The following morning we advanced to Pai Paulo, three leagues further, still crossing the same plain, at the extremity of which we first approached the Seara-meirim, and on the opposite side from that on which we were, stands the village of Pai Paulo, upon rising ground. This was, without exception, the most desolate place I ever beheld; the roofs of some of the cottages were falling in, the walls of others had fallen, but the roofs remained. The course of the river was only marked by the depth of its bed, for the soil around was a loose sand, destitute of any covering, and nothing differing from that in the channel of the river. The trees had mostly lost their leaves. I had now entered upon the Sertam, and surely it deserves the name. We passed Pai Paulo, and about noon reached an open well of brackish water, dug in the bed of the river; our Pernambuco horses at first refused to drink, but the dirt was cleared away, as much as possible, for them, and the water left to settle; however, even then, they did little more than taste it. Here we were to rest, and to give our horses some maize, for there was no grass. The same horse again refused his feed; the guide said that he supposed he was not accustomed to it, and therefore must be taught to like it, otherwise he could not possibly get over this barren track of country. The first operation was to soak the maize in water, until it softened,—then the guide forced some of it down the animal’s throat, closing forcibly its mouth. Whether this had the effect, or hunger, I know not; but at night he performed his part pretty well, taking rather more time than the others to finish his feed. I drank a small portion of the water, mixing it with lemon juice and sugar, which I had with me. We carried some of this water on with us, for at night we should find none. The country presented the same appearance; we crossed the Seara-meirim several times, which in some parts had large rocks in the centre of the bed. At night I was not much inclined to eat, but I made up by smoking. We found a sheltered place behind part of the bank of the river, and slung our hammocks upon sloping ground, as the wind rises about eleven or twelve o’clock in these parts, and renders shelter very requisite; it sometimes blows hard: it is a dry wind, but healthy.