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silence, most of the creatures retiring for their noonday
siesta. The false roof of epiphytes and parasites
kept off the glare of the sun, and it was only at
intervals th at a sheaf of vertical beams struck
tlirougli a rift in tbe green canopy, and afforded us a
passing glimpse of tbe tops of tlie forest trees, uniting
in a delicate open tracery far above us.
Eor some hours our brave little horses strugDsOrled
on, sometimes cantering a little vdiere the path was
pretty clear, and more usually picking tbeir way
carefullyt/ ,^ and sometimes with all their care floundering
into tbe mud-lioles, imperfectly bridged over with
trunks of trees.
As we bad made our ascent at first, all this time
we had been riding nearly on a lei'el on the plateau
between the two river A'alleys. Suddenly the wood
opened, and we rode up to the edge of a long irregular
cliff hounding the valley of Sto. Amaro. The
path ran right np to the edge and seemed to come
to an end h u t for a kind of irregular crack full of
loose stones which Avent zigzagging down to the
bottom at an angle of about 70°, and we could see
the path doAvn beloAv Avinding aAvay in the distance
towards the main road to Sto. Amaro. We
looked over this cliff and told Mr. Wilson firmly th a t
we would not go down the side of th a t wall on
horseback. He laughed, and said th a t the horses
Avonld take ns doAvn Avell enough and th a t be had
seen it done, but th a t it was perhaps a little too
m u c h : so Ave all dismounted, and put the horses’
bridles round the backs of the saddles and led them
to the top of the crack and Avhipped them up as they
do performing horses in a circus. They looked over
with a little apparent uneasiness, but I suspect they
had made th a t precarious descent hefore, and they
soon began to pick their way cautiously down one
after the other, and in a few minutes Ave saw them
waiting for us quietly at the bottom. We then
scrambled down as best we might, and it Avas not till
we had reached the bottom, using freely all the
natural advantages which the Brimâtes have over
the Solidunguli under snch circumstances, th a t Ave
fully appreciated the feat AAdiich our horses had
performed.
The next part of the road Avas a trial, the horses
were often up nearly to the girths in stiff clay, hut
Ave got through it somehow and reached Sto. Amaro
in time to catch the regular steamer to Bahia.
At Sto. Amaro a line of tramways had lately
been laid doAvn also under the auspices of our enterprising
friend, and Ave W'ent doAvn to the steamboat
Avdiarfs on one of the trucks on a kind of tria l trip.
The Avaggon Avent smoothly and Avell, but Avhen a noAv
system is started there is always a riks of accidents.
As the truck ran quickly doAvn tbe incline the SAvarthy
young barbarians, attracted by the novelty, crowded
round it, and suddenly tbe agonized cries of a child,
followed by low moanings, rang out from under the
wheels, and a jerk of the drag pulled tbe car up and
nearly threw ns out of our seats. IVe jumped out
and looked nervously under the Avlieels to see what
had happened, but there Avas no child there. The
youDg barbarians looked at us vaguely and curiously,
but not as if anytlimg tragical bad occurred, and Ave
were ju st getting into the car again, feeling a little
bcAvildered, when a great green parrot in a cage close