Brazil, the Amazons and the coast . flesh is dried much as codfish is in Newfoundland. Thesides are hung to a pole, and cut from above and below, soas to form wide, thin slices ; these are well rubbed with salt,and dried in the sun. The drying process is anything butappetizing; generally the house is surrounded with unfrag-rant festoons, on which the flies are perched by night these must all come in doors ; but for the perfectventilation of the palm-thatch, the place would be uninhabit-able. As for the dried fish, one eats it, at first, because there * Sudis. THE NORTH SHORE. 287
Brazil, the Amazons and the coast . flesh is dried much as codfish is in Newfoundland. Thesides are hung to a pole, and cut from above and below, soas to form wide, thin slices ; these are well rubbed with salt,and dried in the sun. The drying process is anything butappetizing; generally the house is surrounded with unfrag-rant festoons, on which the flies are perched by night these must all come in doors ; but for the perfectventilation of the palm-thatch, the place would be uninhabit-able. As for the dried fish, one eats it, at first, because there * Sudis. THE NORTH SHORE. 287 is no remedy; yet in time we come to like it very well. Itis the standard animal food of all the lower classes through-out the Amazons Valley. Fortunately for us, the Cujubimfishermen bring in plenty of delicate tiictinarcs * and caraita-nds; species as large as shad, and quite as delicious. Theyspear these in the shallows, or catch them with lines ; netsare useless here, for the piranhas would bite them to piecesin a few Igarape de Cujubim. Cujubim is fifteen miles beyond the northernmost settle-ment of this region ; but we would penetrate still farther, tofind, if we can, those other lakes of which the Indians is a good-sized creek flowing in from the northern side,but it is impassable for a canoe, and the banks are coveredwith bamboo-thickets, so dense and spiny that the Indianscan hardly be persuaded to enter them at all. At length we * Cichla temensis. 2 88 BRAZIL. bargain with a new-comer, who only agrees to go with uswhen we offer him three times the regular wages. It wouldbe useless for us to attempt to make our way alone ; in anyexploration of this kind, an Indians instinct and woodcraftare worth far more than white intelligence. Our guide is atall, middle-aged man, nicknamed Abacate, alhgator-pear ;as is often the case, the nickname has entirely taken theplace of the baptismal one ; Abacate he is to all his com-rades, and Abacate he remains to us
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