NOTES ON BRAZIL. 



no wine, except in houses of the first class. Wild animals are occasionally 

 served up at the master's table, the armadillo, paca, deer, and others ; 

 the large spotted lizard furnishes a favourite dish, no kind of monkey is 

 refused, and I have seen the gamba, or Brazilian skunk eaten without 

 disgust. 



Ferocious animals exist on some of the lands which are cultivated. 

 A party being at dinner at my friend's house, with the doors open on 

 each side of the room, a favourite horse rushed through it in great alarm, 

 overturning in his progress a table, whicli served as a sideboard. A 

 native of tlie country who was present, immediately cried out, — " an 

 Ounce," and seized a gun, while the rest armed themselves as well as they 

 could, and all went in* pursuit of the ravager ; but they were too late ; 

 disappointed of his prey, by the singular refuge which the horse had 

 taken, he was seen deliberately retreating towards the woods. 



The Jacare or Alligator is still seen on the same estate. A few years 

 ago, two children disappeared from the house, and were supposed to be 

 devoured by these animals. In 1817, a black boy, ten years old, care- 

 lessly sleeping on the ground, was roused by an Alligator seizing his fingers, 

 two of which were broken and obliged to be amputated. The little 

 fellow stoutly maintained afterwards, that he knew the creature, and was 

 determined to seek and kill him ; — a threat which I have no doubt he 

 would attempt to execute, if not prevented. 



No stranger can possibly conceive the number of frogs found on the 

 swampy grounds, nor the noise which they make. It was a common 

 diversion when they issued from their lurking places at night, to procure 

 a forked stick with sharp points, and to strike it on the ground, without 

 any very particular selection of place, until the forked part was full of 

 them; these were stripped off, and tl)e operation recommenced; thus 

 many hundreds were killed in a very short time. — Ants of several species 

 also are a most serious pest. Every house and almost every yard of dry 

 ground is infested with them, and the wounds which they inflict are painful 

 and irritating ; arising, I suspect, not from the mere bite, but from some 

 venomous fluid left by them beneath the skin. The wandering Indians who 



