As the Organ Mountains rise to an elevation of about four thousand feet above Mr. March’s house, I had long been desirous to spend a few days among the high peaks, for the purpose of making collections of their vegetable productions. The only botanists who had visited Mr. March’s estate before me were Langsdorff, the celebrated voyager, and at that time Consul-General for Russia in Brazil, Burchell, the African traveller, and a German of the name of Lhotsky. The former explored the vegetation in the neighbourhood of the Fazenda, during a stay of a few weeks, about twelve or thirteen years before my visit; Mr. Burchell remained six weeks, nine or ten years before; and Lhotsky, two or three weeks only, about five years later. None of them botanized higher than the level of Mr. March’s house, and the knowledge of this fact made me the more anxious to explore a field which promised so much novelty. I had fixed on the early part of April for going up, but the whole of that month was so wet, that I was prevented at that time from putting my design into execution. May, however, having set in fine, I started on the morning of the 6th, accompanied by four negroes. One of them, “Pai Felipe,” a creole upwards of sixty years of age, was to act as guide. This old fellow was one of the most active, not only of blacks, but of any individual of his years I have ever seen. From his infancy he had been accustomed to the woods, and was one of the best hunters on the estate. The other three were to carry provisions, and to assist in taking home my collections. We entered the forest at about a mile to the north of Mr. March’s house, and our road for that day was nearly due west. Two years before, an English merchant from Rio ascended, from mere curiosity, to within a few hundred feet of the summit, guided by the same old black who accompanied me. For the first few miles we were able to keep the road which he had made, but from the rapid growth of the bamboos and underwood through which it had been cut, it was as difficult to force our way as if no path had ever been made. Our progress was but slow, it being necessary for one of the blacks to go on before in order to cut a pass. Some of the bamboos were of immense size; I measured several about six inches in diameter, and their height could not be less than eighty or a hundred feet. The internodes are generally filled with water, obviously secreted by the plant itself. Prince Maximilian, in his travels, speaks of this fluid as forming a most delicious beverage to hunters and others in the woods. I have frequently tasted it, but always found it so nauseous that the most urgent thirst alone would compel me to drink it.