I Had Intended Continuing My Journey To The Puris The Same Day, But My Guide Was Attacked With Pains In His Knee, And Could Not Ride Further.

I had, therefore, no resource but to alight at the priest's, who gave me a hearty welcome; he had a pretty good house, immediately adjoining the church.

10th October. As my guide was worse, the priest offered me his negro to replace him. I thankfully accepted his offer, but could not set off before 1 o'clock, for which I was, in some respects, not sorry, as it was Sunday, and I hoped to see a great number of the country people flock to mass. This, however, was not the case; although it was a very fine day there were hardly thirty people at church. The men were dressed exactly in the European fashion; the women wore long cloaks with collars, and had white handkerchiefs upon their heads, partly falling over their faces as well; the latter they uncovered in church. Both men and women were barefooted.

As chance would have it, I witnessed a burial and a christening. Before mass commenced, a boat crossed over from the opposite bank of the Parahyby, and on reaching the side, a hammock, in which was the deceased, was lifted out. He was then laid in a coffin which had been prepared for the purpose in a house near the churchyard. The corpse was enveloped in a white cloth, with the feet and half the head protruding beyond it; the latter was covered with a peaked cap of shining black cloth.

The christening took place before the burial. The person who was to be christened was a young negro of fifteen, who stood with his mother at the church door. As the priest entered the church to perform mass, he christened him, in passing by, without much ceremony or solemnity, and even without sponsors; the boy, too, seemed to be as little touched by the whole affair as a new born infant. I do not believe that either he or his mother had the least idea of the importance of the rite.

The priest then hurriedly performed mass, and read the burial service over the deceased, who had belonged to rather a wealthy family, and therefore was respectably interred. Unfortunately, when they wanted to lower the corpse into its cold resting-place, the latter was found to be too short and too narrow, and the poor wretch was so tossed about, coffin and all, that I expected every moment to see him roll out. But all was of no avail, and after a great deal of useless exertion no other course was left but to place the coffin on one side and enlarge the grave, which was done with much unwillingness and amid an unceasing volley of oaths.

This fatiguing work being at last finished, I returned to the house, where I took a good dejeuner a la fourchette in company with the priest, and then set out with my black guide.

We rode for some time through a broad valley between splendid woods, and had to cross two rivers, the Parahyby and the Pomba, in trunks of trees hollowed out. For each of these wretched conveyances I was obliged to pay one milreis (2s. 2d.), and to incur great danger into the bargain; not so much on account of the stream and the small size of the craft, as of our mules, which, fastened by their halter, swam alongside, and frequently came so near that I was afraid that we should be every moment capsized.

After riding twelve miles further, we reached the last settlement of the whites. {47} On an open space, which had with difficulty been conquered from the virgin forest, stood a largish wooden house, surrounded by a few miserable huts, the house serving as the residence of the whites, and the huts as that of the slaves. A letter which I had brought from the priest procured me a welcome.

The manner of living in this settlement was of such a description that I was almost tempted to believe that I was already among savages.

The large house contained an entrance hall leading into four rooms, each of which was inhabited by a white family. The whole furniture of these rooms consisted of a few hammocks and straw mats. The inhabitants were cowering upon the floor, playing with the children, or assisting one another to get rid of their vermin. The kitchen was immediately adjoining the house, and resembled a very large barn with openings in it; upon a hearth that took up nearly the entire length of the barn, several fires were burning, over which hung small kettles, and at each side were fastened wooden spits. On these were fixed several pieces of meat, some of which were being roasted by the fire and some cured by the smoke. The kitchen was full of people: whites, Puris, and negroes, children whose parents were whites and Puris, or Puris and negroes - in a word, the place was like a book of specimens containing the most varied ramifications of the three principal races of the country.

In the court-yard was an immense number of fowls, beautifully marked ducks and geese; I also saw some extraordinarily fat pigs, and some horribly ugly dogs. Under some cocoa-palms and tamarind-trees, were seated white and coloured people, separate and in groups, mostly occupied in satisfying their hunger. Some had got broken basins or pumpkin-gourds before them, in which they kneaded up with their hands boiled beans and manioc flour; this thick and disgusting- looking mess they devoured with avidity. Others were eating pieces of meat, which they likewise tore with their hands, and threw into their mouths alternately with handfuls of manioc flour. The children, who also had their gourds before them, were obliged to defend the contents valiantly; for at one moment a hen would peck something out, and, at the next, a dog would run off with a bit, or sometimes even a little pig would waggle up, and invariably give a most contented grunt when it had not performed the journey for nothing.

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