BAHIA, BRAZIL, _Jan. 2, 1852_.
From the island of Teneriffe, on the opposite side of the Atlantic,
we proceeded south to the Cape Verde islands, and stopped one day to
receive coal at St. Vincent, but had difficulty in getting a supply,
as fever and starvation had destroyed one hundred and fifty out of the
small population of six hundred, and laborers were procured from the
island of St. Antonio, and fed and kept by the English consul, who is
the agent of the Cape of Good Hope Steam Company. Several coal-vessels
were waiting impatiently to be discharged. A small American whaler had
lost her mate, and five of her crew, and the captain was not expected
to survive. We were besieged for medicines, which we gave as liberally
as we could, and also landed the contributions of flour, corn, &c.,
from Madeira. Our passengers were much alarmed, particularly the
Brazilians, who imagined that they inhaled the pestilence with every
breath, and brought forth large supplies of cologne and volatile salts.
The purser, doctor, and myself were the only persons who landed, and
we found the people dying from sheer exhaustion; many would not take
the medicines which we offered them. Such squalid wretchedness I hope
never to witness again. We had constant trade-winds from the N.E. for
some days, with warm, delightful weather, and when we crossed the line,
the sailors, not having forgotten the former visits of Neptune, amused
themselves and the passengers, by dressing in couples, one on all
fours under a sack, imitating a donkey, with long ears and false tail,
mounted by a third, and beaten with sticks by the whole cavalcade.
The following day these jolly fellows listened with attention to the
prayers and services of the Church of England, which were read by
the officers. The first land we sighted towards the American coast,
was the island of Fernando Norona, some three degrees south of the
mouth of the river Amazon; we ran close under the rocky shore. It is
used by the Brazilians for transportation of prisoners, and rarely
visited. Whaling vessels sometimes touch, and for supplies of cattle
and vegetables. The scenery of the island appeared enchanting. We
arrived at Pernambuco, Lat. 8° south, sixteen hundred miles from Cape
Verde, in advance of the usual time, which gave us a good opportunity
of seeing the city, and riding several miles in the country. The view
from the steamer, the natural reef of coral rocks, fifteen miles in
length, forming the harbor; the town of Olinda on the hill to the
north, with its white houses amid groves of green cocoa-nut trees,
strike the beholder as exceedingly beautiful, and I found the town more
cleanly than I expected, as the Brazilians, like their predecessors,
the Portuguese, are renowned for filth. The city is prettily situated
on three islands connected by bridges; it has some nine thousand
population, one-third whites and two-thirds slaves; the buildings are
high and well-constructed, but the interiors are poorly furnished;
the narrow streets are offensive, but those of tolerable width are in
better order. We found immense numbers of mules and horses, which come
long distances from the interior, laden with cotton and sugar. The
foreign population is small, some five hundred in all, French, English,
and Germans; the latter predominate in the Brazils, as several colonies
of them have been formed under the auspices of government. Of Americans
there are only eight or ten; their numbers are usually small, but they
are to be found at all commercial points of importance, and to them we
are indebted for the great luxury of ice, which the people here had
been deprived of for a long time; we could also obtain supplies of
fruit.
We have some disaffection on board among passengers of different races
and tastes, as to the supplies, and a committee was formed to wait upon
the commander, who is a worthy and excellent person. But the system of
the West India and South American Steam Co. which allows the captain
equal to one dollar and eighty-seven and a half cents per day per
head, wines, sodas, and other refreshments being ticketed, and settled
for weekly, is found obnoxious by many passengers, who pay monopoly
fares, and is entirely different from the liberality displayed by the
Peninsula and Oriental Company, who, notwithstanding the mail contract
and monopoly systems, are much more liberal in their provisions and
accommodations. But with the increase of American steamers, their
influence will be felt, not only in this respect, but more particularly
in point of speed. The English mail contract throughout the East
exacts only eight knots running time, and the West India and South
America nine knots per hour, which is slow work for one accustomed to
American steamers. Necessity is driving the English to a higher rate
of speed, and the company is now constructing new and faster boats to
run to Chagres, in order to prevent the tide of travel from setting to
New York. We found two American whalers in quarantine at Pernambuco,
which had touched at St. Vincent, and had some fever on board; we
had obtained a clean bill of health, and having no sickness, we were
permitted to pass. It was a great relief to get a drive of six miles,
in the country where nature appears so beautiful even during the heat
of this, their summer, with the thermometer at eighty-five, passing
through groves of cocoas, palms, breadfruits, tamarinds, oranges, and
other tropical trees, with melons and other fruits to satisfy thirst.
We first learned here that war had been actually declared between
Brazil and Buenos Ayres, and that the government had granted a loan and
part of the fleet to blockade the port of the latter, while the Banda
Oriental attack with the land forces. The son of Gen. Manzilla, and
nephew of Rosas, the Dictator of the Argentine republic, is a fellow
passenger; he promised to accompany me in the interior of Buenos Ayres,
but the shock is rather astounding, and we can only learn the facts at
Rio Janeiro.
The entrance to Bahia, or Bay of All Saints, is really beautiful; it
lies four hundred miles south of Pernambuco, and the entrance is seven
miles broad; its fine harbor is protected from all winds, and the rich
country about it receives the waters of several small rivers. Americus
Vespucius discovered it in 1503, under the patronage of the King of
Portugal, and his carrying home a species of dye-wood, which, when cut,
resembled coals of fire, gave Brazil its name, from Brazas, or coals.
Bahia owes its foundation to the fact of the captain of a shipwrecked
vessel in 1510 having his life spared by the Indians, after most of
the crew were killed. The town is divided into two parts, the Praya,
or Citada Baxa, under the hill, and Citada Alta, above, which appears
quite antique. The descent is difficult, but by well paved roads and
cadeiras or ornamented chairs supported by two negroes, which are in
general use, it is quite practicable. The streets are clean, as Yellow
Jack has improved the habits of the filthy Portuguese. New Year’s day
is kept here as holiday, and our passengers enjoyed themselves in
visiting the public gardens and riding about the suburbs, while a party
of sixteen dined together at the hotel on the summit of the hill, with
a fine view of this magnificent bay, which in some respects recalls the
harbor and site of Naples in miniature. The hedges are of lime trees;
grapes are in season, bananas and melons abound; the seedless orange
here is superior to that of any other part of the world. The public
garden is situated on the boldest and most commanding height of the old
town, one side looking upon the ocean, and the other upon the bay, with
iron railings to prevent falling down the precipice.
The large Jaca tree which furnishes fruit larger than the cocoa, and
affords fine shade, is found here. Formerly the privilege of the whale
fishery was sold for a considerable sum, but at present it is reduced.
The island of Itaporica, in the bay, has some oil establishments,
and whales are occasionally killed; the flesh is much admired by the
negroes, and is found in the market for sale. There are extensive
plantations in the country, with two or three hundred slaves, and large
quantities of sugar, cotton, and tobacco are produced. It is the Havana
of Brazil for the manufacture of cigars. Large quantities of American
flour are imported, but the food of the common people is farina made
from the root of the mandioca. There is a fine race of negroes here,
and they appear better dressed than I had expected to find them; but
from what I can learn, their condition will not compare favorably
with the negroes of our Southern States, whose enhanced value in the
absence of the slave-trade induces kind treatment aside from motives of
humanity.