's canoe waiting for us.  Away we all went together.  The cries
+and shouts of the Indians, as they searched about for the proprietor,
+reached our ears.  We had too much reason to believe that we should be
+followed.  There was sufficient light to enable us to keep in the centre
+of the water-path.  We anxiously looked astern, expecting every moment
+to see the canoes of our enemies in our wake.  In some places the
+igarape was so narrow, and the trees so completely joined overhead, that
+we could with difficulty discover our way, and were compelled to paddle
+at less speed to avoid running among the bushes at its borders.  And
+now, from every side, those sounds which I have so often mentioned burst
+forth from the forest; yet, though so frequently before heard, their
+effect was wonderfully depressing.  Sometimes, indeed, they sounded so
+exactly like the cries of natives, that we felt sure we were pursued,
+and expected every moment to discover our enemies close astern of us.
+
+We continued our night voyage, paddling as fast as we could venture to
+move through the darkness.  Now and then the light penetrated into the
+centre of the igarape, and allowed us to move faster.  Ever and anon
+flights of magnificent fireflies flitted across the igarape, revealing
+the foliage on either side, amid which sometimes it seemed as if
+gigantic figures were stalking about, to seize us as we passed.  They
+were, however, only the stems of decayed trees, or distorted branches
+bending over the waters.
+
+Thus we went on, hour after hour, not venturing to stop even to rest the
+weary arms of the paddlers; for we had received too clear a warning of
+what would be our fate should we fall into the power of the hitherto
+submissive, but now savage and vindictive natives.  It was no slight
+cause probably which had induced them to revolt.  The cruelty and
+tyranny, the exactions and treachery of the white man had at length
+raised their phlegmatic natures, and they were about to exact a bitter
+revenge for long years of oppression and wrong.  As in many similar
+instances, the innocent were doomed to suffer with the guilty; and as
+far as we had been able to judge, our friend Senhor Pimento had treated
+those around him with all kindness and consideration.
+
+At length a pale light appeared ahead; and emerging from the dark shades
+of the igarape, we entered the wide expanse of the Amazon, across which
+at that instant the moon, rising above the line of forest, cast the
+silvery light of her bright beams.  My sisters, and even the Brazilian
+girls, uttered exclamations of admiration.  We made our way across the
+lake-like expanse, which was now just rippled with a light breeze; and
+after an hour's progress, found ourselves approaching a lofty wall of
+forest.  Coasting along it, we entered a narrow channel similar to the
+one we had quitted.  Here and there the moonbeams, penetrating amid the
+branches, enabled us to find our way till we reached an open spot on the
+shores of a small lake.
+
+"Here," said our father, "is the place I have selected for our retreat;
+and as the Indians will believe that we have continued down the stream,
+there is little probability, I think, of their coming here to search for
+us.  If they do, we may escape through the opposite side, and take one
+of several channels which will again conduct us into the main stream."
+
+There was sufficient light to enable us to erect rude huts for the
+accommodation of the ladies of the party.  As there was no fear of the
+glare of the fires shining through the forest, and thus betraying our
+position, we could venture to light a sufficient number for the
+protection of the camp against wild beasts.
+
+The next morning found us quietly settled in our new location.  My
+father and mother did their best to comfort Senhor Pimento and his
+family for the loss of their property.
+
+"Think how much worse it would have been," said my father, "had you, and
+your wife, and daughters, and son been deprived of your lives!  We
+should be thankful for the blessings we receive."
+
+"See, it is true--it is true," answered our Portuguese friend.  "But--"
+
+"Oh, utter not any `buts,'" observed my father.  "`But' is an ungrateful
+word.  It should be discharged from human language."
+
+Ellen had saved all her pets, even her humming-bird; and she and Fanny,
+with the assistance of their Brazilian friends, had plenty of occupation
+in arranging accommodation for them.
+
+My father was anxious to have a larger vessel built, fit to navigate the
+lower part of the river, over whose sea-like expanse strong winds
+occasionally blow, which our smaller canoes were but ill-calculated to
+encounter.  The first thing, however, to be done, was to erect huts, in
+which the party might live till the vessel could be got ready, or till
+they received information that the voyage could be accomplished without
+risk of being attacked by the rebels.
+
+"I have been thinking, Harry," said Arthur, "that if Houlston and Nyass
+should come down, and make for Senhor Pimento's farm, would there not be
+a great risk of their falling into the hands of the rebels, and being
+killed?"
+
+"Indeed there would," I answered.  "I did not think of that.  I wish we
+could send and stop them."
+
+"Would it not be better to go ourselves?" asked Arthur.
+
+"Indeed it would," I exclaimed.  "We will see what my father says to
+it."
+
+I told John, who agreed with me; and we at once determined to proceed up
+the stream with our Tucuna Indians.  We promised them that on finding
+our friends they should have our canoe in which to perform their
+homeward voyage.  They seemed perfectly satisfied, and we congratulated
+ourselves on the arrangement we had made.  As there might not be room to
+return in their canoe, John, Arthur, and I determined to go alone.  We
+would not even take Duppo, as he could do little, compared with the
+other Indians, in working our vessel.  Fanny and Ellen were very unhappy
+at the thoughts of our going.  We begged them to look after Duppo, and
+to give him his lessons in English till we should return.
+
+We started early in the morning, paddling vigorously up the stream,
+which we found a very different thing to going down with it.  At first
+we kept along the shore, opposite Senhor Pimento's sitio, and then
+crossed over, that we might have a better chance of seeing our friends,
+should they be coming down.  For some time, when the wind was fair, we
+rigged a sail, and were thus able to run up with ease against the
+current.  At night we always chose a spot where we could command a view
+of the river, which had so much fallen by this time that we hoped our
+friends would keep in it instead of branching off among the channels at
+the side.
+
+For several days we continued our voyage, till we began to fear that
+some accident might have happened, or that, not hearing of us, they
+might have pushed onwards, with the intention of sailing up the Napo.
+Sometimes we slept under the awning in the montaria; sometimes we built
+huts, according to our usual custom, on the shore.
+
+One morning, just as we were embarking, John shot a fine paca, which we
+took on board, and agreed we would roast during our noon-day meal, when
+our Indians generally lay down to sleep.  At the hour we intended, we
+found a bank, which afforded us a tempting resting-place.  Arthur and I
+agreed to act as cooks; while John, who had been up before daybreak with
+his gun in the forest, said he would rest till dinner was ready.  The
+chief Indian, Tono, meantime took his blow-pipe and bow, saying he would
+go into the forest and shoot some more game for supper, our stock having
+become somewhat scanty; while his companions lay down to sleep in the
+canoe.  John lay down on the grass, away from the fire, though near
+enough for the smoke to keep the flies at a distance.  We had the paca
+scientifically trussed and spitted, and placed over the fire on two
+forked sticks.  Sometime!  Arthur, sometimes I turned the spit.  It was
+my turn to attend to it, and Arthur was sitting near me, when I felt the
+ground shake, as if some large object had pitched down on it at my side;
+and what was my horror, on turning my head, to see Arthur, in the claws
+of an enormous puma, being dragged over the ground.  We had imprudently
+left our guns in the montaria.  At the same time John awoke, and quickly
+sprang into the canoe.  I felt for my knife--the only weapon I
+possessed--when I found that I had left it on the other side of the
+fire, where John had been lying.  As I turned my head for an instant,
+intending to seize it, I saw another puma stealthily approaching.
+Arthur did not cry out, but lay with his face on the ground, the better
+to avoid the stroke of the puma's paw.  Horror kept me from moving.  The
+savage beast was dragging Arthur away.  Despair seized me.  His death
+seemed inevitable.  All passed in a moment.  Then I saw John standing up
+in the montaria, with his rifle pointed at the puma's head.  My tongue
+clove to my mouth.  I could not shout out to awake the Indians.  The
+second puma was drawing near.  I might be its victim.  Just then John's
+rifle echoed through the forest: the puma which had seized Arthur sprang
+up in the air, and then down it fell, its claws only a few inches from
+Arthur's body.  I now rushed up to him, and dragged him out of the way
+of its dying struggles, calling to John to look after the other puma.
+The Indians had now started to their feet, uttering loud shrieks.  The
+puma stopped just as I fancied it was about to spring at me, and turning
+round, bounded into the forest.  They then, running up to where the puma
+lay, quickly despatched it with their spears; while John and I lifted up
+Arthur and carried him to the side of the fire.  He was insensible, but
+groaned heavily.  His arm and shoulder were fearfully torn, while his
+head had received a blow, though comparatively a slight one, or it would
+inevitably have killed him.
+
+"O John, do you think he will recover?"  I exclaimed, as we examined his
+hurts.
+
+"If we knew how to treat him, he might," answered John; "but I am a very
+bad doctor, and I am afraid our Indians are not better ones."
+
+"Then, John, we must go back to the island," I exclaimed; "it would be
+impossible to continue our voyage with Arthur in this state; and though
+we have been many days coming up, we may hope to get back again in two
+or three."
+
+John agreed with me, and we explained our intentions to the Indian
+boatmen.  They looked very dissatisfied, especially Tono, who just then
+returned from his shooting excursion.  I had not from the first liked
+his countenance, and I saw by his gestures that he was endeavouring to
+incite his companions to disregard our orders.
+
+Though on their side they mustered four stout, athletic fellows, yet
+John and I had our rifles, and we agreed, for Arthur's sake, to make
+them do as we thought best.  John at once reloaded his rifle; and as
+soon as he had done so, he told me to hurry down to the boat and seize
+mine.  I got hold of it before the Indians were aware of my intention,
+and quickly rejoined him.  Our first care was to wash and dress Arthur's
+wounds as well as we could.  John covered me with his rifle, while I
+went down to get the water.
+
+"Now, Harry," he said, "as we do not know when we shall be able to dress
+another paca, we had better make a good dinner off the portion which has
+escaped burning during the time you were unable to turn the spit."
+
+Having finished our meal, and secured a portion for Arthur--in the hope
+he might recover sufficiently to eat it--we handed the rest to our crew.
+They took it sulkily enough, and returned with it to the montaria.
+
+"We must keep a sharp look-out on these fellows; for, depend upon it,
+they intend to play us a trick," observed John.
+
+Our chief difficulty was now how to get Arthur into the montaria; for
+while we were occupied in so doing, they might suddenly attack us.
+
+"You must guard me, Harry, while I lift him up.  He is a good weight,
+but still I can carry him as far as the montaria," observed John.
+
+He did so; while I walked by his side, with my rifle ready for action.
+When the Indians saw how much Arthur was hurt, they appeared to feel
+compassion for him, and expressed their sorrow by signs.  When we
+ordered them to shove off, they obeyed at once, and willingly paddled on
+down the river again.
+
+"I really think, after all, we must have been mistaken in our opinion of
+those men," said John.  "I never like to think harm of our
+fellow-creatures.  Perhaps, after all, they did not understand us."
+
+I was not quite so certain of this.  A strong breeze came up the river,
+and prevented us making as much progress as we had expected.  As evening
+drew on it increased greatly, and signs of a storm appeared in the sky.
+We were over on the southern shore, and had passed an island near the
+mainland similar to the one on which our family had lately taken refuge.
+Just then the tempest burst on us.  I had observed an opening in the
+forest, apparently the mouth of a channel, and towards it we now
+steered.  It was not without difficulty, however, that we could keep the
+canoe before the fast rising seas.  Had we fallen into the trough, we
+should instantly have been upset.
+
+The Indians seemed well aware of our danger, and paddled steadily.  I
+was thankful when at length we found ourselves is calm water, though the
+wind still whistled and howled through the trees, which bent their tall
+boughs over our heads, as if they would come down and crush our bark.
+We paddled on, therefore, for some distance, till we reached a sheltered
+spot, where we agreed to land and build a hut, that Arthur might sleep
+more comfortably than he could in the canoe.
+
+When we told the Indians what we wanted, they immediately set to work,
+with apparent good-will; and in a short time had erected a neat and
+comfortable hut, with a bed-place of bamboos.  On this, having spread
+several mats brought from the canoe, we placed Arthur.
+
+"Oh, how kind you are," he whispered.
+
+I was rejoiced to hear him speak.
+
+"I know all about it," he added; "I saw the puma, but had not time to
+cry out."
+
+The Indians had consumed the remainder of the paca; and as there was
+still an hour or more of daylight, they proposed going out to catch some
+fish.  I thought of accompanying them, but I did not like to leave
+Arthur.  John then said he would go; but when he got down to the water,
+the Indians had already shoved off.
+
+"I dare say I may find some game in the woods, and that may be better
+for Arthur than fish," he observed, coming back.
+
+We saw the canoe at a little distance, the Indians standing ready, some
+with their harpoons and others with their bows, to strike any fish which
+might be passing.  Now they came nearer to us, and I saw they had struck
+several fish.  With these they returned to the shore, and called to me
+to come and receive them.  Tono then made signs that he would go and get
+some more, and again they paddled off.  I became quite vexed at having
+entertained unjust suspicions of them.  After they had got to a little
+distance, I saw them strike another fish--evidently a large one, by the
+time they took to haul it in.  Now they went further and further off.
+At length I lost sight of them.
+
+John had in the meantime gone into the woods with his gun.  He returned,
+just as it was growing dusk, with a couple of birds, which he
+immediately plucked and prepared for roasting at the fire which I had
+made up.  Our pot for boiling fish had been left in the canoe.  We
+could, therefore, only roast a portion of those just caught by the
+Indians.
+
+"They ought to be back by this time," observed John, as the shades of
+night fell over the river.
+
+"The fish seemed to be plentiful, and probably they have been tempted to
+go further off than they proposed," I observed.
+
+Still we waited and waited, and they did not return.  John went a little
+way along the bank, and shouted loudly; but no answer came to his hail.
+At length we hung up our hammocks; and having attended to Arthur, added
+fuel to our fire, and placed True at the entrance of our hut to watch,
+we lay down to rest.  Still, neither John nor I felt much inclined to
+sleep.
+
+"I am afraid that Tono and his people, after all, have gone off in the
+canoe," I said at last.
+
+"I suspect so too," he answered; "but yet they were behaving so well,
+that I did not think they would play us so treacherous a trick."
+
+"We shall soon see, however.  I cannot help expecting to hear them
+return every moment."
+
+We waited and waited, anxiety keeping us awake.  Several times I got up
+to give Arthur a little water, which was all he appeared inclined to
+take.  He was much less feverish than I expected.  Towards morning,
+however, he began to ramble in his speech, and talked about his mother
+and father, and a young sister who had died.  "I thought I should find
+him," I heard him say.  "Oh, that my mother could have lived to have
+seen him again!  Oh, that I could once more be with him!  If he were
+here now, I am sure that I should soon get well."  These words were said
+at intervals, between other less coherent remarks.
+
+Daylight broke before I had closed my eyes.  We again looked out, in the
+faint hope that the Indians might have landed at some spot near us, and
+encamped for the night; but we could nowhere see them.  We were at
+length convinced that they had made off with our canoe, and deserted us.
+Had we been by ourselves, our position would have been bad enough; but
+with poor Arthur in his wounded state, requiring immediate help, it was
+still worse.  The Indians had so long behaved well and faithfully, that
+we had not supposed them capable of such conduct, although they had
+showed such discontent on the previous day.
+
+"What must we do?"  I asked of John.
+
+"We must either build a canoe or a raft, or wait till we can hail some
+passing craft, and get taken off," he answered.  "Our father will
+certainly send and look for us by-and-by, when he finds that we do not
+return; but in the meantime they will all be very anxious, and think
+that we have been cut off by the rebels."
+
+John and I had fortunately brought our guns and ammunition; so that we
+were better off than we might have been had the Indians overpowered us,
+and put us on shore by force.  We were, indeed, able to supply ourselves
+amply with food, but it was not well suited for Arthur.  By the end of
+the day he appeared to have grown worse instead of better.  I sat up
+with him part of the night, forgetting how little sleep I had had for
+some time.  He rambled more than ever.  It was painful sometimes to hear
+him.  When he at last dropped to sleep, I began to doze also, till I
+slipped off my seat, and lay utterly overcome with fatigue on the
+ground.  It was daylight, and I found John lifting me up.  I had never
+seen him look so anxious.
+
+"I thought you had swooned, Harry," he said; "and poor Arthur seems no
+better.  What can we do for him?"
+
+I looked at Arthur.  He was in a troubled sleep, was very pale, and
+uttering incoherent expressions.  I would have given anything to have
+known what to do; but except moistening his lips with water, there was
+nothing I could think of likely to benefit him.  All day long he
+remained in that state.  I sat by his side, while John occasionally went
+out with his gun.  He was never long absent, as he said he could not
+bear the thought of being away from Arthur, fearing he might be worse.
+Now and then I got up and added fresh fuel to our fire, that I might
+make some broth with some of the game John had brought in; thinking that
+might possibly do good to my poor patient.  I was thus employed, when I
+heard John shout out.  Taking a glance at Arthur, I ran forward, when I
+caught sight of John near the bank, waving his hat, while just beyond
+him was a montaria, with a number of people in her, among whom I
+distinguished the tall figure of the recluse standing up and waving in
+return.  The canoe approached the bank just as I reached it; and
+directly afterwards two other persons jumped up and waved to us, while a
+dog put his paws on the gunwale and uttered a loud bark.  True, who had
+followed me, barked in return.  What was my joy to recognise my two old
+school-fellows Houlston and Tony.  In a couple of minutes they were on
+shore, and we were warmly shaking hands; while True and Faithful were
+rubbing noses with equal cordiality.
+
+"Where is my boy?" exclaimed the recluse--or rather Mr Mallet, for so I
+should properly call him.
+
+"He is with us.  He has been sadly hurt.  If any one can do him good, I
+am sure you can, sir," I said.
+
+"Oh, take me to him--show me where he is!" exclaimed Mr Mallet, in an
+anxious tone.  "Hand me out that box there!  It contains the few
+medicines I possess--it may be of use."
+
+"Is it Arthur Mallet he is speaking of?" asked Houlston, following with
+the chest.  "What is the matter with him?"
+
+I told him briefly what had occurred.  There were several other persons
+in the canoe, but I was too much interested in my friends to observe
+them.  We hurried back to the hut where Arthur was lying.  The recluse
+had hastened on before us, and was now kneeling by the side of his young
+son.  He was perfectly calm, but I saw how much he felt, by the
+expression of his anxious countenance.  Arthur opened his eyes and
+recognised his father.
+
+"This is what I was praying for," he whispered.  "I have been very ill,
+and was afraid of leaving the world without once again seeing you.  I am
+so thankful.  If it is God's will, I am now ready to die."
+
+"Oh, but I pray it may not be his will, my boy," said Mr Mallet.  "You
+must live for my sake, to be a comfort and support to me."
+
+"You will not go back, then, and live in the woods by yourself, my dear
+father?" said Arthur.
+
+"No; I hope to live wherever you do, my boy," he answered.
+
+Arthur's pale countenance brightened, and he pressed his father's hand.
+
+"You must not talk, however, Arthur," said Mr Mallet.  "You require
+rest, and I may find some remedies which may benefit you."
+
+He eagerly looked over the contents of his medicine-chest; and desiring
+to have some fresh-water brought him, he quickly compounded a draught,
+which he gave to Arthur.  We left the father and son together, while we
+returned to the canoe.  On our way Houlston and Tony recounted to me
+briefly what had occurred.  They had made their way nearly up to the
+mouth of the Napo, when, not finding us, they had determined to visit
+every spot on the shore where we were likely to have stopped.  They had
+at length put into the creek, near the abode of the recluse.
+
+"Much to our surprise," said Houlston, "we were accosted in English by a
+tall white man.  On telling him our errand, he informed us that you had
+long since gone down the stream, and seemed very much surprised and
+grieved to find that we had not encountered you.  He at once volunteered
+to accompany us, saying that he was greatly interested in your welfare,
+and could not rest satisfied without assisting in our search for you.
+We were, of course, very glad to have his company; and going back to his
+hut, he soon returned with two Indians--a man and his wife--who also
+wished to come with us.  They are there," and Houlston pointed to the
+canoe.
+
+Just then one of the Indians landed; and though dressed in a shirt and
+trousers, I recognised him as our friend Maono.  He was followed by
+Illora, also habited in more civilised costume than when we had at first
+seen her.  They greeted me kindly, and inquired, with more warmth than
+Indians generally exhibit, for their son and daughter.  I assured them
+of their welfare, and of the esteem in which they were held by my
+family.  They appeared to be gratified, and then inquired for the
+Indians who had accompanied us.  Maono was excessively indignant when we
+told him of the trick they had played us, and threatened to put them to
+death when he got back to his people.  We entreated him, however, for
+our sakes, not to punish them so severely; indeed, we told him we would
+rather he pardoned them altogether, as they had been influenced by a
+desire to return to their people, and perhaps supposed that we might
+prevent them from so doing.  They had till that moment been faithful and
+obedient, and we assured him that we had had no cause to complain of
+them.
+
+Some time was spent in talking to Tony and Houlston.  On our return to
+the hut we found Mr Mallet standing in front of it.  He said Arthur was
+improving, but begged that we would remain where we were, as he was
+unwilling to move him at present.  We of course willingly agreed to do
+what he wished, and forthwith set to work to put up huts for the time we
+might have to remain on the island.  We gave up our hut to Mr Mallet
+and Arthur, and made a large fire in front of it, while we had another,
+at which we cooked our suppers.  Not for a moment, I believe, did the
+recluse close his eyes during that night, though most of our party slept
+soundly.  Whenever I awoke I saw him moving to and fro.  Once I could
+not help getting out of my hammock and asking him whether Arthur was
+improving.  "I trust he may be," was the answer.  "I shall know
+to-morrow."
+
+In the morning Arthur certainly appeared better, his wounds having been
+dressed by the skilful hands of his father.  Arthur's state, however,
+was still too precarious to allow of his removal without risk.  Anxious
+as we were to get back to our friends, we remained, therefore, three
+days longer on the island.  Occasionally John, Houlston, Tony, and I
+made excursions to the mainland, finding it inhabited, to shoot; while
+Maono and Illora were very successful in their fishing expeditions.
+
+"Oh, I wish Arthur was well!" exclaimed Tony.  "This is just the sort of
+fun we were looking forward to; and I say, Harry, I hope it is only the
+beginning of our adventures.  Our employers, I know, will very gladly
+send us up the river to purchase produce, and I dare say you can make
+arrangements to come with us."
+
+I of course said I should be very glad to do so, though I could not then
+say what my father intended to do after reaching Para.
+
+We shot a good deal of game--quadruped, four-handed, and feathered.
+Among the latter, by-the-by, was a curious bird, which we found feeding
+on the marshy banks of a lake, to which we made our way, attracted by
+its loud and peculiar cry.  Creeping on, we caught sight of it as it
+stood on the shore.  Houlston, who first saw it, declared that it was a
+large crane.  It was about the size of a swan, and getting nearer, I saw
+that it had an extraordinary horn on the top of its head, surrounded by
+black and white feathers, while the upper part of its wings had two
+sharp horns projecting from them--formidable weapons of attack or
+defence.  Houlston fired, but missed.  He had not improved as a
+sportsman since we parted.  John at that moment came up, and sent a ball
+into the bird's neck.  On this True and Faithful dashed forward, but
+still the bird, though unable to run, showed fight with its wings and
+kept them at bay.  It soon, however, sunk down lifeless on the ground.
+Its plumage was very handsome.  The head and neck were of a
+greenish-brown colour, covered with soft feathers.  The breast and
+thighs were of silvery white, and the back was black, with the exception
+of the upper part, which was brown, with yellow spots.  It was, we
+found, the anhima of the Brazils, known also as the horned kamichi, or,
+more learnedly, _Palamedea_.  It is sometimes called the horned
+screamer, from its loud and wild cry.  We laughingly told Houlston that,
+as he had missed it, he should have the honour of carrying it; which he
+very good-naturedly did, though it was a considerable load to bear
+through the forest.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY ONE.
+
+CONCLUSION.
+
+Next morning Mr Mallet gave us the satisfactory intelligence that
+Arthur was sufficiently well to bear moving.  We therefore at once
+proceeded on our voyage.  Each day after that he improved; and at length
+we came in sight of the island where we had left our family.  We had
+some, difficulty in finding our way up the narrow channel which led to
+their camp.  As we approached the spot, we saw a good-sized vessel on
+the stocks, surrounded by a number of persons.  One of them, discovering
+us as we turned the point, shouted to his companions, when, suddenly
+leaving their work, they advanced towards us with guns in their hands in
+a threatening attitude.  We shouted out to them, when they, perceiving
+that we were friends, came forward to meet us.  Our father was among the
+first we saw.  After he had received us affectionately, and warmly
+greeted Houlston and Tony, we told him that Mr Mallet had come with us.
+No sooner did my father see him, than, taking his hand, he exclaimed,
+"What, my old friend and school-fellow!  I little expected to find you
+out here!  Where have you come from?"
+
+"From the wilderness, where I have spent long years of banishment, and
+from whence my young son succeeded in thus too far dragging me forth.  I
+could not make him lead the life I have so long lived, and I cannot bear
+the thought of parting from him."
+
+"And what could make you wish to think of doing anything of the sort?"
+exclaimed my father.  "You surprised all your friends by leaving
+England--so my brother long since wrote me word--and no one has been
+able to account for it."
+
+"Not account for it!" exclaimed Mr Mallet.  "Surely my friends would
+not have wished me to remain, dishonoured or disgraced, or doomed to a
+felon's death?"
+
+He looked round as he spoke, and seeing that I was nearer than he had
+supposed, led my father to a distance.  Meantime our mother, Fanny, and
+Ellen, had come down.
+
+I need not describe our meeting, or the concern Ellen exhibited at
+hearing of Arthur's accident, and saw his still, pale face as we lifted
+him out of the canoe.  He was, however, able to walk with our
+assistance.  We found the whole party very anxious, as information had
+reached them that the natives had discovered their retreat and intended
+attacking them.  They had therefore been hurrying on the large montaria
+with all speed, in hopes of getting away before the arrival of the
+enemy.
+
+In a short time our father and Mr Mallet arrived.  A wonderful change
+had taken place in the countenance of the latter.  He now looked bright
+and cheerful, and a smile played over his features such as I had never
+before seen them wear.  After being introduced to my mother and sisters,
+and Senhor Pimento's family, he hurried up to Arthur, and as he threw
+his arms round his neck tears burst from his eyes, but they were
+evidently tears of joy.
+
+"But we must not lose time," said my father, pointing to the vessel, at
+which Domingos and Antonio and the other men were still busily working.
+We soon had occupation given us--ample to employ our minds as well as
+our hands.  Arthur was taken good care of by my mother and sisters, and
+I was glad to see him play with Nimble and Toby, who at once knew him.
+We worked away till dark.  The fires were lighted, and by their bright
+blaze we were still able to continue our labours.  Thus we hoped in a
+couple of days to have our craft ready for launching.  It was decked
+over astern and forward, so as to afford a cabin to the ladies and
+shelter for our stores, which required protection from the weather.  We
+had large mat-sails and long oars, so that she was well fitted, we
+hoped, to encounter the heavy seas we were likely to meet with towards
+the mouth of the mighty river.  John suggested that we should erect a
+stockade near the vessel, behind which we might defend ourselves, and
+prevent her from being burned, should the rebels make the threatened
+attack.  This we all set to work to do; and as we had an abundance of
+materials at hand, a fort was soon erected, of sufficient strength, if
+defended by firearms, to repel any attack the natives were likely to
+make against it.
+
+"I hope the fellows will come on!" exclaimed Tony, who, with Houlston,
+was among the most active in the work.  "I should like to be engaged in
+a skirmish.  We have had but a tame life of it.  I thought we might have
+seen some of the fun going forward at Santarem; but the whites had all
+escaped out of the place before we passed by, and the red-skins had
+possession of it."
+
+"I rather think we were fortunate in escaping those same red-skins!"
+exclaimed Houlston.  "They murdered all the whites they could find, and
+they would probably have treated us in the same way if we had fallen in
+with them.  If those fellows had attacked us, depend upon it we should
+have had to fight hard for our lives."
+
+"Perhaps, my friend, we can find some better means of keeping the enemy
+at bay than those you are taking," observed the recluse.  "However,
+follow your own plan.  I trust, for the sake of humanity that it may be
+labour lost."
+
+I did not hear John's reply, but he continued the work.  Scouts were
+sent out at night to watch the entrance of the channel, lest the rebels
+might attempt to steal upon us during the hours of darkness; while we
+all slept with our arms ready for instant use.
+
+I was awakened by hearing a shot fired.  Another followed.  "The rebels
+are coming!"  I heard my father shouting out.  "To your posts, my
+friends!"
+
+In less than a minute our whole party had assembled, and with my father
+at our head, we advanced in the direction whence the shots had
+proceeded.  Before we had gone many paces, our two scouts came running
+up with the announcement that several canoes were approaching the mouth
+of the igarape.  Daylight was just then breaking, though it had not
+penetrated into the forest.  The two Indians were again sent back to
+watch the further movements of the rebels.  We meantime held a council
+of war, and having conveyed all our stores and provisions within the
+stockade, retired to it, there to await the enemy.  In a short time the
+scouts came back, reporting that the Indians had landed, and were
+advancing through the forest.
+
+"Let me now try, my friends, what I can do with these people," said the
+recluse, standing up in our midst.  "I resided among them for some time.
+They know me, and I trust will be more ready to listen to my arguments
+than to those with which you are prepared to receive them."
+
+"Pray do as you judge best," said my father.
+
+Senhor Pimento appeared to have little confidence in his success, and
+addressing his people, entreated them to fight bravely, as the rebels
+would certainly give them no quarter.
+
+The recluse, without further delay, taking not even a stick in his hand,
+went forth from the fort, and was soon lost to sight among the shades of
+the forest.  Our Portuguese friends were in a great state of agitation;
+but my sisters, especially Ellen, remained perfectly calm.  I
+complimented her on her courage.  "Oh, I am sure Arthur's father will
+accomplish what he undertakes," she answered.  "I have therefore no fear
+of an attack."
+
+We, however, could not help looking anxiously for the return of the
+recluse.  The time went slowly by.  "I am afraid the wretches will shoot
+him before he has time to speak to them," observed Senhor Pimento.
+Pedro, who was of a generous, warm-hearted disposition, proposed that
+some of us should sally out, and try and overtake him before he reached
+the enemy.
+
+This was overruled by my father.  "Our friend does not act without
+judgment," he observed.  "He knows the character of the people better
+perhaps than we do.  Hark! what is that?"  The sound of many voices
+shouting came faintly through the forest, as from a distance.
+
+"Hurrah! they are coming on to attack us!" cried Tony; "we will give
+them a warm reception."
+
+"I hope rather that those sounds betoken that the Indians have
+recognised our friend," observed my father.
+
+Still we waited, many of our party looking out, as if they expected to
+see the rebels approaching in battle array.  At length a single figure
+appeared emerging from the forest.  It was the recluse.  He hurried
+forward towards us, and on entering the fort, took my father, John, and
+I aside.
+
+"I have not been so successful as I should wish," he said.  "They are
+perfectly ready to let the English, with whom they have no cause of
+quarrel, go free, but they insist that the Portuguese gentleman and his
+son should be delivered up to them, though they consent to allow the
+rest of his family to accompany you if you wish it."
+
+"We cannot accept such terms," said my father at once.  "We are resolved
+to defend our friends with our lives!"
+
+"I thought as much," said Mr Mallet.  "I promised, however, to convey
+their message, in order to gain time.  Is there no way by which your
+friends can escape by the other end of the igarape?"
+
+"There may be, but the Indians know it as well as we do," observed my
+father, "and would probably lie in wait to catch them.  I must ask you
+to return and inform them that we cannot give up our friends who have
+hospitably entertained us, and that if they insist on attacking the
+fort, they must take the consequences."
+
+The recluse once more went back to the insurgent Indians.  Pedro, on
+hearing the message, tried to persuade his father to escape with him in
+one of the small canoes; but the old gentleman declared at once that he
+would not make the attempt, as he was sure he should thus only fall into
+the hands of his enemies.
+
+We now anxiously awaited the return of our friend.  An hour passed by,
+when we saw among the trees a large number of natives approaching the
+fort, some armed with muskets, but the greater number with bows and
+arrows.
+
+"We shall have no difficulty in beating back that rabble!" exclaimed
+Tony.  "We must first pick off the fellows with firearms, and the others
+will soon take to flight."
+
+I did not feel so confident as my friend.  The enemy from their numbers
+alone were formidable, and if well led, might, I feared, easily
+overpower us.  Their numbers increased, and they seemed on the point of
+making a dash at the fort, when a loud shout was raised behind them.
+They turned round, looking eagerly in the direction from whence it came.
+Presently three persons came out from among them.  One I recognised as
+the recluse; but the other two I looked at again and again, and at
+length was convinced that one was Don Jose, and the other his attendant
+Isoro.  Don Jose, turning to the natives, addressed them in the Lingua
+Geral, which they all probably understood.  They were sufficiently near
+for us to hear what was said.
+
+"My friends," he exclaimed, "what is it you require?  Do you seek the
+blood of these white people?  What will that benefit you?  Listen to
+Pumacagua--a Peruvian cacique--who regards with affection the whole
+Indian race; who would wish to see them united as one tribe, prosperous
+and happy, enjoying all the benefits of our magnificent country.  If you
+destroy these people, you will but bring down the vengeance of the
+powerful whites on your heads.  Some among them are my friends.  They
+have never harmed you.  They wish you well, I know, and are even now
+sufferers for the cause of liberty.  Be advised by me.  Return to your
+homes, and seek not by force to obtain your rights.  It will, I know too
+well by bitter experience, be in vain.  Trust to me and my English
+friends, who will not rest till we have gained for you the justice you
+demand."
+
+We saw the leaders among the Indians consulting together.  The recluse
+now went among them, and addressed them earnestly.  His and Don Jose's
+words seemed to have a powerful effect.  Greatly to our relief, they
+began to retire through the forest.  Our friends accompanied them to
+their canoes, while Arthur and I followed at a distance to watch what
+would next take place.  The canoes were launched, and the natives,
+bidding an affectionate farewell to the recluse, and a respectful one to
+Pumacagua, leaped into them, and took their departure to the opposite
+bank of the river.  We hurried on to meet our friends, and soon
+afterwards my father came out of the fort to welcome Don Jose.  They
+greeted each other warmly.
+
+"Finding that I could no longer render service to my countrymen, and
+that my own life was in constant danger," Don Jose said, "I was on my
+way down the river to join you, when I saw a large number of canoes
+drawn up on the beach, a few people only remaining with them.  From them
+I learned what was taking place, and I at once suspected, from what they
+told me, who it was they were about to attack.  I instantly landed, and
+overtook the main body of insurgents.  The rest you know."
+
+Our friends then returned to the fort, and all hands at once set to work
+to complete our vessel.  Tony alone was somewhat disappointed at so
+pacific a termination to the affair.  The additional hands whom Don Jose
+had brought with him were of great assistance, as they were all expert
+boat-builders; and in less than a couple of days our craft was launched,
+and ready to proceed on her voyage.  Don Jose and our father had, of
+course, much to talk about.  The former seemed greatly out of spirits at
+the turn affairs had taken, and in despair of the establishment of true
+liberty in his country.  His affection for my father had induced him to
+follow us, and he purposed to remain with him at Para till a change of
+affairs in Peru might enable him to return.
+
+The rainy season was now completely over; though the heat was very
+great, the weather was fine.  At length our new vessel, which we called
+the _Manatee_, with the canoes of Don Jose and Houlston in company,
+emerging from the igarape, made sail to the eastward.
+
+I have not space to describe the voyage.  Sometimes we navigated a wide
+expanse of water, where the river's banks were several miles apart;
+sometimes we passed amid an archipelago, through narrow channels where
+the branches of the giant trees almost joined overhead.  Sometimes we
+sailed on with a favourable breeze, and at other times had to lower our
+sails and take to the oars.  For some hundred miles we had the green
+forest alone in sight on either side, and here and there long extending
+sand-banks, in which turtles are wont to lay their eggs.  As we passed
+near the shore, vast numbers of wild fowl were seen on the banks, while
+the river swarmed with living creatures.  Dolphins came swimming by,
+showing their heads above the surface, again to plunge down as they
+advanced up the stream.  Now and then we caught sight of a huge manatee,
+and we saw alligators everywhere basking on the shores or showing their
+ugly snouts above the surface.  At length a high, flat-topped range of
+hills appeared on our left hand--the spurs, I believe, of the mountains
+of Guiana.  The river was now for some distance fully ten miles in
+width; so wide, indeed, that it looked more like an inland sea or the
+ocean itself than a fresh-water stream.  At length we entered one end of
+the Tajapuru, which is a curious natural canal, extending for one
+hundred miles or more from the main stream towards the city of Para.  It
+is of great depth in some places, and one hundred yards in width; but in
+others so narrow that the topmost boughs of the trees almost met over
+our heads.  Often as we sailed along we were hemmed in by two green
+walls, eighty feet in height, which made it seem as if we were sailing
+through a deep gorge.  Emerging from it, we entered the Para river, and
+sailing on, were soon in a magnificent sea-like expanse, the only shore
+visible being that of the island of Marajo, presenting a narrow blue
+line far away on our left.  We passed a number of curious boats and
+rafts of various shapes and rigs, bringing produce from the villages and
+farms scattered along the banks of the many vast rivers which pour their
+waters into the Atlantic.  Still, all this time, we were navigating
+merely one of the branches of the mighty Amazon; for, though we had long
+felt the influence of the tide, yet the water, even when it was flowing,
+was but slightly brackish.
+
+At length, entering the sheltered bay of Goajara, we, with thankful
+hearts, saw the city of Para stretching out before us along the shore,
+and our vessel was soon moored in safety alongside the quay.  Houlston
+and Tony hurried off to their friends, who came down to welcome us and
+take us to their house.  In most places we should have attracted no
+small amount of curiosity as we proceeded through the streets.  Each of
+the ladies, as well as Maria and the Indian girl, with two or more
+parrots and other birds on their shoulders; Nimble sitting on mine with
+his tail round my neck; Arthur carrying Toby; while Tony and Houlston
+had a couple of monkeys apiece, which they had obtained on their voyage.
+Such a spectacle, however, was too common in Para to attract much
+attention.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+I must now, as briefly as possible, bring my journal to a conclusion.
+My father here resolved to establish a house of business, of which Mr
+Mallet was to be made chief manager, with Arthur as his assistant.
+Maono and Illora, after remaining some time with us, considerably, I
+hope, to their benefit, returned to their people with the intention of
+showing them the advantages of civilisation, and imparting a knowledge
+of the true God and his plan of salvation, which they themselves had
+obtained.  We were thankful that they consented to leave Duppo and Oria
+with us.  The two young Indians made rapid progress in English, besides
+learning Portuguese; and Ellen and Arthur spared no pains in their
+endeavours to instruct them in the more important truths of religion.
+Don Jose and his faithful Isoro returned at length to Ecuador, when
+peace was once more established in that long distracted province; and
+the cacique wrote whenever an opportunity occurred for sending a letter
+down the Amazon.  Senhor Pimento and his family after a time returned to
+their estate, and we never failed to pay them a visit when we went up
+the river.  The rebellion of the natives was at length happily quelled,
+with less bloodshed than often occurs under similar circumstances.
+
+Houlston, Arthur, Tony, and I made not only one, but several excursions
+up the mighty river, and throughout many parts of that wonderful region
+embraced by the Brazils.  I might give a long account of our adventures,
+which were not less interesting than those I have already described.
+Perhaps I may some day have an opportunity of doing so.
+
+Nimble and Toby lived to the extreme end of monkey existence--the
+patriarchs of Ellen's ever-increasing menagerie, which was superintended
+by Domingos when she had more important duties to attend to, and
+guarded, I may add, by the two attached canine brethren, Faithful and
+True.
+
+I made two trips to England, each time on board the _Inca_, still
+commanded by Captain Byles.  The first time Sam was on board, but on our
+return to Para he obtained his discharge, and settled down in that city,
+where I often had the pleasure of a long talk with him.  "Ah, Massa
+Harry!" he used to say, "I chose de good part, and God take care of me
+as he promise; and his promise neber fail.  He gib me good t'ings here,
+and I know him gib me better when I go up dere;" and he pointed to the
+blue sky, seen through the front of the provision store of which he was
+the owner.
+
+I am thankful to say that the rest of my friends also, as Sam had done,
+chose "the good part."  Arthur had the happiness of being the means of
+bringing his father to a knowledge of the truth.  His great wish was to
+make the simple gospel known among the long benighted natives of that
+magnificent region in which we met with the adventures I have recorded,
+and, though hitherto opposed by difficulties which have appeared
+insurmountable, he still cherishes the hope that they may be overcome,
+and that missionaries with the Bible in their hand may, ere long, be
+found traversing the mighty Amazon and its tributaries, now ploughed by
+numerous steamers up to the very foot of the Andes, engaged in opening
+up to commerce the unmeasured resources of the Brazils.  I should indeed
+be thankful if my tale contributes to draw the attention of the
+Christian philanthropist to the unhappy condition of the numerous tribes
+of that interesting country which I have attempted to describe.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's On the Banks of the Amazon, by W.H.G. Kingston
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