VOYAGE RESUMED 



85 



poor people. The men were out fishing, some far away, 

 a distance of many days' journey ; the women plant 

 mandioca, make the farinha, spin and weave cotton, 

 manufacture soap of burnt cacao shells and andiroba oil, 

 and follow various other domestic employments. I asked 

 why they allowed their plantations to run to waste. They 

 said that it was useless trying to plant anything here- 

 about ; the Saiiba ant devoured the young coffee-trees, 

 and every one who attempted to contend against this 

 universal ravager was sure to be defeated. The country, 

 for many miles along the banks of the river, seemed to 

 be well peopled. The inhabitants were nearly all of the 

 tawny-white Mameluco class. I saw a good many 

 mulattos, but very few negroes and Indians, and none 

 that could be called pure whites. 



When Senhor Seixas arrived, he acted very kindly. 

 He provided us at once with two men, killed an ox in 

 our honour, and treated us altogether with great con- 

 sideration. We were not, however, introduced to his 

 family. I caught a glimpse once of his wife, a pretty 

 little Mameluco woman, as she was tripping with a young 

 girl, whom I supposed to be her daughter, across the 

 back yard. Both wore long dressing-gowns, made of 

 bright-coloured calico print, and had long wooden tobacco- 

 pipes in their mouths. The room in which we slept and 

 worked had formerly served as a storeroom for cacao, 

 and at night I was kept awake for hours by rats and 

 cockroaches, which swarm in all such places. The latter 

 were running about all over the walls ; now and then 

 one would come suddenly with a whirr full at my face, 

 and get under my shirt if I attempted to jerk it off. 

 As to the rats, they were chasing one another by dozens 

 all night long, over the floor, up and down the edges of 

 the doors, and along the rafters of the open roof. 



September yth. — We started from Baiao at an early 

 hour. One of our new men was a good-humoured, willing 

 young mulatto, named Jose ; the other was a sulky 

 Indian called Manoel, who seemed to have been pressed 

 into our service against his will. Senhor Seixas, on 

 parting, sent a quantity of fresh provisions on board. A 

 few miles above Baiao the channel became very shallow ; 

 we got aground several times, and the men had to dis- 

 embark and shove the vessel off. Alexandro here shot 

 several fine fish, with bow and arrow. It was the first 



