RIO JANEIRO, BRAZIL, _Jan. 13, 1852_.
From Bahia, I came down by steamer, a distance of seven hundred and
twenty miles, under the most favorable circumstances, in three days,
making the moderate average of ten miles per hour. The entrance or
mouth of the harbor lies between two small islands, and is one mile
wide and skirted on each side by immense masses of solid rock, six
hundred feet high, if not higher; the hills are steep and fortified.
The view of this splendid harbor is majestically grand, increasing in
size to eight or ten miles, and in this gulf are many small islands
distributed about and occupied by small villages: the sheet of water
is fringed with green verdure, bright villas, and immense high craggy
peaks of mountains, forming one of the most beautiful pictures. The
city lies low in a valley, and appears from an elevated spot of a
semicircular form; the streets run at right angles, with public squares
without trees, but as the Brazilians and Portuguese idolize filth,
don’t expect much in the way of cleanliness. The hotels are vile for a
city of three hundred thousand people, even if one-half are negroes;
in this warm climate, with the thermometer in the month of January at
92°, you can well imagine the annoyance from vermin in badly conducted
dens. I was obliged to fight a bloody battle the first night with the
bugs, who disputed possession, and the following morning I abandoned
my quarters for better ones. There is a considerable French population
here, and one street is supplied with every variety of Parisian fancy
goods, so much so that one for the moment would almost imagine himself
in Paris; but he would soon be undeceived on demanding prices, and
finding them double or treble what they are in France, the Brazilian
duties being from eighty to one hundred per cent. on many articles,
which offers a premium for smuggling. It is said the customs are here
ten million dollars, but the Emperor receives four hundred thousand
per annum, and has now a war on hand with Buenos Ayres, and a force of
from thirty to forty thousand men to be kept up. As some one must pay
for this, it falls upon the consumers, and for the benefit of those
who expect to reside here, I will state that the expenses and luxuries
of life, inclusive of carriage hire, exceed those of Calcutta or
London. The country is rich and fertile; sugar, coffee, and hides enter
largely in the exports. Our people know how to appreciate Rio coffee,
particularly along the valley of the Mississippi, and we have become
for our population the largest consumers of coffee in the world.
I have escaped the odoriferous smells of the narrow streets and
the heat of the city for a few days, in visiting the new city and
private summer residence of the Emperor Pedro II. called after him,
Pedropolis, where he has founded a colony of Germans, in the valley of
the mountains, two thousand four hundred feet above the level of the
sea and about twenty-seven miles from Rio, and where the temperature
of the air is from 68° to 70° Fahrenheit, while in the city the
thermometer ranges from 85° to 92°. We proceeded by a small steamer
across the bay, winding among many little islands in a second bay,
and thence up a small meandering river to the landing-place, where we
took land-carriage to the base of the mountains, where our vehicle
containing four persons was drawn by four mules, over a zigzag, well
constructed road, with parapet walls and stone arches for the mountain
torrents, built by government at heavy cost; the entire distance was
accomplished in seven hours. The panorama of the bay and city in the
distance from the crowning point is superb. There were some fourteen
hundred families of Germans composing this colony, and they have
employment upon the roads, in the erection of houses, and improvement
of the town, which is well laid out, with streams of pure water passing
through it. Many fine mansions have been erected by city gentlemen; the
Emperor is building a palace of solid construction, which has already
occupied four years, and cost two hundred thousand dollars, and will
require two years more to complete it, as the work progresses slowly,
and is a fat job for the builders. Many of the Germans have sold out
their grants of town lots, and bought lands in the neighborhood, which
they are cultivating, and I could almost imagine myself in parts of
Switzerland, for the style of the dwellings, and the costume and figure
of the German peasants carried me back to Faderland. As long as the
Emperor spends money freely, all will work well, but if his patronage
is withdrawn the place will decline, it being too expensive for the
masses and too difficult of access.
I saw here a group of German girls in Bloomer costume, with a part of
the palace band, who were playing from house to house. I met with an
American on his way to the diamond mines, some five hundred miles in
the interior--a persevering pioneer from old Kentucky, who had not been
home in twenty-four years. He had married a Portuguese who had died,
and he had his family with him, who had been educated in England,
his second wife being an English lady. He had some two hundred hands
engaged in his business--a profitable one, as Brazil exports some four
million dollars’ worth of diamonds annually. Droves of mules were
constantly passing to the different mines of gold, diamonds, and other
precious stones in the interior. I was shown some handsome specimens
said to be worth two thousand dollars per ounce in the rough. The
Emperor and Empress are seen almost daily in their promenades about the
suburbs or through the town, with a small escort, and sometimes quite
alone; the people speak well of their kindness and liberality. The
Emperor is only twenty-four years of age, and his consort, the sister
of the King of Naples, is his senior by three years, and not at all
remarkable for beauty. I saw them at the opera last evening, in full
costume; they appeared to advantage, it being the close of a gala day,
the Emperor having received at his palace all military officers of
distinction. He was clad in full military dress; he is of good stature,
with a well developed figure, a face of the Austrian or Russian type.
The frigate Congress is now in port, proceeding to Monte Video, and our
Minister, Mr. Schenck, whose health is somewhat feeble, accompanies
her. If the city of Rio Janeiro is remarkable for its filth, and the
depravity and immorality of its inhabitants, it can boast of the beauty
of its suburbs, which extend for many miles. La Gloria and Botafogo,
and other villages situated upon the little indentations and bays, are
very pretty, and nature is very prolific in her supply of fruits and
flowers. One of the most beautiful drives is to the botanical garden,
some six miles from town, the road winding along the beautiful bays,
the shores lined with the villas of foreigners and wealthy residents,
and the gardens filled with a great variety of fruit trees and flowers
peculiar to the climate. I found in the botanical garden avenues of
stately palms, not unlike the cafetals in the island of Cuba; a bamboo
labyrinth, and an acre or more of the tea plant, as a reminiscence
of China; a grove of cinnamon trees of large size, equal to those of
the island of Ceylon; and in fact, all the productions of the tropics
except the cocoa-nut, which I have lost sight of since leaving Bahia.
The city is supplied with water from the mountains by aqueduct, and
some three hundred tanks have lately been placed at the corners of the
streets; but I drink river water of an underground culvert in the city.
The offal is carried in vessels upon the heads of the negroes at night,
and thrown upon the beach and in the harbor.
It is only surprising that the yellow fever does not always exist
here; it is a blessing instead of a curse, if it only improves the
cleanliness of the people. The currency of the country is government
paper, from one milreis upwards. Of gold there is considerable, of the
value of twelve dollars each piece; there is no small silver, but the
quantity of copper in circulation is enormous. It is not as bad as in
China, where twelve hundred small coins go to the dollar; but here, if
a milreis, valued at sixty cents, is exchanged, you obtain a thousand
reis; the smallest coin is valued at ten reis, making it necessary to
ballast equally well your pockets; but fortunately, however, ferry boat
and omnibus tickets go well, and remind one of our own shin-plaster
days.