On leaving behind them the last rapid and the last fall, where the river leaves the mountains, they saw on their right ground which had been cleared for a settlement by the people of _Pará_, who had come up the _Madeira_ so far to seek for cinnamon, sarsaparilla, cacao, and tortoises. The settlers had been cut off by the _Muras_, from which people the travellers had a narrow escape. They likewise suffered from want of food; but after some days they came upon a Jesuit mission, where they were hospitably entertained. Here, leaving their canoe, they re-embarked in a larger vessel given them by the Jesuits, and proceeded down the stream to two other establishments of the same order, below the last of which they entered the _Amazons_. Manoel de Lima, although he had not been the first to descend the _Madeira_, had performed a remarkable journey, having been the earliest European to proceed from _Matto-Grosso_ to _Pará_, and to prove that a communication by water might be established. He was, therefore, sent to Lisbon to give an account of his proceedings. He expected great rewards for his services, and was consulted by the Portuguese ministers as to the steps which should be taken in consequence of his discoveries. But his pretensions were extravagant. Not contented with the offer of the repayment of the expenses of his expedition, he insisted on being appointed governor of the countries which he had discovered; and, as this was inadmissible, since they already belonged to Spain, he passed the remaining sixteen years of his life as a disappointed suitor at the court of Portugal. Those of his companions with whom he had parted at _Magdalena_ made their way back to _Matto-Grosso_. [Sidenote: 1749.] In the year 1749, a voyage was made from _Pará_ to _Matto-Grosso_, inverting the route which had been followed by Manoel de Lima. It was undertaken by order of the Portuguese Government, and by a strong party, provided with instruments for laying down their course. The expedition had to overcome considerable difficulties, and did not reach its destination before nine months had been passed on the voyage. The voyage down the stream can be performed in one-sixth of the time. Since the above date the water communication between _Matto-Grosso_ and _Pará_ has been continuous; and it was by this route that the former place was supplied with European goods, this way being both cheaper and less perilous than that from _S. Paulo_.