

SEASONS. 



235 



the water comes down, as I have before stated, 

 with great rapidity. There is some danger in 

 being caught by the water upon any of the 

 peninsulas or islands which are formed by its 

 bends, for to be under the necessity of crossing 

 over a stream which runs with much violence, 

 perhaps ten times or more, successively, would 

 be too much for almost any horse to bear, 

 and particularly for those which were already 

 fatigued by along journey. We left the Seara- 

 Meirim in four* days, passed Pai Paulo, and 

 early on the fifth day arrived again at the dry 

 lake. The people of this place were upon the 

 point of decamping, as the rains were expected, 

 or rather had already commenced. We now 

 met several parties of travellers who had taken 

 advantage of the first rains to pass over this track 

 of country, and who were hastening before the 

 floods came down the river. 



January is not, properly speaking, the rainy 

 season. The rains at the commencement of the 

 year are called the primeiras aguas or the first 

 waters, and continue for about a fortnight or 

 three weeks, after which the weather generally 

 becomes again settled until May or June, and 

 from this time until the end of August the rains 

 are usually pretty constant. From August or 

 September until the opening of the year there 

 is not usually any rain. The dry weather can 

 be depended upon with more certainty from 



VOL. I. Q 



