Most of the tribes are now extinct or forgotten, at least those
which originally peopled the banks of the main river, their
descendants having amalgamated with the white and negro
immigrants. [The mixed breeds which now form, probably, the
greater part of the population, each have a distinguishing name.
Mameluco denotes the offspring of White with Indian; Mulatto,
that of White with Negro; Cafuzo, the mixture of the Indian and
Negro; Curiboco, the cross between the Cafuzo and the Indian;
Xibaro, that between the Cafuzo and Negro. These are seldom,
however, well-demarcated, and all shades of colour exist; the
names are generally applied only approximatively. The term Creole
is confined to negroes born in the country. The civilised Indian
is called Tapuyo or Caboclo.] Many still exist, however, in
their original state on the Upper Amazons and most of the branch
rivers. On this account, Indians in this province are far more
numerous than elsewhere in Brazil, and the Indian element may be
said to prevail in the mongrel population-- the negro proportion
being much smaller than in South Brazil.

The city is built on the best available site for a port of entry
to the Amazons region, and must in time become a vast emporium;
the northern shore of the main river, where alone a rival capital
could be founded, is much more difficult of access to vessels,
and is besides extremely unhealthy. Although lying so near the
equator (1 28' S. lat.) the climate is not excessively hot. The
temperature during three years only once reached 95 degrees
Fahrenheit. The greatest heat of the day, about 2 p.m., ranges
generally between 89 and 94; but on the other hand, the air is
never cooler than 73, so that a uniformly high temperature
exists, and the mean of the year is 81. North American residents