1848.] 
MEXIANA. 
91 
great aerial machine beating the air violently to support 
its ponderous body, and offering a striking contrast to 
the great wood-ibis, which sails along with noiseless 
wings in flocks of ten or a dozen. In the skirt of forest 
and in the larger ilhas,’' black and spotted jaguars are 
often found, while pacas, cotias, tatus or armadillos, deer, 
and other small game are plentiful. 
The whole population of the island consists of about 
forty persons, of whom twenty are slaves, and the re- 
mainder free Indians and Negroes in the employ of the 
proprietors. These are all engaged in attending to the 
cattle and horses on the island, which vary in number, 
and were much more numerous three or four years ago ; 
the horses in particular having been almost exterminated 
by a disease which suddenly appeared among them. 
There were now about fifteen hundred head of cattle, be- 
sides a great number of wild ones, which keep in the 
remote parts of the island, and four hundred horses. 
The slaves and labourers are allowed farinha only ; but 
they can cultivate Indian corn and vegetables for them- 
selves, and have powder and shot given them for hunt- 
ing, so that they do not fare so badly. They also have 
tobacco allowed them, and most of them earn money by 
making baskets or other trifles, or by killing oncas, the 
skin being worth from five to ten shillings. Besides 
attending to the cattle and horses, they have to build 
houses and corrals, to hunt alligators for oil, and kill 
bats, which do great injury to the cattle by sucking 
their blood night after night. The bats live in holes in 
trees, where they are killed in considerable numbers, 
Senhor Leonardo informing me that they had destroyed 
