The long shallow canoe was
laden nearly to the water level. He resided on the banks of the
Abacaxi, a river which discharges its waters into the Canoma, a
broad interior channel which extends from the river Madeira to
the Parentins, a distance of 180 miles. Penna offered him
advantageous terms, so a bargain was struck, and the man saved
his long journey. The negro seemed a frank, straightforward
fellow; he was a native of Pernambuco, but had settled many years
ago in this part of the country. He had with him a little Indian
girl belonging to the Mauhes tribe, whose native seat is the
district of country lying in the rear of the Canoma, between the
Madeira and the Tapajos. The Mauhes are considered, I think with
truth, to be a branch of the great Mundurucu nation, having
segregated from them at a remote period, and by long isolation
acquired different customs and a totally different language, in a
manner which seems to have been general with the Brazilian
aborigines. The Mundurucus seem to have retained more of the
general characteristics of the original Tupi stock than the
Mauhes.
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