NOTES ON BRAZIL. 



209 



As we journeyed onward, the conversation naturally turned on our 

 new friend. All that our guide knew of him was, that he had not lived 

 long in this spot, and that report, which commonly tells a similar tale of 

 all strangers of a superior cast, and often no doubt too truly, said of 

 him, that he was a Spaniard of high birth, and having had the misfortune, 

 when young, to kill a noble antagonist, was still pursued for the purposes 

 of vengeance. 



The Plain of St. Gonzales, which we traversed shortly after, is a 

 level and rich tract of meadow land, upwards of twenty miles long and 

 seven broad ; generally incommoded with a hot, hazy, oppressive atmos- 

 phere. The riveri, which gives name to these plains, forms the commu- 

 nication between the Lakes Mirim and Patos, and discharges itself into 

 the harbour of Rio Grande. It is nearly as broad as the Thames at London ; 

 and at the Pass of the Negroes, has an appearance, which supports the 

 common opinion, that it is not less than twenty-four fathoms deep. The 

 low part of this country is a sandy soil, with little vegetation besides a 

 rank, sedgy grass ; in some places swampy, with pools of water and 

 extensive coppices ; and near the river are some fine trees, singularly 

 loaded with parasitic plants. 



Though we found the uplands in general dry and unpromising, we 



noticed a few specimens of decent farming ; but on a small scale and in 



unconnected patches. The Melancia or Water Melon, appeared in one 



place growing with Milho, the only instance of double cropping which 



came in our way. On reaching a field of the former, should the sun be 



oppressively hot, or the horses tired, the umbrella, with which travellers 



are generally furnished, is expanded, and the stick and a point or two of 



the circumference resting on the ground, a shady halting place is obtained. 



If two or three sticks can be found, a still more complete and useful 



shelter is sometimes formed by fixing them in the ground, and spreading 



over them a Capota or Poncho; The fields of Water Melons are then 



pillaged, and a most refreshing repast procured for horses as well as men. 



The hollow sound which the ripe fruit emits, when struck with the 



handle of a knife, is an evidence of its fitness for food. 



D d 



