in
turn on the tables of the master and his men.

And so each day shooting and fishing were to be regularly indulged in.

For beverages they had a good store of the best that country produced;
_"caysuma"_ or _"machachera,"_ from the Upper and Lower Amazon, an
agreeable liquor of slightly acidulated taste, which is distilled from
the boiled root of the sweet manioc; _"beiju,"_ from Brazil, a sort of
national brandy, the _"chica"_ of Peru; the _"mazato"_ of the Ucayali,
extracted from the boiled fruits of the banana-tree, pressed and
fermented; _"guarana,"_ a kind of paste made from the double almond of
the _"paulliniasorbilis,"_ a genuine tablet of chocolate so far as its
color goes, which is reduced to a fine powder, and with the addition of
water yields an excellent drink.

And this was not all. There is in these countries a species of dark
violet wine, which is got from the juice of the palm, and the aromatic
flavor of this _"assais"_ is greatly appreciated by the Brazilans, and
of it there were on board a respectable number of frasques (each holding
a little more than half a gallon), which would probably be emptied
before they arrived at Para.

The special cellar of the jangada did honor to Benito, who had been
appointed its commander-in-chief. Several hundred bottles of sherry,
port, and letubal recalled names dear to the earlier conquerors of
South America. In addition, the young butler had stored away certain
demijohns, holding half a dozen gallons each, of excellent _"tafia,"_
a sugared brandy a trifle more pronounced in taste than the national
_beiju_.

As far as tobacco was concerned, there was none of that coarse kind
which usually contents the natives of the Amazonian basin. It all came
direct from Villa Bella da Imperatriz--or, in other words, fro the
district in which is grown the best tobacco in Central America.

The principal habitation, with its annexes--kitchen, offices, and
cellars--was placed in the rear--or, let us say, stern of the craft--and
formed a part reserved for the Garral family and their personal
servants.

In the center the huts for the Indians and the blacks had been erected.
The staff were thus placed under the same conditions as at the fazenda
of Iquitos, and would always be able to work under the direction of the
pilot.

To house the crew a good many huts were required, and these gave to the
jangada the appearance of a small village got adrift, and, to tell the
truth, it was