coldness of the nights continues unabated until the rising sun
begins to exert its influence. We left Mr. A. Walker, with the loaded
mules, to follow; Capt. Lyon being anxious to proceed at a quicker rate.
Almost immediately after leaving the farm, we began to ascend the Alto
de Serra, where, in some places, a false step of the mule would have
precipitated both the animal and its rider into one of the fearful
chasms that occasionally yawned beneath our path. We were frequently
placed in very awkward situations, for we met with several caravans of
loaded mules, winch were generally conducted by the voices of the
muleteers, who dash on at a fearless rate; and, in some of these passes,
at the imminent risk of overturning the travellers whom chance places in
their way: I was frequently obliged to jerk my foot suddenly out of the
stirrup, and allow my leg to pass behind on the back of the animal on
which I rode, to avoid these unceremonious assaults; while, on the
opposite side, I was pressed against the rugged surface of an
overhanging ridge.

When we arrived at the top of the mountain, we made a halt at a
blacksmith's shop, for the purpose of getting Captain Lyon's mule bled,
the muleteer having declared that he had the pest; but the word _pest_
appertains here to all sorts of animal ailments; for example, there was
a fowl sick at this place, and on asking what was the matter with it, we
were told that it had the pest; the fowl's disease proved to be the pip.
Indeed, this convenient word pest, was indiscriminately applied to all
diseases which the people did not understand. It reminded me of La
Fleur, in the Sentimental Journey, who, when he could not get his horse
to pass the dead ass, cried "Pest!" as the _dernier resort_ of his
vocabulary of exclamations. In the afternoon, we made a short halt at a
venda within twelve miles of Botaes, to refresh ourselves, which was
kept by an Englishman named John M'Dill, who had formerly lived at Gongo
Soco with Captain Tregoning. He had recently settled here on a small
estate, which he was clearing for a coffee plantation. About sunset, we
crossed the Rio Paraheiba, over a long wooden bridge, about a mile
beyond which we put up for the night, where we had but very indifferent
accommodations. We had ridden five leagues, or twenty miles, to-day.

_Sunday, 3_.--We set off at five this morning, and arrived at the town
of Valencia at nine, where we stopped for breakfast. Nearly all the
i