AND VISIT TO THE PURIS AT ST. FIDELIS. 



107 



We came to a marsh overgrown with reeds, and the grey white- 

 flowering bignonia from twenty to thirty feet high. On the trunks of 

 the latter, great numbers of the night heron ( ardea nycticorax ) had 

 built their nests. This heron is very like the nycticorax of Ger- 

 many, excepting that it is a little larger ; it therefore appears to be 

 the same bird. In every nest we saw the old and young birds stand- 

 ing together and looking inquisitively at the strangers ; our hunters 

 shot several of them, but could not venture into the bottomless 

 marsh to pick them up. We were informed that great numbers of 

 xhejacare or crocodile live in these marshes, but we did not see any 

 at this place. 



After passing through an agreeable diversified country we came to 

 the fazenda do CoHegio, when night began to come on ; we however 

 reached before it was quite dark the little Rio do Collegio, which we 

 were obliged to cross. Our horses and mules had to glide upon their 

 haunches down a steep declivity, which had been rendered quite 

 slippery by the rain, to the water's edge, and some of them tumbled 

 over and over. We however all passed the deep rapid stream with- 

 out accident, but completely wet through. We soon entered a dark 

 thick forest on the bank of the river, which extends a league and a 

 half to St. Fidelis. It was now dark night, and the path very narrow, 

 often directly over the steep bank of the river, very uneven and 

 blocked up with dry wood and fallen trees. The soldier, who was 

 well acquainted with the way, rode before, and frequently dismounted 

 with our people to remove obstacles out of the path, and we had often 

 to lead the horses for a considerable distance. At last we came to 

 an abrupt and deep ravine, over which was laid a narrow bridge 

 (if bridge it might be called) consisting of three trunks of trees. 

 Notches had been hewn in them to give a surer footing to the ani- 

 mals ; yet they frequently slipped, and some of them had very nearly 

 fallen off. With a little patience this difficulty also was happily sur- 



