Piauhy; the
appearance of the inhabitants was equally abject and miserable. The
valley in which it stands is surrounded by high gently sloping hills,
some of which are grassy and rocky, while others are covered with low
woods. Beyond these hills, and about a league distant from the village
in a westerly direction, a higher chain of mountains exists called
Itacolumi; from the seven summits it presents, it also bears
the name of Sete Pecados Mortaes; this range was once covered by
forests, which about forty years ago were accidentally destroyed by
fire. As at the Axraial do Morro, the neighbourhood of Itambe presents
no signs of cultivation, if a few small gardens attached to some of
the houses, containing some orange and other fruit trees, be excepted.
Formerly gold washing was carried on to some extent in the bed of the
river, but it is now found in such small quantities that the produce
will not pay the expense of the labour.
From
Itambe we went to a little hamlet consisting of about a dozen houses,
and a small chapel called Onca, the distance being about two leagues
and a half. The ascent of the Serra from Itambe was very rocky, and the
country afterwards hilly. One of the few plants which I met with on
this journey, was the really beautiful Mutida campanulata, Less.,
a climber with pea-like leaves, and large heads of bright scarlet
flowers, which are gracefully suspended on long footstalks.
Our
next journey was very long, being a double day's march, or about six
leagues. The road led through an open, undulating, and very rich
country; and we passed some large fazendas surrounded by extensive
plantations of Indian corn; those parts of the country not under
cultivation were covered with virgin forests, in which I observed, for
the first time since I had left the Organ mountains, abundance of the
Brazilian cabbage-palm {Euterpe edulis, Mart.). The sun was
excessively hot all day, and there was scarcely a breath of wind
stirring; in consequence of this I suffered much from a severe attack
of head-ache. The place we stopped at is called Ponte do Machado, where
there is an excellent rancho ; the night was clear and cold, and when
the men went out in the morning to collect the mules, the grass was
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