Chap. I. A WITCH IN THE FOREST. 53 
it as a poultice to draw palm spines or even grains of 
shot from the flesh. Other lizards of repulsive aspect, 
about three feet in length when full grown, splashed 
about and swam in the water ; sometimes emerging to 
crawl into hollow trees on the banks of the stream, 
where I once found a female and a nest of eggs. The 
lazy flapping flight of large blue and black morpho 
butterflies high in the air, the hum of insects, and 
many inanimate sounds, contributed their share to the 
total impression this strange solitude produced. Heavy 
fruits from the crowns of trees which were mingled 
together at a giddy height overhead, fell now and then 
with a startling plop " into the water. The breeze, 
not felt below, stirred in the topmost branches, setting 
the twisted and looped sipos in motion, which creaked 
and groaned in a great variety of notes. To these 
noises were added the monotonous ripple of the brook, 
which had its little cascade at every score or two yards 
of its course. 
We frequently fell in with • an old Indian woman, 
named Cecilia, who had a small clearing in the woods. 
She had the reputation of being a witch (feiticeira), and 
I found, on talking with her, that she prided herself on 
her knowledge of the black art. Her slightly curled 
hair showed that she was not a pure-blood Indian : I 
was told her father was a dark mulatto. She was 
always very civil to our party ; showing us the best 
paths, explaining the virtues and uses of different 
plants, and so forth. I was much amused at the ac- 
counts she gave of the place. Her solitary life and the 
gloom of the woods seemed to have filled her with su- 
