Rio de
Janeiro..
of one of the gentlemen of thé Embassy a messenger was
sent to St. Catharine’s, for a specimen of it. What was
brought was an herbaceous plant, about three feet high*
with a single stem, and lanceolated leaves; but as it was
not then either in flower or seed, its proper character
could not be ascertained.
There was at Rio a collector of birds and insects,
who, among other curious articles, had the palamedea,
or anhinga, with a strong nail or spur at ieafih flexunéïbf
its wings, and a horn, of about six inches length, groWv
ing from its forehead ; a bird in
the cabinets of -Europe. The size and'vivid hue- of
many of thé flowers, throughout the.-forest, and
gaudy plumage of thebirds, which: tameoecasfonaliy
in sight, were indeed'Striking! | The woods# IfrfK .saidf,
abound in snakes, some extremelydaige and formidable.
But their hissing^noise, sets the hearer on his guard# and
they seldom, without provocation, ^ddinhfe to-ah attardb.
No sound, however, Was heard to alarm the. present travellers.
The people of the country ’ go about, indeed,
every where with all the indifference of security; their
minds little affected by the apprehension of an evil, tho
near to them, and of which they had often heard, as
they had never experienced it in their own persons: in
like manner as the danger, for example, from the bite
of mad animals in Europe, notwithstanding the dreadful
instances which, at a particular season, are known
frequently to happen, disturbs not the thoughts, nor
interrupts the: occupations or amusements, of those most
exposed'to sai dreadfofaic&lamity.
TheTqresl! dbove desG®ibed,‘ led to »the; cultivated val-
Ifiyc^fnTjyouca', .situated# -as it were, in the4bottom of a
funnel, bdifig surrounded On all: sides by mountains,
««jceptihg to? .the southward, wherea small opening ad-
mitted#fin;sai?m of the'iseadi The-valleyiwas ’watered by a
elearr^team, which, on first enteriiigiintosi#, was preci-
jïitittdlidown a steep and broad rock óf'granite;-forming
a magni&eehtrc^catlei ^érylittïe labour appeared ne-
eessaryttn the plantations bf Tijouca. It was no uncommon
sight tomeetwith indigöv manibej; Coffee, Cacao or
cIi0.cQlaifefeeei#siiga»GSiiia, plantains, and orange and lime
Jsrees# alii growingi^romiscuouslyj® attd- somiè spontane^
ously,-!iU the spaed oftwentysquare yards. Coffee and
indigmwere the ^principal objects bff attention. The tem-
perataieyof: the? Valley was excessively hot, owing to its
Confined situation, and the reflection of the sun’s rays
from theUfiewrf?the mountains, which in many places
were roekyU Fahrenheit’s thermometer, about four in
the afternoon, stood, in the shade, at eighty-eight degrees
.. The party took shelter lat the house of a friend
of their Portuguese companion. Here they were hospitably
treated, and passed the night. The warmth of the
weather; removed all necessity of bedding. A neat woven
V^JhnNHK A a
Rio de
Janeiro.