Page:The naturalist on the River Amazons 1863 v1.djvu/344

All we saw, had been done since the disorders of 1835–6, during which Joaō Trinidade was a great sufferer; he was obliged to fly, and the Mura Indians destroyed his house and plantations. There was a large, well-weeded grove of cacao along the banks of the river, comprising about 8000 trees, and further inland, considerable plantations of tobacco, mandioca, Indian corn, fields of rice, melons, and water-melons. Near the house was a kitchen garden, in which grew cabbages and onions introduced from Europe, besides a wonderful variety of tropical vegetables. It must not be supposed that these plantations and gardens were enclosed or neatly kept, such is never the case in this country where labour is so scarce; but it was an unusual thing to see vegetables grown at all, and the ground tolerably well weeded. The space around the house was plentifully planted with fruit-trees, some, belonging to the Anonaceous order, yielding delicious fruits large as a child's head, and full of custardy pulp which it is necessary to eat with a spoon; besides oranges, lemons, guavas, alligator pears, Abíus (Achras cainito), Genipapas and bananas. In the shade of these, coffee trees grew in great luxuriance. The table was always well supplied with fish, which the Mura, who was attached to the household as fisherman, caught every morning a few hundred yards from the port. The chief kinds were the Surubim, Pira-peëua and Piramutába, three species of Siluridæ, belonging to the genus Pimelodus. To these we used a sauce in the form of a yellow paste, quite new to me, called Arubé, which is made of the poisonous juice of the mandioca root, boiled down before the starch or tapioca is pre-