I was advised to get on to the sea-shore as soon as possible on leaving Aracati, this being the better road; consequently I slept the first night, distant three leagues from that place, at Alagoa do Mato—a small lake which was now nearly dried up. The following morning we travelled over the sands, passed a small village near to the shore called Retiro, and slept at Cajuaes, a place we were acquainted with; and from hence to St. Luzia we followed the same route as in going to Searà. From Cajuaes we passed through Areias, famous for the ghost story, and rested at Tibou, proceeding in the afternoon with the intention of sleeping at the unfinished house on the road to Ilha; but the night was closing in upon us when we were still two leagues short of it, and for this reason it was thought adviseable to stop and pass the night among the brushwood. We had had several showers of rain, occasionally for some days past, and although they were slight, the grass had begun to spring up in some places. The rapidity of vegetation in Brazil is truly astonishing. Rain in the evening upon good soil will by sunrise have given a greenish tinge to the earth, which is increased, if the rain continues, on the second day to sprouts of grass of an inch in length, and these on the third day are sufficiently long to be picked up by the half starved cattle. The brushwood among which we had determined to pass the night was low and not close, so that only two shrubs were found to be near enough to each other and of sufficient strength to support a hammock; between these mine was hung, whilst the people took up their quarters upon the packages as to them seemed best. Between one and two o’clock in the morning the rain commenced, at first, with some moderation; the guide fastened two cords from shrub to shrub above my hammock, and laid some hides upon them as a covering for me, but soon the rain increased, and the whole party crowded under the hides. I got up, and all of us stood together in some degree sheltered, until the hides fell down owing to their being quite soaked. Our fires were of course completely extinguished. I reminded my people of the necessity of keeping the locks of our fire-arms dry; indeed those persons of the party who knew the Sertam must be even more aware than myself of the numbers of Jaguars which are to be met with upon these _travessias_. I had not spoken many minutes before Feliciano said that he heard the growl of one of these animals—he was right, for a lot of mares galloped across the path not far from us, and shortly after the growl was distinctly heard; either the same or many of these beasts were near to us during the remainder of the night, as we heard the growl in several directions. We stood with our backs to each other and by no means free from the chance of being attacked, though the Indians from time to time set up a sort of song or howl, (such as is practised by the Sertanejos when guiding large droves of half tamed cattle) with