BRAZILIAN REFUGEES.

193

we paid twenty-seven cents per pound. It is said that plantations of coffee would succeed admirably in this region of the country, but the population is small, and the impossibility heretofore of finding a market has alone prevented its cultivation. The high price we paid arose from a temporary scarcity of the article at Albuquerque, and the unusual demand of a quantity for a foreign ship's crew.

The steamer was overrun with Indians bringing presents of pigs, poultry, sugar-cane, bananas, and vegetables, expecting in return, not money, but salt. The steward was not allowed to impose upon their ignorance, and when they received a pound in return for two chickens or a pig, they were amazed at our liberality. The supplies brought were greatly beyond our wants, and obliged us to decline them at last, giving all who came, however, a little salt.

"The river has fallen within the last three days seven inches, as shown by the gauge. Temperature of air varying from 75° to 96°; that of the water, 89°.

"December 7th, 1853. When about to get under way for Coimbra, with its commandante on board as our guest, we were approached by a long, unwieldy open boat, containing four refugee Bolivian officers, who had brought letters from the Governor of Matto Grosso to Commandante Azevido. I released them from their confined position by offering them a passage to Coimbra, and took the boat in tow. They were making their way to Buenos Ayres, or some town in the Argentine Confederation, and could they have escaped over the southern borders of Bolivia, they might have reached Salta in five days; but by that route capture was almost inevitable, and as they had taken a leading part in the late revolution, which had failed, they would have paid the penalty with their lives. There was but one road open to them -through the north to Cuyaba; following this, they had traveled, when we met them, two thousand two hundred miles by land and river.

"December 9th. Have just returned from a visit to the 'Grotto Inferno,' which is north of the fort, in the same range of hills, and about a mile and a half from the river."

For the convenience of carrying instruments, hydrometer and barometer, and for securing any specimens to be found of an interesting character, we went in boats, which made the distance three miles. We could not approach within half a mile of the

194

THE GROTTO INFERNO.

base of the hill with the boats, but, plunging through mud and water, we at last stood at the entrance of the grotto-a fissure or mouth in the limestone barely wide enough to creep in.

The general inclination in the line of descent was about 30° from the perpendicular, with a shaft of sixty feet. Descending cautiously upon hands and feet, we reached the margin of a lake, and found ourselves in a magnificent irregularly shaped hall, embracing an area of about two thousand feet. Its roof, varying from twenty to forty feet in height, rested on columns, symmetrical and grand, as if designed and placed there by accomplished architects and skillful workmen. Between the columns were stalagmites, rising in the form of pillars, four, five, and six feet in height, standing at regular distances, like sentinels suddenly transformed into stone; the stalactical depositions were of the most beautiful and fantastic forms; and as the crystallized surfaces of sides, roof, and pillars reflected the blue lights and torches of our men, they glittered and shone with all the brilliancy and varied hues of gems. What ages must have elapsed while the great work had been going on for the meeting, drop by drop, of ascending and descending points, until those stupendous columns were formed! Ours was a noisy party, but in the momentary intervals of silence we heard the unceasing drip:

Entrances, half concealed below the water, led to lateral branches, which we did not attempt to explore. Our men bathed in the sweet, limpid water of the lake, which had a depth of eighteen feet; temperature above the standard of our hydrometer, 75° 05', while that of the air was 80°; the latter, however, undoubtedly increased by the heat of the torches and the number of our party. The commandante assured me that this lake rises and falls with the periodical variations of the Paraguay. We toasted the divinities of the spot, until, warned by the waning lights, we gathered up specimens, and began a scramble for the mouth of the grotto.

It was an undertaking, with the encumbrance of a few stalac tites; but the commander, having heard me express a desire to carry off one of the "sentinels," had assigned to his men what seemed an impracticable task with the means at hand-that of raising one of those stalagmites to the mouth of the grotto. The feat was accomplished in safety; and the column, weighing two hundred and fifty pounds, was carried in triumph to the Water Witch.

One of the Bolivian officers accompanied us in quite an elegant toilet, embracing a pair of patent-leather boots. Such parts of

DEPARTURE FROM COIMBRA.

195

these as stood by him after the descent and ascent of the grotto were totally "used up" in the tramp to the boat. Misfortune and companionship in the wilderness had made us intimate. His woeful appearance was a fruitful subject of merriment and jest, which he bore with such philosophy and good-humor as to join heartily in the laugh against himself.

From barometric measurement, the highest point of the ridge overlooking the fort was four hundred and fifty-one feet above the level of the river. The temperature ranged from 75° to 93°; by gauge, water fell 2.4 inches per day.

When about to leave Coimbra, I received a letter from General Gregorio Perez, Colonel Hilarion Ortiz, Lieutenant Colonel Ysidoro Reyes, and Doctor Antonio Zaveo, the four Bolivian officers, asking a passage in the Water Witch to Asuncion. It was a pleasure to accede to this request, for their position was truly forlorn; but in doing so, I asked the general to report their presence at the first Paraguayan town. In Francia's time they would inevitably have been detained, but under the present government the result was what I anticipated; they were stopped at Salvador until the President could be notified of their arrival, but were eventually permitted to leave the country, and went down to Buenos Ayres in the Water Witch when she descended for supplies.*

On the 11th of December, we parted, with regret, from our friend the kind and gentlemanly Commandante of Coimbra, but with the hope of seeing him again when we return in a small steamer to complete the exploration of the upper waters. He presented us with a half-grown jaguar, and several rare birds; one, the "Motu"-of the pheasant family, about the size of a small turkey -female brown, with brown and white crest; male black, with black crest is easily domesticated, and delicious for the table; it may prove a valuable acquisition to our domestic fowls. The jaguar is fawn-colored, with dark spots encircled by a black ring, which, at a glance, distinguishes this animal from the leopard. In this specimen the marks are bright and well defined.

These, with several interesting animals, were sent home; some died on the passage, others after their arrival in the United States. The instructions of Mr. Kennedy gave me a hope that my contributions might form the nucleus of a national zoological collection, and I made such a suggestion to his successor, but it met with no * By the last revolution, September, 1857, this party is now in power.

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DESCENT OF THE RIVER.

encouragement, as Congress had made no appropriation for such an object. The tiger is now alive at the farm of the Insane Asylum near Washington, and exhibits every evidence of untamed ferocity.

On one occasion the Water Witch was visited by a lady, accompanied by a lovely little girl. The jaguar was lying in her cage, quietly as usual when undisturbed or not hungry; but at the sight of this child she sprang up with a fury that startled us. Each time as the child passed and repassed we witnessed the same exhibition of ferocity.

"Reached the Salinas, to which I have alluded in ascending the river; saw many Guaycuru wigwams swarming with busy occupants, for this was the season for making salt.

Anchored, as the sun was setting in glorious majesty, amid a sea of crimson, gold, blue, rose. How gorgeous are these tropical sunsets, and how solemn, as all nature, with short interval, sinks into shadow of night!

"Many Guaycurus came on board; they had never seen a steamer, but manifested no astonishment. The women were of the ordinary stature; men above it, with fine muscular development."

"December 14th. Anchored off Salvador." As I expected, the Bolivian officers were detained for instructions from Asuncion. "Met here a cacique, and some men of the Lengua tribe. I persuaded the cacique and several of his companions to sit for their daguerreotypes. At the sight of them they showed both wonder and delight; it is the first time that I have seen the La Plata Indians exhibit an emotion."

"Concepcion, December 15th. I have endeavored, but in vain, to procure horses for the officers and myself to visit the 'Yerbales.' The commandante, in our ascent of the river, was all civility; now he wears a long face, and makes many excuses for not complying with my request. The horses,' he said, 'were away.' I extended the time for our excursion; the commandante extended the distance to which the horses had been sent. I am puzzled, but have been long enough in the country to know that the countenances and deportment of officials reflect that of the government. Something is wrong. It would be less dangerous for the poor commandante to spend a few days among the Indians of the Chaco than to show us civility, if I have, however unintentionally, incurred the displeasure of the 'great heart of Paraguay;' for that influence penetrates every artery of the body politic.

"It is astonishing with what rapidity the commands and wishes of government are here transmitted to every part of the republic. From guardia to piqueta, from piqueta to guardia, these Paraguay couriers move with a rapidity that would rival the speed of an express locomotive. I have been more successful in procuring specimens than horses, and have added many fine birds to our collection.

"The weather during the last few days has been intensely hot; thermometer varying from 73° to 99°; and this heat is neither debilitating nor oppressive, tempered as it is by constant breezes, south, southeast, southwest. Thermometer at 9 A.M., 93°; water, 87°.

"Anchored at one of our wooding points off the estancia of Señor Antonio Garcia. The Water Witch has been visited by his family, and many others of the neighborhood. One of the ladies brought with her a yellow parrot. It is known that the Indians of Paraguay have sometimes succeeded in changing the color of the parrot by plucking the feathers of the young bird, and pressing into the pores a fluid, which imparts its hue to the new plumage; but señora assured me that hers was a genuine and