NOTES ON BRAZIL. 



these parts, which seemed to collect the waters of a track about ten 

 miles broad. 



On the dry Downs, which succeeded, we noticed Doves of a most 

 delicate form, and beautiful, though sober, plumage. Their colour was 

 a light gi'ey, every feather having at its extremity a crescent of pure 

 white ; their size was about that of our thrush. — There was, also, a small 

 Sparrow-hawk, whose general hue was a greenish brown, with a tinge 

 of yellow. 



Travellers must not expect to meet with pleasant objects only. We 

 saw, on this part of our road, many Lepers, whom disease had rendered 

 extremely disgusting. They were chiefly black people, living, with 

 their families, apart from society, but not under those restraints, which 

 authority might justly conceive itself warranted to lay upon them. — 

 The Goitre, also, begins again to appear frequently, and to pain the 

 observer though in a smaller degree. 



During our progress, we remarked several instances of culture, 

 but it was by no means general. A small and feeble kind of oxen 

 were in use for draught ; to which some excellent hunting dogs formed 

 a very observable contrast. The people, however, were not occupied 

 in the pursuit of game ; it was the height of the sugar-cane harvest, 

 and they were better employed. 



Sua-suf is a village in a dry and exposed situation, containing about 

 fifty houses, arranged after the manner of the Jesuits. None of them 

 are either whitewashed or plastered, — an evidence that we were 

 entering into a region having different minerals. Here we meet again 

 with some patches of yellow clay, remnants of the former coat, which 

 has been mentioned as probably covering the immediate summit of 

 the Mantiqueira. 



The Keeper of the Venda in this village informed me that he had 

 the day before, forwarded in the road to Barbazena, a Gentleman, who 

 had been several months in the Sertoens, or uninhabited forests, in search 

 of plants. He expressed his' wonder, — and, with his limited knowledge, 

 naturally enough, — why a man should wander from Europe, to collect 



