the cool palm swamps of the Ygapo islands, as they are called,
only in the hot and dry season. They live chiefly on fish,
shellfish (amongst which were large Ampullariae, whose flesh I
found, on trial, to be a very tough morsel), the never failing
farinha, and the fruits of the forest. Among the latter, the
fruits of palm trees occupied the chief place. The Assai is the
most in use, but this forms a universal article of diet in all
parts of the country. The fruit, which is perfectly round, and
about the size of a cherry, contains but a small portion of pulp
lying between the skin and the hard kernel. This is made, with
the addition of water, into a thick, violet-coloured beverage,
which stains the lips like blackberries. The fruit of the Miriti
is also a common article of food, although the pulp is sour and
unpalatable, at least to European tastes. It is boiled, and then
eaten with farinha. The Tucuma (Astrocaryum tucuma), and the
Mucuja (Acrocomia lasiospatha), grow only on the mainland. Their
fruits yield a yellowish, fibrous pulp, which the natives eat in
the same way as the Miriti. They contain so much fatty matter,
that vultures and dogs devour them greedily.

Early on the morning of September 3rd we reached the right or
eastern bank, which is forty to sixty feet high at this point.
The houses were more substantially built than those we had
hitherto seen. We succeeded in buying a small turtle; most of the
inhabitants had a few of these animals, which they kept in little
enclosures made with stakes. The people were of the same class
everywhere, Mamelucos. They were very civil; we were not able,
however, to purchase much fresh food from them. I think this was
owing to their really not having more than was absolutely
required to satisfy their own needs. In these districts, where