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From information given me by a collector of birds and mammals, whom I employed, and who resided a long time among the Tucuna Indians near Tabatinga, I calculated that one horde of this tribe, 200 in number, destroyed 1200 of these monkeys annually for food.
The Tucuna Indians are a tribe resembling much the Shumanas, Passes, Juris, and Mauhes in their physical appearance and customs.
"Indeed it would," I exclaimed. "We will see what my father says to it." I told John, who agreed with me; and we at once determined to proceed up the stream with our Tucuna Indians. We promised them that on finding our friends they should have our canoe in which to perform their homeward voyage. They seemed perfectly satisfied, and we congratulated ourselves on the arrangement we had made.
"What, then, do you mean to do, father?" I asked. "To take the wisest course," he answered. "I have directed Domingos and Antonio to get the montarias ready, and to ascertain the feeling of the Tucuna Indians who came with you.
It is vain to try to get information out of a Tucuna on this subject; they affect great mystery when the name is mentioned, and give very confused answers to questions: it was clear, however, that the idea of a spirit as a beneficent God or Creator had not entered the minds of these Indians.
The place contains about 500 inhabitants, chiefly half-castes and Indians of the Tucuna and Collina tribes, who are very little improved from their primitive state. The streets are narrow, and in rainy weather inches deep in mud; many houses are of substantial structure, but in a ruinous condition, and the place altogether presents the appearance, like Fonte Boa, of having seen better days.
Steamboat Travelling on the Amazons Passengers Tunantins Caishana Indians The Jutahi The Sapo Maraua Indians Fonte Boa Journey to St. Paulo Tucuna Indians Illness Descent to Para Changes at Para Departure for England November 7th, 1856-Embarked on the Upper Amazons steamer, the Tabatinga, for an excursion to Tunantins, a small semi-Indian settlement, lying 240 miles beyond Ega.
From all I could make out, these Indians preserve no memory of events going beyond the times of their fathers or grandfathers. Almost every joyful event is made the occasion of a festival weddings among the best. A young man who wishes to wed a Tucuna girl has to demand her hand of her parents, who arrange the rest of the affair, and fix a day for the marriage ceremony.
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