32 A YEAR IN BRAZIL. 



just before starting, some twenty niggers climbed up on to 

 our truck, so we were closely packed. Soon, however, the 

 sparks from the engine, which only burns wood, were so 

 dense and continuous that we were afraid of our rush-mats 

 being set on fire ; therefore, at our first stoppage— for we 

 stopped a dozen times — we rolled them up, and mounted 

 the seat in front of the engine. We came across several 

 cows and horses on the line, which is a common occurrence, 

 and had to pull up quite close to them, blowing the whistle 

 till they moved off. We also stopped to take in water, and 

 again in the middle of a forest for wood. At last we 

 reached this station at 9.30, and, crossing the clearing 

 through a chilly mist, found the house locked up and every- 

 body in bed. We managed to knock them up and get 

 something to eat before turning in, and very glad we were 

 to have left Carandahy. Our bedroom there had two 

 window-frames, both without any glass, one looking on the 

 road, and the other on the general stable, pig, and poultry 

 yard, with the ditch into which we had to empty the slops 

 just under the window. Hardly pleasant, certainly not 

 healthy ! 



Now, one word as to this " hotel." The owner, yclept 

 Senhor Abailard Jos^ da Cunha, some three months since 

 bought a portion of land — about an acre — touching the 

 railway embankment at the station ; he paid £^0 for it, and 

 forthwith set to work to build this house. He was pre- 

 viously engaged on a fazenda, about three leagues off, 

 where he grew sugar-cane and made rum, the aguardente 

 of the country. However, he thought this would prove a 

 more profitable spec. 



This house is a one-story affair, with a neat exterior and 

 clean interior — because it is new. The frame is of wood, and, 

 as usual, the walls are bamboo framing filled in with mud, 



