36 EFFECTS OF SLAVERY. [chap.' 



the labour of two days is sufficient to support a man 

 his family for the whole week. 



April i^th. — Leaving Socego, we rode to another est 

 on the Rio Mac^e, which was the last patch of cultivatec 

 ground in that direction. The estate was two and a hal 

 miles long, and the owner had forgotten how many broad 

 Only a very small piece had been cleared, yet almost ever) 

 acre was capable of yielding all the various rich productions 

 of a tropical land. Considering the enormous area oJ 

 Brazil, the proportion of cultivated ground can scarcely be 

 considered as anything, compared to that which is left in 

 the state of nature : at some future age, how vast a popula- 

 tion it will support ! During the second day's journey we 

 found the road so shut up, that it was necessary that a man 

 should go ahead with a sword to cut away the creepers. 

 The forest abounded with beautiful objects ; among which 

 the tree ferns, though not large, were, from their bright 

 green foliage, and the elegant curvature of their fronds, 

 most worthy of admiration. In the evening it rained very 

 heavily, and although the thermometer stood at 65°, I felt 

 very cold. As soon as the rain ceased, it was curious to 

 observe the extraordinary evaporation which commenced 

 over the whole extent of the forest. At the height of a 

 hundred feet the hills were buried in a dense white vapour, 

 which rose like columns of smoke from the most thickly- 

 wooded parts, and especially from the valleys. I observed 

 this phenomenon on several occasions ; I suppose it is 

 owing to the large surface of foliage, previously heated by 

 the sun's rays. 



While staying at this estate, I was very nearly being an 

 eye-witness to one of those atrocious acts which can only 

 take place in a slave country. Owing to a quarrel and a 

 lawsuit, the owner was on the point of taking all the women 

 and children from the male slaves, and selling them 

 separately at the public auction at Rio. Interest, and not 

 any feeling of compassion, prevented this act. Indeed, I do 

 not believe the inhumanity of separating thirty families, 

 who had lived together for many years, even occurred to 

 the owner. Yet I will pledge myself, that in humanity and 

 good feeling he was superior to the common run of men. 

 It may be said there exists no limit to the blindness ol 

 interest and selfish habit. I may mention one very trifling 

 anecdote, which at the time struck me more forcibly than 

 any story of cruelty. I was crossing a ferry with a negro, 



