Macacu, which has a church dedicated to St. Antonio, and a convent
of lazy Franciscans, is pretty considerable, and was created a town
by King Peter II. in 1697. It is situated upon elevated ground, on
the left margin of the river of the same name, a little above the
embouchure of the Guapiassu, and is about three leagues distant, in a
direct line from the bay, and almost ten by the course of the river.
Since the year 1808, this place has been the residence of a _Juiz
de Fora_, whose jurisdiction also extends to the town of Mage. The
population of Macacu, including its district, amounts to nine thousand
souls.
Villa Nova, (de St. Joze d’ el Rey,) created a town in 1772, is two
leagues to the south-west of Macacu, and a mile distant from the
same river. St. Barnabe was its original name when a village, and
its first inhabitants were Indians, with whose descendants a great
many Portuguese are now intermixed. Those Indians are celebrated for
making mats; a contiguous piece of ground supplying them with abundant
materials.
About four miles to the eastward, is the parish of St. Joao
d’Itaborahy, in a situation something elevated, with a fine aspect, and
near the right bank of the river Vargé, which here takes the name of
this parish, more commonly designated by the appellation of Tapacora.
Mandioca, feijao, and sugar, are the principal productions, besides a
small portion of rice, Indian-corn, and coffee.
The parish of Our Lady of Conceiçao[15] is six leagues east from
Macacu, approximating the left margin of the small river Bonito; and
the inhabitants are farmers of mandioca, feijao, Indian corn, sugar,
and some rice.
Two leagues to the north-east of Macacu, betwixt the two small rivers
of Pinto and Entulho, is situated the parish of Santissima Trinidade,
(Holy Trinity,) in a fertile country, the productions of which are,
notwithstanding, confined to the necessaries of life.
The parish of Tamby occupies an open country, near the left bank of
the river Aldeia, about two miles south of Macacu, with a church
of Our Lady of Desterro. About a mile to the east of the parish of
Tamby, and within its district, is situated the port of Caixas, with a
hermitage of Our Lady of Conceiçao, upon the right bank of the Aldeia
not far from its confluence with the Macacu. This is the grand point
from whence all the productions of the district of Tapacora, and the
surrounding parishes, are embarked in boats for the capital, and more
sugar is sent from hence than from all the other ports in the bay.
About two leagues to the south-east of Villa Nova, and not far from
the bay, is the parish of St. Gonçalo d’Amarante, on the right bank of
the small river of that name. Its dwellers produce a large quantity of
farinha, feijao, and Indian corn, with the superabundance of which, as
well as that of coffee, sugar, and casaçha, much specie is introduced
into the district.
Mage, a middling town, with the title of countship, and in an agreeable
situation upon the left bank of the river from which it derives its
name, has some commerce, and a handsome parish-church of Our Lady of
Piedade. It is about three leagues west of Macacu and one from the bay;
and the river, which has here a wooden bridge, supplies the town with
fish. In boats and craft of considerable burden, a large quantity of
farinha, Indian corn, feijao, some sugar, rice, and a little coffee,
are from thence exported. This place was erected into a town in the
year 1789. An English gentleman has a country house near Mage, where
parties occasionally go for the purpose of shooting, particularly
snipes, which abound in the neighbouring morasses.
Four miles to the north-east of Mage, near the right bank of the river
Guapymirim, is the parish of Ajuda, the soil of which is remarkably
fertile, the inhabitants preferring the culture of mandioca, rice, and
coffee, to the sugar-cane: they also export a great deal of wood.
Two leagues to the west of Mage, is the parish of St. Nicolau, upon the
right margin of the Suruhy, consisting of a mountainous district of ten
miles from north to south, and three in width, being partly planted
with mandioca, rice, and coffee, but principally with the banana
fruit, which introduces annually seventy thousand crusades, arising,
it is said, from the industry of the whites, who exceed the number of
negroes, but more likely from the properties of the soil and climate.
One league to the south-east of the port of Estrella is situated the
parish of Our Lady of Guia, upon the borders of the bay, near the mouth
of the small river of Pacobahyba, from whence are embarked various
necessaries of life, its principal productions.
About four miles to the north-east of the port of Estrella is the
parish of Our Lady of Piedade d’Inhumirim, situated at the angle of the
confluence of the river of that name with the small river Cruz. Its
parishioners are farmers of Indian corn and mandioca, which prosper
abundantly. In this district is situated Mandioca estate, belonging
to G. Langsdorff, Esq. the Russian consul-general, a delightful
situation, and which he became possessed of in consequence of his
pursuits as a naturalist leading him frequently into that part of
the country. To accommodate a person, from whom he had received some
civilities, with a certain portion of land to form a _rancho_, for
the accommodation of mules and their drivers coming from the mines, he
was induced to purchase the whole tract of land, in the possession of
one individual, without any fine, and, from its peculiar adaptation
to the produce of mandioca, he gave it that name. He paid under one
thousand pounds for it, and its extent, which is estimated at ten
square miles, he has not yet explored. He has already planted twenty
thousand coffee-trees upon it, and the produce of mandioca in 1819
yielded near one thousand sacks of farinha, worth from eight to ten
shillings per sack. The King has granted him the important privilege of
allowing the neighbouring people, working upon his estate, an exemption
from the militia duty, which, of course, induces a great many to offer
their services upon moderate terms; so that, with the addition of about
sixty slaves working upon it, the property is rapidly improving. He is
building a house upon the estate. Mr. Langsdorff is respectably known
to the literary world by the publication of his voyages. His pursuit in
the obtainment of objects in natural history has been indefatigable,
and in butterflies alone he has accumulated sixteen hundred different
kinds.[16]
Some leagues from hence, upon the track leading to the mining
districts, is situated the extensive establishment of Padre Corre,
for shoeing mules, previously to their proceeding into the interior
districts. In this trade the padre has accumulated a considerable sum:
he grows a prodigious quantity of the finest peaches, and has the
character of being exceedingly hospitable to strangers.
A league to the south-east of the port of Estrella is situated the
parish of Our Lady of Pilar, upon the left bank of the river from
which it derives its name, producing mandioca, Indian corn, rice, and
vegetables, for which the soil is well adapted.
St. Maria of Marica was created a town by a law of the 26th May,
1814, with a civil jurisdiction, administered by two ordinary judges,
(_juizes ordinarios_,) one of orphans, three magistrates,
(_vereadores_,) an alcayde, a procurator of council, and two
_almotaces_, or regulators of the market. It is small, but well
situated, near the mouth of the little river Itapitiu, upon the margin
of the lake from which it is named, and which well supplies it with
fish. The church here, of Our Lady of Amparo, is the best in the
province, with the exception of some in the metropolis, from whence it
is distant about twenty-five miles to the eastward, and near thirty
west of Cape Frio. The inhabitants cultivate sugar, mandioca, feijao,
Indian corn, and some coffee.
The district of Cape Frio, named from the promontory where the coast
changes its direction, is limited on the north, by the river Maccahé,
which separates it from the district of Goytacazes, is washed on the
east and south by the ocean, and comprises twelve leagues of territory,
from north to south, and ten in the widest part from east to west.
The country is generally uneven, and the valleys and plains, situated
between mountains more or less elevated, are extremely deficient in
good water. It produces mandioca, Indian corn, rice, vegetables, and
sugar. Cattle, inconsiderable in number, are of a small size. Banana
and orange trees, so abundant in various parts of the province, are
here exceedingly rare, owing to the negligence of the inhabitants.
The produce of indigo, which was formerly considerable, is at present
trifling, although this district is well adapted for it. Cochineal was
once an important branch of commerce; but the avaricious propensity of
several individuals induced them to adulterate it by the addition of
farinha. The government took a certain quantity of it, and paid the
best price: but, discovering the fraud, declined having any more of
it. The merchants of the capital followed this example, and at last
the cultivation of it was totally abandoned. To the productions of
the district already mentioned must be added, that of timber, which,
with management and industry, would form one of the most lucrative and
important. The woods are very extensive, abounding in an innumerable
variety of trees, well adapted for the purposes of building, cabinet
work, &c. Three qualities of the Brazil wood are met with here, of
which that denominated _mirim_ is esteemed the best. The rivers
St. Joao and Maccahé afford navigation for conveying those fine timbers
to the coast. Besides the two last-mentioned rivers, there is the Una,
which enters the ocean seven miles south of the first. In front of its
embouchure is situated the small island of Branca.
The principal lakes in this district are the Araruama and the
Sequarema; the first, twenty miles long, and eight at the widest part,
is separated from the ocean by a bank in many parts of small elevation,
and empties itself at the eastern extremity, by a channel, which at the
mouth is fifty yards in width. Notwithstanding its waters are supplied
by various rivers, they have a saline flavour, in consequence of its
communication with the sea. It abounds with a variety of fish, and in
some situations is many fathoms in depth, in others quite shallow.
Various small bays on the southern side are formed by headlands, in
which the operations of nature furnish considerable quantities of
salt, almost without human aid. Nine places may be reckoned which
are apparently destined by Providence for the production of this
indispensable article; the whole is not however formed by the sea
water, but by the aqueous flow of rain through the saltpetre or saline
particles with which the earth is impregnated, subsequently acquiring
the consistency of marine water, and which arrives at its ultimate
crystalization, by the influential rays of the sun. The largest of the
rivers which the lake Araruama receives are the Francisco Leite, which
enters it at the western extremity, and the Mataruna, which is crossed
by a bridge, and disembogues about four miles to the east of the other;
between those streams, and at a short distance from the lake, is
situated the parish of St. Sebastian, whose inhabitants are cultivators
of mandioca, rice, feijao, a little sugar, and derive some profit from
fishing.
The lake Sequarema, in the vicinity of Ponta Negra, is six miles long
from east to west, and three at the widest part; the water is salt,
abounding with fish, and separated from the sea by a narrow tract of
land. During the rainy season, when it inundates the adjacent country,
in consequence of the superabundance of waters brought by the small
streams, the dwellers near it open a channel to the ocean from its
eastern extremity, which is soon filled up again, on the return of dry
weather, by the flowing of the sea. The river Tinguy, which runs into
its most northern bay, is the principal one that it receives. Upon the
neck of land which divides it from the ocean, a parish has originated,
called Our Lady of Nazareth, whose parishioners grow Indian corn,
mandioca, and feijao, and are fishermen, which occupation constitutes
their chief gain.
Between the lake Sequarema, and the Cururupina, is situated the Jacuné,
which is near three miles in length, and of proportionable width.
The lake Jacarépua lies between the Sequarema and Araruama, comprising
two miles of length, and something less in width. The lake Vermelha,
about the same size, is near the western extremity of the Araruama, and
although it has no communication with the sea, its waters are saline.
The lake Boacica, situated two leagues to the south of the river
Maccahé, and approximating the ocean, is about three miles long, and
half a mile at the greatest width, has not much depth, is impregnated
with salt, and abounds with fish, which enter it from the sea by the
channel formed for the egress of its waters at the period of the
floods. It is the receptacle of the river from which it derives its
name; also, of the Serraria, the Mutum, the Riacho d’Alagoa, and the
Riachinho.
The lake of Juthurnuahibi, two miles in diameter, and one to seven
fathoms in depth, receives the rivers Bucasca and Capibary; has an
outlet into the ocean, which is winding, deep, navigable, and taking
the name of the first river, is seven leagues distant, and only three
in a direct line from the lake.
Cape Frio, called a city, although not so large as a moderate town,
is divided into two parts, by an interval of half a mile, both being
without regularity, and situated upon the southern margin of the
eastern extremity of the lake Araruama. The principal portion has
a church of Our Lady of Assumption, a hermitage of St. Bento, and
a Franciscan monastery. The chapel of Our Lady of Cuia crowns the
summit of a rock, from whence is beheld a great extent of sea and
land. The smaller portion of the city, denominated Passagem, defended
by the fort of St. Mattheus, has another hermitage of St. Benedicto.
This city has royal masters of the primitive letters and Latin. The
inhabitants eagerly follow the pursuit of fishing, their principal and
most lucrative occupation; fish being their common diet and their chief
exportation. It was taken in the year 1615, when Portugal was under
the dominion of Philip II.; and when, like many other places, it took
the title of city, upon the occasion of some Rotterdam pirates being
repulsed, who wished to establish themselves there, for the purpose of
exporting dye-wood. Here is a Juiz de Fora, whose power extends to the
town of Maccahé. Fevers are the prevailing disease of the country.
St. Joam de Maccahé, situated upon both banks of the river from which
it takes its name, was created a town in 1814, and has a church called
Santa Anna. The inhabitants, who are fishermen, produce some Indian
corn, rice, feijao, mandioca, and sugar, but their principal object of
trade is timber. The parish of St. Joam, at the embouchure of the river
of the same name, is well situated to render it in time a considerable
town. Timber forms the riches of its inhabitants, who also export a
variety of the necessaries of life.
The district of Goytacazes, comprising twenty-eight leagues of
coast, bounded on the south by the river Maccahé, and on the north
by the Cabapuana, originally formed the capitania of St. Thomé, and
so denominated from the contiguous cape. Pedro de Goes, who had
frequented the Brazil for ten years, was its first donatory; and
although, the period of this donation is not recorded, it was most
probably about the year 1537, as the first allusion to him is in
the year 1527, when he transported some Indians from St. Vincente
to Portugal. This fidalgo established himself and the colonists who
accompanied him, upon the banks of the river Parahiba, where they lived
in amity with the Indians two years, succeeded by five of inveterate
warfare, in which the aborigines displayed such bravery and determined
resistance, particularly the Goytacazes, (the name of which tribe the
district retains,) that Goes was compelled to retire to the capitania
of Espirito Santo, where the donatory Coutinho was already established.
From thence he returned to Lisbon, and, in the year 1549, accompanied
Thomé de Souza to Bahia; but neither himself nor successors were
fortunate in endeavouring to colonize the capitania of St. Thomé,
which was in the possession of three different nations, the Puris,
Guarus, and Goytacazas; the latter were the most numerous, and divided
into three hordes, the Goytaza Guassu, Goytacaza Moppy, and Goytacaza
Jacorito, the avowed enemies of each other. It is affirmed, that the
Guarus comprised various nations, one of which, the Sacarus, still
exists in the Organ Mountains.
Gil de Goes was its third donatory, at the time of its devolvement to
the crown. King Peter II. granted it to Viscount d’Asseca in the year
1674; but, in consequence of the mal-administration of his successors
producing considerable dissatisfaction, and various revolts amongst
the colonists, King Joseph was induced, by commutation, to incorporate
it with the crown lands; and Francisco de Sales, ouvidor of Espirito
Santo, took possession of it, in the year 1752, in the name of his
sovereign, to the great joy of the inhabitants.
From the river Parahiba, northward, a cordillera runs parallel with,
and at no great distance from the coast; the intervening space,
denominated Cacimbas, is mountainous, and in parts sterile, and ill
adapted to agricultural purposes. From the Parahiba to the Maccahé, the
whole country presents _campinhas_, or continued plains, with some
small woods, called _capoes_, and is irrigated by various streams.
The soil is appropriated to the produce of cocoa, coffee, indigo, and
rice; wheat might be cultivated with advantage. Mandioca grows best
in the southern parts of the district, and sugar is cultivated in the
proximity of the rivers Parahiba and Muriahe, to a very considerable
extent. The number of sugar works in this district, in the year
1801, amounted to two hundred and eighty, of which ninety were very
large. Since that period they have increased rapidly, and the sugars
produced upon the margins of those rivers are esteemed the best in
the Brazil, usually known by the denomination of Campos sugars. Indian
corn, feijao, mandioca flour, tobacco, and cotton, are produced only
in sufficient quantity for the consumption of the district. All the
species of domestic animals are bred, none of them, however, are
remarkable for their fecundity. Cattle are not in sufficient number
for the consumption of the population, and the working of sugar
_engenhos_. The mules are not so large as those of Rio Grande,
and Curitiba, but are superior in strength. Goats and sheep degenerate
here. Hogs are not numerous, neither is the pork good. The north and
south-west winds generally prevail, and scarcely a day passes, that
the atmosphere is not refreshed with a strong breeze from one of these
quarters. Part of the timber exported by the river Maccahé, is derived
from the woods of this district, which afford a variety of medicinal
plants.
RIVERS AND LAKES.--We have already described the Parahiba,
which is the chief river of this district, and traverses it from west
to east.
The river Muriahe, to which is attributed forty miles of course in a
direct line, rises in the serra of Pico, in the territory of the Puri
Indians, takes a winding direction to the south-east, until it enters
the Parahiba, is navigable for the space of twenty-five miles, and has
a fall, where the canoes are dragged over land. When the cultivation
of its fertile margins first commenced, (at this day abounding with
sugar-works,) its waters were so pestilential, that many who drank
of them were attacked with malignant fevers, which either terminated
their days, or left them through life pallid and diseased. Even the
necessaries of life, which grew upon the lands inundated by its floods,
were pestiferous. Its largest confluent is denominated the Rio Morto,
or Dead River, in consequence of having a very tranquil current, the
waters of which, are muddy, from its origin in a morass. The margins
of the Muriahe produce a poisonous _cipo_ plant, with long and
flexible shoots, called _timbo_, or _tingui_, and a tree
denominated _guaratimbo_, the infectious qualities of which are
attributed to the malignancy of its waters.
The river Maccabu originates in the skirt of the Serra Salvador, little
removed from the source of the before-mentioned river St. Pedro. It is
serpentine, tranquil, flows principally through a swampy country to the
north-east, discharges itself into the lake Feia, and is navigable,
without falls, pretty nearly to its origin.
The river Imbe, which rises at the base of the above serra, seven
miles from the head of the Maccabu, and runs for a considerable space
parallel with it, receives near its commencement, by the left bank,
three streams, called the Three Rivers of the North, (which have their
origin in the situation of Tres Picos, where there is gold,) and
traverses the lake of Cima, from whence it flows to the lake Feia, with
the name of Ururahi. The bed is winding and the current slow. Large
canoes advance up without obstacle, almost to its heads.
The above-mentioned Ururahi, (the outlet to the lake of Cima,) the
margins of which abound with plantations of the sugar-cane and
mandioca, describes a semicircle to the north, approaching the
Parahiba, with which an advantageous communication might be opened, by
cutting a canal across a plain, not exceeding four miles in width.
The lake Feia consists of two unequal parts, united by a narrow
channel. The one lies to the north, near twenty miles in length from
east to west, and upwards of twelve in width; the other to the south,
sixteen miles in length, and only two in width. It is an interesting
lake, abounds with fish, and so inconsiderable in depth, that canoes
can only proceed by certain channels. The water is fresh and wholesome.
It has within its precincts a considerable peninsula, upon the isthmus
of which is situated the church of the parish of the Lady of Remedios,
and presenting a delightful aspect. The margins of this lake are
marshy, and it discharges itself by various channels, which, describing
extensive circuits, form many islands, and without which, none of
those channels would have made their way to the ocean, in consequence
of an extensive, high, and solid sand-bank, formed by the sea. All
the channels re-unite at divers points, and form another lake, many
leagues in length, with the width of a spacious river, stretching, for
its whole extent, along the said sand-bank; across a certain part of
which it opens annually an outlet, that presents the appearance of a
considerable and furious river, called Furado, at the time the internal
receptacles are overflown. The southern or principal of these channels
is called Iguassu, or the river Castanheta. This district might be
cleared from water, by the introduction of some hydraulic machines,
(as in some parts of Lincolnshire), when the grounds would afford
pasturage, and become susceptible of cultivation at all times.
Three leagues to the north of the river Maccahé, is situated the lake
Carapebas, about four miles in length from east to west, of unequal and
inconsiderable width, separated from the ocean by a sand-bank, which
it breaks down in the rainy season, in some parts, for the egress of
the waters. It is well stored with a variety of fish. Near the right
margin of the Parahiba, between the towns of St. Salvador, and St.
Joam, are the two Jahi lakes; also the Sequarema; the Campelo, upon the
north side of the Parahiba, almost in front of the town of St. Joam;
and the Pedras, which is a deep lake, having its channel of discharge
denominated the Corrego do Jacare, between the town of St. Salvador and
the mouth of the river Muriahe. Lake Cima is five miles long, and more
than sixteen hundred fathoms at its greatest width, comprehending the
gulf called Pernambuca.
The fine campos, or plains, of this district would certainly become the
Elysium of Brazil, if its territory, rich in soil, were divided into
certain portions and delivered to a people animated with a spirit of
agricultural improvement. But the same unfortunate circumstances which
we have previously described to exist in the donation of lands, concur,
unhappily, to place those campos, at least the greater part, in the
hands of three proprietors; namely, the Benedictine monastery of Rio de
Janeiro, the purchaser of the ex-Jesuitical possessions, and a titular.
St. Salvador, or Campos, is a large, populous, and flourishing town,
situated upon a plain on the right margin of the Parahiba, eighteen
miles distant from the ocean, and four below the mouth of the Muriahe.
Besides the mother church, it has a house of misericordia, three
hermitages dedicated to the Lady of Rosario, Boa Morte, and Lapa;
also two Terceira orders of St. Francisco and Carmo, and a hospital.
The youth of this place are instructed by persons having the usual
high sounding titles of royal professors of the primitive letters and
Latin. Justice is administered by a head magistrate, denominated a
Juiz de Fora,[17] (a judge without.) An account recently taken of the
population of this town states it to contain eleven hundred and fifty
families, which may be fairly computed to comprise twelve thousand
souls.
The town of St. Joam da Parahiba derives the name from its church and
the river upon which it is situated, and is distant about two miles
from the sea, in front of the extremity of a small island. Sugar
constitutes the riches of its inhabitants, who do not exceed fifteen
hundred; and it is the port from whence the principal produce of the
Campos, consisting of that article, is shipped in coasting vessels to
the capital.
Eight miles up the Maccahé is situated the parish of the Lady of Neves,
which originated in an establishment of a tribe of Garulho Indians, but
now almost extinct, and succeeded by whites, who fell timber and are
farmers of the same necessaries of life as their predecessors.
Upon the Parahiba, between the town of St. Salvador and the mouth of
the river Muriahe, the parish of St. Antonio occupies a delightful
situation. It was founded for the habitation of a horde of Indian
Garulhos, who have insensibly disappeared. Its district is extensive,
and abounds with sugar-works.
Thirty miles above the town of St. Salvador, and two below the
last fall of the Parahiba, the aldeia or village of St. Fidelis,
is agreeably and secludedly situated. It is an Indian parish, and
was founded by three padres, one of whom, two years ago, was still
living, and had the whole management of this establishment. A French
gentleman, who was shipwrecked at the mouth of the Parahiba, proceeded
through the Campos as far as this Indian village. He informed me,
that, on leaving the plains cultivated with the plantations of the
sugar-cane, he had to traverse a thick wood, rendered more difficult
to penetrate by the wild grass and almost impervious underwood at the
bottom of the higher trees. After a laborious march of five hours,
this gentleman reached the aldeia, which consisted of a stone church,
decorated with saints and much finery. It was fronted by the padre’s
house at no great distance; both sides of this space were occupied by
the huts of the Indians, over whom, from the imposing show of religious
ceremony, and occasional personal chastisement, the padre had acquired
a perfect command. Part of the Indians were employed in his house
for domestic purposes; others in the cultivation of the necessaries
of life; some were occupied in fishing in the Parahiba; and others,
of proved fidelity, in shooting game in the surrounding woods; and
thus subsistence was procured for the establishment. The domestic
arrangement, however, of this priest was truly miserable.
The savage Indians frequently carry off by force some of their
Christianized brethren, and display an inveterate antipathy to
civilization. The tribes on the northern bank of the Parahiba,
bordering upon the Portuguese establishments, are considered much
more cruel than those on the southern, and have afforded various and
recent proofs of cannibalism. On some occasions they lie in ambush near
pathways, and, with their arrows, pierce the stranger to the heart, and
feast upon his body. A proprietor of a sugar-work was carried off about
three years ago, and devoured by them; and since that time three or
four negroes have shared the same fate. They are addicted to plunder,
and commit at times great devastation amongst the sugar-plantations,
advancing in bodies of fifty or sixty from the woods, and cutting down
the canes, which they carry off to their retreats. They are great
cowards; and, on those appointed to keep watch giving the alarm of the
approach of a single individual, they fly precipitately. They are
exceedingly alarmed at the report of a gun. Two soldiers, equipped
with jackets, stuffed with cotton and quilted, (which are almost
impenetrable to the arrows of the Indian,) and with muskets, very
recently proceeded from Villa Rica, (in Minas Geraes,) and penetrated
as far as this district, through the woods covering the fertile
territory on both banks of the Parahiba, to the possession of which the
ounce assumes a right as well as the savage.
Of the ancient tribes the Puris is the principal one now remaining
in those uncleared regions. It is a lamentable circumstance that the
Brazilian government does not adopt some effectual plan to render these
extensive and fertile territories of the Parahiba subservient to the
wants of civilized man. The absence of comfort in the houses of the
planters in the Goytacaze district is very conspicuous, and they have
yet much to learn in the school of hospitality.
St. Gonçalo and St. Sebastiam are parishes of this district, both
situated upon the Parahiba, and a few leagues distant from the
principal town.
The district of Canta Gallo (Singing Cock) is a territory of great
fertility, and irrigated by many rivers and smaller streams, which
issue from the Organ Mountains, its southern limit, and discharge
themselves into the Parahiba, which separates it from Minas Geraes on
the north. It is bounded on the east by a continuation of the Organ
range, which divides it from Goytacazes; and on the west by the river
Piabanha, which separates it from Parahiba Nova. It has mines of gold,
for the working of which the first colony was established in the year
1785. The _fifths_ on the gold, rendered to the crown, in the four
following years, were above ten thousand cruzades; and the duty upon
agricultural productions amounted to eight thousand in the same period.
Amongst its rivers may be remarked the Pequequera, well stored with
fish and navigable for the space of twenty miles; the Rio Negro,
little less voluminous, and navigable for an equal distance, and also
abounding with fish; the Bengales; and one called Rio Grande.
The major part of the territory, up to the epoch of its colonization,
was under the dominion of the Coroado Indians, the remains of the
ancient Goytacazes, at present not numerous, and allied to the
conquerors. Their houses are large, constructed of timber and earth;
they are of extraordinary length, covered with grass, or the bark of
trees, with one door only, and without a single window. One of these
rudely-constructed edifices will contain fifty, sometimes eighty,
and even one hundred families. Generally each house constitutes an
aldeia; very rarely two are met with together. Every morning, at
the break of day, on hearing the song of a species of partridge,
called _macuco_, (which sits upon trees during the night,) they
immediately rise, and, although it rains, they go and bathe in the
nearest torrent or lake; for which purpose a signal is made by the
sound of an instrument formed of a cane.
Their marriage ceremonies consist of a species of banquet, at which all
the inhabitants of the aldeia assemble; and generally the whole party
become intoxicated. Immediately on being sensible of the approach of
labour, the women retire into a wood, where they become mothers without
any assistance whatever, and return with their infants, already covered
with the juice of certain herbs, to render them less susceptible of
cold.
These natives inter their dead in a sitting posture. Formerly the
cemeteries of their caciques, or captains, consisted of cylindrical
earthen vases, denominated _cammucis_; some of which have been
recently found, containing bones.
These Indians use the bow and arrow only. The arrow is a species of
cane, with a point of peculiarly hard wood, exposed to the fire till it
acquires the greatest degree of consistency; some, intended for large
animals, are formed at the point like a sword; others triangular and
quadrangular.
A man who returns to the house after an absence of many days does not
say a single word, in compliment, to his family, nor do they receive
him in any other manner than if he had only been to fetch water from
the fountain.
In 1814 the parish of Santissimo Sacramento was created a town, with
the name of St. Pedro de Canta Gallo. Its civil government is conducted
by two ordinary judges, three magistrates, and various minor officers.
It is a middling town, traversed by a current of good water, which
flows to the river Macuco. Its inhabitants, and those of its extensive
district, prefer agriculture to mining, and they cultivate the usual
necessaries of life belonging to the country.
In this district is the parish of St. Joze de Leonissa, upon the
Parahiba, in front of the embouchure of the river Pomba, was created a
parish in 1812, and is a _povoacāo_, abounding with fish and all
the necessaries of life. Its inhabitants are yet almost all Indians.
Between the rivers Pomba and Parahiba, about six miles distant from
the angle of their confluence, the parish of St. Antonio de Padua was
erected, in 1812, in a district well adapted to the culture of various
branches of agriculture.
The dwellers of the northern margin of the Parahiba are diocesans of
Rio de Janeiro.