Untitled - The Alfred Russel Wallace Website

CH.XV FROM MANAOS TO TARAPOTO 15
am indebted to my friend Mr. Young, a good artist,
for strengthening the shading, denning the outlines,
and putting in the foreground, so as to render the
drawing suitable for reproduction to half the original
size.]
Don Silverio makes an admirable priest for the
Indians, as indeed he would for people of any
colour. Low in stature and not stout, but firmly
a
knit, with a rather dark but ruddy complexion ;
small well -formed mouth, which even in its most
severe expression speedily relaxes into a benevolent
smile ; to
a sonorous and untiring voice ; added
this an irreproachable conduct very unusual in
South America, and an untiring vigilance over the
moral and physical condition of his parishioners.
Every day, both morning and afternoon, he has in
his house all the boys, both Indians and Mestizos,
whose parents will allow them to be taught, and
takes all possible pains to teach them to read ami
write, with such success that nearly all can do
both intelligibly. Their writing-books are mostly
nothing but slips of plantain-leaves, on which when
fresh the ink- strokes are very distinct. He is
much put about to find them reading- books, in
lieu of which old newspapers, letters Irom his
friends, and, in fact, any scraps of MSS. or print
are made to serve. lie finds it, however,
difficult to get them to speak Spanish, as out ol
school they speak only Lingua Inca \\ith their
families and playmates. Every -v