forest, a beautiful arboreous species of Bugenvillea, quite
distinct from any yet described; it forms a tree from twenty to forty
feet high, with a stem more than two feet in circumference;
unfortunately I lost all the specimens I collected, through the
carelessness of my servant. In the deep forests, I found many
different orchideous plants upon the stems of the trees, among which
was the rare and beautiful Huntleya meleagris.
It
was quite dark when we reached Porta da Cunha, where we could find no
place of accommodation; we were first referred to a venda a little way
further down the river, but on arriving there, we found it to be a new
house in an unfinished state, and not yet inhabited, so that it offered
no accommodation for man or beast. From this place we were directed to
a small village about half a league still further down the river,
called San Jose, but at the same time we were informed, that about half
way to the village, we should see a small fazenda belonging to an
elderly widow, who sometimes gave shelter to travellers; we
accordingly made application at this place, and were received for the
night. The house had certainly a very miserable appearance, but we
were glad to find any sort of quarters. The old lady, whose name was
Dona Custodia, was, however, rather suspicious of us, perhaps from our
arriving at so late an hour, for looking over the balcony, she asked us
why we did not go to different houses she mentioned; but, on replying
that we were strangers, and had no acquaintance with those
individuals, she then told us to dismount. Corn was immediately
ordered for our animals, and in a short time supper was sent to us,
consisting of a little fried salt beef, and several dishes prepared
from the Indian corn meal, which though a very poor substitute for a
meal, afforded us, as we were hungry, a hearty dinner and supper at the
same time. Shortly afterwards, we were shown into our bed-room, a
little closet with two camp bedsteads in it, on one of which a
miserable black man was sitting, who also appeared to be a traveller;
the other we were told was at our disposal, and we had no alternative
but to make use of it; a hide was spread on the floor for the servant,
and in this small room, which was scarcely large enough for two
persons, four of us had to pass
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