TRAVELS IN BRAZIL. 315 



means, in the Lingua Geral, Crocodile river), where 

 we allowed ourselves some refreshment. We here 

 fell in again with the Paraiba, which makes a great 

 bend, and, instead of proceeding further to the 

 south, in its original direction, turns to the north. 

 All the individuals of the party were carried over 

 in a boat, but the mules were obliged to swim. 

 In order to show them the direction they ought to 

 take, one of them was led by a rope from the boat, 

 and the otheis encouraged to follow by a constant 

 noise and cry fi-om the accompanying boats. 



The Paraiba was at this time swelled by the fre- 

 quent rains to the breadth of a hundred and seventy 

 feet, and was very rapid. The navigation on this 

 river is still very unimportant, probably because it 

 has many considerable cataracts, chiefly in its lower 

 part, or because the trade in its neighbourhood is 

 still trifling, and the inhabitants, from want of 

 bridges, cannot easily convey their produce. The 

 part of it between Aldea da Escada and Pendam- 

 hongaba is that upon which there is the greatest 

 traffic. 



Among the inhabitants of this place we observed 

 an endemic swelling of the glands of the neck in 

 such a high degree as is perhaps nowhere to be 

 found in Europe. Frequently the whole neck is 

 covered with the great swelling, which gives a 

 horrid appearance to these people, who are for the 

 most part mulattoes, and have, independent of this, 

 no very agreeable features. But in this country 



