132 



JOURNEY FROM VILLA DE ST. SALVADOR 



It grows singly on its foot-stalk, and the whole shrub is covered with 

 it ; we found it very refreshing on this occasion. The cashew-trees, 

 ( anacardium occidentak, Linn.) were now in blossom. In a meadow 

 near them, we observed a fine ram M'ith four horns. 



At length we reached the town of St. Joao da Barra, situated near 

 the spot M'here the Paraiba discharges itself into the sea. Through 

 the interference of our companion, the lieutenant, the Casa da Camaf^a, 

 the building destined for the residence of the officer of the crown, was 

 assigned to us. It is a spacious edifice, with many good rooms and 

 a court-yard planted with orange and goyava trees ( psidium py rife- 

 rum. Linn.) some of which were now in flower. St. Joao da Barra is 

 a village which cannot be compared with St. Salvador, as it has only 

 one church, unpa\ ed streets, and houses of one story, built of wood 

 and clay. But on the other hand the river is navigable for tolerably 

 large ships, brigs, and sumacas, and has an immediate communica- 

 tion with the sea. All vessels bound to St. Salvador must pass this 

 place, though the arm of the river near the village itself is shallow, 

 and the proper channel is on the other side of some islands. The in- 

 habitants are chiefly fishermen and mariners, to whom the trade of 

 St. Salvador in the productions of the country aflbrds subsistence. 

 Our hunters who had gone before, and whom w^e found on our arrival 

 in the town, had killed several animals, and had also brought a 

 couple of armadillos ( da sy pus J alive. These singular animals are 

 very common in Brazil, and there are various species of them. That 

 which we now possessed alive is called here tatu peba, but in most 

 parts the common or real tatu, tatu verdadeiro, and when roasted is 

 very good eating. We had separated the two animals during the 

 night, and put one in a sack, the other in a strong cellar. When 

 we went to feed them in the morning the first had got out of the sack, 

 worked its way through the thick clay-wall of the house, and escaped. 



We stopped two days at St. Joao to prepare our jacare, which kept 



