"My ancestors," began the hermit, "were among the first to land upon
Brazil, after the country was taken possession of in the name of the
King of Portugal, in the year 1500. In the first year of the century,
Vincent Vanez Pincon, a companion of the famed Columbus, discovered
Brazil; and in the next year, Pedro Alvarez Cabral, a Portuguese
commander, took possession of it in the name of the King of Portugal.
In 1503, Americus Vespucius discovered the Bay of All Saints, and took
home a cargo of Brazil-wood, monkeys and parrots; but no permanent
settlement was effected upon the shores of the new continent and the
rich treasures of this great country remained for some years longer
buried and unknown to many--for the wild Indians who lived here knew not
their value.
"It was on a dark and stormy night in the year 1510. A group of swarthy
and naked savages encircled a small fire on the edge of the forest on
the east coast of Brazil. The spot where their watch-fire was kindled
is now covered by the flourishing city of Bahia. At that time it was a
wilderness. Before them stretched the noble bay which is now termed
_Bahia de Todos Santos_,--All Saints' Bay.
"The savages talked earnestly and with excited looks as they stood upon
the shore, for the memory of the wondrous ships of the white men that
had visited them a few years before was deeply engraven on their minds;
and now, in the midst of the howling storm, another ship was seen
approaching their land. It was a small vessel, shattered and
tempest-tossed, that drove into the Bahia de Todos Santos on that stormy
night. Long had it battled with the waves of the Atlantic, and the
brave hearts that manned it had remained stanch to duty and strong in
hope, remembering the recent glorious example of Columbus. But the
storm was fierce and the bark was frail. The top-masts were broken and
the sails rent; and worst of all, just as land hove in sight and cheered
the drooping spirits of the crew, a tremendous wave dashed upon the
ship's stern and carried away the rudder.
"As they drove helplessly before the gale towards the shore, the naked
savages crowded down upon the beach and gazed in awe and astonishment at
the mysterious ship. A few of them had seen the vessels of Americus
Vespucius and Cabral. The rumour of the white men and their floating
castle had been wafted far and wide along the coast and into the
interior of Brazil, and with breathless wonder the natives had listened
to the strange account. But now the vision was before them in reality.
On came the floating castle, the white foam dashing from her bows, and
the torn sails and ropes flying from her masts as she surged over the
billows and loomed through the driving spray.
"It was a grand sight to see that ship dashing straight towards the
shore at fearful speed; and those who looked on seemed to be impressed
with a vague feeling that she had power to spring upon the strand and
continue her swift career through the forest, as she had hitherto cleft
her passage through the sea. As she approached, the savages shrank back
in fear. Suddenly her frame trembled with a mighty shock. A terrible
cry was borne to land by the gale, and all her masts went overboard. A
huge wave lifted the vessel on its crest and flung her further on the
shore, where she remained firmly fixed, while the waves dashed in foam
around her and soon began to break her up. Ere this happened, however,
a rope was thrown ashore and fastened to a rock by the natives. By
means of this the crew were saved. But it would have been well for
these bold navigators of Portugal if they had perished in the stormy
sea, for they were spared by the ocean, only to be murdered by the wild
savages, on whose shore they had been cast.
"All were slain save one,--Diego Alvarez Carreo, the captain of the
ship. Before grasping the rope by which he reached the shore, he thrust
several cartridges into his bosom and caught up a loaded musket.
Wrapping the lock in several folds of cloth to keep it dry, he slid
along the rope and gained the beach in safety. Here he was seized by
the natives, and would no doubt have been barbarously slain with his
unfortunate companions; but, being a very powerful man, he dashed aside
the foremost, and, breaking through their ranks, rushed towards the
wood. The fleet savages, however, overtook him in an instant, and were
about to seize him when a young Indian woman interposed between them and
their victim. This girl was the chief's daughter, and respect for her
rank induced them to hesitate for a moment; but in another instant the
Portuguese captain was surrounded. In the scuffle that ensued, his
musket exploded, but fortunately wounded no one. Instantly the
horrified savages fled in all directions leaving Carreo alone!
"The captain was quick-witted. He knew that among hundreds of savages
it was madness to attempt either to fight or fly, and the happy effect
of the musket explosion induced him to adopt another course of action.
He drew himself up proudly to his full height, and beckoned the savages
to return. This they did, casting many glances of fear at the dreaded
musket. Going up to one who, from his bearing and ornaments, seemed to
be a chief, Carreo laid his musket on the sand, and, stepping over it so
that he left it behind him, held out his hand frankly to the chief. The
savage looked at him in surprise, and suffered the captain to take his
hand and pat it; after which he began to examine the stranger's dress
with much curiosity. Seeing that their chief was friendly to the white
man, the other savages hurried him to the camp-fire, where he soon
stripped off his wet clothes and ate the food which they put before him.
Thus Diego Carreo was spared.
"Next day, the Indians lined the beach and collected the stores of the
wrecked vessel. While thus employed, Carreo shot a gull with his
musket; which so astonished the natives that they regarded him with fear
and respect, amounting almost to veneration. A considerable quantity of
powder and shot was saved from the wreck, so that the captain was
enabled to keep his ascendency over the ignorant natives; and at length
he became a man of great importance in the tribe, and married the
daughter of the chief. He went by the name of _Caramuru_,--`The man of
fire.' This man founded the city of Bahia.
"The coasts of Brazil began soon after this to be settled in various
places by the Portuguese; who, however, were much annoyed by the
Spaniards, who claimed a share in the rich prize. The Dutch and English
also formed settlements; but the Portuguese still retained possession of
the country, and continued to prosper. Meanwhile Diego Caramuru, `the
man of fire,' had a son who in course of time became a prosperous
settler; and as his sons grew up he trained them to become cultivators
of the soil and traders in the valuable products of the New World. He
took a piece of ground, far removed from the spot where his father had
been cast ashore, and a short distance in the interior of the country.
Here the eldest sons of the family dwelt laboured, and died, for many
generations.
"In the year 1808 Portugal was invaded by Napoleon Buonaparte, and the
sovereign of that kingdom, John the Sixth, fled to Brazil, accompanied
by his court and a large body of emigrants. The king was warmly
received by the Brazilians, and immediately set about improving the
condition of the country. He threw open its ports to all nations; freed
the land from all marks of colonial dependence; established newspapers;
made the press free, and did everything to promote education and
industry. But although much was done, the good was greatly hindered,
especially in the inland districts, by the vice, ignorance, and
stupidity of many of the Roman Catholic priests, who totally neglected
their duties,--which, indeed, they were incompetent to perform,--and in
many instances, were no better than miscreants in disguise, teaching the
people vice instead of virtue.
"Foremost among the priests who opposed advancement, was a descendant of
the `man of fire.' Padre Caramuru dwelt for some years with an English
merchant in the capital of Brazil, Rio de Janeiro. The padre was not an
immoral man, but he was a fiery bigot and fiercely opposed everything
that tended to advance the education of the people. This he did, firmly
believing that education was dangerous to the lower orders. His church
taught him, too, that the Bible was a dangerous book; and whenever a
copy fell into his hands he immediately destroyed it. During the
disturbances that took place after the time of King John's departure for
Portugal, and just before Brazil became an independent state under his
son, the Emperor Don Pedro the First, Padre Caramuru lost a beloved and
only brother. He was quite a youth, and had joined the army only a few
months previously, at the desire of his elder brother the padre, who was
so overwhelmed by the blow that he ceased to take an active part in
church or political affairs and buried himself in a retired part of his
native valley. Here he sought relief and comfort in the study of the
beauties of Nature, by which he was surrounded, but found none.
"Then he turned his mind to the doctrines of his church, and took
pleasure in verifying them from the Bible. But, as he proceeded, he
found, to his great surprise, that these doctrines were, many of them,
not to be found there; nay, further, that some of them were absolutely
contradicted by the word of God.
"Padre Caramuru had been in the habit of commanding his people not to
listen to the Bible when any one offered to read it; but in the Bible
itself he found these words, `Search the Scriptures.' He had been in
the habit of praying to the Virgin Mary, and begging her to intercede
with God for him; but in the Bible he found these words: `There is one
mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus.' These things
perplexed him much. But while he was thus searching, as it were, for
silver, the ignorant padre found gold! He found that he did not require
to _work_ for salvation, but to _ask_ for it. He discovered that the
atonement had been made once for all by Jesus Christ the Lamb of God;
and he read with a thrilling heart these words: `God so loved the world,
that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but have everlasting life.'
"Long and earnestly did the padre ponder these words and pray over them;
and gradually the Holy Spirit enlightened his mind, and he saw how
hateful that system was which could forbid or discourage the reading of
the blessed word of God. He soon resolved to forsake the priesthood.
But when he had done so, he knew not what to turn his hand to. He had
no one like-minded to consult with, and he felt that it was wrong to eat
the bread of idleness. Being thus uncertain what to do, he resolved in
the meantime to carry goods into the interior of the country, and offer
them for sale. The land round his dwelling and his own gun would supply
him with food; and for the rest, he would spend his time in the study of
the Bible, and seek for more light and direction from God.
"Such," continued the hermit, "is a slight sketch of the history of my
country and of myself."
"Yourself?" exclaimed Martin.
"Yes. I am the Padre Caramuru, or rather I _was_. I am Padre no
longer, but Senhor Carlos Caramuru, a merchant. Yet I know not what to
do. When I look round upon my country, and see how they know not the
precious word of God, my heart burns in me, and I sometimes think that
it is my duty to go forth and preach."
"No doubt ye are right," said Barney. "I've always bin of opinion that
when a man feels very strong in his heart on any partic'lar subject it's
a sure sign that the Almighty intends him to have something more to do
with that subject than other men who don't feel about it at all."
The hermit remained silent for a few minutes. "I think you are right,
friend," he said; "but I am very ignorant yet. I have no one to explain
difficulties to me; and I fear to go about preaching, lest I should
preach what is not true. I will study yet for a time, and pray. After
that perhaps, I may go forth."
"But you have told us nothing yet about the trade of the country," said
Martin, "or its size, or anything of that sort."
"I will soon tell you of that, when I have lighted another cigar. This
one does not draw well. Have you got a full pipe still, my friend?"
"All right, Mr Carrymooroo," replied Barney, knocking out the ashes.
"I'll jist load wance more, and then,--fire away."
In a few minutes the big cigar and short pipe were in full play, and the
hermit continued:--
"This country is very large and very rich, but it is not well worked.
The people are lazy, many of them, and have not much enterprise. Much
is done, no doubt; but very much more _might_ be done.
"The empire of Brazil occupies nearly one half of the whole continent of
South America. It is 2600 miles long, and 2500 miles broad; which, as
you know perhaps, is a little larger than all Europe. The surface of
the country is beautiful and varied. The hilly regions are very wild,
although none of the mountains are very high, and the woods are
magnificent; but a great part of the land consists of vast grassy
plains, which are called llanos, or campos, or silvas. The campos along
the banks of the River Amazon are equal to six times the size of France;
and there is one great plain which lies between the Sierra Ibiapaba and
the River Tocantins which is 600 miles long by 400 miles broad. There
are very few lakes in Brazil, and only one worth speaking of--the Lagoa
dos Platos--which is 150 miles long. But our rivers are the finest in
the whole world, being so long, and wide, and deep, and free from falls,
that they afford splendid communication with the interior of the land.
But alas! there are few ships on these rivers yet, very few. The rivers
in the north part of Brazil are so numerous and interlaced that they are
much like the veins in the human body; and the great River Amazon and a
few of its chief tributaries resemble the arteries.
"Then as to our produce," continued the hermit, "who can tell it all?
We export sugar, and coffee, and cotton, and gold, silver, lead, zinc,
quicksilver, and amethysts, and we have diamond mines--"
"Di'mond mines!" echoed Barney; "och, but I would like for to see them.
Sure they would sparkle most beautiful. Are they far off, Mr
Carrymooroo?"
"Yes, very far off. Then we export dye-woods, and cabinet-woods, and
drugs, and gums, and hides,--a great many hides, for the campos are full
of wild cattle, and men hunt them on horseback, and catch them with a
long rope called the _lasso_."
"How I should like to have a gallop over these great plains," murmured
Martin.
"Then we have," continued the hermit, "rice, tapioca, cocoa, maize,
wheat, mandioca, beans, bananas, pepper, cinnamon, oranges, figs,
ginger, pine-apples, yams, lemons, mangoes, and many other fruits and
vegetables. The mandioca you have eaten in the shape of farina. It is
very good food; one acre gives as much nutriment as six acres of wheat.
"Of the trees you have seen something. There are thousands of kinds,
and most magnificent. Some of them are more than thirty feet round
about. There are two hundred different kinds of palms, and so thick
stand the giant trees in many places, with creeping-plants growing
between, that it is not possible for man to cut his way through the
forests in some parts. Language cannot describe the grandeur and glory
of the Brazilian forests.
"We have numbers of wild horses, and hogs, and goats; and in the woods
are tiger-cats, jaguars, tapirs, hyenas, sloths, porcupines, and--but
you have seen many things already. If you live you will see more. I
need not tell you of these things; very soon I will show you some.
"The population of my country consists of the descendants of Portuguese
settlers, native Indians, and Negroes. Of the latter, some are free,
some slaves. The Indians go about nearly naked. Most of them are in a
savage state: they paint their skins, and wear gaudy ornaments. The
religion of the country is Roman Catholic, but all religions are
tolerated; and I have much hope for the future of Brazil, in spite of
the priests."
"And do ye git much out o' the di'mond mines?" inquired Barney, whose
mind was running on this subject.
"O yes, a great deal. Every year many are got, and Government gets
one-fifth of the value of all the gold and diamonds found in the
country. One diamond was found a short time ago which was worth 40,000
pounds."
"Ye don't say so!" exclaimed Barney in great surprise, as he blew an
immense cloud of smoke from his lips. "Now, that's extror'nary. Why
don't everybody go to the mines and dig up their fortin at wance?"
"Because men cannot _eat_ diamonds," replied the hermit gravely.
"Troth, I niver thought o' that; ye're right."
Martin laughed heartily as he lay in his hammock and watched his
friend's expression while pondering this weighty subject.
"Moreover," resumed the hermit, "you will be surprised to hear that
diamond and gold finding is not the most profitable employment in the
country.
"The man who cultivates the ground is better off than anybody. It, is a
fact a very great fact, a fact that you should get firmly fixed in your
memory--that in less than _two years_ the exports of sugar and coffee
amounted to more than the value of all the diamonds found in _eighty_
years. Yes, that is true. But the people of Brazil are not well off.
They have everything that is necessary to make a great nation; but we
are not a great nation, far from it." The hermit sighed deeply as he
ceased speaking, and fell into an abstracted frame of mind.
"It's a great country intirely," said Barney, knocking the ashes out of
his pipe, and placing that much-loved implement carefully in his pocket;
"a great country, but there's a tremendous big screw loose somewhere."
"It seems curious to me," said Martin, in a ruminating tone of voice,
"that people should not get on better in a country, in which there is
everything that man can desire, to make him rich and happy. I wonder
what it wants; perhaps it's too hot and the people want energy of
character."
"Want energy!" shouted the hermit leaping from his seat, and regarding
his guests for a few moments with a stern expression of countenance;
then, stretching forth his hand, he continued, in an excited tone:
"Brazil does not want energy; it has only one want,--it wants the Bible!
When a country is sunk down in superstition and ignorance and moral
depravity, so that the people know not right from wrong, there is only
one cure for her,--the Bible. Religion here is a mockery and a shame;
such as, if it were better known, would make the heathen laugh in scorn.
The priests are a curse to the land, not a blessing. Perhaps they are
better in other lands,--I know not; but well I know they are, many of
them, false and wicked here. No truth is taught to the people,--no
Bible is read in their ears; religion is not taught,--even morality is
not taught; men follow the devices and desires of their own hearts, and
there is no voice raised to say, `You are doing wrong.' My country is
sunk very low; and she cannot hope to rise, for the word of her Maker is
not in her hand. True, there are a few, a very few Bibles in the great
cities; but that is all: that cannot save her hundreds of towns and
villages. Thousands of her people are slaves in body,--all, all are
slaves in soul; and yet you ask me what she wants. Ha! she wants
_truth_, she wants to be purged of falsehood. She has bones and
muscles, and arteries and veins,--everything to make a strong and
healthy nation; but she wants blood,--she has no vital stream; yes,
Brazil, my country, wants the Bible!"