MARTIN RATTLER. 177

the Purupurus, Muras, and others. They build small
movable huts on the sandy shores during the dry
season, and on rafts in the wet. They subsist on
turtle, cow-fish, and the other fish with which the
river abounds, and live almost entirely in their
canoes; while at night they frequently sling their
hammocks between the branches of trees and sleep
suspended over the deep water.

Some of the animals found in the Gapo are peculiar
to it, being attracted by the fruit-trees which are
found growing only there. The Indians assert that
every tree that erows in the Gapo is distinct from
all those that grow in other districts; and when we
consider that these trees are submerged for six
months every year, till they are tall enough to rise
above the highest water-level, we may well believe
their constitution is somewhat different from those
that are reared on ordinary ground. The Indians
are wonderfully expert in finding their way among
the trackless mazes of the Gapo, being guided by the
broken twigs and scraped bark that indicate the
route followed by previous travellers.

Owing to this sudden commencement of the rainy
season, the old trader resolved to return to a small
village and there spend several months. Martin and

Barney were much annoyed at this; for the former
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