98 A NATURALIST ON THE "CHALLENGER." 



Makers of the long riding boots so fashionable here wan- 

 dered about the fair trying to sell their handiwork, and I bought 

 from a similar wanderer one of the vaqueiro's leather hats, 

 which did me the best of service in thick and thorny forests 

 throughout the remainder of the cruise ; with this on my head 

 I could butt my way head first into any bush with impunity. 



Close by the market-place was the church of the vicar 

 already mentioned, which had a mosque-like dome ornamented 

 with variously coloured dinner and tea plates set in patterns in 

 cement, a very original form of decoration. 



In the leather market quantities of skins of leather were 

 exposed for sale, and also tanned puma skins used for saddle- 

 cloths, and boa-constrictor skins, also tanned, used to make boots 

 and said to be remarkably waterproof. 



But the great sight of the fair is the cattle market, the 

 situation of which has already been described ; the cattle are 

 bred at estates far up the country, where they run wild in the 

 bush and are caught and branded, and drafted for market every 

 two years. 



The men who look after and drive the cattle are termed 

 " vaqueiros " in Portuguese. They are of all shades of colour, from 

 black to white ; they are dressed when at work from head to 

 foot in undyed red brown leather ; they wear leather breeches, 

 high leather boots with huge spurs, a leather coat like a longish 

 jacket, and a leather hat with rounded close-fitting crown and 

 broad brim : they ride small rough horses, which are worth 

 at Feira St. Anna from £4 to £5. They ride in saddles of the 

 form commonly called Mexican or Spanish. 



The vaqueiros receive as payment from the owners every 

 tenth head of cattle brought to market. They are, of course, 

 extremely expert riders, and it is marvellous what work they get 

 out of their small horses. 



The breeders rarely bring the cattle to market on their own 

 account, but sell them to dealers, who take them to Feira 

 St. Anna, and hand them over to other dealers again, who sell 

 them in Bahia or Caxoeira. 



The cattle are driven by the vaqueiros, who use a short, 

 leather thong to strike them with. Bands of from 20 to 50 head 



