Rio de JaneiroStarted at midday for Mr Lennons estate; the road passed through a vast extent of forests; on the road we saw many beautiful birds, Toucans & Bee-eaters. We slept at a Fazenda a league from our journeys end; the agent received us hospitably & was the only Brazilian have seen with a good expression: the slaves here appeared miserably overworked & badly clothed. Long after it was dark they were employed. The common method of maintaining the slave, as at Signor Figuireda, is to give them two days, Saturday & Sunday, the produce of which is sufficient to support them & their families for the ensuing five.
Hmm. I wonder what the 'bee-eaters' were, since they clearly weren't bee-eaters in South America. Jacamars maybe?
ReplyDeleteDifficult to say at this distance... but Darwin is just brilliant at recording exactly what he sees...even if he's not sure of what it is!
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