DOWN THE AMAZONS. 363 
dren under their charge ; and you may sometimes see the 
large red jars standing under the mouth of the spring above, 
while white babies and dark nurses splash about in the cool 
water-basin below. Although in the carnpos the growth is 
low, and the soil but scantily covered with coarse grass and 
shrubs, yet, in some localities, and especially in the neighbor- 
hood of the town, the forest is beautiful. We have seen no- 
where larger and more luxuriant mimosas, sometimes of a 
green so rich and deep, and a foliage so close that it is dif- 
ficult to believe, at a distance, that its dense mass is formed 
by the light, pinnate leaves of a sensitive plant. The palms 
are also very lofty and numerous, including some kinds 
which we have not met before. 
January 28th. Yesterday our kind host arranged an 
excursion into the country, for my especial pleasure, that I 
might see something of the characteristic amusements of 
Monte Alegre. One or two neighbors joined us, and the 
children, a host of happy little folks, for whom anything 
out of the common tenor of every-day life is "festa," were 
not left behind. We started on foot to walk out into a very 
picturesque Indian village called Surubiju. Here we were 
to breakfast, returning afterwards in one of the heavy carts 
drawn by oxen, the only conveyance for women and chil- 
dren in a country where a carriage-road and a side-saddle 
are equally unknown. Our walk was very pleasant, partly 
through the woods, partly through the campos ; but as it was 
early in the day, we did not miss the shade when we chanced 
to leave the trees. We lingered by the wayside, the chil- 
dren stopping to gather wild fruits, of which there were 
a number on the road, and to help me in making a 
collection of plants. It was about nine o'clock when we 
reached the first straw-house, where we stopped to rest. 
