I have already remarked on the different way in which the climate
of this equatorial region affects Indians and negroes. No one
could live long amongst the Indians of the Upper Amazons without
being struck with their constitutional dislike to the heat.
Europeans certainly withstand the high temperature better than
the original inhabitants of the country; I always found I could
myself bear exposure to the sun or unusually hot weather quite as
well as the Indians, although not well-fitted by nature for a hot
climate. Their skin is always hot to the touch, and they perspire
little. No Indian resident of Ega can be induced to stay in the
village (where the heat is felt more than in the forest or on the
river), for many days together. They bathe many times a day, but
do not plunge in the water, taking merely a sitz-bath, as dogs
may be seen doing in hot climates, to cool the lower parts of the
body. The women and children, who often remain at home, while the
men are out for many days together fishing, generally find some
excuse for trooping off to the shades of the forest in the hot
hours of the afternoons.
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