TO CARAVELLAS, &C. 



207 



bark. A large vessel is constantly sailing to and fro to convey this 

 bark, and it is therefore called the casqiieiro. There are several kinds 

 of mangrove trees ; but for tanning, the bark of the red mangrove 

 (conocarpus racemosa) is preferred: it differs very much, in its lower 

 growth, and its broad oval leaf, from the white mangrove ( avicemiia 

 tomentosa) which has a narrow longish leaf, bears an egg-shaped 

 woolly seed capsule, about the size of a small plum, and grows more 

 slender and higher. 



Towards evening our passage became extremely agreeable ; we pro- 

 ceeded from one channel into another, for between Vicoza and Cara- 

 vellas there is a real labyrinth, formed by a multitude of mangrove 

 islands. Among these thickets screamed swarms of parrots, but they 

 were all of the species of the cunc2i (psittaciis ochrocephalus, Linn, or 

 amazonicus, Latham). We saw white herons sitting on the singular 

 roots of the mangrove trees, which shoot out high up the trunk, fall 

 arching into the water, take root in the ground, and thus form per- 

 fect arcades in different directions. A small species of oyster is found * 

 in abundance on the bark of these trees, and the particoloured crab 

 aratu (mentioned by Marcgraf) also lives in great numbers upon 

 them. 



A violent storm, accompanied by torrents of rain, overtook us at this 

 place, and continued till our arrival at Caravellas, which we reached 

 after dark, and where we took up our quarters at the camara, the re- 

 sidence of the ouvidor. Caravellas is the most considerable town in 

 the district of Porto Seguro. It has straight streets intersecting each 

 other at right angles, among which are five or six principal streets 

 and several smaller ones ; but they are all unpaved and overgrown 

 with grass. The most considerable church stands in an open spot 

 near the Casa da Camara. The houses of the toMm are neatly built, 

 but for the most part of one story only. Caravellas carries on a brisk 

 trade in the productions of the country, especially mandiocca-flour. 



