Our friends, the saddler and the owner of the house which we had inhabited in going, received us very cordially, and offered to assist us in crossing the river, which was full; but they advised me to wait for a decrease of the depth and rapidity of the stream; however I was anxious to advance, and my people made no objection. Here I discharged the young man whom I had taken from hence as a guide to Aracati. We crossed the smaller branch of the river, with the water reaching to the flaps of the saddles. When we arrived at the second and principal branch, it was discovered that a _jangada_ would be necessary to convey the baggage across. Several of the inhabitants of the place had followed us, judging that this would be the case, and they were willing to be of service to us in expectation of being compensated for their trouble. A few logs of timber were soon procured; some of them had been brought down by the stream, and were now upon the banks, and others were conveyed from the town; the cords with which the packages were fastened to the pack-saddles were made use of to tie the logs together, for the purpose of forming the raft. The father of the young man who had been with me to Aracati accompanied us to the river side to assist, and had brought Mimoza with him. I requested him to secure her, otherwise I thought she would follow me; he did so, and sent her back to the town by a boy. When the raft was prepared, the saddles and all the packages were placed upon it, and I sat down among them. Four men laid hold of each side of the raft, and shoved off from the shore, and when they lost their footing, each man kept hold of the raft with one hand, swimming with the other; but notwithstanding their exertions, the stream carried us down about fifty yards before we reached the other side, which however was gained in safety. The Indians were already there with the horses. The river of Açu is from two to three hundred yards in breadth; it was now deep and dangerous, and from the violence of the current, a guide is requisite, that advantage may be taken of the shallowest parts. The Sertanejos have a curious contrivance for crossing rivers, which is formed of three pieces of wood, and upon this they paddle themselves to the opposite side. I heard it often spoken of by the name of _cavalete_; but as I did not see any of them, I cannot pretend to give an exact description[48].