The steamer anchored in front of Manaos, and the little party went on shore. They found a town resembling some of the river-landings in Arkansas or Missouri, with the addition of tropical surroundings. It straggled along the shore and back over the undulating hills for a considerable distance, and at first glance resembled a city of no small importance. It had about four thousand inhabitants, but there is room for many times that number when all the "lots" are occupied with well-filled dwellings. On an elevation in the centre is the cathedral, which was unfinished at the time of Dr. Bronson's visit, and has been a work of very slow growth since its foundation. Facing the river is a large open square with a few palm-trees on its borders, and near the water there are several buildings variously occupied as custom-house, hotel, and steamboat offices. A long avenue known as Brazil Street runs through the town, with its ends on two _igaripés_, or canals; these canals run back from the river, so that Manaos is surrounded on three sides by water. The houses are by no means crowded, as in most European cities, but each has a comfortable area of ground around it, affording good ventilation and plenty of moving space. [Illustration: FRUIT-PEDLERS.] Manaos is destined to be the St. Louis of the Amazon Valley, as it is the diverging and converging point for a great deal of commerce. Freight up or down the Amazon and its tributaries is generally transshipped here, and at some seasons of the year the river front is a scene of much activity. The population is a mixed one, and includes negroes, Indians, Brazilians, Portuguese, Italians, and half a dozen nationalities of Europe, together with a few Chinese and East Indians, and occasionally Englishmen and North Americans. As the commerce of the Amazon Valley develops, Manaos will grow in population and wealth, and the day may not be far distant when ocean steamers will receive their cargoes at its docks instead of at Para. [Illustration: ARRIVAL AT MANAOS.] Frank and Fred wished to make some purchases, and sallied out for that purpose. They returned with the declaration that Manaos was like home in one respect, according to the old song, as it was "The dearest spot on earth." Hardly anything they saw was the product of the country; everything was imported, and the importers held their goods at high prices. An American whom they met said there was little agriculture in the surrounding region; beef came up the Madeira; sheep, and other meat-supplying animals were imported, and so were hams and all other preserved edibles; while manufactured articles were from New York, Liverpool, or other Atlantic ports. [Illustration: GIANT FIG-TREE.] Fred asked what were the industries of Manaos, and was told there were none at all.