TRAVELS
IN THE
INTERIOR OF BRAZIL.

THE ORGAN MOUNTAINS.

E Fry del. Reeve Lith.

TRAVELS
IN THE
INTERIOR OF BRAZIL,
PRINCIPALLY
THROUGH THE NORTHERN PROVINCES,
AND
THE GOLD AND DIAMOND DISTRICTS,
DURING THE YEARS 1836-1841.

BY
GEORGE GARDNER, M.D., F.L.S.,
SUPERINTENDENT OF THE ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS OF CEYLON.

“A populous solitude of bees and birds,

And fairy-formed and many-colour’d things,

… the gush of springs,

And fall of lofty fountains, and the bend

Of stirring branches, and the bud which brings

The swiftest thought of beauty, here extend,

Mingling, and made by Love unto one mighty end.”

Childe Harold.

SECOND EDITION.

LONDON:
REEVE, BENHAM, AND REEVE,
KING WILLIAM STREET, STRAND.
1849.

REEVE, BENHAM, AND REEVE,
PRINTERS AND PUBLISHERS OF SCIENTIFIC WORKS,
KING WILLIAM STREET, STRAND.

TO
SIR WILLIAM JACKSON HOOKER,
K.H., D.C.L., LL.D., F.R.S.A., AND L.S.,
VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE LINNÆAN SOCIETY, HONORARY MEMBER OF THE ROYAL IRISH ACADEMY, MEMBER OF THE IMPERIAL ACADEMY CÆSAR. LEOPOLD. NATURAL. CURIOSORUM, ETC., ETC.,
AND
Director of the Royal Gardens of Kew,
TO WHOM THE SCIENCE OF BOTANY IS SO MUCH INDEBTED, ALIKE FOR HIS LIBERAL PATRONAGE, AND THE CONTRIBUTIONS MADE TO IT IN THE NUMEROUS AND VALUABLE WORKS WHICH HAVE ISSUED FROM HIS PEN,
THE FOLLOWING WORK,
CONTAINING THE NARRATIVE OF TRAVELS, WHICH, BUT FOR HIS KINDNESS AND ENCOURAGEMENT, COULD NEVER HAVE BEEN UNDERTAKEN,
IS INSCRIBED
WITH FEELINGS OF PROFOUND RESPECT AND ESTEEM,
BY HIS GRATEFUL FRIEND AND PUPIL,
GEORGE GARDNER.

PREFACE.

The present volume is not given to the public, because the Author supposes it presents a better account of certain parts of the immense Empire of Brazil, than is to be found in the works of other travellers, but because it contains a description of a large portion of that interesting country, of which no account has yet been presented to the world. It has been his object to give as faithful a picture as possible of the physical aspect and natural productions of the country, together with cursory remarks on the character, habits, and condition of the different races, whether indigenous or otherwise, of which the population of those parts he visited is now composed. It is seldom that he has trusted to information received from others on those points; and he hopes that this fact will be considered a sufficient reason for his not entering into desultory details more frequently than he has done.

Ample opportunities were offered for studying the objects he had in view, of which he never ceased to avail himself. Besides visiting many places along the coast his journeys in the interior were numerous; and, although he never ventured, like Waterton—whose veracity is not to be doubted—to ride on the bare back of an alligator, or engage in single combat with a boa constrictor, yet he had his full share of adventure, particularly during his last journey, which extended, north to south, from near the equator to the twenty-third degree of south latitude; and east to west, from the coast to the tributaries of the Amazon. The privations which the traveller experiences in these uninhabited, and often desert countries, can scarcely be appreciated by those who have never ventured into them, where he is exposed at times to a burning sun, at others to torrents of rain, such as are only to be witnessed within the tropics, separated for years from all civilized society, sleeping for months together in the open air, in all seasons, surrounded by beasts of prey and hordes of more savage Indians, often obliged to carry a supply of water on horseback over the desert tracks, and not unfrequently passing two or three days without tasting solid food, not even a monkey coming in the way to satisfy the cravings of hunger. Notwithstanding these, however, and one serious attack of illness, his enthusiasm carried him through all difficulties, and they have in some measure been repaid by the pleasure which such wanderings always afford to the lover of nature, and by the number of new species which he has been enabled to add to the already long list of organized beings.

The Author has only further to add, that the notes from which the Narrative has been drawn up, were, for the most part, written during those hours, which, under other circumstances, should have been devoted to sleep; and that the Narrative itself was principally compiled from them, during a voyage from England to the Island of Ceylon.

Kandy, Ceylon, January 1st, 1846.

The manuscript of Mr. Gardner’s ‘Travels in Brazil’ having been transmitted from Ceylon, and printed during his official residence in that island, the Publishers feel desirous of expressing the great obligation they are under to John Miers, Esq., in the absence of the Author, for his valuable assistance in correcting the technical, botanical, and Brazilian proper names, whilst passing through the press; they also desire to record their sense of the kind services rendered by Robert Heward, Esq., co-operating with Mr. Miers in reading the proofs.

London, October 1st, 1846.

CONTENTS

Transcriber’s Note: The map is clickable for a larger version if you’re using a device that supports this.

MAP OF BRAZIL

Reeve, Benham & Reeve, lith.

TRAVELS IN THE INTERIOR OF BRAZIL.

CHAPTER I.
RIO DE JANEIRO.

Motives for visiting Brazil—Voyage from England—Arrival at Rio de Janeiro—Description of the City—Its Environs—Geological Character of its Neighbourhood—Its Climate—Its Inhabitants—State of Slavery in Brazil—General good treatment of Slaves—Different Mixed Races—Excursion to the Mountains surrounding the Capital—Its Botanical Garden—Museum of Natural History.

Having devoted much of my leisure time, during the course of a medical education, to the study of Natural History generally, but more particularly to Botany; and my mind being excited by the glowing descriptions which Humboldt and other travellers have given of the beauty and variety of the natural productions of tropical countries, the magnificence of their mountain scenery, and the splendour of their skies, an ardent desire seized me to travel in such regions.

My early patron and teacher in Botany, Sir William J. Hooker, then professor of that science in the University of Glasgow, aware of my wishes, strongly recommended a voyage to some part of South America; and Brazil was fixed on as the best field for my researches, as the vegetable productions of that immense empire were then less known to the English botanist than those perhaps of any other country of equal size in the world. It was true that it had been visited both by German and French naturalists, but no Englishmen, with the exception of Cunningham and Bowie, and the intrepid Burchell, had penetrated into the interior; whole provinces, particularly in the north, still lay open as virgin fields for the investigations of some future traveller; and these I was desirous to explore.

The preparations necessary for such an undertaking having been completed, I left Glasgow on the 14th of May, 1836, and on the 20th of the same month embarked at Liverpool, on board the barque Memnon, bound for Rio de Janeiro, the capital of Brazil. The voyage across the Atlantic to South America has been too often described for me to say more than that we had a fair share of calms and squalls, of bright skies and brilliant sunsets, of sharks and whales, flying fishes, and phosphorescent waves. A tedious, but not unpleasant voyage, brought us in sight of land on the 22nd of July. When day broke, Cape Frio, as had been predicted by the captain, was seen, bearing N.N.E., about twenty-five miles distant. This Cape is about seventy miles to the eastward of Rio de Janeiro, and a range of high undulating hills stretches between them, covered to their topmost ridge with trees. On their summits, numerous Palms, with their slender shafts surmounted by a ball-like mass of leaves, rising far above the other denizens of the forest, and standing boldly out in relief against a beautiful blue sky, give a marked character to the scene, and silently proclaim to the European his approach to a world the vegetation of which is very different from that of the one he has so recently left. The winds were light all day, and as we sailed close along the coast, my eye, through the medium of the ship’s telescope, was constantly surveying the wild but beautiful scene, and in imagination I was already revelling amid its multiform natural productions.

It was long past noon before we reached the entrance to the Bay of Rio, which is very remarkable for the number of conical hills and islands which are to be seen on both sides of it. One of these hills is the well-known Pão d’Açucar, so called from its resemblance to a sugar-loaf. It is a solid mass of granite, rising to the height of about one thousand feet, and destitute of vegetation, with the exception of a few stunted shrubs on its eastern declivity. Seen from a great distance at sea, it is an admirable land-mark for ships making the port. Passing through the magnificent portal, we came to an anchor a few miles below the city, not being allowed to proceed further till we were visited by the authorities. It is quite impossible to express the feelings which arise in the mind while the eye surveys the beautifully varied scenery which is disclosed on entering the harbour—scenery which is perhaps unequalled on the face of the earth, and on the production of which nature seems to have exerted all her energies. Since then I have visited many places celebrated for their beauty and their grandeur, but none of them have left a like impression upon my mind. As far up the Bay as the eye could reach, lovely little verdant and palm-clad islands were to be seen rising out of its dark bosom, while the hills and lofty mountains which surround it on all sides, gilded by the rays of the setting sun, formed a befitting frame for such a picture. At night the lights of the city had a fine effect; and when the land-breeze began to blow, the rich odour of the orange and other perfumed flowers was borne seaward along with it, and, by me, at least, enjoyed the more from having been so long shut out from the companionship of flowers. Ceylon has been celebrated by voyagers for its spicy odours, but I have twice made its shores with a land breeze blowing, without experiencing anything half so sweet as those which greeted my arrival at Rio.

On the following morning, the 23rd of July, I first put foot on the shores of the great continent of the new world. If the aspect of the country, and the nature of the vegetation were so different from those of the old country, how much more strange were the human beings which first met my sight on landing. The numerous small boats and canoes which ply about in the harbour, are all manned with African blacks; the long narrow streets through which we passed were crowded with the same race, nearly naked, many of them sweating under their loads, and smelling so strongly as to be almost intolerable. Scarcely a white face was to be seen. The shops, in the most of which both the doors and windows are thrown open during the day, seemed to be attended to by mulattos, or by Portuguese of nearly as dark a hue. Seen from the ship in the morning, the city had a most imposing appearance, from its position, and the number of its white-washed churches and houses; but nearer contact with it dispelled the illusion. The streets are narrow and dirty, and what with the stench from the thousands of negroes which throng them, and the effluvia from the numerous provision shops, the first impressions are anything but agreeable. I could not help recalling to mind the lines in ‘Childe Harold,’ which Byron has applied to the capital of the mother country:—

“But whoso entereth within this town,

That, sheening far, celestial seems to be,

Disconsolate will wander up and down,

’Mid many things unsightly to strange ee;

For hut and palace show like filthily:

The dingy citizens are reared in dirt.—”

The city of Rio occupies part of an irregular triangular tongue of land, which is situated on the west side of the Bay, about three miles northward from the entrance. The ground on which it stands is, for the most part, level, but towards the north, the west, and the south-east, it is bounded by a series of hills. The long narrow streets run at right angles to each other, by which the houses are thrown into great square masses. The new town stretches out in a north-west direction, and is separated from the old one by a large square called the Campo de Santa Anna. Beyond it a narrow branch of the Bay runs inland, to the left of which is the extensive suburb of Catumbi, and farther on those of Mataporco and Engenho Velho. Besides the Campo de Santa Anna there are two other large squares, one before the theatre, and another at the landing-place, in which is situated the palace formerly occupied by the Viceroys. The Royal Palace of S. Cristovão, the residence of the Emperor, is a great and irregular mass of building, situated a little way beyond the new town.

Not only are the streets narrow and dirty, but they are also badly lighted and worse paved, notwithstanding the city is immediately surrounded by mountains of the most beautiful granite. The houses are very substantially built, for the most part of granite, consisting principally of only two or three stories. It contains several fine churches, but few of them are so situated as to be seen to advantage. That of Nossa Senhora da Gloria is one of the most conspicuous, being placed on a rounded hill of the same name, that juts into the sea between the city and the Praia de Flamengo. Besides the churches there are many other public buildings, among which may be mentioned the Monastery of San Bento, near the harbour, the Convent of Santa Thereza on the brow of a hill, beside the noble aqueduct by which the water for the supply of the city is conveyed from the mountains, a Mint, an Opera House, a Theatre, a public Library, which is said to contain about one hundred thousand volumes, a Museum of Natural History, a Medical School, two Hospitals, and, what the inhabitants boast very much of, the Camara dos Senadores, which is equivalent to our House of Lords. It is a very handsome building, which was erected a few years ago on the north side of the Campo de Santa Anna. Scattered through the city there are some fine fountains, to which water is conveyed by an aqueduct. One of them is in the palace square, for the supply of the ships in the harbour. The aqueduct itself is upwards of six miles in length, and is terminated city-wards by a magnificent row of double arches.

From an eminence within the city, called the Castle Hill, a fine view both of the city and bay is obtained. It also commands a delightful prospect of the country on the opposite side of the bay, with the city of Nitherohy, or Praia Grande, in the foreground, and the lofty Organ mountains towering in the distance to the left. There are many parts of the country in the immediate neighbourhood of Rio, which remind a Scotchman of some of the highland scenery of his native country, but with this difference, that, whilst there the mountains are bleak and barren, here they are covered to their summits with a luxuriant tropical vegetation.

The great desire of the inhabitants seems to be to give a European air to the city. This has already been accomplished to a great extent, partly from the influx of Europeans themselves, and partly by those Brazilians who have visited Europe, either for their education or otherwise. It is but seldom now that those extraordinary dresses, both of ladies and gentlemen, which we see represented in the publications of those travellers who visited Rio, even in the early part of the present century, are to be seen in the streets. A few old women only, and those mostly coloured, are observed wearing the comb and mantilla; and the cocked hat and gold buckles are also all but extinct. Now, both ladies and gentlemen dress in the height of Parisian fashion, and both are exceedingly fond of wearing jewellery. One of the finest streets in the city is the Rua d’Ouvidor, not because it is broader, cleaner, or better paved than the others, but because the shops in it are principally occupied by French milliners, jewellers, tailors, booksellers, confectioners, shoe-makers, and barbers. These shops are fitted up with an elegance which the stranger is quite unprepared to meet. Many of them are furnished with windows formed of large panes of plate glass, similar to those which are now so common in every large town in Great Britain. Indeed, it is the Regent Street of Rio, and in it almost any European luxury can be obtained.

A few years ago omnibusses were started to run from the city to the different suburbs. Small steamers ply regularly between Rio and the city of Nitherohy on the opposite side of the bay, and one runs daily to Piedade at the head of it. There is a yearly exhibition of the fine arts, in which are exposed many tolerable pictures, both by native and foreign artists. Music is very much cultivated, and the piano, which at the time when Spix and Martius visited Rio, in 1817, was only to be met with in the richest houses, has now become almost universal. The guitar was formerly the favourite instrument, as it still is all over the interior. There are excellent schools for the education of boys; and boarding schools have been established for young ladies, which are conducted on the same principles as those of a similar nature in England. Being the capital of the empire, and there being residents at the court from most of the European nations, Rio is the scene of much greater gaiety than is generally supposed by those who have never visited it. But as all these matters have been more learnedly “discoursed of” than I profess to be able to do, I shall pass over in silence the levees, the opera, the theatres, whether French or Portuguese, and the balls, public as well as private, which engross quite as much of the attention of the fashionable world here as elsewhere.

Of the many European merchants established here, who for the most part are English, few reside in the city, most of them having country houses in the suburbs. One of the most fashionable resorts is a lovely spot about two miles out, called Botafogo. There the houses are built along the semicircular shore of a quiet bay, which is nearly surrounded by high hills. Immediately behind the houses, and almost overhanging them, stands a very remarkable mountain called the Corcovado, which rises to upwards of two thousand feet above the level of the sea, about two-thirds of its eastern face being a perpendicular precipice. Many other European residences are situated in Catete and on the Praia de Flamengo, between Botafogo and the city; and in the Larenjeiras valley, which stretches up from Catete towards the mountains; others exist at the opposite extremity of the city, in the district of Engenho Velho.

There is one thing wanting in the neighbourhood of Rio which no large city should be without—a public drive. This, I find in India, is a point particularly attended to, whenever, even a few, Europeans are located together. At Rio, those who wish to take a morning or an evening drive, can only do so on the public roads, which are only fit for carriages to run on for a few miles out of the city. There is, indeed, quite close to it what is called the Passeio Publico, a large garden with shady walks, but it is only intended for those who walk. Of an evening, when the weather is fine, it is much frequented by the citizens. The Botanic Garden, which is about eight miles distant from the city, is a place of great resort.

On landing, I took up my residence at an Italian hotel, in one of the principal streets, but as this was not a place fitted to my pursuits, as soon as all my luggage was landed, I removed to the boarding-house of an old English lady, who had then been about thirty years in the country. It was about three or four miles from the city, situated in a beautiful valley which stretches from the suburb of Engenho Velho towards the Corcovado mountain, and called Rio Comprido, from a small stream so named which runs through it. Here I had my head-quarters for about five months, and during that period my excursions extended in all directions round the city. Frequent visits were made to the mountains, which are all covered with dense virgin forests—to the humid valleys—to the swampy tracts which lie to the north of the city—to the sea-shores—and to the islands in the bay. From these rambles there resulted a rich botanical harvest, besides numerous specimens belonging to other branches of natural history. But as an eternal spring and summer reign in this happy climate, and as almost every plant has its own season for the production of its flowers, every month is characterized by a different flora. It is, then, scarcely to be expected that a residence of but a few months can afford more than a very partial knowledge of its vegetable riches.

The whole of the country around Rio is essentially granitic, all the rocks being of that nature to which the name of Gneiss-granite has been applied, from their possessing decided marks of stratification. The mountains generally run in chains having no particular direction, and are of all sizes, from slight eminences to mountains which rise from 2,000 to 3,000 feet above the level of the sea. The loftier of these mountains, such as the Peak of Tejuca, the Corcovado, and the Gavea, have their south-east sides bare and precipitous, while those to the northward have a gradual ascent, and are wooded to their summit. Notwithstanding the enormous length of time which the sides of these mountains have been covered with their mighty forests, the alluvial layer of soil which rests on them is very thin. This, however, may be accounted for by the heavy rains washing it, as well as the materials from which it is formed, down into the valleys, where the alluvium is often found to be many feet deep. Hence it is that the deep valleys which intersect the mountain ranges are the principal seats of agricultural industry; and some of them, particularly in the vicinity of the city, are thickly studded with habitations, surrounded with plantations of Coffee, Oranges, Bananas, and Mandioca. Many of the lower hills near the city are now also cleared and planted with Coffee, but the plantations were too young when I left to form any idea of their success at so low a level. Beneath the alluvium there is a bed of reddish-coloured clay, which is very tenacious when wet. It is often from thirty to forty feet in thickness, and is not peculiar to the province, as I have met with it in every part of Brazil where I have travelled. It frequently contains numerous boulders, consisting of rounded, as well as angular, fragments of Gneiss, Granite, and Quartz, and is often inter-stratified with various beds of sand and gravel. It is obvious then from these observations, that the soil around Rio itself is not generally rich. Indeed, the first thing which strikes a stranger on his arrival, is the apparent poverty of the soil contrasted with the richness of the vegetation. But for the humidity of the atmosphere, the heavy dews of the dry season, and the rains of the wet, combined with the heat of a tropical sun, the greater part of the country immediately surrounding Rio would not be worthy of cultivation. The very small quantity of soil which suffices for some plants is quite astonishing to a European. Rocks, on which scarcely a trace of earth is to be observed, are covered with Vellozias, Tillandsias, Melastomaceæ, Cacti, Orchideæ, and Ferns, and all in the vigour of life.

The climate of Rio has been very much modified by the clearing away of the forests in the neighbourhood. Previous to this, the seasons could scarcely be divided into wet and dry as they are at present. Then rains fell nearly all the year round, and thunder-storms were not only more frequent, but more violent. So much has the moisture been reduced, that the supply of water for the city has been considerably diminished, and the government has, in consequence, forbidden the further destruction of the forests on the Corcovado range, towards the sources of the aqueduct. During the months of May, June, July, August, and September, the climate is usually delightful, being the dry as well as the cool season. The mean temperature of the year is 72°. Although frequent showers fall during the dry season, yet they are not to be compared with the continued rains of the other, which generally commence in October. The rainy season sets in with heavy thunder-storms, which are of most frequent occurrence in the afternoon.

The population of Rio consists principally of Portuguese and their descendants, both white and coloured; those only born in the country are styled Brazilians; and ever since its independence as an empire in 1820, a very bad feeling has existed between them and those who are natives of Portugal. But this feeling is less common among the higher than the lower orders, and is, perhaps, more strongly marked in the inner provinces than on the coast. Wherever any riot, or any attempt to revolt takes place in the interior—and such occurrences are now, unfortunately, but too common—the poor Portuguese are the first to fall victims, being butchered without mercy, and robbed of all they possess. Notwithstanding the ill usage they receive, hundreds of them arrive yearly to push their fortune in the country, which, at one time, formed the richest gem in the crown of Portugal. Many of those who call themselves white in Brazil, scarcely deserve the title, as few of those families who have been long in the country, have preserved the purity of the original stock. The inhabitants of Rio are in general short and slightly made, and form a great contrast to the tall and handsome inhabitants of the Provinces of San Paulo and Minas Geräes, and even those of several of the northern provinces. The Brazilian wherever he is met with is always polite, and but very seldom inhospitable, especially in the less frequented parts of the country. He is much more temperate in his drinking than in his eating, and much more addicted to snuff-taking as well as to smoking: hence the prevalence of dyspeptic and nervous complaints among them. Marriage is less common in Brazil than in Europe, a fact which accounts for the greater laxity of morals which exists here among both sexes. The women are generally short, and when young are pretty agreeable, but as they increase in years they mostly get very corpulent, from their living well and taking but little exercise. In Rio and the other large towns, they always make their appearance when strangers call, but such is not the case in most parts of the interior; there they still remain shy, but with an abundance of curiosity. I have lived for a week at a time in houses where I was well aware there were ladies, without ever seeing more of them than their dark eyes peering through the chinks about the doors of the inner apartments. In the distant province of Goyaz, Matto-Grosso, and Piauhy, nearly all classes of them are as much addicted to the use of the pipe as the men. It is but very seldom that native Indians are to be seen in Rio; I was several months in the country before I saw one. The brown boatmen, in the harbour, who have been taken for Indians, are, as Spix and Martius have already observed, mulattoes of various shades of colour.

Much has been written on slavery as it exists in Brazil. It is a subject of great importance, and demands a much greater amount of observation than has generally occurred to those who have written on it at greatest length. Those have mostly been voyagers, en passant, who have derived their knowledge from others, and not from personal observation. The most ridiculous stories are told by the European residents to strangers on their arrival, as I well know from personal experience. One of the more recent works on Brazil, which on its appearance was the most accredited in Europe, is, perhaps, the least to be depended on. I have good authority for stating that the author noted down every statement that was made to him, however extraordinary, without the slightest examination as to its truth. More than one individual has informed me, that at dinner parties, they have heard persons present, who were more famed for their wit than their veracity, cramming him with information about Brazil, which, in truth, was worse than no information at all; but everything seemed to be acceptable, and was immediately entered in his note-book.

In the year 1825, Humboldt estimated the entire population of Brazil at about 4,000,000; of this number he calculated that 920,000 were whites, 1,960,000 negroes, and 1,120,000 mixed races and native Indians. Here the proportion of the coloured races to the white is about three to one. Later estimates give an entire population of 5,000,000; and the proportion of the coloured race to the whites stands as four to one. It was supposed at the time when the law was passed to render illegal the introduction of new slaves, that the proportional number would speedily decline. Had this law been strictly observed, such would, no doubt, have been the case, as it is well known that the number of births falls far short of the deaths among the slave population in Brazil. This does not arise from their ill usage, as some writers have supposed, but from the well-known fact that a greater proportion of males than of females has at all times been introduced to the country. On some estates in the interior the proportion of females to males is often as low as one to ten. In the Diamond District, in particular, females are very scarce. The law, however, has not been attended to, and the consequence of incessant introduction is, that the number of slaves in the country has not declined. During the five years which I spent in Brazil, I have good reason for believing that the supply was always nearly equal to the demand, even in the most distant parts of the empire.

Notwithstanding the vigilance of the cruisers both on the coast of Brazil and that of Africa, it was well known to every one in Rio, that cargoes of slaves were regularly landed even within a few miles of the city; and during several voyages which I have made in canoes and other small craft along the shores of the northern provinces, I have repeatedly seen cargoes of from one to three hundred slaves landed, and have heard of others. There are many favourite landing-places between Bahia and Pernambuco, particularly near the mouth of the Rio San Francisco. Again and again, while travelling in the interior, I have seen troops of new slaves of both sexes, who could not speak a single word of Portuguese, varying from twenty to one hundred individuals, marched inland for sale, or already belonging to proprietors of plantations. These bands are always under the escort of armed men, and those who have already been bought, are not unfrequently made to carry a small load, usually of agricultural implements. There is no secrecy made of their movements, nay, magistrates themselves are very often the purchasers of them. It is likewise well known that the magistrates of those districts where slaves are landed, receive a certain per-centage on them as a bribe to secrecy. The high price which they bring in the market, is a very great temptation to incur the risk of importing them. It is said that if only one cargo be saved out of three, that one will cover the whole expenses, and leave a handsome profit besides.

Previous to my arrival in Brazil, I had been led to believe, from the reports that have been published in England, that the condition of the slave in that country was the most wretched that could be conceived; and the accounts which I heard when I landed—from individuals whom I now find to have been little informed on the point—tended to confirm that belief. A few years’ residence in the country, during which I saw more than has fallen to the lot of most Europeans, has led me to alter very materially those early impressions. I am no advocate for the continuance of slavery; on the contrary, I should rejoice to see it swept from off the face of the earth—but I will never listen to those who represent the Brazilian slave-holder to be a cruel monster. My experience among them has been very great, and but very few wanton acts of cruelty have come under my own observation. The very temperament of the Brazilian is adverse to its general occurrence. They are of a slow and indolent habit, which causes much to be overlooked in a slave, that by people of a more active and ardent disposition, would be severely punished. Europeans, who have this latter peculiarity more strongly inherent in them, are known to be not only the hardest of task-masters, but the most severe punishers of the faults of their slaves.

In Brazil, as in all other countries, there is more crime in large towns than in the agricultural districts. This arises from the greater facilities which exist in the former for obtaining ardent spirits; yet, among the black population, intoxication is not often observed, even dense as it is in Rio de Janeiro. It was on a Sunday morning that I arrived in Liverpool from Brazil, and during the course of that day I saw in the streets a greater number of cases of intoxication, than, I believe, I observed altogether among Brazilians, whether black or white, during the whole period of my residence in the country. In the large towns the necessity for punishment is of frequent occurrence. The master has it in his own power to chastise his slaves at his own discretion. Some, however, prefer sending the culprit to the Calabouça, where, on the payment of a small sum, punishment is given by the police. Many of the crimes for which only a few lashes are awarded, are of such a nature that in England would bring upon the perpetrator either death or transportation. It is only for very serious crimes that a slave is given up entirely to the public tribunals, as then his services are lost to the owner, either altogether, or at least for a long period.

On most of the plantations the slaves are well attended to, and appear to be very happy. Indeed, it is a characteristic of the negro, resulting no doubt from his careless disposition, that he very soon gets reconciled to his condition. I have conversed with slaves in all parts of the country, and have met with but very few who expressed any regret at having been taken from their own country, or a desire to return to it. On some of the large estates at which I have resided for short periods, the number of slaves often amounted to three or four hundred, and but for my previous knowledge of their being such, I could never have found out from my own observations that they were slaves. I saw a set of contented and well-conditioned labourers turning out from their little huts, often surrounded by a small garden, and proceeding to their respective daily occupations, from which they returned in the evening, but not broken and bent down with the severity of their tasks. The condition of the domestic slave is, perhaps, even better than that of the others; his labour is but light, and he is certainly better fed and clothed. I have almost universally found the Brazilian ladies kind both to their male and female domestic slaves; this is particularly the case when the latter have acted as nurses. On estates, where there has been no medical attendant, I have often found the lady of the proprietor attending to the sick in the hospital herself.

Slaves, however, are variously inclined; from the very nature of a negro—his well-ascertained deficient intellectual capacity—the want of all education—the knowledge of his position in society, and the almost certainty of his never being able to raise himself above it—we need not wonder that there should be among them some who are restless, impatient of all control, and addicted to every vice. It is the frequent necessity which arises for the punishment of the evil-disposed, that has led to the supposition of the indiscriminate and universal use of the lash. If the intellectual capacity of the negro be contrasted with the native Indian, it will not be difficult, on most points, to decide in favour of the latter. It is no small proof of the deficient mental endowment of the negro, that even in remote parts of the empire, three or four white men can keep as many as two or three hundred of them in the most perfect state of submission. With the Indian this could never be accomplished, for they too once were allowed to be held as slaves, and even still are, on the northern and western frontier, although contrary to law. The Indian has the animal propensities less fully developed than the negro; hence he is more gentle in his disposition, but at the same time, is much more impatient of restraint.

The character and capacity of the negro vary very much in the different nations. Those from the northern parts of Africa are by far the finest races. The slaves of Bahia are more difficult to manage than those of any other part of Brazil, and more frequent attempts at revolt have taken place there than elsewhere. The cause of this is obvious. Nearly the whole of the slave population of that place is from the Gold Coast. Both the men and the women are not only taller and more handsomely formed than those from Mozambique, Benguela, and the other parts of Africa, but have a much greater share of mental energy, arising, perhaps, from their near relationship to the Moor and the Arab. Among them there are many who both read and write Arabic. They are more united among themselves than the other nations, and hence are less liable to have their secrets divulged when they aim at a revolt.

To sum up these observations, I have had ample opportunity, since I left South America, for contrasting the condition of the slave of that country with that of the coolie in the Mauritius and in India, but more particularly in Ceylon; and were I asked to which I would give the preference, I should certainly decide in favour of the former, although, at the same time I could not but exclaim with Sterne, “still, Slavery! still thou art a bitter draught!”

A general rise of the black population is much dreaded in Brazil, which is not unreasonable, when the great proportion it bears to the white is taken into consideration. Were they all united by one common sympathy, this would have happened long ago, but the hostile prejudices existing among the different races of Africans, have hitherto prevented it. In the northern and interior provinces, considerable encouragement to their insubordination has been offered, by the general feeling that animates a large proportion of the free class, who are mostly of mixed blood, and who desire to throw off the yoke of monarchy and replace it by a republican form of government, a feeling which I know to be general, not only among the lower orders, but among the magistrates, priests, officers in the army, and owners of landed property, and hence I believe the time is not far distant, when Brazil will share the fate of the other South American states. In such an event the white population will be sure to suffer from the savage rapacity of the mixed races, especially those who have African blood in them: for it is to be remarked, that the worst of criminals spring from this class, who inherit in some degree the superior intellect of the white, while they retain much of the cunning and ferocity of the black; they are mostly free, and bear no good will towards the whites, who form the smaller part of the entire population. It should be observed, however, that in the class of wealthier landed proprietors and commercial men, who have received the benefits of a more liberal education, especially those nearer the capital, and those belonging to the provinces along the coast, this tide of public opinion, that at one time nearly threatened the ruin of the empire, has been in a great measure arrested, and many of those who formerly advocated republican principles, are now the staunchest supporters of the constitutional monarchy, convinced of its being the strongest guarantee they can have for the security of their lives and property, and the developement of the industry and resources of the empire.

In Brazil the mixed races receive different names from those in the Spanish territories. The offspring of Europeans and negroes are called Mulattos; those of Europeans and native Indians, Mamelucos; those of the negro and Indian, Caboclos; while those which spring from the mulatto and negro are called Cabras; the term Creole is applied to the offspring of the negroes.

I considered myself fortunate, shortly after my arrival at Rio, to make the acquaintance, and gain the friendship, of a family that had already travelled in distant parts of South America. It is only he who, day after day, is pursuing his solitary rambles through the dark forests, in the shady glens, on the mountain summits, or by the surf-beaten shores of such a country as Brazil, where all is new, and all is strange, who can fully estimate the privilege of being received with welcome into a family whose leisure hours are devoted to pursuits similar to his own. Many of my excursions in the vicinity of Rio, were undertaken in company with these friends, and to their local knowledge of the country I owe some of my finest botanical acquisitions. To them, as well as to most of the English residents at Rio, I am indebted for many attentions during the different periods of my residence in that neighbourhood.

In order to present some general idea of the splendid scenery of the country, and the leading features of this part of Brazil, I will give an account of some of these excursions. There is a path by the side of the great aqueduct which has always been the favourite resort of naturalists who have visited Rio; and there is certainly no walk near the city so fruitful either in insects or plants. The following notes were made on the return from my first visit along the whole length of the aqueduct. After reaching the head of the Laranjeiras valley, which is about two miles in extent, the ascent becomes rather steep. At this time it was about nine A.M., and the rays of the sun, proceeding from a cloudless sky, were very powerful; but a short distance brought us within the cool shade of the dense forest which skirts the sides of the Corcovado, and through which our path lay. In the valley we saw some very large trees of a thorny-stemmed Bombax, but they were then destitute both of leaves and flowers, nearly all the trees of this tribe being deciduous. There we also passed under the shade of a very large solitary tree which overhangs the road, and is well known by the name of the Pao Grande. It is the Jequetibá of the Brazilians, and the Couratari legalis of Martius. Considerably further up, and on the banks of a small stream that descends from the mountain, we found several curious Dorstenias, and many delicate species of Ferns. We also added here to our collections fine specimens of the Tree-fern (Trichopteris excelsa), which was the first of the kind I had yet seen. The forests here exhibited all the characteristics of tropical vegetation. The rich black soil, which has been forming for centuries in the broad ravines from the decay of leaves, &c., is covered with herbaceous ferns, Dorstenias, Heliconias, Begonias, and other plants which love shade and humidity; while above these rise the tall and graceful Tree-ferns, and the noble Palms, the large leaves of which tremble in the slightest breeze. But it is the gigantic forest trees themselves which produce the strongest impression on the mind of a stranger. How I felt the truth of the observation of Humboldt, that, when a traveller newly arrived from Europe penetrates for the first time into the forests of South America, nature presents itself to him under such an unexpected aspect, that he can scarcely distinguish what most excites his admiration, the deep silence of those solitudes, the individual beauty and contrast of forms, or that vigour and freshness of vegetable life which characterize the climate of the tropics.[1] What first claims attention is the great size of the trees, their thickness, and the height to which they rear their unbranched stems. Then, in place of the few mosses and lichens which cover the trunks and boughs of the forest trees of temperate climes, here they are bearded from the roots to the very extremities of the smallest branches, with Ferns, Aroideæ, Tillandsias, Cacti, Orchideæ, Gesnereæ, and other epiphytous plants. Besides these, many of the larger trunks are encircled with the twining stems of Bignonias, and shrubs of similar habit, the branches of which frequently become thick, and compress the tree so much, that it perishes in the too close embrace. Those climbers, again, which merely ascend the trunk, supporting themselves by their numerous small roots, often become detached after reaching the boughs, and, where many of them exist, the stem presents the aspect of a large mast supported by its stays. These rope-like twiners and creeping plants, passing from tree to tree, descending from the branches to the ground, and ascending again to other boughs, intermingle themselves in a thousand ways, and render a passage through such parts of the forest both difficult and annoying.

Having reached, by mid-day, the level on which the water of the aqueduct is brought from its source, we continued our walk along it for upwards of two miles. Our progress, however, was slow, from the number of new objects continually claiming our attention. In damp shady spots by the side of the aqueduct we found the common water-cress (Nasturtium officinale) of Europe, which is one of the few plants that are truly cosmopolite; and on the rocks grew some little European mosses, which, being old acquaintances, recalled pleasing thoughts of home. Numerous ferns, and many strange-leaved Begonias grew along the side of the little stream. While collecting specimens of a moss, I had a providential escape from a poisonous snake: I caught it in my hand along with a handful of the moss, which was soon dropped when I perceived what accompanied it. Venomous snakes are not uncommon in the province of Rio de Janeiro; but accidents do not so often result from them as might be supposed.

About seven o’clock P.M., we regained the spot where we had left the servants, the horses, and the materials for our dinner; and by the time we had partaken of this repast, darkness had already set in. As the road is by no means of easy descent, even by day, we should not have thought of remaining so long, had we not been certain of moonlight. During the half hour we delayed for the rising of the moon, we listened to the sounds produced by the various animals which are in a state of activity at this hour of the evening. Pre-eminent above all the others, is that emitted by the blacksmith frog; every sound which he produces ringing in the ear like the clang of a hammer upon an anvil, while the tones uttered by his congeners strikingly resemble the lowing of cattle at a distance. Besides these, the hooting of an owl, the shrill song of the cicada, and the chirping of grasshoppers, formed a continued concert of inharmonious tones; while the air was lighted up by the fitful flashes of numerous fire-flies.

When the moon rose we continued our journey, but the lowering clouds, together with the dark shade of the overhanging trees, prevented our deriving much advantage from its light. When we emerged from the forest and gained a glimpse of the horizon, everything betokened an approaching storm. Towards the north lay a mass of the darkest clouds, whence streamed, from time to time, sheets of the most brilliant lightning. This continued till we reached home, shortly after ten o’clock, and we were scarcely seated when the storm broke forth in all its fury, accompanied with a deluge of rain.

From various parts of the watercourse fine views of the low country are obtained. The finest, perhaps, is that which discloses the Lake of Rodrigo Freitas. We looked, as it were, through a large portal; on the left is the Corcovado, covered with a dense forest of various tinted foliage, and on the right, the nearly perpendicular face of another mountain, covered with a few Cacti and other succulent plants, but richly wooded towards the summit. From this point there runs a large wide valley, at the bottom of which lies the Botanic Garden, and still further on, the lake. On the flat grounds by the shores of the lake are a number of cottages, surrounded by cultivated fields. Immediately beyond these is the sea-shore, with its broad belt of white sand on which a heavy surf is always breaking. All beyond, with the exception of a small island or two to the left is the great Southern Atlantic Ocean, bounded by the blue sky. In the course of our walk we often sat down to rest ourselves, and to enjoy, in the silence and repose which surrounded us, the romantic prospects which were constantly presenting themselves.

The Corcovado mountain offers a rich field to the botanist. I frequently visited the lower portions, but only once ascended to the summit. The ascent is from the N.W. side, and although rather steep in some places, may be ridden on horseback all the way up. Some of the trees on the lower parts of it are very large. The thick underwood consists of Palms, Melastomaceæ, Myrtaceæ, Tree-ferns, Crotons, &c.; and beneath these are many delicate herbaceous ferns, Dorstenias, Heliconias, and, in the more open places, a few large grasses. Towards the summit the trees are of much smaller growth, and shrubs belonging to the genus Croton are abundant, as well as a small kind of bamboo. The summit itself is a large mass of very coarse-grained granite. In the clefts of the rocks grow a few small kinds of Orchideous plants, and a beautiful tuberous-rooted scarlet-flowered Gesneria. From this point a magnificent panoramic view of the bay, the city, and the surrounding country is obtained. The temperature at this elevation is so much reduced, that it is not difficult to fancy one’s self suddenly transported to a higher latitude. A strong breeze was blowing, and just before leaving, the top of the mountain became enveloped in one of those dark clouds which so frequently hang over it towards the beginning of the rainy season.

Another interesting journey made during my stay at Rio, was to the Tijuca mountains, whither I was accompanied by a friend, and where we remained ten days. Instead of the direct road from Rio, we preferred the worst and more circuitous one which leads along the shore. Near the sea, and about fifteen miles distant from the city, rises the Gavea, or Topsail Mountain, so called from its square shape, and well known to English sailors by the name, of Lord Hood’s Nose. It has a flat top, and rises about two thousand feet above the level of the sea, to which it presents a nearly perpendicular precipitous face. We remained a night at the house of a Frenchman, who possessed a small coffee estate. The coffee is planted on the rocky sloping ground which lies between the base of the mountain and the sea. The situation is cool, and possesses a moist climate. Among the loose rocks at the foot of the mountain we made a fine collection of beautiful land-shells, and on the rocks by the sea-shore, we found the beautiful Gloxinia speciosa, which is now so common in the hot-houses of England, growing in the greatest profusion, and covered with flowers. Along with it grows a kind of wild Parsley, and twining among the bushes, a new kind of Indian cress (Tropæolum orthoceras, Gardn.). On the face of the mountain, at an elevation of several hundred feet, we observed some large patches of one of those beautiful large-flowered Orchideous plants which are so common in Brazil. Its large rose-coloured flowers were very conspicuous, but we could not reach them. A few days afterwards we found it on a neighbouring mountain, and ascertained it to be Cattleya labiata. Those on the Gavea will long continue to vegetate, far from the reach of the greedy collector.

The road, after winding round the Gavea, terminates at a small salt water lake, which passengers, who follow this route, are obliged to cross, or rather to pass from one end to the other, in consequence of the flank of a high hill which runs into it, and prevents a passage along its margin. We passed the lake in a rotten leaky canoe, and saw on the face of the steep rocks many curious plants which we could not reach. The path which led to the house where we were to take up our quarters, lay for about two miles through a flat meadow-land, partly in its original state, and partly planted with Indian corn, Mandiocca, and Bananas. We passed many small habitations belonging to poor people of colour, mostly fishermen. Before reaching the foot of the mountain over which the road leads to Tijuca, we passed a migrating body of small black ants. The immense number of individuals comprising it may be imagined from the fact, that the column was more than six feet broad, and extended in length to upwards of thirty yards. The ground was completely covered with the little creatures, so closely were they packed together. The natural history of ants has as yet been but little studied, particularly with regard to the enumeration of species. They are more numerous than naturalists are aware of. In those parts within the tropics where humidity prevails, they are neither so varied in species, nor so abundant in individuals, as in drier districts. While residing at Pernambuco, I remember taking notice of all the species I met with in the course of a single day, and they amounted to about twenty-five.

Before ascending the hill we visited the falls of Tijuca, which are only at a short distance from the road. The crystal water of a large rivulet falls over two successive gently inclined masses of rock, upwards of one hundred feet high. It rather glides in a broad broken sheet than falls, and is received in a large pool below. This cascade reminded me of those which are so often to be met with in the wooded glens of Scotland. By dusk, after gradually ascending the mountains, we reached the house; it is situated in an old coffee plantation, belonging to a Brazilian nobleman, but it was then rented by a party of young English merchants in Rio, who used it as a holiday resort, and, by the kindness of one of them, we were allowed to remain at it for a few days.

Early on the following morning we made an excursion to a mountain called the Pedra Bonita, immediately opposite the Gavea. In our way thither we visited the coffee plantations of Mrs. Moke, and Mr. Lescene. They adjoin each other, and were then considered the best managed near Rio. The great coffee country is much farther inland, on the banks of the Rio Parahiba. The trees are planted from six to eight feet apart. Those plants which have been taken from the nursery with balls of mould round their root are found to bear fruit in about two years, whereas those which have been detached from the earth do not produce till the third year, and a greater proportion of the plants die. They are planted when about a foot high, on the slopes of the hills, in the alluvial soil from whence the virgin forest has been cleared. They are only allowed to grow to the height of from ten to twelve feet, so that the crop may lie within reach. Till the trees are in full bearing, one negro can take charge of, and keep clean, two thousand plants: but afterwards only half that number is allotted him. Large healthy coffee trees have been found to produce as much as from eight to twelve pounds of coffee; the average produce, however, varies from a pound and a half to three pounds. When the berry is ripe, it is about the size and colour of a cherry; and of these berries a negro can collect about thirty-two pounds daily. In the course of the year there are three gatherings, but the greater part of the crop ripens during the dry season. The berries are spread out to dry in the sun, on large slightly convex floors; the dry shell is afterwards removed, either by mills, or by a series of large wooden mortars. It is only in some few estates in Brazil that the pulper is seen, which is so commonly used in the West Indies and Ceylon, for taking off the pulp from the fresh berries. Nothing is more beautiful than a coffee plantation in full bloom; the trees come into flower at the same time, but the blossoms do not last more than twenty-four hours. Seen from a distance the plantation seems covered with snow; and the flowers have a most delightful fragrance.

By the side of a stream which flows through the valley where these plantations are, we noticed a nettle-like tree, with a stem eight inches in diameter, and nearly twenty feet high, which proved to be a new species of Bæhmeria (B. arborescens, Gardn.). For a considerable way our ascending path was bordered with bitter orange trees, the shade afforded by which was no less acceptable than their fruit was grateful; for the juice though a little bitter is not disagreeably so. Both here, and in many other parts about Rio, this bitter kind of orange grows apparently wild; it is called the wild orange by the Brazilians (Laranja da Terra), but it is certainly not indigenous. Thence, we came to a tract where the original forest having been felled, was replaced by a thick wood of young trees, consisting chiefly of arborescent Solanums, Crotons, Vernonias, &c., while great numbers of Cecropia peltata and palmata reared their heads above the rest, conspicuous at a great distance from their white bark, their large lobed leaves, the snowy under-surface of which, when agitated by the wind, gives the tree the appearance of being covered with large white blossoms.

Near the summit of the Pedra Bonita, there is a small Fazenda, or farm, the proprietor of which was then clearing away the forest which covers it, converting the larger trees into charcoal. From the massive trunks of some of them which had just been felled, we obtained some very pretty Orchideous plants, and several of the larger denizens of the forest, found to belong to the natural orders Melastomaceæ, Myrtaceæ, Compositæ, and Leguminosæ. The ascent of the Pedra Bonita is made from the north side. Immediately on emerging from the forest, and attaining the summit, a most magnificent view of the surrounding country presented itself. It was then nearly sunset, so we had but little time for botanizing. We only saw enough to convince us that the vegetation of the top of this mountain had a very different character from those of any others we had visited near Rio: resembling more, as I have since ascertained, that of the mountains of the interior. A few days afterwards we made another journey to it, but on this occasion the whole mountain was enveloped in clouds, the minute globules of which they were composed being distinctly visible, as they swept past under the influence of a strong breeze which was blowing from the north. A great part of the top we found to be covered with the beautiful lily-like Vellozia candida, on the branches of which grew a pretty Epidendrum, with rose-coloured flowers. Along with the Vellozia grew two beautiful subscandent species of Echites,[2] one with large dark violet-coloured flowers, the other with white ones of a similar size. They both exhale an odour not unlike that of the common primrose, but more powerful. On the edge of a precipice on the eastern side, we found, covered with its large rose-coloured flowers, the splendid Cattleya labiata, which a few days before we had seen on the Gavea.

The following year, on my return from the Organ Mountains, I again visited this spot, and found that a great change had taken place. The forest, which formerly covered a considerable portion of the summit, was now cut down and converted into charcoal; and the small shrubs and Vellozias which grew in the exposed portion, had been destroyed by fire. The progress of cultivation is proceeding so rapidly for twenty miles around Rio, that many of the species which still exist, will in the course of a few years, be completely annihilated, and the botanists of future times who visit the country, will look in vain for the plants collected by their predecessors.

Other excursions to the islands in the bay, and to Jurujuba, on the opposite side of it, were also productive of many interesting species of plants. It was at the latter place, on dry bushy hills, that I first saw the really beautiful Buginvillea spectabilis growing wild. It climbs up into the tops of the bushes and trees near which it grows, and the brilliant colour of the flowers, which it produces in the greatest profusion, renders it conspicuous in the woods at a great distance. This, as well as the equally beautiful Bignonia venusta, are much cultivated as ornamental climbers in the suburbs.

Before leaving Rio, I visited the Botanic Garden, and the Museum of Natural History. The former, as has already been observed, is situated at the foot of a valley near the sea, about eight miles to the south-west of the city. It is more a public promenade than a Botanic Garden, for, with the exception of a few East Indian trees and shrubs, and a few herbaceous European plants, there is but little to entitle it to that name. Of the immense number of beautiful plants indigenous to the country, I saw but few. The European botanist is, however, well recompensed for his visit, by the sight of some large Bread-fruit trees and the Jack, with its much smaller entire leaves, and monstrous fruit pendent from the stem and large branches. There are also some fine Cinnamon and Clove trees. Near the centre of the garden several clusters of Bamboos, with stems upwards of fifty feet in height, give it a marked tropical character. The avenue which leads up from the entrance, is planted on each side with the pine-like Casuarina. It is on a piece of ground, about an acre in extent, on the left hand side of this avenue, that the Tea plants grow which were imported from China by the grandfather of the present Emperor. It was thought that the climate and soil of Brazil would be suitable for its cultivation, but the success of the experiment has not equalled the expectations which were formed of it, notwithstanding that the growth of the plants, and the preparation of the leaves, were managed by natives of China accustomed to such occupations. In the province of San Paulo a few large plantations of Tea have been established; that belonging to the ex-regent Feijó, containing upwards of 20,000 trees. The produce is sold in the shops at Rio, and in appearance is scarcely to be distinguished from that of Chinese manufacture, but the flavour is inferior, having more of an herby taste. It is sold at about the same price, but it is now ascertained that it cannot be produced, so as to give a sufficient recompense to the grower, the price of labour being greater in Brazil than in China. To remunerate, it is said that Brazil Tea ought to bring five shillings per pound.

The National Museum of Natural History was founded by Don John the Sixth. It gives but a poor idea of the vast stores of animated nature which exist in the country. Like many other Museums, more attention has been given to the cases than to their contents. The collection is contained in a building of moderate size, in the Campo de Santa Anna. There are some eight apartments which visitors are allowed to enter: one of these is devoted to the dresses, ornaments, arms, &c., of the aborigines of Brazil; another contains a number of cases of stuffed birds, foreign as well as indigenous, badly prepared, and but few of them named; another has a few mummy cases ranged along one side of it, from one of which the body has been taken and placed in a glass case; the bindings have been unrolled from the head and feet, and both these parts are fully exposed. There are also in this room a very limited collection of coins and medals, and a few paintings, one of which is a full-length portrait of the founder. Another apartment contains a few cases of quadrupeds, chiefly monkeys. Two rooms are allotted to a collection of minerals, which is the most extensive as well as the most interesting portion of the contents of the institution; the specimens are mostly European. The Museum is thrown open to the public every Thursday, from ten till four o’clock, and appears to be well frequented.

CHAPTER II.
JOURNEY TO AND RESIDENCE IN THE ORGAN MOUNTAINS.

Principal Summer Resort of the English Residents—Journey from Piedade to Magé and Frechal—Ascent of the Mountains—Description of Virgin Forests—Mr. March’s Plantation in the Serra—Treatment of his Slaves—Case of One bitten by a venomous Snake—Limb amputated by the Author—Mode of Treatment in such Cases among the Natives—Charms—Tapir-Hunting in the Mountains—Beasts, Birds, and Reptiles found there—Visit to a Brazilian Fazendeiro—To Constantia—Ascent of the loftiest Peaks—Vegetable Productions in those elevated regions—Pleasant Sojourn on the Estate.

The collections which had accumulated during the period of my residence in the vicinity of Rio de Janeiro, having been put into a proper state and sent to England, I made arrangements for visiting the Organ Mountains. The peaks which receive this appellation form part of a mountain range, situated about sixty miles to the north of Rio, which, branching out in various directions, stretches from about Bahia, in lat. 12° S., to S. Catharina, in lat. 29° S. The name (Serra dos Orgãos) bestowed on them by the Portuguese, originated in a fancied resemblance which the peaks, rising gradually one above the other, bear to the pipes of an organ. About ten years before my visit a Sanatorium, or health station, had been established on this range, at about 3,000 feet above the level of the sea, in a beautiful valley behind the higher peaks. A large tract of country there belongs to Mr. March, an English gentleman, on which he has a farm for the breeding of horses and mules, and a large garden, from which the Rio market is regularly supplied with European vegetables. On this property a number of cottages have been erected, which are resorted to by the families of the English residents at Rio during the hot months. He also receives boarders into his own house, and it rarely happens that the place is without visitors. About one-third of the journey has to be performed by water, the other is accomplished on mules, which are sent down from Mr. March’s farm (Fazenda).

As Mr. March happened to be in Rio at the time I purposed visiting the mountains, we started together, on the 24th of Dec., along with two or three English merchants, who were going up to spend the Christmas holidays with their families. It was mid-day before we could leave the city, and, under the influence of a strong sea-breeze, we reached Piedade, the landing-place, at half-past three o’clock, the distance being about twenty miles. The boat in which we embarked belongs to a class which is very common in the harbour, and much employed in conveying goods to the head of the bay, and produce from the interior, from thence to Rio. They are also much made use of by pleasure parties frequenting the islands and opposite shores of the bay. They are called Faluas, and are manned by six rowers, and a steersman who is called the Patrão. The latter is very frequently the owner, and most of them are natives of Portugal. They have two masts, each of which carries a large sail; the stern part is covered over and enclosed with curtains. The negroes who man these boats are generally strong muscular men. Seated on one thwart, they place their feet against another, and rise up at each stroke of the oar, keeping time to a melancholy chant all the while they are pulling. These boats can be hired for an entire day at about eighteen shillings.

The day was a most delightful one, the sun shining out brightly from a clear sky, and the air cooled by the fresh sea-breeze. We passed close to the Ilha do Governador, which is the largest island in the bay. It is about eight miles in length, but narrow in proportion, and thinly inhabited. Shortly before my arrival in the country, an Englishman commenced a soap and candle manufactory on it, both of which articles bring the same price in Rio as those imported from Europe. The muddy shores of this island, as well as those of the whole bay, abound with crabs of all sizes, and every variety of colour, from nearly black to a bright scarlet. On one occasion when I visited the island, I observed within a very short space about eight species. They are gregarious, and each kind inhabits a distinct colony; they burrow in the mud, under the shade and among the roots of the mangrove and other shore-loving trees. It was here that I first saw the apparent anomaly of trees bearing crops of oysters. These animals, when young, attach themselves to the lower part of the trunks, and long pendulous roots, of the mangrove and other trees, which grow in the sea even to low-water mark. The oysters are small and not well-flavoured. Others are found in the bay of enormous size, some of their shells, which I collected as specimens, measuring upwards of a foot in length. Near the head of the bay there are many little islands, some of which are inhabited, and present the agreeable prospect of cultivation, while others are little more than masses of rock, among the clefts of which grow a few stunted shrubs, and grotesque prickly pears.

At Piedade, mules from Mr. March’s Fazenda were waiting for us and our luggage, and, after a short stay for the arrangement of the latter, we began the land part of our journey. At Piedade, which only consists of a few scattered houses, a large hotel was being erected by Col. Leite, a Brazilian gentleman, who, at his own expense, was then making a new road across the Organ Mountains, to join the one which leads to the mining districts from Porto de Estrella, another landing place at the head of the bay. The latter place has hitherto been the common harbour between Rio and the interior. The Colonel, however, expects that his new road will ultimately be preferred, as it is much shorter. Four years after when I again visited this part of the country, I found that this road was still in an unfinished state. To save the expense of an engineer he had traced the road himself, and the consequence was, that it afterwards required many alterations. The road from Piedade to Magé, a small town about four miles distant, leads through a flat, sandy, and, in several places, marshy plain, abounding with low trees and beautiful flowering shrubs. The hedges were covered with numerous climbers, one of them a small sweet-flowered kind of Jasmine, the only one which has hitherto been found in a wild state on the continent of America. In moist places, Dichorizandra thyrsiflora, with its spikes of azure blossoms, was not uncommon, while the sandy fields were covered with a large kind of Cactus, among which many plants of the aloe-like Fourcroya gigantea were to be seen throwing up their flowering stems to a height of thirty and forty feet.

The town of Magé is rather prettily situated on the banks of the Magé-assú, one of the many small rivers which take their rise in the Organ Mountains, and fall into the head of the bay. It contains a neat church, and a number of well-furnished shops. The river is navigable, for craft of a small size, about eight miles from its mouth. A considerable quantity of Farinha de Mandiocca (Cassava) is exported from this place to Rio. Its low situation, and the surrounding swamps, render it unhealthy at particular seasons; intermittent fevers are here common, and they frequently terminate in others of a more malignant nature. From Magé to Frechal, the place where we slept for the night, the distance is about fourteen miles. The road still continued flat, but wound round many low hills, the sides of which are covered with plantations of Mandiocca. We met several troops of mules coming down from the interior, loaded with produce. Unaccustomed to such a mode of transport, the European looks with astonishment at the great number of animals which are here required to carry what, in his own country, would scarcely form a load for one. Loaded mules start daily from Rio, Piedade, and Porto d’Estrella, to make journeys into the interior of from five hundred to two thousand miles and upwards. They seldom travel above twelve or sixteen miles a day, and the load allowed to each varies from six to eight arrobas of thirty-two pounds each. The loads are protected from the weather by dried ox-hides, which are strapped lightly over them. Frechal is a small village, consisting of a few scattered houses, and situated about two miles from the foot of the mountains. The place at which we put up for the night is a large kind of public house (Venda), where there is an open room for the accommodation of travellers; around this room a number of beds are arranged, which gives it very much the appearance of a hospital ward. Here, unlike most other places of the same kind between Rio and the mining districts, a very comfortable meal may always be obtained.

Next morning by break of day we again continued our journey. At about two miles from Frechal the ascent of the mountains begins. From thence to Mr. March’s Fazenda, which stands at an elevation of upwards of 3,000 feet above the level of the sea, is twelve miles. During the whole way the road is very bad, and in many places so steep, that it is with considerable difficulty the mules make their way up it. Indeed, to one unused to travel on such paths, which have more the appearance of the bed of a mountain torrent than a road for beasts of burden, many parts of it appear impassable; but he is soon undeceived by the slow yet sure manner in which the mules pass along the worst portion of it, especially if left entirely to themselves. The whole length of the road is through one dense forest, the magnificence of which cannot be imagined by those who have never seen it, or penetrated into its recesses. Those remnants of the virgin forest which still stand in the vicinity of the capital, although they appear grand to the eye of a newly-arrived European, become insignificant when compared with the mass of giant vegetation which clothes the sides of the Organ Mountains. So far as I have been able to determine, the large forest trees consist of various species of Palms, Laurus, Ficus, Cassia, Bignonia, Solanum, Myrtaceæ, and Melastomaceæ. In temperate climates natural forests are mostly composed of trees which grow gregariously. In those of tropical countries it is seldom that two trees of a kind are to be seen growing together, the variety of different species is so great. Many of the trees are of immense size, and have their trunks and branches covered with myriads of those plants which are usually called parasites, but are not so in reality, consisting of Orchideæ, Bromeliaceæ, Ferns, Peperomiæ, &c., which derive their nourishment from the moisture of their bark, and the earthy matter which has been formed from the decay of mosses, &c. Many of the trees have their trunks encircled by twiners, the stems of which are often thicker than those they surround. This is particularly the case with a kind of wild fig, called by the Brazilians, Cipo Matador. It runs up the tree to which it has attached itself, and at the distance of about every ten feet throws out from each side a thick clasper, which curves round, and closely entwines the other stem. As both the trees increase in size, the pressure ultimately becomes so great, that the supporting one dies from the embrace of the parasite.

There is another kind of wild fig-tree, with an enormous height and thickness of stem, to which the English residents give the name of Buttress-tree, from several large thin plates which stand out from the bottom of the trunk. They begin to jut out from the stem at the height of ten or twelve feet from the bottom, and gradually increase in breadth till they reach the ground, where they are connected with the large roots of the tree. At the surface of the ground these plates are often five feet broad, and throughout not more than a few inches thick. The various species of Laurus form fine trees; they flower in the months of April and May, at which season the atmosphere is loaded with the rich perfume of their small white blossoms. When their fruit is ripe, it forms the principal food of the Jacutinga (Penelope Jacutinga, Spix), a fine large game bird. The large Cassiæ have a striking appearance when in flower; and, as an almost equal number of large trees of Lasiandra Fontanesiana, and others of the Melastoma tribe, are in bloom at the same time, the forests are then almost one mass of yellow and purple from the abundance of these flowers. Rising amid these, the pink-coloured flowers of the Chorisia speciosa—a kind of silk cotton-tree—can be easily distinguished. It is also a large tree, with a stem, covered with strong prickles, from five to eight feet in circumference unbranched to the height of thirty or forty feet. The branches then form a nearly hemispherical top, which, when covered with its thousands of beautiful large rose-coloured blossoms, has a striking effect when contrasted with the masses of green, yellow, and purple of the surrounding trees.

Many of these large trunks afford support to various species of climbing and twining shrubs, belonging to the natural orders Bignoniaceæ, Compositæ, Apocyneæ, and Leguminosæ, the stems of which frequently assume a very remarkable appearance. Several of them are often twisted together and dangle from the branches of the trees, like large ropes, while others are flat and compressed, like belts: of the latter description I have met with some six inches broad, and not more than an inch thick. Two of the finest climbers are the beautiful large trumpet-flowered Solandra grandiflora, which, diffusing itself among the largest trees of the forest, gives them a magnificence not their own; and a showy species of Fuchsia (F. integrifolia, Cambess.),[3] which is very common, attaching itself to all kinds of trees, often reaching to the height of from sixty to one hundred feet, and then falling down in the most beautiful festoons.

At the foot of the mountains the underwood principally consists of shrubs belonging to the natural orders Melastomaceæ, Myrtaceæ, Compositæ, Solanaceæ, and Rubiaceæ, among which are many large species of herbaceous ferns, and a few palms. About the middle, palms and tree ferns abound, some of the latter reaching to the height of not less than forty feet. These trees are so unlike every other denizen of the forest, so strange in appearance, yet so graceful, that they have always attracted my attention more than any other, not even excepting the palms. At an elevation of about 2,000 feet, a large species of bamboo (Bambusa Togoara, Mart.) makes its appearance. The stems of this gigantic grass are often eighteen inches in circumference, and attain a height of from fifty to one hundred feet. They do not, however, grow perfectly upright, their tops forming a graceful curve downwards. Throughout the whole distance, the path was lined on each side with the most beautiful herbaceous plants and delicate ferns.

We reached Mr. March’s Fazenda early in the forenoon. His estate embraces an extent of country containing sixty-four square miles. The greater part of it is still covered by virgin forests; that which is cleared, consists of pasture land, and several small farms for the cultivation of Indian corn, French beans, and potatoes. Plentiful crops are yielded of the two former, but the produce of the latter is neither so abundant nor so good as in England. He has also near his house a large garden, under the management of a French gardener, in which nearly all the European fruits and vegetables grow tolerably well. The peach, the olive, the fig, the vine, the apple, the quince, the loquat, the pear, the orange, and the banana, may be seen growing side by side, and all, with the exception of the two latter, bearing abundance of fruit. The orange and the banana also bear, but the cold seldom allows the fruit to come to perfection. The strawberry yields but little fruit, and the gooseberry none at all. The apples are quite equal to any I have tasted in England, but the peaches are very inferior; bushels of them are given to feed the pigs. The figs are delicious, especially a variety which produces small green-coloured fruit. Excellent crops of cauliflower, cabbage, asparagus, artichokes, turnips, carrots, peas, onions, &c., are freely produced, and sent weekly to the city. The most fertile part of the estate is a large valley, situated between the higher chain of the Organ Mountains and a smaller range which runs nearly parallel with it, and many of the smaller valleys, which run up to the peaks themselves, are cultivated; these are all well watered with small streams of cool and limpid water.

At this elevation the climate is very much cooler than it is at Rio, the thermometer in the months of May and June sometimes falling as low as 32° just before daybreak. The lowest at which I observed it myself, was on the 26th of May, when, at 8 o’clock A.M., the mercury indicated 39°. The highest to which it rose during the six months I resided on the mountains, was on the 23rd of February, when the mercury stood at 84° at noon. The hot season is also the season of the rains, and violent thunder storms occur almost daily, during the months of January and February. They come on with great regularity about four o’clock in the afternoon, and when they pass over, leave a delightfully cool evening. Like the mountains near Rio, the whole of the Organ range consists of granite. The alluvial soil is very deep and rich in the valleys, and underneath it there exists the same red-coloured argillaceo-ferrugineous clay which is so common at Rio.

It being Christmas-day on which we arrived, and a great holiday, we found the whole of the slaves belonging to the estate, amounting to about one hundred, dancing in the yard before the house, and all attired in new suits of clothes, which had been sent out to them the day before. In the evening, a party of the best conducted, principally creoles, were admitted into the verandah of the house, where I had a good opportunity of witnessing their dances—some of them not being very delicate. One of the best was a kind of dramatic dance, of which the following is a programme. Near the door of a house belonging to a Padre (priest), a young fellow commences dancing and playing on the viola, a kind of guitar. The Padre hears the noise, and sends out one of his servants to ascertain the cause. He finds the musician dancing to his own strains, and tells him that he is sent by his master to enquire why he is thus disturbed. The musician tells him that he is making no disturbance at all, but only trying a new dance from Bahia, which he saw the other day at Diario. The servant asks if it is a good one: “Oh, very good,” replies the other, “will you not try it?” The servant claps his hands, cries “Let the Padre go sleep!” and immediately joins in the dance. The same thing is repeated till the Padre’s servants, men, women, and children, amounting to about twenty, are dancing in a circle before the house. Last of all the supposed Padre himself makes his appearance in a great rage, dressed in a large Poncho for a gown, a broad-brimmed black straw hat, and a mask with a long beard to it. He demands the cause of the noise, which, he says, prevents him from enjoying his dinner. The musician tells him the same story that was told to his servants, and after much persuasion, gets him to join in the dance also. He dances with as much zeal as any of them, but, watching his opportunity, he takes out a whip which he has concealed under his gown, and, lashing the whole of them out of the apartment, finishes the performance. A stricter discipline is kept up among the slaves on this estate, than on any of the same size I have been on in Brazil, but, at the same time, they are carefully and kindly attended to. There is a hospital for the sick, and Mr. Heath, the manager of the estate, has had great experience in the treatment of those diseases to which negroes are liable.

Although there are not so many kinds of venomous snakes in Brazil as is supposed even by the inhabitants, yet accidents frequently occur from their bites to those slaves who are engaged in the plantations. In the whole course of my travels in Brazil, I did not meet with more than half a dozen kinds, which, from examination, were found to have poison fangs. Some of these are, however, very numerous in individuals. In the province of Rio, and in the southern provinces generally, the Jararáca, (Bothrops Neuwiedii, Spix.) a genus nearly allied to that which the Rattle Snake belongs to, is perhaps the most common. When full grown it is usually about six feet long. It is frequently met with in plantations, and in bushy and grassy places by the sides of woods, but is scarcely ever found in dense forests. That which is most abundant in the central and northern provinces, is a true Rattle Snake (Cascavel), but most probably a distinct species from that of North America. On the day previous to my arrival at Mr. March’s, one of his female slaves, about thirty-two years of age, and the mother of four children, whilst weeding Indian corn on a plantation about eight miles distant from the house, was bitten on the right hand, between the bones of the fore-finger and thumb, by a Jararáca. The accident took place about eight o’clock in the morning, and immediately after she left to return home, but only reached half way, when she was obliged to lie down from excessive pain and exhaustion. At this time she said the feeling of thirst was very great. Some slaves belonging to the estate happening to be near, one of them rode off to inform Mr. Heath. When he arrived, he found the arm much swollen up to the shoulder, beneath which he applied a ligature. From a cottage in the neighbourhood he got a little hartshorn, some of which he applied to the bite, and caused her to swallow about a tea-spoonful in water. Being in a state of high fever, he took about a pound of blood from her, after which she became faintish. She was then removed to the Fazenda, and had two grains of calomel administered to her, and about an hour after a large dose of castor oil.

When I saw her on the following day, she still complained of excruciating pain in the hand and arm, to relieve which a linseed-meal poultice was applied. The pulse being 130, and full, about another pound of blood was taken from the other arm. Next day a number of little vesicles made their appearance on the back of the hand and a little above the wrist, which, when opened, discharged a watery fluid. For the next two days she continued to suffer much pain, to relieve which poultices were constantly applied. More vesicles formed, and the cuticle began to peel off in the vicinity of the bite. On the morning of the 29th, that is, on the fourth day after the accident, when the poultice was removed, she complained of no pain at all in her hand, and on careful examination I found that gangrene had taken place, all below the wrist being dead. From the state of the arm, there was every appearance of the mortification extending. On making an incision into the living portion above the wrist, a considerable quantity of a very fœtid whitish watery fluid discharged itself; and, on pressing the arm between the finger and thumb, a crepitation was felt from the air which had generated beneath the integuments. She was now very weak, the pulse 136, small and feeble, and she appeared to be fast sinking. Amputation being the only means that seemed to offer her a chance of recovery, I decided at once to take off the arm. As the crepitation extended to a few inches above the elbow, and the swelling itself to the shoulder, I determined to take it off as close to the latter as possible. As there was no room for the application of the tourniquet, I got Mr. Heath to apply pressure with a padded key over the artery where it passes under the clavicle, and Mr. March held the arm while I performed the operation. A good deal of blood was lost before I could secure the artery, which had to be done before the bone was sawn through. In a fortnight after, the stump had nearly healed up, and she was walking about the room. Four years afterwards I again saw her, and her general health had not suffered in the least, but she had become extremely irritable and ill-tempered.

Neither the natives nor the inhabitants have any remedy for snake bites, in which they put implicit faith. This I found out from their frequently applying to me for medicine, after their own resources had been completely exhausted. When an accident of this nature happens, the patient, in the interior particularly, is generally put under the charge of a class of people called Curadores, who apply their remedies with many mysterious ceremonies. The first operation of the Curador is to suck the wound, which, if immediately had recourse to, I believe to be the next best thing to excision or cauterization. The patient is then put into a dark room, and care is taken that he is not exposed to currents of air. One of the remedies which they believe to be the most efficacious, is that which is well known in Minas and the other inland provinces, by the name of Black Root (Raiz Preto), and Snake Root (Raiz de Cobra). It is the root of a common shrub, now well known to botanists by the name of Chiococca anguifuga. It has a pungent disagreeable smell, not unlike that of the common Valerian. Decoctions of this are given to drink, and poultices of it are applied to the wound. The Raiz Preto acts as a violent emetic and purgative, and also induces copious perspiration. If it operates freely in this manner, they augur favourably of the patient’s recovery. Besides this plant they use many others. Snakes have generally a disagreeable musky smell, and it is a common opinion among the people, that any plant possessing one similar is sure to be valuable in the cure of their bites.

In the province of Pernambuco, I found that a common method of cure was to give the patient rum to drink, till he was in a perfect state of intoxication; and this they affirm is very frequently a successful remedy. But the most extraordinary method of cure which I have ever heard of, is one which was communicated to me by a farmer (Fazendeiro), who accompanied me to Rio on my return from the mountains. Only three days, he said, before he left his estate, one of his oxen was bitten on the leg by a Jararáca, but having immediately applied his remedy, it became as well as any of the others before he quitted home. This remedy consists of the following well-known Latin acrostic, or, as he termed them, magical words:—

Each line is to be written separately on a slip of paper, and then rolled into the form of a pill, the whole five to be given as soon as possible after the person or animal has been bitten. He also gave me quite as ridiculous a remedy for the cure of drunkenness. This was to place a piece of bread in the arm-pits of a dying man, and allow it to remain there till he was perfectly dead. The smallest portion of this bread, he affirmed, given, without their knowledge, to those addicted to intemperance, would produce a perfect cure.

Catesby mentions that in North America he has seen death result from the bite of a Rattle Snake in less than two minutes; I have also heard of death taking place very shortly after the bite in Brazil, but I have never actually seen it in less than ten or twelve hours. In those cases where the poison acts so quickly, it must be so strong as to destroy the nervous energy at once. In those in which the patient lingers for one or more days, death generally takes place from inflammation and mortification of the subcutaneous cellular substance. During the course of my journeys in the interior, I met frequently with persons who had recovered from severe snake bites, but almost all of them had broken constitutions, and suffered from ulcerated limbs. From all that I have seen, I candidly confess, that I have no faith in any medicine intended to act as a specific for a snake bite, whether used internally or externally. I do not of course allude to those which are usually applied for the reduction of inflammation and fever, as under any mode of treatment they cannot be withheld. A ligature attached above the wound, and instant incisions into the wound itself, and the application of a cupping-glass, which, in the shape of a wine glass, is always at hand, are more to be depended on than any other external remedial agency.

My first journey of any length into the virgin forest here, was made in company with M. Lomonosof, the Russian minister at the court of Brazil, and Mr. Heath. M. Lomonosof was desirous to witness a Tapir (Anta) hunt, that animal being very common on this range. It is the largest South American quadruped, but is not of greater size in the body than a calf about six months old, and it stands upon much shorter legs. We left the Fazenda about half-past six o’clock in the morning, and entered the forest at about three miles to the north of it. We were accompanied by four negroes, and took provisions with us for two days. We had also our guns and six good dogs. For the first mile and a half we had a tolerable path, leading through a forest of fine trees, with very little underwood except young palms, hundreds of which were cut down by the blacks who were clearing the way for us. In going up the valley we crossed and recrossed a small river, called the Imbuhy, several times, on the banks of which I added largely to my botanical collections. The most difficult part of our path was about half a mile which had to be cut through a thick forest of bamboos. Having accomplished this, we came upon an old track of a tapir. It was about two feet broad, well beaten, and had foot marks of the animal on it, but they were several days old. This path led us through a densely wooded part of the forest, to one which was less so, the larger trees being fewer, but instead, an abundance of shrubs and large herbaceous plants. We here came upon several paths, which we found led to a deep pool in the river, and evidently a place which the tapir repairs to for the purpose of drinking and bathing. While Mr. Heath was endeavouring to get the dogs upon a recent track, I occupied myself in collecting a number of curious plants, which grew on a sloping bank by the side of the stream. It now began to rain, and the dogs not having gone out, we again crossed the river, and proceeded up the valley about a mile further. From thence one of the dogs set off, but returned in about a quarter of an hour without having turned up anything. It was now nearly four o’clock in the afternoon, and the rain was beginning to fall heavily; we therefore sought for a place where we might encamp for the night, as we were ten miles distant from the Fazenda, and M. Lomonosof was too much fatigued to be able to return. The place we selected was under the shade of some large trees, near which grew abundance of the small cabbage palm (Euterpe edulis, Mart.), the terminal bud of which is so much made use of as a vegetable by the Brazilians. A hut was soon erected, and thickly thatched over with the leaves of this palm. At first we were dreadfully annoyed by mosquitoes and a little sand-fly, but the kindling of a large fire in front of our hut soon dispersed them. Palm leaves were spread upon the floor for our bed, and we had a small log of wood for a pillow. It rained heavily all night, but we did not suffer from it. We got up next morning by break of day, and prepared to return home, as it still continued to rain. I was somewhat amused at the vessel in which the blacks cooked their breakfast. It was a pot made from a part of the thick stem of a bamboo, the bottom being formed by the division which occurs at each joint. It is placed upright on the fire, and so long as it contains water will not burn through. Among the many uses to which the bamboo may be put, that is one which I never heard of before nor have seen since. After a slight breakfast we commenced our journey homewards; but before getting out of the forest, M. Lomonosof, little accustomed to a hunter’s life, became so exhausted from fatigue, that it was with difficulty he reached the place where horses had been ordered to be sent to await our return.

The animals which inhabit the vast forests of the Organ mountains are, perhaps, no less various than the forms of the vegetable creation. Formerly the Ounce, or Jaguar (Felis Onca), used to be common, but now it is only occasionally that its roar is heard at night, or that cattle or sheep suffer from its depredations. The black variety, to which the Brazilians give the name of Tiger, is still more rare. The woods, however, abound with a very pretty species of wild cat (Felis pardalis). Monkeys are very numerous. In the morning the forests resound with the unearthly howling of the Barbado (Mycetes barbatus), which is as large as an ordinary dog; they live in bands of many together. There are several others quite as large, but they are seldom to be seen. The grey Marmoset, which is so common in the forests of the northern provinces, is not to be met with here, but another, and perhaps a still more beautiful species is occasionally found. It is the Jaccus auritus. It is easily distinguished from all the other species by its nearly uniform dark colour, and the pencils of long white hairs which come out from its ears. The Sloth (Acheus Ai) is also occasionally found feeding on the leaves of the Cecropia peltata, which form his favourite food. One which I had for some time in captivity, was of a timid and fretful disposition. Like most other animals in which the brain is small in proportion to the development of the nervous system, it is very tenacious of life. Although more tardy in its movements than most quadrupeds of its size, it passes with considerable rapidity from branch to branch, from which in its progress it always hangs by the legs and feet. It owes much to Waterton, for being the first to remove the stigma which Buffon and others put upon its character. In the river which flows through the valley, the Brazilian Otter (Lutra Brasiliensis), and the Capybara (Hydrochærus capybara), are still occasionally to be met with. A pretty little deer (Cervus nemorivagus) frequently attracts the sportsman to the woods, as do also the two species of Pecari (Dicotyles labiatus and torquatus), which are so common all over the intertropical parts of South America. A kind of Opossum (Didelphis Azaræ) is as much the pest of the fowl-house as the fox is in Europe. It is very tenacious of life, getting up and running away when every bone in its body appears to be broken by the blows which have been inflicted on it. In the woods an Armadillo (Tatusia peba) is not uncommon, the stewed flesh of which makes excellent food; and in the forests a prehensile-tailed kind of Porcupine (Sphigurus spinosus) is also often met with; they both burrow in the ground. The great Ant-bear (Myrmecophaga tamandua) is rarely, though occasionally, to be met with. Along with the monkeys, a little brown squirrel is often to be seen sporting among the branches of the trees.

Besides the numerous fly-catchers and other small birds, the wild pigeons, the flocks of parroquets and parrots, the hawks, owls, and the various species of Toucans, remarkable for their brilliant colours, and the great size of their bills, there are several large birds which are much sought after by the sportsman. These are the Jacú, Jacutinga, Jacubemba, Jacuassú, all gallinaceous birds, belonging to the genus Penelope; two species of Quail, the Macúcu (Tinamus macaco), and the Nhambú (Pezus niamba); and, lastly, a Partridge (Perdix Guianensis), the Capoeira of the Brazilians. Of reptiles there are numerous snakes, many of which are beautifully coloured, a vast variety of lizards, and innumerable hordes of frogs and toads of all sizes, from the small tree kind not more than an inch long, to those marsh ones which are nearly large enough to fill a hat. Till one gets accustomed to the sounds which they produce, particularly previous to rain, they are almost deafening. During the day the air is full of beautiful butterflies of all colours, now flying from flower to flower, and now alighting on the moist sandy banks of pools and small streams in countless numbers. The large nests of wasps hang from the boughs of the trees, and smaller ones are often hidden among the leaves and small branches of shrubs, the inhabitants of which, when disturbed, rush out and inflict summary punishment on the unhappy transgressors. In open places the leaves and flowers of bushes and other plants, abound with Diamond and other beetles; while at night the air is lighted up with fire-flies of various sizes, which, from their brilliancy, give the idea that part of the stars have fallen from the firmament, and are floating about without a resting place.

While I resided at Mr. March’s I frequently paid a visit to a Brazilian, Joaquim Paulo by name, who has a small estate about ten miles distant. My first visit was made along with Mr. Heath, and as we arrived shortly before dinner, we were invited to partake of that meal. This I was not displeased at, as it gave me an opportunity of witnessing the internal economy of a Brazilian country-house, never having been in one before. The dinner was substantial and clean, but every dish was, according to the custom of the country, highly seasoned with garlic. The table was covered with a clean cloth, on one end of which was laid a heap of ground cassava root (Farinha de Mandiocca), and on the other a heap of ground Indian corn (Farinha de Milho). On one of these heaps was placed a large dish of boiled black French beans (Feijoens), with a large piece of fat pork (Toucinho) in the midst of them; while on the other was laid a dish of stewed fowl. We had also roast pork and blood sausages. From these dishes and heaps every one helped himself. As a vegetable we had a dish of cabbage-palm (Euterpe edulis), which is very tender and delicious, tasting not unlike asparagus. During dinner we were each furnished with a cup of Lisbon wine; and after it we had various kinds of sweet-meats. Besides ourselves, there were only our host and two of his sons. Indeed, his wife and daughters I did not see till I had been several times at the house. The two girls were rather pretty, but they could neither read nor write. The father would not allow them to learn either, from fear that they would take to the reading of novels, and the writing of love-letters. He was himself a most inveterate huntsman, being almost always in the woods in pursuit of game. He was a capital shot, and had killed more tapirs with his own hand than any one in the vicinity.

I also visited occasionally a coffee plantation called Constantia, about fifteen miles distant from Mr. March’s, belonging to M. De Luze, a Swiss, who had been many years in the country. It is situated in a flat valley surrounded by sloping hills, and is one of the most lovely spots I have ever seen. In the neighbourhood of it there are two other coffee plantations belonging to Germans, but they have all ascertained that the elevation is too great for the successful cultivation of coffee. Since then M. De Luze has sold his estate to Mr. March, and bought a larger one, in a fine coffee country on the banks of the Rio Parahiba. In the latitude of Rio, coffee does not succeed at a much greater elevation than 2,000 feet. At Mr. March’s the bush grows well, but it never ripens its fruit properly.

The most distant journey I made, was to an estate about twenty miles north of Mr. March’s Fazenda. About the middle of April, Mr. Heath received a note from the lady to whom it belongs, Dona Rita Thereza da Roza, asking him as a great favour to ride over and take me along with him to see her little daughter, who a few days before had been attacked with apoplexy and paralysis. On the following day it was our intention to have gone, but heavy rains, which came on and flooded the rivers, prevented us from starting till the succeeding day. Mr. March’s house being at the south end of his estate, we had to pass along the whole length of it, a distance of about eight miles. After leaving it our road led over a very high hill; it was steep, and the soil being a kind of red clay, was so slippery in consequence of the heavy rains which had lately fallen, that our mules had considerable difficulty in getting up. The declivity on the other side was nearly as bad. From this place the road passed for the most part through large fields of Indian corn, which was then nearly ripe for collecting, and several small patches of rice in the moist flat places. When we arrived at the house of the lady, we learned that the daughter had died the evening before. We were shown the body, which had been put into a coffin, and placed in a neat little chapel belonging to the estate, and in which it was to be buried. The interment was to take place on the arrival of the Padre, who had to be brought from a distance of forty-eight miles, and was hourly expected. The child was only eight years of age, but had been long unwell. We had to remain to dinner, and, as many relations and neighbours were present, the party was a large one. Until dinner was ready, the eldest daughter, a rather plain girl, was amusing herself by swinging to and fro in a hammock, which was slung in one corner of the dining-room. As an instance of the early age at which women marry in Brazil, I may mention that we were informed by the lady herself, that she was married at ten years of age, and was a mother before she had completed her eleventh year. She was then forty-five years old, and had had no less than twenty-five births, ten of which were miscarriages. We were received with much kindness, and she expressed herself very grateful for my visit.

As the Organ Mountains rise to an elevation of about four thousand feet above Mr. March’s house, I had long been desirous to spend a few days among the high peaks, for the purpose of making collections of their vegetable productions. The only botanists who had visited Mr. March’s estate before me were Langsdorff, the celebrated voyager, and at that time Consul-General for Russia in Brazil, Burchell, the African traveller, and a German of the name of Lhotsky. The former explored the vegetation in the neighbourhood of the Fazenda, during a stay of a few weeks, about twelve or thirteen years before my visit; Mr. Burchell remained six weeks, nine or ten years before; and Lhotsky, two or three weeks only, about five years later. None of them botanized higher than the level of Mr. March’s house, and the knowledge of this fact made me the more anxious to explore a field which promised so much novelty. I had fixed on the early part of April for going up, but the whole of that month was so wet, that I was prevented at that time from putting my design into execution. May, however, having set in fine, I started on the morning of the 6th, accompanied by four negroes. One of them, “Pai Felipe,” a creole upwards of sixty years of age, was to act as guide. This old fellow was one of the most active, not only of blacks, but of any individual of his years I have ever seen. From his infancy he had been accustomed to the woods, and was one of the best hunters on the estate. The other three were to carry provisions, and to assist in taking home my collections. We entered the forest at about a mile to the north of Mr. March’s house, and our road for that day was nearly due west. Two years before, an English merchant from Rio ascended, from mere curiosity, to within a few hundred feet of the summit, guided by the same old black who accompanied me. For the first few miles we were able to keep the road which he had made, but from the rapid growth of the bamboos and underwood through which it had been cut, it was as difficult to force our way as if no path had ever been made. Our progress was but slow, it being necessary for one of the blacks to go on before in order to cut a pass. Some of the bamboos were of immense size; I measured several about six inches in diameter, and their height could not be less than eighty or a hundred feet. The internodes are generally filled with water, obviously secreted by the plant itself. Prince Maximilian, in his travels, speaks of this fluid as forming a most delicious beverage to hunters and others in the woods. I have frequently tasted it, but always found it so nauseous that the most urgent thirst alone would compel me to drink it.

Near the entrance of the wood we passed a large species of Copaifera, the lower part of the stem of which had been pierced for the purpose of obtaining the balsam which those trees exude. For miles our route lay nearly parallel with a small river, along the banks of which grew some very large trees; among them I observed a species of Laurus, and another of Pleroma, both in flower. The underwood consisted of a great variety of shrubby Melastomaceæ, Myrtaceæ, Rubiaceæ, and suffruticose species of Begonia. In other places elegant tree-ferns abounded, their stems often covered with little delicate species of the same tribe, or air-plants bearing beautiful flowers. Pretty herbaceous ferns and handsome-flowered Begonias were trodden down at every footstep. The stems of the large trees were covered with Bromelias, Tillandsias, Orchideæ, ferns, and a climbing species of Begonia. Occasionally a large plant of Cactus truncatus was to be seen hanging from rocks or from the stem of some large tree, covered with hundreds of beautiful pink blossoms. In crossing over a hill about five hundred feet high, which stands in the valley we were now passing through, I found the top of it literally covered with various kinds of Orchidaceous plants, but with the exception of the beautiful little Sophronites grandiflora, which was then in flower, all had been previously met with at a lower elevation. It was here, likewise, that I first met with Luxemburgia ciliosa, a fine shrub producing large corymbs of lemon-coloured flowers, and belonging to the violet tribe. On this hill I likewise observed two kinds of bamboo, different from the large kinds in the woods below. One of them had the internodes considerably shorter in proportion to the size of the plant, and was altogether much smaller. The other species was still less, its stem not being more than half an inch in diameter, but continuing of that thickness to a height of fifteen or twenty feet. The getting through these was the most difficult part of our day’s journey.

At 4 o’clock P.M., we reached a place by the side of a small stream, where I determined to remain for the night; and, while the blacks were occupied in cutting wood for a fire and in preparing dinner, I took a walk up the course of the little stream. As I estimated this spot to be at an elevation of about 4,500 feet, I naturally expected a vegetation different from that in the valley below. The first plant that attracted my attention was what I imagined to be a fine individual of Cereus truncatus, in full flower, hanging from the under side of the trunk of a large tree that was bent over the stream, but on getting possession of it, it proved to be a new, and, perhaps, a still more beautiful species. I have named it Cereus Russellianus, in honour of His Grace the late Duke of Bedford, one of the most liberal supporters of my mission to Brazil: it has since been introduced to the hot-houses of England. A little way further up the stream, by the side of a small waterfall, and on a slanting bank near it, grew great abundance of a fine dark red-flowered Amaryllis. This spot is one of the most charming I have ever seen. The bed of the stream is about ten feet broad, but it is only during heavy rains that the water covers this space; at this time the stream was little more than perceptible. The water falls over three successive shelves of granite, each about eight feet high, the faces of which are covered with mosses. Along the stream at the bottom of the fall there are several middle-sized trees, the branches of which are festooned with the long branches of a Fuchsia, loaded with splendid crimson flowers. By the side of the fall there are several bushes of a large-flowered Pleroma, and, along with them, a few of a red-blossomed Esterhazya, and a broad thick-leaved species of Clusia (C. fragrans, Gard.), loading the atmosphere with a delightful odour arising from its large white blossoms; beneath these grow the Amaryllis, an Eryngium, several Tillandsias, and many Ferns. Having gained the upper part of the fall, I found a space, extending to a considerable distance on each side and for some way up the mountain, destitute of trees—nothing but bare portions of rock, with occasional masses of low shrubs and herbaceous plants. Among the Orchideæ, the beautiful Zygopetalon Mackaii and the odoriferous Maxillaria picta were not the least common. Darkness now beginning to set in, I returned to the encampment, where I found a large fire lighted; the evening was so fine that I considered the erection of a hut unnecessary, and lay down about eight P.M., on a few palm leaves by the fire, with my Poncho round me, to pass the night.

When I arose next morning at daybreak, I found the thermometer at 46°. While breakfast was preparing I again went out to botanize, but added little more than a few Ferns to my collection of the previous evening. Our journey to the place where we slept was of very gradual ascent; we had now to commence the ascent proper of the peaks. Leaving behind all that was not actually necessary to be taken along with us, we began our journey by passing the waterfall, and walking up the bed of the stream, along the gently sloping face of a granite rock; the ascent of several parts of this was rather difficult, having to crawl up on our hands and knees; after half an hour’s hard work we reached a comparatively flat wooded spot. On the steep part I collected, in moist places, an Eriocaulon, a small Sun-Dew, and a new genus belonging to the Gentian tribe; among these grew also the curious Burmannia bicolor. In passing through the wood above mentioned, I saw plenty of my new Cactus growing on the stems of the larger trees, whilst the rocks were covered with Gesnerias, and different kinds of Orchidaceous plants. Emerging from the wood we encountered another steep rocky place, almost entirely covered with a large pine-apple-like Tillandsia, above which rose a few plants of a fine large scarlet-flowered shrubby Salvia (S. Benthamiana, Gardn.), and a pale-blossomed Virgularia. On a nearly bare portion of the rock, grew several patches of a large herbaceous plant, belonging to the tribe of the Gentians; it grows from a foot to two feet high, with thick succulent glaucous leaves, the upper ones connate, and from out of which proceed about half a dozen pedicels, each bearing a single large flower, the calyx of which is much inflated and tinged with purple; it is the Prepusa connata, Gardn. The only previously known species was found by Martius, on a large mountain range between the Diamond country and Bahia; a third was afterwards discovered on the very summit of the Organ Mountains. Passing this place, we again entered a wooded tract, where we found many Tapir paths, as we had also done the day previous in the woods through which we passed, which rendered our progress much quicker than it otherwise would have been, as the branches above only require to be cut away to make a good road. Judging from the abundance of the tracts which we here met with, the Tapir must be a very common animal in this remote and solitary part of the mountains; here they are as yet out of the reach of the hunter, who commits great havock among those which inhabit the lower woods, and there is also abundance of herbage to supply them with food. In passing through this wood, one of the blacks shot a Jacutinga (Penelope Jacutinga, Spix), and I collected specimens of a few Orchidaceous plants, and a large yellow-flowered Senecio.

Leaving the wood we came upon a slanting Sphagnum bog, in which grew some very alpine-looking shrubs; these consisted chiefly of a Proteaceous-like Baccharis, a Vaccinium, an Andromeda, the Lavoisiera imbricata, remarkable for its large flowers and small leaves, and a Pleroma; among the moss, an Eriocaulon, and a handsome Utricularia with large cordate leaves and purple flowers, grew in great profusion. Judging from the top of the mountain, we were now at an elevation of nearly 6,000 feet. Leaving it, we commenced a very steep ascent covered principally with low shrubs; we continued our way for about an hour through this stunted vegetation, making but slow progress, although we were much facilitated by having the path of the Tapir to crawl up. By following this track we reached a point from which a beautiful prospect of the low country was obtained, particularly to the eastward, where, as far as the eye could reach, it was one mass of conical-shaped hills, only one ridge rising to any considerable height above the rest; the point we had attained was the summit of one of the many peaks which form the upper range of the Organ Mountains. At about a quarter of a mile distant stood what I then believed to be the highest peak, and certainly not more than three or four hundred feet above us; but between the two peaks lay a deep densely-wooded ravine. It being now past two o’clock in the afternoon, it was too late to think of ascending that day, so I determined to remain where we were for the night, and attempt it next day, but the blacks refused to do so, on account of no water being nearer than a little above where we had slept the previous night. As I could not force them to remain, I was, much against my will, obliged to abandon all idea of reaching the summit at this time. Not having a barometer with me, I endeavoured to ascertain the boiling point of water, but in doing so, broke the tube of the thermometer. Four years later, during a visit of six days to the peaks, I was more fortunate; of that excursion an account will be found in a subsequent part of the present work. The summit of the peak on which we now were, was quite a little flower-garden; a pretty Fuchsia, in full flower, was trailing over the bare rocks; in their clefts grew a handsome Amaryllis, and on all sides numerous flowering shrubs. The coolness of the air and the stillness were quite refreshing; not a sound was to be heard; and the only animals to be seen were a few small birds, so tame that they allowed us to come quite close to them. After partaking of a slight repast we commenced our downward journey, and reached our encampment just as night was setting in. Next day, following the route by which we had come, we arrived at the Fazenda about four o’clock in the afternoon, groaning under our loads.

About a week after our return, I made another visit to the place where we had formerly encamped; my object was to obtain additional specimens of the many new plants which I had found in the neighbourhood. On this occasion I was again accompanied by “Pai Felipe” and the other three blacks; we left the Fazenda at eight o’clock in the morning, and reached our sleeping place about three in the afternoon. On the following day I occupied myself with making excursions in various directions; during these walks I collected great plenty of Cereus Russellianus. This plant offers a good example of nearly allied species representing each other in different regions of the same mountain; during the many times that I passed through the woods, on my journey to and from the peaks, I always found Cereus truncatus confined to the dense virgin forests below the elevation of 4,500 feet, while from this point to nearly the summit of the mountains, Cereus Russellianus alone was seen, enjoying a more open and a cooler region. The day was one of the most delightful that I ever remember to have witnessed, quite like one of the finest days of an English summer; the sky was clear and unclouded, and the atmosphere being free from that haze which often, in the finest weather, renders the view of distant objects indistinct, allowed us to obtain a perfect and well-defined prospect of the high mountains far to the eastward. Having got all my specimens put into paper, I lay down to sleep shortly after seven o’clock, little dreaming what a miserable night I was to spend. I had just fallen asleep by the fire, on my bed of palm leaves, when I was suddenly aroused from my slumber by a deluge of rain pouring down; one of those sudden and heavy thunder-storms, which are never witnessed in temperate climes, was passing over us. Had we been in an open place, we might have seen it approaching and been able to form some kind of shelter before it came on, but the tops of the trees by which we were covered prevented this. I never was out in such weather; the flashing of the lightning, the rolling of the thunder, which was breaking immediately over us, the roaring of the wind among the trees, and the falling of rotten branches, all combined to render the scene terrific. In a few minutes our large fire was extinguished, and the place swimming with water; although I was covered with a thick Poncho, it was but a poor protection for such a night. In half an hour the small stream beside us, which during the day had only a few inches of water, came roaring down like a cataract. To add to our misery, the night was pitch dark, so that we could not see to remedy our situation. What a night I spent may be imagined, when I mention that I sat from half-past seven in the evening till nearly three o’clock in the morning, under an incessant deluge of rain; a more perfect picture of patience, I flatter myself, could not be witnessed. About three it began to abate, and being in a shivering condition from the cold and wet, we made several attempts to kindle a fire, but without success: everything was too wet to burn, and we were therefore obliged to content ourselves without one. By seating myself at the root of a tree, and leaning my back against it, I managed, at four different times, to obtain about an hour’s sleep, but constantly awoke cold and shivering. Never was I so glad as when the first rays of daylight were seen streaming through the trees; and, as soon as we could see, we lost no time in preparing to return home. Shortly after we did start, it began to rain, and continued till we reached the Fazenda, at two o’clock in the afternoon.

During the whole of my six month’s residence on the Mountains, the cottages were generally crowded with visitors. There was, consequently, much gaiety, it being seldom that an evening party was not held at one or the other of them, where nearly the whole of the residents assembled. Then there were frequent Pic-nic parties to different distant parts of the estate, and, when the weather permitted, delightful evening rides. In this manner many of my leisure hours, which otherwise must have passed away very dully, were most agreeably spent. Indeed, I still look back upon these few months as one of the most happy periods of my life, for independently of those pleasant pastimes, I was daily occupied with a favourite pursuit, and that, too, in a field which was all but new.

CHAPTER III.
BAHIA AND PERNAMBUCO.

Departure from Rio de Janeiro—Arrival at Bahia—Description of this City—Voyage to Pernambuco—Jangadas—Description of the City and Environs of Pernambuco—The Jesuits—The Peasantry—Town of Olinda—Its Colleges and Botanic Garden—Visit to the Village of Monteiro—The German Colony of Catucá—The Island of Itamaricá—Pilar—Salt-works of Jaguaripe—Prevalent Diseases in the Island—Its Fisheries—Peculiar Mode of Capture.

On the tenth of June, 1837, I arrived in Rio from the Organ Mountains, and during the remainder of that month, July, August, and the early part of September, occupied myself in arranging and packing the collections brought down with me, and in making a few excursions in the neighbourhood. Having at length despatched everything for England, I took a passage for Pernambuco in H.M. Packet Opossum, being now desirous to explore the northern provinces. We sailed from Rio on the fifteenth of September and after a passage of thirteen days, during which we had much bad weather and contrary winds, reached Bahia. At three o’clock P.M., on the twenty-eighth, we came to an anchor in the bay opposite the city, and about a mile distant from it. As the land along this part of the coast rises only a few hundred feet above the level of the sea, it is not seen at so great a distance as the high lands are at Rio. In sailing up the bay, we kept pretty close to the shore, and I could not help remarking the great luxuriance of the vegetation. Cocoa-nut trees and other large palms are very abundant, and the mango trees are both larger and more numerous than those about Rio. The city of Bahia, when first seen, has a very imposing appearance, the greater part of it being built on the face of a hill, which rises about 500 feet above the sea, and the houses, most of which are of several stories, are all white-washed externally. The effect is much heightened by the great number of banana, orange, and cocoa-nut trees which are intermingled with the houses, the dark green leaves contrasting well with the white, and affording a pleasant relief to the eye. The Packet being allowed to remain here forty-eight hours, for the preparation of the mails for Pernambuco and England, I went on shore shortly after our arrival, with some of the other passengers.

The city of Bahia, sometimes called San Salvador, is situated in the bay which is known by the name of “Todos os Santos.” It is divided into an upper and a lower town; the lower is built on the narrow slip of land that lies between the sea and the rising ground on which the upper town stands. It consists chiefly of one long street, which is both narrow, badly paved, and dirty. The houses are mostly high, and those adjoining the shore project considerably into the sea. After viewing this commercial portion of the city, we proceeded to the upper town. As the streets which form the communication between them are too perpendicular to allow the use of carriages, those who do not choose to walk are carried in a kind of covered chair slung on a pole, which is borne on the shoulders of two negroes. These “Cadeiras” are commonly used both by ladies and gentlemen, and can always be hired in the streets. We, however, preferred walking, and after passing through some of the principal streets, and visiting the inside of one of the large churches we strayed out a little way into the country, delighted with the rich and pleasing aspect which it afforded. In the evening we visited the reading room of the Literary Society, where we found a few of the newspapers, and many of the literary and scientific journals of France, England, and the United States. After a short stay, we went to a large hotel opposite the theatre, where we took up our quarters for the night; but, what with the uncomfortable beds, the rattling of dice, and the still louder clink of dollars, in an apartment immediately below us, which continued till nearly four o’clock in the morning, our night’s rest was not of the most refreshing nature.

On the forenoon of the following day, we visited a convent towards the west end of the city, where the nuns make artificial flowers for sale, from the feathers of birds. We were shown into a small room, separated from the body of the building by a thick wall, through which the traffic takes place by means of a large grated window. We were soon surrounded by wreaths of all kinds and colours suited for head dresses, either sent round to us in baskets, or pushed, one by one, through the grating on a stick. It is the duty of each nun in her turn to officiate as sales-woman, whenever purchasers visit the convent, the flowers being brought to her by the servants of the establishment, who are either black or brown girls; the one upon whom this duty fell at the period of our visit was neither young nor beautiful, and destroyed all my romantic notions regarding nuns and nunneries. Several purchases were made by my companions with a view of taking them as presents to England.

After leaving the convent, I hired a boat in order to proceed a few miles further up the bay, and landed on a peninsula called Bomfim, across which I walked, accompanied by one of the two blacks belonging to the boat, the distance being rather less than two miles. After leaving the shore, on which grew Sophora tomentosa and Eugenia Michelii, two shrubs common all along the coast of Brazil, I passed through a marsh containing several species of plants that were new to me. Beyond this, the road passed through a dry sandy hollow, in which not a breath of air was to be felt, and the rays of the mid-day sun, reflected from the white sand, had so heated the atmosphere, that I was almost suffocated before I could reach a little eminence at the other end of it. Here, also, I enriched my collections, and still further on I found the thistle-like Ampherephis aristata growing commonly by the road-sides; and some large pools in a marsh, under the shade of a thicket of giant palms, were quite covered over with Pistia stratiotes, a plant nearly related to the Duck-weeds of England, but of a much larger size; other pools were gay with the yellow flowers of Limnanthemum Humboldtianum. After reaching the shore I walked along it a little way, and then returned to the boat by a different route. In passing through a swampy place at the foot of a hill, on which a large church stands, I found a few specimens of the beautiful Angelonia hirsuta, with its long spikes of large blue flowers. I afterwards met with several new species of this fine genus, some of which, raised from seeds sent home by me, are now common in hot-houses.

During this walk I observed some very large mango trees, many of them twice the size of those growing about Rio. These trees have a handsome appearance when seen at a distance, surrounding the numerous white-washed country houses; the trunk, which is often of great thickness, seldom rises above eight or ten feet above the ground, when it branches into many widely-spreading ramifications, which rise to a great height, and are so densely covered with leaves as to be impenetrable to the burning rays of the sun, thus forming a most agreeable and luxuriant shade. At three o’clock we returned to the boat, well loaded with my day’s spoil. In the evening I dined with a gentleman to whom I brought letters from Rio, and there met a young Scotchman, who invited me to sleep at his house. Next morning he accompanied me a short way into the country; we started a little before six o’clock, walked to the distance of about six miles, and reached the city again by a different route before ten. The country inland, so far as I could observe, forms a sort of elevated table-land of a gently undulating nature, and the appearance of the vegetation bespeaks great richness of soil. Besides great plenty of large mango trees, I observed many jacks (Artocarpus integrifolius) of almost equal size, the trunks and large branches of which were loaded with their large yellow-coloured fruit. This tree is very much cultivated in this part of Brazil, and, I was told, that a few years before my visit, during a scarcity of provisions in the province, its fruit, which is yielded in the greatest abundance, was the means of preventing a famine among the black population. On our return to the city, we passed a small village close by the sea, the inhabitants of which, principally blacks, are mostly occupied in whale fishing, the sperm whale being rather plentiful on this part of the coast. On entering the bay, we observed a number of whale boats going out, manned by negroes. On visiting Bahia, one circumstance which forcibly strikes the attention of a stranger, even coming from the other provinces of Brazil, is the appearance of the blacks met with in the streets; they are the finest to be seen in the country, both men and women being tall and well-formed, and generally intelligent, some of them even, as I have elsewhere observed, being tolerable Arabic scholars. They have nearly all been imported from the Gold Coast, and, not only from their greater physical strength and intelligence, but from being united among themselves, they are more inclined to insurrectionary movements than the mixed races in the other provinces. Only a fortnight after I left Bahia a serious insurrection took place, headed, indeed, by white Brazilians, but supported by most of the black population; they kept possession of the city for many months, nor were they fully dispossessed of it till after the destruction of much life and property.

On the 31st, at 3 o’clock in the afternoon, we set sail for Pernambuco. On the second night after we left, while I was walking the quarter-deck with the captain, the watch forward reported a sail close on the weather-bow; the crew were immediately piped to quarters, and in less than five minutes were all on deck ready for action. Shortly afterwards we saw the vessel pass us at some distance and disappear. As these packets generally carry home a large amount of specie to England, it was not without reason that the captain prepared himself for what might happen, especially on a coast where suspicious craft are not unfrequently hovering about. There was something exciting in this little incident, and it afforded matter for conversation on the following day.

After a passage of nine days, land was descried early in the morning from the mast-head, and in the course of a few hours we could see it from the deck, rising above the horizon like a long black cloud. On nearing the coast, it presented a very flat and barren-like aspect, forming a great and unpromising contrast to the magnificent entry to the bay of Rio de Janeiro. The town being built nearly on a level with the sea, we could only obtain a view of that portion of it which immediately skirts the shore, the houses and the cocoa-nut trees appearing above the horizon. No part of the coast within many leagues of Pernambuco rises to any height, except that whereon the old town, called Olinda, stands, and which is situated about three miles north of Recife, the name of the seaport. While standing in for the harbour, we passed a number of fishing-boats, of a very peculiar construction; they are called Jangadas, and formed of four, or more, logs of wood lashed together, having a mast and a very large sail, a fixed stool-like seat, but no bulwarks, so that the waves constantly break over them; they sail with remarkable speed, and often venture to a great distance from land. A few of the same craft may be seen at Bahia, but none at Rio. The light wood of which they are formed is obtained from a species of Apeiba, a genus allied to our own Linden-tree. We anchored in the outer roads about 12 o’clock, and after the lapse of an hour and a half, a pilot came on board, and conducted us into the harbour, which is quite a natural one, being formed by a reef that runs along the coast, at a little distance from the shore; the entrance is through a breach, upon the south side of which is a light-house and a small fort. A very heavy swell runs outside the reef and breaks over it, but there is always calm water within; and at full tide it is sufficiently deep to float the largest merchant vessels that visit the port.

The town of Pernambuco has few recommendations to those who are not engaged in business. The houses are higher than those at Rio, the streets for the most part still more narrow, and certainly quite as dirty. In nearly all the towns and cities of Brazil, rain is the only scavenger, and by it the streets are kept tolerably clean in such of them as are built on declivities, but this, unfortunately, is not the case with Pernambuco; in the wet season, the streets are full of mud and water, and in the dry, the mud is converted into clouds of dust. It has always appeared extraordinary to me that epidemic diseases do not prevail to a much greater extent than they do under such circumstances. The town consists of three great divisions: that in which the principal trade is carried on, is situated on a narrow neck of land, which runs down between the sea and a river from Olinda, and is called Recife; another principally occupied with shops, and containing the palace of the President, is built on an island, and is known by the name of St. Antonio; the third, called Boa Vista, consisting principally of one long street, is constructed on the mainland, and is by far the finest part of the whole. These are all connected by means of two wooden bridges.

As Pernambuco is situated on the most eastern part of the American continent, it is fully exposed to the influence of the trade winds all the year round, and hence enjoys a cool climate; it is considered more healthy than either Rio or Bahia. Except two or three churches it contains but few public buildings, and, at the period of my visit, it had not a single hotel of any description. The Palace in which the affairs of the provincial government are now carried on, was in former times the Jesuits’ College, and stands on the banks of the river; it is a large building of gloomy appearance, with walls of enormous thickness. When it was erected by these enterprising and charitable men, they little dreamed that their career was to terminate at so early a period as it did. It is handed down from father to son, particularly among the middle and lower classes of Brazil, that the destruction of Jesuitical power was a severe loss to the well-being of the country. There are of course but few alive now who formed the Company of Jesus, but the memory of them will long remain; I have always heard them spoken of with respect and with regret. What different men they must have been from the degraded race who now undertake the spiritual welfare of this nation! It is a hard thing to say, but I do it not without well considering the nature of the assertion, that the present clergy of Brazil are more debased and immoral than any other class of men. However much the Jesuits were slandered and persecuted from the jealousy of those who envied the respect in which they were held by their flocks, and the confidence which they reposed in them, enough of the good still remains to shame those who have succeeded them. More than one nation of Indians in Brazil, which, in the time of the Jesuits, had renounced their savage life and become Christians, have, since their suppression, returned to the condition from which, at so much risk and with so much labour, they had been redeemed. Whatever were the motives of the Jesuits, they are judged of in Brazil, not by them, but by their good works.

The inhabitants of the town of Pernambuco resemble very much those of Rio, but there is a great difference in the appearance of the country people, which here, as elsewhere, are easily distinguished from the citizens. Those seen in the streets of Rio de Janeiro are a tall handsome race of men, mostly from the mining districts, or the more southerly province of San Paulo; their dress consists of a linen jacket and trowsers, generally of a blue colour, brown leather boots, which are firmly tied round the leg a little above the knee, and a very high crowned broad-brimmed white straw hat. Those, on the contrary, who frequent the city of Pernambuco, are a more swarthy and more diminutive race, but still far superior in appearance to the puny citizens. There are two classes of them, the Matúto and the Sertanejo: the Matútos inhabit the low flat country, which extends from the coast up to the high land of the interior, called the Sertão, or desert, which gives name to, and is inhabited by, the Sertanejos. The dress of both for the most part, but of the latter in particular, consists of a low round-crowned broad-brimmed hat, jacket, and trowsers, made of a yellowish brown-coloured leather, that manufactured from the skin of the different kinds of deer being preferred; in place of a waistcoat they very frequently wear a triangular piece of the same kind of leather, fastened round the neck and middle by cords of the same material. The boots in use in the province of Rio are unknown here, and either shoes or slippers, also of brown leather, are worn instead. The Matúto generally dispenses with the leather trowsers and shoes, using in place of them a pair of wide cotton drawers, which reach only a little below the knee, the legs remaining bare. Cotton and hides are the principal articles brought from the interior, and horses are the only beasts of burden, mules being as rarely used for that purpose here, as horses are in the southern provinces. Each horse carries two large bales of cotton as well as the driver, who places himself between them, stretching his legs forward on a level with his seat.

Upon landing in Pernambuco, I found Dr. Loudon, a Scotch physician resident in that city, awaiting my arrival, who kindly invited me to remain with him during my stay; and as he had then been sixteen years in the place, and was acquainted with most of the influential people, both foreign and Brazilian, I derived much advantage from his friendship, more particularly so, as he was very partial to the pursuit of natural history. Shortly after my arrival I delivered the letters of recommendation given me by Mr. Hamilton, the British Minister at the court of Rio, to Mr. Watts, the Consul, who obligingly offered to introduce me to the President of the province, Senhor Vicente Thomaz Pires de Figueredo Comargo. The permission to wait upon his Excellency having been given a few days afterwards, I accompanied Mr. Watts to the palace, together with Dr. Loudon, who was a personal friend of the President. He received me with great kindness, and when the object of my visit to the country was explained to him, he promised to afford all the assistance in his power, and, in the meantime, gave me a letter to Dr. Serpa, the Professor of Botany and Curator of the Botanic Garden at Olinda.

I was accompanied in my visit to Olinda by Mr. Nash, a young Englishman, to whom I was indebted for many acts of kindness during my visit at Pernambuco. There are three routes to Olinda from Recife; one along the shore, which is seldom taken on account of the loose sandy nature of the soil, and the complete exposure of the traveller to the sun. Another is by canoes, up the stream before mentioned by which the surplus water from a large lake behind Olinda is discharged into the sea; this stream runs parallel with the shore, from which it is separated by a high sand-bank, and is fringed on each side by a strip of mangroves, the mud in which they grow emitting at low tide a very disagreeable effluvium, and abounding in crabs of various sizes and colours, while clouds of mosquitos always hover around and harbour among the branches. The third route, which we pursued, runs parallel with the river, at a considerable distance inland. This road is quite level, and at both ends are seen several fine country houses, though much of it passes through uncultivated, and often marshy land. Occasionally it is enclosed by Mimosa hedges, in which is seen a slender kind of Jasmine (Jasminum Bahiense, DC.), whose white flowers at the early hour we passed were perfuming the air with their delightful fragrance. The road-side was gay with the large pale yellow flowers of Turnera trioniflora, and the delicate pink heads of a sensitive plant. Several different kinds of this latter plant grow very abundantly all over the northern parts of Brazil. Shelley has truly said, that

“The sensitive plant has no bright flower,

Radiance and odour are not its dower,”—

yet there are few in the whole range of the vegetable kingdom, which are so much an object of curiosity to all observers, or of so much interest to the physiologist. On approaching Olinda, I was delighted to find the surface of the lake—which abounds in alligators—covered with thousands of the splendid large white blossoms and broad floating leaves of a water-lily (Nymphæa ampla, DC.), and intermingled with them, the yellow flowers of Limnocharis Commersonii, and a large Utricularia.

The Botanic Garden is situated in a hollow, behind the town of Olinda, and, though of considerable size, has only a portion of it under cultivation; the residence of the Professor stands nearly in the centre. We found Dr. Serpa in his study, a rather large apartment, which he uses also as a lecture-room; he appeared to be about sixty years of age, and we were impressed with his agreeable manners and intelligence. Besides his other duties, he had the principal medical practice in Olinda. A few French works on Botany, Natural History, Agriculture, and Medicine, composed the chief part of his limited library. It was here that I first saw the ‘Flora Fluminensis,’ a work published at the expense of the Brazilian government. The drawings from which the plates were executed, were prepared at Rio de Janeiro about the end of the last century, under the direction of a Jesuit of the name of Vellozo. It cost £70,000, and, to use the words of Dr. Von Martius, is “a strange publication, which may be held up as an example of an ill-advised literary undertaking, and on so great a scale that it ought never to have been commenced. Eleven huge volumes, with about fifteen hundred plates, constitute this bulky work, whose usefulness is, alas! not in proportion to the expense it occasioned.”[4] The Doctor accompanied us in a walk round the Garden, which I found to contain little worthy of notice; a few European medicinal plants, struggling for existence, and some large Indian trees, being its principal productions; among the latter, however, were fine specimens of the Mango, Tamarind, Cinnamon, and the Date-Palm. He had lately received from the interior, plants of a species of Ipecacuanha, the roots of which form an article of export from Pernambuco, and the living specimens which I obtained from him are now growing freely in the stoves of the Glasgow Botanic Garden. They appear different from the one figured and described by St. Hilaire, from the south of Brazil, and will, I suspect, prove to be a distinct, though nearly related species. Leaving the garden, we walked a little way into the country, where I hoped to meet with something more interesting; and in this expectation I was not disappointed, as many new plants were added to my collections. On the dry bushy hills in this neighbourhood a wild fruit-tree grows very plentifully; it is the Mangába of the Brazilians, and the Hancornia speciosa of botanists; it is a small tree belonging to the Natural Order Apocyneæ, the small leaves and drooping branches of which give it somewhat the resemblance of the weeping birch. The fruit is about the size of a large plum, of a yellow colour, but streaked a little with red on one side, and the flavour is most delicious.

In the afternoon we returned to Olinda, to dine with another gentleman to whom I also carried letters, Senhor da Cunha. He had been educated in England, and was an intelligent man. After dinner we walked out to see the town, which is very pleasantly situated on an eminence not far from the sea. It is a place of considerable size, and in the olden time must have been a stirring one, particularly as regards the clergy, judging from the number of churches, convents, monasteries, &c. It has now, however, a deserted and desolate appearance, many fine houses being untenanted and falling to decay, and the streets are grown over with grass and weeds. On the outskirts of the seaward side of the town, there are the ruins of a large monastery, which we went to see on account of a hermit who had lived there upwards of seventeen years. We found it to be a very large building, consisting of a church in the centre, still in use, and two wings, containing the apartments formerly inhabited by the friars, which are fast running into decay, particularly those in the south wing. The north wing is in much better repair, having a few good rooms, which are inhabited by some of the students attending a theological and medical school, established in Olinda. Along the corridors, and in some of the larger rooms, are still a few paintings, but in a state of much decay. While surveying this great fabric, we could not help thinking of the contrast it now offers to the times, not long gone by, when its walls re-echoed to the footsteps and prayers of the devotees of a religion, which was then in a much more flourishing state than it now is, over nearly the whole of the empire of Brazil.

It was among the ruins of the south wing that the hermit lived. We visited the room in which he was said to be generally found, but he was not there. We then passed through a small court nearly choked with rubbish, and entered a large dark room, partly filled with old bricks and lime. Upon the floor of this wretched apartment we found him lying, presenting a most miserable appearance. His only covering consisted of a piece of thin black cloth wrapped round his body, his head, arms, legs, and feet being bare. He appeared to be about sixty years of age, but his long grey hair and beard made him look older, perhaps, than he really was. He was moaning and otherwise seemed to be in great agony, and it was with some difficulty he told us that two days before, while walking across the floor of the room above, it gave way, and he was precipitated to the place where we found him extended, and from which he was unable to move. We tried to raise him, but the slightest movement gave him excruciating pain. As some of his bones seemed to be broken, a young man who had accompanied us, went off immediately to procure assistance, and have him taken to the hospital. All the information I could obtain relating to this unfortunate being, was that at one time, he had been an officer in the army, and was now doing penance for a murder he had committed in his youth. We also visited a convent, the nuns belonging to which prepare preserved fruits for sale. Unlike the one I visited at Bahia, we could only speak to, not see, those who were within. The fruit was put upon a shelf of a revolving kind of cupboard, and in this manner sent out to us; the money and empty plates were returned in the same way. Like all the preserves I have met with in the country, those we had here were spoiled with too much sugar.

For the first few days, my walks did not extend much beyond the suburbs of the town. The country being quite flat, the soil sandy, and the dry season having commenced, the herbaceous vegetation in the more exposed situations was beginning to suffer for want of rain. For many miles round the town, the Cocoa-nut and other large Palms grow in the greatest profusion, mixed with fine trees of the Cashew-nut, then loaded with their curious and refreshing fruit of a yellow or reddish colour, and the Jack, the Bread-fruit, and the Orange. Much attention, I observed, is paid to the gardens attached to the houses near the town, many of them being tastefully laid out, and adorned with beautiful shrubs, partly Brazilian and partly of Indian origin. The Mimosa and other hedges, as about Rio, are festooned with climbers, among which the Cow-itch plant (Stizolobium urens) is the most abundant. There is also in many places a large species of Dodder (Cuscuta), which climbs over the hedges with its long yellow cord-like branches, and gives them a most singular appearance. The sea-coast yielded me many curious plants, particularly one part of it about eight miles to the southward of the town, where the soil for some distance inland is very sandy and covered with shrubs. There I found in great plenty a new kind of those curious mossy Cacti (Melocactus depressus, Hook.); it was but a small one, being only about four inches high, and eighteen in circumference.

About a fortnight after my arrival at Pernambuco, Dr. Loudon removed to his country house, situated on the banks of the Rio Capibaribe, about four miles west from Recife; and, as the country round it was chiefly uncultivated, this afforded more ample scope for my researches. The Rio Capibaribe, which empties itself into the harbour at the Recife, is of small size, and is navigable only for canoes to a distance of about ten miles from the town. The navigation for six miles, as far as Monteiro, is very pleasant, and the scenery is rendered more agreeable by the number of villas, surrounded by gardens, which are scattered along its banks. Many of these houses are inhabited during the fine or dry season only, when most of the wealthy citizens resort to them for the benefit of bathing in the river; for, in hot climates, fresh water is preferred, as bathing in salt water generally produces great irritation on the surface of the body, from the salt crystallizing there, unless washed off with fresh water. For the purpose of bathing, each house has a large shed projecting into the river, the tops and sides of which are covered with cocoa-nut leaves. They are mostly rebuilt every year, as they are generally carried away by the floods in the rainy season.

About twenty miles to the westward of Pernambuco, there is a small German Colony called Catucá; it was established about eighteen years before, at a period when a German regiment, which had been in the service of the Brazilian government, was here disbanded, but it is now fast dwindling into decay. The few families residing there gained a livelihood by the manufacture of charcoal, which they carried to town for sale. Being desirous of spending a day or two at this place, I started early one morning in the beginning of November, accompanied by Mr. White, a young gentleman whom I had previously met on the Organ mountains. We were guided by two Germans who were returning from Pernambuco, and their horses carried our luggage. Our route for about two hours was through a flat country, principally planted with mandiocca, although a great part of it was still uncleared, only the large trees having been cut down: a few of those remaining rose high above their fellows of the wood, and agreeably diversified the landscape. After passing through this cultivated country, and ascending a slight eminence, we entered the virgin forest. Previously the road had been of a sandy nature, but now we found it to consist of hard red clay. Many of the trees were very lofty, although they do not commonly attain the stature of those in the Province of Rio, nor have their trunks the same circumference. Among the shrubs that grew below them, I observed a few Melastomaceæ, Myrtaceæ, and Rubiaceæ. Here everything betokened a drier atmosphere, and a more arid soil than at Rio. There were no Ferns, Begonias, Pipers, or Orchidaceous plants. On the stems and branches of the larger trees a few Bromeliaceæ and Aroideæ were alone to be seen. After riding for about an hour through this forest, we reached the cleared valley containing the cottages of the colonists, several of which we passed before reaching the one in which we remained. These cottages are generally of small size, although much superior in cleanliness and neatness of arrangement to those belonging to the same class of Brazilians. At night we slung our hammocks in a small apartment, and enjoyed a sound sleep till morning.

My friend being desirous of having a few days’ shooting in the woods with one of the Germans, I determined to accompany them, in the hope of making some additions to my botanical stores. We set off early, entering the wood about a mile from the cottage. Here, as in similar situations near the town, I observed a great deficiency of herbaceous vegetation, and in a walk of about two hours collected only a few Ferns. In passing through this wood, we saw an enormously large tree, a species of Lecythis; the ground beneath it was covered with its curious pot-like capsules nearly as large as a man’s head, their resemblance to a pot being much increased by the large lid which falls off from the top of each when the seeds within are ripe. Most of those we saw were empty, the nuts having been taken out by the monkeys, who are very fond of them. Leaving this wood, we suddenly came upon another cleared valley, containing the ruins of several cottages; this, we were told, had been the first site of the settlement, but as the colonists were forbidden to cut any more wood in that direction, they moved their quarters to the place before mentioned. Near these dismantled dwellings we found abundance of pine-apples, and refreshed ourselves with some which were ripe, sheltering ourselves from the sun under the shade of an out-house which had formerly served as a place for the preparation of farinha from the Mandiocca root. Near this place I found two beautiful trees, one of them a species of Vochysia, covered with long spikes of bright yellow flowers, and the other the splendid Moronobea coccinea, literally covered with its globular crimson blossoms. In returning I collected specimens of a yellow-flowered Palicourea, called Mata Rato, not, however, the same plant which is known at Rio by the name of Erva do Rato. It proves, notwithstanding, that poisonous qualities are attributed to different plants of the same genus in different parts of the country.

Close to the main land, and about thirty miles north from Pernambuco, there is a small island called Itamaricá, which on account of its fine climate and soil, and the abundance and superiority of the fruit produced there, is designated the garden of Pernambuco. I was desirous of visiting this place before leaving the province, and with this intention I started about the middle of December, and considered myself fortunate in having as a companion Mr. Adamson, a young gentleman who had been some years in the country, and was fond of botanical pursuits. To make the voyage, we had to hire a Jangada, one of the raft boats so common on this part of the coast; it was manned by a crew of three men. To a stranger it appears a very singular kind of craft, and had I not been well assured that, primitive as their construction seems, they are perfectly safe, I should have felt some hesitation in embarking on one of them.

Having got our luggage properly placed on its elevated platform, so as to be out of the reach of the water, which continually washes over these rafts, we commenced our voyage. The wind almost constantly blows at that season from the north-east, and consequently was nearly right against us, rendering it necessary to beat up between the reef and the shore; the intermediate distance varying from a quarter of a mile to two miles, all the way from Recife to the island. By four o’clock in the afternoon, finding that the unfavourable wind prevented our performing more than half the voyage, we determined to land at a small fishing village called Pao Amarello, and there pass the night. It was not without some difficulty that we obtained a shelter wherein we could sling our hammocks; after meeting with several refusals, the owner of a small public-house (Venda) pointed out an empty hut made of cocoa-nut leaves, and permitted us to take possession of it for the night. Hither, therefore, we moved our luggage, and after a supper of stewed fish and farinha, slept soundly till daybreak. After getting up, we took a walk a little way into the country; the soil we found to be sandy, and the herbaceous vegetation completely scorched up by the drought. At this place the reef is about a mile distant from the shore, and is distinctly perceptible along its whole line, both at high and low water, for although the ebb tide leaves the rocks quite bare, the surf marks its position even at the highest flow. The wind having now shifted more to the eastward, we were enabled after breakfast to proceed on our voyage, and as we made much more rapid progress than on the preceding day, we reached the island at noon, and landed on the eastern side of it at Pilar, the principal town.

We carried with us two or three letters of introduction, and the first we delivered obtained us quarters. The name of our host was Alexander Alcantará, the proprietor of a large salt-work, of which there are several on the island. His house, like nearly all the others we saw, was of one story, the walls consisting of a frame-work of wood, the interstices of which were filled up with a kind of clay, and the roof was covered with tiles; there were four good rooms in it, all floored with boards; it was delightfully situated near the sea, and surrounded by cocoa-nut trees. In the afternoon we were taken by our host to see his salt-works, which were established in a valley into which the tide flows at high water. The water from which the salt is made, is kept in large reservoirs, whence it is from time to time made to flow into pits, where it is allowed to evaporate. At this place, which is called Jaguaribe, there are twenty-four distinct manufactories, belonging to as many individuals. The place where the water is evaporated is divided into small compartments, measuring sixteen feet by twelve. In that belonging to Senhor Alcantará, there are one hundred and twenty such compartments; into each of these, two inches of water is allowed to flow from the large reservoir, and in eight days this is completely evaporated. It yields him, altogether, annually, about four hundred alqueires of salt, each alqueire weighing eight arrobas, and each arroba thirty-two pounds. Three qualities are produced, the best being used for domestic purposes, a middle sort for curing fish and an inferior kind used principally to salt hides. On an average it brings about 2s. 6d. an alqueire, so that his whole income from this source is only about 50l. a year. Besides the manufactories at this place, there are others in different parts of the island.

The island, which is separated from the main land by a strait about half a league broad, is nearly three leagues in length, and from one and a half to two in breadth. It contains only two small villages, viz., Itamaricá, situated on a height near the sea, on the south-east side, containing only about twenty houses; and Pilar, the place at which we landed, formed of a few irregular streets, and containing about eighty habitations. The whole number of houses in the island, we were told, amounted to three hundred, and the entire population to about two thousand. Although there are many very comfortable looking dwellings, yet the mass of the houses have a poor appearance, being either formed of wicker-work and mud, or of cocoa-nut leaves. As fishing is the principal occupation of the inhabitants, their houses are generally near the shore. The fish are mostly taken in pens (currals) that are constructed of stakes a little beyond low-water mark. Another source of income to the inhabitants, is the cocoa-nut trees, which form a dense deep belt round the upper part of the island; both the fish and nuts are taken to Pernambuco for sale. In the interior of the island there are three sugar plantations; and several of the more wealthy of the inhabitants cultivate grapes and mangoes to a considerable extent, both of which sell well in Pernambuco, bringing a better price than those cultivated elsewhere in the province. Good grapes I bought at tenpence a pound, but they give the cultivator a great deal of trouble, as the vines are sure to be attacked by a large brown ant, and stripped of their leaves in a single night, unless care be taken to have the lower part of the stem isolated by water. The whole of the province of Pernambuco is much overrun by these insects. During the time of our visit the mangoes were just getting into season, and I found them to be very much superior in flavour to any I had previously tasted; they are much smaller than those cultivated near Pernambuco, and very much resemble peaches in colour.

During the few days we remained on the island we made many excursions through it in all directions; instead of the almost uniformly level character of the country in the vicinity of Pernambuco, here there is a gentle undulation of hill and dale. There is not much large timber, the wooded portions generally consist of small trees and shrubs, which give to many parts of the island an aspect more like that of an English orchard, than an uncultivated equatorial region; some of the views we obtained from the hills, if not grand, were at least pleasing. Though there are both a priest and a lawyer on the island, there is no medical man; and as soon as I was known to be one, my assistance was solicited from all quarters. The first individual I was requested to visit, was a man with a large abscess in the neck, from the suppuration of the right submaxillary gland; he could neither speak nor swallow, and his relatives thought him on the point of death. I opened the abscess, which gave him instant relief, and next day when I called, he was sitting up, and able to overwhelm me with thanks for what he conceived to be a miraculous cure. This case so established my reputation, that I had more medical practice than I desired. Two of my patients were in the last stage of consumption, but by far the greater proportion of the cases resulted from intermittent fever, chiefly arising from derangement of the digestive organs, accompanied with enlargement of the spleen. Consumption is rare in Brazil: during the whole of my travels I did not meet with more than half a dozen cases. As I would receive no fees, many presents of fish, fowls, and fruit were sent me.

I have said that the chief occupation of the inhabitants is fishing, and that the fish are nearly all taken in pens (currals). These enclosures are very common all along the coast of Pernambuco, and of the following shape.

They are made of strong stakes, driven firmly into the ground at the distance of a few feet from each other, the interstices between them being afterwards filled up by small straight rods closely tied together. The straight line of rods is sometimes nearly a quarter of a mile in length, and runs out away from the shore; it answers the purpose of guiding the fish into the enclosures at the farthest end of it.

The day before we left the island, we accompanied our host to visit the curral belonging to him, in order to witness the method of taking fish; they are only visited at low water. We went in a canoe to the entrance of the innermost enclosure; our host then stripped himself, as did also another person who accompanied us, and entered the inner enclosure, taking with them a small net a little deeper than the water, with a short pole fixed to each end of it. One of the men then fixed one of the poles perpendicularly close to one side of the entrance to the enclosure, while the other began to unfold the net, closing with it the entrance so as to prevent the escape of the fish; he then walked round by the side of the enclosure till he reached the other person, when the net was rolled up, thus enclosing in it all the fish contained in the curral, which amounted to about a dozen very fine ones. We were informed that at this season very few are taken; so few, indeed, that they are scarcely sufficient for the consumption of the families to whom the currals belong; in the rainy season, however, they are taken so abundantly, that boat-loads of them are sent to the Pernambuco market. We returned to Recife in a large canoe.

CHAPTER IV.
ALAGOAS AND THE RIO SAN FRANCISCO.

The Author’s Motive for this Excursion—Voyage to the Southward—Description of the Coast and Observations on the great Restinga—Reaches Barra de S. Antonio Grande—Arrives at Maceio—Description of the Town and surrounding Country—Resolves to visit the Rio S. Francisco—Embarks in a Jangada and coasts to the Southward—Batel—Lands at Peba—Journey thence to Piassabassú on the Rio San Francisco—Ascends the River to Penêdo—The Town Described—Productions of the District—Its Population—Voyage up the River—Mode of Navigation—Arrives at Propihà—Vegetation of the Country—Description of a Market Fair—Dress of the People—Voyage continued to Traipú—Passes the Ilha dos Prazeres—Barra de Panêma—Abundance of Fish of the Salmon Tribe—Village of Lagoa Funda—Island of S. Pedro—Its Indian Population described—Continues the Voyage—Fearful Storm—Return to S. Pedro—Serious Illness and Detention there—Scarcity of Food—Renounces in consequence all intention of proceeding further—Returns to Penêdo—Scheme for Navigating the Rio San Francisco—Reason why it never will succeed—Arrives again at Maceio—Visits Alagoas—That City Described—Leaves Maceio—Coasting Voyage—Singular Mode of catching Fish—Return to Pernambuco.

The great object of my visit to the north of Brazil was to make a journey from the coast to the high lands which lie on the eastern side of the Rio Tocantins. This part of the country, which I was strongly recommended to visit by Von Martius and others, on account of its botanical riches, is distant from Pernambuco about 1,200 miles, and nearly directly west from it. Although I was desirous to begin this journey I was advised by persons well acquainted with the interior of the country not to undertake it towards the end of the rainy season, on account of the difficulty of finding grass and water for the horses after the period when every thing has been scorched up by the burning sun of the dry season. Nor is the period of the rains less exceptionable for the undertaking of a long journey, since, during the four months which it generally lasts, there are scarcely two consecutive dry days. It was now about the end of January, and as the period of my entering upon my proposed expedition would not be sooner than the end of June or beginning of July, to pass the intervening time I determined to visit Maceio, a small seaport town in the province of Alagoas, about half-way between Pernambuco and Bahia; and from thence to make an excursion to the Rio San Francisco, and, if possible, up that river to the great falls of Paulo Affonço. As no other conveyance was to be had for Maceio, I was obliged to take a passage in a canoe which was going down laden with goods.

It was about three o’clock in the afternoon of the 30th of January, 1838, before I could obtain my passport, upon which I immediately embarked, and after undergoing the necessary examination at a custom-house boat, we got outside the reef, and ran down before the north-east trade-wind till seven o’clock P.M., when we came to an anchor for the night, in a small sandy bay about four leagues to the south of Pernambuco. During the passage, we several times ran foul of the stakes of fishing pens, which are common along the coast. I may here describe the nature and appearance of the craft in which I was embarked; it was about forty feet long and three feet broad, being the trunk of a large tree hollowed out; a few feet at each end of it were decked over, and the little cabins so formed were filled with parcels and provisions; when empty they served as sleeping berths for the crew, which consisted of the master and two men. It had a single, long, slender mast, to which a triangular sail was fixed, the lower part of which was stretched out by a long boom; a little below the gunwale on each side were lashed two logs of light buoyant wood, nearly as long as the canoe, of the same kind of which jangadas are made; while these enable her to carry more cargo, they serve also to prevent her from upsetting, and give a place to walk upon, as the cargo, in our vessel, rose two feet above the body of the canoe. It may well be imagined that there was but little comfort in such a conveyance, as I was obliged to sit constantly upon one of my trunks, with no other shelter from the sun and rain than that afforded by an umbrella. On the shore, close to where we anchored, two large fires were burning, by the light of which we saw several people and three or four huts. I was anxious to land here, to obtain, if possible, a place to sleep on, but the master said he would not go on shore, as he was not on good terms with some of the inhabitants, and did not choose to risk himself among them. After supping, therefore, with the crew on oranges, farinha, and boiled salt-fish, I wrapped myself in my poncho, and lay down on my trunks, and slept, but certainly not comfortably, till morning. At dawn of day we again got under way, and about eight A.M., passed Cape St. Augustino, a rocky point, behind which the land rises from one to two hundred feet above the level of the sea; this is eight leagues to the south of Pernambuco, the intervening country being one continued flat. During the whole of the day we ran down very close to the shore, always keeping between it and the reef. The country is of an undulating hilly nature, wooded with small verdant trees and shrubs, many of the latter covered with flowers. The beauty of the coast, although a little monotonous, was, notwithstanding, some recompense for a day of continued exposure to the sun. At eight o’clock in the evening we again came to an anchor, at a place where the master was well known; here we landed, and I found that my quarters for the night were to be a smith’s work-shop; next day, however, I ascertained that it was the best house in the place, being formed of wicker-work and mud, while the others were composed of stakes and cocoa-nut leaves. The following morning the master of the canoe took me to the house of a relation, about two miles further along the shore, where we met with a kind reception. As some of the cargo of the canoe had to be landed here, and more taken in, we remained here all day, which I did not regret, as it rained heavily till night; on this account I was prevented from making an excursion into the country, although I did not perhaps lose much, as, in one short walk, I found nearly the whole herbaceous vegetation burnt up. The land here rises higher than at any other place between Pernambuco and Maceio, the faces of several low hills, exhibiting a kind of coarse grained sandstone rock, exactly of the same nature as the reef which runs for several hundred miles along the coast both to the north and south of Pernambuco. This reef, which is covered with small shells and coralloid substances, Mr. Darwin supposes either to have been formed by a bar of sand and pebbles formerly existing below the water, which was first consolidated, and then elevated; or by a long spit of sand, running parallel to the coast, having had its central part consolidated, and afterwards, by a slight change in the set of currents, having the loose matter removed, so as only to leave the hard nucleus. Neither of these suppositions, I feel fully satisfied, accounts for the origin of the reef, because, at the place where we now were, I could trace, at low water, a rocky connection between the reef and the rocks of which the hills were composed. It is more probable that the reef owes its origin to the decay of the rock between it and the shore, but in what manner I will not attempt to explain. This sandstone, as I will hereafter show, belongs to the lower series of the chalk formation.

We slept at the house of the relation of the master of the canoe, who was a tailor by trade, and an acknowledged poet and wit: in the society of whom and his family, consisting of several sons and daughters, the time passed away most agreeably. Early in the morning of the following day we again pursued our voyage, keeping, as before, close along the shore, and at about two o’clock P.M., we arrived at Barra de S. Antonio Grande, a small village about nine leagues to the north of Maceio, consisting of about one hundred houses, the greater part of which are made of cocoa-nut leaves, and are mostly situated on a projecting point of flat land, bounded on one side by the sea, and on the other by a small river of the same name as the village, both deriving their appellation from a large bar of white sand which stretches across the mouth of the river at some distance from the shore. The inhabitants live principally by fishing, but I was informed on my arrival at Maceio, that it is a place much resorted to by slave vessels for the delivery of their cargoes, and it certainly appears to be well suited for such a purpose.

In the afternoon I took a walk a little way along the banks of the river, but did not find much to interest me; like all other sandy parts along the coast, the vegetation here consists of low shrubs mixed with a few small trees; Schinus terebinthifolius being by far the most common. One of the most striking vegetable productions near the village is a large wild fig-tree growing close to the river, beneath the shade of which four large canoes, larger than the one in which I arrived, were being constructed; this also forms a rendezvous for the gossips of the village, who assemble there in the afternoon, beneath its wide-spreading branches which reach nearly to the ground, thus shading them from the sun. The leaves of the tree are about six inches long and three broad, with fruit about the size of a large gooseberry. In the evening I strolled through the village, and found that nearly all the inhabitants had turned out of their houses to enjoy the beautiful moonlight and the delightfully cool evening breeze; many of them were squatted on the bare ground, some were lounging on mats, while others were stretched out on cocoa-nut leaves. In most of these groups, one or more of the individuals, generally young men, were amusing the others by playing lively airs on the guitar. As the master of the canoe belonged to the village, I was invited to sleep at his house, but as he could not afford me a bed, I was obliged to repose on a hide in the corner of a small room; scarcely, however, had I fallen asleep when I was awakened by legions of hungry bugs, that came pouring out from the cracks in the mud walls; unable to endure this torment I got up, and taking-the materials which formed my bed outside the house, I shook them well, and spreading them in the open air, I slept there comfortably till morning. This was the only time during the whole of my travels that I was annoyed to any extent by this insect, which is not nearly so common, or so abundant as the flea.

Next day, Feb. 4th, we left Barra de San Antonio Grande about mid-day, and reached Maceio at five o’clock in the evening. Shortly afterwards I delivered the letters of introduction I had brought with me from Pernambuco to Mr. Burnet, the only British merchant in the place, who kindly invited me to remain with him during my stay. The town of Maceio is of considerable size, containing about 5,000 inhabitants; previous to the independence of Brazil, when the Portuguese were expelled by the Brazilians, the population amounted to upwards of 7,000, and as these were the principal capitalists, the trade of the place has declined considerably ever since. The town itself stands on a platform about fifty or sixty feet above the level of the sea, and distant from it about a quarter of a mile; but at a little more than a mile to the north-east, there is a small village called Jaragua, close to the sea, where there are two wharfs for the loading and unloading of goods, and a custom-house. The bay of Maceio is of considerable size, forming a kind of semicircle, and offering good anchorage for shipping. Formerly much cotton and sugar were shipped from this port in British bottoms, but now scarcely more than two or three English vessels visit it in the course of the year, the greater part of this produce being sent either to Bahia or Pernambuco. The country round Maceio is not so monotonous and flat as that around Pernambuco; low undulating ridges of hills reaching close to the sea, covered with a vegetation of low trees and shrubs. During several walks which I took in the vicinity, in company with a young Scotchman who had been sometime resident there as a medical practitioner, I made many additions to my botanical collections, particularly on a flat sandy tract to the north-east of the town. Among these I may mention a fine Diospyros, a curious Eriocaulon, Marcetia taxifolia, an Eschweilera different from that found at Pernambuco, and a Melocactus. Maceio is considered more unhealthy than Pernambuco or Bahia, ague being of very frequent occurrence, particularly at the beginning of the rainy season.

The Rio San Francisco being only thirty-two leagues to the southward of Maceio, and learning that it was navigable, without interruption, for upwards of a hundred miles, I resolved to visit it. A Portuguese gentleman, however, to whom I was directed for information on the subject, having, a few years before, made the voyage up to the great falls (Cachoeira de Paulo Affonço), informed me that as it was then the season at which the river rises to its greatest height, the head waters being far to the south, he would not advise me to undertake the voyage, in consequence of the dangerous navigation at the period of the floods, as well as from the little chance there would be of my adding much to my collection, from the dried up state in which I should find the vegetation, owing to the long continued drought. Still I determined to go, as nothing better presented itself to pass the time, and hitherto, moreover, I had always found the difficulties of travelling much less than they were represented to be. I considered myself fortunate in being able to hire, as a servant, the black who accompanied the gentleman above alluded to.

Having made the necessary preparations for the voyage, I engaged a jangada to take me along the coast to the mouth of the river, and left Maceio at five o’clock A.M., on the morning of the 15th of February. I intended to leave at eleven o’clock the night before, at the rising of the moon, but when I reached the beach with my luggage, the owner of the jangada was nowhere to be found, although he had faithfully promised to be waiting for me. I immediately sent Pedro, my black servant, in search of him, who soon afterwards returned unsuccessful; and I had no resource but to walk backwards and forwards on the beach till shortly before five o’clock in the morning, when he made his appearance. On questioning him about his absence, he told me with the greatest coolness, that as I did not arrive exactly when the moon rose, he thought I should not come till morning, and that, in order to pass the time, he had gone out to fish. Having at length embarked, we soon lost sight of Maceio under the influence of a strong north-east wind, and, coasting along a flat shrubby shore, we arrived at night at the mouth of a small river, on the south bank of which, about a mile up, there is a little village called Batel. At this place, which is twenty leagues distant from Maceio, we remained for the night. I preferred sleeping in the jangada to one of the small cocoa-nut-leaf cottages that was offered to me, but I had reason to repent of having done so. It was full tide when we arrived at the village, and the jangada was brought close to the shore, so that when the tide ebbed it was left dry. I did not then recollect that all muddy shores covered with mangroves, particularly at the mouths of rivers, abound with mosquitos, but I was soon reminded of the fact by being awoke about midnight with my face and hands smarting and swollen from the bites of those annoying insects. As I slept in my clothes without any covering, I was obliged to shield my face with my pocket-handkerchief, and thrust my hands into my pockets. Although I was thus in some measure protected from their bites, it was long before I could again fall asleep, from the continued humming noise, almost as loud as that of bees, which they were making around me. When I got up at daybreak, after a restless night, I found that besides the mosquitos, I was surrounded by thousands of a small black sand-fly (Merohy), not much larger than a grain of fine gunpowder, but whose bites are no less irritating than those of their larger congeners. The morning tide, we found, did not rise so high as it did on the previous evening, and it was with some difficulty that the jangada was floated into deep water, which was not effected till nearly nine o’clock, A.M. In crossing the bar at the mouth of the river, we had to pass through a line of small breakers, three of which swept over the elevated platform on which I was sitting, and drenched me to the skin, thereby rendering the remainder of the voyage very uncomfortable. It was one o’clock, P.M., when we reached a little village called Peba, which is situated on the coast, about five leagues to the north of the mouth of the Rio San Francisco: this was the termination of my sea-voyage, as the heavy surf which breaks over the shallow bar of that river will not allow jangadas to enter it. The village is situated a little way inland, and is hidden from the sea by a high embankment of sand, which at this place is very much drifted by the wind; it is, however, recognised at a considerable distance, from the number of tall cocoa-nut trees which grow near the shore. I was here particularly struck with a fact which goes a great way to explain the phenomenon of the stem of a fossil tree being found passing through several strata of sandstone rock. Many of the cocoa-nut trees have their stems embedded to the depth of fifty feet and upwards in the embankment of sand which stretches along the shore, and in many places is several hundred feet broad; some of them, indeed, are so deeply embedded, that the nuts can be gathered without climbing the tree. Now as this sand has accumulated at different periods, particularly during the prevalence of the north-east trade-wind, it must present, if ever it becomes hardened, a vast number of irregularly horizontal beds, through which the stems of the palms will be found to pass.

From a fisherman, whom I met on the shore, I obtained permission to occupy an empty hut till the next day. While seated on the trunk of a tree, which was lying on the beach at high-water mark, I observed that on the shore here, as well as along the coast, crabs of various sizes abounded; and, as I had to wait until my luggage was landed and carried to the hut, I amused myself by watching the operations of a small species, belonging to the genus Gelasimus that was either making or enlarging its burrow in the sand. About once in every two minutes it came up to the surface with a quantity of sand enclosed in its left claw, which, by a sudden jerk, it ejected to the distance of about six inches, always taking care to vary the direction in which it was thrown, so as to prevent its accumulation in one place. Having a few small shells belonging to a species of Turbo in one of my jacket pockets, I endeavoured to throw one of these into its hole, in order to see whether it would bring it up again or not; of the four that were thus thrown, one only entered the hole, the others remaining within a few inches of it. It was about five minutes before the animal again made its appearance, bringing with it the shell which had gone down, and carrying it to the distance of about a foot from its burrow, it there deposited it. Seeing the others lying near the mouth of the hole, it immediately carried them, one by one, to the place where the first had been laid down, and then returned to its former labour of carrying up sand. It was impossible not to conclude that the actions of this little creature, which holds so low a station in the chain of beings, were the result of reason, rather than of blind instinct by which the actions of the inferior animals are generally thought to be guided, for man himself, under the same circumstances, could not have acted with more judgment.

On the day following our arrival at Peba, I made arrangements with the owner of an ox-cart to take me with my luggage to Piassabassú, a little village situated on the north bank of the Rio San Francisco, and about two leagues distant from its mouth. He promised to come early in the forenoon, but, much to my annoyance, did not make his appearance till five o’clock in the afternoon, shortly after which we started. We kept along the sandy shore for about two miles, then went a little inland and continued our route in a direction nearly parallel to the shore through a flat, sandy, bushy country, in which Mouriria Guianensis, Aubl., and several species of Lauraceæ, were very abundant. It was indeed dark during the greater part of the journey, but on my return I had ample opportunity of observing the nature of the vegetation. I was not at all sorry, after we had once started, that we had been thus delayed, as travelling in this country is far more pleasant in the evening than during the heat of the day. Our cart was of a very primitive construction, similar to that seen everywhere in the interior of Brazil, and little different from that used by the Romans. It consisted of a rude frame, supported on two wheels about five feet in diameter, constructed of solid plank; and was drawn by six oxen, yoked in pairs, goaded on by two drivers, each carrying a slender pole about ten feet long. One of the drivers goes before to lead the way, while the other urges on the oxen with his long pole. The axles are never greased, and the creaking noise they continually make, which we heard at a great distance, is most disagreeable; the reason given for not greasing them is, that the cattle are so accustomed to the noise that they would not go on without it. It was ten o’clock at night when we arrived at the end of our journey, and as there was no place where a stranger could put up, and being without introduction to any resident in the village, I was taken by our conductor to the house of one of his acquaintances, where the only accommodation to be obtained was in a small and very dirty apartment in the hut, which did not much signify, as I slept in my own hammock.

Piassabassú is a small village, where the greater part of the houses surround a large square with a church in its centre; these are nearly all of one story, and, being white-washed on the outside, they present a cleanly appearance. Many of those situated nearest to the river, were abandoned on account of its flooded state, being then higher than it had been since the year 1793, when the inundation reached to a still greater height. On the morning after our arrival at this place I hired a canoe to convey me to the Villa do Penêdo, seven leagues further up the river. We started at eleven o’clock, A.M., but the current was so strong that the canoe was obliged to keep close along shore to be able to make way against it; a small sail, by which we were propelled, was often barely sufficient to keep us from being carried downwards; at such times our two men were forced to use their paddles. At Piassabassú the river is about two leagues broad, but the opposite side cannot be seen on account of a large island which stands in the middle of the stream; it was only after we had proceeded upwards about half a league, that I first saw the whole breadth of this magnificent river. The country, for about three leagues, is flat on both sides, which the present flood had inundated to a considerable extent. We passed large fields of sugar-cane, where nothing was to be seen but the tops of the leaves, which, waving in the stream, gave them the appearance of verdant meadows; where trees existed, nothing but their upper branches were visible, and almost every house that we passed had only its roof appearing above the water. The river begins to rise in the month of October, which is the commencement of the rainy season in the southern provinces, the sources of its origin, and continues to do so until the end of March. At about five leagues from the coast, the country, on the south side of the river, slightly rises, and from thence to Penêdo it is of an undulating character, but the opposite side still continues flat. After pursuing our course upwards about two leagues on the north, we crossed over to the southern bank, in order to obtain advantage of the breeze. A few sugar plantations exist on both sides, but the vacancies in the forests made by the cultivated spots are scarcely apparent. By the force of the stream, particularly in certain turns of the river, the banks were greatly encroached upon by a continual process of undermining, and we saw great masses of earth falling in, the trees which grew thereon being floated down by the current. We did not come in sight of Penêdo till within a league of it, when, turning round a high rocky wooded point on the south side, the white houses were seen brightly lighted up by the rays of the sun, which was then just setting nearly opposite to the town. Shortly afterwards we distinguished Villa Nova, a small town situated about half a league below Penêdo, but on the south side of the river. As the Rio San Francisco divides the province of Alagoas from that of Sergipe, it will be seen that the Villa do Penêdo is in the former, while Villa Nova is in the latter.

It was too late when we landed, to deliver the letters of introduction which I brought from Maceio, and, as the boatmen would not remain till morning, I sent my man Pedro to look out for a house in which I might lodge for the night. After being away for more than an hour he returned, and told me that he had much difficulty in finding one, owing to almost every house being crowded by the many families driven out of their homes by the flooded state of the river. I should have preferred an empty house, but as this was not attainable, I caused my luggage to be taken up to the only one Pedro could procure, which I found belonged to a young girl, who lived alone in it, following a profession which is not considered so disreputable in Brazil as in most other countries. In a small apartment of this house we therefore passed the night in our hammocks, which were slung from one side of the room to the other. During the voyage up the river I saw several large reeds in flower, and great plenty of a large yellow-flowered Jussiæa. A little way below Penêdo, Machaonia spinosa grew abundantly, forming a good sized spiny shrub, having large panicles of small white flowers, called by the Brazilians, Espinha branea: of this I collected specimens, as well as of a species of Oxypetalum, bearing large umbels of sweet smelling flowers, not unlike those of Hoya carnosa.

On the following morning I delivered the letters of recommendation I had with me from Maceio. One of these was to the chief magistrate of the district (the Juiz de Direito), Dr. Manoel Bernardino de Souza de Figueiredo, by whom I was most cordially received, and invited to reside with him till an opportunity occurred for proceeding further up the river. I returned immediately to my lodging in quest of my luggage, but before this could be dispatched the Juiz returned my visit, and, on discovering my poor quarters, he expressed much regret that I had not proceeded directly to his house on my arrival. One of the greatest inconveniences that a traveller meets with in Brazil, is the difficulty of finding accommodation, for in none of the towns or villages throughout this vast empire, does there exist an inn of any kind except in the principalities of Rio de Janeiro, Bahia, and one or two others in the mining districts, and even these are kept by foreigners. It will be long before such conveniences come into general use, for the Brazilians when they travel, always carry with them their own servants, provisions, cooking apparatus, and beds; and it seldom happens that an empty house of some description or other is not to be had in any village during their journey: should they fail to do so, during the dry season they content themselves by encamping under some large trees, slinging their hammocks from one branch to another. It was in this manner that I afterwards was forced to travel, often being for months together without sleeping under a roof. The Brazilians are particularly attentive to any stranger recommended to them, and, during the whole of my wanderings, I seldom went from one place to another without letters, nor do I remember a single instance in which I was not courteously received by those to whom they were addressed.

The Villa do Penêdo, so called because it is situated upon an elevated rocky point, on the north bank of the river, is about thirty miles from its mouth. The rock on which it stands is a fine-grained yellowish-coloured sandstone, the strata of which incline from east to west. The streets are irregular but the houses are very substantial, the principal ones being of two stories, and are for the most part built of the same stone as that on which the town stands. It contains about 4,000 inhabitants, the greater part of whom are very poor. There are no less than six large and substantially built churches, to one of which is attached a convent of Franciscan Friars, called Nossa Senhora da Corrente, but it contains only three brethren. In the Comarco, or district of Penêdo, sugar and cotton are the principal articles cultivated, the greater part of the plantations being situated on the margin of the river, below the town. Mandiocca, french-beans, and rice are raised in sufficient quantities but only for consumption. Formerly cattle were reared to some extent in the more inland parts of the district, but this source of production has failed in consequence of the occasionally excessive drought, and also because of the abundance of a tick (Carrapato), which sometimes proves so great a plague that a farmer loses his whole stock in a single season. During the Portuguese dynasty, Penêdo was a flourishing place, but is now rapidly falling into decay. The following census of the whole Comarco, which was taken in the year 1837, I owe to the kindness of the Juiz de Direito, and I consider is worthy of being quoted, to show the proportion which the different races bear to each other in this part of the country.

Three days after my arrival at Penêdo, we heard that an empty canoe was going up as far as the river was navigable, and accordingly I engaged a passage for a small sum. Having made all the requisite preparations for my voyage, I left Penêdo at one o’clock, P.M., on the 22nd of February, carrying with me letters to some of the principal inhabitants of the different places at which we were likely to stop. The canoe in which we embarked was a very large one, being about forty feet long and four broad. It is seldom that a single tree is of sufficient dimensions to form a canoe of this size, but when such is not the case, they hollow out the largest they can find, sawing it in two through the middle from stem to stern, and then give it the requisite breadth by the addition of one or more widths of planks between the two halves: in this same manner our canoe was constructed. One end of the bow, for the length of ten feet, was thatched over with cocoa-nut leaves like the roof of a house, which thus served both as a place of shelter from the sun during the day, and as a sleeping berth by night. It had only one mast, which carried two large triangular sails of a very coarse cotton cloth, manufactured in the country, and these were stretched out on each side by a long boom. The sea-breeze generally reaches Penêdo about mid-day, blowing right up the river, and, with the sails spread out in this wing-like fashion, we went up the stream with great rapidity, notwithstanding that the current against us was very strong. As it is dangerous for small canoes to navigate the river when it is flooded, two of them are lashed side by side, and thus united, they form what is called an Ajojo. At six o’clock in the evening we reached the village of Propiá, situated on the south side of the river, and seven leagues distant from Penêdo. It contains about 250 houses, mostly small, and built of wicker work and mud; many of those in the street parallel with the river were half full of water, and consequently abandoned; such, also, we observed to be the case with many houses which we passed during our voyage.

The most striking objects of vegetation which I observed on the banks of the river, were many trees of considerable size, belonging to the natural order Leguminosæ, bearing large spikes of light-purple flowers; abundance of a curious kind of Cactus, reaching to the height of from twenty to thirty feet, the great fleshy and naked arms of which, stand out like the branches of an enormous chandelier. A most striking difference was to be observed between the verdure of that part of the country which, for upwards of four months, had been under water, and the more elevated parts, on which no rain had fallen for nearly six months. The latter had more the appearance of the deciduous woods of Europe in winter, than such as grow within the tropics are generally supposed to present. It was only here and there, that a tree was to be seen covered with leaves, all the others having lost their foliage, owing to the excessive and long continued drought. In sailing up the river, the prospect would have been dreary, had it not been for the broad belt of arboreous vegetation that clothed its margins. The country between Penêdo and Propiá is of a low hilly character, but about two leagues above the former place, a rather high ridge of mountains is seen on the north side, about eight leagues from the river, called Serra de Priáca; and about four leagues further up, a high conical mountain called the Serra de Maraba is seen, rising from the surrounding flat country like a pyramid, in a N.N.W. direction, about six leagues distant. A market, or fair, is held at this village every Saturday, and as the owner of the canoe wished to make some purchases for his return cargo, I was detained here two days. On the morning after our arrival, I walked a little way into the country behind the town, but found the vegetation so completely scorched up, that not a green thing was to be seen. I then directed my steps to the bank of the river, and collected specimens of two species of Cæsalpinia, which were beautifully in flower, as well as a low shrubby species of Croton, which is very common, its wood, when broken, having a fragrant smell not unlike that of a Calycanthus.

The preparations for the fair created some bustle, as during the whole of the previous day, particularly towards evening, canoes continued to arrive from all quarters with articles for sale; and from the inland part of the country numbers of horses came into the village laden with merchandize. As I slept in the canoe, which was moored amidst a number of others, I was awoke early on the morning of the fair, by the noise of a motley multitude of men, women, and children of all colours, from the deep black African, to the scarcely white inhabitants of Brazil. The place where the market is usually held being then under water, the crowd had assembled on an elevated part of the river bank towards the west end of the town, opposite to which all the canoes were made fast alongside each other. As soon as I was dressed, I took a walk through the crowd to observe the kind of goods exposed for sale, and as might be expected I found them extremely various, consisting, principally, of articles of food and dress. Among others of inferior note may be particularized the following as being the most abundant:—Farinha de Mandiocca, dried beef, large fish, mostly sturgeon, from the river, dried in the sun, sugar in large loaves shaped like cheeses, or in smaller ones in the form of bricks, molasses in large leathern bottles, fresh beef, bananas, soap, shoes, English cotton, cloth and prints, ropes made from the fibre of native plants, tobacco, planks and posts for house building, earthen-ware cooking utensils, and water pitchers, brought by the Indians, leather, hides, rum, &c.

The great variety in the style of dress adopted by these people, is the first thing to strike the eye of a stranger. The better classes wear either light jackets and trowsers, or shirt and trowsers only, over which they put a long dressing-gown of printed cotton, to which is added during the cool of the morning and evening, a cloak of Scotch tartan. They seldom wear stockings, but have their bare feet thrust into a pair of brown leather slippers. The country people generally wear a broad brimmed hat made of leather, and sometimes a leathern jacket; but most commonly their only covering consists of a pair of thin cotton drawers, which reach a little below the knee, and a shirt of the same stuff hanging loose outside of them. The negroes usually dress in the same manner as the whites, but the women have much more taste than the men, many of whom appear literally in rags, though apparently as happy in this attire, as if they were of the best description. I observed here more of the aboriginal inhabitants of Brazil, than I had seen at one time before; many of them bore evident signs of having a mixture of white, and others of black blood in their veins, but not in sufficient quantity to destroy the peculiar obliquity of the eyes, and the lank black hair of the American race.

It was about three o’clock in the afternoon before we could leave Propiá, and at eight we arrived at Traipú, another small village situated on the north bank of the river, about seven leagues further up. At half a league from Propiá we passed a small village called Collegio, and at a further distance of two leagues and a half a still smaller one, called San Bras, both situated on the north side of the stream. As far as the latter village, the appearance of the country on both sides of the river bears much the same appearance as that above Penêdo, but at a distance of a about a league above San Bras, it becomes much higher, the undulating ridges of hills reaching close to the water in many places, thus diminishing the breadth of the stream, and, consequently, increasing the rapidity of the current. The highest part of the country is a hill opposite Traipú, the termination of a range called the Serra de Tabangá. The effects of the drought on the vegetation were still greater here than further down; as far as the eye could reach, nothing like a forest was to be seen, both the hills and valleys being thinly covered with small trees and shrubs, and all, with a few solitary exceptions, denuded of their foliage. On the surface of the ground itself there was no herbaceous vegetation, the red coloured soil alone being seen through the withered bushes. Here and there along the banks a few houses exist, but none were to be observed inland. The only objects that relieved the eye in this desert-like region, were the green bushes which grew along the inundated banks, and the grotesque Cacti abounding in dry rocky places. The latter are the most conspicuous objects that meet the eye of a voyager; some of their trunks are of immense thickness, and their branching tops reach to a great height above the surrounding vegetation. These are certainly the most remarkable looking plants of the many which clothe the surface of our globe, their huge fleshy branches seeming more the work of art than of nature. It is only plants such as these, that are able to retain their verdure during the long droughts to which the country here is subjected. On the rocky places where these grow, there are also many Bromeliaceous plants, which in spite of the want of rain, not only grow luxuriantly but produce their large red clusters of flowers in the greatest perfection. The rocks on which these plants vegetate are of gneiss, in thin layers of a dark colour, full of small garnets, and cropping out at a very obtuse angle towards the south. We remained for the night at Traipú, and at nine o’clock next morning resumed our voyage, but as the wind was very high, we could make no way against the current; at about half a league from the place of our departure we were obliged to halt for some hours on the north bank of the river. This afforded me an opportunity of landing, when I made a few additions to my collections. Among these was a species of Azolla, which existed in the greatest abundance, in a flat muddy place that was slightly flooded. Here also I met with some of the largest Cacti I have ever seen; one in particular was of enormous size, the stem measuring upwards of three feet in circumference, and unbranched to the height of about ten feet; its entire height could not be less than between thirty and forty feet. This and other large kinds of Cactus are called by the inhabitants of this part of the country Sheeke-sheeke, and their fleshy stems and branches, after being stripped of their back and spines, are roasted and eaten in times of scarcity; under similar circumstances they are given raw to cattle. A little below this place on the south side of the river, we passed an old gold-working, situated on the side of a low hill through which a small ravine passes. It seemed to have been a long time since it had been worked, as the heaps of soil which had been thrown out, were covered with the low shrubby vegetation peculiar to the district. Continuing our voyage, towards sunset we came in sight of a small island, called Ilha dos Prazeres, on the top of which there is a church of the same name. Opposite this island, on the north side, we passed the mouth of a small river, called the Rio de Panêma, which takes its rise in the Sertão of the province of Alagoas. On the upper side of the mouth of this river there is a little hamlet, consisting only of a few houses, called Barra de Panêma. A little further up we crossed over to the south side, to land an old negro who had accompanied us from Propiá, and it was with much regret that we were obliged to come to an anchor for the night a little way above this place, for the river here takes a turn to the northward, and although there was a strong breeze, we could not succeed in getting our canoe into a position to enable us to avail ourselves of the favourable wind, notwithstanding the best efforts of our crew, which consisted of three men, assisted by myself and servant; an exposure of our vessel to a side wind would have upset her, and she was too unmanageable to attempt rowing.

On the following morning, before breakfast, I took a walk to a high ridge of gneiss rocks, which is at a little distance from the river, and found a variety of different kinds of Cacti. One of these was a great Melocactus much larger than the one which is so common near Pernambuco; it grows in fissures of the rock where scarcely any soil exists, and its tough roots penetrate to such a depth, that they can with difficulty be withdrawn; living specimens of this (Melocactus Hookerianus, Gardn.) which I sent home, now exist in the collections at Kew and Glasgow. While lying in the canoe, waiting for the breeze, I heard a splashing noise in the water as of heavy rain, but on looking over the side, I found it to be produced by hundreds of small fish; so abundant were they, that having no hook, I had recourse to a bent pin fixed to the end of a thread, and thus in a few minutes I caught above thirty of them. I found them to belong to the tribe Salmonidæ, of which they form a very diminutive species, measuring from two to three inches in length, and from an inch to an inch and a half in depth; they are called by the Indians Piába; the two lower thirds of their depth is of a silvery-white, while the upper third is of a pale lead colour, being in general appearance not unlike a herring in miniature; they are extremely voracious and abundant, especially in shallow water, where they are caught in numbers by children; they make an excellent dish when stewed. From a young man who was fishing in a shallow part of the river with a hand-net, I obtained a few other kinds of fish, and among them one which is very much dreaded by the inhabitants of the banks of nearly all the lakes and rivers in the northern provinces; it is called Piranha by the Brazilians, and is also one of the Salmonidæ, belonging to the genus Serasalmo. It is commonly about a foot in length, but sometimes is as much as two feet long, being very much compressed laterally, and very deep; the back is of a dark brownish colour, and the belly yellowish white, both being thinly marked with reddish spots; the lower jaw projects a little beyond the upper, and both are armed with about fourteen flattish triangular-shaped teeth, upwards of a quarter of an inch in length, and very short. It is most voracious, and is consequently caught with difficulty. Many people are often severely injured by them whilst bathing, and I have repeatedly been shown the scars left by their bites. It is said that ducks frequently lose their legs, in consequence of their voracity, and it is even asserted that where they abound, cattle have been known to perish from their attacks, when going into the water to cool themselves, or to drink.

We resumed our voyage again about eleven o’clock in the morning, and at once reached Lagoa Funda, a small village on the north side of the river, the distance being about two leagues. It contains but very few houses, and takes its name from a large deep lake which runs westward from it, in a direction parallel with the river. During this voyage we came in sight of a range of mountains called the Serra Pão de Assucar, bearing N.N.W. of us; it terminates abruptly towards the W.S.W., and slopes gradually thence to the E.N.E. and is by far the highest range in the district. The country around us was now beginning to assume a verdant appearance, several showers of rain having lately fallen. Shortly after our arrival at this place, owing to the loss of the wind, we were obliged to remain till five o’clock in the afternoon; when the sea breeze reached us, we again started, and were enabled by half past six o’clock to reach another small village called San Pedro. This is situated on an island of the same name, which is about half a league long by a quarter of a league broad, being flat, with a sandy soil; the upper end where the village stands, is open, while the opposite extremity is densely wooded with bushes and small trees.

I passed the night in the canoe, but could get little sleep owing to the mosquitos which were very abundant. Early in the morning, I took a walk over the island, and gathered a few plants; during the day the heat was most intolerable, the thermometer in the shade about noon, indicating 99½°, and as there was not the slightest breath of wind, the oppressive sensation amounted almost to suffocation, the air feeling as if it came from the mouth of an oven. Not a soul was to be seen out of doors, and the few goats and pigs on the island, as well as the dogs, sought the shade of a few trees of Zizyphus which grow by the side of the river near the village. Everything was as still as midnight, the songs of the small birds which I had listened to with delight during my morning’s walk, and the loud shrill cry of the Gavata, a large water bird, as well as the monotonous one of the Bem-te-ve, were now no longer heard, even the trees were motionless, and the mighty mass of yellow water in the river rolled slowly down unruffled by a breeze; all was indeed so still, that one could scarcely help thinking that life had ceased to exist. Having slung my hammock under a Zizyphus tree, I remained in it till the rays of the sun became less powerful. It was six o’clock in the evening before the sea breeze reached the island, and it being then too late to proceed on our voyage, we remained where we were for the night. The sun had no sooner set, and the breeze become more fresh, than the greater number of the inhabitants left their houses, and seated themselves either at their doors or by the side of the river, to enjoy the delicious coolness of the evening air; of course I followed their example, and it was near midnight before I retired to rest.

The number of families on the island amounts to about forty, and they are for the most part civilized Indians. On the evening of our arrival I was presented to their captain, an old man dressed in a leather hat, a pair of coarse cotton drawers, a shirt of the same material, and a pair of leather sandals on his feet, who was sitting under a Zizyphus tree repairing a fishing net. From him I learned that the Indians on the island are decreasing gradually in number, and he sighed when he told me that the day was not far distant when his race would become extinct, or at least be amalgamated with the other inhabitants. Those who still remain unmixed, are short in stature and of a stout make; in disposition they appeared gentle and obliging. I observed a church in the village, but during my visit the priest was absent on the main land.

On the morning of the 28th, the second since our arrival, I again took a walk over the island, and in the centre found a large tract covered with a very prickly species of Opuntia, covered with the Cochineal insect. I also collected several species of Viscum and Loranthus, growing on the branches of Mimosa and Zizyphus trees; while the sandy shores of the south side of the island yielded me abundance of Ehrenbergia tribuloides, Mart., and a Lupin-like kind of Zornia. The morning was comparatively cool, but the day was calm and sultry, the thermometer standing at 96° in the shade. As it was again six o’clock in the evening before the breeze set in, we were once more detained. The setting in of the breeze was accompanied with a curious appearance in the atmosphere; the sun was setting in the west with a fiery redness, surrounded by a mass of red coloured clouds, while from the eastward was seen approaching an immense body of vapour; this, from the distance at which it was seen, had more the appearance of smoke issuing from some great conflagration. This body came slowly on before the wind till at last it reached us, and we could see the small vesicles of which it was composed rolling past. The wind for about five minutes was so hot that every one was glad to take shelter from it, but it soon acquired its usual refreshing coolness. On inquiring of the old captain whether such a phenomenon was often observed, he told me that it was of frequent occurrence at the beginning of the rainy season, and added, that long experience had taught him it was always the forerunner of a great storm (hum temporal.)

On the following day, the first of March, we left the island, about half-past five o’clock in the evening, and had not been gone an hour before the sky towards the N.E. became darkened with a mass of black clouds, the sure harbinger of a coming storm. We were then nearly in the middle of the river, which was about a league broad; and as the storm was approaching with great rapidity, the master of the canoe gave instant orders to run her in to the north shore, but before we had reached the distance, we were overtaken by a gust of wind which laid her nearly on her broadside. A considerable quantity of water was shipped, and the crew lost all command of themselves, one crying to do this, and another that, without anything being done. The lower part of the sail on the lee side was in the water keeping the edge of the canoe down, and had it not been for my exertions and my man Pedro’s assistance, in seizing hold of the rope by which the extreme point of the long boom is drawn up to the mast head, and thus raising it out of the water, the canoe, to a certainty, would have filled, and we should all have been inevitably drowned. Still we were at some distance from the river bank, and the storm was setting in with all its fury, the waves were dashing over the weather gunnel, while the lee side was taking in great quantities of water. In the meantime the sails had been stowed away, and seeing the danger of keeping her broadside any longer to the wind, the master gave orders to run her over to the other side of the river before the wind. We thus steered in an oblique direction nearly three miles before we reached the south side, and during this fearful interval the wind, the rain, thunder and lightning were such as I had never before been exposed to. It was now quite dark, but the vivid flashes both of forked and sheet lightning gave a light, from time to time, as brilliant nearly as noon-day. The canoe ran aground among some small trees to two of which she was made fast; the rain continued to fall in torrents for nearly two hours, and from our unavoidable exposure to its influence we were all drenched to the skin. When the storm had entirely exhausted itself, we found that the wind had died away also, and as we could not resume our voyage, we determined to return with the current to the island of San Pedro. This we accordingly did, and had to remain in our wet clothes during the greater part of the night. In going down I observed a number of large meteors passing from the N.E. to the S.W. following the course of the storm.

The two following days were again calm, with heavy thunder-storms in the evening, so that we were compelled to remain all this time on the island. A more serious event, however, now occurred to detain me among the Indians. The day after the storm before mentioned, I found myself feverish and unwell, and two days after this I was severely attacked with dysentery, which is of frequent occurrence at this season, caused no doubt by the sudden transitions of temperature. In the meantime a favourable breeze had sprung up, and as I was far too ill to proceed, the canoe was obliged to sail without me; I was thus left behind in an old hut, the floor of which was still wet from having been a short time before overflowed by the river. In this place I was confined to my hammock for five days, during which time I was so ill that I never expected to recover; from being in robust health, I was in the course of a few days reduced to a mere shadow, with scarcely the power, when I did get out of my hammock, to drag one leg after the other. I felt severely the want of my medicine-chest, which I had left behind at Maceio, not wishing in this excursion to encumber myself with luggage; my only resource, therefore, was to trust to the remedial agents employed by the people themselves. This I found to consist in the use of castor oil, which is commonly made on the island, and afterwards a drink, ad libitum, of strong lemonades of vinegar and white sugar. There was only one venda in the village, in which the latter materials were to be obtained, but where, strange to say, the only other purchaseable article was rum. Nothing in the shape of provisions was to be had for any consideration, and as our long stay here had completely exhausted our stock, both Pedro and I were almost reduced to a state of starvation. Not even a particle of farinha was to be had, and had we not been supplied with a fowl or two by an old Indian woman, who attended very kindly upon me during my illness, we should have been miserably destitute. While still confined to my bed, I sent Pedro to another small village a few leagues further up the river, to purchase, if possible, some provisions, but he returned altogether unsuccessful. My chief regret was for this poor fellow, for he was well and felt the pangs of hunger far more keenly than I did. In the meantime a canoe fortunately arrived at the island with a little farinha for sale, of which I bought as much, at four times the usual price, as would suffice to take us back again to Penêdo, for I had now renounced all idea of going further up the river. The poor inhabitants of the island were themselves literally in a state of starvation, their principal food being the fruit of Geoffroya superba, the produce of a small tree growing rather abundantly on the south side of the island. It reaches to the height of nearly twenty feet, and produces a fleshy drupe about the size of a walnut; it is called umarí by the Indians. In almost every house, whether Indian or Brazilian, I observed a large pot of this fruit preparing, either indoors over a fire made on the floor, or on the ground under a tree in the neighbourhood of the house. As soon as they are nearly ready, groups of children in a state of nudity, and half naked men and women seat themselves around the pot, each furnished with two stones, a larger and a smaller one, for the purpose of breaking the nut after they have devoured the outward fleshy part; the taste of the kernel is not unlike that of boiled beans. Fish is in general the staple food of these people, but it is difficult to procure when the river is much flooded.

At the west end of the village there is a large wide-spreading Zizyphus tree standing alone, and as these trees retain their dense covering of leaves all the year round, their shade is sought after both by men and animals during the excessive heat of the day. Under that of which I now speak were to be seen a number of villagers of both sexes, the women squatting on mats spread on the ground, and occupied in spinning with a distaff a coarse kind of cotton yarn used principally as wicks for tapers, which they make of a brown coloured native wax. The men are much less industrious than the women, being generally to be seen standing about in a state of idleness, or swinging in their hammocks either in their houses or beneath the shade of a tree. Under the large Zizyphus tree several hammocks are hung up every morning, and they are seldom unoccupied. On Sundays the women lay aside their spinning apparatus, but immediately after mass, groups of them may be seen playing cards, at which they continue during the whole day; as they do not play for money, they use only french beans as counters. Until I gained sufficient strength to leave the island, I also spent much of my time under the shade of this tree, either listening to the conversation of these people, or answering the thousand and one questions put by them respecting my own and other distant countries. These questions were often sufficiently ridiculous, and I could often perceive that my answers were considered stretches of the long bow, although they were too polite to say so; nor was it only among the poor islanders of San Pedro, that I observed this to be the case, for the same often occurred among those who were considered well educated people. I remember once to have been conversing with the President of one of the inland provinces about Steam Navigation, and on telling him that many of the English Steam-boats were now entirely constructed of iron, he did not say he did not believe me, but simply remarked “that in Brazil, when iron was put into the water it always sank.”

On the twelfth of March I took leave of my Indian friends, and embarked in a canoe which I hired to take me down to Penêdo, having been exactly a fortnight on the island. We reached that place on the morning of the fourteenth, when I received a kind welcome from my friend the Juiz de Direito. I landed several times during the passage, for the purpose of making collections of living plants of the different kinds of Cacti, which grow in great abundance on the banks of the river, wherever they are rocky. At one of the places where we stopped, I observed several fine trees of Peltophorum Vogelianum, Benth. This tree, which belongs to the natural order Leguminosæ, reaches to the height of about forty feet, and has a great branching top: the leaves are large but very much subdivided, and very graceful, having more the appearance of the frond of a fern, than the leaf of a tree. The racemes of flowers which grow at the ends of the branches, are often more than a foot long, and the flowers are of a beautiful golden colour; at a distance it presents a more magnificent appearance, than almost any other tree I have seen. The canoe was carried down the stream by the force of the current, but in the afternoon, and during the greater part of the night, the sea breeze blew so strong as to impede our progress. The boatmen, however, adopted a plan to overcome this, which I have never seen elsewhere, nor even heard of, and I will therefore explain it in a few words. Landing at a place where the trees grew in abundance, the men set to work, and cut off a considerable number of branches, which were tied tightly together with cords, one end of a long rope was made fast round its middle, while the other end was secured to the canoe. They then steered for a part of the river where the current was strong, and threw the bundle overboard, which being heavy from its green state, floated just below the surface of the water, and in this manner being entirely out of the influence of the wind, it received the whole force of the current, by which means the canoe was dragged down at a rate little inferior to that by which we descended during the calm of the day.

I remained at Penêdo eight days, and, thanks to the very great kindness I received from the Juiz de Direito, my health rapidly improved, and I was enabled to make several little excursions in the neighbourhood. The Juiz is one of the few Brazilians I came in contact with, for whom I entertain feelings of esteem and respect. I found him to be a man of great intelligence, and well educated, having studied at the University of Coimbra. Even among the litigious Brazilians he was respected as a judge; and, indeed, both his opinions and actions were those of a mind deeply imbued with benevolence. At Coimbra he had paid some attention to the study of Botany, to which he was still partial, but more to the theoretical that to the practical department. He had made the acquaintance of M. Reidel and Dr. Natterer, both of whom had lived with him some years before, when he was residing in Pará. In the society of this excellent man, as well as in that of his brother, a priest who was then on a visit to him from Bahia, in the perusal of his books, and in visiting some families in the town, my time passed away very agreeably.

One day I went to Villa Nova, to visit a Colonel Bento Mello Pereira, the owner of a large sugar plantation. After receiving an invitation to return to dinner, I walked over to view his plantation, which was about two miles distant, but did not meet with much to reward my toil, for the sun was hot, and the country dry and sandy. I reached his house again a little before two o’clock, that being the dinner hour, where I found that two other persons, both belonging to the place, had been invited also. The dinner was both substantial and excellent, being served up with some degree of ostentation. We had a slave to wait upon each of us, and before beginning, a little black fellow supplied us with water from a large silver ewer in a silver basin to wash our hands, bearing round his shoulders a long towel with which to dry them. After dinner he took me to see a vessel he was building a little above the town; it was about one hundred and fifty tons burden, and nearly ready for launching. He intended her to trade along the coast, but principally to convey sugar to Bahia; the planking consisted of Pao Amarello and Oiti, said to be the two best woods for ship-building in the north of Brazil. I do not know to what genus the Pao Amarello belongs, but the Oiti is the Moquilea tomentosa of Bentham, first described from specimens which I forwarded to him from Pernambuco.

A proposal has recently been made to establish a communication by steam navigation, between the coast and the interior central provinces of Brazil, by means of the Rio de San Francisco. Upon a mere inspection of the map of this portion of the Empire, it would seem that every facility for this specious proposition has been offered by nature; an easy, cheap, although somewhat circuitous water conveyance leads directly from the sea on the confines of the province of Pernambuco into the heart of the inland, rich, and comparatively well-populated mining and diamond districts, which are separated from the great markets of Rio de Janeiro and Bahia by lofty mountain barriers, always difficult of access, and where the means of transport are tedious and costly. I have great doubts whether this plan will ever be carried into effect, in support of which opinion I will adduce three very substantial reasons.

In the first place, the bar at the mouth of the river is about two leagues broad, is always covered with a heavy surf, and has seldom more than four feet of water on it. In the second place, at the falls of Paulo Affonço there is a series of rapids and falls about sixty miles in length, forming a serious obstacle to the progress of any navigation. In the third place, there is a very limited population throughout the intervening country, which is not likely to increase, owing to the desert nature of the greater portion of the interior; from these causes the amount of produce likely to be taken to the coast must, consequently, be very small indeed, so that the enterprize would not be likely to succeed in a pecuniary point of view, even were it otherwise practicable. Were the interior of the middle portion of Brazil as fertile as is generally supposed to be by those who have never visited it, hopes might be entertained of its becoming hereafter a rich agricultural district, such as the belt of country along the coast is found to be; in that case some great national undertaking for rendering communication more easy, might be looked for; but while it exists as a dry arid tract scarcely fit for the rearing of cattle, it is not at all likely that any Brazilian at least will sink his money in attempting to render the San Francisco navigable. A company of Englishmen may probably be induced in periods of infectious speculation to venture upon this attempt, for some of the late ill-concerted schemes in Brazil have been far more absurd; in testimony of which we may instance that monument of folly, the Rio Doce Company.

The North Americans, particularly those of the back settlements, are celebrated for their inquisitiveness; but this seems to be a very general failing with all those who are shut out from frequent intercourse with strangers. A curious instance of this feeling occurred a few days after I returned to Penêdo. I had brought letters from Maceio to a gentleman who lived here with a married brother, they were among the most respectable people in the place. Although not yet eleven o’clock, I found the lady, a remarkably fine and good-looking woman, with her husband busily engaged at cards, she lying in a hammock, while he was seated on a chair beside her; she had recently been smoking, an almost universal accomplishment among the ladies of the interior, as a long pipe was lying near her, and the floor beneath bore strong indications of excessive expectoration. I was desired to be seated, and was immediately inundated with a flood of questions from the good lady who possessed great volubility of tongue. Among a host of others I may enumerate the following. What countryman are you? What is your name? How old are you? Are you a medical man? Are you married? Are your father and mother alive? What are their names? Have you any sisters? What are their names? Have you any brothers? What are their names? Have all your countrymen blue eyes? Have you churches and priests in your country? Do oranges and bananas grow there? &c., &c. If, however, she was inquisitive about my concerns, she was not less disposed to tell me much that related to herself. Thus she informed me that she was married when she was nineteen years of age, that she was now five years married, and in that time had presented her husband with a yearly gift, all of whom were alive with the exception of one. Her husband, she said, was thirty-six years of age, and she desired me to feel his pulse, as he was always complaining of bad health. I soon discovered his complaint to be indigestion, one of the most frequent ills that Brazilians are subject to, arising, no doubt, from the enormous quantities which they eat, and that generally not of the most digestive materials, as well as from the heavy late suppers which they indulge in. I had then to feel her pulse in turn, and she seemed much pleased when I told her it was an excellent one. I afterwards became very intimate with them, and spent many agreeable hours in their society; their brother to whom I brought the letters was a lawyer, and a well-educated and intelligent man.

On the afternoon of the 21st I bade adieu to the Juiz, and my other friends in Penêdo, and between eight and nine o’clock in the evening embarked in a canoe which I had hired to take me down to Piassabassú, which we reached after a sail of little more than four hours. As I knew of no house to go to, I was obliged to pass the remainder of the night in the canoe, tormented by mosquitos, which were in such abundance that long ere morning I was forced to go on shore, and walk up and down till daylight. The house in which I slept when I passed through the village before, was now empty, but I was allowed to occupy it, and as I could not get a cart to convey me to Peba before the following evening, I had to remain here a longer time than I intended. This interval I devoted to a few botanical excursions in the neighbourhood, and thereby added several new plants to my collections. On reaching Peba, I again had the use of the little hut which I formerly occupied, and was obliged to remain there two days before I could hire a jangada to take me to Maceio; that which I engaged was a fine large one that had never been to sea; and on the morning of the 26th, having got all my collections and luggage put on board, we began our voyage. Peba I found to be nearly, if not quite, as poor a place as the Ilha de San Pedro, and not a single article of provision could be purchased there. Its inhabitants are principally fishermen, and their chief food is fish and farinha; a want of success in the fishery and a bad crop of mandiocca had thrown them quite into a state of starvation. On the evening before we started, Pedro contrived somewhere to purchase a chicken; and when we embarked, our whole stock of provisions consisted of one of its wings, and a few green cocoa-nuts. Before we left, the owner of the canoe sent to Piassabassú to purchase farinha or French beans, as sea stock for his men, but neither were to be procured; the crew, therefore, consisting of three men, had to content themselves with only a few green cocoa-nuts. It rained the whole of the first day, but the elevated part of the jangada on which I lay, being well roofed over with cocoa-nut leaves, I suffered but little inconvenience in consequence. At night we did not put in to shore, as is usual with these crafts, the men being as anxious as myself to reach Maceio, but the wind being light, we could not make much progress. During the succeeding day the winds were again light, but having freshened towards evening we reached Maceio about 8 o’clock P.M.; the surf, however, running so high along the beach that I would not allow the jangada to run ashore, as by doing so my collections would have been completely spoiled. The crew wished me to remain on board till the tide went out, but I had suffered too much from hunger during the voyage, to think of staying any longer; so leaping into the water with Pedro, immediately after a large wave had passed us, we followed it, and reached the shore before another had time to overtake us, but not without being completely drenched. Leaving everything on board to be landed next day, I immediately set off for the house of Mr. Burnett, about a mile distant, and arrived just in time for tea, when, after changing my clothes I made a most comfortable meal, being the first I had enjoyed for two days.

Wishing to see the city of Alagoas, the capital of the province, I made arrangements for visiting it, and started from Maceio on the 31st of March. This city is situated on the south side of a large lake, which runs inland about forty miles, and is about twenty miles distant from Maceio. There is a narrow entrance to the lake from the sea, about two leagues to the south of the latter place; but still further to the southward, there is another inlet from the sea, which runs northward to within a mile of the town, and by means of a small canal which has been cut, canoes can now approach within a very short distance of the houses. Accompanied by a young countryman, I embarked in a light canoe about midnight, with the view of reaching Alagoas early in the morning, and thus escape exposure on the water during the heat of the day. My man Pedro was our only navigator, who used a long pole, the mode usually adopted for propelling canoes, as the lake is extremely shallow. As soon as we were fairly afloat on the canal, we laid down in the bottom of the canoe to sleep, but failed to do so, in consequence of the myriads of mosquitos and sand-flies that almost fill the atmosphere among the mangroves which abound along the muddy shores. At eight o’clock in the morning we came in sight of the city, which is built upon a somewhat elevated situation, and as the houses are rather large, and intermingled with numerous churches, and lofty mango trees, it has really an enchanting appearance when seen in the distance. In about an hour afterwards we landed, and as I had brought no letters of recommendation, I despatched Pedro to look out for a house where we could remain till morning, but he returned after being an hour absent, with the intelligence that none was to be obtained. This did not annoy me much, as we found an old house close to where we landed, where I proposed to remain, especially as the weather was fine, the only shelter we required being shade. Just, however, as we were about to remove our luggage thither, the owner of an adjoining house perceiving that we were strangers, invited us to take up our quarters with him, an invitation which we readily accepted, as it would be not only more comfortable, but would allow us greater freedom to walk about. Like most other Brazilian cities in which I have been, Alagoas looks better from a distance than on close inspection; and as in the instance of Penêdo, it has all the appearance of having once been a much more flourishing place than it now is, the expulsion of the Portuguese having given its industry a death blow, from which it is not soon likely to recover. The houses are for the most part built of stone, and many of them are what are called Sobrados, that is, consist of more stories than one, but many of them are falling into decay; even the principal streets are overgrown with grass and other weeds, and have a deserted appearance. The finest buildings are the churches and convents; of the former there are eight, and of the latter two in number. It being the seat of the provincial government, the President resides there, but as Maceio is the chief place of trade, there is also a government house in that town for his accommodation, when he visits it, as he frequently does, for the transaction of business. The population of Alagoas amounts to about 6000. On one or two occasions that I walked through the principal streets I saw very few people, and they for the most part were bare-footed, ragged mulatto and Indian soldiers, two of whom were keeping guard at the house of the President.

The chief productions of the country around Alagoas are sugar, cotton, and a little mandiocca. At the time of my visit great complaints were made of the scarcity of provisions, but it is impossible to feel much commiseration for the starving condition of the poor people, when it is known that it is entirely owing to their own want of industry that sufficient crops of mandiocca are not raised, not only for their own consumption, but for exportation to other parts of the country. There is abundance of ground around the city lying waste, which is well adapted for the growth of this plant, and but little labour suffices for its cultivation, but the indolent disposition of the people is such, that, with all the advantages which the country offers, they are contented to obtain just sufficient for immediate use and seldom look forward to the future. Towards the head of the lake, the country is said to be much richer than it is near the city, and it is in that direction that the largest and most productive sugar and cotton plantations are seen. The lake is not of sufficient depth to admit of vessels of any size, all traffic between the sea and the city is carried on in large canoes, and a small class of flat-bottomed sailing vessels called Lanchas. Opposite the city the lake is about a league broad, the water is quite fresh, and yields abundance of fine fish, which forms the chief part of the animal food of the inhabitants, to whom it is sold at a very cheap rate. Much fine timber is floated down the lake from the upper parts of the country for exportation along the coast; the two wooden bridges at Pernambuco are for the most part constructed of it.

During my rambles in this neighbourhood, I found several species of plants which I had not previously met with. In a small stream of beautifully clear water the curious Cabomba aquatica, Aubl., grows abundantly, which to the Botanist is a most interesting plant, as, both in habit and structure, it forms a transition link between the Ranunculus family and that of the water lilies. In the same stream I likewise collected specimens of a Marsilæa, a pale blue flowered Pontederia, and a large white flowered Nymphæa different from that which grows in the lake at Olinda. In brackish water a little above Maceio, a Potamogeton grows in vast quantities, which on comparison, does not seem to differ from the British P. pectinatus. We returned to Maceio by daylight, and I observed that the shores abound with Mangroves, principally Rhizophora Mangle, which reaches here to a much greater size than I have elsewhere seen it, some of the trees being, at least, thirty feet high, with stems proportionally thick; it presents a curious appearance, the large roots supporting the stems at the height of several feet above the water, and curving outwards and downwards; if the real top were not seen, we could almost fancy that the tree had been reversed; the long pendent radicles of the seeds are also remarkable, as they are thrown down to the ground while the fruit is yet attached to the parent plant. The wood of this tree is very much used as fuel, it burns extremely well in the green state; at Maranham little else is used for this purpose.

On the morning of the 20th of April I left Maceio, in a little vessel loaded with cotton, and arrived at Pernambuco on the evening of the 24th, taking Pedro with me, he having agreed to accompany me on my projected journey into the interior. The only thing which I observed worthy notice on the passage, was a mode of fishing that was new to me. Towards the evening of the third day, while running along between the reef and the shore, the vessel grounded on a sand bank, the tide being then about half ebb. Having laid down to sleep on the deck, I awoke about nine o’clock, and was surprised to see a great number of lights moving quickly between the shore and the reef, and extending as far as I could see. Our boatmen were at this time sound asleep, but as the tide was now out, and the ground around us dry, I made for the nearest lights, and found them to belong to a man and boy, both of whom were naked, each having a lighted torch in his left hand, a long sword-knife in the right, with a small basket suspended round the neck by a thick piece of cord. I soon discovered they were engaged in killing the small fish which the tide had left in the shallow pools of water inside the reef. They walked somewhat quickly along, holding the flaming torch pretty close to the water, by which means the fish, not above three inches long, were very distinctly perceived, and when seen, immediately struck with the sword, quickly picked up, and put into the basket. This man told me that all he expected to get, would scarcely suffice for the supper of the four individuals comprising his family. As the tide came in, the lights were seen receding towards the shore, and gradually becoming extinct. The material of which the torches are made, is the wood of a fine large arborescent species of Bignonia, to which the Brazilians give the name of Pao d’Arco, from the circumstance of its being used by the Indians to make their bows. They split this wood into thin splinters, a number of which are tied together, and when lighted, it burns with a very clear flame. Before castor oil was so much cultivated as it now is, this kind of light was extensively used by the country people, even in their sugar-houses and other works.

CHAPTER V.
CEARA. PERNAMBUCO TO CRATO.

The Author leaves Pernambuco in a Coasting Vessel—Description of the Voyage—Touches at Cape San Roque—Arrives at Aracaty—Seaport of Province of Ceará—Town described—its Trade—Whole Province subject to great droughts—Commencement of Journey into the Interior—Passes Villa de San Bernardo—Arid nature of the Country—Catingas—Arrives at Icó—Town described—Journey continued—Villa da Lavra de Mangabeira—Gold washings abandoned—Country begins to improve—Reaches the Villa do Crato—Town described—Low state of morals among the Inhabitants—Sugar Plantations—Mode of Manufacture—Coarse kind of Sugar formed into Cakes called Rapadura, in which state it is used throughout the Province—State of Cultivation in the Neighbourhood—Productions of the Country—Serra de Araripe—Different kinds of timber—Wild fruits—Wandering Tribes of Gypsies frequent—Great religious Festival—Climate—Diseases.

On my return to Pernambuco from Maceio, Dr. Loudon kindly afforded me the use of his country residence, he having removed into the town, and I remained here from the end of April to the beginning of July. At the time of going there, the rainy season had just set in, when I observed the very striking effect which a few showers had already produced on the vegetation. Three months before, I had left the whole herbage scorched and withered while the trees had a brown and sickly appearance; now all was fresh and verdant; grass and other herbaceous plants were covering the face of the earth, and bursting into bloom; and the shrubs and trees had assumed their summer dress, the deep green of the leaves harmonizing well with their various coloured flowers. The rainy season is here generally expected to commence about the middle or end of April, and continues till about the middle of August. At first, the rains fall in heavy showers, accompanied with thunder and lightning, but ultimately they become more frequent, lasting for half or an entire day, or even several successive days, with but very short intermissions; the longest period I knew it to rain without cessation, being thirty-six hours. At this season from the flatness of the country, the roads are so completely flooded, that it is impossible to move out on foot; and the atmosphere is so thoroughly saturated with moisture, that everything acquires a coating of blue mould; even books get so damp, that, unless exposed to the first sun-shine, they become musty and are spoiled.

As it was impossible to stir much abroad, I occupied myself with arranging and packing my collections from Alagoas, in making preparations for my inland journey, and in dissecting and examining the structure of numerous animals found in the neighbourhood. I also made it my endeavour to ascertain which was the best route for the journey I had in view. Those who had visited the interior strongly recommended me to proceed by sea to Aracaty, a town in the province of Ceará, about two and a half degrees to the North of Pernambuco, and to start inland from that port, the roads being rather better than those leading from other parts of the coast, and horses cheaper. I therefore determined to adopt this plan, and in the end found no cause to repent having done so. I received the best information from two Portuguese merchants, named Pinto, who resided at Icó, a large town in the interior of the province of Ceará, and who had come to Pernambuco to purchase goods, which they are in the habit of doing once in every two or three years: they were the most influential people in that quarter, and I considered myself fortunate in making their acquaintance. In order to convey their goods to Aracaty, they had hired a small schooner, and accordingly I engaged a passage for myself and servant in the same vessel. A few days before we sailed, I called with Mr. Goring, H.B.M. Vice Consul, upon the Vice-President of the province, Senhor Francisco de Paulo Cavalcante d’Albuquerque, (the President being then absent at Rio,) with the view of obtaining my passport; we were kindly received, but with less frankness than when I visited the late President Camargo; Senhor Albuquerque is a man of considerable property, and belongs to one of the first and oldest families in the north of Brazil. Besides the passport, he sent me the next day letters of recommendation to the Presidents of Ceará and Piauhy.

After a delay of several days, I embarked at noon on the 19th of July, in the Maria Luiza, a schooner of about one hundred tons burden; she was deeply laden, the cabin and deck, as well as the entire hold, being crammed with goods. We had, altogether, seventeen passengers on board, besides an equal number of negro servants or slaves; all brought much luggage with them, so that the whole of the after-deck was completely covered with trunks and packages heaped on each other, the only clear space left being that requisite for the steersman; on each side were two kennel-like boxes, which served as the sleeping berths of the two Pintos, all the other passengers being obliged to make the best provision for themselves upon deck in the open air, for there was no accommodation whatever below, even for taking meals, every one, therefore, looked out for the most convenient corner to sit or lie down in. I could find no better quarters than those upon my own trunks, one of which being much higher than the other, offered a miserably hard couch, on which I was obliged to sleep at night. This was rendered still worse by the bad weather, for no sooner had we quitted the harbour than it began to rain heavily, from which no shelter could be obtained, except that afforded by my poncho and umbrella, which did not long prevent me from being completely drenched. The misery of my situation may therefore be well imagined, and if some of my previous voyages were disagreeable, this was wretched in the extreme. My suffering was much aggravated by sea-sickness, from which I had always been quite free, but I experienced much inconvenience from this cause during the first two days, arising principally from too close contiguity to my fellow-passengers; under any circumstances there is no malady that so entirely prostrates both mind and body, but in my present position, sometimes exposed to the burning rays of the sun, at others to heavy rains without the power or means of sheltering myself from their influence, this feeling was greatly aggravated. By the evening of the second day, I found myself so much recovered as to be able to sit up, and on the following morning to eat a little, my only food having been hitherto a few oranges, the most grateful of all things to a sick person. Many of my companions did not fare so well, as they continued to suffer till the end of the voyage.

For my passage and that of my black servant I paid twenty-six mil-reis, about three pounds five shillings sterling, which included provisions. These were regularly served out three times a day by the captain from the top of the companion, and on these occasions, I was always greatly amused at the scenes which took place; every one rushed forward for his portion, and sometimes groups of twos, threes, and fours were to be seen eating with their fingers out of the same dish. There were only a few knives and forks, not nearly sufficient for the number of passengers, and these fell always to the share of those first served. Our food consisted for the most part of minced dried beef boiled with rice, to which was added morning and evening a cup of tea, and at dinner a bottle or two of miserable red wine.

One of my fellow-passengers was too remarkable a person not to be made mention of; he was an active, slender little fellow, about thirty years of age, rather well dressed, his physiognomy denoting a remarkable development of the organ of language, a qualification which I found fully confirmed in him; he seemed to be well known to the other passengers, beguiled much of the tedium of the voyage by his amusing and extravagant stories, for which he possessed great talent, and seldom have I listened to one whose powers were greater in this respect. He was often called upon for a song, on which occasion he was accompanied by a young man who played well on the guitar. He told me that he was a native of Pernambuco and had visited Lisbon, and all the sea-ports between Buenos Ayres and Parà, and he described many of the adventures that befell him on several of these occasions. In recounting these tales he generally seated himself cross-legged on the companion, and as he proceeded, his listeners were kept in one continued roar of laughter. The adventures of Gil Blas were nothing compared with his, and it is not improbable that many were manufactured for the occasion.

About noon of the second day we passed Cape St. Roque, and in the evening came to anchor in a small bay inside the reef, within a short distance of a suspicious-looking schooner, which I have no doubt came in here to land a cargo of slaves, as there was no likelihood of her being in this solitary place for any other purpose. Early next morning we again got outside the reef, and continued our voyage, running before the S.E. trades which were blowing very freshly at the time. The weather now became much finer, and I could enjoy the cool fresh breeze, and observe the nature of the coast, to which we often approached so closely as to be within little more than gunshot of it; with the exception of a few white sand hills, destitute nearly of vegetation, it appeared extremely flat. About noon of the third day we made the bar of Aracaty, but as it was then low water, and too shallow to allow us to enter, we had to stand off till four P.M., when a pilot came on board who steered us into the smooth deep water in the mouth of the river inside the bar, where we came to anchor for the night, and were visited by a custom-house officer, who was more particular in examining my luggage than that of any other passenger. When this was finished, and I had exhibited my passport, I was allowed to hire a boat to convey me to the town, situated twelve miles farther up the river, as the vessel could not get up till the following day.

The river on which the town of Aracaty stands is called the Rio Jaguaribe, and a little above the bar it is about a mile broad. For a considerable distance the western bank is comparatively high, but the eastern side is flat all the way up to the town. The lower part of the western bank is rather thickly wooded with small trees, but on both sides the shores are covered with mangroves. About a league and a half below the town, great numbers of the Carnahuba palm (Corypha cerifera, Mart.) makes its appearance. This palm, of which I afterwards passed through immense forests, reaches to the height of from twenty to forty feet, and besides being the most abundant, is one of the most beautiful of its size. The stems of the younger plants are generally covered all over with leaves, but as they get older the lower ones drop off, leaving only a tuft at the top, which is so arranged as to form a perfect ball. The leaves are fan-shaped, and not at all unlike those of the fan palm of the south of Europe.

The town of Aracaty stands on the east side of the river, and consists principally of one long broad street. It contains four fine churches, and the houses are generally of two stories. The population amounts to about 5000, the mass of whom are very poor. A considerable quantity of dried beef was formerly prepared here for exportation to other parts of Brazil, but this trade has fallen off very much, cotton and hides being now the principal articles of export. Of the former about 5000 bags, or 25,000 arrobas of thirty-two pounds each, are exported annually, and of the latter about 2000. But little cotton is cultivated near the coast, the greater part of it, as well as the hides, being brought from the interior; the transport of these is effected at the end of the rainy season in large waggons, which are generally drawn by twelve oxen. During the time of the rains, the roads are impassable, and in the dry season, neither water nor grass can be procured for the cattle. The river runs close to the town, and at the end of the rainy season, when I was there, was somewhat less than a quarter of a mile broad; but during the height of the rains, it often rises twelve feet above its ordinary level, and then overflows the town. With the exception of a hill situated two and a half leagues to the S.W. of the town, and which rises six or eight hundred feet, and a few sand hills near the coast, the country all round is so flat, that the horizon is about as level as that of the sea. The houses are built of a frame-work made of the stems of the Carnahuba palm filled up with brick. The stem of this useful tree is used by the inhabitants for almost every purpose to which wood can be applied; it is so durable that the lower part, particularly of the full grown stems, lasts for many years, even when exposed to the weather; hence all the enclosures for cattle are made of them, for which purpose they are longitudinally split. The leaves are used for a variety of purposes, such as thatch, pack-saddles, hats, &c.; they also yield a kind of wax, obtained from the young leaves, which are covered with a glaucous bloom, by shaking them after they have been detached from the tree. Each yields about fifty grains of a whitish powder, and when a considerable quantity of it has been obtained, it is put into a pot and melted over the fire. Some years ago, a large quantity of this was sent to Lisbon, but was not found to answer any useful purpose; by the Brazilians it is sometimes used to adulterate common wax. In times of scarcity the young leaves are chopped up, and given to horses and cattle to eat, and the people prepare for themselves a kind of farinha from the inside of the young stems. The rains generally begin here in February, and end about the beginning of June. The whole province is sometimes liable to great droughts (seccas), the last of which occurred in the year 1825, during which no rain fell at all. The distress resulting from this calamity was very great, and the people still speak of it with the utmost horror; nearly all the horses and cattle were exterminated, and the loss of human life was very great, it being estimated that 30,000 of the inhabitants of the province perished. Great numbers of these died while attempting to reach the coast; wild as well as domestic animals fell victims to the want of water and food: these droughts have been observed to occur periodically. Aracaty was, during my visit, supplied with water of tolerable quality from a well near the town, but it was expected shortly to have an excellent supply from a spring about a league distant; the individual who undertook to procure this was Senhor Maya, a native of Gibraltar, who has been settled for many years at Aracaty; having received a privilege from government, he laid a brick channel for the water to run in, and as the spring is considerably lower than the town, he was erecting a force-pump for the purpose of raising it; the water from the well near the town, was sold through the streets in small barrels carried on low carts, which were often drawn by sheep. Senhor Maya expects to remunerate himself by the sale of the produce of his labour, which will certainly, from its superior quality, obtain preference.

As at Maceio, there is only one British merchant resident at Aracaty, Mr. Miller, to whom I had letters from Pernambuco, and in whose house I was hospitably entertained during the fortnight I remained here. I had also letters to several respectable Brazilians, from whom I likewise received many kind attentions, not the least of which were letters to their friends in the interior. Besides making the necessary preparations for my journey, I made a few excursions in the neighbourhood, and thereby obtained specimens of most of the plants which were then in flower, among these was a very pretty species of Angelonia (A. arguta, Benth.). As the Senhores Pinto were sending their goods to Icó in waggons, they obligingly allowed me to despatch, by this opportunity, all the heaviest portions of my luggage. I thus only required to purchase two horses at Aracaty, and these, two of the best travelling ones that were to be had, cost only four guineas each. Having agreed to accompany the Pintos to Icó, we started on horseback from Aracaty, on the morning of the 3rd of August, in the midst of a heavy shower of rain, which, however, soon ceased. After riding through a dense forest of Carnahuba palms on a perfectly level sandy road, we crossed the river at the distance of about two leagues and a half from the town. The ford is called the Passagem das Pedras, from the rocky nature of the bed of the river. These rocks I found belonged to the gneiss series, with the strata nearly vertical, the little inclination which they had, being towards the west in the direction of the hill already alluded to, called the Serra d’Areré, about half a mile distant. At nine o’clock we halted to breakfast in a large shed (rancho) by the road-side, and there we remained till the afternoon, for in travelling in the north of Brazil, where the heat is very great, the animals are always allowed to rest during the middle of the day, which is not the case in the south, where the whole day’s journey is made at one stretch. The country during our morning’s ride still continued flat, but in many places instead of being sandy, is covered with gravel and boulders of various sizes, the largest of the latter being about four feet in diameter, all more or less rounded, and consisting of granite, gneiss, and quartz. The great mass of the vegetation consisted of Carnahuba palms and a few small trees which grew among them, the most common of which is a species of Patagonula, called by the Brazilians Pao branco, from the white nature of its wood, which is chiefly employed as fuel. As we passed along, we raised numerous flocks of pigeons, some of which were not larger than sparrows, while others were the size of our domestic ones; and sporting among the leaves of the palms we observed several species of parrots and paroquets, besides a variety of beautiful small birds, one species being very numerous much resembling the common canary. The notes of these birds were of course as varied as their kinds, that of the parrot tribe being particularly disagreeable, not unlike that of the English rook, but the sound which most particularly caught my ear, was the monotonous and distinct cry of the Bem-te-ve, a bird about the size, shape, and colour of the thrush. This name has been given to it from the resemblance of its note to the Portuguese signifying “I see you well,” which it repeats in quick succession. Resuming our journey at three o’clock in the afternoon, and travelling through the same sort of country, we passed a small town towards dusk, called Villa de San Bernardo, which is ten leagues from Aracaty. It is built in the form of a square, the west side of which is principally occupied with a handsome church; and as it stands in the open plain (vargem) which is studded with occasional wide-spreading Zizyphus trees and Carnahuba palms, and as all the houses are white-washed, it offers an imposing appearance when seen at a distance. About half a league beyond this town, we stopped for the night at a small house by the road-side; all the houses in this part of the country, which are not actually in towns, have a large veranda (copial) in front, and it is under this that travellers generally ask leave to rest for the night, there being hooks fixed from which hammocks can be suspended. As soon as the loads were taken off the cargo horses, and the saddles from those we had ridden, they were sent to graze in the neighbourhood, where they were left with their fore-feet strapped pretty closely together, in order to prevent them from straying.

Early next morning by the light of a beautiful and clear moon we resumed our journey, but had not gone more than two leagues when I was prevented from accompanying my companions further by an awkward mistake made by my servant. In the hurry of departure, in the place of one of my horses, he had caught another of the same size and colour, belonging to some one else, and it was not till daylight had fairly set in that the mistake was discovered. I had now to call a halt, and getting my trunks, &c. put under the veranda of an old house, I despatched Pedro in search of my own animal. About two o’clock he returned bringing it with him, but as I found myself somewhat indisposed I determined not to proceed further that night. As there was no inhabited house near, we remained at the ruined dwelling, which my health did not allow us to leave for two days. As the road on which we proceeded is the highway to the interior of the province of Ceará, as also to the middle parts of the province of Piauhy, many travellers passed our encampment. Waggons loaded with cotton and hides were going downwards, while others, as well as troops of horses, were passing upwards loaded with European goods and salt, the latter being a scarce and dear article in the interior. When afterwards I travelled through some of the most desert and least inhabited parts of the inland provinces, there were two articles which were always asked for on my arrival at any habitation, first, gunpowder, and then salt; some of the poor beings scarcely taste the latter from one year’s end to the other, their animal food being preserved by simply drying it in the sun, after it has been cut into thin slices. I had always to carry a stock of salt with me, and not unfrequently it has cost me as much as three shillings a pound, at the same time that I could purchase an entire fat ox for about ten shillings. To the European who is accustomed to travel without need of arms, and in comparative security, the appearance of the swarthy and brigand-like travellers here met with, each armed with horse pistols, sword, dagger, knife, and gun, afford no favourable idea of the morals of these people. Murders and robberies are frequent among them, it being seldom that the one is committed without the other, when they always occur by treachery. From all I have seen and heard, I do not believe that one instance can be recorded of a Brazilian boldly facing another and asking him for his purse; one reason for this may be that each is aware that the other is armed with a knife, and hence he avoids coming within reach of it. Most of the very many murders which are committed in Brazil, are the result either of jealousy or of political hatred.

It was not till the afternoon of the 6th that I found myself sufficiently recovered to leave our solitary encampment, when we resumed our journey at a slow pace till after eleven at night. The moon had risen about six, and shone with a brilliancy such as I have seldom witnessed; this together with the coolness of the evening, renders travelling after sunset very agreeable, although to the naturalist it is not the most profitable. During the whole of my extensive journies I made it a rule never to travel at night, unless through a decidedly desert country, in order that nothing of interest should be overlooked. The seven leagues which we accomplished this evening was through a country of much the same barren nature as that we had already gone over, with the exception of one low range of hills covered with small trees and shrubs; on the level portion scarcely anything was to be seen but Carnahuba palms, Pao Branco, a Zizyphus, and a species of Aspidospermum, a small tree that grows gregariously and to which the inhabitants give the name of Pereira; the bark of it is very bitter, and its infusion is used to destroy lice, and other vermin infecting cattle. We passed through several large open gravelly spaces (vargems), nearly destitute of trees, and the herbaceous vegetation that had sprung up during the rains was now nearly parched up. The stillness of the night was only broken by the cries of a small species of goatsucker (Caprimulgus), that was flying about in great numbers. We rested for the night under the veranda of a house close to the road-side, in approaching which we passed through a flock of several hundred sheep, being the greatest number I have seen collected together in any part of the country, but the excessive heat of the climate had wrought a remarkable change in their appearance, their skin being wholly destitute of wool and replaced by a short hair, not unlike that of a cow. In the same manner goats lose the long hair natural to them in cold countries, which proves how much the economy of animals can suit itself to change of circumstances. On the following morning we traversed a country still abounding with the elegant Carnahuba palm, and numerous small fresh-water lakes, teeming with wild ducks and other kinds of water-fowl, and arrived at a place where there are several houses near to the Rio Jaguaribe, in the neighbourhood of which some small trees of Cochlospermum serratifolium, DC., were beautifully in flower, their large golden blossoms gleaming in the sun like oranges; here I found that in consequence of the pack-saddles being too narrow, the back of the cargo horse was so much galled, that it could no longer carry its load, in consequence I was obliged to hire another from a person whom I met going up to Icó with loads of salt, and who had some spare animals with him. The weather being fine, I preferred taking up my quarters under the shade of a broad-spreading wild fig tree standing some distance from any habitation, although I was invited by the owner of one of the houses to accept the accommodation it afforded.

As the person whose horse I had hired could not leave till the following day, I was obliged, against my will, to await his convenience. Soon after my arrival I sent Pedro to purchase some milk for breakfast, and he returned with a large basinful, for which he said the people would not take money; and in the course of the forenoon I had similar presents sent to me from two other persons. During the season of the rains, and for a few months afterwards, milk is very abundant, and of excellent quality, but it is nowhere to be procured except in large towns, during the last four or five months of the dry season. The inhabitants prepare a little cheese, but have no idea of making butter; the milk remaining after breakfast, for they milk their cows only in the morning, is allowed to stand till night, when from the heat of the day it becomes curdled; this dish, of which they are very fond, is generally sweetened with a kind of unclarified sugar, to which they give the name of Rapadura, and which is brought from the country above Icó; it is formed into cakes about six inches long, three broad, and two thick; during a long time I was obliged to use this as a substitute for sugar, but although at first not very agreeable, I at length became so fond of it as to prefer it to sugar itself, and such I found to be the case with the people in this part of the country; I have repeatedly seen them make a meal of a lump of this with a little farinha. The greater part of the inhabitants of the district through which we were journeying, are rearers of cattle (criadores de gado), but none of them possess such immense herds as I afterwards found to exist in the provinces of Piauhy and Goyaz. Provisions were here very cheap, in consequence of the small demand for them; an ox could be purchased for about twenty-five shillings, and a sheep or a goat for four or five; Pedro bought a fowl in fine condition for about twopence halfpenny, and eight eggs for a penny. I observed very few cotton plantations, as these people grow it only for their own use; they also cultivate a little mandiocca, the root of which produces a kind of cassava, well-known all over Brazil under the name of farinha; this, together with dried beef (carne secca), forms their chief food; the farinha is either used in its dry state, when it is much of the consistence of saw dust, or is made up into a kind of pudding called Pirão, by mixing it with boiling water, or with milk when that article is abundant.

On the first day’s journey with our new companion we travelled about seven leagues, five of which were accomplished in the morning, and two in the evening. The Villa de Icó is in a southerly direction, bearing a little to the west of Aracaty, the distance between them being about two hundred and forty miles. The Senhors Pinto accomplished the journey in five days and a half, but it took me three days longer; which delay I did not regret, as I travelled more at my ease, and was enabled to make collections by the way, that I could not have done had I accompanied them. On this day’s journey I observed that the country was gradually rising; where visible, the soil consisted of a reddish coloured clay, but many large tracts were covered with gravel which gave them the appearance of having been at one time the bed of an immense river. In other places beds of gneiss, forming elevated ridges were seen cropping out, the strata being nearly vertical. About half an hour after we began our journey, we passed a large lake on the left side of the road, called Lagoa grande; it is about a league long, and nearly as much broad, and abounds in fish and wild duck. Carnahuba palms were now becoming less frequent, but they were succeeded by a vegetation of a very opposite character; in situations somewhat sandy, a dwarf kind of Cassia often occurs, as well as two or three species of Croton, but these, in common with the herbaceous vegetation, were already much scorched up; in the gravelly places the principal production is a beautiful erect species of Evolvulus about a foot high, with small leaves and numerous blue flowers, giving it much the appearance of the common flax. On the more elevated tracts, woods are seen consisting of low trees and shrubs, principally a subarboreous species of Mimosa, and a Combretum; these woods are nearly all deciduous, the heat and drought producing the same effect on their foliage, as the cold in northern regions, these are called by the inhabitants Catingas; no large trees are to be seen, but in the more open parts of the country, a low wide-spreading species of the Chrysobalanaceous tribe is not uncommon, affording shade not only to travellers, but to the cattle which pasture in those districts; it was under one of these trees that we halted during the heat of the day, and dined on part of a large green lizard that I shot the evening before.

The remainder of our journey was through a country very similar to that just described; but a low evergreen Zizyphus tree, and a few large species of Cactus now gave a different character to the landscape. On the afternoon of the 12th the appearance of the country was still further diversified by our approach to a mountain range about sixteen leagues in length, running in a direction from S.W. to N.E.; this is called the Serra de Pereira, a name derived from the number of trees of that name said to grow on it. The appearance of this high land was a great relief to the eye, after having been so long accustomed to a nearly level country. On the same evening I saw for the first time a troop of oxen with loads on their backs; there were about a dozen of them, all large and well fed animals, going down to Aracaty with dried hides; such a sight was afterwards not uncommon. The further we proceeded inland, the greater appeared to be the effect of the drought; and in consequence of this I added but little to my botanical collections; but among the few plants that were in flower I observed a very fine species of Angelonia (A. biflora, Benth.) bearing long spikes of large bluish coloured flowers, and which is now common in English gardens, raised from seeds which I sent home. So little are the birds here annoyed by man, that flocks of pigeons of various sorts, parrots, paroquets, &c., remained without stirring on the branches of the small trees under which we passed; and cranes of different species as well as many other water birds, did not move from the margins of the small lakes till the horses nearly approached them; the same was nearly the case with two kinds of ravens, called by the inhabitants Gavião and Gavião vermelho; these latter exist in great numbers living upon what carrion they may pick up. While we were resting during the heat of the day, I frequently took my gun to shoot parrots and pigeons, which we stewed for dinner, and were more relished than our usual fare of dried beef, although the flesh of parrots is both brown, dry, and tough. Some of the pigeons, as before observed, are not larger than sparrows, and one of these which frequently alights on the roofs of houses, may be heard, particularly during the morning, calling out most distinctly “Fogo pegou, Fogo pegou” for hours together; in Portuguese this means “the gun missed fire,” an apparently teazing exclamation of the bird, not unaptly applied to the guns of the country people which seldom take effect. This I suspect is the same bird that Waterton speaks of under the name of “Will-come-go.” Shortly before we reached the Villa de Icó, we met a party of ladies and gentlemen, on horseback, and I was not a little surprised to see the manner in which the former were mounted, en cavalier, which, in nine cases out of ten, is the way in which females travel in the interior.

On my arrival at Icó my friends the Pintos had kindly procured an uninhabited house for my reception; in consequence of the breaking down of the waggon which was bringing up my trunks, &c., and other unforeseen causes, I was detained at this place three weeks, which I the more regretted, as my time could be turned to no useful account, in consequence of the drought that prevailed in the neighbourhood. The town of Icó, one of the most important in the interior of the province of Ceará, is situated in a plain on the east of the Rio Jaguaribe, which here, however, takes the name of Rio Salgado; it is said to contain about 6000 inhabitants; the plain is one of considerable size, being bounded on the east by the Serra de Pereira, and on the west by a much lower range of hills. The town consists of three principal streets, running nearly north and south, intersected by a number of smaller ones. The houses are all built of brick, no timber of sufficient size being found in the neighbourhood; with the exception of about half a dozen, they are all of one story, and white-washed with a kind of chalk found abundantly in the hilly country thirty leagues to the westward. The principal street is broad, and contains some well-furnished shops; it presents four handsome churches, a substantial jail, and a market-place, in which fresh beef, dried beef, farinha, salt, rapadura, gourds, pine-apples, melons, water-melons, oranges, and limes, are every day exhibited for sale; the whole of these fruits are brought from a distance, the immediate neighbourhood of the town producing nothing whatever, the whole country being dry and arid, except during the wet season, which only lasts about four months. At a short distance are seen a number of those low deciduous woods called Catingas, but even these were destitute of leaves, and there was nothing within sight deserving the name of a tree; the river also, which during the rains is of considerable size, judging from the appearance of its bed, was now dry in many places, deep pools only being left here and there, abounding with several sorts of fish, which, however, are soon exhausted. Notwithstanding the number of inhabitants which this place contains, it cannot boast of a single medical practitioner, but there are two apothecaries, whose shops are well stocked with medicines. The greater part of the inhabitants are shopkeepers, who supply the interior with articles of European manufacture, receiving produce in return, which they send down to the coast.

A few days after I arrived here I was visited by most of the respectable inhabitants of the place, and as their calls were shortly returned, I soon gained an extensive acquaintance. One of my most frequent visitors was an old priest, who was very inquisitive regarding all that related to England; one of his first questions was whether I was baptized or not, and in what faith? and when I told him I was a Protestant, he replied, “Ah! then you are a Pagan.” Such was his ignorance! and this I found to prevail with nearly all the inferior priests I met in the interior of the northern provinces, and I had great difficulty in convincing him that the fundamental principles of our respective religions were alike; after this, whenever I was interrogated as to my religious faith, I answered by simply saying I was a Christian, which entitled me to respect. When it became known that I was a medical man I had numerous applications for advice. The most common complaints here, as elsewhere in Brazil, are chronic disorders of the digestive organs, which often terminate in dropsy and paralysis; dysentery, pleurisy, and ophthalmia are likewise not unfrequent, particularly during the dry season, produced, no doubt, by the great difference of temperature between night and day, which more readily takes effect on these people owing to the very thin dresses which they wear; in no case did I see flannel worn next the skin, which is the best preventive against sudden change of temperature. One of my patients was the wife of one of my Portuguese friends, who was attended by her mother, and although her complaint was a dangerous malady of which she afterwards died, the greatest source of regret her parent expressed was the state of leanness to which her daughter was reduced, plumpness being considered the chief point of beauty in the Brazilian fair. One of the greatest compliments that can be paid a lady, is to tell her that she is becoming daily fatter and more beautiful (mais gorda e mais bonita), indeed the greater portion of them soon acquire a tendency to become so, from the sedentary life they all lead.

After remaining about a fortnight I made preparations to leave Icó, as I wished as soon as possible to get up to Crato, another town about one hundred and twenty miles to the S.W., situated at the foot of the mountains which divide the provinces of Ceará and Piauhy, where I was assured I should meet with abundance to reward my researches, as the general temperature was much cooler, and the country well watered with small streams from the mountains. I purchased two additional horses, engaged an experienced guide, and procured whatever was necessary for the journey, when the following incident occurred to prevent my departure. The day before that fixed for our journey, one of my new horses disappeared from the pasture in which it was feeding, if, indeed, a little dried up grass could be so called; as horse-stealing is a very frequent crime in Brazil, I strongly suspected that some one had made free with my animal, but I was assured it had only strayed into a neighbouring Catinga and would soon be found. I immediately despatched Pedro and another man well acquainted with the country, in quest of it, but after two days’ search they could bring me no satisfactory tidings. Having lost all hopes of regaining it, I was about to purchase another, when a man, who had been searching for two of his own stray animals, told Pedro he had seen one answering the description of mine on the Serra de Pereira, about three leagues distant; upon this Pedro and his companion were again despatched in that direction, when they returned in the evening bringing it with them; they found it on an elevated table land feeding along with an immense number of the American Ostrich (Rhea Americana). This was the first of a series of annoyances I met with during my future travels, from my horses either straying or having been stolen; an animal is frequently taken away by some one who wishes to make a short journey, so that after a day or two it will be found in the place whence it was taken; at other times they are removed and hidden for a few days, for the purpose of claiming a reward; and though I was frequently well assured of this imposition, I never refused to pay the money, knowing I should otherwise be worse off. All being now again ready for leaving Icó, I took leave of all my friends, who gave me their hearty wishes for a prosperous journey. The evening before my departure many little presents were sent for my use during the journey, such as little jars of sweet-meats, biscuits of various sorts, prepared from ground rice and Indian corn, roasted fowls, &c.; a custom I found to be almost universal in the north of Brazil.

On the evening of the second day after leaving Icó, we arrived at the Villa de Lavra de Mangabeira, which is about ten leagues distant. A little beyond Icó the road becomes very rough, frequently ascending and again descending over rocky paths, on which account it is no longer serviceable for the transit of waggons, all further traffic into the interior being now effected either on horseback or, strange as it may appear, upon oxen. The diversity of hill and dale renders this part of the journey less monotonous, and although the herbaceous vegetation was much destroyed by the heat, the greater part of the trees, which are both large and more numerous, still retained their leaves; the most abundant tree that I observed was called by the inhabitants Aroeira; it is a species of Schinus, perhaps S. Aroeira, St. Hil., and reaches to the height of thirty or forty feet; as the stem grows very straight, it is much used in house-building; at this time it was destitute of leaves, but from the ends of its branches were suspended clusters of small fruit of a dark colour, giving it very much the appearance of the European alder when covered with its dark-brown catlins. The other trees consist chiefly of large Acacias and Mimosas, Bignonias of considerable size covered with yellow and rose coloured flowers, a Triplaris, and, the most beautiful of all, a large Jacaranda, the wide-spreading branches of which were densely covered with great panicles of beautiful large blue flowers, not unlike those of the no less splendid Gloxinia speciosa; among these sometimes appear a few solitary Carnahuba palms, but in hollow sheltered places they often occur in groups; large Cacti are not uncommon, and we passed over some elevated open shrubby tracts abounding in a species of Krameria.

The Villa de Lavra de Mangabeira is situated on the banks of the Rio Salgado, and contains about eighty or a hundred houses, all small, and many of them falling to decay. Gold is found in the neighbourhood, in a dark coloured alluvial soil a little below the surface; from time to time washings have been established, which have never yielded satisfactory results; the most extensive of these was undertaken about two years before my arrival. The president of the province and some others having formed themselves into a company, sent for two English miners to conduct the operations; they continued their labours to within two months previously, when the work was abandoned. About a year afterwards I met with one of these miners in a far distant part of the country, and from him I learned that the gold exists in too small quantities to repay the cost of its extraction; scarcity of water at times was also another drawback. Here I found, growing in vast quantities on the sandy margins of the river, a species of Grangea, which is a powerful bitter, used by the natives as an infusion in dyspeptic cases in the same manner as camomile, which, indeed, it much resembles, and to which they give the same name (macella).

We left Lavra on the afternoon of the same day on which we arrived, and halted for the night at a small house near the river. On the following morning as we were advancing quietly, one of the horses struck its load against a tree, by which means it was thrown off; thus disencumbered it ran away at full speed among the trees, and was soon followed by the remainder, who in like manner quickly rid themselves of their cargoes; an hour was thus lost in recapturing and replacing the loads, and even while this was doing, one of the animals laid down and began to roll, first breaking the cords by which his burden was held on, and thus a second time freeing himself. I mention this, as an instance of one of the many annoyances to which a traveller in such countries is liable; in these respects horses are more unmanageable than mules. In the northern provinces of Brazil, however, the latter animals are very seldom seen, notwithstanding they have been frequently tried, large troops of them having been brought from the south. All being finally arranged, we continued our journey, and about mid-day arrived at a house on the bank of the river, near the road-side, where I asked permission as usual to pass the middle of the day, but we were told we should meet with better accommodation half a league further on; this was the first time I met with a refusal, and I can only recollect one similar instance during all my travels. After proceeding about a league without the appearance of any house, we halted under some large trees close to the river, where I determined to remain for the night, as the horses had undergone a long morning’s journey. In the evening I took a walk in the neighbourhood, but met with nothing new except a species of Mikania clinging among the branches of a Mimosa; and a few shells in the bed of the river. Between this place and Lavra, the course of the river is very tortuous, and being now very nearly dried up, I observed that the inhabitants had planted melons, water-melons, gourds, &c. in it; bananas were now beginning to be cultivated, and almost every house had its own little cotton and tobacco plantation. Every where Argemone Mexicana, the Cardo Santo of the Brazilians, grows in great plenty, the large yellow poppy-like flowers being very beautiful; a handful of the leaves of this plant, together with about a quarter of an ounce of the ripe seeds infused, is used as a draught in jaundice. It was a beautiful evening when I retired to my hammock, which was suspended between two trees, but I had not been long asleep when I was awoke by a strange rattling noise among the leaves, that I soon found to be caused by a heavy shower approaching from the south, which shortly fell upon our encampment in torrents; we were unprepared for such an occurrence, it being then the height of the dry season, and were quickly drenched; my hammock soon became too uncomfortable to lie in, so I got up, wrapt myself in my poncho, and sat down on one of the pack-saddles by the extinguished fire; unfortunately I had no umbrella to afford any shelter, having lost it two days before, at a place where I had dismounted to collect some beetles. The rain continued for about two hours, and not being able to go to bed again, every thing being soaked, I was obliged to remain seated in this position till daybreak, when, after arranging all our humid articles in the best manner, we proceeded on our journey. The morning though cloudy was dry, and there was a feeling of freshness in the atmosphere such as I had not felt since we left the coast; we travelled for nearly a league before we came to a house, so that instead of being only half a league distant from where we were refused accommodation on the previous day, I found it was nearly two; we went on two leagues further, without meeting another habitation, so we halted during the middle of the day beneath some large Jatobá (Hymenæa) trees. This part of the country is very thinly populated; the greater part of the soil being of a gravelly nature, is neither adapted for cultivation, even were water abundant, nor for feeding cattle. It is besides very hilly, some of the ranges being the highest we had yet passed over; from the top of one of the elevations I obtained a fine view of the undulating thinly-wooded country below; scattered here and there were to be seen large pink or yellow Bignonias, or the azure-blossomed Jacaranda, raising their magnificent diadems above the other denizens of the wood; and an occasional plant of Cochlospermum serratifolium, loaded with its large and beautiful yellow flowers, attracts the attention of the traveller. The rocks which I observed during this ride were of a grey coloured clay-slate.

We had not travelled more than half a league in the afternoon, when we were again overtaken by rain, and although the shower lasted but half an hour, it was so heavy, that in a short time water was rushing over the roads, running like streams, and where they were of a clayey nature, especially on the declivity of the hills, they became very slippery. Having carried my poncho beneath my saddle, I put it on, when my appearance caused no little astonishment to some countrymen who passed us, that article of dress being quite unknown among them. It is, however, far superior to their leathern jackets, which are not only uncomfortably warm, by confining the natural exhalations from the body, but soon become soaked in case of rain, and are long drying, whilst with the poncho and my long boots I was nearly dry when the rain ceased. The rocks seen in the latter part of this day’s journey were a rather coarse-grained white sandstone, similar to those I met with on the coast between the Rio de San Francisco and Pernambuco. In many places this rock was exposed to a considerable extent, its only vegetation being a few species of Cactus and Bromelia. In the wooded portions, the atmosphere was loaded with the rich perfume of the flowers of the Cashew tree (Anacardium occidentale), which grew in great profusion. This was the first time I met with this tree at any distance from the coast, but I afterwards found it was not uncommon in the interior. The fruit, however, or rather the thickened peduncle which forms the esculent part, is small, not being much larger than a cherry. Towards dusk we halted at a place where there were two houses, but we could not be accommodated in consequence of two large troops having taken up their quarters before our arrival. As the next habitation was nearly two leagues further, and as the roads were said to be bad, I decided on remaining here and encamping under a wide-spreading Cæsalpinia which grew close by the road-side. Shortly after I had arranged everything for the night, a permission came from one of the houses to sling my hammock there, but I declined this invitation, not considering it prudent to separate myself from my luggage; this step was rendered the more necessary in consequence of a quarrel between Pedro and the guide; the latter was recommended to me as a very useful person for the journey, but he turned out to be a lazy talkative fellow, quite the reverse of Pedro, who was both active and intelligent. The quarrel originated from the guide’s refusing to attend to some duty while the horses were unloading, and, notwithstanding my interference, it ran so high that they threatened to stab each other, the usual way of settling disputes in this lawless country; on taking the horses to pasture they were still talking furiously, and I felt not a little uneasy till they returned. The evening was dark and had all the appearance of rain, but when the moon rose, it cleared up, and became a beautiful night. My hammock and poncho were both too wet to sleep in, so I had to lie down on the top of two trunks for my bed, with my saddle for a pillow, near a large fire we had previously kindled.

On the following morning, the eighth of September, we continued our journey, and at eleven o’clock halted under some trees by the river side. Our route was through a richer country than any I had yet seen in the province, it being well wooded with large trees, the greater part of which were in leaf; near the houses, which appeared more numerous than hitherto, grew large plantations of cotton, tobacco, sugar-cane, and mandiocca. On the branches of a large tree by the road-side I collected the first Orchideous plant I had seen during the journey; a long round-leaved kind of Oncidium. The tree on which it grew was the Umari (Geoffroya superba), but only on the under side of the branches, the long leaves hanging down like so many whips, intermingled with its large panicles of yellow flowers. It is called by the natives of the Sertão “Rabo de Tatú,” from the resemblance of the leaves to the tail of the armadillo. Shortly after we halted, I went out with my gun in search of something for my dinner, but could find only parroquets, which were very numerous, flying from tree to tree, and keeping up an almost continual cry of Parroquet—Parroquet. I fired at some which were seated on a tall tree, and one of those which fell being only wounded, kept up a continued scream whenever I attempted to approach it; this being heard by its companions, several hundreds of them again returned to the tree, and having once more fired among them, they were again brought back by the screams of the dying, nor did they cease to re-appear in the same manner till I had killed more than was sufficient for us all to eat. On the afternoon of this day we travelled about two leagues, and rested at a small sugar plantation (Engenho de Rapadura). It being the day of San Gonzalvo, the people were dancing and making merry before the house; I obtained leave from the owner to let me pass the night in the mill, two sides of which were open. On alighting from my horse I laid down my straw hat, containing a silk pocket-handkerchief, on an old log of wood, close to the owner of the mill, but in less than half an hour afterwards, when all my things had been moved inside the boiling-house, the handkerchief had disappeared: no one except my own men and the proprietor had been near us, so that I had every reason to believe the latter had pilfered it, but I did not think proper to take notice of it. This was not the only theft committed here before the morning, for when the horses were being loaded, Pedro discovered that a sack containing my large botanical tin box, and a sheep-skin bag, containing all belonging to him, were not to be found; it had been taken away from my luggage close to my hammock, while we were asleep. The poor fellow, as might be expected, was greatly annoyed at his loss, and it was fortunate, that previously to leaving Icó I had removed a number of my most useful articles from the box to one of my trunks; I had just discovered my loss, when the owner came down to consult me concerning a complaint under which he laboured, but I was too much exasperated to accede to his wishes; he expressed much regret for our loss, and said it was the first time any traveller had been pilfered who had put up at his house. We had not proceeded on our journey more than a quarter of a league, when Pedro told me he would return to the mill and endeavour to recover his clothes, from which I could not dissuade him; the guide and I, therefore, went on alone, and at a distance of three leagues, halted under the shade of a large tree near some small houses. Pedro returned at two in the afternoon bringing his bag with him, and my botanical box, but not the handkerchief; upon his arrival, he took me aside, and told me that just before returning in the morning, a thought struck him that our guide might have been the thief, and if so, that the things would be hidden somewhere near the sugar-mill; it was this conviction that induced him to return, and the result proved that he was right, for, after an hour’s search, in which he was assisted by the people of the place, he discovered my box hidden among some bushes, and his bag buried under the earth at a little distance. I have no doubt that the guide was the thief of all the articles, and had hidden them until his return to Icó. He looked rather confused when Pedro returned, and my first thought was to give him an immediate dismissal without payment, but upon reflection I resolved to take no notice of the matter, knowing the revengeful nature of these people; I was sorry, however, for the incautious manner in which I had treated the proprietor of the mill. The large tree under which we had rested was the first I had seen of a kind that is very common about Crato; it is called Visgeira by the inhabitants, and is the Parkia platycephala of Bentham; it has a very thick stem, and wide-spreading branches, which in some instances nearly reach the ground; the wood is soft and brittle, and consequently not of much value.

On the same evening, after a journey of two leagues and a half we reached Villa de Crato; the road all the way was level and sandy, the country on the south side was well wooded with large trees, while the north, which is much flatter, was principally planted with sugar-cane, and several houses were seen at very short intervals, each with a mill and a boiling-house attached to it, for the purpose of converting the juice of the cane into Rapadura. The Carnahuba is here replaced by another kind of palm called Macahuba (Acrocomia sclerocarpa, Mart.), which rises to about the same height, but has pinnated leaves, and a stem which, instead of being the same thickness throughout, swells out considerably above the middle, and is exactly the same species as one very common about Pernambuco; along with this grows another species much resembling the cocoa-nut in its height and foliage, but with a much thicker stem; the nuts which are about the size of apples, are produced in large clusters; it is a species of Attalea, and is here called Palmeira. It is impossible to express the delight I experienced on entering this comparatively rich and smiling district, after a ride of more than three hundred miles through a country which at that season was little better than a desert; the evening was one of the most beautiful I ever remember to have seen, the sun was setting in great splendour behind the Serra de Araripe, a long range of hills about a league to the westward of the Villa, but the freshness of this region seemed to deprive its rays of that burning heat which shortly before sunset is so oppressive to the traveller in the lower country. The beauty of the night, the cool and reviving feeling of the atmosphere, and the richness of the landscape, so different from what I had lately seen, all tended to produce a buoyancy of spirit such as only the lover of nature can experience, and which I vainly wished might prove enduring, as I felt not only at ease with myself, but “at peace with all below.”

It was dark before we entered the Villa, but I soon found the house of a respectable shopkeeper, Senhor Francisco Dios Azede e Mello, to whom I brought letters of recommendation. I was requested to enter the sitting room, where I found myself in the midst of more than a dozen ladies, all squatting on the floor on mats, and among them was the lady of the house, who, as usual, put many questions to me respecting myself and my country; I discovered that these visitors had come to condole the lady on the loss of her husband’s father, who had died on the previous day. Although within the more respectable houses in the Sertão, as the interior is called, chairs are to be seen in their principal room, they are seldom made use of, as the hammock (rede) is the favourite seat of the women, who are seldom out of it except at meal-time; in it, as upon the mat, they sit upright with their legs folded beneath them, and their principal occupation during the day is smoking, eating sweet-meats, and drinking cold water; it is generally slung so as to reach within about a foot and a half of the ground, when it answers all the purposes of a sofa, and often more than one person may be observed seated on the same hammock; at night it is commonly preferred to a bed, for which purpose, on account of its being much cooler, it is very generally used, and for which I can vouch from my own experience, as for three years I seldom slept out of one. They are generally made of a sort of strong cotton cloth manufactured by the inhabitants, and are either white, or white and blue, this colour being given by a dye which they prepare from a kind of wild indigo plant that grows abundantly in the neighbourhood; they are always made broader than long, which allows a person to lie in them diagonally, and hence more horizontally than if they were narrower; they have the advantage, however, of requiring no bedding, further than a thin blanket for a covering in the cool season, or a sheet in hot weather. Before I left Icó, one of the Pintos wrote to Senhor Mello asking him to procure a house for me on my arrival in Crato, but the only one he could obtain was a little dwelling attached to a shop, neither being in very good condition: however, it answered my purpose very well for the time, but I was obliged to look out for another residence in about six weeks, when it was required to be pulled down, in order that a new one might be erected in its stead; with some trouble I found two rooms which I hired at the rate of about five shillings a month, and where I remained till I left the place. My only furniture consisted of two chairs which Senhor Mello had the kindness to send me, an old packing-box that served as a table, and of course my hammock was my bed. The day after my arrival at Crato a report was spread through the town that I was a travelling merchant who had arrived there with goods for sale, and in the course of the day I had numerous visits from ladies who wished to look over my merchandize, and who were not a little astonished when I told them I had none; this was not the only time I was mistaken for a merchant, indeed after leaving Crato the same mistake occurred at almost every house and village I arrived at, which is not surprising, as the number of people who travel in the interior from house to house, and from town to town, either selling European goods, or exchanging them for horses or cattle, is very great.

The Villa de Crato is situated thirty-two leagues to the S.W. of Icó, and nearly in the same parallel as Pernambuco, from which it is distant in a direct line about three hundred miles; it is a small and sufficiently miserable town, being one third the size of Icó. It is very irregularly built, and the houses, with only one exception, are of a single story; it contains two churches and a jail, but one of the former has never been finished, and has remained so long in this state, that it has all the appearance of one that has fallen into decay. The jail is likewise in so ruined a state as scarcely to deserve the name of a prison, although there are generally a few criminals confined in it; it was guarded by two soldiers who performed their duty so easily, that in passing I seldom saw them otherwise occupied than either in playing cards or sleeping in the shade of the building; a serjeant who was confined during my stay in this place for disobedience to his officer, was known almost every night to get out by one of the windows, which have only wooden bars, when after sleeping in his own house, he returned to spend the day in prison. The whole population amounts probably to about two thousand, the greater part of whom are either Indians or their mixed descendants; the more respectable portion of the inhabitants are Brazilians, who for the most part are shopkeepers; but how the poorer races gain a livelihood I am at a loss to determine. The inhabitants of this part of the province, who are generally known by the Indian appellation of Caryrís, are celebrated throughout Brazil for their lawless character; it formerly used to be, and still is, though not to the same extent, a place of refuge to murderers and vagabonds of all sorts from other parts of the country, and although it contains a justice of the peace, a Juiz de Direito, and other officials of the law, they possess but little power, and even if that little be exercised, they run great risk of falling under the knife of the assassin; several murderers were pointed out to me, who walked about quite openly. The principal danger to which they are exposed, is from the friends of the person they have murdered, who follow them to a great distance, and lose no opportunity of seeking their revenge. The state of morality generally among the inhabitants of Crato is at a very low ebb, card playing is the principal occupation during the day, when in fine weather groups of all classes, from those called the great people (gente grande) to the lowest, may be observed seated on the pavement on the shaded side of the street deeply employed in gambling; the more respectable generally play for dollars, the poorer either for copper money, or more commonly make use of spotted beans in lieu of counters; quarrels on these occasions are of course very common, which are not unfrequently settled with the knife. Scarcely any of the better class live with their wives: a few years after their marriage, they generally turn them out of the house to live separately, and replace them by young women who are willing to supply their place without being bound by the ties of matrimony. In this manner these people have two houses to keep up: among others who are living in this condition I may mention the Juiz de Direito, the Juiz dos Orfãos, and most of the larger shopkeepers; such a state of immorality is not to be wondered at, when the conduct of the clergy is taken into consideration, the vicar (vigario), who was then an old man between seventy and eighty years of age, is the father of six natural children, one of whom was educated as a priest, afterwards became president of the province, and was then a senator of the Empire, although still retaining his clerical title. During my stay in Crato he arrived there on a visit to his father, bringing with him his mistress, who was his own cousin, and eight children out of ten he had by her, having at the same time five other children by another woman, who died in child-bed of the sixth. Besides the vigario there were three other priests in the town, all of whom have families by women with whom they live openly, one of them being the wife of another person.

I lived about five months among these people, but in no other part of Brazil, even during a much shorter residence, did I live on less terms of intimacy with them or make fewer friends; besides Senhor Mello, the only individual whose house I visited frequently, was another son of the old vicar, Capitão João Gonzalvez, who was the proprietor of a sugar (Rapadura) plantation, about two leagues below the town. I first made his acquaintance from his having consulted me about his wife, who was labouring under chronic ophthalmia; he was a man of an amiable and excellent disposition, and I still look back with pleasure on the hours spent in his house. The eyes of the lady improved much under my treatment, and as she was very communicative and good-natured, we had many long conversations about the manners and customs of our respective countries. The family consisted of two daughters, one of whom was married, and lived at a place I afterwards visited about sixteen leagues distant, the younger one, a fine girl about sixteen years of age, was very shy in making her appearance, so that I did not see her during my first two or three visits; but as her mother afterwards told me, her curiosity to see and speak with an Englishman, at length completely got the better of her reserve, so that afterwards she always appeared when I was there. She was then about to be married to a younger brother of her sister’s husband, having been betrothed to him for many years: it is indeed seldom that the daughters of respectable families are allowed the power of choosing a husband for themselves, the parents always taking care to make the arrangements in such cases.

At this plantation I had often an opportunity of seeing the manner in which Rapadura is made; the expression and boiling of the juice are performed at the same time; the mill is of very clumsy construction, consisting of a frame-work containing three vertical wooden rollers through which the cane is passed to express the juice, which is collected in a receiver below, where it runs into a trough that had been hollowed out of a large tree. The cane requires to be passed three times through the mill before the whole of the juice is expressed: from this trough a portion of the juice is conveyed from time to time into small brass boiling pans, of which there were nine, all placed close beside each other over small openings in the top of an arched furnace, and during the different stages of the operation, as the evaporation proceeds, the juice is poured from one pan into the other, till in the last it acquires the desired consistency; it is then transferred into a large tub, hollowed out of solid wood, called a Gamella, and allowed to cool for some time, when it is finally run out into wooden moulds about the size and shape of our common bricks, although some are made about half this size; after being removed from the moulds, they are allowed to harden for some days, when they are fit for the market; the larger size sell at Crato for about a penny each, in Icó for three halfpence, and in Aracaty for twopence each.

Sugar cane, mandiocca, rice and tobacco are the principal articles cultivated in Crato. The ordinary tropical fruit trees grow in and around the town, such as the orange, the lime, the lemon, the banana, the mango, the papáw, the jack, the bread-fruit, and the cashew; grapes, pine-apples, melons and water-melons are also commonly cultivated; these fruits are sold very cheap, thus, oranges a penny per dozen, pine-apples, large and of a fine flavour, twopence each, and large melons may be had at the same price. The country gradually rises from Crato towards the S.W. till it reaches the base of the Serra de Araripe, an elevated table-land forming a semicircle round the undulatory plain in which the town is situated; this Serra is from one and a half to two leagues distant from Crato, and from the numerous springs that rise from its base, may be attributed the great fertility of this part of the Sertão, the small streams from which are diverted in a thousand directions for the purpose of irrigation. At present but a small portion of this fertile district is cultivated, although it would amply repay such labour; the vicinity being but thinly peopled, and the habits of the natives extremely indolent; with very little trouble they can raise all that is necessary to support life, and seem to care for nothing beyond this. Their dress is of the most simple description, and consequently not expensive; when, however, the population becomes more numerous, and civilization shall have multiplied their wants, this district will assuredly prove a rich and valuable part of the province; the greatest drawback to it is the want of any other than land communication with the coast. The union of the little streams which flow from the Serra de Araripe forms a rivulet that passes close to the town of Crato, and affords an abundant supply of excellent clear water to the inhabitants at all seasons; it offers also some deep pools that serve as bathing places, a luxury in which they are very fond of indulging, especially during the hot season.

During my residence at this place I made many excursions in the neighbourhood, but the Serra de Araripe proved the best field for my researches, I spent several days at different times, in exploring its ravines, sides, and summit, every trip yielding me large supplies of new and rare plants. The greater portion of the wooded districts around Crato consists of deciduous trees and shrubs, forming what are called Catingas, but in low moist localities, and along the base of the Serra, a great many of the trees are evergreen; one of the most common denizens of the Catingas is the Magonia glabrata, St. Hil., which is here truly gregarious, covering large tracts for miles to the exclusion of almost everything else; in general it is a tree from thirty to forty feet high, but at full growth it often attains a much greater stature. Like many of the other inhabitants of the Catingas, its flowers appear before the leaves, they are in large panicles, of a greenish yellow colour, and of very sweet scent. It is called Tingi by the natives, who apply it to many useful purposes; an infusion of the bark of the root is employed to poison fish, and that of the stem to cure old ulcers. The fruit is a large dry triangular capsule filled with broad flat seeds, from the kernels of which a kind of soap is manufactured; the manner in which they make it is this. After having taken off the brown membrane which covers the seeds, they are put into a tub of water to steep for some time, when the cotyledons begin to swell and soften, the thin skin which still covers them is easily taken off, and they are then put into a pot along with a small portion of tallow; by boiling and stirring them they soon form a homogeneous mass, which, when cool, is said to answer very well for washing clothes. Another tree which grows in similar situations, is a species of Caryocar, that presents a fine appearance when covered with its large corymbs of yellow flowers; the fruit, which was not ripe during my stay, is said to be excellent when cooked, and its hard wood is of great use as timber in the construction of mills. The Visgeira, already mentioned, and the Timbahuba, are also two large trees of the neighbourhood; the latter belongs to the Mimosa tribe, producing large round heads of yellowish flowers, and a broad legume curved round so as to resemble a horse-shoe. A kind of small deer that much frequents the woods is very fond of this fruit, and is often watched for at night at the season when the fruit falls, being discovered by the rattling noise which the seeds make within the pod when trodden upon. The Jatobá, a species of Hymenæa, is another large tree of common occurrence, as also the Augelim, a large and beautiful species of the genus Andira; two Bignonias of considerable size are also common in the distant woods, one with purple, the other with yellowish flowers, but owing to the durability and hardness of their timber, which is much sought after by the natives for the construction of mills and carts, they are not allowed to attain any great size near the town of Crato. Besides these there are many other trees of smaller size, among which may be mentioned the Pao de Jangada (Apeiba Tibourbou), and one of frequent occurrence, and conspicuous from its large prickly capsules; on the coast its wood affords the material for the raft-boats before described, so commonly in use there. A species of Byrsonema, a Callisthene, a Gomphia, and a Vitex, are all remarkably beautiful when in blossom. When planks are required in most, indeed I may say in all parts of the Sertão, there is a sad waste of timber, for to obtain one an entire tree is chopped on both sides until it is reduced to the exact size required.

A number of wild fruits are found in the Catingas, among these are the Mangába, already spoken of as very common about Pernambuco, the Guava, the Araça, and also, but only on the top of the Serra, a nearly allied species called Marangaba; it is the Psidium pigmeum of Arrudo, a shrub from one to two feet high, the fruit of which is about the size of a gooseberry, and is greatly sought after on account of its delicious flavour, which resembles that of the strawberry. The woods in the immediate neighbourhood of the town produce a fruit called Pusá, which belongs to a new species of Mouriria (M. Pusá, Gardn.); it is about the size of a small plum, of a black colour, and resembles very much in taste the fruit of the Jaboticaba (Eugenia cauliflora, DC.) of the south of Brazil; when in season it is brought to the town and carried through the streets for sale by the Indians. The Cashew is also very common, but the eatable portion of the fruit is smaller and not so well tasted as that which grows along the coast.

One day, near the Serra de Araripe, I passed an encampment of Gipsies consisting of about a dozen men, women, and children; these people are not uncommon in the interior of Brazil, for I either met with them, or heard of them in almost every town I visited; they are generally disliked by the common people, but are encouraged by the more wealthy, as was the case on the present occasion, for they were encamped beneath some large trees near the house of a major in the National Guards, who is the proprietor of a large cane plantation at the foot of the Serra; although of a darker colour, they have quite the same features as the Gipsies of Great Britain, many both of the young men and women being very handsome; they seldom come near the large towns of the coast, preferring more thinly inhabited, and consequently more lawless districts; they wander from farm to farm, and from village to village, buying, selling, and exchanging horses and various articles of jewellery; like those of Europe they are often accused of stealing horses, fowls, or whatever they can lay their hands upon; the old women tell fortunes, in which they are much encouraged by the young ladies of the places they visit. Although they speak Portuguese like the other inhabitants of the country, among themselves they always make use of their own language, always intermarry, are said to pay no attention to the religious observances of the country, nor to use any form of worship of their own; they are called Ciganos by the Brazilians. Just about the time that the Gipsies made their appearance near Crato, one of my horses was missed from its pasturage, and it was strongly suspected they had carried it off, but in this instance at least they were wrongly accused, for I have good reason to believe that the person who made free with it, was a Fazendeiro who was very anxious to purchase it from me only a day or two before it was stolen, just as he was on the eve of returning from Crato to his Engenho many leagues to the westward. As it had my own brand upon one of its hind legs, and as it was well known about the neighbourhood that it had disappeared, I was assured by the justice of the peace that it would ultimately be found, and he was right, for about six weeks afterwards, it was found in a wood about three leagues from the town, but instead of being an animal in fine condition, it was now little better than skin and bone. The person who took it was one Josè Pereira de Hollanda, a man whose character was not held in much estimation, and by whom it had been used to hunt down cattle on his estate.

During my stay in Crato the festival of our Lady of Conception was celebrated; great rejoicings were kept up for nine days previously, the expenses of which were defrayed by the different individuals appointed to conduct it; during the whole period of the Novena, as it is called, the few soldiers stationed in the town kept up an almost continued fire, both day and night; so that with this, and the processions, illuminations, and discharges of fireworks, and of small cannon in front of the church, the Villa was one continued scene of uproar. As the last night was said to be the finest of all, I went about seven o’clock to the church, before which a number of flags were flying on poles, and two large bonfires blazing; on the terrace before the sacred edifice, an immense crowd had assembled, and about half a dozen soldiers were from time to time discharging their muskets; at a little distance, a band of musicians were playing, consisting of two fifers and two drummers, but the music they produced was of the most wretched description; there was also a display of fireworks quite in keeping with the music. The church inside was brilliantly illuminated and almost full, but I was surprised to see that nearly the whole of the congregation consisted of females; they were all dressed in white, or at least with a white kind of mantilla over the head and shoulders. On the following day a little before dusk, a large procession, consisting entirely of men, passed through the various streets, figures of the Virgin and her Son being carried in great pomp; the three priests of the Villa, together with the Visitador, or deputy of the Bishop, who was then on his usual triennial tour through the villages and towns of the province, walked under a scarlet canopy. The whole affair was wound up on the succeeding afternoon (Sunday) by exhibitions on the tight-rope, and a dance of masqueraders, in front of the church.

The mean temperature of Crato is much lower than that of Icó; it is not considered so healthy as the latter place, for the heat of the day is nearly as great, although the nights are much colder. Ophthalmia is truly endemic, and, during some part of the year, few escape its effects: I had an attack which confined me to the house for several days. Many persons suffering from the disease in its chronic state, consulted me, and I gained no little reputation from having either cured or much alleviated the symptoms in most of the cases that presented themselves, even when the complaint had been of long standing; blindness is a very common result, and nowhere have I seen a greater number of blind people than in this district. Secondary syphilitic complaints are also very common, and many are the miserable wretches which they have here produced; in such cases, mercury is very seldom employed for the primary symptoms, these being generally cured by a species of Croton, commonly known by the name of Velame; it is used both externally and internally with some effect, but under this treatment sooner or later the secondary symptoms make their appearance, under some one or other of their protean forms. A residence of but a short time in the interior of Brazil, would soon convince those medical men who would cure these complaints without mercury, of the danger of such treatment.

CHAPTER VI.
CEARA CONTINUED.

Reasons for delaying journey into the Interior—Visits, meanwhile, different places in the Vicinity of Crato—Crosses the Serra de Araripe—Reaches Cajazeira—Arrives at Barra do Jardim—Description of that Town and Neighbourhood—Meets with an interesting deposit of Fossil Fishes—Geological character of the Country—Detects a very extensive range of Chalk formation—First discovery of such Beds in South America—The accompanying formation described—This range of Mountains encircles the vast Plain comprising the Provinces of Piauhy and Maranham—Arrives at Maçapé—Great Religious Festival on Christmas Day—Meets with an Accident—Visits also Novo Mundo—Discovers other deposits of Fossil Fishes near these places—Vegetable productions along the Taboleira—Different Tribes of uncivilised Indians in that Neighbourhood—Curious account of the Fanatical Sect of the Sebastianistas—Their extravagant belief—Commit human sacrifices—Their destruction and dispersion—Returns to Crato.

I found on my arrival at Crato that it would be necessary to remain there longer than I had previously anticipated, owing to the desert state of the country, in the dry season, between it and Oeiras, the capital of the province of Piauhy, at which time water and grass are so scarce, that only those well acquainted with the country would undertake this journey: I was, therefore, strongly recommended to defer leaving Crato till the rains should set in, to which advice I was the more willing to listen, finding that district a very good field for my botanical researches, and knowing well, moreover, that a journey to Oeiras at that time would yield very little. It was now the beginning of December, and the rains were not expected to set in till the beginning of February. Having pretty well exhausted the neighbourhood of Crato, I determined to visit in the interim a small town about sixteen leagues distant, called Villa da Barra do Jardim, being the more desirous to spend some time at that place in order to search for a deposit of fossil fishes which were reported to exist in the neighbourhood. My friend Capitão João Gonsalvez gave me letters to his relation Capitão Antonio da Cruz, the principal person in the place, and on the afternoon of the eleventh of December I left Crato. The road for the first five leagues runs nearly eastward along the Serra de Araripe, and after having accomplished four of them we halted for the night, about eight o’clock, at a little village called Cajazeira; on enquiring for a place where we might pass the night, it being then quite dark, we were directed to a shed used for the preparation of farinha, which, besides being open all round, was but indifferently roofed; this, however, proved a better shelter than a large tree under which we first thought of encamping, for about midnight we were awakened by a tremendous peal of thunder that broke right over us. The storm continued with more or less violence for nearly half an hour, and was followed by a very heavy shower of rain, which caused me no inconvenience as my hammock was slung under a comparatively well-roofed part, although Pedro and the guide were soon obliged to change their quarters. On our arrival we found the village illuminated with several bonfires, and there was also much firing and other rejoicings, occasioned by the presence of the Visitador who reached this place during the day, intending to proceed to Barra do Jardim on the following morning. It was seven o’clock before we could resume our journey, and in an hour’s time we reached the foot of the Serra with the view of crossing it, but we first halted for a short time in order to take some breakfast, being informed that neither houses nor water were to be met with during the next eight leagues of the journey. At a distance of half an hour’s ride from Cajazeira we met a number of well-dressed horsemen, one of whom, finding on enquiry that I was the English Botanist about to visit Jardim, told me that his name was Gouvea; that he had heard of my intended visit from his friends in Crato, to which place he was then going, intending to return in the course of a few days. From him I also learned that his companions had come to meet the Visitador, and escort him to Jardim; in half an hour’s time they all passed us on their return, in company with the prelate, and soon afterwards the Visitador’s troop overtook us, consisting of eight or nine horses, one of which was loaded with water for the journey across the Taboleira, as all elevated flat tracts are called in the interior. The water was carried in large leathern bags, and as I had not as yet provided myself with such an apparatus, I was contented with purchasing a number of oranges, and a few pieces of sugar cane, as very palatable substitutes, and on a short journey easily carried. The Serra is scarcely so high here as it is at Crato, but the ascent is very rugged, and in several places very steep. About half an hour after we descended the Serra we passed the Visitador and his party, all lying under the shade of a large tree, eating the fruit of the Mangába which grew abundantly around them: he kindly invited me to remain and partake of his breakfast, for which he was awaiting the arrival of his troop, but I declined his kind offer as I was anxious to cross the Serra without halting. It occupied a ride of nearly six hours to traverse this table land, which is perfectly level all the way; it is thinly studded with small trees, which give it very much the appearance of an English orchard; the soil was thickly covered with long grass, which was now dried up like hay; in many places it had been set fire to, and large tracts burned, which I afterwards found to be a very common practice in the open campos of Brazil towards the end of the dry season, in order that after the first rains a good crop of new grass may thus be obtained; it is, indeed, astonishing to witness the rapidity with which it then springs up. The vegetation on this Taboleira I found to be so very similar to that on the top of the Serra at Crato, that with the exception of a single specimen of a shrubby species of Cassia, I did not meet with anything I had not before collected; on the ascent of the Serra, however, I found a new species of Rollinia in flower. It was not till we had reached nearly the extremity of the Taboleira, that I came in sight of the valley in which the Villa da Barra do Jardim is situated, from the rich and verdant appearance of which it takes the name of Jardim, or Garden. The Serra being lower on the south than on the north side, the descent is much easier, and the road is also better.

On reaching the Villa, which is nearly a league from the foot of the Serra, I found that we had passed the house of Captain Antonio da Cruz, so that we were obliged to turn back half a league, and I felt annoyed for not having sooner made enquiries, as our horses were greatly fatigued after so long a journey, performed during the whole time under a burning sun. On arriving at the house, which is attached to his Engenho, I met with a kind reception from the Captain, as well as from his son, and the lady of the latter, who was the daughter of my Crato friend, Captain Gonsalvez, with both of whom I had been previously acquainted during their visit to the latter place. My horses were immediately sent to pasture, and dinner prepared, for which I felt an excellent appetite after this long day’s ride. Aware of my intended visit, they had kindly prepared an uninhabited house in the town for my reception, to which they would not allow me to go till the following morning after breakfast.

The Villa da Barra do Jardim lies south from Crato, bearing a little to the eastward, the valley in which it is situated being about a league in length, and in its widest part about half a league broad; the town is small, in the form of a large square, three sides of which only are completed, and nearly in the centre of this square stands its only church, also in an unfinished state. At the time of my visit the surrounding country was very much burnt up, particularly towards the south; but on the north side of the town, towards the bottom of the Serra, there were many small plantations of cane, watered by small streams which take their rise in the Serra; without these the valley would then have been quite at variance with its name. Here, as around Crato, cane is the principal article cultivated, but in the neighbourhood of the Villa there are two or three very small plantations of coffee, for which the place seems well adapted, judging from their vigorous appearance, and the large crops they were said to yield; the quantity raised in this neighbourhood is not, however, sufficient for its own consumption, what more is required, and indeed the whole that is consumed in other parts of the province, being imported from Rio de Janeiro. Upon asking several of the proprietors of cane plantations why they did not plant coffee in preference, seeing the much greater profit it would bring them, they all replied that, being accustomed to the making of Rapadura, they did not like to risk it for a system of cultivation with which they were but imperfectly acquainted; but the principal cause, in my own opinion, is their lazy and indolent habits, and the great horror they entertain of anything like innovation on the customs of their forefathers; were the country in the possession of an industrious people, this would no doubt become one of the richest districts in the north of Brazil.

Two days after my arrival I paid a visit to Captain Antonio da Cruz, where I learned that on a rising ground between his house and the Serra, there were often found rounded limestones, which when split exhibited the remains of fishes; two of his sons accompanied me to the spot, where I made a collection of several species more or less perfect. The place where these were found was on the slope of a low hill about a mile from the Serra,—the stone in which they occur being an impure dark-coloured limestone: I found them of all sizes, but none larger than I could lift, all were more or less rounded, having evidently undergone attrition. The place which they occupy is not above a hundred yards square, and in this extent scarcely any other kind of stone is found, but beyond it the ground is covered in a similar manner with rounded blocks of sandstone of the same nature as that which forms the mass of the Serra. Similar deposits exist along the base of the range, but all in isolated patches, as in the present instance. I have purposely deferred till now making any remarks on the geology of the district around Crato, but I must premise that the substance of what is here stated is taken from a paper read by me before the Glasgow Philosophical Society, in April 1843, and which has since appeared in the Proceedings of that Society.

Nothing like chalk, with its accompanying flints, has yet been found on the continent of North America; but in New Jersey Dr. Morton has described a deposit which he considers to be equivalent to the lower or green sand beds of that formation, and to which he has given the name of “The ferruginous sand formation of the United States.” The fossil remains which it contains prove the correctness of his opinion. As regards the South American continent, it is asserted by Humboldt, that it contains neither oolite nor chalk, from the fact that no traveller who has hitherto written on the geology of that immense continent, has ever met with either; it was therefore a source of no little satisfaction to me to find that I had been the first to discover, in the new world, the entire series of rocks which constitute the chalk formation, specimens of all of which I did not fail to collect.

The Serra de Araripe, or that which runs between Crato and Barra do Jardim, is only an eastern branch of an elevated table-land which stretches continuously from the sea-coast, southward, and forms a natural boundary between the two great provinces of Ceará and Piauhy. It is generally elevated from 500 to 1,000 feet above the level of the country to the east of it, but not so much above that to the west; to this range the name of Serra Vermelha is given by the Portuguese, and Ibiapaba by the Indians. Between the 10th and 11th degrees of latitude it takes a westerly direction, and in about 47° of longitude takes a northerly sweep, finally terminating at the mouth of the River Amazon, under the equator, the country which it surrounds forming a valley of great extent, including the entire provinces of Piauhy and Maranham. This elevated range varies much in breadth, as many branches run off from it, both to the east and to the west; the top is nearly perfectly level, forming, as before mentioned, what the Brazilians call Taboleiras. The great mass of the Serra consists of a very soft, whitish, yellowish, or reddish-coloured sandstone, which in many places must be more than six hundred feet thick; and in this rock exist the nodules which contain the fossil fishes. The circumstance that first led me to suspect this rock belonged to the chalk formation, was an immense accumulation of flints and septaria similar to those of the chalk of England, which I found on the acclivity of the range during a journey made along its base to the north of Crato. I now began to inquire if anything like chalk was found in the neighbourhood, when I learned there were several pits in the Serra, whence the inhabitants obtained it for the purpose of white-washing their houses; these pits I afterwards found to be situated in a deep layer of red-coloured diluvial clay, which lies immediately over the sandstone of the Serra. In a ravine near Crato I endeavoured to ascertain the formation on which the sandstone rested, when I found it to consist of several layers of more or less compact limestones and marls, with a bed of lignite about two feet thick; upon what these rested I could not at that time ascertain, but some time afterwards when I crossed to the west side of the range, I found these limestones existing upon a deposit of very dark-red coarse-grained sandstone, abounding in small nodules of iron-stone. Thus we find that the structure of the rocks in this locality is very similar to that of the chalk formation in England; there is

1st. A ferruginous sandstone deposit, equivalent to the lower green sand or Shanklin sand.

2nd. A deposit of marls, soft and compact limestones, and lignite, equivalent to the English gault.

3rd. A very thick deposit of fine-grained, soft, variously coloured sandstone, containing Ichthyolites, equivalent to the upper green sand of England.

4th. The white chalk itself, and flints occurring in pits partially covered by red diluvial clay.

Flints are very common along the foot of the Serra, to the N.W. of Crato, but none were found in any of the chalk-pits that I examined: I learned, however, that at a considerable distance to the north of Crato, at a portion of this mountain range, called the Serra de Botarité, both chalk and flints are far more abundant than they are near the former place, where they seem to have been almost entirely washed away, previous to the deposition of the red clay in which they are now found.

Since the time when these rocks were first deposited at the bottom of the sea to the present period, both they and the surrounding country must have undergone various changes with respect to elevation; but before making any observations on this subject, I will point out the various places where I have met with traces of the chalk formation, besides that just described. In 1838, during my voyage up the Rio de San Francisco, which empties itself into the Atlantic between the 10th and 11th degrees of south latitude, I obtained specimens of the rock on which the Villa do Penêdo is built, and on comparison these proved to be identical with those from the upper sandstone of Crato. In 1839, I found the ferruginous sandstone of Crato extending westward thence about 500 miles, and in the year 1841 I observed at Maranham, in 2° of south latitude, and 44° of west longitude, a formation very similar to that at Crato. The whole island on which the city of Maranham is built, consists of a very dark-red ferruginous sandstone; on the main land to the westward, the same rock was observed rising a little above the sea level, but immediately upon it there exists a deposit, in some places more than 50 feet thick, of a yellowish and greenish coloured sandstone, very soft, and of a marly nature.

From these data, then, I think there can be little doubt that the whole of that immense shoulder which forms the more easterly point of the American continent, has at one time been a great depository for the chalk formation. The only other rocks that I observed in places denuded of the deposits belonging to the chalk are, 1st, gneiss and mica-slate, the layers of which crop out in nearly a vertical direction, as was frequently observed on my journey from the coast, and during my voyage up the Rio de San Francisco; and, 2nd, beds of grey-coloured clay-slate, which I passed over about 18 leagues below Crato. The whitish coarse-grained sandstone that I met with immediately afterwards, is probably equivalent to the ferruginous sandstone found on the west side of the range; from this it would appear, that between the cretaceous series and the primary stratified rocks, there are no traces either of the carboniferous or the oolite formations, nor in any part of Brazil through which I afterwards travelled did I meet with any signs of them.[5]

We have already seen that the country, from the coast to Crato, is for the most part level, large portions being covered with coarse white sand or gravel of various sizes, which give it the appearance of the dried up bed of an immense river; much of this gravel consists of flints, and intermingled with them are numerous boulders of various sizes, more or less rounded, consisting of granite, gneiss, and quartz. Whenever these gravelly tracts cease to appear, the surface of the country is covered with a deposit of the same kind of red clay which lies over the upper sandstone of the table-land. To the westward of this table-land, considerable portions are covered with the variously shaped iron-stone nodules, found in the ferruginous sandstone, and which have accumulated from the decay of that rock.

I have now to offer a few remarks on the changes of elevation which this part of the continent has undergone since the chalk rocks were first deposited; it is manifest that that deposition took place at the bottom of a shallow ocean, and it admits of no doubt that at some subsequent period it has been gradually elevated above the level of the sea; it is evident that this elevation has been gradual, from the horizontal position of the strata of which the deposit is formed; for had the elevating cause been sudden and violent, their original position would not have been so perfectly maintained. The first portion that emerged from the sea was probably the long elevated table-land, which for a period must have formed a neck of land separating the Atlantic Ocean on the east, from the great bay which the immense valley to the westward must then have formed.

From some of the foregoing observations it is obvious that the chalk formation at one time must have covered a very great tract of the surrounding country, and we may very reasonably conclude that it was during the gradual elevation of the land, that the action of the waves of the ocean as gradually destroyed the soft materials of which it had been fabricated. But long after this had been accomplished, and at a comparatively recent geological period, the whole country seems again to have been covered with water,—not only the nearly level country between the shores of the present sea and the elevated table-land, but even the highest parts of the table-land itself. This is proved by the thick stratum which exists on both, of a deep red-coloured diluvial clay, similar to that which I have observed to cover nearly the whole surface of Brazil, from the sea-shore to the summits nearly of the highest mountains, and which is often more than forty feet in thickness. When this is cut through it is found to consist of various layers of clay and sandy gravel, in which are imbedded rounded stones of different sizes. These have evidently been deposited from water; and in that part of the country in which we are now speaking, this deposition of clay must have taken place at a period subsequent to the inundation of the country to the east and west of the table-land. This could only have been accomplished by the sinking of the land again beneath the level of the sea, which will account for the nearly total destruction of the white chalk, as well as for those small cones of it which remain imbedded in the red clay,—that deposit having been laid down before the whole of the chalk could be washed away; since then this part of the continent must have gradually emerged a second time from the bosom of the ocean.

Part of my collection of fossil fishes were sent to the care of my much lamented friend the late J. E. Bowman, Esq., of Manchester, shortly after I found them; these were exhibited by him at the Meeting of the British Association at Glasgow, where they were seen by M. Agassiz, and although no specimens of the rocks accompanied them, he immediately, from their zoological characters alone, pronounced them to belong to the chalk series. It is well known that this learned naturalist divides all fishes into four great classes, from the nature of their scales; two of these, the Ctenoid and Cycloid, never make their appearance in any of the rocks beneath the chalk, and it was from his knowledge of this fact that he decided my specimens to be from that formation, as they consisted chiefly of individuals of the Ctenoid and Cycloid groups. The fishes are in a most perfect state of preservation, and, as I have already stated, are included in an impure fawn-coloured limestone; the blocks, however, in which they are preserved, are only nodules contained in the yellowish coloured sandstone. They have in general somewhat the form of the imbedded fish, and the carbonaceous matter was apparently aggregated round them by chemical attraction from the sandstone while in a soft state; these nodules being harder than the sandstone, have, by its gradual decay, accumulated at various places along the acclivity of the range, and I possess specimens both from the east and west side of it.[6]

On the evening of the 23rd of December I had an invitation from Lieut. Col. João José de Gouvea, a gentleman to whom I brought letters, to accompany him and the Visitador to a place called Maçapé five leagues to the east of the Villa da Barra do Jardim, whither they were going to pass Christmas Day. This I gladly accepted, having been already informed that a large deposit of fossil fishes existed there. We started at eight o’clock on the morning of the 24th, and as the Visitador was not to return, he was accompanied for nearly a league from the Villa, by about half a dozen of the most respectable persons in the neighbourhood, Senhor Gouvea, his lady, and Senhor Machado, and I went on to Maçapé. At about half a league from the Villa we entered a narrow ravine, wooded on each side with large trees, the branches of which were bearded with the long Tillandsia usneoides, and another large species of the same genus, but I did not observe a single Orchideous plant. This ravine is nearly half a league in length, and about the middle of it arises a spring yielding an abundant supply of cool and limpid water, which lower down is applied for the purpose of irrigation. As the ravine rises gradually, the ascent of the Serra here is less steep than by the one we passed on the road from Crato. Immediately on entering the Taboleira the vegetation changes, none of the trees seen there being found below, but I did not perceive any difference from those already observed on other parts of it. After a very pleasant ride of four hours, we reached the opposite side of the Serra, where a vast difference appeared in the vegetation, compared with that of the vicinity of Jardim; here all was green and verdant, owing to several heavy showers that had fallen a few weeks before; the trees on the Taboleira are also larger than those nearer to Jardim, and everything denotes it to be a more fertile country. From the top of the descent we obtained a fine view of the undulating but uninhabited country to the east and south. The Serra here is much higher than on the western side, and the descent is far from being an easy one; at less than a quarter of a league from it stands the Fazenda of Maçapé, which is the principal house in that place. On our arrival we found two large flags waving in the court before the house, and the Visitador was welcomed by the discharge of about a dozen guns; shortly after our arrival numbers of people, with children of all ages, began to assemble, and immediately after dinner the Visitador commenced his duties of baptism, &c. Having made enquiries for the place where the fossil fishes were to be found, I went there accompanied by Senhor Machado; after walking about half a league, we reached the spot which much resembled that near Jardim, the stones occupying a limited space on the slope of the rising ground that runs along the foot of the Serra. This site having lately been cleared and planted with cane, we had little difficulty in procuring abundance of stones, though few good ones, for after nearly two hours’ work, I could obtain no more than three or four tolerable specimens, most of the remains being very much broken. On our return we found an immense crowd of people assembled, while more were arriving, chiefly for the purpose of hearing the three masses that are always performed immediately on the entrance of Christmas Day. At nine o’clock in the evening mass was said under the veranda, at one end of which a small altar was erected, brilliantly illuminated with wax candles, and surmounted by a figure of the Virgin, about a foot and a half high, elegantly dressed, with a gold chain round her neck, to which was attached a small toy watch. The more respectable portion of the audience seated themselves on the ground within the veranda, while the remaining men, women, and children were squatted in a similar manner on the area of the court in front of the house; altogether not less than a thousand persons were here assembled. After the conclusion of the ceremony we partook of a supper of fresh fish, and at ten o’clock the Visitador retired to his hammock to enjoy a little sleep, prior to the commencement of his midnight labours; I followed his example, but slept so soundly that I did not awake till after the conclusion of the mass, notwithstanding that my hammock was slung in the same confined room as that of the prelate, and the upper half of the door, which opened into the veranda, was open. No observations were made upon my apparent neglect, but I have no doubt that I was set down as a perfect heathen. In the morning mass was again celebrated, and when breakfast was over the Visitador resumed his labours. During the day the place had all the appearance of a fair; European goods, jewellery, provisions, rum, &c., were on all sides exposed for sale, and in the evening, dancing was carried on in the open air until a very late hour.

The following day I returned with my friends to Jardim, the Visitador going in another direction about two leagues distant. When about half way across the Serra, we alighted at a spot where Mangába trees abound, in order to collect some of the fruit, which is not considered good to eat until after it has fallen to the ground; on this occasion Senhor Gouvea let go his horse’s bridle, when the animal, finding itself at liberty, set off at a round pace on the road towards Jardim. I therefore instantly mounted with the intention of intercepting it, and in the act of turning round, struck my head with considerable violence against the branch of a large tree, which in an instant felled me to the ground. I could remember nothing that subsequently occurred till we were within half a league of Jardim, when I awoke as from a sound sleep, and found myself on horseback proceeding along at a pretty quick rate behind my companions. I felt much sickness, and a considerable pain in the lower part of my forehead, but worse than all I found my memory almost gone, for after many attempts I could not recollect in the smallest degree where I had been, or where I was going. I recognised my companions perfectly, but could not remember their names, and though often spoken to felt no inclination to answer. In this state of darkness and confusion I rode on in silence, unconscious of where I was going, and under the impression that I was just roused from a long sleep. It was dusk when we reached the town, and though aware of having been there before, I could not remember its name, nor did it occur to me that it was then my place of residence. On parting with my friends I should not have known where to go had not Pedro been waiting for me at the end of the street, for all my recollection of places was completely obliterated. Immediately on reaching home, feeling myself very unwell, I lay down and soon fell fast asleep, and on awaking late on the following morning, found myself still labouring under a severe headache; a confused recollection of where I had been now came over me, but I could not yet remember the name of the place, and had only a faint reminiscence of having fallen from my horse. I learned, however, from Senhor Machado, who called to enquire after me, that upon falling to the ground I remained there some time in a state of insensibility, but that after a while I arose, and without speaking to any one mounted my horse, riding behind my companions all the way to the town, and answering nobody when spoken to; many days elapsed before I felt myself perfectly recovered from this accident.

Understanding that a very large deposit of fossil fishes existed at a place called Mundo Novo, about three leagues to the west of Barra do Jardim, I determined on making an excursion there prior to my departure. To effect this object it was necessary to cross a branch of the Serra de Araripe, at a point where as on the road to Maçapé, the ridge tends north and south; it is here, however, only about two leagues and a half broad. On my way I found two or three trees quite new to me, one being of large size, the Copaifera nitida, Mart., then covered with a profusion of small white flowers; its trunk yields an abundance of oil, which is employed in the cure of ulcers, and for frictions in cases of rheumatism. After crossing the Serra, I found the country still more dried up than at Jardim, the sides of the mountain exhibiting only a few green trees; along the foot of the Serra some fine large trees were seen, but as they were then destitute of both leaves and flowers I could not ascertain to what tribe they belonged; they are called Braúna by the natives, and afford an excellent timber, which is both hard and durable, being employed in the construction of sugar-mills, particularly for rollers. I also now saw for the first time, the remarkable Chorisia ventricosa, Nees et Mart., called Barriguda by the inhabitants, from the shape of its stem, which swells in the middle to five times the diameter of its upper and lower portions. About half a league to the N.W. from the foot of the Serra, we reached the first habitation on the way, which belonged to the person to whom I was recommended; he received me very kindly, and invited me into the house, which was little better than a mere hut; upon learning the object of my visit, he kindly offered to accompany me to the spot. After partaking of breakfast we started, and in about half an hour reached the place; as in all the instances I had before met with, it occupied an isolated spot of considerable extent on the gentle slope of a low ridge, which runs along the base of the Serra: here also, as in other places, almost every stone contains the remains of a fish in a more or less perfect condition; most of the smaller ones, that were only four or five inches long, were perfectly entire, but the larger ones, some of which measured fully six feet,[7] were always in fragments. After three hours labour, I collected many tolerably perfect specimens, but no species different from those already obtained in other places. On returning with my companion to his house, an excellent dinner was prepared, for which he refused any recompense. The kindness I received on this occasion was indeed greater than could be expected from a person in his poor circumstances; I was glad, however, to have an opportunity of returning his civilities in town on New Year’s Day, and in presenting him with several useful articles: assuredly I shall never forget the kindness of Antonio Martins of Mundo Novo.

There are two small tribes of uncivilized Indians living within the district of Barra do Jardim, but their numbers are fast diminishing: the one consisting of eighty individuals called Huamaës, generally reside seven leagues to the south west of that town: the other, called Xocos, amounting to about seventy persons, have their usual place of abode thirteen leagues to the southward. Though generally inoffensive in their disposition, they had a short time previous to my visit been detected in robbing cattle from the neighbouring farms; they have occasionally made their appearance in the Villa, and are said to be dirty in their habits, and that when in want of better food, they will devour the rattle-snake and other serpents.

In various parts of Brazil, I met with many individuals belonging to that remarkable sect called Sebastianistas; they take this appellation from their belief in the return to earth of King Don Sebastian, who fell in the celebrated battle of Alcazarquebir, while leading on his army against the Moors. Those who profess this belief, are said to be more numerous in Brazil than in Portugal: on his return, they say, that Brazil will enjoy the most perfect state of happiness, and all that our own millenarians anticipate will be fully realized.

During my stay in Pernambuco, there occurred in connexion with this belief, one of the most extraordinary scenes of fanaticism which modern times have given birth to, and were it not well authenticated, would be almost incredible. Although much the subject of conversation in Brazil at that time, I am not aware that any public account of it has reached Europe. The following letter which is translated from the “Diario de Pernambuco” of Monday the 16th of June, 1838, was officially addressed to Senhor Francisco Rego Barros, then President of the Province:—

“Comarco de Flores, 25th May, 1838.

“Most Illustrious and most Excellent Sir,

“In this first letter that I have the honour to address to your Excellency on the state of this Comarco, which is at present tranquil, I have to lay before your Excellency the most extraordinary, terrible, and cruel circumstance ever heard of, and one which is almost past belief. It is now more than two years since a man, called Joäo Antonio, an inhabitant of Sitio de Pedra Bonita, a place about twenty leagues from this town, surrounded by woods, and near which are two large rocks, called together the people, and told them, that within those rocks there was an enchanted kingdom which he was about to disenchant, and that immediately afterwards King Don Sebastian would make his appearance at the head of a great army, richly adorned, and that all who followed him would be happy. He went on beautifying this place till the month of November of last year, when at the recommendation of the Missionary Francisco José Correa de Albuquerque, he made a journey to the desert (Sertäo) of Inhamon, whence he sent back one Joäo Pereira, a man of the worst passions, who on his arrival at Pedra Bonita proclaimed himself King, and began to instil superstitious notions into the minds of the people, telling them that for the restoration of the enchanted kingdom it would be necessary to immolate a number of men, women, and children; that in a few days they would all rise again, and remain immortal; that riches would abound among all classes, and that all those who were either black or of a dark colour, would become as white as the moon herself. In this manner he brought over many of the ignorant people to believe in his false assertions and evil doctrine, so much so that some fathers delivered over their children to the knife of the sanguinary tiger.

“On the fourth of the present month, he began his present sacrifices, and, in the course of two or three days, not less than forty-two human beings gave up their lives under his hands, twenty-one being adults, and twenty-one children; he also married every man to two or three women, with superstitious rites in accordance with his otherwise immoral conduct, this also being part of his idolatry; the result, however, was lo him melancholy, for Pedro Antonio, brother to Joäo Antonio, the promulgator of these ideas, becoming impatient of this madness, or perhaps ambitious of becoming King himself, determined on assassinating him, which he carried into effect on Friday the seventeenth. It was on this day that the inhabitants, flying from place to place, gave notice of the proceedings to the Commandant Manoel Pereira da Silva, who immediately collected a small force of twenty-six national guards and countrymen, and setting out the following day, they met near the place, Pedro Antonio crowned with a wreath of flowering creepers, taken from his predecessor, and accompanied by a group of men and women, who cried aloud—‘Come on, we do not fear you, we shall be assisted by the troops of our kingdom.’

“They then advanced upon them with the bludgeons and swords they carried, killed five soldiers, and wounded five more; but being briskly attacked, twenty-six men and three women were instantly killed; and three men, nine women, and twelve children were made prisoners. The remainder, many of whom were wounded, fled to the woods. It was only on the evening of the eighteenth, that I just had notice of these disturbances, when I immediately got together forty men, and marched off at the head of them, but on my arrival, I found every thing had been quelled in the manner above related. The prisoners were conducted by my troops to this town, and the twelve children will be taken care off till the orders of your Excellency arrive respecting them.

“God protect your Excellency.

“Francisco Barbosa Nogueira Paz.”

The district of Flores lies considerably to the south of the Villa do Crato, near the Rio de San Francisco, and in the province of Pernambuco. The occurrence was much spoken of during my stay in the neighbourhood of Crato, and I have conversed with the relatives of some of those who fell victims.

On the 31st of December, a very heavy thunder-storm occurred at Barra do Jardim, followed by about two hour’s rain, the first that had fallen that season, and the same again happened on the 2nd of January, indicating that the period of the rains was on the point of setting in; I observed that in the confidence of this, the inhabitants had commenced their plantations of rice, and therefore lost no time in making my arrangements for returning to Crato in order to prepare for my journey into Piauhy. My departure from Jardim was fixed for the 3rd, for which purpose my horses were brought the night before from the pasturage and tied securely to some orange trees, with abundance of fresh grass, on which they could feed till morning, but at daybreak two of the animals had disappeared; at first, I was apprehensive they had been stolen, but I despatched Pedro in search of them, and was glad to see him return, bringing the missing horses which had escaped to their old pasturage. Without any further delay I therefore started about noon, after taking leave of my friends, and reached Crato the following day.