_Extent--Boundaries--Misfortunes of its Donatories--Spirited
Resistance of the Indians--Partial Cultivation--Principally
possessed by Indians--Mountains--Mineralogy--Zoology--Descents
of Indians to the Coast--Phytology--Rivers and Ports--Povoações
--Island of Ascension._
This province comprehends three-fourths of the capitania of the
same name, given in the year 1534 to Vasco Fernandez Coutinho, as a
remuneration for the services he had rendered in Asia to the Portuguese
crown. It extends one hundred and thirty miles from south to north,
between the river Cabapuana and the river Doce, its northern limit; the
width from east to west hitherto remains, in great part, undetermined,
in consequence of a considerable portion of this territory yet
remaining in the power of the aboriginal natives. It is bounded on the
north by the province of Porto Seguro, on the west by that of Minas
Geraes, on the south by that of Rio de Janeiro, and on the east by the
Atlantic Ocean.
Authentic documents, as to the precise epoch of its colonization, are
not discovered; the foundation of the town of Espirito Santo, and from
which the capitania derived its name, may however be regarded as its
commencement. This town (now called Villa Velha, or Old Town,) was the
capital until Victoria acquired the pre-eminence.
It is asserted, by the author of the Geographical Description of
Portuguese America, that Coutinho only took sixty persons with him to
form the first establishment in his capitania, in which number were
included two _degradados_, or degraded fidalgos, Don Gorge de
Menezes and Don Simao de Castello Branco. With this small number he
engaged and put the Indians to flight; founded the primitive capital;
constructed a fort; and established an engenho.
Animated with a desire of affording his colony the means of a rapid
improvement, he returned to Portugal, to procure what appeared to him
requisite for the accomplishment of this praiseworthy object, leaving
in his stead Gorge de Menezes, who was killed in combat with the
natives. Castello Branco succeeded him in the government, and the
Goytacaze tribe, having formed a confederacy with the Tupininquins,
they attacked the colony under his temporary jurisdiction with so much
fury and effect as to destroy every edifice and to counteract all the
efforts of the Portuguese to retain the footing they had made, so that
the remains of the colony, finding that the Indians gave no quarter to
any individual, were compelled to seek refuge upon the margins of the
river Cricare.
Coutinho returned from Portugal soon after this event, with all the
assistance he could collect, and finding his capitania deserted, he
solicited succours from Mendo de Sa, the governor-general at Bahia,
which were promptly despatched under the command of his excellency’s
son, Fernando de Sa, who uniting his force to the fugitives, near
the Cricare, an assault was made upon the Indians with considerable
advantage, but a body of the enemy fell upon them in turn, and did not
allow time for the whole to save themselves by flight to the ships;
Fernando de Sa, the commander was amongst the number that perished.
Ultimately, sixty-eight Europeans, the remains of so many people
who had in the course of thirty years repaired to this capitania to
establish themselves, attacked the Indians with desperate bravery,
and gained a complete victory. This fortunate circumstance, aided by
the religious instruction with which the Jesuits enlightened and made
friends of a considerable portion of those savages, who served to
reinforce the small number of whites, enabled the donatory to restore
the capitania to the state in which he had left it.
The padre, Affonso Braz, who founded the college of the town of
Victoria, in 1551, was the first missionary who arrived in this
province.
The Indians did not supply the want of Europeans, who were prevented
from coming here by hearing of the calamities of their countrymen.
Reverses of fortune reduced Coutinho to a state which precluded all
possibility of deriving any advantage from the capitania; and one
of his descendants, being equally unfortunate, sold it, for forty
thousand crusades, to Francisco Gil d’Araujo, who established himself
in it, animated with various projects, but which he soon abandoned in
despair. One of his heirs, after using every endeavour, relinquished
it under similar circumstances, and sold it to the crown in the reign
of John V. for the sum which it cost. This province cannot be said to
have experienced any considerable amelioration since the period of its
reversion to the crown, nor does the dominion of the Indians reach to
a much less extensive tract of territory, which may be attributed to
the present scanty population, and the want of energy on the part of
the government; it may however be observed, that the reduction of the
Indians is rendered more difficult by the numerous serras and extensive
woods which cover this district, demonstrating at the same time the
fertility of the soil and its susceptibility of numerous branches of
agriculture. The river Doce, which bounds it on the north, would render
it still more valuable from the communication which might be opened
by water from the mining districts to the ocean; and there is little
doubt but that part of this district, in the power of the Indians,
through which it runs is auriferous; at least it is fair to draw such
an inference from the pieces of gold which are in the possession of the
Indians who come in contact with the Portuguese parties of soldiers
stationed upon its banks. An ouvidor assured me that the captain-mors,
who commanded advanced stations upon this river, had seen pieces of
gold in the possession of the Indians which they did not appear to
value, but willingly exchanged them, at favourable opportunities, for
knives or other iron instruments.
The salubrity of the climate, the existing state of this province, and
the advantages which it presents, loudly call upon the present king
and government to adopt measures for clearing the margins of the river
Doce of the tribes of Indians that infest it, and to render this river
navigable from the ocean to the province of Minas Geraes. The only
natural difficulties of the river which present any impediment to its
free navigation are the Escadinha falls, met with in its course between
the latter province and that of Porto Seguro; they are three in number,
are highly interesting, and do not extend more than three miles, being
nearly together, so that the construction of a railway, or any other
and less excellent expedient which the government might be induced to
adopt, for the space only of three miles, would connect a conveyance
by water to the coast of the produce of the interior districts, which
at present is sent on the backs of mules, two and three months being
consumed on the journey, and the same period with the return cargoes.
MOUNTAINS.--The most remarkable mountains in the vicinity of the sea
are, the serra Guarapary, upon the river of the same name; that of
Pero-cao, further to the north; Monte Moreno, near the entrance of the
bay of Espirito Santo, and Mestre-Alvaro, which is a mountain almost
circular, enjoying extensive views, and is the highest upon the coast.
It is about three miles from the beach, in parts bare and rocky, in
others covered with wood, having some fertile portions, the cultivators
of which are generally within the parish of Nossa Senhora da Conceiçao
of the serra. The best balsamic trees of the province are produced
here; it is situated between the rivers Carahype, and Reis Magos, and
formerly had a volcano. Five miles to the south of the river Piuma is
Mount Agha, from whence issue excellent waters. It is a land-mark to
navigators.
MINERALOGY.--It produces gold, magnet, crystals, amethysts, and potters
and other earths; the mountains in great part consist of granite.
ZOOLOGY.--The _Puri_ tribes of Indians possess the western and central
parts of the province, and yet make descents upon the sea-coast,
generally doing considerable injury to the Christians who reside
contiguous to the shore. They are rather meagre in person, but are
courageous and perfidious. Some hordes are already domiciliated in
aldeias, and live in peace with the conquerors, in the vicinity of the
river Parahiba; but the greater portion wander about, not deviating
from the habits of their ancestors. It is said their numbers have
diminished, in consequence of the fatal rencounters they have had with
the _Aimbore_ tribe. They do not exercise any branch of agriculture;
and as the soil, though fertile, cannot gratuitously supply a
sufficient maintenance, there is a perpetual attack on all kinds of
game. They are formidable enemies of the _Corados_; they use the bow
and barbed arrow, and hold in high esteem all instruments of iron, and
above all the axe. The skins of animals are not used for the covering
of their naked bodies, nor for any other purpose. Amongst other wild
quadrupeds, the deer, boar, monkey, ounce, and anta, are well known,
against which a continual warfare is carried on, in which the gun is
used as well as the bow. A kind of monkey (Sahium) is frequently met
with, of an ash colour, with the face white. The _colhereira_, _mutun_,
_jacutinga_ parrot, _arrara_, _inhuma_, _tucano_, _macuco_ partridge,
and other birds of beautiful plumage, are generally seen, on proceeding
beyond the cultivated grounds, which consist only of certain portions
running parallel with, and not extending far from the coast; domestic
animals are consequently not very numerous.
PHYTOLOGY.--In the woods which cover a considerable portion of the
country there is a great diversity of trees of excellent timber for
building and other purposes; the Brazil wood, the sassafras, and the
cedar, are well known; besides other resinous trees are those which
afford gum-mastick, gum-copal, and the cajue-nut tree; those which
produce the cupahiba oil are common. No other province possesses such
an abundance of the tree that supplies the Peruvian balsam. The sipo
clove is met with, the leaves of which exhale an aromatic, similar to
the East Indian clove. The _piquia_ produces a fruit of the size of an
orange, full of a fine flavoured juice, with a great number of seeds.
The _goyty_ is a fruit of the size of a lemon, oblong, with little
pulp, yellow, of a fine flavour, and filled with fibres attached to
a large stone; there are two sorts similar in taste, and denominated
_mirim_. The _pitoma_ is larger than the _mangaba_, oblong, with a
smooth rind, savory pulp, and a stone. Amongst the species of fruit
trees which the Portuguese have here naturalized, the most useful
are the orange and cocoa-nut; amongst other native trees are the
_jabuticaba_, the _ubaya_, whose fruit is similar to the first, of
excellent quality, and also grows upon the trunk, and even upon the
roots that appear. The _arassanhuna_ is also a fruit very much like the
_jabuticaba_, but not of so much flavour, and grows at the point of the
branches. The fig-tree fructifies in perfection.
The soil is particularly well adapted to the cane, of which there are
many engenhos. Legumes, coffee, cocoa, bananas, water-melons, and
mandioca, which latter is not grown in sufficient quantity for the
consumption of the population, the inhabitants preferring the culture
of the cotton tree, of which they make large plantations. Its produce
constitutes their principal branch of commerce and wealth; they export
a considerable quantity, partly in the wool, and partly in coarse
cloth. A sort of narrow sail-cloth is likewise manufactured with it,
called _tracado_, to which a preference is given to that of flax,
for forming the sails of some of the coasting vessels. The production
of rice and Indian corn is considerable.
RIVERS AND PORTS.--The river Camapuan, commonly Cabapuanna,
and which the Indians call Reritigba, originates in the serra of Pico,
not far distant from the source of the Muryahe, runs between mountains
augmented by various others which join it, and enters the ocean fifteen
miles to the north of the Parahiba. It is navigable for large canoes
for a considerable space, to a certain situation, where its current
begins to be more violent and its bed less disembarrassed.
Ten miles to the north of the Camapuan, the Itapemirim empties itself,
after a considerable course, and is already large on crossing the
cordillera. It is said that one of its branches originates in the mines
of Castello, which were abandoned in consequence of the invasions of
the Puris and Aimbores. Sumacas advance some miles up it, and canoes
much further.
The Piuma, which rises in an auriferous country to the west of the
cordillera, discharges itself fourteen miles to the north of the
Itapemirim, and affords navigation to canoes for a considerable space.
Twenty miles to the north of the Piuma is the Benevente, which is only
considerable as far as the tide advances; it is supposed to descend
from the cordillera.
The Guarapary, which discharges itself ten miles to the north of
Benevente, is narrow and deep in the proximity of the sea, where it
traverses the cordillera, beyond which it is unknown, as well as the
country through which it flows.
The river Jecu enters the ocean ten miles to the north of the
Guarapary, and three to the south of the entrance to the bay of
Espirito Santo. The Jesuits who possessed the adjacent lands, formed
a navigable communication from this river to the bay, by an extensive
valley, in order to avoid the dangers of the ocean, passing round mount
Moreno to enter the port. It yet remains, presenting the same advantage
to the present agriculturists of the country.
The bay of Espirito Santo is spacious, with secure anchorage. Amongst
the various streams which lose themselves in it, the Santa Maria is the
only considerable one. It is navigable for the space of forty miles to
the first fall. The tide runs up this river about twelve miles to the
mouth of the river Serra, which unites it on the left bank; by the same
side it receives another, which affords navigation to the centre of the
district, which indicates much fecundity. By the southern margin it is
joined by the small river Crubixa, where the stones met with in its bed
afford a sort of coral, with which the Indians ornament themselves.
In the vicinity of this river is cultivated mandioca, rice, bananas,
and canes, the sugar of which is deemed the best in the province.
Seven miles from the northern bar of Espirito Santo is the small
river Carahype, which becomes a current only when the rains produce
an overflowing of the lake Jucunen, which is well stored with fish,
about three miles in length, and near the sea. A little to the north of
the mount of Mestre Alvaro, the Reys Majos, originally Apyaputang, is
discharged, having a small port at its embouchure.
The Mandu comes from the interior of the country, running
north-north-east between woods, enters the river Doce two miles below
the Escadinha Falls, and is navigable for canoes.