“Whose hairy sides,With thicket overgrown, grotesque and wild,Access denied; and overhead up grewInsuperable height of loftiest shade,A woody theatre of stateliest view.”
“Whose hairy sides,With thicket overgrown, grotesque and wild,Access denied; and overhead up grewInsuperable height of loftiest shade,A woody theatre of stateliest view.”
“Whose hairy sides,With thicket overgrown, grotesque and wild,Access denied; and overhead up grewInsuperable height of loftiest shade,A woody theatre of stateliest view.”
“Whose hairy sides,
With thicket overgrown, grotesque and wild,
Access denied; and overhead up grew
Insuperable height of loftiest shade,
A woody theatre of stateliest view.”
With cautious steps we retraced our way, and the feelings which the wild and romantic nature of the scene inspired were heightened by the murmuring waters of the hidden cascades. The district of Tejuco is extensive, and belongs principally to one individual, the Conde d’Asceca.
The commerce of the Brazil has increased much since it was thrown open, particularly in British manufactures, as they are now generally used throughout the whole territory. That this augmentation of British commercial intercourse with that country, as well as the aggregate sum of the whole since its commencement, has been essentially disadvantageous to the merchants and manufacturers of England, reducing it into one account, is unquestionable. Suppose the shipments of all goods since the first, to a certain period, where a line could be drawn, were placed on one side at prime cost, and the returns for those shipments in produce, bills, or specie, placed on the other side, (without taking into view the occasional great losses sustained by the sale of the produce,) it would then be too clearly demonstrated, and exhibit by the comparison an actual loss, amounting to a very serious sum. The testimony of one or two merchants connected with this trade since its origin would suffice to show the immense sacrifices British property experienced soon after this new channel induced such large speculations through its medium, as well as the continued sacrifices that have been made at different periods since. Even the years 1819 and 1820, and especially what has passed of the present one, have been distinguished by considerable losses; and, if further corroboration were required, the innumerable failures in England caused solely by this deterioration of property might be adduced. I speak of the trade as a whole, allowing that a great many persons have done well in it, and some made fortunes, particularly the commission-merchants; but I mean to submit, that the advantages those individuals have derived will not bear the test of comparison with the losses sustained by others. The Brazilians, particularly at Rio, have acquired no inconsiderable gains out of the unfortunate circumstances detailed; besides, theyenjoy advantages which they are little sensible of, in the supply of British capital, which, at the metropolis, where the longest credits are given, alone extends to more than one million sterling, arising from the too great liberality of the merchants resident there, in granting credits with goods. The number of English establishments of all kinds at Rio amounts to about sixty, and a spirit of competition consequently existing, the native merchants have had the address to turn it greatly to their advantage. For instance, if they could purchase goods from one house at four months credit, they would give the preference to another that would give them six, and so on; till credits have extended, in some instances, to nine, twelve, and even eighteen months, accumulating in their hands the prodigious sum mentioned, and which the Brazilian laws induce some few to take the unfair advantage of retaining as long as they can, and in some cases altogether. English property, in this state of jeopardy, may be computed at two hundred thousand pounds, resulting from the tedious and imperfect mode of judicature. A Portuguese dealer, having exhausted the patience of the English merchant, the latter obtains a summons from the English judge, Senhor Garces, for the former to appear before him within three audiences, (he holds two a week,) when it is at the option of the plaintiff, whether the defendant is put upon his oath or not. If he is put upon hisjuramente d’alma, and then swears he owes nothing, the cause must finally end; but if the plaintiff will not allow him to swear, he then probably denies altogether owing the money, or admits the account, but says he cannot at present pay, which produces the same delay. The plaintiff then cites him for alibello, and proceeds to prove the fairness of his demand, which the defendant opposes by counter declarations. Up to this point twelve months may be calculated as already consumed. The judge, convinced by the clear evidence of the plaintiff, gives adespatchin his favour, which the other immediatelyembargos, when a plea for additional time is set up, under the pretence of adducing some other evidence; and, after a further investigation, the judge gives a similardespatchto the first, which is a second timeembargoed, and the cause is then removed to the Court ofRelaçam, consisting of six or seven judges, three of whom must always attend. Similar delays occur in this court, when the decision of the English judge conservator is confirmed, which, however, is not final; the defendant can carry the case before theConseil de Fazendes, a supreme authority, consisting of many members, from whose decision there is no appeal. The plaintiff, whose verdict gives him a power over the property only of the defendant, and not over his person, proceeds to take possession ofhis premises and effects, when, in some cases, I have been informed, he discovers that another person holds them, in virtue of a purchase which he pretends to have made, although the defendant is probably acting in the business as before. The plaintiff, in order to prove this fictitious sale, contemplates a delay of several years in another law process; he therefore submits to any terms that may be offered him.
An instance was related to me of a Brazilian who owed an English house eleven hundred pounds, and, being pressed for a settlement, he disputed the delivery of a quantity of crockery-ware, amounting to nine hundred pounds, but which, from their great bulk, and the circumstances attending his receipt of them, afforded ample proof of the justness of the charge. In the course of the law-process he demanded the production of the plaintiff’s books, in which case every leaf of each book is stamped, and pays a duty to government. The books afforded the clearest testimony of the sale and delivery. The defendant then put in a document, suggesting that the plaintiff might have two sets of books, and this might be a false one; upon this the defendant was ordered to produce his own books, for it is usual for this class of Brazilian dealers to keep a receiving-book, in which all goods are entered when delivered at their shops. He however evaded this order, by replying, that he kept no books, but wrote the receipt of all goods upon the back of the merchants’ invoices, and that he had never received the one in question. This subterfuge produced an immediatedespatchin favour of the plaintiff, which the defendant may perhaps yet frustrate, by the dishonest proceedings mentioned. Hence, the laws appear to be rather a temptation to fraud than a preventive.
The appointment of an English judge conservator, who is indeed a respectable man, and disposed to act with promptitude and justice, appears to be perfectly nugatory in cases of importance; and, although his decisions may have some influence with the other courts, they are by no means final or effectual; and the same delay takes place, under such circumstances as have been described, as if this office did not exist. The privilege of having a judge, whose salary of £500 a year is paid out of the contribution fund, would appear to be conceded to the English, without its producing any adequate advantage to them.
From the universal taste for British manufactures, the Brazil presents a great and decidedly increasing field for their consumption; and, although the merchants cannot get rid of the tedious practice in the judicial proceedings, they may, by a system of caution, in some instances, avoid it; and they have alreadyadopted the plan of taking bills from the Portuguese on delivery of goods, which is, at all events, an acknowledgement of the debt. It is still farther to be wished that the increasing demand for English goods would determine the merchants not to part with their commodities under the real value. Competition is, unfortunately, a great obstacle to any unanimity amongst them in this respect, otherwise the Brazilians would have no alternative but to take their merchandise at any fair profitable price that might be determined upon. At present the importations of British goods annually to the Brazil may be estimated at near three millions sterling, one half of which may be computed to arrive at Rio, from whence returns are made in bills, coffee, sugar, hides, &c. and some cotton. Orders are sent to Bahia, Pernambuco, and Maranham, to ship some part of the return, principally in that article, from thence, for which they send specie, or bills upon the treasuries of those places, received from the government for stores supplied. At present two or three English houses at Rio de Janeiro furnish the government with the great bulk of its military and naval stores; but, at different periods, demands resulting from this connexion have met with serious delays in the liquidation, and in cases where the treasury has been under positive engagements by bills, great inconvenience has been sustained, and the parties compelled at last to wait personally upon the King, who has given directions for the payment of those overstanding securities.
The British merchants also labour under some inconvenience, originating in the misconstruction of or non-compliance with the actual intent of the convention for regulating the levying of the fifteen per cent. duty upon that portion of English goods not embraced by thepauta, and which latter instrument is additionally and injuriously partial in its operations, not being a fair standard by which the real value of the article the duty is to be paid upon can be designated. The avowed object between the two governments in this arrangement is, that the British merchant shall pay a duty of fifteen per cent. upon the fair value of the thing imported; but thepautaenumerates a fixed value upon certain articles, without reference to the fluctuation of price, and the tide having uniformly of late years flowed downwards in this respect, goods have experienced a diminution from the average valuation of that instrument, consequently, the duty may amount to twenty-five or thirty per cent. in place of fifteen, upon their actual worth. But this is not the only objection to it as an inefficient medium for levying the duties. Thepautadetermines the value of certain goods at one, two, or three prices,at the same time that a great variety of qualities exist in the same commodity, which gradations of value are yearly increasing, by the introduction of mechanical power and other improvements into our manufactures. Some printed cottons are worth upwards of two shillings per yard, others nine-pence or one shilling, with intermediate qualities. Cambric muslins bear greater disproportions of quality, yet the duties are exacted upon goods of this kind, worth one shilling per yard, at the same rate as those bearing twice the value. At Rio, where more fine goods are used, they pay the same duty as the merchants of Bahia and Pernambuco, where more of the lower quality of the same articles are imported; and, in consequence, the merchants of the latter place have been entirely precluded, during the last eighteen months, from despatching through the custom-house printed cottons and muslins of a low price, as the valuation they hold in thepautawould have made the duty forty per cent. upon their real worth in lieu of fifteen per cent. Mr. Lempriere, the consul of Pernambuco, did not conceive it his duty to interfere in the matter; but it would appear that the captain-general and the judge of the custom-house, were either influenced by the diminution of customs collected, or by the representations of the merchants themselves, to accede to an arbitration. Messrs. Cockshott, Mitchel, and Todd, three very competent and highly-respectable merchants, were selected, on the part of the English, to meet three Portuguese merchants; and, in the month of January, 1820, during my stay at Pernambuco, the matter was, for the time being, amicably adjusted; but the nature of thepautawill ever present great difficulties, and can never embrace the intended equitable duty upon the imports. The same objections have been raised at Bahia and other places. The arrangement above alluded to did not long continue in operation, in consequence of not receiving the sanction of the Brazilian government. The difficulty is now greatly augmented by the continued depression in British manufactures. Printed cottons, rated in thepautaat seven milreas four hundred reas each piece, and upon which valuation the duty of fifteen per cent. must be paid, were not worth more than from three milreas two hundred reas to three milreas six hundred reas, in the Pernambuco market at the close of 1820. This produces a result so manifestly against the British merchant, that it must ultimately prove ruinous to him. Memorials have been presented to the Hon. Mr. Thornton, relative to these injurious consequences of thepauta, and the British merchants connected with the Brazil are in expectation that the attention of their government will be drawn to thisimportant subject, when its wise and enlightened policy will no doubt obtain the desired relief.
There can be but one opinion that the convention, if it applied to imports generally, is the only just principle upon which this matter should rest, provided it were divested of the grievances just alluded to; for the accomplishment of which, the merchants of Bahia have been the first to present a memorial to the Brazilian court. It was understood, before I left Rio, that the measures which had been practised for the benefit of individuals, and not of the government, were ordered to be discontinued by his Majesty, as contrary to the letter and spirit of the convention. Having, however, referred to those practices, it may not be irrelevant to state one instance out of many that were communicated to me by the merchants at Rio de Janeiro. The obligations of the convention are, that the merchant shall give in an attested invoice of the value of the article, and if the government do not consider it a fair one, they have the option of taking the goods by paying ten per cent. upon the price. A merchant received a quantity of goods, which, had he despatched at the cost price, he would have sustained a serious loss, in consequence of the low ebb at which they then stood. In the course of twelve months, a demand arose for the article, and he gave in an invoice at the cost price to pay the duties upon. Theadministratadorof the custom-house finding, (no doubt from his agents,) that he could obtain a good profit, informed the merchant that the ten per cent. in addition to the price given in, would be paid, and the goods kept; consequently the merchant was deprived of any advantage he might have received from running the risk of retaining the goods for so long a time, without mentioning the loss of interest; besides, in those cases it has happened, that the goods have been previously sold by sample to a dealer, who insists upon their delivery, or a pecuniary allowance. The merchant above-mentioned ascertained that the goods were actually despatched through the custom-house by the very invoice he presented, and the duty paid only upon the value he gave in; demonstrating that the government derived no benefit from those proceedings, but that they were the result of intrigue among inferior officers, for their individual gain. I cannot conclude this important subject, without strongly recommending to the British government the expediency of effecting, if possible, a change in the levying the duty of fifteen per cent. as far as thepautaapplies, for it is obvious that an arrangement upon the principle of the convention can alone embrace the infinite gradations of value peculiar to every denomination of British manufactures sent to the Brazil.
It may be here observed, that in all serious difficulties the English prefer going direct to the King, rather than encounter the different ramifications of intrigue publicly known to exist in many departments of the state; and in all those applications his Majesty concedes a ready hearing; and, as far as depends upon himself, the English have, indeed, every reason to acknowledge his readiness to accede to all justly founded requests.
The custom-house door at Rio de Janeiro, is the rendezvous of the merchants, hitherto, not having the accommodation of an exchange. An edifice, however, was commenced by the government, upon aprainha, or small beach, behind the custom-house, and it was anticipated that thispraca do commercio, of which I obtained a plan from the architect, would be completed early in the year 1820.
I was present when the foundation-stone of the first protestant church, in South America, was laid at Rio de Janeiro on the 12th of August, 1819. It is for the use of the English, who at present assemble in a room for divine service: the site is in the Rua dos Borbanes, near the convent of Ajuda, and adjoining the house of the Spanish Ambassador. Mr. Stevenson, the treasurer, and the committee for the management of the contribution fund, attended, together with a great portion of the resident English merchants, when a very animated and appropriate address was delivered by the Rev. Mr. Crane. Some coins of Great Britain, a glass bottle securely sealed up, and containing two or three English newspapers of the latest date, (14th of June,) a gazette of Rio de Janeiro, and a navy list, were deposited in the stone. This main stone was dedicated to St. George and St. John, in honour of the sovereigns of England and Brazil. Mr. Johnson, before-mentioned, is the architect, and a Portuguese the builder. Judging from the plan, the structure will be neat, and calculated to contain about five hundred persons, and many more if galleries are added at any subsequent period. The Spanish Ambassador, who was looking out of a window during the ceremony, had made an offer of part of the ground upon which his stables stood, it being deemed necessary to complete the ground-work, which offer was considered highly honourable to him 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 applicationis to be made, through the medium of the Hon. Mr. Thornton, to the King upon the subject.
On Stone by C. Shoosmith from a Sketch by Jas. Henderson.Printed by C. Hullmandel.THE RIO EXCHANGE, A PUBLIC TRAPICHE, A GRASS WAGON, & THE GALLOWS.
On Stone by C. Shoosmith from a Sketch by Jas. Henderson.
Printed by C. Hullmandel.
THE RIO EXCHANGE, A PUBLIC TRAPICHE, A GRASS WAGON, & THE GALLOWS.
Macacu, which has 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 aJuiz 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. Barnabe 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 supplying them with abundant materials.
About four miles to the eastward, is the parish of St. Joao d’Itaborahy, in a situation something elevated, with a fine aspect, and near the right bank of the river Vargé, which here takes the name of this parish, more commonly designated 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 Conceiçao[15]is six leagues east from Macacu, approximating 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 Trinity,) in a fertile country, the productions of which are, notwithstanding, confined 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 district, is situated the port of Caixas, with a hermitage of Our Lady of Conceiçao, 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 Tapacora,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, is the parish of St. Gonçalo 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 casaçha, 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 country 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, upon 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 Our 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 farmers of Indian corn and mandioca, which prosper abundantly. In this district is situated Mandioca estate, belonging to G. Langsdorff, Esq. the Russianconsul-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 arancho, 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 individual, 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 shillings 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 his voyages. His pursuit in the obtainment of objects in natural history has been indefatigable, and in butterflies alone he has accumulated sixteen hundred different kinds.[16]
Some leagues from hence, upon the track leading to the mining districts, is situated the extensive establishment of Padre Corre, for shoeing mules, previously to their proceeding into the interior districts. In this trade the padre has accumulated 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.
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 twoalmotaces, 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 Maccahé, 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 government took a certain quantity of it, and paid the best price: but, discovering 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 denominatedmirimis esteemed the best. The rivers St. Joao and Maccahé 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.
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 destined 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, subsequently acquiring the consistency of marine water, and which arrives at its ultimate 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 superabundance 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. Upon 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 Jacuné, which is near three miles in length, and of proportionable width.
The lake Jacarépua 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.
The lake Boacica, situated two leagues to the south of the river Maccahé, 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’Alagoa, 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 direct 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 Araruama. The principal portion has a church of Our Lady of Assumption, a hermitage 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 there, for the purpose of exporting dye-wood. Here is a Juiz de Fora, whose power extends to the town of Maccahé. Fevers are the prevailing disease of the country.
St. Joam de Maccahé, 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 inhabitants, 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 Maccahé, and on the north by the Cabapuana, originally formed the capitania of St. Thomé, and so denominated from thecontiguous cape. Pedro de Goes, who 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 displayed 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, accompanied Thomé de Souza to Bahia; but neither himself nor successors were fortunate in endeavouring to colonize the capitania of St. Thomé, which was in the possession of three different nations, the Puris, Guarus, and Goytacazas; the latter were the most numerous, and divided into three hordes, the Goytaza Guassu, Goytacaza Moppy, and Goytacaza Jacorito, the avowed enemies of each other. It is affirmed, that the Guarus comprised various nations, one of which, 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 considerable dissatisfaction, and various revolts amongst the colonists, King Joseph was induced, by commutation, to incorporate it with the crown lands; and Francisco 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 Maccahé, the whole country presentscampinhas, or continued plains, with some small woods, calledcapoes, 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 southern 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 esteemedthe 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 sugarengenhos. 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 Maccahé, is derived from the woods of this district, which afford 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 terminated their days, or left them through life pallid 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 poisonouscipoplant, with long and flexible shoots, calledtimbo, ortingui, and a tree denominatedguaratimbo, the infectious qualities of which are attributed 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, tranquil, 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 Maccabu, and runs for a considerable space parallel with it, receives 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,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 up 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 advantageous 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 inconsiderable 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 Maccahé, is situated the lake Carapebas, about four miles in length from east to west, of unequal and inconsiderable 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. Joam, 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, havingits 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, comprehending 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 monastery 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, situated 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 primitive letters and Latin. Justice is administered by a head magistrate, denominated a Juiz de Fora,[17](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 Maccahé 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.
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 insensibly 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 establishment. 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 at times 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.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 government 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. Gonçalo 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 established in the year 1785. Thefifthson the gold, rendered to the crown, in the four following years, were above ten thousand cruzades; and the duty upon agricultural 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 voluminous, 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 without 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, calledmacuco, (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, denominatedcammucis; 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 word, in compliment, to his family, nor do they receive him in any other manner than 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 apovoacāo, 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.