434 



NOTES OK BRAZIL. 



The term Caambolo or Calambolo is derived from the manner in 

 which negroes pronounce the Tupi word Caamboeiro. It signifies a 

 person who is accustomed to wander in the woods, and denotes one of 

 those beings who exhibit human nature in its lowest state of degradation. 

 He sometimes avoids all intercourse even with his own species, lives 

 upon fruit, roots, or any animal, which casually falls into his hands, and 

 eats them all in their crude state, he makes no use of fire, habitation, or 

 clothing ; in these respects he does not differ firom the brutes, and is 

 timid in the extreme. I once purchased a new slave who proved to be 

 of this class ; he left the house, or rather farm, where he was stationed, 

 and returned to the woods. I took great pains to reclaim him ; by gentle 

 means gave him confidence in me, and at last succeeded so far as to 

 render him a very attentive, though not very active, nor intelligent slave ; 

 he served me afterwards for several years, and I never had occasion to 

 chastise him. The other class of Caambolos form societies^ clothe them- 

 selves, and cook their food, but build no habitations, and never plant ; 

 they sometimes descend to the plains to steal, are in all respects a lawless 

 rabble, and on this account their haunts are perpetually sought after, and 

 frequently broken up, by persons called Capitaons do Mato, who are 

 appointed by Government to scour the forests. 



Here also, as in many other woody parts of Brazil, the people 

 believe in the existence of a pigmy race of men, which are said to be 

 often seen, toward evening, gambolling, or basking themselves, in open 

 spaces and near the edges of the woods. They are described as about 

 three feet high, well formed, of the colour of Europeans, and without 

 hair on their bodies ; as generally going on all fours, though frequently 

 standing erect. Upon this subject I have spoken to a great many people, 

 and find that their accounts generally agree ; yet none ever pretended that 

 he had secured one of them, none would guide me to their haunts ; all 

 excused themselves by saying, that it was an extremely difficult task to 

 take them, on account of their activity and shyness ; and that we might 

 possibly wait four or five days, and even then be disappointed in our 

 hope of seeing one. As there is little reason to doubt that there must 



