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 with farinha during 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 upon jangadas; we were landed upon the new raised road, and immediately beyond it overtook some persons who were going to the Lagoa Seca, or dry lake above-mentioned, where I was to purchase maize and farinha, 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 was overhung 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 of farinha, 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 called caÇimbas. 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 long though 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 the comboio, 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 purchase farinha for the family, which the skins contained, with the exception of one load consisting of maize for his horses. After he had purchased his farinha he heard of the prohibition 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, his alpargatas or 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.

The alpargatas are 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 sufficiently near 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 were Pagoens, 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. I was 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 this travesia or 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 the mid-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 the necessity 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 our great 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 some farinha, throwing maize to the fowls, and by pouring in an immense number of minhas 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 I speak. 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 are legoas grandes, legoas pequenas, and legoas 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 the travesia or barren-crossing, thirty or thirty-two leagues. We advanced at 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 three Fazendas, 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 the principal house, and enable the travellers to distinguish immediately, although at some distance, the site of a Fazenda.

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 ten mil reis, two or three pounds, and it does happen, that one hundred mil reis are 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 his boroacas contained. 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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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; his boroacas hung also on each side of the back of his saddle, and these generally contain farinha and 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 a campina, and not a taboleiro. 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 some men 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 a bicho, 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 a lake, 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 discovered that 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 two fazendas. 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 mangaba and 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 the taboleiros, 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 the campinas. 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 distinguishing feature 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 called moco. The carapato or tick, and the chigua had entirely disappeared, since we left the dry lake, near Natal. The chigua has 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-hall and 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 English dwelling, 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 the rock, 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.