CHAPTER XXI.
THE TREATIES OF FRIENDSHIP AND ALLIANCE, AND OF COMMERCE AND NAVIGATION, BETWEEN THE CROWNS OF GREAT BRITAIN AND PORTUGAL, SIGNED AT RIO DE JANEIRO, ON THE 19th OF FEBRUARY 1810.
I HAVE heard many discussions both in England and in Brazil, upon the merits and demerits of these Treaties; in such disputations Englishmen have appeared to suppose that their interests had not been sufficiently consulted; and the contrary opinion was maintained by the Portugueze, for they considered their nation to be aggrieved by them, and that great partiality had been shown to British subjects. I cannot avoid thinking that the Treaties are as impartial as possible, and that due regard has been paid to both parties. If British subjects have gained some advantages, one of considerable importance which they possessed before, has been given up; and the commercial intercourse between both parties has been placed in very favourable circumstances. Even the innovations which by these Treaties have been made in the laws of Brazil in favour of Englishmen, tend to the general advancement of that country,—to forward its progress towards a higher pitch of civilization. In the discussions which I have heard, Englishmen, by the arguments which they used, appeared to think that Brazil should have been treated overbearingly, as a country which had been humbled by misfortune, and that of this circumstance advantage should have been taken by Great Britain. The idea which is entertained of the weakness of Brazil, must proceed from the trifling defensive preparations which are to be seen upon her coasts. Her sea-ports might no doubt be much injured by attacks from a maritime enemy; but the country is impregnable, it possesses far stronger fortresses than any which can be raised by man; in its extent, in its woods, and in a hardy population, who are accustomed to live on very little food, and that of a poor kind. However, any ideas of conquest in South America by Europeans, against the wishes of the people, experience has proved to be fallacious; the Dutch war with Pernambuco, and our own errors at Buenos Ayres bear witness to this fact.
The Portugueze on the other hand seem to have imbibed the idea that Great Britain has taken undue advantage of the state of the Portugueze monarchy, and has imposed heavy terms, such as suited her own purposes. Many of the arguments which are made use of by the Portugueze, are brought forwards by them without any consideration of the state of Brazil;—of the relative situation of the two high contracting parties. The following plea for complaint, although it does not relate to the Treaties, may be mentioned in this place, for it is a favourite one with many persons. It is said, that the Regent of Brazil has made grants of land to British subjects, but that the Portugueze are not permitted to possess landed property in the dominions of His Britannic Majesty. A complaint of this kind would appear to denote that the two countries were in the same state with regard to population; that Brazil did not require an enormous increase of people, and that Great Britain possessed a superabundance of territory. Far from the grants of land to foreigners being urged as a breach of the declared reciprocity between the two nations, the government of Brazil ought to invite foreigners to purchase lands and establish themselves there; it ought to allow them to follow their own religion; it should naturalize them and fix them to the soil by the protection which the laws ought to afford them; and by the permission which should be given to them of having some share in the concerns of the society into which they had been adopted.
The Portugueze are continually pointing to the rapid advancement of the United States of America, and holding up that country as an example which ought to be followed in the introduction of minor improvements in Brazil; but they do not seek high enough for the sources of the prosperity of North America; the statesmen of that country receive every one who pleases to establish himself under their protection, and the laws of the republic tolerate all religions; these are the great fountains from which the increase of her power has been drawn. An impartial distribution of justice, and a mildness of government have acted in unison with the views of her rulers. Brazil however is totally unfit for a republican form of government; _her_ people have been guided in a far different track from that of the inhabitants of the United States. The first settlers in North America left their native shores, because their ideas were too democratic for the mother country, and because their religious opinions did not coincide with those of their countrymen; therefore the minds of the descendants of parents like these were prepared for the declaration of republican principles. But the colonists of Brazil were regularly invited to settle under the direction of officers who had been appointed by the government of Portugal, and who were entrusted with despotic power; they were Roman Catholics too. Consequently the habits of their descendants lead them to quiet acquiescence in the mandates of those who govern them; to follow rather than to direct, to be guided rather than to be obliged all at once without any previous instruction, to think for themselves. Still, although a government which is established on principles of democracy is not suited to Brazil, that country would bear many degrees of advancement towards a state of freedom,—in religion, in personal security, and in legislative authority; this last might certainly be granted to a certain degree.[257]
However to return; I shall attempt to prove that the Treaties in question have been fairly drawn out, and that they exist for the benefit of both nations; that each has conceded in some points much to the well-being of both. Neither party should desire to have every thing, from whence, says a Brazilian writer, “arise conflicts, hatreds, and the pretences upon which complaints and wars are founded.”[258]
The Portugueze canvass the Treaties as if they were jealous of what had been granted to British subjects, without considering whether the advantages which had been conceded were or were not for the benefit of Brazil. They should consider what is for their own good, and not what Great Britain grants to them, or what their government grants to Great Britain.
I shall only mention those articles of the Treaties which are particularly interesting, and which may be liable to discussion, wishing to be as observant of conciseness as possible.
THE TREATY OF FRIENDSHIP AND ALLIANCE.
I PASS over the primary articles as being unimportant, or from the interest of the subjects to which they relate having already subsided.
ARTICLE 6th. “His Britannic Majesty is allowed the privilege of causing timber, for the purpose of building ships of war, to be purchased and cut down in the woods of Brazil.”
This was supposed to afford to Great Britain an inexhaustible and inexpensive source of supplying her navy with timber; but I have understood that the expence which must be incurred in felling the trees, and bringing the timber to the water’s edge, would be too great to render the project feasible; and that the woods of Brazil were discovered to contain a less proportion of valuable timber than had been imagined. If the British government had thought proper to act upon this article,—if the plan had been judged worthy of being executed, the advantages which Brazil must have derived from it would have been considerable. The increased traffic which would have been experienced by the ports in which dock-yards would have been established, and the number of mechanics who would have gone over, many of whom would in all probability have remained ultimately in that country, must have been beneficial to it. The ship carpenters and caulkers of Brazil are fully as good as those of England, and if encouragement was given to the most necessary art of ship-building, no external aid would be requisite. But due encouragement is what is wanting.
ARTICLE 7th. “Any squadron that may be sent by either of the High Contracting Parties to the succour of the other, shall be supplied with fresh provisions by that power for whose assistance it is fitted out.” This plainly alludes to the British squadron stationed at Rio de Janeiro for the protection of the coast of Brazil; and it is only fair that the party which is assisted should feed those who have undertaken its defence.
ARTICLE 8th. “Any number of ships of war are permitted to enter the ports of either of the High Contracting Parties.” This is connected with the foregoing article, and was necessary for its execution.
ARTICLE 9th. “The Inquisition or Tribunal of the Holy Office not having been hitherto established or recognized in Brazil, H.R.H. the Prince Regent of Portugal, guided by an enlightened and liberal policy, takes the opportunity afforded by the present treaty, to declare spontaneously in his own name, and in that of his heirs and successors, that the Inquisition shall never hereafter be established in the South American dominions of the Crown of Portugal.”
A hint is thrown out towards the conclusion of the same article of some intention to abolish the Inquisition in Portugal, and in all other parts of the Portugueze dominions. I imagine that Great Britain would scarcely have stipulated for this change of policy in the government of Brazil, if some intimation had not been made that the ministry of that country wished in this manner to get rid of the abominable tribunal. Great Britain indeed cannot be said to have stipulated for it; the Prince declares his purpose _spontaneously_. Be this as it may, this most horrible Court does not exercise its power in Brazil, and thus has been removed, almost irrevocably, one of the most intolerable burthens under which any nation ever laboured. The late Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, D. Rodrigo de Souza Coutinho, was a man of a liberal mind; and Brazil has in his death sustained a great loss; but this misfortune is alleviated by the means which it has afforded of placing at the head of affairs the Chevalier Araujo[259]. This nobleman seems to have adopted Brazil as his country, to direct his attention entirely to the concerns of that kingdom, and to wish to increase the importance of the State over which he has been most judiciously placed. He appears also to be aware of the means by which progressive prosperity is to be obtained,—liberality, toleration, mildness, reformation. The solemn manner in which the rulers of Brazil have declared their intentions in this respect, is a triumph of liberality over bigotry which was scarcely to be expected; and still less was the public avowal of principles like these to be looked for from the quarter in which they appeared. The misfortunes of Portugal have produced incalculable benefit to the transatlantic territories which she held under subjection; and although the mother country has suffered much, still some advantages cannot fail to proceed from the change in her situation; at any rate her internal affairs may meet with some alterations which may better the condition of the people. Portugal no longer enjoys the exclusive trade with Brazil, but I know not whether in the end she will not be happier in depending upon her own resources;—upon a moderate trade with other nations suited to her political importance, instead of the gigantic commercial intercourse which was carried on through her ports. The government will probably undergo some reform, and Portugal will in all likelihood soon see the Inquisition abolished, and may perhaps witness the re-establishment of the Cortes.
ARTICLE 10th. “A gradual abolition of the slave trade on the part of the Regent of Portugal is promised, and the limits of the same traffic along the coast of Africa are determined.” Of this subject I have already in another place treated.
THE TREATY OF COMMERCE AND NAVIGATION.
ARTICLE 2d. “There shall be reciprocal liberty of commerce and navigation between the subjects of the two High Contracting Parties, and they are allowed to trade, travel, sojourn, and establish themselves in the ports &c. of the dominions of each, excepting in those from which all foreigners are excluded.”
The ease with which leave to travel in Brazil may be obtained, I have myself experienced, and even without a passport an Englishman might travel in some of the provinces. Great complaint has been made by the Portugueze of the strictness with which the British Alien Laws have been enforced; and here a breach of reciprocity is stated to exist,—not by the Treaty, but in the non-accomplishment of this article. The extreme difficulty with which one foreigner is distinguished from another, by persons who do not understand the language of any, and the vicinity of Great Britain to the Continent of Europe,—to her greatest enemy, and the immense number of foreign prisoners which she held in confinement during the war, placed her in a far different situation from Brazil, in which the only foreigners excepting Spaniards, who could possibly have found their way into the country, must have arrived there in British or Portugueze vessels, consequently little doubt could be entertained of the propriety of allowing any foreigner to receive a passport to travel in the interior or along the coast of that country[260]. Difficulties were doubtless experienced, and vexations submitted to on some occasions, and these cases have been brought forwards. It must be recollected that the number of Portugueze subjects travelling in Great Britain was, and is, much greater than that of British subjects travelling in Brazil; and that the number of magistrates to whom each of these travellers must shew his pass is much greater in the former country than in the latter, owing to the more numerous population of Great Britain. Therefore a very few cases of hardship in Brazil would only average a much greater number of like instances of severity in Great Britain.[261]
With respect to naturalization in the dominions of either of the two crowns, the Portugueze are much more favourably situated than British subjects, because, according to existing laws, a British subject can only be naturalized in the kingdom of Portugal and Brazil, if he professes the Roman Catholic Religion.
ARTICLES 3d, 4th, and 5th. These relate to custom-house duties, port-charges, &c., which are to be paid with perfect reciprocity by the vessels of both nations. If the same duties, at the custom-houses in Brazil, were not paid for goods which were imported in British as in Portugueze vessels, the consequences would be, that every English merchant must resort to smuggling, or be obliged to give up all idea of competition with the Portugueze. The duty on cotton, the chief article which is exported from Brazil to England, is equal in vessels of either nation. This duty is not however of such importance to the commodity as to render the importer of it in a ship which pays a higher impost unable to vie with him who pays a lower one. But in the case of manufactured goods shipped from hence to Brazil, the duty is of primary consequence, because there is very frequently, I may say generally, a loss upon such shipments, and an increase of 10 _per cent._ upon a concern which has independently of these 10 _per cent._ undergone a loss, would often be ruinous. I have not a doubt in saying that the government of Brazil is a gainer by lowering the duties upon goods which are imported in British vessels to the standard of those which are imported in vessels that are owned by its subjects. Under existing regulations all parties come into the market upon an equal footing, and although some persons will attempt to evade the payment of any duty, still it is not necessary that a whole body of men should resort to smuggling for the purpose of bringing their commodities into the market with any prospect of a successful sale. I own that I think a higher duty than 15 _per cent._ might be raised by government, but if any advance was made it should be done generally upon all classes of traders, whether subjects of Brazil or foreigners, to be done to any advantage. The reciprocity which is established by these articles has been followed by most advantageous consequences to both parties. Great Britain is materially benefited in a commercial point of view by the importation of the cotton of Brazil, direct from that country; and the improvement which has been caused, and continues to act in Brazil by the introduction of British manufactured goods is incalculable, in point of wealth and civilization, and in producing incentives for exertion.
The latter part of the 5th Article determines which are the vessels that shall be accounted British, and which shall be accounted Portugueze, for the purpose of ascertaining those of both nations which may enjoy the favourable stipulations. The Portugueze here again complain that the English have the advantage over them from the great numbers of vessels which they build, and from the numerous prizes which they take from their enemies, whilst the Portugueze construct very few vessels, and take no prizes[262]. The Portugueze have lately been in the habit of purchasing vessels that have been built in the United States. As soon as these are owned by Portugueze subjects, the national colours of the new owners may be hoisted, and they enjoy all the privileges of vessels of Portugueze build. It is urged that the British government should have suffered these vessels to enter the ports of Great Britain enjoying the same advantages as are granted to such vessels by the Portugueze government. If the subject is considered it will be perceived that this would be equally against the interest of both nations. Great Britain would by this means afford a considerable market for the shipping of one of her maritime rivals. By the low prices at which such vessels may be obtained, and the small number of hands which they require, the Portugueze navigation would likewise be materially injured. Instead of any encouragement being given to ship-building in Brazil, the subjects of that country would resort to North America for vessels, and a bar would be placed against the advancement of this complicated art, in a country possessing many advantages which adapt it for the formation of a numerous navy.
The latter part of the 8th Article stands thus:—“But it is to be distinctly understood that the present Article is not to be interpreted as invalidating or affecting the exclusive right possessed by the crown of Portugal within its own dominions to the farm for the sale of ivory, brazil-wood, urzela, diamonds, gold dust, gunpowder, and tobacco, in the form of snuff.” I hope that ere long the system of gradual reform will reach these monopolies, and that the trade in the Articles which they comprise will be thrown open.
ARTICLE 10th. “British subjects resident in the Portugueze dominions shall be permitted to nominate special magistrates to act for them as judges-conservator.” This privilege is not conceded to the Portugueze residing in Great Britain, and has therefore been complained of. Every Portugueze well knows the dreadful state of the courts of justice in all the dominions of his sovereign, and how extremely difficult it is to obtain redress under any grievance. He must be aware of the advantages which may be obtained by being personally acquainted with the magistrate before whom a cause is to be agitated. If this is the case (and that it is, speaking generally, no one will deny) in causes among themselves, how much more necessary is it that some protection should be afforded to foreigners, who cannot have opportunities of using undue influence; and besides, where the decision depends entirely upon one man, he will probably be inclined to favour his own countrymen. “The acknowledged equity of British jurisprudence, and the singular excellence of the British Constitution,” as the same article of the Treaty observes, render unnecessary any special magistrate to manage the concerns of foreigners residing in Great Britain. The state of the British courts of law is the pride of every Englishman; a doubt of the impartiality of their decisions never strikes the mind of any reasonable man. Although one party in the State constantly opposes the measures of government, and seeks out any abuses which may have crept into its proceedings, still the courts of law continue to act, year after year, without any suspicion of misconduct,—without any idea of unfairness in their determinations being entertained. I speak in this manner of Portugueze courts of law, in the first place, from the radical badness of the system by which the determination of a cause depends upon one man; and in the second place, from the practice of one court, which I have had opportunities of witnessing, and the general complaints of almost every Portugueze who has had any thing to do with proceedings of this description. Doubtless there must be some men who do their duty; but a system of government should be founded upon the basis of as near an approach as can be formed to the impossibility of misconduct, and upon responsibility.
It is in the courts of law that a thorough change should be effected in the Portugueze dominions; their corrupt state calls most loudly for reformation, and it is from this source that the existing government has one heavy weight hanging over it, which may lead to most serious consequences. There are two evils which cannot be long endured when they have arrived at a certain height. Heavy and injudicious taxation, and injustice;—these reach every man; in his own hut he feels them, and they follow him every where, subjecting him to privations, and to many mortifications; his temper is soured and his anger will at last break loose.
ARTICLE 12th. “British subjects, and all other foreigners resident in the dominions of Portugal shall have perfect liberty of conscience, and shall be permitted to build churches and chapels under certain restrictions as to their outward appearance; and any person who should attempt to make converts from, or should declaim against the Catholic religion publicly, is to be sent out of the country in which the offence has been committed.” It is disgraceful that such an article as this should be necessary in any Treaty between two civilized states; but every step towards liberality should be greeted with great joy, proceeding from those countries in which the Catholic religion predominates. That part of the article which concedes liberty of conscience, not only to British subjects, but to every foreigner, is another indication of the spirit of liberality having found its way into the Council of Rio de Janeiro, for, I should imagine that the British statesman would only have required this stipulation for his countrymen, without mentioning the subjects of other powers. I have heard this article much complained of by men who were afterwards surprised to hear that the Portugueze were allowed to have their chapels in England; and here these gentlemen would have been desirous of preventing perfect reciprocity.
ARTICLE 17th. “It is agreed and covenanted that articles of military and naval stores brought into the ports of H. R. H. the Prince Regent of Portugal, which the Portugueze government may be desirous of taking for its own use shall be paid for without delay at the prices appointed by the proprietors, who shall not be compelled to sell such articles on any other terms. And it is farther stipulated, that if the Portugueze government shall take into its own care and custody any cargo or part of a cargo, with a view to purchase or otherwise, the said Portugueze government shall be responsible for any damage or injury that such cargo or part of a cargo may receive while in the care and custody of the officers of the said Portugueze government.”
I have transcribed this article at full length. What must be the reputed state of a government from which common equity must be stipulated for? But I trust that the time for such abuses has gone by, and that the era of reformation has commenced.
ARTICLE 18th. “The privilege is granted to British subjects of being _assignantes_ for the duties to be paid at the custom-houses.” The inability of being _assignantes_ was of considerable inconvenience to English merchants, and obliged them to pay a _per centage_ to a Portugueze for the use of his name in this capacity. The _assignantes_ are bondsmen for the duties to be paid at the end of three and six months; and no reason could be urged against Englishmen being allowed to serve as _assignantes_, excepting that of leaving the country without waiting to answer their bonds.
ARTICLE 19th. “All goods, merchandises, and articles whatsoever of the produce, manufacture, industry, or invention of the dominions or subjects of either of the High Contracting Parties, shall be received into the ports of the other, upon the terms of the most favoured nation.”
ARTICLE 20th. “Certain articles of the growth and produce of Brazil, which are subject to prohibitory duties in Great Britain, as they are similar to the produce of the British colonies, are permitted to be warehoused in Great Britain for exportation.” The non-admission of these commodities, which are principally sugar and coffee, for the consumption of the British empire, has been subject to discussion. It was not to be expected that Great Britain would sacrifice her own possessions by this alteration in her policy; and particularly towards a country in which the articles in question can be produced at a smaller expence than in the British colonies.
ARTICLE 21st. “British East Indian goods and West Indian produce may be subjected to prohibitory duties in the dominions of Portugal.” British merchants might complain of this article with as much reason as the Portugueze do of the former. The relative situations of the two empires require both of them.
ARTICLE 23d. “His R. H. the Prince Regent of Portugal being desirous to place the system of commerce announced by the present Treaty upon the most extensive basis, is pleased to take the opportunity afforded by it, of publishing the determination pre-conceived in His Royal Highness’ mind of rendering Goa a free port, and of permitting the free toleration of all religious sects whatever in that city and its dependencies.” Here is another most pleasant symptom of change of policy.
ARTICLE 25th. “Great Britain gives up the right which she enjoyed of creating factories or incorporated bodies of British merchants in the Portugueze dominions.” This was a privilege of considerable importance, from the union which it produced among the merchants of that nation residing in the same place. They were better able as a body to urge any petition to the Portugueze government, and to transact the affairs which interested them generally. However their protection is sufficiently provided for in other articles of the Treaty, and therefore it is well that this privilege was given up: it was an odious one, and not necessary; and certainly was not consistent with the basis of reciprocity upon which the Treaty was formed.
ARTICLE 26th. This declares that the stipulations existing concerning the admission of the wines of Portugal into Great Britain, and the woollen cloths of Great Britain into Portugal, shall remain unaltered[263]. The article continues thus; “in the same manner it is agreed, that the favours, privileges, and immunities, granted by either contracting party to the subjects of the other, whether by Treaty, Decree or _Alvará_, shall remain unaltered.[264]”
ARTICLE 32d. “It is agreed and stipulated by the High Contracting Parties, that the present Treaty shall be unlimited in point of duration, that the obligations and conditions expressed or implied in it shall be perpetual and immutable, and that they shall not be changed or affected in any manner, in case H. R. H. the Prince Regent of Portugal, his heirs or successors, should again establish the seat of the Portugueze monarchy within the European dominions of that crown.”
Brazil is thus laid open for ever. However, even if the government was so inclined, it would be impossible to close the ports of that kingdom to foreign trade; the benefits which have resulted from the direct intercourse with Great Britain have been too generally felt for the people to be made to return to the ancient colonial system.
The British North American colonies first shewed the example of throwing off the yoke of the mother country, and this was to be expected from the principles of many of the first settlers. The attempt succeeded, but a doubt still remains whether it would not have been more to their advantage to have remained subject to Great Britain for some time longer;—whether they were at the time of emancipation of a competent age to rely upon their own resources. However the spirit of their government and of their people, may have made amends for any prematurity of freedom; and the United States have advanced with most surprising (I may almost say unnatural) rapidity, in power and wealth, and consequent importance in the scale of nations. Their change of situation was not however obtained without years of bloodshed and desolation.
The Spanish colonies are now making the same experiment; they are experiencing great misery, and the contest is far from being decided.
Brazil has obtained a government of its own, under most peculiar circumstances, and these have probably saved that country from the misery of revolution. If the rulers of that extensive kingdom perform their duty, if they act with common prudence, their own downfall may be prevented, and the unhappiness of a whole people for the space of one generation, may be rendered unnecessary. The government has much to do before the people will or ought to be satisfied; and the people have been too much accustomed to submission, to be excited to a change of government, unless the grievances under which they suffer are of such magnitude as to be too considerable to be borne.
The reformation which would, I think, reconcile the people is not of very difficult execution. Judicious taxation, instead of the system which exists, is requisite in the first place; the articles of primary necessity are heavily taxed, such as provisions of all descriptions, and the same occurs with respect to the most important articles of trade. An impartial administration of justice ought in the second place to be provided for. The abolition of all monopolies, and of the system of farming the taxes. A decrease in the power of civil and military magistrates: a change in the manner of recruiting: a suppression of great numbers of the civil and military officers of government,—by the existence of these taxation is rendered much heavier than it otherwise would be, fees are augmented, and the redress of grievances becomes more difficult because responsibility is more divided. The misconduct of each person is not of sufficient moment to be taken notice of, and mal-practices are too widely diffused to be punished.
The change of policy which would lead to the general advancement of the country, consists in the abolition of the slave trade, in the toleration of all religions, in the naturalization of foreigners, and perhaps ultimately in the establishment of legislative assemblies, and of a general Cortes.
If my limits would allow, and this was a proper place for the purpose, I think I could shew that the _reformation_ which is proposed is perfectly within the power of the Court, and is absolutely necessary for the security of the present dynasty. The _change of policy_ must be entered into gradually. The government will not go so far at present;—neither are the people fit for the reception of the whole of these innovations, nor would they accord with their ideas. They are steps to which all countries which are in a state of improvement must advance; and if those persons who are placed at the head of their affairs are aware of what is due to them revolutions may be prevented, by keeping pace with the ideas of the people, and attending to their progressive state.
I look forwards with hope to a continuance of peace in Brazil; I trust that the devastations of revolution, that the misfortunes which political convulsions produce may be averted; that the natural quietude and goodness of the people of that kingdom, and the wisdom and prudence of the government will unite in the far preferable plan of continuing in the path which all those persons who desire their welfare will pray for;—in conceding to each other, and in agreeing to establish a lasting empire upon the true basis of perfect confidence.
APPENDIX.
I HAVE in a former part of this volume mentioned Dr. Manoel Arruda da Camara, as having published two pamphlets at Rio de Janeiro, in 1810. One of these is entitled “A Dissertation upon the Plants of Brazil from which fibrous substances may be obtained, adapted to various uses in society, and which may supply the place of hemp; the enquiry being made by order of the Prince Regent.” The other pamphlet is called “An Essay on the utility of establishing gardens in the principal provinces of Brazil for the cultivation of new plants.”
I shall only give those parts of the works which may be interesting to English readers.—_Transl._
A DISSERTATION, &c.
SECTION 1st.
_Of Plants which afford Fibres, properly so called._
CAROA, Bromelia variegata:—_Arrud. Cent. Plant. Pern._—The description is taken from my Centuria of the genera and species of new plants of Pernambuco.
CLASS, Hexandria:—ORDER, Monogynia:—DIVISION, Flowers complete.
_Gen. Char._ Calyx superior and trifid. Corolla tripetalous, with nectariferous scales at the base of each petal. Fruit an umbellate, trilocular berry.
_Section 1st._ With flowers discrete or separated.
_Spec. Char._ Leaves ciliate, spiny, stained with transverse green and whitish marks.
_Nat. Char._ No stem.
Leaves radical and few, (from 3 to 7) from three to six feet long, channelled, revolute and spiny, green in the interior or concave surface, and stained with transverse whitish marks on the exterior or convex surface.
FLOWERS, The stalk two feet long, flexuose and almost spiral, with alternate scales without thorns; the spike simple, the peduncle or flower stalk short. Bracteæ small, the floral leaves simple, and at the foot of each flower stalk. CALYX monophyllous, with obtuse indentations, trifid, tubular, permanent and erect. COROLLA tripetalous, tubular, of a bluish purple colour, oblong, obtuse, erect, with nectariferous scales at the bases; from the middle of each petal to the bottom is a channel which sheaths a single filament of the stamina. STAMINA consist of six filaments inserted in the receptacle; of these, three are alternate with, and three are opposite to the petals; of the last the bases run down the grooves in the petals, and fix themselves in the receptacle. PISTIL consists of one filiform style, with a single stigma. PERICARP, an oval, pointed berry, somewhat angular and umbellate, nearly of the size of an olive.
The plant is to be found in the Sertoens of Pernambuco, Paraiba, Searà, and principally in the Sertam of Cariri de Fora, and Pajaù, and upon the banks of the river St. Francisco. It blossoms in the months of July, August, and September.
USES.
The leaves of this plant are composed of two segments, one exterior and convex, and the other interior and concave; the former is more compact and hard, the latter is thinner; between them is to be found a quantity of longitudinal fibres, of the same length as the leaves, fixed in a juicy pulp. These fibres are strong, and from them cordage may be made, and even coarse cloth, if care is taken in preparing the thread. This may the more easily be done, from the enormous quantities which nature affords without the aid of cultivation. The inhabitants of the banks of the river St. Francisco weave their fishing nets of these fibres.
There are two methods of obtaining the fibres of the _caroà_. 1st. Having taken the leaf from the plant (which is easily done) the convex side of it should be clipped at the bottom with a knife, and with the other hand, the fibres pulled out, some force being necessary. They will bring with them a quantity of vegetable liquid, with which the pulp is soaked. For this reason the above manner of obtaining the thread is called _ensuar o caroà_, to sweat the _caroà_. The fibre which is thus extracted is green, and it is necessary to wash it, for the purpose of cleaning it. 2d. The leaves being taken from the plant, and being tied up in bundles, should be thrown into water, where they must be allowed to remain for four or five days; then they should be taken out to be beaten in bunches, that the hammers or mallets may not cut the fibres. This operation will not be sufficient to separate it from the pulp, but it will be necessary to tie it up again in bundles, and to steep it for two days or more, at the close of which the beating should be renewed; it must be yet a third time put into water, and beat. After this the fibres are usually obtained clean; and they should be wound up and braided that they may not be entangled.
I have observed, that by beating the leaves, and thus bruising them before they are in the first instance put into water, the labour is much diminished; and that maceration in stagnant waters produces the desired effect in much less time than in a cold running stream. If the fibres which are obtained by each process above-mentioned, are examined, it will be found that those which have undergone the first, are stronger than those of the second, but more labour is necessary; the difference, however, will not be experienced if the fibre is bruised before it is steeped, because this operation accelerates the maceration. The fibre of this, like that of all other plants, is subject to rot, if it is allowed to remain under water for any considerable time.
The expence of obtaining the thread which is extracted by the first process, cannot be calculated with exactitude, because it entirely depends upon the expertness of the persons who perform the work; and this again depends upon habit and practice. I have purchased it at 1200 _reis per arroba_ of 32 _lbs._ or at 2½_d. per lb._ The fibre which is obtained by the second process, is sold at a cheaper rate, because the labour is less; I have purchased this at 1000 _reis per arroba_, rather more than 2_d. per lb._
It is not necessary to cultivate the plant; many leagues of land are covered with it; and there are situations which are so completely overspread with it, that the ground cannot be passed over. This occurs in many parts of Curimataû, and of Cariri de Fora; both these places are in the captaincy of Paraiba. It is in these that I recommend the establishment of manufactories, for the purpose of extracting the fibre, for they are the nearest to the coast, and there are good roads to them by which the produce may be carried in carts and waggons. Although the _caroà_ is long lived, still many leagues of the lands which were covered with it have been laid waste by the fires which mischievous persons, sportsmen, and even the owners of estates annually let loose (_such is Arruda’s expression_). It is probable that even the remaining _caroà_ grounds will be destroyed, if government does not take some measures to prevent a continuance of such practices, fulminating penalties against the incendiaries of so useful a plant.[265]
CRAUATA DE REDE, Bromelia Sagenaria:—_Arrud. Cent. Plant. Pern._ The description is taken from my Centuria of the genera and species of new plants of Pernambuco.
CLASS, Hexandria:—ORDER, Monogynia:—DIVISION, Flowers complete.
_Gen. Char._ Calyx superior, and trifid. Corolla tripetalous, with nectariferous scales at the base of each petal. Fruit an umbellate trilocular berry.
_Section 2d._ With the flowers united by the receptacles or berries united in one.
_Spec. Char._ Leaves radical, ciliate serrated; the berries are united into one pyramidal fruit; the bracteæ long, imbricate, covering the fruit.
_Nat. Char._ No stem.
Leaves radical and many, (from 3 to 9 feet long) one inch and a half wide, channelled; the edges ciliate spiny, ash-coloured on the convex, and green on the concave surface.
FLOWERS, The stalk, a foot and a half long, with alternate leaves, the flowers of a bluish purple colour, with the receptacles united. CALYX monophyllous, with obtuse indentations, trifid, erect. COROLLA tripetalous, tubular, erect, obtuse, blue, each petal has at the base nectariferous scales. STAMINA consist of six filiform filaments, three alternate and three opposite, fixed to the receptacle; and of oblong, bilocular anthers. PISTIL consists of one filiform style with a single stigma. PERICARP, a trilocular berry, united by the sides to the other berries, which altogether form one pyramidal fruit, covered, having long imbricate bracteæ. The seeds are of the size of a grain of maize, fasciated.
The plant is to be found upon the coast of Pernambuco, Paraiba, and Rio Grande, it does not extend into the interior more than ten or twelve leagues. It is commonly called _crauatà de rede_, or net _crauatà_, because the inhabitants of the parts in which it grows, make their fishing nets of its fibres. It blossoms in July and August.
This species of _bromelia_ is new; the fruit of it is similar to that of the _bromelia ananas_, being however smaller; the berries are less juicy, and of a disagreeable taste; the bracteæ are three inches in length, erect, and placed one over the other after the manner of tiles, so as to cover all the superficies of the fruit. I took its specific name of _Sagenaria_, from the circumstance of its fibres being used by fishermen for making their nets.
The fibre of the plant varies in length from three to eight feet, according to the greater or less fertility of the land; in dry land it is short, fine, and soft; in good land, it is longer but likewise thicker and rough; the strength of it is great, the following fact proving that this is the case. Upon the wharf of the city of Paraiba, there is a rope made of this fibre, which has been in use during many years, for the purpose of embarking the bales (_of manufactured goods, I suppose_) and chests of sugar: with the same rope the anchors of a line of battle ship were embarked, which had been left at Paraiba by the (_charrua_) ship Aguia; they were intended for Bahia, and could not be raised by hempen cables of greater diameter.
It is with difficulty that this kind of fibre becomes white by the common manner of bleaching, which proceeds from a certain natural varnish (if I may be allowed so to call it) with which the surface is covered; it does not rot so easily as other kinds of fibre, when soaked in water. From this property the fishermen prefer it for their nets; but notwithstanding the natural varnish of its coloured parts, the fishermen increase its power to resist the water, by carbonising (if I may be allowed so to say) the threads of their nets with astringents which they obtain from various plants; such as the bark of the _aroeira_ and of the _coipuna_, and for this purpose the nets are steeped for some time in a decoction or infusion of these barks, as is practised in tanning.
From the qualities which it possesses, and which I have just mentioned, I am persuaded that the fibre is well adapted to the manufacture of cables, and cordage; and the specimens of cloth, and one pair of stockings which by this opportunity I forward to the ministry, made of it, indicate the possibility of manufacturing sail-cloth from it, and even finer cloths, if improvements were made in its preparation; but these are at present entirely disregarded.
The leaf of the plant is composed of two ligneous plates, one convex and the other concave; and also of a quantity of longitudinal fibres inserted between them, and united to each other by juicy fecula, but sufficiently attached to prevent them from being disengaged by the hand; therefore they can only be extracted by maceration. The plant is rooted up, which is done by means of a forked stick, and is called _desbancar_. The leaves must then be taken from the stem, and thirdly the thorns must be taken off, which is done easily by separating the spiny edges with a knife. The leaves being thus prepared are steeped in water for about a fortnight. The maceration is known to be complete when the outward rind and ligneous bark of the leaves are sufficiently soft to be pierced by the nail; the leaves are then taken out of the water one by one, and the base of each of them is opened until the fibres appear; the rind of each surface must be secured with one hand, that with the other the fibres may be pulled out; even so they will be removed with other substances attached to them. For the purpose of being cleaned, they must be braided and again steeped for one day, and then beaten with mallets upon a bench, and the maceration and beating must be repeated until the fibres become clean. I have paid for each _arroba_ of it 1920 _reis_, or 4_d. per lb._ But the usual price at which it is sold is from 120 to 160 _reis_, or 8_d._ to 10½_d. per lb._
ANANAS MANSO, Bromelia Ananas.
CLASS, Hexandria:—ORDER, Monogynia:—DIVISION, Flowers complete.
The use which is made of the _ananas_ at our tables is so common that in this respect it is unnecessary that any thing should be said; therefore I shall only mention the purposes to which the fibrous property of its leaves may be applied. This I discovered in 1801, when I was directed by a Royal Order to make enquiry into the fibrous qualities of indigenous plants. I found, on comparing the fibre of this with that of all others, that it is the strongest and the finest, and that it is adapted to the manufacture of cloth even of superior quality. I took the leaves of two of these plants which weighed 14 _lbs._ I beat them with mallets, washing those portions which had been beat; they yielded rather more than one quarter of a pound of thread. The operation lasted nine hours, being performed by one man. It is bleached with great ease. The _ananas_ may be produced in almost all kinds of land; it will grow in a sandy soil, and still more does it flourish in that which is argillaceous; the sun does not destroy it, nor is it injured by rain; no insect attacks it. Each shoot multiplies so largely, that in a short time the space which has been at first left between each plant, is soon filled up. After a bed of _ananas_ has once been planted, very little care is required to keep it in order. I have known some which have existed sixteen years without requiring to be replanted. An excellent beverage may be obtained from it by fermentation.[266]
ANANAS DE AGULHA, Bromelia muricata:—_Arrud. Cent. Plant._
I have given the description of this plant in my first centuria; and do not describe it in this place because I have not made any experiments with it, but I suspect that it possesses fibrous qualities. Its fruit is of the same make as that of the _ananas manso_ and of the _crauata de rede_, from which it principally differs, in having, instead of bracteæ, thorns of three inches and a half in length, raised in the direction of the fruit, so that being covered with these sharp thorns, it cannot be taken hold of without much care; from this peculiarity it is that I took the specific name of the species.
CAROATA, Bromelia Karatas:—_Lin._
The little importance which the fibre of this species can claim, renders it unnecessary for me to give a minute description of it. The leaves are from 8 to 10 feet long, and afford a great quantity of fibre, but it is not strong, and can only be applied to very ordinary purposes.
CAROATA-AÇU, OU PITEIRA, Agave vivipara:—_Lin. Syst. Veg._
CLASS, Hexandria:—ORDER, Monogynia.
The only uses to which at the present time this plant is put, are the following. Its spungy pith possesses the property of burning gently without extinguishing; the peasants therefore are in the habit of putting some of it into their fires when they wish to prevent them from going out for a considerable time. Hedges are made of it, by planting the bulbs or tender shoots; these easily take root and grow. Piso says, “_ex foliis hujus plantæ optimus pannus conficitur, qui si rite præparetur, panno lineo excedit; folia stupam quoque et filosam materiam suppeditant, ex qua fila et retia sua contexunt piscatores_.” From hence it may be inferred that the Dutch knew better than we do how to take advantage of the natural productions of the country. At the present time even the fishermen do not make use of its fibre for their lines and nets, substituting in place of it the _crauata de rede_. The only use to which the Portugueze apply the fibre of the _agave_, is in making the cords, which the friars of the Third Order of St. Francis, commonly called of Jesus, wear round their waists.
The fibre is to be obtained by maceration, but the leaves must in the first instance be bruised, and afterwards steeped.[267]
COQUEIRO, Cocos Nucifera—_Lin. Syst. Veget._
The oil which is obtained from the pulp of the fruit is easily separated from the mucilage by means of fire; thirty-two cocos rendered me 17 _lbs._ of oily pulp, and these gave me three pounds of pure oil. It is fitted to other purposes besides that of food, for it serves to give light; and mixed with soda it yields good soap, white and hard. One hundred cocos give one _canada_ of oil of the _canadas_ of Pernambuco. So that each coco costing 10 _reis_, a _canada_ may be obtained for 1280 _reis_, or 7_s._ 1¼_d._
From the fibre of the outward rind of the coco, which is called _cairo_, may be made all kinds of cordage; even cables are manufactured from it.
The only means by which the fibre of the coco rind can be obtained, are by beating and maceration; before the rind is put into water to steep, it ought to be beaten for the purpose of loosening its texture, principally that of the outward surface, which is hard and compact; and this should be done that the water may penetrate with more ease. After the first operation, it must be left to steep for two or three days, and then should be beaten; and this should be continued until the separation is accomplished; great care, however, should be taken that the rind of the coco be not allowed to dry. Because I have observed, that if this occurs, the ligneous fecula or spongy pulp, which is found intermixed with the fibres, adheres still more strongly to them. I have likewise remarked, that from the rind which has been recently taken from the coco, the fibre is much more easily extracted than from that which has been along time separated from it.[268]
The rind of 40 cocos rendered me 6_lbs._ of _cairo_. The annual produce of the coco groves of Itamaraca is 360,000 cocos, more or less; and according to calculation these are capable of yielding 1680 arrobas of prepared _cairo_. The island of Itamaraca is three leagues in length, and the coast is alone planted with coco trees, and if these are thus productive what might not the coco groves yield, which extend along the coast from the river St. Francisco to the bar of Mamanguape, a distance of 94 leagues all cultivated with coco trees?[269]
ANINGA, Arum liniferum:—_Arrud. Cent. Plant. Pern._
CLASS, Monoecia. ORDER, Polyandria.[270]
_Gen. Char._ Spathe monophyllous, cucullate, large. Spadix shorter than the spathe, simple, clubbed at the naked end; at the base are the female flowers, and in the middle the male.
_Spec. Char._ Stem arboraceous, leaves sagittate, about one foot long, petioles of two feet.
_Nat. Char._ Stem from 6 to 8 feet long, two to three inches in diameter, straight, cylindrical, of an ashy-green colour, marked with scars of the fallen leaves; the substance spongy, juicy, soft; and in this substance are numerous longitudinal fibres, of the thickness of the hairs of horses’ tails, long.
BRANCHES are uncommon.
Leaves are rather more than one foot long and of the same breadth at the base, sagittate, simple, coriaceous. PETIOLES, amplexicaul, two feet long, channelled from the base to the middle, where the channel ends in an appendix of 23 inches, the remainder is cylindrical.
FLOWERS, axillary, solitary. CALYX a spathe longer than the spadix. The spadix is almost one foot long. STAMINA numerous. PERICARP, many berries at the base of the spadix.
The plant is to be found in Pernambuco, and it grows so plentifully in marshes that many are covered with it.
The substance of the stem of the plant is spongy, and full of an acid juice which acts upon metals; some of the peasants use this in cleaning their knives, firelocks, &c. This is the only use to which the plant has, as yet, been applied; but from the experiments which I have made upon it, I am persuaded that it may be rendered serviceable in the manufacture of cordage of great strength.
As the fibres are placed in the pulp longitudinally, and are slightly fixed to it, the operations of beating and washing will separate them entirely. I have not made any experiments as to the durability of the cordage.
TUCUM. This is the name which is given to a species of palm tree, but I have not yet been able to acquaint myself with what genus it belongs to. Piso speaks of it, giving a bad print of it and a worse description. Manoel Ferreira da Camara in his _Descrip. fisica da Comarca dos Ilheos_, exaggerates the utility of the fibre of the plant. I tried to obtain the fibre from the leaves in a dry state, or, as the peasants term it, _suado_ (sweated.) I held with the left hand the point of the leaf, and with the right rather lower down, I doubled it as if I was going to break it, at the same time pulling it. After it was broken, there remained in my left hand some fibres, which had been loosened from the inner surface of the leaf. I soon saw that this would not do, for one person would not be able to extract more than one eighth of a _lb._ of fibre in the course of the day; therefore I had recourse to maceration, but this did not succeed, for at the close of eight days I found that both the leaves and the fibre had rotted. Other species of palms grow in great numbers, forming groves of many leagues, such as the _Carnâùba_, the _palmeira_, properly so called, the _uricuri_, and the _catolé_, &c. but the _tucum_ and another kind called _Maiarà_ grow in the shade of the woods, where they are much scattered, each tree being at some distance from the other; the _tucum_ has few leaves; it is a thin palm tree of 5 to 6 inches in diameter and of 12 to 16 feet in length.
MACAIBA or MACAUBA, Cocos ventricosa:—_Arrud. Cent. Plant. Pern._ The description is taken from my centuria of the genera and species of new plants of Pernambuco.
CLASS, Monoecia. ORDER, Hexandria.
_Gen. Char._ Spathe simple; spadix ramose.
MALE FLOWER; calyx, a trifid perianth. Corolla, tripetalous; six stamina; germen barren. FEMALE FLOWER; calyx trifid; stigmata three; fruit a drupe.
_Spec. Char._ Stem aculeate, ventricose; leaves pinnate; small leaves ensiform replicate.
_Nat. Char._ Stem 30 feet long, ventricose, armed with sharp thorns circularly arranged.
FLOWERS. Spathe monophyllous, lanceolate, concave, large. Spadix divided into many spikes. The female flowers below, the male flowers above; close to which the bases are fixed in cups hollowed in the common peduncle. CALYX, a perianth of three linear pieces, very small, alternate with the petals of the corolla. COROLLA, tripetalous, oblong, concave, pointed, yellowish. STAMINA consist of six filiform filaments of the length of the corolla and of incumbent anthers, oblong. PISTIL, style thick, without a stigma, barren. FEMALE FLOWERS. Calyx small, whitish, monophyllous, trifid, irregular, permanent. COROLLA tripetalous, rounded, the sides imbricate and united in the middle with the nectary. NECTARY, a monophyllous corolla which lines and reunites within the bases of the petals. STAMINA, none. PISTIL consists of a rounded germen, a very short style and three stigmata, simple. PERICARP, a round drupe, of the size of a large _jambo_ or rose apple, or of a small common apple, yellowish: it consists of a ligneous exterior bark which is weak; of a bony nut, an oily almond, and a layer of oily, yellow pulp.
The plant is to be found in Pernambuco, and in some other parts of Brazil.
The oily pulp of the fruit and the almond of the inner stone is eaten, and is sold in the markets. The ventricose or middle part of the stem contains a fecula which is extracted in times of want, and is eaten being prepared in various manners. The leaf contains a fibre fine and strong, like the leaf of the _tucum_; but like that it is difficult to obtain when dry or _suado_, and impossible to get it by maceration, for the same happened with this as with the _tucum_ in the experiments which I made. This is a new species, and owing to the middle of the stem being much thicker than the extremities, I have given to it the specific name of _cocos ventricosa_. For some time I was in doubt whether I should place it in this genus or not, on account of its monopetalous nectary, which lines and unites the petals of the corolla within. The female as well as the male flowers are fixed in cups hollowed in the spike or common peduncle. The female flowers are solitary, that is, each in its cup; the male flowers are two and two.[271]
These are the fibrous plants of Brazil which are of the most importance. It is evident that of all that have been mentioned there are only four which can be made use of advantageously for cordage. The _caroa_ (_bromelia variegata_); the _crauatà de rede_, (_bromelia sagenaria_); the _caroata-açu_ (_agave vivipara_); and the fibre of the rind of the _coco da praia_ (_cocos nucifera_); their cheapness, the ease with which they may be prepared, their abundance, and the possibility of obtaining them still cheaper, render these the fibres of chief importance. The fibre of the leaf of the _tucum_, which has been so much extolled, and that of the _macaiba_, and of the _dendezeiro_ (another palm) cannot become of general service to society, and much less can they be rendered applicable to the use of shipping, from the difficulty with which they are to be obtained, and from many other circumstances.
SECTION 2d.
CARRAPIXO, Urena Sinuata:—LIN. SYST. VEGET. edit. 14.
CLASS, Monadelphia:—ORDER, Polyandria.
The bark of this plant is with ease separated by means of maceration for a fortnight; and from it cords are made for many purposes, and although they are not very strong, they are much esteemed for slinging hammocks; when the operation of macerating is made in clean water, the fibre becomes pretty well whitened. The plant is not cultivated; and in the neighbourhood of Paratibi it grows spontaneously, in such quantities that the inhabitants of that village gather it for sale. I have heard that it grows in abundance at Rio de Janeiro, and is known there by the name of _guaxuma_. The name of _carrapixo_ is likewise given in Pernambuco to some other plants, of which the seeds stick to whatever chances to touch them, by means of small ears which are thorny; for this reason the plant of which we are treating is sometimes called _carrapixinho_, for the purpose of distinguishing it.
GUAXUMA DO MANGUE, Hibiscus Pernambucensis:—_Arrud. Cent. Plant. Pern._
CLASS, Monadelphia:—ORDER, Polyandria.
_Gen. Char._ Calyx double, the outside divided into many segments, the inside into five segments, campanulate. Capsule quinque-locular; many seeds.
_Spec. Char._ Leaves cordate, entire; stem fruit-bearing, with the exterior calyx monophyllous, having eight notches.
_Nat. Char._ Stem of six feet and more; bark black, few branches.
Leaves cordate, rounded, acuminated, entire; the petioles cylindrical. Stipules deciduous, acute.
FLOWERS, Large, yellow, like those of the cotton plant, axillary and terminal; each peduncle of one, two, and three flowers. CALYX double, permanent, the exterior monophyllous, with eight notches, acute; the interior monophyllous, campanulate, divided into five segments, acute and long. COROLLA pentapetalous, yellow, and the petals hold the stameniferous column upon their bases. STAMINA numerous, fixed to the stameniferous column by subulate filaments; anthers rounded. PISTIL consists of one oval germen acuminate; one style, which is longer than the column of the stamina, erect, and it has four or five separate stigmata. PERICARP a capsule of almost one inch long, pentangular and quinque-locular, inclosed in the calyx, which is much enlarged after fecundation.
The plant is to be found in Pernambuco in places near to the sea, or where salt water reaches, and principally upon the banks of the rivers Goiana and Paraiba. I have found it in flower and fruit in the months of February and March.
The persons who catch crabs tie them to each other with the bark of the plant; and this is the only use to which it is applied. Cordage might be made of its inner rind, as is practised in some parts of America with the _hibiscus populneus_; also the _hibiscus tiliaceus_, from which at Cayenne cords for common use are made.
EMBIRA BRANCA or JANGADEIRA, Apeiba Cimbalaria:—_Arrud. Cent. Plant. Pern._
CLASS, Poliandria:—ORDER, Monogynia.
_Gen. Char._ Calyx, monophyllous, trifid; pericarp a decem-locular capsule, covered with thorns or spines, depressed, opening only on the lower side.
_Spec. Char._ Stem of 20 to 30 feet long, and of one foot and a half in diameter.
Leaves ovate, lanceolate, cordate, reticulate, green and smooth above, covered with hairs, which are of a copper colour underneath. STAMINA monadelphic. The plant is to be found in Pernambuco, abounding in the virgin woods. It blossoms from August to October.
The timber of this tree is not compact, and its specific gravity is much less than that of water, with which it does not easily become saturated. The inhabitants of the coast make use of it for the purpose of constructing rafts; three or four of these trees are put together, and are well fastened to each other[272]. The bark of the tree is fibrous, and from it a great quantity of cordage is made for the common purposes of the country.
Marcgraff calls it _Apeiba_; and Aublet adopted the same name when he fixed the genus of the three species which he describes in Guiana, and he supposes that the species _tibourbu_ is the same as that which Marcgraff speaks of in Pernambuco; they are certainly alike, but I imagine that it must be a variety, from the size of the tree, which only grows there to the height of eight feet, and here it exceeds 20 feet. There is less hair upon the leaves, the silky work of the edges is not so deep; and there is even some difference in the shape; the stamina are manifestly monadelphic. This last circumstance inclined me to call it _apeiba monadelpha_, but the use to which the tree is applied in the construction of rafts decided me in calling it _cimbalaria_.
EMBIRA VERMELHA, Unona carminativa:—_Arrud. Cent. Plant. Pern._
This plant has a red fibrous bark, of which as much use is made in manufacturing cordage as of the _embira branca_; but the bark ought not be permitted to be gathered, for the tree produces seeds, of which the capsules have the taste and the pungency of black pepper. Many persons make use of them as a spice in cooking, and some even prefer them to pepper; they are carminative. If the bark is taken off, the tree dies; the seeds are worthy of becoming an article of trade as a spice.[273]
I have omitted a great number of plants which possess fibrous properties, that this Dissertation might not be made too long; some of them are not much in use, and others are not applied to any purpose. I shall mention some, such as the _guaxuma branca da mata_ (_helicteras baruensis_) of which the inner bark is white and strong, but on being wetted, it becomes rotten and breaks. However, I think it might be applied to the manufacture of paper. The _barriguda or sumàûma_ (_bombax ventricosa:—Arrud. Cent. Plant. Pern._) and the Sertam plant, called the _embiratanha_, which I have named _bombax mediterranea_, also afford fibre from the bark, but they are not much used. All the species _anona_ (called commonly _areticum_) afford fibre, and of these the plant which gives the strongest and the most durable fibre is the _areticum a pé_. The cord with which the flag of Fort Cabedello at Paraiba is hoisted, is made of the rind of this plant, and it has been there for many years. Finally all the plants of the genera _hibiscus_, _sidas_, _altheas_, and in general all the mallows afford fibre of greater or less strength. The _embiriba_ (_lecythis_) gives tow, and although it cannot be applied to the manufacture of cordage, its use is great for caulkers.
_An Essay on the Utility of establishing Gardens in the principal Provinces of Brazil._
THE first part of this pamphlet treats of the advantages which Brazil would obtain by the establishment of Royal Botanic Gardens. The second part contains a list of those plants which it would be expedient to transplant from other quarters of the globe to Brazil, and from one part of Brazil to the other. I shall only translate that portion of the second part which relates to the plants of Brazil.—_Transl._
_Plants of Parà and Maranham._
CRAVO DO MARANHAM, Myrtus caryophylata.
PIXURI.
ABACATI., Laurus Persea:—The fruit of this tree contains a butterous substance, which is very pleasant; there are two kinds or varieties, one of which is distinguished by the name of Cayenne.
BACURI, Moronobea esculenta:—This tree grows to a great height; and the stem is entirely without branches, forming at the top a large cope. The fruit is nearly of the size of an orange, but it is oval and contains 23 stones covered with a white pulp, which have a pleasant taste, being sweet, and somewhat acid. In Pernambuco is to be found another species of the same genus, growing in marshes, which is commonly called _gulandim_; on cutting into the stem a white juice oozes out, which appears to me to be resinous, and perhaps might be applied to some use. Both these species are described in my Centuria of the new genera and species of the plants of Pernambuco.
BACABA, Areca Bacaba:—_Arrud. Cent. Plant. Pern._ This palm tree is a species of _areca oleracea_, producing however larger fruit; the nut is covered with a mucilaginous pulp, from which the inhabitants of the places in which it grows make an excellent beverage, called _bacabada_ or _ticuara de bacabas_.
ABACAXI, Bromelia:—There are three varieties of _ananas_ at Maranham, called _abacaxi_; of one the fruit is white, and the leaves are not serrated; of another the fruit is of a purple colour, and the leaves spiny; the third I have not seen. I brought the two first varieties to Pernambuco, where they have been planted, and are already becoming common, and they have been forwarded by some patriotic persons to other provinces. Their flavour is much superior to that of the species which has been long well known.
MARACUJA MAMAM, Passiflora Alata.
_Plants of Seara._
PIQUI, Acantacaryx Pinguis:—_Arrud. Cent. Plant. Pern._ This plant produces most abundantly a fruit of the size of an orange, of which the pulp is oily, feculous, and very nourishing. It is the delight of the inhabitants of Searà and Piauhi. The tree grows to the height of fifty feet, and is of proportionate thickness. The timber of it is of as good quality as that of the _cicopira_, for ship-building. It grows well in the sandy plains which are in Pernambuco called _taboleiros_, and in Piauhi _chapadas_, therefore its cultivation would be very advantageous in the _taboleiros_ bordering the coast, which are at present of no service. It has afforded great assistance to the people in times of drought and famine.
BURITI, An Borassus?—This species of palm is one of the highest and most beautiful of trees; it grows only in bogs and marshes; the fruit is of the size of a hen’s egg, and of the same form; it is of a red colour at the time of maturation, and is covered with scales spirally arranged. Under the scales is found a layer of oily pulp of the same red colour, from which the inhabitants of Piauhi obtain an emulsion; when this is mixed with sugar, it becomes a substantial drink, which is by no means unpleasant. However, if it is used to excess, the colour of the fruit is communicated to the surface of the skin, and to the white of the eyes, producing the appearance of jaundice, but without any injury to the health.
MARACUJA SUSPIRO, Passiflora:—This is the finest flavoured fruit of the genus; it is called _suspiro_, because one of them may be swallowed at once, leaving upon the palate a most exquisite taste and a sweet smell. It is to be found in the Serra de Beruoca, upon the borders of Acaracù.[274]
MANDAPUCA, Myrtus Scabra:—_Arrud. Cent. Plant. Pern._
COCO NAIA, a large palm tree, which is to be found abundantly in Cariri Novo and Piauhi; the nut contains three or four seeds, from which oil is extracted, and this is applied to the same purposes as that of the _cocos nucifera_. The nut is covered with a feculous substantial flour, which has afforded much relief in times of need. From this fecula is made a soup or _angù_, as it is called, which is seasoned with the emulsion or oil obtained from the almond of the same fruit. The pith of the tops of these palms is a white substance, tender, juicy, sweetish, and pleasant to the taste, and it is harmless even if eaten raw. If it be boiled with meat, the taste is not unlike the cabbage, but it is more solid. After having taken from it the saccharine parts by means of one boiling, it becomes capable of being seasoned, and many excellent dishes are made from them, after the manner of the _areca oleracea_. For the knowledge of these last uses the inhabitants of those parts are indebted to my example. The same may be practised with the _palmeira pindoba_ (_cocos butiroza_, _Lin._) which is very common at Pernambuco. For these purposes the larger trees should not be cut down, but rather only those which have attained the height of ten or fifteen feet.[275]
MARANGABA, Psidium Pigmeum:—_Arrud. Cent. Plant. Pern._
This is a species of _goiaba_ plant which does not attain more than two or three feet in height; it abounds in the _chapada_ of the Serra Araripe of Cariri Novo.[276]
In front of my house at Itamaraca, there was a _dendezeiro_ which stood alone, and I know that there was no other tree of the same species anywhere within sight. The tree bore fruit.—_Transl._
_Plants of Pernambuco._
CARAPITAIA, Carlotea formosissima:—_Arrud. Cent. Plant. Pern._
BILROS, Carlotea Speciosa:—_Arrud. Cent. Plant. Pern._
Two beautiful species of a new genus, which I have dedicated to H. R. H. the Princess of Brazil; the roots of these plants are tuberous, abounding with soft and nutritive fecula, which has afforded assistance to the people of the Sertam of Pajaù in times of drought. These plants are worthy of being cultivated not only from their utility but for the purpose of ornamenting gardens, their flowers being umbellate, crimson, and very beautiful.
CANELLA DO MATO, Linharia aromatica:—_Arrud. Cent. Plant. Pern._
CATINGA BRANCA, Linharea tinctoria:—_Arrud. Cent. Plant. Pern._
Of the first of these plants the leaves and bark have a pleasant smell, which is like that of cloves. It is not as yet used, being unknown. I have made use of the leaves and bark of this plant in distilling rum, and have obtained a pleasant liqueur. I have learnt by experience that the extract of the leaves is not only pleasant to the taste and smell, but that it likewise strengthens the stomach. It is to be found in the greatest abundance upon the _taboleiros_, which bound the captaincies of Paraiba and Searà, upon the borders of Pinhancò, and I have likewise seen it in Piauhi.[277]
The second of these plants is a shrub which grows abundantly upon the skirts of the mountains, and upon the banks of the rivulets of the Sertoens of Pernambuco, Paraiba, and Seara. It yields by boiling a yellow dye, which is sufficiently durable upon skins. It is probable that some means might be found of fixing the colour upon cotton cloth, as is the case with the _tatajuba_ (_morus tinctoria_). Besides this use, it is applied to that of curing _sarnas_, an eruptive complaint; the patient being washed in a decoction of the leaves. As I could not arrange these plants in any of the known genera, I have formed one for them to which I have given the name of _Linharea_, in memory of D. Rodrigo de Souza Coutinho, _Conde de_ Linhares, the cultivator and protector of letters.
CARNAUBA or CARNAIBA, Corypha cerifera:—_Arrud. Cent. Plant. Pern._ This palm is one of the most useful plants of the Sertoens; it rises to the height of thirty feet and more; the _varzeas_ or low lands upon the borders of the rivers and rivulets of Pernambuco, Paraiba do Norte, Searà, and Piauhi, and principally the banks of the rivers Jaguaribe, Apodi, Mossorò, and Açu, are covered with these trees. When the fruit of it has attained the size of a small olive (which when green it resembles in form), it should be boiled several times in different water to take off its astringent properties; and then a sufficient boiling being given it becomes soft and has the taste of boiled maize. In this state it is eaten with milk, and is a wholesome food. The pith of the stem of the young plants, being bruised in water, affords a nutritive fecula, as white as that of mandioc. The plant should not much exceed the height of a man when used for this purpose. It is of great service to the inhabitants of those parts in times of drought and famine. The leaves of the young plant are of two feet in length, and are doubled after the manner of a fan, whilst they are yet young; afterwards they open, and become of little less than two feet in breadth. If they are cut in this state, and are allowed to dry in the shade, a considerable quantity of small light coloured scales will be loosened from the surface. These will melt by the heat of a fire into white wax, of which it possesses the properties; it is however more brittle, but this may be remedied by mixing it with the common wax, which is more oily. In 1797 I made known this discovery to the R. P. M. Fr. Joze Marianno da Conceiçam Vellozo, who published the account of it in the _Paladio Portuguez_; but at that time I was not so well aware as I am now of the importance of the wax.
The fruit of this tree when ripe is black and shining, and of the size of eggs of tame pigeons. The kernel is covered with a layer of sweet pulp, which is eaten by cattle, as are also the dry leaves which fall, when other food fails. The leaves are used for covering houses, and although thus exposed to the weather, they last for twenty years without requiring to be renewed. The stem is made use of for building houses, for fences, pens, &c.[278]
ANIL DE PERNAMBUCO, Koanophyllon tinctoria:—_Arrud. Cent. Plant. Pern._
This is a shrub which grows to the height of twelve feet or more. It is of the class syngenesia; the leaves are from two to three inches in length, and of proportionate breadth; it is enough to soak a piece of cotton cloth in its juice for it to become green, and from this colour it is changed to blue by the absorption of the oxigen of atmospheric air. The colour becomes so fixed, that it resists the action of soap and the lye of potash, and it rather brightens than fades after it has undergone these experiments. It is probable that by fermentation and beating, it may yield blue fecula, like the common indigo (_indigofera tinctoria_). I know that it may be cultivated with ease, for I have sown the seeds which are like those of the lettuce; they come up in a few days. The land which is adapted to it is _varzea fresca_, or marshy land composed of _maçape_, or stiff clay.
ANIL TREPADOR, Cissus tinctorius:—_Arrud. Cent. Plant. Pern._
If the leaves of this plant are rubbed upon a white cloth, they impart to it a green colour like that of any other herb. By exposure to atmospheric air it changes this colour for a fixed blue, which resists the lye of potash and soap. It is found in the mountains and low lands of the Sertoens.
HERVA LOMBRIGUEIRA OR ARAPABACA, Spigelia anthelmia:—_Lin. Syst. Veget._
This plant has anthelminthic properties, and is sold in our towns. It grows abundantly in argillaceous low lands.
URUCU, Bixa Orellana. _Lin._
This is a shrub, and is worthy of cultivation from the dye which the leaves afford; but it is not cultivated by any one in Pernambuco, not even as a curiosity.
PITOMBEIRA, Meleagrinex Pernambucana:—_Arrud. Cent. Plant. Pern._
This tree grows to the height of 30 or 40 feet; the timber of it is compact and may be applied to some purposes. It produces its fruit in large rounded bunches, in capsules which do not open. It has a solid kernel of two cotyledons, covered with a sweetish acid pulp, which is not unpleasant. If turkeys eat of these kernels they die immediately; from this circumstance I took the name of the genus, of which I have only found two species.
IMBUZEIRO, Spondia tuberosa:—_Arrud. Cent. Plant. Pern._
This is a tree which grows plentifully in the Sertoens of Pernambuco and Paraiba. It produces a fruit which is rather smaller than pullets eggs, obovate, with five points at the lower part, being the indications of the five stigmata. Its colour is yellow, and below the coriaceous epidermis, it retains a juicy pulp, of a pleasant sweetish acid taste. With this juice, and milk, curds, and sugar, a much esteemed mess is made, called _imbuzada_. This tree throws out long horizontal roots, which penetrate very little, and upon these are seen at short distances round tubers of eight inches (_hum palmo_) in diameter, full of water, like unto water-melons; these supply the vegetation of the tree in seasons of drought, and sometimes refresh the sportsman who has penetrated into the woods. The re-production of the tree is very easy by means of shoots.
PIRANGA, Bignonia tinctoria:—_Arrud. Cent. Plant. Pern._
This is a fruit-bearing and sarmentose plant; its leaves yield, by boiling, a red dye, which can be made a fixed dye upon cotton cloth, by means of preparations analogous to those which are made for madder.
UMARI, Geoffroya spinosa:—_Jacq. Stirp. Americ._
This plant, which Jacquim found at Carthagena in the sandy lands near to the coast, grows at Pernambuco upon argillaceous low lands, upon which it arrives at 30 or 40 feet in height; in Carthagena, according to the same author, it does not reach more than twelve feet. The flowers are yellow, and have a smell which is similar to that of the coco-oil; those of Carthagena have a disagreeable smell. May they not be two separate species? From the almond of this plant is extracted a white and nutritive fecula, of which the inhabitants of the Rio do Peixe, and of the Sertam of Paraiba do Norte make much use. The plant grows very plentifully in the low lands of those parts, and it is also to be met with in the province of Rio Grande do Norte.
IPECACUANHA PRETA, Ipecacuanha officinalis:—_Arrud. Cent. Plant. Pern._
Until the present time the botanists of Europe have not known to what genus this plant belongs. Some of them thought it was the _euphorbia Ipecacuanha_, others, that it was the _psoralia glandulosa_, others, the _spiræa trifoliata_, others the _viola ipecacuanha_, finally others suspected that it was the _psychotria emetica_; but I have observed the _ipecacuanha preta_ very frequently when in flower, and I think that it has more affinity to the _tapagomea_ of Aublet. However, I have given it the name of _ipecacuanha_, for although both are barbarous, still the latter has been used for a century and a half. The Ipecacuanha is easily cultivated, for I have made the experiment, but it requires shade, or at any rate it must not be completely exposed to the heat of the sun.
IPECACUANHA BRANCA, Viola Ipecacuanha:—_Lin._ Pombalia Ipecacuanha: _Vandel_.
Although the root of this plant was formerly mistaken for that of the _ipecacuanha preta_, it is well known now to be of another description. It is much used in medicine in Pernambuco, as a gentle purgative, &c. It is easily cultivated, and delights in a moist atmosphere and a sandy soil. In the neighbourhood of the Campina Grande (of Paraiba) I have seen large pieces of ground covered with the plant. Of this species of ipecacuanha our druggists might make their syrup of _viola_, and our physicians might without scruple apply the flowers and calyx in place of the flowers of the _viola odorata_, for it promotes expectoration, and possesses stimulant qualities which strengthen the nerves.
CONTRA-HERVA, Dorstenia rotundifolia:—_Arrud. Cent. Plant. Pern._
CONTRA-HERVA DE FOLHA LONGANA, Dorstenia Pernambucana:—_Arrud. Cent. Plant. Pern._
These two species of _contra-herva_ are new, and are peculiar to Pernambuco; besides these two I have not met with any other species. But they have the same virtue as the true _contra-herva_ of Mexico (_dorstenia contra-herva_), and the physicians of Pernambuco do not use any other. They are to be found in great quantities in some parts.
ANGELIM, Skolemora Pernambucensis:—_Arrud. Cent. Plant. Pern._
The fruit of this tree possesses the strongest vegetable anthelminthic properties with which I am acquainted. It is necessary to be careful in the use of it, for if the dose is too large, the medicine will attack the nervous system, and produce convulsions. The common dose is one-fourth part of a seed for an adult. I know of three species of this plant.
BATATA DE PURGA, Convolvulus mechoacan.
The root of this species of _convolvulus_ is tuberose; and a dose of two drachms of the fecula is sufficient as a purgative. The root is cut into small slices that it may be dried with more ease; a thread is then passed through the middle of each slice, for the purpose of exposing them for sale. It is a gentle purgative, and is now much in use, therefore it is worthy of being cultivated. It may be observed as being remarkable, that quantities of the root are sometimes sold by the peasants which have little effect. This ought to be attributed to its being gathered out of season. All plants should be gathered after their maturation. Thus the _batata de purga_ should be gathered after the fruit and leaves have dried, but before the rains come on. I have observed in Pernambuco two species of _convolvulus_, of tuberose roots, both of which are purgative, and the prepared root of both is commonly known under the name of _purga de batata_; one of these is the true _convolvulus mechoacan_, and is different from the other in leaf, branch, and fruit; of this I have given the description in my Centuria of new plants.[279]
PAPO DE PERU, Aristolochia grandiflora:—_Arrud. Cent. Plant. Pern._
This beautiful species of _aristolochia_, which I first met with in the torrents of Cariri Novo, is medicinal, and is worthy of being cultivated in gardens, not only for its utility, but likewise on account of the beauty and size of its flower. Besides this, I am acquainted with five species of _aristolochia_, some of which may be made useful. The plant is commonly called _angelicò_.
MANGABEIRA, Ribeirea sorbilis. This tree grows well in the sandy lands of the _taboleiros_; the fruit varies from the size of a pigeon’s egg to that of a pullet’s; the colour is a greenish yellow, spotted with red; it is almost of the consistence of the service; and is well known in the markets of Pernambuco and Bahia. Considerable numbers of these trees are now cultivated in the neighbourhood of Olinda; and the attention which is paid to the tree has improved the fruit. If this is pounded spirituous fermentation takes place with great ease, and from this passes to acetosity; thus the juice forms most excellent vinegar, in a very short period, which I found to be stronger than that of the grape, of the sugar cane, of bananas or of _cambuins_. I have described this new genus in my _Cent. Plant. Pern._ dedicating it to my disciple P. Joam Ribeiro Pessoa de Mello Montenegro, professor of drawing in the seminary of Olinda. He is worthy of this honour, not only from having attempted to introduce into this captaincy the cultivation of some useful exotic plants, but from the curious and philosophical examination which he has made respecting the wonderful phenomenon of the manner of the fructification of the _mangabeira_ plant, which will be found in my _Centuria Plant. Pern._
OITI COROIA, Pleragina rufa:—_Arrud. Cent. Plant. Pern._
OITI DA PRAIA, Pleragina odorata:—_Arrud. Cent. Plant. Pern._
OITICICA OR CATINGUEIRA, Pleragina umbrosissima.
The first species of this genus (_oiti coroia_) produces an irregular drupe, of which the kernel is covered with a sweet fecula, somewhat aromatic, pleasant, nutritive. It is large enough to satisfy one person. It is sold in the markets, and by some individuals it is now cultivated.
The second species (_oiti da praia_) produces an oval or oblong drupe, very little smaller than a hen’s egg; it is yellow at the period of maturation; the kernel is covered with a sweet, aromatic, and nutritive pulp.
The third species (_oiticica_) is peculiar to the Sertoens, where it grows upon the borders of rivers and rivulets. It rises to the height of 50 or 60 feet; its branches are so diffuse, and double so much, that they nearly reach the ground, forming a spacious cope. The fruit is an oblong drupe of two inches or more in length, and of half an inch in thickness; it always retains its green colour, even when ripe. The kernel is not hard like the kernels of the two preceding species, but it is ligneous and flexible, and can easily be broken; it is covered with a layer of astringent pulp. The almond is a seed composed of two oily cotyledons of a disagreeable taste, but abounding with an oil, of which some use is now made.
GENDIROBA or ANDIROBA, Feuillea cordifolia;—_Lin._
This is of the natural order of cucurbitaceous plants; the seeds are very oily, and from them oil is easily extracted, which, as well as that of the _cocos nucifera_, has the property of coagulating. I have made good soap from it even with potash, depriving it of carbonic acid by means of virgin lime.
CAROBA, Kordelestris symphilitica;—_Arrud. Cent. Plant. Pern._ Bignonia copaia; _Aublet. Guien._
CAROBA MIUDA, OR CASCO DE CAVALLO, Kordelestris undulata;—_Arrud. Cent. Plant. Pern._
These two species possess antivenereal properties, and are particularly serviceable against the infection which is called _bobas_, yaws.
BARBATIMAM, Mimosa virginalis;—_Arrud. Cent. Plant. Pern._
This tree is not very large; its bark is one of the strongest astringents, and is at the same time somewhat stimulating, which renders it applicable to some disorders. The peasants use it to heal their own wounds, as well as those of animals. Women use it after child-bearing, bathing themselves in a decoction of the leaves. I am persuaded that the extract of it, if it did not exceed would at least equal in medicinal virtue the _mimoza catechu_.
ALMECEGA, Amyris Pernambucensis;—_Arrud. Cent. Plant. Pern._
This is a tree which sometimes attains a great height; from its bark oozes a resinous juice which is indissoluble in water, but it is completely dissolvible in spirit of wine. The woods of Goiana and of Alhandra abound with these trees, and the Indians of the latter place gather the gum in considerable quantities, and sell it at from 20 to 40 _reis per lb._ It has almost the same medicinal virtues as turpentine; when applied in the form of a plaister to the forehead, it affords relief, and it usually removes the tooth-ach. Our apothecaries use it in making up some kinds of ointments. It is mixed by our people with the yellow wax of the country for the purpose of making candles for common use. A fourth part of tallow is added to it, for caulking canoes, water wheels of sugar mills, &c.
The gum is known under two forms; that which is white and clean is called _almecega cozida_ or boiled; for the Indians who gather it, boil it for the purpose of separating the impurities, and they make loaves of it of 16 and 20 _lbs._ weight. The _almecega crua_, or raw, when dissolved in spirits of wine, might be used in the composition of some kinds of varnish; and being burnt, it might serve instead of incense, as is practised with the balsam of the Sertam, and as the resin of the _amyris ambrosiaca_ or _icica heptafylla_ of Aublet is used in some parts of America.
THE END.
Printed by A. Strahan, New-Street-Square, London.
ERRATA.
Page 52, line 32, for _Pernaiba_ read _Parnaiba_. —— 99, —— 1, for _he_ read _the animal_. —— 123, —— 4, for _we_ read _was_. —— 182, —— 28, for _dress_ read _dressed_. —— 189, —— 27, for _sand_ read _land_. —— 196, —— 19, for _Utringa_ read _Utinga_. —— 233, —— 2, for _Mamanguape_ read _Maranguape_. —— 233, —— 8, for _superintending_ read _superintended_. —— 352, —— 25, for _ou_ read _on_.
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FOOTNOTES:
[1] I have made use of this spelling, from the word cocoa being applied in the English language indiscriminately to that tree and to the cacao; and as we most probably derived the word from the Portuguese language, it may perhaps not be considered improper to distinguish the two plants in this manner.
[2] A house answering both these purposes has lately been established at Recife by an Irishman and his wife. 1815.
[3] It is perhaps not generally known, that the bags of cotton are compressed, by means of machinery, into a small compass, and fastened round with ropes, that the ships which convey them may contain a greater number.
[4] I did not discover any vestiges of the fort which stood here at the time of the Dutch war.
[5] I shall use this word exclusively, when speaking of Europeans of this nation; and the word Brazilian, when speaking of white persons born in Brazil.
[6] This is the name by which the fort is usually distinguished, but I rather think that it is not its proper appellation.
[7] I am not quite certain whether it is the third or fourth.
[8] I sailed from Pernambuco in the very last convoy of 1815, previous to the peace with the United States, which consisted of twenty-eight vessels, viz. two ships of war, two prizes to them, and twenty-four merchant vessels, fourteen of which were from Pernambuco, and the remaining ten from Rio de Janeiro and Bahia.
[9] An edict has lately been issued at Rio de Janeiro by the Regent, declaring himself the Prince Regent of the United Kingdoms of Portugal, Brazil, and the Two Algarves. 1816.
[10] I saw, in the year 1814, a very fine root of wheat that had been raised in the Campina Grande of the province of Paraiba, about thirty leagues to the northward of Recife.
[11] This has lately been removed to Recife, owing to a report of some plan of revolt amongst the negroes, which has since proved to be without foundation. 1815.
[12] A Portugueze gentleman once observed to me, that in France and other countries many clever men had written and spoken strongly, and for a considerable length of time against this way of life, and that they at last even effected their purpose with much difficulty; but, he added, in Pernambuco such is the conduct of the friars, that no writing and no speaking is necessary to bring them into disrepute.
[13] “_Irmam, não tenha vergonha._”
[14] In speaking of the Priesthood, it must be always recollected, that the Secular and Regular Clergy are two totally different bodies of men, and as distinct in their utility, their knowledge, and their manners, as they are in their situation in life.
[15] I think that the Caza Forte and the Cazas de Dona Anna Paes, of which an account is given in the History of Brazil, vol. ii. p. 124, distinguish the same place under different names.
[16] When the Englishmen, who first established themselves at Recife, had finished the stock of tea which they had brought with them, they enquired where more could be purchased, and were directed to an apothecary’s shop. They went, and asked simply for tea, when the man wished to know what kind of tea they meant; he at last understood them, and said, “O, you want East-Indian tea,” “_Cha da India_,”—thus considering it as he would any other drug. But at the time of which I am now speaking, great quantities are consumed.
[17] I once heard, that a person who had been in England, and had returned to Pernambuco, observed, that the two things which surprised him the most in that country, were, that the people did not die, and that the children spoke English. He was asked his reason for supposing that his first wonder was correct, to which he answered, that he never had seen the Sacrament taken to the sick.
[18] A _Juiz Conservador_, Judge Conservator, of the British nation has been appointed for Pernambuco, but at the period of my departure from Recife, he was not arrived. Very soon after the commencement of a direct commercial intercourse with Great Britain, a vice-consul was appointed for Pernambuco, by the consul-general at Rio de Janeiro; this person was superseded by a consul sent out direct from England, who is subject to the consul-general of Brazil, but the place is disposed of by the government at home.
[19] When Brazil was in its infancy, the clergy could not subsist upon their tythes, and therefore petitioned the government of Portugal to pay them a certain stipend, and receive the tenths for its own account; this was accepted, but now that the tenths have increased in value twenty-fold, the government still pays to the vicars the same stipends. The clergy of the present day, bitterly complain of the agreement made by those to whom they have succeeded.
[20] A great confusion exists in Brazil respecting measures. Every captaincy has its own, agreeing neither with those of its neighbours, nor with the measures of Portugal, though the same names are used invariably: thus a _canada_ and an _alqueire_ in Pernambuco represent a much greater quantity than the same denominations in Portugal, and less than in some of the other provinces of Brazil.
[21] A patent has been obtained, and a manufactory established upon a large scale for making cordage from the outward rind of the coco-nut. Ropes of this description are, I believe, much used in the East Indies.
[22] An old woman applied at the gates of a convent, late one evening, and told the porter, an old friar, who was quite blind, that she wished one of the brothers to go with her, for the purpose of confessing a sick person. The old man, with perfect unconcern, gave her to understand, that they were all out, adding, “but if you will go to the garden gate, and wait there, some of them will soon be creeping in.”
[23] The younger members of the Franciscan order enjoy very much the duty of going out to beg, as opportunities offer of amusing themselves. A guardian was chosen at Paraiba some years ago, who examined the chest in which the money belonging to the community was kept, and on finding a considerable sum in it, gave orders that no one should go out to beg. He was a conscientious man, and said, that as they had already enough, the people must not be importuned for more, until what they possessed was finished. He kept the whole community within the walls of the convent for the term of two or three years, for which each guardian is appointed. On another occasion, the friars of a Franciscan convent chose for their guardian a young man, whose life had been very irregularly spent in any thing rather than the duties of his calling, under the idea, that during the continuance of his guardianship, they would lead a merry life,—that very little attention would be paid to the rules and regulations of the Order; but they were mistaken, he changed his habits as soon as he found himself at their head; the gates were rigidly closed at the proper hour, and according to the old and vulgar proverb, of “Set a thief,” &c. the duties of the convent were performed with much greater austerity than before.
[24] An anecdote was related to me of one of these couples, which occurred some years ago, under a former Governor. A solitary passenger, between Olinda and Recife, witnessed part of the following scene, and the remainder was described by one of the actors in it. A couple of criminals, of which one was a white man, and the other a negro, accompanied by their guard, were walking over the sands, to reach a ford, and cross the river at its narrowest part. Three horsemen, one of whom led a fourth horse, saddled and bridled, rode up, and one of them knocked the soldier down, whilst the white man of the chained couple urged his companion to go with him to the led horse, and mount up behind him: this the black man refused to do, when one of the horsemen, who seemed to direct the others, called out, “Cut the fellow’s leg off.” The criminals are secured to each other by the ankle. The negro now agreed, and both mounted the horse, and the whole party galloped away, first binding the soldier hand and foot. They passed through Olinda at full speed, and when they had arrived at some distance, a large file was made use of, and the negro was set down with all the chains and bolts. The party then proceeded, and were never afterwards heard of. It was imagined, that the man who made his escape in this manner, was the relation of a rich person in the interior, who had either committed some crime, or had been thus unjustly punished.
[25] Lately, a cadet has come forwards, and has taken the direction of these matters; he has apprehended several persons of infamous character, but of determined courage; he has done much good, risking his life under circumstances of great danger, and even to extreme rashness has he been carried by his zeal. This young man well deserves promotion. That thus the police should fall into the hands of inferior officers, shows the irregular footing upon which it stands.—1814.
[26] The arrival of another colonel to the regiment of Recife, and the increase of activity in the officers, has altered its appearance much for the better. The regiment of Olinda or of artillery, has been also much improved by the attention of its colonel, and the entrance into it of several well-educated Brazilian officers of the first families.
[27] The lower part of the town is the site of the siege, which, in its infancy, the settlement sustained against the savages, as is “related by Hans Stade, the first traveller who wrote any account of Brazil.”—History of Brazil, Vol. I. p. 46.
[28] I had frequent opportunities afterwards of resting at this inn; on one of these, I happened to ask for salt, which is not usually placed upon the table; the master of the house, in the customary familiar manner of the country, expressed his surprise, at the additional quantity of salt which I wished for, but it was brought to me, and nothing further was said. This occurred in the morning, soon after our arrival at the place; at dinner, to our dismay, the soup and almost all the other dishes were so plentifully supplied with the unfortunate ingredient, as to be scarcely eatable. We complained of this to the master, who answered, “Why, I thought you liked salt.” “_Cuidei que eram amigos de sal._”
[29] Is this word abbreviated from _Desertam_, used as an augmentative (according to the Portugueze custom) for _Deserto_?
[30] _Matutos_, woodmen, inhabitants of the _mato_.
[31] A person with whom I was afterwards acquainted, has since cleared one of these islands, and has formed some salt-works upon it.
[32] The word _Sertam_ is used rather indefinitely, as it does not only mean the interior of the country, but likewise a great part of the coast, of which the population is yet scanty, receives this general name. Thus, the whole of the country between Rio Grande and Pernaiba is called Sertam. Pernaiba is a small province, situated between Seara and Maranham.
[33] The rafts employed upon small rivers are of a construction similar to those already described on a former occasion, save that still less workmanship is bestowed upon them.
[34] History of Brazil, Vol. II. p. 104 and 155.
[35] The castor tree is known in Brazil under the same name; indeed, there is much similarity between the seed of this plant, from which the oil is extracted, and the larger kind of tick.
[36] Between two and three years after this journey, I heard again of my friend the Major. I became acquainted with a man who resided at the foot of the Serra do Teixeira, which is beyond the estates of the major’s father. The old colonel was killed by a bull before his own door. The animal had been driven into a small inclosure, and became mad from feeling himself confined. It was necessary to bring him to the ground, which is done in a peculiar manner, by running a short iron prong into a certain part of the thigh. The herdsmen were afraid, and wished to let the beast have time to cool and become less violent; the old man, who was between seventy and eighty years of age, told them, that if they were afraid, he would attack him, and immediately entered the inclosure; but before he could prepare to receive the bull, and was still leaning against the palings, the animal ran at him, and fixed his horns through the old man’s body, with sufficient force to run them into the palings, and in such a manner that before he could extricate himself, one of the herdsmen ran a long knife into his head between the horns, and brought him to the ground; but the old man lost his life.
[37] “_Falla a lingua de negro._”
[38] Vide Appendix.
[39] “_Deixa estar meu amo._”
[40] I heard in the beginning of the year 1815, that the bar had been completely choaked up during a violent gale of wind from the sea, whilst two coasters were in the river, taking in cargoes for Pernambuco.
[41] This person has since been removed to a province of more importance.
[42] “_Mofino como caboclo._”
[43] I heard, from good authority, that there are two instances of Indians having been ordained as secular priests, and that both these individuals died from excessive drinking.
[44] _Caboclo he so para hoje._
[45] Another member of this family was also to be apprehended, but the governor could not fix upon any means by which the arrest was to be accomplished. A man of well-known intrepidity and of some power was sent for by the governor, to consult with him upon the subject. This person offered to go alone, and acquaint the Feitoza with the orders that had been issued against him, and in fact to try to take him into custody. He set off, but Feitoza was apprized of his coming and of his errand, and, immediately leaving his estate, proceeded to Bahia, where he embarked for Lisbon, arriving in due time at that place. The person who set off to arrest him followed him from place to place, arrived at Bahia, and embarked for and landed at Lisbon. He enquired for Feitoza, heard that he had spoken to the secretary of state, and had again embarked on his return homewards, but that the ship was delayed by contrary winds. _He_ likewise went to the secretary, and shewed the orders which he had received for the arrest of Feitoza, making known the particular crimes which had made his apprehension requisite. Feitoza was taken into custody and put into the Limoeiro prison, where his persecutor or prosecutor went to visit him, saying as he approached,—“Well, did not I say so,”—“_Entam eu que disse_,” alluding to his determination of apprehending him. He returned to Brazil and gave an account of his mission to the governor, from whom he had received his orders. This man was well known in the province of Searà, and the truth of the story is vouched for by many respectable persons with whom I conversed. This Feitoza has not been heard of.
[46] Arruda says it is white, vide Appendix, therefore some other ingredient may have been mixed with that which I saw.
[47] Cabeça de Vaca is particularly mentioned.—History of Brazil, vol. i. p. 109.
[48] There is a print in Barlæus which represents the Portugueze crossing the river St. Francisco upon rafts or logs of timber; these must, I think, have been similar to those which are at present used in the Sertam.
[49] A mulatto woman once said to me, “The children of mulattos are like whelps, they are of all colours.” “_Filho de mulatto, he como filho de cachorro, hum sahe branco, outro pardo e outro negro._”
[50] Dr. Manoel Arruda da Camara says, that before the dreadful drought of 1793, it was considered to be one of the duties of the herdsmen to destroy the wild cattle, that which was already half tamed, might not be induced to mix with it, and by this means become wild; and he adds, that this is still the case in the Sertoens of Piauhi. He published his pamphlets in 1810.
[51] When I resided at Jaguaribe, and upon the island of Itamaraca, in the years 1813 and 1814, I took some pains in this matter; but the meat was not good, and though all kinds of flesh in Brazil have less flavour than that of the same species of animal in England, still I think that the mutton of Brazil is more unequal to the mutton of England, than is the case respecting the beef of the two countries.
[52] Lieutenant-Colonel Joam da Silva Feijò, in a pamphlet published at Rio de Janeiro in 1811, on the sheep of the province of Searà, says, “That the sheep of that part of the country bear wool which has all the marks of being of a superior quality; that it is in general soft, shining, well curled, of a good length, and strong.” He again says, “That the governor,” the same of whom I have spoken, “sent a small quantity of it to England, which was much admired and esteemed.” I did not certainly remark particularly the sheep of Searà, and his opinion must of course be taken in preference to mine, as this gentleman is the naturalist of the same province; however, I bought several as food, and their skins were invariably covered in the manner which I have above described. When I resided at Jaguaribe and Itamaraca, I possessed a considerable number of sheep, and of these I can speak positively.
[53] Vaccination is finding its way among them in spite of prejudice.—1815.
[54] This branch of trade increases most rapidly.—1815.
[55] Vide Appendix for a further account of this wax.
[56] Vide Appendix for a further account of this plant.
[57] In the year 1813, I was one evening in company, when I heard a gentleman request one of the party to ask the Englishmen who were present, if any of them had ever left a horse upon his plantation. I turned round and recognised the colonel of Cunhàû. The horse was sent to me about a month afterwards.
[58] In the year 1812, I met Feliciano and one of the others, who was his brother-in-law, in one of the streets of Recife. They recollected me, and I was stopped by both of them getting hold of my coat on each side. They asked me if I was going again to travel, for if I was, they said that they were unemployed, and would go with me. Their attack had so much the appearance of being more in violence than in the gladness of old friendship, that one or two of my acquaintance who chanced to pass at the time, stopped and enquired what was the matter, supposing that I had got into some scrape. These fellows literally held me fast, until I had answered all their questions. Their fidelity seems to militate from the general unfavourable character which I have given of the Indians; but unfortunately, individual instances prove very little.
[59] I had imagined that he did not intend to return again into my service; but on my second voyage to Pernambuco, I found him at the house of one of my friends, employed as a household servant, and I heard that he had come down to Recife two days after I had left the place, for the purpose of remaining with me; but as I was gone, he had entered into the service in which I found him. Julio was an exception to almost all the bad qualities of the Indians; and if I was again to travel in that country, I should use every endeavour to have him in company. He belonged to Alhandra.
[60] The information which is contained in this note I had from Captain Juan Roman Trivino, of the Spanish ship St. Joze, of 300 tons burthen. He received orders to proceed from Rio de Janeiro to Maranham, for the purpose of loading cotton, in the commencement of the year 1815. He arrived off the settlement of Searà, and sent on shore for a pilot to take him to St. Luiz; he was informed that none resided at Searà, but that he would find one at Jeriquaqùara, a high hill between Searà and Parnaiba. On arriving near to this place, he discovered an Indian in a canoe fishing, who came on board, and offered to pilot him to St. Luiz. This was agreed to, and they proceeded; but from mistaking the two points of land in the manner mentioned above, the Indian took the vessel into the bay of St. Joze, on the 15th March. They kept the lead going, even before they discovered the error into which they had been led, as is the custom with all vessels bound to St. Luiz. The ship was brought to an anchor off the village of St. Joze, which is situated upon the N.E. point of the island of Maranham, in eleven fathoms water. Whilst they continued in the mid-channel of the bay, they found from eighteen to twenty fathoms. The depth of water regularly decreases from the centre of the bay towards the land on each side; but it contains no insulated sand banks. The ship was at anchor off the village of St. Joze two days; they then proceeded through the channel, which is inclosed on either side by mangroves, and is so narrow in some parts that the yards at times brushed against the branches. The wind was fair, and they sailed through without being obliged to tow or warp the ship. The depth of water varied from five to two and a half fathoms; the bottom was of mud. About halfway through the channel, the tide from the bay of St. Joze and that from the bay of St. Marcos meet. This takes place nearly but not quite opposite to the mouth of the river Itapicuru. They were two days in sailing from the anchorage ground at St. Joze to the island of Taua, which is situated near to the S. W. corner of the island of Maranham. Here the ship came to an anchor in nine fathoms water, with a sandy bottom; the captain sent to St. Luiz for another pilot, as the man who had brought them thus far was not acquainted with the remainder of the navigation. The island of Taua is rocky, and uninhabited, and is covered with palm trees. The village of St. Joze appeared to Captain Trivino to be of considerable size, but, with the exception of two or three, the houses were built of slight timber and of the leaves of different species of palm trees. Its inhabitants were mostly fishermen. He mentioned that he saw a shoemaker at work there. Captain Trivino understood from his pilot that the river Itapicuru is at its mouth 120 yards wide, and that its depth is one fathom and a half.
[61] Joam IV. sent over one Bartholomew Barreiros de Ataide with three miners, one a Venetian and the other two French, to search for gold and silver. After two years’ search up the Amazons they returned to Maranham, and offered to supply the people with iron at a _cruzado_, about 2s. 4d., _per quintal_, 128 lbs. weight, if the state would engage to take all that they should produce at that price. The people were afraid to enter into any such contract. The island was so rich in this ore that foreign cosmographers called it the _ilha do ferro_ in their maps, and all who came there with any knowledge of the subject said that it was ore of the best quality. A thing of great importance to Portugal, which bought all its iron, and yet this discovery was neglected.—From a Memoir of Manoel Guedes Aranha, Procurador from Maranham, 1685, in the 6th Vol. Pinheiro Collection of MSS. in the possession of Mr. Southey.
A royal manufactory of iron has been established in the captaincy of St. Paulo, called “The Royal Fabric of S. Joam de Ypanema.” I obtained a knowledge of the fact from two letters in Nos. 45 and 56 of the _Investigador Portuguez_, a periodical publication published in London. I am sorry to say, that the two letters to which I allude have arisen from some differences existing among the directors of the Fabric.
[62] I have just in time received the following statement of the exportation of cotton from Maranham, from the year 1809 to 1815:
Vessels. Bags.
1809. To Great Britain in 51 55,835 ———— To other parts 29 21,006
1810. To Great Britain 37 40,684 ———— To other parts 19 11,793
1811. To Great Britain 36 48,705 ———— To other parts 19 6,053
1812. To Great Britain 29 35,767 ———— To other parts 29 4,803
1813. To Great Britain 35 50,072 ———— To other parts 27 10,101
1814. To Great Britain 22 31,205 ———— To other parts 34 14,436
1815. To Great Britain 32 28,539 ———— To other parts 49 22,216
[63] A person of the name of Belfort first planted rice at Maranham, and some of his descendants now reside there in opulence.
[64] “There were five sugar works or engines, as they are called, at Itapicuru, which compounded for 5000 arrobas of their produce. On the island there were six engines in full employ, 1641.”—History of Brazil, Vol.II, p. 9.
[65] He has been removed, was ordered to Lisbon, and ultimately, on his return to Rio de Janeiro, was refused admittance, for a short time, to the Prince Regent.
[66] It is not perhaps generally known, that there are published in London three or four Portugueze periodical works. One of them is prohibited in Brazil, and I have heard it said, that all of them are so situated; but they are principally intended for Brazilian readers, and they find their way all over the country, notwithstanding the prohibition. I have seen them in the hands of civil, military, and ecclesiastical officers, and have heard them publicly spoken of by them. It is said that the Regent reads them, and is occasionally pleased with their invectives against some of the men in power.
[67] About twelve months afterwards, I had an opportunity of being personally known to this man, and found him to be very superior to any individual of his or any other order of friars with whom I have been acquainted.
[68] A British consul has since been appointed to Maranham.
[69] An _ouvidor_ has been appointed to Aldeas Altas, and Piauhi has been raised to the rank of an independent provincial government. These are improvements which shew that regular government is gaining ground.
[70] Before I came away in 1815, a considerable portion of the sand (which was covered by the tide at high water) between St. Antonio and Boa Vista, had been raised, and houses had been built upon it. The principal street of St. Antonio has been paved. The bridge of Boa Vista has been rebuilt of timber; and that between St. Antonio and Recife was about to undergo considerable repair. The hospitals, likewise, were to be improved; and as I have heard since my arrival in England, of the appointment of a most worthy man to the direction of one of them, I trust that this intention has been acted upon.
[71] Vide Appendix.
[72] Bolingbroke says, that instances are frequent of some of the European swine escaping into the woods, where they live wild; and he adds, that their increase has been immense. In another place he speaks of a species of this animal, which is peculiar to tropical America, and is called the warree which he says is about the size of an European hog, and much like it in shape. The _porco do mato_ is not the _sus tajassu_, which is, I imagine, what Bolingbroke calls the picaree hog.—Voyage to the Demerary, &c. by Henry Bolingbroke, in Phillips’ Collection of Modern Voyages, vol. x. p. 57 and 129.
The tajaçu is to be met with at Maranham, but is not known at Pernambuco.
[73] Directions were given by the _capitam-mor_, that a reservoir for rain water should be formed; and these have been carried into effect. 1815.
[74] The Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday are properly the days of the _intrudo_, but the sport is, as in the case in question, often commenced a week before the appointed time. Water and hair powder are the ingredients which are established to be hurled at each other, but frequently no medium is preserved, and every thing is taken up heedlessly and thrown about by all parties, whether it be clean or dirty, whether it may do mischief or is harmless.
[75] The account which Labat gives of _l’arbre à Savonettes_ does not agree in all points with mine; the difference may arise from various circumstances to which some clew might have been discovered, if attention had been paid to the subject upon the spot. He says that the leaves are three inches in length, and “_cet arbre est un de plus gros, des plus grands et des meilleurs qui croissent aux isles_.”—_Nouveau Voyage, &c._ Tom. vii. p. 383. Du Tertre says, that it grows _en abondance le long de la mer; dans les lieux les plus secs et les plus arides_.—_Histoire des Antilles, &c._ Tom. ii. p. 165. I have only heard of the Saboeiro at some distance from the coast.
[76] Limoeiro was raised to a township by an Alvará issued from Rio de Janeiro on the 27th July, 1811; but this was not then known. It has now a mayor, municipality, and _capitam-mor_.
[77] This place was erected a township by the same Alvará, which was issued respecting Limoeiro; and by the same, the villages of Cape St. Augustin and of St. Antam were likewise raised to the rank of towns; a sure sign is this of the increase of population.
[78] This village is as much or more generally known by the name of Lagoa d’Anta, as by that of Nazareth; but the latter is the name which it bears in law. The former name, which means the Lake of the Anta, seems to denote that that animal was known in this part of the country; but in the present day, I could not meet with any of the peasants who knew what the word Anta was intended to signify.
[79] History of Brazil, Vol. i. p. 467 and 468.
[80] History of Brazil, Vol. i. p. 467 and 468.
[81] History of Brazil, Vol. ii. p. 237.
[82] “_Senhora nam, he o Diabo._”
[83] “_Que diz, meu amo?_”
[84] “_Ave-Maria, Nosso Senhor nos livre._”
[85] These practices were, or rather are, at present, carried on in one part of the country with which I am well acquainted. The persons who commit the crimes are white men and of high birth. Among them was a priest. The magistrate of the district in question was applied to by a man who had lost a cow, mentioning that he more than suspected where she was, and at the same time naming the place. A _tropa_, a troop or party, of _ordenença_ soldiers was collected, and these men were dispatched to search the house, which had been pointed out, under the command of a corporal of well-known courage. They arrived there and knocked; the door was opened by the owner, who was the priest connected with the gang; he said that he could not allow his house to be entered without an order from the ecclesiastical court. This answer was conveyed to the magistrate who had signed the order, the soldiers remaining round about the house. A second order arrived, and the bearer brought with him a couple of hatchets, thus expressively pointing out to the corporal what he was to do. Forthwith preparations were made for breaking open the door, when the priest said, that he would allow the corporal to enter alone; the man fearlessly went in, but as soon as the door was again closed the priest seized upon him, and some of his negroes who were in another apartment sprang forwards to assist their master; but the corporal disengaged himself, and standing upon the defensive called to his men, who soon broke into the house. Search was made, and the carcase and hide of the cow were found, and were with the negroes taken publicly to the nearest town. The mark of the red hot iron upon the haunch had been burnt out of the hide, that discovery might be rendered less easy. The priest was punished by suspension from saying mass for a few months. I was subsequently acquainted with him; he was received by many persons as if nothing had been amiss; but he was not received as heretofore, for the individuals of his own profession would not, generally speaking, associate with him. The circumstance had not however so completely prevented his re-entrance into decent society, as such a crime would have done in many others countries, or so much as would have occurred at Pernambuco, if he had been a layman.
[86] A free negro, with whom I had been acquainted whilst I resided at this place, and who came to see me when I removed to Itamaraca, told me, with much horror pictured in his countenance, of the fate of a man who had worked for me. He said that this person occasionally became a _lobos homem_, a wolf man. I asked him to explain, when he said that the man was at times transformed into an animal of the size of a calf, with the figure of a dog; that he left his home at midnight in this metamorphosed state, and ran about with the violence of a mad dog, and that he attacked any one whom he might chance to meet. The black man was perfectly persuaded of the correctness of his own statement, when he related having, with his brother-in-law and his sister, met this uncommon beast, near to their own cottages. I suppose it was some large dog which prowled about to satisfy his hunger in the neighbourhood of these habitations; but no, the man was persuaded that it was poor Miguel.
[87] On Saturdays only, throughout the country, are cattle slaughtered; and thus weekly many persons of each neighbourhood assemble, as much to converse and hear the news as to purchase their portion of meat. On one of these occasions, a young man of colour was stooping to arrange upon the end of his walking stick the meat which he had bought, at the moment that a person of considerable power was riding up. The man of importance, when he came near to the young mulatto, struck him with a long cane with which he rode, saying “why don’t you take off your hat when a white man appears?” The blow was felt severely, and still more severely answered. The man of colour drew his knife, and quickly turning round, ran it hilt deep into the groin of him by whom he had been insulted; and then with the bloody knife in his hand, he ran off, vowing destruction upon any one who touched him. The rich man had only time before he died, to direct that the murderer should not be pursued, owning that his own impetuous tyranny had deservedly produced this catastrophe. The young man returned in a few weeks to his former home, and was not molested by the relatives of him whom he had murdered, nor did the law take cognizance of the deed.
[88] The following anecdote exemplifies the feudal state of the planters a few years ago. It was related to me by a gentleman upon whose veracity I have every reason to rely. Some fifteen years ago, the governor of Pernambuco sent for a sergeant of the only regiment of the line which existed at that time, whose courage was well known and much dreaded. He received orders from the governor to proceed with all expedition possible to the sugar-plantation of Monjope, distant from Recife four leagues, for the purpose of taking the owner of that place into custody; or if he found that his apprehension alive was impracticable, he was then to bring his head to the governor. The sergeant was desired to pick out as many soldiers as he thought fit to accompany him; but he said that he should go alone, and consequently the following morning he set forth. On his arrival at Monjope, he was received by the owner of the plantation, who was a colonel of militia, or a _capitam-mor_. Being seated, he quietly made his errand known, shewing to the great man the order for his apprehension, and mentioning the additional instructions in case of disobedience. The colonel left the room, but soon returned with a bag containing about the value of 100_l._ in gold coins, and presenting this to the sergeant, told him to return and tell the governor that he would visit him as soon as possible, and explain to him the circumstances which had given rise to this mission. The sergeant took the money, and set out on his return; and by the way bought a sheep, killed it, and then cutting off its head, put this into a bag. On arriving at the palace, he placed his bloody burthen upon the ground, and pointing to it, said to the governor, “I have executed your commands; he would not come, and therefore I have brought his head.” The governor, all amazement, answered, “and have you really killed the colonel of Monjope?” The sergeant replied, “I have only acted according to the orders which I received.” The following morning, what was the astonishment of the governor, to hear that the colonel of Monjope was in waiting, and wished to see him. He gave him an audience, matters were explained, and they parted good friends. The sergeant was sent for after the departure of the colonel, and on being questioned, told the whole story, and shewed the bag of money. The governor was displeased, but at the same time ashamed of the rash orders which he had given. The sergeant was however too useful a man to be in disgrace.
[89] Slaves are permitted to purchase their own freedom, on tendering to the master the sum of money which he originally gave for them. But I shall presently speak more at large of this law and of slavery, as it exists in Brazil.
[90] Vide Appendix for a farther account of the coco-tree.
[91] An old Portugueze, whose faith in the intercession of saints could not be very strong, being asked for alms to assist in the decoration of an image, refused to give any thing, and added, “The saints are in a much better situation than I am; they don’t want any assistance from me.”
[92] I insert the following passage from No. 32d. of Dr. Thomson’s Annals of Philosophy, p. 138. It is given for the purpose of acquainting the supporters of our Lady of the O, that salt oozes from walls in an heretical, as well as in a Catholic country:
“The formation of nitre upon calcareous stones in certain situations has been long known, and advantage has been taken of it to procure that important salt in great quantities; though no satisfactory theory of the formation of the salt itself has yet been offered to the public. The present paper contains a set of observations on the appearance of an efflorescence of salt-petre on the walls of the Ashmole laboratory at Oxford, a large ground room, sunk below the area of the street. The walls are built of Oxford lime-stone, a granular floetz lime-stone, containing many fragments of shells, of vegetable bodies, and composed of 96 carbonate of lime, and 4 of ochrey sand. The salt formed was nearly pure, though it contained traces of lime and of sulphuric and muriatic acids. What was formed in winter contained most lime. The formation of this salt was most rapid in frosty weather; it formed slowly, and the quantity even diminished in moist weather after it had been deposited. Exclusion from the air did not preclude the deposition of the salt, though it diminished it considerably.” p. 70.—The paper, of which the above is an analysis, is by John Kidd, M.D. professor of chemistry in Oxford.
[93] Some time ago a wooden figure was brought up out of the sea in a fisherman’s net; it was deposited in a place of safety, and was on inspection, by some person who was judged competent to decide upon the subject, declared to be an image of St. Luke; it was removed to a church, and has taken its place as a representative of that saint. Now, I have heard it whispered, that this said St. Luke is no more than the figure-head of some unfortunate vessel which had been cast away, or that the figure had been broken off by a violent wave.
[94] I am not certain of the situation of the Monte das Tabocas, where one of the chief battles was fought between the Portugueze and the Dutch in 1645.—History of Brazil, vol. ii. p. 108. There is now a plantation called Tabocas, which is owned by one of the chiefs of the Cavalcante family; but as I was acquainted with him and several other persons of the same description, I think the circumstance would have been mentioned, if this had been the place.
[95] At the distance of twenty leagues or more from Recife, there resided formerly the Padre Pedro, upon the sugar plantation of Agua Azul, or the blue water. He had obtained a grant from the Crown, of the surrounding lands, of one square league in extent, and had fixed his dwelling upon a high hill, the summit of which was only to be reached by a serpentine road which he had made with great labour. The sugar works were likewise upon the hill, and the field around the eminence was inclosed by a deep and broad ditch, and a thick hedge on the outside. The situation was remote, and the adjoining country was in a very wild state; the woods were extensive, and almost impenetrable. The disposition of the priest was as wild as the country in which he delighted to reside. All deserters from the regiments of the line, and all persons who had committed crimes in supporting the insulted honour of their families, in quarrels and provocations exciting momentary violence of passion, were received by him; but he did not afford protection to the thief. The fellows who were harboured by him inhabited the woods around the field, and some of them had erected their huts upon the sides of the hill, thus forming a line of communication; so that with a whistle or a conch, soon were assembled at his door forty or fifty men, who were prepared to perform any service of whatever description he might name; because they well knew that if they were bereft of his protection, his aid would be given in the law’s support. To injure the priest or any of his satellites, was followed by destruction to the offending person. He was, however, in the habit of sending many presents to the chief persons in office, that no notice might be taken of his proceedings; for although the government might not be able to destroy his feudal independence, still it might have shaken his power. The priest was once sent for by a late governor of the province; he obeyed, and brought with him a considerable number of his determined followers; he dismounted, and ascended the steps of the palace, leaving directions to his people, who remained below, that no person should be permitted to enter after him. The governor complained to him of his avowed practice of harbouring deserters; to which the priest replied, that he thought his Excellency was aware of the inutility of speaking to him upon that subject; and having said this he immediately left the room, mounted his horse, and proceeded homewards without molestation.
Another anecdote of this strange man was communicated to me by a person who had witnessed the transaction. Two officers of justice or bailiffs, arrived at Agua Azul, and served a writ for debt upon him; the priest received them with great calmness, but shortly afterwards he ordered some of his people to take these two men and harness them in the mill (which was then at work) in the places of two of the horses, (eight of these are employed at the same time). He then ordered that the works should go on, and that a negro boy should sit above and make these unfortunate fellows assist in its movement; there they remained for some minutes, until half dead with fatigue and fear, he turned them loose, and told them to relate to their employer the manner in which they had been treated, threatening to do the same to him, if he could obtain possession of his person. The priest had a considerable number of blood hounds, which were usually unchained, and were lying about the house; thus rendering dangerous an approach to his dwelling. The animals were well trained, for a call from their master was sufficient to make them lie still, and allow of the advance of a stranger. This person died only a few years ago; but as I have already elsewhere said, the time for such characters in Brazil is fast going by.
[96] “Zacharias nam he ninguem.”
[97] Labat, in speaking of the Indians of Guyana, says, “_Leurs plus grandes richesses consistent dans les colliers de pierres vertes qui leur viennent de la riviére des Amazones. C’est un limon qu’on peche dans le fond de quelques endroits de ce grand fleuve_.” He continues his description of them, and then says, “_ces pierres sont spécifiques pour guêrir l’épilepsie ou le mal caduc, ou du moins pour en ôter et suspendre tous les accidens tout autant de tems qu’on les porte sur soi, et qu’elles touchent la peau_.”—_Voyage du Chevalier des Marchais en Guinée, isles voisines et a Cayenne_, tom. iv. p. 65 and 66.
The lower orders in Brazil make use of an iron ring round the wrist for this purpose.
I was informed that the _Contas Verdes_ came from Africa, but some may have found their way from the Orellana, and been put into requisition by the _Mandingueiros_.
I refer the reader to the History of Brazil, vol. i. p. 607, for a farther account of the green stones of the Amazons.
[98] A man of large property being much provoked at some outrage which had been committed by one of these _Valentoens_, (who was a white man,) had said at his own home, that when he met the man he would horsewhip him. This was repeated to the outlaw, and shortly afterwards they met accidentally in one of the narrow-paths in the neighbourhood. The _Valentam_ was well-armed with musket, sword, and knife; he requested the gentleman to stop, as he had something to say to him. The outlaw asked him for a pinch of snuff, and then offered his own box, from which a pinch was in like manner taken. He then mentioned the injurious words which had been repeated to him. The unfortunate offender directly imagined what would follow, and therefore set spurs to his horse, but the road was without any bend for some distance; the _Valentam_ knelt down upon one knee, and fired with the effect which he wished for. He quietly walked on along the same road, telling the whole story of his meeting, at the first village through which he passed. This man was at last taken, tried, and hanged at Bahia, through the very great exertions of the brother of the person whom he had murdered. He could not be executed at Pernambuco because he was a white man. The transaction occurred at a short distance from Jaguaribe, about fifteen years ago.
[99] Labat speaks of a tree, of which the fruit is a perfect cure for the bite of the most dangerous snakes. He says that it comes from the isthmus of Darien; that the buccaniers were informed of its virtue by the Indians who accompanied them in their expeditions across the isthmus. He does not give the name of the tree; but says “_sans nous embarasser du nom de l’arbre nous nous contentons d’appeller son fruit noix de serpent_.” In his time there were three of these trees at Martinique, which were of the size of apricot trees in France. He says that he witnessed the success of the fruit. The account of the plant and its virtues is too long to be inserted here. It is to be found in the _Nouveau Voyage aux isles de l’Amerique_, tom. iii. p. 234 to 238.
In the same work, I find the following manner of cure from the bite of a snake, which will not however be very generally adopted. “_Ceux qui ont assez de courage ou de charité pour s’exposer a faire cette cure se gargarisent bien la bouche avec de l’eau-de-vie; et après avoir scarifié la place, ils la succent de toute leur force, ils rejettent de tems en tems ce qu’ils ont dans la bouche, et se la nettoyent et gargarisent à chaque fois, observant de presser fortement avec les deux mains les environs de la partie blessée. On a vú de trés bons effets de cette cure, mais elle est trés-dangereuse pour celui qui la fait; car s’il a la moindre ecorchûre dans la bouche, ou qu’il avale tant soit peu de ce qu’il retire, il peut s’attendre à mourir en peu de momens, sans que toute la medecine le puisse sauver._” tom. i. p. 167.
[100] In the year 1630, the island contained three and twenty sugar works.—History of Brazil, vol. i. p. 476.
[101] History of Brazil, vol. i. p. 36.
[102] History of Brazil, vol. i. p. 476.
[103] History of Brazil, vol. i. p. 489.
[104] History of Brazil, vol. i. p. 540.
[105] History of Brazil, vol. ii. p. 143.
[106] History of Brazil, vol. ii. p. 176.
[107] History of Brazil, vol. ii. p. 177.
[108] History of Brazil, vol. ii. p. 241.
[109] “_Porque o seu coracam assim manda._”
[110] One of these Indians was selling crabs at Pasmado, when a purchaser began to pick out those which he preferred; but the Indian stopped him, saying, “Don’t begin to pick my crabs, for I belong to Amparo.” Thus even the crabs which were caught by the dependants of this great man were to be respected.
[111] The dependants do not always shew the respect which, seemingly, they ought to render to their patron. One of the Indians of Amparo (not he of the crabs) met his master, the owner of the place, in the field near to the dwelling-house. The Indian took off his own hat to speak to his master, but the same was not done by his superior; however the fellow quickly performed this for him, saying “When you speak to people take off your hat.”—“_Quando se falla a gente tira se o chapeo._” The master took this quietly and when the conversation ended, his hat was returned.
[112] Vide Appendix.
[113] I do not know whether I might not almost say of Brazil: Regarding Itamaraca, there exists the following adage, “What is it that persecutes thee island?” The answer is “The being an island, the ants and Guedes.” “_Que te persegue ilha? Ilha, formiga, Guedes._” Or in other words, the inconvenience occasioned by being obliged to cross the channel from the main land; the ants, which sufficiently explain for themselves; and Guedes;—these were a family of unquiet spirits who resided in the island, and kept it in perpetual turbulence from their quarrels. The remains still exist; but now they are good and peaceable subjects.
[114] “_Agora Senhor Rei, vai te embora._”
[115] In 1646, after the Portugueze had taken possession of the guard-ship at Os Marcos, they proceeded to that which was stationed at Itapisuma or Tapissuma, and this was burnt by the Dutch.—History of Brazil, vol. ii. p. 177.
[116] A man of colour with whom I was acquainted possessed several tame oxen, some of which with a cart he used to hire to the planters by the day, and one or other of his sons attended to drive them. Two of these animals were stolen, and a suspicion falling upon a man of reputed respectability in the country, who had rented a sugar plantation not far distant, one of the sons of the owner of the oxen determined to try to ascertain the fact. He dressed himself in leather, as a disguise, and rode to the dwelling of the person in question, where he arrived at dusk. The master of the house was not at home, but he spoke to the housekeeper, saying, that he had just arrived from the Sertam with cattle on sale, which would reach the neighbourhood on the following morning; he requested to know if she thought her master would purchase his drove. She answered in the affirmative, but said that he had better stay all night, for the purpose of seeing the intended purchaser, who would arrive on the next day. The false Sertanejo told her not to be uneasy about his accommodation, as he would sleep in the mill, to which he rode, and there he remained very quietly during the early part of the night. When all was still he began to search for the hides or horns of his oxen. The former would be recognised by the private mark, which was made (as is usual) with a red-hot iron upon the right haunch, and the latter he would know from the peculiar bore of their tips (by which they are in part harnessed to the cart) for he had bored them himself, and was in the constant habit of driving these oxen; besides, tame oxen are so seldom killed, that if he found any horns which were bored, he might presume that they were those of his beasts. He had given up his search, and almost all hope of finding what he sought, when, as he lay in his hammock, he happened to cast his eyes upwards, and saw two fresh out-stretched hides hanging to the higher wood-work of the mill. He scrambled up the timbers with a lighted piece of wood in one hand; and moving this to and fro near to the hides, that it might give a better light, he discovered that they bore his father’s mark. He lost no time in cutting from both of them the pieces which contained the mark, and carefully preserving these he mounted his horse about two o’clock in the morning and rode home. He kept the bits of leather as trophies, and shewed them in proof of his former assertions respecting the person who had stolen the oxen, but neither did he obtain, nor did he expect to obtain any redress. These transactions occurred in 1811, and within five leagues of Recife.
[117] It has obtained the name of _formiga de roça_. The word _roça_ means literally a piece of land that has been planted, of which the native wood has been cut down and cleared away. But at the present day, in Pernambuco, the word _roça_ is applied to the mandioc plant exclusively; thus a peasant will say “_hum bom roçado de roça_,” a good field of mandioc. The word _roçado_ is used in speaking of any kind of field; as for instance, a fine _roçado_ for cotton,—a fine _roçado_ for cane, &c.
[118] In the _Nouvelle Relation de la France Equinoxiale_, by _Pierre Barrere_, I find that the great red ant is as troublesome in the neighbourhood of Cayenne as in the part of South America which I visited. p. 60.
[119] Labat says, “_Cet insecte engraisse les volailles_.” I know that fowls are fond of the insect; but the peasants of Pernambuco prevent the poultry from eating it, because they say that such food gives a bad taste to the flesh; this is, I think, by no means improbable, for the _copim_ has a most disagreeable smell. This author afterwards continues the same subject, saying, “_Il y a deux sortes de bois qui ne sont pas de leur goût; l’acajou et le bois amer. Cela vient de ce que le suc et le bois de ces deux arbres est extrémement amer_.”—Nouveau Voyage, tom. ii. p. 389 and 392.
I do not know what tree he means by the _bois amer_, which in another place he calls _Simarouba_. I well know that the red ant will not molest the leaves of the acaju tree; but the same occurs with regard to many other plants. The leaves of the acaju are certainly extremely bitter.
[120] “_Como a lua era forte._”
[121] I have seen Piso’s account of the snakes of Brazil; and although the description which I have given of those which I saw, and of which I heard, differs somewhat from his, I have allowed mine to remain as it originally stood. Piso mentions the root of the _jurepeba_ plant as being efficacious in curing the bites of snakes. Is this the _jurubeba_? If so, it is surprising that it should not now be used for this purpose. The _jurubeba_ is to be found in almost all situations; a small shrub which yields a fruit resembling the potatoe apple. A decoction of the root is taken frequently at the present day for coughs and colds.
Piso likewise speaks of the _caatia_, or _caiatia_, or _caacica_ plant, which he says, has deservedly obtained the name of the _herva de cobras_; his description of it at p. 102, agrees in some respects with that of the _herva cobreira_, of which I have spoken at chapter 12; but it can scarcely be the same, for mine would have been more plentiful if it had been indigenous.
[122] History of Brazil, vol. i. p. 47.
[123] History of Brazil, vol. i. p. 485.
[124] Labat in his _Nouveau Voyage aux isles de l’Amerique_ gives an elaborate account of the mangrove plants. He speaks of three species, and treats in the first place of the _mangle noir ou paletuvier_. To this tree he applies precisely what I should say of the _mangue vermelho_ or red mangrove, with respect to its manner of growing, and to the description of the plant altogether, excepting in regard of the bark which he states in the _mangle noir_, to be _fort brune_, whereas the red mangrove derives its name from the red colour of the inside of the bark. He says that it is used for tanning, and “_on peut se servir du tronc de cet arbre pour les ouvrages où l’on a besoin d’un bois qui résiste à l’eau_,” tom. ii. p. 195 and 197. I suppose he concluded that this would be so as the wood grew in the water. Now the _mangues_ with which I am acquainted soon rot, even in salt water when used as stakes; for although the trees are propagated by means of shoots, if a part of the stem of one of them is put into the ground it does not take root, and indeed soon rots in any situation. The pens for catching fish are made of posts which are obtained from the forest, and these are scarce and dear. Would not the mangrove be used, if it was sufficiently durable?
He speaks afterwards of the _mangle rouge_, and this from his description appears to me to be what the Pernambucans call the _mangue bravo_; this does not grow in salt water, but in the vicinity of it. It is a large tree of irregular make, the branches being much twisted and full of knots.
Bolingbroke in his voyage to the Demerary describes the red mangrove as I have seen it, but he says that the bark is grey. In the Third Report of the Directors of the African Institution, p. 8, I find that some notion was entertained in 1809, of introducing the mangrove bark into this country for tanning.
[125] I once asked an African negro the name of this tree, and he answered _coraçam de homem_ or man’s heart; thus he did not chuse to use the name of negro’s heart. The man knew the usual name perfectly well.
[126] The iron wood is mentioned by Bolingbroke in his voyage to the Demerary; and the _bois de fer_, by Labat, in the _Voyage du Chevalier des Marchais à Cayenne_, &c. he says, “_Le bois de fer se trouve par-tout en quantité_,” tom. iii. p. 240.
[127] Marcgraff also speaks of a species of _jacaranda_, which is a white wood.
[128] I shall give the names of those with which I am acquainted: _parôba_, _jacaranduba_, _guabiraba_, _araroba_, _cicopira_, _embiriba_, _sapucaia_, _aroeira do Sertam_. This last is only found in parts far removed from the coast, and is accounted of equal value with the _pao ferro_.
Labat, in speaking of the kinds of wood which are fit for building, says, “_Je ne croi pas devoir renvoyer à un autre endroit la remarque que j’ai faite sur tous les bois qu’on met en terre qui est, que pour peu qu’ils soient bons ce n’est pas la partie qui est en terre qui se pourrit ni celle qui est dehors, mais seulement ce qui est au ras de terre_.” This I have found to be true to a certain extent; but there are some species of timber which rot very quickly under ground, though the part which he terms _au ras de terre_ is certainly that which decays the most speedily. He continues “_Pour éviter cet inconvenient, il faut brûler la partie qui doit être en terre et quelques pouces au dessus, c’est-à-dire la sécher au feu ou dans les cendres rouges, sans la réduire en charbon, afin que la seve ou l’humidité qui s’y pourroit encore trouver, soit entierement dessechée, que les pores se renfermant, les parties se raprochent les unes des autres, le bois devient plus compact et par consequent plus propre à résister à l’humidité_.”—Nouveau Voyage, tom ii. p. 386.
This is done in Pernambuco, and is found to be of great service; but it is only practised with those woods which are known not to be naturally durable under ground.
[129] Labat says, “_L’arbre que nous appellons acajou aux isles du Vent, est le même que celui que les Espagnols appellent cedre dans la Terre-ferme et dans les grandes isles. Je ne sai qui a plus de raison; car je n’ai jamais vû les cedres du Liban, que selon les rélations que j’en ai lû ne ressemblent point du tout au cedre Espagnol_.” He says likewise, “_Ce qu’il ne faut pas confondre avec l’acajou à fruit dont j’ai parlé dans un autre endroit_.”—Nouveau Voyage, tom. viii. p. 208 and 212.
He speaks in vol. ii. p. 94, of two large Indian canoes made of _bois d’acajou_ or _cedre_. I am inclined to think that the _acajou_ of the islands and the _cedre_ of the Spaniards is the _pao amarello_ of Pernambuco.
[130] Piso says, that its small clustering red fruit has the property of curing meat owing to its acidity and astringency.
[131] The indefatigable and all-observant, although unfeeling and brutal Labat, has also mentioned the _pinham_, under the name of _medicinier ou pignons d’Inde_, and he gives a print of it. His account of the plant is elaborate, and he speaks of three kinds. Of that of which I have treated, he says, “_Sa fleur n’a rien de beau. Elle ne vient jamais seule, mais en bouquets composez de plusieurs fleurons d’un blanc sale tirant sur le verd. Chaque fleuron est composé de cinq feuilles en maniere d’etoile, qui font comme un cul de lampe arrondi avec un col plus resserré et terminé par l’extrémité des feüilles qui se renversent en dehors. Le fond du fleuron est garni et comme renfermé entre cinq petites feuilles. C’est du centre de ces fleurs que l’on voit sortir le fruit; ordinairement il est de la grosseur d’une noix commune d’Europe._” He says again (after speaking of its purgative quality, which it likewise possesses with that of provoking vomiting) alluding to the separation of each seed into two parts, “_Lorsqu’elle est recente, elle se partage naturellement en deux parties, entre lesquelles on trouve une petite pellicule à qui on attribüe une qualité de purger plus violemment qu’a tout le reste de la noix_.” My old woman said, that the _pinham_ should not be given, unless the person who prepared it was well acquainted with it, because a certain part of the seed was dangerous; but she would not shew me where the dangerous substance was to be found. Labat continues, saying that four or five of the seeds are a proper dose as a purge, “_mais quand on en prend une plus grande quantité, on s’expose à des vomissemens cruels et à des évacuations trop grandes_.” He mentions a fact which is curious. In speaking of Europeans having oftentimes eaten of this nut without being acquainted with its properties, he says, “_une régle générale qu’il faut observer a l’egard des fruits qu’on ne connoît point est de n’y point toucher à moins qu’on ne voye q’ils out été bequetez par les oiseaux_.”—_Nouveau Voyage_, tom. iii. p. 300, 301, and 302.
In Piso, p. 83, an account will be found of the _Munduy-guacu, Lusitanis Pinhoes do Brasil, ejusque usu in medicina_.
I have perhaps quoted too copiously in writing an account of those plants which Labat has described, but I must have followed so nearly what he has said, that my description might have been supposed to have had his for its basis. Perhaps these plants need not have been described at all, but to some readers a confirmation of what other travellers have said may afford satisfaction.
[132] History of Brazil, vol. i. p. 466.
[133] The following story was current at Conception, and I knew all the persons of whom it was related. A young man was intimate in a family of a rank inferior to his own, and he frequently made presents to several individuals of it, which was generally thought strange, as it did not contain any young female. Therefore to account for this predilection, it was reported, that the good old woman to whom he was so kind, possessed a small image of St. Antonio, which was concealed in a bit of old cloth; and it had several scraps of ribbons and I know not what else, tied to its neck, legs and arms; and with this she was said to perform certain mysterious rites, which secured the continuance of the young man’s affection towards herself and family.
[134] When I resided at Jaguaribe, I was once standing by and hearing the conversation of a man and woman, who were laughing and joking upon several subjects; but I was more particularly amused when the man answered to something that had been mentioned, saying, “I will ask Our Lady of the Conception.” The woman replied, “But she will not grant what you ask;” he then said, “Well, I will then apply to Our Lady of the O.”—Thus entirely forgetting that the same person is intended under another name.
[135] “_Em negocio de branco, negro nam se mete._”
[136] “_Morra e deixe de bobagems._”
[137] “_A sua gente he mais sabida que a nossa._”
[138] “_Dizem, que Vm. he muito santo._”
[139] Labat, in the _Voyage du Chevalier des Marchais, a Cayenne, &c._ vol. iii. p. 253, gives an account of the bees which corresponds in some respects with mine. He says, “_Elles n’ont point d’aiguillon, ou il est si foible qu’il ne peut entamer l’épiderme aussi sans préparation et sans crainte on les prend a pleines mains sans en ressentir autre incommodité qu’un leger chatouillement_.”—I do not think those of Pernambuco would be found to be quite so harmless.
[140] I have seen a print in Barlæus representing this channel as still being open, and the fort situated upon an island which it almost entirely covers.
[141] I have been much blamed by one of my friends for not having eaten of the flesh of the _jacarè_; and indeed I felt a little ashamed of my squeamishness, when I was shown by the same friend, a passage in a French writer, whose name I forget, in which he speaks favourably of this flesh. However, if the advocate for experimental eating had seen an alligator cut into slices, he would, I think, have turned from the sight as quickly as I did. The Indians eat these creatures, but the negroes will not, no not even the _gabam_ negroes who are said to be cannibals.
[142] In making use of the word Brazil, it must be understood that I mean to denote that portion of the country which I have had opportunities of seeing. The agriculture of the provinces of Rio de Janeiro and Bahia is doubtless in a more forward state than that of Pernambuco and the line of coast to Maranham.
[143] I insert here a description of a machine for rooting up the stumps of trees, by Cit. Saint Victor, member of the Society of Agriculture, for the department of the Seine.
“It consists of a bar of forged iron, about two feet eight inches long, one inch thick towards the handle, and of two inches towards the breech or platform. The platform, which is circular, is fourteen inches in diameter. This platform serves as the base of the chamber or furnace of the mine, which is three inches in diameter, and three inches eight lines in the length of its bore. The stopper or tampion, which serves as a plug to the mine, is of the same diameter, to enter within after a slight paper or wadding. It is attached by a chain to the gun or mortar, which last is eight inches in diameter. About two inches above is added a small touch-hole and pan. The hole is directed in an angle of forty-five degrees, and is primed with powder to communicate with the charge with which the chamber is filled up to the stopper. This engine may be cast even with more facility in brass or bronze, and in this case it must be a little thicker in all its dimensions, in order to afford a resistance equal to that of the forged iron.”
“USE OF THE MACHINE.”
“When the machine is charged with powder, a small excavation is made with a pick-axe, in the centre of the stump. The machine is then placed in it, so that the plug immediately touches the wood. Care must be taken to fill all the vacancies, either with stones or pieces of iron or wood, more especially beneath the platform of the machine, in order that the explosion of the powder may have its full effect on the stump, of which, if necessary, the principal roots should first be cut if any appear on the surface of the ground near the stump that is to be eradicated.”
“When the machine is firmly fixed in its place, the priming is put into the pan, a slow match applied, the length of which is sufficient to allow time to retire to a proper distance from the explosion.”—Journal of Natural Philosophy, &c. by W. Nicholson, vol. iv. p. 243 to 245.
In Pernambuco the only means of rooting up the stumps which is known, is that of digging deep trenches round about them.
[144] Labat says, that in clearing lands, it is not necessary to take up the stumps of the trees, unless they are those _des bois mols dont les souches poussent des rejettons_; now in Brazil, almost all the trees that have been cut down put forth shoots.
[145] It has been discontinued of late years by some persons, and I have heard it said, that the ratoon canes do not grow so well; but that the land requires to be laid down for a much shorter period.
[146] Labat says, “_Les terres neuves grasses et fortes fournissent abondamment de la nourriture aux souches, et les entretiennent pendant quinze et vingt ans et plus, sans qu’on s’apperçoive d’aucune diminution, ni dans l’abondance, ni dans la bonté, ni dans la grandeur, ni dans la grosseur, des rejettons_;” and he even says that the stumps “_conduisent plutôt leurs rejettons à une parfaite maturité, pourvûs qu’on ait soin de rechausser les souches_,” &c.—Nouveau Voyage &c. tom. iii. p. 368.
I had previously read the following passage in another work, “_Dans les plantations situées au bord du Demerari on fait trente recoltes successives de sucre sans transplanter les cannes, &c._—Voyage a la Guiane &c.” p. 222.
As this work is of doubtful reputation, I should not have cited any statement which was made in it unless I was myself aware of its correctness, or unless the fact was mentioned by other writers; but when Labat speaks of the same thing, there must be some foundation for the statement.
[147] Labat says, “_Toutes les terres, en un mot qui sont neuves, c’est-à-dire qui n’ont jamais été planteés, ni semées, dans lesquelles on met des cannes aussi-tôt qu’on a abbatu les arbres qui les couvroient, portent des cannes trés grosses et en quantité, remplis de beaucoup de suc, mais gras, crud, peu sucré, trés difficile à cuire et à purifier. Je me suis trouvé quelquefois dans ces circonstances et particulierement à la Guadeloupe, ou ayant fait défricher une terre neuve, à plus d’une lieüe du bord de la mer, et l’ayant plantée en cannes c’etoit quelque chose de surprenant de voir le nombre, la grosseur et la hauteur de ces cannes, lorsqu’elles n’avoient encore que six mois; cependant je les fis couper a cet âge, et après que j’eus retiré ce dont j’avois besoin pour planter, je fis faire de l’eau-de-vie du reste, et je fis mettre le feu au terrain pour consumer les pailles, dont la pourriture n’auroit servi qu’à augmenter la graisse de la terre. Quatorze mois aprés cette coupe, je fis employer en sucre blanc les rejettons qui étoient crûs, dont la bonté repondit parfaitement à la beauté, qui ne pouvoit être plus grande._”—Nouveau Voyage &c. tom. iii. p. 339.
His account of this affair still continues, but I have transcribed the more important part of it.
The master of the grammar school at Itamaraca, told me that he acted in the same manner with respect to a quantity of cane which he once planted upon a piece of land that was afterwards cultivated by me; he was satisfied that this was the better plan, when the land is in the state which Labat describes; but the people in general thought that he was mad, until crop time came, and then they changed their opinion.
In another work Labat says, “_le terrain nouvellement défriché, étant naturellement gras et humide, et sa situation le rendant encore aqueux, les cannes qu’il produit, sont à la vérité grosses, grandes, pleines de suc; mais ce suc est gras et aqueux; il est par conséquent plus long à cuire, plus difficile à purifier, de sorte qu’il faudra abbatre et mettre au moulin plus de cannes, purifier et cuire plus de jus ou de suc pour faire une barrique de sucre, qu’il n’en faut à la Martinique pour en faire quatre_.”—Voyage du Chevalier des Marchais a Cayenne, &c. tom. iii. 204. In the little experience which I had, I was surprised to find an increase or decrease in the quantity of the product of the same number of cart loads of cane from different quarters of the plantation; but my mind was then too much occupied to allow me to look for the cause of this.
At the time that Labat wrote his account of the French portion of the Columbian islands, (from 1693 to 1705) they were in a state which resembled much that of Brazil in the present day; that is, the colonists were forming establishments and clearing lands; agriculture was in a rude state, and as sugar colonies were then, comparatively speaking, new things, improvements were daily striking the thinking men who went out to those places; for it was a subject to which intellect was at that time turned. The system in the Columbian islands has now been much benefited, by the advanced state of the mother countries which possess them; and the communication between the islands belonging to the several powers which rule them, has led them to adopt and to profit by each other’s inventions and ideas. But Brazil has been left to its own resources; no interest has been taken in its concerns from without, nor has any regard been paid to the mental advancement of the people belonging to it, so that it cannot be wondered at that the country should have made very little progress. However the similarity of the state of the French islands in the time of Labat, to that of Brazil at the present day, and his powers of observation, induce me to think that some of his remarks may be useful in the latter country, although they may be out of date in the places of which he wrote. Thus much I say, as a reason for making frequent notes from him.
[148] Labat speaks of seeing canes planted down to the water’s edge at Guadaloupe; he says that he tasted the juice of some of them, and found it to be rather brackish; “_d’où il étoit aisé de conclure que le sucre brut qu’on en feroit, pourroit être beau, comme il l’etoit en effet en tout le quartier du grand cul-de-sac, mais qu’il seroit difficile de réussir en sucre blanc, comme il est arrivé_.”—Nouveau Voyage, &c. tom. iii. p.71.
[149] Besides the usual mode of holing, Mr. Edwards mentions the following method; “the planter instead of stocking up his ratoons, and holing and planting the land anew, suffers the stoles to continue in the ground and contents himself, as his cane fields become thin and impoverished, by supplying the vacant spaces with fresh plants.”—History of the West Indies, vol. ii. p. 207.
[150] A plough drawn by two oxen, constructed after a model which was brought from Cayenne, has been introduced in one or two instances.
[151] The passages in this chapter which are marked as being quotations, are taken from Edwards’ History of the West Indies. I mention this, once for all, to save room and trouble.
[152] The author of the _Nouveau Voyage &c._ _tom._ iii. p. 218. mentions having covered the claying house belonging to a mill, the property of his Order, with the tops of the sugar cane. I never saw this practised in Brazil, and indeed Labat says, that they were not commonly put to this purpose in the parts of which he writes. He says, that a species of reed was usually employed. In Brazil there is a kind of grass which answers the purpose, and is durable; and this quality, Labat says, that the cane tops possess; however in Brazil the leaves of the coco and of other palms are generally used.
Although it was the general custom to employ the cane tops for planting, Labat objects to them from his own authority, upon the score of these not possessing sufficient strength to yield good canes. The same opinion is general in Pernambuco.
[153] Labat lays great stress upon the ripeness of the canes. “_Il faut donc observer avant que de couper les cannes quel est leur degré de perfection et de maturité plutôt que leur âge_,” _&c._—Nouveau Voyage, &c. tom. iii. p. 353.
But when a plantation has a large crop, it is absolutely impossible to attend so particularly to the ripeness as he inculcates; some of the cane must be ground unripe, and other parts of the field cannot be cut until after the proper time.
[154] The French friar complains of the rats, and says that there was in his time a _chasseur de rats_ upon every estate. He says that he made his _chasseur_ bring the rats that were caught to him; and he desired to have the whole rat, for if the heads or tails only came, the bodies were eaten by the negroes, which he wished to prevent, as he thought that this food brought on consumption. I know that the negroes in Brazil eat every rat which they can catch, and I do not see why they should not be well tasted and wholesome food, for they feed on sugar-cane and mandioc. I cannot refrain from transcribing the following statement: “_Il y a des habitans qui se contentent que le preneur de rats leur en apporte les quëues ou les têtes. C’est une mauvaise methode, parce que les preneurs voisins s’accordent ensemble et portent les quëues d’un côté et les têtes d’autre, afin de profiter de la recompense que les maîtres donnent, sans se mettre beaucoup en peine de tendre les attrapes._”—Nouveau Voyage, &c., tom. iii. p. 358.
[155] “_Dorminhoco como negro de Engenho_,”—as sleepy as the negro of a sugar-mill, is a common proverb.
[156] In a few instances the “upright iron plated rollers” used in the Columbian islands have been erected. These have been sent from England, and are much approved of, particularly for mills that have the advantage of being turned by water.
[157] Labat says, speaking of the same dreadful kind of accident, “_Ce qui pourroit arriver si la largeur des établis ni les en empêchoit_;” he also mentions the necessity of having “_sur le bout de la table une serpe sans bec bien affilée, pour s’en servir au besoin_.”—Nouveau Voyage, &c. tom. iii. p. 406 and 407.
[158] The author of the _Noveau Voyage, &c._ says, the Portugueze, when they first established themselves in Brazil, and indeed even at the present time, (1696) in some places make use of mills for grinding the sugar cane similar to those of Normandy, “_pour briser les pommes à faire le cidre, et dont on se sert aux päis ou il y a des oliviers, pour écraser les olives_.”—tom iii. p. 428.
I never heard of any description of mill being employed at the present day, excepting that which is in general use.
[159] In the French islands the liquor was passed through a cloth when conveyed from the first cauldron into the second: of the trough I find no mention.—Nouveau Voyage, &c. tom. iv. p. 24.
[160] In the _Voyage du Chevalier des Marchais a Cayenne, &c._ I find that “_le sucre séché au soleil est toujours plus susceptible d’humidité, que celui qui a été bien séché dans une bonne étuve_.” tom. iii. p. 205.
In the fourth volume of the _Nouveau Voyage_, p. 106 to 110, is a description of an oven for drying clayed sugars; this would be interesting to Brazilian readers, but it is too long to excuse insertion before a British public.
[161] The long improved ovens, such as are used in the Columbians islands, are beginning to be introduced.
[162] The following method of preparing the _temper_ will be useful in the country of which I am treating, and therefore I think I may be permitted to insert it, although it is long.
“_Le barril à lessive étant posé sur la sellette ou sur un trépied, on en bouche le trou avec une quantité de paille longue et entiere, aprés quoi on y met une couche composée des herbes suivantes, aprés les avoir broyées entre ses mains, et aprés les avoir hachées._
“_Herbes à blé; c’est une herbe qui croît par touffes comme le blé qui est levé depuis deux ou trois mois, et à qui elle ressemble beaucoup. On arrache la touffe entiere avec sa racine qui est fort petite._
“_La seconde se nomme herbe à pique. Cette plante a une tige droite de la grosseur d’un tuyau de plume d’oye et de la hauteur de quinze à dix-huit pouces. Son extrémité porte une feüille comme celle de l’ozeille pour la couleur et pour la consistance, mais qui ressemble entiérement au fer d’une pique._
“_La troisiéme est la mal-nommée. C’est une petite herbe déliée, fine et frizée à peu près comme les cheveux des négres._
“_On met ces trois sortes d’herbes par portion égale, avec quelques feüilles et quelques morceaux de lianne brûlante. Cette lianne est une espéce de lierre, dont la feüille est plus tendre, plus mince et les bois plus spongieux que le lierre d’Europe. On écrase un peu le bois et les feüilles, avant que de les mettre dans le barril. C’est avec ces quatre sortes d’herbes qu’on garnit le fond du barril jusqu’ à trois pouces de hauteur; on les couvre d’un lit de cendre de pareille épaisseur, et l’on choisit la cendre faite du meilleur bois qu’on ait brûlé, comme sont le chataignier, le bois rouge, le bois caraibe, le raisinier, l’oranger ou autres bois durs, dont les cendres et les charbons sont remplis de beaucoup de sel. On met sur cette couche de cendre une couche de chaux vive de même épaisseur, et sur celle-ci une autre couche des mêmes herbes, ausquelles on ajoûte une ou deux cannes d’inde ou de seguine bâtarde, amorties au feu, et coupées par ruelles de l’épaisseur d’un ecu. Cette plante vient sur le bord des eaux marécageuses, sa tige est ronde d’un pouce ou environ de diamétre; sa peau est fort mince et fort verte; le dedans est blanc, assez compacte, et rempli d’une liqueur extrémement mordicante, qui fait une vilaine tache, et ineffaçable sur le linge et sur les étoffes où elle tombe. Sa feüille est tout-a-fait semblable pour la figure à celle de la porée ou bette, mais elle est plus verte et plus lisse, et ses fibres ne se distinguent presque pas; on ne les met point dans la lessive. Toutes ces herbes sont extrémement corrosives et mordicantes. On remplit ainsi le barril de cendre, de chaux, et d’herbes, par lits jusqu’à ce qu’il soit plein, et on le termine par une couche des mêmes herbes bien broyées et hachées. Quand on se sert des cendres qui viennent de sortir des fourneaux, et qui sont encore toutes brûlantes, on remplit le barril avec de l’eau froide; mais lorsque les cendres sont froides, on fait boüiller l’eau avant que de la mettre dans le barril. On met un pot ou un autre vaisseau sous le trou qui est bouché de paille, pour recevoir l’eau qui en dégoûte, que l’on remet dans le barril, et que l’on fait passer sur le marc qu’il contient, jusqu’à ce que cette lessive devienne si forte que la mettant sur la langue avec le bout du doigt, on ne puisse pas l’y souffrir, et qu’elle jaunisse le doigt, comme si c’étoit de l’eau forte._”—Nouveau Voyage, tom. iv. p. 33 to 35.
[163] A few of the more wealthy planters have sent for large stills from England, and have, of course, found their infinite superiority over those in common use.
Even in the time of Labat, his countrymen were much before the Pernambucan planters respecting the arrangement of the still-houses. They had copper stills.
[164] The _alvarà_ was passed the 21st January, 1809. One to the same effect had been passed on the 22d September, 1758, for the captaincy of Rio de Janeiro; this was extended to other captaincies, at first as a temporary law, but it was afterwards several times renewed; and it was at last allowed to be in force in all the ultra-marine dominions of Portugal, by the _alvarà_ of the 6th July, 1807. However as there were some restrictions attached to this law, that of 1809 was passed. By this last, in the first place, executions cannot be made upon sugar estates which are in a working state and do work regularly, and that have under cultivation that quantity of ground which is requisite for the carrying on of the work of the mill, and for the support of the slaves; executions can only be carried into effect upon one third of the net produce of such plantations; the other two thirds being left for the expences of cultivation, and for the administration, that is, for the support of the owner.
Secondly. Executions can however be made if the debt is equal to or above the value of the estate; but the whole of the slaves, the cattle, the lands, and the implements belonging to the _engenho_ must form one valuation, nor can they be separated; but they must all be taken as parts of the _engenho_.
Thirdly. If there are more debts than one, and these together make up the sum which may cause the plantation to be subject to execution, still some law proceedings must be entered into, by which these several debts may be placed in such a form as to be considered as one debt. Thus the government does those things which ought not to be done, and leaves undone those things which ought to be done.
[165] “_Qu’ils (les cabrouettiers) ayent soin, quand il est nécessaire de leur faire ôter les barbes, qui sont certaines excrescences de chair, qui leur viennent sous la langue, qui les empêchent de paître. Car les bœfs ne coupent pas l’herbe avec les dents comme les chevaux, ils ne font que l’entortiller avec la langue et l’arracher; mais quand ils ont ces excrescences, qui leur causent de la douleur, ils ne peuvent appliquer leur langue autour de l’herbe et deviennent maigres et sans force._”—Nouveau Voyage, &c. tom iv. p. 179.
Of this disorder I never heard, but there is one to which horses as well as horned cattle are subject; it is produced by the animals feeding upon fields of which the grass is very short. The flesh grows from the roots of the teeth towards their edges, and at last renders it impossible for the beasts to eat.
[166] The following is a statement of the number of cases of sugar exported from Pernambuco, from the year 1808 to 1813.
1808. 4271 1809. 12801 1810. 9840 1811. 7749 1812. 8577 1813. 9022
I obtained it from my friend Mr. I. C. Pagen, who resided at Recife during a considerable portion of the time.
[167] I have seen some fine cotton shrubs at the distance of one or two leagues, and even less, from the sea coast; but the attempts that have been made to cultivate it to any extent in such situations, have not, from what I have seen and heard, met with the desired success. Might not the Sea-Island seed be sent for, and a trial of it made? The Pernambuco cotton is superior to that of every other part, excepting the small quantity which is obtained from those islands.
Bolingbroke, in his “Voyage to the Demerary,” says that “On the sea coast the British settlers also commenced the culture of cotton, and found that land to answer much better than the soil up the river.”—In Phillips’ Collection, &c. p. 81.
The cotton of the settlements upon the part of South America of which he writes, is very inferior to that of Pernambuco.
In the Third Report of the Directors of the African Institution, p. 23, I find it stated, that “the saline air of the sea-shore, which generally destroys coffee, is favourable to cotton;” at p. 27, it is said that cotton never fails to degenerate “when it has been propagated in the same ground for many years without a change of seed.”
[168] I have heard that the seeds would form a very good food for cattle, if they could be completely freed from all particles of wool; here lies the difficulty.
[169] In Labat’s time these machines were likewise worked by the feet of the person who was employed in thrusting the cotton against the rollers.
[170] Mr. Edwards calls the species of the cotton plant which is cultivated in the Columbian islands, the _common Jamaica_, of which “the staple is coarse but strong.” It is difficult to clean, owing to the brittleness of the seeds. It is strange, as Mr. Edwards remarks, that the British cotton planters should be acquainted with species of the shrub which produce finer wool, and yet continue to rear this inferior quality.
[171] The following is a statement of the export of cotton from Pernambuco, from the year 1808 to 1813. It was furnished to me by my friend Mr. I. C. Pagen, who resided at Recife during a considerable part of the time.
1808. 26,877 1809. 47,512 1810. 50,103 1811. 28,245 1812. 58,824 1813. 65,327
From this it would appear that in saying, at chapter 1st, that the export from thence at the present time is between 80,000 and 90,000 bags annually, I have over-rated the real number. But it will be seen that the increase has been considerable from 1812 to 1813, and I know that it still continues to increase as rapidly, if not more so.
[172] Edwards’ History of the West-Indies.
[173] History of Brazil, vol. i. p. 233.
[174] Mr. Southey says, “When the mandioc failed, what was called stick flour (in Portugueze _farinha de pao_) was made from the wood of the Urucuri-iba, which they cut in pieces and bruised; and this being less liable to corrupt than the mandioc, is now generally used in the Brazilian ships.” vol. i. p. 233. The _farinha de pao_ which is at present used in these ships, is made from the mandioc, and the name of stick-flour is by no means inapposite; for it always requires to be picked before it is used, to take out the bits of the husk and of the hardened fibres of the root which may chance to remain. But the name may have, and most probably did, commence with the stick-flour of the Urucuri-iba; and when the substance from which it was made was changed, the name still continued. I refer the reader to the History of Brazil for a farther account of the mandioc.
[175] Du Tertre gives three remedies for those who have drank of the juice. “_Le premier que j’ay veu pratiquer heureusement c’est de boire de l’huile d’olive avec de l’eau tiede, ce qui fait vomir tout ce qu’on a pris; le second qui est tres-assuré est de boire quantité de suc d’ananas, avec quelques goutes de jus de citron; mais sur tous les remedes, le suc de l’herbe aux couleuvres, dont tous les arbres de ces isles sont revêtus, est le souverain antidote, non seulement contre ce mal, mais encore contre toute sorte de venin._”—Histoire des Antilles, &c. tom. ii. p. 118.
Labat does not believe in the virtue of the _herbe de couleuvres_ in this case.
[176] Du Tertre speaks of the savages making use in their dishes of _l’eau de manyoc_.—Histoire des Antilles, &c. tom. ii. p. 389.
“_Nos sauvages qui en mettent_ (the juice of the mandioc) _dans toutes leurs sauces n’en sont jamais incommodez parce qu’ils ne s’en servent jamais que quand il a boüilli._”—Nouveau Voyage, &c. tom. i, p. 400.
Likewise in the “_Voyage a la Guiane_,” p. 101, “_Le suc de manioc cet instrument de mort devient, travaillé par les creoles de Cayenne, une sauce appétissante et salutaire_.”
“The juice is boiled with meat and seasoned, and makes excellent soup, which is termed casserepo, and used in pepper-pot and sauces.”—Voyage to the Demerary, &c. by H. Bolingbroke, p. 149.
Dr. Pinckard mentions having tasted in the colony of Demerary of the juice of the cassada prepared as sauce.—Notes on the West-Indies, vol. ii. p. 257.
During the famine of 1793, the people of Pernambuco made use of the juice as food; but in times of plenty it is regarded as being unfit for any purpose. It is by evaporation that it loses its poisonous qualities.
[177] Du Tertre speaks of a species of harmless mandioc, which is called _Kamanioc_, and he adds, that it is _assez rare_.—Histoire des Antilles, &c. tom. ii. p. 114.
Labat likewise speaks of the _Camanioc_, “_comme qui diroit le chef des maniocs. En effet son bois, ses feüilles et ses racines sont plus grandes et plus grosses que les autres maniocs. Mais comme il est beaucoup plus long tems à crôitre et à mûrir, et que ses racines rendent beaucoup moins de farine parce qu’elles sont plus legéres et plus spongieuses que les autres, on le neglige et peu de gens en plantent._”—Nouveau Voyage, &c. tom. i. p. 411.
It is not only the root of the _macaxeira_ which is smaller, but the plant is, I think, altogether smaller than the other species.
Barrere, in the _Nouvelle Relation de la France Equinoxiale_, p. 61, speaks of the harmless species under the name of _maniok sauvage_.
[178] Barrere says, speaking of Cayenne, “_Les Creoles préferent encore au meilleur pain du monde la cassave qu’elles mange rarement séche; car elles la font toujours tremper dans l’eau ou dans quelque sauce: c’est sans doute cette nourriture qui leur donne cette couleur pâle, et qui fait qu’elles n’ont point de coloris_.” I am afraid he does not look quite far enough for the want of colour in the ladies of Cayenne.
Then again, he says, “_On ne mange que trés rarement a Cayenne, ou pour mieux dire, presque jamais de la Coaque, qui est la nourriture ordinaire des Portugais de Parà, du Maragnan, et des peuples, qui sont sur les rivages du fleuve des Amazones_.” He describes the _coaque_; and it is clearly the _farinha_, but he does not explain how the _cassave_ was made, of which the creole ladies were so fond, and which did them so much mischief.
He says afterwards, “_Les Indiens Portugais, quand ils veulent prendre leurs repas, ils mettent une poignée de coaque dans le creux de la main, qui leur sert d’assiette; et de là ils la font sauter adroitement dans la bouche; l’on boit par dessus une bonne coüye d’eau et de boisson; et voila leur repas pris._”—Nouvelle Relation de la France Equinoxiale, p. 55, and 56.
This mode of eating and the abstemiousness of the repast are both common in Brazil to all casts of people. With respect to the _cassave_, I cannot comprehend what he means. But, contrary to his notion, to eat _farinha_ in the manner that he mentions quite dry, although it is done by most people, is not reckoned wholesome. In fact, it is one of the duties of a _feitor_ or manager to see that the negroes do not make their meals with dry _farinha_, but he should see that they make _piram_; this is done by mixing the flour with boiling water or gravy. The negroes do not dislike _piram_, but they are sometimes too idle or too much fatigued to take the trouble of cooking their victuals; and therefore they eat the _farinha_ dry, and their salt meat with it, after having smoke-dried the latter upon a wooden skewer. The disorder which is said to proceed from constantly eating dry _farinha_ is the dropsy. The flour of the mandioc swells considerably when it is moistened: if the expansion takes place in the stomach it may be injurious, and this may perhaps afford some reason for the opinion of the Brazilians upon the subject.
[179] Du Tertre mentions the same practice,—of steeping the mandioc, and says that the savages were in the habit “_de la sécher au soleil et l’ecorce s’ostant d’elle-mesme, ils pillent le manyoc dans un mortier, pour le reduire en farine, qu’ils mangent sans autre cuisson_.”—Histoire des Antilles, &c. tom. ii. p. 114.
Labat says, that the maroon negroes used to prepare it in the two following ways. “_C’est de la couper par morceaux, et de le mettre tremper dans l’eau courante des rivieres ou des ravines pendant sept ou huit heures. Le movement de l’eau ouvre les pores de la racine et entraîne ce trop de substance. La seconde maniere est de le mettre cuire tout entier sous la braise. L’action du feu met ses parties en mouvement et on le mange comme on fait des chataignes ou des patates sans aucune crainte._”—Nouveau Voyage, &c. tom. i. p. 410.
I think the said negroes must have been accustomed by degrees to eating the mandioc in this manner. I should not be willing to recommend either of these ways of cooking it.
[180] “_Les Espanhols en font des tasses pour prendre le chocolat. J’en ai vû de très belles bien travaillées, cizelées, enrichies d’argent sur un pied d’argent, et d’ autres sur un pied fait d’un autre morceau de cocos bien cizelé._”—Nouveau Voyage, &c. tom. iii. p. 273.
[181] “_On prétend que l’arbre est autant d’années à rapporter du fruit, qu’il a été de mois en terre, avant de pousser son germe._”—Nouveau Voyage, &c. tom. iii. p. 267.
Labat does not however vouch for the truth of the statement. He speaks of the cabbage of the coco-tree being very good; and I agree with him. A coco-tree was cut down at Itamaraca, and the vicar sent me the cabbage of which several dishes were made, and they were excellent.
[182] Vide Appendix for a further account of the coco-tree.
[183] Labat was a most determined experimental eater, and therefore I was not surprised at meeting with the following expression of regret, “_Je suis faché de n’avoir pas expérimenté pendant que j’étois aux isles, si cette huile ne seroit pas bonne à manger_.”—Nouveau Voyage, &c. tom. iii. p. 283. I wish he had.
[184] Mr. Clarkson, in his work on the Impolicy of the Slave Trade, p. 13 and 14, mentions that a small billet was brought to England from the coast of Africa among a parcel of bar-wool; that “it was found to produce a colour that emulated the carmine, and was deemed to be so valuable in the dying trade, that an offer was immediately made of sixty guineas _per_ ton for any quantity that could be procured.”
[185] History of Brazil, vol. i. p. 19.
[186] Labat is much enraged, in his work of the _Voyage du Chevalier des Marchais a Cayenne_, &c. at the idea of the Portugueze monopolizing the trade in Brazil wood, by persuading all the world that the only true wood came from Pernambuco, or _Fernambourg_, as he calls it. He imagines that the Brazil is the same as the logwood.
[187] The long banana or plantain appears to be of much more importance in Demarary and the adjoining colonies, for Mr. Bolingbroke says, “This coast (between the Essequibo and Pomaroon rivers) possesses a considerable advantage over the other sea-coasts, from its being able to rear any quantity of plantains.”—Voyage to the Demarary, &c. p. 115; and at p. 87, he speaks of the same fruit being the “negroes’ chief food.”
Labat mentions a means of rendering the banana serviceable in travelling; and as the ingredients of his receipt are all of them good, the mixture must, I should imagine, be likewise good, and therefore I insert it for the benefit of those who may, as I have been, be much in want of something palatable, when crossing the Seará-Meirim. “_Ceux qui veulent faire cette pâte avec plus de soin, font d’abord sécher les bananes au four ou au soleil, puis ils les gragent, ils y mêlent ensuite du sucre pilé, avec un peu de poudre de canelle, de géroffle et de gingembre, tant soit peu de farine et un blanc d’œuf pour lier toutes ces choses ensemble, après qu’elles ont été paitries avec un peu d’eau de fleur d’orange._”—Nouveau Voyage, &c. tom. iii. p. 314. Fewer ingredients might be made use of.
Du Tertre says of the banana, “_Quand on le coupe on voit une belle croix imprimeé sur chaque tronçon; c’est qui a fait croire à plusieurs que ce fruit est le même qu’Adam mangea dans le Paradis terrestre_,” _&c._—Histoire des Antilles, &c. tom. ii. p. 140.
Labat speaks of the same story, but adds, “_Adam pouvoit avoir meilleure vûë que nous, ou la croix de ces bananes étoit mieux formée_.”—Nouveau Voyage, &c. tom iii. p. 307. I was once desired by a Brazilian woman of colour to cut the banana lengthways, and not across, for by the latter manner of dividing the fruit, I should cut the _Cruz de Nosso Senhor_, Our Saviour’s Cross.
[188] Labat says, that “_la patate est une espece de pomme de terre que approche assez de ce qu’on appelle en France les Taupinambours_.”—Nouveau Voyage, &c. tom. ii. p. 400.
Du Tertre says, “_Lorsque les ouragans ont tant de fois ravagé les manyocs de nos isles, on a toujours eu recours aux patates, sans lesquelles bien du monde auroit pery de faim_.” And again, “_Tous les matins, c’est une coustume generale par toutes les isles de faire cuyre plein une chaudiere de patates pour dejeûner_.”—Histoire des Antilles, &c. tom. ii. p. 118 and 119.
[189] Labat says, in speaking of cacao, “_On ne manque jamais de planter du manioc en même tems qu’on met les amandes en terre_.” This is done for the purpose of defending the plant from the sun. “_On arrache le manioc au bout de douze ou quinze mois_”—“_et sur le champ on en plante d’autres, mais en moindre quantité, c’est a dire, qu’on ne met qu’un rang de fosses au milieu des allées_;” and he recommends that the water-melon, the common melon, and such like plants should be sown between the mandioc and the cacao-trees.—Nouveau Voyage, &c. tom. vi. p. 397 and 398.
[190] Labat is angry at a notion which was entertained in his time by some people, that the black Ipecacuanha was only to be found near to the gold mines in the interior of Rio de Janeiro. He speaks of a third species of Ipecacuanha, which he distinguishes by the epithet of _gris_, and he likewise mentions the white kind; both of these, he says, answer the same purpose as the black, but a larger dose is required.—Nouveau Voyage, &c. tom. vi. p. 29.
[191] “Vieyra, in his letters, mentions a received tradition that Emanuel ordered all the spice plants to be rooted up, lest the Indian trade should be injured, and that ginger was the only spice which escaped, because it was under-ground. He does not appear to have recollected the impossibility of carrying such an order into effect upon a continent.”—History of Brazil, vol. i, note to p. 32. Dr. Arruda alludes to this order in his _Discurso sobre a utilidade da instituiçam de jardims_, &c. And he adds that a few cinnamon trees at Pernambuco escaped as well as the ginger, p. 8.
[192] “On one article, guinea-grains or malagueta-pepper, the duty has been doubled; not with a view of increasing the revenue, but of operating as a prohibition of the use of it, as it is supposed to have been extensively employed in the brewing of malt-liquor. The Directors however have great reason to doubt the existence of the deleterious qualities ascribed to this drug; as they find it to be universally esteemed in Africa one of the most wholesome of spices, and generally used by the natives to season their food.”—Fourth Report of the Directors of the African Institution, p. 16.
If this article and the _malagueta_ of Brazil are the same, I should be strongly inclined to agree with the Report; and indeed I conceive that it is not only harmless but extremely wholesome. A decoction of the pods is used among the peasantry as an injection in aguish disorders.
[193] _Noticias MSS._ quoted by Mr. Southey, History of Brazil, vol. i. p. 320.
[194] Labat says, “_a l’égard du thé, il croît naturellement aux isles. Toutes les terres lui sont propres, j’en ai vû en quantité à la Basseterre._” &c.—Nouveau Voyage, &c. tom. iv. p. 225.
He mentions it again, and seems to be quite confident that the plant of which he speaks is the tea shrub.
[195] “_Il faut que les graines se naturalisent au pays, et quand cela est fait elles produisent a merveille. J’ai experimenté qu’ayant sémé des pois qui venoient de France, ils rapportoient trés peu, les seconds rapportoient davantage, mais le troisiémes produisoient d’une maniere extraordinaire pour le nombre, la grosseur et la bonte._”—Nouveau Voyage, &c. tom. i. p. 367.
[196] Du Tertre speaks of the same occurring in the Columbian Islands.
[197] Again Labat, “_On employe le suc des oranges aigres avec un succès merveilleux et infaillible à guerir les ulcéres quelque vieux et opiniátres qu’ils puissent être_.”—Nouveau Voyage, &c. tom. iii. p. 254.
The orange is cut into two pieces, and is rubbed violently upon the sore.
[198] History of Brazil, vol. i. p. 216.
[199] This was not the case at one time in the French islands. “_Quand quelque commandeur abuse d’une negre, l’enfant mulastre qui en vient est libre, et le pere est obligé de le nourrir et de l’entretenir jusqu’a l’age de douze ans, sans l’amende à laquelle il est encore condamné._”—Histoire des Antilles &c. tom. ii. p. 460.
Labat tells us that “_Le roi a fait revivre par sa Declaration la loi Romaine, qui veut que les enfans suivens le sort du ventre qui les a portez_,” and this revival took place in 1674, when the king took the islands from the Companies which had held them during his pleasure.—Nouveau Voyage &c. tom. ii. p. 192.
[200] The majority of the clergy of Pernambuco, both regular and secular, are of Brazilian parentage. The governor is an European, and so are the major part of the chief officers, civil, military, and ecclesiastical; but the bishop is a Brazilian, and so is the _ouvidor_.
[201] Our wicked stage coach and post chaise system.
[202] The term of _Senhor_ or _Senhora_ is made use of to all free persons, whites, mulattos, and blacks, and in speaking to a freeman of whatever class or colour the manner of address is the same. Dr. Pinckard says, in his “Notes on the West Indies,” “the title of Mrs. seems to be reserved solely for the ladies from Europe, and the white Creoles, and to form a distinction between them and the women of colour of all classes and descriptions.”
[203] I refer the reader to Edwards’ History of the West Indies, vol. ii.
[204] “_Era, porem ja nam he._”
[205] “_Pois Senhor Capitam-mor pode ser mulatto?_”
[206] To this statement some explanation is necessary, owing to the regulations of the Portugueze military service. Privates are sometimes raised to commissions by the intermediate steps of corporals, quarter-masters, and sergeants; these men gain their ensigncies without any relation to their birth; and though a decidedly dark coloured mulatto might not be so raised, a European of low birth would. It is to enable a man to become a cadet and then an officer without serving in the ranks, that requires nobility of birth.
[207] The son of this man is a priest.
[208] “_Negro sim, porem direito._”
[209] Manumitted creole blacks are, I am nearly certain, admitted into these regiments.
[210] There was a rumour of the appointment of a white man as colonel of this regiment, and also of a white colonel for the Recife mulatto regiment; and I was asked by several individuals of these casts whether there was any truth in the report. I cannot believe any thing of this kind; the liberal policy which seems to pervade the Council of Rio de Janeiro forbids that such a report should be believed; but if this should be true, most pernicious will be the consequences, which from such a determination may be expected to proceed.
[211] The priests of the island of St. Thomé, upon the coast of Africa, are negroes. I have seen some of these men at Recife, who have come over for a short time. I have heard that they are prohibited from saying Mass any where excepting upon the island for which they are ordained; but I can scarcely think that this can be correct. In the _Voyage du Chevalier des Marchais en Guinée, isles voisines et a Cayenne_, I find that men of mixed blood were ordained in the islands of St. Thomé and Principe, and the editor of the work says, “_presque tout le clergé de la cathedrale_ (of St. Thome) _étoit de cette couleur_.” Vol. iii. p. 4. “_L’Eglise de S. Antoine qui est la Paroisse_ (of Prince’s Island) _est déservie par des prêtres noirs ou presque noirs, c’est à dire mulâtres_.” p. 30.
I have, as is stated in the text, heard from good authority, that the law forbids the ordination of mulattos; what the practice is I am quite certain, and I hope the law may be favourable also.
[212] This word is without doubt derived from _Egypçianos_; I am told that the word _gitanos_ is also used as a name for these people.
[213] A Portugueze writer says, “When permission was given in Portugal to work upon several of the holidays, the same was not extended to Brazil from a principle of humanity, that the slaves might not be deprived of any of their days of rest.”—Correio Braziliense, for December, 1815, p. 738.
[214] In the island of Grenada “every manumission is by an act of the island, charged with a fine of one hundred pounds currency;” it is said that this law has neither operated as a productive fund nor as a prohibition.—Edwards’ History of the West-Indies, vol. i. p. 380.
At Surinam, says another writer, “_Si un maître voulait affranchir son esclave, outre la perte qu’il fesait de son negre, il étoit encore obligé d’acheter fort cher des lettres de franchise, sans lesquelles aucun noir ne pouvait être instruit dans la religion Chrétienne, ni baptisé_.”—Voyage a la Guiane et a Cayenne en 1789, et années suivantes, p. 224.
Bolingbroke says, “It is by no means an uncommon thing in these colonies for negroes when they have accumulated a sufficiency, to purchase their freedom; and I have known many instances of negroes who paid their owners a proportion of the purchase-money, and were allowed after emancipation to workout the balance.”—Voyage to the Demerary, &c. p. 65.
I give this statement, and should be happy to transcribe any other, with which I might meet in the course of reading, of the same tenor; but it must be recollected that the “Voyage to the Demerary” is decidedly written in favour of the slave trade and of slavery.
[215] The owner of a sugar plantation, with whose sons I was well acquainted, possessed a slave, who had the management of the sugar boiling house during crop time, and who was accounted by all who knew him and understood the business, to be a most excellent workman.—This man accumulated a sum of money, which he offered to his master for his freedom, but it was not accepted; and although the slave made great interest with persons of consideration in the country, he could not accomplish his end. His master loaded him with irons, and he was made to work in this state. He did not obtain his liberty till after his master’s death, when the widow received his money, and manumitted him. His trade of sugar-boiler renders him large profits yearly, and this injured man now lives in ease and comfort. This instance of refusal, and some others of which I have heard, would make me doubtful of the foundation upon which the custom of manumitting is placed, if I did not know how easily the laws relating to many other important points are evaded through the influence of wealth and power. I did not see a copy of the law or regulation on the subject, but I never met with any one who made a doubt of its existence. I never met with any one who doubted that the slave had a right to appeal, if he thought proper; whether he would be heard or not was another question.
[216] The major part of the slaves that abscond, are brought back to their owners, but some do escape, and are never afterwards heard of. They remove to some distant district and there reside as free men. Those who have once tasted of the sweets of free agency, for any length of time, even if they are brought back to their masters, scarcely ever remain longer than is requisite to seek an opportunity of eluding the vigilance of those whose business it is to watch them; they soon brave the risk of another detection. A young and handsome mulatto man of these unsettled habits once applied to me to purchase him. He had by mere accident been discovered only a short time before, by a friend of his master in the Sertam, where he had married a free woman, and had been considered as free himself. He was brought back to his master, was sold to another person, escaped, returned, and again fled, and had not, when I left the country, been heard of for a twelvemonth.
[217] The following circumstances occurred under my own observation:—A negress had brought into the world ten children, and had reared nine of them. These remained to work for their owners; the woman claimed her freedom, for the tenth child did not die until it had arrived at an age when it did not require any farther care from her; but it was refused. She was hired to a gentleman as a nurse for one of his children. This person did all in his power to obtain her freedom, but did not succeed; he purchased her, and immediately had a deed of manumission made out by a notary-public. When he returned home to dinner, he desired his wife to tell the woman that she was his slave, and in the course of the day the deed was given to her. When I left the country, her only fear was, that as she was free, her master and mistress might turn her away; thus proving, by her anxiety, how happy she was.
[218] Du Tertre says, speaking of negro baptismal festivals—“_les parrains et les marraines qui sont ordinairement de François amis de leurs maitres, ne laissent pas de contribuer à la bonne chere_.”—Histoire des Antilles, tom. ii. p. 528.
Fellow slaves, or free persons of colour, are usually the sponsors in Brazil; but it is better, I think, that fellow-slaves, that is, belonging to the same master, should be sponsors, for they take a considerable interest in their god-children. The god-child, indeed, in any of the ranks of life, never approaches either of its sponsors without begging for their blessing. Labat, in speaking of a negro whom he had made _renoncer tous ses pactes implicites et explicites qu’il pouvoit avoir fait avec le diable_, says,—“_Je chargeai sont maitre, qui étoit aussi son parrain de vieller soigneusement sur sa conduite_.”—Nouveau Voyage, &c. tom. ii. p.54.
I never heard of the master in Brazil being likewise the god-father, nor do I think that this ever happens; for such is the connection between two persons which this is supposed to produce, that the master would never think of ordering the slave to be chastised.
[219] The same occurs in the Spanish and French colonies. Du Tertre, who seems from the general tenor of his work, to have been a much better man than friars usually are, speaks of the difficulty of converting the Caribs, and of their indifference to religion, and then adds, “_Mais les négres sont certainement touchez de Dieu, puis qu’ils conservent, jusqu’à la mort, la religion qu’ils ont embrassée; qu’ils en pratiquent les vertus et en exercent les œuvres, et je puis dire avec verité qu’ils y vivent bien plus Chrestiennement dans leur condition, que beaucoup de François_.”—Histoire des Antilles, tom. ii. p. 502.
[220] Labat says that the inhabitants of St. Domingo were in the habit of marking the negroes which they bought by burning the skin, and he adds, in his Dominican way, “_De sorte qu’un esclave qui auroit été vendu et revendu plusieurs fois paroîtroit à la fin aussi chargé de caracters, que ces obelisques d’Egypt_.” This was not practised, as he tells us, in the islands (Martinique and Guadaloupe) and he adds that their negroes, and principally the creole slaves _seroient au desespoir qu’on les marquât comme on fait les bœufs et les chevaux_. The small islands did not require this practice, but St. Domingo _un pais aussi vaste_, could not do without it, because the slaves ran away to the mountains.—Nouveau Voyage, &c., tom. vii. p. 260.
The St. Domingo planters have paid severely for all their misdeeds, and therefore of them nothing need to be said in the present day. The vastness, however, of Brazil, which is a little more _vaste_ than St. Domingo, does not require that the slaves should be marked like cattle.
[221] Edwards’ History of the West-Indies, vol. ii. p. 82, and 147.
[222] The base, the most abominable practice of some masters and mistresses, _and of the latter oftener than the former_, increases the bias which these miserable, these uneducated beings must be expected to have towards licentiousness. Females have been punished because they have not increased the number of their owners’ slaves. This is a fact; but it is almost too much to believe. On which side does the extreme of depravity lie?
[223] The following circumstances occurred within my own observation. A negro woman applied to a planter to be purchased, for which purpose she had brought a note from her master. She was accepted, and a bargain was concluded between the two persons; however, the day after she had taken up her abode upon the estate of her new master, she came to him, and falling down upon her knees, said that she had had a fellow-slave who wished likewise to serve him, and she begged him to purchase her companion. The new master spoke to the owner of the slave in question on the subject, but he refused to sell him, and the matter rested in this manner; but on the third day, he received a visit from the owner, offering the slave for sale, adding that the man had refused to work, and had threatened to hang himself; and as he was a _Gabam_ negro, he much feared that he might put his threat in execution. The price was soon fixed, and on the following morning the man made his appearance. He proved to be a most excellent slave.
[224] The following occurrences took place upon the estate of a wealthy planter to the South of Recife, and the anecdote was related by the owner of the plantation himself. A negro complained to his master of the infidelity of his wife; she was immediately questioned; and other enquiries being made, and the truth of the statement respecting her conduct being proved, she was tied to a post to be flogged. Her husband was present, and at first he rather received pleasure from the sight of her sufferings; but he soon stopped the driver’s hand, and going to his master, begged him to order her to be unbound, and that he would pardon her, for he added, “If there are to be so many men, and so small a number of women upon the estate, how is it to be expected that the latter are to be faithful.” “_Para que Senhor tem tantos negros et tam poucas negras._”
[225] The ships which are employed in this trade oftentimes fill some of their water casks with salt water, when they leave Brazil, that they may serve as ballast; and on taking their live cargo on board upon the coast of Africa, the salt water is replaced by that which is for the use of the additional number of persons. On one occasion a vessel had proceeded for some days on her voyage from Africa towards Brazil with a full cargo, when the discovery was made that the casks had not been filled with fresh water. The coast of either continent was too distant to enable the vessel to reach one or the other, before the greatest distress must be experienced, and therefore a most shocking expedient was resorted to,—a great number of the negroes were thrown overboard. This misfortune was accidental and occurred unintentionally, and a man must have been in a similar situation before he can declare that he would not act as the Portugueze did on this occasion; but the circumstances arose from the nature of this execrable trade.
[226] I was present on one occasion at the purchase of some slaves. The person who was chusing those which suited his purpose, singled out among others a handsome woman, and a beautiful boy of about six years old. The woman had been a slave at Loanda upon the coast of Africa, and she spoke a little Portugueze. Whilst the selection was going on, the slave-dealer had happened to leave the room; but after it was concluded he returned, and seeing the persons who had been set apart to be purchased, said, he was sorry the woman and child could not be sold, for they formed part of a lot which could not be separated. The purchaser enquired the reason of the formation of a lot in this instance, and was answered that it consisted of a family, the husband, wife, and three children. The dealer was then requested to point out the individuals which composed it, and they were all bought together. How few slave-merchants would have acted in this manner! The whole family was present during the greatest part of the time, but there was no change of countenance in either the husband or the wife,—both of them understood the Portugueze language; the children were almost too young to know what was about to happen, and besides we spoke in a language which _they_ did not understand. That their parents did feel deeply the separation which they must have apprehended as being upon the point of taking place, I have not the slightest doubt, because I frequently saw these slaves afterwards, and knew how much they were attached to each other and to their children. But whether it proceeded from resignation, from despair, from fear, or from being ashamed to shew what they felt before so many strangers, there was no demonstration of feeling. Negroes may have feelings, and yet not allow the standers-by to know what they feel.
[227] An instance occurred at Liverpool of the attachment of some of these people to their master. At the commencement of the direct trade from Brazil to Great Britain, some small vessels came to Liverpool manned in part with slaves, owing to their masters being ignorant that their arrival upon British ground would make them free. However the men themselves were soon made acquainted with this circumstance, and many of them availed themselves of the advantages which were to be thus obtained. One of the men belonging to a small bark left his vessel, and having entered himself as a seaman on board some other ship, returned to persuade three of his companions to do the same; but he was answered, that they were well treated where they were, had always been used kindly, and therefore had no wish to try any other way of life. These three men returned to Brazil in the bark, and I have heard that they were set at liberty by their master on their arrival there. I hope it was so. When the advocates of slavery relate such stories as these, they give them as tending to prove that slaves in general are happy. Anecdotes of this kind demonstrate individual goodness in the master and individual gratitude in the slave, but they prove nothing generally; they do not affect the great question; _that_ is rested upon grounds which are too deeply fixed to be moved by single instances of evil or of good.
[228] Mr. Edwards mentions some of the Gold coast negroes, or those of the adjacent countries, and gives as an instance the _chamba_ negroes, who follow this custom.
[229] Whilst I resided at Jaguaribe, I heard that two negroes of this nation had murdered a child of three or four years of age, the son or daughter of their master, and that they had been caught in the act of preparing to cook part of the body. The men were carried down to Recife, but the person who informed me of these circumstances did not know what punishment had been inflicted upon them.
[230] I merely state what is the general idea upon the subject in that country, without giving an opinion upon the general question.—Mr. Edwards says that it is a disease and not a habit.—History of the West-Indies, vol. ii. p. 141.
Labat is of opinion, that it is a habit and not a disease.—Nouveau Voyage &c. tom. ii. p. 11.
[231] There was one in 1814, and another in February of the present year, 1816.
[232] Edwards’ History of the West-Indies, vol. ii. p. 64.
[233] The negroes who are obtained in the province of Senegambia, “are known to the West-Indian planters by the general name of _Mandingoes_.”—History of the West-Indies, vol. ii. p. 50.
“There is a sort of people who travel about in the country, called Mandingo-men; (these are Mahommedans) they do not like to work; they go from place to place; and when they find any chiefs or people whom they think they can make any thing of, they take up their abode for a time with them, and make _greegrees_, and sometimes cast sand from them, for which they make them pay.”—Correspondence of Mr. John Kizell in the Sixth Report of the Directors of the African Institution, p. 136.
[234] Mr. Edwards says, “In Jamaica the negroes are allowed one day in a fortnight, except in time of crop, besides Sundays and holidays, for cultivating their grounds, and carrying their provisions to market.” The Protestant church enjoins the observance of three or four holidays, and the Catholic church of above thirty.
Du Tertre says that the custom of giving a certain portion of time to the slave for the purpose of providing for his own maintenance, was introduced into the Columbian islands by “_les Holandois chassez du Recif_,” and he adds that they “_gouvernent leurs esclaves à la façon du Bresil_.”—Histoire des Antilles, vol. ii. p. 515.
[235] One of these old men, who was yet however sufficiently hearty to be often in a state of intoxication, and would walk to a considerable distance to obtain liquor, made a practice of coming to see me for this purpose. He would tell me, that he and his companions were not slaves to the monks but to St. Bento himself, and that consequently, the monks were only the representatives of their master for the due administration of the Saint’s property in this world. I enquired of some others of the slaves, and found that this was the general opinion among them.
[236] An old slave, who had been invariably well treated, for he had never deserved punishment, was asked by his master if he wished to be free; he smiled, but said nothing; the question being repeated, he answered that of course he wished to be free; the master then told him that his deed of manumission should be drawn out that same day; upon this being said, the slave shook his head, saying, “Why do you say such things to laugh at your old black man.” However, as soon as he was persuaded that it was true, he began to dance about like one who was mad, and for some minutes could answer no questions, nor could any directions be given to him.
[237] The Saturday of each week is not sufficient for the slave to provide for his own subsistence, unless the labour of his master, is done by task work, in which case, he may manage to finish this in due time, and to work a little each day upon his own provision grounds. He may indeed be able to live, by assisting the Saturdays, through the labour of his Sundays and holidays, even if the labour of his master is not done by piece-work; but this is not just, for to the Sundays and holidays he has a right as his own, even if his master supports him; but slavery and justice seldom go hand in hand.
[238] A planter with whom I was acquainted, was once seen by a person who happened to call upon him, occupied with three of his companions in flogging four negroes; the men were tied at a short distance from each other to four posts, and as the operation continued, there was much laughing and joking, for as they lashed their miserable victims, they cried out,—“Here is to the health of such and such a person.” It is some comfort to be able to say, that this wretch has been ruined; but his ruin has been caused by his treatment of his slaves, which has occasioned the death of some, and the escape of others from his power in a less melancholy manner.
Another man, on ordering a slave to work in the sugar-mill, was answered, that he was sick and could not go, but the master persisted. The negro went, saying, “you will then kill your slave;” and vexed with the treatment which he received now, and had suffered on other occasions, he placed his head near to one of the wheels, (for it was a water-mill) by which it was severed from his body. I could mention many anecdotes of this description, indicative of individual blackness of heart, such as have been related of all nations who have had to do with slaves; but few will suffice. Neither of the stories which are above related, occurred in the great and pre-eminent instance of depravity of which the scene was the Mata, and which has been mentioned in a former part of this work; in that case 55 slaves were consumed in less than fifteen years.
[239] Might not an act be passed for the British Colonies, obliging the master to manumit his slave, on the fair value of the individual being tendered? However, this is not a place for discussion.
[240] I met with the following passage in a work of much reputation upon the affairs of the British sugar islands. “The circumstance wherein the slaves in the West Indies seem mostly indebted to their owners’ liberality are, I think, those of medical attendance and accommodation when sick.” Would not a man take his horse to a farrier if any thing ailed him?
[241] Horses are usually marked upon the right haunch with the private mark of their owners; but the beasts which have been bred by slaves are marked on the left haunch or on the shoulder-blade. This proves, among many other corroborating circumstances, that though the law may prohibit a slave from possessing property, custom has established a practice which is better adapted to the present state of the country.
[242] The plan of distributing the new-comers among the old established negroes to be taken care of by them, as is practised in Jamaica, has not been adopted in Brazil. I think the effect of this must be good, for thus each established slave takes an interest in one of his newly-arrived companions; the new slaves too may be sooner reconciled to their situation, by the interest which is shewn in their behalf; and their wants may be made known to the master with more ease. The law which was passed at Rio de Janeiro in 1809 (mentioned in chapter 16th) for preventing executions for debt upon the property of sugar planters, may have one beneficial effect;—the slaves cannot, unless the master pleases, be sold separately from the estate for the purpose of paying debts; the master cannot be forced to dispose of them, unless the debt amounts to the value of the estate; and thus the slave is advanced in some slight degree towards the condition of a serf.
[243] _Bicho_, means an animal, in the common acceptation of the word; but the insect which is commonly, in other countries, called the _chigua_, is known at Pernambuco, _only_ under the name of _bicho_.
[244] Dr. Pinckard, in his “Notes on the West-Indies” mentions that mercury was used for the complaint at Berbice, with very little success. Mr. Edwards doubts “if medicine of any kind is of use in this disease.” This writer likewise states that he had heard of the Gold Coast negroes inoculating their children with the complaint, and also the notion which they have of the disease getting into the bone. Bolingbroke says, “No effectual cure has, I believe, ever been found for it. Salivation will drive it in, but sulphur and other opening medicines are now preferred to induce its coming out;” and again “There are black women who inoculate their children for this disorder; its violence is thereby lessened.”—Voyage to the Demerary, &c. p. 54.
In the “_Voyage à la Guiane et à Cayenne fait en 1789 et anneés suivantes_,” I find that speaking of the same disorder, “_on la gagne trés-aisement avec les Indiennes qui en sont presque toutes attaquées_.” It is supposed by Mr. Edwards to be brought from Africa, and the same idea exists in Brazil; indeed it is less known among the Indians than among the people of colour.
[245] A small proprietor in Brazil is a man who possesses from two to ten slaves. A large proprietor upon an average, in the part of the country of which I may speak, possesses from twenty to sixty slaves.
[246] A slave belonging to a colonel of militia, who was a planter of great wealth, was in the frequent practice of concealing himself in the woods for some days at a time; on being brought back, he was punished, and soon again ran away; and this behaviour continued for some time. In one of his rambles he met his master, who was riding alone in one of the narrow roads of the country. The slave placed himself in the middle of the path, and taking off his hat, saluted his master as if he had been only slightly acquainted with him, and addressed him, begging that he would give him some money. The colonel was much alarmed, and granted his request, upon which he was suffered to proceed, but was admonished to be silent upon the subject. The slave was soon taken; but he continued to run away, to be brought home, to be punished, and again to go through the same proceeding so frequently and for so many years, that at last his master allowed him to do as he pleased; indeed he was somewhat afraid of a second meeting in the woods, when he might not perhaps be treated so courteously. He as obstinately refused to sell the negro as the negro objected to serving him; because he knew that the slave wished to be sold to some one else, and from a notion which some of the planters entertain of not choosing to dispose of any person whom they have owned, unless by manumission.
[247] There was a boy of twelve years of age, of African birth, who belonged to Jaguaribe; this child often inhabited the woods for several days together. He killed a calf on one occasion, and separated the quarters of the animal by means of a sharp stone. He was discovered by the dropping of the blood, from the field to the hiding-place. As soon as the owner of the calf found the boy, he wished, of course, to take him to his master; but the boy laid himself down upon the ground and refused to stir. The man bound him to a tree, and went home to fetch a horse, upon which he placed the boy and tied him there; he walked after him to Jaguaribe, driving the horse on before. The boy was punished; but a few hours after he had been flogged, he said to one of his companions, “Well, at least I have had the honour of being attended by a _pagem_,” or page, the usual word for a groom. This happened under a former tenant of Jaguaribe.
A short time before I left that plantation, the same boy fled with another of nearly the same age, both of them being about fourteen years of age. They had been absent some days, when late one evening an Indian labourer brought them both home. The children had thrown off all cloathing, and had made bows and arrows suited to their own size, with which they were to kill poultry, rats, &c. as food. Their appearance was most laughable, but it was distressing; it was soon known that they were found, and many of their companions and other inhabitants of the plantation assembled to see and to laugh at these terrible _negros do mato_, or _bush_ negroes. The boys had been well treated by me, and therefore the propensity to continue in practices which had commenced under severe usage could be their only inducement to prefer the woods now.
[248] One of the men who was in my possession used to say, on being tasked with any theft, “to steal from master is not to steal.” “_Furtar de Senhor nam he furtar._”
[249] Strange notions exist on this subject. Several nostrums are in repute for the curing of this habit; but that of which the fame stands the highest, is, earth that is taken from a grave dissolved in water and given to the negro without his knowing what he is taking.
[250] The _Investigador Portuguez_ and the _Correio Braziliense_, two Portugueze journals published in London, have arranged themselves on the side of justice, humanity, and sound policy. The former of them has been translating Dr. Thorpe’s pamphlet respecting the colony of Sierra Leone, and has given portions of it in each number. I hope the editors will be aware of the necessity of fair play, and will next proceed to translate “The Special Report of the Directors of the African Institution” in answer to the charges preferred against them by Dr. Thorpe. I know no more of the matter to which either of the pamphlets relate than what I have gathered from them, and from Mr. Macauley’s letter to H. R. H. the Duke of Gloucester. But let there be fair play, let each side be heard and judged. This is due to the African Institution, owing to the until now unimpeached characters of its leading members. By so doing the editors of the journal would prove most decidedly their sincerity in the cause of abolition.
[251] The cry against the injustice and tyranny which is said to have been exercised by Great Britain in the employment of her naval superiority, has been removed at least on this score; for a sum of money was agreed to be paid by Great Britain to the government of Brazil for the purpose of reimbursing those of its subjects whom it might judge to have been unjustly treated.
The captures, of which complaint was principally made, were effected under the impression that all ships which bore the Portugueze flag, trading to the coast of Africa for slaves, ought to be of Portugueze build. This was a mistake arising from misunderstanding the treaties which were concluded between the two Powers in 1810.
[252] _Observacoens sobre a prosperidade do Estado pelos principios liberaes da Nova Legislacam do Brazil_, _p._ 16.
[253] _Correio Braziliense_ for December 1815, p. 735.
[254] _Investigador Portuguez_ for June 1816, p. 496.
[255] I met with the following passage in a work of high and deserved reputation. “The Romans, notwithstanding their prodigious losses in the incessant wars which they carried on for centuries, never experienced any want of men in the early periods of the commonwealth; but were even able to send colonies abroad out of their redundant population. Afterwards, in the time of the Emperors, when the armies were generally kept in camps and garrisons, where a soldier is perhaps the healthiest of all professions, the Roman population in Italy had greatly diminished, and was visibly declining every day, owing to a change in the division of property, and to the pernicious and monstrous increase of domestic slavery, which had left the poorer class of free citizens without any means of subsistence, but public charity.”—Essay on the Military Policy and Institutions of the British Empire, by C. W. Pasley, Captain (now Colonel) in the corps of Royal Engineers. Note to p. 505.
In the work in which the note appears, it is introduced for the purpose of proving, that “the total average population in any country can never be affected by the annual number of deaths, but depends solely and exclusively upon the means of subsistence afforded to the living.” I have transcribed it inasmuch as the author of it states, that domestic slavery was one of the causes of the decrease of population in Italy; and though the pernicious effects of slavery do not act to the same extent in Brazil, it does undoubtedly prevent the rapid increase of the numbers of the people of colour; and if the trade in Africans continues much longer, it will tend to stop the increase altogether of the persons of mixed blood. That the increase of the free population of colour ought to be encouraged, no one will deny; they are the pillars of the state, the bulwark from the strength of which Brazil becomes invincible.
[256] I am aware that this is not the case with all nations; but although it may not be correct when speaking generally, its application to the people of whom I am treating, will not, I think, be found to be erroneous.
[257] If the _camara_ or municipality of each township held the rank which it ought, this alone would produce much zeal in the higher ranks of people.
[258] _Observaçoens sobre o commercio franco no Brazil_, p. 80.
[259] Antonio de Araujo de Azevedo, Minister and Secretary of State for Naval and Ultramarine Affairs. He has lately been created Conde da Barca. It was formerly said that he was a French partizan; but he is a true patriot, who opposes the entrance of the undue influence of any foreign power into the affairs of the government of which he is a member.
[260] These arguments savour somewhat of peevishness; let these plain questions be asked. Does Great Britain interfere in the police of Brazil? Would Great Britain take the trouble of negotiating respecting any regulations which Brazil might enact for the better preserving of internal good order, and for providing with more ease for the apprehension of improper persons? The truth is that Brazil does not require any thing of the kind, and Great Britain does, consequently each Power acts according to its situation.
[261] The Alien Bill has given offence. Does not all the world know that it was passed for the purpose of preventing the entrance into Great Britain of those unquiet spirits who have desolated the Continent of Europe for so many years; and some of whom aided in burning the towns and villages of Portugal? Would Great Britain change her plan of operations for any one Power on earth, or even for all of them combined? Each government must act as suits its own peculiar circumstances.
[262] Must not Great Britain build ships because Brazil will not? Why does not Brazil form a navy?
[263] I do not know how far good policy directs that preference should be given to the Portugal wines over those of other parts; but it is rather hard that the people of Great Britain should be obliged to drink the wines of Portugal, when others of a superior flavour might be obtained, if restrictions did not exist against their consumption.
[264] The privileges which British subjects have long enjoyed in the dominions of the crown of Portugal are considerable. I give as concise an account of them as I possibly can. “D. Joam by the grace of God Prince Regent of Portugal, &c. To all my _Corregedores_, &c. be it known, that Joam Bevan declares himself to be a merchant, resident in this city (Lisbon, I suppose,) and a subject of his Britannic Majesty, and therefore competent to enjoy all the privileges and immunities which have been conceded to British subjects, &c. The merchants of that nation may freely trade, contract, buy and sell in all these kingdoms and lordships, &c. and where a doubt arises concerning any business with them, this shall be construed rather with a bias in their favour than against them(1). British subjects can only be arrested and confined in their own houses, according to their rank in life, or in the castle of St. Jorge; and these arrests cannot be carried into executions by bailiffs (_homems de vara_) but only by the _alcaide_(2). They are exempted from the payment of certain duties upon those articles which they can prove to be for the use of their own families. They cannot be obliged to give up their houses or warehouses against their consent(3). They cannot be obliged to serve as guardians, and they are exempted from certain imposts. They may carry offensive and defensive arms, by day and by night with or without a light, taking care not to do with them what they ought not to do.”
Then follow the penalties to which those officers will be subjected who do not pay a due regard to these privileges.
The clerks and servants of Englishmen enjoy the same privileges to the number of six, provided they are not Spaniards.
British subjects cannot be arrested, nor can their houses be searched without an order from their judge-conservator. Then follow some regulations by which their law proceedings may be rendered as easy as possible. They are not subject to the jurisdiction of the _Juiz de Orfaons & Auzentes_(4).
The copy of the privileges from which the above has been extracted is passed in the name of John Bevan. I obtained it at Pernambuco as a curiosity. If the state of government in Brazil is considered, these privileges are absolutely necessary for the prevention of oppression; and even the privilege of wearing arms is not more than is requisite, because although the laws which prohibit Portugueze subjects from carrying arms ordain severe penalties, still scarcely any man in Brazil leaves his own home without some species of weapon; and the crime which is committed in so doing is too general to be punished.
(1) _Mais em seu favor do que em odio._—What occasion is there for this? Impartiality is what is required.
(2) An officer of a rank somewhat superior.
(3) An officer of government can turn an unprivileged man out of his house by placing the letters P. R. upon his door.
(4) The officer into whose hands the property of orphans falls, and of those persons who die without heirs resident upon the spot. It is difficult to reclaim what has found its way into this office.
[265] Du Tertre, in speaking of a species of _Karatas_, which is to be found in the islands, “_dans des deserts pierreux, où il ne se trouve guere d’eau douce_,” says “_les paysans travaillez de la soif y courent, parce que ces feüilles sont tellement disposés, qu’elles se ferment en bas comme un verre, où on trouve quelquefois une pinte d’eau fraische, claire et trés saine, et cela a sauvé la vie à plusieurs qui sans cela seroient morts de soif_.”—Histoire des Antilles, tom. ii. p. 100.
I heard this mentioned frequently whilst I was in the Sertam; but at the time we were in want of water, we were not crossing any of those lands upon which the plant grows.—_Transl._
[266] Bolingbroke says, that “it is a common thing to feed swine with pine-apples. My astonishment was increased when our conductor took us to a large trench fifty rood long, and twelve feet wide, which was absolutely filled up with pine-apples; they so completely overran the estate at one time, that he was obliged to root them up for the purpose of preventing their farther extension.”—Voyage to the Demerary, &c. p. 21.
Neither pigs nor pine-apples are to be found thus by wholesale in Pernambuco.—_Transl._
Barrere says “_La Pitte, qui est une espéce d’ananas, fournit encore une filasse d’un bon usage. Le fil en est plus fort et plus fin que la soye. Les Portugais en font des bas qui ne cedent en rien, dit-on, par leur bonté et par leur finesse aux bas de soye._”—Nouvelle Relation de la France Equinoxiale, p. 115.
Old Ligon says “the last and best sort of drinke that this iland or the world affords, is the incomparable wine of pines; and is certainly the nectar which the gods drunke; for on earth there is none like it; and that is made of the pure juyce of the fruit itselfe, without commixture of water or any other creature, having in itselfe a naturall compound of all tastes excellent, that the world can yield. This drinke is too pure to keep long; in three or four dayes it will be fine; ‘tis made by pressing the fruite, and strayning the liquor, and it is kept in bottles.”—A true and exact History of the Iland of Barbadoes, 1657.
[267] Du Tertre speaks of a species of _Karatas_, which agrees, from his description, with this in the height of the stalk, the shape of the leaves, and the colour of the flowers; which he says are _estroileés_—_Transl._ He adds, “_Avant que les boutons de ces fleurs soient ouverts ils sont remplis d’un fort beau et bon cotton, dont l’on se peut servir utilement: apres que l’on a fait boüillir les füeilles l’on en tire du fil dont l’on se sert en plusieurs endroits de l’Amerique, non seulement à faire des toilles, mais encore à faire des licts pendans. La racine et les füeilles de cette plante broyées et lavées dans une riviere, jettent un suc qui estourdit si fort le poisson, qu’il se laisse prendre à la main: ce grand tronc qui est tout spongieux estant seché, brulle comme une méche ensouffrée, et froté rudement, avec une bois plus dur, s’enflame et se consume._”—Histoire des Antilles, tom. ii. p. 106.
Labat gives the same account, and adds that persons who are in the habit of smoking “_ne manquent jamais d’avoir sur eux leur provision de tol_.”—Nouveau Voyage, &c. tom. 6. p. 142.
“_Le caratas dont j’ai parlé dans un autre endroit est bien meilleur que la Savonette pour blanchir le linge. On prend la füeille et aprés en avoir ôté les piquans, on la bat et l’écrase entre deux pierres et on frote le linge avec l’eau. Elle produit le même effet que le mielleur savon, elle fait une mousse ou écume épaisse, blanche, qui decrasse, nettoye et blanchit parfaitement le linge, sans le rougir ou le brûler en aucune facon._”—Nouveau Voyage, &c. tom. vii. p. 385.
[268] At Pillar, upon the island of Itamaraca, the persons who are in the habit of preparing the _cairo_, dig holes in the sands below high water mark, and bury the rind of the coco for several days before they beat it. I suppose this method is resorted to, owing to the want of a running stream in which to steep the rind.—_Transl._
[269] There are some breaks, but they are not extensive, as far as I am acquainted with the country.—_Transl._
[270] In Wildenow this plant is so arranged.—_T._
[271] “The inhabitants of the plains of Iguaraçu make use of it to fasten together the rushes from which they make the mats that are used for pack-saddles.”—_Discurso sobre a Utilidade da Instituicam de Jardims, &c._
Padre Ignacio de Almeida Fortuna told me, that he had had a pair of stockings made from the fibre of the _Macaiba_. I brought some of the fibre to England; it is extremely strong and fine. I think Dr. Arruda may perhaps have been rather hasty in ranking it with the _tucum_, in the difficulty of obtaining it. At Itapissuma, near to Itamaraca, a great quantity of thread is manufactured for fishing-nets, &c. and it has at that place a fixed price.—_Transl._
“Referring the meeting to what was communicated in the last annual Report on the subject of a species of hemp, manufactured from the leaves of a particular kind of palm which abounds in Sierra Leone and its neighbourhood, the directors have now to add, that one of their Board, Mr. Allen, has lately subjected a small quantity of cord, manufactured from this substance, to experiments calculated to ascertain its strength, as compared with the same length and weight of common hempen cord. The result has been very satisfactory.” In five trials, the average is as follows “hempen cord 43_lbs._ 3-fifths. African cord 53_lbs._ 2-fifths, being a difference in favour of the African cord of 10_lbs._ in 43_lbs._”—Fourth Report of the Directors of the African Institution, p. 15.
[272] I have often in the course of this volume spoken of the _jangadas_.—_Transl._
[273] The seeds have a strong aromatic smell, and the taste is very pleasant.—_Transl._
[274] In the neighbourhood of Goiana I saw a large piece of land completely covered with the common _maracuja_; the owner of the ground complained to me of the trouble which he should have in getting rid of the plant when he should wish to cultivate the land.—_Transl._
[275] Excepting in times of famine, the food which may be thus obtained causes too much destruction to allow of its becoming general, and even if it should for a time afford subsistence to the people, this cannot last long, for the trees will soon be destroyed. The quantity of food which each tree yields is too small, the growth of the trees too slow, and the space which each plant occupies too considerable ever to render the cabbage of the palms a permanent staple food of any country.
Dr. Arruda has not spoken of the _dendezeiro_ or _dende_ tree, which, next to the coco tree, is the palm which is of the most service to the Pernambucans. An oil of good quality is made from the nut, and is sold in Recife as a culinary ingredient, being more generally used than the coco oil. The fruit resembles much that of the _coco naia_, according to Arruda’s description of the latter.
Labat, who has a propensity to call in question the opinions of others, in speaking of the tree which he calls _palmier franc ou dattier_, says, “_On prétend que cet arbre est mâle et femelle, &c. Je suis fâché de ne pouvoir pas souscrire au sentiment des naturalistes, mais j’en suis empêché par une expérience que j’ai trés-sûre, opposée directement à leur sentiment, qui dément absolument ce que je viens de rapporter sur leur bonne foi; car nous avions un dattier à côté de notre couvent du Moüillage à la Martinique, qui rapportoit du fruit quoiqu’il fut tout seul. Qu’il fut mâle ou femelle, je n’en sçai rien, mais ce que je sçai trés certainement, c’est que dans le terrain où est le Fort Saint Pierre et le Moûillage et a plus de deux lieuës à la ronde il n’y avoit et n’y avoit jamais eu de dattier, &c._”—Nouveau Voyage, &c. tom. iii. p. 276.
[276] The _goiaba_ is to be found in all situations in Pernambuco; there is scarcely a _cercado_ (field) of any sugar plantation which has not several of these trees scattered about upon it. The _goiaba_ is never cut down, for the people are fond of it, and the cattle likewise feed upon it. The _araça_ is another species of the same plant; the shrub and the fruit of this are smaller than the _goiaba_, and the inside of the fruit is of a pale yellow colour, instead of a deep red.—_Transl._
[277] Labat speaks of a species of _canelle bâtarde_, and he adds, “_On se sert beaucoup en Italie d’une canelle semblable à celle que je viens de décrire; les Portugais l’apportent du Bresil dans des paniers de roseaux refendus et à jour; on l’appelle canelle geroflée (canella garofanata). On la met en poudre avec un peu de gérofle, de veritable canelle, de poivre et de graines tout-à faite resemblables à celles de nos bois d’Inde des Isles, et on en fait un debit assez considérable._”—Nouveau Voyage, &c. tom. iii. p. 92.
[278] In the Philosophical Transactions for 1811 is given, “An Account of a Vegetable Wax from Brazil,” by William Thomas Brande, Esq. F. R. S. The work from which I extract part of the account is Nicholson’s Journal, Vol. xxxi. p. 14.
“The vegetable wax described in this paper was given to the president by Lord Grenville, with a wish on the part of his Lordship, that its properties should be investigated, in the hope that it might prove a useful substitute for bees’ wax, and constitute in due time a new article of commerce between Brazil and this country. It was transmitted to Lord Grenville from Rio de Janeiro by the Conde das Galveas(1), as a new article lately brought to that city(2), from the northernmost parts of the Brazilian dominions, the _capitanias_ of Rio Grande and Seará, between the latitude of three and seven degrees north; it is said to be the production of a tree of slow growth, called by the natives _carnâùba_, which also produces a gum used as food for men, and another substance employed for fattening poultry.”
“The wax in its rough state is in the form of a coarse pale grey powder, soft to the touch, and mixed with various impurities, consisting chiefly of fibres of the bark of the tree, which when separated by a sieve amount to about 40 _per cent._ It has an agreeable odour, somewhat resembling new hay, but scarcely any taste.”
(_Here follow various chemical Experiments which I wish I could insert, but they are too long._)
“Having been unsuccessful in my attempts to bleach the wax in its original state, I made some experiments to ascertain whether its colour could be more easily destroyed, after it had been acted upon by nitric acid, and found that by exposing it spread upon glass to the action of light, it became in the course of three weeks of a pale straw colour, and on the surface nearly white(3). The same change was produced by steeping the wax, in thin plates, in an aqueous solution of oxymuriatic gas, but I have not hitherto succeeded in rendering it perfectly white.”
(_Other chemical Experiments follow, which are of considerable Length._)
“From the preceding detail of experiments, it appears that although the South American vegetable wax possesses the characteristic properties of bees’ wax, it differs from that substance in many of its chemical habitudes; it also differs from the other varieties of wax, namely, the wax of the myrica cerifera, of lac, and of white lac. The attempts which have been made to bleach the wax have been conducted on a small scale; but from the experiments related, it appears that after the colour has been changed by the action of very dilute nitric acid, it may be rendered nearly white by the usual means. I have not had sufficient time to ascertain whether the wax can be more effectually bleached by long continued exposure, nor have I had an opportunity of submitting it to the processes employed by the bleachers of bees’ wax.”
“Perhaps the most important part of the present inquiry is that which relates to the combustion of the vegetable wax, in the form of candles. The trials which have been made to ascertain its fitness for this purpose are extremely satisfactory; and when the wick is properly proportioned to the size of the candle, the combustion is as perfect and uniform as that of common bees’ wax. The addition of one eighth to one tenth part of tallow is sufficient to obviate the brittleness of the wax in its pure state, without giving it any unpleasant smell, or materially impairing the brilliancy of its flame. A mixture of three parts of the vegetable wax with one part of bees’ wax, also makes very excellent candles.”
(1) This nobleman is since dead.
(2) It was sent to Rio de Janeiro by Francisco de Paula Cavalcante de Albuquerque, Governor of Rio Grande do Norte.
(3) The portion which the Governor of Rio Grande gave to me was in the form of a cake, which could not be pierced, but was brittle; it was of a pale straw colour.—_Transl._
[279] “_On l’apporte (the root) en Europe coupeé en rouelles blanches & assez légéres._”—_Voyage du Chevalier des Marchais a Cayenne, &c._ tom. iii. p. 262.
I brought some of it to England in powder.—_Transl._
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE:
—Obvious print and punctuation errors were corrected.