CHAPTER II.

JOURNEY TO AND RESIDENCE IN THE ORGAN MOUNTAINS.

Principal Summer Resort of the English Residents—Journey from Piedade to Magé and Frechal—Ascent of the Mountains—Description of Virgin Forests—Mr. March’s Plantation in the Serra—Treatment of his Slaves—Case of One bitten by a venomous Snake—Limb amputated by the Author—Mode of Treatment in such Cases among the Natives—Charms—Tapir-Hunting in the Mountains—Beasts, Birds, and Reptiles found there—Visit to a Brazilian Fazendeiro—To Constantia—Ascent of the loftiest Peaks—Vegetable Productions in those elevated regions—Pleasant Sojourn on the Estate.

The collections which had accumulated during the period of my residence in the vicinity of Rio de Janeiro, having been put into a proper state and sent to England, I made arrangements for visiting the Organ Mountains. The peaks which receive this appellation form part of a mountain range, situated about sixty miles to the north of Rio, which, branching out in various directions, stretches from about Bahia, in lat. 12° S., to S. Catharina, in lat. 29° S. The name (Serra dos Orgãos) bestowed on them by the Portuguese, originated in a fancied resemblance which the peaks, rising gradually one above the other, bear to the pipes of an organ. About ten years before my visit a Sanatorium, or health station, had been established on this range, at about 3,000 feet above the level of the sea, in a beautiful valley behind the higher peaks. A large tract of country there belongs to Mr. March, an English gentleman, on which he has a farm for the breeding of horses and mules, and a large garden, from which the Rio market is regularly supplied with European vegetables. On this property a number of cottages have been erected, which are resorted to by the families of the English residents at Rio during the hot months. He also receives boarders into his own house, and it rarely happens that the place is without visitors. About one-third of the journey has to be performed by water, the other is accomplished on mules, which are sent down from Mr. March’s farm (Fazenda).

As Mr. March happened to be in Rio at the time I purposed visiting the mountains, we started together, on the 24th of Dec., along with two or three English merchants, who were going up to spend the Christmas holidays with their families. It was mid-day before we could leave the city, and, under the influence of a strong sea-breeze, we reached Piedade, the landing-place, at half-past three o’clock, the distance being about twenty miles. The boat in which we embarked belongs to a class which is very common in the harbour, and much employed in conveying goods to the head of the bay, and produce from the interior, from thence to Rio. They are also much made use of by pleasure parties frequenting the islands and opposite shores of the bay. They are called Faluas, and are manned by six rowers, and a steersman who is called the Patrão. The latter is very frequently the owner, and most of them are natives of Portugal. They have two masts, each of which carries a large sail; the stern part is covered over and enclosed with curtains. The negroes who man these boats are generally strong muscular men. Seated on one thwart, they place their feet against another, and rise up at each stroke of the oar, keeping time to a melancholy chant all the while they are pulling. These boats can be hired for an entire day at about eighteen shillings.

The day was a most delightful one, the sun shining out brightly from a clear sky, and the air cooled by the fresh sea-breeze. We passed close to the Ilha do Governador, which is the largest island in the bay. It is about eight miles in length, but narrow in proportion, and thinly inhabited. Shortly before my arrival in the country, an Englishman commenced a soap and candle manufactory on it, both of which articles bring the same price in Rio as those imported from Europe. The muddy shores of this island, as well as those of the whole bay, abound with crabs of all sizes, and every variety of colour, from nearly black to a bright scarlet. On one occasion when I visited the island, I observed within a very short space about eight species. They are gregarious, and each kind inhabits a distinct colony; they burrow in the mud, under the shade and among the roots of the mangrove and other shore-loving trees. It was here that I first saw the apparent anomaly of trees bearing crops of oysters. These animals, when young, attach themselves to the lower part of the trunks, and long pendulous roots, of the mangrove and other trees, which grow in the sea even to low-water mark. The oysters are small and not well-flavoured. Others are found in the bay of enormous size, some of their shells, which I collected as specimens, measuring upwards of a foot in length. Near the head of the bay there are many little islands, some of which are inhabited, and present the agreeable prospect of cultivation, while others are little more than masses of rock, among the clefts of which grow a few stunted shrubs, and grotesque prickly pears.

At Piedade, mules from Mr. March’s Fazenda were waiting for us and our luggage, and, after a short stay for the arrangement of the latter, we began the land part of our journey. At Piedade, which only consists of a few scattered houses, a large hotel was being erected by Col. Leite, a Brazilian gentleman, who, at his own expense, was then making a new road across the Organ Mountains, to join the one which leads to the mining districts from Porto de Estrella, another landing place at the head of the bay. The latter place has hitherto been the common harbour between Rio and the interior. The Colonel, however, expects that his new road will ultimately be preferred, as it is much shorter. Four years after when I again visited this part of the country, I found that this road was still in an unfinished state. To save the expense of an engineer he had traced the road himself, and the consequence was, that it afterwards required many alterations. The road from Piedade to Magé, a small town about four miles distant, leads through a flat, sandy, and, in several places, marshy plain, abounding with low trees and beautiful flowering shrubs. The hedges were covered with numerous climbers, one of them a small sweet-flowered kind of Jasmine, the only one which has hitherto been found in a wild state on the continent of America. In moist places, _Dichorizandra thyrsiflora_, with its spikes of azure blossoms, was not uncommon, while the sandy fields were covered with a large kind of _Cactus_, among which many plants of the aloe-like _Fourcroya gigantea_ were to be seen throwing up their flowering stems to a height of thirty and forty feet.

The town of Magé is rather prettily situated on the banks of the Magé-assú, one of the many small rivers which take their rise in the Organ Mountains, and fall into the head of the bay. It contains a neat church, and a number of well-furnished shops. The river is navigable, for craft of a small size, about eight miles from its mouth. A considerable quantity of Farinha de Mandiocca (Cassava) is exported from this place to Rio. Its low situation, and the surrounding swamps, render it unhealthy at particular seasons; intermittent fevers are here common, and they frequently terminate in others of a more malignant nature. From Magé to Frechal, the place where we slept for the night, the distance is about fourteen miles. The road still continued flat, but wound round many low hills, the sides of which are covered with plantations of Mandiocca. We met several troops of mules coming down from the interior, loaded with produce. Unaccustomed to such a mode of transport, the European looks with astonishment at the great number of animals which are here required to carry what, in his own country, would scarcely form a load for one. Loaded mules start daily from Rio, Piedade, and Porto d’Estrella, to make journeys into the interior of from five hundred to two thousand miles and upwards. They seldom travel above twelve or sixteen miles a day, and the load allowed to each varies from six to eight arrobas of thirty-two pounds each. The loads are protected from the weather by dried ox-hides, which are strapped lightly over them. Frechal is a small village, consisting of a few scattered houses, and situated about two miles from the foot of the mountains. The place at which we put up for the night is a large kind of public house (Venda), where there is an open room for the accommodation of travellers; around this room a number of beds are arranged, which gives it very much the appearance of a hospital ward. Here, unlike most other places of the same kind between Rio and the mining districts, a very comfortable meal may always be obtained.

Next morning by break of day we again continued our journey. At about two miles from Frechal the ascent of the mountains begins. From thence to Mr. March’s Fazenda, which stands at an elevation of upwards of 3,000 feet above the level of the sea, is twelve miles. During the whole way the road is very bad, and in many places so steep, that it is with considerable difficulty the mules make their way up it. Indeed, to one unused to travel on such paths, which have more the appearance of the bed of a mountain torrent than a road for beasts of burden, many parts of it appear impassable; but he is soon undeceived by the slow yet sure manner in which the mules pass along the worst portion of it, especially if left entirely to themselves. The whole length of the road is through one dense forest, the magnificence of which cannot be imagined by those who have never seen it, or penetrated into its recesses. Those remnants of the virgin forest which still stand in the vicinity of the capital, although they appear grand to the eye of a newly-arrived European, become insignificant when compared with the mass of giant vegetation which clothes the sides of the Organ Mountains. So far as I have been able to determine, the large forest trees consist of various species of _Palms_, _Laurus_, _Ficus_, _Cassia_, _Bignonia_, _Solanum_, _Myrtaceæ_, and _Melastomaceæ_. In temperate climates natural forests are mostly composed of trees which grow gregariously. In those of tropical countries it is seldom that two trees of a kind are to be seen growing together, the variety of different species is so great. Many of the trees are of immense size, and have their trunks and branches covered with myriads of those plants which are usually called parasites, but are not so in reality, consisting of _Orchideæ_, _Bromeliaceæ_, _Ferns_, _Peperomiæ_, &c., which derive their nourishment from the moisture of their bark, and the earthy matter which has been formed from the decay of mosses, &c. Many of the trees have their trunks encircled by twiners, the stems of which are often thicker than those they surround. This is particularly the case with a kind of wild fig, called by the Brazilians, Cipo Matador. It runs up the tree to which it has attached itself, and at the distance of about every ten feet throws out from each side a thick clasper, which curves round, and closely entwines the other stem. As both the trees increase in size, the pressure ultimately becomes so great, that the supporting one dies from the embrace of the parasite.

There is another kind of wild fig-tree, with an enormous height and thickness of stem, to which the English residents give the name of Buttress-tree, from several large thin plates which stand out from the bottom of the trunk. They begin to jut out from the stem at the height of ten or twelve feet from the bottom, and gradually increase in breadth till they reach the ground, where they are connected with the large roots of the tree. At the surface of the ground these plates are often five feet broad, and throughout not more than a few inches thick. The various species of _Laurus_ form fine trees; they flower in the months of April and May, at which season the atmosphere is loaded with the rich perfume of their small white blossoms. When their fruit is ripe, it forms the principal food of the Jacutinga (_Penelope Jacutinga_, Spix), a fine large game bird. The large _Cassiæ_ have a striking appearance when in flower; and, as an almost equal number of large trees of _Lasiandra Fontanesiana_, and others of the _Melastoma_ tribe, are in bloom at the same time, the forests are then almost one mass of yellow and purple from the abundance of these flowers. Rising amid these, the pink-coloured flowers of the _Chorisia speciosa_—a kind of silk cotton-tree—can be easily distinguished. It is also a large tree, with a stem, covered with strong prickles, from five to eight feet in circumference unbranched to the height of thirty or forty feet. The branches then form a nearly hemispherical top, which, when covered with its thousands of beautiful large rose-coloured blossoms, has a striking effect when contrasted with the masses of green, yellow, and purple of the surrounding trees.

Many of these large trunks afford support to various species of climbing and twining shrubs, belonging to the natural orders _Bignoniaceæ_, _Compositæ_, _Apocyneæ_, and _Leguminosæ_, the stems of which frequently assume a very remarkable appearance. Several of them are often twisted together and dangle from the branches of the trees, like large ropes, while others are flat and compressed, like belts: of the latter description I have met with some six inches broad, and not more than an inch thick. Two of the finest climbers are the beautiful large trumpet-flowered _Solandra grandiflora_, which, diffusing itself among the largest trees of the forest, gives them a magnificence not their own; and a showy species of Fuchsia (_F. integrifolia_, Cambess.),[3] which is very common, attaching itself to all kinds of trees, often reaching to the height of from sixty to one hundred feet, and then falling down in the most beautiful festoons.

At the foot of the mountains the underwood principally consists of shrubs belonging to the natural orders _Melastomaceæ_, _Myrtaceæ_, _Compositæ_, _Solanaceæ_, and _Rubiaceæ_, among which are many large species of herbaceous ferns, and a few palms. About the middle, palms and tree ferns abound, some of the latter reaching to the height of not less than forty feet. These trees are so unlike every other denizen of the forest, so strange in appearance, yet so graceful, that they have always attracted my attention more than any other, not even excepting the palms. At an elevation of about 2,000 feet, a large species of bamboo (_Bambusa Togoara_, Mart.) makes its appearance. The stems of this gigantic grass are often eighteen inches in circumference, and attain a height of from fifty to one hundred feet. They do not, however, grow perfectly upright, their tops forming a graceful curve downwards. Throughout the whole distance, the path was lined on each side with the most beautiful herbaceous plants and delicate ferns.

We reached Mr. March’s Fazenda early in the forenoon. His estate embraces an extent of country containing sixty-four square miles. The greater part of it is still covered by virgin forests; that which is cleared, consists of pasture land, and several small farms for the cultivation of Indian corn, French beans, and potatoes. Plentiful crops are yielded of the two former, but the produce of the latter is neither so abundant nor so good as in England. He has also near his house a large garden, under the management of a French gardener, in which nearly all the European fruits and vegetables grow tolerably well. The peach, the olive, the fig, the vine, the apple, the quince, the loquat, the pear, the orange, and the banana, may be seen growing side by side, and all, with the exception of the two latter, bearing abundance of fruit. The orange and the banana also bear, but the cold seldom allows the fruit to come to perfection. The strawberry yields but little fruit, and the gooseberry none at all. The apples are quite equal to any I have tasted in England, but the peaches are very inferior; bushels of them are given to feed the pigs. The figs are delicious, especially a variety which produces small green-coloured fruit. Excellent crops of cauliflower, cabbage, asparagus, artichokes, turnips, carrots, peas, onions, &c., are freely produced, and sent weekly to the city. The most fertile part of the estate is a large valley, situated between the higher chain of the Organ Mountains and a smaller range which runs nearly parallel with it, and many of the smaller valleys, which run up to the peaks themselves, are cultivated; these are all well watered with small streams of cool and limpid water.

At this elevation the climate is very much cooler than it is at Rio, the thermometer in the months of May and June sometimes falling as low as 32° just before daybreak. The lowest at which I observed it myself, was on the 26th of May, when, at 8 o’clock A.M., the mercury indicated 39°. The highest to which it rose during the six months I resided on the mountains, was on the 23rd of February, when the mercury stood at 84° at noon. The hot season is also the season of the rains, and violent thunder storms occur almost daily, during the months of January and February. They come on with great regularity about four o’clock in the afternoon, and when they pass over, leave a delightfully cool evening. Like the mountains near Rio, the whole of the Organ range consists of granite. The alluvial soil is very deep and rich in the valleys, and underneath it there exists the same red-coloured argillaceo-ferrugineous clay which is so common at Rio.

It being Christmas-day on which we arrived, and a great holiday, we found the whole of the slaves belonging to the estate, amounting to about one hundred, dancing in the yard before the house, and all attired in new suits of clothes, which had been sent out to them the day before. In the evening, a party of the best conducted, principally creoles, were admitted into the verandah of the house, where I had a good opportunity of witnessing their dances—some of them not being very delicate. One of the best was a kind of dramatic dance, of which the following is a programme. Near the door of a house belonging to a Padre (priest), a young fellow commences dancing and playing on the viola, a kind of guitar. The Padre hears the noise, and sends out one of his servants to ascertain the cause. He finds the musician dancing to his own strains, and tells him that he is sent by his master to enquire why he is thus disturbed. The musician tells him that he is making no disturbance at all, but only trying a new dance from Bahia, which he saw the other day at Diario. The servant asks if it is a good one: “Oh, very good,” replies the other, “will you not try it?” The servant claps his hands, cries “Let the Padre go sleep!” and immediately joins in the dance. The same thing is repeated till the Padre’s servants, men, women, and children, amounting to about twenty, are dancing in a circle before the house. Last of all the supposed Padre himself makes his appearance in a great rage, dressed in a large Poncho for a gown, a broad-brimmed black straw hat, and a mask with a long beard to it. He demands the cause of the noise, which, he says, prevents him from enjoying his dinner. The musician tells him the same story that was told to his servants, and after much persuasion, gets him to join in the dance also. He dances with as much zeal as any of them, but, watching his opportunity, he takes out a whip which he has concealed under his gown, and, lashing the whole of them out of the apartment, finishes the performance. A stricter discipline is kept up among the slaves on this estate, than on any of the same size I have been on in Brazil, but, at the same time, they are carefully and kindly attended to. There is a hospital for the sick, and Mr. Heath, the manager of the estate, has had great experience in the treatment of those diseases to which negroes are liable.

Although there are not so many kinds of venomous snakes in Brazil as is supposed even by the inhabitants, yet accidents frequently occur from their bites to those slaves who are engaged in the plantations. In the whole course of my travels in Brazil, I did not meet with more than half a dozen kinds, which, from examination, were found to have poison fangs. Some of these are, however, very numerous in individuals. In the province of Rio, and in the southern provinces generally, the Jararáca, (_Bothrops Neuwiedii_, Spix.) a genus nearly allied to that which the Rattle Snake belongs to, is perhaps the most common. When full grown it is usually about six feet long. It is frequently met with in plantations, and in bushy and grassy places by the sides of woods, but is scarcely ever found in dense forests. That which is most abundant in the central and northern provinces, is a true Rattle Snake (_Cascavel_), but most probably a distinct species from that of North America. On the day previous to my arrival at Mr. March’s, one of his female slaves, about thirty-two years of age, and the mother of four children, whilst weeding Indian corn on a plantation about eight miles distant from the house, was bitten on the right hand, between the bones of the fore-finger and thumb, by a Jararáca. The accident took place about eight o’clock in the morning, and immediately after she left to return home, but only reached half way, when she was obliged to lie down from excessive pain and exhaustion. At this time she said the feeling of thirst was very great. Some slaves belonging to the estate happening to be near, one of them rode off to inform Mr. Heath. When he arrived, he found the arm much swollen up to the shoulder, beneath which he applied a ligature. From a cottage in the neighbourhood he got a little hartshorn, some of which he applied to the bite, and caused her to swallow about a tea-spoonful in water. Being in a state of high fever, he took about a pound of blood from her, after which she became faintish. She was then removed to the Fazenda, and had two grains of calomel administered to her, and about an hour after a large dose of castor oil.

When I saw her on the following day, she still complained of excruciating pain in the hand and arm, to relieve which a linseed-meal poultice was applied. The pulse being 130, and full, about another pound of blood was taken from the other arm. Next day a number of little vesicles made their appearance on the back of the hand and a little above the wrist, which, when opened, discharged a watery fluid. For the next two days she continued to suffer much pain, to relieve which poultices were constantly applied. More vesicles formed, and the cuticle began to peel off in the vicinity of the bite. On the morning of the 29th, that is, on the fourth day after the accident, when the poultice was removed, she complained of no pain at all in her hand, and on careful examination I found that gangrene had taken place, all below the wrist being dead. From the state of the arm, there was every appearance of the mortification extending. On making an incision into the living portion above the wrist, a considerable quantity of a very fœtid whitish watery fluid discharged itself; and, on pressing the arm between the finger and thumb, a crepitation was felt from the air which had generated beneath the integuments. She was now very weak, the pulse 136, small and feeble, and she appeared to be fast sinking. Amputation being the only means that seemed to offer her a chance of recovery, I decided at once to take off the arm. As the crepitation extended to a few inches above the elbow, and the swelling itself to the shoulder, I determined to take it off as close to the latter as possible. As there was no room for the application of the tourniquet, I got Mr. Heath to apply pressure with a padded key over the artery where it passes under the clavicle, and Mr. March held the arm while I performed the operation. A good deal of blood was lost before I could secure the artery, which had to be done before the bone was sawn through. In a fortnight after, the stump had nearly healed up, and she was walking about the room. Four years afterwards I again saw her, and her general health had not suffered in the least, but she had become extremely irritable and ill-tempered.

Neither the natives nor the inhabitants have any remedy for snake bites, in which they put implicit faith. This I found out from their frequently applying to me for medicine, after their own resources had been completely exhausted. When an accident of this nature happens, the patient, in the interior particularly, is generally put under the charge of a class of people called Curadores, who apply their remedies with many mysterious ceremonies. The first operation of the Curador is to suck the wound, which, if immediately had recourse to, I believe to be the next best thing to excision or cauterization. The patient is then put into a dark room, and care is taken that he is not exposed to currents of air. One of the remedies which they believe to be the most efficacious, is that which is well known in Minas and the other inland provinces, by the name of Black Root (_Raiz Preto_), and Snake Root (_Raiz de Cobra_). It is the root of a common shrub, now well known to botanists by the name of _Chiococca anguifuga_. It has a pungent disagreeable smell, not unlike that of the common Valerian. Decoctions of this are given to drink, and poultices of it are applied to the wound. The _Raiz Preto_ acts as a violent emetic and purgative, and also induces copious perspiration. If it operates freely in this manner, they augur favourably of the patient’s recovery. Besides this plant they use many others. Snakes have generally a disagreeable musky smell, and it is a common opinion among the people, that any plant possessing one similar is sure to be valuable in the cure of their bites.

In the province of Pernambuco, I found that a common method of cure was to give the patient rum to drink, till he was in a perfect state of intoxication; and this they affirm is very frequently a successful remedy. But the most extraordinary method of cure which I have ever heard of, is one which was communicated to me by a farmer (Fazendeiro), who accompanied me to Rio on my return from the mountains. Only three days, he said, before he left his estate, one of his oxen was bitten on the leg by a Jararáca, but having immediately applied his remedy, it became as well as any of the others before he quitted home. This remedy consists of the following well-known Latin acrostic, or, as he termed them, magical words:—

S. A. T. O. R. A. R. E. P. O. T. E. N. E. T. O. P. E. R. A. R. O. T. A. S.

Each line is to be written separately on a slip of paper, and then rolled into the form of a pill, the whole five to be given as soon as possible after the person or animal has been bitten. He also gave me quite as ridiculous a remedy for the cure of drunkenness. This was to place a piece of bread in the arm-pits of a dying man, and allow it to remain there till he was perfectly dead. The smallest portion of this bread, he affirmed, given, without their knowledge, to those addicted to intemperance, would produce a perfect cure.

Catesby mentions that in North America he has seen death result from the bite of a Rattle Snake in less than two minutes; I have also heard of death taking place very shortly after the bite in Brazil, but I have never actually seen it in less than ten or twelve hours. In those cases where the poison acts so quickly, it must be so strong as to destroy the nervous energy at once. In those in which the patient lingers for one or more days, death generally takes place from inflammation and mortification of the subcutaneous cellular substance. During the course of my journeys in the interior, I met frequently with persons who had recovered from severe snake bites, but almost all of them had broken constitutions, and suffered from ulcerated limbs. From all that I have seen, I candidly confess, that I have no faith in any medicine intended to act as a specific for a snake bite, whether used internally or externally. I do not of course allude to those which are usually applied for the reduction of inflammation and fever, as under any mode of treatment they cannot be withheld. A ligature attached above the wound, and instant incisions into the wound itself, and the application of a cupping-glass, which, in the shape of a wine glass, is always at hand, are more to be depended on than any other external remedial agency.

My first journey of any length into the virgin forest here, was made in company with M. Lomonosof, the Russian minister at the court of Brazil, and Mr. Heath. M. Lomonosof was desirous to witness a Tapir (_Anta_) hunt, that animal being very common on this range. It is the largest South American quadruped, but is not of greater size in the body than a calf about six months old, and it stands upon much shorter legs. We left the Fazenda about half-past six o’clock in the morning, and entered the forest at about three miles to the north of it. We were accompanied by four negroes, and took provisions with us for two days. We had also our guns and six good dogs. For the first mile and a half we had a tolerable path, leading through a forest of fine trees, with very little underwood except young palms, hundreds of which were cut down by the blacks who were clearing the way for us. In going up the valley we crossed and recrossed a small river, called the Imbuhy, several times, on the banks of which I added largely to my botanical collections. The most difficult part of our path was about half a mile which had to be cut through a thick forest of bamboos. Having accomplished this, we came upon an old track of a tapir. It was about two feet broad, well beaten, and had foot marks of the animal on it, but they were several days old. This path led us through a densely wooded part of the forest, to one which was less so, the larger trees being fewer, but instead, an abundance of shrubs and large herbaceous plants. We here came upon several paths, which we found led to a deep pool in the river, and evidently a place which the tapir repairs to for the purpose of drinking and bathing. While Mr. Heath was endeavouring to get the dogs upon a recent track, I occupied myself in collecting a number of curious plants, which grew on a sloping bank by the side of the stream. It now began to rain, and the dogs not having gone out, we again crossed the river, and proceeded up the valley about a mile further. From thence one of the dogs set off, but returned in about a quarter of an hour without having turned up anything. It was now nearly four o’clock in the afternoon, and the rain was beginning to fall heavily; we therefore sought for a place where we might encamp for the night, as we were ten miles distant from the Fazenda, and M. Lomonosof was too much fatigued to be able to return. The place we selected was under the shade of some large trees, near which grew abundance of the small cabbage palm (_Euterpe edulis_, Mart.), the terminal bud of which is so much made use of as a vegetable by the Brazilians. A hut was soon erected, and thickly thatched over with the leaves of this palm. At first we were dreadfully annoyed by mosquitoes and a little sand-fly, but the kindling of a large fire in front of our hut soon dispersed them. Palm leaves were spread upon the floor for our bed, and we had a small log of wood for a pillow. It rained heavily all night, but we did not suffer from it. We got up next morning by break of day, and prepared to return home, as it still continued to rain. I was somewhat amused at the vessel in which the blacks cooked their breakfast. It was a pot made from a part of the thick stem of a bamboo, the bottom being formed by the division which occurs at each joint. It is placed upright on the fire, and so long as it contains water will not burn through. Among the many uses to which the bamboo may be put, that is one which I never heard of before nor have seen since. After a slight breakfast we commenced our journey homewards; but before getting out of the forest, M. Lomonosof, little accustomed to a hunter’s life, became so exhausted from fatigue, that it was with difficulty he reached the place where horses had been ordered to be sent to await our return.

The animals which inhabit the vast forests of the Organ mountains are, perhaps, no less various than the forms of the vegetable creation. Formerly the Ounce, or Jaguar (_Felis Onca_), used to be common, but now it is only occasionally that its roar is heard at night, or that cattle or sheep suffer from its depredations. The black variety, to which the Brazilians give the name of Tiger, is still more rare. The woods, however, abound with a very pretty species of wild cat (_Felis pardalis_). Monkeys are very numerous. In the morning the forests resound with the unearthly howling of the Barbado (_Mycetes barbatus_), which is as large as an ordinary dog; they live in bands of many together. There are several others quite as large, but they are seldom to be seen. The grey Marmoset, which is so common in the forests of the northern provinces, is not to be met with here, but another, and perhaps a still more beautiful species is occasionally found. It is the _Jaccus auritus_. It is easily distinguished from all the other species by its nearly uniform dark colour, and the pencils of long white hairs which come out from its ears. The Sloth (_Acheus Ai_) is also occasionally found feeding on the leaves of the _Cecropia peltata_, which form his favourite food. One which I had for some time in captivity, was of a timid and fretful disposition. Like most other animals in which the brain is small in proportion to the development of the nervous system, it is very tenacious of life. Although more tardy in its movements than most quadrupeds of its size, it passes with considerable rapidity from branch to branch, from which in its progress it always hangs by the legs and feet. It owes much to Waterton, for being the first to remove the stigma which Buffon and others put upon its character. In the river which flows through the valley, the Brazilian Otter (_Lutra Brasiliensis_), and the Capybara (_Hydrochærus capybara_), are still occasionally to be met with. A pretty little deer (_Cervus nemorivagus_) frequently attracts the sportsman to the woods, as do also the two species of Pecari (_Dicotyles labiatus_ and _torquatus_), which are so common all over the intertropical parts of South America. A kind of Opossum (_Didelphis Azaræ_) is as much the pest of the fowl-house as the fox is in Europe. It is very tenacious of life, getting up and running away when every bone in its body appears to be broken by the blows which have been inflicted on it. In the woods an Armadillo (_Tatusia peba_) is not uncommon, the stewed flesh of which makes excellent food; and in the forests a prehensile-tailed kind of Porcupine (_Sphigurus spinosus_) is also often met with; they both burrow in the ground. The great Ant-bear (_Myrmecophaga tamandua_) is rarely, though occasionally, to be met with. Along with the monkeys, a little brown squirrel is often to be seen sporting among the branches of the trees.

Besides the numerous fly-catchers and other small birds, the wild pigeons, the flocks of parroquets and parrots, the hawks, owls, and the various species of Toucans, remarkable for their brilliant colours, and the great size of their bills, there are several large birds which are much sought after by the sportsman. These are the Jacú, Jacutinga, Jacubemba, Jacuassú, all gallinaceous birds, belonging to the genus _Penelope_; two species of Quail, the Macúcu (_Tinamus macaco_), and the Nhambú (_Pezus niamba_); and, lastly, a Partridge (_Perdix Guianensis_), the Capoeira of the Brazilians. Of reptiles there are numerous snakes, many of which are beautifully coloured, a vast variety of lizards, and innumerable hordes of frogs and toads of all sizes, from the small tree kind not more than an inch long, to those marsh ones which are nearly large enough to fill a hat. Till one gets accustomed to the sounds which they produce, particularly previous to rain, they are almost deafening. During the day the air is full of beautiful butterflies of all colours, now flying from flower to flower, and now alighting on the moist sandy banks of pools and small streams in countless numbers. The large nests of wasps hang from the boughs of the trees, and smaller ones are often hidden among the leaves and small branches of shrubs, the inhabitants of which, when disturbed, rush out and inflict summary punishment on the unhappy transgressors. In open places the leaves and flowers of bushes and other plants, abound with Diamond and other beetles; while at night the air is lighted up with fire-flies of various sizes, which, from their brilliancy, give the idea that part of the stars have fallen from the firmament, and are floating about without a resting place.

While I resided at Mr. March’s I frequently paid a visit to a Brazilian, Joaquim Paulo by name, who has a small estate about ten miles distant. My first visit was made along with Mr. Heath, and as we arrived shortly before dinner, we were invited to partake of that meal. This I was not displeased at, as it gave me an opportunity of witnessing the internal economy of a Brazilian country-house, never having been in one before. The dinner was substantial and clean, but every dish was, according to the custom of the country, highly seasoned with garlic. The table was covered with a clean cloth, on one end of which was laid a heap of ground cassava root (_Farinha de Mandiocca_), and on the other a heap of ground Indian corn (_Farinha de Milho_). On one of these heaps was placed a large dish of boiled black French beans (_Feijoens_), with a large piece of fat pork (_Toucinho_) in the midst of them; while on the other was laid a dish of stewed fowl. We had also roast pork and blood sausages. From these dishes and heaps every one helped himself. As a vegetable we had a dish of cabbage-palm (_Euterpe edulis_), which is very tender and delicious, tasting not unlike asparagus. During dinner we were each furnished with a cup of Lisbon wine; and after it we had various kinds of sweet-meats. Besides ourselves, there were only our host and two of his sons. Indeed, his wife and daughters I did not see till I had been several times at the house. The two girls were rather pretty, but they could neither read nor write. The father would not allow them to learn either, from fear that they would take to the reading of novels, and the writing of love-letters. He was himself a most inveterate huntsman, being almost always in the woods in pursuit of game. He was a capital shot, and had killed more tapirs with his own hand than any one in the vicinity.

I also visited occasionally a coffee plantation called Constantia, about fifteen miles distant from Mr. March’s, belonging to M. De Luze, a Swiss, who had been many years in the country. It is situated in a flat valley surrounded by sloping hills, and is one of the most lovely spots I have ever seen. In the neighbourhood of it there are two other coffee plantations belonging to Germans, but they have all ascertained that the elevation is too great for the successful cultivation of coffee. Since then M. De Luze has sold his estate to Mr. March, and bought a larger one, in a fine coffee country on the banks of the Rio Parahiba. In the latitude of Rio, coffee does not succeed at a much greater elevation than 2,000 feet. At Mr. March’s the bush grows well, but it never ripens its fruit properly.

The most distant journey I made, was to an estate about twenty miles north of Mr. March’s Fazenda. About the middle of April, Mr. Heath received a note from the lady to whom it belongs, Dona Rita Thereza da Roza, asking him as a great favour to ride over and take me along with him to see her little daughter, who a few days before had been attacked with apoplexy and paralysis. On the following day it was our intention to have gone, but heavy rains, which came on and flooded the rivers, prevented us from starting till the succeeding day. Mr. March’s house being at the south end of his estate, we had to pass along the whole length of it, a distance of about eight miles. After leaving it our road led over a very high hill; it was steep, and the soil being a kind of red clay, was so slippery in consequence of the heavy rains which had lately fallen, that our mules had considerable difficulty in getting up. The declivity on the other side was nearly as bad. From this place the road passed for the most part through large fields of Indian corn, which was then nearly ripe for collecting, and several small patches of rice in the moist flat places. When we arrived at the house of the lady, we learned that the daughter had died the evening before. We were shown the body, which had been put into a coffin, and placed in a neat little chapel belonging to the estate, and in which it was to be buried. The interment was to take place on the arrival of the Padre, who had to be brought from a distance of forty-eight miles, and was hourly expected. The child was only eight years of age, but had been long unwell. We had to remain to dinner, and, as many relations and neighbours were present, the party was a large one. Until dinner was ready, the eldest daughter, a rather plain girl, was amusing herself by swinging to and fro in a hammock, which was slung in one corner of the dining-room. As an instance of the early age at which women marry in Brazil, I may mention that we were informed by the lady herself, that she was married at ten years of age, and was a mother before she had completed her eleventh year. She was then forty-five years old, and had had no less than twenty-five births, ten of which were miscarriages. We were received with much kindness, and she expressed herself very grateful for my visit.

As the Organ Mountains rise to an elevation of about four thousand feet above Mr. March’s house, I had long been desirous to spend a few days among the high peaks, for the purpose of making collections of their vegetable productions. The only botanists who had visited Mr. March’s estate before me were Langsdorff, the celebrated voyager, and at that time Consul-General for Russia in Brazil, Burchell, the African traveller, and a German of the name of Lhotsky. The former explored the vegetation in the neighbourhood of the Fazenda, during a stay of a few weeks, about twelve or thirteen years before my visit; Mr. Burchell remained six weeks, nine or ten years before; and Lhotsky, two or three weeks only, about five years later. None of them botanized higher than the level of Mr. March’s house, and the knowledge of this fact made me the more anxious to explore a field which promised so much novelty. I had fixed on the early part of April for going up, but the whole of that month was so wet, that I was prevented at that time from putting my design into execution. May, however, having set in fine, I started on the morning of the 6th, accompanied by four negroes. One of them, “Pai Felipe,” a creole upwards of sixty years of age, was to act as guide. This old fellow was one of the most active, not only of blacks, but of any individual of his years I have ever seen. From his infancy he had been accustomed to the woods, and was one of the best hunters on the estate. The other three were to carry provisions, and to assist in taking home my collections. We entered the forest at about a mile to the north of Mr. March’s house, and our road for that day was nearly due west. Two years before, an English merchant from Rio ascended, from mere curiosity, to within a few hundred feet of the summit, guided by the same old black who accompanied me. For the first few miles we were able to keep the road which he had made, but from the rapid growth of the bamboos and underwood through which it had been cut, it was as difficult to force our way as if no path had ever been made. Our progress was but slow, it being necessary for one of the blacks to go on before in order to cut a pass. Some of the bamboos were of immense size; I measured several about six inches in diameter, and their height could not be less than eighty or a hundred feet. The internodes are generally filled with water, obviously secreted by the plant itself. Prince Maximilian, in his travels, speaks of this fluid as forming a most delicious beverage to hunters and others in the woods. I have frequently tasted it, but always found it so nauseous that the most urgent thirst alone would compel me to drink it.

Near the entrance of the wood we passed a large species of _Copaifera_, the lower part of the stem of which had been pierced for the purpose of obtaining the balsam which those trees exude. For miles our route lay nearly parallel with a small river, along the banks of which grew some very large trees; among them I observed a species of _Laurus_, and another of _Pleroma_, both in flower. The underwood consisted of a great variety of shrubby _Melastomaceæ_, _Myrtaceæ_, _Rubiaceæ_, and suffruticose species of _Begonia_. In other places elegant tree-ferns abounded, their stems often covered with little delicate species of the same tribe, or air-plants bearing beautiful flowers. Pretty herbaceous ferns and handsome-flowered _Begonias_ were trodden down at every footstep. The stems of the large trees were covered with _Bromelias_, _Tillandsias_, _Orchideæ_, ferns, and a climbing species of _Begonia_. Occasionally a large plant of _Cactus truncatus_ was to be seen hanging from rocks or from the stem of some large tree, covered with hundreds of beautiful pink blossoms. In crossing over a hill about five hundred feet high, which stands in the valley we were now passing through, I found the top of it literally covered with various kinds of Orchidaceous plants, but with the exception of the beautiful little _Sophronites grandiflora_, which was then in flower, all had been previously met with at a lower elevation. It was here, likewise, that I first met with _Luxemburgia ciliosa_, a fine shrub producing large corymbs of lemon-coloured flowers, and belonging to the violet tribe. On this hill I likewise observed two kinds of bamboo, different from the large kinds in the woods below. One of them had the internodes considerably shorter in proportion to the size of the plant, and was altogether much smaller. The other species was still less, its stem not being more than half an inch in diameter, but continuing of that thickness to a height of fifteen or twenty feet. The getting through these was the most difficult part of our day’s journey.

At 4 o’clock P.M., we reached a place by the side of a small stream, where I determined to remain for the night; and, while the blacks were occupied in cutting wood for a fire and in preparing dinner, I took a walk up the course of the little stream. As I estimated this spot to be at an elevation of about 4,500 feet, I naturally expected a vegetation different from that in the valley below. The first plant that attracted my attention was what I imagined to be a fine individual of _Cereus truncatus_, in full flower, hanging from the under side of the trunk of a large tree that was bent over the stream, but on getting possession of it, it proved to be a new, and, perhaps, a still more beautiful species. I have named it _Cereus Russellianus_, in honour of His Grace the late Duke of Bedford, one of the most liberal supporters of my mission to Brazil: it has since been introduced to the hot-houses of England. A little way further up the stream, by the side of a small waterfall, and on a slanting bank near it, grew great abundance of a fine dark red-flowered _Amaryllis_. This spot is one of the most charming I have ever seen. The bed of the stream is about ten feet broad, but it is only during heavy rains that the water covers this space; at this time the stream was little more than perceptible. The water falls over three successive shelves of granite, each about eight feet high, the faces of which are covered with mosses. Along the stream at the bottom of the fall there are several middle-sized trees, the branches of which are festooned with the long branches of a _Fuchsia_, loaded with splendid crimson flowers. By the side of the fall there are several bushes of a large-flowered _Pleroma_, and, along with them, a few of a red-blossomed _Esterhazya_, and a broad thick-leaved species of _Clusia_ (_C. fragrans_, Gard.), loading the atmosphere with a delightful odour arising from its large white blossoms; beneath these grow the _Amaryllis_, an _Eryngium_, several _Tillandsias_, and many _Ferns_. Having gained the upper part of the fall, I found a space, extending to a considerable distance on each side and for some way up the mountain, destitute of trees—nothing but bare portions of rock, with occasional masses of low shrubs and herbaceous plants. Among the _Orchideæ_, the beautiful _Zygopetalon Mackaii_ and the odoriferous _Maxillaria picta_ were not the least common. Darkness now beginning to set in, I returned to the encampment, where I found a large fire lighted; the evening was so fine that I considered the erection of a hut unnecessary, and lay down about eight P.M., on a few palm leaves by the fire, with my Poncho round me, to pass the night.

When I arose next morning at daybreak, I found the thermometer at 46°. While breakfast was preparing I again went out to botanize, but added little more than a few Ferns to my collection of the previous evening. Our journey to the place where we slept was of very gradual ascent; we had now to commence the _ascent proper_ of the peaks. Leaving behind all that was not actually necessary to be taken along with us, we began our journey by passing the waterfall, and walking up the bed of the stream, along the gently sloping face of a granite rock; the ascent of several parts of this was rather difficult, having to crawl up on our hands and knees; after half an hour’s hard work we reached a comparatively flat wooded spot. On the steep part I collected, in moist places, an _Eriocaulon_, a small _Sun-Dew_, and a new genus belonging to the _Gentian_ tribe; among these grew also the curious _Burmannia bicolor_. In passing through the wood above mentioned, I saw plenty of my new _Cactus_ growing on the stems of the larger trees, whilst the rocks were covered with _Gesnerias_, and different kinds of _Orchidaceous_ plants. Emerging from the wood we encountered another steep rocky place, almost entirely covered with a large pine-apple-like _Tillandsia_, above which rose a few plants of a fine large scarlet-flowered shrubby _Salvia_ (_S. Benthamiana_, Gardn.), and a pale-blossomed _Virgularia_. On a nearly bare portion of the rock, grew several patches of a large herbaceous plant, belonging to the tribe of the _Gentians_; it grows from a foot to two feet high, with thick succulent glaucous leaves, the upper ones connate, and from out of which proceed about half a dozen pedicels, each bearing a single large flower, the calyx of which is much inflated and tinged with purple; it is the _Prepusa connata_, Gardn. The only previously known species was found by Martius, on a large mountain range between the Diamond country and Bahia; a third was afterwards discovered on the very summit of the Organ Mountains. Passing this place, we again entered a wooded tract, where we found many Tapir paths, as we had also done the day previous in the woods through which we passed, which rendered our progress much quicker than it otherwise would have been, as the branches above only require to be cut away to make a good road. Judging from the abundance of the tracts which we here met with, the Tapir must be a very common animal in this remote and solitary part of the mountains; here they are as yet out of the reach of the hunter, who commits great havock among those which inhabit the lower woods, and there is also abundance of herbage to supply them with food. In passing through this wood, one of the blacks shot a _Jacutinga_ (_Penelope Jacutinga_, Spix), and I collected specimens of a few Orchidaceous plants, and a large yellow-flowered _Senecio_.

Leaving the wood we came upon a slanting _Sphagnum_ bog, in which grew some very alpine-looking shrubs; these consisted chiefly of a Proteaceous-like _Baccharis_, a _Vaccinium_, an _Andromeda_, the _Lavoisiera imbricata_, remarkable for its large flowers and small leaves, and a _Pleroma_; among the moss, an _Eriocaulon_, and a handsome _Utricularia_ with large cordate leaves and purple flowers, grew in great profusion. Judging from the top of the mountain, we were now at an elevation of nearly 6,000 feet. Leaving it, we commenced a very steep ascent covered principally with low shrubs; we continued our way for about an hour through this stunted vegetation, making but slow progress, although we were much facilitated by having the path of the Tapir to crawl up. By following this track we reached a point from which a beautiful prospect of the low country was obtained, particularly to the eastward, where, as far as the eye could reach, it was one mass of conical-shaped hills, only one ridge rising to any considerable height above the rest; the point we had attained was the summit of one of the many peaks which form the upper range of the Organ Mountains. At about a quarter of a mile distant stood what I then believed to be the highest peak, and certainly not more than three or four hundred feet above us; but between the two peaks lay a deep densely-wooded ravine. It being now past two o’clock in the afternoon, it was too late to think of ascending that day, so I determined to remain where we were for the night, and attempt it next day, but the blacks refused to do so, on account of no water being nearer than a little above where we had slept the previous night. As I could not force them to remain, I was, much against my will, obliged to abandon all idea of reaching the summit at this time. Not having a barometer with me, I endeavoured to ascertain the boiling point of water, but in doing so, broke the tube of the thermometer. Four years later, during a visit of six days to the peaks, I was more fortunate; of that excursion an account will be found in a subsequent part of the present work. The summit of the peak on which we now were, was quite a little flower-garden; a pretty _Fuchsia_, in full flower, was trailing over the bare rocks; in their clefts grew a handsome _Amaryllis_, and on all sides numerous flowering shrubs. The coolness of the air and the stillness were quite refreshing; not a sound was to be heard; and the only animals to be seen were a few small birds, so tame that they allowed us to come quite close to them. After partaking of a slight repast we commenced our downward journey, and reached our encampment just as night was setting in. Next day, following the route by which we had come, we arrived at the Fazenda about four o’clock in the afternoon, groaning under our loads.

About a week after our return, I made another visit to the place where we had formerly encamped; my object was to obtain additional specimens of the many new plants which I had found in the neighbourhood. On this occasion I was again accompanied by “Pai Felipe” and the other three blacks; we left the Fazenda at eight o’clock in the morning, and reached our sleeping place about three in the afternoon. On the following day I occupied myself with making excursions in various directions; during these walks I collected great plenty of _Cereus Russellianus_. This plant offers a good example of nearly allied species representing each other in different regions of the same mountain; during the many times that I passed through the woods, on my journey to and from the peaks, I always found _Cereus truncatus_ confined to the dense virgin forests below the elevation of 4,500 feet, while from this point to nearly the summit of the mountains, _Cereus Russellianus_ alone was seen, enjoying a more open and a cooler region. The day was one of the most delightful that I ever remember to have witnessed, quite like one of the finest days of an English summer; the sky was clear and unclouded, and the atmosphere being free from that haze which often, in the finest weather, renders the view of distant objects indistinct, allowed us to obtain a perfect and well-defined prospect of the high mountains far to the eastward. Having got all my specimens put into paper, I lay down to sleep shortly after seven o’clock, little dreaming what a miserable night I was to spend. I had just fallen asleep by the fire, on my bed of palm leaves, when I was suddenly aroused from my slumber by a deluge of rain pouring down; one of those sudden and heavy thunder-storms, which are never witnessed in temperate climes, was passing over us. Had we been in an open place, we might have seen it approaching and been able to form some kind of shelter before it came on, but the tops of the trees by which we were covered prevented this. I never was out in such weather; the flashing of the lightning, the rolling of the thunder, which was breaking immediately over us, the roaring of the wind among the trees, and the falling of rotten branches, all combined to render the scene terrific. In a few minutes our large fire was extinguished, and the place swimming with water; although I was covered with a thick Poncho, it was but a poor protection for such a night. In half an hour the small stream beside us, which during the day had only a few inches of water, came roaring down like a cataract. To add to our misery, the night was pitch dark, so that we could not see to remedy our situation. What a night I spent may be imagined, when I mention that I sat from half-past seven in the evening till nearly three o’clock in the morning, under an incessant deluge of rain; a more perfect picture of patience, I flatter myself, could not be witnessed. About three it began to abate, and being in a shivering condition from the cold and wet, we made several attempts to kindle a fire, but without success: everything was too wet to burn, and we were therefore obliged to content ourselves without one. By seating myself at the root of a tree, and leaning my back against it, I managed, at four different times, to obtain about an hour’s sleep, but constantly awoke cold and shivering. Never was I so glad as when the first rays of daylight were seen streaming through the trees; and, as soon as we could see, we lost no time in preparing to return home. Shortly after we did start, it began to rain, and continued till we reached the Fazenda, at two o’clock in the afternoon.

During the whole of my six month’s residence on the Mountains, the cottages were generally crowded with visitors. There was, consequently, much gaiety, it being seldom that an evening party was not held at one or the other of them, where nearly the whole of the residents assembled. Then there were frequent Pic-nic parties to different distant parts of the estate, and, when the weather permitted, delightful evening rides. In this manner many of my leisure hours, which otherwise must have passed away very dully, were most agreeably spent. Indeed, I still look back upon these few months as one of the most happy periods of my life, for independently of those pleasant pastimes, I was daily occupied with a favourite pursuit, and that, too, in a field which was all but new.