CONTINUATION OF THE JOURNEY.—FROM AÇU TO ARACATI.—FROM ARACATI TO SEARA.—INDIANS.—THE LATE GOVERNOR.—THE FAMILY OF THE FEITOZAS.

OUR way was through woodlands for about one league, when we came out upon the borders of the lake PiatÔ; we proceeded along them for another half league, and unloaded near to the caza de palha, or straw cottage, of the commandant of the district. PiatÔ is a lake of three leagues in length, and about one league in breadth. In the summer its sides become sufficiently dry to enable them to be cultivated, but the centre of it is invariably marshy and impassable. The fertility of its sides is very great, affording most plentifully rice, maize, sugar cane, melons, &c. and I saw some cotton trees planted very near to the edge. The lake is filled from the river in the rainy season, and as the lands around it are much higher than the lake itself, the waters which run down from them wash away all vestiges of cultivation, till these again subside and the same operations are continued the following season. In such dreadfully severe years as that during which I travelled, the people of the district would be starved if this lake did not exist; it enabled the inhabitants of AÇu, at the time I was there, to remain in their houses. The appearance of abundance, the bright green, the well fed horses and cattle, which we saw as we travelled along its banks, enlivened us all; there was a look of security, a seeming certainty of at least the necessaries of life let what would happen, which we had not for a long time felt. The parched hills which surround the lake, its beautifully cultivated borders, and the dark and dangerous bogs which compose its centre and prevent the communication of the inhabitants of either bank, formed a very extraordinary scene. No water was to be seen, but the mud was too deep, and not of sufficient consistence for a man to be enabled to wade across; nor could a passage to the other side be effected by means of a raft, for a very trifling weight would make it sink.

We unloaded under a small tree on rising ground, with the lake on our right; between us and the house of the commandant, there was a deep ravine, down which, in the rainy season, the waters rush from the hills. This ravine was under cultivation and was inclosed, a narrow path only being left to cross from where we had stationed ourselves to the hut on the opposite hill, which was entirely composed of wood and the leaves of the CarnaÙba and other kinds of cabbage trees. This was only a temporary habitation for the summer months, the usual residence of the owner being at AÇu. He had a large family, who were all very shy, indeed the females I scarcely saw, though they sometimes did peep at the Englishmen, not knowing until now, that these were truly and bona fide nothing but men.

I was this afternoon surprised at a feat of dexterity of one of the commandant’s sons, a boy of about fourteen years of age. I had often heard of the manner of catching the wild cattle in the Sertam; the person employed for the purpose pursues on horseback, with a long pole, having a goad at one end, the animal which he is desirous of bringing to the ground, until he overtakes it—he then pierces its side between the ribs and the hip-bone, which, if it is done at the moment the beast raises its hind feet from the ground, throws it with such violence, as sometimes to make it roll over. Some oxen had often trespassed upon the commandant’s maize; one of the boys could no longer bear this quietly, he therefore mounted one of his father’s horses, of which there were several very fine ones, took one of the long poles and set off without a saddle, and in his shirt and drawers, to attack the animals. He drove them out of the maize, reached one of them with the goad at the right moment and threw it down, but before he could turn his horse, another had attacked him, running his horns into the fleshy part of one of the horse’s thighs. The boy had taken the precaution of putting a bridle on to his horse, otherwise, if he had mounted with a halter only, he would most probably have suffered much more. One of his brothers came to his assistance, and drove the oxen quite away. The facility with which the beast was thrown, proved that practice and quickness were more requisite than strength in this operation.

Towards the evening a shower of rain came on, being the first we had had since we left Goiana, and indeed this was the only rain which fell during my journey between Goiana and Seara. However there is not usually much wet weather at this season of the year; the distress occasioned by the want of it, arose from the failure of the accustomed rains in the preceding winter. We removed to the hut across the ravine, leaving the greatest part of our baggage under the tree, but the shower did not continue long. The hut was too small to admit of our taking up our lodging for the night in it, and in case of rain the tree was too far from the hut to reach it in time to prevent being wet, for which reason I determined to sleep in the ravine close to the fence, at the foot of the hill upon which the hut stood. I made a bed for myself upon two packages, to windward of the fire which we had kindled, but multitudes of mosquitos rose about midnight, which obliged me to remove and lie down upon a hide to leeward; the fire was mostly composed of the dried ordure of cattle, the smoke from which is so thick and pungent as to prevent entirely any annoyance from these troublesome insects, but the remedy is bad enough, as it is almost impossible to open your eyes or to speak. The misery of being exposed to the myriads of mosquitos which hovered around us this night, made us chuse the smoke as the more endurable evil. Notwithstanding these inconveniences we had some amusement at the distress of him whose fire was allowed to burn low; none of us slept much, for attention to the fires obliged every one to be on the alert. Towards morning the smoke was scarcely sufficient to protect us from these tormenting insects. I now learnt that near to any lake or pool of water, the highest ground is always to be fixed upon for a night station; even the commandant upon the hill had fires to windward of the house during the whole of the night.

Early in the morning we continued our journey for some distance along the banks of the lake, and then entered upon some open land, which was now quite dry; we slept under a clump of trees, distant about twenty miles from PiatÔ. The cattle we saw this day, were in good condition, plainly showing, that the country enjoyed a plentiful supply of water.

The road of the next day led us through woodlands, and over loose stony ground; but the woods of this part of the country are not large and luxuriant; they have not the grandeur of the forests of Pernambuco, nor is the brushwood which grows under them so close and thick. We passed through some estates, of which the live stock seemed in good condition; and saw this day a whole drove or lot (lote) of cream-coloured mares. I asked for water to drink at one of the houses; some was brought to me by a pretty white girl, who was apparently about seventeen years of age; she talked a great deal, and in a lively manner, so as to show that she had inhabited more civilized regions. There were in the house two children of colour, which she told me were her’s; she was the daughter of a man of small property, who had married her contrary to her wishes, to a wealthy mulatto man. She gave a message to the guide to deliver to her husband, who was superintending the felling of some timber by the road side, along which we were to pass; we met with him, he was of dark complexion, and about forty years of age. I learnt her story from the AÇu guide; he said, it had made some noise in these parts at the time. In the afternoon we passed over a salt marsh, surrounded by great numbers of carnÀÛba trees. We bordered the marsh, looking for a crossing and entered it, where we found the footsteps of others who had recently passed; the mud was from twelve to eighteen inches deep where we crossed; but it was in some parts impassable. The salt had coagulated wherever the footstep of a horse had formed an opening in the mud, and had collected a small quantity of water. The breadth of the marsh might be about two hundred yards in the centre, and its length about one league. After leaving the marsh, we reached the taboleiro, upon which we were to sleep. Towards evening, the wind was high. I was riding as if I had been seated upon a side-saddle, with both my legs on the same side of the horse, and with my umbrella over my head to shade me from the heat of the sun; a sudden gust of wind took me and my umbrella, and landed us in the sand, to the no small entertainment of my companions. If the horse had gone off, I should have been awkwardly situated; but he had travelled too many leagues to be frightened at trifles such as these.

We continued travelling for two days over the same kind of ground; plains with trees thinly scattered, and spots of wooded land. We likewise crossed two salt marshes; but upon these there was no mud. The water which oozes from the land, on digging into it, is however, salt; but the soil was dry and hard. Mimoza, the dog belonging to my new guide, afforded us considerable amusement. She generally made her way through the wood at a little distance from the road, now and then returning to the path. She was very expert in discovering the tatu bola, or rolling tatu, a small species of armadillo; this animal is protected by its bony shell; on being touched, it rolls itself up in the manner of the hedge-hog. As soon as the dog saw one of these, she touched it with her nose, and barked, continuing the same operation as often as the armadillo attempted to move, until her master answered the well-known signal. Several were caught in this manner. The flesh is as fine as that of a young pig. The tatu verdadeiro, or legitimate armadillo, which is much larger, does not roll itself up, and Mimoza sometimes pursued it to its hole, and stood at the mouth of it, until she had her master’s permission to come away. There exists a third species of armadillo, called the tatu peba, which is said to feed upon human flesh.

On the 7th December, we arrived at ten o’clock in the morning at the village of St. Luzia, containing from two to three hundred inhabitants. It is built in a square, and has one church; the houses are small and low. Here I was able to replenish my spirit bottles, and to purchase a supply of rapaduras. These are cakes of brown sugar or treacle, boiled to a sufficient consistency to harden, by which means it is more portable, and much less liable to be wasted in its conveyance.

The day before we reached St. Luzia, our resting place at mid-day was under some trees, and not far from a cottage. I observed the skin of a jaguar, the onÇa pintada, in the language of the country, stretched upon several pieces of wood; it had the appearance of being quite fresh. I had afterwards some conversation with the cottager, and he told me, that he had killed the animal to which the skin had belonged, with the assistance of three dogs, only the day before. It had committed great destruction, particularly among the sheep; but had escaped for a length of time, from never appearing at the same place twice successively. The preceding day this man had gone out with his three dogs, as was occasionally his practice; his musket was loaded, but he was without any farther supply of ammunition, and he had his long knife in his girdle. One of the dogs got scent of the jaguar, and followed it up to the den; the beast was within, the dogs attacked it; one of them was killed, and another much maimed, which we saw, and even the third was hurt. The man fired as soon as the jaguar came out, and wounded it; and when he saw that it was considerably disabled, he ran in upon the animal with his knife, and killed it; in doing which, one of his arms was much lacerated, and this was bound up at the time I conversed with him. He asked for some powder, saying that there was still another jaguar in the neighbourhood. The skins are much valued in Brazil for saddle-cloths; and from the make of the saddles used in that country, a cloth of some sort, or a skin is required for each. I have the skin of a jaguar in my possession, which measures five feet and three inches. The onÇa vermelha, felis concolor, and the onÇa preta, felis discolor, are also to be met with; but the jaguar is more common, and more dreaded than either of these.

The same day we passed over the dry bed of the Panema; it was the third river we had crossed since our departure from AÇu, and all were in the same state.

St. Luzia stands upon the northern bank of a dry river, in a sandy loose soil. We took up our mid-day station under the roof of a miserable hut; the ashes of an extinguished fire in its centre, and a bench of twisted twigs, alone denoted that it had served as a dwelling. Several of the inhabitants of the village soon came to us to enquire for news from Pernambuco; and among others, a young man, whose accent discovered him to be a native of some of the northern provinces of Portugal, and whose manner displayed the idea which he entertained of his own importance; he said, that he had orders from the commandant to demand my passport, to which I answered, that if the commandant had wished to see the passport, he would certainly have sent one of his officers to ask for it; the young man rejoined, that he was the sergeant of the district. I said that I did not doubt the truth of what he said, but that I could not know him in that capacity, because, instead of being in uniform, he had appeared in the usual dress of shirt and drawers; and I added, that his manner was such, that I had quite resolved not to show it to him at all. He said, I must and should show it; I turned to Julio, and asked him, if he heard what the man said; Julio answered, “Yes, sir, never mind.”[39] The sergeant went off, and we prepared our arms, much to the amazement and amusement of some of the more peaceable inhabitants. I soon saw him again, and he was coming towards us, with two or three other persons; I called to him to keep at a distance, telling him that Julio would fire if he did not. This he judged advisable to do; and as I thought it proper and prudent to advance as soon as possible, we left the place soon after one o’clock, with a broiling sun; therefore we then saw no more of the sergeant. The dry river, upon which this village stands, divides the captaincies of Rio Grande and Seara, consequently there was much reason for the commandant’s demand of my passport; but it was necessary to preserve the high opinion generally entertained of the name of Inglez, Englishman, wherever the people possessed sufficient knowledge to understand that the said Inglezes, were not bichos, or animals; and also to keep up my own importance with the persons about me. It would not have answered, to have thus given way to a man who was inclined to make me feel the consequence which he judged his place would allow him to assume. If I had been invited to the commandant’s house in a civil way, or if the sergeant had come to me in his uniform, all would have gone well. These trifles, though apparently of no importance, weigh very heavily with persons who have made such small advances towards civilization; public opinion is every thing. If the idea of my being a bicho and a heretic had not been counter-balanced by that of rank and consequence, I might have had the whole village upon me, and have been deserted by my own people into the bargain.

The general features of the captaincy of Rio Grande, may be laid down as displaying tolerable fertility to the southward of Natal, and as having a barren aspect to the northward of it, excepting the banks and immediate neighbourhood of the Potengi.

We passed through the estate of Ilha, distant from St. Luzia one league and a half, and proceeded, after taking water, four leagues beyond it, to an uninhabited and unfinished house. The owner had commenced building during the rains of the former year, and had gone on with the work until the spring of water, near to the place, failed. The house was tiled and spacious; but the wood work only of the walls was erected. It had been the intention of this person to establish a fazenda here; but the failure of the spring of water would, probably, deter him from his purpose. The country from Ilha to Tibou, where we halted at noon on the following day, a distance of ten leagues, was now without water. Two parties of travellers, besides our own, had taken up their night’s lodging at this unfinished house. The several fires, the groups around them, some cooking, some eating, and others asleep; the pack-saddles and trunks strewed about, as they had been taken from the horses’ backs, formed a scene worthy of a painter; all was darkness around, and the wind blew fresh, for the house had no walls, and no obstruction to oppose its entrance, save the upright posts which supported the roof. The light of the fires sometimes flashed upon one or other of the countenances of the travellers, and on these occasions alone could I discover their colour and consequently, in some degree, their rank. I might be in the company of slaves or of white men, for both would have taken up their night’s station in the same manner. An old man of colour addressed me, asking if I was the Englishman who had rested at noon at St. Luzia; on my answering in the affirmative, he said that he was at the commandant’s at the time, and that there were several debates about the mode of proceeding respecting me and mine—that my determination not to give up my passport had caused some demur, and that among other suppositions of who I might be, one wiseacre said, there was no knowing whether I was not one of Bonaparte’s ministers, and what might be my diabolical plans. Indeed I was often amused with the strange ideas which the country people entertained of distant nations, of which they had heard the names, and perhaps some further particulars; these were altered in such a manner by their misapprehension, that it was oftentimes difficult to discover what the real circumstances were which had been related to them.

We traversed another salt marsh this afternoon. The marsh I have mentioned as having crossed on the 4th of this month, was the only one of that description which I met with. The others I have spoken of, and those which I shall have occasion to mention, are dry, and the soil upon them in summer is hard, it is dark coloured and produces no grass, but upon the skirts of the marshes are seen several sea-side plants, and the water that oozes from them is quite salty.

Our road the next morning lay through brushwood for three leagues over heavy sand, and three leagues over a salt marsh. Near mid-day we passed a cottage, in which resided the herdsman of a fazenda and immediately beyond, ascended a hill of heavy sand called Tibou, from which we again saw the sea. I scarcely can describe the sensations which were occasioned by this sight; I felt as if I was at home, as if free to act as I pleased. The spring of water near to the cottage was dried up, but there was one on the opposite side of the sand-hill, which still afforded a small supply; we now took up our mid-day station under a miserable hut, erected at the summit of the hill, by the inhabitants of the cottage, for the purpose of curing their fish; they had fixed upon this spot from its height and consequent exposure to the wind. The descent to the sea-shore is steep, but not dangerous, as the depth of the sand prevents any apprehension of a horse falling and rolling down. The great length of the journies of the two last days, had almost knocked up the horse upon which my Goiana guide rode; I saw that the man was not inclined to walk for the purpose of easing the animal, and therefore wishing to see what could be done by example, I dismounted and took off the greatest part of my cloaths, removed the bit from my horse’s mouth, tied the bridle round his neck, and turned him loose among the others; this had the desired effect, and John also was then ashamed to be the only person on horseback.

We advanced very quickly over the wet sands, passed two fishermen’s huts distant from Tibou two leagues; and one league further turned up from the shore by a steep, sandy path, which took us to the hamlet of Areias, composed of one respectable looking dwelling and five or six straw huts. The lands we passed this afternoon, bordering the shore, are low and sandy, without trees and without cultivation. In seasons less severe than this there is a small spring of water, not far from the fishermen’s huts which we had passed, but now it was entirely dried up; they stand near to a small piece of ground, of which the soil is less sandy than that in the neighbourhood, and a crop of water melons is usually obtained from it, which had however completely failed this year. On our arrival at Areias I made for the principal house, and asked for a night’s lodging. The front room was offered to me, upon which our horses were unloaded, and our baggage put into it. I was surprised to see no elderly or middle aged person belonging to this house; there were three or four boys only, of whom the oldest was about sixteen years of age, and he appeared to direct the concerns of the establishment. He had a piece of inclosed ground near to the house, into which he allowed our horses to be turned, and this arrangement being made, I had then time to look round, and see my quarters. Not a tree or shrub was to be seen in the neighbourhood, but there were immense sand-hills on one side, and on the other the sea. The convenience of the spot for fishing could alone have made these people fix upon it for a residence. I sent out to purchase a fowl; one was brought, for which I paid 640 reis, about 3s. 6d. Julio told me that he had seen some goats and kids, upon which I sent him to purchase one of the latter; he returned with a large one, for which the owner asked 80 reis, less than 6d. I thought I was in duty bound to eat my fowl, but the kid was much finer of its kind. A boy passed in the evening with a large turtle, which he begged the guide to exchange for about one pound of the kid; the meat was given to him, but his turtle would have been of no use to us.

Julio, when he went to purchase the kid, had heard a long story about a ghost, which made its appearance in the house at which we had stationed ourselves. The persons from whom he heard it, had advised him to make me acquainted with the circumstance, that I might move to some other place for the night. I began to suspect some trick, and told my people my idea of the sort of ghost we were likely to meet with; I found that this cheered them, as by them shadows were more dreaded than flesh and blood. We slung our hammocks in different directions in the large room, and each took his arms, and settled for the night;—a sudden panic seized my additional guide, and he was sneaking out of the room; but I stopped him, and said, that I would send him back to his own country if he went out; the business was however settled by taking the key from the door. The story ran thus, the master and mistress of the house had been murdered by two of their slaves, and it was said that their ghosts occasionally took a walk in this room; nay, it was even reported that the old gentleman used his gold headed cane, and woke with it those who slept in the house. We had not, however, the honour of his company, and in the morning had much laughter, at the fellow who had been so dreadfully frightened.

The country through which we proceeded on the morrow, presented a more cheering appearance. We reached, at a short distance from Areias, some inclosed and cultivated lands, then passed over a salt-marsh and arrived at Cajuaes, distant from Areias two leagues. The place receives its name from the great number of acaju trees, and consists of six or seven huts. Here we dined, finding good water and abundance of maize-stalks for our horses. There was some appearance of comfort and enjoyment of life, at least comparatively speaking. Beyond Cajuaes three leagues we slept near to a hut, after travelling through some more cultivated ground. I was asked, by some persons at Cajuaes, at what place I had slept the preceding night; I answered at Areias, they then enquired in what house at Areias, as at that village there was none into which travellers could be received. I replied, that on the contrary, there was the great house, which I had found very comfortable; they were perfectly astonished at my sleeping in this haunted place, and for some time imagined that I was joking. Afterwards, on other occasions, I heard of the same story, which appeared to have taken deep root in the faith of all those who spoke of it.

The next day we reached Aracati, distant seven leagues from where we had slept, about five o’clock in the afternoon. Great part of this day’s journey was through salt marshes or plains covered with the CarnÀÛba; the tall naked stems of the palms, crowned with branches like the coco tree at the summit, which rustle with the least breath of air, and the bare and dark coloured soil upon which no grass grows and rarely any shrub, give a dismal look to these plains. The computed distance from AÇÛ? to Aracati is forty-five leagues. When I approached Aracati, I sent my Goiana guide forwards with the letter which I had received from the governor of Rio Grande to Senhor Joze Fideles Barrozo, a wealthy merchant and landed proprietor. On my arrival, I found that the guide had delivered the letter, and that Senhor Barrozo had given to him the keys of an unoccupied house, which I was to inhabit during my stay.

The town of Aracati consists chiefly of one long street, with several others of minor importance branching from it to the southward; it stands upon the southern bank of the river Jaguaribe, which is so far influenced by the tide. At the ebb, the stream is fordable, and as it spreads considerably from the main channel, some parts remain quite dry at low water. The houses of Aracati, unlike those of any of the other small places which I visited, have one story above the ground floor; I enquired the reason of this, and was told, that the floods of the river were sometimes so great, as to render necessary a retreat to the upper part of the houses. The town contains three churches, and a town-hall and prison, but no monasteries; this captaincy does not contain any such pest. The inhabitants are in number about six hundred.

The house I was to occupy, consisted of two good sized rooms, with large closets or small bed-chambers leading from each, called alcovas, and a kitchen, these were all above; and underneath there was a sort of warehouse. To the back we had an oblong yard, inclosed by a brick wall, with a gate at the farther end, by which our horses entered; and here they remained until better arrangements could be made for them. I slung my hammock in the front room, and desired that some fowls should be purchased, as stock, whilst we remained here. One was preparing for me, when three black servants appeared from Senhor Barrozo; the first brought a large tray with a plentiful and excellently cooked supper, wine, sweetmeats, &c.—a second carried a silver ewer and basin, and a fringed towel, and a third came to know if there was any thing which I particularly wished for, besides what had been prepared; this man took back my answer, and the other two remained to attend, until I had supped. I learnt from the guide afterwards, that another tray had been sent for my people. I supposed that Senhor Barrozo had thought proper to treat me in this manner on the day of my arrival, from an idea that I could not have arranged any means of cooking, &c. until the next day; but in the morning coffee and cakes were brought to me, and the same major-domo came to know if all was to my liking. Whilst I remained at Aracati, Senhor Barrozo provided every thing for me and for my people, in the same handsome manner. This treatment is usual where persons are well recommended; it is noble, and shows the state of manners among the higher orders.

In the morning I received a visit from Senhor Barrozo, whose manners were ceremonious and courtly. On my mentioning the inconvenience to which I was putting him by my stay, he said, that he could not alter in any way his mode of treating me, because, if he did, he should not do his duty to the governor of Rio Grande, to whom he owed many obligations, and, consequently, took every opportunity of showing his gratitude by all the means in his power. The reason which he thus gave for his civility, completely set at rest any thing I could have said to prevent its continuance. He ordered all my horses to be taken to an island in the river, upon which there was plenty of grass. I had resolved to send John back to Pernambuco by sea, and spoke to Senhor Barrozo upon the subject, when he immediately said, that one of his smacks was going, in which my servant might have a birth. John was out of health, and not adapted to the kind of life which we had been leading, and should be yet under the necessity of continuing. This day I remained at home, employing the greatest part of it in sleeping; and in the evening returned Senhor Barrozo’s visit. A white man, with whom my Goiana guide was acquainted, called upon me, and we arranged an expedition in a canoe, for the next day, to go down the river to its mouth.

My guide’s friend came as he had appointed, and his canoe was waiting for us. His two negroes poled where the water was shallow, and paddled us along where it became deep. We passed several beautiful islands, some of which had cattle upon them; and others, of which the land was too low to produce grass; the latter were entirely covered with mangroves, which grow likewise on the borders of the river, the shores being clear of them only where settlements are formed, and the proprietors have extirpated them. The river is, in parts, about half a mile in breadth, and in some places, where there are islands, it is broader, if taken from the outermost sides of the two branches which it, in these situations, forms. The town is distant from the bar about eight miles. We boarded Senhor Barrozo’s smack, took the long boat belonging to it, and proceeded to the bar, which is narrow and dangerous, owing to the sand banks on each side; upon these the surf is very violent. The sand is so loose at the mouth of the river, that the masters of the coasting vessels are obliged to use every precaution possible each voyage, as if they were entering a harbour with which they are unacquainted. The river widens immediately within the bar, and forms rather a spacious bay. Even if no other obstacle presented itself, the port cannot, from the uncertainty of the depth of its entrance, ever become of any importance. Coasters alone can enter, and I understand that the sand in the river also accumulates; the sand banks project from each side in some places so much as to render the navigation, even for a boat, somewhat difficult from a short distance above the bay[40]. On our return, we dined at an estate upon the banks of the river, of which the owner was an acquaintance of the man who had proposed this party. Opposite to the dwelling-house of this estate stands an island, which produces abundance of grass; but there is no fresh water upon it; this obliges the cattle that feed there, regularly to pass over to the main land every day to drink, and return to the island, which they are so much accustomed to do, that no herdsman is necessary to compel them. We saw them swim across, and all passed close to the house in their way to the pool. The owner said, that the calves invariably took that side of their mothers to which the tide was running, to prevent being carried away by the force of the stream: and indeed I observed, that all the calves took the same side.

In the evening arrangements were made for the hire of two horses to carry me and one of my people to Seara, leaving my own beasts to rest for the journey back to Pernambuco. I again called upon Senhor Barrozo, to make known to him my plan, and he then gave me a letter to a gentleman with whom he was acquainted at Seara. A guide for the journey was also procured.

The horses were ready, and in the morning I set forth, accompanied by my Goiana guide, and the man whom I had hired for this additional journey; he rode a horse with which he had been charged to take to Seara. He was an old man, half mad, and very amusing. We hailed the ferryman to take us across the river before day-break; but as he did not answer, we took possession of a large canoe which lay empty, and was tied to a post; we got into it, and the Goiana guide paddled us very dexterously to the middle of the river, where the canoe grounded; it had struck upon a sand bank, owing to the man being unacquainted with the navigation of the stream. We were obliged to undress, and get into the water to push the canoe off, which we succeeded in doing, and reached the opposite side in safety. The horses crossed over, tied to the sides of the canoe, swimming or taking the ground according to the depth of the water.

The distance between Aracati and the Villa da Fortaleza do Seara Grande, is thirty leagues, principally consisting of sandy lands covered with brushwood; in a few places, the wood is loftier and thicker, but of this there is not much. We passed also some fine varseas, or low marshy grounds, which were now sufficiently dry for cultivation; and indeed the only land from which any crop could be expected in this particularly severe dry season. The country is, generally speaking, flat, and in some parts the path led us near to the sea shore, but was never upon it. We saw several cottages, and three or four hamlets; the facility of obtaining fish from the sea, has rendered living comparatively easy in these parts. We passed through an Indian village, and the town of St. Joze, each built in a square, and each containing about three hundred inhabitants. I understood that the governors of Seara are obliged to take possession of their office at St. Joze. We made the journey in four days, arriving at the Villa da Fortaleza on the 16th December, and might have entered it at noon on the fourth day, but I preferred waiting until the evening. I performed the journey from Natal to Seara, a distance of one hundred and sixty leagues, according to the vague computation of the country, in thirty-four days. The morning after my arrival I sent back to Aracati the men and horses which I had brought with me.

The town of the fortress of SearÀ is built upon heavy sand, in the form of a square, with four streets leading from it, and it has an additional long street on the north side of the square, which runs in a parallel direction, but is unconnected with it. The dwellings have only a ground floor, and the streets are not paved; but some of the houses have foot paths of brick in front. It contains three churches, the governor’s palace, the town-hall and prison, a custom-house, and the treasury. The number of inhabitants I judge to be from one thousand to twelve hundred. The fort, from which the place derives its name, stands upon a sand-hill close to the town, and consists of a sand or earth rampart towards the sea, and of stakes driven into the ground on the land side; it contained four or five pieces of cannon of several sizes, which were pointed various ways; and I observed that the gun of heaviest metal was mounted on the land side. Those which pointed to the sea were not of sufficient calibre to have reached a vessel in the usual anchorage ground. The powder magazine is situated upon another part of the sand-hill, in full view of the harbour. There is not much to invite the preference given to this spot; it has no river, nor any harbour, and the beach is bad to land upon; the breakers are violent, and the recife or reef of rocks affords very little protection to vessels riding at anchor upon the coast. The settlement was formerly situated three leagues to the northward, upon a narrow creek, where there exists now only the remains of an old fort. The beach is steep, which renders the surf dangerous for a boat to pass through in making for the shore. A vessel unloaded during my stay there, and part of her cargo consisted of the flour of the mandioc in small bags; the long boat approached as near to the shore as it could without striking, and the bags were landed on men’s heads; the persons employed to bring them ashore passed through the surf with them; but if they were caught by a wave the flour was wetted and injured, and indeed few reached the shore perfectly dry. The anchorage ground is bad and exposed; the winds are always from the southward and eastward; and if they were very variable a vessel could scarcely ride upon the coast. The reef of rocks forms a complete ridge, at a considerable distance from the shore, and is to be seen at low water. Upon this part of the coast the reef runs lower than towards Pernambuco, which has obliged the people of SearÀ to take advantage of the rocks being rather higher here, and affording some little protection to ships at anchor. The spot seems to have been preferred owing to this advantage, trifling as it is, though the rocks are much inferior to those which form the bold reef of Pernambuco. The ridge runs parallel with the shore for about one quarter of a mile, with two openings, one above and the other below the town. A small vessel may come to anchor between it and the shore; but a large ship can only bring up either to the northward or to the southward of the town, in one of the openings of the ridge or on the outside of it. The opening to the northward is to be preferred. A vessel coming from the northward should make the point of Mocoripe, which lies one league to the southward of the town, and upon it stands a small fort; this being done, she will then be able to make the anchorage ground. On the appearance of a ship the fort of the town will have a white flag flying upon a high flag-staff. To the northward of the town, between the reef and the shore, there is a rock called Pedra da Velha, or the Old Woman’s Rock, which is to be seen even at high water by the breakers upon it. When a vessel leaves the port she may either pass between this rock and the shore, giving a birth to a shoal about one hundred yards to the northward, or she may run between the rock and the principal ridge or reef.

The public buildings are small and low, but are neat and white-washed, and adapted to the purposes for which they are intended. Notwithstanding the disadvantage to the general appearance, imparted by the wretched soil upon which the town has been erected, I could not avoid thinking that its look was that of a thriving place; but I believe that this can scarcely be said to be the real state of the town. The difficulty of land carriage, particularly in such a country, the want of a good harbour, and the dreadful droughts, prevent any sanguine hope of its rise to opulence. The commerce of SearÀ is very limited and is not likely to increase; the long credits which it is necessary for the trader to give, preclude the hope of quick returns, to which British merchants are accustomed.

I rode immediately on my arrival to the house of Senhor Marcos Antonio BriÇio, the chief of the Treasury and of the Naval department, with several other titles which are not transferrable into our language; to this gentleman I had a letter of introduction from Senhor Barrozo. I found several persons assembled at his house to drink tea and play at cards. Senhor Marcos is an intelligent and well-informed man, who has seen good society in Lisbon, and had held a high situation at Maranham before he was appointed to SearÀ. I was introduced to Senhor LourenÇo, a merchant, who had connections in trade with England; he recognized my name, for he had been acquainted with near relations of mine in Lisbon. I was invited to stay with him and received from him every civility.

The morning after my arrival I visited the governor, Luiz Barba Alardo de Menezes[41], and was received by him with much affability; he said, that he wished he had more opportunities of shewing the regard which he entertained for my countrymen, and that some of them would come and settle in his captaincy. He built, during his administration of the province, the centre of the palace, and employed Indian workmen, paying them half the usual price of labour. He was in the habit of speaking of the property of individuals residing within the province as if it was his own, saying, his ships, his cotton, &c. I happened to be at SearÀ, on the Queen of Portugal’s birthday; the company of regular troops, consisting of one hundred and fourteen men, was reviewed; they looked respectable, and were in tolerable order. In the chief apartment of the palace stood a full length picture of the Prince Regent of Brazil, which was placed against the wall, and was raised about three feet from the ground. Three or four steps ascended from the floor to the foot of the picture; upon the lowest of these the governor stood in full uniform, and each person passed before him and bowed, that thus the state of the Sovereign Court might be kept up. I dined with the governor this day, at whose table were assembled all the military and civil officers, and two or three merchants; he placed me at his right hand, as a stranger, thus shewing the estimation in which Englishmen are held. About thirty persons were present at the table, of which more than half wore uniforms; indeed the whole display was much more brilliant than I had expected; every thing was good and handsome.

I had opportunities of seeing the Indian villages of Aronxas and Masangana, and there is a third in this neighbourhood, of which I have forgotten the name; each is distant from SearÀ between two and three leagues, in different directions; they are built in the form of a square, and each contains about three hundred inhabitants. One of my usual companions on these occasions was acquainted with the vicar of Aronxas, and we therefore made him a visit. He resided in a building which had formerly belonged to the Jesuits; it is attached to the church, and has balconies from the principal corridor, which look into it.

The Indians of these villages, and indeed of all those which I passed through, are Christians; though it is said that some few of them follow in secret their own heathenish rites, paying adoration to the maracÀ, and practising all the customs of their religion, if I may use this word, of which so exact a description is given in Mr. Southey’s History of Brazil. When the Roman Catholic religion does take root in them, it of necessity degenerates into the most abject superstition. An adherence to superstitious rites, whether of Roman Catholic ordination or prescribed by their own undefined faith, appears to be the only part of their character in which they shew any constancy. Each village has its priest, who is oftentimes a vicar, and resident for life upon the spot. A director is also attached to each village, who is supposed to be a white man; he has great power over the persons within his jurisdiction. If a proprietor of land is in want of workmen he applies to the director, who agrees for the price at which the daily labour is to be paid, and he commands one of his chief Indians to take so many men and proceed with them to the estate for which they are hired. The labourers receive the money themselves, and expend it as they please; but the bargains thus made are usually below the regular price of labour. Each village has two Juizes Ordinarios or Mayors, who act for one year. One Juiz is a white man, and the other an Indian; but it may easily be supposed that the former has, in fact, the management. These Juizes have the power of putting suspicious persons into confinement, and of punishing for small crimes; those of more importance wait for the CorreiÇam, or circuit of the Ouvidor of the captaincy. Each village contains a town-hall and prison. The administration of justice in the Sertam is generally spoken of as most wretchedly bad; every crime obtains impunity by the payment of a sum of money. An innocent person is sometimes punished through the interest of a great man, whom he may have offended, and the murderer escapes who has the good fortune to be under the protection of a powerful patron. This proceeds still more from the feudal state of the country than from the corruption of the magistrates, who might often be inclined to do their duty, and yet be aware that their exertions would be of no avail, and would possibly prove fatal to themselves. The Indians have likewise their Capitaens-mores, and this title is conferred for life; it gives the holder some power over his fellows, but as it is among them, unaccompanied by the possession of property, the Indian Capitaens-mores are much ridiculed by the whites; and indeed the half naked officer with his gold-headed cane is a personage who would excite laughter from the most rigid nerves.

The Indians are in general a quiet and inoffensive people, they have not much fidelity, but although they desert they will not injure those whom they have served. Their lives are certainly not passed in a pleasant manner under the eye of a director, by whom they are imperiously treated, consequently it is not surprising that they should do all in their power to leave their villages and be free from an immediate superior; but even when they have escaped from the irksome dominion of the director they never settle in one place. The Indian scarcely ever plants for himself, or if he does, rarely waits the crop; he sells his maize or mandioc for half its value, before it is fit to be gathered, and removes to some other district. His favourite pursuits are fishing and hunting; a lake or rivulet will alone induce him to be stationary for any length of time. He has a sort of independent feeling, which makes him spurn at any thing like a wish to deprive him of his own free agency; to the director he submits, because it is out of his power to resist. An Indian can never be persuaded to address the master to whom he may have hired himself, by the term of Senhor, though it is made use of by the whites in speaking to each other, and by all other free people in the country; but the negroes also use it in speaking to their masters, therefore the Indian will not; he addresses his temporary master by the term of amo or patram, protector or patron. The reluctance to use the term of Senhor may perhaps have commenced with the immediate descendants of those who were in slavery, and thus the objection may have become traditionary. They may refuse to give by courtesy what was once required from them by law. However, if it began in this manner, it is not now continued for the same reason, as none of those with whom I conversed, and they were very many, appeared to know that their ancestors had been obliged to work as slaves.

The instances of murder committed by Indians are rare. They are pilferers rather than thieves. When they can, they eat immoderately; but if it is necessary they can live upon a very trifling quantity of food, to which their idleness often reduces them. They are much addicted to liquor, and will dance in a ring, singing some of the monotonous ditties of their own language, and drink for nights and days without ceasing. Their dances are not indecent, as those of Africa. The mulattos consider themselves superior to the Indians, and even the Creole blacks look down upon them; “he is as paltry as an Indian[42],” is a common expression among the lower orders in Brazil. They are vilely indifferent regarding the conduct of their wives and daughters; lying and other vices attached to savage life belong to them. Affection seems to have little hold upon them; they appear to be less anxious for the life and welfare of their children than any other cast of men who inhabit that country. The women however do not, among these semi-barbarians, perform the principal drudgery; if the husband is at home he fetches water from the rivulet and fuel from the wood; he builds the hut whilst his wife takes shelter in some neighbour’s shed. But if they travel she has her young children to carry, the pots, the baskets, and the excavated gourds, whilst the husband takes his wallet of goat-skin and his hammock rolled up upon his back, his fishing net and his arms, and walks in the rear. The children are washed on the day of their birth in the nearest brook or pool of water. Both the men and the women are cleanly in many of their habits, and particularly in those relating to their persons; but in some other matters their customs are extremely disgusting; the same knife is used for all purposes, and with little preparatory cleaning is employed in services of descriptions widely opposite. They do not reject any kind of food, and devour it almost without being cooked; rats and other small vermin, snakes and alligators are all accepted.

The instinct, for I know not what else to call it, which the Indians possess above other men, in finding their way across a wood to a certain spot on the opposite side without path or apparent mark, is most surprising; they trace footsteps over the dry leaves which lie scattered under the trees. The letter-carriers, from one province to another, are mostly Indians, for from habit they endure great fatigue, and will walk day after day, with little rest, for months together. I have met them with their wallets made of goat-skin upon their shoulders, walking at a regular pace, which is not altered by rough or smooth. Though a horse may outstrip one of these men for the first few days, still if the journey continues long, the Indian will, in the end, arrive before him. If a criminal has eluded the diligence of the police officers, Indians are sent in pursuit of him, as a last resource. It is well known that they will not take him alive; each man who sees the offender fires, for they do not wish to have any contention. Nor is it possible for the magistrate to fix upon the individual of the party who shot the criminal; for if any of them are asked who killed him, the answer invariably is “os homems,” the men.

It is usually said, that a party of Indians will fight tolerably well; but that two or three will take to their heels at the first alarm. Some of them however are resolute, and sufficiently courageous; but the general character is usually supposed to be cowardly, inconstant, devoid of acute feelings, as forgetful of favours as of injuries, obstinate in trifles, regardless of matters of importance. The character of the negro is more decided; it is worse, but it is also better. From the black race the worst of men may be formed; but they are capable likewise of great and good actions. The Indian seems to be without energy or exertion; devoid of great good or great evil. Much may at the same time be said in their favour; they have been unjustly dealt with, they have been trampled upon, and afterwards treated as children; they have been always subjected to those who consider themselves their superiors, and this desire to govern them has even been carried to the direction of their domestic arrangements. But no,—if they are a race of acute beings, capable of energy, of being deeply interested upon any subject, they would do more than they have done. The priesthood is open to them; but they do not take advantage of it[43]. I never saw an Indian mechanic in any of the towns; there is no instance of a wealthy Indian; rich mulattos and negroes are by no means rare. I have had many dealings with them as guides and carriers, and subsequently as labourers, and have no reason to complain, for I was never injured by any of them; but neither did I receive any particular good service, excepting in the instance of Julio. For guides and carriers they are well adapted, as their usual habits lead them to the rambling life which these employments encourage. As labourers, I found that they had usually a great inclination to over-reach; but their schemes were badly made, and consequently easily discovered. I never could depend upon them for any length of time, and to advance money or cloathing to them is a certain loss. If I had any labour which was to be performed by a given time, the overseer would always reckon upon his mulatto and negro free people; but did not mention in the list of persons who were to work, any of the Indians whom I was then employing; and on my speaking of them, he answered “An Indian is only to be mentioned for the present day[44],” meaning that no reliance is to be placed upon them.

Like most of the aboriginal inhabitants of the western hemisphere, these people are of a copper colour. They are short, and stoutly made; but their limbs, though large, have not the appearance of possessing great strength, they have no shew of muscle. The face is disproportionately broad, the nose flat, the mouth wide, the eyes deep and small, the hair black, coarse, and lank; none of the men have whiskers, and their beards are not thick. The women, when they are young, have by no means an unpleasant appearance; but they soon fall off, and become ugly; their figures are seldom well shaped. Deformity is rare among the Indians; I do not recollect to have seen an individual of this race who had been born defective; and the well-informed persons with whom I conversed were of opinion, that the Indians are more fortunate in this respect than any other race with whom they were acquainted. All the Indians of Pernambuco speak Portugueze, but few of them pronounce it well; there is always a certain twang which discovers the speaker to be an Indian, although the voice was heard without the person being seen; many of them however do not understand any other language. The Indians seldom if ever speak Portugueze so well as the generality of the creole negroes.

It must be perfectly understood, that although there may be some unfair dealings occasionally of the director towards the Indian, still this race cannot be enslaved; the Indian cannot be made to work for any person against his inclination, he cannot be bought and sold. An Indian will sometimes make over his child, when very young, to a rich person to be taught some trade, or to be brought up as a household servant, but as soon as the child is of an age to provide for itself, it cannot be prevented from so doing; it may leave the person under whose care it has been placed if it be so inclined.

Two Indians presented themselves at the gate of the Carmelite convent of Goiana, and requested and were permitted to see the prior. They put into his hands a purse containing several gold coins, saying that they had found it near Dous Rios; they begged that he would order a number of masses to be said in their behalf, which were to be paid for from the contents of the purse. The prior, admiring their honesty, asked one of them to remain with him as his servant, to which the man agreed. The friar was in the habit of going into the country to a friend’s house to shoot. On one occasion, after the Indian had served him for some time, he left the convent and took him on one of these expeditions, but when they were about half way, the friar discovered that he had forgotten his powder-horn; he gave the key of his trunk to the Indian and desired him to fetch the powder whilst he proceeded. In vain he waited at his friend’s house for his servant, and on his return to the convent in the evening he heard that he was not there. He went immediately to his cell, supposing that he had been robbed of all his money, and whatever else the fellow could carry of; but to his joy he discovered on examination, that the man had only taken the powder-horn, two silver coins of about 4s. value each, an old clerical gown, and a pair of worn out nankeen pantaloons. This story I had from an intimate friend of the prior.

One of the days of my stay at SearÀ we passed upon the borders of a lake, which is between two and three leagues distant from the town, for the purpose of shooting. This lake was nearly dry. The general feature of the country about SearÀ is arid; the captaincy produces no sugar, but the lands are adapted for cotton, of which however the crop this year was very trifling. So excessive had the drought become, that a famine was feared, and great distress would have been experienced if a vessel had not arrived from the southward laden with the flour of the mandioc. The usual price of it was 640 reis per alqueire, but the cargo of this vessel was sold at 6400 reis per alqueire; a fact which proves the scarcity to have been very great. Formerly considerable quantities of beef were salted and dried here, and were exported to the other captaincies, but from the mortality among the cattle, caused by the frequent dry seasons, this trade has been unavoidably given up entirely, and the whole country is now supplied from the Rio Grande do Sul, the southern boundary of the Portugueze dominions. But the meat which arrives at Pernambuco from the Rio Grande do Sul, still preserves its name of SearÀ meat, carne do SearÀ. The country to the northward and eastward I understood to be much superior to that in the neighbourhood of SearÀ. The captaincy of Piauhi, which lies in that direction, is accounted fertile, and is not subject to droughts.

Many were the praises which I heard of the late governor of SearÀ, Joam Carlos, who was appointed to this province before he had arrived at the age of twenty years, and who was at the time I visited SearÀ captain-general of Mato Grosso. His administration of justice was in general summary, but on one occasion he waved his usual severity; he was informed, whilst playing at cards at the house of Senhor Marcos, which is near to the palace, that a soldier was robbing his garden. He answered, “Poor fellow, great must be his hunger when he runs the risk of entering his governor’s garden—don’t molest him.” Some persons were in the practice of taking doors off their hinges, and other tricks of the same sort, during the night; the governor had in vain attempted to discover who they were, and he resolved at last to wrap himself up in his cloak and to apprehend some of them, if possible, with his own hands. A young man, with whom I was acquainted, had met the governor on one of these nights, he demanded his name and, on discovering who it was, admonished him to be at home at an earlier hour on the following evening.

The family of the Feitozas still exists in the interior of this captaincy and that of Piauhi, in possession of extensive estates, which are covered with immense droves of cattle. In the time of Joam Carlos, the chiefs had risen to such power, and were supposed to be so completely out of the reach of punishment, that they entirely refused obedience to the laws, both civil and criminal, such as they are. They revenged their own wrongs; persons obnoxious to them were publicly murdered in the villages of the interior; the poor man who refused obedience to their commands was devoted to destruction, and the rich man, who was not of their clan, was obliged silently to acquiesce in deeds of which he did not approve. The Feitozas are descendants of Europeans, but many of the branches are of mixed blood, and perhaps few are free from some tinge of the original inhabitants of Brazil. The chief of the family was a colonel of militia, and could at a short notice call together about one hundred men, which is equal to ten or twenty times the number in a well-peopled country. Deserters were well received by him, and murderers who had committed this crime in the revenge of injuries; the thief was not accepted, and much less the man who for the sake of pillage had taken the life of another.

Joam Carlos had received from Lisbon secret instructions to secure the person of this chief of the Feitozas. His first step was to inform the colonel, that he intended on a certain day to visit him at his village, for the purpose of reviewing his regiment. The village is not many leagues from the coast, but is distant considerably from SearÀ. Feitoza answered, that he should be ready to receive His Excellency on the appointed day. The time came and Joam Carlos set out, accompanied by ten or twelve persons; the colonel greeted him most courteously, and had assembled all his men to make the greatest possible shew. After the review, the colonel dismissed them, fatigued with the day’s exercise, for many of them had travelled several leagues. He retired with the governor to his house, accompanied by a few of his near relations. At the time all the party was preparing to settle for the night, Joam Carlos, having arranged every thing with his own people, rose and presented a pistol to the breast of the chief, his followers doing the same to the colonel’s relations and servants, who were unable to make any resistance, as they were unprepared, and not so numerous as the governor’s men. Joam Carlos told Feitoza, that if he spoke or made the least noise he should immediately fire, though he well knew that his own destruction would be certain. He conducted him to the back door, and ordered him and all the persons present to mount the horses which had been prepared for them. They made for the sea-shore, and arrived there very early in the morning; jangadas were in waiting to take them on board a smack, which was lying off and on near to the coast. The alarm was given soon after their departure from Feitoza’s village, and as the governor reached the smack, he saw the colonel’s adherents upon the beach, embarking in jangadas to try to overtake them, but it was too late; the smack left the land, and the next day made for the shore, landed the governor, and then proceeded on her voyage. Feitoza was supposed to be in the prison of the Limoeiro at Lisbon when the French entered Portugal, and either died about that time or was released by them[45]. His followers still look forwards to his return. The loss of their chiefs broke the power and union of the clan, and they have had disputes among themselves. Brazil is likewise undergoing a change of manners, and emerging rapidly from semi-barbarism.

A young man of SearÀ had been, a short time before my arrival, to the distance of thirty leagues into the interior, accompanied by two constables, to serve a writ upon a man of some property for a debt; they rode good horses, that they might perform their errand before he could have any knowledge that they were going, and might attempt, in consequence, any thing against their lives. It is a dangerous service to go into the interior to recover debts. The Portugueze law does not allow of arrest for debt, but by serving a writ any property which was sent down to the town to be shipped might be seized.

I was received at SearÀ most hospitably; the name of Englishman was a recommendation. In the morning I generally remained at home, and in the afternoon rode out with three or four of the young men of the place, who were much superior to any I had expected to find here, and in the evening a large party usually assembled at the house of Senhor Marcos; his company and that of his wife and daughter would have been very pleasant anywhere, but was particularly so in these uncivilized regions. Parties were likewise occasionally given at the palace, and at both these places, after tea and coffee, cards and conversation made the evenings pass very quickly. The palace was the only dwelling in the town which had boarded floors; it appeared at first rather strange to be received by one of the principal officers of the province, in a room with a brick floor and plain white washed walls, as occurred at the house of Senhor Marcos.

This gentleman had delivered to me a crimson coloured satin bag, containing government papers, and directed to the Prince Regent of Portugal and Brazil, and he gave me directions to put it into the hands of the post-master at Pernambuco. I obtained, from being the bearer, the power of requiring horses from the several commandants upon the road. To him it was convenient, as with me its chance of safety was greater than if it had been forwarded by a single man on foot, which is the usual mode of conveyance. The men employed for this purpose are trust-worthy, but must of course sometimes meet with accidents.

I had in my journey from Goiana to SearÀ seen Pernambuco, and the adjoining provinces to the northward, in almost their worst state—that of one whole season without rain; but extreme wretchedness is produced by two successive years of drought; in such a case, on the second year, the peasants die by the road side; entire families are swept away, entire districts are depopulated. The country was in this dreadful state in 1791, 2, 3, for these three years passed without any considerable fall of rain. In 1810, food was still to be purchased, though at exorbitant prices, and in the following year the rains came down in abundance, and removed the dread of famine. I had, I say, seen the provinces through which I passed upon the brink of extreme want, owing to the failure of the rains; I had myself experienced inconvenience from this cause, and in one instance considerable distress from it; now in returning, the whole country was changed, the rains had commenced, and I was made to feel that great discomfort is caused by each extreme; but the sensations which the apprehension of a want of water produces are much more painful than the disagreeable effects of an immoderate quantity of it—heavy rains and flooded lands.

I was obliged to stay at SearÀ longer than I had at first intended, owing to an accident which I met with in bathing; this confined me to my bed for some days. As soon as I was allowed to move I made preparations for my return; I purchased four horses, one to carry my trunk and a small barrel of biscuit, a second for farinha, a third for maize, and the fourth for myself. Senhor LourenÇo sent for three trusty Indians from one of the villages for the purpose of accompanying me, and on the 8th January, 1811, I commenced my return to Pernambuco.