the three kings and three interpreters could not be seen at once, in
consequence of their having first to settle some palaver about fish,
we were compelled to bivouac under a large tree in the environs of
Nculu until their highnesses might condescend to give us an audience.
We breakfasted under the large tree, and were amused before and after
breakfast by a number of urchins (say eight or ten) who had undergone
the ceremony of circumcision, and who delighted in making a churring
noise――a ch-u-r-r decidedly intended to frighten us into hysterics.
But our nerves were stronger than they at first imagined, and I went
up to them and complimented them on their performance. The dress of
these youths was a crinoline made of palm leaves, extending from their
armpits down to their knees, or a little below that. Their arms, neck,
and face were chalked white, and one of them had on a mask
representing a white man with whiskers. The performance of this mask
was admirably wild and laughable.
About two o’clock one of the three interpreters came to see us. He was
dressed in a trade shirt and red nightcap, and was accompanied by a
few men only, and had merely come to show us to a house.
At half-past three we heard the beating of a drum and cone, and, on
looking out at the door, saw a procession making its way to the house
in which we were lodged. I was already seated at the door, and, the
whole cavalcade coming up, they seated themselves around the front of
the house in a semicircle. Altogether there might have been about two
hundred and fifty persons, including all sexes and sizes. Three
ministers belonging to the three kings were the principal personages,
and had come as ambassadors for their masters. One of them had already
given his opinion in a refusal to permit me to pass on to Sundi, and
it now remained for the whole council to arrive at the ultimate
decision of Yes or No. The first conference assembled and broke up in
a very short time. The beginning appeared favourable, for the
ministers retired amidst the noise of drum and cone. The latter is an
iron musical instrument peculiar to the country, and when played
sounds exactly like the triangle of the Ethiopian serenaders. When
they had reached the palaver tree we heard a great yelling among the
populace, which showed that they were satisfied. In a very short time
they returned again to the house and waited till I had finished
dinner, and then demanded the presents for themselves and their royal
masters. As usual they were not satisfied; but we had no more to give
them, and Furano, our interpreter, took one of the ministers into the
house and showed him all our gear. A grunt from the minister announced
to us that he saw it was impossible to get “blood out of a stone.”
They went away, and the third conference took place at four o’clock.
This was the Grand Council, and there were plenty who spoke, the
upshot of the whole affair being that they ultimately demanded the
moderate sum of £300 in cloth, beads, and liquor, giving us permission
(on our agreeing to the foregoing terms) to go on to Sundi above the
cataracts, a journey occupying only three days. “Impudence is better
than modesty,” but we thought this was carrying impudence to a pitch.
This sum was out of the question, and had we been possessed of enough
to answer the demands of those bushmen, rather than acquiesce, we
should certainly have preferred throwing the amount into the “Slough
of Despond.”
_Wednesday, September 16th._――This morning we went to view the rapids.
We found that the Yellalla Rapids ran east-north-east and
west-south-west, and might be said to be about a mile in length. They
were assuredly very grand, although the natives led us to expect
something grander still. Some fishermen were busy catching fish up and
down the quieter part of the rapids, whilst the eagles and cranes were
satisfying their hunger in the vicinity of the island of
Sanga-chya-Malemba in the middle of the stream, some hundred yards
from either side of the river’s banks.
All day Gidi Mavonga was very stubborn and irritable, and wished to
start at once for Vivi and return home; but as I had to put up some
botanical specimens, to finish two sketches of this part of the
country, and besides, having sore feet from walking, I would not hear
of starting. Gidi therefore started, after repeated palavers, and
called his muleks to follow him: some followed; others begged off, but
to no purpose. Off he went, and after proceeding a short distance,
returned, and in very strong words expressed himself an injured man.
This was taking high ground; I therefore told the interpreter to tell
Gidi that he might go away, and, at the same time, to inform him that
he must send certain properties belonging to me which had been left at
his banza, and that in future no further communication would be held
with his place by any Englishman.
Gidi said that the property belonged to him. I told him to take all,
but, he might rely upon it, the kings who live close to the riverside
would have to answer for the things. Whereupon Gidi at once gave way,
and most submissively begged pardon, and matters were set right for a
short time.
_Saturday, September 19th._――We found ourselves back again at Gidi
Mavonga’s village, paying off all the extra hands who accompanied us
to the rapids. The pay was made in cloth, beads, and liquors.
The heavy demands made by the bigwigs of Banza Nculu――_viz._ £300 for
mere permission to pass to Sundi, beside the enormous expense of
feeding ourselves and thirty-five followers――had compelled us to give
up the project we had in view, especially as we had seen the principal
rapids on the river――the rest of the falls, until reaching Sundi,
being mere elevations, in themselves quite insignificant. My object
had been to reach Sundi, and thence try to ascertain the course of the
river, and to find out whether its source could be nearly reached by
canoes, or entirely reached by carriers. But finding the demands of
the chiefs beyond my power of compliance, I resolved to return. Our
chief guide, Gidi Mavonga, was anxious to make a retrograde movement
as quickly as possible, and urged upon us the necessity of packing up
and starting after three o’clock on the afternoon of our return from
visiting the rapids. But I declined to stir until the next morning,
and after much trouble I gave him and his slaves one blanket cloth and
a pair of razors, which quieted him a little. But it was soon evident
that even this munificent gift merely banked up the fires of discord
in the breasts of the savages, for the same dissatisfaction was
observable even after we returned to their village. The day of
settlement brought Gidi and his slaves to our temporary residence, and
what followed beggared powers of description. What uproar! What
threats! What runnings to and fro! All the devils in the infernal
regions appeared to have infused a double portion of their diabolical
influence into the bodies and souls of their willing disciples on that
day of settlement, and when everybody’s fury had reached the climax of
rage and insolence, old Gidi rushed into the house occupied by us,
commenced turning all our gear upside down, and at last laid forcible
hands upon a bale of merchandise.
I therefore quietly informed the wild old man that he was carrying
matters too far, asked the meaning of it, and took out a six-barrelled
Colt’s revolver, and placed it at my feet ready for use in case of
need. This had the desired effect, for Gidi, after taking a long,
covetous look at the bale of merchandise, turned round and stared at
the leveller of six men at my feet, and having balanced the
difference, he slunk out in perfect silence, followed by his two
myrmidons, who had accompanied their master into the house to carry
away anything that their lord might select. Outside the slaves still
clamoured, and at last induced their master to beard me again when I
was writing.
Thus for two days affairs progressed as hot as fire and as irritating
as a wife’s bad temper, till at length, by some special interposition
of Providence, we managed to make arrangements for some people to
carry our gear down to the riverside, and for a canoe to take us to
Embomma, one of the principal stations on the river.
The preliminaries of this arrangement occupied two days, and on the
morning of the third day we were ready to start by half-past five
o’clock, but no carriers had as yet made their appearance, and after
they did come, it was with the same infernal noise that we managed to
start them with the loads. But the moment they were _en route_ they
almost ran with the things, and shortly disappeared from our view. We
followed as quickly as we could after them, and arriving at Kayé, a
sentinel with a gun stopped us, and informed us that his Highness
Prince Sudikil desired our presence. On reaching the house of our old
landlord, we discovered the whole of our gear before his door, and the
prince with his mother and some of his slaves standing in a circle
round the things, whilst one disgusting-looking brute was about to
open a box of beads. I at once walked up to the rascal and gave him a
castigation with a stick. The fellow looked daggers; but on showing
him a fine breech-loading Cooper’s rifle, he held down his head and
slunk a little way back from the box and sat down.
And now commenced a palaver between the prince and myself, the
substance of which was that the prince wished to exact more presents
from me, but this time by force. The armed slaves began to come up one
by one, until they added a considerable number to the crowd. I told
the prince that it was customary to give on the arrival but not on the
departure of a stranger. But as his highness persisted in his
inflexible determination to have something, I referred him to Mambuka
Prata, a powerful chief at Embomma, and requested Sudikil to take and
keep my signet ring until the case was settled by arbitration at
head-quarters.
At this suggestion the prince, his mother, some of the slaves, and
even Nchama, our interpreter, commenced such a babel of tongues that
we wished the whole bunch of them keeping company with Pharaoh at the
bottom of the Red Sea. It was quite evident that they had perceived
the absurdity and obstinacy of their covetous desires. The prince
therefore walked away in a great rage, taking with him all his slaves,
and nearly one-half of those who had brought our kit from his father’s
house. Here, again, was another fix. We were standing pondering over
the peculiar position in which we were placed, when luckily the few
who remained at once resolved to carry each a double load, and this
brought us to the waterside, and examining all our baggage, and seeing
everything correct, I made a present of beads to the carriers and had
breakfast.
By 9.45 a.m. we set off for Embomma with thankfulness, where we
arrived at 5 p.m. on the same day, having run down with the current,
slightly assisted by paddles, a distance of forty-five miles in seven
hours and a quarter.
_Wednesday, September 23rd._――John Clarke, being engaged to go with us
to St. Salvador, started this afternoon with Nchama to bring carriers
from Mambuka Prata. Chief Mambuka Prata had a few trading huts close
to the French factory, where he flew a black and white flag on trading
occasions. The district of Embomma may extend about eight or ten miles
in length, and throughout the whole of it villages of from ten to
twenty houses may be seen standing in all directions, and sometimes
several miles apart from one another. The king’s residence may consist
of sixty houses, and it is generally at the royal villages that the
traveller finds a home during his sojourn.
_Thursday, September 24th._――At Embomma. This day’s proceedings have
been more annoying than any that have preceded it. The two messengers,
John Clarke and Nchama, who had been sent on a mission to Mambuka
Prata, returned without having accomplished a single order in
connection with the mission entrusted to them. Nchama returned about
six o’clock in the morning, perfectly drunk, and incapable of giving a
single word of explanation as to his whereabouts and doings. John
Clarke returned in the afternoon, and gave rather a tame version of
his proceedings. He said that Mambuka Prata, being annoyed at not
receiving a coat promised him by Monsieur Pisseaux, would not send any
carriers to take us on to St. Salvador. What a Frenchman’s conduct had
to do with an Englishman’s affairs I could not conceive. He (Mambuka
Prata) said the carriers would not be forthcoming until he received a
book from the white man, or saw him himself. This last sounded like a
falsehood, as there was not a soul in all Vinda who could read a
single scrap, and, besides, our interpreters took with them a very
good book in the shape of a demijohn of rum and a tenth of powder, but
whether these had been delivered into the hands of the proper persons
was a question. Nchama, having been severely reprimanded, repaired to
his village, and did not make his appearance again until the day we
left Embomma.
_Friday, September 25th._――We left Embomma, and arrived in Porto da
Lentra at 1.15 on the morning of Saturday, September 26th. On the way
down the canoemen made several attempts to land at various villages,
but were forced to proceed for fear of Colt’s revolvers. They did very
well, and received six bottles of rum.
We left Porto da Lentra for Point Banana at 4.15 on the morning of
September 27th. We had exchanged our smaller but fine canoe for a
large one, and started with six hands and captain, but had scarcely
lost sight of Porto da Lentra when our canoemen went up a creek――they
said to get extra clothing. We were detained more than half an hour
waiting for them, until probably they had eaten their breakfast and
drunk their palm wine. We got them to start with great difficulty; but
at the very next creek they stopped again, and would have repeated the
dose at other places had we not had recourse to our friends in need,
the revolvers.
At the creek one man jumped on shore and we pushed off again; but a
few yards down we were hailed by a Missolongi canoe, the river-pirates
of this part of the Congo. This third time our canoemen stopped; and
we were obliged to face them with cocked revolvers and compel them to
go on. Down we glided, assisted more by the current than by our men.
Another creek, and the canoemen requested to stop again to eat, which
request was positively refused.
The river had been hitherto very calm, but at two o’clock the
sea-breeze began to blow hard; the tide was also slightly against us,
and this caused a swell in the river which wetted nearly all our
things. I was surveying at the time, and, fearing that the instruments
might get a soaking with salt water, I ordered the canoemen to put
back and return to Point Banana by means of a creek on the right of
the river. This appeared to the canoemen to be awfully hard work,
although they had only to pull back for about a quarter of a mile. The
Congoes are remarkable for their uselessness: they excel in eating,
drinking, sleeping, and talking, in a word, in satisfying their
sensual comforts, and what little sense they have is used for the
purpose of annoying those with whom they come in contact. More than
five times they were asked to make sail, and then gave a few strokes
with their paddles, and stopped and chatted again, put the canoe
broadside on to the billows, let her drift back, and again gave a few
more strokes.
In this way nearly an hour passed away, and we never reached the end
of the quarter-mile. They began to complain that the way by the creek
was too far, whilst just a short time before that they told us the
creek was the nearest. They now declared that they could proceed no
farther, and pulled the canoe in shore. Seeing that the whole bevy of
them, from the captain to the small boy, were all drunk from drinking
some rum they had brought with them, we could do nothing but submit to
this state of things, anything being preferable to trusting the canoe
with a lot of drunken hands, and getting ourselves and gear saturated
with salt water.
The crew were permitted to land. They lighted a fire, cooked, ate,
drank, quarrelled, and went to sleep. The padron, or captain, took
possession of the rum, and drank himself to sleep also; and when the
wind abated a little and the water became calmer, we awakened the
captain with difficulty, and he with greater difficulty his crew; but
the tide had gone down, and the canoe was high and dry on the bank.
All efforts to launch her into the water proved unavailing, especially
as the rum was still hard at work, and what little sense the Congoes
had was perfectly misapplied. In consequence we had to wait until the
tide again served, which did not take place till two o’clock the
following morning, when we tried again to start our hands, and with
great delay and noise managed to reach Point Banana at 4.15 a.m.
At six o’clock all our things were landed and comfortably housed
within Monsieur Parrat’s factory. Thank God! we were now at a
considerable distance from Yellalla and the triumvirate and avaricioua
triple ministers of the Banza Nculu, far away from the Banza Vivi and
its king, far away from the quarrelsome, covetous, gin-drinking,
noisy, and licentious old Gidi Mavonga, far away from that senseless
nincompoop the Prince Sudikil, and――praise be to Allah!――within hail
of Her Majesty’s ship _Griffon_.
[7] This MS. consisted mainly of notes roughly jotted down
by Burton in a memorandum book. I have thought it best to
publish them as they stood, with no alterations except those
necessary to make the essay coherent and legible.――W. H. W.
_THE INTERIOR OF BRAZIL_
1867
_THE INTERIOR OF BRAZIL_
1867
I had been in Brazil nearly two years, vegetating between Santos and
São Paulo, varied by an occasional expedition afield or a trip to Rio
de Janeiro, when I determined to put into action my long-cherished
plan of prospecting the great and wealthy province of Minas Gerães in
the interior, and then to go down the São Francisco, which is the
Brazilian Mississippi, from Sabará to the sea, and to visit _en route_
the Paulo Affonso rapids, the Niagara of Brazil. As my wife was very
anxious to go, I took her with me.
We left Rio on June 12th, 1867, and sailed across the incomparable
Bay, and then ascended to Petropolis. From Petropolis we made our real
start in a large char-à-banc, which held eight, in two and two, and
which was drawn by four mules. The mules started off in fine style;
being fresh and frisky they simply galloped along the mountain side.
It is not necessary for me to describe the first part of the journey,
which, for a few days, travelled along a well-known road, through a
splendid district of wooded mountains, broad rivers, and boulders of
rock; the vegetation was especially fine, even tropical. At Juiz de
Fora we abandoned our char-à-banc for the coach, whereby we travelled
to Barbacena, and here again we left the coach for the saddle, and
followed the bridle-road, if indeed it could be called a road.
I should weary if I were to describe the places we passed through
until we came to Logão Duroda, where the railway was in process of
making, and where they were just laying the first chain for the
exploration of the mountains and for the prolongation of the Dom Pedro
Secunda Railway. There was an inauguration ceremony, and my wife had
the honour of giving the first blow to the stock and breaking a bottle
of wine over it. After that we had a convivial gathering, and wound up
with a dinner in the good old English fashion. Next day we started off
again, and still riding through beautiful scenery, up and down
mountains, through shallow rivers and bits of virgin forests, from day
to day, we eventually arrived at Morro Velho, where we were most
hospitably received by the superintendent of the São Goa d’el Rey
Mining Company and Mrs. Gordon, and we spent some days in their most
comfortable home. Morro Velho is the queen of the Minas Gerães mines,
and a most interesting place, but, as we were going back to it, we
determined to press on to Ouro Preto, which is the capital of the
province, a most hilly town, for walking up and down the streets was
as difficult as climbing up ladders. We stayed here two days, and then
returned to Morro Velho. We had a long, muddy, rainy journey on the
way back, slipping backward two steps for every one forward, but at
last we arrived at the Gordons’ house again, and were warmly welcomed
as before. Here we tarried for a fortnight, and thoroughly explored
everything.
Among other things we explored the mine, which had the reputation of
being the largest, deepest, and richest gold-mine in Brazil. My wife
determined to go with me, and Mrs. Gordon, who had never before
ventured under grass, kindly consented to accompany her. Mr. Gordon
and I went down first in a bucket, or kibble, which was suspended over
the abyss. We found in it a rough wooden seat, comfortable enough. We
were advised by the pitman not to look downwards, as the glimmer of
the sparks and lights below was apt to cause giddiness and
seasickness. I did look down and felt none the worse. We touched and
tilted half over once against a cableway drum, but that was our only
contretemps. I could not but wonder at the mighty timbering which met
my eyes as it dilated in the darkness;――timber everywhere, all of the
best and hardest wood. The mighty mass, it might hardly be said, was
not without flaws, very palpable at second look. We made an easy
descent down the shaft, and a bunch of lighted tow, tied to the bucket
chain, showed us all its features. There was no “rattle his bones over
the stones,” and the drop lasted fifteen minutes. At the bottom the
kibble, or bucket, stood still, began to reel like a boat, and
descended perpendicularly until we stepped out. Presently Mrs. Gordon
and my wife, habited in brown holland trousers, belted blouses, and
miners’ caps, came down, delighted with the kibble travelling. The men
did everything to banish the ladies’ alarm, and spoke and cheered us
as we passed. The mine was utterly new to me, and most unlike the
dirty labyrinth of little clefts and filthy galleries down which I
have often crawled like a low reptile; the height suggested a cavern
or a huge stone-quarry.
Candle burning, the usual test, detected nothing abnormal in the
atmosphere; the ventilation was excellent. Of course, our feet were
wiped, and, physically speaking, they wanted wiping; the floor was
wet, the mud was slippery, and locomotion somewhat like an ascent of
the Pyramids, although the ground was pretty level.
It was a huge palace of darkness; the walls were either black as the
grave, or reflected in the slender rays of light a watery surface, or
were broken into monstrous projections, half revealing and half
concealing cavernous recesses. Despite the lamps, the night pressed
upon us, as it were, with a weight, and the only measure of distance
was a spark here and there, glimmering like a single star. Distinctly
nerve-testing was the gulf between the huge mountain sides, apparently
threatening every moment to fall. Through this Inferno gnomes glided
about in a ghostly fashion, half-naked figures enveloped by the mist.
Here dark bodies hung by chains in what seemed frightful positions;
there they swung like leopards from place to place; there they swarmed
up loose ropes like troglodytes; there they moved over scaffolding,
which even to look up at would make a nervous temperament dizzy.
Our visit to the mine amply repaid us; it was a place
Where thoughts were many, and words were few.
But the fact will remain on our mental retina as long as our brains
will do their duty.
After a fortnight at Morro Velho I prepared to go to Sabará, there to
embark _en route_ to the coast. With a peculiar cat-like feeling I
bade adieu to the Gordons, with whom we had found an English home in
the Highlands of Brazil. My excellent compatriots, however,
accompanied me to break the shock of departure; my wife also, though,
as she had sprained her ankle badly, she was to return to Rio.
It was a long ride from Morro Velho and a tiring one, and we were glad
to enter the picturesque city of Sabará, where we found tolerable
lodgings. Here I completed my preparations for descending the Rio das
Velhas, and had to seek the aid of a store-keeper, who turned out to
be an extortioner. That, perhaps, was only to be expected; but I may
justly complain when, in addition to his extortionate charges, he sent
me down the river, a river like the Mississippi, in a raft whose
starboard canoe had a leak scarcely stopped up with Sabará clay.