CHAPTER V.

CHAPTER V.JOURNEY FROM GOIANA TO RIO GRANDE.—THE CITY OF NATAL.—THE GOVERNOR.I HAD entertained hopes of being accompanied by Senhor Joaquim, at least as far as Rio Grande, but he changed his mind, and I began to make the necessary arrangements for going alone. I purchased three more horses, and hired a guide for the Sertam, who was a white man of the country, and two Indian lads of about sixteen years of age. On the 3d November, I again set forth, accompanied by my English John, Francisco the guide, Julio, and the other boy, his companion. We only reached Dous Rios the same evening, which is two leagues distant from Goiana; we had left that place late in the day, and got on very slowly, as the two loads upon the horses were not well divided and arranged. I now found, on stopping for the night, that I had not provided as many things as were necessary; that I wanted an additional piece of baize to cover myself at night, that we ought to have brought more kitchen apparatus, and that knives and forks were to be had very rarely. I had with me a trunk with my cloaths, on one side of the pack-saddle, and a case, with some bottles of rum and wine, on the other side, and my hammock in the middle; these made one load. The other horse carried in themalas, a kind of trunk, on the one side, our provisions, and on the other, the cloaths of my people, additional ropes, and other tackle. I was far from being well supplied, but afterwards provided myself with more things as I went on, learning by experience. The hammocks are allmade of cotton, and are of several sizes and colours, and of various workmanship. Those in use among the lower orders, are made of cotton cloth, of the manufacture of the country; others are composed of net-work, from which all the several kinds derive the general name ofRede, a net; others, again, are knit or woven in long straight threads, knotted across at intervals: these are usually dyed of two or three colours, and are to be found in the houses of wealthy persons. This species of bed has been adopted from the Indians, and nothing more convenient and better adapted to the climate, could possibly be imagined; it can be wrapped up into a very small compass, and, with the addition of a piece of baize as a coverlid, is usually of sufficient warmth.I could not discover that there was any stream at this place, though it bears the name of Dous Rios, or the two rivers. It is a large open piece of land, with cottages upon the skirts, and attached to each is a pen for cattle. The great weekly fair for cattle from the Sertam, for the Pernambuco market, is held here.From Dous Rios, we advanced the following day to the sugar plantation of Espirito Santo, situated upon the banks of the river Paraiba, which becomes dry in the summer, at a short distance above this estate. I had letters to the owner of it, who is a member of the Cavalcante family, and the Capitam-mor of the captaincy of Paraiba. I was received by him in a very friendly manner. The house is in the usual style of the country, having only the ground-floor, and no ceiling, the tiles and rafters being in full view. Supper of dried meat, and the flour of the mandioc made into paste, and calledpiram, was placed before me; also, some hard biscuits, and red wine. I was not then sufficiently a Brazilian to eatpiram, and took the biscuits with the meat in preference, which much astonished my host. Sweetmeats were afterwards brought in, which are always good in the houses of persons of his rank in life; the opulent people in Brazil taking as much pride in theirdoces, as an English citizen in his table or his wines. The cloth was laid at one end of a long table, and I sat down by myself, whilst the Capitam-mor placed himselfupon the table, near to the other end, and talked to me; and some of the chief persons of his establishment stood around, to see the strange animal called an Englishman. We adjourned from the supper-room into another spacious apartment, and each of us took a hammock, of which there were several in the room, and swung and talked until we were half asleep. One of his men supposed, that as I spoke Portugueze, either I must be an Englishman who did not speak English, or that any Portugueze, on going to England, would immediately speak the language of that country, as I did Portugueze. The Capitam-mor seldom leaves his estate to go to Recife, or even to Paraiba, and lives in the usual style of the Brazilian gentry, in a kind of feudal state. He had several young men about him, some of whom were employed by him; neither his wife, nor any of his children appeared. The principal apartments of this house are two spacious rooms, having a great number of doors and windows; in one, were several hammocks and a sofa; and in the other, the long table upon which I supped; there were a few chairs in each of them; the floors were of brick, and the shutters and doors were unpainted. The owner of this mansion wore a shirt and a pair of drawers, a long bed-gown, called achambre, and a pair of slippers. This is the usual dress of those persons who have no work to perform. When a Brazilian takes to wearing one of these long gowns, he begins to think himself a gentleman, and entitled, consequently, to much respect.The next day we advanced about seven leagues, and, for the first time, I slept in the open air. We intended to have taken up our lodging for the night at a neighbouring hamlet, but the huts were so small and miserable, being constructed of the leaves of palm trees, that I preferred the open air. We made for the rivulet which runs at a little distance from these habitations; the horses were immediately unloaded, and their pack-saddles taken off, that they might roll in comfort. The next thing to be done, was to get firewood,—in most parts of the country it is very plentiful, and as we were upon the skirts of a thick wood, there was here no want of it. A lightwas struck, and two fires made; we got an additional pan from one of the neighbouring huts, and our dried meat was cooked. The meat is dried in the old Indian manner, by laying it upon a platform of twigs, raised about eighteen inches from the ground, and making a fire underneath. We discovered that not far off, a field or piece of land, rather more cleared of wood than the rest, was rented by a cottager, who would allow our horses to be put into it for avintem, about five farthings each, for the night, which the guide thought I should consider dear, and therefore told me, it was the usual price. As may be supposed, I made no great difficulties on this score, and the horses were taken to the place by Julio, and his companion. I now thought myself settled for the night, and therefore ate my supper, sitting in my hammock, which was slung between two trees, with the plate upon one of the trunks; having finished, I took my segar, and sat down close to the fire; the guide lighted his pipe, and placed himself on the opposite side, that we might have a talk about our proceedings for the morrow. I returned to my hammock about ten o’clock, but found the air very sharp, and consequently laid down under the lee of the fire, upon a hide, of which we had two for covering the loads in case of rain.This was to me a new scene,—when I thought of the complete change of habits which this kind of life required, and how entirely different it was from any thing in England, I may almost say in Europe,—when I looked round, and saw our several fires, for the cold air had, by this time, obliged each person to have his own; the men all asleep, our pack-saddles, trunks, and other parts of our baggage scattered about, as it was taken from the horses,—when I heard the running of the water, and the rustling of the trees; and, when I considered, that I was entering among a people with whose habits I was little acquainted, whose feelings towards my countrymen I was ignorant of,—I felt a kind of damp; but this was soon removed, by thinking of the pleasure of return, and of the accomplishment of what I was deemed incapable of performing. I was cheered by my recollection of the knowledge I had of the language, and by the determinationI felt within me of conforming to the customs of the people,—of submitting to their prejudices. I was not old enough to have contracted any habits, too deep to be laid aside when necessary. These thoughts were interrupted by the cry of “Jezus,” which was repeated every half minute in a dismal voice; I called to the guide, supposing it to proceed from some person in distress; he waked, and I told him what had made me call to him,—he said, it was only some person helping another “a bem morrer,” that is, that some dying person, which I found was the usual custom, had a friend to repeat the word “Jezus,” until the sufferer expired, that it might not be forgotten, and, perhaps, to keep the devil off.I dined the following day at the village of Mamanguape, situated upon the banks of a dry river; it is a thriving place. These more modern villages have been built in one long street upon the road, the older ones in a square. It had then about three hundred inhabitants; but I have since heard, that the number is more than doubled, and that new houses are building. The river can scarcely be reckoned of any advantage to the village, but the place forms a convenient break between Goiana and Rio Grande for the travelling pedlars, a useful, industrious, and, generally, honest set of men, as their resting-place and head-quarters; from hence they make daily excursions to the plantations, at a little distance, and return here to sleep. I passed the night in the out-houses of some sugar-works; my guide was much astonished at my not asking for lodgings at thecaza-grande, or owner’s house; but I preferred these kind of quarters to better ones, where I might run the risk of being obliged to remain half the night awake, for the purpose of giving news. The hospitality, however, of the planters, is very great; and no recommendation is necessary, though I had provided myself with a few letters.The next day we proceeded to Cunhàû, the sugar-plantation of the Colonel Andre d’Albuquerque do Maranham, the chief of the Maranham branch of this numerous and distinguished family of the Albuquerques. He is a man of immense landed property. The plantation of Cunhàû extends along the road fourteen leagues,and the owner has since purchased another large estate adjoining; his lands likewise in the Sertam for breeding cattle are supposed not to be less than thirty to forty leagues in extent—of those kind of leagues that sometimes take a man three or four hours to get over one.I had letters to him from some of his relations and friends at Pernambuco; he was sitting at his door, with his chaplain and several of his stewards and other persons employed by him, to have all the benefit of the fresh air. He is a man of about thirty years of age, handsome, and rather above the middle size, with genteel manners, rather courtly, as the Brazilians of education generally are. He lives quite in feudal state; his negroes and other dependants are numerous. He commands the regiment of militia cavalry of Rio Grande, and has them in good order, considering the state of the country. He came forwards on my dismounting, and I gave him the letters, which he put by to read at leisure, and then desiring me to sit down, asked me several questions of my wishes, intentions, &c. He took me to his guests’ apartments at a little distance from his own residence, where I found a good bed; hot water was brought to me in a large brass basin, and every necessary was supplied in a magnificent style—the towels were all fringed, &c. When I had dressed myself, I expected to be called to supper, but, to my amazement, I waited until near one o’clock, when a servant came to summon me. I found in the dining-room a long table laid out and covered with meat of several kinds, and in quantity sufficient for twenty persons; to this feast the colonel, his chaplain, another person, and myself sat down; when I had tasted until I was quite tired, to my utter dismay another course came on, equally profuse of fowls, pastry, &c. &c. and when this was removed, I had yet a third to go through of at least ten different kinds of sweetmeats. The supper could not have been better cooked or handsomer, if it had been prepared at Recife, and even an English epicure might have found much to please his palate. I was not able to retire to rest until near three o’clock; my bed was most excellent, and I enjoyedit still more from not expecting to find one. In the morning, the colonel would not allow me to leave his house, until I had breakfasted; tea, coffee, and cakes were brought in, all of which were very good. He then took me to see his horses, and pressed me much to leave my own, and take one of his for my journey, that mine might be in good condition on my return, and he also urged me to leave my pack-horses, and take some of his; but as mine were still all in working order, I declined accepting his offer. These circumstances are mentioned to show the frankness with which strangers are treated. I could not get away before ten o’clock, and therefore only advanced two leagues to dinner; I stopped by the side of a rivulet under some trees, upon a most beautiful spot.At a short distance from the estate of Cunhàû, is a hamlet of the same name through which I passed in my way to the colonel’s plantation. This hamlet, or the estate itself, was the scene of a massacre, which was committed by the Pitagoares and Tapuyas from the Potengi in the year 1645. A battle was fought by Camaram, the Indian chieftain, to whose prowess the Portugueze are so much indebted, against the Dutch, in the following year, between Cunhàû and Fort Keulen which stands at the mouth of the Potengi.[34]The captaincy of Rio Grande commences some leagues to the southward of Cunhàû, at a place called Os Marcos—a deep dell inhabited by runaway negroes and criminals; the paths of the dell are intricate, and when once a man has taken up his residence here, it is impossible to dislodge him.This season the crop of cotton had failed; it was one of those years in which a great want of rain was felt. The colonel of Cunhàû had, for the first time, planted a piece of land, from which he expected to have gathered 10,000arrobas, but in the end only gathered about 100; and he told me that he should keep to his sugar henceforwards. He is lenient to his slaves; they looked fat and well, and he hasthe character of not making as much of his plantation as he might, which is one proof of his kindness to them. The estate of Cunhàû is one of the largest, if not quite the most extensive, in these parts. There are upon it about 150 negroes, and the lands belonging to it would employ four or five times the number, but the colonel pays more attention to cattle, by which his father increased his fortune very largely.As usual, on our arrival by the side of the rivulet the horses were unloaded, and my hammock was slung for me. I laid down in my cloaths, but soon I started up, finding myself uneasy. The guide saw me, and called out, “O sir, you are covered withcarapatos.” I then perceived them, and felt still more their bites. Instantly throwing off part of my cloaths, but with the remainder upon me I ran into the water, and there began to take them off. Thecarapatoor tick, is a small, flat insect, of a dark brown colour; about the size of four pins’ heads placed together, it fastens upon the skin, and will in time eat its way into it. It is dangerous to pull it out quickly, when already fixed, for if the head remains, inflammation is not unfrequently the consequence. The point of a heated fork or penknife applied to the insect, when it is too far advanced into the skin to be taken out with the hand, will succeed in loosening it. There is another species of tick of much larger size, and of a lead colour; this is principally troublesome to horses and horned cattle, that are allowed to run loose in lands which have been only partially cleared. I have, in some instances, seen horses that have had such vast numbers upon them, as to have been weakened by the loss of blood which they have occasioned. The insects of this species ofcarapato[35]fasten themselves to the skin, but do not force their way into it. The hammock had fallen to the ground accidentally when taken from the trunk tobe slung, and had thus picked up these unpleasant visitors. I had some trouble in getting them all off, but was successful, as I had attacked the enemy in time.We set off again about two o’clock; I had intended to have ridden until sunset, and then to have put up near to some cottage, but a young man overtook us, and we entered into conversation. He lived at Papari, a village about half a league out of the road, and he pressed me so much to accompany him to sleep at his place, that I agreed. Papari is a deep and narrow valley, a most delightful situation. The whole of the valley is cultivated, and principally this year, the lands were in great request, as the rains had failed, and the high sandy lands had proved barren. For, whilst every other part of the country appeared dry and burnt up, this spot was in full verdure—it appeared to laugh at all around it, aware of its own superiority. The inhabitants seemed by their countenances to partake of the joyful looks of the land they lived in. Papari yet enjoys another advantage; though it is at the distance of three or four leagues from the sea, a salt water lake reaches it, so that its inhabitants have the fish brought to their own doors. The tide enters the lake, which is never dry, for although the fresh springs which run into it might fail, still it would always preserve a certain portion of water from the sea. The fishermen come up upon their small riverjangadas, which do not require more than twelve inches of water. Papari is about five leagues from Cunhàû. Senhor Dionisio introduced me to his lady; he is a native of Portugal, and she a Brazilian. They possessed a small piece of land in the valley, and appeared to be comfortably situated. Papari may contain about three hundred inhabitants very much scattered. In the course of this year, I afterwards heard, that many persons flocked to it from other parts, owing to the absolute want of provisions. I went down to the edge of the lake to see the fishermen arrive, the people of the valley had all assembled to receive them; it was quite a Billingsgate in miniature—save that the Portugueze language does not admit of swearing.We dined in Brazilian style, upon a table raised about six inches from the ground, around which we sat or rather laid down upon mats; we had no forks, and the knives, of which there were two or three, were intended merely to sever the larger pieces of meat—the fingers were to do the rest. I remained at Papari during one entire day, that my horses might have some respite, that I might purchase another from Senhor Dionisio, and on poor Julio’s account, whose feet had begun to crack from the dryness of the sands.Distant from Papari, from three to four leagues, is the Indian village of St. Joze, built in the form of a square; this place might contain about two hundred inhabitants, but it had evidently the appearance of falling to decay; the grass in the centre of the square was high, the church neglected, and the whole aspect dull. St. Joze stands upon a dry sandy soil, and the severity of the season might have contributed to its dismal look. This day we experienced the utter impossibility of trusting to the accounts we received of distances, and my guide had no very clever head for recollecting them, although he, like most of these people, possessed a kind of instinct with respect to the paths we were to follow. We were told that Natal was distant from St. Joze three or four leagues, and therefore expected to arrive at that place by dusk, but about five o’clock we entered upon the dismal sand hills, over which lies the road to the city; the whole country is uninhabited, and I may say uninhabitable, between Natal and St. Joze, consequently we had very faint hopes of meeting any one to give us information of the distance; but the guide said he supposed we could not be nearer to it than from two to three leagues, from the recollection he had of these hills, which when once passed over cannot be entirely forgotten. When it was nearly dark, and when our horses were almost giving way, we saw two boys on horseback, coming towards us: we asked them the distance, they answered “two leagues, and all deep sand,” adding, that they belonged to a party, which had come to makefarinha, upon a spot of land, half a league distant from where we were, upon which mandioc was cultivated. They said, that to go on toRio Grande the same night was madness, that they were going a short way to water their horses, and that on their return, they would guide us to their party. I agreed to wait for them. When they arrived, they struck soon from the road, down the side of one of the hills,—it was now dark; we followed, entered some high and thick brushwood, and a considerable way into it, found the persons to whom the boys told us they belonged. The implements for making thefarinhawere placed under a shed, which was thatched with the leaves of themacaiba, and other palm trees. These persons had fixed upon this spot, as there was a spring of brackish water hard by, which was, however, only to be reached by descending a precipice; the pitcher was fastened to a cord, and drawn up, and the person who descended to fill it, ascended the precipice by means of the brushwood which grows upon the side. I did not much like the party, therefore we took up our lodgings at some little distance from them, and none of us settled regularly for the night. I now much regretted not having a dog with me. Our horses passed a wretched night, feeding upon the leaves of the shrubs around us.The next morning we continued our journey over the sand hills to Natal, travelling at about two miles within the hour. The distance from Goiana to Natal is fifty-five leagues. The sand hills are perpetually changing their situations and forms; the high winds blow the sand in clouds, which renders it dangerous to travellers; it is white, and very fine, so that our horses sunk up to the knees at every step,—painful to a very great degree, when the sun has had full power upon it. Poor Julio had mounted upon the haunches of one of the loaded horses, and occasioned our travelling still slower. All was desolate and dreary; for the great lightness of the sand almost prevented vegetation, though some of the creeping sea-side plants had succeeded here and there in establishing a footing.The track of country between Goiana and Espirito Santo, and indeed even to Cunhàû, keeping at no great distance from the coast, is appropriated for the most part to sugar-plantations; but many of the Senhores deEngenho, sugar-planters, also employ part of their time in raising cotton. The general feature is of an uncultivated country,though a great quantity of land is yearly employed. The system of agriculture is so slovenly, or rather, as there is no necessity for husbandry of land, from the immensity of the country, and the smallness of its population, lands are employed one year, and the next the brushwood is allowed to grow up, giving thus to every piece of ground that is not absolutely in use that year, the look of one totally untouched, until a person is acquainted, in some measure, from practice, with the appearance of the several kinds of land. He will then perceive the difference between brushwood that will not grow because the land is of a barren kind, and that which is left to rise, that the land may rest for another crop. From this manner of cultivating their lands, a plantation requires three or four times more ground than would otherwise be necessary. I passed through several deep woods, and ascended some steep hills, but I saw nothing which deserved the name of mountain; I crossed some flat sandy plains, upon which the acaju, mangaba, and several species of palm or cabbage trees grow; these are merely fit to turn cattle upon in winter, and will only be brought into cultivation when lands begin to be scarce in Brazil.Varseas, or low marshy lands, adapted to the sugar cane, I also frequently saw. Thecercados, or fenced pieces of ground, attached to each sugar plantation, upon which are fed the cattle kept for the work of it, are the only spots which bear the look of fields; and even in these, the brushwood is not always sufficiently cleared away, unless the proprietor is wealthy and has an abundance of persons upon his estate; otherwise, such is the fertility of the soil, that without great care, thecercadowill in time become a wood. There are several hamlets upon the road, consisting of three and four cottages, and these are built of slight timber, and the leaves of the cabbage trees; others have mud walls, and are covered with these leaves; and now and then, a house built of mud, with a tiled roof, is to be seen,—this bespeaks a man above the common run of people. I crossed several rivulets, which were much reduced by the drought; but I did not see any great streams. The Paraiba was dry where I passedit, as also was the river near Mamanguape. A rivulet, that runs into the lake at Papari, was the only stream which appeared still to possess its usual strength. The road from Goiana to Mamanguape is the great Sertam track, and is similar to that between Recife and Goiana, excepting that the plains of the part of the country I had just now traversed, are more extensive, and the roads over these are dangerous, as they are only marked by the short and ill-grown grass being worn away upon the path; but as the cattle extend more upon a plain, and cannot be kept so close, from the greater extent of ground over which they pass, each part receives fewer footsteps, and the grass not unfrequently resists their passing, and vegetation still continues; consequently, in an imperfect light, an experienced guide is necessary, as on these plains no huts are ever to be met with, being, for the most part, destitute of water. These, the Brazilians calltaboleiros, distinguishing them by this name, fromcampinas; upon the latter, the soil is closer, and they afford good grass. Beyond Mamanguape, the road is sometimes a mere path, with breadth sufficient only for two loaded horses to pass, and, in some places, it has not even the necessary width for this purpose. The valley of Papari I have already mentioned, as being much superior to the rest of the country. The trees in Brazil are mostly evergreens, and the drought must be great indeed to make them lose their leaves; but the green of the leaves of a parched plant, though still a green, is very different from the bright joyful colour of one that is in full health. This produced the striking difference between that valley and the burnt lands above it,—besides, the misfortunes of other parts made its good luck more apparent.I arrived about eleven o’clock in the morning at the city of Natal, situated upon the banks of the Rio Grande, or Potengi. A foreigner, who might chance to land first at this place, on his arrival upon the coast of Brazil, would form a very poor opinion of the state of the population of the country; for, if places like this are called cities, what must the towns and villages be; but such a judgment would not prove correct, for many villages, even of Brazil, surpass this city;the rank must have been given to it, not from what it was or is, but from the expectation of what it might be at some future period. The settlement upon rising ground, rather removed from the river, is properly the city, as the parish church is there; it consists of a square, with houses on each side, having only the ground floor; the churches, of which there are three, the palace, town-hall, and prison. Three streets lead from it, which have also a few houses on each side. No part of the city is paved, although the sand is deep; on this account, indeed, a few of the inhabitants have raised a foot path of bricks before their own houses. The place may contain from six to seven hundred persons.I rode immediately to the palace, as I had letters of introduction to the governor, from several of his friends at Pernambuco. He received me in the most cordial manner. He asked me for my passport, which I produced; it was scarcely opened, and he immediately returned it, saying, that he only did this, that all necessary form might be complied with. He said, that I should stay with him, and he would provide a house for my people. At one o’clock we dined, and one of his aide-de-camps was with us. In the afternoon, we walked down to the lower town. It is situated upon the banks of the river; the houses stand along the southern bank, and there is only the usual width of a street between them and the river. This place may contain from two to three hundred inhabitants, and here live the men of trade of Rio Grande. The bar of the Potengi is very narrow, but is sufficiently deep to admit vessels of 150 tons. The northern bank projects considerably, and for this reason, it is necessary that a ship should make for it from the southward. The entrance to the reef of rocks, which lies at some distance from the shore, also requires to be known, so that altogether the port is a difficult one. The river is very safe, when once within the bar; the water is deep, and quite still, and two vessels might swing in its breadth; but it soon becomes shallow, and in the course of a few miles is greatly diminished. I should imagine, that six or seven vessels might swing altogether in the harbour. The bars of rivers that are formed, as inthis case, of sand, are, however, not to be trusted to, without good pilots, as they soon change their depth, and even their situation. When the tide enters, the northern bank is overflowed about one mile from the mouth of the harbour, and spreads over a considerable extent of ground, which, even during the ebb, is always wet and muddy, but never becomes sufficiently deep to prevent passing. The governor was raising a road over this piece of land, and the work was then nearly half finished. The new road would be about one mile in length. The captaincy of Rio Grande is subject to the governor of Pernambuco, and those of Paraiba and Seara were formerly in the same situation, but have of late years been formed into independent provincial governments.The governor, Francisco de Paula Cavalcante de Albuquerque, is a native of Pernambuco, and a younger brother of the chief of the Cavalcante branch of the Albuquerques. His father, a Brazilian also, was first an ensign in the Recife regiment of the line; he afterwards established himself upon a sugar-plantation, and made a fortune. The old man died, and left to each of his sons considerable property; two remained upon their estates, and still live upon them; this third son entered the Olinda regiment, and was much beloved by the men. The regiment had then only one company, of which he became the commander, and large sums of money taken from his own purse, were expended by him for their good equipment. He went to Lisbon on some business relating to his company, and whilst he was there adenuncia, a private accusation, was given by some enemy to the family—that the brothers were forming a conspiracy against the government. He was obliged to leave Lisbon, afraid of being put under an arrest, and fled to England, where his reception was such, that he has ever wished for opportunities of shewing kindness to persons of that nation. His brothers suffered much in person and in property, but matters were at last cleared up, as the accusation was proved to be false. Francisco was immediately promoted to a majority, and soon afterwards sent to govern Rio Grande. He is a man of talent, and of proper feelings in regard of his duties,—enthusiastic in wishingto better the condition of the people over whom he was placed. I am grieved to say, that he has been removed to the insignificant government of St. Michael’s, one of the Azores or Western Islands.When he was appointed to Rio Grande, there was scarcely a well dressed person in it, but he had succeeded in persuading one family to send for English manufactured goods to Recife—when once these were introduced they made their way—one would not be outdone by another, and, in the course of two years, they had become general. We visited the church in the evening—all the ladies were handsomely dressed in silks of various colours, and black veils thrown over the head and face. A twelvemonth previous to this period, these same persons would have gone to church in petticoats of Lisbon printed cottons, and square pieces of thick cloth over their heads, without stockings, and their shoes down at the heels.The military establishment consists of one hundred and fourteen men—one company—which were in much better order than those of Pernambuco, or Paraiba. The captaincy of Rio Grande enjoyed perfect quietude from robberies through his exertions. The governor promoted the building of a large house, which was going on very fast, and for which he had subscribed largely; the rent of it was to be appropriated to the support of the widows of the soldiers of the captaincy. This work has, I am afraid, been laid aside since his removal. The situation of the prisoners was very miserable; he wished to better it, and requested that the principal persons of the place would take it in turn weekly to carry a bag round to all the inhabitants, that each might give some trifle to assist in their support; for some time this went on well, but after a few weeks it was neglected. He, therefore, took the bag himself, and, accompanied by one of his aides-de-camps, called at every house. He said, that this was the most comfortable week the prisoners had ever passed since their confinement, as more was given by each person than was usual, and the excellent arrangement was again taken up with ardour, by the same persons who had neglected it.A British vessel was wrecked near Natal, and I have alwaysunderstood that the proprietors were perfectly satisfied that every exertion possible had been made use of to save the property.The drought of this year had caused a scarcity of the flour of the mandioc—the bread of Brazil—and the price was so high at Recife, Goiana, &c. that those persons of Rio Grande who possessed it, began to ship it off for other places; this the governor prohibited; he ordered it to be sold in the market-place, at a price equal to the gain the owners would have had by sending it away, and if all was not bought he took it himself, again giving it out when necessary at the same price. These anecdotes of him I had partly from himself, but principally from persons of the place, to whom I was introduced. When he left the city, on his appointment to St. Michael’s, the people followed him to some distance, praying for his prosperity.CHAPTER VI.CONTINUATION OF THE JOURNEY. FROM NATAL TO AÇU.THE governor did all in his power to dissuade me from proceeding further, the drought being so great as to render it not quite prudent; but as I had come so far, I was resolved, at any rate, to make the attempt. If I had been certain of being able to undertake the journey at a future period, it would have been better to have returned, and to have waited until a more favourable season; but I am rejoiced that I went at that time, as, otherwise, I should most probably have been under the necessity of foregoing my plan altogether. Some of the disagreeable circumstances which I met with, certainly proceeded from the rigour of the season.I received from the governor a letter of introduction to Aracati. He also insisted upon my leaving my own horse, that he might be in good condition when I returned. I was to sleep at a place from which Rio Grande is supplied withfarinhaduring the drought; but, in usual years, it is too wet to be cultivated, unless it was drained, and of this operation scarcely any notions are entertained. At Natal, I purchased another horse. I crossed the river in a canoe, and the horses and men uponjangadas; we were landed upon the new raised road, and immediately beyond it overtook some persons who were going to theLagoa Seca, or dry lake above-mentioned, where I was to purchase maize andfarinha, for crossing the tract of country through which runs the river Seara-meirim. We left the usual road, and turned down a narrow path, which leads to this lake; it wasoverhung with trees. I struck my head against a branch of one of these, and found that I had disturbed a large family which had taken up its residence upon it; my shoulders were quickly covered with small red ants, and I did not get rid of them without feeling some of their bites. We arrived at the dry lake about six o’clock in the evening, and put up at one of the cottages. In the course of the following morning, I made known my principal errand, and that I likewise wished to purchase another horse. The people who were residing here, had removed from high lands which had on this season proved barren; they had erected small huts, some of which had not been finished, and the family, therefore, lived in public; these huts had only a roof to shelter their inhabitants, who expected that the first heavy rain would drive them back to their usual habitations, as these lands, after violent rains, are laid under water. Each man possessed his small field of mandioc and maize. I left John’s horse here in charge of one of these men, as it began to give way, and I proceeded with four loaded horses; two as before, and one offarinha, and another of maize. I had provided myself at Rio Grande with leathern bags, for carrying water, and several other necessary things which I had not been instructed to bring, but which experience had taught me the necessity of possessing.We remained at this place during one entire day, and the next morning set off, intending to sleep at a hamlet, called Pai Paulo. We rested at mid-day near to a well, and in the afternoon proceeded. Wells are generally formed in these parts by digging a hole in the ground, to the depth of two or three feet, until the water appears; if a person in the neighbourhood of one of them, who takes water from it, should be nice about these matters, a fence is made round it, but if not, as is oftener the case, the well remains open, and the cattle come down to drink at it. These pits or wells are calledcaçimbas. The grass was much burnt up, but still there was plenty of it. In the afternoon we passed over some stony ground,—it was the first I had met with, and it was very painful to the horses which had come from the sandy soil of Pernambuco; but we soon entered upon a longthough narrow plain, bounded by brushwood, over which the road was clear, and the grass burnt up entirely on each side. We overtook a white man on foot, with twelve loaded horses, and a very small poney which carried a saddle; the loads were all alike, each horse carrying two skins or bags of some kind of provisions. I was much surprised at the circumstance of this man having the management of so many horses, because generally, the number of men is nearly equal to that of the beasts. I observed that his horses began to spread upon the plain, and seemed inclined to take to the brushwood; I called to my guide to ride to the right, whilst I did the same to the left, and go in quickly between them and the wood, to prevent the animals from separating. The man thanked me, which brought on further conversation; he asked the guide where we intended to sleep, and was answered, “at Pai Paulo.” The wells at Pai Paulo, he told us, were all dried up, and the inhabitants had deserted their houses. What was to be done: he said, that he intended to remain upon a plain two leagues distant from where we then were, that no water was to be had there, but that for our party and himself, his slave would bring a sufficient quantity, who had remained behind to fill a skin at a well which we had passed. There was no alternative; to remain here was impossible, for there was no grass. Therefore I ordered Julio and his companion to let our horses and those of our new friend remain together, and to look to them equally. The slave soon joined us with the water, gave the skin to my guide, and went on to assist Julio, whilst I advanced very slowly, that I might have some more conversation with the owner of thecomboio, or convoy, which we had thus joined. He was the son of a man of property, who resided upon the banks of the Açu, and possessed several cattle estates in those parts; the old man was a colonel of militia, and he with whom I conversed, was the major of the same regiment. The drought had been so severe with them, that they feared a famine, and he had been sent down to the coast to purchasefarinhafor the family, which the skins contained, with the exception of one load consisting of maize for his horses. After he had purchased hisfarinhahe heard of theprohibition of the governor respecting it, and understood that a guard of soldiers was to be sent down to the lake to take it from him; he had, therefore, stolen a march, and that nothing might be suspected, he had left all his people, excepting this one slave, and had even left his cloaths. His saddle horse carried a heavy load, and he set off a day before he had intended; the animal upon which he had placed his saddle was a colt and too young to bear any further weight. Thus was this major, in true Brazilian campaigning style, in his shirt and drawers, hisalpargatasor sandals, upon his feet, his musquet upon his shoulder, his sword by his side, hanging from a belt over one shoulder, and his long knife in his girdle. He was a stout, handsome man, about forty years of age, and where his skin was not exposed, it was as white as that of a European, but his face, neck, and legs were of a dark brown colour. This man, who at other times enjoyed all the comforts that his country affords, who was respected for his rank and wealth, was obliged to make this journey absolutely to save the lives of his family. True it is, that he is not to be considered as we should persons of his situation in Europe; like most of these people, he had been from his infancy daily accustomed to what men in a more civilised state would account very great hardships.Thealpargatasare pieces of leather, of a size rather larger than the soles of the feet of the person for whom they are intended. Two loops are fastened in front of each, through which two of the toes are placed; there is a ring of leather round each ankle, through which are drawn and tied two thongs, which proceed from each side of the hinder part. These are the shoes of the Brazilians, who live removed from great and improving towns. Julio was now provided with a pair of them, else I hardly know how he could have proceeded.We halted at the place appointed, upon an immense plain; the grass was all gone, and even the hardy trees, the acaju and mangaba, seemed to feel the want of water, for their leaves had begun to fall. The two parties took up their stations under separate clumps of trees; but upon these plains, the trees scarcely ever grow sufficientlynear to each other, to enable the traveller to hang his hammock between two of them. The poor horses were taken to a dell at some distance, to try to pick up what they could find, that had escaped the drought and the traveller. Our allowance of water was not large, and therefore we were afraid of eating much salt meat; we did not pass the night comfortably, for the wind rose, and scattered our fires, nor did we sleep much, and at four o’clock the horses were fetched to give to each of them a feed of maize. One of them refused to eat his portion.The following morning we advanced to Pai Paulo, three leagues further, still crossing the same plain, at the extremity of which we first approached the Seara-meirim, and on the opposite side from that on which we were, stands the village of Pai Paulo, upon rising ground. This was, without exception, the most desolate place I ever beheld; the roofs of some of the cottages were falling in, the walls of others had fallen, but the roofs remained. The course of the river was only marked by the depth of its bed, for the soil around was a loose sand, destitute of any covering, and nothing differing from that in the channel of the river. The trees had mostly lost their leaves. I had now entered upon the Sertam, and surely it deserves the name. We passed Pai Paulo, and about noon reached an open well of brackish water, dug in the bed of the river; our Pernambuco horses at first refused to drink, but the dirt was cleared away, as much as possible, for them, and the water left to settle; however, even then, they did little more than taste it. Here we were to rest, and to give our horses some maize, for there was no grass. The same horse again refused his feed; the guide said that he supposed he was not accustomed to it, and therefore must be taught to like it, otherwise he could not possibly get over this barren track of country. The first operation was to soak the maize in water, until it softened,—then the guide forced some of it down the animal’s throat, closing forcibly its mouth. Whether this had the effect, or hunger, I know not; but at night he performed his part pretty well, taking rather more time than the others to finish his feed. I drank a small portion of the water,mixing it with lemon juice and sugar, which I had with me. We carried some of this water on with us, for at night we should find none. The country presented the same appearance; we crossed the Seara-meirim several times, which in some parts had large rocks in the centre of the bed. At night I was not much inclined to eat, but I made up by smoking. We found a sheltered place behind part of the bank of the river, and slung our hammocks upon sloping ground, as the wind rises about eleven or twelve o’clock in these parts, and renders shelter very requisite; it sometimes blows hard: it is a dry wind, but healthy.The following day, we proceeded again in the same manner. I had by this time fully entered into the custom of smoking early, and as we could never get any thing cooked until twelve o’clock, I found that this prevented any unpleasant sense of hunger. My people could not have any thing to eat early, as it would have caused delay, therefore it would not have been proper for me to show a bad example. I had become very intimate with my friend the major—he learnt from me that we had horses, and cows, and dogs in England, and he liked me the better for this; at first, he wondered how it happened that I could ride; he thought I must be an apt scholar to have learnt since I had gone over to Brazil. He was also much surprized to hear that we had churches in England, which he had never understood before. He said he should not believe henceforwards that the English werePagoens, heathens. I told him that one chief point upon which our religion differed from his, was in ours not enjoining us to confess; he thought confession a great annoyance, but he could not doubt its propriety.We reached another dirty pool or well of water in the river, which we had again crossed several times. Our resting-place at mid-day afforded no shelter, excepting what could be obtained from one small shrub, which was in full leaf. The leaves or branches of it reached to the ground. I lay down upon the sand, and pushed my head in among them, covering the rest of my body with a hide; this was a hot birth, but better than to be completely exposed to the sun. Iwas astonished at the appearance of this shrub. There are two kinds of trees in certain parts of the Sertam, which are called Pereiro and Yco; both seem to flourish most when the seasons are the driest, and both are particularly dangerous to horses; that is, as they do no mischief to the wild cattle or wild horses, they may be supposed not to possess any pernicious qualities if the animals which eat their leaves are not overheated and fatigued; the latter of these plants kills the travellers’ beasts, and the former has the effect of appearing to produce intoxication, and sometimes also proves fatal. The major said, that this part of the country abounded in these trees, and consequently our horses were tied to those around us, and to each was given a feed of maize. The plant, of which I have spoken above, was very beautiful, the green of its leaves was bright and healthy, and I afterwards saw many more of them upon thistravesiaor crossing. I particularly observed them on this track of country, as other plants had lost all appearance of life.We were less unpleasantly situated at night, as the water though brackish was comparatively clear.The following day we had still the same country and river to cross. The consciousness of having advanced upon our journey alone caused the knowledge of a change of situation, so exactly similar was the face of the country. At mid-day we had again no shelter from the sun. The water was little different from that of the preceding day. I laid down under the shady side of a rock, which afforded sufficient shelter until the sun began to decline, and throw its rays into the quarter under which I had taken up my station. We had often seen cattle about the pools or wells—on this occasion, one miserable cow came down to drink; the major happened to be near the pool at the time. He looked at the mark she bore, and knew it to be that of the cattle upon his own estates. “How can this animal,” he exclaimed, “have strayed so far from its own home?” The want of water had made it stray at least one hundred leagues. This day we overtook a party of Sertanejos, as the inhabitants of the Sertam are called, likewise going our way. They were at themid-day resting-place, and one of their horses was, at the time of our coming up, tottering from having eaten of the Yco; they were trying to give it maize, in the hope of recovering it, as this is said to have the effect, if it is taken soon after; but at the time we left them, the animal, when he fell, was with difficulty raised, and the major said that he thought him too far gone. I never heard whether these persons returned, or still advanced after this misfortune. I observed in the afternoon several heaps of rocks in the bed of the river, which must form beautiful falls of water when the stream is rapid.Towards evening my guide began to try me. I found that there had been some conversation between him and the two Indians respecting the journey, and now he sounded me about returning. I told him I had perfectly determined to go on, and that I would most certainly shoot the man who attempted to go back, and that even if he then escaped me, I would follow him until I overtook him. He had not said that he would return, but had hinted at the danger of the undertaking at this season, and that the two lads were afraid of proceeding, but I knew him to be the mover. At night he could not have found his way back, as the only mark of a road that was to be perceived, proceeded from the sand being more worn away, and the banks of the river being broken down at the proper crossings. In fact, the marks were such, that even in the day-time, a man accustomed to this description of road could alone find it out—therefore I was certain that desertion could only take place in the day-time, which was almost impossible, as I always rode in the rear of the whole party. The guide had no fire-arms of his own; besides he never would have made any attempt to murder me, as he knew how little I slept, and that my pistols were always with me in my hammock, besides any thing of this sort could only have been done in concert with Julio, who, in the sequel, proved worthy of the greatest confidence. I found more necessity to be on my guard in returning, when John was no longer with me; however, although this man had sufficient courage he had no watchfulness. The summary manner in which I threatened to treat the guide, can only be justified by thenecessity of the case, for had he returned, the two Indians would most probably likewise have deserted me. If a man suffers himself to be trifled with, he cannot possibly succeed under circumstances such as these; however, I made the threat under the conviction of that being sufficient.We carried water from the resting-place at mid-day, and, as usual, fixed our quarters at night upon the banks of the river.The next day we advanced again exactly in the same manner, but at noon, to our dismay, there was no water; the pool had dried up, but we rested the horses for a short time, notwithstanding this dreadful disappointment. My thirst was great, for I had not drank the night before. We had still some lemons left, which were distributed, and these afforded much relief. In the afternoon the major told me to follow his example, and put a pebble into my mouth, which was the usual resource of the Sertanejos on these occasions. I did so, and certainly found that it produced considerable moisture. This was a dismal day, and we knew not whether we should be able to reach a well before some of our horses failed. One of those belonging to the major, already ran loose among the others, as he was weak, and his load had been changed to the horse which had carried the maize, the remainder of this being distributed in small portions, that it might be carried by the rest. My horses bore it very well, as those which had been loaded with provisions were, of course, in part relieved, and the largest load, that of my trunk and case of bottles, was carried by each of them in turn, that the hard work might be equally divided. This day we passed some deserted cottages. Our night was very miserable, for some of the horses refused to finish their feeds of maize; the danger of their failing prevented our thinking so much of our own inconvenience—my spirits were kept up by the necessity I felt of keeping up those of others. John was not quite well, and this made me uneasy, as it was as much as we could do to carry ourselves; indeed, had any of the party fallen sick, I know not how we should have proceeded.The next morning, about nine o’clock, we reached a well to ourgreat joy, but, fortunately for us, the water was so bad, that we could not drink much; it was as usual dirty and brackish, but of the first draught I shall never forget the delight;—when I tried a second, I could not take it, the taste was so very nauseous. On looking round, we saw some goats, Julio went towards them, and then discovered some fowls, proceeded a little farther and found an inhabited cottage. He came and gave us the joyful intelligence; we determined to remain here to rest, if the people could give us any hopes of food for our horses. I found an elderly woman and her two daughters in the hut; the father was not at home. The old woman seemed quite astonished to hear that we had crossed the Seara-Meirim; she said, she did not know how soon she and her family might be obliged to leave their cottage, as many others had done. She directed the major and my people to a dell at some distance, where dry grass and leaves might perhaps still be picked up; she said, that it was the last place which could have any, for travellers did not in general know of it, and she and her husband made a point of not discovering it. But I paved the way, by making her a present of somefarinha, throwing maize to the fowls, and by pouring in an immense number ofminhas Senhoras. I had purchased a kid and a fowl, and laid down the money immediately. Persons circumstanced as these were, are sometimes robbed in a most unpardonable manner by travellers, who take advantage of their houses, eat their poultry, and leave them without paying; but considering the entire non-existence of law in these regions, I am only surprized that greater enormities are not committed; however, every man feels it to be his own case, if he has a house and family; he is aware that on going from home, those he may leave are in the same helpless state. These persons and their property were at the mercy of any travellers; if they had been murdered, and the cottage from being deserted began to fall, it would have been supposed that its inhabitants, like many others, had decamped, and no enquiry would be made about the direction they had taken, such is the rambling disposition of the people in general, and the state of this part of the country, at the period of which Ispeak. They have nothing to make them remain upon one spot, neither comfort nor security.In the afternoon we advanced as usual, and passed some deserted cottages, but towards the close of the day arrived at some that were inhabited, and at dusk put up near to two or three that stood together, after having crossed the Seara-Meirim for the last and forty-second time. This river takes its sources from the mountains to the northward, in the same direction as those of the river Açu, of which I shall have occasion to speak. The Seara-Meirim falls into the Potengi, and perhaps some branches of it bend their course as far as the Paraiba. The face of the country presents one continued flat, from Pai Paulo to the place at which we left the river; the soil is a loose sand, which is sometimes, though rarely, intermixed with black earth. The trees are thinly scattered, and, at the time that I travelled, were without leaves. The river winds like the coils of a serpent, to have followed them would have been endless; it sometimes fills after heavy rain, in the course of a very short time, the water coming down in a torrent, delayed only by the inequality of the depth of the channel, and the walls with which the rocks in some parts oppose its progress. The sand in the bed of the river is little different from that of which the banks are composed, being however on the whole thicker, and approaching nearer to gravel. The water which oozes from it, on digging into the sand, is in all parts brackish, and in some places is too salt for any use to be made of it. This is not, however, peculiar to the Seara-Meirim, for I found that all the beds of the rivers which become dry in the summer contained more or less salt; at best, the water taken from them was never quite sweet.The place at which we had arrived is reckoned to be distant forty leagues from Natal; the league of the Sertam is never less than four miles, and is often much more; there arelegoas grandes,legoas pequenas, andlegoas de nada, or nothing leagues, which I have found quite long enough, notwithstanding their encouraging name. Pai Paulo may be about eight or ten leagues from Natal, which makes thetravesiaor barren-crossing, thirty or thirty-two leagues. We advancedat about three miles within the hour or rather more, and travelled from half-past five to ten in the morning, and in the afternoon from two, or half-past two, to six o’clock.We had now reached again the habitations of man; there was still the same burnt-up appearance, but the wells were taken care of, the water was better, and grass, although it was dry, was still to be had. I intended to accompany the Major, part of the way to his home, or the whole, but it was necessary that I should be guided by circumstances,—by the accounts we heard of the state of the country;—we advanced in our usual manner, resting more at mid-day, traversing a dead flat, and passing two or threeFazendas, or cattle estates, each day, of which the live stock was looking very miserable, and the people half starved.After being with the Major four days, since we had left the Seara-Meirim, I saw that it would not be prudent to proceed farther; the accounts from the interior were bad, and we arrived at one estate, of which the cattle were all dying, and the people intending, if there was no rain very soon, to leave their houses. I now judged myself to be distant from the coast not less than two hundred miles. We had advanced northward and westward, and were therefore not far to the southward of Açu, but were to the westward of it. I now resolved to make for it, for my horses might fail, and all the country was in so bad a state, that we might not have found others in a proper condition to go on with us; in fact, as I was not acting from orders, but merely for my own amusement, and as the guide was afraid of proceeding, I did not think I was authorized in persevering; if I had had orders for the purpose, the case would have been altered, and I must have run all hazards. Here, also, desertion was easier in the night, as the country was comparatively inhabited towards Açu—the difficulty was in advancing, and not in retreating.Each cattle estate has a tolerably decent house, in which the owner or herdsman resides, and usually a few smaller habitations are scattered about upon the plain around it. The pens stand near to theprincipal house, and enable the travellers to distinguish immediately, although at some distance, the site of aFazenda.I heard of a strange custom existing in these parts of the country that are so thinly inhabited, which arises from this state of things. Certain priests obtain a licence from the bishop (of Pernambuco,) and travel through these regions with a small altar constructed for the purpose; of a size to be placed upon one side of a pack-saddle, and they have with them all their apparatus for saying mass. Thus with a horse conveying the necessary paraphernalia, and a boy to drive it, who likewise assists in saying mass, and another horse on which the priest himself rides, and carries his own small portmanteau, these men make in the course of the year between 150 and 200l.—a large income in Brazil, but hardly earned, if the inconveniences and privations which they must undergo to obtain it are taken into consideration. They stop and erect the altar wherever a sufficient number of persons who are willing to pay for the mass is collected. This will sometimes be said for three or four shillings, but at other times, if a rich man takes a fancy to a priest, or has a fit of extreme devotion upon him, he will give eight or tenmil reis, two or three pounds, and it does happen, that one hundredmil reisare received for saying a mass, but this is very rare;—at times an ox or an horse, or two or three, are given. These men have their use in the world; if this custom did not exist, all form of worship would be completely out of the reach of the inhabitants of many districts, or at any rate they would not be able to attend more than once or twice in the course of the year, for it must be remembered that there is no church within twenty or thirty leagues of some parts; besides, where there is no law, nor real, rational religion, any thing is better than nothing. They christen and marry, and thus preserve these necessary forms of religion, and prevent a total forgetfulness of the established rules of civilised society; a sufficient link is kept up to make any of these people, if they removed into more populous districts, conform to received ideas.I left the Major[36]to pursue his journey homewards, whilst I retreated, or rather advanced, in a contrary direction, but a retreat it was from this inhospitable region. We found no change during that day, and if we had not met with a good natured herdsman, should have fared very badly for want of water, unless we had seen some other person equally well disposed. I asked him the way to the nearest estate, which he told me, and then I made enquiries about water, to which he answered, that unless I was acquainted with the place, I should not find the well, and this part of our conversation ended by his turning back to show it to me, regardless of thus increasing his journey four or five miles. I asked him when we arrived at the well to stay and dine with me, for although I had no great dainties to offer, still he carried only what provision hisboroacascontained. These are small leathern bags, one of which hangs on each side of the saddle. He would not, however, dismount, and immediately turned his horse and went his way. My guide had remained behind, as his horse was rather lame, and now he joined us. We passed over some stony ground, and the well itself was situated among rocks, between two of which the horses passed and descended to it.i108A Sertanejo.I may give some description of my friend, who turned back to shew me the well, and this may be taken as the usual appearance of a travelling Sertanejo. He rode a small horse with a long tail and mane; his saddle was rather raised before and behind; his stirrups were of rusty iron, and his bit was of the same; the reins were two very narrow thongs. His dress consisted of long pantaloons or leggings, of tanned but undressed leather, of a rusty brown colour, which were tied tight round his waist, and under these are worn a pair of cotton drawers or trowsers, as the seat is left unprotected by the leather. He had a tanned goat skin over his breast, which was tied behind by four strings, and a jacket also made of leather, which is generally thrown over one shoulder; his hat was of the same, with a very shallow crown, and small brim; he had slip-shod slippers of the same colour, and iron spurs upon his naked heels,—the straps which go under the feet prevent the risk of losing the slippers. A long whip of twisted thongs hung from his right wrist; he had a sword by his side, hanging from a belt over one shoulder; his knife was in his girdle, and his short dirty pipe in his mouth. Fastened to his saddle behind, was a piece of red baize, rolled up in the form of a great coat, and this usually contains a hammock and a change of linen,—a shirt, and drawers, and perhaps a pair of nankeen pantaloons; hisboroacashung also on each side of the back of his saddle, and these generally containfarinhaand dried meat on one side, and on the other, a flint and steel, (dried leaves serve as tinder) tobacco, and a spare pipe. To this equipment is sometimes added, a large pistol, thrust partly under the left thigh, and thus secured. The usual pace of the Sertanejo’s horse is a walk, approaching to a short trot; so that the horses of these people often have acquired the habit of dragging their hind legs, and throwing up the dust. The usual colour of the Sertanejos is a dark brown; for even those who are born white, soon become as completely tanned as the dress which they wear, from exposure to the sun. The annexed print will give some idea of the Sertanejo, as he is daily seen in Recife. The colour of the leather, as it is represented in the print, is brighter than that of the dresses which are usually to be met with, which is owing to the drawing having been made from a dress that had not been much used.At one of the estates I heard an anecdote, which is illustrative of the neglect or the impossibility, on all occasions, of conforming to religious duties. A priest, on passing, was requested by the wife of the owner of the place to stay, for the purpose of baptizing her son; he consented to this, but after waiting some time, said, that he wished to proceed upon his journey, and therefore desired that the child might be brought to him; the woman answered, “Pray, wait a short time longer, as the boy has taken the horses to water, and will soon return.” The priest was surprised, but was still more astonished, when he was required to christen a fellow of thirteen or fourteen years of age.The next day we still proceeded over the same sort of ground, in parts stony, and where stony, it was rather hilly; but not sufficiently so to form a decided ridge of hills. John was, at night, taken suddenly ill; he had drank too much water, and would not mix any spirit with it, neither would he smoke. I considered smoking as almost absolutely necessary for the preservation of health on these occasions; it is generally practised among the people of the country, and indeed many of the women are as fond of it as their husbands. Towards the morning, the man recovered.The following day we reached, at ten o’clock, the estate of St. Luzia; it is situated upon a wide plain, similar to those upon which we had been travelling for many days. This is acampina, and not ataboleiro. There were no trees upon it, excepting a few near to the well. The sight of this place raised our spirits, for there was no want of water, nor of grass, though it was completely dry. The lots,lotes, of mares came down to drink, all in fine condition, followed and protected by the master horse of each lot; the cattle, the sheep, and every other living thing, seemed to enjoy and to be conscious of the abundance of which they were reaping the advantage. We unloaded near to the well under the trees. The house of the chief herdsman stood before us, distant about one hundred yards, upon rather higher ground; it was a low white washed cottage, with the stables, pens, &c. on each side. About twelve o’clock, I saw somemen employed in milking the goats; I sent Julio with a half-gourd for some milk, desiring him to offer payment; the guide cautioned me not, but still I ordered Julio to present the money. The milk came, but the money was not taken, and soon afterwards, three of the men, came down towards us; I thanked them for the milk; and they addressed me saying, that they wished to know if I had intended to insult them, by offering payment, as such things were not customary in their country:—the guide had told me I should affront them, and therefore I had brought this upon myself; but I put them into good humour by answering that they would pardon my mistake, when I told them, that I belonged to a country, in which we were obliged to purchase the sand with which we scoured our houses. They then said, that the boy, on going for the milk, had mentioned that there was an Englishman in company, whom they wished much to see, as it was abicho, an animal, they had never seen. I said that he was gone with the horses, and would soon return. I meant John,—however the guide soon told them that I was an Englishman. Their countenances shewed much disappointment, when they were persuaded that this was true; they had expected to see some strange beast. John soon came, and he certainly was a curiosity, for he did not speak Portugueze; and when any thing went wrong, he swore away in English, at which they were all astonishment: they said, “He speaks the negro language[37].” They sat upon the ground near to my hammock, and asked me of the news from Pernambuco, for they cared about nothing more distant. I was acquainted at Recife with the owner of the place, which I made them confident was the case, by describing his house and garden, and they asked me after him, &c. The conversation concluded by an offer of horses to proceed, and, on their return to the house, a present of dried meat was sent. Thus I was in the end a gainer, by offering to pay for the milk; but I was more careful ever after.From St. Luzia, we proceeded across the plain, expecting to reach alake, of which the guide had some recollection; but when the night had already closed in, we were still upon the same endless plain, over which the track was only marked by the sand upon it being more worn away, consequently, it might easily be lost at night. The lake at which we had entertained hopes of arriving, never becomes entirely dry in the summer; but there was only one place at which it could be crossed, therefore it would be dangerous to reach its borders in the dark. The plain presented no tempting lodging; there were several rocks upon it of different sizes, but no trees, and the wind blew hard. The guide dismounted, to feel if there was any of the long dry grass where we were; on not finding any, he walked to the left of the road, but was not successful; he then tried to the right, and found some. We only discovered his situation by the sound of his voice; he called, and we answered, several times, until at last we joined him; he had also discovered a large rock, under the lee of which we unloaded, and then lighted our fire, and fettered the horses to feed. We soon found, that to cook any victuals was impossible, for the wind scattered our fire, which was only formed of the branches of the small shrubs and briars that grow upon these plains. Water we had by accident, as the guide had brought a small skin of it, in case he should be thirsty during the afternoon, for we had made ourselves quite certain of reaching the lake by night. I slept upon two of our packages, under the lee of the rock, and the whole party did the same, sharing, as equally as possible, our scanty means of accommodation. This afternoon I had seen many rocks of remarkable forms; one, particularly, struck me as extraordinary: it was placed upon another, of much smaller dimensions, and the resting-point was so small, as to render its removal apparently easy; but, on trial, it had not the slightest motion. The discomfort of this night was great, caused chiefly by the violence of the wind; we had, at last, no fire,—all was dark around us, and we could scarcely make ourselves heard. The horses seemed to feel as much as we did, the unsheltered situation; they were near to us during the whole of the night.On continuing our journey the following morning, we discoveredthat we had halted within half a league of the lake. The water was all gone; but the ground was boggy, and not to be crossed, excepting at the place over which is the usual path. It extends to the right and left to a considerable distance, but is not broad. If the mud was cleared away, it might, perhaps, afford an inexhaustible source of water to the neighbourhood; but Brazil is not in a state for such works; hands, in these parts, are not yet sufficiently numerous. In the afternoon, we crossed some stony hills, and passed by twofazendas. This day, I observed, at some distance, a high hill, of a circular form, standing quite alone, and unconnected with any other high ground. Its sides appeared to be too steep for horses to ascend; and I much regret not being so situated as to be enabled to delay, for the purpose of taking a nearer and more exact view of it. The guide was surprised at my curiosity about it, and told me that horses could not go up its sides, that there were snakes upon it, &c. All this might be true; but it was evidently said, to prevent any intention I might have had of delaying to see it more correctly. The plain appeared in many parts, as if the sea had at some time covered it;—the dead flat, the sand in places mixed with particles of a substance which looked like broken shells, and the rocks worn away in such parts, as, from their situation, could not have been acted upon by rain. We slept this night at an estate, where there were several houses forming a hamlet, having passed through a considerable quantity of wooded land.The next morning we again proceeded over some lands that were covered with wood; and, near twelve o’clock, reached the town of Açu. Oh, the joy of again seeing a church! of the sight of a regular village, and civilized persons; if even these can be called civilized, according to European ideas.The country I passed over from Natal, never can, in any state of civilization, or from any increase of population, be rendered a fertile track; but it might be, without doubt, much improved, if proper wells were sunk, reservoirs made for rain water, and trees planted; much might be done. The plains I crossed are of three kinds; those of which the soil is a loose sand, producing the acaju, the mangabaand several kinds of palm or cabbage trees; upon them the grass is short, and of a kind which is not reckoned nourishing; in these situations are likewise produced several creeping plants, similar to those growing upon the common lands, near the sea-shore, in England, and the trees are thinly scattered. The fruit of the acaju or cashew tree, and of the mangaba, are most delightful, and are doubly acceptable in crossing the sands upon which they are to be met with. The former has been often described; the latter is a small round fruit, and is not unlike a crab-apple in appearance, but it is sweet, and is unfit to be eaten until it drops from the tree; the pulp is fibrous but soft, and three seeds or kernels are contained in it, of which the taste approaches that of almonds. The palm or cabbage trees[38]also afford fruits, which are eaten when other food fails; but these are insipid.These plains are thetaboleiros, of which there exists also another kind, which are covered with brushwood, of stinted height, from the nature of the soil, but it is close and higher than a man on horseback. The road lies, in many places, through it; but as it does not afford any shade, and prevents the wind from alleviating the intenseness of the heat; it is here that the power of the sun is fully felt. This brushwood is, however, not too thick to prevent cattle from breaking their way through it, and feeding among it. The third description of plains are those of a better kind of soil, which produce good nourishing grass, but upon these no trees grow; small shrubs and briars alone are to be seen, and oftentimes not even these. They are, in parts, stony, and have rising ground upon them, which is not sufficiently high to deserve the name of a ridge of hills; but is enough to break the ocean-like flatness and immensity which these plains sometimes present to the traveller; after proceeding for hours, the same distance still seems to remain for him to traverse. These are thecampinas. I passed over some spots covered with high trees, which in our own country would be called woods of considerable extent; but in Brazil, they could not be accounted of sufficient magnitude to compose a distinguishingfeature in the naked regions which I traversed. The impression which a recollection of this portion of land left upon my mind, is of a flat uncovered country.I heard very little of beasts of prey; they had removed to better districts, I suppose; nor were we much troubled with snakes. But my people never failed, in taking up our quarters, to look well around, which proves their frequent appearance, else this cautious behaviour would not have become habitual with them. I merely say, that they are not plentiful in this barren part; for elsewhere, near lakes and large pools of water, in fertile districts, the rattle of the snake, of which this is the distinguishing mark, is often heard. We saw a small kind of rabbit, near rocky ground, which is calledmoco. Thecarapatoor tick, and thechiguahad entirely disappeared, since we left the dry lake, near Natal. Thechiguahas been so often described, that a minute account of it in this place is unnecessary; it is a very small insect, which lodges itself principally under the nails of the feet. In the country, bordering upon the sea, it is to be found most abundantly in sandy districts; and yet, although the plains of the Sertam appear to be formed of the same kind of sand, the insect is not to be met with in the whole track of country between Natal and Aracati.We arrived at Açu on the 1st December, having travelled about 340 miles in 19 days. The continual anxiety in which I was kept, prevented me from keeping any regular journal of my proceedings. From Açu to Aracati, I have preserved the names of the places through which I passed. The country is more inhabited, and I was nearer to the coast; I travelled also with more ease; but, between Natal and Açu, excepting the deserted Pai Paulo, I did not pass any settlement which deserved even the name of village; single cottages, much separated from each other, and often uninhabited, contained the whole population of this district. It is a miserable, desolate country.The town of Açu is built in a square, and consists of about three hundred inhabitants; it has two churches, and a town-halland prison, at that time building; the governor was the promoter of the work. The place stands upon the great river of Açu, where it runs in two channels for a short distance; it is situated upon the northern bank of the smaller branch. There is an island of sand between the two branches, and the distance from whence the river is divided to where it is again united, is about two or perhaps three miles. We crossed their dry beds, and entered the square, which is not paved, and the sand is deep. Many of the inhabitants were at their doors, for all travellers are objects of curiosity, and our appearance increased it. I rode upon an English saddle, and this particularly attracted the notice of an equestrian people. The houses have only the ground floor; some of them are plastered, and white-washed, but the mud of which others are composed, remains in its natural colour, both within and without, and the floors also are of earth; so that in spite of the greatest care, when water is scarce, their inhabitants cannot keep themselves clean. Though the lower class of Brazilians, of all casts, have many dirty customs, allied to those of savage life, still they are remarkably clean in their persons; one of the greatest inconveniences of a situation, when a Brazilian complains of the place he happens to reside in, is the want of a river or pool of water in the neighbourhood, for the purpose of bathing.We enquired for the house of a man of colour, a saddler by trade, with whom my guide was acquainted. This person, like many others, had come to his door to see the travellers; he soon recognised his friend, and came forwards to speak to him. He procured a house for us during our stay; it was a small place, upon which neither plaster nor white wash had been bestowed, with two rooms, one opening to the square, and the other to the river. When we were a little settled, and I had dressed myself, I sallied forth to visit the vicar, who resided in the best, or rather least miserable looking habitation in the town; it was about the size of the cottages of labourers, or small farmers in England, but not nearly so comfortable, though the floors were bricked. It is true, that this climate does not demand, as much as those of bleaker regions, that necessary of an Englishdwelling, of English growth, that undefinable something, called comfort. I told him, I had called upon him, as the first person of the neighbourhood, and that I should always be happy in my proceedings to have the prayers and good wishes of his order, and particularly his, as the governor had spoken so very highly of him. Some further conversation passed between us; but I did not stay long, for I was much tired. I made arrangements for sending my horses towards Piatô, where grass was to be had, and the green stalks of maize, sugar cane, and other plants; but the guide recommended that we should not stay here longer than was necessary. He said, that whilst the horses continued on their journey, they would bear up very well; but if they were suffered to rest, they would become stiff, lose flesh, and be rendered entirely unfit for service, for a considerable time. I did not then quite believe him, but as there was no object in staying, I desired Julio to return with them to Açu the next day at two o’clock, that we and they might have, at any rate, a rest of twenty-four hours. I afterwards learnt, by experience, that the guide was quite right regarding the horses; that regular work is better than a rest of more than one whole day.Our friend, the saddler, among other stories, mentioned having passed over the same ground which we had traversed from St. Luzia, only a short time before us. He was in company with another man and a boy, and had also a dog with him; they had put up for the night under shelter of one of the rocks, in the vicinity of the lake of which I have spoken. His companion had taken the horses to some little distance to graze; the boy and the dog remained with him; he had made a fire, and was in the act of preparing some dried meat to be cooked, when the boy called out “where is the dog,”—the man answered “here he is, why what is the matter?” the boy said, “what eyes, then, are those?” pointing, at the same time, to the corner of the rock; the man looked, and saw the eyes, for nothing else was to be seen; he called to the dog, took up his fowling-piece, and fired, whilst the dog started up, and darted towards the spot. A jaguar rushed out, and made off; it had been partly concealed under therock, which, with the dazzle of the fire had prevented its body from being seen; it had crouched, and was ready for a spring, when every thing was quiet, and unprepared.I learnt, that there are some extensive salt-works at the mouth of the Açu, and that small craft come from different parts of the coast occasionally, to carry away the overplus.I took an additional guide here, as the man I had brought with me from Goiana was not acquainted with the remainder of the road; but I kept him with me, for although he was not a person I liked, still he was master of his employment; he managed the horses well, for they had, through his attention and knowledge of this business, all arrived here without sore backs, which I found, from the surprise expressed by all those who saw them, was not a usual piece of good fortune, or good management. He was, however, a great bully, when we quartered ourselves in the houses of poor people, with whom he found he could so act with impunity: he was also continually reporting, that I was a great personage, that he might increase his own importance. Of this I said nothing; but on our return, whilst I was unwell, he gave himself out as the chief of the party, which I once caught him in the act of doing; I disconcerted him, by threatening to turn him out of my service; and when I recovered, he took care to draw in, and be more careful who overheard him. The additional man I took with me, was a dark-coloured mulatto, young and stout; his father lived at Açu, and this son had a fair character. He brought with him a beautiful dog, which I afterwards possessed.The next day, Julio came with the horses; and between three and four o’clock in the afternoon, we left Açu.

CHAPTER V.JOURNEY FROM GOIANA TO RIO GRANDE.—THE CITY OF NATAL.—THE GOVERNOR.I HAD entertained hopes of being accompanied by Senhor Joaquim, at least as far as Rio Grande, but he changed his mind, and I began to make the necessary arrangements for going alone. I purchased three more horses, and hired a guide for the Sertam, who was a white man of the country, and two Indian lads of about sixteen years of age. On the 3d November, I again set forth, accompanied by my English John, Francisco the guide, Julio, and the other boy, his companion. We only reached Dous Rios the same evening, which is two leagues distant from Goiana; we had left that place late in the day, and got on very slowly, as the two loads upon the horses were not well divided and arranged. I now found, on stopping for the night, that I had not provided as many things as were necessary; that I wanted an additional piece of baize to cover myself at night, that we ought to have brought more kitchen apparatus, and that knives and forks were to be had very rarely. I had with me a trunk with my cloaths, on one side of the pack-saddle, and a case, with some bottles of rum and wine, on the other side, and my hammock in the middle; these made one load. The other horse carried in themalas, a kind of trunk, on the one side, our provisions, and on the other, the cloaths of my people, additional ropes, and other tackle. I was far from being well supplied, but afterwards provided myself with more things as I went on, learning by experience. The hammocks are allmade of cotton, and are of several sizes and colours, and of various workmanship. Those in use among the lower orders, are made of cotton cloth, of the manufacture of the country; others are composed of net-work, from which all the several kinds derive the general name ofRede, a net; others, again, are knit or woven in long straight threads, knotted across at intervals: these are usually dyed of two or three colours, and are to be found in the houses of wealthy persons. This species of bed has been adopted from the Indians, and nothing more convenient and better adapted to the climate, could possibly be imagined; it can be wrapped up into a very small compass, and, with the addition of a piece of baize as a coverlid, is usually of sufficient warmth.I could not discover that there was any stream at this place, though it bears the name of Dous Rios, or the two rivers. It is a large open piece of land, with cottages upon the skirts, and attached to each is a pen for cattle. The great weekly fair for cattle from the Sertam, for the Pernambuco market, is held here.From Dous Rios, we advanced the following day to the sugar plantation of Espirito Santo, situated upon the banks of the river Paraiba, which becomes dry in the summer, at a short distance above this estate. I had letters to the owner of it, who is a member of the Cavalcante family, and the Capitam-mor of the captaincy of Paraiba. I was received by him in a very friendly manner. The house is in the usual style of the country, having only the ground-floor, and no ceiling, the tiles and rafters being in full view. Supper of dried meat, and the flour of the mandioc made into paste, and calledpiram, was placed before me; also, some hard biscuits, and red wine. I was not then sufficiently a Brazilian to eatpiram, and took the biscuits with the meat in preference, which much astonished my host. Sweetmeats were afterwards brought in, which are always good in the houses of persons of his rank in life; the opulent people in Brazil taking as much pride in theirdoces, as an English citizen in his table or his wines. The cloth was laid at one end of a long table, and I sat down by myself, whilst the Capitam-mor placed himselfupon the table, near to the other end, and talked to me; and some of the chief persons of his establishment stood around, to see the strange animal called an Englishman. We adjourned from the supper-room into another spacious apartment, and each of us took a hammock, of which there were several in the room, and swung and talked until we were half asleep. One of his men supposed, that as I spoke Portugueze, either I must be an Englishman who did not speak English, or that any Portugueze, on going to England, would immediately speak the language of that country, as I did Portugueze. The Capitam-mor seldom leaves his estate to go to Recife, or even to Paraiba, and lives in the usual style of the Brazilian gentry, in a kind of feudal state. He had several young men about him, some of whom were employed by him; neither his wife, nor any of his children appeared. The principal apartments of this house are two spacious rooms, having a great number of doors and windows; in one, were several hammocks and a sofa; and in the other, the long table upon which I supped; there were a few chairs in each of them; the floors were of brick, and the shutters and doors were unpainted. The owner of this mansion wore a shirt and a pair of drawers, a long bed-gown, called achambre, and a pair of slippers. This is the usual dress of those persons who have no work to perform. When a Brazilian takes to wearing one of these long gowns, he begins to think himself a gentleman, and entitled, consequently, to much respect.The next day we advanced about seven leagues, and, for the first time, I slept in the open air. We intended to have taken up our lodging for the night at a neighbouring hamlet, but the huts were so small and miserable, being constructed of the leaves of palm trees, that I preferred the open air. We made for the rivulet which runs at a little distance from these habitations; the horses were immediately unloaded, and their pack-saddles taken off, that they might roll in comfort. The next thing to be done, was to get firewood,—in most parts of the country it is very plentiful, and as we were upon the skirts of a thick wood, there was here no want of it. A lightwas struck, and two fires made; we got an additional pan from one of the neighbouring huts, and our dried meat was cooked. The meat is dried in the old Indian manner, by laying it upon a platform of twigs, raised about eighteen inches from the ground, and making a fire underneath. We discovered that not far off, a field or piece of land, rather more cleared of wood than the rest, was rented by a cottager, who would allow our horses to be put into it for avintem, about five farthings each, for the night, which the guide thought I should consider dear, and therefore told me, it was the usual price. As may be supposed, I made no great difficulties on this score, and the horses were taken to the place by Julio, and his companion. I now thought myself settled for the night, and therefore ate my supper, sitting in my hammock, which was slung between two trees, with the plate upon one of the trunks; having finished, I took my segar, and sat down close to the fire; the guide lighted his pipe, and placed himself on the opposite side, that we might have a talk about our proceedings for the morrow. I returned to my hammock about ten o’clock, but found the air very sharp, and consequently laid down under the lee of the fire, upon a hide, of which we had two for covering the loads in case of rain.This was to me a new scene,—when I thought of the complete change of habits which this kind of life required, and how entirely different it was from any thing in England, I may almost say in Europe,—when I looked round, and saw our several fires, for the cold air had, by this time, obliged each person to have his own; the men all asleep, our pack-saddles, trunks, and other parts of our baggage scattered about, as it was taken from the horses,—when I heard the running of the water, and the rustling of the trees; and, when I considered, that I was entering among a people with whose habits I was little acquainted, whose feelings towards my countrymen I was ignorant of,—I felt a kind of damp; but this was soon removed, by thinking of the pleasure of return, and of the accomplishment of what I was deemed incapable of performing. I was cheered by my recollection of the knowledge I had of the language, and by the determinationI felt within me of conforming to the customs of the people,—of submitting to their prejudices. I was not old enough to have contracted any habits, too deep to be laid aside when necessary. These thoughts were interrupted by the cry of “Jezus,” which was repeated every half minute in a dismal voice; I called to the guide, supposing it to proceed from some person in distress; he waked, and I told him what had made me call to him,—he said, it was only some person helping another “a bem morrer,” that is, that some dying person, which I found was the usual custom, had a friend to repeat the word “Jezus,” until the sufferer expired, that it might not be forgotten, and, perhaps, to keep the devil off.I dined the following day at the village of Mamanguape, situated upon the banks of a dry river; it is a thriving place. These more modern villages have been built in one long street upon the road, the older ones in a square. It had then about three hundred inhabitants; but I have since heard, that the number is more than doubled, and that new houses are building. The river can scarcely be reckoned of any advantage to the village, but the place forms a convenient break between Goiana and Rio Grande for the travelling pedlars, a useful, industrious, and, generally, honest set of men, as their resting-place and head-quarters; from hence they make daily excursions to the plantations, at a little distance, and return here to sleep. I passed the night in the out-houses of some sugar-works; my guide was much astonished at my not asking for lodgings at thecaza-grande, or owner’s house; but I preferred these kind of quarters to better ones, where I might run the risk of being obliged to remain half the night awake, for the purpose of giving news. The hospitality, however, of the planters, is very great; and no recommendation is necessary, though I had provided myself with a few letters.The next day we proceeded to Cunhàû, the sugar-plantation of the Colonel Andre d’Albuquerque do Maranham, the chief of the Maranham branch of this numerous and distinguished family of the Albuquerques. He is a man of immense landed property. The plantation of Cunhàû extends along the road fourteen leagues,and the owner has since purchased another large estate adjoining; his lands likewise in the Sertam for breeding cattle are supposed not to be less than thirty to forty leagues in extent—of those kind of leagues that sometimes take a man three or four hours to get over one.I had letters to him from some of his relations and friends at Pernambuco; he was sitting at his door, with his chaplain and several of his stewards and other persons employed by him, to have all the benefit of the fresh air. He is a man of about thirty years of age, handsome, and rather above the middle size, with genteel manners, rather courtly, as the Brazilians of education generally are. He lives quite in feudal state; his negroes and other dependants are numerous. He commands the regiment of militia cavalry of Rio Grande, and has them in good order, considering the state of the country. He came forwards on my dismounting, and I gave him the letters, which he put by to read at leisure, and then desiring me to sit down, asked me several questions of my wishes, intentions, &c. He took me to his guests’ apartments at a little distance from his own residence, where I found a good bed; hot water was brought to me in a large brass basin, and every necessary was supplied in a magnificent style—the towels were all fringed, &c. When I had dressed myself, I expected to be called to supper, but, to my amazement, I waited until near one o’clock, when a servant came to summon me. I found in the dining-room a long table laid out and covered with meat of several kinds, and in quantity sufficient for twenty persons; to this feast the colonel, his chaplain, another person, and myself sat down; when I had tasted until I was quite tired, to my utter dismay another course came on, equally profuse of fowls, pastry, &c. &c. and when this was removed, I had yet a third to go through of at least ten different kinds of sweetmeats. The supper could not have been better cooked or handsomer, if it had been prepared at Recife, and even an English epicure might have found much to please his palate. I was not able to retire to rest until near three o’clock; my bed was most excellent, and I enjoyedit still more from not expecting to find one. In the morning, the colonel would not allow me to leave his house, until I had breakfasted; tea, coffee, and cakes were brought in, all of which were very good. He then took me to see his horses, and pressed me much to leave my own, and take one of his for my journey, that mine might be in good condition on my return, and he also urged me to leave my pack-horses, and take some of his; but as mine were still all in working order, I declined accepting his offer. These circumstances are mentioned to show the frankness with which strangers are treated. I could not get away before ten o’clock, and therefore only advanced two leagues to dinner; I stopped by the side of a rivulet under some trees, upon a most beautiful spot.At a short distance from the estate of Cunhàû, is a hamlet of the same name through which I passed in my way to the colonel’s plantation. This hamlet, or the estate itself, was the scene of a massacre, which was committed by the Pitagoares and Tapuyas from the Potengi in the year 1645. A battle was fought by Camaram, the Indian chieftain, to whose prowess the Portugueze are so much indebted, against the Dutch, in the following year, between Cunhàû and Fort Keulen which stands at the mouth of the Potengi.[34]The captaincy of Rio Grande commences some leagues to the southward of Cunhàû, at a place called Os Marcos—a deep dell inhabited by runaway negroes and criminals; the paths of the dell are intricate, and when once a man has taken up his residence here, it is impossible to dislodge him.This season the crop of cotton had failed; it was one of those years in which a great want of rain was felt. The colonel of Cunhàû had, for the first time, planted a piece of land, from which he expected to have gathered 10,000arrobas, but in the end only gathered about 100; and he told me that he should keep to his sugar henceforwards. He is lenient to his slaves; they looked fat and well, and he hasthe character of not making as much of his plantation as he might, which is one proof of his kindness to them. The estate of Cunhàû is one of the largest, if not quite the most extensive, in these parts. There are upon it about 150 negroes, and the lands belonging to it would employ four or five times the number, but the colonel pays more attention to cattle, by which his father increased his fortune very largely.As usual, on our arrival by the side of the rivulet the horses were unloaded, and my hammock was slung for me. I laid down in my cloaths, but soon I started up, finding myself uneasy. The guide saw me, and called out, “O sir, you are covered withcarapatos.” I then perceived them, and felt still more their bites. Instantly throwing off part of my cloaths, but with the remainder upon me I ran into the water, and there began to take them off. Thecarapatoor tick, is a small, flat insect, of a dark brown colour; about the size of four pins’ heads placed together, it fastens upon the skin, and will in time eat its way into it. It is dangerous to pull it out quickly, when already fixed, for if the head remains, inflammation is not unfrequently the consequence. The point of a heated fork or penknife applied to the insect, when it is too far advanced into the skin to be taken out with the hand, will succeed in loosening it. There is another species of tick of much larger size, and of a lead colour; this is principally troublesome to horses and horned cattle, that are allowed to run loose in lands which have been only partially cleared. I have, in some instances, seen horses that have had such vast numbers upon them, as to have been weakened by the loss of blood which they have occasioned. The insects of this species ofcarapato[35]fasten themselves to the skin, but do not force their way into it. The hammock had fallen to the ground accidentally when taken from the trunk tobe slung, and had thus picked up these unpleasant visitors. I had some trouble in getting them all off, but was successful, as I had attacked the enemy in time.We set off again about two o’clock; I had intended to have ridden until sunset, and then to have put up near to some cottage, but a young man overtook us, and we entered into conversation. He lived at Papari, a village about half a league out of the road, and he pressed me so much to accompany him to sleep at his place, that I agreed. Papari is a deep and narrow valley, a most delightful situation. The whole of the valley is cultivated, and principally this year, the lands were in great request, as the rains had failed, and the high sandy lands had proved barren. For, whilst every other part of the country appeared dry and burnt up, this spot was in full verdure—it appeared to laugh at all around it, aware of its own superiority. The inhabitants seemed by their countenances to partake of the joyful looks of the land they lived in. Papari yet enjoys another advantage; though it is at the distance of three or four leagues from the sea, a salt water lake reaches it, so that its inhabitants have the fish brought to their own doors. The tide enters the lake, which is never dry, for although the fresh springs which run into it might fail, still it would always preserve a certain portion of water from the sea. The fishermen come up upon their small riverjangadas, which do not require more than twelve inches of water. Papari is about five leagues from Cunhàû. Senhor Dionisio introduced me to his lady; he is a native of Portugal, and she a Brazilian. They possessed a small piece of land in the valley, and appeared to be comfortably situated. Papari may contain about three hundred inhabitants very much scattered. In the course of this year, I afterwards heard, that many persons flocked to it from other parts, owing to the absolute want of provisions. I went down to the edge of the lake to see the fishermen arrive, the people of the valley had all assembled to receive them; it was quite a Billingsgate in miniature—save that the Portugueze language does not admit of swearing.We dined in Brazilian style, upon a table raised about six inches from the ground, around which we sat or rather laid down upon mats; we had no forks, and the knives, of which there were two or three, were intended merely to sever the larger pieces of meat—the fingers were to do the rest. I remained at Papari during one entire day, that my horses might have some respite, that I might purchase another from Senhor Dionisio, and on poor Julio’s account, whose feet had begun to crack from the dryness of the sands.Distant from Papari, from three to four leagues, is the Indian village of St. Joze, built in the form of a square; this place might contain about two hundred inhabitants, but it had evidently the appearance of falling to decay; the grass in the centre of the square was high, the church neglected, and the whole aspect dull. St. Joze stands upon a dry sandy soil, and the severity of the season might have contributed to its dismal look. This day we experienced the utter impossibility of trusting to the accounts we received of distances, and my guide had no very clever head for recollecting them, although he, like most of these people, possessed a kind of instinct with respect to the paths we were to follow. We were told that Natal was distant from St. Joze three or four leagues, and therefore expected to arrive at that place by dusk, but about five o’clock we entered upon the dismal sand hills, over which lies the road to the city; the whole country is uninhabited, and I may say uninhabitable, between Natal and St. Joze, consequently we had very faint hopes of meeting any one to give us information of the distance; but the guide said he supposed we could not be nearer to it than from two to three leagues, from the recollection he had of these hills, which when once passed over cannot be entirely forgotten. When it was nearly dark, and when our horses were almost giving way, we saw two boys on horseback, coming towards us: we asked them the distance, they answered “two leagues, and all deep sand,” adding, that they belonged to a party, which had come to makefarinha, upon a spot of land, half a league distant from where we were, upon which mandioc was cultivated. They said, that to go on toRio Grande the same night was madness, that they were going a short way to water their horses, and that on their return, they would guide us to their party. I agreed to wait for them. When they arrived, they struck soon from the road, down the side of one of the hills,—it was now dark; we followed, entered some high and thick brushwood, and a considerable way into it, found the persons to whom the boys told us they belonged. The implements for making thefarinhawere placed under a shed, which was thatched with the leaves of themacaiba, and other palm trees. These persons had fixed upon this spot, as there was a spring of brackish water hard by, which was, however, only to be reached by descending a precipice; the pitcher was fastened to a cord, and drawn up, and the person who descended to fill it, ascended the precipice by means of the brushwood which grows upon the side. I did not much like the party, therefore we took up our lodgings at some little distance from them, and none of us settled regularly for the night. I now much regretted not having a dog with me. Our horses passed a wretched night, feeding upon the leaves of the shrubs around us.The next morning we continued our journey over the sand hills to Natal, travelling at about two miles within the hour. The distance from Goiana to Natal is fifty-five leagues. The sand hills are perpetually changing their situations and forms; the high winds blow the sand in clouds, which renders it dangerous to travellers; it is white, and very fine, so that our horses sunk up to the knees at every step,—painful to a very great degree, when the sun has had full power upon it. Poor Julio had mounted upon the haunches of one of the loaded horses, and occasioned our travelling still slower. All was desolate and dreary; for the great lightness of the sand almost prevented vegetation, though some of the creeping sea-side plants had succeeded here and there in establishing a footing.The track of country between Goiana and Espirito Santo, and indeed even to Cunhàû, keeping at no great distance from the coast, is appropriated for the most part to sugar-plantations; but many of the Senhores deEngenho, sugar-planters, also employ part of their time in raising cotton. The general feature is of an uncultivated country,though a great quantity of land is yearly employed. The system of agriculture is so slovenly, or rather, as there is no necessity for husbandry of land, from the immensity of the country, and the smallness of its population, lands are employed one year, and the next the brushwood is allowed to grow up, giving thus to every piece of ground that is not absolutely in use that year, the look of one totally untouched, until a person is acquainted, in some measure, from practice, with the appearance of the several kinds of land. He will then perceive the difference between brushwood that will not grow because the land is of a barren kind, and that which is left to rise, that the land may rest for another crop. From this manner of cultivating their lands, a plantation requires three or four times more ground than would otherwise be necessary. I passed through several deep woods, and ascended some steep hills, but I saw nothing which deserved the name of mountain; I crossed some flat sandy plains, upon which the acaju, mangaba, and several species of palm or cabbage trees grow; these are merely fit to turn cattle upon in winter, and will only be brought into cultivation when lands begin to be scarce in Brazil.Varseas, or low marshy lands, adapted to the sugar cane, I also frequently saw. Thecercados, or fenced pieces of ground, attached to each sugar plantation, upon which are fed the cattle kept for the work of it, are the only spots which bear the look of fields; and even in these, the brushwood is not always sufficiently cleared away, unless the proprietor is wealthy and has an abundance of persons upon his estate; otherwise, such is the fertility of the soil, that without great care, thecercadowill in time become a wood. There are several hamlets upon the road, consisting of three and four cottages, and these are built of slight timber, and the leaves of the cabbage trees; others have mud walls, and are covered with these leaves; and now and then, a house built of mud, with a tiled roof, is to be seen,—this bespeaks a man above the common run of people. I crossed several rivulets, which were much reduced by the drought; but I did not see any great streams. The Paraiba was dry where I passedit, as also was the river near Mamanguape. A rivulet, that runs into the lake at Papari, was the only stream which appeared still to possess its usual strength. The road from Goiana to Mamanguape is the great Sertam track, and is similar to that between Recife and Goiana, excepting that the plains of the part of the country I had just now traversed, are more extensive, and the roads over these are dangerous, as they are only marked by the short and ill-grown grass being worn away upon the path; but as the cattle extend more upon a plain, and cannot be kept so close, from the greater extent of ground over which they pass, each part receives fewer footsteps, and the grass not unfrequently resists their passing, and vegetation still continues; consequently, in an imperfect light, an experienced guide is necessary, as on these plains no huts are ever to be met with, being, for the most part, destitute of water. These, the Brazilians calltaboleiros, distinguishing them by this name, fromcampinas; upon the latter, the soil is closer, and they afford good grass. Beyond Mamanguape, the road is sometimes a mere path, with breadth sufficient only for two loaded horses to pass, and, in some places, it has not even the necessary width for this purpose. The valley of Papari I have already mentioned, as being much superior to the rest of the country. The trees in Brazil are mostly evergreens, and the drought must be great indeed to make them lose their leaves; but the green of the leaves of a parched plant, though still a green, is very different from the bright joyful colour of one that is in full health. This produced the striking difference between that valley and the burnt lands above it,—besides, the misfortunes of other parts made its good luck more apparent.I arrived about eleven o’clock in the morning at the city of Natal, situated upon the banks of the Rio Grande, or Potengi. A foreigner, who might chance to land first at this place, on his arrival upon the coast of Brazil, would form a very poor opinion of the state of the population of the country; for, if places like this are called cities, what must the towns and villages be; but such a judgment would not prove correct, for many villages, even of Brazil, surpass this city;the rank must have been given to it, not from what it was or is, but from the expectation of what it might be at some future period. The settlement upon rising ground, rather removed from the river, is properly the city, as the parish church is there; it consists of a square, with houses on each side, having only the ground floor; the churches, of which there are three, the palace, town-hall, and prison. Three streets lead from it, which have also a few houses on each side. No part of the city is paved, although the sand is deep; on this account, indeed, a few of the inhabitants have raised a foot path of bricks before their own houses. The place may contain from six to seven hundred persons.I rode immediately to the palace, as I had letters of introduction to the governor, from several of his friends at Pernambuco. He received me in the most cordial manner. He asked me for my passport, which I produced; it was scarcely opened, and he immediately returned it, saying, that he only did this, that all necessary form might be complied with. He said, that I should stay with him, and he would provide a house for my people. At one o’clock we dined, and one of his aide-de-camps was with us. In the afternoon, we walked down to the lower town. It is situated upon the banks of the river; the houses stand along the southern bank, and there is only the usual width of a street between them and the river. This place may contain from two to three hundred inhabitants, and here live the men of trade of Rio Grande. The bar of the Potengi is very narrow, but is sufficiently deep to admit vessels of 150 tons. The northern bank projects considerably, and for this reason, it is necessary that a ship should make for it from the southward. The entrance to the reef of rocks, which lies at some distance from the shore, also requires to be known, so that altogether the port is a difficult one. The river is very safe, when once within the bar; the water is deep, and quite still, and two vessels might swing in its breadth; but it soon becomes shallow, and in the course of a few miles is greatly diminished. I should imagine, that six or seven vessels might swing altogether in the harbour. The bars of rivers that are formed, as inthis case, of sand, are, however, not to be trusted to, without good pilots, as they soon change their depth, and even their situation. When the tide enters, the northern bank is overflowed about one mile from the mouth of the harbour, and spreads over a considerable extent of ground, which, even during the ebb, is always wet and muddy, but never becomes sufficiently deep to prevent passing. The governor was raising a road over this piece of land, and the work was then nearly half finished. The new road would be about one mile in length. The captaincy of Rio Grande is subject to the governor of Pernambuco, and those of Paraiba and Seara were formerly in the same situation, but have of late years been formed into independent provincial governments.The governor, Francisco de Paula Cavalcante de Albuquerque, is a native of Pernambuco, and a younger brother of the chief of the Cavalcante branch of the Albuquerques. His father, a Brazilian also, was first an ensign in the Recife regiment of the line; he afterwards established himself upon a sugar-plantation, and made a fortune. The old man died, and left to each of his sons considerable property; two remained upon their estates, and still live upon them; this third son entered the Olinda regiment, and was much beloved by the men. The regiment had then only one company, of which he became the commander, and large sums of money taken from his own purse, were expended by him for their good equipment. He went to Lisbon on some business relating to his company, and whilst he was there adenuncia, a private accusation, was given by some enemy to the family—that the brothers were forming a conspiracy against the government. He was obliged to leave Lisbon, afraid of being put under an arrest, and fled to England, where his reception was such, that he has ever wished for opportunities of shewing kindness to persons of that nation. His brothers suffered much in person and in property, but matters were at last cleared up, as the accusation was proved to be false. Francisco was immediately promoted to a majority, and soon afterwards sent to govern Rio Grande. He is a man of talent, and of proper feelings in regard of his duties,—enthusiastic in wishingto better the condition of the people over whom he was placed. I am grieved to say, that he has been removed to the insignificant government of St. Michael’s, one of the Azores or Western Islands.When he was appointed to Rio Grande, there was scarcely a well dressed person in it, but he had succeeded in persuading one family to send for English manufactured goods to Recife—when once these were introduced they made their way—one would not be outdone by another, and, in the course of two years, they had become general. We visited the church in the evening—all the ladies were handsomely dressed in silks of various colours, and black veils thrown over the head and face. A twelvemonth previous to this period, these same persons would have gone to church in petticoats of Lisbon printed cottons, and square pieces of thick cloth over their heads, without stockings, and their shoes down at the heels.The military establishment consists of one hundred and fourteen men—one company—which were in much better order than those of Pernambuco, or Paraiba. The captaincy of Rio Grande enjoyed perfect quietude from robberies through his exertions. The governor promoted the building of a large house, which was going on very fast, and for which he had subscribed largely; the rent of it was to be appropriated to the support of the widows of the soldiers of the captaincy. This work has, I am afraid, been laid aside since his removal. The situation of the prisoners was very miserable; he wished to better it, and requested that the principal persons of the place would take it in turn weekly to carry a bag round to all the inhabitants, that each might give some trifle to assist in their support; for some time this went on well, but after a few weeks it was neglected. He, therefore, took the bag himself, and, accompanied by one of his aides-de-camps, called at every house. He said, that this was the most comfortable week the prisoners had ever passed since their confinement, as more was given by each person than was usual, and the excellent arrangement was again taken up with ardour, by the same persons who had neglected it.A British vessel was wrecked near Natal, and I have alwaysunderstood that the proprietors were perfectly satisfied that every exertion possible had been made use of to save the property.The drought of this year had caused a scarcity of the flour of the mandioc—the bread of Brazil—and the price was so high at Recife, Goiana, &c. that those persons of Rio Grande who possessed it, began to ship it off for other places; this the governor prohibited; he ordered it to be sold in the market-place, at a price equal to the gain the owners would have had by sending it away, and if all was not bought he took it himself, again giving it out when necessary at the same price. These anecdotes of him I had partly from himself, but principally from persons of the place, to whom I was introduced. When he left the city, on his appointment to St. Michael’s, the people followed him to some distance, praying for his prosperity.CHAPTER VI.CONTINUATION OF THE JOURNEY. FROM NATAL TO AÇU.THE governor did all in his power to dissuade me from proceeding further, the drought being so great as to render it not quite prudent; but as I had come so far, I was resolved, at any rate, to make the attempt. If I had been certain of being able to undertake the journey at a future period, it would have been better to have returned, and to have waited until a more favourable season; but I am rejoiced that I went at that time, as, otherwise, I should most probably have been under the necessity of foregoing my plan altogether. Some of the disagreeable circumstances which I met with, certainly proceeded from the rigour of the season.I received from the governor a letter of introduction to Aracati. He also insisted upon my leaving my own horse, that he might be in good condition when I returned. I was to sleep at a place from which Rio Grande is supplied withfarinhaduring the drought; but, in usual years, it is too wet to be cultivated, unless it was drained, and of this operation scarcely any notions are entertained. At Natal, I purchased another horse. I crossed the river in a canoe, and the horses and men uponjangadas; we were landed upon the new raised road, and immediately beyond it overtook some persons who were going to theLagoa Seca, or dry lake above-mentioned, where I was to purchase maize andfarinha, for crossing the tract of country through which runs the river Seara-meirim. We left the usual road, and turned down a narrow path, which leads to this lake; it wasoverhung with trees. I struck my head against a branch of one of these, and found that I had disturbed a large family which had taken up its residence upon it; my shoulders were quickly covered with small red ants, and I did not get rid of them without feeling some of their bites. We arrived at the dry lake about six o’clock in the evening, and put up at one of the cottages. In the course of the following morning, I made known my principal errand, and that I likewise wished to purchase another horse. The people who were residing here, had removed from high lands which had on this season proved barren; they had erected small huts, some of which had not been finished, and the family, therefore, lived in public; these huts had only a roof to shelter their inhabitants, who expected that the first heavy rain would drive them back to their usual habitations, as these lands, after violent rains, are laid under water. Each man possessed his small field of mandioc and maize. I left John’s horse here in charge of one of these men, as it began to give way, and I proceeded with four loaded horses; two as before, and one offarinha, and another of maize. I had provided myself at Rio Grande with leathern bags, for carrying water, and several other necessary things which I had not been instructed to bring, but which experience had taught me the necessity of possessing.We remained at this place during one entire day, and the next morning set off, intending to sleep at a hamlet, called Pai Paulo. We rested at mid-day near to a well, and in the afternoon proceeded. Wells are generally formed in these parts by digging a hole in the ground, to the depth of two or three feet, until the water appears; if a person in the neighbourhood of one of them, who takes water from it, should be nice about these matters, a fence is made round it, but if not, as is oftener the case, the well remains open, and the cattle come down to drink at it. These pits or wells are calledcaçimbas. The grass was much burnt up, but still there was plenty of it. In the afternoon we passed over some stony ground,—it was the first I had met with, and it was very painful to the horses which had come from the sandy soil of Pernambuco; but we soon entered upon a longthough narrow plain, bounded by brushwood, over which the road was clear, and the grass burnt up entirely on each side. We overtook a white man on foot, with twelve loaded horses, and a very small poney which carried a saddle; the loads were all alike, each horse carrying two skins or bags of some kind of provisions. I was much surprised at the circumstance of this man having the management of so many horses, because generally, the number of men is nearly equal to that of the beasts. I observed that his horses began to spread upon the plain, and seemed inclined to take to the brushwood; I called to my guide to ride to the right, whilst I did the same to the left, and go in quickly between them and the wood, to prevent the animals from separating. The man thanked me, which brought on further conversation; he asked the guide where we intended to sleep, and was answered, “at Pai Paulo.” The wells at Pai Paulo, he told us, were all dried up, and the inhabitants had deserted their houses. What was to be done: he said, that he intended to remain upon a plain two leagues distant from where we then were, that no water was to be had there, but that for our party and himself, his slave would bring a sufficient quantity, who had remained behind to fill a skin at a well which we had passed. There was no alternative; to remain here was impossible, for there was no grass. Therefore I ordered Julio and his companion to let our horses and those of our new friend remain together, and to look to them equally. The slave soon joined us with the water, gave the skin to my guide, and went on to assist Julio, whilst I advanced very slowly, that I might have some more conversation with the owner of thecomboio, or convoy, which we had thus joined. He was the son of a man of property, who resided upon the banks of the Açu, and possessed several cattle estates in those parts; the old man was a colonel of militia, and he with whom I conversed, was the major of the same regiment. The drought had been so severe with them, that they feared a famine, and he had been sent down to the coast to purchasefarinhafor the family, which the skins contained, with the exception of one load consisting of maize for his horses. After he had purchased hisfarinhahe heard of theprohibition of the governor respecting it, and understood that a guard of soldiers was to be sent down to the lake to take it from him; he had, therefore, stolen a march, and that nothing might be suspected, he had left all his people, excepting this one slave, and had even left his cloaths. His saddle horse carried a heavy load, and he set off a day before he had intended; the animal upon which he had placed his saddle was a colt and too young to bear any further weight. Thus was this major, in true Brazilian campaigning style, in his shirt and drawers, hisalpargatasor sandals, upon his feet, his musquet upon his shoulder, his sword by his side, hanging from a belt over one shoulder, and his long knife in his girdle. He was a stout, handsome man, about forty years of age, and where his skin was not exposed, it was as white as that of a European, but his face, neck, and legs were of a dark brown colour. This man, who at other times enjoyed all the comforts that his country affords, who was respected for his rank and wealth, was obliged to make this journey absolutely to save the lives of his family. True it is, that he is not to be considered as we should persons of his situation in Europe; like most of these people, he had been from his infancy daily accustomed to what men in a more civilised state would account very great hardships.Thealpargatasare pieces of leather, of a size rather larger than the soles of the feet of the person for whom they are intended. Two loops are fastened in front of each, through which two of the toes are placed; there is a ring of leather round each ankle, through which are drawn and tied two thongs, which proceed from each side of the hinder part. These are the shoes of the Brazilians, who live removed from great and improving towns. Julio was now provided with a pair of them, else I hardly know how he could have proceeded.We halted at the place appointed, upon an immense plain; the grass was all gone, and even the hardy trees, the acaju and mangaba, seemed to feel the want of water, for their leaves had begun to fall. The two parties took up their stations under separate clumps of trees; but upon these plains, the trees scarcely ever grow sufficientlynear to each other, to enable the traveller to hang his hammock between two of them. The poor horses were taken to a dell at some distance, to try to pick up what they could find, that had escaped the drought and the traveller. Our allowance of water was not large, and therefore we were afraid of eating much salt meat; we did not pass the night comfortably, for the wind rose, and scattered our fires, nor did we sleep much, and at four o’clock the horses were fetched to give to each of them a feed of maize. One of them refused to eat his portion.The following morning we advanced to Pai Paulo, three leagues further, still crossing the same plain, at the extremity of which we first approached the Seara-meirim, and on the opposite side from that on which we were, stands the village of Pai Paulo, upon rising ground. This was, without exception, the most desolate place I ever beheld; the roofs of some of the cottages were falling in, the walls of others had fallen, but the roofs remained. The course of the river was only marked by the depth of its bed, for the soil around was a loose sand, destitute of any covering, and nothing differing from that in the channel of the river. The trees had mostly lost their leaves. I had now entered upon the Sertam, and surely it deserves the name. We passed Pai Paulo, and about noon reached an open well of brackish water, dug in the bed of the river; our Pernambuco horses at first refused to drink, but the dirt was cleared away, as much as possible, for them, and the water left to settle; however, even then, they did little more than taste it. Here we were to rest, and to give our horses some maize, for there was no grass. The same horse again refused his feed; the guide said that he supposed he was not accustomed to it, and therefore must be taught to like it, otherwise he could not possibly get over this barren track of country. The first operation was to soak the maize in water, until it softened,—then the guide forced some of it down the animal’s throat, closing forcibly its mouth. Whether this had the effect, or hunger, I know not; but at night he performed his part pretty well, taking rather more time than the others to finish his feed. I drank a small portion of the water,mixing it with lemon juice and sugar, which I had with me. We carried some of this water on with us, for at night we should find none. The country presented the same appearance; we crossed the Seara-meirim several times, which in some parts had large rocks in the centre of the bed. At night I was not much inclined to eat, but I made up by smoking. We found a sheltered place behind part of the bank of the river, and slung our hammocks upon sloping ground, as the wind rises about eleven or twelve o’clock in these parts, and renders shelter very requisite; it sometimes blows hard: it is a dry wind, but healthy.The following day, we proceeded again in the same manner. I had by this time fully entered into the custom of smoking early, and as we could never get any thing cooked until twelve o’clock, I found that this prevented any unpleasant sense of hunger. My people could not have any thing to eat early, as it would have caused delay, therefore it would not have been proper for me to show a bad example. I had become very intimate with my friend the major—he learnt from me that we had horses, and cows, and dogs in England, and he liked me the better for this; at first, he wondered how it happened that I could ride; he thought I must be an apt scholar to have learnt since I had gone over to Brazil. He was also much surprized to hear that we had churches in England, which he had never understood before. He said he should not believe henceforwards that the English werePagoens, heathens. I told him that one chief point upon which our religion differed from his, was in ours not enjoining us to confess; he thought confession a great annoyance, but he could not doubt its propriety.We reached another dirty pool or well of water in the river, which we had again crossed several times. Our resting-place at mid-day afforded no shelter, excepting what could be obtained from one small shrub, which was in full leaf. The leaves or branches of it reached to the ground. I lay down upon the sand, and pushed my head in among them, covering the rest of my body with a hide; this was a hot birth, but better than to be completely exposed to the sun. Iwas astonished at the appearance of this shrub. There are two kinds of trees in certain parts of the Sertam, which are called Pereiro and Yco; both seem to flourish most when the seasons are the driest, and both are particularly dangerous to horses; that is, as they do no mischief to the wild cattle or wild horses, they may be supposed not to possess any pernicious qualities if the animals which eat their leaves are not overheated and fatigued; the latter of these plants kills the travellers’ beasts, and the former has the effect of appearing to produce intoxication, and sometimes also proves fatal. The major said, that this part of the country abounded in these trees, and consequently our horses were tied to those around us, and to each was given a feed of maize. The plant, of which I have spoken above, was very beautiful, the green of its leaves was bright and healthy, and I afterwards saw many more of them upon thistravesiaor crossing. I particularly observed them on this track of country, as other plants had lost all appearance of life.We were less unpleasantly situated at night, as the water though brackish was comparatively clear.The following day we had still the same country and river to cross. The consciousness of having advanced upon our journey alone caused the knowledge of a change of situation, so exactly similar was the face of the country. At mid-day we had again no shelter from the sun. The water was little different from that of the preceding day. I laid down under the shady side of a rock, which afforded sufficient shelter until the sun began to decline, and throw its rays into the quarter under which I had taken up my station. We had often seen cattle about the pools or wells—on this occasion, one miserable cow came down to drink; the major happened to be near the pool at the time. He looked at the mark she bore, and knew it to be that of the cattle upon his own estates. “How can this animal,” he exclaimed, “have strayed so far from its own home?” The want of water had made it stray at least one hundred leagues. This day we overtook a party of Sertanejos, as the inhabitants of the Sertam are called, likewise going our way. They were at themid-day resting-place, and one of their horses was, at the time of our coming up, tottering from having eaten of the Yco; they were trying to give it maize, in the hope of recovering it, as this is said to have the effect, if it is taken soon after; but at the time we left them, the animal, when he fell, was with difficulty raised, and the major said that he thought him too far gone. I never heard whether these persons returned, or still advanced after this misfortune. I observed in the afternoon several heaps of rocks in the bed of the river, which must form beautiful falls of water when the stream is rapid.Towards evening my guide began to try me. I found that there had been some conversation between him and the two Indians respecting the journey, and now he sounded me about returning. I told him I had perfectly determined to go on, and that I would most certainly shoot the man who attempted to go back, and that even if he then escaped me, I would follow him until I overtook him. He had not said that he would return, but had hinted at the danger of the undertaking at this season, and that the two lads were afraid of proceeding, but I knew him to be the mover. At night he could not have found his way back, as the only mark of a road that was to be perceived, proceeded from the sand being more worn away, and the banks of the river being broken down at the proper crossings. In fact, the marks were such, that even in the day-time, a man accustomed to this description of road could alone find it out—therefore I was certain that desertion could only take place in the day-time, which was almost impossible, as I always rode in the rear of the whole party. The guide had no fire-arms of his own; besides he never would have made any attempt to murder me, as he knew how little I slept, and that my pistols were always with me in my hammock, besides any thing of this sort could only have been done in concert with Julio, who, in the sequel, proved worthy of the greatest confidence. I found more necessity to be on my guard in returning, when John was no longer with me; however, although this man had sufficient courage he had no watchfulness. The summary manner in which I threatened to treat the guide, can only be justified by thenecessity of the case, for had he returned, the two Indians would most probably likewise have deserted me. If a man suffers himself to be trifled with, he cannot possibly succeed under circumstances such as these; however, I made the threat under the conviction of that being sufficient.We carried water from the resting-place at mid-day, and, as usual, fixed our quarters at night upon the banks of the river.The next day we advanced again exactly in the same manner, but at noon, to our dismay, there was no water; the pool had dried up, but we rested the horses for a short time, notwithstanding this dreadful disappointment. My thirst was great, for I had not drank the night before. We had still some lemons left, which were distributed, and these afforded much relief. In the afternoon the major told me to follow his example, and put a pebble into my mouth, which was the usual resource of the Sertanejos on these occasions. I did so, and certainly found that it produced considerable moisture. This was a dismal day, and we knew not whether we should be able to reach a well before some of our horses failed. One of those belonging to the major, already ran loose among the others, as he was weak, and his load had been changed to the horse which had carried the maize, the remainder of this being distributed in small portions, that it might be carried by the rest. My horses bore it very well, as those which had been loaded with provisions were, of course, in part relieved, and the largest load, that of my trunk and case of bottles, was carried by each of them in turn, that the hard work might be equally divided. This day we passed some deserted cottages. Our night was very miserable, for some of the horses refused to finish their feeds of maize; the danger of their failing prevented our thinking so much of our own inconvenience—my spirits were kept up by the necessity I felt of keeping up those of others. John was not quite well, and this made me uneasy, as it was as much as we could do to carry ourselves; indeed, had any of the party fallen sick, I know not how we should have proceeded.The next morning, about nine o’clock, we reached a well to ourgreat joy, but, fortunately for us, the water was so bad, that we could not drink much; it was as usual dirty and brackish, but of the first draught I shall never forget the delight;—when I tried a second, I could not take it, the taste was so very nauseous. On looking round, we saw some goats, Julio went towards them, and then discovered some fowls, proceeded a little farther and found an inhabited cottage. He came and gave us the joyful intelligence; we determined to remain here to rest, if the people could give us any hopes of food for our horses. I found an elderly woman and her two daughters in the hut; the father was not at home. The old woman seemed quite astonished to hear that we had crossed the Seara-Meirim; she said, she did not know how soon she and her family might be obliged to leave their cottage, as many others had done. She directed the major and my people to a dell at some distance, where dry grass and leaves might perhaps still be picked up; she said, that it was the last place which could have any, for travellers did not in general know of it, and she and her husband made a point of not discovering it. But I paved the way, by making her a present of somefarinha, throwing maize to the fowls, and by pouring in an immense number ofminhas Senhoras. I had purchased a kid and a fowl, and laid down the money immediately. Persons circumstanced as these were, are sometimes robbed in a most unpardonable manner by travellers, who take advantage of their houses, eat their poultry, and leave them without paying; but considering the entire non-existence of law in these regions, I am only surprized that greater enormities are not committed; however, every man feels it to be his own case, if he has a house and family; he is aware that on going from home, those he may leave are in the same helpless state. These persons and their property were at the mercy of any travellers; if they had been murdered, and the cottage from being deserted began to fall, it would have been supposed that its inhabitants, like many others, had decamped, and no enquiry would be made about the direction they had taken, such is the rambling disposition of the people in general, and the state of this part of the country, at the period of which Ispeak. They have nothing to make them remain upon one spot, neither comfort nor security.In the afternoon we advanced as usual, and passed some deserted cottages, but towards the close of the day arrived at some that were inhabited, and at dusk put up near to two or three that stood together, after having crossed the Seara-Meirim for the last and forty-second time. This river takes its sources from the mountains to the northward, in the same direction as those of the river Açu, of which I shall have occasion to speak. The Seara-Meirim falls into the Potengi, and perhaps some branches of it bend their course as far as the Paraiba. The face of the country presents one continued flat, from Pai Paulo to the place at which we left the river; the soil is a loose sand, which is sometimes, though rarely, intermixed with black earth. The trees are thinly scattered, and, at the time that I travelled, were without leaves. The river winds like the coils of a serpent, to have followed them would have been endless; it sometimes fills after heavy rain, in the course of a very short time, the water coming down in a torrent, delayed only by the inequality of the depth of the channel, and the walls with which the rocks in some parts oppose its progress. The sand in the bed of the river is little different from that of which the banks are composed, being however on the whole thicker, and approaching nearer to gravel. The water which oozes from it, on digging into the sand, is in all parts brackish, and in some places is too salt for any use to be made of it. This is not, however, peculiar to the Seara-Meirim, for I found that all the beds of the rivers which become dry in the summer contained more or less salt; at best, the water taken from them was never quite sweet.The place at which we had arrived is reckoned to be distant forty leagues from Natal; the league of the Sertam is never less than four miles, and is often much more; there arelegoas grandes,legoas pequenas, andlegoas de nada, or nothing leagues, which I have found quite long enough, notwithstanding their encouraging name. Pai Paulo may be about eight or ten leagues from Natal, which makes thetravesiaor barren-crossing, thirty or thirty-two leagues. We advancedat about three miles within the hour or rather more, and travelled from half-past five to ten in the morning, and in the afternoon from two, or half-past two, to six o’clock.We had now reached again the habitations of man; there was still the same burnt-up appearance, but the wells were taken care of, the water was better, and grass, although it was dry, was still to be had. I intended to accompany the Major, part of the way to his home, or the whole, but it was necessary that I should be guided by circumstances,—by the accounts we heard of the state of the country;—we advanced in our usual manner, resting more at mid-day, traversing a dead flat, and passing two or threeFazendas, or cattle estates, each day, of which the live stock was looking very miserable, and the people half starved.After being with the Major four days, since we had left the Seara-Meirim, I saw that it would not be prudent to proceed farther; the accounts from the interior were bad, and we arrived at one estate, of which the cattle were all dying, and the people intending, if there was no rain very soon, to leave their houses. I now judged myself to be distant from the coast not less than two hundred miles. We had advanced northward and westward, and were therefore not far to the southward of Açu, but were to the westward of it. I now resolved to make for it, for my horses might fail, and all the country was in so bad a state, that we might not have found others in a proper condition to go on with us; in fact, as I was not acting from orders, but merely for my own amusement, and as the guide was afraid of proceeding, I did not think I was authorized in persevering; if I had had orders for the purpose, the case would have been altered, and I must have run all hazards. Here, also, desertion was easier in the night, as the country was comparatively inhabited towards Açu—the difficulty was in advancing, and not in retreating.Each cattle estate has a tolerably decent house, in which the owner or herdsman resides, and usually a few smaller habitations are scattered about upon the plain around it. The pens stand near to theprincipal house, and enable the travellers to distinguish immediately, although at some distance, the site of aFazenda.I heard of a strange custom existing in these parts of the country that are so thinly inhabited, which arises from this state of things. Certain priests obtain a licence from the bishop (of Pernambuco,) and travel through these regions with a small altar constructed for the purpose; of a size to be placed upon one side of a pack-saddle, and they have with them all their apparatus for saying mass. Thus with a horse conveying the necessary paraphernalia, and a boy to drive it, who likewise assists in saying mass, and another horse on which the priest himself rides, and carries his own small portmanteau, these men make in the course of the year between 150 and 200l.—a large income in Brazil, but hardly earned, if the inconveniences and privations which they must undergo to obtain it are taken into consideration. They stop and erect the altar wherever a sufficient number of persons who are willing to pay for the mass is collected. This will sometimes be said for three or four shillings, but at other times, if a rich man takes a fancy to a priest, or has a fit of extreme devotion upon him, he will give eight or tenmil reis, two or three pounds, and it does happen, that one hundredmil reisare received for saying a mass, but this is very rare;—at times an ox or an horse, or two or three, are given. These men have their use in the world; if this custom did not exist, all form of worship would be completely out of the reach of the inhabitants of many districts, or at any rate they would not be able to attend more than once or twice in the course of the year, for it must be remembered that there is no church within twenty or thirty leagues of some parts; besides, where there is no law, nor real, rational religion, any thing is better than nothing. They christen and marry, and thus preserve these necessary forms of religion, and prevent a total forgetfulness of the established rules of civilised society; a sufficient link is kept up to make any of these people, if they removed into more populous districts, conform to received ideas.I left the Major[36]to pursue his journey homewards, whilst I retreated, or rather advanced, in a contrary direction, but a retreat it was from this inhospitable region. We found no change during that day, and if we had not met with a good natured herdsman, should have fared very badly for want of water, unless we had seen some other person equally well disposed. I asked him the way to the nearest estate, which he told me, and then I made enquiries about water, to which he answered, that unless I was acquainted with the place, I should not find the well, and this part of our conversation ended by his turning back to show it to me, regardless of thus increasing his journey four or five miles. I asked him when we arrived at the well to stay and dine with me, for although I had no great dainties to offer, still he carried only what provision hisboroacascontained. These are small leathern bags, one of which hangs on each side of the saddle. He would not, however, dismount, and immediately turned his horse and went his way. My guide had remained behind, as his horse was rather lame, and now he joined us. We passed over some stony ground, and the well itself was situated among rocks, between two of which the horses passed and descended to it.i108A Sertanejo.I may give some description of my friend, who turned back to shew me the well, and this may be taken as the usual appearance of a travelling Sertanejo. He rode a small horse with a long tail and mane; his saddle was rather raised before and behind; his stirrups were of rusty iron, and his bit was of the same; the reins were two very narrow thongs. His dress consisted of long pantaloons or leggings, of tanned but undressed leather, of a rusty brown colour, which were tied tight round his waist, and under these are worn a pair of cotton drawers or trowsers, as the seat is left unprotected by the leather. He had a tanned goat skin over his breast, which was tied behind by four strings, and a jacket also made of leather, which is generally thrown over one shoulder; his hat was of the same, with a very shallow crown, and small brim; he had slip-shod slippers of the same colour, and iron spurs upon his naked heels,—the straps which go under the feet prevent the risk of losing the slippers. A long whip of twisted thongs hung from his right wrist; he had a sword by his side, hanging from a belt over one shoulder; his knife was in his girdle, and his short dirty pipe in his mouth. Fastened to his saddle behind, was a piece of red baize, rolled up in the form of a great coat, and this usually contains a hammock and a change of linen,—a shirt, and drawers, and perhaps a pair of nankeen pantaloons; hisboroacashung also on each side of the back of his saddle, and these generally containfarinhaand dried meat on one side, and on the other, a flint and steel, (dried leaves serve as tinder) tobacco, and a spare pipe. To this equipment is sometimes added, a large pistol, thrust partly under the left thigh, and thus secured. The usual pace of the Sertanejo’s horse is a walk, approaching to a short trot; so that the horses of these people often have acquired the habit of dragging their hind legs, and throwing up the dust. The usual colour of the Sertanejos is a dark brown; for even those who are born white, soon become as completely tanned as the dress which they wear, from exposure to the sun. The annexed print will give some idea of the Sertanejo, as he is daily seen in Recife. The colour of the leather, as it is represented in the print, is brighter than that of the dresses which are usually to be met with, which is owing to the drawing having been made from a dress that had not been much used.At one of the estates I heard an anecdote, which is illustrative of the neglect or the impossibility, on all occasions, of conforming to religious duties. A priest, on passing, was requested by the wife of the owner of the place to stay, for the purpose of baptizing her son; he consented to this, but after waiting some time, said, that he wished to proceed upon his journey, and therefore desired that the child might be brought to him; the woman answered, “Pray, wait a short time longer, as the boy has taken the horses to water, and will soon return.” The priest was surprised, but was still more astonished, when he was required to christen a fellow of thirteen or fourteen years of age.The next day we still proceeded over the same sort of ground, in parts stony, and where stony, it was rather hilly; but not sufficiently so to form a decided ridge of hills. John was, at night, taken suddenly ill; he had drank too much water, and would not mix any spirit with it, neither would he smoke. I considered smoking as almost absolutely necessary for the preservation of health on these occasions; it is generally practised among the people of the country, and indeed many of the women are as fond of it as their husbands. Towards the morning, the man recovered.The following day we reached, at ten o’clock, the estate of St. Luzia; it is situated upon a wide plain, similar to those upon which we had been travelling for many days. This is acampina, and not ataboleiro. There were no trees upon it, excepting a few near to the well. The sight of this place raised our spirits, for there was no want of water, nor of grass, though it was completely dry. The lots,lotes, of mares came down to drink, all in fine condition, followed and protected by the master horse of each lot; the cattle, the sheep, and every other living thing, seemed to enjoy and to be conscious of the abundance of which they were reaping the advantage. We unloaded near to the well under the trees. The house of the chief herdsman stood before us, distant about one hundred yards, upon rather higher ground; it was a low white washed cottage, with the stables, pens, &c. on each side. About twelve o’clock, I saw somemen employed in milking the goats; I sent Julio with a half-gourd for some milk, desiring him to offer payment; the guide cautioned me not, but still I ordered Julio to present the money. The milk came, but the money was not taken, and soon afterwards, three of the men, came down towards us; I thanked them for the milk; and they addressed me saying, that they wished to know if I had intended to insult them, by offering payment, as such things were not customary in their country:—the guide had told me I should affront them, and therefore I had brought this upon myself; but I put them into good humour by answering that they would pardon my mistake, when I told them, that I belonged to a country, in which we were obliged to purchase the sand with which we scoured our houses. They then said, that the boy, on going for the milk, had mentioned that there was an Englishman in company, whom they wished much to see, as it was abicho, an animal, they had never seen. I said that he was gone with the horses, and would soon return. I meant John,—however the guide soon told them that I was an Englishman. Their countenances shewed much disappointment, when they were persuaded that this was true; they had expected to see some strange beast. John soon came, and he certainly was a curiosity, for he did not speak Portugueze; and when any thing went wrong, he swore away in English, at which they were all astonishment: they said, “He speaks the negro language[37].” They sat upon the ground near to my hammock, and asked me of the news from Pernambuco, for they cared about nothing more distant. I was acquainted at Recife with the owner of the place, which I made them confident was the case, by describing his house and garden, and they asked me after him, &c. The conversation concluded by an offer of horses to proceed, and, on their return to the house, a present of dried meat was sent. Thus I was in the end a gainer, by offering to pay for the milk; but I was more careful ever after.From St. Luzia, we proceeded across the plain, expecting to reach alake, of which the guide had some recollection; but when the night had already closed in, we were still upon the same endless plain, over which the track was only marked by the sand upon it being more worn away, consequently, it might easily be lost at night. The lake at which we had entertained hopes of arriving, never becomes entirely dry in the summer; but there was only one place at which it could be crossed, therefore it would be dangerous to reach its borders in the dark. The plain presented no tempting lodging; there were several rocks upon it of different sizes, but no trees, and the wind blew hard. The guide dismounted, to feel if there was any of the long dry grass where we were; on not finding any, he walked to the left of the road, but was not successful; he then tried to the right, and found some. We only discovered his situation by the sound of his voice; he called, and we answered, several times, until at last we joined him; he had also discovered a large rock, under the lee of which we unloaded, and then lighted our fire, and fettered the horses to feed. We soon found, that to cook any victuals was impossible, for the wind scattered our fire, which was only formed of the branches of the small shrubs and briars that grow upon these plains. Water we had by accident, as the guide had brought a small skin of it, in case he should be thirsty during the afternoon, for we had made ourselves quite certain of reaching the lake by night. I slept upon two of our packages, under the lee of the rock, and the whole party did the same, sharing, as equally as possible, our scanty means of accommodation. This afternoon I had seen many rocks of remarkable forms; one, particularly, struck me as extraordinary: it was placed upon another, of much smaller dimensions, and the resting-point was so small, as to render its removal apparently easy; but, on trial, it had not the slightest motion. The discomfort of this night was great, caused chiefly by the violence of the wind; we had, at last, no fire,—all was dark around us, and we could scarcely make ourselves heard. The horses seemed to feel as much as we did, the unsheltered situation; they were near to us during the whole of the night.On continuing our journey the following morning, we discoveredthat we had halted within half a league of the lake. The water was all gone; but the ground was boggy, and not to be crossed, excepting at the place over which is the usual path. It extends to the right and left to a considerable distance, but is not broad. If the mud was cleared away, it might, perhaps, afford an inexhaustible source of water to the neighbourhood; but Brazil is not in a state for such works; hands, in these parts, are not yet sufficiently numerous. In the afternoon, we crossed some stony hills, and passed by twofazendas. This day, I observed, at some distance, a high hill, of a circular form, standing quite alone, and unconnected with any other high ground. Its sides appeared to be too steep for horses to ascend; and I much regret not being so situated as to be enabled to delay, for the purpose of taking a nearer and more exact view of it. The guide was surprised at my curiosity about it, and told me that horses could not go up its sides, that there were snakes upon it, &c. All this might be true; but it was evidently said, to prevent any intention I might have had of delaying to see it more correctly. The plain appeared in many parts, as if the sea had at some time covered it;—the dead flat, the sand in places mixed with particles of a substance which looked like broken shells, and the rocks worn away in such parts, as, from their situation, could not have been acted upon by rain. We slept this night at an estate, where there were several houses forming a hamlet, having passed through a considerable quantity of wooded land.The next morning we again proceeded over some lands that were covered with wood; and, near twelve o’clock, reached the town of Açu. Oh, the joy of again seeing a church! of the sight of a regular village, and civilized persons; if even these can be called civilized, according to European ideas.The country I passed over from Natal, never can, in any state of civilization, or from any increase of population, be rendered a fertile track; but it might be, without doubt, much improved, if proper wells were sunk, reservoirs made for rain water, and trees planted; much might be done. The plains I crossed are of three kinds; those of which the soil is a loose sand, producing the acaju, the mangabaand several kinds of palm or cabbage trees; upon them the grass is short, and of a kind which is not reckoned nourishing; in these situations are likewise produced several creeping plants, similar to those growing upon the common lands, near the sea-shore, in England, and the trees are thinly scattered. The fruit of the acaju or cashew tree, and of the mangaba, are most delightful, and are doubly acceptable in crossing the sands upon which they are to be met with. The former has been often described; the latter is a small round fruit, and is not unlike a crab-apple in appearance, but it is sweet, and is unfit to be eaten until it drops from the tree; the pulp is fibrous but soft, and three seeds or kernels are contained in it, of which the taste approaches that of almonds. The palm or cabbage trees[38]also afford fruits, which are eaten when other food fails; but these are insipid.These plains are thetaboleiros, of which there exists also another kind, which are covered with brushwood, of stinted height, from the nature of the soil, but it is close and higher than a man on horseback. The road lies, in many places, through it; but as it does not afford any shade, and prevents the wind from alleviating the intenseness of the heat; it is here that the power of the sun is fully felt. This brushwood is, however, not too thick to prevent cattle from breaking their way through it, and feeding among it. The third description of plains are those of a better kind of soil, which produce good nourishing grass, but upon these no trees grow; small shrubs and briars alone are to be seen, and oftentimes not even these. They are, in parts, stony, and have rising ground upon them, which is not sufficiently high to deserve the name of a ridge of hills; but is enough to break the ocean-like flatness and immensity which these plains sometimes present to the traveller; after proceeding for hours, the same distance still seems to remain for him to traverse. These are thecampinas. I passed over some spots covered with high trees, which in our own country would be called woods of considerable extent; but in Brazil, they could not be accounted of sufficient magnitude to compose a distinguishingfeature in the naked regions which I traversed. The impression which a recollection of this portion of land left upon my mind, is of a flat uncovered country.I heard very little of beasts of prey; they had removed to better districts, I suppose; nor were we much troubled with snakes. But my people never failed, in taking up our quarters, to look well around, which proves their frequent appearance, else this cautious behaviour would not have become habitual with them. I merely say, that they are not plentiful in this barren part; for elsewhere, near lakes and large pools of water, in fertile districts, the rattle of the snake, of which this is the distinguishing mark, is often heard. We saw a small kind of rabbit, near rocky ground, which is calledmoco. Thecarapatoor tick, and thechiguahad entirely disappeared, since we left the dry lake, near Natal. Thechiguahas been so often described, that a minute account of it in this place is unnecessary; it is a very small insect, which lodges itself principally under the nails of the feet. In the country, bordering upon the sea, it is to be found most abundantly in sandy districts; and yet, although the plains of the Sertam appear to be formed of the same kind of sand, the insect is not to be met with in the whole track of country between Natal and Aracati.We arrived at Açu on the 1st December, having travelled about 340 miles in 19 days. The continual anxiety in which I was kept, prevented me from keeping any regular journal of my proceedings. From Açu to Aracati, I have preserved the names of the places through which I passed. The country is more inhabited, and I was nearer to the coast; I travelled also with more ease; but, between Natal and Açu, excepting the deserted Pai Paulo, I did not pass any settlement which deserved even the name of village; single cottages, much separated from each other, and often uninhabited, contained the whole population of this district. It is a miserable, desolate country.The town of Açu is built in a square, and consists of about three hundred inhabitants; it has two churches, and a town-halland prison, at that time building; the governor was the promoter of the work. The place stands upon the great river of Açu, where it runs in two channels for a short distance; it is situated upon the northern bank of the smaller branch. There is an island of sand between the two branches, and the distance from whence the river is divided to where it is again united, is about two or perhaps three miles. We crossed their dry beds, and entered the square, which is not paved, and the sand is deep. Many of the inhabitants were at their doors, for all travellers are objects of curiosity, and our appearance increased it. I rode upon an English saddle, and this particularly attracted the notice of an equestrian people. The houses have only the ground floor; some of them are plastered, and white-washed, but the mud of which others are composed, remains in its natural colour, both within and without, and the floors also are of earth; so that in spite of the greatest care, when water is scarce, their inhabitants cannot keep themselves clean. Though the lower class of Brazilians, of all casts, have many dirty customs, allied to those of savage life, still they are remarkably clean in their persons; one of the greatest inconveniences of a situation, when a Brazilian complains of the place he happens to reside in, is the want of a river or pool of water in the neighbourhood, for the purpose of bathing.We enquired for the house of a man of colour, a saddler by trade, with whom my guide was acquainted. This person, like many others, had come to his door to see the travellers; he soon recognised his friend, and came forwards to speak to him. He procured a house for us during our stay; it was a small place, upon which neither plaster nor white wash had been bestowed, with two rooms, one opening to the square, and the other to the river. When we were a little settled, and I had dressed myself, I sallied forth to visit the vicar, who resided in the best, or rather least miserable looking habitation in the town; it was about the size of the cottages of labourers, or small farmers in England, but not nearly so comfortable, though the floors were bricked. It is true, that this climate does not demand, as much as those of bleaker regions, that necessary of an Englishdwelling, of English growth, that undefinable something, called comfort. I told him, I had called upon him, as the first person of the neighbourhood, and that I should always be happy in my proceedings to have the prayers and good wishes of his order, and particularly his, as the governor had spoken so very highly of him. Some further conversation passed between us; but I did not stay long, for I was much tired. I made arrangements for sending my horses towards Piatô, where grass was to be had, and the green stalks of maize, sugar cane, and other plants; but the guide recommended that we should not stay here longer than was necessary. He said, that whilst the horses continued on their journey, they would bear up very well; but if they were suffered to rest, they would become stiff, lose flesh, and be rendered entirely unfit for service, for a considerable time. I did not then quite believe him, but as there was no object in staying, I desired Julio to return with them to Açu the next day at two o’clock, that we and they might have, at any rate, a rest of twenty-four hours. I afterwards learnt, by experience, that the guide was quite right regarding the horses; that regular work is better than a rest of more than one whole day.Our friend, the saddler, among other stories, mentioned having passed over the same ground which we had traversed from St. Luzia, only a short time before us. He was in company with another man and a boy, and had also a dog with him; they had put up for the night under shelter of one of the rocks, in the vicinity of the lake of which I have spoken. His companion had taken the horses to some little distance to graze; the boy and the dog remained with him; he had made a fire, and was in the act of preparing some dried meat to be cooked, when the boy called out “where is the dog,”—the man answered “here he is, why what is the matter?” the boy said, “what eyes, then, are those?” pointing, at the same time, to the corner of the rock; the man looked, and saw the eyes, for nothing else was to be seen; he called to the dog, took up his fowling-piece, and fired, whilst the dog started up, and darted towards the spot. A jaguar rushed out, and made off; it had been partly concealed under therock, which, with the dazzle of the fire had prevented its body from being seen; it had crouched, and was ready for a spring, when every thing was quiet, and unprepared.I learnt, that there are some extensive salt-works at the mouth of the Açu, and that small craft come from different parts of the coast occasionally, to carry away the overplus.I took an additional guide here, as the man I had brought with me from Goiana was not acquainted with the remainder of the road; but I kept him with me, for although he was not a person I liked, still he was master of his employment; he managed the horses well, for they had, through his attention and knowledge of this business, all arrived here without sore backs, which I found, from the surprise expressed by all those who saw them, was not a usual piece of good fortune, or good management. He was, however, a great bully, when we quartered ourselves in the houses of poor people, with whom he found he could so act with impunity: he was also continually reporting, that I was a great personage, that he might increase his own importance. Of this I said nothing; but on our return, whilst I was unwell, he gave himself out as the chief of the party, which I once caught him in the act of doing; I disconcerted him, by threatening to turn him out of my service; and when I recovered, he took care to draw in, and be more careful who overheard him. The additional man I took with me, was a dark-coloured mulatto, young and stout; his father lived at Açu, and this son had a fair character. He brought with him a beautiful dog, which I afterwards possessed.The next day, Julio came with the horses; and between three and four o’clock in the afternoon, we left Açu.

JOURNEY FROM GOIANA TO RIO GRANDE.—THE CITY OF NATAL.—THE GOVERNOR.

I HAD entertained hopes of being accompanied by Senhor Joaquim, at least as far as Rio Grande, but he changed his mind, and I began to make the necessary arrangements for going alone. I purchased three more horses, and hired a guide for the Sertam, who was a white man of the country, and two Indian lads of about sixteen years of age. On the 3d November, I again set forth, accompanied by my English John, Francisco the guide, Julio, and the other boy, his companion. We only reached Dous Rios the same evening, which is two leagues distant from Goiana; we had left that place late in the day, and got on very slowly, as the two loads upon the horses were not well divided and arranged. I now found, on stopping for the night, that I had not provided as many things as were necessary; that I wanted an additional piece of baize to cover myself at night, that we ought to have brought more kitchen apparatus, and that knives and forks were to be had very rarely. I had with me a trunk with my cloaths, on one side of the pack-saddle, and a case, with some bottles of rum and wine, on the other side, and my hammock in the middle; these made one load. The other horse carried in themalas, a kind of trunk, on the one side, our provisions, and on the other, the cloaths of my people, additional ropes, and other tackle. I was far from being well supplied, but afterwards provided myself with more things as I went on, learning by experience. The hammocks are allmade of cotton, and are of several sizes and colours, and of various workmanship. Those in use among the lower orders, are made of cotton cloth, of the manufacture of the country; others are composed of net-work, from which all the several kinds derive the general name ofRede, a net; others, again, are knit or woven in long straight threads, knotted across at intervals: these are usually dyed of two or three colours, and are to be found in the houses of wealthy persons. This species of bed has been adopted from the Indians, and nothing more convenient and better adapted to the climate, could possibly be imagined; it can be wrapped up into a very small compass, and, with the addition of a piece of baize as a coverlid, is usually of sufficient warmth.

I could not discover that there was any stream at this place, though it bears the name of Dous Rios, or the two rivers. It is a large open piece of land, with cottages upon the skirts, and attached to each is a pen for cattle. The great weekly fair for cattle from the Sertam, for the Pernambuco market, is held here.

From Dous Rios, we advanced the following day to the sugar plantation of Espirito Santo, situated upon the banks of the river Paraiba, which becomes dry in the summer, at a short distance above this estate. I had letters to the owner of it, who is a member of the Cavalcante family, and the Capitam-mor of the captaincy of Paraiba. I was received by him in a very friendly manner. The house is in the usual style of the country, having only the ground-floor, and no ceiling, the tiles and rafters being in full view. Supper of dried meat, and the flour of the mandioc made into paste, and calledpiram, was placed before me; also, some hard biscuits, and red wine. I was not then sufficiently a Brazilian to eatpiram, and took the biscuits with the meat in preference, which much astonished my host. Sweetmeats were afterwards brought in, which are always good in the houses of persons of his rank in life; the opulent people in Brazil taking as much pride in theirdoces, as an English citizen in his table or his wines. The cloth was laid at one end of a long table, and I sat down by myself, whilst the Capitam-mor placed himselfupon the table, near to the other end, and talked to me; and some of the chief persons of his establishment stood around, to see the strange animal called an Englishman. We adjourned from the supper-room into another spacious apartment, and each of us took a hammock, of which there were several in the room, and swung and talked until we were half asleep. One of his men supposed, that as I spoke Portugueze, either I must be an Englishman who did not speak English, or that any Portugueze, on going to England, would immediately speak the language of that country, as I did Portugueze. The Capitam-mor seldom leaves his estate to go to Recife, or even to Paraiba, and lives in the usual style of the Brazilian gentry, in a kind of feudal state. He had several young men about him, some of whom were employed by him; neither his wife, nor any of his children appeared. The principal apartments of this house are two spacious rooms, having a great number of doors and windows; in one, were several hammocks and a sofa; and in the other, the long table upon which I supped; there were a few chairs in each of them; the floors were of brick, and the shutters and doors were unpainted. The owner of this mansion wore a shirt and a pair of drawers, a long bed-gown, called achambre, and a pair of slippers. This is the usual dress of those persons who have no work to perform. When a Brazilian takes to wearing one of these long gowns, he begins to think himself a gentleman, and entitled, consequently, to much respect.

The next day we advanced about seven leagues, and, for the first time, I slept in the open air. We intended to have taken up our lodging for the night at a neighbouring hamlet, but the huts were so small and miserable, being constructed of the leaves of palm trees, that I preferred the open air. We made for the rivulet which runs at a little distance from these habitations; the horses were immediately unloaded, and their pack-saddles taken off, that they might roll in comfort. The next thing to be done, was to get firewood,—in most parts of the country it is very plentiful, and as we were upon the skirts of a thick wood, there was here no want of it. A lightwas struck, and two fires made; we got an additional pan from one of the neighbouring huts, and our dried meat was cooked. The meat is dried in the old Indian manner, by laying it upon a platform of twigs, raised about eighteen inches from the ground, and making a fire underneath. We discovered that not far off, a field or piece of land, rather more cleared of wood than the rest, was rented by a cottager, who would allow our horses to be put into it for avintem, about five farthings each, for the night, which the guide thought I should consider dear, and therefore told me, it was the usual price. As may be supposed, I made no great difficulties on this score, and the horses were taken to the place by Julio, and his companion. I now thought myself settled for the night, and therefore ate my supper, sitting in my hammock, which was slung between two trees, with the plate upon one of the trunks; having finished, I took my segar, and sat down close to the fire; the guide lighted his pipe, and placed himself on the opposite side, that we might have a talk about our proceedings for the morrow. I returned to my hammock about ten o’clock, but found the air very sharp, and consequently laid down under the lee of the fire, upon a hide, of which we had two for covering the loads in case of rain.

This was to me a new scene,—when I thought of the complete change of habits which this kind of life required, and how entirely different it was from any thing in England, I may almost say in Europe,—when I looked round, and saw our several fires, for the cold air had, by this time, obliged each person to have his own; the men all asleep, our pack-saddles, trunks, and other parts of our baggage scattered about, as it was taken from the horses,—when I heard the running of the water, and the rustling of the trees; and, when I considered, that I was entering among a people with whose habits I was little acquainted, whose feelings towards my countrymen I was ignorant of,—I felt a kind of damp; but this was soon removed, by thinking of the pleasure of return, and of the accomplishment of what I was deemed incapable of performing. I was cheered by my recollection of the knowledge I had of the language, and by the determinationI felt within me of conforming to the customs of the people,—of submitting to their prejudices. I was not old enough to have contracted any habits, too deep to be laid aside when necessary. These thoughts were interrupted by the cry of “Jezus,” which was repeated every half minute in a dismal voice; I called to the guide, supposing it to proceed from some person in distress; he waked, and I told him what had made me call to him,—he said, it was only some person helping another “a bem morrer,” that is, that some dying person, which I found was the usual custom, had a friend to repeat the word “Jezus,” until the sufferer expired, that it might not be forgotten, and, perhaps, to keep the devil off.

I dined the following day at the village of Mamanguape, situated upon the banks of a dry river; it is a thriving place. These more modern villages have been built in one long street upon the road, the older ones in a square. It had then about three hundred inhabitants; but I have since heard, that the number is more than doubled, and that new houses are building. The river can scarcely be reckoned of any advantage to the village, but the place forms a convenient break between Goiana and Rio Grande for the travelling pedlars, a useful, industrious, and, generally, honest set of men, as their resting-place and head-quarters; from hence they make daily excursions to the plantations, at a little distance, and return here to sleep. I passed the night in the out-houses of some sugar-works; my guide was much astonished at my not asking for lodgings at thecaza-grande, or owner’s house; but I preferred these kind of quarters to better ones, where I might run the risk of being obliged to remain half the night awake, for the purpose of giving news. The hospitality, however, of the planters, is very great; and no recommendation is necessary, though I had provided myself with a few letters.

The next day we proceeded to Cunhàû, the sugar-plantation of the Colonel Andre d’Albuquerque do Maranham, the chief of the Maranham branch of this numerous and distinguished family of the Albuquerques. He is a man of immense landed property. The plantation of Cunhàû extends along the road fourteen leagues,and the owner has since purchased another large estate adjoining; his lands likewise in the Sertam for breeding cattle are supposed not to be less than thirty to forty leagues in extent—of those kind of leagues that sometimes take a man three or four hours to get over one.

I had letters to him from some of his relations and friends at Pernambuco; he was sitting at his door, with his chaplain and several of his stewards and other persons employed by him, to have all the benefit of the fresh air. He is a man of about thirty years of age, handsome, and rather above the middle size, with genteel manners, rather courtly, as the Brazilians of education generally are. He lives quite in feudal state; his negroes and other dependants are numerous. He commands the regiment of militia cavalry of Rio Grande, and has them in good order, considering the state of the country. He came forwards on my dismounting, and I gave him the letters, which he put by to read at leisure, and then desiring me to sit down, asked me several questions of my wishes, intentions, &c. He took me to his guests’ apartments at a little distance from his own residence, where I found a good bed; hot water was brought to me in a large brass basin, and every necessary was supplied in a magnificent style—the towels were all fringed, &c. When I had dressed myself, I expected to be called to supper, but, to my amazement, I waited until near one o’clock, when a servant came to summon me. I found in the dining-room a long table laid out and covered with meat of several kinds, and in quantity sufficient for twenty persons; to this feast the colonel, his chaplain, another person, and myself sat down; when I had tasted until I was quite tired, to my utter dismay another course came on, equally profuse of fowls, pastry, &c. &c. and when this was removed, I had yet a third to go through of at least ten different kinds of sweetmeats. The supper could not have been better cooked or handsomer, if it had been prepared at Recife, and even an English epicure might have found much to please his palate. I was not able to retire to rest until near three o’clock; my bed was most excellent, and I enjoyedit still more from not expecting to find one. In the morning, the colonel would not allow me to leave his house, until I had breakfasted; tea, coffee, and cakes were brought in, all of which were very good. He then took me to see his horses, and pressed me much to leave my own, and take one of his for my journey, that mine might be in good condition on my return, and he also urged me to leave my pack-horses, and take some of his; but as mine were still all in working order, I declined accepting his offer. These circumstances are mentioned to show the frankness with which strangers are treated. I could not get away before ten o’clock, and therefore only advanced two leagues to dinner; I stopped by the side of a rivulet under some trees, upon a most beautiful spot.

At a short distance from the estate of Cunhàû, is a hamlet of the same name through which I passed in my way to the colonel’s plantation. This hamlet, or the estate itself, was the scene of a massacre, which was committed by the Pitagoares and Tapuyas from the Potengi in the year 1645. A battle was fought by Camaram, the Indian chieftain, to whose prowess the Portugueze are so much indebted, against the Dutch, in the following year, between Cunhàû and Fort Keulen which stands at the mouth of the Potengi.[34]

The captaincy of Rio Grande commences some leagues to the southward of Cunhàû, at a place called Os Marcos—a deep dell inhabited by runaway negroes and criminals; the paths of the dell are intricate, and when once a man has taken up his residence here, it is impossible to dislodge him.

This season the crop of cotton had failed; it was one of those years in which a great want of rain was felt. The colonel of Cunhàû had, for the first time, planted a piece of land, from which he expected to have gathered 10,000arrobas, but in the end only gathered about 100; and he told me that he should keep to his sugar henceforwards. He is lenient to his slaves; they looked fat and well, and he hasthe character of not making as much of his plantation as he might, which is one proof of his kindness to them. The estate of Cunhàû is one of the largest, if not quite the most extensive, in these parts. There are upon it about 150 negroes, and the lands belonging to it would employ four or five times the number, but the colonel pays more attention to cattle, by which his father increased his fortune very largely.

As usual, on our arrival by the side of the rivulet the horses were unloaded, and my hammock was slung for me. I laid down in my cloaths, but soon I started up, finding myself uneasy. The guide saw me, and called out, “O sir, you are covered withcarapatos.” I then perceived them, and felt still more their bites. Instantly throwing off part of my cloaths, but with the remainder upon me I ran into the water, and there began to take them off. Thecarapatoor tick, is a small, flat insect, of a dark brown colour; about the size of four pins’ heads placed together, it fastens upon the skin, and will in time eat its way into it. It is dangerous to pull it out quickly, when already fixed, for if the head remains, inflammation is not unfrequently the consequence. The point of a heated fork or penknife applied to the insect, when it is too far advanced into the skin to be taken out with the hand, will succeed in loosening it. There is another species of tick of much larger size, and of a lead colour; this is principally troublesome to horses and horned cattle, that are allowed to run loose in lands which have been only partially cleared. I have, in some instances, seen horses that have had such vast numbers upon them, as to have been weakened by the loss of blood which they have occasioned. The insects of this species ofcarapato[35]fasten themselves to the skin, but do not force their way into it. The hammock had fallen to the ground accidentally when taken from the trunk tobe slung, and had thus picked up these unpleasant visitors. I had some trouble in getting them all off, but was successful, as I had attacked the enemy in time.

We set off again about two o’clock; I had intended to have ridden until sunset, and then to have put up near to some cottage, but a young man overtook us, and we entered into conversation. He lived at Papari, a village about half a league out of the road, and he pressed me so much to accompany him to sleep at his place, that I agreed. Papari is a deep and narrow valley, a most delightful situation. The whole of the valley is cultivated, and principally this year, the lands were in great request, as the rains had failed, and the high sandy lands had proved barren. For, whilst every other part of the country appeared dry and burnt up, this spot was in full verdure—it appeared to laugh at all around it, aware of its own superiority. The inhabitants seemed by their countenances to partake of the joyful looks of the land they lived in. Papari yet enjoys another advantage; though it is at the distance of three or four leagues from the sea, a salt water lake reaches it, so that its inhabitants have the fish brought to their own doors. The tide enters the lake, which is never dry, for although the fresh springs which run into it might fail, still it would always preserve a certain portion of water from the sea. The fishermen come up upon their small riverjangadas, which do not require more than twelve inches of water. Papari is about five leagues from Cunhàû. Senhor Dionisio introduced me to his lady; he is a native of Portugal, and she a Brazilian. They possessed a small piece of land in the valley, and appeared to be comfortably situated. Papari may contain about three hundred inhabitants very much scattered. In the course of this year, I afterwards heard, that many persons flocked to it from other parts, owing to the absolute want of provisions. I went down to the edge of the lake to see the fishermen arrive, the people of the valley had all assembled to receive them; it was quite a Billingsgate in miniature—save that the Portugueze language does not admit of swearing.

We dined in Brazilian style, upon a table raised about six inches from the ground, around which we sat or rather laid down upon mats; we had no forks, and the knives, of which there were two or three, were intended merely to sever the larger pieces of meat—the fingers were to do the rest. I remained at Papari during one entire day, that my horses might have some respite, that I might purchase another from Senhor Dionisio, and on poor Julio’s account, whose feet had begun to crack from the dryness of the sands.

Distant from Papari, from three to four leagues, is the Indian village of St. Joze, built in the form of a square; this place might contain about two hundred inhabitants, but it had evidently the appearance of falling to decay; the grass in the centre of the square was high, the church neglected, and the whole aspect dull. St. Joze stands upon a dry sandy soil, and the severity of the season might have contributed to its dismal look. This day we experienced the utter impossibility of trusting to the accounts we received of distances, and my guide had no very clever head for recollecting them, although he, like most of these people, possessed a kind of instinct with respect to the paths we were to follow. We were told that Natal was distant from St. Joze three or four leagues, and therefore expected to arrive at that place by dusk, but about five o’clock we entered upon the dismal sand hills, over which lies the road to the city; the whole country is uninhabited, and I may say uninhabitable, between Natal and St. Joze, consequently we had very faint hopes of meeting any one to give us information of the distance; but the guide said he supposed we could not be nearer to it than from two to three leagues, from the recollection he had of these hills, which when once passed over cannot be entirely forgotten. When it was nearly dark, and when our horses were almost giving way, we saw two boys on horseback, coming towards us: we asked them the distance, they answered “two leagues, and all deep sand,” adding, that they belonged to a party, which had come to makefarinha, upon a spot of land, half a league distant from where we were, upon which mandioc was cultivated. They said, that to go on toRio Grande the same night was madness, that they were going a short way to water their horses, and that on their return, they would guide us to their party. I agreed to wait for them. When they arrived, they struck soon from the road, down the side of one of the hills,—it was now dark; we followed, entered some high and thick brushwood, and a considerable way into it, found the persons to whom the boys told us they belonged. The implements for making thefarinhawere placed under a shed, which was thatched with the leaves of themacaiba, and other palm trees. These persons had fixed upon this spot, as there was a spring of brackish water hard by, which was, however, only to be reached by descending a precipice; the pitcher was fastened to a cord, and drawn up, and the person who descended to fill it, ascended the precipice by means of the brushwood which grows upon the side. I did not much like the party, therefore we took up our lodgings at some little distance from them, and none of us settled regularly for the night. I now much regretted not having a dog with me. Our horses passed a wretched night, feeding upon the leaves of the shrubs around us.

The next morning we continued our journey over the sand hills to Natal, travelling at about two miles within the hour. The distance from Goiana to Natal is fifty-five leagues. The sand hills are perpetually changing their situations and forms; the high winds blow the sand in clouds, which renders it dangerous to travellers; it is white, and very fine, so that our horses sunk up to the knees at every step,—painful to a very great degree, when the sun has had full power upon it. Poor Julio had mounted upon the haunches of one of the loaded horses, and occasioned our travelling still slower. All was desolate and dreary; for the great lightness of the sand almost prevented vegetation, though some of the creeping sea-side plants had succeeded here and there in establishing a footing.

The track of country between Goiana and Espirito Santo, and indeed even to Cunhàû, keeping at no great distance from the coast, is appropriated for the most part to sugar-plantations; but many of the Senhores deEngenho, sugar-planters, also employ part of their time in raising cotton. The general feature is of an uncultivated country,though a great quantity of land is yearly employed. The system of agriculture is so slovenly, or rather, as there is no necessity for husbandry of land, from the immensity of the country, and the smallness of its population, lands are employed one year, and the next the brushwood is allowed to grow up, giving thus to every piece of ground that is not absolutely in use that year, the look of one totally untouched, until a person is acquainted, in some measure, from practice, with the appearance of the several kinds of land. He will then perceive the difference between brushwood that will not grow because the land is of a barren kind, and that which is left to rise, that the land may rest for another crop. From this manner of cultivating their lands, a plantation requires three or four times more ground than would otherwise be necessary. I passed through several deep woods, and ascended some steep hills, but I saw nothing which deserved the name of mountain; I crossed some flat sandy plains, upon which the acaju, mangaba, and several species of palm or cabbage trees grow; these are merely fit to turn cattle upon in winter, and will only be brought into cultivation when lands begin to be scarce in Brazil.Varseas, or low marshy lands, adapted to the sugar cane, I also frequently saw. Thecercados, or fenced pieces of ground, attached to each sugar plantation, upon which are fed the cattle kept for the work of it, are the only spots which bear the look of fields; and even in these, the brushwood is not always sufficiently cleared away, unless the proprietor is wealthy and has an abundance of persons upon his estate; otherwise, such is the fertility of the soil, that without great care, thecercadowill in time become a wood. There are several hamlets upon the road, consisting of three and four cottages, and these are built of slight timber, and the leaves of the cabbage trees; others have mud walls, and are covered with these leaves; and now and then, a house built of mud, with a tiled roof, is to be seen,—this bespeaks a man above the common run of people. I crossed several rivulets, which were much reduced by the drought; but I did not see any great streams. The Paraiba was dry where I passedit, as also was the river near Mamanguape. A rivulet, that runs into the lake at Papari, was the only stream which appeared still to possess its usual strength. The road from Goiana to Mamanguape is the great Sertam track, and is similar to that between Recife and Goiana, excepting that the plains of the part of the country I had just now traversed, are more extensive, and the roads over these are dangerous, as they are only marked by the short and ill-grown grass being worn away upon the path; but as the cattle extend more upon a plain, and cannot be kept so close, from the greater extent of ground over which they pass, each part receives fewer footsteps, and the grass not unfrequently resists their passing, and vegetation still continues; consequently, in an imperfect light, an experienced guide is necessary, as on these plains no huts are ever to be met with, being, for the most part, destitute of water. These, the Brazilians calltaboleiros, distinguishing them by this name, fromcampinas; upon the latter, the soil is closer, and they afford good grass. Beyond Mamanguape, the road is sometimes a mere path, with breadth sufficient only for two loaded horses to pass, and, in some places, it has not even the necessary width for this purpose. The valley of Papari I have already mentioned, as being much superior to the rest of the country. The trees in Brazil are mostly evergreens, and the drought must be great indeed to make them lose their leaves; but the green of the leaves of a parched plant, though still a green, is very different from the bright joyful colour of one that is in full health. This produced the striking difference between that valley and the burnt lands above it,—besides, the misfortunes of other parts made its good luck more apparent.

I arrived about eleven o’clock in the morning at the city of Natal, situated upon the banks of the Rio Grande, or Potengi. A foreigner, who might chance to land first at this place, on his arrival upon the coast of Brazil, would form a very poor opinion of the state of the population of the country; for, if places like this are called cities, what must the towns and villages be; but such a judgment would not prove correct, for many villages, even of Brazil, surpass this city;the rank must have been given to it, not from what it was or is, but from the expectation of what it might be at some future period. The settlement upon rising ground, rather removed from the river, is properly the city, as the parish church is there; it consists of a square, with houses on each side, having only the ground floor; the churches, of which there are three, the palace, town-hall, and prison. Three streets lead from it, which have also a few houses on each side. No part of the city is paved, although the sand is deep; on this account, indeed, a few of the inhabitants have raised a foot path of bricks before their own houses. The place may contain from six to seven hundred persons.

I rode immediately to the palace, as I had letters of introduction to the governor, from several of his friends at Pernambuco. He received me in the most cordial manner. He asked me for my passport, which I produced; it was scarcely opened, and he immediately returned it, saying, that he only did this, that all necessary form might be complied with. He said, that I should stay with him, and he would provide a house for my people. At one o’clock we dined, and one of his aide-de-camps was with us. In the afternoon, we walked down to the lower town. It is situated upon the banks of the river; the houses stand along the southern bank, and there is only the usual width of a street between them and the river. This place may contain from two to three hundred inhabitants, and here live the men of trade of Rio Grande. The bar of the Potengi is very narrow, but is sufficiently deep to admit vessels of 150 tons. The northern bank projects considerably, and for this reason, it is necessary that a ship should make for it from the southward. The entrance to the reef of rocks, which lies at some distance from the shore, also requires to be known, so that altogether the port is a difficult one. The river is very safe, when once within the bar; the water is deep, and quite still, and two vessels might swing in its breadth; but it soon becomes shallow, and in the course of a few miles is greatly diminished. I should imagine, that six or seven vessels might swing altogether in the harbour. The bars of rivers that are formed, as inthis case, of sand, are, however, not to be trusted to, without good pilots, as they soon change their depth, and even their situation. When the tide enters, the northern bank is overflowed about one mile from the mouth of the harbour, and spreads over a considerable extent of ground, which, even during the ebb, is always wet and muddy, but never becomes sufficiently deep to prevent passing. The governor was raising a road over this piece of land, and the work was then nearly half finished. The new road would be about one mile in length. The captaincy of Rio Grande is subject to the governor of Pernambuco, and those of Paraiba and Seara were formerly in the same situation, but have of late years been formed into independent provincial governments.

The governor, Francisco de Paula Cavalcante de Albuquerque, is a native of Pernambuco, and a younger brother of the chief of the Cavalcante branch of the Albuquerques. His father, a Brazilian also, was first an ensign in the Recife regiment of the line; he afterwards established himself upon a sugar-plantation, and made a fortune. The old man died, and left to each of his sons considerable property; two remained upon their estates, and still live upon them; this third son entered the Olinda regiment, and was much beloved by the men. The regiment had then only one company, of which he became the commander, and large sums of money taken from his own purse, were expended by him for their good equipment. He went to Lisbon on some business relating to his company, and whilst he was there adenuncia, a private accusation, was given by some enemy to the family—that the brothers were forming a conspiracy against the government. He was obliged to leave Lisbon, afraid of being put under an arrest, and fled to England, where his reception was such, that he has ever wished for opportunities of shewing kindness to persons of that nation. His brothers suffered much in person and in property, but matters were at last cleared up, as the accusation was proved to be false. Francisco was immediately promoted to a majority, and soon afterwards sent to govern Rio Grande. He is a man of talent, and of proper feelings in regard of his duties,—enthusiastic in wishingto better the condition of the people over whom he was placed. I am grieved to say, that he has been removed to the insignificant government of St. Michael’s, one of the Azores or Western Islands.

When he was appointed to Rio Grande, there was scarcely a well dressed person in it, but he had succeeded in persuading one family to send for English manufactured goods to Recife—when once these were introduced they made their way—one would not be outdone by another, and, in the course of two years, they had become general. We visited the church in the evening—all the ladies were handsomely dressed in silks of various colours, and black veils thrown over the head and face. A twelvemonth previous to this period, these same persons would have gone to church in petticoats of Lisbon printed cottons, and square pieces of thick cloth over their heads, without stockings, and their shoes down at the heels.

The military establishment consists of one hundred and fourteen men—one company—which were in much better order than those of Pernambuco, or Paraiba. The captaincy of Rio Grande enjoyed perfect quietude from robberies through his exertions. The governor promoted the building of a large house, which was going on very fast, and for which he had subscribed largely; the rent of it was to be appropriated to the support of the widows of the soldiers of the captaincy. This work has, I am afraid, been laid aside since his removal. The situation of the prisoners was very miserable; he wished to better it, and requested that the principal persons of the place would take it in turn weekly to carry a bag round to all the inhabitants, that each might give some trifle to assist in their support; for some time this went on well, but after a few weeks it was neglected. He, therefore, took the bag himself, and, accompanied by one of his aides-de-camps, called at every house. He said, that this was the most comfortable week the prisoners had ever passed since their confinement, as more was given by each person than was usual, and the excellent arrangement was again taken up with ardour, by the same persons who had neglected it.

A British vessel was wrecked near Natal, and I have alwaysunderstood that the proprietors were perfectly satisfied that every exertion possible had been made use of to save the property.

The drought of this year had caused a scarcity of the flour of the mandioc—the bread of Brazil—and the price was so high at Recife, Goiana, &c. that those persons of Rio Grande who possessed it, began to ship it off for other places; this the governor prohibited; he ordered it to be sold in the market-place, at a price equal to the gain the owners would have had by sending it away, and if all was not bought he took it himself, again giving it out when necessary at the same price. These anecdotes of him I had partly from himself, but principally from persons of the place, to whom I was introduced. When he left the city, on his appointment to St. Michael’s, the people followed him to some distance, praying for his prosperity.

CONTINUATION OF THE JOURNEY. FROM NATAL TO AÇU.

THE governor did all in his power to dissuade me from proceeding further, the drought being so great as to render it not quite prudent; but as I had come so far, I was resolved, at any rate, to make the attempt. If I had been certain of being able to undertake the journey at a future period, it would have been better to have returned, and to have waited until a more favourable season; but I am rejoiced that I went at that time, as, otherwise, I should most probably have been under the necessity of foregoing my plan altogether. Some of the disagreeable circumstances which I met with, certainly proceeded from the rigour of the season.

I received from the governor a letter of introduction to Aracati. He also insisted upon my leaving my own horse, that he might be in good condition when I returned. I was to sleep at a place from which Rio Grande is supplied withfarinhaduring the drought; but, in usual years, it is too wet to be cultivated, unless it was drained, and of this operation scarcely any notions are entertained. At Natal, I purchased another horse. I crossed the river in a canoe, and the horses and men uponjangadas; we were landed upon the new raised road, and immediately beyond it overtook some persons who were going to theLagoa Seca, or dry lake above-mentioned, where I was to purchase maize andfarinha, for crossing the tract of country through which runs the river Seara-meirim. We left the usual road, and turned down a narrow path, which leads to this lake; it wasoverhung with trees. I struck my head against a branch of one of these, and found that I had disturbed a large family which had taken up its residence upon it; my shoulders were quickly covered with small red ants, and I did not get rid of them without feeling some of their bites. We arrived at the dry lake about six o’clock in the evening, and put up at one of the cottages. In the course of the following morning, I made known my principal errand, and that I likewise wished to purchase another horse. The people who were residing here, had removed from high lands which had on this season proved barren; they had erected small huts, some of which had not been finished, and the family, therefore, lived in public; these huts had only a roof to shelter their inhabitants, who expected that the first heavy rain would drive them back to their usual habitations, as these lands, after violent rains, are laid under water. Each man possessed his small field of mandioc and maize. I left John’s horse here in charge of one of these men, as it began to give way, and I proceeded with four loaded horses; two as before, and one offarinha, and another of maize. I had provided myself at Rio Grande with leathern bags, for carrying water, and several other necessary things which I had not been instructed to bring, but which experience had taught me the necessity of possessing.

We remained at this place during one entire day, and the next morning set off, intending to sleep at a hamlet, called Pai Paulo. We rested at mid-day near to a well, and in the afternoon proceeded. Wells are generally formed in these parts by digging a hole in the ground, to the depth of two or three feet, until the water appears; if a person in the neighbourhood of one of them, who takes water from it, should be nice about these matters, a fence is made round it, but if not, as is oftener the case, the well remains open, and the cattle come down to drink at it. These pits or wells are calledcaçimbas. The grass was much burnt up, but still there was plenty of it. In the afternoon we passed over some stony ground,—it was the first I had met with, and it was very painful to the horses which had come from the sandy soil of Pernambuco; but we soon entered upon a longthough narrow plain, bounded by brushwood, over which the road was clear, and the grass burnt up entirely on each side. We overtook a white man on foot, with twelve loaded horses, and a very small poney which carried a saddle; the loads were all alike, each horse carrying two skins or bags of some kind of provisions. I was much surprised at the circumstance of this man having the management of so many horses, because generally, the number of men is nearly equal to that of the beasts. I observed that his horses began to spread upon the plain, and seemed inclined to take to the brushwood; I called to my guide to ride to the right, whilst I did the same to the left, and go in quickly between them and the wood, to prevent the animals from separating. The man thanked me, which brought on further conversation; he asked the guide where we intended to sleep, and was answered, “at Pai Paulo.” The wells at Pai Paulo, he told us, were all dried up, and the inhabitants had deserted their houses. What was to be done: he said, that he intended to remain upon a plain two leagues distant from where we then were, that no water was to be had there, but that for our party and himself, his slave would bring a sufficient quantity, who had remained behind to fill a skin at a well which we had passed. There was no alternative; to remain here was impossible, for there was no grass. Therefore I ordered Julio and his companion to let our horses and those of our new friend remain together, and to look to them equally. The slave soon joined us with the water, gave the skin to my guide, and went on to assist Julio, whilst I advanced very slowly, that I might have some more conversation with the owner of thecomboio, or convoy, which we had thus joined. He was the son of a man of property, who resided upon the banks of the Açu, and possessed several cattle estates in those parts; the old man was a colonel of militia, and he with whom I conversed, was the major of the same regiment. The drought had been so severe with them, that they feared a famine, and he had been sent down to the coast to purchasefarinhafor the family, which the skins contained, with the exception of one load consisting of maize for his horses. After he had purchased hisfarinhahe heard of theprohibition of the governor respecting it, and understood that a guard of soldiers was to be sent down to the lake to take it from him; he had, therefore, stolen a march, and that nothing might be suspected, he had left all his people, excepting this one slave, and had even left his cloaths. His saddle horse carried a heavy load, and he set off a day before he had intended; the animal upon which he had placed his saddle was a colt and too young to bear any further weight. Thus was this major, in true Brazilian campaigning style, in his shirt and drawers, hisalpargatasor sandals, upon his feet, his musquet upon his shoulder, his sword by his side, hanging from a belt over one shoulder, and his long knife in his girdle. He was a stout, handsome man, about forty years of age, and where his skin was not exposed, it was as white as that of a European, but his face, neck, and legs were of a dark brown colour. This man, who at other times enjoyed all the comforts that his country affords, who was respected for his rank and wealth, was obliged to make this journey absolutely to save the lives of his family. True it is, that he is not to be considered as we should persons of his situation in Europe; like most of these people, he had been from his infancy daily accustomed to what men in a more civilised state would account very great hardships.

Thealpargatasare pieces of leather, of a size rather larger than the soles of the feet of the person for whom they are intended. Two loops are fastened in front of each, through which two of the toes are placed; there is a ring of leather round each ankle, through which are drawn and tied two thongs, which proceed from each side of the hinder part. These are the shoes of the Brazilians, who live removed from great and improving towns. Julio was now provided with a pair of them, else I hardly know how he could have proceeded.

We halted at the place appointed, upon an immense plain; the grass was all gone, and even the hardy trees, the acaju and mangaba, seemed to feel the want of water, for their leaves had begun to fall. The two parties took up their stations under separate clumps of trees; but upon these plains, the trees scarcely ever grow sufficientlynear to each other, to enable the traveller to hang his hammock between two of them. The poor horses were taken to a dell at some distance, to try to pick up what they could find, that had escaped the drought and the traveller. Our allowance of water was not large, and therefore we were afraid of eating much salt meat; we did not pass the night comfortably, for the wind rose, and scattered our fires, nor did we sleep much, and at four o’clock the horses were fetched to give to each of them a feed of maize. One of them refused to eat his portion.

The following morning we advanced to Pai Paulo, three leagues further, still crossing the same plain, at the extremity of which we first approached the Seara-meirim, and on the opposite side from that on which we were, stands the village of Pai Paulo, upon rising ground. This was, without exception, the most desolate place I ever beheld; the roofs of some of the cottages were falling in, the walls of others had fallen, but the roofs remained. The course of the river was only marked by the depth of its bed, for the soil around was a loose sand, destitute of any covering, and nothing differing from that in the channel of the river. The trees had mostly lost their leaves. I had now entered upon the Sertam, and surely it deserves the name. We passed Pai Paulo, and about noon reached an open well of brackish water, dug in the bed of the river; our Pernambuco horses at first refused to drink, but the dirt was cleared away, as much as possible, for them, and the water left to settle; however, even then, they did little more than taste it. Here we were to rest, and to give our horses some maize, for there was no grass. The same horse again refused his feed; the guide said that he supposed he was not accustomed to it, and therefore must be taught to like it, otherwise he could not possibly get over this barren track of country. The first operation was to soak the maize in water, until it softened,—then the guide forced some of it down the animal’s throat, closing forcibly its mouth. Whether this had the effect, or hunger, I know not; but at night he performed his part pretty well, taking rather more time than the others to finish his feed. I drank a small portion of the water,mixing it with lemon juice and sugar, which I had with me. We carried some of this water on with us, for at night we should find none. The country presented the same appearance; we crossed the Seara-meirim several times, which in some parts had large rocks in the centre of the bed. At night I was not much inclined to eat, but I made up by smoking. We found a sheltered place behind part of the bank of the river, and slung our hammocks upon sloping ground, as the wind rises about eleven or twelve o’clock in these parts, and renders shelter very requisite; it sometimes blows hard: it is a dry wind, but healthy.

The following day, we proceeded again in the same manner. I had by this time fully entered into the custom of smoking early, and as we could never get any thing cooked until twelve o’clock, I found that this prevented any unpleasant sense of hunger. My people could not have any thing to eat early, as it would have caused delay, therefore it would not have been proper for me to show a bad example. I had become very intimate with my friend the major—he learnt from me that we had horses, and cows, and dogs in England, and he liked me the better for this; at first, he wondered how it happened that I could ride; he thought I must be an apt scholar to have learnt since I had gone over to Brazil. He was also much surprized to hear that we had churches in England, which he had never understood before. He said he should not believe henceforwards that the English werePagoens, heathens. I told him that one chief point upon which our religion differed from his, was in ours not enjoining us to confess; he thought confession a great annoyance, but he could not doubt its propriety.

We reached another dirty pool or well of water in the river, which we had again crossed several times. Our resting-place at mid-day afforded no shelter, excepting what could be obtained from one small shrub, which was in full leaf. The leaves or branches of it reached to the ground. I lay down upon the sand, and pushed my head in among them, covering the rest of my body with a hide; this was a hot birth, but better than to be completely exposed to the sun. Iwas astonished at the appearance of this shrub. There are two kinds of trees in certain parts of the Sertam, which are called Pereiro and Yco; both seem to flourish most when the seasons are the driest, and both are particularly dangerous to horses; that is, as they do no mischief to the wild cattle or wild horses, they may be supposed not to possess any pernicious qualities if the animals which eat their leaves are not overheated and fatigued; the latter of these plants kills the travellers’ beasts, and the former has the effect of appearing to produce intoxication, and sometimes also proves fatal. The major said, that this part of the country abounded in these trees, and consequently our horses were tied to those around us, and to each was given a feed of maize. The plant, of which I have spoken above, was very beautiful, the green of its leaves was bright and healthy, and I afterwards saw many more of them upon thistravesiaor crossing. I particularly observed them on this track of country, as other plants had lost all appearance of life.

We were less unpleasantly situated at night, as the water though brackish was comparatively clear.

The following day we had still the same country and river to cross. The consciousness of having advanced upon our journey alone caused the knowledge of a change of situation, so exactly similar was the face of the country. At mid-day we had again no shelter from the sun. The water was little different from that of the preceding day. I laid down under the shady side of a rock, which afforded sufficient shelter until the sun began to decline, and throw its rays into the quarter under which I had taken up my station. We had often seen cattle about the pools or wells—on this occasion, one miserable cow came down to drink; the major happened to be near the pool at the time. He looked at the mark she bore, and knew it to be that of the cattle upon his own estates. “How can this animal,” he exclaimed, “have strayed so far from its own home?” The want of water had made it stray at least one hundred leagues. This day we overtook a party of Sertanejos, as the inhabitants of the Sertam are called, likewise going our way. They were at themid-day resting-place, and one of their horses was, at the time of our coming up, tottering from having eaten of the Yco; they were trying to give it maize, in the hope of recovering it, as this is said to have the effect, if it is taken soon after; but at the time we left them, the animal, when he fell, was with difficulty raised, and the major said that he thought him too far gone. I never heard whether these persons returned, or still advanced after this misfortune. I observed in the afternoon several heaps of rocks in the bed of the river, which must form beautiful falls of water when the stream is rapid.

Towards evening my guide began to try me. I found that there had been some conversation between him and the two Indians respecting the journey, and now he sounded me about returning. I told him I had perfectly determined to go on, and that I would most certainly shoot the man who attempted to go back, and that even if he then escaped me, I would follow him until I overtook him. He had not said that he would return, but had hinted at the danger of the undertaking at this season, and that the two lads were afraid of proceeding, but I knew him to be the mover. At night he could not have found his way back, as the only mark of a road that was to be perceived, proceeded from the sand being more worn away, and the banks of the river being broken down at the proper crossings. In fact, the marks were such, that even in the day-time, a man accustomed to this description of road could alone find it out—therefore I was certain that desertion could only take place in the day-time, which was almost impossible, as I always rode in the rear of the whole party. The guide had no fire-arms of his own; besides he never would have made any attempt to murder me, as he knew how little I slept, and that my pistols were always with me in my hammock, besides any thing of this sort could only have been done in concert with Julio, who, in the sequel, proved worthy of the greatest confidence. I found more necessity to be on my guard in returning, when John was no longer with me; however, although this man had sufficient courage he had no watchfulness. The summary manner in which I threatened to treat the guide, can only be justified by thenecessity of the case, for had he returned, the two Indians would most probably likewise have deserted me. If a man suffers himself to be trifled with, he cannot possibly succeed under circumstances such as these; however, I made the threat under the conviction of that being sufficient.

We carried water from the resting-place at mid-day, and, as usual, fixed our quarters at night upon the banks of the river.

The next day we advanced again exactly in the same manner, but at noon, to our dismay, there was no water; the pool had dried up, but we rested the horses for a short time, notwithstanding this dreadful disappointment. My thirst was great, for I had not drank the night before. We had still some lemons left, which were distributed, and these afforded much relief. In the afternoon the major told me to follow his example, and put a pebble into my mouth, which was the usual resource of the Sertanejos on these occasions. I did so, and certainly found that it produced considerable moisture. This was a dismal day, and we knew not whether we should be able to reach a well before some of our horses failed. One of those belonging to the major, already ran loose among the others, as he was weak, and his load had been changed to the horse which had carried the maize, the remainder of this being distributed in small portions, that it might be carried by the rest. My horses bore it very well, as those which had been loaded with provisions were, of course, in part relieved, and the largest load, that of my trunk and case of bottles, was carried by each of them in turn, that the hard work might be equally divided. This day we passed some deserted cottages. Our night was very miserable, for some of the horses refused to finish their feeds of maize; the danger of their failing prevented our thinking so much of our own inconvenience—my spirits were kept up by the necessity I felt of keeping up those of others. John was not quite well, and this made me uneasy, as it was as much as we could do to carry ourselves; indeed, had any of the party fallen sick, I know not how we should have proceeded.

The next morning, about nine o’clock, we reached a well to ourgreat joy, but, fortunately for us, the water was so bad, that we could not drink much; it was as usual dirty and brackish, but of the first draught I shall never forget the delight;—when I tried a second, I could not take it, the taste was so very nauseous. On looking round, we saw some goats, Julio went towards them, and then discovered some fowls, proceeded a little farther and found an inhabited cottage. He came and gave us the joyful intelligence; we determined to remain here to rest, if the people could give us any hopes of food for our horses. I found an elderly woman and her two daughters in the hut; the father was not at home. The old woman seemed quite astonished to hear that we had crossed the Seara-Meirim; she said, she did not know how soon she and her family might be obliged to leave their cottage, as many others had done. She directed the major and my people to a dell at some distance, where dry grass and leaves might perhaps still be picked up; she said, that it was the last place which could have any, for travellers did not in general know of it, and she and her husband made a point of not discovering it. But I paved the way, by making her a present of somefarinha, throwing maize to the fowls, and by pouring in an immense number ofminhas Senhoras. I had purchased a kid and a fowl, and laid down the money immediately. Persons circumstanced as these were, are sometimes robbed in a most unpardonable manner by travellers, who take advantage of their houses, eat their poultry, and leave them without paying; but considering the entire non-existence of law in these regions, I am only surprized that greater enormities are not committed; however, every man feels it to be his own case, if he has a house and family; he is aware that on going from home, those he may leave are in the same helpless state. These persons and their property were at the mercy of any travellers; if they had been murdered, and the cottage from being deserted began to fall, it would have been supposed that its inhabitants, like many others, had decamped, and no enquiry would be made about the direction they had taken, such is the rambling disposition of the people in general, and the state of this part of the country, at the period of which Ispeak. They have nothing to make them remain upon one spot, neither comfort nor security.

In the afternoon we advanced as usual, and passed some deserted cottages, but towards the close of the day arrived at some that were inhabited, and at dusk put up near to two or three that stood together, after having crossed the Seara-Meirim for the last and forty-second time. This river takes its sources from the mountains to the northward, in the same direction as those of the river Açu, of which I shall have occasion to speak. The Seara-Meirim falls into the Potengi, and perhaps some branches of it bend their course as far as the Paraiba. The face of the country presents one continued flat, from Pai Paulo to the place at which we left the river; the soil is a loose sand, which is sometimes, though rarely, intermixed with black earth. The trees are thinly scattered, and, at the time that I travelled, were without leaves. The river winds like the coils of a serpent, to have followed them would have been endless; it sometimes fills after heavy rain, in the course of a very short time, the water coming down in a torrent, delayed only by the inequality of the depth of the channel, and the walls with which the rocks in some parts oppose its progress. The sand in the bed of the river is little different from that of which the banks are composed, being however on the whole thicker, and approaching nearer to gravel. The water which oozes from it, on digging into the sand, is in all parts brackish, and in some places is too salt for any use to be made of it. This is not, however, peculiar to the Seara-Meirim, for I found that all the beds of the rivers which become dry in the summer contained more or less salt; at best, the water taken from them was never quite sweet.

The place at which we had arrived is reckoned to be distant forty leagues from Natal; the league of the Sertam is never less than four miles, and is often much more; there arelegoas grandes,legoas pequenas, andlegoas de nada, or nothing leagues, which I have found quite long enough, notwithstanding their encouraging name. Pai Paulo may be about eight or ten leagues from Natal, which makes thetravesiaor barren-crossing, thirty or thirty-two leagues. We advancedat about three miles within the hour or rather more, and travelled from half-past five to ten in the morning, and in the afternoon from two, or half-past two, to six o’clock.

We had now reached again the habitations of man; there was still the same burnt-up appearance, but the wells were taken care of, the water was better, and grass, although it was dry, was still to be had. I intended to accompany the Major, part of the way to his home, or the whole, but it was necessary that I should be guided by circumstances,—by the accounts we heard of the state of the country;—we advanced in our usual manner, resting more at mid-day, traversing a dead flat, and passing two or threeFazendas, or cattle estates, each day, of which the live stock was looking very miserable, and the people half starved.

After being with the Major four days, since we had left the Seara-Meirim, I saw that it would not be prudent to proceed farther; the accounts from the interior were bad, and we arrived at one estate, of which the cattle were all dying, and the people intending, if there was no rain very soon, to leave their houses. I now judged myself to be distant from the coast not less than two hundred miles. We had advanced northward and westward, and were therefore not far to the southward of Açu, but were to the westward of it. I now resolved to make for it, for my horses might fail, and all the country was in so bad a state, that we might not have found others in a proper condition to go on with us; in fact, as I was not acting from orders, but merely for my own amusement, and as the guide was afraid of proceeding, I did not think I was authorized in persevering; if I had had orders for the purpose, the case would have been altered, and I must have run all hazards. Here, also, desertion was easier in the night, as the country was comparatively inhabited towards Açu—the difficulty was in advancing, and not in retreating.

Each cattle estate has a tolerably decent house, in which the owner or herdsman resides, and usually a few smaller habitations are scattered about upon the plain around it. The pens stand near to theprincipal house, and enable the travellers to distinguish immediately, although at some distance, the site of aFazenda.

I heard of a strange custom existing in these parts of the country that are so thinly inhabited, which arises from this state of things. Certain priests obtain a licence from the bishop (of Pernambuco,) and travel through these regions with a small altar constructed for the purpose; of a size to be placed upon one side of a pack-saddle, and they have with them all their apparatus for saying mass. Thus with a horse conveying the necessary paraphernalia, and a boy to drive it, who likewise assists in saying mass, and another horse on which the priest himself rides, and carries his own small portmanteau, these men make in the course of the year between 150 and 200l.—a large income in Brazil, but hardly earned, if the inconveniences and privations which they must undergo to obtain it are taken into consideration. They stop and erect the altar wherever a sufficient number of persons who are willing to pay for the mass is collected. This will sometimes be said for three or four shillings, but at other times, if a rich man takes a fancy to a priest, or has a fit of extreme devotion upon him, he will give eight or tenmil reis, two or three pounds, and it does happen, that one hundredmil reisare received for saying a mass, but this is very rare;—at times an ox or an horse, or two or three, are given. These men have their use in the world; if this custom did not exist, all form of worship would be completely out of the reach of the inhabitants of many districts, or at any rate they would not be able to attend more than once or twice in the course of the year, for it must be remembered that there is no church within twenty or thirty leagues of some parts; besides, where there is no law, nor real, rational religion, any thing is better than nothing. They christen and marry, and thus preserve these necessary forms of religion, and prevent a total forgetfulness of the established rules of civilised society; a sufficient link is kept up to make any of these people, if they removed into more populous districts, conform to received ideas.

I left the Major[36]to pursue his journey homewards, whilst I retreated, or rather advanced, in a contrary direction, but a retreat it was from this inhospitable region. We found no change during that day, and if we had not met with a good natured herdsman, should have fared very badly for want of water, unless we had seen some other person equally well disposed. I asked him the way to the nearest estate, which he told me, and then I made enquiries about water, to which he answered, that unless I was acquainted with the place, I should not find the well, and this part of our conversation ended by his turning back to show it to me, regardless of thus increasing his journey four or five miles. I asked him when we arrived at the well to stay and dine with me, for although I had no great dainties to offer, still he carried only what provision hisboroacascontained. These are small leathern bags, one of which hangs on each side of the saddle. He would not, however, dismount, and immediately turned his horse and went his way. My guide had remained behind, as his horse was rather lame, and now he joined us. We passed over some stony ground, and the well itself was situated among rocks, between two of which the horses passed and descended to it.

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A Sertanejo.

A Sertanejo.

A Sertanejo.

I may give some description of my friend, who turned back to shew me the well, and this may be taken as the usual appearance of a travelling Sertanejo. He rode a small horse with a long tail and mane; his saddle was rather raised before and behind; his stirrups were of rusty iron, and his bit was of the same; the reins were two very narrow thongs. His dress consisted of long pantaloons or leggings, of tanned but undressed leather, of a rusty brown colour, which were tied tight round his waist, and under these are worn a pair of cotton drawers or trowsers, as the seat is left unprotected by the leather. He had a tanned goat skin over his breast, which was tied behind by four strings, and a jacket also made of leather, which is generally thrown over one shoulder; his hat was of the same, with a very shallow crown, and small brim; he had slip-shod slippers of the same colour, and iron spurs upon his naked heels,—the straps which go under the feet prevent the risk of losing the slippers. A long whip of twisted thongs hung from his right wrist; he had a sword by his side, hanging from a belt over one shoulder; his knife was in his girdle, and his short dirty pipe in his mouth. Fastened to his saddle behind, was a piece of red baize, rolled up in the form of a great coat, and this usually contains a hammock and a change of linen,—a shirt, and drawers, and perhaps a pair of nankeen pantaloons; hisboroacashung also on each side of the back of his saddle, and these generally containfarinhaand dried meat on one side, and on the other, a flint and steel, (dried leaves serve as tinder) tobacco, and a spare pipe. To this equipment is sometimes added, a large pistol, thrust partly under the left thigh, and thus secured. The usual pace of the Sertanejo’s horse is a walk, approaching to a short trot; so that the horses of these people often have acquired the habit of dragging their hind legs, and throwing up the dust. The usual colour of the Sertanejos is a dark brown; for even those who are born white, soon become as completely tanned as the dress which they wear, from exposure to the sun. The annexed print will give some idea of the Sertanejo, as he is daily seen in Recife. The colour of the leather, as it is represented in the print, is brighter than that of the dresses which are usually to be met with, which is owing to the drawing having been made from a dress that had not been much used.

At one of the estates I heard an anecdote, which is illustrative of the neglect or the impossibility, on all occasions, of conforming to religious duties. A priest, on passing, was requested by the wife of the owner of the place to stay, for the purpose of baptizing her son; he consented to this, but after waiting some time, said, that he wished to proceed upon his journey, and therefore desired that the child might be brought to him; the woman answered, “Pray, wait a short time longer, as the boy has taken the horses to water, and will soon return.” The priest was surprised, but was still more astonished, when he was required to christen a fellow of thirteen or fourteen years of age.

The next day we still proceeded over the same sort of ground, in parts stony, and where stony, it was rather hilly; but not sufficiently so to form a decided ridge of hills. John was, at night, taken suddenly ill; he had drank too much water, and would not mix any spirit with it, neither would he smoke. I considered smoking as almost absolutely necessary for the preservation of health on these occasions; it is generally practised among the people of the country, and indeed many of the women are as fond of it as their husbands. Towards the morning, the man recovered.

The following day we reached, at ten o’clock, the estate of St. Luzia; it is situated upon a wide plain, similar to those upon which we had been travelling for many days. This is acampina, and not ataboleiro. There were no trees upon it, excepting a few near to the well. The sight of this place raised our spirits, for there was no want of water, nor of grass, though it was completely dry. The lots,lotes, of mares came down to drink, all in fine condition, followed and protected by the master horse of each lot; the cattle, the sheep, and every other living thing, seemed to enjoy and to be conscious of the abundance of which they were reaping the advantage. We unloaded near to the well under the trees. The house of the chief herdsman stood before us, distant about one hundred yards, upon rather higher ground; it was a low white washed cottage, with the stables, pens, &c. on each side. About twelve o’clock, I saw somemen employed in milking the goats; I sent Julio with a half-gourd for some milk, desiring him to offer payment; the guide cautioned me not, but still I ordered Julio to present the money. The milk came, but the money was not taken, and soon afterwards, three of the men, came down towards us; I thanked them for the milk; and they addressed me saying, that they wished to know if I had intended to insult them, by offering payment, as such things were not customary in their country:—the guide had told me I should affront them, and therefore I had brought this upon myself; but I put them into good humour by answering that they would pardon my mistake, when I told them, that I belonged to a country, in which we were obliged to purchase the sand with which we scoured our houses. They then said, that the boy, on going for the milk, had mentioned that there was an Englishman in company, whom they wished much to see, as it was abicho, an animal, they had never seen. I said that he was gone with the horses, and would soon return. I meant John,—however the guide soon told them that I was an Englishman. Their countenances shewed much disappointment, when they were persuaded that this was true; they had expected to see some strange beast. John soon came, and he certainly was a curiosity, for he did not speak Portugueze; and when any thing went wrong, he swore away in English, at which they were all astonishment: they said, “He speaks the negro language[37].” They sat upon the ground near to my hammock, and asked me of the news from Pernambuco, for they cared about nothing more distant. I was acquainted at Recife with the owner of the place, which I made them confident was the case, by describing his house and garden, and they asked me after him, &c. The conversation concluded by an offer of horses to proceed, and, on their return to the house, a present of dried meat was sent. Thus I was in the end a gainer, by offering to pay for the milk; but I was more careful ever after.

From St. Luzia, we proceeded across the plain, expecting to reach alake, of which the guide had some recollection; but when the night had already closed in, we were still upon the same endless plain, over which the track was only marked by the sand upon it being more worn away, consequently, it might easily be lost at night. The lake at which we had entertained hopes of arriving, never becomes entirely dry in the summer; but there was only one place at which it could be crossed, therefore it would be dangerous to reach its borders in the dark. The plain presented no tempting lodging; there were several rocks upon it of different sizes, but no trees, and the wind blew hard. The guide dismounted, to feel if there was any of the long dry grass where we were; on not finding any, he walked to the left of the road, but was not successful; he then tried to the right, and found some. We only discovered his situation by the sound of his voice; he called, and we answered, several times, until at last we joined him; he had also discovered a large rock, under the lee of which we unloaded, and then lighted our fire, and fettered the horses to feed. We soon found, that to cook any victuals was impossible, for the wind scattered our fire, which was only formed of the branches of the small shrubs and briars that grow upon these plains. Water we had by accident, as the guide had brought a small skin of it, in case he should be thirsty during the afternoon, for we had made ourselves quite certain of reaching the lake by night. I slept upon two of our packages, under the lee of the rock, and the whole party did the same, sharing, as equally as possible, our scanty means of accommodation. This afternoon I had seen many rocks of remarkable forms; one, particularly, struck me as extraordinary: it was placed upon another, of much smaller dimensions, and the resting-point was so small, as to render its removal apparently easy; but, on trial, it had not the slightest motion. The discomfort of this night was great, caused chiefly by the violence of the wind; we had, at last, no fire,—all was dark around us, and we could scarcely make ourselves heard. The horses seemed to feel as much as we did, the unsheltered situation; they were near to us during the whole of the night.

On continuing our journey the following morning, we discoveredthat we had halted within half a league of the lake. The water was all gone; but the ground was boggy, and not to be crossed, excepting at the place over which is the usual path. It extends to the right and left to a considerable distance, but is not broad. If the mud was cleared away, it might, perhaps, afford an inexhaustible source of water to the neighbourhood; but Brazil is not in a state for such works; hands, in these parts, are not yet sufficiently numerous. In the afternoon, we crossed some stony hills, and passed by twofazendas. This day, I observed, at some distance, a high hill, of a circular form, standing quite alone, and unconnected with any other high ground. Its sides appeared to be too steep for horses to ascend; and I much regret not being so situated as to be enabled to delay, for the purpose of taking a nearer and more exact view of it. The guide was surprised at my curiosity about it, and told me that horses could not go up its sides, that there were snakes upon it, &c. All this might be true; but it was evidently said, to prevent any intention I might have had of delaying to see it more correctly. The plain appeared in many parts, as if the sea had at some time covered it;—the dead flat, the sand in places mixed with particles of a substance which looked like broken shells, and the rocks worn away in such parts, as, from their situation, could not have been acted upon by rain. We slept this night at an estate, where there were several houses forming a hamlet, having passed through a considerable quantity of wooded land.

The next morning we again proceeded over some lands that were covered with wood; and, near twelve o’clock, reached the town of Açu. Oh, the joy of again seeing a church! of the sight of a regular village, and civilized persons; if even these can be called civilized, according to European ideas.

The country I passed over from Natal, never can, in any state of civilization, or from any increase of population, be rendered a fertile track; but it might be, without doubt, much improved, if proper wells were sunk, reservoirs made for rain water, and trees planted; much might be done. The plains I crossed are of three kinds; those of which the soil is a loose sand, producing the acaju, the mangabaand several kinds of palm or cabbage trees; upon them the grass is short, and of a kind which is not reckoned nourishing; in these situations are likewise produced several creeping plants, similar to those growing upon the common lands, near the sea-shore, in England, and the trees are thinly scattered. The fruit of the acaju or cashew tree, and of the mangaba, are most delightful, and are doubly acceptable in crossing the sands upon which they are to be met with. The former has been often described; the latter is a small round fruit, and is not unlike a crab-apple in appearance, but it is sweet, and is unfit to be eaten until it drops from the tree; the pulp is fibrous but soft, and three seeds or kernels are contained in it, of which the taste approaches that of almonds. The palm or cabbage trees[38]also afford fruits, which are eaten when other food fails; but these are insipid.

These plains are thetaboleiros, of which there exists also another kind, which are covered with brushwood, of stinted height, from the nature of the soil, but it is close and higher than a man on horseback. The road lies, in many places, through it; but as it does not afford any shade, and prevents the wind from alleviating the intenseness of the heat; it is here that the power of the sun is fully felt. This brushwood is, however, not too thick to prevent cattle from breaking their way through it, and feeding among it. The third description of plains are those of a better kind of soil, which produce good nourishing grass, but upon these no trees grow; small shrubs and briars alone are to be seen, and oftentimes not even these. They are, in parts, stony, and have rising ground upon them, which is not sufficiently high to deserve the name of a ridge of hills; but is enough to break the ocean-like flatness and immensity which these plains sometimes present to the traveller; after proceeding for hours, the same distance still seems to remain for him to traverse. These are thecampinas. I passed over some spots covered with high trees, which in our own country would be called woods of considerable extent; but in Brazil, they could not be accounted of sufficient magnitude to compose a distinguishingfeature in the naked regions which I traversed. The impression which a recollection of this portion of land left upon my mind, is of a flat uncovered country.

I heard very little of beasts of prey; they had removed to better districts, I suppose; nor were we much troubled with snakes. But my people never failed, in taking up our quarters, to look well around, which proves their frequent appearance, else this cautious behaviour would not have become habitual with them. I merely say, that they are not plentiful in this barren part; for elsewhere, near lakes and large pools of water, in fertile districts, the rattle of the snake, of which this is the distinguishing mark, is often heard. We saw a small kind of rabbit, near rocky ground, which is calledmoco. Thecarapatoor tick, and thechiguahad entirely disappeared, since we left the dry lake, near Natal. Thechiguahas been so often described, that a minute account of it in this place is unnecessary; it is a very small insect, which lodges itself principally under the nails of the feet. In the country, bordering upon the sea, it is to be found most abundantly in sandy districts; and yet, although the plains of the Sertam appear to be formed of the same kind of sand, the insect is not to be met with in the whole track of country between Natal and Aracati.

We arrived at Açu on the 1st December, having travelled about 340 miles in 19 days. The continual anxiety in which I was kept, prevented me from keeping any regular journal of my proceedings. From Açu to Aracati, I have preserved the names of the places through which I passed. The country is more inhabited, and I was nearer to the coast; I travelled also with more ease; but, between Natal and Açu, excepting the deserted Pai Paulo, I did not pass any settlement which deserved even the name of village; single cottages, much separated from each other, and often uninhabited, contained the whole population of this district. It is a miserable, desolate country.

The town of Açu is built in a square, and consists of about three hundred inhabitants; it has two churches, and a town-halland prison, at that time building; the governor was the promoter of the work. The place stands upon the great river of Açu, where it runs in two channels for a short distance; it is situated upon the northern bank of the smaller branch. There is an island of sand between the two branches, and the distance from whence the river is divided to where it is again united, is about two or perhaps three miles. We crossed their dry beds, and entered the square, which is not paved, and the sand is deep. Many of the inhabitants were at their doors, for all travellers are objects of curiosity, and our appearance increased it. I rode upon an English saddle, and this particularly attracted the notice of an equestrian people. The houses have only the ground floor; some of them are plastered, and white-washed, but the mud of which others are composed, remains in its natural colour, both within and without, and the floors also are of earth; so that in spite of the greatest care, when water is scarce, their inhabitants cannot keep themselves clean. Though the lower class of Brazilians, of all casts, have many dirty customs, allied to those of savage life, still they are remarkably clean in their persons; one of the greatest inconveniences of a situation, when a Brazilian complains of the place he happens to reside in, is the want of a river or pool of water in the neighbourhood, for the purpose of bathing.

We enquired for the house of a man of colour, a saddler by trade, with whom my guide was acquainted. This person, like many others, had come to his door to see the travellers; he soon recognised his friend, and came forwards to speak to him. He procured a house for us during our stay; it was a small place, upon which neither plaster nor white wash had been bestowed, with two rooms, one opening to the square, and the other to the river. When we were a little settled, and I had dressed myself, I sallied forth to visit the vicar, who resided in the best, or rather least miserable looking habitation in the town; it was about the size of the cottages of labourers, or small farmers in England, but not nearly so comfortable, though the floors were bricked. It is true, that this climate does not demand, as much as those of bleaker regions, that necessary of an Englishdwelling, of English growth, that undefinable something, called comfort. I told him, I had called upon him, as the first person of the neighbourhood, and that I should always be happy in my proceedings to have the prayers and good wishes of his order, and particularly his, as the governor had spoken so very highly of him. Some further conversation passed between us; but I did not stay long, for I was much tired. I made arrangements for sending my horses towards Piatô, where grass was to be had, and the green stalks of maize, sugar cane, and other plants; but the guide recommended that we should not stay here longer than was necessary. He said, that whilst the horses continued on their journey, they would bear up very well; but if they were suffered to rest, they would become stiff, lose flesh, and be rendered entirely unfit for service, for a considerable time. I did not then quite believe him, but as there was no object in staying, I desired Julio to return with them to Açu the next day at two o’clock, that we and they might have, at any rate, a rest of twenty-four hours. I afterwards learnt, by experience, that the guide was quite right regarding the horses; that regular work is better than a rest of more than one whole day.

Our friend, the saddler, among other stories, mentioned having passed over the same ground which we had traversed from St. Luzia, only a short time before us. He was in company with another man and a boy, and had also a dog with him; they had put up for the night under shelter of one of the rocks, in the vicinity of the lake of which I have spoken. His companion had taken the horses to some little distance to graze; the boy and the dog remained with him; he had made a fire, and was in the act of preparing some dried meat to be cooked, when the boy called out “where is the dog,”—the man answered “here he is, why what is the matter?” the boy said, “what eyes, then, are those?” pointing, at the same time, to the corner of the rock; the man looked, and saw the eyes, for nothing else was to be seen; he called to the dog, took up his fowling-piece, and fired, whilst the dog started up, and darted towards the spot. A jaguar rushed out, and made off; it had been partly concealed under therock, which, with the dazzle of the fire had prevented its body from being seen; it had crouched, and was ready for a spring, when every thing was quiet, and unprepared.

I learnt, that there are some extensive salt-works at the mouth of the Açu, and that small craft come from different parts of the coast occasionally, to carry away the overplus.

I took an additional guide here, as the man I had brought with me from Goiana was not acquainted with the remainder of the road; but I kept him with me, for although he was not a person I liked, still he was master of his employment; he managed the horses well, for they had, through his attention and knowledge of this business, all arrived here without sore backs, which I found, from the surprise expressed by all those who saw them, was not a usual piece of good fortune, or good management. He was, however, a great bully, when we quartered ourselves in the houses of poor people, with whom he found he could so act with impunity: he was also continually reporting, that I was a great personage, that he might increase his own importance. Of this I said nothing; but on our return, whilst I was unwell, he gave himself out as the chief of the party, which I once caught him in the act of doing; I disconcerted him, by threatening to turn him out of my service; and when I recovered, he took care to draw in, and be more careful who overheard him. The additional man I took with me, was a dark-coloured mulatto, young and stout; his father lived at Açu, and this son had a fair character. He brought with him a beautiful dog, which I afterwards possessed.

The next day, Julio came with the horses; and between three and four o’clock in the afternoon, we left Açu.

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