TO CARAVELLAS, &C. 



211 



but they are too indolent, and perform none but extremely light 

 work. They live together in a small house ; one of them has turned 

 Christian, and has married an Indian woman. They have retained 

 the customs of their country ; they keep its festivals, are fond of 

 all kinds of poultry, and are said not to be very particular in the 

 choice of their provisions. The interior of their reed hut is extremely 

 clean and neat. Their beds, for instance, have fine white curtains, 

 which are draped in a tasteful manner, and fastened up on the sides 

 with very handsome brass hooks. These pretty beds form a strange 

 contrast with the miserable reed hut in which they are placed. 

 The Chinese sleep on a fine rush mat, and have a small round pillow 

 for the head. We saw them eat their rice in the genuine Chinese 

 fashion with two small sticks. They were much pleased when we 

 visited them; they talked to us, in extremely broken Portuguese, 

 about their dear native country, and how much more comfortable 

 they were there than in Brazil. They also opened their trunks, in 

 which they carefully preserved some indifferent Chinese porcelain, 

 and a great number of fans of various kinds, which they brought 

 with them for sale. The buildings of the fazeiicia, with the man- 

 diocca manufactory, are situated in a small hollow near the river be- 

 tween two eminences. On ascending the easternmost of them, on 

 which the village stands, you overlook the country round to a great 

 extent; and as far as the eye can reach, the whole to the most distant 

 horizon is covered without interruption with gloomy forests ; except 

 that on the right bank of the river there appear a few spots upon 

 which human habitations have been erected. 



We traversed the neighbouring woods with our hunters, and some 

 lazy Mamelukes who lived here. Many kinds of animals were killed ; 

 among which we obtained, for the first time, the common sloth, 

 (bradypus tridactijlus, Linn.) for we had hitherto seen none but the 

 sloth with the black collar (bi-adyims torquatus, Illigeri). 



