98 A YEAR IN BRAZIL. 



put on great-coats and huddled on all the clothes by day, 

 and coverings by night, that we possess. 



To-day (October i8) we had breakfast near the waterfall, 

 in a spot which I can best liken to the fairy glen at Bettws- 

 y-coed, with the addition of swinging masses of creepers, 

 maidenhair, tree-ferns, and bamboos. One must see 

 bamboos to understand their extreme gracefulness. 



I am greatly tantalized at having no time to botanize. 

 There are now hundreds of spring flowers coming out on 

 the hillsides, scarlet, sky blue, yellow, white, purple, bushes 

 with deliciously scented white flowers, and dozens of won- 

 derful leaves. The few specimens I have tried to dry have 

 been mostly spoiled by the damp. I should very much 

 like to come out here with a party of naturalists, each to 

 take up different branches and devote all their time to 

 collecting. It would be most interesting. 



Alas ! my minimum readings of the thermometer can 

 no longer be given, as my dog broke it last night. 



I enclose you a copy of a Pitanguy newspaper. It is 

 called O Pitatiguy, Orgam -critico, is six inches by four and 

 a half, and consists of four pages. 



The day after we were at the Fazenda do Cortume, 

 Capitao Sydney, of the next fazenda. Boa Vista, came to 

 the camp. He is son-in-law to the major, one of whose 

 sons accompanied him ; also his own son, a very intelligent- 

 looking boy of ten. Later I was favoured by a visit from 

 two niggers belonging to the major ; they laughed a great 

 deal, did not speak much, but smoked cigarettes of my 

 Latakia wrapped up in newspaper, which they found rather 

 strong. 



October 22. — After spending two days at Brumado, we 

 are once more in the solitude of our mountain-camp. The 

 three hundred feet difference in level between this place 



