Chap. I. A WITCH IN THE FOREST. 5$ 



it as a poultice to draw palm spines or even grains of 

 shot from the flesh. Other lizards of repulsive aspect, 

 about three feet in length when full grown, splashed 

 about and swam in the water ; sometimes emerging to 

 crawl into hollow trees on the banks of the stream, 

 where I once found a female and a nest of eggs. The 

 lazy flapping flight of large blue and black morpho 

 butterflies high in the air, the hum of insects, and 

 many inanimate sounds, contributed their share to the 

 total impression this strange solitude produced. Heavy 

 fruits from the crowns of trees which were mingled 

 together at a giddy height overhead, fell now and then 

 with a startling " plop " into the water. The breeze, 

 not felt below, stirred in the topmost branches, setting 

 the twisted and looped sipos in motion, which creaked 

 and groaned in a great variety of notes. To these 

 noises were added the monotonous ripple of the brook, 

 which had its little cascade at every score or two yards 

 of its course. 



We frequently fell in with an old Indian woman, 

 named Cecilia, who had a small clearing in the woods. 

 She had the reputation of being a witch (feiticeira), and 

 I found, on talking with her, that she prided herself on 

 her knowledge of the black art. Her slightly curled 

 hair showed that she was not a pure-blood Indian : I 

 was told her father was a dark mulatto. She was 

 always very civil to our party ; showing us the best 

 paths, explaining the virtues and uses of different 

 plants, and so forth. I was much amused at the ac- 

 counts she gave of the place. Her solitary life and the 

 gloom of the woods seemed to have filled her with su- 



