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Arriving at length at the head of the lake, Bento struck off to the left across the restinga, and we then soon came upon a treeless space choked up with tall grass, which appeared to be the dried-up bed of another lake.Our leader was obliged to climb a tree to ascertain our position, and found that the clear space was part of the creek, whose mouth we had crossed lower down.The banks were clothed with low trees, nearly all of one species, a kind of araca (Psidium), and the ground was carpeted with a slender delicate grass, now in flower.A great number of crimson and vermilion-coloured butterflies (Catagramma Peristera, male and female) were settled on the smooth, white trunks of these trees.I had also here the great pleasure of seeing for the first time, the rare and curious Umbrella Bird (Cephalopterus ornatus), a species which resembles in size, colour, and appearance our common crow, but is decorated with a crest of long, curved, hairy feathers having long bare quills, which, when raised, spread themselves out in the form of a fringed sunshade over the head.Astrange ornament, like a pelerine, is also suspended from the neck, formed by a thick pad of glossy steel-blue feathers, which grow on a long fleshy lobe or excrescence.This lobe is connected (as I found on skinning specimens) with an unusual development of the trachea and vocal organs, to which the bird doubtless owes its singularly deep, loud, and long-sustained fluty note.The Indian name of this strange creature is Uira-mimbeu, or fife-bird, [Mimbeu is the Indian name for a rude kind of pan-pipes used by the Caishanas and other tribes.] in allusion to the tone of its voice.We had the good luck, after remaining quiet a short time, to hear its performance.It drew itself up on its perch, spread widely the umbrella-formed crest, dilated and waved its glossy breast-lappet, and then, in giving vent to its loud piping note, bowed its head slowly forwards.We obtained a pair, male and female; the female has only the rudiments of the crest and lappet, and is duller-coloured altogether than the male.The range of this bird appears to be quite confined to the plains of the Upper Amazons (especially the Ygapo forests), not having been found to the east of the Rio Negro.

Bento and our other friends being disappointed in finding no more Curassows, or indeed any other species of game, now resolved to turn back.On reaching the edge of the forest, we sat down and ate our dinners under the shade-- each man having brought a little bag containing a few handsfull of farinha, and a piece of fried fish or roast turtle.We expected our companions of the other division to join us at midday, but after waiting till past one o'clock without seeing anything of them (in fact, they had returned to the huts an hour or two previously), we struck off across the praia towards the encampment.An obstacle here presented itself on which we had not counted.The sun had shone all day through a cloudless sky untempered by a breath of wind, and the sands had become heated by it to a degree that rendered walking over them with our bare feet impossible.The most hardened footsoles of the party could not endure the burning soil.We made several attempts; we tried running, having wrapped the cool leaves of Heliconiae round our feet, but in no way could we step forward many yards.There was no means of getting back to our friends before night, except going round the praia, a circuit of about four miles, and walking through the water or on the moist sand.To get to the waterside from the place where we then stood was not difficult, as a thick bed of a flowering shrub, called tintarana, an infusion of the leaves of which is used to dye black, lay on that side of the sand-bank.Footsore and wearied, burthened with our guns, and walking for miles through the tepid shallow water under the brain-scorching vertical sun, we had, as may be imagined, anything but a pleasant time of it.Idid not, however, feel any inconvenience afterwards.Everyone enjoys the most lusty health while living this free and wild life on the rivers.

The other hunting trip which I have alluded to was undertaken in company with three friendly young half-castes.Two of them were brothers, namely, Joao (John) and Zephyrino Jabuti: Jabuti, or tortoise, being a nickname which their father had earned for his slow gait, and which, as is usual in this country, had descended as the surname of the family.The other was Jose Frazao, a nephew of Senor Chrysostomo, of Ega, an active, clever, and manly young fellow, whom I much esteemed.He was almost a white-- his father being a Portuguese and his mother a Mameluca.We were accompanied by an Indian named Lino, and a Mulatto boy, whose office was to carry our game.