CiiAP. IV. PEOPLE OF CAMETA. 153 



males, the Indian Avomen were good-looking, and made 

 excellent wives ; so the natural result has been, in the 

 course of two centuries, a complete blending of the two 

 races. There is now, however, a considerable infusion 

 of neoTO blood in the mixture, several hundred African 

 slaves having been introduced during the last seventy 

 years. The few whites are chiefly Portuguese, but there 

 are also two or three Brazilian families of pure European 

 descent. The town consists of three long streets, run- 

 ning parallel to the river, with a few shorter ones 

 crossing them at right angles. The houses are very 

 plain, being built, as usual in this country, simply of 

 a strong framework, filled up with mud, and coated 

 with white plaster. A few of them are of two or three 

 storeys. There are three churches, and also a small 

 theatre, where a company of native actors at the time 

 of my visit were representing light Portuguese plays 

 Avith considerable taste and ability. The people have 

 a reputation all over the province for energy and per- 

 severance ; and it is often said, that they are as keen 

 in trade as the Portuguese. The lower classes are as 

 indolent and sensual here as in other parts of the pro- 

 vince, a moral condition not to be wondered at in a 

 country where perpetual summer reigns, and where the 

 necessaries of life are so easily obtained. But they are 

 light-hearted, quick-witted, communicative, and hos- 

 pitable. I found here a native poet, who had written 

 some pretty verses, showing an appreciation of the 

 natural beauties of the country, and was told that the 

 Archbishop of Bahia, the primate of Brazil, was a native 

 of Cameta. It is interestinsf to find the mamelucos 



