'ii Prince MacehniliarCs 



of the tropics, and picturesque scenes of an elevated nature. We 

 found the inhabitants occupied in making pottery with a kind of 

 dark green clay, which burns red. They make large vessels 

 merely by the hand, without any potter\s wheel, and glaze them 

 with a small muscle, moistened by saliva; youn^ and old sat to- 

 gether on the ground ; the men work on board of ships in the 

 king's service ; the greater part of these men had still all the ge-«- 

 nuine Indian character, but the others appeared to be of mixed 

 origin. The distinguishing traits of the Brazilian race, which I 

 first observed here, and afterwards always found confirmed, are, a 

 body well formed, of the middle size, or often less than the middle 

 size, and, in the men, stout and muscular ; a red, or yellowish 

 brown colour ; the hair very strong, hard, long, straight, and jet 

 black ; the countenance broad, and rather bony, having the eyes 

 often placed obliquely, and yet frequently well formed, with 

 strongly marked features, and generally a thick mouth ; the hands 

 and feet small and finely formed ; the beard generally thin and 

 hard. 



The few Indians who live here are the sole remains of the an- 

 cient numerous population of this country ; and yet this not pro- 

 perly their paternal home. Rio and the surrounding districts wei-Q 

 origmally inhabited by the warlike race of the Tamoyos., These 

 people, w ho were partly dispersed by the Tupin-Imbas, (called by 

 the Portuguese Tupinambas^) subsequently united with the latter 

 against the Portuguese, and then both tribes joined the French : 

 when, however, the French were driven from this country in the 

 year 1567 by the Portuguese and the Indians, who had joined 

 them, the Tomoyas were partly extirpated and partly driven back 

 to the forests. It is said, though the assertion is scarcely credible, 

 that the Tupinambas wandered in an oblique direction through 

 the forests to the banks of the river Amazon, where they set- 

 tled. It is, however, certain, that at present on an island of the 

 great Amazon river, at the outlet of the Madeira, in the spots call- 

 ed Tupinambara^ which at a later period became the settlement 

 of the Topayos, some remnant of this race still exists. Thus the 

 extensive scattering of these people may be accounted for.* Some 

 interesting accounts of the manners and customs of the Tupinam" 

 has, are contained in the works of Lery and Hans Staden,which also 

 afford a faithful picture of all those civilized tribes of Coast-In- 

 dians, now called by the Portuguese tame Indians, or Indios man- 



* According to the description of Father D'Acunha, in de la Condamine, pag. 

 l.'?7, the Tupinambas, and other kindred tribes of coast Indians, were widely scattered. 

 This is evident from the names derived from their language, which arc common along 

 the whole eastern coast, to the river Amazon, and even in Paraguay, where Azara dis- 

 tinguishes them by the name Guaranis. Vol. II, p. 52. The words which this author 

 «[uotes from the Guarani-language, differ, it is true, in many instances, from those of the 

 Lingoa geral ; but at the same time there are frequent analogies between them, so that 

 both nations seem to be closely allied to each other. 



