n told him of
the desire that he and Barney entertained to visit the interior, he told
them that he would be happy to take them along with him, provided they
would act the part of muleteers. To this they readily agreed, being
only too glad of an opportunity of making some return to their friend,
who refused to accept any payment for his hospitality, although Barney
earnestly begged of him to accept of his watch, which was the only
object of value he was possessed of,--and that wasn't worth much, being
made of pinchbeck, and utterly incapable of going! Moreover, he
relieved their minds, by telling them that they would easily obtain
employment as canoe-men on the Amazon, for men were very difficult to be
got on that river to man the boats; and if they could stand the heat,
and were willing to work like Indians, they might travel as far as they
pleased. To which Martin replied, in his ignorance, that he thought he
could stand anything; and Barney roundly asserted that, having been
burnt to a cinder long ago in the "East Injies," it was impossible to
overdo him any more.

Under these circumstances, therefore, they started three weeks later to
visit a populous town about twenty miles off, from which they set out on
their travels, with a string of heavily laden mules, crossed the low
countries or campos lying near to the sea, and began to ascend the
sierras that divide this portion of Brazil from the country which is
watered by the innumerable rivers that flow into the mighty Amazon.

The cavalcade consisted of ten mules, each with two goodly sized bales
of merchandise on its back. They were driven and attended to by
Negroes, whose costume consisted of a light cotton shirt with short
sleeves, and a pair of loose cotton drawers reaching down to the knee.
With the exception of a straw-hat this was all they wore. Martin, and
Barney, and the hermit each bestrode a mule, with a small bale slung on
either side; over the front of which their legs dangled comfortably.
They had ponchos with them, strapped to the mules' backs, and each
carried a clumsy umbrella to shield him from the fierce rays of the sun;
but our two adventurers soon became so hardened and used to the climate,
that they dispensed with the umbrellas altogether.

The sierra, or mountain range, over which they passed was about thirty
miles in extent, being in some places quite level and open, but in
others somewhat rugged and covered with large but thinly scatter