118 THE TOCANTINS. Chap. IV. 



been likened, by Prince Adalbert of Prussia, who 

 crossed its mouth in 1846, to the Ganges. It is 

 upwards of ten miles in breadth at its mouth ; opposite 

 Cameta it is five miles broad. Mr. Burchell, the well- 

 known English traveller, descended the river from the 

 mining provinces of interior Brazil some years before 

 our visit. Unfortunately, the utility of this fine stream 

 is impaired by the numerous obstructions to its navi- 

 gation in the shape of cataracts and rapids, which 

 commence, in ascending, at about 120 miles above 

 Cameta, as will be seen in the sequel. 



Aug. SOth. — Arrived, in company with Senhor 

 Laroque, an intelligent Portuguese merchant, at Vista 

 Alegre, fifteen miles above Cameta. This was the resi- 

 dence of Senhor Antonio Ferreira Gomez, and was a fair 

 sample of a Brazilian planter's establishment in this part 

 of the country. The buildings covered a wide space, 

 the dwelling-house being separated from the place of 

 business, and as both were built on low, flooded ground, 

 the communication between the two was by means of 

 a long wooden bridge. From the 'office and visitors' 

 apartments a wooden pier extended into the river. The 

 whole was raised on piles above high-water mark. There 

 was a rude mill for grinding sugar-cane, worked by 

 bullocks, but caslia9a, or rum, was the only article manu- 

 factured from the juice. Behind the buildings was a small 

 piece of ground cleared from the forest, and planted with 

 frLiit-trees, orange, lemon, genipapa, goyava, and others ; 

 and beyond this, a broad path through a neglected 

 plantation of coffee and cacao, led to several large sheds, 

 where the farinha, or mandiocca meal, was manufactured. 



