Its port is situated about 32° south; it is dangerous to enter, first

from its being shoal water, and next, from a violent sea always

running, and from the shifting of the sands. Notwithstanding these

inconveniences, there is a great trade carried on from this place to

all the ports of Brazil, in brigs and small vessels that do not draw

above ten feet water. After passing the bar, which is long, they enter

into an inland sea, or lagoon, of deep water, and navigate to the north

and west to its head, where the principal river runs into it. To the

southward is the lagoon Meni, and the neutral ground; a little to the

southward of which is the Spanish fortress of Santa Theresa, lately put

in repair.

The principal town is defended by many forts, some of which are upon

islets. Since it was taken from the Spaniards by General Coimbra,

the Portuguese have much strengthened it, and now there is a very

considerable force of cavalry, horse-artillery, and foot-soldiers; so

that at a short notice, with the addition of the militia, a body of

five or seven thousand men might be calculated upon.

The climate is considered very fine, and the soil so productive, that

this district may be called the granary of Brazil; the wheat grown

here is shipped to all the ports on the coast where bread is used.

Farming, however, is carried on in so slovenly a manner, that the grain

is always rough, bad skinned, and extremely foul. It is packed in raw

hides, which are sewed up like sacks; it swells, and heats frequently

on the passage from Rio Grande to the more northerly ports; and often,

after landing in Rio de Janeiro, it is left on the quay exposed for

days to the rain.

The vicinity of Rio Grande is extremely populous; in a circuit of

twenty leagues, the inhabitants, including the troops, are estimated

at 100,000. Their principal occupations are, the breeding of cattle,

for which the immense tract of pastureland is so well calculated; the

drying and preparing of hides, and the making of _charque_, or what is

called, in the river Plata, jug-beef. It is prepared in the following

manner:—After the ox is skinned, the flesh is stripped from the bones

in as large flakes as possible, in some degree resembling sides of

bacon: it is put into hot brine, where it remains from twelve to forty

hours, according to the thickness. It is then taken out, drained, and

dried in the sun, afterwards shipped to all parts of Brazil. It is a

general article of consumption among the lower classes and negroes, and

is not unfrequently seen at respectable tables, being in taste somewhat

similar to hung-beef. It constitutes the general food for the sailors,

and forms part of almost every cargo sent out from this port. It has

found its way to the West Indies, where it is in great request, and has

been frequently sold, during the war, at nine-pence or a shilling per

pound. The _charque_ prepared at Rio Grande is much superior to that

brought from the river Plata. During the time that the English troops

were in possession of Monte Video, in consequence of an apprehension

that the cattle might be driven away, and they be in want of supplies,

large quantities were contracted for at S. Pedro, which arrived at

Monte Video, though not wanted. They were afterwards shipped for the

West India market.

The quantity of hides exported from hence is almost incredible; they

furnish many vessels with entire cargoes, which are carried to the

northern ports, and from thence embarked for Europe. The annual

average may be estimated at not less than three hundred thousand.

Tallow forms another considerable article of commerce, which in general

is shipped in the crude state, and not refined, as in the river Plata.

The greater part is consumed in Brazil, and the dealers find it

preferable to refine the article on the spot, where they manufacture it

into candles. It is packed in waste raw-hide packages.[77]

Horns and horse-hair form an inferior branch of the commerce, and are

shipped from this port in great quantities.

The above are the staple productions of Rio Grande, which give

employment perhaps to a hundred sail of coasters, some of which make

two or three voyages in a year, carrying thither rum, sugar, tobacco,

cotton, rice, coarse manufactured cotton, sweet meats, &c.[78]

Of European merchandise, they bring wine, olive-oil, glass, and a great

variety of English commodities, particularly iron, (though they much

prefer the Swedish), baizes, coatings, stout woollen cloths, Manchester

velverets of various qualities and colors, printed cottons, calicoes,

muslins, handkerchiefs, silk, cotton, and worsted hosiery, hats,

flannels, &c.

Sail-cloth, cordage, anchors, tar, paints, fowling pieces,

ammunition of all sorts, hardware of every description, particularly

slaughter-knives, some plated ware, and fancy articles. A great part of

the goods are conveyed upon horses into the interior, where they are

carried from house to house for sale or exchange.

During the old system, so lately as within these four years, a most

lucrative trade was here carried on with the Spaniards, who came

in numbers, and most eagerly bought up the tobacco, and such of

the English manufactures as could be transported on horseback, at

great prices. Thus Rio Grande and its vicinity became very enviable

situations, where considerable fortunes were made in a little time,

as the goods bought were much in request, though contraband, and

were paid for in specie. This trade, so advantageous to each party,

is now entirely ruined through the eagerness of our speculators in

over-stocking the markets, and selling for two what would have been

eagerly bought for six.

The neighbourhood of the capital is an unpleasant place, being

surrounded with sand and sandhills of no inconsiderable size, formed by

the wind blowing the sand in heaps in various directions, which become

half indurated, and appear stratified. The excessively high winds,

which frequently prevail, blow the sand so as to be very disagreeable,

as it enters every part of the house.

The cattle bred in this _capitania_ are very numerous, and large herds

are brought hither from the Spanish frontiers.

The large river Uruguay rises in this _capitania_, and empties itself

into the river Plata, a little above Buenos Ayres; there are numerous

others of less consequence, the banks of which are well stored with

wood. Some attempts were lately made, by miners sent from Villa Rica,

to work gold-washings. In the neighbourhood of the capital they have

coal, a specimen of which I have seen. From the same district, a

gentleman shewed me a substance which he could not define; on seeing

it, I asked him if he was certain that it came from thence; he assured

me that he was: I then told him that it was wolfram; and stated that

this metal strongly indicated tin, of which it is frequently an

attendant in Europe, though probably it may not be so in America. It

was a rude lump, not rounded by friction, and weighed at least a pound.

Of the geology and general features of the rocks of this _capitania_

very little is known.

In various parts _jaguars_, and other beasts of prey, are very common.

Among the graniverous animals are _capivaras_ of great size, deer

in vast herds, and _armadillos_, which afford excellent eating when

roasted. Of birds, there are ostriches of the dark-colored species,

which go about in flocks of great numbers. There are eagles, hawks,

and other birds of prey, particularly a species of crow of the vulture

kind. Cranes, storks, wild turkeys, ducks, partridges, horned plovers,

goat-suckers, horned owls, small parrots, cardinals, humming birds, &c.

are found in great numbers.

The inhabitants are, generally speaking, athletic and robust, and

so extremely fond of riding, as not to go the smallest distance on

foot. They are esteemed excellent horsemen, and greatly surpass their

neighbours in dexterity and agility, particularly in catching cattle

with the balls and the _lazo_. But it ought to be understood that the

Spaniards have Peons on their farms, who are more nearly allied to the

Indians than to them, whereas the Portuguese have Creolians, bred up to

the business, or expert negroes, who are inferior to none in this labor.

It is singular to Europeans, that in this fine climate, where the

thermometer is frequently below 40° Fahrenheit, and where are bred

as fine cows as any in the world, and every convenience is at hand

for dairies, neither butter nor cheese is made, except on particular

occasions; nor is milk even for coffee to be procured at all times. It

may probably be urged that the production of these articles would not

answer the purpose of the farmers: but certainly it might be made to

do so; and I hesitate not to say, that a hundred cows, kept for dairy

purposes, would yield to any man capable of rearing, training, and

managing them, a greater profit than any other part of husbandry. This

colony might easily be made to supply the neighbouring districts, and

even the whole of Brazil, with these articles.

A number of years ago some hemp was grown here by order of Government:

it proved excellent, but was abandoned because it was troublesome to

dress, and probably did not yield sufficient profit, owing to the high

price of labor.

In some places grapes are very good, and probably wine will soon be

made from them, as the restraint laid by the mother-country upon her

colonies is now removed.

Troops have been for a considerable time pouring into Rio Grande, the

result was, Monte Video taken possession of by the Portuguese. This

so enraged Artigas, a Spanish officer and great land owner, that he

rallied the inhabitants of the country, and, being joined by the Peons

and negroes, made war against the new possessors, (from whom he had

probably received indignities and injury), issuing orders for reprisals

at sea, and carrying on a desolating warfare. But this was not all—his

people, under no discipline, plundered the good _Fazendistas_, and

robbed and murdered private individuals; thus changing the scene from

peace, happiness, and contentment, to anarchy, confusion, rapine,

plunder, and murder.

A great many rivers run into Rio Grande, which has more the appearance

of a vast lake or inland sea than a river. On the banks of these

rivers we find many settlers enjoying most beautiful situations, and

lands to a great extent. Here may be said to be the finest situations

for growing wheat; falls of water for mills, and excellent water

conveyance to ships wanting cargoes, who might with the greatest

facility load and transport it all over Brazil, the Cape, Isle of

France, &c. An active people would soon enjoy a trade of their own

instead of importing flour from the United States, which is even now

the case.

CHAP. XX.

_General Observations on the Trade from England to Brazil._

HAVING, in a preceding part of this work, stated the importance of Rio

de Janeiro as a port which, from its locality, appears destined by

nature to become the metropolis of a vast empire, and the centre of an

extensive commerce, it may not be improper in this place to treat more

at large on this interesting subject.

The ships best calculated for trade from England are those which carry

about four hundred tons, and sail well: it is particularly necessary

that they should have the latter quality; for, if they have not, the

voyage from thence to England is frequently rendered very tedious

by their being driven too far to the westward by the north-east

trade-wind. Owing to this circumstance, it is not uncommon for a

packet, or fast-sailing ship, to make a passage from the coast of

Brazil to England in five or six weeks, when a heavy-sailing vessel is

double that time in arriving at her destination. The best season for

sailing from England, and that which affords the greatest probability

of making a short passage, is the month of February or March, because

then the north-east winds prevail. I should advise crossing the line in

not less than 22°, nor more than 25° west longitude, if the destination

be the Plata or Rio de Janeiro, as I have twice experienced very long

calms in crossing the line between 19° and 20°. Ships bound to Bahia,

Pernambuco, and ports more northerly, will of course cross the line

more to the westward, as they will have nothing to fear: but the

south-west trade-wind would generally cause ships going farther south

to fall in with the land too soon. Should that be the case, I would

advise them, if they make the land to the north of the Abrolhos[79],

to keep in-shore, as the land-breeze is frequently from the northward

until mid-day. The ports on this coast are in general good and secure,

nevertheless it is highly desirable to be provided with good anchors

and cables, particularly in the Rio de la Plata. In the Portuguese

territories the port-charges are not so expensive as formerly; a dollar

per day is exacted for anchorage, which forms the principal charge. I

particularly recommend that all homeward-bound ships should lay in a

sufficiency of necessary stores, especially of water, so as to make the

passage without being obliged to go into the Western Isles, as there

the port-charges and attendant expenses are very exorbitant, though the

only articles wanted may be a few casks of water, and a hundred weight

or two of bread.

Ships are loaded in Rio de Janeiro, and other ports of Brazil, as well

as in the Plata, by lighters, which are very expensive, and difficult

to be procured when many ships are receiving their cargoes; good boats

are extremely useful and necessary.

When a vessel enters any of the ports, the health-boat and custom-boat

make a visit before she anchors, and their report is immediately

made; after which, proper officers, called _guardas_, are sent on

board. These men in general are not very liberally provided for; they

are extremely civil and accommodating, and ought to be treated with

respect. Since the establishment of the treaty of commerce between this

government and that of Brazil the contraband trade has been almost done

away; for the duties are now much reduced, and the accommodation which

the judge and subordinate officers of the custom-house are disposed to

allow, is such, as to render that nefarious practice unnecessary.

It may not be improper in this place to describe the consequences

produced in Rio de Janeiro by the excessive commercial speculations

into which our merchants entered, immediately after the emigration of

the Court of Portugal, and which could only be equalled by those which

followed our expeditions to the Rio de la Plata.

Owing to the incredible competition or struggle among our merchants,

who should send most ships and cargoes to a country, whose civilized

population, exclusive of slaves, did not exceed eight hundred thousand

souls, (one-third, at least, of whom may be said to make use only of

what their land produces), it is natural to suppose that the market

would be almost instantly overstocked. So great and so unexpected was

the influx of English manufactures into Rio de Janeiro, within a few

days after the arrival of the Prince, that the rent of houses to put

them into became enormously dear. The bay was covered with ships,

and the custom-house soon overflowed with goods: even salt, casks of

ironmongery, and nails, salt-fish, hogsheads of cheese, hats, together

with an immense quantity of crates and hogsheads of earthen and glass

ware, cordage, bottled and barrelled porter, paints, gums, resin,

tar, &c. were exposed, not only to the sun and rain, but general

depredation. The inhabitants of Rio de Janeiro, and more particularly

some of the Creolians and strangers from the interior, thought that

these goods were placed there for their benefit, and extolled the

goodness and generosity of the English, who strewed the beach to

a great extent with articles for which their own countrymen had

heretofore charged them such high prices! It is true that the gentlemen

entrusted with these valuable consignments did apply for sentinels

to be placed to guard the articles thus exposed, and their request

was immediately complied with. The result was such as might easily

have been anticipated from such watchmen, many of whom did not fail

to profit largely by the appointment. In the course of some weeks the

beach began to assume a less crowded appearance; some few of the goods

were taken to the residences of their owners, others were removed; but

to what place, or by whom, there was no way of ascertaining; and a

very great proportion was sold at the custom-house _for the benefit of

the underwriters_. This stratagem, then so frequently practised, (and

certainly deserving of the severest reprehension), afterwards operated

as a very serious injury to the regular sale of articles; for, as the

market was so overstocked, scarcely any one would offer money for

goods, except at the custom-house sales. As the depreciation continued,

numberless packages were there exposed for sale, in part damaged, or

apparently so. Indeed, little more than the mark of a cord on the

outside of a single article, or a corner discolored, in a package

however large, was a sufficient pretext for presuming and pronouncing

the whole to be damaged. Great quantities of goods were brought to the

hammer in the custom-house warehouses, under every disadvantage; thus

the owners recovered the amount insured for, and the insurers lost the

difference between that sum and the price they were sold at, also the

attendant expenses. Many of the underwriters will, it is to be feared,

retain a lasting remembrance of the sales which took place at Rio de

Janeiro, and other parts of South America, _for their benefit_.

To the serious losses thus occasioned by an overstocked market, and

by the sacrifice of goods at whatever price could be obtained, may be

added another, which originated in the ignorance of many persons who

sent out articles to a considerable amount not at all suited to the

country; one speculator, of wonderful foresight, sent large invoices

of various sorts of stays for ladies who never heard of such armour;

another sent skates, for the use of a people who are totally uninformed

that water can become ice; a third sent out a considerable assortment

of the most elegant coffin-furniture, not knowing that coffins are

never used by the Brazilians, or in the Plata. To these absurd

speculations may be added iron-stoves and fire-irons, candles, and

numerous others, particularly in articles of taste: elegant services

of cut glass were little appreciated by men accustomed to drink out

of a horn or a cocoa-nut-shell; and brilliant chandeliers were still

less valued in a country where only lamps that afforded a gloomy light,

were used. Superfine woollen cloths were equally ill-suited to the

market; no one thought them sufficiently strong. An immense quantity

of high-priced saddles, and thousands of whips[80], were sent out to

a people as incapable of adopting them as they were of knowing their

convenience. They were astonished to see Englishmen ride on such

saddles; nor could they imagine any thing more insecure. Of the bridles

scarcely any use could be made, as the bit was not calculated to keep

the horse or mule in subordination: these articles were of course

sacrificed. Great quantities of the nails and ironmongery were useless,

as they were not calculated for the general purposes of the people.

Large cargoes of Manchester goods were sent; and, in a few months, more

arrived than had been consumed in the course of twenty years preceding.

No discrimination was used in the assortment of these articles, with

respect either to quantity or fineness, so that common prints were

disposed of at less than a shilling a yard, and frequently in barter.

Fish from Newfoundland met with a similar fate; also porter, large

quantities of which, in barrels, arrived among a people, of whom a few

only had tasted that article as a luxury. How the shippers in London,

and other British ports, could imagine that porter, would at once

become a general beverage, it is difficult to conceive, especially

when sent in barrels. These cargoes, being unsaleable, were of course

warehoused, and of course spoiled. Newfoundland fish, that was

generally sold at from twelve to twenty dollars _per quintal_, was now

unsaleable at four, and in many instances did not pay warehouse-room.

Earthenware was perhaps rather more favorably received than many of the

former articles, for plates, &c. soon came into general use. Having

enumerated various commodities which suffered a general depreciation,

it may be sufficient to add that many invoices of fancy goods, and such

as do not constitute a staple trade, were sold at from sixty to seventy

_per cent._ under costs and charges, and others were totally lost. To

enter more into detail would be unnecessary: it is hoped that the trade

will in time find its regular course, and that the adventurers will

derive from it some compensation for their former losses, though no

possible change can repair the total ruin which numbers have incurred.

Experience will now have fully shown the fallacy of those golden hopes

which some persons conceived from the reputed wealth of South America,

and we shall no longer hear of those absurdities which characterised

the first commercial speculations to the river Plata. What must have

been the delusions of those traders who sent out tools, formed with a

hatchet on one side and a hammer on the other, for the conveniency of

breaking the rocks, and cutting the precious metals from them, as if

they imagined that a man had only to go into the mountains, and cut out

as much gold as would pay for the articles he wanted!

Other evils resulted from these ill-judged and excessive speculations

to South America, which might naturally have been anticipated. The

first was, that the produce was bought up with such avidity that many

articles were soon double their ordinary value, and continued to rise

as our manufactures lowered. But this was not all: the purchasers

suffered equally from their ignorance of the quality of the articles,

as from their eagerness in purchasing them. For instance; any kind

of sebaceous matter was greedily bought for tallow; and numberless

hides, spoiled in the drying and eaten by the grub, met with ready

sale. Little attention was paid to the state they were in; and thus it

frequently happened that lots and cargoes of those articles, instead of

reimbursing the adventurer to whom they were consigned, scarcely paid

freight and charge. This was also the case with coffee and other staple

articles. Many gentlemen, more knowing than others, sent home lots of

curious wood, and even entered into the illicit trade of shipping the

dye-wood, which generally proved very disadvantageous, as the wood of

that species grown in the vicinity of Rio de Janeiro is very inferior

in quality to that of Pernambuco, from whence that trade is carried

on for account of the Crown. The folly of speculation did not stop

here: precious stones appeared to offer the most abundant source of

riches; the general calculation was made upon the price at which they

sold in London: but every trader bought them, more or less, at the

price at which they were offered; invoices of goods were bartered for

some, which in London would sell for, comparatively, a trifle, as they

were taken without discrimination as to quality or perfection; green

tourmalines were sold for emeralds, crystals for topazes, and both

common stones and glass have been bought as diamonds to a considerable

amount. Gold and diamonds were well known to be produced in Brazil;

and their being by law contraband, was a sufficient temptation to

eager speculators who had never before seen either in their native

state. False diamonds were weighed with scrupulousness, and bought

with avidity, to sell by the rules stated by Jefferies. Gold-dust,

as it is commonly called, appeared in no inconsiderable quantity,

and, after being weighed with equal exactness, was bought or bartered

for. But previous to this many samples underwent the following easy

and ingenious process:—The brass pans purchased at the stores were

filed, and mixed with the gold in the proportion of from ten to twenty

_per cent._ according to the opinion which the seller formed of the

sagacity of the person with whom he had to deal: and thus, by a simple

contrivance, some of our countrymen re-purchased at three or four

guineas per ounce the very article which they had before sold at 2s.

6d. per pound!!!

In enumerating the losses occasioned by the depreciation of goods, I

have omitted to notice the heavy expenses upon them after the purchase,

as packing, shipping, convoy-duty, freight, insurance, commission, and

other incidental charges. Then suppose any staple article to be bought;

there are the expenses of commission for buying of warehouse-room,

shipping and the attendant fees, freight, and insurance; and, on the

arrival of the merchandize in England, there are duties, dockage,

warehouse-room, and many other items which leave no small interest in

the hands of those who do the business.

It is scarcely possible to imagine, much less to describe, the

disappointment which prevailed among the young supercargoes a few

months after their arrival in South America, particularly among those

who had orders not to sell the goods entrusted to them lower than the

prices specified in their invoices.

They could scarcely awaken themselves from the chimerical delusion

that their mind was filled with; they disbelieved every thing,

and continued to write to their employers to send out more goods,

thinking the riches they had so fondly anticipated must yet roll

down in torrents from the interior. The heart-breaking letters of

those who sent them out, expressing the most poignant distress for

want of remittances, at length awakened them, and their sanguine

expectations of incalculable riches, heaps of dollars, or bars of

gold, began to vanish. Many of the inhabitants came to look at their

stores, but few offered to buy; and, incredible as it may appear, yet

it is true, that when goods were offered to them at half the original

cost, they invariably exclaimed, “Very dear.” Scenes of this kind I

have repeatedly witnessed, and could scarcely suppress my indignation

at seeing goods thus depreciated, which a few months before were so

eagerly sought after, and bought at ten times the amount. Gentlemen

consignees so situated were at a loss how to act: the duties, rents,

charges, and other expenses were high, and must peremptorily be paid;

their only resource was to open a shop or room for the purpose of

selling their goods by retail, as the inhabitants wanted them.

These young men most unfortunately had calculated upon doing business

only in the large way, similar to our most opulent mercantile

establishments: on their arrival they took the best houses, set apart

their hours for morning rides and attending to business, for going to

their country seats[81], and dinner-parties. The idea of vending by

retail was a bitter which destroyed all their pleasing anticipations of

doing business in style: they thought themselves merchants, expecting

to sell at any price they pleased to ask, and to buy at what they

thought proper to offer! and could not stoop to be shopkeepers; many

of them, rather than yield to that, sent goods to auctions, and sold

them at what they would fetch, thus rendering a ruinous account to

their employers. Others with more prudence accommodated themselves to

circumstances, and were not offended at being asked for a pair of boots

or a hat. These persons reaped all the advantage of the trade, as they

got their price by selling to those whose necessities prompted them to

purchase, and were ever ready to sell by the package when opportunity

offered. Many of these young men, it is true, have been deservedly much

blamed by the consignors, who have expressed great dissatisfaction

at their extravagant mode of living, and at their proceedings, both

in the disposal of the property sent to them, and in the purchase of

merchandize to return; these complaints were justly founded, though

something may be said in extenuation of the former, not only on the

ground of their want of knowledge, but the unexampled situation of

affairs; for a respectable and useful clerk, however capable of copying

an invoice, or attending his employer’s counting-house, must make a

very poor figure so situated, being very incapable of ascertaining or

stating the merits of manufactured goods, and still less qualified to

purchase the staple articles and general produce of the country. These

severe and grievous disadvantages frequently gave the Brazilians the

double advantage of buying below the market-price, and of selling above

it.

From these and many other unfortunate and disastrous circumstances,

the trade could not fail to become gradually worse and worse; hence it

is very natural to imagine that necessitous consignors, eager to see

the riches which they had so long and so vainly anticipated, became

more pressing for remittances. One disappointment succeeded another;

remonstrances were made; and powers of attorney were at length sent

out almost by cargoes; property was removed from one consignee to

another, at great expense, but to no purpose. At home the greatest

confusion prevailed for want of money, until that lamentable and

unfortunate epoch, when the columns of the Gazette were filled with the

names of those very respectable merchants, who, before those ruinous

speculations, were in a state of affluence. Many of those to whom

immense sums were entrusted, have not even yet returned to their native

country.

Misunderstandings frequently arose between the English and the

Portuguese, either in making contracts, or in not complying with them;

and they were continually prosecuting each other for injuries which

both parties professed to have sustained. These litigations might have

terminated very expensively, if not otherwise seriously, had not the

wise measures of the _Juiz Conservador_ prevented the perplexities of

legal proceedings. The appeals of the English were always heard; they

were strangers whom His Royal Highness protected, and they ever found

in the Conde de Linhares a firm and powerful friend.

In the Plata, the monied men bought very largely of the cargoes which

first arrived, and were afterwards considerable losers by the overflow

which took place, when men of less capital bought for ten thousand

dollars, what a few weeks before sold for fifteen or twenty. In Rio de

Janeiro the case was somewhat different; for the monied men thought the

English manufactures inexhaustible, and therefore kept back their gold,

leaving the trade principally to men of a secondary class, who bought

with great caution, and sold very promptly, for fear of a further

depreciation.

Having stated the ruinous consequences of sending out goods not

saleable, it may be proper to point out the articles in general

consumption, though even these may be sold at great loss, if the

markets be overstocked, for trade must depend on the wants and

necessities of the consumer. If an individual possesses seven or eight

hats, as many coats, &c. it is unreasonable to suppose that he can want

more, though he may be tempted to purchase, if offered at very reduced

prices: but even that must have an end, and a trade must soon expire

where one party is constantly the loser. This has been too generally

the result of our late speculations in South America, into which people

hurried without calculation or foresight.

Iron and steel are articles for which there is a general and constant

demand. The smiths prefer Swedish iron, as they have been always

accustomed to it, and do not know how to heat and work the English. The

next article to be mentioned is salt, in which the Brazilians are by no

means nice. It is made and loaded at one or two places on the coast,

but that which is most esteemed comes from the Cape de Verde islands;

that brought from Liverpool is generally used in the sea-ports. Common

woollens, baizes, and some stout fine cloths, particularly blue and

black, are generally worn; also kerseymeres. Cotton goods of almost

every description, especially if low priced, meet with ready sale,

as do German linens. Hats of all sorts, (particularly dress-hats),

and boots and shoes of English manufacture, have of late been sold

in great quantities; the leather is much preferable to that made in

Brazil. Common and finer earthenware, and glass; some sorts of fine

and coarse hardware, and some plated goods, as candles now begin to be

used instead of lamps. Bottled porter, Cheshire cheese, butter, cheap

furniture, tin-plate, brass, lead in various shapes, shot of all sizes,

gunpowder, drugs, some philosophical instruments, books, low-priced

paper, watches, telescopes, salt provisions, as hams, tongues, and

barrelled pork, low-priced saddlery, and most of all, India and other

goods fit for the African coast. Marble mortars, mirrors, and many

fancy articles of less note. Silk and cotton hosiery, fashionable

dresses for ladies, particularly fine stockings and shoes.

It is to be observed that the mother-country still continues to send

oil, wine, brandy, linens, cottons, some silks, and a variety of

articles of inferior consequence. India goods, consisting chiefly

of cottons, are sent from the Malabar coast, and China goods are in

great plenty. From North America are imported flour, salt provisions,

turpentine, tar, staves, household furniture, &c.

Naval stores, clothing for sailors, arms, &c. may be said to be

generally in demand.

The staple articles of trade from Brazil and the river Plate which are

most in demand in this country, when its markets are not overstocked,

are cotton, sugar, coffee, hides, tallow of good quality, horns, horse

and cow hair, fur-skins, and feathers. Brazil is well calculated for

growing sugar, having every convenience of situation, and all the

materials requisite for machinery. To the above may be added some

peculiar woods; that beautiful species, called _jacarandá_, in England

denominated rose-wood, is generally in demand. I do not say any thing

of indigo, as it is of inferior quality. Rice is cultivated to great

extent. Tobacco, it is to be hoped, will be better cured, to suit the

English market; for no where can a soil and climate be found more

favorable to the production of that plant than in Brazil.

In offering, by way of conclusion, a more detailed account of the

resources of this rich and extensive country, I shall for obvious

reasons avoid all speculation on the political changes now operating in

the mother country, as well as in her colonies, and direct my remarks

solely to commercial matters. According to recent estimates the annual

value of British goods imported into Brazil exceeds three millions

sterling, one half of which may be assigned to Rio de Janeiro, from

whence the returns are made generally in produce, consisting of gold,

diamonds, and precious stones, sugars, cottons, hides, tobacco, tallow,

wax, indigo, woods, and many other articles.

The commerce of Bahia ranks next in importance to that of Rio, and a

considerable proportion of it is conducted by English merchants. The

returns are principally made in produce, and this circumstance secures

to the native cultivator an eminent advantage over the foreign trader.

The main articles of produce are sugar, cotton, and tobacco. The annual

exports of the cotton, may be stated at from 30,000 to 36,000 bags.

Its quality varies according to the district in which it is produced;

that which is brought hither from the southern parts of the province

of Pernambuco, is called _foras_, in contradistinction with the cotton

of Bahia, which is denominated _dentros_. The former is considered of

superior staple, being stronger and more silky, but it seldom arrives

in a clean state, or free from seeds and other substances negligently

left by the planters. The _dentros_, though neither so strong nor so

silky as the _foras_, are generally much better dressed, and hence they

are considered of almost equal value. Much of this cotton is grown in

the extensive plantations near Villa Nova do Principe. Eight ninths of

the cotton shipped at Bahia is exported to England, and principally to

the port of Liverpool.

The quantity of sugar annually exported from hence is very

considerable, and in some years has exceeded a million of

_arrobas_[82]. The growth of tobacco varies according to the season;

an average crop has been estimated at 600,000 _arrobas_. One third,

and frequently one half of a crop is rejected as unfit for shipment to

Europe. The refuse is sent to the Portuguese possessions in Africa,

but the demand for it has greatly diminished since the abolition of

the slave trade in that continent, north of the equator, that being

the quarter in which it was principally consumed. A great quantity is

exported to the Plata, and from thence is sent to various parts of the

interior.

Upwards of 150 sail of vessels have been dispatched from hence in the

course of one year, of which number one third was destined for the

ports of the mother country, and little short of one third for those

of Great Britain; besides the staple articles of cotton, sugar, and

tobacco, the exports include large quantities of hides, molasses, rum,

and woods. Many large and most excellent ships have been built at this

place, the timber of which is of a superior quality.

Pernambuco is celebrated for producing the best cotton in Brazil, and

it owes this distinction to the careful scrutiny which that article

undergoes. After inspection it is divided into three qualities; the

second quality is allowed to pass with the first, and the purchaser

receives for it an allowance of 500 _reas per arroba_ from the planter;

the third quality is wholly rejected[83]. The bags are then weighed,

and the export duty charged on them. About eighty thousand bags are

annually exported, of which sixty thousand may be considered as

destined for Great Britain, and the residue principally to Lisbon. The

annual export of sugar has been estimated at 25,000 cases, of which

nearly one half goes to England, and the rest to the mother country.

This product is considerably on the increase.

The principal exports from Maranham are cotton, rice, hides, and Indian

corn. Its cotton ranks next in quality to that of Pernambuco, and

obtains a price very little inferior. The quantity annually exported

has been estimated at sixty thousand bags, of which more than three

fourths may be considered as destined for the English market. The

annual export of rice exceeds three hundred thousand _arrobas_. It is

calculated that the trade of this port employs yearly upwards of one

hundred sail, of which one half are destined for England. Sugar is

beginning to form a considerable article of commerce at this port, many

extensive plantations having been made. Sweetmeats and confectionery

are cured here, and at the above mentioned places in great perfection,

and are exported in quantities almost beyond credibility.

The foreign commerce of Para may be considered still in its infancy,

as its principal city, Belem, is accessible only to vessels of small

burthen. Its cottons are considered little inferior to those of Bahia.

Its other exports consist of excellent cocoa, coffee, rice, in great

quantities, sarsaparilla, raw and tanned hides, gums, various drugs,

some sugar, molasses, timber, and curious woods. The vast territories

of this _capitania_ are but little known, and very thinly peopled.

In terminating the present work, the author cannot but express his

earnest hope, that the new order of things now instituted in the

mother country may tend to the permanent welfare of Brazil, to the

developement of its rich and various resources, to the intellectual,

moral, and social improvement of its people, to the extension of their

commerce, and to the continuance of that connection with Great Britain,

which has hitherto contributed, and may henceforth more largely

contribute, to the prosperity of both nations.

APPENDIX.

IN page 368 of this work, I have stated, that it was my intention to

enquire into, and to make some observations on the present regulations

relative to diamonds. These beautiful gems have been found in such

abundance in Brazil, as to supply not only Europe, but Asia; as those

of India are become extremely scarce, diamonds from Brazil have been

often sent thither, and have usurped their name. The question we are

at present about to examine is, how far it would be consistent with

the interest of the Portuguese Government to permit the searching

for diamonds, in the same way as for gold, under peculiar laws. The

monopoly is ineffectual, because the diamonds are found in so many

parts widely distant from each other, that it is impossible to prevent

the searching for them. The attempt to preserve grounds known to

contain these riches, by forming a _distacamento_, has not produced

any good effect; and it is by no means improbable, that the best of

these (supposed) preserved lands are already worked, therefore the

soldiers are guarding the casket after the jewels have been taken away.

How many places might be mentioned (out of the district of Cerro do

Frio), where troops of negroes daily work! It has been stated, that

government probably receive little more than a moiety of the gems

found at their own expense; if so, it is certainly time to abandon

a trade so exposed, or to change the system altogether. Is it the

interest of Brazil to keep her enterprizing subjects in continual

torture and fear respecting these precious gifts, which the bounteous

hand of Providence has placed there? But indeed as his majesty’s

subjects increase and become more enlightened, this severe monopoly

will destroy itself and soon begin to give way to a wise and political

government, which will prefer a rich and powerful population in the

very heart of the colony to a few individuals. How happens it, that

diamonds, in the hands of private persons, meet a more ready sale than

those of government? Because they are better stones, and are offered

in quantities more convenient for the purchasers: next, because they

can be sold cheaper since they cost less. If diamonds were subject to

pay a fifth, government would have such power as to enable them to

command the market; and if they should become cheaper in Europe, the

demand for them would become more general, therefore their price would

not be likely to fall in Brazil; and, even if it did, is it not the

blindest policy for the court to put such a yoke round the neck of

her valuable subjects, who venture their lives in trackless deserts

searching for mines, and exposing themselves to every danger? Would it

have been possible for Portugal to colonize Brazil if there had been

no gold mines to attract adventurers? To deny men the treasures with

which nature has enriched the country, is to oppose one great check

to its population; for the example of one adventurer becoming rich,

is the means of inducing hundreds to follow him. Under the present

system, there is so great a struggle between the temptation of becoming

suddenly rich, and the fear of being ruined by detection, that when a

man finds a diamond by accident, he knows not whether to appropriate

it, or to surrender it to the government; even in the latter case,

he has little prospect of reward, and runs the risk of being accused

as a smuggler. Instances have not been uncommon of men having found

diamonds, who have thrown them away[84] rather than involve themselves

and their families in ruin, either by keeping them, or delivering them

to government.

It has before been shewn, that Government are the greatest gainers by

the diamonds which are sold clandestinely; and if individuals were

allowed to trade in them, the state and the public would undoubtedly be

benefited by it. For it is certain, that a Brazilian farmer or miner

would prefer necessaries, such as iron utensils, clothing, &c. which

add to his comforts and conveniences of life, to articles of ideal

value, which in reality have come into his hands probably without

difficulty or expense. Thus the peasantry would draw valuable produce

from other countries in exchange for what cost them comparatively

nothing, and, by enriching themselves, would augment the revenues of

the state.

Is it not possible to make the diamonds liable to pay a fifth, either

in kind or in value? In this case it is probable that there would be

less smuggling: and that practice might be still more restrained, by

something like the following regulation: every person finding diamonds

should be obliged to register them; also, to take out a certificate

authorising him to dispose of them in whatever manner he thinks proper.

It would certainly add to their importance, to make them subject to a

trivial duty[85], on being lawfully transferred from the buyer to the

seller, by which means they would come into immediate circulation

and represent real property: thus, after yielding a very small profit

to each person through whose hands they passed, they would finally be

exported; and, as long as diamonds continued an article of distinction,

ornament, and elegance, Brazil would lay under tribute every court in

the civilized world.

The Dutch were artful enough to poison the ears of the ministers of

Portugal against the proposal of making diamonds a free trade, and

assisted in the persecutions against those unfortunate sufferers who

were detected in possessing them. But surely that narrow-minded and

self-interested policy is now done away with; nor would it be credited

in modern history, that the government of Brazil, for a trivial,

pecuniary profit, should be the dupes of their own bank and a few

interested strangers.

_View of the State of Society among the Middling Classes, employed in

Mining and Agriculture._

We are naturally led to imagine, that, in a country where mines of

gold and diamonds are found, the riches of the inhabitants must be

immense, and their condition most enviable; the Portuguese themselves,

who reside in the mining districts, encourage this supposition; and

whenever they go to Rio de Janeiro, do not fail to make all possible

show and parade. But let us view them in the centre of their wealth;

and as a fair criterion of the middling classes of society, let us

select a man possessing a property of fifty or sixty negroes, with

_datas_ of gold mines, and the necessary utensils for working them. The

negroes alone are worth, at the low valuation of 100 _milreis_, a sum

equal to £1,200, or £1,500 sterling; the _datas_ and utensils, though

of value, need not be taken into the account. Suppose this man to be

married, and to have a family: What is the state of their domestic

concerns, their general way of life? May I be allowed to describe

them in the language which truth dictates, without exaggeration or

extenuation? Their dwelling scarcely merits the name of a house; it is

the most wretched hovel that imagination can describe, consisting of

a few apartments built up to each other without regularity; the walls

wicker-work, filled up with mud; a hole left for a frame serves as a

window, or a miserable door answers that purpose. The cracks in the

mud are rarely filled up; and in very few instances only have I seen a

house repaired. The floors are of clay, moist in itself, and rendered

more disagreeable by the filth of its inhabitants, with whom the pigs

not unfrequently dispute the right of possession. Some _ranchos_, it

is true, are built upon piles; and underneath are the stables, &c.;

these are certainly a little superior to the former. They are built so

from necessity, where the ground is uneven or swampy; but it may be

easily conceived, that the disagreeable effects produced by want of

cleanliness, must in these instances be increased by the effluvia from

the animals underneath, which I have frequently found intolerable.

The furniture of the house is such as might be expected from the

description above given. The beds are very coarse cotton cases, filled

with dry grass, or the leaves of Indian corn. There are seldom more

than two in a house; for the servants generally sleep upon mats, or

dried hides laid on the floor. The furniture consists of one or two

chairs, a few stools and benches, one table, or perhaps two, a few

coffee-cups and a coffee-pot of silver; a silver drinking cup, and, in

some instances, a silver wash-hand basin, which, when strangers are

present, is handed round, and forms a striking contrast to the rest of

the utensils.

The general diet of the family consists of the same articles which have

already been particularized in treating of S. Paulo. The only beverage

is water; and nothing can be more frugal than the whole economy of

the table. So intent is the owner on employing his slaves solely in

employments directly lucrative, that the garden, on which almost the

entire subsistence of the family depends, is kept in the most miserable

disorder.

In the article of dress, they do not appear more extravagant than in

that of food. The children are generally naked; the youths go without

shoes, in an old jacket, and cotton trowsers; the men in an old capote

or mantle wrapped around them, and wooden clogs, except when they go

from home; and, on those occasions, they appear in all their splendor,

forming as great a contrast to their domestic attire, as the gaudy

butterfly does to the chrysalis from which it springs.

It might be expected, that however penuriously the general concerns

of the family were conducted, at least some degree of attention and

expense would be bestowed on the dress of the females; for the test of

civilization among all nations is the regard paid to the fair sex, on

whom the happiness of domestic life depends. Yet the general poverty

and meanness of their attire is such, that they reluctantly appear

before any one, except the individuals of their own family.

In short, in all those departments of domestic economy, which to the

middle classes of other civilized nations are objects of expense, the

Brazilians exercise the most rigid parsimony. At first, I was inclined

to attribute this disposition to a love of money, which prompted them

to avoid all extravagance; but, on closer observation, I was surprised

to find that it originated in necessity. They generally take credit for

the few articles they have to purchase, and sometimes find it difficult

to maintain their negroes. If they purchase a mule, it is to be paid

for at the end of one or two years, and, of course, at double its

ordinary price.

In such a family as that above described, the sons, as might be

expected, are not brought up to industry; they are merely taught to

read and write; rarely do they attend to the mining department; they

learn no trade, nor are they instructed in any useful employment:

perhaps an ensign or a lieutenant of militia, would think it a disgrace

to put his son apprentice to a mechanic. Suppose the father of this

family to die when the sons have just attained the age of puberty.

They are now for the first time obliged to think of providing for

themselves. With little knowledge of the world, ill educated, and poor,

they have learned to think all occupations servile, and their own is

generally hateful to them. If they agree not to divide the negroes, it

often happens that they run into debt, and continue in wretchedness; if

they divide them, each takes his course, and adventures for himself,

and in a short time, they are generally obliged to part with their

slaves, and exist in indigence. Every useful pursuit and every comfort

is neglected for the sake of seeking hidden treasures which very rarely

are found, and which when found are as rarely employed to advantage,

but rather serve to increase the wants of the owners.

Few, very few of the numerous class of miners from which the above

instance is selected are rich, few are even comfortable; how wretched

then must be the state of those who possess only eight or ten negroes,

or whose property does not exceed three or four hundred pounds.

Thus situated in one of the finest climates in the world, with rich

lands full of the finest timber, abounding in rivulets and water-falls

in every direction, containing, besides precious minerals, iron ores,

and almost every other useful product, the inhabitants of Brazil,

though secured from absolute want, remain in indigence. It is true, the

miner procures his gold by great labor, but this need not preclude him

from improving his domestic condition. Were his hovel converted into a

house, his slaves better fed and lodged, and his family better provided

for, his whole affairs would receive a new impulse, and every part of

his property would become doubly productive.

_Negroes employed as Messengers._

One description of men whom I have omitted to mention before, are

negroes employed as messengers by the various chiefs in the Capitania

of Minas Geraes. The men selected for this employment are the most

trusty and able-bodied that can be found. Their letters are locked up

in a leathern bag, which they buckle round them, and never take off

until they deliver its contents. They carry a gun and ammunition with

them to defend themselves, as well as to provide themselves with food.

Wherever they halt, they are sure of a kind and friendly reception,

for nothing can exceed the cordiality with which the negroes welcome

each other. These men are trusted on very important missions, and are

despatched to every part of the Capitania. On urgent occasions, some

of them have performed journeys with astonishing celerity. I was most

credibly informed, that one of them had been known to travel seven

hundred miles on a mountainous road in sixteen days, though that

distance usually occupies twenty or twenty-one days. The men are

generally tall, and of spare habit; they are accustomed to light food

and long abstinence.

_Diseases peculiar to the Country._

Of diseases I did not hear of any that were contagious, except Psora,

which sometimes prevails among the lower orders, who rarely use any

remedy against it, nor will they hear of sulphur, as they believe

it to be fatal. Colds, attended with fever, are the most general

complaints; but consumptions are rarely heard of. Among the miners,

I saw no symptoms of elephantiasis, though that disease is so common

in many other parts of Brazil, particularly on the sea-coast. The

sciatica which afflicts travellers after long journeys on mules, is

attributed by the people of the country to the bodily heat of those

animals, which is much greater than that of horses, and communicates to

the loins of the rider, occasioning almost constant excruciating pain,

which frequently becomes chronic, and sometimes incurable. Being, on my

return from the diamond district, much tormented with this complaint, I

was naturally led to make inquiries on the subject, and was informed,

that a person in the house where I then resided, had returned from a

long journey in the same predicament, and was about to undergo the mode

of cure commonly practised in the country. I was desirous of inquiring

the nature of it, and begged to be introduced to him. On conversing

with him, I found that his symptoms were similar to mine; he complained

of great pain in the os sacrum, and down the left thigh to the knee,

which afflicted him most when in bed, where he could not bear to lie

in any posture for half an hour together, but was obliged to rise and

wait until the warmth was abated, when he lay down again. Thus he

could get no sleep night or day. On asking if he had tried any external

application as a stimulus, he replied, that neither that nor any other

remedy was of the smallest avail, except the one peculiar to the

country. The operation was as follows:—The patient lay down on a bench

with his back upwards, and a youth, twelve or fourteen years of age,

knelt upon his loins, and continued to trample them (as it were) with

his knees for about the space of half an hour, until the muscles were

entirely bruised. In a few hours afterwards, the part became highly

discolored. If one operation had not the desired effect, another, and

even a third, would be had recourse to. It must be confessed, that this

remedy, in removing one evil, occasions another; but the advantage

is, that the latter is of short duration, whereas the former endures

sometimes for life, and gives continual affliction. In some cases the

remedy has been applied with success, but in others it has entirely

failed.

_On the Use of Mercury in the Mining Department._

The Government of Brazil would find it highly to their interest to

promote the use of mercury in the gold district. The process of

amalgamation is so simple, that there would be no difficulty in

introducing it generally among miners; and it would save much time and

labor in the last operation of washing, or what is called purifying.

Perhaps it may not be improper, in this place, to describe the method

pursued in working the silver mines on the coast of Chili, which may be

estimated to produce about a million of dollars annually. Some of these

mines are full fifty yards deep; and we are told of one nearly as many

fathoms. It is probable that they are sunk upon veins of ore; and they

are so ill secured, that they frequently fill, and bury those within

them. The metal is generally a sulphuret of silver with antimony, lead,

and blende: it is brought up on the shoulders of wretched Indians, who

descend and ascend by insecure posts with notches cut in them. They

are total strangers to the operations of boring and blasting, and use

only miserable hammers and wedges. The vein stuff with the metal is,

in some places, reduced by means of a large stone, ill-constructed,

rolling on its edge; in others, it is pounded by hand, and, when

sufficiently fine, it is washed by several operations in a slovenly

manner, until the metallic part alone remains, which is not unlike lead

ore dust. This is formed into small heaps, perhaps about 100lb, to each

of which are added about 20 or 25lb of muriate of soda[86]. This is

triturated and worked both by hands and feet for three or four days.

When the salt is judged to be sufficiently incorporated with the metal,

mercury is used in the proportion of from five to ten per cent. and is

triturated until it loses its globular form; to prove which, a small

bit is rubbed upon a horn, or upon the thumb-nail, and if any globules

appear, however minute, the trituration is continued until they totally

disappear[87]. To this mixture the workmen frequently add filth, rags

torn into small bits, &c. place crosses upon the heaps, and use many

ridiculous ceremonies dictated by folly and a belief in necromancy.

At length the mercury unites with the silver, and forms with it a

paste-like mass separating itself from the remainder, which is thrown

away. This mass is put into goat-skins, and, by twisting and squeezing,

a great part of the mercury passes through, leaving a portion of nearly

pure silver, which is afterwards melted. The remainder is sublimed by

heat, and is condensed with more or less loss, according to the mode

applied, and the skill of the operator. Some little gold is procured

from some of the mines on this coast, by a similar process.

In this part of Chili, the state of society is wretched; gambling is a

general vice, and assassinations are scarcely regarded as criminal. The

greatest depredations are committed with impunity, nor do the crosses

placed on the heaps protect them; so that, when a mine proves good, the

hopes of the proprietor are often frustrated through the poverty and

envy of his neighbours.

The copper mines of Guasco, Copiapo, and Coquimbo, are wretchedly

worked, nor would it perhaps be safe to introduce other methods. The

copper is smelted in a hearth with bellows and wood; and if, when it

runs into cakes, it has the appearance of copper, they do not smelt

it again, but if it is so covered and intermixed with slag as not to

be known, it is broken up and undergoes a second smelting, when not

unfrequently slag is placed so as to be in the centre. These, and other

deceptions, have brought the trade into great discredit. The copper is

sold from eight to eleven dollars per 104lb. It is considered a poor

trade, though the Spaniards generally think the Chilian copper, and

even the timber which serves for fuel, _to be full of gold_!!

Of the mines of Chili I have lately received a very particular account,

from which it appears that they are not under any regulations, and

are extremely ill worked. They are considered a very bad species of

property; and almost every metallic vein hitherto discovered, whether

worked or not, has numerous claimants, who are continually litigating

with each other, so as totally to prevent their being worked to

advantage. Chili contains abundance of copper, some lead, a little

gold, a portion of silver, and a great quantity of iron, and would,

in the possession of an industrious and civilized people, be, without

doubt, very productive. The mines in Peru, on the contrary, are subject

to regular laws, and the property is secured to its owner, particularly

in Pasco, where they are now working to great advantage, under the

control of liberal and enlightened men. It must be observed, that

their proprietors are much richer than those of Chili, where numerous

individuals claim what is scarcely worth being possessed by one. This

state of things discourages adventurers; for who would erect an engine

and free a mine, to be claimed by another? Society there is still in a

wretched state; the miners are in the lowest state of indigence; and

though paid for their work, it would be dangerous to prevent them from

carrying some of the produce away as their own, thefts of this sort

being very general in this province.

Several Cornish miners have lately been sent out, at very high wages,

and under very flattering circumstances, but some disappointments

have occurred in the undertaking to which they were destined. In the

course of the year 1820, some Derbyshire miners, men of good character,

were engaged to proceed to Chili for the purpose of instructing the

natives in the various branches of their art. Since their arrival I

have received very gratifying accounts from them, announcing that they

have commenced their labors by clearing the mines of water, and that

they have immense masses of silver to work upon, some lumps of which,

weighing above 10lb. each, they have sent over as specimens.

THE END.

INDEX.

ABAITE, rivulet, diamonds found in, 344.

Alto do Morro, 231.

Alto de Virginia, 229.

Araguaya, or Grande, river, 409.

Arinos, river, 415.

Armaçao, village of, near St. Catherine’s, 67.

A fishing station, 68.

Asumpcion, city of, 439.

BAHIA, account of, 391.

Sugar plantations, 395.

Tobacco, 398.

Cotton, 400.

Indigo, 401.

Bandeira de Coelho, 228.

Barbacena, 224.

Barro e Castro, near Villa Rica, visit to the estates of, 258, 261,

268, 269.

Barriga Negra, journey to, 22.

Baugre, mode of fishing for the, 59.

Belmonte, 203.

Bertioga, harbour of, 123.

Borda do Campo, village of, 218.

Brazil: arrival at St. Catherine’s, 57.

Description of the island, 58.

Arrival at Armaçao, 67.

Bay of dos Ganchos, 68.

Garoupas, 72.

Plain of Coritiva described, 75.

Port of S. Francisco, 81.

Santos, 82.

Journey to S. Paulo, 85.

Description of S. Paulo, 92.

Gold washings at Jaragua, 107.

Manners of the Paulistas, 113.

Character, 121.

Coasting voyage from Santos to Sapitiva, 122.

Journey to Rio de Janeiro, 130.

City described, 135.

Trade, 139.

State of society, 146.

Visit to Santa Cruz, 148.

Province of the Rio, 154.

Journey to Canta Gallo, 157.

Gold-washing of Santa Rita, 177.

Rio Grande, 183.

Reputed silver mine, 185.

Agriculture, 189.

Journey to the diamond mines, 195, 206.

A topaz mine, 233.

Arrival at Villa Rica, 235.

Its origin and present state, 243.

Notice on the Buticudos, 273.

Villa do Principe, 305.

Arrival at Tejuco, 311.

Diamond works on the river Jiquitinhonha, 313.

Account of Minas Novas and Paracatu, 337.

Of Tejuco and Cerro do Frio, 349.

Management of the diamond works, 353.

Return to Rio de Janeiro, 370.

General view of Minas Geraes, 376.

S. João d’El Rey, 384.

Sabara, 386.

Bahia, 391.

Pernambuco, 401.

Seara, 402.

Maranham, _ib._

Pará, 403.

Matto Grosso, 407.

Rio Grande do Sul, 442.

General observations on the trade with England, 450.

Buticudos, Indians, measures of the Brazilian government for

converting, 274.

A boy belonging to them described, 299.

Buenos Ayres, its population, 46.

Races composing it, 47.

CAMAPUA, river, 428.

Camara, Dr. his reception of the author at Tejuco, 311.

Camarro, 288.

Canta Gallo, journey to, 157.

Description of, 170.

Capao, topaz mine near, 232.

Cará, an esculent root, 97.

Carrapato, gold-work at, 323.

Cascalho, a species of gravel containing gold, 107.

And diamonds, 314.

Catas Altas, 289.

Cerro do Frio, 307.

Observations on, 349.

Diamond ground described, _ib._

Animals peculiar to the district, 368.

Chingu, river, 410.

Clara e Maria, farm of, 214.

Conceiçao, village of, 302.

Corgo do Inficionado, 289.

Coritiva, plain of, 73.

Its climate, 75.

Its advantages, 78.

Corolina, visit to a diamond work at, 333.

Cubatao, village of, 85.

Cuiaba, account of, 424.

DEVOLUTO, meaning of the term applied to land, 347.

Diamond District, entrance into, 307.

(See Tejuco).

Mode of washing for diamonds, 314.

A view of those deposited in the treasury at Tejuco, 329.

Observations on the diamond district, 349.

Illicit trade, 356, 360.

How to be prevented, 363.

Disperteros, a sort of birds so called, 111.

ENGORDA Cavallos, a species of grass, 335.

FARINHA de milho, mode of cooking, 280.

Felicio, Senhor, his mansion, 290.

Ferreira, Antonio, fazenda of, 212.

——, Capt. his plantation, 161.

Flax, culture of, in Brazil, 220.

GAMA, fazenda do, 225.

Garoupas, harbour of, 72.

Gaspar Soares, village of, 296.

Goyaz, account of, 405.

Grimpeiros, treated as smugglers, 170.

INDIAN Corn, mill for grinding, 190.

Inferninho, river, 69.

Itambe, 294.

JACARANDA, rose-wood, common in S. Paulo, 106.

Jaraguá, gold washings at, 107.

Mode of working, 108.

Jiquitinhonha, river, visit to the diamond works on, 313.

Juruena, river, 416.

LAGOS, village of, 297.

Lavras Velhas, 260.

Lichen, from Minas Geraes, containing coloring matter, 382.

MACHADO, farm of, 182.

Madeira, isle of, on the coast of Brazil, 129.

Madeiras, farm of, 211.

Mandanga, visit to the diamond works at, 312.

Mandioca, how cultivated, 101.

Mantiqueira, farm of, 217.

Maranham, account of, 402.

Mariana, city of, 257.

Marimbondos, insects so called, 191.

Mate, herb, of Paraguay, 27.

Mathias Barbosa, register of, 210.

Matto Grosso, geographical description of, 407.

Meni, a species of ground-nut, 162.

Minas Geraes, general view of, 376.

Minas Novas, account of, 338.

Monteiro, diamond work at, 323.

Monte Video, arrival at, 1, 3.

Confinement there, 4.

Adventure at the signal-house, 8.

Description of the town, 11.

Inhabitants, 12.

Trade, 13.

Climate, 15.

Vicinity, 16.

Farms, 17.

Fazendas, 18.

Breeding of cattle, 19.

Defective state of agriculture, 32.

Town taken by the British, 40.

Moremim, river, 202.

Morro de St. Anna, 288.

Morro Queimado, fazenda do, 165.

NEGROES employed in the diamond works, observations on, 358.

OURO Branco, 298.

PARA, account of, 403.

Paracatu, account of, 343.

Paraguay, river, 419, 434.

Paraibuna, river, 207.

Parana, river, 431, 441.

Pardo, river, 429.

Pecari, or pig of the woods, 38.

Peons of Paraguay, 28.

Mode of catching cattle, 29.

Their habits of life, 34.

Dress, 36.

Exploit of a female, 37.

Pernambuco, account of, 402.

Piabunha, river, 204.

Piranga, 276.

Plata, Rio de la, voyage to, 1.

Origin of the name, 441.

Porto Negro, near Ilha Grande, 128.

Pounding machine for Indian corn, 190.

Purpura, a shell of the murex genus, 70.

REGISTRO Velho, 222.

Resequinha, 223.

Rio de Janeiro, arrival at, 133.

Description of, 135.

Trade, 140.

State of society, 146.

Rio do Carmo, 250.

Rio Grande do Sul, account of, 442.

Rio Pardo, visit to the diamond works on, 330.

Rosina de Negra, 209.

SABARA, account of, 386.

Gold-washing, 387.

Santo Antonio, farm of, 182.

Santa Cruz, royal farm of, 148.

St. Catherine’s, isle of, voyage to, 55.

Arrival, 57.

Description, 58.

Trade, 59.

Its parishes, 61.

St. Francisco, river, described, 346.

Harbour of, 73.

San Gonzal, diamond work at, 371.

S. João d’El Rey, account of, 384.

San Jose da Barra Longa, 272.

San Paulo, 90.

Described, 22.

Population, 94.

Manufactures, 96.

System of farming, 100.

Manners and customs of the inhabitants, 115, 118.

St. Pedro d’El Rey, settlement of, 425.

Santa Rita, gold washing at, 177.

Santos, harbour of, 82.

Its intercourse with S. Paulo, 84.

Voyage from, to Sapitiva, 122.

Sapitiva, arrival at, 129.

Journey from, to Rio de Janeiro, 130.

Savages, measures of the Brazilian government for converting, 274.

Seara, its trade, 402.

Sebollati, river, 23.

Serpents, large, in Minas Novas, 339.

Silver-mine, account of a reputed one, 185.

Sorocaba, 74.

Sugar, process of making, in Bahia, 395.

Sumidouro, river, 415.

TAPAJOS, River, 413.

Tapinhoa canga, 303.

Tejuco, capital of the diamond district, arrival at, 310.

Description of, 326.

Visit to the treasury, 328.

Observations on, 349.

Civil and military establishments at, 352.

Mode of preventing illicit trade, 363.

State of society in, 369.

Thomas, father, his farm, 184.

Tiete, river, 431.

Tigreno, river, 69.

Tocaya, advantages of its situation, 341.

Topaz mine near Capao, 232.

Toque Toque, harbour of, 125.

URUGUAY, river, 447.

VAZ, hamlet of, 292.

Vermelho, river, 429.

Villa do Principe, a pretended diamond found at, 196.

Arrival at, 305.

Villa Rica, arrival at, 235.

Description of, 238.

Its origin and present state, 244.

Visit to the mint, 252.

Visit to the estates of Barro e Castro, 258.

Revisited on returning to the capital, 375.

Military establishment there, 377.

WOODS, species peculiar to Brazil, 188.

ZURILLA, description of that animal, 38.

FINIS.

_W. M’Dowall, Printer, Pemberton Row, Gough Square._

ERRATUM.

Page 411, line 13, and note, for _Sutâo_, read _Sertâo_.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] NOTE. Of the objects in the lower compartment of this plate, the

Pine is mentioned at p. 81; the Aloe at p. 130; the Cara is described

at p. 97, and the Mandioca at p. 101.

[2] Here I found mint, caraway, balm, wormwood, and many other aromatic

herbs, growing wild in the greatest luxuriance. The stratum of

vegetable earth was at least two yards thick.

[3] At a small town called Minas, ten leagues from Maldonado, I was

informed that there was a lead mine in limestone. A piece of that

substance was sent to me; it was flesh-colored, granular, and close in

texture.

[4] The people of Paraguay are a more inactive and listless race than

any I ever met with. They seem to be conscious of no wants beyond

those of mere animal existence, and these they choose to supply at the

smallest possible expense of bodily exertion. Their supreme enjoyment

is to remain at home in a state of quietism or rather torpor, leaving

to the negroes the little agricultural toil that is required. They

are reserved, slothful, and patient, yet, with all their apathy, they

are friendly and somewhat courteous to strangers, provided they be

not required to go much into society or to bear an active part in

conversation. Commerce is almost unknown among them, and there is

very little specie in circulation. To a stranger, who has mingled in

the busy scenes of life, they seem absolutely weary of existence as

of a burthen. Blest with a fine climate and a land flowing with milk

and honey, they are unable to appreciate and turn to advantage the

bounties which divine Providence has lavished upon them; and from

these and other causes the population is very scanty compared with the

extent of the country. Such is the native land of the Peons of Monte

Video and Buenos Ayres. The state of society in that remote region is

deteriorated by the admission of refugees from Europe, who here find

shelter from justice, and propagate, in safe obscurity and with perfect

impunity, their vices among a people too much predisposed by indolence

for such contaminations, and unfitted by the same failing for receiving

any tincture of civilization, which a more lively and apprehensive

race of men might imbibe from foreign settlers, however dissolute in

morals. The Peons, who migrate southward to seek employment, soon

acquire a taste for ardent spirits, and thus heighten, sometimes to an

uncontrolable degree, the ferocity engendered by the habit of torturing

and killing cattle. They have no strong sense of danger to deter them

from crime, but, on the contrary, are aware, that on any breach of the

law they can elude its penalties by galloping three or four hundred

miles into the interior, where their crimes will be unknown, and where

they can bid defiance to pursuit or detection.

In some parts of Paraguay timber grows in abundance; it is cut, and

floated down the river to Buenos Ayres, not in rafts but in single

trees.

[5] A platted lash, about twenty yards long, with an iron ring at one

end, through which the other end being passed forms a noose.

[6] Such indeed is their excessive propensity to gambling, that they

frequently carry cards in their pocket, and, when an opportunity

occurs, form parties, and retire to a convenient place, where one of

them spreads his _poncho_ or mantle on the ground, in lieu of a table.

When the loser has parted with his money, he will stake his clothes, so

that the game generally continues until one of them goes away almost

naked. This bad practice often leads to serious consequences. I once

observed a party playing in the neighbourhood of a chapel after mass

had been said, when the clergyman came and kicked away the cards in

order to put an end to the game. On this, one of the Peons rose up,

and retiring a few paces, thus accosted the intruder: “Father, I will

obey you as a priest; but” (laying his hand on his knife) “you must

beware how you molest our diversion.” The clergyman knew the desperate

character of these men too well to remonstrate, and retired very

hastily, not a little chagrined.

On another occasion a Peon was gambling with a Spanish corporal in the

prison-yard, when a dispute arising, the latter drew his sword on his

unarmed antagonist, and wounded him so severely in the arm, that he was

obliged to undergo amputation the day following.

It is usual for a Peon who has been fortunate at play, to go to Monte

Video and clothe himself anew in the shop of a slop-seller. While the

shopman is looking out the articles he calls for, he deliberately

places his dollars on the counter, in separate piles, assigning each to

its destined purpose. He then retires to a corner, and attires himself;

an unfortunate comrade invariably attends him, who examines his cast

clothes, and, if better than his own, puts them on. After passing a few

days in idleness, he sets out on his return home, where he appears in

his new dress.

[7] Among the many daring and active feats performed by the Peons,

one of the most extraordinary of late years, was the capture of a

tiger by a female of that tribe. She was a mulatto-woman, brought up

in the vicinity of Barriga Negra. She was accustomed at an early age

to ride horses, and prided herself in doing offices which belonged

to the stronger sex, such as catching cattle with the noose, killing

them, &c. Her form was masculine, and she became so inured to men’s

work, that she was hired as a Peon, and fulfilled that office much

to the satisfaction of her employers. She was noted for selecting

spirited horses, and for riding them at full speed. One day on her

return from labor, as she was passing a rivulet, she observed a large

tiger at no great distance. Surprised that the animal did not steal

away, as is generally the case when he sees a person mounted, she drew

nearer, still keeping her horse’s head from him, so as to be ready to

gallop off if he should make a spring. He was still inattentive and

motionless; the woman observing this, and thinking he ailed something,

after some minutes’ pause backed her horse until she came within

twenty yards of him, loosening at the same time her noose from the

saddle, which she threw most dexterously over his neck, and immediately

galloped away with him to a considerable distance. Whether maimed or

not before, she knew he must now be dead; she therefore alighted,

flayed him, and carried home the skin as a trophy. The animal was above

the ordinary size, and not smaller than a calf six weeks old. This

exploit was long the talk of the neighbourhood, and I have heard the

woman herself relate the adventure.

[8] _Sus Tajassu._—Lin. _Tajaçu._—Buffon.

[9] One mode which they adopted for displaying their triumph over their

late conquerors was singular enough; they collected all the sign boards

belonging to the English warehouses and shops, and made a bonfire

of them. A great quantity of these boards was from the _pulperias_,

the masters of which had been obliged to have on them the following

inscription, painted in large characters, “Licensed to sell liquor.”

[10] The fishery of the _baugre_ here is very considerable, and the

mode of catching the fish, by means of a curved line of boats, by

night, (from each of which is held a flambeau of straw to scare the

fish toward the shore), is singularly picturesque, and might remind the

imaginative spectator of a crescent of wild fire dancing on the waves.

The fish is called at Rio de Janeiro the _mulatto velho_; the negroes

eat it during Lent, and on Fridays and Saturdays.

[11] This very rarely happens.

[12] Forty years ago they caught a whale a day; but they now catch only

one in the course of a month.

[13] The oil, in consequence of not being well refined, is black and

_sooty_.

[14] Three leagues from Sorocaba, which is twenty leagues distant from

the capital. S. Paulo is the famous mountain of Varessoiba. It contains

such an abundance of iron, _solta e á garnel_, (loose or in heaps),

that ten foundries, each melting 10,000 quintals _per annum_, would not

exhaust it in a century; and it has wood for charcoal, which the same

number would be unable to consume in that space of time. A company of

Swedish miners was established here in 1810, but the undertaking was

frustrated by intrigue.

[15] According to a statistical report, dated 1811, the city of S.

Paulo contains 4017 houses, (_fogos_, hearths); 5219 whites (males),

6319 whites (females); 377 free negroes, 485 free negresses; 1967

male, and 1914 female captive negroes; 2394 free mulattoes, 3279 free

mulattas; 745 male, and 896 female captive mulattoes; making the whole

population 23,764. In this year (1811), the births were 1301, the

deaths 785, the marriages 233.

[16] Probably the coloring matter arises from the decomposition of the

hornblende; I have frequently observed a mass of granite having its

surface decomposed into a red clay, in which the particles of mica were

hardly perceptible, while the compact rock below contained a very fair

proportion. These granites contain hornblende with mica.

[17] In one part of the town is found a beautiful species of decomposed

granite, consisting of extremely white feldspar, quartz, and very

little mica.

[18] Mandioca requires a dry hot soil, of a sandy nature.

[19] This generous root requires but little preparation to make it

serve as a substitute for bread. When taken out of the ground they

wash and scrape it clean, and then rasp it on a coarse grater of iron

or copper, press the juice from it, and place it on a hot surface, a

shallow copper-pan for instance, four or five feet in diameter, or a

clay one, with a brick fire underneath; while drying it is constantly

stirred, and when the moisture is completely evaporated, it is

immediately fit for use. If preserved from wet, it will keep good a

long time. In broths and soups it becomes gelatinous, and affords rich

nourishment; it is particularly good when eaten with cheese. The wild

or spurious mandioca, called _Aipim_, is little inferior, when roasted,

to fine chesnuts. The Portuguese introduce it at table, boiled as well

as roasted.

[20] Its leaf is shaped like a heart.

[21] The _Spur-winged Plover_. In the Spanish territories they are

called _disperteros_ (awakeners), on account of the noise they make

when disturbed in the night. A flock of them in any plantation answers

the purpose of an alarm-bell against thieves.

[22] Fr. Gaspar da Madre de Deos.

[23] I may also add their public spirit in resenting injuries done to

individuals, and in supporting the cause of the oppressed; a singular

instance of which I have often heard related. Some seventy years ago,

one of their governors, who was a nobleman, had an intrigue with the

daughter of a mechanic. The whole town espoused the cause of the

injured female, and compelled the governor, at the peril of his life,

to marry her.

[24] Had I approached this city by sea, I might have been enabled to

give a more animated description of its aspect; but I feel it incumbent

on me to adhere to veracity, the first duty of a traveller, and to

describe the impression made on my mind by the view as I approached by

land on my route from S. Paulo.

[25] Several have been established since the time when this narrative

was written.

[26] By way of experiment, I had some fat ewes killed, and the mutton

was acknowledged to be excellent; but the male lambs are never prepared

for the table.

[27] A name given to those persons who go about the country seeking

gold-washings, and do not give notice, or solicit a grant when they

discover any. They are considered and treated as smugglers.

[28] Ere they departed, I saw an instance of that dangerous excess to

which the passions of savages are liable when once excited; for, on

presenting a few bottles of liquor, there was a general strife for

them, and the person, man or woman, who first obtained one, would have

drank the whole of its contents, had it not been forcibly taken away.

It is very unsafe to give them ardent spirits, for when intoxicated it

is necessary to confine them. If preference is given to one, the rest

are insolent and unruly until they obtain the same mark of favor.

[29] I was well informed that a few hundred pounds, judiciously

employed, would defray the expense of making a good road from Canta

Gallo to Porto das Caixas, which loaded mules might travel in two days.

[30] The mode of crossing a river with horses or mules in these parts,

is to tie one to the canoe, and drive him into the water; the rest

follow.

[31] The little lime which they use here is made of shells, and is

brought from Porto das Caixas.

[32] In one part of the road we passed a nest of insects (called

_marimbondos_), which are extremely troublesome to cattle, and cause

the mules to be very violent and unruly. They attack with great

pertinacity, and pursue to a considerable distance; we took a devious

route to get rid of them, but I was followed by some which stung me as

painfully as an irritated wasp could have done. There is a singular

variety of them, having a horny pointed proboscis, with which they

pierce most keenly and give intolerable pain.

[33] No person can be permitted to see the diamonds in the Treasury

without a joint order from the ministers to that effect.

[34] This name is given to what we should call a huckster’s shop,

where various articles, such as liquors, Indian corn, and sometimes

sugar, are sold. Though they profess to answer the purpose of inns,

they are destitute of conveniences; travellers who carry their beds and

cooking utensils with them, generally prefer lodging in a _rancho_ or

_estallage_. Shelter from rain and night air is the only convenience

which a lodging in these districts can be expected to afford.

[35] In this country the practice of cutting flax is attended with

great success, and is preferred to that of pulling it, which prevails

elsewhere. The fibres, though cut, are considered sufficiently long to

be spun and made into good common linen. The old roots produce fresh

shoots incredibly soon.

[36] They also informed me that green topazes were sometimes found,

which I very much doubted. If any substance of that color, resembling

topaz, did occur, it was most probably _Euclase_. It is now known that

Euclase is found with topazes.

[37] Our mules required at least six penny-worth each per day,

exclusive of their corn.

[38] In England I once knew an instance in which an ingot with mercury

adhering to it, in the possession of a person ignorant of metallurgy,

was sold at a reduced price, as if the discolored part had really been

lead; the purchaser also supposing that to be the case.

[39] The finest parts of these tracts, in the best season, are by no

means so rich in grass as an English meadow.

[40] This species of sublimation on a small scale interested me

greatly. Could it proceed from any glimmering of science in the minds

of the negroes, or was it merely an accidental discovery?

[41] This substance contains fine-formed octahedral crystals of

magnetic iron.

[42] An owner of mules, who travels with a number of them, carrying

goods for other persons, as well as on his own account.

[43] _Canga_ is the name of ferruginous quartz, fragments of which

abound in this town, and are used for paving the streets.

[44] Four _vintens_ are nearly equal to a shilling of our money. When

this rivulet was first washed for gold, the quantity produced by

each _gamella_ amounted in value to that sum. As the _cascalho_ then

lay near the surface, and required very little trouble to get at,

one washer could clear about twelve bowls-full per hour, which was

considered a comparatively rich return.

In the mines they have two methods of estimating the quantity produced:

for example; _Quatro Vintens_, here mean four _vintens_ of gold, which

is equal to eight of copper; whereas, in Rio de Janeiro, the same

expression implies four _vintens_ of copper.

[45] In order to insure the vigilance of the overseers, these chairs

are constructed without backs or any other support on which a person

can recline.

[46] The negroes employed in these works are the property of

individuals, who let them to hire at the daily rate of three _vintens_

of gold, equal to about eight-pence, Government supplying them with

victuals. Every officer of the establishment is allowed the privilege

of having a certain number of negroes employed.

[47] The negroes are constantly attending to the _cascalho_ from the

very commencement of the washings, and frequently find diamonds before

this last operation.

[48] Probably fugitive negroes, who subsist in this remote district by

plunder and smuggling.

[49] It was then in seed, of which I collected a small quantity; since

my return, I have sent part of it to the Agricultural Society, and

the remainder I have distributed among gentlemen who endeavoured to

promote its growth in this country, but without effect. It is rather a

hardy grass, as it grew in situations which were all so cold, that the

bananas and coffees were frequently blighted.

[50] The ladies particularly wished to have the cheese of a fine color,

like that sent thither from England; and I was at no loss for an

ingredient for tinging the milk, as the tree, which produces the seed

from which annatto is made, grew spontaneously in the neighbourhood.

[51] On the road there are numerous farm houses, which afford

sufficient accommodation for a traveller. They in general belong to

persons resident in Tejuco, where their produce is sold.

[52] In some of the low swampy tracts large serpents are not uncommon.

At Tejueo I was shown the skin of a young one, of the Boa Constrictor

genus. It was twenty-four feet in length, and about twenty inches in

circumference. These formidable reptiles have been killed forty feet

long! The strength of such a serpent is not easily to be imagined; they

have an undulating motion, and carry their head erect four or five

feet from the ground; their jaws, &c. are capable of inconceivable

dilatation.

[53] Since my return, His Excellency the Conde de Funchall, ordered a

model of a ballast-lighter, which I got constructed for him, and which

will one day or other be found extremely useful.

[54] It may become useful at Villa Rica; but the quantity required

there at present is so trivial as scarcely to merit attention.

[55] If salt were cheaper they might be cured, and would become an

article of commerce, particularly during Lent.

[56] Exclusive of this amount there is a vast quantity smuggled.

[57] One Sunday morning during my stay, an owner of a washing came to

the house of the Intendant, and brought him two miserable diamonds of

bad color, which did not weigh together above five grains, and these,

he said, were all which his ten negroes had found in six weeks. In the

course of conversation, the Intendant observed that all the smugglers

were either imprisoned or dispersed, when the man immediately assumed

an appearance of great disgust at the mention of persons of so vile

a description, and was liberal in his epithets of abuse on them. If

I durst have enquired how it happened that his negroes in six weeks

could find only two _bad-colored_ diamonds, what emotions would this

immaculate miner have manifested!

[58] From all accounts relative to the Indians, either by the officers

employed against them, and better acquainted with their habits than

other men, or from any of the settlers who live near the coast, it does

not appear that they have the smallest knowledge of gold or of precious

stones; hence they can in no degree have contributed to the discovery

of those treasures in the district.

[59] At a place called Caldeiroens, near to Ouro Branco, I received two

bits of this metal, but they were so small and disfigured, as to leave

strong doubts respecting their being natural; the more so, by reason

of the many impositions that were attempted to be practised upon me by

false specimens of copper-ores, silver, &c.

[60] A part of the lichen which I brought home with me I presented to

a gentleman who was fond of chemical experiments: he obtained from the

small quantity of three grains as much coloring matter as imparted to

an ounce of fluid a deep purple, sufficiently strong for every purpose

of dying.

The following are the results of some experiments which he did me the

favor to make:

White sewing-silk, put into an alcoholic solution only once, received a

fine strong purple.

Part of a skein of the same material, was put into a solution of

potash, which produced a purple deeper in hue than the former.

Cotton thread and worsted yarn, immersed only once in the same

solution, produced very nearly the same colors.

The part of a skein of silk died in the alcoholic solution was immersed

in a solution of muriate of tin, which produced a beautiful lilac,

approaching to dove-colored blue. The same substance died in a solution

of potash, and immersed in a solution of muriate of tin, became a few

shades darker, and rather more of a pink hue. These are not unfavorable

results from a quantity so minute; and I feel confident that this

substance may be rendered a very valuable article of trade.

A few weeks ago, I received another sample of excellent lichen, very

full of color, which I hope may be turned to some advantage.

[61] In many parts of the coast, the plant which produces the barilla

would probably florish abundantly, if introduced, and would form an

excellent article of commerce, not only for exportation, but for home

consumption.

[62] There are several rivulets in various parts that bear this name.

[63] If necessary, another channel might be made at a convenient

distance from the first.

[64] It cannot be too much recommended to Government to introduce the

process of amalgamation generally throughout the mines.

[65] _Bucking-irons_, are pieces of cast-iron with wood handles, used

at the lead mines, to break the ore from what it adheres to.

[66] A lixivium of strong ashes is made, and a quantity of lime is put

into it: or sometimes the ashes are mixed with a larger proportion of

lime, and the clear fluid running from the mixture is added to the

juice in various quantities, at the discretion of the negro who manages

the process: respecting this _temper_ various opinions prevail. Every

negro has his peculiar mode of making, mixing, and applying it.

[67] In skimming, lading, and managing the syrup during the operation,

the negroes display great dexterity.

[68] Large trees are cut into planks of these dimensions for making the

cases, which are preferred to hogsheads.

[69] The West India sugars are not clayed, consequently much stronger

and fit for refining and making loaves.

It is much to be desired that the very excellent work, written by Bryan

Edwards, upon sugar making, and distilling rum, was introduced in

Brazil.

[70] It is considered bad policy to subject the raw material, as

cotton, to a heavy duty, and very discouraging to planters, who must

have large capitals employed, and who are greatly exposed to loss if

the crops fail. Too much stimulus cannot be given to the growers; and

they ought to be encouraged by a premium, rather than to pay a tax on

the unmanufactured article.

[71] During the past few years, the Governors of Matto Grosso have

used every effort to shorten the distance from these remote provinces

to the sea ports, by making roads, cutting down woods, and forming

establishments to accommodate passengers, so that canoes, &c. may be

transported over land, and make straight-forward communications from

one river to another, which has shortened this journey at least two

months.

[72] Sutaò. This is a place understood to be uninhabitable for

Europeans, being the residence of uncivilized Indians, and covered with

almost impenetrable woods.

[73] So called, because they abound with these animals.

[74] This river being the grand channel of communication from Rio

de Janeiro, Santos, S. Paulo, and other places, to the interesting

districts of Cuiaba, Matto Grosso, the whole of Paraguay, the river

Plata, Potosi, Chiquisaca, and a great part of Peru, I have preserved

the particular detail given in this paper, of its numerous falls, and

the difficulties of its navigation, as it is now well known, and there

is great reason to suppose, that it will soon be much more frequented.

[75] The labor of dragging the canoes over-land to avoid the cataracts

might be much lessened (where the finest timber is in such abundance),

if Government were to order rail-ways to be made, upon which loaded

canoes might easily be drawn on wheels. This would more facilitate the

intercourse than any other measure, and, from the present enterprising

spirit and wisdom of his Majesty’s ministers, we may soon hope to see

it put in practice.

[76] The Silver from Potosi, which some years has exceeded twenty

millions of dollars, came down the Rio de la Plata to Buenos Ayres.

[77] Some English settlers, disappointed in the river Plata, went to

Rio Grande to establish concerns for curing beef, refining tallow, &c.

which they soon abandoned from the want of practical knowledge.

[78] Almost every vessel brings a greater or smaller number of negroes,

it being the practice at Rio de Janeiro to ship off all those who are

ill-disposed and troublesome for Rio Grande, whence, if they continue

refractory, they are frequently sold into the neighbouring colony.

[79] It has been found, however, from modern surveys, that those rocks

are by no means so dangerous as they have been represented.

[80] In Brazil and the Plata the bridle is made of sufficient length to

serve the purpose of a whip.

[81] Delicate connections were soon formed, and females of the

obscurest class appeared dressed in the most costly extreme of English

fashion.

[82] An _arroba_ is equal to 32lbs. avoirdupois.

[83] Cotton of third quality is manufactured in the country into coarse

cloth for bags, negroes’ dresses, &c. and exported to the Spanish

colonies in large quantities.

[84] Formerly, if any diamonds were found in a gold-washing, the owner

was obliged to desist from working it, and the ground was appropriated

by government. This law is now no longer in force.

[85] It is reasonable to suppose, that few persons would hazard the

penalty incurred by dealing in diamonds clandestinely, when, by paying

a duty, they could bring them fairly into circulation.

[86] Bay salt.

[87] It would be interesting to enquire, in what manner the salt acts

upon the ore containing silver, for without it the mercury has no

effect.

End of Project Gutenberg's Travels in the interior of Brazil, by John Mawe