[11] Robuchon gives latitude 1° 43′ 9″ S., longitude 71° 53′ 36″ W.
[12] Spruce, i. 7, ii. 100.
[13] September to January is the hottest portion of the year, the heat being at its worst in December. 90° would be extreme heat, and 70° the lowest the mercury would probably reach; the average being from 75° to 85°. Robuchon is responsible for the statement that the temperature at the mouth of the Cotuhe in September was 43° Cent. in the shade, but that after a brisk shower it fell to 31°. The water of the Amazon has a temperature of 81°; the Japura is a warmer river and reaches 85°. Wallace gives the mean temperature of the Rio Negro water in September—that is, during the hot season—as 86°, and the corresponding temperature of the air as from 76° to 92.5°. The water, he considers, is probably never less than 80° at any time. The temperature of the Uaupes has been noted as invariably 76° at three to six feet below the surface (Geo. Journ., 1910, p. 683).
[14] The Amazon at its mouth is 158 miles across from bank to bank.
[15] This I take to be the Yacitara mentioned by Spruce, i. 30.
[16] Wallace noted a butterfly frequenting “the dung of some carnivorous animal” in Malacca, and remarks that many tropical butterflies suck liquid from muddy places, “and are generally so intent upon their meal that they can be easily approached and captured” (Wallace, The Malay Archipelago, pp. 29, 114).
[17] Spruce, ii. 366.
[18] Bates, ii. 262.
[19] Spruce, i. 49.
[20] One tree is reputed to be so poisonous that no Indian will touch it. See Maw, p. 294.