THE 
AMERICAN NATURALIST. 
VoL. xvur.—DECEMBER, 1884.—No. 12. 
ROCK INSCRIPTIONS IN BRAZIL.' 
| ] BY JOHN C. BRANNER. 
r 1876 I visited Aguas Bellas, a small town in the interior of 
the province of Pernambuco, and about a hundred miles from 
the coast, for the purpose of examining localities said to contain 
the remains of extinct mammals. 
The fossils were found at and in the vicinity of a cattle ranch 
known as Lagoa da Lagea, eight leagues east of Aguas Bellas. 
7 During the time spent at this place I learned of several rocks in 
J the vicinity bearing inscriptions which, it was said, no man could 
tad. I took time to visit the most convenient of these localities 
and to make careful drawings of the markings, the characteristic 
: ‘a of which are here represented (Plates XXXIV-VI). 
The first place visited for this purpose was a small farm about a 
‘Teague from Lagéa da Lagea, known as Cacimba Circada. The rock 
found at this place, together with its inscription, is shown at k (Plate 
: a). This rock is a gneiss boulder of decomposition, about 
- ed pes, lying upon the bed rock near the Rio Garanhun- 
& zinho, On the right, as one faces the inscription, is an asterisk a 
foot in diameter, made by four lines crossing each other at equal 
“gles, while the remainder of the inscription on the left PREE of 
the top 
It was while 
der his direc- 
‘lian Naturauist for May, 1871, contains an ar 
A tock inscriptions. 
NO. XII. 75 
