'^Hf ' pHrmtg OF BOOKS ON SOUTH AMERICA PURCHASBD BROM THB Cornell University Library F 2223.B19 1892 Equatorial America, descriptive of a visi 3 1924 020 411 082 Cornell University Library The original of tliis bool< is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924020411082 ^p ilattttitt f&.. ^Sallott. EQUATORIAL AMERICA. Descriptive of a Visit' to St. Thomas, Martinique, Barbadoes, and the Principal Capi- tals of South America. A New Book. Crown 8vo, $1.50. AZTEC LAND. Crown 8vo, $1.50. THE NEW ELDORADO. A Summer Journey to Alaska. Crown 8vo, J1.50. ALASKA. The New Eldorado. A Summer Journey to Alaska. Tourists Edition^ ^Hi 4 Tas.'ps. i6mo, $1.00. DUE WEST; or, Round the World in Ten Months. Crown Svo, $1.50. DUE SOUTH ; or, Cuba Past and Present. Crown Svo, $1.50. UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS; or, TRAVEI.S IN Aus- tralasia. Crown Svo, $1.50. DUE NORTH; or. Glimpses OF Scandinavia AND Russia. Crown Svo, $1.50. GENIUS IN SUNSHINE AND SHADOW. Crown 8vo,$i.so. EDGE-TOOLS OF SPEECH. Selected and edited by Mr. Ballou. Svo, S3-50* A TREASURY OF THOUGHT. An Encyclopedia of Quo- tations. Svo, full gilt, $3. 50. PEARLS OF THOUGHT. i6mo, full gilt, $1.25. NOTABLE THOUGHTS ABOUT WOMEN. Crown Svo, $1.50. HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & COMPANY, Boston and New York- EQUATORIAL AMERICA DESCRIPTIVE OF A VISIT TO ST. THOMAS MARTINIQUE, BARBADOES, AND THE PRINCIPAL CAPITALS OF SO UTH AMERICA MATURIN M. BALLOU BOSTON AND NEW YORK HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY iSgz Copyright, 1892, By MATUBm M. BAtLOU. All rights reserved. Vie Riverside FresSt Cambridge, Mass., U. S. A. Electrotyped and Printed by H. 0. Hougliton & Company. DEDICATED TO CAPTAIN E. C. BAKER OF THE STEAMSHIP VIGILANCIA WITH WARM APPRECIATION OF HIS QUALITIES AS A GENTLEMAN AND AN ACCOMPLISHED SEAMAN PREFACE. " I AM a part of all that I liave seen," says Tenny- son, a sentiment which every one of large experience will heartily indorse. With the extraordinary facili- ties for travel available in modem times, it is a serious mistake in those who possess the means, not to become familiar with the various sections of the globe. Vivid descriptions and excellent photographs give us a certain knowledge of the great monuments of the world, both natural and artificial, but^the trav- eler always finds the reality a new revelation, whether it be the marvels of a Yellowstone Park, a vast oriental temple, Alaskan glaciers, or the Pyramids of Ghiza. The latter, for instance, do not differ from the statistics which we have so often seen recorded, their great, dominating outlines are the same as pic- torially delineated, but when we actually stand before them, they are touched by the wand of enchantment, and spring into visible life. Heretofore they have been shadows, henceforth they are tangible and real. The best descriptions fail to inspire us, experience vi PREFACE. alone can do that. What words can adequately depict the confused grandeur of the Falls of Schaffhausen ; the magnificence of the Himalayan range, — roof-tree of the world ; the thrilling beauty of the Yosemite Valley ; the architectural loveliness of the Taj Mahal, of India ; the starry splendor of equatorial nights ; the maritime charms of the Bay of Naples ; or the marvel of the Midnight Sun at the North.Cape ? It is personal observation alone which truly satisfies, educating the eye and enriching the understanding. If we can succeed in imparting a portion of our en- joyment to others, we enhance our own pleasure, and therefore these notes of travel are given to the public. M. M. B. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. PAOB Commencement of a Long Jonmey. — The Gulf Stream. — Hayti. — Sighting St. Thomas. — Ship Bock. — Expert Divers. — Fidgety Old Lady. — An Lnportant Island. — The Old Slaver, — Ahorigines. — St. Thomas Ggars. — Population. — Tri- Monntain. — The Negro Paradise. — Hurricanes. — Variety of Fish. — Coaling Ship. — The Firefly Dance. — A Weird Scene. — An Antique Anchor. 1 CHAPTER II. Curious Seaweed. — Professor Agassiz. — Myth of a Lost Conti- nent. — Island of Martinique. — An Attractive Place. — Statue of the Empress Josephine. — Birthplace of Madame de Main- tenon. — City of St. Pierre. — Mont Pel^e. — High Flavored Specialty. — Grisettes of Maritinque. — A Botanical Garden. — Defective Drainage. — A Fatal Enemy. — A Cannibal Snake. — The Climate 33 CHAPTER in. English Island of Barbadoes. — Bridgetown the Capital. — The Manufacture of Rum. — A Geographical Expert. — Very Eng- lish. — A Pest of Ants. — Exports. — The Ice House. — A Dense Population. — Educational'. — Marine Hotel. — Habits of Gambling. — Hurricanes. — Curious Antiquities. — The Bar- badoes Leg. — Wakeful Dreams. — Absence of Twilight. — Departure from the Island 51 CHAPTER IV. Curious Ocean Experiences. — The Delicate NautUus. — Flying- Fish. — The Southern Cross. — Speaking a Ship at Sea. — viu CONTENTS. Scientific Navigation. — South America as a Whole. — Fauna and Flora. — Natural Resources of a, Wonderful Land. — Rivers, Plains, and Mountain Ranges. — Aboriginal Tribes. — Population. — Political Divi^ons. — Civil Wars. — Weakness of South American States 68 CHAPTER V. City of Pari. — The Equatorial Line. — Spanish History. — The King of Waters. — Private Gardens. — Domestic Life in North- em Brazil. — Delicious Pineapples. — Family Pets. — Opera House. — Mendicants. — A Grand Avenue. — Botanical Gar- den. — Indiar-Rubber Tree. — Gathering the Raw Material. — Monkeys. — The Royal Palm. — Splendor of Equatorial Nights 94 CHAPTER VI. Island of Marajo. — Rare and Beautiful Birds. — Original Mode of Securii^ Humming-Birds. — MaranMo. — Educational. — Value of Native Forests. — Pemambuco. — Difficulty of Land- ing. — An Ill-Chosen Name. — Local Scenes. — Uncleanly Hab- its of the People. — Great Sugar Mart. — Native Houses. — A Quaint Hostelry. — Catamarans. — A Natural Breakwater. — Sailing down the Coast 115 CHAPTER VIL Port of Bahia. — A Quaint Old City. — Former Capital of Brazil. — Whaling Interests. — Beautiful Panorama. — Tramways. — No Color Line Here. — The Sedan Chair. — Feather Flowers. — A Great Orange Mart. — Passion Flower Fruit. — CofBee, Sugar, and Tobacco. — A Coffee Plantation. — Something about Dia- monds. — Health of the City. — Curious Tropical Street Scenes 138 CHAPTER VIII. Cape Frio. — Rio Janeiro. — A Splendid Harbor. — Various Mountains. — Botaf ogo Bay. — The Hunchback. — Farewell to the Vigilancia. — Tijuca. — Italian Emigrants. — City In- stitutions. — Public Amusements. — Street Musicians. — Churches. — Narrow Thoroughfares. — Merchants' Clerks. — Railroads in Brazil. — Natural Advantages of the City. — The Public Plazas. — Exports 155 CONTENTS. IX CHAPTER IX. Outdoor Scenes in Eio Janeiro. — The Little Marmoset. — The Fish Market. — Secluded Women. — The Romish Church. — Botanical Garden. — Various Species of Trees. — Grand Ave- nue of Royal Palms. — Ahout Humming-Birds. — Climate of Rio. — Surrounded by Yellow Fever. — The Country Inland. — Begging on the Streets. — Flowers. — " Portuguese Joe." — Social Distinctions 180 CHAPTER X. Petropolis. — Summer Residence of the Citizens of Rio. — Brief Sketch of the late Royal Family. — Dom Pedro's Palace. — A Delightful Mountain Sanitarium. — A Successful but Bloodless Revolution. — Floral Delights. — Mountain Scenery. — Heavy Gambling. — A German Settlement. — Casea- tinha. — Remarkable Orchids. — Local Types. — A Brazilian Forest — Compensation 201 CHAPTER XI. Port of Santos. — Yellow Fever Scourge. — Down the Coast to Montevideo. — The Cathedral. — Pamperos. — Domestic Ar- chitecture. — A Grand Thoroughfare. — City Institutions. — Commercial Advantages. — The Opera House. — The Bull- Fight. — Beggars on Horseback. — City Shops. — A Typical Character. — Intoxication. — The Campo Santo. — Exports. — Rivers and Railways 217 CHAPTER XII. Buenos Ayres. — Extent of the Argentine Republic. — Popula- tion. — Narrow Streets. — Large Public Squares. — Basques. — Poor Harbor. — Railway System. — River Navigation. — Tramways. — The Cathedral. — Normal Schools. — News- papers. — Public Buildings. — CaUe Florida. ^ A Busy City. — Mode of furnishing Milk. — Environs. — Commercial and Political Growth. — The New Capital 244 CHAPTER XIII. City of Rosario. — Its Population. — A Pretentious Church. — Ocean Experiences. — Morbid Fancies. — Strait of Magellan. X CONTENTS. — A Great Discoverer. — Local Characteristics. — Patago- niana and Fuegians. — Giant Kelp. — Unique Mail Box. — Punta Arenas. — An Ex-Penal Colony. — The Albatross. — Natives. — A Naked People. — Whales. — Sea-Birds. — Gla- ciers. — Mount Sarraiento. — A Singular Story 2v 1 CHAPTER XIV. The Land of Fire. — Cape Horn. — Li the Open Pacific. — Fellow Passengers. — Large Sea-Bird. — An Interesting Invalid. — A Weary Captive. — A Broken-Hearted Mother. — Study of the Heavens. — The Moon. — Chilian CivU War. — Coneepcion. — A Growing City. — Commercial Importance. — Cultivating City Gardens on a New Plan. — Important Coal Mines. — Delicious Fruits 297 CHAPTER XV. Valparaiso. — Principal South American Port of the Pacific. — A Good Harbor. — Tallest Mountain on this Continent. — The Newspaper Press. — Warlike Aspect. — Girls as Car Con- ductors. — Chilian Exports. — Foreign Merchants. — Effects of Civil War. — Gambling in Private Houses. — Immigration. — Culture of the Grape. — Agriculture. — Island of Juan Fernandez 315 CHAPTER XVI. The Port of Callao. — A Submerged City. — Peruvian Exports. — A Dirty and Unwholesome Town. — Cinchona Bark. — The Andes. — The Llama. — A National Dance. — City of Lima. — An Old and Interesting Capital. — Want of Rain. — Pizarro and His Crimes. — A Grand Cathedral. — Chilian Soldiers. — Costly Churches of Peru. — Roman Catholic Influence. — Dese- cration of the Sabbath 884 CHAPTER XVIL A Grand Plaza. — Retribution. — The University of Lima. — Sig- nificance of Ancient Pottery. — Architecture. — Picturesque Dwelling. — Domestic Scene. — Destructive Earthquakes. — Spanish Sway. — Women of Lima. — Street Costumes. — An- cient Bridge of Lima. — Newspapers. — Pawnbrokers' Shops. — Exports. — An Ancient Mecca. — Home by Way of Europe. 355 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. CHAPTER I. Connnencement of a Long Journey. — The Gulf Stream. — Hayti. — Sighting St. Thomas. — Ship Rock. — Expert Divera. — Fidgety Old Lady. — An Luportant Island. — The Old Slaver. — Aborigines. — St. Thomas Cigars. — Population. — Tri-Mountain. — Negro Par- adise. — Hurrioances. — Variety of Fish. — Coaling Ship. — The Firefly Dane. — A Weird Scene. — An Antique Anchor. In starting upon foreign travel, one drops into the familiar routine on sliipboard much after the same fashion wherever bound, whether crossing the Atlantic eastward, or steaming to the south through the waters of the Caribbean Sea ; whether in a Peninsular and Oriental ship in the Indian Ocean, or on a White Star liner in the Pacific bound for Japan. The steward brings a cup of hot coffee and a slice of dry- toast to one's cabin soon after the sun rises, as a sort of eye-opener ; and having swallowed that excellent stimulant, one feels better fortified for the struggle to dress on the uneven floor of a rolling and pitching ship. Then comes the brief promenade on deck be- fore breakfast, a liberal inhalation of fresh air insur- ing a good appetite. There is no hurry at this meal. 2 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. There is so little to do at sea, and so mucli time to do it in, that passengers are apt to linger at table as a pastime, and even multiply their meals in nmnber. As a rule, we make up our mind to follow some in- structive course of reading while at sea, but, alas ! we never fulfill the good resolution. An entire change of habits and associations for the time being is not favorable to such a purpose. The tonic of the sea braces one up to an unwonted degree, evinced by great activity of body and mind. Favored by the unavoidable companionship of individuals in the cir- cumscribed space of a ship, acquaintances are formed which often ripen into lasting friendship. Inexperi- enced voyagers are apt to become effusive and over- confiding, abrupt intimacies and unreasonable dislikes are of frequent occurrence, and before the day of separation, the student of human nature has seen many phases exhibited for his analysis. Our vessel, the Vigilancia, is a large, commodi- ous, and well appointed ship, embracing all the mod- ern appliances for comfort and safety at sea. She is lighted by electricity, having a donkey engine which sets in motion a dynamo machine, converting me- chanical energy into electric energy. Perhaps the reader, though familiar with the effect of this mode of lighting, has never paused to analyze the very simple manner in which it is produced. The current is led from the dynamos to the various points where light is desired by means of insulated wires. The lamps consist of a fine thread of carbon inclosed in a glass COMMENCEMENT OF A JOURNEY. 3 bulb from which air has been entirely excluded. This offers such resistance to the current passing through it that the energy is expended in raising the carbon to a white heat, thus forming the light. The per- manence of the carbon is insured by the absence of oxygen. If the glass bulb is broken and atmospheric air comes in contact with the carbon, it is at once destroyed by combustion, and all light from this source ceases. These lamps are so arranged that each one can be turned off or on at will without affecting others. The absence of offensive smell or smoke, the steadiness of the light, unaffected by the motion of the ship, and its superior brilliancy, aU join to make this mode of lighting a vessel a positive luxury. Some pleasant hours were passed on board the VigUancia, between New York and the West Indies, in the study of the Gulf Stream, through which we were sailing, — that river in the ocean with its banks and bottom of cold water, while its current is always warm. Who can explain the mystery of its motive power ? What keeps its tepid water, in a course of thousands of miles, from mingling with the rest of the sea ? Whence does it really come ? The accepted theo- ries are familiar enough, but we place little reliance upon them, the statements of scientists are so easily formulated, but often so difficult to prove. As Pro- fessor Maury tells us, there is in the world no other flow of water so majestic as this ; it has a course more rapid than either the Mississippi or the Amazon, and a volume more than a thousand times greater. The color 4 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. of this remarkable stream, whose fountain is supposed to be the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, is so deep a blue off our softthem shore that the Une of demarcation from its surroundings is quite obvious, the Gulf water having apparently a decided reluctance to mingling with the rest of the ocean, a peculiarity which has been long and vainly discussed without a satisfactory solution having been reached. The same phenomenon has been observed in the Pacific, where the Japanese current comes up from the equator, along the shore of that country, crossing Behring's Sea to the continent of North America, and, turning southward along the coast of California, finally dis- appears. Throughout all this ocean passage, like the Grxdf Stream in the Atlantic, it retains its individ- uality, and is quite separate from the rest of the ocean. The fact that the water is Salter than that of the Atlantic is by some supposed to account for the indigo blue of the Gulf Stream. The temperature of this water is carefully taken on board aU well regulated ships, and is recorded in the log. On this voyage it was found to vary from 75° to 80° Fahrenheit. Our ship had touched at Newport News, Va., after leaving New York, to take the TJ. S. mail on board ; thence the course was south-southeast, giving the American continent a wide berth, and heading for the Danish island of St. Thomas, which lies in the lati- tude of Hayti, but a long way to the eastward of that uninteresting island. We say iminteresting with due PEOPLE OF HAYTI. 5 consideration, though its history is vivid enough to satisfy the most sensational taste. It has produced its share of native heroes, as well as native traitors, while the frequent upheavals of its mingled races have been no less erratic than destructive. The ignorance and confusion which reign among the masses on the island are deplorable. Minister Douglass utterly failed to make anything out of Hayti. The lower classes of the people living inland come next to the inhabitants of Terra del Fuego in the scale of humanity, and are much inferior to the Maoris of New Zealand, or the savage tribes of Australia. It is satisfactorily proven that cannibalism stUl exists among them in its most repulsive form, so revolting, indeed, that we hesitate to detail the experience of a creditable eye-witness re- lating to this matter, as personally described to us. Upon looking at the map it would seem, to one un- accustomed to the ocean, that a ship could not lay her course direct, in these island dotted waters, without running down one or more of them ; but the distances which are so circumscribed upon the chart are ex- tended for many a league at sea, and a good navigator may sail his ship from New York to Barbadoes, if he so desires, without sighting the land. Not a sailing vessel or steamship was seen, on the brief voyage from the American continent to the West Indies, these latitudes being far less frequented by passenger and freighting ships than the transatlantic route further north. It is quite natural that the heart should throb with 6 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. increased animation, the spirits become more elate, and the eyes more than usually appreciative, when the land of one's destination heaves in sight after long days and nights passed at sea. This is especially the case if the change from home scenes is so radical in all particu- lars as when coming from our bleak Northern States in the early days of spring, before the trees have donned their leaves, to the soft temperature and exuberant ver- dure of the low latitudes. Commencing the voyage herein described, the author left the Brooklyn shore of New York harbor about the first of May, during a sharp snow-squall, though, as Governor's Island was passed on the one hand, and the Statue of Liberty on the other, the sun burst forth from its cloudy envi- ronment, as if to smile a cheerful farewell. Thus we passed out upon the broad Atlantic, bound southward, soon feehng its half suppressed force in the regular sway and roll of the vessel. She was heavily laden, and measured considerably over four thousand tons, drawing twenty-two feet of water, yet she was like an eggshell upon the heaving breast of the ocean. As these mammoth ships lie in port beside the wharf, it seems as though their size and enormous weight would place them beyond the influence of the wind and waves : but the power of the latter is so great as to be beyond computation, and makes a mere toy of the largest hull that floats. No one can realize the great strength of the waves who has not watched the sea in all of its varying moods. " Land O ! " shouts the lookout on the forecastle. A DECEPTIVE ROCK. 7 A wave of the hand signifies that the occupant of the bridge has already made out the mote far away upon the glassy surface of the sea, which now rap- idly grows into definite form. When the mountain which rises near the centre of St. Thomas was fairly in view from the deck of the Vigilancia, it seemed as if beckoning us to its hos- pitable shore. The light breeze which fanned the sea came from off the land flavored with an odor of trop- ical vegetation, a suggestion of fragrant blossoms, and a promise of luscious fruits. On our starboard bow there soon came into Adew the well known Ship Sock, which appears, when seen from a short distance, al- most precisely like a full-rigged ship under canvas. If the sky is clouded and the atmosphere hazy, the delusion is remarkable. This story is told of a French corvette which was cruising in these latitudes at the time when the buc- caneers were creating such havoc with legitimate com- merce in the West Indies. It seems that the coast was partially hidden by a fog, when the corvette made out the rock through the haze, and, supposing it to be what it so much resembles, a ship under sail, fired a gun to leeward for her to heave to. Of course there was no response to the shot, so the Frenchman brought his ship closer, at the same time clearing for action. Being satisfied that he had to do with a powerful adversary, he resolved to obtain the advantage by promptly crippling the enemy, and so discharged the whole of his starboard broadside into the supposed 8 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. ship, looming through the mist. The fog quietly dis- persed as the corvette went about and prepared to deliver her port guns in a sinular manner. As the deceptive^ rock stood in precisely the same place when the guns came once more to bear upon it, the true character of the object was discovered. It is doubtful whether the Frenchman's surprise or mortification predominated. An hour of steady progress served to raise the veil of distance, and to reveal the spacious bay of Chai^ lotte Amalie, with its strong background of abrupt hills and dense greenery of tropical foliage. How wonderfully blue was the water round about the island, — an emerald set in a sea of molten sapphire ! It seemed as if the sky had been melted and poured all over the ebbing tide. About the Bahamas, especially off the shore at Nassau, the wafer is green, — a delicate bright green ; here it exhibits only the true azure blue, — Mediterranean blue. It is seen at its best and in marvelous glow during the brief moments of twi- light, when a glance of golden sunset tinges its mottled surface with iris hues, like the opaline flashes from a humming-bird's throat. The steamer gradually lost headway, the vibrating hull ceased to throb with the action of its motive power, as though pausing to take breath after long days and nights of sustained effort, and presently the anchor was let go in the excellent harbor of St. Thomas, latitude 18° 20' north, longitude 64° 48' west. Our forecastle gun, fired to announce arrival, EXPERT DIVERS. 9 awakened the echoes in the hills, so that all seemed to join in clapping their hands to welcome us. Thus amid the Norwegian fiords the report of the steamer's single gim becomes a whole broadside, as it is rever- berated from the grim and rocky elevations which line that iron-bound coast. There was soon gathered about the ship a bevy of naked colored boys, a score or more, jabbering like a lot of monkeys, some in canoes of home construction, it would seem, consisting of a sugar box sawed in two parts, or a few small planks nailed together, forming more of a tub than a boat, and leaking at every joint. These frail floats were propelled with a couple of flat boards used as paddles. The young fellows came out from the shore to dive for sixpences and shillings, cast into the sea by passengers. The moment a piece of silver was thrown, every canoe was instantly emptied of its occupant, all diving pell-mell for the money. Presently one of the crowd was sure to come to the surface with the silver exhibited above his head between his fingers, after which, monkey-like, it was securely deposited inside of his cheek. Similar scenes often occur in tropical regions. The last which the author can recall, and at which he assisted, was at Aden, where the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea meet. An- other experience of the sort is also well remembered as witnessed in the South Pacific off the Samoan islands. On this occasion the most expert of the natives, among the naked divers, was a young- Samoan girl, whose agility in the water was such that she easily 10 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. secured more than half the bright coins which were thrown overboard, though a dozen male competitors were her rivals in the pursuit. Nothing but an otter could have excelled this bronzed, unclad, exquisitely formed girl of Tutuila as a diver and swimmer. But let us not stray to the far South Pacific, forget- ting that we are all this time in the snug harbor of St. Thomas, in the "West Indies. A fidgety old lady passenger, half hidden in an ava- lanche of wraps, while the thermometer indicated 80° Fahr., one who had gone into partial hysterics several times during the past few days, upon the slightest provocation, declared that this was the worst region for hurricanes in the known world, adding that there were dark, ominous clouds forming to windward which she was sure portended a cyclone. One might have told her truthfully that May was not a hurricane month in these latitudes, but we were just then too earnestly engaged in preparing for a stroU on shore, too full of charming anticipations, to discuss possible hurricanes, and so, without giving the matter any spe- cial thought, admitted that it did look a little threat- ening in the northwest. This was quite enough to frighten the old lady half out of her senses, and to call the stewardess into prompt requisition, while the deck was soon permeated with the odor of camphor, sal volatile, and valerian. "We did not wait to see how she survived the attack, but hastened into a shore boat and soon landed at what is known as King's wharf, when the temperature seemed instantly to rise NATIVE GROUPS. 11 about twenty degrees. Near the landing was a small plaza, shaded by tall ferns and cabbage palms, with here and there an umbrageous mango. Ladies and servant girls were seen promenading with merry chil- dren, whites and blacks mingling indiscriminately, while the Danish military band were producing most shocking strains with their brass instruments. One could hardly conceive of a more futile attempt at harmony. There is always something exciting in first setting foot upon a foreign soil, in mingling with utter stran- gers, in listening to the voluble utterances and jargon of unfamiliar tongues, while noting the manners, dress, and faces of a new people. The current language of the mass of St. Thomas is a curious compound of negTO grammar, Yankee accent, and English drawl. Though somewhat familiar with the West Indies, the author had never before landed upon this island. Everything strikes one as curious, each tiu-n affords increased novelty, and every moment is full of interest. Black, yellow, and white men are seen in groups, the former with very little covering on their bodies, the latter in diaphanous costumes. Negresses sporting high colors in their scanty clothing, set off by rainbow kerchiefs bound round their heads, turban fashion ; little naked blacks with impossible paunches; here and there a shuffling negro bearing baskets of fish balanced on either end of a long pole resting across his shoulders ; peddlers of shells and corals ; old wo- men carrying trays upon their heads containing cakes 12 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. sprinkled with, granulated sugar, and displayed upon neat linen towels, seeking for customers among the newly arrived passengers, — all together form a unique picture of local life. The constantly shifting scene moves before the observer like a panorama vmroHed for exhibition, seeming quite as theatrical and arti- ficial. St. Thomas is one of the Danish "West Indian Islands, of which there are three belonging to Denmark, namely, St. Thomas, St. Croix, and St. John. For the posses- sion of the first named Mr. Seward, when Secretary of State, in 1866, offered the King of Denmark five million doUars in gold, which proposition was finally accepted, and it would have been a cheap purchase for us at that price ; but after aU detail had been duly agreed upon, the United States Congress refused to vote the necessary funds wherewith to pay for the title deed. So when Mr. Seward consummated the pur- chase of Alaska, for a Httle over seven million dollars, there were nearly enough of the small-fry politicians in Congress to defeat the bargain with Russia in the same manner. The income from the lease of two is- lands alone belonging to Alaska — St. George and St. Paul — has paid four and one half per cent, per annimi upon the purchase money ever since the territory came into our possession. There is one gold mine on Douglas Island, Alaska, not to mention its other rich and in- exhaustible products, for which a French syndicate has offered fourteen million doUars. We doubt if St. Thomas could be purchased from the Danes to-day for IMPORTANCE OF ST. THOMAS. 13 ten million dollars, while the estimated value of Alaska would be at least a hundred million or more, with its vast mineral wealth, its invaluable salmon fisheries, its inexhaustible forests of giant timber, and its abun- dance of seal, otter, and other rich furs. A penny- wise and pound-foolish Congress made a huge mistake in opposing Mr. Seward's purpose as regarded the purchase of St. Thomas. The strategic position of the island is quite sufficient to justify our government in wishing to possess it, for it is geographicaEy the keystone of the West Indies. The principal object which Mr. Seward had in view was to secure a coaling and refitting station for our national ships in time of war, for which St. Thomas would actually be worth more than the island of Cuba. Opposite to it is the continent of Africa ; equidistant are the eastern shores of North and South America ; on one side is western Europe, on the other the route to India and the Pa- cific Ocean; in the rear are Central America, the West Indies, and Mexico, together with those great inland bodies of salt water, the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. It requires no argument to show how important the possession of such an outpost might prove to this country. Since these notes were written, it is currently re- ported that our government has once more awakened to the necessity of obtaining possession of this island, and fresh negotiations have been entered into. One thing is very certain, if we do not seize the opportunity to purchase St. Thomas at the present time, England, 14 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. or some other important power, will promptly do so, to our serious detriment and just mortification. St. Thomas has an area of nearly fifty square miles, and supports a population of about fourteen thousand. In many respects the capital is unique, and being our first landing-place after leaving home, was of m.ore than ordinary interest to the writer. The highest point on the island, which comes first into view from the deck of a southern bound steamer, is West Moun- tain, rising sixteen hundred feet above the level of the surrounding waters. Geologists would describe St. Thomas as being the top of a small chain of sub- merged mountains, which would be quite correct, since the topography of the bottom of the sea is but a coim- terpart of that upon the more familiar surface of the earth we occupy. When ocean electric cables for connecting islands and continents are laid, engineers find that there are the same sort of plains, mountains, valleys, and gorges beneath as above the waters of the ocean. The skeletons of whales, and natural beds of deep-sea shells, found in valleys and hills many hundred feet above the present level of tide waters, tell us plainly enough that in the long ages which have passed, the diversified surface of the earth which we now behold has changed places with these sub- merged regions, which probably once formed the dry land. The history of the far past is full of instances showing the slow but continuous retreat of the water from the land in certain regions and it>i encroach- ment in others, the drying up of lakes and rivers, as A LAND-LOCKED HARBOR. 15 well as the upheaval of single islands and groups from the bed of the ocean. A range of dome-shaped hills runs through the en- tire length of this island of St. Thomas, fifteen miles from west to east, being considerably highest at the west end. As we passed between the two headlands which mark the entrance to the harbor, the town was seen spread over three hiUs of nearly uniform height, also occupying the gentle vaUeys between. Two stone structures, on separate hiUs, form a prominent fea- ture ; these are known respectively as Blue Beard and Black Beard tower, but their origin is a myth, though there are plenty of legends extant about them. Both are now utilized as residences, having mostly lost their original crudeness and picturesque appearance. The town, as a whole, forms a pleasing and effective back- ground to the land-locked bay, which is large enough to afford safe anchorage for two hundred ships at the same time, except when a hurricane prevails ; then the safest place for shipping is as far away from the land as possible. It is a busy port, considering the small number of inhabitants, steamers arriving and depart- ing constantly, besides many small coasting vessels which ply between this and the neighboring islands. St» Thomas is certainly the most available commer- cially of the Virgia group of islands. Columbus named them "Las Vergines," in reference to the familiar Komish legend of the eleven thousand virgins, about as inappropriate a title as the fable it refers to is ridiculous. 16 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. Close in shore, at the time of our visit, there lay a schooner-rigged craft of more than ordinary interest, her jaunty set upon the water, her graceful lines, tall, raking masts, and long bowsprit suggesting the model of the famous old Baltimore clippers. There is a fascinating individuality about sailing-vessels which does not attach to steamships. Seamen form roman- tic attachments for the former. The officers and crew of the Vigilancia were observed to cast admiring eyes upon this handsome schooner, anchored under our lee. A sort of mysterious quiet hung about her; every rope was hauled taut, made fast, and the slack neatly coiled. Her anchor was atrip, that is, the cable was hove short, showing that she was ready to sail at a moment's notice. The only person visible on board was a bareheaded, white-haired old seaman, who sat on the transom near the wheel, quietly smoking his pipe. On inquiry it was found that the schooner had a notable history and bore the name of the Vigilant, having been first launched a hundred and thirty years ago. It appeared that she was a successful slaver in former days, rimning between the coast of Africa and these islands. She was twice captured by English cruisers, but somehow found her way back again to the old and nefarious business. Of course, she had been overhauled, repaired, and re-rigged many times, but it is still the same old frame and hull that so often made the middle passaige, as it was called. To-day she serves as a mail-boat running between Santa Cruz and St. Thomas, and, it is said, can make forty THE SUGAR-CANE. 17 leagues, with a fair wind, as quick as any steamer on the coast. The same evening the Vigilant spread her broad white wings and glided silently out of the harbor, gathering rapid way as she passed its entrance, until feeling the spur of the wind and the open sea, she quickly vanished from sight. It was easy to imagine her bound upon her old piratical business, screened by the shadows of the night. Though it no longer produces a single article of export on its own soil, St. Thomas was, in the days of negro slavery, one of the most prolific sugar yielding islands of this region. It will be remembered that the emancipation of the blacks took place here in 1848. It was never before impressed upon us, if we were aware of the fact, that the sugar-cane is not indige- nous to the West Indies. It seems that the plant came originally from Asia, and was introduced into these islands by Columbus and his followers. As is often the case with other representatives of the vegetable kingdom, it appears to have flourished better here than in the land of its nativity, new climatic com- binations, together with the soil, developing in the saccharine plant better qualities and increased pro- ductiveness, for a long series of years enriching many enterprising planters. When Columbus discovered St. Thomas, in 1493, it was inhabited by two tribes of Indians, the Caribs and the Arrowauks, both of which soon disappeared under the oppression and hardships imposed by the Spaniards. It is also stated that from this island, as 18 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. well as from Cuba and Hayti, many natives were transported to Spain and there sold into slavery, in the days following close upon its discovery. Thus Spain, from the earliest date, characterized her oper- ations in the New World by a heartlessness and in- justice which ever attended upon her conquests, both among the islands and upon the continent of Amer- ica. The Caribs were of the red Indian race, and appear to have been addicted to cannibalism. In- deed, the very word, by which the surrounding sea is also known, is supposed to be a corruption of the name of this tribe. "These Caribs did not eat their own babies," says an old writer apologetically, "like some sorts of wild beasts, but only roasted and ate their prisoners of war." The island was originally covered with a dense for- est growth, but is now comparatively denuded of trees, leaving the land open to the fuU force of the sun, and causing it to suffer at times from serious droughts. There is said to be but one natural spring of water on the island. This shows itseK at the surface, and is of very limited capacity; the scanty rains which occur here are almost entirely depended upon to sup- ply water for domestic use. St. Thomas being so convenient a port of call for steamers from Europe and America, and having so excellent a harbor, is improved as a depot for merchan- dise by several of the neighboring islands, thus enjoy- ing a considerable commerce, though it is only in tran- situ. It is also the regular coaling station of several SMUGGLING. 19 steamship lines. Judging from appearances, however, it would seem that the town is not growing in popula- tion or business relations, but is rather retrosfradinsr. The yalue of the imports in 1880 was less than half the aggregate amount of 1870. We were told that green groceries nearly all come from the United States, and that even eggs and poultry are imported from the neighboring islands, showing an improvi- dence on the part of the people difficult to account for, since these sources of food supply can be profita- bly produced at almost any spot upon the earth where vegetation will grow. Cigars are brought hither from Havana in considerable quantities, and having no duty to pay, can be sold very cheap by the dealers at St. Thomas, and still aiford a reasonable profit. Quite a trade is thus carried on with the passengers of the several steamers which call here regularly, and travelers avail themselves of the opportunity to lay in an ample supply. Cuban cigars of the quality which would cost nine or ten dollars a hundred in Boston are sold at St. Thomas for five or six dollars, and lower grades even cheaper in proportion. There is said to be considerable smuggling successfully car- ried on between this island and the Florida shore, in the article of cigars as well as in tobacco in the un- manufactured state. The high duty on these has always incited to smuggling, thus defeating the very object for which it is imposed. Probably a moderate duty would yield more to the government in the ag- gregate, by rendering it so much less of an object to smuggle. 20 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. Though the island is Danish in nationality, there are few surroundings calculated to recall the fact, save that the flag of that country floats over the old fort and the one or two official buildings, just as it has done for the last two centuries. The prominent offi- cials are Danes, as well as the officers of the small body of soldiers maintained on the island. English is almost exclusively spoken, though there are French, Spanish, and Italian residents here. English is also the language taught in the public schools. People have come here to make what money they can, but with the fixed purpose of spending it and enjoying it elsewhere. As a rule, all Europeans who come to the West Indies and embark in business do so with exactly this purpose. In Cuba the Spaniards from the continent, among whom are many Jews, have a proverb the significance of which is: "Ten years of starvation, and a fortune," and most of them live up to this axiom. They leave aU principles of honor, all sense of moral responsibility, all sacred domestic ties, behind them, forgetting, or at least ignoring, the significant query, namely, "What shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" About one third of the population is Eoman Cath- olic. The Jews have a synagogue, and a membership of six hundred. They have a record on the island dating as far back as the year 1757, and add much to the activity and thrift of St. Thomas. No matter where we find the Jews, in Mexico, Warsaw, Califor- nia, or the West Indies, they are all alike intent upon SOCIAL LIFE. 21 money making, and are nearly always successful. Their irrepressible energy wins for them the goal for which they so earnestly strive. That soldier of for- tune, Santa Anna, formerly ruler of Mexico, when banished as a traitor from his native country, made his home on this island, and the house which he built and occupied is still pointed out to visitors as one of the local curiosities. The social life of St. Thomas is naturally very circimiscribed, but is good so far as it goes. A few cultured people, who have made it their home for some years, have become sincerely attached to the place, and enjoy the climate. There are a small public library, a hospital, several charitable institu- tions, and a theatre, which is occupied semi-occasion- ally. The island is connected with the continent by cable, and has a large floating dock and marine rail- way, which causes vessels in distress to visit the port for needed repairs. The town is situated on the north side of the bay which indents the middle of the south side of the island. The harbor has a depth of water varying from eighteen to thirty -six feet, and has the advantage of being a free port, a fact, perhaps, of not much account to a place which has neither ex- ports nor imports of its own. St. Thomas is the only town of any importance on the island, and is known locally as Charlotte Amalie, a fact which some- times leads to a confusion of ideas. The reader need not encounter the intense heat, which so nearly wilted us, in an effort to obtain a good lookout from some elevated spot; but the result 22 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. will perhaps interest him, as it fully repaid the writer for all the consequent discomfort. From the brow of a moderate elevation just behind the town, a delightful and far-reaching view is af- forded, embracing St. Thomas in the foreground, the well-sheltered bay, dotted with vessels bearing the flags of various nations, an archipelago of islets scat- tered over the near waters, and numerous small bays indenting the coast. At a distance of some forty miles across the sea looms the island of Santa Cruz; and farther away, on the horizon's most distant limit, are seen the tall hills and mountains of Porto Rico ; while the sky is fringed by a long trailing plume of smoke, indicating the course of some passing steam- ship. The three hills upon which the town stands are spurs of "West Mountain, and the place is quite as well entitled to the name of Tremont — " tri -moun- tain " — ^as was the capital of Massachusetts, before its hills were laid low to accommodate business de- mands. On the seaward side of these elevations the red tiled roofs of the white houses rise in regular ter- races from the street which borders the harbor, form- ing a very picturesque group as seen from the bay. Though it has not often been visited by epidemics, Mr. Anthony TroUope pronounces the island, in his usual irresponsible way, to be "one of the hottest and one of the most unhealthy spots among all these hot and unhealthy regions," and adds that he would per- haps be justified in saying "that of all such spots it is the hottest and most unhealthy." This is calcu- ATTACKING SHARKS. 23 lated to give an incorrect idea of St. Thomas. True, it is liable to periods of unhealthiness, when a spe- cies of low fever prevails, proving more or less fatal. This is thought to originate from the surface drainage, and the miasma arising from the bay. All the drains of the town flow into the waters of the harbor, which has not sufficient flow of tide to carry seaward the foul matter thus accimiulated. The hot sun pouring its heat down upon this tainted water causes a dan- gerous exhalation. Still, sharks do not seem to be sensitive as to this matter, for they much abound. It is yet to be discovered why these tigers of the sea do not attack the negroes, who fearlessly leap overboard ; a white man could not do this with impunity. The Asiatics of the Malacca Straits do not enjoy any such immunity from danger, though they have skins as dark as the divers of St. Thomas. Sharks appear in the West Indies in small schools, or at least there are nearly always two or three together, but in Oriental waters they are only seen singly. Thus a Malay of Singapore, for a compensation, say an English sover- eign, will place a long, sharp knife between his teeth and leap naked into the sea to attack a shark. He adroitly dives beneath the creature, and as it turns its body to bring its awkward mouth into use, with his knife the Malay slashes a deep, long opening in its exposed belly, at the same time forcing himself out of the creature's reach. The knife is sure and fatal. After a few moments the huge body of the fish is seen to rise and float lifeless upon the surface of the water. 24 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. A large majority of the people are colored, exhibit- ing some peculiarly interesting types, intermarriage with whites of various nationalities having produced among the descendants of Africans many changes of color and of features. One feels sure that there is also a trace of Carib or Indian blood mingled with the rest, — a trace of the aborigines whom Columbus found here. The outcome is not entirely a race with flat noses and protruding lips ; straight Grecian pro- files are not uncommon, accompanied by thin nostrils and Anglo-Saxon lips. Faultless teeth, soft blue eyes, and hair nearly straight are sometimes met with among the Creoles. As to the style of walking and of carrying the head and body, the common class of women of St. Thomas have arrived at perfection. Some of them are notable examples of unconscious dignity and grace combined. This has been brought about by carrying burdens upon their heads from childhood, without the supporting aid of the hands. Modesty, or rather conventionality, does not require boys or girls under eight years of age to encumber themselves with clothing. The costume of the market women and the lower classes generally is picturesque, composed of a Madras kerchief carefully twisted into a turban of many colors, yellow predominating, a cotton chemise which leaves the neck and shoulders exposed, reaching just below the knees, the legs and feet being bare. The men wear cotton drawers reach- ing nearly to the knee, the rest of the body being un- covered, except the head, which is usually sheltered TROPICAL FERTILITY. 25 under a broad brimmed straw hat, the sides of which are perforated by many ventilating holes. The whites generally, and also the better class of natives, dress very much after the fashion which prevails in North America. This is the negroes' paradise, but it is a climate in which the white race gradually wanes. The heat of the tropics is modified by the constant and grateful trade winds, a most merciful dispensation, without which the West Indies would be uninhabitable by man. On the hillsides of St. Thomas these winds insure cool nights at least, and a comparatively tem- perate state of the atmosphere during the day. Veg- etation is abimdant, the fruit-trees are perennial, bear- ing leaf, blossom, and fruit in profusion, month after month, year after year. Little, if any, cultivation is required. The few sugar plantations which are still carried on yield from three to four successive years without replanting. It is a notable fact that where vegetation is at its best, where the soil is most ranfe; and prolific, where fruits and flowers grow in wild exuberance, elevated humanity thrives the least. The lower the grade of man, the nearer he approximates to the animals, the less civilized he is in mind and body, the better he appears to be adapted to such localities. The birds and the butterflies are in exact harmony with the loveliness of tropical nature, however prolific she may be; the flowers are glorious and beautiful: it is man alone who seems out of place. A great variety of fruits are indigenous here, such as the 26 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. orange, lime, alligator pear, moss-apple, and mango, but none of them are cultivated to any extent; the people seem to lack the energy requisite to improve the grand possibilities of their fertile soil and prolific climate. We were reminded by a resident of the town, before we left the harbor of St. Thomas, that the ner- vous old lady referred to was not entirely without rea- son for her anxiety. Some of our readers will remem- ber, perhaps, that in October, 1867, a most disastrous hurricane swept over these Virgin Islands, leaving widespread desolation in its track. The shipping which happened to be in the bay of St. Thomas was nearly all destroyed, together with hundreds of lives, while on the land scores of houses and many lives were also sacrificed to the terrible cyclone of that date. Even the thoroughly built iron and stone lighthouse was completely obliterated. There is a theory that such visitations come in this region about once in every twelve or fifteen years, and upon looking up the matter we find them to have occurred, with more or less destructive force, in the years 1793, 1819, 1837, 1867, 1871, and so late as August, 1891. Other hur- ricanes have passed over these islands during the pe- riod covered by these dates, but of a mitigated char- acter. August, September, and October are the months in which the hurricanes are most likely to occur, and all vessels navigating the West Indian seas during these months take extra precautions to secure themselves against accidents from this source. When HEROISM DURING A CYCLONE. 27 such visitations happen, the event is sure to develop heroic deeds. In the hurricane of 1867, the captain of a Spanish man-of-war, who was a practical sailor, brought up from boyhood upon the ocean, seeing the oncoming cyclone, and knowing by experience what to expect, ordered the masts of his vessel to be cut away at once, and every portion of exposed top hamper to be east into the sea. When thus stripped he exposed little but the bare huU of his steamer to the fury of the storm. After the cyclone had passed, it was found that he had not lost a man, and that the steam- er's hull, though severely battered, was substantially imharmed. Keeping up aU steam dtiring the awful scene, this captain devoted himself and his ship to the saving of human life, promptly taking his vessel wher- ever he could be of the most service. Hundreds of seamen were saved from death by the coolness and intrepidity of this heroic sailor. Since these notes were written among the islands, a terrible cyclone has visited them. This was on August 18, last past, and proved more destructive to human life, to marine and other property, than any occurrence of the kind during the last century. At Martinique a sharp shock of earthquake added to the horror of the occasion, the town of Fort de Erance being very nearly leveled with the ground. Many tall and noble pahns, the growth of half a hundred years, were utterly demolished in the twinkling of an eye, and other trees were uprooted by the score. The waters of this neighborhood teem with strange 28 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. forms of animal and vegetable life. Here we saw specimens of red and blue snappers, the angel-fish, king-fish, gurnets, cow-fish, whip-ray, peacock-fish, zebra-fish, and so on, all, or nearly aU, unfamiliar to us, each species individualized either in shape, color, or both. The whip-ray, with a body like a flounder, has a tail six or seven feet long, tapering from an inch and over to less than a quarter of an inch at the small end. When dried, it still retains a degree of elasti- city, and is used by the natives as a whip with which to drive horses and donkeys. In some places, so singu- larly clear is the water that the bottom is distinctly visible five or six fathoms below the surface, where fishes of various sorts are seen in ceaseless motion. White shells, corals, star-fish, and sea-urchins mingle their various forms and colors, objects and hues seem- ing to be intensified by the strong reflected light from the surface, so that one could easily fancy them to be flowers blooming in the fairy gardens of the mermaids. The early morning, just after the sun begins to gild the surface of the sea, is the favorite time for the fly- ing-fishes to display their aerial proclivities. They are always attracted by a strong light, and axe thus lured to their destruction by the torches^ of the fisher- men, who often go out for the purpose at night and take them in nets. In the early morning, as seen from the ship's deck, they scoot above the rippling waves in schools of a hundred and more, so compact as to cast fleeting shadows over the blue enameled surface of the waters. At St. Thomas, Martinique, A COALING STATION. 29 and Barbadoes, as well as among the other islands bordering the Caribbean Sea, they form no inconsid- erable source of food for the humble natives, who fry them in batter mixed with onions, making a savory and nutritious dish. St. Thomas is, as we have said, a coaling station for steamships, and when the business is in progress a most unique picture is presented. The ship is moored alongside of the dock for this purpose, two side ports being thrown open, one for ingress, the other for egress. A hundred women and girls, wear- ing one scanty garment reaching to the knees, are in line, and commence at once to trot on board in sin- gle file, each one bearing a bushel basket of coal upon her head, weighing, say sixty pounds. Another gang fill empty baskets where the coal is stored, so that there is a continuous line of negresses trotting into the ship at one port and, after dumping their loads into the coal bunkers, out at the other, hastening back to the source of supply for more. Their step is quick, their pose straight as an arrow, while their feet keep time to a wild chant in which all join, the purport of which it is not possible to clearly understand. Now and again their voices rise in softly mingled harmony, floating very sweetly over the still waters of the bay. The scene we describe occurred at night, but the moon had not yet risen. Along the wharf, to the coal de- posits, iron frames were erected containing burning bituminous coal, and the blaze, fanned by the open air, formed the light by which the women worked. 30 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. It was a weird picture. Everything seemed quite in harmony: the hour, the darkness of night relieved by the flaming brackets of coal, the strange, dark figures hastening into the glare of light and quickly vanishing, the harmony of high-pitched voices occa- sionally broken in upon by the sharp, stern voice of their leader, — aU was highly dramatic and effective. Not unfrequently three or four steamers are coaling at the same time from different wharves. Hundreds of women and girls of St. Thomas make this labor their special occupation, and gain a respectable living by it, doubtless supporting any number of lazy, worth- less husbands, fathers, and brothers. After our ship was supplied with coal, these women, having put three hundred tons on board in a surpris- ingly short period of time, formed a group upon the wharf and held what they called a firefly dance, in- describably quaint and grotesque, performed by the flickering light of the flaming coal. Their voices were joined in a wild, quick chant, as they twisted and turned, clapping their hands at intervals to empha- size the chorus. Now and again a couple of the girls would separate from the rest for a moment, then dance toward and from each other, throwing their arms wildly about their heads, and finally, gathering their scanty drapery in one hand and extending the other, perform a movement similar to the French cancan. Once more springing back among their companions, all joined hands, and a roundabout romp closed the firefly dance. Could such a scene be produced in a ANCIENT ANCHOR. 31 city theatre au naturel, with proper accessories and by these actual performers, it would surely prove an attraction good for one hundred nights. Of course this would be impossible. Conventionality would ob- ject to such diaphanous costumes, and bare limbs, though they were of a bronzed hue, would shock Puri- tanic eyes. Upon first entering the harbor, the Vigilancia an- chored at a short distance from the shore; but when it became necessary to haul alongside the wharf, the attempt was made to get up the anchor, when it was found to require far more than the usual expenditure of power to do so. Finally, however, the anchor was secured, but attached to its flukes there came also, from the bottom of the bay, a second anchor, of an- tique shape, covered with rust and barnacles. It was such a one as was carried by the galleons of the fif- teenth century, and had doubtless lain for over four hundred years just where the anchor of our ship had got entangled with it. What a remarkable link this corroded piece of iron formed, uniting the present with the far past, and how it stimulated the mind in form- ing romantic possibilities ! It may have been the holding iron of Columbus's own caravel, or have been the anchor of one of Cortez's fleet, which touched here on its way into the Gulf of Mexico, or, indeed, it may have belonged to some Caribbean buccaneer, who was obliged to let slip his cable and hasten away to escape capture. It was deemed a fortunate circumstance to have 32 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. secured this ancient relic, and a sure sign of future good luck to the ship, so it was duly stored away in the lower hold of the Vigilancia. That same night on which the coal bunkers were filled, our good ship was got under way, while the ris- ing moon made the harbor and its surroundings as clearly visible as though it were midday. The light from the burning coal brackets had waned, only a few sparks bursting forth now and again, disturbed by a passing breeze which fanned them into life for a mo- ment. When we passed through the narrow entrance by the lighthouse, and stood out once more upon the open sea, it was mottled, far and near, with argent ripples, that waltzed merrily in the soft, clear moon- light, rivaling the firefly dance on shore. Even to the very horizon the water presented a white, silvery, tremulous sheen of liquid light. One gazed in silent enjoyment until the eyes were weary with the lavish beauty of the scene, and the brain became giddy with its splendor. Is it idle and commonplace to be en- thusiastic ? Perhaps so ; but we hope never to outlive such inspiration. CHAPTEK II. Curious Seaweed. — Professor Agassiz. — Myth of a Lost Continent. — Island of Martinique. — An Attractive Place. — Statue of the Empress Josephine. — Birthplace of Madame de Maintenon. — City of St. Pierre. — Mont Pel^e. — High Flavored Specialty. — Grisettes of Martinique. — A Botanical Garden. — Defective Drain- age. — A Fatal Enemy. — A Cannibal Snake. — The Climate. Between St. Thomas and tlie island of Martinique, we fell in with some floating seaweed, so peculiar in appearance that an obliging quartermaster picked up a spray for closer examination. It is a strange, sponge-like plant, which propagates itself on the ocean, unharmed by the fiercest agitation of the waves, or the wildest raging of the winds, at the same time giving shelter to zoophytes and .mollusks of a species, like itself, found nowhere else. Sailors call it Gulf weed, but it has nothing to do with the Gulf Stream, though sometimes clusters get astray and are carried far away on the bosom of that grand ocean current. The author has seen small bodies of it, after a fierce storm in the Caribbean Sea, a thousand miles to the eastward of Barbadoes. Its special home is a broad space of ocean surface between the Gulf Stream and the equatorial current, known as the Sargasso Sea. Its limits, however, change somewhat with the seasons. It was first noticed by Columbus in 1492, 34 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. and in this region it has remained for centuries, even to the present day. Sometimes this peculiar weed is so abundant as to present the appearance of a sub- merged meadow, through which the ship ploughs its way as though sailing upon the land. We are told that Professor Agassiz, while at sea, having got pos- session of a small branch of this marine growth, kept himself busily absorbed with it and its products for twelve hours, forgetting all the intervening meals. Science was more than food and drink to this grand savant. His years from boyhood were devoted to the study of nature in her various forms. "Life is so short," said he, "one can hardly find space to become familiar with a single science, much less to acquire knowledge of many." When he was applied to by a lyceum committee to come to a certain town and lec- ture, he replied that he was too busy. " But we wiU pay you double price, Mr. Agassiz, if you wiU come," said the applicant. "I cannot waste time to make money," was the noble reply. The myth of a lost continent is doubtless familiar to the reader, — a continent supposed to have existed in these waters thousands of years ago, but which, by some evolution of nature, became submerged, sinking from sight forever. It was the Atlantis which is men- tioned by Plato ; the land in which the Elysian Fields were placed, and the Garden of Hesperides, from which the early civilization of Greece, Egypt, and Asia Minor were derived, and whose kings and heroes were the Olympian deities of a later time. The poet- MARTINIQUE. 35 ical idea prevails that this plant, which once grew in those gardens, having lost its original home, has be- come a floating waif on the sapphire sea of the trop- ics. The color of the Sargasso weed is a faint orange shade; the leaves are pointed, delicate, and exquisitely- formed, like those of the weeping willow in their youthful freshness, having a tiny, round, light-green berry near the base of each leaf. Mother Gary's chickens are said to be fond of these berries, and that bird abounds in these waters. Probably the main portion of the West Indian is- lands was once a part of the continent of America, many, many ages ago. There are trees of the locust family growing among the group to-day, similar to those found on our southern coast, which are declared to be four thousand years old. This statement is par- tially corroborated by known characteristics ©f the growth of the locust, and there are arborists who f uUy credit this great longevity. It is interesting to look upon an object which had a vital existence two thou- sand years and more before Christ was upon earth, and which is still animate. Each new island which one visits in the West In- dies seems more lovely than its predecessor, always .leaving Hayti out of the question ; but Martinique, at this moment of writing, appears to rival all those with which the author is familiar. It might be a choice bit out of Cuba, Singapore, or far-away Hawaii. Its liability to destructive hurricanes is its only visible 36 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. drawback. Having been discovered on St. Martin's day, Columbus gave it the name it now bears. St. Pierre is the commercial capital of Martinique, one of the French West Indies, and the largest of the group belonging to that nation. Fort de France is the political capital, situated about thirty miles from St. Pierre. It was nearly ruined by the cyclone of last August, a few weeks after the author's visit. St. Pierre is the best built town in the Lesser Antilles, and has a population of about twenty-five thousand. The streets are well paved, and the principal avenues are beautified by ornamental trees uniformly planted. The grateful shade thus obtained, and the long lines of charming arboreal perspective which are formed, are desirable accessories to any locality, but doubly so in tropical regions. The houses are very attractive, while there is a prevailing aspect of order, cleanliness, and thrift everywhere apparent. It was not our experience to meet one beggar in the streets of St. Pierre. More or less of poverty must exist every- where, but it does not stalk abroad here, as it does in many rich and pretentious capitals of the great world. The island is situated midway between Dominica and St. Lucia, and is admitted by all visitors to be one of the most picturesque of the West Indian groups. Irregular in shape, it is also high and rocky, thus, forming one of the most prominent of the large vol- canic family which sprang up so many ages ago in these seas. Its apex, Mont Pelee, an only partially extinct volcano, rises between four and five thousand INTERESTING MONUMENT. 37 feet above the level of the ocean, and is the first point visible on approaching the island from the north. It would be interesting to dilate upon the past history of Martinique, for it has known not a little of the check- ered vicissitudes of these Antilles, having been twice captured by the English, and twice restored to France. But this would not be in accordance with the design of these pages. St. Pierre is situated on the lee side of the island, something less than two thousand miles, by the course we have steered, from New York, and three hundred miles from St: Thomas. It comes down to the very water's edge, with its parti-colored houses and red-tiled roofs, which mingle here and there with tall, overhang- ing cocoa-palms. This is the most lavishly beautiful tree in the world, and one which never fails to impart special interest to its surroundings. A marble statue in the Place de la Savane, at Fort de France, on the same side of the island as St. Pierre, recalls the fact that this was the birthplace of the Empress Josephine, born in 1763. Her memo- rable history is too familiar for us to repeat any por- tion of it here, but the brain becomes very active at the mere mention of her name, in recalling the ro- mantic and tragic episodes of her life, so closely inter- woven with the career of the first Napoleon. One instinctively recalls the small boudoir in the palace of Trianon, where her husband signed the divorce from Josephine. That he loved her with his whole power for loving is plain enough, as is also his well- 38 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. known reason for the separation, namely, the desire for offspring to transmit his name to posterity. There is one legend which is always rehearsed to strangers, relating to Josephine's youth upon the island. We refer to that of the old negress fortune-teller who prog- nosticated the grandeur of her future career, together with its melancholy termination, a story so tinctured with local color that, if it be not absolutely true, it surely ought to be. The statue, unless we are misin- formed, was the gift of that colossal fraud, Napoleon III., though it purports to have been raised to the memory of Josephine by the people of Martinique, who certainly feel great pride in the fact of her hav- ing been born here, and who truly venerate her mem- ory. The statue represents the empress dressed in the fashion of the First Empire, with bare arms and shoul- ders, one hand resting on a medallion bearing a pro- file of the emperor to whom she was devoted. The whole is partially shaded by a half dozen grand old palms. The group teems with historic suggestiveness, recalling one of the most tragic chapters of modern European history. It seemed to us that the artist had succeeded in imparting to the figure an expression in- dicating something of the sad story of the original. This beautiful island, it wiU be remembered, also gave to France another remarkable historic character, Fran^oise d'Aubigne, afterwards Madame Scarron, but better known to the world at large as Madame de Maintenon. She, too, was the wife of a king, though the marriage was a left-handed one, but as the power GRISETTES IN EBONY. 39 behind the throne, she is well known to have shaped for years the political destinies of France. St. Pierre has several schools, a very good hotel, a theatre, a public library, together with some other modem and progressive institutions; yet somehow everything looked quaint and olden, a sixteenth century atmosphere seeming to pervade the town. The win- dows of the ordinary dwellings have no glass, which is very naturally considered to be a superfluity in this climate ; but these windows have iron bars and wooden shutters behind them, relics of the days of slavery, when every white man's house was his castle, and great precautions were taken to. guard against the possible uprising of the blacks, who outnumbered their masters twenty to one. Though so large a portion of the population are of negro descent, yet they are very French-like in char- acter. The native women especially seem to be friv- olous and coquettish, not to say rather lax in morals. They appear to be very fond of dress. The young negresses have learned from their white mistresses how to put on their diaphanous clothing in a jaunty and telling fashion, leaving one bronzed arm and shoulder bare, which strikes the eye in strong contrast with the snow white of their cotton chemises. They are Pari- sian grisettes in ebony, and with their large, roguish eyes, well-rounded figures, straight pose, and dainty ways, the haH-breeds are certainly very attractive, and only too ready for a lark with a stranger. They strongly remind one of the pretty quadroons of Louisi- 40 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. ana, in their manners, complexion, and general ap- pearance; and like those handsome offspring of min- gled blood, so often seen in our Southern States, we suspect that these of Martinique enjoy but a brief space of existence. The average life of a quadroon is less than thirty years. Martinique is eight times as large as St. Thomas, containing a population of about one hundred and sev- enty-five thousand. Within its borders there are at least five extinct volcanoes, one of which has an enor- mous crater, exceeded by only three or four others in the known world. The island rises from the sea in three groups of rugged peaks, and contains some very fertile valleys. So late as 1851, Mont Pelee burst forth furiously with fiames and smoke, which naturally threw the people into a serious panic, many persons taking refuge temporarily on board the shipping in the harbor. The eruption on this occasion did not amount to anything very serious, only covering some hundreds of acres with sulphurous debris, yet serving to show that the volcano was not dead, but sleeping. Once or twice since that date ominous mutterings have been heard from Mont Pelee, which it is confidently predicted will one day deluge St. Pierre with ashes and lava, repeating the story of Pompeii. Sugar, rum, coffee, and cotton are the staple prod- ucts here, supplemented by tobacco, manioc flour, bread-fruit, and bananas. Rum is very extensively manufactured, and has a good mercantile reputation for its excellence, commanding as high prices as the ISLAND PRODUCTS. 41 more famous article of the same nature produced at Jamaica. The purpose of the author is mainly to record personal impressions, but a certain sprinkling of statistics and detail is inevitable, if we would in- form, as well as amuse, the average reader. The flora of Martinique is the marvel and delight of all who have enjoyed its extraordinary beauty, while the great abundance and variety of its fruits are be- lieved to be unsurpassed even in the prolific tropics. Of that favorite, the mango, the island produces some forty varieties, and probably in no other region has the muscatel grape reached to such perfection in size and flavor. The whole island looks like a maze of greenery, as it is approached from the sea, vividly recalling Tutuila of the Samoan group in the South Pacific. Like most of the West Indian islands, Martinique was once densely covered with trees, and a remnant of these ancient woods creeps down to the neighborhood of St. Pierre to-day. The principal landing is crowded at aU times with hogsheads of sugar and molasses, and other casks containing the highly scented island rum, the two sweets, together with the spirits, causing a nauseous odor under the powerful heat of a vertical sun. We must not forget to mention, however, that St. Pierre has a specific for bad odors in her somewhat peculiar specialty, namely, eau-de-cologne, which is manufac- tured on this island, and is equal to the European article of the same name, distilled at the famous city on the Rhine. No one visits the port, if it be for but 42 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. a single day, without bringing away a sample bottle of this delicate perfumery, a small portion of which, added to the morning bath, is delightfully refreshing, especially when one uses salt water at sea, it so effectively removes the saline stickiness which is apt to remain upon the limbs and body after a cold bath. The town is blessed with an inexhaustible supply of good, fresh, mountain water, which, besides furnish- ing the necessary quantity for several large drinking fountains, feeds some ornamental ones, and purifies the streets by a flow through the gutters, after the fashion of Salt Lake City, Utah. This is in fact the only system of drainage at St. Pierre. A bronze fountain in the Place Bertin is fed from this source, and is an object of great pleasure in a climate where cold water in abundance is an inestimable boon. This elaborate fountain was the gift of a colored man, named Alfred Agnew, who was at one time mayor of the city. Many of the gardens attached to the dwelling-houses are ornamented with ever-flowing fountains, which impart a refreshing coolness to the tropical atmosphere. The Eue Victor Hugo is the main thoroughfare, traversing the whole length of the town parallel with the shore, up hiU and down, crossing a small bridge, and finally losing itself in the environs. It is nicely kept, well paved, and, though it is rather narrow, it is the Broadway of St. Pierre. Some of the streets are so abrupt in grade as to recall similar avenues in the English portion of Hong Kong, too steep for the NATIVES OF MARTINIQUE. 43 passage of vehicles, or even for donkeys, being as- cended by means of mucli worn stone steps. Fine, broad roadways surroimd the town and form pleasant drives. The cathedral has a sweet chime of beUs, whose soft, liquid notes came to us across the*water of the bay with touching cadence at the Angelus hour. It must be a sadly calloused heart which fails to respond to these twilight sounds in an isle of the Caribbean Sea. Millet's impressive picture was vividly recalled as we sat upon the deck and listened to those bells, whose notes floated softly upon the air as if bidding farewell "to the lingering daylight. At the moment, all else being so still, it seemed as though one's heart- beat could be heard, while the senses were bathed in a tranquil gladness incited by the surrounding scenery and the suggestiveness of the hour. Three fourths of the population are half-breeds, born of whites, blacks, or midattoes, with a possible strain of Carib blood in their veins, the result of which is sometimes a very handsome type of bronzed hue, but of Circassian features. Some of the young women of the better class are very attractive, with complexions of a gypsy color, like the artists' models who frequent the "Spanish Stairs" leading to the Trinita di Monti, at Rome. These girls possess deep, dark eyes, pearly teeth, with good figures, upright and supple as the palms. In dress they affect all the colors of the rainbow, presenting oftentimes a charm- ing audacity of contrasts, and somehow it seems to be 44 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. quite the thing for them to do so; it- accords perfectly with their complexions, with the climate, with every- thing tropical. The many-colored Madras kerchief is universally worn by the common class of women, twisted into a jaunty turban, with one well-starched end ingeniouffly arranged so as to stand upright like a soldier's plume. The love of ornament is displayed by the wearing of hoop earrings of enormous size, to- gether with triple strings of gold beads, and bracelets of the same material. If any one imagines he has seen larger sized hoop earrings this side of Africa, he is mistaken. They are more like bangles than ear- rings, hanging down so as to rest upon the neck and shoulders. Those who cannot afford the genuine ar- ticle satisfy their vanity with gaudy imitations. They form a very curious and interesting study, these black, brown, and yellow people, both men and women. In the market-place at the north end of the town, the women preside over their bananas, oranges, and other fruits, in groups, squatting like Asiatics on their heels. In the Havana fish market, one compares the variety of colors exhibited by the fishes exposed for sale to those of the kaleidoscope, but here the Cuban display is equaled if not surpassed. St. Pierre has a botanical garden, situated about a mile from the centre of the town, so located as to ad- mit of utilizing a portion of the native forest yet left standing, with here and there an impenetrable growth of the feathery bamboo, king of the grasses, inter- spersed with the royal palm and lighter green tree- A BOTANICAL GARDEN. 45 ferns. The bamboo is a marvel, single stems of it often attaining a height in tropical regions of a hun- dred and seventy feet, and a diameter of a foot. So rapid is its growth that it is sometimes known to at- tain the height of a hundred feet in sixty days. Art has done something to improve the advantages af- forded by nature in this botanical garden, arranging some pretty lakes, fountains, and cascades. Vistas have been cut through the dense undergrowth, and driveways have been made, thus improving the rather neglected grounds. One pretty lake of considerable size contains three or four small islands, covered with flowering plants, while on the shore are pretty summer- houses and inviting arbors. The frangipanni, tall and almost leafless, but with thick, fleshy shoots and a broad-spread, single leaf, was recognized here among other interesting plants. This is the fragrant flower mentioned by the early discoverers. There was also the parti-colored passion-flower, and groups of odd- shaped cacti, whose thick, green leaves were daintily rimmed with an odorless yellow bloom. Here, also, is an interesting example of the ceba-tree, in whose shade a hundred persons might banquet together. The author has seen specimens of the ceba superbly developed in Cuba and the Bahamas, with its massive and curiously buttressed trunk, having the large roots half above ground. It is a solitary tree, growing to a large size and enjoying great longevity. Mangoes abound here, the finest known as the mango d'or. There is a certain air about the public garden of 46 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. St. Pierre, indicating that nature is permitted in a large degree to have her own sweet will. Evidences enough remain to show the visitor that these grounds must once have been in a much more presentable con- dition. There is a musical cascade, which is well worth a long walk to see and enjoy. Just inside of the entrance, one spot was all ablaze with a tiny yeUow flower, best known to us as English broom, Cytisus genista. Its profuse but delicate bloom was dazzling beneath the bright sun's rays. Could it possibly be indigenous? No one could tell us. Probably some resident brought it hither froni his home across the ocean, and it has kindly adapted itself to the new soil and climate. We were cautioned to look out for and to avoid a certain poisonous snake, a malignant reptile, with fatal fangs, which is the dread of the inhabitants, some of whom are said to die every year from the venom of the creature. It wiU be remembered that one of these snakes, known here as the fer-de-lance, bit Josephine, the future empress, when she was very young, and that her faithful negro nurse saved the child's life by instantly drawing the poison from the wound with her own lips. It is singular that this is- land, and that of St. Lucia, directly south of it, should be cursed by the presence of these poisonous creatures, which do not exist in any other of the West Indian islands, and, indeed, so far as we know, are not to be found anywhere else. The fer-de-lance has one fatal enemy. This is a large snake, harmless so far as A POISONOUS SNAKE. 47 poisonous fangs are concerned, called the criio. This reptile fearlessly attacks the f er-de-lance, and kills and eats him in spite of his venom, a perfectly justifiable if not gratifying instance of cannibalism, where a creature eats and relishes the body of one of its own species. The domestic cat is said also to be more than a match for the dreaded snake, and instinctively adopts a style of attack which, while protecting itself, finally closes the contest by the death of the fer-de-lance, which it seizes just back of the head at the spine, and does not let go until it has severed the head from the body ; and even then instinct teaches the cat to avoid the head, f oi* though it be severed from the body, like the mouth of a turtle under similar circumstances, it can still inflict a serious wound. The fer-de-lance is a great destroyer of rats, this rodent forming its principal source of food. Now as rats are almost as much of a pest upon the island, and especially on the sugar plantations, as rabbits are in New Zealand, it will be seen that even the existence of this poisonous snake is not an unmitigated evil. Crosses and wayside shrines of a very humble char- acter are to be seen in all directions on the roadsides leading from St. Pierre, recalling similar structures which line the inland roads of Japan, where the local religion finds like public expression, only varying in the character of the emblems. At Martinique it is a Christ or a Madonna; in Japan it is a crude idol of some sort, the more hideous, the more appropriate. The same idea is to be seen carried out in the streets 48 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. of Canton and Shanghai, only Chinese idols are a de- gree more unlike anything upon or below the earth than they are elsewhere. It was observed that while there were plenty of masculine loafers and careless idlers of various colors, whose whole occupation seemed to be sucking at some form of burning tobacco in the shape of cigarette, cigar, or pipe, the women, of whatever complexion, seen in public, were all usefully employed. They are industrious by instinct; one almost never sees them in repose. In the transportation of all articles of domestic use, women bear them upon their heads, whether the article weighs one pound or fifiy, balan- cing their load without making use of the hands except to place the article in position. The women not infrequently have also a baby upon their backs at the same time. Negresses and donkeys perform nine tenths of the transportation of merchandise. Wheeled vehicles are very little used ia the West Indian islands. As we have seen, even in coaling ship, it is the women who do the work. The Hotel des Bains, at St. Pierre, is an excellent hostelry, as such places go in this part of the world. The stranger will find here most of the requisites for domestic comfort, and at reasonable prices. As a health resort the place has its advantages, and a northern invalid, wishing to escape the rigor of a New England winter, would doubtless find much to occupy and recuperate him here. St. Pierre, however, has times of serious epidemic sickness, though this does TROPICAL SUNRISE. 49 not often happen in the winter season. Three or four years ago the island was visited by a sweeping epi- demic of small-pox, but it raged almost entirely among the lowest classes, principally among the negroes, who seem to have a great prejudice and superstitious fear relating to vaccination, and its employment as a pre- ventive against contracting the disease. In the yel- low fever season the city suffers more or less, but the health of St. Pierre will average as good as that of our extreme Southern States ; and yet, after all, with the earthquakes, hurricanes, tarantulas, scorpions, and deadly fer-de-lance, as Artemus Ward would say, Martinique presents many characteristics to recom- mend protracted absence. A brief visit is like a poem to be remembered, but one soon gets a surfeit of the circumscribed island. Our next objective point was Barbadoes, to reach which we sailed one hundred and fifty miles to the east- ward, this most important of the Lesser Antilles being situated further to windward, that is, nearer the con- tinent of Europe. Our ponderous anchor came up at early morning, just as the sun rose out of the long, level reach of waters. It looked like a mammoth ball of fire, which had been immersed during the hours of the night countless fathoms below the sea. Presently everything was aglow with light and warmth, while the atmosphere seemed full of infinitesimal particles of glittering gold. At first one could watch the face of the rising sun, as it came peering above the sea, a sort of fascination impelling the observer to do so, 50 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. but after a few moments, no human eye could bear its dazzling splendor. Said an bonest old Marsbfield farmer, in 1776, who met the clergyman of the Aollage very early in the opening day: "Ah, good mornin'. Parson, anoth^ fine day," nodding significantly towards the sun just appearing above the cloudless horizon of Massachu- setts Bay. "They do say the airth moves, and the sun stands still; but you and I, Parson, we git up airly and we see it rise I " CHAPTER III. English Island of Barbadoes. — Bridgetown the Capital. — The Manu- facture of Rum. — A Geographical Expert. — Very English. — A Pest of Ants. — Exports. — The Ice House. — A Dense Popula- tion. — Educational. —Marine Hotel. — Habits of Gambling.— Hurricanes. — Cuiious Antiquities. — The Barbadoes Leg. — Wake- ful Dreams. — Absence of Twilight. — Departure from the Island. Bridgetown is the capital of Barbadoes, an Eng- lish island which, unlike St. Thomas, is a highly culti- vated sugar plantation from shore to shore. In natural beauty, however, it will not compare with Martinique. It is by no means picturesquely beautiful, like most of the West Indian islands, being quite devoid of their thick tropical verdure. Nature is here absolutely beaten out of the field by excessive cultivation. Thirty thousand acres of sugar-cane are cut annually, yield- ing, according to late statistics, about seventy thou- sand hogsheads of sugar. We are sorry to add that there are twenty-three rum distilleries on the island, which do pecuniarily a thriving business. "The poor- est molasses makes the best rum," said an experienced manager to us. He might well have added that it is also the poorest use to which it could be put. This spirit, like all produced in the West Indies, is called Jamaica rum, and though a certain amount of it is still shipped to the coast of Africa, the return cargoes 52 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. no longer consist of kidnapped negroes. The article known as New England rum, still manufactured in the neighborhood of Boston, has always disputed the African market, so to speak, with the product of these islands. Eum is the bane of Africa, just as opium is of China, the former thrust upon the native races by Americans, the latter upon the Chinese by English merchants, backed by the British government. Events follow each other so swiftly in modern times as to become half forgotten by contemporary people, but there are those among us who remember when China as a nation tried to stop the importation of the deadly drug yielded by the poppy fields of India, whereupon England forced the article upon her at the point of the bayonet. Bridgetown is situated at the west end of the is- land on the open roadstead of Carlisle Bay, and has a population of over twenty-five thousand. Barbadoes lies about eighty miles to the windward of St. Vincent, its nearest neighbor, and is separated from Europe by four thousand miles of the Atlantic Ocean. It is comparatively removed from the chaia formed by the "Windward Isles, its situation being so isolated that it remained almost unnoticed until a century had passed after Columbus's first discovery in these waters. The area of the British possessions in the West Indies is about one seventh of the islands. It is often stated that Barbadoes is nearly as large as the Isle of Wight, but the fact is, it exceeds that island in superficial area, being a little over fifty -five mUes in circumfer- BRIDGETOWN. 53 ence. The reader will perhaps remember that it was here Addison laid the scene of his touching story of "Inkle and Yarico," published so many years ago in the "Spectator." Though it is not particularly well laid out, Bridge- town makes a very pleasing picture, as a whole, when seen from the harbor. Here and there a busy wind- mill is mixed with tall and verdant tropical trees, backed by far-reaching fields of yeUow sugar-cane, together with low, sloping hills. The buildings are mostly of stone, or coral rock, and the town follows the graceful curve of the bay. The streets are macad- amized and lighted with gas, but are far too narrow for business purposes. The island is about twenty- one miles long and between fourteen and fifteen broad, the shores being nearly inclosed in a cordon of coral reefs, some of which extend for two or three miles seaward, demanding of navigators the greatest care on seeking a landing, though the course into the roads to a suitable anchorage is carefully buoyed. Barbadoes was originally settled by the Portuguese, who here found the branches of a certain forest tree covered with hair-like hanging moss, from whence its somewhat peculiar name, Barbadoes, or the "bearded place," is supposed to have been derived. Probably this was the Indian fig-tree, still found here, and which lives for many centuries, growing to enormous proportions. In India, Ceylon, and elsewhere in Asia, it is held sacred. The author has seen one of these trees at Kandy, in the island of Ceylon, under 54 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. which sacred rites have taken place constantly for a thousand years or more, and whose widespread branches could shelter five hundred people from the heat of the sun. It stands close by the famous old Buddhist temple wherein is preserved the tooth of the prophet, and before which devout Indians prostrate themselves daily, coming from long distances to do so. Indeed, Kandy is the Mecca of Ceylon. A good share of even the reading public of England would be puzzled to tell an inquirer exactly where Barbadoes is situated, while most of those who have any idea about it have gained such knowledge as they possess from Captain Marryat's clever novel of "Pe- ter Simple," where the account is, to be sure, meagre enough. Still later, those who have read Anthony TroUope's "West Indies and the Spanish Main" have got from the flippant pages of that book some idea of the island, though it is a very disagreeable example of Trollope's pedantic style. "Barbadoes? Barbadoes?" said a society man to the writer of these pages, in all seriousness, just as he was about to sail from New York, "that 's on the coast of Africa, is it not? " "Oh, no," was the reply, "it is one of the islands of the Lesser Antilles." "Where are the Antilles, pray? " "You must surely know." "But I do not, nevertheless; haven't the remotest idea. Fact is, geography never was one of my strong points." "LITTLE ENGLAND." 55 With which remark we silently agreed, and yet our friend is reckoned to be a fairly educated, cultured person, as these expressions are commonly used. Probably he represents the average geographical knowledge of one half the people to be met with in miscellaneous society. This is the first English possession where the sugar- cane was planted, and is one of the most ancient col- onies of Great Britain. It bears no resemblance to the other islands in these waters, that is, topographi- cally, nor, indeed, in the character of its population, being entirely English. The place might be a bit taken out of any shire town of the British home is- land, were it only a little more cleanly and less un- savory; still it is more English than West Indian. The manners and customs are all similar to those of the people of that nationality ; the negroes, and their descendants of mixed blood, speak the same tongue as the denizens of St. Giles, London. The island has often been called "Little England." There is no reliable history of Barbadoes before the period when Great Britain took possession of it, some two hundred and sixty years ago. Government House is a rather plain but pretentious dwelling, where the governor has his official and domestic residence. In its rear there is a garden, often spoken of by visitors, which is beautified by some of the choicest trees and shrubs of this latitude. It is really surprising how much a refined taste and skiUful gardening can accomplish in so circumscribed a space. 56 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. Barbadoes is somewhat remarkable as producing a variety of minerals ; among which are coal, manganese, iron, kaolin, and yellow ochre. There are also one or two localities on the island where a flow of petroleum is found, of which some use is made. It is called Barbadoes tar, and were the supply sufficient to war- rant the use of refining machinery, it would undoubt- edly produce a good burning fluid. There is a "burn- ing well," situated in what is known as the Scotland District, where the water emerging from the earth forms a pool, which is kept in a state of ebullition from the inflammable air or gas which passes through it. This gas, when lighted by a match, burns freely until extinguished by artificial means, not rising in large enough quantities to make a great flame, but stiU. sufficient to create the effect of burning water, and forming quite a curiosity. There are no mountains on the island, but the land is undulating, and broken into hills and dales; one elevation, known as Mount Hillaby, reaches a thou- sand feet and more above the level of tide waters. One of the most serious pests ever known at Bar- badoes was the introduction of ants, by slave-ships from Africa. No expedient of human ingenuity served to rid the place of their destructive presence, and it was at one time seriously proposed to abandon the island on this account. After a certain period nature came to the rescue. She does all things royally, and the hurricane of 1780 completely annihilated the ver- min. Verily, it was appropriate to call Barbadoes in ISLAND EXPORTS. 57 those days the Ant-illes ! It appears that there is no affliction quite unmixed with good, and that we must put a certain degree of faith in the law of compensa- tion, however great the seeming evil under which we suffer. To our limited power of comprehension, a destructive hurricane does seem an extreme resort by which to crush out an insect pest. The query might even arise, with some minds, whether the cure was not worse than the disorder. The exports from the island consist almost wholly of molasses, sugar, and rum, products of the cane, which grows all over the place, in every nook and corner, from hilltop to water's edge. The annual ex- port, as already intimated, is considerably over sixty thousand hogsheads. Sugar cannot, however, be called king of any one section, since half of the amount manufactured in the whole world is the product of the beet root, the growth of which is liberally subsi- dized by more than one European government, in or- der to foster local industry. Like St. Thomas, this island has been almost denuded of its forest growth, and is occasionally liable, as we have seen, to destruc- tive hurricanes. Bridgetown is a place of considerable progress, hav- ing several benevolent and educational institutions; it also possesses railway, telephone, and telegraphic service. Its export trade aggregates over seven mil- lion dollars per annum, to accommodate which amount of commerce causes a busy scene nearly all the time in the harbor. The steam railway referred to connects 58 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. the capital with the Parish of St. Andrews, twenty- one miles away on the other side of the island, its terminus being at the thrifty little town of Bathsheba, a popular resort, which is noted for its fine beach and excellent sea bathing. The cathedral is consecrated to the established reli- gion of the Church of England, and is a picturesque, time-worn building, surroimded, after the style of rural England, by a quaint old graveyard, the mon- uments and slabs of which are gray and mossgrown, some of them bearing dates of the earlier portion of the sixteenth century. This spot forms a very lovely, peaceful picture, where the graves are shaded by tree- ferns and stately palms. Somehow one cannot but miss the tall, slim cypress, which to the European and American eye seems so especially appropriate to such a spot. There were clusters of low-growing mignonette, which gave out a faint perfume exactly suited to the solemn shades which prevailed, and here and there bits of ground enameled with blue- eyed violets. The walls of the inside of the church are covered with memorial tablets, and there is an organ of great power and sweetness of tone. The "Ice House," so called, at Bridgetown is a popular resort, which everybody visits who comes to Barbadoes. Here one can find files of all the latest American and European papers, an excellent cafe, with drinks and refreshments of every conceivable character, and can purchase almost any desired article from a toothpick to a set of parlor furniture. It is THE ICE HOUSE. 59 a public library, an exchange, a "Bon Marehe," and an artificial ice manufactory, all combined. Stran- gers naturally make it a place of rendezvous. It seemed to command rather more of the average citi- zen's attention than did legitimate business, and one is forced to admit that although the drinks which were so generously dispensed were cool and appetizing, they were also very potent. It was observed that some in- dividuals, who came into the hospitable doors rather sober and dejected in expression of features, were apt to go out just a little jolly. The Ice House is an institution of these islands, to be found at St. Thomas, Demerara, and Trinidad, as well as at Barbadoes. Havana has a similar re- treat, but calls it a cafe, situated on the Paseo, near the Tacon Theatre. The population of the island amounts to about one hundred and seventy-two thousand, — the census of 1881 showed it to be a trifle less than this, — giving the remarkable density of one thousand and more per- sons to the square mile, thus forming an immense human bee-hive. It is the only one of the West Indian islands from which a certain amount of emi- gration is necessary annually. The large negro popu- lation makes labor almost incredibly cheap, field-hands on the plantations being paid only one shilling per day ; and yet, so ardent is their love of home — and the island is home to them — ■ that only a few can be induced to leave it in search of better wages. When it is remembered that the State of Massachusetts, 60 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. which is considered to be one of the most thickly populated sections of the United States, contains but two hundred and twenty persons to the square mile, the fact that this West Indian island supports over one thousand inhabitants in the same average space will be more fully appreciated. Notwithstanding this crowded state of the population, we were intelligently informed that while petty offenses are common, there is a marked absence of serious crimes. One sees few if any signs of poverty here. It is. a land of sugar-cane, yams, and sweet potatoes, very prolific, and very easily tilled. Some of the most prosperous men on the island are colored planters, who own their large establishments, though born slaves, perhaps on the very ground they now own. They have by strict economy and industry saved money enough to make a fair beginning, and in the course of years have gradually acquired wealth. One planta- tion, owned by a colored man, born of slave parents, was pointed out to us, with the information that it was worth twenty thousand pounds sterling, and that its last year's crop yielded over three hundred hogs- heads of sugar, besides a considerable quantity of molasses. England maintains at heavy expense a military depot here, from which to draw under certain circum- stances. There is no local necessity for supporting such a force. Georgetown is a busy place. Being the most seaward of the West Indies, it has become the chief port of call for ships navigating these seas. The AN EQUABLE CLIMATE. 61 Caribbees are divided by geographers into the Wind- ward and Leeward islands, in accordance with the di- rection in which they lie with regard to the prevailing winds. They are in very deep water, the neighboring sea having a mean depth of fifteen himdred fathoms. Being so far eastward, Barbadoes enjoys an exception- ally equable climate, and it is claimed for it that it has a lower thermometer than any other West Indian island. Its latitude is 13° 4' north, longitude 59° 37' west, within eight hundred miles of the equator. The prevailing wind blows from the northeast, over the broad, unobstructed Atlantic, rendering the evenings almost always delightfully cool, tempered by this grateful tonic breath of the ocean. Trafalgar Square, Bridgetown, contains a hand- some fountain, and a bronze statue of Nelson which, as a work of art, is simply atrocious. From this broad, open square the tramway cars start, and it also forms a general business centre. The home government supports, besides its other troops, a regiment of negroes uniformed as Zouaves and officered by white men. The police of Bridgetown are also colored men. Slavery was abolished here in 1833. Everything is so thoroughly English, that only the temperature, together with the vegetation, tells the story of latitude and longitude. The soil has been so closely cultivated as to have become partially ex- hausted, and this is the only West Indian island, if we are correctly informed, where artificial enrichment is considered necessary to stimulate the native soil, or 62 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. where it has ever been freely used. "I question," said an intelligent planter to us, "whether we should not be better off to-day, if we had not so overstimu- lated, in fact, burned out, our land with guano and phosphates." These are to the ground like intoxi- cants to human beings, — if over-indulged in they are fatal, and even the partial use is of questionable ad- vantage. The Chinese and Japanese apply only do- mestic refuse in their fields as a manure, and no people obtain such grand results as they do in agriculture. They know nothing of patent preparations employed for such purposes, and yet will render a spot of ground profitable which a European would look upon as absolutely not worth cultivating. In any direction from Bridgetown going inland, miles upon miles of plantations are seen bearing the bright green sugar-cane, turning to yellow as it ripens, and giving splendid promise for the harvest. Here and there are grouped a low cluster of cabins, which form the quarters of the negroes attached to the plan- tation, while close at hand the tall chimney of the sugar miU looms over the surrounding foliage. A little one side, shaded by some palms, is the planter's neat and attractive residence, painted snow white, in contrast to the deep greenery surrounding it, and hav- ing a few flower beds in its front. The Marine Hotel, which is admirably situated on a rocky point at Hastings, three hundred feet above the beach, is about a league from the city, and forms a favorite resort for the townspeople. The house is GAMBLING PROPENSITIES. 63 capable of accommodating three hundred guests at a time. Its spacious piazzas fronting the ocean are con- stantly fanned by the northeast trades from October to March. Some New York families regard the place as a choice winter resort, the thermometer rarely indi- cating over 80° Fahr., or falling below 70°. This sub- urb of Hastings is the location of the army barracks, where a broad plain affords admirable space for drill and military manoeavres. There is a monument at Hastings, raised to the memory of the victims of the hunicsme of 1831, which seems to be rather unpleas- andy snggestiTe of future possibilities. Near at hand is a weH-arranged mile racecourse, a spot very dear to the azmy officers, where during the racing season anT aiaaimt of money is lost and won. There seems to be something in this tropical climate which incites to all sorts of gambling, and the habit among the people is so common as to be looked upon with great leniency. Just so, at some of the summer resorts of the south of France, Italy, and Germany, ladies or gentlemen will frankly say, "I am going to the Ca- sino for a little gambling, but will be back again by and by." The roads in the vicinity of Bridgetown are admira- bly kept, all being macadamized, but the dust which rises from the pulverized coral rock is nearly blinding, and together with the reflection caused by the sun on the snow white roads proves very trying to the eye- sight. The dust and glare are serious drawbacks to the enjoyment of these environs. 64 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. As we have said, hurricanes have proved very fatal at Barbadoes. In 1780, four thousand persons were swept out of existence in a few hours by the irresisti- ble fury of a tornado. So late as 1831, the loss of life by a similar visitation was over two thousand, while the loss of property aggregated some two million pounds sterling. The experience has not, however, been so severe here as at several of the other islands. At the time of the hurricane just referred to, Bar- badoes was covered with a coat of sulphurous ashes nearly an inch thick, which was afterwards found to have come from the island of St. Vincent, where what is called Brimstone Mountain burst forth in flames and laid that island also in ashes. It is in- teresting to note that there should have been such intimate relationship shown between a great atmos- pheric disturbance like a hurricane and an under- ground agitation as evinced by the eruption of a vol- cano. It should be mentioned that these hurricanes have never been known to pass a certain limit north or south, their ravages having always been confined be- tween the eleventh and twenty-first degrees of north latitude. It appears that some curious Carib implements were found not long since just below the surface of the earth on the south shore of the bay, which are to be forwarded to the British Museum, London. These were of hard stone, and were thought by the find- ers to have been used by the aborigines to fell trees. EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES. 65 Some were thick shells, doubtless employed by the Indians in the rude cultivation of maize, grown here four or five hundred years ago. It was said that these stone implements resembled those which have been found from time to time in Norway and Sweden. If this is correct, it is an important fact for antiqua- rians to base a theory upon. Some scientists believe that there was, in prehistoric times, an intimate rela- tionship between Scandinavia and the continent of America. Though there are several public schools ia Bridge- town, both primary and advanced, we were somehow impressed with the idea that education for the com- mon people was not fostered in a manner worthy of a British colony of so long standing ; but this is the im- pression of a casual observer only. There is a college situated ten or twelve mUes from the city, founded by Sir Christopher Codrington, which has achieved a high reputation as an educational institution in its chosen field of operation. It is a large structure of white stone, well arranged, and is, as we were told, consis- tent with the spirit of the times. It has the dignity of ripened experience, having been opened in 1744. The professors are from Europe. A delicious fresh water spring rises to the surface of the land just below the cliff, at Codrington College, a blessing which peo- ple who live in the tropics know how to appreciate. There is also at Bridgetown what is known as Harri- son's College, which, however, is simply a high school devoted exclusively to girls. 66 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. The island is not exempt from occasional prevalence of tropical fevers, but may be considered a healthy resort upon the whole. Leprosy is not unknown among the lower classes, and elephantiasis is fre- quently to be met with. This disease is known in the West Indies as the "Barbadoes Leg." Sometimes a native may be seen on the streets with one of his legs swollen to the size of his body. There is no known cure for this disease except the surgeon's knife, and the removal of the victim from the region where it first developed itself. The author has seen terrible cases of elephantiasis among the natives of the Sa- moan group of islands, where this strange and unac- countable disease is thought to have reached its most extreme and repulsive development. Foreigners are seldom if ever afflicted with it, either in the West Indies or the South Pacific. We are to sail to-night. A few passengers and a quantity of freight have been landed, whUe some heavy merchandise has been received on board, designed for continental ports to the southward. The afternoon shadows lengthen upon the shore, and the sunset hour, so brief in this latitude, approaches. The traveler who has learned to love the lingering twilight of the north misses these most charming hours when in equa- torial regions, but as the goddess of night wraps her sombre mantle about her, it is so superbly decked with diamond stars that the departed daylight is hardly regretted. It is like the prompter's ringing up of the curtain upon a complete theatrical scene ; the glory of INFLUENCE OP THE TROPICS. 67 the tropical sky bursts at once upon the vision in all its completeness, its burning constellations, its soli- taire brilliants, its depth of azure, and its mysterious Milky Way. WhUe sitting under the awning upon deck, watch- ing the gentle swaying pabns and tall fern-trees, lis- tening to the low drone of busy life in the town, and breathing the sweet exhalations of tropical fruits and flowers, a trance-like sensation suffuses the brain. Is this the dolce far niente of the Italians, the sweet do-nothing of the tropics? To us, however defined, it was a waking dream of sensuous delight, of entire content. How far away sounds the noise of the steam-winch, the sharp chafing of the iron pulleys, the prompt orders of the officer of the deck, the swing- ing of the ponderous yards, the rattling of the anchor chain as it comes in through the hawse hole, while the ship gradually loses her hold upon the land. With half closed eyes we scarcely heard these many signifi- cant sounds, but floated peacefully on in an Eden of fancy, quietly leaving Carlisle Bay far behind. Our course was to the southward, while everything, high and low, was bathed in a flood of shimmering moonlight, the magic alchemy of the sky, whose in- fluence etherealizes all upon which it rests. CHAPTER IV. Curious Ocean Experiences. — The Delicate Nautilus. — Flying- Fish. — The Southern Cross. — Speaking a Ship at Sea. — Scientific Navigation. — South America as a Whole. — Fauna and Flora. — Natural Resources of a Wonderful Land. — Rivers, Plains, and Mountain Ranges. — Aboriginal Tribes. — Population, — Po- litical Divisions. — Civil Wars. — Weakness of South American States. The sudden appearance of a school of flying-fish gliding swiftly through the air for six or eight rods just above the rippling waves, and then sinking from sight ; the sportive escort of half a hundred slate- colored porpoises, leaping high out of the water on either bow of the ship only to plunge back again, describing graceful curves ; the constant presence of that sullen tiger of the ocean, the voracious, man- eating shark, betrayed by its dorsal fin showing above the surface of the sea ; the sporting of mammoth whales, sending columns of water high in air from their blowholes, and lashing the waves playfully with their broad-spread tails, are events at sea too com- monplace to comment upon in detail, though they tend to while away the inevitable monotony of a long voyage. Speaking of flying-fish, there is more in the flying capacity of this little creature than is generally ad- DARING NAVIGATORS. 69 mitted, else why has it wings on the forward part of Its body, each measuring seven inches in length? If designed only for fins, they are altogether out of pro- portion to the rest of its body. They are manifestly intended for just the use to which the creature puts them. One was brought to us by a seaman ; how it got on board we know not, but it measured eleven inches from the nose to the tip of the tail-fin, and was in shape and size very much like a small mackerel. After leaving Barbadoes, we got into what sailors call the flying-fish latitudes, where they appear constantly in their low, rapid flight, sometimes singly, but oftener in small schools of a score or more, creating flashes of silvery-blue lustre. The most careful observation could detect no vibration of the long, extended fins ; the tiny fish sailed, as it were, upon the wind, the flight of the giant albatross in miniature. One afternoon, when the sea was scarcely dimpled by the soft trade wind, we came suddenly upon myriads of that little fairy of the ocean, the gossamer nautilus, with its Greek galleon shape, and as frail, apparently, as a spider's web. What a gondola it would make for Queen Mab ! How delicate and transparent it is, while radiating prismatic colors ! A touch might dismember it, yet what a daring navigator, floating confidently upon the sea where the depth is • a thou- sand fathoms, liable at any moment to be changed into raging billows by an angry storm ! How minute the vitality of this graceful atom, a creature whose existence is perhaps for only a single day ; yet how 70 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. grand and limitless the system of life and creation of which it is so hmnble a representative ! Sailors call these frail marine creatures Portuguese men-of-war. Possessing some singular facility for doing so, if they are disturbed, they quickly furl their sails and sink below the surface of the buoyant waves into deep war ter, the home of the octopus, the squid, and the vora- cious shark. Did they, one is led to query, navigate these seas after this fashion before the Northmen came across the ocean, and before Colimibus landed at San Salvador ? At night the glory of the southern hemi- sphere, as revealed in new constellations and brighter stars brought into view, was observed with keenest interest, — " Everlasting Night, with her star diadems, with her silence, and her verities." The phospho- rescence of the sea, with its scintillations of brilliant light, its ripples of liquid fire, the crest of each wave a flaming cascade, was a charming phenomenon one never tired of watching. If it be the combination of millions and billions of animaleulae which thus illu- mines the waters, then these infinitesimal creatures are the fireflies of the ocean, as the cucuios, that fairy torch-bearer, is of the land. Gliding on the magic mirror of the South Atlantic, in which the combined glory of the sky was reflected with singular clearness, it seemed as though we were sailing over a starry world below. While observing the moon in its beautiful series of changes, lighting our way by its chaste effulgence night after night, it was difficult to realize that it THE SOUTHERN CROSS. 71 sliines entirely by the light which it borrows from the Sim ; but it was easy to believe the simpler fact, that of aU the countless hosts of the celestial bodies, she is our nearest neighbor. " An eighteen-foot telescope reveals to the human eye over forty million stars," said Captain Baker, as we stood together gazing at the luminous heavens. " And if we entertain the gen- erally accepted idea," he continued, " we must believe that each one of that enormous aggregate of stars is the centre of a solar system similar to our own." The known facts relating to the stars, like stellar distances, are almost incomprehensible. One cannot but realize that there is always a cer- tain amoimt of sentiment wasted on the constellation known as the Southern Cross by passengers bound to the lands and seas over which it hangs. Orion or the Pleiades, either of them, is infinitely superior in point of brilliancy, symmetry, and individuality. A lively imagination is necessary to endow this irregu- lar cluster of stars with any real resemblance to the Christian emblem for which it is named. It serves the navigator in the southern hemisphere, in part, the same purpose which the north star does in our portion of the globe, and there our own respect for it as a constellation ends. Much poetic talent has been ex- pended for ages to idealize the Southern Cross, which is, alas ! no cross at all. We have seen a person un- familiar with the locality of this constellation strive long and patiently, but in vain, to find it. It should be remembered that two prominent stars in Centaurus 72 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. point directly to it. The one furtliest from the so- called cross is held to be the fixed star nearest to the earth, but its distance from us is twenty thousand times farther than that of the sun. We have never yet met a person, looking upon this cluster of J;he heavens for the first time, who did not frankly express his disappointment. Anticipation and fruition are oftenest at antipodes. The graceful marine birds which foUow the ship, day after day, darting hither and thither with arrowy swiftness, lured by the occasional refuse thrown from on board, would be seriously missed were they to leave us. Watching their aerial movements and untiring power of wing, while listening to their sharp com- plaining cries, is a source of constant amusement. Even rough weather and a raging sea, if not accom- panied by too serious a storm, is sometimes welcome, serving to awaken the ship from its dull propriety, and to put officers, crew, and passengers upon their mettle. To speak a strange vessel at sea is always interesting. If it is a steamer, a long, black wake of smoke hanging among the clouds at the horizon betrays her proximity long before the hull is sighted. AU eyes are on the watch untU. she comes clearly within the line of vision, gradually increasing in size and distinctness of outline, until presently the spars and rigging are minutely delineated. Then specula- tion is rife as to whence she comes and where she is going. By and by the two ships approach so near that signal flags can be read, and the captains talk THE WATCH OF THE SKY. 73 with each other, exchanging names, whither bound, and so on. Then each commander dips his flag in compliment to the other, and the ships rapidly sepa- rate. All of this is conunonplace enough, but serves to while away an hour, and insures a report of our progress and safety at the date of meeting, when the stranger reaches his port of destination. We have spoken of the pleasure experienced at sea in watching intelligently the various phases of the moon. The subject is a prolific one ; a whole chapter might be written upon it. It is perhaps hardly realized by the average lands- man, and indeed by few who constantly cross the ocean, with their thoughts and interests absorbed by the many attractive novelties of the ocean, how impor- tant a part this great luminary plays in the navigation of a ship. It is to the intelligent and observant mariner the never-faihng watch of the sky, the stars performing the part of hands to designate the proper figure upon the dial. If there is occasion to doubt the correctness of his chronometer, the captain of the ship can verify its figures or correct them by this planet. Every miaute that the chronometer is wrong, assum- ing that it be so, may put him fifteen miles out of his reckoning, which, under some circumstances, might prove to be a fatal error, even leading to the loss of his ship and all on board. To find his precise location upon the ocean, the navigator requires both Greenwich time and local meridian time, the latter obtained by the sun on shipboard, exactly at midday. To get 74 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. Greenwich time by lunar observation, tbe captain, for example, finds that the moon is three degrees from the star Regnlus. By referring to his nautical almanac he sees recorded there the Greenwich time at which the moon was three degrees from that particular star. He then compares his chronometer with these figures, and either confirms or corrects its indication. It is interesting to the traveler to observe and under- stand these important resources, which science has brought to bear in perfecting his safety on the ocean, promoting the interests of commerce, and in aid of correct navigation. The experienced captain of a ship now lays his course as surely by compass, after satis- fying himself by these various means of his exact position, as though the point of his destination was straight before him all the while, and visible from the pilot house. How indescribable is the grandeur of these serene nights on the ocean, fanned by the somnolent trade winds ; a little lonely, perhaps, but so blessed with the hallowed benediction of the moonlight, so gorgeously decorated by the gKttering images of the studded heavens, so sweet and pure and fragrant is the breath of the sleeping wind ! If one listens intently, there seems to come to the senses a whispering of the waves, as though the sea in confidence would teU its secrets to a willing ear. The ship heads almost due south after leaving Bar- badoes, when her destination is, as in our case, Para, twelve hundred miles away. On this course we en- THE SOUTHERN CONTINENT. 75 counter the equatorial current, which runs northward at a rate of two miles in an hour, and at some points reaches a much higher rate of speed. As eternal vigilance is the price of liberty, so eter- nal scrubbing is the price of cleanliness on shipboard. The deck hands are at it from five o'clock in the morning until sunset. Our good ship looks as if she had just come out of dock. Last night's gale, which in its angry turmoil tossed us about so recklessly, cov- ered her with a saline, sticky deposit ; but with the rising of the sun all this disappears as if by magic. The many brass mountings shine with dazzling lustre, and the white paint contrasts with the well-tarred cordage which forms the standing rigging. While the ship pursues her course through the far- reaching ocean, let us sketch in outline the general characteristics of South America, whither we are bound. It is a country containing twice the area, though not quite one half the amount of population, of the United States, a land which, though now presenting nearly all phases of civilization, was four centuries ago mostly inhabited by nomadic tribes of savages, who knew nothing of the horse, the ox, or the sheep, which to-day form so great and important a source of its wealth, and where wheat, its prevailing staple, was also unknown. It is a land overflowing with native riches, which possesses an unlimited capacity of pro- duction, and whose large and increasing population requires just such domestic supplies as we of the north 76 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. can profitably furnish. The important treaty of reci- procity, so lately arranged between the giant province of Brazil — or rather we should say the Republic of Brazil — and our own country, is already developing new and increasing channels of trade for our shippers and producers of the great staples, as well as throwing open to us a new nation of consumers for our special articles of manufacture. Facts speak louder than words. On the voyage in which th^ author sailed in the Vigilancia, she took over twenty thousand bar- rels of flour to Brazil from the United States, and would have taken more had her capacity admitted. Every foot of space on board was engaged for the return voyage, twelve thousand bags of coffee being shipped from Rio Janeiro alone, besides nearly as large a consignment of coffee from Santos, in the same republic. The great mutual benefit which must accrue from this friendly compact with an enterprising foreign country can hardly be overestimated. These consid- erations lead to a community of interests, which will grow by every reasonable means of familiarizing the people of the two countries with each other. Hence the possible and practical value of such a work as the one in hand. By briefly consulting one of the many cheap and excellent maps of the western hemisphere, the patient reader will be enabled to follow the route taken by the author with increased interest and a clearer under- standing. It is surprising, in conversing with otherwise intel- EXTENT OF SOUTH AMERICA. 77 ligent and well-informed people, to find how few tliere are, comparatively speaking, who have any fixed and clear idea relative to so large a portion of the habitable globe as South America. The average individual seems to know less of the gigantic river Amazon than he does of the mysterious Nile, and is less familiar with that grand, far-reaching water-way, the Plate, than he is with the sacred Ganges ; yet one can ride from Buenos Ayres in the Argentine Republic, across the wild pampas, to the base of the Andes in a Pullman palace car. There is no part of the globe concerning which so little is written, and no other portion which is not more sought by travelers ; in short, it is less known to the average North American than New Zealand or Australia. The vast peninsula which we call South America is connected with our own part of the continent by the Isthmus of Panama and the territory designated as Central America. Its configuration is triangular, and exhibits in many respects a strong similarity to the continents of Africa and Australia, if the latter gigan- tic island may be called a continent. It extends north and south nearly five thousand miles, or from latitude 12° 30' north to Cape Horn in latitude 55° 59' south. Its greatest width from east to west is a little over three thousand miles, and its area, according to the best authorities, is nearly seven million square miles. Three fourths of this country lie in the torrid zone, though as a whole it has every variety of climate, from equatorial heat to the biting frosts of alpine 78 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. peaks. Its widespread surface consists principally of three immense plains, watered respectively by tlie Amazon, Plate, and Orinoco rivers. This spacious country has a coast line of over sixteen thousand miles on the two great oceans, with comparatively few indentures, headlands, or bays, though at the extreme south it consists of a maze of countless small islands, capes, and promontories, of which Cape Horn forms the outermost point. The Cordillera of the Andes extends through the whole length of this giant peninsula, from the Strait of Magellan to the Isthmus of Panama, a distance of' forty-five hundred miles, forming one of the most remarkable physical features of the globe, and pre- senting the highest mountains on its surface, except those of the snowy Himalayas which separate India from Thibet. The principal range of the Andes runs nearly parallel with the Pacific coast, at an average distance of about one hundred miles from it, and con- tains several active volcanoes. If we were to believe a late school geography, published in London, Coto- paxi, one famous peak of this Andean range, throws up fiames three thousand feet above the brink of its crater, which is eighteen thousand feet above tide water ; but to be on the safe side, let us reduce these extraordinary figures at least one haK, as regards the eruptive power of Cotopaxi. This mountain chain, near the border between Chili and Peru, divides into two branches, the principal one still called the Cor- dillera of the Andes, and the other, nearer to the ocean, A LAND OF PLAINS AND MOUNTAINS. 79 the Cordillera de la Costa. Between these ranges, about three thousand feet above the sea, is a vast table-land with an area larger than that of France. It will be observed that we are dealing with a couutry which, like our own, is one of magnificent distances. It is difficult for the nations of the old world, where the population is hived together in such circumscribed space, to realize the geographical extent of the American continent. When informed that it required six days and nights, at express speed upon well equipped railroads, to cross the United States from ocean to ocean, a certain editor in London doubted the statement. Outside of Her Majesty's dominions, the average Englishman has only super- ficial ideas of geography. The frequent blunders of some British newspapers in these matters are simply ridiculous. It should be understood that South America is a land of plains as well as of lofty mountains, having the llanos of the Orinoco region, the selvas of the Amazon, and the pampas of the Argentine Eepiiblic. The llanos are composed of a region about as large as the New England States, so level that the motion of the rivers can hardly be discerned. The selvas are for the most part vast unbroken forests, in which giant trees, thick undergrowth, and entwining creepers com- bine to form a nearly impenetrable region. The pam- pas lie between the Andes and the Atlantic Ocean, stretching southward from northern Brazil to southern Patagonia, affording grass sufficient to feed innumei-- 80 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. able herds of wild cattle, but at the extreme south the country sinks into half overflowed marshes and lagoons, resembling the glades and savannahs of Florida. The largest river in the world, namely, the Amazon, rises in the Peruvian Andes, within sixty miles of the Pacific Ocean, and flows thousands of miles in a gen- eral east-northeast direction, finally emptying into the Atlantic Ocean. This unequaled river course is nav- igable for over two thousand miles from its mouth, which is situated on the equatorial line, where its out- flow is partially impeded by the island of Marajo, a nearly round formation, one hundred and fifty miles or thereabouts in diameter. This remarkable island divides the river's outlet into two passages, the largest of which is a hundred and fifty miles in width, form- ing an estuary of extraordinary dimensions. The Amazon has twelve tributaries, each one of which is a thousand miles in length, not to count its hundreds of smaller ones, while the main stream affords water communication from the Atlantic Ocean to near the foothills of the Andes. We are simply stating a series of condensed geo- graphical facts, from which the intelligent reader can form his own deductions as regards the undeveloped possibilities of this great southland. Our own mammoth river, the Mississippi, is a com- paratively shallow stream, with a shifting channel and dangerous sandbanks, which impede navigation throughout the most of its course ; while the Amazon shows an average depth of over one hundred feet for GREAT RIVERS. 81 the first thousand miles of its flow from the Atlantic, forming inland seas in many places, so spacious that the opposite banks are not within sight of each other. It is computed by good authority that this river, with its numerous affluents, forms a system of navigable water tw enty-f our thousand miles in length ! There are comparatively few towns or settlements of any importance on the banks of the Amazon, which flows mostly through a dense, unpeopled evergreen forest, not absolutely without human- beings, but for very long distances nearly so. Wild animals, anacondas and other reptiles, together with many varieties of birds and numerous tribes of monkeys, make up the animal life. Now and again a settlement of European colonists is found, or a rude Indian village is seen near the banks, but they are few and far between. There are occasional regions of low, marshy ground, which are malarious at certain seasons, but the average country is salubrious, and capable of supporting a pop- ulation of millions. This is only one of the large rivers of South Amer- ica ; there are many others of grand proportions. The Plate comes next to it in magnitude, having a length of two thousand mUes, and being navigable for one half the distance from its mouth at all seasons. It is over sixty miles wide at Montevideo, and is therefore the widest known river. Like the great stream already described, it traverses a country remarkable for the fertility of its soil, but very thinly settled. The Plate carries to the ocean four fifths as much, in volume of 82 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. water, as does the mighty Amazon, the watershed drained by it exceeding a million and a half square mUes. One can only conceive of the true magnitude of such figures when applied to the land by compar- ing the number of square miles contained in any one European nation, or any dozen of our own States. Juan Diaz de Solis discovered the estuary of the Plate in 1508, and believed it at that time to be a gulf, but on a second voyage from Europe, in 1516, he ascended the river a considerable distance, and called it Mar Dulce, on account of the character of the waters. Unfortunately, this intelligent discoverer was kUled by Indian arrows on attempting to land at a certain point. For a considerable period the river was called after him, and we think should have con- tinued to be so, but its name was changed to the Plate on account of the conspicuous silver ornaments worn in great profusion by the natives, which they freely exchanged for European gewgaws. Though nearly four hundred years have passed since its discovery, a large portion of the country still re- mains comparatively unexplored, much of it being a wilderness sparsely inhabited by Indians, many of whom are without a vestige of civilization. We know as little of portions of the continent as we do of Central Africa, yet there is no section of the globe which suggests a greater degree of physical interest, or which would respond more readily and profitably to intelligent effort at development. T\Tien the Span- iards first came to South America, it was only in Peru, WEALTH OF THE INCAS. 83 the land of the Incas, that they found natives who had made any substantial progress in civilization. The earliest history extant relating to this region of the globe is that of the Incas, a warhke race of sun-wor- shipers, who possessed enormous treasures of gold and silver, and who erected magnificent temples enriched with the precious metals. It was the almost fabu- lous wealth of the Incas that led to their destruction, tempting the cupidity of the avaricious Spaniards, and causing them to institute a system of cruelty, oppres- sion, robbery, and bloodshed which finally obliterated an entire people from the face of the globe. The empire of the Incas extended from Quito, in Ecua- dor (on the equator), to the river Monte La ChUi, and eastward to the Andes. The romantic career of Pizarro and Cortez is familiar to us all. There are few palliating circumstances connected with the ad- vent of the Spaniards, either here, in the West In- dies, or in Mexico. The actual motive which prompted their invasion of this foreign soil was to search for mineral treasures, though policy led them to cover their bloodthirsty deeds with a pretense of religious zeal. Their first acts were reckless, cruel, and sangui- nary, followed by a systematic oppression of the na- tive races which was an outrage upon humanity. The world at large profited little by the extortion and golden harvest reaped by Spain, to realize which she adopted a policy of extermination, both in Peru and in Mexico ; but let it be remembered that her own national ruin was brought about with poetical justice 84 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. by the very excess of her ill-gotten, blood-stained trea- sures. The Spanish historians tell us, as an evidence of the persistent bravery of their ancestors, that it took them eight hundred years of constant warfare to wrest Spain from her Moorish conquerors. It is for us to remind them how brief has been the continuance of their glory, how rapid their decline from splendid continental and colonial possessions to their present condition, that of the weakest and most insignificant power in 'Europe. There are localities which have been visited by adventurous explorers, especially in Chili and Peru, where ruins have been found, and various monuments of antiquity examined, of vast interest to archaeolo- gists, but of which scarcely more than their mere ex- istence is recorded. Some of these ruins are believed to antedate by centuries the period of the Incas, and are supposed to be the remains of tribes which, judg- ing from their pottery and other domestic utensils, were possibly of Asiatic origin. Comparatively few travelers have visited Lake Titicaca, in the Peruvian Andes, with its sacred islands and mysterious ruins, from whence the Incas dated their mythical origin. The substantial remains of some grand temples are stiU to be seen on the islands near the borders of the lake, the decaying masonry decked here and there with a wild growth of hardy cactus. This remarkable body of water, Lake Titicaca, in the mountain range of Peru, lies more than twelve thousand feet above the level of the Pacific ; yet it never freezes, and its EXTENSIVE FORESTS. 85 average depth is given as six hundred feet, repre- senting an immense body of water. It covers an area of four thousand square miles, which is about four fifths as large as our own Lake Ontario, the average depth being about the same. Titicaca is the largest lake in the world occupying so elevated a site. The population of South America is mostly to be f oimd on the coast, and is thought to be about thirty- five millions, though, all things considered, we are dis- posed to believe this an overestimate. There are tribes far inland who are not brought in contact with civilization at all, and whose numbers are not known. The magnitude and density of the forests are remark- able ; they cover, it is intelligently stated, nearly two thirds of the country. The vegetation, in its various forms, is rich beyond comparison. Professor Agassiz, who explored the valley of the Amazon under the most favorable auspices, tells us that he found within an area of half a mile square over one hundred species of trees, among which were nearly aU of the choicest cabinet and dye woods known to the tropics, besides others suitable for shipbuilding. Some of these trees are remarkable for their gigantic size, others for their beauty of form, and still others are valuable for their gums and resins. Of the latter, the india-rubber tree is the most prolific and important known to commerce. From Brazil comes four fifths of the world's supply of the raw material of rubber. The great fertility of the soil generally would seem to militate against the true progress of the people of 86 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. South America, absolutely discouraging, rather than stimulating national industry. One cannot but con- trast the state of affairs in this respect with that of North America, where the soil is so much less produc- tive, and where the climate is so universally rigorous. The deduction is inevitable that, to find man at his best, we must observe him where his skill, energy, and perseverance are aU required to achieve a livelihood, and not where exuberant nature is over-indtdgent, over-productive. The coast, the valleys, and indeed the main portion of South America are tropical, but a considerable section of the country is so elevated that its climate is that of perpetual spring, resembling the great Mexican plateau, both physically and as regards temperature. The population is largely of Spanish de- scent, and that language is almost universally spoken, though Portuguese is the current tongue in Brazil. These languages are so similar, in fact, that the people of the two nations can easily understand each other. It is said to be true that, in the wild regions of the country, there are tribes of Indians found to-day living close to each other, separated by no physical barriers, who differ materially in language, physiognomy, man- ners, and customs, having absolutely nothing in com- mon but their brown or copper-colored skins. Fur- thermore, these tribes live most frequently in deadly feuds with each other. That cannibalism is still practiced among these interior tribes is positively be- lieved, especially among some of the tribes of the extreme south, that is, among the Patagonians and the AMALGAMATION OF EACES. 87 wild, nomadic race of Terra del Fuego. These two tribes, on opposite sides of the Strait of Magellan, are quite different from each other in nearly every re- spect, especially in size, nor will they attempt to hold friendly intercourse of any sort with each other. There are certain domestic animals which are be- lieved to be improved by crossing them with others of a different type, but this does not seem to apply, very often, advantageously to different races of human beings. It is plain enough in South America that the amalgamation of foreigners and natives rapidly effaces the original better qualities of each, the result being a mongrel, nondescript type, hard to analyze and hard to improve. That keen observer. Professor Agassiz, especially noticed this during his j'^ear of scientific research in Brazil. This has also been the author's experience, as illustrated in many lands, where strictly different races, the one highly civilized, the other bar- barian, have unitedly produced children. It is a sort of amalgamation which nature does not favor, record- ing her objections in an unmistakable manner. It is the flow of European emigration towards these south- em republics which will infuse new life and progress among them. The aboriginal race is slowly receding, and fading out, as was the case in Australia, in New Zealand, and in the instance of our western Indians. A new people will eventually possess the land, com- posed of the several European nationalities, who are already the virtual masters of South America so far as regards numbers, intelligence, and possession. 88 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. Since these notes were written, the Argentine gov- ernment has sold to Baron Hirsch three thousand square leagues of land in the province of Chaco, for the formation of a Jewish colony. Agents are already at work, aided by competent engineers and practical individuals, in preparing for the early reception of the new occupants of the country. The first contin- gent, of about one thousand Jews, have already arrived and are becoming domesticated. Argentina wants men perhaps more than money ; indeed, one will make the other. A part of Baron Hirsch's scheme is to lend these people money, to be repaid in small in- stallments extending over a considerable period. For this extensive territory the Baron paid one million three hundred thousand doUars in gold, thus making himseK the owner of the largest connected area of land in the world possessed by a single individual. It exceeds that of the kingdom of Montenegro. As to the zoology of this part of the continent, it is different from that of Europe, Africa, Asia, and North America. The number of dangerous beasts of prey is quite limited. There is nothing here to answer to the African lion, the Asiatic tiger, the elephant of Ceylon, or the grisly bear of Alaska. The jaguar is perhaps the most formidable animal, and resembles the leopard. There are also the cougar, tiger-cat, black bear, hyena, wolf, and ocelot. The llama, alpaca, and vicuna are peculiar to this country. The monkey tribe exceeds all others in variety and number. There are said to be nearly two hundred species of them ABORIGINALS. 89 in South America, each distinctly marked, and vary- ing from each other, in size, from twelve pounds to less than two. The smallest of the little marmosets weigh less than a pound and a half each, and are the most intelligent animal of their size known to man. There are also the deer, tapir, armadillo, anteater, and a few other minor animals. The pampas swarm with wild cattle and horses, descended from animals ori- ginally brought from Europe. In the low, marshy grounds the boa-constrictor and other reptiles abound. Eagles, vultures, and parrots are found in a wild state all over the country, while the rivers and the waters near the coast are well filled with fish, crocodiles, and turtles. Scientists have found over two thousand spe- cies of fish in the Amazon River alone. The pure aboriginal race are copper colored, resem- bling the Mexicans in character and appearance. Like most natives of equatorial regions, they are indolent, ignorant, superstitious, sensuous, and by no means warlike. Forced into the ranks and drilled by Euro- peans, they make fairly good soldiers, and when well led will obey orders and fight. There can be no esprit de corps in soldiers thus organized ; the men neither know nor care what they fight for, their incentive in action being first a natural instinct for brutahty, and second the promise of booty. In some parts of the country the half-breeds show themselves skillful work- men in certain simple lines of manufacture, but the native pure and simple wiU not work except to keep from starving. 90 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. The Spaniards conquered nearly all parts of South America except Brazil, which was subject to Portugal until 1823, when it achieved its independence. The Spanish colonies also revolted, one by one, until they all became independent of the mother country. The history of these republics, as in the instance of Mexico, has been both stormy and sanguinary. Foreign and civil wars have reigned among them incessantly for half a century and more. The present political divisions are : Brazil, British Guiana, Dutch Gruiana, French Guiana, Ecuador, United States of Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia, Chili, Peru, Argentine Republic, Uruguay, and Paraguay. BrazD. is the most extensive of these states, and is thought to enjoy the largest share of natural ad- vantages, including in its area nearly one half as many square miles as all the rest combined. Its sear board at Parahiba, and for hundreds of nules north and south of it, projects iato the Atlantic a thousand mUes to the east of the direct line between its north- ern and southern extremities. Besides her diamond and gold mines, she possesses what is much more de- sirable, namely, valuable deposits of iron, copper, sil- ver, and other metals. We have before us statistics which give the result of diamond mining in Brazil from 1740 to 1823, when national independence was won, which show the aggregate for that entire period to have been less than ten million dollars in value ; while that of the coffee alone, exported from Eio Janeiro in one year, exceeded twenty million dollars. CIVIL WARS. 91 showing that, however dazzling the precious stones may appear in the abstract, they are not even of secondary consideration when compared with the agri- cultural products of the country. The export of cof- fee has increased very much since the year 1851, which happens to be that from which we have quoted. It must also be admitted that probably twice the amount of diamonds recorded were actually found and en- riched somebody, all which were duly reported, having to pay a government royalty according to the pecu- niary exigency of those in authority. The population of Brazil is between fourteen and fifteen million, and it is thought to be more advanced in civilization than other parts of South America, though in the light of our own experience we should place the Argentine Republic first in this respect. Indeed, so far as a transient observer may speak, we are inclined to place Argentina far and away in advance of Brazil as regards everything calculated to invite the would-be emigrant who is in search of a new home in a foreign land. Were it not that intes- tine wars are of such frequent occurrence among these states, and national bankruptcy so common, voluntary emigration would tend towards South America in far larger numbers than it does now. The revolutions are solely to promote personal aggrandizement ; it is individual interest, not principle, for which these people fight so often. Unfortunately, every fresh out- break throws the country back a full decade as regards national progress. The late civil wars' in Chili and 92 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. the Argentine Republic are illustrations in point. The first-named section of South America has suddenly- sunk from a condition of remarkable pecuniary pros- perity to one of actual poverty. Thousands of valu- able lives have been sacrificed, an immense amount of property has been destroyed, her commerce crippled, and for the time being paralyzed. Ten years of peace and reasonable prosperity could hardly restore Chili to the position she was in twelve months ago. The country is to-day in a terrible condition, while many of the best families mourn the death of a father, a son, or both, whose lives have been sacrificed to the mad ambition of a usurper. Numerous families, once rich, have now become impoverished by the confiscation of their entire property. The Chilians do not carry on warfare in European style, by organized armies ; there is a semblance only of such bodies. The fighting is mostly after the fashion of free lances, guerrilla bands, and highwaymen. There seems to be no sense of honor or chivalry among the common people, while the only idea of the soldiery is to plunder and destroy. The Peruvians whose cities were despoiled by Chih must have regarded the recent cutting of each other's throats by the Chilian soldiery with something like grim satisfaction. The obvious weakness of the South American states lies in their bitter rivalry towards each other, a condi- tion which might be at once obviated by their joining together to form one united nation. The instability which characterizes their several governments in their A POSSIBLE UNION. 93 present isolated interests has passed into a byword. Divided into nine unimportant states, — leaving out the three Guianas, which are dependent upon Euro- pean powers, — any one of them could be erased from the map and absorbed by its stronger neighbor, or by a covetous foreign power. On the contrary, by form- ing one gTand republic, it would stand eighth in the rank of nations as regards wealth, importance, and power, amply able to take care of itself, and to main- tain the integrity of its territory. A community of interest would also be established between our govern- ment and that of these South American provinces, which would be of immense commercial and political importance to both nations. To those who have visited the country, and who have carefully observed the conditions, it is clear that this division of the continent will never thrive and fully reap the benefit of its great natural advantages imtil the independent republics assume the position of sovereign states, subservient to a central power, a pur- pose which has already been so successfully accom- plished in Mexico. WhUe we have been considering the great southern continent as a whole, our good ship, having crossed the equator, has been rapidly approaching its northern shore. After enteriag the broad mouth of the Amazon and ascending its course for many miles, we are now in sight of the thriving metropolis of Para. CHAPTER V. City of Pari. — The Equatorial Line. — Spanish History. — The King of Waters. — Private Gardens — Domestic Life in Northern Brazil. — Delicious Pineapples. — Family Pets. — Opera House. — MendicaHts. — A Grand Avenue. — Botanical Garden. — India-Rnb- ber Tree. — Gathering the Raw Material. — Monkeys. — The Royal Palm. — Splendor of Equatorial Nights. Para is the most northerly city of Brazil. It also bears the name of Belem on some maps, and is the capital of a province of the first designation. The full official title of the place is, in the usual style of Portuguese and Spanish hyperbole, Santa Maria do Belem do Grao Para, which has fortunately and nat- urally simplified itself to Para. It was foimded in 1615, and the province of which it is the capital was the last in Brazil to declare its independence of the mother country, and to acknowledge the authority of the first emperor, Dom Pedro. It is the largest polit- ical division of the republic, and in some respects the most thriving. The city is situated about ninety miles south of the equator, and eighty miles from the Atlantic Ocean on the Para River, so called, but which is reaUy one of the mouths of the Amazon. It is thus the principal city at the mouth of the largest river in the world, a fact quite sufficient to indicate its present, and to insure its continued commercial importance. THE PARA ESTUARY. 95 As we entered the muddy estuary of the river, whose wide expanse was lashed into short, angry waves by a strong wind, large tree trunks were seen floating seaward, rising and sinking on the undulating surface of the water. Some were quite entire, with all of their branches still attached to the main trunk. They came, perhaps, from two thousand miles inland, borne upon the swift current from where it had undermined the roots in their forest home. Among the rest was a cocoa-palm with its full tufted head, some large brown nuts still hanging tenaciously to the parent stem. It had fallen bodily, while in its prime and full bearing, suddenly unearthed by some swift devia- tion of the river, which brooks no trifling impediment to its triumphal march seaward. How long, one would be glad to know, has this vast stream, fed by the melted snow of the Andes, poured its accumulated waters into the bosom of the ocean? A thousand years is but as a day, in reckoning the age of a moun- tain range or of a mammoth river. As we approached the city, the channel became gradually narrowed by several prominent islands, crowded with rich green vegetation, forest trees of various sorts, mangoes, bananas, and regal palms. Though it is thus broken by islands, the river is here over twenty miles in width. Para is yielded precedence over the other cities on the east coast of South America in many respects, and is appreciatively called "Queen of the Amazon," her water communication reaching into the very heart of 96 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. some of the most fertile valleys on the continent. One incorporated company has established a score of well- appointed steamers, averaging five hundred tons each, which navigate the river for a distance of two thou- sand miles from its mouth. Para has an excellent harbor, of large capacity, accommodating an exten- sive commerce, a considerable portion of which is with the United States of North America. It has a mixed population of about fifty thousand, composed of an amalgamation of Portuguese, Italians, Indians, and negroes, and is the only town of any importance, except Quito, situated so near to the equatorial line, where the interested observer has the privilege of beholding the starry constellations of both hemispheres. Ships of five thousand tons measurement can lie within a hundred yards of the wharves of Para, where the ac- cumulation of coffee, dyewoods, drugs, tobacco, cotton, cocoa, rice, sugar, and raw india-rubber, indicates the character of the principal exports. Of all these sta- ples, the last named is the most important, in a com- mercial point of view, occupying the third place on the list of national exports. As we have shown, the import and export trade of the Amazon valley natu- rally centres here, and Para need fear no commercial rival. For a considerable period this unequaled water- way, forming the spacious port, and conveying the drainage of nearly half of South America into the Atlantic, bore the name of its discoverer, OreUana, one of Pizarro's captains; but the fabulous story of a FRIAR GASPAR'S STORY. 97 priest called Friar Gaspar, seK-c.onstituted ckronicler of the expedition, gave to it the designation which it now bears. All the Spanish records of the his- tory and conquests in the New World, relating to the doings of Columbus, Cortez, Pizarro, and others, without an exception, were written in the same spirit of exaggeration and untruthfulness, leading that pious witness and contemporary writer. Las Casas, to pro- nounce them, with honest indignation, to be a tissue of falsehoods. Even our own popular historian, Prescott, who drew so largely upon these sources for his poetical productions, was forced to admit their manifest incongruities, contradictions, and general irresponsibility. This Munchausen of a priest, Friar Gaspar, recorded that a tribe of Amazons, or fight- ing women, was encountered far inland, on the banks of the mighty river, who were tall in stature, sym- metrical in form, and had a profusion of long hair, which hung in braids down their backs. They were represented to be as warlike as they were beautiful, and as carrying shields and spears, the latter of which they could use with great skill and effect. It was this foolish story of the Amazons, hatched in the pro- lific brain of Friar Gaspar, which gave the river its lasting name. The Indian designation of the mammoth water- course was significant and appropriate, as their names always are. They called it Parana-ting a, meaning "King of Waters," and it seems to us a great pity thast the name could not have been retained. 98 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. Para Las the advantage of being much nearer to the United States and to Europe than Rio Janeiro, the capital of Brazil. Though the commerce of Eio is constantly increasing, in spite of its miserable sani- tary condition, it is confidently believed by intelligent persons engaged in the South American trade, that Para wiU equal it erelong in the aggregate of its ship- ments. All freight is now landed by means of light- ers, a process which is an awkward drawback upon commerce, and what makes it stiU more aggravating is that it seems to be an entirely needless one. Cer- tainly a good, substantial, capacious pier might be easily built, which would obviate this objection, ac- commodating a dozen large vessels at the same time. The Brazilians are slow to adopt any modem improve- ment. Portuguese and Spaniards are very much alike in this respect. Wharves wiU be built at Para by and by, after a few more millions have been wasted upon the inconvenient process now in vogue, which involves not only needless expense, but causes most awkward and unreasonable delay, both in landing merchandise and in shipping freight for export. This serious objection applies to aU the ports along the east coast of South America. There is always some private interest which exerts itself to prevent any progressive movement, and it is this which retards improved facil- ities for unloading and shipping of cargoes at Para. In this instance the owners of the steam tugs which tow the flat-bottomed lighters from ship to shore, and vice versa, oppose the building of piers, because, if THE CITY OF PARA. 99 they were in existence, these individuals would find their profitable occupation gone. If proper wharf facilities were to be furnished, commerce generally would be much benefited, though a few persons would suffer some pecuniary loss. As we have said, the wharves will come by and by, when the people realize that private interest must be subservient to the public good. The city of Para is situated upon slightly elevated ground, and makes a fine appearance from the river, with its lofty cathedral, numerous churches, convents, custom house, and arsenal standing forth in bold relief against an intensely blue sky, while fronting the harbor, like a line of sentinels, is a row of tall, majestic palms, harmonizing admirably with the local surroundings, though in the very midst of a busy conunercial centre. The buildings are painted yel- low, blue, or pink, the facades contrasting strongly with the dark red of the heavily tiled roofs, which, having no chimneys, present an odd appearance to a northern eye. Here and there a mass of greenery indicates some domestic garden, or a plaza presided over by tall groups of trees, among which the thick, umbrageous mangoes prevail. The Rua da Impera- triz is the principal wholesale street of the city, where the large warehouses are to be found, but the Eua dos Mercadores is the fashionable shopping street, through which the tramway also passes. The shops are rather small, but have a fair stock of goods offered at reasonable rates, though strangers are apt 100 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. to be victimized by considerably higher prices than a native would pay. This, however, is not unusual in all foreign coun- tries, so far as our experience goes. North Americans are looked upon as possessing unlimited pecuniary means, and as lavish in their expenditures, prices be- ing gauged accordingly. This is a universal practice in Europe, and especially so in Germany. The climate is very moist, and it has been face- tiously remarked that it rains here eight days in the week. One cannot speak approvingly of the sanitary condition of a place where turkey buzzards are de- pended upon to remove the garbage which accumulates in the thoroughfares. It is unaccountable that the citizens should submit to such filthy surroundings, es- pecially in a locality where malarial fever is acknow- ledged to prevail in the siunmer season. Though at this writing it is the latter part of May, yellow fever is still rife here, and we hear of many particularly sad cases, ending fatally, all about us. This destroyer is especially apt to carry off people who have newly ar- rived in the country. The present year has been unusually fatal among the residents of Para, as re- gards yellow fever, which seems to linger longer and longer each year of its visitation. Our own conviction is that the people have themselves to thank for this lingering of the pest into the winter months, since the sanitary conditions of the place are inexcusably defective. Gardens in and about the city quickly catch and INSECT LIFE. 101 delight the eye, — gardens where flowers and fruits grow in great luxuriance. Among the latter are oranges, mangoes, guavas, figs, and bananas. The glossy green fronds of the bananas throw other ver- dure altogether into the shade, while in dignity and beauty the cocoanut pahns excel all other trees. The tall, straight stem of the palm rises from the roots ^Yithout leaf or branch until the plumed head is reached, which bends slightly under its wealth of pin- nated leaves and fruit combined. If you happen to pass these gardens after nightfall, especially those in the immediate environs of the city, mark the phos- phorescent clouds of dancing lights which fill the still atmosphere round about the vegetation. This pecu- liar effect is produced by the busy cucuios, or tropi- cal fireflies, each vigorously flashing its individual torch. Do they shine thus in the daytime, we are led to wonder, like the constellations in the heavens, though hidden by the greater light of the sun ? They are always demonstrative in the night, be it never so cloudy, foggy, or damp in the low latitudes. They keep their sparkling revels, their torchlight dances, all heedless of the grim and deadly fever which lurks in the surrounding atmosphere, claiming human victims right and left, among high and low, from the ranks of age and of youth. Insect life is redundant here. It is the very paradise of butterflies, whose size, wide spread of wing, variety, and striking beauty of colors, we have only seen equaled at Penang and Singapore, in the Malacca Straits. Some of the avenues leading 102 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. to the environs are lined with handsome trees, which add greatly to their attractiveness and comfort. The sUk cotton tree and the almond are favorites here as ornamental shade trees. The cape jessamine is uni-" versally cultivated at Para, and grows to a large size, filling the air with its agreeable fragrance. Here the oleander, covered with clusters of bloom, grows to the height of twenty feet and more. The lime, with its fine acid fruit, which is in great request in making cooling drinks, also abounds. The glimpses of domestic life which one gets in passing the better class of dwellings reveal rooms with tiled or polished wooden floors, cane-finished chairs, sofas, and rockers to match, a small foot rug here and there, a group of flowering plants in one corner, while hammocks seem to take the place of bed- steads. The temperature is high at Para in summer, and woolen carpets, or even mattresses, are too warm for use in this climate. Bignonias, oleanders, and other blooming plants abound in the flower-plots about the city, besides many flowering vines which are stran- gers to us, half orchids, half creepers. One is apt to jump at conclusions. These people dearly love flow- ers, so we conclude they cannot be very wicked. The families live, as it were, in the open patios, which form the centres of their dwellings, are shaded by broad verandas, and upon which the domestic apart- ments all open. The accessories are few, and not en- tirely convenient, according to a northerner's ideas of comfort ; but this is compensated for by the fragrance BAHIA ORANGES. 103 of flowers, the picturesqueness of the surroundings, and the free and easy out-of-door atmosphere which ignores conventionalities. These attractive interiors suggest a sort of picnic mode of life which has con- formed itself to climatic influences. Everything is very quiet, there is no hurry, and the stillness is occasion- ally interrupted by the musical laughter of children, which rings out clear and pleasantly, entirely in har- mony with the surroundings. And such children! Artists' models, every one of them. It all seems to a stranger to be the very poetry of living, yet we ven- ture to say that each household has its skeleton in the closet, and some a whole anatomical museum! At Bahia, further south, a revelation awaits the traveler in the delicious richness, size, and delicacy of the oranges which grow there in lavish abundance, and which are famous all along the coast. Here at Para, the same may be said of the pineapple, the raising of which is a local specialty. These are not picked until fully ripe, and often weigh ten pounds each. When cut open, the inside can be eaten with a spoon, if one fancies that mode. They require no sugar; nature has supplied the saccharine principle in abundance. They are absolutely perfect in themselves alone. People sailing northward lay in a great store of this admirable fruit, which is as cheap as it is de- licious and appetizing. In New England, the pines of which we partake have been picked in a green con- dition in Bermuda, the Bahamas, or Florida, to en- able them to bear transportation. They ripen only 104 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. partially off the stem, and after a very poor style, de- cay setting in at the same time ; consequently the pulp is not suitable to swallow, and is always more or less indigestible. The Para pines, are seedless, and are propagated by replanting the suckers. The crown, we were told, would also thrive and reproduce the fruit if properly planted, but the first named pro- cess is that generally employed, and is probably the best. In the neighborhood of Para are many large and profitable cocoa plantations, the industry connected with which is a growing one, representing a consid- erable amount of capital. But above all others, the gathering and preparing of raw india-rubber for ex- portation is the prevailing industry of this Brazilian capital. The common people seem to be an uncertain mix- ture of races, confounding all attempts properly to analyze their antecedents. They have touches of re- finement and underlying tenderness of instinct, as exhibited in their home associations, but also evince a coarseness which is not inviting, to say the least. They are imiversal lovers of pet birds and small ani- mals. No household seems to be complete without some representatives of the sort. Among these are cranes, ibises, herons, turtle-doves, parrots, macaws, and paroquets. Monkeys of various tribes, the little marmoset being the favorite, are seen domesticated in almost every private garden, full of fun and mis- chief, and affording infinite amusement to the youthful ANACONDAS. 105 members of- the household. Young anacondas, some- times ten feet long, are kept in and about the dwell- ings, to catch and drive away the rats ! The reader smiles half incredulously at this, and we do not wonder. If one of these rodents be caught in a trap and killed, it is useless to offer it to an anaconda as food. That fastidious reptile will eat only such creatures as it kills itself. This is also characteristic of the African lion and the tiger of India, when in the wild state ; neither will molest a dead body, of man or beast, which they have not themselves deprived of life, though hyenas, wolves, and some other animals will even rob the graves of human bodies for food. We had never heard of anacondas employed as ratters be- fore we came to Para, but we were assured by those who should know that they are especially effective in warfare against this domestic pest. Broad verandas give a grateful shade to most of the dwelling-houses, which are seldom over one story in height, each one, however, extending over consid- erable ground space. In the business part of the town, fronting the harbor, the houses are generally two or even three stories in height, it being necessary in such localities to economize the square feet of ground occupied. The same sort of external orna- mentation is seen here as upon the house fronts in Mexico, namely, the profuse decoration of the walls with glazed earthen tiles, often of fancy colors, which gives a checkerboard appearance to a dwelling-house not calculated to please a critical eye. 106 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. The Opera House of Para is a large and imposing structure, one of the finest edifices in the town, and the largest theatre, we believe, in South America, quite uncalled for, it would seem, by any local de- mand. It is built of brick, finished in stucco, the front being decorated with marble columns having handsome and elaborate Corinthian capitals. The house lights up brilliantly at night, being finished in red, white, and gold. It has four narrow galleries supported upon brackets, thus obviating the necessity for the objectionable upright posts which so provok- ingly interfere with the line of sight. The cathedral is a substantial and handsome structure, with a couple of tall towers, after the usual Spanish style, each con- taining a dozen bells. The interior has aU the florid and tawdry ornamentation always to be found in Ro- man Catholic churches, together with the usual com- plement of bleeding figures, arrow -pierced saints, high- colored paper rosettes, utterly meaningless, together with any amount of glittering tinsel, calculated to catch the eye and captivate the imagination of the grossly ignorant native population. There are many minor churches in the city, and judging by the number seen in the streets, there must be at least a thousand priests, whose sole occupa- tion, when they are not gambling or cock-fighting, is to cajole and impoverish the conmion people. It was a church festival when we visited the cathedral. There are over two hundred such days, out of every three hundred and sixty-five, in Roman Catholic CHURCH FESTIVALS. 107 countries, — not days of humiliation and prayer, but days of gross latitude, of bull-fights, occasions when the decent amenities of life are ignored, days when the broadest license prevails, and all excesses are condoned. There were a large number of women present in the cathedral on this day, but scarcely half a dozen men. The better class were dressed gayly, and wore some rich jewelry. The love of finery prevails, and pervades all classes. Some of the ladies were clad in costly silks and laces, set off by brilliants and pearls. Diamonds and precious stones are very common in this country, and a certain class seem to carry a large share of their worldly possessions show- ily displayed upon their persons. What the humbler class lacked in richness of material, they made up in gaudy colors, blazing scarfs, and imitation gold and silver jewelry. Nature sets the example of bright col- ors in these latitudes, in gaudy plumed birds and high- tinted flowers and fruits. The natives only follow her. The few men who were present came to ogle the women, and having satisfied their low-bred curiosity, soon retired to the neighboring bar-rooms and gam- bling saloons. On special festal days temporary booths are erected in the squares, in which intoxicants are sold, together with toys, cakes, cigars, and charms, the latter said to have been blessed by the priests, and therefore sure to prevent any injury from the evil eye! As in most of the South American cities, there are several elaborate buildings here, formerly used as con- 108 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. vents, which are now devoted to more creditable pur- poses. The present custom house occupies one of these edifices, which is crowned with two lofty towers. There are plenty of mendicants in the streets of Para, who are very ready with their importunities, especially in appealing to strangers. The average citizens seemed to be liberal in dealing with these beggars. Saturday is called "poor day" in Para, as it is also in Havana, Matanzas, Cienfuegos, etc., when every housekeeper who is able to give some- thing does so, if it be only a small roll of bread, to each visiting beggar. At most houses these small rolls are baked regularly for this purpose, and the applicant is nearly sure to get one upon calling, and if he rep- resents a large family he may receive two. Money is rarely, if ever, given by residents, nor is it expected; but strangers are surrounded as by an army with ban- ners, and vigorously importuned for centavos. The Spaniards and Portuguese are natural beggars. Here let us digress for a moment. The system of beggary prevailing in Spanish countries is very trying to aU sensitive travelers. In Italy, Spain, and the south of France, especially at the watering-places, it is a terrible pest. Naples has become almost unendur- able on this account. At every rod one is constantly importuned and followed by beggars of all sizes, ages, and of both sexes, — individuals who should be placed in asylums and cared for by the state. No reason- able person would object to paying a certain sum on entering these resorts, to be honestly devoted to char- PROFESSIONAL BEGGARS. 109 itable purposes, provided it woidd insure him against the disgusting importunities of which strangers are now the victims. Visitors hasten away from the localities where these things are not only permitted but are encouraged. It is thought to be quite the thing to fleece foreigners of every possible penny, and by every possible means. The contrast in this respect between the cities of the United States and those of Europe and South America is eminently creditable to the former. In the beautiful little watering-place known as Luchon, in the south of France, at the foot of the Pyrenees, with scarcely four thousand inhabitants, there are over one hundred professional beggars, who constantly beset and drive away visitors. Some of these, as usual in such cases, are known to be well off pecuniarily, but are marked by some physical deform- ity upon which they trade. If the stranger gives, he is oftenest encouraging a swindle, rarely performing a true charity. This is one of the increasing dis- graces of Paris. Beggars know too much to impor- tune citizens, but strangers are beset at every corner of the botdevards and public gardens, particularly by children, girls and boys, trained for the purpose. Of all the races seen in Brazil, the half-breed Indian girls are the most attractive, and until they are past the age of twenty-five or thirty years they are almost universally handsome, no matter to what class they belong. Those who have the advantage of domestic comforts, good food, and delicate associations de- velop accordingly, and are especially beautiful. They 110 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. would make charming artists' models. The remarka- bly straight figure of the native women is noticeable, caused by the practice referred to of carrying bur- dens on the head. As already mentioned, if a negro or Indian woman has an article to transport, even if it be but a quart bottle, or an umbrella, it is placed at once upon the head. The article may weigh five pounds or fifty, it is all the same ; everything but the babies is thus transported. These little naked crea- tures, always suggestive of monkeys, are supported on the mother's back, held there by a shawl or rebozo tied securely across the chest. When the children are six or eight years old, they are promoted to the dignity of wearing one small garment, an abbreviated shirt or chemise. The principal food of the common people of north- ern Brazil is farina and dried fish, with fried plan- tains and ripe bananas. Crabs and oysters of a poor description abound along the coast, and are eaten by the people, both in a raw and cooked condition. But the white people avoid the coast oysters, which some- times poison those not accustomed to them. The finest avenue in Para is the Estrada de Sao Jose, bordered by grand old palms, which form a beau- tiful perspective and a welcome shade, the feathery tops nearly embracing each other overhead. The tramway takes one through the environs by the Eua de Nazareth, for five miles to Marco da Legua, where the public wells of the city are situated. Thfe way thither is lined with neat and handsome dwellings. THE INDIA-RUBBER TREE. Ill shaded by noble trees. The botanical garden is well worth a visit by aU lovers of horticulture. The forest creeps up towards the environs of the town, wherein many of the trees are rendered beautiful by clinging orchids of gorgeous blue ; others are of blood red, and some of orange yellow, presenting also a great diver- sity of form. One has not far to go to see specimens of the india-rubber tree, growing from ninety to a himdred feet in height, while measuring from four to five feet in diameter. This tree begins to produce gum at the age of fifteen years. The trunk is smooth and perfectly round, the bark of a buff color. It bears a curious fruit, of which some animals are said to be fond. The author has seen the india-rubber tree growing in the island of Ceylon, where it seemed to reach a greater height and dimensions than it does in the district of Para. A considerable portion of the roots lie above groimd, stretching away from the base of the tree like huge anacondas, and finally disap- pearing in the earth half a rod or more from the par- ent trunk. The reader can hardly fail to be familiar with the simple wild plant, which grows so abun- dantly by our New England roadsides, known as the mUk-weed, which, when the stem is cut or broken, emits a creamy, pungent smelling liquid. In the latitude of Para, this little weed, of the same family, asstimes the form of a colossal tree, and is known as the india-rubber tree. The United States takes of Brazilian rubber, in the crude state, over twenty-five thousand tons annually. As to coffee, Brajsil supplies 112 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. one half of all whicli is consiimed in the civilized ■world ; but we should frankly tell the reader, if he does not already realize the fact, that it is most fre- quently marked and sold for "Old Government Java." The india-rubber tree is tapped annually very much after the same style in which we treat the sugar-maple in Vermont, and elsewhere, to procTxre its sap. A yel- low, creamy liquid flows forth from the rubber tree into small cups placed beneath an incision made in the trunk. When the cup becomes full, its contents is emptied into a large common receptacle, where it is allowed to partially harden, and in which form it is called caoutchouc. The tapping of the trees and attending to the gathering of the sap furnish em- ployment to hundreds of the natives, who, however, make but small wages, being employed by contrac- tors, who either lease the trees of certain districts, or own large tracts of forest land. These Brazilian forests are very grand, abounding in valuable aro- matic plants, precious woods, gaudy birds, and va- rious wild animals. The number of monkeys is ab- solutely marvelous, including many curious varieties. A native will not kiU a monkey ; indeed, it must be difficult for a European to make up his mind to shoot a creature so nearly human in its actions, and whose pleading cries when wounded are said to be so pitiable. One of the peculiar street sights in Para is that of native women with a dozen young monkeys of dif- ferent species for sale. Marmosets can be bought for THE ROYAL PALM. 113 a quarter of a dollar each. So tame are the little creatures that they cling about the woman's person, fastening upon her hair, arms, and neck, not in the least inclined to escape from her. It is remarkable and interesting to see how very fond they become of their owner, if he is kind to them. Like the dog and the cat, they seem to have a strong desire for human companionship. When seen running wild in the woods, leaping from tree to tree, and from branch to branch, they do not try to get far away from the presence of man, but only to keep, in their un- tamed state, just out of reach of his hands. Ships sailing hence generally take away a few of these ani- mals, but as they are delicate, and very sensitive to climatic changes, many of them die before reaching Europe or North America. The great beauty of Para is its abundance of palm trees. The palm is always an interesting object, as well as a most valuable one ; interesting because of its historical and legendary associations, and valuable, since it would be almost impossible to eniunerate the number of important uses to which it and its products are put. To the people of the tropics it is the prolific source of food, shelter, clothing, fuel, fibre for sev- eral uses, sugar, oil, wax, and wine. It has been aptly termed the "princess of the vegetable world." One indigenous species, the Piassaba, is a palm which yields a most valuable fibre, extensively manufactured into cordage and ships' cables, for which purpose it is much in use on the coast of South America. It 114 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. is found to be stronger and more elastic than hemp when thus employed, besides which it is far more dur- able. The product of this species of pahn is also ex- ported in large quantities to North America and to England, for the purpose of making brushes, brooms, and various sorts of domestic matting. The nights are especially beautiful in this region. We were interested in observing the remarkable bril- liancy of the sky; the stars do not seem to sparkle, as with us at the north, but shed a soft, steady light, making all things luminous. This is the natural re- sult of the clearness of the atmosphere. One is sur- prised at first to find the moon apparently so much in- creased in size and effulgency. The Southern Cross is ever present, though it is dominated by the Centaur. Orion is seen in his glory, and the Scorpion is clearly defined. In the author's estimation, there is no exhi- bition of the heavens in these regions which surpasses the magnificence of the far-reaching MUky Way. CHAPTER VI. Island of Marajo. — Rare and Beautiful Biids. — Original Mode of Securing Humming-Birds. — Maranhao. — Educational. — Value of Native Forests. — Pemambuco. — Difficulty of Landing. — An Dl- ehosen Name. — Local Scenes. — Uncleanly Habits of the People. — Great Sugar Mart. — Native Houses. — A Quaint Hostelry. — Cata- marans. — A Natural Breakwater. — Sailing down the Coast. The island of Marajo, situated at the mouth of the Amazon, opposite Para, and belonging to the province or state of that name, is a hundred and eighty miles in length and about one hundred and sixty in width, nearly identical in size with the island of Sicily, and almost oval in form. One of the principal shore settlements is Breves, on the southeastern corner of the island, which lies somewhat low, and consists of remarkably fertile soil, so abounding in wild and beautiful vegetation and exquisite floral varieties, that it is called in this region "the Island of Flow- ers." We can easily believe the name to be appropri- ately chosen, since, as we skirt its verdant shores hour after hour, they seem to emit the drowsy, caressing sweetness of fragrant flowers so sensibly as to almost produce a narcotic effect. The easterly or most sea- ward part of Marajo is open, marshy, sandy land, but back from the shore the soil is of a rich, black allu- viiun, supporting in very large tracts a dense forest 116 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. growth, similar to all the low lying tropical lands of South America. The popiilation is recorded as num- bering about twenty thousand, divided into several settlements, mostly on the coast, and consists largely of the aboriginal race found by the first comers upon this island, who, on account of their somewhat isolated condition, have amalgamated less with Europeans and the imported colored race than any other tribe on the east coast of the continent. The extensive meadows of Marajo are the grazing fields of numerous herds of wild horses and horned cattle, the former of a superior breed, highly prized on the mainland; and yet so rapidly do they increase in this climate, in the wild state, that every few years they are killed in large numbers for their hides alone. The exports from the island consist of rice, cattle, horses, and hides. There are some large plantations devoted to the cidtivation of rice, the soil and water supply of certain districts being especially favorable to this crop. As intimated, a considerable portion of Marajo is covered with a forest growth so dense as to be compared to the jungles of Africa and India, and which, so far as is known, has never been penetrated by the foot of man. Travelers who have visited the borders of this leafy wilderness expatiate upon the strange, inexplicable sounds which are heard at times, amid the prevailing stillness and sombre aspect of these primeval woods. Sometimes there comes, it is said, from out the forest depth a wild cry, like that of a human being in distress, but which, however long PARADISE OF NATURALISTS. 117 one may listen, is not repeated. Again, there is heard an awful crash, like the falling of some pon- derous forest giant, then stillness once more settles over the mysterious, tangled woods. Every time the silence is broken it seems to be by some new and in- explicable sound, not to be satisfactorily accounted for. The lagoons near the centre of Marajo are said to abound in alligators, which are sometimes sought for by the natives for their hides, for which a fair price is realized, since fashion has rendered this article popular in a hundred different forms. The num- ber and variety of birds and lesser animals to be found upon the island are marvelous. Certain species of birds seem to have retreated to this spot from the mainland, before the tide of European immigration; indeed, it has for a long time been considered the paradise of the naturalist. Over thirty species of that peculiar bird, the toucan, have been secured here. When Professor Agassiz was engaged in his scien- tific exploration of the Amazon, he dispatched a small but competent party especially to obtain specimens from this island, the result being both a surprise and a source of great gratification to the king of natural- ists. Many of the objects secured by these explorers were rare and beautiful birds, not a few of which are unique, and of which no previous record existed. There were also many curious insects and other speci- mens particularly valuable to naturalists, most of which are preserved to-day in the Agassiz Museimi at Cam- bridge, Massachusetts. The toucan, just spoken of. 118 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. is most remarkable for its beauty and variety of col- ors, as well as for the very peculiar form and size of its elephantine biU, which makes it look singularly ill-balanced. This ludicrous appendage is nine inches long and three in circumference ; the color is yermilion and yellow delicately mingled. The toucan is much coveted for special collections by all naturalists, and is becoming very scarce, except in this one equatorial locality. Scarlet ibises and roseate spoonbills are also found at Marajo, both remarkably fine examples of semi-aquatic fowl, and when these are secured in good condition for preservation, the natives realize good prices for them. In order to procure desirable specimens of the hiunming-bird species, which are also abundant on this island, the native hunters resort to an ingenious device, so as not to injure the skin or the extremely delicate plumage of this butterfly -bird. For this purpose they use a peculiar syringe made from reeds, and charged with a solution of adhesive gum, which, when directed by an experienced hand, clogs the bird's wings at once, stopping its flight and caus- ing it to fall to the ground. Some are caught by means of nets set on the end of long bamboo poles, such as are used to secure butterflies, but this method is poorly adapted to catch so quick moving a creature as a hum- ming-bird. The author has seen, in southern India, butterflies of gaudiest texture with bodies as large as small humming-birds, which were quite as brilliant as they in lovely colors. The variety and beauty of this insect, as found anywhere from Tuticorin to ISLAND OF MAR A JO. 119 Darjeeling, is notable. Wherever British troops are permanently settled, the wives of the common soldiers become very expert in catching and arranging these attractive objects, preserving them in frames under glass. These find ready purchasers for museums and private collections all over Europe, and are sold at moderate prices, but serve to add a welcome trifle to the extremely poor pay of a common soldier having perhaps a wife and one or two children to support. The island of Marajo was not formed at the Ama- zon's mouth of soil brought down from the interior by the river's current, as is often the case with islands thus situated, but is a natural, rocky formation which serves to divide the channel and give the river a double outlet into the Atlantic. Agassiz studied its character, and gives us an interesting statement as the result. He declared, after careful geological exami- nation, that it is an island which was once situated far inland, away from the river's mouth, but which is now brought near to it by the gradual encroach- ment of the Atlantic Ocean, whose waves and rest- less currents have slowly worn away the northeastern part of the continent. This abrasion must have been going on for many thousand years, to have pro- duced such a decided topographical change. For the word years, upon second thought, read ages, which will undoubtedly express the true idea much more correctly. There are over twenty species of palms indigenous to Marajo, which, as one skirts the water front, are 120 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. seen growing along tlie far-reaching shore, fostered by the humidity of the atmosphere arising from the ever- flowing waters of the great river. Among these the peach-pahn is quite conspicuous, with its spiny stems and mealy, nutritious fruit. There are also the cocoa-palm and the assai-pahn, the latter gayly dec- orated with its delicate green plumes and long spear pointing heavenward, an emblem borne by no other tree in existence. The great variety of forms of plant life and giant grasses is extremely curious and beau- tiful on this interesting island. We heard, while at Para, of a proposal made by some European party to thoroughly explore Marajo, which has never yet been done, so far as is known to our time, and it is believed that some very interesting and valuable discoveries may be the result of such an expedition, composed of engineers, scientists, and naturalists. A day's sail to the eastward, bearing a little to the south along the coast, brings us to the port of Ma- ranhao, which is the capital of a province of Brazil known by the same name, situated a little over three hundred miles from Para. The place is picturesquely nestled, as it were, in the very lap of the mountains, which come boldly down to the coast at this point. It was founded nearly three hundred years ago, is regularly built, and contains between thirty and forty thousand inhabitants. Nearly all of the houses, which are generally of two stories, are ornamented with at- tractive balconies, and have handsome gardens attached to them, where the luxurious verdure is with difficulty MARANHAO. 121 kept within proper bounds. Vegetation runs riot in equatorial regions. It is the one pleasing outlet of nature, whose overcharged vitality, spurred on by the climate, must find vent either in teeming vegetation or in raging volcanoes, tidal waves, and unwelcome earthquakes, though sometimes, to be sure, we find them all combined in the tropics. The harbor of Maranhao is excellent and sheltered, the depth of water permitting the entrance of ships drawing full twenty feet, an advantage which some of the ports to the southward would give millions of dollars to possess. According to published statistics, the exports during 1890 were as follows: thirty-six hundred tons of cotton, six hundred tons of sugar, seven hundred tons of hides, a large amount of rice, and some other minor articles. The imports for the same period were estimated at something less than three million dollars in value. This is the entrepot of several populous districts, besides that of which it is the capital. The province itself contains a nimiber of navigable rivers, with some thrifty towns on their banks. The bay gives ample evidence of commercial activity, containing at all times a number of foreign steamships, with a goodly show of coasting vessels. The place is slowly but steadily growing in its business relations, and in the number of its per- manent population. It cannot make any pretension to architectural excellence, though the Bishop's palace and the ca- thedral are handsome structures. There are two or 122 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. three other prominent edifices, quaint and Moorish, which were once nunneries or monasteries; also a foundling institution, a special necessity in all Boman Catholic countries. We found here a public library, and a botanical garden. Not far inland there are some extensive rice plantations, the province in some portions being specially adapted to producing this valuable staple. We were informed by those whose opinion was worthy of respect, that educational advan- tages are rather remarkable here, the Lyceum having in the past few years graduated some of the most prominent statesmen and professionals in Brazil. One thing is very certain, the authorities cannot mid- tiply educational facilities any too rapidly in this country, nor give the subject any too much attention, especially as regards the rising generation of both sexes. So far as we could learn by inquiry, or judge by careful observation, the ignorance of the mass of the people is simply deplorable. Maranhao is situated about fourteen hundred miles north of Rio Janeiro, with which port it carries on an extensive coasting trade. The exports, besides the staples already spoken of, are various, including an- notto, sarsaparilla, balsam copaiba, and other medi- cinal extracts, together with rum and crude india- rubber. The climate is torrid, the city being one hundred and fifty miles south of the equator; and though, like most of the towns on the eastern coast of the continent, it is rather an unhealthy locality, it is much less so than Para, and is a far more cleanly LOCAL PRODUCTS. 123 place than that city, its situation giving it the advan- tage of a system of natural drainage. The country near Maranhao abounds in native forests of exuber- ant richness, producing a valuable quality of timber, and affording some of the finest cabinet woods known to commerce, as well as a practically inexhaustible supply of various dyewoods, a considerable business being done in the export of the latter article. It was observed that the assai-palm, from which the palm wine is made, was also a prominent feature here. The trunk is quite smooth, the fruit growing in heavy bunches like grapes, dark brown in color, and about the size of cranberries, hanging in heavy clusters just below the bunch of long leaves which forms the top of the tree. The native drink which is made from these palm grapes is a favorite beverage in northern Bra- zil, and when properly fermented it contains about the same percentage of alcohol as English pale ale. To the author, the town of Maranhao was quite imknown; even its place upon the maps had never attracted his attention until after it was seen lying peacefully in an amphitheatre of tall hills, which come down close to the rock-ribbed shore of the Atlantic Ocean. This acknowledgment is between ourselves, for such a confession would sound very ridiculous to the good people of Maranhao. After leaving its harbor, our next objective point was Pernambuco, which is situated about four days' sail from Para by steamship, and about three from Marauhao. 124 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. This well-known port, with its one hundred and fifty- thousand inhabitants, is reckoned as the third city of Brazil in point of size and commercial importance. It lacks elevation to produce a good effect, and recalls the low-lying city of Havana in general appearance, as one approaches it from the sea. The harbor is not what could be desired for a commercial city, having hardly sufficient depth of water for vessels of heavy tonnage, and being also too narrow for a modern long steamship to safely turn in. The American line of steamships come to a mooring inside the harbor, but the European lines, or at least the Pacific Mail, in which we made the home passage, anchor in the open roadstead, three quarters of a mile from the shore. The harbor is formed by a long natural reef, which makes a breakwater between it and the open sea, a portion of the reef having been built up with solid masonry to render it more effective. This remark- able coral formation, which is more or less clearly defined, extends along the coast for a considerable distance, — it is said for four hundred miles. Op- posite Pernambuco it rises six feet above the water, that is, above high-water mark, and runs parallel to the front street of the city at the distance from it of about a third of a mile or less. A wide opening in the reef at the northern end of the town makes the entrance to the harbor. Off the northeast coast of Australia, there is a very similar reef-formation, fully as long as this on the South American coast, but situated much further from the shore. HARBOR OF PERNAMBUCO. 125 It is a serious drawback that passengers by large ocean steamers cannot enter the harbor of Pernam- buco except by lighters or open boats ; all freight brought by these steamers must also be transhipped. Landing here is often accomplished at considerable personal risk, and a thorough ducking with salt water is not at all uncommon in the attempt to reach the shore. To pull a boat from the open roadstead into the harbor, or vice versa, requires six stout oarsmen and an experienced man at the helm, so that landing from the Pacific Mail steamers is both a serious' and an expensive affair. If a very heavy sea is running, the thing cannot be done, and no one wUl attempt it. The powerful wind which so often prevails on the coast occasionally creates quite a commotion even inside the harbor, among the shipping moored there, causing the largest cables to part and vessels to drag their an- chors. Of course a vessel lying in the open road- stead, outside of the reef, has no protection whatever, and is in a critical situation if the wind blows to- wards the land. If it comes on to blow suddenly, she buoys and slips her anchor at once; she dares not waste the time to hoist it, but gets away as quickly as possible to where there is plenty of sea room and no lee shore to fear. Fortunately, though so fierce for the time being, and of a cyclonic character, the storms upon the coast are generally of brief duration, and like the furious pamperos, which are so dreaded by mariners further south, they blow themselves out in a few hours. 126 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. The geographical situation of Pernambueo is such, in the track of commerce, that vessels boimd north or south, from Europe or from North America, naturally make it a port of call to obtain late advices and pro- visions. The name has been singularly chosen, no one can say how or by whom, but it signifies "the mouth of hell," a cognomen which we do not think the place at all deserves. It is a narrow, crowded, picturesque old seaport. The town is situated at the mouth of the Biberibe River, just five hundred miles south of the equator, and is divided in rather a peculiar manner into three distinct parts: Recife, on a narrow peninsula; Boa Vista, on the river shore; and San Antonio, on an island in the river; aU being connected, however, by six or eight substantial iron bridges. The first named division is the business portion of the capital, about whose water front the commercial life of Pernambueo centres, but the streets of Recife are very narrow and often confusingly crooked. Boa Vista is beautified by pleasant domestic residences, delightful gardens, and attractive promenades, far beyond anything which a stranger anticipates meeting in this part of the world. Though the business portion of the city is so low, the other sections are of better and more recent construction. The view of the town and harbor to be had from some portions of Olinda is very fine and compre- hensive, taking in a wide reach of land and ocean. When a brief storm is raging, spending its force DISREGARD OF SANITARY CONDITIONS. 127 against the reef, the view from this point is indeed grand. The sea, angered at meeting a substantial impediment, seethes and foams in wild excitement, dashing fifty feet into the air, and, falling over the reef, lashes the inner waters of the harbor into waves which mount the landing piers, and set everything afloat in the broad plaza which lines the shore. The big ships rock and sway incessantly, straining at their anchors, or chafing dangerously at their moorings. Precautions are taken to avert damage, but man's strength and skill count for little when opposed by the enraged elements. This plaza, or quay, is shaded by aged magnolias of great height, and is the resort of unemployed seamen, fruit dealers, and idlers of all degrees. The house- fronts in the various sections of the town are bril- liantly colored, yellow, blue, white, and pink, also sometimes being covered halfway up the first story with glittering tiles of various hues. At nearly every turn one comes upon the mossgrown, crumbling fa- cade of some old church, about the corners of which .there is often a grossly filthy receptacle, the vile odor from which permeates the surrounding atmosphere. This was found to be almost insupportable with the thermometer standing at 90° Fahr. in the shade, forming so obvious a means for propagating malarial fever and sickness generally as to be absolutely ex- asperating. Notwithstanding all appearances, the American consul assured us that Pernambuco is one of the healthiest cities on the east coast of South 128 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. America. The yellow fever, however, does not by any means forget to visit the place annually. Expe- rience showed us that the residents along the coast were accustomed to give their own city precedence in the matter of hygienic conditions, and to admit, with serious faces, that the other capitals, north and south, were sadly afflicted by epidemics at nearly all seasons. Pemambuco has several quite small but well-ar- ranged public squares, decorated with fountains, trees, and flowers of many species. Two of these plazas have handsome pagodas, from which outdoor concerts are often given by military bands. The city is a thriving and progressive place, has extensive gas works, an admirable system of water supply, tram- ways, good public schools, and one college or high school. We must not forget to add to this list a very flourishing foundling asylum, where any num- ber of poor little waifs are constantly being received, and no questions asked. A revolving box or cradle is placed in a wall of the hospital, next to the street, in which any person can deposit an infant, ring th^ bell, and the cradle will revolve, leaving the child on the inside of the establishment, where the little deserted object will be duly cared for. Connected with the hospital are several outlying buildings, where children are placed at various stages of growth. We were told that about forty per cent, of such children live to grow up to maturity, and leave the care of the government fairly well fitted to take their place DOMESTIC HABITS. 129 in the world, and to fight the battle of life so very inauspieiously begun. It has been strongly argued that such an establishment offers a premium upon iUegitimaey and immorality; but one thing is to be considered, it prevents the terrible crime of infanti- cide, which is said to have prevailed here to an alarm- ing extent before this hospital was founded. There is a passably good system of drainage, which was certainly very much needed, and since its com- pletion the general health of the place is said to have considerably unproved. This is not all that is re- quired, however. There should be a decided reform in the habits of the people as regards cleanliness. At present they are positively revolting. The inhabit- ants are the very reverse of neat in their domestic as- sociations, and home arrangements for natural conven- iences are inexcusably objectionable ; such, indeed, as would in a North American city, or even small town, call for the prompt interference of the local board of health. These remarks do not apply to isolated cases ; the trouble is universal. Families living otherwise in comparative affluence utterly disregard neatness and decency in the matter to which we allude. The districts neighboring to Pernambueo form ex- tensive plains, well adapted to the raising of sugar, coffee, and cotton, as well as aU sorts of tropical fruits and vegetables. There are many flourishing planta- tions representing these several interests, more espe- cially that of sugar. The storehouses on the wharves and in the business sections of the city, the oxcarts 130 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. passing through, the streets, drawn each by a single animal, and even the very atmosphere, seem to be full of sugar. It is, in fact, the great sugar mart of South America. The annual amount of the article which is exported averages some twelve hundred thou- sand tons. Sugar is certainly king at Pernambuco. People not only drink, but they talk sugar. It is the one great interest about which all other business re- volves. The article is mostly of the lower grade, and requires to be refined before it is suitable for the mar- ket. The refining process is being generally adopted at the plantations. American machinery is intro- duced for the purpose with entire success. The ex- port of the crude article will, it is believed, be much less every year for the future, until it ceases alto- gether. It was a singular sight to observe the naked negroes carrying canvas bags of crude sugar upon their heads through the streets, each bag weighing a hundred pounds or more. The intense heat caused the canvas to exude quantities of syrup or molasses, which covered their dark, glossy bodies with small streams of fluid. They trotted along in single file, and at a quick pace, towards their destination, un- heeding the sticky condition of their woolly heads and naked bodies. Not far inland there are extensive meadows, where large herds of horned cattle are raised, together with a breed of half -wild horses, the breaking and domes- ticating of which, as here practiced, is a most cruel process. A certain set of men devote themselves to HARBOR IMPROVEMENTS. 131 this business ; rough riders, we should call them, very- rough. Good horses are to be had at extraordina- rily low prices. In the back country there are some grand and extensive forests, which produce fine cabinet woods and superior dyewoods. By consulting a map of the western hemisphere, it will be seen that Pemambueo is situated on the great eastern shoulder of South America, where it pushes farthest into the Atlantic Ocean, fifteen hun- dred miles south of Para, and about five hundred north of Bahia. On the long coral reef which sepa- rates the harbor from the open sea is a picturesque lighthouse, also a quaint old watch tower which dates from the time of the Dutch dominion here. It Is pro- posed to build additional layers of heavy granite blocks upon the reef, so as to raise it about six or eight feet higher and make it of a uniform elevation along the entire city front, and thus afford almost com- plete protection for the inner anchorage. It will be only possible to make any real improvement of the harbor by adopting a thorough system of dredging and deepening. There was evidence of such a purpose being already in progress on our second visit, two large steam dredging machines being anchored at the southerly end of the harbor. The people of this hot region know the great value of shade trees, consequently they abound, half hiding from view the numerous handsome villas which form the attractive suburbs of the city. Everywhere one sees tall cocoanut palms, clusters of feathery bam- 132 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. boos, widespread mangoes, prolific bananas, guavas, and plantains growing among other graceful tropical trees, rich in the green texture of their foliage, and thrice rich in their luscious and abundant fruits. Among the vine products we must not forget to men- tion a rich, high flavored grape, which is native here, and which all people praise after once tasting. The water, which is brought into the city by a system of double iron pipes, comes from a neighboring lake, and is a pure and wholesome drink, a most incomparable blessing in equatorial regions, which no person who has not suffered for the want of it can duly appreciate. The International Hotel is the favorite resort of strangers, and is situated a couple of miles from the harbor. It is surrounded by beautiful trees and flow- ers, the golden oranges weighing down the branches nearly to the ground by their size and abundance, while the young blossoms fiU the air with their deli- cate perfume, — fruit and blossoms on the tree at the same time. The garden is thronged by household pets, and contains a spacious aviary. The monkey tribe is fully represented; gaudy winged parrots daz- zle the eye with impossible colors. One partakes here, in the open air, of the refreshing viands amid the songs of birds, the occasional scream of the cockatoo, the cooing of turtle-doves, and the fragrance of a pro- fusion of tropical flowers. The native servants are well-trained, and there is a French chef. We were told that this attractive place had once belonged to a very wealthy Brazilian, a planter, who had come to A PERNAMBUCO HOTEL. 133 grief financially, and as the house was offered for sale, it had been purchased for one fifth of its original cost and adapted to hotel purposes. While enjoying our fruit at dessert, a somewhat similar experience was recalled as having taken place at Christiania, in Nor- way, where visitors enjoy the meals in a sort of out- door museum and garden, surrounded by curious pre- served birds mingled with living ones, the latter so tame as to alight fearlessly upon the table and await any choice bit guests may offer them. We shall not soon forget the very appetizing dinner of which we partook, amid such attractive surround- ings, in the gardens of the International Hotel at Per- nambuco. One fruit which was served to us is known by the name of the loquat. It is round, dark yellow, and about the size of a Tangerine orange, — a great favorite with the natives, though it is mostly stone and skin, and tastes like turpentine. This city is often called the Venice of Brazil, but why, it is difficult for one to understand. It is only poetical license, for there is not the first actual resem- blance between the two cities. True, there are several watercourses, and half a dozen bridges, intersecting this Brazilian capital. One would be equally justified in calling the frail catamarans which are used by the fishermen in these waters, gondolas. This singular craft, by the way, consists of four or five logs of the cork-palm tree, confined together by a series of strong lashings, no nails being used, thus securing a necessary degree of elasticity. One end of the logs 134 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. is hewn down to a smaller size or width than the other, thus forming stem and stern, while a single thick plank serves as a keel. There are no bulwarks to this crazy craft, — for it can hardly be called any- thing else, — the whole being freely washed by the sea; but yet, with a rude mast carrying a triangular sail, and with a couple of oars, two or three fisher- men venture far away from the shore ; indeed, we encountered them out of sight of land. A couple of upright stakes are driven into the logs, to hold on by when occasion requires. It is really wonderful to see how weatherly such a frail affair can be, and how literally safe in a rough seaway. The boatmen who navigate these catamarans (they are called here janguardas) manage to keep the market of Pernam- buco abundantly supplied with the strange, fantastic fish which so prevail along the Atlantic coast ia equa- torial regions. We have seen a craft very similar to these cata- marans in use off the Coromandel coast, between Ma- dras and the mouth of the Hoogly River, which leads up to Calcutta. Here the natives manage them in a sea so rough that an ordinary ship's boat, if exposed, would surely be swamped. The Madras catamaran consists of three pieces of timber, mere logs twelve or fourteen feet long, securely bound together with ropes made from the fibre of the cocoanut palm. Nails are no more available here than in the former crafts we have named. No nails could withstand the wrench- ing which this raft is subjected to. The middle log CATAMARANS. 135 is a little longer than the two outside ones, and is given a slight upward turn at the end which forms the prow. No sail is used, but two fishermen gener- ally go out with each of these rafts, propelling them with broad-bladed paddles, used alternately on either side. Of course the natives who navigate these crafts are naked, with the exception of a breech-cloth at the loins. They are very frequently thrown off by the sea, but regain their places with remarkable agility. They manage also, somehow, to secure their fishing gear, and generally to bring in a remunerative fare from their excursions. Strange as the catamaran is, it must yet be described as breezy, watery, and safe — for amphibious creatures. There is one enemy these fishermen have to look out for, namely the shark, both on the coast of Madras and South America. It is more common to say when one is lost that the sharks got him, than it is to say he was drowned. The reef so often referred to, forming the break- water opposite Pernambuco, is about forty feet in width at the surface, and is the marvelous architecture of that tiny coral builder which works beneath these southern seas. When it has reared a pyramid reach- ing from the far bottom of the ocean to the surface, its mission is performed and it dies. It lives and works only beneath the surface of the sea; atmospheric air is fatal to it. The pyramids of Egypt cannot com- pare with these submerged structures for height, solid- ity, or magnitude. One is the product of a creature of such seeming unimportance as to require micro- 136 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. scopic aid to detect its existence; the other are monu- ments erected by ancient kings commanding infinite resources ; the former being the process of nature in carrying out her great and mysterious plan; the lat- ter, the ambitious work of men whose very identity is now questionable. If we were to enter into a calcu- lation based upon known scientific facts, as to how many thousands of years were required for this mi- nute animal to rear this massive structure, the result would astonish the average reader. On approaching Pernambuco from the sea, the first object to attract the eye is the long line of snow white breakers, caused by the incessant swell of the sea striking against the firmly planted reef with a deafen- ing surge, breaking into foam and spray which are thrown forty feet and more into the air. As we drew near for the first time, the extended line of breakers was illumined by the .early morning sun, making fancy rainbows and misty pictures in the mingled air and water. We were escorted by myri- ads of sea birds, whose sharp cries came close upon the ear, as they flew in and about the rigging. Be- hind the reef lay the comparatively smooth waters of the harbor, dotted here and there by tiny white sails, curious shaped coasting craft, rowboats, and steam tugs, while the background was formed by a leafless forest of tall ships' masts which lined the wharves, and partially screened the low-lying capital from view. We have remained quite long enough at this city COAST OF BRAZIL. 137 of tlie reef, and now turn southward towards the more attractive port of Bahia. In running down the coast, the Brazilian shore is so near as to be distinctly visible, with its surf- fringed beach of golden sands extending mUe after mile, beyond which, far inland, rise ranges of forest- clad hUls, and beyond these, sky-reachiug alps. It is often necessary to give the land a wide berth, as at certain points dangerous sandbars make out from it far to seaward ; but whenever near enough to the coast to make out the character of the vegetation, it was of deepest green and exuberantly tropical. With the exception of one or two small towns, and an occasional fisherman's hamlet, the shore presented no signs of habitation, being mostly a sandy waste ad- joining the sea, where heavy rollers spent their force upon the smooth, water-worn, yellow beach. CHAPTER Vn. Port of Bahia. — A Quaint Old City. — Former Capital of Brazil. -> Whaling Interests. — Beautiful Panorama. — Tramways. — No Color Line Here. — The Sedan Chair. — Feather Flowers. — Great Orange Mart. — Passion Flower Fruit. — Coffee, Sugar, and Tobacco. — A Coffee Plantation. — Something about Diamonds. — Health of the City. — Cm'ious Tropical Street Scenes. Bahia, — pronoimced Bah-ee'ah, — situated three hundred and fifty miles south of Pernambuco, is the capital of a province of the same name in Brazil, and contains nearly two hundred thousand inhabitants. It is admirably situated on elevated ground at the en- trance of All Saints Bay, — Todos os Santos, — just within Cape San Antonio, eight hundred miles or thereabouts north of Rio Janeiro. The entrance of the bay is seven miles broad. For its size, there are few harbors in the world which present a more attrac- tive picture as one first beholds it on entering from the open Atlantic. The elevated site of the city, with its close array of neat, white three and four story houses, breaks the sky line in front of the anchorage, while the town forms a half moon in shape, extending for a couple of miles each way, right and left. Near the water's edge, on the lower line of the city, are many substantial warehouses, official establishments, the custom house, and the like. Between the lower and YELLOW FEVER. 139 the upper town is a long reach of green terraced em- bankment, intense in its bright verdure. Probably no other city on the globe, certainly not so far as our experience extends, is so peculiarly divided. A sad episode marked our first experience here. We came to anchor in the harbor, according to custom, at what is known as the Quarantine. About a cable's length from us lay a large European steamship, flying the yellow flag at the fore. She came into port from Rio Janeiro on the previous evening ; five of her pas- sengers who had died of yellow fever on the passage were buried at sea, while two more were down with it, and were being taken ^ the lazaretto on shore, as we dropped our anchor. Probably they went there to die. This was naturally depressing, more so, per- haps, as we were bound direct for Rio Janeiro ; but as we now came from a northern port with a clean biU of health, we were finally released from quarantine and permitted to land. It is late in the season — last of May — for this pest of the coast to prevail, but the year 1891 has been one of unusual fatality in the South American ports, and none of them have been entirely exempt from the scourge, some showing a fearful list of mortality among both citizens and strangers. We were conversant with many instances of a particularly trying and sad nature, if any distinc- tion can be made where death intervenes with such a rude hand. Victims who were in apparent good health in the morning were not infrequently buried on the evening of the same day ! But we wiU spare the reader harrowing details. 140 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. Americus Vespucius discovered BaWa in 1503, wtile sailing under the patronage of Portugal, and as it was settled in 1511, it is the oldest city in the country, being also the second in size, though not in commercial importance. The excellent harbor is so spacious as to form a small inland sea, the far reach- ing shores of which are beautified by mingled green foliage and pretty viUas stretching along the bay, while the business portion gives evidence of a grow- ing and important foreign trade. This deduction is also corroborated by the presence of nimierous Euro- pean steamships, and full-rigged sailing vessels de- voted to the transportatioi|| of merchandise. The buildings are generally of a substantial appearance, whether designed as residences or for business pur- poses, but are mostly of an antique pattern, old and dingy. Though the city is divided into the lower and the upper town, the latter two or three hundred feet above the former, it is made easily accessible by mechanical means. A large elevator, run by hydrauhc power, is employed for the purpose, which was built by an energetic Yankee, and has been in successful operation several years, taking the citizens from the lower to the upper town, as we pass from basement to attic in our tall North American buildings. Between the two portions of Bahia there are streets for the transportation of merchandise, which wind zigzag fashion along the ravine to avoid the abruptness of the ascent. Besides these means, there are narrow stone steps leading upwards to the first level, among the VIEW OF BAHIA. 141 tropical verdure, the deep green branches and leaves nodding to one from out of narrow lanes and quiet nooks. There is still another way of reaching the upper town, namely, a cable road, of very steep grade, one car ascending while another descends, thus forming a sort of counterbalance. By all these facilities united, the population manage very comfortably to overcome the topographical difficulties of the situation. Though there are few buildings of any special note in Bahia, the general architecture being quaint and nondescript, still the combined view of the city, as we have endeavored to show, is of no inconsiderable beauty. We approached it from the north, doubling Light House Point in the early morning, just as the rising sun lighted up the bay. Seen from the harbor, the large dome of the cathedral overlooks the whole town very much like the gilded dome which forms so conspicuous an object on approaching the city of Bos- ton. The dark, low-lying, grim-looking fort, which presides over the quarantine anchorage, is built upon a natural ledge of rock, half a mile from the shore of the town, and looks like a huge cheese-box. In the upper portion of Bahia the streets are nar- row, and the houses so tall as to nearly exclude the sun when it is not in the zenith. They are built of a native stone, and differ from the majority of South American dwellings, which are rarely over two stories in height, and generally of one only. We have heard it argued that it is advantageous to build tropical cities with narrow streets, so as to exclude the heat of 142 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. the sun's rays and thus keep the houses cooler. This is not logical. Wide avenues and broad streets give ventilation which cannot be obtained in any other way in populous centres. Narrow lanes invite epidemics, fevers, and malarial diseases ; broad thoroughfares give less opportunity for their lodgment. A beehive of human beings, crowded together in a narrow space, exhausts the life-giving principle of the surrounding atmosphere, but this is impossible where plenty of room is given for the circulation of fresh air. These tall houses of Bahia have overhanging orna- mental balconies, which towards evening are filled with the female portion of the families, laughing, chat- ting, singing, and smoking, for the ladies of these lati^ tudes smoke in their domestic circles. Narrow as the streets of Bahia are, room is found for a well patron- ized tramway to run through them. No one thinks of walking, if it be for only a couple of hundred rods, on the line of the street cars. All of the civilized world seems to have grown lazy since the introduction of this modem facUity for cheap transportation. Bahia was the capital of Brazil until 1763, during which year the headquarters of the government were removed to Rio Janeiro. This is a sort of New Bedford, so to speak, having been for more than a century extensively engaged in the whaling business, an occupation which is stUl pursued to a limited extent. Whales frequent the bay of Bahia, where they are sometimes captured by small boats from the shore. It is supposed that the favorite food PURSUIT OF WHALES. 143 of this big game is fpund in these waters. There was a time when the close pursuit by fishing fleets fitted out in nearly all parts of the world rendered the whales wary and scarce. The catching and killing of so many seemed to have thinned out their number in most of the seas of the globe. Then came the great discovery of rock oil, which rapidly superseded the whale oil of commerce in general use. Thereupon the pursuit of the gigantic animal ceased to be of any great moment, while there was oil enough spontaneously pouring out of the weUs of Pennsylvania, and else- where, to fully satisfy the demand of the world at large. Being no longer hunted, the whales gradually became tame and increased in numbers, so that to-day there are probably as many in the usual haunts of these leviathans in either hemisphere as there ever were. The briefest sea voyage can hardly be made without sighting one or more of them, and sometimes in large schools. There is a portion of the elevated section of Bahia which is called Victoria, a reaUy beautiful locality, having delightful gardens, attractive walks, and myri- ads of noble shade trees. From here the visitor over- looks the bay, with its islands and curving shore decked with graceful pahns, bamboos, and mango groves'; upon the water are numerous tiny boats, while white winged sailing ships and dark, begrimed steamers unite in forming a picture of active life and maritime beauty. In the distance lies the ever green island of Itaparica, named after the first governor's Indian bride, while 144 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. still farther away is seen range,after range of tall, purple Mils, multiplied until lost in the distance. A few grim looking convents and monasteries, which have gradually come into the possession of the govern- ment, are now used as free schools, libraries, and hos- pitals. There is a medicaF college here which has a national reputation for general excellence, and many students come from Rio Janeiro, eight hundred miles away, to avail themselves of its advantages, receiving a diploma after attending upon its three years' course of studies. From subsequent inquiry, however, not only here but in Rio and elsewhere, we are satisfied that the science of medicine and surgery stands at a very low ebb throughout this great southland. For- eign doctors are looked upon with great distrust and jealousy ; indeed, it is very difficult for them to obtain a suitable license to practice in Brazil. This does not apply to dentistry, of which profession there are many American experts in the country, who have realized decided pecuniary and professional success. There were six or eight on board the Vigilancia, who had been on a visit to their North American homes during the summer season, at which time the fever is most to be di-eaded here. The city contains over sixty churches, some of which are fine edifices, built of stone brought from Europe. This could easily be done without much extra ex- pense, as the vessels visiting the port in those early days required ballast with which to cross the ocean. They brought no other cargo of any account, but were THE CATHEDRAL. 145 sure at certain seasons of the year to obtain a suit- able return freight, which paid a good profit on the round voyage. Several of these churches are in a very dilapidated condition, and probably will not be repaired. The cathedral is one of the largest struc- tures of the sort in Brazil, and is thought by many to be one of the finest. The cathedral at Rio, however, is a much more elaborate structure, and far more costly. It takes enormous sums, wrung from the poorest class of people, to maintain these gorgeous tem- ples and support the horde of fat, licentious, useless priests attached to them, while the mass of humanity find life a daily struggle with abject want and pov- erty. Does any thoughtful person believe for one moment that such hollow service can be grateful to a just and merciful Supreme Being? Bahia was a flourishing port before Rio Janeiro was known commercially, and was the first place of settle- ment by English traders on this coast. The present population is of a very mixed character, composed of nearly all nationalities, white and black, European and natives. There is no prejudice evinced as regards color. Mulatto or negro may once have been a slave, but he is a freeman now, both socially and in the eyes of the law. He is eligible for any position of trust, public or private, if he develops the requisite degree of intelligence. Men who have been slaves in their youth are now filling political offices here, with credit to themselves and satisfaction to the public. The actual reform from being a degraded land of slavery 146 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. to one of human, freedom is much more radical and thorough in Brazil than it is in our own Southern States, where the pretended equality of the colored race is simply a burlesque upon constitutional liberty. The occasional use of that quaint mode of convey- ance, the sedan chair, was observable, taking one back to the days of Queen Anne. Only a few years ago it was the one mode of transportation from the lower to the upper part of the town ; but modem facilities, al- ready referred to, have thrown the sedan chair nearly out of use. A few antique representatives of this style of vehicle, some quite expensive and elaborately ornamented, are stiU seen obstructing the entrances to the houses. The local name they bear is cadeira. When these chairs are used, they are borne upon the shoulders of two or four stalwart blacks, and are hung upon long poles, like a palanquin, after the fashion so often seen in old pictures and ancient tapestry. We have spoken of the narrowness of the streets through which the tramways pass. In many places, pedestrians are compelled to step into the doorways of dwellings to permit the cars to pass them. This is not only the case at Bahia, but also in half the busy portion of South American cities. These mule pro- pelled cars are now adopted all over this country and Mexico ; even fourth class cities have tramways, and many towns which have not yet risen to the dignity of having a city organization are thus supplied with transportation. The Bahia tramway, on its route to the suburbs, passes through fertile districts of great FEATHER FLOWERS. 147 rural beauty, among groves of tropical fruits, orange orchards, taU overshadowing mangoes, and cultivated flowers. There is an attempt at a public garden, though it is an idea only half carried out ; but there is a terrace in connection here called " The Bluff," from whence one gets a magnificent view, more espe- cially of the near and the distant sea. These delight- ful and comprehensive natural pictures are photo- graphed upon the memory, forming a charming cabinet of scenic views appertaining to each special locality, choice, original, and never to be effaced. We must not omit to mention a specialty of this city, an article produced in one or two of the charita^ ble institutions, as well as in many humble family cir- cles, namely, artificial flowers made from the choicest feathers of the most brilliant colored birds. None of these articles are poor, while some of them are exqui- site in design and execution, produced entirely from the plumage of native birds. A considerable aggre- gate sum of money is realized by a certain portion of the community, in the regular manufacture of these delicate ornaments. Girls begin to learn the art at a very early age, and in a few years arrive at a marvelous degree of perfection, producing realistic pictures which rival the brush and pencil of a more pretentious department of art. Nearly all visitors carry away with them dainty examples of this exqui- site and artistic work, which has a reputation beyond the seas. Thousands of beautiful birds are annually sacrificed to furnish the necessary material. Thus 148 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. the delicate family of the humming-bird, whose variety is infinite in Brazil, has been almost exterminated in some parts of the country. There is one other spe- cialty here, namely, the manufacture of lace, which gives constant employment to many women of Bahia, their product being much esteemed all over South America for the beauty of the designs and the perfec- tion of the manufacture. The special fruit of this province, as already in- timated, is oranges, and it is safe to say that none produced elsewhere can excel them. They are not picked imtil they are thoroughly ripe, and are there- fore too delicate, in their prime condition, to sustain transportation to any considerable distance. Those sold in our northern cities are picked in a green con- dition and ripened off the trees, a process which does not injure some fruits, but which detracts very ma- terially from the orange and the pineapple. The oranges of Bahia average from five to six inches in diameter, have a rather thin skin, are full of juice, and contain no pips ; in short, they are perfectly delicious, being delicately sweet, with a slight subacid flavor. The first enjoyment of this special fruit in Bahia is a gastronomic revelation. The maracajus is also a fa- vorite fruit here, but hardly to be named beside the orange. It is the product of the vine which bears the passion flower, but this we could not relish. It is a common fruit in Australia and New Zealand, where the author found it equally unpalatable, yet people who have once acquired the taste become very fond LOCAL PRODUCTS. 149 of it. The vine with its flower is common enough in the United States, but we have never seen it ia a fruit-bearing condition in our country. The province of Bahia has an area of two hundred thousand square miles, and is represented as contain- ing some of the most fertile land in Brazil, capable of producing immense crops of several important staples. It is especially fertile near the coast, where there are some large and thriving tobacco, sugar, and coffee plantations. The first mentioned article, owing to some favorable peculiarity of the soU in this vicinity, is held to be nearly equal to the average Cuban pro- duct, and it is being more and more extensively culti- vated each year. Bahia cigars are not only very cheap, but they are remarkably fine in flavor. It was observed that old travelers on this coast made haste to lay in a goodly supply of them for personal use. A coffee plantation situated not far from this city was visited, affording a small party of strangers to the place much pleasure and information. The coffee plant is an evergreen, and thus the foliage is always fresh in appearance, yielding two harvests annually. Boa Vista, the plantation referred to, covers about one hundred acres, much of which is also devoted to the raising of fodder, fruit, corn, and beans, with some special vegetables, forming the principal suste- nance of the people and animals employed upon the estate. At first, in laying out such a plantation, the coffee sprouts are started in a nursery, and when they have had a year's growth are transplanted to the open 160 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. field, where they are placed with strict uniformity in long rows at equal distances apart. After the second year these young plants begin to bear, and continue to do so for twenty-five or thirty years, at which period both the trees and the soU become in a measure ex- hausted, and a new tract of land is again selected for a plantation. By proper management the new planta- tion can be xaaiA& to begin bearing at the same time that the old one ceases to be sufficiently productive and remunerative to cultivate for the same purpose. The co£Eee-tree is thought to be in its prime at from five to ten years of age. Fruit trees, such as bananas, oranges, mandioca, guavas, and so on, are planted among the cof- fee-trees to afford them a partial shelter, which, to a cer- tain degree, is requisite to their best success, especially when they are young and throwing out thin roots. The coffee bushes are kept trimmed down to about the height of one's head, which facilitates the harvest- ing of the crop, and also throws the sap into the formation and growth of berries. The coffee-tree, when permitted to grow to its natural height, reaches between twenty and thirty feet, and, with its deep-green foliage, is a handsome ornamental garden tree, much used for this purpose in Brazil. The coffee pods, when ripe, are scarlet in color, and resemble cherries, though they are much smaller. Each berry contains two seeds, which, when detached from the pod and properly dried, form the familiar article of such uni- versal domestic use. A coffee plantation well man- aged, in Brazdl, is an almost certain source of ample BRAZILIAN DIAMONDS. 151 fortune. The crop is sure; that is to say, it has scarcely any drawbacks, and is always in demand. Of course there are inconTeniences of climate, and other things needless to enumerate, as regards entering into the business, but the growth and ripening of a coffee crop very seldom fail. As has been intimated, this port is famous for the production of oranges and tobacco ; so Eio is famous for coffee, Pernambuco for sugar, and Para for crude india-rubber. We must not forget to mention one other, and by no means insignificant product of BrazU which is exported from Bahia, namely, diamonds of the very first quality, which for purity of color far exceed those of Africa and elsewhere. It appears that a syndi- cate in London control the world's supply of this peculiar gem from all the mines on the globe, per- mitting only a certain quantity of diamonds to go on to the market annually, and thus keeping up the seUing price and the market value. No one is permitted to know the real product of the mines but the managers of this syndicate. The quantity of the sparkling gems which are held back by the dealers in London, Paris, and Vienna is really enormous ; were they to be placed in the retail dealers' hands as fast as they are produced from the various sources of supply, they would be erelong as cheap and plenty as moonstones. This sounds like an extravagant assertion, but still there is far more truth in it than is generally realized. One of the public journals of London lately spoke of 152 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. a proposed corporation, to be known as the " Diamond Trust," which is certainly a significant evidence that the market requires to be carefully controlled as to the quantity which is annually put upon it. In old times a diamond was simply valued as a diamond ; its cutting and polishing were of the simplest character. A series of irregular plane surfaces were thought to sufficiently bring out its reflective qualities, but the stone is now treated with far more care and intelli- gence. A large portion of the value of a diamond has come to consist in the artistic, and we may say scientific, manner in which it is cut. By this means its latent qualities of reflection of light are brought to perfection, developing its real brilliancy. Accom- plished workmen realize fabulous wages in this em- ployment. A stone of comparatively little value, by being cut in the best manner, can be made to outshine a much finer stone which is cut after the old style. Amsterdam used to control the business of diamond cutting, but it is now as well done in Boston and New York as in any part of the world. The largest diamond yet discovered came from Bra- zil, and is known as the Braganza. The first Euro- pean expert in precious stones has valued this extraor- dinary gem, which is still in the rough, at three hun- dred million sterling I Its actual weight is something over one pound troy. In the light of such a state- ment, we pause to ask ourselves, What is a diamond ? Simply carbon crystallized, that is, in its greatest purity, and carbon is the combustible principle of PREVALENCE OF EPIDEMICS. 153 charcoal. The author was told, both here and in Eio Janeiro, that there is a considerable and profitable mining industry carried on in this country, of which the general pubHc hear nothing. The results are only known to prominent and interested Brazilians, the whole matter being kept as secret as possible for com- mercial reasons. No one reads anything about the products of the diamond mines in the local papers. We cannot say that the city of Bahia is a very healthy locality, though it certainly seems that it ought to be, it is so admirably situated. YeUow fever and other epidemics prevail more or less every year. The lower part of the town, on the water front, is so shamefully filthy as to induce fever. Upon first land- ing, the stranger finds himself almost nauseated by the vile smells which greet him. This section of the town is also very hot, the cliff, or upper town, shutting off almost entirely the circulation of air. It is here that sailors, particularly, indulge in all sorts of excesses, especially in drinking the vile, raw liquor sold by ne- gresses, besides eating unripe and overripe fruit, thus inviting disease. One favorite drink produced here, very cheap and very potent, is a poisonous but seduc- tive white rum. The trade and people in this part of the town form a strange conglomerate, — monkeys, parrots, caged birds, tame jaguars, mongrel puppies, pineapples, oranges, mangoes, and bananas, these being flanked by vegetables and flowers. The throng is made up of half -naked boatmen, indolent natives from the coun- 154 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. try, witli negresses, both as venders and purcliasers. As we look at the scene, in addition to what we have depicted there is a jovial group of sailors from a man- of-war in the harbor enjoying their shore leave, while not far away a small party of yachtsmen from an Eng- lish craft are amusing themselves with petty bargains, close followed by half a dozen Americans, who came hither in the last mail steamer. A polyglot scene of mixed tongues and gay colors. In passing into and out of the harbor of Bahia, one can count a dozen forts and batteries, all constructed after the old style, and armed in the most ineffective manner. These would count as nothing in a contest with modern ships of war having plated hulls and arms of precision. Land fortifications, designed to protect commercial ports from foreign enemies, have not kept pace with the progress in naval armament. Bahia is connected by submarine telegraph with Pernambuco, Para, and Eio Janeiro, and through them with aU parts of the civilized world. CHAPTEE Vm. Cape Frio. — Rio Janeiro. — A Splendid Harbor. — Various Moun- tains. — Botafogo Bay. — The Hunchback. — Farewell to the Vi- gilancia. — Tijuca. — Italian Emigrants. — City Institutions. — Public Amusements. — Street Musicians. — Churches. — Narrow Thoroughfares. — Merchants' Clerks. — Railroads in Brazil. — Nat- ural Advantages of the City. — The Public Plazas. — Exports. After a three days' voyage down the coast, be- tween Bahia and Rio Janeiro, the tall lighthouse of Cape Frio — " Cool Cape " — was sighted. This prom- ontory is a large oval mass of granite, sixteen hundred feet in height, quite isolated from other highlands, protruding boldly into the Atlantic Ocean. It forms the southeastern extremity of the coast of Brazil, and in clear weather can be seen, it is said, forty miles or more away. Here the long swell of the open sea is unobstructed and finds full sway, asserting its giant power at all seasons of the year. Experienced trav- elers who rarely suffer from seasickness are apt to succumb to this trying illness off Cape Frio. It is situated in latitude 22° 59' south, longitude 41° 57' west, which is particularly specified because the line of no magnetic variation touches on this cape, — that line which Columbus was so amazed at discovering one hundred leagues west of Flores, in the Azores, nearly four hundred years ago. We had been run- 156 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. ning almost due south for the last eight hundred miles, but ia doubling Cape Frio, and making for Rio harbor, the ship was headed to the westward, while the moun- tains on the coast assimied the most grotesque and singular shapes, the range extending from west to east until it ends at Cape Frio. The continent of South America here forms a sharp angle, but we were too full of expectancy as to the king of harbors towards which we were heading, to speculate much about Cape Frio and its ocean-swept surroundings. Rio Janeiro, the capital of Brazil, is also the lar- gest, if not the most important city in South America, situated about twelve hundred miles north of Monte- video and Buenos Ayres, just within the borders of the southern torrid zone. The distance of Rio from New York direct is five thousand miles, but most voy- agers, on the way through the West Indies, stop at three or four of these islands, and also at some of the northern ports of the continent of South Ajnerica, the same as in our own case, so that about five hundred miles may be fairly added to the distance we have just named. Though the vessel was a month in making the voyage to this port, had we sailed direct it might have been done in two thirds of the time. After doubling the cape and sailing some sixty or eighty miles, we steered boldly towards the mouth of the harbor of Rio. For a few moments the ship's prow pointed towards Raza Island, on which stands the lighthouse, but a slight turn of the wheel soon changed its relative position, and we entered the pas- HARBOR OF RIO JANEIRO. 157 sage leading into the bay. After passing the "Sugar Loaf," a rock twelve himdred feet in height, the city- lay off our port bow. AH is so well defined, the water is so deep and free from obstructions of any sort, that no pilot is required and none is taken, and thus we crept slowly up towards our moorings. As the reader may well suppose, to eyes weary of the mo- notony of the sea, the panorama which opened before us was one of intense interest. Everything seemed matured and olden. There was no sign of newness; indeed, we recalled the fact that Rio was an established commercial port half a century before New York had a local habitation or a name. The town lies on the west side of the port, between a mountain range and the bay, running back less than two miles in depth, but extending along the shore for a distance of some eight miles, fronting one of the finest and most spa- cious harbors in the world, famous for its manifold scenic beauties, which, from the moment of passing within the narrow entrance, are ever changing and ever lovely. The most prominent features are the verdure-clad hills of Gloria, Theresa, and Castello, .behind which extend ranges of steep, everlasting mountains, one line beyond another, until lost among the clouds. Few natural spectacles can equal the grand contour of this famous bay. People who have visited it always speak in superlative language of Rio harbor, but we hardly think it could be over- praised. It is the grand entrance to a tropical par- adise, so far as nature is concerned, amid clustering 158 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. mountains, abrupt headlands, inviting inlets, and beautiful islands, covered with palms, tree-ferns, bananas, acacias, and other delights of tropical vege- tation, which, when seen depicted in books, impress one as an exaggeration, but seen here thrill us with vivid reality. It is only in the torrid zone that one sees these lavish developments of verdure, these laby- rinths of charming arboreous effect. Though so well known and so often written about, the harbor of Rio is less famous than beautiful. The bay is said to contain about one hundred islands, its area extending inland some seventeen or eighteen miles. The largest of these is Governor's Island, nearly fronting the city, being six mUes long. Some idea of the extent of the bay may be had from the fact that there are fifty square miles of good anchorage for ships within its compass. Into the bay flows the water of two inconsiderable rivers, the Maeacu and the Igua9u, the first named coming in at the north- east and the latter at the northwest corner of the harbor. The Organ Mountains, — Serra dos Orgaos, — capped with soft, fleecy clouds, formed the lofty back- • groimd of the picture towards the north, as we entered upon the scene, the immediate surroundings being dominated by the sky-reaching Sugar Loaf Rock, — Pao d'Assucar, — which is also the navigator's guid- ing mark while yet far away at sea. This bold, irreg- ular rock of red sandstone rises abruptly from the water, like a giant standing waist-high in the sea, and THE ORGAN MOUNTAINS. 159 forms the western boundary of the entrance to the harbor, opposite to which, crowning a small but bold promontory, is the fort of Santa Cruz, the two high- lands forming an appropriate portal to the grandeur which is to greet one within. The distance between these bounds is about a mile, inside of which the water widens at once to lake-like proportions. Clouds of frigate birds, gulls, and gannets fly grace- fully about each incoming ship, as if to welcome them to the harbor where anchorage might be had for the combined shipping of the whole world. We have lately seen the harbor of Rio compared to that of Queenstown, on the Irish coast, twenty times magni- fied ; but the infinite superiority of the former in every respect makes the allusion quite pointless. The Organ Mountains, to which we have referred, and which form so conspicuous a portion of the scene in and about Rio, are so called because of their fan- cied resemblance in shape to the pipes of an organ ; but though blessed with the usual share of imagination, we were quite unable to trace any such resemblance. However, one must not be hypercritical. The gigan- tic recumbent form of a human being, so often spoken of as discernible along this mountain range, is no po- etical fancy, but is certainly clear enough to any eye, recalling the likeness to a crouching lion outlined by the promontory of Gibraltar as one first sees the rock, either on entering the strait or coming from Malta. One of the most beautiful indentures of the shore, 160 EQUATORIAL AMERICA. earliest to catch the eye after passing into the harbor of Eio from the sea, is called the Bay of Botafogo. The word means "thrown into the fire," and alludes to the inhuman autos-da-fe which occurred here when the natives, on refusing to subscribe to the Roman Catholic faith, were committed by the priests to the flames ! This is the way in which the Romish creed was introduced into Mexico and South America, and the means by which it was sustained. The principal charm of this lovely bay within a bay — Botafogo — is its flowers and exposition of soaring royal palms. The attractiveness of the hand- some residences is quite secondary to that of nature, here revealed with a lavish profusion. This part of Rio is overshadowed by the tail peak of the Corco- vado, "the Hunchback," one of the mass of hills which occupy a large area west of the city, and the nearest moimtain to it. From its never-failing springs comes a large share of the water supply of the capital. The aqueduct is some ten miles long, crossing a valley at one point seven hundred feet in width, at a height of ninety feet, upon double arches. Another large aqueduct is in contemplation, besides which some other sources are now in actual operation, as Rio has long since outgrown the capacity of the original supply de- rived from the Corcovado. The drainage of the town suffers seriously for want of sufficient water where- with to flush the conduits, which at this writing, with the deadly fever claiming victims on all hands, are permitted to remain in a stagnant condition! And LANDING AT RIO JANEIRO. 161 yet there are hundreds of hills round about, within long cannon range, which would readily yield the re- quired element in almost limitless quantity. We left the VigUancia, and our good friend Cap- tain Baker, with regret. The noble ship had borne us in safety thousands of miles during the past month, through storm.s and calms, amid intense tropical heat, and such floods of rain as are only encountered in southern seas. Watching from her deck, there had been revealed to us the glories of the changing lati- tudes, and particularly the grandeur of the radiant heavens in equatorial regions. A sense of all-ab- sorbing curiosity prevailed as we landed at the stone steps, overlooked by the yellow-ochre walls of the arsenal, in the picturesque, though pestilential city. The nauseous odors which greet one as he steps on shore are very discordant elements in connection with the intense interest created by the novel sights that engage the eye of a stranger. With a population, including the immediate sub- urbs, of over half a million, — estimated at six hun- dred and fifty thousand, — Rio has most of the belong- ings of a North American city of the first class, though we cannot refrain from mentioning one re- markable exception, namely, the entire absence of good hotels. There is not a really good and