this,
we were told, had been the first site of the settlement, but as the
colonists were forbidden to cut any more wood in that direction, they
moved their quarters to the place before mentioned. Near these
dismantled dwellings we found abundance of pineapples, and refreshed
ourselves with some which were ripe, sheltering ourselves from the sun
under the shade of an out-house which had formerly served as a place
for the preparation of farinha from the Mandiocca root. Near this place
I found two beautiful trees, one of them a species of Vochysia, covered with long spikes of bright yellow flowers, and the other the splendid Moronobea coccinea, literally covered with its globular crimson blossoms. In returning I collected specimens of a yellow-flowered Palicourea, called
Mata Rato, not, however, the same plant which is known at Rio by the
name of Erva do Rato. It proves, notwithstanding, that poisonous
qualities are attributed to different plants of the same genus in
different parts of the country.
Close
to the main land, and about thirty miles north from Per-nambuco, there
is a small island called Itamarica, which on account of its fine
climate and soil, and the abundance and superiority of the fruit
produced there, is designated the garden of Pernambuco. I was desirous
of visiting this place before leaving the province, and with this
intention I started about the middle of December, and considered myself
fortunate in having as a companion Mr. Adamson, a young gentleman who
had been some years in the country, and was fond of botanical pursuits.
To make the voyage, we had to hire a Jangada, one of the raft boats so
common on this part of the coast; it was manned by a crew of three men.
To a stranger it appears a very singular kind of craft, and had I not
been well assured that, primitive as their construction seems, they
are perfectly safe, I should have felt some hesitation in embarking on
one of them.
Having
got our luggage properly placed on its elevated platform, so as to be
out of the reach of the water, which continually washes over these
rafts, we commenced our voyage. The wind almost constantly blows at
that season from the north-east, and consequently was nearly right
against us, rendering it necessary
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