II 
ARRIVAL AT SOCEGO 
suddenly put his hand on the beast’s withers, and secured the 
vampire. In the morning the spot where the bite had been 
inflicted was easily distinguished from being slightly swollen 
and bloody. The third day afterwards we rode the horse, with¬ 
out any ill effects. 
April 13 th .—After three days’ travelling we arrived at 
Socego, the estate of Senhor Manuel Figuireda, a relation of 
one of our party. The house was simple, and, though like a 
barn in form, was well suited to the climate. In the sitting- 
room gilded chairs and sofas were oddly contrasted with the 
VAMPIRE BAT (DESMODUS D’ORBIGNYl). CAUGHT ON BACK OF DARWIN’S HORSE 
NEAR COQUIMBO. HEAD, FULL SIZE. 
whitewashed walls, thatched roof, and windows without glass. 
The house, together with the granaries, the stables, and work¬ 
shops for the blacks, who had been taught various trades, formed 
a rude kind of quadrangle ; in the centre of which a large pile 
of coffee was drying. These buildings stand on a little hill, 
overlooking the cultivated ground, and surrounded on every 
side by a wall of dark green luxuriant forest. The chief produce 
of this part of the country is coffee. Each tree is supposed to 
yield annually, on an average, two pounds ; but some give as 
much as eight. Mandioca or cassava is likewise cultivated in 
