The View Seen When Crossing The Hills
Behind Praia Grande Was Most Beautiful; The Colours Were
Intense, And The Prevailing
Tint a dark blue; the sky and the
calm waters of the bay vied with each other in splendour.
After
Passing through some cultivated country, we entered
a forest, which in the grandeur of all its parts could not be
exceeded. We arrived by midday at Ithacaia; this small
village is situated on a plain, and round the central house
are the huts of the negroes. These, from their regular form
and position, reminded me of the drawings of the Hottentot
habitations in Southern Africa. As the moon rose early, we
determined to start the same evening for our sleeping-place
at the Lagoa Marica. As it was growing dark we passed
under one of the massive, bare, and steep hills of granite
which are so common in this country. This spot is notorious
from having been, for a long time, the residence of some
runaway slaves, who, by cultivating a little ground near the
top, contrived to eke out a subsistence. At length they were
discovered, and a party of soldiers being sent, the whole
were seized with the exception of one old woman, who,
sooner than again be led into slavery, dashed herself to
pieces from the summit of the mountain. In a Roman
matron this would have been called the noble love of freedom:
in a poor negress it is mere brutal obstinacy. We
continued riding for some hours.
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