his movements and in his mind, he is a
quick and keen observer of nature, and an expert in knowledge of the
cries and calls of the animals of the forest. He knows their habits
and hiding-places to perfection, and he could probably astonish the
naturalist by informing him of many things he has observed that his
brother scientist never has heard of. He knows the names of the trees
and plants in the forest and what they can be used for, though his
knowledge of them is often supplemented by superstitious imaginings. He
knows the multitudinous fish of the Amazon, whether they are to be
caught with a net, speared, or shot with bow and arrows, or, if the
hunter is of a progressive disposition, shot with rifle ball. There are
varieties that have, as yet, not been seen, classified, or identified
by the scientist of to-day--I am positive of having seen several such.

The inhabitant of this region is clean in his habits and in his mind as
soon as he gets away from the evil influence of civilisation--which for
him is the town of Remate de Males or "Culmination of Evils." He takes
a bath at least twice a day, and attends closely to the cleanliness of
his wardrobe, which for that matter does not absorb any considerable
amount of time. As a rule, he is industrious, but frequent attacks of
fever, dysentery, liver and spleen complaints, or pneumonia make him
in the end, like all living things here not native to the forests,
sluggish in general, and irritable on occasion.

A little distance from the headquarters lies a beautiful lake. It is
not wider than the Itecoahy itself, four hundred feet on an average,
and is about five miles long. It runs parallel with the river, and has
only one outlet. In the dry season this amounts to nothing more than a
little rivulet across which a large fallen tree has formed a natural
bridge, but in January, when the waters rise, the creek is so full
that the servants of Coronel da Silva can wash the linen there. After
some weeks of sojourn at Floresta, I found my way to this lake, and it
was here that I was able to observe some of the largest specimens of
Amazonian reptiles in their haunts, where the equatorial sun had full
opportunity to develop an amazing growth of faunal and floral life.

It was a most enchanting stretch of water. I had heard of the dangers
lurking beneath its surface long before I saw it, so when I arrived
there one morning I was surprised to find a placid lake, set in
picturesque a