"Most of the heavy work of Bahia is performed by negroes, as at Para or Pernambuco, and the effort to domesticate Chinese coolies has not been successful. The planters complain that since the decree of emancipation they cannot get as much work out of the negroes as formerly. This is more than probable, as the slaves were treated with great cruelty; a Brazilian slave-owner was a type of all that was barbarous, though there were doubtless many owners who treated their human property with kindness. To judge by the faces of some of the planters we have seen, I would not like to be in their power, and incur their displeasure. There is little compassion visible in the hard lines of their features. [Illustration: SEDAN CHAIR.] [Illustration: FRAME OF SEDAN.] "Modern modes of travel have not abolished the sedan chair, which flourishes in Bahia, Rio Janeiro, and other cities of Brazil. It is less comfortable than the sedan chair of Hong Kong and Canton, but preferable to the palanquin or the _dhoolie_ of India. Like the Chinese chair or the Indian palkee, it is slung on a pole, and carried by porters; the latter are generally a couple of stalwart negroes, who make the best porters in the world, especially where the climate is as warm as that of Bahia. Every respectable citizen must have his sedan; the vehicle is richly decorated, according to the taste and wealth of the owner, and when it is no longer serviceable it is sold for public use. Not infrequently a public sedan bears the crest of a private citizen; the decayed and faded curtains, and the general air of dilapidation pervading the concern, tell very plainly what has been its former state. Some of the porters are arrayed in solemn black, including dress coats and stiff hats, and their appearance has a suggestion of the grotesque. But it is the fashion of the country, and we do not propose to interfere with it. "Evening found us back on the steamer, and at sunset we passed through the southern entrance of the bay and were once more on the ocean. Our prow was turned to Rio, eight hundred miles away, and we steamed gayly along on our course. Sometimes we kept far out to sea, to avoid dangerous reefs, on which many a ship has gone to pieces, and at others we swept close in shore, and had fine views of the land. The hills grow in size as we increase our distance from the equator, and after a time the mountains of the coast range fill the western horizon. With our glasses we can distinguish many houses and villages, and are not surprised to learn that the region is a fertile one.