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JOURNEY FROM CARAVELLAS 



came to the river Mogiquicaba, which is less considerable than the 

 Santa Cruz. On the south bank, near its mouth, is a fazenda be- 

 longing to the oifvidor of this district, on which there is nothing but 

 cattle and some wretched huts. About eighteen negro slaves are here 

 employed, among other occupations, in making cordage for ships 

 from the fibres of the cocos de piassaha, a palm which grows in these 

 parts, and is very common farther to the north. These fibres are 

 said to be taken from the sheath of the leaves ; they are four or five 

 feet long, hard, dry and strong, fall off of themselves, and are gathered 

 up. By a peculiar method they are twisted into ropes, which are 

 very strong and durable in water, but rather rough and unpleasant to 

 the touch ; they are sent in considerable quantities to Bahia, where 

 they are used on board the ships. The fruit of this tree is a longish, 

 pointed, dark-brown nut, about three or four inches in length : I 

 think I have seen it in museums marked with the name of cocos lapi- 

 dea : this tree is not found to the south of Santa Cruz. The country 

 ^ on the Mogiquicaba has not much besides that is remarkable : thick 

 forests cover it far and near, and only a few persons have settled, a 

 little above the fazenda of the ouvidor. The river abounds in fish, 

 and supplies the inhabitants with a great part of their food. Up the 

 stream there are savages in the forests on the banks, but they do not 

 shew themselves at the mouth : they are said to be all Botocudos. 

 At this place is the entrance to the road which has been made on the 

 Belmonte up to Minas ; but it is still very incomplete, and part of it 

 not passable. 



On the Mogiquipaba we had the pleasure of meeting with milk, 

 of which we had been long deprived. The cows of this country are 

 handsome and fat, but they do not give so much or so good milk as 

 ours in Europe, which is probably owing to the dry sandy soil. 

 Every evening the herds are driven into square inclosures, which are 

 called coral: the calf is immediately separated from the cow, when it 



