184 
PHYSICAL HISTORY OF THE 
a cormorant sat alone on the branch of a dead 
tree, or a kingfisher poised himself over the 
water, watching for his prey. Numerous gulls 
were gathered in large companies on the trees 
along the river-shore; alligators lay on its 
surface, diving with a sudden plash at the ap¬ 
proach of our canoe; and occasionally a por¬ 
poise emerged from the water, showing himself 
for a moment and then disappearing again. 
Sometimes we startled a herd of capivara, 
resting on the water’s edge ; and once we saw 
■< 
a sloth, sitting upon the branch of an Imbauba 
(Cecropia) tree, rolled up in its peculiar atti¬ 
tude, the very picture of indolence, with its 
head sunk between its arms. Much of the 
river-shore consisted of low alluvial land, and 
was covered with that peculiar and beautiful 
grass known as Capim ; this grass makes an 
excellent pasturage for cattle, and the abun¬ 
dance of it in this region renders the district 
of Monte Alegre very favorable for agricultural 
purposes. Here and there, where the red clay 
soil rose above the level of the water, a palm- 
thatched cabin stood on the low bluff, with a 
few trees about it. Such a house was usually 
the centre of a cattle-farm, and large herds 
