NATIVIDADE TO ARRAYAS.
The Town of Natividade described—Its Population—Dress and
Manners of the People—Its Climate—Diseases—Goître extremely
prevalent—Excursion to the neighbouring lofty Mountain
Range—Its Geology and Vegetation—Visits the Arraial da
Chapada—Leaves Natividade—Passes San Bento, and arrives
at the Arraial de Conceição—Its Population—Very subject
to Goître—Probable cause of this Complaint—Reaches Barra,
and crosses the Rio de Palma—Arrives at Santa Brida—Stays
at Sapê—Account of the Animal and Vegetable Productions of
the Neighbourhood—Reaches the Villa de Arrayas—The Town
described—Geological Features of the surrounding Country—Its
Climate and Productions—Alarm of the Inhabitants—Muster of the
National Guards—Preparation for Departure.
The Villa de Natividade is situated near the western base of the southern
extremity of the Serra already mentioned, which bears the same name, and
like most of the towns in the interior is very irregularly built. The
population amounts to about 2,000 souls consisting of the same mixed
races we had so frequently met with before. It contains four churches,
which although now very old, are not yet quite finished, nor is it at
all likely that they ever will be completed. There is also a jail, but
it is built of unburned bricks, through which the prisoners generally
contrive to escape, so that it can scarcely be called a prison. Most of
the houses are constructed of this material. The inhabitants are lazy
and indolent in the extreme, and consequently there is always a great
scarcity of the common necessaries of life among them; notwithstanding
that much of the country in the neighbourhood of the Villa is well suited
for plantations of mandiocca, &c., still very few are to be seen;
and although there are many large cattle farms at only a few leagues
distance, it is not above once a month, that fresh beef can be purchased;
but this is not much to be wondered at, as the mass of the inhabitants,
from their indolent habits, have not the means of buying it, or any
other useful article. On enquiry of one of the most respectable persons
in the place, how these persons contrived to live, he told me that the
few who were industrious had to support the others, for they generally
stole from their plantations as much as served to sustain their miserable
existence. During our stay, we were obliged to live almost entirely on
farinha and dried salt beef, neither rice, plantains, nor yams being
obtainable. Occasionally I was able to purchase a kind of coarse biscuit,
made of Indian corn flour, and once or twice I had a present sent me of a
few small loaves, made from wheat grown on high lands, near the town of
Cavalcante, a long way to the south. I never saw wheat cultivated in any
of those places I visited, and this was the only time I ever tasted bread
made from that grain grown within the tropics.
Although the dress of the men is here much the same as in other northern
parts of Brazil, that of the women differs greatly, for when dressed
either for attending church, joining in processions, or visiting their
friends, in place of the large white cotton shawl, which the women of
Ceará throw over their heads, or the small white handkerchief used in
Piauhy for the same purpose, I was rather surprised to find that here,
they all wore cloaks made either of Scotch tartan or blue cloth, very
similar to those worn by the factory girls of Glasgow in the winter
season. Here it is a universal custom for the women to smoke; and the
pipe, which has a wooden tube about three feet long, is seldom out of
their mouths from morning till night. They work little, but eat and sleep
a great deal; the lower classes of females are also much addicted to
drinking the rum of the country (cachaça). The only prisoner confined
in the jail while I was there, was a woman, who a few years before was
condemned to twenty years’ imprisonment, for causing her own son to kill
his father. The son, who was condemned to perpetual imprisonment and
hard labour, broke through the walls of the prison shortly after his
sentence, and effected his escape.
When we arrived, there were three priests in the Villa, one of whom died
during our stay. These, like most others I met with, instead of being
examples of morality to the people, were immoral to an extent almost past
belief. The one who died was an old man upwards of seventy-four years
of age: he was a native of Santos in the province of San Paulo, and a
cousin of the celebrated José Bonifacio de Andrade. Although a man of a
very humane and benevolent disposition, and well educated, he left behind
him a family of half a dozen children by his own slaves, most of whom,
with their mothers, were left in bondage, and were afterwards sold with
his other effects for the payment of his debts. The Vigario General was
a half-caste, upwards of forty years of age, who had only been ordained
a few years before; up to that time he was, and still continues to be,
the largest cattle farmer in the district. Having acquired as much Latin
from the old priest, as would enable him to mumble over the service of
the church, but without the least knowledge of theology, he went to the
city of Goyaz, to purchase his ordination from the bishop; a short time
afterwards he obtained, by another purchase, the vicar generalship of the
district. About a month after my arrival in the Villa, I was sent for to
attend a young slave belonging to him, a fine girl about sixteen years
of age, who died of puerperal fever, a few days after giving birth to a
child, of which he was the father. By the inhabitants, this man was as
much detested, as the old priest had been loved and esteemed.
Both the soil and the climate of this neighbourhood are far superior to
those of Piauhy and Ceará; the rains generally set in about the beginning
of October, and continue more or less till April. During the whole of
the month of December, and part of January, it rained almost incessantly
every day, rendering it quite impossible to stir out; but in the latter
part of January and the beginning of February the weather was very fine,
with the exception of the afternoons, when there was usually a heavy
thunder-storm. The thunder-storms and the rain generally came from the
north, north-east, and east, originating probably on the Serras which
exist at a considerable distance in those directions. Indian corn and
mandiocca are the principal articles cultivated here; but many of the
fazendeiros also find it profitable to plant cane, not so much for the
manufacture of sugar as of rum, which meets a ready sale. The only fruit
trees that are cultivated are orange and lime, and in a few instances the
jaca and tamarind.
The principal diseases of this district are intermittent and malignant
fevers, especially at the beginning and towards the end of the rainy
season. Ophthalmia and its consequences, as well as syphilis and its
effects, are also very common, and yearly produce many miserable objects.
Nearly the whole of the inhabitants are affected with goître, and
children are frequently born with it, even strangers who come to reside
in the Villa and neighbourhood, are sure to become affected with it in
the course of a few years. Some ascribe it to the use of the sea salt
brought from Pará, the people having previously been accustomed to the
use of that they obtain from the soil in the neighbourhood, which is
impregnated with salt; others say that it is caused by the waters from
the Serra, which in the dry season particularly are a little saline.
Whatever the cause may be, all seemed to agree both here, and at Almas,
that it is only within the last twenty years that it has become so
prevalent among them: I found it quite as frequent at Conceição and
Arrayas, two towns further to the south, at which places the waters are
also saline, especially those flowing from the limestone mountains. All
the places where I have seen it prevail, lie along the eastern base of
the Serra Geral, a broad mountain chain, which divides the province of
Goyaz from those of Pernambuco and Minas Geräes; burnt sponge is the
only remedy they employ against it. They have, however, recourse to
another method, in which they put great faith; this is a small piece
of cord taken to a church, and cut exactly the length of the image of
the crucifixion which they wear round their necks. I made enquiries of
several who wore this kind of charm, whether they imagined it produced
any effect on the swelling, but, as was to be expected, they all
confessed that it not only failed in curing it, but in no way prevented
it from increasing in size.
I had now reached the most northerly point of the Brazilian empire, that
had previously been visited by any naturalist, for neither Pohl nor
Burchell had extended their excursions beyond Natividade. It is true that
Spix and Martius also travelled in the north of Brazil, but their route
was in a very different direction. As I was here informed that these
travellers had not ascended the neighbouring lofty Serra, I was resolved
to do so, for the double purpose of making botanical collections, and of
examining its geological structure. On this journey I was accompanied by
Mr. Walker, a black shoe-maker, who acted as a guide, and one of my own
men. Following the banks of a small stream which comes from the Serra,
and which passing near the north end of the Villa, yields it a constant
supply of clear and cool water, we reached the foot of the Serra, and
shortly afterwards, by a gradual ascent, arrived on the top of a low
branch, where we found a broad shallow valley, the soil of which had been
completely turned over in search of gold; and near the centre of it, we
came upon the ruins of what we were told had been the original site of
the Villa. It was founded by those who first ventured into this distant
region in search of gold, and was abandoned about sixty or seventy years
ago, when this metal became scarce, and when cattle farms were found to
be more productive than mines. Near the top of this valley there is a
small artificial lake, which must have been formed at a great expense,
and from it the water was led in small streams to the places where the
washings were going on. The soil in which the gold was found, is a
ferruginous gravel, formed from the disintegration of the primitive rocks
of which the Serra is composed.
Leaving the valley of the gold mines, which is above a mile in length,
and beginning to ascend the higher part of the Serra, which is very
thinly wooded with small trees, and covered with abundance of tree-lilies
(_Vellozia_), as well as several kinds of coarse grass, we arrived at a
place near the summit, which was rocky, steep, and of difficult ascent.
It was some time before we could find a proper path, and in doing so,
Mr. Walker, who was the first to climb up, met with an accident which
nearly proved fatal to him; when near the top, part of a rock by which
he laid hold gave way, and he was precipitated from a height of about
sixteen or eighteen feet with great violence, and rolled over some large
stones to within a few feet of a deep precipice; it was a most fortunate
circumstance for him that he did not go over it, or he would have been
dashed to pieces. Although considerably bruised, he was again the first
to lead the way, reaching the top with safety, where with more or less
difficulty we followed him. On attaining this point, we thought we had
gained the highest part of the Serra, but about half a mile to the
north we saw another point considerably higher to which we now directed
our steps. During the ascent the sun was very powerful, but at this
elevation, we found a deliciously cool breeze blowing from the east,
which was very refreshing. We all suffered from thirst, and fortunately
found, at the base of the highest peak, a little pool of clear cool
water, by the side of which we took some refreshment that we had brought
with us. From the summit we had a beautiful prospect in all directions;
to the eastward and north, the view was bounded by several chains of low
Serras, but to the westward and south, the country appeared one vast
plain, which was lost in the horizon. The top was covered with large
blocks of granite, among which grew a few stunted trees and shrubs.
I found the western side of the Serra to be bounded by a thick bed of
very compact greyish-coloured limestone, which beyond the northern point
of the Serra, for some leagues, forms large isolated hills, covered
with wood. The central part of the chain is granite, between which and
the limestone formation the rocks are schistose. My botanical harvest
was a very rich one, so much so that I was induced, on two subsequent
occasions, to ascend the mountain again. I collected, in particular,
many curious and beautiful little ferns, all new species, and several
beautiful _Vellozias_; these plants are peculiar to Brazil, and as I
have so often spoken of them, I shall here describe their appearance:
they belong to the _Endogenous_ or _Monocotyledonous_ division of the
vegetable kingdom, and were named in honour of Dr. Joaquim Vellozo de
Miranda, a Jesuit, who was a native of the province of Minas Geräes, and
who devoted much of his leisure time to the study of the botany of his
country. They are most commonly found on the mountains of the interior,
but principally in the gold and diamond districts, growing in open grassy
places, and often covering large tracts; they vary in height from a few
inches to twelve feet; their stems are very dry and fibrous, and seem to
be made up of a great mass of long slender roots loosely hung together;
and not unfrequently they contain a resinous matter, which causes them to
be sought after in the woodless regions of the diamond district for fuel.
Sometimes these stems are not less than a foot in diameter; they are very
much branched, and are entirely leafless, except the last divisions of
the branches, which are clothed with long, narrow, aloe-like leaves, not,
however, fleshy; from the centre of these spring the flowers, which are
generally solitary, although some of the smaller species have as many as
six arising from the end of each branch. In the large kinds, the flowers
are about six inches long, either of a pure white, or more frequently of
a beautiful purple colour; in shape, they are not unlike the large white
lily of our gardens, and hence their name of tree-lilies. These plants
are called by the Brazilians, Canela d’Emú (literally Emu shanks), from
their bare stems resembling the legs of that bird. These beautiful plants
were first introduced into the hot-houses of England, from seeds sent
home by me; and as they are of very slow growth, and apparently difficult
of cultivation, it may reasonably be expected they will be a long time
before they can exhibit the beauty of their wild progenitors.
Besides many shorter excursions which I made in the neighbourhood of
Natividade, I went several times to the Arraial da Chapada, a village
about two leagues to the N.W.; it is about half the size of Natividade,
and is situated on one of those low, flat table-lands called Chapadas,
and hence its name. The country round it, as about Natividade, has all
been turned over in search of gold; but those who formerly employed
their slaves on this labour, now find it more to their profit to employ
them on plantations. There are still a few old free blacks who get a
scanty livelihood by washing the soil. On my visits to this place I
was always very hospitably entertained by Captain Baptista, an old
Portuguese, who has been settled there for many years, and who is
father-in-law to the proprietor of Sociedade. He spoke much of Pohl
and Burchell, both of whom remained some time in the Arraial, and with
whom he seemed to have been intimate. My visits to this place afforded
large additions to my collections, the limestone hills near Sociedade
in particular being very rich in plants. During my stay in the Villa
de Natividade, I received much kindness from Senhor Zacaria Antonio do
Santo, the Juiz dos Orfãos. I had many visits also from a person who
lived at a little distance from the Villa, and who at one time had been
Juiz de Paz: he was a very good-natured and simple-minded man, as the
following anecdote will show. The first time he called on me, he said
he wished to speak with me in private: he began by telling me that he
had heard the English had the power of divining where hidden gold was to
be discovered, and that as much gold was to be found in the Serra, if I
would point out where a rich mine existed, he would undertake to work
it, and share the profits with me. In almost the same breath he informed
me, that a few years ago a Portuguese died in the neighbourhood, who was
always considered to be very rich, but that on his decease no money was
to be found; now, he said, he fully believed that it was all buried,
somewhere near his house, which was now in ruins, and that if I would
accompany him there, and discover it, we could without any one knowing
it, share it between us. The poor old fellow seemed sadly disappointed
when I told him that I had never made such a branch of knowledge my study.
One dark night, about the beginning of December, while passing along
the streets of the Villa de Natividade, I observed some boys amusing
themselves with some’ luminous object, which I at first supposed to be
a kind of large fire-fly; but on making enquiry I found it to be a
beautiful phosphorescent fungus, belonging to the genus _Agaricus_, and
was told that it grew abundantly in the neighbourhood, on the decaying
leaves of a dwarf palm. Next day I obtained a great many specimens,
and found them to vary from one to two inches and a half across. The
whole plant gives out at night a bright phosphorescent light, of a pale
greenish hue, similar to that emitted by the larger fire-flies, or by
those curious soft-bodied marine animals, the _Pyrosomæ_; from which
circumstance, and from growing on a palm, it is called by the inhabitants
“Flor do Coco;” the light given out by a few of these fungi, in a dark
room, was sufficient to read by. It proved to be quite a new species, and
since my return from Brazil, has been described by the Rev. Mr. Berkeley
under the name of _Agaricus Gardneri_, from preserved specimens which
I brought home. I had already named it _A. phosphorescens_, not being
aware at the time I discovered it, that any other species of the same
genus exhibited a similar phenomenon; such, however, is the case in the
_Agaricus olearius_ of De Candolle; and Mr. Drummond, of the Swan River
Colony in Australia, has given an account of a very large phosphorescent
species occasionally found there.[11]
On the 10th of February, 1840, we left Natividade, with the intention of
proceeding to the Villa de Arrayas, a small town about thirty leagues to
the S.E. We had made all our preparations to leave on the second, but
had the mortification to find one of our horses missing, which detained
us eight days. It proved, in the end, that some one had taken the loan
of it, for four days after our departure, it was found near the place
whence it had been taken, and was sent after me by my friend the Juiz
dos Orfãos. Leaving Natividade, and skirting the base of the Serra in
a southerly direction, we arrived at the banks of a small river called
the Riacho Salobro, which flows towards the west, and falls into the
Manoel Alvez: its waters are very brackish during the dry season. The
loads had all to be passed over a rude kind of bridge (pingella) formed
of the trunks of two trees, and as both the river and its banks were
deep, we had no little difficulty in getting the horses across, which
was done by swimming them. We remained for the night at the fazenda Das
tres legoas, nearly three leagues from the Villa, as its name implies.
On the following morning, after a journey of one long league and a half,
we again reached the banks of the Rio de Manoel Alvez, at a place where
it was both much broader and deeper than where we previously crossed it;
here, however, we were fortunate enough to find a canoe. My first care
was to have the horses passed to the other side, which was done by two
men entering the canoe, and each taking hold of a halter they were swum
over, two at a time. Before all our luggage was conveyed to the opposite
bank, a heavy thunder-storm passed over us from the N.E., which drenched
us completely; in consequence of this I thought it best to proceed at
once to the first house, which was only a league and a half distant,
where we remained for the night. The country between the Villa and the
river is nearly a flat plain, consisting of large open campos, marshes,
and tracts, but thinly wooded with small trees. Several beautiful
flowering shrubs, and a few terrestrial _Orchideæ_ were collected on this
journey.
From this place, a journey of about ten leagues brought us to the Arraial
de Conceição, a distance that occupied us two days and a half. On the
night of the 12th, we slept at a large cattle fazenda, called San Bento,
and a very stormy afternoon prevented us from leaving it. Till within
about a league of the Arraial, the country continues flat and open, but
afterwards it became hilly, the hills being low and often rocky. So
thinly is the country populated in these districts, that between San
Bento and the Arraial, a distance of at least twenty miles, we passed
only one house. The greater part of this district is only adapted for
the rearing of cattle, but there is much also admirably suited for
plantations of different kinds.
The Arraial de Conceição contains a population of about one hundred
persons; but there are many houses in the village, belonging to
fazendeiros, who only occupy them at the time of the principal church
festivals; blacks and mulattos form the greater portion of the
residents, and during the four days we remained here, we saw very few
white people. This village is situated in a hollow between two small
hills, but the country around in general is level; the houses stand
principally in two long streets, and one of the two churches it contains
is now in ruins. The water with which the Arraial is supplied, is
obtained from a small rivulet; it is very bad and of a brackish taste; it
seems to have some connection with the production of goître, so prevalent
along the western side of the Serra Geral, which, as far as I have traced
it, is bounded by limestone similar to that which exists at Natividade.
The streams which flow over these rocks are all more or less saline,
and wherever these waters are drunk by the inhabitants, there goître is
found to exist. Along the eastern side of the Serra, on the contrary,
this disease is scarcely to be met with, and there, at least in those
parts which I visited, no limestone was to be seen, nor were any of the
rivulets impregnated with saline matter.
The soil for nearly a league round the village, has evidently been well
turned over in search of gold, and from all accounts a considerable
quantity was found in former times; the little met with at present
scarcely repays the labour of searching for it. The soil in which it is
found is of a clayey, gravelly nature, being evidently the débris of
primitive rocks, the gold appearing either in very minute particles, or
in grains of all sizes, some of which are said to weigh several ounces.
Rich veins are also supposed to exist in the solid rock, which consists
mostly of quartz, but these they cannot explore to any depth, as they
do not possess the means of getting rid of the water which accumulates.
I was informed by the Vigario, who perhaps exaggerated the fact, that
at a short distance from the village there exists a mine so rich, that
a small bucket of soil yields nearly a quarter of an ounce of gold:
he said it was not above, twenty feet deep, but in consequence of the
influx of a spring, it had been abandoned for a long time. The only
method they employed to get rid of the water, was by a number of men
stationed at different heights, who handed it to one another in buckets;
when I enquired why they did not make use of pumps, he said they had
only heard of such things, but had never seen them, the mechanics of
the place being so ignorant that they did not know how to construct
so simple an instrument! From the Vigario I received a great deal of
kindness during my stay: he was a man of very benevolent disposition,
and much respected by the people; although advanced in years, he was of
a very active temperament, far more so indeed than the generality, not
only of his class, but of his countrymen. He was the only person in those
parts who was a subscriber for a newspaper from Rio de Janeiro, but from
the irregularity of the posts, long intervals often elapsed in their
delivery. He kindly gave me a letter of introduction to one of the most
influential persons in the neighbourhood of the Villa de Arrayas, who was
his intimate friend.
Within the last twenty years, two slight earthquakes have been felt both
at Natividade and Conceição; the first occurred in the year 1826, and
the other in 1834; the movement of the earth was very perceptibly felt
in both places, although they were each of short duration. These were
the only places in Brazil where I could learn such phenomena had been
observed.
We left Conceição on the morning of the 17th of Feb., when a journey of
four long leagues brought us, late in the afternoon, to the banks of
the Rio da Palma. About half a league from the Arraial, the road winds
round the end of a somewhat lofty ridge of rocky hills, not far from
the foot of which we passed some gold workings. The slaves employed in
this occupation do not give all they find to their masters, for they are
obliged to maintain and clothe themselves, and pay to their employers
a certain fixed sum of money, somewhere about six shillings per week.
Many of them have been fortunate enough to purchase their freedom, but
the greater number of them become indolent and dissipated. A short time
before our arrival, a slave found a piece of pure gold weighing upwards
of ten ounces, which was more than sufficient to procure him his freedom.
The fields about here were gay with a fine terrestrial Orchideous
plant, an _Epistephium_, about two feet high, bearing a spike of large
rose-coloured flowers. We halted during the middle of the day at the
only house on the road, the fazenda de Pindobal, and started early again,
so as to reach the Rio da Palma in good time to cross it. The country
we found to be nearly flat, consisting of large open campos, which were
better stocked with cattle than any we had hitherto passed through
in this province. When about half way to the river, we unfortunately
went off the proper path, and got upon a cattle track, which in those
thinly-inhabited countries often lead the traveller astray, the highway
having quite the same appearance; it was some time before we discovered
our error, but knowing the direction in which the river ran, we made
direct for it, and in less than half an hour were so fortunate as to
come upon the right road again, which now lay through a thin forest,
consisting principally of _Qualea parviflora_, Mart. In consequence of
the delay thus occasioned, it was nearly sunset before we arrived at the
ferry.
We found the river much swollen, although it had not rained here for more
than a week, but we concluded that much rain had fallen recently further
up the country. Owing to this circumstance, and to the lateness of the
hour, we had some difficulty in prevailing on the ferryman to carry us
over to the other side. The Rio da Palma is considerably broader than
that of Manoel Alvez, and flows with much greater force. In this, as in
the former river, the canoe is maintained at the expence of government,
but it was here on so small a scale that only one horse could be taken
over at a time; in this tedious manner the transit was repeated no less
than twelve times before all could be passed over, which occupied more
than three hours. This place is called Fazenda da Barra, and contains
several houses on both sides of the river; that to which we were directed
to find accommodation was so small, that as the night promised to be
fine, we preferred taking up our quarters under some trees that grew in
front of it.
On the following morning, after we had travelled about two leagues and
a half, we were obliged to stop in consequence of two of the horses
becoming very much fatigued, caused most probably by the great-exertion
of crossing the river the night before. We halted at a place near the
foot of the Serra da Santa Brida, where only a few small trees grew,
which were barely sufficient to shelter us from a powerful sun. This
Serra is a branch of the same range as that on which the Villa de
Arrayas is situated, and runs in a north-west direction to within about
two leagues of the Rio da Palma; at its highest part it is not more
than a thousand feet above the level of the surrounding country. In the
afternoon we again made a short stage of about a league and a half, and
encamped for the night under some small trees, by the side of a clear
rivulet that flows from the Serra. On this journey we met with some
showers of rain, and when we arrived at the place of our encampment, a
heavy thunder-storm came rolling along the Serra towards us from the
south-east, which made us regret that we were under the necessity of
sleeping in the woods; fortunately, however, as it approached near to
us, it turned off suddenly towards the north, after which we had the
advantage of a beautiful night. Our route on this journey was through
a large flat open valley, bounded on the north and east by the Serra
de Santa Brida, and on the south and east by another range called the
Serra de Buriti. This valley consists of large open campos abounding in
tree-lilies, and is but thinly wooded except on the margins of small
streams that flow from the mountains. Next morning we made a journey of
two leagues through a similar country, and arrived early in the forenoon
at the fazenda de Santa Brida, which belongs to a person for whom I
brought letters from the Vigario of the Arraial de Conceição. He does
not, however, reside here, and the only house we found was one belonging
to the vaqueiro who has charge of the cattle. As the pasture was good,
we remained here till the following day, in order to give the horses a
little rest.
We left early in the morning, and at a short distance from the fazenda,
crossed a small river which was well wooded along its banks with large
trees, particularly the Jatobá (_Hymenæa_). In this river, as in all
those within this province, the electric eel (_Gymnolus electricus_) is
very common; they are of all sizes, from a foot to six feet in length,
and are frequently caught on the lines which are set for other fishes;
they are sometimes eaten, but not generally, although their flesh is
said to be very good. Horses as well as men, by coming in contact with
them in the water, are not unfrequently thrown down by the shock which
they impart; they are called by the inhabitants Treme-treme. In rainy
weather, those who fish in these rivers often receive a shock, which is
communicated along the moisture upon the rod and line, when one of them
happens to seize the hook. I saw one in a state of captivity, about six
feet long, which was so tame that it would allow any one to put his hand
upon it, and even slide for its whole length through the fingers, but
if irritated in the smallest degree, by pinching it a little, however
slightly, it instantly communicated a smart shock. A fatiguing journey of
upwards of four leagues, under a burning sun, and through a rather open
country, brought us to the fazenda of Sapê, the residence of the owner of
the fazenda of Santa Brida, Lieut. João Gomez Lagoeira. On our arrival I
was informed that he had gone to visit a plantation a little way off, but
was expected home immediately. In an hour’s time he made his appearance,
and on reading the letter I brought from his friend the Vigario, he
gave me a most hearty welcome. It was my intention to have proceeded to
the Villa de Arrayas, which is four leagues distant, on the following
morning, but this our kind host would not listen to, and it was only
after the expiration of five days, that he consented to our departure. In
order that we might not reach the Villa short of provisions, he sent to
one of his cattle farms for a fat ox, which was killed and dried for our
use, and he also obliged me to accept a load of farinha.
The fazenda of Sapê is situated at the foot of the Serra de Santa Brida,
near the entrance of a small valley, which is enclosed on both sides by
the surrounding hills; the grounds belonging to it being well watered,
and the soil rich, they are well adapted for the cultivation of the
sugar cane, of which there are several large plantations. The greater
part of the cane is converted into rum, for which there exists a greater
demand than for sugar; rice and mandiocca also yield abundant crops. The
whole of the property which Lieut. Lagoeira possesses, covers an area
of about sixty-four square miles: it is divided into several fazendas
for the rearing of cattle, which amount to about fourteen thousand
head, the produce of which are principally sold to drovers, who take
them down to Bahia. He was originally a drover, but becoming a great
favourite of the former owner of the estate, he obtained his daughter
in marriage; and the father dying soon after, the entire management of
the fazenda fell into his hands. Being a man of a mild and benevolent
disposition, and having received a good education, he is looked up to
and respected by the inhabitants of all the surrounding country. During
our residence at this fazenda, and the several times I visited it during
my residence at Arrayas, I made several excursions in its neighbourhood.
On these occasions I was always accompanied by Senhor Lagoeira, who was
a keen sportsman; sometimes we went to an upland grassy plain, thinly
covered with _Vellozia_ and _Diplusodon_, the latter, a beautiful little
shrub, bearing a profusion of small rose-coloured flowers. On these dry
plains are found plenty of a kind of quail, called Perdiz, which is a
species of the genus _Tinamus_, very little smaller than the partridge
of Europe. Senhor Lagoeira possessed several pointers, one of which
always accompanied us, but not being well trained, many of the birds
escaped. Sometimes we visited the valley behind the house, which in
several places is swampy, and abounds in a large species of palm, called
Cabeçudo,[12] the fruit of which forms the principal food of the large
blue Maccaw, which is very common in this district. In the marshes of
this valley the Boa Constrictor is often met with of considerable size;
it is not uncommon throughout the whole province, particularly by the
wooded margins of lakes, marshes, and streams. Sometimes they attain
the enormous length of forty feet: the largest I ever saw was at this
place, but it was not alive. Some weeks before our arrival at Sapê,
the favourite riding horse of Senhor Lagoeira, which had been put out
to pasture not far from the house, could not be found, although strict
search was made for it all over the fazenda. Shortly after this, one of
his vaqueiros, in going through the wood by the side of a small river,
saw an enormous boa, suspended in the fork of a tree which hung over the
water; it was dead, but had evidently been floated down alive by a recent
flood, and being in an inert state, it had not been able to extricate
itself from the fork before the waters fell. It was dragged out to the
open country by two horses, and was found to measure thirty-seven feet
in length; on opening it, the bones of a horse, in a somewhat broken
condition, and the flesh in a half digested state, were found within
it, the bones of the head were uninjured; from these circumstances we
concluded that the boa had devoured the horse entire. In all kinds of
snakes, the capacity for swallowing is prodigious. I have often seen one
not thicker than my thumb, swallow a frog nearly as large as my fist;
and I once killed a rattle-snake, about four feet long, and of no great
thickness, which had swallowed not less than three large frogs, one of
which swelled out its sides to nearly twice the thickness of the other
parts; it was still alive, and hopped away after it was liberated. I
have also seen a very slender snake that frequents the roofs of houses,
swallow an entire bat three times its own thickness. If such be the
case with these smaller kinds, it is not to be wondered at that one
thirty-seven feet long should be able to swallow a horse, particularly
when it is known that, previously to doing so, it breaks the bones of the
animal by coiling itself round it, and afterwards lubricates it with a
slimy matter which it has the power of secreting in its mouth.
At other times we went into the forest that skirts the base of the Serra,
in which the larger trees consist of a kind of _Mimosa_ called Angica.
On their branches were to be seen numbers of a beautiful little Marmoset
monkey, attracted thither by a gum which this tree secretes, and of which
they are very fond. Among the trees of these forests were also seen some
of the large howling monkeys (_Mycetes barbatus_, Spix), which are known
in Brazil by the names of Barbudo and Guariba; they possess immense
muscular power in their long prehensile tails, and even after being
shot, and quite dead, they hang suspended by them from the branches.
They generally appear in bands, making a disagreeable howling noise,
particularly at an early hour in the morning. A little ring-tailed monkey
(_Ateles paniscus_) is still more abundant, and is more persecuted by the
fazendeiro, on account of the depredations it commits in his plantations.
The cane and Indian corn-fields are those which they most frequently
visit, whence they always carry off their plunder to the woods. An old
negro assured me he had often seen one of these animals carry with it
not less than three spikes of Indian corn, one in its mouth, another
secured by one of its arms, and a third held by its prehensile tail;
I confess, however, that before placing implicit faith in this tale,
I must be a witness to the fact. The moist and marshy campos produce
various kinds of palm trees, which bear large clusters of small nuts,
greatly resembling miniature cocoa-nuts. When ripe, these are covered
externally with a fibrous oily substance, which has a sweetish taste, and
constitutes the favourite food of these little monkeys, who are no less
fond of the internal part of the nut, which contains a substance similar
to that found in cocoa-nuts. In several parts of the interior I had been
told, that to get at the kernel, the shell being too hard to break with
their teeth, the monkeys carry the nuts to a rocky place, and then break
them with a stone, and I even met with persons who assured me that they
had watched them in such places through the bushes, and actually seen
them engaged in this operation. This account, like that of the carrying
away of Indian corn, I always considered to be fabulous till I arrived
at Sapê. In an excursion we made over the Serra, immediately behind the
fazenda, where it is composed of nearly bare, rugged limestone peaks,
in several almost inaccessible places we came upon large heaps of the
broken shells of nuts, generally on a bare open part of the rock, and
along with them a number of roundish pieces of stone, larger than the
fist, which had evidently been employed in breaking the shells. These
Senhor Lagoeira told me were the places resorted to by the monkeys for
the purpose of breaking the nuts collected in the low grounds; and that
in his shooting excursions over the mountains, he has frequently seen
them take flight on his approach. That they both can, and really do make
use of a stone in order to break that which is too hard for their teeth,
I have frequently witnessed in a little pet monkey that accompanied me
on my journey: I obtained it in Piauhy, and it was the only one of the
many tame animals I carried with me, that reached Rio de Janeiro alive;
it was a female of the species we are now speaking of, and ultimately
became very gentle. Jerry was the favourite with all, and indeed in
all respects fared like ourselves; it became so fond of tea, which it
drank every morning and evening, that it would not go to sleep without
its usual allowance. Its favourite food was farinha, boiled rice, and
bananas, but scarcely anything came amiss to it; a raw egg was a choice
morsel, and on being given to it, it broke one end by gently knocking
it on the floor, and completed the hole by picking off the broken bits
of shell, and putting in the point of its long slender finger; throwing
back its head, and holding the egg erect between its two hands, it soon
contrived to suck out the whole contents. Whenever anything was given to
it that was too hard to break with its teeth, it always looked about for
a stone, and lifting it with one hand, by repeated blows would attempt to
crack it; if unsuccessful by these means, it would try to find a larger
stone, which it would hold in both its hands, and, rising erect on its
legs, would let it fall, leaping backwards at the same time to avoid any
injury to its toes. I have often watched the means it employed to obtain
any small object that happened to be a little beyond its reach; if it
could lay its hands upon a little switch, or slender twig of any sort,
it would stretch itself out as far as its cord would allow, and continue
working at the object till it got it within its reach. These operations
were certainly often very awkwardly performed, but they were always
interesting from the amount of reasoning power which the little animal
exhibited, and the perseverance with which its object was attained. Jerry
almost always rode on the back of a large mastiff dog that accompanied
us, and in this manner performed a journey of several thousand miles.
These two animals were greatly attached to each other, and it was often
an amusing sight to see them gamboling together. Before starting, the
dog used to go every morning to the place where the little monkey was
tied, and wait till it was put upon its back, and its cord made fast to
his collar. In travelling it was not at all particular as to whether
its face was towards the head or tail of the charger, except in going
down hill, when its face was turned forwards, and to prevent itself from
slipping over the dog’s head, it made use of its long prehensile tail as
a crupper, by coiling the extremity round the root of that of the dog. I
had determined to bring Jerry with me to England, but in taking it with
me to the Organ Mountains, after my arrival at Rio de Janeiro, much to my
grief, it disappeared one night, and was never afterwards heard of; it
was stolen, I have no doubt, by one of the slaves, and sold somewhere for
a mere trifle.
A few days before we arrived at Sapê, one of the slaves caught a young
male monkey of this species. A number of these little animals had come to
pay a visit to a plantation of Indian corn, several of them were females
that carried their young on their backs, which they seldom quit till they
are able to provide for themselves; being pursued by some slaves, in the
heat of the retreat, this one was thrown from its mother’s back, and
made prisoner, and was presented to me by Senhor Lagoeira as a companion
for Jerry. I little expected it would pay any attention to the young
one, but no sooner were they put beside each other than the little one,
fancying no doubt it had found its mother, crept up and secured itself on
Jerry’s back, and apparently seemed quite happy. Jerry instead of being
ill pleased with this intrusion, became so much attached to it, that she
would not allow any one to touch the young one; and seemed to have all
the affection for it as if it had been her own. Several times I observed
that when it came off her back to amuse itself on the ground, and was
about to get out of her reach, she would catch it by the tail and draw it
back. During the first few days they were together, her breasts became
inflamed by the attempt the young one made to obtain milk from them; it
seldom left her back, remaining there both day and night. It was amusing
to see her cleaning it of fleas by laying it down on the ground, turning
over its long hair, layer by layer, and catching between her fore-finger
and thumb the insects as they made their appearance and then eating them;
when they were difficult to take in this manner, she would catch them
between her teeth at once. During this operation the little one would lie
as quiet as if it had been sleeping. It only lived a few weeks after we
reached Arrayas, and I was surprised that although so much attachment was
shown to it by the old one while it was alive, not the least symptom of
grief was exhibited at its death.
In the densest parts of the forests near Sapê, the _Jacutinga_ (_Penelope
Jacutinga_, Spix), the fine large game bird so common in the forests
of the Organ Mountains, was not unfrequently encountered in our walks,
and brought home as trophies. The mountains here, as already mentioned,
are composed entirely of a compact primitive limestone, similar to
that existing at Natividade, and which I afterwards found extending
many leagues to the southwards. The lower parts of these mountains are
tolerably well wooded, but the upper parts consisting of sharp rugged
peaks, surrounded by broken masses at their bases, are nearly destitute
of vegetation, the only plants found here being a small wild Fig tree,
a large prickly _Cactus_, a shrubby _Trixis_, a small _Begonia_, and
a stinging _Loasa_. The heaps of broken rocks which exist around the
bases of the peaks, are frequented by vast numbers of a small animal,
greatly resembling a rabbit, and about the same size; it is allied to the
Guinea-pig, and its flesh, which is white, is very good to eat. It is the
_Kerodon moco_ of naturalists, and is well known to the inhabitants by
the name of Mocó.
It was in the afternoon of the twenty-sixth of February that we left
Sapê for Arrayas, and after travelling two rather long leagues, we
reached the foot of the Serra, at the point of ascent to the upland
plain in which the Villa is situated. Here we bivouacked for the night,
slinging our hammocks among some trees, by the side of a little stream
which came from the mountains. On this journey, after leaving the more
densely wooded tract which surrounded Sapê, we entered a wide open
valley, situated between the Serra de Santa Brida and that of Buriti,
which gradually became narrower until the two Serras united at the place
of our encampment. This valley is very thinly-wooded, except along the
margins of the many small streams which intersect it, and which join to
form a small river that flows through its centre. I found this locality
particularly rich in botanical productions, as it abounded with elegant
flowering shrubs and trees, such as _Pleroma_, _Crotalaria_, _Bauhinia_,
_Diplusodon_, _Vochysia_, _Kielmeyera_, _&c._ The ascent of the Serra,
which was accomplished on the following morning, we found both long
and tiresome, and very rocky. From the top of the Serra to the Villa,
which is a league and a half distant, the road is of gentle declivity. I
carried a letter from Senhor Lagoeira to a schoolmaster, who in a short
time found an empty house for our accommodation, of a very inferior
description, and little calculated to keep out either wind or rain; it
was, however, the only one that could be obtained. Here we remained for
about a week, until another, which on our arrival was occupied by a
travelling merchant, became empty; it was far superior, and now fell to
our use. As the season of rain was not yet nearly terminated, I remained
in Arrayas nearly two months, during which time I amassed a splendid
collection of the curious and beautiful plants, which are peculiar to the
upland grassy campos of the interior of Brazil.
The Villa de Arrayas is very pleasantly situated in a hollow on the
table-land of the Serra; it is surrounded nearly on all sides by low
grassy hills, which are but thinly-wooded with small trees and bushes.
The highest of these hills are towards the N.E. side of the town, and
from behind them flows a beautiful stream that at all seasons supplies it
with water; the inhabitants have a saying, that the place has neither bad
water nor good roads (em Arrayas não tem agoa roim, nem caminhos bons),
and this is truly its characteristic. The town is of very small size,
the population not exceeding three hundred inhabitants, great and small.
Here, as in other towns in the interior, many of the houses belong to the
fazendeiros, who only occupy them during the festas; they are nearly all
arranged before a large square, on the east side of which the only church
is situated. On our arrival I was surprised to observe a house with
glazed windows, a rare sight in the interior of Brazil, but on nearer
inspection, I found that the place of glass was supplied by plates of
talc, which is found abundantly in this neighbourhood.
During my stay among the people of this place I found them universally
kind and obliging, so far as their limited means permitted, for the
greater part are very poor; in most instances, however, this poverty is
occasioned by their own indolence. It was with great difficulty that we
could purchase any thing in the shape of provisions, and it is still a
mystery to me, how the great mass of the inhabitants contrive to live;
had it not been for the kindness of my good friend Senhor Lagoeira, who
again sent me supplies of provisions, we should often have been in a
state of starvation. Notwithstanding the smallness and the poverty of the
place, it contains two priests, neither of whom seemed to be the worst
fed of the community. There are three public schools, two of which are
elementary, one for boys, the other for girls; in the third, Latin only
is taught. Here, as in all the other towns and villages in the interior,
the teachers are paid by government, and, consequently, the education of
all classes is gratuitous; notwithstanding this, I was surprised to see
the small number who take advantage of so favourable an opportunity for
the education of their children. Those who live in the country, and who
send their children to school, are obliged to board them in the town,
which is generally looked upon as a great grievance. Here, as elsewhere,
I met with very few who have a taste for reading, and, generally, the
only books they possess are some small volumes of orisons. Even the
libraries of the priests are confined to a few religious and classical
works; and among these, a Bible is rarely to be met with, a mere
abridgment of it supplying its place.
The rocks which compose the mountain range on which the town of Arrayas
stands, all belong to the primary strata; these are nearly vertical,
the little inclination which they present, being towards the east, that
being the direction of the highest part of the Serra. The most westerly
of these rocks have an arenaceous schistose structure, and these overlay
a very compact greyish-coloured stratified rock, very much resembling
gneiss, in which are imbedded innumerable rounded pebbles of granite
and quartz, of all sizes from one to three or four inches, and which
is probably equivalent to the grauwacke rocks of the old world. The
limestone of which the western side of the Serra is composed at Sapê and
Natividade, is not found here, but I again met with it to the south; in
none of the rocks did I observe any appearance of organic remains.
From its elevated situation, the climate of Arrayas is much cooler
than in the plains below, and the rains are both heavier and of longer
duration; these always come from the N.E., beginning in October or
November, and continuing till the month of April, or until a regular
S.E. wind sets in, which is the first signal that the dry season has
commenced. The rearing of cattle is the most ordinary occupation of the
fazendeiros, their cattle meeting with a ready sale in the Bahia market;
but they generally also cultivate a little sugar cane, principally for
the manufacture of rum, which is extensively used among all classes of
society, and of course meets with a good sale. Mandiocca, rice, and
Indian corn, are also cultivated, both for family use and for sale in the
Villa. All these productions, however, are grown in the low countries,
principally along the foot of the Serra; around the Villa itself little
or nothing is cultivated, notwithstanding that the soil in many places
is favourable for small plantations. Both the climate and soil seem
well adapted for the production of coffee, as the few small plantations
that have been attempted yield good crops, without any care having been
bestowed on them; in the garden belonging to the house in which I lived,
there were about one hundred and fifty coffee plants, which in the end of
April were loaded as heavily with fruit as any I have seen in the large
plantations in the province of Rio de Janeiro. This article, however, can
never be cultivated here to any extent, with a view to exportation, on
account of its great distance from the coast. The Rio Tocantins offers
the only water conveyance, and that as yet is only navigable for canoes
of small burden. There are only two shopkeepers in the Villa, both of
whom bring their goods from Rio de Janeiro. They go there once in two
or three years, the entire journey generally occupying from six to nine
months.
The diseases of this district are very similar to those which are common
in the more northern part of the province. In the low country, which,
during the rainy season, is full of marshes and swamps, intermittent
fevers are prevalent, and are often fatal to those coming from the
upland districts. As very few only can afford to purchase sulphate of
quinine, the general mode of curing these fevers is by emetics and
purgatives, and occasionally by bitter barks obtained from the trees
in the woods; of these the one most commonly used is procured from the
_Strychnos pseudochina_ of St. Hilaire, a small tree which grows on the
upland campos. A strong infusion of coffee with a mixture of salt is
also sometimes administered. Though the inhabitants of the plains are
constantly subject to the fever, they seldom die of the disease itself,
but the effects which it produces on the constitution after a long series
of yearly attacks, ultimately cut off a great many. The principal organ
that becomes affected is the spleen, which is sometimes so much enlarged,
that it nearly fills the whole abdominal cavity; when travelling in
these districts, we seldom arrived at a house where I was not consulted
respecting enlargements of this organ. The liver is more rarely affected:
its affections are generally produced by intemperance in eating and
drinking, and by the constant and immoderate use of tobacco. In the Villa
intermittent fevers are unknown, in consequence of its being situated
above the region of miasmata, unless they appear in cases where the
infection has been imbibed below. The traveller before alluded to, who
gave up the house for our use, left behind him an Indian servant, with
no one to attend to him, and whom I found almost dead from the attacks
of a severe tertian ague, but who soon recovered after being properly
treated. This poor fellow was a native of the banks of the Amazon, and he
remained in my service until my arrival in Rio de Janeiro. These fevers
very often lose their intermittent character, and assume a malignant
remittent nature. The prevailing diseases in the Villa are ophthalmia,
colds, inflammatory complaints, rheumatism, and dyspepsia; paralysis
also is common; and as a preventive, nearly all the people wear a thick
twisted iron ring, made on the Saturday of the passion week (sexta feira
da Paixão), and blessed by a priest. Goître is common, but not nearly
so much as in Natividade and Conceição. Here they attribute it to the
coldness of the water they use for drinking.
The country around Arrayas affords many prospects as highly picturesque
and pleasing to the eye of a common observer as that of the naturalist;
to the latter, however, it offers a double charm, owing to the great
variety in the objects which such diversity of soil and situation
presents for his investigations. My excursions in various directions
yielded me upwards of three hundred species of plants, all different from
any I had elsewhere collected. The dry upland campos afforded numerous
grasses, which are nearly all coarse and rank, and not well suited for
pasturage; these grasses do not form a close turf, as in Europe, but
grow in scattered tufts, leaving greater intervals of bare soil than
the amount of surface actually covered by them; this, however, is not
apparent at first sight, for the culm is generally long, and when ripe,
and seen from a distance, the campos appear as if covered with wheat or
oats. Many flowering shrubs and beautiful herbaceous plants are found
growing among the grasses; of the former _Diplusodon_ and _Kielmeyera_
are the most ornamental; one of the latter (_Kielmeyera rosea_, Mart.)
grows in bushes about a foot and a half high, and produces numerous large
rose-coloured flowers, from which it has obtained the name of Rosa do
Campo. Of the herbaceous plants of these tracts, the most beautiful are
those belonging to the Gentian tribe. A species of _Lisianthus_ produces
large blue bell-shaped blossoms, not unlike those of the _Digitalis_ in
shape; and towards the end of the rainy season, the fields are gaily
adorned with two elegant species of _Callopisma_; one of these is more
abundant than the other, and being intensely bitter, is used medicinally
as gentian by the inhabitants of Goyaz, who collect it when in full
flower, dried bundles of it being seen hanging up in almost every house;
it is used, in infusion, in dyspepsia, and also to strengthen those who
are recovering from fever. The trees of the upland Campos are mostly
small, consisting chiefly of the beautiful Sicupíra (_Commilobium
polygalæflorum_), _Qualea grandiflora_, and _Q. parviflora_, a
_Vochysia_, _Salvertia convallariodora_, a _Panax_, an _Albertinia_, a
_Lafoensia_, two species of _Cecropia_, the Mangába do Mono, the Cashew,
and several species of _Mimosa_.
Towards the latter end of the month of April, the whole north of the
province of Goyaz was thrown into a state of alarm, in consequence of
information received from San Pedro de Alcantará, a small town in the
extreme north of the province, near the banks of the Rio Tocantins, that
a party of the troops of Raimundo Gomez, and the Balaio had crossed over
from Pastos Boms in the province of Maranham, to Alcantará, and taken
it by force; and that although the greater part of the more respectable
inhabitants had fled to the woods, a number had been killed and robbed,
while others had joined the rebels. Notice arrived at the same time
that all the canoes which had descended from the central parts of the
province towards Pará (April being the month in which they generally
start), were taken, the owners killed, and the hides with which they
were laden thrown into the river. It was immediately surmised that the
canoes were captured for no other purpose than to ascend the river in
order to devastate the towns and villages in this quarter, in the same
manner as they had attacked those below. On the 22nd of April I was
called to a fazenda about three leagues to the north of Arrayas, to visit
a young lady, who was indisposed. When I arrived there, her father had
just received a letter from the Vigario of Conceição, stating that a few
days before, the robbers had reached Porto Imperial, a village on the
Tocantins, only three days’ journey from the Villa de Natividade, and
that the inhabitants of the latter place were flying in all directions.
On my return to Arrayas, he sent by me a letter to the President of the
Camara Municipal, containing the above information, who immediately
called a meeting of the principal inhabitants to take into consideration
what steps were necessary in this exigency; it was agreed that the
National Guard should be called out by beat of drum, but although the
town possessed such an instrument, unfortunately there was no one able
to use it, until one of my men, a black from Natividade, asked my leave
to offer his services. Accordingly the drum beat to arms round the town,
but not more than half a dozen men made their appearance. Next morning
they were again called out, when about a dozen assembled, nearly all
without arms. These few were immediately put under drill by a fazendeiro
who happened to be in town, and who, although bearing the rank of ensign
in the National Guards, appeared quite ignorant of the task he undertook.
The Juiz de Paz was immediately summoned from his fazenda, and expresses
sent off to the city of Goyaz to inform the President, as well as the
intermediate towns; orders were likewise issued to the different parts
of the district to assemble the whole of the National Guard. In the
course of four or five days above a hundred and forty men appeared in
the Villa, the greater part of them armed with their own fowling-pieces,
but there were no muskets, gunpowder, or ball in the place. Those who
had no guns, armed themselves with their long knives, firmly tied to the
ends of short poles; like the troops of Piauhy, they formed the most
motley group imaginable, being of all colours, of all sizes, and without
any uniform. They remained under drill for about eight days, at the
expiration of which time, news arrived that the previous information had
been premature, and that the rebels, amounting to about five hundred men,
all well armed, were still in Alcantará. Immediately on receiving this
information, the Juiz de Paz dismissed his troops, with the exception of
ten men, kept as a guard for the protection of the Villa. In proportion
to the number of inhabitants which this district contains, the number
of National Guards assembled on this occasion, was greater than in any
of the districts of Piauhy; but I had doubts whether one half of them
would have responded to a second call, as these poor fellows who had
been suddenly called away from their houses and families, most of them
after a long journey which they had to make on foot, were not satisfied
with the treatment they received from the authorities, for they found
on their arrival, that no accommodation had been provided for them,
except an old house, the walls of which were raised but little above the
ground, where, more like pigs than human beings, they were all stowed
together. Had the weather been fine, the greater part of them would have
preferred sleeping in the open air, but unfortunately much rain, at this
time, fell at night. Moreover, during the whole period they remained in
the Villa, not one sixpence was expended in procuring provisions for
them, and had it not been for the charity of some of the inhabitants,
they would certainly have either starved, or been driven to take food by
force. When some of them applied to the Juiz de Paz for provisions, he
told them he did not like to appropriate any of the funds belonging to
the town to such a purpose, as these were absolutely required for the
erection of a new jail, which they had in contemplation! A few hours
before their dismissal, they mustered in the church to hear mass, after
which the Juiz de Paz gave each of them a glass of rum, and this was all
the remuneration they received for their services. When the news first
arrived that the rebels had reached Porto Imperial, several inhabitants
of the Villa, who had previously boasted of the feats of bravery they
would perform, should the enemy advance as far south as Arrayas, were
the first to pack up their valuables, in readiness to decamp on a short
notice; and none of the women were now to be seen with the rings on their
fingers, or in their ears, or with the gold chains which they usually
wear round their necks.
The proper season for travelling having now arrived, I became desirous
to resume my journey, so as to reach Rio de Janeiro, if possible, before
the setting in of the next rains. Thanks to the kindness of my excellent
friend Senhor Lagoeira, who supplied me with the greater portion of our
provisions from his fazenda, my funds had not been much encroached on
during our stay in Arrayas. By my profession, I gained even more than
was expended, by which I was thus enabled to add four fine horses to my
troop, which now therefore amounted to sixteen in all. On the 4th of May
I went to Sapê, to take leave of my friend, and to bring back my horses,
which had been pasturing there since our arrival; knowing that I was
about to leave, he had prepared an ox, and other articles of provision
for our journey. The parting with this truly good person, with whom,
in a strange land, I had lived on terms of intimacy, from whom I had
experienced kindness that I could never have expected, and with whom I
had no earthly chance of again meeting, produced a feeling of depression
which hung over me many days after my departure.