Travels m tlie BraziU. 65 

 American people. Their most important object of solicitude 

 is food ; their appetite is constantly craving ; hence they eat 

 generally in haste, and with greedy staring eyes, their whole 

 attention being fixed on the provisions. The sugar plantations 

 of the Fazendas, in the neighbourhood of which they take up 

 their station, generally allure them ; and they may there be 

 seen sitting and sucking the cane for half a day. They even 

 cut off large pieces of this plant, and carry it with them into 

 the woods. The sap of the sugar-cane is not, however, liked by 

 the Tapiiyas only ; for the sucking of it is a common custom 

 with the lower classes in Brazils. Köster says the same of 

 Parambucco. 



On returning from the wood, we rode back with a Puri 

 behind each of us to the fazenda; where the whole body, 

 both men and women, presently assembled and demanded re- 

 freshment. The man who rode behind me, stole my pocket- 

 handkerchief, and though, when surprised in the fact, he 

 promised to give me his bow for it, contrived to mingle with 

 the crowd, and avoid my notice. They might be easily ma« 

 naged by a friendly line of conduct ; but the planters treat 

 them in a most erroneous manner, considering them as beasts, 

 and immediately speaking of the Chicote, or whip, which natu- 

 rally excites them to anger, and engenders hatred and strife. 

 With us strangers they were much pleased, on account of our 

 upright and good behaviour towards them; and they observed 

 from our light coloured hair, that we belonged to a different 

 nation. They give the name of Rayon to all white persons. 

 As the Fazenda would not admit of a Farinha to entertain all 

 these persons, the master of the house, to satisfy their loud 

 clamours for food, gave us a small swine, which we presented 

 to them, w^ith orders to shoot it for themselves ; and thus ob- 

 tained an opportunity of seeing with what savage cruelty they 

 prepare animals for, their sustenance. A hog was eating 

 near the house ; a Puri stole up to it and wounded it above 

 the chine ; it ran off squeaking and trailing the arrow after it. 

 The savage seized another arrow, and having struck it in the 

 fore-shoulder-blade, caught it. The women had in the mean 

 time hastily lighted a fire. When we had all collected at the 

 place, they again shot the swine first in the neck, and then in 

 the breast in order to kill it. The animal was not however 

 quite dead, and lay crying and bleeding piteously; but, without 

 much consideration or suffering themselves to be moved by its 

 yells, they cast it alive into the fire to singe it, and laughed 

 with one accord at the sounds which pain forced from it. Our 

 loud expression of displeasure at this barbarity, how^ever, in- 

 creasing, one of them advanced and stuck the tortured animal 



Voyages and Travels .No. 3, Vol. IIL F 



