第15章

PARA

The Swampy Forests of Para--A Portuguese Landed Proprietor--Country House at Nazareth--Life of a Naturalist under the Equator--The drier Virgin Forests--Magoary--Retired Creeks--Aborigines After having resided about a fortnight at Mr.Miller's rocinha, we heard of another similar country-house to be let, much better situated for our purpose, in the village of Nazareth, a mile and a half from the city and close to the forest.The owner was an old Portuguese gentleman named Danin, who lived at his tile manufactory at the mouth of the Una, a small river lying two miles below Para.We resolved to walk to his place through the forest, a distance of three miles, although the road was said to be scarcely passable at this season of the year, and the Una much more easily accessible by boat.We were glad, however, of this early opportunity of traversing the rich swampy forest which we had admired so much from the deck of the ship; so, about eleven o'clock one sunny morning, after procuring the necessary information about the road, we set off in that direction.This part of the forest afterwards became one of my best hunting-grounds.I will narrate the incidents of the walk, giving my first impressions and some remarks on the wonderful vegetation.

The forest is very similar on most of the low lands, and therefore, one description will do for all.

On leaving the town we walked along a straight, suburban road constructed above the level of the surrounding land.It had low swampy ground on each side, built upon, however, and containing several spacious rocinhas which were embowered in magnificent foliage.Leaving the last of these, we arrived at a part where the lofty forest towered up like a wall five or six yards from the edge of the path to the height of, probably, a hundred feet.

The tree trunks were only seen partially here and there, nearly the whole frontage from ground to summit being covered with a diversified drapery of creeping plants, all of the most vivid shades of green; scarcely a flower to be seen, except in some places a solitary scarlet passion-flower set in the green mantle like a star.The low ground on the borders between the forest wall and the road was encumbered with a tangled mass of bushy and shrubby vegetation, amongst which prickly mimosas were very numerous, covering the other bushes in the same way as brambles do in England.Other dwarf mimosas trailed along the ground close to the edge of the road, shrinking at the slightest touch of the feet as we passed by.Cassia trees, with their elegant pinnate foliage and conspicuous yellow flowers, formed a great proportion of the lower trees, and arborescent arums grew in groups around the swampy hollows.Over the whole fluttered a larger number of brilliantly-coloured butterflies than we had yet seen; some wholly orange or yellow (Callidryas), others with excessively elongated wings, sailing horizontally through the air, coloured black, and varied with blue, red, and yellow (Heliconii).One magnificent grassy-green species (Colaenis Dido) especially attracted our attention.Near the ground hovered many other smaller species very similar in appearance to those found at home, attracted by the flowers of numerous leguminous and other shrubs.Besides butterflies, there were few other insects except dragonflies, which were in great numbers, similar in shape to English species, but some of them looking conspicuously different on account of their fiery red colours.

After stopping repeatedly to examine and admire, we at length walked onward.The road then ascended slightly, and the soil and vegetation became suddenly altered in character.The shrubs here were grasses, low sedges and other plants, smaller in foliage than those growing in moist grounds.The forest was second growth, low, consisting of trees which had the general aspect of laurels and other evergreens in our gardens at home-- the leaves glossy and dark green.Some of them were elegantly veined and hairy (Melastomae), while many, scattered amongst the rest, had smaller foliage (Myrtles), but these were not sufficient to subtract much from the general character of the whole.