CHAPTER VII. 



STAY AT CAPITANIA, AND JOURNLY TO THE RIO DOCE. 



Villa Velha do Espirito Santo — Cidade de Victoria — Barra dc Jucu — 

 Aragatiba — Coroaba — Villa Nova de Almeida — Quart el do lUacho — Rio 

 Doce — Linhares — The Botociidos, as inveterate enemies. 



The river Espirito Santo, which discharges itself into the sea, and is 

 of considerable magnitude at its mouth, rises in the mountains on the 

 frontiers of the capitania of Minas Geraes, descends Avith many wind- 

 ings through the great ancient forests of the Tapujas, in which the Puris 

 and Botocudos alternately rove about, and issues forth at the foot of 

 one of those higher chains of mountains, stretching towards the sea, 

 in which the Monte de Mestre Alvaro is said to be the most elevated 

 point. The settlements of the Portuguese at the mouth of this fine 

 river are of ancient date ; they suffered severely from the wars wdth 

 the Tapuyas, especially with the three tribes of the Uetacas, or Goay- 

 tacases, dwelling on the Paraiba. In the last half of the seven- 

 teenth century, the district of Espirito Santo contained no more than 

 five hundred Portuguese settlers and four Indian villages. At pre- 

 sent we find on the south bank of the river, not far from its mouth, 

 m a beautiful bay, the Villa Velha do Espirito Santo, a little wretched 

 open town, for the most part built in a square. At one extremity 

 stands the church, and at the other the Casa da Camara, (royal 



