326 A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 
from mosquitoes, piums, and all kinds of noxious insects. 
At first a life so remote and isolated seems a hard lot, 
and one would think only the greatest devotion could 
induce a man to undertake it. But there is hardly a 
corner so remote in Brazil as not to be reached by the 
petty local politics ; and the padre is said to be a great 
politician, his campaign before election among the poor 
people with whom his lot is cast being as exciting to 
him as that of any man who canvasses in a more dis- 
tinguished arena ; the more satisfactory, perhaps, because 
he has the game very much in his own hands. We left 
Taua Peassu with the dawn, and are again on our way 
to Pedreira. The weather still continues most favorable 
for travelling, an overcast sky and a cool breeze. But 
to-day the black river sleeps without a ripple ; and, as we 
pass along, the trees meet the water, and are so perfectly 
reflected in it that we can hardly distinguish the dividing 
line. I have said that the forest is not characterized by 
palms, and yet we see many species which we have not 
met before ; among these is the Jara-assu, with its tall, 
slender stem, and broom-like tuft of stiff leaves. Mr. 
Agassiz has just gone on shore in the montaria, to cut 
down some palms of another kind, new to him. As he 
returns, the little boat seems to have undergone some 
marvellous change ; it looks like a green raft floating on 
the water, and we can hardly see the figures of the 
rowers for the beautiful crowns of the palm-trees. 
December 29th. Pedreira. I have said little about 
the insects and reptiles which play so large a part in most 
Brazilian travels, and, indeed, I have had much less annoy- 
ance from this source than I had expected. But I must 
confess the creature who greeted my waking sight this 
