292 STAY AT THE RIO GRANDE DE BELMONTE, 



wood in their ears and lips disfigured them much : they carried bun- 

 dles of bows and arrows under their arms, and some had also water- 

 vessels made of taquarussu. They wore their hair cropped close, ex- 

 cept a round tuft on the crown of the head ; this was the case even 

 with the young children, a considerable number of whom the mothers 

 carried on their shoulders, or led by the hand. 



One of my people, named George, who understood something of 

 the language of these savages, had come up in the mean time and enr 

 tered into conversation with them, on which they immediately became 

 extremely familiar. They inquired after their countrymen, whom the 

 ouvidor had sent to Rio, and expressed great joy on hearing that they 

 would find them at the post f destacamente ). Their impatience was 

 now so great, that they hurried quickly away. I was heartily glad 

 that we had loitered on the way ; for if the savages, who had to 

 pass close by the grave, had surprised us when engaged in our in- 

 tended examination, their resentment might have involved us in 

 great danger.* 



I now resolved to defer my purpose till some more favourable op- 

 portunity; and had gone but a few steps, when the leader of the 

 party, Captain June, an old man of rough appearance, but of a 

 good disposition, suddenly met me. He saluted us in the same man- 

 ner as his countrymen; but his appearance was still more extraor- 

 dinary than that of the others, for he wore plugs in his ears and lip 

 four inches and four lines English, in diameter ; he was likewise 

 strong and muscular, but already wrinkled with age. As he had left 

 his wife behind, he carried on his back two heavy sacks, and a great 



* According to the accounts since received from Mr. Freyreiss from Brazil, my appre- 

 hensions of the consequences of being surprised by the savages, in the act of opening 

 their grave, were ill founded ; for he has since opened several graves, in which opera- 

 tion the Botocudos themselves assisted him. 



