226 A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 
are quite pretty, but as a general thing the Indians in this 
part of the country do not look very healthy, and are apt to 
have diseases of the eyes and skin. It is a curious thing 
that the natives seem more liable to the maladies of the 
country than strangers. They are very subject to inter- 
mittent fevers, and one often sees Indians worn to mere 
skin and bone by this terrible scourge. 
If the morning walk in the woods is delightful, the even- 
ing stroll on the beach in front of the house is no less so, 
when the water is dyed in the purple sunset, and the quiet 
of the scene is broken here and there by a fire on the sands, 
around which a cluster of Indians are cooking their supper. 
As Major Coutinho and I were walking on the shore last 
evening we came on such a group. They were a family 
who had come over from their home on the other side 
of the lake, with a boat-load of fish and turtle to sell 
in the village. When they have disposed of their cargo, 
they build their fire on the beach, eat their supper of 
salted or broiled fish, farinha, and the nuts of a particu- 
lar kind of palm (Atalea), and then sleep in their canoe. 
We sat down with them, and, that they should not think 
we came merely out of curiosity, we shared their nuts 
and farinha, and they were soon very sociable. I am con- 
stantly astonished at the frank geniality of these people, 
so different from our sombre, sullen Indians, who are so 
unwilling to talk with strangers. The cordiality of their 
reception, however, depends very much on the way in 
which they are accosted. Major Coutinho, who has passed 
years among them, understands their character well, and 
has remarkable tact in his dealings with them. He speaks 
their language a little also, and this is important here 
where many of the Indians speak only the " lingua geral." 
