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334 ANAM.
Sete Bocas (seven mouths), from the fact of so many
entrances to the different rivers being visible from a
certain point, " presenting long vistas fringed with
foliage of different shades of verdure, like so many
radii from a centre." The scene is described as highly
beautiful. While crossing this noble basin, Lieut.
White's attention was attracted by a curious and un-
"
explained phenomenon. Our ears," he
"
says, were
saluted by a variety of sounds, resembling the deep
bass of an organ, accompanied by the hollow guttural
chant of the bull frog, and the tones which imagination
would give to an enormous Jew's harp. This
combination produced a thrilling sensation on the
nerves, and,
the vessel.
as we thought,
On going into
a tremulous motion in
the cabin, I found the
noise, which I soon ascertained proceeded from the
bottom of the vessel, increased to a full and uninter-
were simi-
rupted chorus. The sensations it produced,
lar to those of a torpedo or electric eel ; but, whether
these feelings were caused by the concussion of sound,
or by actual vibrations in the body of the vessel, I
could neither then nor since determine. In a few
moments, the sounds, which had commenced near the
stern of the vessel, became general throughout the
whole length of the bottom. Our linguist informed
us, that our admiration was caused by a shoal of fish,
of a flat oval form, like a flounder, which, by a certain
conformation of the mouth, possesses the power of
adhesion to other objects in a wonderful degree and
;
that they are peculiar to the Seven Mouths. Whe-
ther the noises were produced by any peculiar con-
struction of the sonorific organs, or by spasmodic
vibrations of the body, he was ignorant. Very shortly,
after leaving the basin, a sensible diminution was per-
ceived in the number of our musical fellow-voyagers ;