PRELIMINARY EXPLORATIONS. 43 



of an hour for him. Meanwhile, our engine was surrounded 

 by a crowd of navvies, niggers, natives, and Italians, who 

 came, work being over, some with pots and pans to 

 get water for cooking, some to perform their ablutions, it 

 being so much less trouble to get the water from our 

 engine than to walk five minutes further to an impounded 

 streamlet. Sad result ! we were again two hours travelling 

 the eleven miles. 



When we stopped at Barbacena, at 8 a.m. to-day, 

 having left Carandahy at 6.47, a school of boys, with a 

 master, and a lot of musical instruments, came into the 

 carriage where I am. They have been rending the air with 

 their discordant sounds. Every station we come to they 

 strike up the same tune, besides practising others at in- 

 tervals, almost without intermission ! The noise is abomin- 

 able, time is ignored, there is very little pretence of an air, 

 and, in fact, they seem to enjoy being out of tune rather 

 than otherwise. Thank goodness ! at two, after about six 

 hours' torture, the music ceased. I supposed even they had 

 had enough of it for a time. 



I have made two purchases since I have been up 

 country, which I think are likely to prove very useful : a 

 white cotton overcoat, in which I am now travelling, to 

 keep off the dust ; and a thick native poncho, dark blue, 

 lined with scarlet, with a black velvet collar. I find the 

 latter most useful every evening, as also when sleeping in 

 native huts, or riding early in the morning or late at night. 



When the sun set this evening behind the Organ 

 Mountains, we had a truly grand sight, in the midst of 

 the most beautiful scenery on this line (which we could not 

 see coming up on account of the mist). Now, occasional 

 glimpses of a vast depression, full of smaller ridges of hills, 

 all covered with dense forest, and backed by the deep purple 



