A HISTOHY OF THE BRAZIL; COMPRISING ITS GEOGRAPHY, COMMERCE, COLONIZATION, ABORIGINAL INHABITANTS, &c. &c. &c. By JAMES HENDERSON, RECENTLY FROM SOUTH AMERICA. ILLUSTRATED WITH TWENTY-EIGHT PLATES AND TWO MAPS. LONDON: PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR, AND PUBLISHED BY LONGMAN, HURST, REES, ORME, AND BROWN, PATERNOSTER-ROW. 1821. MARCHANT, Printer, Ingram-Court^ Fenchurch-Street, London> TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE LORD VISCOUNT LOWTHER. My Lord, Were the writer of the following Work a well-known and admired member of the Literary Community he would still be fortunate in the permission of having it dedicated to your Lordship, as your Lordship's literary, scientific, and commercial knowledge, correct judgement, and amiable qualities, more than the influence of elevated birth and rank, would confer upon it increased recommen- dation. But coming forward as I do, an unknown con- tributor to the stock of general knowledge, I am peculiarly happy in having so high a passport to the notice of the LV Public, in a Work which professes to communicate new information respecting a portion of South America, now more than ever interesting to the commercial, political, and scientific worlds. Whatever faults it possesses, the pains I have taken to obtain authentic information will, I trust, render it not unworthy of their and your Lordship's notice. If the style in which I present the new fruit, gathered from the branches of the tree of knowledge that are spread in a far country, is not considered interesting, the fruit itself will be found, I hope, acceptable and useful. I have the honour to subscribe myself. My Lord, Your Lordship's most faithful and devoted Servant, JAMES HENDERSON. London, August \f 1821. NOTICE TO THE READER. The object of this Work is to describe the state of the Brazil, from its first discovery down to the present time ;-to trace distinctly the boun- daries of the twenty-two provinces which it comprises, their sub-divi- sions into comarcas or districts, and their rivers ; to enumerate the povoapoes or establishments in each province, consisting of cities, towns, (and the dates they were so erected by his present Majesty, or prex'ums]y,) freguezias, (parishes,) arraials, aldeias, (villages,) presidios, (garrisons,) hermitages, &c. with the nature of their agricultural pro- ductions, the composition of their inhabitants, whether whites, mulat- tos, mamahicos, mesticos. Christianized Indians, or Africans. The numerous tribes of savage Indians, still existing in this region are also described ; with the mountains, minerals, and leading objects in the animal and vegetable worlds. The state of the government, revenue, society, and minor subjects are investigated, and more parti- cularly the present connnercial relations between Great Britain and the Brazil The friendly assistance I experienced from many persons VI in South America, as well as from some governors and ex-governors of provinces, has furnished a portion of the authentic materials of the Work. My first intention in undertaking it was to have adhered to a geo- graphical and commercial account of the country, but as the recent publication of Padre Manoel Ayres de Cazal, (in producing which he had been many years engaged,) furnishing me, not only with copious information upon the first subject, but also upon its history, civil and natural, I conceived that it would not be unacceptable to the British reader to give an abridged account of each province, from their first colonization, combined with their geography, productions, com- merce, &c. Upon the history of this country, however, the work of Mr. Southey is complete, and does as much honour to the talent of that gentleman as to his unwearied research. The labour, even with all his facilities, which such an undertaking must have required, cannot but have been very considerable. Padre Cazal, who is a man of some talent, enjoyed decided advan- tages, it will be allowed, from his ecclesiastical situation, in arriving at full and authentic intelligence, as to the presjent condition of the towns, productions, &c. derived from Government documents, his own personal research, the diaries of Certanistas, (persons traversing the interior,) and from numerous individuals, who might not have been disposed to grant the same privileges to any one differently circum- ' stanced. In the many instances wherein I have had opportunities of putting the veracity of his statements to the test I have found them correct and impartial. No doubt can fairly exist as to the perfect authenticity of the whole, additionally confirmed as it is, by Mr. Vll Southey's having had recourse to the same authority in the latter part of his third volume. The general reader may not be peculiarly interested with that por- tion of this publication which details the towns and their productions, and in which monotony is unavoidable, although they will be valua- ble as references for the merchant and many others, as, with the evi- dently growing commerce of this fine country, already taking off annually three million of British manufactures, each of those places will progressively become more and more important. The plates, which are amongst the best in their style, are executed, by an able artist, upon stone, from sketches taken on the spot ; and the map is formed by myself from the materials of the Work. The Appendix is explanatory of the objects in Zoology and Phytology, which would not have been generally understood by their native designations ; and I must here apologize to the reader for not present- ing them in scientific nomenclature. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. Page Voyage from England to Rio de Janeiro 1 CHAP. II. From the first discovery down to the arrival of the Royal Family there, and its present division into provinces — The general character of the Indians 12 CHAP. III. PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. Its colonization — contests with the French and Tamoyo Indians — expulsion of the French— foundation of St. Sebastian — boundaries — division into comarcas — moun- tains — principal rivers — lakes — bays — capes — islands — mineralogy — zoology — phy- tology — cities and toivns — boundaries, towns, and productions of the comarcas of Ilha Grande and Parahiba Nova — boundaries of the comarca of Rio de Janeiro — the metropolis — situation — English burial-ground — streets — royal mode of riding — compulsory homage upon the occasion — churches — convents — Gloria Hill — female convents — visit to one— fountains — visit to the aqueduct — squares — palace — public buildings— public garden — library — manufactories — theatre — roads leading from the city — palace of St. ChristovaO'— troops of miners and others from the interior — Caza de Don Pedro — royal mill, shacara, and stables— f re-works — Beija Mao—fidalgos and higher orders of society — splendour of churches — royal chapel — religious festivals arid observances— funeral processions— catacombs— the host — state of society— markets. ... 31 b X CONTENTS. CHAP. IV. PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO — continued. Page Population of the capital — negroes — nocturnal clamour of reptiles — vampire hat — state of literature — -jealousy — dead bodies — military — hank — revenue — imposts — diamonds — visit to Campinha — tenure of lands — proof of fertility — Swiss emigrants — visit to the cascades of Tejuca — commerce— judicial procedure — pauta and convention — new exchange — foundation of English church — toivns, villages, and productions of the comarca of Rio de Janeiro — boundaries, productions, rivers, lakes, and povoafoes of the comarca of Cape Frio — boundaries, Indians, rivers, lakes, towns, and sugar- works of the comarca of Goytacazes — boundaries, Coroado Indians, and povoafoes of the comarca of Canta Gallo , 72 CHAP. V. PROVINCE OF RIO GRANDE DO SUL. Colonization — boundaries — climate — aspect and productions — contests betiveen Spaniards and Portuguese — divisionary line between these two powers — opposition by the Indians of the seven missions — their defeat — revived contests between Spaniards and Por- tuguese — mountains — rivers — lakes — capes and ports — islands — mineralogy — phy to- logy — zoology — large fazendas for breeding cattle — mode of management— -sheep-flocks — use of the lafo and halls — towns, nature of exports, villages, 5fc. including those of the district of Monte Video 110 CHAP. VI. PROVINCE OF PARANNA. Boundaries — climate— productions — Matte the most lucrative— first discoverers — pro- ceedings of the Spanish Jesuits — Q{iarani Indians formed into redu^oes, or villages — nature of those missions-^expulsion of the Jesuits — delivery of the missions to other ecclesiastics-T^their decay — mountains — mineralogy — rivers and lakes— phytology — zoology— towns, parishes, &^c.— remaining establishments of the Jesuitical missions. . . . 134 CHAP. VII. PROVINCE OF URUGUAY. Foundation of aldeias, called missions, by the Spanish Jesuits for the Tappe Indians —flourish till the expidsion of thai sect — subsequent decay — war between the Spaniards and Portuguese — conquest of the seven missions by the latter power in 1801 — governor sent — boundaries — mountains — rivers — phytology — zoology — names and population of the seven missions at their conquest 145 CONTENTS. xi CHAP. VIII. PROVINCE OF ST. CATHARINA. Pagf Boundaries — colonization — productions — mountains — mineralogy — phyiology — zoology—- rivers, lakes, and ports— toions, parishes, &;c. —agricultural establishments— popula- tion — islands — delightful climate 151 CHAP. IX. PROVINCE OF ST. PAULO. Boundaries— first settlement — mountains — mineralogy — rivers and ports—islands— phy- iology — zoology — Bugre Indians, dwellings and customs — character of the Paulistas — division into comarcas — comarca of Curytiha— towns and productions — comarcas of St. Paulo and Hitu — towns and productions . . 162 CHAP. X. PROVINCE OF MATTO GROSSO. First explorers — gold discovered — two brothers appointed for the purpose of exacting the fifths on gold — their atrocious conduct — people attracted here by the fame of gold — destruction of a party by the Indians — Payagoa and Guaycuru Nations discovered — their alliance — their fatal attacks upon the Portuguese — their disunion — continued hostilities of the Guaycurus — conflicts with them — attempts to make peace with the Indians — treachery of the Guaycurus — severe drought — arrival of a governor — pro- motes the navigation to Para — extent and boundaries— division into districts. — District of Camapuania — mineralogy — phytology — rivers — zoology — various Indian tribes — povoafoes. — District of Matto Grasso — mountains — mineralogy — phytology— zoology rivers — capital. — District of Cuiaba — mineralogy — phytology — zoology — rivers — povoafoes — Indians. — District of Bororonia — Indians — rivers — lakes. — District of J uruenna — Indians — rivers— forts. — District of Arinos — Indians — rivers. — District of Tappiraquia — Indians — rivers. — Lands of these districts fertile and auriferous . . 189 CHAP. XI. PROVINCE OF GOYAZ. First discovery of gold — attempts of Bueno to find the Goya Territory — settlements^ boundaries — extent — mineralogy — zoology — phytology — cattle and gold its exports- principal rivers — comarcas — Julgados. — District of Cayaponia — limits — Indians — rivers. — District of Goyaz — limits — mountains — capital — povoafoes. — District of Nova Beira — limits — Indians — -rivers— povoafoes — Indians reduced to peace — aldeias established for them. — District of Tucantines — limits — rivers — Indians — povoafoes. — District of Parannan — limits — rivers — povoafoes. — District of Rio das Velhas — limits — rivers — Indiums — povoafoes 231 b 2 xii CONTENTS. CHAP. XII. PROVINCE OF MINAS GERAES. Page Boundaries^extent — climate— discoverers of its mines— mountains — rivers— mineralogy — zoology— pJiytology — exports — comarcas and towns. — Comarca of Villa Rica — limits — mountains — rivers— capital— povoafoes. — Comarca of Rio das Mortes — limits — mountains — rivers— povoafoes. — Comarca of Sahara — limits — mountains — rivers — lakes— povoa^oes.— Comarca of Serro Frio— limits— rich in diamonds— mountains- river s— povoafoes.— Diamond district— Tijuco— seat of diamond junta 258 CHAP. XIII. * PROVINCE OF ESPIRITO SANTO. Extent— houndaries-misfortunes of its donatories-spirited resistance of the Indians- partial cultivation— principally possessed hy Indians— mountains-mineralogy-zoology descents of Indians to the coast— phytology-rivers and ports-povoa^oes.— Island of 288 Ascension CHAP. XIV. PROVINCE OF PORTO SEGURO. Boundaries-prosperity of its first donatory— reversion to the crown in a had state- present partial cultivation— Indians— mountains— mineralogy— zoology— phytology-^ rivers, lakes, and ports— povoacoes — ahrolhos CHAP. XV. PROVINCE OF BAHIA. Boundaries-Caramuru-first donatory -cruel xvar of the Indians-the capitania for- saken-return of the donatory-shipwreck-slaughter of all hut Caramuru-governor- qeneral-foundation of St. Salvador. -Comarca of the Ilheos -originally a capitama -extent-fertility-mountains-miMeralogy-phytology-zoology-rivers and lakes- povoacoes.-Comarca of Jacohina-extent-mineralogy-mountains-rwers-phyto- logy-zoology-povoapes.-Comarca of Bahia- extent - mountains-mmeralogy- Jytology-zoohgy-islands-rivers-povoafoes.-St. Salvador-churches and con- vents-puhlichuildings-Sepulchre of Caramuru^s wife-negroes-commerce-produce -exports in 1817 and ISlS-state of society -adoption of a new constitution dUJ CHAP. XVI. PROVINCE OF SEREGIPE d'EL REY. Colonizafion-redmtion of the Indiam-extent-mmntdns^ivers and lakes-mine- ralogy— zoology— phytoUyy— povoafoes ' " Contents. xiii CHAP. XVII. PROVINCE OF PERNAMBUCO. Page Voyage from Rio de Janeiro—first donatories — taken hy the Dutch — restoration — rever- sion to the croion — Indians — boundaries — mountains — colony of negroes — mineralogy — zoology —phytology — rivers — islands — comarcas of Ollinda, Recife, Alagoas, — povoafoes — ouvidoria of the certam of Pernamhuco — rivers — towns — Recife, or Pernamhuco — Ollinda — Mattutos — state of society — apathy — environs — revolution in 1817 — mili- tary government — adoption of a new constitution — holidays — produce — inspection — sugar engenho — contribution-fund — population — Fribourg House . , , 355 CHAP. XVIII. PROVINCE OF PARAHIBA. Extent — capitania of Itamaraca — slow advancement — taken by the Dutch — restoration — capes and ports — rivers — mountains — zoology — phytology — povoa^oes — capital-^ British establishments — produce 394 CHAP. XIX. PROVINCE OF RIO GRANDE DO NORTE. Contests with Indians — conquest — taken by the Dutch — restored — extent — sterility of soil — capes and ports —mineralogy— 'mountains —zoology — phytology — rivers and lakes ^povoafoes — island of Fernando de Noronha 404 CHAP XX. PROVINCE OF SIARA. Colonization — boundaries — Indians — taken by the Dutch — restored — mountains — minera- logy — zoology — phytology — rivers and lakes — povoacoes 412 CHAP. XXL PROVINCE OF PIAUHY. Boundaries — first settlers — cattle fazendas — mountains — mineralogy — rivers — towns .... 424 CHAP. XXII. PROVINCE OF MARANHAM. First donatory — shipwreck of persons intended for its colonization — establishment of the French — retaken— foundation of capital — taken by the Dutch — retaken — agricultural xiv CONTENTS. Page company — boundaries — rivers, ports, and islands — mineralogy — phytology — zoology- Indians — povoafoes — city of Maranham — commerce — exports of produce 433 CHAP. XXIII. PROVINCE OF PARA. First settlement — contests with Indians — slavery of the Indians — their liberation — Boun- daries' — mineralogy-— phytology — zoology — ports and rivers— -Igaruana Indians. — Dis- trict of Para-Proper— capital— buildings —exports — English establishments — adoption of a new constitution— towns, — District of Xingutania — limits — in possession of Indians — rivers — towns. — District of Tapajonia—-limits — rivers — Indians — towns. — District of Mundrucania — rivers — principally possessed by the Indians — their different customs — towns ^. . . 448 CHAP. XXIV. PROVINCE OF SOLIMOES. Jurisdiction— origin of its name — boundaries and extent— partially known-^division into six districts — rivers — various Indians — customs — povoafoes 477 CHAP. XXV. PROVINCE OF GUIANNA. BoundarieS'^islands'— rivers — towns—Indians 485 CHAP. XXVI. Conclusive observations 498 Appendix 501 LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS A Abbey, Richard, esq. Pancras-lane. Ablet, Isaac, esq. Bucklersbury. Ainslie, Dr. Dover-street. Ainsworth, Thos. esq. solicitor, Manchester. Allen, John, esq. Manchester. Anderson, John, esq. St. Vincent's Street, Glasgow. Andrew, Jonathan, esq. Manchester. Andrew, Thomas, esq. jun. Manchester. Andrew, George, esq. Green-hill, Cheshire. Andrew, Robert, esq. Green-Mount, Man- chester. Ansley, Alderman, 95, Park-street. Ashton, John, esq. New Cannon-street, Manchester. Ashton, Thomas, esq. Liverpool. Atkinson, William, esq. Nicholas-lane, Atkinson, Matthew, esq. Temple-Sowerby. Austwick, , esq. Friday-street. B Becket, The Right Hon. John, Judge- Advocate, M.P. Downing-street. Bamber, W. and Co. Messrs. Manchester. Barnett, John, esq. City-road. Barrow, Thomas, esq. Manchester. Barton, Sir William, Henry-st. Liverpool. Bateman, James, esq. Islington-house, Man- chester. Beardsworth, George, esq. High-street, Manchester. Beck, Francis, esq. 12, Old Jewry. Benkhausen, George, esq. Russian Vice- Consul, Winchester-street. Bentham, William, esq. Gower-street. Bentley, John, jun. esq. Stockport. Bibby, John, esq. Liverpool. Bielby, Hyde, and Co. Messrs. Birming- • ham. Birkbeck, George, esq. M.P. Cateaton-st. Birtless, Thomas, esq. Manchester. Blackett, J. jun. esq. 20, London-street. Blaikie, Robert, esq. 4, St. Hanover-street, Glasgow. Blair, George, esq. Bolton. Blanckenhagen, J. C. esq. King-street. Boiling, Edward, jun. esq. Bolton. Bolton, J. esq. Liverpool. Bond, J. esq. Church-street, Stoke New- ington. xvi LIST OF Bone, Mrs. 10, Cambridge-row, Hackney. Booth, Benjamin, esq. Manchester. Booth, Thomas, esq. Liverpool. Boothby, J. B. esq. Everton, near Liver- pool. Bonsor, Joseph, esq. Salisbury-square. Bousfield, John, esq. Manchester. Bowen, Charles, esq. Chandos-st. Caven- dish-squetre. Bradshaw, John, esq. Manchester. Bradley, Thomas, esq. Mark-lane. Bradock, J. esq. St. James's Square, Man- chester. Brandt, Charles, esq. Manchester. Broadbent, James, esq. Manchester. Brocklebank, Thomas, esq. Liverpool. Brotherston, J. esq. Liverpool. Broughton, esq. Mecklenburg- square. Brown, Archibald, esq. Glasgow. Brown, James, esq. 190, Cross, Glasgow. Brown, S. esq. Liverpool. Brown, James, esq. St. Mildred's Court. Brown, Robert, esq. 157, Cheapside. Buchan, Lawrence, esq. Manchester. Buchannan, John, esq. Liverpool. Buckle, John William, esq. Mark-lane. Burgess, Henry, esq. Manchester. Brunton, Thomas, esq. Commercial-road. Burra, Robert, esq. Watling-street. Bury, James, esq. Lever-street, Manches- ter. Butler, W, H. esq. Water-lane. C Campbell, Thomas, esq. 23, Old Burling ton-street. Campbell, Charles, esq. Bishopsgate-street. Campbell, J. esq. Liverpool. SUBSCRIBERS. Cardale, W. esq. Bedford-row. Carmalt, C. esq. 30, Bow-lane. Capper, Thomas, esq. Beaufort-buildings, Strand. Carrick, Robert, esq. banker, Glasgow. Carruthers, John, esq. Leadenhall-street. Case, John Ashton, esq. Liverpool. Chance, W. and G. Messrs. Birmingham. Chetwode, C. esq. Liverpool. Christian, Professor, Gray's Inn. Christie, John and Robert, and Co. Messrs. Manchester. Clark, John, esq. Crutched Friars. Clarkson, Thomas, esq. Play ford-hall, near Ipswich. Coats, Edward, esq. 35, Bernard-street, Russell-square. Cockshott, James, esq. Pernambuco. Cohn, G. J. and Sons, Messrs. Manchester. Collier, Josiah, esq. Manchester. Collins, Edward, esq. Bell-street, Glasgow. Collinson, Thomas, esq. Lombard-street. Collinson, John, esq. 29, Lambeth Marsh. Colquhoun, Archibald, esq. Turner's Court, Glasgow. Cook, James, esq. 40, Mincing-lane. Cooke, Isaac, esq. Liverpool. Cooper, John and F. Messrs. Old 'Change. Cooper, T. W. esq. Harleyford-place, Ken- nington. Cooper, Astley, esq. New-street, Spring- Gardens. Copland, Robert, esq. Liverpool. Copling, John, esq. Newgate-street. Corbould, Charles, esq. 4, Carey-lane, Fos- ter-lane. Cotter, Lieutenant-Colonel, Pernambuco. Courtney, Thomas, esq. Old Jewry. Cowie, George, esq. Russell-square. Crammond, A. L. esq. 11, Leadenhall-st. Crole, D. esq. Old Broad-street. Crosby, Rev. Robert, A.M. Hoxton-sq. LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. xvii Croggon, William, esq. 64, Cornhill. D De Dubatchefsky, A. esq. Russian Consul- General, 28, Great Winchester-st. Da Costa, A. J. esq. Portuguese Consul, Liverpool. Dalgairns, P. esq. 5, Martin's Lane. Dalglish, Robert, esq. Glasgow. Darch, Thomas, esq. Admiralty. Davenport, James, and Co. Messrs. 82, Fleet-street. Davison, John, esq. 37, Gutter-lane. Dawson, Jonathan, esq. Stratford, Essex. Dawes, John, esq. Threadneedle-street. Dawson, Jonathan, esq. Manchester. Dawson, Richard, esq. Liverpool. De la Chaumette, L. J. esq. Angel-court. Delisle, Z. esq. Church-st. Stoke Newington. Delpla, Edward, esq. Liverpool. Dempster, J. esq. Commercial-ct. Glasgow. Denison, James, esq. South Lambeth. Dent, William, esq. Wandsworth-common. Devas, William, esq. Watling-street. Dixon, William, esq. Liverpool. Dixon, Francis, esq. Manchester. Dixon, George, esq. Manchester. Dobson, John, esq. 17, Bucklersbury. DufF, William, esq. Liverpool. Dugdale, Adam, esq. Manchester. Dyson, Thomas F. esq, Liverpool. E Edgar, T. esq. 9, Billiter-square. Edwards, Richard, esq. Seel-st. Liverpool. Edwards, C. A. esq. Wandsworth. Engstrom, Charles, esq. St. Mildred's Ct. Euiug, W. R. esq. Liverpool. Evans, Thomas, esq. Watling-street. Eyes, Charles, esq. Liverpool. F Fitzwilliam, the Right Hon. the Earl, 4, Grosvenor-square. Farrer, William, esq. Watling-street. Fawcett, Peter, esq. Manchester. Fawdington, William, esq. Manchester. Fell, Richard, esq. Bolton. Fielding, Jeremiah, esq. 64, Mosley-street, Manchester. Fisher, John, esq. 23, Watling-street. Fleming, T. esq. Water-st. Manchester. Forrester, W. esq. 3, Crown-ct, Broad- st. Fortunato, A. P. esq. Liverpool. Fothergill, J. esq. Stockwell-place, Surrey. Fox, E. B. esq. 80, Old Broad-street. Freeze, J. H. jun. esq. Mecklenburgh-sq. Frend, William, esq. Rock Life Assurance, Bridge-street. Freshfield, J.W. esq; New Bank Buildings. Fry, Joseph, esq. Liverpool. Fullarton, A. esq. 37, Brunswick-pl. Glas- gow. Fyffe, J. esq. 4, Buchanan st. Glasgow. G Graham, Sir J. Bart. M P. 1, Portland-pl. Gallemore, Liddel, Messrs. and Co. Man- chester. Gardin, Alex. esq. George-sq. Glasgow. Gardner, J. esq. 39, Miller-street, Glasgow, Garnett, Abraham, esq. Liverpool. Geary, Thomas, esq. Manchester. Geller, John G. esq. Liverpool. Gibbins, Bruton, esq. Birmingham. GilfiUan, J. esq. Liverpool. C LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. Gillespie, A. esq. America-square. Godmond, C. esq. Blackheath. Gordon, A. esq. H.M. Consul, Havre de Grace. Gordon, James, esq. Manchester. Goring, Joshua, esq. Liverpool. Gowen, John, esq. Mark -lane. Gray, B. esq. Crescent, Ancoats, Man- chester. Graham, W. jun.esq. Cocbraue-st. Glasgow. Graham, William, esq. Liverpool. Grant, D. esq. Manchester. Grant, George, esq. Liverpool. Grant, William, esq. Manchester. Grant, John, esq. Manchester. Greaves, John, esq. Banker, Manchester. Greenough, Peter and Sons, Manchester. Greenway, Charles, esq. Manchester. Guimaraens, G. J. F. esq. Liverpool. Gumpel, Gustavus, esq. Manchester. H Horrocks, Samuel, esq. M.P. 9, Bread-st. Haddan, John, esq. 52, Wellclose-square. Haffinden, J. esq. 28, Queen's Sq. Blooms- bury. Hamman, John, esq. Bow-lane. Hancock, John, esq. Liverpool. Hankey, W. Alers, esq. Fenchurch-street. Hankey, Thomas, esq. Fenchurch-street. Hardacre, George, esq. 23, Birchin-lane. Hardie, David, esq. Liverpool. Hardie, James, esq. Manchester. Hardman, Thomas, esq. Manchester. Hardy, William, esq. Mincing-lane. Harrison, Anthony, esq. Penrith. Harrison, J. esq. Marsden-sq. Manchester, Harrison, William, esq. 13, Little Tower-st. Haselden and Willis, Messrs. Liverpool. Hatch, Oliver, esq. Ely-place. Heale, Richard, esq. Mincing-lane. Helps, Thomas, esq. Wood-street. Hemsley^ Henry, esq. Amsterdam. Henderson, R. esq. Glasgow. Henderson, G. esq. 6, St. Enoch's Square, Glasgow. Henderson, J. esq. 11, Great St. Helen's. Henderson, J. esq. Shap, Westmorland. Henderson, W. esq. Lowthian Gill, Cum- berland. Henderson, Robert, esq. Lowthian Gill. Heyworth, O. esq. Liverpool. Hey worth, John, esq. Greev's Nook, near Rochdale. Heyworth, James, esq. Liverpool. Hill, Thomas, esq. Manchester. Hill, W. esq. 17, Old Mill Gate, Manchester. Hitchen, Jonathan, esq. Bolton. Hodgson, Thomas, esq. Euston-square. Hodgson, T. esq. Church lane,Whitechapel. Holliwell and HighBeld, Messrs. Liverpool. Holme, W. esq. Sackville-st. Piccadilly. Hornby, J. T. and W. Messrs. Liverpool. Horridge, T. G. esq. Fountain-st. Man- chester. Horrox and Son, Messrs. Manchester. Horrox, Jackson, Messrs. and Co. Man- chester. Howard, L. esq. Long Room,Custom-House. Hoyle, Thomas, jun. esq. Manchester. Hulme, John, esq. Manchester. Hunter, And. esq. 11, Candlerigs, Glasgow. Hurry, William, esq. Liverpool. Hurst, John, esq. Manchester. Husey, N. esq. 91, Watling-street. Hutcheson, C. esq. George-sq. Glasgow. I & J James, W. esq. M.P. Coulson's Hotel, Brook-street. LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. xix Jackson, R. esq. Manchester. (2 copies.) Jackson, John, esq. 1, Cannon-street, Man- chester. James, Thomas, esq. 17, Cheapside. Jelf, George, esq. Norwood. Jones, Richard, esq. 10, Aldgate. Jones, Richard, esq. Four Yards, Man- chester. Josling, Thomas, esq. 34, Broad-street. Izon, Thomas, esq. Birmingham. K Kay, W. esq. Tring-Park, Hertfordshire, and Hampstead. Kay, Joseph, Watling-street, Manchester. Kearsley, John, esq. Liverpool. Kemble, Henry, esq. Watling-street. Kennedy, James, esq. Ancoats-lane, Man- chester. Kent, Samuel, esq. Mark-lane. Kenworthy, W. esq. Pernambuco. Kewley, P. esq. Liverpool. Keymer, Titus, esq. Lawrence-lane. Keyser, S. esq. 23, Finch-lane. Kirtley, George, esq. Manchester. Knight, James, esq. Rhual, near Mould, Flintshire. Knight, Samuel, esq. Manchester. Knight, Nathan, esq. Manchester. Kolft, G. esq. Liverpool. L Lonsdale, The Right Hon. the Earl of, Charles-street, Berkeley-square. Lonsdale, The Right Hon. the Countess of, Charles-street, Berkeley-square. Lowther, The Hon. Col. M.P. Bruton-st. Laing, Charles, esq. 26, Lawrence-Poulte- ney-lane. Latham, Wm, esq. Liverpool. (2 copies.) Lawrence, Isaac, esq. Balham-hill. Lawrence, W. and E. and Co. Messrs. Liverpool, and 9,Trinity-sq. London. Leake, L. and G. Messrs. Threadneedle-st. Ledward, E. and C. Messrs. Liverpool. Leech, Rev. J. L. A.M. Vicar of Askham. Leigh, J. P. esq. Clapton. Lewis, Edward, esq. and Co. Manchester. Lindeman, Frederick, esq. H. M. Consul- General, Sicily. Little, "William, esq. Stock-Exchange. Liv«rpool Union Book Society. Lodge, H. R. esq. 11, Bow-church-yard. Lomax, John, esq. Manchester. Lomax, Richard, esq. 10, West-square. Low, Andrew, esq. Liverpool. Low, George, esq. Birmingham. Lowe, John, esq. 5, Jeffrey's Square. Lowe, Arthur, esq. Liverpool. Loyd, Edward, esq. Banker, Manchester. Loyd, Lewis, esq. Lothbury. Loyd, William, esq. Bread-street. Lukin, C. jun. esq. 16, George-street, Mansion-house. Lyne, W. and Sudell, T. Messrs. Liverpool. M Musgrave, Sir P. Bart. M.P. 39, Portland-p. Macadam, P. esq. 26, Bell-street, Glasgow. M'Cabe, Thomas, esq. Stoke-Newington. M'Cartney, A. esq. Commercial Bank, Edinburgh. M'Conochie, W. esq. Glasgow. M'Farquhar, J. esq. York'St. Liverpool. Macfie, D. esq. 36, Candleriggs, Glasgow. Machell, John, esq. Low Plains, Penrith. c 2 XX LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. M'Keand, James, esq. Liverpool. M'Keand, J. and J. Messrs, Manchester. M'Kerrel, Henry, esq. Liverpool. Maclachlan, D. esq. Parahiba. M'Nair, John, esq. jun. Glasgow. M'Neile, John, and Co. Messrs. Lawrence- Poulteney-lane. M 'William, R. esq. Liverpool. March, William, esq. Broad-street, March, T. and W. and Co. Messrs. 15, New Broad-street. Marchant, Mr.W. Tngram-ct. Fenchurch-st. Mardall, R. esq. 14, Little Tower-street. Marris, Francis, esq. Manchester. Marsh, John, esq. 66, Coleman-street. Marshall, J. esq. York-street, Manchester. Martin, William, esq. Hornsey. Martindale, Richard, esq. 62, Cornhill. Martindale, D. esq. Liverpool. Masterman, John, esq. White Hart-court, Lombard-street. Mathews, Samuel, esq. Salford. Matley, Richard, esq. Manchester. Matthie, H. esq. Liverpool. Maubert, J. F. esq. Warnford-court. Meirilles, A. esq. Liverpool. Mellor, Thomas, esq. Liverpool. Meyrick, E. esq. Spitalfields. Middleton, R. D. esq. Wellington-place, Commmercial-road. Mieville, Andrew A. esq. Angel-court, Throgmorton-street. Miles, Rev. John, St. Michael's Rectory, Cornhill. Miller, John, esq. Liverpool. Miller, M. esq. Islington, Liverpool. Milner, James, esq. Old Change. Mitcalfe, William, esq. Gower-street, or Coal-Exchange. Mitchell, William, esq. Mincing-lane. Molyneux, Anthony, esq. Liverpool. Monteath, J. esq. Buchanan-st. Glasgow. Monteith, R. esq. Richmond-st. Glasgow. Monteith, William, esq. 4, Blythwood-place, Glasgow. Moon, Edward, esq. Liverpool. Moore, Dr. Bolton. Morgan, John, esq. 'Change-alley. Morgan, W. esq. Pope's Head-alley. Morley, John, esq. West Smithfield. Morrison, J. esq. 33, Glassford-st. Glasgow. Morrison, W. esq. 14, Miller-st. Glasgow. Moxon, J. D. esq. Liverpool. Muir, J. esq. Ingram-Buildings, Glasgow. Murphy, George, esq. Manchester. Murray, G. esq. Ancoat's Hall, Manchester. N Naylor, Jeremiah, jun. esq. Liverpool. Needham, Samuel, esq. Liverpool. Nesbitt, John, esq. Tokenhouse-yard. Nevitt, William, esq. Liverpool. Newall, A. esq. 4, Virginia-street, Glasgow. Newman, Thomas, esq. Hertingfordbury, near Hertford. Nicholson, William, esq. Lowther. Noble, William, esq. 36, Foley-place. Noble, J. esq. 8, Tokenhouse-yard. Norris, Edward, esq. Manchester. O Oughton, James, esq. Manchester. P Packer, Richard, esq. Mile-end. LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. xxi Packer, R. W. esq. Stepney-green. Page, Charles, esq. 10, Austin-friars. Park, John, esq. Liverpool. Parker, W. esq. Manchester. Parker, Robert, esq. Heaton Mersey, Manchester. Parker, C. esq. Pettrill-green, Cumberland. Parkins, J. W. esq. late Sheriff, Bridge- street. Paterson, Alexander, esq. Manchester. Paton, John, esq. Bow Church-yard. Peck, Samuel, esq. Liverpool. Peel, Edmund, esq. 30, Bucklersbury. Penny, J. S. esq. Leaf-sq. Manchester. Percival, R. jun. esq. 76, Lombard-street. Pickering, Edward Rowland, esq. Clapham. Piatt, Dr. Bolton. Pollard, J. esq. Manchester. Potter, John, esq. Manchester. Potter, Richard, esq. Manchester. Powell, James, esq. Carey-street. Price, Joseph, esq. 7, King-street. Price, Buckley, esq. Manchester. Pringle, George, esq. Stoke-Newington. Pringle, Keneth, esq. Liverpool. Pritt, G. A. esq. Liverpool. Provand, Charles M, esq. 31, Miller-street, Glasgow. Pullen, J. esq. late Under Sheriff, Fore- street. R Rainier, Daniel, esq. 11, 'Change-alley. Rainforth, Dr. John, Bolton. Ramsay, Dr. Pernambuco. Ramsome, J. A. esq. Mosley-street, Man- chester. Ray, Joseph, esq. American Consul, Per- nambuco. (20 copies.) Reardon, Daniel, esq. Corbet-court, Grace- church-street. Richardson, Christ, esq. Brunswick-sq. Richardson, John, esq. Liverpool. Richardson, Samuel, esq. Liverpool. Ridgway, J. esq. Ridgmont, Lancashire. Rigg, James, esq. King-st. Manchester. Rignell, James, esq. Chelsea. Rivaz, A. esq. Stoke-Newington. Robinson, James, esq. Walbrook. Rogers, S. esq. Watlands, near Newcastle, Staffordshire. Roskell, R. and J. Messrs. Liverpool. Rothschild, N. M. esq. Stamford-hill. Row, J. esq. 2, Aldermary-church-yard. Rowlandson, Rev. J. Shap, Westmorland. Royle, Vernon, esq. Manchester. Rushforth, Richard, esq. Manchester. Rushton, W. esq. Liverpool. Russell, Edward, esq. Maidstone. S Spencer, the Rt. Hon. the Earl of, St. James's Place. Strangford, the Rt. Hon. Lord, Minister, Constantinople. Sadler, Joseph, esq. 2, Bow-lane. Samuel, S. M. esq. 1, Hammet-street, America-square. Samuel and Phillips, Messrs. 8, South- street, Finsbury-square. Saner, James, esq. Sun-street. Schwieger, G. E. F. esq. Highbury-terrace. Scott, John, esq. Du Four's Place. Sealy, George T. esq. Liverpool. Sheldon, S. esq. Milk-street. Shepherd, H. esq. Union-street, Borough. Sherman, J. R, esq. Lime-street. Shore, Joseph, esq. Birmingham. xxii LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. Slade, Rev. J. Bolton. Smith, J. S. esq. Holloway-place. Smith, R. esq. Finch-lane. Smith, Charles, esq. High-street, Man- chester. Smith, John, esq. Piccadilly, Manchester. Smith, Samuel, esq. 40, Commercial Sale Rooms, Mincing-lane. Soulby, A. esq. St. Mary-hill. Spenceley, J. H. esq. 20, Lawrence Poulte- ney-lane. Spooner, T. esq. George-yard, Lombard- street. Stable, Henry, esq. 115, Duke-street, Lei- cester-fields. Stephenson, F. esq. Pope's Head-alley. Stevenson, George, esq. 42, Bow-lane. Stirling, Charles, esq. Glasgow. Stocks, Samuel, esq. Manchester. Stuart, J. esq. St. Vincent-lane, Glasgow. Stubbs, Thomas, esq. 16, Lad-lane. Stwewardson, Thomas, esq. Adelphi. Sydebotham, Charles, esq. Liverpool. Symonds, John, esq. Old Jewry. T Thompson, W. esq. M.P. 12, Gloucester- place, Portman-square. Tate, W. esq. Old Jewry. Taylor, Thomas, esq. 7, Back-square, Man- chester. Taylor, J. esq. Bradford-house, Bolton. Taylor, James, esq. Liverpool. .Tennant, John, esq. Henry-street, Liver- pool. Thomas, J. W. esq. Liverpool. Thomas, W. esq. 1, Cateaton-street. Thompson, J. esq. 44, Old Change. Thorp, J. T. esq. Lord Mayor, London. Thorp, Dr. King-street, Manchester. Tinkler, W. esq. Putney, Surrey. Tootal, Henry, esq. Manchester. Townend, W. esq. Manchester. Tristram, H. esq. 138, LeadenhalUstreet. Turner, George, esq. Liverpool. Turner, Brade, and Co. Messrs. Liverpool. V Varty, William, esq. Bishopsgate-street. W Waterhouse, Nicholas, esq. Liverpool. Wemyss, General, 19, Cumberland-street. Whalley, John, esq. 11, Bow Church-yard. Wheeler, Samuel, esq. Surrey-square. Wiegbers, J. esq. 23, Fineh-lane. Wilkinson, E. esq. Long Room, Custom- House. Wilkinson, Thomas, esq. 8, Fitzroy-square. Wilkinson, Robert, esq. Islington. Wilde, James, esq. Manchester. Williams, B. and T. Messrs. Manchester. Williams, Thomas, esq. Liverpool. Williamson and Watson, Messrs. Dublin. Willis, Daniel, esq. Liverpool. Wilson, Crighton, and Co. Messrs. Man- chester. Wilson, R. esq. Clement's Lane. Wilson, Thomas, esq. Staple Inn. Wilson, Samuel, esq. Aldermanbury. Windus, Thomas, esq. Stoke- Newington. Winstanley, W. esq. 10, Pat^rnoster-row. Wingate, J. esq. 190, Trongate, Glasgow Wood, Philip, esq. Russell-square. Woodhouse, W. esq. Liverpool. LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. Worthington, Thomas, esq. Mosley-street, Manchester. Wright, George, esq. Birmingham. Wright, Edmund, esq. Manchester. Wright, H. esq. Ingram's Buildings, Glas- gow. Wrighton, A. esq. Moor's Place, Hope- street, Glasgow. Wybergh, John, esq. Liverpool. Wylie, John, esq. Liverpool. Yates, John, esq. Manchester. Back of Foldout Not Imaged AN HISTORICAL, GEOGRAPHICAL, AND COMMERCIAL, ACCOUNT OF THE BRAZIL. CHAPTER L Voyage from England to Rio de Janeiro, ON the ntli of March, 1819, I took my departure, in the brig Echo, Captain Henderson, from the River Thames, and on the 18th, after contending with adverse winds, arrived in Portland Roads, where we took shelter till the 21st. On our departure from thence we were favoured with a fair wind for only a short period ; and on the 24th it opposed us from the westward with such violence, that it rendered our attempts to beat out of the Channel abortive. We were in consequence obliged to submit to the only alternative of running for safety to Falmouth Harbour, and remained there till the 2d of April. Perhaps few situations can be conceived more irksome than this. To a mind made up for departure, every delay is deemed a misfortune in proportion as the object m pursuit is of desirable attainment, and especially in the considera- tion of its prolonging the time that is to re-unite us to those we love best. A light breeze from the north-east enabled us to clear the Channel on the 3d. This part of a voyage from England, though trifling in point of distance, IS regarded by sailors as pregnant with impending dangers and difficulties, the Channel being so situated that the prevailing westeriy winds, at certain seasons of the year, render the egress extremely intricate. The constant B 2 VOYAGE FROM ENGLAND anxiety of the captain and crew till we passed the Islands of Scilly, contrasted with the happy security which they then evinced, were proofs of the importance they attached to it. The feelings of Englishmen on quitting the British shores must be various, and, in many instances, exquisitely interesting in pensive reflections. As for myself, the animated attachment for my native land and those so dear to me left behind produced a melancholy, heightened by the surrounding oceanic scene, which, on the other hand, was alleviated not only by a humble reUance upon that Almighty, in whose paternal hands is the greater or less share of happiness of all his creatures, but also by the hope of a successful issue attending the voyage — " Hope that whispers promised pleasure, And bids the lovely scenes at distance hail." We were favoured with a propitious breeze, which continued steady, at the rate of seven, eight, and nine miles an hour. On the 12th, we passed between the Island of Madeira and the African coast: the vicinity of the former, although we did not see it, was announced by the appearance of sea gulls, the only birds I had hitherto noticed, excepting one swallow and the mother cary's chicken, not unlike the former at a distance, but rather larger, having white feathers above the tail and under the belly, the rest of a brownish cast. It is said to hatch and carry its young on the water, and is seen, I understand, in every part of the Atlantic as well as the Indian and Pacific Oceans. We met with the swallow in about 40° north latitude and 15^ west longitude; it made- several attempts to alight upon the vessel, but was prevented by the dog ;, ^p-:^ parently fatigued, it continued its flight in a northerly direction. This is a phe- nomenon attending the migration of those birds, favouring the opinion that they visit some southern or tropical climate, during the cold season in England, and is opposed to the hypothesis advanced by some of their immersion in ponds, and by others of their taking refuge in old walls and ruins. That they ass uine such a state of torpitude as the first would infer is very improbable. On the morning of the 14th of April, we discovered the high peaks of three of the Canary Islands at a great distance, Grand Canary bearing south-west, and Lanzarote and Fortaventura south-east. The world of waters which had hitherto, from its varied and sometimes terrific agitation, filled the imagmation with awe, was now changed into a pacific, but grand expanse, that soothed and absorbed the mind with its tranquil magnificence; and the weather, which had been cold and gloomy, was changed into a balmy mildness and enlivenmg TO RIO DE JANEIRO. 3 sttnny clearness. Towards the evening, we came close up to the north-west side of Fortaventura, a long island, exhibiting a rugged tumnlous combination of peaks and mountains, rising irregularly one over another, of the most barren and cheerless aspect. In vain the sun extended his genial rays over its sterile wastes^ where no salutary plant appeared to take root, or the least verdure to quicken. With the assistance of the glass, I could not discover one single hut or human being along the whole face of it. There is a small port on the op- posite side, where the produce, as well as that of Lanzarote, is barilla. The wind having changed, a passage could not be accomplished round either end of this island. The signal of " about ship" was given, and we stood for some hours to the northward. Pursuing a southerly course again next day, We came, at noon, close up with land, which, during the morning, a thick haze had obscured. The sun now bursting forth, presented to our view the island of Grand Canary, with its town of Palmas, furnishing a contrast of a very pleasing nature to the island already mentioned. Its romantic and commanding peaks of immense altitude had their tops concealed in clouds, which the lustre of the sun seemed unable to dispel. Its amphitheatre of mountains, adorned with lively patches of green from their very summits, fertilized by increasing cultiva-i tion, and in the most luxuriant verdure, down to the verge of the sea, concurred, with the town of Palmas, and a large village extending some distance along the parterre, with detached houses in the same direction of an elegant appearance, to render the scene peculiarly animating and lovely. The town of Palmas, which does not appear large, and the harbour, which is capacious and safe, are commanded by batteries, stationed along a range of mountains to the north of the town. Teneriffe and most of the other islands draw their supplies of com and cattle from Grand Canary. As we proceeded along its shores, and before the close of the evening, we perceived that its cultivation was not general. The next day, the Peak of Teneriffe was indistinctly seen through the clouds that hung upon the horizon ; the height, for which it is so celebrated, is apparently diminished by the elevation of the circumjacent mountains. A north-east trade wind now wafted us forward with considerable rapidity, rendered more agree- able by the delicious weather and salubrious atmosphere diffused around. The familiar and accustomed possession of the prime bounties of nature must be always gratifying to those whose senses and whose imagination are even in tolerable vigour; but to an Englishman, blest with a sound constitution, and over whom the vicissitudes of life had not, as is too often the case, cast a mantle of despondency, to deaden present pleasure and darken future prospects, and who B 2 4 VOYAGE FROM ENGLAND had so recently emerged from a dreary atmosphere, the enjoyment of this, to him, new-born paradisaical climate, resembled more a feeling of sudden and happy enchantment, than an elemental and natural delight, with which Provi- dence had blessed a particular portion of the globe. On the 22d, we made the Cape de Verd Islands, and took our course betwixt the islands of St. Anthony, St. Vincent, St. Lucia, and St. Nicholas, to the west- ward, Sal and Bonavista being to the eastward of us. The isle of Sal is fre- quented by the Americans for salt, which is collected upon it. On the 23d, we ranged along the north-east side of St. Yago, the largest of the Cape de Verd Islands, but it was so completely enveloped in opaque clouds, that we could see no object distinctly upon it. It is, I believe, more verdant than any of the others, possessing groves of cocoa-nut trees, and bananas. The volcanic wastes of the island of Mayo, lying to the eastward of St. Yago, were not obscured by a single cloud, and the industry of man did not appear in any part of it to have subdued the steriUty of nature. It was completely bare of vegetation, except an impoverished' brush-wood. I could only discover two or three solitary cocoa-nut trees ; notwithstanding, at the end of this island nearest to us, there was a small town, possessing gome apparent neatness, but without a single tree or any shelter to refrigerate the scorching rays of the sun. I observed a flag projecting from a window, which probably was the house of the governador : there was not an inhabitant to be seen, they were, no doubt, indulg- ing in a sesta. The officers of a British ship of war, who had just come to anchor off" the town, were preparing to go on shore, and might perhaps rouse some of them from their lethargy. This was a ship of about 20 guns, and we imagined she belonged to the Sierra Leone or African station, in which those islands might be included. No fortifications were visible any where, and it may be inferred, that the mother country regards so little the importance of those islands, that no precautions were ever adopted for their defence. The fogs by which they are usually obscured are attributed by some to vapours arising from the salt lakes ; but as the same general law may be supposed to govern such condensations of fog, common to them as well as to the Canaries and other islands of a high elevation, I should be more disposed to think that they ori- ginate in the profuse exhalations in those latitudes, and in the increased power of attraction attached to the volcanic materials of which those accumulated masses of land are composed, thereby more effectually drawing around them this gloomy mantle. And, although I am not informed as to the circumstance, it is pro- bable that the density and quantum of haziness are much greater when the sun TO RIO DE JANEIRO. 5 k in the northern tropic, and diminishes as he recedes towards the southern. From the Cape de Verds, the same favouring gale continued to swell our sails. In traversing this tropic, the heavens present the most beautiful and romantic pictures, and the ocean some of its gayest inhabitants for contemplation. It is here the rapturous scene of the celestial spring. Towards the evening's sun especially, the firmament is seen glowing with purple, orange, and every beau- teous, delicate, and rich colour, of such transparency and matchless brilliancy, that cannot be imagined, as it is never seen in a northern latitude. The diffusion of such an infinite variety of warm tints and other hues, mingled in elegant groups, around the whole horizon, enhances the vigorous power of the sap- phire back-ground, or rather the rich blue ethereal canopy to which they form a deep edging, or grand and resplendent fringe. In vain would the most accom- plished artist attempt its delineation ; he could only look up with admiration and amazement, and, lost in wonder, the hand would be found to refuse gui- dance to his pencil. " For who can paint like nature 7 Can imagination boast. In all her gay creation, hues like hers r When the beautiful and sublime scenes I have ineffectually attempted to give a faint idea of, fade away in the shades of night, and are succeeded by the glory of the stellar hemisphere, turn the eye to the deep, and a blaze of marine illumi- nations, frequently seen around the ship, in some degree compensates for their loss. This effect is occasioned by the small blubber fish floating near the surface, and Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like these. The brilliant appearance, in these waters, of the bonita, albacore, pilot fish, &c. is only surpassed by the extraordinary change and rapid suffusion of delicate colours succeeding each other during the dying moments of the dolphin. The flying fish are seen in large numbers, taking their flight from the water, alarmed by the approach of the vessel, or the pursuit of the dolphin and other fish, to which they are a prey. The nautilus, commonly called by sailors " the Portu- guese man of war," moves on in slow majesty, with its sail above the water, and secure from the attacks of its neighbours by its poisonous qualities : it lowers and erects its sail at pleasure, which is something like the slice of a large lemon, only that the rind is of a pinkish hue, and the other parts nicely shaded. Here also is the shark, which may be called the destroying demon of the ocean, skulking about, seeking whom he may devour," with understood horror of piu-pose both by man and the marine inhabitants. His approach is soon 6 VOYAGE FROM ENGLAND announced by a general hue and cry from the sailors, who are among his deadhest foes. All are instantly up in arms. Their animated and entire devo- tion to their purpose, in which every feeling is interested, can scarcely be equalled by the pleasurable emotions of a sportsman at the moment a fox is breaking cover. Every artifice is used by throwing out pieces of pork at the end of ropes, which he voraciously follows to the side of the ship; the weapons of death are ready; and, after striking him, and a struggle ensuing to get him on board, if, by any effort of his strength, he break away, which I have seen, great is the sullen vexation and disappointment shown by the crew. He is usually accompanied by three or four pilot fish, about the size of a whiting : they are extremely beautiful, and appear in the water as if fastened upon his back, near the head. On the 23d of April, in 12° 34' north latitude, I was, for the first time in my life, under a vertical sun, now by degrees moving through the northern tropic, and gradually dispensing his benign influence to the regions of the north. On the 1st of May, in 2° north latitude, and 22° west longitude, an officer from the Rockingham, Captain Waugh, a free trader from the East Indies, boarded us, to solicit some trifles they wanted, and particularly newspapers, which their passengers, including some ladies, he stated, were extremely desirous to see. There was a peculiar pleasure in having even a transient inter- course with a ship at sea, and being enabled to relieve, in any degree, their wants. The social feelings, the fellow sympathies of man, were revived with renewed vigour by the idea of our having, on the wide and solitary ocean, been mutually so long separated from our own proper element and exposed to the perils of the deep, and by the new sight of our countrymen, after having been confined to the view only of those within the compass of the few yards that enclosed the space of the brig. It increased the kindly emotions in the awaken- ed thoughts of absent country, and especially of the dear family circle of home. " Home ! There is a magic in that little word ! It is a mystic circle that surrounds Pleasures and comforts never known beyond The hallow'd limit." About this time we lost the north-east trade wind, which was succeeded by ealms and squalls, that detained us seven or eight days near the Line. Nothing can be experienced in a voyage much more unpleasant than this vicissitude of weather. The irksomeness of a calm near the equator is rendered almost insup^ TO RIO DE JANEIRO. ^ portable by the ardent ray« of the sun ; every one seems to languish : several, and often many hours drag heavily on, while the vessel makes no progress, and only experiences a disagreeable motion by the heaving of the glassy ocean, its surface not being in the least ruffled by a breath of air. In the mean time, an elemental war is brooding, A black and pitchy cloud is seen awfully and slowly moving on, with fury in its train ; all is alarm ; with haste the sails are lowered. The sullen langour of the atmosphere is succeeded by the " madden- ing tempest," so suddenly and with so little warning, that sometimes, before every precaution can be taken, the sweeping impetuosity lays the vessel instan- taneously upon her side, and, in that situation, she is hurried forward with immense velocity. These conflicting winds are as quickly followed by solid torrents of rain. In a short period, all is tranquillity again, and the returning sun, in burning radiance, annihilates the last breeze that feebly curled the face of the ocean. The same scenes alternately present themselves. During the night these sudden squalls are the most dangerous, as their approach cannot be so well ascertained. On the first day that we were becalmed, notwithstanding the advances we occasionally made by the transient operation of those gusts, we found our lati- tude 1° 43' north, and the preceding day it was only 1° 23'. This can only be accounted for by the strong northerly currents now prevailing here ; and hence it would appear, that the same invariable law of attraction governs them as well as the winds. The squalls I have mentioned also came from the south and south-east, and the winds beginning at this time to blow here, issue from the same quarter, in consequence, no doubt, of the sun being in the northern tropic. If he creates a vacuum in his vicinity by the rarefaction of the air, which induces a great influx from the southern and northern hemispheres of the atmosphere, in like manner the exuberant evaporations from the sea may pro- duce a rushing of the waters to supply what is lost (pro tempore) by vapours. Various causes, however, operate to prevent an uniform appearance in this respect, such as the occasional counter-attraction of the moon and other celestial bodies, of continents and other lands, as well as a prevailing repulsive power in nature. Still if those effects could be minutely followed through their various ramifications, it might be found that the winds and currents originate in the combinations I have ventured to suggest. Is it not possible, that the calms near the equator at this period may arise from the equally poised contention of the south-east and north-east winds meeting, and that the former, in the sun s march through the northern tropic, will gradually gain upon the latter in extent of 8 VOYAGE FROM ENGLAND dominion proportioned to the sun's declination, and vice versa as he recedes through the southern tropic, or, more properly speaking, in the earth's oblique revolution round the sun? The rust, which at this time constantly showed itself upon my razors, was probably owing to some peculiar corrosive properties in the atmosphere, or it might have arisen from some saline moisture insinuating itself every where imperceptibly. But to attempt to comprehend or explain the extraordinary operations in the grand work of nature, in this and other latitudes, has in many instances baffled the keenest sagacity and most laborious research. Secondary causes of the phenomena in nature are often beyond the clearest ken of human intellect, how then are the faculties of the mind bewildered in the contemplation of the great First Cause ! How lost and absorbed in adoration of the Divine source, the essence of all those wonderfully diversified appearances ! The hand moves the pen with which I now write ; I can trace the power that impels it — the cause of this effect, to the immediate impulse only, that is, to the muscles in the arm, that, arising thence, connect themselves with the hand. But can I go back any further ? Can I ascertain what it is that produces this admirable power in the muscles, this secondary cause? Reason here discovers its confined limit as to remoter and efficient causes, but, bounding at once over these concealed regions of knowledge, sees and acknowledges the great original source of all finite existence, and in the power of thinking, and in the movement of his bodily frame, man feels that '* It is the Divinity that stirs within him.'* He has an undeniable and practical evidence of the existence, power, and goodness of an invisible and eternal Being, from whom all creation has emanated. On the 6th of May, we crossed the Line in 23° west longitude. The calms and squalls were succeeded by cloudy weather and light breezes from the south and south-east, which in a few days assumed the steadiness of the trade wind, but not accompanied with that beautiful serenity and brightness of sky, which we experienced whilst in the north-east trade wind. Neptune and his wife Amphitrite did not make their appearance ; or, to speak without mythological allusion, the usual ceremonies on crossing the Line were not observed, owing, I presume, to the fatigue and exhaustion sustained by the sailors, in consequence of the variable weather. On the 22d of May, we discovered, at a distance, Cape Frio, a discovery TO RIO DE JANEIRO. 9 which always fills with joy the breasts of those making a voyage to this part of the world. And no wonder. For having launched out upon the wide immea- surable ocean, where uncertainty and dangers always accompany him, man, at this refreshing sight, feels reassured of his safety, and obtains a promise of the eventual success of his voyage. Besides, he experiences a rich glow of mind at viewing the natural element of his support and existence, and a feeling of deep interest on beholding, if for the first time, a new portion of the w^orld. From this promontory, the coast swells in a north-east direction to Cape St. Roque, forming the most easterly portion of territory in South America. Rio de Janeiro lies exactly west from, and in the same latitude with, Cape Frio, at a distance of about eighty miles. The coast betwixt them presents a continued appearance of rugged mountains, and through every aperture they are seen undulating in accu- mulated alpines far back into the interior of this vast continent. Tremendous precipices, at every opening of the nearer mountains, strike the imagination with wonder, snowy clouds occasionally obscuring the contracted valleys at their feet, and resting in detached and airy vapours upon their sides, whilst their summits and other parts are brightened by the purest atmosphere and sunshine. This scene conveys to the European traveller a grand idea and foretaste of the peculiar magnificence of size and aspect, with which nature has displayed her- self in the new continent. After proceeding about forty miles along this shore, a view is commanded from Cape Frio to Gavea, or the Parrot's Beak, a distance'of near one hundred miles. The entrance, through a narrow inlet amongst the moun- tains, to the bay of Rio de Janeiro, is pointed out by one of a singular shape, re- sembling a sugar-loaf, the strata of which it is composed appearing to run per- pendicularly. Here is presented one of the most picturesque and beautiful scenes that can well be imagined. Abrupt and towering precipices of wild and fanciful shapes, universally robed in verdant shrubs of various kinds, surround this fine bay, containing nearly one hundred islands, to the circumference of which the eye cannot extend. The bases of these mountains, consisting of granite, are beautified with numerous sweeping crescents of more perfect cultivation, edged with white cottages and houses, from whence narrow valleys, adorned with orange trees, are seen winding amongst the mountains. The clear, sunny, and smiling face of nature ; the verdant islands, which look in their loveliness as if they were intended for the abode of beings more refined in intellect and more pure in heart than weak and erring man; the shipping dispersed about the bay, the city seen at a distance, combined with an airy and elegant aqueduct, which conveys from the mountains water for the supply of the town, all impressing the 10 VOYAGE FROM ENGLAND idea of social happiness, of the comforts and elegancies produced by science and civilized society, are, after a long and consequently tedious voyage, welcome sights to the aquatic traveller, re-enlivening his spirits, and, in the anticipation of the enjoyments of his proper element, land, are the beginnings of the compen- sation it affords him for the privations he has been enduring at sea. A little higher up, on the opposite side to the sugar-loaf, is the fort of Santa Cruz, where ships for a few minutes bring to, and answer various questions. From hence a signal is made, which is repeated from a hill close by the town, announcing to what country the ship arrived belongs. The vessel then cast anchor off the island of Fort Villegagnon, to which place she despatched a boat to bring on board a serjeant and two soldiers, who remained as a guard, till nearly a day was consumed before the captain of the port, a military officer, a doctor, &c. had, one after the other, come off in boats, at their pleasure, to visit the ship, creating an unnecessary and tedious delay. At last, the vessel moved on to the vicinity of the Isle das Cobras, from whence, after a custom-house guard had arrived, the soldiers conducted the Captain and myself to the palace and other offices, where the ship's name, &c. were given in. On here taking leave of the brig, I must do justice to my feelings by observing, that I received the most friendly attention from the Captain, whose gentlemanly and well-regulated conduct were highly honourable to him. On landing, the prepossession regarding this place gives way to an impression by no means favourable, produced by narrow streets, crowded with negroes, whose black faces and savage songs, which they howl out as an encouragement to each other under the burdens and loads which they drag along, fill the mind of the stranger, unaccustomed to such scenes, with dejection. The fairy visions in the bay, too recent yet to have disappeared from the imagination, vanished at such discordant sounds and uncouth appearances ; and suffering, rather than satis- faction and enjoyment, appeared to be resident here. The discordant sounds afforded, perhaps, some consolatory relief to the poor negroes, by dividing their attention in some degree from their toil. They were an effort of nature, ever fertile in resources under calamity, to drive away care ; but they were on that account a proof of their misery. They thus imparted a trifling gratification to the sable sufferers, but they penetrated mournfully to my heart, unused as I was to such misery-elicited minstrelsy, for it was slavery under a temporary attempt at disguise. " Disguise thyself as thou wilt, still, slavery !" said I, with Sterne, still thou art a bitter draught! and though thousands, in all ages, have been " made to drink of thee, thou art no less bitter on that account." It TO RIO DE JANEIRO. 11 The human frame will seldom bear, without injury, its transmission to a climate very dissimilar to that to which its birth and previous residence have accustomed it. Thus the English residing here exhibit in their appearance the effects of this tropical climate, and, although they are otherwise in health, there is a debi- lity manifest in their countenances, something resembling the appearance of a person in a state of convalescence after illness. I waited upon Henry Chamberlaine, Esq. the British charge d'affaire, with a letter of introduction from a nobleman, and discovered, at that interview, that my expectations of entering actively upon the functions of a public situation were not Ukely to be realized ; I therefore adopted the determination, to which my mind was pre-disposed, of devoting my time to the acquirement of such intelligence, regarding the vast regions of the Brazil, as circumstances would admit of. Houses of public accommodation may be said scarcely to exist in this city, and are of such inferior order, that strangers are peculiarly fortunate if they are received into the residence of a friend. The liberality and frank hospi- tality of a merchant, to whom I brought a letter of introduction, relieved me from any inconvenience on this score. Previously to my entering upon a general description of this city, and the several provinces composing the Portu- guese possessions in South America, of which it is now the metropolis, it may not be h-relevant to give some account of the first discovery of this widely- extended continent. FROM THE FIRST DISCOVERY TO THE CHAP. II. From the First Discoviery down to the Arrival of the Royal Family there, and its present Division into Provinces — The general Character of the Indians. The honour of discovering the new world, it is well known, justly belongs to Christopher Columbus^ a pilot of Genoa, although it derives its name from Ame- ricanus Vespuccius, a Florentine navigator, who performed two voyages to this hemisphere, under the auspices of his Castihan Majesty, and two others by order of Emanuel, King of Portugal. The latter voyages the Portuguese writers flatly deny, and attribote the promulgation of a story so devoid of truth to the arrogance and pride of Vespuccius ; nor, in fact, does his relation respecting this point appear to be supported by any collateral testimony. A mere accidental occurrence, indeed, induced Columbus first to entertain the idea of launching out upon unknown s eas. The master of a caravelleon, named Francisco Sanches, about the year 1480, arrived at Madeira, where Columbus then was, in a most pitiable condition, with three or four sailors only remaining, and nearly exhausted, in consequence of a tremendous tempest which had assailed their ungovernable bark, and driven them to a remote western longitude, where they saw, or fancied they saw, land. It was in those days imagined, that the eastern coast of Asia was the western boundary of the Atlantic Ocean, and Columbus was persuaded, that the land which Sanches had seen was the island of Japan, or some other island uipon that coast, and which was then only arrived at by navigating around the coast of Africa. The novel circumstance stirred up in his mind the most animating presentiments ; — the glory of opening to India a shorter and more easy passage, by proceeding directly across the Atlantic, inspired Columbus with enthusiasm, and he flattered himself, that the disclo- sure of his ideas would produce ready concurrence in furnishing the adequate equipments for the enterprise. He proceeded to Genoa for the purpose of pro- posing his plan, but it was regarded there as a chimera. He submitted the same proposition to John II. of Portugal, whose subject he then was, which was rejected by the votes of some chosen geographers. He next directed his way to the court of Castile, where the learned ones entertained the same senti- ARRIVAL OF THE ROYAL FAMILY. 13 ments upon the subject as the cosmographers of Lusitania, and where, perhaps, he would have been equally unsuccessful had not the spontaneous offers which Luiz de Santangal made to provide all the money requisite for the expedition, and the voluntary proposal of Don Pedro de Mendonca to contribute one- eighth of the expenses, overcome every difficulty. He sailed from Palos, with three caravelleons under his command, on the 3d of August, 1492, and, passing the Canaries, directed his course to the westward, till the 11th of October, when he descried an island, which he called St. Salvador, now one of the Bahama Islands. He was much disheartened at having traversed so much of the ocean with so little success ; but he continued, however, the voyage, and discovered the Island of Cuba, of Hispaniola, now St. Domingo, and left 38 men there in a wooden fort. He then retraced his way back, and arrived at Lisbon on the 6th of March, 1493. Columbus made three other voyages across the Atlantic, under the protection of Ferdinand V. His second voyage was commenced from Cadiz, on the 25th of September, 1493. He re- visited the Island of His- paniola, discovered Jamaica, and a great many other islands to the southward of Cuba, and which, for its fertility and picturesque beauty, he denominated the garden of the kingdom. Upon his third voyage, in 1498, he saw the island of Trinidad, at the mouth of the Oronocos, on the 1st of August. He afterwards disembarked on various parts of the coast of Paria, returned to Hispaniola, and then to Europe. He sailed again from Cadiz on the 9th of May, 1502, a third time visited Hispaniola, and continued to navigate onward till he dis- covered the Island of Guanaia, near Cape Honduras, and subsequently explored all the coast of the continent, from Cape Gracias to Porto Bello. Some persons, however, affirm that it is a great injustice to attribute the honour of discovering this hemisphere to either of those navigators, when it is certain that the oriental Syberios, called Choukes, were in the habit of passing the Straits of Bhering, to the American continent, in the summer season, from time immemorial. The Danes discovered Greenland about the end of the tenth cen- tury, and the Norwegians colonized it in the following one ; and if this land is not a portion of the continent, it is at least an island belonging to it. Having briefly described the first discovery of the American continent, it will now be in unison with the object of this work, to invite the attention to an in- vestigation of the circumstances resulting from the discovery of that portion of it more immediately under consideration, and which has excited endeavours on my part, very inadequate to render justice to a subject of such prodigious magnitude. The Portuguese imagine (and the inscriptions met with in the Bra- J4 FROM THE FIRST DISCOVERY TO THE zil would appear to corroborate the notion) that their countryman and ances- tor, Pedro Alvarez Cabral, was the first discoverer of that country ; but this honour indubitably belongs to the celebrated Spanish pilot, Vincente Yanez Pinson, the companion of Columbus in his first voyage across the Atlantic ; and who, it is affirmed, would not have acquired the fame of first descrying the new world, had not the despondency which was clouding his mind, in the progress of that voyage, been dispelled by the animating hope of success with which Pin- son encouraged him. In virtue of a commission granted to Vincente Yanez Pinson, by the Castilian court, he quitted his native shores in pursuit of undis- covered countries, in the month of December, 149.9. He shaped his course more to the southward than his late commander, Columbus ; and on the 26th of January, 1500, discovered land in about 8° south latitude, having crossed the Atlantic in as short a period as the voyage is commonly accomplished in at this day ; evincing an undaunted spirit and disregard to the prevailing practice then existing amongst navigators, of taking in all sail and lying to during the night. The discovery of this new land must have been highly consolatory and gratifying to his feelings ; he gave it, therefore, the name of Cape Consolation, which can be no other than Cape St. Augustine, situated about twenty miles to the south of Pernambuco. Pinson vainly went through the ceremony of taking possession of the country for the Spanish crown. The natives which they saw were exceed- ingly shy, and they endeavoured without success to accomphsh any intercourse with them. He proceeded northward, towards Cape St. Roque, with his ships, and, again landing upon the intervening coast, his people had several rencounters with a horde of savages very different to the first they had seen. These Indians used the bow and arrow, and attacked the Spaniards with great spirit and dexterity. This reception induced Pinson to continue his course along the northern coast of the Brazil ; and, after proceeding as far as the Oronocos, he returned to Europe without any manifest advantage resulting from this under- taking. Although he was unfortunate in losing some of his ships on the home- ward voyage, he displayed considerable nautical skill in conducting his vessels in safety along the most difficult and dangerous part of the Brazilian coast. During the period that Pinson was thus occupied, Portugal was fitting out a fleet with much pomp and parade in the river Tagus, not with any project of discovering a new territory, but in consequence of Don Vasco da Gama having arrived at Lisbon, with certain intelligence of having ascertained the navigation to India, round the Cape of Good Hope. The Portuguese King, Emanuel, determined to send a fleet to establish friendship and a treaty of commerce ARRIVAL OF THE ROYAL FAMILY. 15 with the King of Calcutta, and to create a factory in the same city. Merchan- dise of the best taste was selected for the outward cargo, and the ships were to be laden in return with spices. For the command of this fleet, which consisted often caravels, and three larger vessels, a fidalgo was chosen, called Pedro Al- varez Cabral. The number of persons on board amounted to twelve hundred well selected and well armed. The fleet was prepared in front of the Rastello, now called Belem ; and it was determined that it should sail on the 9th of March, 1500. At the vespers preceding, which was on Sunday, the King went with all the court to open mass, in the hermitage of our Lady of Belem, (or Bethlehem,) which site is occupied at this day by the magnificent monastery of P. P. Jero- nymos. Diogo Ortiz, Bishop of Ceuta, delivered a discourse upon the object of the expedition ; and, during the service, a flag was placed upon the altar, with the cross of the order of Christ, which the Bishop, with imposing ceremony, consecrated ; and the King, with his own hands, delivered it to Cabral, who was near his Majesty during the ceremonies. The fungad heing finished, the colours were carried in procession, accompanied by the King, to the beach, where Cabral and most of the captains kissed his hand, and at the same time a grand salute was fired by the whole fleet. This was considered the most powerful and brilliant armament that had ever sailed from Portugal for distant countries. The other captains were Sancho de Thoar (with succession to Admiral Cabral), N. Coelho (who had been with Vasco da Gama), S. de Miranda d'Azevedo, A. G: da Sylva, V. d'Athayde, S. de Pina, N. Leytao, P. d'Athayde, L. Pirez, Gaspar de Lemos, the celebrated Bartholomew Dias, discoverer of the Cape of Good Hope, and Diogo Dias, his brother, who were to remain with the factory to be established. There were, besides, seven Franciscan friars, subordinate to one named Frey Henrique, who was afterwards bishop of Ceuta, eight chap- lains, and a vicar, to administer the sacraments in the factory of Calcutta. Ayres Correa was appointed factor, or head of the estabhshment ; and G. Barboza, and Pedro Vas de Caminho, escrivaos, or writers. On the 14th of March, the fleet passed the Canaries ; and after having seen the island of St. Nicholas, one of the Cape de Verds, on the 22d, they disco- vered that the vessel of V. d'Athayde was missing. Cabral took every pains to fall in with it again, but without eflfect. He continued his voyage, and in order to avoid being detained by the calms peculiar to the coast of Africa, and to profit by the prevailing north-east trade wind, they stood so much to the westward, that, on the 21st of April, (the last Oitava of Pascal,) they met with signals of land, (which were certain floating plants,) and late on the following day, in latitude 17° south, they saw a large round mountain with smaller hills, which were the highest por- 16 FROM THE FIRST DISCOVERY TO THE tions of the Serra, now called Aymores, mostly covered with wood. Cabral made a signal to the other ships to approach the land, and by sun-set they anchored in 19 fathoms, about six leagues from it. From respect to the oitavario* Cabral gave the mountain the name of Mount Pascal, which it yet retains ; and the land he called Vera Cruz. The following day they sailed towards the land, and came in front of the mouth of a river now called Rio de Frade (River Friar) ; and remained half a league distant from it during the night, with some difficulty, in consequence of a strong south-east wind setting in. Captain N. Coelho examined the river the same day, which was found incapable of receiving even the smallest vessels of the fleet; and the wind not being favour- able to coast towards the south, Cabral ordered the fleet to navigate northward, and despatched Affbnso Lopez, his pilot, in one of the smallest caravels, to proceed nearer the beach, and to examine the first part he met with. The squadron having coasted on about ten leagues, met with the bay of Coroa Vermelha, otherwise Cabral, where, towards the evening, the caravels nearest entered. AfFonso Lopez, who was sounding the port, met with two young Indians in a canoe, whom he carried to the admiral, who had anchored with the larger ships a league from the reefs, which were at the entrance of the bay. They were next morning placed upon the beach dressed in Portuguese clothes, accompanied by a degradado, or criminal, in order to observe the mode of living which prevailed amongst the natives. The fleet remained here eight days, during which time mass was celebrated twice by Frey Henrique ; the first, on Easter Sunday, upon an island (its name is now Coroa Vermelha) within the bay, in sight of a great number of Indians assembled upon the continental beach ; the other, on the 1st of May, at the foot of a grand cross, which had been erected upon the main land, with the arms of King Emanuel, in testimony of the solemn possession which in bis name had been taken of this new land of Vera Cruz. There is a letter in the naval archives at Rio de Janeiro, written by P. V. de Caminho (one of the escrivads already mentioned) to King Emanuel, giving a minute detail of all the circumstances attending the stay of the armament in this port, which Cabral called " Porto Seguro," in noticing which, the above letter, written in language differing from that of the present day, says, " Acha- " ram hos ditos navios pequenos huum a recife com liuum porto dentro muyti ** boo, e muyti seguro com huuma muy larga entrada, e meterem-se dentro.'' Also, entraram toda las naaos e amcoraram-se em simco, sets bracas, ha qual amcora- * Eight successive days after a festival. ARRIVAL OF THE ROYAL FAMILY, 1? jem demtro he tarn grande e tarn fremosa, e tarn segura, que podem jaser demtro " neela mats de duzentos navios e naaos''* He says the Indians were quite naked, and their bodies painted with various colours. They wore pendants of white bone from their ears. Their cheeks were in like manner ornamented with bones, and their lips slit, into which similar ornaments were also introduced. They used bows and arrows. The two natives who came on board, when they saw the gold embroidery upon the collar of Cabral's coat, danced, put their hands to the ground, and then to the collar : they showed the same feeling in regard to silver; from which it was inferred that those precious metals were hot unknown to them. This letter also says, " Mostraram Ihes huum papagayo " par do que aquy ho capitam tras ; tomaram no logo na maao ; mostraram Ihes " huum carneyro, nonfezeram delle mengam ; mostraram Ihes huuma galinha, e asy " aviam medo dela, e mm Ihe queriam poeer ha maao''-\ The Portuguese offered them bread, dressed fish, and other things, which on tasting they put out of their mouths ; also wine, which they did not like, and would not take it a second time. They established a friendly intercourse with those Indians, from whom they received in exchange for trifling articles, fruits, farinha (or flour) of the mandioca, maize, &c. This writer, with many of the captains, went a league and a half up the country, where they met with a body of Indians, who had nine or ten houses rudely built of wood covered with grass ; each house had two small entrances, and was large enough to receive thirty or forty persons. It consisted of but one apartment, without any division. They bartered with them things of no value for large and beautiful red parrots, two small green ones, and other things. They went on shore again the next day to get wood and wash linen, when they found sixty or seventy Indians, without bows or any thing else, upon the beach, which number soon increased to two hundred, all without bows and arrows. They mixed amongst the Portuguese, and assisted them to collect wood and put it on board the boats. That Cabral considered this land an island is evidenced by the conclusion of the letter. " Beijo haas maaos de " The said small vessels found a reef with a port within, very fine and very secure, with a very large entrance, and they put themselves within it." Also, " and all the ships entered and an- chored in five and six fathoms, which anchorage within is so grand, so beautiful, and so secure, that there could he within it more than two hundred ships and men of war " + « We showed them a grey parrot, which the captain had hrought with him; they took it imme- dmtely into their hands. We showed them a sheep, they took no notic. of it. We showed them , towl ; they \^ere afraid of it, and would not put their h^nds upon it." 18 FROM THE FIRST DISCOVERY TO THE " V. A. deste Porto Seguro da vosa Ilha da Vera Cruz. Hoje, Sesta feira " primeiro dia de Mayo, 1500. P. V. de Caminha.''* On the 2d of May, this fleet sailed from Porto Seguro, and proceeded on its voyage to India, leaving two degradados behind, who were seen lamenting and crying upon the beach, and the men of the country comforting them, demon- strating that they were not a people devoid of pity.-f One of them soon learnt the idiom of the Indians called Tupininquins. He served as interpreter to the first Portuguese who arrived there, and afterwards returned home. Some of the Portuguese writers are piqued at the Spanish authors, Berredo and Antonio Galvum, for pretending, as they say, that their countryman, Vincente Yanez Pinson first discovered the Brazil ; and they bring, as testimony against the Spaniards, the following statement of Robertson. " Vicente Yanez Pin- " son, one of the admiral's companions in his first voyage, sailed from Palos *' with four ships ; he stood boldly towards the south, and was the first Spa- " niard who ventured to cross the equinoctial line ; but he seems to have landed *' on no part of the coast beyond the mouth of the Marignon, or River of the Amazons." Robertson does not make a positive assertion that Pinson did not land upon any other part of the Brazilian coast, nor does he enter into par- ticulars or give any dates. The river Amazons is the north-western boundary of the Brazil ; and even if he only landed at the mouth of this great river, he of course landed upon the Brazilian territory, and was unquestionably the first discoverer of it- Conceding to the Portuguese the passage which they adduce from Robertson, it offers no contradiction to the circumstances and dates already detailed of Pinson's voyage, which show him to have anticipated the Portuguese at least three months in this discovery. Cabral despatched Caspar de Lemos from Porto Seguro, to announce to the King this new land, which had been taken possession of in his Majesty's name. It is said that Lemos coasted northward as far as Cape St. Roque, to ascertain the extent of this ter- ritory which they had considered an island. Emanuel was so delighted with the discovery of Vera Cruz, that he resolved to send out another squadron to explore more minutely its extent ; and it appears that three caravels were ordered * " I kiss the hands of your Royal Highness from this secure port of your island of Vera Cruz. To-day, Friday, first day of May, 1500. P. V. de Caminha." t " L'altro giorno che fu alii dua di Maggio del derto anno 1500 Tarmata fece vela pel camino ** per andare alia volta del capo di Buona Speraza. Li quali comincioro no a piangere, et gli ^* huonu'ui di quella terra, gli confortavauo, et mostravano havere di loro pieta." — Ramuzio. ARRIVAL OF THE ROYAL FAMILY. to sail upon this project from the Tagus, on the 1st of May, 1501, but there is a considerable doubt who was the commander of them ; some say it was America- nus Vespuecius, others, that it was Gonsalo Coelho. Cabral met this squadron at Goree on his return from India, but the commander's name is not mentioned. " Che gamos ao Cabo dct JBoa Esperance dia de Pascoa e encontrando alii horn " tempo, continuamos a viagem, e aportamos junto a Caho Verde em JBezenegue, " ondeencontramos tres catnvellas, que El Rey de Portugal mandara para des- " cuhrir a terra nova que tinhamos ax;hado hindo para Calecute."* Francisco de Cunha, author of the Geographical Description of Portuguese America, states that Gonsala Coelho for a o primeiro explorador da Costa Eazillica depots de Cabr al e Lemos,'' ) Gonsalo Coelho was the first explorer of the Brazilian coast after Cabral and Lemos. Americanus Vespuecius, in his own manuscript, asserts that he undertook two voyages for the King of Portugal, this being the first. It is difficult to arrive at a fair conclusion from this conflicting testimony, whether he or G. Coelho had the command of those three caravels. The Por- tuguese deny positively that it was Vespuecius ; and a French writer of " the General History of Voyages" peremptorily falsifies all that Vespuecius has ad- yanced upon the subject. " Les relations d^Americ Vespuce contienent le recii de " deux voiages, qu il Jit sur la mime cote ( du JSrezil), au nom d' Emanuel, Hio de " Portugal; mxiis les dates en sont fausses, et c' est en quoi consiste V imposture; car il est prouvS par tons les temoignages contemporains que dans le terns quHl " nomme, il etoit emploie a d'autres expeditions. Antonio Galvum mentions the expedition but not the commander. All the evidence however, regarding this squadron, concur as to the time of its sailing, and arrival at the Brazil on the 17th of August. After a long and tempestuous voyage, they made land near Rio Grande, to the south of Cape St. Roque, where they met with Indians of a savage nature and decidedly cannibals. Several people from the Portu- guese ships were seized by them, roasted over a large fire in presence of their * " We arrived at the Cape of Good Hope at Easter-tide, and there met with good weather. We " continued the voyage, and arrived at Besengue, near Cape Verd, where we met with three caravels, " which the King of Portugal had sent to discover the new land, which we had found in going to " Calcutta." — From the relation of the voyage of Cabral in Ramuzio. t " X'he relations of A. Vespuecius contain the recital of two voyages, which he made upon the same " coast (the Brazil), in the name of Emanuel, King of Portugal ; but the dates are false, and it is in " that which the imposture consists ; for it is proved by all the cotemporary testimonies, that at the " time which he names he was employed upon other expeditions." — Hist. Gen. des Voyages, torn. 14. liv. 6. c. 9. Paris, 1757. D 2 20 FROM THE FIRST DISCOVERY TO THE countrymen, with loud shoutings and rejoicings. The cannibals were so ex- pert with their bows and arrows, that this fleet was considerably annoyed by them, and induced to coast on to the latitude of 8° south, near Pemambuco, where they met with friendly Indians,* and established an intercourse with them. After a few days, they continued their voyage along the coast, and met with a kind reception every where from the natives, who allowed them to land and make their observations without injury upon the country and its pro- ductions. They described the natives as being exceedingly well made, and universally attached to the custom of perforating their faces and ears, and wearing bones and stones as ornaments. They coasted on to 32° south lati- tude, and, standing out to sea, reached as high a latitude as 52° south, where, in consequence of a tempestuous lebeccio, they were compelled to return, and arrived at Lisbon in September, 1502, having lost two vessels. Another expedition of six caravels sailed from Lisbon on the 10th of June, 1503, with the avowed object of prosecuting still further the examination of Vera Cruz. A variety of contradictory statements render it doubtful who was the real commander of this squadron, although the balance of testimony in this, as in the former case, is much in favour of Gonsalo Coelho. Americanus Ves- puccius again alleges that he accompanied this fleet, and with two ships pro- ceeded forward to the coast of the Brazil, leaving the other four vessels at an island, some of them wrecks ; and he says those four vessels were all lost through the want of ability on the part of the commander, whose name he does not disclose. A work published at Paris, attributing the command of the three first caravels to Vespuccius, continues thus : — " JEl Rey D. Manuel extrema- " mente qffeicoado a Vespucio deu Ihe o commando de seis navios com os quaes " sahiu a dez de Mayo, 1503, e passou ao longo das costas d' Africa, e do JBrazil, " com o intuito de descubrir uma passagem pelo occidente para as llhas Mallucas, como ao depots se-descuhriu : depots d'apportar na JBahia de todos os Santos, " imvegou at he os Abrolhos e rio Curababo, como nao tinha mantimentos sermo para Vinte mezes, tomou a resolugao de voltar a Portugal onde chegou a dez- " oito de Junho, 1504."t Maneol Ayres de Cazal supposes Christovam Jacques to * This is a corroboration of Vincente Yaoez Pinson's voyage, as the character of the Indians near those two same places where he landed are described to be similar. t " The King, Don Manuel, extremely attached to Vespuccius, gave him the command of six ships, " with which he sailed on the 10th of May, 1503, and passed along the coast of Africa and Brazil, " with the intention of discovering a western passage to the Molucca Islands, (afterwards discovered.) ARRIVAL OF THE ROYAL FAMILY. 21 have been the commander, and Francisco de Cunha says, that the King Mandou *' logo preparar outra armada de caravellas que entregou a Christovam Jacques, *^ fidalgo de sua casa e com o titulo de Cap-Mor, o mandou continuar n este em- " pressa descubrindo aquella costa, sahui armada, e seguindo viagem chegou a " costa, sondando haixos e rios pondo padroes d'armas Portuguezes, foi dar a huma hahia, aque poz o nome de Todos Santos, e depots deligencias se recolhou a *' Portugal''* But Damian de Goes assigns the command to Goncallo Coelho. *' ^0 mesmo anno de 1503 mandou Goncallo Coelho com sets naus a terra de St. Cruz com que partiu de JLisboa a hos dez dias de mez de Junho ; das quaes por *' ainda terem pouca noticia da terra perdeu quatro, e has outras duas trouxe aho " regno com mercadorias da terra que entam nam eram outras que pau vermelho " que chamam Brazil, e papagaios"1[ The testimony of three writers attribute the command of these six caravels to three distinct individuals ; but, from a fair investigation of each statement, that of Goes, who assigns the command to Coelho, appears more con- sonant with truth and the intentions of the King, than the other two relations. The collateral supporter of Vespuccius' claim, represents the object of the ex- pedition to be for the discovery of the Moluccas, which certainly does not coincide with the desire of an immediate and continued exploration of St. Cruz, (or Vera Cruz,) that seemed to actuate his Maj esty solely in fitting it out ; nor does this account say any thing of the loss of four of the caravels, which is generally admitted. Cunha, who gives the command to Jacques, most pro- bably alludes to the armament which that person had under his orders in the " After entering the Bay of All Saints, he navigated as far as the Ahrolhos and the river Curababa. " As he had provisions only for twenty months, he took the resolution of returning to Portugal, *' where he arrived on the 18th of June, 1504."— Mureri/ Dice. Grand. Paris, 1699, * " OrcJered immediately to be prepared another armament of caravels, which he delivered to " C.Jacques, a fidalgo of his house, and with the title of Captain Mor, ordered him to continue in this " undertaking of discovery. The armament sailed, and pursuing the voyage, arrived upon the coast, " sounding bays and rivers, erecting pillars with the Portuguese arms upon them. He entered a " bay to which he gave the name of All Saints, and after all necessary diligence he returned to Portugal."— CmwAc. t " In the same year, 1503, Gonsallo Coelho was sent to the land of St. Cruz, with six ships, with " which he left Lisbon on the 10th day of the month of June. In consequence of not having much " knowledge of the land, four were lost, and the other two brought to the kingdom merchandise " of the land, which then were no others than red wood, which was called Brazil, and parrots."— Goes. 22 FROM THE FIRST DISCOVERY TO THE yeai* 1516, when he proceeded to the Brazil, and then entered the bay of All Samts. Assuming that G. Coelho was the admiral of these caravels, on traversing- the Atlantic they were driven by a severe gale to 3° south latitude, where a loss of four was sustained upon some rocks in the proximity of an island, which beyond a doubt was Fernando de Noronha, situated in ,3*^ 50' south latitude. The two remaining vessels continued their course to the coast of Yera or St. Cruz, and made land near a magnificent bay (Bahia), which they entered, and gave the appellation of os Santos, (being All Saints Day.) They coasted on southward, constantly approximating to the land, where the shore presented no obstacles, minutely inspecting all its remarkable rivers, ports, capes, and headlands, the adjacent islands, and the coast generally, as far as Cape Virgins, near the Straits of Magellan. They erected stone pillars, bearing the arms of Portugal, in some of the most conspicuous situations. They left at Porto Seguro, a colony consisting of a part of the persons who had escaped from the shipwrecked vessels, with two Franciscan missionaries, and returned to Portugal laden with Brazil wood. This wood had now acquired such repu- tation in Europe, that the name of St. Cruz, otherwise Vera Cruz, given to the country by Cabral, was lost in the denomination which it universally received of the Brazil, (or Brazil wood country.) ) In the same year, 1503, before the explorer Coelho reached the land of Vera Cruz, Don AfFonso d'Albuquerque arrived upon the coast, having left Lisbon, on the 6th of April, with a squadron under his command for India* the latitude or part of the Brazil that he saw is not stated, but he observed the cassia and verniz trees. ('^ Buona somma di cassia et di vernizo, altro di momenti non abiamo compreso.'' — Ramuzio.) Shortly after Coelho's return, a contract was granted for the Brazil wood, and the colony began to be frequently visited by the caravels of the contractors. The King of Castile despatched Juan Dias de Solis, in the year 1509; and it is said the celebrated pilot Vincente Yanez Pinson accompanied him, to take possession of a part of the newly-discovered country, and in pursuance of this project they erected crosses upon different parts of the coast. The King of Portugal remonstrated against this proceeding as an intrusion upon his share of the division of undiscovered countries, which Alexander VI. had very artfully assigned to those two nations. FeeUngs of bitter regret cannot but arise in the mind, on contemplating, at the present day, this fine and fairest portion of the new world, placed in such hands by an imaginary partition of ARRIVAL OF THE ROYAL FAMILY. 23 unknown lands. Had this best and richest region of America fallen to the share of the English, French, or Dutch, it would no doubt have assumed a very different appearance, compared with its actual state. That this would have been the case is evident, from the present immensely superior condition of the Anglo-American states, the territory of which was colonized at a later period than Brazil, and whose soil is in general so inferior to the latter country. The occasion of the difference may be mainly attributed to the very opposite genius of the governments and religion under the English and. Portuguese; the free and wise character of the former giving every facility to talent and industry of all descriptions, while the ignorant and oppressive nature of the latter, especially in relation to the commercial restrictions, which, till the arrival of the King, had unfortunately existed, and in the domination of the priesthood over the consciences and property of the people, operating as a paralysis on agricultural, commercial, and scientific enterprise, and upon all the beneficial pursuits of the mind. It is now, however, pleasing to observe, that a very striking change has and is taking place in these matters, the views of his present Majesty being favourable to the amelioration of the country. In 1510, a Portuguese ship was wrecked at the entrance of the Bay of All Saints. The greater part of the crew escaped, and twenty-five years after- wards nine sailors were found living amongst the Indians. Another account aflGirms that they were all seized by the natives and devoured excepting Diogo Alvarez, a man of distinguished family, who contrived to make himself usefiil to those cannibals ; and acquired the name of " Caramura"— ^' a man of fire," on his first discharging a gun, which he had saved from the wreck. In 1513, George Lopez Bixorda presented to King Emanuel three Brazilian Indians, whom he had brought home in a contract vessel. They were dressed with feathers, according to the fashion of their tribe. Thfe King of Castile ordered Solis upon a second expedition, in the year 1515, with a view of discovering a western passage to India. In the prose- cution of this voyage he discovered a large river, which he called the River Solis. This name was very improperly superseded by the appellation of Prata, or Plate, (the Silver River.) He lost his hfe upon its banks by the hands of the Indians, who slew him with their clubs, and roasted and devoured him within sight of his countrymen. In justice, the river ought to have retained his name. His death frustrated the object of the voyage, and the ships put back, took in Brazil wood near the island of Itamaraca, and returned to Spain. The Por- 24 FROM THE FIRST DISCOVERY TO THE tuguese again demanded satisfaction for this infringement, which was at last amicably adjusted. Christovam Jacques, in the year 1516, entered the bay of All Saints with a squadron of caravels, and in the course of exploring its extensive limits, its rivers, and creeks, he fell in with two French ships, which had previously entered the bay, and were loading with Brazil wood, of which they had a considerable quantity on board, as well as parrots and monkeys. He engaged the vessels, and after a spirited defence they were destroyed. Subsequently, it would appear from the testimony of a letter of donation to Pedro Lopez de Souza, (who chose Itamaraca for part of his grant,) and by one which John III. ordered to be written to Martim AfFonso de Souza, that Christovam Jacques was employed in establishing a factory upon the channel which separates the island of Itamaraca from the continent, destined to faciUtate the exportation of Brazil wood, and to impede the attempts of other nations who might visit that quarter in quest of it, Diogo Garciam, a Portuguese pilot in the service of the Castihan court, arrived near the mouth of the river Paraguay, in the year 1527, and found there the ships with which Sebastian Caboto had sailed from Cadiz, with the intention of proceeding to the Moluccas by the straits of All Samts, now Magellan's. He learned that the captain had gone up the Paraguay, then River Solis, and proceeded with two launches much above the confluence of the Parana in pursuit of him. He found him engaged in the construction of the fort of St. Anna, where they mutually agreed to give to the river Solis the name of the river Prata, in consequence of seeing small pieces of that metal in the possession of the Indians. Herrera states, that Diogo Garciam, on his way to the river Solis, entered the bay of St. Yincente, (then the River Inno- centes,) where a Portuguese, who had been shipwrecked, provided him with refreshments ; also, that Garciam anchored off the island of Patos, at the present day St. Catherine's, where the Indians furnished him with some pro- visions. He carried with him sixty men, in two brigantmes, to the fort of St Anna ; and before his departure he despatched one of the largest vessels of his squadron to St. Vincente, to take in a cargo, which he had agreed with the Portuguese mentioned, to be sent to Portugal. It is probable that this indivi- dual was either Joam Ramalho or Antonio Rodriguez, whom Martim AfFonso de Souza found there five year^ afterwards. It would appear that some Portuguese had been established at St. Vincente some years ; and the evidence of Herrera, ARRIVAL OF THE ROYAL FAMILY. 25 that some Indians had been shipped from thence to Portugal in 1527, would tend to demonstrate that a factory had existed there previous to the arrival of Martin A. de Souza, (the first donatory,) and vt'hich factory had conceded to Pedro Goes tlie power of shipping to Portugal a certain number of aborigi- nal Indians, free from all the duties which it was customary to pay. (Forros de todos OS dereitos, que custamavam pagar.) If this factory existed, neither the period of its commencement is evident, nor by whom it was established. The intelli gence which the ship of Garciam brought to Portugal, in the year 1528, that the Spaniards had formed an establishment upon the river Plate, induced King John III. who wished that river to become the divisionary line, to despatch an armament, in the year 1531, under the command of Martim AfFonso de Souza, with orders to erect fortifications and to distribute lands to those who wished to establish themselves in the country. The fleet, after having made and recognised Cape St. Augustin, navigated along the coast and entered the bay of All Saints, where they discovered and captured two French vessels. Joam de Souza, captain of one of the ships composing the armament, was sent to announce to the King this circumstance. Martim AfFonso continued his voyage to the south, and after refreshing at Porto Seguro, he found out and entered the bay of St. Luzia, to which he gave the name of Rio de Janeiro, inconsequence of discovering it on the 1st of January, 1532. Pro- secuting the voyage, and always keeping as near land as possible, he gave to the most remarkable and important places, the names of the saints on whose days he discovered them. Having passed the island of St. Sebastian, on the 20th of the same month, he proceeded to that part of the port where it is supposed the factory was situated, and of which no doubt he was previously informed. It appears, however, after various operations upon the northern bar of the port to establish there the colonists, who wished to remain in the land, he changed his plan and removed them to the southern bar. He spent eleven months in the execution of various measures upon the coast, and it was the month of December before he arrived at the river Plate ; for the sun, say the Portuguese, was on the tropical line of Capricorn. (O sol chegou ao tropico de Capricornio.) Not meeting with any Spanish settlements upon any part of the coast, he returned to the colony at the southern bar of the bay of Santos, augmenting it considerably, by giving lands to all individuals who determined to settle there, in pursuance of the orders he had received. He sent eighty men mto the interior, for the purpose of discovering or making a conquest of the mines of Cannanea. The entire party were murdered by the Carijos Indians. 26 FROM THE FIRST DISCOVERY TO THE In the same yeaj that Martim Affonso sailed from the Tagus, a Portuguese sqnadroia captured and conducted to Lisbon a ship of Marseilles, which had been laden with Brazil wood, at Pernambuco, where they demolished the Portuguese factory of Itamaraca, founded by C. Jacques, and left sixty Frenchmen in their place. This information induced the King to send Duarthe Coelho Pereyra to expel the French, which he accomplished, and removed the factory to the margin of the river Hyguara^u, a few miles distant from the first situation. This new establishment was the origin of the town of Hyguara^u, to whose mother-church the same D. C. Pereyra, being then the donatory of the captaincy of Pernambuco, gave for patrons the saints Cosme and Damian, in gratitude for the expulsion of the French on the day of those saints, in the year 1531. It may be here remarked, that very little progress, up to this period, would appear to have been made by the Portuguese for the coloniza- tion of this country, now known to them thirty-two years, and which they bad assumed the right of calling and considering their own. King John III. at last roused by the attempts which the French merchants were making to form establishments near the places now called Pernambuco and Bahia, also by the formation of colonies, which the Spaniards were pro- moting on the banks of the Paraguay, determined to people this continent ; and, in order to facilitate the colonization, he divided the coast into certain large portions of fifty leagues, which, under the denomination of capitanias, (cap- taincies,) were to be bestowed on individuals distinguished by their services to the crown ; and who were to go personally, or to send colonists, in ships, at their own cost, receiving an uncontrouled jurisdiction over these royal dona- tions. The historian, Joam de Barros, who was one of the donatories, and was presented with the district of Maranham, affirms that the country was parti- tioned into twelve captaincies ; but there were actually only nine, as five por- tions which he probably took into his account, were divided betwixt Martim Affonso de Souza and his brother Pedro Lopez de Souza, who were the two first donatories that settled in the Brazil. Martim Affonso, who has been pre- viously mentioned, received a considerable tract of country contiguous to St. Vincente, where we left him endeavouring to form a colony. Pedro Lopez chose his quantum of territory in two lots, one near his brother's, called St. Amaro, and the other denominated Itamaraca, at a very inconvenient distance from the first, situated not far from Pernambuco, which latter capitania, as has been already stated, became the portion of Duarthe Coelho Pereyra. The lands adjacent to the southern Paralnba river were conceded to Pedro de ARRIVAL OF THE ROYAL FAMILY. 27 Goes. The country betwixt the great river »^t, Francisco, which was the southern boundary of Pemambuco, and Bahia, was allotted to Francisco Pereira Coutinho. The next portion of territory, proceeding southward, was denomi- nated the Capitania dos Ilheos, running north and south from the Rio dos Ilheos, (River of Islands^) and granted to Jorge Figueiredo Correa. Cabral's Porto Seguro was included in the range of coast which formed the capitania of the same name, and was a donation to Pedro Campo Tourinha. Espirito Santo (Holy Spirit) was the appellation given to the next in rotation, and ob- tained by Vasco Fernandez Coutinho. Rio de Janeiro was not colonized for some time afterwards. This mode of allotment was not calculated to maintain a long duration. The captains possessed despotic jurisdiction over the colonists, many of whom were degradados, or criminals, consequently less adapted to live iii harmony, and the whole being at the mercy of the former, complaints were fre- quent ; so that, after a lapse of about seventeen years from its commencement, this system was terminated by a royal revocation of the power of the captains^ followed by the appointment of Thome de Souza, a fidalgo, as governor* general of the Brazil, who arrived at Bahia, the bay of All Saints, in April 1549, with instructions to build a city, which was to be called St. Salvador. The fleet was accompanied by some Jesuits, who thus obtained in the Brazilian regions, those means of improving the condition of the Indians, and of the country in other respects, which has been so honourable to their Trans- Atlantic character, and which presents so pleasing and striking a contrast to their con- duct in Euyope, filled as that conduct was with " treasons, stratagems, and spoils." With the mother-country, this colony passed under the dominion of the Spanish crown, in the year 1580, for a period of nearly sixty years. The Dutch possessed themselves of Pernambuco in the year 1630, and ultimately of the whole country from the great river St. Francisco to Maranham, which they retained till the year 1654. The last Philip, just before the Brazil reverted to the Portuguese, conferred the title of Viceroy upon the governor-general at Bahia, who then was the Marquis of Montalvam, and which honour all his suc- cessors enjoyed. The seat of the vice-regal government was transferred by Don Joseph I. from Bahia to Rio de Janeiro, in 1773, which expired on the arrival of the royal family in that country, in the year 1808. Don John IV. gave the title of Prince of Brazil to his eldest son. Prince Don Theodosio, which descended to all the hereditary princes of the house of Braganza, till the 17th of December, 1815, when the Prince Regent, (now Don John VI.) raised that country into a kingdom. E 2 28 FROM THE FIRST DISCOVERY TO THE The Brazil is of such prodigious extent, that it will be impossible for it to arrive even at a medium state of perfection under the dominion of one govern- ment. Its prominent boundaries, now that Monte Video is in the possession of the Portuguese, may be geographically considered the river Amazons and the Atlantic on the north ; the river Plate on the south ; the ocean on the whole of its prolonged range of eastern coast ; and the great rivers Madeira, &c. running north; the Paraguay and Uruguay stretching south to the river Plate, on the west ; although the two provinces of Solimoes and Guianna, north of the Ama- zons, and actually subordinate to the governor of Para, carry its northern boundaries, politically speaking, almost as far as the Oronocos, making its length upwards of forty degrees. Its greatest width is about thirty degrees, from Cape St. Augustin to Point Abund, upon the margin of the river Madeira. This vast region, comprising nearly two millions of square miles, is now divided into twenty-two provinces, including the two mentioned above, viz. Parahiba Pernambuco Seregipe d'El Rey Bahia Porto Seguro Solimoes Piauhy Espirito Santo Rio de Janeiro St. Paulo St. Catharina Rio Grande, South Minas Geraes Goyaz - All bordering in part upon the coast. Interior pro- vinces. Guianna Para Maranham Siard Rio Grande, North Mato Grosso Parana Uruguay The zoology and phytology of this country extend to such an infinity of objects, that they would form a separate history of themselves. They, as well as mineralogy, will be partially treated upon in the topography of each province. In reference to the first subject, it may be here observed, that a very consi- derable pprtion of the Brazil is still occupied by Indians, consisting of a vast number of nations, more or less numerous, and generally divided into tribes or hordes, wandering about in a state of nudity, the principal part of their time employed in hunting, gathering honey, and such fruits as nature sponta- neously produces. They beheve in the immortality of the soul and a Creator of all, whom they commonly denominate Tupan, and, like many other bar- barians, their adoration is divided between the good and evil spirit, which latter they call Anhanga. No state of government is found amongst them ; each tribe has its elective captain, who directs them only on occasions of assaults and in forming ambuscades against an enemy. Each nation has its peculiar idiom. ARRIVAL OF THE ROYAL FAMILY. 29 but there is one exists amongst them denominated the general lingua, which is the Tupinamha. At this day many tribes retain the ancient custom of per- forating their faces and using pieces of wood as ornaments. In contracting marriages, the degree of relationship is not respected. Polygamy is admitted amongst particular individuals only, in a very few nations. Divorcements are generally very rare amongst them. They are acquainted with no liberal art, and have a great antipathy to civilization. Thousands of instances have oc- curred, in which they have preferred fleeing from it back again into the woods, in pursuit of their former rude habits. The governor of one of the comarcas of Minas Geraes related to me an instance of an Indian who, instructed in the Catholic faith, had actually entered upon the functions of a priest, and who, notwithstanding, was afterwards induced, from the natural bent of his mind, to abscond and rejoin his uncivihzed tribe. Their inherent indolence is conspicuous, and they have but little consideration in life beyond the ac- quirement of their daily sustenance. Frequent instances occur of their assassi- nating some of the Portuguese, for whom they lie in ambush. The Portuguese almost universally provide themselves with fire-arms, on traversing the districts inhabited by the Indians, at which they are greatly terrified. Such as live upon the banks of auriferous rivers or lands, and come in contact with the Portuguese, will give pieces of gold for trifling articles of European manufac- ture, particularly knives, the metal of which they consider of such value, that, in sharpening them, they do not use a whetstone, but a piece of wood, in order that the blade may experience as little diminution as possible by the operation. Few Indians are seen in any of the seaport-towns of the Brazil. Some are employed in the bay of Rio de Janeiro, rowing boats in the service of the government. They appear to keep themselves quite distinct, and do not mix with any other class of people. They are not tall, but their early occupation of hunting has given to their limbs much strength and agility. A fine pro- portion of form is their general characteristic, and they possess great muscular powers. Their features are regular, and there is an universal resemblance be- tween them and the various tribes. They are of a copper-colour, with strong, lank, black hair, which is permitted to hang over their ears, necks, and foreheads, adding something to the sombre aspect of their countenances, which are sad even to an extreme. If they were capable of learning from history, and ap- preciating with feelings of patriotism the force of such an event, it might naturally appear to be a dejection originating in the corroding idea of the con- quest of their country by strangers; but this apparent characteristic melancholy 50 FROM THE FIRST DISCOVERY, ETC. can only be the result of, and founded upon, their former habits of life and pre- carious mode of subsistence ; which having once contracted, and possessing an innate aversion to civilized intercourse, may never totally disappear. There is nothing ferocious in their physiognomy ; on the contrary, they seem very in- offensive. I never saw them indulge in any gaiety, rarely laughing, and speak- ing seldom. They are expert rowers, and on a transient cessation from their labour, exhibit no disposition to hold converse with each other, nor curiosity Or interest in the objects and bustle around them. The Jesuits were undoubtedly the best class of ecclesiastics who have hitherto visited the Brazil, not only, as has been observed, in initiating the Indians into Christianity, but in the general pursuit and encouragement of literature. The missions, for which they were so celebrated, will come under consideration in treating of the provinces where they instituted them ; also the establishments of Christianized Indians, as well as the numerous savage tribes existing at the present day. As the colonization of the capitania of Rio de Janeiro did not occur till after the Brazil was placed under the jurisdiction of a governor-general, and no allusion having been made to that event in the course of these preliminary observations, besides having long assumed the highest rank amongst the provinces of the Brazil, it naturally presents itself first in order, as well as the circumstances arising out of a residence in its capital, for our consideration. PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. 31 CHAP. nr. PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. Its Colonization — Contests with the Trench and Tamoyo Indians — Expulsion of the French — Foundation of St. Sebastian — boundaries — Division into Co- marcas — Mountains — Principal Rivers — Lakes — bays — Capes — Islands — Mineralogy — Zoology — Phytology — Cities and Toivns — boundaries, Towns, and Productions of the Comarcas of Ilha Grande and Parahiba Nova — Boundaries of the Comarca of Rio de Janeiro — The Metropolis — Situation — English Burial-Ground — Streets — Royal Mode of riding — Compulsory Homage upon the Occasion — Churches — Convents — Gloria Hill — Female Convents — Visit to one — Fountains — Visit to the Aqueduct — Squares — Palace — Public Buildings — Public Garde?i — Library — Manufactories — Theatre — Roads lead- ing from the City — Palace of St. Christovao — Troops of Miners and others from the Interior — Caza de Don Pedro — Royal Mill, Shacara, and Stables — Fire-Works — Beija Mad — Fidalgos and higher Orders of Society — Splendour of Churches — Royal Chapel — Religious Festivals and Observances — Funeral Processions — Catacombs — The Host — State of Society — Markets. JoAM DE SoLis, who has been already mentioned, entered the bay of Rio de Janeiro, in the year 1515, on his second voyage to South America ; and about four years afterwards Fernando de Magellan, and Ruy Falleiro, a famous Portuguese mathematician who accompanied him, also remained a short time in it, bestowing upon it the name of St. Luzia. Martini Affonso de Souza, who was engaged in an exploration of the whole coast, went into the bay on the 1st of January, 1532, and very improperly gave it the name, which it yet retains, of Rio de Janeiro, (River of January,) evincing, what would not be supposed to be pos- sible, that he considered it a river. No attempts were made, however, to form any settlements here till the year 1555, when M. Villegagnon, a Frenchman, who had rescued Queen Mary from Scotland, with his comrades, took possession of the second island, after passing the entrance into the bay. His avowed object was that of propagating Calvinism in the new world. On this island, which took 32 PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. and still retains his name, he constructed the fort of Coligni, in honour of the excellent man and famous admiral, Caspar de Coligni, his patron and warm supporter in establishing this colony, to which, in the following year, he de- spatched a further succour of three ships of war and near three hundred persons. King John III. of Portugal, receiving intelligence of this event, ordered Duarth e da Costa, then governor-general at Bahia, individually, to make himself ac- quainted with the actual state of the Protestants; but no attempts were made to displace them till after the death of the King, when Dona Catharina gave instructions to Mendo de Sa, the successor of Duarthe da Costa, to expel them, sending him two armed ships, with some caravels, which the governor augmented by some ships of war and two caravels that were in the port, and putting on board all the people he could assemble, personally embarked with the squadron. He visited all the intervening capitanias of the coast, and received on board all those who were willing to accompany him. The French defended themselves vigorously against the attacks of this fleet ; but not being able to remedy the destruction and havoc which they sustained from the more powerful ships of the Portuguese, they retired by night to the continent, uniting themselves with the Tamoyo Indians, whose friendship they had previously conciliated. Mendo de Sa collected the artillery which the French had left, and, with one of their ships, which he found in the port, he returned to Bahia. Intelligence was received afresh that the Protestants continued to frequent the bay of Rio de Janeiro, and were successively becoming more strongly for- tified in the continental situations they had taken up. The crown of Portugal, now discovering of how much importance it would be effectually to take pos- session of and colonize this fine port, which having no donatory or forces to impede the establishment of whatever enemy might think proper to proceed there for that purpose, resolved to despatch Estacio de Sa to Bahia, with two galliots, and there to receive from his uncle, Mendo de Sa, the governor, such an accession of force as would enable him to extirpate the French. Estacio de Sa, having augmented the squadron as much as circumstances would allow, arrived at Rio de Janeiro in 1565, and took up a station near the Sugar-Loaf Mountain, at the place now called Villa Velha ; but in various attacks, which he made upon the united French and Indians, fortune was never decisively pro- pitious to him. This circumstance induced Mendo de Sa to prepare, in the bay of Bahia, an armament, which consisted of three galliots, commanded by Christovam de Barros, two ships of the crown, which were cruizing on the coast, and six caravels. This auxiliary force he accompanied in person to the PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. 33 assistance of his nephew, visiting, as before, the intervening capitanias, and offering to convey, gratuitously, all families who might wish to people the future colony; and, in consequence, a great many did accompany him. He arrived on the 18th of January, 1567, but deferred the attack till the 2;0th, that day being St. Sebastian's, under whose auspices he meant to begin and carry on the enterprise. Two years had previously passed in useless and indecisive conten- tion, which, in two days, Mendo de Sa brought to a successful termination, by possessing himself of the forts Urussumiri and Paranapucuy, not, however, without his followers feeling the effect of the arrows of the Tamoyos, which often transfixed the shield to the arm that supported it. Amongst others, Estacio de Sa received a wound from one of them, of which he expired a few days afterwards. The French escaped in four ships which they had in the har- bour; and Mendo de Sa did not allow much time to elapse before he removed the first establishment to the situation now forming a ward or district of the present capital, denominated Misericordia, and there marked out its commence- ment. In honour of his patron saint, he gave it the name of St. Sebastian, which has given way to that of Rio de Janeiro now more generally used. The governor assigned to the celebrated Jesuit, Nobrega, ground, in the midst of the city, for a college, which he endowed for the support of fifty brethren. Having occupied himself near a year and a half in arranging every thing necessary for the continuation and security of the new city, he returned to the capital in June, 1568. He left for governor his nephew, Salvador Correa de Sa, whose administration was short, as well as that of Christovam de Barros, who succeed- ed him by royal patent, and whose jurisdiction over the affairs of the capitania terminated in 1572, when King Sebastian divided the state into two govern- ments ; the city of St. Sebastian becoming the capital of the southern division, which was delivered to Dr. Antonio Salema, with power over the capitanias from the river Belmont, southward. The same sovereign, becoming sensible of the inconvenience resulting to the crown from this partition, ordered that the general executive government should revert to its anterior state ; and nomi- nated, as successor to Salema, the said Salvador Correa de Sa, with patent of captain-general, dated the 10th January, 1576, and who remained in this situation until the year 1598. None of those who followed him governed during so long a period, with the exception of Sandozo Gomes Freyre d'An- drade, who discharged the duties of the appointment from the year 1733 to 1763, and which expired only with his life in the course of the latter year. This province, which acquires its name from the magnificent port of its f 34 PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. capital, now comprehends the ci-devant capitania of St. Thome, half of that of St. Vincente, and a portion of Espirito Santo. It is bounded on the north by the latter, from which it is separated by the river Cabapuana, and by the province of Minas Geraes, from which it is divided by the rivers Preto and Parahiba, and in part by the serra of Mantiqueira; on the south by the Atlantic Ocean, which also washes its eastern Hmits ; and on the west by the province of St. Paulo. It is estimated to be sixty leagues in length, from east to west, near its northern extremity; and twenty-three leagues of medium width, reckoning from the fortress of St. Cruz, at the entrance of the bay of Rio de Janeiro, to the river Parahibuna, and to have fifty leagues of southern coast, from Cape Frio to Cape Trinidade, which is near three leagues to the west of Point Joatinga. It is divided by the Organ Mountains into two parts ; North- em, or Serra- Acima, (Mountains above,) and Southern, or Beira-Mar, (Sea-coast,) which latter is subdivided into four, and the former into two districts or territo- ries, as follows : — - : ^ /Ilha- Grande. T» • Ti/r 1 Rio de Janeiro. ^ , . ( Parahiba-Nova. Beira-Marj^^p^p^.^ S«™-A<=""='1 Canto-Gallo. . vGoytacazes. A line drawn from south to north, commencing at the fort of Lage, at the en- trance of the port of Rio, passing up the middle of the bay, by the river Inhumirim upwards, and on to the origin of the Piabanha, desciending by it to the Parahiba, divides the province into east and west. Mountains. — All the districts of this province, with the exception of Goytacazes, are picturesquely mountainous, and present an infinite variety of novel, sublime, and wondrous scenery, of which no verbal description can give an adequate representation. The Organ Mountains, so called from the similarity which their pyramidical heads, in various parts, bear to the front of an organ, are the principal. That portion of them which assimilates more distinctly to the object from which the whole range derives the name is an approximation of precipitous pointed masses, separated by profound winding and narrow valleys, through which romantic openings the way leads from Beira-Mar to the district of Canto-Gallo, without having to ascend any compa- ratively high elevations in traversing them. This is, indeed, the region of solemn and poetic sequestration. Its unchanged and primeval condition would appear to afford a suitable retirement for such as have acquired a calamity-in- duced distortion of the mind, — a misanthropical distaste to society and the world. PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. 35 The Macacu, otherwise Serra-Grande, (Great Mountain,) the mountains of St. Anne, of Sarabe, of Tapacora, and of Urussanga, are situated in that ex- tremity betwixt the districts of Rio de Janeiro and Cape Frio ; the Mount of St. Joam, a league above the emboucheur of the river of the same name, the Serra Jarixina, about twenty miles north-west of the capital, and that of Bo- caina, in the district of Parahiba-Nova, constitute, together 'with the Organ Mountains, those of the greatest altitude in the province. Rivers. — It cannot boast of any very large or magnificent rivers, although it is irrigated by innumerable streams descending from the mountains. The river Parahiba is the only considerable one, originating in a small lake, situated upon a southern portion of the Serra Bocaina, a continuation of the Organ range, and about five leagues to the north of Paraty. It runs at first under the name of Paratinga, parallel with the mountains prolonged in piles from the south-west, in a line with the coast ; enters the province of St. Paulo, where it receives the small river Jacuhy, by the left bank, a little above the town of St. Luiz, and somewhat below it, by the same margin, the river Parahibuna, which rises in the serra of Ubatuba. At this confluence it takes the name of Parahiba, approximates the sea a little to the west of the meridian of the capital, then turns towards the north-north-east, flowing along the base of Serra Itapeva, and by the town of Jacarehy. After a course of twenty leagues, with little variation, it inclines to the east and east-south-east, watering the towns of Thaubate, Pindamonhangaba, Guaratingueta, andLorena; again turns towards the province in which it has its source, approaching it within five leagues ; bathes the town of Rezende; inclines to the north-east, gathering the river Pirahy, (which comes in a northern course from its origin in the serra of Ilha Grande,) and many leagues lower, having taken an easterly direction, it receives the Parahibuna which is its largest confluent, by the left margin, and the afore- mentioned Piabanha, by the right. This part is designated Tres Rios, (Three Rivers.) Ten leagues below, the Pomba enters it by the northern bank, which flows from the western part of the Serra Frecheira principally in a south-east course, through a stony bed, rendering the navigation difficult even to canoes. A little lower it receives the Bengalas, which brings with it various other streams. Soon after this junction, it descends the precipitous fall of St. Fideles, to which point barks ascend. Eight leagues lower down, the Muriahe empties itself into it by the northern margin. Six leagues may be computed from this confluence to the emboucheur of the river Parahiba, and from thence to the tall of St. Fideles, which is the first advancing up the river, seventy-two islands F 2 36 PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. are numbered ; and above this fall they are still more numerous. Its waters are precipitated by a great many falls, which run principally through a stony bed, and are discharged into the Atlantic, on the eastern coast of the province. This river does not bring with it to the ocean so large a volume of water as might be imagined from its vast extent, which may be accounted for by its running principally betwixt two cordilleras, (the Organ Mountains and the Mantiqueira with their branches,) the greatest interval of which does not exceed twenty leagues, and almost all its tributary streams are poor and inconsiderable. Eight leagues below Lorena, where it has already assumed the appearance of a large river, its course is contracted by a long wall of rock, of more than sixty feet high and six hundred yards in extent, reducing its channel to the width of about ten yards. It abounds in a great variety of fish. The adjacent territory, on both banks, from its source to its mouth, is considered to be well adapted for the growth of the sugar cane, and the very small part of it which is culti- vated, is appropriated to that purpose ; but the far greatest proportion yet re- mains in a state of wild nature, and although perhaps granted to different do- natories, its impenetrable woods form the native retreat of the Indian and the ounce, each still asserting the claim of possession. The river Maccahe, which has a course of fifteen leagues, affording ten leagues of navigation to a fall, rises in the Organ range, and winds amongst mountains and woods, till it encounters the St. Pedro, formed by various small streams in the vicinity of Serra Frade. Three leagues may be computed from this confluence to its em- boucheur, which is in front of the islands of St. Anna, thirty miles north of Cape Frio, dividing that district from Goytacazes. The river St. Joam rises in the skirts of the rock of Canudos, with the name of Aguas Claras, (Clear Waters,) more considerable, and affording navigation for a greater space than the Maccahe, runs like it amongst woods and mountains, and disembogues about seven leagues to the south-west of it, bathing the southern skirts of the mountain of its name. Large quantities of timber are exported by it. The rivers Curubichas and Bannanal join it by the left bank, the Bacaxa, which issues from the Serra St. Anna with the appellation of Rio do Giro, (the Gold River,) unites it on the right by two mouths, having formed, a little higher, a large lake, into which the Capivari, coming from the same serra, empties itself. Below this confluence, little more than three leagues, the Ipuca disembogues, rises near the Maccahe, and forms a considerable island. After it the Lontra, and ultimately the Doirado, near which there is a remarkable production, called the jiquittba tree, its trunk being fifty-six spans in circumference. All three PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. 37 are navigable, and incorporate themselves v/iih the river St. Joam, by its north- ern margin. The river Guandii takes its name at the confluence of the St. Anna with the das Lages, the courses of which are in an opposite direction to this point ; the first issues from the Organ Mountains, near the heads of the river Piabanha, and runs south-west till it encounters the other, which flows north-east from its origin in the frontier serra of Ilha Grande. The Guandu passes the royal pa- lace (ex- Jesuitical) of St. Cruz, and discharges itself by two mouths into the bay of Marambaya. The early possessors of this part of the country, in order to evitate the damage which they sustained by the inundations of this river, submerging the extensive and fine campinhas (plains) of the southern part, opened a trench of two miles long from it to the small river Taguahy, which runs in a parallel direction, and by this mode discharged the excess of water which the banks of the Guandu could not contain at the period of the floods. The western mouth, or that of Taguahy, is little more than a league distant from the proper one of the Guandu : barks navigate both. The river Mambuc^ba, which is a fine river, even beyond the point where the tide reaches, issues from the serra of Bocaina, and disembogues in front of the bar of Cayrussu. Lakes. — Lakes are numerous in this province. The principal are situated in the districts of Cape Frio and Goytacazes ; many of them are surrounded by marshy lands, and none possess, in any point of view, the attractions peculiar to such diffusions of inland water in Europe. The lake of Jacare-pagua, or Jaracapauha, is narrow and about four leagues long, parallel with and very near to the beach. It abounds with fish, receives some small streams, and has an outlet to the sea at its eastern extremity. It is situated at the eastern base of the picturesque and lofty mountain of the Gavea, about two leagues to the west of the Sugar-Loaf. At its opposite base is the beautiful and highly pleasing cascades of Tejuca. The lake of Roderigo de Freytas is of a circular form, and half a league in diameter; is about two miles distant from the bay of Bota-fogo, and five from the capital. In its vicinity is the mother-church of the parish of St. Joam Baptista ; also the royal manufactory of gunpowder, and a botanical garden of trees and exotic plants. The tea plant is here cultivated, and, unquestion- ably, would prosper in this climate with proper attention ; but this establish- ment, upon the whole, is miserably neglected. The lake of Marica, which is a league and a half in length, from north-east to south-east, and little less in c 38 PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. width, communicates with that of Cururupina, nearly of equal length from east to west, and about the same width from north to south. They both ap- proach very much to a triangular form. The channel which unites them is called the river Bambuhy, and forms a small lake in the centre. The Curu- rupina is the eastern one, and its extremity is near Negra Point, which is at an equal distance betwixt Cape Frio and the Sugar-Loaf Mountain. The rivulet of Bananal, and that from which it takes its name, are the largest streams that enter it. The Marica, under which name the small one is also comprehended, receives at its southern end the Baccahi, which half a league above its mouth traverses the lake Braba, about a mile long. The small river Itapitiu enters its northern extremity. It is prolonged in a parallel hne; and at a ^hort distance from the sea, to which it opens a passage in the winter or rainy season, possesses a great abundance of excellent fish, and, in con- sequence, furnishes a branch of the dizimos (a tax of one-tenth) of the province. The lake of Piratininga, three-quarters of a league from east to west, and proportionably wide, is about a mile distant from the Sacco, or Gulph of St. Joam de Carahi ; it is also abundant in fish, and is separated from the sea by a sand-bank, through which a passage is opened in the rainy season, to prevent its inundating the adjacent country. Near half a league to the east of Piratininga is situated the lake Itaypu, a mile and a half long, and of pro- portionable width ; and betwixt it and the sea is the parish of the same name, the church of which is dedicated to St. Sebastian. Its inhabitants are fishermen and cultivators of mandioca and sugar. Bays. — This province can boast of two as fine ports as any in the world, the bays of Rio de Janeiro and of Angra dos Reys (King's bay, or creek.) The first is upwards of twenty leagues from Cape Frio, and, of all others in South America, merits most properly the denomination of a bay; its narrow entrance, em- bosomed in lofty scenery of the beautiful and sublime, being about eight hundred and fifty fathoms in width, and fourteen in depth, while the bay itself, which is six leagues in length, almost north and south, four at its greatest width, and thirty-two in circumference, is beautified with a great num- ber of islands, and has depth for the reception of the largest fleets. It may be said to be divided into two emboucheurs, as the island of Lage, occupied by a fort of the same name, is situated about the centre. The entrance of the bay is commanded by the additional fort of St. Cruz, on the east, and the batteries of St. Joze and St. Theodozio, on the western side, near an immense naked rock, already mentioned, which is ninety-seven fathoms in perpendicular altitude, and PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. 39 is in the form of a sugar-loaf, and so denominated. The fort of St. Cruz is si- tuated at the base of a high rugged mountain, called Pico, in consequence of its having a pointed termination. From hence signals are made to the city, an- nouncing all vessels as they appear upon the horizon. The two principal bays that branch from it are, Bota-fogo, behind the batteries of St. Jose and St. Theo- dozio, and the larger one of Jurufuba, to the north of Fort St. Cruz. Upon the beach of the latter is situated the parish of St. Joam de Carahi. The first disco- very of this bay and the origin of its improper name have been already alluded to ; its more appropriate and primitive name was Nitherohy. Lery, who was there with Villegagnon, says, that the Indians then called it Ganahara ; but the first is the most suitable, " rn^Aero" signifying concealed, or hidden, and " water, as it is only on arriving in front of the inlet that the bay is discovered, being pre- viously concealed by mountains. This bay is the receptable of a vast number of rivers, principally inconsiderable ; but, as they are the medium of an easy conveyance to the capital of the productions in their vicinity, it may not be unimportant to describe those of the most consequence. Two leagues and a half, in a direct line, or four by the road towards Campinha, is the mouth of the river Iraja, which issues fi-om one of the small lakes, and affords navigation with the tide to its port of the same name. A quarter of a league to the north of the preceding, theMiriti enters the bay, increased by the junction of the Inha- muahi, (which issues from the Serra Bangu,) and the Pavuna, about two leagues and a half distant from its mouth. It traverses a country in a great measure marshy, and is only navigable for the space of three miles, in a direct line to the port which takes its name, where cases of sugar, and the produce of St. Joam and Our Lady of Apezentacao, are put on board the bay boats. About a league to the north of it is the Sarapuhi, which originates in the Serra Cachoeira. Its banks are serpentine, and it is only navigable for about a league. The dwellers in the parishes of St. Antonio and Jacutinga export their productions by it. The Iguassu, a mile further to the north-east, has its source in the Serra Tingua ; is navigable for four leagues ; brings with it to the bay the waters of the Iguare, which issues from one of the lakes, and affords navigation for a mile to the port bearing its name. Also the Maraby, flowing from the Serra Boa- Vista, and navigable to the port of Couto, three leagues above its mouth. It also receives the Dos Ramos, navigable for a space of eight miles, to the skirts of the Serra Mantiqueira, in which it originates. The river Inhumirim enters the bay about half a league further, and is navigable for three leagues : one of its confluents, the Jaguamirim, flows from the morasses, and affords 40 PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. navigation for six miles ; another, the Saracuruna, descends from the serra of its name, and is navigable only for a league ; also the Figueyra, which comes from Serra Frade. Boats go up very near to its origin, where it has the name of Cayodba. By the Inhumirim, (the source of which is little distant from the Piabanha,) the miners, amounting to no great number, comparatively^ descend by boats to the capital, and return iii the same way, with manufactured articles, up its channel to the port of Estrella, where they leave the mules to recruit for the return journey ; but the major part of these people, as well as others, proceed the whole way with the mules. The port of Estrella is a flourishing place, (being on the main way to the mines,) with some little com- merce, and has a chapel of Our Lady, situated in the angle of the confluence of the aforesaid Saracuruna, four miles from the bay. From the Inhumirim there is a channel to the river Pilar, the last confluent of the Iguassu. Little more than two leagues to the east-north-east of the Inhu- mirim, and in front of the small island of Guayanna, the Suruhy, issuing from the Organ Mountains, discharges itself into the bay, and, like the others, admits of the navigation of boats up its channel for about seven miles. It re- ceives the Goya, which comes from one of the morasses. All the productions of the adjacent country are excellent ; and there is, perhaps, no soil better adapted for banana groves, which are cultivated here with great care. Half a league further is the mouth of the Iriry, which originates in marshy ground, and is only navigable for two miles. About two miles to the east of the Iriry, is the emboucheur of the Mag6- ass6, which descends from the Organ Mountains, bathes the town of the same name, and affords navigation for ten miles. The Guapimirim, is about two miles from the Mag6. Its course is about six leagues, and originates in the same mountains. About two miles from hence is the principal of two mouths by which the Macacu enters the bay. It is one of its largest streams, and is navigable for fifteen leagues. Alligators of a very large size inhabit its banks, and take shelter amongst the high reeds which grow in the water. Its source is in the Organ Mountains, near the rock called Canudos, and it is united on its right mar- gin by the rivers Guapiassu, Cabucu, and Varge ; on its left by the Cacerebu and the Aldeia. The Guapiassu, which is the most considerable, comes from the same mountains as the Macacu; and, a little before its incorporation with that river, communicates with it by a channel called Rio dos Morros (River of Rocks.) There is a quarry of pedra sabao, a peculiar stone, near its heads, PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. 41 which is excavated in large pieces, and sawn for the purpose of forming the mouths of furnaces in engenhos, or sugar-works, being considered of eternal duration. The principal confluent of this tributary river is Piracinunga, the main branch of which originates between the high points of the Organ Moun- tains. Betwixt the rivers Macacu and Guapiassu there is a certain portion of territory, comprising about two leagues, the most fertile in the district, which was bequeathed, in 1718, by Andr6 da Costa, as a legacy to some poor persons, with inalienable succession, and an annual pension of two missas, (masses,) for each house. This colony has now arrived at the number of twelve hundred indi- viduals, and this bequest would maintain ten times as many, with adequate industry. The Guaxindiba flows from the SerraTaypu, and, describing numerous windings and turnings, enters the bay about two miles from the Macacu. The Emboassu, disemboguing four miles further, has its source in the Serra St. Gon- ^alo, and is navigable with the tide for a short distance. The islands with which this bay is ornamented are numerous, but of inconsider- able extent. The principal is the isle of Governador, which is little more than two leagues long, from east to west, and proportionabty wide. It is of an irregular form, having many headlands, and small creeks, and forms the parish of Our Lady of Ajuda. The parishioners are generally agriculturists and labourers. It is situated almost in the middle of the bay. The isle of Bom Jesus, but better known by the name of Frades, is about two miles long, from east to west, and of trifling width. It is the site of a convent of lazy Franciscans, which has a handsome and commanding appearance. The King visits the island occasionally, on the celebration of some particular rehgious festivity. He spent two or three days with the friars in the summer of 1819. It is not far distant from his palace of St. Christovao. The island of Paqueta possesses more natural charms than any other in the bay, and is situated near its northern extremity. It is about three miles long, from north to south, and of inconsiderable width. Its whole extent con- stitutes the parish of Bora Jesus do Monte (Good Jesus of the Mount.) A con- siderable quantity of the timber and branches of the mango tree is exported to the capital for fire-wood. Angra dos Reys, the other bay alluded to, is much larger than that of Rio, presenting less regularity, with three entrances open to the south, formed by two islands, Ilha Grande and Marambaya, lying in a parallel line with the coast. The western entrance, denominated Cayrussu, is situated betwixt Ilha Grande and Joatinga Point, on the continent. Bom-Abrigo (Good Shelter) was the name given by the first discoverers to this point. The entrance is eight miles wide. 42 PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. possessing thirty fathoms of depth. The central entrance is betwixt the said island and that of Marambaya, from which latter it derives its name. It is five miles wide, with little less depth than the first. The eastern entrance, denomi- nated the Bar of Gua-^atiba, is narrow and of little depth. The rivers Guandu and Mambucaba are the principal amongst a great many whose courses termi- nate in this bay, which can boast of some excellent roadsteads. Ilha Grande is four leagues long, with a proportionable width, having many high mountains covered with wild and verdant woods, and numerous fountains of crystalline water, which produce two abundant streams. This bay has various recesses, which are so many secure anchorage places ; the creeks of Abraham, Estrella, and Palmas are the best. This island, which lends its name to the frontier ter- ritory of the continent, has a fertile soil, and is partially cultivated. In the year 1811, its population amounted to three thousand souls, at which period the parish called St. Anna was created : a central chapel, of the same name, serves it for a mother-church. In the creek of Abraham there is a village, which, most probably, at a future day, will become the capital of the island. The island of Marambaya is high and rocky, and overspread with wood. The whole of its cultivation and population arises alone from the establishment of two sugar works upon it ; and it possesses a hermitage of Our Lady of Griefs (das Dores.) From this island, a narrow sand-bank stretches to the east for six leagues, as far as the bar of Guaratiba, and is covered in the greatest part with vegetation. Over the bay of Angra dos Reys, a vast number of islands are scattered, amongst which may be enumerated the Supituba, Cunhambyba Grande, Jorge, Palmeira, Algodao, Barra, Caeyra, Redonda, Rafael, Cavaco, Pimenta, and another, also called Jorge, which are each from about a mile to two miles in length. The Gipoya, about six miles long, has some indigo works and fisheries ; the Bomfim, very small, has a hermitage of the same name ; the Tacoativa, Jacarahy, Paixao, Francisco Nunes, Barro, Pedreiro, Bayacica, Cana, Porcos, Sappe, Boqueirao, Redonda, Buzios, Casca, Brandao, Coco, Algodao, Ferreira, Cavaco, Jappam, Papagayos, Cobras, Sandre, and St. Joam are all small. The majority of these islands are partly cultivated and peopled. Capes.— Cape Frio is the only remarkable cape of the province. That of St. Thom6 is situated about twenty leagues north-north-east from it. The principal projecting points are Negra Point, nine leagues to the west of Cape Frio ; Buzios Point, four leagues to the north-north-east of the same cape ; and Guaratiba Point, near the bar of its name. The mother-church of the parish of St. Salvador is beautifully situated upon a small eminence in front of the bar of Guaratiba. Its PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO, 43 district is twenty miles long, and fifteen wide. In the year 1804, it contained four thousand three hundred and forty inhabitants, dispersed over the parish, the vicar's house being almost the only one in the vicinity of the church. Islands. — The islands of this province are numerous, but the greater part in- considerable, and principally within the two bays already described. Outside of the bar of Rio de Janeiro are the three islands of Palmas; also the islands of Redonda, Comprida, Raza, Cagada, Lage, Catunduda, Toacinho, Pay, and May; the whole of which are small, uninhabited, and extremely barren, except in verdant shrubs and brushwood. Mineralogy.— This province has some mines of gold, and possesses veins of iron. The rocks of granite are very large and remarkable, being of one solid piece, from whence entire obelisks might be hewn of an immense size. Aqua-marinas are met with ; and a variety of different earths, some considered equal to that with which the Chinese manufacture their porcelain. Zoology.— In this province are found all the domestic and wild animals be- longmg to the adjacent provinces, with a sort of Sahium monkey, hairy, and of a gold colour. Amongst the birds are remarked various sorts of the beau- tiful sahy, not met with northward. Phytology.— This province affords a variety of timber for the purposes of building, cabinet-work, and dying. The tree called here anduassuis neariy fifteen feet high, and two in diameter, grows rapidly, and only in the vicinity of the sea. The Indians make an aperient medicine from its fruit, with which they cure the dropsy. Oil is extracted from it for burning lights, and for the composition of blue ink, and a blue dye. The tatagyba, which is the morus tinctoria of Linneus, affords an excellent yellow dye, extracted by the boiling of its wood in water, with the addition of a portion of alum. The grumixameira is a tree which produces a most excellent fruit, similar to a cherry in appearance, but of a finer flavour. I brought some of its seed to England, but am yet uncertain whether it will prosper in our climate. A small tree produces a clove, said to be superior to that of the Moluccas. The camphor tree, the cane of Madagascar, some African grasses, and a delicate species from Hindostan, have been recently naturalized here. Canes of such thickness and height grow upon the margins of the Suruhy, that ladders are made of them to hang the highest temples with decorations for festi- vals. In many situations ferns are met with, not differing in the least from those of Europe, except in the immense quantities which grow in uncultivated grounds. In the woods adjacent to Andrahi, near the road leading to the cascades of Tejuco, there is one which has grown, amongst other vegetation of wild trees G 2 44 PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. and brushwood, to the perpendicular height of eighteen feet. In some wood&, a sort of almond tree is met with, with fruit almost spherical, and of the magni- tude of a hen's egg. Cocoa trees are not very abundant, owing to an insect which gnaws the sprout after it grows to any size, and prevents their arrival at the perfection they otherwise would. European horticulture succeeds better here than in the northern provinces. The mango tree is only abundant in the suburbs of the capital, and rarely fructifies to perfection. Oranges grow spon- taneously, and consist of various sorts ; the selectas, which are large, and the tangerinas, both of the most delicious qualities. The coffee tree, having been naturalized here, during the government of Conde de Bobadella, by the atten- tion and care of a magistrate, multiplies prodigiously, and is now one great branch of the riches of this province. The cotton tree does not prosper uni- versallv. Apple, pear, cherry, and apricot trees do not succeed. Fig trees grow rapidly, and produce fruit in perfection ; but they have an enemy m a little insect, which introduces itself very frequently into the pith, and dries it up. Amongst an infinity of other productions may be enumerated jalap, ipecacuanha, called here poaya, trees of gum, oi $angue de drago, (blood of dragon,) of oil of capaiba, and of Peruvian balsam. The cultivation of cochineal is now little attended to. Cities and TowNS.—The cities and towns in this province are remarkable for their small number and general insignificance, considering its extent and capabi- lities. The same observation is appUcable to all the other provinces, and to some infinitely more so. In this province may be reckoned two cities and twelve towns, having no good roads or regular communication with each other by land, but mere tracks and bridle-ways constituting an intricate and difficult medmm of in- tercourse But we hail, with no common satisfaction, the improvements that will necessarily succeed to the change that has taken place in the system of govern- ment in the mother-country, and which has already begun to operate a . like change in the provinces of Brazil. The deplorable want of roads, and all the other facilities of husbandry, com- merce, and enjoyment, is the natural consequence of the state of penury and ignorance in which the inhabitants, generally, of this region are involved, by a system that cannot too soon give way to the more enlightened policy which ap- pears to be dawning upon them. This good work, as far as it has proceeded, redounds highly to the honour of the Portuguese people; no sangumary event having marked their endeavours in the cause of freedom, thereby affording a most satisfactory contrast to the bloody pages that blacken the revolution of many other nations. May they soon regain their former dignity of character. PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. 45 The places we alluded to are, CITIES. DISTRICTS. Cape Frio Cape Frio. St. Sebastian (commonly called Rio de Janeiro) Rio de Janeiro. TOWNS. DISTRICTS. Marica Rio de Janeiro. Macacu Ditto. Mage . • Ditto. Villanova Ditto. Parati Ilha Grande. Angra Ditto. Rezende Parahiba Nova. St. Joao Marcos Ditto. St. Joao de Maccahe Cape Frio. St. Salvador Goytacazes. St. Joao de Parahiba Ditto. Canta-Gallo Canta-Gallo. The district of Ilha Grande is mountainous, wholesome, and fertile. It is bounded on the west by the province of St. Paulo ; on the north, by the con- tinuation of the Organ Mountains, which separate it from the district of Parahiba Nova ; on the east, by the River Taguahi, the limits of the district of Rio de Janeiro, with the exception of which, none of the others exceed it in the prompt means which it enjoys of exporting its productions, which are farinha, or flour of the raandioca, Indian corn, rice, feijao, (black beans,) coffee, sugar, cacha^a, (bad rum,) indigo, some cocoa, and timber. Very few cattle of any kind are bred ; but it abounds in poultry. Parati, with the title of a countship, and famous for its cacha^a, (rum,) which is reputed to be the best in the state, was created a town in 1660, and is situated in a level country, on the western side of the bay of Ilha Grande, betwixt the river Patetiba, and that from which it derives its name. Its streets are straight, crossing at right angles, with edifices of stone, and a parochial church of Our Lady of Remedies, the chapels of Lapa, and of Griefs. It has a Juiz de Fora^ a judicial officer, and royal professors (as they are called) of the primitive letters and Latin. Its commerce is considerable. It is situated about sixty miles west of the metropolis. Angra dos Reys is a maritime town, in a state of mediocrity, standing among the frontier mountains of Ilha Grande, which name it frequently takes. It is de- fended by two redoubts, and has a parish-church of Our Lady of Concei^ao ; also 46 PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. the chapels of Lapa, and St. Luzia ; a convent of Franciscans, and one of slippered Carmelites. The extensive domains of the former have not ceased to increase. Its inhabitants enjoy a salubrious air ; and vessels of the largest size can come to anchor in the port. It has a J viz de Fora, who is the same person that fills that situation at Parati, from whence it is distant twenty miles, and also has professors of the same kind. Its commerce is pretty considerable ; the fig and vine trees prosper in its vicinity, and it is the most ancient town of the province. In the adjacent countries of Mambucaba, rice commonly renders one hundred for one ; feijao, twenty ; Indian corn, forty and fifty ; a fertility that has induced many families to move to this district, which, since the year 1811, has been formed into a parish, with the church of Our Lady of Rozario, situated near the emboucheur of the river, upon its eastern bank. A few leagues to the north, and in the vicinity of the same margin of the river, is the picturesque mountain of Taypicu, having the form of a Sugar-loaf ; and at a moderate distance from the origin of the Mambucaba is the celebrated pinnacle denominated the Friar, from its similitude to a Franciscan with the cawl upon his head. The district of Parahiba Nova is confined on the south by that of Ilha Grande ; on the west, by the province of St. Paulo ; on the north, by that of Minas Geraes, from which it is separated by the serra of Mantiqueira. Its territory is generally mountainous, abounding with woods and water. Its produce is rice, Indian corn, feijao, and tobacco ; but coffee and sugar are the principal riches of the district. It is alleged, that the frosts, that are consequent on the high elevation of the country, are an obstacle to the culture of cotton and wheat, which flourish only in few situations. It has been demonstrated, that the soil of this district is well adapted for flax ; but, as the cultivation of it does not require less labour than in Europe, the apathy of the inhabitants, in a great measure induced by the causes just now glanced at, is the only obstacle to its general production. The orange, pine-apple, bananas, and some other Brazilian fruits, are not abundant. Cattle and horses are bred in very small numbers; pigs and poultry are plentiful. The river Parahiba traverses this district, to which it gives the name, describing innumerable windings, and collecting a great many streams, amongst which may be noted the Barramansa, Banttanal, and Barreiros. The Pirahi is navigable for seven leagues to the church of St. Anna, erected in 1812. Rezende, created a town during the government of a count of the same name, is situated in an elevated country, upon the right bank of the river Parahiba, which supplies it with fish, and has a parochial church called Our Lady of Con- cei^ao. Its primitive name was Campoalegre. Coffee and sugar are its exports, and it is distant about sixteen leagues north of Angra. PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. 47 St. Joao Marcos, erected into a town in 1813, is upon the right bank of the small river Araras, a western branch of the Lages, and is seven leagues north of Angra, and nineteen west of the capital. Its church is dedicated to the saint from which It takes its name. Its inhabitants cultivate a prodigious quantity of coffee, which is decidedly esteemed the best in the Brazil ; also some sugar. It is a halting place for the bands of mules, and travellers coming from the province of St. Paulo to the metropolis ; but, like all other towns and places in the Brazil, pos- sesses no inns for the accommodation of the wayfarer, who, if not used to the modes of the country, must cater as well as he can. Proceeding from hence towards St. Paulo, the mountains are of such height, that passes, or ways, are formed only by considerable windings and intricate ascents. A little above the passage of the Parahibuna, betwixt the Parahiba and the Preto, is the village of Valen9a, with a hermitage of Our Lady of Glory, (Gloria,) which serves for the devotion of the inhabitants; consisting of four hordes of Christianized Indians, which are the Puris, who are of a small stature; the Araris, whiter and well made ; the Pittas, and Xumettos. Some unconverted natives dwell amongst them. Upon the northern bank of the Parahiba, at the passage towards the Parahibuna, is the parish of Our Lady of Concei9ao, (Conception,) inhabited by white people. It is much frequented. The district of Rio de Janeiro, situated betwixt those of Cape Frio on the «ast, and Ilha Grande on the south, extends twenty leagues from east to west, and nearly in its centre is the bay of the same name, which receives all the rivers that fertilize this district, with the exception of the Guandu. Its pro- ductions do not materially differ from the others, in the conveyance of which to the capital it, however, enjoys greater facility. St. Sebastian, better known by the name of Rio de Janeiro, is the most impor- tant, populous, and commercial city in the Brazil. It was created a bishopric in the year 1776, and the metropolis of this region, in 1763 ; from which period, to the arrival of Queen Donna Maria and the royal family, on the 7th of March, 1808, it was governed by seven successive viceroys : these were, the Count da Cunha, the Count d' Azambuja, the Marquis de Lavrodio, Luiz de Vasconcellas e Souza, the Count de Rezende, Fernando Joze de Portugal, (now the Marquis d'Aguiar,) and Count d' Arcos, a nobleman highly esteemed by the people under his jurisdiction, which terminated before its natural expiration, in consequence of the events in Portugal that drove the royal family to their Trans- Atlantic possessions. It is affirmed that this fidalgo undeservedly suffered some per- secution at this period, in consequence of the intrigues or influence which a certain family, who accompanied the court, had over the Prince Regent, (two 48 PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. of whom have since received titles,) but which influence was counteracted in some measure by the Queen. This fidalgo was afterwards sent as captain- general to Bahia, where he displayed considerable ability at the time the revo- lution burst forth at Pemambuco, and otherwise advanced the prosperity of the province. The termination of the Pemambucan revolt was attributed to the prompt measures which he adopted. He is now minister of marine in this city. His son received the Hon. Mr. Thornton, our minister at the Brazilian court, on his landing at the Palace-stairs, for whom and his suite three of the royal state carriages were in waiting. It was affirmed, that no minister had ever been received with greater marks of respect. This city is situated in a plain, the major part of which, in former times was washed by the sea, at the base of an accumulation of small hills and mountains of all elevations upon its southern precincts. It extends about two miles in length, from east to west. Its northern side is enclosed by a cordon of five mountains, all oblong, and which leave space only for one street, betwixt their eastern base and the pria (beach.) T-he central one of these mountains is the highest and most extensive : betwixt some of them, there are streets or roads leading to the margin of the bay. Upon the eastern and lowest elevation is situated the monastery of St. Bento. The adjoining one is crowned with the fort of Concei^ao, and the episcopal palace. On the western one, there is a chapel of St. Diogo, and upon the central one towards the beach, another of Our Lady of Livramento. In front of the granite rock, upon which St. Bento stands, is the island of Cobras, or Snakes, which is one hundred and sixty-five fathoms long, from east to west, and proportionably wide, not very high, and fortified, having within its precincts a loathsome prison, generally appropriated to the confinement of state prisoners, to which, however, Englishmen have been occasionally sent, for trifling irregularities in regard to passports and other matters of no serious import. There are two trapiches, or warehouses, upon its margin next the chan- nel, which is about one hundred and fifty yards in width. At its northern en- trance, merchant vessels lie for the purpose of discharging and taking in their cargoes, which are performed by large barges, at no inconsiderable expense. Almost north-west from the granite rocks of St. Diogo, at a distance of about three quarters of a mile across a point of the bay, and upon a gentle eminence, is situated the hospital of Lazaros, which has a very commanding appearance, and was formerly a house of recreation belonging to the Jesuits, but is now used as a barrack for a regiment of Cassadores, from Portugal, who perform the duty of royal guard at the palace of St. Christovao, about a mile distant from it. Between the rocks of St. Diogo and the lazaretto, a branch of the bay forms a PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. 49 small creek, which separates the Cidade Nova from the village of Matta Porcas. The bridge of St. Diogo, by vt^hich they communicate, is constructed of wood. The beach leading from St. Bento to this point, describes several windings and sweeping crescents, formed by projecting headlands, in one of which, upon the side of a gently ascending hill, the English burial-ground presents a con- spicuous object. In sailing along the bay, the neat white building that crowns it, the over hanging trees dispersed about, with the already accumulating tomb- stones, produce a corresponding interest in a feeling mind, on passing the bones of countrymen, resting in a situation so picturesque and sadly tranquil, far removed from their native land. May you rest undisturbed, said I, at the sight, and may those estimable relatives and friends who pay the departed spirits the tribute of affectionate remembrance, journey through life in peace and prosperity. The houses of Rio de Janeiro are generally built of stone, one story high, with balconies, which formerly were barricadoed with latticed doors and win- dows, but these were ordered to be removed after the arrival of the royal family. The ground floors, which are not used as shops or stores, still exhibit this miserable and gloomy aspect of closely latticed windows and doors. In the upper part of the latter, wooden latticed windows are introduced, and the whole are most commonly suspended from the top lintel, secured with hinges. The inmates push them outwards, with their hands or heads, for the purpose of obtaining a side view of what is passing in the streets. Numbers of the inhabit- ants of this city are thus seen resting upon their elbows, the head projecting the lower points of those hanging windows, frequently to the annoyance of per- sons passing along the very narrow footways. The streets cross each other at right angles. The Rua Direita, running north and south from the base of the St. Bento Hill to the Palace Square, is the best and widest in the city, and the principal head of others branching off in a westerly direction, which are crossed, at certain distances, by other streets running in a parallel line with the first. Amongst those leading from the Rua Direita, may be enumerated the Rua dos Pescadores, Rua do Sabao, Rua d'Alfandigo, and the Rua d'Ouvidor ; which latter is the chief outlet to three or four roads leading from the suburbs of the city, and is, in consequence, tolerably thronged with cabriolets, carriages, mules, and horsemen. The streets being very narrow, foot passengers experience many inconve- niences, and not the least from horsemen, who do not scruple to ride upon the narrow foot-path, which scarcely admits of two people passing, in order to H 50 PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. avoid the dirt and holes of the badly paved streets. Another annoyance is the Senhors Picadores, or royal gentlemen mule breakers, the most miserable looking wretches, who assume all the self-will peculiar to their animals, and some of that consequence which the servants of the royal family generally think themselves entitled to. The royal attendants are called, by the Brazilians, the largura, that is, the occupiers of all the road, and make no ceremony in upsetting you, or running against the carriage, gig, or horse, of any plebeian they . may encounter. Next come the royal cadets, in such a helter-skelter, that it may justly be compared to the suddenness and fury of one of the gusts of wind we experienced in our passage across the Equator. They are the signal of the approach of some part of the royal family ; and, as it is the custom for every one they meet to take off their hats, and persons in carriages and on horseback to dismount, it is not a little amusing to see the general bustle that prevails on the occasion of those ceremonial storms, some flying for fear of being ridden over, others drawing up their carriages and horses to a comer or side, and all bending the knee to the royal party. At these times, it is lucky if a person on horseback, caught in such an encounter in a narrow street, gets off without some personal injury. It may be necessary to observe, that any of the royal family going out are generally attended by a party of cavalry, mounted on small and poor horses, two of which, who are something superior to a common soldier, called cadets, precede the carriage at full gallop, through the streets or along the roads, the rest of the cavalry immediately following it. They are succeeded by other royal cabriolets, with the fidalgos in waiting, the domestic servants pro- ceeding without any order on horseback ; amongst whom, he who carries before him, at full gallop, the royal crimson night-stool, is no inexpert horseman. Some foreigners have resisted the right which the royal cadets assume of compelling them to dismount, and it will be readily conceded, that such a ceremony cannot but be very repugnant to the feelings of Englishmen, Ameri- cans, and others, although they have generally complied with it. The Queen, who has the character of being extremely particular and peremptory on this point, a few years since, taking her usual ride to a small cottage and garden, at the bottom of the Orange Valley, met Lord Strangford, who refused to comply with the accustomed ceremony. The cadets instantly insulted his Lordship, by using their swords in compelling him to dismount. The only redress which his Lordship obtained, was the imprisonment of the guards for a short time. About three years ago, Mr. Sumpter, the American PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. 51 minister, met the Queen in the same neighbourhood. The guard rode up to him, saying, " Apea-se Senr" He replied, that he was the American ministei% and'that he should not dismount, on which they did not hesitate to compel him. Mr. Sumpter said that he did not require any satisfaction for this gross insult, but stated with great spirit, that he should provide himself with holsters and pistols, and would shoot the first person who offered him a similar insult. Very shortly afterwards, he met the Queen's guard again, who rode up to him, making the same peremptory demand as before. In answer to which, he frankly told them, that the first man who offered him any violence, he would shoot dead upon the spot. This resolute conduct induced them to retire. Upon this, it is said, the Queen ordered them to proceed a second time to dismount Mr. Sumpter; but they were intimidated by his continued firmness. It is generally affirmed that her Majesty was highly incensed at Mr. Sumpter's conduct, and requested the minister of state to issue an order for his imprison- ment in the island of Cobras. The minister prevailed upon her Majesty to wait the result of a despatch to the King upon the subject, who was then forty miles off at St. Cruz, and who gave orders immediately, that no foreigner should be compelled to pay more courtesy than his own Sovereign would require from him. Since that time, however, an English merchant, who was driving his lady in a chaise, was beat by the Queen's guards, till his arm became quite black, and his life endangered, notwithstanding he had stopped his horse, stood up in the chaise, and took off his hat. In the month of July, 1819, Commodore Bowles was taking a ride near the Orange Valley, when the Queen's cadets beat him off his horse with their swords. The cadets were sent on board the Creole to apologize for their conduct, and the commodore advised them in future to draw their swords only against an enemy. To the King, who does not require this ridiculous and inconvenient homage, the English generally are desirous of showing their respect by dismounting. On the northern side of the city is situated an almost oblong square, called the Campo of St. Anna. It is more than a quarter of a mile in length, and about half the width. A church of the same name divides it into two parts. The western part is destined for the Cidade Nova, (or New City,) and increasing in build- ings, denoting, however, very little regard to architecture or general comfort in the edifices. Of the eight streets which run into the Campo St. Anna, those of St. Pedro and Sabao are intended to continue under the same names the whole extent of the new city, which is to terminate at the wooden-bridge of St. Diogo already mentioned. H 2 52 PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. This city is divided into seven parishes ; that of St. Sebastian, or the royal chapel, dedicated to the use of the royal family, with a curate chosen from the canons, that of Se, at present with a chapel and also a canonical curate, St. Joze, St. Ritta, St. Anna, St. Francisco Xavier, and Our Lady of Can- dellaria, the parish church of which, yet incomplete, presents a very handsome frontispiece, and is also the only parochial church in the kingdom, where chaplains, at this time fifteen in number, officiate daily, in form of a collegiate church. There is a house of misericordia, with a hospital for the sick, and an establishment for the reception of orphans, the legitimate offspring of white parents, which place they leave on being married, and receive a certain dowry. There are eleven chaplains for the purpose of praying at canonical hours in the choir of the church. There is a convent of Benedictines and another of Franciscans. The ci-devant convent of the slippered Carmelites now forms a part of the palace, and their church is the royal chapel. The bishop is the chaplain-mor. The chapter is composed at present of twenty-eight canons, of whom eight use the vestments and adopt the usages of the monsenhores of the patriarchal at Lisbon ; the others received, by law, the title of Senhoria, in December, 1808; they dress in cloaks, and the whole wear red stockings. There is an alms' house of Terra-Santa, to entertain the travelling brotherhood. The two seminaries of St. Joze and St. Joaquim are ill attended and as ill con- ducted. In the latter Dr. Gardner, an English gentleman, lectures on chymistry, but he has few pupils. He receives a stipulated salary, and is appointed by the crown. Also a third order (Terceiras) of St. Francisco d'Assis, of Our Lady of Carmo, with a beautiful chapel, and of St. Francisco de Paula, each with its hospital, either complete or begun, for the poor brothers. The Jesuitical college is converted into a royal military hospital, with schools of surgery ; and, agree- ably to the tenure of the respective statutes upon this subject, five years are required for the formation of competent surgeons. Amongst other chapels to be remarked, is that of St. Peter, of a circular form, with an arched roof, where ten chaplains perform divine service, and none are admitted into orders, unless they can demonstrate that they are of the brotherhood of St. Peter : St, Cruz, which has an elegant frontispiece ; there the military hold their religious festivals : Hospicio, with an arched roof and a cupola : and Our Lady of Gloria, situated upon an elevated point or headland, in great part surrounded with the sea, which forms a very handsome and conspicuous object when viewed from the bay. The hill upon which it stands runs along in uneven elevations as far as Pria Flemingo, where it terminates in an abrupt precipice of granite rock. PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. 53 The front of this hill, facing the bay, nearly in a state of wild nature, was some time ago purchased by Mr. Maiden, an English gentleman, upon the side of which he has erected a very excellent mansion for his own residence, as well as three or four other neat houses, all occupied by English gentlemen ; one at the extremity, near the granite rock, is in the possession of the Rev. Mr. Crane. The Gloria Hill is decidedly the most agreeable situation for a residence in the vicinity of Rio : it is elevated, a;nd commands an interesting view of the harbour and all vessels as they enter and leave the port ; at the same time enjoying all the advantages of the land and sea breezes. Its only inconvenience is the approach to it, by a steep ascent on the side of the Gloria Chapel. There are two female convents at Rio de Janeiro. The in-dwellers of one adhere rigidly to their system of strict seclusion from all intercourse with the world : they are Therezian nuns, and the convent is agreeably situated upon an eminence, near the double row of arches in which the aqueduct terminates. The others are Franciscan nuns, and an apartment in their convent of Ajuda is appropriated for the admission of their friends, to converse with them through an iron grating. This convent possesses an antiquated organ, coeval with the establishment, and the hand of man had not been allowed, for many a year, to harmonize the discordancy occasioned by the deteriorating lapse of time. An English professor of music was engaged, under considerable penalties to keep the peace, and presented with a carte-hlanche to visit the convent, for the purpose of thoroughly renovating this instrument, which, on accomplishing, he declared was as fine a toned organ as he had ever heard. I was permitted ta accompany this gentleman, upon one occasion, under the garb of a servant. We approached a door in the corner of a small inner square, which the outer entrance leads to. A respectful knock produced the opening of a small shutter within the door, when the fine face and black eyes of the watchful porteress were presented at the iron grating. After a parley of a few minutes, during which, at intervals, she examined me with rather a scrutinizing eye, the bolts were withdrawn, and, on entering, we found ourselves at the foot of a flight of spacious stairs, which she ascended with us. At the top we were joined by two other nuns, apparently about the age of forty, who conducted us along a passage or avenue ; one of them continuing to sound a bell the whole way, with a view of announcing to the sisterhood that man was within the precincts of the building, whose sight they were thus cautioned to avoid. Our three com- panions were extremely affable, and conversed with much animation. We 54 PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. arrived, after passing through a considerable part of the building, at the apart- ment where the organ stood, which was also a place of devotion, and ornamented with the figures of variotis saints. Creolean slaves soon came, to assist in the operations upon the organ, in which I was an equally awkward performer. Those slaves, unilaturally destined also to be here immured for life, were young and some of theth very handsome. At intervals many other nuns came to the door and looked in by stealth. Some gradually overcame their shyness, entered the room, offered up their devotions, repeated their " Avi Marias," and, by degrees, approached the organ, with which our attention appeared to be absorbed. Nature so triumphed over superstitious habits that many of them became very familiar and lively. One of them sung part of an English song, which my companion had translated into Portuguese, he playing upon the organ as an accompaniment ; the others appeared quite delightedj and shouted out " Viva, viva."" Upon some of them perseveringly urging me for an air, I gave them a verse of " God save the King," which, on others coming into the room, 1 was obliged to repeat. The governesses joined in these occasional bursts of vivacity, and at other times took their stations in different parts of the room, apparently in the posture of devotion, and so situated that they could observe all that vvas passing. Upon all occasions of their coming in or leaving the room they bent the knee to the figure of Jesus. One of them directed my attention to the beautiful quality of the silk which constituted the vestments on the figure of St. John, and observed, several times, that he appeared muito triste (very sad) that morning. I did not think proper to dissent from this romantic discovery; but I was a little astonished to find that she carried her superstition so far as to imagine that an inanimate figure could actually change its aspect, and, consequently, that it was endowed with vital feeling and thought. She next showed me a menino Jesu, (child Jesus,) richly dressed, with a silken band around the waist, from which was suspended an embroidered bag, containing, she said, a piece of the real bone of our Saviour. I ventured here not wholly to conceal my doubts ; but she assured me it was so, and that the Queen, whose remains were deposited in the garden of the convent, brought it from Lisbon, and presented it to them : this was conclusive. No doubt they regarded us as pitiable heretics, one of them taking great pains to teach me Padre Nosso, Avi Maria, Sainta Maria, all which I was instructed to write in my book, and then compelled to repeat several times to the rest, who seemed very much pleased at my promising symptoms of Catholicism. A very fine girl, about ten years of age, had just entered the convent. I expressed my surprise / PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. 55 and regret, to one of the governesses, that so young a child should be shut up here for life ; she replied, that it was infinitely better than being exposed to the wickedness of the World. They are involved in great ignorance, but apparently not only comfortable, but happy, and great cleanliness pervaded that part of the convent that we saw. We returned by the same avenues ; and the bell, which had been intrusted to my novel management, sending forth rather un- usual sounds, induced some of the more secluded sisterhood to peep, with some surprise, out of their cells ; and, as I was found not to be intuitively a bellman to their wishes, I was as quickly deprived of my new situation. An aqueduct, for furnishing water to the Cidade Nova, is nearly completed ; in which quarter some new fountains are to be observed, especially the Lagarto, and another in the Campo St. Anna, large, built of stone, and discharging the water by numerous spouts. The fountains in the eastern district of the city consist of one in the Palace Square, in the shape of a tower, the Marrecas ; one in the Moura Place ; and the Carioca, with twelve spouts ; all of which are supplied by the aqueduct already mentioned. A visit to its source I found to be a most interesting excursion. I was accompanied to it by two friends. We directed our course to the village of Matta Cavallos, passing underneath the double arcade, the superior one having forty-two arches, and which conducts the water from the Therezian hill across a valley close to the city. We called upon Mr. Langsdorffe, the Russian consul, and proceeded from his house up a gradual ascent, covered with almost impervious woods, and, after crossing a deep glen, gained the terrace, which is formed by excavation along the sides of mountains and precipices for nearly four miles. As far as two white pillars, opening into the Orange Valley, a dis- tance of about three miles, the terrace has been recently repaired, and forms of itself a very fine promenade. Upon its inner side the range of aqueduct is erected, which is nearly eight feet high, consisting of two walls, a yard from each other, which space is arched over, and encloses the small stream of water that flows rapidly along a channel hewn out of stone. As far as the pillars it has been recently enhvened by white- washing, and at certain distances small apertures are left, for the purpose of ventilation. In some places, small iron gates are introduced into the wall, to admit of the occasional entrance of per- sons within it ; those gates are locked, and an opening is left at the bottom large enough to receive the arm. There is likewise a bason, cut out of the stone, to supply the passers-by with water, which has rather a pecuhar flavour. 56 PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. The eye is delighted with the succession of beautiful scenery which the walk presents, and rambles in undiminished rapture at every point, over the varied and romantic objects which sportive nature has here produced. Precipices above, and accumulated al pines shut in the view to the south and west. Wind- ing glens below, formed by smaller elevations ; here and there houses seen almost embosomed in the woody ravines ; the valley of Engenho Velho, sprinkled with white houses, which is also the site of the palace of St. Christovao ; the city and bay, surrounded with their amphitheatres of mountains ; the high soaring masses near the pass to the Tejuca ; the towering piles of the Organ range, and others of varied appearance to the right, edging the distant horizon, together form a grand totality, a most animated and animating picture, extending far to the north and east, harmonizing the feelings, and lifting the mind into a pro- found and pleasing train of wonder and adoration of the all-powerful being who has ordained these noble diversities of nature, over which his creative hand has thrown the graceful and cheerful covering of verdant trees and shrubs,, swarming in wild profusion, the hand of man having in few places contributed its aid. " Hail, Source of beings ! Universal Soul Of Heav'n and Earth ! Essential Presence, liail I To Thee I bend the knee : to Thee my thoughts Continual climb, who with a master hand Hast the great whole into perfection touch'd." This charming picture is lost to view on passing the opening betwixt the pillars, where the prospect, although more confined, is admirable, consisting of the deep recesses of the Orange Valley, the more lofty features of the moun- tains which encompass it, and the singularly formed Corcovada at its head, all rising into indescribable magnificence. These are scenes that would have delighted and invigorated with new energy the most exalted poets and painters. From hence, a narrower terrace, covered with entwining brushwood, and skirting along the side of the mountains for about a mile, brought us to the head of the valley, where the origin of the aqueduct is marked, by an inscription, to have taken place in the year 1744. Its source is adorned with a fine cascade, at the foot of which, a declining platform of rocks, overshadowed with trees, and refreshed with the falling water, afforded us a delightful retreat from the rays of the sun ; and here in reality we enjoyed the refreshment a slave had brought for us : above us the rugged mountains in precipices and the stony bed of the rivulet were seen, overhung with high trees and shrubs as far as the PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. 57 eye could reach. In this place, and from these waters, a poetical mind must, indeed, imbibe those draughts of inspiration which the vale of Tempe, and the mountain and stream of Parnassus are fabled to have produced. A long and intricate path leads from hence to the summit of the Corcovada Mountain ; below us there was an abrupt and rocky steep, its sides covered with thickly growing brushwood, down which the water descended in a murmuring course to the valley ; the whole of its varieties of verdure and fertility, with the bay of Bota-fogo at its lower extremity, was within our view. A winding road led us to a point, where we descended by a difficult way into the valley, while its fine oranges, growing spontaneously, supplied us with a dessert. It is beautified with some elegant houses, of one of which, at the bottom, almost opposite to the Queen's cottage, the accompanying sketch is a specimen. Our way from hence continued by the Cateta and the Gloria to Rio. The open spaces of the city, denominated squares, consist of the Palace Square, one hundred and fifty yards long, and eighty wide, with two good landing stairs from the bay ; of the Roceo, one hundred and eighty yards long, and one hundred wide ; and the Capim, recently called Peloirinho. In the Cidade Nova, there is one which occupies the intermediate space of the crossing of four streets ; but, although these are open spaces, they have little regularity or semblance to any thing that produces the idea of a square. The Royal Palace which has more the appearance of a manufactory than the residence of a king, is composed of that formerly occupied by the viceroys, the convent of the Carmelites, and the senate-house, united by passages, the first forming the southern side of the square, and the latter the M^estern. The northern side consists of a row of houses, which are private property, with two stories the same as the others. The first portion has twenty-four windows on the side, and nine in front towards the bay, the lower part of which is occupied by the guards and some public offices, the rooms above are generally used by the King for public levees. Some of the merchants and groups of the male inha- bitants frequent every evening that part of the square, and the walls adjoining the landing places and bordering the bay afford convenient seats, which are fully occupied. Here the arrival of vessels is ascertained, and the sea-breeze enjoyed. The mint, the armory, the naval arsenal, and that of the military, (called trem,) and the custom house, are the principal public buildings ; but of themselves present nothing particularly worthy of remark. There are various public tra- piches, or warehouses for the deposit of produce. The public gardens, which I 58 PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. are stated by some travellers to have been fully and gaily attended some twelve or fourteen years ago, are now quite unfrequented, and sunk into neglect. This place of resort in former times consists of about two acres of ground, bordering upon the bay, enclosed with a high wall, and neatly laid out in walks of trees, overhung with a variety of evergreen foliage. There is a stone terrace at the end, ascended by two flights of steps, commanding a view of the bay, with the remains of two pavilions, and other mutilated objects. This place is not left without regret, that so cool and agreeable a situation, and so well cal- culated for a public promenade, is permitted to fall into decay. For the admi- nistration of justice the same tribunals exist here as at Lisbon. At the period of the suppression of the board of inspection, in 1808, was created the tribunal of the royal junta of commerce, agriculture, manufactures, and navigation, com- posed of ten deputies, a president, a secretary, and an oflicial maior, (officiating mayor.) The Jesuitical library is open to the public ; it contains about sixty thousand volumes, amongst which there are but few modern works, and a great many old ones on theology. I was in the habit of frequenting it, and as is the custom at the national library in Paris, the librarian attends, immediately brings any book that may be required, and places it upon a small reading desk on the table, with which each person is accommodated. The very small number who attended consisted generally of priests and friars. Manufactories have yet acquired no footing in this city ; there is however, one of sailcloth, and another of silk stockings ; also, a few miles distant, at Andrahi, there are works for printing cottons upon a small scale, and conducted by a person who has been in Eng- land. Coarse cottons are manufactured in the interior of Brazil, and they pass the shuttle with the hand, according to the mode used in England formerly. The only place of amusement in Rio is the theatre, erected within the last few years, and which, in point of external appearance, is beyond mediocrity. It con- tains four tiers of boxes on each side of the house, thirteen in each tier, making, in the whole, one hundred and four boxes, which are extremely gloomy, being shut in at the sides. The royal box occupies the whole of the space fronting the stage, above which there is a small gallery ; and the pit contains about four hun- dred persons. The orchestra is esteemed very tolerable ; but the performances are indifferent. Two French dancers and their wives are at present the magnets of attraction ; and there is great emulation between them for the palm of superiority. The Campo St. Anna contains a large building, erected for the purpose of bull-baiting ; but the BraziHan bull not possessing the fire and fury of this animal in Europe, was the reason of its falling into disuse, and creditable PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. 59 would it be if so irrational and cruel an amusement was discontinued. Within the last two years, this building was the scene of the various feats in horsemanship of Mr. Southby and his troop, for which it is well adapted. The clown, soon acquiring some of the local peculiarities of the people, pro- duced amongst them a fund of merriment they had been httle accustomed to; and they expressed themselves more highly astonished and pleased with those performances, and the wonderful display of agility by Mrs. Southby on the tight rope, than any thing they had ever before witnessed. The city of Rio de Janeiro was taken by the French, in the year 1711, under M. Duguay Truin, and afterwards recovered by the people. In the preceding year, M. du Clerc had entered the town, conducted by two fugitive negroes, from Ilha Grande. There are three principal roads leading from this city, none of which are adapted to the use of a carriage for more than six or seven miles. The first, leading to the southward, after passing the public gardens and the Lapa, pro- ceeds, for a short distance, along the banks of the bay, commanding a view of its entrance, which is soon interrupted by the Gloria Hill, behind which the road passes, and continues in a parallel line with the Pria Flemingo, which is adorned with several neat houses, many of them occupied by English merchants. The Hon. Mr. Thornton had taken up a temporary residence in one of them; After crossing a small bridge at the Cateta, the road conducts, for about a mile and a half, betwixt luxuriant and verdant hedges, to the beach or Pria of Bota-fogo, which is a fine bay, shut in by picturesque promontories and head- lands, leaving only a narrow channel for the ingress and egress of its waters. This beach is edged with some of the neatest and most elegant houses in the vicinity of Rio de Janeiro, many of them occupied by fidalgos, and others by English merchants; one of which, in the possession of Mr. Harrison, exhibits all the beauty, elegance, and comfort of an English villa. Bye-roads lead from hence to the Pria Vermelha, to the royal powder manufactory, and the botanical garden already mentioned. In many parts the Cateta road is in a very bad state of repair, and the holes and hollow places form pools of water after the least fall of rain. The other two roads lead to the north of the city, both branching from the Campo St. Anna, and again communicate in passing Matta Porcas. The first and principal one proceeds from the right of the Campo, and continues for about a mile and a half, to the wooden bridge of St. Diogo, across a marshy flat, which eight or ten years ago was impassable, and is now denominated the Cidade Nova, of which it may in time constitute I 2 60 PROVmCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. a portion. The road of the Cidade Nova, being the daily route cnf the royal family, is kept in pretty good order, as well as the whole road as far as the palace of Christovao, which at Matta Porcas turns to the right, and continues for about tw^o miles along a level, with amphitheatres of various and picturesque mountains in every direction. After crossing the third brook, by a small bridge, the way tp the palace turns to the left, when a handsome entrance is discovered, not in unison with the palace, but consisting of a wall and iron palisades, ex- tending about thirty yards mi each «ide of it, Avithout any contiguous lodge or building. From hence the road sweeps to the left, up a gentle acclivity, to the eminence upon which the palace stands, fronted by a square, not embellished with shrubs and grass-plots, but of deep sand, which is entered by the left corner, and not by the grand entrance, composed of the elegant gates, a counter- part of those at Sion House, and sent as a present to his Majesty by the Duke of Northumberland. They are placed in the centre betwixt pillars of granite, pe- culiar to the country, and two lodges, the remainder on each side along the vdiole front of the palace being completed with palisades of Portuguese workmanship. It will excite some surprise in« the reader to be informed, that the outer ipart, which should form a road to this entrance, is allowed to remain in it« Katm^al state of hollow and uneven ground, when no very great labour would be re- quired to render it complete. At present, the gates are in disuse, the lodges closed, and, with the aid of the dirt and gunpowder arising from the fere-works ranged along their front, on occasions of religious festivals, the whole already apspears in a course of dilapidation. The palace is one story high, perfectly plain, without any pretensions to elegance, or the semblance of any order of architecture, and can boast of nothing but the beauty of its situation. It might, indeed, be mistaken, at a distance, for a manufactory, in consequence of the windows being so crowded together, and particularly at night, when it is lighted up. The road, from the point which leads to the palace, continues by either turn- ing a little further on to the left, and ascending a hill, or by the Campo St. Christovao, which sweeps round the hill and meets the other road on the oppo- site side, and afterwards leads on to the province of St. Paulo and Minas Geraes. It is the grand track of the miners and others coming from distant districts, and presents successive troops of mules, laden with different produce, attached to their curious and rudely constructed pack-saddles, by straps of raw hides. The road of St. Christovao and the Cidade Nova, are generally crowded ■^7 PJROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. 61 by these caravans, their drivers of all complexions, dressed in cotton shirts and trowsers, with slouching hats, and combined with the horses and mules, carry- ing persons of rather a superior order coming also from the interior, amount to the aggregate number of at least two thousand passing and re-passing daily. It would be difficult to describe the variety of costnme and rude appearance of the latter persons, many of whom are dressed in black or dirty white hats, with prodigious rims, a capote, or cloak, frequently of sky-blue, thrown round the fi-ont part of the body, and being crossed behind them, hangs in folds on each side of the mule. The bits of then bridles, their saddles, and stirrups, are of various antiquated and fantastic shapes. Some wear boots of brown leather, closely fitted to the leg, bound round the top with a strap and large buckle; others with capotes, large hats, &c. wear neither shoes nor boots, but introduce the great toes only into the stirrups, and with large heavy spurs upon the naked heels, are not the least remarkable amongst these burlesque figures. I have frequently ridden with them, and always found that they were communicative and civil. Their mules, which had performed journeys of two and three months, did not appear to have sustained much injury. These peo- ple mostly frequent certain streets in the city for the disposal of their produce, and the purchase of manufactured goods. The Rua de Candalaria is the great mart for cheeses, brought from the interior. The Rua das Violas, Rua de St. Pedro, &c. are visited by the miners ; and some of the shopkeepers, of whom they buy their return cargo, occasionally purchase from the English merchants three or four thousand pounds of goods in one bargain. The other road leading from the Campo St. Anna, does not present so much traffic as the last, and is denominated the old road. It proceeds through the village of Catimby, and from thence to Matta Porcas, one end of which it passes, and advances through the valley, having many good houses by its sides, to Andrahi, contracting afterwards betwixt the mountains into a narrow bridle way, leading to the district of Tejuco. From this road, near the Pedra Moun- tain, a cross road, with some good houses, the principal one recently occupied by Mr. Gill, an English merchant, conducts through this extremity of the valley of Engenho Velho, and at a distance of about half a mile unites itself with a road coming through another portion of the same valley, from the stone bridge near the turn to the palace. After this junction, the road proceeds through the valley of Engenho Novo, and communicates with the great road to the mines. The road which turns oflf at the stone bridge last mentioned is a lane much 62 PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. frequented by the royal family, and is bounded by beautifully verdant hedges, and some neat shacaras, and is not dissimilar in appearance to the green lanes, leading from London to Southgate. It is the limit of the King's shacara on the right. About three quarters of a mile from its commencement is situated the Casa de Don Pedro, recently erected in the form of a castle, with a flag-staff' at the top, the ground-floor consisting of one good sized room, and four smaller, covered with India matting, and furnished with chairs and sofas, but by no means in a royal style. From the palace to this casa is a favourite walk of the King's ; the interval forms the royal shacara, and is laid out in \Talks, crossing each other at right angles, shaded by an abundant variety of trees, which have been planted only within the last few years, and demonstrate by their state of maturity, the exuberant fertility of the soil and climate. The road continues from hence, across a brook, by a wooden bridge, which bounds the King's shacara on that side ; and very near to it is the roya] mill, which is yet far from being completed, although it was begun five or six years ago. It is intended to have one water-wheel and four pair of mill-slones. The model of the building and the machinery were sent from Lisbon. When the mill is finished, it is expected to grind forty sacks of wheat during ths day and night, for which the public will be charged two crusades (about five shillings) per sack, of three alqueiras, or about three and a half of Winchester bushels. One hundred yards further is situated Bella-fonta, the fine shacara oi Mr. Wright, under whose roof I received every kindness and hospitality possible, during my residence at Rio ; and am happy in this opportunity of ackno\\ledg- ing, in common with all who know him, the high estimation I entertain of his character. Within the circuit of the roads described, the valley of Engenho VeBio is adorned with numerous neat shacaras, abounding with walks formed of orsnges, and all the fruit trees of the tropics. Many give the preference to a residence on the Cateta side ; but, in consequence of the royal family frequenting' this quarter, I think the spirit of improvement shows itself more decidedly ii this direction, and although the sea breezes do not reach it, the land breezes from the adjacent mountains, sweeping along the valley, render the mornings and evenings particularly delightful. The dews are here profuse. I accompanied a gentleman, in the month of September, to see the C^a de Don Pedro, from whence we proceeded along the delightfully shaded waks of the shacara to the palace, which is in the progress of augmentation by some buildings under the inspection of Mr. Johnson, who came to the Brazi with PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. 63 the gates from the Duke of Northumberland, and who has been since em- ployed by the King in superintending the progressive enlargement of the palace. On this day, all bands were fully employed in finishing a suite of rooms which his Majesty had a great wish to occupy that evening. On descending a hill from the palace, we perceived Prince Don Miguel in a field below, dressed in a pair of great jack-boots, a cocked hat, and a star upon his breast, with a pole about 10 feet long in his hand, attending a plough with one handle, drawn by six bullocks, followed by five or six negro drivers and a feitor*' They executed their work very imperfectly, allowing the greatest portion of the turf to fall down again. From the superfluity of animal power employed in this defective specimen of agriculture, our attention was directed to the royal stables, which contained about three hundred mules and horses of a diminutive size, with double the number of persons to look after them that would have been deemed necessary in England. Prince Don Pedro had been breaking horses into harness all that morning, and we met him with the fourth pair; he used a large unwieldy whip, which, however, he administered pretty freely, making as much noise as a French postilion would, on announcing his arrival at a town, by the cracking of his whip. On passing him we stood still and took off our hats, which was only returned by an ungracious look. We also met Prince Don Miguel, re- turning from his agricultural amusement, accompanied by his feitor. He is a spare and pale-looking person, about sixteen years of age. Passing close to his elbow, we paid him the most respectful obeisance, but we were not honoured even with the least inclination of his head. I walked one evening to see the fire-works, which had been preparing for some time for the celebration of a saint's day, in front of the palace, ranged along, and a few yards distant from the gates and paUsades. The veranda was filled with a great many priests and friars, and others about the person of the King. His Majesty and the rest of the family took their station at the fifth window, on the right of the handsome flight of stairs erected by Mr. Johnson. The fire- works were ill executed, and could not be put in comparison with such exhi- bitions in Europe, which is much to be wondered at, considering the immense revenue here annually expended in this way, and the great number of persons that live by it and follow no other pursuit. Every evening at eight o'clock, excepting holidays and Sundays, the King receives the public, in a room appropriated for the purpose, at St. Christovao, to the honour of beija-mao;\ and * An overlooker of negroes. f To kiss his hand. 64 PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. the roads of Cidade Nova, Catimby, and Matta Porcas are covered, on those occasions, with officers, and numerous persons in cabriolets, on horseback, and on foot, pressing towards the palace, consisting of those who have some object to carry with his Majesty. When the door is opened there is a promiscuous rushing forward, and a mulatto will be seen treading upon the heels of a geneml. They advance in single rank up one side of the room to the upper part, where his Majesty is seated, attended by his fidalgos in waiting, and, passing him in review, they countermarch in the same order. It is said that the King has an extraordinary memory, and recollects each individual as he passes, and the object of his visit ; those who please speak to him, but a great proportion do not. It would appear that his Majesty is partial to seeing people in this way for a considerable period before he concedes what they want. A gentleman from Lisbon informed me that he had come to Rio expressly to gain some object with the government, and he anticipated a residence of twelve months there before he accomplished it. He purposed omitting none of those numerous attendances of heija-mao^ unless his neglecting to do so might be observed by his Majesty ; who, he observed was particularly desirous of detaining all Europeans there as long as possible. Senhor Thomas Antonio de Portugal, the minister of state, who has a shacara upon the left side of the road, already described, leading to Andrahi, holds a sort of public levee two days in each week, where crowds of officers and others attend, to submit their applications or to solicit his patronage, afterwards proceeding to perform the accustomed ceremony of heija-mao at the palace, during which period, from eight to nine o'clock, a band of music, in no very harmonious strains, is heard through a portion of the valley. The fidalgos, and those who may be denominated the higher orders of society here, are infinitely behind corresponding classes in the leading states of Europe, both in the knowledge and practice of civilized life. The pleasures and refine- ments of social intercourse are alike unknown to them : jealous of foreigners, their conduct towards them is not marked by that attention or hospitality so conspicuous in other countries, where the cultivation of a liberal system of society prevails. Their main occupation consists in outward show, in the punctilious observance of court-etiquette, and a regular attendance upon the superstitious rites and festivals of the Catholic religion. Whatever Uttle exists of pomp and splendour in this city is to be discovered in the temples, which are fitted up with rich profusion, more especially the parish churches, their altars and shrines exhibiting decorations of the most costly kind, in which respect PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. 65 St. Sebastian, or the Royal Chapel, stands pre-eminent ; its richly-gilded walls, carved work, and splendidly-ornamented altars, glittering with a profusion of gold, silver, and precious stones, surpass in brilliancy any thing that could be imagined, by a plain Christian, as essential to the purposes of divine worship. The chapel has some paintings, and one large piece over the chief altar, into which the late Queen and the principal part of the royal family are introduced. The King has a large box, not unlike an opera-box, above the place where grand mass is performed ; here his Majesty and the rest of the family take their seats on festival-days ; the bishop, in white or yellow satin, richly embroidered with gold, his mitre of the same, sits in great state below, opposite to the King, when he is not engaged in any part of the ceremony, in which he is assisted by a prodigious number of padres, and the service is performed with vast mag- nificence. The organ, accompanied by a crowd of vocal performers, amongst whom are five or six eunuchs, gratify, with some of the finest music of the Brazil, the audience, consisting, on some occasions, of many fidalgos, judges, ministers, and various individuals, who, in their gaudy robes, sit upon benches along the body of the chapel. There are others also who are led there by curiosity. Here the King will sometimes spend the whole day, and, upon the celebra- tion of some favourite saint's day, will remain till midnight. These holidays and festivities are usually attended by an immense consumption of gunpowder, in rockets, fireworks, &c. The days of some saints are remarkable for the right every man, bearing the same name, assumes of lighting up a great bonfire in front of his house ; and I remember accompanying a friend in his chaise, on the evening of St. John's day, when we had some difficulty in getting the horse through the flames and sky-rockets that illuminated and occupied the whole street fronting the dwellings of all the Senhor Joaos. The horses generally, however, do not regard it, being so accustomed to fire and gunpowder. During my stay at Rio, a bell was christened, and placed on the south side of the royal chapel with much ceremony. The King was godfather and the widow Princess godmother. The bell was named John the Sixth, in honour of his Majesty, who sprinkled it with salt and water, and at the period that it was hoisted to its ultimate position, the town resounded with fireworks and sky- rockets. Religious exhibitions and feasts succeed each other with very little intermission; and the Brazilian calendars present an innumerable list of them. At Whitsuntide, three or four days are dedicated to the consecration of oxen, fowls, &c. and K 6(5 PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. their consumption. The churches retail these articles at high prices, producing a considerable revenue. Jn some of the parishes, at this time, the inhabitants, by turns, are at the expense of a public feast, and it occasionally costs son^e individuals seven or eight hundred pounds. A boy, the son of the person giving this entertainment, sits upon a throne, attended by boys and girls of his own age ; he is called the emperor, and, with a sceptre in his hand, presides over the feast. I saw two exhibitions of this sort on the 1st of Ji^ne, one in the Campo St. Anna, and the other at the Lappa, accompanied wi^h fireworks. They are extremely ludicrous. The festivaj of Corpus Christi, on the 10th of June, is one of their grandest processional displays. It is only upon these occasions that the ladies appear in public. Early in the day cabriolets, drawn by mules, are seen driving in every direction towards the Ruas Pireita an4 d'Aquitanda, containing females in their gala dressps, while the military of every description are assembled in the streets to assist in the prpcession, wljich con- sists principally of priests and friars, whose prodigious numbers are calculated to swell out a cavalcade, together with nurnerous inhabitants of diffieren^ parishes, wearing cloaks peculiar to the churches, which are various an4 showy. The whole form two lines, preceded with banners, each person, in- cluding the priests, carrying a preposterous-looking wax candle, abouf six feet high, one end of which is placpd, at every step, upon the ground. The royal horses, sumptuously caparisoned, and decorated with ribands froixx their nos^ to the end of their long tails, are led by grooms dressed in the most tawdry style, the royal servants of every order following ; then tl^e judges^ and all classes of people employed by the government. The fidalgos and ministers precede and follow the bishop, who carries the Host, under a superb canopy, attended by Princes Don Pedro and Don Miguel, the supporters of his train ! The King usually follows the bishop as a train-bearer, but on this occasion he did not. The dresses of all were rich and costly ; and the procession, amount- ing to some thousand persons, proceeded ftlong the Rua Direita and returned, by the Rua d'Aquitanda, to the palace chapel ; after which there was a grand display of fire-works. All the balconies were crowded with females, adorned with precious stones. The fronts of the houses were hung with silks and crimson velvet, gilded with ornaments; and the streets were strewed with green leaves. The general effect of the whole was very imposing. There is rather a celebrated annual procession, on the 10th of October, in the Rua dos Ourives, having its foundation in some religious observance peculiar to the church of that street. All the houses are hung outside with tapestry and PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. 67 Other stuffs, and ornamented mth looking-glasses, and a great portion of the frirniture which the house contains, not of the most elegant sort, and generally not over abundant. A procession of padres, and numerous others belonging to the parish, takes place during the evening, drawing together an immense concourse of people, while the females, who spend the last penny to procure a gay dress for these occasions, appear at the balconies in a profusion of finery. The houses are illuminated, not with any transparent or appropriate devices, but with wax and common tallow candles ; some placed in the front of looking- glasses, in order to produce a double brilliancy at half price. The funeral processions are rather singular ; and the interment of a child par- ticularly would appear to be the season of rejoicing rather than grief. On these occasions the musical performers are the most choice and costly. The corpse is never kept more than one day from the time of the demise, and the funeral rites are usually celebrated after dark ; every one that chooses enlisting into the proces- sion by the acceptance of a wax-light. At a funeral which I saw at the Carmo, a large and handsome church adjoining the royal chapel, two lines of persons were ranged along the body of the building, from the entrance towards the altar, facing each other, every one holding a wax-light, nearly six feet high, in the right hand, and projected rather forward. Some of the individuals of this assembly might be friends of the deceased, but the major part consisted of persons casually met with in the streets, or such as were led by curiosity into the church. The acceptance of a light is deemed an honour done to the friends of the dead, and the agents of the padres are not very scrupulous in forcing them, if possible, into the hands of every one they see ; the motive for doing this is ascertained on knowing that the remainder of all candles which are used become the perquisite of those very tvorthi/ brethren. At the head of the two lines, amounting to perhaps from one hundred to one hundred and fifty persons,, the corpse was placed upon a table or elevated platform, with the head exposed to view, while its last vestments displayed the ill-founded notion of importance which its survivors attach to outward and meretricious show. The ceremony of itself not being calculated to impress the mind with awe, none of those feel- ings of respectful gravity were visible, which so solemn an occasion ought to have produced. When it was finished, the body was conducted, with no regular procession, through some outer avenues of the church, to the catacombs, situated in a passage opposite to the jesuitical library. On arriving at an mner cemetery of the catacombs, the hghts of those who followed were extinguished and taken from them by the persons whose duty it was to secure this perquisite; K 2 68 PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. and every one retiring in consequence, the body disappeared by some other avenue, and I could not possibly discover how it was afterwards disposed of. Upon another occasion of the funeral obsequies of a general officer, I attempted to see their mode of executing this last office ; but, from the quickness with which they slid away, and the extinguishing of the lights, I was again disap- pointed. A friend, however, gave me the following description of the interment of a girl, at which he was present. After the ceremony and the music had ceased, they proceeded from the said church of Our Lady of Carmo to the catacombs, where he arrived, with two or three others, at that point of the cemetery which was to receive the remains. The padres had disappeared, and no one was there but the father of the girl and a person who may be styled the sexton. The outer coverings had been taken off, and the girl appeared richly dressed in embroidered muslin, with silk stockings, and new shoes on, as if equipped for an assembly. The coffin had no bottom, but the body was sup- ported upon a piece of satin, securely nailed around the upper part of it, when the nails being withdrawn from the sides, the father, who was not dressed in the sable vestments of a mourner but in those of a bridegroom, disgusted my friend by his wanton and unfeeling conduct, and at this moment threw a piece of muslin to the sexton, urging him to despatch by shouting out " depressa, depressa" The muslin being drawn over the face of the giri, a large quantity of quick lime was placed upon it, and another portion spread from the head along the breast to the body, with a quantity on each side, when the man, with much ceremony, formed a cross upon it with his trowel. During the operation, the father, devoid of every proper sense of decency, cried out to him, " Vamos, vamos'' (let us go); and, at another time, " Vamos, depressa, Jilho da pouta? To render this last exclamation into English would only wound the feelings of those who do not understand it. Quick lime being now placed upon the flat stone of the cemetery, which runs horizontally a long way back, exhibiting its awful contents, the coffin was lifted up, and the nails of the end being also taken out, the body and piece of satin fell upon the quick lime, and the coffin was removed away. The cemeteries are afterwards walled up and plastered over in front. This father then, and even before, at the close of the church ceremony, embraced many people for joy, invited some to go home with him to a grand supper prepared for the occasion, and felt convinced that his child was gone to Heaven. Two or three hundred pounds are occasionally expended at funerals. The catacombs are small but extremely neat, the first part forming a square, PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. 69 ornamented with vases, and containing aromatic shrubs and flowers, is sur- rounded with a sort of piazza, the inner walls of which presemt the front of cemeteries, neatly plastered and numbered. Opposite the entrance, and cross- ing the square, a door-way leads to inner avenues, lined with cemeteries, kept exceedingly clean and in good order. At the extremity of one of these avenues is situated the general charnel-house, where the bones are piled in accumulating masses. After a certain lapse of time, the bones of individuals are taken from the cemeteries, bound together, and a large label, with their names inscribed upon it, affixed to them, then piled upon the bones of their predecessors in the charnel house, where two tapers are constantly burning ; and it is not uncom- mon for the relatives of the deceased to visit this house of the dead on a certain day in the year, offering prayers in their behalf. The bodies of the churches are open spaces, without seats or pews, and the women sit down in the Turkish style ; they, as well as the men, occasionally fall upon their knees, and, during mass, go through the ceremonies of crossing their foreheads, chins, and breasts, at regular stated periods, frequently beating their bosoms with great vehemence, but which probably must not be taken as a positive demonstration of sincerity, however imposing it may outwardly appear. The relation of one more procession will enable the reader to form some estimate of the religious character of this people. On the event of illness having assumed the appearance of terminating in death, the Host is conducted by one or more padres, and its usual attendants, in much pomp, with a burning of incense and the tinkling of bells, to the house of the dying person, to afford him the last consolations of his religion. The procession of the Host requires from the public more obsequious reverence than all the other component ingredients of the Catholic faith. Many persons prostrate themselves before it on their knees, in the streets and balco- nies; others bend the body, and all take off their hats. 1 have frequently met this procession some miles in the country, the padre mounted on horseback, carrying with the same facility as an umbrella, a canopy in his hand, and under its sacred shade the Host, or emblem of the Holy Ghost, accompanied by some attendants uncovered, and robed in scarlet cloaks, also on horseback ; the whole moving on at a quick ambling pace, with the tinkling of bells, the peculiarity of which announces their approach, producing an universal prostra- tion of all persons, white and black, who may be in the fields or houses ad- joining the road. There is one custom the Brazilians have, which, if sincere, cannot but be admired ; every evening at sun-set, by a simultaneous movement. 70 PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. they take off their hats in the pubUc streets, offer up a prayer, or repeat A\i Marias ; from which they have acquired the habit of denoting that period of the evening by the term of Avi Maria. And they say and so before Avi Maria, at Avi Maria, or after Avi Maria. I have been in the house of a Portuguese family at Avi Maria, when they appear to repeat a short prayer, after which a general salutation takes place, by saying " hao noite" (good evening,) and holding out their hands, as if they were mutually bestowing a blessing. It is the custom for all slaves to hold their hands out in a similar manner night and morning, as soon as they see their superiors, for the purpose of offering a blessing, while their usual expression is " Abenfoa setihor." Rio de Janeiro, although the residence of the court, is centuries behind in the comforts and enjoyments of civilized life. Strangers are disgusted with a first ramble through this city, and would not voluntarily pay it a second visit. Friendly attention to foreigners, although they may have letters of introduction, the Brazilians are seldom or ever known to practise. After some ceremony, ' they follow the person introduced to the top of the stairs, wait there till he arrives at the bottom, subject him to the further form of turning round to receive their final salutation, and thus the matter briefly ends. How different to the refinement of their neighbouring colonists, the Spaniards, whose houses and tertulas, at Monte Video, at Buenos Ayres, and all other parts of Spanish America, are open to strangers, who experience every liberality and social atten- tion from them. I was assured by an English gentleman, who has resided ten years in the Brazil, that he never witnessed any symptom of genuine hospitality, and he had notwithstanding acted with friendship to many; and to one gentleman, in particular, he had rendered frequent services, at whose house he had called on various occasions, and sometimes casually at the dinner hour, but was never invited to take dinner or any kind of refreshment. Even the principal people have no idea of the comforts of the table ; when they give feasts, it is with an extravagant profusion of dishes, without any regard to the irrangement, and unattended with any of that elegant ease and order practised by similar classes in most European countries. To the want of encouragement and public spirit on the part of the leading inhabitants, and the consequent unwise regulation of the government, may be attributed the present state of the provision-market. The beef is of such a quality, that it is really quite disgusting to the sight. The cattle are certainly driven a great distance, and are in a wretched state on their arrival at the PJ^OVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. 71 capital ; but this difficulty would be remedied by the adoption of a different system. Beef now pays a small duty, and by law is sold at 30 reas (or about 3d.) per lb. and one man has the contract ; let it be of the worst quality the price is the same ; by the payment of an adequate sum a piece of good beef cannot be obtained. Let this important branch of commerce be thrown open, without any restriction of price ; allow it to rest upon the basis of fair com- petition, and a good quality of this article would be seen in the metropolis, without any great additional price. Mutton is not very generally in use, particularly amongst the Brazilians ; I have however seen some very good, which was fed by an Englishman. Veal is rarely if ever seen. Pork is decided- ly the best meat obtained here. Vegetables and fruit are very abundant, apd at reasonable prices. Potatoes are not produced, except by some of the ^English ; but they degenerate after a year or two, by continuing to plant from the same stock. Poultry of all kinds is dear, and fish is occasionally so, prising more from the indolence of the fishermen, than any scarcity, as the bay and outside of the bar furnish an abundance, and some of a very fine flavour. Upon the whole, living at Rio is as expensive or more so than in London, with none of the comforts of the latter place. A house two stories high, consisting of a store below, and accommodation for a moderate sized family above, will let for two hundred and fifty or three hundred pounds per annum ; and houses in the vicinity of the city, with little comparative convenience, will rent at seventy or ^iglity pounds a year ; while those more commodious are proportionably higher. 72 PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. CHAP. IV. PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO — Continued. Population of the Capital— Negroes— Nocturnal Clamour of Reptiles — Vampire JBat — State of Literature — Jealousy — Dead Bodies — Military — IBank — Reve- nue — Imposts — Diamonds — Visit to Campinha — Tenure of Lands — Proof of Fertility — Swiss Emigrants — Visit to the Cascades of Tejuca — Commerce — Judicial Procedure — Pauta and Convention — New Exchange — Foundation of English Church — Towns, Villages, and Pi^oductions of the Comarca of Rio de Janeiro — Boundaries, Productions, Rivers, Lakes, and Povaogoes of the Comarca of Cape Frio — Boundaries, Indians, Rivers, Lakes, Towns, and Sugar Works of the Comarca of Goytacazes — Boundaries, Coroado Indians, and Povaogoes of the Comarca of Canta Gallo. The population of Rio de Janeiro is estimated at about one hundred and fifty thousand souls, two-thirds of which are negroes, mulattoes, and others, ex- hibiting every variety of complexion. The Brazilians residing here, and in the vicinity are denominated Cariocas by the European Portuguese ; the meaning or origin of which term I could not learn ; the latter falsely considering them- selves much superior to the former. The mulattoes are a portion of the population much the most healthy and robust, their mixture of African and Brazilian constitution appearing exactly adapted to the cHmate. The negroes are probably not used with more inhu- manity here than in other colonies. In the interior they are treated much better than at Rio de Janeiro, where, in some instances, much cruelty is prac- tised. For a trifling offence, they are sometimes committed to the charge of two or three soldiers, who pinion them with cords, and beat them in the most unfeeling manner along the streets, to the Calobouco, a prison for the blacks, where they are destined perhaps to receive a severe castigation before they are liberated. Their owners procure an order from the intend ant-general of the police, for one, two, or three hundred lashes, according to the dictates of their caprice or passion, which punishment is administered to those poor wretches by one of their own countrymen, a stout, savage-looking, degraded PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. 73 Negro. A gentleman obtained an order for the flagellation of one of his run- away slaves, with two hundred lashes. On his name being called several times, he appeared at the door of a dungeon, where the negroes seemed to be promis- cuously confined together. A rope was put round his neck, and he was led to a large post, in the adjoining yard ; around which his arms and feet were bound, while a rope secured his body in like manner, and another, firmly fas- tened round his thighs, rendered the movement of a single member wholly impossible. The black degradado set to work very mechanically, and at every stroke, which appeared to cut part of the flesh away, he gave a singular whistle. The stripes were repeated always upon the same part, and the negro bore the one hundred lashes he received at this time with the most determined resolution. On receiving the first and second strokes he called out " Jesu,'' but afterwards laid his head against the side of the post, not uttering a syllable, or asking for mercy ; but what he suffered was strongly visible in the tremulous agitation of the whole frame. The scene was deeply afflicting, and it was to be regretted that the man who was capable of such fortitude should be in a condition that subjected him to so painful and degrading an infliction. He received the other one hundred lashes on the third day following, after which, a heavy iron chain to his leg, and an iron rivetted round his neck, from which a trident stood up above the head, by way of ornament, would be no pleasant appendages with which to pursue his usual labour. There are men who profess to be catchers of runaway negroes, and frequently detain and ill use them when they are proceeding upon their employment, keep them confined during a night, conduct them home tied \vith ropes, and pretend they have detected them running away, for which they demand certain charges and a recompense. I was present when two of those fellows brought a poor negro girl whom they had detained, and it was proved that they stopped her when she was really in pursuit of her occupation. They failed in receiving the recompense they so basely sought, but they ought to have been made a severe example of. It is painful to observe, that if a negro is stopped, or forced away, or in any manner ill-treated, nobody takes his part or believes his story, A great many persons live entirely in idleness, upon the earnings of one, two, or three slaves, who are denominated *' negros de ganho,'' and stroll about the streets for employment : they are distinguished by a large basket which they carry ; others of both sexes are employed in carrying water in tubs, from the fountains, for the supply of the inhabitants ; the fountains are crowded all day, and are attended by a couple of soldiers to preserve order. The streets after L 74 PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. dark are most offensively filled with negroes, carrying tubs of soil to empty at the beach, a water-closet, or privy, not being known in this city. If these negroes do not bring a certain sum of money to their owners at night, the penalty is generally a severe castigation. Many of the negro slaves are remarkably well formed, particularly some of those who labour at the custom- house, and exhibit much muscular strength about their whole frames, combined with such symmetry of form, that the lineaments and swelling muscles of their naked bodies reminded me of some fine antique models. They wear cotton trowsers, the rest of the body being exposed. The principal part of the impor- tations are removed from the custom-house by them, and their dreadful shout- ings and yellings, as a stimulus under their burdens, resound through the streets and suburbs all day. Few waggons are used, and those of a rude construction ; the axle-trees, revolving with the wheels, produce a loud and discordant noise. The humane attempts of some English merchants to introduce waggons, for conveying goods from the custom-house, were effectually opposed by the clerks of that establishment, who have the privilege through intrigue of exclusively letting out their slaves for this employment. The universal diet of the negroes is the farinha, or flour, of the mandioca root, which they mix up with warm water, and occasionally are indulged with a little toucinhoy or fat bacon, to it ; but in the mining districts they use the flour of Indian com, which a negro, who had worked at the gold mines, informed me, was preferred amongst them to the first. The Brazilians themselves use a great deal of farin- ha, many families almost subsisting upon it ; and when dressed up, as is the custom in some parts of the Brazil, particularly a;t Pernambuco, with green peppers, &c. into a state they call pirao, it is very palatable. Feijaos and carne- secco, which are black beans and dried beef stewed together, is a dish much used amongst the Brazilians, and an European with a sharp appetite will not find it a bad relish. The slave-ships arriving at the Brazil present a terrible picture of human wretchedness, the decks being crowded with beings as closely stowed as it is possible, whose melancholy black faces, and gaunt naked bodies, are of them- selves sufficient to transfix with horror an individual unused to such scenes, in- dependently of the painful reflections connected with a consideration of the debasing circumstances and condition of this portion of mankind. A great many of them, as they are seen proceeding from the ships to the warehouses where they are to be exposed for sale, actually appear like walking skeletons, parti- cularly the children ; and the skin, which scarcely seems adequate to keep the PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. bones together, is covered with a loathsome disease, which the Portuguese call sarna, but may more properly be denominated the scurvy. The poor wretches undergo painful remedies to prepare them as speedily as possible for market. If a visit to the street of warehouses appropriated to their reception be occa- sioned by a desire of gratifying curosity, the sentiments brought into operation by such a scene will soon hurry the visitor away in pity and disgust. They are crowded together without regard to sex, and made to sit down in rows upon the ground, being by turns roughly forced upon their feet, for the purpose of exhibiting their bodily powers to a purchaser. Negroes are become very dear ; those that might have been procured three years ago for thirty-five or forty pounds, are now worth sixty or seventy. Strangers coming here are also subject to the sarna, as well as the natives, which is an irruption attended with considerable irritation and itching about the legs, feet, and ancles, and becomes troublesome unless great care is taken, by washing them every night with warm water and cachaga. The hicho is also another annoyance peculiar to the chmate, ever filling the air, the water, and the earth with new and infinite animation. This insect generates in the dust and sand, and penetrating the foot not larger than an atom at first, increases to the size of a small white worm, giving considerable pain till extracted ; in doing which, it is necessary to remove all the little eggs which it leaves behind, other- wise they would soon acquire life, and, if allowed, eat away the foot. I have seen numbers of negroes, whose legs and feet, with the aid of the sarna^ have been literally destroyed, and almost corroded away by them. The little black boys sitting down, and extracting them fi-om their feet with a pin, reminded me of the celebrated bronze figure of a boy, in the attitude of taking a thorn from his foot, which occupies a place in the Salle de Laocoon, at the Louvre. In traversing the woods, the carrapato, with which the branches frequently swarm, is an annoying and dangerous enemy. It is similar in appearance to a sheep-tick, and introduces the head and main part of the body into the flesh, when, if taken away forcibly, it leaves a disagreeable wound. One of these vermin penetrated the leg of the King, and, being injudiciously forced away, caused a wound, which has been occasionally troublesome to his Majesty ever since. The application of oil is deemed an eflScacious mode of removing them ; but I found this ineffectual, after using it copiously for about half an hour on one that was nearly buried in the ear of a negro-boy. On first arriving here, the inharmonious sounds which begin to annoy the ear about Avi Maria, sent forth by field-crickets, frogs, toads, and other L 2 76 PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. reptiles, are quite alarming to a stranger, who anticipates at every step, if he walks into a shacara, to encounter some venomous creature. It is custom alone that reconciles this loud, unceasing, nocturnal clamour. Lizards are very nu- merous, some of a green colour. They are timid, and are constantly seen rnnning across the roads, up walls, or rustling amongst the hedges. The vam- pire-bat is very large here, and if they can get access to the stables will fix upon a horse, and suck the blood. I have seen the back of a horse quite saturated with it, in consequence of a bite from one of them. They are said to fan their wings, during this sanguinary proceeding, in order to assuage the pain which their bite creates. It is supposed that they would fix upon the human body in the same way ; and this is probable, from the following circum- stance. In consequence of the excessive heat, I was in the habit of leaving open the shutter of my bed-room. One evening I discovered a vampire-bat, as large as two hands, upon the bed-post, and, by a blow, stunned it, so that it could not escape by the window, but secreted itself in the room. During the night it got twice upon the bed, but the heat preventing a sound sleep, t was quickly awakened by its attempts. It is too well known, perhaps, to remark that the Brazil is not the seat of literature ; in fact, its total absence is marked by the prohibition of books generally, and the want of any single medium through which its inhabitants can attain even to a knowledge of the existing state of the world, or what is passing in it. The inhabitants are principally involved in great ignorance and pride, its usual consequence ; an acquirement of the modes and ceremonies attached to the pompous observance of their religion appearing to be deemed quite adequate to all the purposes of the present system of society. A liberal literary institution of any kind throughout the state, or a stimulus to a man of talent, would be looked for in vain. A gazette, published twice a week, is printed at the royal press, the only one established here ; but it affords to the peo- ple no intelligence of the state of their own country or that of others. It is the size of a sheet of small letter-paper, and is filled with the arrivals and depar- tures of vessels, and some advertisements, while occasionally two or three heads are extracted with caution from the English newspapers. In the whole of the Brazil there is only one other gazette, and that is published at Bahia. Its neighbouring colony of Spanish South America has already begun to dispel the ignorance in which it was alike enveloped, by the establishment of several public colleges in different places, and the liberal and free introduction of books, which will fast promote the spirit of learning that partially begins to PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. 77 dawri. Jealousy, which acquires a greater sway, from this confined state of education and knowledge, obtains unbounded influence over the minds of many of the Brazilians, and operates in some instances to such a degree that its victims are degraded much below the savage : they do not declare their resentment openly, and demand frankly that redress or explanation which a man sustaining a real or imaginary injury from another has a right to require; but they seek in privacy the destruction of the object who may have created in their breasts sentiments of revenge, frequently resting upon a false and unjust foundation, but which the inveteracy of this diabolical passion will allow them neither to investigate nor to solicit what in Europe is deemed a fair and honourable satisfaction. Jealousy is a highly praise-worthy feeling when it is regulated with candour and justice, but allied with the vile cowardice of clan- destine assassination, perpetrated by the hands of the party themselves, or through the medium of a hired agent, it is of all others the most wicked and hellish that can actuate the human mind. That instances have occurred in the Brazil wherein both those modes have been practised, for the gratification of this passion, unjustly indulged, is but too true. An English gentleman, who has resided in the Brazil nearly forty years, informed me of a circumstance which he witnessed in this city, previously to the arrival of the royal family. A British officer, whose ship was taking in refreshments here, on passing through the Palace Square to a boat waiting to take him on board his vessel, suddenly received ^facada by a person who drew a knife from under a capote, or cloak, (which the Brazilians are in the habit of wearing,) concealed for the purpose, and which terminated his existence. It was said that this wretch had unjustly encouraged a feeling of jealousy against the British officer in regard to his wife, or some part of his family. Many of the Brazilians carry knives, hid under the sleeve of their capotes, which they throw and use with great dexterity. I was horror-struck to see at Rio the samples of an importation of knives from England, manufactured expressly for this purpose. In cases of quarrels amongst themselves they fi-equently use them, and quickly fold the capote around the left arm, which serves for a sort of shield. Rel igious festas, as has been before stated, are occurring weekly, and amongst oihev f unions, as they are called, one annually takes place in the beautiful island of Paquata, one of the fairest and most picturesque in the bay. The English merchants are generally applied to for subscriptions for this festival which they accord with their accustomed liberality. It is a 78 PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. delightful water excursion, which, added to the charms of the island itself, in- duce all the world to be of the party, and under the religious cloak of these occasions, females always appear in public. A worthy captain of an English merchantman was induced, upon one of those festivals, recently, to accom- pany a party in his own boat ; and, the mode of refreshment being of the pic-nic kind, he came in contact with an adjoining group, including several females, to whom he was tempted to pay some attention, and thereby unconsciously excited the jealousy of a monster in the shape of a human being, who was of the party ; and at the moment of his departure from the island, the boat having only proceeded some yards, a knife was thrown with such unnerring aim at him that it produced his immediate death. That blacks, slaves, and others, are hired to commit such atrocities, by the payment of a small recompense, is a fact affirmed to be notorious ; one authenticated instance will be sufficient to show that it is too correct. It is within a short period that the inhabitants of Pria Flemingo were much shocked at the discovery of a dead body upon that beach, decapitated, and in a state of nudity, so that no trace was left to find out who the unfortunate individual might be. This mysterious circumstance excited deep interest, and produced the offer of a reward for the detection of the perpetrator of so foul a deed. During the interval that the matter was involved in uncertainty, it was known to the friars of a monastery that one of their members was missing ; but, it would appear, nothing was said by them regarding the lost brother, from the apprehension, probably, that something vicious or improper might arise out of the investigation, not quite honourable to their sect. At last, from a fear of detection, and a consciousness of guilt, the real culprit came to the determination of communicating the affair to the King, presuming upon the known mercy of his Majesty, which is so unbounded that few persons have suffered the punishment of death since he ascended the throne, although it is possible the royal forbearance may have frustrated, in some instances, the just expiation of guilt.* On this occasion also the criminal was not brought to justice, who, it is ascertained, was a fidalgo, whose jealousy was roused by the frequent visits the friar already mentioned paid to his wife, for the professed purpose of exacting the confessional duties of herself and * No one had suffered the penalty of death for a long period before July 22, 1819, when a wretched criminal was hanged. He had stabbed five or six men, and it was said his punishment would have been commuted for transportation to Africa, had he not imbrued his hands in the blood of a pregnant female, whom he stabbed mortally. PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. 79 family. It is not ascertained whether he had any real cause or not for the excitement of this passion ; he unquestionably conceived he had, from the measures which he adopted of engaging two or three blacks to embrace an opportunity of murdering the friar, severing the head from the body, and divesting him of his sacerdotal robes. The discovery of the body was made under circumstances that did not involve those who found it in any difficulty ; but it is possible that an innocent individual finding a dead person, unacquainted with the customs of the country, might be subjected to some inconvenience; and I had almost got into such a predicament myself. Not far from the Campo de St. Christovao, a beach leading to the point of Cajii affords an interesting view of the bay. I had just entered upon it one evening, in September, on horseback, when I was startled at the appearance of a dead man extended upon the sand, which the receding tide had just deposited there : he was very well dressed, in the habit of a sailoi*, and, the hair being of an auburn colour, I concluded he was the mate of an Enghsh ship. My endeavours to procure the aid of some Portuguese at a short distance were unavailing ; no one would approach ; and two or three persons in a cabriolet, who passed close by, regarded me and the dead sailor with indifference. I also addressed myself to the next person who came up on horseback ; he dismounted, and I immediately found that he was an Englishman: he turned the body over, when the face appeared terribly mangled ; he suggested that the property upon the person should be secured, which amounted to upwards of one pound in Portuguese money, a silver watch, a gold brooch, and other things, of which an account was taken and delivered to my care, with which I purposed going directly to the minister of police, and to request that the body might be taken care of, as it was impossible to get any one in the neighbourhood to take it in, or even come near the place. After paying two negroes to move the body from the beach, and place it under a hedge, I set off to carry my intentions into effect. On the road to the city I met an English gentleman, to whom I stated the matter ; he requested me by no means to go to the pohce-office, as I should unquestionably be detained and lodged in prison till I proved that I was not the cause of the man's death. This information deterred me from proceeding farther ; but the idea that this unfortunate individual might have a wife, children, and friends at home, deter- mined me to prepare an account of his person, with a view of posting it at the custom-house next morning, which might have led to an identification of his person. I previously called upon Mr. Harrison, a highly-respectable and long- resident merchant here, and he effectually convinced me of the hazardous con- 80 PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. sequences of a further interference in it. One gentleman said, " If you see a " dead body, gallop off ;" another, " If you perceive a dispute, from which one of " the parties is likely to lose his life, fly, or you may be compelled to prove that " you were not accessary to his death." I immediately deposited the property at the British Consul's office, being under some apprehension, but I never heard more of the matter. No doubt the body became a prey to the dogs and wild birds, and the friends of this poor man will most probably never hear of his fate. Upon being detected in the commission of a crime, the perpetrator frequently flies to the altar of a contiguous church ; where I once saw a criminal remain for several hours, being privileged from capture till an order was obtained from the bishop for his arrest. This, like many other observances of the Roman Catholics, is a practice derived from the Mosaic law. The circumstances attending the execution of the criminal alluded to in the last note were rather singular, although common here upon such occasions. He was conducted on foot for a considerable distance through the streets, accompa- nied by padres, to the place of execution. There he was laid upon his back against the upper part of the ladder attached to the scaffold, and, on the rope being fastened round his neck, he was pushed off, with a negro upon his shoul- ders to accelerate his death. The head and hands were afterwards severed from the body and placed at each angle of the gallows, as represented in the plate. The regular military force of Rio de Janeiro, and the immediately surround- ing district, may be estimated at five thousand men, consisting of two regiments of infantry and one of cassadores from Portugal, some regiments of Brazilian infantry and cavalry, mulattoes and blacks, including the royal guard, exceedingly ill mounted and ineffective. The police of the city consists of a regiment of infantry and cavalry ; this department appears to be well arranged. Although the principal plan for the protection of the Brazil is the militia law, to which all the inhabitants are liable, yet, in point of discipline they are very deficient, but in dress and equipment they reach mediocrity. None of the regular regiments are in a state of good discipline ; those from Portugal are the best, but they are dissatisfied with the Brazilian service, and I was assured by one of their officers that they have relaxed very much in their duty. The mining districts and the other adjoining provinces are furnished with light cavalry, to which may be added the militia, who are usually called out for exercise on Sundays and holidays. The force at Monte Video amounts to eight thousand men, under General Le Cour, and the troops under General PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. 81 Rego(the Captain-General) at Pemambuco, are deeidedly under the best dis- cipline. Those two officers served with Lord WeUington in the peninsular cam- paign. The thirty-eighth British regiment proceeding to the Cape of Good Hope pnt into Rio de Janeiro for refreshment; the men being permitted occasionally to go on shore were soon recognised by one of the regiments from Portugal as their companions in war. The salutations which occurred between them induced the King to make some inquiries respecting this regiment, when he expressed hie desire to see them reviewed, which the commanding officer acceded to. Boats were furnished to convey them up the bay to the Campo of St. Christovao, where they went through their evolutions with such precision that the royal family, and nearly the whole population of Rio and its vicinity, assembled upon the spot, were much gratified, and spoke highly of their fine military ap- peara«ice. Since the removal of the court to ike Brazil, a bank has been established in this city, wiiich commenced upon the plausible plan of affiarding great facility to commerce, by discounting bills at the rate of six per cent. ; but this banking company soon curtailed these accommodations, on finding that, through private channels and ageints, they could obtain ten, twelve^ and fifteea per ceftt. by making loans, aad advanciiig their notes upon securkies n^t of the first character and validity. In order to provide against thi» sort of traffic, wd acquire an unfair advantage over tiie public, they had the address to convince the KitRg that they were entitled to have a prior claim over the property of an teoivent before other creditors, and, in consequence, his Majesty, (then Prijjce Regent,) passed laws, of the 24^* September, 1814, and the 16th February, i8l'6, conceding to them certain preferences ; and, by a decree of the 29th November, 1818, he granted them the full privilege of a first and distinct claim, before all other creditors, which is tantamount to the important public right the British government, by virtue of extents, have over the national property in the hands of any individual, and which every st^te and no obstacle was foreseen in forwarding this good work with all possible despatch. Three months afterwards, however, nothing further had been done, in consequence, I have heard, of the Portuguese dono of the ambassador's premises, objecting to the transfer of the small portion of ground required, unless he was paid some exorbitant sum. I understand, that an application PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. 97 is to be made, through the medium of the Hon. Mr. Thornton, to the King upon the subject. Macacu, which ha^ a church dedicated to St. Antonio, and a convent of lazy Franciscans, is pretty considerable, and was created a town by King Peter II. in 1697. It is situated upon elevated ground, on the left margin of the river of the same name, a little above the embouchure of the Guapiassu, and is about three leagues distant, in a direct line from the bay, and almost ten by the course of the river. Since the year 1808, this place has been the residence of a Juiz de Fora, whose jurisdiction also extends to the town of Mage. The population of Macacu, including its district, amounts to nine thousand souls. Villa Nova, (de St. Joze d' el Rey,) created a town in 1772, is two leagues to the south-west of Macacu, and a mile distant from the same river. St. Bar- nabe was its original name when a village, and its first inhabitants were Indians, with whose descendants a great many Portuguese are now intermixed. Those Indians are celebrated for making mats ; a contiguous piece of ground supply- ing them with abundant materials. About four miles to the eastward, is the parish of St. Joao d'ltaborahy, in a situation something elevated, with a fine aspect, and near the right bank of the river Varge, which here takes the name of this parish, more commonly de- signated by the appellation of Tapacora. Mandioca, feijao, and sugar, are the principal productions, besides a small portion of rice, Indian-corn, and coffee. The parish of Our Lady of Concei^ao* is six leagues east from Macacu, ap- proximating the left margin of the small river Bonito ; and the inhabitants are farmers of mandioca, feijao, Indian corn, sugar, and some rice. Two leagues to the north-east of Macacu, betwixt the two small rivers of Pinto and Entulho, is situated the parish of Santissima Trinidade, (Holy Tri- nity,) in a fertile country, the productions of which are, notwithstanding, con- fined to the necessaries of life. The parish of Tamby occupies an open country, near the left bank of the river Aldeia, about two miles south of Macacu, with a church of Our Lady of Desterro. About a mile to the east of the parish of Tamby, and within its dis- trict, is situated the port of Caixas, with a hermitage of Our Lady of Concei^ao, upon the right bank of the Aldeia not far from its confluence with the Macacu. This is the grand point from whence all the productions of the district of Tapa- * These parishes in the Brazil are considerable districts of country, and take their names generally from the chief or mother church. O PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. cora, and the surrounding parishes, are embarked in boats for the capital, and more sugar is sent from hence than from all the other ports in the bay. About two leagues to the south-east of Villa Nova, and not far from the bay, js the parish of St. Gon^alo d'Amarante, on the right bank of the small river of that name. Its dwellers produce a large quantity of farinha, feijao, and Indian corn, with the superabundance of which, as well as that of coffee, sugar, and casa^ha, much specie is introduced into the district. Mage, a middling town, with the title of countship, and in an agreeable situation upon the left bank of the river from which it derives its name, has some commerce, and a handsome parish-church of Our Lady of Piedade. It is about three leagues west of Macacu and one from the bay ; and the river, which has here a wooden bridge, supplies the town with fish. In boats and craft of considerable burden, a large quantity of farinha, Indian corn, feijao, some sugar, rice, and a little coffee, are from thence exported. This place was erected into a town in the year 1789. An English gentleman has a coun- try house near Mage, where parties occasionally go for the purpose of shooting, particularly snipes, which abound in the neighbouring morasses. Four miles to the north-east of Mage, near the right bank of the river Guapymirim, is the parish of Ajuda, the soil of which is remarkably fertile, the inhabitants preferring the culture of mandioca, rice, and coffee, to the sugar- cane: they also export a great deal of wood. Two leagues to the west of Mage, is the parish of St. Nicolau, itpoit the right margin of the Suruhy, consisting of a mountainous district of ten miles from north to south, and three in width, being partly planted with mandioca, rice, and coffee, but principally with the banana fruit, which introduces annually seventy thousand crusades, arising, it is said, from the industry of the whites, who exceed the number of negroes, but more likely from the properties of the soil and climate. One league to the south-east of the port of Estrella is situated the parish of Our Lady of Guia, upon the borders of the bay, near the mouth of the small river of Pacobahyba, from whence are embarked various necessaries of life, its principal productions. About four miles to the north-east of the port of Estrella is the parish of Ow Lady of Piedade d'Inhumirim, situated at the angle of the confluence of the river of that name with the small river Cruz. Its parishioners are ferrmers^ of Indian corn and mandioca, which prosper abundantly. In this district is situated Mandioca estate, belonging to G. Langsdorff, Esq. the Russian PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. 9,9 consul-general, a delightful situation, and which he became possessed of in consequence of his pursuits as a naturalist leading him frequently into that part of the country. To accommodate a person, from whom he had received some civilities, with a certain portion of land to form a rancho, for the accommodation of mules and their drivers coming from the mines, he was induced to purchase the whole tract of land, in the possession of one indivi- dual, without any fine, and, from its peculiar adaptation to the produce of mandioca, he gave it that name. He paid under one thousand pounds for it, and its extent, which is estimated at ten square miles, he has not yet explored. He has already planted twenty thousand cofFee-trees upon it, and the produce of mandioca in 1819 yielded near one thousand sacks of farinha, worth from eight to ten shiUings per sack. The King has granted him the important privilege of allowing the neighbouring people, working upon his estate, an exemption from the militia duty, which, of course, induces a great many to offer their services upon moderate terms ; so that, with the addition of about sixty slaves working upon it, the property is rapidly improving. He is building a house upon the estate. Mr. Langsdorff is respectably known to the literary world by the publication of bis voyages. His pursuit in the obtainment of objects in natural history has been indefatigable, and in butterflies alone he has accumu- lated sixteen hundred different kinds.* Some leagues from hence, upon the track leading to the mining districts, is situated the extensive estabhshment of Padre Corre, for shoeing mules, previously to their proceeding into the interior districts. In this trade the padre has accu- mulated a considerable sum: he grows a prodigious quantity of the finest peaches, and has the character of being exceedingly hospitable to strangers. A league to the south-east of the port of Estrella is situated the parish of Our Lady of Pilar, upon the left bank of the river from which it derives its name, producing mandioca, Indian corn, rice, and vegetables, for which the soil is well adapted. * Mr. LangsdorfF has recently (since his return to Europe) presented to the National Institute of Paris the head of a Botocudo Indian, who had been in his service for some years. He sent this Indian to St. Helena to collect insects, which commission he executed satisfactorily, and died soon after his return to the Brazil. The Botocudos are really the Aymores of the province of Porto Seguro, and received their present name from the Portuguese, m consequence of their custom of perforating the ears and lips, and introducing pieces of wood as ornaments, which they imagine render them more genteel and comely. o 2 100 PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. St. Maria of Marica was created a town by a law of the 26th May, 1814, with a civil jurisdiction, administered by two ordinary judges, (juizes ordinarios,) one of orphans, three magistrates, (vereadores,) an alcayde, a procurator of council, and two ahnotaces, or regulators of the market. It is small, but well situated, near the mouth of the little river Itapitiu, upon the margin of the lake from which it is named, and which well supplies it with fish. The church here, of Our Lady of Amparo, is the best in the province, with the exception of some in the metropolis, from whence it is distant about twenty-five miles to the eastward, and near thirty west of Cape Frio. The inhabitants cultivate sugar, mandioca, feijao, Indian corn, and some coffee. The district of Cape Frio, named from the promontory where the coast changes its direction, is limited on the north, by the river Maccahe, which separates it from the district of Goytacazes, is washed on the east and south by the ocean, and comprises twelve leagues of territory, from north to south, and ten in the widest part from east to west. The country is generally uneven, and the valleys and plains, situated between mountains more or less elevated, are extremely deficient in good water. It produces mandioca, Indian corn, rice, vegetables, and sugar. Cattle, inconsiderable in number, are of a small size. Banana and orange trees, so abundant in various parts of the province, are here exceedingly rare, owing to the negligence of the inhabitants. The produce of indigo, which was formerly considerable, is at present trifling, although this district is well adapted for it. Cochineal was once an important branch of commerce; but the avaricious propensity of several individuals induced them to adulterate it by the addition of farinha. The govern- ment took a certain quantity of it, and paid the best price: but, discover- ing the fraud, declined having any more of it. The merchants of the capital followed this example, and at last the cultivation of it was totally abandoned. To the productions of the district already mentioned must be added, that of timber, which, with management and industry, would form one of the most lucrative and important. The woods are very extensive, abounding in an innumerable variety of trees, well adapted for the purposes of building, cabinet work, &c. Three qualities of the Brazil wood are met with here, of which that denominated mirim is esteemed the best. The rivers St. Joao and Maccahe afford navigation for conveying those fine timbers to the coast. Besides the two last-mentioned rivers, there is the Una, which enters the ocean seven miles south of the first. In front of its embouchure is situated the small island of Branca. PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. 101 The principal lakes in this district are the Araruama and the Sequarema ; the first, twenty miles long, and eight at the widest part, is separated from the ocean by a bank in many parts of small elevation, and empties itself at the eastern extremity, by a channel, which at the mouth is fifty yards in width. Notwithstanding its waters are supplied by various rivers, they have a saline flavour, in consequence of its communication with the sea. It abounds with a variety of fish, and in some situations is many fathoms in depth, in others quite shallow. Various small bays on the southern side are formed by headlands, in which the operations of nature furnish considerable quantities of salt, almost without human aid. Nine places may be reckoned which are apparently des- tined by Providence for the production of this indispensable article ; the whole is not however formed by the sea water, but by the aqueous flow of rain through the saltpetre or saline particles with which the earth is impregnated, subse- quently acquiring the consistency of marine water, and which arrives at its ulti- mate crystalization, by the influential rays of the sun. The largest of the rivers which the lake Araruama receives are the Francisco Leite, which enters it at the western extremity, and the Mataruna, which is crossed by a bridge, and disembogues about four miles to the east of the other ; between those streams, and at a short distance from the lake, is situated the parish of St. Sebastian, whose inhabitants are cultivators of mandioca, rice, feijao, a little sugar, and derive some profit from fishing. The lake Sequarema, in the vicinity of Ponta Negra, is six miles long from east to west, and three at the widest part; the water is salt, abounding with fish, and separated from the sea by a narrow tract of land. During the rainy season, when it inundates the adjacent country, in consequence of the super- abundance of waters brought by the small streams, the dwellers near it open a channel to the ocean from its eastern extremity, which is soon filled up again, on the return of dry weather, by the flowing of the sea. The river Tinguy, which runs into its most northern bay, is the principal one that it receives. pon the neck of land which divides it from the ocean, a parish has originated, called Our Lady of Nazareth, whose parishioners grow Indian corn, mandioca, and feijao, and are fishermen, which occupation constitutes their chief gain. Between the lake Sequarema, and the Cururupina, is situated the Jacune, which is near three miles in length, and of proportionable width. The lake Jacarepua lies between the Sequarema and Araruama, comprising two miles of length, and something less in width. The lake Vermelha, about the same size, is near the western extremity of the Araruama, and although it has no communication with the sea, its waters are saline. m PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. The lake Boacica, situated two leagues to the south of the river Maccahe, and approximating the ocean, is about three miles long, and half a mile at the greatest width, has not much depth, is impregnated with salt, and abounds with fish, which enter it from the sea by the channel formed for the egress of its waters at the period of the floods. It is the receptacle of the river from which it derives its name; also, of the Serraria, the Mutum, the Riacho d'Ala- goa, and the Riachinho. The lake of Juthurnuahibi, two miles in diameter, and one to seven fathoms in depth, receives the rivers Bucasca and Capibary ; has an outlet into the ocean, which is winding, deep, navigable, and taking the name of the first river, is seven leagues distant, and only three in a dkect line from the lake. Cape Frio, called a city, although not so large as a moderate town, is divided into two parts, by an interval of half a mile, both being without regularity, and situated upon the southern margin of the eastern extremity of the lake Araru- araa. The principal portion has a church of Our Lady of Assumption, a her- mitage of St. Bento, and a Franciscan monastery. The chapel of Our Lady of Cuia crowns the summit of a rock, from whence is beheld a great extent of sea and land. The smaller portion of the city, denominated Passagem, defended by the fort of St. Mattheus, has another hermitage of St. Benedicto. This city has royal masters of the primitive letters and Latin. The inhabitants eagerly follow the pursuit of fishing, their principal and most lucrative occupation ; fish being their common diet and their chief exportation. It was taken in the year 1615, when Portugal was under the dominion of Philip II. ; and when, like many other places, it took the title of city, upon the occasion of some Rotterdam pirates being repulsed, who wished to establish themselves tlisre, for the purpose of exporting dye-wood. Here is a Juiz Fora, whose power extends to the town of Maccahe. Fevers are the prevailing disease of the country. St, Joam de Maccahe, situated upon both banks of the river from which it takes its name, was created a town in 1814, and has a church called Santa Anna. The inhabitants, who are fishermen, produce some Indian corn, rice, feijao, mandioca, and sugar, but their principal object of trade is timber. The parish of St. Joam, at the embouchure of the river of the same name, is well situated to render it in time a considerable town. Timber forms the riches of its iniiabitants, who also export a variety of the necessaries of life. The district of Goytacazes, comprising twenty-eight leagues of coast, bounded on the south by the river Maccahe, and on the north by the Cabapuana, originally formed the capitania of St. Thome, and so denominated from the PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. 103 contiguous eape. Pedro de Goes, ^?ho had frequented the Brazil for ten years, was its first donatory; and although, the period of this donation is not recorded, it was most probably about the year 1537, as the first allusion to him is in the year 1527, when he transported some Indians from St. Vincente to Portugal. This fidalgo established himself and the colonists who accompanied him, upon the banks of the river Parahiba, where they lived in amity with the Indians two years, succeeded by five of inveterate warfare, in which the aborigines dis- played such bravery and determined resistance, particularly the Goytacazes, (the name of which tribe the district retains,) that Goes was compelled to retire to the capitania of Espirito Santo, where the donatory Coutinho was already established. From thence he returned to Lisbon, and, in the year 1549, ac- companied Thom6 de Souza to Bahia ; but neither himself nor successors were fortunate in endeavouring to colonize the capitania of St. Thom6, which was in the possession of three different nations, the Puris, Guanis, and Goytacazas ; the latter were the most numerous, and divided into three hordes, the Goylaza Guassu, Goytacaza Moppy, and Goytacaza Jacorito, the avowed enemies of each other. It is affirmed, that the Guarus comprised various nations, one of \^hich, the Sacarus, still exists in the Organ Mountains. Gil de Goes was its third donatory, at the time of its devolvement to the crown. King Peter II. granted it to Viscount d'Asseca in the year 1674 ; but,, in consequence of the mal-administration of his successors producing considera- ble dissatisfaction, and various revolts amongst the colonists, King Joseph was induced, by commutation, to incorporate it with the crown lands ; and Fran- cisco de Sales, ouvidor of Espirito Santo, took possession of it, in the year 1752, in the name of his sovereign, to the great joy of the inhabitants. From the river Parahiba, northward, a cordillera runs parallel with, and at no great distance from the coast ; the intervening space, denominated Cacimbas, is mountainous, and in parts sterile, and ill adapted to agricultural purposes. From the Parahiba to the Maccahe, the whole country presents campinhas, or contifmed plains, with some small woods, called capoes, and is irrigated by various streams. The soil is appropriated to the produce of cocoa, coffee, indigo, and rice ; wheat might be cultivated with advantage. Mandioca grows best in the south- ern parts of the district, and sugar is cultivated in the proximity of the rivers Parahiba and Muriahe, to a very considerable extent. The number of sugar works in this district, in the year 1801, amounted to two hundred and eighty, of which ninety were very large. Since that period they have increased rapidly, and the sugars produced upon the margins of those rivers are esteemed 104 PROTINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. ithe best in the Brazil, usually known by the denomination of Campos sugars. Indian corn, feijao, mandioca flour, tobacco, and cotton, are produced only in sufficient quantity for the consumption of the district. All the species of domestic animals are bred, none of them, however, are remarkable for their fecundity. Cattle are not in sufficient number for the consumption of the population, and the working of sugar engenhos. The mules are not so large as those of Rio Grande, and Curitiba, but are superior in strength. Goats and sheep degenerate here. Hogs are not numerous, neither is the pork good. The north and south-west winds generally prevail, and scarcely a day passes, that the atmosphere is not refreshed with a strong breeze from one of these quarters. Part of the timber exported by the river Maccahe, is derived from the woods of this district, which affijrd a variety of medicinal plants. Rivers and Lakes. — We have already described the Parahiba, which is the chief river of this district, and traverses it from west to east. The river Muriahe, to which is attributed forty miles of course in a direct line, rises in the serra of Pico, in the territory of the Puri Indians, takes a winding direction to the south-east, until it enters the Parahiba, is navigable for the space of twenty-five miles, and has a fall, where the canoes are dragged over land. When the cultivation of its fertile margins first commenced, (at this day abounding with sugar- works,) its waters were so pestilential, that many who drank of them were attacked with malignant fevers, which either termi- nated their days, or left them through life paUid and diseased. Even the necessaries of life, which grew upon the lands inundated by its floods, were pestiferous. Its largest confluent is denominated the Rio Morto, or Dead River, in consequence of having a very tranquil current, the waters of which, are muddy, from its origin in a morass. The margins of the Muriahe produce a poisonous cipo plant, with long and flexible shoots, called tMo, or tingui, and a tree denominated guaratimbo, the infectious qualities of which are at- tributed to the malignancy of its waters. The river Maccabu originates in the skirt of the Serra Salvador, little removed from the source of the before-mentioned river St. Pedro. It is serpentine, tran- quil, flows principally through a swampy country to the north-east, discharges itself into the lake Feia, and is navigable, without falls, pretty nearly to its origin. The river Imbe, which rises at the base of the above serra, seven miles from the head of the Maccubu, and runs for a considerable space parallel with it, re- ceives near its commencement, by the left bank, three streams, called the Three Rivers of the North, (which have their origin in the situation of Tres Picos, PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. 105 where there is gold,) and traverses the lake of Cima, from whence it flows to the lake Feia, with the name of Ururahi. The bed is winding and the current slow. Large canoes advance np without obstacle, almost to its heads. The above-mentioned Ururahi, (the outlet to the lake of Cima,) the margins of which abound with plantations of the sugar-cane and mandioca, describes a semicircle to the north, approaching the Parahiba, with which an advan- tageous communication might be opened, by cutting a canal across a plain, not exceeding four miles in width. The lake Feia consists of two unequal parts, united by a narrow channel. The one lies to the north, near twenty miles in length from east to west, and upwards of twelve in width ; the other to the south, sixteen miles in length, and only two in width. It is an interesting lake, abounds with fish, and so inconsi- derable in depth, that canoes can only proceed by certain channels. The water is fresh and wholesome. It has within its precincts a considerable peninsula, upon the isthmus of which is situated the church of the parish of the Lady of Remedios, and presenting a delightful aspect. The margins of this lake are marshy, and it discharges itself by various channels, which, describing extensive circuits, form many islands, and without which, none of those channels would have made their way to the ocean, in consequence of an extensive, high, and solid sand-bank, formed by the sea. All the channels re-unite at divers points, and form another lake, many leagues in length, with the width of a spacious river, stretching, for its whole extent, along the said sand-bank ; across a certain part of which it opens annually an outlet, that presents the appearance of a considerable and furious river, called Furado, at the time the internal receptacles are overflown. The southern or principal of these channels is called Iguassu, or the river Castanheta. This district might be cleared from water, by the introduction of some hydraulic machines, (as in some parts of Lincolnshire), when the grounds would afford pasturage, and become susceptible of cultivation at all times. Three leagues to the north of the river Maccahe, is situated the lake Carapebas, about four miles in length from east to west, of unequal and incon- siderable width, separated from the ocean by a sand-bank, which it breaks down in the rainy season, in some parts, for the egress of the waters. It is well stored with a variety of fish. Near the right margin of the Parahiba, between the towns of St. Salvador, and St. Joara, are the two Jahi lakes ; also the Sequarema ; the Campelo, upon the north side of the Parahiba, almost in front of the town of St. Joam ; and the Pedras, which is a deep lake, having p 106 PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. its channel of discharge denominated the Corrego do Jacare, between the town of St. Salvador and the mouth of the river Muriahe. Lake Cima is five miles long, and more than sixteen hundred fathoms at its greatest width, compre- liending the gulf called Pernambuca. The fine campos, or plains, of this district would certainly become the Elysium of Brazil, if its territory, rich in soil, were divided into certain portions and delivered to a people animated with a spirit of agricultural improvement. But the same unfortunate circumstances which we have previously described to exist in the donation of lands, concur, unhappily, to place those campos, at least the greater part, in the hands of three proprietors ; namely, the Benedictine monas- tery of Rio de Janeiro, the purchaser of the ex-Jesuitical possessions, and a titular. St. Salvador, or Campos, is a large, populous, and flourishing town, situ- ated upon a plain on the right margin of the Parahiba, eighteen miles distant from the ocean, and four below the mouth of the Muriahe. Besides the mother church, it has a house of misericordia, three hermitages dedicated to the Lady of Rosario, Boa Morte, and Lapa ; also two Terceira orders of St. Francisco and Carmo, and a hospital. The youth of this place are instructed by persons having the usual high sounding titles of royal professors of the pri- mitive letters and Latin. Justice is administered by a head magistrate, denomi- nated a Juiz de Fora,* (a judge without.) An account recently taken of the population of this town states it to contain eleven hundred and fifty families, which may be fairly computed to comprise twelve thousand souls. The town of St. Joam da Parahiba derives the name from its church and the river upon which it is situated, and is distant about two miles from the sea, in front of the extremity of a small island. Sugar constitutes the riches of its inhabitants, who do not exceed fifteen hundred ; and it is the port from whence the principal produce of the Campos, consisting of that article, is shipped in coasting vessels to the capital. Eight miles up the Maccah6 is situated the parish of the Lady of Neves, which originated in an establishment of a tribe of Garulho Indians, but now almost extinct, and succeeded by whites, who fell timber and are farmers of the same necessaries of life as their predecessors. * This denomination originated in Portugal, where the judge was prohibited from having any juris- diction within his native town. Hence it is applied to judges in the Brazil, universally, without the capilal. PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. 107 Upon the Parahiba, between the town of St. Salvador and the mouth of the river Muriahe, the parish of St. Antonio occupies a delightful situation. It was founded for the habitation of a horde of Indian Garulhos, who have insen- sibly disappeared. Its district is extensive, and abounds with sugar-works. Thirty miles above the town of St. Salvador, and two below the last fall of the Parahiba, the aldeia or village of St. Fidelis, is agreeably and secludedly situated. It is an Indian parish, and was founded by three padres, one of whom, two years ago, was still living, and had the whole management of this establish- ment. A French gentleman, who was shipwrecked at the mouth of the Parahiba, proceeded through the Campos as far as this Indian village. He informed me, that, on leaving the plains cultivated with the plantations of the sugar-cane, he had to traverse a thick wood, rendered more difficult to penetrate by the wild grass and almost impervious underwood at the bottom of the higher trees. After a laborious march of five hours, this gentleman reached the aldeia, which consisted of a stone church, decorated with saints and much finery. It was fronted by the padre's house at no great distance ; both sides of this space were occupied by the huts of the Indians, over whom, from the imposing show of religious ceremony, and occasional personal chastisement, the padre had acquired a perfect command. Part of the Indians were employed in his house for domestic purposes ; others in the cultivation of the necessaries of life ; some were occupied in fishing in the Parahiba ; and others, of proved fidelity, in shooting game in the surrounding woods ; and thus subsistence was procured for the establishment. The domestic arrangement, however, of this priest was truly miserable. The savage Indians frequently carry off by force some of their Christianized brethren, and display an inveterate antipathy to civilization. The tribes on the northern bank of the Parahiba, bordering upon the Portuguese establishments, are considered much more cruel than those on the southern, and have afforded various and recent proofs of cannibalism. On some occasions they lie in ambush near pathways, and, with their arrows, pierce the stranger to the heart, and feast upon his body. A proprietor of a sugar-work was carried off" about three years ago, and devoured by them ; and since that time three or four negroes have shared the same fate. They are addicted to plunder, and commit at4imes great devastation amongst the sugar-plantations, advancing in bodies of fifty or sixty from the woods, and cutting down the canes, which they carry off to their retreats. They are great cowards ; and, on those appointed to keep watch giving the alarm of the approach of a single individual, they fly precipitately. p 2 108 PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. They are exceedingly alarmed at the report of a gun. Two soldiers, equipped with jackets, stuffed with cotton and quilted, (which are almost impenetrable to the arrows of the Indian,) and with muskets, very recently proceeded from Villa Rica, (in Minas Geraes,) and penetrated as far as this district, through the woods covering the fertile territory on both banks of the Parahiba, to the possession of which the ounce assumes a right as well as the savage. Of the ancient tribes the Puris is the principal one now remaining in those uncleared regions. It is a lamentable circumstance that the Brazilian govern- ment does not adopt some effectual plan to render these extensive and fertile territories of the Parahiba subservient to the wants of civilized man. The absence of comfort in the houses of the planters in the Goytacaze district is very conspicuous, and they have yet much to learn in the school of hospitality. St. Gon^alo and St. Sebastiam are parishes of this district, both situated upon the Parahiba, and a few leagues distant from the principal town. The district of Canta Gallo (Singing Cock) is a territory of great fertility, and irrigated by many rivers and smaller streams, which issue from the Organ Mountains, its southern limit, and discharge themselves into the Parahiba, which separates it from Minas Geraes on the north. It is bounded on the east by a continuation of the Organ range, which divides it from Goytacazes ; and on the west by the river Piabanha, which separates it from Parahiba Nova. It has mines of gold, for the working of which the first colony was estabhshed in the year 1785. The fifths on the gold, rendered to the crown, in the four following years, were above ten thousand cruzades ; and the duty upon agri- cultural productions amounted to eight thousand in the same period. Amongst its rivers may be remarked the Pequequera, well stored with fish and navigable for the space of twenty miles ; the Rio Negro, little less volumi- nous, and navigable for an equal distance, and also abounding with fish ; the Bengales ; and one called Rio Grande. The major part of the territory, up to the epoch of its colonization, was under the dominion of the Coroado Indians, the remains of the ancient Goytacazes, at present not numerous, and allied to the conquerors. Their houses are large, constructed of timber and earth ; they are of extraordinary length, covered with grass, or the bark of trees, with one door only, and with- out a single window. One of these rudely-constructed edifices will contain fifty, sometimes eighty, and even one hundred families. Generally each house constitutes an aldeia ; very rarely two are met with together. Every morning, at the break of day, on hearing the song of a species of partridge, called PROVINCE OF RIO DE JANEIRO. 109 macuco, (which sits upon trees during the night,) they immediately rise, and, although it rains, they go and bathe in the nearest torrent or lake ; for which purpose a signal is made by the sound of an instrument formed of a cane. Their marriage ceremonies consist of a species of banquet, at which all the inhabitants of the aldeia assemble ; and generally the whole party become intoxicated. Immediately on being sensible of the approach of labour, the women retire into a wood, where they become mothers without any assistance whatever, and return with their infants, already covered with the juice of certain herbs, to render them less susceptible of cold. These natives inter their dead in a sitting posture. Formerly the cemeteries of their caciques, or captains, consisted of cylindrical earthen vases, denomi- nated cammucis ; some of which have been recently found, containing bones. These Indians use the bow and arrow only. The arrow is a species of cane, with a point of peculiarly hard wood, exposed to the fire till it acquires the greatest degree of, consistency ; some, intended for large animals, are formed at the point like a sword ; others triangular and quadrangular. A man who returns to the house after an absence of many days does not say a single woird, in compliment, to his family, nor do they receive him in any other manner thian if he had only been to fetch water from the fountain. In 1814 the parish of Santissimo Sacramento was created a town, with the name of St. Pedro de Canta Gallo. Its civil government is conducted by two ordinary judges., three magistrates, and various minor officers. It is a middling town, traversed by a current of good water, which flows to the river Macuco. Its inhabitants, and those of its extensive district, prefer agriculture to mining, and they cultivate the usual necessaries of life belonging to the country. In this district is the parish of St. Joze de Leonissa, upon the Parahiba, in front of the embouchure of the river Pomba, was created a parish in 1812, and is 2ipovoacao, abounding with fish and all the necessaries of life. Its inhabitants are yet almost all Indians. Between the rivers Pomba and Parahiba, about six miles distant from the angle of their confluence, the parish of St. Antonio de Padua was erected, in 1812, in a district well adapted to the culture of various branches of agriculture. The dwellers of the northern margin of the Parahiba are diocesans of Rio de Janeiro. no PROVINCE OF RIO GRANDE DO SUL. CHAP. V. PROVINCE OF RIO GRANDE DO SUL. Colonization — JBoundaries — Climate — Aspect and Productions — Contests between Spaniards and Portuguese — Divisionary Line between these two Powers—^ Opposition by the Indians of the Seven Missions — Their Defeat — Revived Contests between Spaniards and Portuguese— Mountains — Rivers — Lakes — Capes and Ports — Islands — Mineralogy — Phytology — Zoology — Large Fazendas for breeding Cattle— Mode of Management— Sheep- FloCks-^Use of the Lago and Balls—Towns, Nature of Exports, Villages, SfC. including those of the District of Monte Video. This province, which includes the major part of the territory to the south of the capitania of St. Amaro, either had no donatories when John III. divided the coast, or from some other cause it was not colonized. Neither was its "colonization accomphshed by Viscount D'Asseca, nor his brother, John Correa (3e Sa, at the period of the great distributions of land which Peter II. granted to them in the territory denominated St. Gabriel, adjacent to the river Plate. The names by which this capitania was sometimes, although seldom, de- signated, of D'El Rey and St. Pedro, are supposed to have been given when it was first annexed to the crown lands. About the end of the sixteenth or the beginning of the seventeenth century, some Viricentistas removed their establishments to the vicinity of lake Dos Patos, and their descendants extended themselves to the south and west, as the Indians gradually relinquished the country. The capitanias of the brothers Souzas, could liot be enlarged beyond their prescribed limits, although the adjoining districts of land were devoluta, or without donatories ; yet the first settlers there from these capitanias were always considered their people, and known as Vincentistas and Paulistas, until those districts were erected into this province. It is the most southern one in the Brazil, very extensive and important, lying between twenty-eight and thirty-five degrees of south latitude, and is bounded on the north by the province of St. PROVINCE OF RIO GRANDE DO SUL. Catharina (from which it is separated by the river Manbituba) and the province of St. Paulo ; on the west it is skirted by the river Uruguay and the province of that name ; on the south by the river Plate ; and on the east by the Atlantic Ocean ; being upwards of five hundred miles long and four hundred wide. The climate is temperate, participating almost equally of heat and cold, and the air is pure and healthy. Winter begins in May and lasts till October. The prevailing wind is from the south-east. The longest day of the year, in the most southern part of the province, is about fourteen hours, or rather more. Frost occasionally prevails from the month of July till September. The greatest part of this province is flat, having extensive plains, watered vs^ith numerous torrents, or rapid streams, and with lakes. No other district possesses such abundant pastures. In its southern parts the soil is well adapted to a pro- fitable diversity of productions ; to wheat, rye, barley, Indian corn, rice, peas, beans, water-melons, melons, onions, as well as to all that arises from Spanish horticulture; also, some cotton, mandioca, and the sugar-cane. Hemp and different qualities of flax grow in great abundance. Fruit-trees of the south of Europe prosper here better than between the tropics, and none. ; multiply so prodigiously as the peach. The vine flourishes in profusion and perfection ; but the absence of a spirit of industry and improvement still retards the manur facture of wine, of which the grape here would afford an excellent quality. D. Peter de Mendon^a, sent by Charles V. with eight hundred men, in order to form a colony in the river Plate, in 1535, established himself in the place where the city of Buenos Ayres now stands, in the country of the Maracotos, by whose hands he lost his life, and a great part of his followers, in 1539. The rest had, in the preceding year, advanced up the Paraguay, and already begun the city of Assumption. D. Pedro Ortez de Zarate, governor of that city, re-established the colony of Mendon<^a at Buencs Ayres, and took up his residence there in 1580, in order to supply the want of a port to the city of Assumption, which they could not obtain on the opposite margin of the Plate. The Vincentistas would not consent to any Spanish establishment on the northern margin of this river, from Cape St. Mary to the emboachure of the river Paraguay, and from whence they were repulsed every time they attempted to gain a footing. The settlers from St. Paulo, in the years 1536, 1538, and 1540, expelled some priests of the orders of St. Cosme, St. Damiao, St. Anna, &c. who had settled in the land of St. Gabriel, from the upper to the eastern part of the river, and effectually drove them into the province of Paraguay. 112 PROVINCE OF RIO GRANDE DO SUL. In the sixty years that Portugal was subject to the court of Castile, various Spanish colonies established themselves in the vicinity of the river Uruguay ; and, in order to prevent a continuation of these establishments towards the east, D. Manuel Lobo, governor of Rio de Janeiro, founded Colonia do Sacramento, at the request of the infant Don Pedro, in 1680. Scarcely had seven months elapsed, when it was surprised and taken, by Don Joze Garro, governor of Buenos Ayres, accompanied with circumstances of much barbarity. It was restored at the end of three years, and placed in its former state, by Duarthe Teixeira Chaves. It however returned under the dominion of Buenos Ayres, being abandoned by the governor, Sebastian da Veiga, in 1703, who, after a long and valorous resistance, retired with all his people and property, in ships, to Rio de Janeiro, not having sufficient forces any longer to resist the power of Don Alonso Valdez. By the treaty of Utrecht, in 1713, it was restored to the crown of Portugal, but was attacked afresh in 1735, by Don Miguel de Salcedo, governor of Buenos Ayres, and defended by Antonio Pedro, with much courage, till he could receive aid, during which period, his brave garrison were reduced to the necessity of eating dogs, cats, and rats. On the arrival of the expected succour, Salcedo raised the siege, an auxiliary force of some thousand Tappes, brought by the Jesuit, Thomas Berley, availing him nothing. In 1750, when Don Joseph ascended the throne, the two courts agreed to a treaty of limits between their respective possessions, the one giving up Colonia, and the other the seven missions to the east of the Uruguay. The line of division commenced at the mouth of the little river near- est the hill of Castilhos Grandes, and continued along the highest range of land, in which the various rivers originate that run into the lakes Mirim and Patos, to the source of the river Ibicui, and along its channel to its entrance into the Uruguay ; by the latter, upwards to the mouth of the Piquiri, which joins it by the right bank, above the great fall, and by that river to its origin ; from thence, by the top of the nearest mountains, to the source of the first river met with that runs into the river Iguacu, proceeding downwards by the latter, to its entrance into the Parana, and continued thence to the mouth of the Gatimim, and by that river upwards to its origin ; from which point, to the source of the nearest river that runs into the Paraguay : from this confluence, continuing upwards by the last great river to the mouth of the Jauru, and from thence by a line to the left bank of the Guapore ; and by it downwards, to a latitude at an equal distance between its confluence with the Mamore and the entrance of the Madeira into the Maranham ; and from that latitude, by a line from east to west, as far as the PROVINCE OF RIO GRANDE DO SUL. 113 Hyabary, the bed of which river to complete the line as far as the Maranham. The commissioners sent by the two courts, in 1752, to arrange this demarca- tion, having arrived at the source of the Rio Negro, were obliged to return, from the opposition of the Indians of the missions, they being advised secretly by the Jesuits not to consent to the proposed exchange. On learning which, the two Sovereigns determined to compel the Indians to obedience by force of arms. For this purpose, Gomez Freyre d'Andrade, governor of Rio de Janeiro, marched with more than one thousand troops ; and the governor of Buenos Ayres with double the number. When the combined armies were marching through the territories lying between the source of the Caziquey, and the Vaccahy-gua9u, they were met by more than twelve thousand Tappes, determined to frustrate their project. On the 10th of February, 1756, a battle took place, in which the Indians were routed with the loss of fifteen hundred, leaving on the field some pieces of artillery, and a great number of other arms, the major part retiring to the missions, where shortly after the conquerors arrived. The Indians were immediately reduced to subjection ; and, according to the treaty, they passed over to the other side of the Paraguay. Gomez Freyre d'Andrade took possession of the country, but, before delivering up Colonia, received advices that his presence was indispensable at Rio, for which place he immediately set out. The army remained some months behind, seizing the produce of the labour of the Indians, and at length retired, many returning to their homes. Bougainville, (say the Portuguese,) out of revenge for not having been treated at Rio de Janeiro, by C. da Cunha, as he wished, gives a different account of this expedition. The commissioners, in 1759, while completing this demarcation, found in the field of battle, in latitude 30° south, a wooden cross set upright, with the following inscription, in the Guarani language. Anuo de 1756 Omnium S*" rum A 7 de Febrero pipe oman6 C J. b. Tiarayu Guarani pipe Sabado ramo A 10 de Febrero p* oico Gua rini guaju Martes p" 9 Taba Uruguay rebe gua 1500 Soldados rebe Och*'' Jesus'"" Pa« lie ct« 114 PROVINCE OF RIO GRANDE DO SUL. hae beiaere Mburubichare ta oman6 onga ape. A 4 de Marzo p' oya pou ca Angaco Cruz mtu D" Miguel Moyri sold* repa upe A little to the southward, in the plains of the Yap6gua^'6, the commissioners met with a field or space enclosed with wood capable of containing forty thou- sand oxen. The certainty of war breaking out in 1762, having been received at Buenos Ayres, the governor, Bon Pedro Cevalhos, unexpectedly ordered a furious attack upon Colonia. Vincente da Fonseca, its governor, after a vigorous resistance of twenty-five days, seeing the horrible devastation which a pro- digious discharge of artillery had caused, capitulated, and marched out with- his garrison on the 29th October. Two ships of war, with other smaller vessels were sent from Rio de Janeiro, to reinforce the place ; and, on finding that it had surrendered, they unavaiUngly endeavoured to regain it ; and, in the ardour of battle, one of their ships of war was burned. Cevalhos now pro- ceeded against the forts of St. Miguel, St. Theresa, and Rio Grande de St. Pedro, which surrendered in consequence of not having adequate force for their protection. Little care had been taken for the security of this fine country by the inhabitants. After reducing also a fortification on the southern part of the peninsula, the Spaniards marched sixteen hundred men to the west of the lake of Patos, against the fort of Rio Pardo. This corps fortified itself with seven pieces of artillery by the side of a wood, in the vicinity of the pass of Jacuhy, aiid waited for reinforcements. Intelligence being received of this circumstance at the fort of Rio Pardo, a company of dragoons, with all the Paulistas that could be assembled, making in all twelve hundred and thirty men, left the fort with a view of cutting off the march of the Spaniards. Find- ing, however, that their only mode of attack was from that side of the wood which did not afford any transit for cavalry, they spent several days in opening a narrow pathway through it. A passage being opened, and favoured by the light of the moon, they fell unexpectedly upon the encampment, and threw it into disorder. The Spaniards retired precipitately, with much loss in ammu- nition, killed, and prisoners. The peace of 1763 put an end to the campaign. Cevalhos, in pursuance of orders he received, was to deliver Colonia to Pedro de Sarmento, now PROVINCE OF RIO GRANDE DO SUL. 115 jappointed its governor. Rio Grande and other garrisons (unjustly, say t\\e Portuguese) remained under the dominion of the crown of Spain until the year 1776, when they were restored by General Bohemi. In this interval, the Spa- niards extended their possessions into the interior, and constructed the fort of St, Tecla, which was demolished at the restoration of Rio Grande. In 1774, Don John Joze Vertis, having with sinister views taken his station with eight hundred troops, on a plain near the pass of Taquatinguay, was attacked and destroyed by two companies of Paulistas, commanded by captains Bandeiro and Carneiro. During the tranquillity of peace, an armament, com- pianded by Cevalhos, for the purpose of seizing the island of St. Catharina, an- chored in front of the colony, who were unprovided with sufficient provisions, the people having been sustained by the stores of the royal magazines, which it was alleged would only last five days. Assigning as a reason the impossibility of receiving succours, the governor, with a probable want of courage, offered to capitulate, which offer being rejected, he surrendered at discretion, with the exception of some officers, their families, and a few inhabitants, who, by paying a sum of money, obtained permission to go to Rio de Janeiro. The greater part of the colony were conducted at their own expense to Mendon^a and Cordova, in order to augment the population and agriculture of those districts. Cevalhos was cruel enough not to exempt the women from this march, some of whose husbands were sent dangerously ill to the hospital of Buenos Ayres ; others were seen carrying in their arms their infants dying with the small pox. The loss of the island of St. Catharina, then more considerable for its ulti- mate advantages, than for its present value, produced a treaty of peace between the two nations, in the same year, 1777, with an article to establish a new line of division in the southern part only, one surrendering the aforesaid island, the other Colonia ; and in the province of Uruguay, a greater portion of neutral territory to remain between the small rivers Chuy, the ancient Umit, and Thahim. The demarcation was to proceed in a direct line by the source of the river Arica, northward to the mouth of the Peperi-guai^u ; and passing the Setequeades (Seven Falls) to contmue up the Igurey to the Paraguay. The certainty of war between his Catholic Majesty and Pprtugal, being received at Rio Grande St. Pedro, in June, 1801, the governor immediately ordered aprocla- mation to be issued to the corps de guard, to regard the Spanish nation as ene- mies ; and, in the expectation of an order coming from the capital to make a formal declaration, he pardoned all deserters who were willing to take up arms. An offi- cial letter now arriving from his excellency the Viceroy, the campaign commenced Q 2 116 PROVINCE OF RIO GRANDE DO SUL. by the marching of troops in two bodies to the frontier of Rio Pardo and Rio Grande. By the narrow land between the lake Mirim and the ocean, S. Scares and J. Antunes marched with one hundred and fifty men against the camp of Chuy, which was surprised, sacked, and abandoned, without any loss on the part of the assailants. This corps passed to the other side of Rio de St. Gon^alo, and halted at Herval, in front of some advanced posts established on the north of the Jaguaron, which the Spaniards abandoning, the Portuguese demolished. The same misfortune befel all the other Spanish detachments, as far as the vicinity of the Jacuhy, without excepting fort St. Teela. On the Spanish guards retiring towards the post of Cerro-largo, twelve leagues to the south of the Jaguaron, on the Batuvi, they had a rencounter with a party of Portuguese, who put them to flight, took six waggons with ammunition, provisions, and mathe- matical instruments. A small party of the Portuguese and Spaniards engaged each other on the Jaguaron, when the former were successful, returning with fifty prisoners, having lost only two men. Shortly after, a colonel passed to the other side of the river with twelve hundred Portuguese, and marched to the attack of the Spanish fort at Cerro-largo. Before the Portuguese had fired many guns, some cartridges of powder took fire, and a horse taking fright threw the cavalry into disorder, which spread through the whole detachment. Animated by this event, and wishing to take advantage of it, a sortie was made by a squadron of Spanish cavalry ; but the Portuguese forming again, they were obliged to retreat. This trifling reverse, and the small- ness of the garrison, induced the commandant to capitulate. The Portuguese apprehending, however, the arrival of some Spanish reinforcements from Monte Video, dismantled the fort and returned to their former position. Shortly afterwards, the large reinforcement which left Monte Video in order to succour the pass of Cerro-largo, arrived at the opposite banks of the river. The Portu- guese showing at the same time a resolute determination to oppose their passage. In this state of things, the news of peace arrived and terminated the campaign. Mountains. — This province has no very considerable mountains, excepting the Cordillera called the General Serra, which runs from the north, near the sea, and in the parallel of 29° 30' turns to the west, and then north-west with some windings, breaking in many parts to afford a passage to various rivers, amongst others, the Paranna. The mountain of St. Martinho, or Monte Grande, is a portion of that serra, where it divides this province from that of Uruguay. Monte Vidio, or Video, situated on the west side of the bay to which it gives the name, is pleasing to the view, and high only in the vicinity of the sea. PROVINCE OF RIO GRANDE DO SUL. 117 The Castilhos Grandes is a liill near to the point of the same name, and crowned with stones, that appear Hke towers. The Pao d'Assucar (Sugar- Loaf ) is upon the shore four or five leagues to the west of Maldonado, and the hill of St. Luzia a little to the east of the river of the same name. The Serra dos Tappes, which is of very small elevation, runs parallel with the lake of Patos at a distance of from four to seven leagues, being fifteen leagues long from north to south, and five broad. That of Herval is further to the north, behind the Tappes. The extensive chains of small hills, without trees, and forming pasturage for flocks of cattle, are called cochilhas. The before-mentioned Pao d'Assucar is at the southern extremity of the chain called the Great Cochilha, which extends itself to the north as far as the source of the river Arica. In many parts, its elevation is imperceptible, appearing like a plain, and from both sides other mountains branch off, as do some rivers which have their origin in it. The hills ranging to the west of it are not well known ; the largest on the east are the Herval, the Piratinim, approxi- mating the rivers of the same names, and the Babiragua, in the vicinity of the Camacuan. The highest points of the hills and cochilhas, and destitute of vege- tation, are called serros, their summits serving on occasions of war for watch- towers, which are numerous, and some of them are seen from others at a dis- tance of twenty leagues. Rivers. — The numerous streams of this province almost all issue by two channels, viz. the Rio Grande de St. Pedro, which empties itself about the middle of the eastern coast, and the Rio Uruguay, which runs into the Para- guay. The Great Cochilha divides the tributary streams of those two rivers. The Uruguay originates in the lower parts of the mountains which stretch along the ocean, and runs for a considerable distance under the name of Pellotas to the westward, between margins principally of pointed and massy rocks, gathering in its course the rivers Caveiras, Caroas, Chorros, and the Correntes, which issue either from the skirts or the vicinity of the same cordillera, and water the most southern portion of the province of St. Paulo, designated by the name of Campos da Vaccaria. It here takes the name with which it terminates, and, already assuming the appearance of a large river, bends its course towards the south-west, still accumulating by other streams. In latitude 29|°, it receives the considerable river Ibicui by the left, afterwards the Mirinay by the right, then flowing southward, and ultimately the Negro by its eastern margin; has many windings and islands, and affords navigation for large boats to the first great 118 FJROViHCE OF RIO GRANDE DO SUL. fally wMeh is ten leagues below the confluence of the Ibicui. Canoes advance as far up as the centre of the vaccarias, or cattle- plains, not, ho w^ever, without immense labour, occasioned by the many cataracts and rapid currents. The river Ibicui rises in the plains of Japoguassu, and, after running many leagues to the west, turns northward for a space of twenty-five leagues, aug- menting considerably by the jimction of many rivers, one of them being the riv^' Caziquey ; a little below which confluence the Toropy joins it, which is larger, and comes from the cattle plsuns, flowiiig south-west, and bripgipg with it the river Ibicui-Mirim, that joins it on the left a little higher up. At this confluence, called Forquilha, (Three-pronged,) where the Ibicui becomes con- siderable, it turns to the west, and gradually augments in importance, so that much above its embouchure it is four hundred fathoms wide ; a little below the Forquilha it is joined on the right by the Jaguari, a considerable stream, which also comes from the before-mentioned vaccarias. Its banks are covered with wild shrubs and trees ; the tortuous channel has many islands, the current almost always tranquil, and navigable nearly to the heads of those rivers which form it. The river Negro has its origin very near to that of the Ibicui, runs always to the south-west, is enlarged by the receipt of a number of streams, and incorporates itself with the Uruguay five leagues before that river enters the Paraguay, or Plate, after having watered eighty leagues of country, abounding, for the major part, in cattle : its largest confluent is the Hy, which it receives nearly twenty leagues above its mouth, after a course of thu'ty- six leagues, from east to Aj^est, through a country rich in pasturage and cattle. The river St. Luzia ta.kes a course, for nearly forty leagues, through a country similarly abundant, and disembogues four leagues to the west of Montevideo, having received by the right bank, a little higher up, the St. Joze, with which it becomes wide, deep, and navigable, with a good port at its mouth. The river Jacuhy (from the bird Jac6s) is formed, on the western side of the cattle- plains, by a union of various streams, which irrigate those campos, and from whence it issues being already considerable. A few leagues after having traversed the General Serra it flows eastward, describing innumerable windings for a space of thirty leagues, and on a sudden turns towards the «outh. ^.fter a further course of fifteen miles, having become a large river, it enters : . the western side of the lake Patos, about four les^gues below its nQi:thern extremity. Amongst otiier smaller streams which swell its waters, after issuing from the serra, is the Vaccahy, which rises a few leagues to the north of the Ibicui-Gua9u,,dnd brings with it the yaccahy-Mirim, which has its origin a short distance from PROVINCE OF RIO GRANDE DO SUE. 110 that of the Jacuhy-Mirim. These rivers were so named after cattle began to graze near them. The gentle course of theJacuhyis uninterrupted by cataracts, and is perfectly free to navigation. The Irapuan receives a great many currents, almost all muddy and brackish, and very cold. A species of soft black stone, with white particles like silver, are found upon many parts of its banks. On being burnt, it emits a sulphureous smell, assumes the appearance of charcoal, and is said to be of no higher value. The Butucarai comes from the north, and has a bridge. Near its mouth is the passage of Fandango. The Pigueri joins the Irohy, and comes from the Serro Pellado da Encruzilhada. The Tubatingahy originates between a serro and the Encruzilhada. The Pardo,. having its source in a serra, runs through a country covered with wild woods ; the large stones in its bed preclude navigation : it is passed by a bridge. The Capibari flows from the vicinity of the source of the Irohy. The Antos,, formed by various currents, which issue from the lower part of the cordillera, after a considerable course towards the west, turns to the south, receives the Tibicoari, and, ten leagues farther, under the latter name, enters the Jacuhy,, of which it is the largest tributary, aftbrding an open navigation to yachts as far as the confluence, where it loses the first name. The adjacent country i« fertile, producing beautiful pine and other trees of excellent timber. The Jacuhy, (ten leagues below the Jacoari,) at the part where on a sudden it turns to the south, is two miles in width, forming a bay, where it receives the Cahy^ which issues from the plains on the summit of the General Sen-a, with a course of about twenty-five leagues, almost south, and affording a navigation to yachts of ten leagues. The Sino, something smaller, which rises on the top of the same serra, more to the south, runs south-west, and is navigable for a con- siderable distance. The Gravatahy, which has its origin in the same hills, further to the south, runs in the same direction, and affords navigation for a space of five leagues. The rivers Igarupay, Daymar, and Gualeguay, are the principal ones which enter the Uruguay, by the left bank, between the mouths of the Ibicui and the Negro. The Maldonado, and the two rivers Solis, (small and great,) discharge themselves into the gulf of the river Plate. Rio Grande de St. Pedro is the name of the outlet of the lake of Patos, and is about ten miles in length almost north and south, near one league in width, and is situated sixty leagues north- east from Cape St. Mary. The lateral lands are very flat, and destitute of trees or buildings to direct the navigator, who, at a distance only of two 120 PROVINCE OF RIO GRANDE DO SUL. leagues, with clear weather, can but just distinguish the entrance to the port in 32° 4', where the ebbing and flowing of the water generally produce an agitated sea, rendering the shoals variable, so that no ship can or should enter the port without a well experienced person, acquainted with the state of the bar. The lake of Patos, which took its name from a nation of Indians now un- known, is the largest in the Brazil, being one hundred and fifty miles in length from north-east to south-west, parallel with the coast, and thirty-five at its greatest width, with sufficient depth for vessels of a middling size ; it has, however, some very dangerous shoals. The water is salt in the southern part, with the banks generally flat. It is the recipient of almost all the currents which water the northern and eastern portion of the province, and whose principal embouchures are the Jacuhy on the north, and the river de St. Gon^alo on the south. The lake Mirim, which signifies " small," compared with the other, is ninety miles in length, and twenty-five at its greatest width ; this also extends along the coast, and discharges into the lake Patos, by a channel, fifty miles long, wide, handsome, and navigable, and constituting the aforesaid river de St. Gon^alo. The river Saboyaty, after having collected many others, flows, in a considerable stream, into the southern extremity of the lake Mirim, and is navigable for many leagues. The small river Chuy disembogues almost in the middle of the same lake ; and, further to the north, the river Jaguaron, which has its source near the lake Formoza, (beautiful.) It has a course of about eighty miles, and eighteen of navigation. The river Piratirim which has its origin also near the lake Formoza, empties itself about the middle of the St. Gon^alo, after a course of thirty leagues, affording ten miles of naviga- tion. The river Pellotas, rising in the serra of the Tappes, enters the St. Gon^alo near its mouth, and admits of small vessels for five leagues. Pass- ing the embouchure of the St. Gon^alo, the first river met with on the lake Patos is the Contagem, which is about fourteen leagues in extent. The second is the Correntes. The third is the Cangu^u, navigable for some leagues. The fourth runs under the name of St. Louren^o. The fifth denominated Boqueirao, and the least of all, originates, like the others, in the Serra dos Tappes. Above the Boqueirao, in the middle of the lake of Patos, the Cama- puan empties itself by five mouths, formed by four islands, the largest of which is half a league in circumference. It flows from the Great Cochilha by a rapid course of nearly one hundred miles, amongst rocks and stones, admitting navigation only for a distance of four leagues, and higher up presenting con- PROVINCE OF RIO GRANDE DO SUL. 121 tinued cataracts. By its southern margin fourteen currents are admitted, some of them ten leagues in extent ; and fifteen by its northern bank, none exceed- ing five leagues. The southern ones, commencing from the mouth of the river, are the Pereira, rising in the Serra dos Tappes ; the Cardozo ; the Evaristo ; the Meirelles ; the Sapata, which flows from the same serra; the small river Pedras, (Stones,) rising near the situation called Igatimi; the Almeida; the Arroio Grande ; the Velhaco, originating in the Grand Cochilha, near the Serro Bay, and running through a bed consisting in parts of rugged and craggy pro- minences ; the Fagundes, which runs for five leagues between rocks, with many falls ; the Rodrigues, rolling angrily over precipices, and foaming between rocks and stones ; the Arroio da Palma, considerable, serene, well stored with fish, and navigable for small craft ; (the quadruped capibara is seen upon its banks in bands of eighty and one hundred ;) and the Camapuan Chici, tranquil in its course, receiving, amongst other streams, one called Tigre. The adjacent territory consists of fine campos, fertile in corn. Passing the mouth of the Camapuan, northward, the Dure is first met with, which runs through a flat open country, without wood, and forms in its course some lakes. Next, the Velhaco, flowing rapidly through woods. Beyond this is the Passo Grande, with like umbrageous borders. Proceeding up by the Jacuhy to the town of Portalegre, on the left bank is the Araca, rising in the Serra Herval, and the Antonio Alves, which, three leagues above its mouth, receives the Doudarilho, and affords an open naviga- tion to hyates, or yachts. At the northern extremity of the lake Patos the river Palmares enters, having its source in the neighbouring plains of the Tra- mandahy. Three leagues to the west of it runs the Capibara, which is only a current in winter, when the lake of Serra, receiving the waters of various small brooks, discharges them through this outlet : the lake is about eighteen miles long and five wide, and runs parallel with the cordillera. The country which these rivers traverse is a plain of white sand, and in great part marshy, pro- ducing, however, some herbage, brushwood, and plantations. Al ong the coast, which runs from Cape St. Mary to the little Castilhos, are various lakes approximating to the sea. The lake Manglieira, which is eighty miles long and about four broad, extends between the coast and the lake Mirim, and empties itself, at the northern extremity, by an outlet called Arroio Thahim. The peninsula between the coast and the lake of Patos, from two to six leagues in width, is interspersed with a great number of lakes, generally running into the ocean, R 122 PROVINCE OF RIO GRANDE DO SUL. or into others. Amongst those extending westward we may remark, in the southern part, the Capibaras, into which a small river empties itself of limpid water, bursting suddenly forth with admirable force, and is the purest in the peninsula, which, nevertheless, is not deficient in good potable waters. On the eastern side of the peninsula is the lake Mostardas, better known by the name of Peixe, nine leagues long, with little width, extending along the margin of the sea to the point where it disembogues through an elbow of land, that opens and closes annually, and by which various species of fish enter ; the most numerous are denominated miragarga, resembling the cod-fish. With this lake various others communicate, that lie to the north, and are connected by their different mouths. Near the last, that terminates the extent of the Barros Vermelhos, another chain of a similar description commences, at a short dis- tance from the beach, and extends parallel with it for a space of twenty-five leagues. A short way from Barros Vermelhos, and by the side of the sea, there is a small lake that runs into a larger one, which terminates in the Capoes do Retuvado. It has an Outlet into another, that extends from hence a league and a half. Beyond these there are two lakes running parallel ; and still further another, near the Capao do Xavier, a distance of two leagues, which discharges itself into the lake Char- queada, the latter terminating in the place of that name, and running by a vein into a smaller one : this empties itself into a lake of equal size, and that is joined to a larger, which terminates in the Capao Dastacoaras. The last discharges itself into the Quintao, which runs into the Cidreira. The Cidreira is divided into three bays or lakes, communicating by necks or outlets, and occupying an extent of four leagues and a half. It has a channel of two miles long to the Ribeiro, terminating near the passage of the Arroio, its outlet to the river Tramandahy. The river Tramandahy is in 30° south latitude, and is nothing more than the channel of discharge to a great number of lakes, spreading themselves over the extensive plains that lie between the beach and the cordillera. Into this river also is discharged the most southern of another chain of lakes, that extend themselves along the same cordillera north- ward, very near to the river Mombituba, at the mouth of which there is a mili- tary detachment, in order to register persons entering or leaving the province. In the space of twelve leagues, which lie between the Tramandahy and the Mombituba, fourteen small rivers of crystalline water are discharged into the sea. The afore-mentioned peninsula, formed by the lake Patos and the ocean, PROVINCE OF RIO GRANDE DO SUL. 123 is level ground, with a small elevation, or albardao, near the middle ; it is almost in a direct line on the eastern side, forming various points and bays on the opposite one. Among the first is the Ponta do Mandanha, commencing at the south, where have been found the vestiges of an Indian village and cemetery. Next to this the Ponta Raza ; between them the lake das Capibaras discharges itself. In the middle of the bay called Barrancas, which is the best shelter in this lake for all vessels, some small rivers are emptied, one of which is navigated by canoes and other boats. The Ponta of Bujurd is six leagues more to the north. Into the middle of a bay of the same name, runs a fine river, which forms a little island at the bar. The point of Christovam Pereira is six leagues further. In the bay, which is to the southward of it, there are two con- siderable mountains of shells, which prove how much the Indians were attached to shell-fish. The point and bay of Cacira are more to the north, and the last that are remarkable. The ground is generally of a very sandy soil, but in some parts clay is found below the sand, which shows that the peninsula is not formed by the sand of the sea, but that the ancient soil is covered with it. Between the lakes Mirim and Mangueira, for many leagues, the small river Ghuy takes its course, and enters the ocean in front of the southern extremity of the first. Capes, Ports, and Islands. — St. Mary is the only cape. Montevideo, St. Luzia, and Maldonado are the best ports. The islands of Castilhos, near the point of the same name, and Maldonado, in the entrance of the bay of the same name, are both small. The isle of Lobos, (Wolves,) two miles in cir- cumference, has good water, is almost all rocks and stones, and lies four leagues to the south-east of the preceding one. There are two others to the south- west of Cape St. Mary. The isle das Flores, half a league long, and of little width, is flat, and six miles to the east of Monte Video. The isle of Martim Garcia is to the west-north- west of the bay of Colonia do Sacramento, in front of the mouth of the river St. Francisco. The isle of St. Gabriel, four hundred and fifty fathoms long, its width proportionable, is in front of Colonia ; as well as the isle of Antonio Lopes, and the English Island, both small. That of Fornos, two hundred and forty fathoms long, approximates nearer to the beach. The island of Marinheiros, three to four leagues in circuit, flat and covered with trees and brushwood, is near the southern extremity of the lake of Patos, and a little to the north of the town of St. Pedro, whose inhabitants have recourse to it for water and firewood. r2 124 PROVINCE OF RIO GRANDE DO SUL. Mineralogy. — Terra-sombra, or umber, calcareous stone, potters' earth, gold, silver, and sulphureous minerals. Phytology. — Timber is more remarkable here for its fine quality than its abundance. From the parallel of 30° degrees southward, on the banks of the principal rivers only, are to be seen any forests of fine full-grown, timber. Out of these latitudes, in this province, trees are rare and of small size. In the southern parts, they burn bones and the excrements of cattle, in consequence of the scarcity of wood. In the northern there are beautiful pine trees. Zoology. — Five nations held their dominion in this province. The Patos in the peninsula, and to the north of the lake which has taken their name ; the Charruas, around the lake Mirim, and as far as the river Plate; the Minuanos, to the westward of the latter ; the Tappes, from the lake Patos to the Uruguay ; the Guaycanans, in the cattle plains, where they still reside at times. Of the first there is now no account, and they appear to be extinct, having most probably intermixed with other tribes. The Charruas have retired into the centre of the country. The Minuanos occupy the lands to the westward of the Tappes from the Ibicui southward. Between the Minuanos and the Charruas enmity perpetually exists, and frequently wars occur. They both use the lance, the arrow, and the sling, and are expert on horseback. Grapuetan is the name of the country where the Minuanos reside for a considerable part of the year. The Tappes in great numbers formerly lived under the influence of the Christian missions of the Uruguay. Amongst other species of wild quadrupeds, there are the anta, like a little cow without horns, as common in the West Indies, the deer, the ounce, the monkey, the paca, like a pig of two months old, the rabbit, quati, cotiay tatous, or armadillo, covered w^ith scales, the jaraticdca, or squash, which the Spaniards and Portuguese call forrilho, the boar, the fox, with various kinds of dogs, viz. the jaguaratirica, guard, guaraxain, and the jaguane. The race of the European species of dog have here multiplied excessively, so that they live in the plains, where they subsist with others of the wild kind, without ever entering any village or dwelling. They are called chimarrde dogs. Immediately on the slaughter of cattle ceasing, and when in want of provisions, they assemble together in large bands, and encircle an ox, which they pursue with unceasing obstinacy until the animal falls with fatigue, and is de- voured by them in a few, hours. A horseman even runs a risk in the plains, when they are in a state of famine. No province in the Brazil abounds with PROVINCE OF RIO GRANDE DO SUL. 125 such prodigious herds of cattle, horses, and mules. Goats are not very numerous. The sheep produce a fine wool. In the beginning of the last century this province was covered with cattle, in spite of the devastation which the Indian and the ounce had made amongst them. The conquerors, persuaded that such a profusion of cattle never would have an end, commenced by carrying on a destruction amongst them resembling that of the tiger and the wolf in* the sheepfold. This havoc was principally directed against the calves, and generally one did not suffice for the dinner of two comrades ; probably they both wished to eat the tongue, and to make a greater certainty of it they killed a second calf, rather than divide the first. There were men who killed an animal in the morning in order to breakfast on broiled kidneys ; and, not to be incommoded by carrying any part of the meat for dinner, performed the same operation by killing the best they could discover for dinner. There was no banquet without veal only a few days old. Don Joaquim Vianna, governor of Monte Video, hearing of this destruction of the cattle, and informed of the cause, issued an order, about the year 1650, with a heavy penalty attached to its transgression, that no more calves or cows should be killed, excepting such cows as were barren ; and that no bulls or oxen should be slaughtered for their skins, excepting those of five years of age and upwards. In the viceroyalty of the Marquis de Lavradio, some good arrangements; were made in the northern part of the province ; but all were not under their influence, in consequence of the widely spreading districts, to many of which they did not extend. Two small portions of the cattle of this province are appropriated, one to the consumption of the country, and the other to the slaughter-house of the metro- pohs ; but the far greatest proportion is manufactured into jirked-beef, which is salted without bones, dried in the sun, and exported to the principal ports in the»Brazil; but, from the desultory warfare carried on near the river Plate, it has recently become very scarce, and bacalhao, or salt fish, brought by British ships to the ports of Brazil, has become a substitute at many places. In 1802, there were yet only amongst the subjects of the faithful crown, five hun- dred and thirty-nine proprietors of land, judicially marked out amongst the breed- ers of cattle, denomin^iedi fazendeiros, or farmers, nud lavr adores, or husbandmen, which latter breed only what is necessary for their own service and consumption ; they possess generally about two square leagues of land : but those of the first order have eight or ten square leagues, and some even more. The greatest pro- 126 PROVINCE OF RIO GRANDE DO SUL. portion of the cattle are breeding cows. In a plain or field of three leagues are usually bred four or five thousand head, and proportionably more or less, according to the quality of the land, or attention of the breeder. The pasturage is not, however, generally good, the soil being, as before mentioned, of a sandy nature. For the management of a fazenda of five thousand head of cattle, it is said six men are sufficient, with one hundred horses at least ; the whole of which pasture together in troops of twenty, with a tamed mare, from which they do not usually stray. From the sandy nature of the soil, as in many other parts of Brazil, particularly at Pernambuco, no expense is incurred by the owners for shoeing them. In each establishment, or tract of land, there is commonly a small hill, or the most elevated land is selected, as plain and even at the summit as possible, which is known by the name of rodeio, (a certain compass of land,) and is capable of receiving the whole flock, when brought together. For this purpose, the shepherds on horseback distribute themselves round about the cattle, and cry out loudly " Rodeio, rodeio, rodeiof at whose voices the cattle march at full trot towards the rodeio, in files, divided into droves or bands of fifty to one hundred, according to the numbers that pasture together. This mode of forming them early into troops is indispensable, in order to put on the mark of the dono or proprietor upon such as have it not, and with more facility to select those that are upwards of four years old for the market, or for carne- secco, or jirked beef. If the stock of cattle exceed the number of heads which the fazenda is capable of sustaining, they of course run short of pasturage, and many spread out into more distant plains, and after a time w ill no longer obey the rodeio, but fly and disorder the rest of the flock. In a fazenda of three leagues it is computed that one thousand young cattle, male and female, are branded or marked, annually ; consequently the number they send off" or kill may be estimated in the same ratio. The farmers also breed a certain number of domestic cattle. He who pos- sesses four thousand cattle, which are denominated bravo, or wild, keeps com- monly one hundred milch cows, which, however, pasture in the same fields or plains with the others. When a cow calves, she always selects a situation adapted to the concealment of her young, where it continues in secrecy for the space of eight days. She visits it at different times in the course of the day, in order to give it suck, lying by it at night. It is difficult to find PROVINCE OF RIO GRANDE DO SUL. 127 them during this period ; but once discovered the calf is immediately conducted to the cattle fold, where it is kept eight or nine months or more, being daily visited by its dam, which is milked the whole of this time, for the purpose of making butter and cheese, leaving to the prisoner only what it can draw from its mother after she has been milked. The familiarity of the young one with the persons upon the fazenda preserves it in a state of taraeness. The males, when sufficiently grown, are used in the cart or plough, and the females pasture in the plains till they become mothers, continuing to supply the farmer with an increasing stock. Although the domesticated cattle are not bred up with such a satiety of provision as the wild ones, which enjoy the whole of the mother's milk, and pasture the entire day without working, yet they grow as large and become fatter. This is attributed to the fearful nature of the undomesticated kind, who fly from every animal that appears ; whilst the tame ones, although they eat less, live in quiet, always retaining the habit of going to the fold, and ap- proaching people without alarm ; they are also less time in the fields, con- suming less pasturage, and it is estimated that the aliment which four thousand head of wild cattle exhaust is sufficient to sustain eight thousand of the tame. The meat of the latter is esteemed the most savoury. The same fazendeiros breed also droves of horses and mules. The latter are the most lucrative, a male one being at least double the value of a horse ; and in consequence, its species is more numerous, although very few persons breed more than two hundred annually. The she mules of two years old are either sold or separated from the rest, in order to avoid the destruction which they would cause in the species. A she mule seeing the foal of a mare, immediately begins to caress it as her own, and will not allow the mother to approach to give it milk ; the result is, that it perishes with hunger. The breed of sheep would, if attended to, much exceed that of cattle, in consequence of their generally producing two at a birth; they are not however numerous, few farmers possessing one thousand head, and the major part not any. Nothing here appears so easy and cheap as the multipli- cation of this animal. For the purpose of shepherding a flock of one thou- sand, two cur dogs are sufficient, bred up in the following mode. As soon as they are whelped, the lambs of a ewe are killed, the puppies are put to her, and she suckles them until she becomes habituated to treat them as her young, when, upon opening their ejes and seeing no other benefac- tor, they attach themselves to her, and play with the lambs as if they were of 128 PROVINCE OF RIO GRANDE DO SUL. the same species. Nothing is ever given them to eat ; they are shut in the fold with the sheep, and on obtaining strength and vigour to attend the flock, they are suffered to go at large, when they accompany it to the field. In a little time, and without more instruction, they are so familiarized with the sheep, that they never separate from them. When it happens that a ewe lambs in the field, and the lamb cannot accompany the mother, in consequence of its not yet having sufficient strength to follow her, one of the dogs watches near, and if he finds that the lamb cannot follow the mother to the flock, he carries it in his mouth, without doing it the least harm. No other animal or unknown person can approach the sheep, of which these dogs are the guardians, without the risk of being attacked. The other domestic dogs and the hordes of the chimarroe dogs are the greatest enemies to the flock ; against them and the birds of prey, which pick out the eyes of the lambs, the vigilance of the watch dogs is requisite. Amongst other species of birds are the Macuco partridge, the parrot, caroe, inJiuma, s6c6, tayugu, jaluerd, heron, jacu, the araponga mutum, tucano, and the quail. In the lakes are large numbers of wild ducks, and large wild geese, some brown, some white, others with black necks, which when stripped of their feathers, are covered with a fine long down, similar to the Armenian fur, and serving for the same uses. The marine geese, which have a bill like a turkey, with smaller wings and without feathers, for the most part go at the bottom of the sea, and are seen occasionally upon this coast, as well as the sea calf. It is said, that here the emu ostrich lays many eggs in one nest, to which they never return after having finished laying ; the male then hatches them, after instinctively breaking two, for the collection of a large quantity of flies ; thus the young find sustenance till they are able to accompany their protector, when he remains their guide for several days. The people do not generally follow hunting or shooting, so that game is very abundant ; neither are they partial to fishing. The inhabitants are instructed in the use of the la^o, in order to catch wild cattle. It is a cord of twisted leather, secured by one end of the saddle or girth of the horse, upon which the la^ador is mounted, the other end forms a noose through which the cord runs, and, curling it up, the horseman throws with dexterity to a great distance, and secures the animal by the horns or the neck. The sagacious horse instantly throws itself into a firmly inclining posture, to resist the opposing power of the animal to escape. There are men so skilled in this art, that they catch the wary ounce with the la^o. The la9ador as quickly dismounts arid despatches it. They are not less dexterous in the management of the balls, which are two PROVINCE OF RIO GRANDE DO SUL. 129 round stones secured at the extremity of a cord, formed also of leather, and being thrown at the legs of the animal, unexpectedly entangles them so effectu- ally, that it cannot move another step. These species of weapons are used by them against each other. This custom was borrowed from the Maraocoto and other Indian tribes, who used the la^o and balls with great effect against Men- don^a when he landed and founded the city of Buenos Ay res. The Peons, who act as guides, as well as others of mixed origin, are expert with these weapons. The Spaniards denominate the progeny of the Indian and Negro, Somho- loros ; and of these latter and the Mulatto, Saccalaguas ; the son of a Mestico (offspring of a white and an Indian) and an Indian, Cholo. The Portuguese call the first Curibocas. The principal towns in this province are St. Pedro, Portalegre, and Monte Video. St. Pedro is a commercial town, and advantageously situated upon the ex:- tremity of a tongue of land, between the gulf of Manguein to the south and a bay to the north-east. It has a church dedicated to the apostle from whom the town derives its name. It has two orders of devout women ; the one called St. Francisco and the other Carmo. The houses are generally very wretched, and the streets of a fine sand, the same as that of the neighbourhood. It enters so profusely into the houses, at the season of the high winds, that it is impossible to eat any thing without a portion of sand being intermixed with it. This town, begun a league to the south-west, in the situation called Estreito, was removed by Gomes Freyre d'Andrade, between the years 1747 and 1750, and was the capital till the year 1763. The heat is intense. Cats fly from the rats, which are large and exceedingly numerous ; but they have a formidable enemy in the dog. Here are some English establishments in connexion with houses at Rio de Janeiro. Upon the eastern bank of the river, in front of St. Pedro, is the considerable and flourishing arraial of St. Joze, with a hermitage of the same name. It is the town's port; and, in 1814, there sailed from it three hundred and thirty-three vessels of various kinds, laden with wheat, hides, carne-secco, or dried beef, , tallow, cheese, and other articles. Six leagues to the south of St. Pedro is the arraial of Povo Novo, ornamented with a hermitage of Nosso Senhora das Necessidades. Its inhabitants, originally from the Azore islands, are hus- bandmen. Portalegre (delightful port) is a large, populous, and commercial town, has 130 PROVINCE OF RIO GRANDE DO SUL. good houses, and straight streets, principally paved, and is situated upon the southern margin of a bay to the eastward oFthe Jacuhy, seven leagues above its mouth, and forty-three leagues north of St. Pedro. It is the capital of the province, the residence of the governor, now Conde de Figure, of the ouvidor, and a vicar-general. It has a church, dedicated to Our Lady Madre de Deos, (Mother of God,) the chapel Das Dores, (of Grief,) an hospital, a Junta da Fazenda Real, (a treasury,) and a Cadeira regia de Latim, (a royal professorship of Latin.) The senate is presided by a Jaiz de Fora, or a judge similar to a mayor, who also presides over the orphan establishment. With the loss of the town of St. Pedro, in 1762, the village of Nosso Senhora de Concei^ao, became the capital, and the hermitage with which it was orna- mented the parochial for some years, inasmuch as the governor, Joze Marcel- lino de Figueyredo did not remove the seat of government ; but increased and improved this village, to which he gave the name so appropriate to its good port. In 1808, it received the title of town. A great part of the commodities that are exported from the port of the town of St. Pedro, are shipped thither from Portalegre, in hyates, or small craft. The adjacent country is fertile and watered by the Cahy, Caravatahy, and other rivers. About four leagues to the north-east of Portalegre, and not quite a mile from the right bank of the Caravatahy, in an elevated and fine situation, is the parish of Nosso Senhora dos Anjos, founded by the same governor, J. M. de Figueyredo, for the habitation of various Tappe Indian families, fugitives from the missions of the Uruguay. These Indians estabhshed a large fazenda for breeding cattle, in order that they might better sustain themselves; and who, notwithstanding they were freed from the capitation, and exempted from the rod and discipline under which they had been brought up, withdrew by degrees to various situa- tions in the province. The river is very winding, its banks abounding with timber, stone, and fine potters' clay. A little more than thirty-five miles to the west of Portalegre is the consi- derable and delightful arraial of the new parish, near the mouth of the Tacoary. Its inhabitants raise wheat and cattle. About eighteen miles to the north is the parish of St. Joze, with a large praca, or square, on which is the mother church. It was the source of the agriculture of this province, and its people are mostly descendants of the first settlers from the Azores ; from whence Senhor Don Joze brought various fami- PROVINCE OF RIO GRANDE DO SUL. lies. They began to cultivate wheat and Indian corn according to the method of their own country, and which is at this day the occupation and support of their posterity. Little more than three leagues to the west of the new parish, is situated the pleasant arraial of St. Amaro, also upon the northern margin of th