_Boundaries--First Settlers--Cattle Fazendas--Mountains--
Mineralogy--Rivers--Towns._
This province derives its name from one of the rivers which water it,
and was created in the year 1718, being till that period a comarca
of Maranham, but did not begin to have governors before 1758. It is
computed to comprise four hundred miles from north to south, and one
hundred and seventy of medium width. Its form is almost triangular,
having more than three hundred and forty miles on the southern side,
where it is confined by the province of Pernambuco, and about sixty
on the northern side, where it is washed by the ocean. On the east
it is bounded by the province of Siara, from which it is separated
by the serra of Hibiapaba, on the west by the river Parnahiba, which
divides it from Maranham. The country is almost generally low and
flat, interspersed with small hills and extensive plains, principally
sandy, in great part destitute of trees, and also in places of shrubs.
It exhibits herbage during the period of rains, or whilst the soil
preserves any humidity, but it is soon shrivelled up on the return
of the sun’s parching rays. This province has various streams all
tributary to the important river Parnahiba. The winter commences in
October, and lasts till April, accompanied with thunder and rain. The
wind prevails at the beginning from the north, and afterwards passes
round to the south. The climate is hot, and fevers reign in some
districts. In the northern part, the days and nights are equal all the
year, and in the southern districts of the province there is only a
difference of half an hour. This territory was possessed by various
nations, generally not numerous, whose reduction or repulsion did not
consume much time or expenditure of lives, differing in this respect
from many other provinces of much less extent, and arising from the
concurring circumstances of the great deficiency of woods and serras,
which in almost all the other districts served the savages for retreat
and refuge. Those who afforded the greatest difficulty in subduing
them, were a tribe living in the vicinity of the river Poty, commanded
by a domestic Indian, who had fled from an aldeia of Pernambuco, and
who animated them to a desperate resistance, until he perished in
swimming across the Parnahiba. Mandu Ladino was the common name by
which this chieftain was designated.
More than fifty years had elapsed without any intelligence of the
existence of wild Indians within the precincts of the province, when,
about the year 1760, on its southern side, a band appeared, who from
that period have annoyed the colonists very much, and have compelled
them to abandon a great number of fazendas for breeding cattle. The
whites give this tribe the appellation of _Pimenteiras_, in
consequence of there being a situation so denominated in the district
which they occupy. They have their dwelling places between the heads
of the rivers Piauhy and Gurguea, near the boundary of the province,
being surrounded by the establishments of the Portuguese. Within their
territory there is a large lake abounding with fish, near which they
take up their residence for a considerable period of the year. It is
conjectured that they were, or at least in part, descendants of various
families who lived domesticated with the whites in the vicinity of
Quebrobo, and from whom they deserted about the year 1685, in order
to avoid marching under the banners of the forces equipped against
their Indian brethren. Their hostilities commenced in consequence
of a dog being killed in the vicinity of Gurguea, whither they had
proceeded upon an occasion of hunting. In a frustrated assault which
they made, eighty bows were found, from which it was inferred they had
a considerably greater number of men capable of using that weapon.
Domingos Jorge, a Paulista, and Domingos Affonso, from Maffra, in
Portugal, were the first persons who began the conquest of this
province. Towards the year 1674, the latter possessed a fazenda for
breeding cattle on the northern side of the river St. Francisco. The
great injury which he there sustained from the central Indians, and the
desire of augmenting his fortune with similar possessions, urged him
to undertake the conquest of the northern country, for which object
he assembled all the people he could accumulate, and having passed
the serra of Dois Irmaos, (Two Brothers,) towards the north, he,
fortunately for himself, encountered the Paulista before mentioned, who
was in the progress of reducing Indians to captivity, and they afforded
mutual succour to each other. Having ultimately captured a considerable
number, and caused the remainder to retire, the Paulista returned to
his country with the greater part of the captive Indians, and the
European remained master of the territory. Other companies made similar
entries into this district, the said Affonso always remaining supreme
captain of the whole, and the vast possessions thus acquired by the
entrance of various parties, received the denomination of Certam. It is
said that he established above fifty fazendas for the breeding of large
cattle, and that he gave away and sold many during his life. It is
however certain, that at his death, he left thirty, and appointed the
Jesuits of the College of Bahia administrators of them, ordering the
revenues of eleven to be appropriated for dowries to young virgins, to
the clothing of widows, and to succour other necessities of the poor.
With the rest they were to augment the number of fazendas, but it is
said that they only established three more. With the extinction of this
sect, the whole passed under the administration of the crown, and are
preserved in the same state by the inspection of three administrators,
each having eleven fazendas in his jurisdiction, with three hundred
milreas of salary. They occupy the territory through which the rivers
Piauhy and Caninde flow, from the boundary of the province to the north
of the capital, in the vicinity of which there are some principal ones.
The privilege of forming establishments within their lands is not
granted to any one, where the slaves of the fazendas work alone for
their subsistence and clothing. The cattle arriving at a certain age
are conducted by the purchasers principally to Bahia and its reconcave.
Those of the northern district descend to Maranham, others are driven
to Pernambuco.
MOUNTAINS.--This province has no serras of any consequence,
if we except the cordillera which limits it on the east, and that from
whence emanate the divers branches of the Parnahiba. In the interior
alone there are trifling hills, and some small morros, which even in
the country have not acquired any names.
The serra denominated Dois Irmaos consists of two small mounts in the
southern confines, between which the road passes from the capital to
the river St. Francisco.
MINERALOGY.--Gold, iron, lead, copperas, pumice stone, saltpetre,
mineral salt, magnete, talc, grindstone, red lead, parget, potters’
earth, and abundance of calcareous stone.
RIVERS.--The river Parnahiba is formed of three currents of the same
name, the origins of which are in the skirts or proximity of the serra
which limits the province on the south-west. Its first tributary is
the river Balsas, the only one which joins it by the left margin. A
short distance below this confluence, the river Urussuhy enters it
on the right, and comes from the same serra. Eighty miles lower, the
Gurguea is incorporated with it; one hundred miles further it receives
the Caninde, and twenty more, the Poty. After one hundred and thirty
miles, the mouth of the river Longa is met with, a little lower
than which a small arm issues from the Parnahiba to the east, which
traverses a large lake called Encantada, and forms an island of about
five miles in length, of proportionate width, flat, and in the form of
half a circle. Twenty miles further, this river divides itself into two
rather unequal currents, and ultimately enters the ocean by six mouths,
formed by five islands of various sizes, which are never submerged,
and some of them afford pasture for cattle. The eastern branch and the
most considerable is denominated Hyguarassu, the next Barravelha, that
which follows is called Barra do Meio; the fourth, Barra do Caju; the
fifth, Barra das Cannarias, the most western Tutoya, by which the small
river of the same name is discharged. Thirty miles is reckoned between
the two extreme embouchures. This river, by which barks of considerable
burden proceed up to the confluence of the Balsas, affords navigation
very nearly to its origin to canoes, which use the sail for eight days,
the remainder always the oar and the vara, rendering the voyage long
and tedious. This river has no falls, only currents, the largest of
which render it necessary to relieve the barks of half their cargoes.
Its bed is winding, and generally wide and handsome. Amongst many other
fish which it affords the most esteemed are the _sorubin_, _camurupin_,
_piratinga_, _fidalgo_, _mandin_, _pirapemba_, _piranha_, and _trahira_.
The river Poty, to which was given the name of the people who inhabited
the country through which it flows at its commencement, originates
on the western side of the mountain from whence the Jaguaribe before
described issues, in the district of St. Joze. After a course of about
fifty miles, traversing plains which abound with cattle, and fifteen
miles below the arraial of the Piranhas, where there is a hermitage of
the Lord Bom Jesus, it opens a narrow passage across the cordillera,
forming various interesting cascades. Issuing from thence, it receives
by the right margin the considerable stream Macambira, that flows from
the Serra Cocos. Thirty-five miles below this confluence, it is united
on the left by the small river Marvao; and about the same distance
further, it receives by the same side the river St. Victor, which comes
from the plains of Lagoa, with more than seventy miles of course, and
brings with it the small rivers St. Nicolau and Berlengas. Upwards of
seventy miles below this point, it discharges itself into the ocean.
Its bed is for the most part wide, and its current tranquil. Canoes
advance up some leagues; and upon its margins is cultivated good
tobacco.
The river Gurguea issues from a stony part of the skirts of the serra
of its name, which is a portion of that before mentioned, where the
river Urussuhy has its origin. After flowing seventy miles north, it
gathers on the right the Pirahim, and, continuing in the same direction
for one hundred and seventy miles more, it falls into the Parnahiba.
Its current is rapid, and almost universally through a flat country,
abounding with cattle. It affords navigation only during the winter,
has one fall a few leagues above its mouth, and its waters are of a
greenish colour.
The river Pirahim originates nine leagues to the east of the preceding,
at the base of the same serra, which forms the boundary on the side of
Pernambuco, and, after seventy miles of course northward, it traverses
the lake Pernagua, and fifty miles lower enters the Parnahiba. It runs
almost generally between narrow banks, and with considerable depth
through a solid soil.
The Caninde has its source near Serra Dois Irmaos, runs northward, and
passes within two miles of Oeyras; and seventy miles further its waters
are absorbed by the Parnahiba, after a course of one hundred and eighty
miles, through a flat country rich in cattle; it runs at first only as
a current during the period of rains. In the angle of its confluence
there is an extensive plain, well adapted for the foundation of a town,
and within its precincts every branch of agriculture would not fail to
flourish.
The Itahim rises near the southern boundary of the province, passes
near the serra Vermelha, flowing for a considerable space parallel with
the Caninde, which it joins on the right eighteen miles above Oeyras,
after having traversed an extensive country abounding with cattle. Its
largest confluent is the small river Guaribis, which has a considerable
course, and joins it, by the right margin, eight miles above its mouth.
The Piauhy, from which the province derives its name, originates near
the boundary, runs north, and enters the Caninde fifty miles below the
capital, after a course of one hundred and forty miles, through lands
affording pasturage for cattle.
The river Longa rises in the campos of the town of Campo Maior, passing
it within eight miles, and taking a northerly direction. Among other
small rivers which enlarge it, are the Sorubim, the Maratahoan, running
through a bed of amolar stone, and the Piracruca, which comes from the
Serra Hibiapaba. It is only considerable during rains, and navigable
for the space of twenty miles to the situation of Victoria. Near its
margins, which abound with cattle and capibaras, there are many lakes:
some are considerable, and have small islands, but the whole are dried
up immediately the river begins to be impoverished by drought.
PHYTOLOGY.--This province has few woods, and those of little extent;
but possesses trees of good timber for building. The _carnahuba_ and
_piassaba_ trees are very numerous in some districts. Cocoa-nut trees
appear only in the vicinity of the sea. _Quinaquina_, or Jesuits’
bark, is said to grow here. The soil is in parts substantial, and
appropriated to the culture of mandioca, Indian corn, legumes, rice,
the cane, and tobacco, producing sufficient of all for the consumption
of the country. The tobacco upon the margins of the Parnahiba passes
in the opinion of many for the best in the Brazil; at least it is
dearer, and preferred to the approved quality of Bahia. There are
large plantations of the cotton tree, the produce of which furnishes
a considerable branch of commerce. Jalap and ipecacuanha are not
unknown; as also, among other fruit trees of the plains, the _ambuzo_,
the _jabuticaba_, and the _mangaba_; the _jaca_ and mango trees are
rare. The orange and banana trees are not common to all places; but the
atta, or pine tree, prospers almost in all parts, and produces fruit in
perfection. European fruit trees scarcely appear. The fig and the vine
acquire little size and fructify in small quantity.
ZOOLOGY.--The abundance and good quality of pasturage which is
met with in all the districts, and generally without many portions
appropriated to agriculture, has caused the lands, almost in all parts,
to be destined for breeding cattle, which are prodigiously numerous,
and constitute the main property in the country; and this province
may be considered the great mart for the supply of beef to Maranham,
Pernambuco, and Bahia, at which places the cattle arrive in much better
condition than at Rio de Janeiro. Horses are not bred beyond the wants
of the country. Sheep are numerous, and goats much less so; but if the
inhabitants were industrious, and well acquainted with cutting and
tanning the skins, they would form a considerable branch of commerce.
All the wild animals of the neighbouring provinces are well known here;
deer are the most numerous. In the short extent of the coast of this
province there are no islands, capes, nor points; and the only port
is that of the river Hyguarassu, capable of receiving sumacas, which
formerly navigated to the town of St. Joao, but at present remain eight
miles below it, in consequence of the river diminishing in depth. The
entrance, besides, is dangerous.