The following morning set in with rain, but we resumed our journey about seven o’clock, when it cleared up; we had not, however, gone far when the rain began again to fall heavily, which, notwithstanding the protection from my umbrella, soon drenched me to the skin; we were obliged to travel two leagues before reaching any house, so thinly is this country inhabited. The place we arrived at was called Crauatá, consisting of only three very small houses, and as the rain continued without intermission, we determined to stay, if possible, in one of them during the remainder of the day; but we found only one room could be spared, which was so very small, that it would not contain more than my luggage, much less our party, which now consisted of four persons; our only remedy, therefore, was to go on in the midst of the rain to a place called Cachoeira, about a league distant. On our arrival here we found it consisting of four houses, all, with the exception of one where we obtained leave to put up, similar to those at Crauatá. This belonged to a person who had resided four or five years in Philadelphia, about eighteen years previously, and who still spoke a little English; on finding we were Englishmen, he gave us a hearty welcome, and all the accommodation his house afforded, doing all in his power to render us as comfortable as possible; shortly after our arrival the rain fell in torrents, so much so, that a small rivulet which we crossed immediately before reaching the house, soon became impassable for horses, and had we been detained one hour later, we should have been obliged to remain on the opposite side without shelter. The rain ceased at four o’clock in the afternoon, but the very loud thunder which accompanied it continued nearly the whole day. The road from Poço do Cavallo to Cachoeira passes through an almost level country; many parts of which are well wooded with large trees, the most common being a species of _Cæsalpinia_, some large _Mimosas_, the Cedro, the Barriguda, and another kind which is very common, though not so large, called by the inhabitants Imbúzeiro; it is the _Spondius tuberosa_, Arrud., producing abundantly a fruit about twice the size of a large gooseberry, of an oblong shape, and of a yellowish colour when ripe; beneath its coriaceous skin there is a juicy pulp, of a pleasant sweetish acid taste. Like the Mangába this fruit is only fit to eat when it is so ripe as to fall to the ground, when a large quantity may be eaten without inconvenience; during our journey to the Campo country of Piauhy, where it ceases to grow, we were seldom without a daily supply of it; a dish much esteemed in the Sertão, called Imbuzada, is prepared with milk, curds, sugar, and the pulpy part of this fruit. The tree throws out long horizontal roots, which do not penetrate very deeply into the earth, and upon these are found, at short distances, round black-coloured tubers about eight inches in diameter, consisting entirely of a white