34 



CHARLES DARWIN 



banished, there was something exceedingly fascinating in 

 this simple and patriarchal style of living: it was such a 

 perfect retirement and independence from the rest of the 

 world. 



As soon as any stranger is seen arriving, a large bell is set 

 tolling, and generally some small cannon are fired. The 

 event is thus announced to the rocks and woods, but to noth- 

 ing else. One morning I walked out an hour before daylight 

 to admire the solemn stillness of the scene ; at last, the silence 

 was broken by the morning hymn, raised on high by the 

 whole body of the blacks; and in this manner their daily 

 work is generally begun. On such fazendas as these, I have 

 no doubt the slaves pass happy and contented lives. On 

 Saturday and Sunday they work for themselves, and in this 

 fertile climate the labour of two days is sufficient to support 

 a man and his family for the whole week. 



April 14th. — Leaving Socego, we rode to another estate on 

 the Rio Macae, which was the last patch of cultivated ground 

 in that direction. The estate was two and a half miles long, 

 and the owner had forgotten how many broad. Only a very 

 small piece had been cleared, yet almost every acre was 

 capable of yielding all the various rich productions of a trop- 

 ical land. Considering the enormous area of Brazil, the pro- 

 portion of cultivated ground can scarcely be considered as 

 anything, compared to that which is left in the state of 

 nature: at some future age, how vast a population it will 

 support! During the second day's journey we found the 

 road so shut up, that it was necessary that a man should go 

 ahead with a sword to cut away the creepers. The forest 

 abounded with beautiful objects ; among which the tree ferns, 

 though not large, were, from their bright green foliage, and 

 the elegant curvature of their fronds, most worthy of admira- 

 tion. In the evening it rained very heavily, and although the 

 thermometer stood at 65 °, I felt very cold. As soon as the 

 rain ceased, it was curious to observe the extraordinary evap- 

 oration which commenced over the whole extent of the 

 forest. At the height of a hundred feet the hills were buried 

 in a dense white vapour, which rose like columns of smoke 

 from the most thickly wooded parts, and especially from the 

 valleys. I observed this phenomenon on several occasions. 



