EMBASSY
TO THE
EASTERN COURTS
OF
COCHIN-CHINA, SIAM, AND MUSCAT;
IN THE
U. S. SLOOP-OF-WAR PEACOCK,
DAVID GEISINGER, COMMANDER,
DURING THE YEARS 1832-3-4.
BY
EDMUND ROBERTS.
NEW YORK:
HARPER & BROTHERS.
1837.
Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1837,
In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the Southern District of
New York.
TO THE
HON. LEVI WOODBURY,
THIS VOLUME IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED,
BY
HIS FRIEND AND FELLOW-CITIZEN,
THE AUTHOR.
INTRODUCTION.
Having some years since become acquainted with the commerce of Asia and
Eastern Africa, the information produced on my mind a conviction that
considerable benefit would result from effecting treaties with some of
the native powers bordering on the Indian ocean.
With a view to effect an object apparently so important, I addressed a
letter to the Hon. Levi Woodbury, then a Senator in Congress from the
state of New Hampshire, detailing the neglected state of our commerce
with certain eastern princes, and showing that the difference between
the duties paid on English and American commerce, in their dominions,
constituted of itself a very important item in profit, in favour of the
former.
Subsequently to this period, Mr. Woodbury was appointed to the
secretaryship of the Navy, and consequently became more deeply
interested in the success of our floating commerce.
Scarcely had his appointment been confirmed before the melancholy news
arrived, that the ship Friendship, of Salem, Mass., had been plundered,
and a great portion of her crew murdered, by the natives of Qualah
Battu.
As an important branch of our commerce to the pepper ports on the
western coast of Sumatra was endangered, by the successful and hostile
act of these barbarians, it was deemed necessary that the piratical
outrage should be promptly noticed by a national demand for the
surrender and punishment of the aggressors.
About this period, the U. S. ship-of-war Potomac was nearly ready to
proceed to her station on the western coast of South America, by way of
Cape Horn, but her destination was immediately changed for the western
coast of Sumatra, accompanied by instructions to carry into effect the
measures of government against the inhabitants of Qualah Battu.
As our government was anxious to guard against any casualty which
might befall the Potomac in fulfilling her directions, it resolved to
despatch the United States’ sloop-of-war Peacock and schooner Boxer, to
carry into effect, if necessary, the orders of the first-named vessel,
and also to convey to the courts of Cochin-China, Siam and Muscat,
a mission charged to effect, if practicable, treaties with those
respective powers which would place American commerce on a surer basis,
and on an equality with that of the most favoured nations trading to
those kingdoms.
A special or confidential agent being necessary to carry into effect
the new measures of government, I had the honour to be selected for
that duty, at the particular recommendation of the secretary of the
Navy.
The summary chastisement of the inhabitants of Qualah Battu, and the
complete success of Com. Downes, in the performance of the duties
assigned by government, rendered a visit from the Peacock to that
place unnecessary, and thus left the objects of the mission more fully
open to a complete and minute investigation. How far they have been
faithfully accomplished, I leave to the candid and impartial judgment
of those who peruse the details of the Embassy, in the following pages.
At the period of my visit to the courts of Siam and Muscat, American
commerce was placed on a most precarious footing, subject to every
species of imposition which avarice might think proper to inflict, as
the price of an uncertain protection.
Nor was it to pecuniary extortions alone that the uncontrolled hand of
power extended. The _person_ of the American citizen, in common with
that of other foreigners, was subject to the penalties of a law which
gave the creditor an absolute power over the _life_, equally with
the property, of the debtor, at the court of Siam. As an American,
I could not fail to be deeply impressed with the barbarity of this
legal enactment, and its abrogation, in relation to my own countrymen,
detailed in the Embassy, I consider as not the least among the benefits
resulting from the mission.
With the courts of Siam and Muscat, it will be seen, I was enabled to
effect the most friendly relation, and to place our commerce on a basis
in which the excessive export and import duties, previously demanded,
were reduced fifteen per cent.
If in the attainment of these benefits some sacrifice of personal
feeling was at times made for the advantage of American commerce, the
dignity of my country was never lost sight of, nor her honour jeoparded
by humiliating and degrading concessions to eastern etiquette.
The insulting formalities required as preliminaries to the treaty, by
the ministers from the capital of Cochin-China, left me no alternative,
save that of terminating a protracted correspondence, singularly marked
from its commencement to its termination by duplicity and prevarication
in the official servants of the emperor. The detail of the various
conversations, admissions and denials, on the part of these eastern
ministers, in the pages of the Embassy, exhibits their diplomatic
character in true, but not favourable colours.
The unprotected state of our trade from the Cape of Good Hope to the
eastern coast of Japan, including our valuable whale-fishery, was
painfully impressed on my attention in the course of the Embassy. Not
a single vessel-of-war is to be seen waving the national flag over
our extensive commerce from the west of Africa to the east of Japan:
our merchantmen, trading to Java, Sumatra and the Philippine islands,
are totally unprotected. The extent of this commerce may be estimated
from the fact that there arrived in two ports in Java during one year,
one hundred and one ships, the united tonnage of which, amounted to
_thirty-eight thousand, eight hundred and seventy-seven tons_. To this
may be added the whale-fishery on the Japanese coast, which likewise
calls loudly for succour, and protection from the government. The
hardy whaler--the fearless adventurer on the deep--yielding an immense
revenue to his country, amid sufferings and privations of no common
order, certainly claims at the hand of that country, protection from
the savage pirate of the Pacific. Among this class of citizens too,
we may look for those bold and determined spirits who would form the
bulwark of our national navy. The protection of this important and
prolific branch of commerce is, in every point of view, a political
and moral advantage. I indulge the hope that it will become the object
of special legislation, and that the hardy sons of the ocean, while
filling the coffers of their country, may enjoy the protection of her
flag.
The various tables relative to exports, imports, currencies, weights
and measures, in the various places visited by the Embassy, will, I
trust, be found greatly beneficial to the commercial enterprise which,
yearly, extends from the Cape of Good Hope to the China sea. They
have been compiled in some instances from direct observation, and in
others, from the best authority which could be obtained. While it has
been my special object to render the pages of the Embassy a guide
to the best interests of commerce, I have not been unmindful of the
claims which the general reader may have on a work embracing a view
of that interesting quarter of the world, the eastern and southern
portion of the eastern hemisphere; its natural scenery, productions,
language, manners, ceremonies, and internal political regulations,
will be found in the Embassy. The picture may not be at all times of a
pleasing character; it has rather been my object to give the original
impression, than to decorate it with any factitious colouring. When
visible demonstration could be obtained, I have always resorted to
it, in drawing my conclusions; and in those cases in which this best
auxiliary was denied me, I have given the testimony of travellers from
other countries, who preceded me in visiting the courts touched at by
the Embassy, and whose details have received the sanction of the world.
The abject condition of morals among the inhabitants of the Indian
ocean, will naturally interest the philanthropist: while rejoicing in
the high moral tone of society which distinguishes his own happy land,
he will look with an eye of compassion on those regions where the
worship of the Supreme Being gives place to the mysterious idolatry of
Budha, or the external ceremonies of Confucius.
The searcher after literary information will find in the account of
the literary institutions of China much interesting and useful matter
for observation and reflection. In relation to the strictness of her
collegiate examinations, and the high grade of learning necessary to
secure their honours, some useful hints may be derived to our own
collegiate institutions.
In the appendix will be found a curious literary document in relation
to the aborigines of the Malay peninsula, particularly of the negroes
called Semang, accompanied by specimens of the Semang language in two
dialects, for which due credit has been given in the Embassy.
The philologist will doubtless receive this accession to the common
stock of inquiries into the origin of language, with considerable
gratification. A philosophical investigation of the relationship
existing between the varied families of the earth, and their common
origin, may perhaps yet be based on the analogy existing between their
language and dialects.
The phraseology of the epistolary document from the Sultan of Muscat
to the President of the United States, with that contained in the
letter from Tumbah Tuah to Captain Geisinger, at Bencoolen, furnishes
specimens of that figurative and high-wrought diction, for which the
Oriental nations are distinguished.
As I am about to undertake another voyage to exchange the ratifications
of the treaties alluded to in the Embassy, to form others in places not
yet visited, and to extend, if possible, our commerce on advantageous
terms, still farther east than India or Cochin-China, I beg my readers
will consider the present volume as a prelude to much further and
varied information to be derived under more favourable auspices--more
intimate knowledge of eastern forms--and that caution which should ever
be the child of experience.
In concluding my introductory remarks, I would freely acknowledge
my obligation to the works of those authors who have preceded me in
visiting the nations to which the Embassy was directed. I deemed it
important that no useful information, from whatever source derived,
should be withheld from my countrymen. Wherever ocular or audible
demonstration could be had, I have recorded the facts as they were
presented, in the most simple and unadorned manner; I had not in
view the flights of rhetorical composition, but the detail of useful
intelligence.
My country claimed at my hands, the faithful fulfilment of arduous and
responsible duties. If, in the information furnished in the Embassy,
her requirements have been accomplished, my ambition is satisfied.
E. R.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
PAGE
Sailing from Boston; Arrival at St. Jago; Description; Exports;
Great Drought; Fogo; Fortifications; Sailing for Brazil;
Description of the Coast; Harbour of Rio and Distant Views; the
City; Public Garden; Boto Fogo; Botanic Garden; Population;
Public Buildings; Senate and House of Representatives 13
CHAPTER II.
Sailing from Montevideo; Description of the Island of Tristan
D’Acunha; St. Pauls; Engano; Arrival at Bencoolen and
Description 29
CHAPTER III.
Sailing from Bencoolen; Arrival at Crokatoa and Forsaken
Islands; Scenery; Beautiful Submarine Garden; British Frigate;
Arrival at Angier; Sailing from Angier; Bay and City of Manila;
Buildings; Population; Provisions; Labour 39
CHAPTER IV.
Manila, continued; Calzada; Sea-Cucumber; Cigar-Factory at
Binondo; Exports; Duties; Weights and Currency; Exchange;
Imports; Luzon; Cavité; Hurricane; Lago de Bria; Pina; Indian
and Buffalo; Visits to the Alcade 51
CHAPTER V.
Departure from Manila: Cholera; Cape Bolina; Chinese Vessels;
Pilot; Macao; Linting, Village; Whampoa; Jos Houses; Sacrifice;
Arrival at Canton; River and Boats; Description of Canton; Great
Idol Temple; Legend of the Jos House; Religious Ceremonies;
Minor Temples 63
CHAPTER VI.
Budhism; Tombs of Ancestors; Ceremonies; Origin of Tumuli or
Tombs; Sacrifices to Confucius; Pan-Hwny-Pan; Infanticide;
Charitable Institutions; Government Gratuities 75
CHAPTER VII.
Description of Canton; Sacking of the City; Place of Honour;
Mourning; Compass; Materials for Buildings; Houses; Principal
Offices; Duties and Penalties of Governor; Fires; Governor’s
Salary; Division of Power 89
CHAPTER VIII.
Literary Institutions of China; Examinations; Schools; Teachers;
School-room Ceremonies; Colleges; Domestic Commerce; Population
of the Provinces; Imports; Exports 109
CHAPTER IX.
Early Commerce of China; American Trade; Hong-Merchants;
Translators; Linguists; Foreign Factories; Style of Living;
Manufactories and Trade; Physicians; Egg-Boats; Manufacturers;
Mechanics; Population of Canton 123
CHAPTER X.
Weights and Measures; Money Weights; Commercial Weights; Opium;
Opium-Smokers; Mantchou Dynasty 135
CHAPTER XI.
Death; Ceremonies of Imperial Mourning; Population of the
Chinese Empire; Knock-head Ceremony; Beggars; Cat and Dog
Market; Dr. B. and the China-man; Barbers; Dress of the Chinese;
the Dragon God; Slavery 147
CHAPTER XII.
Climate of Canton and Macao; Meteorological Averages; Departure
from Canton for Macao and Linting; Macao; Population;
Superstitious Ceremony 162
CHAPTER XIII.
Sailing from Linting to Vung-Lam Harbour, in the Province of
Fooyan, or Phuyen; Government of Shundai; Assistant Keeper of
Vung-lam; Letters to the King of Cochin-China; Catholic Priest;
Deputies from Shundai 171
CHAPTER XIV.
Present of a Feast to the Embassy; Description of Arrangement;
Deputies of Hué; Extraordinary Demands--Refusal to Forward
Despatches to the Emperor; Letter of the Envoy to the Minister
of Commerce; President’s Letter; Unconditional Requirements of
the Deputies 189
CHAPTER XV.
Suspension of Intercourse; Failure of Mission; Departure of
Embassy from Vung-Lam Bay; Envoy’s Titles; Mode of Husking
Rice; Tombs of the Dead; Fishing Boats; Absence of Priests and
Temples; Superstitions; Wild Animals; Mandarins’ House; Mode of
taking Leave; Government of Cochin-China; Grades of Rank 213
CHAPTER XVI.
Passage from Cochin-China to the Gulf of Siam; Arrival at
the Mouth of the River Menam; Packnam; Procession to the
Government-House; Reception; Governor; Siamese Temples;
Interview with the Siamese Foreign Minister; Prima Donna; Feats
of Strength; Siamese Females; Fire at Bang-kok; White Elephants;
Embalming; Shaving-head Ceremony and Feast; Fox-bats 227
CHAPTER XVII.
Presentation at the Palace of Bang-kok; Description; Royal
Elephant; White Elephants; King of Siam; Great Temple of
Guatama; City of Bang-kok; Temple of Wat-chan-tong, and Figure
of Budha; Banyan Tree; Fire-feeders; Missionaries 253
CHAPTER XVIII.
Chinese Junks; Mechanic Arts of Siam; Amusements; Dancing
Snakes; Annual Oath of Allegiance; Description of the Capital;
Embassy from Cochin-China; Education in Siam; Palace 271
CHAPTER XIX.
Procession to the Funeral Pile of Wang-na, or Second King;
Origin of Budhism in Siam; Sommona Kodom; Atheistical Principles
of Budhism; Budhist Commandments; History of Siam; Government;
Titles of the King; Officers of the Government 289
CHAPTER XX.
Ancient Laws of Siam; Legal Oaths; Punishment for Debt;
Divorces; Population of Siam; Stature and Complexion of the
Siamese; Division of Time; Boundaries and Possessions of Siam;
Marine of Siam; Imports; Inland Trade; Currency; Treaty of
Commerce; Table of Exports 305
CHAPTER XXI.
Departure from Bang-kok for Singapore; Singapore; Commerce;
Bugis; Maritime Laws; Departure from Singapore; Straits of
Gaspar; Island of Java; Population of Java; Clothing; Dying;
Stamping; Fruits; Birds 319
CHAPTER XXII.
Batavia; Burying-Grounds; Servants’ Wages; Academy of Arts;
Departure from Batavia; Arrival at Angier; Departure from
Angier; Red Sea; Arrival at Mocha; Turkie Ben Al Mas; Palace of
Mocha; Currency at Mocha; Transparent Stone; Colour of the Red
Sea 336
CHAPTER XXIII.
Departure from the Red Sea; Cape Rosselgate; Arrival at Muscat;
Blind Beggars; Fin-back Whales; Bedouin Arabs; Pearl Islanders;
Arab Houses; Currency of Muscat; Naval Force of Muscat 351
CHAPTER XXIV.
Departure from Muscat; Arrival at Quintangony and Mozambique;
Exports from Mozambique; Imports; Departure from Mozambique;
Arrival at Table Bay; Cape of Good Hope 365
CHAPTER XXV.
Algoa Bay; Imports; Population of the Cape of Good Hope; Public
Institutions; Newspapers; Departure from the Cape; Arrival at
Rio Janeiro; Departure from Rio Janeiro; Arrival at Boston
Harbour; Statistical Table 386
APPENDIX.
Various Documents connected with the Work 403
EMBASSY TO THE EAST.
CHAPTER I.
SAILING FROM BOSTON--ARRIVAL AT ST.
JAGO--DESCRIPTION--EXPORTS--GREAT
DROUGHT--FOGO--FORTIFICATIONS--SAILING FOR BRAZIL--DESCRIPTION
OF THE COAST--HARBOUR OF RIO AND DISTANT VIEWS--THE CITY--PUBLIC
GARDEN--BOTO FOGO--BOTANIC GARDEN--POPULATION--PUBLIC
BUILDINGS--SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
The Executive having, in the year 1832, resolved on an attempt to place
our commercial relations, with some of the native powers of Asia, on a
sure and advantageous basis, orders were issued to prepare the United
States’ ship Peacock, and the schooner Boxer, for that special object.
The commanders of these vessels were required to visit certain ports
on the southeastern coast of Asia, and to make a general report on
the condition of our commerce, in relation to its security from
piratical, or other hostile acts in the Indian seas. I was honoured by
the President of the United States with the station of special agent
or envoy to the courts of Cochin China, Siam, and Muscat, for the
purpose of effecting treaties which should place our commerce in those
countries on an equality with that enjoyed by the most favoured nations.
The Boxer, having orders to proceed on a voyage to Liberia and from
thence to join the Peacock off the coast of Brazil, left Boston harbour
about the middle of February, 1832; and on the following March we
sailed from the same port, in the latter-named vessel, for Rio Janeiro;
having on board F. Baylies, Esq., whom we were carrying to that place
on his way to Buenos Ayres, to which Republic he had received the
appointment of chargé d’affaires from the government of the United
States. No circumstance, worthy of record, occurred until the eighth
day of April, when at daybreak we discovered the isle of Sal, one of
the Cape de Verds, and ere evening closed, St. Nicholas and Bonavista
appeared in sight. We lay to on that night under the lee of Mayo and on
the following morning cast anchor in the roadstead of Porto Prayo, in
the island of St. Jago.
The customary salute of thirteen guns, given to the town, was
immediately returned with a corresponding number. Of the weather,
considering the season, we had no reason to complain. The thermometer
ranged between 40° and 72°, rarely exceeding the one or falling below
the other; the lowest point, when we passed St. George’s Bank, being
37°, and the highest, at the time the northeast tradewind first met us,
being 71°, in latitude 19°, and longitude 26°. The barometer ranged
from 29°, 97′, to 30°, 45′.
The most perfect order and regularity prevailed on board the ship, in
every department of duty; each individual having his duties so defined
as to prevent confusion among the crew, should any of the seamen be
called suddenly to quarters, or to make, take in, or reef sails.
Among the acquisitions most useful and instructive, were an excellent
library, presented by the government to the officers, and a second
selection of books, purchased by the officers and crew, jointly. It
was a gratifying sight to behold men who might, otherwise, have been
occupied in relating idle stories, singing immoral songs, quarrelling,
or creating a mutinous spirit among their fellows, drawing useful
information from the great sources of knowledge, and extracting from
the page of history, at the same time, a fund of information and a code
of morals.
The Cape de Verd islands belong to the kingdom of Portugal, and are ten
in number. They were discovered by Noel, in the year 1440, and contain
a population, as follows: Sal, four hundred; Mayo, two thousand five
hundred; St. Vincent, three hundred and fifty-six; St. Nicholas, five
thousand; St. Jago, thirty thousand; Fogo, ten thousand; St. Antonio,
twenty-four thousand; Brava, eight thousand; Bonavista, four thousand;
St. Lucia, uninhabited; total, eighty-four thousand.
[Sidenote: CAPE DE VERDS--EXPORTS.]
Among the principal articles of export from the abovementioned islands
is orchilla, a species of lichen. It is used for dying any shade of
purple or crimson, and is superior to the same kind of moss found in
Italy or the Canaries. This vegetable product glitters, as a sparkling
gem, in the royal diadem of Portugal, having been monopolized by the
crown, to which it yields an annual revenue of $200,000. The right
of purchase claimed by the crown, allows only five cents per pound.
Were it not for this unjust monopoly, orchilla would readily sell at
twenty-five cents the pound. It is exported to Lisbon, and there sold,
by the agents of the royal trader, to foreign merchants, who re-export
it to their respective countries. Salt is produced at these islands,
in large quantities, and furnishes a considerable article of export
for the United States’ markets; being used for the salting of beef,
butter, &c. Heavy cargoes of it are exported, principally by Americans,
to Rio Grande and La Plata, for the curing of jerked or dried beef,
which finds a ready sale in the market of Havana. It is also purchased
by American sealers to salt the skins. In the list of fruits on this
cluster of islands, the red and black grape are conspicuous. They
furnish, converted into wine, a considerable article of internal
commerce. St. Antonio alone, says Mr. Masters, of Sal, produces,
annually, from fifteen hundred to two thousand pipes of wine. Owing to
the ignorance of the inhabitants in the process of fermentation, it is
of ordinary quality, generally unfit for transportation, and may be
purchased at the rate of ten or twelve dollars per pipe.
If there be truth in the often-repeated assertion, that volcanic
countries produce the best wines, Fogo will export, at a future day,
a very superior article. Since the year 1827, coffee, nearly equal in
flavour to that of Mocha, has been cultivated with success. Previously
to that period, the crown had laid an almost prohibitory duty on the
importation of this article from its empoverished islanders, in order
to encourage the agricultural produce of its more extensive southern
possessions, in the vast territory of Brazil. Every planter, now, looks
on his plantation as a source of increasing profit, and within five
or six years, coffee will become the leading article of commerce from
the Cape de Verd islands. It now realizes ten cents per pound. The
remaining articles for export, are hides, skins, goats, and asses.
We found the inhabitants, on several of these islands, suffering
extreme distress from a want of provisions, occasioned by a failure in
the periodical rains, for two successive years. At Fogo, many died from
starvation. The inhabitants of this island have, long since, annually
exported ten or twelve small cargoes of corn to Madeira, and in this,
their day of suffering, the inhabitants of that sister-island received
them by hundreds with every mark of kindness and attention. Some small
relief was likewise administered from the Peacock.
The whole appearance of the Cape de Verds, in consequence of this
long-continued drought, was exceedingly arid; the grass assumed a
dark brown colour, similar to that which may be seen on our western
prairies, when a fire has passed over them. Nothing green was visible
in the vicinity of Porto Praya, save in the deep valleys, lying on the
outskirts of the town, where some moisture yet remained, and where
water was obtained for the suffering population.
[Sidenote: PORTO PRAYA--FOGO.]
The town of Porto Praya, is situated on an eminence of considerable
height, and may be approached, in front of the harbour, by two roads;
the one being on the eastern and the other on the western side. These
roads exhibit marks of great labour, bestowed in their construction;
they have been, for the most part, blasted out of the solid rock, and
extend up the side of a precipitous hill. Forty-five pieces of cannon,
of various caliber, pointed towards the roadstead, serve, at once, as a
fortification to the town and a protection to the harbour.
Vessels bound to Western Africa, South America, or the East Indies,
generally take in refreshments at this port, which affords a safe
anchorage for vessels at all seasons of the year, excepting the month
of September. During this month it is visited by a violent gale from
the south, that would place in the most imminent danger any vessel
which might seek for security beneath the bold and rocky precipice that
rises in many places, nearly perpendicularly, one hundred and twenty
feet above the shore.
At the summit of this rocky acclivity is the plain on which Porto
Praya is built, and where a large open square, from which three or
four streets diverge, serves as a market-place. Within this square
is a building used for a jail. On its eastern side are situated the
governor’s house and a church; the latter being the only place for
religious worship in the town.
At the request of the governor, Capt. G. and myself paid him a visit.
We were received with courtesy and affability. He is of noble family,
not quite thirty years of age; and on this occasion was bedecked
with six orders of merit, which he frequently gazed on with apparent
satisfaction and delight. The houses here are generally built of
stone: those facing the public square are two stories in height, and
well stuccoed; on the western side, many of them commodious, well
finished and furnished, and fastidiously neat in their appearance. A
gallery, resting on a precipice seventy or eighty feet high, extends
along their rear, and commands a prospect of neat gardens, securely
walled in, and laden with tropical fruits, vegetables, and flowers. We
observed several negro girls, in the valley beneath, drawing water for
the inhabitants of the town, and, with well filled jars, winding their
way up the side of a zig-zag and dangerous path on the hillside. As the
eye followed their ascent up the fearful height, from which a false
step would have dashed them in pieces, we could not but admire the
seeming ease with which they balanced their vessels, and the apparent
disregard of danger displayed by them as they frequently bent, in
wanton sportiveness, over the projecting crags of the precipice.
The population of Porto Praya is said to amount to fifteen hundred or
two thousand, nineteen twentieths of which are black or of doubtful
origin. As a suitable return for the hospitality we had received
from the inhabitants, a supper and dance were given to them on the
quarter-deck of the Peacock, which was fancifully decorated with
evergreens and flags; that of Portugal holding a conspicuous station.
We found fish in abundance in the waters around Porto Praya, and by the
help of a seine obtained a good supply, among which we found the mullet
and red grouper. Two lancet-fish were also taken: these singular fishes
are furnished on each side of the tail with a weapon resembling the
spring lancet, which they use both in defence and attack. The date-palm
flourishes in the valleys, and all the intertropical fruits may be
obtained in abundance in their proper season, and vegetables at all
seasons.
Having replenished our diminished sea-stock, we sailed from Porto
Praya on the thirteenth of April. After clearing the roadstead, we
had a clear view, to the west, of Fogo; its towering altitude rising
thousands of feet above the bosom of the ocean in which its base was
laid. This ocean-mountain bears evident marks of its volcanic origin.
Volumes of smoke were seen issuing from its numerous craters, so long
as its bold outline was distinctly defined. Ere sunset, the Cape de
Verds were completely hid from the view, and we stood south, inclining
to the eastward, until the eighteenth, when we reached the latitude
of 3° 31′ north, and 21° 41′ west longitude. We now shaped our course
more to the westward, and on the nineteenth, being in latitude 2°
22′ north and 22° 8′ west longitude, we took in a light breeze from
the south and east, and crossed the equator on the twenty-second, in
longitude 23° 30′. The usual ceremonies of a visit from Neptune, which
not unfrequently terminate in quarrels and fights, were judiciously
dispensed with. An attempt was, however, made to play a trick on the
uninitiated, which for a short time afforded much mirth and amusement.
A hair was placed across the centre of a telescope-glass, and handed
round, for the purpose of _seeing_ the equatorial _line_; but a young
midshipman having obtained another glass, _in which he could not see
the line_, the trick became at once discovered. To make some amends
to the crew for the loss of their usual frolic on crossing the line,
a modicum of good punch was served out in the evening, when it was
found that out of the whole number there was one-eighth (or twenty-one
men) belonging to the “total abstinence” society; a proportion which
I suppose to be as large as could be found among the same number of
landsmen.
With pleasant breezes and moderate weather, we proceeded on our course,
keeping the ship one point from the wind, so that a foretop studding
would draw. At day-dawn on the third of May, we discovered Cape Frio,
and at ten o’clock, A. M., the Sugar-loaf at the entrance to the
harbour of Rio Janeiro. From the time we discovered the cape until the
following evening, a most perfect and, to us, annoying calm prevailed.
A brisk gale at length sprung up from the southwest, accompanied by
thunder, lightning, and rain: so stormy, dark, and tempestuous was
the evening, that we only occasionally obtained a glimpse of the
fine revolving light on Raza island: at intervals, a vivid flash of
lightning would disclose to us the Sugar-loaf mountain and a small
twinkling light at Santa Cruz. The bearings of the principal points of
land having been obtained, before the evening closed, notwithstanding
the war of elements, we dashed onward in fine style under three
topsails. As we came abreast Santa Cruz, we were hailed, and answered;
but not heaving to, three guns were fired, followed by the burning of
as many “blue-lights.” We now proceeded up the harbour, and cast anchor
at ten o’clock. The city was saluted the following day, and the salute
answered by an equal number of guns.
[Sidenote: RIO DE JANEIRO--HARBOUR.]
The seacoast from Cape Frio to Rio is remarkable for the boldness
of its features, possessing various obtuse peaks and mountains; but
southward of the harbour is a remarkable range of hills, presenting a
rough profile of a human countenance lying with its face upward. It is
formed by a table-mountain and two jagged hills: the resemblance is so
striking at the first view that no force of imagination is necessary to
complete the picture.
No one can enter this harbour without admiring the beautiful panorama
which is spread before him. At the entrance, called the Pao de
Assucar, the celebrated granite peak is seen, piercing the clouds,
at an altitude of thirteen hundred feet, and the prospect is every
where varied and magnificent. Nature seems, here, to have spread a
banquet for her adoring admirers. Every spot is covered with beautiful
flowers; even the rocks are festooned with various parasitical plants,
which exhibit a perennial bloom. The harbour is surrounded with wooded
hills, studded here and there with a chapel, a venerable church, or
a beautiful villa. The imagination has free scope to picture forth
scenes of bliss in the numerous valleys, where peaceful cottages lie
partially concealed amid groves of orange and lemon, lime and citron.
On the bosom of this spacious harbour may be seen, tranquilly reposing,
the vessels of all nations; and the water is dotted in every direction
with boats issuing from the numerous inlets and islands, from the
first blush of morn to dusky night, laden with passengers for the
city-market and the shipping. These boats are managed by slaves. This
harbour, called by the natives Nitherohy, was discovered on the first
day of January, 1531, by De Souza, and named Janeiro, or January river,
as he supposed it to be an outlet to a great river, from the extent
of its bay. It will probably ever retain, as at present, its name,
notwithstanding the extreme absurdity of calling a bay a river: for it
was soon ascertained by discovery, that no large body of water emptied
into it.
The city of St. Sebastian, better known to the commercial world by the
name of Rio de Janeiro, lies on the southern shore, skirting the base
of several prominent hills and occupying the valleys between them; from
Boto Fogo to its western extremity it measures nearly eight miles. The
most conspicuous buildings are the numerous churches and chapels--the
bishop’s palace--the theatre--and the royal palace, fronting the
harbour, at the great landing for boats and vessels from Rio Grande,
the town on the opposite shore. The streets, regularly laid out,
intersecting each other at right angles, are not more than twenty feet
wide, and wretchedly paved. The sidewalks are narrow and inconvenient
for a town thronged with people. The houses are generally built of
unhewn granite, and are from one to three stories high; they are
furnished with balconies, which are much resorted to by the ladies, who
seldom visit the streets during the daytime, excepting in sedan chairs,
when they attend to their devotional exercises.
Owing to the extreme heat of the climate, the encumbered state of the
streets, and a due regard to the Portuguese custom which forbids their
walking abroad during the day, the ladies of the city take the evening
for visiting. In beauty, elegance and accomplishments, they sink in the
comparison with their neighbours of Buenos Ayres and Montevideo.
The houses, excepting those occupied by the richer classes, are dark,
narrow, and filthy; and if this Augean stable be not cleansed from the
accumulated filth of ages, ere the cholera shall visit it, thousands
will be swept away.
A stranger is surprised, in passing through the streets, at the immense
number of shops which occupy the ground floor of nearly every house
in the city; yet there are said to be but few failures among their
occupants. The extravagant price charged for every article, retail, may
perhaps account for this fact.
One of the most celebrated objects of curiosity in Rio is the
celebrated aqueduct, which is seen winding its way from the Corcovado
along the base of many hills, intersecting the streets with its double
arches, and passing over the roofs of houses to the various fountains,
which are constantly thronged with negroes, carrying jars of water
to the dwellings of their masters for culinary purposes--the kitchen
being, in many cases, in the upper story, while the ground-floor is
occupied for magazines or stables. At some of the fountains are stone
troughs, for the use of the negro washer-women, which are constantly
thronged with them, making most vociferous cries: a greater confusion
of tongues could not have been heard at the dispersion of the builders
at Babel; for there is a mixture of all the languages of Africa, from
Senegal to Angola, and from Da Lagoa Bay to Zanzibar--with Portuguese,
Spanish, French and English, and various Indian languages: making, in
the sum total, an olla not to be surpassed by the Lingua Franca of the
Mediterranean, or the bazars of British India.
[Sidenote: RIO--SLAVERY--POPULATION.]
Every kind of labour is here done by slaves; the heaviest burdens are
dragged by them on ill-constructed drays over a rough pavement: some of
them (principally criminals or runagates) are seen chained in various
ways, and bending under the weight of packages too heavy for their
strength.
Slavery appears here in all its worst features and most disgusting
deformities. Notwithstanding blacks may be seen at the altars,
administering the rites of religion,--as commanders of companies or
regiments, or as custom-house officers--yet poor friendless creatures
(white and black) are seen at every step, nearly naked, covered
with loathsome diseases, badly fed, having only the steps of some
church-door or the pavement for their bed, or lying exposed to the
intense heat of a tropical sun.
I visited many of the churches, but found them sadly shorn of their
former splendour, having in them only a few aged priests, and,
excepting on particular days, a very limited number of devotees: the
passers-by rarely lift their hats and make the sign of the cross, as
they were wont to do, when passing the sacred doors; the same neglect
is apparent when the vesper-bell strikes a few slow and solemn sounds
at the decline of day. Formerly, when its tones were heard, every
kind of labour and amusement were instantly suspended, every head was
uncovered, a silent thanksgiving offered to the Giver of all good for
mercies received during the day, and His divine aid and protection were
implored for the ensuing night. Now, almost every species of religious
observance has departed, in the overthrow of a notoriously debauched
and overgrown priesthood.
The population of Rio is estimated from one hundred and twenty to two
hundred thousand, of which a very large proportion are blacks. No
correct census has yet been taken, owing to the jealousy of the people,
who suppose that the object of government is to impose, in such an
estimate, a capitation tax. There is a great admixture of blood among
them, from the jet black African with his curly wool, to the pure white
with flaxen locks.
The _French residents_ are numerous, if a traveller may judge from the
names on the signs, and the endless _Parisian nothings_ exposed for
sale in the Rua d’Ovidor and the Rua d’Quitanda. Here and there are
interspersed English, German, or Italian names. Since the abdication
of the late emperor in favour of his little son Don Pedro the second,
and the breaking up of his splendid court, numerous carriages have
disappeared, and only a few humble volantes or cabriolets are seen
drawn by two mules, or perhaps by a horse and a mule.
The _National Museum_ is situated on each side of the Campo
d’Acclamacao, and is open to the public on Thursdays. It occupies at
present but three rooms, having been sadly plundered of its contents by
Don Pedro. The specimens of minerals are numerous and scientifically
arranged; but the entomological department is meager, considering the
immense numbers and beautiful varieties of insects for which this
country is so justly celebrated: there are many private collections
in the city which far surpass this, in numbers and brilliancy. In
addition to the abovenamed department are several cases, divided
into compartments, showing, in miniature, implements of trade and
manufactures.
The _Senate House_, on the opposite side of the square, is a very plain
edifice, badly built, and propped up in every direction with long
pieces of timber.
On the day when the minister of the interior delivered in his budget,
I visited the _House of Representatives_. The gallery and four private
boxes were crowded. We occupied one of the latter. There were about
seventy members present, highly respectable in their appearance,
although some were of a doubtful white, and others quite black. They
were dignified in deportment, graceful in action, and spoke with great
fluency.
_Education_ has made great progress throughout Brazil within the last
fifteen or twenty years. Beside several Lancasterian schools, supported
by government, to which are admitted, gratuitously, children of all
colours, (slaves excepted,) primary schools are to be found throughout
the city; and private schools also, in which are taught the higher
branches of education. There are also a _surgical_ and a _medical_
academy, an academy of fine arts, and ecclesiastical seminaries.
[Sidenote: SCENERY--PUBLIC GARDENS.]
The city has two public libraries; one of them contains between sixty
and seventy thousand volumes, in all languages. The other is at the
Convent of St. Benedict. I visited that institution when the librarian
was absent, but was amply compensated for the tiresome walk up the
steep hill, on a hot day, over a very rough pavement, by the beautiful
views exhibited in every direction. There, were seen mountain, hill,
and dale, cultivated and in a state of nature--an ocean, a bay, a
river, and on their surfaces were floating noble line-of-battle ships,
merchant vessels, and an abundance of little skiffs. At my feet lay
the city, with its busy throng, and at every important point were
fortresses and castles, showing forth rows of formidable cannon. The
day shone forth with great brilliancy; not a cloud was seen hanging
over the Payo d’Assucar, the Corcovado or the Tejuco; numberless
vessels were seen far at sea, pressing for the port, under a cloud of
white canvass, during the continuance of the breeze. On the left lay
the palace of St. Christovao; and, in the far west, a noble range of
hills, terminated by the spiked tops of the organ mountains, rendered
the picture enchanting and unrivalled. At the foot of the hill is the
arsenal; being deficient in room, the wall of the convent, on that
side, was taken down, and the rocks being blown away, a secret entrance
was discovered under the church, so ingeniously contrived as to be hid
from observation--it appeared like the rocks in which it was formed.
_Public Gardens._--On the bay shore, commencing near the Praya or Beach
do Flamingo, is a pleasant garden, surrounded by a high wall, and
guarded at its various entrances by soldiers. It is much resorted to
by the inhabitants after sunset. The avenues are of good width, well
gravelled, kept clean, and are finely shaded by native and foreign
trees, and with hedges of flowers indigenous to the climate; but the
pure and wholesome breezes, and a view of the bay, are obstructed by a
mound, thrown up unnecessarily high, to protect this retreat against an
ever-rolling surf.
Looking to the right at the further extremity of the beach, along
which is a range of good houses guarded by a high granite wall, lies
the beautiful Gloria hill, having a small white turreted chapel, Nossa
Señora de Gloria, or our Lady of Glory. It is of an octagonal shape,
lies partially concealed amid noble forest and fruit trees, and is
adorned with hedges of myrtle, interspersed with jasmine: and there,
“Weak with nice sense, the chaste Mimosa stands,
From each rude touch withdraws her timid hands;
Oft as light clouds o’erpass the summer glade,
Alarmed, she trembles at the moving shade,
And feels alive, through all her tender form,
The whispered murmurs of the gathering storm;
Shuts her sweet eyelids to approaching night,
And hails with freshened charms the rising light.”
I was much gratified with two visits made to the Botanic garden,
situated about eight miles from the palace. The first visit was by
water, as far as Boto Fogo. From thence it is probably three miles
by land over a tolerably good road, lying principally amid mountain
scenery, the Corcovado being on the right.
This mountain, on its eastern side, is one immense mass of granite,
rising perpendicularly to the height of two thousand feet. On either
hand are plantations and gentlemen’s villas. The road was overhung
with various fruits--the coffee-tree showing its red berries and the
cotton-tree its yellow bulb; or, having burst its outward covering,
displaying the contents of its little pod, as white and pure as the
new-fallen snow; the hedges were beautifully decorated by the hand
of nature with roses, myrtles and jasmines, intertwined with a great
variety of creeping plants. On the left, we passed a small brackish
piece of water, called Lake Frietas, formed by an encroachment of the
sea; which, in heavy gales and during high tides, forces itself over
the sandy barrier between the low lands and its waters.
We arrived at noon--an unpropitious hour, for the garden was shut until
three, in the afternoon. Being desirous to employ our spare time to the
best advantage, we strolled on several miles farther to the seabeach,
through sandy plantations, covered entirely with pine-apple, then in
a green state and very small. Our toil was unrewarded, as we did not
obtain a single shell, (the shore being too sandy,) nor did we see any
object worthy of note.
On our return, we visited the garden, and found it a delicious retreat
and in fine condition. The broad wide avenues are kept in neat order
and lined with trees of various kinds. A fine stream of water conducted
from the adjacent mountains, along neat canals, over pebbly beds,
passes through the garden and divides the compartments of exotics from
the avenues. The servants in attendance explained the endless variety
of trees, shrubs and plants, and permitted us to take specimens of
every thing we fancied.
This delightful spot is situated at the base of the Corcovado, on a
rich plain, fronting the little lake and comprises about seventy acres.
Here are many square plots of ground, containing altogether about six
acres of tea, both black and green, of which there are said to be ten
or twelve varieties. The plant is in height about ten feet, and bears
a small, delicate, white flower; it was in a healthy and flourishing
condition. The dried tea may be obtained in the city. The amboyna and
cayenne cloves grow here; the former being much more fragrant than the
latter. We also found the nutmeg--cinnamon of several kinds, pepper,
pimento, cardamoms, the camphor and sago palm, the bread-fruit in full
bearing, many varieties of the anana or pine-apple, the orange, limes,
sweet and sour lemons, citron, the mamoon, marrow or mamee apple, the
mango and delicious mangusteen of Java, the jack and the shaddock, the
banana, the plantain, the calambolla, &c., &c. The last is a sub-acid
fruit, of an oblong form and light straw colour, when ripe; it is
deeply grooved or ridged with sharp edges and is very refreshing and
agreeable to the taste. A beautiful arbour of a square form, having
vacant openings in imitation of doors and windows, stands in the centre
of the garden, furnished with a table; it is a place of great resort
for pic-nic parties and is ascended by artificial steps, made of the
green-sward.
The situation of Boto Fogo impresses every one who visits it, most
agreeably--it is a delightful retreat from the hot and unwholesome air
of the city and is, like the Praya Flamingo and the Gloria hill, the
residence of many respectable foreigners. The little bay, fronting the
pretty sandy beach, seems like a tranquil lake embossed in magnificent
mountain-scenery. Having replenished our partially-exhausted stock of
sea-stores, and the commodore being with the squadron at La Plata, we
were compelled, reluctantly, to proceed to that place and set sail
accordingly, on the twentieth of May. The situation of our squadron
at La Plata, arose out of difficulties which existed between the
Argentine Republic and that of the United States, consequent upon the
unlawful and unfriendly capture of American vessels, sealing among the
Falkland islands, by order of Vernet, the governor; and from the proper
and spirited conduct of Captain Duncan, commander of the Lexington,
in removing the colony to Montevideo, and thereby, most effectually
cutting off all further depredations upon our commerce.
[Sidenote: MONTEVIDEO.]
We received the customary assistance of boats, from the various men of
war, in towing the ship out of the harbour. As we passed the British
line-of-battle ship Plantagenet, the band of musicians struck up
our national air of “Hail Columbia.” On the thirtieth, we made St.
Marys, being the northern cape at the entrance of the river. A brisk
breeze the day following, accompanied with misty weather, wafted us,
at midnight, within four miles of the isle of Flores, on which we
found an excellent revolving light--and the weather clearing up, we
saw the dull light which crowned the hill called Montevideo. Sail was
then shortened to maintain our position until daylight; but in the
course of three hours, a strong current running out of the river, had
forced us into four and a half fathoms of water, on the edge of the
English bank. We anchored, on the second of June, in the roadstead
of Montevideo, near the United States’ ship Lexington. On the next
morning, we again sailed, with a strong easterly gale, for Buenos
Ayres, and at noon anchored in three and a half fathoms of water, off
Pinta de India, in thick weather and a bad sea. In the afternoon, it
became sufficiently clear for us to obtain a glimpse of the tops of
some trees; sail was again made and on the fifth, we came too, in
the outer Balissas, near to the United States’ ship Warren, under
the command of Acting-Commodore Cooper, and the schooner Enterprise,
commanded by Lieutenant-Commodore Downing. Having landed Mr. Baylies
and family, and taken in provisions for our voyage across the South
Atlantic and Indian oceans, we sailed on the nineteenth, and in four
days arrived at Montevideo. As we passed to our anchorage ground, H.
B. M. frigate Druid, A. R. Hamilton, commander, complimented our flag
by her musicians playing “Hail Columbia,” which cheered our hearts and
created a kindly feeling in us towards our English brethren. Many years
previous to this visit to La Plata, I had resided many months at Buenos
Ayres, and had become acquainted with a number of worthy men and lovely
females, who then shone with great brilliancy at the Tertulias, in the
Bolero and Pas-a-pie, but time had changed the faces and condition of
the living--death had been busy among all classes and many a friend
and acquaintance had gone to the eternal world, amidst the various
revolutions. The splendid churches were shorn of their ornaments and
a few solitary priests, superannuated and on the brink of the grave,
were seen tottering through the deserted aisles and cloisters, where
hundreds had once been, and where the resounding of my own footsteps
now made me start, and look back to see if any of the departed had
returned to wander within their former haunts, and deplore, though they
were wont to be called holy, their numerous imperfections. A regal
government has now given place to one of another stamp; but the great
number of armed men in the streets and about the public buildings, have
divested it of much of its republican character. A Protestant church
is now erected, and English names are frequently seen over the doors
of buildings where once a foreign merchant was not permitted to dwell.
To me, it seemed like traversing a vast sepulchre--so many had closed
their eyes in death, while others appeared like spectres of former
days. It was like a city once in ruins, but which had been freed of its
incumbrances, and was again ushered into light and life, peopled by a
new generation.
Montevideo also had met with unparalleled sufferings from the time
that it was besieged by the British to the present hour. The beautiful
cathedral was disfigured by marks of cannon-balls--the walls were
partly demolished--the gates broken down--the cannon removed, and not a
solitary sentinel was on the lookout from the battlements; the streets
were broken up, and full of unsightly and dangerous holes. Death, the
all-consuming hand of time, and squalid poverty, had laid a whole city
in ruins; it was like a vast cemetery; for all I once knew had been
swept away; even their names had been obliterated for ever. I therefore
left it, better satisfied to wander ten thousand miles over a trackless
and stormy ocean, than to remain in a city whose former inhabitants
were spread in dust amid its ruins.