ARRIVE AT SANTA CRUZ. 



out. The estate was inherited by the person in 

 question, with sixty good slaves upon it ; fifteen 

 years have elapsed since that time to the period 

 of which I speak, and there were then remain- 

 ing only four or five individuals who were able 

 to work. Some have fled and have escaped, 

 others have died, God knows how, and others 

 again have committed suicide in sight of their 

 master's residence. 



We arrived at mid-day at Santa Cruz, and 

 had now reached the cotton country. The 

 track through which we had passed was for 

 the most part well watered and well wooded ; 

 the marshy lands being less frequently inter- 

 spersed than upon the journey of the preceding 

 day. The sugar-plantations were numerous ; 

 we saw eight of them this morning. The 

 ground was often uneven, and we crossed one 

 rather steep hill. The lands upon which we had 

 now arrived, and those to which we were ad- 

 vancing, are altogether higher, and the grass 

 upon them was now much burnt up, the " first 

 waters" not having yet fallen. The soil in these 

 parts retains less moisture than that of the coun- 

 try which we had left, and soon becomes too 

 hard to be worked. The party was now much 

 increased, and in the afternoon we proceeded to 

 Pindoba, a cotton plantation of considerable 

 extent ; the owner of it is wealthy, and possesses 

 many slaves. He received us in his dressing- 



