and more
sparsely inhabited, was the number, relative to the population, of cases
of sexual insanity, due naturally to the great difficulty of intercourse.
We will not refer to sexual vices--extremely common--which reduced the
few inhabitants to a state of absolute idiocy. Thus at Laza farm there
were only three women and no men. They were all of a certain age, and for
many many years had been there alone, and had not seen a man. They had
become absolutely insane, and it required no little tact to prevent a
catastrophe. One--a repulsive, toothless black woman, formerly a
slave--was in such an excited state of mind that I was really glad when I
saw my troop of animals started on the march early the next morning.

On April 6th we were still on the north side of the Serra de Caldas, at
the northernmost point of which flowed a _riberao_, or great river (elev.
2,450 ft.). Most beautiful grazing land spread to the north of us,
enormous stretches of undulating country verdant with delicious grass.
The Sappe Mountains were still visible in the distance.

Marching through enchanting country--almost level, or merely rising or
descending a few feet--with a magnificent view of distant mountains to
our right and of low flat plains and far-away tablelands to our left, we
arrived, after a morning's march of 36 kil., at the fazenda of Pouso Alto
(elev. 2,600 ft.).

[Illustration: A Home in Central Brazil.]

[Illustration: A Clever Automatic Pounding Machine.]

Outwardly Pouso Alto was by far the neatest-looking fazenda we had yet
seen since leaving Araguary, but on entering the house the floor was a
mass of dirt. Fowls were running to and fro all over the rooms. A rough
table of Portuguese origin, a couple of benches so dirty that one did not
dare to sit on them, some roughly made bedsteads, miserable and
filthy--but no washstands or basins, no articles of necessity were
anywhere to be observed or found. The mattresses--if one can elevate them
to the dignity of such a name: they were mere bags filled with anything
that had been found handy, such as the leaves and stalks of Indian-corn,
wool and dried grass--were rolled up in the daytime. Only one bed was
still made up. On it a cackling hen was busy laying an egg. That
egg--a very good egg--was triumphantly served to me for breakfast.

The walls of nearly all the farmhouses in the southern part of the
Province of Goyaz were made of wooden lattice work, the square cavities
formed