g thrown with great force against it. It was here that we got the
first sight of high mountains--a great change after the immense stretches
of flat land we had encountered all along the Amazon, Solimoes and
Ucayalli. I saw some beautiful specimens of the idle or sleepy monkey,
the _preguya_, a nocturnal animal with wonderful fur. The small launch
was swung about with great force from one side to the other by the strong
current and whirlpools. We saw a number of _Cashibos_ (Carapaches and
Callisecas) on the right bank of the river. They are said to be
cannibals, but personally I rather doubt it. If they have occasionally
eaten a missionary or two, I believe that it must have been rather as a
religious superstition than because of the actual craving for human
flesh. Also it is possible that, as is the case with many African tribes,
the Cashibos may believe that eating an enemy gives strength and courage,
and may have indulged in this practice purely on that account. So that I
do not think that it is fair to call those Indians cannibals in the true
sense of the word, any more than it would be fair to call a teetotaller a
drunkard because he took a drink or two of brandy for medicinal purposes.

The word "Cashibo" in the Pana language means vampire. Those Indians are
great fighters, and are in a constant state of hostility with all their
neighbours. They are good hunters and fishermen. Their weapons are well
made, and consist of bow and arrows, spears and war-clubs. The Callisecas
and Carapaches are very light in colour, with a yellowish skin, not
darker than that of the average Spaniard. They are fine-looking people,
fairly hairy on the face and body. The men grow long beards. Men and
women generally go about naked, but some of the Indians near the river
have adopted long shawls in which they wrap themselves. After marriage
the women wear a loin-cloth, but nothing at all before marriage. The
girls when young are attractive, with luminous, expressive, dark brown
eyes. These Cashibos are supposed to be the "white race" of the Amazon.
They are nevertheless not white at all, but belong to a yellow race,
although they are, as I have said, of a light yellow colour. Many yellow
races have come under my observation in the islands of the Pacific
Ocean, who were just as light as the Cashibos, such as the Bilans and
Manobos, and some who were even whiter than they are, such as the
Mansakas of the Mindanao Island. The Cashibos are wild