VOYAGE FROM PERNAMBUCO TO MARANHAM.—ST. LUIZ.—TRADE.—WILD
INDIANS.—THE GOVERNOR.—ALCANTARA.—THE AUTHOR SAILS FROM ST. LUIZ,
AND ARRIVES IN ENGLAND.
EIGHT days after my return from Searà, arrived a vessel from England,
bringing letters which obliged me to leave Pernambuco and proceed
to Maranham. As a cargo could not be obtained for the brig at the
former place, the consignee determined to send her to Maranham, and
being myself desirous of taking advantage of the first opportunity, I
prepared for the voyage, and sailed in the course of forty-eight hours.
We weighed anchor on the 25th February, and had a prosperous passage
of seven days. We were in sight of the land nearly the whole time, and
occasionally, as the brig was small, and the master wished if possible
to become acquainted with the points of land, we were very near to it.
The Portugueze ships seldom come up this coast without a pilot, nor is
it prudent to do otherwise; but we could not obtain one without delay,
to which the master objected. He had scarcely ever before been out of
the British seas; but their school is good, and now he found his way
to Maranham with as much dexterity as an experienced pilot. This coast
is generally known to be dangerous; and the land has for the most part
a dreary and dismal look, particularly after passing Rio Grande. We
entered the bay of St. Marcos with the lead going, took the channel to
the eastward of the _baixo do meio_ or middle bank, passed the Fort of
St. Marcos, and came to an anchor opposite and very near to the sand
banks at the mouth of the harbour of St. Luiz. As no pilot came off to
us, the master and myself got into the boat, intending to fetch one;
but on coming opposite to the Fort of St. Francisco, a gun without shot
was fired, and the sentinel beckoned us back to the ship. We pulled for
the fort, and when we approached it, an enormous speaking trumpet was
produced, and through it we received orders not to proceed to the city.
However we landed at the fort, and I told the officer that the master
was particularly desirous of having a pilot, as he was unacquainted
with the bay or port; but it is well known that they contain many sand
banks. We were answered that the pilot would come in due time; and
finding remonstrance of no avail, returned to the ship. When the pilot
arrived, he was accompanied by a soldier and a custom-house officer. It
was with some difficulty that I could persuade the master to allow the
former to come into the vessel. Sailors and soldiers never very well
agree, and the blunt Englishman said that he had no idea of his ship
being taken from him by a fellow in a party-coloured jacket. This was a
new regulation. Indeed in most of those regarding the port of Maranham,
I could not avoid recollecting the old proverb of “much cry, &c.” As
the brig came up the harbour, we received the health and custom-house
visit. It was composed of several well-dressed men, some of whom wore
cocked hats and swords; and all of them ate much bread and cheese, and
drank quantities of porter. The _administrador_ of the customs was
among them, and was dressed in the uniform of a cavalry officer. I
scarcely ever saw so much astonishment pictured in the countenance of
any man as in that of the master of the brig. He had been accustomed
to enter our own ports, where so much business is done in so quiet a
manner; and he now said to me in half joke, half earnest, “Why it is
not only one, but they are coming in shoals to take the ship from me.”
After all these personages, and all the trouble they had given us, I
was still obliged to pass the night on board, because the _guardamor_,
the officer especially appointed to prevent smuggling, had not made his
visit. Fortunately, I found means of having the letters conveyed on
shore, otherwise the vessel would have arrived four and twenty hours
before the merchant to whom she was consigned, could have obtained any
information regarding her. To render the night still more agreeable,
some heavy rain fell; the deck was leaky, and about midnight I was
obliged to rise and look for a dry corner.
The city of St. Luiz, situated upon the island of Maranham, and the
metropolis of the _estado_, or state of Maranham, is the residence
of a captain-general and the see of a bishop. It is built upon very
unequal ground, commencing from the water’s edge, and extending
to the distance of about one mile and a half in a N.E. direction.
The space which it covers, ought to contain many more inhabitants
than is actually the case; but the city is built in a straggling
manner, and it comprises some broad streets and squares. This gives
to it an airy appearance, which is particularly pleasant in so warm
a climate. Its situation upon the western part of the island, and
upon one side of a creek, almost excludes it from the sea breeze, by
which means the place is rendered less healthy than if it was more
exposed. The population may be computed at about 12,000 persons or
more, including negroes, of which the proportion is great, being much
more considerable than at Pernambuco. The streets are mostly paved,
but are out of repair. The houses are many of them neat and pretty,
and of one story in height; the lower part of them is appropriated
to the servants, to shops without windows, to warehouses, and other
purposes, as at Pernambuco. The family lives upon the upper story,
and the windows of this reach down to the floor, and are ornamented
with iron balconies. The churches are numerous, and there are likewise
Franciscan, Carmelite, and other convents. The places of worship are
gaudily decorated in the inside; but no plan of architecture is aimed
at in the formation of the buildings themselves, with the exception
of the convents, which preserve the regular features appertaining to
such edifices. The governor’s palace stands upon rising ground, not
far from the water side, with the front towards the town. It is a long
uniform stone building of one story in height; the principal entrance
is wide, but without a portico. The western end joins the town-hall and
prison, which appear to be part of the same edifice; and the oblong
piece of ground in its front, covered with grass, gives to it on the
whole a handsome and striking appearance. One end of this is open to
the harbour and to a fort in the hollow, close to the water; the other
extremity is nearly closed by the cathedral. One side is almost taken
up with the palace and other public buildings, and the opposite space
is occupied by dwelling-houses and streets leading down into other
parts of the city. The ground upon which the whole place stands, is
composed of a soft red stone; so that the smaller streets leading
from the town into the country, some of which are not paved, are full
of gullies, through which the water runs in the rainy season. These
streets are formed of houses consisting only of the ground floor,
and having thatched roofs; the windows are without glass, and the
dwellings have a most mean and shabby appearance. The city contains a
custom-house and treasury; the former is small, but was quite large
enough for the business of the place, until lately.
The harbour is formed by a creek in the island, and is to be entered
from the bay of St. Marcos. The channel is of sufficient depth for
common sized merchant ships; but is very narrow, and not to be entered
without a pilot. Opposite to the town the water is shallow at the ebb.
It is worthy of remark, that the tide rises gradually more and more
along the coast of Brazil, from south to north. Thus at Rio de Janeiro
the rise is said to be trifling; at Pernambuco it is from five to six
feet; at Itamaraca eight feet; and at Maranham, it is eighteen feet.
The forts of Maranham are all of them said to be in bad order. I heard
one person observe, half in earnest, that he did not suppose each fort
contained more than four guns which were in a fit state to be fired.
I did not see that of St. Marcos, which is situated at the entrance
of the bay; but it is reported to be in the same state as the others.
Those I saw are small, and built of stone. The soldiers were well
dressed and well fed, and they looked respectable. The barracks are
new and large comparatively speaking, and have been built in an airy
situation, in the outskirts of the city. The garrison consists of one
regiment of regular infantry of about one thousand men when complete;
but these are much divided, being stationed in several forts. Recruits
are formed of the lower orders of white persons, and of the people
of colour. The men were never exercised with the artillery, and were
merely accustomed to the common routine of mounting guard, though a few
detachments have on some occasions been sent on to the main land at the
back of the island, to assist the planters against the wild Indians.
The island of Maranham forms the S.E. side of the bay of St. Marcos,
consequently this bay is to the westward of it. To the eastward of
the island is the bay of St. Joze. From some similarity between the
point of Itacolomi, by which vessels are in part guided when about
to enter the bay of St. Marcos, and another point of land upon the
small island of St. Anna, which is at the entrance of the bay of St.
Joze, instances have occurred of vessels mistaking the latter for the
former, and entering the bay of St. Joze. This error causes great
danger and inconvenience, because owing to the prevalence of easterly
winds, it is next to impossible for a vessel to beat her way out of
it. It is therefore necessary that she should go through the narrow
channel between the main land and the island of Maranham, a passage
of considerable difficulty[60]. The bay of St. Marcos is spotted with
several beautiful islands, and is of sufficient extent to admit of
considerable grandeur. The width from St. Luiz to the opposite shore
is between four and five leagues; its length is much greater; towards
the south end there are several sand banks, and the water is shallower.
It receives here the waters of a river, along the banks of which are
situated several cattle estates, but the river Itapicuru, which runs
into the narrow channel between the main land and the island, enjoys
the greatest share of cultivation; its banks are extremely fertile,
and upon them have been established the principal plantations of
cotton and rice, which are the two chief and almost only articles of
commerce from the city of St. Luiz. The island is in itself very little
cultivated. There is no considerable plantation upon it. A few of the
rich merchants residing in the city have country houses distant from it
about one league, but the remainder of the lands are left untouched,
owing, as is said, to the unfitness of the soil for the purposes of
agriculture[61]. There is a horse-path through the island to a house
which stands immediately opposite to the mouth of the river Itapicuru;
at this is stationed a canoe, for the purpose of conveying people from
one shore to the other. Another horse-path also leads to the village
and chapel of St. Joze.
The importance of the province has increased very rapidly. Previous to
the last sixty years no cotton was exported, and I heard that when the
first parcel was about to be shipped, a petition was made by several
of the inhabitants to the _Camara_ or municipality, requesting that
the exportation might not be permitted, for otherwise they feared
that there would be a want of the article for the consumption of the
country; this of course was not attended to, and now the number of bags
exported annually is between forty and fifty thousand, averaging about
180 lbs. weight each[62]. The quantity of rice grown there is likewise
great[63]; but the sugar which is required for the consumption of the
province is brought from the ports to the southward. Some sugar cane
has lately been planted, but hitherto molasses only have been made. I
heard many persons say, that the lands are not adapted to the growth
of the sugar cane[64]. The cotton and rice are brought to St. Luiz in
barks of about 25 or 30 tons burthen. These come down the rivers with
the stream from the plantations; their return is not however so easy,
as they are obliged to be rowed or warped, but being then empty, or
nearly so, the difficulty is not very great.
Considerable quantities of manufactured goods have been sent out from
Great Britain since the opening of the trade, as has been done to the
other principal ports upon the coast; but a ready sale has not been
found for them here to any great amount. The province of Maranham will
not bear comparison with that of Pernambuco. It is still in an infant
state; there still exist wild Indians, and the plantations upon the
main land are still in danger from their attacks. The proportion of
free persons is much smaller; the slaves very much preponderate, but
this class can of necessity use but little of what is in any degree
expensive, of what in such a climate is mere luxury. There exists at
St. Luiz a great inequality of ranks; the chief riches of the place
are in the hands of a few men who possess landed property to a great
extent, numerous gangs of slaves, and are also merchants. The wealth
of these persons and the characters of some of the individuals who
enjoy it, have raised them to great weight and consequence, and indeed
one governor knows to his cost that without their concurrence it was
useless to attempt the introduction of the innovations proposed, and
impossible to trample long upon the rest of the community. But the
great inequality of rank bespeaks the advancement of this place to have
been less rapid than that of other settlements further south, where the
society is more amalgamated, and property more divided. As a port of
trade with Europe, St. Luiz may be accounted the fourth establishment
upon the coast of Brazil in point of importance, giving precedence to
Rio de Janeiro, Bahia, and Pernambuco.
The wild Indians have occasionally crossed from the main land to the
island, and have committed depredations upon the houses and gardens
in the neighbourhood of St. Luiz. Some of these people have been at
different times made prisoners and brought to the town, where very
little pains, I fear, have been taken to conciliate them. I did not see
any of them, but they were represented to me as most frightful beings;
their features are excessively ugly, and their hair is black and
preposterously long, both before and behind. They are of a dark copper
colour, darker than Indians that have been domesticated. The last
individuals taken, to the number of four or five, were brought into the
town quite naked, were put into close confinement, and I was informed
that there they died. I could not find out that any attempt had been
made to send them back as mediators, or that any plan of conciliation
had been entered into; and on mentioning something of this kind, I
was in more than one instance told that it would be of no use, that
rigour was the only method. I do not think that this is the general
opinion regarding them, but I much apprehend that, but faint hopes can
be entertained of any zeal being shown for their civilization. There
are now no enthusiastic missionaries; the Jesuits no longer exist in
that country, and the other orders of friars have become lazy and worse
than useless. However the Indians cannot be enslaved; therefore, at
least, they are not hunted down like wild cattle, as formerly was the
practice. The name which is given generally both here and at Pernambuco
to all wild Indians is _Tapuya_; and that of _Caboclo_ is applied to
those who have been domesticated.
Having thus given an outline of the place at which I had arrived, I
may now leave my quarters on board the brig and be allowed to land,
which I accomplished on the morning subsequent to that of our entrance
into the harbour. I was received upon the quay by my friend, a young
Portugueze with whom I had been intimate in England and at Pernambuco.
He told me it was necessary to go to the palace, for the purpose of
presenting my passport, as the regulations of the port had for some
time been most strictly followed, and several indeed had been lately
added. I then, for the first time, recollected that I had no passport,
having forgotten to obtain one, owing to the haste with which I left
Pernambuco. This produced a demur, as my friend was afraid that I
should be imprisoned, the governor not being friendly to Englishmen;
however I determined to call myself the supercargo of the brig. We
proceeded to the palace, the entrance to which was guarded by two
sentinels, and we passed several others in going up the stairs into the
anti-chamber, where we were received by a gentlemanlike officer, who
heard what I had to say, asked no questions, and soon dismissed us. I
thought I had seen the great man himself, but was undeceived, and heard
that he seldom honoured any one with an audience. The officer to whom
we had spoken was the lieutenant-colonel of the regiment of regular
infantry. The guard at the palace consisted of one company; the muskets
were piled in front of the chief entrance and appeared to be in good
order.
I soon discovered that St. Luiz was ruled with most despotic sway; the
people were afraid of speaking, as no man knew how soon it might be his
fate to be arrested, from some trifling expression which he might allow
to escape him. The governor was so tenacious of the honours due to his
situation, that he required every person who crossed the area in front
of the palace to remain uncovered until he had entirely passed the
whole building. Not that the governor was himself always in view, but
this adoration was thought necessary even to the building within which
he dwelt. The distinction, until then reserved, by the Romish church
for its highest dignitaries, was however not thought by His Excellency
too exalted for himself; the bells of the cathedral rang every time
he went out in his carriage. Persons, even of the first rank in the
place, were to stop, if in their carriages or on horseback, when they
met him, and were to allow him to pass before they were again to move
forwards.
I was introduced to several of the first merchants and planters, and
particularly to the Colonels Joze Gonçalvez da Silva and Simplicio Dias
da Silva; the latter is the sub-governor of Parnaiba, a small port
situated about three degrees to the eastward of St. Luiz. They are both
of them men of great wealth and of independent spirit. The former is
an elderly man who has made a large fortune in trade, and latterly has
increased it in planting cotton. He possesses between 1000 and 1500
slaves. On one occasion the mulatto driver of his carriage, though
ordered by his master to stop, that the governor might pass, refused so
to do. The following day an officer came to the old gentleman’s house
with orders to arrest the man. The colonel sent for him and said, “Go,
and I’ll take care of you,” adding to the officer, “tell His Excellency
I have still several other drivers.” To the surprise of every person
about the prison, two servants made their appearance in the evening
with a tray, covered with a cloth which was handsomely embroidered,
and filled with the best kinds of victuals; sweetmeats, &c. were not
forgotten. All this was for the driver, and was repeated three times
every day until the man received an order for his release.
The Colonel Simplicio had been sent for by the governor to St. Luiz.
Had it not been for the circumstances in which he was placed, I should
have gone down to his residence at Parnaiba; he has there a most noble
establishment, part of which consists of a band of musicians, who are
his own slaves; some of them have been instructed at Lisbon and at Rio
de Janeiro. It is through such men as these that improvements are to be
expected. I likewise became acquainted with a gentleman who had been
imprisoned for a trifling breach of some new port regulation. Any of
his friends were allowed free ingress to see him, and I passed some
pleasant evenings with him and other persons who were in the habit
of assembling there; he was allowed two small rooms in the prison,
and was confined in this manner for several months. The _Ouvidor_ of
the province was also suspended from exercising the functions of his
office, was removed from St. Luiz, and imprisoned in one of the forts.
The _Juiz de Fora_, the second judicial officer, performed for the
time the duties of the situation; he was a Brazilian, and a man of
independent character, who spoke and acted freely, notwithstanding the
ostensible place he held, and the danger of it under such a government.
The master of an English merchant ship, I was told, had been arrested
for some breach of port regulation, and was confined in a miserable
dungeon for three days. I heard many more stories of the same nature;
but these will, I think, suffice to shew the state of the city of St.
Luiz at the time and just before I visited that place.
[Illustration: _Fishing Canoe._]
The governor was a very young man, and a member of one of the first
noble families of Portugal[65]. There are few situations in which it is
so greatly in a man’s power to be much beloved or much disliked as that
of governor of a province in Brazil; in which a man may be either the
benefactor or the scourge of the people over whom he is sent to rule.
My friend’s residence, in which I staid during my visit to Maranham,
was situated by the water side, and almost within hail of the ships
at anchor in the harbour. I was amused sometimes at the rapidity with
which the fishermen paddled their canoes; these are long and of just
width sufficient to allow of two men sitting abreast. I have seen in
one of them as many as sixteen men in two rows, with each a paddle,
which they move with quickness and great regularity. The last men upon
the bench steer the canoe when necessary, placing the paddle so as to
answer the purpose of a rudder; one or other of the two men steering,
according to the direction which the vessel is to take. These fellows
are mostly dark-coloured mulattos and blacks, and are entirely naked
excepting the hats which they wear upon their heads; but when they
come on shore, they partially cloath themselves. The print will give
some idea of the strange appearance which they make. The nakedness of
the negro slaves is also not sufficiently concealed; neither males nor
females have any covering from the waist upwards, excepting on Sundays
and holidays. Though the climate may not require any more cloathing,
decency certainly does. I speak here of slaves who are at work in the
streets, for the household servants are at least tolerably covered,
and some of them are neatly and even gaudily dressed. At Pernambuco,
the slaves are always decently cloathed. The criminals who are to be
seen chained together, as at Pernambuco, are here more numerous; and in
walking the streets, the clanking of the chains is continually striking
the ear, reminding every man of the state of the government under which
he resides. Such is the power of a governor, that a respectable person
might be sentenced to this dreadful punishment, at least until redress
could be obtained from the seat of the supreme government at Rio de
Janeiro, a period of four months or more intervening.
I brought with me the horse which had carried me as far as Rio Grande
on my journey to Searà, and took several rides in the neighbourhood of
the city, with an English gentleman who was residing there. The roads
are extremely bad, even in the immediate vicinity of St. Luiz, and our
usual practice was to ride several times round the open piece of ground
upon which the barracks stand. Maranham is again in this respect far
behind the place I had lately left; the number of country houses is
small; the paths are few, and no care is taken of them. Notwithstanding
this, several persons have carriages, which are of a form similar to
those used in Lisbon, and not unlike the cabriolets drawn by a pair
of horses, which are to be seen in France and Flanders. The horses
that may be purchased at St. Luiz are small, and few of them are well
formed. Grass is scarce, and the inducements to take exercise on
horseback are so few, that the number of these animals upon the island
is not considerable; this too may be one cause why fine horses are not
to be met with there; for if a ready sale was found for the beasts of
this description, some would, doubtless, be carried from Piauhi to
Maranham, which might be done with almost as little difficulty as is
experienced in conveying many of them from the interior of Pernambuco
to Recife.
An English gentleman with whom I was acquainted, arrived at Maranham,
a short time after the opening of the trade to British shipping; he
was riding in the vicinity of the city one afternoon, when he was
accosted by an old woman, who said that she had heard of the arrival of
an Englishman, and wished to know if it was true, as she was going to
St. Luiz, and much desired to see this _bicho_ or animal. After some
further conversation upon the subject, he told her that the _bicho_
she was speaking to, was the Englishman himself. Of the truth of this,
some difficulty was found in persuading her; but when she was confident
that it was so, she cried out, “_Ai tam bonito_,” O, how handsome. She
expected to have been shown some horridly ugly beast, which it was
dangerous to approach, and was consequently agreeably surprised to
find that she was mistaken, and to see flesh and blood in human form,
handsomely put together.
I nearly lost a number of books which I had brought with me; the box
containing them was carried to the custom-house; they were taken out,
and I was desired to translate each title-page, which I did. Though
the works were chiefly historical, still I found that the officer who
looked over them, was not inclined to let me have them, and a hint was
given to me by one of my acquaintance, that they might be considered as
irrecoverable; however I made immediately a petition to the governor,
to be allowed to send them on board again; this was granted, and thus
I regained possession. If I had delayed, I am almost certain that I
should not have seen them again. Such are the difficulties which are
experienced with books in the parts of Brazil which I visited, that
the only resource which remains is that of smuggling them into the
country[66]. I hope, however, that the enlightened minister who is
now at the head of affairs, at Rio de Janeiro, will put an end to this
dreadful bar to improvement.
I brought a letter from one of my acquaintance at Pernambuco to a
gentleman who resided at Alcantara, a town on the opposite side of the
bay of St. Marcos. My friend at St. Luiz, another young Portugueze, and
myself, accompanied by two servants, agreed to hire a vessel and go
over, for the purpose of making him a visit, and of seeing the place.
We hired a small bark, and set sail one morning early, with a fair but
light wind. The beauties of the bay are only to be seen in crossing
it; the number of islands diversify the view every five minutes, from
the discovery of some hidden point, or from a change in the form of
the land, owing to the progress of the boat. The entrance into the
harbour of Alcantara, the town itself, and the size of the vessel in
which we were, reminded me much of the models of these realities. The
place, the port, and our boat were all small, and of proportionate
dimensions, having much the appearance of play-things. It was not like
a small vessel entering a large harbour; for in our case, as there was
but little water upon the bar, as much pilotage was necessary as with
a large ship in coming to anchor at St. Luiz. We were about five hours
in reaching the end of our voyage. The boatmen obtained for us a small
cottage, near to the beach; we intended to be independent, and have our
victuals cooked by our own servants; but soon after we were settled in
our new habitation, the gentleman introduced himself to whom we were
furnished with a letter. He said that he had heard of our arrival, and
he insisted upon our removal to his house.
The town is built upon a semi-circular hill, and at first sight from
the port is very pretty; but it falls short of its promise on a nearer
examination. The houses are many of them of one story in height, and
are built of stone; but the major part have only the ground floor. It
extends back to some distance in a straggling manner, with gardens, and
large spaces between each house; and many of the habitations in that
situation are thatched, and some of them are out of repair. As the hill
which rises from the water side is not high, and the land beyond rather
declines in a contrary direction, the meaner part of the town is not
seen at the first view. Alcantara is however a thriving place, and its
importance increases rapidly as the lands in the neighbourhood are in
request for cotton plantations. A handsome stone quay was building upon
the inside of a neck of land, round which the harbour extends for small
craft. The place contains a town-hall and prison, and several churches.
The evening we passed with our new friend and his partner, both of whom
were pleasant men. The latter took us to a neighbouring church, to
hear a famous preacher, and to see all the fashion and beauty of the
place. It was much crowded, and therefore we saw little or nothing of
the congregation; but the preacher, a large handsome Franciscan friar,
with a fine toned and clear voice, delivered a very florid discourse,
with much energy and animation. This man and one other were the only
persons of those I heard preach in Brazil, who deviated from the common
praises usually given to the Virgin and to the Saints. It was a good
practical sermon, inculcating moral duties; but by way of conformity
to established custom, he now and then mentioned the worthy in whose
honour the festival was given[67]. The next day was agreeably passed in
conversation; and in the evening two guitars were introduced, and some
of the young men of the place came in, and added to the amusement of
the party; they sang and played, and there was much sport. There was no
ceremony; but the behaviour of these people was gentlemanly, and their
conversation entertaining.
I heard here of a certain estate, of which the slaves were numerous,
but they had become rebellious; more than one steward had been killed
by them, and for some time they remained without any person to direct
them, but still they did not leave the place. When things had gone on
in this manner for some time, a native of Portugal presented himself
to the proprietor of the estate, and offered to take charge of it if
he would allow him a salary of one _conto_ of _reis_, about 250_l._
annually (which is an enormous stipend); and if he would sign an
agreement by which he should not become responsible for any slaves who
might be killed in reducing the remainder to obedience. To all this
no objection was made; and the man set off, accompanied by two other
persons, his friends, and a guide, all of them being well provided
with fire arms and ammunition. They arrived upon the scene of action
one evening, and finding the door of the principal house open, took
up their lodgings in it. In the morning, several of the negroes, on
discovering the intentions of the persons who were in possession of
the house, assembled in the area in front of it, but at some little
distance. The new steward soon came to the door unarmed, not permitting
his companions to appear, and called to one of the ring-leaders by
name, as if nothing was amiss. The man answered and came out of the
group, but said that he would not approach any nearer than the spot
to which he had advanced. The steward made no reply, but quickly took
a loaded musket, which stood immediately within the door, fired, and
brought the man to the ground, and without delay, called to another of
the slaves also by name. No answer being given, his companions came
forwards, and all of them fired in among the slaves. Such was the
effect of this summary manner of proceeding, that in two or three days
all was quiet, and went on smoothly as had formerly been the case; a
few only of the slaves absconding.
On our return from Alcantara we had a disagreeable passage, as the wind
blew hard and some heavy rain fell, which made us apprehensive of not
being able to fetch the harbour of St. Luiz. Our vessel had no cabin,
but she was decked, and therefore as a matter of necessity we crept
into the hold, in which we could not stand upright, and the bilge water
occasionally reached our feet; but this produced much laughter, and we
ultimately arrived in safety. Not far from the mouth of the port of
Alcantara stands an island of three miles in length and about one in
breadth, called the _Ilha do Livramento_; it is inhabited by one man
and woman, who have under their care a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of
Deliverance, which is visited by the inhabitants of the neighbouring
shores, once every year for the purpose of celebrating by a festival
this Invocation of the Virgin. My departure from Maranham sooner than
I had purposed at first, prevented the fulfilment of my intention of
landing and spending a day upon this spot. I know not what idea I might
have formed of the island if I had more narrowly examined it, but the
view I had of it at a distance was extremely beautiful. From what I
heard of it, I think, that if any one was about to settle at Maranham,
here it is that he should try to fix his residence.
I was introduced by my friend to a respectable family of St. Luiz. We
made them a visit one evening without invitation as is the custom,
and were ushered into a tolerably sized room, furnished with a large
bed, and three handsomely worked hammocks, which were slung across in
different directions; there were likewise in the apartment a chest of
drawers and several chairs. The mistress of the house, an elderly lady,
was seated in a hammock, and a female visitor in another, but her two
daughters and some male relations sat upon chairs. The company, which
consisted of two or three men besides ourselves, formed a semicircle
towards the hammocks. There was much ceremony, and the conversation was
carried on chiefly by the men, and an occasional remark was made by one
or other of the old ladies. An answer was given by the daughters to
a question asked, but no more, and some of the subjects touched upon
would not have been tolerated in mixed society in England. A part of
the formality might perhaps have worn off on further acquaintance.
The education however of women is not attended to, which of necessity
curtails the possibility of their entering into conversation upon many
subjects, even if so to do was accounted proper. Still the ladies of
St. Luiz cannot be said to be generally thus reserved, for gaming among
both sexes is much practised, and is carried to great excess. A young
lady in one instance, when going out with her mother to some evening
company, passed through the apartment in which her father was at play
with several of his acquaintance. He spoke to his daughter, asking
her to take a card, which she did. She went on playing until she had
lost three hundred _mil reis_, about 80_l._, and then said she had no
more money. A fresh supply was afforded to her, and she accompanied
her mother to their party, where most probably play was likewise the
entertainment of the evening. Dancing is an amusement much too violent
for the climate, and is only resorted to on some grand occasion. The
love of gaming may be easily accounted for where there is little or
no taste for reading, and great sums of money are amassed without any
means of expending them. Living is cheap; a fine house, a carriage, and
a number of servants may be had for a small sum. The opening of the
trade has however given to these people a new turn of expenditure, in
the facility of obtaining articles of dress and furniture.
Two English merchants only were established at St. Luiz; the commercial
transactions of British houses of trade were entrusted chiefly to
Portugueze merchants of the place[68]. Many of these were accustomed
to little ceremony, and walked the streets in short jackets, some of
them were without neckcloths and a few without stockings; but others
dress according to the manner of persons in Europe. It was with much
difficulty that I could persuade the generality of those with whom I
conversed that I had no business to transact; they could not comprehend
the motive by which a man could be actuated who was putting himself,
by travelling, to certain inconveniences for the sake of amusement;
indeed many persons would not be convinced, and thought that in so
saying I had some sinister views.
I had not many opportunities of gaining information respecting the
interior, but still I will mention what I heard. The banks of the
river Itapicuru, of which I have already spoken, though they are much
cultivated compared to what they were a few years ago, are yet very
wild, and there is space incalculable for new colonists. The captaincy
of Piauhi and the interior of the State of Maranham abound in cattle,
and these parts of the country are not subject to droughts. The town
of Aldeas Altas[69], which is situated in the latter, and the city of
Oeiras in the former and further inland, are said to be flourishing
places. Great numbers of cattle are annually driven from these quarters
of the Sertam to Bahia and Pernambuco. The proprietors of the estates
which are situated in districts so far removed from the seat of
government are at times unruly, and a party of soldiers, which was sent
up to arrest one of these men, some time before I arrived at St. Luiz,
returned without effecting its purpose.
Among other anecdotes, I heard of a mulatto slave who ran away from
his master, and in the course of years had become a wealthy man,
by the purchase of lands which were overrun with cattle. He had,
on one occasion, collected in pens great numbers of oxen which he
was arranging with his herdsmen to dispatch to different parts for
sale, when a stranger who came quite alone made his appearance, and
rode up and spoke to him, saying that he wished to have some private
conversation with him. After a little time they retired together, and
when they were alone the owner of the estate said, “I thank you for not
mentioning the connection between us, whilst my people were present.”
It was his master, who had fallen into distressed circumstances, and
had now made this visit in hopes of obtaining some trifle from him. He
said that he should be grateful for any thing his slave chose to give
to him. To reclaim him, he well knew, was out of the question—he was
in the man’s power, who might order him to be assassinated immediately.
The slave gave his master several hundred oxen, and directed some of
his men to accompany him with them to a market, giving out among his
herdsmen that he had thus paid a debt of old standing for which he had
only now been called upon. A man who could act in this manner well
deserved the freedom which he had resolved to obtain.
As it was my intention to pass the ensuing summer in England, and no
ships arrived from thence, I was afraid of being delayed some months
for a conveyance, therefore I thought it better to take my passage in
one of the ships which were about to sail. I preferred the Brutus, as I
was intimate with the supercargo, a young Portugueze. We set sail from
St. Luiz on the 8th of April, in company of another British ship; but
we were soon out of sight of each other, owing to one vessel holding
a better wind. On the 18th we reached variable winds, in lat. 22° N.
lon. 50° W. It is not usual to find them so far to the southwards,
therefore we might consider ourselves remarkably fortunate. We passed
our time pleasantly, as the weather was fine and the wind favourable.
On the 7th of May, the wind freshened, but we had a good ship and
plenty of sea-room. A wave struck the stern and entered the cabin on
the 8th in the morning, setting every thing afloat; this occurred soon
after we had risen. On the 9th we discovered two vessels at a great
distance a-head and rather to windward, both of them were laying to,
but soon each appeared to stand on different tacks. One proved to be
an English brig loaded with timber; she was water-logged and about to
sink, and the latter was an American ship, which had lain to, and was
in the act of assisting the people in leaving her. If the brig had not
been loaded with timber she must have gone down long before. As the
American ship was bound to her own country, we took the crew on board
the Brutus, nine persons; they were in most woeful plight; some lame,
others nearly naked, and all of them half starved with cold and hunger.
The vessel had sprung a leak, which increased so rapidly, as to oblige
them to retreat from the deck into the foretop, where they had been for
three days and two nights, almost destitute of provisions.
We arrived safe off Falmouth on the 20th of May. Here the supercargo
and myself landed, and proceeded to London.