Travels in tlte Brazils. 27 



mirrors of the lakes ; at our feet lay the freguesia of Sagoarema, 

 and on our left the coast. We then returned to Sagoarema, which 

 is mostly inhabited by fishermen, who also occupy and work at 

 their plantations. Cochineal was formerly raised here, but its cul- 

 tivation is now in disuse. The king paid for the pound \ doble, 

 (6400 reis, or about SO shillings) ; but the planters themselves 

 were the means of destroying this profitable trade ; they mixed 

 this dear produce with farinha, and adulterated it so much that it 

 lost its value. On the following day, Sunday, my companions at- 

 tended a mass in the church of Sagoarema, during which time I 

 ordered our tropa to be conveyed over the lake. The baggage 

 was taken over in canoes, and our beasts waded unladen through 

 the shallow water. Quitting this country, we proceeded through 

 woods, which we found filled with numberless beautiful flowers. 

 The glittering mirrors of the many lakes which extend from Ma~ 

 rica to Cabo Free, are, in reality, a considerable ornament to this 

 country. Immense flocks of water-birds frequent the shores, par- 

 ticularly sea-swallows, sea-gulls, and herons, of which we soon kil- 

 led a number. Most of the marsh and water birds are analogous 

 to those in Europe ; for example, we saw a species similar to the 

 lartis ridibundus, the iarus marinus, sterna caspia, hirundo, and a 

 third, very similar to the minuta. TKe difference between these 

 birds in America and those in Europe is very trifling. The smal- 

 lest sea-swallow * was very frequent on the plains near the coast ; 

 here these pretty small sea-gulls were flying about, their dazzling 

 white being augmented from its contrast with the black clouds of 

 a dark stormy sky. Behind the sand-plains of the coast are 

 marshes, and between both a tract of sandy ground, with a thick 

 wood of dwarf cocoa-palms, about three feet high. This plant 

 has no stalk, but feathered leaves ; the ears curling, or bent out- 

 wards, stand like a typho, upon an upright shaft, and are covered 

 with small nuts, of the size of the hazle-nut. These sit like the 

 grains on maize, and have, at the root, a reddish yellow, but sweet 

 and edible flesh. These plants are there called cocos de guriri or 

 de passandi. We fixed the fazenda of Pitanga for our night 

 quarters, which we now saw before us, upon a height, like an old 

 castle magically illuminated by the moon-light. We rode up, and 

 knocked at the closed gates, which at length opened, and we were 

 admitted. The complaisant Jeitor (steward) introduced us imme- 

 diately into the building in which the farinha is prepared. As 

 4tiese were convenient quarters for our excursions, we remained 



*I call this bird sterna argentea ; it may be confounded with our sterna mlmiia^ but 

 nevertheless it ii diiFerent ; its size exceeds that of our Kuropean birds, for 1 found it 

 nine inches one tenth. The beak and feet are yellow ; the first has a black point ; the 

 forehead and all the lower parts of the bird are white ; the crown of the head and the 

 neck are bla»5k ; back, winge, and taU, are of a beautiful silver grey. 



