122 



PEREIRO AND YCO. 



surprised to hear that we had churches in Eng- 

 land, which he had never understood before. 

 He said he should not believe henceforwards 

 that the English were Pagoens, heathens. I 

 told him that one chief point upon which our 

 religion differed from his, was in ours not en- 

 joining us to confess ; he thought confession a 

 great annoyance, but he could not doubt its 

 propriety. 



We reached another dirty pool or well of 

 water in the river, which we had again crossed 

 several times. Our resting-place at mid-day 

 afforded no shelter, excepting what could be 

 obtained from one small shrub, which was in 

 full leaf. The leaves or branches of it reached 

 to the ground. I lay down upon the sand, and 

 pushed my head in among them, covering the 

 rest of my body with a hide ; this was a hot 

 birth, but better than to be completely exposed 

 to the sun. I was astonished at the appearance 

 of this shrub. There are two kinds of trees in 

 certain parts of the Sertam, which are called 

 Pereiro and Yco ; both seem to flourish most 

 when the seasons are the driest, and both are 

 particularly dangerous to horses ; that is, as 

 they do no mischief to the wild cattle or wild 

 horses, they may be supposed not to possess 

 any pernicious qualities if the animals which eat 

 their leaves are not overheated and fatigued ; 

 the latter of these plants kills the travellers' 



