

JOURNEY TO GOIANA. 



71 



and themselves all dripping, and in a few mi- 

 nutes more entered the town of Goiana, between 

 four and five o'clock in the afternoon. The dis- 

 tance from Recife to Goiana is fifteen leagues, 



The road we had travelled over is the high- 

 way from the Sertam *, by which the cattle 

 descend from the estates upon the river Acu, 

 and from the plains of this portion of the in- 

 terior to the markets of Recife ; therefore the 

 continued passing of large droves of cattle lias 

 beat down the underwood, and made a broad 

 sandy road ; the large trees still remain, if it has 

 so happened that any grew upon the track ; these, 

 if of any size, brave the crowd of animals, and 

 will remain either until they decay from age and 

 fall, or till regular roads begin to be constructed 

 in Brazil. Thus, if the ground is flat, the road 

 is not bad ; but upon the sides of hills, instead 

 of being carried round the steepest ascents, the 

 track has been made straight up and down or 

 nearly so, and the winter torrents form deep 

 caverns and ravines, the sides of which some- 

 times fall in and make the roads very dangerous; 

 so that, unless well acquainted with a hill, it is 

 by no means safe to ascend or descend by night, 

 as one or two days of the usual rain of Brazil 

 may have made a great difference, and have 



* Is this word abbreviated from Desertam. used as an 

 augmentative (according to the Portuguese custom) 

 lor Deserto ? 



F 4/ 



