NOTES ON BRAZIL. 



433 



just like an English barn. It had mud walls, a thatched roof, and an 

 earth floor, without any division, or ceiling, or plaster, or white-washing 

 whatever. In the middle was the mark of recent fire, surrounded with 

 stones to support the cooking utensils. Around the sides were some 

 matts, on which the people slept, laid upon boards. These, with two or 

 three chests, in which the small moveables were kept, an old table, and 

 a few stones, and blocks of wood, which served as seats, constituted all 

 the furniture. On a superficial view, this family seemed to be one of 

 the happiest which I had ever met with ; yet, with all its wants amply 

 supplied, with high health, and a fine flow of spirits, on a nearer inspec- 

 tion, the countenances of the adults indicated the rule of violent passions, 

 and their manners displayed almost an utter absence of civilized enjoy- 

 ment and moral sentiment ; the unrivalled happiness of calm and culti- 

 vated minds. 



It had been reported early in the morning, that a creature called a 

 Man-of-the- Woods, was seen the evening before, in a distant plantation 

 belonging to the estate, breaking off the heads of Milho ; and carrying 

 them away on his shoulder, in considerable quantities at once. He was 

 represented as having a black face, being about five feet high, covered 

 with hair, without a tail, and walking erect ; and as belonging to a class 

 of beings which are numerous in the neighbouring forests. I am not 

 aware that any species of Baboon exists in Brazil, and therefore expressed 

 my persuasion that it was either some wretched vagabond of the Euro- 

 pean stock, driven to stealing, or a native Indian, or else what is called 

 a Caambolo, one of the lowest class of Africans who, escaping as soon 

 as possible from slavery, resume their native habits, run into the 

 woods, and seek there a hard, and probably a precarious subsistence. 

 My explications however, with all their variety, availed nothing ; all 

 agreed that it was a mere brute beast, and as that day would be employed 

 in taking him, upon his return to the growing corn, they invited me to 

 be of the party, and convince myself that he was merely a Macaco, or 

 Monkey : or if I chose to wait where I was, until evening, they hoped 

 to show him to me in captivity or dead. 



3 I 



