TO VILLA DE ST. SALVADOR. 



85 



uncommon ornament. Others were in flower, and others again bore 

 fruits and flowers at the same time. Thus, in these beautiful tropi- 

 cal forests, the union of spring and autumn presents a most interesting 

 spectacle to the northern traveller. Wet through with the rain, we 

 reached Villa de Macahe, on the river of the same name. This river, 

 which is not inconsiderable, here falls into the sea, after passing the 

 Serra de Iriri in its course of about fifteen leagues. Lerj, in his 

 work, mentions this place, which the original inhabitants called 

 Mag-he. It was at that time inhabited by savages, who were at war 

 with the Uetacas, or Goaytacases on the Paraiba. 



The little town of S. Joao de Macahe Hes scattered among thickets 

 on the banks of the river, which at its mouth forms a bend round 

 a projecting point of land. The houses, which are low, are many 

 of them neat and pretty, built of clay, with upright wooden posts, 

 and frequently plastered and white-washed. Court-yards (quintats) 

 have been made, enclosed with trunks of cocoa-trees, in which goats, 

 swine, and many kinds of poultry run about. The inhabitants carry 

 on some trade with the produce of their plantations, consisting of 

 farhiha, beans, maize, rice, and a little sugar. They also export 

 wood : hence there are, in general, some small coasting-vessels, 

 sumacas, or lanchas, lying at anchor. Up the river, in the interior, 

 the Gorulhos, or Guarulhos Indians, are said to live, united in aldeas, 

 or villages. The Corografia Brazilica mentions this tribe by the 

 denomination of Guarit, and states, that in the Serra dos Orgaos 

 some remains of them still live, under the name of Saciirus, who, 

 however, are entirely civilised, and have now nearly disappeared. 

 Among other places, they are said still to be met with in the Fre- 

 guesia de Nossa Senhora das Neves. After we had spent some 

 days at this place, on account of the rainy weather, and collected 

 seeds of some fine species of trumpet-trees, and other siliquaceous 

 plants, we set out on a Sunday, but not till the afternoon, our 



