innate, but the leaflets, instead
of being slender and tapering, were of a triangular shape, notched along
the edges, and not growing very regularly out from the mid-rib.

Their general arrangement, as well as the form, therefore, gave the tree
a different, and, perhaps, more beautiful aspect. But the most singular
characteristic of the pashiuba was its roots. I have said that the roots
of the catinga rose above the surface of the soil. So did they, but only
to a limited height, forming a little cone. Now the roots of the
pashiuba stood up to the height of ten or a dozen feet! Each root was
nearly straight in itself, but there were a number of them, and they
sloped upwards so as to make a sort of pyramid, out of the apex of which
grew the stem. There were wide spaces between the roots--so wide that
you could easily pass through, and a full-grown man might stand upright
with his head under the very base of the stem. Fancy a man standing
under the trunk of a tree that rose seventy feet above his head!

There were young trees of the same species growing around, and these
were miniature models of the older ones. Sometimes these lesser ones are
supported on three roots, like the tripod of a surveyor's compass, and
this gives them a somewhat ludicrous appearance. There are many species
of this sort of palms, which are classed under the genus _Iriartea_. In
most of them the fruit, which is small oval and red or yellow, is bitter
and uneatable; but their wood is prized for many purposes. The wood of
the species which Don Pablo had found is hard on the outside, but soft
within, and splits readier into laths and planks than any other kind of
palm.

Guapo attacked the roots with his axe, and enough trunks were soon
felled to make laths, doors, and all sorts of benches.

The different kinds were now collected on the edge of the stream, and
were tied together by a rope-like, creeping plant, called a "Sipo," so
that they formed a rude raft. The leaves of the "bussu," with great
clusters of the fruits of the catinga and patawa, were laid upon the
raft; and then, Guapo, mounting himself on top of all, pushed out with
his long pole, and ferried the whole across. The others walked round by
the bridge, and were just in time to assist Guapo in mooring his
somewhat unwieldy craft.

Next day the framework of the house was put up, and on the day after the
walls. These were made of bamboo-canes, plenty of which grew near the
bottom of the