THE TEMPERATE ZONE
Brazil is not all within the tropics. The Tropic of Capricorn passes
through the suburbs of the city of São Paulo. South of this line is the
temperate zone, within which is included the states of Santa Catharina
and Rio Grande do Sul, almost the entire state of Paraná, and a part of
the states of São Paulo and Matto Grosso. Leaving São Paulo, a ride of
two hours over a unique railroad carries the traveller to the busiest
port in Brazil. The ride down the Serro is delightful on a clear day.
The train is divided into small sections, each with its own powerful
little engine, which are attached to a cable. One section is always taken
up while another is going down in order to balance the load. Through
tunnels, over tressels and along shelves cut out of the solid rock, the
train gradually descends until the coast level is reached, and a short
ride carries the traveller into the splendid station at Santos.
The city of Santos is not alone one of the most important ports of
Brazil, but of the world as well, because of the enormous quantity of
coffee shipped from it. At one time it was noted in a different way. It
was then regarded as one of the most unhealthy cities in the Americas.
I talked with a man who had lived there for twenty-five years, and he
told me that in times of pestilence the dead bodies would be taken out to
the cemetery by the score each day. People who went there hardly dared
to breathe, so fearful were they of contagion. The Brazilian government
deserves great credit for the changes that have been wrought in Santos,
for the death rate is no greater than in the average coast city, as
complete sanitation has been effected, and a good water supply brought in.
The name of Santos is an abbreviation of the original name Todos os
Santos (All the Saints), for it was on All Saints’ Day that the site
was discovered by Braz Cubras, in 1543. It was plundered by the English
Vice-Admiral Cook in 1651, under orders from Admiral Thomas Cavendish.
Because of its admirable bay Santos early became an important port. It is
situated on a point of land which becomes an island in the rainy season.
It looks quite picturesque as one sails up the channel to the docks,
with the tropical vegetation and the surrounding hills which slope almost
to the water’s edge.
It is the only harbour along the Atlantic coast where vessels can unload
without resort to lighters. A very extensive system of docks has been
constructed here, which will be two and one-half miles in length when
finished. Several dozen vessels will then be able to lay at the wharf
at the same time, as frequently happens in the busy season. More than
one thousand boats call here each year. The city is not especially
interesting, as there is nothing to distinguish it from other Brazilian
cities. The main interest lies along the docks. And, by the way, the
Docas de Santos Company have a contract that is worth a fortune. This
company constructed the docks, and are given a concession which is
bringing in millions of dollars in profit.
[Illustration: LOADING COFFEE AT SANTOS DOCKS.]
In the coffee season the docks, the streets of the shipping quarter
and the warehouses have a busy appearance. The streets are almost
rendered impassable by the wagons loaded with bags of coffee. Dozens of
_carigadores_ hurry back and forth between the wagons and warehouses,
or between warehouses and boats, with two or three bags of coffee on
their shoulders. Women dart here and there among the wagons, and pick,
or scrape up, the berries which have been spilled upon the ground during
the loading and unloading; and they sometimes realize a fair sum for a
day’s work. In the warehouses the coffee is emptied out in immense piles,
sorted and resacked in bags of uniform weight, and then stacked up in
piles which number thousands of bags. From these docks the coffee is sent
out to Europe and America, and from there distributed to all parts of the
civilized world.
The through steamers to Argentina and Uruguay do not stop at any
Brazilian ports south of Santos, so that it is necessary to take the
national boats. It is a law of the country that coast steamers must fly
the Brazilian flag. There are two lines that make the various stops, of
which the Costeira Line of Lage Brothers is probably the best, as they
have English captains.
After leaving Santos the tropical plants and palms grow less luxuriantly,
and the vegetation more closely resembles our Gulf States. The first port
at which the boat stops is Paranaguá, the only harbour, and the only
port of any importance on the coast of the state of Paraná, a state about
the size of Pennsylvania. There is a strip of lowland along the coast
that is subtropical, being low, flat and marshy. On these marsh lands
rice has been very successfully cultivated during the past few years.
West of the coast range of mountains the climate is more temperate, and
there are some fine plateaus that extend as far as the Paraná River on
the western boundary.
[Illustration: CUTTING RICE WITH AN AMERICAN HARVESTER.]
Paranaguá is a thriving town of ten thousand or more, and has one of the
finest harbours on the coast. From this port a railway has been built to
the capital, Curytiba, and Ponta Grossa, the second largest town in the
state, a distance of nearly two hundred miles. This line is a triumph
of engineering, for it climbs over the Serro da Mar without resorting
to the aid of cogs or cables. A ride over it affords some magnificent
views in the richness and variety of views to be seen as the train runs
around bends, and bursts forth from the many tunnels along the line. This
route is said to have been the scene of many tragic deaths during the
revolution of 1893-4, when revolutionists were carried by train to the
highest points along the line, and then brutally hurled into the depths
below.
It is a journey of about four hours to Curytiba, which is a pretty
little city of half a hundred thousand people, more or less. It is one
of the largest cities south of São Paulo, and is situated at an altitude
of 2,500 feet above sea level, thus giving it a pleasant and equable
temperature. The city is comparatively modern with the usual public
buildings of a capital, plazas filled with shrubbery and flowers, and a
Botanical Garden of which the people are very proud.
Paraná is a rich state in natural resources. It was formerly united
with São Paulo as one province, and the original inhabitants have many
of the same qualities as the Paulistas. Many foreign colonies have been
established by state aid, and some of them have prospered. Italians,
Poles and Germans constitute the colonists, of whom the Poles are
probably the most numerous. There are large areas of forests, of which a
tree known as the Paraná pine is the most common, as well as most useful.
This tree grows to a lofty and imposing height, with a trunk several feet
thick. It is used much the same as our own pine, and a great deal of it
is exported to the other Brazilian states, as well as to Argentina and
Uruguay.
The most valuable article of commerce at the present time is the _Ilex
Paraguayensis_, from which the herb maté, or Paraguay tea, is made.
Brazil is a great producer of this tea as well as coffee. From this maté
is brewed a beverage that is used by twenty million or more of South
Americans, for one will see its disciples in Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay,
Chile and Argentina, and probably other countries as well. The early
Jesuit missionaries were the first discoverers of the virtue of this
plant, when they found the Indians chewed it, and by doing so were able
to undergo great hardships with very little solid food. These fathers
experimented with the shrub, or rather tree, and instructed the Indians
in its cultivation. At a later time immense forests were discovered, and
it is from them that the principal crop is now obtained.
The state of Paraná produces more of this preparation than any other
country, and several million dollars’ worth of it are shipped each year
to the other states and foreign countries. Its production has been the
source of wealth to not a few in that state, for the _yerbales_, as
the plantations are called, have proven very profitable. It is made
from the leaves of a tree that is generally about the size of an orange
tree, but will sometimes grow to a height of twenty-five feet, and
with a trunk two, and even three feet, in circumference. One tree will
oftentimes yield ninety pounds of the prepared herb. As the plantations
are generally remote, the gatherers go together in their long trips
across country. The season begins in December, and lasts for a number of
months. Firing, and in some places, the picking, drying and packing were
all formerly done on the grounds, but now machinery has been installed
for the different processes of preparing it for the market. By the old
process the maté gatherers cleared off a space of ground, and then beat
it down very hard. The freshly cut stems and leaves were first placed in
the centre and a fire built around it; then placed on poles with a fire
underneath. Drying the leaves two or three days reduced them to a dry
powder, and they were then packed in bags made ready to be taken back to
the markets. Large copper pans placed over a slow fire now take the place
of this primitive process.
A number of scientists claim high medicinal qualities for the beverage.
They say that it has more stimulating and tonic effects than the common
tea, with absolutely none of the bad or unpleasant effects. Instead of
keeping the user awake, for instance, it is claimed that the user is
never troubled with insomnia. It can be made and used the same as any
tea, but it is commonly taken from the _cuya_, and drawn up through the
_bombilla_. The _cuya_ is a small bowl or gourd, with a little opening
through which the maté is put in. Hot water is then poured over, and a
little sugar added. The _bombilla_ is a small pipe, with a strainer on
the end, through which the beverage is sipped. Some of these _cuyas_
and _bombillas_ are very elaborate and made of pure silver. Hot water
and another lump of sugar must be added every few minutes to keep it
palatable. It is a very common sight to see the natives sitting outside
their homes sipping this favourite drink of theirs, its use oftentimes
supplanting the stronger intoxicants. Some hotels and restaurants serve
it, and many foreigners become as fond of maté as those who were born in
the country, and its use is being introduced in a small way in Europe.
As the vessel proceeds farther south it stops at Florianapolis, capital
of the state of Santa Catharina. The coast of this state is, perhaps,
the most beautiful of all the Brazilian states, excepting that of Rio de
Janeiro. The maritime range rises very abruptly to a great height, with
only a very narrow strip between it and the sea. There are several good
harbours. Florianapolis lies on an island, about five miles from the
mainland which the city faces. It makes a beautiful picture. Where Rio
is grand, there is a softness about this scene that also appeals to the
poetic side of nature. Back of the city rises the background of hills,
green with semi-tropical verdure, which reach a height of three thousand
feet. The entire island is almost a garden of beauty with its variegated
hues of shrubs and flowers, and the driveways which are overhung with
trees and vines. It is not as large as Curytiba, but is more important
in a commercial sense than that neighbouring capital, because it is a
shipping port at which several vessels call each week.
The state of Santa Catharina is somewhat similar to Paraná, although not
so large. The plateaus are devoted to stock raising, of which horses
and mules form a large part. The majority of the small but tough and
wiry mules used in the states farther north come from this state.
Some tobacco, sugar and dairy products are also exported, and fruit is
now being cultivated on a much larger scale than formerly. A number
of German colonies are found in this state, and some of them are so
pronouncedly Teutonic that the Portuguese tongue is scarcely understood.
This shows not only in the architecture of these towns, but also in
the dress and manners of the inhabitants, although the greater part of
the German element has lived here for a long time. Joinville, Blumenau
and Brusque are three of these distinctly German settlements. It is a
question whether they have advanced faster than the native Brazilians.
At least it is certain that they have not kept pace with the Fatherland,
probably because there has been no continued influx of new blood into the
settlements.
Leaving Florianapolis the vessel skirts along the shores of Santa
Catharina, and for a long distance along the low coast of the state of
Rio Grande do Sul, until the port of the same name, the most southerly
port of the republic, is reached. The coast line of this state is
peculiar in that it consists of lakes or lagoons, which are separated
from the sea by comparatively narrow strips of land. The principal lake,
called Lagoa dos Patos (Ducks Lake), is one hundred and fifty miles long
and from twenty to thirty miles wide, and has only one narrow channel
connecting it with the ocean, that at Rio Grande do Sul, at its southerly
extremity. The lake is not very deep, but a twelve foot channel has been
dredged to Pelotas, and a ten foot channel has been completed almost to
Porto Alegre. At the entrance there are sandbars which make it impossible
for deep draught vessels to enter, but the coasting boats proceed up to
the furthermost extremity, at which is located the largest city of the
state, Porto Alegre, the “merry port.”
The government is now engaged in the work of dredging a channel to a
depth of ten meters (thirty-two and eight-tenths feet) over this bar
which, with the port works planned, will give Rio Grande do Sul one of
the best harbours on the Brazilian coast, and will probably make it the
chief city south of São Paulo. The cost of this improvement will be
about $10,000,000 in gold, for which a special tax of two per cent. on
all goods coming into the state through this channel has been levied.
The port works will cost almost an equal sum, and a concession has been
granted to a company which agrees to make this improvement. The plan
adopted is to construct two parallel dikes, or jetties, from the mouth of
the river into the new harbour, and there construct basins which will be
large enough to manœuvre the largest vessels afloat. Rubble stones and
immense cement blocks will be used for this work, and it is estimated
that at least four million tons of this material will be required. At
least ten million cubic yards will have to be dredged for the channel and
basins. The sand and clay brought up by the dredges will be deposited
inside the revetments in order to fill up the low land. This improvement
was formally begun December 11th, 1907, and the preliminary work has
been done, so that the main part of the undertaking is now progressing
very satisfactorily. An American engineer is in charge of the work, but
the contract is held by a French company. It is expected that this much
needed improvement, which has been under consideration for a quarter of a
century, will be completed in 1913. This will revolutionize this port and
make Rio Grande do Sul a port of call for European and American steamers.
It will not only give an easy outlet to Southern Brazil, but a much
shorter one for Northern Uruguay and a part of Argentina.
Rio Grande do Sul of to-day is a thrifty little city of twenty-five
thousand inhabitants, with pretty parks and narrow streets, but nothing
outside of its shipping to attract much attention to itself. There are
schools, colleges and churches, charitable institutions and a library,
all of which are excellent in themselves. It is about eight hundred
miles from Rio harbour. A decade hence it will be a much more important
and a much larger city than at present. A few miles farther up the lake
is the larger town of Pelotas, which is the centre of the beef curing
establishments, of which there are so many along this lake. In addition
to the beef consumed locally these _xarqueados_ prepare and export more
than $6,000,000 worth of this dried and salted meat annually.
The southern part of Rio Grande do Sul is composed of prairie lands,
called _campos_, which comprise perhaps two-thirds of the area of this
state, which is twice as large as the state of New York. These plains are
covered with pasture, and contain only a little timber along the streams.
These great _campos_ are divided up into _estancias_ or _fazendas_, which
are frequently many thousands of acres in extent. Natural boundaries,
such as streams and ridges, have generally been chosen, which not
only serve as natural fences, but settle absolutely all questions of
ownership. The house of the _estanciero_ is generally situated on an
elevation which overlooks the estate, and around it are grouped the huts
of the labourers. There is, as a rule, no cultivation of the soil except
to supply the wants of those dwelling on the estate. The entire attention
is devoted to the raising of cattle, of which there are more than four
million in the state. A few raise mules to supply the cities. The _Rio
Grandense_, as the inhabitant is called, is, first of all, a ranchman.
In the spring, men, called the _tropeiros_, visit all the _estancias_,
and bargain for the cattle at so much a head for cash. They are then
formed into great herds and driven overland to the _xarqueados_, which
is the name given to the killing establishments of Brazil. In these
establishments the salted and dried beef is prepared, which forms the
principal meat supply of central and northern Brazil, where few cattle
are raised.
[Illustration: SELLING CATTLE IN RIO GRANDE DO SUL.]
The process of preparing this meat is quite interesting, for it is so
much different from the methods of preparing and preserving beef in
our own country. Pelotas is the greatest centre of this industry, but
thousands of head of cattle are also killed at Bagé, Quarahim, San
Gabriel and other towns. The work of killing and curing is done in the
season from November to May, which are the summer months. After an animal
has been killed the carcass is taken to a long and broad dissecting
shed, where it is immediately set upon by a man and boys armed with long
knives. In less than ten minutes, as a rule, the hide has been removed,
and all the meat cut in strips and removed from the bones. These strips
of meat are made as large as possible. After being cut up the strips are
hung up for a time on poles to cool, but no artificial cooling process
is used. They are then immersed in immense tanks filled with strong salt
brine. Later, they are placed in a tank filled with a still stronger
brine, and, finally, into a third solution of great strength.
After being sufficiently soaked in this strong brine, the strips of
meat are piled up with alternate layers of salt. From these piles the
meat is laid out on rows of railings, and thoroughly dried in the sun,
which gives it the final process of curing and seasoning. This meat then
becomes the _xarque_, or jerked beef, which forms a most important
article of food in Brazil, and can be seen for sale in the meat markets
all over the country. It is bound in bales of about two hundred pounds,
covered with sacking and shipped to the markets. To use it the meat
must first be soaked for a time in water to remove the excess of the
salt preservative, and then it is boiled or roasted, making a nutritive
diet of which the people are very fond. The tongues are prepared in the
same way, and shipped to the northern markets. The hides are salted to
preserve them, the bones, horns and hoofs are boiled to remove all the
tallow and glue, and all of these products are shipped to Europe. The
process as followed to this day is a wasteful one. The same care and
economy of manufacture followed in the United States would yield far
greater profits to the manufacturers. A half million or more of cattle
are slaughtered and cured in this way, in the state of Rio Grande do
Sul each year, and it could be developed to far greater proportions
under proper management. It will not be, however, until foreign capital
develops the industry, as it has in Argentina.
[Illustration: VIEW OF PORTO ALEGRE.]
At the northern end of the lagoon is the principal city of Southern
Brazil, Porto Alegre. It is a neat and prosperous city, in which nearly
all the foreign banks and business houses doing business in Brazil
have branches. The view in travelling up the lagoon is not especially
attractive, for it consists mostly of flat fields along which are miles
of racks, on which the jerked beef is laid out to dry. The city itself
is built on a promontory which juts out into the river. The commercial
prosperity of this city began with the colonizing of a lot of Germans
soon after the revolution of the middle of the last century in Germany.
The Teutonic element is very marked in Porto Alegre, as well as in other
cities of the state, such as Novo Friburgo and São Leopoldo, which are
still more distinctly German. There is a large municipal theatre, city
hall, cathedral and other public buildings. In fact, commercially as well
as in every other way, Porto Alegre is the leading city south of São
Paulo.
Rio Grande do Sul has a population of about a million and a quarter,
thus making it fifth in population in the republic. Its climate is
temperate, and the winter season sometimes becomes quite cool. Snow
occasionally falls, and, when the cold winds blow in from the west, the
still waters freeze over. It resembles very much the plains of Uruguay,
on which also immense herds of cattle feed. A number of minerals are
found, and it contains about the only profitable coal mines that have yet
been discovered in Brazil. Near Porto Alegre are some coal mines that
have been worked for years; but they are not worked near to their full
capacity, because the freight rates are so high that the coal cannot be
shipped profitably to the other Brazilian states. A little gold is mined
as well as some silver, lead and copper. A number of precious stones such
as amethysts, topaz, tourmalines, aquamarines and moonstones are found in
certain sections.
Rio Grande do Sul has had a chequered career almost ever since its
settlement. For a long time its ownership was contested between Spaniards
and Portuguese, although at an earlier time, when the capitancias were
formed, no one considered it worth the taking. Many of the original
settlers came from the Azores, and some of the inhabitants are still
glad to call themselves Azoreans. It was not until 1822 that it was
definitely united with the rest of Brazil, but at that time it was joined
to the empire as a separate province. The independent and martial
spirit, engendered by the many wars, has made the state very independent,
and this has caused it to be turbulent. Quite a good deal of railway
construction has been done in the past decade, and this has added to
the prosperity of the country by opening up new districts to trade and
commerce. The construction of railways is comparatively easy. The Uruguay
River on the western boundary furnishes good communication with Uruguayan
and Argentinian ports, and regular steamship service is maintained on it.
There are also some rivers emptying into the lake, which are navigable
for small craft.
The state of Matto Grosso, (the dense forest) is an empire in itself, for
it contains a greater area than the original thirteen colonies. It is
one-sixth as large as the United States. It is not only an undeveloped,
but practically an unexplored country, whose resources are only half
understood. Much of it is as wild as it was when Sebastian Cabot made
his way up the Paraguay River early in the sixteenth century. All of
its supplies are conveyed up the waterways of the La Plata system, and
it takes a month to reach Cuyaba, the capital, from Rio de Janeiro.
It has a population not exceeding one person to each four square
miles of territory, so that there are few towns. Cuyaba has perhaps
twenty thousand souls, and has long ago passed the century mark of its
existence. It is said to be quite an attractive little city.
It is a five days’ ride from Rio to Buenos Ayres. From there it is a
journey of about six days up the Paraná and Paraguay Rivers to Ascuncion,
the capital of the Republic of Paraguay. A two days’ ride above
Ascuncion carries one within the borders of Matto Grosso. The Paraguay
River, which, up to this point, has been wide, gradually narrows. The
scenery becomes wilder, and the river runs between mountains, at the
base of which grow giant palms and tree-like ferns. Vines and creepers
bind together the tall trees, which stand in a mass of impenetrable
vegetation. The only break in this is an occasional farmhouse along
the bank. Many kinds of wild birds and some wild animals are seen,
alligators abound in the water and fish are plentiful. The jaguar is not
uncommon. It is only after several changes of steamers, and a journey of
twenty-seven hundred miles by river boats, that one at last reaches the
capital of this monstrous province. The Paraguay River is well adapted to
navigation. As far as Ascuncion it has a depth of at least twenty feet.
For several hundred miles above this city the depth never goes below
twelve feet. There are few islands and it is more easy of navigation
than the Paraná, which is so much obstructed by shoals and rapids. This
fortunate natural outlet will render a cheap and easy transportation for
the produce of this state when developed. The northern part of this state
drains into the Amazon, and a number of the rivers are navigable almost
to the centre of the state.