456 A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 
mountain* with snow in the hottest days, he brings the 
stones from the top of the serra to the bottom, he finds 
animals in the bowels of the earth and brings out their 
bones.'* " Ah ! " replies the padre, " a wonderful saint, 
truly ! such an one as I need for my chapel ; let me 
look upon his face." Handkerchief withdrawn, and the 
saint in question of course loses his forfeit. Yesterday, 
after breakfast, we left our pleasant friends and came on 
to the little village of Pacatuba, a league farther inland, 
and most picturesquely situated at the foot of the Serra 
of Aratanha. Here we are fortunate in finding an empty 
" sobrada " (two-storied house), in which we shall establish 
ourselves for the two or three days we mean to spend in 
this neighborhood. We have had it swept out, have hung 
our hammocks in the vacant rooms, which, with the excep- 
tion of a straw sofa and a few chairs, are innocent of 
furniture ; and if we find it rather forlorn within doors, 
we have at least beautiful views from all our windows. 
April 7th. Pacatuba. We have already ascertained 
that our exploration must be confined to the serras in the 
midst of which we find ourselves ; for every one tells us 
that, in the present state of the roads, it would be impossi- 
ble to go to Baturite and return in the short time we have 
at our disposal. However, Mr. Agassiz is not disappointed ; 
for he says a farther journey could only give him glacial 
phenomena on a larger scale, which he finds here immedi- 
ately about him in the greatest perfection. On this very 
Serra of Aratanha, at the foot of which we happen to have 
taken up our quarters, the glacial phenomena are as legible 
as in any of the valleys of Maine, or in those of the moun- 
tains of Cumberland in England. It had evidently a local 
glacier, formed by the meeting of two arms, which de- 
