On resuming our journey, we entered on a road still more steep and rugged than that which we had passed. We were often obliged to dismount and lead our mules up almost perpendicular passes, and along fearful declivities. In some places, the thick foliage of the trees, and that of the underwood, which grew higher than our heads, sheltered us from the sun, and indeed scarcely admitted the light. Not a bird did we see, nor the trace of any living thing, except some wild hogs. We passed several bare granite rocks of a gneiss-like formation.
In journeying to the next station, we observed nothing worthy of note, except a small saw-mill, worked by an overshot wheel, of very clumsy construction. The frame, which contains a single saw of very thick iron, moves in a perpendicular direction; at every stroke, a boy brings the timber up, by pulling a cord attached to a crank that moves the cylinder on which it rests. How readily, thought I, would the meanest Russian peasant improve this machine!
We proceeded on our way up an ascent so precipitous, that we were obliged to walk more than ride; after two hours toiling along the side of a granite mountain, in which we observed some beds of fine clay, we reached the summit, from whence we saw the bay of Rio de Janeiro, the sugar-loaf mountain, and the city itself, to all appearance, not more than four or five leagues distant from us, though, in reality, more than twenty. At this elevation, which we may state to be at four or five thousand feet above the level of the sea, the air was sharp and keen; the thermometer stood at 58°. Continuing in a north-easterly direction, we passed two poor solitary farms, and entered upon a range of scenery tremendously grand, composed of bare abrupt conical mountains, with immense water-falls in every direction. At the close of the day, we arrived at a farm-house, called _Fazenda do Morro Queimado_, the manager of which received us hospitably, and accommodated us for the night. The weather was so cold, that a double supply of bedclothes scarcely produced sufficient warmth; in the morning the thermometer was at 48° Fahrenheit. After the heavy dew had cleared away, we took a view of the grounds, in company with the manager; they appeared well-suited for a grazing-farm, but the temperature of the atmosphere is too severe for growing the common produce of the country; particularly cotton, coffee, and bananas, which are frequently blighted. I was informed that some wheat has been grown here, though the people are quite unacquainted with the European method of farming. Indian corn, for the feed of hogs, is the staple article. This plantation is infested by ounces, which, at times, prey upon young cattle; the manager, who is a great hunter, keeps dogs, though of a poor race, for the express purpose of destroying them, which is thus practised:—When the carcass of a worried animal has been found, or when an ounce has been seen prowling about, the news is soon proclaimed among the neighbours, two or three of whom take fire-arms loaded with heavy slugs, and go out with the dogs in quest of the animal, who generally lurks in some thicket, near the carcass he has killed, and leaves so strong a scent, that the dogs soon find. When disturbed he retreats to his den, if he has one, the dogs never attempting to fasten on him, or even to face him, but, on the contrary, endeavouring to get out of his way, which is not difficult, as the ounce is heavy and slow of motion. If he caves, the sport is at an end, and the hunters make up the entrance; but he more commonly has recourse to a large tree, which he climbs with great facility; here his fate is generally decided, for the hunters get near enough to take a steady aim, and seldom fail to bring him down, one of them reserving his fire to dispatch him, if required, after he has fallen. It generally happens, that one or two of the dogs are killed in coming too near, for even in his dying struggles, a single stroke of his paw proves mortal. The skin is carried home as a trophy, and the neighbours meet and congratulate each other on the occasion.