220 TRAVELS IN BRAZIL. 



dren of nature till our arrival at Guidowald, the 

 fazenda of the director-general, which lies about 

 five leagues to the south of S. Joao, in the middle 

 of the Indian villages, and employed the time of 

 our stay here in excursions in the neighbouring fo- 

 rests. These intricate woods, in the interior of which 

 almost eternal darkness prevails, are calculated to 

 fill the soul with awe and terror ; we never ven- 

 tured to penetrate into them without being accom- 

 panied by soldiers, or at least being well-armed 

 and keeping close together. Even near to the 

 rossas there is danger, and the traveller has to de- 

 fend himself from furious dogs that keep watch, 

 almost as much as from the wild beasts of the 

 forest. A great number of the most remarkable 

 insects, and especially beautiful beetles, butterflies, 

 new birds, and several rare quadrupeds, such as 

 the tamandud-bixuna, rewarded the researches of 

 the zoologist. These forests, though detrimental 

 by their constant humidity to the preservation of 

 the plants, are extremely important to the botanist 

 by their richness, particularly in numerous medi- 

 cinal plants. The genuine ipecacuanha root (Po- 

 aija) is found here in pretty large quantities ; it 

 belongs to a low shrub (Cephaelis Ipecacuanha^ 

 Rich.) which grows, and always in groups, on the 

 greater part of the Serra do Mar, from Rio de 

 Janeiro to the north, as far as the capitania of Ba- 

 hia, in damp shady places in the woods. Now, in 

 the month of April, the plant had berries nearly 



