302 TRAVELS IN BRAZIL. 



branches out, which leads to Minas, and is hence 

 called Mineiro, and reached, at last, Lorena, other- 

 wise called Guaypacare, a village consisting of 

 about forty houses, and of no importance, notwith- 

 standing its fertile environs, and the great inter- 

 course between the provinces of S. Paulo and 

 Minas Geraes. The road from S. Paulo to Minas 

 passes here in two points, called Porto da Caxoeira 

 and Porto do Meyra, across the Paraiba, which 

 flows half a quarter of a league from the villa. 

 The chief articles of trade from S. Paulo to Minas 

 are mules, horses, salt, dry meat, iron goods, and 

 all other manufactures which go from the coast 

 to the interior. At present, however, Minas is 

 almost entirely supplied by Rio and Bahia, and 

 the importation from Santos is inconsiderable ; 

 and of still less importance is that from Angra dos 

 Reyes and Parati, in the province of Rio de 

 Janeiro, which are the nearest to the entrance of 

 Minas. Minas sends principally coarse cotton 

 goods to S. Paulo. As we proceeded farther into 

 the fertile valley, to the south of Lorena, which was 

 magically illumined by the setting sun, we observed 

 remarkable changes in the vegetation. The savage 

 character of the forests disappeared, and the open, 

 unconfined, mild nature of the plains (campos) 

 was gradually more apparent the farther we ad- 

 vanced. Instead of the thick and high mountain 

 woods, we Iiad now before us plains and gently 

 rising hills, which are covered with scattered 



