92 A YEAR IN BRAZIL. 



along, and a strong- winged Papilio or gay Callidryas rushes 

 past with rapid flight. Then under one's feet is a carpet 

 of dry leaves, among which creep countless ants red, yellow 

 and black ; all sizes, from the smallest, almost invisible, to 

 savage-looking hairy, golden, or red and black creatures, 

 half an inch long. Such is a faint picture of my surround- 

 ings to-day. 



A few days ago Vicente shot a large lizard or " lagarto ; " 

 it was three feet eight inches long, and was killed while 

 lying asleep basking in the sun beside a small pond near 

 our camp. We skinned and cooked it according to a recipe 

 contained in a book I bought when at Rio de Janeiro, 

 called " Cozinheiro Nacional," or National Cookery, and 

 which gives directions how to prepare and cook the onga, 

 paca, monkey, capivara, snakes, frogs, armadillos, toucans, 

 and countless other birds, snails, ants, and, in fact, every- 

 thing imaginable. The result of the experiment with the 

 lizard was most satisfactory, the flesh being a delicate 

 white, and most delicious, rather similar to pork in flavour, 

 with a dash of the richness of a mackerel without the fishy 

 taste. We have also been eating tatus (armadillos), and 

 a paca which we caught lately. When I was returning the 

 other evening, wading down the river, a paca came off from 

 one bank and dived into the water to swim across. One of 

 my men hit it with his fauce (billhook), slicing half its head 

 off. We prepared him first by scalding and scraping the 

 hair off, when he looked just like a sucking pig ; the next 

 day we had him roasted on a spit. The crackling and the 

 fine white flesh were excellent. 



I am always getting little offerings from the natives. 

 To-day I received a bottle of laranginha, a bottle of milk, 

 some tobacco, and some oranges ; all from different 

 people. 



