CHAPTER VII.
barra do rio negro and the solimões.
Appearance of the Rio Negro — The City of Barra, its Trade and its Inhabitants — Journey up the Rio Negro — The Lingoa Geral — The Umbrella Bird — Mode of Life of the Indians — Return to Barra — Strangers in the City — Visit to the Solimões — The Gapó — Manaquery — Country Life — Curl-crested Araçaris — Vultures and Onças — Tobacco Growing and Manufacture — The Cow-Fish — Senhor Brandão — A Fishing Party with Senhor Henrique — Letters from England.
On the 31st of December, 1849, we arrived at the city of Barra on the Rio Negro. On the evening of the 30th the sun had set on the yellow Amazon, but we continued rowing till late at night, when we reached some rocks at the mouth of the Rio Negro, and caught some fine fish in the shallows. In the morning we looked with surprise at the wonderful change in the water around us. We might have fancied ourselves on the river Styx, for it was black as ink in every direction, except where the white sand, seen at the depth of a few feet through its dusky wave, appeared of a golden hue. The water itself is of a pale brown colour, the tinge being just perceptible in a glass, while in deep water it appears jet black, and well deserves its name of Rio Negro — "black river."
We brought letters to Senhor Henrique Antony, an Italian gentleman settled here many years, and the principal merchant in the city; who received us with such hearty hospitality as at once to make us feel at home. He gave us the use of two large rooms in a new house of his own not quite finished, and invited us to take our meals at his table.
The city of Barra do Rio Negro is situated on the east bank of that river, about twelve miles above its junction with the Amazon. It is on uneven ground, about thirty feet above the
