TO THE RIO GRANDE DE BELMONTE. 



273 



is intended to milk her the next day. In the hut where we took up 

 our lodging for the night, we found a very old superannuated female 

 negro slave belonging to the ouvidor ; such old women are very fre- 

 quently looked upon by the common people in Brazil as feiticeiras or 

 witches. She had well secured the door of the place where she slept, 

 and appeared highly displeased when we attempted to open her sanc- 

 tuary in order to procure some fire: as we could not possibly pass the 

 night without it, exposed as we were to the piercing cold sea-wind; 

 the closed door of the old woman was therefore opened by force. 



A plain, five leagues wide, extends from Mogiquicaba to the river 

 Belmonte. About half way is a place where an arm of the river, now 

 dry, formerly discharged itself into the sea ; this spot is still called 

 Barra Velha, or the old mouth. The road along the coast goes over 

 even firm sand, but a nearer path leads through an uniform pasture 

 with short grass, on which here and there stand detached groups of 

 the aricuri and guriri palms. Here my tropa lost its way, and we 

 got entangled among numerous ditches, pools, and marshes, where 

 our baggage was in danger of sinking in. We extricated ourselves 

 however better than we expected, and again came to the sea-coast, 

 where the surf was this day uncommonly violent, and had driven on 

 shore and dashed to pieces a lancha from Belmonte, the crew of 

 which was saved. 



After a fatiguing and troublesome day's journey in the great heat 

 and on dry burning sands, we descried with great joy in the evening 

 the waving tops of the grove of palms, in which the Villa de Belmonte is 

 situated. It is a small mean-looking place, now partly going to decay, 

 which was settled fifty or sixty years ago with Indians, few of whom 

 however are now there. The town-house, built of wood and clay, 

 was near falling down ; one wall was entirely gone, so that the interior 

 was completely exposed to view. The town forms a square of about 

 sixty houses, with nearly six hundred inhabitants ; at one end stands 



2 N 



