at Manaos, and going on into Para, halting at every port, where the
natives ornamented it with little flags. Arrived at Belem, it came to
a halt, turned back on its road, remounted the Amazon to the Rio
Negro, and returned to the forest from which it had mysteriously
started. One day somebody tried to drag it ashore, but the river rose
in anger, and the attempt had to be given up. And on another occasion
the captain of a ship harpooned it and tried to tow it along. This
time again the river, in anger, broke off the robes, and the trunk
mysteriously escaped.”
“What became of it?” asked the mulatto.
“It appears that on its last voyage, Miss Lina,” replied Fragoso, “it
mistook the way, and instead of going up the Negro it continued in
the Amazon, and it has never been seen again.”
“Oh, if we could only meet it!” said Lina.
“If we meet it,” answered Benito, “we will put you on it! It will
take you back to the mysterious forest, and you will likewise pass
into the state of a legendary mind!”
“And why not?” asked the mulatto.
“So much for your legends,” said Manoel; “and I think your river is
worthy of them. But it has also its histories, which are worth
something more. I know one, and if I were not afraid of grieving
you–for it is a very sad one–I would relate it.”
“Oh! tell it, by all means, Mr. Manoel,” exclaimed Lina; “I like
stories which make you cry!”
“What, do you cry, :ina?” said Benito.
“Yes, Mr. Benito; but I cry when laughing.”
“Oh, well! let is uave it, Manoel!”
“It is the history of a Frenchwoman whose sorrows rendered these
banks memorable in the eighteenth century.”
“We are listening,” said Minha.
“Here goes, then,” said Manoel. “In 1741, at the time of the
expedition of the two Frenchmen, Bouguer and La Condamine, who were
sent to measure a terrestrial degree on the equator, they were
accompanied by a very distinguished astronomer, Godin des Odonais.
Godin des Odonais set out then, but he did not set out alone, for the
New World; he took with him his young wife, his children, his
father-in-law, and his brother-in-law. The travelers arrived at Quito
in good health. There commenced a series of misfortunes for Madame
Odonais; in a few months she lost some of her children. When Godin
des Odonais had completed his work, toward the end of the year 1759,
he left Quito and started for Cayenne. Once arrived in this town he
wanted his family to come to him, but war had been declared, and he
was obliged to ask the Portuguese government for permission for a
free passage for Madame Odonais and her people. What do you think?
Many years passed before the permission could be given. In 1765 Godin
des Odonais, maddened by the delay, resolved to ascend the Amazon in
search of his wife at Quito; but at the moment of his departure a
sudden illness stopped him, and he could not carry out his intention.
However, his application had not been useless, and Madame des Odonais
learned at last that the king of Portugal had given the necessary
permission, and prepared to embark and descend the river to her
husband. At the same time an escort was ordered to be ready in the
missions of the Upper Amazon. Madame des Odonais was a woman of great
courage, as you will see presently; she never hesitated, and
notwithstanding the dangers of such a voyage across the continent,
she started.”
“It was her duty to her husband, Manoel,” said Yaquita, “and I would
have done the same.”
“Madame des Odonais,” continued Manoel, “came to Rio Bamba, at the
south of Quito, bringing her brother-in-law, her children, and a
French doctor. Their endeavor was to reach the missions on the
Brazilian frontier, where they hoped to find a ship and the escort.
The voyage at first was favorable; it was made down the tributaries
of the Amazon in a canoe. The difficulties, however, gradually
increased with the dangers and fatigues of a country decimated by the
smallpox. Of several guides who offered their services, the most part