218 



JOURNEY FROM THE RIO DOCE 



in the thick forest and kindled our fires. The night was very warm 

 and fine, but, as usual in hot countries, extremely damp. The 

 voices of many birds, those of the cabure, the chorolua, the bacurau 

 (goat-sucker), and the capueira (perdix guianensisj, are heard only 

 at dusk, when they animate these vast and awful solitudes. The ca- 

 bure, in particular, came very near us ; its twittering note sounded from 

 the tree nearest to the fire, which the bird seemed to survey with curi- 

 osity. Our hardy half-naked Indian boatmen immediately lay down 

 without covering, and some of them at a distance from the fire on 

 the damp ground, and slept very soundly. We, on the contrary, 

 wrapped ourselves in our thick blankets, on a bed made of brushwood 

 and cocoa-leaves. 



Next morning, while breakfast was preparing, a flock of maccaws 

 alighted near us with loud cries. Mariano, one of our people, imme- 

 diately leaped up, took his gun, and cautiously approached the birds : 

 the report echoed majestically through the solitary wilds, and the 

 hunter returned joyful, with the first of those splendid birds that we 

 had shot on this journey. 



After dinner we embarked again, and landed in the evening on a 

 sand-bank, upon which we kindled a fire. While we were employed 

 in preparing the maccaw for our collection, we saw a large boat full 

 of people rowing towards us. It was Mr. Charles Frazer, an English- 

 man, w ho possessed an establishment at Comechatiba, on the coast 

 near Porto Seguro, with his attendants : his plan was the same as our 

 own. We passed the night at this place, and set out in the morning 

 together. Towards noon we reached, on the north bank of the Mu- 

 curi, the entrance of a narrow, shady channel, about ten or twelve 

 paces in breadth. This natural channel, which was before impassable 

 from thickly interlaced bushes which hung over it, had been cleared 

 a few days before by command of the ouvidor, and the bushes cut 



