expands to so great a breadth is remarkable; the water, however,
is very shallow over the greater portion of the expanse. I
noticed both on this and on the three subsequent occasions of
passing this place in ascending and descending the river, that
the flow of the tide from the east along the estuary, as well as
up the Breves, was very strong. This seems sufficient to prove
that no considerable volume of water passes by this medium from
the Amazons to the Para, and that the opinion of those
geographers is an incorrect one, who believe the Para to be one
of the mouths of the great river. There is, however, another
channel connecting the two rivers, which enters the Para six
miles to the south of the Breves. The lower part of its course
for eighteen miles is formed by the Uanapu, a large and
independent river flowing from the south. The tidal flow is said
by the natives to produce little or no current up this river--a
fact which seems to afford a little support to the view just
stated.

We passed the village of Breves at 3 p.m. on the 26th. It
consists of about forty houses, most of which are occupied by
Portuguese shopkeepers. A few Indian families reside here, who
occupy themselves with the manufacture of ornamental pottery and
painted cuyas, which they sell to traders or passing travellers.
The cuyas--drinking-cups made from gourds--are sometimes very
tastefully painted. The rich black ground colour is produced by a
dye made from the bark of a tree called Comateu, the gummy nature
of which imparts a fine polish. The yellow tints are made with
the Tabatinga clay; the red with the seeds of the Urucu, or
anatto plant; and the blue with indigo, which is planted round
the huts. The art is indigenous with the Amazonian Indians, but