Julio, when he went to purchase the kid, had heard a long story about a ghost, which made its appearance in the house at which we had stationed ourselves. The persons from whom he heard it, had advised him to make me acquainted with the circumstance, that I might move to some other place for the night. I began to suspect some trick, and told my people my idea of the sort of ghost we were likely to meet with; I found that this cheered them, as by them shadows were more dreaded than flesh and blood. We slung our hammocks in different directions in the large room, and each took his arms, and settled for the night;—a sudden panic seized my additional guide, and he was sneaking out of the room; but I stopped him, and said, that I would send him back to his own country if he went out; the business was however settled by taking the key from the door. The story ran thus, the master and mistress of the house had been murdered by two of their slaves, and it was said that their ghosts occasionally took a walk in this room; nay, it was even reported that the old gentleman used his gold headed cane, and woke with it those who slept in the house. We had not, however, the honour of his company, and in the morning had much laughter, at the fellow who had been so dreadfully frightened.
The country through which we proceeded on the morrow, presented a more cheering appearance. We reached, at a short distance from Areias, some inclosed and cultivated lands, then passed over a salt-marsh and arrived at Cajuaes, distant from Areias two leagues. The place receives its name from the great number of acaju trees, and consists of six or seven huts. Here we dined, finding good water and abundance of maize-stalks for our horses. There was some appearance of comfort and enjoyment of life, at least comparatively speaking. Beyond Cajuaes three leagues we slept near to a hut, after travelling through some more cultivated ground. I was asked, by some persons at Cajuaes, at what place I had slept the preceding night; I answered at Areias, they then enquired in what house at Areias, as at that village there was none into which travellers could be received. I replied, that on the contrary, there was the great house, which I had found very comfortable; they were perfectly astonished at my sleeping in this haunted place, and for some time imagined that I was joking. Afterwards, on other occasions, I heard of the same story, which appeared to have taken deep root in the faith of all those who spoke of it.
The next day we reached Aracati, distant seven leagues from where we had slept, about five o’clock in the afternoon. Great part of this day’s journey was through salt marshes or plains covered with the Carnàûba; the tall naked stems of the palms, crowned with branches like the coco tree at the summit, which rustle with the least breath of air, and the bare and dark coloured soil upon which no grass grows and rarely any shrub, give a dismal look to these plains. The computed distance from Açû? to Aracati is forty-five leagues. When I approached Aracati, I sent my Goiana guide forwards with the letter which I had received from the governor of Rio Grande to Senhor Joze Fideles Barrozo, a wealthy merchant and landed proprietor. On my arrival, I found that the guide had delivered the letter, and that Senhor Barrozo had given to him the keys of an unoccupied house, which I was to inhabit during my stay.
The town of Aracati consists chiefly of one long street, with several others of minor importance branching from it to the southward; it stands upon the southern bank of the river Jaguaribe, which is so far influenced by the tide. At the ebb, the stream is fordable, and as it spreads considerably from the main channel, some parts remain quite dry at low water. The houses of Aracati, unlike those of any of the other small places which I visited, have one story above the ground floor; I enquired the reason of this, and was told, that the floods of the river were sometimes so great, as to render necessary a retreat to the upper part of the houses. The town contains three churches, and a town-hall and prison, but no monasteries; this captaincy does not contain any such pest. The inhabitants are in number about six hundred.
The house I was to occupy, consisted of two good sized rooms, with large closets or small bed-chambers leading from each, called alcovas, and a kitchen, these were all above; and underneath there was a sort of warehouse. To the back we had an oblong yard, inclosed by a brick wall, with a gate at the farther end, by which our horses entered; and here they remained until better arrangements could be made for them. I slung my hammock in the front room, and desired that some fowls should be purchased, as stock, whilst we remained here. One was preparing for me, when three black servants appeared from Senhor Barrozo; the first brought a large tray with a plentiful and excellently cooked supper, wine, sweetmeats, &c.—a second carried a silver ewer and basin, and a fringed towel, and a third came to know if there was any thing which I particularly wished for, besides what had been prepared; this man took back my answer, and the other two remained to attend, until I had supped. I learnt from the guide afterwards, that another tray had been sent for my people. I supposed that Senhor Barrozo had thought proper to treat me in this manner on the day of my arrival, from an idea that I could not have arranged any means of cooking, &c. until the next day; but in the morning coffee and cakes were brought to me, and the same major-domo came to know if all was to my liking. Whilst I remained at Aracati, Senhor Barrozo provided every thing for me and for my people, in the same handsome manner. This treatment is usual where persons are well recommended; it is noble, and shows the state of manners among the higher orders.
In the morning I received a visit from Senhor Barrozo, whose manners were ceremonious and courtly. On my mentioning the inconvenience to which I was putting him by my stay, he said, that he could not alter in any way his mode of treating me, because, if he did, he should not do his duty to the governor of Rio Grande, to whom he owed many obligations, and, consequently, took every opportunity of showing his gratitude by all the means in his power. The reason which he thus gave for his civility, completely set at rest any thing I could have said to prevent its continuance. He ordered all my horses to be taken to an island in the river, upon which there was plenty of grass. I had resolved to send John back to Pernambuco by sea, and spoke to Senhor Barrozo upon the subject, when he immediately said, that one of his smacks was going, in which my servant might have a birth. John was out of health, and not adapted to the kind of life which we had been leading, and should be yet under the necessity of continuing. This day I remained at home, employing the greatest part of it in sleeping; and in the evening returned Senhor Barrozo’s visit. A white man, with whom my Goiana guide was acquainted, called upon me, and we arranged an expedition in a canoe, for the next day, to go down the river to its mouth.
My guide’s friend came as he had appointed, and his canoe was waiting for us. His two negroes poled where the water was shallow, and paddled us along where it became deep. We passed several beautiful islands, some of which had cattle upon them; and others, of which the land was too low to produce grass; the latter were entirely covered with mangroves, which grow likewise on the borders of the river, the shores being clear of them only where settlements are formed, and the proprietors have extirpated them. The river is, in parts, about half a mile in breadth, and in some places, where there are islands, it is broader, if taken from the outermost sides of the two branches which it, in these situations, forms. The town is distant from the bar about eight miles. We boarded Senhor Barrozo’s smack, took the long boat belonging to it, and proceeded to the bar, which is narrow and dangerous, owing to the sand banks on each side; upon these the surf is very violent. The sand is so loose at the mouth of the river, that the masters of the coasting vessels are obliged to use every precaution possible each voyage, as if they were entering a harbour with which they are unacquainted. The river widens immediately within the bar, and forms rather a spacious bay. Even if no other obstacle presented itself, the port cannot, from the uncertainty of the depth of its entrance, ever become of any importance. Coasters alone can enter, and I understand that the sand in the river also accumulates; the sand banks project from each side in some places so much as to render the navigation, even for a boat, somewhat difficult from a short distance above the bay[40]. On our return, we dined at an estate upon the banks of the river, of which the owner was an acquaintance of the man who had proposed this party. Opposite to the dwelling-house of this estate stands an island, which produces abundance of grass; but there is no fresh water upon it; this obliges the cattle that feed there, regularly to pass over to the main land every day to drink, and return to the island, which they are so much accustomed to do, that no herdsman is necessary to compel them. We saw them swim across, and all passed close to the house in their way to the pool. The owner said, that the calves invariably took that side of their mothers to which the tide was running, to prevent being carried away by the force of the stream: and indeed I observed, that all the calves took the same side.
In the evening arrangements were made for the hire of two horses to carry me and one of my people to Seara, leaving my own beasts to rest for the journey back to Pernambuco. I again called upon Senhor Barrozo, to make known to him my plan, and he then gave me a letter to a gentleman with whom he was acquainted at Seara. A guide for the journey was also procured.
The horses were ready, and in the morning I set forth, accompanied by my Goiana guide, and the man whom I had hired for this additional journey; he rode a horse with which he had been charged to take to Seara. He was an old man, half mad, and very amusing. We hailed the ferryman to take us across the river before day-break; but as he did not answer, we took possession of a large canoe which lay empty, and was tied to a post; we got into it, and the Goiana guide paddled us very dexterously to the middle of the river, where the canoe grounded; it had struck upon a sand bank, owing to the man being unacquainted with the navigation of the stream. We were obliged to undress, and get into the water to push the canoe off, which we succeeded in doing, and reached the opposite side in safety. The horses crossed over, tied to the sides of the canoe, swimming or taking the ground according to the depth of the water.
The distance between Aracati and the Villa da Fortaleza do Seara Grande, is thirty leagues, principally consisting of sandy lands covered with brushwood; in a few places, the wood is loftier and thicker, but of this there is not much. We passed also some fine varseas, or low marshy grounds, which were now sufficiently dry for cultivation; and indeed the only land from which any crop could be expected in this particularly severe dry season. The country is, generally speaking, flat, and in some parts the path led us near to the sea shore, but was never upon it. We saw several cottages, and three or four hamlets; the facility of obtaining fish from the sea, has rendered living comparatively easy in these parts. We passed through an Indian village, and the town of St. Joze, each built in a square, and each containing about three hundred inhabitants. I understood that the governors of Seara are obliged to take possession of their office at St. Joze. We made the journey in four days, arriving at the Villa da Fortaleza on the 16th December, and might have entered it at noon on the fourth day, but I preferred waiting until the evening. I performed the journey from Natal to Seara, a distance of one hundred and sixty leagues, according to the vague computation of the country, in thirty-four days. The morning after my arrival I sent back to Aracati the men and horses which I had brought with me.