132: Sand-flies are called by the natives _musquitoes_, and
what we call musquitoes they call _sancudos_.]

On Wednesday we fell in with a petty sarsaparilla trader, with two
canoes, bound for the Maranon. He was sick with fever. Sarsaparilla
(written _salsaparrilha_ in Brazil, and meaning "bramble vine") is the
root of a prickly, climbing plant found throughout the whole Amazonian
forest, but chiefly on dry, rocky ground. On the morning of the seventh
day from Coca we passed the mouth of the Curaray, the largest tributary
of the Napo. It rises on the slopes of the Llanganati mountains, and is
considered auriferous. It is probably derived from _curi_, gold. Seeing
a hut on the banks, we sent an Indian to purchase provisions; he
returned with a few yucas and eggs. The day following we were attacked
from a new quarter. Stopping to escape a storm, a party went ashore to
cut down a tree of which we desired a section. It fell with its top in
the river, just above our craft; when lo! to our consternation, down
came countless hosts of ants (_Ecitons_). Myriads were, of course, swept
down stream, but myriads more crawled up the sides of our canoes, and in
one minute after the tree fell our whole establishment, from hold to
roof, was swarming with ants. We gave one look of despair at each other,
our provisions and collections, and then commenced a war of
extermination. It was a battle for life. The ants, whose nest we had so
suddenly immersed in the Napo, refused to quit their new lodgings. As we
were loosely dressed, the tenacious little creatures hid themselves
under our clothing, and when plucked off would leave their heads and
jaws sticking in the skin. At last the deck was cleared by means of
boots, slippers, and towels; but, had the ants persevered, they might
have taken possession of the boat.

To-day we saw a high bank (called in Quichua _pucaurcu_, or red hill)
consisting of fine laminated clays of many colors--red, orange, yellow,
gray, black, and white. This is the beginning of that vast deposit which
covers the whole Amazonian Valley. It rests upon a bed of lignite, or
bituminous shale, and a coarse, iron-cemented conglomerate. The latter
is not visible on the Napo, but crops out particularly at Obidos and
Para. The Indians prepare their paints from these colored clays.

Our Santa Rosans seemed to have little tact in fishing; still their
spears and our hooks gathered not a few representatives of ichthyic life
in t