RESIDENCE AT JAGUARIBE.—JOURNEY TO GOIANA.—ILLNESS.—RETURN TO
JAGUARIBE.
AFTER the journey to Bom Jardim, I did not again leave Recife for any
length of time, until I entered with a friend into a scheme of farming.
It had been greatly my wish to remove from the town into the country,
from preference, rather than from any other cause.
In the beginning of April, 1812, we rented the sugar-plantation of
Jaguaribe, distant from Recife four leagues, in a northward direction,
and about one league from the coast; it had upon it several slaves,
oxen, machinery, and implements, which enabled the new tenant to
enter it immediately. A few days after these matters were arranged,
I accompanied the owner to the plantation for the purpose of meeting
the person who was about to leave it, being the second visit which I
had made to my intended place of residence. Having agreed with this
man, the owner and myself returned to sleep at the dwelling of one
of his brothers, which was situated about a mile and a half from
the coast; this person had purchased some lands, which he was now
clearing, and upon which he was erecting several buildings. He and his
family inhabited a barn, and we were to sleep in his new house, of
which the roof and the wood-work of the walls were alone erected. The
rainy season had commenced, and this unfinished dwelling was almost
surrounded by pools of stagnant water, inhabited by enormous toads,
whose loud and hoarse croaking continued during the whole of the
night, without intermission. The trunks of the trees which had been
cut down a short time before, were lying as they had fallen in all
directions. In the morning I set off alone, on my return to Recife;
I made for the sea-shore, and soon reached the river Doce, a narrow
stream, which after a course of four or five leagues here discharges
its waters into the sea. The tide enters it, and again recedes with
considerable rapidity; at such times it is not fordable, but at the ebb
the remaining waters are very trifling, and some parts of the channel
are left quite dry. It is necessary to pass quickly over, as the sand
of which its bed is composed is very fine, and although not altogether
what is called quicksand, still to delay in one spot is not quite safe.
When the tide is out the water of the river is quite sweet, which has
obtained for it the name of Doce.
It was upon the borders of this river that the Portugueze and the Dutch
were first opposed to each other in that part of Brazil[79]; here
commenced that memorable struggle upon which the Pernambucans, with
so much reason, pride themselves. The beginning was not propitious,
and did not augur well of the result, but time proved the people to be
worthy of the beautiful country which they inhabit. The river Tapado,
upon the banks of which the Portugueze commander afterwards attempted
to rally his men[80], lies between the Doce and Olinda. It is a rivulet
or dyke (for it resembles more the latter than the former) without any
outlet to the sea, but it is only separated from it by the sands, which
are here about twenty yards across. When the rains have been violent
the additional waters of the Tapado are discharged over the sands, and
sometimes at spring tides, when the wind blows fresh, a few waves will
reach over them and fall into the dyke; this being the only manner in
which they can communicate with each other. At the Doce likewise landed
Pedro Jaques de Magalhaens, the general, and Brito Freire (now known as
an historian), the admiral of the fleet which assisted the patriots of
Pernambuco in the completion of their long-desired and hardly-earned
object,—the re-conquest of Recife and consequent expulsion of the
Dutch.[81]
But to return,—I arrived upon the banks of the Doce, and asked at a
cottage, which was not far distant, if the river was fordable, and
being answered in the affirmative, I rode up to its banks and attempted
to make my horse enter it, which he refused to do. I made a second
and a third trial, when he plunged in swimming; it was with much
difficulty that he gained the outermost point of the sand-bank on the
opposite side. He had passed a bad night and was not in a proper state
to perform this task, nor should I have attempted it if I had known
the depth, but I imagined that the tide had sufficiently retreated.
My clothes were dry before I arrived at home, but I long felt the
consequences of crossing the Doce.
About the middle of May I removed to Jaguaribe. The road to it is
through the plantation of Paulistas, from whence, after crossing
the Paratibi, a narrow path leads to the left through a deep wood
for nearly one league. A steep hill is to be surmounted, and its
corresponding declivity carefully descended. The wood continues to a
break in the hill, on the side nearest to Jaguaribe. On reaching this
spot there was a view before me, which would in most situations be
accounted very beautiful, but in this delightful country so many fine
prospects are continually presenting themselves, that I opened upon
this with few feelings of pleasure at the sight. I cannot avoid owning
that the advantages of the place as a plantation occupied my mind more
deeply than its beauties. Immediately before me was a cottage and a row
of negro huts, surrounded by banana-trees, standing upon a shelf of
the hill. Beyond these to the left was the narrow, but far-extending
valley, upon whose nearest border were situated the buildings of
Jaguaribe upon an open field, with the hills behind, and in front was
the rivulet. To the right was a deep dell, with an expanse of country
not thickly covered with wood; and rather in advance, but also to the
right, were numerous deep-coloured mangroves, which pointed out that
a stream of considerable size ran down among them. On the other side
of the nearest of these mangroves, and yet not very far, was the high
peak of St. Bento, with the mandioc, and maize lands, and wood upon
its side, and the path winding up through them, which is at times
concealed, and at times in view;—but the buildings are not to be seen,
though the tolling of the chapel-bell may be often heard, from the spot
upon which I was standing.
I was under the necessity of taking up my abode in the vestry of
the chapel, as the Great House was still occupied. The negroes were
already at work for us, and under the direction of a proper _feitor_
or manager. The whole neighbourhood was astonished at the place I had
determined to inhabit, until some other dwelling presented itself. I
was certainly not comfortably situated, for the vestry consisted of
only one apartment, with a door-way to the field and another into the
church, the latter being without a door; the church was unfinished,
and was the resort of bats and owls; however it was principally my
unconcern respecting ghosts which my neighbours were surprised at.
A negro boy and myself remained at night to encounter these, if any
should appear, and to receive our constant visitors the bats. My
companion rolled himself up upon the ground in a piece of baize and
a mat, and thus cased, was quite safe. I slept in a hammock, and
oftentimes these unwelcome guests alighted upon it, as if they had come
for the chance of a toe or a finger making its appearance, upon which
they might fix. This way of living did not last long, nor did I wish
that it should.
The house of which I have spoken as being situated upon a shelf of
the hill, and as looking down upon the valley, was soon without an
inhabitant, and therefore to this I removed. It was large, but the
floors of the rooms were without bricks, and the interior walls had
not been white-washed for ages, and some of them had never undergone
the operation. I received visits and presents, as is customary, from
my immediate neighbours,—the white persons and those of colour who
aspire to gentility; and indeed many individuals of the lower class
did not neglect to come and offer their services to the new-comer,
whose character and disposition towards them, they judged that it
was necessary to become acquainted with. In many instances, the
wives of the latter description of visitors came also and brought
sweetmeats, fruit, or flowers. I received them all, sitting in my
hammock; the men sat round on chairs, but the women generally squatted
down upon the floor, though it was formed of earth. I talked to them
of my intentions, and of my wish to conciliate, and I heard much of
bickerings and squabbles among those of their own rank, and of feuds
between their superiors, the same stories being related to me in many
different ways. They were much surprised that I should wear so much
cloaths, saying, that I ought to do as they did and be unencumbered;
and their advice I soon followed. I was much amused, and for some days
these visits took up the largest portion of my time.
The lands around me to the North, belonged to the Benedictine
friars; and to the East to an old lady; those of the latter were
much neglected, but those which were possessed by the former were in
high order. To the South, beyond the wood through which I passed in
coming to Jaguaribe, are the lands of Paulistas; and to the West and
North West are some excellent cane lands, belonging to a religious
lay brotherhood of free negroes of Olinda, which were tenanted by
and subdivided among a great number of persons of low rank, whites,
mulattos, and blacks.
The work went on regularly, and I had soon very little in which to
employ my time, excepting in those things by which I might think proper
to amuse myself.
In the beginning of June, it was necessary that I should visit Goiana;
however I took a circuitous route for the purpose of seeing something
new. I was accompanied by an old free man of colour and by Manoel, a
faithful African. We slept the first night at Aguiar, the estate of
the _capitam-mor_ with whom I had travelled to Bom Jardim; and on
the following morning proceeded through several sugar plantations. We
rested at mid-day at Purgatorio, a small cotton and mandioc plantation,
but we could not purchase any thing of which to make a dinner, and
therefore, as was usual on such occasions, we smoked in place of
eating. When the sun had declined a little we again set forth. A few
of the sugar plantations through which we passed in the afternoon were
in a decayed state. We stopped at a cottage, and begged the owner to
sell us a fowl but she refused;—we had not eaten any thing this day.
I was loath so to do, but I could not avoid saying that she _must_
sell one, that I did not mind the price, but that hunger would not
allow me to let her do as she pleased in this case. She fixed upon one,
and made me pay exorbitantly for it. We parted in the end very good
friends; she offered me some herbs with which to cook the bird, and
after this reconciliation we again advanced. By going to Purgatorio we
had left the usual direct road—cross roads even in England are not
good, so what must they be in Brazil? In one part we were obliged to
lean down upon our horses’ necks, and to proceed in this manner for
some distance, with the branches of the trees completely closed above.
The plantation of Mundo Novo, or the new world, which we reached late
in the afternoon, was in ruins; trees grew in the chapel, and the
brushwood in front of the dwelling-house rose higher than its roof. I
slept at a cottage hard by, which was inhabited by an elderly man and
a number of children, large and small. The ill-fated fowl, and another
which we had also obtained by the way, were dressed by the daughters of
our host. Soon the cooking was effected, and I commenced operations,
literally with tooth and nail, upon one of the birds, for there were
no knives, forks, or spoons to be had; however I did receive some
assistance from my own _faca de ponta_, a pointed knife or dirk, which,
though prohibited by law, is worn by all ranks of persons. At night, my
hammock was slung under the pent-house; at a late hour a shower of rain
came on; our host had a vast herd of goats; these crowded in from the
rain, and soon I was obliged, in self-defence, to rise, as I discovered
that they had very little respect for me;—my head and some of their’s
having come in contact, made me look out for better quarters; and
these I found upon a high table, where I remained until the visitors
again ventured forth. We proceeded on the morrow, and reached Goiana
by the low marshy lands of Catû. The river was scarcely fordable; but
we crossed, and on the opposite side the loose mud in the road reached
above the horses’ knees and continued along it for more than one
hundred yards; we entered it, and the horses gently waded through; but
mine unfortunately felt that his tail was not quite easy in the mud,
and therefore began to move it to and fro on either side; and as it
was long, (much too long on this occasion) it struck me at every jerk.
My dress was a light-coloured nankeen jacket and trowsers, and I came
forth, without exaggeration, one cake of mud from head to foot.
I rode to the residence of a person with whom I had been long
acquainted; he had taken up his quarters at a new mandioc plantation
which had been lately established in the outskirts of Goiana; my friend
had removed to this place to superintend some of the workmen. I stayed
only two days at Goiana, for I soon accomplished the object of my
journey, which was to obtain twenty Indian labourers from Alhandra. My
return to Jaguaribe was by the usual road.
The day after my arrival at my new home, I rode to Recife, and had on
the following day an attack of ague. I had exposed myself lately too
much to the sun, and had been several times wet through. The disorder
left me in a fortnight; my horses were sent for,—they came, and I
set off for Jaguaribe; but in mid-way, I was drenched with rain, and
reaching that place much tired, went to sleep unintentionally in my
hammock, without changing my cloaths. In the morning I felt that the
ague was returning, and therefore ordered my horse and rode out to try
to shake off the attack, which the peasants say it is possible to do.
However, whilst I was talking with a neighbour, on horseback at his
door, the ague came on, and I was unable to return to my own dwelling.
The next day the Indians from Alhandra arrived; they had imbibed
strange notions of the riches of an Englishman; and their captain told
me, that they knew I was very rich, and could afford to give higher
wages than any one else. I tried to undeceive them in this respect,
but all to no purpose. I offered the usual rate of labour in the
country; but their characteristic obstinacy had entered into them, and
they preferred returning as they came to any abatement of their first
demand; although this was 25 _per cent._ higher than any person had
ever been known to give for daily labour. They dined, placed their
wallets upon their shoulders, and went their way. One of my people
said, as they disappeared, ascending the hill, beyond the field, “They
had rather work for any one else for half the money, than lower in
their demands to you.”
I was removed from this neighbour’s house, after a few days, in a
hammock; but finding that the disorder increased, I sent for the
manager, an old man of colour, whose wife attended upon me. By my
desire, he collected a sufficient number of bearers, as it was my
wish to be carried to Recife. About five o’clock in the afternoon we
set off; there were sixteen men to bear the hammock by turns, and
the manager was likewise in company; of these persons only two were
slaves. After we had passed the wood and had arrived upon a good road,
the bearers proceeded at a long walk approaching to a run. Their wild
chorus, which they sung as they went along,—their mischief in throwing
stones at the dogs by the road side, and in abuse, half joking, half
wishing for an opportunity of quarrelling, confident in their numbers,
and that as they were in the service of a white man he would bring them
out of any scrape;—was very strange, and had I been less unwell, this
journey would have much amused me. As we passed through Olinda, a woman
asked my men if they carried a dead body (for it is in this manner that
they are brought from a distance for interment). One of the bearers
answered, “No, it is the devil[82]:” and then turning to me, said, “Is
it not so, my master[83]?” I said, “Yes,” and the good woman walked
away, saying, “Ave-Maria, the Lord forbid[84].” The wind was high and
some rain fell, as we crossed the Olinda sands; we arrived at Recife
between nine and ten o’clock. The bearers stopped before we approached
the gate way at the entrance of the town, that each man might, in some
way or other, conceal his long, unlawful knife; without one of these
weapons no peasant or great man leaves his home, notwithstanding the
prohibition.
I became gradually worse, until my recovery was not expected; but the
kind, attentive hand of another Englishman here again was stretched
forth. My former friend had left the country, but another supplied
his place, and from him I received every brotherly kindness. I cannot
forbear mentioning the following circumstances relating to my illness.
I went on board an English merchant ship, some weeks after my recovery,
and on passing a cask which was lying upon the deck, I struck it
intentionally, but without any particular object. The master, who
was an old gentleman with whom I had come from England, and who had
been long acquainted with me, said, “Yes, you would not have it.” I
asked him what he meant, to which he replied, “It was for you, but
you gave us the slip this time.” I did not yet understand him, so he
then continued, “Why, do you think I would have let you remain among
these fellows here, who would not have given you christian burial?
I intended to have taken you home in that puncheon of rum.” I was
told by one of my medical attendants when I was recovering, that some
old maiden ladies, who lived near to where I resided, had frequently
pressed him, whilst I was in a dangerous state, to have the Sacrament
brought to me, for they were much grieved that I should die without any
chance of salvation. An English merchant of Recife asked my particular
friend when the funeral was to take place; and one of the medical men
wrote a note to the same person late one night, enquiring whether his
attendance on the following morning had been rendered unnecessary.
As soon as I was well enough to remove, I took a small cottage at the
village of Monteiro, that I might have the advantage of better air than
that of Recife, and yet not be too far distant from medical advice.
Here I passed my time very pleasantly in daily intercourse with a most
worthy Irish family, of whom I shall always preserve recollections
of gratitude for the kindness which I received at that time and on
other occasions. On the night of my arrival at Monteiro, one of my
pack-horses was stolen, but the animal was recognised some weeks
afterwards by a boy who was in my service; the man into whose hands he
had fallen happened to pass through the village, and thus I recovered
the horse. It is astonishing to what a great extent horse-stealing has
been carried, in a country which abounds so much with these animals.
It is almost the only species of robbery, for the practising of which
regular gangs of men have been discovered to have been formed; but
these fellows will sometimes also chance to lay hold of a stray ox or
cow.[85]
I was most anxious to return to Jaguaribe, and about the middle of
October was making preparations for the purpose; when the manager
arrived from the plantation, with the intelligence that one of his
assistants had been attacked two nights before, and nearly killed,
by some persons who had been commissioned to perform this deed in
revenge of some real or imagined injury which the man had committed.
This determined my proceedings; the following morning I set off with
the manager and a servant, to see the wounded man. I found him at
his father’s house, in most woeful plight; his face was dreadfully
lacerated, and his body much bruised; the work had been done by
bludgeons, and evidently in fear, else the task would have been
performed less clumsily and more effectually. I never could discover
by whom the murder was intended, nor the persons who attempted it;
they were dressed in leather, like unto Sertanejos; but the sufferer
imagined that this costume was made use of as a disguise. Two men
sprang out upon him, in a narrow lane which had high banks on each
side; he defended himself for some time with his sword, but they
overpowered him at last, and his weapon was the only part of his
property which they carried off. I removed altogether from Monteiro in
a few days; my presence had long been necessary at Jaguaribe, for the
mill was at work, and as frequently happens in every country, some of
the persons who were employed had not remained empty handed.
The poor fellow who had been way-laid, soon returned to the plantation;
he told me that every night large stones were thrown violently against
his door, between the hours of one and four in the morning. I called
the manager the following evening, and both of us being armed, we took
our station near to the gate which leads into the field, one being
on each side, behind the high bank. We could hear the footsteps of
any person long before he could approach us, as the splashing in the
rivulet which runs beyond the gate, would give us timely notice. The
musquitos gave us much employment; however we remained at our post
until half an hour before day break, without seeing any thing; but the
practice was discontinued. Two men had arrived early in the night to
offer themselves as labourers; they were awake when we returned, had
made a good fire upon the ground in the mill (a spacious roof supported
upon brick pillars) and were sitting round it upon their heels; we
joined them, and here I heard their stories of their own prowess, of
charms, and miracles, and other conversation of the same nature, each
of them telling something strange which he had seen or heard.[86]
Much time had been lost, and the cane ought to have been planted for
the crop of the following year; the negroes in my possession could
not perform what ought to be done in proper time, and therefore I
collected free labourers for the purpose; and in a short period between
thirty and forty men, some of whom brought their families, removed on
to the lands of the plantation; and most of them erected hovels of
palm-leaves, in which they dwelt; but a few of them were accommodated
with huts of mud. There were Indians, mulattos, free negroes, and
slaves working together; a motley crew.
I had now taken up my abode at the house which was usually inhabited
by the owner or tenant; this was a low, but long mud cottage, covered
with tiles, and white-washed within and without; it had bricked floors,
but no ceiling. There were two apartments of tolerable dimensions,
several small rooms, and a kitchen. The chief entrance was from a sort
of square, formed by the several buildings belonging to the estate.
In front was the chapel; to the left was a large dwelling-house
unfinished, and the negro huts, a long row of small habitations, having
much the appearance of alms-houses, without the neatness of places of
this description in England; to the right was the mill worked by water,
and the warehouse or barn in which the sugar undergoes the process of
claying; and to the view of these buildings may be added the pens for
the cattle, the carts, heaps of timber, and a small pond through which
the water runs to the mill. At the back of the house was the large open
field, the mill dam beyond, and cottages, mandioc lands and trees along
the valley, bordered on each side by steep hills covered with thick
woods.
Oftentimes I have sat at night upon the threshold of the door, after
all my people had retired to their habitations; they have supposed that
I was asleep; then I have heard the whisperings in the negro huts, and
have observed some one leave his house, and steal away to visit an
acquaintance, residing at some distance; or there has been some feast
or merry-making, thus late at night, thus concealed. Neighbouring
negroes have been invited, and have crept in during the evening
unperceived. It is on these occasions that plans for deceiving the
master are contrived; in these sweet unpermitted meetings, the schemes
are formed. Then the slave owner who is aware of such secret practices,
and reflects, must feel of how little avail are all his regulations,
all his good management. Restraint creates the wish to act contrary
to given rules. The slave has a natural bias to deceive him who holds
him in subjection. A man may love the master whom he may at pleasure
leave; but to be tied down, and as a duty enjoined to esteem, fails
not in most instances to rouse contrary feelings, to awaken a sense
of pleasure rather than of pain, in counteracting the wishes, and in
rendering nugatory the determinations of him who commands.
At other times far different ideas from these have occupied my mind; I
have thought of the strange life I was leading; a remembrance of feudal
times in Europe has crossed me, and I could not forbear comparing with
them the present state of the interior of Brazil. The great power of
the planter, not only over his slaves, but his authority over the free
persons of lower rank; the respect which is required by these Barons
from the free inhabitants of their lands[87]; the assistance which they
expect from their tenants in case of insult from a neighbouring equal;
the dependance of the peasants, and their wish to be under the peculiar
protection of a person of wealth who is capable of relieving them from
any oppression, and of speaking in their behalf to the governor, or to
the chief judge; all these circumstances combined, tend to render the
similarity very great. I even felt the power which had unintentionally
fallen into my hands. I had collected a considerable number of free
workmen, and the estate was respected for miles round. Many of these
fellows would have committed almost any crime under the impression that
my protection would screen them; and if I had not turned some away, and
threatened others that I would aid the law rather than evade it, should
their proceedings be irregular, I know not what evil deeds might not
have followed.[88]
Whilst I was unwell at Recife and Monteiro, the manager and his wife
had taken possession of the house; and here they remained for some
time after my return. Thus, I lived literally among these people; I
had indeed my meals alone, but generally two or three of the persons
employed upon the plantation were in the room, whilst I breakfasted
or dined, and they stood or sat talking to me. Any one reached me a
plate or ought else for which I asked, if he happened to be near to
what I wanted. The manager and his wife told me many strange tales; he
was a man of feudal stamp, honest and faithful in every respect, from
personal regard to the man whom he served, but not in general to the
world; not from a principle of right and wrong. This is very frequently
the case among these people. He was however of the right sort for what
I wanted; and if I was again to travel there, I should seek him out.
I had become somewhat intimate in several families of the
neighbourhood; but was the most amused with my acquaintance in those of
secondary rank, where there is less ceremony than among persons of the
first class. In the former, the females often appear, when the visitor
is a neighbour, has concerns with the master of the house, and becomes
intimate with him.
The Festival of St. Bento was to be celebrated about the close of the
year in the adjoining plantation, belonging to the monks of whom he
is the patron saint. The convent is at Olinda, and there the abbot
resides; the fraternity is rich, possessing much landed property. Upon
the estate adjoining to Jaguaribe, mandioc, maize, rice, and other
articles of food are cultivated, with which the convent is supplied.
The slaves upon it are in number about one hundred, of all ages; and
the last African died whilst I resided in that part of the country. The
festival, at which I intended to be present, was to our Lady of the
Rosary, the patroness of negroes. The expence which was to be incurred
was subscribed for by the slaves of the estate, and the festival was
entirely managed by them. Three friars attended to officiate at the
altar; but the lights, the fireworks, and all other necessary articles
were provided for by a committee of the slaves. The manager of the
estate was a mulatto slave, who made me a visit upon my arrival at
Jaguaribe, and on the occasion of the festival came to invite me to
the _novena_ and to the _festa_, (the nine previous evenings and the
festival); or rather he came to request that I would not fail to go,
as he feared that my people and his might quarrel. I went with a large
party of men and women; we ascended the hill, and on our arrival at its
summit, I was invited by one of the black women to enter her cottage,
the same invitation being made to several other persons of our party.
The chapel is placed quite upon the highest point of the hill; and the
house in which the friars dwell, when they come to the estate, and the
row of negro huts form a semicircle about it, thus in part inclosing
the chapel. These habitations look down upon the broad river of Maria
Farinha, winding below among the mangroves, and there are several
creeks on the opposite side, which look like so many branches.
The crowd which had assembled was considerable, and was not a little
increased by my free workmen; some of whom were unmarried men,
unencumbered, and ready for any mischief. I was armed with a long
pike and the large knife of the country; and had brought three of my
slaves, accoutred much in the same manner,—three resolute Africans,
upon whom I could depend, and whose business it was closely to watch
their master. Before the commencement of the prayers and singing in
the chapel, the black people extended several mats upon the ground in
the open air; and our party sat down upon them to converse and to eat
cakes and sweetmeats, of which many kinds were exposed for sale in
great abundance. All went on quietly for three nights, for the mulatto
manager forbad the sale of rum; but on the fourth night some liquor
unfortunately found its way up the hill, and Nicolau, the manager, came
in haste to inform me that a few of my Indians were earnestly bent on
quarrelling with a party of his people. I rose from the mat upon which
I had been seated, and followed by my body guard, accompanied him back
to the spot, where I soon saw that a fight had commenced; persuasion
was of no avail, and therefore my negroes made use of the butt ends of
their pikes, and brought an Indian to the ground, who was delivered
over to Simam, one of my fellows; and I desired the two slaves who
remained to assist the St. Bento negroes. I thus proved, that I would
not uphold my own people if they acted irregularly; and the matter
fortunately ended with only some trifling bruises, and one broken head.
The Indian was conveyed home by Simam, who returned to tell me that he
had placed the man in the stocks, with the intent of sobering him. No
more quarrels were entered into; for this affair quite sickened all
those who might have been so inclined. In the morning the Indian was
set at liberty, and he quietly went off to his work, not being much the
worse.
I had great pleasure in witnessing the most excellent arrangements of
this plantation; the negroes are as happy as persons in a state of
slavery can be; but although the tasks are, comparatively speaking,
easy, and corporal punishments are only resorted to for children, still
the great object at which they aim is to be free, and to purchase
the freedom of their children[89]. One man, who was a fisherman by
trade, had obtained the manumission of his wife, though he was still a
slave himself, with the intent that if she should still have any more
children, they might be free; and he purposed afterwards purchasing his
own freedom, and that of his young ones. Several instances of the same
behaviour are frequently occurring upon the estates belonging to these
and other friars. Thus every one wishes to be a free agent; and it is
this feeling alone which makes a St. Bento negro do all in his power
to be able to act for himself; for very probably he may be obliged to
labour with more diligence to obtain his living as a free man than as
a slave. The emancipated negro oftentimes becomes an excellent member
of society, for he contracts habits of industry, in which he continues;
but again, if he has been hardly treated by a rigorous master, he
becomes disgusted with, and indifferent to life, is rendered callous to
shame, and drags on an idle, miserable existence.
Another festival was to take place at one of the chapels upon the
coast, which is dedicated to our Lady of the Conception. This was
distant one league and a half from Jaguaribe; however we formed a party
and mounted our horses one moon-light evening; the females riding
behind their husbands and relations, with a sheet or counterpane
thrown over the horse’s haunches, upon which they sat. We came out
upon the sea-shore at the church of our Lady of the O, (of which I
shall presently speak) not far from the Fort of Pao Amarello, and from
thence proceeded along the sands to the place of our destination. I was
introduced to the family of an old Portugueze who resided here; his son
had just taken orders as a secular priest, and was to say his first
mass on the day of the festival. There were puppet-shows, tumblers,
and all their attendants in great abundance; fireworks and bon-fires,
noise, bustle, and no lack of quarrelling. Within the chapel there was
a display of wax tapers, praying, singing, and music, as is usual.
The assemblage of persons was very considerable; indeed wherever the
surf is not violent the sea-shore is well-peopled, along the whole
extent of coast between Olinda and the bar of the river Goiana; in
many parts the low straw huts are united, or nearly so, in long rows
for half a mile together. White-washed cottages with tiled roofs are
frequently interspersed; churches and chapels have been built, and
few intervals of much extent remain unpeopled. The lands are planted
with the coco-trees, which is the most profitable plant of Brazil[90];
the coco-tree appears to be adapted to the sandy soil of the coast,
upon which only very few others will vegetate; here it flourishes and
seems to derive nourishment from its vicinity to the sea, but when
it is situated in rich land the coco-tree droops, and even upon the
sandy plains of the interior, it does not bear its fruit with the
same luxuriance, or reach that height, which it attains when exposed
to the sea breeze. These coco groves through which the eye can reach
for miles, with the hovels composed entirely of the leaves of these
trees spread among them, form in some parts very picturesque views;
and if, as frequently occurs, the cottage is situated upon the border
of a wood, just where the cocos end, and the dark green foliage of the
forest trees is seen behind, then the view is even romantic; and if the
wind is high, the rustling of the coco-trees, and the dashing of the
waves, increases much the wildness of the scene.
However to return. As soon as the church service was ended we mounted
our horses, and rode back to Our Lady of the O. We alighted at a
cottage which stood near to the church, the inhabitants of which were
acquainted with some of our party; the moon was bright and the breeze
moderate. We sat down upon mats before the door, and were regaled
with quantities of young coco nuts, a most delightful fruit when they
are in this state. Some of us walked down towards the beach; the tide
was out, and I observed several large blocks of hewn stone, partly
buried in the sand below high water mark. I enquired what had caused
them to be there, and was answered, that a church had formerly stood
upon that spot; and I heard then, and afterwards often saw, that the
sea was making considerable encroachments along the coast, to the
distance of half a league or more each way. The new church of Our Lady
of the O. was now building, at the distance of about three hundred
yards from the shore. Strange tales are told of the miraculous deeds
of this lady. When the church was about to be rebuilt, many of the
landholders of the neighbourhood were desirous of having the edifice
upon their ground; this proceeded from a religious feeling. Lots were
drawn to determine upon the site of the new church, and although
manifestly inconvenient, from many causes, it has been erected upon
the spot where it now stands, because the same lot was drawn three
times. A very great objection, and one which in common cases would
have been insurmountable, is that this is the lowest piece of land in
the neighbourhood, and is opposite to the place upon which the sea
is making the most rapid advances. Water too, for mixing the lime
and sand, must have been conveyed from a considerable distance; but
a spring of it gushed forth at the moment that one of the labourers
was making preparations for the commencement of his work, and since
the _capella-mor_, or principal chapel, has been built, all kinds of
diseases are said to be cured. The fame of this most powerful lady
has reached far and wide, and from the interior to the distance of
150 leagues, persons who were afflicted with disorders which had been
considered incurable by human means, have come down to make their
offerings to this avaritious personage, whose powerful intercession
is not to be obtained unless she is in return well paid for her
trouble.[91]
As the road from the Sertam to the sea-shore was by Jaguaribe, I saw
many of the travellers; I conversed with many wealthy persons, whose
sole errand was to offer part of their possessions, upon condition of
relief from the malady under which they suffered. The patrimony of this
church is now considerable, from the numerous donations which have been
made; some of these have been advanced on credit, the donors being
fully confident of repayment in the manner which they desire; others
have been made, owing to the persons who gave them having been really
cured;—faith has done what medicine could not do. Such has been the
reliance upon the efficacy of the prayers which were offered up, and
upon the power of the Lady, that the probability of disappointment
has never occurred to them; and when the disorder proceeds more from
the imagination than from the body, I should suppose that a cure may
be effected, much in the same manner that in other countries cures
are said to be performed by medicinal waters; of which, although the
qualities may be very excellent, yet the name may surpass the reality,
in bringing about the desired end. The miracles of Our Lady of the O.
are performed in three ways—by prayer from the patient,—by drinking
the water of the spring or by application of some of it to the part
affected—and by eating or outwardly applying, a small quantity of the
salt which oozes from the wall against which the High Altar stands[92].
A village has risen up around the church, composed of huts for the
sick, who have journeyed far from other districts. The business has
completely succeeded, the money which was required for rebuilding the
church has been obtained, and when I came away the concern was going on
prosperously. I heard the remark made by some firm believers, that such
was the sinfulness of the inhabitants of the vicinity, that the Lady
had scarcely vouchsafed to perform any cures upon them. The wonderful
stories of cures were always of persons who lived in remote districts;
but I did meet with a few cases in which fancied illness from lowness
of spirits was removed. The general credulity of the lower orders of
people, and even of many individuals of the higher ranks, is beyond all
belief; no persuasion, no reasoning is of any service; even a doubt of
the truth of every story which is told is not admitted[93].
From hence we proceeded to pay another visit. The owner of this cottage
had no cocos to offer, but he would have dressed some fish, and he
gave us some wild fruits. The sail of a _jangada_ was extended for us,
and we laid down for some time to converse. At a late hour we set off
homewards, and from carelessness lost our way; we wandered through
the paths of the woods of Mamanguape, until we judged (rightly, as it
happened) that we were in the road which would lead us to Jaguaribe.
There was much merriment notwithstanding the disaster, for we knew that
day-light would end our difficulties, and it was now past two o’clock.
The mill was continually at work; I usually took the first watch, and
superintending the business until midnight; several of my neighbours
and their families came to amuse themselves in conversation, and others
came for the purpose of eating sugar-cane, of which every one who has
tasted must be fond.
About this time a female slave died in child-bed who was generally
regretted. She was a good servant, and an excellent wife and mother.
The grief of her husband bore much the appearance of insanity; he would
not eat until the following day, and then he only tasted food from the
persuasion of one of his children. Until the time of my departure from
Pernambuco, he had not recovered his former spirits, and he never spoke
of his wife without tears in his eyes. Even some of the other slaves
were, for a few days after her death, unsettled; the rude instruments,
upon which they were in the habit of playing in the evening at their
doors, were laid aside;—all merriment was discontinued for some time.
I was requested about this period to be bride’s-man at the marriage of
a mulatto couple. I agreed, and on the day appointed, set forth for
Paratibi, accompanied by a free servant and a slave on horseback. I
arrived about ten o’clock, and found a large party of people of colour
assembled; the priest soon arrived, and he too was of the same cast.
Breakfast of meat and _piram_ (a paste made of _farinha_) was placed
upon the table; some part of the company sat down and ate, others
stood, doing the same, and others again, as if they were afraid of
losing a minute’s conversation, continued to talk loudly, and without
ceasing. I have witnessed few such scenes of confusion. At last we
proceeded to the church, to which I begged to be permitted to ride,
for the distance was considerable, and I was somewhat lame from an
accident; as soon as the ceremony was over, we returned to the house.
The bride was of a dark brown colour, for her father was a negro, and
her mother of mixed blood; she was dressed in a rose-coloured silk
gown, and a black veil was thrown over her head and shoulders; she
wore white shoes and white stockings with open clocks. The bridegroom
was also of dark colour; he wore a coat of brown cloth, a waistcoat
of brocaded silk, and nankeen pantaloons; he had on shoes with large
buckles, and a cocked hat. Both of these persons were young, and they
seemed to be dreadfully hampered with the increased stock of apparel
which they carried. The scene at dinner was a counterpart of the
breakfast affair, with the addition of more noise and more confusion,
which were caused by a larger assemblage of people, and more plentiful
draughts of wine and rum. I escaped as soon as possible; but would not
on any account have missed being present at this day’s work.
On the night of Christmas eve, I did not go to bed; for we were to
hear the _Missa do Gallo_, or cock mass, as is customary. The priest
arrived, and the night was spent merrily. This person did not at that
time come regularly as a chaplain, but he was so engaged afterwards.