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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Equatorial America, by Maturin M. Ballou
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Equatorial America
+       Descriptive of a Visit to St. Thomas, Martinique, Barbadoes,
+       and the Principal Capitals of South America
+
+Author: Maturin M. Ballou
+
+Release Date: August 3, 2011 [EBook #36963]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK EQUATORIAL AMERICA ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Julia Miller, Carol Ann Brown, and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+  EQUATORIAL AMERICA
+
+  _DESCRIPTIVE OF A VISIT TO ST. THOMAS
+  MARTINIQUE, BARBADOES, AND
+  THE PRINCIPAL CAPITALS
+  OF SOUTH AMERICA_
+
+  BY
+
+  MATURIN M. BALLOU
+
+  [Illustration: Printer's logo]
+
+  BOSTON AND NEW YORK
+  HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY
+  The Riverside Press, Cambridge
+  1892
+
+
+
+
+  Copyright, 1892,
+  BY MATURIN M. BALLOU.
+
+  _All rights reserved._
+
+  _The Riverside Press, Cambridge, Mass., U. S. A._
+  Electrotyped and Printed by H. O. Houghton & Company.
+
+
+
+
+  DEDICATED
+  TO
+  CAPTAIN E. C. BAKER
+  OF THE
+  _STEAMSHIP VIGILANCIA_
+  WITH WARM APPRECIATION OF HIS QUALITIES
+  AS A GENTLEMAN
+  AND AN ACCOMPLISHED SEAMAN
+
+  [Illustration: decoration]
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+"I am a part of all that I have seen," says Tennyson, a sentiment which
+every one of large experience will heartily indorse. With the
+extraordinary facilities for travel available in modern times, it is a
+serious mistake in those who possess the means, not to become familiar
+with the various sections of the globe. Vivid descriptions and excellent
+photographs give us a certain knowledge of the great monuments of the
+world, both natural and artificial, but the traveler always finds the
+reality a new revelation, whether it be the marvels of a Yellowstone
+Park, a vast oriental temple, Alaskan glaciers, or the Pyramids of
+Ghiza. The latter, for instance, do not differ from the statistics which
+we have so often seen recorded, their great, dominating outlines are the
+same as pictorially delineated, but when we actually stand before them,
+they are touched by the wand of enchantment, and spring into visible
+life. Heretofore they have been shadows, henceforth they are tangible
+and real. The best descriptions fail to inspire us, experience alone can
+do that. What words can adequately depict the confused grandeur of the
+Falls of Schaffhausen; the magnificence of the Himalayan
+range,--roof-tree of the world; the thrilling beauty of the Yosemite
+Valley; the architectural loveliness of the Taj Mahal, of India; the
+starry splendor of equatorial nights; the maritime charms of the Bay of
+Naples; or the marvel of the Midnight Sun at the North Cape? It is
+personal observation alone which truly satisfies, educating the eye and
+enriching the understanding. If we can succeed in imparting, a portion
+of our enjoyment to others, we enhance our own pleasure, and therefore
+these notes of travel are given to the public.
+
+                  M. M. B.
+
+
+
+
+          CONTENTS.
+
+
+          CHAPTER I.
+
+                                                 PAGE
+
+  Commencement of a Long Journey.--The Gulf
+  Stream.--Hayti.--Sighting St. Thomas.--Ship
+  Rock.--Expert Divers.--Fidgety Old Lady.--An
+  Important Island.--The Old
+  Slaver.--Aborigines.--St. Thomas
+  Cigars.--Population.--Tri-Mountain.--The
+  Negro Paradise.--Hurricanes.--Variety of
+  Fish.--Coaling Ship.--The Firefly Dance.--A
+  Weird Scene.--An Antique Anchor                  1
+
+
+          CHAPTER II.
+
+  Curious Seaweed.--Professor Agassiz.--Myth of
+  a Lost Continent.--Island of Martinique.--An
+  Attractive Place.--Statue of the Empress
+  Josephine.--Birthplace of Madame de
+  Maintenon.--City of St. Pierre.--Mont
+  Pelée.--High Flavored Specialty.--Grisettes
+  of Maritinque.--A Botanical
+  Garden.--Defective Drainage.--A Fatal
+  Enemy.--A Cannibal Snake.--The Climate          33
+
+
+          CHAPTER III.
+
+  English Island of Barbadoes.--Bridgetown the
+  Capital.--The Manufacture of Rum.--A
+  Geographical Expert.--Very English.--A Pest
+  of Ants.--Exports.--The Ice House.--A Dense
+  Population.--Educational.--Marine
+  Hotel.--Habits of
+  Gambling.--Hurricanes.--Curious
+  Antiquities.--The Barbadoes Leg.--Wakeful
+  Dreams.--Absence of Twilight.--Departure from
+  the Island                                      51
+
+
+          CHAPTER IV.
+
+  Curious Ocean Experiences.--The Delicate
+  Nautilus.--Flying-Fish.--The Southern
+  Cross.--Speaking a Ship at Sea.--Scientific
+  Navigation.--South America as a Whole.--Fauna
+  and Flora.--Natural Resources of a Wonderful
+  Land.--Rivers, Plains, and Mountain
+  Ranges.--Aboriginal
+  Tribes.--Population.--Political
+  Divisions.--Civil Wars.--Weakness of South
+  American States                                 68
+
+
+          CHAPTER V.
+
+  City of Pará.--The Equatorial Line.--Spanish
+  History.--The King of Waters.--Private
+  Gardens.--Domestic Life in Northern
+  Brazil.--Delicious Pineapples.--Family
+  Pets.--Opera House.--Mendicants.--A Grand
+  Avenue.--Botanical Garden.--India-Rubber
+  Tree.--Gathering the Raw
+  Material.--Monkeys.--The Royal
+  Palm.--Splendor of Equatorial Nights            94
+
+
+          CHAPTER VI.
+
+  Island of Marajo.--Rare and Beautiful
+  Birds.--Original Mode of Securing
+  Humming-Birds.--Maranhão.--Educational.--
+  Value of Native
+  Forests.--Pernambuco.--Difficulty of
+  Landing.--An Ill-Chosen Name.--Local
+  Scenes.--Uncleanly Habits of the
+  People.--Great Sugar Mart.--Native Houses.--A
+  Quaint Hostelry.--Catamarans.--A Natural
+  Breakwater.--Sailing down the Coast            115
+
+
+          CHAPTER VII.
+
+  Port of Bahia.--A Quaint Old City.--Former
+  Capital of Brazil.--Whaling
+  Interests.--Beautiful
+  Panorama.--Tramways.--No Color Line
+  Here.--The Sedan Chair.--Feather Flowers.--A
+  Great Orange Mart.--Passion Flower
+  Fruit.--Coffee, Sugar, and Tobacco.--A Coffee
+  Plantation.--Something about
+  Diamonds.--Health of the City.--Curious
+  Tropical Street Scenes                         138
+
+
+          CHAPTER VIII.
+
+  Cape Frio.--Rio Janeiro.--A Splendid
+  Harbor.--Various Mountains.--Botafogo
+  Bay.--The Hunchback.--Farewell to the
+  Vigilancia.--Tijuca.--Italian
+  Emigrants.--City Institutions.--Public
+  Amusements.--Street
+  Musicians.--Churches.--Narrow
+  Thoroughfares.--Merchants' Clerks.--Railroads
+  in Brazil.--Natural Advantages of the
+  City.--The Public Plazas.--Exports             155
+
+
+          CHAPTER IX.
+
+  Outdoor Scenes in Rio Janeiro.--The Little
+  Marmoset.--The Fish Market.--Secluded
+  Women.--The Romish Church.--Botanical
+  Garden.--Various Species of Trees.--Grand
+  Avenue of Royal Palms.--About
+  Humming-Birds.--Climate of Rio.--Surrounded
+  by Yellow Fever.--The Country
+  Inland.--Begging on the
+  Streets.--Flowers.--"Portuguese Joe."--Social
+  Distinctions                                   180
+
+
+          CHAPTER X.
+
+  Petropolis.--Summer Residence of the Citizens
+  of Rio.--Brief Sketch of the late Royal
+  Family.--Dom Pedro's Palace.--A Delightful
+  Mountain Sanitarium.--A Successful but
+  Bloodless Revolution.--Floral
+  Delights.--Mountain Scenery.--Heavy
+  Gambling.--A German
+  Settlement.--Cascatinha.--Remarkable
+  Orchids.--Local Types.--A Brazilian
+  Forest.--Compensation                          201
+
+
+          CHAPTER XI.
+
+  Port of Santos.--Yellow Fever Scourge.--Down
+  the Coast to Montevideo.--The
+  Cathedral.--Pamperos.--Domestic
+  Architecture.--A Grand Thoroughfare.--City
+  Institutions.--Commercial Advantages.--The
+  Opera House.--The Bull-Fight.--Beggars on
+  Horseback.--City Shops.--A Typical
+  Character.--Intoxication.--The Campo
+  Santo.--Exports.--Rivers and Railways          217
+
+
+          CHAPTER XII.
+
+  Buenos Ayres.--Extent of the Argentine
+  Republic.--Population.--Narrow
+  Streets.--Large Public
+  Squares.--Basques.--Poor Harbor.--Railway
+  System.--River Navigation.--Tramways.--The
+  Cathedral.--Normal
+  Schools.--Newspapers.--Public
+  Buildings.--Calle Florida.--A Busy
+  City.--Mode of furnishing
+  Milk.--Environs.--Commercial and Political
+  Growth.--The New Capital                       244
+
+
+          CHAPTER XIII.
+
+  City of Rosario.--Its Population.--A
+  Pretentious Church.--Ocean
+  Experiences.--Morbid Fancies.--Strait of
+  Magellan.--A Great Discoverer.--Local
+  Characteristics.--Patagonians and
+  Fuegians.--Giant Kelp.--Unique Mail
+  Box.--Punta Arenas.--An Ex-Penal Colony.--The
+  Albatross.--Natives.--A Naked
+  People.--Whales.--Sea-Birds.--Glaciers.--
+  Mount Sarmiento.--A Singular Story             271
+
+
+          CHAPTER XIV.
+
+  The Land of Fire.--Cape Horn.--In the Open
+  Pacific.--Fellow Passengers.--Large
+  Sea-Bird.--An Interesting Invalid.--A Weary
+  Captive.--A Broken-Hearted Mother.--Study of
+  the Heavens.--The Moon.--Chilian Civil
+  War.--Concepcion.--A Growing
+  City.--Commercial Importance.--Cultivating
+  City Gardens on a New Plan.--Important Coal
+  Mines.--Delicious Fruits                       297
+
+
+          CHAPTER XV.
+
+  Valparaiso.--Principal South American Port of
+  the Pacific.--A Good Harbor.--Tallest
+  Mountain on this Continent.--The Newspaper
+  Press.--Warlike Aspect.--Girls as Car
+  Conductors.--Chilian Exports.--Foreign
+  Merchants.--Effects of Civil War.--Gambling
+  in Private Houses.--Immigration.--Culture of
+  the Grape.--Agriculture.--Island of Juan
+  Fernandez                                      315
+
+
+          CHAPTER XVI.
+
+  The Port of Callao.--A Submerged
+  City.--Peruvian Exports.--A Dirty and
+  Unwholesome Town.--Cinchona Bark.--The
+  Andes.--The Llama.--A National Dance.--City
+  of Lima.--An Old and Interesting
+  Capital.--Want of Rain.--Pizarro and His
+  Crimes.--A Grand Cathedral.--Chilian
+  Soldiers.--Costly Churches of Peru.--Roman
+  Catholic Influence.--Desecration of the
+  Sabbath                                        334
+
+
+          CHAPTER XVII.
+
+  A Grand Plaza.--Retribution.--The University
+  of Lima.--Significance of Ancient
+  Pottery.--Architecture.--Picturesque
+  Dwelling.--Domestic Scene.--Destructive
+  Earthquakes.--Spanish Sway.--Women of
+  Lima.--Street Costumes.--Ancient Bridge of
+  Lima.--Newspapers.--Pawnbrokers'
+  Shops.--Exports.--An Ancient Mecca.--Home by
+  Way of Europe.                                 355
+
+
+
+
+      EQUATORIAL AMERICA.
+
+
+
+
+          CHAPTER I.
+
+     Commencement of a Long Journey.--The Gulf
+     Stream.--Hayti.--Sighting St. Thomas.--Ship Rock.--Expert
+     Divers.--Fidgety Old Lady.--An Important Island.--The Old
+     Slaver.--Aborigines.--St. Thomas
+     Cigars.--Population.--Tri-Mountain.--Negro
+     Paradise.--Hurricanes.--Variety of Fish.--Coaling Ship.--The
+     Firefly Dane.--A Weird Scene.--An Antique Anchor.
+
+
+In starting upon foreign travel, one drops into the familiar routine on
+shipboard much after the same fashion wherever bound, whether crossing
+the Atlantic eastward, or steaming to the south through the waters of
+the Caribbean Sea; whether in a Peninsular and Oriental ship in the
+Indian Ocean, or on a White Star liner in the Pacific bound for Japan.
+The steward brings a cup of hot coffee and a slice of dry toast to one's
+cabin soon after the sun rises, as a sort of eye-opener; and having
+swallowed that excellent stimulant, one feels better fortified for the
+struggle to dress on the uneven floor of a rolling and pitching ship.
+Then comes the brief promenade on deck before breakfast, a liberal
+inhalation of fresh air insuring a good appetite. There is no hurry at
+this meal. There is so little to do at sea, and so much time to do it
+in, that passengers are apt to linger at table as a pastime, and even
+multiply their meals in number. As a rule, we make up our mind to follow
+some instructive course of reading while at sea, but, alas! we never
+fulfill the good resolution. An entire change of habits and associations
+for the time being is not favorable to such a purpose. The tonic of the
+sea braces one up to an unwonted degree, evinced by great activity of
+body and mind. Favored by the unavoidable companionship of individuals
+in the circumscribed space of a ship, acquaintances are formed which
+often ripen into lasting friendship. Inexperienced voyagers are apt to
+become effusive and over-confiding, abrupt intimacies and unreasonable
+dislikes are of frequent occurrence, and before the day of separation,
+the student of human nature has seen many phases exhibited for his
+analysis.
+
+Our vessel, the Vigilancia, is a large, commodious, and well-appointed
+ship, embracing all the modern appliances for comfort and safety at sea.
+She is lighted by electricity, having a donkey engine which sets in
+motion a dynamo machine, converting mechanical energy into electric
+energy. Perhaps the reader, though familiar with the effect of this mode
+of lighting, has never paused to analyze the very simple manner in which
+it is produced. The current is led from the dynamos to the various
+points where light is desired by means of insulated wires. The lamps
+consist of a fine thread of carbon inclosed in a glass bulb from which
+air has been entirely excluded. This offers such resistance to the
+current passing through it that the energy is expended in raising the
+carbon to a white heat, thus forming the light. The permanence of the
+carbon is insured by the absence of oxygen. If the glass bulb is broken
+and atmospheric air comes in contact with the carbon, it is at once
+destroyed by combustion, and all light from this source ceases. These
+lamps are so arranged that each one can be turned off or on at will
+without affecting others. The absence of offensive smell or smoke, the
+steadiness of the light, unaffected by the motion of the ship, and its
+superior brilliancy, all join to make this mode of lighting a vessel a
+positive luxury.
+
+Some pleasant hours were passed on board the Vigilancia, between New
+York and the West Indies, in the study of the Gulf Stream, through which
+we were sailing,--that river in the ocean with its banks and bottom of
+cold water, while its current is always warm. Who can explain the
+mystery of its motive power? What keeps its tepid water, in a course of
+thousands of miles, from mingling with the rest of the sea? Whence does
+it really come? The accepted theories are familiar enough, but we place
+little reliance upon them, the statements of scientists are so easily
+formulated, but often so difficult to prove. As Professor Maury tells
+us, there is in the world no other flow of water so majestic as this; it
+has a course more rapid than either the Mississippi or the Amazon, and a
+volume more than a thousand times greater. The color of this remarkable
+stream, whose fountain is supposed to be the Gulf of Mexico and the
+Caribbean Sea, is so deep a blue off our southern shore that the line of
+demarcation from its surroundings is quite obvious, the Gulf water
+having apparently a decided reluctance to mingling with the rest of the
+ocean, a peculiarity which has been long and vainly discussed without a
+satisfactory solution having been reached. The same phenomenon has been
+observed in the Pacific, where the Japanese current comes up from the
+equator, along the shore of that country, crossing Behring's Sea to the
+continent of North America, and, turning southward along the coast of
+California, finally disappears. Throughout all this ocean passage, like
+the Gulf Stream in the Atlantic, it retains its individuality, and is
+quite separate from the rest of the ocean. The fact that the water is
+saltier than that of the Atlantic is by some supposed to account for the
+indigo blue of the Gulf Stream.
+
+The temperature of this water is carefully taken on board all well
+regulated ships, and is recorded in the log. On this voyage it was found
+to vary from 75° to 80° Fahrenheit.
+
+Our ship had touched at Newport News, Va., after leaving New York, to
+take the U. S. mail on board; thence the course was south-southeast,
+giving the American continent a wide berth, and heading for the Danish
+island of St. Thomas, which lies in the latitude of Hayti, but a long
+way to the eastward of that uninteresting island. We say uninteresting
+with due consideration, though its history is vivid enough to satisfy
+the most sensational taste. It has produced its share of native heroes,
+as well as native traitors, while the frequent upheavals of its mingled
+races have been no less erratic than destructive. The ignorance and
+confusion which reign among the masses on the island are deplorable.
+Minister Douglass utterly failed to make anything out of Hayti. The
+lower classes of the people living inland come next to the inhabitants
+of Terra del Fuego in the scale of humanity, and are much inferior to
+the Maoris of New Zealand, or the savage tribes of Australia. It is
+satisfactorily proven that cannibalism still exists among them in its
+most repulsive form, so revolting, indeed, that we hesitate to detail
+the experience of a creditable eye-witness relating to this matter, as
+personally described to us.
+
+Upon looking at the map it would seem, to one unaccustomed to the ocean,
+that a ship could not lay her course direct, in these island dotted
+waters, without running down one or more of them; but the distances
+which are so circumscribed upon the chart are extended for many a league
+at sea, and a good navigator may sail his ship from New York to
+Barbadoes, if he so desires, without sighting the land. Not a sailing
+vessel or steamship was seen, on the brief voyage from the American
+continent to the West Indies, these latitudes being far less frequented
+by passenger and freighting ships than the transatlantic route further
+north.
+
+It is quite natural that the heart should throb with increased
+animation, the spirits become more elate, and the eyes more than usually
+appreciative, when the land of one's destination heaves in sight after
+long days and nights passed at sea. This is especially the case if the
+change from home scenes is so radical in all particulars as when coming
+from our bleak Northern States in the early days of spring, before the
+trees have donned their leaves, to the soft temperature and exuberant
+verdure of the low latitudes. Commencing the voyage herein described,
+the author left the Brooklyn shore of New York harbor about the first of
+May, during a sharp snow-squall, though, as Governor's Island was passed
+on the one hand, and the Statue of Liberty on the other, the sun burst
+forth from its cloudy environment, as if to smile a cheerful farewell.
+Thus we passed out upon the broad Atlantic, bound southward, soon
+feeling its half suppressed force in the regular sway and roll of the
+vessel. She was heavily laden, and measured considerably over four
+thousand tons, drawing twenty-two feet of water, yet she was like an
+eggshell upon the heaving breast of the ocean. As these mammoth ships
+lie in port beside the wharf, it seems as though their size and enormous
+weight would place them beyond the influence of the wind and waves: but
+the power of the latter is so great as to be beyond computation, and
+makes a mere toy of the largest hull that floats. No one can realize the
+great strength of the waves who has not watched the sea in all of its
+varying moods.
+
+"Land O!" shouts the lookout on the forecastle.
+
+A wave of the hand signifies that the occupant of the bridge has already
+made out the mote far away upon the glassy surface of the sea, which now
+rapidly grows into definite form.
+
+When the mountain which rises near the centre of St. Thomas was fairly
+in view from the deck of the Vigilancia, it seemed as if beckoning us to
+its hospitable shore. The light breeze which fanned the sea came from
+off the land flavored with an odor of tropical vegetation, a suggestion
+of fragrant blossoms, and a promise of luscious fruits. On our starboard
+bow there soon came into view the well known Ship Rock, which appears,
+when seen from a short distance, almost precisely like a full-rigged
+ship under canvas. If the sky is clouded and the atmosphere hazy, the
+delusion is remarkable.
+
+This story is told of a French corvette which was cruising in these
+latitudes at the time when the buccaneers were creating such havoc with
+legitimate commerce in the West Indies. It seems that the coast was
+partially hidden by a fog, when the corvette made out the rock through
+the haze, and, supposing it to be what it so much resembles, a ship
+under sail, fired a gun to leeward for her to heave to. Of course there
+was no response to the shot, so the Frenchman brought his ship closer,
+at the same time clearing for action. Being satisfied that he had to do
+with a powerful adversary, he resolved to obtain the advantage by
+promptly crippling the enemy, and so discharged the whole of his
+starboard broadside into the supposed ship, looming through the mist.
+The fog quietly dispersed as the corvette went about and prepared to
+deliver her port guns in a similar manner. As the deceptive rock stood
+in precisely the same place when the guns came once more to bear upon
+it, the true character of the object was discovered. It is doubtful
+whether the Frenchman's surprise or mortification predominated.
+
+An hour of steady progress served to raise the veil of distance, and to
+reveal the spacious bay of Charlotte Amalie, with its strong background
+of abrupt hills and dense greenery of tropical foliage. How wonderfully
+blue was the water round about the island,--an emerald set in a sea of
+molten sapphire! It seemed as if the sky had been melted and poured all
+over the ebbing tide. About the Bahamas, especially off the shore at
+Nassau, the water is green,--a delicate bright green; here it exhibits
+only the true azure blue,--Mediterranean blue. It is seen at its best
+and in marvelous glow during the brief moments of twilight, when a
+glance of golden sunset tinges its mottled surface with iris hues, like
+the opaline flashes from a humming-bird's throat.
+
+The steamer gradually lost headway, the vibrating hull ceased to throb
+with the action of its motive power, as though pausing to take breath
+after long days and nights of sustained effort, and presently the anchor
+was let go in the excellent harbor of St. Thomas, latitude 18° 20'
+north, longitude 64° 48' west. Our forecastle gun, fired to announce
+arrival, awakened the echoes in the hills, so that all seemed to join in
+clapping their hands to welcome us. Thus amid the Norwegian fiords the
+report of the steamer's single gun becomes a whole broadside, as it is
+reverberated from the grim and rocky elevations which line that
+iron-bound coast.
+
+There was soon gathered about the ship a bevy of naked colored boys, a
+score or more, jabbering like a lot of monkeys, some in canoes of home
+construction, it would seem, consisting of a sugar box sawed in two
+parts, or a few small planks nailed together, forming more of a tub than
+a boat, and leaking at every joint. These frail floats were propelled
+with a couple of flat boards used as paddles. The young fellows came out
+from the shore to dive for sixpences and shillings, cast into the sea by
+passengers. The moment a piece of silver was thrown, every canoe was
+instantly emptied of its occupant, all diving pell-mell for the money.
+Presently one of the crowd was sure to come to the surface with the
+silver exhibited above his head between his fingers, after which,
+monkey-like, it was securely deposited inside of his cheek. Similar
+scenes often occur in tropical regions. The last which the author can
+recall, and at which he assisted, was at Aden, where the Indian Ocean
+and the Red Sea meet. Another experience of the sort is also well
+remembered as witnessed in the South Pacific off the Samoan islands. On
+this occasion the most expert of the natives, among the naked divers,
+was a young Samoan girl, whose agility in the water was such that she
+easily secured more than half the bright coins which were thrown
+overboard, though a dozen male competitors were her rivals in the
+pursuit. Nothing but an otter could have excelled this bronzed, unclad,
+exquisitely formed girl of Tutuila as a diver and swimmer.
+
+But let us not stray to the far South Pacific, forgetting that we are
+all this time in the snug harbor of St. Thomas, in the West Indies.
+
+A fidgety old lady passenger, half hidden in an avalanche of wraps,
+while the thermometer indicated 80° Fahr., one who had gone into partial
+hysterics several times during the past few days, upon the slightest
+provocation, declared that this was the worst region for hurricanes in
+the known world, adding that there were dark, ominous clouds forming to
+windward which she was sure portended a cyclone. One might have told her
+truthfully that May was not a hurricane month in these latitudes, but we
+were just then too earnestly engaged in preparing for a stroll on shore,
+too full of charming anticipations, to discuss possible hurricanes, and
+so, without giving the matter any special thought, admitted that it did
+look a little threatening in the northwest. This was quite enough to
+frighten the old lady half out of her senses, and to call the stewardess
+into prompt requisition, while the deck was soon permeated with the odor
+of camphor, sal volatile, and valerian. We did not wait to see how she
+survived the attack, but hastened into a shore boat and soon landed at
+what is known as King's wharf, when the temperature seemed instantly to
+rise about twenty degrees. Near the landing was a small plaza, shaded by
+tall ferns and cabbage palms, with here and there an umbrageous mango.
+Ladies and servant girls were seen promenading with merry children,
+whites and blacks mingling indiscriminately, while the Danish military
+band were producing most shocking strains with their brass instruments.
+One could hardly conceive of a more futile attempt at harmony.
+
+There is always something exciting in first setting foot upon a foreign
+soil, in mingling with utter strangers, in listening to the voluble
+utterances and jargon of unfamiliar tongues, while noting the manners,
+dress, and faces of a new people. The current language of the mass of
+St. Thomas is a curious compound of negro grammar, Yankee accent, and
+English drawl. Though somewhat familiar with the West Indies, the author
+had never before landed upon this island. Everything strikes one as
+curious, each turn affords increased novelty, and every moment is full
+of interest. Black, yellow, and white men are seen in groups, the former
+with very little covering on their bodies, the latter in diaphanous
+costumes. Negresses sporting high colors in their scanty clothing, set
+off by rainbow kerchiefs bound round their heads, turban fashion; little
+naked blacks with impossible paunches; here and there a shuffling negro
+bearing baskets of fish balanced on either end of a long pole resting
+across his shoulders; peddlers of shells and corals; old women carrying
+trays upon their heads containing cakes sprinkled with granulated sugar,
+and displayed upon neat linen towels, seeking for customers among the
+newly arrived passengers,--all together form a unique picture of local
+life. The constantly shifting scene moves before the observer like a
+panorama unrolled for exhibition, seeming quite as theatrical and
+artificial.
+
+St. Thomas is one of the Danish West Indian Islands, of which there are
+three belonging to Denmark, namely, St. Thomas, St. Croix, and St. John.
+For the possession of the first named Mr. Seward, when Secretary of
+State, in 1866, offered the King of Denmark five million dollars in
+gold, which proposition was finally accepted, and it would have been a
+cheap purchase for us at that price; but after all detail had been duly
+agreed upon, the United States Congress refused to vote the necessary
+funds wherewith to pay for the title deed. So when Mr. Seward
+consummated the purchase of Alaska, for a little over seven million
+dollars, there were nearly enough of the small-fry politicians in
+Congress to defeat the bargain with Russia in the same manner. The
+income from the lease of two islands alone belonging to Alaska--St.
+George and St. Paul--has paid four and one half per cent. per annum upon
+the purchase money ever since the territory came into our possession.
+There is one gold mine on Douglas Island, Alaska, not to mention its
+other rich and inexhaustible products, for which a French syndicate has
+offered fourteen million dollars. We doubt if St. Thomas could be
+purchased from the Danes to-day for ten million dollars, while the
+estimated value of Alaska would be at least a hundred million or more,
+with its vast mineral wealth, its invaluable salmon fisheries, its
+inexhaustible forests of giant timber, and its abundance of seal, otter,
+and other rich furs. A penny-wise and pound-foolish Congress made a huge
+mistake in opposing Mr. Seward's purpose as regarded the purchase of St.
+Thomas. The strategic position of the island is quite sufficient to
+justify our government in wishing to possess it, for it is
+geographically the keystone of the West Indies. The principal object
+which Mr. Seward had in view was to secure a coaling and refitting
+station for our national ships in time of war, for which St. Thomas
+would actually be worth more than the island of Cuba. Opposite to it is
+the continent of Africa; equidistant are the eastern shores of North and
+South America; on one side is western Europe, on the other the route to
+India and the Pacific Ocean; in the rear are Central America, the West
+Indies, and Mexico, together with those great inland bodies of salt
+water, the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. It requires no argument
+to show how important the possession of such an outpost might prove to
+this country.
+
+Since these notes were written, it is currently reported that our
+government has once more awakened to the necessity of obtaining
+possession of this island, and fresh negotiations have been entered
+into. One thing is very certain, if we do not seize the opportunity to
+purchase St. Thomas at the present time, England, or some other
+important power, will promptly do so, to our serious detriment and just
+mortification.
+
+St. Thomas has an area of nearly fifty square miles, and supports a
+population of about fourteen thousand. In many respects the capital is
+unique, and being our first landing-place after leaving home, was of
+more than ordinary interest to the writer. The highest point on the
+island, which comes first into view from the deck of a southern bound
+steamer, is West Mountain, rising sixteen hundred feet above the level
+of the surrounding waters. Geologists would describe St. Thomas as being
+the top of a small chain of submerged mountains, which would be quite
+correct, since the topography of the bottom of the sea is but a
+counterpart of that upon the more familiar surface of the earth we
+occupy. When ocean electric cables for connecting islands and continents
+are laid, engineers find that there are the same sort of plains,
+mountains, valleys, and gorges beneath as above the waters of the ocean.
+The skeletons of whales, and natural beds of deep-sea shells, found in
+valleys and hills many hundred feet above the present level of tide
+waters, tell us plainly enough that in the long ages which have passed,
+the diversified surface of the earth which we now behold has changed
+places with these submerged regions, which probably once formed the dry
+land. The history of the far past is full of instances showing the slow
+but continuous retreat of the water from the land in certain regions and
+its encroachment in others, the drying up of lakes and rivers, as well
+as the upheaval of single islands and groups from the bed of the ocean.
+
+A range of dome-shaped hills runs through the entire length of this
+island of St. Thomas, fifteen miles from west to east, being
+considerably highest at the west end. As we passed between the two
+headlands which mark the entrance to the harbor, the town was seen
+spread over three hills of nearly uniform height, also occupying the
+gentle valleys between. Two stone structures, on separate hills, form a
+prominent feature; these are known respectively as Blue Beard and Black
+Beard tower, but their origin is a myth, though there are plenty of
+legends extant about them. Both are now utilized as residences, having
+mostly lost their original crudeness and picturesque appearance. The
+town, as a whole, forms a pleasing and effective background to the
+land-locked bay, which is large enough to afford safe anchorage for two
+hundred ships at the same time, except when a hurricane prevails; then
+the safest place for shipping is as far away from the land as possible.
+It is a busy port, considering the small number of inhabitants, steamers
+arriving and departing constantly, besides many small coasting vessels
+which ply between this and the neighboring islands. St. Thomas is
+certainly the most available commercially of the Virgin group of
+islands. Columbus named them "Las Vergines," in reference to the
+familiar Romish legend of the eleven thousand virgins, about as
+inappropriate a title as the fable it refers to is ridiculous.
+
+Close in shore, at the time of our visit, there lay a schooner-rigged
+craft of more than ordinary interest, her jaunty set upon the water, her
+graceful lines, tall, raking masts, and long bowsprit suggesting the
+model of the famous old Baltimore clippers. There is a fascinating
+individuality about sailing vessels which does not attach to steamships.
+Seamen form romantic attachments for the former. The officers and crew
+of the Vigilancia were observed to cast admiring eyes upon this handsome
+schooner, anchored under our lee. A sort of mysterious quiet hung about
+her; every rope was hauled taut, made fast, and the slack neatly coiled.
+Her anchor was atrip, that is, the cable was hove short, showing that
+she was ready to sail at a moment's notice. The only person visible on
+board was a bareheaded, white-haired old seaman, who sat on the transom
+near the wheel, quietly smoking his pipe. On inquiry it was found that
+the schooner had a notable history and bore the name of the Vigilant,
+having been first launched a hundred and thirty years ago. It appeared
+that she was a successful slaver in former days, running between the
+coast of Africa and these islands. She was twice captured by English
+cruisers, but somehow found her way back again to the old and nefarious
+business. Of course, she had been overhauled, repaired, and re-rigged
+many times, but it is still the same old frame and hull that so often
+made the middle passage, as it was called. To-day she serves as a mail
+boat running between Santa Cruz and St. Thomas, and, it is said, can
+make forty leagues, with a fair wind, as quick as any steamer on the
+coast. The same evening the Vigilant spread her broad white wings and
+glided silently out of the harbor, gathering rapid way as she passed its
+entrance, until feeling the spur of the wind and the open sea, she
+quickly vanished from sight. It was easy to imagine her bound upon her
+old piratical business, screened by the shadows of the night.
+
+Though it no longer produces a single article of export on its own soil,
+St. Thomas was, in the days of negro slavery, one of the most prolific
+sugar yielding islands of this region. It will be remembered that the
+emancipation of the blacks took place here in 1848. It was never before
+impressed upon us, if we were aware of the fact, that the sugar-cane is
+not indigenous to the West Indies. It seems that the plant came
+originally from Asia, and was introduced into these islands by Columbus
+and his followers. As is often the case with other representatives of
+the vegetable kingdom, it appears to have flourished better here than in
+the land of its nativity, new climatic combinations, together with the
+soil, developing in the saccharine plant better qualities and increased
+productiveness, for a long series of years enriching many enterprising
+planters.
+
+When Columbus discovered St. Thomas, in 1493, it was inhabited by two
+tribes of Indians, the Caribs and the Arrowauks, both of which soon
+disappeared under the oppression and hardships imposed by the Spaniards.
+It is also stated that from this island, as well as from Cuba and Hayti,
+many natives were transported to Spain and there sold into slavery, in
+the days following close upon its discovery. Thus Spain, from the
+earliest date, characterized her operations in the New World by a
+heartlessness and injustice which ever attended upon her conquests, both
+among the islands and upon the continent of America. The Caribs were of
+the red Indian race, and appear to have been addicted to cannibalism.
+Indeed, the very word, by which the surrounding sea is also known, is
+supposed to be a corruption of the name of this tribe. "These Caribs did
+not eat their own babies," says an old writer apologetically, "like some
+sorts of wild beasts, but only roasted and ate their prisoners of war."
+
+The island was originally covered with a dense forest growth, but is now
+comparatively denuded of trees, leaving the land open to the full force
+of the sun, and causing it to suffer at times from serious droughts.
+There is said to be but one natural spring of water on the island. This
+shows itself at the surface, and is of very limited capacity; the scanty
+rains which occur here are almost entirely depended upon to supply water
+for domestic use.
+
+St. Thomas being so convenient a port of call for steamers from Europe
+and America, and having so excellent a harbor, is improved as a depot
+for merchandise by several of the neighboring islands, thus enjoying a
+considerable commerce, though it is only in _transitu_. It is also the
+regular coaling station of several steamship lines. Judging from
+appearances, however, it would seem that the town is not growing in
+population or business relations, but is rather retrograding. The value
+of the imports in 1880 was less than half the aggregate amount of 1870.
+We were told that green groceries nearly all come from the United
+States, and that even eggs and poultry are imported from the neighboring
+islands, showing an improvidence on the part of the people difficult to
+account for, since these sources of food supply can be profitably
+produced at almost any spot upon the earth where vegetation will grow.
+Cigars are brought hither from Havana in considerable quantities, and
+having no duty to pay, can be sold very cheap by the dealers at St.
+Thomas, and still afford a reasonable profit. Quite a trade is thus
+carried on with the passengers of the several steamers which call here
+regularly, and travelers avail themselves of the opportunity to lay in
+an ample supply. Cuban cigars of the quality which would cost nine or
+ten dollars a hundred in Boston are sold at St. Thomas for five or six
+dollars, and lower grades even cheaper in proportion. There is said to
+be considerable smuggling successfully carried on between this island
+and the Florida shore, in the article of cigars as well as in tobacco in
+the unmanufactured state. The high duty on these has always incited to
+smuggling, thus defeating the very object for which it is imposed.
+Probably a moderate duty would yield more to the government in the
+aggregate, by rendering it so much less of an object to smuggle.
+
+Though the island is Danish in nationality, there are few surroundings
+calculated to recall the fact, save that the flag of that country floats
+over the old fort and the one or two official buildings, just as it has
+done for the last two centuries. The prominent officials are Danes, as
+well as the officers of the small body of soldiers maintained on the
+island. English is almost exclusively spoken, though there are French,
+Spanish, and Italian residents here. English is also the language taught
+in the public schools. People have come here to make what money they
+can, but with the fixed purpose of spending it and enjoying it
+elsewhere. As a rule, all Europeans who come to the West Indies and
+embark in business do so with exactly this purpose. In Cuba the
+Spaniards from the continent, among whom are many Jews, have a proverb
+the significance of which is: "Ten years of starvation, and a fortune,"
+and most of them live up to this axiom. They leave all principles of
+honor, all sense of moral responsibility, all sacred domestic ties,
+behind them, forgetting, or at least ignoring, the significant query,
+namely, "What shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and
+lose his own soul?"
+
+About one third of the population is Roman Catholic. The Jews have a
+synagogue, and a membership of six hundred. They have a record on the
+island dating as far back as the year 1757, and add much to the activity
+and thrift of St. Thomas. No matter where we find the Jews, in Mexico,
+Warsaw, California, or the West Indies, they are all alike intent upon
+money making, and are nearly always successful. Their irrepressible
+energy wins for them the goal for which they so earnestly strive. That
+soldier of fortune, Santa Anna, formerly ruler of Mexico, when banished
+as a traitor from his native country, made his home on this island, and
+the house which he built and occupied is still pointed out to visitors
+as one of the local curiosities. The social life of St. Thomas is
+naturally very circumscribed, but is good so far as it goes. A few
+cultured people, who have made it their home for some years, have become
+sincerely attached to the place, and enjoy the climate. There are a
+small public library, a hospital, several charitable institutions, and a
+theatre, which is occupied semi-occasionally. The island is connected
+with the continent by cable, and has a large floating dock and marine
+railway, which causes vessels in distress to visit the port for needed
+repairs. The town is situated on the north side of the bay which indents
+the middle of the south side of the island. The harbor has a depth of
+water varying from eighteen to thirty-six feet, and has the advantage of
+being a free port, a fact, perhaps, of not much account to a place which
+has neither exports nor imports of its own. St. Thomas is the only town
+of any importance on the island, and is known locally as Charlotte
+Amalie, a fact which sometimes leads to a confusion of ideas.
+
+The reader need not encounter the intense heat, which so nearly wilted
+us, in an effort to obtain a good lookout from some elevated spot; but
+the result will perhaps interest him, as it fully repaid the writer for
+all the consequent discomfort.
+
+From the brow of a moderate elevation just behind the town, a delightful
+and far-reaching view is afforded, embracing St. Thomas in the
+foreground, the well-sheltered bay, dotted with vessels bearing the
+flags of various nations, an archipelago of islets scattered over the
+near waters, and numerous small bays indenting the coast. At a distance
+of some forty miles across the sea looms the island of Santa Cruz; and
+farther away, on the horizon's most distant limit, are seen the tall
+hills and mountains of Porto Rico; while the sky is fringed by a long
+trailing plume of smoke, indicating the course of some passing
+steamship. The three hills upon which the town stands are spurs of West
+Mountain, and the place is quite as well entitled to the name of
+Tremont--"tri-mountain"--as was the capital of Massachusetts, before its
+hills were laid low to accommodate business demands. On the seaward side
+of these elevations the red tiled roofs of the white houses rise in
+regular terraces from the street which borders the harbor, forming a
+very picturesque group as seen from the bay.
+
+Though it has not often been visited by epidemics, Mr. Anthony Trollope
+pronounces the island, in his usual irresponsible way, to be "one of the
+hottest and one of the most unhealthy spots among all these hot and
+unhealthy regions," and adds that he would perhaps be justified in
+saying "that of all such spots it is the hottest and most unhealthy."
+This is calculated to give an incorrect idea of St. Thomas. True, it is
+liable to periods of unhealthiness, when a species of low fever
+prevails, proving more or less fatal. This is thought to originate from
+the surface drainage, and the miasma arising from the bay. All the
+drains of the town flow into the waters of the harbor, which has not
+sufficient flow of tide to carry seaward the foul matter thus
+accumulated. The hot sun pouring its heat down upon this tainted water
+causes a dangerous exhalation. Still, sharks do not seem to be sensitive
+as to this matter, for they much abound. It is yet to be discovered why
+these tigers of the sea do not attack the negroes, who fearlessly leap
+overboard; a white man could not do this with impunity. The Asiatics of
+the Malacca Straits do not enjoy any such immunity from danger, though
+they have skins as dark as the divers of St. Thomas. Sharks appear in
+the West Indies in small schools, or at least there are nearly always
+two or three together, but in Oriental waters they are only seen singly.
+Thus a Malay of Singapore, for a compensation, say an English sovereign,
+will place a long, sharp knife between his teeth and leap naked into the
+sea to attack a shark. He adroitly dives beneath the creature, and as it
+turns its body to bring its awkward mouth into use, with his knife the
+Malay slashes a deep, long opening in its exposed belly, at the same
+time forcing himself out of the creature's reach. The knife is sure and
+fatal. After a few moments the huge body of the fish is seen to rise and
+float lifeless upon the surface of the water.
+
+A large majority of the people are colored, exhibiting some peculiarly
+interesting types, intermarriage with whites of various nationalities
+having produced among the descendants of Africans many changes of color
+and of features. One feels sure that there is also a trace of Carib or
+Indian blood mingled with the rest,--a trace of the aborigines whom
+Columbus found here. The outcome is not entirely a race with flat noses
+and protruding lips; straight Grecian profiles are not uncommon,
+accompanied by thin nostrils and Anglo-Saxon lips. Faultless teeth, soft
+blue eyes, and hair nearly straight are sometimes met with among the
+creoles. As to the style of walking and of carrying the head and body,
+the common class of women of St. Thomas have arrived at perfection. Some
+of them are notable examples of unconscious dignity and grace combined.
+This has been brought about by carrying burdens upon their heads from
+childhood, without the supporting aid of the hands. Modesty, or rather
+conventionality, does not require boys or girls under eight years of age
+to encumber themselves with clothing. The costume of the market women
+and the lower classes generally is picturesque, composed of a Madras
+kerchief carefully twisted into a turban of many colors, yellow
+predominating, a cotton chemise which leaves the neck and shoulders
+exposed, reaching just below the knees, the legs and feet being bare.
+The men wear cotton drawers reaching nearly to the knee, the rest of the
+body being uncovered, except the head, which is usually sheltered under
+a broad brimmed straw hat, the sides of which are perforated by many
+ventilating holes. The whites generally, and also the better class of
+natives, dress very much after the fashion which prevails in North
+America.
+
+This is the negroes' paradise, but it is a climate in which the white
+race gradually wanes. The heat of the tropics is modified by the
+constant and grateful trade winds, a most merciful dispensation, without
+which the West Indies would be uninhabitable by man. On the hillsides of
+St. Thomas these winds insure cool nights at least, and a comparatively
+temperate state of the atmosphere during the day. Vegetation is
+abundant, the fruit trees are perennial, bearing leaf, blossom, and
+fruit in profusion, month after month, year after year. Little, if any,
+cultivation is required. The few sugar plantations which are still
+carried on yield from three to four successive years without replanting.
+It is a notable fact that where vegetation is at its best, where the
+soil is most rank and prolific, where fruits and flowers grow in wild
+exuberance, elevated humanity thrives the least. The lower the grade of
+man, the nearer he approximates to the animals, the less civilized he is
+in mind and body, the better he appears to be adapted to such
+localities. The birds and the butterflies are in exact harmony with the
+loveliness of tropical nature, however prolific she may be; the flowers
+are glorious and beautiful: it is man alone who seems out of place. A
+great variety of fruits are indigenous here, such as the orange, lime,
+alligator pear, moss-apple, and mango, but none of them are cultivated
+to any extent; the people seem to lack the energy requisite to improve
+the grand possibilities of their fertile soil and prolific climate.
+
+We were reminded by a resident of the town, before we left the harbor of
+St. Thomas, that the nervous old lady referred to was not entirely
+without reason for her anxiety. Some of our readers will remember,
+perhaps, that in October, 1867, a most disastrous hurricane swept over
+these Virgin Islands, leaving widespread desolation in its track. The
+shipping which happened to be in the bay of St. Thomas was nearly all
+destroyed, together with hundreds of lives, while on the land scores of
+houses and many lives were also sacrificed to the terrible cyclone of
+that date. Even the thoroughly built iron and stone lighthouse was
+completely obliterated. There is a theory that such visitations come in
+this region about once in every twelve or fifteen years, and upon
+looking up the matter we find them to have occurred, with more or less
+destructive force, in the years 1793, 1819, 1837, 1867, 1871, and so
+late as August, 1891. Other hurricanes have passed over these islands
+during the period covered by these dates, but of a mitigated character.
+August, September, and October are the months in which the hurricanes
+are most likely to occur, and all vessels navigating the West Indian
+seas during these months take extra precautions to secure themselves
+against accidents from this source. When such visitations happen, the
+event is sure to develop heroic deeds. In the hurricane of 1867, the
+captain of a Spanish man-of-war, who was a practical sailor, brought up
+from boyhood upon the ocean, seeing the oncoming cyclone, and knowing by
+experience what to expect, ordered the masts of his vessel to be cut
+away at once, and every portion of exposed top hamper to be cast into
+the sea. When thus stripped he exposed little but the bare hull of his
+steamer to the fury of the storm. After the cyclone had passed, it was
+found that he had not lost a man, and that the steamer's hull, though
+severely battered, was substantially unharmed. Keeping up all steam
+during the awful scene, this captain devoted himself and his ship to the
+saving of human life, promptly taking his vessel wherever he could be of
+the most service. Hundreds of seamen were saved from death by the
+coolness and intrepidity of this heroic sailor.
+
+Since these notes were written among the islands, a terrible cyclone has
+visited them. This was on August 18, last past, and proved more
+destructive to human life, to marine and other property, than any
+occurrence of the kind during the last century. At Martinique a sharp
+shock of earthquake added to the horror of the occasion, the town of
+Fort de France being very nearly leveled with the ground. Many tall and
+noble palms, the growth of half a hundred years, were utterly demolished
+in the twinkling of an eye, and other trees were uprooted by the score.
+
+The waters of this neighborhood teem with strange forms of animal and
+vegetable life. Here we saw specimens of red and blue snappers, the
+angel-fish, king-fish, gurnets, cow-fish, whip-ray, peacock-fish,
+zebra-fish, and so on, all, or nearly all, unfamiliar to us, each
+species individualized either in shape, color, or both. The whip-ray,
+with a body like a flounder, has a tail six or seven feet long, tapering
+from an inch and over to less than a quarter of an inch at the small
+end. When dried, it still retains a degree of elasticity, and is used by
+the natives as a whip with which to drive horses and donkeys. In some
+places, so singularly clear is the water that the bottom is distinctly
+visible five or six fathoms below the surface, where fishes of various
+sorts are seen in ceaseless motion. White shells, corals, star-fish, and
+sea-urchins mingle their various forms and colors, objects and hues
+seeming to be intensified by the strong reflected light from the
+surface, so that one could easily fancy them to be flowers blooming in
+the fairy gardens of the mermaids. The early morning, just after the sun
+begins to gild the surface of the sea, is the favorite time for the
+flying-fishes to display their aerial proclivities. They are always
+attracted by a strong light, and are thus lured to their destruction by
+the torches of the fishermen, who often go out for the purpose at night
+and take them in nets. In the early morning, as seen from the ship's
+deck, they scoot above the rippling waves in schools of a hundred and
+more, so compact as to cast fleeting shadows over the blue enameled
+surface of the waters. At St. Thomas, Martinique, and Barbadoes, as well
+as among the other islands bordering the Caribbean Sea, they form no
+inconsiderable source of food for the humble natives, who fry them in
+batter mixed with onions, making a savory and nutritious dish.
+
+St. Thomas is, as we have said, a coaling station for steamships, and
+when the business is in progress a most unique picture is presented. The
+ship is moored alongside of the dock for this purpose, two side ports
+being thrown open, one for ingress, the other for egress. A hundred
+women and girls, wearing one scanty garment reaching to the knees, are
+in line, and commence at once to trot on board in single file, each one
+bearing a bushel basket of coal upon her head, weighing, say sixty
+pounds. Another gang fill empty baskets where the coal is stored, so
+that there is a continuous line of negresses trotting into the ship at
+one port and, after dumping their loads into the coal bunkers, out at
+the other, hastening back to the source of supply for more. Their step
+is quick, their pose straight as an arrow, while their feet keep time to
+a wild chant in which all join, the purport of which it is not possible
+to clearly understand. Now and again their voices rise in softly mingled
+harmony, floating very sweetly over the still waters of the bay. The
+scene we describe occurred at night, but the moon had not yet risen.
+Along the wharf, to the coal deposits, iron frames were erected
+containing burning bituminous coal, and the blaze, fanned by the open
+air, formed the light by which the women worked. It was a weird picture.
+Everything seemed quite in harmony: the hour, the darkness of night
+relieved by the flaming brackets of coal, the strange, dark figures
+hastening into the glare of light and quickly vanishing, the harmony of
+high-pitched voices occasionally broken in upon by the sharp, stern
+voice of their leader,--all was highly dramatic and effective.
+
+Not unfrequently three or four steamers are coaling at the same time
+from different wharves. Hundreds of women and girls of St. Thomas make
+this labor their special occupation, and gain a respectable living by
+it, doubtless supporting any number of lazy, worthless husbands,
+fathers, and brothers.
+
+After our ship was supplied with coal, these women, having put three
+hundred tons on board in a surprisingly short period of time, formed a
+group upon the wharf and held what they called a firefly dance,
+indescribably quaint and grotesque, performed by the flickering light of
+the flaming coal. Their voices were joined in a wild, quick chant, as
+they twisted and turned, clapping their hands at intervals to emphasize
+the chorus. Now and again a couple of the girls would separate from the
+rest for a moment, then dance toward and from each other, throwing their
+arms wildly about their heads, and finally, gathering their scanty
+drapery in one hand and extending the other, perform a movement similar
+to the French cancan. Once more springing back among their companions,
+all joined hands, and a roundabout romp closed the firefly dance. Could
+such a scene be produced in a city theatre _au naturel_, with proper
+accessories and by these actual performers, it would surely prove an
+attraction good for one hundred nights. Of course this would be
+impossible. Conventionality would object to such diaphanous costumes,
+and bare limbs, though they were of a bronzed hue, would shock Puritanic
+eyes.
+
+Upon first entering the harbor, the Vigilancia anchored at a short
+distance from the shore; but when it became necessary to haul alongside
+the wharf, the attempt was made to get up the anchor, when it was found
+to require far more than the usual expenditure of power to do so.
+Finally, however, the anchor was secured, but attached to its flukes
+there came also, from the bottom of the bay, a second anchor, of antique
+shape, covered with rust and barnacles. It was such a one as was carried
+by the galleons of the fifteenth century, and had doubtless lain for
+over four hundred years just where the anchor of our ship had got
+entangled with it. What a remarkable link this corroded piece of iron
+formed, uniting the present with the far past, and how it stimulated the
+mind in forming romantic possibilities! It may have been the holding
+iron of Columbus's own caravel, or have been the anchor of one of
+Cortez's fleet, which touched here on its way into the Gulf of Mexico,
+or, indeed, it may have belonged to some Caribbean buccaneer, who was
+obliged to let slip his cable and hasten away to escape capture.
+
+It was deemed a fortunate circumstance to have secured this ancient
+relic, and a sure sign of future good luck to the ship, so it was duly
+stored away in the lower hold of the Vigilancia.
+
+That same night on which the coal bunkers were filled, our good ship was
+got under way, while the rising moon made the harbor and its
+surroundings as clearly visible as though it were midday. The light from
+the burning coal brackets had waned, only a few sparks bursting forth
+now and again, disturbed by a passing breeze which fanned them into life
+for a moment. When we passed through the narrow entrance by the
+lighthouse, and stood out once more upon the open sea, it was mottled,
+far and near, with argent ripples, that waltzed merrily in the soft,
+clear moonlight, rivaling the firefly dance on shore. Even to the very
+horizon the water presented a white, silvery, tremulous sheen of liquid
+light. One gazed in silent enjoyment until the eyes were weary with the
+lavish beauty of the scene, and the brain became giddy with its
+splendor. Is it idle and commonplace to be enthusiastic? Perhaps so; but
+we hope never to outlive such inspiration.
+
+
+
+
+          CHAPTER II.
+
+     Curious Seaweed.--Professor Agassiz.--Myth of a Lost
+     Continent.--Island of Martinique.--An Attractive
+     Place.--Statue of the Empress Josephine.--Birthplace of
+     Madame de Maintenon.--City of St. Pierre.--Mont Pelée.--High
+     Flavored Specialty.--Grisettes of Martinique.--A Botanical
+     Garden.--Defective Drainage.--A Fatal Enemy.--A Cannibal
+     Snake.--The Climate.
+
+
+Between St. Thomas and the island of Martinique, we fell in with some
+floating seaweed, so peculiar in appearance that an obliging
+quartermaster picked up a spray for closer examination. It is a strange,
+sponge-like plant, which propagates itself on the ocean, unharmed by the
+fiercest agitation of the waves, or the wildest raging of the winds, at
+the same time giving shelter to zoöphytes and mollusks of a species,
+like itself, found nowhere else. Sailors call it Gulf weed, but it has
+nothing to do with the Gulf Stream, though sometimes clusters get astray
+and are carried far away on the bosom of that grand ocean current. The
+author has seen small bodies of it, after a fierce storm in the
+Caribbean Sea, a thousand miles to the eastward of Barbadoes. Its
+special home is a broad space of ocean surface between the Gulf Stream
+and the equatorial current, known as the Sargasso Sea. Its limits,
+however, change somewhat with the seasons. It was first noticed by
+Columbus in 1492, and in this region it has remained for centuries, even
+to the present day. Sometimes this peculiar weed is so abundant as to
+present the appearance of a submerged meadow, through which the ship
+ploughs its way as though sailing upon the land. We are told that
+Professor Agassiz, while at sea, having got possession of a small branch
+of this marine growth, kept himself busily absorbed with it and its
+products for twelve hours, forgetting all the intervening meals. Science
+was more than food and drink to this grand savant. His years from
+boyhood were devoted to the study of nature in her various forms. "Life
+is so short," said he, "one can hardly find space to become familiar
+with a single science, much less to acquire knowledge of many." When he
+was applied to by a lyceum committee to come to a certain town and
+lecture, he replied that he was too busy. "But we will pay you double
+price, Mr. Agassiz, if you will come," said the applicant. "I cannot
+waste time to make money," was the noble reply.
+
+The myth of a lost continent is doubtless familiar to the reader,--a
+continent supposed to have existed in these waters thousands of years
+ago, but which, by some evolution of nature, became submerged, sinking
+from sight forever. It was the Atlantis which is mentioned by Plato; the
+land in which the Elysian Fields were placed, and the Garden of
+Hesperides, from which the early civilization of Greece, Egypt, and Asia
+Minor were derived, and whose kings and heroes were the Olympian deities
+of a later time. The poetical idea prevails that this plant, which once
+grew in those gardens, having lost its original home, has become a
+floating waif on the sapphire sea of the tropics. The color of the
+Sargasso weed is a faint orange shade; the leaves are pointed, delicate,
+and exquisitely formed, like those of the weeping willow in their
+youthful freshness, having a tiny, round, light green berry near the
+base of each leaf. Mother Cary's chickens are said to be fond of these
+berries, and that bird abounds in these waters.
+
+Probably the main portion of the West Indian islands was once a part of
+the continent of America, many, many ages ago. There are trees of the
+locust family growing among the group to-day, similar to those found on
+our southern coast, which are declared to be four thousand years old.
+This statement is partially corroborated by known characteristics of the
+growth of the locust, and there are arborists who fully credit this
+great longevity. It is interesting to look upon an object which had a
+vital existence two thousand years and more before Christ was upon
+earth, and which is still animate.
+
+       *     *     *     *     *
+
+Each new island which one visits in the West Indies seems more lovely
+than its predecessor, always leaving Hayti out of the question; but
+Martinique, at this moment of writing, appears to rival all those with
+which the author is familiar. It might be a choice bit out of Cuba,
+Singapore, or far-away Hawaii. Its liability to destructive hurricanes
+is its only visible drawback. Having been discovered on St. Martin's
+day, Columbus gave it the name it now bears.
+
+St. Pierre is the commercial capital of Martinique, one of the French
+West Indies, and the largest of the group belonging to that nation. Fort
+de France is the political capital, situated about thirty miles from St.
+Pierre. It was nearly ruined by the cyclone of last August, a few weeks
+after the author's visit. St. Pierre is the best built town in the
+Lesser Antilles, and has a population of about twenty-five thousand. The
+streets are well paved, and the principal avenues are beautified by
+ornamental trees uniformly planted. The grateful shade thus obtained,
+and the long lines of charming arboreal perspective which are formed,
+are desirable accessories to any locality, but doubly so in tropical
+regions. The houses are very attractive, while there is a prevailing
+aspect of order, cleanliness, and thrift everywhere apparent. It was not
+our experience to meet one beggar in the streets of St. Pierre. More or
+less of poverty must exist everywhere, but it does not stalk abroad
+here, as it does in many rich and pretentious capitals of the great
+world. The island is situated midway between Dominica and St. Lucia, and
+is admitted by all visitors to be one of the most picturesque of the
+West Indian groups. Irregular in shape, it is also high and rocky, thus
+forming one of the most prominent of the large volcanic family which
+sprang up so many ages ago in these seas. Its apex, Mont Pelée, an only
+partially extinct volcano, rises between four and five thousand feet
+above the level of the ocean, and is the first point visible on
+approaching the island from the north. It would be interesting to dilate
+upon the past history of Martinique, for it has known not a little of
+the checkered vicissitudes of these Antilles, having been twice captured
+by the English, and twice restored to France. But this would not be in
+accordance with the design of these pages.
+
+St. Pierre is situated on the lee side of the island, something less
+than two thousand miles, by the course we have steered, from New York,
+and three hundred miles from St. Thomas. It comes down to the very
+water's edge, with its parti-colored houses and red-tiled roofs, which
+mingle here and there with tall, overhanging cocoa-palms. This is the
+most lavishly beautiful tree in the world, and one which never fails to
+impart special interest to its surroundings.
+
+A marble statue in the Place de la Savane, at Fort de France, on the
+same side of the island as St. Pierre, recalls the fact that this was
+the birthplace of the Empress Josephine, born in 1763. Her memorable
+history is too familiar for us to repeat any portion of it here, but the
+brain becomes very active at the mere mention of her name, in recalling
+the romantic and tragic episodes of her life, so closely interwoven with
+the career of the first Napoleon. One instinctively recalls the small
+boudoir in the palace of Trianon, where her husband signed the divorce
+from Josephine. That he loved her with his whole power for loving is
+plain enough, as is also his well known reason for the separation,
+namely, the desire for offspring to transmit his name to posterity.
+There is one legend which is always rehearsed to strangers, relating to
+Josephine's youth upon the island. We refer to that of the old negress
+fortune-teller who prognosticated the grandeur of her future career,
+together with its melancholy termination, a story so tinctured with
+local color that, if it be not absolutely true, it surely ought to be.
+The statue, unless we are misinformed, was the gift of that colossal
+fraud, Napoleon III., though it purports to have been raised to the
+memory of Josephine by the people of Martinique, who certainly feel
+great pride in the fact of her having been born here, and who truly
+venerate her memory. The statue represents the empress dressed in the
+fashion of the First Empire, with bare arms and shoulders, one hand
+resting on a medallion bearing a profile of the emperor to whom she was
+devoted. The whole is partially shaded by a half dozen grand old palms.
+The group teems with historic suggestiveness, recalling one of the most
+tragic chapters of modern European history. It seemed to us that the
+artist had succeeded in imparting to the figure an expression indicating
+something of the sad story of the original.
+
+This beautiful island, it will be remembered, also gave to France
+another remarkable historic character, Françoise d'Aubigné, afterwards
+Madame Scarron, but better known to the world at large as Madame de
+Maintenon. She, too, was the wife of a king, though the marriage was a
+left-handed one, but as the power behind the throne, she is well known
+to have shaped for years the political destinies of France.
+
+St. Pierre has several schools, a very good hotel, a theatre, a public
+library, together with some other modern and progressive institutions;
+yet somehow everything looked quaint and olden, a sixteenth century
+atmosphere seeming to pervade the town. The windows of the ordinary
+dwellings have no glass, which is very naturally considered to be a
+superfluity in this climate; but these windows have iron bars and wooden
+shutters behind them, relics of the days of slavery, when every white
+man's house was his castle, and great precautions were taken to guard
+against the possible uprising of the blacks, who outnumbered their
+masters twenty to one.
+
+Though so large a portion of the population are of negro descent, yet
+they are very French-like in character. The native women especially seem
+to be frivolous and coquettish, not to say rather lax in morals. They
+appear to be very fond of dress. The young negresses have learned from
+their white mistresses how to put on their diaphanous clothing in a
+jaunty and telling fashion, leaving one bronzed arm and shoulder bare,
+which strikes the eye in strong contrast with the snow white of their
+cotton chemises. They are Parisian grisettes in ebony, and with their
+large, roguish eyes, well-rounded figures, straight pose, and dainty
+ways, the half-breeds are certainly very attractive, and only too ready
+for a lark with a stranger. They strongly remind one of the pretty
+quadroons of Louisiana, in their manners, complexion, and general
+appearance; and like those handsome offspring of mingled blood, so often
+seen in our Southern States, we suspect that these of Martinique enjoy
+but a brief space of existence. The average life of a quadroon is less
+than thirty years.
+
+Martinique is eight times as large as St. Thomas, containing a
+population of about one hundred and seventy-five thousand. Within its
+borders there are at least five extinct volcanoes, one of which has an
+enormous crater, exceeded by only three or four others in the known
+world. The island rises from the sea in three groups of rugged peaks,
+and contains some very fertile valleys. So late as 1851, Mont Pelée
+burst forth furiously with flames and smoke, which naturally threw the
+people into a serious panic, many persons taking refuge temporarily on
+board the shipping in the harbor. The eruption on this occasion did not
+amount to anything very serious, only covering some hundreds of acres
+with sulphurous débris, yet serving to show that the volcano was not
+dead, but sleeping. Once or twice since that date ominous mutterings
+have been heard from Mont Pelée, which it is confidently predicted will
+one day deluge St. Pierre with ashes and lava, repeating the story of
+Pompeii.
+
+Sugar, rum, coffee, and cotton are the staple products here,
+supplemented by tobacco, manioc flour, bread-fruit, and bananas. Rum is
+very extensively manufactured, and has a good mercantile reputation for
+its excellence, commanding as high prices as the more famous article of
+the same nature produced at Jamaica. The purpose of the author is mainly
+to record personal impressions, but a certain sprinkling of statistics
+and detail is inevitable, if we would inform, as well as amuse, the
+average reader.
+
+The flora of Martinique is the marvel and delight of all who have
+enjoyed its extraordinary beauty, while the great abundance and variety
+of its fruits are believed to be unsurpassed even in the prolific
+tropics. Of that favorite, the mango, the island produces some forty
+varieties, and probably in no other region has the muscatel grape
+reached to such perfection in size and flavor. The whole island looks
+like a maze of greenery, as it is approached from the sea, vividly
+recalling Tutuila of the Samoan group in the South Pacific. Like most of
+the West Indian islands, Martinique was once densely covered with trees,
+and a remnant of these ancient woods creeps down to the neighborhood of
+St. Pierre to-day.
+
+The principal landing is crowded at all times with hogsheads of sugar
+and molasses, and other casks containing the highly scented island rum,
+the two sweets, together with the spirits, causing a nauseous odor under
+the powerful heat of a vertical sun. We must not forget to mention,
+however, that St. Pierre has a specific for bad odors in her somewhat
+peculiar specialty, namely, eau-de-cologne, which is manufactured on
+this island, and is equal to the European article of the same name,
+distilled at the famous city on the Rhine. No one visits the port, if it
+be for but a single day, without bringing away a sample bottle of this
+delicate perfumery, a small portion of which, added to the morning bath,
+is delightfully refreshing, especially when one uses salt water at sea,
+it so effectively removes the saline stickiness which is apt to remain
+upon the limbs and body after a cold bath.
+
+The town is blessed with an inexhaustible supply of good, fresh,
+mountain water, which, besides furnishing the necessary quantity for
+several large drinking fountains, feeds some ornamental ones, and
+purifies the streets by a flow through the gutters, after the fashion of
+Salt Lake City, Utah. This is in fact the only system of drainage at St.
+Pierre. A bronze fountain in the Place Bertin is fed from this source,
+and is an object of great pleasure in a climate where cold water in
+abundance is an inestimable boon. This elaborate fountain was the gift
+of a colored man, named Alfred Agnew, who was at one time mayor of the
+city. Many of the gardens attached to the dwelling-houses are ornamented
+with ever-flowing fountains, which impart a refreshing coolness to the
+tropical atmosphere.
+
+The Rue Victor Hugo is the main thoroughfare, traversing the whole
+length of the town parallel with the shore, up hill and down, crossing a
+small bridge, and finally losing itself in the environs. It is nicely
+kept, well paved, and, though it is rather narrow, it is the Broadway of
+St. Pierre. Some of the streets are so abrupt in grade as to recall
+similar avenues in the English portion of Hong Kong, too steep for the
+passage of vehicles, or even for donkeys, being ascended by means of
+much worn stone steps. Fine, broad roadways surround the town and form
+pleasant drives.
+
+The cathedral has a sweet chime of bells, whose soft, liquid notes came
+to us across the water of the bay with touching cadence at the Angelus
+hour. It must be a sadly calloused heart which fails to respond to these
+twilight sounds in an isle of the Caribbean Sea. Millet's impressive
+picture was vividly recalled as we sat upon the deck and listened to
+those bells, whose notes floated softly upon the air as if bidding
+farewell to the lingering daylight. At the moment, all else being so
+still, it seemed as though one's heartbeat could be heard, while the
+senses were bathed in a tranquil gladness incited by the surrounding
+scenery and the suggestiveness of the hour.
+
+Three fourths of the population are half-breeds, born of whites, blacks,
+or mulattoes, with a possible strain of Carib blood in their veins, the
+result of which is sometimes a very handsome type of bronzed hue, but of
+Circassian features. Some of the young women of the better class are
+very attractive, with complexions of a gypsy color, like the artists'
+models who frequent the "Spanish Stairs" leading to the Trinità di
+Monti, at Rome. These girls possess deep, dark eyes, pearly teeth, with
+good figures, upright and supple as the palms. In dress they affect all
+the colors of the rainbow, presenting oftentimes a charming audacity of
+contrasts, and somehow it seems to be quite the thing for them to do so;
+it accords perfectly with their complexions, with the climate, with
+everything tropical. The many-colored Madras kerchief is universally
+worn by the common class of women, twisted into a jaunty turban, with
+one well-starched end ingeniously arranged so as to stand upright like a
+soldier's plume. The love of ornament is displayed by the wearing of
+hoop earrings of enormous size, together with triple strings of gold
+beads, and bracelets of the same material. If any one imagines he has
+seen larger sized hoop earrings this side of Africa, he is mistaken.
+They are more like bangles than earrings, hanging down so as to rest
+upon the neck and shoulders. Those who cannot afford the genuine article
+satisfy their vanity with gaudy imitations. They form a very curious and
+interesting study, these black, brown, and yellow people, both men and
+women. In the market-place at the north end of the town, the women
+preside over their bananas, oranges, and other fruits, in groups,
+squatting like Asiatics on their heels. In the Havana fish market, one
+compares the variety of colors exhibited by the fishes exposed for sale
+to those of the kaleidoscope, but here the Cuban display is equaled if
+not surpassed.
+
+St. Pierre has a botanical garden, situated about a mile from the centre
+of the town, so located as to admit of utilizing a portion of the native
+forest yet left standing, with here and there an impenetrable growth of
+the feathery bamboo, king of the grasses, interspersed with the royal
+palm and lighter green tree-ferns. The bamboo is a marvel, single stems
+of it often attaining a height in tropical regions of a hundred and
+seventy feet, and a diameter of a foot. So rapid is its growth that it
+is sometimes known to attain the height of a hundred feet in sixty days.
+Art has done something to improve the advantages afforded by nature in
+this botanical garden, arranging some pretty lakes, fountains, and
+cascades. Vistas have been cut through the dense undergrowth, and
+driveways have been made, thus improving the rather neglected grounds.
+One pretty lake of considerable size contains three or four small
+islands, covered with flowering plants, while on the shore are pretty
+summer houses and inviting arbors. The frangipanni, tall and almost
+leafless, but with thick, fleshy shoots and a broad-spread, single leaf,
+was recognized here among other interesting plants. This is the fragrant
+flower mentioned by the early discoverers. There was also the
+parti-colored passion-flower, and groups of odd-shaped cacti, whose
+thick, green leaves were daintily rimmed with an odorless yellow bloom.
+Here, also, is an interesting example of the ceba-tree, in whose shade a
+hundred persons might banquet together. The author has seen specimens of
+the ceba superbly developed in Cuba and the Bahamas, with its massive
+and curiously buttressed trunk, having the large roots half above
+ground. It is a solitary tree, growing to a large size and enjoying
+great longevity. Mangoes abound here, the finest known as the _mango
+d'or_. There is a certain air about the public garden of St. Pierre,
+indicating that nature is permitted in a large degree to have her own
+sweet will. Evidences enough remain to show the visitor that these
+grounds must once have been in a much more presentable condition. There
+is a musical cascade, which is well worth a long walk to see and enjoy.
+Just inside of the entrance, one spot was all ablaze with a tiny yellow
+flower, best known to us as English broom, _Cytisus genista_. Its
+profuse but delicate bloom was dazzling beneath the bright sun's rays.
+Could it possibly be indigenous? No one could tell us. Probably some
+resident brought it hither from his home across the ocean, and it has
+kindly adapted itself to the new soil and climate.
+
+We were cautioned to look out for and to avoid a certain poisonous
+snake, a malignant reptile, with fatal fangs, which is the dread of the
+inhabitants, some of whom are said to die every year from the venom of
+the creature. It will be remembered that one of these snakes, known here
+as the _fer-de-lance_, bit Josephine, the future empress, when she was
+very young, and that her faithful negro nurse saved the child's life by
+instantly drawing the poison from the wound with her own lips. It is
+singular that this island, and that of St. Lucia, directly south of it,
+should be cursed by the presence of these poisonous creatures, which do
+not exist in any other of the West Indian islands, and, indeed, so far
+as we know, are not to be found anywhere else. The fer-de-lance has one
+fatal enemy. This is a large snake, harmless so far as poisonous fangs
+are concerned, called the _cribo_. This reptile fearlessly attacks the
+fer-de-lance, and kills and eats him in spite of his venom, a perfectly
+justifiable if not gratifying instance of cannibalism, where a creature
+eats and relishes the body of one of its own species. The domestic cat
+is said also to be more than a match for the dreaded snake, and
+instinctively adopts a style of attack which, while protecting itself,
+finally closes the contest by the death of the fer-de-lance, which it
+seizes just back of the head at the spine, and does not let go until it
+has severed the head from the body; and even then instinct teaches the
+cat to avoid the head, for though it be severed from the body, like the
+mouth of a turtle under similar circumstances, it can still inflict a
+serious wound.
+
+The fer-de-lance is a great destroyer of rats, this rodent forming its
+principal source of food. Now as rats are almost as much of a pest upon
+the island, and especially on the sugar plantations, as rabbits are in
+New Zealand, it will be seen that even the existence of this poisonous
+snake is not an unmitigated evil.
+
+Crosses and wayside shrines of a very humble character are to be seen in
+all directions on the roadsides leading from St. Pierre, recalling
+similar structures which line the inland roads of Japan, where the local
+religion finds like public expression, only varying in the character of
+the emblems. At Martinique it is a Christ or a Madonna; in Japan it is a
+crude idol of some sort, the more hideous, the more appropriate. The
+same idea is to be seen carried out in the streets of Canton and
+Shanghai, only Chinese idols are a degree more unlike anything upon or
+below the earth than they are elsewhere.
+
+It was observed that while there were plenty of masculine loafers and
+careless idlers of various colors, whose whole occupation seemed to be
+sucking at some form of burning tobacco in the shape of cigarette,
+cigar, or pipe, the women, of whatever complexion, seen in public, were
+all usefully employed. They are industrious by instinct; one almost
+never sees them in repose. In the transportation of all articles of
+domestic use, women bear them upon their heads, whether the article
+weighs one pound or fifty, balancing their load without making use of
+the hands except to place the article in position. The women not
+infrequently have also a baby upon their backs at the same time.
+Negresses and donkeys perform nine tenths of the transportation of
+merchandise. Wheeled vehicles are very little used in the West Indian
+islands. As we have seen, even in coaling ship, it is the women who do
+the work.
+
+The Hotel des Bains, at St. Pierre, is an excellent hostelry, as such
+places go in this part of the world. The stranger will find here most of
+the requisites for domestic comfort, and at reasonable prices. As a
+health resort the place has its advantages, and a northern invalid,
+wishing to escape the rigor of a New England winter, would doubtless
+find much to occupy and recuperate him here. St. Pierre, however, has
+times of serious epidemic sickness, though this does not often happen in
+the winter season. Three or four years ago the island was visited by a
+sweeping epidemic of small-pox, but it raged almost entirely among the
+lowest classes, principally among the negroes, who seem to have a great
+prejudice and superstitious fear relating to vaccination, and its
+employment as a preventive against contracting the disease. In the
+yellow fever season the city suffers more or less, but the health of St.
+Pierre will average as good as that of our extreme Southern States; and
+yet, after all, with the earthquakes, hurricanes, tarantulas, scorpions,
+and deadly fer-de-lance, as Artemus Ward would say, Martinique presents
+many characteristics to recommend protracted absence. A brief visit is
+like a poem to be remembered, but one soon gets a surfeit of the
+circumscribed island.
+
+Our next objective point was Barbadoes, to reach which we sailed one
+hundred and fifty miles to the eastward, this most important of the
+Lesser Antilles being situated further to windward, that is, nearer the
+continent of Europe. Our ponderous anchor came up at early morning, just
+as the sun rose out of the long, level reach of waters. It looked like a
+mammoth ball of fire, which had been immersed during the hours of the
+night countless fathoms below the sea. Presently everything was aglow
+with light and warmth, while the atmosphere seemed full of infinitesimal
+particles of glittering gold. At first one could watch the face of the
+rising sun, as it came peering above the sea, a sort of fascination
+impelling the observer to do so, but after a few moments, no human eye
+could bear its dazzling splendor.
+
+Said an honest old Marshfield farmer, in 1776, who met the clergyman of
+the village very early in the opening day: "Ah, good mornin', Parson,
+another fine day," nodding significantly towards the sun just appearing
+above the cloudless horizon of Massachusetts Bay. "They do say the airth
+moves, and the sun stands still; but you and I, Parson, we git up airly
+and we _see_ it rise!"
+
+
+
+
+          CHAPTER III.
+
+     English Island of Barbadoes.--Bridgetown the Capital.--The
+     Manufacture of Rum.--A Geographical Expert.--Very
+     English.--A Pest of Ants.--Exports.--The Ice House.--A Dense
+     Population.--Educational.--Marine Hotel.--Habits of
+     Gambling.--Hurricanes.--Curious Antiquities.--The Barbadoes
+     Leg.--Wakeful Dreams.--Absence of Twilight.--Departure from
+     the Island.
+
+
+Bridgetown is the capital of Barbadoes, an English island which, unlike
+St. Thomas, is a highly cultivated sugar plantation from shore to shore.
+In natural beauty, however, it will not compare with Martinique. It is
+by no means picturesquely beautiful, like most of the West Indian
+islands, being quite devoid of their thick tropical verdure. Nature is
+here absolutely beaten out of the field by excessive cultivation. Thirty
+thousand acres of sugar-cane are cut annually, yielding, according to
+late statistics, about seventy thousand hogsheads of sugar. We are sorry
+to add that there are twenty-three rum distilleries on the island, which
+do pecuniarily a thriving business. "The poorest molasses makes the best
+rum," said an experienced manager to us. He might well have added that
+it is also the poorest use to which it could be put. This spirit, like
+all produced in the West Indies, is called Jamaica rum, and though a
+certain amount of it is still shipped to the coast of Africa, the return
+cargoes no longer consist of kidnapped negroes. The article known as New
+England rum, still manufactured in the neighborhood of Boston, has
+always disputed the African market, so to speak, with the product of
+these islands. Rum is the bane of Africa, just as opium is of China, the
+former thrust upon the native races by Americans, the latter upon the
+Chinese by English merchants, backed by the British government. Events
+follow each other so swiftly in modern times as to become half forgotten
+by contemporary people, but there are those among us who remember when
+China as a nation tried to stop the importation of the deadly drug
+yielded by the poppy fields of India, whereupon England forced the
+article upon her at the point of the bayonet.
+
+Bridgetown is situated at the west end of the island on the open
+roadstead of Carlisle Bay, and has a population of over twenty-five
+thousand. Barbadoes lies about eighty miles to the windward of St.
+Vincent, its nearest neighbor, and is separated from Europe by four
+thousand miles of the Atlantic Ocean. It is comparatively removed from
+the chain formed by the Windward Isles, its situation being so isolated
+that it remained almost unnoticed until a century had passed after
+Columbus's first discovery in these waters. The area of the British
+possessions in the West Indies is about one seventh of the islands. It
+is often stated that Barbadoes is nearly as large as the Isle of Wight,
+but the fact is, it exceeds that island in superficial area, being a
+little over fifty-five miles in circumference. The reader will perhaps
+remember that it was here Addison laid the scene of his touching story
+of "Inkle and Yarico," published so many years ago in the "Spectator."
+
+Though it is not particularly well laid out, Bridgetown makes a very
+pleasing picture, as a whole, when seen from the harbor. Here and there
+a busy windmill is mixed with tall and verdant tropical trees, backed by
+far-reaching fields of yellow sugar-cane, together with low, sloping
+hills. The buildings are mostly of stone, or coral rock, and the town
+follows the graceful curve of the bay. The streets are macadamized and
+lighted with gas, but are far too narrow for business purposes. The
+island is about twenty-one miles long and between fourteen and fifteen
+broad, the shores being nearly inclosed in a cordon of coral reefs, some
+of which extend for two or three miles seaward, demanding of navigators
+the greatest care on seeking a landing, though the course into the roads
+to a suitable anchorage is carefully buoyed.
+
+Barbadoes was originally settled by the Portuguese, who here found the
+branches of a certain forest tree covered with hair-like hanging moss,
+from whence its somewhat peculiar name, Barbadoes, or the "bearded
+place," is supposed to have been derived. Probably this was the Indian
+fig-tree, still found here, and which lives for many centuries, growing
+to enormous proportions. In India, Ceylon, and elsewhere in Asia, it is
+held sacred. The author has seen one of these trees at Kandy, in the
+island of Ceylon, under which sacred rites have taken place constantly
+for a thousand years or more, and whose widespread branches could
+shelter five hundred people from the heat of the sun. It stands close by
+the famous old Buddhist temple wherein is preserved the tooth of the
+prophet, and before which devout Indians prostrate themselves daily,
+coming from long distances to do so. Indeed, Kandy is the Mecca of
+Ceylon.
+
+A good share of even the reading public of England would be puzzled to
+tell an inquirer exactly where Barbadoes is situated, while most of
+those who have any idea about it have gained such knowledge as they
+possess from Captain Marryat's clever novel of "Peter Simple," where the
+account is, to be sure, meagre enough. Still later, those who have read
+Anthony Trollope's "West Indies and the Spanish Main" have got from the
+flippant pages of that book some idea of the island, though it is a very
+disagreeable example of Trollope's pedantic style.
+
+"Barbadoes? Barbadoes?" said a society man to the writer of these pages,
+in all seriousness, just as he was about to sail from New York, "that's
+on the coast of Africa, is it not?"
+
+"Oh, no," was the reply, "it is one of the islands of the Lesser
+Antilles."
+
+"Where are the Antilles, pray?"
+
+"You must surely know."
+
+"But I do not, nevertheless; haven't the remotest idea. Fact is,
+geography never was one of my strong points."
+
+With which remark we silently agreed, and yet our friend is reckoned to
+be a fairly educated, cultured person, as these expressions are commonly
+used. Probably he represents the average geographical knowledge of one
+half the people to be met with in miscellaneous society.
+
+This is the first English possession where the sugarcane was planted,
+and is one of the most ancient colonies of Great Britain. It bears no
+resemblance to the other islands in these waters, that is,
+topographically, nor, indeed, in the character of its population, being
+entirely English. The place might be a bit taken out of any shire town
+of the British home island, were it only a little more cleanly and less
+unsavory; still it is more English than West Indian. The manners and
+customs are all similar to those of the people of that nationality; the
+negroes, and their descendants of mixed blood, speak the same tongue as
+the denizens of St. Giles, London. The island has often been called
+"Little England." There is no reliable history of Barbadoes before the
+period when Great Britain took possession of it, some two hundred and
+sixty years ago. Government House is a rather plain but pretentious
+dwelling, where the governor has his official and domestic residence. In
+its rear there is a garden, often spoken of by visitors, which is
+beautified by some of the choicest trees and shrubs of this latitude. It
+is really surprising how much a refined taste and skillful gardening can
+accomplish in so circumscribed a space.
+
+Barbadoes is somewhat remarkable as producing a variety of minerals;
+among which are coal, manganese, iron, kaolin, and yellow ochre. There
+are also one or two localities on the island where a flow of petroleum
+is found, of which some use is made. It is called Barbadoes tar, and
+were the supply sufficient to warrant the use of refining machinery, it
+would undoubtedly produce a good burning fluid. There is a "burning
+well," situated in what is known as the Scotland District, where the
+water emerging from the earth forms a pool, which is kept in a state of
+ebullition from the inflammable air or gas which passes through it. This
+gas, when lighted by a match, burns freely until extinguished by
+artificial means, not rising in large enough quantities to make a great
+flame, but still sufficient to create the effect of burning water, and
+forming quite a curiosity.
+
+There are no mountains on the island, but the land is undulating, and
+broken into hills and dales; one elevation, known as Mount Hillaby,
+reaches a thousand feet and more above the level of tide waters.
+
+One of the most serious pests ever known at Barbadoes was the
+introduction of ants, by slave-ships from Africa. No expedient of human
+ingenuity served to rid the place of their destructive presence, and it
+was at one time seriously proposed to abandon the island on this
+account. After a certain period nature came to the rescue. She does all
+things royally, and the hurricane of 1780 completely annihilated the
+vermin. Verily, it was appropriate to call Barbadoes in those days the
+Antilles! It appears that there is no affliction quite unmixed with
+good, and that we must put a certain degree of faith in the law of
+compensation, however great the seeming evil under which we suffer. To
+our limited power of comprehension, a destructive hurricane does seem an
+extreme resort by which to crush out an insect pest. The query might
+even arise, with some minds, whether the cure was not worse than the
+disorder.
+
+The exports from the island consist almost wholly of molasses, sugar,
+and rum, products of the cane, which grows all over the place, in every
+nook and corner, from hilltop to water's edge. The annual export, as
+already intimated, is considerably over sixty thousand hogsheads. Sugar
+cannot, however, be called king of any one section, since half of the
+amount manufactured in the whole world is the product of the beet root,
+the growth of which is liberally subsidized by more than one European
+government, in order to foster local industry. Like St. Thomas, this
+island has been almost denuded of its forest growth, and is occasionally
+liable, as we have seen, to destructive hurricanes.
+
+Bridgetown is a place of considerable progress, having several
+benevolent and educational institutions; it also possesses railway,
+telephone, and telegraphic service. Its export trade aggregates over
+seven million dollars per annum, to accommodate which amount of commerce
+causes a busy scene nearly all the time in the harbor. The steam railway
+referred to connects the capital with the Parish of St. Andrews,
+twenty-one miles away on the other side of the island, its terminus
+being at the thrifty little town of Bathsheba, a popular resort, which
+is noted for its fine beach and excellent sea bathing.
+
+The cathedral is consecrated to the established religion of the Church
+of England, and is a picturesque, time-worn building, surrounded, after
+the style of rural England, by a quaint old graveyard, the monuments and
+slabs of which are gray and moss-grown, some of them bearing dates of
+the earlier portion of the sixteenth century. This spot forms a very
+lovely, peaceful picture, where the graves are shaded by tree-ferns and
+stately palms. Somehow one cannot but miss the tall, slim cypress, which
+to the European and American eye seems so especially appropriate to such
+a spot. There were clusters of low-growing mignonette, which gave out a
+faint perfume exactly suited to the solemn shades which prevailed, and
+here and there bits of ground enameled with blue-eyed violets. The walls
+of the inside of the church are covered with memorial tablets, and there
+is an organ of great power and sweetness of tone.
+
+The "Ice House," so called, at Bridgetown is a popular resort, which
+everybody visits who comes to Barbadoes. Here one can find files of all
+the latest American and European papers, an excellent café, with drinks
+and refreshments of every conceivable character, and can purchase almost
+any desired article from a toothpick to a set of parlor furniture. It is
+a public library, an exchange, a "Bon Marché," and an artificial ice
+manufactory, all combined. Strangers naturally make it a place of
+rendezvous. It seemed to command rather more of the average citizen's
+attention than did legitimate business, and one is forced to admit that
+although the drinks which were so generously dispensed were cool and
+appetizing, they were also very potent. It was observed that some
+individuals, who came into the hospitable doors rather sober and
+dejected in expression of features, were apt to go out just a little
+jolly.
+
+The Ice House is an institution of these islands, to be found at St.
+Thomas, Demerara, and Trinidad, as well as at Barbadoes. Havana has a
+similar retreat, but calls it a café, situated on the Paseo, near the
+Tacon Theatre.
+
+The population of the island amounts to about one hundred and
+seventy-two thousand,--the census of 1881 showed it to be a trifle less
+than this,--giving the remarkable density of one thousand and more
+persons to the square mile, thus forming an immense human beehive. It is
+the only one of the West Indian islands from which a certain amount of
+emigration is necessary annually. The large negro population makes labor
+almost incredibly cheap, field-hands on the plantations being paid only
+one shilling per day; and yet, so ardent is their love of home--and the
+island is home to them--that only a few can be induced to leave it in
+search of better wages. When it is remembered that the State of
+Massachusetts, which is considered to be one of the most thickly
+populated sections of the United States, contains but two hundred and
+twenty persons to the square mile, the fact that this West Indian island
+supports over one thousand inhabitants in the same average space will be
+more fully appreciated. Notwithstanding this crowded state of the
+population, we were intelligently informed that while petty offenses are
+common, there is a marked absence of serious crimes.
+
+One sees few if any signs of poverty here. It is a land of sugar-cane,
+yams, and sweet potatoes, very prolific, and very easily tilled. Some of
+the most prosperous men on the island are colored planters, who own
+their large establishments, though born slaves, perhaps on the very
+ground they now own. They have by strict economy and industry saved
+money enough to make a fair beginning, and in the course of years have
+gradually acquired wealth. One plantation, owned by a colored man, born
+of slave parents, was pointed out to us, with the information that it
+was worth twenty thousand pounds sterling, and that its last year's crop
+yielded over three hundred hogsheads of sugar, besides a considerable
+quantity of molasses.
+
+England maintains at heavy expense a military depot here, from which to
+draw under certain circumstances. There is no local necessity for
+supporting such a force. Georgetown is a busy place. Being the most
+seaward of the West Indies, it has become the chief port of call for
+ships navigating these seas. The Caribbees are divided by geographers
+into the Windward and Leeward islands, in accordance with the direction
+in which they lie with regard to the prevailing winds. They are in very
+deep water, the neighboring sea having a mean depth of fifteen hundred
+fathoms. Being so far eastward, Barbadoes enjoys an exceptionally
+equable climate, and it is claimed for it that it has a lower
+thermometer than any other West Indian island. Its latitude is 13° 4'
+north, longitude 59° 37' west, within eight hundred miles of the
+equator. The prevailing wind blows from the northeast, over the broad,
+unobstructed Atlantic, rendering the evenings almost always delightfully
+cool, tempered by this grateful tonic breath of the ocean.
+
+Trafalgar Square, Bridgetown, contains a handsome fountain, and a bronze
+statue of Nelson which, as a work of art, is simply atrocious. From this
+broad, open square the tramway cars start, and it also forms a general
+business centre.
+
+The home government supports, besides its other troops, a regiment of
+negroes uniformed as Zouaves and officered by white men. The police of
+Bridgetown are also colored men. Slavery was abolished here in 1833.
+Everything is so thoroughly English, that only the temperature, together
+with the vegetation, tells the story of latitude and longitude. The soil
+has been so closely cultivated as to have become partially exhausted,
+and this is the only West Indian island, if we are correctly informed,
+where artificial enrichment is considered necessary to stimulate the
+native soil, or where it has ever been freely used. "I question," said
+an intelligent planter to us, "whether we should not be better off
+to-day, if we had not so overstimulated, in fact, burned out, our land
+with guano and phosphates." These are to the ground like intoxicants to
+human beings,--if over-indulged in they are fatal, and even the partial
+use is of questionable advantage. The Chinese and Japanese apply only
+domestic refuse in their fields as a manure, and no people obtain such
+grand results as they do in agriculture. They know nothing of patent
+preparations employed for such purposes, and yet will render a spot of
+ground profitable which a European would look upon as absolutely not
+worth cultivating.
+
+In any direction from Bridgetown going inland, miles upon miles of
+plantations are seen bearing the bright green sugar-cane, turning to
+yellow as it ripens, and giving splendid promise for the harvest. Here
+and there are grouped a low cluster of cabins, which form the quarters
+of the negroes attached to the plantation, while close at hand the tall
+chimney of the sugar mill looms over the surrounding foliage. A little
+one side, shaded by some palms, is the planter's neat and attractive
+residence, painted snow white, in contrast to the deep greenery
+surrounding it, and having a few flower beds in its front.
+
+The Marine Hotel, which is admirably situated on a rocky point at
+Hastings, three hundred feet above the beach, is about a league from the
+city, and forms a favorite resort for the townspeople. The house is
+capable of accommodating three hundred guests at a time. Its spacious
+piazzas fronting the ocean are constantly fanned by the northeast trades
+from October to March. Some New York families regard the place as a
+choice winter resort, the thermometer rarely indicating over 80° Fahr.,
+or falling below 70°. This suburb of Hastings is the location of the
+army barracks, where a broad plain affords admirable space for drill and
+military manoeuvres. There is a monument at Hastings, raised to the
+memory of the victims of the hurricane of 1831, which seems to be rather
+unpleasantly suggestive of future possibilities. Near at hand is a
+well-arranged mile racecourse, a spot very dear to the army officers,
+where during the racing season any amount of money is lost and won.
+There seems to be something in this tropical climate which incites to
+all sorts of gambling, and the habit among the people is so common as to
+be looked upon with great leniency. Just so, at some of the summer
+resorts of the south of France, Italy, and Germany, ladies or gentlemen
+will frankly say, "I am going to the Casino for a little gambling, but
+will be back again by and by."
+
+The roads in the vicinity of Bridgetown are admirably kept, all being
+macadamized, but the dust which rises from the pulverized coral rock is
+nearly blinding, and together with the reflection caused by the sun on
+the snow white roads proves very trying to the eyesight. The dust and
+glare are serious drawbacks to the enjoyment of these environs.
+
+As we have said, hurricanes have proved very fatal at Barbadoes. In
+1780, four thousand persons were swept out of existence in a few hours
+by the irresistible fury of a tornado. So late as 1831, the loss of life
+by a similar visitation was over two thousand, while the loss of
+property aggregated some two million pounds sterling. The experience has
+not, however, been so severe here as at several of the other islands. At
+the time of the hurricane just referred to, Barbadoes was covered with a
+coat of sulphurous ashes nearly an inch thick, which was afterwards
+found to have come from the island of St. Vincent, where what is called
+Brimstone Mountain burst forth in flames and laid that island also in
+ashes. It is interesting to note that there should have been such
+intimate relationship shown between a great atmospheric disturbance like
+a hurricane and an underground agitation as evinced by the eruption of a
+volcano.
+
+It should be mentioned that these hurricanes have never been known to
+pass a certain limit north or south, their ravages having always been
+confined between the eleventh and twenty-first degrees of north
+latitude.
+
+It appears that some curious Carib implements were found not long since
+just below the surface of the earth on the south shore of the bay, which
+are to be forwarded to the British Museum, London. These were of hard
+stone, and were thought by the finders to have been used by the
+aborigines to fell trees. Some were thick shells, doubtless employed by
+the Indians in the rude cultivation of maize, grown here four or five
+hundred years ago. It was said that these stone implements resembled
+those which have been found from time to time in Norway and Sweden. If
+this is correct, it is an important fact for antiquarians to base a
+theory upon. Some scientists believe that there was, in prehistoric
+times, an intimate relationship between Scandinavia and the continent of
+America.
+
+Though there are several public schools in Bridgetown, both primary and
+advanced, we were somehow impressed with the idea that education for the
+common people was not fostered in a manner worthy of a British colony of
+so long standing; but this is the impression of a casual observer only.
+There is a college situated ten or twelve miles from the city, founded
+by Sir Christopher Codrington, which has achieved a high reputation as
+an educational institution in its chosen field of operation. It is a
+large structure of white stone, well-arranged, and is, as we were told,
+consistent with the spirit of the times. It has the dignity of ripened
+experience, having been opened in 1744. The professors are from Europe.
+A delicious fresh water spring rises to the surface of the land just
+below the cliff, at Codrington College, a blessing which people who live
+in the tropics know how to appreciate. There is also at Bridgetown what
+is known as Harrison's College, which, however, is simply a high school
+devoted exclusively to girls.
+
+The island is not exempt from occasional prevalence of tropical fevers,
+but may be considered a healthy resort upon the whole. Leprosy is not
+unknown among the lower classes, and elephantiasis is frequently to be
+met with. This disease is known in the West Indies as the "Barbadoes
+Leg." Sometimes a native may be seen on the streets with one of his legs
+swollen to the size of his body. There is no known cure for this disease
+except the surgeon's knife, and the removal of the victim from the
+region where it first developed itself. The author has seen terrible
+cases of elephantiasis among the natives of the Samoan group of islands,
+where this strange and unaccountable disease is thought to have reached
+its most extreme and repulsive development. Foreigners are seldom if
+ever afflicted with it, either in the West Indies or the South Pacific.
+
+We are to sail to-night. A few passengers and a quantity of freight have
+been landed, while some heavy merchandise has been received on board,
+designed for continental ports to the southward. The afternoon shadows
+lengthen upon the shore, and the sunset hour, so brief in this latitude,
+approaches. The traveler who has learned to love the lingering twilight
+of the north misses these most charming hours when in equatorial
+regions, but as the goddess of night wraps her sombre mantle about her,
+it is so superbly decked with diamond stars that the departed daylight
+is hardly regretted. It is like the prompter's ringing up of the curtain
+upon a complete theatrical scene; the glory of the tropical sky bursts
+at once upon the vision in all its completeness, its burning
+constellations, its solitaire brilliants, its depth of azure, and its
+mysterious Milky Way.
+
+While sitting under the awning upon deck, watching the gentle swaying
+palms and tall fern-trees, listening to the low drone of busy life in
+the town, and breathing the sweet exhalations of tropical fruits and
+flowers, a trance-like sensation suffuses the brain. Is this the _dolce
+far niente_ of the Italians, the sweet do-nothing of the tropics? To us,
+however defined, it was a waking dream of sensuous delight, of entire
+content. How far away sounds the noise of the steam-winch, the sharp
+chafing of the iron pulleys, the prompt orders of the officer of the
+deck, the swinging of the ponderous yards, the rattling of the anchor
+chain as it comes in through the hawse hole, while the ship gradually
+loses her hold upon the land. With half closed eyes we scarcely heard
+these many significant sounds, but floated peacefully on in an Eden of
+fancy, quietly leaving Carlisle Bay far behind.
+
+Our course was to the southward, while everything, high and low, was
+bathed in a flood of shimmering moonlight, the magic alchemy of the sky,
+whose influence etherealizes all upon which it rests.
+
+
+
+
+          CHAPTER IV.
+
+     Curious Ocean Experiences.--The Delicate
+     Nautilus.--Flying-Fish.--The Southern Cross.--Speaking a
+     Ship at Sea.--Scientific Navigation.--South America as a
+     Whole.--Fauna and Flora.--Natural Resources of a Wonderful
+     Land.--Rivers, Plains, and Mountain Ranges.--Aboriginal
+     Tribes.--Population.--Political Divisions.--Civil
+     Wars.--Weakness of South American States.
+
+
+The sudden appearance of a school of flying-fish gliding swiftly through
+the air for six or eight rods just above the rippling waves, and then
+sinking from sight; the sportive escort of half a hundred slate-colored
+porpoises, leaping high out of the water on either bow of the ship only
+to plunge back again, describing graceful curves; the constant presence
+of that sullen tiger of the ocean, the voracious, man-eating shark,
+betrayed by its dorsal fin showing above the surface of the sea; the
+sporting of mammoth whales, sending columns of water high in air from
+their blowholes, and lashing the waves playfully with their broad-spread
+tails, are events at sea too commonplace to comment upon in detail,
+though they tend to while away the inevitable monotony of a long voyage.
+
+Speaking of flying-fish, there is more in the flying capacity of this
+little creature than is generally admitted, else why has it wings on the
+forward part of its body, each measuring seven inches in length? If
+designed only for fins, they are altogether out of proportion to the
+rest of its body. They are manifestly intended for just the use to which
+the creature puts them. One was brought to us by a seaman; how it got on
+board we know not, but it measured eleven inches from the nose to the
+tip of the tail fin, and was in shape and size very much like a small
+mackerel. After leaving Barbadoes, we got into what sailors call the
+flying-fish latitudes, where they appear constantly in their low, rapid
+flight, sometimes singly, but oftener in small schools of a score or
+more, creating flashes of silvery-blue lustre. The most careful
+observation could detect no vibration of the long, extended fins; the
+tiny fish sailed, as it were, upon the wind, the flight of the giant
+albatross in miniature.
+
+One afternoon, when the sea was scarcely dimpled by the soft trade wind,
+we came suddenly upon myriads of that little fairy of the ocean, the
+gossamer nautilus, with its Greek galleon shape, and as frail,
+apparently, as a spider's web. What a gondola it would make for Queen
+Mab! How delicate and transparent it is, while radiating prismatic
+colors! A touch might dismember it, yet what a daring navigator,
+floating confidently upon the sea where the depth is a thousand fathoms,
+liable at any moment to be changed into raging billows by an angry
+storm! How minute the vitality of this graceful atom, a creature whose
+existence is perhaps for only a single day; yet how grand and limitless
+the system of life and creation of which it is so humble a
+representative! Sailors call these frail marine creatures Portuguese
+men-of-war. Possessing some singular facility for doing so, if they are
+disturbed, they quickly furl their sails and sink below the surface of
+the buoyant waves into deep water, the home of the octopus, the squid,
+and the voracious shark. Did they, one is led to query, navigate these
+seas after this fashion before the Northmen came across the ocean, and
+before Columbus landed at San Salvador? At night the glory of the
+southern hemisphere, as revealed in new constellations and brighter
+stars brought into view, was observed with keenest
+interest,--"Everlasting Night, with her star diadems, with her silence,
+and her verities." The phosphorescence of the sea, with its
+scintillations of brilliant light, its ripples of liquid fire, the crest
+of each wave a flaming cascade, was a charming phenomenon one never
+tired of watching. If it be the combination of millions and billions of
+animalculæ which thus illumines the waters, then these infinitesimal
+creatures are the fireflies of the ocean, as the cucuios, that fairy
+torch-bearer, is of the land. Gliding on the magic mirror of the South
+Atlantic, in which the combined glory of the sky was reflected with
+singular clearness, it seemed as though we were sailing over a starry
+world below.
+
+While observing the moon in its beautiful series of changes, lighting
+our way by its chaste effulgence night after night, it was difficult to
+realize that it shines entirely by the light which it borrows from the
+sun; but it was easy to believe the simpler fact, that of all the
+countless hosts of the celestial bodies, she is our nearest neighbor.
+"An eighteen-foot telescope reveals to the human eye over forty million
+stars," said Captain Baker, as we stood together gazing at the luminous
+heavens. "And if we entertain the generally accepted idea," he
+continued, "we must believe that each one of that enormous aggregate of
+stars is the centre of a solar system similar to our own." The known
+facts relating to the stars, like stellar distances, are almost
+incomprehensible.
+
+One cannot but realize that there is always a certain amount of
+sentiment wasted on the constellation known as the Southern Cross by
+passengers bound to the lands and seas over which it hangs. Orion or the
+Pleiades, either of them, is infinitely superior in point of brilliancy,
+symmetry, and individuality. A lively imagination is necessary to endow
+this irregular cluster of stars with any real resemblance to the
+Christian emblem for which it is named. It serves the navigator in the
+southern hemisphere, in part, the same purpose which the north star does
+in our portion of the globe, and there our own respect for it as a
+constellation ends. Much poetic talent has been expended for ages to
+idealize the Southern Cross, which is, alas! no cross at all. We have
+seen a person unfamiliar with the locality of this constellation strive
+long and patiently, but in vain, to find it. It should be remembered
+that two prominent stars in Centaurus point directly to it. The one
+furthest from the so called cross is held to be the fixed star nearest
+to the earth, but its distance from us is twenty thousand times farther
+than that of the sun.
+
+We have never yet met a person, looking upon this cluster of the heavens
+for the first time, who did not frankly express his disappointment.
+Anticipation and fruition are oftenest at antipodes.
+
+The graceful marine birds which follow the ship, day after day, darting
+hither and thither with arrowy swiftness, lured by the occasional refuse
+thrown from on board, would be seriously missed were they to leave us.
+Watching their aerial movements and untiring power of wing, while
+listening to their sharp complaining cries, is a source of constant
+amusement. Even rough weather and a raging sea, if not accompanied by
+too serious a storm, is sometimes welcome, serving to awaken the ship
+from its dull propriety, and to put officers, crew, and passengers upon
+their mettle. To speak a strange vessel at sea is always interesting. If
+it is a steamer, a long, black wake of smoke hanging among the clouds at
+the horizon betrays her proximity long before the hull is sighted. All
+eyes are on the watch until she comes clearly within the line of vision,
+gradually increasing in size and distinctness of outline, until
+presently the spars and rigging are minutely delineated. Then
+speculation is rife as to whence she comes and where she is going. By
+and by the two ships approach so near that signal flags can be read, and
+the captains talk with each other, exchanging names, whither bound, and
+so on. Then each commander dips his flag in compliment to the other, and
+the ships rapidly separate. All of this is commonplace enough, but
+serves to while away an hour, and insures a report of our progress and
+safety at the date of meeting, when the stranger reaches his port of
+destination.
+
+We have spoken of the pleasure experienced at sea in watching
+intelligently the various phases of the moon. The subject is a prolific
+one; a whole chapter might be written upon it.
+
+It is perhaps hardly realized by the average landsman, and indeed by few
+who constantly cross the ocean, with their thoughts and interests
+absorbed by the many attractive novelties of the ocean, how important a
+part this great luminary plays in the navigation of a ship. It is to the
+intelligent and observant mariner the never-failing watch of the sky,
+the stars performing the part of hands to designate the proper figure
+upon the dial. If there is occasion to doubt the correctness of his
+chronometer, the captain of the ship can verify its figures or correct
+them by this planet. Every minute that the chronometer is wrong,
+assuming that it be so, may put him fifteen miles out of his reckoning,
+which, under some circumstances, might prove to be a fatal error, even
+leading to the loss of his ship and all on board. To find his precise
+location upon the ocean, the navigator requires both Greenwich time and
+local meridian time, the latter obtained by the sun on shipboard,
+exactly at midday. To get Greenwich time by lunar observation, the
+captain, for example, finds that the moon is three degrees from the star
+Regulus. By referring to his nautical almanac he sees recorded there the
+Greenwich time at which the moon was three degrees from that particular
+star. He then compares his chronometer with these figures, and either
+confirms or corrects its indication. It is interesting to the traveler
+to observe and understand these important resources, which science has
+brought to bear in perfecting his safety on the ocean, promoting the
+interests of commerce, and in aid of correct navigation. The experienced
+captain of a ship now lays his course as surely by compass, after
+satisfying himself by these various means of his exact position, as
+though the point of his destination was straight before him all the
+while, and visible from the pilot house.
+
+How indescribable is the grandeur of these serene nights on the ocean,
+fanned by the somnolent trade winds; a little lonely, perhaps, but so
+blessed with the hallowed benediction of the moonlight, so gorgeously
+decorated by the glittering images of the studded heavens, so sweet and
+pure and fragrant is the breath of the sleeping wind! If one listens
+intently, there seems to come to the senses a whispering of the waves,
+as though the sea in confidence would tell its secrets to a willing ear.
+
+The ship heads almost due south after leaving Barbadoes, when her
+destination is, as in our case, Pará, twelve hundred miles away. On this
+course we encounter the equatorial current, which runs northward at a
+rate of two miles in an hour, and at some points reaches a much higher
+rate of speed.
+
+As eternal vigilance is the price of liberty, so eternal scrubbing is
+the price of cleanliness on shipboard. The deck hands are at it from
+five o'clock in the morning until sunset. Our good ship looks as if she
+had just come out of dock. Last night's gale, which in its angry turmoil
+tossed us about so recklessly, covered her with a saline, sticky
+deposit; but with the rising of the sun all this disappears as if by
+magic. The many brass mountings shine with dazzling lustre, and the
+white paint contrasts with the well-tarred cordage which forms the
+standing rigging.
+
+While the ship pursues her course through the far-reaching ocean, let us
+sketch in outline the general characteristics of South America, whither
+we are bound.
+
+It is a country containing twice the area, though not quite one half the
+amount of population, of the United States, a land which, though now
+presenting nearly all phases of civilization, was four centuries ago
+mostly inhabited by nomadic tribes of savages, who knew nothing of the
+horse, the ox, or the sheep, which to-day form so great and important a
+source of its wealth, and where wheat, its prevailing staple, was also
+unknown. It is a land overflowing with native riches, which possesses an
+unlimited capacity of production, and whose large and increasing
+population requires just such domestic supplies as we of the north can
+profitably furnish. The important treaty of reciprocity, so lately
+arranged between the giant province of Brazil--or rather we should say
+the Republic of Brazil--and our own country, is already developing new
+and increasing channels of trade for our shippers and producers of the
+great staples, as well as throwing open to us a new nation of consumers
+for our special articles of manufacture. Facts speak louder than words.
+On the voyage in which the author sailed in the Vigilancia, she took
+over twenty thousand barrels of flour to Brazil from the United States,
+and would have taken more had her capacity admitted. Every foot of space
+on board was engaged for the return voyage, twelve thousand bags of
+coffee being shipped from Rio Janeiro alone, besides nearly as large a
+consignment of coffee from Santos, in the same republic. The great
+mutual benefit which must accrue from this friendly compact with an
+enterprising foreign country can hardly be overestimated. These
+considerations lead to a community of interests, which will grow by
+every reasonable means of familiarizing the people of the two countries
+with each other. Hence the possible and practical value of such a work
+as the one in hand.
+
+By briefly consulting one of the many cheap and excellent maps of the
+western hemisphere, the patient reader will be enabled to follow the
+route taken by the author with increased interest and a clearer
+understanding.
+
+It is surprising, in conversing with otherwise intelligent and
+well-informed people, to find how few there are, comparatively speaking,
+who have any fixed and clear idea relative to so large a portion of the
+habitable globe as South America. The average individual seems to know
+less of the gigantic river Amazon than he does of the mysterious Nile,
+and is less familiar with that grand, far-reaching water-way, the Plate,
+than he is with the sacred Ganges; yet one can ride from Buenos Ayres in
+the Argentine Republic, across the wild pampas, to the base of the Andes
+in a Pullman palace car. There is no part of the globe concerning which
+so little is written, and no other portion which is not more sought by
+travelers; in short, it is less known to the average North American than
+New Zealand or Australia.
+
+The vast peninsula which we call South America is connected with our own
+part of the continent by the Isthmus of Panama and the territory
+designated as Central America. Its configuration is triangular, and
+exhibits in many respects a strong similarity to the continents of
+Africa and Australia, if the latter gigantic island may be called a
+continent. It extends north and south nearly five thousand miles, or
+from latitude 12° 30' north to Cape Horn in latitude 55° 59' south. Its
+greatest width from east to west is a little over three thousand miles,
+and its area, according to the best authorities, is nearly seven million
+square miles. Three fourths of this country lie in the torrid zone,
+though as a whole it has every variety of climate, from equatorial heat
+to the biting frosts of alpine peaks. Its widespread surface consists
+principally of three immense plains, watered respectively by the Amazon,
+Plate, and Orinoco rivers. This spacious country has a coast line of
+over sixteen thousand miles on the two great oceans, with comparatively
+few indentures, headlands, or bays, though at the extreme south it
+consists of a maze of countless small islands, capes, and promontories,
+of which Cape Horn forms the outermost point.
+
+The Cordillera of the Andes extends through the whole length of this
+giant peninsula, from the Strait of Magellan to the Isthmus of Panama, a
+distance of forty-five hundred miles, forming one of the most remarkable
+physical features of the globe, and presenting the highest mountains on
+its surface, except those of the snowy Himalayas which separate India
+from Thibet. The principal range of the Andes runs nearly parallel with
+the Pacific coast, at an average distance of about one hundred miles
+from it, and contains several active volcanoes. If we were to believe a
+late school geography, published in London, Cotopaxi, one famous peak of
+this Andean range, throws up flames three thousand feet above the brink
+of its crater, which is eighteen thousand feet above tide water; but to
+be on the safe side, let us reduce these extraordinary figures at least
+one half, as regards the eruptive power of Cotopaxi. This mountain
+chain, near the border between Chili and Peru, divides into two
+branches, the principal one still called the Cordillera of the Andes,
+and the other, nearer to the ocean, the Cordillera de la Costa. Between
+these ranges, about three thousand feet above the sea, is a vast
+table-land with an area larger than that of France.
+
+It will be observed that we are dealing with a country which, like our
+own, is one of magnificent distances. It is difficult for the nations of
+the old world, where the population is hived together in such
+circumscribed space, to realize the geographical extent of the American
+continent. When informed that it required six days and nights, at
+express speed upon well-equipped railroads, to cross the United States
+from ocean to ocean, a certain editor in London doubted the statement.
+Outside of Her Majesty's dominions, the average Englishman has only
+superficial ideas of geography. The frequent blunders of some British
+newspapers in these matters are simply ridiculous.
+
+It should be understood that South America is a land of plains as well
+as of lofty mountains, having the _llanos_ of the Orinoco region, the
+_selvas_ of the Amazon, and the _pampas_ of the Argentine Republic. The
+llanos are composed of a region about as large as the New England
+States, so level that the motion of the rivers can hardly be discerned.
+The selvas are for the most part vast unbroken forests, in which giant
+trees, thick undergrowth, and entwining creepers combine to form a
+nearly impenetrable region. The pampas lie between the Andes and the
+Atlantic Ocean, stretching southward from northern Brazil to southern
+Patagonia, affording grass sufficient to feed innumerable herds of wild
+cattle, but at the extreme south the country sinks into half overflowed
+marshes and lagoons, resembling the glades and savannahs of Florida.
+
+The largest river in the world, namely, the Amazon, rises in the
+Peruvian Andes, within sixty miles of the Pacific Ocean, and flows
+thousands of miles in a general east-northeast direction, finally
+emptying into the Atlantic Ocean. This unequaled river course is
+navigable for over two thousand miles from its mouth, which is situated
+on the equatorial line, where its outflow is partially impeded by the
+island of Marajo, a nearly round formation, one hundred and fifty miles
+or thereabouts in diameter. This remarkable island divides the river's
+outlet into two passages, the largest of which is a hundred and fifty
+miles in width, forming an estuary of extraordinary dimensions. The
+Amazon has twelve tributaries, each one of which is a thousand miles in
+length, not to count its hundreds of smaller ones, while the main stream
+affords water communication from the Atlantic Ocean to near the
+foothills of the Andes.
+
+We are simply stating a series of condensed geographical facts, from
+which the intelligent reader can form his own deductions as regards the
+undeveloped possibilities of this great southland.
+
+Our own mammoth river, the Mississippi, is a comparatively shallow
+stream, with a shifting channel and dangerous sandbanks, which impede
+navigation throughout the most of its course; while the Amazon shows an
+average depth of over one hundred feet for the first thousand miles of
+its flow from the Atlantic, forming inland seas in many places, so
+spacious that the opposite banks are not within sight of each other. It
+is computed by good authority that this river, with its numerous
+affluents, forms a system of navigable water twenty-four thousand miles
+in length! There are comparatively few towns or settlements of any
+importance on the banks of the Amazon, which flows mostly through a
+dense, unpeopled evergreen forest, not absolutely without human beings,
+but for very long distances nearly so. Wild animals, anacondas and other
+reptiles, together with many varieties of birds and numerous tribes of
+monkeys, make up the animal life. Now and again a settlement of European
+colonists is found, or a rude Indian village is seen near the banks, but
+they are few and far between. There are occasional regions of low,
+marshy ground, which are malarious at certain seasons, but the average
+country is salubrious, and capable of supporting a population of
+millions.
+
+This is only one of the large rivers of South America; there are many
+others of grand proportions. The Plate comes next to it in magnitude,
+having a length of two thousand miles, and being navigable for one half
+the distance from its mouth at all seasons. It is over sixty miles wide
+at Montevideo, and is therefore the widest known river. Like the great
+stream already described, it traverses a country remarkable for the
+fertility of its soil, but very thinly settled. The Plate carries to the
+ocean four fifths as much, in volume of water, as does the mighty
+Amazon, the watershed drained by it exceeding a million and a half
+square miles. One can only conceive of the true magnitude of such
+figures when applied to the land by comparing the number of square miles
+contained in any one European nation, or any dozen of our own States.
+
+Juan Diaz de Solis discovered the estuary of the Plate in 1508, and
+believed it at that time to be a gulf, but on a second voyage from
+Europe, in 1516, he ascended the river a considerable distance, and
+called it Mar Dulce, on account of the character of the waters.
+Unfortunately, this intelligent discoverer was killed by Indian arrows
+on attempting to land at a certain point. For a considerable period the
+river was called after him, and we think should have continued to be so,
+but its name was changed to the Plate on account of the conspicuous
+silver ornaments worn in great profusion by the natives, which they
+freely exchanged for European gewgaws.
+
+Though nearly four hundred years have passed since its discovery, a
+large portion of the country still remains comparatively unexplored,
+much of it being a wilderness sparsely inhabited by Indians, many of
+whom are without a vestige of civilization. We know as little of
+portions of the continent as we do of Central Africa, yet there is no
+section of the globe which suggests a greater degree of physical
+interest, or which would respond more readily and profitably to
+intelligent effort at development. When the Spaniards first came to
+South America, it was only in Peru, the land of the Incas, that they
+found natives who had made any substantial progress in civilization. The
+earliest history extant relating to this region of the globe is that of
+the Incas, a warlike race of sun-worshipers, who possessed enormous
+treasures of gold and silver, and who erected magnificent temples
+enriched with the precious metals. It was the almost fabulous wealth of
+the Incas that led to their destruction, tempting the cupidity of the
+avaricious Spaniards, and causing them to institute a system of cruelty,
+oppression, robbery, and bloodshed which finally obliterated an entire
+people from the face of the globe. The empire of the Incas extended from
+Quito, in Ecuador (on the equator), to the river Monté in Chili, and
+eastward to the Andes. The romantic career of Pizarro and Cortez is
+familiar to us all. There are few palliating circumstances connected
+with the advent of the Spaniards, either here, in the West Indies, or in
+Mexico. The actual motive which prompted their invasion of this foreign
+soil was to search for mineral treasures, though policy led them to
+cover their bloodthirsty deeds with a pretense of religious zeal. Their
+first acts were reckless, cruel, and sanguinary, followed by a
+systematic oppression of the native races which was an outrage upon
+humanity. The world at large profited little by the extortion and golden
+harvest reaped by Spain, to realize which she adopted a policy of
+extermination, both in Peru and in Mexico; but let it be remembered that
+her own national ruin was brought about with poetical justice by the
+very excess of her ill-gotten, blood-stained treasures. The Spanish
+historians tell us, as an evidence of the persistent bravery of their
+ancestors, that it took them eight hundred years of constant warfare to
+wrest Spain from her Moorish conquerors. It is for us to remind them how
+brief has been the continuance of their glory, how rapid their decline
+from splendid continental and colonial possessions to their present
+condition, that of the weakest and most insignificant power in Europe.
+
+There are localities which have been visited by adventurous explorers,
+especially in Chili and Peru, where ruins have been found, and various
+monuments of antiquity examined, of vast interest to archæologists, but
+of which scarcely more than their mere existence is recorded. Some of
+these ruins are believed to antedate by centuries the period of the
+Incas, and are supposed to be the remains of tribes which, judging from
+their pottery and other domestic utensils, were possibly of Asiatic
+origin. Comparatively few travelers have visited Lake Titicaca, in the
+Peruvian Andes, with its sacred islands and mysterious ruins, from
+whence the Incas dated their mythical origin. The substantial remains of
+some grand temples are still to be seen on the islands near the borders
+of the lake, the decaying masonry decked here and there with a wild
+growth of hardy cactus. This remarkable body of water, Lake Titicaca, in
+the mountain range of Peru, lies more than twelve thousand feet above
+the level of the Pacific; yet it never freezes, and its average depth is
+given as six hundred feet, representing an immense body of water. It
+covers an area of four thousand square miles, which is about four fifths
+as large as our own Lake Ontario, the average depth being about the
+same. Titicaca is the largest lake in the world occupying so elevated a
+site.
+
+The population of South America is mostly to be found on the coast, and
+is thought to be about thirty-five millions, though, all things
+considered, we are disposed to believe this an overestimate. There are
+tribes far inland who are not brought in contact with civilization at
+all, and whose numbers are not known. The magnitude and density of the
+forests are remarkable; they cover, it is intelligently stated, nearly
+two thirds of the country. The vegetation, in its various forms, is rich
+beyond comparison. Professor Agassiz, who explored the valley of the
+Amazon under the most favorable auspices, tells us that he found within
+an area of half a mile square over one hundred species of trees, among
+which were nearly all of the choicest cabinet and dye woods known to the
+tropics, besides others suitable for shipbuilding. Some of these trees
+are remarkable for their gigantic size, others for their beauty of form,
+and still others are valuable for their gums and resins. Of the latter,
+the india-rubber tree is the most prolific and important known to
+commerce. From Brazil comes four fifths of the world's supply of the raw
+material of rubber.
+
+The great fertility of the soil generally would seem to militate against
+the true progress of the people of South America, absolutely
+discouraging, rather than stimulating national industry. One cannot but
+contrast the state of affairs in this respect with that of North
+America, where the soil is so much less productive, and where the
+climate is so universally rigorous. The deduction is inevitable that, to
+find man at his best, we must observe him where his skill, energy, and
+perseverance are all required to achieve a livelihood, and not where
+exuberant nature is over-indulgent, over-productive. The coast, the
+valleys, and indeed the main portion of South America are tropical, but
+a considerable section of the country is so elevated that its climate is
+that of perpetual spring, resembling the great Mexican plateau, both
+physically and as regards temperature. The population is largely of
+Spanish descent, and that language is almost universally spoken, though
+Portuguese is the current tongue in Brazil. These languages are so
+similar, in fact, that the people of the two nations can easily
+understand each other. It is said to be true that, in the wild regions
+of the country, there are tribes of Indians found to-day living close to
+each other, separated by no physical barriers, who differ materially in
+language, physiognomy, manners, and customs, having absolutely nothing
+in common but their brown or copper colored skins. Furthermore, these
+tribes live most frequently in deadly feuds with each other. That
+cannibalism is still practiced among these interior tribes is positively
+believed, especially among some of the tribes of the extreme south, that
+is, among the Patagonians and the wild, nomadic race of Terra del Fuego.
+These two tribes, on opposite sides of the Strait of Magellan, are quite
+different from each other in nearly every respect, especially in size,
+nor will they attempt to hold friendly intercourse of any sort with each
+other.
+
+There are certain domestic animals which are believed to be improved by
+crossing them with others of a different type, but this does not seem to
+apply, very often, advantageously to different races of human beings. It
+is plain enough in South America that the amalgamation of foreigners and
+natives rapidly effaces the original better qualities of each, the
+result being a mongrel, nondescript type, hard to analyze and hard to
+improve. That keen observer, Professor Agassiz, especially noticed this
+during his year of scientific research in Brazil. This has also been the
+author's experience, as illustrated in many lands, where strictly
+different races, the one highly civilized, the other barbarian, have
+unitedly produced children. It is a sort of amalgamation which nature
+does not favor, recording her objections in an unmistakable manner. It
+is the flow of European emigration towards these southern republics
+which will infuse new life and progress among them. The aboriginal race
+is slowly receding, and fading out, as was the case in Australia, in New
+Zealand, and in the instance of our western Indians. A new people will
+eventually possess the land, composed of the several European
+nationalities, who are already the virtual masters of South America so
+far as regards numbers, intelligence, and possession.
+
+Since these notes were written, the Argentine government has sold to
+Baron Hirsch three thousand square leagues of land in the province of
+Chaco, for the formation of a Jewish colony. Agents are already at work,
+aided by competent engineers and practical individuals, in preparing for
+the early reception of the new occupants of the country. The first
+contingent, of about one thousand Jews, have already arrived and are
+becoming domesticated. Argentina wants men perhaps more than money;
+indeed, one will make the other. A part of Baron Hirsch's scheme is to
+lend these people money, to be repaid in small installments extending
+over a considerable period. For this extensive territory the Baron paid
+one million three hundred thousand dollars in gold, thus making himself
+the owner of the largest connected area of land in the world possessed
+by a single individual. It exceeds that of the kingdom of Montenegro.
+
+As to the zoölogy of this part of the continent, it is different from
+that of Europe, Africa, Asia, and North America. The number of dangerous
+beasts of prey is quite limited. There is nothing here to answer to the
+African lion, the Asiatic tiger, the elephant of Ceylon, or the grisly
+bear of Alaska. The jaguar is perhaps the most formidable animal, and
+resembles the leopard. There are also the cougar, tiger-cat, black bear,
+hyena, wolf, and ocelot. The llama, alpaca, and vicuña are peculiar to
+this country. The monkey tribe exceeds all others in variety and number.
+There are said to be nearly two hundred species of them in South
+America, each distinctly marked, and varying from each other, in size,
+from twelve pounds to less than two. The smallest of the little
+marmosets weigh less than a pound and a half each, and are the most
+intelligent animal of their size known to man. There are also the deer,
+tapir, armadillo, anteater, and a few other minor animals. The pampas
+swarm with wild cattle and horses, descended from animals originally
+brought from Europe. In the low, marshy grounds the boa-constrictor and
+other reptiles abound. Eagles, vultures, and parrots are found in a wild
+state all over the country, while the rivers and the waters near the
+coast are well filled with fish, crocodiles, and turtles. Scientists
+have found over two thousand species of fish in the Amazon River alone.
+
+The pure aboriginal race are copper colored, resembling the Mexicans in
+character and appearance. Like most natives of equatorial regions, they
+are indolent, ignorant, superstitious, sensuous, and by no means
+warlike. Forced into the ranks and drilled by Europeans, they make
+fairly good soldiers, and when well led will obey orders and fight.
+There can be no _esprit de corps_ in soldiers thus organized; the men
+neither know nor care what they fight for, their incentive in action
+being first a natural instinct for brutality, and second the promise of
+booty. In some parts of the country the half-breeds show themselves
+skillful workmen in certain simple lines of manufacture, but the native
+pure and simple will not work except to keep from starving.
+
+The Spaniards conquered nearly all parts of South America except Brazil,
+which was subject to Portugal until 1823, when it achieved its
+independence. The Spanish colonies also revolted, one by one, until they
+all became independent of the mother country. The history of these
+republics, as in the instance of Mexico, has been both stormy and
+sanguinary. Foreign and civil wars have reigned among them incessantly
+for half a century and more.
+
+The present political divisions are: Brazil, British Guiana, Dutch
+Guiana, French Guiana, Ecuador, United States of Colombia, Venezuela,
+Bolivia, Chili, Peru, Argentine Republic, Uruguay, and Paraguay. Brazil
+is the most extensive of these states, and is thought to enjoy the
+largest share of natural advantages, including in its area nearly one
+half as many square miles as all the rest combined. Its seaboard at
+Parahiba, and for hundreds of miles north and south of it, projects into
+the Atlantic a thousand miles to the east of the direct line between its
+northern and southern extremities. Besides her diamond and gold mines,
+she possesses what is much more desirable, namely, valuable deposits of
+iron, copper, silver, and other metals. We have before us statistics
+which give the result of diamond mining in Brazil from 1740 to 1823,
+when national independence was won, which show the aggregate for that
+entire period to have been less than ten million dollars in value; while
+that of the coffee alone, exported from Rio Janeiro in one year,
+exceeded twenty million dollars, showing that, however dazzling the
+precious stones may appear in the abstract, they are not even of
+secondary consideration when compared with the agricultural products of
+the country. The export of coffee has increased very much since the year
+1851, which happens to be that from which we have quoted. It must also
+be admitted that probably twice the amount of diamonds recorded were
+actually found and enriched somebody, all which were duly reported,
+having to pay a government royalty according to the pecuniary exigency
+of those in authority.
+
+The population of Brazil is between fourteen and fifteen million, and it
+is thought to be more advanced in civilization than other parts of South
+America, though in the light of our own experience we should place the
+Argentine Republic first in this respect. Indeed, so far as a transient
+observer may speak, we are inclined to place Argentina far and away in
+advance of Brazil as regards everything calculated to invite the
+would-be emigrant who is in search of a new home in a foreign land. Were
+it not that intestine wars are of such frequent occurrence among these
+states, and national bankruptcy so common, voluntary emigration would
+tend towards South America in far larger numbers than it does now. The
+revolutions are solely to promote personal aggrandizement; it is
+individual interest, not principle, for which these people fight so
+often. Unfortunately, every fresh outbreak throws the country back a
+full decade as regards national progress. The late civil wars in Chili
+and the Argentine Republic are illustrations in point. The first-named
+section of South America has suddenly sunk from a condition of
+remarkable pecuniary prosperity to one of actual poverty. Thousands of
+valuable lives have been sacrificed, an immense amount of property has
+been destroyed, her commerce crippled, and for the time being paralyzed.
+Ten years of peace and reasonable prosperity could hardly restore Chili
+to the position she was in twelve months ago. The country is to-day in a
+terrible condition, while many of the best families mourn the death of a
+father, a son, or both, whose lives have been sacrificed to the mad
+ambition of a usurper. Numerous families, once rich, have now become
+impoverished by the confiscation of their entire property. The Chilians
+do not carry on warfare in European style, by organized armies; there is
+a semblance only of such bodies. The fighting is mostly after the
+fashion of free lances, guerrilla bands, and highwaymen. There seems to
+be no sense of honor or chivalry among the common people, while the only
+idea of the soldiery is to plunder and destroy.
+
+The Peruvians whose cities were despoiled by Chili must have regarded
+the recent cutting of each other's throats by the Chilian soldiery with
+something like grim satisfaction.
+
+The obvious weakness of the South American states lies in their bitter
+rivalry towards each other, a condition which might be at once obviated
+by their joining together to form one united nation. The instability
+which characterizes their several governments in their present isolated
+interests has passed into a byword. Divided into nine unimportant
+states,--leaving out the three Guianas, which are dependent upon
+European powers,--any one of them could be erased from the map and
+absorbed by its stronger neighbor, or by a covetous foreign power. On
+the contrary, by forming one grand republic, it would stand eighth in
+the rank of nations as regards wealth, importance, and power, amply able
+to take care of itself, and to maintain the integrity of its territory.
+A community of interest would also be established between our government
+and that of these South American provinces, which would be of immense
+commercial and political importance to both nations.
+
+To those who have visited the country, and who have carefully observed
+the conditions, it is clear that this division of the continent will
+never thrive and fully reap the benefit of its great natural advantages
+until the independent republics assume the position of sovereign states,
+subservient to a central power, a purpose which has already been so
+successfully accomplished in Mexico.
+
+While we have been considering the great southern continent as a whole,
+our good ship, having crossed the equator, has been rapidly approaching
+its northern shore. After entering the broad mouth of the Amazon and
+ascending its course for many miles, we are now in sight of the thriving
+metropolis of Pará.
+
+
+
+
+          CHAPTER V.
+
+     City of Pará.--The Equatorial Line.--Spanish History.--The
+     King of Waters.--Private Gardens.--Domestic Life in Northern
+     Brazil.--Delicious Pineapples.--Family Pets.--Opera
+     House.--Mendicants.--A Grand Avenue.--Botanical
+     Garden.--India-Rubber Tree.--Gathering the Raw
+     Material.--Monkeys.--The Royal Palm.--Splendor of Equatorial
+     Nights.
+
+
+Pará is the most northerly city of Brazil. It also bears the name of
+Belem on some maps, and is the capital of a province of the first
+designation. The full official title of the place is, in the usual style
+of Portuguese and Spanish hyperbole, Santa Maria do Belem do Grão Pará,
+which has fortunately and naturally simplified itself to Pará. It was
+founded in 1615, and the province of which it is the capital was the
+last in Brazil to declare its independence of the mother country, and to
+acknowledge the authority of the first emperor, Dom Pedro. It is the
+largest political division of the republic, and in some respects the
+most thriving. The city is situated about ninety miles south of the
+equator, and eighty miles from the Atlantic Ocean on the Pará River, so
+called, but which is really one of the mouths of the Amazon. It is thus
+the principal city at the mouth of the largest river in the world, a
+fact quite sufficient to indicate its present, and to insure its
+continued commercial importance.
+
+As we entered the muddy estuary of the river, whose wide expanse was
+lashed into short, angry waves by a strong wind, large tree trunks were
+seen floating seaward, rising and sinking on the undulating surface of
+the water. Some were quite entire, with all of their branches still
+attached to the main trunk. They came, perhaps, from two thousand miles
+inland, borne upon the swift current from where it had undermined the
+roots in their forest home. Among the rest was a cocoa-palm with its
+full tufted head, some large brown nuts still hanging tenaciously to the
+parent stem. It had fallen bodily, while in its prime and full bearing,
+suddenly unearthed by some swift deviation of the river, which brooks no
+trifling impediment to its triumphal march seaward. How long, one would
+be glad to know, has this vast stream, fed by the melted snow of the
+Andes, poured its accumulated waters into the bosom of the ocean? A
+thousand years is but as a day, in reckoning the age of a mountain range
+or of a mammoth river.
+
+As we approached the city, the channel became gradually narrowed by
+several prominent islands, crowded with rich green vegetation, forest
+trees of various sorts, mangoes, bananas, and regal palms. Though it is
+thus broken by islands, the river is here over twenty miles in width.
+
+Pará is yielded precedence over the other cities on the east coast of
+South America in many respects, and is appreciatively called "Queen of
+the Amazon," her water communication reaching into the very heart of
+some of the most fertile valleys on the continent. One incorporated
+company has established a score of well-appointed steamers, averaging
+five hundred tons each, which navigate the river for a distance of two
+thousand miles from its mouth. Pará has an excellent harbor, of large
+capacity, accommodating an extensive commerce, a considerable portion of
+which is with the United States of North America. It has a mixed
+population of about fifty thousand, composed of an amalgamation of
+Portuguese, Italians, Indians, and negroes, and is the only town of any
+importance, except Quito, situated so near to the equatorial line,
+where the interested observer has the privilege of beholding the starry
+constellations of both hemispheres. Ships of five thousand tons
+measurement can lie within a hundred yards of the wharves of Pará, where
+the accumulation of coffee, dyewoods, drugs, tobacco, cotton, cocoa,
+rice, sugar, and raw india-rubber, indicates the character of the
+principal exports. Of all these staples, the last named is the most
+important, in a commercial point of view, occupying the third place on
+the list of national exports. As we have shown, the import and export
+trade of the Amazon valley naturally centres here, and Pará need fear no
+commercial rival.
+
+For a considerable period this unequaled water-way, forming the spacious
+port, and conveying the drainage of nearly half of South America into
+the Atlantic, bore the name of its discoverer, Orellana, one of
+Pizarro's captains; but the fabulous story of a priest called Friar
+Gaspar, self-constituted chronicler of the expedition, gave to it the
+designation which it now bears. All the Spanish records of the history
+and conquests in the New World, relating to the doings of Columbus,
+Cortez, Pizarro, and others, without an exception, were written in the
+same spirit of exaggeration and untruthfulness, leading that pious
+witness and contemporary writer, Las Casas, to pronounce them, with
+honest indignation, to be a tissue of falsehoods. Even our own popular
+historian, Prescott, who drew so largely upon these sources for his
+poetical productions, was forced to admit their manifest incongruities,
+contradictions, and general irresponsibility. This Munchausen of a
+priest, Friar Gaspar, recorded that a tribe of Amazons, or fighting
+women, was encountered far inland, on the banks of the mighty river, who
+were tall in stature, symmetrical in form, and had a profusion of long
+hair, which hung in braids down their backs. They were represented to be
+as warlike as they were beautiful, and as carrying shields and spears,
+the latter of which they could use with great skill and effect. It was
+this foolish story of the Amazons, hatched in the prolific brain of
+Friar Gaspar, which gave the river its lasting name.
+
+The Indian designation of the mammoth watercourse was significant and
+appropriate, as their names always are. They called it _Parana-tinga_,
+meaning "King of Waters," and it seems to us a great pity that the name
+could not have been retained.
+
+Pará has the advantage of being much nearer to the United States and to
+Europe than Rio Janeiro, the capital of Brazil. Though the commerce of
+Rio is constantly increasing, in spite of its miserable sanitary
+condition, it is confidently believed by intelligent persons engaged in
+the South American trade, that Pará will equal it erelong in the
+aggregate of its shipments. All freight is now landed by means of
+lighters, a process which is an awkward drawback upon commerce, and what
+makes it still more aggravating is that it seems to be an entirely
+needless one. Certainly a good, substantial, capacious pier might be
+easily built, which would obviate this objection, accommodating a dozen
+large vessels at the same time. The Brazilians are slow to adopt any
+modern improvement. Portuguese and Spaniards are very much alike in this
+respect. Wharves will be built at Pará by and by, after a few more
+millions have been wasted upon the inconvenient process now in vogue,
+which involves not only needless expense, but causes most awkward and
+unreasonable delay, both in landing merchandise and in shipping freight
+for export. This serious objection applies to all the ports along the
+east coast of South America. There is always some private interest which
+exerts itself to prevent any progressive movement, and it is this which
+retards improved facilities for unloading and shipping of cargoes at
+Pará. In this instance the owners of the steam tugs which tow the
+flat-bottomed lighters from ship to shore, and vice versa, oppose the
+building of piers, because, if they were in existence, these individuals
+would find their profitable occupation gone. If proper wharf facilities
+were to be furnished, commerce generally would be much benefited, though
+a few persons would suffer some pecuniary loss. As we have said, the
+wharves will come by and by, when the people realize that private
+interest must be subservient to the public good.
+
+The city of Pará is situated upon slightly elevated ground, and makes a
+fine appearance from the river, with its lofty cathedral, numerous
+churches, convents, custom house, and arsenal standing forth in bold
+relief against an intensely blue sky, while fronting the harbor, like a
+line of sentinels, is a row of tall, majestic palms, harmonizing
+admirably with the local surroundings, though in the very midst of a
+busy commercial centre. The buildings are painted yellow, blue, or pink,
+the façades contrasting strongly with the dark red of the heavily tiled
+roofs, which, having no chimneys, present an odd appearance to a
+northern eye. Here and there a mass of greenery indicates some domestic
+garden, or a plaza presided over by tall groups of trees, among which
+the thick, umbrageous mangoes prevail. The Rua da Imperatriz is the
+principal wholesale street of the city, where the large warehouses are
+to be found, but the Rua dos Mercadores is the fashionable shopping
+street, through which the tramway also passes. The shops are rather
+small, but have a fair stock of goods offered at reasonable rates,
+though strangers are apt to be victimized by considerably higher prices
+than a native would pay.
+
+This, however, is not unusual in all foreign countries, so far as our
+experience goes. North Americans are looked upon as possessing unlimited
+pecuniary means, and as lavish in their expenditures, prices being
+gauged accordingly. This is a universal practice in Europe, and
+especially so in Germany.
+
+The climate is very moist, and it has been facetiously remarked that it
+rains here eight days in the week. One cannot speak approvingly of the
+sanitary condition of a place where turkey buzzards are depended upon to
+remove the garbage which accumulates in the thoroughfares. It is
+unaccountable that the citizens should submit to such filthy
+surroundings, especially in a locality where malarial fever is
+acknowledged to prevail in the summer season. Though at this writing it
+is the latter part of May, yellow fever is still rife here, and we hear
+of many particularly sad cases, ending fatally, all about us. This
+destroyer is especially apt to carry off people who have newly arrived
+in the country. The present year has been unusually fatal among the
+residents of Pará, as regards yellow fever, which seems to linger longer
+and longer each year of its visitation. Our own conviction is that the
+people have themselves to thank for this lingering of the pest into the
+winter months, since the sanitary conditions of the place are
+inexcusably defective.
+
+Gardens in and about the city quickly catch and delight the
+eye,--gardens where flowers and fruits grow in great luxuriance. Among
+the latter are oranges, mangoes, guavas, figs, and bananas. The glossy
+green fronds of the bananas throw other verdure altogether into the
+shade, while in dignity and beauty the cocoanut palms excel all other
+trees. The tall, straight stem of the palm rises from the roots without
+leaf or branch until the plumed head is reached, which bends slightly
+under its wealth of pinnated leaves and fruit combined. If you happen to
+pass these gardens after nightfall, especially those in the immediate
+environs of the city, mark the phosphorescent clouds of dancing lights
+which fill the still atmosphere round about the vegetation. This
+peculiar effect is produced by the busy cucuios, or tropical fireflies,
+each vigorously flashing its individual torch. Do they shine thus in the
+daytime, we are led to wonder, like the constellations in the heavens,
+though hidden by the greater light of the sun? They are always
+demonstrative in the night, be it never so cloudy, foggy, or damp in the
+low latitudes. They keep their sparkling revels, their torchlight
+dances, all heedless of the grim and deadly fever which lurks in the
+surrounding atmosphere, claiming human victims right and left, among
+high and low, from the ranks of age and of youth. Insect life is
+redundant here. It is the very paradise of butterflies, whose size, wide
+spread of wing, variety, and striking beauty of colors, we have only
+seen equaled at Penang and Singapore, in the Malacca Straits. Some of
+the avenues leading to the environs are lined with handsome trees, which
+add greatly to their attractiveness and comfort. The silk cotton tree
+and the almond are favorites here as ornamental shade trees. The cape
+jessamine is universally cultivated at Pará, and grows to a large size,
+filling the air with its agreeable fragrance. Here the oleander, covered
+with clusters of bloom, grows to the height of twenty feet and more. The
+lime, with its fine acid fruit, which is in great request in making
+cooling drinks, also abounds.
+
+The glimpses of domestic life which one gets in passing the better class
+of dwellings reveal rooms with tiled or polished wooden floors,
+cane-finished chairs, sofas, and rockers to match, a small foot rug here
+and there, a group of flowering plants in one corner, while hammocks
+seem to take the place of bedsteads. The temperature is high at Pará in
+summer, and woolen carpets, or even mattresses, are too warm for use in
+this climate. Bignonias, oleanders, and other blooming plants abound in
+the flower-plots about the city, besides many flowering vines which are
+strangers to us, half orchids, half creepers. One is apt to jump at
+conclusions. These people dearly love flowers, so we conclude they
+cannot be very wicked.
+
+The families live, as it were, in the open patios, which form the
+centres of their dwellings, are shaded by broad verandas, and upon which
+the domestic apartments all open. The accessories are few, and not
+entirely convenient, according to a northerner's ideas of comfort; but
+this is compensated for by the fragrance of flowers, the picturesqueness
+of the surroundings, and the free and easy out-of-door atmosphere which
+ignores conventionalities. These attractive interiors suggest a sort of
+picnic mode of life which has conformed itself to climatic influences.
+Everything is very quiet, there is no hurry, and the stillness is
+occasionally interrupted by the musical laughter of children, which
+rings out clear and pleasantly, entirely in harmony with the
+surroundings. And such children! Artists' models, every one of them. It
+all seems to a stranger to be the very poetry of living, yet we venture
+to say that each household has its skeleton in the closet, and some a
+whole anatomical museum!
+
+At Bahia, further south, a revelation awaits the traveler in the
+delicious richness, size, and delicacy of the oranges which grow there
+in lavish abundance, and which are famous, all along the coast. Here at
+Pará, the same may be said of the pineapple, the raising of which is a
+local specialty. These are not picked until fully ripe, and often weigh
+ten pounds each. When cut open, the inside can be eaten with a spoon, if
+one fancies that mode. They require no sugar; nature has supplied the
+saccharine principle in abundance. They are absolutely perfect in
+themselves alone. People sailing northward lay in a great store of this
+admirable fruit, which is as cheap as it is delicious and appetizing. In
+New England, the pines of which we partake have been picked in a green
+condition in Bermuda, the Bahamas, or Florida, to enable them to bear
+transportation. They ripen only partially off the stem, and after a very
+poor style, decay setting in at the same time; consequently the pulp is
+not suitable to swallow, and is always more or less indigestible. The
+Pará pines are seedless, and are propagated by replanting the suckers.
+The crown, we were told, would also thrive and reproduce the fruit if
+properly planted, but the first named process is that generally
+employed, and is probably the best.
+
+In the neighborhood of Pará are many large and profitable cocoa
+plantations, the industry connected with which is a growing one,
+representing a considerable amount of capital. But above all others, the
+gathering and preparing of raw india-rubber for exportation is the
+prevailing industry of this Brazilian capital.
+
+The common people seem to be an uncertain mixture of races, confounding
+all attempts properly to analyze their antecedents. They have touches of
+refinement and underlying tenderness of instinct, as exhibited in their
+home associations, but also evince a coarseness which is not inviting,
+to say the least. They are universal lovers of pet birds and small
+animals. No household seems to be complete without some representatives
+of the sort. Among these are cranes, ibises, herons, turtle-doves,
+parrots, macaws, and paroquets. Monkeys of various tribes, the little
+marmoset being the favorite, are seen domesticated in almost every
+private garden, full of fun and mischief, and affording infinite
+amusement to the youthful members of the household. Young anacondas,
+sometimes ten feet long, are kept in and about the dwellings, to catch
+and drive away the rats! The reader smiles half incredulously at this,
+and we do not wonder. If one of these rodents be caught in a trap and
+killed, it is useless to offer it to an anaconda as food. That
+fastidious reptile will eat only such creatures as it kills itself. This
+is also characteristic of the African lion and the tiger of India, when
+in the wild state; neither will molest a dead body, of man or beast,
+which they have not themselves deprived of life, though hyenas, wolves,
+and some other animals will even rob the graves of human bodies for
+food. We had never heard of anacondas employed as ratters before we came
+to Pará, but we were assured by those who should know that they are
+especially effective in warfare against this domestic pest.
+
+Broad verandas give a grateful shade to most of the dwelling-houses,
+which are seldom over one story in height, each one, however, extending
+over considerable ground space. In the business part of the town,
+fronting the harbor, the houses are generally two or even three stories
+in height, it being necessary in such localities to economize the square
+feet of ground occupied. The same sort of external ornamentation is seen
+here as upon the house fronts in Mexico, namely, the profuse decoration
+of the walls with glazed earthen tiles, often of fancy colors, which
+gives a checkerboard appearance to a dwelling-house not calculated to
+please a critical eye.
+
+The Opera House of Pará is a large and imposing structure, one of the
+finest edifices in the town, and the largest theatre, we believe, in
+South America, quite uncalled for, it would seem, by any local demand.
+It is built of brick, finished in stucco, the front being decorated with
+marble columns having handsome and elaborate Corinthian capitals. The
+house lights up brilliantly at night, being finished in red, white, and
+gold. It has four narrow galleries supported upon brackets, thus
+obviating the necessity for the objectionable upright posts which so
+provokingly interfere with the line of sight. The cathedral is a
+substantial and handsome structure, with a couple of tall towers, after
+the usual Spanish style, each containing a dozen bells. The interior has
+all the florid and tawdry ornamentation always to be found in Roman
+Catholic churches, together with the usual complement of bleeding
+figures, arrow-pierced saints, high-colored paper rosettes, utterly
+meaningless, together with any amount of glittering tinsel, calculated
+to catch the eye and captivate the imagination of the grossly ignorant
+native population.
+
+There are many minor churches in the city, and judging by the number
+seen in the streets, there must be at least a thousand priests, whose
+sole occupation, when they are not gambling or cock-fighting, is to
+cajole and impoverish the common people. It was a church festival when
+we visited the cathedral. There are over two hundred such days, out of
+every three hundred and sixty-five, in Roman Catholic countries,--not
+days of humiliation and prayer, but days of gross latitude, of
+bull-fights, occasions when the decent amenities of life are ignored,
+days when the broadest license prevails, and all excesses are condoned.
+There were a large number of women present in the cathedral on this day,
+but scarcely half a dozen men. The better class were dressed gayly, and
+wore some rich jewelry. The love of finery prevails, and pervades all
+classes. Some of the ladies were clad in costly silks and laces, set off
+by brilliants and pearls. Diamonds and precious stones are very common
+in this country, and a certain class seem to carry a large share of
+their worldly possessions showily displayed upon their persons. What the
+humbler class lacked in richness of material, they made up in gaudy
+colors, blazing scarfs, and imitation gold and silver jewelry. Nature
+sets the example of bright colors in these latitudes, in gaudy plumed
+birds and high-tinted flowers and fruits. The natives only follow her.
+The few men who were present came to ogle the women, and having
+satisfied their low-bred curiosity, soon retired to the neighboring
+bar-rooms and gambling saloons. On special festal days temporary booths
+are erected in the squares, in which intoxicants are sold, together with
+toys, cakes, cigars, and charms, the latter said to have been blessed by
+the priests, and therefore sure to prevent any injury from the evil eye!
+
+As in most of the South American cities, there are several elaborate
+buildings here, formerly used as convents, which are now devoted to more
+creditable purposes. The present custom house occupies one of these
+edifices, which is crowned with two lofty towers.
+
+There are plenty of mendicants in the streets of Pará, who are very
+ready with their importunities, especially in appealing to strangers.
+The average citizens seemed to be liberal in dealing with these beggars.
+Saturday is called "poor day" in Pará, as it is also in Havana,
+Matanzas, Cienfuegos, etc., when every housekeeper who is able to give
+something does so, if it be only a small roll of bread, to each visiting
+beggar. At most houses these small rolls are baked regularly for this
+purpose, and the applicant is nearly sure to get one upon calling, and
+if he represents a large family he may receive two. Money is rarely, if
+ever, given by residents, nor is it expected; but strangers are
+surrounded as by an army with banners, and vigorously importuned for
+centavos. The Spaniards and Portuguese are natural beggars.
+
+Here let us digress for a moment. The system of beggary prevailing in
+Spanish countries is very trying to all sensitive travelers. In Italy,
+Spain, and the south of France, especially at the watering-places, it is
+a terrible pest. Naples has become almost unendurable on this account.
+At every rod one is constantly importuned and followed by beggars of all
+sizes, ages, and of both sexes,--individuals who should be placed in
+asylums and cared for by the state. No reasonable person would object to
+paying a certain sum on entering these resorts, to be honestly devoted
+to charitable purposes, provided it would insure him against the
+disgusting importunities of which strangers are now the victims.
+Visitors hasten away from the localities where these things are not only
+permitted but are encouraged. It is thought to be quite the thing to
+fleece foreigners of every possible penny, and by every possible means.
+The contrast in this respect between the cities of the United States and
+those of Europe and South America is eminently creditable to the former.
+In the beautiful little watering-place known as Luchon, in the south of
+France, at the foot of the Pyrenees, with scarcely four thousand
+inhabitants, there are over one hundred professional beggars, who
+constantly beset and drive away visitors. Some of these, as usual in
+such cases, are known to be well off pecuniarily, but are marked by some
+physical deformity upon which they trade. If the stranger gives, he is
+oftenest encouraging a swindle, rarely performing a true charity. This
+is one of the increasing disgraces of Paris. Beggars know too much to
+importune citizens, but strangers are beset at every corner of the
+boulevards and public gardens, particularly by children, girls and boys,
+trained for the purpose.
+
+Of all the races seen in Brazil, the half-breed Indian girls are the
+most attractive, and until they are past the age of twenty-five or
+thirty years they are almost universally handsome, no matter to what
+class they belong. Those who have the advantage of domestic comforts,
+good food, and delicate associations develop accordingly, and are
+especially beautiful. They would make charming artists' models. The
+remarkably straight figure of the native women is noticeable, caused by
+the practice referred to of carrying burdens on the head. As already
+mentioned, if a negro or Indian woman has an article to transport, even
+if it be but a quart bottle, or an umbrella, it is placed at once upon
+the head. The article may weigh five pounds or fifty, it is all the
+same; everything but the babies is thus transported. These little naked
+creatures, always suggestive of monkeys, are supported on the mother's
+back, held there by a shawl or rebozo tied securely across the chest.
+When the children are six or eight years old, they are promoted to the
+dignity of wearing one small garment, an abbreviated shirt or chemise.
+
+The principal food of the common people of northern Brazil is farina and
+dried fish, with fried plantains and ripe bananas. Crabs and oysters of
+a poor description abound along the coast, and are eaten by the people,
+both in a raw and cooked condition. But the white people avoid the coast
+oysters, which sometimes poison those not accustomed to them.
+
+The finest avenue in Pará is the Estrada de São José, bordered by grand
+old palms, which form a beautiful perspective and a welcome shade, the
+feathery tops nearly embracing each other overhead. The tramway takes
+one through the environs by the Rua de Nazareth, for five miles to Marco
+da Legua, where the public wells of the city are situated. The way
+thither is lined with neat and handsome dwellings, shaded by noble
+trees. The botanical garden is well worth a visit by all lovers of
+horticulture. The forest creeps up towards the environs of the town,
+wherein many of the trees are rendered beautiful by clinging orchids of
+gorgeous blue; others are of blood red, and some of orange yellow,
+presenting also a great diversity of form. One has not far to go to see
+specimens of the india-rubber tree, growing from ninety to a hundred
+feet in height, while measuring from four to five feet in diameter. This
+tree begins to produce gum at the age of fifteen years. The trunk is
+smooth and perfectly round, the bark of a buff color. It bears a curious
+fruit, of which some animals are said to be fond. The author has seen
+the india-rubber tree growing in the island of Ceylon, where it seemed
+to reach a greater height and dimensions than it does in the district of
+Pará. A considerable portion of the roots lie above ground, stretching
+away from the base of the tree like huge anacondas, and finally
+disappearing in the earth half a rod or more from the parent trunk. The
+reader can hardly fail to be familiar with the simple wild plant, which
+grows so abundantly by our New England roadsides, known as the
+milk-weed, which, when the stem is cut or broken, emits a creamy,
+pungent smelling liquid. In the latitude of Pará, this little weed, of
+the same family, assumes the form of a colossal tree, and is known as
+the india-rubber tree. The United States takes of Brazilian rubber, in
+the crude state, over twenty-five thousand tons annually. As to coffee,
+Brazil supplies one half of all which is consumed in the civilized
+world; but we should frankly tell the reader, if he does not already
+realize the fact, that it is most frequently marked and sold for "Old
+Government Java."
+
+The india-rubber tree is tapped annually very much after the same style
+in which we treat the sugar-maple in Vermont, and elsewhere, to procure
+its sap. A yellow, creamy liquid flows forth from the rubber tree into
+small cups placed beneath an incision made in the trunk. When the cup
+becomes full, its contents is emptied into a large common receptacle,
+where it is allowed to partially harden, and in which form it is called
+caoutchouc. The tapping of the trees and attending to the gathering of
+the sap furnish employment to hundreds of the natives, who, however,
+make but small wages, being employed by contractors, who either lease
+the trees of certain districts, or own large tracts of forest land.
+These Brazilian forests are very grand, abounding in valuable aromatic
+plants, precious woods, gaudy birds, and various wild animals. The
+number of monkeys is absolutely marvelous, including many curious
+varieties. A native will not kill a monkey; indeed, it must be difficult
+for a European to make up his mind to shoot a creature so nearly human
+in its actions, and whose pleading cries when wounded are said to be so
+pitiable.
+
+One of the peculiar street sights in Pará is that of native women with a
+dozen young monkeys of different species for sale. Marmosets can be
+bought for a quarter of a dollar each. So tame are the little creatures
+that they cling about the woman's person, fastening upon her hair, arms,
+and neck, not in the least inclined to escape from her. It is remarkable
+and interesting to see how very fond they become of their owner, if he
+is kind to them. Like the dog and the cat, they seem to have a strong
+desire for human companionship. When seen running wild in the woods,
+leaping from tree to tree, and from branch to branch, they do not try to
+get far away from the presence of man, but only to keep, in their
+untamed state, just out of reach of his hands. Ships sailing hence
+generally take away a few of these animals, but as they are delicate,
+and very sensitive to climatic changes, many of them die before reaching
+Europe or North America.
+
+The great beauty of Pará is its abundance of palm trees. The palm is
+always an interesting object, as well as a most valuable one;
+interesting because of its historical and legendary associations, and
+valuable, since it would be almost impossible to enumerate the number of
+important uses to which it and its products are put. To the people of
+the tropics it is the prolific source of food, shelter, clothing, fuel,
+fibre for several uses, sugar, oil, wax, and wine. It has been aptly
+termed the "princess of the vegetable world." One indigenous species,
+the Piassaba, is a palm which yields a most valuable fibre, extensively
+manufactured into cordage and ships' cables, for which purpose it is
+much in use on the coast of South America. It is found to be stronger
+and more elastic than hemp when thus employed, besides which it is far
+more durable. The product of this species of palm is also exported in
+large quantities to North America and to England, for the purpose of
+making brushes, brooms, and various sorts of domestic matting.
+
+The nights are especially beautiful in this region. We were interested
+in observing the remarkable brilliancy of the sky; the stars do not seem
+to sparkle, as with us at the north, but shed a soft, steady light,
+making all things luminous. This is the natural result of the clearness
+of the atmosphere. One is surprised at first to find the moon apparently
+so much increased in size and effulgency. The Southern Cross is ever
+present, though it is dominated by the Centaur. Orion is seen in his
+glory, and the Scorpion is clearly defined. In the author's estimation,
+there is no exhibition of the heavens in these regions which surpasses
+the magnificence of the far-reaching Milky Way.
+
+
+
+
+          CHAPTER VI.
+
+     Island of Marajo.--Rare and Beautiful Birds.--Original Mode
+     of Securing Humming-Birds.--Maranhão.--Educational.--Value
+     of Native Forests.--Pernambuco.--Difficulty of Landing.--An
+     Ill-chosen Name.--Local Scenes.--Uncleanly Habits of the
+     People.--Great Sugar Mart.--Native Houses.--A Quaint
+     Hostelry.--Catamarans.--A Natural Breakwater.--Sailing down
+     the Coast.
+
+
+The island of Marajo, situated at the mouth of the Amazon, opposite
+Pará, and belonging to the province or state of that name, is a hundred
+and eighty miles in length and about one hundred and sixty in width,
+nearly identical in size with the island of Sicily, and almost oval in
+form. One of the principal shore settlements is Breves, on the
+southeastern corner of the island, which lies somewhat low, and consists
+of remarkably fertile soil, so abounding in wild and beautiful
+vegetation and exquisite floral varieties, that it is called in this
+region "the Island of Flowers." We can easily believe the name to be
+appropriately chosen, since, as we skirt its verdant shores hour after
+hour, they seem to emit the drowsy, caressing sweetness of fragrant
+flowers so sensibly as to almost produce a narcotic effect. The easterly
+or most seaward part of Marajo is open, marshy, sandy land, but back
+from the shore the soil is of a rich, black alluvium, supporting in very
+large tracts a dense forest growth, similar to all the low-lying
+tropical lands of South America. The population is recorded as numbering
+about twenty thousand, divided into several settlements, mostly on the
+coast, and consists largely of the aboriginal race found by the first
+comers upon this island, who, on account of their somewhat isolated
+condition, have amalgamated less with Europeans and the imported colored
+race than any other tribe on the east coast of the continent.
+
+The extensive meadows of Marajo are the grazing fields of numerous herds
+of wild horses and horned cattle, the former of a superior breed, highly
+prized on the mainland; and yet so rapidly do they increase in this
+climate, in the wild state, that every few years they are killed in
+large numbers for their hides alone. The exports from the island consist
+of rice, cattle, horses, and hides. There are some large plantations
+devoted to the cultivation of rice, the soil and water supply of certain
+districts being especially favorable to this crop. As intimated, a
+considerable portion of Marajo is covered with a forest growth so dense
+as to be compared to the jungles of Africa and India, and which, so far
+as is known, has never been penetrated by the foot of man. Travelers who
+have visited the borders of this leafy wilderness expatiate upon the
+strange, inexplicable sounds which are heard at times, amid the
+prevailing stillness and sombre aspect of these primeval woods.
+Sometimes there comes, it is said, from out the forest depth a wild cry,
+like that of a human being in distress, but which, however long one may
+listen, is not repeated. Again, there is heard an awful crash, like the
+falling of some ponderous forest giant, then stillness once more settles
+over the mysterious, tangled woods. Every time the silence is broken it
+seems to be by some new and inexplicable sound, not to be satisfactorily
+accounted for.
+
+The lagoons near the centre of Marajo are said to abound in alligators,
+which are sometimes sought for by the natives for their hides, for which
+a fair price is realized, since fashion has rendered this article
+popular in a hundred different forms. The number and variety of birds
+and lesser animals to be found upon the island are marvelous. Certain
+species of birds seem to have retreated to this spot from the mainland,
+before the tide of European immigration; indeed, it has for a long time
+been considered the paradise of the naturalist. Over thirty species of
+that peculiar bird, the toucan, have been secured here.
+
+When Professor Agassiz was engaged in his scientific exploration of the
+Amazon, he dispatched a small but competent party especially to obtain
+specimens from this island, the result being both a surprise and a
+source of great gratification to the king of naturalists. Many of the
+objects secured by these explorers were rare and beautiful birds, not a
+few of which are unique, and of which no previous record existed. There
+were also many curious insects and other specimens particularly valuable
+to naturalists, most of which are preserved to-day in the Agassiz Museum
+at Cambridge, Massachusetts. The toucan, just spoken of, is most
+remarkable for its beauty and variety of colors, as well as for the very
+peculiar form and size of its elephantine bill, which makes it look
+singularly ill-balanced. This ludicrous appendage is nine inches long
+and three in circumference; the color is vermilion and yellow delicately
+mingled. The toucan is much coveted for special collections by all
+naturalists, and is becoming very scarce, except in this one equatorial
+locality. Scarlet ibises and roseate spoonbills are also found at
+Marajo, both remarkably fine examples of semi-aquatic fowl, and when
+these are secured in good condition for preservation, the natives
+realize good prices for them. In order to procure desirable specimens of
+the humming-bird species, which are also abundant on this island, the
+native hunters resort to an ingenious device, so as not to injure the
+skin or the extremely delicate plumage of this butterfly-bird. For this
+purpose they use a peculiar syringe made from reeds, and charged with a
+solution of adhesive gum, which, when directed by an experienced hand,
+clogs the bird's wings at once, stopping its flight and causing it to
+fall to the ground. Some are caught by means of nets set on the end of
+long bamboo poles, such as are used to secure butterflies, but this
+method is poorly adapted to catch so quick moving a creature as a
+humming-bird. The author has seen, in southern India, butterflies of
+gaudiest texture with bodies as large as small humming-birds, which were
+quite as brilliant as they in lovely colors. The variety and beauty of
+this insect, as found anywhere from Tuticorin to Darjeeling, is notable.
+Wherever British troops are permanently settled, the wives of the common
+soldiers become very expert in catching and arranging these attractive
+objects, preserving them in frames under glass. These find ready
+purchasers for museums and private collections all over Europe, and are
+sold at moderate prices, but serve to add a welcome trifle to the
+extremely poor pay of a common soldier having perhaps a wife and one or
+two children to support.
+
+The island of Marajo was not formed at the Amazon's mouth of soil
+brought down from the interior by the river's current, as is often the
+case with islands thus situated, but is a natural, rocky formation which
+serves to divide the channel and give the river a double outlet into the
+Atlantic. Agassiz studied its character, and gives us an interesting
+statement as the result. He declared, after careful geological
+examination, that it is an island which was once situated far inland,
+away from the river's mouth, but which is now brought near to it by the
+gradual encroachment of the Atlantic Ocean, whose waves and restless
+currents have slowly worn away the northeastern part of the continent.
+This abrasion must have been going on for many thousand years, to have
+produced such a decided topographical change. For the word years, upon
+second thought, read ages, which will undoubtedly express the true idea
+much more correctly.
+
+There are over twenty species of palms indigenous to Marajo, which, as
+one skirts the water front, are seen growing along the far-reaching
+shore, fostered by the humidity of the atmosphere arising from the
+ever-flowing waters of the great river. Among these the peach-palm is
+quite conspicuous, with its spiny stems and mealy, nutritious fruit.
+There are also the cocoa-palm and the assai-palm, the latter gayly
+decorated with its delicate green plumes and long spear pointing
+heavenward, an emblem borne by no other tree in existence. The great
+variety of forms of plant life and giant grasses is extremely curious
+and beautiful on this interesting island. We heard, while at Pará, of a
+proposal made by some European party to thoroughly explore Marajo, which
+has never yet been done, so far as is known to our time, and it is
+believed that some very interesting and valuable discoveries may be the
+result of such an expedition, composed of engineers, scientists, and
+naturalists.
+
+A day's sail to the eastward, bearing a little to the south along the
+coast, brings us to the port of Maranhão, which is the capital of a
+province of Brazil known by the same name, situated a little over three
+hundred miles from Pará. The place is picturesquely nestled, as it were,
+in the very lap of the mountains, which come boldly down to the coast at
+this point. It was founded nearly three hundred years ago, is regularly
+built, and contains between thirty and forty thousand inhabitants.
+Nearly all of the houses, which are generally of two stories, are
+ornamented with attractive balconies, and have handsome gardens attached
+to them, where the luxurious verdure is with difficulty kept within
+proper bounds. Vegetation runs riot in equatorial regions. It is the one
+pleasing outlet of nature, whose overcharged vitality, spurred on by the
+climate, must find vent either in teeming vegetation or in raging
+volcanoes, tidal waves, and unwelcome earthquakes, though sometimes, to
+be sure, we find them all combined in the tropics.
+
+The harbor of Maranhão is excellent and sheltered, the depth of water
+permitting the entrance of ships drawing full twenty feet, an advantage
+which some of the ports to the southward would give millions of dollars
+to possess. According to published statistics, the exports during 1890
+were as follows: thirty-six hundred tons of cotton, six hundred tons of
+sugar, seven hundred tons of hides, a large amount of rice, and some
+other minor articles. The imports for the same period were estimated at
+something less than three million dollars in value. This is the entrepôt
+of several populous districts, besides that of which it is the capital.
+The province itself contains a number of navigable rivers, with some
+thrifty towns on their banks. The bay gives ample evidence of commercial
+activity, containing at all times a number of foreign steamships, with a
+goodly show of coasting vessels. The place is slowly but steadily
+growing in its business relations, and in the number of its permanent
+population.
+
+It cannot make any pretension to architectural excellence, though the
+Bishop's palace and the cathedral are handsome structures. There are two
+or three other prominent edifices, quaint and Moorish, which were once
+nunneries or monasteries; also a foundling institution, a special
+necessity in all Roman Catholic countries. We found here a public
+library, and a botanical garden. Not far inland there are some extensive
+rice plantations, the province in some portions being specially adapted
+to producing this valuable staple. We were informed by those whose
+opinion was worthy of respect, that educational advantages are rather
+remarkable here, the Lyceum having in the past few years graduated some
+of the most prominent statesmen and professionals in Brazil. One thing
+is very certain, the authorities cannot multiply educational facilities
+any too rapidly in this country, nor give the subject any too much
+attention, especially as regards the rising generation of both sexes. So
+far as we could learn by inquiry, or judge by careful observation, the
+ignorance of the mass of the people is simply deplorable.
+
+Maranhão is situated about fourteen hundred miles north of Rio Janeiro,
+with which port it carries on an extensive coasting trade. The exports,
+besides the staples already spoken of, are various, including annotto,
+sarsaparilla, balsam copaiba, and other medicinal extracts, together
+with rum and crude india-rubber. The climate is torrid, the city being
+one hundred and fifty miles south of the equator; and though, like most
+of the towns on the eastern coast of the continent, it is rather an
+unhealthy locality, it is much less so than Pará, and is a far more
+cleanly place than that city, its situation giving it the advantage of a
+system of natural drainage. The country near Maranhão abounds in native
+forests of exuberant richness, producing a valuable quality of timber,
+and affording some of the finest cabinet woods known to commerce, as
+well as a practically inexhaustible supply of various dyewoods, a
+considerable business being done in the export of the latter article. It
+was observed that the assai-palm, from which the palm wine is made, was
+also a prominent feature here. The trunk is quite smooth, the fruit
+growing in heavy bunches like grapes, dark brown in color, and about the
+size of cranberries, hanging in heavy clusters just below the bunch of
+long leaves which forms the top of the tree. The native drink which is
+made from these palm grapes is a favorite beverage in northern Brazil,
+and when properly fermented it contains about the same percentage of
+alcohol as English pale ale.
+
+To the author, the town of Maranhão was quite unknown; even its place
+upon the maps had never attracted his attention until after it was seen
+lying peacefully in an amphitheatre of tall hills, which come down close
+to the rock-ribbed shore of the Atlantic Ocean. This acknowledgment is
+between ourselves, for such a confession would sound very ridiculous to
+the good people of Maranhão.
+
+After leaving its harbor, our next objective point was Pernambuco, which
+is situated about four days' sail from Pará by steamship, and about
+three from Maranhão.
+
+This well known port, with its one hundred and fifty thousand
+inhabitants, is reckoned as the third city of Brazil in point of size
+and commercial importance. It lacks elevation to produce a good effect,
+and recalls the low-lying city of Havana in general appearance, as one
+approaches it from the sea. The harbor is not what could be desired for
+a commercial city, having hardly sufficient depth of water for vessels
+of heavy tonnage, and being also too narrow for a modern long steamship
+to safely turn in. The American line of steamships come to a mooring
+inside the harbor, but the European lines, or at least the Pacific Mail,
+in which we made the home passage, anchor in the open roadstead, three
+quarters of a mile from the shore. The harbor is formed by a long
+natural reef, which makes a breakwater between it and the open sea, a
+portion of the reef having been built up with solid masonry to render it
+more effective. This remarkable coral formation, which is more or less
+clearly defined, extends along the coast for a considerable
+distance,--it is said for four hundred miles. Opposite Pernambuco it
+rises six feet above the water, that is, above high-water mark, and runs
+parallel to the front street of the city at the distance from it of
+about a third of a mile or less. A wide opening in the reef at the
+northern end of the town makes the entrance to the harbor. Off the
+northeast coast of Australia, there is a very similar reef-formation,
+fully as long as this on the South American coast, but situated much
+further from the shore.
+
+It is a serious drawback that passengers by large ocean steamers cannot
+enter the harbor of Pernambuco except by lighters or open boats; all
+freight brought by these steamers must also be transhipped. Landing here
+is often accomplished at considerable personal risk, and a thorough
+ducking with salt water is not at all uncommon in the attempt to reach
+the shore. To pull a boat from the open roadstead into the harbor, or
+vice versa, requires six stout oarsmen and an experienced man at the
+helm, so that landing from the Pacific Mail steamers is both a serious
+and an expensive affair. If a very heavy sea is running, the thing
+cannot be done, and no one will attempt it. The powerful wind which so
+often prevails on the coast occasionally creates quite a commotion even
+inside the harbor, among the shipping moored there, causing the largest
+cables to part and vessels to drag their anchors. Of course a vessel
+lying in the open roadstead, outside of the reef, has no protection
+whatever, and is in a critical situation if the wind blows towards the
+land. If it comes on to blow suddenly, she buoys and slips her anchor at
+once; she dares not waste the time to hoist it, but gets away as quickly
+as possible to where there is plenty of sea room and no lee shore to
+fear. Fortunately, though so fierce for the time being, and of a
+cyclonic character, the storms upon the coast are generally of brief
+duration, and like the furious pamperos, which are so dreaded by
+mariners further south, they blow themselves out in a few hours.
+
+The geographical situation of Pernambuco is such, in the track of
+commerce, that vessels bound north or south, from Europe or from North
+America, naturally make it a port of call to obtain late advices and
+provisions. The name has been singularly chosen, no one can say how or
+by whom, but it signifies "the mouth of hell," a cognomen which we do
+not think the place at all deserves. It is a narrow, crowded,
+picturesque old seaport.
+
+The town is situated at the mouth of the Biberibe River, just five
+hundred miles south of the equator, and is divided in rather a peculiar
+manner into three distinct parts: Recife, on a narrow peninsula; Boa
+Vista, on the river shore; and San Antonio, on an island in the river;
+all being connected, however, by six or eight substantial iron bridges.
+The first named division is the business portion of the capital, about
+whose water front the commercial life of Pernambuco centres, but the
+streets of Recife are very narrow and often confusingly crooked. Boa
+Vista is beautified by pleasant domestic residences, delightful gardens,
+and attractive promenades, far beyond anything which a stranger
+anticipates meeting in this part of the world. Though the business
+portion of the city is so low, the other sections are of better and more
+recent construction.
+
+The view of the town and harbor to be had from some portions of Olinda
+is very fine and comprehensive, taking in a wide reach of land and
+ocean. When a brief storm is raging, spending its force against the
+reef, the view from this point is indeed grand. The sea, angered at
+meeting a substantial impediment, seethes and foams in wild excitement,
+dashing fifty feet into the air, and, falling over the reef, lashes the
+inner waters of the harbor into waves which mount the landing piers, and
+set everything afloat in the broad plaza which lines the shore. The big
+ships rock and sway incessantly, straining at their anchors, or chafing
+dangerously at their moorings. Precautions are taken to avert damage,
+but man's strength and skill count for little when opposed by the
+enraged elements.
+
+This plaza, or quay, is shaded by aged magnolias of great height, and is
+the resort of unemployed seamen, fruit dealers, and idlers of all
+degrees. The house fronts in the various sections of the town are
+brilliantly colored, yellow, blue, white, and pink, also sometimes being
+covered halfway up the first story with glittering tiles of various
+hues. At nearly every turn one comes upon the moss-grown, crumbling
+façade of some old church, about the corners of which there is often a
+grossly filthy receptacle, the vile odor from which permeates the
+surrounding atmosphere. This was found to be almost insupportable with
+the thermometer standing at 90° Fahr. in the shade, forming so obvious a
+means for propagating malarial fever and sickness generally as to be
+absolutely exasperating. Notwithstanding all appearances, the American
+consul assured us that Pernambuco is one of the healthiest cities on the
+east coast of South America. The yellow fever, however, does not by any
+means forget to visit the place annually. Experience showed us that the
+residents along the coast were accustomed to give their own city
+precedence in the matter of hygienic conditions, and to admit, with
+serious faces, that the other capitals, north and south, were sadly
+afflicted by epidemics at nearly all seasons.
+
+Pernambuco has several quite small but well-arranged public squares,
+decorated with fountains, trees, and flowers of many species. Two of
+these plazas have handsome pagodas, from which outdoor concerts are
+often given by military bands. The city is a thriving and progressive
+place, has extensive gas works, an admirable system of water supply,
+tramways, good public schools, and one college or high school. We must
+not forget to add to this list a very _flourishing_ foundling asylum,
+where any number of poor little waifs are constantly being received, and
+no questions asked. A revolving box or cradle is placed in a wall of the
+hospital, next to the street, in which any person can deposit an infant,
+ring the bell, and the cradle will revolve, leaving the child on the
+inside of the establishment, where the little deserted object will be
+duly cared for. Connected with the hospital are several outlying
+buildings, where children are placed at various stages of growth. We
+were told that about forty per cent. of such children live to grow up to
+maturity, and leave the care of the government fairly well fitted to
+take their place in the world, and to fight the battle of life so very
+inauspiciously begun. It has been strongly argued that such an
+establishment offers a premium upon illegitimacy and immorality; but one
+thing is to be considered, it prevents the terrible crime of
+infanticide, which is said to have prevailed here to an alarming extent
+before this hospital was founded.
+
+There is a passably good system of drainage, which was certainly very
+much needed, and since its completion the general health of the place is
+said to have considerably improved. This is not all that is required,
+however. There should be a decided reform in the habits of the people as
+regards cleanliness. At present they are positively revolting. The
+inhabitants are the very reverse of neat in their domestic associations,
+and home arrangements for natural conveniences are inexcusably
+objectionable; such, indeed, as would in a North American city, or even
+small town, call for the prompt interference of the local board of
+health. These remarks do not apply to isolated cases; the trouble is
+universal. Families living otherwise in comparative affluence utterly
+disregard neatness and decency in the matter to which we allude.
+
+The districts neighboring to Pernambuco form extensive plains, well
+adapted to the raising of sugar, coffee, and cotton, as well as all
+sorts of tropical fruits and vegetables. There are many flourishing
+plantations representing these several interests, more especially that
+of sugar. The storehouses on the wharves and in the business sections of
+the city, the oxcarts passing through the streets, drawn each by a
+single animal, and even the very atmosphere, seem to be full of sugar.
+It is, in fact, the great sugar mart of South America. The annual amount
+of the article which is exported averages some twelve hundred thousand
+tons. Sugar is certainly king at Pernambuco. People not only drink, but
+they talk sugar. It is the one great interest about which all other
+business revolves. The article is mostly of the lower grade, and
+requires to be refined before it is suitable for the market. The
+refining process is being generally adopted at the plantations. American
+machinery is introduced for the purpose with entire success. The export
+of the crude article will, it is believed, be much less every year for
+the future, until it ceases altogether. It was a singular sight to
+observe the naked negroes carrying canvas bags of crude sugar upon their
+heads through the streets, each bag weighing a hundred pounds or more.
+The intense heat caused the canvas to exude quantities of syrup or
+molasses, which covered their dark, glossy bodies with small streams of
+fluid. They trotted along in single file, and at a quick pace, towards
+their destination, unheeding the sticky condition of their woolly heads
+and naked bodies.
+
+Not far inland there are extensive meadows, where large herds of horned
+cattle are raised, together with a breed of half-wild horses, the
+breaking and domesticating of which, as here practiced, is a most cruel
+process. A certain set of men devote themselves to this business; rough
+riders, we should call them, very rough. Good horses are to be had at
+extraordinarily low prices. In the back country there are some grand and
+extensive forests, which produce fine cabinet woods and superior dye
+woods.
+
+By consulting a map of the western hemisphere, it will be seen that
+Pernambuco is situated on the great eastern shoulder of South America,
+where it pushes farthest into the Atlantic Ocean, fifteen hundred miles
+south of Pará, and about five hundred north of Bahia. On the long coral
+reef which separates the harbor from the open sea is a picturesque
+lighthouse, also a quaint old watch tower which dates from the time of
+the Dutch dominion here. It is proposed to build additional layers of
+heavy granite blocks upon the reef, so as to raise it about six or eight
+feet higher and make it of a uniform elevation along the entire city
+front, and thus afford almost complete protection for the inner
+anchorage. It will be only possible to make any real improvement of the
+harbor by adopting a thorough system of dredging and deepening. There
+was evidence of such a purpose being already in progress on our second
+visit, two large steam dredging machines being anchored at the southerly
+end of the harbor.
+
+The people of this hot region know the great value of shade trees,
+consequently they abound, half hiding from view the numerous handsome
+villas which form the attractive suburbs of the city. Everywhere one
+sees tall cocoanut palms, clusters of feathery bamboos, widespread
+mangoes, prolific bananas, guavas, and plantains growing among other
+graceful tropical trees, rich in the green texture of their foliage, and
+thrice rich in their luscious and abundant fruits. Among the vine
+products we must not forget to mention a rich, high flavored grape,
+which is native here, and which all people praise after once tasting.
+The water, which is brought into the city by a system of double iron
+pipes, comes from a neighboring lake, and is a pure and wholesome drink,
+a most incomparable blessing in equatorial regions, which no person who
+has not suffered for the want of it can duly appreciate.
+
+The International Hotel is the favorite resort of strangers, and is
+situated a couple of miles from the harbor. It is surrounded by
+beautiful trees and flowers, the golden oranges weighing down the
+branches nearly to the ground by their size and abundance, while the
+young blossoms fill the air with their delicate perfume,--fruit and
+blossoms on the tree at the same time. The garden is thronged by
+household pets, and contains a spacious aviary. The monkey tribe is
+fully represented; gaudy winged parrots dazzle the eye with impossible
+colors. One partakes here, in the open air, of the refreshing viands
+amid the songs of birds, the occasional scream of the cockatoo, the
+cooing of turtle-doves, and the fragrance of a profusion of tropical
+flowers. The native servants are well-trained, and there is a French
+chef. We were told that this attractive place had once belonged to a
+very wealthy Brazilian, a planter, who had come to grief financially,
+and as the house was offered for sale, it had been purchased for one
+fifth of its original cost and adapted to hotel purposes. While enjoying
+our fruit at dessert, a somewhat similar experience was recalled as
+having taken place at Christiania, in Norway, where visitors enjoy the
+meals in a sort of outdoor museum and garden, surrounded by curious
+preserved birds mingled with living ones, the latter so tame as to
+alight fearlessly upon the table and await any choice bit guests may
+offer them.
+
+We shall not soon forget the very appetizing dinner of which we partook,
+amid such attractive surroundings, in the gardens of the International
+Hotel at Pernambuco. One fruit which was served to us is known by the
+name of the loquat. It is round, dark yellow, and about the size of a
+Tangerine orange,--a great favorite with the natives, though it is
+mostly stone and skin, and tastes like turpentine.
+
+This city is often called the Venice of Brazil, but why, it is difficult
+for one to understand. It is only poetical license, for there is not the
+first actual resemblance between the two cities. True, there are several
+watercourses, and half a dozen bridges, intersecting this Brazilian
+capital. One would be equally justified in calling the frail catamarans
+which are used by the fishermen in these waters, gondolas. This singular
+craft, by the way, consists of four or five logs of the cork-palm tree,
+confined together by a series of strong lashings, no nails being used,
+thus securing a necessary degree of elasticity. One end of the logs is
+hewn down to a smaller size or width than the other, thus forming stem
+and stern, while a single thick plank serves as a keel. There are no
+bulwarks to this crazy craft,--for it can hardly be called anything
+else,--the whole being freely washed by the sea; but yet, with a rude
+mast carrying a triangular sail, and with a couple of oars, two or three
+fishermen venture far away from the shore; indeed, we encountered them
+out of sight of land. A couple of upright stakes are driven into the
+logs, to hold on by when occasion requires. It is really wonderful to
+see how weatherly such a frail affair can be, and how literally safe in
+a rough seaway. The boatmen who navigate these catamarans (they are
+called here _janguardas_) manage to keep the market of Pernambuco
+abundantly supplied with the strange, fantastic fish which so prevail
+along the Atlantic coast in equatorial regions.
+
+We have seen a craft very similar to these catamarans in use off the
+Coromandel coast, between Madras and the mouth of the Hoogly River,
+which leads up to Calcutta. Here the natives manage them in a sea so
+rough that an ordinary ship's boat, if exposed, would surely be swamped.
+The Madras catamaran consists of three pieces of timber, mere logs
+twelve or fourteen feet long, securely bound together with ropes made
+from the fibre of the cocoanut palm. Nails are no more available here
+than in the former crafts we have named. No nails could withstand the
+wrenching which this raft is subjected to. The middle log is a little
+longer than the two outside ones, and is given a slight upward turn at
+the end which forms the prow. No sail is used, but two fishermen
+generally go out with each of these rafts, propelling them with
+broad-bladed paddles, used alternately on either side. Of course the
+natives who navigate these crafts are naked, with the exception of a
+breech-cloth at the loins. They are very frequently thrown off by the
+sea, but regain their places with remarkable agility. They manage also,
+somehow, to secure their fishing gear, and generally to bring in a
+remunerative fare from their excursions. Strange as the catamaran is, it
+must yet be described as breezy, watery, and safe--for amphibious
+creatures. There is one enemy these fishermen have to look out for,
+namely the shark, both on the coast of Madras and South America. It is
+more common to say when one is lost that the sharks got him, than it is
+to say he was drowned.
+
+The reef so often referred to, forming the breakwater opposite
+Pernambuco, is about forty feet in width at the surface, and is the
+marvelous architecture of that tiny coral builder which works beneath
+these southern seas. When it has reared a pyramid reaching from the far
+bottom of the ocean to the surface, its mission is performed and it
+dies. It lives and works only beneath the surface of the sea;
+atmospheric air is fatal to it. The pyramids of Egypt cannot compare
+with these submerged structures for height, solidity, or magnitude. One
+is the product of a creature of such seeming unimportance as to require
+microscopic aid to detect its existence; the other are monuments erected
+by ancient kings commanding infinite resources; the former being the
+process of nature in carrying out her great and mysterious plan; the
+latter, the ambitious work of men whose very identity is now
+questionable. If we were to enter into a calculation based upon known
+scientific facts, as to how many thousands of years were required for
+this minute animal to rear this massive structure, the result would
+astonish the average reader.
+
+On approaching Pernambuco from the sea, the first object to attract the
+eye is the long line of snow white breakers, caused by the incessant
+swell of the sea striking against the firmly planted reef with a
+deafening surge, breaking into foam and spray which are thrown forty
+feet and more into the air. As we drew near for the first time, the
+extended line of breakers was illumined by the early morning sun, making
+fancy rainbows and misty pictures in the mingled air and water. We were
+escorted by myriads of sea-birds, whose sharp cries came close upon the
+ear, as they flew in and about the rigging. Behind the reef lay the
+comparatively smooth waters of the harbor, dotted here and there by tiny
+white sails, curious-shaped coasting craft, rowboats, and steam tugs,
+while the background was formed by a leafless forest of tall ships'
+masts which lined the wharves, and partially screened the low-lying
+capital from view.
+
+We have remained quite long enough at this city of the reef, and now
+turn southward towards the more attractive port of Bahia.
+
+In running down the coast, the Brazilian shore is so near as to be
+distinctly visible, with its surf-fringed beach of golden sands
+extending mile after mile, beyond which, far inland, rise ranges of
+forest-clad hills, and beyond these, sky-reaching alps. It is often
+necessary to give the land a wide berth, as at certain points dangerous
+sandbars make out from it far to seaward; but whenever near enough to
+the coast to make out the character of the vegetation, it was of deepest
+green and exuberantly tropical. With the exception of one or two small
+towns, and an occasional fisherman's hamlet, the shore presented no
+signs of habitation, being mostly a sandy waste adjoining the sea, where
+heavy rollers spent their force upon the smooth, water-worn, yellow
+beach.
+
+
+
+
+          CHAPTER VII.
+
+     Port of Bahia.--A Quaint Old City.--Former Capital of
+     Brazil.--Whaling Interests.--Beautiful
+     Panorama.--Tramways.--No Color Line Here.--The Sedan
+     Chair.--Feather Flowers.--Great Orange Mart.--Passion Flower
+     Fruit.--Coffee, Sugar, and Tobacco.--A Coffee
+     Plantation.--Something about Diamonds.--Health of the
+     City.--Curious Tropical Street Scenes.
+
+
+Bahia,--pronounced Bah-ee´ah,--situated three hundred and fifty miles
+south of Pernambuco, is the capital of a province of the same name in
+Brazil, and contains nearly two hundred thousand inhabitants. It is
+admirably situated on elevated ground at the entrance of All Saints
+Bay,--_Todos os Santos_,--just within Cape San Antonio, eight hundred
+miles or thereabouts north of Rio Janeiro. The entrance of the bay is
+seven miles broad. For its size, there are few harbors in the world
+which present a more attractive picture as one first beholds it on
+entering from the open Atlantic. The elevated site of the city, with its
+close array of neat, white three and four story houses, breaks the
+sky-line in front of the anchorage, while the town forms a half moon in
+shape, extending for a couple of miles each way, right and left. Near
+the water's edge, on the lower line of the city, are many substantial
+warehouses, official establishments, the custom house, and the like.
+Between the lower and the upper town is a long reach of green terraced
+embankment, intense in its bright verdure. Probably no other city on the
+globe, certainly not so far as our experience extends, is so peculiarly
+divided.
+
+A sad episode marked our first experience here. We came to anchor in the
+harbor, according to custom, at what is known as the Quarantine. About a
+cable's length from us lay a large European steamship, flying the yellow
+flag at the fore. She came into port from Rio Janeiro on the previous
+evening; five of her passengers who had died of yellow fever on the
+passage were buried at sea, while two more were down with it, and were
+being taken to the lazaretto on shore, as we dropped our anchor.
+Probably they went there to die. This was naturally depressing, more so,
+perhaps, as we were bound direct for Rio Janeiro; but as we now came
+from a northern port with a clean bill of health, we were finally
+released from quarantine and permitted to land. It is late in the
+season--last of May--for this pest of the coast to prevail, but the year
+1891 has been one of unusual fatality in the South American ports, and
+none of them have been entirely exempt from the scourge, some showing a
+fearful list of mortality among both citizens and strangers. We were
+conversant with many instances of a particularly trying and sad nature,
+if any distinction can be made where death intervenes with such a rude
+hand. Victims who were in apparent good health in the morning were not
+infrequently buried on the evening of the same day! But we will spare
+the reader harrowing details.
+
+Americus Vespucius discovered Bahia in 1503, while sailing under the
+patronage of Portugal, and as it was settled in 1511, it is the oldest
+city in the country, being also the second in size, though not in
+commercial importance. The excellent harbor is so spacious as to form a
+small inland sea, the far-reaching shores of which are beautified by
+mingled green foliage and pretty villas stretching along the bay, while
+the business portion gives evidence of a growing and important foreign
+trade. This deduction is also corroborated by the presence of numerous
+European steamships, and full-rigged sailing vessels devoted to the
+transportation of merchandise. The buildings are generally of a
+substantial appearance, whether designed as residences or for business
+purposes, but are mostly of an antique pattern, old and dingy. Though
+the city is divided into the lower and the upper town, the latter two or
+three hundred feet above the former, it is made easily accessible by
+mechanical means. A large elevator, run by hydraulic power, is employed
+for the purpose, which was built by an energetic Yankee, and has been in
+successful operation several years, taking the citizens from the lower
+to the upper town, as we pass from basement to attic in our tall North
+American buildings. Between the two portions of Bahia there are streets
+for the transportation of merchandise, which wind zigzag fashion along
+the ravine to avoid the abruptness of the ascent. Besides these means,
+there are narrow stone steps leading upwards to the first level, among
+the tropical verdure, the deep green branches and leaves nodding to one
+from out of narrow lanes and quiet nooks. There is still another way of
+reaching the upper town, namely, a cable road, of very steep grade, one
+car ascending while another descends, thus forming a sort of
+counterbalance. By all these facilities united, the population manage
+very comfortably to overcome the topographical difficulties of the
+situation.
+
+Though there are few buildings of any special note in Bahia, the general
+architecture being quaint and nondescript, still the combined view of
+the city, as we have endeavored to show, is of no inconsiderable beauty.
+We approached it from the north, doubling Light House Point in the early
+morning, just as the rising sun lighted up the bay. Seen from the
+harbor, the large dome of the cathedral overlooks the whole town very
+much like the gilded dome which forms so conspicuous an object on
+approaching the city of Boston. The dark, low-lying, grim-looking fort,
+which presides over the quarantine anchorage, is built upon a natural
+ledge of rock, half a mile from the shore of the town, and looks like a
+huge cheese-box.
+
+In the upper portion of Bahia the streets are narrow, and the houses so
+tall as to nearly exclude the sun when it is not in the zenith. They are
+built of a native stone, and differ from the majority of South American
+dwellings, which are rarely over two stories in height, and generally of
+one only. We have heard it argued that it is advantageous to build
+tropical cities with narrow streets, so as to exclude the heat of the
+sun's rays and thus keep the houses cooler. This is not logical. Wide
+avenues and broad streets give ventilation which cannot be obtained in
+any other way in populous centres. Narrow lanes invite epidemics,
+fevers, and malarial diseases; broad thoroughfares give less opportunity
+for their lodgment. A beehive of human beings, crowded together in a
+narrow space, exhausts the life-giving principle of the surrounding
+atmosphere, but this is impossible where plenty of room is given for the
+circulation of fresh air.
+
+These tall houses of Bahia have overhanging ornamental balconies, which
+towards evening are filled with the female portion of the families,
+laughing, chatting, singing, and smoking, for the ladies of these
+latitudes smoke in their domestic circles. Narrow as the streets of
+Bahia are, room is found for a well patronized tramway to run through
+them. No one thinks of walking, if it be for only a couple of hundred
+rods, on the line of the street cars. All of the civilized world seems
+to have grown lazy since the introduction of this modern facility for
+cheap transportation.
+
+Bahia was the capital of Brazil until 1763, during which year the
+headquarters of the government were removed to Rio Janeiro.
+
+This is a sort of New Bedford, so to speak, having been for more than a
+century extensively engaged in the whaling business, an occupation which
+is still pursued to a limited extent. Whales frequent the bay of Bahia,
+where they are sometimes captured by small boats from the shore. It is
+supposed that the favorite food of this big game is found in these
+waters. There was a time when the close pursuit by fishing fleets fitted
+out in nearly all parts of the world rendered the whales wary and
+scarce. The catching and killing of so many seemed to have thinned out
+their number in most of the seas of the globe. Then came the great
+discovery of rock oil, which rapidly superseded the whale oil of
+commerce in general use. Thereupon the pursuit of the gigantic animal
+ceased to be of any great moment, while there was oil enough
+spontaneously pouring out of the wells of Pennsylvania, and elsewhere,
+to fully satisfy the demand of the world at large. Being no longer
+hunted, the whales gradually became tame and increased in numbers, so
+that to-day there are probably as many in the usual haunts of these
+leviathans in either hemisphere as there ever were. The briefest sea
+voyage can hardly be made without sighting one or more of them, and
+sometimes in large schools.
+
+There is a portion of the elevated section of Bahia which is called
+Victoria, a really beautiful locality, having delightful gardens,
+attractive walks, and myriads of noble shade trees. From here the
+visitor overlooks the bay, with its islands and curving shore decked
+with graceful palms, bamboos, and mango groves; upon the water are
+numerous tiny boats, while white winged sailing ships and dark, begrimed
+steamers unite in forming a picture of active life and maritime beauty.
+In the distance lies the ever green island of Itaparica, named after the
+first governor's Indian bride, while still farther away is seen range
+after range of tall, purple hills, multiplied until lost in the
+distance.
+
+A few grim looking convents and monasteries, which have gradually come
+into the possession of the government, are now used as free schools,
+libraries, and hospitals. There is a medical college here which has a
+national reputation for general excellence, and many students come from
+Rio Janeiro, eight hundred miles away, to avail themselves of its
+advantages, receiving a diploma after attending upon its three years'
+course of studies. From subsequent inquiry, however, not only here but
+in Rio and elsewhere, we are satisfied that the science of medicine and
+surgery stands at a very low ebb throughout this great southland.
+Foreign doctors are looked upon with great distrust and jealousy;
+indeed, it is very difficult for them to obtain a suitable license to
+practice in Brazil. This does not apply to dentistry, of which
+profession there are many American experts in the country, who have
+realized decided pecuniary and professional success. There were six or
+eight on board the Vigilancia, who had been on a visit to their North
+American homes during the summer season, at which time the fever is most
+to be dreaded here.
+
+The city contains over sixty churches, some of which are fine edifices,
+built of stone brought from Europe. This could easily be done without
+much extra expense, as the vessels visiting the port in those early days
+required ballast with which to cross the ocean. They brought no other
+cargo of any account, but were sure at certain seasons of the year to
+obtain a suitable return freight, which paid a good profit on the round
+voyage. Several of these churches are in a very dilapidated condition,
+and probably will not be repaired. The cathedral is one of the largest
+structures of the sort in Brazil, and is thought by many to be one of
+the finest. The cathedral at Rio, however, is a much more elaborate
+structure, and far more costly. It takes enormous sums, wrung from the
+poorest class of people, to maintain these gorgeous temples and support
+the horde of fat, licentious, useless priests attached to them, while
+the mass of humanity find life a daily struggle with abject want and
+poverty. Does any thoughtful person believe for one moment that such
+hollow service can be grateful to a just and merciful Supreme Being?
+
+Bahia was a flourishing port before Rio Janeiro was known commercially,
+and was the first place of settlement by English traders on this coast.
+The present population is of a very mixed character, composed of nearly
+all nationalities, white and black, European and natives. There is no
+prejudice evinced as regards color. Mulatto or negro may once have been
+a slave, but he is a freeman now, both socially and in the eyes of the
+law. He is eligible for any position of trust, public or private, if he
+develops the requisite degree of intelligence. Men who have been slaves
+in their youth are now filling political offices here, with credit to
+themselves and satisfaction to the public. The actual reform from being
+a degraded land of slavery to one of human freedom is much more radical
+and thorough in Brazil than it is in our own Southern States, where the
+pretended equality of the colored race is simply a burlesque upon
+constitutional liberty.
+
+The occasional use of that quaint mode of conveyance, the sedan chair,
+was observable, taking one back to the days of Queen Anne. Only a few
+years ago it was the one mode of transportation from the lower to the
+upper part of the town; but modern facilities, already referred to, have
+thrown the sedan chair nearly out of use. A few antique representatives
+of this style of vehicle, some quite expensive and elaborately
+ornamented, are still seen obstructing the entrances to the houses. The
+local name they bear is _cadeira_. When these chairs are used, they are
+borne upon the shoulders of two or four stalwart blacks, and are hung
+upon long poles, like a palanquin, after the fashion so often seen in
+old pictures and ancient tapestry.
+
+We have spoken of the narrowness of the streets through which the
+tramways pass. In many places, pedestrians are compelled to step into
+the doorways of dwellings to permit the cars to pass them. This is not
+only the case at Bahia, but also in half the busy portion of South
+American cities. These mule propelled cars are now adopted all over this
+country and Mexico; even fourth class cities have tramways, and many
+towns which have not yet risen to the dignity of having a city
+organization are thus supplied with transportation. The Bahia tramway,
+on its route to the suburbs, passes through fertile districts of great
+rural beauty, among groves of tropical fruits, orange orchards, tall
+overshadowing mangoes, and cultivated flowers. There is an attempt at a
+public garden, though it is an idea only half carried out; but there is
+a terrace in connection here called "The Bluff," from whence one gets a
+magnificent view, more especially of the near and the distant sea. These
+delightful and comprehensive natural pictures are photographed upon the
+memory, forming a charming cabinet of scenic views appertaining to each
+special locality, choice, original, and never to be effaced.
+
+We must not omit to mention a specialty of this city, an article
+produced in one or two of the charitable institutions, as well as in
+many humble family circles, namely, artificial flowers made from the
+choicest feathers of the most brilliant colored birds. None of these
+articles are poor, while some of them are exquisite in design and
+execution, produced entirely from the plumage of native birds. A
+considerable aggregate sum of money is realized by a certain portion of
+the community, in the regular manufacture of these delicate ornaments.
+Girls begin to learn the art at a very early age, and in a few years
+arrive at a marvelous degree of perfection, producing realistic pictures
+which rival the brush and pencil of a more pretentious department of
+art. Nearly all visitors carry away with them dainty examples of this
+exquisite and artistic work, which has a reputation beyond the seas.
+Thousands of beautiful birds are annually sacrificed to furnish the
+necessary material. Thus the delicate family of the humming-bird, whose
+variety is infinite in Brazil, has been almost exterminated in some
+parts of the country. There is one other specialty here, namely, the
+manufacture of lace, which gives constant employment to many women of
+Bahia, their product being much esteemed all over South America for the
+beauty of the designs and the perfection of the manufacture.
+
+The special fruit of this province, as already intimated, is oranges,
+and it is safe to say that none produced elsewhere can excel them. They
+are not picked until they are thoroughly ripe, and are therefore too
+delicate, in their prime condition, to sustain transportation to any
+considerable distance. Those sold in our northern cities are picked in a
+green condition and ripened off the trees, a process which does not
+injure some fruits, but which detracts very materially from the orange
+and the pineapple. The oranges of Bahia average from five to six inches
+in diameter, have a rather thin skin, are full of juice, and contain no
+pips; in short, they are perfectly delicious, being delicately sweet,
+with a slight subacid flavor. The first enjoyment of this special fruit
+in Bahia is a gastronomic revelation. The maracajus is also a favorite
+fruit here, but hardly to be named beside the orange. It is the product
+of the vine which bears the passion flower, but this we could not
+relish. It is a common fruit in Australia and New Zealand, where the
+author found it equally unpalatable, yet people who have once acquired
+the taste become very fond of it. The vine with its flower is common
+enough in the United States, but we have never seen it in a
+fruit-bearing condition in our country.
+
+The province of Bahia has an area of two hundred thousand square miles,
+and is represented as containing some of the most fertile land in
+Brazil, capable of producing immense crops of several important staples.
+It is especially fertile near the coast, where there are some large and
+thriving tobacco, sugar, and coffee plantations. The first mentioned
+article, owing to some favorable peculiarity of the soil in this
+vicinity, is held to be nearly equal to the average Cuban product, and
+it is being more and more extensively cultivated each year. Bahia cigars
+are not only very cheap, but they are remarkably fine in flavor. It was
+observed that old travelers on this coast made haste to lay in a goodly
+supply of them for personal use.
+
+A coffee plantation situated not far from this city was visited,
+affording a small party of strangers to the place much pleasure and
+information. The coffee plant is an evergreen, and thus the foliage is
+always fresh in appearance, yielding two harvests annually. Boa Vista,
+the plantation referred to, covers about one hundred acres, much of
+which is also devoted to the raising of fodder, fruit, corn, and beans,
+with some special vegetables, forming the principal sustenance of the
+people and animals employed upon the estate. At first, in laying out
+such a plantation, the coffee sprouts are started in a nursery, and when
+they have had a year's growth are transplanted to the open field, where
+they are placed with strict uniformity in long rows at equal distances
+apart. After the second year these young plants begin to bear, and
+continue to do so for twenty-five or thirty years, at which period both
+the trees and the soil become in a measure exhausted, and a new tract of
+land is again selected for a plantation. By proper management the new
+plantation can be made to begin bearing at the same time that the old
+one ceases to be sufficiently productive and remunerative to cultivate
+for the same purpose. The coffee-tree is thought to be in its prime at
+from five to ten years of age. Fruit trees, such as bananas, oranges,
+mandioca, guavas, and so on, are planted among the coffee-trees to
+afford them a partial shelter, which, to a certain degree, is requisite
+to their best success, especially when they are young and throwing out
+thin roots. The coffee bushes are kept trimmed down to about the height
+of one's head, which facilitates the harvesting of the crop, and also
+throws the sap into the formation and growth of berries. The
+coffee-tree, when permitted to grow to its natural height, reaches
+between twenty and thirty feet, and, with its deep green foliage, is a
+handsome ornamental garden tree, much used for this purpose in Brazil.
+The coffee pods, when ripe, are scarlet in color, and resemble cherries,
+though they are much smaller. Each berry contains two seeds, which, when
+detached from the pod and properly dried, form the familiar article of
+such universal domestic use. A coffee plantation well managed, in
+Brazil, is an almost certain source of ample fortune. The crop is sure;
+that is to say, it has scarcely any drawbacks, and is always in demand.
+Of course there are inconveniences of climate, and other things needless
+to enumerate, as regards entering into the business, but the growth and
+ripening of a coffee crop very seldom fail.
+
+As has been intimated, this port is famous for the production of oranges
+and tobacco; so Rio is famous for coffee, Pernambuco for sugar, and Pará
+for crude india-rubber.
+
+We must not forget to mention one other, and by no means insignificant
+product of Brazil which is exported from Bahia, namely, diamonds of the
+very first quality, which for purity of color far exceed those of Africa
+and elsewhere. It appears that a syndicate in London control the world's
+supply of this peculiar gem from all the mines on the globe, permitting
+only a certain quantity of diamonds to go on to the market annually, and
+thus keeping up the selling price and the market value. No one is
+permitted to know the real product of the mines but the managers of this
+syndicate. The quantity of the sparkling gems which are held back by the
+dealers in London, Paris, and Vienna is really enormous; were they to be
+placed in the retail dealers' hands as fast as they are produced from
+the various sources of supply, they would be erelong as cheap and plenty
+as moonstones. This sounds like an extravagant assertion, but still
+there is far more truth in it than is generally realized. One of the
+public journals of London lately spoke of a proposed corporation, to be
+known as the "Diamond Trust," which is certainly a significant evidence
+that the market requires to be carefully controlled as to the quantity
+which is annually put upon it. In old times a diamond was simply valued
+as a diamond; its cutting and polishing were of the simplest character.
+A series of irregular plane surfaces were thought to sufficiently bring
+out its reflective qualities, but the stone is now treated with far more
+care and intelligence. A large portion of the value of a diamond has
+come to consist in the artistic, and we may say scientific, manner in
+which it is cut. By this means its latent qualities of reflection of
+light are brought to perfection, developing its real brilliancy.
+Accomplished workmen realize fabulous wages in this employment. A stone
+of comparatively little value, by being cut in the best manner, can be
+made to outshine a much finer stone which is cut after the old style.
+Amsterdam used to control the business of diamond cutting, but it is now
+as well done in Boston and New York as in any part of the world.
+
+The largest diamond yet discovered came from Brazil, and is known as the
+Braganza. The first European expert in precious stones has valued this
+extraordinary gem, which is still in the rough, at three hundred million
+sterling! Its actual weight is something over one pound troy. In the
+light of such a statement, we pause to ask ourselves, What is a diamond?
+Simply carbon crystallized, that is, in its greatest purity, and carbon
+is the combustible principle of charcoal. The author was told, both here
+and in Rio Janeiro, that there is a considerable and profitable mining
+industry carried on in this country, of which the general public hear
+nothing. The results are only known to prominent and interested
+Brazilians, the whole matter being kept as secret as possible for
+commercial reasons. No one reads anything about the products of the
+diamond mines in the local papers.
+
+We cannot say that the city of Bahia is a very healthy locality, though
+it certainly seems that it ought to be, it is so admirably situated.
+Yellow fever and other epidemics prevail more or less every year. The
+lower part of the town, on the water front, is so shamefully filthy as
+to induce fever. Upon first landing, the stranger finds himself almost
+nauseated by the vile smells which greet him. This section of the town
+is also very hot, the cliff, or upper town, shutting off almost entirely
+the circulation of air. It is here that sailors, particularly, indulge
+in all sorts of excesses, especially in drinking the vile, raw liquor
+sold by negresses, besides eating unripe and overripe fruit, thus
+inviting disease. One favorite drink produced here, very cheap and very
+potent, is a poisonous but seductive white rum.
+
+The trade and people in this part of the town form a strange
+conglomerate,--monkeys, parrots, caged birds, tame jaguars, mongrel
+puppies, pineapples, oranges, mangoes, and bananas, these being flanked
+by vegetables and flowers. The throng is made up of half-naked boatmen,
+indolent natives from the country, with negresses, both as venders and
+purchasers. As we look at the scene, in addition to what we have
+depicted there is a jovial group of sailors from a man-of-war in the
+harbor enjoying their shore leave, while not far away a small party of
+yachtsmen from an English craft are amusing themselves with petty
+bargains, close followed by half a dozen Americans, who came hither in
+the last mail steamer. A polyglot scene of mixed tongues and gay colors.
+
+In passing into and out of the harbor of Bahia, one can count a dozen
+forts and batteries, all constructed after the old style, and armed in
+the most ineffective manner. These would count as nothing in a contest
+with modern ships of war having plated hulls and arms of precision. Land
+fortifications, designed to protect commercial ports from foreign
+enemies, have not kept pace with the progress in naval armament.
+
+Bahia is connected by submarine telegraph with Pernambuco, Pará, and Rio
+Janeiro, and through them with all parts of the civilized world.
+
+
+
+
+          CHAPTER VIII.
+
+     Cape Frio.--Rio Janeiro.--A Splendid Harbor.--Various
+     Mountains.--Botafogo Bay.--The Hunchback.--Farewell to the
+     Vigilancia.--Tijuca.--Italian Emigrants.--City
+     Institutions.--Public Amusements.--Street
+     Musicians.--Churches.--Narrow Thoroughfares.--Merchants'
+     Clerks.--Railroads in Brazil.--Natural Advantages of the
+     City.--The Public Plazas.--Exports.
+
+
+After a three days' voyage down the coast, between Bahia and Rio
+Janeiro, the tall lighthouse of Cape Frio--"Cool Cape"--was sighted.
+This promontory is a large oval mass of granite, sixteen hundred feet in
+height, quite isolated from other highlands, protruding boldly into the
+Atlantic Ocean. It forms the southeastern extremity of the coast of
+Brazil, and in clear weather can be seen, it is said, forty miles or
+more away. Here the long swell of the open sea is unobstructed and finds
+full sway, asserting its giant power at all seasons of the year.
+Experienced travelers who rarely suffer from seasickness are apt to
+succumb to this trying illness off Cape Frio. It is situated in latitude
+22° 59' south, longitude 41° 57' west, which is particularly specified
+because the line of no magnetic variation touches on this cape,--that
+line which Columbus was so amazed at discovering one hundred leagues
+west of Flores, in the Azores, nearly four hundred years ago. We had
+been running almost due south for the last eight hundred miles, but in
+doubling Cape Frio, and making for Rio harbor, the ship was headed to
+the westward, while the mountains on the coast assumed the most
+grotesque and singular shapes, the range extending from west to east
+until it ends at Cape Frio. The continent of South America here forms a
+sharp angle, but we were too full of expectancy as to the king of
+harbors towards which we were heading, to speculate much about Cape Frio
+and its ocean-swept surroundings.
+
+Rio Janeiro, the capital of Brazil, is also the largest, if not the most
+important city in South America, situated about twelve hundred miles
+north of Montevideo and Buenos Ayres, just within the borders of the
+southern torrid zone. The distance of Rio from New York direct is five
+thousand miles, but most voyagers, on the way through the West Indies,
+stop at three or four of these islands, and also at some of the northern
+ports of the continent of South America, the same as in our own case, so
+that about five hundred miles may be fairly added to the distance we
+have just named. Though the vessel was a month in making the voyage to
+this port, had we sailed direct it might have been done in two thirds of
+the time.
+
+After doubling the cape and sailing some sixty or eighty miles, we
+steered boldly towards the mouth of the harbor of Rio. For a few moments
+the ship's prow pointed towards Raza Island, on which stands the
+lighthouse, but a slight turn of the wheel soon changed its relative
+position, and we entered the passage leading into the bay. After passing
+the "Sugar Loaf," a rock twelve hundred feet in height, the city lay off
+our port bow. All is so well defined, the water is so deep and free from
+obstructions of any sort, that no pilot is required and none is taken,
+and thus we crept slowly up towards our moorings. As the reader may well
+suppose, to eyes weary of the monotony of the sea, the panorama which
+opened before us was one of intense interest. Everything seemed matured
+and olden. There was no sign of newness; indeed, we recalled the fact
+that Rio was an established commercial port half a century before New
+York had a local habitation or a name. The town lies on the west side of
+the port, between a mountain range and the bay, running back less than
+two miles in depth, but extending along the shore for a distance of some
+eight miles, fronting one of the finest and most spacious harbors in the
+world, famous for its manifold scenic beauties, which, from the moment
+of passing within the narrow entrance, are ever changing and ever
+lovely. The most prominent features are the verdure-clad hills of
+Gloria, Theresa, and Castello, behind which extend ranges of steep,
+everlasting mountains, one line beyond another, until lost among the
+clouds. Few natural spectacles can equal the grand contour of this
+famous bay. People who have visited it always speak in superlative
+language of Rio harbor, but we hardly think it could be overpraised. It
+is the grand entrance to a tropical paradise, so far as nature is
+concerned, amid clustering mountains, abrupt headlands, inviting inlets,
+and beautiful islands, covered with palms, tree-ferns, bananas, acacias,
+and other delights of tropical vegetation, which, when seen depicted in
+books, impress one as an exaggeration, but seen here thrill us with
+vivid reality. It is only in the torrid zone that one sees these lavish
+developments of verdure, these labyrinths of charming arboreous effect.
+
+Though so well known and so often written about, the harbor of Rio is
+less famous than beautiful. The bay is said to contain about one hundred
+islands, its area extending inland some seventeen or eighteen miles. The
+largest of these is Governor's Island, nearly fronting the city, being
+six miles long. Some idea of the extent of the bay may be had from the
+fact that there are fifty square miles of good anchorage for ships
+within its compass. Into the bay flows the water of two inconsiderable
+rivers, the Macacu and the Iguaçu, the first named coming in at the
+northeast and the latter at the northwest corner of the harbor.
+
+The Organ Mountains,--Serra dos Orgãos,--capped with soft, fleecy
+clouds, formed the lofty background of the picture towards the north, as
+we entered upon the scene, the immediate surroundings being dominated by
+the sky-reaching Sugar Loaf Rock,--Pão d'Assucar,--which is also the
+navigator's guiding mark while yet far away at sea. This bold, irregular
+rock of red sandstone rises abruptly from the water, like a giant
+standing waist-high in the sea, and forms the western boundary of the
+entrance to the harbor, opposite to which, crowning a small but bold
+promontory, is the fort of Santa Cruz, the two highlands forming an
+appropriate portal to the grandeur which is to greet one within. The
+distance between these bounds is about a mile, inside of which the water
+widens at once to lake-like proportions. Clouds of frigate birds, gulls,
+and gannets fly gracefully about each incoming ship, as if to welcome
+them to the harbor where anchorage might be had for the combined
+shipping of the whole world. We have lately seen the harbor of Rio
+compared to that of Queenstown, on the Irish coast, twenty times
+magnified; but the infinite superiority of the former in every respect
+makes the allusion quite pointless.
+
+The Organ Mountains, to which we have referred, and which form so
+conspicuous a portion of the scene in and about Rio, are so called
+because of their fancied resemblance in shape to the pipes of an organ;
+but though blessed with the usual share of imagination, we were quite
+unable to trace any such resemblance. However, one must not be
+hypercritical. The gigantic recumbent form of a human being, so often
+spoken of as discernible along this mountain range, is no poetical
+fancy, but is certainly clear enough to any eye, recalling the likeness
+to a crouching lion outlined by the promontory of Gibraltar as one first
+sees the rock, either on entering the strait or coming from Malta.
+
+One of the most beautiful indentures of the shore, earliest to catch the
+eye after passing into the harbor of Rio from the sea, is called the Bay
+of Botafogo. The word means "thrown into the fire," and alludes to the
+inhuman _autos-da-fé_ which occurred here when the natives, on refusing
+to subscribe to the Roman Catholic faith, were committed by the priests
+to the flames! This is the way in which the Romish creed was introduced
+into Mexico and South America, and the means by which it was sustained.
+
+The principal charm of this lovely bay within a bay--Botafogo--is its
+flowers and exposition of soaring royal palms. The attractiveness of the
+handsome residences is quite secondary to that of nature, here revealed
+with a lavish profusion. This part of Rio is overshadowed by the tall
+peak of the Corcovado, "the Hunchback," one of the mass of hills which
+occupy a large area west of the city, and the nearest mountain to it.
+From its never-failing springs comes a large share of the water supply
+of the capital. The aqueduct is some ten miles long, crossing a valley
+at one point seven hundred feet in width, at a height of ninety feet,
+upon double arches. Another large aqueduct is in contemplation, besides
+which some other sources are now in actual operation, as Rio has long
+since outgrown the capacity of the original supply derived from the
+Corcovado. The drainage of the town suffers seriously for want of
+sufficient water wherewith to flush the conduits, which at this writing,
+with the deadly fever claiming victims on all hands, are permitted to
+remain in a stagnant condition! And yet there are hundreds of hills
+round about, within long cannon range, which would readily yield the
+required element in almost limitless quantity.
+
+We left the Vigilancia, and our good friend Captain Baker, with regret.
+The noble ship had borne us in safety thousands of miles during the past
+month, through storms and calms, amid intense tropical heat, and such
+floods of rain as are only encountered in southern seas. Watching from
+her deck, there had been revealed to us the glories of the changing
+latitudes, and particularly the grandeur of the radiant heavens in
+equatorial regions. A sense of all-absorbing curiosity prevailed as we
+landed at the stone steps, overlooked by the yellow ochre walls of the
+arsenal, in the picturesque, though pestilential city. The nauseous
+odors which greet one as he steps on shore are very discordant elements
+in connection with the intense interest created by the novel sights that
+engage the eye of a stranger.
+
+With a population, including the immediate suburbs, of over half a
+million,--estimated at six hundred and fifty thousand,--Rio has most of
+the belongings of a North American city of the first class, though we
+cannot refrain from mentioning one remarkable exception, namely, the
+entire absence of good hotels. There is not a really good and
+comfortable public house in all Brazil. Those which do exist in Rio
+charge exorbitantly for the most indifferent service, and strangers are
+often puzzled to find a sleeping-room for a single night on first
+arriving here. Tijuca, situated in the hills a few miles from the city,
+is perhaps the most desirable place of temporary sojourn for the newly
+arrived traveler, who will find at least one large and comfortable
+public house there, favorably known to travelers as Whyte's Hotel. It is
+some little distance from the city, but is easily reached by tramway,
+which takes one to the foot of the hills of the Tijuca range, whose
+tallest peak is thirty-four hundred feet above tide-water. This place
+abounds in attractive villas, tropical vegetation, and beautiful
+flowers, both wild and cultivated. From here also one gets a most
+charming view of the distant city, the famous bay, and the broad
+Atlantic; indeed, the view alone will repay one for making this brief
+excursion. The loftiest village in these hills is called Boa Vista.
+There are mountains, however, on either side, which are five or six
+hundred feet higher than the village containing the hotel. American
+enterprise is engaged at this writing in constructing a narrow gauge
+electric tramway to the summit of Tijuca. The driving road from the base
+to the top is an admirable piece of engineering, and is kept in the very
+best condition possible.
+
+The objectionable character of the Italian emigrants, who come hither as
+well as to our own States, was demonstrated by a party of them robbing
+and nearly murdering a resident of Tijuca who happened to be a short
+distance from his own house, the evening previous to the day which we
+spent at this resort. These Italians are mostly employed as workmen upon
+the railroad, though some are gardeners on the neighboring estates. In
+town they act as porters and day laborers on the wharves, as boatmen,
+and so on, but, as we were assured, are a lawless, vagabond element of
+the community, giving the police force a great deal of trouble.
+
+Rio has many large and commodious public buildings and some elegant
+private residences, the latter generally of a half Moorish type of
+architecture. Some of the edifices date back a couple of centuries. The
+early Portuguese built of stone and cement, hence the somewhat
+remarkable durability of these houses. The large edifice devoted to the
+department of agriculture and public works is one of the most noticeable
+in the city. The Bank of Brazil occupies a building which is classic in
+its fine architecture, being elaborately constructed of hammered
+granite. There is no more superb example of masonry in the country. The
+National Mint, on the Square of the Republic, is also a fine granite
+building; so is that devoted to the Bourse, where enormous values change
+hands daily. Educational institutions are numerous, well organized, and
+generally availed of by the rising generation. The National College is
+of notable influence in the dissemination of general intelligence, and
+the same may be said of the Polytechnic College, an excellent and
+practical institution. It should be observed that any well organized
+educational establishment is called a college in this country.
+
+The public library of Rio contains some two hundred thousand volumes,
+besides many valuable Spanish and Portuguese documents in manuscript. It
+is liberally conducted; black and white people alike, as well as all
+respectable strangers, have free access and liberal accommodations
+within the walls. This institution is an honor to Brazil.
+
+Rio has a new and well organized navy yard, a large arsenal, cotton
+mills, and several extensive manufacturing establishments. Among the
+latter is the largest flour mill we have ever seen. This is an English
+enterprise; but so far as we could learn, it had been found impossible
+to compete profitably with the American flour, as now landed at Rio. A
+foundling hospital on the Rua Everesta de Veiga is worthy of mention.
+Here, as already described in relation to another Brazilian city,
+infants are freely received and cared for, without any inquiry being
+made of those who deposit them. These little ones at the outset become
+children of the state, and are registered and numbered as such.
+Oftentimes the mother pins to the little deserted one's clothes the name
+she desires should be given to it, and the wish is usually regarded by
+the officials of the institution. The authorities put each child out to
+nurse for a year, but receive it back again at the expiration of that
+time, and at a proper period send it to school, and endeavor to rear it
+to some useful employment or trade. While the child is thus disposed of,
+the payment for its board and care is very moderate in amount, and is
+also contingent upon its good health and physical condition. Thus the
+deserted one is likely to have good attention, if not for humanity's
+sake, then from mercenary motives. This plan is copied from that which
+is pursued by the great foundling hospitals of St. Petersburg and
+Moscow, which are certainly the best organized and largest institutions
+of the sort in the world. Where so large a percentage of the children
+born are illegitimate, such a hospital becomes a real necessity. There
+has been no year since this establishment was opened, in 1738, as we
+were told, in which less than four hundred infants were received.
+Sometimes parents, whose worldly conditions have greatly improved, come
+forward after the lapse of years and claim their children. This right on
+their part is duly respected by their properly proving the relationship
+beyond all possible doubt, and paying a sum of money equal to that which
+has been actually expended by the state in the child's behalf.
+
+In the line of public amusements there is a large and well-appointed
+opera house besides eight other fairly good theatres, together with an
+excellent museum. The performances at the theatres are given in French,
+Spanish, and Portuguese. Italian opera is presented three times a week
+during the season. This year the performances were summarily stopped by
+the principal tenor dying of yellow fever. The theatre bearing the name
+of the late emperor is a sort of mammoth cave in size, and is capable of
+seating six thousand people, not one half of whom can hear what is said
+or sung upon the stage by the performers. Street bands of German
+musicians perform here as they do in Boston and New York; the mass of
+the people, being music loving, patronize these itinerants liberally.
+One band posted themselves daily before the popular Globe Restaurant, at
+the hour of the midday meal (breakfast), and performed admirably,
+reaping a generous response from the habitués. Most of the patrons of
+this excellent establishment were observed to be American, English, and
+French merchants, who attended to business in Rio during the day, but
+who went home to the elevated environs to dine and to sleep. "I have
+been here in business nine years," said one of these gentlemen to us,
+"and have been down with the fever once; but I would not sleep in Rio
+overnight for any amount of money, at this season of the year." This was
+early in June. He added: "The fever should have disappeared before this
+time, which is our winter, but it seems to linger later and later each
+succeeding year." This was a conclusion which we heard expressed by
+other observant individuals, but all joined in ascribing its persistency
+in no small degree to the imperfect drainage, and the vile personal
+habits of the mass of the common people, who make no effort to be
+cleanly, or to regard the decencies of life in this respect.
+
+As to churches, Rio has between sixty and seventy, none of which are
+very remarkable, all being dim, dirty, and offensive to the olfactories.
+The cause of the foul air being so noticeable in all of these Romish
+churches is the fact that no provision whatever is made for proper
+ventilation, and this, too, in places of all others where it is most
+imperatively necessary. The offense is created by exhalations from the
+bodies of the least cleanly class of the population. It is such who
+mostly fill these churches all over the continent of Europe, Mexico,
+South America, and the United States. Precisely the same disgusting odor
+greets the senses of the visitor to these edifices, be it in one
+hemisphere or another, but especially in Italy and Spain.
+
+The cathedral of Rio is a large, showy edifice, surrounded by narrow
+streets, and thus hidden by other buildings, so that no general and
+satisfactory outside effect can be had. The front and sides are of solid
+granite, and the whole is known to have cost a mint of money, yet the
+safety of the foundation is more than questionable. Like the grand
+church of St. Isaacs, in the Russian capital of St. Petersburg, great
+expense will doubtless have to be incurred to renew and strengthen it in
+this respect. It is believed that the site upon which Rio stands was
+once under the sea, and, geologically speaking, at no very remote
+period, which accounts for considerable trouble being experienced in
+obtaining secure and solid foundations for any heavy superstructure. At
+this writing, the cathedral is undergoing extensive repairs, inside and
+out, but in spite of the noise of workmen, the disagreeable lime dust,
+and the interference of a network of interior staging, it is still very
+striking in its architectural effect.
+
+In the old part of the town, two prominent cupolas dominate the
+surroundings. These belong respectively to the churches of Candelaria
+and San Luigi. The most popular church in Rio is undoubtedly that which
+crowns the Gloria Hill, called the Igreja da Gloria do Onterio, which
+overlooks the bay. Its commanding situation is very remarkable. In shape
+it is octagonal, and seems to be very solidly built. In front of the
+church there is a broad terrace, from whence a fine view may be enjoyed.
+On a moonlight night the picture presented from the Gloria Hill is
+something worth going miles on foot to behold. This church was the
+favorite resort of the late royal family when they were in the city,
+though much of their home life and all of their summers were passed in
+the hills of the Organ Mountains at the emperor's favorite
+resort,--Petropolis.
+
+The shops of Rio, notwithstanding they are generally small and situated
+upon streets so narrow that they would be called only lanes in North
+America,--close, confined, half-strangled thoroughfares,--will compare
+favorably in many respects with those of continental Europe. The larger
+number of the merchants here are French, together with a considerable
+sprinkling of German Jews. Indeed, can any one tell us where we shall
+not find this peculiar race represented in the trade centres of the wide
+world? In many of the fancy-goods stores the famous Brazilian feather
+flowers are exhibited for sale, but the best place to purchase these is
+at Bahia, where they are a specialty, and where their manufacture is
+said to have originated. The narrow streets, traversed by tramways, are
+at times almost impassable for pedestrians, and are often blocked by
+heavy mule teams for fifteen minutes at a time. By and by some lazy
+policeman makes his appearance and quietly begins to unravel the snarl,
+which he at length succeeds in doing, and the ordinary traffic of the
+thoroughfare is once more resumed. An unsightly gutter runs through the
+middle of some of these thoroughfares, which adds to the annoyances
+incident to ordinary travel. All are regularly laid out, chess-board
+fashion, very ill smelling, and harbor an infinite number of beggars and
+mangy dogs.
+
+It is customary for local merchants who employ European clerks--and
+there are many English, French, and Brazilians in Rio who do so,--to
+give them a fixed salary, quite moderate in amount, and to furnish them
+with lodgings also. The latter are of a very rude and undesirable
+character, in the business establishment itself, either over the store,
+or in the back part of it. The bedding which is furnished is of a
+makeshift character, rarely changed, and never properly aired.
+Exceedingly uncleanly domestic arrangements, or the entire absence of
+them, are also a serious matter in this connection, from a sanitary
+point of view. The clerks get their food at some neighboring restaurant,
+and contract irregular habits, all of which is both mentally and
+physically demoralizing. It is among this class of foreigners that the
+yellow fever finds the most ready victims. To sleep in these crowded
+business centres, in ill-ventilated apartments, with far from cleanly
+surroundings, is simply to provoke fatal illness, and during an epidemic
+of fever these places furnish fuel for the flames. Neatness and
+cleanliness among domestic associations in this city are entirely lost
+sight of and are totally disregarded by men and women.
+
+The Rua Direita is the State Street or Wall Street of Rio; a new name,
+which escapes us at this moment, has been given to it, but the old one
+is still the favorite and in common use. Here brokers, bankers, and
+commission merchants meet and bargain, and fiercely speculate in coffee.
+The principal shopping street is the Rua de Ouvidor, where the best
+stores and choicest retail goods are to be found. In the Rua dos
+Ourives,--"Goldsmith's Street,"--the display of fine jewelry, diamonds,
+and other precious stones recalls the Rue de la Paix of Paris. Diamonds
+are held at quite as high prices as in London or New York, and those of
+the best quality can be bought better at retail out of this country than
+in it. A poor quality of stone, off color, is imported and offered here
+as being of native production, and careless purchasers are not
+infrequently deceived by cunning dealers in these matters.
+
+Two vehicles cannot pass each other in this avenue without driving upon
+the narrow sidewalk. At times a deafening uproar prevails along these
+circumscribed lanes. The rough grinding of wheels, noisy bootblacks,
+whooping orange-sellers, screaming newspaper boys, howling dogs, the
+rattle of the street peddler, lottery ticket venders, fighting street
+gamins, all join to swell the mingled chorus. And yet these crowded
+thoroughfares would lose half of their picturesqueness were these
+elements to be banished from them. They each and all add a certain crude
+element of interest to this every-day picture of Vanity Fair.
+
+In their ambition to copy European and North American fashions, the
+gentlemen of Rio utterly disregard the eternal fitness of things,
+wearing broadcloth suits of black, with tall, stove-pipe hats, neither
+of which articles should be adopted for a moment in their torrid
+climate. Nothing could be more inappropriate. Linen clothing and light
+straw hats are the true costume for the tropics, naturally suggesting
+themselves in hot climates to the exclusion of woolen, heat-brewing
+costumes, which are necessary articles of wear in the north. Fashion,
+however, ignores climate and is omnipotent everywhere; comfort is
+subsidiary. Wear woolen clothing by all means, gentlemen of Rio, even
+when the thermometer hangs persistently at 95° Fahr. in the shade, and
+the human body perspires like a mountain stream.
+
+The tramway system of Rio is excellent in a crude way. Statistics show
+that fifty million passengers are annually transported by this popular
+means from one part of the city to another, and into the suburbs. The
+street railway was first introduced here by North American enterprise,
+the pioneer route being that between the city proper and the botanical
+garden. The prices of passage vary according to distances, as is the
+case with the London omnibuses. The cars are all open ones, of cheap,
+coarse construction, and far from inviting in appearance, being entirely
+unupholstered, and affording only hard board seats for passengers to sit
+upon. They are usually drawn by one small donkey, whose strength is
+quite overtasked, but the ground in the city is so nearly level that the
+cars move very easily and rapidly.
+
+There is one delightful excursion from Rio which nearly all strangers
+are sure to enjoy. We refer to the ascent of Corcovado, the mountain
+which looms over Botafogo Bay to the height of twenty-two hundred feet,
+and to the summit of which a railway has been constructed. The grades
+are extremely steep, and the road is what is called a centre line,
+worked upon the cog-wheel system, the ascent being very slow and
+winding. The principle is the same as that of the railway by which Mount
+Washington is ascended, in New Hampshire, or the Righi, in Switzerland.
+This road was built by the national government, but as a pecuniary
+speculation it does not pay, though it is of considerable indirect
+benefit to the city. We will not dilate upon the grand outlook to be had
+from the summit of the Hunchback, which takes in a bird's-eye view of
+the harbor and its surroundings, but will add that no one should come
+hither without ascending Corcovado. The top consists of two rounded
+masses of bare rock, and is walled in to prevent accident, there being
+on one side a perpendicular descent of a thousand feet. It gives one at
+first a dizzy sensation to look down upon the vast city spread out over
+the plain, from whence a hum of mingled sounds comes up with singular
+distinctness. Even the bells upon the mules which are attached to the
+tram-cars can be distinguished, and other sounds still more delicate and
+minute. Just so balloonists tell us that at two or three thousand feet
+in mid-air they can distinguish the voices of individuals upon the earth
+below them. The experienced traveler learns to be astonished at nothing,
+but there are degrees of pleasure induced by beautiful and majestic
+views which mount to the apex of our capacity for admiration. One can
+safely promise such a realizing sense to him who ascends the Corcovado.
+
+A tramway which starts from the centre of the city will take the
+traveler to the base of the hill, through roads lined by palms of great
+age and beauty, finally leaving him near the point from whence the steam
+road begins the upward journey.
+
+Nictheroy, just across the harbor of Rio, on the east side of the bay,
+is a sort of faubourg of the capital, with which it is connected by a
+line of steam ferry-boats, as Chelsea is with Boston, or Brooklyn with
+the city of New York. It is the capital of the province of Rio Janeiro,
+and has broader streets, is more reasonably laid out, and is kept more
+cleanly than Rio itself. Space is found for a profusion of attractive
+gardens, and the senses are greeted by sweet odors in the place of
+needlessly offensive smells, which attack one on all sides in the
+metropolis so near at hand. It is quite a relief to get on to one of the
+ferry-boats and cross over to Nictheroy occasionally, for a breath of
+pure air. This is the native Indian name of the place, and signifies
+"hidden water," particularly applicable when these land-locked bays were
+shrouded in dense tropical woods.
+
+Unlike Pará, Montevideo, and Buenos Ayres, this city has no special
+river communication with the interior, but her commerce is large and
+increasing. Railroads are more reliable feeders for business than either
+rivers or canals. It is a fact which is not generally realized, that
+Brazil has over six thousand miles of well-constructed railways in
+operation, besides having a telegraph system covering seven thousand
+miles of land service. In the construction of the railroads, the cost,
+so far as the ground work and grading was concerned, was reduced to the
+minimum, owing to the level nature of the country. As was the case in
+New Zealand, many of these railways were constructed at great expense,
+in anticipation of the wants of a future population, who it was hoped
+would settle rapidly upon the route which they followed. That is to say,
+many of these roads did not open communication between populous
+districts already in existence. This would have been perfectly
+legitimate. They run to no particular objective point, and seem to stop
+finally nowhere. The natural sequence followed. After being built and
+equipped with borrowed money, they were anything but self-supporting,
+and pecuniary aid from the government was freely given to enable them to
+be kept in operation.
+
+There must always come a day of reckoning for all such forced schemes,
+and the Brazilian railways were no exception to the rule. This is
+largely the primary cause of the present monetary troubles in this
+country, as well as in the Argentine Republic. The capital for the
+construction of these roads came mostly from England, and that country
+has been accordingly a heavy pecuniary sufferer. The rates charged for
+transportation upon most of the lines are also exorbitant, if we were
+rightly informed; so much so, in fact, as to prove nearly prohibitory.
+Scarcely any species of merchandise brought from a considerable distance
+inland will bear such freight charges and leave a margin for profit to
+the producer and shipper. Would-be planters of coffee and sugar-cane
+dare not enter upon raising these staples for the market, unless
+situated very near the shipping point, or near some available river's
+course, the latter means being naturally much cheaper than any form of
+railway transportation.
+
+Situated on the border of two zones, Rio Janeiro has the products of
+both within her reach, and thus possesses peculiar advantages for
+extensive trade and general commerce. It is in this latter direction
+that her progressive and enterprising merchants are endeavoring to
+extend the facilities of the port. The passenger landings--not
+wharves--which border the water front of the city here and there are of
+solid granite, from which at suitable intervals broad stone steps lead
+down to the water's edge, as on the borders of the Neva at St.
+Petersburg. We have few, if any, such substantial landing-places in our
+North American ports. We know of no harbor on the globe which enjoys a
+more eligible situation as regards the commerce of foreign countries,
+both of the New and the Old World. The one convenience so imperatively
+demanded is proper wharves for the landing and shipping of cargoes, thus
+obviating the necessity of the expensive and tedious lighter system. It
+is her many natural and extraordinary advantages which has led to so
+steady a growth of the city, notwithstanding the very serious drawback
+of an unwholesome climate, aggravated by the indolence and incapacity of
+the local authorities in sanitary matters. Both consumption and yellow
+fever have proved more fatal here than at any other port in South
+America, so far as we could draw comparisons.
+
+The well-equipped marine arsenal of Rio is of considerable interest and
+importance, as there is no other port on the Atlantic coast, between the
+Gulf of Mexico and Cape Horn, where a large modern vessel can go into
+dry dock for needed repairs. This receptacle is ample in size, and is
+substantially built of granite. Such an establishment as a national
+shipyard is a prime necessity to a commercial country like Brazil, which
+has eleven hundred leagues of seacoast.
+
+In the Plaza Constitution, which is a very grand and spacious park in
+the heart of the city, there is an elaborate and costly statue of the
+father of the late emperor, of heroic size. The pedestal is surrounded
+by four bronze groups, representing typical scenes of early Indian life
+in this country. The Paseo Publico is also a garden-like spot, extending
+three or four hundred feet along the bay. This is a cool and favorite
+resort of the populace. On the corners of the principal streets and
+squares there are little octagonal structures called kiosks, gayly
+painted, where hot coffee, lottery tickets, and bonbons are sold, as
+well as newspapers and flowers. Here, as in Havana, the city of Mexico,
+Naples, and many European cities, the lottery proves to be a terrible
+curse to the common people, draining their pockets and diverting them
+from all ideas of steady-going business. It is customary also for the
+regularly organized business establishments to patronize the lottery
+with never-failing regularity, charging a certain monthly sum to expense
+account, but the money is nevertheless paid out for lottery tickets. The
+bad moral effect of this upon clerks and all concerned is very obvious.
+When by chance any prize, be it never so small, is awarded, a great
+flurry is made of the fact, and advertisements emphasize it, thus to
+incite fresh investments in this organized public swindle. Tickets are
+sold by boys and girls, men and women, and half the talk of the
+thoughtless multitude is about the lottery, how to hit upon lucky
+numbers, and so on.
+
+It is a mistaken though popular idea that our New England consumptives
+have only to seek some tropical locality to alleviate their special
+trouble. Rio seems to be particularly fatal to persons suffering from
+pulmonary troubles. The same may be said of many other tropical regions.
+When consumption is developed in the Bahamas, Cuba, or the Sandwich
+Islands, for instance, it runs its fatal course with a speed never
+realized in the Northern States of America. Physicians do not send
+patients to foreign localities so indiscriminately as they used to.
+Almost every sort of climate is to be found within the borders of the
+United States, where also civilized comforts are more universally to be
+obtained than abroad. Besides which, an invalid does not have to brave
+seasickness and other ocean hardships, if sent to some eligible locality
+within our own borders.
+
+Though Brazil has long been, and is still, famous for its production of
+diamonds, precious stones, and gold, yet these are as nothing when
+compared with her exports of sugar, coffee, and hides, not taking into
+account her product of rice, cocoa, tobacco, dyewoods, and other
+important staples. A large portion of the abnormal growth of her forests
+is valuable for its timber, resins, fibre, and fruits. It is naturally a
+very rich country, with a world of wealth in its soil, but miserable
+financial mismanagement has caused the national treasury to become
+utterly bankrupt, and at this writing mercantile credit is an unknown
+quantity, so to speak. The natural resources of the country are
+unlimited; therefore it must be only a question of time when a healthy
+reaction shall set in, and a period of sound prosperity follow.
+
+It should be remembered in this connection that the immediate country of
+which we are speaking, that is, Brazil as a whole, is as large as the
+United States, leaving out the territory of Alaska.
+
+
+
+
+          CHAPTER IX.
+
+     Outdoor Scenes in Rio Janeiro.--The Little Marmoset.--The
+     Fish Market.--Secluded Women.--The Romish Church.--Botanical
+     Garden.--Various Species of Trees.--Grand Avenue of Royal
+     Palms.--About Humming-Birds.--Climate of Rio.--Surrounded by
+     Yellow Fever.--The Country Inland.--Begging on the
+     Streets.--Flowers.--"Portuguese Joe."--Social Distinctions.
+
+
+It would require many pages to properly describe Rio Janeiro with its
+curious phases of street life, its manners and customs, its local
+peculiarities, and moving panorama of events, all combining to make up a
+unique personality. These out-of-door scenes go far to tell the true
+story of any special locality. The fruit and vegetable market, near
+Palace Square, is a highly attractive place to visit at early morning.
+The negro women venders, always stout and portly creatures, with heads
+turbaned in many-colored bandannas, are eloquent in recommending their
+articles for sale, and are also very shrewd at a bargain. It is not
+uncommon for these middle-aged negresses to stand six feet high, without
+shoes or stockings, and to turn the scales at double the average weight
+of men of the same color and class. These women were all slaves in their
+girlhood. As regards prices charged for provisions, fruits, and
+vegetables, in the markets of Rio, they seemed to the author rather
+exorbitant, but doubtless permanent residents do not pay such sums as
+are charged to strangers for the same articles. We were heartily laughed
+at by a housekeeper on stating the cost of a small basket of choice
+fruit which we had purchased, being told that we had paid four times its
+market value. However, it was well worth the price to us, who had just
+arrived from an ocean voyage of five thousand miles and more. On
+shipboard fruit is necessarily a scarce article, and it was certainly
+worth something extra to be introduced for the first time to the
+luscious products of this region.
+
+The abundance and variety of flowers, as well as their cheapness and
+fragrance, make them a desirable morning purchase, with all their dewy
+freshness upon them. Oranges, limes, pineapples, lemons,
+alligator-pears, cocoanuts, grapes, mangoes, with an infinite variety of
+other fruits, make up the stock in trade, together with squealing pigs,
+live turkeys, and noisy guinea-fowls. Here also are various gaudy
+feathered songsters, in cheap, home-made cages, besides monkeys,
+marmosets, and other household pets. The macaws, chained by the leg, and
+the screaming parrots vie with each other and with the monkeys in the
+amount of noise they make. Wicker baskets filled with live ducks, geese,
+and fowls are borne on the heads of native women, who have brought them
+many a long weary mile from far inland, hoping to make a few pennies by
+their sale. The chatter of the women, the cries of men and animals, an
+occasional quarrel between two noisy Italians, ending in furious
+vociferations and gesticulations, all add to the Babel of sound. One
+little marmoset put his hand into that of the author, looking so
+appealingly into his face that, imagining the little fellow might be
+hungry, some nice edibles, calculated to rejoice the monkey heart, were
+promptly purchased and gratefully received by the marmoset, which, in
+his eager haste to consume the same, stuffed the sides of either jaw to
+alarming proportions. The little creature was wonderfully human, and
+having found a kindly disposed stranger, insisted upon keeping one of
+his tiny hands in our own, while he rapidly filled his mouth with the
+other.
+
+It is interesting to observe the artistic manner in which the native
+women, Indians and blacks, mingle and arrange the various fruits and
+vegetables, showing a natural instinct for the harmonious blending of
+colors and forms. A pile of yellow oranges, green limes, and mangoes had
+a base of buff-colored bananas picturesquely arranged with all the
+pointed ends of the finger-like fruit outward, while a luscious ripe
+pineapple formed the apex of the pile, set off jauntily by its
+cactus-like, prickly leaves. On the borders of the market and along the
+iron railing of Palace Square, black-haired, bareheaded Italian women
+displayed cheap jewelry, imitation shell, gilded combs, and other fancy
+trinkets for sale, embracing priestly knick-knacks, ivory crosses,
+crucifixion scenes, coral beads, high-colored ribbons, and gaudy
+kerchiefs. The bronzed faces of these black-eyed, gypsy-like women were
+very cadaverous, as though the land of their adoption did not
+particularly agree with them. It seems hardly possible that these
+peddlers could gain a livelihood trading in these tawdry and utterly
+useless articles among such a humble, impecunious class of customers as
+frequent the market, and yet their numerous wide-open, shallow tin boxes
+showed a considerable stock of goods.
+
+The fish market is a curious sight in the variety of colors and shapes
+afforded by the inhabitants of the neighboring bay, where most of them
+are caught. What an array of finny monsters!--rock-fish, large as
+halibut, ray, skates, craw-fish, cuttle-fish, and prawns half as large
+as lobsters, together with devil-fish and oysters. Funny idea, but these
+oysters, many of them, are grown on trees! How is this possible? Let us
+tell you. The mangrove trees line the water's edge; many of the branches
+overhang the sea, and are submerged therein. To these young oysters
+affix themselves, and there they live and thrive. The same phenomenon
+was observed by the author some years ago in Cuba. These oysters are
+found in small corrugated shells scarcely larger than a good-sized
+English walnut, which they somewhat resemble.
+
+In the fish market one sees some very original characters among the
+negro women who preside over the finny tribe. They are large,
+good-natured creatures, quick at a trade, and quite intelligent. We
+recall one, who was a prominent figure among her companions. She was
+tall, portly, and strong as a horse. Her head was decked with a bandanna
+kerchief of many colors, her flat nose and protruding lips indicating
+close African relationship. Secured behind one of her ears was a
+cigarette, while a friction match protruded from the other, ready for
+use. Her coarse calico dress, of deep red, was covered in front by a
+brown linen apron extending nearly to her bare feet. Her uncovered arms
+were about as large as a man's legs. This negress dressed the several
+kinds of fish with the facility of an expert, making change for her
+patrons with commendable promptness, and dismissing them with a
+good-natured smile, adding some remark which was pretty sure to elicit
+hearty laughter.
+
+As we stood viewing these things, a noisy fellow made himself very
+obnoxious to every person whom he met. He had evidently been too often
+to the neighboring spirit-shops. A police officer arrested the man by
+touching him lightly on the shoulder and saying a few words to him;
+then, pointing ahead, made the fellow precede him to the lock-up. Though
+this disturber of the peace was half drunk, he knew too much to resist
+an officer, which is considered to be a heinous offense and is severely
+punished in Rio. It was natural to contrast this scene with the violent
+resistance offered by offenders with whom the police of New York and
+Boston have often to deal.
+
+The streets of Rio, at all times of the day, present a motley crowd of
+half-naked negroes, overladen donkeys, lazy Portuguese, Italian, and
+Spanish loafers, smoking cheap cigars, with here and there a Jew hawking
+articles of personal wear, women with various heavy articles upon their
+heads, water carriers, vociferous sellers of confectionery, all moving
+hither and thither, each one intent upon his or her individual interest
+and oblivious of all others. The background to this kaleidoscopic
+picture is the low, stucco-finished houses, painted in lively red,
+yellow, or blue, interspersed here and there by bas-reliefs, the whole
+reflecting the rays of a torrid sun. Though it is all quite different,
+yet somehow it recalls the narrow, crowded streets and bazaars of Cairo
+and Alexandria. It is very natural, in passing, to regard with interest
+those screened balconies, and to imagine what the lives may be of the
+half orientally excluded women within them, while occasionally catching
+luminous glances from curious eyes. The notes of a guitar, or those of
+the piano, often reach the ear of the passer-by, sometimes accompanied
+by the ringing notes of a song, for the ladies of Brazil are extremely
+fond of music; indeed, it seems to be almost their only distraction. Of
+books they know very little, and any literary reference is to them like
+speaking in an unknown tongue. Even the one poet of Portugal, Camoens,
+appears to be a stranger on this side of the Atlantic. The isolation and
+want of intellectual resort among the average women of this country are
+a sad reality, and are in a degree their excuse for some unfortunate
+indulgences and immoralities, domestic unfaithfulness being as common
+here as in Paris or Vienna.
+
+The majority of the Brazilian women marry at or before the age of
+sixteen, and become old, as we use the term, at thirty. The climate and
+the cares of maternity together age them prematurely. In early youth,
+and until they have reached twenty three or four years, they are almost
+universally very handsome, but this beauty is not retained, as is often
+the case among the sex in colder climes. Of their charms, it must be
+honestly admitted that they are almost purely physical (animal); the
+beauty which high culture imparts to the features, by informing the mind
+and developing the intellect, is not found as a rule among Brazilian
+women. Of course there are some delightful and notable exceptions to
+this conclusion, but we speak of the women, generally, of what is termed
+the better class. Now and then one meets with ladies who have been
+educated in the United States, or in Europe, upon whom early and refined
+associations have left an unmistakable impress. The superiority of such
+is at once manifest, both in general ease of manner, and the
+inexplicable charm which high breeding imparts.
+
+One searches in vain for a full-faced, well-developed, hearty looking
+man, among the natives in the streets of this capital. The average
+people, both high and low, are sallow, undersized, and cadaverous.
+Sunken cheeks and thin figures are the rule among the men, a passing
+North American or Englishman only serving to furnish a strong and
+suggestive contrast. These people have brilliantly expressive eyes, with
+handsome teeth and mouths, though half shriveled up and undeveloped in
+body. If one pauses to analyze the matter, he comes to the conclusion
+that vice and short commons, unwholesome morals and an unwholesome
+climate, have much to do with this prevailing appearance, which must be
+in part hereditary, to be so universal, commencing some way back and
+increasing with the generations. As in Mexico, gentlemen meeting on the
+streets of Rio hug each other with both arms, at the same time
+inflicting two or three quick, earnest slaps with the flat of the hand
+upon the back. This is perhaps after an absence of a few days; but if
+they meet ten times a day, off come their hats, and they shake hands
+with the most earnest demonstrations, both at meeting and at parting.
+Kissing on both cheeks is common enough in many parts of Europe among
+society people, but this hugging business between men meeting upon the
+public streets strikes one as a waste of the raw material.
+
+It goes without saying that the popular religion of Rio Janeiro and the
+country at large is that of the Romish Church, though all denominations
+are tolerated by the laws of the republic. In some districts it is the
+same here as in Mexico and continental Spain, the Protestants being
+persecuted in every possible manner. Nevertheless, the power of the
+priesthood, we were creditably informed, is on the wane. They owe the
+loss of it in a great measure to the gross abuse of their positions and
+their shamefully immoral lives. No one conversant with the true state of
+the case, be he Protestant or Romanist, can deny this statement. The
+author thought that the Roman Catholic priests of Mexico were about as
+wicked a set of men as he had ever met with, taken as a whole, but
+further experience in South America has convinced him that the Mexican
+priesthood have their equals in immorality in Brazil, and elsewhere
+south of Panama. The popular religion of the country is one of the
+saddest features of its national existence, forming the great
+drag-weight upon its moral, and indirectly upon its physical progress.
+
+The Botanical Garden of Rio is a justly famous resort, situated about
+six miles from the city, behind the Corcovada, between that mountain and
+the sea, but it is easily reached by tramway, or better still by a
+delightful drive along the shore of Botafogo Bay, over a road shaded by
+imperial palms, together with occasional clusters of the ever beautiful
+bamboo, the sight of which recalled the luxuriant specimens seen in
+Japan and Sumatra. The nearest approach to this admirable public garden
+is to be found at Kandy, in the island of Ceylon, which, as we remember
+it, is considerably more extensive, and presents a larger variety of
+tropical vegetation. The examples of the india-rubber tree, especially,
+are finer in the Asiatic garden than we find them at Rio. A tall,
+slim-stemmed sloth-tree, straight as an arrow, and bare of branches or
+leaves except at the top, was pointed out to us here. It is so called
+because it is the favorite resort of that animal. This creature is very
+easily captured, and the natives are fond of its meat, which may be
+nutritious, but it can hardly be called palatable. As it is almost
+entirely a vegetable-feeding animal, we know not why there should be any
+objection to the meat it produces. The sloth climbs up into the tall
+branches of the tree described, though it does so with considerable
+difficulty, and there remains until it has consumed every leaf and
+tender shoot which it bears; then the voracious creature wanders off to
+find and denude another.
+
+The bread-fruit tree is interesting, with its handsome feathery leaves,
+and its large, melon-shaped product. It grows to fifty feet in height,
+and bears fruit constantly for three quarters of the year, then takes a
+three months' rest. It is only equaled in the profuseness of its product
+by the banana, forming one of the staple sources of food supply to the
+lazy, indolent denizens of tropical regions. The candelabra-tree, with
+its silver-tinted foliage, is one of the beauties of this charming
+Brazilian garden. Among other notable trees are fine specimens of the
+camphor-tree, the tamarind, the broad-spreading mango, opulent in
+fruitfulness, the flowering magnolia, also the soap-tree, with its
+saponaceous berries. The cochineal cactus was thriving after its kind,
+near by what is called the cow-tree, which interests one quite as much
+as any of its companions, rising over a hundred feet in height, with a
+red bark and fig-like leaves. The milk which it yields is of cream-like
+consistency, very similar to that from a cow, and it may be used for any
+ordinary purpose to which we put that article. The tree is tapped, as we
+treat the sugar-maple, in order to obtain its very remarkable and useful
+product. It is nutritious, that is freely admitted; but most probably it
+has some medicinal properties of a latent character, though of this we
+could learn nothing.
+
+The world-famed avenue of royal palms in the Botanical Garden of Rio is
+unique, being undoubtedly the finest tropical arboretum in the world
+arranged by the hand of man. We saw here a delicate little member of the
+palm family, a sort of baby tree, known as the small-stemmed palm of
+Pará. Many trees from Asia have become domesticated side by side with
+the maple, the pine, and the elm from New England. Some of the large
+trees were decked with orchids and hanging lichens, the dainty and
+fantastic ornamentation of nature herself, not promoted by artificial
+means. The humidity of the atmosphere especially facilitates the growth
+of this beautiful family of plants, which are as erratic in shape as
+they are variegated in prismatic colors.
+
+It would require a whole chapter to do even partial justice to this
+remarkable garden behind the Corcovado mountain.
+
+One sees here myriads of delicate humming-birds, wonderful animated gems
+of color, remarkable in Brazil for their metallic hues. Such brilliancy
+of lustre, glancing in the warm sunlight, is fascinating to behold. The
+Spaniards call these delicate little creatures "winged flowers," and the
+Portuguese, "flower-kissers." A lady resident of Rio told the author of
+the vain attempt of a patient German scientist to domesticate a few
+specimens of these birds. He commenced by taking them from the nest soon
+after they were hatched, at various periods of their growth, and even
+after they had learned to fly, but although infinite care was taken to
+supply their usual food, and also not to confine them too closely, the
+naturalist was fain to acknowledge the impossibility of accomplishing
+his object, though the experiment extended over a period of two years.
+The ceaseless activity of this frail little bird renders any
+circumscribing of its liberty fatal to existence.
+
+Delicate, innocent, and apparently harmless as butterflies, these
+diminutive creatures are often very pugnacious, and when two males
+engage in a contest with each other, which is not seldom the case, one
+or the other often loses his life. If disturbed during the period of
+incubation, they will attack large birds and even human beings,
+directing their long, needle-like bills at the offender's eyes. Our
+informant told us the particulars of a man who, under such
+circumstances, came very near losing both of these organs. Scientists
+have succeeded in preserving over two hundred different specimens of
+this little feathered beauty, representing that number of species
+indigenous to Brazil. Some of these are only five or six times as large
+as a humble-bee. The artificial flowers already referred to as being for
+sale in the shops of Rio depend almost entirely upon the humming-bird
+for their delicate beauty; no other feathered creature affords such
+marvelous colors and exquisitely fine material for the purpose. The best
+specimens of this work are necessarily expensive, requiring, besides a
+truly artistic taste and eye, skill of execution, infinite patience, and
+much time, to produce them. We saw a choice design of this sort,
+measuring about fifteen by twenty inches, framed under a glass, the
+design being a bouquet of natural flowers, for which the asking price
+was five hundred dollars; four hundred and fifty had been refused. The
+feathers were almost entirely from the throat and breast of
+humming-birds, arranged by a woman who had made this work the occupation
+of her life from girlhood. We learned that such a piece of artistic
+effect represented nearly a year's labor!
+
+One also finds in the Rio shops flower-pieces ingeniously formed from
+the scales of high-colored fishes, as well as from the wings and bodies
+of native insects characterized by brilliant colors, but these of course
+will not compare in delicacy and beauty with the products of the
+feathers. The Brazilian beetle is prepared in a myriad of ornamental
+forms and in many combinations, sometimes mingled with feathers. In the
+Rua dos Ourives there are two or three shops where a great variety of
+such objects is offered for sale. These stores have also many choice
+native stones of great beauty, including the true Brazilian topaz, for
+which there is a growing and appreciative demand.
+
+The idea prevails that the climate of Rio is like some parts of Africa,
+suffocatingly hot all the time, but this is not correct. The American
+consul told the author that he had suffered more from the cold than from
+the heat in the environs of the city, where his residence is in a rather
+elevated district. He declared that the temperature, even in town, was
+rarely so extreme as is often found in the cities of the United States.
+He believes that the yellow fever might be effectually banished from Rio
+by the adoption of strict quarantine and effective sanitary measures in
+the city proper. As we have already intimated, consumption prevails here
+to an alarming extent. This is doubtless owing to the peculiar dampness
+of the atmosphere. We found that statistics show one half as many deaths
+from consumption as from yellow fever, taking the aggregate of five
+years. "The one disease comes annually in the heat of summer only, as a
+rule," said our informant, "while the other prevails more or less all
+the year round, year in and year out." During the two weeks which the
+author stopped at Rio, forty and fifty fatal cases of yellow fever a day
+were recorded, and doubtless more than that number actually fell victims
+to its ravages, as only those who died in the several hospitals were
+enumerated. We were in the city in June, one of the winter months in
+this latitude. Heretofore the fever has nearly always disappeared, as an
+epidemic, by the first or middle of May, even in years when it has been
+most prevalent and fatal. Notwithstanding the charm of novelty which so
+absorbs the stranger, we are free to confess there was a lurking dread
+of the subtle enemy which proved so swift and fatal all about us. Fifty
+deaths daily by yellow fever in a population exceeding half a million
+only served to show that it still lingered in a sporadic form where the
+seeds are perhaps never entirely exterminated. It most readily attacks
+strangers and the unacclimated, but no class is exempt. The indigent,
+careless, drunken portion of the population are no more liable, we were
+informed, to contract the disease than others of better habits. This
+outrages all preconceived notions of diseases of this character, but we
+were assured by good authority that it was really so. The day we left
+Rio, the English Bishop, a most estimable man, who was universally
+respected and beloved, died of the fell disease.
+
+The summer season begins in October and lasts until April, and is better
+known here as the wet season, the rain falling with great regularity
+nearly every afternoon, and at about the same time. Usually an hour of
+liberal downpour is experienced, then it promptly clears up and becomes
+bright and pleasant. The warmest month is February. The winter months
+are May, June, July, and August; this is the dry season, during which
+very little rain falls. The climate appears to be particularly injurious
+to persons who are troubled with a torpid liver. Elephantiasis is
+indigenous, but it is not very common; the few cases seen were upon the
+streets, and were those of negroes who exposed their diseased limbs to
+excite public pity, making the affliction an excuse for systematic
+begging. A score of such unfortunates were seen daily in and about
+Palace Square, and one or two regularly posted themselves before the
+Globe Restaurant, which is the Maison Dorée of Rio Janeiro.
+
+The well-to-do merchants do not think of living in town, but select some
+pleasant spot in the environs, where they erect picturesque homes, often
+extremely attractive to the eye architecturally, and surrounded by
+lovely gardens, containing both native and exotic plants and trees. The
+contrast between commercial and rural Rio is something very striking.
+One presents all the grossness and belittling aspect of money-getting,
+the other the graces, liberality, and ennobling appearance of culture
+and refinement. Of all the trees in these attractive environs, the palm,
+in its great variety, challenges one's admiration most. We mention it
+frequently, for it was our constant delight. At every turn one comes
+upon it, in its several species,--the cocoa-palm, the palmetto, the
+cabbage, the assai-palm, the fanshaped-palm, and scores of other
+varieties. The hand and taste of woman are seen in these gardens of the
+environs. Flowers are selected and arranged as only feminine taste could
+suggest, while the broad piazzas are simply floral bowers and gardens of
+placid delights.
+
+The province round about Rio is beautified and rendered profitable by
+the many large coffee plantations, particularly attractive when the
+well-trimmed bushes are seen in full bearing, bending under the weight
+of red berries. Orange orchards abound, the branches of the trees heavy
+with the rich golden fruit; yet as an orange-producing section, Florida,
+in our own country, is fully its equal. The fruit of the southern part
+of the United States is much better and more intelligently cultivated,
+and is larger and fairer, than the fruit of this region. We except
+Bahia, however, in this remark; that is the very paradise of oranges.
+Besides the abundance of fruits, Flora reigns in Brazil, and near to Rio
+bignonias, passifloras, variegated honeysuckles, morning-glories,
+magnolias, and orchids mingle with the dark green mango trees and the
+delicate light green mimosas which meet the eye everywhere. It appears
+that the several species of flowers have their special season for
+blooming, when they are at their best, so that a large variety is always
+seen in bloom at all times in the year. We must confess to having felt
+half lost without the "Queen of Flowers," our grand favorite; but as to
+roses, it was found that the ever present ants maintained a fixed
+hostility to them, rendering it particularly difficult to rear them in
+this country. In all of the many lands we have visited, the author has
+never seen such superbly developed roses as are produced in and about
+the city of Boston. There is some quality in the climate of New England,
+added to the genius of her famous florists, especially adapted to their
+perfection.
+
+The broad leafed umbrella-tree--_chapeo do sul_--is often seen in this
+neighborhood cultivated as a shade tree, both in town and country, while
+the thick clustering bamboo, so often referred to, adds its unique
+beauty to the environs in all directions. The banana and plantain, both
+cultivated and wild, thrive hereabouts, and form an important adjunct to
+the food supply of all classes. The banana is cultivated by offsets, and
+is of rapid growth, coming to maturity and bearing fruit a few months
+after it is planted. Brazil seems to be well called the home of fruits
+and flowers.
+
+Has the reader ever chanced to hear of "Portuguese Joe," of Rio Janeiro?
+He is a man as well known in the capital of Brazil as the late emperor.
+Ostensibly he is only a successful shipchandler, wholesale grocer,
+purveyor--by appointment--to the American and British naval ships which
+put into Rio, or which are stationed here; but over and above his
+extensive commercial relations, we found him to be a Good Samaritan. He
+is quite ready for legitimate business, and has realized a handsome
+fortune by fair and honorable dealing. He charges a reasonable profit
+upon the various supplies which he furnishes, but his goods are exactly
+what he represents them to be, and he has the confidence of all who deal
+with him. His establishment grew up from a small beginning, he having
+come from Portugal to engage in business when only thirteen years of
+age. To-day he is in the prime of life, and his store on the Paraça de
+Dom Pedro II. is a city institution. The highest official, the
+wealthiest bankers, and the most influential merchants are glad to shake
+him cordially by the hand. Signor J. C. V. Mendes--the other title being
+a trade _nom de plume_ of long standing--is a gentleman by nature, and a
+true friend to all strangers who seek his counsels on arriving at Rio.
+We fortunately became acquainted with Signor Mendes on the first day of
+our landing, and are glad to speak of his ready courtesy and desire to
+make all Americans at home who arrive in the capital of Brazil. It is no
+particular recommendation, but it is a pleasure to say that, with his
+calm, self-possessed manner, his brilliant black eyes and genial smile
+lighting up his bronzed features, he is unquestionably the handsomest
+man whom we chanced to meet in Rio Janeiro. Manly beauty is not an
+imperative adjunct to excellence, but is still a very agreeable
+accessory.
+
+One naturally anticipates but will not find any social distinction as to
+race in this city. Color opposes no obstacle to progress in educational
+or official position. Pupils of the public schools meet on the same
+footing and mingle promiscuously. There is nothing to prevent the
+intelligent negro from becoming a judge or minister of state, or from
+filling any high civil office, if he develops proper ability. Many
+bureaus in the public offices are held by colored men, observably in the
+custom house, and the race generally is regarded with far more respect
+than with us in the United States.
+
+Providence has liberally endowed the larger portion of Brazil with a
+fertile soil, an unrivaled flora, and a delightful climate. For a
+tropical country, it is remarkably temperate and salubrious. It has
+mountain scenery excelling that of Switzerland, with fertile valleys
+surpassing those of Italy, and myriads of rivers affording ample means
+of transportation with natural and abundant irrigation. Unlike many of
+her sister states, including those on the west coast of the continent,
+she is exempt from earthquakes and the destruction caused by devouring
+tidal waves. While so much of Mexico and thousands of miles of the
+Pacific coast are scorched by drought, there are no districts of Brazil
+exempt from regular and refreshing rains, the importance of which cannot
+be overestimated. To crown all else, the splendid harbor of her capital
+by its size, safety, and beauty invites the commerce of the world. It
+would certainly seem, when we realize all of these special advantages,
+that nature had intended so large and favored a portion of the globe to
+ultimately be the home of a great, powerful, and prosperous nation.
+
+That the material growth of Brazil is mainly in the right direction is
+manifest to the most casual observer. The many lines of railways
+penetrating the country in every province will by and by prove to be
+effective means of development. Wherever the facilities are liberally
+afforded, not only individuals, but ideas, are sure to travel, and
+social and material improvement must follow. Civilization keeps pace
+with the iron horse. When the street rails penetrated the cañons of
+Utah, polygamy was doomed. Material facts are stronger than arguments of
+well-meaning moralists. The establishment of so many railroads through
+the wilds of South America may not be a paying matter, it is not so at
+this writing, but a great moral purpose, and that of true progress, will
+be subserved by them. They will be the agents of enlightenment and
+civilization to many wild tribes of Indians, at the same time opening
+broad and favorable tracts of territory for settlement by emigrants from
+the crowded and overstocked states of Europe.
+
+On the homeward passage, when we visited Rio Janeiro for the second
+time, it was found to be rife with politics; but like Joseph's coat, of
+so many colors as to be confusing to a foreigner. It may reasonably be
+doubted if the natives themselves clearly understood what they wanted.
+The revolutionary element seemed very strong, and was led by men who had
+nothing to lose by agitation, but everything to gain by a lawless
+uprising. The most intelligent citizens predicted a popular revolution
+of some sort in the near future, and their anticipation proved to be
+correct. Revolution is chronic in South America.
+
+
+
+
+          CHAPTER X.
+
+     Petropolis.--Summer Residence of the Citizens of Rio.--Brief
+     Sketch of the late Royal Family.--Dom Pedro's Palace.--A
+     Delightful Mountain Sanitarium.--A Successful but Bloodless
+     Revolution.--Floral Delights.--Mountain Scenery.--Heavy
+     Gambling.--A German Settlement.--Cascatinha.--Remarkable
+     Orchids.--Local Types.--A Brazilian Forest.--Compensation.
+
+
+Petropolis,--or the city of Peter,--the fashionable summer resort of the
+citizens of Rio Janeiro, is a modern town, dating only from 1844, and
+contains at that season of the year a population of some eight thousand.
+The intense heat of the crowded city in the summer months, not to
+mention its usually unhealthy condition, makes even the acclimated
+inhabitants seek a refuge in the hills. So long as the fever continues
+to rage, merchants leave their families here, and come up nightly to
+sleep and breathe the fresh, pure air. It is only on the coast and in
+crowded communities that epidemics prevail. We were told by residents
+that a case of yellow fever never originated at Petropolis; that it was
+too elevated for the citizens to fear anything of the sort. It is so
+generally throughout the country; the yellow fever prevails only in the
+ports and at sea level, a peculiarity also observable in Cuba and the
+several West Indian islands. When the fever prevails, as it does
+annually at Havana and Matanzas, the wealthy citizens, and all
+unacclimated people who are able to do so, retire inland to elevated
+localities, where they are comparatively safe from the scourge. The same
+rule applies to the coast cities of South America,--Pará, Pernambuco,
+Bahia, etc. It is a very important matter to the merchants of Rio that
+they have, within two or three hours' reach of their overheated city
+offices, a resort where they can sit in a dry skin and sleep in quiet
+and comfort. Had they not this resort, they would be obliged to succumb
+to disease, or to leave Rio for half of the year annually.
+
+Petropolis is situated in the Organ Mountain range, about thirty miles
+from the metropolis, and is something less than three thousand feet
+above tide-water. The town is built in a slight depression among the
+well wooded hills, forming a vale of alpine beauty, easily reached from
+Rio by boat and rail. The latter portion of the trip, comprising a sharp
+mountain ascent, is made by a system of railroad like that by which the
+summit of Corcovado is reached. The popular route is to cross the harbor
+at Rio by a large and commodious steamboat, a distance of twelve miles,
+and then to take the steam-cars. There is also another railroad route,
+all the way by land. The late emperor's summer palace is the prominent
+feature of Petropolis, together with its elaborate gardens, covering
+some fifteen or twenty acres of land. Hither come the diplomatic
+representatives of foreign nations to enjoy the salubrious mountain air
+and the hospitable society of the best people of Rio Janeiro, and to lay
+aside many of the constraints of city life. A great contrast is apparent
+here to the crowded streets and narrow lanes of the uncleanly capital,
+while the air is undoubtedly remarkable for its healthful and
+invigorating qualities. The summer palace is surrounded by elegantly
+arranged grounds, planted with rare flowers and choice trees from every
+clime. In general effect it resembles an old English country house,
+except for the tropical vegetation, the fine verdant lawns of grass, the
+only ones of any extent in the country, being particularly noticeable.
+This mountain resort has been called the Versailles of Brazil.
+
+It seems appropriate to recall, in brief, the family history of the late
+emperor, Dom Pedro II., of whose favorite abiding-place we are speaking.
+He enjoyed a distinguished reputation among modern rulers, was liberal,
+scholarly, and possessed of great experience of men and the world at
+large. Having been an observant and studious traveler in many parts of
+the globe, his endeavor was to adopt the best well-tried systems of
+other governments in educational and other matters relating to political
+economy. His system was mild, progressive, and designed for the general
+good of the people over whom he presided; in fact, it was too mild for
+the turbulent, unlettered masses of the provinces of Brazil. They were
+not intellectually prepared for such leniency.
+
+The royal family of Portugal fled hither in 1808, at the time of
+Napoleon's invasion of that country, but returned to Europe in 1821. A
+national congress assembled at Rio Janeiro the next year, and chose Dom
+Pedro, eldest son of King Joâo VI. of Portugal, "Perpetual Defender of
+Brazil." He proclaimed the independence of the country, and was chosen
+"Constitutional Emperor." In 1831 he abdicated in favor of his only son,
+Dom Pedro II., who reigned as emperor until November 15, 1889, when he
+was dethroned by a bloodless revolution, and, together with his family,
+was exiled, Brazil declaring herself a republic under the title she now
+bears of the United States of Brazil. The feeling was nearly universal
+among the Brazilians that they desired to live under a republican form
+of government, but Dom Pedro II. was a man of such estimable character,
+so just, intelligent, and popular a ruler, that the revolution, which
+finally dethroned him, was deferred long after it was determined upon.
+The peaceful manner in which it was finally achieved is perhaps without
+precedent, and shows how thoroughly the mind of the active spirits of
+the nation was made up to this end. It was a political _coup d'état_,
+accomplished without the burning of an ounce of gunpowder. The emperor
+himself seemed to accept the position as a foregone conclusion. We
+learned from persons who had been quite intimate with him that he had
+already anticipated the whole condition of affairs, foreseeing that it
+was inevitable. If this is so, he was wise as well as diplomatic and
+humane, for he had enough devoted adherents about him to have made a
+serious though doubtless futile conflict for possession. There are
+always myriads of the unthinking rabble ready to join and even fight for
+authority which is already established, especially when seconded, as was
+the case with Dom Pedro, by a strong personal popularity.
+
+The palace at Petropolis is, with its extensive grounds, now offered for
+sale, the country having no further use for palaces. It is understood
+that a local syndicate propose to purchase the whole and cut up the land
+into building lots, which are very much in demand just at this writing.
+It would not be surprising if Petropolis were to double its population
+during the next four or five years. Speculators are already at work
+"booming" the place, and a summer home here is just what the Rio
+merchant requires.
+
+Some queer stories are told about the every-day life of Dom Pedro by his
+neighbors. It seems, according to these reports,--for the truth of which
+we cannot vouch,--that he often chose as his associates and advisers
+uneducated persons of very humble origin, who had accumulated wealth by
+shrewdness and industry, besides which he latterly exhibited many very
+peculiar traits of character; but, as we say, it is difficult to decide
+whether these stories are to be relied upon. It is more than hinted that
+he had grown very weak minded, or, as the Scotch say, had a bee in his
+bonnet. At all events, it now appears that he did not possess the
+necessary energy and executive ability requisite to control a naturally
+turbulent and restless people, and that his summary dethronement, so
+peaceably accomplished, must have come sooner or later.
+
+It is very natural to speculate upon the present state of affairs in
+this country, since the change has taken place. To render a republic
+possible and successful requires a liberal degree of intelligence among
+the common people, that is, the masses at large. Unfortunately Brazil
+cannot boast of such a condition among her population. The educated,
+cultured portion of the community is quite limited, consequently the
+country is hardly fit for self-government. Ignorant masses are only
+amenable to the strong arm, and cannot, while untaught, be controlled
+through the influence of reason and argument. Past experience shows us
+that while a republic in the United States, France, or Switzerland means
+freedom and order, in these half barbaric southern states it signifies
+an alternation of revolution and of military despotism. Subject to the
+rule of Dom Pedro, Brazil was alike free from despotism and from
+disorder, so that it may be questioned whether his liberal reign was
+not, under the circumstances, the truest republic for which Brazil was
+fitted. Indeed, while these lines are being written, the question of a
+return to the former style of government is openly discussed at Rio
+Janeiro, where a state of political imbroglio exists very similar to the
+conditions which caused the late disastrous civil war in Chili, on the
+other side of the Andes. Such a shocking outcome, however, need never be
+feared in Brazil as has been developed by the sister republic on the
+Pacific coast, since both intelligence and civilization are far more
+advanced in Brazil than in Chili.
+
+The town of Petropolis and its neighborhood possesses good roads for
+driving purposes, this location having been for several years the pride
+and pleasure of the late emperor, who made the place what it now is by
+his liberal expenditures and the constant improvements which he
+instituted, paying for them out of his own private purse. The first
+selection of this healthful spot was also his idea, and he felt a
+personal pride in doing everything possible towards making it popular.
+The roads referred to lead one through delightful scenery and highly
+cultivated neighborhoods, beautified by art, until finally they lose
+themselves among the hills and amidst impenetrable forests. There are
+several fairly good hotels here, where the charges are moderate and the
+domestic conveniences execrable! The great variety of trees to be found
+in and about the town is marvelous, the palm and pine prevailing,
+interspersed with the beautiful feathery Brazilian cedar. The tree-ferns
+which grow here to a height of twelve feet are great favorites, with
+their bright green fronds, six feet in length, almost reaching the
+ground as the stalk bends gracefully with their weight. The scarlet
+passion flower is trained as an ornamental creeper in nearly every
+garden-plot, and tall fuchsias in various colors and pearl white
+camellias also abound. We have rarely seen the camellia in such variety
+of colors, or such profusion of flowers. It is often found blooming
+beside tall coffee-trees, themselves full of deep green clustering
+berries, the tree, where grown for ornamental purposes, being permitted
+to reach full proportions. Here one sees also a profusion of the rich
+green bamboo in prolific groves by the roadside, or surrounding humble
+cottages, thus forming a welcome shade. In midsummer, so rapid is the
+growth of the bamboo that every twenty-four hours adds two feet to its
+height, or in other words, it grows an inch each hour throughout the day
+and the night. Jack's fabulous beanstalk hardly surpasses the bamboo,
+though the former is an amusing myth, while the latter is simply a
+literal fact. Some very lovely gladioli and white roses were noted as
+adding their beauty to these charming hill gardens in the Organ
+Mountains. So abundant were the flowers of various kinds in the grounds
+which surrounded our hotel, that any one was welcome to pluck and
+appropriate them to the extent of his fancy. The public tables were
+supplied with fresh ones every day, forming great living pyramids of
+beautiful colors, emitting inimitable fragrance.
+
+Our hotel was situated on gently rising ground, commanding a
+considerable view of the plateau on which the town stands, with Dom
+Pedro's palace in the middle foreground, shaded by groups of palms. It
+was a delight to sit out-of-doors and watch the cloud effects as they
+hung over the tree-covered hills and peaks, closing their ranks now and
+again, and sweeping over the valley like a dashing charge of cavalry; or
+cautiously advancing in single scuds like infantry deployed as
+skirmishers; or, again, mottling the sky in white and peaceful masses.
+At the brief twilight hour, it was like a living poem to note the
+varying sunset hues creeping along the valley and gleaming through the
+branches of the grand old trees which broke the sky-line of the
+mountains, and the soft lilac blush of the sky, like a profile in
+silhouette, with sharp curves and infinite detail. A deep, broad gulch,
+opening towards the west, afforded a lingering view of the golden,
+crimson, and pink horizon, long after the day had closed, and until the
+stars gleamed forth through the transparent atmosphere and glorified the
+advent of night.
+
+This is nature in her happy moods. A little later, to these exquisite
+delights of the moment, an ugly obverse presents itself. "Only man is
+vile."
+
+From opposite the open window where we sit penning these lines,--it is a
+Sabbath evening,--there comes the sharp rattle of diceboxes and billiard
+balls, together with the loud, angry talk of persons engaged at gambling
+games of cards, interrupted by the repeated cries of the presiding
+genius of the roulette table: "Make your game, signors, make your game,"
+as he coolly rakes in the winnings of the bank. Italian, French,
+English, and Spanish adventurers mingle their jargon with Portuguese in
+the noisy throng who crowd the gambling "hell." It was said that
+seventeen thousand dollars were won by a Portuguese gentleman, last
+evening, in this "casino" just across the street, so losers to a like
+amount, on the same occasion, must have been rendered half desperate.
+The wretchedly demoralizing effect of gambling is apparent throughout
+all the cities of this republic, the common lotteries tempting the mass
+of the people, and various games of chance others who have money to
+risk.
+
+Petropolis is extremely attractive in many respects, the scenery round
+about it very much resembling that of Switzerland. The broad streets are
+lined with such pretty villas and attractive gardens that one falls to
+making romantic pictures of possible delightful things which might
+naturally happen in them, and is led to peer into nooks and corners with
+a prying earnestness amounting almost to impertinence. These avenues
+contain in their centres deep canals, thirty or forty feet wide, having
+granite linings and the upper portion of the banks neatly sodded with
+grass. Through these canals the water from the surrounding hills flows
+in a pure, rapid stream, carrying away the drainage of the town, which
+is emptied into them by underground conduits. These water-ways are
+crossed by numerous small but substantial bridges, painted scarlet,
+while the rushing river imparts a delightful coolness.
+
+The largest portion of the permanent inhabitants of Petropolis is
+composed of Germans, whose native tongue is heard on all sides, while
+the familiar clatter of wooden shoes speaks of Berlin, Dresden, and
+other German continental centres. The rosy-cheeked, flaxen-haired,
+blue-eyed children are also prima facie evidence of the prevailing
+nationality, though there are a large number of Italians who reside
+here. The latter keep small shops and are peddlers of fruit, or marble
+cutters and stucco workers, while many others find employment as
+gardeners.
+
+The highway to a certain mining district passes through the town, and
+many donkeys laden with inland products are constantly to be seen in the
+streets en route for Rio, giving the place a business aspect hardly
+warranted by the local trade. From the neighboring hills charcoal
+burners drive their donkeys every morning, laden with that article for
+domestic use in the town, forming picturesque groups on the public
+square, where they await purchasers. Others bring small-cut wood from
+the hill for fuel, packed in little, narrow, toy carts, each drawn by a
+single donkey. Scores of donkeys bearing tall, widespread loads of green
+fodder are so hidden by the mass of greenery which they struggle under,
+that none of the animal is seen at all, leading one to imagine that
+Birnam wood has literally come to Dunsinane. These animals are almost
+always attended by women, who sell the fodder in the market and return
+home at night with such domestic necessities as are required. Women are
+the laborers here, as at home in Germany, where they perform the hard
+work, while their husbands guzzle beer and smoke endless tobacco.
+
+Petropolis is, as we have said, steadily growing, but the banishment of
+the emperor will retard its progress, as it takes from the town its
+strongest element of assured success. We counted about a score of fine,
+large residences in course of construction. The climate here is like
+that of June in New England, and the verdure of the trees is perennial.
+
+There is a charming excursion which strangers rarely fail to enjoy,
+namely, to a place familiarly known as the Cascades. The village
+adjoining these falls is called Cascatinha, and is situated in the lap
+of the Organ Mountains, about five miles from Petropolis. The road
+thither leads along the side of a small but boisterous stream, which
+gladdens the ear with its merry, gurgling notes, past lowly, thatched
+cottages, orange orchards, bamboo and banana groves, and green breadths
+of well-cultivated, undulating land, finally ending in the midst of a
+panorama of bold mountain peaks, lovely with varied gradations of tint,
+and subtlest effects of light and shade. Here the abundant water
+furnished by the river, which is artificially adapted to the purpose,
+forms a series of cascades and falls, at the same time furnishing the
+motive power for operating extensive cotton and woolen mills, which give
+employment to several hundred men and women. A very humble type of life
+mingles hereabouts with that of a much more refined character. Naked or
+half-clad children are seen here and there playing with those who are
+comparatively well dressed. Nice cottage homes adjoin those of the
+poorest class. Children of both sexes are observed, only partially
+covered with rags, who are endowed with a loveliness of eyes and
+features, together with handsome figures, causing one to reflect upon
+the unfulfilled possibilities of such childish beauty.
+
+Men and women often bring into Petropolis and offer for sale beautiful
+orchids, which they find in the woods not far away. These they pack in
+green leaves, retaining a piece of the original bark or wood upon which
+they have grown. These pretty flowerings of exuberant nature are sold
+for a trifling price. Some are very remarkable in form and color, such
+as we have never before chanced to see, and for really rare ones the
+finders ask and receive good prices. We saw among them a specimen of the
+Flor del Espiritu Santo,--"Flower of the Holy Spirit,"--to find which is
+thought to bring to the fortunate discoverer good luck, as well as a
+handsome price for the orchid. These women may have passed whole days in
+their search of the forest, patiently breaking their way through nearly
+impassable jungles, before nature reveals to them one of her most dainty
+gems. As a rule, the forests are so dense that it is useless to try to
+penetrate them, except by following some beaten route,--a charcoal
+burner's road or a straggling way formed by a watercourse.
+
+We well remember, but can only partially describe, the glory and beauty
+of the Brazilian primeval forest. The general tone of the color is
+brownish rather than light green, influenced by the absence of strong
+light, for though the sun is glowing in the open country, here it is
+twilight. Not one direct beam penetrates the density of the foliage, the
+sombre drapery of the woods. At first one is awed by the vast extent of
+the forest, by the dark, mournful shadows, by the gigantic trees
+reaching so far heavenward, forming here and there gothic arcades of
+matchless grandeur, and by the bewildering variety of the undergrowth.
+Scarcely a tree trunk is seen without its parasite, green with foliage
+not its own, "beyond the power of botanists to number up their tribe."
+These dense jungles might be in India, or a bit out of "Darkest Africa;"
+one is barred by an impenetrable wall of vegetation. Where palms occur,
+it is almost always in groups; being a social tree, it loves the company
+of its species. So with the bamboo, which is found in the more swampy
+regions, but always in groups of its own family. These damp woods are
+the home of the orchids; it is here that they revel in moisture,
+clinging to the trunks of tall, columnar trees, fattening on decayed
+portions of the bark, but forming bits of lovely color, while about the
+stems of other forest monarchs wind creeping vines of rope-like texture,
+binding huge trunks in a fatal embrace. Their final strangulation is
+slow, but it is sure,--only a question of time. Lofty trees bear
+charming flowers, as lowly shrubs do in our northern clime. Arborescent
+ferns vie with the palms in poetic beauty, with their elastic, tufted
+tops. Bunches of lilac and blossoms of snowy whiteness hang in the air.
+Drooping mosses depend like human hair from widespread branches, and
+soft, velvety moss carpets the way, with here and there dwarf mimosas
+trailing beneath the ferns. Long vines of woody climbers, in deep
+olive-green, twine and intertwine among the ranks of stout, aged trees,
+breaking out at short distances with pink, blue, and scarlet buds,
+rivaling the color of the birds which flash hither and thither like rays
+of sunlight breaking through the leafy screen. Now and again the shrill
+or plaintive notes of unfamiliar songsters fall upon the ear, mingling
+with the cooing of the wood-doves and the low drone of the dragon-fly.
+The magnificent arboreal growth of these forests develops itself into
+thousands of strange and beautiful forms, stimulated by the constant
+humidity of the high temperature.
+
+The atheist must feel himself stifled for breath in the tropical forest,
+and his fallacious creed challenged by every surrounding object, while a
+new light illumines his unwilling soul with irrefutable evidences. The
+Supreme Being writes his gospel not in the Bible alone, but upon the
+grand old trees, the lowly flowers, the fleeting clouds, and upon the
+eternal stars. Those who seek nature for religious inspiration never
+fail to obtain it, untrammeled by the vulgar tenets of sectarianism or
+outraged by the tinsel of church forms and ceremonies.
+
+The observant traveler from the north is fain to seek some consolation,
+some evidence of the glorious law of compensation, while comparing the
+features of these poetical latitudes with his own well-beloved but more
+prosaic home. He remembers that if these gaudy birds do flout in vivid
+colors that dazzle and charm the eye, they have not the exquisite power
+of song which inspires our more soberly clad New England favorites.
+Brilliancy of feathers and sweetness of song rarely go together, a
+natural fact which suggests a whole moral essay in itself. The torrid
+zone clothes its feathered tribes in glowing plumage, but the colder
+north endows hers with heart-touching melody. If the flowers of the
+tropics exhaust the hues of the prism, attracting us by the oddity of
+their forms, while blooming in exuberant abundance, the sweet and lowly
+children of Flora in higher latitudes greet the senses with a fragrance
+unknown in equatorial regions. Joy is nowhere all of a piece. Blessings,
+we are forced to believe, whether in the form of beauty of color,
+fragrance, or melody, are very equally divided all over the world, and
+those portions which have not one, as a rule, are almost sure to have
+the other. When we become eloquent and appreciative in the lively
+enjoyment of scenes in a new country, it is not always because they are
+more desirable or more beautiful than our own; it is the newness and the
+contrast which for the moment so captivate us. That to which we are
+accustomed, however grand, becomes commonplace; we covet and require
+novelty to quicken the observation. Were the sun to rise but once a
+year, in place of three hundred and sixty-five times every twelve
+months, we would willingly travel thousands of miles, if it were
+necessary, to witness the glorious phenomenon. The most charming natural
+objects please us in proportion to their rarity or our unfamiliarity
+with them.
+
+
+
+
+          CHAPTER XI.
+
+     Port of Santos.--Yellow Fever Scourge.--Down the Coast to
+     Montevideo.--The Cathedral.--Pamperos.--Domestic
+     Architecture.--A Grand Thoroughfare.--City
+     Institutions.--Commercial Advantages.--The Opera House.--The
+     Bull-Fight.--Beggars on Horseback.--City Shops.--A Typical
+     Character.--Intoxication.--The Campo
+     Santo.--Exports.--Rivers and Railways.
+
+
+Santos is the name of a commercially important harbor situated on the
+east coast of South America about three hundred miles southwest of Rio
+Janeiro, after which city it is the greatest export harbor for coffee in
+Brazil. Otherwise it is about as uninteresting a spot as can be found on
+the continent. It became a city so late as 1839, and contains some
+twenty thousand inhabitants. Its annual export of coffee will reach an
+aggregate of two hundred and twenty-five thousand sacks. The bay is
+surrounded by a succession of hills, and is well sheltered, except on
+the southwest. The town is situated on the west side of the harbor, and
+hugs the shore, many of the houses being built upon piles. Behind the
+town to the westward rises a succession of mountain ranges. The
+immediately surrounding country is low and malarial, causing fevers to
+prevail all the year round. During the present season Santos has
+suffered more seriously from yellow fever than any other place on the
+coast in proportion to the number of its inhabitants. As a commercial
+port it has no rival in southern Brazil. Santa Catharina, Porto Alegre,
+and Rio Grande, the three harbors south of Santos, are rendered
+inaccessible for any but small craft, owing to sandbars at their
+entrances.
+
+This is the present terminus of the United States and Brazil Mail
+steamship route from New York, and notwithstanding its many drawbacks in
+point of sanitary conditions, is yet growing rapidly in commercial
+importance. Its wretchedly unhealthy condition causes one to hasten away
+to the more elevated country, where St. Paul is situated, and where the
+traveler runs little or no risk of contracting yellow fever or malarial
+affections of any sort.
+
+Santos is the port for St. Paul, with which it is connected by rail, and
+from which it is separated by about forty miles.
+
+This capital of the state of São Paulo, St. Paul, contains some ninety
+thousand inhabitants. The province is credited with a million and a
+half. The city lies just under the tropic of Capricorn, southwest of
+Rio, about two thousand feet above the level of the sea, upon a high
+ridge, covering an elevated plateau of undulating hills. It enjoys the
+sunshine of the tropics, modified by the freshness of the temperate
+zone. It is venerable in years, having been founded in 1554, but it
+seems to have taken a fresh start of late, as its population has doubled
+in the last decade. As intimated, it is entirely free from yellow fever,
+which is so fatal at Santos, and has excellent drinking water, together
+with good drainage and well paved streets. The city contains some fine
+public buildings, and has many handsome adornments, being largely
+peopled by North Americans and English; the former prevail in numbers
+and influence, indeed, it has been called the American city of Brazil.
+There is also a large Italian colony settled here. St. Paul has a good
+system of tramways, several Protestant churches, and a number of
+educational and charitable public institutions, together with many of
+the attractions of a much larger capital. Among the popular amusements,
+the theatre of San José is justly esteemed, and is a well-appointed
+establishment in all of its belongings. There are two spacious public
+gardens, embellished with grottoes, fountains, choice trees, and
+flowers, while the private gardens attached to the dwellings are
+numerous and tasteful.
+
+In the district round about the city venomous serpents are frequently
+met with, whose bite is as dangerous as that of the rattlesnakes of our
+northern climate. As the land is cleared and cultivated, they naturally
+and rapidly disappear. These reptiles fear man, and avoid his vicinity
+quite as earnestly as human beings avoid them. It is only when they are
+molested, trodden upon, or cornered, as it were, that they attack any
+one.
+
+The city is connected with Rio Janeiro by a railway, and two other
+railroads run from it far inland. The Rio and St. Paul railway is fairly
+equipped, but the roadbed is not properly ballasted, and consequently
+one rides over the route in a cloud of dust, while suffering from the
+oscillations and jolting of the cars. This railway, however, is one of
+the most successful and profitable in the republic. It is some three
+hundred miles in length, and passes through a dozen or more tunnels, one
+of which is a mile and a half in length. This tunnel required seven
+years' labor before it was passable. There is just now a great "boom" of
+land values in and about St. Paul. It is towards this state that the
+tide of Italian emigration is largely directed, for some reason which we
+do not comprehend, but it is probably stimulated by a combined effort to
+this effect.
+
+The passage southward from Rio Janeiro or Santos to Montevideo occupies
+about five days, but a large amount of rough ocean experience is
+generally crowded into that brief period, added to which the coasting
+steamers are far from affording the ordinary comforts so desirable at
+sea. Of the food supplied to passengers one does not feel inclined to
+complain, because a person embarking upon these lines does so knowing
+what to expect; but as regards the domestic conveniences and cleanliness
+generally, there is no excuse for their defective character. We are
+sorry to say that the class of Portuguese and Spaniards one encounters
+on these coasting vessels is far from decently cleanly in daily habits,
+carelessly adding to the unsanitary conditions.
+
+The wind in these latitudes is not only inclined to be fierce, but it
+usually goes entirely round the compass at least once or twice during
+the voyage, and is more than liable to wind up, off the mouth of the
+river Plate, with a regular and furious pampero. This is a hurricane
+wind, which is born in the gorges of the Andes, and thence pursuing its
+course over nearly a thousand miles of level pampas, gains speed and
+power with every league of progress. The season in which these
+hurricanes--for in their fury they deserve to be thus
+designated--prevail, is from March to September, but they are liable to
+come at any time. The wind is considered by the people of Montevideo to
+be wholesome and invigorating, as far as the land is concerned, but
+seamen dread it on shipboard, and call it a Plate River hurricane. We
+know of no more disagreeable roadstead than that of Montevideo, when a
+pampero is blowing. We have seen ships under these circumstances, with
+two anchors down, obliged to resort to the use of oil on the sea, to
+prevent themselves from being swamped. Though the inhabitants represent
+a pampero to be comparatively harmless on the land, yet it does
+sometimes commit fearful havoc there also, especially among the
+unprotected herds of wild cattle on the plains, and upon all trees or
+plantations which lie in its devastating course. It is true that it
+brings with it a bracing and life-giving atmosphere from the snow-capped
+Andes far away, and if it could only do so with less forceful
+demonstration, it would be a welcome visitor in the heated days of these
+regions.
+
+The most direct way to illustrate what these South American pampas are
+is to compare them to the vast prairies of our Western and Southwestern
+States. Any one familiar with those far-reaching, horizon-bounded plains
+knows what the pampas of the Argentine Republic are like. Beginning near
+the foothills of the Cordilleras, in their very shadow, as it were,
+these smoothed out, level lands extend hundreds of miles eastward to the
+great estuary of the Plate River, on the borders of the Atlantic Ocean.
+Though apparently sterile, the soil of the pampas, like the dry, baked
+land of Australia, only requires irrigation and cultivation to rival the
+most attractive valleys of Southern Europe. It is believed by scientists
+that these plains were once covered by a broad inland sea, connected
+directly with the Atlantic. In their present condition these pampas can
+hardly be called barren, since they give excellent grazing for extensive
+herds of wild cattle, which thrive and fatten upon the abundance of
+coarse, natural grass, similar to what is known as bunch grass in Texas
+and New Mexico. This product ripens and makes itself into standing hay,
+retaining its natural vitality and nutritious qualities throughout
+months of atmospheric exposure. After being close-cropped by the roving
+herds of cattle, the bunch grass renews itself, reproducing in great
+abundance.
+
+Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, is situated on the remarkable
+estuary of the Plate River,--Rio de la Plata, or "Silver River,"--whose
+spacious mouth is marked by two capes, Santa Maria and San Antonio, more
+than one hundred miles apart. Only a nautical observation will show just
+where the line of ocean ceases and that of the estuary begins. The
+unobservant passenger believes himself still sailing upon the broad
+ocean until he finally sights the land on which the city stands. The
+flag of Uruguay flying from various crafts--blue and white, in alternate
+stripes, with a glowing sun in the upper corner near the
+staff--indicates the near approach to the land it represents.
+
+On the island of Flores, fifteen miles from Montevideo, there are a
+lighthouse and quarantine station. The island is formed by a rocky
+upheaval, not over twenty feet above sea level, measuring about a mile
+in length and two or three hundred yards in width. The fierce pamperos
+render the navigation of this estuary oftentimes precarious. When
+approaching the broad river's mouth from the north, sailors know that it
+is near at hand, long before land is seen, by the color of the water,
+which comes forth in such immense volume as to impart a distinct yellow
+hue to the ocean for a long distance from the coast. This effect is said
+to be discernible one hundred miles off the shore, but thirty or forty
+miles will perhaps be nearer the truth, and is at the same time a
+statement answering all legitimate purposes. The tide about the estuary
+is mostly governed by the wind, and so up the river, showing no
+regularity in its rise and fall. The current of the Plate opposite
+Montevideo runs at the rate of about three miles an hour. In extent,
+this ranks as the third great river of the world, draining, with its
+affluents, eight hundred thousand square miles of territory; a mammoth
+basin, which is only exceeded by those of the Amazon and the
+Mississippi.
+
+The commercial activity of the port is shown by the arrival and
+departure daily of many large steamships, foreign and coastwise. Sixty
+European steamers are recorded as arriving here monthly, besides a
+number from the United States. The maritime business of the port is
+mostly in the hands of Englishmen, Americans, and Frenchmen. The
+native-born citizen evinces no genius in commercial matters. The
+department of the capital is the smallest in the republic, having an
+area of only twenty-five square miles, but it is fertile, well wooded
+and watered, its agricultural interests predominating, which is a most
+important fact in estimating the stability and pecuniary responsibility
+of any state.
+
+The city is exceptionably well situated on a small rocky promontory, or
+rather we should designate it as a peninsula, jutting out into the
+estuary, three of its sides fronting the sea, and as its streets are
+nearly always swept by ocean breezes, it is cool and pleasant even in
+midsummer. The land rises gradually as it recedes from the shore, and
+then declines to the bed of a small stream which empties into the bay,
+thus affording a natural surface drainage. Uruguay is a little more than
+twelve times as large territorially as the State of Massachusetts, and
+is divided into thirteen departments. There are over half a million
+acres of land under good cultivation in the republic, the principal
+staples being wheat and corn. Extreme heat and extreme cold are alike
+unknown, the country being within the temperate zone. The mean summer
+temperature is 71° Fahr., that of autumn 62°, and of spring 60°. There
+are, therefore, but few things which the climate is too hot or too cold
+to produce, while for the raising of cattle on a large scale it is said
+to be the best section of South America, and this forms, we believe, its
+largest industry.
+
+In approaching Montevideo from the sea, it is observed that the
+surrounding country is quite level, with scarcely a single object to
+break the distant view. Immediately upon landing one realizes that the
+city is clean and well built, though it is mostly made up of low
+structures one story in height. There are plenty of dwellings of two and
+three stories, however, in the more modern part of the town. Dominating
+the whole stand the lofty dome and towers of the cathedral, which faces
+the Plaza Constitution. The turrets are of striking proportions, each
+rising to the height of one hundred and thirty-three feet. The
+widespread dome would be grand in effect, were it not covered with
+glazed tiles of various colors, blue, green, yellow, and so on, the
+combined effect of which is anything but pleasing to a critical eye.
+Still, it is no more tawdry than much of the inside finish and
+meaningless ornamentation. There is an elaborate marble fountain in the
+centre of the plaza, besides some ornamental shrubbery and flowers. The
+very fine marble façade of the building occupied by the Uruguay Club
+adds to the beauty of the plaza. Near the fountain is a fanciful music
+stand, in which a military band is occasionally stationed to perform for
+the public pleasure. These South Americans would as soon give up the
+bull-fights as the popular outdoor evening concerts, the excellent moral
+effect of which no one can possibly doubt.
+
+An abrupt hill at the head of the harbor, four or five hundred feet in
+height, known as the "Monte," gives the city its name, Montevideo. This
+hill is crowned by a small fort and lighthouse, the latter containing a
+revolving light which can be seen a long distance at sea. A couple of
+miles inland rises another hill called the Cerrito, or "little hill."
+Several times during revolutionary struggles, these two hills have been
+fortified by opposing parties, who have desired to control the city, but
+restless revolutionists are now at a discount, fortunately, in this
+republic of Uruguay, a class of uneasy spirits who have reigned quite
+long enough on the southern continent.
+
+The town is built in the form of an amphitheatre, and has comparatively
+few edifices of importance. Its regular, straight streets and open
+squares are intensely Spanish. The Paseo del Molino is the fashionable
+part of the town, where the wealthy merchants reside in curious chalets,
+or _quintas_ as they are called here. There is rather an extraordinary
+taste displayed in the matter of buildings on this Paseo. Swiss
+cottages, Italian villas, Chinese dwellings, and Gothic structures are
+mingled with Spanish and Moorish styles. This architectural incongruity
+is not picturesque, but, on the contrary, strikes one as very crude and
+ill-chosen. The charm of domestic residences in any part of the globe is
+a certain adaptability to the natural surroundings, and is, when well
+conceived, a graceful part of the whole. Inappropriate structures are to
+the eye like false notes in music to the ear, an outrage upon harmony. A
+Swiss chalet in Hindostan, or a Japanese bamboo house in England, is
+simply discordancy in scenic consistency. Nature should always be a
+silent partner in the creation and adaptation of architectural designs.
+In olden times the Jesuits built a large mill near this spot, and hence
+the name of the place.
+
+The climate must be very equable and fine to admit of such fruit culture
+as exists here. The strawberries grown in the neighborhood are famous
+for their size and sweetness, the vines producing this favorite fruit
+all the year round. They are perhaps a little over-developed, and would
+doubtless be of finer flavor if they were smaller.
+
+The Plaza de la Independencia is highly attractive, and so is the broad,
+tree-lined avenue known as the Calle del Dieziochavo de Julio, named
+after the anniversary of the Uruguayan declaration of independence.
+This, indeed, is thought to be the most effective boulevard in all South
+America. On festal occasions it is decorated in an original and
+brilliant manner, having colored draperies hanging from the windows and
+balconies, bright colored cambrics stretched from point to point, with
+the gay flag of the republic festooned here and there. Chinese lanterns
+are hung from the trees, and arches spanning the roadway and bearing
+national designs are all ablaze with ingeniously arranged gas jets. Down
+one side of this long avenue and up the other, it being over a hundred
+feet broad, a civic and military procession marches on the annual
+recurrence of the date which its name indicates, the several divisions
+headed by bands of music, with flags flying and drums beating. On such
+occasions the windows and balconies are filled with groups of handsome
+women, in gala dresses, together with pretty children in holiday
+costumes, who add charm and completeness to the scene. This avenue is
+the Champs Elysées of the southern continent, a thoroughfare of which
+the residents are justly very proud.
+
+The streets and sidewalks generally are of better width in Montevideo
+than in most of the South American cities. Some few of the private
+residences display fine architectural taste, the dwellings being well
+adapted to the climate and the surroundings. Many of the city houses
+have little towers erected on their roofs, called _miradores_, from
+whence one gets an excellent view of the entire city and of the sea. The
+town is spread over a large territory, and stretches away into thinly
+populated suburbs, but all parts are rendered accessible by the
+well-perfected system of tramways which extend over fifty miles within
+the city and the immediate environs. In the absence of official figures,
+we should judge that Montevideo had a population of at least two hundred
+thousand. Every other nationality seems to be represented in its streets
+and warehouses, except that of Uruguay herself. Those "native and to the
+manner born" are conspicuous by their absence. Speaking of this rather
+curious characteristic to a friend who lives here, he replied: "There
+are probably fifty thousand European and North American residents doing
+business in this city, forming by far the most active element of the
+place. They are seen everywhere, to the apparent exclusion of the
+natives. Indigenous blood and energy could not have made this capital
+what it is at the present time. It is reaping the advantage of North
+American enterprise, English and American capital, and German
+shrewdness. These, combined with the natural advantages of the location
+and climate, will eventually make Montevideo the Liverpool of South
+America." Though all this goes without saying, our friend put it so
+aptly that his words were deemed worthy of recording. We do not hesitate
+to predict that the next decade will nearly double the number of the
+population here, as well as the aggregate of its imports and exports. No
+other city on the southern continent has greater advantages in its
+geographical position, or as regards salubrity of climate and
+adaptability to commerce. Were it not for the occasional visits of the
+howling pamperos, the climate would be nearly perfect, and even these
+exhibitions of a local nature are, as we have said, accepted with great
+equanimity by the people on land. There are few stoves, and no
+fireplaces or chimneys, in Montevideo. Cooking is done with charcoal on
+braziers out-of-doors, as is the custom in most tropical countries.
+
+The capital of Uruguay contains the usual educational and religious,
+charitable and scientific, public organizations, with appropriate
+edifices for the same. It should certainly be considered a reading
+community, having more daily newspapers than London, and double as many
+as the city of New York; also supporting a large number of weekly
+newspapers and monthly magazines. As to books, so far as a casual
+observer may speak, they are few and far between in family circles. The
+men read the newspapers, and the women fill up their leisure time with
+music and gossip. There is a national university in Montevideo, where
+over six hundred pupils are regularly taught at the present time, and
+there are forty-eight professors attached to this admirably organized
+institution. We heard it highly spoken of by those who should be good
+judges in educational matters. The custom house, with which the stranger
+always makes an early acquaintance after arriving in port, is a large
+and costly structure, three stories in height. The opera house is worthy
+of particular mention, being a spacious building of the Doric order,
+capable of seating three thousand persons, and when it is filled at
+night, the interior presents a grand array of elegant costumes and
+female beauty, the ladies of this city being noted for their personal
+charms. This is a circumstance not mentioned casually as a mere
+compliment, but simply as a fact. The opera house covers an entire
+square, and has two large wings attached to the main building, one of
+which is devoted to business purposes, and the other contains the
+National Museum. There is here the nucleus of a most valuable
+collection, to which constant additions are being made, both by the
+state and through personal liberality and interest. We are sorry to say
+in this connection that the bull-fight, as a public exhibition, above
+all other styles of amusement, is the favorite one with the rank and
+file of the populace, which is quite sufficiently Spanish to control the
+matter and insure its permanency. The bull-ring, wherein these brutal
+and terribly demoralizing exhibitions take place on each Sabbath
+afternoon during the season, is situated about a league from the city
+proper.
+
+It must be a country or district under Roman Catholic influence, and
+with more or less of a Spanish element permeating it, to admit of this
+style of desecrating the Sabbath, or, indeed, of indulging on any day of
+the week in an exhibition which is so thoroughly brutal, cowardly, and
+repulsive. It is a sad reflection upon the community, high and low, to
+state that the bull-fight is one of its popular entertainments. We have
+said that this is a cowardly game. The fact is, the bull is doomed from
+the moment he enters the arena. He has only his horns and his courage to
+help him in the unequal contest. The professional fighters opposed to
+him are all fully armed, and protected by sheltering guards, behind
+which they can retire at will. It is twelve experts pitted against one
+poor beast. Ingenious, heathenish modes of torture are devised and
+adopted to wound, to weaken, and to craze the victim. If it was one
+armed man against the bull, whether mounted or otherwise, it would be a
+more equal and gallant struggle,--but twelve to one! bah, it is only a
+cowardly game in which gallant horses and brave bulls are sacrificed by
+a dozen armed men. Even the matadore, who gives the final and fatal
+thrust with his sword, and who is looked upon as a sort of hero by the
+spectators, does not enter the ring to attempt the act until the bull is
+comparatively harmless, having been worried and wounded until he is
+exhausted by the struggle and the copious loss of blood, so that he is
+scarcely able to stand. Though reeling like a drunken man, he staggers
+bravely towards his fresh and well-armed enemy, showing fight to the
+last gasp.
+
+Realize the moral effect of such cut-throat exhibitions upon youth! The
+older, cruel and hardened spectators are only rendered more so, but the
+young and impressionable are then and there inoculated with a love of
+brutality and bloodshed, fostered by every fresh exhibition which they
+witness.
+
+The Exchange is a grand and spacious structure, admirably adapted to its
+purpose, being one of the finest business edifices in South America, to
+our mind infinitely superior in all respects to that of Rio, upon which
+so much money has been expended in meretricious designs. The author
+counted the names of some forty charitable institutions and associations
+in a Montevideo directory, eight or ten of which are maintained mostly
+by public endowment, such as hospitals, asylums for the poor,
+orphanages, industrial schools, lunatic asylums, and so on. Near the
+Plaza Ramirez there is a school of arts and trades, which at this
+writing accommodates a large body of pupils, taught by competent
+professors and experts. We were told that this institution was of great
+practical service in the cause of education, its general aim being
+similar to that of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. One was
+hardly prepared to credit Montevideo with so many and well-sustained
+educational purposes as she was found to be justly entitled to. The
+reader will observe that we speak qualifiedly of these matters; it is
+only the outward and most obvious characteristics of a city, so briefly
+visited, of which one can speak correctly. It would have been gratifying
+to have remained longer in this capital, to understand more clearly the
+educational advantages which are offered here. In this department of
+progress, Montevideo seems in advance of many larger cities.
+
+Squads of soldiers are seen lounging about the town, dressed in a
+uniform of the Zouave pattern, not very jaunty looking fellows, it must
+be confessed, but perhaps "as good food for powder as a better." The
+entire army of Uruguay consists of only five thousand men, of all
+branches. The president has also a battalion of body-guards, consisting
+of three or four hundred men, forming a very efficient as well as
+ornamental organization. This organization consists of men loyal to the
+administration, and beyond a doubt personally devoted to the president.
+The rank and file of the army embraces all shades of color, both as to
+mind and body, and is liable to become disaffected at the outbreak of
+any popular upheaval, or through the influence of designing men. This
+body-guard, however, being always on duty, is ready and able to turn the
+scale by prompt and consistent action, in favor of the established
+authorities, and thus nip rebellion in the bud. It is only after getting
+thoroughly under way that revolutionary attempts become formidable. At
+the inception, the strong arm promptly applied stamps out the life and
+courage of the mob, and renders sedition futile. "No parleying; fire
+promptly, and fire to kill; that ends the matter," said Napoleon. Blank
+cartridges and vacillation stimulate a half-formed purpose into action.
+
+One is forced to admit that beggars are rather numerous in
+Montevideo,--beggars on horseback and wearing spurs. They coolly stop
+their small, wiry, half-fed ponies, and with magnificent effrontery beg
+of any stranger they chance to meet for a centavo, a copper coin worth
+about two cents of our American money. The incongruity of beggars
+mounted, while the stranger of whom they solicit alms is a pedestrian,
+is somewhat obvious. It must be remembered, however, that horses are
+very cheap in this country, and that nearly every one rides or drives. A
+good serviceable animal can be bought in any of the South American
+cities at what we should consider a mere trifle to pay for one. A
+well-broken young saddle-horse will bring from twenty to twenty-five
+dollars, but the owner, if one of the dudes about town, will expend five
+hundred dollars upon a silver-decked saddle, bridle, and trimmings, a
+Spanish peculiarity which is also observed in the city of Mexico. A pair
+of well-matched carriage-horses, in good condition, can be had for
+seventy-five or eighty dollars. Mares are not worked in this country,
+being solely used for breeding purposes, and have no fixed price;
+indeed, they are not met with in the cities. It will be seen that for a
+beggar to set up business here requires some capital, but not much. De
+Quincey would describe Spanish beggary as having become elevated to one
+of the fine arts.
+
+There is a class of men in Uruguay called gauchos who devote themselves
+to breaking the wild horses of the pampas for domestic use. They are
+more Indian than Spanish, and pass their lives mostly as herdsmen of the
+vast numbers of animals which live in a semi-wild state upon the plains
+of South America. These men can hardly be said to train their horses.
+They only conquer them by a process of cruel discipline which thoroughly
+subdues the animal. After this the poor creatures are ever on the alert
+to obey their rider's will, prompted by a pressure of the powerful bit,
+and a merciless thrust of the long, sharp rowels. The gaucho reminds one
+of the cowboys of our Western States. He forms a very picturesque figure
+when seen upon his wiry little mustang, galloping along with his yellow
+poncho streaming behind him, his head covered by a broad-brimmed soft
+felt hat, his long, dark hair floating upon the breeze, and his broad,
+loose trousers fluttering in the wind. A lasso of braided or twisted
+leather sometimes swings from one hand, while the rider skillfully
+manages his horse with the other. Altogether the gaucho forms a picture
+of strong vitality and vivid color. He spends a small fortune upon his
+equipments, and his heavy spurs are of solid silver. He is not a hard
+drinker, an occasional glass of country wine satisfies him; but he will
+gamble all night long until he has lost his last penny to professional
+sportsmen, who somehow know the way to win by fair means or foul.
+
+Few strangers who visit Montevideo for the first time will be at all
+prepared to see such a quantity and variety of rich jewelry in the
+shops. Imported dress goods of the finest quality are also offered for
+sale in these shops. The Parisian boulevards have no display windows
+which contain larger or finer diamonds, sapphires, and emeralds; indeed,
+this country seems to be the home of precious stones and real gems. The
+silversmiths exhibit goods equally artistic and elegant. The best
+products of Vienna, Paris, and London, in the fancy-goods line, are
+fully represented here. Readers who have visited Genoa will recall the
+fine silver filigree-work which is a specialty of that city, but some of
+the manufactures of this character made here are quite equal, if they do
+not excel, that of the Italian capital.
+
+It seemed to be rather a singular and significant fact, that when a
+couple of pennies will purchase a tumblerful of the national tipple
+called caña, a raw liquor made from sugar-cane, and quite as strong as
+brandy, still comparatively few persons are seen under its influence
+upon the public streets. It is true that on all church festal occasions
+the common people have a regular carousal, and get very much
+intoxicated, whereupon they lose one day in repenting and two in
+recuperation. It is the same all over the world. The lower, uneducated
+classes, having no intellectual resort, seem imbued with the idea that
+to get thoroughly tipsy is the acme of pleasure. The inevitable
+punishment does not enter into the calculation at all, nor does it deter
+the victim from repeated excesses. It is curious to observe the peculiar
+effect which intoxicants produce upon people of different nationalities:
+the Russian gets boozy on vodka, and only becomes more loving to his
+species; the Mexican drinks pulque by the pint measure, and craves only
+to be permitted to sleep; the French guzzle brandy and wine until they
+become equally full of song and gayety; the American Indian is made
+utterly crazy and reckless by drink; the Irishman finds a fight in every
+glass of whiskey; and the Englishman who indulges overmuch becomes
+eloquent on politics and patriotism. In South America the common people
+who drink to excess are rendered pugnacious and revolutionary. The
+police arrangements of Montevideo are excellent, and the streets are
+safe for man or woman at any hour of the day or night, which one is
+forced to admit is more than can be truthfully said of the majority of
+large cities in either Europe or North America. There is no sickly
+sentimentality about crime and criminals here. If a man outrages the
+law, he has to suffer for it, and there is no pardoning him until he has
+worked out his entire penalty. It is the certainty of punishment which
+intimidates professional rascals. Official leniency and pardoning of
+criminals are a premium on crime.
+
+Between two and three miles from the city there is a public park, which
+is laid out with excellent taste and skill, forming a popular pleasure
+resort. There are here many fine native and exotic trees, as well as
+flowering shrubs and blooming flowers. This spacious park, intersected
+by a willow-lined stream, is called the Paseo, and is ornamented with
+statues, fountains, and rockeries. The grounds are also occupied by
+several small places devoted to amusements, shooting-galleries, billiard
+saloons, and gambling tables, very similar to the Deer Garden in the
+environs of Copenhagen. Citizens of Montevideo of the humbler class come
+hither with their families, bringing food and drink to be disposed of in
+picnic fashion. Bordering the sweep of the bay, which forms the harbor,
+are many cottages, the homes of the rich merchants. These villas are
+surrounded by flower gardens and graceful shrubbery, the endless spring
+climate making the bloom perennial. The flat roofs of many of the town
+houses are partially inclosed, so as to form a pleasant resort in the
+closing hours of the day, where family parties are often seen gathered
+together. Social life among the residents of the environs is very gay,
+and so indeed is that of the town residents, whose hospitality is also
+proverbial. The Hotel Oriental is the favorite hostelry of Montevideo,
+built of marble and well furnished, though it is hardly equal to the
+Hotel Victoria, its rival, architecturally speaking.
+
+The drinking water, and all that is used for domestic purposes in the
+city, is brought by a well-engineered system from the river Santa Lucia,
+which is tapped for this purpose at a distance of thirty or forty miles
+from Montevideo.
+
+The Campo Santo of the capital is admirably arranged and particularly
+well kept, being in several respects like those of Pisa, Genoa, and
+other Italian cities. It is the most elaborate cemetery in South
+America, surrounded by high walls so built as to contain five tiers of
+niches which form the receptacles for the dead. The grounds are nearly
+as crowded with elaborate tombs and stone monuments as Père la Chaise,
+at Paris, the funereal cypress rising here and there in stately
+mournfulness above the marble slabs. The abundance of metallic wreaths
+and artificial flowers afforded another resemblance to the famous French
+cemetery. The freshness of many of the floral offerings showed that the
+memory of the departed was kept green in the hearts of those left
+behind. The traveler sees many such touching evidences of tenderness all
+over the world. Much of the marble work seen in these grounds was
+imported from Milan, and some from both Florence and Rome. The
+monumental entrance to the grounds, and the elaborate chapel within
+them, are both in good taste.
+
+Beef, hides, wool, hair, and grain seem to be the principal articles of
+export. Uruguay contains over half a million of people, and has an area
+of seventy-one thousand square miles, intersected by several railways,
+bringing the interior within easy reach of the capital. It is said to be
+growing more rapidly in proportion to its size and the present number of
+inhabitants than any other part of South America. The republic is best
+known to the world by its Indian name, Uruguay, but on many maps it is
+still designated as the Banda Oriental, that is, the "Eastern Border."
+It will be remembered that this now independent state was originally a
+part of the Argentine Republic, which was formerly known by that
+designation. Though Uruguay is one of the smallest of the independent
+divisions of the continent, it is yet one of the most important, a fact
+owing largely to its admirable commercial location. Nearly all of its
+territory can be reached by navigable rivers, while its Atlantic shore
+has a dozen good harbors. Sixteen large rivers intersect the republic in
+various directions, all of which have their several tributaries. Cheap
+internal transportation is assured by over three hundred miles of
+railways; also by these rivers. As already intimated, its agricultural
+interests are largely on the increase, the strongest element of
+permanency. Originally the pastoral interest prevailed over all other,
+but agriculture, both here and in the Argentine Republic, has taken
+precedence. The model farms near Montevideo are unsurpassed for extent,
+completeness, and the liberal manner in which they are conducted. Some
+large estates might be named which will compare favorably with anything
+of the sort which the author has ever seen in any country, where
+agriculture is followed on intelligent principles. Here the cultivation
+of the soil is carried on not solely to obtain all which can be wrung
+from it, in the way of pecuniary profit, but _con amore_, and with a due
+regard to system. As may be supposed, the return is fully commensurate
+with the intelligence and liberality exercised in the business. Such
+farming may be and is called fancy farming, but it is a sort which pays
+most liberally, and which affords those engaged in it the most
+satisfaction.
+
+To be an honest chronicler, one must not hesitate to look at all phases
+of progress, successful or otherwise, on the part of each people and
+country visited and written about. There are always deep-lying
+influences acting for good or evil, which scarcely present themselves to
+the thoughtless observer.
+
+One reason for the rapid growth of this republic of Uruguay is because
+of its gradually casting off the slough of Roman Catholic influence, a
+species of dry rot quite sufficient to bring about the destruction of
+any government. The same incubus which was of so long standing in
+Mexico, where its effect kept the people in ignorance and ferment for
+centuries, has at last been abolished, and modern progress naturally
+follows. In Uruguay the Romish Church has lost its prestige, having
+hastened its own downfall by blindly striving to enforce fifteenth
+century ideas upon people of the nineteenth. Monks and nuns have been
+expelled, and parish schools have been closed. Free schools now prevail,
+and general knowledge is becoming broadcast, which simply means
+destruction to all popish control. Intelligence is the antidote for
+bigotry, which explains the bitter opposition of the Roman Catholic
+priesthood to free schools wherever their faith prevails.
+
+In all of these South American provinces it has been found difficult to
+throw off the evil inheritance of sloth and anarchy which the Spaniards
+imposed upon their colonial possessions. The schoolhouse is the true
+temple of liberty for this people. In the department of Montevideo alone
+there are to-day over sixty free schools, and in the whole republic
+nearly four hundred, something for her authorities to point at with a
+spirit of just pride. This enumeration does not include the private
+schools, of which there are also a large number in the capital.
+
+We find by published statistics that Uruguay exports of wool, about
+seven million dollars' worth per annum; of beef, over six million
+dollars' worth; of hides, four million dollars' worth; and of wheat
+about the same amount in value as that of the last article named. These
+staples, however, are only representative articles, to which many more
+might be added, to show her growing commercial importance and assured
+prosperity.
+
+Our next stopping-place is the important city of Buenos Ayres, on the
+opposite bank of the river, about one hundred and fifty miles southwest
+of Montevideo.
+
+
+
+
+          CHAPTER XII.
+
+     Buenos Ayres.--Extent of the Argentine
+     Republic.--Population.--Narrow Streets.--Large Public
+     Squares.--Basques.--Poor Harbor.--Railway System.--River
+     Navigation.--Tramways.--The Cathedral.--Normal
+     Schools.--Newspapers.--Public Buildings.--Calle Florida.--A
+     Busy City.--Mode of furnishing Milk.--Environs.--Commercial
+     and Political Growth.--The New Capital.
+
+
+The city of Buenos Ayres--"Good Air"--is well named so far as its
+natural situation is concerned, but this condition of a pure atmosphere
+has been seriously affected by unsanitary conditions, naturally arising
+from the large influx of a very promiscuous population. A considerable
+percentage are Italians, and so far as personal cleanliness and decency
+go, they seem to be among the lost arts with them.
+
+This thriving city is the capital of the Argentine Republic, which, next
+to Brazil, is the largest independent state in South America, containing
+fourteen provinces, each of which has its own local government, modeled
+after those of the United States. The average reader will doubtless be
+surprised, as the author certainly was, to realize that this southern
+republic exceeds in extent of territory the united kingdoms of Great
+Britain, together with France, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Italy, Spain,
+Portugal, Belgium, Holland, and Greece combined, the actual area being
+something over twelve hundred thousand square miles. The province of
+Buenos Ayres is just about the size of the State of New York, and
+contains in round numbers a population of one million. Two hundred years
+ago, the city of Buenos Ayres had a population of five hundred. Having
+the statistics at hand, it is perhaps worth while to state that, of the
+aggregate population of the province, a majority, or fully six hundred
+thousand, are foreigners, classed as follows: three hundred thousand
+Italians, one hundred and fifty thousand French, one hundred thousand
+Spaniards, forty thousand English, and twenty thousand Germans. The
+number of North American residents is very small, though they control a
+fair percentage of the exports and imports. Authentic statistics show
+that they number less than six hundred. Paris is not more crowded with
+refugees from various countries than is this Argentine capital. Why such
+a spot was selected on which to establish a commercial city is an
+unsolved riddle, as it embraces about all the natural inconveniences
+that could possibly be encountered on the banks of a large river. The
+perversity of such a selection is the more obvious, because those who
+made it must have passed by a score of admirable points eminently
+superior in all respects to the one now occupied.
+
+The first view of Buenos Ayres on approaching it by water is peculiar,
+the line of sight being only broken by the church towers and a few
+prominent public buildings; the horizon alone forms the background of
+the picture. Unlike nearly all of the South American cities, there is no
+forest or mountain range behind or surrounding the capital. From its
+environs a continuous plain stretches away for nearly eight hundred
+miles to the foothills of the Andes. Situated between the 34° and 35° of
+south latitude, it enjoys a climate similar to that of the south of
+France, and almost identical with that of New Orleans. The site upon
+which the city stands is considerably above the level of the river, and
+though the streets are far too narrow for business purposes in the older
+portions of the town, they widen to a better size in the newer parts.
+The roadways are poorly paved, so that it is very uncomfortable to walk
+or drive over them. Boulevards are laid out to cut the older parts of
+the city diagonally, as was done in Paris and Genoa, and is now being
+done in Florence, so as to relieve the present insufficient capacity for
+the transportation of merchandise. One is apt, however, when remarking
+upon these particularly narrow and irregular streets in a foreign
+country, to forget that there are, in the older portions of the capital
+of Massachusetts, some quite as circumscribed and corkscrew fashioned.
+If we do not find all the excellences of civilization predominating, and
+admirable people in the majority here, we should do well to remember
+that we have also left them in the minority at home.
+
+The huge custom house of Buenos Ayres, with its circular form and high
+walls facing the river, recalls in general appearance Castle Garden in
+New York harbor, or the fort on Governor's Island. In its importance as
+a commercial emporium, this city disputes the first place with only
+three others in the southern hemisphere, namely, Rio Janeiro, Sydney,
+and Melbourne, the latter of which has lately added greatly to its
+harbor facilities by deepening and widening the Yarra-Yarra River.
+
+The dwelling-houses of Buenos Ayres are mostly built of brick, and are
+of a far more substantial character than those upon the west coast of
+the continent. They have much more the appearance of North American
+dwellings than Spanish, except that the windows are strongly guarded
+with iron bars, and the cool, shady patios present domestic scenes,
+mingled with flowers and fragrance, strongly local in color. The city is
+regularly laid out in squares of a hundred and fifty yards each, so when
+one is told that such or such a place is so many squares away, he knows
+exactly the distance which is indicated. The Plaza de la Victoria is
+surrounded by handsome edifices, including the opera house and the
+cathedral, the façade of the latter very much resembling that of the
+Madeleine at Paris. This square has a fine equestrian statue of some
+patriot, and a small column commemorating a national event. The city has
+a population equaling that of Boston in number, and we do not hesitate
+to say that it is more noted for its enterprise and general progress
+than any other of the South American cities. It has been appropriately
+called the Chicago of the southern continent. The republic, of which it
+is the principal city, has seven thousand miles of telegraphic wire
+within its area, a tangible evidence of enterprise which requires no
+comment. One remarkable line connects this city with that of Valparaiso,
+on the Pacific side of the continent, and is constructed with iron poles
+nearly the whole distance, crossing the Andes by means of forty miles of
+cable laid beneath the perpetual snows!
+
+It may well be supposed that the inhabitants of Buenos Ayres are of a
+cosmopolitan character, when it is known that the daily newspapers are
+issued in five different languages. As shown by the statistics already
+given, a considerable share of the people are Italians, who form much
+the larger portion of the emigrants now coming hither from Europe, or
+who have arrived here during the last decade. As additions to the
+population, they form a more desirable class, in many respects, than
+those who seek homes further north. After the Italians, the Basques are
+among the most numerous of the new-comers. There are over fifty thousand
+of this people settled in the province of Buenos Ayres alone, readily
+adapting themselves to the country. They are a strongly individualized
+race, whom no one is liable to mistake for any other. They maintain in a
+great measure the picturesque style of dress which prevails in their
+native land, no matter what their vocation may be here. As a rule, the
+Basques come with their families, bringing some moderate amount of
+pecuniary means with them, and at once devote themselves to agricultural
+pursuits. They take especially to the department of the dairy, making
+butter and cheese of excellent quality, for which they find a ready city
+market. They have a natural inclination towards cattle tending, and are
+looked upon by the authorities as among the very best of European
+emigrants. To promote this immigration to Argentina, a per capita
+premium has been paid heretofore by the government, who, indeed, are
+still ready to furnish a free passage for responsible emigrants, both of
+this and other nationalities. This generous offer has been so shamefully
+abused by the beggars, lazzaroni, and criminal classes of Naples and
+Sicily, that a check has necessarily been put upon it, particularly as
+regards the generally objectionable people of Sicily.
+
+As a shipping port, Montevideo has a decided advantage over this
+Argentine metropolis. Large steamers are obliged to anchor eight or ten
+miles, or even more, below the city, on account of the shallowness of
+the river at this point. A channel has been opened to facilitate the
+approach of vessels of moderate tonnage, but much yet remains to be done
+before the experiment will be of any practical advantage. Tugboats land
+passengers on the quay, who arrive by the large mail steamers. Vessels
+of not over twenty-five hundred tons can lie at the shore and land their
+cargoes by means of the limited conveniences of the new dock. One would
+think that this want of harbor facilities was an insuperable objection
+and impediment in the growth of a great commercial capital, but Buenos
+Ayres goes straight onward, progressing in wealth and business,
+apparently regardless of such disadvantages. The present aggregate of
+its imports, in round numbers, is one hundred million dollars per annum.
+
+Even to-day, while resting under so serious a financial cloud, with her
+credit at the lowest ebb, and so many of her lately wealthy merchants in
+bankruptcy, the city has a certain steady, normal growth, which it would
+appear that nothing can seriously impair. As we have intimated, the tide
+of immigration has been checked, though not entirely stopped, by the
+depressed financial and business condition of the country; still, in one
+closing month of the last year, October, 1891, over two thousand
+passengers arrived by steamship in Argentina, seeking new and permanent
+homes.
+
+When a pampero is blowing, it sometimes forces nearly all of the water
+out of the harbor, leaving it high and dry, so to speak, though the
+river is thirty miles in width opposite Buenos Ayres. Passengers,
+baggage, and freight have in the past often been landed by means of
+horse carts, hung on high wheels, and driven out into the water to such
+a depth as would float small boats and lighters. Indeed, this was for
+many years the common mode of landing freight and passengers at Buenos
+Ayres. Two long and narrow piers which have been built partially obviate
+the necessity of employing carts, unless the water becomes very low. It
+has been said in all seriousness, and we believe it to be true, that the
+cost of landing a cargo of merchandise at Buenos Ayres has often been as
+great as the freight by vessel from New York, Liverpool, or Boston.
+
+To construct a suitable harbor here for commercial purposes is a project
+attended by almost insurmountable difficulties, but the attempt is
+gradually being made. The water in front of the city is not only
+shallow, but the bottom is extremely hard, while the increase of depth
+down the river is so little that it would involve the dredging of soil
+for a distance of ten miles, together with an indefinite width. It is
+very doubtful if a channel in such a situation, liable to constant
+changes, could be effectually established and maintained at any cost.
+The city does not depend upon its foreign commerce alone for business,
+having a boundless and productive territory in its rear, of which it
+will always be the commercial capital. It is already a great railway
+centre, the republic having over seven thousand miles of iron and steel
+rails within its borders. Five railways radiate from Buenos Ayres at
+this writing, and a sixth is projected. One route has been surveyed with
+the idea of connecting this city direct with Valparaiso, the distance
+between the two capitals being about nine hundred miles. It is designed
+to take advantage of the road already completed to Mendoza, from whence
+the addition would cross the Cordilleras at a height of ten thousand
+feet, and pass through several tunnels, one of which would be two miles
+long.
+
+It should also be remembered, while on this subject of transportation
+facilities, that the Paraná River is navigable for light draught
+steamers two thousand miles inland from Buenos Ayres, into and through
+one of the most productive valleys in the world. From Montevideo to
+Point Piedras, the river is uniformly sixty miles wide, and at Buenos
+Ayres it has only narrowed to about half this distance. The two main
+rivers which form the Plate are the Uruguay and the Paraná, which in
+turn unite to form the grand estuary called Rio de la Plata.
+
+The city of Buenos Ayres has about as many miles of tramway as there are
+in Boston. The various routes are well managed, and afford an infinite
+amount of popular accommodation. This service is carried on by six
+different companies. It is not in the hands of one big monopoly, as with
+us in Boston. Competition in undoubtedly best for the public good, but
+the business can be more advantageously conducted by a single company.
+Experience has shown, however, that such a franchise is liable to great
+abuse in the hands of a corporation having no rivalry to fear.
+
+The citizens suffered long and patiently for want of good water for
+drinking and domestic purposes. This trouble has been partially obviated
+for a considerable time by the establishment of extensive water-works,
+but they are not adequate to the demand. The means for obtaining a new
+and additional supply are now under consideration. A system of drainage
+has also been constructed, which was fully as much of a necessity as the
+supply of water, but which, as usual, proves to be insufficient in
+capacity to perform the necessary work,--at least it but partially meets
+the requirements for which it was designed. People grow hardened by
+association with danger, but the importance of good and sufficient
+drainage for a capital in which malarial fevers prevail hardly requires
+argument.
+
+Unlike nearly all of the South American cities, Buenos Ayres has no
+Plaza Mayor, or public square, as a grand business and pleasure resort,
+a central point, par excellence, designed also for the recreation of the
+general public. There are, however, several spacious squares, quite
+large enough to represent such an idea,--nine or ten of them in fact,
+all of which are surrounded by fine buildings. The Plaza Victoria, for
+instance, already referred to, is some eight acres in extent, made
+brilliant at night by electric lights, which supplement the old style of
+gas-burners. The government house, the Palace of Justice, the cathedral,
+and other effective buildings front upon the Plaza Victoria. Eight or
+ten of the principal streets converge here, and this point is also the
+place of departure for several lines of tram-cars. The cathedral is in
+the Grecian style, the portico supported by twelve Corinthian columns,
+composed of brick, mortar, and stucco, but the general effect is the
+same as though each pillar was a monolith. The edifice is capable of
+containing eight or ten thousand people at a time, being equal in size
+and architectural effect to any ecclesiastical establishment on the
+continent. As this cathedral is a very remarkable one in many respects,
+we devote more than usual space to its description. It was rebuilt by
+the Jesuits in the seventeenth century, but was originally founded in
+1580, and is not much inferior to St. Paul's, London, as the following
+dimensions will show. It is two hundred and seventy feet long by one
+hundred and fifty in width, having an area of forty-five hundred square
+rods, and stands next in size to Notre Dame, Paris. The interior of this
+immense building, with its twelve side chapels, is dark, dingy, and
+dirty, while the want of ventilation renders the air within foul and
+offensive. It is only on some rare festal occasions that an audience at
+all adequate to occupy its great capacity is seen within its walls. A
+hundred persons do not seem like more than a dozen in such a place. Less
+than a thousand only serve to emphasize its loneliness. One sees a few
+women, but scarcely any men, present on ordinary occasions. The latter
+are content to stand about the outer doors and watch the former when
+they come from morning mass, or the ordinary Sabbath services. Here, as
+in Havana, Seville, and Madrid, the Spanish ladies, who lead a secluded
+home life, under a half oriental restraint imposed by custom inherited
+from the ancient Moorish rule in continental Spain, do not resent being
+stared at when in the streets. Probably this is the main attraction
+which draws most of the señors and señoritas to the church services,
+though undoubtedly many of them are devout and sincere in the outward
+services which they perform. At least, let us give them the benefit of
+such a conclusion.
+
+The national religion of Argentina is that of the Roman Catholic Church,
+but the power of the priesthood is strictly confined to ecclesiastical
+affairs, as in Uruguay. Absolute religious freedom may be said to exist
+here. No religious processions or church parades are permitted in the
+public streets. This used to be very different in times past, almost
+every other day in the Romish calendar being some saint's day, and it
+was the custom to make the most of these occasions by elaborate parades
+and gorgeous display. Besides some twenty-four Roman Catholic churches
+and chapels, there are a score presided over by Protestants of various
+denominations,--Episcopal, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Methodist, and so on.
+There is, as we were informed, a large and growing Protestant
+constituency in the city.
+
+It should be mentioned very much to her credit that Buenos Ayres has
+supported, since 1872, a series of normal schools, in which regular
+courses of three years' training are given to persons desiring to fit
+themselves to become school-teachers. To assist those wishing to avail
+themselves of these advantages, the government appropriates a certain
+sum of money, and those persons who receive this public aid bind
+themselves, in consideration of the same, to teach on specific terms in
+the free schools for a period of three years. There are quite a number
+of North American ladies employed in these schools, throughout the
+several districts of Argentina, receiving a liberal compensation
+therefor, and commanding a high degree of respect. The University of
+Buenos Ayres, with about fifty professors and some eight hundred
+students, stands at the head of the national system of education. It was
+founded in 1821, having classical, law, medical, and physical
+departments. There are also four military schools, two for the army and
+two for the navy.
+
+Buenos Ayres has more daily papers published within its precincts than
+either Boston or New York. It has several elegant marble structures
+devoted to the banking business, generally holding large capitals,
+though the financial condition of several of them at this writing is
+simply that of bankruptcy. This applies mainly to the state banks. There
+are here an orphanage, a deaf and dumb asylum, four public hospitals,
+and two libraries: the National Library containing some seventy thousand
+volumes, the Popular Library having fifty thousand. There is also a free
+art school, together with public and private schools of all grades. Last
+to be named, but by no means least in importance, the city has a number
+of fairly good hotels and restaurants, the latter much superior to the
+former. Hotels are not only a strong indication of the social refinement
+of a people, or of the want of it, but they are of great importance as
+regards the commercial prosperity of a large community. Travelers who
+are made comfortable in these temporary homes remain longer in a city
+than they would otherwise, spend more money there, and are apt to come
+again. If, on the contrary, the hotel accommodations are poor, travelers
+complain of them, and strangers avoid a city where they are liable to be
+rendered needlessly uncomfortable in this respect. Rio Janeiro is a
+notable instance in hand, a city whose hotels we conscientiously advise
+the traveler to avoid.
+
+We well remember, at the great caravansary in Calcutta, the only hotel
+there of any size or pretension, that a party of five Englishmen and
+five Americans, who had come from Madras with the purpose of passing a
+fortnight in the former city, shortened their stay one half, simply
+because the hotel was so wretchedly kept, the accommodations were so
+abominably poor, and the discomforts so numerous. Let us put this idea
+in mercenary form. Ten guests, expending at least eight dollars each per
+day, curtailed their visit seven days. It is safe to say that they would
+have left six hundred dollars more in Calcutta had they been comfortably
+lodged, than they did under the circumstances.
+
+We should not omit to mention the Commercial Exchange, in speaking of
+the public buildings of Buenos Ayres. It is a fine, large, modern
+structure, admirably adapted to the purpose for which it is designed.
+Until within a year, the edifice in Boston applied to the same purpose
+would not compare with that of this South American capital.
+
+There is no dullness or torpor in this city. All is stir and bustle.
+Life and business are rampant, and yet, strange to say, no one seems to
+be in any special hurry. Everything is done in a leisurely manner. The
+number of handsome stores and the elegance of the goods displayed in
+them are remarkable, while the annual amount of sales in these
+establishments rivals that of some of our most popular New York and
+Boston concerns in similar lines of business. One may count forty
+first-class jewelry establishments in a short walk about town. There is
+hardly a more attractive display in this line either in Paris or London.
+Diamonds and precious stones of all descriptions dazzle the eye and
+captivate the fancy. The Calle Florida is one of the most fashionable
+thoroughfares, and presents in the afterpart of the day a very gay and
+striking picture of local life, a large element being composed of
+handsome women, attended by gayly dressed nurses, in charge of lovely
+children wearing fancy costumes. The young boys affect naval styles, and
+their little sisters wear marvelously broad Roman scarfs, and have their
+feet encased in dainty buff slippers. What pleasing domestic pictures
+they suggest to the eye of a restless wanderer!
+
+On account of the narrowness of the streets, there is but one line of
+rails laid for the tramway service, so that a person goes out of town,
+say to Palermo, by one system of streets and returns by another. These
+cars move rapidly. A considerable distance is covered in a brief time,
+the motive power being small horses. An almost continuous line of cars,
+with scarcely a break, is passing any given point from early morning
+until night, and the citizens are liberal patrons of them. We saw some
+statistics relating to the number of persons carried by the tramways of
+this city annually, which were simply amazing, and which would make the
+management of the West End Railway of Boston "grow green with jealousy,
+or pallid with despair." Of course all this has been temporarily
+affected by the present financial crisis. As we have tried to show,
+Buenos Ayres is a wonderfully busy city, in which respect it resembles
+our own country much more than it does the average capitals of the
+south. There is none of the visible languor and spirit of delay which
+usually strikes one in tropical centres. People get up in the morning
+wide awake, and go promptly to business. There is no closing of the
+shops at midday here, as there is in Havana, Santiago, the capital of
+Chili, or some of the Mexican cities, so that clerks may absent
+themselves for dinner or to enjoy a siesta. A much more convenient
+course for both clerks and patrons is adopted, which does not block the
+wheels of trade. The idea of closing stores at midday to steal a couple
+of hours for eating and sleeping is a bit of Rip Van Winkleism entirely
+unworthy of the go-ahead spirit of the nineteenth century.
+
+The Plaza Retiro is as large as the Plaza Victoria, and occupies the
+spot where in old Spanish days the hateful exhibitions of the
+bull-fights were given. Indeed, this square was formerly known as the
+Plaza de Toros. Many historical interests hang about the locality,
+around which the rich merchants of the city have erected some palatial
+residences, faced to a certain height with marble on the outside. These
+domestic retreats have courtyards constructed one beyond another,
+covering a considerable depth, and forming a series of patios, each
+appropriated to some special domestic use,--the dining court, the
+reception court, and the nursery. In this square, and also in the Plaza
+Victoria, there are always plenty of hackney coaches to be found
+awaiting hire, and it should be remarked that charges are very
+reasonable for this service in Buenos Ayres.
+
+There are thirteen theatres in the city, and an admirable museum. The
+latter, rich in antiquities, is noted for its prehistoric remains of
+animals which once lived in the southern part of this continent, but
+whose species have long been extinct. This particular museum is
+advantageously known to scientists all over the world. The Colon Theatre
+is a large, well-equipped, and imposing place of entertainment, as much
+so as the Théâtre Française, Paris, and takes a high position in
+representations of the legitimate drama and the production of the better
+spectacular plays. This house adopts what is called here the _cazuela_
+in the division of its auditorium, an excellent system, very general in
+South American theatres, and we believe, nowhere else. It consists in
+giving up the entire second tier of boxes or seats to the exclusive use
+of unattended ladies, an arrangement which seemed to us strongly to
+recommend itself. To this division of the auditorium there is a separate
+entrance from the street, and no gentlemen are admitted under any
+pretext whatever. So those who desire to come to the entertainments
+quite unattended can do so with perfect propriety, and are safe from all
+intrusion in this isolated position. The ladies of this city, when they
+appear in public, dress very elegantly, following closely North American
+and European styles, while displaying the choicest imported materials
+well made up. Perhaps comparisons are invidious, but we feel inclined to
+accord precedence in the matter of personal beauty to those of
+Montevideo. In dress, however, the ladies of Buenos Ayres certainly
+excel them. Each city has its local "Worth," but many dresses are made
+in Paris and imported, regardless of expense.
+
+There may be somewhere a noisier city than Buenos Ayres, as regards
+street life in the business section, but London or New York cannot rival
+it in this respect. Undoubtedly this is owing in a measure to the fact
+that the traffic of so large and busy a metropolis is crowded into such
+narrow thoroughfares, barely thirty feet in width, and often less than
+that, a portion of which space is taken up by the tramway tracks. The
+noisy vehicles which run on these rails make their full share of the
+racket and hubbub. Here, as in the cities of Mexico and Puebla, the
+drivers of the cars are supplied each with a tin horn, hung about his
+neck, or suspended from the car front, upon which he exercises his
+lungs, producing ear-piercing and discordant notes. Wheels and hoofs
+upon the uneven pavements increase the din, supplemented by shouts and
+language more forcible than proper, uttered by enraged teamsters because
+of the frequent blocking of the roadway. Add to these dulcet sounds the
+cries of itinerant fruit venders, fancy-goods sellers, and the shouts of
+persistent newsboys, and one has some idea of the irritating uproar
+which rages all day long in the older streets of Buenos Ayres.
+
+Cows and mares are driven singly or in groups through the streets of
+this city, and milked at the customers' doors, so that one is nearly
+certain of getting the genuine article in this line, though we were
+assured that some roguish dealers carry an india-rubber tube and flat
+bag under their clothing from which they slyly extract a portion of
+water to "extend" the lacteal fluid. "Is there no honesty extant?"
+Adulteration seems to have become an instinct of trade. Asses are still
+driven through the streets of Paris, in the early mornings, and the milk
+obtained from them is distributed in the same manner, whether with a
+slight adulteration of water or not, we are unable to say. It is not
+uncommon at Buenos Ayres to see a person served on the street with fresh
+milk just drawn from the animal, which he drinks on the spot. A very
+refreshing, modest, and nutritious morning tipple. Mares, as before
+mentioned, are not used for working or riding in this country, but are
+kept solely for breeding purposes and to furnish milk. This article is
+considered to be more nourishing for invalids and children than cow's
+milk, and is often prescribed as a regular diet by the physicians.
+
+The grand driving park of the capital, known by the name of Third of
+February, is situated at Palermo, some distance from the city proper,
+and covers between eight and nine hundred acres. On certain days,
+especially on Sundays, a military band gives a public outdoor concert
+here, when all the beauty and fashion of the city turn out in gay
+equipages to see and to be seen, forming also a grand and spirited
+cavalcade of fine horses and carriages. The races take place at Palermo,
+and, as in all Roman Catholic countries, on Sundays.
+
+The neighborhood of Buenos Ayres is generally under good cultivation,
+the soil and climate uniting to produce splendid agricultural results.
+The suburbs of Flores and Belgrano each present a very pretty group of
+quintas and gardens, wherein great skill and refinement of taste is
+evinced. The alfalfa, a species of clover used here in a green condition
+as fodder for cattle, and which is as rich as the red clover of New
+England, to which family of grasses it belongs, grows so rapidly and
+ripens so promptly that three crops are often realized from the same
+field in a single season. The immediate environs of the city are
+occupied by private residences, many of which are very elaborate and
+imposing, surrounded by charming gardens and pleasure grounds. Grottoes,
+statuary, and fountains abound, while orchards of various fruits are
+common, interspersed here and there with picturesque graperies. Some of
+the highways are guarded by hedges of cactus,--_agave_,--much more
+impenetrable than any artificial fencing. Trees of the eucalyptus family
+have heretofore been favorites here, originally imported from Australia,
+but they have ceased to be desirable, since it appears that nothing will
+grow in their shadow. They seem to exercise a blighting power on other
+species of vegetation. Figs, peaches, and oranges grow side by side,
+surrounded by other fruits, while the low-lying fields and open meadows
+nearest to the river are divided into large squares of three or four
+acres each, enameled with the deep green of the thick growing alfalfa,
+and other crops varying in color after their kind. Richest of all are
+the intensely yellow fields of ripening wheat still farther inland,
+whose softly undulating surface, gently yielding to the passing breeze,
+produces long, widespread floating ripples of golden light.
+
+The love of flowers is a passion among all classes of the people, and
+their cultivation as a business by experienced individuals gives
+profitable employment to many florists, whose grounds are pictures of
+accumulated beauty, fragrance, and variety of hues. There is as true
+harmony to the eye in such blendings as there is to the ear in perfect
+music. The reader may be sure that where the children of Flora so much
+abound, bright tinted humming-birds do much more abound, dainty little
+living feathered gems, rivaling rubies, sapphires, and emeralds.
+
+To insure the good health of her large and increasing population, the
+system of drainage in Buenos Ayres requires prompt and effectual
+treatment. The natural fall of the ground towards the river is hardly
+sufficient to second any engineering effort to this end. That typhoid
+fever should prevail here to the extent which it does, at nearly all
+seasons of the year, is a terrible reflection upon those in authority.
+This is a fatal disease which is quite preventable, and in this instance
+clearly traceable to obvious causes. Rio Janeiro, with its yellow fever
+scourge, is hardly more seriously afflicted than Buenos Ayres with its
+typhoid malaria. Indeed, it is contended by some persons living on the
+coast that the number of deaths per annum in the two cities arising from
+these causes is very nearly equal, taking into account the results of
+year after year. Sometimes, unaccountably, Rio escapes the fever for a
+twelvemonth, that is to say, some seasons it does not rage as an
+epidemic; but we fear, if the truth were fairly expressed, it would be
+found that the seeds are there all the while, and that the city of Rio
+Janeiro, like that of Vera Cruz on the Gulf of Mexico, is never
+absolutely exempt from occasional cases.
+
+The Argentine Republic contains more than a million square miles, as
+already stated; indeed, immensity may be said to be one of its most
+manifest characteristics. The plains, the woods, the rivers, are
+colossal. To be sure, all of her territory is not, strictly speaking,
+available land, suitable for agricultural purposes, any more than is the
+case in our own wide-spread country. No other nation equals this
+republic in the value of cattle, compared with the number of the
+population, not forgetting Australia with its immense sheep and cattle
+ranches. It is believed, nevertheless, that the agricultural interest
+here, as in Uruguay, is gradually increasing in such ratio that it will
+erelong rival the pastoral. The average soil is very similar to that of
+our Mississippi valley, yielding a satisfactory succession of crops
+without the aid of any artificial enrichment. The pampas have a mellow,
+dry soil, the common grass growing in tussocks to the height of three or
+four feet, and possessing a perennial vigor which mostly crowds out
+other vegetation. A few wild flowers are occasionally seen, and in the
+marshy places lilies of several species are to be met with; but taken
+all together the flora of the pampas is the poorest of any fertile
+district with which we are acquainted. A few half-developed herbs and
+trefoils occasionally meet the eye, together with small patches of wild
+verbenas of various colors. At long distances from each other one comes
+upon areas of tall pampas grass as it is called, so stocky as to be
+almost like the bamboo, eight or ten feet high, decked with fleecy,
+white plumes. Birds are scarce on the pampas. There is a peculiar
+species of hare, besides some animals of the rodent family, resembling
+prairie-dogs--_biscachos_--or overgrown rats, together with an
+occasional jaguar and puma, found on these plains, as well as that
+meanest of all animals, the pestiferous skunk. Animal life, other than
+the herds of wild cattle, can hardly be said to abound on the pampas.
+
+Until a few years since, Buenos Ayres enjoyed the distinction of being
+the capital of the province of the same name, as also of the Argentine
+Republic; but the present capital of the province of Buenos Ayres,
+called La Plata, is situated about forty miles south-east of Buenos
+Ayres, with which it is connected by railway. The site of the new
+capital was an uninhabited wilderness ten years ago, the foundation
+stone of this city having been laid in 1882. To-day La Plata has a
+population of about fifty thousand, although over seventy are claimed
+for it, a comprehensive system of tramways, broad, well paved streets,
+two theatres, thirty public schools, a national college, and six large
+hotels. There are many monuments and fountains ornamenting the
+thoroughfares, and what is now wanting is a population commensurate with
+the grand scale on which the capital is designed. An immense cathedral
+is being built, but has only reached a little way above its foundation,
+as work upon it has for a while been suspended. If the original plan is
+fully carried out, it may be half a century or more in course of
+construction. La Plata is suffering from the pecuniary crisis perhaps
+more seriously than any other part of the country. The city is lighted
+by both electricity and gas, issues five daily newspapers, has a very
+complete astronomical observatory, a public library, five railroad
+stations, and some very elegant public buildings. Its large
+possibilities are by no means improved, however. Of the buildings, the
+edifice of the provincial legislature, that of the minister of finance,
+and the legislative palace are all worthy of mention. The government
+house is a long, low structure, the front view of which is rendered
+effective by an added story in the centre, which projects from the line
+of the building, and is supported by high columns. The "Palace," as it
+is called, forming the residence of the governor of the province, is an
+elaborate and pretentious building, three stories in height, with two
+flanking domes and a dominating one in the centre. Of course La Plata
+has gained its start and rapid growth from the prestige of being the
+provincial capital, but it is now slowly developing a legitimate growth
+on a sound business basis, and though it can hardly be expected to ever
+equal Buenos Ayres in population and commercial importance, it
+nevertheless promises to be a prosperous city in the distant future; its
+citizens already call it the "Washington" of South America. A close
+observer could not but notice that many houses were unoccupied, and the
+streets seemed half deserted.
+
+While the most of our maps and geographies remain pretty much as they
+were a score of years ago, and a majority of the kingdoms of the Old
+World have changed scarcely at all, the Argentine Republic has been
+steadily growing in population, progressing rapidly in intelligence,
+constantly extending its commercial relations, and marching all the
+while towards the front rank of modern civilization. A detailed
+statement of its extraordinary development during the last twenty years,
+in commerce, railway connections, schools, agriculture, and general
+wealth, would surprise the most intelligent reader. It is believed by
+experienced and conservative people, particularly those conversant with
+the South American republics, that Buenos Ayres will be the first city
+south of the equator in commercial rank and population, within a quarter
+of a century. The increase of this republic in population during the
+last two decades has been over one hundred and fifty per cent., a
+rapidity of growth almost without precedent. The increase of population
+in our own country, during the same period, was less than eighty per
+cent. Twenty-four lines of magnificent steamships connect the Argentine
+Republic with Europe, and twice that number of vessels sail back and
+forth each month of the year, while its railway system embraces over six
+thousand miles of road in operation, besides one or two yet incomplete
+routes, though the opening of its first line was so late as thirty-four
+years ago. Add to this her system of inland river navigation, covering
+thousands of miles, which has been so systematized as to fully
+supplement the remarkable railway facilities.
+
+That Argentina rests at the present moment, as we have constantly
+intimated, under a financial cloud is only too well known to every one.
+It is a crisis brought about by an overhaste in the development of the
+country, especially in railroad enterprises. _Festina lente_ is a good
+sound maxim, which the people of this republic have quite disregarded,
+and for which they and their creditors are suffering accordingly. It is
+seldom that any newly developed country escapes the maladies attendant
+upon too rapid growth, but this is a sort of illness pretty sure to
+remedy itself in due time, and rarely impedes the proper development of
+maturer years. If this republic has been unduly extravagant, and
+borrowed too much money in advancing her material interests, she has at
+least something to show for it. The funds have not been foolishly
+expended in sustaining worse than useless hordes of armed men, nor in
+the profitless support of royal puppets.
+
+Nations no less than individuals are liable to financial failure, but
+with her grand and inexhaustible native resources, backed by the energy
+of her adopted citizens, this republic is as sure as anything mortal can
+be to soon recover from her present business depression, and to astonish
+the world at large by the rapidity of her financial recuperation. Her
+present annual crop of wool exceeds all former record in amount, and is
+authoritatively estimated at over thirty million dollars in value. To
+this large industrial product is to be added her prolific harvest of
+maize and wheat, together with an almost fabulous amount of valuable
+hides.
+
+
+
+
+          CHAPTER XIII.
+
+     City of Rosario.--Its Population.--A Pretentious
+     Church.--Ocean Experiences.--Morbid Fancies.--Strait of
+     Magellan.--A Great Discoverer.--Local
+     Characteristics.--Patagonians and Fuegians.--Giant
+     Kelp.--Unique Mail Box.--Punta Arenas.--An Ex-Penal
+     Colony.--The Albatross.--Natives.--A Naked
+     People.--Whales.--Sea-Birds.--Glaciers.--Mount Sarmiento.--A
+     Singular Story.
+
+
+The route to Rosario is rather monotonous by railway, taking the
+traveler through a very flat but fertile region, over prairies which are
+virtually treeless, not unlike long reaches of country through which the
+Canadian Pacific Railroad passes between Banff, in the Rocky Mountains,
+and Port Arthur, on Lake Superior. The monotonous scenery is varied only
+by a sight of occasional herds of cattle, feeding upon the rich grass,
+with here and there a mounted herdsman, and the numberless telegraph
+poles which line the track. It is at least a seven hours' journey from
+Buenos Ayres to Rosario. Occasionally a marshy reach of soil is
+encountered where large aquatic birds are seen, such as flamingoes,
+storks, cranes, herons, and the like.
+
+Rosario, in the province of Santa Fé, is the second city in point of
+population and importance in the Argentine Republic. It is a young and
+promising capital, hardly yet fairly launched upon its voyage of
+prosperity, but so far it has been singularly favored by various
+circumstances. The place is arranged in the usual crisscross manner as
+regards the streets of this country, which, unfortunately, are too
+narrow for even its present limited business. In place of twenty-four
+feet they should have been laid out at least double that width, in the
+light of all experience has developed in these South American cities.
+This new town is situated a little less than three hundred miles by
+water from Buenos Ayres, and about two hundred by land, railroad and
+steamboat connection being regularly maintained between them. The site
+is admirably chosen on the banks of the Paraná River, fifty or sixty
+feet above its level, and it is destined to become, eventually, a great
+commercial centre. In 1854 it was only a large village, containing some
+four thousand people. It is the natural seaport, not only of the rich
+province of Cordova, but also of the more inland districts, Mendoza, San
+Luis, Tucuman, Salta, and Jujuy, the first named having a population of
+half a million. Owing to the height of the river's banks, merchandise is
+loaded by "shutes," being thus conducted at once from the warehouses to
+the hatches of the vessels. Already a number of foreign steamships may
+be seen almost any day lying at anchor opposite the town, while the
+railway communications in various directions have all of their
+transportation capacity fully employed. One of these lines reaches
+almost across the continent to Mendoza, at the eastern slope of the
+Andes, west from Rosario. Other roads run both north and south from
+here. The foreign and domestic trade of the place is second only to that
+of Buenos Ayres. Vessels drawing fifteen feet of water ascend the river
+to this point. As a shipping port, Rosario has to a certain extent
+special advantages even over the larger city, being two or three hundred
+miles nearer the merchandise producing points.
+
+There is already a population of some seventy-five thousand here, and,
+as we have intimated, the city is growing rapidly. Wharves, docks, and
+warehouses are in course of construction, and can hardly be finished
+fast enough to meet the demand for their use. There are a few
+substantial and handsome dwellings being erected, and many of a more
+ordinary class, in the finishing of which many a cargo of New England
+lumber is consumed. Some of the public buildings are imposing in size
+and architectural design, wisely constructed in anticipation of the
+future size of the city, whose rapid growth is only equaled by St. Paul
+in Brazil. The tramway, gas, and telephone have been successfully
+introduced. There is certainly no lack of enterprise evinced in all
+legitimate business directions, while attention is being very properly
+and promptly turned towards perfecting a carefully devised educational
+system of free schools, primary and progressive. When the founders of a
+new city begin in this intelligent fashion, we may be very sure that
+they are moving in the right direction, and that permanency, together
+with abundant present success, is sure to be the sequence.
+
+On one side of the Plaza Mayor of Rosario stands a very pretentious
+church, not yet quite completed, but as the towers and dome are finished
+it makes a prominent feature from a long way off, as one approaches the
+town. In the centre of this square is a marble shaft surmounted by a
+figure representing Victory, and at the base are four statues of
+Argentine historic characters. This square is adorned with a double row
+of handsome acacias. As regards amusements, so far as is visible,
+theatricals seem to take the lead, the place having two theatres, both
+of which appear to be enjoying a thriving business.
+
+When a new city is started in South America upon a site so well
+selected, and after so thoroughly substantial a plan, the result is no
+problem. The influx of European immigrants promptly supplies the
+necessary laborers and artisans, quite as fast, indeed, as they are
+required, while the ordinary growth and development of inland resources
+tax the local business capacity, enterprise, and capital to their
+utmost. Rosario needs to perfect a careful and thorough system of
+drainage. Fevers are at present alarmingly prevalent, arising from
+causes which judicious attention and sanitary means would easily
+obviate.
+
+We will not weary the reader by protracted delay at this point, having
+still a long voyage before us.
+
+Embarking at Montevideo, our way is southward over a broad and lonely
+track of ocean. If we can summon a degree of philosophy to our aid, it
+is fortunate. Without genial companions, surrounded by strangers, and
+thrown entirely upon ourselves, mental resort often fails us, life
+appears sombre, the wide, wide ocean almost appalling. One of the
+inevitable trials of a long sea voyage is the wakeful hours which will
+occasionally visit the most experienced traveler,--midnight hours, when
+the weary brain becomes preternaturally active, the imagination
+oversensitive and weird in its erratic conceptions, while forebodings of
+evil which never happens are apt to fill the mind with morbid anxieties.
+The very silence of the surroundings is impressive, interrupted only by
+the regular throbbing of the great, tireless engine, and the dashing
+waters chafing along the iron hull close beside the wakeful dreamer.
+Separated by thousands of miles from home, all communication cut off
+with friends and the world at large, while watching the dreary ocean,
+day after day, week after week, we imagine endless misfortunes that may
+have come to dear ones on shore. However limited may be the world of
+reality, that of the imagination is boundless, and sometimes one
+realizes years of wretched anxiety in the space of a few overwrought
+hours. It is such moments of passive misery which beget wrinkles and
+white hairs. Action is the only relief, and one hastens to the deck for
+a change of scene and thoughts. After experiencing such a night, how
+glad and glorious seems the sun rising out of the wide waste of waters,
+how bright and glowing the smile he casts upon the long lazy swell of
+the South Atlantic, as if pointedly to rebuke the overwrought fancy, and
+reassure the aching heart!
+
+Be we never so dreary, the great ship speeds on its course, heeding us
+not; its busy motor, like heart-beats, throbs with undisturbed
+uniformity, forcing the vessel onward despite the joy or sorrow of those
+it carries within its capacious hull.
+
+The Strait of Magellan, which divides South America from the mysterious
+island group which is known as Terra del Fuego, and connects the
+Atlantic with the Pacific Ocean by a most intricate water-way, is
+considerably less than four hundred miles in length, and of various
+widths. De Lesseps, with his successful Suez Canal and his deplorable
+Panama failure, is quite distanced by the hand of Nature in this line of
+business. It would require about ten thousand Suez Canals to make a
+Magellan Strait, and then it would be but a very sorry imitation. It
+will be remembered that the Portuguese navigator who discovered this
+remarkable passage, and for whom it is justly named, first passed
+through it in November, 1520, finally emerging into the waters of the
+new sea, upon which he was the first to sail, and which he named Mar
+Pacifico. Doubtless it seemed "pacific" to him after his rude experience
+in the South Atlantic, but the author has known as rough weather in this
+misnamed ocean as he has ever encountered in any part of the globe.
+
+One can well conceive of the elation and surprise of Magellan, upon
+emerging from the intricate passage through which he had been struggling
+to make his way for so many weary days. What a sensation of satisfaction
+and triumph must the courageous and persevering navigator have
+experienced at the discovery he had made! What mattered all his weary
+hours of watching, of self-abnegation, of cold and hunger, of incessant
+battling with the raging sea? Henceforth to him royal censure or royal
+largess mattered little. His name would descend to all future
+generations as the great discoverer of this almost limitless ocean.
+
+The passage leading to the strait on the Atlantic or eastern end is
+about twenty miles across, Cape Vergens being on the starboard side, and
+Cape Espiritu Santo--or Cape Holy Ghost--on the port. The entrance on
+the western or Pacific end is marked by Cape Pillar, Desolation Land,
+where the scenery is far more rugged and mountainous, the cape
+terminating in two cliffs, shaped so much like artificial towers as to
+be quite deceptive at a short distance. The narrowest part of the strait
+is about one mile in width, known to mariners as Crooked Reach. A
+passage through this great natural canal is an experience similar, in
+some respects, to that of sailing in the inland sea of Alaska, between
+Victoria and Glacier Bay, bringing into view dense forests, immense
+glaciers, abrupt mountain peaks, and snow-covered summits, the whole
+shrouded in the same solitude and silence, varied by the occasional
+flight of sea-birds or the appearance of seals and porpoises from below
+the deep waters. So irregular in its course is this passage between the
+two great oceans, so changeable are its currents, so impeded by
+dangerous rocks and hidden shoals, so beset with squalls and sudden
+storms, that sailing vessels are forced to double the ever-dreaded Cape
+Horn rather than take the Magellan route. A United States man-of-war, a
+sailing ship, was once over two months in making the passage through the
+strait, and Magellan tells us that he was thirty-seven days in passing
+from ocean to ocean, though using all ordinary dispatch. Within a
+fortnight of the writing of these notes, a European mail steamship was
+lost here by striking upon a sunken rock. Fortunately, owing to the
+proximity of the shore and moderate weather prevailing, the crew and
+passengers were all saved.
+
+Winter lingers, and the days are short in this latitude. A sailing ship
+would be compelled to find anchorage nightly, and some days would
+perhaps be driven back in a few hours a distance which it had required a
+week to make in her proper direction. Steamships usually accomplish the
+run in from thirty to forty hours, there being many reaches where it is
+necessary to run only at half speed. If heavy fogs and bad weather
+prevail, they often lay by during the night, and also in snow-storms,
+which occur not infrequently. The sky is seldom clear for many hours
+together, and the sun's warmth is rarely felt, the rain falling almost
+daily. Even in the summer of this high southern latitude the nights are
+cold and gloomy, ice nearly always forming. It must be admitted that
+this region, of itself, is not calculated to attract the most inveterate
+wanderer. One is not surprised when reading the rather startling
+narrations of the old navigators who made the passage of the strait,
+encountering the constantly varying winds, and having canvas only to
+depend upon. The marvel is that, with their primitive means, they should
+have accomplished so much. There are no lighthouses in this passage from
+ocean to ocean, though it has been pretty well surveyed and buoyed in
+late years, thanks to the liberality of the English naval service, by
+whom this was done. There is, in fact, a dearth of lighthouses on the
+entire coast of South America, especially on the west side of the
+continent. We can recall but three between Montevideo and Valparaiso, a
+distance, by way of the strait, of fully two thousand miles. The
+lighthouses we refer to are at Punta Arenas, Punta Galesa, near
+Valdivia, and that which marks the port of Concepcion, at Talcahuano.
+The Strait of Magellan is only fit as an abiding-place for seals,
+waterfowl, and otters; humanity can hardly find congenial foothold here.
+
+The natives of Patagonia, who live on the northern side of the strait,
+are called horse Indians, because they make such constant use of the
+wild horses; they do not move in any direction without them. Those on
+the Fuegian side are called canoe Indians, as the canoe forms their
+universal and indeed only mode of transportation. The former are a
+rather large, tall race of people, the men averaging about six feet in
+height; the latter are smaller in physical development, and are less
+civilized than the Indians of Patagonia, which, to be sure, is saying
+very little for the latter, who are really a low type of nomads. The
+Fuegians are believed to still practice cannibalism. One writer tells us
+that criminals and prisoners of war are thus disposed of, and that the
+last crew of shipwrecked seamen who fell into their hands were roasted
+and eaten by them. Their hostile purposes are well understood, for
+whenever they dare to exercise such a spirit they are sure to do so.
+They cautiously send out a boat or two to passing vessels, with whom a
+little trading is attempted, the main body of natives keeping well out
+of sight; but in case of any mishap to a ship, or if a small party land
+and are unable to defend themselves, they will appear in swarms from
+various hiding-places, swooping down upon their victims like vultures in
+the desert. The officers of the yacht Sunbeam, as recounted by Lady
+Brassey, found it necessary to turn her steam-pipes full force upon the
+swarming natives, who were doubtless preparing to make an effort to
+capture the yacht and her crew, hoping to overcome them by mere force of
+numbers. They were, however, so frightened and utterly astonished by the
+means of defense adopted by Lord Brassey that they threw themselves, one
+and all, into the sea, and sought the shore pell-mell. Humboldt, in his
+day, ranked these Fuegians among the lowest specimens of humanity he had
+ever met, and they certainly do not seem to have improved much in the
+mean time. One is at a loss to understand why the Patagonians should
+have impressed the early navigators with the idea that they were a
+people of gigantic size. There is no evidence to-day of their being, or
+ever having been, taller or larger than the average New Englander.
+Half-naked savages, standing six feet high, naturally impress one as
+being taller than Europeans clad in the conventional style of civilized
+people.
+
+The waters of Magellan are very dark, deep, and sullen in aspect, with
+insufficient room in many places to manage a ship properly under canvas
+alone. In their depth and darkness these waters also resemble those of
+Alaska's inland sea. The shores are quite bold, and the rocks below the
+surface are mostly indicated by giant kelp--_Fucus giganteus_--growing
+over them, a kind provision of nature in behalf of safe navigation. It
+will not answer, however, to depend solely upon this indication; the
+many rocks in the strait are by no means all so designated, nor are they
+all buoyed. Sea-kelp is very plentiful in this region, and serves many
+useful purposes. It forms a nourishing food for the Fuegians under
+certain circumstances, when their usual supply is scarce. They dry it
+and prepare it in a rude way suited to their unsophisticated palates. It
+also forms a portion of the support of the seals and sea-otters; these
+creatures feed freely upon its more delicate and tender shoots. It is
+wonderful how it can exist and thrive among such breakers as it
+constantly encounters in these restless waters, which are churned into
+mounds of foam in squally weather; but it does grow in great luxuriance,
+rising oftentimes two hundred feet and more from the bottom of the sea.
+It is curious to watch its abundant growth and its peculiar habits. If
+the wind and tide are in the same direction, the plant lies smooth upon
+the water; but if the wind is against the tide, the leaves curl up,
+causing a ripple on the surface, like a school of small fish. A specimen
+of giant kelp was secured from alongside of the ship, broken off at
+arm's length below the surface of the water. It was heavy and full of
+parasites. Upon shaking it, myriads of marine insects, shells, tiny
+crabs, sea-eggs, and star-fish fell upon the deck. All of these were of
+the smallest species, some almost invisible to the naked eye, but how
+wonderful they appeared under the microscope, which developed hundreds
+of forms of life infinitesimal in size!
+
+At a prominent point of the main channel is a strong box made fast by a
+chain, which always used to be opened by the masters of passing ships,
+either to deposit or to take away letters, as the case might be, each
+shipmaster undertaking the free delivery of all letters whose address
+was within the line of his subsequent course. In the whaleship service,
+especially during times now long past, this arrangement has been of
+great service, and there is no instance on record where the purpose of
+this self-sustaining post-office was disregarded. In these days of fast
+and regular post-office service, the "Magellan mail," as it was called,
+is of no practical account.
+
+There are several fairly good harbors in the strait, but the only white
+settlement was originally a penal colony founded by the Chilian
+government, though it no longer serves for that purpose, the convicts
+having risen some years since, and overpowered the garrison. A large
+portion of the Patagonian shore is well wooded, besides which an
+available coal deposit has been found and worked to fair advantage.
+Steamships, which were formerly obliged to go to the Falkland Islands,
+in the Atlantic, five hundred miles from the mouth of the strait, when
+running short of fuel, can now get their supply in an exigency at Punta
+Arenas--"Sandy Point." It is situated in the eastern section of the
+strait, about a hundred and twenty-five miles from the entrance. We do
+not mean to convey the idea that this is a regular coaling station,
+though it may some time become so. The town consists of straggling,
+low-built log-houses, and a few framed ones, reminding one of Port Said
+at the Mediterranean end of the Suez Canal, with its heterogeneous
+population. That of Sandy Point is made up of all nationalities,
+strongly tinctured with ex-convicts, and deserters from the Chilian army
+and navy. English is the language most commonly spoken, though the place
+is Chilian territory. It contains some twelve or fifteen hundred
+inhabitants, and is the most southerly town on the globe, as well as the
+most undesirable one in which to live, if one may express an opinion
+upon such brief acquaintance.
+
+We made no attempt to go on shore at Punta Arenas. A rain-storm was at
+its height while the ship lay off the town, and when it rains in these
+latitudes, it attends exclusively to the business in hand. The water
+comes down like Niagara, until finally, when the clouds have entirely
+emptied themselves, it stops. Jupiter Pluvius is master of the
+situation, when he asserts himself, and there is no one who can dispute
+his authority. Umbrellas and waterproofs are of no more use as a
+protection during the downpour, than they would be to a person who had
+fallen overboard in water forty fathoms deep. One of our passengers came
+on deck with a life preserver about his body, solemnly declaring that if
+this sort of thing continued much longer, the article would be
+absolutely necessary in order to keep afloat.
+
+During the season the Patagonians bring into Punta Arenas the result of
+their hunting in the shape of seal and otter skins, together with
+guanaco, and silver-fox skins, which are gathered by local traders and
+shipped to Europe. Occasionally a few sea-otter skins of rare value are
+obtained from here, fully equal, we were told, to anything taken in
+Alaskan waters. We have said that Punta Arenas is the most southerly
+town on the globe. The next nearest town to the Antarctic circle is the
+Bluff, so called,--also known as Campbelltown,--in the extreme south of
+New Zealand, where the author has eaten of the famous oysters indigenous
+there.
+
+Two sorts of supplies are to be obtained by navigators of the strait,
+namely, fuel and good drinking water. Sometimes a valuable skin robe may
+be purchased of the Patagonian Indians. It is called a guanaco-skin
+cloak, and made from the skin of the young deer. To obtain these skins
+of a uniform fineness of texture, the fawns are killed when but eight or
+ten days old; the available product got from each one is so small as
+hardly to exceed twice the size of one's hand. These are sewn together
+with infinite care and neatness by the Indian women, who use the fine
+sinews taken from ostriches' legs for thread. One of these guanaco-skin
+cloaks represents a vast amount of labor, and a hundred fawns must die
+to supply the raw material. Only chiefs of tribes can afford to wear
+them. Strangers who are willing to pay a price commensurate with their
+real cost and value may occasionally buy such an article as we describe,
+but these cloaks are rare. One was brought on board ship and shown to
+us, the price of which was twelve hundred dollars, nor do we think it
+was an excessive valuation. It was worth the amount as a rare curiosity
+for some art museum.
+
+That monarch bird of Antarctic regions, the albatross, frequents both
+ends of the strait, and sometimes accompanies steamships during the
+passage, together with cape-pigeons, gulls, and other marine birds,
+though as a rule the albatross is little seen except on the broad
+expanse of the ocean. A bird called the steamer-duck, also nicknamed by
+sailors the paddle-wheel duck, was pointed out to us by our captain. It
+is so called from its mode of propelling itself through the water,
+scooting over the surface of the strait while using both wings and legs,
+and creating considerable disturbance of the water, like a side-wheeler.
+The wings are too small to give it power of flight through the air. The
+steamer-duck is a large bird, nearly the size of the domestic goose;
+after its fashion, it moves with astonishing velocity, considerably
+faster than the average speed of a steamship. But we were speaking a
+moment since of the albatross, which is a feathered cannibal, and shows
+some truly wolfish traits. When one of its own species, a member of the
+same flock even, is wounded and drops helpless to the surface of the
+sea, its comrades swoop down upon it, and tearing the body to pieces
+with their powerful bills, devour the flesh ravenously. This was
+witnessed near the Arctic circle, between Hobart, in Tasmania, and the
+Bluff, in New Zealand, a few years ago, when some English sportsmen
+succeeded in wounding one of these mammoth birds from the deck of the
+steamship Zealandia. The only other known bird of our day which measures
+from eleven to twelve feet between the tips of the extended wings is the
+South American condor.
+
+The sea hereabouts abounds in fish, which constitute the largest portion
+of the food supply of the few Indians who live near the coast of either
+shore. The Fuegians dwell in the rudest shelters possible, nothing
+approaching the form of a house. The frailest shelter, covered with
+sea-lion's skins, suffices to keep them from the inclemencies of the
+weather. With the exception of an animal skin of some sort, having the
+fur on, secured over one shoulder on the side exposed to the wind, the
+canoe Indians wear no clothing. We were told that several of these
+natives, while quite young, were taken to England by advice of the
+missionaries and taught to read and write, being also kindly instructed
+in civilized manners and customs, which they gladly adopted for the time
+being; but upon returning to their native land, in every instance they
+rapidly lapsed into a condition of semi-savagery. It had been hoped they
+would act as a civilizing medium with their former friends, after
+returning among them, but this proved fallacious, and was a great
+disappointment to the well-meaning philanthropists. This same
+experience, as is well known, has been the result of similar experiments
+with natives of Africa and the South Sea Islands. The author is
+conversant with a striking illustration of this character in connection
+with an Australian Indian youth, which occurred in Queensland, and which
+was both interesting and very romantic in its development. It simply
+went to prove that hereditary instincts cannot be easily eradicated, and
+that not one, but many generations are necessary to banish savage
+proclivities which are inherited from a long line of ancestors.
+
+Gold is found to some extent in the beds of the streams in
+Patagonia,--free gold, washed from the disintegrated rocks. Natives
+sometimes bring small quantities of the gold dust into Punta Arenas,
+with which to purchase tobacco and other articles. Many heedless and
+unprincipled individuals sell them intoxicants, to obtain which these
+Indians will part with anything they possess, after they have once
+become familiar with the taste and effect of the captivating poison.
+
+Not far from Cape Forward, near the middle of the strait, which is the
+most southerly portion of the American continent, three native boats
+were seen during our passage. The steamer was slowed for a few moments
+to give us a brief opportunity to see the savage occupants. These three
+frail, ill-built canoes were tossed high and low by the swell of the
+Pacific, which set to the eastward through the strait. Each boat
+contained a man, a couple of women, and one or two children, the latter
+entirely naked, the others nearly so. They were Fuegians, raising their
+hands and voices to attract our attention, asking for food and tobacco,
+to which appeal a generous response was made. Their broad faces, high
+cheek-bones, low foreheads, and flat noses, their faces and necks
+screened by coarse black hair, did not challenge our admiration, however
+much we were exercised by pity for human beings in so desolate a
+condition. They certainly possessed two redeeming features,--brilliant
+eyes and teeth of dazzling whiteness. The fruit thrown to them seemed
+best to suit the ideas and palates of the children, who devoured
+oranges, skin and all; but the gift of clothing which was made to the
+parents was laid aside for future consideration, though there are
+probably no "ole clo'" merchants in Terra del Fuego. The men ate hard
+sea biscuit and slices of cold corned beef ravenously. The plump,
+well-rounded shoulders and limbs of the women showed them to be in far
+better physical condition than the men, whose bodies consisted of little
+besides skin and bones. They were copper colored, and the skin of the
+women shone in the bright sunlight which prevailed for the moment, as
+though they had been varnished. If their faces had been as well formed
+as their bodies, they would have been models of natural beauty. How
+these people could remain so nearly naked with apparent comfort, while
+we found overcoats quite necessary, was a problem difficult to solve
+satisfactorily.
+
+"They were born so," said our first officer. "As you go through life
+with your face and hands exposed, so they go with their entire bodies.
+It is a mere matter of habit,--habit from babyhood to maturity."
+
+All of which is perfectly reasonable. It was observed that on the bottom
+of their boats was a layer of flat stones, and on these, just amidship,
+was spread a low, smouldering fire of dried vines and small twigs,
+designed to temper the atmosphere about them. So frail were the boats
+that one of the occupants was kept constantly baling out water.
+
+It is impossible to form any intelligent estimate as to how many of
+these aborigines there are in and about the strait. They find food, like
+the canvas-back ducks, in the wild celery, adding shell-fish and dried
+berberries, and are a strictly nomadic people. After exhausting the
+products of one vicinity, for the time being, they move on, but return
+to the locality at a proper time, when nature has recuperated herself
+and furnished a fresh supply of vegetable growth and edible shell-fish.
+A stranded whale is a godsend to these savages, upon the putrid flesh of
+which they live and fatten until all has disappeared. In their primitive
+way they hunt this leviathan, but want of proper facilities renders them
+rarely successful. Occasionally they manage to plant a spear in some
+vital spot, deep enough to be effectual, so that the whale, after diving
+to the depths of the sea, finally comes to the surface, near the place
+where he was wounded, to thrash about and to die. Even then, unless it
+is at a favorable point, the large body is liable to be swept away by
+the strong tide setting through the strait, so that the natives seldom
+secure a carcass by these means.
+
+Not long since one of the European mail steamers, on approaching the
+Atlantic end of the strait, sighted an object which was at first thought
+to be a sunken rock. If this was its character, it was all important to
+obtain the exact location. A boat was lowered and pulled to the object,
+when it was found to be the carcass of a dead whale, in which was a
+stout wooden spear which had fatally wounded the creature. Securely
+attached to the spear, by means of a rope made of animal sinews, there
+were a couple of inflated bladders. The spear was evidently a Fuegian
+weapon, and though it had finally cost the whale his life, the dead body
+had been carried by the current far beyond the reach of those who had
+caused the fatal wound. The discovery showed the crude manner in which
+these savages seek to possess themselves of a whale occasionally and
+thus to appease their barbaric appetites. They could not pursue one in
+their frail boats, but the creature is sometimes found sleeping on the
+surface of the sea, which is the Fuegian opportunity for approaching it
+noiselessly, and for planting a spear in some vital part of the huge
+body. Whales, when thus attacked, do not show fight, but their instinct
+leads them to dive at once.
+
+A few whales were observed within the strait during our passage, some so
+near as to show that they had no fear of the ship. It was curious to
+watch them. There was a baby whale among the rest, five or six feet in
+length, which kept very close to its dam; it suddenly disappeared once
+while we were watching the school, though only to rise again to the
+surface of the sea and emit a tiny fountain of spray from its diminutive
+blow-hole. In passing a small inlet which formed a calm, sheltered piece
+of water, still as an inland lake, there were seen upon its tranquil
+bosom a few white geese, quietly floating, while close at hand upon some
+rocks, a half score of awkward penguins were also observed, with their
+ludicrous dummy wings, and their bodies supported in a half standing,
+half sitting position.
+
+Ducks seem to be very abundant in the strait, but geese are scarce. An
+occasional cormorant is caught sight of, with its distended pouch
+bearing witness to its proverbial voracity. All the birds one sees in
+these far away regions have each some peculiar adaptability to the
+climate, the locality, or to both. The penguin never makes the mistake
+of seeking our northern shores, nor is the albatross often seen north of
+the fortieth degree of south latitude. True, were the former to
+emigrate, he would have to swim the whole distance, but the latter is so
+marvelously strong of wing that it has been said of him, he might
+breakfast, if he chose, at the Cape of Good Hope, and dine on the coast
+of Newfoundland.
+
+Terra del Fuego,--"Land of Fire,"--which makes the southern side of the
+strait, opposite Patagonia, is composed of a very large group of islands
+washed by the Atlantic on the east side and the Pacific on the west,
+trending towards the southeast for about two hundred miles from the
+strait, and terminating at Cape Horn. The largest of these islands is
+East Terra del Fuego, which measures from east to west between three and
+four hundred miles. One can only speak vaguely of detail, as this is
+still a _terra incognita_. These islands do indeed form "a land of
+desolation," as Captain Cook appropriately named them, sparsely
+inhabited to be sure, but hardly fit for human beings. They are deeply
+indented and cut up by arms of the sea, and composed mostly of sterile
+mountains, whose tops are covered with perpetual snow. When the
+mountains are not too much exposed to the ocean storms on the west
+coast, they are scantily covered with a species of hardy, wind-distorted
+trees from the water's edge upward to the snow line, which is here about
+two thousand feet above the sea. In sheltered areas this growth is dense
+and forest-like, especially nearest to the sea; in others it is
+interspersed by bald and blanched patches of barren rocks. In some open
+places, where they have worn themselves a broad path, the glaciers come
+down to the water, discharging sections of ice constantly into the deep
+sea, crowded forward and downward by the immense but slow-moving mass
+behind,--a frozen river,--thus illustrating the habit of the
+iceberg-producing glaciers of the far north.
+
+One never approaches this subject without recalling the lamented Agassiz
+and his absorbing theories relating to it.
+
+The author has seen huge glaciers in Scandinavia and in Switzerland,
+forming natural exhibitions of great interest; each country has
+peculiarities in this respect. In the last-named country, for instance,
+there is no example where a glacier descends lower than thirty-five
+hundred feet above the sea level, while in Norway the only one of which
+he can speak from personal observation has before it a large terminal
+moraine, thus losing the capacity for that most striking performance,
+the discharge of icebergs. The best example of this interesting
+operation of nature which we have ever witnessed, and probably the most
+effective in the world, is that of the Muir glacier in Alaska, where an
+immense frozen river comes boldly down from the Arctic regions to the
+sea level, with a sheer height at its terminus of over two hundred feet.
+From this unique façade, nearly two miles in width, the constant
+tumbling of icebergs into the sea is accompanied by a noise like a salvo
+of cannon. This glacier, it should be remembered, also extends to the
+bottom of the bay, where it enters it two hundred feet below the surface
+of the water, thus giving it a height, or perhaps we should say a depth
+and height combined, of fully four hundred feet. Icebergs are discharged
+from the submerged portion continually, and float to the surface, thus
+repeating the process below the water which is all the while going on
+above it, and visible upon the perpendicular surface. Nothing which we
+have seen in the Canadian Selkirks, in Switzerland, Norway, or
+elsewhere, equals in size, grandeur, or clearly defined glacial action,
+the famous Muir glacier of Alaska.
+
+The most remarkable peak to be seen in passing through the Strait of
+Magellan is Mount Sarmiento, which is inexpressibly grand in its
+proportions, dominating the borders of Cockburn's Channel near the
+Pacific end of the great water-way. It is about seven thousand feet in
+height, a spotless cone of snow, being in form extremely abrupt and
+pointed. This frosty monarch sends down from its upper regions a score
+or more of narrow, sky-blue glaciers to the sea through openings in the
+dusky forest. Darwin was especially impressed by the sight of these when
+he explored this region, and speaks of them as looking like so many
+Niagaras, but they are only miniature glaciers after all. One sees in
+the Pyrenees and the St. Gothard Pass similar cascades flowing down from
+the mountains towards the valleys, except that in the one instance the
+crystal waters are liquid, in the other they are quite congealed. The
+group or range of which Sarmiento is the apex is very generally shrouded
+in mist, and is visited by frequent rain, snow, and hail storms. We were
+fortunate to see it under a momentary glow of warm sunshine, when the
+sky was deepest blue, and the ermine cloak of the mountain was spangled
+with frost gems.
+
+It would seem that such exposure to the elements in a frigid climate,
+and such deprivations as must be constantly endured by the barbarous
+natives who inhabit these bleak regions, must surely shorten their
+lives, and perhaps it does so, though "the survival of the fittest," who
+grow up to maturity, is in such numbers that one is a little puzzled in
+considering the matter. A singular instance touching upon this point
+came indirectly to the writer's knowledge.
+
+It appears that four Fuegian women, one of whom was about forty years of
+age, and the others respectively about twenty, twenty-five, and thirty,
+were picked up adrift in the strait a few years ago. It was believed
+that they had escaped from some threatened tribal cruelty, but upon this
+subject they would reveal nothing. These fugitives were kindly taken in
+hand by philanthropic people at Sandy Point, and entertained with true
+Christian hospitality. When first discovered they were, as usual, quite
+naked, but were promptly clothed and properly housed. No more work was
+required of them than they chose voluntarily to perform; in short, they
+were most kindly treated, and though the best of care was taken of them
+in a hygienic sense, they all gradually faded, and died of consumption
+in less than two years. They seemed to be contented, were grateful and
+cheerful, but clothing and a warm house to live in, odd as it may seem,
+killed them! They were born to a free, open air and exposed daily life,
+and their apparently sturdy constitutions required such a mode of
+living. Civilized habits, strange to say, proved fatal to these wild
+children of the rough Fuegian coast.
+
+
+
+
+          CHAPTER XIV.
+
+     The Land of Fire.--Cape Horn.--In the Open Pacific.--Fellow
+     Passengers.--Large Sea-Bird.--An Interesting Invalid.--A
+     Weary Captive.--A Broken-Hearted Mother.--Study of the
+     Heavens.--The Moon.--Chilian Civil War.--Concepcion.--A
+     Growing City.--Commercial Importance.--Cultivating City
+     Gardens on a New Plan.--Important Coal Mines.--Delicious
+     Fruits.
+
+
+Magellan named this extreme southern land, of which we have been
+speaking, "the Land of Fire," because of the numerous fires which he,
+from his ships, saw on the shore at night, and which were then supposed
+by the discoverers to be of a volcanic character. The fact probably was
+that the Indians did not fail to recognize the need of artificial heat,
+especially at night, though they had not sufficient genius to teach them
+to construct garments suitable to protect them from the inclemency of
+the weather. These fires were kindled in the open air, but the natives
+camped close about them, sleeping within their influence.
+
+Cape Horn, the extreme point of South America, on the outermost island
+of the Fuegian group, is a lofty, steep black rock, with a pointed
+summit, which has stood there for ages, like a watchful sentinel at his
+post. Two thirds of Patagonia and Terra del Fuego--the western
+part--belong to Chili, and the balance of both--the eastern
+part--belongs to the Argentine Republic. A recently consummated treaty
+between these two nationalities has fixed upon this final division of
+territory, and thus settled a question which has long been a source of
+dispute and ill feeling between them. This division makes Cape Horn
+belong to Chili, not a specially desirable possession, to be sure, but
+it is an indelible landmark.
+
+The sail along the coast northward after leaving the Pacific mouth of
+the strait affords very little variety of scenery; the dull hue of the
+barren shore is without change of color for hundreds of miles, until the
+eye becomes weary of watching it, as we speed onward through the long,
+indolent ocean swell. Arid hills and small indentures form the coast
+line, but as we get further northward, this dreary sameness is varied by
+the appearance of an occasional small settlement, forming a group of
+dwellings of a rude character, possibly a mining region or a fishing
+hamlet, connected with some business locality further inland. Sometimes
+a green valley is descried, which makes a verdant gulch opening quite
+down to the sea.
+
+This dense monotony becomes more and more tedious, until one longs to
+get somewhere, anywhere, away from it.
+
+In the dearth of scenic interest, we fall to studying the various
+passengers traveling between the Pacific ports, a great variety of
+nationalities being represented. Among those of the second-class was a
+handsome Italian boy, with marvelous eyes of jet and a profusion of long
+black hair. He had a small organ hung about his neck, and carried an
+intelligent monkey with him. The boy and his monkey joined in the
+performance of certain simple, amusing tricks to elicit money from the
+lookers-on. Both boy and monkey were happy in the result achieved, the
+former in liberal cash receipts, the latter in being fed liberally with
+cakes and bonbons. The capacity of monkeys for the rapid consumption of
+palatable dainties is one of the unsolved mysteries of nature.
+
+Schools of porpoises played about the hull of the ship, and clouds of
+sea-birds at times wheeled about the topmasts, or followed in the ship's
+wake watching for refuse from the cook's department. Occasionally the
+head of a large, deep-water turtle would appear for a moment above the
+surface, twisting its awkward neck to watch the course of the steamer,
+while shoreward the mottled surface of the gently undulating waves
+betrayed the presence of myriads of small fish, over which hovered
+predatory birds of the gull tribe. Now and again one would swoop swiftly
+downward to secure a victim to its appetite. Few albatrosses were seen
+after leaving the Pacific mouth of the strait. They are lovers of the
+stormy Antarctic region, with the tempestuous atmosphere of which their
+great power of wing enables them to cope successfully. The author has
+seen one of these birds off the southern coast of New Zealand which
+spread eleven feet from tip to tip of its extended wings. It was caught
+with a floating bait by one of the seamen and drawn on board ship, where
+it was measured, but not until a long contest of strength had taken
+place between men and bird. The albatross was slightly wounded in the
+mouth and throat by the process of catching him with a baited hook. But
+they are hardy creatures, and unless injured in some vital part pay
+little heed to a small wound. After this bird had been examined, it was
+liberated, and resumed its graceful flight about the ship as though
+nothing unusual had happened.
+
+An invalid girl of Spanish birth, who was perhaps sixteen years of age,
+very tenderly cared for by her mother, was propped up daily in a
+reclining seat upon deck, where she might find amusement in watching the
+sea and distant shore, while inhaling the saline tonic of the
+atmosphere. Poor child, how her large, dark eyes, pallid lips, and
+painful respiration appealed to one's sympathy! It required no
+professional knowledge to divine her approaching fate. She was really in
+the last stages of consumption, and was on her way to a popular
+sanitarium near the coast, hoping against reason that the change might
+prove restorative and of radical benefit. It was pleasant to observe how
+promptly every one on board strove to add to her comfort by simple
+attentions and services, and how the choicest bits from the table were
+secured to tempt her capricious appetite. The grateful mother's eyes
+were often suffused with tears, carefully hidden from the gentle
+invalid. Her maternal heart was too full for the utterance even of
+thanks.
+
+"Ah," said she to us in a low tone of voice, "she is the last of my
+three children, two boys and this girl. The two boys faded away just
+like this. Do you think there is any hope for her, señor?"
+
+"Why not, señora? We should never cease to hope. The land breeze and the
+springs where you are going may do wonders."
+
+Heaven forgive us. The child's fate was only too plainly to be read in
+her attenuated form, and the dull action of her almost congested lungs.
+
+One day a small, weary sea-bird, newly out of its nest, flew on board
+our ship quite exhausted, and being easily secured, was given to the
+young girl to pet. It soon became quite at home in her lap, eating small
+bread crumbs and little bits of meat from her fingers. Confidence being
+thus established between them, the little half-fledged creature would
+not willingly leave its new-found benefactress. It seemed to be a
+providential occurrence, affording considerable diversion to the sick
+one. For a while, at least, she was aroused from the listlessness which
+is so very significant in consumption, and her whole heart went out to
+the confiding little waif. It was a pretty sight to see the bird nestle
+contentedly close to her bosom, the pale-faced girl scarcely less
+fragile than the little feathered stranger she had adopted. No one
+thought that Death was hovering so very near, yet the third night after
+the bird flew on board the young girl lay in her shroud, with an ivory
+crucifix, typical of the Romish faith, in one hand, and the other
+resting upon the inanimate bird she had befriended, which had also
+breathed its last.
+
+Attempted consolation to a freshly bleeding heart is almost always
+premature, and there are few, very few, human beings competent to offer
+it effectually under the best circumstances. The sad-eyed mother
+listened to a few well-meant words of this character, but slowly shook
+her head and made no reply. Time only could assuage the keenness of her
+sorrow. By and by she spoke, with her eyes still resting upon that pale,
+dead face, where nothing but a wonderful peace and serenity were now
+expressed.
+
+"Have birds souls, do you think?" she asked, in a low, trembling voice.
+
+"Possibly," was the reply; "but why do you ask?"
+
+"Because," she continued, speaking very slowly, "that tiny creature and
+my darling died almost at the same moment, and if so, her spirit would
+have company on its way to the good God."
+
+The unconscious poetry of the thought, so quietly expressed by the
+sorrowing mother, as she sat beside the corpse with folded hands and
+burning eyes, which could not find the relief of tears, was very
+touching.
+
+The motor of the big ship throbbed on, the routine of duty continued
+unchanged, passengers ate, drank, and were merry, the sea-birds wheeled
+about us uttering their sharp contentious cries, and we pressed forward
+through the opposing wind and tide, as though nothing had happened. Only
+a mother's loving heart was broken. Only a soul gone to its God. Surely
+such sweet innocence must be welcome in heaven. But ah! the great
+mystery of it all!
+
+Most intelligent people will agree with us that no study known to
+science can compare with astronomy for absorbing interest. At sea one
+finds ample time, convenience, and incentive to study the sky, populous
+with countless hosts of constellations. Especially is it interesting to
+watch the numerous phases of the moon, beginning with her advent as a
+delicate crescent of pale light in the eastern sky, after the sun has
+set, and continuing to the period when she becomes full. Each succeeding
+night it is found that she has moved farther and farther westward,
+until, arriving at the full, she rises nearly at the same time that the
+sun sets. From the period of full moon, the disc of light diminishes
+nightly until the last quarter is reached, and the moon is then seen
+high over the ship's topmast head, before day breaks in the east. Thus
+she goes on waning, all the while drawing closer to the sun, until
+finally she becomes absorbed in his light. The interesting process
+completed, she again comes into view at twilight in the west, in her
+exquisite crescent form, once more to pass through a similar series of
+changes.
+
+The superstition of sailors touching the moonlight is curious. No
+foremast hand will sleep where it shines directly upon him. They are
+voluble in relating many instances of comrades rendered melancholy-mad
+by so doing. "They talk about the moon making the ebb and flow of the
+tide," said an able seaman to the author. "There's lots of queer things
+about the moon, but _that's_ d--d nonsense, saving your honor's
+presence." Thus Jack eagerly absorbs superstitious ideas, and ignores
+natural phenomena. No humble class of men are so intelligent in a
+general way, and yet at the same time so universally superstitious, as
+those who go down to the sea in ships.
+
+In coming on to the west coast it is natural, perhaps, for the reader to
+expect us to refer briefly to the late civil war in Chili, but we have
+not attempted in these notes to depict the local political condition of
+any of the states of South America. In the past they have most of them
+shown themselves as changeable as the wind, and remarks which would
+depict the status of to-day might be quite unsuited to that of
+to-morrow. The average reader is sufficiently familiar with the struggle
+so lately ended in Chili. One party was led by the late President
+Balmaceda, in opposition to the other, known as the Congressional party.
+That which brought about this open warfare was the refusal of Congress
+any longer to recognize the president on account of his high-handed,
+illegal, and venal official conduct. A line will illustrate the cause of
+the outbreak. It was the Constitution of the country as against a
+Dictatorship. The President of the Chilian Republic, like the President
+of the United States, has a personal authority such as nowadays is
+wielded by few constitutional monarchs. Balmaceda proved to be a tyrant
+of the first water, abusing the power of his position to condemn to
+death those who opposed him, without even the semblance of a trial. He
+succeeded in attaching most of the regular army to his cause by profuse
+promises and the free use of money, while the navy went almost bodily
+over to the side of Congress. The contest assumed revolutionary
+proportions, and many battles were fought. As a casual observer, the
+author heartily coincided with the Congressional party, and rejoices at
+their wholesale triumph.
+
+The suicidal act which ended Balmaceda's life was no heroic resort, but
+the deed of a coward fearing to face the consequences of his murderous
+career. It is not the man who has been actuated by high and noble
+sentiments who cuts his throat or blows out his brains. Such is the act
+of the cunning fraud who realizes that he has not only totally failed in
+his object, but that his true character is known to the world. Suicide
+has been declared to be the final display of egoism, and it certainly
+leaves the world with one less thoroughly selfish character. The
+disappearance of such an individual may produce a momentary ripple on
+the surface of time, but it fails to leave any permanent mark.
+
+Nearly three hundred miles south of Santiago, capital of Chili, on the
+Pacific coast, is situated the city of Concepcion. It stands on the
+right bank of the river Biobio, six or seven miles from its mouth, and
+contains about twenty-five thousand inhabitants. The people seem to be
+exceptionally active and enterprising, though at this writing suffering
+from the effects of the late civil war. It is the third city in point of
+size and importance in the republic, and dates from over three hundred
+years ago. It will be remembered also that it once held the place now
+occupied by Santiago as capital of the country. The city is built in the
+valley of Mocha, under the coast range of hills, and is justly famed,
+like Puebla in Mexico, for its pretty women and beautiful flowers. It is
+a clean and thrifty town, with handsome shops, a charming plaza, and an
+attractive alameda. This latter deserves special mention. It is a mile
+long, and beautified with several rows of tall Lombardy poplars, the
+sight of which carried us to another hemisphere, where those lovely
+Italian plains stretch away from the environs of Milan towards the
+foothills of the neighboring Alps and the more distant Apennines. Great
+things are prognosticated for Concepcion in the near future by its
+friends, and it is already the principal town of southern Chili. The
+streets are well paved, and lined by handsome business blocks, together
+with pleasant dwelling-houses, built low, to avoid the effect of
+earthquakes, the universal material being sun-dried bricks, finished
+externally in stucco. The façades are painted in harlequin variety of
+colors, yellow, blue, and peach-blossom prevailing. The town has really
+more the appearance of a northern than a southern city, and has long
+been connected with Valparaiso by railway.
+
+Some of the most extensive coal mines on this part of the continent have
+been discovered in this vicinity, and are being worked on a large scale.
+In fact, Coronal, not far away, is the great coaling station on the
+Chilian coast for steamships bound to Europe or Panama. One would
+suppose that this coal mining must be quite profitable, as we were told
+that twenty-five and even thirty dollars per ton was realized for it
+delivered at the nearest tide-water. The port of Concepcion is some
+seven miles from the city, where the river Biobio flows into the ocean
+at Talcahuano,--pronounced Tal-ca-wha'no,--a small town on Concepcion
+Bay possessing an excellent harbor. There are here a large marine dock,
+an arsenal, and a seaman's hospital. Close by the shore is a spacious
+and convenient railway station. The bay is some six miles wide by seven
+in length. There is a resident population of nearly four thousand, who
+form an extremely active community. The majority of the houses are of a
+very humble character and, like those of Concepcion, are built of adobe.
+
+Spanish capitals in the West Indies and South America were originally
+placed, like Concepcion, some distance from the coast, to render them
+more secure against the attack of pirates and lawless sea-rovers, who
+might land from their vessels, burn a town on the seashore, after
+robbing it of all valuables, and easily make good their escape; whereas
+to march inland and attack a town far from their base, or to proceed up
+a shallow river in boats for such a purpose, was a far more difficult,
+if not indeed an impossible thing to do. Thus Callao is the harbor of
+Lima; Valparaiso, of Santiago; and Talcahuano, of Concepcion. The
+situation of the last named capital is admirable, at the head of the
+bay, which affords one of the best harbors on the west coast of the
+continent. When the transcontinental railway from Buenos Ayres, on the
+Atlantic side, is finished, surmounting the passes of the
+Andes,--already "a foregone conclusion,"--it will have its termination
+here at Talcahuano, which must then become a great shipping point for
+New Zealand and Australia. Half a dozen lines of European mail steamers
+already touch here regularly. The river is too shallow to admit of
+vessels drawing more than a few feet of water ascending it so far as
+Concepcion, but Talcahuano is all sufficient as a port.
+
+Few places have been so frequently devastated by fire, flood, and
+earthquakes, or so often ravaged by war, as has this interesting city.
+In the early days the Araucanian Indians put the settlers to the sword
+again and again. This was the bravest of all the native Indian tribes of
+South America, and is still an unconquered people. The city was laid in
+ruins so late as 1835 by an earthquake, though no special signs of this
+destructive visitor are to be seen here to-day. Still, one cannot but
+feel that with such possibilities hanging over the locality, there must
+be few people willing to expend freely of their means for substantial
+building purposes, or to make Concepcion a permanent place of abode.
+Human nature adapts itself to all exigencies, however, and the place
+grows rapidly, notwithstanding the discouraging circumstances which we
+have named. It is not the native but the foreign element of the
+population which is doing so much for this region. Were the mingled
+native race to be left to themselves, there would be few signs of
+progress evinced; they would rapidly lapse into a condition of
+semi-barbarism. The Chilian proper is a very poor creature as regards
+morals, intelligence, or true manhood; his instincts are brutal and his
+aims predaceous.
+
+Like all South American cities, Concepcion is laid out by rule and
+compass, the fairly broad streets crossing each other at right angles.
+There is a large and costly cathedral, but a wholesome fear of
+earthquakes has caused it to be left without the usual twin towers,
+which gives it an unfinished appearance. The place also contains other
+churches, a well-appointed theatre, two hospitals, and several edifices
+devoted to charitable purposes. Opposite the cathedral stands the
+Intendencia, a large and handsome government house. Telephones and
+electric lights have long been adopted, and the telegraph poles do much
+abound. In these foreign places, so far away from home, to see the
+streets lined, as they are with us, by big, tall poles, holding aloft a
+maze of wires, is very suggestive; but where can one go that they are
+not? It is curious to realize that we can step into an office close at
+hand and promptly communicate with any part of the world. We may have
+sailed over the ocean many thousands of miles, and have consumed months
+to reach the spot where we stand, but electricity, like thought,
+annihilates space, and will take our message instantly to its
+destination, though it be at the farthest end of the globe. These
+marvelous facilities are no longer confined to populous centres.
+Electricity not only bears our messages to the uttermost parts of the
+world, but it propels the tramway cars in Rome, Boston, and Munich,
+while it also lights the streets of New York, Auckland in New Zealand,
+as well as of London and Honolulu.
+
+The importance of Concepcion is manifest from the fact that several new
+railway connections terminating here have lately been accomplished; but
+the important event already referred to, of the transcontinental
+railway, will finally insure her commercial greatness. The town is
+surrounded by a widespread, fertile country, abounding in both mineral
+and agricultural wealth, equal to, if not surpassing, any other province
+in Chili. The city was financially strong before the late civil war, and
+has still some very wealthy residents. The principal bank of Concepcion,
+with a capital of one million dollars, paid a dividend to its
+stockholders in 1890 of sixteen per cent. on the previous year's
+business. The cathedral and government house, already spoken of, front
+on the plaza, a large open square ornamented with statuary, trees, and
+flowers, the latter kept in most exquisite order and constant bloom by
+means of a singular and original device. It seems that each separate
+plot of these grounds is owned or cared for by a different family of the
+citizens, and that a spirit of emulation is thus excited by the effort
+of the several parties to make their special plot excel in its beauty
+and fragrance. This keeps the whole plaza in a lovely condition, and
+makes it the pride of the city.
+
+Society and business circles are mostly composed of foreigners, the
+German element largely predominating. The native, or humbler classes, as
+we have already intimated, are a wretchedly low people. They "wake"
+their dead before burial, much after the style which prevails in
+Ireland, except that the process is more exaggerated in manner. Drinking
+and debauchery characterize these occasions, which are continued often
+for three days at a time, or so long as the means for indulgence in
+excess last. In case of youthful deaths, the child's cheeks are painted
+red, and the head is crowned in a fantastic manner, the body being
+dressed and placed in a sitting position, thus forming a strange and
+hideous sight. Such treatment of a corpse could only be tolerated by a
+barbarous people. In the environs of the town, Lazarus jostles Dives.
+There are here many hovels, as well as a better class of residences.
+Some of them are wretchedly poor, built of mud and bamboo, the
+inhabitants half-naked and wholly starved, if one may judge by their
+appearance. On Saturday, which in Spanish towns and cities is called
+"poor day," the streets of Concepcion are full of either assumed or real
+mendicants. The Spanish race is one of chronic beggars,--they seem born
+so. Scarcely less of a nuisance than the beggars are the army of
+half-starved, mongrel, neglected dogs, that throng in the streets of the
+city, rivaling Constantinople.
+
+It should be mentioned that Concepcion has a good system of tramway
+service, and that the cars have attached to them a class of neat,
+pretty, and modest girls for conductors, who wear natty straw hats, snow
+white aprons, and are supplied with a leather cash bag hung by a strap
+about the neck. It seems rather incongruous that while so many evidences
+of real progress abound in this city, water, the prime necessity of
+life, should be peddled about the streets by the bucketful. Now is the
+time to perfect a system of drainage, and to introduce an adequate
+supply of good water, from easily available sources.
+
+The inexhaustible coal fields already mentioned, which are situated but
+a few miles away, must prove to be a lasting source of prosperity to
+Concepcion. They are far more important and valuable, all things
+considered, than a gold or silver mine near at hand would be. Indeed, it
+is found in the long run that the latter kind of mineral discoveries do
+not always tend to the material benefit of the community in which they
+are found. The earth produces far more profitable crops than gold and
+precious stones, even when considered in the most mercenary light. The
+business prospects of Concepcion, as we have pointed out in detail, are
+exceedingly promising. That the city is destined eventually to rival
+Valparaiso seems more than probable, and yet there is another side to
+this favorable aspect thus presented, which it is not wise to ignore.
+True, the climate is equable and healthy, but that great drawback, the
+liability to earthquakes and tidal waves, still remains, like a dark,
+portending shadow. In spite of this startling possibility there is
+something of a "boom" already instituted, at this writing, as to the
+prices of land in and about both the port and city of Concepcion. It is
+a fact that people will soon become calloused and heedless of almost any
+familiar danger. Jack turns in and quickly falls to sleep, when the
+watch below is called and relieves him from the deck, though the ship is
+in the midst of cyclone latitudes, and while a half-gale is blowing. The
+people of Torre del Grecco, at the base of the volcano, do not sleep any
+less soundly to-day because Pompeii was utterly destroyed by Vesuvius
+eighteen or nineteen centuries ago. The earthquake of 1835 first shook
+Talcahuano nearly to pieces, and then completed its destruction by a
+tidal wave which swept what remained of it into the sea.
+
+It goes without saying that most of the fruits and staple products of
+the tropics are to be found both at Concepcion and at the port of
+Talcahuano. Each place we visit seems to have some specialty in this
+line. Here, it is the watermelon. Favored by the soil and the climate,
+this fruit is developed to its maximum in weight, richness of flavor,
+and general perfection. They are sold cheap enough everywhere. A centavo
+will buy a large ripe one. Street carts and donkeys are laden with them,
+and so are the decks of all outgoing vessels. It is both food and drink
+to the poor peons, who consume the fruit in quantities strongly
+suggestive of cholera, dropsy, or some other dreadful illness. Any one
+accustomed to travel in our Southern States, in the right season of the
+year, will have observed how voraciously the negro population, young and
+old, eat of the cheap, ripe crop of watermelons; but these South
+American peons have a capacity for storage and digestion of this really
+wholesome article, beyond all comparison. A child not more than ten
+years of age will devour the ripe portion of a large melon in a few
+minutes, and no ill effects seem to follow. An adult eats two at a meal
+which would weigh, we are afraid to say how much, but they are
+considerably larger than the average melons which are brought to New
+England from the South. After all, the watermelon is healthful food,
+though it is more filling than nourishing. It will be remembered that
+the famous fasting individual, Dr. Tanner, after eating nothing for
+forty days and forty nights, took for his first article of nourishment,
+at the close of this time of fasting, half a watermelon, and that he
+retained and digested it successfully.
+
+
+
+
+          CHAPTER XV.
+
+     Valparaiso.--Principal South American Port of the
+     Pacific.--A Good Harbor.--Tallest Mountain on this
+     Continent.--The Newspaper Press.--Warlike Aspect.--Girls as
+     Car Conductors.--Chilian Exports.--Foreign
+     Merchants.--Effects of Civil War.--Gambling in Private
+     Houses.--Immigration.--Culture of the
+     Grape.--Agriculture.--Island of Juan Fernandez.
+
+
+Valparaiso--"Vale of Paradise"--was thus fancifully named because of its
+assumed loveliness. True, it is beautifully situated, and is a fine city
+of its class, located in an admirable semicircular bay, not upon one,
+but upon many hills, backed by a crescent-shaped mountain range. But
+when one compares its harbor to that of Naples, or Sydney in Australia,
+for picturesqueness of scenery, as is often done, it only provokes
+invidious remarks. The matchless harbor of Rio Janeiro, on the eastern
+coast of the continent, already fully described in these pages, is far
+more charming in general effect and in all of its surroundings, not to
+mention that it is more than twenty times as large. Valparaiso is the
+principal seaport of Chili, and indeed, for the present, it is the main
+port of the entire west coast of South America. By consulting the map it
+will be readily seen that Chili must ever be a maritime nation,
+depending more upon an effective navy than an army. The possession of
+the national ships of war by the Congressional party in the revolution
+so lately terminated gave them virtual control of the cities along the
+coast, at the outbreak of the émeute, and this means they employed
+against the Presidential party with the most ruthless effect. They did
+not hesitate to savagely cannonade and shell a city, though two thirds
+of the occupants were their own friends and supporters, provided it was
+held ostensibly, and for the time being only, by the supporters of
+Balmaceda. The outrageous bombardment of Iquique is an instance in
+illustration of this charge. The Chilian delights to be cruel; it is his
+instinct to destroy and to plunder. He is by nature boastful,
+passionate, and headstrong. This disposition seems to be born in the
+race, is in fact a matter of heredity, fostered by bull-fights and
+kindred entertainments. But the country must now pay for the enormous
+destruction of property of which the directors of the civil war have
+been guilty. The European powers have already begun to send in their
+demands for damages done to their non-combatant merchants. England comes
+first with a bill calling for payment of sixty million dollars. Spain,
+Italy, and Germany will follow. It is estimated that a hundred million
+dollars will be required to settle these foreign demands. Chili must
+pay. There is no avoiding it. Reckless destruction will be found to be
+rather an expensive amusement in future for these South Americans. Their
+outrageous and murderous treatment of citizens of the United States who
+land upon their shore is also like to cost them a heavy sum in way of
+penalty. The present is a good opportunity to teach them a salutary
+lesson. The Chilians will not be in a hurry to repeat crimes which they
+find entail sure and swift punishment.
+
+A majority of the population of Chili lives, as a rule, within a few
+miles of the sea, and her coast line extends from Cape Horn northward
+over two thousand miles to the borders of Bolivia and Peru. With this
+extraordinary length, she has an average width of hardly more than a
+hundred miles, bordered on the east by the western slope of the Andes,
+whose eastern side belongs to the Argentine Republic, and on the west by
+the Pacific Ocean. The present estimated area of the republic is about
+two hundred and twenty thousand square miles, containing a population of
+considerably less than three millions, though its capacious territory
+could be so divided as to make twenty-five states as large as
+Massachusetts. Sixteen hundred miles of steam railroads render the
+principal sections of Chili accessible to one another. The coast line
+has from time to time been undergoing decided changes through volcanic
+action. In 1822, after a visible commotion, the shore was permanently
+raised three feet at Valparaiso, and four feet at Quintere. This change
+extended over an area of a hundred thousand miles. Another but lesser
+elevation took place in the same region in 1835.
+
+There seems to be no accounting for the vagaries of a land subject to
+volcanic influences.
+
+The harbor of Valparaiso is well protected on the east, south, and west,
+but it is open to the north, from which direction come very heavy winds
+and seas during a couple of months in the winter season, often causing
+serious casualties among the shipping which may chance to be anchored in
+the harbor. A "norther" is as much dreaded here as it is at Vera Cruz
+and along the Gulf of Mexico generally.
+
+The entrance to the harbor is on its north side, and is a mile in width,
+more or less. The flags of nearly all nations are seen here, though the
+Stars and Stripes are less frequently to be met with than others. The
+city lies at the base of the closely surrounding hills, up whose sides
+and in the ravines the dwelling-houses have been constructed, tier above
+tier. Over all, further inland, looms the frosted head of grand old
+Aconcagua, twenty-two thousand feet and more in height, believed to be
+the tallest mountain in the western hemisphere. This mighty member of
+the Andean Cordillera is said to be ninety miles away, but it is so
+lofty and dominant, as seen through the clear atmosphere, that it
+appears almost within cannon range. At this writing the harbor presents
+quite a warlike aspect. English, American, French, German, and Chilian
+men-of-war are anchored here, looking after their several national
+interests, as affected by the civil war. The bugle calls of the several
+ships, the morning and evening guns, the display of naval bunting,
+together with the flitting hither and thither of well-manned boats, all
+unite to form a gay and suggestive scene. The Chilian cruisers in the
+hands of the revolutionists would not hesitate to batter down any
+government buildings on the coast, destroying incidentally the domestic
+residences and merchandise of non-combatants, were they not restrained
+by the presence of foreign flags and guns. When Balmaceda undertook by a
+proclamation to shut up the ports of Chili, and declared them blockaded,
+he was told by the several naval commanders on the coast that he could
+not establish a paper blockade, and that if the merchant ships of their
+several countries were in any way interfered with, he would have to
+fight somebody else besides the revolutionists. The ports were therefore
+kept as open to legitimate commerce as they ever were.
+
+The author was disappointed at not being able to reach Santiago, the
+capital of Chili, which is situated at the foot of the western slope of
+the Andes, nearly two thousand feet above tide-water. It is connected
+with Valparaiso by railway, and under ordinary circumstances can be
+reached in eight hours. The difficulties caused by the civil war, and
+the suspicion with which all foreigners were regarded, proved impossible
+to surmount without a protracted effort, and submitting to any amount of
+red tape. Santiago was founded by one of Pizarro's captains, in 1541,
+and now contains about two hundred thousand inhabitants. There are some
+Americans and many English resident in Santiago, together with Germans
+and Frenchmen, the foreigners being mostly merchants. We were told of
+two familiar statues which are to be seen in a public square of the
+city, in front of the post-office. One represents George Washington, the
+other Abraham Lincoln, both of which were stolen from Lima during the
+late conflict between Chili and Peru.
+
+But this is a digression. Let us once more return to the commercial port
+of Valparaiso.
+
+A considerable portion of this city has been reclaimed from the sea, and
+still more land suitable for the erection of business warehouses near
+the shore is being added to this part of the town. Local enterprise,
+however, is pretty much suspended for the time being, owing to the
+disturbed condition of political affairs. The mountains near at hand
+supply ample stone and soil for the purpose of extending the area of
+this business portion of the town. Sixty or seventy years ago, the city
+contained only a single street, on the edge of the harbor; to-day it has
+all the appearance and belongings of a great commercial capital, and a
+population of a hundred and thirty thousand. Except Rio Janeiro and
+Buenos Ayres, we saw nowhere thoroughfares more full of energetic life
+and business activity. The main avenue is the Calle Victoria, which runs
+round the entire water front, occupied by the banks, hotels, insurance
+offices, and the best shops in the town.
+
+There are four large daily newspapers published in Valparaiso, whose
+united circulation exceeds thirty thousand copies. "El Mercurio" has the
+eminent respectability of age, having been published regularly for a
+period of half a century. The facility for news-gathering is very good,
+as this city is connected with the world at large by submarine cable,
+but no such detailed and complete summary of intelligence is attempted
+as our North American journals exhibit daily. While on this subject, we
+may add that there are no newspapers in Europe, or elsewhere, which will
+compare with those of the United States in the average ability and
+journalistic merit which characterizes them. We do not say this in a
+boastful spirit, but simply make the statement as an incontrovertible
+fact.
+
+Some of the business structures along the harbor front of Valparaiso are
+fine edifices architecturally, and many of the retail stores will
+compare favorably with the average of ours in Washington Street, Boston.
+The elegant class of goods displayed in some of these establishments
+shows that the population is an habitually extravagant and free-living
+one. We were told, by way of illustration, that millionaires were as
+plenty as blackberries before the late civil war, while many wealthy
+men, foreseeing the catastrophe which was about to occur, shrewdly
+prepared for it, and by careful management saved their property intact.
+Many of the private houses on Victoria Street are spacious, elegant, and
+costly, the occupants living in regal style, to support which must cost
+a very heavy annual outlay. It appears that President Balmaceda
+discovered, during the late struggle, where and how to lay his hands
+upon the resources of a few of these citizens, and that such he
+completely impoverished, under one pretext and another, using their
+property to support his armed minions, and to swell the aggregate of
+funds which he sent for deposit in his own name to Europe. One or two
+cases of this sort were related to us in which the citizens were not
+only made to give up the whole of their private property, but were
+finally imprisoned and sentenced to death upon a charge of treason,
+without even the semblance of a trial!
+
+It is no marvel, to those who know the facts of his career, that a man
+who was guilty of such crimes, when at last brought to bay, finding
+himself betrayed and deserted by his pretended friends, should have
+blown out his own brains. The posthumous papers which he left, and
+wherein he tries to pose as a martyr, are simply a ludicrous failure.
+José Manuel Balmaceda was in the fifty-second year of his age when he
+committed suicide, and was at the time hiding for fear of the infuriated
+citizens of Santiago, who would certainly have hanged the would-be
+dictator without the least hesitation or formality, if they could have
+got possession of his person.
+
+The tramway-cars of Valparaiso are of the two-story pattern, like those
+of Copenhagen and New Orleans, also found in many of the European
+cities. They have as conductors, like Concepcion, very pretty half-breed
+girls, who appear to thoroughly understand their business, and to
+fulfill its requirements to universal satisfaction. If an intoxicated or
+unruly person appears on the cars, the conductress does not attempt
+personally to eject him. She has only to hold up her hand, and the
+nearest policeman, of whom there are always a goodly number about, jumps
+on to the car and settles the matter in short order. Girls were thus
+first employed in order that the men who ordinarily fill these places
+might be drafted into the army, during the late war between Chili and
+Peru, and as the system proved to be a complete success, it has been
+continued ever since. The fare charged on these tram-cars is five cents
+for each inside passenger, and half that sum for the outside; and, as in
+Paris, when the seats are all full, a little sign is shown upon the car,
+signifying that no more persons will be admitted, none being allowed to
+stand. The same rule is enforced in London, and the thought suggested
+itself as to whether our West End Railway Company of Boston might not
+take an important hint therefrom.
+
+The ladies and gentlemen of the city are a well dressed class, the
+former adopting Parisian costumes, and the gentlemen wearing a full
+dress of dark broadcloth, with tall stove-pipe hats. The women of the
+more common class wear the national "manta," and the men the "poncha."
+The former is a dark, soft shawl which covers in part the head and face
+of the wearer. The latter is a long, striped shawl, with a slit cut in
+the centre, through which the head of the wearer is thrust. Nothing
+could be more simple in construction than both of these garments, and
+yet they are somehow very picturesque.
+
+As we have already intimated, it is soon learned, upon landing at any
+port of the commercial world, what the staple products of the
+neighborhood are, by simply noting the visible merchandise made ready
+for shipment. Here we have sugar, wool, and cotton prevailing over all
+other articles. Guano and nitrate, which also form specialties here, are
+represented, though the supply of the former is pretty much exhausted.
+The nitrate trade is controlled by an Englishman of large fortune,
+Colonel North, known here as the "Nitrate King." This valuable
+fertilizer is the deposit of the nitrate of soda in the beds of lakes
+long since dried up, the waters of which originally contained in
+solution large quantities of this material. These lakes in olden times
+received the flow of a great water-shed, and having no outlet, save by
+evaporation, accumulated and precipitated at the bottom the chemical
+elements flowing into them from the surrounding country. The article is
+now dug up and put through a certain process, then shipped to foreign
+countries as a fertilizer, believed to put new heart into exhausted
+soil. England consumes an immense quantity of it annually, and many
+ships are regularly employed in its transportation.
+
+The custom house, situated near the landing at Valparaiso, is a somewhat
+remarkable structure, having a long, low façade surmounted by tall,
+handsome towers. This is eminently the business part of the town, and is
+called "El Puerto." The larger share of the residences of the merchants
+and well-to-do citizens is situated on the hillsides, to reach which it
+is necessary to ascend long flights of steps. At certain points
+elevators are also supplied by which access is gained to the upper
+portions of the town, after the fashion already described at Bahia, on
+the east coast.
+
+The majority of people doing business in Valparaiso are English, and
+English is the almost universal language. Even the names upon the city
+signs are suggestive in this direction. Among the public houses are the
+"Queen's Arms," the "Royal Oak," the "Red Lion," and so on. Besides an
+English school, there are three churches belonging to that nationality.
+There are numerous free schools, both of a primary and advanced
+character, an elaborately organized college, two or three theatres, and
+the usual charitable establishments, including a public library. The
+principal part of the city is lighted by electricity, and the telephone
+is in general use. A special effort has lately been made to promote the
+education of the rising generation in Chili, and we know of no field
+where the endeavor would be more opportune. Such an effort is never out
+of place, but here it is imperatively called for. The almost universal
+ignorance of the common people of Chili is deplorable, and little
+improvement can be hoped for as regards their moral or physical
+condition, except through the means of educating the youth of the
+country. A commissioner-general of education was appointed some time
+ago, who has already visited Europe and North America to study the best
+modern methods adopted in the public schools. This is a tangible
+evidence of improvement which speaks for itself, and is a great stride
+of this people in the right direction. Of course the late political
+crisis will greatly retard the hoped-for results, just as it will put
+Chili back some years in her national progress, whatever may be the
+final outcome in other respects.
+
+Gambling is a prevailing national trait in this country, by no means
+confined to any one class of the community. The street gamin plays for
+copper centavos, while the pretentious caballero does the same for gold
+coins. It is quite common in family circles, held to be very
+aristocratic, to see the gaming table laid out every evening, as
+regularly as the table upon which the meals are served. Money in large
+sums is lost and won with assumed indifference in these private circles,
+whole fortunes being sometimes sacrificed at a single sitting. Gambling
+seems to be held exempt from the censure of either church or state,
+since both officials and priests indulge in all sorts of games of
+chance. There are the usual public lotteries always going on to tempt
+the poorer classes of the people, and to capture their hard-earned
+wages.
+
+One virtue must be freely accorded to the business centre of this city,
+namely, that of cleanliness, in which respect it is far in advance of
+most of the capitals on the east coast of South America. Being the first
+seaport of any importance in the South Pacific, it is naturally a place
+of call for European bound steamers coming from New Zealand and
+Australia, as well as those sailing from Panama and San Francisco. In
+view of the fact that six hundred and fifty thousand people emigrate
+from Europe annually, seeking new homes in foreign lands, the Chilian
+government, in common with some others of the South American states, has
+for several years past held forth the liberal inducement of substantial
+aid to all bona fide settlers from foreign countries. Each newcomer who
+is the head of a family is given two hundred acres of available land,
+together with lumber and other materials for building a comfortable
+dwelling-house, also a cart, a plough, and a reasonable amount of seed
+for planting. Besides these favors which we have enumerated, some other
+important considerations are offered. Only a small number, comparatively
+speaking, of emigrants have availed themselves of such liberal terms,
+and these have been mostly Germans. If such an offer were properly
+promulgated and laid before the poor peasantry of Ireland and Spain and
+Italy, it would seem as though many of those people would hasten to
+accept it in the hope of bettering their condition in life. Whether such
+a result would follow emigration would of course depend upon many other
+things besides the liberality of the offer of the Chilian government.
+The Germans form a good class of emigrants, perhaps the best, often
+bringing with them considerable pecuniary means, together with habits of
+industry. The late civil war has put a stop to emigration for a period
+at least, and will interfere with its success for some time to come, if
+indeed Chili ever assumes quite so favorable a condition as she has
+sacrificed.
+
+There are some districts, including Limache and Pauquehue, where grape
+culture has been brought to great perfection, and where it is conducted
+on a very large scale. Wine-making is thus taking its place as one of
+the prosperous industries of the country. The amount of the native
+product consumed at home is very large, and a regular system of exports
+to other South American ports has been established. All of the most
+important modes of culture, such as have been proven most successful in
+France and California, have been carefully adopted here. Tramways are
+laid to intersect the various parts of these extensive vineyards, to aid
+in the gathering and transportation of the ripe fruit, while the
+appliances for expressing the juice of the grape are equally well
+systematized. One vineyard, belonging to the Consiño family, near
+Santiago, covers some two hundred acres, closely planted with selected
+vines from France, Switzerland, and California, the purpose being to
+retain permanently such grades as are found best adapted to the soil and
+the climate of Chili. The white wines are the most popular here, but red
+Burgundy brands are produced with good success. The vines are trained on
+triple lines of wires, stretched between iron posts, presenting an
+appearance of great uniformity, the long rows being planted about three
+or four feet apart. Every arrangement for artificial irrigation is
+provided, it being an absolute necessity in this district of Chili.
+Trenches are cut along the rows of vines, through which the water, from
+ample reservoirs, is permitted to flow at certain intervals;
+particularly when the grape begins to swell and ripen. The fruit is not
+trodden here, as it is in Italy, but is thoroughly expressed by means of
+proper machinery.
+
+Geographically, Chili is, as we have intimated, a long, narrow country,
+lying south of Peru and Bolivia, ribbon-like in form, and divided into
+nineteen provinces. It has been considerably enlarged by conquest from
+both of the nationalities just named; including the important territory
+of Terapaca. The name "Chili" signifies snow, with which the tops of
+most of the mountain ranges upon the eastern border are always covered.
+Still, extending as she does, from latitude 24° south to Cape Horn, she
+embraces every sort of climate, from burning heat to glacial frosts,
+while nearly everything that grows can be produced upon her soil. Though
+she has less than three million inhabitants, still her territory exceeds
+that of any European nationality except Russia. The manifest difference
+between the aggregate of her population and that of her square miles
+does not speak very favorably for the healthful character of the
+climate. There is no use in attempting to disguise the fact that Chili
+has rather a hard time of it, with sweeping epidemics, frequent
+earthquakes, and devouring tidal waves. The country contains thirty
+volcanoes, none of which are permanently active, but all of which have
+their periods of eruption, and most of which exhibit their dangerous
+nature by emitting sulphurous smoke and ashes. The unhygienic condition
+of life among her native races accounts for the large death-rate
+prevailing at all times, and especially among the peon children, thus
+preventing a natural increase in the population. Unless a liberal
+immigration can be induced, Chili must annually decrease in population.
+As regards the foreign whites and the educated natives who indulge in no
+extravagant excesses, living with a reasonable regard for hygiene,
+doubtless Chili is as healthy as most countries, but there is still to
+be remembered the erratic exhibitions of nature, a possibility always
+hanging like the sword of Damocles over this region. A whole town may,
+without the least warning, vanish from the face of the earth in the
+space of five minutes, or be left a mass of ruins.
+
+It is in the districts of the north that the rich mines and the nitrate
+fields are found, but the central portion of the country, and
+particularly towards the south, is the section where the greatest
+agricultural results are realized, and which will continue to yield in
+abundance after the mineral wealth shall have become quite exhausted.
+The southern portion of the country embraces Patagonia, which has lately
+been divided between Chili and the Argentine Republic. In short, Chili
+is no exception to the rule that agriculture, and not mining products,
+is the true and permanent reliance of any country.
+
+A little less than four hundred miles off the shore of Valparaiso, on
+the same line of latitude, is the memorable island of Juan Fernandez. It
+is politically an unimportant dependence of Chili, though of late years
+it has indirectly been made the means of producing some income for the
+national treasury. There was a period in which Chili maintained a penal
+colony here, but the convicts mutinied, and massacred the officers who
+had charge of them. These convicts succeeded in getting away from the
+island on passing ships. No attempt has been made since that time to
+reëstablish a penal colony on this island. To-day the place is occupied
+by thriving vegetable gardeners, and raisers of stock. Every intelligent
+youth will remember the island as the spot where De Foe laid the scene
+of his popular and fascinating story of "Robinson Crusoe." The island is
+about twenty miles long by ten broad, and is covered with dense tropical
+verdure, gentle hills, sheltered valleys, and thrifty woods. Juan
+Fernandez resembles the Azores in the North Atlantic. Though generally
+spoken of in the singular, there are actually three islands here,
+forming a small, compact group, known as Inward Island, Outward Island,
+and Great Island. Many intelligent people think that the story of
+Robinson Crusoe is a pure fabrication, but this is not so. De Foe
+availed himself of an actual occurrence, and put it into readable form,
+adding a few romantic episodes to season the story for the taste of the
+million. It was in a measure truth, which he stamped with the image of
+his own genius. Occasionally some enthusiastic admirer of De Foe comes
+thousands of miles out of the beaten track of travel to visit this group
+of islands, by the way of Valparaiso. Grapes, figs, and other tropical
+fruits abound at Juan Fernandez. It is said that several thousand people
+might be easily supported by the natural resources of these islands, and
+the abundance of fish which fill the neighboring waters. An English
+naval commander stopped here in 1741, to recruit his ships' crews, and
+to repair some damages. While here he caused various seeds to be planted
+for the advantage of any mariners who might follow. The benefit of this
+Christian act has been realized by many seamen since that date. Fruits,
+grain, and vegetables are now produced by spontaneous fertility
+annually, which were not before to be found here. The English commander
+also left goats and swine to run wild, and to multiply, and these
+animals are numerous there to-day.
+
+Juan Fernandez has one tall peak, nearly three thousand feet high, which
+the pilots point out long before the rest of the island is seen. It was
+from this lofty lookout that Alexander Selkirk was wont to watch daily
+in the hope of sighting some passing ship, by which he might be released
+from his imprisonment. There are about one hundred residents upon the
+group to-day, it having been leased by the Chilian government as a stock
+ranch for the breeding of goats and cattle, as well as for the raising
+of vegetables for the market of Valparaiso. There are said to be thirty
+thousand horned cattle, and many sheep, upon these islands. Occasional
+excursion parties are made up at Valparaiso to visit the group by
+steamboat, for the purpose of shooting seals and mountain goats. Stories
+are told of Juan Fernandez having been formerly made the headquarters of
+pirates who came from thence to ravage the towns on the coast of the
+continent, and it is believed by the credulous that much of the
+ill-gotten wealth of the buccaneers still remains hidden there. In
+search of this supposititious treasure, expeditions have been fitted out
+in past years at Valparaiso, and many an acre of ground has been vainly
+dug over in seeking for piratical gold, supposed to be buried there.
+Some of the shrewd stock raisers of Juan Fernandez are ready, for a
+consideration, to point out to seekers the most probable places where
+such treasures might have been buried.
+
+
+
+
+          CHAPTER XVI.
+
+     The Port of Callao.--A Submerged City.--Peruvian Exports.--A
+     Dirty and Unwholesome Town.--Cinchona Bark.--The Andes.--The
+     Llama.--A National Dance.--City of Lima.--An Old and
+     Interesting Capital.--Want of Rain.--Pizarro and His
+     Crimes.--A Grand Cathedral.--Chilian Soldiers.--Costly
+     Churches of Peru.--Roman Catholic Influence.--Desecration of
+     the Sabbath.
+
+
+The passage northward from Valparaiso to Callao occupies about four days
+by the steamers which do not stop at intermediate ports. We entered the
+harbor in the early morning while a soft veil of mist enshrouded the
+bay, but as the sun fairly shone upon the view, this aerial screen
+rapidly disappeared, revealing Callao just in front of us, making the
+foreground of a pleasing and vivid picture, the middle distance filled
+by the ancient city of Lima, and the far background by alpine ranges.
+Callao is an ill-built though important town, with a population of about
+thirty thousand, and serves as the port for Lima, the capital of Peru.
+It has a good harbor, well protected by the island of San Lorenzo,
+which, with the small island of El Fronton, and the Palminos reef, forms
+a protection against the constant swell of the ocean. There are nearly
+always one or two ships of war belonging to foreign nations in the
+harbor, and large steamships from the north or the south. The sailing
+distance from Panama is fifteen hundred miles. The Callao of to-day is
+comparatively modern. Old Callao formerly stood on a tongue of land
+opposite San Lorenzo, but in 1746 an earthquake submerged it and drowned
+some five thousand of the inhabitants, foundered a score of ships, and
+stranded a Spanish man-of-war. In calm weather one can row a boat over
+the spot where the old city stood, and see the ruins far down in the
+deep waters. The present city has twice been near to sharing the same
+fate: once in 1825, and again in 1868. It is, therefore, not assuming
+too much to say that Callao may at any time disappear in the most
+summary fashion. The sunken ruins in the harbor are a melancholy and
+suggestive sight, the duplicate of which we do not believe can be found
+elsewhere on the globe. Though seismic disturbances are of such frequent
+occurrence, and are so destructive on the west coast of South America,
+they are hardly known on the Atlantic or eastern side of the continent.
+That they are frequently coincident with volcanic disturbances indicates
+that there is an intimate connection between them, but yet earthquakes
+often occur in regions where volcanoes do not exist. This was the case,
+not long since, as most of our readers will remember, in South Carolina.
+It has been noticed by careful observers that animals become uneasy on
+the eve of such an event, which would seem to show that earthquakes
+sometimes owe their origin to extraordinary atmospheric conditions.
+
+San Lorenzo is about six miles from Callao, and is four miles long by
+one in width. It is utterly barren, presenting a mass of brownish gray
+color, eleven hundred feet high, at whose base there is ever a broad,
+snow white ruffle, caused by the never-ceasing ocean swell breaking into
+foam. An English smelting company has established extensive works near
+the shore of the island, for the reduction of silver and copper ores.
+The approach to Callao from the sea affords a fine view of the
+undulating shore, backed by the snowy Cordilleras, the shabby buildings
+of the town, with the dismantled castle of San Felipe forming the
+foreground. In landing one must be cautious: there is always
+considerable swell in the harbor.
+
+The staple products of this region are represented by packages of
+merchandise prepared for shipment, and which are the first to attract
+one's attention upon landing, such as cinchona bark from the native
+forests, piles of wheat in bulk, hides, quantities of crude salt, sugar
+packed in dried banana leaves, bales of alpaca wool, and, most
+suggestive of all, some heavy bags of silver ore. Little is being done
+in mining at present, though the field for this industry is large. The
+difficulty of transportation is one of the great drawbacks, yet Peru has
+over a thousand miles of railways in her rather limited area. Gold,
+platinum, silver, and copper are all found in paying quantities. Coal
+and petroleum also exist here, in various inland districts. The guano
+deposits, which have yielded so much wealth to Peru in the past, are
+practically exhausted, while the nitrate-producing province of Tarapaca
+has been stolen by Chili, to which it now belongs. It is thought that
+the nitrate deposits can be profitably worked for fifty years to come.
+
+A crowd of the lazy, ragged population were loafing about the landing,
+watching the strangers as they came on shore at the wet and slippery
+stone steps.
+
+It is very plain that the great importance of Callao has departed,
+though there is still an appearance of business activity. Not long ago,
+a hundred vessels at a time might be seen at anchor inside of San
+Lorenzo; now, a score of good-sized ships are all one can count. This is
+owing to various causes: an unreasonable high tariff is one of them,
+exorbitant port charges is another, and the general depression of
+business on the west coast is felt quite as strongly here as at any of
+the ports. Like Santos, on the other side of the continent, Callao is
+ever an unhealthy resort, where a great mortality prevails in the fever
+season. The absence of good drainage and inattention to hygienic rules
+will in part account for the bad repute that the port has among the
+shipping masters who frequent the coast. The streets are particularly
+malodorous about the water front. The dirty vultures seem to be depended
+upon to remove offensive garbage.
+
+A certain remarkable occurrence sometimes takes place in this harbor,
+which, so far as the writer knows, is without precedent elsewhere. A
+ship may come in from sea and anchor at about sunset, in good order and
+condition, everything being white and clean on board, but when her
+captain comes on deck the next morning, he may find that his ship has
+been painted, inside and out, a dark chocolate color during the night,
+the atmosphere at the same time being impregnated with a peculiar odor,
+arising from this "paint," or whatever it may be, which clings
+tenaciously to every object, wood or iron. While it is damp and freshly
+deposited, it can be removed like fresh paint, but if it is permitted to
+dry, it is as difficult to remove as ordinary dried paint would be. No
+one can tell the origin of this nuisance, but most seamen whose business
+brings them to Callao have been through this experience. Of course it
+must be an atmospheric deposit, but from whence? It has never been known
+to occur upon the neighboring land, but only in the harbor. Scientists
+have given the matter their attention, and have concluded that it may be
+caused by sulphurous gases produced in the earth below the water, which
+rise to the surface and disseminate themselves in the surrounding
+atmosphere.
+
+From any elevated point in the city one may enjoy a delightful view, the
+main features of which are the Andes on the land side, and seaward, the
+broad heaving bosom of the Pacific. The corrugated peaks of the former,
+clad in white, seem like restless phantoms marching through the sky.
+Over the latter, long lines of inky blackness trail behind northern or
+southern bound steamers, while here and there a tall, full-rigged ship
+recalls the older modes of navigation.
+
+The smoother water inside of San Lorenzo is alive with small boats, some
+under sails, some propelled by oars, shooting in and out among the
+shipping which lie at anchor before the town. A pair of large whales
+assisted at this scene for our special benefit, just inside the harbor's
+mouth. It must have been only play on their part,--leviathans at
+play,--but they threw up the sea in such clouds of spray with their
+broad tails, as to make it appear like a battle-royal seen from a mile
+away.
+
+We mentioned the fact of seeing cinchona bark in bales ready for
+shipping. Of all the products of South America, gold, silver, and
+precious stones included, the most valuable is the drug which is called
+quinine, made from the bark of the cinchona tree. There is no other one
+article known to the materia medica which has been used in such large
+quantities or with such unvarying success by suffering humanity. It was
+first introduced into Europe from Peru, and was then known as Peruvian
+bark. It was supposed at that time to be found only in this section of
+the continent; but subsequently it was discovered to abound in all the
+forests along the course of the Andes, and especially on their western
+slope. So large has been its export that it was found the source of
+supply was rapidly becoming exhausted, until local governments awoke to
+the importance of the matter, and protected by law the trees which
+produce it. These are no longer ruthlessly cut down to die, when
+yielding their valuable harvest, but only a certain quantity of the
+desirable bark is taken from each tree annually, so that nature replaces
+the portion which had been removed, by covering the trunk with a fresh
+growth. The cinchona tree, having been transplanted from South America,
+is now successfully cultivated in the islands of the Malacca Straits,
+Ceylon, India, and other tropical regions.
+
+The tree which produces this valuable febrifuge belongs to the same
+family as the coffee plant. In appearance it is very like our native
+beech tree, having remarkably white wood.
+
+The llama is found nearly all over South America, and is often seen as a
+beast of burden at Callao, taking the place here which the donkey or
+burro fills in Mexico. It has been described as having the head and neck
+of a camel, the body of a deer, the wool of a sheep, and the neigh of a
+horse. We do not agree with those who pronounce the llama an awkward
+creature. True, the body is a little ungainly, but the head, the
+graceful pose, the pointed, delicate ears, and the large, lustrous eyes
+are absolutely handsome. It can carry a burden weighing one hundred
+pounds over hard mountain roads, day after day, while living upon very
+scanty food. It is slow in its movements, patient when well treated, and
+particularly sure-footed. It is of a very gentle disposition, but when
+it finds the weight placed upon its back too heavy, like the Egyptian
+camel, it immediately lies down and will not rise until the load is
+lightened. The llama, or "mountain camel," as it has been aptly called,
+is the only domesticated native animal. The horse, ox, hog, and sheep
+are all importations which were entirely unknown here four centuries
+ago. The llama has two notable peculiarities: when angry it will
+expectorate at its enemy, and when hurt will shed tears. The
+expectoration is of an acrid, semi-poisonous nature, and if it strikes
+the eyes will, it is said, blind them. The llama, guanaco, alpaca, and
+vicuña were the four sheep of the Incas, the wool of the first clothing
+the common people; the second, the nobles; the third, the royal
+governors; and the fourth the Incas. The first two are domesticated,
+guanacos and vicuñas are wild, though they all belong to the same
+family.
+
+The manners and customs of any people new to the traveler are always an
+interesting study, but in nothing are they more strongly individualized
+than in the pursuit of amusements. A favorite dance, known here as the
+_zama cueca_, is often witnessed out-of-doors in retired corners of the
+plaza or the alameda, as well as elsewhere. It requires two performers,
+and is generally danced by a male and female, being not unlike the
+Parisian cancan, both in the movement and the purpose of the expression.
+The two dancers stand opposite each other, each having a pocket
+handkerchief in the right hand, while the music begins at first a dull,
+monotonous air, which rapidly rises and falls in cadence. The dancers
+approach each other, swaying their bodies gracefully, and using their
+limbs nimbly; now they pass each other, turning in the act to
+coquettishly wave the handkerchief about their heads, and also to snap
+it towards each other's faces. Thus they advance and retreat several
+times, whipping at each other's faces, while throwing their bodies into
+peculiar attitudes. Again they resume the first movement of advance and
+retreat, one assuming coyness, the other ardor, and thus continue,
+until, as a sort of climax, they fall into each other's arms with a peal
+of hearty laughter. A guitar is the usual accompanying instrument, the
+player uttering the while a shrill impromptu chant. When a male dancer
+joins in this street performance, as is sometimes the case, it is apt to
+be a little coarse and vulgar.
+
+There is very little in Callao to detain us, and one is quite ready to
+hasten on to Lima, the capital of Peru, hoping to escape the stench and
+universal dirtiness of the port.
+
+The city of Lima has at this writing about one hundred and sixty
+thousand inhabitants, and is situated six miles from Callao, its
+shipping port, with which it is connected by two rival railways. These
+roads are constructed upon an up-grade the whole distance, but the rise
+is so gradual as to be almost imperceptible, though Lima is over five
+hundred feet higher than Callao. The capital, which is clearly visible
+from the water as we enter the harbor, presents from that distance, and
+even from a much nearer point of view, a most pleasing picture, being
+favorably situated on elevated ground, with its many spires and domes
+standing forth in bold relief. It has, when seen from such a distance, a
+certain oriental appearance, charming to the eye of a stranger. But it
+is deceptive; it is indeed distance which lends enchantment in this
+case, for upon arriving within its precincts one is rudely undeceived.
+The apparently grand array of architecture on near inspection proves to
+be flimsy and poor in detail: everything is bamboo frame and plaster; no
+edifice is solid above the basement. Still, one can easily imagine how
+attractive the place must have been in those viceregal days, the period
+of its false glory and prosperity. The capital stands almost at the very
+foot of the Cordillera which forms the coast range, and is built upon
+both sides of the Rimac, over which stretches a substantial stone bridge
+of six arches, very old and very homely, but all the more interesting
+because it is so venerable. The width of the river at this point is over
+five hundred feet. In the winter season it is a very moderate stream,
+but when the summer sun asserts itself, the snow upon the neighboring
+mountains yields to its warmth, and the Rio Rimac then becomes an alpine
+torrent. It is like the Arno at Florence, which at certain seasons has
+the form of a river without the circulation. The anecdote is told here
+of a Yankee visitor to Lima who was being shown over the city by a
+patriotic citizen, and who on coming to this spot remarked to his
+chaperon: "You ought either to buy a river or sell this bridge."
+
+At the entrance of this ancient structure stands a lofty and very
+effective archway, with two tall towers, and a clock in a central
+elevation. Prominent over the arched entrance to the roadway is the
+motto _Dios y La Patria_,--"God and Country." Nothing in Lima is of
+more interest than this hoary, unique, moss-grown bridge.
+
+One pauses before the crumbling yet still substantial old structure to
+recall the vivid scenes which must have been enacted in the long, long
+past upon its roadway. Here madly contending parties have spilled each
+other's blood, hundreds of gaudy church processions have crossed these
+arches, bitter civil and foreign wars have raged about the bridge, dark
+conspiracies have been whispered and ripened here, solitary murders
+committed in the darkness of night, and lifeless bodies thrown from its
+parapet; but the dumb witness still remains intact, having endured more
+than three hundred years of use and abuse.
+
+It is not necessary to unpack one's waterproof or umbrella in Lima. It
+never rains here, any more than it does in the region of Aden, at the
+mouth of the Red Sea. All vegetable growth is more or less dependent
+upon artificial irrigation, and in the environs where this is
+judiciously applied the orange and lemon trees are heavy with golden
+fruit, forming a rich contrast with the deep green of the luxuriant
+plantain, the thick, lance-like agave, and the prolific banana. The city
+and its environs would be as poorly off without the water of the Rimac
+as would the Egyptians if deprived of the annual overflow of the
+fertilizing Nile. Though the river is so inconsiderable at certain
+seasons, still it does supply a certain quantity of water always, which
+is improved to the utmost. Dews some times prevail at night, so heavy as
+to be of partial benefit, giving to vegetation a breath of moisture, and
+taking away the dead dryness of the atmosphere. This, however favorable
+for vegetation, is considered unwholesome for humanity. The flowers and
+shrubbery of the plaza droop for want of water, and are only preserved
+by great care on the part of those in charge of them. In some of the
+private gardens the pashinba palm-tree is seen, very peculiar in its
+growth, being mounted as it were upon stilts, formed by the exposed
+straight roots which radiate, like a series of props, to support the
+tall trunk. At its apex is a singular, spear-like stem, pointing
+straight skyward, without leaf or branch, just beneath which are the
+graceful, long, curved palm leaves, exquisite in proportions, bending
+like ostrich feathers. At first sight this tree looks like an artificial
+production, in which nature has taken no part. Lying only twelve degrees
+south of the equator, Lima has a tropical climate, but being also close
+to the foothills of the Andes, she is near to a temperate district, so
+that her market yields the fruits and vegetables of two zones.
+
+Pizarro, the ambitious and intrepid conqueror of Peru, here established
+his capital in 1535, and here ended his days in 1541, dying at the hands
+of the assassin, the natural and retributive end of a life of gross
+bigotry, sensuality, recklessness, and almost unparalleled cruelty. In a
+narrow street,--the Callejon de Petateron,--leading out of the Plaza
+Mayor, a house is pointed out as being the one in which Pizarro was
+assassinated. Both Pizarro in Peru and Cortez in Mexico owed their
+phenomenal success to exceptional circumstances, namely, to the civil
+wars which prevailed among the native tribes of the countries they
+invaded. By shrewdly directing these intestine troubles so as to aid
+their own purposes, each commander in his special field achieved
+complete victory over races which, thus disunited and pitted against
+each other, fell an easy prey to the cunning invaders. Neither of these
+adventurers had sufficient strength to contend against a united and
+determined people. Such an enemy on his own ground would have swept the
+handful of Spaniards led by Pizarro from the face of the earth by mere
+force of numbers.
+
+Soon after its foundation, Lima became the most luxurious and profligate
+of the viceregal courts of Spain, and so continued until its declaration
+of independence, and final separation from the mother country. The most
+worthless and restless spirits about the throne of Spain were favored in
+a desire to join Pizarro in the New World. The home government, while
+purging itself of so undesirable an element, added to the recklessness
+and utter immorality which reigned in the atmosphere of Lima.
+Forty-three successive viceroys ruled Peru during the Spanish occupancy.
+The nefarious Inquisition, steeped in the blood of helpless and innocent
+natives, was active here long after its decadence in Madrid, while the
+local churches, convents, and monasteries accumulated untold wealth by a
+system of arbitrary taxation, and iniquitous extortion exercised towards
+the native race. What better could have been expected from Pizarro than
+to inaugurate and foster such a state of affairs? Under the influence of
+designing priests and lascivious monks, he was as clay in the potter's
+hands, being originally only an illiterate swineherd, one who could
+neither read nor write. The state documents put forth during his
+viceregency, still preserved and to be seen in the archives of Lima,
+show that he could only affix his mark, not even attempting to write his
+own name. Though Charles V. finally indorsed and ennobled him with the
+title of Marques de la Conquista, and appointed him viceroy of the
+conquered country, he was still and ever the illegitimate, low-bred hind
+of Truxillo in continental Spain. The palace of this man, who, with the
+exception of Cortez, was the greatest human butcher of the age in which
+he lived, is still used for government offices, while the senate
+occupies the council chamber of the old Inquisition building, infamous
+for the bloody work done within its walls. H. Willis Baxley, M. D., the
+admirable author, writes on the spot as follows: "When the apologists of
+Pizarro attempt to shield his crimes, and excuse his acts of cruelty by
+his religious zeal and holy purpose of extending the dominion of the
+cross, they may well be answered that the religion was unworthy of
+adoption which required for its extension that the wife of the Inca
+Manco, then a prisoner in Pizarro's power, should be 'stripped naked,
+bound to a tree, and in presence of the camp be scourged with rods, and
+then shot to death with arrows!' This cold-blooded brutality, and to a
+woman, should brand his name with eternal infamy."
+
+As we have intimated, Lima, like Constantinople, looks at its best from
+a distance, viewed so that the full and combined effect of its many
+domes and spires can be taken in as a whole; but whether near to it or
+far from it, few places in South America possess more poetical and
+historical interest. Its past story reads like an Arabian Nights' tale.
+Though the city is by no means what it has been, and wears an
+unmistakable air of decayed greatness, and though foreign invaders and
+civil wars have done their worst, Lima is still an extremely attractive
+metropolis. Even the vandalism of the late Chilian invaders, who
+outraged all the laws of civilized warfare (if there is any such thing
+as civilized warfare), regardless of the rights of non-combatants, could
+not obliterate her natural attractions and historical associations. The
+Chilian soldiers destroyed solely for the sake of destroying, mutilated
+statuary and works of art generally, besides burning historical
+treasures and libraries; and yet these Chilians claim to be the highest
+type of modern civilization on the southern continent. They strove to
+ruin whatever they could not steal and carry away with them from Peru,
+and, almost incredible to record, they wantonly killed the elephant in
+the zoölogical garden of Lima, and purloined the small animals. Noble,
+chivalrous Chilians! The rank and file of these people are the very
+embodiment of ignorance and brutality. The Chilian soldier carries, as a
+regular weapon, a curved knife called a _curvos_, with which he cuts the
+throats of his enemies. At close quarters, instead of fighting
+man-fashion, as nearly all other nations do, he springs like a fierce
+bull-dog at his opponent's throat, and with his curvos cuts it from ear
+to ear. After a battle, bands of these fiends in human shape go over the
+field, seeking out the wounded who are still alive, deliberately cutting
+their throats, and robbing their bodies of all valuables. It is Chilian
+tactics to take no prisoners, give no quarter. These brave soldiers
+would have burned Lima to the ground after gaining possession, had it
+not been for the interference of the foreign ministers, who had national
+men-of-war at Callao with which to back their arguments. These
+guerrillas--for that is just about what the Chilian soldiers are--knew
+full well that if even a small European battalion of disciplined men
+were landed and brought against them, they would simply be swept from
+the face of the earth.
+
+Lima is laid out with the streets in rectangular form, the central point
+being the Plaza Mayor, in the shape of a quadrangle, each side of which
+is five hundred feet in length. On the north side of this admirably
+arranged square stand the buildings occupied as government offices,
+together with the bishop's palace, and the cathedral overshadowed by its
+two lofty towers. The corner-stone of this edifice was laid by Pizarro
+with great ceremony. The spires, although presenting such an effective
+appearance, are constructed of the most frail material, such as bricks,
+stucco, and bamboo frames, but still, as a whole, they are undeniably
+imposing. In this dry climate they are, perhaps, enduring also. Like the
+façade of the church of St. Roche, in Paris, this of the Lima cathedral
+is marked by bullet-holes commemorating the Chilian invasion. The church
+is raised six or eight feet above the level of the plaza, as is usual in
+South America, standing upon a marble platform, reached by broad steps,
+well calculated to enhance the really graceful proportions, and add to
+the effect of its broad, high towers. The interior is quite commonplace,
+with the usual tinsel, poor carvings, and wretched oil paintings,
+including several grotesque Virgin Marys. These were too poor even for
+the Chilians to steal. Beneath the grand altar rest the ashes of
+Pizarro, the cruel, ambitious, reckless tool of the Romish Church. The
+cathedral was built in 1540, but has undergone complete repairs and
+renovations from time to time, being still considered to be one of the
+most imposing ecclesiastical edifices in America. Its original cost is
+said to have been nine million dollars, to obtain which Pizarro robbed
+the Inca temples of all their elaborate gold and silver ornaments.
+According to Prescott, the Spaniards took twenty-four thousand, eight
+hundred pounds of gold, and eighty-two thousand ounces of silver from a
+single Inca temple! Prescott is careful in his statements to warn us of
+the unreliability of the Spanish writers, nearly all of whom were Romish
+priests. Where figures are concerned they cannot be depended upon for a
+moment. They also took special care to cover up the fiendish atrocities
+of the Inquisition, and the extortions of the church as exercised
+towards the poor, down-trodden native race.
+
+One's spirits partook of the sombre and austere atmosphere which reigns
+at all times in this ancient edifice. It was very lonely. Not a soul was
+to be seen during our brief visit to the cathedral at noonday, except a
+couple of decrepit old beggars at the entrance, the faint, dull glare of
+the burning candles about the altar only serving to deepen the shadows
+and emphasize the darkness.
+
+The area of the Plaza Mayor embraces eight or nine acres of land, and
+has often been the theatre of most sanguinary scenes, where hand-to-hand
+fights have frequently taken place between insurgent citizens and
+soldiers of the ruling power of the day, while many unpopular officials
+have been hanged in the towers of the cathedral, from each of which
+projects a gibbet! The middle of the plaza is beautified by a bronze
+fountain with arboreal and floral surroundings. There was formerly some
+statuary here, which the brave Chilians stole and carried away with
+them, even purloining the iron benches, which they transported to
+Valparaiso and Santiago. The streets running from this square, with the
+exception of the Calle de los Mercaderes, have an atmosphere of
+antiquity, which contrasts with the people one meets in them. Even the
+turkey buzzards, acting as street scavengers, are of an antique species,
+looking quite gray and dilapidated, as though they were a hundred years
+old. In Vera Cruz the same species of bird, kept for a similar purpose,
+have a brightness of feather, and jauntiness withal, quite unlike these
+feathered street-cleaners of Lima. The "Street of the Merchants," just
+referred to, is the fashionable shopping thoroughfare of Lima, where in
+the afternoons the ladies and gentlemen are seen in goodly numbers
+promenading in full dress.
+
+There is here the usual multiplicity of churches, convents, and
+nunneries, such as are to be found in all Spanish cities, though the
+latter establishments have been partially suppressed. Some of the
+churches of Lima are fabulously expensive structures; indeed, the amount
+of money squandered on churches and church property in this city is
+marvelous. During the late war many articles of gold and silver,
+belonging to them, were melted into coin, but some were hidden, and have
+once more been restored to their original position in the churches. The
+convent and church of San Francisco form one of the most costly groups
+of buildings of the sort in America. The ornamental tiles of the
+flooring are calculated, not by the square yard, but by the acre. There
+are over a hundred Roman Catholic churches in Lima, few of which have
+any architectural beauty, but all of which are crowded with vulgar wax
+figures, wooden images, and bleeding saints. These churches in several
+instances have very striking façades: that of La Merced, for instance;
+but they are mere shams, as we have already said,--stucco and plaster;
+they would not endure the wear of any other climate for a single decade.
+
+With all this outside religious show in Lima, there is no corresponding
+observance of the sacred character of the Sabbath. It is held rather as
+a period of gross license and indulgence, and devoted to bull-fights,
+cock-fighting, and drunkenness. The lottery-ticket vender reaps the
+greatest harvest on this occasion, and the gambling saloons are all
+open. Children pursue their every-day sports with increased ardor, and
+the town puts on a gala day aspect. At night the streets are ablaze, the
+theatres are crowded, and dissipation of every conceivable sort waxes
+fast and furious until long past midnight. The ignorant mass generally
+has drifted into observing the rituals of the Romish Church, but there
+are many of the native Indians in Peru who cherish a belief of a
+millennium in the near future; a time when the true prophet of the sun
+will return and restore the grand old Inca dynasty. Just so the Moors of
+Tangier hold to the belief that the time will yet come when they will be
+restored to the glory of their fathers, and to their beloved Granada;
+that the halls of the Alhambra will once more resound to the Moorish
+lute, and the grand cathedral of Cordova shall again become a mosque of
+the true faith.
+
+The fact that the bull-ring of Lima will accommodate sixteen thousand
+people, and that it is always well filled on Sundays, speaks for itself.
+At these sanguinary performances a certain class of women appear in
+large numbers and in full dress, entering heartily into the spirit of
+the occasion, and waving their handkerchiefs furiously to applaud the
+actors in the tragedy, while the exhibitions are characterized by even
+more cruelty than at Madrid or Havana.
+
+
+
+
+          CHAPTER XVII.
+
+     A Grand Plaza.--Retribution.--The University of
+     Lima.--Significance of Ancient
+     Pottery.--Architecture.--Picturesque Dwelling.--Domestic
+     Scene.--Destructive Earthquakes.--Spanish Sway.--Women of
+     Lima.--Street Costumes.--Ancient Bridge of
+     Lima.--Newspapers.--Pawnbrokers' Shops.--Exports.--An
+     Ancient Mecca.--Home by Way of Europe.
+
+
+The large square in Lima, known as Plazuela de la Independencia, is
+grand in its proportions. One prominent feature is the bronze statue of
+Bolivar, the famous South American patriot. It also contains the old
+palace of the Inquisition, which looks to-day more like a stable than a
+palace. This detestable institution attained to greater scope and power
+here than it did even in Mexico. According to its own records, during
+its existence in the capital of Peru, fifty-nine persons were publicly
+burned alive as heretics, because they would not acknowledge the Roman
+Catholic faith, thousands were tortured until in their agony they agreed
+to anything, while thousands were publicly scourged to the same end.
+Could the truth be fully known as regards the bigoted reign of the
+priesthood at the time referred to in Peru, it would form one of the
+most startling chapters of modern history. But they were their own
+chroniclers, and suppressed everything which might possibly reflect upon
+themselves or upon their church. Retribution was slow, but it has come
+finally. The former convent of Guadeloupe is now occupied for a worthy
+object as a high school; the main portion of the cloisters of San
+Francisco have made way for the college of San Marco; that of San Carlos
+has supplanted the Jesuits; San Juan de Dios is now occupied as a
+railway station; while the once famous and infamous convent of Santa
+Catalina serves to-day as the public market.
+
+The University of Lima was the first seat of education established in
+the New World, or, to fix the period more clearly in the average
+reader's mind, it dates from about seventy years before the historic
+Mayflower reached the shore of New England. The National Library
+contains some forty thousand volumes, also a collection of Peruvian
+antiquities, besides many objects of natural history, mostly of such
+examples as are indigenous to this section. There is one large oil
+painting in this building by a native artist named Monteros, the canvas
+measuring thirty by twenty feet. The title is "Obsequies of Atahualpa."
+This was carried away by the thieving Chilians, but was finally restored
+to Peru. It should be mentioned, to their lasting shame, that the books
+which they stole at the same time have not been returned.
+
+The ancient pottery one sees in the collection of Peruvian antiquities
+is wonderfully like that to be found in the Boulak Museum at Cairo, in
+Egypt, Etruscan and Egyptian patterns prevailing over all other forms,
+which strongly suggests a common origin. Besides those which we have
+named, there are several other educational and art institutions in the
+city, together with three hospitals, two lunatic asylums, a college of
+arts, and the National Mint. One hospital, bearing the name of the
+Second of May Hospital, is a very large and thoroughly equipped
+establishment, occupying a whole square, and having accommodations for
+seven hundred patients. There are four theatres, one of which is
+conducted by the Chinese after their own peculiar fashion. The outsides
+of the dwelling-houses are painted in various brilliant colors, a
+practice which is found to prevail all over the southern continent, and
+which exhibits an inherent love among the people for warm, bright hues.
+The roofs of most houses serve as a depository for hens and chickens,
+noisy gamecocks especially asserting themselves before daybreak,
+forbidding all ideas of morning naps, unless one is accustomed to the
+din. Many of the dwellings are picturesque and attractive, with
+overhanging balconies and bay windows, the latter oftentimes finished
+very elaborately with handsome wood carvings and open-work lattices. As
+to the prevailing style of architecture, it is Spanish and Moorish
+combined, each building being constructed about a central patio, which
+is often rendered lovely with flowers and statuary, together with small
+orange and lemon trees in large painted tubs.
+
+The abundance of cracks in the walls of the dwellings, both inside and
+out, is a significant hint that we are in an earthquake country. A
+slight shake is hardly spoken of at all; they come so often as to be
+comparatively unheeded.
+
+In the environs of Lima the houses are built of adobe, rarely over one
+story in height, with very thick walls, this style having been found the
+best to resist the earthquakes, which must be very serious indeed to
+affect a low adobe house with walls two feet and a half thick. About
+these residences, which, not to put too fine a point upon the matter,
+are really nothing but mud cabins, there is often seen an attractive and
+refining feature, namely, small, but exceedingly pretty plots of
+cultivated flowers. It is astonishing how perfectly they serve to throw
+a flavor of refinement over all things else. The variety and fragrance
+of the Lima roses are something long to be remembered, and the people
+here seem to have a special love for this most popular of flowers. We
+had missed them nearly everywhere else in South America; therefore they
+were thrice welcome when they greeted us at Lima.
+
+There is a dwelling-house in this city belonging to an old and rich
+family, which is worth a pilgrimage to see. It is built of stone,
+artistically carved, with a square balcony and bay window on each side
+of the tall, spacious, and elaborately ornamented doorway. It is clearly
+Moorish in type, and must be nearly or quite three hundred years old.
+Photographs are found of its façade in the art stores of Lima, and most
+visitors bring one away with them as a memento of the place. The house
+stands even with the thoroughfare, and is only two stories in height,
+but is a beautiful relic of the past. It would be quite in accordance
+with the surroundings, were it to be transported to Cairo or Bagdad.
+
+On the way from the Plaza Mayor to this attractive bit of Morisco
+architecture, one gets frequent glimpses of pretty, cool, flower-decked
+patios, about which the low picturesque dwellings are erected, and where
+domestic life is seen in partial seclusion. An infant is playing on the
+marble paved court, watched by a dark Indian nurse. An ermine-colored
+cockatoo with a gorgeous yellow plume is gravely eying the child from
+its perch. Creeping vines twine about the slim columns which support a
+low arcade above the entrance floor. Farther in, a bit of statuary peeps
+out from among the greenery, which is growing in high-colored wooden
+tubs. The vine, which clings tenaciously to the small columns, is the
+passion plant, its flowers seeming almost artificial in their
+regularity, brightness, and abundance. A fair señora in diaphanous robes
+reclines at ease in a low, pillowed seat, and the señor, cigarette in
+mouth, swings leisurely in a hammock.
+
+It was a pretty, characteristic family picture, of which we should be
+glad to possess a photograph.
+
+Few cities have a more agreeable climate. The range of the thermometer
+throughout the year being for the winter season from 68° to 75°, and in
+the summer from 80° to 88°. The Humboldt current, as it is called,
+sweeps along the coast from the Antarctic circle, causing a much lower
+temperature here than exists in the same latitude on the other side of
+the continent. Lima, it will be remembered, is situated about twelve
+degrees from the equatorial line. The climate is of exquisite softness,
+beneath a sky serenely blue; every breath is a pleasure, tranquillizing
+to both mind and body. Rain is of very rare occurrence, as we have
+intimated, but earthquakes are frequent. The most destructive visit of
+this sort in modern times was in 1745, which at the same time destroyed
+the port of Callao. Though Lima is blessed with such a seemingly equable
+climate, for some unexplained reason it is very far from being a healthy
+place. The great mortality which prevails here is entirely out of
+proportion to the number of inhabitants. There must be some local reason
+for this. Even in the days of the Incas, the present site of the city
+was deemed to be a spot only fit for criminals; that is to say, a penal
+colony was located here, where the earlier Peruvians placed condemned
+people, and where a high rate of mortality was not regarded as being
+entirely objectionable. The Campo Santo of Lima, in the immediate
+environs of the city, is built with tall thick walls containing niches
+four ranges high, and recalls those of the city of Mexico. It is not
+customary to bury in the ground. Some of the monuments are quite
+elaborate, but the place generally has a neglected appearance, and no
+attempt seems made to give it a pleasing aspect. It has neither flowers
+nor trees.
+
+The Spaniards, during a sway which lasted over three hundred years, were
+terrible taskmasters in Peru, enslaving, crushing, and massacring the
+natives, just as they did in Cuba and Mexico. The Indians were looked
+upon as little more than beasts of burden, and their lives or well-being
+were of no sort of account, except so far as they served the purposes of
+the invading hordes of Spaniards. The race which has been produced by
+intermarriage and promiscuous intercourse is a very heterogeneous one,
+born of aborigines, negroes, mulattoes, Spaniards, and Portuguese. In
+religion, as well as in daily life, the habits of the people are
+Castilian, whether red, yellow, or black. There is also a considerable
+Chinese population, which, however, as a rule, maintains isolation from
+other nationalities so far as intermarriage or close intimacy is
+concerned. Many of the Chinese keep cheap eating-houses, and always seem
+to be industrious and thrifty. They are the outcome of the coolie trade,
+by which the Peruvian plantations were for years supplied with
+laborers,--slave labor, for that is exactly what it was to all intents
+and purposes, call it what we may. But this cruel and unjust system has
+long been suppressed. Most of the small shops are kept by Italians, and
+the best hotels by Frenchmen. The banking-houses are usually conducted
+by Germans, while Americans and Englishmen divide the engineering work,
+the construction of railways, with such other progressive enterprises as
+require a large share of brains, energy, and capital.
+
+The women are generally handsome and of the Spanish type, yet they
+differ therefrom in some important and very obvious particulars. Their
+gypsy complexions, jet black hair and eyes, white, regular teeth, with
+full red lips, form a combination very pleasing to the eye. It must be
+acknowledged, however, that their complexions are aided by cosmetics.
+The features are small and regular, the ears being set particularly
+close to the head, which is always a noticeable peculiarity when it
+prevails. They are vivacious and mirthful, yet not forward or immodest.
+As regards the youthful portion, conventionality prevents all exhibition
+of the latter trait. In dress they follow the styles of Boston, New
+York, and Paris. As their brothers have been mostly educated in the
+cities named, they very generally speak French and English. Many of the
+ladies have themselves enjoyed the advantages of English, French, or
+North American schools in their girlhood. A certain etiquette as regards
+the society of men is very strictly observed here. No gentleman can
+associate with a young lady unless she is chaperoned by her mother or a
+married sister. From what we know of Spanish and Italian character, we
+are not at all surprised at the punctiliousness adhered to in both
+countries in this regard. There are very good reasons why such rules are
+imperative, not only in South America, but in continental Europe. Like
+most of the Spanish women, these of Lima, after the age of twenty-five,
+though they are rather short, and of small frames, nearly always develop
+into a decided fullness of figure.
+
+There is a semi-oriental seclusion observed at all times as regards the
+sex in this country. They are rarely seen upon the streets, except when
+driving, or going and coming from church; but one need not watch very
+closely to see many inquisitive eyes peeping from behind the curtained
+balconies which overhang the thoroughfares, and to catch occasionally
+stolen glances from pretty, coquettish owners, who would be very
+hospitable to strangers if they dared.
+
+Human nature is much the same in Lima as elsewhere. When seen on the
+streets, the ladies generally wear the black "manta" drawn close about
+the head and shoulders and partially covering the face. The manta is a
+shawl and bonnet combined, or rather it takes the place of a bonnet, and
+suggests the lace veil so universally worn at Havana, Seville, and
+Madrid, also recalling the yashmak worn by the women of the East. The
+Lima ladies cover half the face, including one eye; those of Egypt only
+cover the lower part of the face, leaving both eyes exposed.
+
+We are speaking of the better class of the metropolis. Among the more
+common people, instances of great personal beauty are frequent. One sees
+daily youthful girls on the streets who would be pronounced beautiful
+under nearly any circumstances, an inheritance only too often proving a
+fatal legacy to the owner, forming a source of temptation in a community
+where morals are held of such slight account, except among the more
+refined classes, of whom we have been speaking.
+
+One peculiarity is especially noticeable here among the native race: it
+is that the Peruvians seem to be mere lookers-on as regards the business
+of life in their country. All of the important trade is, as we have
+said, in the hands of foreigners. The English control the shipping
+interests, almost entirely, while the skilled machinists are nearly all
+Americans, with a few Scotchmen. We repeat this fact as showing the
+do-nothing nature of the natives, and also as signifying that for true
+progress, indeed, for the growth of civilization in any desirable
+direction, emigration from Europe and North America must be depended
+upon.
+
+The heavy alcoves of the old stone bridge at Lima are appropriated by
+the fruit women, whose tempting display forms glowing bits of color. The
+thoroughfares are crowded by itinerant peddlers of all sorts of
+merchandise. Milk-women come from the country, mounted astride of small
+horses or donkeys; water carriers trot about on jackasses, sitting
+behind their water jars and uttering piercing cries; Chinese food
+venders, with articles made from mysterious sources, balance their
+baskets at either end of long poles placed across their shoulders; the
+lottery-ticket vender, loud voiced and urgent, is ever present;
+newspaper boys, after our own fashion, shout "El Pais," or "El
+Nacional;" chicken dealers, with baskets full of live birds on their
+head and half a dozen hanging from each hand, solicit your patronage;
+beggars of both sexes, but mostly lazy, worthless men, feign pitiful
+lameness, while importuning every stranger for a centavo; bright,
+careless girls and boys rush hither and thither, full of life and
+spirit,--black, yellow, brown, and white, all mingling together on an
+equal footing. The absence of wheeled vehicles is noticeable, the
+tramway-cars gliding rapidly past the pedestrians, while pack-horses and
+donkeys transport mostly such merchandise as is not carried on the heads
+of men and women. Of the better class of citizens who help to make up
+this polyglot community of the metropolis, one very easily distinguishes
+the American, French, German, and English; each nationality is somehow
+distinctively marked.
+
+The stock of goods offered for sale in the pawnbrokers' shops, as a
+rule, is very significant in foreign cities; here the shelves of these
+dealers are full of valuable domestic articles, which the fallen
+fortunes of the once rich Lima families have compelled them to part with
+from time to time in a struggle to keep the wolf from the door. The
+Chilians took all they could readily find of both public and private
+property, and though they ruined financially some of the best families,
+they did not succeed in getting everything which was portable and
+valuable. Heirlooms are offered in these shops for comparatively
+trifling sums, such as rich old lace; diamonds; superbly wrought
+bracelets in gold, rubies, topazes, and other precious stones, set and
+unset; gold and silver spoons and forks of curious designs, and of which
+only one set were ever manufactured, intended to fill a special order
+and suit the fancy of some rich family. Drinking-cups bearing royal
+crests, and others with the arms of noble Castilian families engraved
+upon them, are numerous. There are also swords with jeweled hilts, gold
+and silver table ornaments, together with antique china, which might
+rival the Satsuma of Japan. Curio hunters have secured many, nay, nearly
+all, of the very choicest of these domestic relics, which they have
+mostly taken to London, where they obtained fabulous prices for them.
+
+We were told of an enterprising Yankee who invested one thousand dollars
+in these articles, took them to England, and promptly realized some
+eleven thousand dollars above all his expenses upon the venture.
+Returning to Rio Janeiro, on the east coast, he purchased precious
+stones with his increased capital, and, strange to say, although he was
+by no means an expert, among his gems he secured an old mine diamond of
+great value at a low figure, which, having been crudely cut, did not
+exhibit its real excellence. Taking the whole of his second purchase to
+Paris, he disposed of his gems at a large advance, and finally returned
+to New York with a net capital exceeding forty thousand dollars. This
+enterprising and successful individual bore the euphonious name of
+Smyth,--Smyth with a _y_,--Alfred Smyth.
+
+The three watering-places, or country villages of Miraflores, Baranco,
+and Chorillos, are connected with Lima by railway, and in these resorts
+many city merchants have their summer homes, occupying picturesque
+ranches. The Chilians sacked and burned these places during the war, but
+they have been mostly rebuilt, and are once more in a thriving
+condition.
+
+Peru was celebrated for centuries as the most prolific gold and silver
+producing country in the world; her very name has long been the synonym
+for riches. Although the product of the precious metals is still
+considerable, yet it is quite insignificant compared with the revenue
+which she has realized from the export of guano and phosphates. The
+former article, as we have already said, has become virtually exhausted,
+and the latter source of supply, still immensely prolific and valuable,
+has been stolen from her bodily by the Chilians, so that Peru has now to
+fall back upon industry and the remaining natural resources of the soil.
+
+The most remarkable peculiarity in the physical formation of Peru is the
+double Cordillera of the Andes, which traverse it from southeast to
+northwest, separating the country into three distinct regions, which
+differ materially from each other in climate, soil, and vegetation. To
+the proximity of the range nearest to the coast is undoubtedly to be
+attributed the frequent earthquakes which disturb the shore, whether the
+volcanoes are apparently extinct or not. It may be reasonably doubted if
+any of the volcanoes are absolutely extinct, in the full sense of the
+term. They may be inoperative, so far as can be seen, for an entire
+century, and at its close break out in full vigor. In consulting the
+authorities upon this subject we find that, since 1570, there have been
+sixty-nine destructive earthquakes recorded as having taken place on the
+west coast of South America. The most terrible of them was that already
+referred to, which destroyed Callao in 1745. It is stated that the
+shocks at that time continued with more or less violence for three
+consecutive months, and the records of the event further state that
+there were two hundred and twenty distinct shocks within the twenty-four
+hours following the enormous tidal wave which overwhelmed Callao. At
+present, hardly a week passes without decided indications of volcanic
+disturbance occurring, but these are of so slight a nature,
+comparatively speaking, that but little attention is paid to them by the
+native population, though it is true that sensitive strangers often turn
+pale at such an event and tremble with fearful anticipations.
+
+About twenty miles south of Lima, on elevated ground which overlooks the
+Pacific, is the prehistoric spot known as Pachacamac, in the valley of
+the Lurin River. The name signifies the "Creator of the World," to whom
+the city and its temples were originally dedicated. Here, upon the edge
+of the desert, once stood the sacred city of a people who preceded the
+Incas, and who have left in these interesting, mouldering ruins tokens
+of their advanced civilization, as clearly defined as are those of
+Thebes, in far away Egypt. Another fact should not be lost sight of in
+this connection, that many ancient remains to be found in this
+neighborhood evince a higher degree of intelligence, in their
+constructive belongings, than do any evidences left to us respecting the
+days of the Incas, with whom we are in a measure familiar. The
+archæologists, whose profession it is to carefully weigh even the
+slightest tangible evidence which time has spared, long since came to
+this conclusion.
+
+Pachacamac was the Mecca of South America, or at least of the most
+civilized portion of it, if we may judge by present appearances, and by
+the testimony of history as far back as it reaches.
+
+The ruins at Pachacamac consist of walls formed of adobe and sun-dried
+bricks, some of which can be traced, notwithstanding the many
+earthquakes which have shaken the neighborhood. The site of the ruins is
+a hilly spot, and the sands have drifted so as to cover them in many
+places, just as the Sphinx and the base of the pyramids have been
+covered, near Cairo. Specific ruins are designated as having once been
+the grand temple of the sun, and others as the house of the sacred
+virgins of the sun. It is very obvious that the Incas destroyed a grand
+and spacious temple here, which legend tells us was heavily adorned with
+silver and gold, to make way for one of their own dedicated to the
+worship of the sun. Who this race were and whence they came, with so
+considerable a system of civilization, is a theme which has long
+absorbed the speculative antiquarian. It is easy enough to construct
+theories which may meet the case, but it is difficult to support them
+when they are subjected to the cold arguments of reason and the test of
+known history. Actual knowledge is a great iconoclast, and smashes the
+poetical images of the unreliable historian with a ruthless hand. The
+Spanish records relating to the period of early discovery here, as also
+of Pizarro's career and the doing of the agents of the Romish Church,
+have long since been proven to be absolutely unworthy of belief.
+
+About the ruins of Pachacamac was once a sacred burial place, where
+well-preserved mummies are still to be found, but the great, silent,
+ruined city itself does not contain one living inhabitant. The
+graveyard--the Campo Santo--remains, as it were, intact, but the proud
+city, with its grand temples dedicated to unknown gods, has crumbled to
+dust.
+
+Curiously carved gold and silver vases and ornaments, exhibiting the
+exercise of a high degree of artistic skill, have been exhumed in the
+vast graveyard surrounding these ruins, whose extent, if judged by the
+number of interments which have taken place here, must have been ten
+times larger than the present site of Lima, and it must have contained a
+population many times larger than that of the present capital of Peru.
+In the mouths of the well-preserved mummies found buried here, we are
+told that gold coins were found, presumably placed there to pay for
+ferriage across the river of death. Here we have a fact also worthy of
+note. It thus appears that this people must have had a circulating
+medium in the shape of gold coin. As the placing of coin in the mouth of
+the deceased was a custom of the ancient Greeks, may it not be that
+these people came originally from Greece or from some contiguous
+country?
+
+There are numerous other ancient remains in the neighborhood of Lima, of
+which even tradition fails to give any account. Antiquarians find many
+clues to special knowledge of the past in the remains which can be
+exhumed in places on the coast of Chili and Peru, in the ancient graves
+where the nitrous soil has preserved not only the bodies of a former
+people, but also their tools, weapons, and domestic utensils.
+
+       *     *     *     *     *
+
+To reach the United States from Callao, the most direct course is to
+sail northward fifteen hundred miles to Panama, and cross the isthmus,
+again taking ship from the Atlantic side; but the author's family
+awaited him in Europe, and as the Pacific mail service exactly met his
+requirements, he sailed southward, touching at several of the ports
+already visited, crossing the Atlantic by way of the Canary and Cape de
+Verde Islands to Lisbon, thence to Southampton and to London. Joining
+his family, he crossed the Atlantic from Liverpool to Boston, after an
+absence of seven months, traveling in all of this equatorial journey
+some thirty thousand miles without any serious mishap, and having
+acquired a largely augmented fund of pleasurable memories.
+
+
+
+
+          By Maturin M. Ballou.
+
+
+  EQUATORIAL AMERICA. Descriptive of a Visit to St. Thomas,
+    Martinique, Barbadoes, and the Principal Capitals of
+    South America. A New Book. Crown 8vo, $1.50.
+
+  AZTEC LAND. Crown 8vo, $1.50.
+
+  THE NEW ELDORADO. A Summer Journey to Alaska. Crown 8vo,
+    $1.50.
+
+  ALASKA. The New Eldorado. A Summer Journey to Alaska.
+    _Tourist's Edition_, with 4 maps. 16mo, $1.00.
+
+  DUE WEST; or, ROUND THE WORLD IN TEN MONTHS. Crown 8vo,
+    $1.50.
+
+  DUE SOUTH; or, CUBA PAST AND PRESENT. Crown 8vo, $1.50.
+
+  UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS; or, TRAVELS IN AUSTRALASIA. Crown
+    8vo, $1.50.
+
+  DUE NORTH; or, GLIMPSES OF SCANDINAVIA AND RUSSIA. Crown
+    8vo, $1.50.
+
+  GENIUS IN SUNSHINE AND SHADOW. Crown 8vo, $1.50.
+
+  EDGE-TOOLS OF SPEECH. Selected and edited by Mr. BALLOU.
+    8vo, $3.50.
+
+  A TREASURY OF THOUGHT. An Encyclopedia of Quotations. 8vo,
+    full gilt, $3.50.
+
+  PEARLS OF THOUGHT. 16mo, full gilt, $1.25.
+
+  NOTABLE THOUGHTS ABOUT WOMEN. Crown 8vo, $1.50.
+
+
+          HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & COMPANY,
+          BOSTON AND NEW YORK.
+
+
+
+
+  Transcriber's Notes:
+
+  List of books by Maturin M. Ballou was moved from the first page
+  to the end of the book.
+
+  Obsolete and alternate spellings of words were not changed.
+
+  Alterations to the text:
+    changed 'Hurricances' to 'Hurricanes' in Chapter I summary.
+    changed 'salter' to 'saltier' ... water is saltier than ...
+    removed hyphen from Ant-illes ... in those days the Antilles!...
+    changed 'adode' to 'adobe' ... adobe and sun-dried bricks ...
+
+  Changes made for consistency with remaining text:
+    added period after 'Private Gardens' in Chapter V summary.
+    added hyphen to 'well appointed'
+        ... commodious, and well-appointed ship,...
+        ... large and well-appointed opera house ...
+    removed hyphen from 'mail-boat'
+        ... as a mail boat running between ...
+    removed hyphen from 'sailing-vessel'
+        ... individuality about sailing vessels which ...
+    removed hyphen from 'fruit-tree'
+        ... the fruit trees are perennial,...
+    removed hyphen from 'light-green'
+        ... round, light green berry ...
+    removed hyphen from 'well-known'
+        ... his well known reason ...
+        ... This well known port ...
+    removed hyphen from 'summer-houses'
+        ... pretty summer houses and ...
+    added hyphen to 'mossgrown'
+        ... which are gray and moss-grown,...
+        ... the moss-grown, crumbling ...
+    removed hyphen from 'bee-hive'
+        ... formed an immense human beehive ...
+    added hyphen to 'well arranged'
+        ... white stone, well-arranged, and is ...
+    removed hyphen from 'tail-fin'
+        ... tip of the tail fin,...
+    removed hyphen from 'so called'
+        ... from the so called cross ...
+    added hyphen to 'well equipped'
+        ... upon well-equipped railroads ...
+    removed hyphen from 'copper-colored'
+        ... but their brown or copper colored skins ...
+    added hyphen to 'waterway'
+        ... this unequaled water-way,...
+    added hyphen to 'low lying'
+        ... all the low-lying tropical lands ...
+    removed hyphen from 'house-fronts'
+        ... The house fronts in the various sections ...
+    added hyphen to 'sea birds'
+        ... myriads of sea-birds, whose sharp cries ...
+    added hyphen to 'curious shaped'
+        ... curious-shaped coasting craft ...
+    added hyphen to 'sky line'
+        ... breaks the sky-line in front of ...
+    added hyphen to 'far reaching'
+        ... the far-reaching shores ...
+    removed hyphen from 'deep-green'
+        ... with its deep green foliage ...
+    removed hyphen from 'yellow-ochre'
+        ... by the yellow ochre walls ...
+    removed hyphen from 'tide-wate'
+        ... feet above tide water....
+        ... the nearest tide water ...
+    removed hyphen from 'well-organized'
+        ... any well organized education establishment ...
+    added hyphen to 'fancy goods'
+        ... many of the fancy-goods stores ...
+    added hyphen to 'stovepipe'
+        ... with tall, stove-pipe hats ...
+    added hyphen to 'never failing'
+        ... the lottery with never-failing regularity ...
+    removed hyphen from 'well-wooded'
+        ... among the well wooded hills ...
+    removed hyphen from 'well-paved'
+        ... drainage and well paved streets ...
+        ... broad, well paved streets,...
+    added hyphen to 'half naked'
+        ... the inhabitants half-naked and wholly starved...
+    deleted hyphen in 'snow-white'
+        ... natty straw hats, snow white aprons,...
+        ... a broad snow white ruffle ...
+    removed hyphen from 'well-dressed'
+        ... are a well dressed class ...
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Equatorial America, by Maturin M. Ballou
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+<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" />
+ <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" />
+    <title>
+The Project Gutenburg ebook of EQUATORIAL AMERICA, by MATURIN M. BALLOU.
+    </title>
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+
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+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Equatorial America, by Maturin M. Ballou
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Equatorial America
+       Descriptive of a Visit to St. Thomas, Martinique, Barbadoes,
+              and the Principal Capitals of South America
+
+Author: Maturin M. Ballou
+
+Release Date: August 3, 2011 [EBook #36963]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK EQUATORIAL AMERICA ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Julia Miller, Carol Ann Brown, and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
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+</pre>
+
+
+<p class="p4"></p>
+<h1>EQUATORIAL AMERICA</h1>
+
+<p class="p2 center"><i>DESCRIPTIVE OF A VISIT TO ST. THOMAS</i><br />
+<i>MARTINIQUE, BARBADOES, AND</i><br />
+<i>THE PRINCIPAL CAPITALS</i><br />
+<i>OF SOUTH AMERICA</i></p>
+
+<p class="p4"></p>
+
+<h4>BY</h4>
+
+<h2>MATURIN M. BALLOU</h2>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+ <img src="images/colophon.png"
+ width="97" height="86"
+ alt="Illustration: Printer's Logo"
+ title="Printer's Logo" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="p4 center">BOSTON AND NEW YORK<br />
+HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY<br />
+The Riverside Press, Cambridge<br />
+1892</p>
+
+<p class="p4 center">Copyright, 1892,<br />
+<span class="smcap">By</span> MATURIN M. BALLOU.</p>
+
+<p class="center"><i>All rights reserved.</i></p>
+
+<p class="p4 center"><i>The Riverside Press, Cambridge, Mass., U. S.
+A.</i><br />
+Electrotyped and Printed by H. O. Houghton &amp; Company.</p>
+
+<p class="p4 center">DEDICATED<br />
+TO<br />
+CAPTAIN E. C. BAKER<br />
+OF THE<br />
+<i>STEAMSHIP VIGILANCIA</i><br />
+<span class="smaller">WITH WARM APPRECIATION OF HIS QUALITIES<br />
+AS A GENTLEMAN<br />
+AND AN ACCOMPLISHED SEAMAN</span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+ <img src="images/i004.png"
+ width="31" height="32"
+ alt="Illustration: Design"
+ title="Design" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="p4 center">PREFACE.</p>
+
+<p class="p2">"I am a part of all that I have seen," says Tennyson, a
+sentiment which every one of large experience will heartily indorse.
+With the extraordinary facilities for travel available in modern times,
+it is a serious mistake in those who possess the means, not to become
+familiar with the various sections of the globe. Vivid descriptions and
+excellent photographs give us a certain knowledge of the great monuments
+of the world, both natural and artificial, but the traveler always finds
+the reality a new revelation, whether it be the marvels of a Yellowstone
+Park, a vast oriental temple, Alaskan glaciers, or the Pyramids of
+Ghiza. The latter, for instance, do not differ from the statistics which
+we have so often seen recorded, their great, dominating outlines are the
+same as pictorially delineated, but when we actually stand before them,
+they are touched by the wand of enchantment, and spring into visible
+life. Heretofore they have been shadows, henceforth they are tangible
+and real. The best descriptions fail to inspire us, experience alone can
+do that. What words can adequately depict the confused grandeur of the
+Falls of Schaffhausen; the magnificence of the Himalayan
+range,&mdash;roof-tree of the world; the thrilling beauty of the
+Yosemite Valley; the architectural loveliness of the Taj Mahal, of
+India; the starry splendor of equatorial nights; the maritime charms of
+the Bay of Naples; or the marvel of the Midnight Sun at the North Cape?
+It is personal observation alone which truly satisfies, educating the
+eye and enriching the understanding. If we can succeed in imparting, a
+portion of our enjoyment to others, we enhance our own pleasure, and
+therefore these notes of travel are given to the public.</p>
+
+<p class="quotesig">M. M. B.</p>
+
+<table summary="Table of Contents">
+
+<tr><td class="center larger">CONTENTS.</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td></td><td class="right"><span class="smcap">page</span></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><p class="center"><a href="#Ch_1">CHAPTER I.</a></p></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>Commencement of a Long Journey.&mdash;The Gulf
+Stream.&mdash;Hayti.&mdash;Sighting St. Thomas.&mdash;Ship
+Rock.&mdash;Expert Divers.&mdash;Fidgety Old Lady.&mdash;An Important
+Island.&mdash;The Old Slaver.&mdash;Aborigines.&mdash;St. Thomas
+Cigars.&mdash;Population.&mdash;Tri-Mountain.&mdash;The Negro
+Paradise.&mdash;Hurricanes.&mdash;Variety of Fish.&mdash;Coaling
+Ship.&mdash;The Firefly Dance.&mdash;A Weird Scene.&mdash;An Antique
+Anchor</td>
+
+<td class="right">1</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><p class="p2 center"><a href="#Ch_2">CHAPTER II.</a></p></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>Curious Seaweed.&mdash;Professor Agassiz.&mdash;Myth of a Lost
+Continent.&mdash;Island of Martinique.&mdash;An Attractive
+Place.&mdash;Statue of the Empress Josephine.&mdash;Birthplace of Madame
+de Maintenon.&mdash;City of St. Pierre.&mdash;Mont Pelée.&mdash;High
+Flavored Specialty.&mdash;Grisettes of Maritinque.&mdash;A Botanical
+Garden.&mdash;Defective Drainage.&mdash;A Fatal Enemy.&mdash;A Cannibal
+Snake.&mdash;The Climate</td>
+
+<td class="right">33</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><p class="p2 center"><a href="#Ch_3">CHAPTER
+III.</a></p></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>English Island of Barbadoes.&mdash;Bridgetown the
+Capital.&mdash;The Manufacture of Rum.&mdash;A Geographical
+Expert.&mdash;Very English.&mdash;A Pest of
+Ants.&mdash;Exports.&mdash;The Ice House.&mdash;A Dense
+Population.&mdash;Educational.&mdash;Marine Hotel.&mdash;Habits of
+Gambling.&mdash;Hurricanes.&mdash;Curious Antiquities.&mdash;The
+Barbadoes Leg.&mdash;Wakeful Dreams.&mdash;Absence of
+Twilight.&mdash;Departure from the Island</td>
+
+<td class="right">51</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><p class="p2 center"><a href="#Ch_4">CHAPTER IV.</a></p></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>Curious Ocean Experiences.&mdash;The Delicate
+Nautilus.&mdash;Flying-Fish.&mdash;The Southern Cross.&mdash;Speaking a
+Ship at Sea.&mdash;Scientific Navigation.&mdash;South America as a
+Whole.&mdash;Fauna and Flora.&mdash;Natural Resources of a Wonderful
+Land.&mdash;Rivers, Plains, and Mountain Ranges.&mdash;Aboriginal
+Tribes.&mdash;Population.&mdash;Political Divisions.&mdash;Civil
+Wars.&mdash;Weakness of South American States</td>
+
+<td class="right">68</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><p class="p2 center"><a href="#Ch_5">CHAPTER V.</a></p></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>City of Pará.&mdash;The Equatorial Line.&mdash;Spanish
+History.&mdash;The King of Waters.&mdash;Private Gardens.&mdash;Domestic
+Life in Northern Brazil.&mdash;Delicious Pineapples.&mdash;Family
+Pets.&mdash;Opera House.&mdash;Mendicants.&mdash;A Grand
+Avenue.&mdash;Botanical Garden.&mdash;India-Rubber Tree.&mdash;Gathering
+the Raw Material.&mdash;Monkeys.&mdash;The Royal Palm.&mdash;Splendor of
+Equatorial Nights</td>
+
+<td class="right">94</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><p class="p2 center"><a href="#Ch_6">CHAPTER VI.</a></p></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>Island of Marajo.&mdash;Rare and Beautiful Birds.&mdash;Original
+Mode of Securing
+Humming-Birds.&mdash;Maranhão.&mdash;Educational.&mdash;Value of Native
+Forests.&mdash;Pernambuco.&mdash;Difficulty of Landing.&mdash;An
+Ill-Chosen Name.&mdash;Local Scenes.&mdash;Uncleanly Habits of the
+People.&mdash;Great Sugar Mart.&mdash;Native Houses.&mdash;A Quaint
+Hostelry.&mdash;Catamarans.&mdash;A Natural Breakwater.&mdash;Sailing
+down the Coast</td>
+
+<td class="right">115</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><p class="p2 center"><a href="#Ch_7">CHAPTER
+VII.</a></p></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>Port of Bahia.&mdash;A Quaint Old City.&mdash;Former Capital of
+Brazil.&mdash;Whaling Interests.&mdash;Beautiful
+Panorama.&mdash;Tramways.&mdash;No Color Line Here.&mdash;The Sedan
+Chair.&mdash;Feather Flowers.&mdash;A Great Orange Mart.&mdash;Passion
+Flower Fruit.&mdash;Coffee, Sugar, and Tobacco.&mdash;A Coffee
+Plantation.&mdash;Something about Diamonds.&mdash;Health of the
+City.&mdash;Curious Tropical Street Scenes</td>
+
+<td class="right">138</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><p class="p2 center"><a href="#Ch_8">CHAPTER
+VIII.</a></p></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>Cape Frio.&mdash;Rio Janeiro.&mdash;A Splendid
+Harbor.&mdash;Various Mountains.&mdash;Botafogo Bay.&mdash;The
+Hunchback.&mdash;Farewell to the Vigilancia.&mdash;Tijuca.&mdash;Italian
+Emigrants.&mdash;City Institutions.&mdash;Public
+Amusements.&mdash;Street Musicians.&mdash;Churches.&mdash;Narrow
+Thoroughfares.&mdash;Merchants' Clerks.&mdash;Railroads in
+Brazil.&mdash;Natural Advantages of the City.&mdash;The Public
+Plazas.&mdash;Exports</td>
+
+<td class="right">155</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><p class="p2 center"><a href="#Ch_9">CHAPTER IX.</a></p></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>Outdoor Scenes in Rio Janeiro.&mdash;The Little
+Marmoset.&mdash;The Fish Market.&mdash;Secluded Women.&mdash;The Romish
+Church.&mdash;Botanical Garden.&mdash;Various Species of
+Trees.&mdash;Grand Avenue of Royal Palms.&mdash;About
+Humming-Birds.&mdash;Climate of Rio.&mdash;Surrounded by Yellow
+Fever.&mdash;The Country Inland.&mdash;Begging on the
+Streets.&mdash;Flowers.&mdash;"Portuguese Joe."&mdash;Social
+Distinctions</td>
+
+<td class="right">180</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><p class="p2 center"><a href="#Ch_10">CHAPTER X.</a></p></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>Petropolis.&mdash;Summer Residence of the Citizens of
+Rio.&mdash;Brief Sketch of the late Royal Family.&mdash;Dom Pedro's
+Palace.&mdash;A Delightful Mountain Sanitarium.&mdash;A Successful but
+Bloodless Revolution.&mdash;Floral Delights.&mdash;Mountain
+Scenery.&mdash;Heavy Gambling.&mdash;A German
+Settlement.&mdash;Cascatinha.&mdash;Remarkable Orchids.&mdash;Local
+Types.&mdash;A Brazilian Forest.&mdash;Compensation</td>
+
+<td class="right">201</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><p class="p2 center"><a href="#Ch_11">CHAPTER
+XI.</a></p></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>Port of Santos.&mdash;Yellow Fever Scourge.&mdash;Down the Coast
+to Montevideo.&mdash;The Cathedral.&mdash;Pamperos.&mdash;Domestic
+Architecture.&mdash;A Grand Thoroughfare.&mdash;City
+Institutions.&mdash;Commercial Advantages.&mdash;The Opera
+House.&mdash;The Bull-Fight.&mdash;Beggars on Horseback.&mdash;City
+Shops.&mdash;A Typical Character.&mdash;Intoxication.&mdash;The Campo
+Santo.&mdash;Exports.&mdash;Rivers and Railways</td>
+
+<td class="right">217</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><p class="p2 center"><a href="#Ch_12">CHAPTER
+XII.</a></p></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>Buenos Ayres.&mdash;Extent of the Argentine
+Republic.&mdash;Population.&mdash;Narrow Streets.&mdash;Large Public
+Squares.&mdash;Basques.&mdash;Poor Harbor.&mdash;Railway
+System.&mdash;River Navigation.&mdash;Tramways.&mdash;The
+Cathedral.&mdash;Normal Schools.&mdash;Newspapers.&mdash;Public
+Buildings.&mdash;Calle Florida.&mdash;A Busy City.&mdash;Mode of
+furnishing Milk.&mdash;Environs.&mdash;Commercial and Political
+Growth.&mdash;The New Capital</td>
+
+<td class="right">244</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><p class="p2 center"><a href="#Ch_13">CHAPTER
+XIII.</a></p></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>City of Rosario.&mdash;Its Population.&mdash;A Pretentious
+Church.&mdash;Ocean Experiences.&mdash;Morbid Fancies.&mdash;Strait of
+Magellan.&mdash;A Great Discoverer.&mdash;Local
+Characteristics.&mdash;Patagonians and Fuegians.&mdash;Giant
+Kelp.&mdash;Unique Mail Box.&mdash;Punta Arenas.&mdash;An Ex-Penal
+Colony.&mdash;The Albatross.&mdash;Natives.&mdash;A Naked
+People.&mdash;Whales.&mdash;Sea-Birds.&mdash;Glaciers.&mdash;Mount
+Sarmiento.&mdash;A Singular Story</td>
+
+<td class="right">271</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><p class="p2 center"><a href="#Ch_14">CHAPTER
+XIV.</a></p></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>The Land of Fire.&mdash;Cape Horn.&mdash;In the Open
+Pacific.&mdash;Fellow Passengers.&mdash;Large Sea-Bird.&mdash;An
+Interesting Invalid.&mdash;A Weary Captive.&mdash;A Broken-Hearted
+Mother.&mdash;Study of the Heavens.&mdash;The Moon.&mdash;Chilian Civil
+War.&mdash;Concepcion.&mdash;A Growing City.&mdash;Commercial
+Importance.&mdash;Cultivating City Gardens on a New
+Plan.&mdash;Important Coal Mines.&mdash;Delicious Fruits</td>
+
+<td class="right">297</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><p class="p2 center"><a href="#Ch_15">CHAPTER
+XV.</a></p></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>Valparaiso.&mdash;Principal South American Port of the
+Pacific.&mdash;A Good Harbor.&mdash;Tallest Mountain on this
+Continent.&mdash;The Newspaper Press.&mdash;Warlike Aspect.&mdash;Girls
+as Car Conductors.&mdash;Chilian Exports.&mdash;Foreign
+Merchants.&mdash;Effects of Civil War.&mdash;Gambling in Private
+Houses.&mdash;Immigration.&mdash;Culture of the
+Grape.&mdash;Agriculture.&mdash;Island of Juan Fernandez</td>
+
+<td class="right">315</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><p class="p2 center"><a href="#Ch_16">CHAPTER
+XVI.</a></p></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>The Port of Callao.&mdash;A Submerged City.&mdash;Peruvian
+Exports.&mdash;A Dirty and Unwholesome Town.&mdash;Cinchona
+Bark.&mdash;The Andes.&mdash;The Llama.&mdash;A National
+Dance.&mdash;City of Lima.&mdash;An Old and Interesting
+Capital.&mdash;Want of Rain.&mdash;Pizarro and His Crimes.&mdash;A Grand
+Cathedral.&mdash;Chilian Soldiers.&mdash;Costly Churches of
+Peru.&mdash;Roman Catholic Influence.&mdash;Desecration of the
+Sabbath</td>
+
+<td class="right">334</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td><p class="p2 center"><a href="#Ch_17">CHAPTER
+XVII.</a></p></td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>A Grand Plaza.&mdash;Retribution.&mdash;The University of
+Lima.&mdash;Significance of Ancient
+Pottery.&mdash;Architecture.&mdash;Picturesque Dwelling.&mdash;Domestic
+Scene.&mdash;Destructive Earthquakes.&mdash;Spanish Sway.&mdash;Women of
+Lima.&mdash;Street Costumes.&mdash;Ancient Bridge of
+Lima.&mdash;Newspapers.&mdash;Pawnbrokers'
+Shops.&mdash;Exports.&mdash;An Ancient Mecca.&mdash;Home by Way of
+Europe.</td>
+
+<td class="right">355</td></tr>
+
+</table>
+
+<p class="p4"></p>
+
+<h1>EQUATORIAL AMERICA.</h1>
+
+<p class="p4"><a name="Ch_1"></a></p>
+<h3>CHAPTER I.</h3>
+
+<p class="blockquote">Commencement of a Long Journey.&mdash;The Gulf
+Stream.&mdash;Hayti.&mdash;Sighting St. Thomas.&mdash;Ship
+Rock.&mdash;Expert Divers.&mdash;Fidgety Old Lady.&mdash;An Important
+Island.&mdash;The Old Slaver.&mdash;Aborigines.&mdash;St. Thomas
+Cigars.&mdash;Population.&mdash;Tri-Mountain.&mdash;Negro
+Paradise.&mdash;<ins title="'Hurricances' in the
+original">Hurricanes</ins>.&mdash;Variety of Fish.&mdash;Coaling
+Ship.&mdash;The Firefly Dane.&mdash;A Weird Scene.&mdash;An Antique
+Anchor.</p>
+
+<p class="p2">In starting upon foreign travel, one drops into the
+familiar routine on shipboard much after the same fashion wherever
+bound, whether crossing the Atlantic eastward, or steaming to the south
+through the waters of the Caribbean Sea; whether in a Peninsular and
+Oriental ship in the Indian Ocean, or on a White Star liner in the
+Pacific bound for Japan. The steward brings a cup of hot coffee and a
+slice of dry toast to one's cabin soon after the sun rises, as a sort of
+eye-opener; and having swallowed that excellent stimulant, one feels
+better fortified for the struggle to dress on the uneven floor of a
+rolling and pitching ship. Then comes the brief promenade on deck before
+breakfast, a liberal inhalation of fresh air insuring a good appetite.
+There is no hurry at this meal. There is so little to do at sea, and so
+much time to do it in, that passengers are apt to linger at table as a
+pastime, and even multiply their meals in number. As a rule, we make up
+our mind to follow some instructive course of reading while at sea, but,
+alas! we never fulfill the good resolution. An entire change of habits
+and associations for the time being is not favorable to such a purpose.
+The tonic of the sea braces one up to an unwonted degree, evinced by
+great activity of body and mind. Favored by the unavoidable
+companionship of individuals in the circumscribed space of a ship,
+acquaintances are formed which often ripen into lasting friendship.
+Inexperienced voyagers are apt to become effusive and over-confiding,
+abrupt intimacies and unreasonable dislikes are of frequent occurrence,
+and before the day of separation, the student of human nature has seen
+many phases exhibited for his analysis.</p>
+
+<p>Our vessel, the Vigilancia, is a large, commodious, and
+well-appointed ship, embracing all the modern appliances for comfort and
+safety at sea. She is lighted by electricity, having a donkey engine
+which sets in motion a dynamo machine, converting mechanical energy into
+electric energy. Perhaps the reader, though familiar with the effect of
+this mode of lighting, has never paused to analyze the very simple
+manner in which it is produced. The current is led from the dynamos to
+the various points where light is desired by means of insulated wires.
+The lamps consist of a fine thread of carbon inclosed in a glass bulb
+from which air has been entirely excluded. This offers such resistance
+to the current passing through it that the energy is expended in raising
+the carbon to a white heat, thus forming the light. The permanence of
+the carbon is insured by the absence of oxygen. If the glass bulb is
+broken and atmospheric air comes in contact with the carbon, it is at
+once destroyed by combustion, and all light from this source ceases.
+These lamps are so arranged that each one can be turned off or on at
+will without affecting others. The absence of offensive smell or smoke,
+the steadiness of the light, unaffected by the motion of the ship, and
+its superior brilliancy, all join to make this mode of lighting a vessel
+a positive luxury.</p>
+
+<p>Some pleasant hours were passed on board the Vigilancia, between New
+York and the West Indies, in the study of the Gulf Stream, through which
+we were sailing,&mdash;that river in the ocean with its banks and bottom
+of cold water, while its current is always warm. Who can explain the
+mystery of its motive power? What keeps its tepid water, in a course of
+thousands of miles, from mingling with the rest of the sea? Whence does
+it really come? The accepted theories are familiar enough, but we place
+little reliance upon them, the statements of scientists are so easily
+formulated, but often so difficult to prove. As Professor Maury tells
+us, there is in the world no other flow of water so majestic as this; it
+has a course more rapid than either the Mississippi or the Amazon, and a
+volume more than a thousand times greater. The color of this remarkable
+stream, whose fountain is supposed to be the Gulf of Mexico and the
+Caribbean Sea, is so deep a blue off our southern shore that the line of
+demarcation from its surroundings is quite obvious, the Gulf water
+having apparently a decided reluctance to mingling with the rest of the
+ocean, a peculiarity which has been long and vainly discussed without a
+satisfactory solution having been reached. The same phenomenon has been
+observed in the Pacific, where the Japanese current comes up from the
+equator, along the shore of that country, crossing Behring's Sea to the
+continent of North America, and, turning southward along the coast of
+California, finally disappears. Throughout all this ocean passage, like
+the Gulf Stream in the Atlantic, it retains its individuality, and is
+quite separate from the rest of the ocean. The fact that the water is
+<ins title="'salter' in the original">saltier</ins> than that of the
+Atlantic is by some supposed to account for the indigo blue of the Gulf
+Stream.</p>
+
+<p>The temperature of this water is carefully taken on board all well
+regulated ships, and is recorded in the log. On this voyage it was found
+to vary from 75° to 80° Fahrenheit.</p>
+
+<p>Our ship had touched at Newport News, Va., after leaving New York, to
+take the U. S. mail on board; thence the course was south-southeast,
+giving the American continent a wide berth, and heading for the Danish
+island of St. Thomas, which lies in the latitude of Hayti, but a long
+way to the eastward of that uninteresting island. We say uninteresting
+with due consideration, though its history is vivid enough to satisfy
+the most sensational taste. It has produced its share of native heroes,
+as well as native traitors, while the frequent upheavals of its mingled
+races have been no less erratic than destructive. The ignorance and
+confusion which reign among the masses on the island are deplorable.
+Minister Douglass utterly failed to make anything out of Hayti. The
+lower classes of the people living inland come next to the inhabitants
+of Terra del Fuego in the scale of humanity, and are much inferior to
+the Maoris of New Zealand, or the savage tribes of Australia. It is
+satisfactorily proven that cannibalism still exists among them in its
+most repulsive form, so revolting, indeed, that we hesitate to detail
+the experience of a creditable eye-witness relating to this matter, as
+personally described to us.</p>
+
+<p>Upon looking at the map it would seem, to one unaccustomed to the
+ocean, that a ship could not lay her course direct, in these island
+dotted waters, without running down one or more of them; but the
+distances which are so circumscribed upon the chart are extended for
+many a league at sea, and a good navigator may sail his ship from New
+York to Barbadoes, if he so desires, without sighting the land. Not a
+sailing vessel or steamship was seen, on the brief voyage from the
+American continent to the West Indies, these latitudes being far less
+frequented by passenger and freighting ships than the transatlantic
+route further north.</p>
+
+<p>It is quite natural that the heart should throb with increased
+animation, the spirits become more elate, and the eyes more than usually
+appreciative, when the land of one's destination heaves in sight after
+long days and nights passed at sea. This is especially the case if the
+change from home scenes is so radical in all particulars as when coming
+from our bleak Northern States in the early days of spring, before the
+trees have donned their leaves, to the soft temperature and exuberant
+verdure of the low latitudes. Commencing the voyage herein described,
+the author left the Brooklyn shore of New York harbor about the first of
+May, during a sharp snow-squall, though, as Governor's Island was passed
+on the one hand, and the Statue of Liberty on the other, the sun burst
+forth from its cloudy environment, as if to smile a cheerful farewell.
+Thus we passed out upon the broad Atlantic, bound southward, soon
+feeling its half suppressed force in the regular sway and roll of the
+vessel. She was heavily laden, and measured considerably over four
+thousand tons, drawing twenty-two feet of water, yet she was like an
+eggshell upon the heaving breast of the ocean. As these mammoth ships
+lie in port beside the wharf, it seems as though their size and enormous
+weight would place them beyond the influence of the wind and waves: but
+the power of the latter is so great as to be beyond computation, and
+makes a mere toy of the largest hull that floats. No one can realize the
+great strength of the waves who has not watched the sea in all of its
+varying moods.</p>
+
+<p>"Land O!" shouts the lookout on the forecastle.</p>
+
+<p>A wave of the hand signifies that the occupant of the bridge has
+already made out the mote far away upon the glassy surface of the sea,
+which now rapidly grows into definite form.</p>
+
+<p>When the mountain which rises near the centre of St. Thomas was
+fairly in view from the deck of the Vigilancia, it seemed as if
+beckoning us to its hospitable shore. The light breeze which fanned the
+sea came from off the land flavored with an odor of tropical vegetation,
+a suggestion of fragrant blossoms, and a promise of luscious fruits. On
+our starboard bow there soon came into view the well known Ship Rock,
+which appears, when seen from a short distance, almost precisely like a
+full-rigged ship under canvas. If the sky is clouded and the atmosphere
+hazy, the delusion is remarkable.</p>
+
+<p>This story is told of a French corvette which was cruising in these
+latitudes at the time when the buccaneers were creating such havoc with
+legitimate commerce in the West Indies. It seems that the coast was
+partially hidden by a fog, when the corvette made out the rock through
+the haze, and, supposing it to be what it so much resembles, a ship
+under sail, fired a gun to leeward for her to heave to. Of course there
+was no response to the shot, so the Frenchman brought his ship closer,
+at the same time clearing for action. Being satisfied that he had to do
+with a powerful adversary, he resolved to obtain the advantage by
+promptly crippling the enemy, and so discharged the whole of his
+starboard broadside into the supposed ship, looming through the mist.
+The fog quietly dispersed as the corvette went about and prepared to
+deliver her port guns in a similar manner. As the deceptive rock stood
+in precisely the same place when the guns came once more to bear upon
+it, the true character of the object was discovered. It is doubtful
+whether the Frenchman's surprise or mortification predominated.</p>
+
+<p>An hour of steady progress served to raise the veil of distance, and
+to reveal the spacious bay of Charlotte Amalie, with its strong
+background of abrupt hills and dense greenery of tropical foliage. How
+wonderfully blue was the water round about the island,&mdash;an emerald
+set in a sea of molten sapphire! It seemed as if the sky had been melted
+and poured all over the ebbing tide. About the Bahamas, especially off
+the shore at Nassau, the water is green,&mdash;a delicate bright green;
+here it exhibits only the true azure blue,&mdash;Mediterranean blue. It
+is seen at its best and in marvelous glow during the brief moments of
+twilight, when a glance of golden sunset tinges its mottled surface with
+iris hues, like the opaline flashes from a humming-bird's throat.</p>
+
+<p>The steamer gradually lost headway, the vibrating hull ceased to
+throb with the action of its motive power, as though pausing to take
+breath after long days and nights of sustained effort, and presently the
+anchor was let go in the excellent harbor of St. Thomas, latitude 18°
+20' north, longitude 64° 48' west. Our forecastle gun, fired to announce
+arrival, awakened the echoes in the hills, so that all seemed to join in
+clapping their hands to welcome us. Thus amid the Norwegian fiords the
+report of the steamer's single gun becomes a whole broadside, as it is
+reverberated from the grim and rocky elevations which line that
+iron-bound coast.</p>
+
+<p>There was soon gathered about the ship a bevy of naked colored boys,
+a score or more, jabbering like a lot of monkeys, some in canoes of home
+construction, it would seem, consisting of a sugar box sawed in two
+parts, or a few small planks nailed together, forming more of a tub than
+a boat, and leaking at every joint. These frail floats were propelled
+with a couple of flat boards used as paddles. The young fellows came out
+from the shore to dive for sixpences and shillings, cast into the sea by
+passengers. The moment a piece of silver was thrown, every canoe was
+instantly emptied of its occupant, all diving pell-mell for the money.
+Presently one of the crowd was sure to come to the surface with the
+silver exhibited above his head between his fingers, after which,
+monkey-like, it was securely deposited inside of his cheek. Similar
+scenes often occur in tropical regions. The last which the author can
+recall, and at which he assisted, was at Aden, where the Indian Ocean
+and the Red Sea meet. Another experience of the sort is also well
+remembered as witnessed in the South Pacific off the Samoan islands. On
+this occasion the most expert of the natives, among the naked divers,
+was a young Samoan girl, whose agility in the water was such that she
+easily secured more than half the bright coins which were thrown
+overboard, though a dozen male competitors were her rivals in the
+pursuit. Nothing but an otter could have excelled this bronzed, unclad,
+exquisitely formed girl of Tutuila as a diver and swimmer.</p>
+
+<p>But let us not stray to the far South Pacific, forgetting that we are
+all this time in the snug harbor of St. Thomas, in the West Indies.</p>
+
+<p>A fidgety old lady passenger, half hidden in an avalanche of wraps,
+while the thermometer indicated 80° Fahr., one who had gone into partial
+hysterics several times during the past few days, upon the slightest
+provocation, declared that this was the worst region for hurricanes in
+the known world, adding that there were dark, ominous clouds forming to
+windward which she was sure portended a cyclone. One might have told her
+truthfully that May was not a hurricane month in these latitudes, but we
+were just then too earnestly engaged in preparing for a stroll on shore,
+too full of charming anticipations, to discuss possible hurricanes, and
+so, without giving the matter any special thought, admitted that it did
+look a little threatening in the northwest. This was quite enough to
+frighten the old lady half out of her senses, and to call the stewardess
+into prompt requisition, while the deck was soon permeated with the odor
+of camphor, sal volatile, and valerian. We did not wait to see how she
+survived the attack, but hastened into a shore boat and soon landed at
+what is known as King's wharf, when the temperature seemed instantly to
+rise about twenty degrees. Near the landing was a small plaza, shaded by
+tall ferns and cabbage palms, with here and there an umbrageous mango.
+Ladies and servant girls were seen promenading with merry children,
+whites and blacks mingling indiscriminately, while the Danish military
+band were producing most shocking strains with their brass instruments.
+One could hardly conceive of a more futile attempt at harmony.</p>
+
+<p>There is always something exciting in first setting foot upon a
+foreign soil, in mingling with utter strangers, in listening to the
+voluble utterances and jargon of unfamiliar tongues, while noting the
+manners, dress, and faces of a new people. The current language of the
+mass of St. Thomas is a curious compound of negro grammar, Yankee
+accent, and English drawl. Though somewhat familiar with the West
+Indies, the author had never before landed upon this island. Everything
+strikes one as curious, each turn affords increased novelty, and every
+moment is full of interest. Black, yellow, and white men are seen in
+groups, the former with very little covering on their bodies, the latter
+in diaphanous costumes. Negresses sporting high colors in their scanty
+clothing, set off by rainbow kerchiefs bound round their heads, turban
+fashion; little naked blacks with impossible paunches; here and there a
+shuffling negro bearing baskets of fish balanced on either end of a long
+pole resting across his shoulders; peddlers of shells and corals; old
+women carrying trays upon their heads containing cakes sprinkled with
+granulated sugar, and displayed upon neat linen towels, seeking for
+customers among the newly arrived passengers,&mdash;all together form a
+unique picture of local life. The constantly shifting scene moves before
+the observer like a panorama unrolled for exhibition, seeming quite as
+theatrical and artificial.</p>
+
+<p>St. Thomas is one of the Danish West Indian Islands, of which there
+are three belonging to Denmark, namely, St. Thomas, St. Croix, and St.
+John. For the possession of the first named Mr. Seward, when Secretary
+of State, in 1866, offered the King of Denmark five million dollars in
+gold, which proposition was finally accepted, and it would have been a
+cheap purchase for us at that price; but after all detail had been duly
+agreed upon, the United States Congress refused to vote the necessary
+funds wherewith to pay for the title deed. So when Mr. Seward
+consummated the purchase of Alaska, for a little over seven million
+dollars, there were nearly enough of the small-fry politicians in
+Congress to defeat the bargain with Russia in the same manner. The
+income from the lease of two islands alone belonging to Alaska&mdash;St.
+George and St. Paul&mdash;has paid four and one half per cent. per annum
+upon the purchase money ever since the territory came into our
+possession. There is one gold mine on Douglas Island, Alaska, not to
+mention its other rich and inexhaustible products, for which a French
+syndicate has offered fourteen million dollars. We doubt if St. Thomas
+could be purchased from the Danes to-day for ten million dollars, while
+the estimated value of Alaska would be at least a hundred million or
+more, with its vast mineral wealth, its invaluable salmon fisheries, its
+inexhaustible forests of giant timber, and its abundance of seal, otter,
+and other rich furs. A penny-wise and pound-foolish Congress made a huge
+mistake in opposing Mr. Seward's purpose as regarded the purchase of St.
+Thomas. The strategic position of the island is quite sufficient to
+justify our government in wishing to possess it, for it is
+geographically the keystone of the West Indies. The principal object
+which Mr. Seward had in view was to secure a coaling and refitting
+station for our national ships in time of war, for which St. Thomas
+would actually be worth more than the island of Cuba. Opposite to it is
+the continent of Africa; equidistant are the eastern shores of North and
+South America; on one side is western Europe, on the other the route to
+India and the Pacific Ocean; in the rear are Central America, the West
+Indies, and Mexico, together with those great inland bodies of salt
+water, the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. It requires no argument
+to show how important the possession of such an outpost might prove to
+this country.</p>
+
+<p>Since these notes were written, it is currently reported that our
+government has once more awakened to the necessity of obtaining
+possession of this island, and fresh negotiations have been entered
+into. One thing is very certain, if we do not seize the opportunity to
+purchase St. Thomas at the present time, England, or some other
+important power, will promptly do so, to our serious detriment and just
+mortification.</p>
+
+<p>St. Thomas has an area of nearly fifty square miles, and supports a
+population of about fourteen thousand. In many respects the capital is
+unique, and being our first landing-place after leaving home, was of
+more than ordinary interest to the writer. The highest point on the
+island, which comes first into view from the deck of a southern bound
+steamer, is West Mountain, rising sixteen hundred feet above the level
+of the surrounding waters. Geologists would describe St. Thomas as being
+the top of a small chain of submerged mountains, which would be quite
+correct, since the topography of the bottom of the sea is but a
+counterpart of that upon the more familiar surface of the earth we
+occupy. When ocean electric cables for connecting islands and continents
+are laid, engineers find that there are the same sort of plains,
+mountains, valleys, and gorges beneath as above the waters of the ocean.
+The skeletons of whales, and natural beds of deep-sea shells, found in
+valleys and hills many hundred feet above the present level of tide
+waters, tell us plainly enough that in the long ages which have passed,
+the diversified surface of the earth which we now behold has changed
+places with these submerged regions, which probably once formed the dry
+land. The history of the far past is full of instances showing the slow
+but continuous retreat of the water from the land in certain regions and
+its encroachment in others, the drying up of lakes and rivers, as well
+as the upheaval of single islands and groups from the bed of the
+ocean.</p>
+
+<p>A range of dome-shaped hills runs through the entire length of this
+island of St. Thomas, fifteen miles from west to east, being
+considerably highest at the west end. As we passed between the two
+headlands which mark the entrance to the harbor, the town was seen
+spread over three hills of nearly uniform height, also occupying the
+gentle valleys between. Two stone structures, on separate hills, form a
+prominent feature; these are known respectively as Blue Beard and Black
+Beard tower, but their origin is a myth, though there are plenty of
+legends extant about them. Both are now utilized as residences, having
+mostly lost their original crudeness and picturesque appearance. The
+town, as a whole, forms a pleasing and effective background to the
+land-locked bay, which is large enough to afford safe anchorage for two
+hundred ships at the same time, except when a hurricane prevails; then
+the safest place for shipping is as far away from the land as possible.
+It is a busy port, considering the small number of inhabitants, steamers
+arriving and departing constantly, besides many small coasting vessels
+which ply between this and the neighboring islands. St. Thomas is
+certainly the most available commercially of the Virgin group of
+islands. Columbus named them "Las Vergines," in reference to the
+familiar Romish legend of the eleven thousand virgins, about as
+inappropriate a title as the fable it refers to is ridiculous.</p>
+
+<p>Close in shore, at the time of our visit, there lay a schooner-rigged
+craft of more than ordinary interest, her jaunty set upon the water, her
+graceful lines, tall, raking masts, and long bowsprit suggesting the
+model of the famous old Baltimore clippers. There is a fascinating
+individuality about sailing vessels which does not attach to steamships.
+Seamen form romantic attachments for the former. The officers and crew
+of the Vigilancia were observed to cast admiring eyes upon this handsome
+schooner, anchored under our lee. A sort of mysterious quiet hung about
+her; every rope was hauled taut, made fast, and the slack neatly coiled.
+Her anchor was atrip, that is, the cable was hove short, showing that
+she was ready to sail at a moment's notice. The only person visible on
+board was a bareheaded, white-haired old seaman, who sat on the transom
+near the wheel, quietly smoking his pipe. On inquiry it was found that
+the schooner had a notable history and bore the name of the Vigilant,
+having been first launched a hundred and thirty years ago. It appeared
+that she was a successful slaver in former days, running between the
+coast of Africa and these islands. She was twice captured by English
+cruisers, but somehow found her way back again to the old and nefarious
+business. Of course, she had been overhauled, repaired, and re-rigged
+many times, but it is still the same old frame and hull that so often
+made the middle passage, as it was called. To-day she serves as a mail
+boat running between Santa Cruz and St. Thomas, and, it is said, can
+make forty leagues, with a fair wind, as quick as any steamer on the
+coast. The same evening the Vigilant spread her broad white wings and
+glided silently out of the harbor, gathering rapid way as she passed its
+entrance, until feeling the spur of the wind and the open sea, she
+quickly vanished from sight. It was easy to imagine her bound upon her
+old piratical business, screened by the shadows of the night.</p>
+
+<p>Though it no longer produces a single article of export on its own
+soil, St. Thomas was, in the days of negro slavery, one of the most
+prolific sugar yielding islands of this region. It will be remembered
+that the emancipation of the blacks took place here in 1848. It was
+never before impressed upon us, if we were aware of the fact, that the
+sugar-cane is not indigenous to the West Indies. It seems that the plant
+came originally from Asia, and was introduced into these islands by
+Columbus and his followers. As is often the case with other
+representatives of the vegetable kingdom, it appears to have flourished
+better here than in the land of its nativity, new climatic combinations,
+together with the soil, developing in the saccharine plant better
+qualities and increased productiveness, for a long series of years
+enriching many enterprising planters.</p>
+
+<p>When Columbus discovered St. Thomas, in 1493, it was inhabited by two
+tribes of Indians, the Caribs and the Arrowauks, both of which soon
+disappeared under the oppression and hardships imposed by the Spaniards.
+It is also stated that from this island, as well as from Cuba and Hayti,
+many natives were transported to Spain and there sold into slavery, in
+the days following close upon its discovery. Thus Spain, from the
+earliest date, characterized her operations in the New World by a
+heartlessness and injustice which ever attended upon her conquests, both
+among the islands and upon the continent of America. The Caribs were of
+the red Indian race, and appear to have been addicted to cannibalism.
+Indeed, the very word, by which the surrounding sea is also known, is
+supposed to be a corruption of the name of this tribe. "These Caribs did
+not eat their own babies," says an old writer apologetically, "like some
+sorts of wild beasts, but only roasted and ate their prisoners of
+war."</p>
+
+<p>The island was originally covered with a dense forest growth, but is
+now comparatively denuded of trees, leaving the land open to the full
+force of the sun, and causing it to suffer at times from serious
+droughts. There is said to be but one natural spring of water on the
+island. This shows itself at the surface, and is of very limited
+capacity; the scanty rains which occur here are almost entirely depended
+upon to supply water for domestic use.</p>
+
+<p>St. Thomas being so convenient a port of call for steamers from
+Europe and America, and having so excellent a harbor, is improved as a
+depot for merchandise by several of the neighboring islands, thus
+enjoying a considerable commerce, though it is only in <i>transitu</i>.
+It is also the regular coaling station of several steamship lines.
+Judging from appearances, however, it would seem that the town is not
+growing in population or business relations, but is rather retrograding.
+The value of the imports in 1880 was less than half the aggregate amount
+of 1870. We were told that green groceries nearly all come from the
+United States, and that even eggs and poultry are imported from the
+neighboring islands, showing an improvidence on the part of the people
+difficult to account for, since these sources of food supply can be
+profitably produced at almost any spot upon the earth where vegetation
+will grow. Cigars are brought hither from Havana in considerable
+quantities, and having no duty to pay, can be sold very cheap by the
+dealers at St. Thomas, and still afford a reasonable profit. Quite a
+trade is thus carried on with the passengers of the several steamers
+which call here regularly, and travelers avail themselves of the
+opportunity to lay in an ample supply. Cuban cigars of the quality which
+would cost nine or ten dollars a hundred in Boston are sold at St.
+Thomas for five or six dollars, and lower grades even cheaper in
+proportion. There is said to be considerable smuggling successfully
+carried on between this island and the Florida shore, in the article of
+cigars as well as in tobacco in the unmanufactured state. The high duty
+on these has always incited to smuggling, thus defeating the very object
+for which it is imposed. Probably a moderate duty would yield more to
+the government in the aggregate, by rendering it so much less of an
+object to smuggle.</p>
+
+<p>Though the island is Danish in nationality, there are few
+surroundings calculated to recall the fact, save that the flag of that
+country floats over the old fort and the one or two official buildings,
+just as it has done for the last two centuries. The prominent officials
+are Danes, as well as the officers of the small body of soldiers
+maintained on the island. English is almost exclusively spoken, though
+there are French, Spanish, and Italian residents here. English is also
+the language taught in the public schools. People have come here to make
+what money they can, but with the fixed purpose of spending it and
+enjoying it elsewhere. As a rule, all Europeans who come to the West
+Indies and embark in business do so with exactly this purpose. In Cuba
+the Spaniards from the continent, among whom are many Jews, have a
+proverb the significance of which is: "Ten years of starvation, and a
+fortune," and most of them live up to this axiom. They leave all
+principles of honor, all sense of moral responsibility, all sacred
+domestic ties, behind them, forgetting, or at least ignoring, the
+significant query, namely, "What shall it profit a man, if he gain the
+whole world, and lose his own soul?"</p>
+
+<p>About one third of the population is Roman Catholic. The Jews have a
+synagogue, and a membership of six hundred. They have a record on the
+island dating as far back as the year 1757, and add much to the activity
+and thrift of St. Thomas. No matter where we find the Jews, in Mexico,
+Warsaw, California, or the West Indies, they are all alike intent upon
+money making, and are nearly always successful. Their irrepressible
+energy wins for them the goal for which they so earnestly strive. That
+soldier of fortune, Santa Anna, formerly ruler of Mexico, when banished
+as a traitor from his native country, made his home on this island, and
+the house which he built and occupied is still pointed out to visitors
+as one of the local curiosities. The social life of St. Thomas is
+naturally very circumscribed, but is good so far as it goes. A few
+cultured people, who have made it their home for some years, have become
+sincerely attached to the place, and enjoy the climate. There are a
+small public library, a hospital, several charitable institutions, and a
+theatre, which is occupied semi-occasionally. The island is connected
+with the continent by cable, and has a large floating dock and marine
+railway, which causes vessels in distress to visit the port for needed
+repairs. The town is situated on the north side of the bay which indents
+the middle of the south side of the island. The harbor has a depth of
+water varying from eighteen to thirty-six feet, and has the advantage of
+being a free port, a fact, perhaps, of not much account to a place which
+has neither exports nor imports of its own. St. Thomas is the only town
+of any importance on the island, and is known locally as Charlotte
+Amalie, a fact which sometimes leads to a confusion of ideas.</p>
+
+<p>The reader need not encounter the intense heat, which so nearly
+wilted us, in an effort to obtain a good lookout from some elevated
+spot; but the result will perhaps interest him, as it fully repaid the
+writer for all the consequent discomfort.</p>
+
+<p>From the brow of a moderate elevation just behind the town, a
+delightful and far-reaching view is afforded, embracing St. Thomas in
+the foreground, the well-sheltered bay, dotted with vessels bearing the
+flags of various nations, an archipelago of islets scattered over the
+near waters, and numerous small bays indenting the coast. At a distance
+of some forty miles across the sea looms the island of Santa Cruz; and
+farther away, on the horizon's most distant limit, are seen the tall
+hills and mountains of Porto Rico; while the sky is fringed by a long
+trailing plume of smoke, indicating the course of some passing
+steamship. The three hills upon which the town stands are spurs of West
+Mountain, and the place is quite as well entitled to the name of
+Tremont&mdash;"tri-mountain"&mdash;as was the capital of Massachusetts,
+before its hills were laid low to accommodate business demands. On the
+seaward side of these elevations the red tiled roofs of the white houses
+rise in regular terraces from the street which borders the harbor,
+forming a very picturesque group as seen from the bay.</p>
+
+<p>Though it has not often been visited by epidemics, Mr. Anthony
+Trollope pronounces the island, in his usual irresponsible way, to be
+"one of the hottest and one of the most unhealthy spots among all these
+hot and unhealthy regions," and adds that he would perhaps be justified
+in saying "that of all such spots it is the hottest and most unhealthy."
+This is calculated to give an incorrect idea of St. Thomas. True, it is
+liable to periods of unhealthiness, when a species of low fever
+prevails, proving more or less fatal. This is thought to originate from
+the surface drainage, and the miasma arising from the bay. All the
+drains of the town flow into the waters of the harbor, which has not
+sufficient flow of tide to carry seaward the foul matter thus
+accumulated. The hot sun pouring its heat down upon this tainted water
+causes a dangerous exhalation. Still, sharks do not seem to be sensitive
+as to this matter, for they much abound. It is yet to be discovered why
+these tigers of the sea do not attack the negroes, who fearlessly leap
+overboard; a white man could not do this with impunity. The Asiatics of
+the Malacca Straits do not enjoy any such immunity from danger, though
+they have skins as dark as the divers of St. Thomas. Sharks appear in
+the West Indies in small schools, or at least there are nearly always
+two or three together, but in Oriental waters they are only seen singly.
+Thus a Malay of Singapore, for a compensation, say an English sovereign,
+will place a long, sharp knife between his teeth and leap naked into the
+sea to attack a shark. He adroitly dives beneath the creature, and as it
+turns its body to bring its awkward mouth into use, with his knife the
+Malay slashes a deep, long opening in its exposed belly, at the same
+time forcing himself out of the creature's reach. The knife is sure and
+fatal. After a few moments the huge body of the fish is seen to rise and
+float lifeless upon the surface of the water.</p>
+
+<p>A large majority of the people are colored, exhibiting some
+peculiarly interesting types, intermarriage with whites of various
+nationalities having produced among the descendants of Africans many
+changes of color and of features. One feels sure that there is also a
+trace of Carib or Indian blood mingled with the rest,&mdash;a trace of
+the aborigines whom Columbus found here. The outcome is not entirely a
+race with flat noses and protruding lips; straight Grecian profiles are
+not uncommon, accompanied by thin nostrils and Anglo-Saxon lips.
+Faultless teeth, soft blue eyes, and hair nearly straight are sometimes
+met with among the creoles. As to the style of walking and of carrying
+the head and body, the common class of women of St. Thomas have arrived
+at perfection. Some of them are notable examples of unconscious dignity
+and grace combined. This has been brought about by carrying burdens upon
+their heads from childhood, without the supporting aid of the hands.
+Modesty, or rather conventionality, does not require boys or girls under
+eight years of age to encumber themselves with clothing. The costume of
+the market women and the lower classes generally is picturesque,
+composed of a Madras kerchief carefully twisted into a turban of many
+colors, yellow predominating, a cotton chemise which leaves the neck and
+shoulders exposed, reaching just below the knees, the legs and feet
+being bare. The men wear cotton drawers reaching nearly to the knee, the
+rest of the body being uncovered, except the head, which is usually
+sheltered under a broad brimmed straw hat, the sides of which are
+perforated by many ventilating holes. The whites generally, and also the
+better class of natives, dress very much after the fashion which
+prevails in North America.</p>
+
+<p>This is the negroes' paradise, but it is a climate in which the white
+race gradually wanes. The heat of the tropics is modified by the
+constant and grateful trade winds, a most merciful dispensation, without
+which the West Indies would be uninhabitable by man. On the hillsides of
+St. Thomas these winds insure cool nights at least, and a comparatively
+temperate state of the atmosphere during the day. Vegetation is
+abundant, the fruit trees are perennial, bearing leaf, blossom, and
+fruit in profusion, month after month, year after year. Little, if any,
+cultivation is required. The few sugar plantations which are still
+carried on yield from three to four successive years without replanting.
+It is a notable fact that where vegetation is at its best, where the
+soil is most rank and prolific, where fruits and flowers grow in wild
+exuberance, elevated humanity thrives the least. The lower the grade of
+man, the nearer he approximates to the animals, the less civilized he is
+in mind and body, the better he appears to be adapted to such
+localities. The birds and the butterflies are in exact harmony with the
+loveliness of tropical nature, however prolific she may be; the flowers
+are glorious and beautiful: it is man alone who seems out of place. A
+great variety of fruits are indigenous here, such as the orange, lime,
+alligator pear, moss-apple, and mango, but none of them are cultivated
+to any extent; the people seem to lack the energy requisite to improve
+the grand possibilities of their fertile soil and prolific climate.</p>
+
+<p>We were reminded by a resident of the town, before we left the harbor
+of St. Thomas, that the nervous old lady referred to was not entirely
+without reason for her anxiety. Some of our readers will remember,
+perhaps, that in October, 1867, a most disastrous hurricane swept over
+these Virgin Islands, leaving widespread desolation in its track. The
+shipping which happened to be in the bay of St. Thomas was nearly all
+destroyed, together with hundreds of lives, while on the land scores of
+houses and many lives were also sacrificed to the terrible cyclone of
+that date. Even the thoroughly built iron and stone lighthouse was
+completely obliterated. There is a theory that such visitations come in
+this region about once in every twelve or fifteen years, and upon
+looking up the matter we find them to have occurred, with more or less
+destructive force, in the years 1793, 1819, 1837, 1867, 1871, and so
+late as August, 1891. Other hurricanes have passed over these islands
+during the period covered by these dates, but of a mitigated character.
+August, September, and October are the months in which the hurricanes
+are most likely to occur, and all vessels navigating the West Indian
+seas during these months take extra precautions to secure themselves
+against accidents from this source. When such visitations happen, the
+event is sure to develop heroic deeds. In the hurricane of 1867, the
+captain of a Spanish man-of-war, who was a practical sailor, brought up
+from boyhood upon the ocean, seeing the oncoming cyclone, and knowing by
+experience what to expect, ordered the masts of his vessel to be cut
+away at once, and every portion of exposed top hamper to be cast into
+the sea. When thus stripped he exposed little but the bare hull of his
+steamer to the fury of the storm. After the cyclone had passed, it was
+found that he had not lost a man, and that the steamer's hull, though
+severely battered, was substantially unharmed. Keeping up all steam
+during the awful scene, this captain devoted himself and his ship to the
+saving of human life, promptly taking his vessel wherever he could be of
+the most service. Hundreds of seamen were saved from death by the
+coolness and intrepidity of this heroic sailor.</p>
+
+<p>Since these notes were written among the islands, a terrible cyclone
+has visited them. This was on August 18, last past, and proved more
+destructive to human life, to marine and other property, than any
+occurrence of the kind during the last century. At Martinique a sharp
+shock of earthquake added to the horror of the occasion, the town of
+Fort de France being very nearly leveled with the ground. Many tall and
+noble palms, the growth of half a hundred years, were utterly demolished
+in the twinkling of an eye, and other trees were uprooted by the
+score.</p>
+
+<p>The waters of this neighborhood teem with strange forms of animal and
+vegetable life. Here we saw specimens of red and blue snappers, the
+angel-fish, king-fish, gurnets, cow-fish, whip-ray, peacock-fish,
+zebra-fish, and so on, all, or nearly all, unfamiliar to us, each
+species individualized either in shape, color, or both. The whip-ray,
+with a body like a flounder, has a tail six or seven feet long, tapering
+from an inch and over to less than a quarter of an inch at the small
+end. When dried, it still retains a degree of elasticity, and is used by
+the natives as a whip with which to drive horses and donkeys. In some
+places, so singularly clear is the water that the bottom is distinctly
+visible five or six fathoms below the surface, where fishes of various
+sorts are seen in ceaseless motion. White shells, corals, star-fish, and
+sea-urchins mingle their various forms and colors, objects and hues
+seeming to be intensified by the strong reflected light from the
+surface, so that one could easily fancy them to be flowers blooming in
+the fairy gardens of the mermaids. The early morning, just after the sun
+begins to gild the surface of the sea, is the favorite time for the
+flying-fishes to display their aerial proclivities. They are always
+attracted by a strong light, and are thus lured to their destruction by
+the torches of the fishermen, who often go out for the purpose at night
+and take them in nets. In the early morning, as seen from the ship's
+deck, they scoot above the rippling waves in schools of a hundred and
+more, so compact as to cast fleeting shadows over the blue enameled
+surface of the waters. At St. Thomas, Martinique, and Barbadoes, as well
+as among the other islands bordering the Caribbean Sea, they form no
+inconsiderable source of food for the humble natives, who fry them in
+batter mixed with onions, making a savory and nutritious dish.</p>
+
+<p>St. Thomas is, as we have said, a coaling station for steamships, and
+when the business is in progress a most unique picture is presented. The
+ship is moored alongside of the dock for this purpose, two side ports
+being thrown open, one for ingress, the other for egress. A hundred
+women and girls, wearing one scanty garment reaching to the knees, are
+in line, and commence at once to trot on board in single file, each one
+bearing a bushel basket of coal upon her head, weighing, say sixty
+pounds. Another gang fill empty baskets where the coal is stored, so
+that there is a continuous line of negresses trotting into the ship at
+one port and, after dumping their loads into the coal bunkers, out at
+the other, hastening back to the source of supply for more. Their step
+is quick, their pose straight as an arrow, while their feet keep time to
+a wild chant in which all join, the purport of which it is not possible
+to clearly understand. Now and again their voices rise in softly mingled
+harmony, floating very sweetly over the still waters of the bay. The
+scene we describe occurred at night, but the moon had not yet risen.
+Along the wharf, to the coal deposits, iron frames were erected
+containing burning bituminous coal, and the blaze, fanned by the open
+air, formed the light by which the women worked. It was a weird picture.
+Everything seemed quite in harmony: the hour, the darkness of night
+relieved by the flaming brackets of coal, the strange, dark figures
+hastening into the glare of light and quickly vanishing, the harmony of
+high-pitched voices occasionally broken in upon by the sharp, stern
+voice of their leader,&mdash;all was highly dramatic and effective.</p>
+
+<p>Not unfrequently three or four steamers are coaling at the same time
+from different wharves. Hundreds of women and girls of St. Thomas make
+this labor their special occupation, and gain a respectable living by
+it, doubtless supporting any number of lazy, worthless husbands,
+fathers, and brothers.</p>
+
+<p>After our ship was supplied with coal, these women, having put three
+hundred tons on board in a surprisingly short period of time, formed a
+group upon the wharf and held what they called a firefly dance,
+indescribably quaint and grotesque, performed by the flickering light of
+the flaming coal. Their voices were joined in a wild, quick chant, as
+they twisted and turned, clapping their hands at intervals to emphasize
+the chorus. Now and again a couple of the girls would separate from the
+rest for a moment, then dance toward and from each other, throwing their
+arms wildly about their heads, and finally, gathering their scanty
+drapery in one hand and extending the other, perform a movement similar
+to the French cancan. Once more springing back among their companions,
+all joined hands, and a roundabout romp closed the firefly dance. Could
+such a scene be produced in a city theatre <i>au naturel</i>, with
+proper accessories and by these actual performers, it would surely prove
+an attraction good for one hundred nights. Of course this would be
+impossible. Conventionality would object to such diaphanous costumes,
+and bare limbs, though they were of a bronzed hue, would shock Puritanic
+eyes.</p>
+
+<p>Upon first entering the harbor, the Vigilancia anchored at a short
+distance from the shore; but when it became necessary to haul alongside
+the wharf, the attempt was made to get up the anchor, when it was found
+to require far more than the usual expenditure of power to do so.
+Finally, however, the anchor was secured, but attached to its flukes
+there came also, from the bottom of the bay, a second anchor, of antique
+shape, covered with rust and barnacles. It was such a one as was carried
+by the galleons of the fifteenth century, and had doubtless lain for
+over four hundred years just where the anchor of our ship had got
+entangled with it. What a remarkable link this corroded piece of iron
+formed, uniting the present with the far past, and how it stimulated the
+mind in forming romantic possibilities! It may have been the holding
+iron of Columbus's own caravel, or have been the anchor of one of
+Cortez's fleet, which touched here on its way into the Gulf of Mexico,
+or, indeed, it may have belonged to some Caribbean buccaneer, who was
+obliged to let slip his cable and hasten away to escape capture.</p>
+
+<p>It was deemed a fortunate circumstance to have secured this ancient
+relic, and a sure sign of future good luck to the ship, so it was duly
+stored away in the lower hold of the Vigilancia.</p>
+
+<p>That same night on which the coal bunkers were filled, our good ship
+was got under way, while the rising moon made the harbor and its
+surroundings as clearly visible as though it were midday. The light from
+the burning coal brackets had waned, only a few sparks bursting forth
+now and again, disturbed by a passing breeze which fanned them into life
+for a moment. When we passed through the narrow entrance by the
+lighthouse, and stood out once more upon the open sea, it was mottled,
+far and near, with argent ripples, that waltzed merrily in the soft,
+clear moonlight, rivaling the firefly dance on shore. Even to the very
+horizon the water presented a white, silvery, tremulous sheen of liquid
+light. One gazed in silent enjoyment until the eyes were weary with the
+lavish beauty of the scene, and the brain became giddy with its
+splendor. Is it idle and commonplace to be enthusiastic? Perhaps so; but
+we hope never to outlive such inspiration.</p>
+
+<p class="p4"><a name="Ch_2"></a></p>
+
+<h3>CHAPTER II.</h3>
+
+<p class="blockquote">Curious Seaweed.&mdash;Professor
+Agassiz.&mdash;Myth of a Lost Continent.&mdash;Island of
+Martinique.&mdash;An Attractive Place.&mdash;Statue of the Empress
+Josephine.&mdash;Birthplace of Madame de Maintenon.&mdash;City of St.
+Pierre.&mdash;Mont Pelée.&mdash;High Flavored Specialty.&mdash;Grisettes
+of Martinique.&mdash;A Botanical Garden.&mdash;Defective
+Drainage.&mdash;A Fatal Enemy.&mdash;A Cannibal Snake.&mdash;The
+Climate.</p>
+
+<p class="p2">Between St. Thomas and the island of Martinique, we fell
+in with some floating seaweed, so peculiar in appearance that an
+obliging quartermaster picked up a spray for closer examination. It is a
+strange, sponge-like plant, which propagates itself on the ocean,
+unharmed by the fiercest agitation of the waves, or the wildest raging
+of the winds, at the same time giving shelter to zoöphytes and mollusks
+of a species, like itself, found nowhere else. Sailors call it Gulf
+weed, but it has nothing to do with the Gulf Stream, though sometimes
+clusters get astray and are carried far away on the bosom of that grand
+ocean current. The author has seen small bodies of it, after a fierce
+storm in the Caribbean Sea, a thousand miles to the eastward of
+Barbadoes. Its special home is a broad space of ocean surface between
+the Gulf Stream and the equatorial current, known as the Sargasso Sea.
+Its limits, however, change somewhat with the seasons. It was first
+noticed by Columbus in 1492, and in this region it has remained for
+centuries, even to the present day. Sometimes this peculiar weed is so
+abundant as to present the appearance of a submerged meadow, through
+which the ship ploughs its way as though sailing upon the land. We are
+told that Professor Agassiz, while at sea, having got possession of a
+small branch of this marine growth, kept himself busily absorbed with it
+and its products for twelve hours, forgetting all the intervening meals.
+Science was more than food and drink to this grand savant. His years
+from boyhood were devoted to the study of nature in her various forms.
+"Life is so short," said he, "one can hardly find space to become
+familiar with a single science, much less to acquire knowledge of many."
+When he was applied to by a lyceum committee to come to a certain town
+and lecture, he replied that he was too busy. "But we will pay you
+double price, Mr. Agassiz, if you will come," said the applicant. "I
+cannot waste time to make money," was the noble reply.</p>
+
+<p>The myth of a lost continent is doubtless familiar to the
+reader,&mdash;a continent supposed to have existed in these waters
+thousands of years ago, but which, by some evolution of nature, became
+submerged, sinking from sight forever. It was the Atlantis which is
+mentioned by Plato; the land in which the Elysian Fields were placed,
+and the Garden of Hesperides, from which the early civilization of
+Greece, Egypt, and Asia Minor were derived, and whose kings and heroes
+were the Olympian deities of a later time. The poetical idea prevails
+that this plant, which once grew in those gardens, having lost its
+original home, has become a floating waif on the sapphire sea of the
+tropics. The color of the Sargasso weed is a faint orange shade; the
+leaves are pointed, delicate, and exquisitely formed, like those of the
+weeping willow in their youthful freshness, having a tiny, round, light
+green berry near the base of each leaf. Mother Cary's chickens are said
+to be fond of these berries, and that bird abounds in these waters.</p>
+
+<p>Probably the main portion of the West Indian islands was once a part
+of the continent of America, many, many ages ago. There are trees of the
+locust family growing among the group to-day, similar to those found on
+our southern coast, which are declared to be four thousand years old.
+This statement is partially corroborated by known characteristics of the
+growth of the locust, and there are arborists who fully credit this
+great longevity. It is interesting to look upon an object which had a
+vital existence two thousand years and more before Christ was upon
+earth, and which is still animate.</p>
+
+<p class="center">*     *     *     *     *</p>
+
+<p>Each new island which one visits in the West Indies seems more lovely
+than its predecessor, always leaving Hayti out of the question; but
+Martinique, at this moment of writing, appears to rival all those with
+which the author is familiar. It might be a choice bit out of Cuba,
+Singapore, or far-away Hawaii. Its liability to destructive hurricanes
+is its only visible drawback. Having been discovered on St. Martin's
+day, Columbus gave it the name it now bears.</p>
+
+<p>St. Pierre is the commercial capital of Martinique, one of the French
+West Indies, and the largest of the group belonging to that nation. Fort
+de France is the political capital, situated about thirty miles from St.
+Pierre. It was nearly ruined by the cyclone of last August, a few weeks
+after the author's visit. St. Pierre is the best built town in the
+Lesser Antilles, and has a population of about twenty-five thousand. The
+streets are well paved, and the principal avenues are beautified by
+ornamental trees uniformly planted. The grateful shade thus obtained,
+and the long lines of charming arboreal perspective which are formed,
+are desirable accessories to any locality, but doubly so in tropical
+regions. The houses are very attractive, while there is a prevailing
+aspect of order, cleanliness, and thrift everywhere apparent. It was not
+our experience to meet one beggar in the streets of St. Pierre. More or
+less of poverty must exist everywhere, but it does not stalk abroad
+here, as it does in many rich and pretentious capitals of the great
+world. The island is situated midway between Dominica and St. Lucia, and
+is admitted by all visitors to be one of the most picturesque of the
+West Indian groups. Irregular in shape, it is also high and rocky, thus
+forming one of the most prominent of the large volcanic family which
+sprang up so many ages ago in these seas. Its apex, Mont Pelée, an only
+partially extinct volcano, rises between four and five thousand feet
+above the level of the ocean, and is the first point visible on
+approaching the island from the north. It would be interesting to dilate
+upon the past history of Martinique, for it has known not a little of
+the checkered vicissitudes of these Antilles, having been twice captured
+by the English, and twice restored to France. But this would not be in
+accordance with the design of these pages.</p>
+
+<p>St. Pierre is situated on the lee side of the island, something less
+than two thousand miles, by the course we have steered, from New York,
+and three hundred miles from St. Thomas. It comes down to the very
+water's edge, with its parti-colored houses and red-tiled roofs, which
+mingle here and there with tall, overhanging cocoa-palms. This is the
+most lavishly beautiful tree in the world, and one which never fails to
+impart special interest to its surroundings.</p>
+
+<p>A marble statue in the Place de la Savane, at Fort de France, on the
+same side of the island as St. Pierre, recalls the fact that this was
+the birthplace of the Empress Josephine, born in 1763. Her memorable
+history is too familiar for us to repeat any portion of it here, but the
+brain becomes very active at the mere mention of her name, in recalling
+the romantic and tragic episodes of her life, so closely interwoven with
+the career of the first Napoleon. One instinctively recalls the small
+boudoir in the palace of Trianon, where her husband signed the divorce
+from Josephine. That he loved her with his whole power for loving is
+plain enough, as is also his well known reason for the separation,
+namely, the desire for offspring to transmit his name to posterity.
+There is one legend which is always rehearsed to strangers, relating to
+Josephine's youth upon the island. We refer to that of the old negress
+fortune-teller who prognosticated the grandeur of her future career,
+together with its melancholy termination, a story so tinctured with
+local color that, if it be not absolutely true, it surely ought to be.
+The statue, unless we are misinformed, was the gift of that colossal
+fraud, Napoleon III., though it purports to have been raised to the
+memory of Josephine by the people of Martinique, who certainly feel
+great pride in the fact of her having been born here, and who truly
+venerate her memory. The statue represents the empress dressed in the
+fashion of the First Empire, with bare arms and shoulders, one hand
+resting on a medallion bearing a profile of the emperor to whom she was
+devoted. The whole is partially shaded by a half dozen grand old palms.
+The group teems with historic suggestiveness, recalling one of the most
+tragic chapters of modern European history. It seemed to us that the
+artist had succeeded in imparting to the figure an expression indicating
+something of the sad story of the original.</p>
+
+<p>This beautiful island, it will be remembered, also gave to France
+another remarkable historic character, Françoise d'Aubigné, afterwards
+Madame Scarron, but better known to the world at large as Madame de
+Maintenon. She, too, was the wife of a king, though the marriage was a
+left-handed one, but as the power behind the throne, she is well known
+to have shaped for years the political destinies of France.</p>
+
+<p>St. Pierre has several schools, a very good hotel, a theatre, a
+public library, together with some other modern and progressive
+institutions; yet somehow everything looked quaint and olden, a
+sixteenth century atmosphere seeming to pervade the town. The windows of
+the ordinary dwellings have no glass, which is very naturally considered
+to be a superfluity in this climate; but these windows have iron bars
+and wooden shutters behind them, relics of the days of slavery, when
+every white man's house was his castle, and great precautions were taken
+to guard against the possible uprising of the blacks, who outnumbered
+their masters twenty to one.</p>
+
+<p>Though so large a portion of the population are of negro descent, yet
+they are very French-like in character. The native women especially seem
+to be frivolous and coquettish, not to say rather lax in morals. They
+appear to be very fond of dress. The young negresses have learned from
+their white mistresses how to put on their diaphanous clothing in a
+jaunty and telling fashion, leaving one bronzed arm and shoulder bare,
+which strikes the eye in strong contrast with the snow white of their
+cotton chemises. They are Parisian grisettes in ebony, and with their
+large, roguish eyes, well-rounded figures, straight pose, and dainty
+ways, the half-breeds are certainly very attractive, and only too ready
+for a lark with a stranger. They strongly remind one of the pretty
+quadroons of Louisiana, in their manners, complexion, and general
+appearance; and like those handsome offspring of mingled blood, so often
+seen in our Southern States, we suspect that these of Martinique enjoy
+but a brief space of existence. The average life of a quadroon is less
+than thirty years.</p>
+
+<p>Martinique is eight times as large as St. Thomas, containing a
+population of about one hundred and seventy-five thousand. Within its
+borders there are at least five extinct volcanoes, one of which has an
+enormous crater, exceeded by only three or four others in the known
+world. The island rises from the sea in three groups of rugged peaks,
+and contains some very fertile valleys. So late as 1851, Mont Pelée
+burst forth furiously with flames and smoke, which naturally threw the
+people into a serious panic, many persons taking refuge temporarily on
+board the shipping in the harbor. The eruption on this occasion did not
+amount to anything very serious, only covering some hundreds of acres
+with sulphurous débris, yet serving to show that the volcano was not
+dead, but sleeping. Once or twice since that date ominous mutterings
+have been heard from Mont Pelée, which it is confidently predicted will
+one day deluge St. Pierre with ashes and lava, repeating the story of
+Pompeii.</p>
+
+<p>Sugar, rum, coffee, and cotton are the staple products here,
+supplemented by tobacco, manioc flour, bread-fruit, and bananas. Rum is
+very extensively manufactured, and has a good mercantile reputation for
+its excellence, commanding as high prices as the more famous article of
+the same nature produced at Jamaica. The purpose of the author is mainly
+to record personal impressions, but a certain sprinkling of statistics
+and detail is inevitable, if we would inform, as well as amuse, the
+average reader.</p>
+
+<p>The flora of Martinique is the marvel and delight of all who have
+enjoyed its extraordinary beauty, while the great abundance and variety
+of its fruits are believed to be unsurpassed even in the prolific
+tropics. Of that favorite, the mango, the island produces some forty
+varieties, and probably in no other region has the muscatel grape
+reached to such perfection in size and flavor. The whole island looks
+like a maze of greenery, as it is approached from the sea, vividly
+recalling Tutuila of the Samoan group in the South Pacific. Like most of
+the West Indian islands, Martinique was once densely covered with trees,
+and a remnant of these ancient woods creeps down to the neighborhood of
+St. Pierre to-day.</p>
+
+<p>The principal landing is crowded at all times with hogsheads of sugar
+and molasses, and other casks containing the highly scented island rum,
+the two sweets, together with the spirits, causing a nauseous odor under
+the powerful heat of a vertical sun. We must not forget to mention,
+however, that St. Pierre has a specific for bad odors in her somewhat
+peculiar specialty, namely, eau-de-cologne, which is manufactured on
+this island, and is equal to the European article of the same name,
+distilled at the famous city on the Rhine. No one visits the port, if it
+be for but a single day, without bringing away a sample bottle of this
+delicate perfumery, a small portion of which, added to the morning bath,
+is delightfully refreshing, especially when one uses salt water at sea,
+it so effectively removes the saline stickiness which is apt to remain
+upon the limbs and body after a cold bath.</p>
+
+<p>The town is blessed with an inexhaustible supply of good, fresh,
+mountain water, which, besides furnishing the necessary quantity for
+several large drinking fountains, feeds some ornamental ones, and
+purifies the streets by a flow through the gutters, after the fashion of
+Salt Lake City, Utah. This is in fact the only system of drainage at St.
+Pierre. A bronze fountain in the Place Bertin is fed from this source,
+and is an object of great pleasure in a climate where cold water in
+abundance is an inestimable boon. This elaborate fountain was the gift
+of a colored man, named Alfred Agnew, who was at one time mayor of the
+city. Many of the gardens attached to the dwelling-houses are ornamented
+with ever-flowing fountains, which impart a refreshing coolness to the
+tropical atmosphere.</p>
+
+<p>The Rue Victor Hugo is the main thoroughfare, traversing the whole
+length of the town parallel with the shore, up hill and down, crossing a
+small bridge, and finally losing itself in the environs. It is nicely
+kept, well paved, and, though it is rather narrow, it is the Broadway of
+St. Pierre. Some of the streets are so abrupt in grade as to recall
+similar avenues in the English portion of Hong Kong, too steep for the
+passage of vehicles, or even for donkeys, being ascended by means of
+much worn stone steps. Fine, broad roadways surround the town and form
+pleasant drives.</p>
+
+<p>The cathedral has a sweet chime of bells, whose soft, liquid notes
+came to us across the water of the bay with touching cadence at the
+Angelus hour. It must be a sadly calloused heart which fails to respond
+to these twilight sounds in an isle of the Caribbean Sea. Millet's
+impressive picture was vividly recalled as we sat upon the deck and
+listened to those bells, whose notes floated softly upon the air as if
+bidding farewell to the lingering daylight. At the moment, all else
+being so still, it seemed as though one's heartbeat could be heard,
+while the senses were bathed in a tranquil gladness incited by the
+surrounding scenery and the suggestiveness of the hour.</p>
+
+<p>Three fourths of the population are half-breeds, born of whites,
+blacks, or mulattoes, with a possible strain of Carib blood in their
+veins, the result of which is sometimes a very handsome type of bronzed
+hue, but of Circassian features. Some of the young women of the better
+class are very attractive, with complexions of a gypsy color, like the
+artists' models who frequent the "Spanish Stairs" leading to the Trinità
+di Monti, at Rome. These girls possess deep, dark eyes, pearly teeth,
+with good figures, upright and supple as the palms. In dress they affect
+all the colors of the rainbow, presenting oftentimes a charming audacity
+of contrasts, and somehow it seems to be quite the thing for them to do
+so; it accords perfectly with their complexions, with the climate, with
+everything tropical. The many-colored Madras kerchief is universally
+worn by the common class of women, twisted into a jaunty turban, with
+one well-starched end ingeniously arranged so as to stand upright like a
+soldier's plume. The love of ornament is displayed by the wearing of
+hoop earrings of enormous size, together with triple strings of gold
+beads, and bracelets of the same material. If any one imagines he has
+seen larger sized hoop earrings this side of Africa, he is mistaken.
+They are more like bangles than earrings, hanging down so as to rest
+upon the neck and shoulders. Those who cannot afford the genuine article
+satisfy their vanity with gaudy imitations. They form a very curious and
+interesting study, these black, brown, and yellow people, both men and
+women. In the market-place at the north end of the town, the women
+preside over their bananas, oranges, and other fruits, in groups,
+squatting like Asiatics on their heels. In the Havana fish market, one
+compares the variety of colors exhibited by the fishes exposed for sale
+to those of the kaleidoscope, but here the Cuban display is equaled if
+not surpassed.</p>
+
+<p>St. Pierre has a botanical garden, situated about a mile from the
+centre of the town, so located as to admit of utilizing a portion of the
+native forest yet left standing, with here and there an impenetrable
+growth of the feathery bamboo, king of the grasses, interspersed with
+the royal palm and lighter green tree-ferns. The bamboo is a marvel,
+single stems of it often attaining a height in tropical regions of a
+hundred and seventy feet, and a diameter of a foot. So rapid is its
+growth that it is sometimes known to attain the height of a hundred feet
+in sixty days. Art has done something to improve the advantages afforded
+by nature in this botanical garden, arranging some pretty lakes,
+fountains, and cascades. Vistas have been cut through the dense
+undergrowth, and driveways have been made, thus improving the rather
+neglected grounds. One pretty lake of considerable size contains three
+or four small islands, covered with flowering plants, while on the shore
+are pretty summer houses and inviting arbors. The frangipanni, tall and
+almost leafless, but with thick, fleshy shoots and a broad-spread,
+single leaf, was recognized here among other interesting plants. This is
+the fragrant flower mentioned by the early discoverers. There was also
+the parti-colored passion-flower, and groups of odd-shaped cacti, whose
+thick, green leaves were daintily rimmed with an odorless yellow bloom.
+Here, also, is an interesting example of the ceba-tree, in whose shade a
+hundred persons might banquet together. The author has seen specimens of
+the ceba superbly developed in Cuba and the Bahamas, with its massive
+and curiously buttressed trunk, having the large roots half above
+ground. It is a solitary tree, growing to a large size and enjoying
+great longevity. Mangoes abound here, the finest known as the <i>mango
+d'or</i>. There is a certain air about the public garden of St. Pierre,
+indicating that nature is permitted in a large degree to have her own
+sweet will. Evidences enough remain to show the visitor that these
+grounds must once have been in a much more presentable condition. There
+is a musical cascade, which is well worth a long walk to see and enjoy.
+Just inside of the entrance, one spot was all ablaze with a tiny yellow
+flower, best known to us as English broom, <i>Cytisus genista</i>. Its
+profuse but delicate bloom was dazzling beneath the bright sun's rays.
+Could it possibly be indigenous? No one could tell us. Probably some
+resident brought it hither from his home across the ocean, and it has
+kindly adapted itself to the new soil and climate.</p>
+
+<p>We were cautioned to look out for and to avoid a certain poisonous
+snake, a malignant reptile, with fatal fangs, which is the dread of the
+inhabitants, some of whom are said to die every year from the venom of
+the creature. It will be remembered that one of these snakes, known here
+as the <i>fer-de-lance</i>, bit Josephine, the future empress, when she
+was very young, and that her faithful negro nurse saved the child's life
+by instantly drawing the poison from the wound with her own lips. It is
+singular that this island, and that of St. Lucia, directly south of it,
+should be cursed by the presence of these poisonous creatures, which do
+not exist in any other of the West Indian islands, and, indeed, so far
+as we know, are not to be found anywhere else. The fer-de-lance has one
+fatal enemy. This is a large snake, harmless so far as poisonous fangs
+are concerned, called the <i>cribo</i>. This reptile fearlessly attacks
+the fer-de-lance, and kills and eats him in spite of his venom, a
+perfectly justifiable if not gratifying instance of cannibalism, where a
+creature eats and relishes the body of one of its own species. The
+domestic cat is said also to be more than a match for the dreaded snake,
+and instinctively adopts a style of attack which, while protecting
+itself, finally closes the contest by the death of the fer-de-lance,
+which it seizes just back of the head at the spine, and does not let go
+until it has severed the head from the body; and even then instinct
+teaches the cat to avoid the head, for though it be severed from the
+body, like the mouth of a turtle under similar circumstances, it can
+still inflict a serious wound.</p>
+
+<p>The fer-de-lance is a great destroyer of rats, this rodent forming
+its principal source of food. Now as rats are almost as much of a pest
+upon the island, and especially on the sugar plantations, as rabbits are
+in New Zealand, it will be seen that even the existence of this
+poisonous snake is not an unmitigated evil.</p>
+
+<p>Crosses and wayside shrines of a very humble character are to be seen
+in all directions on the roadsides leading from St. Pierre, recalling
+similar structures which line the inland roads of Japan, where the local
+religion finds like public expression, only varying in the character of
+the emblems. At Martinique it is a Christ or a Madonna; in Japan it is a
+crude idol of some sort, the more hideous, the more appropriate. The
+same idea is to be seen carried out in the streets of Canton and
+Shanghai, only Chinese idols are a degree more unlike anything upon or
+below the earth than they are elsewhere.</p>
+
+<p>It was observed that while there were plenty of masculine loafers and
+careless idlers of various colors, whose whole occupation seemed to be
+sucking at some form of burning tobacco in the shape of cigarette,
+cigar, or pipe, the women, of whatever complexion, seen in public, were
+all usefully employed. They are industrious by instinct; one almost
+never sees them in repose. In the transportation of all articles of
+domestic use, women bear them upon their heads, whether the article
+weighs one pound or fifty, balancing their load without making use of
+the hands except to place the article in position. The women not
+infrequently have also a baby upon their backs at the same time.
+Negresses and donkeys perform nine tenths of the transportation of
+merchandise. Wheeled vehicles are very little used in the West Indian
+islands. As we have seen, even in coaling ship, it is the women who do
+the work.</p>
+
+<p>The Hotel des Bains, at St. Pierre, is an excellent hostelry, as such
+places go in this part of the world. The stranger will find here most of
+the requisites for domestic comfort, and at reasonable prices. As a
+health resort the place has its advantages, and a northern invalid,
+wishing to escape the rigor of a New England winter, would doubtless
+find much to occupy and recuperate him here. St. Pierre, however, has
+times of serious epidemic sickness, though this does not often happen in
+the winter season. Three or four years ago the island was visited by a
+sweeping epidemic of small-pox, but it raged almost entirely among the
+lowest classes, principally among the negroes, who seem to have a great
+prejudice and superstitious fear relating to vaccination, and its
+employment as a preventive against contracting the disease. In the
+yellow fever season the city suffers more or less, but the health of St.
+Pierre will average as good as that of our extreme Southern States; and
+yet, after all, with the earthquakes, hurricanes, tarantulas, scorpions,
+and deadly fer-de-lance, as Artemus Ward would say, Martinique presents
+many characteristics to recommend protracted absence. A brief visit is
+like a poem to be remembered, but one soon gets a surfeit of the
+circumscribed island.</p>
+
+<p>Our next objective point was Barbadoes, to reach which we sailed one
+hundred and fifty miles to the eastward, this most important of the
+Lesser Antilles being situated further to windward, that is, nearer the
+continent of Europe. Our ponderous anchor came up at early morning, just
+as the sun rose out of the long, level reach of waters. It looked like a
+mammoth ball of fire, which had been immersed during the hours of the
+night countless fathoms below the sea. Presently everything was aglow
+with light and warmth, while the atmosphere seemed full of infinitesimal
+particles of glittering gold. At first one could watch the face of the
+rising sun, as it came peering above the sea, a sort of fascination
+impelling the observer to do so, but after a few moments, no human eye
+could bear its dazzling splendor.</p>
+
+<p>Said an honest old Marshfield farmer, in 1776, who met the clergyman
+of the village very early in the opening day: "Ah, good mornin', Parson,
+another fine day," nodding significantly towards the sun just appearing
+above the cloudless horizon of Massachusetts Bay. "They do say the airth
+moves, and the sun stands still; but you and I, Parson, we git up airly
+and we <i>see</i> it rise!"</p>
+
+<p class="p4"><a name="Ch_3"></a></p>
+
+<h3>CHAPTER III.</h3>
+
+<p class="blockquote">English Island of Barbadoes.&mdash;Bridgetown the
+Capital.&mdash;The Manufacture of Rum.&mdash;A Geographical
+Expert.&mdash;Very English.&mdash;A Pest of
+Ants.&mdash;Exports.&mdash;The Ice House.&mdash;A Dense
+Population.&mdash;Educational.&mdash;Marine Hotel.&mdash;Habits of
+Gambling.&mdash;Hurricanes.&mdash;Curious Antiquities.&mdash;The
+Barbadoes Leg.&mdash;Wakeful Dreams.&mdash;Absence of
+Twilight.&mdash;Departure from the Island.</p>
+
+<p class="p2">Bridgetown is the capital of Barbadoes, an English island
+which, unlike St. Thomas, is a highly cultivated sugar plantation from
+shore to shore. In natural beauty, however, it will not compare with
+Martinique. It is by no means picturesquely beautiful, like most of the
+West Indian islands, being quite devoid of their thick tropical verdure.
+Nature is here absolutely beaten out of the field by excessive
+cultivation. Thirty thousand acres of sugar-cane are cut annually,
+yielding, according to late statistics, about seventy thousand hogsheads
+of sugar. We are sorry to add that there are twenty-three rum
+distilleries on the island, which do pecuniarily a thriving business.
+"The poorest molasses makes the best rum," said an experienced manager
+to us. He might well have added that it is also the poorest use to which
+it could be put. This spirit, like all produced in the West Indies, is
+called Jamaica rum, and though a certain amount of it is still shipped
+to the coast of Africa, the return cargoes no longer consist of
+kidnapped negroes. The article known as New England rum, still
+manufactured in the neighborhood of Boston, has always disputed the
+African market, so to speak, with the product of these islands. Rum is
+the bane of Africa, just as opium is of China, the former thrust upon
+the native races by Americans, the latter upon the Chinese by English
+merchants, backed by the British government. Events follow each other so
+swiftly in modern times as to become half forgotten by contemporary
+people, but there are those among us who remember when China as a nation
+tried to stop the importation of the deadly drug yielded by the poppy
+fields of India, whereupon England forced the article upon her at the
+point of the bayonet.</p>
+
+<p>Bridgetown is situated at the west end of the island on the open
+roadstead of Carlisle Bay, and has a population of over twenty-five
+thousand. Barbadoes lies about eighty miles to the windward of St.
+Vincent, its nearest neighbor, and is separated from Europe by four
+thousand miles of the Atlantic Ocean. It is comparatively removed from
+the chain formed by the Windward Isles, its situation being so isolated
+that it remained almost unnoticed until a century had passed after
+Columbus's first discovery in these waters. The area of the British
+possessions in the West Indies is about one seventh of the islands. It
+is often stated that Barbadoes is nearly as large as the Isle of Wight,
+but the fact is, it exceeds that island in superficial area, being a
+little over fifty-five miles in circumference. The reader will perhaps
+remember that it was here Addison laid the scene of his touching story
+of "Inkle and Yarico," published so many years ago in the
+"Spectator."</p>
+
+<p>Though it is not particularly well laid out, Bridgetown makes a very
+pleasing picture, as a whole, when seen from the harbor. Here and there
+a busy windmill is mixed with tall and verdant tropical trees, backed by
+far-reaching fields of yellow sugar-cane, together with low, sloping
+hills. The buildings are mostly of stone, or coral rock, and the town
+follows the graceful curve of the bay. The streets are macadamized and
+lighted with gas, but are far too narrow for business purposes. The
+island is about twenty-one miles long and between fourteen and fifteen
+broad, the shores being nearly inclosed in a cordon of coral reefs, some
+of which extend for two or three miles seaward, demanding of navigators
+the greatest care on seeking a landing, though the course into the roads
+to a suitable anchorage is carefully buoyed.</p>
+
+<p>Barbadoes was originally settled by the Portuguese, who here found
+the branches of a certain forest tree covered with hair-like hanging
+moss, from whence its somewhat peculiar name, Barbadoes, or the "bearded
+place," is supposed to have been derived. Probably this was the Indian
+fig-tree, still found here, and which lives for many centuries, growing
+to enormous proportions. In India, Ceylon, and elsewhere in Asia, it is
+held sacred. The author has seen one of these trees at Kandy, in the
+island of Ceylon, under which sacred rites have taken place constantly
+for a thousand years or more, and whose widespread branches could
+shelter five hundred people from the heat of the sun. It stands close by
+the famous old Buddhist temple wherein is preserved the tooth of the
+prophet, and before which devout Indians prostrate themselves daily,
+coming from long distances to do so. Indeed, Kandy is the Mecca of
+Ceylon.</p>
+
+<p>A good share of even the reading public of England would be puzzled
+to tell an inquirer exactly where Barbadoes is situated, while most of
+those who have any idea about it have gained such knowledge as they
+possess from Captain Marryat's clever novel of "Peter Simple," where the
+account is, to be sure, meagre enough. Still later, those who have read
+Anthony Trollope's "West Indies and the Spanish Main" have got from the
+flippant pages of that book some idea of the island, though it is a very
+disagreeable example of Trollope's pedantic style.</p>
+
+<p>"Barbadoes? Barbadoes?" said a society man to the writer of these
+pages, in all seriousness, just as he was about to sail from New York,
+"that's on the coast of Africa, is it not?"
+
+"Oh, no," was the reply, "it is one of the islands of the Lesser
+Antilles."</p>
+
+<p>"Where are the Antilles, pray?"
+
+"You must surely know."</p>
+
+<p>"But I do not, nevertheless; haven't the remotest idea. Fact is,
+geography never was one of my strong points."</p>
+
+<p>With which remark we silently agreed, and yet our friend is reckoned
+to be a fairly educated, cultured person, as these expressions are
+commonly used. Probably he represents the average geographical knowledge
+of one half the people to be met with in miscellaneous society.</p>
+
+<p>This is the first English possession where the sugarcane was planted,
+and is one of the most ancient colonies of Great Britain. It bears no
+resemblance to the other islands in these waters, that is,
+topographically, nor, indeed, in the character of its population, being
+entirely English. The place might be a bit taken out of any shire town
+of the British home island, were it only a little more cleanly and less
+unsavory; still it is more English than West Indian. The manners and
+customs are all similar to those of the people of that nationality; the
+negroes, and their descendants of mixed blood, speak the same tongue as
+the denizens of St. Giles, London. The island has often been called
+"Little England." There is no reliable history of Barbadoes before the
+period when Great Britain took possession of it, some two hundred and
+sixty years ago. Government House is a rather plain but pretentious
+dwelling, where the governor has his official and domestic residence. In
+its rear there is a garden, often spoken of by visitors, which is
+beautified by some of the choicest trees and shrubs of this latitude. It
+is really surprising how much a refined taste and skillful gardening can
+accomplish in so circumscribed a space.</p>
+
+<p>Barbadoes is somewhat remarkable as producing a variety of minerals;
+among which are coal, manganese, iron, kaolin, and yellow ochre. There
+are also one or two localities on the island where a flow of petroleum
+is found, of which some use is made. It is called Barbadoes tar, and
+were the supply sufficient to warrant the use of refining machinery, it
+would undoubtedly produce a good burning fluid. There is a "burning
+well," situated in what is known as the Scotland District, where the
+water emerging from the earth forms a pool, which is kept in a state of
+ebullition from the inflammable air or gas which passes through it. This
+gas, when lighted by a match, burns freely until extinguished by
+artificial means, not rising in large enough quantities to make a great
+flame, but still sufficient to create the effect of burning water, and
+forming quite a curiosity.</p>
+
+<p>There are no mountains on the island, but the land is undulating, and
+broken into hills and dales; one elevation, known as Mount Hillaby,
+reaches a thousand feet and more above the level of tide waters.</p>
+
+<p>One of the most serious pests ever known at Barbadoes was the
+introduction of ants, by slave-ships from Africa. No expedient of human
+ingenuity served to rid the place of their destructive presence, and it
+was at one time seriously proposed to abandon the island on this
+account. After a certain period nature came to the rescue. She does all
+things royally, and the hurricane of 1780 completely annihilated the
+vermin. Verily, it was appropriate to call Barbadoes in those days the
+<ins title="hyphenated in the original">Antilles</ins>! It appears that
+there is no affliction quite unmixed with good, and that we must put a
+certain degree of faith in the law of compensation, however great the
+seeming evil under which we suffer. To our limited power of
+comprehension, a destructive hurricane does seem an extreme resort by
+which to crush out an insect pest. The query might even arise, with some
+minds, whether the cure was not worse than the disorder.</p>
+
+<p>The exports from the island consist almost wholly of molasses, sugar,
+and rum, products of the cane, which grows all over the place, in every
+nook and corner, from hilltop to water's edge. The annual export, as
+already intimated, is considerably over sixty thousand hogsheads. Sugar
+cannot, however, be called king of any one section, since half of the
+amount manufactured in the whole world is the product of the beet root,
+the growth of which is liberally subsidized by more than one European
+government, in order to foster local industry. Like St. Thomas, this
+island has been almost denuded of its forest growth, and is occasionally
+liable, as we have seen, to destructive hurricanes.</p>
+
+<p>Bridgetown is a place of considerable progress, having several
+benevolent and educational institutions; it also possesses railway,
+telephone, and telegraphic service. Its export trade aggregates over
+seven million dollars per annum, to accommodate which amount of commerce
+causes a busy scene nearly all the time in the harbor. The steam railway
+referred to connects the capital with the Parish of St. Andrews,
+twenty-one miles away on the other side of the island, its terminus
+being at the thrifty little town of Bathsheba, a popular resort, which
+is noted for its fine beach and excellent sea bathing.</p>
+
+<p>The cathedral is consecrated to the established religion of the
+Church of England, and is a picturesque, time-worn building, surrounded,
+after the style of rural England, by a quaint old graveyard, the
+monuments and slabs of which are gray and moss-grown, some of them
+bearing dates of the earlier portion of the sixteenth century. This spot
+forms a very lovely, peaceful picture, where the graves are shaded by
+tree-ferns and stately palms. Somehow one cannot but miss the tall, slim
+cypress, which to the European and American eye seems so especially
+appropriate to such a spot. There were clusters of low-growing
+mignonette, which gave out a faint perfume exactly suited to the solemn
+shades which prevailed, and here and there bits of ground enameled with
+blue-eyed violets. The walls of the inside of the church are covered
+with memorial tablets, and there is an organ of great power and
+sweetness of tone.</p>
+
+<p>The "Ice House," so called, at Bridgetown is a popular resort, which
+everybody visits who comes to Barbadoes. Here one can find files of all
+the latest American and European papers, an excellent café, with drinks
+and refreshments of every conceivable character, and can purchase almost
+any desired article from a toothpick to a set of parlor furniture. It is
+a public library, an exchange, a "Bon Marché," and an artificial ice
+manufactory, all combined. Strangers naturally make it a place of
+rendezvous. It seemed to command rather more of the average citizen's
+attention than did legitimate business, and one is forced to admit that
+although the drinks which were so generously dispensed were cool and
+appetizing, they were also very potent. It was observed that some
+individuals, who came into the hospitable doors rather sober and
+dejected in expression of features, were apt to go out just a little
+jolly.</p>
+
+<p>The Ice House is an institution of these islands, to be found at St.
+Thomas, Demerara, and Trinidad, as well as at Barbadoes. Havana has a
+similar retreat, but calls it a café, situated on the Paseo, near the
+Tacon Theatre.</p>
+
+<p>The population of the island amounts to about one hundred and
+seventy-two thousand,&mdash;the census of 1881 showed it to be a trifle
+less than this,&mdash;giving the remarkable density of one thousand and
+more persons to the square mile, thus forming an immense human beehive.
+It is the only one of the West Indian islands from which a certain
+amount of emigration is necessary annually. The large negro population
+makes labor almost incredibly cheap, field-hands on the plantations
+being paid only one shilling per day; and yet, so ardent is their love
+of home&mdash;and the island is home to them&mdash;that only a few can
+be induced to leave it in search of better wages. When it is remembered
+that the State of Massachusetts, which is considered to be one of the
+most thickly populated sections of the United States, contains but two
+hundred and twenty persons to the square mile, the fact that this West
+Indian island supports over one thousand inhabitants in the same average
+space will be more fully appreciated. Notwithstanding this crowded state
+of the population, we were intelligently informed that while petty
+offenses are common, there is a marked absence of serious crimes.</p>
+
+<p>One sees few if any signs of poverty here. It is a land of
+sugar-cane, yams, and sweet potatoes, very prolific, and very easily
+tilled. Some of the most prosperous men on the island are colored
+planters, who own their large establishments, though born slaves,
+perhaps on the very ground they now own. They have by strict economy and
+industry saved money enough to make a fair beginning, and in the course
+of years have gradually acquired wealth. One plantation, owned by a
+colored man, born of slave parents, was pointed out to us, with the
+information that it was worth twenty thousand pounds sterling, and that
+its last year's crop yielded over three hundred hogsheads of sugar,
+besides a considerable quantity of molasses.</p>
+
+<p>England maintains at heavy expense a military depot here, from which
+to draw under certain circumstances. There is no local necessity for
+supporting such a force. Georgetown is a busy place. Being the most
+seaward of the West Indies, it has become the chief port of call for
+ships navigating these seas. The Caribbees are divided by geographers
+into the Windward and Leeward islands, in accordance with the direction
+in which they lie with regard to the prevailing winds. They are in very
+deep water, the neighboring sea having a mean depth of fifteen hundred
+fathoms. Being so far eastward, Barbadoes enjoys an exceptionally
+equable climate, and it is claimed for it that it has a lower
+thermometer than any other West Indian island. Its latitude is 13° 4'
+north, longitude 59° 37' west, within eight hundred miles of the
+equator. The prevailing wind blows from the northeast, over the broad,
+unobstructed Atlantic, rendering the evenings almost always delightfully
+cool, tempered by this grateful tonic breath of the ocean.</p>
+
+<p>Trafalgar Square, Bridgetown, contains a handsome fountain, and a
+bronze statue of Nelson which, as a work of art, is simply atrocious.
+From this broad, open square the tramway cars start, and it also forms a
+general business centre.</p>
+
+<p>The home government supports, besides its other troops, a regiment of
+negroes uniformed as Zouaves and officered by white men. The police of
+Bridgetown are also colored men. Slavery was abolished here in 1833.
+Everything is so thoroughly English, that only the temperature, together
+with the vegetation, tells the story of latitude and longitude. The soil
+has been so closely cultivated as to have become partially exhausted,
+and this is the only West Indian island, if we are correctly informed,
+where artificial enrichment is considered necessary to stimulate the
+native soil, or where it has ever been freely used. "I question," said
+an intelligent planter to us, "whether we should not be better off
+to-day, if we had not so overstimulated, in fact, burned out, our land
+with guano and phosphates." These are to the ground like intoxicants to
+human beings,&mdash;if over-indulged in they are fatal, and even the
+partial use is of questionable advantage. The Chinese and Japanese apply
+only domestic refuse in their fields as a manure, and no people obtain
+such grand results as they do in agriculture. They know nothing of
+patent preparations employed for such purposes, and yet will render a
+spot of ground profitable which a European would look upon as absolutely
+not worth cultivating.</p>
+
+<p>In any direction from Bridgetown going inland, miles upon miles of
+plantations are seen bearing the bright green sugar-cane, turning to
+yellow as it ripens, and giving splendid promise for the harvest. Here
+and there are grouped a low cluster of cabins, which form the quarters
+of the negroes attached to the plantation, while close at hand the tall
+chimney of the sugar mill looms over the surrounding foliage. A little
+one side, shaded by some palms, is the planter's neat and attractive
+residence, painted snow white, in contrast to the deep greenery
+surrounding it, and having a few flower beds in its front.</p>
+
+<p>The Marine Hotel, which is admirably situated on a rocky point at
+Hastings, three hundred feet above the beach, is about a league from the
+city, and forms a favorite resort for the townspeople. The house is
+capable of accommodating three hundred guests at a time. Its spacious
+piazzas fronting the ocean are constantly fanned by the northeast trades
+from October to March. Some New York families regard the place as a
+choice winter resort, the thermometer rarely indicating over 80° Fahr.,
+or falling below 70°. This suburb of Hastings is the location of the
+army barracks, where a broad plain affords admirable space for drill and
+military man&oelig;uvres. There is a monument at Hastings, raised to the
+memory of the victims of the hurricane of 1831, which seems to be rather
+unpleasantly suggestive of future possibilities. Near at hand is a
+well-arranged mile racecourse, a spot very dear to the army officers,
+where during the racing season any amount of money is lost and won.
+There seems to be something in this tropical climate which incites to
+all sorts of gambling, and the habit among the people is so common as to
+be looked upon with great leniency. Just so, at some of the summer
+resorts of the south of France, Italy, and Germany, ladies or gentlemen
+will frankly say, "I am going to the Casino for a little gambling, but
+will be back again by and by."</p>
+
+<p>The roads in the vicinity of Bridgetown are admirably kept, all being
+macadamized, but the dust which rises from the pulverized coral rock is
+nearly blinding, and together with the reflection caused by the sun on
+the snow white roads proves very trying to the eyesight. The dust and
+glare are serious drawbacks to the enjoyment of these environs.</p>
+
+<p>As we have said, hurricanes have proved very fatal at Barbadoes. In
+1780, four thousand persons were swept out of existence in a few hours
+by the irresistible fury of a tornado. So late as 1831, the loss of life
+by a similar visitation was over two thousand, while the loss of
+property aggregated some two million pounds sterling. The experience has
+not, however, been so severe here as at several of the other islands. At
+the time of the hurricane just referred to, Barbadoes was covered with a
+coat of sulphurous ashes nearly an inch thick, which was afterwards
+found to have come from the island of St. Vincent, where what is called
+Brimstone Mountain burst forth in flames and laid that island also in
+ashes. It is interesting to note that there should have been such
+intimate relationship shown between a great atmospheric disturbance like
+a hurricane and an underground agitation as evinced by the eruption of a
+volcano.</p>
+
+<p>It should be mentioned that these hurricanes have never been known to
+pass a certain limit north or south, their ravages having always been
+confined between the eleventh and twenty-first degrees of north
+latitude.</p>
+
+<p>It appears that some curious Carib implements were found not long
+since just below the surface of the earth on the south shore of the bay,
+which are to be forwarded to the British Museum, London. These were of
+hard stone, and were thought by the finders to have been used by the
+aborigines to fell trees. Some were thick shells, doubtless employed by
+the Indians in the rude cultivation of maize, grown here four or five
+hundred years ago. It was said that these stone implements resembled
+those which have been found from time to time in Norway and Sweden. If
+this is correct, it is an important fact for antiquarians to base a
+theory upon. Some scientists believe that there was, in prehistoric
+times, an intimate relationship between Scandinavia and the continent of
+America.</p>
+
+<p>Though there are several public schools in Bridgetown, both primary
+and advanced, we were somehow impressed with the idea that education for
+the common people was not fostered in a manner worthy of a British
+colony of so long standing; but this is the impression of a casual
+observer only. There is a college situated ten or twelve miles from the
+city, founded by Sir Christopher Codrington, which has achieved a high
+reputation as an educational institution in its chosen field of
+operation. It is a large structure of white stone, well-arranged, and
+is, as we were told, consistent with the spirit of the times. It has the
+dignity of ripened experience, having been opened in 1744. The
+professors are from Europe. A delicious fresh water spring rises to the
+surface of the land just below the cliff, at Codrington College, a
+blessing which people who live in the tropics know how to appreciate.
+There is also at Bridgetown what is known as Harrison's College, which,
+however, is simply a high school devoted exclusively to girls.</p>
+
+<p>The island is not exempt from occasional prevalence of tropical
+fevers, but may be considered a healthy resort upon the whole. Leprosy
+is not unknown among the lower classes, and elephantiasis is frequently
+to be met with. This disease is known in the West Indies as the
+"Barbadoes Leg." Sometimes a native may be seen on the streets with one
+of his legs swollen to the size of his body. There is no known cure for
+this disease except the surgeon's knife, and the removal of the victim
+from the region where it first developed itself. The author has seen
+terrible cases of elephantiasis among the natives of the Samoan group of
+islands, where this strange and unaccountable disease is thought to have
+reached its most extreme and repulsive development. Foreigners are
+seldom if ever afflicted with it, either in the West Indies or the South
+Pacific.</p>
+
+<p>We are to sail to-night. A few passengers and a quantity of freight
+have been landed, while some heavy merchandise has been received on
+board, designed for continental ports to the southward. The afternoon
+shadows lengthen upon the shore, and the sunset hour, so brief in this
+latitude, approaches. The traveler who has learned to love the lingering
+twilight of the north misses these most charming hours when in
+equatorial regions, but as the goddess of night wraps her sombre mantle
+about her, it is so superbly decked with diamond stars that the departed
+daylight is hardly regretted. It is like the prompter's ringing up of
+the curtain upon a complete theatrical scene; the glory of the tropical
+sky bursts at once upon the vision in all its completeness, its burning
+constellations, its solitaire brilliants, its depth of azure, and its
+mysterious Milky Way.</p>
+
+<p>While sitting under the awning upon deck, watching the gentle swaying
+palms and tall fern-trees, listening to the low drone of busy life in
+the town, and breathing the sweet exhalations of tropical fruits and
+flowers, a trance-like sensation suffuses the brain. Is this the
+<i>dolce far niente</i> of the Italians, the sweet do-nothing of the
+tropics? To us, however defined, it was a waking dream of sensuous
+delight, of entire content. How far away sounds the noise of the
+steam-winch, the sharp chafing of the iron pulleys, the prompt orders of
+the officer of the deck, the swinging of the ponderous yards, the
+rattling of the anchor chain as it comes in through the hawse hole,
+while the ship gradually loses her hold upon the land. With half closed
+eyes we scarcely heard these many significant sounds, but floated
+peacefully on in an Eden of fancy, quietly leaving Carlisle Bay far
+behind.</p>
+
+<p>Our course was to the southward, while everything, high and low, was
+bathed in a flood of shimmering moonlight, the magic alchemy of the sky,
+whose influence etherealizes all upon which it rests.</p>
+
+<p class="p4"><a name="Ch_4"></a></p>
+
+<h3>CHAPTER IV.</h3>
+
+<p class="blockquote">Curious Ocean Experiences.&mdash;The Delicate
+Nautilus.&mdash;Flying-Fish.&mdash;The Southern Cross.&mdash;Speaking a
+Ship at Sea.&mdash;Scientific Navigation.&mdash;South America as a
+Whole.&mdash;Fauna and Flora.&mdash;Natural Resources of a Wonderful
+Land.&mdash;Rivers, Plains, and Mountain Ranges.&mdash;Aboriginal
+Tribes.&mdash;Population.&mdash;Political Divisions.&mdash;Civil
+Wars.&mdash;Weakness of South American States.</p>
+
+<p class="p2">The sudden appearance of a school of flying-fish gliding
+swiftly through the air for six or eight rods just above the rippling
+waves, and then sinking from sight; the sportive escort of half a
+hundred slate-colored porpoises, leaping high out of the water on either
+bow of the ship only to plunge back again, describing graceful curves;
+the constant presence of that sullen tiger of the ocean, the voracious,
+man-eating shark, betrayed by its dorsal fin showing above the surface
+of the sea; the sporting of mammoth whales, sending columns of water
+high in air from their blowholes, and lashing the waves playfully with
+their broad-spread tails, are events at sea too commonplace to comment
+upon in detail, though they tend to while away the inevitable monotony
+of a long voyage.</p>
+
+<p>Speaking of flying-fish, there is more in the flying capacity of this
+little creature than is generally admitted, else why has it wings on the
+forward part of its body, each measuring seven inches in length? If
+designed only for fins, they are altogether out of proportion to the
+rest of its body. They are manifestly intended for just the use to which
+the creature puts them. One was brought to us by a seaman; how it got on
+board we know not, but it measured eleven inches from the nose to the
+tip of the tail fin, and was in shape and size very much like a small
+mackerel. After leaving Barbadoes, we got into what sailors call the
+flying-fish latitudes, where they appear constantly in their low, rapid
+flight, sometimes singly, but oftener in small schools of a score or
+more, creating flashes of silvery-blue lustre. The most careful
+observation could detect no vibration of the long, extended fins; the
+tiny fish sailed, as it were, upon the wind, the flight of the giant
+albatross in miniature.</p>
+
+<p>One afternoon, when the sea was scarcely dimpled by the soft trade
+wind, we came suddenly upon myriads of that little fairy of the ocean,
+the gossamer nautilus, with its Greek galleon shape, and as frail,
+apparently, as a spider's web. What a gondola it would make for Queen
+Mab! How delicate and transparent it is, while radiating prismatic
+colors! A touch might dismember it, yet what a daring navigator,
+floating confidently upon the sea where the depth is a thousand fathoms,
+liable at any moment to be changed into raging billows by an angry
+storm! How minute the vitality of this graceful atom, a creature whose
+existence is perhaps for only a single day; yet how grand and limitless
+the system of life and creation of which it is so humble a
+representative! Sailors call these frail marine creatures Portuguese
+men-of-war. Possessing some singular facility for doing so, if they are
+disturbed, they quickly furl their sails and sink below the surface of
+the buoyant waves into deep water, the home of the octopus, the squid,
+and the voracious shark. Did they, one is led to query, navigate these
+seas after this fashion before the Northmen came across the ocean, and
+before Columbus landed at San Salvador? At night the glory of the
+southern hemisphere, as revealed in new constellations and brighter
+stars brought into view, was observed with keenest
+interest,&mdash;"Everlasting Night, with her star diadems, with her
+silence, and her verities." The phosphorescence of the sea, with its
+scintillations of brilliant light, its ripples of liquid fire, the crest
+of each wave a flaming cascade, was a charming phenomenon one never
+tired of watching. If it be the combination of millions and billions of
+animalculæ which thus illumines the waters, then these infinitesimal
+creatures are the fireflies of the ocean, as the cucuios, that fairy
+torch-bearer, is of the land. Gliding on the magic mirror of the South
+Atlantic, in which the combined glory of the sky was reflected with
+singular clearness, it seemed as though we were sailing over a starry
+world below.</p>
+
+<p>While observing the moon in its beautiful series of changes, lighting
+our way by its chaste effulgence night after night, it was difficult to
+realize that it shines entirely by the light which it borrows from the
+sun; but it was easy to believe the simpler fact, that of all the
+countless hosts of the celestial bodies, she is our nearest neighbor.
+"An eighteen-foot telescope reveals to the human eye over forty million
+stars," said Captain Baker, as we stood together gazing at the luminous
+heavens. "And if we entertain the generally accepted idea," he
+continued, "we must believe that each one of that enormous aggregate of
+stars is the centre of a solar system similar to our own." The known
+facts relating to the stars, like stellar distances, are almost
+incomprehensible.</p>
+
+<p>One cannot but realize that there is always a certain amount of
+sentiment wasted on the constellation known as the Southern Cross by
+passengers bound to the lands and seas over which it hangs. Orion or the
+Pleiades, either of them, is infinitely superior in point of brilliancy,
+symmetry, and individuality. A lively imagination is necessary to endow
+this irregular cluster of stars with any real resemblance to the
+Christian emblem for which it is named. It serves the navigator in the
+southern hemisphere, in part, the same purpose which the north star does
+in our portion of the globe, and there our own respect for it as a
+constellation ends. Much poetic talent has been expended for ages to
+idealize the Southern Cross, which is, alas! no cross at all. We have
+seen a person unfamiliar with the locality of this constellation strive
+long and patiently, but in vain, to find it. It should be remembered
+that two prominent stars in Centaurus point directly to it. The one
+furthest from the so called cross is held to be the fixed star nearest
+to the earth, but its distance from us is twenty thousand times farther
+than that of the sun.</p>
+
+<p>We have never yet met a person, looking upon this cluster of the
+heavens for the first time, who did not frankly express his
+disappointment. Anticipation and fruition are oftenest at antipodes.</p>
+
+<p>The graceful marine birds which follow the ship, day after day,
+darting hither and thither with arrowy swiftness, lured by the
+occasional refuse thrown from on board, would be seriously missed were
+they to leave us. Watching their aerial movements and untiring power of
+wing, while listening to their sharp complaining cries, is a source of
+constant amusement. Even rough weather and a raging sea, if not
+accompanied by too serious a storm, is sometimes welcome, serving to
+awaken the ship from its dull propriety, and to put officers, crew, and
+passengers upon their mettle. To speak a strange vessel at sea is always
+interesting. If it is a steamer, a long, black wake of smoke hanging
+among the clouds at the horizon betrays her proximity long before the
+hull is sighted. All eyes are on the watch until she comes clearly
+within the line of vision, gradually increasing in size and distinctness
+of outline, until presently the spars and rigging are minutely
+delineated. Then speculation is rife as to whence she comes and where
+she is going. By and by the two ships approach so near that signal flags
+can be read, and the captains talk with each other, exchanging names,
+whither bound, and so on. Then each commander dips his flag in
+compliment to the other, and the ships rapidly separate. All of this is
+commonplace enough, but serves to while away an hour, and insures a
+report of our progress and safety at the date of meeting, when the
+stranger reaches his port of destination.</p>
+
+<p>We have spoken of the pleasure experienced at sea in watching
+intelligently the various phases of the moon. The subject is a prolific
+one; a whole chapter might be written upon it.</p>
+
+<p>It is perhaps hardly realized by the average landsman, and indeed by
+few who constantly cross the ocean, with their thoughts and interests
+absorbed by the many attractive novelties of the ocean, how important a
+part this great luminary plays in the navigation of a ship. It is to the
+intelligent and observant mariner the never-failing watch of the sky,
+the stars performing the part of hands to designate the proper figure
+upon the dial. If there is occasion to doubt the correctness of his
+chronometer, the captain of the ship can verify its figures or correct
+them by this planet. Every minute that the chronometer is wrong,
+assuming that it be so, may put him fifteen miles out of his reckoning,
+which, under some circumstances, might prove to be a fatal error, even
+leading to the loss of his ship and all on board. To find his precise
+location upon the ocean, the navigator requires both Greenwich time and
+local meridian time, the latter obtained by the sun on shipboard,
+exactly at midday. To get Greenwich time by lunar observation, the
+captain, for example, finds that the moon is three degrees from the star
+Regulus. By referring to his nautical almanac he sees recorded there the
+Greenwich time at which the moon was three degrees from that particular
+star. He then compares his chronometer with these figures, and either
+confirms or corrects its indication. It is interesting to the traveler
+to observe and understand these important resources, which science has
+brought to bear in perfecting his safety on the ocean, promoting the
+interests of commerce, and in aid of correct navigation. The experienced
+captain of a ship now lays his course as surely by compass, after
+satisfying himself by these various means of his exact position, as
+though the point of his destination was straight before him all the
+while, and visible from the pilot house.</p>
+
+<p>How indescribable is the grandeur of these serene nights on the
+ocean, fanned by the somnolent trade winds; a little lonely, perhaps,
+but so blessed with the hallowed benediction of the moonlight, so
+gorgeously decorated by the glittering images of the studded heavens, so
+sweet and pure and fragrant is the breath of the sleeping wind! If one
+listens intently, there seems to come to the senses a whispering of the
+waves, as though the sea in confidence would tell its secrets to a
+willing ear.</p>
+
+<p>The ship heads almost due south after leaving Barbadoes, when her
+destination is, as in our case, Pará, twelve hundred miles away. On this
+course we encounter the equatorial current, which runs northward at a
+rate of two miles in an hour, and at some points reaches a much higher
+rate of speed.</p>
+
+<p>As eternal vigilance is the price of liberty, so eternal scrubbing is
+the price of cleanliness on shipboard. The deck hands are at it from
+five o'clock in the morning until sunset. Our good ship looks as if she
+had just come out of dock. Last night's gale, which in its angry turmoil
+tossed us about so recklessly, covered her with a saline, sticky
+deposit; but with the rising of the sun all this disappears as if by
+magic. The many brass mountings shine with dazzling lustre, and the
+white paint contrasts with the well-tarred cordage which forms the
+standing rigging.</p>
+
+<p>While the ship pursues her course through the far-reaching ocean, let
+us sketch in outline the general characteristics of South America,
+whither we are bound.</p>
+
+<p>It is a country containing twice the area, though not quite one half
+the amount of population, of the United States, a land which, though now
+presenting nearly all phases of civilization, was four centuries ago
+mostly inhabited by nomadic tribes of savages, who knew nothing of the
+horse, the ox, or the sheep, which to-day form so great and important a
+source of its wealth, and where wheat, its prevailing staple, was also
+unknown. It is a land overflowing with native riches, which possesses an
+unlimited capacity of production, and whose large and increasing
+population requires just such domestic supplies as we of the north can
+profitably furnish. The important treaty of reciprocity, so lately
+arranged between the giant province of Brazil&mdash;or rather we should
+say the Republic of Brazil&mdash;and our own country, is already
+developing new and increasing channels of trade for our shippers and
+producers of the great staples, as well as throwing open to us a new
+nation of consumers for our special articles of manufacture. Facts speak
+louder than words. On the voyage in which the author sailed in the
+Vigilancia, she took over twenty thousand barrels of flour to Brazil
+from the United States, and would have taken more had her capacity
+admitted. Every foot of space on board was engaged for the return
+voyage, twelve thousand bags of coffee being shipped from Rio Janeiro
+alone, besides nearly as large a consignment of coffee from Santos, in
+the same republic. The great mutual benefit which must accrue from this
+friendly compact with an enterprising foreign country can hardly be
+overestimated. These considerations lead to a community of interests,
+which will grow by every reasonable means of familiarizing the people of
+the two countries with each other. Hence the possible and practical
+value of such a work as the one in hand.</p>
+
+<p>By briefly consulting one of the many cheap and excellent maps of the
+western hemisphere, the patient reader will be enabled to follow the
+route taken by the author with increased interest and a clearer
+understanding.</p>
+
+<p>It is surprising, in conversing with otherwise intelligent and
+well-informed people, to find how few there are, comparatively speaking,
+who have any fixed and clear idea relative to so large a portion of the
+habitable globe as South America. The average individual seems to know
+less of the gigantic river Amazon than he does of the mysterious Nile,
+and is less familiar with that grand, far-reaching water-way, the Plate,
+than he is with the sacred Ganges; yet one can ride from Buenos Ayres in
+the Argentine Republic, across the wild pampas, to the base of the Andes
+in a Pullman palace car. There is no part of the globe concerning which
+so little is written, and no other portion which is not more sought by
+travelers; in short, it is less known to the average North American than
+New Zealand or Australia.</p>
+
+<p>The vast peninsula which we call South America is connected with our
+own part of the continent by the Isthmus of Panama and the territory
+designated as Central America. Its configuration is triangular, and
+exhibits in many respects a strong similarity to the continents of
+Africa and Australia, if the latter gigantic island may be called a
+continent. It extends north and south nearly five thousand miles, or
+from latitude 12° 30' north to Cape Horn in latitude 55° 59' south. Its
+greatest width from east to west is a little over three thousand miles,
+and its area, according to the best authorities, is nearly seven million
+square miles. Three fourths of this country lie in the torrid zone,
+though as a whole it has every variety of climate, from equatorial heat
+to the biting frosts of alpine peaks. Its widespread surface consists
+principally of three immense plains, watered respectively by the Amazon,
+Plate, and Orinoco rivers. This spacious country has a coast line of
+over sixteen thousand miles on the two great oceans, with comparatively
+few indentures, headlands, or bays, though at the extreme south it
+consists of a maze of countless small islands, capes, and promontories,
+of which Cape Horn forms the outermost point.</p>
+
+<p>The Cordillera of the Andes extends through the whole length of this
+giant peninsula, from the Strait of Magellan to the Isthmus of Panama, a
+distance of forty-five hundred miles, forming one of the most remarkable
+physical features of the globe, and presenting the highest mountains on
+its surface, except those of the snowy Himalayas which separate India
+from Thibet. The principal range of the Andes runs nearly parallel with
+the Pacific coast, at an average distance of about one hundred miles
+from it, and contains several active volcanoes. If we were to believe a
+late school geography, published in London, Cotopaxi, one famous peak of
+this Andean range, throws up flames three thousand feet above the brink
+of its crater, which is eighteen thousand feet above tide water; but to
+be on the safe side, let us reduce these extraordinary figures at least
+one half, as regards the eruptive power of Cotopaxi. This mountain
+chain, near the border between Chili and Peru, divides into two
+branches, the principal one still called the Cordillera of the Andes,
+and the other, nearer to the ocean, the Cordillera de la Costa. Between
+these ranges, about three thousand feet above the sea, is a vast
+table-land with an area larger than that of France.</p>
+
+<p>It will be observed that we are dealing with a country which, like
+our own, is one of magnificent distances. It is difficult for the
+nations of the old world, where the population is hived together in such
+circumscribed space, to realize the geographical extent of the American
+continent. When informed that it required six days and nights, at
+express speed upon well-equipped railroads, to cross the United States
+from ocean to ocean, a certain editor in London doubted the statement.
+Outside of Her Majesty's dominions, the average Englishman has only
+superficial ideas of geography. The frequent blunders of some British
+newspapers in these matters are simply ridiculous.</p>
+
+<p>It should be understood that South America is a land of plains as
+well as of lofty mountains, having the <i>llanos</i> of the Orinoco
+region, the <i>selvas</i> of the Amazon, and the <i>pampas</i> of the
+Argentine Republic. The llanos are composed of a region about as large
+as the New England States, so level that the motion of the rivers can
+hardly be discerned. The selvas are for the most part vast unbroken
+forests, in which giant trees, thick undergrowth, and entwining creepers
+combine to form a nearly impenetrable region. The pampas lie between the
+Andes and the Atlantic Ocean, stretching southward from northern Brazil
+to southern Patagonia, affording grass sufficient to feed innumerable
+herds of wild cattle, but at the extreme south the country sinks into
+half overflowed marshes and lagoons, resembling the glades and savannahs
+of Florida.</p>
+
+<p>The largest river in the world, namely, the Amazon, rises in the
+Peruvian Andes, within sixty miles of the Pacific Ocean, and flows
+thousands of miles in a general east-northeast direction, finally
+emptying into the Atlantic Ocean. This unequaled river course is
+navigable for over two thousand miles from its mouth, which is situated
+on the equatorial line, where its outflow is partially impeded by the
+island of Marajo, a nearly round formation, one hundred and fifty miles
+or thereabouts in diameter. This remarkable island divides the river's
+outlet into two passages, the largest of which is a hundred and fifty
+miles in width, forming an estuary of extraordinary dimensions. The
+Amazon has twelve tributaries, each one of which is a thousand miles in
+length, not to count its hundreds of smaller ones, while the main stream
+affords water communication from the Atlantic Ocean to near the
+foothills of the Andes.</p>
+
+<p>We are simply stating a series of condensed geographical facts, from
+which the intelligent reader can form his own deductions as regards the
+undeveloped possibilities of this great southland.</p>
+
+<p>Our own mammoth river, the Mississippi, is a comparatively shallow
+stream, with a shifting channel and dangerous sandbanks, which impede
+navigation throughout the most of its course; while the Amazon shows an
+average depth of over one hundred feet for the first thousand miles of
+its flow from the Atlantic, forming inland seas in many places, so
+spacious that the opposite banks are not within sight of each other. It
+is computed by good authority that this river, with its numerous
+affluents, forms a system of navigable water twenty-four thousand miles
+in length! There are comparatively few towns or settlements of any
+importance on the banks of the Amazon, which flows mostly through a
+dense, unpeopled evergreen forest, not absolutely without human beings,
+but for very long distances nearly so. Wild animals, anacondas and other
+reptiles, together with many varieties of birds and numerous tribes of
+monkeys, make up the animal life. Now and again a settlement of European
+colonists is found, or a rude Indian village is seen near the banks, but
+they are few and far between. There are occasional regions of low,
+marshy ground, which are malarious at certain seasons, but the average
+country is salubrious, and capable of supporting a population of
+millions.</p>
+
+<p>This is only one of the large rivers of South America; there are many
+others of grand proportions. The Plate comes next to it in magnitude,
+having a length of two thousand miles, and being navigable for one half
+the distance from its mouth at all seasons. It is over sixty miles wide
+at Montevideo, and is therefore the widest known river. Like the great
+stream already described, it traverses a country remarkable for the
+fertility of its soil, but very thinly settled. The Plate carries to the
+ocean four fifths as much, in volume of water, as does the mighty
+Amazon, the watershed drained by it exceeding a million and a half
+square miles. One can only conceive of the true magnitude of such
+figures when applied to the land by comparing the number of square miles
+contained in any one European nation, or any dozen of our own
+States.</p>
+
+<p>Juan Diaz de Solis discovered the estuary of the Plate in 1508, and
+believed it at that time to be a gulf, but on a second voyage from
+Europe, in 1516, he ascended the river a considerable distance, and
+called it Mar Dulce, on account of the character of the waters.
+Unfortunately, this intelligent discoverer was killed by Indian arrows
+on attempting to land at a certain point. For a considerable period the
+river was called after him, and we think should have continued to be so,
+but its name was changed to the Plate on account of the conspicuous
+silver ornaments worn in great profusion by the natives, which they
+freely exchanged for European gewgaws.</p>
+
+<p>Though nearly four hundred years have passed since its discovery, a
+large portion of the country still remains comparatively unexplored,
+much of it being a wilderness sparsely inhabited by Indians, many of
+whom are without a vestige of civilization. We know as little of
+portions of the continent as we do of Central Africa, yet there is no
+section of the globe which suggests a greater degree of physical
+interest, or which would respond more readily and profitably to
+intelligent effort at development. When the Spaniards first came to
+South America, it was only in Peru, the land of the Incas, that they
+found natives who had made any substantial progress in civilization. The
+earliest history extant relating to this region of the globe is that of
+the Incas, a warlike race of sun-worshipers, who possessed enormous
+treasures of gold and silver, and who erected magnificent temples
+enriched with the precious metals. It was the almost fabulous wealth of
+the Incas that led to their destruction, tempting the cupidity of the
+avaricious Spaniards, and causing them to institute a system of cruelty,
+oppression, robbery, and bloodshed which finally obliterated an entire
+people from the face of the globe. The empire of the Incas extended from
+Quito, in Ecuador (on the equator), to the river Monté in Chili, and
+eastward to the Andes. The romantic career of Pizarro and Cortez is
+familiar to us all. There are few palliating circumstances connected
+with the advent of the Spaniards, either here, in the West Indies, or in
+Mexico. The actual motive which prompted their invasion of this foreign
+soil was to search for mineral treasures, though policy led them to
+cover their bloodthirsty deeds with a pretense of religious zeal. Their
+first acts were reckless, cruel, and sanguinary, followed by a
+systematic oppression of the native races which was an outrage upon
+humanity. The world at large profited little by the extortion and golden
+harvest reaped by Spain, to realize which she adopted a policy of
+extermination, both in Peru and in Mexico; but let it be remembered that
+her own national ruin was brought about with poetical justice by the
+very excess of her ill-gotten, blood-stained treasures. The Spanish
+historians tell us, as an evidence of the persistent bravery of their
+ancestors, that it took them eight hundred years of constant warfare to
+wrest Spain from her Moorish conquerors. It is for us to remind them how
+brief has been the continuance of their glory, how rapid their decline
+from splendid continental and colonial possessions to their present
+condition, that of the weakest and most insignificant power in
+Europe.</p>
+
+<p>There are localities which have been visited by adventurous
+explorers, especially in Chili and Peru, where ruins have been found,
+and various monuments of antiquity examined, of vast interest to
+archæologists, but of which scarcely more than their mere existence is
+recorded. Some of these ruins are believed to antedate by centuries the
+period of the Incas, and are supposed to be the remains of tribes which,
+judging from their pottery and other domestic utensils, were possibly of
+Asiatic origin. Comparatively few travelers have visited Lake Titicaca,
+in the Peruvian Andes, with its sacred islands and mysterious ruins,
+from whence the Incas dated their mythical origin. The substantial
+remains of some grand temples are still to be seen on the islands near
+the borders of the lake, the decaying masonry decked here and there with
+a wild growth of hardy cactus. This remarkable body of water, Lake
+Titicaca, in the mountain range of Peru, lies more than twelve thousand
+feet above the level of the Pacific; yet it never freezes, and its
+average depth is given as six hundred feet, representing an immense body
+of water. It covers an area of four thousand square miles, which is
+about four fifths as large as our own Lake Ontario, the average depth
+being about the same. Titicaca is the largest lake in the world
+occupying so elevated a site.</p>
+
+<p>The population of South America is mostly to be found on the coast,
+and is thought to be about thirty-five millions, though, all things
+considered, we are disposed to believe this an overestimate. There are
+tribes far inland who are not brought in contact with civilization at
+all, and whose numbers are not known. The magnitude and density of the
+forests are remarkable; they cover, it is intelligently stated, nearly
+two thirds of the country. The vegetation, in its various forms, is rich
+beyond comparison. Professor Agassiz, who explored the valley of the
+Amazon under the most favorable auspices, tells us that he found within
+an area of half a mile square over one hundred species of trees, among
+which were nearly all of the choicest cabinet and dye woods known to the
+tropics, besides others suitable for shipbuilding. Some of these trees
+are remarkable for their gigantic size, others for their beauty of form,
+and still others are valuable for their gums and resins. Of the latter,
+the india-rubber tree is the most prolific and important known to
+commerce. From Brazil comes four fifths of the world's supply of the raw
+material of rubber.</p>
+
+<p>The great fertility of the soil generally would seem to militate
+against the true progress of the people of South America, absolutely
+discouraging, rather than stimulating national industry. One cannot but
+contrast the state of affairs in this respect with that of North
+America, where the soil is so much less productive, and where the
+climate is so universally rigorous. The deduction is inevitable that, to
+find man at his best, we must observe him where his skill, energy, and
+perseverance are all required to achieve a livelihood, and not where
+exuberant nature is over-indulgent, over-productive. The coast, the
+valleys, and indeed the main portion of South America are tropical, but
+a considerable section of the country is so elevated that its climate is
+that of perpetual spring, resembling the great Mexican plateau, both
+physically and as regards temperature. The population is largely of
+Spanish descent, and that language is almost universally spoken, though
+Portuguese is the current tongue in Brazil. These languages are so
+similar, in fact, that the people of the two nations can easily
+understand each other. It is said to be true that, in the wild regions
+of the country, there are tribes of Indians found to-day living close to
+each other, separated by no physical barriers, who differ materially in
+language, physiognomy, manners, and customs, having absolutely nothing
+in common but their brown or copper colored skins. Furthermore, these
+tribes live most frequently in deadly feuds with each other. That
+cannibalism is still practiced among these interior tribes is positively
+believed, especially among some of the tribes of the extreme south, that
+is, among the Patagonians and the wild, nomadic race of Terra del Fuego.
+These two tribes, on opposite sides of the Strait of Magellan, are quite
+different from each other in nearly every respect, especially in size,
+nor will they attempt to hold friendly intercourse of any sort with each
+other.</p>
+
+<p>There are certain domestic animals which are believed to be improved
+by crossing them with others of a different type, but this does not seem
+to apply, very often, advantageously to different races of human beings.
+It is plain enough in South America that the amalgamation of foreigners
+and natives rapidly effaces the original better qualities of each, the
+result being a mongrel, nondescript type, hard to analyze and hard to
+improve. That keen observer, Professor Agassiz, especially noticed this
+during his year of scientific research in Brazil. This has also been the
+author's experience, as illustrated in many lands, where strictly
+different races, the one highly civilized, the other barbarian, have
+unitedly produced children. It is a sort of amalgamation which nature
+does not favor, recording her objections in an unmistakable manner. It
+is the flow of European emigration towards these southern republics
+which will infuse new life and progress among them. The aboriginal race
+is slowly receding, and fading out, as was the case in Australia, in New
+Zealand, and in the instance of our western Indians. A new people will
+eventually possess the land, composed of the several European
+nationalities, who are already the virtual masters of South America so
+far as regards numbers, intelligence, and possession.</p>
+
+<p>Since these notes were written, the Argentine government has sold to
+Baron Hirsch three thousand square leagues of land in the province of
+Chaco, for the formation of a Jewish colony. Agents are already at work,
+aided by competent engineers and practical individuals, in preparing for
+the early reception of the new occupants of the country. The first
+contingent, of about one thousand Jews, have already arrived and are
+becoming domesticated. Argentina wants men perhaps more than money;
+indeed, one will make the other. A part of Baron Hirsch's scheme is to
+lend these people money, to be repaid in small installments extending
+over a considerable period. For this extensive territory the Baron paid
+one million three hundred thousand dollars in gold, thus making himself
+the owner of the largest connected area of land in the world possessed
+by a single individual. It exceeds that of the kingdom of
+Montenegro.</p>
+
+<p>As to the zoölogy of this part of the continent, it is different from
+that of Europe, Africa, Asia, and North America. The number of dangerous
+beasts of prey is quite limited. There is nothing here to answer to the
+African lion, the Asiatic tiger, the elephant of Ceylon, or the grisly
+bear of Alaska. The jaguar is perhaps the most formidable animal, and
+resembles the leopard. There are also the cougar, tiger-cat, black bear,
+hyena, wolf, and ocelot. The llama, alpaca, and vicuña are peculiar to
+this country. The monkey tribe exceeds all others in variety and number.
+There are said to be nearly two hundred species of them in South
+America, each distinctly marked, and varying from each other, in size,
+from twelve pounds to less than two. The smallest of the little
+marmosets weigh less than a pound and a half each, and are the most
+intelligent animal of their size known to man. There are also the deer,
+tapir, armadillo, anteater, and a few other minor animals. The pampas
+swarm with wild cattle and horses, descended from animals originally
+brought from Europe. In the low, marshy grounds the boa-constrictor and
+other reptiles abound. Eagles, vultures, and parrots are found in a wild
+state all over the country, while the rivers and the waters near the
+coast are well filled with fish, crocodiles, and turtles. Scientists
+have found over two thousand species of fish in the Amazon River
+alone.</p>
+
+<p>The pure aboriginal race are copper colored, resembling the Mexicans
+in character and appearance. Like most natives of equatorial regions,
+they are indolent, ignorant, superstitious, sensuous, and by no means
+warlike. Forced into the ranks and drilled by Europeans, they make
+fairly good soldiers, and when well led will obey orders and fight.
+There can be no <i>esprit de corps</i> in soldiers thus organized; the
+men neither know nor care what they fight for, their incentive in action
+being first a natural instinct for brutality, and second the promise of
+booty. In some parts of the country the half-breeds show themselves
+skillful workmen in certain simple lines of manufacture, but the native
+pure and simple will not work except to keep from starving.</p>
+
+<p>The Spaniards conquered nearly all parts of South America except
+Brazil, which was subject to Portugal until 1823, when it achieved its
+independence. The Spanish colonies also revolted, one by one, until they
+all became independent of the mother country. The history of these
+republics, as in the instance of Mexico, has been both stormy and
+sanguinary. Foreign and civil wars have reigned among them incessantly
+for half a century and more.</p>
+
+<p>The present political divisions are: Brazil, British Guiana, Dutch
+Guiana, French Guiana, Ecuador, United States of Colombia, Venezuela,
+Bolivia, Chili, Peru, Argentine Republic, Uruguay, and Paraguay. Brazil
+is the most extensive of these states, and is thought to enjoy the
+largest share of natural advantages, including in its area nearly one
+half as many square miles as all the rest combined. Its seaboard at
+Parahiba, and for hundreds of miles north and south of it, projects into
+the Atlantic a thousand miles to the east of the direct line between its
+northern and southern extremities. Besides her diamond and gold mines,
+she possesses what is much more desirable, namely, valuable deposits of
+iron, copper, silver, and other metals. We have before us statistics
+which give the result of diamond mining in Brazil from 1740 to 1823,
+when national independence was won, which show the aggregate for that
+entire period to have been less than ten million dollars in value; while
+that of the coffee alone, exported from Rio Janeiro in one year,
+exceeded twenty million dollars, showing that, however dazzling the
+precious stones may appear in the abstract, they are not even of
+secondary consideration when compared with the agricultural products of
+the country. The export of coffee has increased very much since the year
+1851, which happens to be that from which we have quoted. It must also
+be admitted that probably twice the amount of diamonds recorded were
+actually found and enriched somebody, all which were duly reported,
+having to pay a government royalty according to the pecuniary exigency
+of those in authority.</p>
+
+<p>The population of Brazil is between fourteen and fifteen million, and
+it is thought to be more advanced in civilization than other parts of
+South America, though in the light of our own experience we should place
+the Argentine Republic first in this respect. Indeed, so far as a
+transient observer may speak, we are inclined to place Argentina far and
+away in advance of Brazil as regards everything calculated to invite the
+would-be emigrant who is in search of a new home in a foreign land. Were
+it not that intestine wars are of such frequent occurrence among these
+states, and national bankruptcy so common, voluntary emigration would
+tend towards South America in far larger numbers than it does now. The
+revolutions are solely to promote personal aggrandizement; it is
+individual interest, not principle, for which these people fight so
+often. Unfortunately, every fresh outbreak throws the country back a
+full decade as regards national progress. The late civil wars in Chili
+and the Argentine Republic are illustrations in point. The first-named
+section of South America has suddenly sunk from a condition of
+remarkable pecuniary prosperity to one of actual poverty. Thousands of
+valuable lives have been sacrificed, an immense amount of property has
+been destroyed, her commerce crippled, and for the time being paralyzed.
+Ten years of peace and reasonable prosperity could hardly restore Chili
+to the position she was in twelve months ago. The country is to-day in a
+terrible condition, while many of the best families mourn the death of a
+father, a son, or both, whose lives have been sacrificed to the mad
+ambition of a usurper. Numerous families, once rich, have now become
+impoverished by the confiscation of their entire property. The Chilians
+do not carry on warfare in European style, by organized armies; there is
+a semblance only of such bodies. The fighting is mostly after the
+fashion of free lances, guerrilla bands, and highwaymen. There seems to
+be no sense of honor or chivalry among the common people, while the only
+idea of the soldiery is to plunder and destroy.</p>
+
+<p>The Peruvians whose cities were despoiled by Chili must have regarded
+the recent cutting of each other's throats by the Chilian soldiery with
+something like grim satisfaction.</p>
+
+<p>The obvious weakness of the South American states lies in their
+bitter rivalry towards each other, a condition which might be at once
+obviated by their joining together to form one united nation. The
+instability which characterizes their several governments in their
+present isolated interests has passed into a byword. Divided into nine
+unimportant states,&mdash;leaving out the three Guianas, which are
+dependent upon European powers,&mdash;any one of them could be erased
+from the map and absorbed by its stronger neighbor, or by a covetous
+foreign power. On the contrary, by forming one grand republic, it would
+stand eighth in the rank of nations as regards wealth, importance, and
+power, amply able to take care of itself, and to maintain the integrity
+of its territory. A community of interest would also be established
+between our government and that of these South American provinces, which
+would be of immense commercial and political importance to both
+nations.</p>
+
+<p>To those who have visited the country, and who have carefully
+observed the conditions, it is clear that this division of the continent
+will never thrive and fully reap the benefit of its great natural
+advantages until the independent republics assume the position of
+sovereign states, subservient to a central power, a purpose which has
+already been so successfully accomplished in Mexico.</p>
+
+<p>While we have been considering the great southern continent as a
+whole, our good ship, having crossed the equator, has been rapidly
+approaching its northern shore. After entering the broad mouth of the
+Amazon and ascending its course for many miles, we are now in sight of
+the thriving metropolis of Pará.</p>
+
+<p class="p4"><a name="Ch_5"></a></p>
+
+<h3>CHAPTER V.</h3>
+
+<p class="blockquote">City of Pará.&mdash;The Equatorial
+Line.&mdash;Spanish History.&mdash;The King of Waters.&mdash;Private
+Gardens.&mdash;Domestic Life in Northern Brazil.&mdash;Delicious
+Pineapples.&mdash;Family Pets.&mdash;Opera
+House.&mdash;Mendicants.&mdash;A Grand Avenue.&mdash;Botanical
+Garden.&mdash;India-Rubber Tree.&mdash;Gathering the Raw
+Material.&mdash;Monkeys.&mdash;The Royal Palm.&mdash;Splendor of
+Equatorial Nights.</p>
+
+<p class="p2">Pará is the most northerly city of Brazil. It also bears
+the name of Belem on some maps, and is the capital of a province of the
+first designation. The full official title of the place is, in the usual
+style of Portuguese and Spanish hyperbole, Santa Maria do Belem do Grão
+Pará, which has fortunately and naturally simplified itself to Pará. It
+was founded in 1615, and the province of which it is the capital was the
+last in Brazil to declare its independence of the mother country, and to
+acknowledge the authority of the first emperor, Dom Pedro. It is the
+largest political division of the republic, and in some respects the
+most thriving. The city is situated about ninety miles south of the
+equator, and eighty miles from the Atlantic Ocean on the Pará River, so
+called, but which is really one of the mouths of the Amazon. It is thus
+the principal city at the mouth of the largest river in the world, a
+fact quite sufficient to indicate its present, and to insure its
+continued commercial importance.</p>
+
+<p>As we entered the muddy estuary of the river, whose wide expanse was
+lashed into short, angry waves by a strong wind, large tree trunks were
+seen floating seaward, rising and sinking on the undulating surface of
+the water. Some were quite entire, with all of their branches still
+attached to the main trunk. They came, perhaps, from two thousand miles
+inland, borne upon the swift current from where it had undermined the
+roots in their forest home. Among the rest was a cocoa-palm with its
+full tufted head, some large brown nuts still hanging tenaciously to the
+parent stem. It had fallen bodily, while in its prime and full bearing,
+suddenly unearthed by some swift deviation of the river, which brooks no
+trifling impediment to its triumphal march seaward. How long, one would
+be glad to know, has this vast stream, fed by the melted snow of the
+Andes, poured its accumulated waters into the bosom of the ocean? A
+thousand years is but as a day, in reckoning the age of a mountain range
+or of a mammoth river.</p>
+
+<p>As we approached the city, the channel became gradually narrowed by
+several prominent islands, crowded with rich green vegetation, forest
+trees of various sorts, mangoes, bananas, and regal palms. Though it is
+thus broken by islands, the river is here over twenty miles in
+width.</p>
+
+<p>Pará is yielded precedence over the other cities on the east coast of
+South America in many respects, and is appreciatively called "Queen of
+the Amazon," her water communication reaching into the very heart of
+some of the most fertile valleys on the continent. One incorporated
+company has established a score of well-appointed steamers, averaging
+five hundred tons each, which navigate the river for a distance of two
+thousand miles from its mouth. Pará has an excellent harbor, of large
+capacity, accommodating an extensive commerce, a considerable portion of
+which is with the United States of North America. It has a mixed
+population of about fifty thousand, composed of an amalgamation of
+Portuguese, Italians, Indians, and negroes, and is the only town of any
+importance, except Quito, situated so near to the equatorial line,
+where the interested observer has the privilege of beholding the starry
+constellations of both hemispheres. Ships of five thousand tons
+measurement can lie within a hundred yards of the wharves of Pará, where
+the accumulation of coffee, dyewoods, drugs, tobacco, cotton, cocoa,
+rice, sugar, and raw india-rubber, indicates the character of the
+principal exports. Of all these staples, the last named is the most
+important, in a commercial point of view, occupying the third place on
+the list of national exports. As we have shown, the import and export
+trade of the Amazon valley naturally centres here, and Pará need fear no
+commercial rival.</p>
+
+<p>For a considerable period this unequaled water-way, forming the
+spacious port, and conveying the drainage of nearly half of South
+America into the Atlantic, bore the name of its discoverer, Orellana,
+one of Pizarro's captains; but the fabulous story of a priest called
+Friar Gaspar, self-constituted chronicler of the expedition, gave to it
+the designation which it now bears. All the Spanish records of the
+history and conquests in the New World, relating to the doings of
+Columbus, Cortez, Pizarro, and others, without an exception, were
+written in the same spirit of exaggeration and untruthfulness, leading
+that pious witness and contemporary writer, Las Casas, to pronounce
+them, with honest indignation, to be a tissue of falsehoods. Even our
+own popular historian, Prescott, who drew so largely upon these sources
+for his poetical productions, was forced to admit their manifest
+incongruities, contradictions, and general irresponsibility. This
+Munchausen of a priest, Friar Gaspar, recorded that a tribe of Amazons,
+or fighting women, was encountered far inland, on the banks of the
+mighty river, who were tall in stature, symmetrical in form, and had a
+profusion of long hair, which hung in braids down their backs. They were
+represented to be as warlike as they were beautiful, and as carrying
+shields and spears, the latter of which they could use with great skill
+and effect. It was this foolish story of the Amazons, hatched in the
+prolific brain of Friar Gaspar, which gave the river its lasting
+name.</p>
+
+<p>The Indian designation of the mammoth watercourse was significant and
+appropriate, as their names always are. They called it
+<i>Parana-tinga</i>, meaning "King of Waters," and it seems to us a
+great pity that the name could not have been retained.</p>
+
+<p>Pará has the advantage of being much nearer to the United States and
+to Europe than Rio Janeiro, the capital of Brazil. Though the commerce
+of Rio is constantly increasing, in spite of its miserable sanitary
+condition, it is confidently believed by intelligent persons engaged in
+the South American trade, that Pará will equal it erelong in the
+aggregate of its shipments. All freight is now landed by means of
+lighters, a process which is an awkward drawback upon commerce, and what
+makes it still more aggravating is that it seems to be an entirely
+needless one. Certainly a good, substantial, capacious pier might be
+easily built, which would obviate this objection, accommodating a dozen
+large vessels at the same time. The Brazilians are slow to adopt any
+modern improvement. Portuguese and Spaniards are very much alike in this
+respect. Wharves will be built at Pará by and by, after a few more
+millions have been wasted upon the inconvenient process now in vogue,
+which involves not only needless expense, but causes most awkward and
+unreasonable delay, both in landing merchandise and in shipping freight
+for export. This serious objection applies to all the ports along the
+east coast of South America. There is always some private interest which
+exerts itself to prevent any progressive movement, and it is this which
+retards improved facilities for unloading and shipping of cargoes at
+Pará. In this instance the owners of the steam tugs which tow the
+flat-bottomed lighters from ship to shore, and vice versa, oppose the
+building of piers, because, if they were in existence, these individuals
+would find their profitable occupation gone. If proper wharf facilities
+were to be furnished, commerce generally would be much benefited, though
+a few persons would suffer some pecuniary loss. As we have said, the
+wharves will come by and by, when the people realize that private
+interest must be subservient to the public good.</p>
+
+<p>The city of Pará is situated upon slightly elevated ground, and makes
+a fine appearance from the river, with its lofty cathedral, numerous
+churches, convents, custom house, and arsenal standing forth in bold
+relief against an intensely blue sky, while fronting the harbor, like a
+line of sentinels, is a row of tall, majestic palms, harmonizing
+admirably with the local surroundings, though in the very midst of a
+busy commercial centre. The buildings are painted yellow, blue, or pink,
+the façades contrasting strongly with the dark red of the heavily tiled
+roofs, which, having no chimneys, present an odd appearance to a
+northern eye. Here and there a mass of greenery indicates some domestic
+garden, or a plaza presided over by tall groups of trees, among which
+the thick, umbrageous mangoes prevail. The Rua da Imperatriz is the
+principal wholesale street of the city, where the large warehouses are
+to be found, but the Rua dos Mercadores is the fashionable shopping
+street, through which the tramway also passes. The shops are rather
+small, but have a fair stock of goods offered at reasonable rates,
+though strangers are apt to be victimized by considerably higher prices
+than a native would pay.</p>
+
+<p>This, however, is not unusual in all foreign countries, so far as our
+experience goes. North Americans are looked upon as possessing unlimited
+pecuniary means, and as lavish in their expenditures, prices being
+gauged accordingly. This is a universal practice in Europe, and
+especially so in Germany.</p>
+
+<p>The climate is very moist, and it has been facetiously remarked that
+it rains here eight days in the week. One cannot speak approvingly of
+the sanitary condition of a place where turkey buzzards are depended
+upon to remove the garbage which accumulates in the thoroughfares. It is
+unaccountable that the citizens should submit to such filthy
+surroundings, especially in a locality where malarial fever is
+acknowledged to prevail in the summer season. Though at this writing it
+is the latter part of May, yellow fever is still rife here, and we hear
+of many particularly sad cases, ending fatally, all about us. This
+destroyer is especially apt to carry off people who have newly arrived
+in the country. The present year has been unusually fatal among the
+residents of Pará, as regards yellow fever, which seems to linger longer
+and longer each year of its visitation. Our own conviction is that the
+people have themselves to thank for this lingering of the pest into the
+winter months, since the sanitary conditions of the place are
+inexcusably defective.</p>
+
+<p>Gardens in and about the city quickly catch and delight the
+eye,&mdash;gardens where flowers and fruits grow in great luxuriance.
+Among the latter are oranges, mangoes, guavas, figs, and bananas. The
+glossy green fronds of the bananas throw other verdure altogether into
+the shade, while in dignity and beauty the cocoanut palms excel all
+other trees. The tall, straight stem of the palm rises from the roots
+without leaf or branch until the plumed head is reached, which bends
+slightly under its wealth of pinnated leaves and fruit combined. If you
+happen to pass these gardens after nightfall, especially those in the
+immediate environs of the city, mark the phosphorescent clouds of
+dancing lights which fill the still atmosphere round about the
+vegetation. This peculiar effect is produced by the busy cucuios, or
+tropical fireflies, each vigorously flashing its individual torch. Do
+they shine thus in the daytime, we are led to wonder, like the
+constellations in the heavens, though hidden by the greater light of the
+sun? They are always demonstrative in the night, be it never so cloudy,
+foggy, or damp in the low latitudes. They keep their sparkling revels,
+their torchlight dances, all heedless of the grim and deadly fever which
+lurks in the surrounding atmosphere, claiming human victims right and
+left, among high and low, from the ranks of age and of youth. Insect
+life is redundant here. It is the very paradise of butterflies, whose
+size, wide spread of wing, variety, and striking beauty of colors, we
+have only seen equaled at Penang and Singapore, in the Malacca Straits.
+Some of the avenues leading to the environs are lined with handsome
+trees, which add greatly to their attractiveness and comfort. The silk
+cotton tree and the almond are favorites here as ornamental shade trees.
+The cape jessamine is universally cultivated at Pará, and grows to a
+large size, filling the air with its agreeable fragrance. Here the
+oleander, covered with clusters of bloom, grows to the height of twenty
+feet and more. The lime, with its fine acid fruit, which is in great
+request in making cooling drinks, also abounds.</p>
+
+<p>The glimpses of domestic life which one gets in passing the better
+class of dwellings reveal rooms with tiled or polished wooden floors,
+cane-finished chairs, sofas, and rockers to match, a small foot rug here
+and there, a group of flowering plants in one corner, while hammocks
+seem to take the place of bedsteads. The temperature is high at Pará in
+summer, and woolen carpets, or even mattresses, are too warm for use in
+this climate. Bignonias, oleanders, and other blooming plants abound in
+the flower-plots about the city, besides many flowering vines which are
+strangers to us, half orchids, half creepers. One is apt to jump at
+conclusions. These people dearly love flowers, so we conclude they
+cannot be very wicked.</p>
+
+<p>The families live, as it were, in the open patios, which form the
+centres of their dwellings, are shaded by broad verandas, and upon which
+the domestic apartments all open. The accessories are few, and not
+entirely convenient, according to a northerner's ideas of comfort; but
+this is compensated for by the fragrance of flowers, the picturesqueness
+of the surroundings, and the free and easy out-of-door atmosphere which
+ignores conventionalities. These attractive interiors suggest a sort of
+picnic mode of life which has conformed itself to climatic influences.
+Everything is very quiet, there is no hurry, and the stillness is
+occasionally interrupted by the musical laughter of children, which
+rings out clear and pleasantly, entirely in harmony with the
+surroundings. And such children! Artists' models, every one of them. It
+all seems to a stranger to be the very poetry of living, yet we venture
+to say that each household has its skeleton in the closet, and some a
+whole anatomical museum!</p>
+
+<p>At Bahia, further south, a revelation awaits the traveler in the
+delicious richness, size, and delicacy of the oranges which grow there
+in lavish abundance, and which are famous, all along the coast. Here at
+Pará, the same may be said of the pineapple, the raising of which is a
+local specialty. These are not picked until fully ripe, and often weigh
+ten pounds each. When cut open, the inside can be eaten with a spoon, if
+one fancies that mode. They require no sugar; nature has supplied the
+saccharine principle in abundance. They are absolutely perfect in
+themselves alone. People sailing northward lay in a great store of this
+admirable fruit, which is as cheap as it is delicious and appetizing. In
+New England, the pines of which we partake have been picked in a green
+condition in Bermuda, the Bahamas, or Florida, to enable them to bear
+transportation. They ripen only partially off the stem, and after a very
+poor style, decay setting in at the same time; consequently the pulp is
+not suitable to swallow, and is always more or less indigestible. The
+Pará pines are seedless, and are propagated by replanting the suckers.
+The crown, we were told, would also thrive and reproduce the fruit if
+properly planted, but the first named process is that generally
+employed, and is probably the best.</p>
+
+<p>In the neighborhood of Pará are many large and profitable cocoa
+plantations, the industry connected with which is a growing one,
+representing a considerable amount of capital. But above all others, the
+gathering and preparing of raw india-rubber for exportation is the
+prevailing industry of this Brazilian capital.</p>
+
+<p>The common people seem to be an uncertain mixture of races,
+confounding all attempts properly to analyze their antecedents. They
+have touches of refinement and underlying tenderness of instinct, as
+exhibited in their home associations, but also evince a coarseness which
+is not inviting, to say the least. They are universal lovers of pet
+birds and small animals. No household seems to be complete without some
+representatives of the sort. Among these are cranes, ibises, herons,
+turtle-doves, parrots, macaws, and paroquets. Monkeys of various tribes,
+the little marmoset being the favorite, are seen domesticated in almost
+every private garden, full of fun and mischief, and affording infinite
+amusement to the youthful members of the household. Young anacondas,
+sometimes ten feet long, are kept in and about the dwellings, to catch
+and drive away the rats! The reader smiles half incredulously at this,
+and we do not wonder. If one of these rodents be caught in a trap and
+killed, it is useless to offer it to an anaconda as food. That
+fastidious reptile will eat only such creatures as it kills itself. This
+is also characteristic of the African lion and the tiger of India, when
+in the wild state; neither will molest a dead body, of man or beast,
+which they have not themselves deprived of life, though hyenas, wolves,
+and some other animals will even rob the graves of human bodies for
+food. We had never heard of anacondas employed as ratters before we came
+to Pará, but we were assured by those who should know that they are
+especially effective in warfare against this domestic pest.</p>
+
+<p>Broad verandas give a grateful shade to most of the dwelling-houses,
+which are seldom over one story in height, each one, however, extending
+over considerable ground space. In the business part of the town,
+fronting the harbor, the houses are generally two or even three stories
+in height, it being necessary in such localities to economize the square
+feet of ground occupied. The same sort of external ornamentation is seen
+here as upon the house fronts in Mexico, namely, the profuse decoration
+of the walls with glazed earthen tiles, often of fancy colors, which
+gives a checkerboard appearance to a dwelling-house not calculated to
+please a critical eye.</p>
+
+<p>The Opera House of Pará is a large and imposing structure, one of the
+finest edifices in the town, and the largest theatre, we believe, in
+South America, quite uncalled for, it would seem, by any local demand.
+It is built of brick, finished in stucco, the front being decorated with
+marble columns having handsome and elaborate Corinthian capitals. The
+house lights up brilliantly at night, being finished in red, white, and
+gold. It has four narrow galleries supported upon brackets, thus
+obviating the necessity for the objectionable upright posts which so
+provokingly interfere with the line of sight. The cathedral is a
+substantial and handsome structure, with a couple of tall towers, after
+the usual Spanish style, each containing a dozen bells. The interior has
+all the florid and tawdry ornamentation always to be found in Roman
+Catholic churches, together with the usual complement of bleeding
+figures, arrow-pierced saints, high-colored paper rosettes, utterly
+meaningless, together with any amount of glittering tinsel, calculated
+to catch the eye and captivate the imagination of the grossly ignorant
+native population.</p>
+
+<p>There are many minor churches in the city, and judging by the number
+seen in the streets, there must be at least a thousand priests, whose
+sole occupation, when they are not gambling or cock-fighting, is to
+cajole and impoverish the common people. It was a church festival when
+we visited the cathedral. There are over two hundred such days, out of
+every three hundred and sixty-five, in Roman Catholic
+countries,&mdash;not days of humiliation and prayer, but days of gross
+latitude, of bull-fights, occasions when the decent amenities of life
+are ignored, days when the broadest license prevails, and all excesses
+are condoned. There were a large number of women present in the
+cathedral on this day, but scarcely half a dozen men. The better class
+were dressed gayly, and wore some rich jewelry. The love of finery
+prevails, and pervades all classes. Some of the ladies were clad in
+costly silks and laces, set off by brilliants and pearls. Diamonds and
+precious stones are very common in this country, and a certain class
+seem to carry a large share of their worldly possessions showily
+displayed upon their persons. What the humbler class lacked in richness
+of material, they made up in gaudy colors, blazing scarfs, and imitation
+gold and silver jewelry. Nature sets the example of bright colors in
+these latitudes, in gaudy plumed birds and high-tinted flowers and
+fruits. The natives only follow her. The few men who were present came
+to ogle the women, and having satisfied their low-bred curiosity, soon
+retired to the neighboring bar-rooms and gambling saloons. On special
+festal days temporary booths are erected in the squares, in which
+intoxicants are sold, together with toys, cakes, cigars, and charms, the
+latter said to have been blessed by the priests, and therefore sure to
+prevent any injury from the evil eye!</p>
+
+<p>As in most of the South American cities, there are several elaborate
+buildings here, formerly used as convents, which are now devoted to more
+creditable purposes. The present custom house occupies one of these
+edifices, which is crowned with two lofty towers.</p>
+
+<p>There are plenty of mendicants in the streets of Pará, who are very
+ready with their importunities, especially in appealing to strangers.
+The average citizens seemed to be liberal in dealing with these beggars.
+Saturday is called "poor day" in Pará, as it is also in Havana,
+Matanzas, Cienfuegos, etc., when every housekeeper who is able to give
+something does so, if it be only a small roll of bread, to each visiting
+beggar. At most houses these small rolls are baked regularly for this
+purpose, and the applicant is nearly sure to get one upon calling, and
+if he represents a large family he may receive two. Money is rarely, if
+ever, given by residents, nor is it expected; but strangers are
+surrounded as by an army with banners, and vigorously importuned for
+centavos. The Spaniards and Portuguese are natural beggars.</p>
+
+<p>Here let us digress for a moment. The system of beggary prevailing in
+Spanish countries is very trying to all sensitive travelers. In Italy,
+Spain, and the south of France, especially at the watering-places, it is
+a terrible pest. Naples has become almost unendurable on this account.
+At every rod one is constantly importuned and followed by beggars of all
+sizes, ages, and of both sexes,&mdash;individuals who should be placed
+in asylums and cared for by the state. No reasonable person would object
+to paying a certain sum on entering these resorts, to be honestly
+devoted to charitable purposes, provided it would insure him against the
+disgusting importunities of which strangers are now the victims.
+Visitors hasten away from the localities where these things are not only
+permitted but are encouraged. It is thought to be quite the thing to
+fleece foreigners of every possible penny, and by every possible means.
+The contrast in this respect between the cities of the United States and
+those of Europe and South America is eminently creditable to the former.
+In the beautiful little watering-place known as Luchon, in the south of
+France, at the foot of the Pyrenees, with scarcely four thousand
+inhabitants, there are over one hundred professional beggars, who
+constantly beset and drive away visitors. Some of these, as usual in
+such cases, are known to be well off pecuniarily, but are marked by some
+physical deformity upon which they trade. If the stranger gives, he is
+oftenest encouraging a swindle, rarely performing a true charity. This
+is one of the increasing disgraces of Paris. Beggars know too much to
+importune citizens, but strangers are beset at every corner of the
+boulevards and public gardens, particularly by children, girls and boys,
+trained for the purpose.</p>
+
+<p>Of all the races seen in Brazil, the half-breed Indian girls are the
+most attractive, and until they are past the age of twenty-five or
+thirty years they are almost universally handsome, no matter to what
+class they belong. Those who have the advantage of domestic comforts,
+good food, and delicate associations develop accordingly, and are
+especially beautiful. They would make charming artists' models. The
+remarkably straight figure of the native women is noticeable, caused by
+the practice referred to of carrying burdens on the head. As already
+mentioned, if a negro or Indian woman has an article to transport, even
+if it be but a quart bottle, or an umbrella, it is placed at once upon
+the head. The article may weigh five pounds or fifty, it is all the
+same; everything but the babies is thus transported. These little naked
+creatures, always suggestive of monkeys, are supported on the mother's
+back, held there by a shawl or rebozo tied securely across the chest.
+When the children are six or eight years old, they are promoted to the
+dignity of wearing one small garment, an abbreviated shirt or
+chemise.</p>
+
+<p>The principal food of the common people of northern Brazil is farina
+and dried fish, with fried plantains and ripe bananas. Crabs and oysters
+of a poor description abound along the coast, and are eaten by the
+people, both in a raw and cooked condition. But the white people avoid
+the coast oysters, which sometimes poison those not accustomed to
+them.</p>
+
+<p>The finest avenue in Pará is the Estrada de São José, bordered by
+grand old palms, which form a beautiful perspective and a welcome shade,
+the feathery tops nearly embracing each other overhead. The tramway
+takes one through the environs by the Rua de Nazareth, for five miles to
+Marco da Legua, where the public wells of the city are situated. The way
+thither is lined with neat and handsome dwellings, shaded by noble
+trees. The botanical garden is well worth a visit by all lovers of
+horticulture. The forest creeps up towards the environs of the town,
+wherein many of the trees are rendered beautiful by clinging orchids of
+gorgeous blue; others are of blood red, and some of orange yellow,
+presenting also a great diversity of form. One has not far to go to see
+specimens of the india-rubber tree, growing from ninety to a hundred
+feet in height, while measuring from four to five feet in diameter. This
+tree begins to produce gum at the age of fifteen years. The trunk is
+smooth and perfectly round, the bark of a buff color. It bears a curious
+fruit, of which some animals are said to be fond. The author has seen
+the india-rubber tree growing in the island of Ceylon, where it seemed
+to reach a greater height and dimensions than it does in the district of
+Pará. A considerable portion of the roots lie above ground, stretching
+away from the base of the tree like huge anacondas, and finally
+disappearing in the earth half a rod or more from the parent trunk. The
+reader can hardly fail to be familiar with the simple wild plant, which
+grows so abundantly by our New England roadsides, known as the
+milk-weed, which, when the stem is cut or broken, emits a creamy,
+pungent smelling liquid. In the latitude of Pará, this little weed, of
+the same family, assumes the form of a colossal tree, and is known as
+the india-rubber tree. The United States takes of Brazilian rubber, in
+the crude state, over twenty-five thousand tons annually. As to coffee,
+Brazil supplies one half of all which is consumed in the civilized
+world; but we should frankly tell the reader, if he does not already
+realize the fact, that it is most frequently marked and sold for "Old
+Government Java."</p>
+
+<p>The india-rubber tree is tapped annually very much after the same
+style in which we treat the sugar-maple in Vermont, and elsewhere, to
+procure its sap. A yellow, creamy liquid flows forth from the rubber
+tree into small cups placed beneath an incision made in the trunk. When
+the cup becomes full, its contents is emptied into a large common
+receptacle, where it is allowed to partially harden, and in which form
+it is called caoutchouc. The tapping of the trees and attending to the
+gathering of the sap furnish employment to hundreds of the natives, who,
+however, make but small wages, being employed by contractors, who either
+lease the trees of certain districts, or own large tracts of forest
+land. These Brazilian forests are very grand, abounding in valuable
+aromatic plants, precious woods, gaudy birds, and various wild animals.
+The number of monkeys is absolutely marvelous, including many curious
+varieties. A native will not kill a monkey; indeed, it must be difficult
+for a European to make up his mind to shoot a creature so nearly human
+in its actions, and whose pleading cries when wounded are said to be so
+pitiable.</p>
+
+<p>One of the peculiar street sights in Pará is that of native women
+with a dozen young monkeys of different species for sale. Marmosets can
+be bought for a quarter of a dollar each. So tame are the little
+creatures that they cling about the woman's person, fastening upon her
+hair, arms, and neck, not in the least inclined to escape from her. It
+is remarkable and interesting to see how very fond they become of their
+owner, if he is kind to them. Like the dog and the cat, they seem to
+have a strong desire for human companionship. When seen running wild in
+the woods, leaping from tree to tree, and from branch to branch, they do
+not try to get far away from the presence of man, but only to keep, in
+their untamed state, just out of reach of his hands. Ships sailing hence
+generally take away a few of these animals, but as they are delicate,
+and very sensitive to climatic changes, many of them die before reaching
+Europe or North America.</p>
+
+<p>The great beauty of Pará is its abundance of palm trees. The palm is
+always an interesting object, as well as a most valuable one;
+interesting because of its historical and legendary associations, and
+valuable, since it would be almost impossible to enumerate the number of
+important uses to which it and its products are put. To the people of
+the tropics it is the prolific source of food, shelter, clothing, fuel,
+fibre for several uses, sugar, oil, wax, and wine. It has been aptly
+termed the "princess of the vegetable world." One indigenous species,
+the Piassaba, is a palm which yields a most valuable fibre, extensively
+manufactured into cordage and ships' cables, for which purpose it is
+much in use on the coast of South America. It is found to be stronger
+and more elastic than hemp when thus employed, besides which it is far
+more durable. The product of this species of palm is also exported in
+large quantities to North America and to England, for the purpose of
+making brushes, brooms, and various sorts of domestic matting.</p>
+
+<p>The nights are especially beautiful in this region. We were
+interested in observing the remarkable brilliancy of the sky; the stars
+do not seem to sparkle, as with us at the north, but shed a soft, steady
+light, making all things luminous. This is the natural result of the
+clearness of the atmosphere. One is surprised at first to find the moon
+apparently so much increased in size and effulgency. The Southern Cross
+is ever present, though it is dominated by the Centaur. Orion is seen in
+his glory, and the Scorpion is clearly defined. In the author's
+estimation, there is no exhibition of the heavens in these regions which
+surpasses the magnificence of the far-reaching Milky Way.</p>
+
+<p class="p4"><a name="Ch_6"></a></p>
+
+<h3>CHAPTER VI.</h3>
+
+<p class="blockquote">Island of Marajo.&mdash;Rare and Beautiful
+Birds.&mdash;Original Mode of Securing
+Humming-Birds.&mdash;Maranhão.&mdash;Educational.&mdash;Value of Native
+Forests.&mdash;Pernambuco.&mdash;Difficulty of Landing.&mdash;An
+Ill-chosen Name.&mdash;Local Scenes.&mdash;Uncleanly Habits of the
+People.&mdash;Great Sugar Mart.&mdash;Native Houses.&mdash;A Quaint
+Hostelry.&mdash;Catamarans.&mdash;A Natural Breakwater.&mdash;Sailing
+down the Coast.</p>
+
+<p class="p2">The island of Marajo, situated at the mouth of the Amazon,
+opposite Pará, and belonging to the province or state of that name, is a
+hundred and eighty miles in length and about one hundred and sixty in
+width, nearly identical in size with the island of Sicily, and almost
+oval in form. One of the principal shore settlements is Breves, on the
+southeastern corner of the island, which lies somewhat low, and consists
+of remarkably fertile soil, so abounding in wild and beautiful
+vegetation and exquisite floral varieties, that it is called in this
+region "the Island of Flowers." We can easily believe the name to be
+appropriately chosen, since, as we skirt its verdant shores hour after
+hour, they seem to emit the drowsy, caressing sweetness of fragrant
+flowers so sensibly as to almost produce a narcotic effect. The easterly
+or most seaward part of Marajo is open, marshy, sandy land, but back
+from the shore the soil is of a rich, black alluvium, supporting in very
+large tracts a dense forest growth, similar to all the low-lying
+tropical lands of South America. The population is recorded as numbering
+about twenty thousand, divided into several settlements, mostly on the
+coast, and consists largely of the aboriginal race found by the first
+comers upon this island, who, on account of their somewhat isolated
+condition, have amalgamated less with Europeans and the imported colored
+race than any other tribe on the east coast of the continent.</p>
+
+<p>The extensive meadows of Marajo are the grazing fields of numerous
+herds of wild horses and horned cattle, the former of a superior breed,
+highly prized on the mainland; and yet so rapidly do they increase in
+this climate, in the wild state, that every few years they are killed in
+large numbers for their hides alone. The exports from the island consist
+of rice, cattle, horses, and hides. There are some large plantations
+devoted to the cultivation of rice, the soil and water supply of certain
+districts being especially favorable to this crop. As intimated, a
+considerable portion of Marajo is covered with a forest growth so dense
+as to be compared to the jungles of Africa and India, and which, so far
+as is known, has never been penetrated by the foot of man. Travelers who
+have visited the borders of this leafy wilderness expatiate upon the
+strange, inexplicable sounds which are heard at times, amid the
+prevailing stillness and sombre aspect of these primeval woods.
+Sometimes there comes, it is said, from out the forest depth a wild cry,
+like that of a human being in distress, but which, however long one may
+listen, is not repeated. Again, there is heard an awful crash, like the
+falling of some ponderous forest giant, then stillness once more settles
+over the mysterious, tangled woods. Every time the silence is broken it
+seems to be by some new and inexplicable sound, not to be satisfactorily
+accounted for.</p>
+
+<p>The lagoons near the centre of Marajo are said to abound in
+alligators, which are sometimes sought for by the natives for their
+hides, for which a fair price is realized, since fashion has rendered
+this article popular in a hundred different forms. The number and
+variety of birds and lesser animals to be found upon the island are
+marvelous. Certain species of birds seem to have retreated to this spot
+from the mainland, before the tide of European immigration; indeed, it
+has for a long time been considered the paradise of the naturalist. Over
+thirty species of that peculiar bird, the toucan, have been secured
+here.</p>
+
+<p>When Professor Agassiz was engaged in his scientific exploration of
+the Amazon, he dispatched a small but competent party especially to
+obtain specimens from this island, the result being both a surprise and
+a source of great gratification to the king of naturalists. Many of the
+objects secured by these explorers were rare and beautiful birds, not a
+few of which are unique, and of which no previous record existed. There
+were also many curious insects and other specimens particularly valuable
+to naturalists, most of which are preserved to-day in the Agassiz Museum
+at Cambridge, Massachusetts. The toucan, just spoken of, is most
+remarkable for its beauty and variety of colors, as well as for the very
+peculiar form and size of its elephantine bill, which makes it look
+singularly ill-balanced. This ludicrous appendage is nine inches long
+and three in circumference; the color is vermilion and yellow delicately
+mingled. The toucan is much coveted for special collections by all
+naturalists, and is becoming very scarce, except in this one equatorial
+locality. Scarlet ibises and roseate spoonbills are also found at
+Marajo, both remarkably fine examples of semi-aquatic fowl, and when
+these are secured in good condition for preservation, the natives
+realize good prices for them. In order to procure desirable specimens of
+the humming-bird species, which are also abundant on this island, the
+native hunters resort to an ingenious device, so as not to injure the
+skin or the extremely delicate plumage of this butterfly-bird. For this
+purpose they use a peculiar syringe made from reeds, and charged with a
+solution of adhesive gum, which, when directed by an experienced hand,
+clogs the bird's wings at once, stopping its flight and causing it to
+fall to the ground. Some are caught by means of nets set on the end of
+long bamboo poles, such as are used to secure butterflies, but this
+method is poorly adapted to catch so quick moving a creature as a
+humming-bird. The author has seen, in southern India, butterflies of
+gaudiest texture with bodies as large as small humming-birds, which were
+quite as brilliant as they in lovely colors. The variety and beauty of
+this insect, as found anywhere from Tuticorin to Darjeeling, is notable.
+Wherever British troops are permanently settled, the wives of the common
+soldiers become very expert in catching and arranging these attractive
+objects, preserving them in frames under glass. These find ready
+purchasers for museums and private collections all over Europe, and are
+sold at moderate prices, but serve to add a welcome trifle to the
+extremely poor pay of a common soldier having perhaps a wife and one or
+two children to support.</p>
+
+<p>The island of Marajo was not formed at the Amazon's mouth of soil
+brought down from the interior by the river's current, as is often the
+case with islands thus situated, but is a natural, rocky formation which
+serves to divide the channel and give the river a double outlet into the
+Atlantic. Agassiz studied its character, and gives us an interesting
+statement as the result. He declared, after careful geological
+examination, that it is an island which was once situated far inland,
+away from the river's mouth, but which is now brought near to it by the
+gradual encroachment of the Atlantic Ocean, whose waves and restless
+currents have slowly worn away the northeastern part of the continent.
+This abrasion must have been going on for many thousand years, to have
+produced such a decided topographical change. For the word years, upon
+second thought, read ages, which will undoubtedly express the true idea
+much more correctly.</p>
+
+<p>There are over twenty species of palms indigenous to Marajo, which,
+as one skirts the water front, are seen growing along the far-reaching
+shore, fostered by the humidity of the atmosphere arising from the
+ever-flowing waters of the great river. Among these the peach-palm is
+quite conspicuous, with its spiny stems and mealy, nutritious fruit.
+There are also the cocoa-palm and the assai-palm, the latter gayly
+decorated with its delicate green plumes and long spear pointing
+heavenward, an emblem borne by no other tree in existence. The great
+variety of forms of plant life and giant grasses is extremely curious
+and beautiful on this interesting island. We heard, while at Pará, of a
+proposal made by some European party to thoroughly explore Marajo, which
+has never yet been done, so far as is known to our time, and it is
+believed that some very interesting and valuable discoveries may be the
+result of such an expedition, composed of engineers, scientists, and
+naturalists.</p>
+
+<p>A day's sail to the eastward, bearing a little to the south along the
+coast, brings us to the port of Maranhão, which is the capital of a
+province of Brazil known by the same name, situated a little over three
+hundred miles from Pará. The place is picturesquely nestled, as it were,
+in the very lap of the mountains, which come boldly down to the coast at
+this point. It was founded nearly three hundred years ago, is regularly
+built, and contains between thirty and forty thousand inhabitants.
+Nearly all of the houses, which are generally of two stories, are
+ornamented with attractive balconies, and have handsome gardens attached
+to them, where the luxurious verdure is with difficulty kept within
+proper bounds. Vegetation runs riot in equatorial regions. It is the one
+pleasing outlet of nature, whose overcharged vitality, spurred on by the
+climate, must find vent either in teeming vegetation or in raging
+volcanoes, tidal waves, and unwelcome earthquakes, though sometimes, to
+be sure, we find them all combined in the tropics.</p>
+
+<p>The harbor of Maranhão is excellent and sheltered, the depth of water
+permitting the entrance of ships drawing full twenty feet, an advantage
+which some of the ports to the southward would give millions of dollars
+to possess. According to published statistics, the exports during 1890
+were as follows: thirty-six hundred tons of cotton, six hundred tons of
+sugar, seven hundred tons of hides, a large amount of rice, and some
+other minor articles. The imports for the same period were estimated at
+something less than three million dollars in value. This is the entrepôt
+of several populous districts, besides that of which it is the capital.
+The province itself contains a number of navigable rivers, with some
+thrifty towns on their banks. The bay gives ample evidence of commercial
+activity, containing at all times a number of foreign steamships, with a
+goodly show of coasting vessels. The place is slowly but steadily
+growing in its business relations, and in the number of its permanent
+population.</p>
+
+<p>It cannot make any pretension to architectural excellence, though the
+Bishop's palace and the cathedral are handsome structures. There are two
+or three other prominent edifices, quaint and Moorish, which were once
+nunneries or monasteries; also a foundling institution, a special
+necessity in all Roman Catholic countries. We found here a public
+library, and a botanical garden. Not far inland there are some extensive
+rice plantations, the province in some portions being specially adapted
+to producing this valuable staple. We were informed by those whose
+opinion was worthy of respect, that educational advantages are rather
+remarkable here, the Lyceum having in the past few years graduated some
+of the most prominent statesmen and professionals in Brazil. One thing
+is very certain, the authorities cannot multiply educational facilities
+any too rapidly in this country, nor give the subject any too much
+attention, especially as regards the rising generation of both sexes. So
+far as we could learn by inquiry, or judge by careful observation, the
+ignorance of the mass of the people is simply deplorable.</p>
+
+<p>Maranhão is situated about fourteen hundred miles north of Rio
+Janeiro, with which port it carries on an extensive coasting trade. The
+exports, besides the staples already spoken of, are various, including
+annotto, sarsaparilla, balsam copaiba, and other medicinal extracts,
+together with rum and crude india-rubber. The climate is torrid, the
+city being one hundred and fifty miles south of the equator; and though,
+like most of the towns on the eastern coast of the continent, it is
+rather an unhealthy locality, it is much less so than Pará, and is a far
+more cleanly place than that city, its situation giving it the advantage
+of a system of natural drainage. The country near Maranhão abounds in
+native forests of exuberant richness, producing a valuable quality of
+timber, and affording some of the finest cabinet woods known to
+commerce, as well as a practically inexhaustible supply of various
+dyewoods, a considerable business being done in the export of the latter
+article. It was observed that the assai-palm, from which the palm wine
+is made, was also a prominent feature here. The trunk is quite smooth,
+the fruit growing in heavy bunches like grapes, dark brown in color, and
+about the size of cranberries, hanging in heavy clusters just below the
+bunch of long leaves which forms the top of the tree. The native drink
+which is made from these palm grapes is a favorite beverage in northern
+Brazil, and when properly fermented it contains about the same
+percentage of alcohol as English pale ale.</p>
+
+<p>To the author, the town of Maranhão was quite unknown; even its place
+upon the maps had never attracted his attention until after it was seen
+lying peacefully in an amphitheatre of tall hills, which come down close
+to the rock-ribbed shore of the Atlantic Ocean. This acknowledgment is
+between ourselves, for such a confession would sound very ridiculous to
+the good people of Maranhão.</p>
+
+<p>After leaving its harbor, our next objective point was Pernambuco,
+which is situated about four days' sail from Pará by steamship, and
+about three from Maranhão.</p>
+
+<p>This well known port, with its one hundred and fifty thousand
+inhabitants, is reckoned as the third city of Brazil in point of size
+and commercial importance. It lacks elevation to produce a good effect,
+and recalls the low-lying city of Havana in general appearance, as one
+approaches it from the sea. The harbor is not what could be desired for
+a commercial city, having hardly sufficient depth of water for vessels
+of heavy tonnage, and being also too narrow for a modern long steamship
+to safely turn in. The American line of steamships come to a mooring
+inside the harbor, but the European lines, or at least the Pacific Mail,
+in which we made the home passage, anchor in the open roadstead, three
+quarters of a mile from the shore. The harbor is formed by a long
+natural reef, which makes a breakwater between it and the open sea, a
+portion of the reef having been built up with solid masonry to render it
+more effective. This remarkable coral formation, which is more or less
+clearly defined, extends along the coast for a considerable
+distance,&mdash;it is said for four hundred miles. Opposite Pernambuco
+it rises six feet above the water, that is, above high-water mark, and
+runs parallel to the front street of the city at the distance from it of
+about a third of a mile or less. A wide opening in the reef at the
+northern end of the town makes the entrance to the harbor. Off the
+northeast coast of Australia, there is a very similar reef-formation,
+fully as long as this on the South American coast, but situated much
+further from the shore.</p>
+
+<p>It is a serious drawback that passengers by large ocean steamers
+cannot enter the harbor of Pernambuco except by lighters or open boats;
+all freight brought by these steamers must also be transhipped. Landing
+here is often accomplished at considerable personal risk, and a thorough
+ducking with salt water is not at all uncommon in the attempt to reach
+the shore. To pull a boat from the open roadstead into the harbor, or
+vice versa, requires six stout oarsmen and an experienced man at the
+helm, so that landing from the Pacific Mail steamers is both a serious
+and an expensive affair. If a very heavy sea is running, the thing
+cannot be done, and no one will attempt it. The powerful wind which so
+often prevails on the coast occasionally creates quite a commotion even
+inside the harbor, among the shipping moored there, causing the largest
+cables to part and vessels to drag their anchors. Of course a vessel
+lying in the open roadstead, outside of the reef, has no protection
+whatever, and is in a critical situation if the wind blows towards the
+land. If it comes on to blow suddenly, she buoys and slips her anchor at
+once; she dares not waste the time to hoist it, but gets away as quickly
+as possible to where there is plenty of sea room and no lee shore to
+fear. Fortunately, though so fierce for the time being, and of a
+cyclonic character, the storms upon the coast are generally of brief
+duration, and like the furious pamperos, which are so dreaded by
+mariners further south, they blow themselves out in a few hours.</p>
+
+<p>The geographical situation of Pernambuco is such, in the track of
+commerce, that vessels bound north or south, from Europe or from North
+America, naturally make it a port of call to obtain late advices and
+provisions. The name has been singularly chosen, no one can say how or
+by whom, but it signifies "the mouth of hell," a cognomen which we do
+not think the place at all deserves. It is a narrow, crowded,
+picturesque old seaport.</p>
+
+<p>The town is situated at the mouth of the Biberibe River, just five
+hundred miles south of the equator, and is divided in rather a peculiar
+manner into three distinct parts: Recife, on a narrow peninsula; Boa
+Vista, on the river shore; and San Antonio, on an island in the river;
+all being connected, however, by six or eight substantial iron bridges.
+The first named division is the business portion of the capital, about
+whose water front the commercial life of Pernambuco centres, but the
+streets of Recife are very narrow and often confusingly crooked. Boa
+Vista is beautified by pleasant domestic residences, delightful gardens,
+and attractive promenades, far beyond anything which a stranger
+anticipates meeting in this part of the world. Though the business
+portion of the city is so low, the other sections are of better and more
+recent construction.</p>
+
+<p>The view of the town and harbor to be had from some portions of
+Olinda is very fine and comprehensive, taking in a wide reach of land
+and ocean. When a brief storm is raging, spending its force against the
+reef, the view from this point is indeed grand. The sea, angered at
+meeting a substantial impediment, seethes and foams in wild excitement,
+dashing fifty feet into the air, and, falling over the reef, lashes the
+inner waters of the harbor into waves which mount the landing piers, and
+set everything afloat in the broad plaza which lines the shore. The big
+ships rock and sway incessantly, straining at their anchors, or chafing
+dangerously at their moorings. Precautions are taken to avert damage,
+but man's strength and skill count for little when opposed by the
+enraged elements.</p>
+
+<p>This plaza, or quay, is shaded by aged magnolias of great height, and
+is the resort of unemployed seamen, fruit dealers, and idlers of all
+degrees. The house fronts in the various sections of the town are
+brilliantly colored, yellow, blue, white, and pink, also sometimes being
+covered halfway up the first story with glittering tiles of various
+hues. At nearly every turn one comes upon the moss-grown, crumbling
+façade of some old church, about the corners of which there is often a
+grossly filthy receptacle, the vile odor from which permeates the
+surrounding atmosphere. This was found to be almost insupportable with
+the thermometer standing at 90° Fahr. in the shade, forming so obvious a
+means for propagating malarial fever and sickness generally as to be
+absolutely exasperating. Notwithstanding all appearances, the American
+consul assured us that Pernambuco is one of the healthiest cities on the
+east coast of South America. The yellow fever, however, does not by any
+means forget to visit the place annually. Experience showed us that the
+residents along the coast were accustomed to give their own city
+precedence in the matter of hygienic conditions, and to admit, with
+serious faces, that the other capitals, north and south, were sadly
+afflicted by epidemics at nearly all seasons.</p>
+
+<p>Pernambuco has several quite small but well-arranged public squares,
+decorated with fountains, trees, and flowers of many species. Two of
+these plazas have handsome pagodas, from which outdoor concerts are
+often given by military bands. The city is a thriving and progressive
+place, has extensive gas works, an admirable system of water supply,
+tramways, good public schools, and one college or high school. We must
+not forget to add to this list a very <i>flourishing</i> foundling
+asylum, where any number of poor little waifs are constantly being
+received, and no questions asked. A revolving box or cradle is placed in
+a wall of the hospital, next to the street, in which any person can
+deposit an infant, ring the bell, and the cradle will revolve, leaving
+the child on the inside of the establishment, where the little deserted
+object will be duly cared for. Connected with the hospital are several
+outlying buildings, where children are placed at various stages of
+growth. We were told that about forty per cent. of such children live to
+grow up to maturity, and leave the care of the government fairly well
+fitted to take their place in the world, and to fight the battle of life
+so very inauspiciously begun. It has been strongly argued that such an
+establishment offers a premium upon illegitimacy and immorality; but one
+thing is to be considered, it prevents the terrible crime of
+infanticide, which is said to have prevailed here to an alarming extent
+before this hospital was founded.</p>
+
+<p>There is a passably good system of drainage, which was certainly very
+much needed, and since its completion the general health of the place is
+said to have considerably improved. This is not all that is required,
+however. There should be a decided reform in the habits of the people as
+regards cleanliness. At present they are positively revolting. The
+inhabitants are the very reverse of neat in their domestic associations,
+and home arrangements for natural conveniences are inexcusably
+objectionable; such, indeed, as would in a North American city, or even
+small town, call for the prompt interference of the local board of
+health. These remarks do not apply to isolated cases; the trouble is
+universal. Families living otherwise in comparative affluence utterly
+disregard neatness and decency in the matter to which we allude.</p>
+
+<p>The districts neighboring to Pernambuco form extensive plains, well
+adapted to the raising of sugar, coffee, and cotton, as well as all
+sorts of tropical fruits and vegetables. There are many flourishing
+plantations representing these several interests, more especially that
+of sugar. The storehouses on the wharves and in the business sections of
+the city, the oxcarts passing through the streets, drawn each by a
+single animal, and even the very atmosphere, seem to be full of sugar.
+It is, in fact, the great sugar mart of South America. The annual amount
+of the article which is exported averages some twelve hundred thousand
+tons. Sugar is certainly king at Pernambuco. People not only drink, but
+they talk sugar. It is the one great interest about which all other
+business revolves. The article is mostly of the lower grade, and
+requires to be refined before it is suitable for the market. The
+refining process is being generally adopted at the plantations. American
+machinery is introduced for the purpose with entire success. The export
+of the crude article will, it is believed, be much less every year for
+the future, until it ceases altogether. It was a singular sight to
+observe the naked negroes carrying canvas bags of crude sugar upon their
+heads through the streets, each bag weighing a hundred pounds or more.
+The intense heat caused the canvas to exude quantities of syrup or
+molasses, which covered their dark, glossy bodies with small streams of
+fluid. They trotted along in single file, and at a quick pace, towards
+their destination, unheeding the sticky condition of their woolly heads
+and naked bodies.</p>
+
+<p>Not far inland there are extensive meadows, where large herds of
+horned cattle are raised, together with a breed of half-wild horses, the
+breaking and domesticating of which, as here practiced, is a most cruel
+process. A certain set of men devote themselves to this business; rough
+riders, we should call them, very rough. Good horses are to be had at
+extraordinarily low prices. In the back country there are some grand and
+extensive forests, which produce fine cabinet woods and superior dye
+woods.</p>
+
+<p>By consulting a map of the western hemisphere, it will be seen that
+Pernambuco is situated on the great eastern shoulder of South America,
+where it pushes farthest into the Atlantic Ocean, fifteen hundred miles
+south of Pará, and about five hundred north of Bahia. On the long coral
+reef which separates the harbor from the open sea is a picturesque
+lighthouse, also a quaint old watch tower which dates from the time of
+the Dutch dominion here. It is proposed to build additional layers of
+heavy granite blocks upon the reef, so as to raise it about six or eight
+feet higher and make it of a uniform elevation along the entire city
+front, and thus afford almost complete protection for the inner
+anchorage. It will be only possible to make any real improvement of the
+harbor by adopting a thorough system of dredging and deepening. There
+was evidence of such a purpose being already in progress on our second
+visit, two large steam dredging machines being anchored at the southerly
+end of the harbor.</p>
+
+<p>The people of this hot region know the great value of shade trees,
+consequently they abound, half hiding from view the numerous handsome
+villas which form the attractive suburbs of the city. Everywhere one
+sees tall cocoanut palms, clusters of feathery bamboos, widespread
+mangoes, prolific bananas, guavas, and plantains growing among other
+graceful tropical trees, rich in the green texture of their foliage, and
+thrice rich in their luscious and abundant fruits. Among the vine
+products we must not forget to mention a rich, high flavored grape,
+which is native here, and which all people praise after once tasting.
+The water, which is brought into the city by a system of double iron
+pipes, comes from a neighboring lake, and is a pure and wholesome drink,
+a most incomparable blessing in equatorial regions, which no person who
+has not suffered for the want of it can duly appreciate.</p>
+
+<p>The International Hotel is the favorite resort of strangers, and is
+situated a couple of miles from the harbor. It is surrounded by
+beautiful trees and flowers, the golden oranges weighing down the
+branches nearly to the ground by their size and abundance, while the
+young blossoms fill the air with their delicate perfume,&mdash;fruit and
+blossoms on the tree at the same time. The garden is thronged by
+household pets, and contains a spacious aviary. The monkey tribe is
+fully represented; gaudy winged parrots dazzle the eye with impossible
+colors. One partakes here, in the open air, of the refreshing viands
+amid the songs of birds, the occasional scream of the cockatoo, the
+cooing of turtle-doves, and the fragrance of a profusion of tropical
+flowers. The native servants are well-trained, and there is a French
+chef. We were told that this attractive place had once belonged to a
+very wealthy Brazilian, a planter, who had come to grief financially,
+and as the house was offered for sale, it had been purchased for one
+fifth of its original cost and adapted to hotel purposes. While enjoying
+our fruit at dessert, a somewhat similar experience was recalled as
+having taken place at Christiania, in Norway, where visitors enjoy the
+meals in a sort of outdoor museum and garden, surrounded by curious
+preserved birds mingled with living ones, the latter so tame as to
+alight fearlessly upon the table and await any choice bit guests may
+offer them.</p>
+
+<p>We shall not soon forget the very appetizing dinner of which we
+partook, amid such attractive surroundings, in the gardens of the
+International Hotel at Pernambuco. One fruit which was served to us is
+known by the name of the loquat. It is round, dark yellow, and about the
+size of a Tangerine orange,&mdash;a great favorite with the natives,
+though it is mostly stone and skin, and tastes like turpentine.</p>
+
+<p>This city is often called the Venice of Brazil, but why, it is
+difficult for one to understand. It is only poetical license, for there
+is not the first actual resemblance between the two cities. True, there
+are several watercourses, and half a dozen bridges, intersecting this
+Brazilian capital. One would be equally justified in calling the frail
+catamarans which are used by the fishermen in these waters, gondolas.
+This singular craft, by the way, consists of four or five logs of the
+cork-palm tree, confined together by a series of strong lashings, no
+nails being used, thus securing a necessary degree of elasticity. One
+end of the logs is hewn down to a smaller size or width than the other,
+thus forming stem and stern, while a single thick plank serves as a
+keel. There are no bulwarks to this crazy craft,&mdash;for it can hardly
+be called anything else,&mdash;the whole being freely washed by the sea;
+but yet, with a rude mast carrying a triangular sail, and with a couple
+of oars, two or three fishermen venture far away from the shore; indeed,
+we encountered them out of sight of land. A couple of upright stakes are
+driven into the logs, to hold on by when occasion requires. It is really
+wonderful to see how weatherly such a frail affair can be, and how
+literally safe in a rough seaway. The boatmen who navigate these
+catamarans (they are called here <i>janguardas</i>) manage to keep the
+market of Pernambuco abundantly supplied with the strange, fantastic
+fish which so prevail along the Atlantic coast in equatorial
+regions.</p>
+
+<p>We have seen a craft very similar to these catamarans in use off the
+Coromandel coast, between Madras and the mouth of the Hoogly River,
+which leads up to Calcutta. Here the natives manage them in a sea so
+rough that an ordinary ship's boat, if exposed, would surely be swamped.
+The Madras catamaran consists of three pieces of timber, mere logs
+twelve or fourteen feet long, securely bound together with ropes made
+from the fibre of the cocoanut palm. Nails are no more available here
+than in the former crafts we have named. No nails could withstand the
+wrenching which this raft is subjected to. The middle log is a little
+longer than the two outside ones, and is given a slight upward turn at
+the end which forms the prow. No sail is used, but two fishermen
+generally go out with each of these rafts, propelling them with
+broad-bladed paddles, used alternately on either side. Of course the
+natives who navigate these crafts are naked, with the exception of a
+breech-cloth at the loins. They are very frequently thrown off by the
+sea, but regain their places with remarkable agility. They manage also,
+somehow, to secure their fishing gear, and generally to bring in a
+remunerative fare from their excursions. Strange as the catamaran is, it
+must yet be described as breezy, watery, and safe&mdash;for amphibious
+creatures. There is one enemy these fishermen have to look out for,
+namely the shark, both on the coast of Madras and South America. It is
+more common to say when one is lost that the sharks got him, than it is
+to say he was drowned.</p>
+
+<p>The reef so often referred to, forming the breakwater opposite
+Pernambuco, is about forty feet in width at the surface, and is the
+marvelous architecture of that tiny coral builder which works beneath
+these southern seas. When it has reared a pyramid reaching from the far
+bottom of the ocean to the surface, its mission is performed and it
+dies. It lives and works only beneath the surface of the sea;
+atmospheric air is fatal to it. The pyramids of Egypt cannot compare
+with these submerged structures for height, solidity, or magnitude. One
+is the product of a creature of such seeming unimportance as to require
+microscopic aid to detect its existence; the other are monuments erected
+by ancient kings commanding infinite resources; the former being the
+process of nature in carrying out her great and mysterious plan; the
+latter, the ambitious work of men whose very identity is now
+questionable. If we were to enter into a calculation based upon known
+scientific facts, as to how many thousands of years were required for
+this minute animal to rear this massive structure, the result would
+astonish the average reader.</p>
+
+<p>On approaching Pernambuco from the sea, the first object to attract
+the eye is the long line of snow white breakers, caused by the incessant
+swell of the sea striking against the firmly planted reef with a
+deafening surge, breaking into foam and spray which are thrown forty
+feet and more into the air. As we drew near for the first time, the
+extended line of breakers was illumined by the early morning sun, making
+fancy rainbows and misty pictures in the mingled air and water. We were
+escorted by myriads of sea-birds, whose sharp cries came close upon the
+ear, as they flew in and about the rigging. Behind the reef lay the
+comparatively smooth waters of the harbor, dotted here and there by tiny
+white sails, curious-shaped coasting craft, rowboats, and steam tugs,
+while the background was formed by a leafless forest of tall ships'
+masts which lined the wharves, and partially screened the low-lying
+capital from view.</p>
+
+<p>We have remained quite long enough at this city of the reef, and now
+turn southward towards the more attractive port of Bahia.</p>
+
+<p>In running down the coast, the Brazilian shore is so near as to be
+distinctly visible, with its surf-fringed beach of golden sands
+extending mile after mile, beyond which, far inland, rise ranges of
+forest-clad hills, and beyond these, sky-reaching alps. It is often
+necessary to give the land a wide berth, as at certain points dangerous
+sandbars make out from it far to seaward; but whenever near enough to
+the coast to make out the character of the vegetation, it was of deepest
+green and exuberantly tropical. With the exception of one or two small
+towns, and an occasional fisherman's hamlet, the shore presented no
+signs of habitation, being mostly a sandy waste adjoining the sea, where
+heavy rollers spent their force upon the smooth, water-worn, yellow
+beach.</p>
+
+<p class="p4"><a name="Ch_7"></a></p>
+
+<h3>CHAPTER VII.</h3>
+
+<p class="blockquote">Port of Bahia.&mdash;A Quaint Old
+City.&mdash;Former Capital of Brazil.&mdash;Whaling
+Interests.&mdash;Beautiful Panorama.&mdash;Tramways.&mdash;No Color Line
+Here.&mdash;The Sedan Chair.&mdash;Feather Flowers.&mdash;Great Orange
+Mart.&mdash;Passion Flower Fruit.&mdash;Coffee, Sugar, and
+Tobacco.&mdash;A Coffee Plantation.&mdash;Something about
+Diamonds.&mdash;Health of the City.&mdash;Curious Tropical Street
+Scenes.</p>
+
+<p class="p2">Bahia,&mdash;pronounced Bah-ee´ah,&mdash;situated three
+hundred and fifty miles south of Pernambuco, is the capital of a
+province of the same name in Brazil, and contains nearly two hundred
+thousand inhabitants. It is admirably situated on elevated ground at the
+entrance of All Saints Bay,&mdash;<i>Todos os Santos</i>,&mdash;just
+within Cape San Antonio, eight hundred miles or thereabouts north of Rio
+Janeiro. The entrance of the bay is seven miles broad. For its size,
+there are few harbors in the world which present a more attractive
+picture as one first beholds it on entering from the open Atlantic. The
+elevated site of the city, with its close array of neat, white three and
+four story houses, breaks the sky-line in front of the anchorage, while
+the town forms a half moon in shape, extending for a couple of miles
+each way, right and left. Near the water's edge, on the lower line of
+the city, are many substantial warehouses, official establishments, the
+custom house, and the like. Between the lower and the upper town is a
+long reach of green terraced embankment, intense in its bright verdure.
+Probably no other city on the globe, certainly not so far as our
+experience extends, is so peculiarly divided.</p>
+
+<p>A sad episode marked our first experience here. We came to anchor in
+the harbor, according to custom, at what is known as the Quarantine.
+About a cable's length from us lay a large European steamship, flying
+the yellow flag at the fore. She came into port from Rio Janeiro on the
+previous evening; five of her passengers who had died of yellow fever on
+the passage were buried at sea, while two more were down with it, and
+were being taken to the lazaretto on shore, as we dropped our anchor.
+Probably they went there to die. This was naturally depressing, more so,
+perhaps, as we were bound direct for Rio Janeiro; but as we now came
+from a northern port with a clean bill of health, we were finally
+released from quarantine and permitted to land. It is late in the
+season&mdash;last of May&mdash;for this pest of the coast to prevail,
+but the year 1891 has been one of unusual fatality in the South American
+ports, and none of them have been entirely exempt from the scourge, some
+showing a fearful list of mortality among both citizens and strangers.
+We were conversant with many instances of a particularly trying and sad
+nature, if any distinction can be made where death intervenes with such
+a rude hand. Victims who were in apparent good health in the morning
+were not infrequently buried on the evening of the same day! But we will
+spare the reader harrowing details.</p>
+
+<p>Americus Vespucius discovered Bahia in 1503, while sailing under the
+patronage of Portugal, and as it was settled in 1511, it is the oldest
+city in the country, being also the second in size, though not in
+commercial importance. The excellent harbor is so spacious as to form a
+small inland sea, the far-reaching shores of which are beautified by
+mingled green foliage and pretty villas stretching along the bay, while
+the business portion gives evidence of a growing and important foreign
+trade. This deduction is also corroborated by the presence of numerous
+European steamships, and full-rigged sailing vessels devoted to the
+transportation of merchandise. The buildings are generally of a
+substantial appearance, whether designed as residences or for business
+purposes, but are mostly of an antique pattern, old and dingy. Though
+the city is divided into the lower and the upper town, the latter two or
+three hundred feet above the former, it is made easily accessible by
+mechanical means. A large elevator, run by hydraulic power, is employed
+for the purpose, which was built by an energetic Yankee, and has been in
+successful operation several years, taking the citizens from the lower
+to the upper town, as we pass from basement to attic in our tall North
+American buildings. Between the two portions of Bahia there are streets
+for the transportation of merchandise, which wind zigzag fashion along
+the ravine to avoid the abruptness of the ascent. Besides these means,
+there are narrow stone steps leading upwards to the first level, among
+the tropical verdure, the deep green branches and leaves nodding to one
+from out of narrow lanes and quiet nooks. There is still another way of
+reaching the upper town, namely, a cable road, of very steep grade, one
+car ascending while another descends, thus forming a sort of
+counterbalance. By all these facilities united, the population manage
+very comfortably to overcome the topographical difficulties of the
+situation.</p>
+
+<p>Though there are few buildings of any special note in Bahia, the
+general architecture being quaint and nondescript, still the combined
+view of the city, as we have endeavored to show, is of no inconsiderable
+beauty. We approached it from the north, doubling Light House Point in
+the early morning, just as the rising sun lighted up the bay. Seen from
+the harbor, the large dome of the cathedral overlooks the whole town
+very much like the gilded dome which forms so conspicuous an object on
+approaching the city of Boston. The dark, low-lying, grim-looking fort,
+which presides over the quarantine anchorage, is built upon a natural
+ledge of rock, half a mile from the shore of the town, and looks like a
+huge cheese-box.</p>
+
+<p>In the upper portion of Bahia the streets are narrow, and the houses
+so tall as to nearly exclude the sun when it is not in the zenith. They
+are built of a native stone, and differ from the majority of South
+American dwellings, which are rarely over two stories in height, and
+generally of one only. We have heard it argued that it is advantageous
+to build tropical cities with narrow streets, so as to exclude the heat
+of the sun's rays and thus keep the houses cooler. This is not logical.
+Wide avenues and broad streets give ventilation which cannot be obtained
+in any other way in populous centres. Narrow lanes invite epidemics,
+fevers, and malarial diseases; broad thoroughfares give less opportunity
+for their lodgment. A beehive of human beings, crowded together in a
+narrow space, exhausts the life-giving principle of the surrounding
+atmosphere, but this is impossible where plenty of room is given for the
+circulation of fresh air.</p>
+
+<p>These tall houses of Bahia have overhanging ornamental balconies,
+which towards evening are filled with the female portion of the
+families, laughing, chatting, singing, and smoking, for the ladies of
+these latitudes smoke in their domestic circles. Narrow as the streets
+of Bahia are, room is found for a well patronized tramway to run through
+them. No one thinks of walking, if it be for only a couple of hundred
+rods, on the line of the street cars. All of the civilized world seems
+to have grown lazy since the introduction of this modern facility for
+cheap transportation.</p>
+
+<p>Bahia was the capital of Brazil until 1763, during which year the
+headquarters of the government were removed to Rio Janeiro.</p>
+
+<p>This is a sort of New Bedford, so to speak, having been for more than
+a century extensively engaged in the whaling business, an occupation
+which is still pursued to a limited extent. Whales frequent the bay of
+Bahia, where they are sometimes captured by small boats from the shore.
+It is supposed that the favorite food of this big game is found in these
+waters. There was a time when the close pursuit by fishing fleets fitted
+out in nearly all parts of the world rendered the whales wary and
+scarce. The catching and killing of so many seemed to have thinned out
+their number in most of the seas of the globe. Then came the great
+discovery of rock oil, which rapidly superseded the whale oil of
+commerce in general use. Thereupon the pursuit of the gigantic animal
+ceased to be of any great moment, while there was oil enough
+spontaneously pouring out of the wells of Pennsylvania, and elsewhere,
+to fully satisfy the demand of the world at large. Being no longer
+hunted, the whales gradually became tame and increased in numbers, so
+that to-day there are probably as many in the usual haunts of these
+leviathans in either hemisphere as there ever were. The briefest sea
+voyage can hardly be made without sighting one or more of them, and
+sometimes in large schools.</p>
+
+<p>There is a portion of the elevated section of Bahia which is called
+Victoria, a really beautiful locality, having delightful gardens,
+attractive walks, and myriads of noble shade trees. From here the
+visitor overlooks the bay, with its islands and curving shore decked
+with graceful palms, bamboos, and mango groves; upon the water are
+numerous tiny boats, while white winged sailing ships and dark, begrimed
+steamers unite in forming a picture of active life and maritime beauty.
+In the distance lies the ever green island of Itaparica, named after the
+first governor's Indian bride, while still farther away is seen range
+after range of tall, purple hills, multiplied until lost in the
+distance.</p>
+
+<p>A few grim looking convents and monasteries, which have gradually
+come into the possession of the government, are now used as free
+schools, libraries, and hospitals. There is a medical college here which
+has a national reputation for general excellence, and many students come
+from Rio Janeiro, eight hundred miles away, to avail themselves of its
+advantages, receiving a diploma after attending upon its three years'
+course of studies. From subsequent inquiry, however, not only here but
+in Rio and elsewhere, we are satisfied that the science of medicine and
+surgery stands at a very low ebb throughout this great southland.
+Foreign doctors are looked upon with great distrust and jealousy;
+indeed, it is very difficult for them to obtain a suitable license to
+practice in Brazil. This does not apply to dentistry, of which
+profession there are many American experts in the country, who have
+realized decided pecuniary and professional success. There were six or
+eight on board the Vigilancia, who had been on a visit to their North
+American homes during the summer season, at which time the fever is most
+to be dreaded here.</p>
+
+<p>The city contains over sixty churches, some of which are fine
+edifices, built of stone brought from Europe. This could easily be done
+without much extra expense, as the vessels visiting the port in those
+early days required ballast with which to cross the ocean. They brought
+no other cargo of any account, but were sure at certain seasons of the
+year to obtain a suitable return freight, which paid a good profit on
+the round voyage. Several of these churches are in a very dilapidated
+condition, and probably will not be repaired. The cathedral is one of
+the largest structures of the sort in Brazil, and is thought by many to
+be one of the finest. The cathedral at Rio, however, is a much more
+elaborate structure, and far more costly. It takes enormous sums, wrung
+from the poorest class of people, to maintain these gorgeous temples and
+support the horde of fat, licentious, useless priests attached to them,
+while the mass of humanity find life a daily struggle with abject want
+and poverty. Does any thoughtful person believe for one moment that such
+hollow service can be grateful to a just and merciful Supreme Being?</p>
+
+<p>Bahia was a flourishing port before Rio Janeiro was known
+commercially, and was the first place of settlement by English traders
+on this coast. The present population is of a very mixed character,
+composed of nearly all nationalities, white and black, European and
+natives. There is no prejudice evinced as regards color. Mulatto or
+negro may once have been a slave, but he is a freeman now, both socially
+and in the eyes of the law. He is eligible for any position of trust,
+public or private, if he develops the requisite degree of intelligence.
+Men who have been slaves in their youth are now filling political
+offices here, with credit to themselves and satisfaction to the public.
+The actual reform from being a degraded land of slavery to one of human
+freedom is much more radical and thorough in Brazil than it is in our
+own Southern States, where the pretended equality of the colored race is
+simply a burlesque upon constitutional liberty.</p>
+
+<p>The occasional use of that quaint mode of conveyance, the sedan
+chair, was observable, taking one back to the days of Queen Anne. Only a
+few years ago it was the one mode of transportation from the lower to
+the upper part of the town; but modern facilities, already referred to,
+have thrown the sedan chair nearly out of use. A few antique
+representatives of this style of vehicle, some quite expensive and
+elaborately ornamented, are still seen obstructing the entrances to the
+houses. The local name they bear is <i>cadeira</i>. When these chairs
+are used, they are borne upon the shoulders of two or four stalwart
+blacks, and are hung upon long poles, like a palanquin, after the
+fashion so often seen in old pictures and ancient tapestry.</p>
+
+<p>We have spoken of the narrowness of the streets through which the
+tramways pass. In many places, pedestrians are compelled to step into
+the doorways of dwellings to permit the cars to pass them. This is not
+only the case at Bahia, but also in half the busy portion of South
+American cities. These mule propelled cars are now adopted all over this
+country and Mexico; even fourth class cities have tramways, and many
+towns which have not yet risen to the dignity of having a city
+organization are thus supplied with transportation. The Bahia tramway,
+on its route to the suburbs, passes through fertile districts of great
+rural beauty, among groves of tropical fruits, orange orchards, tall
+overshadowing mangoes, and cultivated flowers. There is an attempt at a
+public garden, though it is an idea only half carried out; but there is
+a terrace in connection here called "The Bluff," from whence one gets a
+magnificent view, more especially of the near and the distant sea. These
+delightful and comprehensive natural pictures are photographed upon the
+memory, forming a charming cabinet of scenic views appertaining to each
+special locality, choice, original, and never to be effaced.</p>
+
+<p>We must not omit to mention a specialty of this city, an article
+produced in one or two of the charitable institutions, as well as in
+many humble family circles, namely, artificial flowers made from the
+choicest feathers of the most brilliant colored birds. None of these
+articles are poor, while some of them are exquisite in design and
+execution, produced entirely from the plumage of native birds. A
+considerable aggregate sum of money is realized by a certain portion of
+the community, in the regular manufacture of these delicate ornaments.
+Girls begin to learn the art at a very early age, and in a few years
+arrive at a marvelous degree of perfection, producing realistic pictures
+which rival the brush and pencil of a more pretentious department of
+art. Nearly all visitors carry away with them dainty examples of this
+exquisite and artistic work, which has a reputation beyond the seas.
+Thousands of beautiful birds are annually sacrificed to furnish the
+necessary material. Thus the delicate family of the humming-bird, whose
+variety is infinite in Brazil, has been almost exterminated in some
+parts of the country. There is one other specialty here, namely, the
+manufacture of lace, which gives constant employment to many women of
+Bahia, their product being much esteemed all over South America for the
+beauty of the designs and the perfection of the manufacture.</p>
+
+<p>The special fruit of this province, as already intimated, is oranges,
+and it is safe to say that none produced elsewhere can excel them. They
+are not picked until they are thoroughly ripe, and are therefore too
+delicate, in their prime condition, to sustain transportation to any
+considerable distance. Those sold in our northern cities are picked in a
+green condition and ripened off the trees, a process which does not
+injure some fruits, but which detracts very materially from the orange
+and the pineapple. The oranges of Bahia average from five to six inches
+in diameter, have a rather thin skin, are full of juice, and contain no
+pips; in short, they are perfectly delicious, being delicately sweet,
+with a slight subacid flavor. The first enjoyment of this special fruit
+in Bahia is a gastronomic revelation. The maracajus is also a favorite
+fruit here, but hardly to be named beside the orange. It is the product
+of the vine which bears the passion flower, but this we could not
+relish. It is a common fruit in Australia and New Zealand, where the
+author found it equally unpalatable, yet people who have once acquired
+the taste become very fond of it. The vine with its flower is common
+enough in the United States, but we have never seen it in a
+fruit-bearing condition in our country.</p>
+
+<p>The province of Bahia has an area of two hundred thousand square
+miles, and is represented as containing some of the most fertile land in
+Brazil, capable of producing immense crops of several important staples.
+It is especially fertile near the coast, where there are some large and
+thriving tobacco, sugar, and coffee plantations. The first mentioned
+article, owing to some favorable peculiarity of the soil in this
+vicinity, is held to be nearly equal to the average Cuban product, and
+it is being more and more extensively cultivated each year. Bahia cigars
+are not only very cheap, but they are remarkably fine in flavor. It was
+observed that old travelers on this coast made haste to lay in a goodly
+supply of them for personal use.</p>
+
+<p>A coffee plantation situated not far from this city was visited,
+affording a small party of strangers to the place much pleasure and
+information. The coffee plant is an evergreen, and thus the foliage is
+always fresh in appearance, yielding two harvests annually. Boa Vista,
+the plantation referred to, covers about one hundred acres, much of
+which is also devoted to the raising of fodder, fruit, corn, and beans,
+with some special vegetables, forming the principal sustenance of the
+people and animals employed upon the estate. At first, in laying out
+such a plantation, the coffee sprouts are started in a nursery, and when
+they have had a year's growth are transplanted to the open field, where
+they are placed with strict uniformity in long rows at equal distances
+apart. After the second year these young plants begin to bear, and
+continue to do so for twenty-five or thirty years, at which period both
+the trees and the soil become in a measure exhausted, and a new tract of
+land is again selected for a plantation. By proper management the new
+plantation can be made to begin bearing at the same time that the old
+one ceases to be sufficiently productive and remunerative to cultivate
+for the same purpose. The coffee-tree is thought to be in its prime at
+from five to ten years of age. Fruit trees, such as bananas, oranges,
+mandioca, guavas, and so on, are planted among the coffee-trees to
+afford them a partial shelter, which, to a certain degree, is requisite
+to their best success, especially when they are young and throwing out
+thin roots. The coffee bushes are kept trimmed down to about the height
+of one's head, which facilitates the harvesting of the crop, and also
+throws the sap into the formation and growth of berries. The
+coffee-tree, when permitted to grow to its natural height, reaches
+between twenty and thirty feet, and, with its deep green foliage, is a
+handsome ornamental garden tree, much used for this purpose in Brazil.
+The coffee pods, when ripe, are scarlet in color, and resemble cherries,
+though they are much smaller. Each berry contains two seeds, which, when
+detached from the pod and properly dried, form the familiar article of
+such universal domestic use. A coffee plantation well managed, in
+Brazil, is an almost certain source of ample fortune. The crop is sure;
+that is to say, it has scarcely any drawbacks, and is always in demand.
+Of course there are inconveniences of climate, and other things needless
+to enumerate, as regards entering into the business, but the growth and
+ripening of a coffee crop very seldom fail.</p>
+
+<p>As has been intimated, this port is famous for the production of
+oranges and tobacco; so Rio is famous for coffee, Pernambuco for sugar,
+and Pará for crude india-rubber.</p>
+
+<p>We must not forget to mention one other, and by no means
+insignificant product of Brazil which is exported from Bahia, namely,
+diamonds of the very first quality, which for purity of color far exceed
+those of Africa and elsewhere. It appears that a syndicate in London
+control the world's supply of this peculiar gem from all the mines on
+the globe, permitting only a certain quantity of diamonds to go on to
+the market annually, and thus keeping up the selling price and the
+market value. No one is permitted to know the real product of the mines
+but the managers of this syndicate. The quantity of the sparkling gems
+which are held back by the dealers in London, Paris, and Vienna is
+really enormous; were they to be placed in the retail dealers' hands as
+fast as they are produced from the various sources of supply, they would
+be erelong as cheap and plenty as moonstones. This sounds like an
+extravagant assertion, but still there is far more truth in it than is
+generally realized. One of the public journals of London lately spoke of
+a proposed corporation, to be known as the "Diamond Trust," which is
+certainly a significant evidence that the market requires to be
+carefully controlled as to the quantity which is annually put upon it.
+In old times a diamond was simply valued as a diamond; its cutting and
+polishing were of the simplest character. A series of irregular plane
+surfaces were thought to sufficiently bring out its reflective
+qualities, but the stone is now treated with far more care and
+intelligence. A large portion of the value of a diamond has come to
+consist in the artistic, and we may say scientific, manner in which it
+is cut. By this means its latent qualities of reflection of light are
+brought to perfection, developing its real brilliancy. Accomplished
+workmen realize fabulous wages in this employment. A stone of
+comparatively little value, by being cut in the best manner, can be made
+to outshine a much finer stone which is cut after the old style.
+Amsterdam used to control the business of diamond cutting, but it is now
+as well done in Boston and New York as in any part of the world.</p>
+
+<p>The largest diamond yet discovered came from Brazil, and is known as
+the Braganza. The first European expert in precious stones has valued
+this extraordinary gem, which is still in the rough, at three hundred
+million sterling! Its actual weight is something over one pound troy. In
+the light of such a statement, we pause to ask ourselves, What is a
+diamond? Simply carbon crystallized, that is, in its greatest purity,
+and carbon is the combustible principle of charcoal. The author was
+told, both here and in Rio Janeiro, that there is a considerable and
+profitable mining industry carried on in this country, of which the
+general public hear nothing. The results are only known to prominent and
+interested Brazilians, the whole matter being kept as secret as possible
+for commercial reasons. No one reads anything about the products of the
+diamond mines in the local papers.</p>
+
+<p>We cannot say that the city of Bahia is a very healthy locality,
+though it certainly seems that it ought to be, it is so admirably
+situated. Yellow fever and other epidemics prevail more or less every
+year. The lower part of the town, on the water front, is so shamefully
+filthy as to induce fever. Upon first landing, the stranger finds
+himself almost nauseated by the vile smells which greet him. This
+section of the town is also very hot, the cliff, or upper town, shutting
+off almost entirely the circulation of air. It is here that sailors,
+particularly, indulge in all sorts of excesses, especially in drinking
+the vile, raw liquor sold by negresses, besides eating unripe and
+overripe fruit, thus inviting disease. One favorite drink produced here,
+very cheap and very potent, is a poisonous but seductive white rum.</p>
+
+<p>The trade and people in this part of the town form a strange
+conglomerate,&mdash;monkeys, parrots, caged birds, tame jaguars, mongrel
+puppies, pineapples, oranges, mangoes, and bananas, these being flanked
+by vegetables and flowers. The throng is made up of half-naked boatmen,
+indolent natives from the country, with negresses, both as venders and
+purchasers. As we look at the scene, in addition to what we have
+depicted there is a jovial group of sailors from a man-of-war in the
+harbor enjoying their shore leave, while not far away a small party of
+yachtsmen from an English craft are amusing themselves with petty
+bargains, close followed by half a dozen Americans, who came hither in
+the last mail steamer. A polyglot scene of mixed tongues and gay
+colors.</p>
+
+<p>In passing into and out of the harbor of Bahia, one can count a dozen
+forts and batteries, all constructed after the old style, and armed in
+the most ineffective manner. These would count as nothing in a contest
+with modern ships of war having plated hulls and arms of precision. Land
+fortifications, designed to protect commercial ports from foreign
+enemies, have not kept pace with the progress in naval armament.</p>
+
+<p>Bahia is connected by submarine telegraph with Pernambuco, Pará, and
+Rio Janeiro, and through them with all parts of the civilized world.</p>
+
+<p class="p4"><a name="Ch_8"></a></p>
+
+<h3>CHAPTER VIII.</h3>
+
+<p class="blockquote">Cape Frio.&mdash;Rio Janeiro.&mdash;A Splendid
+Harbor.&mdash;Various Mountains.&mdash;Botafogo Bay.&mdash;The
+Hunchback.&mdash;Farewell to the Vigilancia.&mdash;Tijuca.&mdash;Italian
+Emigrants.&mdash;City Institutions.&mdash;Public
+Amusements.&mdash;Street Musicians.&mdash;Churches.&mdash;Narrow
+Thoroughfares.&mdash;Merchants' Clerks.&mdash;Railroads in
+Brazil.&mdash;Natural Advantages of the City.&mdash;The Public
+Plazas.&mdash;Exports.</p>
+
+<p class="p2">After a three days' voyage down the coast, between Bahia
+and Rio Janeiro, the tall lighthouse of Cape Frio&mdash;"Cool
+Cape"&mdash;was sighted. This promontory is a large oval mass of
+granite, sixteen hundred feet in height, quite isolated from other
+highlands, protruding boldly into the Atlantic Ocean. It forms the
+southeastern extremity of the coast of Brazil, and in clear weather can
+be seen, it is said, forty miles or more away. Here the long swell of
+the open sea is unobstructed and finds full sway, asserting its giant
+power at all seasons of the year. Experienced travelers who rarely
+suffer from seasickness are apt to succumb to this trying illness off
+Cape Frio. It is situated in latitude 22° 59' south, longitude 41° 57'
+west, which is particularly specified because the line of no magnetic
+variation touches on this cape,&mdash;that line which Columbus was so
+amazed at discovering one hundred leagues west of Flores, in the Azores,
+nearly four hundred years ago. We had been running almost due south for
+the last eight hundred miles, but in doubling Cape Frio, and making for
+Rio harbor, the ship was headed to the westward, while the mountains on
+the coast assumed the most grotesque and singular shapes, the range
+extending from west to east until it ends at Cape Frio. The continent of
+South America here forms a sharp angle, but we were too full of
+expectancy as to the king of harbors towards which we were heading, to
+speculate much about Cape Frio and its ocean-swept surroundings.</p>
+
+<p>Rio Janeiro, the capital of Brazil, is also the largest, if not the
+most important city in South America, situated about twelve hundred
+miles north of Montevideo and Buenos Ayres, just within the borders of
+the southern torrid zone. The distance of Rio from New York direct is
+five thousand miles, but most voyagers, on the way through the West
+Indies, stop at three or four of these islands, and also at some of the
+northern ports of the continent of South America, the same as in our own
+case, so that about five hundred miles may be fairly added to the
+distance we have just named. Though the vessel was a month in making the
+voyage to this port, had we sailed direct it might have been done in two
+thirds of the time.</p>
+
+<p>After doubling the cape and sailing some sixty or eighty miles, we
+steered boldly towards the mouth of the harbor of Rio. For a few moments
+the ship's prow pointed towards Raza Island, on which stands the
+lighthouse, but a slight turn of the wheel soon changed its relative
+position, and we entered the passage leading into the bay. After passing
+the "Sugar Loaf," a rock twelve hundred feet in height, the city lay off
+our port bow. All is so well defined, the water is so deep and free from
+obstructions of any sort, that no pilot is required and none is taken,
+and thus we crept slowly up towards our moorings. As the reader may well
+suppose, to eyes weary of the monotony of the sea, the panorama which
+opened before us was one of intense interest. Everything seemed matured
+and olden. There was no sign of newness; indeed, we recalled the fact
+that Rio was an established commercial port half a century before New
+York had a local habitation or a name. The town lies on the west side of
+the port, between a mountain range and the bay, running back less than
+two miles in depth, but extending along the shore for a distance of some
+eight miles, fronting one of the finest and most spacious harbors in the
+world, famous for its manifold scenic beauties, which, from the moment
+of passing within the narrow entrance, are ever changing and ever
+lovely. The most prominent features are the verdure-clad hills of
+Gloria, Theresa, and Castello, behind which extend ranges of steep,
+everlasting mountains, one line beyond another, until lost among the
+clouds. Few natural spectacles can equal the grand contour of this
+famous bay. People who have visited it always speak in superlative
+language of Rio harbor, but we hardly think it could be overpraised. It
+is the grand entrance to a tropical paradise, so far as nature is
+concerned, amid clustering mountains, abrupt headlands, inviting inlets,
+and beautiful islands, covered with palms, tree-ferns, bananas, acacias,
+and other delights of tropical vegetation, which, when seen depicted in
+books, impress one as an exaggeration, but seen here thrill us with
+vivid reality. It is only in the torrid zone that one sees these lavish
+developments of verdure, these labyrinths of charming arboreous
+effect.</p>
+
+<p>Though so well known and so often written about, the harbor of Rio is
+less famous than beautiful. The bay is said to contain about one hundred
+islands, its area extending inland some seventeen or eighteen miles. The
+largest of these is Governor's Island, nearly fronting the city, being
+six miles long. Some idea of the extent of the bay may be had from the
+fact that there are fifty square miles of good anchorage for ships
+within its compass. Into the bay flows the water of two inconsiderable
+rivers, the Macacu and the Iguaçu, the first named coming in at the
+northeast and the latter at the northwest corner of the harbor.</p>
+
+<p>The Organ Mountains,&mdash;Serra dos Orgãos,&mdash;capped with soft,
+fleecy clouds, formed the lofty background of the picture towards the
+north, as we entered upon the scene, the immediate surroundings being
+dominated by the sky-reaching Sugar Loaf Rock,&mdash;Pão
+d'Assucar,&mdash;which is also the navigator's guiding mark while yet
+far away at sea. This bold, irregular rock of red sandstone rises
+abruptly from the water, like a giant standing waist-high in the sea,
+and forms the western boundary of the entrance to the harbor, opposite
+to which, crowning a small but bold promontory, is the fort of Santa
+Cruz, the two highlands forming an appropriate portal to the grandeur
+which is to greet one within. The distance between these bounds is about
+a mile, inside of which the water widens at once to lake-like
+proportions. Clouds of frigate birds, gulls, and gannets fly gracefully
+about each incoming ship, as if to welcome them to the harbor where
+anchorage might be had for the combined shipping of the whole world. We
+have lately seen the harbor of Rio compared to that of Queenstown, on
+the Irish coast, twenty times magnified; but the infinite superiority of
+the former in every respect makes the allusion quite pointless.</p>
+
+<p>The Organ Mountains, to which we have referred, and which form so
+conspicuous a portion of the scene in and about Rio, are so called
+because of their fancied resemblance in shape to the pipes of an organ;
+but though blessed with the usual share of imagination, we were quite
+unable to trace any such resemblance. However, one must not be
+hypercritical. The gigantic recumbent form of a human being, so often
+spoken of as discernible along this mountain range, is no poetical
+fancy, but is certainly clear enough to any eye, recalling the likeness
+to a crouching lion outlined by the promontory of Gibraltar as one first
+sees the rock, either on entering the strait or coming from Malta.</p>
+
+<p>One of the most beautiful indentures of the shore, earliest to catch
+the eye after passing into the harbor of Rio from the sea, is called the
+Bay of Botafogo. The word means "thrown into the fire," and alludes to
+the inhuman <i>autos-da-fé</i> which occurred here when the natives, on
+refusing to subscribe to the Roman Catholic faith, were committed by the
+priests to the flames! This is the way in which the Romish creed was
+introduced into Mexico and South America, and the means by which it was
+sustained.</p>
+
+<p>The principal charm of this lovely bay within a
+bay&mdash;Botafogo&mdash;is its flowers and exposition of soaring royal
+palms. The attractiveness of the handsome residences is quite secondary
+to that of nature, here revealed with a lavish profusion. This part of
+Rio is overshadowed by the tall peak of the Corcovado, "the Hunchback,"
+one of the mass of hills which occupy a large area west of the city, and
+the nearest mountain to it. From its never-failing springs comes a large
+share of the water supply of the capital. The aqueduct is some ten miles
+long, crossing a valley at one point seven hundred feet in width, at a
+height of ninety feet, upon double arches. Another large aqueduct is in
+contemplation, besides which some other sources are now in actual
+operation, as Rio has long since outgrown the capacity of the original
+supply derived from the Corcovado. The drainage of the town suffers
+seriously for want of sufficient water wherewith to flush the conduits,
+which at this writing, with the deadly fever claiming victims on all
+hands, are permitted to remain in a stagnant condition! And yet there
+are hundreds of hills round about, within long cannon range, which would
+readily yield the required element in almost limitless quantity.</p>
+
+<p>We left the Vigilancia, and our good friend Captain Baker, with
+regret. The noble ship had borne us in safety thousands of miles during
+the past month, through storms and calms, amid intense tropical heat,
+and such floods of rain as are only encountered in southern seas.
+Watching from her deck, there had been revealed to us the glories of the
+changing latitudes, and particularly the grandeur of the radiant heavens
+in equatorial regions. A sense of all-absorbing curiosity prevailed as
+we landed at the stone steps, overlooked by the yellow ochre walls of
+the arsenal, in the picturesque, though pestilential city. The nauseous
+odors which greet one as he steps on shore are very discordant elements
+in connection with the intense interest created by the novel sights that
+engage the eye of a stranger.</p>
+
+<p>With a population, including the immediate suburbs, of over half a
+million,&mdash;estimated at six hundred and fifty thousand,&mdash;Rio
+has most of the belongings of a North American city of the first class,
+though we cannot refrain from mentioning one remarkable exception,
+namely, the entire absence of good hotels. There is not a really good
+and comfortable public house in all Brazil. Those which do exist in Rio
+charge exorbitantly for the most indifferent service, and strangers are
+often puzzled to find a sleeping-room for a single night on first
+arriving here. Tijuca, situated in the hills a few miles from the city,
+is perhaps the most desirable place of temporary sojourn for the newly
+arrived traveler, who will find at least one large and comfortable
+public house there, favorably known to travelers as Whyte's Hotel. It is
+some little distance from the city, but is easily reached by tramway,
+which takes one to the foot of the hills of the Tijuca range, whose
+tallest peak is thirty-four hundred feet above tide-water. This place
+abounds in attractive villas, tropical vegetation, and beautiful
+flowers, both wild and cultivated. From here also one gets a most
+charming view of the distant city, the famous bay, and the broad
+Atlantic; indeed, the view alone will repay one for making this brief
+excursion. The loftiest village in these hills is called Boa Vista.
+There are mountains, however, on either side, which are five or six
+hundred feet higher than the village containing the hotel. American
+enterprise is engaged at this writing in constructing a narrow gauge
+electric tramway to the summit of Tijuca. The driving road from the base
+to the top is an admirable piece of engineering, and is kept in the very
+best condition possible.</p>
+
+<p>The objectionable character of the Italian emigrants, who come hither
+as well as to our own States, was demonstrated by a party of them
+robbing and nearly murdering a resident of Tijuca who happened to be a
+short distance from his own house, the evening previous to the day which
+we spent at this resort. These Italians are mostly employed as workmen
+upon the railroad, though some are gardeners on the neighboring estates.
+In town they act as porters and day laborers on the wharves, as boatmen,
+and so on, but, as we were assured, are a lawless, vagabond element of
+the community, giving the police force a great deal of trouble.</p>
+
+<p>Rio has many large and commodious public buildings and some elegant
+private residences, the latter generally of a half Moorish type of
+architecture. Some of the edifices date back a couple of centuries. The
+early Portuguese built of stone and cement, hence the somewhat
+remarkable durability of these houses. The large edifice devoted to the
+department of agriculture and public works is one of the most noticeable
+in the city. The Bank of Brazil occupies a building which is classic in
+its fine architecture, being elaborately constructed of hammered
+granite. There is no more superb example of masonry in the country. The
+National Mint, on the Square of the Republic, is also a fine granite
+building; so is that devoted to the Bourse, where enormous values change
+hands daily. Educational institutions are numerous, well organized, and
+generally availed of by the rising generation. The National College is
+of notable influence in the dissemination of general intelligence, and
+the same may be said of the Polytechnic College, an excellent and
+practical institution. It should be observed that any well organized
+educational establishment is called a college in this country.</p>
+
+<p>The public library of Rio contains some two hundred thousand volumes,
+besides many valuable Spanish and Portuguese documents in manuscript. It
+is liberally conducted; black and white people alike, as well as all
+respectable strangers, have free access and liberal accommodations
+within the walls. This institution is an honor to Brazil.</p>
+
+<p>Rio has a new and well organized navy yard, a large arsenal, cotton
+mills, and several extensive manufacturing establishments. Among the
+latter is the largest flour mill we have ever seen. This is an English
+enterprise; but so far as we could learn, it had been found impossible
+to compete profitably with the American flour, as now landed at Rio. A
+foundling hospital on the Rua Everesta de Veiga is worthy of mention.
+Here, as already described in relation to another Brazilian city,
+infants are freely received and cared for, without any inquiry being
+made of those who deposit them. These little ones at the outset become
+children of the state, and are registered and numbered as such.
+Oftentimes the mother pins to the little deserted one's clothes the name
+she desires should be given to it, and the wish is usually regarded by
+the officials of the institution. The authorities put each child out to
+nurse for a year, but receive it back again at the expiration of that
+time, and at a proper period send it to school, and endeavor to rear it
+to some useful employment or trade. While the child is thus disposed of,
+the payment for its board and care is very moderate in amount, and is
+also contingent upon its good health and physical condition. Thus the
+deserted one is likely to have good attention, if not for humanity's
+sake, then from mercenary motives. This plan is copied from that which
+is pursued by the great foundling hospitals of St. Petersburg and
+Moscow, which are certainly the best organized and largest institutions
+of the sort in the world. Where so large a percentage of the children
+born are illegitimate, such a hospital becomes a real necessity. There
+has been no year since this establishment was opened, in 1738, as we
+were told, in which less than four hundred infants were received.
+Sometimes parents, whose worldly conditions have greatly improved, come
+forward after the lapse of years and claim their children. This right on
+their part is duly respected by their properly proving the relationship
+beyond all possible doubt, and paying a sum of money equal to that which
+has been actually expended by the state in the child's behalf.</p>
+
+<p>In the line of public amusements there is a large and well-appointed
+opera house besides eight other fairly good theatres, together with an
+excellent museum. The performances at the theatres are given in French,
+Spanish, and Portuguese. Italian opera is presented three times a week
+during the season. This year the performances were summarily stopped by
+the principal tenor dying of yellow fever. The theatre bearing the name
+of the late emperor is a sort of mammoth cave in size, and is capable of
+seating six thousand people, not one half of whom can hear what is said
+or sung upon the stage by the performers. Street bands of German
+musicians perform here as they do in Boston and New York; the mass of
+the people, being music loving, patronize these itinerants liberally.
+One band posted themselves daily before the popular Globe Restaurant, at
+the hour of the midday meal (breakfast), and performed admirably,
+reaping a generous response from the habitués. Most of the patrons of
+this excellent establishment were observed to be American, English, and
+French merchants, who attended to business in Rio during the day, but
+who went home to the elevated environs to dine and to sleep. "I have
+been here in business nine years," said one of these gentlemen to us,
+"and have been down with the fever once; but I would not sleep in Rio
+overnight for any amount of money, at this season of the year." This was
+early in June. He added: "The fever should have disappeared before this
+time, which is our winter, but it seems to linger later and later each
+succeeding year." This was a conclusion which we heard expressed by
+other observant individuals, but all joined in ascribing its persistency
+in no small degree to the imperfect drainage, and the vile personal
+habits of the mass of the common people, who make no effort to be
+cleanly, or to regard the decencies of life in this respect.</p>
+
+<p>As to churches, Rio has between sixty and seventy, none of which are
+very remarkable, all being dim, dirty, and offensive to the olfactories.
+The cause of the foul air being so noticeable in all of these Romish
+churches is the fact that no provision whatever is made for proper
+ventilation, and this, too, in places of all others where it is most
+imperatively necessary. The offense is created by exhalations from the
+bodies of the least cleanly class of the population. It is such who
+mostly fill these churches all over the continent of Europe, Mexico,
+South America, and the United States. Precisely the same disgusting odor
+greets the senses of the visitor to these edifices, be it in one
+hemisphere or another, but especially in Italy and Spain.</p>
+
+<p>The cathedral of Rio is a large, showy edifice, surrounded by narrow
+streets, and thus hidden by other buildings, so that no general and
+satisfactory outside effect can be had. The front and sides are of solid
+granite, and the whole is known to have cost a mint of money, yet the
+safety of the foundation is more than questionable. Like the grand
+church of St. Isaacs, in the Russian capital of St. Petersburg, great
+expense will doubtless have to be incurred to renew and strengthen it in
+this respect. It is believed that the site upon which Rio stands was
+once under the sea, and, geologically speaking, at no very remote
+period, which accounts for considerable trouble being experienced in
+obtaining secure and solid foundations for any heavy superstructure. At
+this writing, the cathedral is undergoing extensive repairs, inside and
+out, but in spite of the noise of workmen, the disagreeable lime dust,
+and the interference of a network of interior staging, it is still very
+striking in its architectural effect.</p>
+
+<p>In the old part of the town, two prominent cupolas dominate the
+surroundings. These belong respectively to the churches of Candelaria
+and San Luigi. The most popular church in Rio is undoubtedly that which
+crowns the Gloria Hill, called the Igreja da Gloria do Onterio, which
+overlooks the bay. Its commanding situation is very remarkable. In shape
+it is octagonal, and seems to be very solidly built. In front of the
+church there is a broad terrace, from whence a fine view may be enjoyed.
+On a moonlight night the picture presented from the Gloria Hill is
+something worth going miles on foot to behold. This church was the
+favorite resort of the late royal family when they were in the city,
+though much of their home life and all of their summers were passed in
+the hills of the Organ Mountains at the emperor's favorite
+resort,&mdash;Petropolis.</p>
+
+<p>The shops of Rio, notwithstanding they are generally small and
+situated upon streets so narrow that they would be called only lanes in
+North America,&mdash;close, confined, half-strangled
+thoroughfares,&mdash;will compare favorably in many respects with those
+of continental Europe. The larger number of the merchants here are
+French, together with a considerable sprinkling of German Jews. Indeed,
+can any one tell us where we shall not find this peculiar race
+represented in the trade centres of the wide world? In many of the
+fancy-goods stores the famous Brazilian feather flowers are exhibited
+for sale, but the best place to purchase these is at Bahia, where they
+are a specialty, and where their manufacture is said to have originated.
+The narrow streets, traversed by tramways, are at times almost
+impassable for pedestrians, and are often blocked by heavy mule teams
+for fifteen minutes at a time. By and by some lazy policeman makes his
+appearance and quietly begins to unravel the snarl, which he at length
+succeeds in doing, and the ordinary traffic of the thoroughfare is once
+more resumed. An unsightly gutter runs through the middle of some of
+these thoroughfares, which adds to the annoyances incident to ordinary
+travel. All are regularly laid out, chess-board fashion, very ill
+smelling, and harbor an infinite number of beggars and mangy dogs.</p>
+
+<p>It is customary for local merchants who employ European
+clerks&mdash;and there are many English, French, and Brazilians in Rio
+who do so,&mdash;to give them a fixed salary, quite moderate in amount,
+and to furnish them with lodgings also. The latter are of a very rude
+and undesirable character, in the business establishment itself, either
+over the store, or in the back part of it. The bedding which is
+furnished is of a makeshift character, rarely changed, and never
+properly aired. Exceedingly uncleanly domestic arrangements, or the
+entire absence of them, are also a serious matter in this connection,
+from a sanitary point of view. The clerks get their food at some
+neighboring restaurant, and contract irregular habits, all of which is
+both mentally and physically demoralizing. It is among this class of
+foreigners that the yellow fever finds the most ready victims. To sleep
+in these crowded business centres, in ill-ventilated apartments, with
+far from cleanly surroundings, is simply to provoke fatal illness, and
+during an epidemic of fever these places furnish fuel for the flames.
+Neatness and cleanliness among domestic associations in this city are
+entirely lost sight of and are totally disregarded by men and women.</p>
+
+<p>The Rua Direita is the State Street or Wall Street of Rio; a new
+name, which escapes us at this moment, has been given to it, but the old
+one is still the favorite and in common use. Here brokers, bankers, and
+commission merchants meet and bargain, and fiercely speculate in coffee.
+The principal shopping street is the Rua de Ouvidor, where the best
+stores and choicest retail goods are to be found. In the Rua dos
+Ourives,&mdash;"Goldsmith's Street,"&mdash;the display of fine jewelry,
+diamonds, and other precious stones recalls the Rue de la Paix of Paris.
+Diamonds are held at quite as high prices as in London or New York, and
+those of the best quality can be bought better at retail out of this
+country than in it. A poor quality of stone, off color, is imported and
+offered here as being of native production, and careless purchasers are
+not infrequently deceived by cunning dealers in these matters.</p>
+
+<p>Two vehicles cannot pass each other in this avenue without driving
+upon the narrow sidewalk. At times a deafening uproar prevails along
+these circumscribed lanes. The rough grinding of wheels, noisy
+bootblacks, whooping orange-sellers, screaming newspaper boys, howling
+dogs, the rattle of the street peddler, lottery ticket venders, fighting
+street gamins, all join to swell the mingled chorus. And yet these
+crowded thoroughfares would lose half of their picturesqueness were
+these elements to be banished from them. They each and all add a certain
+crude element of interest to this every-day picture of Vanity Fair.</p>
+
+<p>In their ambition to copy European and North American fashions, the
+gentlemen of Rio utterly disregard the eternal fitness of things,
+wearing broadcloth suits of black, with tall, stove-pipe hats, neither
+of which articles should be adopted for a moment in their torrid
+climate. Nothing could be more inappropriate. Linen clothing and light
+straw hats are the true costume for the tropics, naturally suggesting
+themselves in hot climates to the exclusion of woolen, heat-brewing
+costumes, which are necessary articles of wear in the north. Fashion,
+however, ignores climate and is omnipotent everywhere; comfort is
+subsidiary. Wear woolen clothing by all means, gentlemen of Rio, even
+when the thermometer hangs persistently at 95° Fahr. in the shade, and
+the human body perspires like a mountain stream.</p>
+
+<p>The tramway system of Rio is excellent in a crude way. Statistics
+show that fifty million passengers are annually transported by this
+popular means from one part of the city to another, and into the
+suburbs. The street railway was first introduced here by North American
+enterprise, the pioneer route being that between the city proper and the
+botanical garden. The prices of passage vary according to distances, as
+is the case with the London omnibuses. The cars are all open ones, of
+cheap, coarse construction, and far from inviting in appearance, being
+entirely unupholstered, and affording only hard board seats for
+passengers to sit upon. They are usually drawn by one small donkey,
+whose strength is quite overtasked, but the ground in the city is so
+nearly level that the cars move very easily and rapidly.</p>
+
+<p>There is one delightful excursion from Rio which nearly all strangers
+are sure to enjoy. We refer to the ascent of Corcovado, the mountain
+which looms over Botafogo Bay to the height of twenty-two hundred feet,
+and to the summit of which a railway has been constructed. The grades
+are extremely steep, and the road is what is called a centre line,
+worked upon the cog-wheel system, the ascent being very slow and
+winding. The principle is the same as that of the railway by which Mount
+Washington is ascended, in New Hampshire, or the Righi, in Switzerland.
+This road was built by the national government, but as a pecuniary
+speculation it does not pay, though it is of considerable indirect
+benefit to the city. We will not dilate upon the grand outlook to be had
+from the summit of the Hunchback, which takes in a bird's-eye view of
+the harbor and its surroundings, but will add that no one should come
+hither without ascending Corcovado. The top consists of two rounded
+masses of bare rock, and is walled in to prevent accident, there being
+on one side a perpendicular descent of a thousand feet. It gives one at
+first a dizzy sensation to look down upon the vast city spread out over
+the plain, from whence a hum of mingled sounds comes up with singular
+distinctness. Even the bells upon the mules which are attached to the
+tram-cars can be distinguished, and other sounds still more delicate and
+minute. Just so balloonists tell us that at two or three thousand feet
+in mid-air they can distinguish the voices of individuals upon the earth
+below them. The experienced traveler learns to be astonished at nothing,
+but there are degrees of pleasure induced by beautiful and majestic
+views which mount to the apex of our capacity for admiration. One can
+safely promise such a realizing sense to him who ascends the
+Corcovado.</p>
+
+<p>A tramway which starts from the centre of the city will take the
+traveler to the base of the hill, through roads lined by palms of great
+age and beauty, finally leaving him near the point from whence the steam
+road begins the upward journey.</p>
+
+<p>Nictheroy, just across the harbor of Rio, on the east side of the
+bay, is a sort of faubourg of the capital, with which it is connected by
+a line of steam ferry-boats, as Chelsea is with Boston, or Brooklyn with
+the city of New York. It is the capital of the province of Rio Janeiro,
+and has broader streets, is more reasonably laid out, and is kept more
+cleanly than Rio itself. Space is found for a profusion of attractive
+gardens, and the senses are greeted by sweet odors in the place of
+needlessly offensive smells, which attack one on all sides in the
+metropolis so near at hand. It is quite a relief to get on to one of the
+ferry-boats and cross over to Nictheroy occasionally, for a breath of
+pure air. This is the native Indian name of the place, and signifies
+"hidden water," particularly applicable when these land-locked bays were
+shrouded in dense tropical woods.</p>
+
+<p>Unlike Pará, Montevideo, and Buenos Ayres, this city has no special
+river communication with the interior, but her commerce is large and
+increasing. Railroads are more reliable feeders for business than either
+rivers or canals. It is a fact which is not generally realized, that
+Brazil has over six thousand miles of well-constructed railways in
+operation, besides having a telegraph system covering seven thousand
+miles of land service. In the construction of the railroads, the cost,
+so far as the ground work and grading was concerned, was reduced to the
+minimum, owing to the level nature of the country. As was the case in
+New Zealand, many of these railways were constructed at great expense,
+in anticipation of the wants of a future population, who it was hoped
+would settle rapidly upon the route which they followed. That is to say,
+many of these roads did not open communication between populous
+districts already in existence. This would have been perfectly
+legitimate. They run to no particular objective point, and seem to stop
+finally nowhere. The natural sequence followed. After being built and
+equipped with borrowed money, they were anything but self-supporting,
+and pecuniary aid from the government was freely given to enable them to
+be kept in operation.</p>
+
+<p>There must always come a day of reckoning for all such forced
+schemes, and the Brazilian railways were no exception to the rule. This
+is largely the primary cause of the present monetary troubles in this
+country, as well as in the Argentine Republic. The capital for the
+construction of these roads came mostly from England, and that country
+has been accordingly a heavy pecuniary sufferer. The rates charged for
+transportation upon most of the lines are also exorbitant, if we were
+rightly informed; so much so, in fact, as to prove nearly prohibitory.
+Scarcely any species of merchandise brought from a considerable distance
+inland will bear such freight charges and leave a margin for profit to
+the producer and shipper. Would-be planters of coffee and sugar-cane
+dare not enter upon raising these staples for the market, unless
+situated very near the shipping point, or near some available river's
+course, the latter means being naturally much cheaper than any form of
+railway transportation.</p>
+
+<p>Situated on the border of two zones, Rio Janeiro has the products of
+both within her reach, and thus possesses peculiar advantages for
+extensive trade and general commerce. It is in this latter direction
+that her progressive and enterprising merchants are endeavoring to
+extend the facilities of the port. The passenger landings&mdash;not
+wharves&mdash;which border the water front of the city here and there
+are of solid granite, from which at suitable intervals broad stone steps
+lead down to the water's edge, as on the borders of the Neva at St.
+Petersburg. We have few, if any, such substantial landing-places in our
+North American ports. We know of no harbor on the globe which enjoys a
+more eligible situation as regards the commerce of foreign countries,
+both of the New and the Old World. The one convenience so imperatively
+demanded is proper wharves for the landing and shipping of cargoes, thus
+obviating the necessity of the expensive and tedious lighter system. It
+is her many natural and extraordinary advantages which has led to so
+steady a growth of the city, notwithstanding the very serious drawback
+of an unwholesome climate, aggravated by the indolence and incapacity of
+the local authorities in sanitary matters. Both consumption and yellow
+fever have proved more fatal here than at any other port in South
+America, so far as we could draw comparisons.</p>
+
+<p>The well-equipped marine arsenal of Rio is of considerable interest
+and importance, as there is no other port on the Atlantic coast, between
+the Gulf of Mexico and Cape Horn, where a large modern vessel can go
+into dry dock for needed repairs. This receptacle is ample in size, and
+is substantially built of granite. Such an establishment as a national
+shipyard is a prime necessity to a commercial country like Brazil, which
+has eleven hundred leagues of seacoast.</p>
+
+<p>In the Plaza Constitution, which is a very grand and spacious park in
+the heart of the city, there is an elaborate and costly statue of the
+father of the late emperor, of heroic size. The pedestal is surrounded
+by four bronze groups, representing typical scenes of early Indian life
+in this country. The Paseo Publico is also a garden-like spot, extending
+three or four hundred feet along the bay. This is a cool and favorite
+resort of the populace. On the corners of the principal streets and
+squares there are little octagonal structures called kiosks, gayly
+painted, where hot coffee, lottery tickets, and bonbons are sold, as
+well as newspapers and flowers. Here, as in Havana, the city of Mexico,
+Naples, and many European cities, the lottery proves to be a terrible
+curse to the common people, draining their pockets and diverting them
+from all ideas of steady-going business. It is customary also for the
+regularly organized business establishments to patronize the lottery
+with never-failing regularity, charging a certain monthly sum to expense
+account, but the money is nevertheless paid out for lottery tickets. The
+bad moral effect of this upon clerks and all concerned is very obvious.
+When by chance any prize, be it never so small, is awarded, a great
+flurry is made of the fact, and advertisements emphasize it, thus to
+incite fresh investments in this organized public swindle. Tickets are
+sold by boys and girls, men and women, and half the talk of the
+thoughtless multitude is about the lottery, how to hit upon lucky
+numbers, and so on.</p>
+
+<p>It is a mistaken though popular idea that our New England
+consumptives have only to seek some tropical locality to alleviate their
+special trouble. Rio seems to be particularly fatal to persons suffering
+from pulmonary troubles. The same may be said of many other tropical
+regions. When consumption is developed in the Bahamas, Cuba, or the
+Sandwich Islands, for instance, it runs its fatal course with a speed
+never realized in the Northern States of America. Physicians do not send
+patients to foreign localities so indiscriminately as they used to.
+Almost every sort of climate is to be found within the borders of the
+United States, where also civilized comforts are more universally to be
+obtained than abroad. Besides which, an invalid does not have to brave
+seasickness and other ocean hardships, if sent to some eligible locality
+within our own borders.</p>
+
+<p>Though Brazil has long been, and is still, famous for its production
+of diamonds, precious stones, and gold, yet these are as nothing when
+compared with her exports of sugar, coffee, and hides, not taking into
+account her product of rice, cocoa, tobacco, dyewoods, and other
+important staples. A large portion of the abnormal growth of her forests
+is valuable for its timber, resins, fibre, and fruits. It is naturally a
+very rich country, with a world of wealth in its soil, but miserable
+financial mismanagement has caused the national treasury to become
+utterly bankrupt, and at this writing mercantile credit is an unknown
+quantity, so to speak. The natural resources of the country are
+unlimited; therefore it must be only a question of time when a healthy
+reaction shall set in, and a period of sound prosperity follow.</p>
+
+<p>It should be remembered in this connection that the immediate country
+of which we are speaking, that is, Brazil as a whole, is as large as the
+United States, leaving out the territory of Alaska.</p>
+
+<p class="p4"><a name="Ch_9"></a></p>
+
+<h3>CHAPTER IX.</h3>
+
+<p class="blockquote">Outdoor Scenes in Rio Janeiro.&mdash;The Little
+Marmoset.&mdash;The Fish Market.&mdash;Secluded Women.&mdash;The Romish
+Church.&mdash;Botanical Garden.&mdash;Various Species of
+Trees.&mdash;Grand Avenue of Royal Palms.&mdash;About
+Humming-Birds.&mdash;Climate of Rio.&mdash;Surrounded by Yellow
+Fever.&mdash;The Country Inland.&mdash;Begging on the
+Streets.&mdash;Flowers.&mdash;"Portuguese Joe."&mdash;Social
+Distinctions.</p>
+
+<p class="p2">It would require many pages to properly describe Rio
+Janeiro with its curious phases of street life, its manners and customs,
+its local peculiarities, and moving panorama of events, all combining to
+make up a unique personality. These out-of-door scenes go far to tell
+the true story of any special locality. The fruit and vegetable market,
+near Palace Square, is a highly attractive place to visit at early
+morning. The negro women venders, always stout and portly creatures,
+with heads turbaned in many-colored bandannas, are eloquent in
+recommending their articles for sale, and are also very shrewd at a
+bargain. It is not uncommon for these middle-aged negresses to stand six
+feet high, without shoes or stockings, and to turn the scales at double
+the average weight of men of the same color and class. These women were
+all slaves in their girlhood. As regards prices charged for provisions,
+fruits, and vegetables, in the markets of Rio, they seemed to the author
+rather exorbitant, but doubtless permanent residents do not pay such
+sums as are charged to strangers for the same articles. We were heartily
+laughed at by a housekeeper on stating the cost of a small basket of
+choice fruit which we had purchased, being told that we had paid four
+times its market value. However, it was well worth the price to us, who
+had just arrived from an ocean voyage of five thousand miles and more.
+On shipboard fruit is necessarily a scarce article, and it was certainly
+worth something extra to be introduced for the first time to the
+luscious products of this region.</p>
+
+<p>The abundance and variety of flowers, as well as their cheapness and
+fragrance, make them a desirable morning purchase, with all their dewy
+freshness upon them. Oranges, limes, pineapples, lemons,
+alligator-pears, cocoanuts, grapes, mangoes, with an infinite variety of
+other fruits, make up the stock in trade, together with squealing pigs,
+live turkeys, and noisy guinea-fowls. Here also are various gaudy
+feathered songsters, in cheap, home-made cages, besides monkeys,
+marmosets, and other household pets. The macaws, chained by the leg, and
+the screaming parrots vie with each other and with the monkeys in the
+amount of noise they make. Wicker baskets filled with live ducks, geese,
+and fowls are borne on the heads of native women, who have brought them
+many a long weary mile from far inland, hoping to make a few pennies by
+their sale. The chatter of the women, the cries of men and animals, an
+occasional quarrel between two noisy Italians, ending in furious
+vociferations and gesticulations, all add to the Babel of sound. One
+little marmoset put his hand into that of the author, looking so
+appealingly into his face that, imagining the little fellow might be
+hungry, some nice edibles, calculated to rejoice the monkey heart, were
+promptly purchased and gratefully received by the marmoset, which, in
+his eager haste to consume the same, stuffed the sides of either jaw to
+alarming proportions. The little creature was wonderfully human, and
+having found a kindly disposed stranger, insisted upon keeping one of
+his tiny hands in our own, while he rapidly filled his mouth with the
+other.</p>
+
+<p>It is interesting to observe the artistic manner in which the native
+women, Indians and blacks, mingle and arrange the various fruits and
+vegetables, showing a natural instinct for the harmonious blending of
+colors and forms. A pile of yellow oranges, green limes, and mangoes had
+a base of buff-colored bananas picturesquely arranged with all the
+pointed ends of the finger-like fruit outward, while a luscious ripe
+pineapple formed the apex of the pile, set off jauntily by its
+cactus-like, prickly leaves. On the borders of the market and along the
+iron railing of Palace Square, black-haired, bareheaded Italian women
+displayed cheap jewelry, imitation shell, gilded combs, and other fancy
+trinkets for sale, embracing priestly knick-knacks, ivory crosses,
+crucifixion scenes, coral beads, high-colored ribbons, and gaudy
+kerchiefs. The bronzed faces of these black-eyed, gypsy-like women were
+very cadaverous, as though the land of their adoption did not
+particularly agree with them. It seems hardly possible that these
+peddlers could gain a livelihood trading in these tawdry and utterly
+useless articles among such a humble, impecunious class of customers as
+frequent the market, and yet their numerous wide-open, shallow tin boxes
+showed a considerable stock of goods.</p>
+
+<p>The fish market is a curious sight in the variety of colors and
+shapes afforded by the inhabitants of the neighboring bay, where most of
+them are caught. What an array of finny monsters!&mdash;rock-fish, large
+as halibut, ray, skates, craw-fish, cuttle-fish, and prawns half as
+large as lobsters, together with devil-fish and oysters. Funny idea, but
+these oysters, many of them, are grown on trees! How is this possible?
+Let us tell you. The mangrove trees line the water's edge; many of the
+branches overhang the sea, and are submerged therein. To these young
+oysters affix themselves, and there they live and thrive. The same
+phenomenon was observed by the author some years ago in Cuba. These
+oysters are found in small corrugated shells scarcely larger than a
+good-sized English walnut, which they somewhat resemble.</p>
+
+<p>In the fish market one sees some very original characters among the
+negro women who preside over the finny tribe. They are large,
+good-natured creatures, quick at a trade, and quite intelligent. We
+recall one, who was a prominent figure among her companions. She was
+tall, portly, and strong as a horse. Her head was decked with a bandanna
+kerchief of many colors, her flat nose and protruding lips indicating
+close African relationship. Secured behind one of her ears was a
+cigarette, while a friction match protruded from the other, ready for
+use. Her coarse calico dress, of deep red, was covered in front by a
+brown linen apron extending nearly to her bare feet. Her uncovered arms
+were about as large as a man's legs. This negress dressed the several
+kinds of fish with the facility of an expert, making change for her
+patrons with commendable promptness, and dismissing them with a
+good-natured smile, adding some remark which was pretty sure to elicit
+hearty laughter.</p>
+
+<p>As we stood viewing these things, a noisy fellow made himself very
+obnoxious to every person whom he met. He had evidently been too often
+to the neighboring spirit-shops. A police officer arrested the man by
+touching him lightly on the shoulder and saying a few words to him;
+then, pointing ahead, made the fellow precede him to the lock-up. Though
+this disturber of the peace was half drunk, he knew too much to resist
+an officer, which is considered to be a heinous offense and is severely
+punished in Rio. It was natural to contrast this scene with the violent
+resistance offered by offenders with whom the police of New York and
+Boston have often to deal.</p>
+
+<p>The streets of Rio, at all times of the day, present a motley crowd
+of half-naked negroes, overladen donkeys, lazy Portuguese, Italian, and
+Spanish loafers, smoking cheap cigars, with here and there a Jew hawking
+articles of personal wear, women with various heavy articles upon their
+heads, water carriers, vociferous sellers of confectionery, all moving
+hither and thither, each one intent upon his or her individual interest
+and oblivious of all others. The background to this kaleidoscopic
+picture is the low, stucco-finished houses, painted in lively red,
+yellow, or blue, interspersed here and there by bas-reliefs, the whole
+reflecting the rays of a torrid sun. Though it is all quite different,
+yet somehow it recalls the narrow, crowded streets and bazaars of Cairo
+and Alexandria. It is very natural, in passing, to regard with interest
+those screened balconies, and to imagine what the lives may be of the
+half orientally excluded women within them, while occasionally catching
+luminous glances from curious eyes. The notes of a guitar, or those of
+the piano, often reach the ear of the passer-by, sometimes accompanied
+by the ringing notes of a song, for the ladies of Brazil are extremely
+fond of music; indeed, it seems to be almost their only distraction. Of
+books they know very little, and any literary reference is to them like
+speaking in an unknown tongue. Even the one poet of Portugal, Camoens,
+appears to be a stranger on this side of the Atlantic. The isolation and
+want of intellectual resort among the average women of this country are
+a sad reality, and are in a degree their excuse for some unfortunate
+indulgences and immoralities, domestic unfaithfulness being as common
+here as in Paris or Vienna.</p>
+
+<p>The majority of the Brazilian women marry at or before the age of
+sixteen, and become old, as we use the term, at thirty. The climate and
+the cares of maternity together age them prematurely. In early youth,
+and until they have reached twenty three or four years, they are almost
+universally very handsome, but this beauty is not retained, as is often
+the case among the sex in colder climes. Of their charms, it must be
+honestly admitted that they are almost purely physical (animal); the
+beauty which high culture imparts to the features, by informing the mind
+and developing the intellect, is not found as a rule among Brazilian
+women. Of course there are some delightful and notable exceptions to
+this conclusion, but we speak of the women, generally, of what is termed
+the better class. Now and then one meets with ladies who have been
+educated in the United States, or in Europe, upon whom early and refined
+associations have left an unmistakable impress. The superiority of such
+is at once manifest, both in general ease of manner, and the
+inexplicable charm which high breeding imparts.</p>
+
+<p>One searches in vain for a full-faced, well-developed, hearty looking
+man, among the natives in the streets of this capital. The average
+people, both high and low, are sallow, undersized, and cadaverous.
+Sunken cheeks and thin figures are the rule among the men, a passing
+North American or Englishman only serving to furnish a strong and
+suggestive contrast. These people have brilliantly expressive eyes, with
+handsome teeth and mouths, though half shriveled up and undeveloped in
+body. If one pauses to analyze the matter, he comes to the conclusion
+that vice and short commons, unwholesome morals and an unwholesome
+climate, have much to do with this prevailing appearance, which must be
+in part hereditary, to be so universal, commencing some way back and
+increasing with the generations. As in Mexico, gentlemen meeting on the
+streets of Rio hug each other with both arms, at the same time
+inflicting two or three quick, earnest slaps with the flat of the hand
+upon the back. This is perhaps after an absence of a few days; but if
+they meet ten times a day, off come their hats, and they shake hands
+with the most earnest demonstrations, both at meeting and at parting.
+Kissing on both cheeks is common enough in many parts of Europe among
+society people, but this hugging business between men meeting upon the
+public streets strikes one as a waste of the raw material.</p>
+
+<p>It goes without saying that the popular religion of Rio Janeiro and
+the country at large is that of the Romish Church, though all
+denominations are tolerated by the laws of the republic. In some
+districts it is the same here as in Mexico and continental Spain, the
+Protestants being persecuted in every possible manner. Nevertheless, the
+power of the priesthood, we were creditably informed, is on the wane.
+They owe the loss of it in a great measure to the gross abuse of their
+positions and their shamefully immoral lives. No one conversant with the
+true state of the case, be he Protestant or Romanist, can deny this
+statement. The author thought that the Roman Catholic priests of Mexico
+were about as wicked a set of men as he had ever met with, taken as a
+whole, but further experience in South America has convinced him that
+the Mexican priesthood have their equals in immorality in Brazil, and
+elsewhere south of Panama. The popular religion of the country is one of
+the saddest features of its national existence, forming the great
+drag-weight upon its moral, and indirectly upon its physical
+progress.</p>
+
+<p>The Botanical Garden of Rio is a justly famous resort, situated about
+six miles from the city, behind the Corcovada, between that mountain and
+the sea, but it is easily reached by tramway, or better still by a
+delightful drive along the shore of Botafogo Bay, over a road shaded by
+imperial palms, together with occasional clusters of the ever beautiful
+bamboo, the sight of which recalled the luxuriant specimens seen in
+Japan and Sumatra. The nearest approach to this admirable public garden
+is to be found at Kandy, in the island of Ceylon, which, as we remember
+it, is considerably more extensive, and presents a larger variety of
+tropical vegetation. The examples of the india-rubber tree, especially,
+are finer in the Asiatic garden than we find them at Rio. A tall,
+slim-stemmed sloth-tree, straight as an arrow, and bare of branches or
+leaves except at the top, was pointed out to us here. It is so called
+because it is the favorite resort of that animal. This creature is very
+easily captured, and the natives are fond of its meat, which may be
+nutritious, but it can hardly be called palatable. As it is almost
+entirely a vegetable-feeding animal, we know not why there should be any
+objection to the meat it produces. The sloth climbs up into the tall
+branches of the tree described, though it does so with considerable
+difficulty, and there remains until it has consumed every leaf and
+tender shoot which it bears; then the voracious creature wanders off to
+find and denude another.</p>
+
+<p>The bread-fruit tree is interesting, with its handsome feathery
+leaves, and its large, melon-shaped product. It grows to fifty feet in
+height, and bears fruit constantly for three quarters of the year, then
+takes a three months' rest. It is only equaled in the profuseness of its
+product by the banana, forming one of the staple sources of food supply
+to the lazy, indolent denizens of tropical regions. The candelabra-tree,
+with its silver-tinted foliage, is one of the beauties of this charming
+Brazilian garden. Among other notable trees are fine specimens of the
+camphor-tree, the tamarind, the broad-spreading mango, opulent in
+fruitfulness, the flowering magnolia, also the soap-tree, with its
+saponaceous berries. The cochineal cactus was thriving after its kind,
+near by what is called the cow-tree, which interests one quite as much
+as any of its companions, rising over a hundred feet in height, with a
+red bark and fig-like leaves. The milk which it yields is of cream-like
+consistency, very similar to that from a cow, and it may be used for any
+ordinary purpose to which we put that article. The tree is tapped, as we
+treat the sugar-maple, in order to obtain its very remarkable and useful
+product. It is nutritious, that is freely admitted; but most probably it
+has some medicinal properties of a latent character, though of this we
+could learn nothing.</p>
+
+<p>The world-famed avenue of royal palms in the Botanical Garden of Rio
+is unique, being undoubtedly the finest tropical arboretum in the world
+arranged by the hand of man. We saw here a delicate little member of the
+palm family, a sort of baby tree, known as the small-stemmed palm of
+Pará. Many trees from Asia have become domesticated side by side with
+the maple, the pine, and the elm from New England. Some of the large
+trees were decked with orchids and hanging lichens, the dainty and
+fantastic ornamentation of nature herself, not promoted by artificial
+means. The humidity of the atmosphere especially facilitates the growth
+of this beautiful family of plants, which are as erratic in shape as
+they are variegated in prismatic colors.</p>
+
+<p>It would require a whole chapter to do even partial justice to this
+remarkable garden behind the Corcovado mountain.</p>
+
+<p>One sees here myriads of delicate humming-birds, wonderful animated
+gems of color, remarkable in Brazil for their metallic hues. Such
+brilliancy of lustre, glancing in the warm sunlight, is fascinating to
+behold. The Spaniards call these delicate little creatures "winged
+flowers," and the Portuguese, "flower-kissers." A lady resident of Rio
+told the author of the vain attempt of a patient German scientist to
+domesticate a few specimens of these birds. He commenced by taking them
+from the nest soon after they were hatched, at various periods of their
+growth, and even after they had learned to fly, but although infinite
+care was taken to supply their usual food, and also not to confine them
+too closely, the naturalist was fain to acknowledge the impossibility of
+accomplishing his object, though the experiment extended over a period
+of two years. The ceaseless activity of this frail little bird renders
+any circumscribing of its liberty fatal to existence.</p>
+
+<p>Delicate, innocent, and apparently harmless as butterflies, these
+diminutive creatures are often very pugnacious, and when two males
+engage in a contest with each other, which is not seldom the case, one
+or the other often loses his life. If disturbed during the period of
+incubation, they will attack large birds and even human beings,
+directing their long, needle-like bills at the offender's eyes. Our
+informant told us the particulars of a man who, under such
+circumstances, came very near losing both of these organs. Scientists
+have succeeded in preserving over two hundred different specimens of
+this little feathered beauty, representing that number of species
+indigenous to Brazil. Some of these are only five or six times as large
+as a humble-bee. The artificial flowers already referred to as being for
+sale in the shops of Rio depend almost entirely upon the humming-bird
+for their delicate beauty; no other feathered creature affords such
+marvelous colors and exquisitely fine material for the purpose. The best
+specimens of this work are necessarily expensive, requiring, besides a
+truly artistic taste and eye, skill of execution, infinite patience, and
+much time, to produce them. We saw a choice design of this sort,
+measuring about fifteen by twenty inches, framed under a glass, the
+design being a bouquet of natural flowers, for which the asking price
+was five hundred dollars; four hundred and fifty had been refused. The
+feathers were almost entirely from the throat and breast of
+humming-birds, arranged by a woman who had made this work the occupation
+of her life from girlhood. We learned that such a piece of artistic
+effect represented nearly a year's labor!</p>
+
+<p>One also finds in the Rio shops flower-pieces ingeniously formed from
+the scales of high-colored fishes, as well as from the wings and bodies
+of native insects characterized by brilliant colors, but these of course
+will not compare in delicacy and beauty with the products of the
+feathers. The Brazilian beetle is prepared in a myriad of ornamental
+forms and in many combinations, sometimes mingled with feathers. In the
+Rua dos Ourives there are two or three shops where a great variety of
+such objects is offered for sale. These stores have also many choice
+native stones of great beauty, including the true Brazilian topaz, for
+which there is a growing and appreciative demand.</p>
+
+<p>The idea prevails that the climate of Rio is like some parts of
+Africa, suffocatingly hot all the time, but this is not correct. The
+American consul told the author that he had suffered more from the cold
+than from the heat in the environs of the city, where his residence is
+in a rather elevated district. He declared that the temperature, even in
+town, was rarely so extreme as is often found in the cities of the
+United States. He believes that the yellow fever might be effectually
+banished from Rio by the adoption of strict quarantine and effective
+sanitary measures in the city proper. As we have already intimated,
+consumption prevails here to an alarming extent. This is doubtless owing
+to the peculiar dampness of the atmosphere. We found that statistics
+show one half as many deaths from consumption as from yellow fever,
+taking the aggregate of five years. "The one disease comes annually in
+the heat of summer only, as a rule," said our informant, "while the
+other prevails more or less all the year round, year in and year out."
+During the two weeks which the author stopped at Rio, forty and fifty
+fatal cases of yellow fever a day were recorded, and doubtless more than
+that number actually fell victims to its ravages, as only those who died
+in the several hospitals were enumerated. We were in the city in June,
+one of the winter months in this latitude. Heretofore the fever has
+nearly always disappeared, as an epidemic, by the first or middle of
+May, even in years when it has been most prevalent and fatal.
+Notwithstanding the charm of novelty which so absorbs the stranger, we
+are free to confess there was a lurking dread of the subtle enemy which
+proved so swift and fatal all about us. Fifty deaths daily by yellow
+fever in a population exceeding half a million only served to show that
+it still lingered in a sporadic form where the seeds are perhaps never
+entirely exterminated. It most readily attacks strangers and the
+unacclimated, but no class is exempt. The indigent, careless, drunken
+portion of the population are no more liable, we were informed, to
+contract the disease than others of better habits. This outrages all
+preconceived notions of diseases of this character, but we were assured
+by good authority that it was really so. The day we left Rio, the
+English Bishop, a most estimable man, who was universally respected and
+beloved, died of the fell disease.</p>
+
+<p>The summer season begins in October and lasts until April, and is
+better known here as the wet season, the rain falling with great
+regularity nearly every afternoon, and at about the same time. Usually
+an hour of liberal downpour is experienced, then it promptly clears up
+and becomes bright and pleasant. The warmest month is February. The
+winter months are May, June, July, and August; this is the dry season,
+during which very little rain falls. The climate appears to be
+particularly injurious to persons who are troubled with a torpid liver.
+Elephantiasis is indigenous, but it is not very common; the few cases
+seen were upon the streets, and were those of negroes who exposed their
+diseased limbs to excite public pity, making the affliction an excuse
+for systematic begging. A score of such unfortunates were seen daily in
+and about Palace Square, and one or two regularly posted themselves
+before the Globe Restaurant, which is the Maison Dorée of Rio
+Janeiro.</p>
+
+<p>The well-to-do merchants do not think of living in town, but select
+some pleasant spot in the environs, where they erect picturesque homes,
+often extremely attractive to the eye architecturally, and surrounded by
+lovely gardens, containing both native and exotic plants and trees. The
+contrast between commercial and rural Rio is something very striking.
+One presents all the grossness and belittling aspect of money-getting,
+the other the graces, liberality, and ennobling appearance of culture
+and refinement. Of all the trees in these attractive environs, the palm,
+in its great variety, challenges one's admiration most. We mention it
+frequently, for it was our constant delight. At every turn one comes
+upon it, in its several species,&mdash;the cocoa-palm, the palmetto, the
+cabbage, the assai-palm, the fanshaped-palm, and scores of other
+varieties. The hand and taste of woman are seen in these gardens of the
+environs. Flowers are selected and arranged as only feminine taste could
+suggest, while the broad piazzas are simply floral bowers and gardens of
+placid delights.</p>
+
+<p>The province round about Rio is beautified and rendered profitable by
+the many large coffee plantations, particularly attractive when the
+well-trimmed bushes are seen in full bearing, bending under the weight
+of red berries. Orange orchards abound, the branches of the trees heavy
+with the rich golden fruit; yet as an orange-producing section, Florida,
+in our own country, is fully its equal. The fruit of the southern part
+of the United States is much better and more intelligently cultivated,
+and is larger and fairer, than the fruit of this region. We except
+Bahia, however, in this remark; that is the very paradise of oranges.
+Besides the abundance of fruits, Flora reigns in Brazil, and near to Rio
+bignonias, passifloras, variegated honeysuckles, morning-glories,
+magnolias, and orchids mingle with the dark green mango trees and the
+delicate light green mimosas which meet the eye everywhere. It appears
+that the several species of flowers have their special season for
+blooming, when they are at their best, so that a large variety is always
+seen in bloom at all times in the year. We must confess to having felt
+half lost without the "Queen of Flowers," our grand favorite; but as to
+roses, it was found that the ever present ants maintained a fixed
+hostility to them, rendering it particularly difficult to rear them in
+this country. In all of the many lands we have visited, the author has
+never seen such superbly developed roses as are produced in and about
+the city of Boston. There is some quality in the climate of New England,
+added to the genius of her famous florists, especially adapted to their
+perfection.</p>
+
+<p>The broad leafed umbrella-tree&mdash;<i>chapeo do sul</i>&mdash;is
+often seen in this neighborhood cultivated as a shade tree, both in town
+and country, while the thick clustering bamboo, so often referred to,
+adds its unique beauty to the environs in all directions. The banana and
+plantain, both cultivated and wild, thrive hereabouts, and form an
+important adjunct to the food supply of all classes. The banana is
+cultivated by offsets, and is of rapid growth, coming to maturity and
+bearing fruit a few months after it is planted. Brazil seems to be well
+called the home of fruits and flowers.</p>
+
+<p>Has the reader ever chanced to hear of "Portuguese Joe," of Rio
+Janeiro? He is a man as well known in the capital of Brazil as the late
+emperor. Ostensibly he is only a successful shipchandler, wholesale
+grocer, purveyor&mdash;by appointment&mdash;to the American and British
+naval ships which put into Rio, or which are stationed here; but over
+and above his extensive commercial relations, we found him to be a Good
+Samaritan. He is quite ready for legitimate business, and has realized a
+handsome fortune by fair and honorable dealing. He charges a reasonable
+profit upon the various supplies which he furnishes, but his goods are
+exactly what he represents them to be, and he has the confidence of all
+who deal with him. His establishment grew up from a small beginning, he
+having come from Portugal to engage in business when only thirteen years
+of age. To-day he is in the prime of life, and his store on the Paraça
+de Dom Pedro II. is a city institution. The highest official, the
+wealthiest bankers, and the most influential merchants are glad to shake
+him cordially by the hand. Signor J. C. V. Mendes&mdash;the other title
+being a trade <i>nom de plume</i> of long standing&mdash;is a gentleman
+by nature, and a true friend to all strangers who seek his counsels on
+arriving at Rio. We fortunately became acquainted with Signor Mendes on
+the first day of our landing, and are glad to speak of his ready
+courtesy and desire to make all Americans at home who arrive in the
+capital of Brazil. It is no particular recommendation, but it is a
+pleasure to say that, with his calm, self-possessed manner, his
+brilliant black eyes and genial smile lighting up his bronzed features,
+he is unquestionably the handsomest man whom we chanced to meet in Rio
+Janeiro. Manly beauty is not an imperative adjunct to excellence, but is
+still a very agreeable accessory.</p>
+
+<p>One naturally anticipates but will not find any social distinction as
+to race in this city. Color opposes no obstacle to progress in
+educational or official position. Pupils of the public schools meet on
+the same footing and mingle promiscuously. There is nothing to prevent
+the intelligent negro from becoming a judge or minister of state, or
+from filling any high civil office, if he develops proper ability. Many
+bureaus in the public offices are held by colored men, observably in the
+custom house, and the race generally is regarded with far more respect
+than with us in the United States.</p>
+
+<p>Providence has liberally endowed the larger portion of Brazil with a
+fertile soil, an unrivaled flora, and a delightful climate. For a
+tropical country, it is remarkably temperate and salubrious. It has
+mountain scenery excelling that of Switzerland, with fertile valleys
+surpassing those of Italy, and myriads of rivers affording ample means
+of transportation with natural and abundant irrigation. Unlike many of
+her sister states, including those on the west coast of the continent,
+she is exempt from earthquakes and the destruction caused by devouring
+tidal waves. While so much of Mexico and thousands of miles of the
+Pacific coast are scorched by drought, there are no districts of Brazil
+exempt from regular and refreshing rains, the importance of which cannot
+be overestimated. To crown all else, the splendid harbor of her capital
+by its size, safety, and beauty invites the commerce of the world. It
+would certainly seem, when we realize all of these special advantages,
+that nature had intended so large and favored a portion of the globe to
+ultimately be the home of a great, powerful, and prosperous nation.</p>
+
+<p>That the material growth of Brazil is mainly in the right direction
+is manifest to the most casual observer. The many lines of railways
+penetrating the country in every province will by and by prove to be
+effective means of development. Wherever the facilities are liberally
+afforded, not only individuals, but ideas, are sure to travel, and
+social and material improvement must follow. Civilization keeps pace
+with the iron horse. When the street rails penetrated the cañons of
+Utah, polygamy was doomed. Material facts are stronger than arguments of
+well-meaning moralists. The establishment of so many railroads through
+the wilds of South America may not be a paying matter, it is not so at
+this writing, but a great moral purpose, and that of true progress, will
+be subserved by them. They will be the agents of enlightenment and
+civilization to many wild tribes of Indians, at the same time opening
+broad and favorable tracts of territory for settlement by emigrants from
+the crowded and overstocked states of Europe.</p>
+
+<p>On the homeward passage, when we visited Rio Janeiro for the second
+time, it was found to be rife with politics; but like Joseph's coat, of
+so many colors as to be confusing to a foreigner. It may reasonably be
+doubted if the natives themselves clearly understood what they wanted.
+The revolutionary element seemed very strong, and was led by men who had
+nothing to lose by agitation, but everything to gain by a lawless
+uprising. The most intelligent citizens predicted a popular revolution
+of some sort in the near future, and their anticipation proved to be
+correct. Revolution is chronic in South America.</p>
+
+<p class="p4"><a name="Ch_10"></a></p>
+
+<h3>CHAPTER X.</h3>
+
+<p class="blockquote">Petropolis.&mdash;Summer Residence of the Citizens
+of Rio.&mdash;Brief Sketch of the late Royal Family.&mdash;Dom Pedro's
+Palace.&mdash;A Delightful Mountain Sanitarium.&mdash;A Successful but
+Bloodless Revolution.&mdash;Floral Delights.&mdash;Mountain
+Scenery.&mdash;Heavy Gambling.&mdash;A German
+Settlement.&mdash;Cascatinha.&mdash;Remarkable Orchids.&mdash;Local
+Types.&mdash;A Brazilian Forest.&mdash;Compensation.</p>
+
+<p class="p2">Petropolis,&mdash;or the city of Peter,&mdash;the
+fashionable summer resort of the citizens of Rio Janeiro, is a modern
+town, dating only from 1844, and contains at that season of the year a
+population of some eight thousand. The intense heat of the crowded city
+in the summer months, not to mention its usually unhealthy condition,
+makes even the acclimated inhabitants seek a refuge in the hills. So
+long as the fever continues to rage, merchants leave their families
+here, and come up nightly to sleep and breathe the fresh, pure air. It
+is only on the coast and in crowded communities that epidemics prevail.
+We were told by residents that a case of yellow fever never originated
+at Petropolis; that it was too elevated for the citizens to fear
+anything of the sort. It is so generally throughout the country; the
+yellow fever prevails only in the ports and at sea level, a peculiarity
+also observable in Cuba and the several West Indian islands. When the
+fever prevails, as it does annually at Havana and Matanzas, the wealthy
+citizens, and all unacclimated people who are able to do so, retire
+inland to elevated localities, where they are comparatively safe from
+the scourge. The same rule applies to the coast cities of South
+America,&mdash;Pará, Pernambuco, Bahia, etc. It is a very important
+matter to the merchants of Rio that they have, within two or three
+hours' reach of their overheated city offices, a resort where they can
+sit in a dry skin and sleep in quiet and comfort. Had they not this
+resort, they would be obliged to succumb to disease, or to leave Rio for
+half of the year annually.</p>
+
+<p>Petropolis is situated in the Organ Mountain range, about thirty
+miles from the metropolis, and is something less than three thousand
+feet above tide-water. The town is built in a slight depression among
+the well wooded hills, forming a vale of alpine beauty, easily reached
+from Rio by boat and rail. The latter portion of the trip, comprising a
+sharp mountain ascent, is made by a system of railroad like that by
+which the summit of Corcovado is reached. The popular route is to cross
+the harbor at Rio by a large and commodious steamboat, a distance of
+twelve miles, and then to take the steam-cars. There is also another
+railroad route, all the way by land. The late emperor's summer palace is
+the prominent feature of Petropolis, together with its elaborate
+gardens, covering some fifteen or twenty acres of land. Hither come the
+diplomatic representatives of foreign nations to enjoy the salubrious
+mountain air and the hospitable society of the best people of Rio
+Janeiro, and to lay aside many of the constraints of city life. A great
+contrast is apparent here to the crowded streets and narrow lanes of the
+uncleanly capital, while the air is undoubtedly remarkable for its
+healthful and invigorating qualities. The summer palace is surrounded by
+elegantly arranged grounds, planted with rare flowers and choice trees
+from every clime. In general effect it resembles an old English country
+house, except for the tropical vegetation, the fine verdant lawns of
+grass, the only ones of any extent in the country, being particularly
+noticeable. This mountain resort has been called the Versailles of
+Brazil.</p>
+
+<p>It seems appropriate to recall, in brief, the family history of the
+late emperor, Dom Pedro II., of whose favorite abiding-place we are
+speaking. He enjoyed a distinguished reputation among modern rulers, was
+liberal, scholarly, and possessed of great experience of men and the
+world at large. Having been an observant and studious traveler in many
+parts of the globe, his endeavor was to adopt the best well-tried
+systems of other governments in educational and other matters relating
+to political economy. His system was mild, progressive, and designed for
+the general good of the people over whom he presided; in fact, it was
+too mild for the turbulent, unlettered masses of the provinces of
+Brazil. They were not intellectually prepared for such leniency.</p>
+
+<p>The royal family of Portugal fled hither in 1808, at the time of
+Napoleon's invasion of that country, but returned to Europe in 1821. A
+national congress assembled at Rio Janeiro the next year, and chose Dom
+Pedro, eldest son of King Joâo VI. of Portugal, "Perpetual Defender of
+Brazil." He proclaimed the independence of the country, and was chosen
+"Constitutional Emperor." In 1831 he abdicated in favor of his only son,
+Dom Pedro II., who reigned as emperor until November 15, 1889, when he
+was dethroned by a bloodless revolution, and, together with his family,
+was exiled, Brazil declaring herself a republic under the title she now
+bears of the United States of Brazil. The feeling was nearly universal
+among the Brazilians that they desired to live under a republican form
+of government, but Dom Pedro II. was a man of such estimable character,
+so just, intelligent, and popular a ruler, that the revolution, which
+finally dethroned him, was deferred long after it was determined upon.
+The peaceful manner in which it was finally achieved is perhaps without
+precedent, and shows how thoroughly the mind of the active spirits of
+the nation was made up to this end. It was a political <i>coup
+d'état</i>, accomplished without the burning of an ounce of gunpowder.
+The emperor himself seemed to accept the position as a foregone
+conclusion. We learned from persons who had been quite intimate with him
+that he had already anticipated the whole condition of affairs,
+foreseeing that it was inevitable. If this is so, he was wise as well as
+diplomatic and humane, for he had enough devoted adherents about him to
+have made a serious though doubtless futile conflict for possession.
+There are always myriads of the unthinking rabble ready to join and even
+fight for authority which is already established, especially when
+seconded, as was the case with Dom Pedro, by a strong personal
+popularity.</p>
+
+<p>The palace at Petropolis is, with its extensive grounds, now offered
+for sale, the country having no further use for palaces. It is
+understood that a local syndicate propose to purchase the whole and cut
+up the land into building lots, which are very much in demand just at
+this writing. It would not be surprising if Petropolis were to double
+its population during the next four or five years. Speculators are
+already at work "booming" the place, and a summer home here is just what
+the Rio merchant requires.</p>
+
+<p>Some queer stories are told about the every-day life of Dom Pedro by
+his neighbors. It seems, according to these reports,&mdash;for the truth
+of which we cannot vouch,&mdash;that he often chose as his associates
+and advisers uneducated persons of very humble origin, who had
+accumulated wealth by shrewdness and industry, besides which he latterly
+exhibited many very peculiar traits of character; but, as we say, it is
+difficult to decide whether these stories are to be relied upon. It is
+more than hinted that he had grown very weak minded, or, as the Scotch
+say, had a bee in his bonnet. At all events, it now appears that he did
+not possess the necessary energy and executive ability requisite to
+control a naturally turbulent and restless people, and that his summary
+dethronement, so peaceably accomplished, must have come sooner or
+later.</p>
+
+<p>It is very natural to speculate upon the present state of affairs in
+this country, since the change has taken place. To render a republic
+possible and successful requires a liberal degree of intelligence among
+the common people, that is, the masses at large. Unfortunately Brazil
+cannot boast of such a condition among her population. The educated,
+cultured portion of the community is quite limited, consequently the
+country is hardly fit for self-government. Ignorant masses are only
+amenable to the strong arm, and cannot, while untaught, be controlled
+through the influence of reason and argument. Past experience shows us
+that while a republic in the United States, France, or Switzerland means
+freedom and order, in these half barbaric southern states it signifies
+an alternation of revolution and of military despotism. Subject to the
+rule of Dom Pedro, Brazil was alike free from despotism and from
+disorder, so that it may be questioned whether his liberal reign was
+not, under the circumstances, the truest republic for which Brazil was
+fitted. Indeed, while these lines are being written, the question of a
+return to the former style of government is openly discussed at Rio
+Janeiro, where a state of political imbroglio exists very similar to the
+conditions which caused the late disastrous civil war in Chili, on the
+other side of the Andes. Such a shocking outcome, however, need never be
+feared in Brazil as has been developed by the sister republic on the
+Pacific coast, since both intelligence and civilization are far more
+advanced in Brazil than in Chili.</p>
+
+<p>The town of Petropolis and its neighborhood possesses good roads for
+driving purposes, this location having been for several years the pride
+and pleasure of the late emperor, who made the place what it now is by
+his liberal expenditures and the constant improvements which he
+instituted, paying for them out of his own private purse. The first
+selection of this healthful spot was also his idea, and he felt a
+personal pride in doing everything possible towards making it popular.
+The roads referred to lead one through delightful scenery and highly
+cultivated neighborhoods, beautified by art, until finally they lose
+themselves among the hills and amidst impenetrable forests. There are
+several fairly good hotels here, where the charges are moderate and the
+domestic conveniences execrable! The great variety of trees to be found
+in and about the town is marvelous, the palm and pine prevailing,
+interspersed with the beautiful feathery Brazilian cedar. The tree-ferns
+which grow here to a height of twelve feet are great favorites, with
+their bright green fronds, six feet in length, almost reaching the
+ground as the stalk bends gracefully with their weight. The scarlet
+passion flower is trained as an ornamental creeper in nearly every
+garden-plot, and tall fuchsias in various colors and pearl white
+camellias also abound. We have rarely seen the camellia in such variety
+of colors, or such profusion of flowers. It is often found blooming
+beside tall coffee-trees, themselves full of deep green clustering
+berries, the tree, where grown for ornamental purposes, being permitted
+to reach full proportions. Here one sees also a profusion of the rich
+green bamboo in prolific groves by the roadside, or surrounding humble
+cottages, thus forming a welcome shade. In midsummer, so rapid is the
+growth of the bamboo that every twenty-four hours adds two feet to its
+height, or in other words, it grows an inch each hour throughout the day
+and the night. Jack's fabulous beanstalk hardly surpasses the bamboo,
+though the former is an amusing myth, while the latter is simply a
+literal fact. Some very lovely gladioli and white roses were noted as
+adding their beauty to these charming hill gardens in the Organ
+Mountains. So abundant were the flowers of various kinds in the grounds
+which surrounded our hotel, that any one was welcome to pluck and
+appropriate them to the extent of his fancy. The public tables were
+supplied with fresh ones every day, forming great living pyramids of
+beautiful colors, emitting inimitable fragrance.</p>
+
+<p>Our hotel was situated on gently rising ground, commanding a
+considerable view of the plateau on which the town stands, with Dom
+Pedro's palace in the middle foreground, shaded by groups of palms. It
+was a delight to sit out-of-doors and watch the cloud effects as they
+hung over the tree-covered hills and peaks, closing their ranks now and
+again, and sweeping over the valley like a dashing charge of cavalry; or
+cautiously advancing in single scuds like infantry deployed as
+skirmishers; or, again, mottling the sky in white and peaceful masses.
+At the brief twilight hour, it was like a living poem to note the
+varying sunset hues creeping along the valley and gleaming through the
+branches of the grand old trees which broke the sky-line of the
+mountains, and the soft lilac blush of the sky, like a profile in
+silhouette, with sharp curves and infinite detail. A deep, broad gulch,
+opening towards the west, afforded a lingering view of the golden,
+crimson, and pink horizon, long after the day had closed, and until the
+stars gleamed forth through the transparent atmosphere and glorified the
+advent of night.</p>
+
+<p>This is nature in her happy moods. A little later, to these exquisite
+delights of the moment, an ugly obverse presents itself. "Only man is
+vile."</p>
+
+<p>From opposite the open window where we sit penning these
+lines,&mdash;it is a Sabbath evening,&mdash;there comes the sharp rattle
+of diceboxes and billiard balls, together with the loud, angry talk of
+persons engaged at gambling games of cards, interrupted by the repeated
+cries of the presiding genius of the roulette table: "Make your game,
+signors, make your game," as he coolly rakes in the winnings of the
+bank. Italian, French, English, and Spanish adventurers mingle their
+jargon with Portuguese in the noisy throng who crowd the gambling
+"hell." It was said that seventeen thousand dollars were won by a
+Portuguese gentleman, last evening, in this "casino" just across the
+street, so losers to a like amount, on the same occasion, must have been
+rendered half desperate. The wretchedly demoralizing effect of gambling
+is apparent throughout all the cities of this republic, the common
+lotteries tempting the mass of the people, and various games of chance
+others who have money to risk.</p>
+
+<p>Petropolis is extremely attractive in many respects, the scenery
+round about it very much resembling that of Switzerland. The broad
+streets are lined with such pretty villas and attractive gardens that
+one falls to making romantic pictures of possible delightful things
+which might naturally happen in them, and is led to peer into nooks and
+corners with a prying earnestness amounting almost to impertinence.
+These avenues contain in their centres deep canals, thirty or forty feet
+wide, having granite linings and the upper portion of the banks neatly
+sodded with grass. Through these canals the water from the surrounding
+hills flows in a pure, rapid stream, carrying away the drainage of the
+town, which is emptied into them by underground conduits. These
+water-ways are crossed by numerous small but substantial bridges,
+painted scarlet, while the rushing river imparts a delightful
+coolness.</p>
+
+<p>The largest portion of the permanent inhabitants of Petropolis is
+composed of Germans, whose native tongue is heard on all sides, while
+the familiar clatter of wooden shoes speaks of Berlin, Dresden, and
+other German continental centres. The rosy-cheeked, flaxen-haired,
+blue-eyed children are also prima facie evidence of the prevailing
+nationality, though there are a large number of Italians who reside
+here. The latter keep small shops and are peddlers of fruit, or marble
+cutters and stucco workers, while many others find employment as
+gardeners.</p>
+
+<p>The highway to a certain mining district passes through the town, and
+many donkeys laden with inland products are constantly to be seen in the
+streets en route for Rio, giving the place a business aspect hardly
+warranted by the local trade. From the neighboring hills charcoal
+burners drive their donkeys every morning, laden with that article for
+domestic use in the town, forming picturesque groups on the public
+square, where they await purchasers. Others bring small-cut wood from
+the hill for fuel, packed in little, narrow, toy carts, each drawn by a
+single donkey. Scores of donkeys bearing tall, widespread loads of green
+fodder are so hidden by the mass of greenery which they struggle under,
+that none of the animal is seen at all, leading one to imagine that
+Birnam wood has literally come to Dunsinane. These animals are almost
+always attended by women, who sell the fodder in the market and return
+home at night with such domestic necessities as are required. Women are
+the laborers here, as at home in Germany, where they perform the hard
+work, while their husbands guzzle beer and smoke endless tobacco.</p>
+
+<p>Petropolis is, as we have said, steadily growing, but the banishment
+of the emperor will retard its progress, as it takes from the town its
+strongest element of assured success. We counted about a score of fine,
+large residences in course of construction. The climate here is like
+that of June in New England, and the verdure of the trees is
+perennial.</p>
+
+<p>There is a charming excursion which strangers rarely fail to enjoy,
+namely, to a place familiarly known as the Cascades. The village
+adjoining these falls is called Cascatinha, and is situated in the lap
+of the Organ Mountains, about five miles from Petropolis. The road
+thither leads along the side of a small but boisterous stream, which
+gladdens the ear with its merry, gurgling notes, past lowly, thatched
+cottages, orange orchards, bamboo and banana groves, and green breadths
+of well-cultivated, undulating land, finally ending in the midst of a
+panorama of bold mountain peaks, lovely with varied gradations of tint,
+and subtlest effects of light and shade. Here the abundant water
+furnished by the river, which is artificially adapted to the purpose,
+forms a series of cascades and falls, at the same time furnishing the
+motive power for operating extensive cotton and woolen mills, which give
+employment to several hundred men and women. A very humble type of life
+mingles hereabouts with that of a much more refined character. Naked or
+half-clad children are seen here and there playing with those who are
+comparatively well dressed. Nice cottage homes adjoin those of the
+poorest class. Children of both sexes are observed, only partially
+covered with rags, who are endowed with a loveliness of eyes and
+features, together with handsome figures, causing one to reflect upon
+the unfulfilled possibilities of such childish beauty.</p>
+
+<p>Men and women often bring into Petropolis and offer for sale
+beautiful orchids, which they find in the woods not far away. These they
+pack in green leaves, retaining a piece of the original bark or wood
+upon which they have grown. These pretty flowerings of exuberant nature
+are sold for a trifling price. Some are very remarkable in form and
+color, such as we have never before chanced to see, and for really rare
+ones the finders ask and receive good prices. We saw among them a
+specimen of the Flor del Espiritu Santo,&mdash;"Flower of the Holy
+Spirit,"&mdash;to find which is thought to bring to the fortunate
+discoverer good luck, as well as a handsome price for the orchid. These
+women may have passed whole days in their search of the forest,
+patiently breaking their way through nearly impassable jungles, before
+nature reveals to them one of her most dainty gems. As a rule, the
+forests are so dense that it is useless to try to penetrate them, except
+by following some beaten route,&mdash;a charcoal burner's road or a
+straggling way formed by a watercourse.</p>
+
+<p>We well remember, but can only partially describe, the glory and
+beauty of the Brazilian primeval forest. The general tone of the color
+is brownish rather than light green, influenced by the absence of strong
+light, for though the sun is glowing in the open country, here it is
+twilight. Not one direct beam penetrates the density of the foliage, the
+sombre drapery of the woods. At first one is awed by the vast extent of
+the forest, by the dark, mournful shadows, by the gigantic trees
+reaching so far heavenward, forming here and there gothic arcades of
+matchless grandeur, and by the bewildering variety of the undergrowth.
+Scarcely a tree trunk is seen without its parasite, green with foliage
+not its own, "beyond the power of botanists to number up their tribe."
+These dense jungles might be in India, or a bit out of "Darkest Africa;"
+one is barred by an impenetrable wall of vegetation. Where palms occur,
+it is almost always in groups; being a social tree, it loves the company
+of its species. So with the bamboo, which is found in the more swampy
+regions, but always in groups of its own family. These damp woods are
+the home of the orchids; it is here that they revel in moisture,
+clinging to the trunks of tall, columnar trees, fattening on decayed
+portions of the bark, but forming bits of lovely color, while about the
+stems of other forest monarchs wind creeping vines of rope-like texture,
+binding huge trunks in a fatal embrace. Their final strangulation is
+slow, but it is sure,&mdash;only a question of time. Lofty trees bear
+charming flowers, as lowly shrubs do in our northern clime. Arborescent
+ferns vie with the palms in poetic beauty, with their elastic, tufted
+tops. Bunches of lilac and blossoms of snowy whiteness hang in the air.
+Drooping mosses depend like human hair from widespread branches, and
+soft, velvety moss carpets the way, with here and there dwarf mimosas
+trailing beneath the ferns. Long vines of woody climbers, in deep
+olive-green, twine and intertwine among the ranks of stout, aged trees,
+breaking out at short distances with pink, blue, and scarlet buds,
+rivaling the color of the birds which flash hither and thither like rays
+of sunlight breaking through the leafy screen. Now and again the shrill
+or plaintive notes of unfamiliar songsters fall upon the ear, mingling
+with the cooing of the wood-doves and the low drone of the dragon-fly.
+The magnificent arboreal growth of these forests develops itself into
+thousands of strange and beautiful forms, stimulated by the constant
+humidity of the high temperature.</p>
+
+<p>The atheist must feel himself stifled for breath in the tropical
+forest, and his fallacious creed challenged by every surrounding object,
+while a new light illumines his unwilling soul with irrefutable
+evidences. The Supreme Being writes his gospel not in the Bible alone,
+but upon the grand old trees, the lowly flowers, the fleeting clouds,
+and upon the eternal stars. Those who seek nature for religious
+inspiration never fail to obtain it, untrammeled by the vulgar tenets of
+sectarianism or outraged by the tinsel of church forms and
+ceremonies.</p>
+
+<p>The observant traveler from the north is fain to seek some
+consolation, some evidence of the glorious law of compensation, while
+comparing the features of these poetical latitudes with his own
+well-beloved but more prosaic home. He remembers that if these gaudy
+birds do flout in vivid colors that dazzle and charm the eye, they have
+not the exquisite power of song which inspires our more soberly clad New
+England favorites. Brilliancy of feathers and sweetness of song rarely
+go together, a natural fact which suggests a whole moral essay in
+itself. The torrid zone clothes its feathered tribes in glowing plumage,
+but the colder north endows hers with heart-touching melody. If the
+flowers of the tropics exhaust the hues of the prism, attracting us by
+the oddity of their forms, while blooming in exuberant abundance, the
+sweet and lowly children of Flora in higher latitudes greet the senses
+with a fragrance unknown in equatorial regions. Joy is nowhere all of a
+piece. Blessings, we are forced to believe, whether in the form of
+beauty of color, fragrance, or melody, are very equally divided all over
+the world, and those portions which have not one, as a rule, are almost
+sure to have the other. When we become eloquent and appreciative in the
+lively enjoyment of scenes in a new country, it is not always because
+they are more desirable or more beautiful than our own; it is the
+newness and the contrast which for the moment so captivate us. That to
+which we are accustomed, however grand, becomes commonplace; we covet
+and require novelty to quicken the observation. Were the sun to rise but
+once a year, in place of three hundred and sixty-five times every twelve
+months, we would willingly travel thousands of miles, if it were
+necessary, to witness the glorious phenomenon. The most charming natural
+objects please us in proportion to their rarity or our unfamiliarity
+with them.</p>
+
+<p class="p4"><a name="Ch_11"></a></p>
+
+<h3>CHAPTER XI.</h3>
+
+<p class="blockquote">Port of Santos.&mdash;Yellow Fever
+Scourge.&mdash;Down the Coast to Montevideo.&mdash;The
+Cathedral.&mdash;Pamperos.&mdash;Domestic Architecture.&mdash;A Grand
+Thoroughfare.&mdash;City Institutions.&mdash;Commercial
+Advantages.&mdash;The Opera House.&mdash;The Bull-Fight.&mdash;Beggars
+on Horseback.&mdash;City Shops.&mdash;A Typical
+Character.&mdash;Intoxication.&mdash;The Campo
+Santo.&mdash;Exports.&mdash;Rivers and Railways.</p>
+
+<p class="p2">Santos is the name of a commercially important harbor
+situated on the east coast of South America about three hundred miles
+southwest of Rio Janeiro, after which city it is the greatest export
+harbor for coffee in Brazil. Otherwise it is about as uninteresting a
+spot as can be found on the continent. It became a city so late as 1839,
+and contains some twenty thousand inhabitants. Its annual export of
+coffee will reach an aggregate of two hundred and twenty-five thousand
+sacks. The bay is surrounded by a succession of hills, and is well
+sheltered, except on the southwest. The town is situated on the west
+side of the harbor, and hugs the shore, many of the houses being built
+upon piles. Behind the town to the westward rises a succession of
+mountain ranges. The immediately surrounding country is low and
+malarial, causing fevers to prevail all the year round. During the
+present season Santos has suffered more seriously from yellow fever than
+any other place on the coast in proportion to the number of its
+inhabitants. As a commercial port it has no rival in southern Brazil.
+Santa Catharina, Porto Alegre, and Rio Grande, the three harbors south
+of Santos, are rendered inaccessible for any but small craft, owing to
+sandbars at their entrances.</p>
+
+<p>This is the present terminus of the United States and Brazil Mail
+steamship route from New York, and notwithstanding its many drawbacks in
+point of sanitary conditions, is yet growing rapidly in commercial
+importance. Its wretchedly unhealthy condition causes one to hasten away
+to the more elevated country, where St. Paul is situated, and where the
+traveler runs little or no risk of contracting yellow fever or malarial
+affections of any sort.</p>
+
+<p>Santos is the port for St. Paul, with which it is connected by rail,
+and from which it is separated by about forty miles.</p>
+
+<p>This capital of the state of São Paulo, St. Paul, contains some
+ninety thousand inhabitants. The province is credited with a million and
+a half. The city lies just under the tropic of Capricorn, southwest of
+Rio, about two thousand feet above the level of the sea, upon a high
+ridge, covering an elevated plateau of undulating hills. It enjoys the
+sunshine of the tropics, modified by the freshness of the temperate
+zone. It is venerable in years, having been founded in 1554, but it
+seems to have taken a fresh start of late, as its population has doubled
+in the last decade. As intimated, it is entirely free from yellow fever,
+which is so fatal at Santos, and has excellent drinking water, together
+with good drainage and well paved streets. The city contains some fine
+public buildings, and has many handsome adornments, being largely
+peopled by North Americans and English; the former prevail in numbers
+and influence, indeed, it has been called the American city of Brazil.
+There is also a large Italian colony settled here. St. Paul has a good
+system of tramways, several Protestant churches, and a number of
+educational and charitable public institutions, together with many of
+the attractions of a much larger capital. Among the popular amusements,
+the theatre of San José is justly esteemed, and is a well-appointed
+establishment in all of its belongings. There are two spacious public
+gardens, embellished with grottoes, fountains, choice trees, and
+flowers, while the private gardens attached to the dwellings are
+numerous and tasteful.</p>
+
+<p>In the district round about the city venomous serpents are frequently
+met with, whose bite is as dangerous as that of the rattlesnakes of our
+northern climate. As the land is cleared and cultivated, they naturally
+and rapidly disappear. These reptiles fear man, and avoid his vicinity
+quite as earnestly as human beings avoid them. It is only when they are
+molested, trodden upon, or cornered, as it were, that they attack any
+one.</p>
+
+<p>The city is connected with Rio Janeiro by a railway, and two other
+railroads run from it far inland. The Rio and St. Paul railway is fairly
+equipped, but the roadbed is not properly ballasted, and consequently
+one rides over the route in a cloud of dust, while suffering from the
+oscillations and jolting of the cars. This railway, however, is one of
+the most successful and profitable in the republic. It is some three
+hundred miles in length, and passes through a dozen or more tunnels, one
+of which is a mile and a half in length. This tunnel required seven
+years' labor before it was passable. There is just now a great "boom" of
+land values in and about St. Paul. It is towards this state that the
+tide of Italian emigration is largely directed, for some reason which we
+do not comprehend, but it is probably stimulated by a combined effort to
+this effect.</p>
+
+<p>The passage southward from Rio Janeiro or Santos to Montevideo
+occupies about five days, but a large amount of rough ocean experience
+is generally crowded into that brief period, added to which the coasting
+steamers are far from affording the ordinary comforts so desirable at
+sea. Of the food supplied to passengers one does not feel inclined to
+complain, because a person embarking upon these lines does so knowing
+what to expect; but as regards the domestic conveniences and cleanliness
+generally, there is no excuse for their defective character. We are
+sorry to say that the class of Portuguese and Spaniards one encounters
+on these coasting vessels is far from decently cleanly in daily habits,
+carelessly adding to the unsanitary conditions.</p>
+
+<p>The wind in these latitudes is not only inclined to be fierce, but it
+usually goes entirely round the compass at least once or twice during
+the voyage, and is more than liable to wind up, off the mouth of the
+river Plate, with a regular and furious pampero. This is a hurricane
+wind, which is born in the gorges of the Andes, and thence pursuing its
+course over nearly a thousand miles of level pampas, gains speed and
+power with every league of progress. The season in which these
+hurricanes&mdash;for in their fury they deserve to be thus
+designated&mdash;prevail, is from March to September, but they are
+liable to come at any time. The wind is considered by the people of
+Montevideo to be wholesome and invigorating, as far as the land is
+concerned, but seamen dread it on shipboard, and call it a Plate River
+hurricane. We know of no more disagreeable roadstead than that of
+Montevideo, when a pampero is blowing. We have seen ships under these
+circumstances, with two anchors down, obliged to resort to the use of
+oil on the sea, to prevent themselves from being swamped. Though the
+inhabitants represent a pampero to be comparatively harmless on the
+land, yet it does sometimes commit fearful havoc there also, especially
+among the unprotected herds of wild cattle on the plains, and upon all
+trees or plantations which lie in its devastating course. It is true
+that it brings with it a bracing and life-giving atmosphere from the
+snow-capped Andes far away, and if it could only do so with less
+forceful demonstration, it would be a welcome visitor in the heated days
+of these regions.</p>
+
+<p>The most direct way to illustrate what these South American pampas
+are is to compare them to the vast prairies of our Western and
+Southwestern States. Any one familiar with those far-reaching,
+horizon-bounded plains knows what the pampas of the Argentine Republic
+are like. Beginning near the foothills of the Cordilleras, in their very
+shadow, as it were, these smoothed out, level lands extend hundreds of
+miles eastward to the great estuary of the Plate River, on the borders
+of the Atlantic Ocean. Though apparently sterile, the soil of the
+pampas, like the dry, baked land of Australia, only requires irrigation
+and cultivation to rival the most attractive valleys of Southern Europe.
+It is believed by scientists that these plains were once covered by a
+broad inland sea, connected directly with the Atlantic. In their present
+condition these pampas can hardly be called barren, since they give
+excellent grazing for extensive herds of wild cattle, which thrive and
+fatten upon the abundance of coarse, natural grass, similar to what is
+known as bunch grass in Texas and New Mexico. This product ripens and
+makes itself into standing hay, retaining its natural vitality and
+nutritious qualities throughout months of atmospheric exposure. After
+being close-cropped by the roving herds of cattle, the bunch grass
+renews itself, reproducing in great abundance.</p>
+
+<p>Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, is situated on the remarkable
+estuary of the Plate River,&mdash;Rio de la Plata, or "Silver
+River,"&mdash;whose spacious mouth is marked by two capes, Santa Maria
+and San Antonio, more than one hundred miles apart. Only a nautical
+observation will show just where the line of ocean ceases and that of
+the estuary begins. The unobservant passenger believes himself still
+sailing upon the broad ocean until he finally sights the land on which
+the city stands. The flag of Uruguay flying from various
+crafts&mdash;blue and white, in alternate stripes, with a glowing sun in
+the upper corner near the staff&mdash;indicates the near approach to the
+land it represents.</p>
+
+<p>On the island of Flores, fifteen miles from Montevideo, there are a
+lighthouse and quarantine station. The island is formed by a rocky
+upheaval, not over twenty feet above sea level, measuring about a mile
+in length and two or three hundred yards in width. The fierce pamperos
+render the navigation of this estuary oftentimes precarious. When
+approaching the broad river's mouth from the north, sailors know that it
+is near at hand, long before land is seen, by the color of the water,
+which comes forth in such immense volume as to impart a distinct yellow
+hue to the ocean for a long distance from the coast. This effect is said
+to be discernible one hundred miles off the shore, but thirty or forty
+miles will perhaps be nearer the truth, and is at the same time a
+statement answering all legitimate purposes. The tide about the estuary
+is mostly governed by the wind, and so up the river, showing no
+regularity in its rise and fall. The current of the Plate opposite
+Montevideo runs at the rate of about three miles an hour. In extent,
+this ranks as the third great river of the world, draining, with its
+affluents, eight hundred thousand square miles of territory; a mammoth
+basin, which is only exceeded by those of the Amazon and the
+Mississippi.</p>
+
+<p>The commercial activity of the port is shown by the arrival and
+departure daily of many large steamships, foreign and coastwise. Sixty
+European steamers are recorded as arriving here monthly, besides a
+number from the United States. The maritime business of the port is
+mostly in the hands of Englishmen, Americans, and Frenchmen. The
+native-born citizen evinces no genius in commercial matters. The
+department of the capital is the smallest in the republic, having an
+area of only twenty-five square miles, but it is fertile, well wooded
+and watered, its agricultural interests predominating, which is a most
+important fact in estimating the stability and pecuniary responsibility
+of any state.</p>
+
+<p>The city is exceptionably well situated on a small rocky promontory,
+or rather we should designate it as a peninsula, jutting out into the
+estuary, three of its sides fronting the sea, and as its streets are
+nearly always swept by ocean breezes, it is cool and pleasant even in
+midsummer. The land rises gradually as it recedes from the shore, and
+then declines to the bed of a small stream which empties into the bay,
+thus affording a natural surface drainage. Uruguay is a little more than
+twelve times as large territorially as the State of Massachusetts, and
+is divided into thirteen departments. There are over half a million
+acres of land under good cultivation in the republic, the principal
+staples being wheat and corn. Extreme heat and extreme cold are alike
+unknown, the country being within the temperate zone. The mean summer
+temperature is 71° Fahr., that of autumn 62°, and of spring 60°. There
+are, therefore, but few things which the climate is too hot or too cold
+to produce, while for the raising of cattle on a large scale it is said
+to be the best section of South America, and this forms, we believe, its
+largest industry.</p>
+
+<p>In approaching Montevideo from the sea, it is observed that the
+surrounding country is quite level, with scarcely a single object to
+break the distant view. Immediately upon landing one realizes that the
+city is clean and well built, though it is mostly made up of low
+structures one story in height. There are plenty of dwellings of two and
+three stories, however, in the more modern part of the town. Dominating
+the whole stand the lofty dome and towers of the cathedral, which faces
+the Plaza Constitution. The turrets are of striking proportions, each
+rising to the height of one hundred and thirty-three feet. The
+widespread dome would be grand in effect, were it not covered with
+glazed tiles of various colors, blue, green, yellow, and so on, the
+combined effect of which is anything but pleasing to a critical eye.
+Still, it is no more tawdry than much of the inside finish and
+meaningless ornamentation. There is an elaborate marble fountain in the
+centre of the plaza, besides some ornamental shrubbery and flowers. The
+very fine marble façade of the building occupied by the Uruguay Club
+adds to the beauty of the plaza. Near the fountain is a fanciful music
+stand, in which a military band is occasionally stationed to perform for
+the public pleasure. These South Americans would as soon give up the
+bull-fights as the popular outdoor evening concerts, the excellent moral
+effect of which no one can possibly doubt.</p>
+
+<p>An abrupt hill at the head of the harbor, four or five hundred feet
+in height, known as the "Monte," gives the city its name, Montevideo.
+This hill is crowned by a small fort and lighthouse, the latter
+containing a revolving light which can be seen a long distance at sea. A
+couple of miles inland rises another hill called the Cerrito, or "little
+hill." Several times during revolutionary struggles, these two hills
+have been fortified by opposing parties, who have desired to control the
+city, but restless revolutionists are now at a discount, fortunately, in
+this republic of Uruguay, a class of uneasy spirits who have reigned
+quite long enough on the southern continent.</p>
+
+<p>The town is built in the form of an amphitheatre, and has
+comparatively few edifices of importance. Its regular, straight streets
+and open squares are intensely Spanish. The Paseo del Molino is the
+fashionable part of the town, where the wealthy merchants reside in
+curious chalets, or <i>quintas</i> as they are called here. There is
+rather an extraordinary taste displayed in the matter of buildings on
+this Paseo. Swiss cottages, Italian villas, Chinese dwellings, and
+Gothic structures are mingled with Spanish and Moorish styles. This
+architectural incongruity is not picturesque, but, on the contrary,
+strikes one as very crude and ill-chosen. The charm of domestic
+residences in any part of the globe is a certain adaptability to the
+natural surroundings, and is, when well conceived, a graceful part of
+the whole. Inappropriate structures are to the eye like false notes in
+music to the ear, an outrage upon harmony. A Swiss chalet in Hindostan,
+or a Japanese bamboo house in England, is simply discordancy in scenic
+consistency. Nature should always be a silent partner in the creation
+and adaptation of architectural designs. In olden times the Jesuits
+built a large mill near this spot, and hence the name of the place.</p>
+
+<p>The climate must be very equable and fine to admit of such fruit
+culture as exists here. The strawberries grown in the neighborhood are
+famous for their size and sweetness, the vines producing this favorite
+fruit all the year round. They are perhaps a little over-developed, and
+would doubtless be of finer flavor if they were smaller.</p>
+
+<p>The Plaza de la Independencia is highly attractive, and so is the
+broad, tree-lined avenue known as the Calle del Dieziochavo de Julio,
+named after the anniversary of the Uruguayan declaration of
+independence. This, indeed, is thought to be the most effective
+boulevard in all South America. On festal occasions it is decorated in
+an original and brilliant manner, having colored draperies hanging from
+the windows and balconies, bright colored cambrics stretched from point
+to point, with the gay flag of the republic festooned here and there.
+Chinese lanterns are hung from the trees, and arches spanning the
+roadway and bearing national designs are all ablaze with ingeniously
+arranged gas jets. Down one side of this long avenue and up the other,
+it being over a hundred feet broad, a civic and military procession
+marches on the annual recurrence of the date which its name indicates,
+the several divisions headed by bands of music, with flags flying and
+drums beating. On such occasions the windows and balconies are filled
+with groups of handsome women, in gala dresses, together with pretty
+children in holiday costumes, who add charm and completeness to the
+scene. This avenue is the Champs Elysées of the southern continent, a
+thoroughfare of which the residents are justly very proud.</p>
+
+<p>The streets and sidewalks generally are of better width in Montevideo
+than in most of the South American cities. Some few of the private
+residences display fine architectural taste, the dwellings being well
+adapted to the climate and the surroundings. Many of the city houses
+have little towers erected on their roofs, called <i>miradores</i>, from
+whence one gets an excellent view of the entire city and of the sea. The
+town is spread over a large territory, and stretches away into thinly
+populated suburbs, but all parts are rendered accessible by the
+well-perfected system of tramways which extend over fifty miles within
+the city and the immediate environs. In the absence of official figures,
+we should judge that Montevideo had a population of at least two hundred
+thousand. Every other nationality seems to be represented in its streets
+and warehouses, except that of Uruguay herself. Those "native and to the
+manner born" are conspicuous by their absence. Speaking of this rather
+curious characteristic to a friend who lives here, he replied: "There
+are probably fifty thousand European and North American residents doing
+business in this city, forming by far the most active element of the
+place. They are seen everywhere, to the apparent exclusion of the
+natives. Indigenous blood and energy could not have made this capital
+what it is at the present time. It is reaping the advantage of North
+American enterprise, English and American capital, and German
+shrewdness. These, combined with the natural advantages of the location
+and climate, will eventually make Montevideo the Liverpool of South
+America." Though all this goes without saying, our friend put it so
+aptly that his words were deemed worthy of recording. We do not hesitate
+to predict that the next decade will nearly double the number of the
+population here, as well as the aggregate of its imports and exports. No
+other city on the southern continent has greater advantages in its
+geographical position, or as regards salubrity of climate and
+adaptability to commerce. Were it not for the occasional visits of the
+howling pamperos, the climate would be nearly perfect, and even these
+exhibitions of a local nature are, as we have said, accepted with great
+equanimity by the people on land. There are few stoves, and no
+fireplaces or chimneys, in Montevideo. Cooking is done with charcoal on
+braziers out-of-doors, as is the custom in most tropical countries.</p>
+
+<p>The capital of Uruguay contains the usual educational and religious,
+charitable and scientific, public organizations, with appropriate
+edifices for the same. It should certainly be considered a reading
+community, having more daily newspapers than London, and double as many
+as the city of New York; also supporting a large number of weekly
+newspapers and monthly magazines. As to books, so far as a casual
+observer may speak, they are few and far between in family circles. The
+men read the newspapers, and the women fill up their leisure time with
+music and gossip. There is a national university in Montevideo, where
+over six hundred pupils are regularly taught at the present time, and
+there are forty-eight professors attached to this admirably organized
+institution. We heard it highly spoken of by those who should be good
+judges in educational matters. The custom house, with which the stranger
+always makes an early acquaintance after arriving in port, is a large
+and costly structure, three stories in height. The opera house is worthy
+of particular mention, being a spacious building of the Doric order,
+capable of seating three thousand persons, and when it is filled at
+night, the interior presents a grand array of elegant costumes and
+female beauty, the ladies of this city being noted for their personal
+charms. This is a circumstance not mentioned casually as a mere
+compliment, but simply as a fact. The opera house covers an entire
+square, and has two large wings attached to the main building, one of
+which is devoted to business purposes, and the other contains the
+National Museum. There is here the nucleus of a most valuable
+collection, to which constant additions are being made, both by the
+state and through personal liberality and interest. We are sorry to say
+in this connection that the bull-fight, as a public exhibition, above
+all other styles of amusement, is the favorite one with the rank and
+file of the populace, which is quite sufficiently Spanish to control the
+matter and insure its permanency. The bull-ring, wherein these brutal
+and terribly demoralizing exhibitions take place on each Sabbath
+afternoon during the season, is situated about a league from the city
+proper.</p>
+
+<p>It must be a country or district under Roman Catholic influence, and
+with more or less of a Spanish element permeating it, to admit of this
+style of desecrating the Sabbath, or, indeed, of indulging on any day of
+the week in an exhibition which is so thoroughly brutal, cowardly, and
+repulsive. It is a sad reflection upon the community, high and low, to
+state that the bull-fight is one of its popular entertainments. We have
+said that this is a cowardly game. The fact is, the bull is doomed from
+the moment he enters the arena. He has only his horns and his courage to
+help him in the unequal contest. The professional fighters opposed to
+him are all fully armed, and protected by sheltering guards, behind
+which they can retire at will. It is twelve experts pitted against one
+poor beast. Ingenious, heathenish modes of torture are devised and
+adopted to wound, to weaken, and to craze the victim. If it was one
+armed man against the bull, whether mounted or otherwise, it would be a
+more equal and gallant struggle,&mdash;but twelve to one! bah, it is
+only a cowardly game in which gallant horses and brave bulls are
+sacrificed by a dozen armed men. Even the matadore, who gives the final
+and fatal thrust with his sword, and who is looked upon as a sort of
+hero by the spectators, does not enter the ring to attempt the act until
+the bull is comparatively harmless, having been worried and wounded
+until he is exhausted by the struggle and the copious loss of blood, so
+that he is scarcely able to stand. Though reeling like a drunken man, he
+staggers bravely towards his fresh and well-armed enemy, showing fight
+to the last gasp.</p>
+
+<p>Realize the moral effect of such cut-throat exhibitions upon youth!
+The older, cruel and hardened spectators are only rendered more so, but
+the young and impressionable are then and there inoculated with a love
+of brutality and bloodshed, fostered by every fresh exhibition which
+they witness.</p>
+
+<p>The Exchange is a grand and spacious structure, admirably adapted to
+its purpose, being one of the finest business edifices in South America,
+to our mind infinitely superior in all respects to that of Rio, upon
+which so much money has been expended in meretricious designs. The
+author counted the names of some forty charitable institutions and
+associations in a Montevideo directory, eight or ten of which are
+maintained mostly by public endowment, such as hospitals, asylums for
+the poor, orphanages, industrial schools, lunatic asylums, and so on.
+Near the Plaza Ramirez there is a school of arts and trades, which at
+this writing accommodates a large body of pupils, taught by competent
+professors and experts. We were told that this institution was of great
+practical service in the cause of education, its general aim being
+similar to that of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. One was
+hardly prepared to credit Montevideo with so many and well-sustained
+educational purposes as she was found to be justly entitled to. The
+reader will observe that we speak qualifiedly of these matters; it is
+only the outward and most obvious characteristics of a city, so briefly
+visited, of which one can speak correctly. It would have been gratifying
+to have remained longer in this capital, to understand more clearly the
+educational advantages which are offered here. In this department of
+progress, Montevideo seems in advance of many larger cities.</p>
+
+<p>Squads of soldiers are seen lounging about the town, dressed in a
+uniform of the Zouave pattern, not very jaunty looking fellows, it must
+be confessed, but perhaps "as good food for powder as a better." The
+entire army of Uruguay consists of only five thousand men, of all
+branches. The president has also a battalion of body-guards, consisting
+of three or four hundred men, forming a very efficient as well as
+ornamental organization. This organization consists of men loyal to the
+administration, and beyond a doubt personally devoted to the president.
+The rank and file of the army embraces all shades of color, both as to
+mind and body, and is liable to become disaffected at the outbreak of
+any popular upheaval, or through the influence of designing men. This
+body-guard, however, being always on duty, is ready and able to turn the
+scale by prompt and consistent action, in favor of the established
+authorities, and thus nip rebellion in the bud. It is only after getting
+thoroughly under way that revolutionary attempts become formidable. At
+the inception, the strong arm promptly applied stamps out the life and
+courage of the mob, and renders sedition futile. "No parleying; fire
+promptly, and fire to kill; that ends the matter," said Napoleon. Blank
+cartridges and vacillation stimulate a half-formed purpose into
+action.</p>
+
+<p>One is forced to admit that beggars are rather numerous in
+Montevideo,&mdash;beggars on horseback and wearing spurs. They coolly
+stop their small, wiry, half-fed ponies, and with magnificent effrontery
+beg of any stranger they chance to meet for a centavo, a copper coin
+worth about two cents of our American money. The incongruity of beggars
+mounted, while the stranger of whom they solicit alms is a pedestrian,
+is somewhat obvious. It must be remembered, however, that horses are
+very cheap in this country, and that nearly every one rides or drives. A
+good serviceable animal can be bought in any of the South American
+cities at what we should consider a mere trifle to pay for one. A
+well-broken young saddle-horse will bring from twenty to twenty-five
+dollars, but the owner, if one of the dudes about town, will expend five
+hundred dollars upon a silver-decked saddle, bridle, and trimmings, a
+Spanish peculiarity which is also observed in the city of Mexico. A pair
+of well-matched carriage-horses, in good condition, can be had for
+seventy-five or eighty dollars. Mares are not worked in this country,
+being solely used for breeding purposes, and have no fixed price;
+indeed, they are not met with in the cities. It will be seen that for a
+beggar to set up business here requires some capital, but not much. De
+Quincey would describe Spanish beggary as having become elevated to one
+of the fine arts.</p>
+
+<p>There is a class of men in Uruguay called gauchos who devote
+themselves to breaking the wild horses of the pampas for domestic use.
+They are more Indian than Spanish, and pass their lives mostly as
+herdsmen of the vast numbers of animals which live in a semi-wild state
+upon the plains of South America. These men can hardly be said to train
+their horses. They only conquer them by a process of cruel discipline
+which thoroughly subdues the animal. After this the poor creatures are
+ever on the alert to obey their rider's will, prompted by a pressure of
+the powerful bit, and a merciless thrust of the long, sharp rowels. The
+gaucho reminds one of the cowboys of our Western States. He forms a very
+picturesque figure when seen upon his wiry little mustang, galloping
+along with his yellow poncho streaming behind him, his head covered by a
+broad-brimmed soft felt hat, his long, dark hair floating upon the
+breeze, and his broad, loose trousers fluttering in the wind. A lasso of
+braided or twisted leather sometimes swings from one hand, while the
+rider skillfully manages his horse with the other. Altogether the gaucho
+forms a picture of strong vitality and vivid color. He spends a small
+fortune upon his equipments, and his heavy spurs are of solid silver. He
+is not a hard drinker, an occasional glass of country wine satisfies
+him; but he will gamble all night long until he has lost his last penny
+to professional sportsmen, who somehow know the way to win by fair means
+or foul.</p>
+
+<p>Few strangers who visit Montevideo for the first time will be at all
+prepared to see such a quantity and variety of rich jewelry in the
+shops. Imported dress goods of the finest quality are also offered for
+sale in these shops. The Parisian boulevards have no display windows
+which contain larger or finer diamonds, sapphires, and emeralds; indeed,
+this country seems to be the home of precious stones and real gems. The
+silversmiths exhibit goods equally artistic and elegant. The best
+products of Vienna, Paris, and London, in the fancy-goods line, are
+fully represented here. Readers who have visited Genoa will recall the
+fine silver filigree-work which is a specialty of that city, but some of
+the manufactures of this character made here are quite equal, if they do
+not excel, that of the Italian capital.</p>
+
+<p>It seemed to be rather a singular and significant fact, that when a
+couple of pennies will purchase a tumblerful of the national tipple
+called caña, a raw liquor made from sugar-cane, and quite as strong as
+brandy, still comparatively few persons are seen under its influence
+upon the public streets. It is true that on all church festal occasions
+the common people have a regular carousal, and get very much
+intoxicated, whereupon they lose one day in repenting and two in
+recuperation. It is the same all over the world. The lower, uneducated
+classes, having no intellectual resort, seem imbued with the idea that
+to get thoroughly tipsy is the acme of pleasure. The inevitable
+punishment does not enter into the calculation at all, nor does it deter
+the victim from repeated excesses. It is curious to observe the peculiar
+effect which intoxicants produce upon people of different nationalities:
+the Russian gets boozy on vodka, and only becomes more loving to his
+species; the Mexican drinks pulque by the pint measure, and craves only
+to be permitted to sleep; the French guzzle brandy and wine until they
+become equally full of song and gayety; the American Indian is made
+utterly crazy and reckless by drink; the Irishman finds a fight in every
+glass of whiskey; and the Englishman who indulges overmuch becomes
+eloquent on politics and patriotism. In South America the common people
+who drink to excess are rendered pugnacious and revolutionary. The
+police arrangements of Montevideo are excellent, and the streets are
+safe for man or woman at any hour of the day or night, which one is
+forced to admit is more than can be truthfully said of the majority of
+large cities in either Europe or North America. There is no sickly
+sentimentality about crime and criminals here. If a man outrages the
+law, he has to suffer for it, and there is no pardoning him until he has
+worked out his entire penalty. It is the certainty of punishment which
+intimidates professional rascals. Official leniency and pardoning of
+criminals are a premium on crime.</p>
+
+<p>Between two and three miles from the city there is a public park,
+which is laid out with excellent taste and skill, forming a popular
+pleasure resort. There are here many fine native and exotic trees, as
+well as flowering shrubs and blooming flowers. This spacious park,
+intersected by a willow-lined stream, is called the Paseo, and is
+ornamented with statues, fountains, and rockeries. The grounds are also
+occupied by several small places devoted to amusements,
+shooting-galleries, billiard saloons, and gambling tables, very similar
+to the Deer Garden in the environs of Copenhagen. Citizens of Montevideo
+of the humbler class come hither with their families, bringing food and
+drink to be disposed of in picnic fashion. Bordering the sweep of the
+bay, which forms the harbor, are many cottages, the homes of the rich
+merchants. These villas are surrounded by flower gardens and graceful
+shrubbery, the endless spring climate making the bloom perennial. The
+flat roofs of many of the town houses are partially inclosed, so as to
+form a pleasant resort in the closing hours of the day, where family
+parties are often seen gathered together. Social life among the
+residents of the environs is very gay, and so indeed is that of the town
+residents, whose hospitality is also proverbial. The Hotel Oriental is
+the favorite hostelry of Montevideo, built of marble and well furnished,
+though it is hardly equal to the Hotel Victoria, its rival,
+architecturally speaking.</p>
+
+<p>The drinking water, and all that is used for domestic purposes in the
+city, is brought by a well-engineered system from the river Santa Lucia,
+which is tapped for this purpose at a distance of thirty or forty miles
+from Montevideo.</p>
+
+<p>The Campo Santo of the capital is admirably arranged and particularly
+well kept, being in several respects like those of Pisa, Genoa, and
+other Italian cities. It is the most elaborate cemetery in South
+America, surrounded by high walls so built as to contain five tiers of
+niches which form the receptacles for the dead. The grounds are nearly
+as crowded with elaborate tombs and stone monuments as Père la Chaise,
+at Paris, the funereal cypress rising here and there in stately
+mournfulness above the marble slabs. The abundance of metallic wreaths
+and artificial flowers afforded another resemblance to the famous French
+cemetery. The freshness of many of the floral offerings showed that the
+memory of the departed was kept green in the hearts of those left
+behind. The traveler sees many such touching evidences of tenderness all
+over the world. Much of the marble work seen in these grounds was
+imported from Milan, and some from both Florence and Rome. The
+monumental entrance to the grounds, and the elaborate chapel within
+them, are both in good taste.</p>
+
+<p>Beef, hides, wool, hair, and grain seem to be the principal articles
+of export. Uruguay contains over half a million of people, and has an
+area of seventy-one thousand square miles, intersected by several
+railways, bringing the interior within easy reach of the capital. It is
+said to be growing more rapidly in proportion to its size and the
+present number of inhabitants than any other part of South America. The
+republic is best known to the world by its Indian name, Uruguay, but on
+many maps it is still designated as the Banda Oriental, that is, the
+"Eastern Border." It will be remembered that this now independent state
+was originally a part of the Argentine Republic, which was formerly
+known by that designation. Though Uruguay is one of the smallest of the
+independent divisions of the continent, it is yet one of the most
+important, a fact owing largely to its admirable commercial location.
+Nearly all of its territory can be reached by navigable rivers, while
+its Atlantic shore has a dozen good harbors. Sixteen large rivers
+intersect the republic in various directions, all of which have their
+several tributaries. Cheap internal transportation is assured by over
+three hundred miles of railways; also by these rivers. As already
+intimated, its agricultural interests are largely on the increase, the
+strongest element of permanency. Originally the pastoral interest
+prevailed over all other, but agriculture, both here and in the
+Argentine Republic, has taken precedence. The model farms near
+Montevideo are unsurpassed for extent, completeness, and the liberal
+manner in which they are conducted. Some large estates might be named
+which will compare favorably with anything of the sort which the author
+has ever seen in any country, where agriculture is followed on
+intelligent principles. Here the cultivation of the soil is carried on
+not solely to obtain all which can be wrung from it, in the way of
+pecuniary profit, but <i>con amore</i>, and with a due regard to system.
+As may be supposed, the return is fully commensurate with the
+intelligence and liberality exercised in the business. Such farming may
+be and is called fancy farming, but it is a sort which pays most
+liberally, and which affords those engaged in it the most
+satisfaction.</p>
+
+<p>To be an honest chronicler, one must not hesitate to look at all
+phases of progress, successful or otherwise, on the part of each people
+and country visited and written about. There are always deep-lying
+influences acting for good or evil, which scarcely present themselves to
+the thoughtless observer.</p>
+
+<p>One reason for the rapid growth of this republic of Uruguay is
+because of its gradually casting off the slough of Roman Catholic
+influence, a species of dry rot quite sufficient to bring about the
+destruction of any government. The same incubus which was of so long
+standing in Mexico, where its effect kept the people in ignorance and
+ferment for centuries, has at last been abolished, and modern progress
+naturally follows. In Uruguay the Romish Church has lost its prestige,
+having hastened its own downfall by blindly striving to enforce
+fifteenth century ideas upon people of the nineteenth. Monks and nuns
+have been expelled, and parish schools have been closed. Free schools
+now prevail, and general knowledge is becoming broadcast, which simply
+means destruction to all popish control. Intelligence is the antidote
+for bigotry, which explains the bitter opposition of the Roman Catholic
+priesthood to free schools wherever their faith prevails.</p>
+
+<p>In all of these South American provinces it has been found difficult
+to throw off the evil inheritance of sloth and anarchy which the
+Spaniards imposed upon their colonial possessions. The schoolhouse is
+the true temple of liberty for this people. In the department of
+Montevideo alone there are to-day over sixty free schools, and in the
+whole republic nearly four hundred, something for her authorities to
+point at with a spirit of just pride. This enumeration does not include
+the private schools, of which there are also a large number in the
+capital.</p>
+
+<p>We find by published statistics that Uruguay exports of wool, about
+seven million dollars' worth per annum; of beef, over six million
+dollars' worth; of hides, four million dollars' worth; and of wheat
+about the same amount in value as that of the last article named. These
+staples, however, are only representative articles, to which many more
+might be added, to show her growing commercial importance and assured
+prosperity.</p>
+
+<p>Our next stopping-place is the important city of Buenos Ayres, on the
+opposite bank of the river, about one hundred and fifty miles southwest
+of Montevideo.</p>
+
+<p class="p4"><a name="Ch_12"></a></p>
+
+<h3>CHAPTER XII.</h3>
+
+<p class="blockquote">Buenos Ayres.&mdash;Extent of the Argentine
+Republic.&mdash;Population.&mdash;Narrow Streets.&mdash;Large Public
+Squares.&mdash;Basques.&mdash;Poor Harbor.&mdash;Railway
+System.&mdash;River Navigation.&mdash;Tramways.&mdash;The
+Cathedral.&mdash;Normal Schools.&mdash;Newspapers.&mdash;Public
+Buildings.&mdash;Calle Florida.&mdash;A Busy City.&mdash;Mode of
+furnishing Milk.&mdash;Environs.&mdash;Commercial and Political
+Growth.&mdash;The New Capital.</p>
+
+<p class="p2">The city of Buenos Ayres&mdash;"Good Air"&mdash;is well
+named so far as its natural situation is concerned, but this condition
+of a pure atmosphere has been seriously affected by unsanitary
+conditions, naturally arising from the large influx of a very
+promiscuous population. A considerable percentage are Italians, and so
+far as personal cleanliness and decency go, they seem to be among the
+lost arts with them.</p>
+
+<p>This thriving city is the capital of the Argentine Republic, which,
+next to Brazil, is the largest independent state in South America,
+containing fourteen provinces, each of which has its own local
+government, modeled after those of the United States. The average reader
+will doubtless be surprised, as the author certainly was, to realize
+that this southern republic exceeds in extent of territory the united
+kingdoms of Great Britain, together with France, Germany, Austria,
+Hungary, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Holland, and Greece combined,
+the actual area being something over twelve hundred thousand square
+miles. The province of Buenos Ayres is just about the size of the State
+of New York, and contains in round numbers a population of one million.
+Two hundred years ago, the city of Buenos Ayres had a population of five
+hundred. Having the statistics at hand, it is perhaps worth while to
+state that, of the aggregate population of the province, a majority, or
+fully six hundred thousand, are foreigners, classed as follows: three
+hundred thousand Italians, one hundred and fifty thousand French, one
+hundred thousand Spaniards, forty thousand English, and twenty thousand
+Germans. The number of North American residents is very small, though
+they control a fair percentage of the exports and imports. Authentic
+statistics show that they number less than six hundred. Paris is not
+more crowded with refugees from various countries than is this Argentine
+capital. Why such a spot was selected on which to establish a commercial
+city is an unsolved riddle, as it embraces about all the natural
+inconveniences that could possibly be encountered on the banks of a
+large river. The perversity of such a selection is the more obvious,
+because those who made it must have passed by a score of admirable
+points eminently superior in all respects to the one now occupied.</p>
+
+<p>The first view of Buenos Ayres on approaching it by water is
+peculiar, the line of sight being only broken by the church towers and a
+few prominent public buildings; the horizon alone forms the background
+of the picture. Unlike nearly all of the South American cities, there is
+no forest or mountain range behind or surrounding the capital. From its
+environs a continuous plain stretches away for nearly eight hundred
+miles to the foothills of the Andes. Situated between the 34° and 35° of
+south latitude, it enjoys a climate similar to that of the south of
+France, and almost identical with that of New Orleans. The site upon
+which the city stands is considerably above the level of the river, and
+though the streets are far too narrow for business purposes in the older
+portions of the town, they widen to a better size in the newer parts.
+The roadways are poorly paved, so that it is very uncomfortable to walk
+or drive over them. Boulevards are laid out to cut the older parts of
+the city diagonally, as was done in Paris and Genoa, and is now being
+done in Florence, so as to relieve the present insufficient capacity for
+the transportation of merchandise. One is apt, however, when remarking
+upon these particularly narrow and irregular streets in a foreign
+country, to forget that there are, in the older portions of the capital
+of Massachusetts, some quite as circumscribed and corkscrew fashioned.
+If we do not find all the excellences of civilization predominating, and
+admirable people in the majority here, we should do well to remember
+that we have also left them in the minority at home.</p>
+
+<p>The huge custom house of Buenos Ayres, with its circular form and
+high walls facing the river, recalls in general appearance Castle Garden
+in New York harbor, or the fort on Governor's Island. In its importance
+as a commercial emporium, this city disputes the first place with only
+three others in the southern hemisphere, namely, Rio Janeiro, Sydney,
+and Melbourne, the latter of which has lately added greatly to its
+harbor facilities by deepening and widening the Yarra-Yarra River.</p>
+
+<p>The dwelling-houses of Buenos Ayres are mostly built of brick, and
+are of a far more substantial character than those upon the west coast
+of the continent. They have much more the appearance of North American
+dwellings than Spanish, except that the windows are strongly guarded
+with iron bars, and the cool, shady patios present domestic scenes,
+mingled with flowers and fragrance, strongly local in color. The city is
+regularly laid out in squares of a hundred and fifty yards each, so when
+one is told that such or such a place is so many squares away, he knows
+exactly the distance which is indicated. The Plaza de la Victoria is
+surrounded by handsome edifices, including the opera house and the
+cathedral, the façade of the latter very much resembling that of the
+Madeleine at Paris. This square has a fine equestrian statue of some
+patriot, and a small column commemorating a national event. The city has
+a population equaling that of Boston in number, and we do not hesitate
+to say that it is more noted for its enterprise and general progress
+than any other of the South American cities. It has been appropriately
+called the Chicago of the southern continent. The republic, of which it
+is the principal city, has seven thousand miles of telegraphic wire
+within its area, a tangible evidence of enterprise which requires no
+comment. One remarkable line connects this city with that of Valparaiso,
+on the Pacific side of the continent, and is constructed with iron poles
+nearly the whole distance, crossing the Andes by means of forty miles of
+cable laid beneath the perpetual snows!</p>
+
+<p>It may well be supposed that the inhabitants of Buenos Ayres are of a
+cosmopolitan character, when it is known that the daily newspapers are
+issued in five different languages. As shown by the statistics already
+given, a considerable share of the people are Italians, who form much
+the larger portion of the emigrants now coming hither from Europe, or
+who have arrived here during the last decade. As additions to the
+population, they form a more desirable class, in many respects, than
+those who seek homes further north. After the Italians, the Basques are
+among the most numerous of the new-comers. There are over fifty thousand
+of this people settled in the province of Buenos Ayres alone, readily
+adapting themselves to the country. They are a strongly individualized
+race, whom no one is liable to mistake for any other. They maintain in a
+great measure the picturesque style of dress which prevails in their
+native land, no matter what their vocation may be here. As a rule, the
+Basques come with their families, bringing some moderate amount of
+pecuniary means with them, and at once devote themselves to agricultural
+pursuits. They take especially to the department of the dairy, making
+butter and cheese of excellent quality, for which they find a ready city
+market. They have a natural inclination towards cattle tending, and are
+looked upon by the authorities as among the very best of European
+emigrants. To promote this immigration to Argentina, a per capita
+premium has been paid heretofore by the government, who, indeed, are
+still ready to furnish a free passage for responsible emigrants, both of
+this and other nationalities. This generous offer has been so shamefully
+abused by the beggars, lazzaroni, and criminal classes of Naples and
+Sicily, that a check has necessarily been put upon it, particularly as
+regards the generally objectionable people of Sicily.</p>
+
+<p>As a shipping port, Montevideo has a decided advantage over this
+Argentine metropolis. Large steamers are obliged to anchor eight or ten
+miles, or even more, below the city, on account of the shallowness of
+the river at this point. A channel has been opened to facilitate the
+approach of vessels of moderate tonnage, but much yet remains to be done
+before the experiment will be of any practical advantage. Tugboats land
+passengers on the quay, who arrive by the large mail steamers. Vessels
+of not over twenty-five hundred tons can lie at the shore and land their
+cargoes by means of the limited conveniences of the new dock. One would
+think that this want of harbor facilities was an insuperable objection
+and impediment in the growth of a great commercial capital, but Buenos
+Ayres goes straight onward, progressing in wealth and business,
+apparently regardless of such disadvantages. The present aggregate of
+its imports, in round numbers, is one hundred million dollars per
+annum.</p>
+
+<p>Even to-day, while resting under so serious a financial cloud, with
+her credit at the lowest ebb, and so many of her lately wealthy
+merchants in bankruptcy, the city has a certain steady, normal growth,
+which it would appear that nothing can seriously impair. As we have
+intimated, the tide of immigration has been checked, though not entirely
+stopped, by the depressed financial and business condition of the
+country; still, in one closing month of the last year, October, 1891,
+over two thousand passengers arrived by steamship in Argentina, seeking
+new and permanent homes.</p>
+
+<p>When a pampero is blowing, it sometimes forces nearly all of the
+water out of the harbor, leaving it high and dry, so to speak, though
+the river is thirty miles in width opposite Buenos Ayres. Passengers,
+baggage, and freight have in the past often been landed by means of
+horse carts, hung on high wheels, and driven out into the water to such
+a depth as would float small boats and lighters. Indeed, this was for
+many years the common mode of landing freight and passengers at Buenos
+Ayres. Two long and narrow piers which have been built partially obviate
+the necessity of employing carts, unless the water becomes very low. It
+has been said in all seriousness, and we believe it to be true, that the
+cost of landing a cargo of merchandise at Buenos Ayres has often been as
+great as the freight by vessel from New York, Liverpool, or Boston.</p>
+
+<p>To construct a suitable harbor here for commercial purposes is a
+project attended by almost insurmountable difficulties, but the attempt
+is gradually being made. The water in front of the city is not only
+shallow, but the bottom is extremely hard, while the increase of depth
+down the river is so little that it would involve the dredging of soil
+for a distance of ten miles, together with an indefinite width. It is
+very doubtful if a channel in such a situation, liable to constant
+changes, could be effectually established and maintained at any cost.
+The city does not depend upon its foreign commerce alone for business,
+having a boundless and productive territory in its rear, of which it
+will always be the commercial capital. It is already a great railway
+centre, the republic having over seven thousand miles of iron and steel
+rails within its borders. Five railways radiate from Buenos Ayres at
+this writing, and a sixth is projected. One route has been surveyed with
+the idea of connecting this city direct with Valparaiso, the distance
+between the two capitals being about nine hundred miles. It is designed
+to take advantage of the road already completed to Mendoza, from whence
+the addition would cross the Cordilleras at a height of ten thousand
+feet, and pass through several tunnels, one of which would be two miles
+long.</p>
+
+<p>It should also be remembered, while on this subject of transportation
+facilities, that the Paraná River is navigable for light draught
+steamers two thousand miles inland from Buenos Ayres, into and through
+one of the most productive valleys in the world. From Montevideo to
+Point Piedras, the river is uniformly sixty miles wide, and at Buenos
+Ayres it has only narrowed to about half this distance. The two main
+rivers which form the Plate are the Uruguay and the Paraná, which in
+turn unite to form the grand estuary called Rio de la Plata.</p>
+
+<p>The city of Buenos Ayres has about as many miles of tramway as there
+are in Boston. The various routes are well managed, and afford an
+infinite amount of popular accommodation. This service is carried on by
+six different companies. It is not in the hands of one big monopoly, as
+with us in Boston. Competition in undoubtedly best for the public good,
+but the business can be more advantageously conducted by a single
+company. Experience has shown, however, that such a franchise is liable
+to great abuse in the hands of a corporation having no rivalry to
+fear.</p>
+
+<p>The citizens suffered long and patiently for want of good water for
+drinking and domestic purposes. This trouble has been partially obviated
+for a considerable time by the establishment of extensive water-works,
+but they are not adequate to the demand. The means for obtaining a new
+and additional supply are now under consideration. A system of drainage
+has also been constructed, which was fully as much of a necessity as the
+supply of water, but which, as usual, proves to be insufficient in
+capacity to perform the necessary work,&mdash;at least it but partially
+meets the requirements for which it was designed. People grow hardened
+by association with danger, but the importance of good and sufficient
+drainage for a capital in which malarial fevers prevail hardly requires
+argument.</p>
+
+<p>Unlike nearly all of the South American cities, Buenos Ayres has no
+Plaza Mayor, or public square, as a grand business and pleasure resort,
+a central point, par excellence, designed also for the recreation of the
+general public. There are, however, several spacious squares, quite
+large enough to represent such an idea,&mdash;nine or ten of them in
+fact, all of which are surrounded by fine buildings. The Plaza Victoria,
+for instance, already referred to, is some eight acres in extent, made
+brilliant at night by electric lights, which supplement the old style of
+gas-burners. The government house, the Palace of Justice, the cathedral,
+and other effective buildings front upon the Plaza Victoria. Eight or
+ten of the principal streets converge here, and this point is also the
+place of departure for several lines of tram-cars. The cathedral is in
+the Grecian style, the portico supported by twelve Corinthian columns,
+composed of brick, mortar, and stucco, but the general effect is the
+same as though each pillar was a monolith. The edifice is capable of
+containing eight or ten thousand people at a time, being equal in size
+and architectural effect to any ecclesiastical establishment on the
+continent. As this cathedral is a very remarkable one in many respects,
+we devote more than usual space to its description. It was rebuilt by
+the Jesuits in the seventeenth century, but was originally founded in
+1580, and is not much inferior to St. Paul's, London, as the following
+dimensions will show. It is two hundred and seventy feet long by one
+hundred and fifty in width, having an area of forty-five hundred square
+rods, and stands next in size to Notre Dame, Paris. The interior of this
+immense building, with its twelve side chapels, is dark, dingy, and
+dirty, while the want of ventilation renders the air within foul and
+offensive. It is only on some rare festal occasions that an audience at
+all adequate to occupy its great capacity is seen within its walls. A
+hundred persons do not seem like more than a dozen in such a place. Less
+than a thousand only serve to emphasize its loneliness. One sees a few
+women, but scarcely any men, present on ordinary occasions. The latter
+are content to stand about the outer doors and watch the former when
+they come from morning mass, or the ordinary Sabbath services. Here, as
+in Havana, Seville, and Madrid, the Spanish ladies, who lead a secluded
+home life, under a half oriental restraint imposed by custom inherited
+from the ancient Moorish rule in continental Spain, do not resent being
+stared at when in the streets. Probably this is the main attraction
+which draws most of the señors and señoritas to the church services,
+though undoubtedly many of them are devout and sincere in the outward
+services which they perform. At least, let us give them the benefit of
+such a conclusion.</p>
+
+<p>The national religion of Argentina is that of the Roman Catholic
+Church, but the power of the priesthood is strictly confined to
+ecclesiastical affairs, as in Uruguay. Absolute religious freedom may be
+said to exist here. No religious processions or church parades are
+permitted in the public streets. This used to be very different in times
+past, almost every other day in the Romish calendar being some saint's
+day, and it was the custom to make the most of these occasions by
+elaborate parades and gorgeous display. Besides some twenty-four Roman
+Catholic churches and chapels, there are a score presided over by
+Protestants of various denominations,&mdash;Episcopal, Presbyterian,
+Lutheran, Methodist, and so on. There is, as we were informed, a large
+and growing Protestant constituency in the city.</p>
+
+<p>It should be mentioned very much to her credit that Buenos Ayres has
+supported, since 1872, a series of normal schools, in which regular
+courses of three years' training are given to persons desiring to fit
+themselves to become school-teachers. To assist those wishing to avail
+themselves of these advantages, the government appropriates a certain
+sum of money, and those persons who receive this public aid bind
+themselves, in consideration of the same, to teach on specific terms in
+the free schools for a period of three years. There are quite a number
+of North American ladies employed in these schools, throughout the
+several districts of Argentina, receiving a liberal compensation
+therefor, and commanding a high degree of respect. The University of
+Buenos Ayres, with about fifty professors and some eight hundred
+students, stands at the head of the national system of education. It was
+founded in 1821, having classical, law, medical, and physical
+departments. There are also four military schools, two for the army and
+two for the navy.</p>
+
+<p>Buenos Ayres has more daily papers published within its precincts
+than either Boston or New York. It has several elegant marble structures
+devoted to the banking business, generally holding large capitals,
+though the financial condition of several of them at this writing is
+simply that of bankruptcy. This applies mainly to the state banks. There
+are here an orphanage, a deaf and dumb asylum, four public hospitals,
+and two libraries: the National Library containing some seventy thousand
+volumes, the Popular Library having fifty thousand. There is also a free
+art school, together with public and private schools of all grades. Last
+to be named, but by no means least in importance, the city has a number
+of fairly good hotels and restaurants, the latter much superior to the
+former. Hotels are not only a strong indication of the social refinement
+of a people, or of the want of it, but they are of great importance as
+regards the commercial prosperity of a large community. Travelers who
+are made comfortable in these temporary homes remain longer in a city
+than they would otherwise, spend more money there, and are apt to come
+again. If, on the contrary, the hotel accommodations are poor, travelers
+complain of them, and strangers avoid a city where they are liable to be
+rendered needlessly uncomfortable in this respect. Rio Janeiro is a
+notable instance in hand, a city whose hotels we conscientiously advise
+the traveler to avoid.</p>
+
+<p>We well remember, at the great caravansary in Calcutta, the only
+hotel there of any size or pretension, that a party of five Englishmen
+and five Americans, who had come from Madras with the purpose of passing
+a fortnight in the former city, shortened their stay one half, simply
+because the hotel was so wretchedly kept, the accommodations were so
+abominably poor, and the discomforts so numerous. Let us put this idea
+in mercenary form. Ten guests, expending at least eight dollars each per
+day, curtailed their visit seven days. It is safe to say that they would
+have left six hundred dollars more in Calcutta had they been comfortably
+lodged, than they did under the circumstances.</p>
+
+<p>We should not omit to mention the Commercial Exchange, in speaking of
+the public buildings of Buenos Ayres. It is a fine, large, modern
+structure, admirably adapted to the purpose for which it is designed.
+Until within a year, the edifice in Boston applied to the same purpose
+would not compare with that of this South American capital.</p>
+
+<p>There is no dullness or torpor in this city. All is stir and bustle.
+Life and business are rampant, and yet, strange to say, no one seems to
+be in any special hurry. Everything is done in a leisurely manner. The
+number of handsome stores and the elegance of the goods displayed in
+them are remarkable, while the annual amount of sales in these
+establishments rivals that of some of our most popular New York and
+Boston concerns in similar lines of business. One may count forty
+first-class jewelry establishments in a short walk about town. There is
+hardly a more attractive display in this line either in Paris or London.
+Diamonds and precious stones of all descriptions dazzle the eye and
+captivate the fancy. The Calle Florida is one of the most fashionable
+thoroughfares, and presents in the afterpart of the day a very gay and
+striking picture of local life, a large element being composed of
+handsome women, attended by gayly dressed nurses, in charge of lovely
+children wearing fancy costumes. The young boys affect naval styles, and
+their little sisters wear marvelously broad Roman scarfs, and have their
+feet encased in dainty buff slippers. What pleasing domestic pictures
+they suggest to the eye of a restless wanderer!</p>
+
+<p>On account of the narrowness of the streets, there is but one line of
+rails laid for the tramway service, so that a person goes out of town,
+say to Palermo, by one system of streets and returns by another. These
+cars move rapidly. A considerable distance is covered in a brief time,
+the motive power being small horses. An almost continuous line of cars,
+with scarcely a break, is passing any given point from early morning
+until night, and the citizens are liberal patrons of them. We saw some
+statistics relating to the number of persons carried by the tramways of
+this city annually, which were simply amazing, and which would make the
+management of the West End Railway of Boston "grow green with jealousy,
+or pallid with despair." Of course all this has been temporarily
+affected by the present financial crisis. As we have tried to show,
+Buenos Ayres is a wonderfully busy city, in which respect it resembles
+our own country much more than it does the average capitals of the
+south. There is none of the visible languor and spirit of delay which
+usually strikes one in tropical centres. People get up in the morning
+wide awake, and go promptly to business. There is no closing of the
+shops at midday here, as there is in Havana, Santiago, the capital of
+Chili, or some of the Mexican cities, so that clerks may absent
+themselves for dinner or to enjoy a siesta. A much more convenient
+course for both clerks and patrons is adopted, which does not block the
+wheels of trade. The idea of closing stores at midday to steal a couple
+of hours for eating and sleeping is a bit of Rip Van Winkleism entirely
+unworthy of the go-ahead spirit of the nineteenth century.</p>
+
+<p>The Plaza Retiro is as large as the Plaza Victoria, and occupies the
+spot where in old Spanish days the hateful exhibitions of the
+bull-fights were given. Indeed, this square was formerly known as the
+Plaza de Toros. Many historical interests hang about the locality,
+around which the rich merchants of the city have erected some palatial
+residences, faced to a certain height with marble on the outside. These
+domestic retreats have courtyards constructed one beyond another,
+covering a considerable depth, and forming a series of patios, each
+appropriated to some special domestic use,&mdash;the dining court, the
+reception court, and the nursery. In this square, and also in the Plaza
+Victoria, there are always plenty of hackney coaches to be found
+awaiting hire, and it should be remarked that charges are very
+reasonable for this service in Buenos Ayres.</p>
+
+<p>There are thirteen theatres in the city, and an admirable museum. The
+latter, rich in antiquities, is noted for its prehistoric remains of
+animals which once lived in the southern part of this continent, but
+whose species have long been extinct. This particular museum is
+advantageously known to scientists all over the world. The Colon Theatre
+is a large, well-equipped, and imposing place of entertainment, as much
+so as the Théâtre Française, Paris, and takes a high position in
+representations of the legitimate drama and the production of the better
+spectacular plays. This house adopts what is called here the
+<i>cazuela</i> in the division of its auditorium, an excellent system,
+very general in South American theatres, and we believe, nowhere else.
+It consists in giving up the entire second tier of boxes or seats to the
+exclusive use of unattended ladies, an arrangement which seemed to us
+strongly to recommend itself. To this division of the auditorium there
+is a separate entrance from the street, and no gentlemen are admitted
+under any pretext whatever. So those who desire to come to the
+entertainments quite unattended can do so with perfect propriety, and
+are safe from all intrusion in this isolated position. The ladies of
+this city, when they appear in public, dress very elegantly, following
+closely North American and European styles, while displaying the
+choicest imported materials well made up. Perhaps comparisons are
+invidious, but we feel inclined to accord precedence in the matter of
+personal beauty to those of Montevideo. In dress, however, the ladies of
+Buenos Ayres certainly excel them. Each city has its local "Worth," but
+many dresses are made in Paris and imported, regardless of expense.</p>
+
+<p>There may be somewhere a noisier city than Buenos Ayres, as regards
+street life in the business section, but London or New York cannot rival
+it in this respect. Undoubtedly this is owing in a measure to the fact
+that the traffic of so large and busy a metropolis is crowded into such
+narrow thoroughfares, barely thirty feet in width, and often less than
+that, a portion of which space is taken up by the tramway tracks. The
+noisy vehicles which run on these rails make their full share of the
+racket and hubbub. Here, as in the cities of Mexico and Puebla, the
+drivers of the cars are supplied each with a tin horn, hung about his
+neck, or suspended from the car front, upon which he exercises his
+lungs, producing ear-piercing and discordant notes. Wheels and hoofs
+upon the uneven pavements increase the din, supplemented by shouts and
+language more forcible than proper, uttered by enraged teamsters because
+of the frequent blocking of the roadway. Add to these dulcet sounds the
+cries of itinerant fruit venders, fancy-goods sellers, and the shouts of
+persistent newsboys, and one has some idea of the irritating uproar
+which rages all day long in the older streets of Buenos Ayres.</p>
+
+<p>Cows and mares are driven singly or in groups through the streets of
+this city, and milked at the customers' doors, so that one is nearly
+certain of getting the genuine article in this line, though we were
+assured that some roguish dealers carry an india-rubber tube and flat
+bag under their clothing from which they slyly extract a portion of
+water to "extend" the lacteal fluid. "Is there no honesty extant?"
+Adulteration seems to have become an instinct of trade. Asses are still
+driven through the streets of Paris, in the early mornings, and the milk
+obtained from them is distributed in the same manner, whether with a
+slight adulteration of water or not, we are unable to say. It is not
+uncommon at Buenos Ayres to see a person served on the street with fresh
+milk just drawn from the animal, which he drinks on the spot. A very
+refreshing, modest, and nutritious morning tipple. Mares, as before
+mentioned, are not used for working or riding in this country, but are
+kept solely for breeding purposes and to furnish milk. This article is
+considered to be more nourishing for invalids and children than cow's
+milk, and is often prescribed as a regular diet by the physicians.</p>
+
+<p>The grand driving park of the capital, known by the name of Third of
+February, is situated at Palermo, some distance from the city proper,
+and covers between eight and nine hundred acres. On certain days,
+especially on Sundays, a military band gives a public outdoor concert
+here, when all the beauty and fashion of the city turn out in gay
+equipages to see and to be seen, forming also a grand and spirited
+cavalcade of fine horses and carriages. The races take place at Palermo,
+and, as in all Roman Catholic countries, on Sundays.</p>
+
+<p>The neighborhood of Buenos Ayres is generally under good cultivation,
+the soil and climate uniting to produce splendid agricultural results.
+The suburbs of Flores and Belgrano each present a very pretty group of
+quintas and gardens, wherein great skill and refinement of taste is
+evinced. The alfalfa, a species of clover used here in a green condition
+as fodder for cattle, and which is as rich as the red clover of New
+England, to which family of grasses it belongs, grows so rapidly and
+ripens so promptly that three crops are often realized from the same
+field in a single season. The immediate environs of the city are
+occupied by private residences, many of which are very elaborate and
+imposing, surrounded by charming gardens and pleasure grounds. Grottoes,
+statuary, and fountains abound, while orchards of various fruits are
+common, interspersed here and there with picturesque graperies. Some of
+the highways are guarded by hedges of
+cactus,&mdash;<i>agave</i>,&mdash;much more impenetrable than any
+artificial fencing. Trees of the eucalyptus family have heretofore been
+favorites here, originally imported from Australia, but they have ceased
+to be desirable, since it appears that nothing will grow in their
+shadow. They seem to exercise a blighting power on other species of
+vegetation. Figs, peaches, and oranges grow side by side, surrounded by
+other fruits, while the low-lying fields and open meadows nearest to the
+river are divided into large squares of three or four acres each,
+enameled with the deep green of the thick growing alfalfa, and other
+crops varying in color after their kind. Richest of all are the
+intensely yellow fields of ripening wheat still farther inland, whose
+softly undulating surface, gently yielding to the passing breeze,
+produces long, widespread floating ripples of golden light.</p>
+
+<p>The love of flowers is a passion among all classes of the people, and
+their cultivation as a business by experienced individuals gives
+profitable employment to many florists, whose grounds are pictures of
+accumulated beauty, fragrance, and variety of hues. There is as true
+harmony to the eye in such blendings as there is to the ear in perfect
+music. The reader may be sure that where the children of Flora so much
+abound, bright tinted humming-birds do much more abound, dainty little
+living feathered gems, rivaling rubies, sapphires, and emeralds.</p>
+
+<p>To insure the good health of her large and increasing population, the
+system of drainage in Buenos Ayres requires prompt and effectual
+treatment. The natural fall of the ground towards the river is hardly
+sufficient to second any engineering effort to this end. That typhoid
+fever should prevail here to the extent which it does, at nearly all
+seasons of the year, is a terrible reflection upon those in authority.
+This is a fatal disease which is quite preventable, and in this instance
+clearly traceable to obvious causes. Rio Janeiro, with its yellow fever
+scourge, is hardly more seriously afflicted than Buenos Ayres with its
+typhoid malaria. Indeed, it is contended by some persons living on the
+coast that the number of deaths per annum in the two cities arising from
+these causes is very nearly equal, taking into account the results of
+year after year. Sometimes, unaccountably, Rio escapes the fever for a
+twelvemonth, that is to say, some seasons it does not rage as an
+epidemic; but we fear, if the truth were fairly expressed, it would be
+found that the seeds are there all the while, and that the city of Rio
+Janeiro, like that of Vera Cruz on the Gulf of Mexico, is never
+absolutely exempt from occasional cases.</p>
+
+<p>The Argentine Republic contains more than a million square miles, as
+already stated; indeed, immensity may be said to be one of its most
+manifest characteristics. The plains, the woods, the rivers, are
+colossal. To be sure, all of her territory is not, strictly speaking,
+available land, suitable for agricultural purposes, any more than is the
+case in our own wide-spread country. No other nation equals this
+republic in the value of cattle, compared with the number of the
+population, not forgetting Australia with its immense sheep and cattle
+ranches. It is believed, nevertheless, that the agricultural interest
+here, as in Uruguay, is gradually increasing in such ratio that it will
+erelong rival the pastoral. The average soil is very similar to that of
+our Mississippi valley, yielding a satisfactory succession of crops
+without the aid of any artificial enrichment. The pampas have a mellow,
+dry soil, the common grass growing in tussocks to the height of three or
+four feet, and possessing a perennial vigor which mostly crowds out
+other vegetation. A few wild flowers are occasionally seen, and in the
+marshy places lilies of several species are to be met with; but taken
+all together the flora of the pampas is the poorest of any fertile
+district with which we are acquainted. A few half-developed herbs and
+trefoils occasionally meet the eye, together with small patches of wild
+verbenas of various colors. At long distances from each other one comes
+upon areas of tall pampas grass as it is called, so stocky as to be
+almost like the bamboo, eight or ten feet high, decked with fleecy,
+white plumes. Birds are scarce on the pampas. There is a peculiar
+species of hare, besides some animals of the rodent family, resembling
+prairie-dogs&mdash;<i>biscachos</i>&mdash;or overgrown rats, together
+with an occasional jaguar and puma, found on these plains, as well as
+that meanest of all animals, the pestiferous skunk. Animal life, other
+than the herds of wild cattle, can hardly be said to abound on the
+pampas.</p>
+
+<p>Until a few years since, Buenos Ayres enjoyed the distinction of
+being the capital of the province of the same name, as also of the
+Argentine Republic; but the present capital of the province of Buenos
+Ayres, called La Plata, is situated about forty miles south-east of
+Buenos Ayres, with which it is connected by railway. The site of the new
+capital was an uninhabited wilderness ten years ago, the foundation
+stone of this city having been laid in 1882. To-day La Plata has a
+population of about fifty thousand, although over seventy are claimed
+for it, a comprehensive system of tramways, broad, well paved streets,
+two theatres, thirty public schools, a national college, and six large
+hotels. There are many monuments and fountains ornamenting the
+thoroughfares, and what is now wanting is a population commensurate with
+the grand scale on which the capital is designed. An immense cathedral
+is being built, but has only reached a little way above its foundation,
+as work upon it has for a while been suspended. If the original plan is
+fully carried out, it may be half a century or more in course of
+construction. La Plata is suffering from the pecuniary crisis perhaps
+more seriously than any other part of the country. The city is lighted
+by both electricity and gas, issues five daily newspapers, has a very
+complete astronomical observatory, a public library, five railroad
+stations, and some very elegant public buildings. Its large
+possibilities are by no means improved, however. Of the buildings, the
+edifice of the provincial legislature, that of the minister of finance,
+and the legislative palace are all worthy of mention. The government
+house is a long, low structure, the front view of which is rendered
+effective by an added story in the centre, which projects from the line
+of the building, and is supported by high columns. The "Palace," as it
+is called, forming the residence of the governor of the province, is an
+elaborate and pretentious building, three stories in height, with two
+flanking domes and a dominating one in the centre. Of course La Plata
+has gained its start and rapid growth from the prestige of being the
+provincial capital, but it is now slowly developing a legitimate growth
+on a sound business basis, and though it can hardly be expected to ever
+equal Buenos Ayres in population and commercial importance, it
+nevertheless promises to be a prosperous city in the distant future; its
+citizens already call it the "Washington" of South America. A close
+observer could not but notice that many houses were unoccupied, and the
+streets seemed half deserted.</p>
+
+<p>While the most of our maps and geographies remain pretty much as they
+were a score of years ago, and a majority of the kingdoms of the Old
+World have changed scarcely at all, the Argentine Republic has been
+steadily growing in population, progressing rapidly in intelligence,
+constantly extending its commercial relations, and marching all the
+while towards the front rank of modern civilization. A detailed
+statement of its extraordinary development during the last twenty years,
+in commerce, railway connections, schools, agriculture, and general
+wealth, would surprise the most intelligent reader. It is believed by
+experienced and conservative people, particularly those conversant with
+the South American republics, that Buenos Ayres will be the first city
+south of the equator in commercial rank and population, within a quarter
+of a century. The increase of this republic in population during the
+last two decades has been over one hundred and fifty per cent., a
+rapidity of growth almost without precedent. The increase of population
+in our own country, during the same period, was less than eighty per
+cent. Twenty-four lines of magnificent steamships connect the Argentine
+Republic with Europe, and twice that number of vessels sail back and
+forth each month of the year, while its railway system embraces over six
+thousand miles of road in operation, besides one or two yet incomplete
+routes, though the opening of its first line was so late as thirty-four
+years ago. Add to this her system of inland river navigation, covering
+thousands of miles, which has been so systematized as to fully
+supplement the remarkable railway facilities.</p>
+
+<p>That Argentina rests at the present moment, as we have constantly
+intimated, under a financial cloud is only too well known to every one.
+It is a crisis brought about by an overhaste in the development of the
+country, especially in railroad enterprises. <i>Festina lente</i> is a
+good sound maxim, which the people of this republic have quite
+disregarded, and for which they and their creditors are suffering
+accordingly. It is seldom that any newly developed country escapes the
+maladies attendant upon too rapid growth, but this is a sort of illness
+pretty sure to remedy itself in due time, and rarely impedes the proper
+development of maturer years. If this republic has been unduly
+extravagant, and borrowed too much money in advancing her material
+interests, she has at least something to show for it. The funds have not
+been foolishly expended in sustaining worse than useless hordes of armed
+men, nor in the profitless support of royal puppets.</p>
+
+<p>Nations no less than individuals are liable to financial failure, but
+with her grand and inexhaustible native resources, backed by the energy
+of her adopted citizens, this republic is as sure as anything mortal can
+be to soon recover from her present business depression, and to astonish
+the world at large by the rapidity of her financial recuperation. Her
+present annual crop of wool exceeds all former record in amount, and is
+authoritatively estimated at over thirty million dollars in value. To
+this large industrial product is to be added her prolific harvest of
+maize and wheat, together with an almost fabulous amount of valuable
+hides.</p>
+
+<p class="p4"><a name="Ch_13"></a></p>
+
+<h3>CHAPTER XIII.</h3>
+
+<p class="blockquote">City of Rosario.&mdash;Its Population.&mdash;A
+Pretentious Church.&mdash;Ocean Experiences.&mdash;Morbid
+Fancies.&mdash;Strait of Magellan.&mdash;A Great Discoverer.&mdash;Local
+Characteristics.&mdash;Patagonians and Fuegians.&mdash;Giant
+Kelp.&mdash;Unique Mail Box.&mdash;Punta Arenas.&mdash;An Ex-Penal
+Colony.&mdash;The Albatross.&mdash;Natives.&mdash;A Naked
+People.&mdash;Whales.&mdash;Sea-Birds.&mdash;Glaciers.&mdash;Mount
+Sarmiento.&mdash;A Singular Story.</p>
+
+<p class="p2">The route to Rosario is rather monotonous by railway,
+taking the traveler through a very flat but fertile region, over
+prairies which are virtually treeless, not unlike long reaches of
+country through which the Canadian Pacific Railroad passes between
+Banff, in the Rocky Mountains, and Port Arthur, on Lake Superior. The
+monotonous scenery is varied only by a sight of occasional herds of
+cattle, feeding upon the rich grass, with here and there a mounted
+herdsman, and the numberless telegraph poles which line the track. It is
+at least a seven hours' journey from Buenos Ayres to Rosario.
+Occasionally a marshy reach of soil is encountered where large aquatic
+birds are seen, such as flamingoes, storks, cranes, herons, and the
+like.</p>
+
+<p>Rosario, in the province of Santa Fé, is the second city in point of
+population and importance in the Argentine Republic. It is a young and
+promising capital, hardly yet fairly launched upon its voyage of
+prosperity, but so far it has been singularly favored by various
+circumstances. The place is arranged in the usual crisscross manner as
+regards the streets of this country, which, unfortunately, are too
+narrow for even its present limited business. In place of twenty-four
+feet they should have been laid out at least double that width, in the
+light of all experience has developed in these South American cities.
+This new town is situated a little less than three hundred miles by
+water from Buenos Ayres, and about two hundred by land, railroad and
+steamboat connection being regularly maintained between them. The site
+is admirably chosen on the banks of the Paraná River, fifty or sixty
+feet above its level, and it is destined to become, eventually, a great
+commercial centre. In 1854 it was only a large village, containing some
+four thousand people. It is the natural seaport, not only of the rich
+province of Cordova, but also of the more inland districts, Mendoza, San
+Luis, Tucuman, Salta, and Jujuy, the first named having a population of
+half a million. Owing to the height of the river's banks, merchandise is
+loaded by "shutes," being thus conducted at once from the warehouses to
+the hatches of the vessels. Already a number of foreign steamships may
+be seen almost any day lying at anchor opposite the town, while the
+railway communications in various directions have all of their
+transportation capacity fully employed. One of these lines reaches
+almost across the continent to Mendoza, at the eastern slope of the
+Andes, west from Rosario. Other roads run both north and south from
+here. The foreign and domestic trade of the place is second only to that
+of Buenos Ayres. Vessels drawing fifteen feet of water ascend the river
+to this point. As a shipping port, Rosario has to a certain extent
+special advantages even over the larger city, being two or three hundred
+miles nearer the merchandise producing points.</p>
+
+<p>There is already a population of some seventy-five thousand here,
+and, as we have intimated, the city is growing rapidly. Wharves, docks,
+and warehouses are in course of construction, and can hardly be finished
+fast enough to meet the demand for their use. There are a few
+substantial and handsome dwellings being erected, and many of a more
+ordinary class, in the finishing of which many a cargo of New England
+lumber is consumed. Some of the public buildings are imposing in size
+and architectural design, wisely constructed in anticipation of the
+future size of the city, whose rapid growth is only equaled by St. Paul
+in Brazil. The tramway, gas, and telephone have been successfully
+introduced. There is certainly no lack of enterprise evinced in all
+legitimate business directions, while attention is being very properly
+and promptly turned towards perfecting a carefully devised educational
+system of free schools, primary and progressive. When the founders of a
+new city begin in this intelligent fashion, we may be very sure that
+they are moving in the right direction, and that permanency, together
+with abundant present success, is sure to be the sequence.</p>
+
+<p>On one side of the Plaza Mayor of Rosario stands a very pretentious
+church, not yet quite completed, but as the towers and dome are finished
+it makes a prominent feature from a long way off, as one approaches the
+town. In the centre of this square is a marble shaft surmounted by a
+figure representing Victory, and at the base are four statues of
+Argentine historic characters. This square is adorned with a double row
+of handsome acacias. As regards amusements, so far as is visible,
+theatricals seem to take the lead, the place having two theatres, both
+of which appear to be enjoying a thriving business.</p>
+
+<p>When a new city is started in South America upon a site so well
+selected, and after so thoroughly substantial a plan, the result is no
+problem. The influx of European immigrants promptly supplies the
+necessary laborers and artisans, quite as fast, indeed, as they are
+required, while the ordinary growth and development of inland resources
+tax the local business capacity, enterprise, and capital to their
+utmost. Rosario needs to perfect a careful and thorough system of
+drainage. Fevers are at present alarmingly prevalent, arising from
+causes which judicious attention and sanitary means would easily
+obviate.</p>
+
+<p>We will not weary the reader by protracted delay at this point,
+having still a long voyage before us.</p>
+
+<p>Embarking at Montevideo, our way is southward over a broad and lonely
+track of ocean. If we can summon a degree of philosophy to our aid, it
+is fortunate. Without genial companions, surrounded by strangers, and
+thrown entirely upon ourselves, mental resort often fails us, life
+appears sombre, the wide, wide ocean almost appalling. One of the
+inevitable trials of a long sea voyage is the wakeful hours which will
+occasionally visit the most experienced traveler,&mdash;midnight hours,
+when the weary brain becomes preternaturally active, the imagination
+oversensitive and weird in its erratic conceptions, while forebodings of
+evil which never happens are apt to fill the mind with morbid anxieties.
+The very silence of the surroundings is impressive, interrupted only by
+the regular throbbing of the great, tireless engine, and the dashing
+waters chafing along the iron hull close beside the wakeful dreamer.
+Separated by thousands of miles from home, all communication cut off
+with friends and the world at large, while watching the dreary ocean,
+day after day, week after week, we imagine endless misfortunes that may
+have come to dear ones on shore. However limited may be the world of
+reality, that of the imagination is boundless, and sometimes one
+realizes years of wretched anxiety in the space of a few overwrought
+hours. It is such moments of passive misery which beget wrinkles and
+white hairs. Action is the only relief, and one hastens to the deck for
+a change of scene and thoughts. After experiencing such a night, how
+glad and glorious seems the sun rising out of the wide waste of waters,
+how bright and glowing the smile he casts upon the long lazy swell of
+the South Atlantic, as if pointedly to rebuke the overwrought fancy, and
+reassure the aching heart!</p>
+
+<p>Be we never so dreary, the great ship speeds on its course, heeding
+us not; its busy motor, like heart-beats, throbs with undisturbed
+uniformity, forcing the vessel onward despite the joy or sorrow of those
+it carries within its capacious hull.</p>
+
+<p>The Strait of Magellan, which divides South America from the
+mysterious island group which is known as Terra del Fuego, and connects
+the Atlantic with the Pacific Ocean by a most intricate water-way, is
+considerably less than four hundred miles in length, and of various
+widths. De Lesseps, with his successful Suez Canal and his deplorable
+Panama failure, is quite distanced by the hand of Nature in this line of
+business. It would require about ten thousand Suez Canals to make a
+Magellan Strait, and then it would be but a very sorry imitation. It
+will be remembered that the Portuguese navigator who discovered this
+remarkable passage, and for whom it is justly named, first passed
+through it in November, 1520, finally emerging into the waters of the
+new sea, upon which he was the first to sail, and which he named Mar
+Pacifico. Doubtless it seemed "pacific" to him after his rude experience
+in the South Atlantic, but the author has known as rough weather in this
+misnamed ocean as he has ever encountered in any part of the globe.</p>
+
+<p>One can well conceive of the elation and surprise of Magellan, upon
+emerging from the intricate passage through which he had been struggling
+to make his way for so many weary days. What a sensation of satisfaction
+and triumph must the courageous and persevering navigator have
+experienced at the discovery he had made! What mattered all his weary
+hours of watching, of self-abnegation, of cold and hunger, of incessant
+battling with the raging sea? Henceforth to him royal censure or royal
+largess mattered little. His name would descend to all future
+generations as the great discoverer of this almost limitless ocean.</p>
+
+<p>The passage leading to the strait on the Atlantic or eastern end is
+about twenty miles across, Cape Vergens being on the starboard side, and
+Cape Espiritu Santo&mdash;or Cape Holy Ghost&mdash;on the port. The
+entrance on the western or Pacific end is marked by Cape Pillar,
+Desolation Land, where the scenery is far more rugged and mountainous,
+the cape terminating in two cliffs, shaped so much like artificial
+towers as to be quite deceptive at a short distance. The narrowest part
+of the strait is about one mile in width, known to mariners as Crooked
+Reach. A passage through this great natural canal is an experience
+similar, in some respects, to that of sailing in the inland sea of
+Alaska, between Victoria and Glacier Bay, bringing into view dense
+forests, immense glaciers, abrupt mountain peaks, and snow-covered
+summits, the whole shrouded in the same solitude and silence, varied by
+the occasional flight of sea-birds or the appearance of seals and
+porpoises from below the deep waters. So irregular in its course is this
+passage between the two great oceans, so changeable are its currents, so
+impeded by dangerous rocks and hidden shoals, so beset with squalls and
+sudden storms, that sailing vessels are forced to double the
+ever-dreaded Cape Horn rather than take the Magellan route. A United
+States man-of-war, a sailing ship, was once over two months in making
+the passage through the strait, and Magellan tells us that he was
+thirty-seven days in passing from ocean to ocean, though using all
+ordinary dispatch. Within a fortnight of the writing of these notes, a
+European mail steamship was lost here by striking upon a sunken rock.
+Fortunately, owing to the proximity of the shore and moderate weather
+prevailing, the crew and passengers were all saved.</p>
+
+<p>Winter lingers, and the days are short in this latitude. A sailing
+ship would be compelled to find anchorage nightly, and some days would
+perhaps be driven back in a few hours a distance which it had required a
+week to make in her proper direction. Steamships usually accomplish the
+run in from thirty to forty hours, there being many reaches where it is
+necessary to run only at half speed. If heavy fogs and bad weather
+prevail, they often lay by during the night, and also in snow-storms,
+which occur not infrequently. The sky is seldom clear for many hours
+together, and the sun's warmth is rarely felt, the rain falling almost
+daily. Even in the summer of this high southern latitude the nights are
+cold and gloomy, ice nearly always forming. It must be admitted that
+this region, of itself, is not calculated to attract the most inveterate
+wanderer. One is not surprised when reading the rather startling
+narrations of the old navigators who made the passage of the strait,
+encountering the constantly varying winds, and having canvas only to
+depend upon. The marvel is that, with their primitive means, they should
+have accomplished so much. There are no lighthouses in this passage from
+ocean to ocean, though it has been pretty well surveyed and buoyed in
+late years, thanks to the liberality of the English naval service, by
+whom this was done. There is, in fact, a dearth of lighthouses on the
+entire coast of South America, especially on the west side of the
+continent. We can recall but three between Montevideo and Valparaiso, a
+distance, by way of the strait, of fully two thousand miles. The
+lighthouses we refer to are at Punta Arenas, Punta Galesa, near
+Valdivia, and that which marks the port of Concepcion, at Talcahuano.
+The Strait of Magellan is only fit as an abiding-place for seals,
+waterfowl, and otters; humanity can hardly find congenial foothold
+here.</p>
+
+<p>The natives of Patagonia, who live on the northern side of the
+strait, are called horse Indians, because they make such constant use of
+the wild horses; they do not move in any direction without them. Those
+on the Fuegian side are called canoe Indians, as the canoe forms their
+universal and indeed only mode of transportation. The former are a
+rather large, tall race of people, the men averaging about six feet in
+height; the latter are smaller in physical development, and are less
+civilized than the Indians of Patagonia, which, to be sure, is saying
+very little for the latter, who are really a low type of nomads. The
+Fuegians are believed to still practice cannibalism. One writer tells us
+that criminals and prisoners of war are thus disposed of, and that the
+last crew of shipwrecked seamen who fell into their hands were roasted
+and eaten by them. Their hostile purposes are well understood, for
+whenever they dare to exercise such a spirit they are sure to do so.
+They cautiously send out a boat or two to passing vessels, with whom a
+little trading is attempted, the main body of natives keeping well out
+of sight; but in case of any mishap to a ship, or if a small party land
+and are unable to defend themselves, they will appear in swarms from
+various hiding-places, swooping down upon their victims like vultures in
+the desert. The officers of the yacht Sunbeam, as recounted by Lady
+Brassey, found it necessary to turn her steam-pipes full force upon the
+swarming natives, who were doubtless preparing to make an effort to
+capture the yacht and her crew, hoping to overcome them by mere force of
+numbers. They were, however, so frightened and utterly astonished by the
+means of defense adopted by Lord Brassey that they threw themselves, one
+and all, into the sea, and sought the shore pell-mell. Humboldt, in his
+day, ranked these Fuegians among the lowest specimens of humanity he had
+ever met, and they certainly do not seem to have improved much in the
+mean time. One is at a loss to understand why the Patagonians should
+have impressed the early navigators with the idea that they were a
+people of gigantic size. There is no evidence to-day of their being, or
+ever having been, taller or larger than the average New Englander.
+Half-naked savages, standing six feet high, naturally impress one as
+being taller than Europeans clad in the conventional style of civilized
+people.</p>
+
+<p>The waters of Magellan are very dark, deep, and sullen in aspect,
+with insufficient room in many places to manage a ship properly under
+canvas alone. In their depth and darkness these waters also resemble
+those of Alaska's inland sea. The shores are quite bold, and the rocks
+below the surface are mostly indicated by giant kelp&mdash;<i>Fucus
+giganteus</i>&mdash;growing over them, a kind provision of nature in
+behalf of safe navigation. It will not answer, however, to depend solely
+upon this indication; the many rocks in the strait are by no means all
+so designated, nor are they all buoyed. Sea-kelp is very plentiful in
+this region, and serves many useful purposes. It forms a nourishing food
+for the Fuegians under certain circumstances, when their usual supply is
+scarce. They dry it and prepare it in a rude way suited to their
+unsophisticated palates. It also forms a portion of the support of the
+seals and sea-otters; these creatures feed freely upon its more delicate
+and tender shoots. It is wonderful how it can exist and thrive among
+such breakers as it constantly encounters in these restless waters,
+which are churned into mounds of foam in squally weather; but it does
+grow in great luxuriance, rising oftentimes two hundred feet and more
+from the bottom of the sea. It is curious to watch its abundant growth
+and its peculiar habits. If the wind and tide are in the same direction,
+the plant lies smooth upon the water; but if the wind is against the
+tide, the leaves curl up, causing a ripple on the surface, like a school
+of small fish. A specimen of giant kelp was secured from alongside of
+the ship, broken off at arm's length below the surface of the water. It
+was heavy and full of parasites. Upon shaking it, myriads of marine
+insects, shells, tiny crabs, sea-eggs, and star-fish fell upon the deck.
+All of these were of the smallest species, some almost invisible to the
+naked eye, but how wonderful they appeared under the microscope, which
+developed hundreds of forms of life infinitesimal in size!</p>
+
+<p>At a prominent point of the main channel is a strong box made fast by
+a chain, which always used to be opened by the masters of passing ships,
+either to deposit or to take away letters, as the case might be, each
+shipmaster undertaking the free delivery of all letters whose address
+was within the line of his subsequent course. In the whaleship service,
+especially during times now long past, this arrangement has been of
+great service, and there is no instance on record where the purpose of
+this self-sustaining post-office was disregarded. In these days of fast
+and regular post-office service, the "Magellan mail," as it was called,
+is of no practical account.</p>
+
+<p>There are several fairly good harbors in the strait, but the only
+white settlement was originally a penal colony founded by the Chilian
+government, though it no longer serves for that purpose, the convicts
+having risen some years since, and overpowered the garrison. A large
+portion of the Patagonian shore is well wooded, besides which an
+available coal deposit has been found and worked to fair advantage.
+Steamships, which were formerly obliged to go to the Falkland Islands,
+in the Atlantic, five hundred miles from the mouth of the strait, when
+running short of fuel, can now get their supply in an exigency at Punta
+Arenas&mdash;"Sandy Point." It is situated in the eastern section of the
+strait, about a hundred and twenty-five miles from the entrance. We do
+not mean to convey the idea that this is a regular coaling station,
+though it may some time become so. The town consists of straggling,
+low-built log-houses, and a few framed ones, reminding one of Port Said
+at the Mediterranean end of the Suez Canal, with its heterogeneous
+population. That of Sandy Point is made up of all nationalities,
+strongly tinctured with ex-convicts, and deserters from the Chilian army
+and navy. English is the language most commonly spoken, though the place
+is Chilian territory. It contains some twelve or fifteen hundred
+inhabitants, and is the most southerly town on the globe, as well as the
+most undesirable one in which to live, if one may express an opinion
+upon such brief acquaintance.</p>
+
+<p>We made no attempt to go on shore at Punta Arenas. A rain-storm was
+at its height while the ship lay off the town, and when it rains in
+these latitudes, it attends exclusively to the business in hand. The
+water comes down like Niagara, until finally, when the clouds have
+entirely emptied themselves, it stops. Jupiter Pluvius is master of the
+situation, when he asserts himself, and there is no one who can dispute
+his authority. Umbrellas and waterproofs are of no more use as a
+protection during the downpour, than they would be to a person who had
+fallen overboard in water forty fathoms deep. One of our passengers came
+on deck with a life preserver about his body, solemnly declaring that if
+this sort of thing continued much longer, the article would be
+absolutely necessary in order to keep afloat.</p>
+
+<p>During the season the Patagonians bring into Punta Arenas the result
+of their hunting in the shape of seal and otter skins, together with
+guanaco, and silver-fox skins, which are gathered by local traders and
+shipped to Europe. Occasionally a few sea-otter skins of rare value are
+obtained from here, fully equal, we were told, to anything taken in
+Alaskan waters. We have said that Punta Arenas is the most southerly
+town on the globe. The next nearest town to the Antarctic circle is the
+Bluff, so called,&mdash;also known as Campbelltown,&mdash;in the extreme
+south of New Zealand, where the author has eaten of the famous oysters
+indigenous there.</p>
+
+<p>Two sorts of supplies are to be obtained by navigators of the strait,
+namely, fuel and good drinking water. Sometimes a valuable skin robe may
+be purchased of the Patagonian Indians. It is called a guanaco-skin
+cloak, and made from the skin of the young deer. To obtain these skins
+of a uniform fineness of texture, the fawns are killed when but eight or
+ten days old; the available product got from each one is so small as
+hardly to exceed twice the size of one's hand. These are sewn together
+with infinite care and neatness by the Indian women, who use the fine
+sinews taken from ostriches' legs for thread. One of these guanaco-skin
+cloaks represents a vast amount of labor, and a hundred fawns must die
+to supply the raw material. Only chiefs of tribes can afford to wear
+them. Strangers who are willing to pay a price commensurate with their
+real cost and value may occasionally buy such an article as we describe,
+but these cloaks are rare. One was brought on board ship and shown to
+us, the price of which was twelve hundred dollars, nor do we think it
+was an excessive valuation. It was worth the amount as a rare curiosity
+for some art museum.</p>
+
+<p>That monarch bird of Antarctic regions, the albatross, frequents both
+ends of the strait, and sometimes accompanies steamships during the
+passage, together with cape-pigeons, gulls, and other marine birds,
+though as a rule the albatross is little seen except on the broad
+expanse of the ocean. A bird called the steamer-duck, also nicknamed by
+sailors the paddle-wheel duck, was pointed out to us by our captain. It
+is so called from its mode of propelling itself through the water,
+scooting over the surface of the strait while using both wings and legs,
+and creating considerable disturbance of the water, like a side-wheeler.
+The wings are too small to give it power of flight through the air. The
+steamer-duck is a large bird, nearly the size of the domestic goose;
+after its fashion, it moves with astonishing velocity, considerably
+faster than the average speed of a steamship. But we were speaking a
+moment since of the albatross, which is a feathered cannibal, and shows
+some truly wolfish traits. When one of its own species, a member of the
+same flock even, is wounded and drops helpless to the surface of the
+sea, its comrades swoop down upon it, and tearing the body to pieces
+with their powerful bills, devour the flesh ravenously. This was
+witnessed near the Arctic circle, between Hobart, in Tasmania, and the
+Bluff, in New Zealand, a few years ago, when some English sportsmen
+succeeded in wounding one of these mammoth birds from the deck of the
+steamship Zealandia. The only other known bird of our day which measures
+from eleven to twelve feet between the tips of the extended wings is the
+South American condor.</p>
+
+<p>The sea hereabouts abounds in fish, which constitute the largest
+portion of the food supply of the few Indians who live near the coast of
+either shore. The Fuegians dwell in the rudest shelters possible,
+nothing approaching the form of a house. The frailest shelter, covered
+with sea-lion's skins, suffices to keep them from the inclemencies of
+the weather. With the exception of an animal skin of some sort, having
+the fur on, secured over one shoulder on the side exposed to the wind,
+the canoe Indians wear no clothing. We were told that several of these
+natives, while quite young, were taken to England by advice of the
+missionaries and taught to read and write, being also kindly instructed
+in civilized manners and customs, which they gladly adopted for the time
+being; but upon returning to their native land, in every instance they
+rapidly lapsed into a condition of semi-savagery. It had been hoped they
+would act as a civilizing medium with their former friends, after
+returning among them, but this proved fallacious, and was a great
+disappointment to the well-meaning philanthropists. This same
+experience, as is well known, has been the result of similar experiments
+with natives of Africa and the South Sea Islands. The author is
+conversant with a striking illustration of this character in connection
+with an Australian Indian youth, which occurred in Queensland, and which
+was both interesting and very romantic in its development. It simply
+went to prove that hereditary instincts cannot be easily eradicated, and
+that not one, but many generations are necessary to banish savage
+proclivities which are inherited from a long line of ancestors.</p>
+
+<p>Gold is found to some extent in the beds of the streams in
+Patagonia,&mdash;free gold, washed from the disintegrated rocks. Natives
+sometimes bring small quantities of the gold dust into Punta Arenas,
+with which to purchase tobacco and other articles. Many heedless and
+unprincipled individuals sell them intoxicants, to obtain which these
+Indians will part with anything they possess, after they have once
+become familiar with the taste and effect of the captivating poison.</p>
+
+<p>Not far from Cape Forward, near the middle of the strait, which is
+the most southerly portion of the American continent, three native boats
+were seen during our passage. The steamer was slowed for a few moments
+to give us a brief opportunity to see the savage occupants. These three
+frail, ill-built canoes were tossed high and low by the swell of the
+Pacific, which set to the eastward through the strait. Each boat
+contained a man, a couple of women, and one or two children, the latter
+entirely naked, the others nearly so. They were Fuegians, raising their
+hands and voices to attract our attention, asking for food and tobacco,
+to which appeal a generous response was made. Their broad faces, high
+cheek-bones, low foreheads, and flat noses, their faces and necks
+screened by coarse black hair, did not challenge our admiration, however
+much we were exercised by pity for human beings in so desolate a
+condition. They certainly possessed two redeeming
+features,&mdash;brilliant eyes and teeth of dazzling whiteness. The
+fruit thrown to them seemed best to suit the ideas and palates of the
+children, who devoured oranges, skin and all; but the gift of clothing
+which was made to the parents was laid aside for future consideration,
+though there are probably no "ole clo'" merchants in Terra del Fuego.
+The men ate hard sea biscuit and slices of cold corned beef ravenously.
+The plump, well-rounded shoulders and limbs of the women showed them to
+be in far better physical condition than the men, whose bodies consisted
+of little besides skin and bones. They were copper colored, and the skin
+of the women shone in the bright sunlight which prevailed for the
+moment, as though they had been varnished. If their faces had been as
+well formed as their bodies, they would have been models of natural
+beauty. How these people could remain so nearly naked with apparent
+comfort, while we found overcoats quite necessary, was a problem
+difficult to solve satisfactorily.</p>
+
+<p>"They were born so," said our first officer. "As you go through life
+with your face and hands exposed, so they go with their entire bodies.
+It is a mere matter of habit,&mdash;habit from babyhood to
+maturity."</p>
+
+<p>All of which is perfectly reasonable. It was observed that on the
+bottom of their boats was a layer of flat stones, and on these, just
+amidship, was spread a low, smouldering fire of dried vines and small
+twigs, designed to temper the atmosphere about them. So frail were the
+boats that one of the occupants was kept constantly baling out
+water.</p>
+
+<p>It is impossible to form any intelligent estimate as to how many of
+these aborigines there are in and about the strait. They find food, like
+the canvas-back ducks, in the wild celery, adding shell-fish and dried
+berberries, and are a strictly nomadic people. After exhausting the
+products of one vicinity, for the time being, they move on, but return
+to the locality at a proper time, when nature has recuperated herself
+and furnished a fresh supply of vegetable growth and edible shell-fish.
+A stranded whale is a godsend to these savages, upon the putrid flesh of
+which they live and fatten until all has disappeared. In their primitive
+way they hunt this leviathan, but want of proper facilities renders them
+rarely successful. Occasionally they manage to plant a spear in some
+vital spot, deep enough to be effectual, so that the whale, after diving
+to the depths of the sea, finally comes to the surface, near the place
+where he was wounded, to thrash about and to die. Even then, unless it
+is at a favorable point, the large body is liable to be swept away by
+the strong tide setting through the strait, so that the natives seldom
+secure a carcass by these means.</p>
+
+<p>Not long since one of the European mail steamers, on approaching the
+Atlantic end of the strait, sighted an object which was at first thought
+to be a sunken rock. If this was its character, it was all important to
+obtain the exact location. A boat was lowered and pulled to the object,
+when it was found to be the carcass of a dead whale, in which was a
+stout wooden spear which had fatally wounded the creature. Securely
+attached to the spear, by means of a rope made of animal sinews, there
+were a couple of inflated bladders. The spear was evidently a Fuegian
+weapon, and though it had finally cost the whale his life, the dead body
+had been carried by the current far beyond the reach of those who had
+caused the fatal wound. The discovery showed the crude manner in which
+these savages seek to possess themselves of a whale occasionally and
+thus to appease their barbaric appetites. They could not pursue one in
+their frail boats, but the creature is sometimes found sleeping on the
+surface of the sea, which is the Fuegian opportunity for approaching it
+noiselessly, and for planting a spear in some vital part of the huge
+body. Whales, when thus attacked, do not show fight, but their instinct
+leads them to dive at once.</p>
+
+<p>A few whales were observed within the strait during our passage, some
+so near as to show that they had no fear of the ship. It was curious to
+watch them. There was a baby whale among the rest, five or six feet in
+length, which kept very close to its dam; it suddenly disappeared once
+while we were watching the school, though only to rise again to the
+surface of the sea and emit a tiny fountain of spray from its diminutive
+blow-hole. In passing a small inlet which formed a calm, sheltered piece
+of water, still as an inland lake, there were seen upon its tranquil
+bosom a few white geese, quietly floating, while close at hand upon some
+rocks, a half score of awkward penguins were also observed, with their
+ludicrous dummy wings, and their bodies supported in a half standing,
+half sitting position.</p>
+
+<p>Ducks seem to be very abundant in the strait, but geese are scarce.
+An occasional cormorant is caught sight of, with its distended pouch
+bearing witness to its proverbial voracity. All the birds one sees in
+these far away regions have each some peculiar adaptability to the
+climate, the locality, or to both. The penguin never makes the mistake
+of seeking our northern shores, nor is the albatross often seen north of
+the fortieth degree of south latitude. True, were the former to
+emigrate, he would have to swim the whole distance, but the latter is so
+marvelously strong of wing that it has been said of him, he might
+breakfast, if he chose, at the Cape of Good Hope, and dine on the coast
+of Newfoundland.</p>
+
+<p>Terra del Fuego,&mdash;"Land of Fire,"&mdash;which makes the southern
+side of the strait, opposite Patagonia, is composed of a very large
+group of islands washed by the Atlantic on the east side and the Pacific
+on the west, trending towards the southeast for about two hundred miles
+from the strait, and terminating at Cape Horn. The largest of these
+islands is East Terra del Fuego, which measures from east to west
+between three and four hundred miles. One can only speak vaguely of
+detail, as this is still a <i>terra incognita</i>. These islands do
+indeed form "a land of desolation," as Captain Cook appropriately named
+them, sparsely inhabited to be sure, but hardly fit for human beings.
+They are deeply indented and cut up by arms of the sea, and composed
+mostly of sterile mountains, whose tops are covered with perpetual snow.
+When the mountains are not too much exposed to the ocean storms on the
+west coast, they are scantily covered with a species of hardy,
+wind-distorted trees from the water's edge upward to the snow line,
+which is here about two thousand feet above the sea. In sheltered areas
+this growth is dense and forest-like, especially nearest to the sea; in
+others it is interspersed by bald and blanched patches of barren rocks.
+In some open places, where they have worn themselves a broad path, the
+glaciers come down to the water, discharging sections of ice constantly
+into the deep sea, crowded forward and downward by the immense but
+slow-moving mass behind,&mdash;a frozen river,&mdash;thus illustrating
+the habit of the iceberg-producing glaciers of the far north.</p>
+
+<p>One never approaches this subject without recalling the lamented
+Agassiz and his absorbing theories relating to it.</p>
+
+<p>The author has seen huge glaciers in Scandinavia and in Switzerland,
+forming natural exhibitions of great interest; each country has
+peculiarities in this respect. In the last-named country, for instance,
+there is no example where a glacier descends lower than thirty-five
+hundred feet above the sea level, while in Norway the only one of which
+he can speak from personal observation has before it a large terminal
+moraine, thus losing the capacity for that most striking performance,
+the discharge of icebergs. The best example of this interesting
+operation of nature which we have ever witnessed, and probably the most
+effective in the world, is that of the Muir glacier in Alaska, where an
+immense frozen river comes boldly down from the Arctic regions to the
+sea level, with a sheer height at its terminus of over two hundred feet.
+From this unique façade, nearly two miles in width, the constant
+tumbling of icebergs into the sea is accompanied by a noise like a salvo
+of cannon. This glacier, it should be remembered, also extends to the
+bottom of the bay, where it enters it two hundred feet below the surface
+of the water, thus giving it a height, or perhaps we should say a depth
+and height combined, of fully four hundred feet. Icebergs are discharged
+from the submerged portion continually, and float to the surface, thus
+repeating the process below the water which is all the while going on
+above it, and visible upon the perpendicular surface. Nothing which we
+have seen in the Canadian Selkirks, in Switzerland, Norway, or
+elsewhere, equals in size, grandeur, or clearly defined glacial action,
+the famous Muir glacier of Alaska.</p>
+
+<p>The most remarkable peak to be seen in passing through the Strait of
+Magellan is Mount Sarmiento, which is inexpressibly grand in its
+proportions, dominating the borders of Cockburn's Channel near the
+Pacific end of the great water-way. It is about seven thousand feet in
+height, a spotless cone of snow, being in form extremely abrupt and
+pointed. This frosty monarch sends down from its upper regions a score
+or more of narrow, sky-blue glaciers to the sea through openings in the
+dusky forest. Darwin was especially impressed by the sight of these when
+he explored this region, and speaks of them as looking like so many
+Niagaras, but they are only miniature glaciers after all. One sees in
+the Pyrenees and the St. Gothard Pass similar cascades flowing down from
+the mountains towards the valleys, except that in the one instance the
+crystal waters are liquid, in the other they are quite congealed. The
+group or range of which Sarmiento is the apex is very generally shrouded
+in mist, and is visited by frequent rain, snow, and hail storms. We were
+fortunate to see it under a momentary glow of warm sunshine, when the
+sky was deepest blue, and the ermine cloak of the mountain was spangled
+with frost gems.</p>
+
+<p>It would seem that such exposure to the elements in a frigid climate,
+and such deprivations as must be constantly endured by the barbarous
+natives who inhabit these bleak regions, must surely shorten their
+lives, and perhaps it does so, though "the survival of the fittest," who
+grow up to maturity, is in such numbers that one is a little puzzled in
+considering the matter. A singular instance touching upon this point
+came indirectly to the writer's knowledge.</p>
+
+<p>It appears that four Fuegian women, one of whom was about forty years
+of age, and the others respectively about twenty, twenty-five, and
+thirty, were picked up adrift in the strait a few years ago. It was
+believed that they had escaped from some threatened tribal cruelty, but
+upon this subject they would reveal nothing. These fugitives were kindly
+taken in hand by philanthropic people at Sandy Point, and entertained
+with true Christian hospitality. When first discovered they were, as
+usual, quite naked, but were promptly clothed and properly housed. No
+more work was required of them than they chose voluntarily to perform;
+in short, they were most kindly treated, and though the best of care was
+taken of them in a hygienic sense, they all gradually faded, and died of
+consumption in less than two years. They seemed to be contented, were
+grateful and cheerful, but clothing and a warm house to live in, odd as
+it may seem, killed them! They were born to a free, open air and exposed
+daily life, and their apparently sturdy constitutions required such a
+mode of living. Civilized habits, strange to say, proved fatal to these
+wild children of the rough Fuegian coast.</p>
+
+<p class="p4"><a name="Ch_14"></a></p>
+
+<h3>CHAPTER XIV.</h3>
+
+<p class="blockquote">The Land of Fire.&mdash;Cape Horn.&mdash;In the
+Open Pacific.&mdash;Fellow Passengers.&mdash;Large Sea-Bird.&mdash;An
+Interesting Invalid.&mdash;A Weary Captive.&mdash;A Broken-Hearted
+Mother.&mdash;Study of the Heavens.&mdash;The Moon.&mdash;Chilian Civil
+War.&mdash;Concepcion.&mdash;A Growing City.&mdash;Commercial
+Importance.&mdash;Cultivating City Gardens on a New
+Plan.&mdash;Important Coal Mines.&mdash;Delicious Fruits.</p>
+
+<p class="p2">Magellan named this extreme southern land, of which we
+have been speaking, "the Land of Fire," because of the numerous fires
+which he, from his ships, saw on the shore at night, and which were then
+supposed by the discoverers to be of a volcanic character. The fact
+probably was that the Indians did not fail to recognize the need of
+artificial heat, especially at night, though they had not sufficient
+genius to teach them to construct garments suitable to protect them from
+the inclemency of the weather. These fires were kindled in the open air,
+but the natives camped close about them, sleeping within their
+influence.</p>
+
+<p>Cape Horn, the extreme point of South America, on the outermost
+island of the Fuegian group, is a lofty, steep black rock, with a
+pointed summit, which has stood there for ages, like a watchful sentinel
+at his post. Two thirds of Patagonia and Terra del Fuego&mdash;the
+western part&mdash;belong to Chili, and the balance of both&mdash;the
+eastern part&mdash;belongs to the Argentine Republic. A recently
+consummated treaty between these two nationalities has fixed upon this
+final division of territory, and thus settled a question which has long
+been a source of dispute and ill feeling between them. This division
+makes Cape Horn belong to Chili, not a specially desirable possession,
+to be sure, but it is an indelible landmark.</p>
+
+<p>The sail along the coast northward after leaving the Pacific mouth of
+the strait affords very little variety of scenery; the dull hue of the
+barren shore is without change of color for hundreds of miles, until the
+eye becomes weary of watching it, as we speed onward through the long,
+indolent ocean swell. Arid hills and small indentures form the coast
+line, but as we get further northward, this dreary sameness is varied by
+the appearance of an occasional small settlement, forming a group of
+dwellings of a rude character, possibly a mining region or a fishing
+hamlet, connected with some business locality further inland. Sometimes
+a green valley is descried, which makes a verdant gulch opening quite
+down to the sea.</p>
+
+<p>This dense monotony becomes more and more tedious, until one longs to
+get somewhere, anywhere, away from it.</p>
+
+<p>In the dearth of scenic interest, we fall to studying the various
+passengers traveling between the Pacific ports, a great variety of
+nationalities being represented. Among those of the second-class was a
+handsome Italian boy, with marvelous eyes of jet and a profusion of long
+black hair. He had a small organ hung about his neck, and carried an
+intelligent monkey with him. The boy and his monkey joined in the
+performance of certain simple, amusing tricks to elicit money from the
+lookers-on. Both boy and monkey were happy in the result achieved, the
+former in liberal cash receipts, the latter in being fed liberally with
+cakes and bonbons. The capacity of monkeys for the rapid consumption of
+palatable dainties is one of the unsolved mysteries of nature.</p>
+
+<p>Schools of porpoises played about the hull of the ship, and clouds of
+sea-birds at times wheeled about the topmasts, or followed in the ship's
+wake watching for refuse from the cook's department. Occasionally the
+head of a large, deep-water turtle would appear for a moment above the
+surface, twisting its awkward neck to watch the course of the steamer,
+while shoreward the mottled surface of the gently undulating waves
+betrayed the presence of myriads of small fish, over which hovered
+predatory birds of the gull tribe. Now and again one would swoop swiftly
+downward to secure a victim to its appetite. Few albatrosses were seen
+after leaving the Pacific mouth of the strait. They are lovers of the
+stormy Antarctic region, with the tempestuous atmosphere of which their
+great power of wing enables them to cope successfully. The author has
+seen one of these birds off the southern coast of New Zealand which
+spread eleven feet from tip to tip of its extended wings. It was caught
+with a floating bait by one of the seamen and drawn on board ship, where
+it was measured, but not until a long contest of strength had taken
+place between men and bird. The albatross was slightly wounded in the
+mouth and throat by the process of catching him with a baited hook. But
+they are hardy creatures, and unless injured in some vital part pay
+little heed to a small wound. After this bird had been examined, it was
+liberated, and resumed its graceful flight about the ship as though
+nothing unusual had happened.</p>
+
+<p>An invalid girl of Spanish birth, who was perhaps sixteen years of
+age, very tenderly cared for by her mother, was propped up daily in a
+reclining seat upon deck, where she might find amusement in watching the
+sea and distant shore, while inhaling the saline tonic of the
+atmosphere. Poor child, how her large, dark eyes, pallid lips, and
+painful respiration appealed to one's sympathy! It required no
+professional knowledge to divine her approaching fate. She was really in
+the last stages of consumption, and was on her way to a popular
+sanitarium near the coast, hoping against reason that the change might
+prove restorative and of radical benefit. It was pleasant to observe how
+promptly every one on board strove to add to her comfort by simple
+attentions and services, and how the choicest bits from the table were
+secured to tempt her capricious appetite. The grateful mother's eyes
+were often suffused with tears, carefully hidden from the gentle
+invalid. Her maternal heart was too full for the utterance even of
+thanks.</p>
+
+<p>"Ah," said she to us in a low tone of voice, "she is the last of my
+three children, two boys and this girl. The two boys faded away just
+like this. Do you think there is any hope for her, señor?"
+
+"Why not, señora? We should never cease to hope. The land breeze and the
+springs where you are going may do wonders."</p>
+
+<p>Heaven forgive us. The child's fate was only too plainly to be read
+in her attenuated form, and the dull action of her almost congested
+lungs.</p>
+
+<p>One day a small, weary sea-bird, newly out of its nest, flew on board
+our ship quite exhausted, and being easily secured, was given to the
+young girl to pet. It soon became quite at home in her lap, eating small
+bread crumbs and little bits of meat from her fingers. Confidence being
+thus established between them, the little half-fledged creature would
+not willingly leave its new-found benefactress. It seemed to be a
+providential occurrence, affording considerable diversion to the sick
+one. For a while, at least, she was aroused from the listlessness which
+is so very significant in consumption, and her whole heart went out to
+the confiding little waif. It was a pretty sight to see the bird nestle
+contentedly close to her bosom, the pale-faced girl scarcely less
+fragile than the little feathered stranger she had adopted. No one
+thought that Death was hovering so very near, yet the third night after
+the bird flew on board the young girl lay in her shroud, with an ivory
+crucifix, typical of the Romish faith, in one hand, and the other
+resting upon the inanimate bird she had befriended, which had also
+breathed its last.</p>
+
+<p>Attempted consolation to a freshly bleeding heart is almost always
+premature, and there are few, very few, human beings competent to offer
+it effectually under the best circumstances. The sad-eyed mother
+listened to a few well-meant words of this character, but slowly shook
+her head and made no reply. Time only could assuage the keenness of her
+sorrow. By and by she spoke, with her eyes still resting upon that pale,
+dead face, where nothing but a wonderful peace and serenity were now
+expressed.</p>
+
+<p>"Have birds souls, do you think?" she asked, in a low, trembling
+voice.</p>
+
+<p>"Possibly," was the reply; "but why do you ask?"
+
+"Because," she continued, speaking very slowly, "that tiny creature and
+my darling died almost at the same moment, and if so, her spirit would
+have company on its way to the good God."</p>
+
+<p>The unconscious poetry of the thought, so quietly expressed by the
+sorrowing mother, as she sat beside the corpse with folded hands and
+burning eyes, which could not find the relief of tears, was very
+touching.</p>
+
+<p>The motor of the big ship throbbed on, the routine of duty continued
+unchanged, passengers ate, drank, and were merry, the sea-birds wheeled
+about us uttering their sharp contentious cries, and we pressed forward
+through the opposing wind and tide, as though nothing had happened. Only
+a mother's loving heart was broken. Only a soul gone to its God. Surely
+such sweet innocence must be welcome in heaven. But ah! the great
+mystery of it all!</p>
+
+<p>Most intelligent people will agree with us that no study known to
+science can compare with astronomy for absorbing interest. At sea one
+finds ample time, convenience, and incentive to study the sky, populous
+with countless hosts of constellations. Especially is it interesting to
+watch the numerous phases of the moon, beginning with her advent as a
+delicate crescent of pale light in the eastern sky, after the sun has
+set, and continuing to the period when she becomes full. Each succeeding
+night it is found that she has moved farther and farther westward,
+until, arriving at the full, she rises nearly at the same time that the
+sun sets. From the period of full moon, the disc of light diminishes
+nightly until the last quarter is reached, and the moon is then seen
+high over the ship's topmast head, before day breaks in the east. Thus
+she goes on waning, all the while drawing closer to the sun, until
+finally she becomes absorbed in his light. The interesting process
+completed, she again comes into view at twilight in the west, in her
+exquisite crescent form, once more to pass through a similar series of
+changes.</p>
+
+<p>The superstition of sailors touching the moonlight is curious. No
+foremast hand will sleep where it shines directly upon him. They are
+voluble in relating many instances of comrades rendered melancholy-mad
+by so doing. "They talk about the moon making the ebb and flow of the
+tide," said an able seaman to the author. "There's lots of queer things
+about the moon, but <i>that's</i> d&mdash;d nonsense, saving your
+honor's presence." Thus Jack eagerly absorbs superstitious ideas, and
+ignores natural phenomena. No humble class of men are so intelligent in
+a general way, and yet at the same time so universally superstitious, as
+those who go down to the sea in ships.</p>
+
+<p>In coming on to the west coast it is natural, perhaps, for the reader
+to expect us to refer briefly to the late civil war in Chili, but we
+have not attempted in these notes to depict the local political
+condition of any of the states of South America. In the past they have
+most of them shown themselves as changeable as the wind, and remarks
+which would depict the status of to-day might be quite unsuited to that
+of to-morrow. The average reader is sufficiently familiar with the
+struggle so lately ended in Chili. One party was led by the late
+President Balmaceda, in opposition to the other, known as the
+Congressional party. That which brought about this open warfare was the
+refusal of Congress any longer to recognize the president on account of
+his high-handed, illegal, and venal official conduct. A line will
+illustrate the cause of the outbreak. It was the Constitution of the
+country as against a Dictatorship. The President of the Chilian
+Republic, like the President of the United States, has a personal
+authority such as nowadays is wielded by few constitutional monarchs.
+Balmaceda proved to be a tyrant of the first water, abusing the power of
+his position to condemn to death those who opposed him, without even the
+semblance of a trial. He succeeded in attaching most of the regular army
+to his cause by profuse promises and the free use of money, while the
+navy went almost bodily over to the side of Congress. The contest
+assumed revolutionary proportions, and many battles were fought. As a
+casual observer, the author heartily coincided with the Congressional
+party, and rejoices at their wholesale triumph.</p>
+
+<p>The suicidal act which ended Balmaceda's life was no heroic resort,
+but the deed of a coward fearing to face the consequences of his
+murderous career. It is not the man who has been actuated by high and
+noble sentiments who cuts his throat or blows out his brains. Such is
+the act of the cunning fraud who realizes that he has not only totally
+failed in his object, but that his true character is known to the world.
+Suicide has been declared to be the final display of egoism, and it
+certainly leaves the world with one less thoroughly selfish character.
+The disappearance of such an individual may produce a momentary ripple
+on the surface of time, but it fails to leave any permanent mark.</p>
+
+<p>Nearly three hundred miles south of Santiago, capital of Chili, on
+the Pacific coast, is situated the city of Concepcion. It stands on the
+right bank of the river Biobio, six or seven miles from its mouth, and
+contains about twenty-five thousand inhabitants. The people seem to be
+exceptionally active and enterprising, though at this writing suffering
+from the effects of the late civil war. It is the third city in point of
+size and importance in the republic, and dates from over three hundred
+years ago. It will be remembered also that it once held the place now
+occupied by Santiago as capital of the country. The city is built in the
+valley of Mocha, under the coast range of hills, and is justly famed,
+like Puebla in Mexico, for its pretty women and beautiful flowers. It is
+a clean and thrifty town, with handsome shops, a charming plaza, and an
+attractive alameda. This latter deserves special mention. It is a mile
+long, and beautified with several rows of tall Lombardy poplars, the
+sight of which carried us to another hemisphere, where those lovely
+Italian plains stretch away from the environs of Milan towards the
+foothills of the neighboring Alps and the more distant Apennines. Great
+things are prognosticated for Concepcion in the near future by its
+friends, and it is already the principal town of southern Chili. The
+streets are well paved, and lined by handsome business blocks, together
+with pleasant dwelling-houses, built low, to avoid the effect of
+earthquakes, the universal material being sun-dried bricks, finished
+externally in stucco. The façades are painted in harlequin variety of
+colors, yellow, blue, and peach-blossom prevailing. The town has really
+more the appearance of a northern than a southern city, and has long
+been connected with Valparaiso by railway.</p>
+
+<p>Some of the most extensive coal mines on this part of the continent
+have been discovered in this vicinity, and are being worked on a large
+scale. In fact, Coronal, not far away, is the great coaling station on
+the Chilian coast for steamships bound to Europe or Panama. One would
+suppose that this coal mining must be quite profitable, as we were told
+that twenty-five and even thirty dollars per ton was realized for it
+delivered at the nearest tide-water. The port of Concepcion is some
+seven miles from the city, where the river Biobio flows into the ocean
+at Talcahuano,&mdash;pronounced Tal-ca-wha'no,&mdash;a small town on
+Concepcion Bay possessing an excellent harbor. There are here a large
+marine dock, an arsenal, and a seaman's hospital. Close by the shore is
+a spacious and convenient railway station. The bay is some six miles
+wide by seven in length. There is a resident population of nearly four
+thousand, who form an extremely active community. The majority of the
+houses are of a very humble character and, like those of Concepcion, are
+built of adobe.</p>
+
+<p>Spanish capitals in the West Indies and South America were originally
+placed, like Concepcion, some distance from the coast, to render them
+more secure against the attack of pirates and lawless sea-rovers, who
+might land from their vessels, burn a town on the seashore, after
+robbing it of all valuables, and easily make good their escape; whereas
+to march inland and attack a town far from their base, or to proceed up
+a shallow river in boats for such a purpose, was a far more difficult,
+if not indeed an impossible thing to do. Thus Callao is the harbor of
+Lima; Valparaiso, of Santiago; and Talcahuano, of Concepcion. The
+situation of the last named capital is admirable, at the head of the
+bay, which affords one of the best harbors on the west coast of the
+continent. When the transcontinental railway from Buenos Ayres, on the
+Atlantic side, is finished, surmounting the passes of the
+Andes,&mdash;already "a foregone conclusion,"&mdash;it will have its
+termination here at Talcahuano, which must then become a great shipping
+point for New Zealand and Australia. Half a dozen lines of European mail
+steamers already touch here regularly. The river is too shallow to admit
+of vessels drawing more than a few feet of water ascending it so far as
+Concepcion, but Talcahuano is all sufficient as a port.</p>
+
+<p>Few places have been so frequently devastated by fire, flood, and
+earthquakes, or so often ravaged by war, as has this interesting city.
+In the early days the Araucanian Indians put the settlers to the sword
+again and again. This was the bravest of all the native Indian tribes of
+South America, and is still an unconquered people. The city was laid in
+ruins so late as 1835 by an earthquake, though no special signs of this
+destructive visitor are to be seen here to-day. Still, one cannot but
+feel that with such possibilities hanging over the locality, there must
+be few people willing to expend freely of their means for substantial
+building purposes, or to make Concepcion a permanent place of abode.
+Human nature adapts itself to all exigencies, however, and the place
+grows rapidly, notwithstanding the discouraging circumstances which we
+have named. It is not the native but the foreign element of the
+population which is doing so much for this region. Were the mingled
+native race to be left to themselves, there would be few signs of
+progress evinced; they would rapidly lapse into a condition of
+semi-barbarism. The Chilian proper is a very poor creature as regards
+morals, intelligence, or true manhood; his instincts are brutal and his
+aims predaceous.</p>
+
+<p>Like all South American cities, Concepcion is laid out by rule and
+compass, the fairly broad streets crossing each other at right angles.
+There is a large and costly cathedral, but a wholesome fear of
+earthquakes has caused it to be left without the usual twin towers,
+which gives it an unfinished appearance. The place also contains other
+churches, a well-appointed theatre, two hospitals, and several edifices
+devoted to charitable purposes. Opposite the cathedral stands the
+Intendencia, a large and handsome government house. Telephones and
+electric lights have long been adopted, and the telegraph poles do much
+abound. In these foreign places, so far away from home, to see the
+streets lined, as they are with us, by big, tall poles, holding aloft a
+maze of wires, is very suggestive; but where can one go that they are
+not? It is curious to realize that we can step into an office close at
+hand and promptly communicate with any part of the world. We may have
+sailed over the ocean many thousands of miles, and have consumed months
+to reach the spot where we stand, but electricity, like thought,
+annihilates space, and will take our message instantly to its
+destination, though it be at the farthest end of the globe. These
+marvelous facilities are no longer confined to populous centres.
+Electricity not only bears our messages to the uttermost parts of the
+world, but it propels the tramway cars in Rome, Boston, and Munich,
+while it also lights the streets of New York, Auckland in New Zealand,
+as well as of London and Honolulu.</p>
+
+<p>The importance of Concepcion is manifest from the fact that several
+new railway connections terminating here have lately been accomplished;
+but the important event already referred to, of the transcontinental
+railway, will finally insure her commercial greatness. The town is
+surrounded by a widespread, fertile country, abounding in both mineral
+and agricultural wealth, equal to, if not surpassing, any other province
+in Chili. The city was financially strong before the late civil war, and
+has still some very wealthy residents. The principal bank of Concepcion,
+with a capital of one million dollars, paid a dividend to its
+stockholders in 1890 of sixteen per cent. on the previous year's
+business. The cathedral and government house, already spoken of, front
+on the plaza, a large open square ornamented with statuary, trees, and
+flowers, the latter kept in most exquisite order and constant bloom by
+means of a singular and original device. It seems that each separate
+plot of these grounds is owned or cared for by a different family of the
+citizens, and that a spirit of emulation is thus excited by the effort
+of the several parties to make their special plot excel in its beauty
+and fragrance. This keeps the whole plaza in a lovely condition, and
+makes it the pride of the city.</p>
+
+<p>Society and business circles are mostly composed of foreigners, the
+German element largely predominating. The native, or humbler classes, as
+we have already intimated, are a wretchedly low people. They "wake"
+their dead before burial, much after the style which prevails in
+Ireland, except that the process is more exaggerated in manner. Drinking
+and debauchery characterize these occasions, which are continued often
+for three days at a time, or so long as the means for indulgence in
+excess last. In case of youthful deaths, the child's cheeks are painted
+red, and the head is crowned in a fantastic manner, the body being
+dressed and placed in a sitting position, thus forming a strange and
+hideous sight. Such treatment of a corpse could only be tolerated by a
+barbarous people. In the environs of the town, Lazarus jostles Dives.
+There are here many hovels, as well as a better class of residences.
+Some of them are wretchedly poor, built of mud and bamboo, the
+inhabitants half-naked and wholly starved, if one may judge by their
+appearance. On Saturday, which in Spanish towns and cities is called
+"poor day," the streets of Concepcion are full of either assumed or real
+mendicants. The Spanish race is one of chronic beggars,&mdash;they seem
+born so. Scarcely less of a nuisance than the beggars are the army of
+half-starved, mongrel, neglected dogs, that throng in the streets of the
+city, rivaling Constantinople.</p>
+
+<p>It should be mentioned that Concepcion has a good system of tramway
+service, and that the cars have attached to them a class of neat,
+pretty, and modest girls for conductors, who wear natty straw hats, snow
+white aprons, and are supplied with a leather cash bag hung by a strap
+about the neck. It seems rather incongruous that while so many evidences
+of real progress abound in this city, water, the prime necessity of
+life, should be peddled about the streets by the bucketful. Now is the
+time to perfect a system of drainage, and to introduce an adequate
+supply of good water, from easily available sources.</p>
+
+<p>The inexhaustible coal fields already mentioned, which are situated
+but a few miles away, must prove to be a lasting source of prosperity to
+Concepcion. They are far more important and valuable, all things
+considered, than a gold or silver mine near at hand would be. Indeed, it
+is found in the long run that the latter kind of mineral discoveries do
+not always tend to the material benefit of the community in which they
+are found. The earth produces far more profitable crops than gold and
+precious stones, even when considered in the most mercenary light. The
+business prospects of Concepcion, as we have pointed out in detail, are
+exceedingly promising. That the city is destined eventually to rival
+Valparaiso seems more than probable, and yet there is another side to
+this favorable aspect thus presented, which it is not wise to ignore.
+True, the climate is equable and healthy, but that great drawback, the
+liability to earthquakes and tidal waves, still remains, like a dark,
+portending shadow. In spite of this startling possibility there is
+something of a "boom" already instituted, at this writing, as to the
+prices of land in and about both the port and city of Concepcion. It is
+a fact that people will soon become calloused and heedless of almost any
+familiar danger. Jack turns in and quickly falls to sleep, when the
+watch below is called and relieves him from the deck, though the ship is
+in the midst of cyclone latitudes, and while a half-gale is blowing. The
+people of Torre del Grecco, at the base of the volcano, do not sleep any
+less soundly to-day because Pompeii was utterly destroyed by Vesuvius
+eighteen or nineteen centuries ago. The earthquake of 1835 first shook
+Talcahuano nearly to pieces, and then completed its destruction by a
+tidal wave which swept what remained of it into the sea.</p>
+
+<p>It goes without saying that most of the fruits and staple products of
+the tropics are to be found both at Concepcion and at the port of
+Talcahuano. Each place we visit seems to have some specialty in this
+line. Here, it is the watermelon. Favored by the soil and the climate,
+this fruit is developed to its maximum in weight, richness of flavor,
+and general perfection. They are sold cheap enough everywhere. A centavo
+will buy a large ripe one. Street carts and donkeys are laden with them,
+and so are the decks of all outgoing vessels. It is both food and drink
+to the poor peons, who consume the fruit in quantities strongly
+suggestive of cholera, dropsy, or some other dreadful illness. Any one
+accustomed to travel in our Southern States, in the right season of the
+year, will have observed how voraciously the negro population, young and
+old, eat of the cheap, ripe crop of watermelons; but these South
+American peons have a capacity for storage and digestion of this really
+wholesome article, beyond all comparison. A child not more than ten
+years of age will devour the ripe portion of a large melon in a few
+minutes, and no ill effects seem to follow. An adult eats two at a meal
+which would weigh, we are afraid to say how much, but they are
+considerably larger than the average melons which are brought to New
+England from the South. After all, the watermelon is healthful food,
+though it is more filling than nourishing. It will be remembered that
+the famous fasting individual, Dr. Tanner, after eating nothing for
+forty days and forty nights, took for his first article of nourishment,
+at the close of this time of fasting, half a watermelon, and that he
+retained and digested it successfully.</p>
+
+<p class="p4"><a name="Ch_15"></a></p>
+
+<h3>CHAPTER XV.</h3>
+
+<p class="blockquote">Valparaiso.&mdash;Principal South American Port of
+the Pacific.&mdash;A Good Harbor.&mdash;Tallest Mountain on this
+Continent.&mdash;The Newspaper Press.&mdash;Warlike Aspect.&mdash;Girls
+as Car Conductors.&mdash;Chilian Exports.&mdash;Foreign
+Merchants.&mdash;Effects of Civil War.&mdash;Gambling in Private
+Houses.&mdash;Immigration.&mdash;Culture of the
+Grape.&mdash;Agriculture.&mdash;Island of Juan Fernandez.</p>
+
+<p class="p2">Valparaiso&mdash;"Vale of Paradise"&mdash;was thus
+fancifully named because of its assumed loveliness. True, it is
+beautifully situated, and is a fine city of its class, located in an
+admirable semicircular bay, not upon one, but upon many hills, backed by
+a crescent-shaped mountain range. But when one compares its harbor to
+that of Naples, or Sydney in Australia, for picturesqueness of scenery,
+as is often done, it only provokes invidious remarks. The matchless
+harbor of Rio Janeiro, on the eastern coast of the continent, already
+fully described in these pages, is far more charming in general effect
+and in all of its surroundings, not to mention that it is more than
+twenty times as large. Valparaiso is the principal seaport of Chili, and
+indeed, for the present, it is the main port of the entire west coast of
+South America. By consulting the map it will be readily seen that Chili
+must ever be a maritime nation, depending more upon an effective navy
+than an army. The possession of the national ships of war by the
+Congressional party in the revolution so lately terminated gave them
+virtual control of the cities along the coast, at the outbreak of the
+émeute, and this means they employed against the Presidential party with
+the most ruthless effect. They did not hesitate to savagely cannonade
+and shell a city, though two thirds of the occupants were their own
+friends and supporters, provided it was held ostensibly, and for the
+time being only, by the supporters of Balmaceda. The outrageous
+bombardment of Iquique is an instance in illustration of this charge.
+The Chilian delights to be cruel; it is his instinct to destroy and to
+plunder. He is by nature boastful, passionate, and headstrong. This
+disposition seems to be born in the race, is in fact a matter of
+heredity, fostered by bull-fights and kindred entertainments. But the
+country must now pay for the enormous destruction of property of which
+the directors of the civil war have been guilty. The European powers
+have already begun to send in their demands for damages done to their
+non-combatant merchants. England comes first with a bill calling for
+payment of sixty million dollars. Spain, Italy, and Germany will follow.
+It is estimated that a hundred million dollars will be required to
+settle these foreign demands. Chili must pay. There is no avoiding it.
+Reckless destruction will be found to be rather an expensive amusement
+in future for these South Americans. Their outrageous and murderous
+treatment of citizens of the United States who land upon their shore is
+also like to cost them a heavy sum in way of penalty. The present is a
+good opportunity to teach them a salutary lesson. The Chilians will not
+be in a hurry to repeat crimes which they find entail sure and swift
+punishment.</p>
+
+<p>A majority of the population of Chili lives, as a rule, within a few
+miles of the sea, and her coast line extends from Cape Horn northward
+over two thousand miles to the borders of Bolivia and Peru. With this
+extraordinary length, she has an average width of hardly more than a
+hundred miles, bordered on the east by the western slope of the Andes,
+whose eastern side belongs to the Argentine Republic, and on the west by
+the Pacific Ocean. The present estimated area of the republic is about
+two hundred and twenty thousand square miles, containing a population of
+considerably less than three millions, though its capacious territory
+could be so divided as to make twenty-five states as large as
+Massachusetts. Sixteen hundred miles of steam railroads render the
+principal sections of Chili accessible to one another. The coast line
+has from time to time been undergoing decided changes through volcanic
+action. In 1822, after a visible commotion, the shore was permanently
+raised three feet at Valparaiso, and four feet at Quintere. This change
+extended over an area of a hundred thousand miles. Another but lesser
+elevation took place in the same region in 1835.</p>
+
+<p>There seems to be no accounting for the vagaries of a land subject to
+volcanic influences.</p>
+
+<p>The harbor of Valparaiso is well protected on the east, south, and
+west, but it is open to the north, from which direction come very heavy
+winds and seas during a couple of months in the winter season, often
+causing serious casualties among the shipping which may chance to be
+anchored in the harbor. A "norther" is as much dreaded here as it is at
+Vera Cruz and along the Gulf of Mexico generally.</p>
+
+<p>The entrance to the harbor is on its north side, and is a mile in
+width, more or less. The flags of nearly all nations are seen here,
+though the Stars and Stripes are less frequently to be met with than
+others. The city lies at the base of the closely surrounding hills, up
+whose sides and in the ravines the dwelling-houses have been
+constructed, tier above tier. Over all, further inland, looms the
+frosted head of grand old Aconcagua, twenty-two thousand feet and more
+in height, believed to be the tallest mountain in the western
+hemisphere. This mighty member of the Andean Cordillera is said to be
+ninety miles away, but it is so lofty and dominant, as seen through the
+clear atmosphere, that it appears almost within cannon range. At this
+writing the harbor presents quite a warlike aspect. English, American,
+French, German, and Chilian men-of-war are anchored here, looking after
+their several national interests, as affected by the civil war. The
+bugle calls of the several ships, the morning and evening guns, the
+display of naval bunting, together with the flitting hither and thither
+of well-manned boats, all unite to form a gay and suggestive scene. The
+Chilian cruisers in the hands of the revolutionists would not hesitate
+to batter down any government buildings on the coast, destroying
+incidentally the domestic residences and merchandise of non-combatants,
+were they not restrained by the presence of foreign flags and guns. When
+Balmaceda undertook by a proclamation to shut up the ports of Chili, and
+declared them blockaded, he was told by the several naval commanders on
+the coast that he could not establish a paper blockade, and that if the
+merchant ships of their several countries were in any way interfered
+with, he would have to fight somebody else besides the revolutionists.
+The ports were therefore kept as open to legitimate commerce as they
+ever were.</p>
+
+<p>The author was disappointed at not being able to reach Santiago, the
+capital of Chili, which is situated at the foot of the western slope of
+the Andes, nearly two thousand feet above tide-water. It is connected
+with Valparaiso by railway, and under ordinary circumstances can be
+reached in eight hours. The difficulties caused by the civil war, and
+the suspicion with which all foreigners were regarded, proved impossible
+to surmount without a protracted effort, and submitting to any amount of
+red tape. Santiago was founded by one of Pizarro's captains, in 1541,
+and now contains about two hundred thousand inhabitants. There are some
+Americans and many English resident in Santiago, together with Germans
+and Frenchmen, the foreigners being mostly merchants. We were told of
+two familiar statues which are to be seen in a public square of the
+city, in front of the post-office. One represents George Washington, the
+other Abraham Lincoln, both of which were stolen from Lima during the
+late conflict between Chili and Peru.</p>
+
+<p>But this is a digression. Let us once more return to the commercial
+port of Valparaiso.</p>
+
+<p>A considerable portion of this city has been reclaimed from the sea,
+and still more land suitable for the erection of business warehouses
+near the shore is being added to this part of the town. Local
+enterprise, however, is pretty much suspended for the time being, owing
+to the disturbed condition of political affairs. The mountains near at
+hand supply ample stone and soil for the purpose of extending the area
+of this business portion of the town. Sixty or seventy years ago, the
+city contained only a single street, on the edge of the harbor; to-day
+it has all the appearance and belongings of a great commercial capital,
+and a population of a hundred and thirty thousand. Except Rio Janeiro
+and Buenos Ayres, we saw nowhere thoroughfares more full of energetic
+life and business activity. The main avenue is the Calle Victoria, which
+runs round the entire water front, occupied by the banks, hotels,
+insurance offices, and the best shops in the town.</p>
+
+<p>There are four large daily newspapers published in Valparaiso, whose
+united circulation exceeds thirty thousand copies. "El Mercurio" has the
+eminent respectability of age, having been published regularly for a
+period of half a century. The facility for news-gathering is very good,
+as this city is connected with the world at large by submarine cable,
+but no such detailed and complete summary of intelligence is attempted
+as our North American journals exhibit daily. While on this subject, we
+may add that there are no newspapers in Europe, or elsewhere, which will
+compare with those of the United States in the average ability and
+journalistic merit which characterizes them. We do not say this in a
+boastful spirit, but simply make the statement as an incontrovertible
+fact.</p>
+
+<p>Some of the business structures along the harbor front of Valparaiso
+are fine edifices architecturally, and many of the retail stores will
+compare favorably with the average of ours in Washington Street, Boston.
+The elegant class of goods displayed in some of these establishments
+shows that the population is an habitually extravagant and free-living
+one. We were told, by way of illustration, that millionaires were as
+plenty as blackberries before the late civil war, while many wealthy
+men, foreseeing the catastrophe which was about to occur, shrewdly
+prepared for it, and by careful management saved their property intact.
+Many of the private houses on Victoria Street are spacious, elegant, and
+costly, the occupants living in regal style, to support which must cost
+a very heavy annual outlay. It appears that President Balmaceda
+discovered, during the late struggle, where and how to lay his hands
+upon the resources of a few of these citizens, and that such he
+completely impoverished, under one pretext and another, using their
+property to support his armed minions, and to swell the aggregate of
+funds which he sent for deposit in his own name to Europe. One or two
+cases of this sort were related to us in which the citizens were not
+only made to give up the whole of their private property, but were
+finally imprisoned and sentenced to death upon a charge of treason,
+without even the semblance of a trial!</p>
+
+<p>It is no marvel, to those who know the facts of his career, that a
+man who was guilty of such crimes, when at last brought to bay, finding
+himself betrayed and deserted by his pretended friends, should have
+blown out his own brains. The posthumous papers which he left, and
+wherein he tries to pose as a martyr, are simply a ludicrous failure.
+José Manuel Balmaceda was in the fifty-second year of his age when he
+committed suicide, and was at the time hiding for fear of the infuriated
+citizens of Santiago, who would certainly have hanged the would-be
+dictator without the least hesitation or formality, if they could have
+got possession of his person.</p>
+
+<p>The tramway-cars of Valparaiso are of the two-story pattern, like
+those of Copenhagen and New Orleans, also found in many of the European
+cities. They have as conductors, like Concepcion, very pretty half-breed
+girls, who appear to thoroughly understand their business, and to
+fulfill its requirements to universal satisfaction. If an intoxicated or
+unruly person appears on the cars, the conductress does not attempt
+personally to eject him. She has only to hold up her hand, and the
+nearest policeman, of whom there are always a goodly number about, jumps
+on to the car and settles the matter in short order. Girls were thus
+first employed in order that the men who ordinarily fill these places
+might be drafted into the army, during the late war between Chili and
+Peru, and as the system proved to be a complete success, it has been
+continued ever since. The fare charged on these tram-cars is five cents
+for each inside passenger, and half that sum for the outside; and, as in
+Paris, when the seats are all full, a little sign is shown upon the car,
+signifying that no more persons will be admitted, none being allowed to
+stand. The same rule is enforced in London, and the thought suggested
+itself as to whether our West End Railway Company of Boston might not
+take an important hint therefrom.</p>
+
+<p>The ladies and gentlemen of the city are a well dressed class, the
+former adopting Parisian costumes, and the gentlemen wearing a full
+dress of dark broadcloth, with tall stove-pipe hats. The women of the
+more common class wear the national "manta," and the men the "poncha."
+The former is a dark, soft shawl which covers in part the head and face
+of the wearer. The latter is a long, striped shawl, with a slit cut in
+the centre, through which the head of the wearer is thrust. Nothing
+could be more simple in construction than both of these garments, and
+yet they are somehow very picturesque.</p>
+
+<p>As we have already intimated, it is soon learned, upon landing at any
+port of the commercial world, what the staple products of the
+neighborhood are, by simply noting the visible merchandise made ready
+for shipment. Here we have sugar, wool, and cotton prevailing over all
+other articles. Guano and nitrate, which also form specialties here, are
+represented, though the supply of the former is pretty much exhausted.
+The nitrate trade is controlled by an Englishman of large fortune,
+Colonel North, known here as the "Nitrate King." This valuable
+fertilizer is the deposit of the nitrate of soda in the beds of lakes
+long since dried up, the waters of which originally contained in
+solution large quantities of this material. These lakes in olden times
+received the flow of a great water-shed, and having no outlet, save by
+evaporation, accumulated and precipitated at the bottom the chemical
+elements flowing into them from the surrounding country. The article is
+now dug up and put through a certain process, then shipped to foreign
+countries as a fertilizer, believed to put new heart into exhausted
+soil. England consumes an immense quantity of it annually, and many
+ships are regularly employed in its transportation.</p>
+
+<p>The custom house, situated near the landing at Valparaiso, is a
+somewhat remarkable structure, having a long, low façade surmounted by
+tall, handsome towers. This is eminently the business part of the town,
+and is called "El Puerto." The larger share of the residences of the
+merchants and well-to-do citizens is situated on the hillsides, to reach
+which it is necessary to ascend long flights of steps. At certain points
+elevators are also supplied by which access is gained to the upper
+portions of the town, after the fashion already described at Bahia, on
+the east coast.</p>
+
+<p>The majority of people doing business in Valparaiso are English, and
+English is the almost universal language. Even the names upon the city
+signs are suggestive in this direction. Among the public houses are the
+"Queen's Arms," the "Royal Oak," the "Red Lion," and so on. Besides an
+English school, there are three churches belonging to that nationality.
+There are numerous free schools, both of a primary and advanced
+character, an elaborately organized college, two or three theatres, and
+the usual charitable establishments, including a public library. The
+principal part of the city is lighted by electricity, and the telephone
+is in general use. A special effort has lately been made to promote the
+education of the rising generation in Chili, and we know of no field
+where the endeavor would be more opportune. Such an effort is never out
+of place, but here it is imperatively called for. The almost universal
+ignorance of the common people of Chili is deplorable, and little
+improvement can be hoped for as regards their moral or physical
+condition, except through the means of educating the youth of the
+country. A commissioner-general of education was appointed some time
+ago, who has already visited Europe and North America to study the best
+modern methods adopted in the public schools. This is a tangible
+evidence of improvement which speaks for itself, and is a great stride
+of this people in the right direction. Of course the late political
+crisis will greatly retard the hoped-for results, just as it will put
+Chili back some years in her national progress, whatever may be the
+final outcome in other respects.</p>
+
+<p>Gambling is a prevailing national trait in this country, by no means
+confined to any one class of the community. The street gamin plays for
+copper centavos, while the pretentious caballero does the same for gold
+coins. It is quite common in family circles, held to be very
+aristocratic, to see the gaming table laid out every evening, as
+regularly as the table upon which the meals are served. Money in large
+sums is lost and won with assumed indifference in these private circles,
+whole fortunes being sometimes sacrificed at a single sitting. Gambling
+seems to be held exempt from the censure of either church or state,
+since both officials and priests indulge in all sorts of games of
+chance. There are the usual public lotteries always going on to tempt
+the poorer classes of the people, and to capture their hard-earned
+wages.</p>
+
+<p>One virtue must be freely accorded to the business centre of this
+city, namely, that of cleanliness, in which respect it is far in advance
+of most of the capitals on the east coast of South America. Being the
+first seaport of any importance in the South Pacific, it is naturally a
+place of call for European bound steamers coming from New Zealand and
+Australia, as well as those sailing from Panama and San Francisco. In
+view of the fact that six hundred and fifty thousand people emigrate
+from Europe annually, seeking new homes in foreign lands, the Chilian
+government, in common with some others of the South American states, has
+for several years past held forth the liberal inducement of substantial
+aid to all bona fide settlers from foreign countries. Each newcomer who
+is the head of a family is given two hundred acres of available land,
+together with lumber and other materials for building a comfortable
+dwelling-house, also a cart, a plough, and a reasonable amount of seed
+for planting. Besides these favors which we have enumerated, some other
+important considerations are offered. Only a small number, comparatively
+speaking, of emigrants have availed themselves of such liberal terms,
+and these have been mostly Germans. If such an offer were properly
+promulgated and laid before the poor peasantry of Ireland and Spain and
+Italy, it would seem as though many of those people would hasten to
+accept it in the hope of bettering their condition in life. Whether such
+a result would follow emigration would of course depend upon many other
+things besides the liberality of the offer of the Chilian government.
+The Germans form a good class of emigrants, perhaps the best, often
+bringing with them considerable pecuniary means, together with habits of
+industry. The late civil war has put a stop to emigration for a period
+at least, and will interfere with its success for some time to come, if
+indeed Chili ever assumes quite so favorable a condition as she has
+sacrificed.</p>
+
+<p>There are some districts, including Limache and Pauquehue, where
+grape culture has been brought to great perfection, and where it is
+conducted on a very large scale. Wine-making is thus taking its place as
+one of the prosperous industries of the country. The amount of the
+native product consumed at home is very large, and a regular system of
+exports to other South American ports has been established. All of the
+most important modes of culture, such as have been proven most
+successful in France and California, have been carefully adopted here.
+Tramways are laid to intersect the various parts of these extensive
+vineyards, to aid in the gathering and transportation of the ripe fruit,
+while the appliances for expressing the juice of the grape are equally
+well systematized. One vineyard, belonging to the Consiño family, near
+Santiago, covers some two hundred acres, closely planted with selected
+vines from France, Switzerland, and California, the purpose being to
+retain permanently such grades as are found best adapted to the soil and
+the climate of Chili. The white wines are the most popular here, but red
+Burgundy brands are produced with good success. The vines are trained on
+triple lines of wires, stretched between iron posts, presenting an
+appearance of great uniformity, the long rows being planted about three
+or four feet apart. Every arrangement for artificial irrigation is
+provided, it being an absolute necessity in this district of Chili.
+Trenches are cut along the rows of vines, through which the water, from
+ample reservoirs, is permitted to flow at certain intervals;
+particularly when the grape begins to swell and ripen. The fruit is not
+trodden here, as it is in Italy, but is thoroughly expressed by means of
+proper machinery.</p>
+
+<p>Geographically, Chili is, as we have intimated, a long, narrow
+country, lying south of Peru and Bolivia, ribbon-like in form, and
+divided into nineteen provinces. It has been considerably enlarged by
+conquest from both of the nationalities just named; including the
+important territory of Terapaca. The name "Chili" signifies snow, with
+which the tops of most of the mountain ranges upon the eastern border
+are always covered. Still, extending as she does, from latitude 24°
+south to Cape Horn, she embraces every sort of climate, from burning
+heat to glacial frosts, while nearly everything that grows can be
+produced upon her soil. Though she has less than three million
+inhabitants, still her territory exceeds that of any European
+nationality except Russia. The manifest difference between the aggregate
+of her population and that of her square miles does not speak very
+favorably for the healthful character of the climate. There is no use in
+attempting to disguise the fact that Chili has rather a hard time of it,
+with sweeping epidemics, frequent earthquakes, and devouring tidal
+waves. The country contains thirty volcanoes, none of which are
+permanently active, but all of which have their periods of eruption, and
+most of which exhibit their dangerous nature by emitting sulphurous
+smoke and ashes. The unhygienic condition of life among her native races
+accounts for the large death-rate prevailing at all times, and
+especially among the peon children, thus preventing a natural increase
+in the population. Unless a liberal immigration can be induced, Chili
+must annually decrease in population. As regards the foreign whites and
+the educated natives who indulge in no extravagant excesses, living with
+a reasonable regard for hygiene, doubtless Chili is as healthy as most
+countries, but there is still to be remembered the erratic exhibitions
+of nature, a possibility always hanging like the sword of Damocles over
+this region. A whole town may, without the least warning, vanish from
+the face of the earth in the space of five minutes, or be left a mass of
+ruins.</p>
+
+<p>It is in the districts of the north that the rich mines and the
+nitrate fields are found, but the central portion of the country, and
+particularly towards the south, is the section where the greatest
+agricultural results are realized, and which will continue to yield in
+abundance after the mineral wealth shall have become quite exhausted.
+The southern portion of the country embraces Patagonia, which has lately
+been divided between Chili and the Argentine Republic. In short, Chili
+is no exception to the rule that agriculture, and not mining products,
+is the true and permanent reliance of any country.</p>
+
+<p>A little less than four hundred miles off the shore of Valparaiso, on
+the same line of latitude, is the memorable island of Juan Fernandez. It
+is politically an unimportant dependence of Chili, though of late years
+it has indirectly been made the means of producing some income for the
+national treasury. There was a period in which Chili maintained a penal
+colony here, but the convicts mutinied, and massacred the officers who
+had charge of them. These convicts succeeded in getting away from the
+island on passing ships. No attempt has been made since that time to
+reëstablish a penal colony on this island. To-day the place is occupied
+by thriving vegetable gardeners, and raisers of stock. Every intelligent
+youth will remember the island as the spot where De Foe laid the scene
+of his popular and fascinating story of "Robinson Crusoe." The island is
+about twenty miles long by ten broad, and is covered with dense tropical
+verdure, gentle hills, sheltered valleys, and thrifty woods. Juan
+Fernandez resembles the Azores in the North Atlantic. Though generally
+spoken of in the singular, there are actually three islands here,
+forming a small, compact group, known as Inward Island, Outward Island,
+and Great Island. Many intelligent people think that the story of
+Robinson Crusoe is a pure fabrication, but this is not so. De Foe
+availed himself of an actual occurrence, and put it into readable form,
+adding a few romantic episodes to season the story for the taste of the
+million. It was in a measure truth, which he stamped with the image of
+his own genius. Occasionally some enthusiastic admirer of De Foe comes
+thousands of miles out of the beaten track of travel to visit this group
+of islands, by the way of Valparaiso. Grapes, figs, and other tropical
+fruits abound at Juan Fernandez. It is said that several thousand people
+might be easily supported by the natural resources of these islands, and
+the abundance of fish which fill the neighboring waters. An English
+naval commander stopped here in 1741, to recruit his ships' crews, and
+to repair some damages. While here he caused various seeds to be planted
+for the advantage of any mariners who might follow. The benefit of this
+Christian act has been realized by many seamen since that date. Fruits,
+grain, and vegetables are now produced by spontaneous fertility
+annually, which were not before to be found here. The English commander
+also left goats and swine to run wild, and to multiply, and these
+animals are numerous there to-day.</p>
+
+<p>Juan Fernandez has one tall peak, nearly three thousand feet high,
+which the pilots point out long before the rest of the island is seen.
+It was from this lofty lookout that Alexander Selkirk was wont to watch
+daily in the hope of sighting some passing ship, by which he might be
+released from his imprisonment. There are about one hundred residents
+upon the group to-day, it having been leased by the Chilian government
+as a stock ranch for the breeding of goats and cattle, as well as for
+the raising of vegetables for the market of Valparaiso. There are said
+to be thirty thousand horned cattle, and many sheep, upon these islands.
+Occasional excursion parties are made up at Valparaiso to visit the
+group by steamboat, for the purpose of shooting seals and mountain
+goats. Stories are told of Juan Fernandez having been formerly made the
+headquarters of pirates who came from thence to ravage the towns on the
+coast of the continent, and it is believed by the credulous that much of
+the ill-gotten wealth of the buccaneers still remains hidden there. In
+search of this supposititious treasure, expeditions have been fitted out
+in past years at Valparaiso, and many an acre of ground has been vainly
+dug over in seeking for piratical gold, supposed to be buried there.
+Some of the shrewd stock raisers of Juan Fernandez are ready, for a
+consideration, to point out to seekers the most probable places where
+such treasures might have been buried.</p>
+
+<p class="p4"><a name="Ch_16"></a></p>
+
+<h3>CHAPTER XVI.</h3>
+
+<p class="blockquote">The Port of Callao.&mdash;A Submerged
+City.&mdash;Peruvian Exports.&mdash;A Dirty and Unwholesome
+Town.&mdash;Cinchona Bark.&mdash;The Andes.&mdash;The Llama.&mdash;A
+National Dance.&mdash;City of Lima.&mdash;An Old and Interesting
+Capital.&mdash;Want of Rain.&mdash;Pizarro and His Crimes.&mdash;A Grand
+Cathedral.&mdash;Chilian Soldiers.&mdash;Costly Churches of
+Peru.&mdash;Roman Catholic Influence.&mdash;Desecration of the
+Sabbath.</p>
+
+<p class="p2">The passage northward from Valparaiso to Callao occupies
+about four days by the steamers which do not stop at intermediate ports.
+We entered the harbor in the early morning while a soft veil of mist
+enshrouded the bay, but as the sun fairly shone upon the view, this
+aerial screen rapidly disappeared, revealing Callao just in front of us,
+making the foreground of a pleasing and vivid picture, the middle
+distance filled by the ancient city of Lima, and the far background by
+alpine ranges. Callao is an ill-built though important town, with a
+population of about thirty thousand, and serves as the port for Lima,
+the capital of Peru. It has a good harbor, well protected by the island
+of San Lorenzo, which, with the small island of El Fronton, and the
+Palminos reef, forms a protection against the constant swell of the
+ocean. There are nearly always one or two ships of war belonging to
+foreign nations in the harbor, and large steamships from the north or
+the south. The sailing distance from Panama is fifteen hundred miles.
+The Callao of to-day is comparatively modern. Old Callao formerly stood
+on a tongue of land opposite San Lorenzo, but in 1746 an earthquake
+submerged it and drowned some five thousand of the inhabitants,
+foundered a score of ships, and stranded a Spanish man-of-war. In calm
+weather one can row a boat over the spot where the old city stood, and
+see the ruins far down in the deep waters. The present city has twice
+been near to sharing the same fate: once in 1825, and again in 1868. It
+is, therefore, not assuming too much to say that Callao may at any time
+disappear in the most summary fashion. The sunken ruins in the harbor
+are a melancholy and suggestive sight, the duplicate of which we do not
+believe can be found elsewhere on the globe. Though seismic disturbances
+are of such frequent occurrence, and are so destructive on the west
+coast of South America, they are hardly known on the Atlantic or eastern
+side of the continent. That they are frequently coincident with volcanic
+disturbances indicates that there is an intimate connection between
+them, but yet earthquakes often occur in regions where volcanoes do not
+exist. This was the case, not long since, as most of our readers will
+remember, in South Carolina. It has been noticed by careful observers
+that animals become uneasy on the eve of such an event, which would seem
+to show that earthquakes sometimes owe their origin to extraordinary
+atmospheric conditions.</p>
+
+<p>San Lorenzo is about six miles from Callao, and is four miles long by
+one in width. It is utterly barren, presenting a mass of brownish gray
+color, eleven hundred feet high, at whose base there is ever a broad,
+snow white ruffle, caused by the never-ceasing ocean swell breaking into
+foam. An English smelting company has established extensive works near
+the shore of the island, for the reduction of silver and copper ores.
+The approach to Callao from the sea affords a fine view of the
+undulating shore, backed by the snowy Cordilleras, the shabby buildings
+of the town, with the dismantled castle of San Felipe forming the
+foreground. In landing one must be cautious: there is always
+considerable swell in the harbor.</p>
+
+<p>The staple products of this region are represented by packages of
+merchandise prepared for shipment, and which are the first to attract
+one's attention upon landing, such as cinchona bark from the native
+forests, piles of wheat in bulk, hides, quantities of crude salt, sugar
+packed in dried banana leaves, bales of alpaca wool, and, most
+suggestive of all, some heavy bags of silver ore. Little is being done
+in mining at present, though the field for this industry is large. The
+difficulty of transportation is one of the great drawbacks, yet Peru has
+over a thousand miles of railways in her rather limited area. Gold,
+platinum, silver, and copper are all found in paying quantities. Coal
+and petroleum also exist here, in various inland districts. The guano
+deposits, which have yielded so much wealth to Peru in the past, are
+practically exhausted, while the nitrate-producing province of Tarapaca
+has been stolen by Chili, to which it now belongs. It is thought that
+the nitrate deposits can be profitably worked for fifty years to
+come.</p>
+
+<p>A crowd of the lazy, ragged population were loafing about the
+landing, watching the strangers as they came on shore at the wet and
+slippery stone steps.</p>
+
+<p>It is very plain that the great importance of Callao has departed,
+though there is still an appearance of business activity. Not long ago,
+a hundred vessels at a time might be seen at anchor inside of San
+Lorenzo; now, a score of good-sized ships are all one can count. This is
+owing to various causes: an unreasonable high tariff is one of them,
+exorbitant port charges is another, and the general depression of
+business on the west coast is felt quite as strongly here as at any of
+the ports. Like Santos, on the other side of the continent, Callao is
+ever an unhealthy resort, where a great mortality prevails in the fever
+season. The absence of good drainage and inattention to hygienic rules
+will in part account for the bad repute that the port has among the
+shipping masters who frequent the coast. The streets are particularly
+malodorous about the water front. The dirty vultures seem to be depended
+upon to remove offensive garbage.</p>
+
+<p>A certain remarkable occurrence sometimes takes place in this harbor,
+which, so far as the writer knows, is without precedent elsewhere. A
+ship may come in from sea and anchor at about sunset, in good order and
+condition, everything being white and clean on board, but when her
+captain comes on deck the next morning, he may find that his ship has
+been painted, inside and out, a dark chocolate color during the night,
+the atmosphere at the same time being impregnated with a peculiar odor,
+arising from this "paint," or whatever it may be, which clings
+tenaciously to every object, wood or iron. While it is damp and freshly
+deposited, it can be removed like fresh paint, but if it is permitted to
+dry, it is as difficult to remove as ordinary dried paint would be. No
+one can tell the origin of this nuisance, but most seamen whose business
+brings them to Callao have been through this experience. Of course it
+must be an atmospheric deposit, but from whence? It has never been known
+to occur upon the neighboring land, but only in the harbor. Scientists
+have given the matter their attention, and have concluded that it may be
+caused by sulphurous gases produced in the earth below the water, which
+rise to the surface and disseminate themselves in the surrounding
+atmosphere.</p>
+
+<p>From any elevated point in the city one may enjoy a delightful view,
+the main features of which are the Andes on the land side, and seaward,
+the broad heaving bosom of the Pacific. The corrugated peaks of the
+former, clad in white, seem like restless phantoms marching through the
+sky. Over the latter, long lines of inky blackness trail behind northern
+or southern bound steamers, while here and there a tall, full-rigged
+ship recalls the older modes of navigation.</p>
+
+<p>The smoother water inside of San Lorenzo is alive with small boats,
+some under sails, some propelled by oars, shooting in and out among the
+shipping which lie at anchor before the town. A pair of large whales
+assisted at this scene for our special benefit, just inside the harbor's
+mouth. It must have been only play on their part,&mdash;leviathans at
+play,&mdash;but they threw up the sea in such clouds of spray with their
+broad tails, as to make it appear like a battle-royal seen from a mile
+away.</p>
+
+<p>We mentioned the fact of seeing cinchona bark in bales ready for
+shipping. Of all the products of South America, gold, silver, and
+precious stones included, the most valuable is the drug which is called
+quinine, made from the bark of the cinchona tree. There is no other one
+article known to the materia medica which has been used in such large
+quantities or with such unvarying success by suffering humanity. It was
+first introduced into Europe from Peru, and was then known as Peruvian
+bark. It was supposed at that time to be found only in this section of
+the continent; but subsequently it was discovered to abound in all the
+forests along the course of the Andes, and especially on their western
+slope. So large has been its export that it was found the source of
+supply was rapidly becoming exhausted, until local governments awoke to
+the importance of the matter, and protected by law the trees which
+produce it. These are no longer ruthlessly cut down to die, when
+yielding their valuable harvest, but only a certain quantity of the
+desirable bark is taken from each tree annually, so that nature replaces
+the portion which had been removed, by covering the trunk with a fresh
+growth. The cinchona tree, having been transplanted from South America,
+is now successfully cultivated in the islands of the Malacca Straits,
+Ceylon, India, and other tropical regions.</p>
+
+<p>The tree which produces this valuable febrifuge belongs to the same
+family as the coffee plant. In appearance it is very like our native
+beech tree, having remarkably white wood.</p>
+
+<p>The llama is found nearly all over South America, and is often seen
+as a beast of burden at Callao, taking the place here which the donkey
+or burro fills in Mexico. It has been described as having the head and
+neck of a camel, the body of a deer, the wool of a sheep, and the neigh
+of a horse. We do not agree with those who pronounce the llama an
+awkward creature. True, the body is a little ungainly, but the head, the
+graceful pose, the pointed, delicate ears, and the large, lustrous eyes
+are absolutely handsome. It can carry a burden weighing one hundred
+pounds over hard mountain roads, day after day, while living upon very
+scanty food. It is slow in its movements, patient when well treated, and
+particularly sure-footed. It is of a very gentle disposition, but when
+it finds the weight placed upon its back too heavy, like the Egyptian
+camel, it immediately lies down and will not rise until the load is
+lightened. The llama, or "mountain camel," as it has been aptly called,
+is the only domesticated native animal. The horse, ox, hog, and sheep
+are all importations which were entirely unknown here four centuries
+ago. The llama has two notable peculiarities: when angry it will
+expectorate at its enemy, and when hurt will shed tears. The
+expectoration is of an acrid, semi-poisonous nature, and if it strikes
+the eyes will, it is said, blind them. The llama, guanaco, alpaca, and
+vicuña were the four sheep of the Incas, the wool of the first clothing
+the common people; the second, the nobles; the third, the royal
+governors; and the fourth the Incas. The first two are domesticated,
+guanacos and vicuñas are wild, though they all belong to the same
+family.</p>
+
+<p>The manners and customs of any people new to the traveler are always
+an interesting study, but in nothing are they more strongly
+individualized than in the pursuit of amusements. A favorite dance,
+known here as the <i>zama cueca</i>, is often witnessed out-of-doors in
+retired corners of the plaza or the alameda, as well as elsewhere. It
+requires two performers, and is generally danced by a male and female,
+being not unlike the Parisian cancan, both in the movement and the
+purpose of the expression. The two dancers stand opposite each other,
+each having a pocket handkerchief in the right hand, while the music
+begins at first a dull, monotonous air, which rapidly rises and falls in
+cadence. The dancers approach each other, swaying their bodies
+gracefully, and using their limbs nimbly; now they pass each other,
+turning in the act to coquettishly wave the handkerchief about their
+heads, and also to snap it towards each other's faces. Thus they advance
+and retreat several times, whipping at each other's faces, while
+throwing their bodies into peculiar attitudes. Again they resume the
+first movement of advance and retreat, one assuming coyness, the other
+ardor, and thus continue, until, as a sort of climax, they fall into
+each other's arms with a peal of hearty laughter. A guitar is the usual
+accompanying instrument, the player uttering the while a shrill
+impromptu chant. When a male dancer joins in this street performance, as
+is sometimes the case, it is apt to be a little coarse and vulgar.</p>
+
+<p>There is very little in Callao to detain us, and one is quite ready
+to hasten on to Lima, the capital of Peru, hoping to escape the stench
+and universal dirtiness of the port.</p>
+
+<p>The city of Lima has at this writing about one hundred and sixty
+thousand inhabitants, and is situated six miles from Callao, its
+shipping port, with which it is connected by two rival railways. These
+roads are constructed upon an up-grade the whole distance, but the rise
+is so gradual as to be almost imperceptible, though Lima is over five
+hundred feet higher than Callao. The capital, which is clearly visible
+from the water as we enter the harbor, presents from that distance, and
+even from a much nearer point of view, a most pleasing picture, being
+favorably situated on elevated ground, with its many spires and domes
+standing forth in bold relief. It has, when seen from such a distance, a
+certain oriental appearance, charming to the eye of a stranger. But it
+is deceptive; it is indeed distance which lends enchantment in this
+case, for upon arriving within its precincts one is rudely undeceived.
+The apparently grand array of architecture on near inspection proves to
+be flimsy and poor in detail: everything is bamboo frame and plaster; no
+edifice is solid above the basement. Still, one can easily imagine how
+attractive the place must have been in those viceregal days, the period
+of its false glory and prosperity. The capital stands almost at the very
+foot of the Cordillera which forms the coast range, and is built upon
+both sides of the Rimac, over which stretches a substantial stone bridge
+of six arches, very old and very homely, but all the more interesting
+because it is so venerable. The width of the river at this point is over
+five hundred feet. In the winter season it is a very moderate stream,
+but when the summer sun asserts itself, the snow upon the neighboring
+mountains yields to its warmth, and the Rio Rimac then becomes an alpine
+torrent. It is like the Arno at Florence, which at certain seasons has
+the form of a river without the circulation. The anecdote is told here
+of a Yankee visitor to Lima who was being shown over the city by a
+patriotic citizen, and who on coming to this spot remarked to his
+chaperon: "You ought either to buy a river or sell this bridge."</p>
+
+<p>At the entrance of this ancient structure stands a lofty and very
+effective archway, with two tall towers, and a clock in a central
+elevation. Prominent over the arched entrance to the roadway is the
+motto <i>Dios y La Patria</i>,&mdash;"God and Country." Nothing in Lima
+is of more interest than this hoary, unique, moss-grown bridge.</p>
+
+<p>One pauses before the crumbling yet still substantial old structure
+to recall the vivid scenes which must have been enacted in the long,
+long past upon its roadway. Here madly contending parties have spilled
+each other's blood, hundreds of gaudy church processions have crossed
+these arches, bitter civil and foreign wars have raged about the bridge,
+dark conspiracies have been whispered and ripened here, solitary murders
+committed in the darkness of night, and lifeless bodies thrown from its
+parapet; but the dumb witness still remains intact, having endured more
+than three hundred years of use and abuse.</p>
+
+<p>It is not necessary to unpack one's waterproof or umbrella in Lima.
+It never rains here, any more than it does in the region of Aden, at the
+mouth of the Red Sea. All vegetable growth is more or less dependent
+upon artificial irrigation, and in the environs where this is
+judiciously applied the orange and lemon trees are heavy with golden
+fruit, forming a rich contrast with the deep green of the luxuriant
+plantain, the thick, lance-like agave, and the prolific banana. The city
+and its environs would be as poorly off without the water of the Rimac
+as would the Egyptians if deprived of the annual overflow of the
+fertilizing Nile. Though the river is so inconsiderable at certain
+seasons, still it does supply a certain quantity of water always, which
+is improved to the utmost. Dews some times prevail at night, so heavy as
+to be of partial benefit, giving to vegetation a breath of moisture, and
+taking away the dead dryness of the atmosphere. This, however favorable
+for vegetation, is considered unwholesome for humanity. The flowers and
+shrubbery of the plaza droop for want of water, and are only preserved
+by great care on the part of those in charge of them. In some of the
+private gardens the pashinba palm-tree is seen, very peculiar in its
+growth, being mounted as it were upon stilts, formed by the exposed
+straight roots which radiate, like a series of props, to support the
+tall trunk. At its apex is a singular, spear-like stem, pointing
+straight skyward, without leaf or branch, just beneath which are the
+graceful, long, curved palm leaves, exquisite in proportions, bending
+like ostrich feathers. At first sight this tree looks like an artificial
+production, in which nature has taken no part. Lying only twelve degrees
+south of the equator, Lima has a tropical climate, but being also close
+to the foothills of the Andes, she is near to a temperate district, so
+that her market yields the fruits and vegetables of two zones.</p>
+
+<p>Pizarro, the ambitious and intrepid conqueror of Peru, here
+established his capital in 1535, and here ended his days in 1541, dying
+at the hands of the assassin, the natural and retributive end of a life
+of gross bigotry, sensuality, recklessness, and almost unparalleled
+cruelty. In a narrow street,&mdash;the Callejon de
+Petateron,&mdash;leading out of the Plaza Mayor, a house is pointed out
+as being the one in which Pizarro was assassinated. Both Pizarro in Peru
+and Cortez in Mexico owed their phenomenal success to exceptional
+circumstances, namely, to the civil wars which prevailed among the
+native tribes of the countries they invaded. By shrewdly directing these
+intestine troubles so as to aid their own purposes, each commander in
+his special field achieved complete victory over races which, thus
+disunited and pitted against each other, fell an easy prey to the
+cunning invaders. Neither of these adventurers had sufficient strength
+to contend against a united and determined people. Such an enemy on his
+own ground would have swept the handful of Spaniards led by Pizarro from
+the face of the earth by mere force of numbers.</p>
+
+<p>Soon after its foundation, Lima became the most luxurious and
+profligate of the viceregal courts of Spain, and so continued until its
+declaration of independence, and final separation from the mother
+country. The most worthless and restless spirits about the throne of
+Spain were favored in a desire to join Pizarro in the New World. The
+home government, while purging itself of so undesirable an element,
+added to the recklessness and utter immorality which reigned in the
+atmosphere of Lima. Forty-three successive viceroys ruled Peru during
+the Spanish occupancy. The nefarious Inquisition, steeped in the blood
+of helpless and innocent natives, was active here long after its
+decadence in Madrid, while the local churches, convents, and monasteries
+accumulated untold wealth by a system of arbitrary taxation, and
+iniquitous extortion exercised towards the native race. What better
+could have been expected from Pizarro than to inaugurate and foster such
+a state of affairs? Under the influence of designing priests and
+lascivious monks, he was as clay in the potter's hands, being originally
+only an illiterate swineherd, one who could neither read nor write. The
+state documents put forth during his viceregency, still preserved and to
+be seen in the archives of Lima, show that he could only affix his mark,
+not even attempting to write his own name. Though Charles V. finally
+indorsed and ennobled him with the title of Marques de la Conquista, and
+appointed him viceroy of the conquered country, he was still and ever
+the illegitimate, low-bred hind of Truxillo in continental Spain. The
+palace of this man, who, with the exception of Cortez, was the greatest
+human butcher of the age in which he lived, is still used for government
+offices, while the senate occupies the council chamber of the old
+Inquisition building, infamous for the bloody work done within its
+walls. H. Willis Baxley, M. D., the admirable author, writes on the spot
+as follows: "When the apologists of Pizarro attempt to shield his
+crimes, and excuse his acts of cruelty by his religious zeal and holy
+purpose of extending the dominion of the cross, they may well be
+answered that the religion was unworthy of adoption which required for
+its extension that the wife of the Inca Manco, then a prisoner in
+Pizarro's power, should be 'stripped naked, bound to a tree, and in
+presence of the camp be scourged with rods, and then shot to death with
+arrows!' This cold-blooded brutality, and to a woman, should brand his
+name with eternal infamy."</p>
+
+<p>As we have intimated, Lima, like Constantinople, looks at its best
+from a distance, viewed so that the full and combined effect of its many
+domes and spires can be taken in as a whole; but whether near to it or
+far from it, few places in South America possess more poetical and
+historical interest. Its past story reads like an Arabian Nights' tale.
+Though the city is by no means what it has been, and wears an
+unmistakable air of decayed greatness, and though foreign invaders and
+civil wars have done their worst, Lima is still an extremely attractive
+metropolis. Even the vandalism of the late Chilian invaders, who
+outraged all the laws of civilized warfare (if there is any such thing
+as civilized warfare), regardless of the rights of non-combatants, could
+not obliterate her natural attractions and historical associations. The
+Chilian soldiers destroyed solely for the sake of destroying, mutilated
+statuary and works of art generally, besides burning historical
+treasures and libraries; and yet these Chilians claim to be the highest
+type of modern civilization on the southern continent. They strove to
+ruin whatever they could not steal and carry away with them from Peru,
+and, almost incredible to record, they wantonly killed the elephant in
+the zoölogical garden of Lima, and purloined the small animals. Noble,
+chivalrous Chilians! The rank and file of these people are the very
+embodiment of ignorance and brutality. The Chilian soldier carries, as a
+regular weapon, a curved knife called a <i>curvos</i>, with which he
+cuts the throats of his enemies. At close quarters, instead of fighting
+man-fashion, as nearly all other nations do, he springs like a fierce
+bull-dog at his opponent's throat, and with his curvos cuts it from ear
+to ear. After a battle, bands of these fiends in human shape go over the
+field, seeking out the wounded who are still alive, deliberately cutting
+their throats, and robbing their bodies of all valuables. It is Chilian
+tactics to take no prisoners, give no quarter. These brave soldiers
+would have burned Lima to the ground after gaining possession, had it
+not been for the interference of the foreign ministers, who had national
+men-of-war at Callao with which to back their arguments. These
+guerrillas&mdash;for that is just about what the Chilian soldiers
+are&mdash;knew full well that if even a small European battalion of
+disciplined men were landed and brought against them, they would simply
+be swept from the face of the earth.</p>
+
+<p>Lima is laid out with the streets in rectangular form, the central
+point being the Plaza Mayor, in the shape of a quadrangle, each side of
+which is five hundred feet in length. On the north side of this
+admirably arranged square stand the buildings occupied as government
+offices, together with the bishop's palace, and the cathedral
+overshadowed by its two lofty towers. The corner-stone of this edifice
+was laid by Pizarro with great ceremony. The spires, although presenting
+such an effective appearance, are constructed of the most frail
+material, such as bricks, stucco, and bamboo frames, but still, as a
+whole, they are undeniably imposing. In this dry climate they are,
+perhaps, enduring also. Like the façade of the church of St. Roche, in
+Paris, this of the Lima cathedral is marked by bullet-holes
+commemorating the Chilian invasion. The church is raised six or eight
+feet above the level of the plaza, as is usual in South America,
+standing upon a marble platform, reached by broad steps, well calculated
+to enhance the really graceful proportions, and add to the effect of its
+broad, high towers. The interior is quite commonplace, with the usual
+tinsel, poor carvings, and wretched oil paintings, including several
+grotesque Virgin Marys. These were too poor even for the Chilians to
+steal. Beneath the grand altar rest the ashes of Pizarro, the cruel,
+ambitious, reckless tool of the Romish Church. The cathedral was built
+in 1540, but has undergone complete repairs and renovations from time to
+time, being still considered to be one of the most imposing
+ecclesiastical edifices in America. Its original cost is said to have
+been nine million dollars, to obtain which Pizarro robbed the Inca
+temples of all their elaborate gold and silver ornaments. According to
+Prescott, the Spaniards took twenty-four thousand, eight hundred pounds
+of gold, and eighty-two thousand ounces of silver from a single Inca
+temple! Prescott is careful in his statements to warn us of the
+unreliability of the Spanish writers, nearly all of whom were Romish
+priests. Where figures are concerned they cannot be depended upon for a
+moment. They also took special care to cover up the fiendish atrocities
+of the Inquisition, and the extortions of the church as exercised
+towards the poor, down-trodden native race.</p>
+
+<p>One's spirits partook of the sombre and austere atmosphere which
+reigns at all times in this ancient edifice. It was very lonely. Not a
+soul was to be seen during our brief visit to the cathedral at noonday,
+except a couple of decrepit old beggars at the entrance, the faint, dull
+glare of the burning candles about the altar only serving to deepen the
+shadows and emphasize the darkness.</p>
+
+<p>The area of the Plaza Mayor embraces eight or nine acres of land, and
+has often been the theatre of most sanguinary scenes, where hand-to-hand
+fights have frequently taken place between insurgent citizens and
+soldiers of the ruling power of the day, while many unpopular officials
+have been hanged in the towers of the cathedral, from each of which
+projects a gibbet! The middle of the plaza is beautified by a bronze
+fountain with arboreal and floral surroundings. There was formerly some
+statuary here, which the brave Chilians stole and carried away with
+them, even purloining the iron benches, which they transported to
+Valparaiso and Santiago. The streets running from this square, with the
+exception of the Calle de los Mercaderes, have an atmosphere of
+antiquity, which contrasts with the people one meets in them. Even the
+turkey buzzards, acting as street scavengers, are of an antique species,
+looking quite gray and dilapidated, as though they were a hundred years
+old. In Vera Cruz the same species of bird, kept for a similar purpose,
+have a brightness of feather, and jauntiness withal, quite unlike these
+feathered street-cleaners of Lima. The "Street of the Merchants," just
+referred to, is the fashionable shopping thoroughfare of Lima, where in
+the afternoons the ladies and gentlemen are seen in goodly numbers
+promenading in full dress.</p>
+
+<p>There is here the usual multiplicity of churches, convents, and
+nunneries, such as are to be found in all Spanish cities, though the
+latter establishments have been partially suppressed. Some of the
+churches of Lima are fabulously expensive structures; indeed, the amount
+of money squandered on churches and church property in this city is
+marvelous. During the late war many articles of gold and silver,
+belonging to them, were melted into coin, but some were hidden, and have
+once more been restored to their original position in the churches. The
+convent and church of San Francisco form one of the most costly groups
+of buildings of the sort in America. The ornamental tiles of the
+flooring are calculated, not by the square yard, but by the acre. There
+are over a hundred Roman Catholic churches in Lima, few of which have
+any architectural beauty, but all of which are crowded with vulgar wax
+figures, wooden images, and bleeding saints. These churches in several
+instances have very striking façades: that of La Merced, for instance;
+but they are mere shams, as we have already said,&mdash;stucco and
+plaster; they would not endure the wear of any other climate for a
+single decade.</p>
+
+<p>With all this outside religious show in Lima, there is no
+corresponding observance of the sacred character of the Sabbath. It is
+held rather as a period of gross license and indulgence, and devoted to
+bull-fights, cock-fighting, and drunkenness. The lottery-ticket vender
+reaps the greatest harvest on this occasion, and the gambling saloons
+are all open. Children pursue their every-day sports with increased
+ardor, and the town puts on a gala day aspect. At night the streets are
+ablaze, the theatres are crowded, and dissipation of every conceivable
+sort waxes fast and furious until long past midnight. The ignorant mass
+generally has drifted into observing the rituals of the Romish Church,
+but there are many of the native Indians in Peru who cherish a belief of
+a millennium in the near future; a time when the true prophet of the sun
+will return and restore the grand old Inca dynasty. Just so the Moors of
+Tangier hold to the belief that the time will yet come when they will be
+restored to the glory of their fathers, and to their beloved Granada;
+that the halls of the Alhambra will once more resound to the Moorish
+lute, and the grand cathedral of Cordova shall again become a mosque of
+the true faith.</p>
+
+<p>The fact that the bull-ring of Lima will accommodate sixteen thousand
+people, and that it is always well filled on Sundays, speaks for itself.
+At these sanguinary performances a certain class of women appear in
+large numbers and in full dress, entering heartily into the spirit of
+the occasion, and waving their handkerchiefs furiously to applaud the
+actors in the tragedy, while the exhibitions are characterized by even
+more cruelty than at Madrid or Havana.</p>
+
+<p class="p4"><a name="Ch_17"></a></p>
+
+<h3>CHAPTER XVII.</h3>
+
+<p class="blockquote">A Grand Plaza.&mdash;Retribution.&mdash;The
+University of Lima.&mdash;Significance of Ancient
+Pottery.&mdash;Architecture.&mdash;Picturesque Dwelling.&mdash;Domestic
+Scene.&mdash;Destructive Earthquakes.&mdash;Spanish Sway.&mdash;Women of
+Lima.&mdash;Street Costumes.&mdash;Ancient Bridge of
+Lima.&mdash;Newspapers.&mdash;Pawnbrokers'
+Shops.&mdash;Exports.&mdash;An Ancient Mecca.&mdash;Home by Way of
+Europe.</p>
+
+<p class="p2">The large square in Lima, known as Plazuela de la
+Independencia, is grand in its proportions. One prominent feature is the
+bronze statue of Bolivar, the famous South American patriot. It also
+contains the old palace of the Inquisition, which looks to-day more like
+a stable than a palace. This detestable institution attained to greater
+scope and power here than it did even in Mexico. According to its own
+records, during its existence in the capital of Peru, fifty-nine persons
+were publicly burned alive as heretics, because they would not
+acknowledge the Roman Catholic faith, thousands were tortured until in
+their agony they agreed to anything, while thousands were publicly
+scourged to the same end. Could the truth be fully known as regards the
+bigoted reign of the priesthood at the time referred to in Peru, it
+would form one of the most startling chapters of modern history. But
+they were their own chroniclers, and suppressed everything which might
+possibly reflect upon themselves or upon their church. Retribution was
+slow, but it has come finally. The former convent of Guadeloupe is now
+occupied for a worthy object as a high school; the main portion of the
+cloisters of San Francisco have made way for the college of San Marco;
+that of San Carlos has supplanted the Jesuits; San Juan de Dios is now
+occupied as a railway station; while the once famous and infamous
+convent of Santa Catalina serves to-day as the public market.</p>
+
+<p>The University of Lima was the first seat of education established in
+the New World, or, to fix the period more clearly in the average
+reader's mind, it dates from about seventy years before the historic
+Mayflower reached the shore of New England. The National Library
+contains some forty thousand volumes, also a collection of Peruvian
+antiquities, besides many objects of natural history, mostly of such
+examples as are indigenous to this section. There is one large oil
+painting in this building by a native artist named Monteros, the canvas
+measuring thirty by twenty feet. The title is "Obsequies of Atahualpa."
+This was carried away by the thieving Chilians, but was finally restored
+to Peru. It should be mentioned, to their lasting shame, that the books
+which they stole at the same time have not been returned.</p>
+
+<p>The ancient pottery one sees in the collection of Peruvian
+antiquities is wonderfully like that to be found in the Boulak Museum at
+Cairo, in Egypt, Etruscan and Egyptian patterns prevailing over all
+other forms, which strongly suggests a common origin. Besides those
+which we have named, there are several other educational and art
+institutions in the city, together with three hospitals, two lunatic
+asylums, a college of arts, and the National Mint. One hospital, bearing
+the name of the Second of May Hospital, is a very large and thoroughly
+equipped establishment, occupying a whole square, and having
+accommodations for seven hundred patients. There are four theatres, one
+of which is conducted by the Chinese after their own peculiar fashion.
+The outsides of the dwelling-houses are painted in various brilliant
+colors, a practice which is found to prevail all over the southern
+continent, and which exhibits an inherent love among the people for
+warm, bright hues. The roofs of most houses serve as a depository for
+hens and chickens, noisy gamecocks especially asserting themselves
+before daybreak, forbidding all ideas of morning naps, unless one is
+accustomed to the din. Many of the dwellings are picturesque and
+attractive, with overhanging balconies and bay windows, the latter
+oftentimes finished very elaborately with handsome wood carvings and
+open-work lattices. As to the prevailing style of architecture, it is
+Spanish and Moorish combined, each building being constructed about a
+central patio, which is often rendered lovely with flowers and statuary,
+together with small orange and lemon trees in large painted tubs.</p>
+
+<p>The abundance of cracks in the walls of the dwellings, both inside
+and out, is a significant hint that we are in an earthquake country. A
+slight shake is hardly spoken of at all; they come so often as to be
+comparatively unheeded.</p>
+
+<p>In the environs of Lima the houses are built of adobe, rarely over
+one story in height, with very thick walls, this style having been found
+the best to resist the earthquakes, which must be very serious indeed to
+affect a low adobe house with walls two feet and a half thick. About
+these residences, which, not to put too fine a point upon the matter,
+are really nothing but mud cabins, there is often seen an attractive and
+refining feature, namely, small, but exceedingly pretty plots of
+cultivated flowers. It is astonishing how perfectly they serve to throw
+a flavor of refinement over all things else. The variety and fragrance
+of the Lima roses are something long to be remembered, and the people
+here seem to have a special love for this most popular of flowers. We
+had missed them nearly everywhere else in South America; therefore they
+were thrice welcome when they greeted us at Lima.</p>
+
+<p>There is a dwelling-house in this city belonging to an old and rich
+family, which is worth a pilgrimage to see. It is built of stone,
+artistically carved, with a square balcony and bay window on each side
+of the tall, spacious, and elaborately ornamented doorway. It is clearly
+Moorish in type, and must be nearly or quite three hundred years old.
+Photographs are found of its façade in the art stores of Lima, and most
+visitors bring one away with them as a memento of the place. The house
+stands even with the thorough-*fare, and is only two stories in height,
+but is a beautiful relic of the past. It would be quite in accordance
+with the surroundings, were it to be transported to Cairo or Bagdad.</p>
+
+<p>On the way from the Plaza Mayor to this attractive bit of Morisco
+architecture, one gets frequent glimpses of pretty, cool, flower-decked
+patios, about which the low picturesque dwellings are erected, and where
+domestic life is seen in partial seclusion. An infant is playing on the
+marble paved court, watched by a dark Indian nurse. An ermine-colored
+cockatoo with a gorgeous yellow plume is gravely eying the child from
+its perch. Creeping vines twine about the slim columns which support a
+low arcade above the entrance floor. Farther in, a bit of statuary peeps
+out from among the greenery, which is growing in high-colored wooden
+tubs. The vine, which clings tenaciously to the small columns, is the
+passion plant, its flowers seeming almost artificial in their
+regularity, brightness, and abundance. A fair señora in diaphanous robes
+reclines at ease in a low, pillowed seat, and the señor, cigarette in
+mouth, swings leisurely in a hammock.</p>
+
+<p>It was a pretty, characteristic family picture, of which we should be
+glad to possess a photograph.</p>
+
+<p>Few cities have a more agreeable climate. The range of the
+thermometer throughout the year being for the winter season from 68° to
+75°, and in the summer from 80° to 88°. The Humboldt current, as it is
+called, sweeps along the coast from the Antarctic circle, causing a much
+lower temperature here than exists in the same latitude on the other
+side of the continent. Lima, it will be remembered, is situated about
+twelve degrees from the equatorial line. The climate is of exquisite
+softness, beneath a sky serenely blue; every breath is a pleasure,
+tranquillizing to both mind and body. Rain is of very rare occurrence,
+as we have intimated, but earthquakes are frequent. The most destructive
+visit of this sort in modern times was in 1745, which at the same time
+destroyed the port of Callao. Though Lima is blessed with such a
+seemingly equable climate, for some unexplained reason it is very far
+from being a healthy place. The great mortality which prevails here is
+entirely out of proportion to the number of inhabitants. There must be
+some local reason for this. Even in the days of the Incas, the present
+site of the city was deemed to be a spot only fit for criminals; that is
+to say, a penal colony was located here, where the earlier Peruvians
+placed condemned people, and where a high rate of mortality was not
+regarded as being entirely objectionable. The Campo Santo of Lima, in
+the immediate environs of the city, is built with tall thick walls
+containing niches four ranges high, and recalls those of the city of
+Mexico. It is not customary to bury in the ground. Some of the monuments
+are quite elaborate, but the place generally has a neglected appearance,
+and no attempt seems made to give it a pleasing aspect. It has neither
+flowers nor trees.</p>
+
+<p>The Spaniards, during a sway which lasted over three hundred years,
+were terrible taskmasters in Peru, enslaving, crushing, and massacring
+the natives, just as they did in Cuba and Mexico. The Indians were
+looked upon as little more than beasts of burden, and their lives or
+well-being were of no sort of account, except so far as they served the
+purposes of the invading hordes of Spaniards. The race which has been
+produced by intermarriage and promiscuous intercourse is a very
+heterogeneous one, born of aborigines, negroes, mulattoes, Spaniards,
+and Portuguese. In religion, as well as in daily life, the habits of the
+people are Castilian, whether red, yellow, or black. There is also a
+considerable Chinese population, which, however, as a rule, maintains
+isolation from other nationalities so far as intermarriage or close
+intimacy is concerned. Many of the Chinese keep cheap eating-houses, and
+always seem to be industrious and thrifty. They are the outcome of the
+coolie trade, by which the Peruvian plantations were for years supplied
+with laborers,&mdash;slave labor, for that is exactly what it was to all
+intents and purposes, call it what we may. But this cruel and unjust
+system has long been suppressed. Most of the small shops are kept by
+Italians, and the best hotels by Frenchmen. The banking-houses are
+usually conducted by Germans, while Americans and Englishmen divide the
+engineering work, the construction of railways, with such other
+progressive enterprises as require a large share of brains, energy, and
+capital.</p>
+
+<p>The women are generally handsome and of the Spanish type, yet they
+differ therefrom in some important and very obvious particulars. Their
+gypsy complexions, jet black hair and eyes, white, regular teeth, with
+full red lips, form a combination very pleasing to the eye. It must be
+acknowledged, however, that their complexions are aided by cosmetics.
+The features are small and regular, the ears being set particularly
+close to the head, which is always a noticeable peculiarity when it
+prevails. They are vivacious and mirthful, yet not forward or immodest.
+As regards the youthful portion, conventionality prevents all exhibition
+of the latter trait. In dress they follow the styles of Boston, New
+York, and Paris. As their brothers have been mostly educated in the
+cities named, they very generally speak French and English. Many of the
+ladies have themselves enjoyed the advantages of English, French, or
+North American schools in their girlhood. A certain etiquette as regards
+the society of men is very strictly observed here. No gentleman can
+associate with a young lady unless she is chaperoned by her mother or a
+married sister. From what we know of Spanish and Italian character, we
+are not at all surprised at the punctiliousness adhered to in both
+countries in this regard. There are very good reasons why such rules are
+imperative, not only in South America, but in continental Europe. Like
+most of the Spanish women, these of Lima, after the age of twenty-five,
+though they are rather short, and of small frames, nearly always develop
+into a decided fullness of figure.</p>
+
+<p>There is a semi-oriental seclusion observed at all times as regards
+the sex in this country. They are rarely seen upon the streets, except
+when driving, or going and coming from church; but one need not watch
+very closely to see many inquisitive eyes peeping from behind the
+curtained balconies which overhang the thoroughfares, and to catch
+occasionally stolen glances from pretty, coquettish owners, who would be
+very hospitable to strangers if they dared.</p>
+
+<p>Human nature is much the same in Lima as elsewhere. When seen on the
+streets, the ladies generally wear the black "manta" drawn close about
+the head and shoulders and partially covering the face. The manta is a
+shawl and bonnet combined, or rather it takes the place of a bonnet, and
+suggests the lace veil so universally worn at Havana, Seville, and
+Madrid, also recalling the yashmak worn by the women of the East. The
+Lima ladies cover half the face, including one eye; those of Egypt only
+cover the lower part of the face, leaving both eyes exposed.</p>
+
+<p>We are speaking of the better class of the metropolis. Among the more
+common people, instances of great personal beauty are frequent. One sees
+daily youthful girls on the streets who would be pronounced beautiful
+under nearly any circumstances, an inheritance only too often proving a
+fatal legacy to the owner, forming a source of temptation in a community
+where morals are held of such slight account, except among the more
+refined classes, of whom we have been speaking.</p>
+
+<p>One peculiarity is especially noticeable here among the native race:
+it is that the Peruvians seem to be mere lookers-on as regards the
+business of life in their country. All of the important trade is, as we
+have said, in the hands of foreigners. The English control the shipping
+interests, almost entirely, while the skilled machinists are nearly all
+Americans, with a few Scotchmen. We repeat this fact as showing the
+do-nothing nature of the natives, and also as signifying that for true
+progress, indeed, for the growth of civilization in any desirable
+direction, emigration from Europe and North America must be depended
+upon.</p>
+
+<p>The heavy alcoves of the old stone bridge at Lima are appropriated by
+the fruit women, whose tempting display forms glowing bits of color. The
+thorough-*fares are crowded by itinerant peddlers of all sorts of
+merchandise. Milk-women come from the country, mounted astride of small
+horses or donkeys; water carriers trot about on jackasses, sitting
+behind their water jars and uttering piercing cries; Chinese food
+venders, with articles made from mysterious sources, balance their
+baskets at either end of long poles placed across their shoulders; the
+lottery-ticket vender, loud voiced and urgent, is ever present;
+newspaper boys, after our own fashion, shout "El Pais," or "El
+Nacional;" chicken dealers, with baskets full of live birds on their
+head and half a dozen hanging from each hand, solicit your patronage;
+beggars of both sexes, but mostly lazy, worthless men, feign pitiful
+lameness, while importuning every stranger for a centavo; bright,
+careless girls and boys rush hither and thither, full of life and
+spirit,&mdash;black, yellow, brown, and white, all mingling together on
+an equal footing. The absence of wheeled vehicles is noticeable, the
+tramway-cars gliding rapidly past the pedestrians, while pack-horses and
+donkeys transport mostly such merchandise as is not carried on the heads
+of men and women. Of the better class of citizens who help to make up
+this polyglot community of the metropolis, one very easily distinguishes
+the American, French, German, and English; each nationality is somehow
+distinctively marked.</p>
+
+<p>The stock of goods offered for sale in the pawn-*brokers' shops, as a
+rule, is very significant in foreign cities; here the shelves of these
+dealers are full of valuable domestic articles, which the fallen
+fortunes of the once rich Lima families have compelled them to part with
+from time to time in a struggle to keep the wolf from the door. The
+Chilians took all they could readily find of both public and private
+property, and though they ruined financially some of the best families,
+they did not succeed in getting everything which was portable and
+valuable. Heirlooms are offered in these shops for comparatively
+trifling sums, such as rich old lace; diamonds; superbly wrought
+bracelets in gold, rubies, topazes, and other precious stones, set and
+unset; gold and silver spoons and forks of curious designs, and of which
+only one set were ever manufactured, intended to fill a special order
+and suit the fancy of some rich family. Drinking-cups bearing royal
+crests, and others with the arms of noble Castilian families engraved
+upon them, are numerous. There are also swords with jeweled hilts, gold
+and silver table ornaments, together with antique china, which might
+rival the Satsuma of Japan. Curio hunters have secured many, nay, nearly
+all, of the very choicest of these domestic relics, which they have
+mostly taken to London, where they obtained fabulous prices for
+them.</p>
+
+<p>We were told of an enterprising Yankee who invested one thousand
+dollars in these articles, took them to England, and promptly realized
+some eleven thousand dollars above all his expenses upon the venture.
+Returning to Rio Janeiro, on the east coast, he purchased precious
+stones with his increased capital, and, strange to say, although he was
+by no means an expert, among his gems he secured an old mine diamond of
+great value at a low figure, which, having been crudely cut, did not
+exhibit its real excellence. Taking the whole of his second purchase to
+Paris, he disposed of his gems at a large advance, and finally returned
+to New York with a net capital exceeding forty thousand dollars. This
+enterprising and successful individual bore the euphonious name of
+Smyth,&mdash;Smyth with a <i>y</i>,&mdash;Alfred Smyth.</p>
+
+<p>The three watering-places, or country villages of Miraflores,
+Baranco, and Chorillos, are connected with Lima by railway, and in these
+resorts many city merchants have their summer homes, occupying
+picturesque ranches. The Chilians sacked and burned these places during
+the war, but they have been mostly rebuilt, and are once more in a
+thriving condition.</p>
+
+<p>Peru was celebrated for centuries as the most prolific gold and
+silver producing country in the world; her very name has long been the
+synonym for riches. Although the product of the precious metals is still
+considerable, yet it is quite insignificant compared with the revenue
+which she has realized from the export of guano and phosphates. The
+former article, as we have already said, has become virtually exhausted,
+and the latter source of supply, still immensely prolific and valuable,
+has been stolen from her bodily by the Chilians, so that Peru has now to
+fall back upon industry and the remaining natural resources of the
+soil.</p>
+
+<p>The most remarkable peculiarity in the physical formation of Peru is
+the double Cordillera of the Andes, which traverse it from southeast to
+northwest, separating the country into three distinct regions, which
+differ materially from each other in climate, soil, and vegetation. To
+the proximity of the range nearest to the coast is undoubtedly to be
+attributed the frequent earthquakes which disturb the shore, whether the
+volcanoes are apparently extinct or not. It may be reasonably doubted if
+any of the volcanoes are absolutely extinct, in the full sense of the
+term. They may be inoperative, so far as can be seen, for an entire
+century, and at its close break out in full vigor. In consulting the
+authorities upon this subject we find that, since 1570, there have been
+sixty-nine destructive earthquakes recorded as having taken place on the
+west coast of South America. The most terrible of them was that already
+referred to, which destroyed Callao in 1745. It is stated that the
+shocks at that time continued with more or less violence for three
+consecutive months, and the records of the event further state that
+there were two hundred and twenty distinct shocks within the twenty-four
+hours following the enormous tidal wave which overwhelmed Callao. At
+present, hardly a week passes without decided indications of volcanic
+disturbance occurring, but these are of so slight a nature,
+comparatively speaking, that but little attention is paid to them by the
+native population, though it is true that sensitive strangers often turn
+pale at such an event and tremble with fearful anticipations.</p>
+
+<p>About twenty miles south of Lima, on elevated ground which overlooks
+the Pacific, is the prehistoric spot known as Pachacamac, in the valley
+of the Lurin River. The name signifies the "Creator of the World," to
+whom the city and its temples were originally dedicated. Here, upon the
+edge of the desert, once stood the sacred city of a people who preceded
+the Incas, and who have left in these interesting, mouldering ruins
+tokens of their advanced civilization, as clearly defined as are those
+of Thebes, in far away Egypt. Another fact should not be lost sight of
+in this connection, that many ancient remains to be found in this
+neighborhood evince a higher degree of intelligence, in their
+constructive belongings, than do any evidences left to us respecting the
+days of the Incas, with whom we are in a measure familiar. The
+archæologists, whose profession it is to carefully weigh even the
+slightest tangible evidence which time has spared, long since came to
+this conclusion.</p>
+
+<p>Pachacamac was the Mecca of South America, or at least of the most
+civilized portion of it, if we may judge by present appearances, and by
+the testimony of history as far back as it reaches.</p>
+
+<p>The ruins at Pachacamac consist of walls formed of <ins title="'adode'
+in the original"> adobe</ins> and sun-dried bricks, some of which can be
+traced, notwithstanding the many earthquakes which have shaken the
+neighborhood. The site of the ruins is a hilly spot, and the sands have
+drifted so as to cover them in many places, just as the Sphinx and the
+base of the pyramids have been covered, near Cairo. Specific ruins are
+designated as having once been the grand temple of the sun, and others
+as the house of the sacred virgins of the sun. It is very obvious that
+the Incas destroyed a grand and spacious temple here, which legend tells
+us was heavily adorned with silver and gold, to make way for one of
+their own dedicated to the worship of the sun. Who this race were and
+whence they came, with so considerable a system of civilization, is a
+theme which has long absorbed the speculative antiquarian. It is easy
+enough to construct theories which may meet the case, but it is
+difficult to support them when they are subjected to the cold arguments
+of reason and the test of known history. Actual knowledge is a great
+iconoclast, and smashes the poetical images of the unreliable historian
+with a ruthless hand. The Spanish records relating to the period of
+early discovery here, as also of Pizarro's career and the doing of the
+agents of the Romish Church, have long since been proven to be
+absolutely unworthy of belief.</p>
+
+<p>About the ruins of Pachacamac was once a sacred burial place, where
+well-preserved mummies are still to be found, but the great, silent,
+ruined city itself does not contain one living inhabitant. The
+graveyard&mdash;the Campo Santo&mdash;remains, as it were, intact, but
+the proud city, with its grand temples dedicated to unknown gods, has
+crumbled to dust.</p>
+
+<p>Curiously carved gold and silver vases and ornaments, exhibiting the
+exercise of a high degree of artistic skill, have been exhumed in the
+vast graveyard surrounding these ruins, whose extent, if judged by the
+number of interments which have taken place here, must have been ten
+times larger than the present site of Lima, and it must have contained a
+population many times larger than that of the present capital of Peru.
+In the mouths of the well-preserved mummies found buried here, we are
+told that gold coins were found, presumably placed there to pay for
+ferriage across the river of death. Here we have a fact also worthy of
+note. It thus appears that this people must have had a circulating
+medium in the shape of gold coin. As the placing of coin in the mouth of
+the deceased was a custom of the ancient Greeks, may it not be that
+these people came originally from Greece or from some contiguous
+country?</p>
+
+<p>There are numerous other ancient remains in the neighborhood of Lima,
+of which even tradition fails to give any account. Antiquarians find
+many clues to special knowledge of the past in the remains which can be
+exhumed in places on the coast of Chili and Peru, in the ancient graves
+where the nitrous soil has preserved not only the bodies of a former
+people, but also their tools, weapons, and domestic utensils.</p>
+
+<p class="center">*     *     *     *     *</p>
+
+<p>To reach the United States from Callao, the most direct course is to
+sail northward fifteen hundred miles to Panama, and cross the isthmus,
+again taking ship from the Atlantic side; but the author's family
+awaited him in Europe, and as the Pacific mail service exactly met his
+requirements, he sailed southward, touching at several of the ports
+already visited, crossing the Atlantic by way of the Canary and Cape de
+Verde Islands to Lisbon, thence to Southampton and to London. Joining
+his family, he crossed the Atlantic from Liverpool to Boston, after an
+absence of seven months, traveling in all of this equatorial journey
+some thirty thousand miles without any serious mishap, and having
+acquired a largely augmented fund of pleasurable memories.</p>
+
+<div class="p4 center box">
+
+<p class="center"><b>By
+Maturin M. Ballou</b>.</p>
+
+<p class="p2 indent">EQUATORIAL AMERICA. Descriptive of a Visit to St.
+Thomas, Martinique, Barbadoes, and the Principal Capitals of South
+America. A New Book. Crown 8vo, $1.50.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">AZTEC LAND. Crown 8vo, $1.50.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">THE NEW ELDORADO. A Summer Journey to Alaska. Crown
+8vo, $1.50.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">ALASKA. The New Eldorado. A Summer Journey to Alaska.
+<i>Tourist's Edition</i>, with 4 maps. 16mo, $1.00.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">DUE WEST; or, <span class="smcap">Round the World in
+Ten Months</span>. Crown 8vo, $1.50.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">DUE SOUTH; or, <span class="smcap">Cuba Past and
+Present</span>. Crown 8vo, $1.50.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS; or, <span
+class="smcap">Travels in Australasia</span>. Crown 8vo, $1.50.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">DUE NORTH; or, <span class="smcap">Glimpses of
+Scandinavia and Russia</span>. Crown 8vo, $1.50.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">GENIUS IN SUNSHINE AND SHADOW. Crown 8vo, $1.50.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">EDGE-TOOLS OF SPEECH. Selected and edited by Mr. <span
+class="smcap">Ballou</span>. 8vo, $3.50.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">A TREASURY OF THOUGHT. An Encyclopedia of Quotations.
+8vo, full gilt, $3.50.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">PEARLS OF THOUGHT. 16mo, full gilt, $1.25.</p>
+
+<p class="indent">NOTABLE THOUGHTS ABOUT WOMEN. Crown 8vo, $1.50.</p>
+
+<p class="p2 center">HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN &amp; COMPANY,<br />
+
+<span class="smcap">Boston and New York</span>.</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="p4 tnote">
+
+<h3>Transcriber's Notes:</h3>
+
+<p>The list of books by Maturin M. Ballou was moved from the beginning
+to the end of the book.</p>
+
+<p>Obsolete and alternate spellings of words were not changed. Hyphens
+were added to or deleted from compound words to maintain consistency
+within the text.</p>
+
+<p>The remaining changes are indicated by dotted lines under the text.
+Scroll the mouse over the word and the original text will <ins
+title="Original reads 'apprear'"> appear</ins>.</p>
+
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Equatorial America, by Maturin M. Ballou
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK EQUATORIAL AMERICA ***
+
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+</body>
+</html>
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Equatorial America, by Maturin M. Ballou
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Equatorial America
+       Descriptive of a Visit to St. Thomas, Martinique, Barbadoes,
+       and the Principal Capitals of South America
+
+Author: Maturin M. Ballou
+
+Release Date: August 3, 2011 [EBook #36963]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK EQUATORIAL AMERICA ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Julia Miller, Carol Ann Brown, and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+  EQUATORIAL AMERICA
+
+  _DESCRIPTIVE OF A VISIT TO ST. THOMAS
+  MARTINIQUE, BARBADOES, AND
+  THE PRINCIPAL CAPITALS
+  OF SOUTH AMERICA_
+
+  BY
+
+  MATURIN M. BALLOU
+
+  [Illustration: Printer's logo]
+
+  BOSTON AND NEW YORK
+  HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY
+  The Riverside Press, Cambridge
+  1892
+
+
+
+
+  Copyright, 1892,
+  BY MATURIN M. BALLOU.
+
+  _All rights reserved._
+
+  _The Riverside Press, Cambridge, Mass., U. S. A._
+  Electrotyped and Printed by H. O. Houghton & Company.
+
+
+
+
+  DEDICATED
+  TO
+  CAPTAIN E. C. BAKER
+  OF THE
+  _STEAMSHIP VIGILANCIA_
+  WITH WARM APPRECIATION OF HIS QUALITIES
+  AS A GENTLEMAN
+  AND AN ACCOMPLISHED SEAMAN
+
+  [Illustration: decoration]
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+"I am a part of all that I have seen," says Tennyson, a sentiment which
+every one of large experience will heartily indorse. With the
+extraordinary facilities for travel available in modern times, it is a
+serious mistake in those who possess the means, not to become familiar
+with the various sections of the globe. Vivid descriptions and excellent
+photographs give us a certain knowledge of the great monuments of the
+world, both natural and artificial, but the traveler always finds the
+reality a new revelation, whether it be the marvels of a Yellowstone
+Park, a vast oriental temple, Alaskan glaciers, or the Pyramids of
+Ghiza. The latter, for instance, do not differ from the statistics which
+we have so often seen recorded, their great, dominating outlines are the
+same as pictorially delineated, but when we actually stand before them,
+they are touched by the wand of enchantment, and spring into visible
+life. Heretofore they have been shadows, henceforth they are tangible
+and real. The best descriptions fail to inspire us, experience alone can
+do that. What words can adequately depict the confused grandeur of the
+Falls of Schaffhausen; the magnificence of the Himalayan
+range,--roof-tree of the world; the thrilling beauty of the Yosemite
+Valley; the architectural loveliness of the Taj Mahal, of India; the
+starry splendor of equatorial nights; the maritime charms of the Bay of
+Naples; or the marvel of the Midnight Sun at the North Cape? It is
+personal observation alone which truly satisfies, educating the eye and
+enriching the understanding. If we can succeed in imparting, a portion
+of our enjoyment to others, we enhance our own pleasure, and therefore
+these notes of travel are given to the public.
+
+                  M. M. B.
+
+
+
+
+          CONTENTS.
+
+
+          CHAPTER I.
+
+                                                 PAGE
+
+  Commencement of a Long Journey.--The Gulf
+  Stream.--Hayti.--Sighting St. Thomas.--Ship
+  Rock.--Expert Divers.--Fidgety Old Lady.--An
+  Important Island.--The Old
+  Slaver.--Aborigines.--St. Thomas
+  Cigars.--Population.--Tri-Mountain.--The
+  Negro Paradise.--Hurricanes.--Variety of
+  Fish.--Coaling Ship.--The Firefly Dance.--A
+  Weird Scene.--An Antique Anchor                  1
+
+
+          CHAPTER II.
+
+  Curious Seaweed.--Professor Agassiz.--Myth of
+  a Lost Continent.--Island of Martinique.--An
+  Attractive Place.--Statue of the Empress
+  Josephine.--Birthplace of Madame de
+  Maintenon.--City of St. Pierre.--Mont
+  Pelee.--High Flavored Specialty.--Grisettes
+  of Maritinque.--A Botanical
+  Garden.--Defective Drainage.--A Fatal
+  Enemy.--A Cannibal Snake.--The Climate          33
+
+
+          CHAPTER III.
+
+  English Island of Barbadoes.--Bridgetown the
+  Capital.--The Manufacture of Rum.--A
+  Geographical Expert.--Very English.--A Pest
+  of Ants.--Exports.--The Ice House.--A Dense
+  Population.--Educational.--Marine
+  Hotel.--Habits of
+  Gambling.--Hurricanes.--Curious
+  Antiquities.--The Barbadoes Leg.--Wakeful
+  Dreams.--Absence of Twilight.--Departure from
+  the Island                                      51
+
+
+          CHAPTER IV.
+
+  Curious Ocean Experiences.--The Delicate
+  Nautilus.--Flying-Fish.--The Southern
+  Cross.--Speaking a Ship at Sea.--Scientific
+  Navigation.--South America as a Whole.--Fauna
+  and Flora.--Natural Resources of a Wonderful
+  Land.--Rivers, Plains, and Mountain
+  Ranges.--Aboriginal
+  Tribes.--Population.--Political
+  Divisions.--Civil Wars.--Weakness of South
+  American States                                 68
+
+
+          CHAPTER V.
+
+  City of Para.--The Equatorial Line.--Spanish
+  History.--The King of Waters.--Private
+  Gardens.--Domestic Life in Northern
+  Brazil.--Delicious Pineapples.--Family
+  Pets.--Opera House.--Mendicants.--A Grand
+  Avenue.--Botanical Garden.--India-Rubber
+  Tree.--Gathering the Raw
+  Material.--Monkeys.--The Royal
+  Palm.--Splendor of Equatorial Nights            94
+
+
+          CHAPTER VI.
+
+  Island of Marajo.--Rare and Beautiful
+  Birds.--Original Mode of Securing
+  Humming-Birds.--Maranhao.--Educational.--
+  Value of Native
+  Forests.--Pernambuco.--Difficulty of
+  Landing.--An Ill-Chosen Name.--Local
+  Scenes.--Uncleanly Habits of the
+  People.--Great Sugar Mart.--Native Houses.--A
+  Quaint Hostelry.--Catamarans.--A Natural
+  Breakwater.--Sailing down the Coast            115
+
+
+          CHAPTER VII.
+
+  Port of Bahia.--A Quaint Old City.--Former
+  Capital of Brazil.--Whaling
+  Interests.--Beautiful
+  Panorama.--Tramways.--No Color Line
+  Here.--The Sedan Chair.--Feather Flowers.--A
+  Great Orange Mart.--Passion Flower
+  Fruit.--Coffee, Sugar, and Tobacco.--A Coffee
+  Plantation.--Something about
+  Diamonds.--Health of the City.--Curious
+  Tropical Street Scenes                         138
+
+
+          CHAPTER VIII.
+
+  Cape Frio.--Rio Janeiro.--A Splendid
+  Harbor.--Various Mountains.--Botafogo
+  Bay.--The Hunchback.--Farewell to the
+  Vigilancia.--Tijuca.--Italian
+  Emigrants.--City Institutions.--Public
+  Amusements.--Street
+  Musicians.--Churches.--Narrow
+  Thoroughfares.--Merchants' Clerks.--Railroads
+  in Brazil.--Natural Advantages of the
+  City.--The Public Plazas.--Exports             155
+
+
+          CHAPTER IX.
+
+  Outdoor Scenes in Rio Janeiro.--The Little
+  Marmoset.--The Fish Market.--Secluded
+  Women.--The Romish Church.--Botanical
+  Garden.--Various Species of Trees.--Grand
+  Avenue of Royal Palms.--About
+  Humming-Birds.--Climate of Rio.--Surrounded
+  by Yellow Fever.--The Country
+  Inland.--Begging on the
+  Streets.--Flowers.--"Portuguese Joe."--Social
+  Distinctions                                   180
+
+
+          CHAPTER X.
+
+  Petropolis.--Summer Residence of the Citizens
+  of Rio.--Brief Sketch of the late Royal
+  Family.--Dom Pedro's Palace.--A Delightful
+  Mountain Sanitarium.--A Successful but
+  Bloodless Revolution.--Floral
+  Delights.--Mountain Scenery.--Heavy
+  Gambling.--A German
+  Settlement.--Cascatinha.--Remarkable
+  Orchids.--Local Types.--A Brazilian
+  Forest.--Compensation                          201
+
+
+          CHAPTER XI.
+
+  Port of Santos.--Yellow Fever Scourge.--Down
+  the Coast to Montevideo.--The
+  Cathedral.--Pamperos.--Domestic
+  Architecture.--A Grand Thoroughfare.--City
+  Institutions.--Commercial Advantages.--The
+  Opera House.--The Bull-Fight.--Beggars on
+  Horseback.--City Shops.--A Typical
+  Character.--Intoxication.--The Campo
+  Santo.--Exports.--Rivers and Railways          217
+
+
+          CHAPTER XII.
+
+  Buenos Ayres.--Extent of the Argentine
+  Republic.--Population.--Narrow
+  Streets.--Large Public
+  Squares.--Basques.--Poor Harbor.--Railway
+  System.--River Navigation.--Tramways.--The
+  Cathedral.--Normal
+  Schools.--Newspapers.--Public
+  Buildings.--Calle Florida.--A Busy
+  City.--Mode of furnishing
+  Milk.--Environs.--Commercial and Political
+  Growth.--The New Capital                       244
+
+
+          CHAPTER XIII.
+
+  City of Rosario.--Its Population.--A
+  Pretentious Church.--Ocean
+  Experiences.--Morbid Fancies.--Strait of
+  Magellan.--A Great Discoverer.--Local
+  Characteristics.--Patagonians and
+  Fuegians.--Giant Kelp.--Unique Mail
+  Box.--Punta Arenas.--An Ex-Penal Colony.--The
+  Albatross.--Natives.--A Naked
+  People.--Whales.--Sea-Birds.--Glaciers.--
+  Mount Sarmiento.--A Singular Story             271
+
+
+          CHAPTER XIV.
+
+  The Land of Fire.--Cape Horn.--In the Open
+  Pacific.--Fellow Passengers.--Large
+  Sea-Bird.--An Interesting Invalid.--A Weary
+  Captive.--A Broken-Hearted Mother.--Study of
+  the Heavens.--The Moon.--Chilian Civil
+  War.--Concepcion.--A Growing
+  City.--Commercial Importance.--Cultivating
+  City Gardens on a New Plan.--Important Coal
+  Mines.--Delicious Fruits                       297
+
+
+          CHAPTER XV.
+
+  Valparaiso.--Principal South American Port of
+  the Pacific.--A Good Harbor.--Tallest
+  Mountain on this Continent.--The Newspaper
+  Press.--Warlike Aspect.--Girls as Car
+  Conductors.--Chilian Exports.--Foreign
+  Merchants.--Effects of Civil War.--Gambling
+  in Private Houses.--Immigration.--Culture of
+  the Grape.--Agriculture.--Island of Juan
+  Fernandez                                      315
+
+
+          CHAPTER XVI.
+
+  The Port of Callao.--A Submerged
+  City.--Peruvian Exports.--A Dirty and
+  Unwholesome Town.--Cinchona Bark.--The
+  Andes.--The Llama.--A National Dance.--City
+  of Lima.--An Old and Interesting
+  Capital.--Want of Rain.--Pizarro and His
+  Crimes.--A Grand Cathedral.--Chilian
+  Soldiers.--Costly Churches of Peru.--Roman
+  Catholic Influence.--Desecration of the
+  Sabbath                                        334
+
+
+          CHAPTER XVII.
+
+  A Grand Plaza.--Retribution.--The University
+  of Lima.--Significance of Ancient
+  Pottery.--Architecture.--Picturesque
+  Dwelling.--Domestic Scene.--Destructive
+  Earthquakes.--Spanish Sway.--Women of
+  Lima.--Street Costumes.--Ancient Bridge of
+  Lima.--Newspapers.--Pawnbrokers'
+  Shops.--Exports.--An Ancient Mecca.--Home by
+  Way of Europe.                                 355
+
+
+
+
+      EQUATORIAL AMERICA.
+
+
+
+
+          CHAPTER I.
+
+     Commencement of a Long Journey.--The Gulf
+     Stream.--Hayti.--Sighting St. Thomas.--Ship Rock.--Expert
+     Divers.--Fidgety Old Lady.--An Important Island.--The Old
+     Slaver.--Aborigines.--St. Thomas
+     Cigars.--Population.--Tri-Mountain.--Negro
+     Paradise.--Hurricanes.--Variety of Fish.--Coaling Ship.--The
+     Firefly Dane.--A Weird Scene.--An Antique Anchor.
+
+
+In starting upon foreign travel, one drops into the familiar routine on
+shipboard much after the same fashion wherever bound, whether crossing
+the Atlantic eastward, or steaming to the south through the waters of
+the Caribbean Sea; whether in a Peninsular and Oriental ship in the
+Indian Ocean, or on a White Star liner in the Pacific bound for Japan.
+The steward brings a cup of hot coffee and a slice of dry toast to one's
+cabin soon after the sun rises, as a sort of eye-opener; and having
+swallowed that excellent stimulant, one feels better fortified for the
+struggle to dress on the uneven floor of a rolling and pitching ship.
+Then comes the brief promenade on deck before breakfast, a liberal
+inhalation of fresh air insuring a good appetite. There is no hurry at
+this meal. There is so little to do at sea, and so much time to do it
+in, that passengers are apt to linger at table as a pastime, and even
+multiply their meals in number. As a rule, we make up our mind to follow
+some instructive course of reading while at sea, but, alas! we never
+fulfill the good resolution. An entire change of habits and associations
+for the time being is not favorable to such a purpose. The tonic of the
+sea braces one up to an unwonted degree, evinced by great activity of
+body and mind. Favored by the unavoidable companionship of individuals
+in the circumscribed space of a ship, acquaintances are formed which
+often ripen into lasting friendship. Inexperienced voyagers are apt to
+become effusive and over-confiding, abrupt intimacies and unreasonable
+dislikes are of frequent occurrence, and before the day of separation,
+the student of human nature has seen many phases exhibited for his
+analysis.
+
+Our vessel, the Vigilancia, is a large, commodious, and well-appointed
+ship, embracing all the modern appliances for comfort and safety at sea.
+She is lighted by electricity, having a donkey engine which sets in
+motion a dynamo machine, converting mechanical energy into electric
+energy. Perhaps the reader, though familiar with the effect of this mode
+of lighting, has never paused to analyze the very simple manner in which
+it is produced. The current is led from the dynamos to the various
+points where light is desired by means of insulated wires. The lamps
+consist of a fine thread of carbon inclosed in a glass bulb from which
+air has been entirely excluded. This offers such resistance to the
+current passing through it that the energy is expended in raising the
+carbon to a white heat, thus forming the light. The permanence of the
+carbon is insured by the absence of oxygen. If the glass bulb is broken
+and atmospheric air comes in contact with the carbon, it is at once
+destroyed by combustion, and all light from this source ceases. These
+lamps are so arranged that each one can be turned off or on at will
+without affecting others. The absence of offensive smell or smoke, the
+steadiness of the light, unaffected by the motion of the ship, and its
+superior brilliancy, all join to make this mode of lighting a vessel a
+positive luxury.
+
+Some pleasant hours were passed on board the Vigilancia, between New
+York and the West Indies, in the study of the Gulf Stream, through which
+we were sailing,--that river in the ocean with its banks and bottom of
+cold water, while its current is always warm. Who can explain the
+mystery of its motive power? What keeps its tepid water, in a course of
+thousands of miles, from mingling with the rest of the sea? Whence does
+it really come? The accepted theories are familiar enough, but we place
+little reliance upon them, the statements of scientists are so easily
+formulated, but often so difficult to prove. As Professor Maury tells
+us, there is in the world no other flow of water so majestic as this; it
+has a course more rapid than either the Mississippi or the Amazon, and a
+volume more than a thousand times greater. The color of this remarkable
+stream, whose fountain is supposed to be the Gulf of Mexico and the
+Caribbean Sea, is so deep a blue off our southern shore that the line of
+demarcation from its surroundings is quite obvious, the Gulf water
+having apparently a decided reluctance to mingling with the rest of the
+ocean, a peculiarity which has been long and vainly discussed without a
+satisfactory solution having been reached. The same phenomenon has been
+observed in the Pacific, where the Japanese current comes up from the
+equator, along the shore of that country, crossing Behring's Sea to the
+continent of North America, and, turning southward along the coast of
+California, finally disappears. Throughout all this ocean passage, like
+the Gulf Stream in the Atlantic, it retains its individuality, and is
+quite separate from the rest of the ocean. The fact that the water is
+saltier than that of the Atlantic is by some supposed to account for the
+indigo blue of the Gulf Stream.
+
+The temperature of this water is carefully taken on board all well
+regulated ships, and is recorded in the log. On this voyage it was found
+to vary from 75 deg. to 80 deg. Fahrenheit.
+
+Our ship had touched at Newport News, Va., after leaving New York, to
+take the U. S. mail on board; thence the course was south-southeast,
+giving the American continent a wide berth, and heading for the Danish
+island of St. Thomas, which lies in the latitude of Hayti, but a long
+way to the eastward of that uninteresting island. We say uninteresting
+with due consideration, though its history is vivid enough to satisfy
+the most sensational taste. It has produced its share of native heroes,
+as well as native traitors, while the frequent upheavals of its mingled
+races have been no less erratic than destructive. The ignorance and
+confusion which reign among the masses on the island are deplorable.
+Minister Douglass utterly failed to make anything out of Hayti. The
+lower classes of the people living inland come next to the inhabitants
+of Terra del Fuego in the scale of humanity, and are much inferior to
+the Maoris of New Zealand, or the savage tribes of Australia. It is
+satisfactorily proven that cannibalism still exists among them in its
+most repulsive form, so revolting, indeed, that we hesitate to detail
+the experience of a creditable eye-witness relating to this matter, as
+personally described to us.
+
+Upon looking at the map it would seem, to one unaccustomed to the ocean,
+that a ship could not lay her course direct, in these island dotted
+waters, without running down one or more of them; but the distances
+which are so circumscribed upon the chart are extended for many a league
+at sea, and a good navigator may sail his ship from New York to
+Barbadoes, if he so desires, without sighting the land. Not a sailing
+vessel or steamship was seen, on the brief voyage from the American
+continent to the West Indies, these latitudes being far less frequented
+by passenger and freighting ships than the transatlantic route further
+north.
+
+It is quite natural that the heart should throb with increased
+animation, the spirits become more elate, and the eyes more than usually
+appreciative, when the land of one's destination heaves in sight after
+long days and nights passed at sea. This is especially the case if the
+change from home scenes is so radical in all particulars as when coming
+from our bleak Northern States in the early days of spring, before the
+trees have donned their leaves, to the soft temperature and exuberant
+verdure of the low latitudes. Commencing the voyage herein described,
+the author left the Brooklyn shore of New York harbor about the first of
+May, during a sharp snow-squall, though, as Governor's Island was passed
+on the one hand, and the Statue of Liberty on the other, the sun burst
+forth from its cloudy environment, as if to smile a cheerful farewell.
+Thus we passed out upon the broad Atlantic, bound southward, soon
+feeling its half suppressed force in the regular sway and roll of the
+vessel. She was heavily laden, and measured considerably over four
+thousand tons, drawing twenty-two feet of water, yet she was like an
+eggshell upon the heaving breast of the ocean. As these mammoth ships
+lie in port beside the wharf, it seems as though their size and enormous
+weight would place them beyond the influence of the wind and waves: but
+the power of the latter is so great as to be beyond computation, and
+makes a mere toy of the largest hull that floats. No one can realize the
+great strength of the waves who has not watched the sea in all of its
+varying moods.
+
+"Land O!" shouts the lookout on the forecastle.
+
+A wave of the hand signifies that the occupant of the bridge has already
+made out the mote far away upon the glassy surface of the sea, which now
+rapidly grows into definite form.
+
+When the mountain which rises near the centre of St. Thomas was fairly
+in view from the deck of the Vigilancia, it seemed as if beckoning us to
+its hospitable shore. The light breeze which fanned the sea came from
+off the land flavored with an odor of tropical vegetation, a suggestion
+of fragrant blossoms, and a promise of luscious fruits. On our starboard
+bow there soon came into view the well known Ship Rock, which appears,
+when seen from a short distance, almost precisely like a full-rigged
+ship under canvas. If the sky is clouded and the atmosphere hazy, the
+delusion is remarkable.
+
+This story is told of a French corvette which was cruising in these
+latitudes at the time when the buccaneers were creating such havoc with
+legitimate commerce in the West Indies. It seems that the coast was
+partially hidden by a fog, when the corvette made out the rock through
+the haze, and, supposing it to be what it so much resembles, a ship
+under sail, fired a gun to leeward for her to heave to. Of course there
+was no response to the shot, so the Frenchman brought his ship closer,
+at the same time clearing for action. Being satisfied that he had to do
+with a powerful adversary, he resolved to obtain the advantage by
+promptly crippling the enemy, and so discharged the whole of his
+starboard broadside into the supposed ship, looming through the mist.
+The fog quietly dispersed as the corvette went about and prepared to
+deliver her port guns in a similar manner. As the deceptive rock stood
+in precisely the same place when the guns came once more to bear upon
+it, the true character of the object was discovered. It is doubtful
+whether the Frenchman's surprise or mortification predominated.
+
+An hour of steady progress served to raise the veil of distance, and to
+reveal the spacious bay of Charlotte Amalie, with its strong background
+of abrupt hills and dense greenery of tropical foliage. How wonderfully
+blue was the water round about the island,--an emerald set in a sea of
+molten sapphire! It seemed as if the sky had been melted and poured all
+over the ebbing tide. About the Bahamas, especially off the shore at
+Nassau, the water is green,--a delicate bright green; here it exhibits
+only the true azure blue,--Mediterranean blue. It is seen at its best
+and in marvelous glow during the brief moments of twilight, when a
+glance of golden sunset tinges its mottled surface with iris hues, like
+the opaline flashes from a humming-bird's throat.
+
+The steamer gradually lost headway, the vibrating hull ceased to throb
+with the action of its motive power, as though pausing to take breath
+after long days and nights of sustained effort, and presently the anchor
+was let go in the excellent harbor of St. Thomas, latitude 18 deg. 20'
+north, longitude 64 deg. 48' west. Our forecastle gun, fired to announce
+arrival, awakened the echoes in the hills, so that all seemed to join in
+clapping their hands to welcome us. Thus amid the Norwegian fiords the
+report of the steamer's single gun becomes a whole broadside, as it is
+reverberated from the grim and rocky elevations which line that
+iron-bound coast.
+
+There was soon gathered about the ship a bevy of naked colored boys, a
+score or more, jabbering like a lot of monkeys, some in canoes of home
+construction, it would seem, consisting of a sugar box sawed in two
+parts, or a few small planks nailed together, forming more of a tub than
+a boat, and leaking at every joint. These frail floats were propelled
+with a couple of flat boards used as paddles. The young fellows came out
+from the shore to dive for sixpences and shillings, cast into the sea by
+passengers. The moment a piece of silver was thrown, every canoe was
+instantly emptied of its occupant, all diving pell-mell for the money.
+Presently one of the crowd was sure to come to the surface with the
+silver exhibited above his head between his fingers, after which,
+monkey-like, it was securely deposited inside of his cheek. Similar
+scenes often occur in tropical regions. The last which the author can
+recall, and at which he assisted, was at Aden, where the Indian Ocean
+and the Red Sea meet. Another experience of the sort is also well
+remembered as witnessed in the South Pacific off the Samoan islands. On
+this occasion the most expert of the natives, among the naked divers,
+was a young Samoan girl, whose agility in the water was such that she
+easily secured more than half the bright coins which were thrown
+overboard, though a dozen male competitors were her rivals in the
+pursuit. Nothing but an otter could have excelled this bronzed, unclad,
+exquisitely formed girl of Tutuila as a diver and swimmer.
+
+But let us not stray to the far South Pacific, forgetting that we are
+all this time in the snug harbor of St. Thomas, in the West Indies.
+
+A fidgety old lady passenger, half hidden in an avalanche of wraps,
+while the thermometer indicated 80 deg. Fahr., one who had gone into partial
+hysterics several times during the past few days, upon the slightest
+provocation, declared that this was the worst region for hurricanes in
+the known world, adding that there were dark, ominous clouds forming to
+windward which she was sure portended a cyclone. One might have told her
+truthfully that May was not a hurricane month in these latitudes, but we
+were just then too earnestly engaged in preparing for a stroll on shore,
+too full of charming anticipations, to discuss possible hurricanes, and
+so, without giving the matter any special thought, admitted that it did
+look a little threatening in the northwest. This was quite enough to
+frighten the old lady half out of her senses, and to call the stewardess
+into prompt requisition, while the deck was soon permeated with the odor
+of camphor, sal volatile, and valerian. We did not wait to see how she
+survived the attack, but hastened into a shore boat and soon landed at
+what is known as King's wharf, when the temperature seemed instantly to
+rise about twenty degrees. Near the landing was a small plaza, shaded by
+tall ferns and cabbage palms, with here and there an umbrageous mango.
+Ladies and servant girls were seen promenading with merry children,
+whites and blacks mingling indiscriminately, while the Danish military
+band were producing most shocking strains with their brass instruments.
+One could hardly conceive of a more futile attempt at harmony.
+
+There is always something exciting in first setting foot upon a foreign
+soil, in mingling with utter strangers, in listening to the voluble
+utterances and jargon of unfamiliar tongues, while noting the manners,
+dress, and faces of a new people. The current language of the mass of
+St. Thomas is a curious compound of negro grammar, Yankee accent, and
+English drawl. Though somewhat familiar with the West Indies, the author
+had never before landed upon this island. Everything strikes one as
+curious, each turn affords increased novelty, and every moment is full
+of interest. Black, yellow, and white men are seen in groups, the former
+with very little covering on their bodies, the latter in diaphanous
+costumes. Negresses sporting high colors in their scanty clothing, set
+off by rainbow kerchiefs bound round their heads, turban fashion; little
+naked blacks with impossible paunches; here and there a shuffling negro
+bearing baskets of fish balanced on either end of a long pole resting
+across his shoulders; peddlers of shells and corals; old women carrying
+trays upon their heads containing cakes sprinkled with granulated sugar,
+and displayed upon neat linen towels, seeking for customers among the
+newly arrived passengers,--all together form a unique picture of local
+life. The constantly shifting scene moves before the observer like a
+panorama unrolled for exhibition, seeming quite as theatrical and
+artificial.
+
+St. Thomas is one of the Danish West Indian Islands, of which there are
+three belonging to Denmark, namely, St. Thomas, St. Croix, and St. John.
+For the possession of the first named Mr. Seward, when Secretary of
+State, in 1866, offered the King of Denmark five million dollars in
+gold, which proposition was finally accepted, and it would have been a
+cheap purchase for us at that price; but after all detail had been duly
+agreed upon, the United States Congress refused to vote the necessary
+funds wherewith to pay for the title deed. So when Mr. Seward
+consummated the purchase of Alaska, for a little over seven million
+dollars, there were nearly enough of the small-fry politicians in
+Congress to defeat the bargain with Russia in the same manner. The
+income from the lease of two islands alone belonging to Alaska--St.
+George and St. Paul--has paid four and one half per cent. per annum upon
+the purchase money ever since the territory came into our possession.
+There is one gold mine on Douglas Island, Alaska, not to mention its
+other rich and inexhaustible products, for which a French syndicate has
+offered fourteen million dollars. We doubt if St. Thomas could be
+purchased from the Danes to-day for ten million dollars, while the
+estimated value of Alaska would be at least a hundred million or more,
+with its vast mineral wealth, its invaluable salmon fisheries, its
+inexhaustible forests of giant timber, and its abundance of seal, otter,
+and other rich furs. A penny-wise and pound-foolish Congress made a huge
+mistake in opposing Mr. Seward's purpose as regarded the purchase of St.
+Thomas. The strategic position of the island is quite sufficient to
+justify our government in wishing to possess it, for it is
+geographically the keystone of the West Indies. The principal object
+which Mr. Seward had in view was to secure a coaling and refitting
+station for our national ships in time of war, for which St. Thomas
+would actually be worth more than the island of Cuba. Opposite to it is
+the continent of Africa; equidistant are the eastern shores of North and
+South America; on one side is western Europe, on the other the route to
+India and the Pacific Ocean; in the rear are Central America, the West
+Indies, and Mexico, together with those great inland bodies of salt
+water, the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. It requires no argument
+to show how important the possession of such an outpost might prove to
+this country.
+
+Since these notes were written, it is currently reported that our
+government has once more awakened to the necessity of obtaining
+possession of this island, and fresh negotiations have been entered
+into. One thing is very certain, if we do not seize the opportunity to
+purchase St. Thomas at the present time, England, or some other
+important power, will promptly do so, to our serious detriment and just
+mortification.
+
+St. Thomas has an area of nearly fifty square miles, and supports a
+population of about fourteen thousand. In many respects the capital is
+unique, and being our first landing-place after leaving home, was of
+more than ordinary interest to the writer. The highest point on the
+island, which comes first into view from the deck of a southern bound
+steamer, is West Mountain, rising sixteen hundred feet above the level
+of the surrounding waters. Geologists would describe St. Thomas as being
+the top of a small chain of submerged mountains, which would be quite
+correct, since the topography of the bottom of the sea is but a
+counterpart of that upon the more familiar surface of the earth we
+occupy. When ocean electric cables for connecting islands and continents
+are laid, engineers find that there are the same sort of plains,
+mountains, valleys, and gorges beneath as above the waters of the ocean.
+The skeletons of whales, and natural beds of deep-sea shells, found in
+valleys and hills many hundred feet above the present level of tide
+waters, tell us plainly enough that in the long ages which have passed,
+the diversified surface of the earth which we now behold has changed
+places with these submerged regions, which probably once formed the dry
+land. The history of the far past is full of instances showing the slow
+but continuous retreat of the water from the land in certain regions and
+its encroachment in others, the drying up of lakes and rivers, as well
+as the upheaval of single islands and groups from the bed of the ocean.
+
+A range of dome-shaped hills runs through the entire length of this
+island of St. Thomas, fifteen miles from west to east, being
+considerably highest at the west end. As we passed between the two
+headlands which mark the entrance to the harbor, the town was seen
+spread over three hills of nearly uniform height, also occupying the
+gentle valleys between. Two stone structures, on separate hills, form a
+prominent feature; these are known respectively as Blue Beard and Black
+Beard tower, but their origin is a myth, though there are plenty of
+legends extant about them. Both are now utilized as residences, having
+mostly lost their original crudeness and picturesque appearance. The
+town, as a whole, forms a pleasing and effective background to the
+land-locked bay, which is large enough to afford safe anchorage for two
+hundred ships at the same time, except when a hurricane prevails; then
+the safest place for shipping is as far away from the land as possible.
+It is a busy port, considering the small number of inhabitants, steamers
+arriving and departing constantly, besides many small coasting vessels
+which ply between this and the neighboring islands. St. Thomas is
+certainly the most available commercially of the Virgin group of
+islands. Columbus named them "Las Vergines," in reference to the
+familiar Romish legend of the eleven thousand virgins, about as
+inappropriate a title as the fable it refers to is ridiculous.
+
+Close in shore, at the time of our visit, there lay a schooner-rigged
+craft of more than ordinary interest, her jaunty set upon the water, her
+graceful lines, tall, raking masts, and long bowsprit suggesting the
+model of the famous old Baltimore clippers. There is a fascinating
+individuality about sailing vessels which does not attach to steamships.
+Seamen form romantic attachments for the former. The officers and crew
+of the Vigilancia were observed to cast admiring eyes upon this handsome
+schooner, anchored under our lee. A sort of mysterious quiet hung about
+her; every rope was hauled taut, made fast, and the slack neatly coiled.
+Her anchor was atrip, that is, the cable was hove short, showing that
+she was ready to sail at a moment's notice. The only person visible on
+board was a bareheaded, white-haired old seaman, who sat on the transom
+near the wheel, quietly smoking his pipe. On inquiry it was found that
+the schooner had a notable history and bore the name of the Vigilant,
+having been first launched a hundred and thirty years ago. It appeared
+that she was a successful slaver in former days, running between the
+coast of Africa and these islands. She was twice captured by English
+cruisers, but somehow found her way back again to the old and nefarious
+business. Of course, she had been overhauled, repaired, and re-rigged
+many times, but it is still the same old frame and hull that so often
+made the middle passage, as it was called. To-day she serves as a mail
+boat running between Santa Cruz and St. Thomas, and, it is said, can
+make forty leagues, with a fair wind, as quick as any steamer on the
+coast. The same evening the Vigilant spread her broad white wings and
+glided silently out of the harbor, gathering rapid way as she passed its
+entrance, until feeling the spur of the wind and the open sea, she
+quickly vanished from sight. It was easy to imagine her bound upon her
+old piratical business, screened by the shadows of the night.
+
+Though it no longer produces a single article of export on its own soil,
+St. Thomas was, in the days of negro slavery, one of the most prolific
+sugar yielding islands of this region. It will be remembered that the
+emancipation of the blacks took place here in 1848. It was never before
+impressed upon us, if we were aware of the fact, that the sugar-cane is
+not indigenous to the West Indies. It seems that the plant came
+originally from Asia, and was introduced into these islands by Columbus
+and his followers. As is often the case with other representatives of
+the vegetable kingdom, it appears to have flourished better here than in
+the land of its nativity, new climatic combinations, together with the
+soil, developing in the saccharine plant better qualities and increased
+productiveness, for a long series of years enriching many enterprising
+planters.
+
+When Columbus discovered St. Thomas, in 1493, it was inhabited by two
+tribes of Indians, the Caribs and the Arrowauks, both of which soon
+disappeared under the oppression and hardships imposed by the Spaniards.
+It is also stated that from this island, as well as from Cuba and Hayti,
+many natives were transported to Spain and there sold into slavery, in
+the days following close upon its discovery. Thus Spain, from the
+earliest date, characterized her operations in the New World by a
+heartlessness and injustice which ever attended upon her conquests, both
+among the islands and upon the continent of America. The Caribs were of
+the red Indian race, and appear to have been addicted to cannibalism.
+Indeed, the very word, by which the surrounding sea is also known, is
+supposed to be a corruption of the name of this tribe. "These Caribs did
+not eat their own babies," says an old writer apologetically, "like some
+sorts of wild beasts, but only roasted and ate their prisoners of war."
+
+The island was originally covered with a dense forest growth, but is now
+comparatively denuded of trees, leaving the land open to the full force
+of the sun, and causing it to suffer at times from serious droughts.
+There is said to be but one natural spring of water on the island. This
+shows itself at the surface, and is of very limited capacity; the scanty
+rains which occur here are almost entirely depended upon to supply water
+for domestic use.
+
+St. Thomas being so convenient a port of call for steamers from Europe
+and America, and having so excellent a harbor, is improved as a depot
+for merchandise by several of the neighboring islands, thus enjoying a
+considerable commerce, though it is only in _transitu_. It is also the
+regular coaling station of several steamship lines. Judging from
+appearances, however, it would seem that the town is not growing in
+population or business relations, but is rather retrograding. The value
+of the imports in 1880 was less than half the aggregate amount of 1870.
+We were told that green groceries nearly all come from the United
+States, and that even eggs and poultry are imported from the neighboring
+islands, showing an improvidence on the part of the people difficult to
+account for, since these sources of food supply can be profitably
+produced at almost any spot upon the earth where vegetation will grow.
+Cigars are brought hither from Havana in considerable quantities, and
+having no duty to pay, can be sold very cheap by the dealers at St.
+Thomas, and still afford a reasonable profit. Quite a trade is thus
+carried on with the passengers of the several steamers which call here
+regularly, and travelers avail themselves of the opportunity to lay in
+an ample supply. Cuban cigars of the quality which would cost nine or
+ten dollars a hundred in Boston are sold at St. Thomas for five or six
+dollars, and lower grades even cheaper in proportion. There is said to
+be considerable smuggling successfully carried on between this island
+and the Florida shore, in the article of cigars as well as in tobacco in
+the unmanufactured state. The high duty on these has always incited to
+smuggling, thus defeating the very object for which it is imposed.
+Probably a moderate duty would yield more to the government in the
+aggregate, by rendering it so much less of an object to smuggle.
+
+Though the island is Danish in nationality, there are few surroundings
+calculated to recall the fact, save that the flag of that country floats
+over the old fort and the one or two official buildings, just as it has
+done for the last two centuries. The prominent officials are Danes, as
+well as the officers of the small body of soldiers maintained on the
+island. English is almost exclusively spoken, though there are French,
+Spanish, and Italian residents here. English is also the language taught
+in the public schools. People have come here to make what money they
+can, but with the fixed purpose of spending it and enjoying it
+elsewhere. As a rule, all Europeans who come to the West Indies and
+embark in business do so with exactly this purpose. In Cuba the
+Spaniards from the continent, among whom are many Jews, have a proverb
+the significance of which is: "Ten years of starvation, and a fortune,"
+and most of them live up to this axiom. They leave all principles of
+honor, all sense of moral responsibility, all sacred domestic ties,
+behind them, forgetting, or at least ignoring, the significant query,
+namely, "What shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and
+lose his own soul?"
+
+About one third of the population is Roman Catholic. The Jews have a
+synagogue, and a membership of six hundred. They have a record on the
+island dating as far back as the year 1757, and add much to the activity
+and thrift of St. Thomas. No matter where we find the Jews, in Mexico,
+Warsaw, California, or the West Indies, they are all alike intent upon
+money making, and are nearly always successful. Their irrepressible
+energy wins for them the goal for which they so earnestly strive. That
+soldier of fortune, Santa Anna, formerly ruler of Mexico, when banished
+as a traitor from his native country, made his home on this island, and
+the house which he built and occupied is still pointed out to visitors
+as one of the local curiosities. The social life of St. Thomas is
+naturally very circumscribed, but is good so far as it goes. A few
+cultured people, who have made it their home for some years, have become
+sincerely attached to the place, and enjoy the climate. There are a
+small public library, a hospital, several charitable institutions, and a
+theatre, which is occupied semi-occasionally. The island is connected
+with the continent by cable, and has a large floating dock and marine
+railway, which causes vessels in distress to visit the port for needed
+repairs. The town is situated on the north side of the bay which indents
+the middle of the south side of the island. The harbor has a depth of
+water varying from eighteen to thirty-six feet, and has the advantage of
+being a free port, a fact, perhaps, of not much account to a place which
+has neither exports nor imports of its own. St. Thomas is the only town
+of any importance on the island, and is known locally as Charlotte
+Amalie, a fact which sometimes leads to a confusion of ideas.
+
+The reader need not encounter the intense heat, which so nearly wilted
+us, in an effort to obtain a good lookout from some elevated spot; but
+the result will perhaps interest him, as it fully repaid the writer for
+all the consequent discomfort.
+
+From the brow of a moderate elevation just behind the town, a delightful
+and far-reaching view is afforded, embracing St. Thomas in the
+foreground, the well-sheltered bay, dotted with vessels bearing the
+flags of various nations, an archipelago of islets scattered over the
+near waters, and numerous small bays indenting the coast. At a distance
+of some forty miles across the sea looms the island of Santa Cruz; and
+farther away, on the horizon's most distant limit, are seen the tall
+hills and mountains of Porto Rico; while the sky is fringed by a long
+trailing plume of smoke, indicating the course of some passing
+steamship. The three hills upon which the town stands are spurs of West
+Mountain, and the place is quite as well entitled to the name of
+Tremont--"tri-mountain"--as was the capital of Massachusetts, before its
+hills were laid low to accommodate business demands. On the seaward side
+of these elevations the red tiled roofs of the white houses rise in
+regular terraces from the street which borders the harbor, forming a
+very picturesque group as seen from the bay.
+
+Though it has not often been visited by epidemics, Mr. Anthony Trollope
+pronounces the island, in his usual irresponsible way, to be "one of the
+hottest and one of the most unhealthy spots among all these hot and
+unhealthy regions," and adds that he would perhaps be justified in
+saying "that of all such spots it is the hottest and most unhealthy."
+This is calculated to give an incorrect idea of St. Thomas. True, it is
+liable to periods of unhealthiness, when a species of low fever
+prevails, proving more or less fatal. This is thought to originate from
+the surface drainage, and the miasma arising from the bay. All the
+drains of the town flow into the waters of the harbor, which has not
+sufficient flow of tide to carry seaward the foul matter thus
+accumulated. The hot sun pouring its heat down upon this tainted water
+causes a dangerous exhalation. Still, sharks do not seem to be sensitive
+as to this matter, for they much abound. It is yet to be discovered why
+these tigers of the sea do not attack the negroes, who fearlessly leap
+overboard; a white man could not do this with impunity. The Asiatics of
+the Malacca Straits do not enjoy any such immunity from danger, though
+they have skins as dark as the divers of St. Thomas. Sharks appear in
+the West Indies in small schools, or at least there are nearly always
+two or three together, but in Oriental waters they are only seen singly.
+Thus a Malay of Singapore, for a compensation, say an English sovereign,
+will place a long, sharp knife between his teeth and leap naked into the
+sea to attack a shark. He adroitly dives beneath the creature, and as it
+turns its body to bring its awkward mouth into use, with his knife the
+Malay slashes a deep, long opening in its exposed belly, at the same
+time forcing himself out of the creature's reach. The knife is sure and
+fatal. After a few moments the huge body of the fish is seen to rise and
+float lifeless upon the surface of the water.
+
+A large majority of the people are colored, exhibiting some peculiarly
+interesting types, intermarriage with whites of various nationalities
+having produced among the descendants of Africans many changes of color
+and of features. One feels sure that there is also a trace of Carib or
+Indian blood mingled with the rest,--a trace of the aborigines whom
+Columbus found here. The outcome is not entirely a race with flat noses
+and protruding lips; straight Grecian profiles are not uncommon,
+accompanied by thin nostrils and Anglo-Saxon lips. Faultless teeth, soft
+blue eyes, and hair nearly straight are sometimes met with among the
+creoles. As to the style of walking and of carrying the head and body,
+the common class of women of St. Thomas have arrived at perfection. Some
+of them are notable examples of unconscious dignity and grace combined.
+This has been brought about by carrying burdens upon their heads from
+childhood, without the supporting aid of the hands. Modesty, or rather
+conventionality, does not require boys or girls under eight years of age
+to encumber themselves with clothing. The costume of the market women
+and the lower classes generally is picturesque, composed of a Madras
+kerchief carefully twisted into a turban of many colors, yellow
+predominating, a cotton chemise which leaves the neck and shoulders
+exposed, reaching just below the knees, the legs and feet being bare.
+The men wear cotton drawers reaching nearly to the knee, the rest of the
+body being uncovered, except the head, which is usually sheltered under
+a broad brimmed straw hat, the sides of which are perforated by many
+ventilating holes. The whites generally, and also the better class of
+natives, dress very much after the fashion which prevails in North
+America.
+
+This is the negroes' paradise, but it is a climate in which the white
+race gradually wanes. The heat of the tropics is modified by the
+constant and grateful trade winds, a most merciful dispensation, without
+which the West Indies would be uninhabitable by man. On the hillsides of
+St. Thomas these winds insure cool nights at least, and a comparatively
+temperate state of the atmosphere during the day. Vegetation is
+abundant, the fruit trees are perennial, bearing leaf, blossom, and
+fruit in profusion, month after month, year after year. Little, if any,
+cultivation is required. The few sugar plantations which are still
+carried on yield from three to four successive years without replanting.
+It is a notable fact that where vegetation is at its best, where the
+soil is most rank and prolific, where fruits and flowers grow in wild
+exuberance, elevated humanity thrives the least. The lower the grade of
+man, the nearer he approximates to the animals, the less civilized he is
+in mind and body, the better he appears to be adapted to such
+localities. The birds and the butterflies are in exact harmony with the
+loveliness of tropical nature, however prolific she may be; the flowers
+are glorious and beautiful: it is man alone who seems out of place. A
+great variety of fruits are indigenous here, such as the orange, lime,
+alligator pear, moss-apple, and mango, but none of them are cultivated
+to any extent; the people seem to lack the energy requisite to improve
+the grand possibilities of their fertile soil and prolific climate.
+
+We were reminded by a resident of the town, before we left the harbor of
+St. Thomas, that the nervous old lady referred to was not entirely
+without reason for her anxiety. Some of our readers will remember,
+perhaps, that in October, 1867, a most disastrous hurricane swept over
+these Virgin Islands, leaving widespread desolation in its track. The
+shipping which happened to be in the bay of St. Thomas was nearly all
+destroyed, together with hundreds of lives, while on the land scores of
+houses and many lives were also sacrificed to the terrible cyclone of
+that date. Even the thoroughly built iron and stone lighthouse was
+completely obliterated. There is a theory that such visitations come in
+this region about once in every twelve or fifteen years, and upon
+looking up the matter we find them to have occurred, with more or less
+destructive force, in the years 1793, 1819, 1837, 1867, 1871, and so
+late as August, 1891. Other hurricanes have passed over these islands
+during the period covered by these dates, but of a mitigated character.
+August, September, and October are the months in which the hurricanes
+are most likely to occur, and all vessels navigating the West Indian
+seas during these months take extra precautions to secure themselves
+against accidents from this source. When such visitations happen, the
+event is sure to develop heroic deeds. In the hurricane of 1867, the
+captain of a Spanish man-of-war, who was a practical sailor, brought up
+from boyhood upon the ocean, seeing the oncoming cyclone, and knowing by
+experience what to expect, ordered the masts of his vessel to be cut
+away at once, and every portion of exposed top hamper to be cast into
+the sea. When thus stripped he exposed little but the bare hull of his
+steamer to the fury of the storm. After the cyclone had passed, it was
+found that he had not lost a man, and that the steamer's hull, though
+severely battered, was substantially unharmed. Keeping up all steam
+during the awful scene, this captain devoted himself and his ship to the
+saving of human life, promptly taking his vessel wherever he could be of
+the most service. Hundreds of seamen were saved from death by the
+coolness and intrepidity of this heroic sailor.
+
+Since these notes were written among the islands, a terrible cyclone has
+visited them. This was on August 18, last past, and proved more
+destructive to human life, to marine and other property, than any
+occurrence of the kind during the last century. At Martinique a sharp
+shock of earthquake added to the horror of the occasion, the town of
+Fort de France being very nearly leveled with the ground. Many tall and
+noble palms, the growth of half a hundred years, were utterly demolished
+in the twinkling of an eye, and other trees were uprooted by the score.
+
+The waters of this neighborhood teem with strange forms of animal and
+vegetable life. Here we saw specimens of red and blue snappers, the
+angel-fish, king-fish, gurnets, cow-fish, whip-ray, peacock-fish,
+zebra-fish, and so on, all, or nearly all, unfamiliar to us, each
+species individualized either in shape, color, or both. The whip-ray,
+with a body like a flounder, has a tail six or seven feet long, tapering
+from an inch and over to less than a quarter of an inch at the small
+end. When dried, it still retains a degree of elasticity, and is used by
+the natives as a whip with which to drive horses and donkeys. In some
+places, so singularly clear is the water that the bottom is distinctly
+visible five or six fathoms below the surface, where fishes of various
+sorts are seen in ceaseless motion. White shells, corals, star-fish, and
+sea-urchins mingle their various forms and colors, objects and hues
+seeming to be intensified by the strong reflected light from the
+surface, so that one could easily fancy them to be flowers blooming in
+the fairy gardens of the mermaids. The early morning, just after the sun
+begins to gild the surface of the sea, is the favorite time for the
+flying-fishes to display their aerial proclivities. They are always
+attracted by a strong light, and are thus lured to their destruction by
+the torches of the fishermen, who often go out for the purpose at night
+and take them in nets. In the early morning, as seen from the ship's
+deck, they scoot above the rippling waves in schools of a hundred and
+more, so compact as to cast fleeting shadows over the blue enameled
+surface of the waters. At St. Thomas, Martinique, and Barbadoes, as well
+as among the other islands bordering the Caribbean Sea, they form no
+inconsiderable source of food for the humble natives, who fry them in
+batter mixed with onions, making a savory and nutritious dish.
+
+St. Thomas is, as we have said, a coaling station for steamships, and
+when the business is in progress a most unique picture is presented. The
+ship is moored alongside of the dock for this purpose, two side ports
+being thrown open, one for ingress, the other for egress. A hundred
+women and girls, wearing one scanty garment reaching to the knees, are
+in line, and commence at once to trot on board in single file, each one
+bearing a bushel basket of coal upon her head, weighing, say sixty
+pounds. Another gang fill empty baskets where the coal is stored, so
+that there is a continuous line of negresses trotting into the ship at
+one port and, after dumping their loads into the coal bunkers, out at
+the other, hastening back to the source of supply for more. Their step
+is quick, their pose straight as an arrow, while their feet keep time to
+a wild chant in which all join, the purport of which it is not possible
+to clearly understand. Now and again their voices rise in softly mingled
+harmony, floating very sweetly over the still waters of the bay. The
+scene we describe occurred at night, but the moon had not yet risen.
+Along the wharf, to the coal deposits, iron frames were erected
+containing burning bituminous coal, and the blaze, fanned by the open
+air, formed the light by which the women worked. It was a weird picture.
+Everything seemed quite in harmony: the hour, the darkness of night
+relieved by the flaming brackets of coal, the strange, dark figures
+hastening into the glare of light and quickly vanishing, the harmony of
+high-pitched voices occasionally broken in upon by the sharp, stern
+voice of their leader,--all was highly dramatic and effective.
+
+Not unfrequently three or four steamers are coaling at the same time
+from different wharves. Hundreds of women and girls of St. Thomas make
+this labor their special occupation, and gain a respectable living by
+it, doubtless supporting any number of lazy, worthless husbands,
+fathers, and brothers.
+
+After our ship was supplied with coal, these women, having put three
+hundred tons on board in a surprisingly short period of time, formed a
+group upon the wharf and held what they called a firefly dance,
+indescribably quaint and grotesque, performed by the flickering light of
+the flaming coal. Their voices were joined in a wild, quick chant, as
+they twisted and turned, clapping their hands at intervals to emphasize
+the chorus. Now and again a couple of the girls would separate from the
+rest for a moment, then dance toward and from each other, throwing their
+arms wildly about their heads, and finally, gathering their scanty
+drapery in one hand and extending the other, perform a movement similar
+to the French cancan. Once more springing back among their companions,
+all joined hands, and a roundabout romp closed the firefly dance. Could
+such a scene be produced in a city theatre _au naturel_, with proper
+accessories and by these actual performers, it would surely prove an
+attraction good for one hundred nights. Of course this would be
+impossible. Conventionality would object to such diaphanous costumes,
+and bare limbs, though they were of a bronzed hue, would shock Puritanic
+eyes.
+
+Upon first entering the harbor, the Vigilancia anchored at a short
+distance from the shore; but when it became necessary to haul alongside
+the wharf, the attempt was made to get up the anchor, when it was found
+to require far more than the usual expenditure of power to do so.
+Finally, however, the anchor was secured, but attached to its flukes
+there came also, from the bottom of the bay, a second anchor, of antique
+shape, covered with rust and barnacles. It was such a one as was carried
+by the galleons of the fifteenth century, and had doubtless lain for
+over four hundred years just where the anchor of our ship had got
+entangled with it. What a remarkable link this corroded piece of iron
+formed, uniting the present with the far past, and how it stimulated the
+mind in forming romantic possibilities! It may have been the holding
+iron of Columbus's own caravel, or have been the anchor of one of
+Cortez's fleet, which touched here on its way into the Gulf of Mexico,
+or, indeed, it may have belonged to some Caribbean buccaneer, who was
+obliged to let slip his cable and hasten away to escape capture.
+
+It was deemed a fortunate circumstance to have secured this ancient
+relic, and a sure sign of future good luck to the ship, so it was duly
+stored away in the lower hold of the Vigilancia.
+
+That same night on which the coal bunkers were filled, our good ship was
+got under way, while the rising moon made the harbor and its
+surroundings as clearly visible as though it were midday. The light from
+the burning coal brackets had waned, only a few sparks bursting forth
+now and again, disturbed by a passing breeze which fanned them into life
+for a moment. When we passed through the narrow entrance by the
+lighthouse, and stood out once more upon the open sea, it was mottled,
+far and near, with argent ripples, that waltzed merrily in the soft,
+clear moonlight, rivaling the firefly dance on shore. Even to the very
+horizon the water presented a white, silvery, tremulous sheen of liquid
+light. One gazed in silent enjoyment until the eyes were weary with the
+lavish beauty of the scene, and the brain became giddy with its
+splendor. Is it idle and commonplace to be enthusiastic? Perhaps so; but
+we hope never to outlive such inspiration.
+
+
+
+
+          CHAPTER II.
+
+     Curious Seaweed.--Professor Agassiz.--Myth of a Lost
+     Continent.--Island of Martinique.--An Attractive
+     Place.--Statue of the Empress Josephine.--Birthplace of
+     Madame de Maintenon.--City of St. Pierre.--Mont Pelee.--High
+     Flavored Specialty.--Grisettes of Martinique.--A Botanical
+     Garden.--Defective Drainage.--A Fatal Enemy.--A Cannibal
+     Snake.--The Climate.
+
+
+Between St. Thomas and the island of Martinique, we fell in with some
+floating seaweed, so peculiar in appearance that an obliging
+quartermaster picked up a spray for closer examination. It is a strange,
+sponge-like plant, which propagates itself on the ocean, unharmed by the
+fiercest agitation of the waves, or the wildest raging of the winds, at
+the same time giving shelter to zooephytes and mollusks of a species,
+like itself, found nowhere else. Sailors call it Gulf weed, but it has
+nothing to do with the Gulf Stream, though sometimes clusters get astray
+and are carried far away on the bosom of that grand ocean current. The
+author has seen small bodies of it, after a fierce storm in the
+Caribbean Sea, a thousand miles to the eastward of Barbadoes. Its
+special home is a broad space of ocean surface between the Gulf Stream
+and the equatorial current, known as the Sargasso Sea. Its limits,
+however, change somewhat with the seasons. It was first noticed by
+Columbus in 1492, and in this region it has remained for centuries, even
+to the present day. Sometimes this peculiar weed is so abundant as to
+present the appearance of a submerged meadow, through which the ship
+ploughs its way as though sailing upon the land. We are told that
+Professor Agassiz, while at sea, having got possession of a small branch
+of this marine growth, kept himself busily absorbed with it and its
+products for twelve hours, forgetting all the intervening meals. Science
+was more than food and drink to this grand savant. His years from
+boyhood were devoted to the study of nature in her various forms. "Life
+is so short," said he, "one can hardly find space to become familiar
+with a single science, much less to acquire knowledge of many." When he
+was applied to by a lyceum committee to come to a certain town and
+lecture, he replied that he was too busy. "But we will pay you double
+price, Mr. Agassiz, if you will come," said the applicant. "I cannot
+waste time to make money," was the noble reply.
+
+The myth of a lost continent is doubtless familiar to the reader,--a
+continent supposed to have existed in these waters thousands of years
+ago, but which, by some evolution of nature, became submerged, sinking
+from sight forever. It was the Atlantis which is mentioned by Plato; the
+land in which the Elysian Fields were placed, and the Garden of
+Hesperides, from which the early civilization of Greece, Egypt, and Asia
+Minor were derived, and whose kings and heroes were the Olympian deities
+of a later time. The poetical idea prevails that this plant, which once
+grew in those gardens, having lost its original home, has become a
+floating waif on the sapphire sea of the tropics. The color of the
+Sargasso weed is a faint orange shade; the leaves are pointed, delicate,
+and exquisitely formed, like those of the weeping willow in their
+youthful freshness, having a tiny, round, light green berry near the
+base of each leaf. Mother Cary's chickens are said to be fond of these
+berries, and that bird abounds in these waters.
+
+Probably the main portion of the West Indian islands was once a part of
+the continent of America, many, many ages ago. There are trees of the
+locust family growing among the group to-day, similar to those found on
+our southern coast, which are declared to be four thousand years old.
+This statement is partially corroborated by known characteristics of the
+growth of the locust, and there are arborists who fully credit this
+great longevity. It is interesting to look upon an object which had a
+vital existence two thousand years and more before Christ was upon
+earth, and which is still animate.
+
+       *     *     *     *     *
+
+Each new island which one visits in the West Indies seems more lovely
+than its predecessor, always leaving Hayti out of the question; but
+Martinique, at this moment of writing, appears to rival all those with
+which the author is familiar. It might be a choice bit out of Cuba,
+Singapore, or far-away Hawaii. Its liability to destructive hurricanes
+is its only visible drawback. Having been discovered on St. Martin's
+day, Columbus gave it the name it now bears.
+
+St. Pierre is the commercial capital of Martinique, one of the French
+West Indies, and the largest of the group belonging to that nation. Fort
+de France is the political capital, situated about thirty miles from St.
+Pierre. It was nearly ruined by the cyclone of last August, a few weeks
+after the author's visit. St. Pierre is the best built town in the
+Lesser Antilles, and has a population of about twenty-five thousand. The
+streets are well paved, and the principal avenues are beautified by
+ornamental trees uniformly planted. The grateful shade thus obtained,
+and the long lines of charming arboreal perspective which are formed,
+are desirable accessories to any locality, but doubly so in tropical
+regions. The houses are very attractive, while there is a prevailing
+aspect of order, cleanliness, and thrift everywhere apparent. It was not
+our experience to meet one beggar in the streets of St. Pierre. More or
+less of poverty must exist everywhere, but it does not stalk abroad
+here, as it does in many rich and pretentious capitals of the great
+world. The island is situated midway between Dominica and St. Lucia, and
+is admitted by all visitors to be one of the most picturesque of the
+West Indian groups. Irregular in shape, it is also high and rocky, thus
+forming one of the most prominent of the large volcanic family which
+sprang up so many ages ago in these seas. Its apex, Mont Pelee, an only
+partially extinct volcano, rises between four and five thousand feet
+above the level of the ocean, and is the first point visible on
+approaching the island from the north. It would be interesting to dilate
+upon the past history of Martinique, for it has known not a little of
+the checkered vicissitudes of these Antilles, having been twice captured
+by the English, and twice restored to France. But this would not be in
+accordance with the design of these pages.
+
+St. Pierre is situated on the lee side of the island, something less
+than two thousand miles, by the course we have steered, from New York,
+and three hundred miles from St. Thomas. It comes down to the very
+water's edge, with its parti-colored houses and red-tiled roofs, which
+mingle here and there with tall, overhanging cocoa-palms. This is the
+most lavishly beautiful tree in the world, and one which never fails to
+impart special interest to its surroundings.
+
+A marble statue in the Place de la Savane, at Fort de France, on the
+same side of the island as St. Pierre, recalls the fact that this was
+the birthplace of the Empress Josephine, born in 1763. Her memorable
+history is too familiar for us to repeat any portion of it here, but the
+brain becomes very active at the mere mention of her name, in recalling
+the romantic and tragic episodes of her life, so closely interwoven with
+the career of the first Napoleon. One instinctively recalls the small
+boudoir in the palace of Trianon, where her husband signed the divorce
+from Josephine. That he loved her with his whole power for loving is
+plain enough, as is also his well known reason for the separation,
+namely, the desire for offspring to transmit his name to posterity.
+There is one legend which is always rehearsed to strangers, relating to
+Josephine's youth upon the island. We refer to that of the old negress
+fortune-teller who prognosticated the grandeur of her future career,
+together with its melancholy termination, a story so tinctured with
+local color that, if it be not absolutely true, it surely ought to be.
+The statue, unless we are misinformed, was the gift of that colossal
+fraud, Napoleon III., though it purports to have been raised to the
+memory of Josephine by the people of Martinique, who certainly feel
+great pride in the fact of her having been born here, and who truly
+venerate her memory. The statue represents the empress dressed in the
+fashion of the First Empire, with bare arms and shoulders, one hand
+resting on a medallion bearing a profile of the emperor to whom she was
+devoted. The whole is partially shaded by a half dozen grand old palms.
+The group teems with historic suggestiveness, recalling one of the most
+tragic chapters of modern European history. It seemed to us that the
+artist had succeeded in imparting to the figure an expression indicating
+something of the sad story of the original.
+
+This beautiful island, it will be remembered, also gave to France
+another remarkable historic character, Francoise d'Aubigne, afterwards
+Madame Scarron, but better known to the world at large as Madame de
+Maintenon. She, too, was the wife of a king, though the marriage was a
+left-handed one, but as the power behind the throne, she is well known
+to have shaped for years the political destinies of France.
+
+St. Pierre has several schools, a very good hotel, a theatre, a public
+library, together with some other modern and progressive institutions;
+yet somehow everything looked quaint and olden, a sixteenth century
+atmosphere seeming to pervade the town. The windows of the ordinary
+dwellings have no glass, which is very naturally considered to be a
+superfluity in this climate; but these windows have iron bars and wooden
+shutters behind them, relics of the days of slavery, when every white
+man's house was his castle, and great precautions were taken to guard
+against the possible uprising of the blacks, who outnumbered their
+masters twenty to one.
+
+Though so large a portion of the population are of negro descent, yet
+they are very French-like in character. The native women especially seem
+to be frivolous and coquettish, not to say rather lax in morals. They
+appear to be very fond of dress. The young negresses have learned from
+their white mistresses how to put on their diaphanous clothing in a
+jaunty and telling fashion, leaving one bronzed arm and shoulder bare,
+which strikes the eye in strong contrast with the snow white of their
+cotton chemises. They are Parisian grisettes in ebony, and with their
+large, roguish eyes, well-rounded figures, straight pose, and dainty
+ways, the half-breeds are certainly very attractive, and only too ready
+for a lark with a stranger. They strongly remind one of the pretty
+quadroons of Louisiana, in their manners, complexion, and general
+appearance; and like those handsome offspring of mingled blood, so often
+seen in our Southern States, we suspect that these of Martinique enjoy
+but a brief space of existence. The average life of a quadroon is less
+than thirty years.
+
+Martinique is eight times as large as St. Thomas, containing a
+population of about one hundred and seventy-five thousand. Within its
+borders there are at least five extinct volcanoes, one of which has an
+enormous crater, exceeded by only three or four others in the known
+world. The island rises from the sea in three groups of rugged peaks,
+and contains some very fertile valleys. So late as 1851, Mont Pelee
+burst forth furiously with flames and smoke, which naturally threw the
+people into a serious panic, many persons taking refuge temporarily on
+board the shipping in the harbor. The eruption on this occasion did not
+amount to anything very serious, only covering some hundreds of acres
+with sulphurous debris, yet serving to show that the volcano was not
+dead, but sleeping. Once or twice since that date ominous mutterings
+have been heard from Mont Pelee, which it is confidently predicted will
+one day deluge St. Pierre with ashes and lava, repeating the story of
+Pompeii.
+
+Sugar, rum, coffee, and cotton are the staple products here,
+supplemented by tobacco, manioc flour, bread-fruit, and bananas. Rum is
+very extensively manufactured, and has a good mercantile reputation for
+its excellence, commanding as high prices as the more famous article of
+the same nature produced at Jamaica. The purpose of the author is mainly
+to record personal impressions, but a certain sprinkling of statistics
+and detail is inevitable, if we would inform, as well as amuse, the
+average reader.
+
+The flora of Martinique is the marvel and delight of all who have
+enjoyed its extraordinary beauty, while the great abundance and variety
+of its fruits are believed to be unsurpassed even in the prolific
+tropics. Of that favorite, the mango, the island produces some forty
+varieties, and probably in no other region has the muscatel grape
+reached to such perfection in size and flavor. The whole island looks
+like a maze of greenery, as it is approached from the sea, vividly
+recalling Tutuila of the Samoan group in the South Pacific. Like most of
+the West Indian islands, Martinique was once densely covered with trees,
+and a remnant of these ancient woods creeps down to the neighborhood of
+St. Pierre to-day.
+
+The principal landing is crowded at all times with hogsheads of sugar
+and molasses, and other casks containing the highly scented island rum,
+the two sweets, together with the spirits, causing a nauseous odor under
+the powerful heat of a vertical sun. We must not forget to mention,
+however, that St. Pierre has a specific for bad odors in her somewhat
+peculiar specialty, namely, eau-de-cologne, which is manufactured on
+this island, and is equal to the European article of the same name,
+distilled at the famous city on the Rhine. No one visits the port, if it
+be for but a single day, without bringing away a sample bottle of this
+delicate perfumery, a small portion of which, added to the morning bath,
+is delightfully refreshing, especially when one uses salt water at sea,
+it so effectively removes the saline stickiness which is apt to remain
+upon the limbs and body after a cold bath.
+
+The town is blessed with an inexhaustible supply of good, fresh,
+mountain water, which, besides furnishing the necessary quantity for
+several large drinking fountains, feeds some ornamental ones, and
+purifies the streets by a flow through the gutters, after the fashion of
+Salt Lake City, Utah. This is in fact the only system of drainage at St.
+Pierre. A bronze fountain in the Place Bertin is fed from this source,
+and is an object of great pleasure in a climate where cold water in
+abundance is an inestimable boon. This elaborate fountain was the gift
+of a colored man, named Alfred Agnew, who was at one time mayor of the
+city. Many of the gardens attached to the dwelling-houses are ornamented
+with ever-flowing fountains, which impart a refreshing coolness to the
+tropical atmosphere.
+
+The Rue Victor Hugo is the main thoroughfare, traversing the whole
+length of the town parallel with the shore, up hill and down, crossing a
+small bridge, and finally losing itself in the environs. It is nicely
+kept, well paved, and, though it is rather narrow, it is the Broadway of
+St. Pierre. Some of the streets are so abrupt in grade as to recall
+similar avenues in the English portion of Hong Kong, too steep for the
+passage of vehicles, or even for donkeys, being ascended by means of
+much worn stone steps. Fine, broad roadways surround the town and form
+pleasant drives.
+
+The cathedral has a sweet chime of bells, whose soft, liquid notes came
+to us across the water of the bay with touching cadence at the Angelus
+hour. It must be a sadly calloused heart which fails to respond to these
+twilight sounds in an isle of the Caribbean Sea. Millet's impressive
+picture was vividly recalled as we sat upon the deck and listened to
+those bells, whose notes floated softly upon the air as if bidding
+farewell to the lingering daylight. At the moment, all else being so
+still, it seemed as though one's heartbeat could be heard, while the
+senses were bathed in a tranquil gladness incited by the surrounding
+scenery and the suggestiveness of the hour.
+
+Three fourths of the population are half-breeds, born of whites, blacks,
+or mulattoes, with a possible strain of Carib blood in their veins, the
+result of which is sometimes a very handsome type of bronzed hue, but of
+Circassian features. Some of the young women of the better class are
+very attractive, with complexions of a gypsy color, like the artists'
+models who frequent the "Spanish Stairs" leading to the Trinita di
+Monti, at Rome. These girls possess deep, dark eyes, pearly teeth, with
+good figures, upright and supple as the palms. In dress they affect all
+the colors of the rainbow, presenting oftentimes a charming audacity of
+contrasts, and somehow it seems to be quite the thing for them to do so;
+it accords perfectly with their complexions, with the climate, with
+everything tropical. The many-colored Madras kerchief is universally
+worn by the common class of women, twisted into a jaunty turban, with
+one well-starched end ingeniously arranged so as to stand upright like a
+soldier's plume. The love of ornament is displayed by the wearing of
+hoop earrings of enormous size, together with triple strings of gold
+beads, and bracelets of the same material. If any one imagines he has
+seen larger sized hoop earrings this side of Africa, he is mistaken.
+They are more like bangles than earrings, hanging down so as to rest
+upon the neck and shoulders. Those who cannot afford the genuine article
+satisfy their vanity with gaudy imitations. They form a very curious and
+interesting study, these black, brown, and yellow people, both men and
+women. In the market-place at the north end of the town, the women
+preside over their bananas, oranges, and other fruits, in groups,
+squatting like Asiatics on their heels. In the Havana fish market, one
+compares the variety of colors exhibited by the fishes exposed for sale
+to those of the kaleidoscope, but here the Cuban display is equaled if
+not surpassed.
+
+St. Pierre has a botanical garden, situated about a mile from the centre
+of the town, so located as to admit of utilizing a portion of the native
+forest yet left standing, with here and there an impenetrable growth of
+the feathery bamboo, king of the grasses, interspersed with the royal
+palm and lighter green tree-ferns. The bamboo is a marvel, single stems
+of it often attaining a height in tropical regions of a hundred and
+seventy feet, and a diameter of a foot. So rapid is its growth that it
+is sometimes known to attain the height of a hundred feet in sixty days.
+Art has done something to improve the advantages afforded by nature in
+this botanical garden, arranging some pretty lakes, fountains, and
+cascades. Vistas have been cut through the dense undergrowth, and
+driveways have been made, thus improving the rather neglected grounds.
+One pretty lake of considerable size contains three or four small
+islands, covered with flowering plants, while on the shore are pretty
+summer houses and inviting arbors. The frangipanni, tall and almost
+leafless, but with thick, fleshy shoots and a broad-spread, single leaf,
+was recognized here among other interesting plants. This is the fragrant
+flower mentioned by the early discoverers. There was also the
+parti-colored passion-flower, and groups of odd-shaped cacti, whose
+thick, green leaves were daintily rimmed with an odorless yellow bloom.
+Here, also, is an interesting example of the ceba-tree, in whose shade a
+hundred persons might banquet together. The author has seen specimens of
+the ceba superbly developed in Cuba and the Bahamas, with its massive
+and curiously buttressed trunk, having the large roots half above
+ground. It is a solitary tree, growing to a large size and enjoying
+great longevity. Mangoes abound here, the finest known as the _mango
+d'or_. There is a certain air about the public garden of St. Pierre,
+indicating that nature is permitted in a large degree to have her own
+sweet will. Evidences enough remain to show the visitor that these
+grounds must once have been in a much more presentable condition. There
+is a musical cascade, which is well worth a long walk to see and enjoy.
+Just inside of the entrance, one spot was all ablaze with a tiny yellow
+flower, best known to us as English broom, _Cytisus genista_. Its
+profuse but delicate bloom was dazzling beneath the bright sun's rays.
+Could it possibly be indigenous? No one could tell us. Probably some
+resident brought it hither from his home across the ocean, and it has
+kindly adapted itself to the new soil and climate.
+
+We were cautioned to look out for and to avoid a certain poisonous
+snake, a malignant reptile, with fatal fangs, which is the dread of the
+inhabitants, some of whom are said to die every year from the venom of
+the creature. It will be remembered that one of these snakes, known here
+as the _fer-de-lance_, bit Josephine, the future empress, when she was
+very young, and that her faithful negro nurse saved the child's life by
+instantly drawing the poison from the wound with her own lips. It is
+singular that this island, and that of St. Lucia, directly south of it,
+should be cursed by the presence of these poisonous creatures, which do
+not exist in any other of the West Indian islands, and, indeed, so far
+as we know, are not to be found anywhere else. The fer-de-lance has one
+fatal enemy. This is a large snake, harmless so far as poisonous fangs
+are concerned, called the _cribo_. This reptile fearlessly attacks the
+fer-de-lance, and kills and eats him in spite of his venom, a perfectly
+justifiable if not gratifying instance of cannibalism, where a creature
+eats and relishes the body of one of its own species. The domestic cat
+is said also to be more than a match for the dreaded snake, and
+instinctively adopts a style of attack which, while protecting itself,
+finally closes the contest by the death of the fer-de-lance, which it
+seizes just back of the head at the spine, and does not let go until it
+has severed the head from the body; and even then instinct teaches the
+cat to avoid the head, for though it be severed from the body, like the
+mouth of a turtle under similar circumstances, it can still inflict a
+serious wound.
+
+The fer-de-lance is a great destroyer of rats, this rodent forming its
+principal source of food. Now as rats are almost as much of a pest upon
+the island, and especially on the sugar plantations, as rabbits are in
+New Zealand, it will be seen that even the existence of this poisonous
+snake is not an unmitigated evil.
+
+Crosses and wayside shrines of a very humble character are to be seen in
+all directions on the roadsides leading from St. Pierre, recalling
+similar structures which line the inland roads of Japan, where the local
+religion finds like public expression, only varying in the character of
+the emblems. At Martinique it is a Christ or a Madonna; in Japan it is a
+crude idol of some sort, the more hideous, the more appropriate. The
+same idea is to be seen carried out in the streets of Canton and
+Shanghai, only Chinese idols are a degree more unlike anything upon or
+below the earth than they are elsewhere.
+
+It was observed that while there were plenty of masculine loafers and
+careless idlers of various colors, whose whole occupation seemed to be
+sucking at some form of burning tobacco in the shape of cigarette,
+cigar, or pipe, the women, of whatever complexion, seen in public, were
+all usefully employed. They are industrious by instinct; one almost
+never sees them in repose. In the transportation of all articles of
+domestic use, women bear them upon their heads, whether the article
+weighs one pound or fifty, balancing their load without making use of
+the hands except to place the article in position. The women not
+infrequently have also a baby upon their backs at the same time.
+Negresses and donkeys perform nine tenths of the transportation of
+merchandise. Wheeled vehicles are very little used in the West Indian
+islands. As we have seen, even in coaling ship, it is the women who do
+the work.
+
+The Hotel des Bains, at St. Pierre, is an excellent hostelry, as such
+places go in this part of the world. The stranger will find here most of
+the requisites for domestic comfort, and at reasonable prices. As a
+health resort the place has its advantages, and a northern invalid,
+wishing to escape the rigor of a New England winter, would doubtless
+find much to occupy and recuperate him here. St. Pierre, however, has
+times of serious epidemic sickness, though this does not often happen in
+the winter season. Three or four years ago the island was visited by a
+sweeping epidemic of small-pox, but it raged almost entirely among the
+lowest classes, principally among the negroes, who seem to have a great
+prejudice and superstitious fear relating to vaccination, and its
+employment as a preventive against contracting the disease. In the
+yellow fever season the city suffers more or less, but the health of St.
+Pierre will average as good as that of our extreme Southern States; and
+yet, after all, with the earthquakes, hurricanes, tarantulas, scorpions,
+and deadly fer-de-lance, as Artemus Ward would say, Martinique presents
+many characteristics to recommend protracted absence. A brief visit is
+like a poem to be remembered, but one soon gets a surfeit of the
+circumscribed island.
+
+Our next objective point was Barbadoes, to reach which we sailed one
+hundred and fifty miles to the eastward, this most important of the
+Lesser Antilles being situated further to windward, that is, nearer the
+continent of Europe. Our ponderous anchor came up at early morning, just
+as the sun rose out of the long, level reach of waters. It looked like a
+mammoth ball of fire, which had been immersed during the hours of the
+night countless fathoms below the sea. Presently everything was aglow
+with light and warmth, while the atmosphere seemed full of infinitesimal
+particles of glittering gold. At first one could watch the face of the
+rising sun, as it came peering above the sea, a sort of fascination
+impelling the observer to do so, but after a few moments, no human eye
+could bear its dazzling splendor.
+
+Said an honest old Marshfield farmer, in 1776, who met the clergyman of
+the village very early in the opening day: "Ah, good mornin', Parson,
+another fine day," nodding significantly towards the sun just appearing
+above the cloudless horizon of Massachusetts Bay. "They do say the airth
+moves, and the sun stands still; but you and I, Parson, we git up airly
+and we _see_ it rise!"
+
+
+
+
+          CHAPTER III.
+
+     English Island of Barbadoes.--Bridgetown the Capital.--The
+     Manufacture of Rum.--A Geographical Expert.--Very
+     English.--A Pest of Ants.--Exports.--The Ice House.--A Dense
+     Population.--Educational.--Marine Hotel.--Habits of
+     Gambling.--Hurricanes.--Curious Antiquities.--The Barbadoes
+     Leg.--Wakeful Dreams.--Absence of Twilight.--Departure from
+     the Island.
+
+
+Bridgetown is the capital of Barbadoes, an English island which, unlike
+St. Thomas, is a highly cultivated sugar plantation from shore to shore.
+In natural beauty, however, it will not compare with Martinique. It is
+by no means picturesquely beautiful, like most of the West Indian
+islands, being quite devoid of their thick tropical verdure. Nature is
+here absolutely beaten out of the field by excessive cultivation. Thirty
+thousand acres of sugar-cane are cut annually, yielding, according to
+late statistics, about seventy thousand hogsheads of sugar. We are sorry
+to add that there are twenty-three rum distilleries on the island, which
+do pecuniarily a thriving business. "The poorest molasses makes the best
+rum," said an experienced manager to us. He might well have added that
+it is also the poorest use to which it could be put. This spirit, like
+all produced in the West Indies, is called Jamaica rum, and though a
+certain amount of it is still shipped to the coast of Africa, the return
+cargoes no longer consist of kidnapped negroes. The article known as New
+England rum, still manufactured in the neighborhood of Boston, has
+always disputed the African market, so to speak, with the product of
+these islands. Rum is the bane of Africa, just as opium is of China, the
+former thrust upon the native races by Americans, the latter upon the
+Chinese by English merchants, backed by the British government. Events
+follow each other so swiftly in modern times as to become half forgotten
+by contemporary people, but there are those among us who remember when
+China as a nation tried to stop the importation of the deadly drug
+yielded by the poppy fields of India, whereupon England forced the
+article upon her at the point of the bayonet.
+
+Bridgetown is situated at the west end of the island on the open
+roadstead of Carlisle Bay, and has a population of over twenty-five
+thousand. Barbadoes lies about eighty miles to the windward of St.
+Vincent, its nearest neighbor, and is separated from Europe by four
+thousand miles of the Atlantic Ocean. It is comparatively removed from
+the chain formed by the Windward Isles, its situation being so isolated
+that it remained almost unnoticed until a century had passed after
+Columbus's first discovery in these waters. The area of the British
+possessions in the West Indies is about one seventh of the islands. It
+is often stated that Barbadoes is nearly as large as the Isle of Wight,
+but the fact is, it exceeds that island in superficial area, being a
+little over fifty-five miles in circumference. The reader will perhaps
+remember that it was here Addison laid the scene of his touching story
+of "Inkle and Yarico," published so many years ago in the "Spectator."
+
+Though it is not particularly well laid out, Bridgetown makes a very
+pleasing picture, as a whole, when seen from the harbor. Here and there
+a busy windmill is mixed with tall and verdant tropical trees, backed by
+far-reaching fields of yellow sugar-cane, together with low, sloping
+hills. The buildings are mostly of stone, or coral rock, and the town
+follows the graceful curve of the bay. The streets are macadamized and
+lighted with gas, but are far too narrow for business purposes. The
+island is about twenty-one miles long and between fourteen and fifteen
+broad, the shores being nearly inclosed in a cordon of coral reefs, some
+of which extend for two or three miles seaward, demanding of navigators
+the greatest care on seeking a landing, though the course into the roads
+to a suitable anchorage is carefully buoyed.
+
+Barbadoes was originally settled by the Portuguese, who here found the
+branches of a certain forest tree covered with hair-like hanging moss,
+from whence its somewhat peculiar name, Barbadoes, or the "bearded
+place," is supposed to have been derived. Probably this was the Indian
+fig-tree, still found here, and which lives for many centuries, growing
+to enormous proportions. In India, Ceylon, and elsewhere in Asia, it is
+held sacred. The author has seen one of these trees at Kandy, in the
+island of Ceylon, under which sacred rites have taken place constantly
+for a thousand years or more, and whose widespread branches could
+shelter five hundred people from the heat of the sun. It stands close by
+the famous old Buddhist temple wherein is preserved the tooth of the
+prophet, and before which devout Indians prostrate themselves daily,
+coming from long distances to do so. Indeed, Kandy is the Mecca of
+Ceylon.
+
+A good share of even the reading public of England would be puzzled to
+tell an inquirer exactly where Barbadoes is situated, while most of
+those who have any idea about it have gained such knowledge as they
+possess from Captain Marryat's clever novel of "Peter Simple," where the
+account is, to be sure, meagre enough. Still later, those who have read
+Anthony Trollope's "West Indies and the Spanish Main" have got from the
+flippant pages of that book some idea of the island, though it is a very
+disagreeable example of Trollope's pedantic style.
+
+"Barbadoes? Barbadoes?" said a society man to the writer of these pages,
+in all seriousness, just as he was about to sail from New York, "that's
+on the coast of Africa, is it not?"
+
+"Oh, no," was the reply, "it is one of the islands of the Lesser
+Antilles."
+
+"Where are the Antilles, pray?"
+
+"You must surely know."
+
+"But I do not, nevertheless; haven't the remotest idea. Fact is,
+geography never was one of my strong points."
+
+With which remark we silently agreed, and yet our friend is reckoned to
+be a fairly educated, cultured person, as these expressions are commonly
+used. Probably he represents the average geographical knowledge of one
+half the people to be met with in miscellaneous society.
+
+This is the first English possession where the sugarcane was planted,
+and is one of the most ancient colonies of Great Britain. It bears no
+resemblance to the other islands in these waters, that is,
+topographically, nor, indeed, in the character of its population, being
+entirely English. The place might be a bit taken out of any shire town
+of the British home island, were it only a little more cleanly and less
+unsavory; still it is more English than West Indian. The manners and
+customs are all similar to those of the people of that nationality; the
+negroes, and their descendants of mixed blood, speak the same tongue as
+the denizens of St. Giles, London. The island has often been called
+"Little England." There is no reliable history of Barbadoes before the
+period when Great Britain took possession of it, some two hundred and
+sixty years ago. Government House is a rather plain but pretentious
+dwelling, where the governor has his official and domestic residence. In
+its rear there is a garden, often spoken of by visitors, which is
+beautified by some of the choicest trees and shrubs of this latitude. It
+is really surprising how much a refined taste and skillful gardening can
+accomplish in so circumscribed a space.
+
+Barbadoes is somewhat remarkable as producing a variety of minerals;
+among which are coal, manganese, iron, kaolin, and yellow ochre. There
+are also one or two localities on the island where a flow of petroleum
+is found, of which some use is made. It is called Barbadoes tar, and
+were the supply sufficient to warrant the use of refining machinery, it
+would undoubtedly produce a good burning fluid. There is a "burning
+well," situated in what is known as the Scotland District, where the
+water emerging from the earth forms a pool, which is kept in a state of
+ebullition from the inflammable air or gas which passes through it. This
+gas, when lighted by a match, burns freely until extinguished by
+artificial means, not rising in large enough quantities to make a great
+flame, but still sufficient to create the effect of burning water, and
+forming quite a curiosity.
+
+There are no mountains on the island, but the land is undulating, and
+broken into hills and dales; one elevation, known as Mount Hillaby,
+reaches a thousand feet and more above the level of tide waters.
+
+One of the most serious pests ever known at Barbadoes was the
+introduction of ants, by slave-ships from Africa. No expedient of human
+ingenuity served to rid the place of their destructive presence, and it
+was at one time seriously proposed to abandon the island on this
+account. After a certain period nature came to the rescue. She does all
+things royally, and the hurricane of 1780 completely annihilated the
+vermin. Verily, it was appropriate to call Barbadoes in those days the
+Antilles! It appears that there is no affliction quite unmixed with
+good, and that we must put a certain degree of faith in the law of
+compensation, however great the seeming evil under which we suffer. To
+our limited power of comprehension, a destructive hurricane does seem an
+extreme resort by which to crush out an insect pest. The query might
+even arise, with some minds, whether the cure was not worse than the
+disorder.
+
+The exports from the island consist almost wholly of molasses, sugar,
+and rum, products of the cane, which grows all over the place, in every
+nook and corner, from hilltop to water's edge. The annual export, as
+already intimated, is considerably over sixty thousand hogsheads. Sugar
+cannot, however, be called king of any one section, since half of the
+amount manufactured in the whole world is the product of the beet root,
+the growth of which is liberally subsidized by more than one European
+government, in order to foster local industry. Like St. Thomas, this
+island has been almost denuded of its forest growth, and is occasionally
+liable, as we have seen, to destructive hurricanes.
+
+Bridgetown is a place of considerable progress, having several
+benevolent and educational institutions; it also possesses railway,
+telephone, and telegraphic service. Its export trade aggregates over
+seven million dollars per annum, to accommodate which amount of commerce
+causes a busy scene nearly all the time in the harbor. The steam railway
+referred to connects the capital with the Parish of St. Andrews,
+twenty-one miles away on the other side of the island, its terminus
+being at the thrifty little town of Bathsheba, a popular resort, which
+is noted for its fine beach and excellent sea bathing.
+
+The cathedral is consecrated to the established religion of the Church
+of England, and is a picturesque, time-worn building, surrounded, after
+the style of rural England, by a quaint old graveyard, the monuments and
+slabs of which are gray and moss-grown, some of them bearing dates of
+the earlier portion of the sixteenth century. This spot forms a very
+lovely, peaceful picture, where the graves are shaded by tree-ferns and
+stately palms. Somehow one cannot but miss the tall, slim cypress, which
+to the European and American eye seems so especially appropriate to such
+a spot. There were clusters of low-growing mignonette, which gave out a
+faint perfume exactly suited to the solemn shades which prevailed, and
+here and there bits of ground enameled with blue-eyed violets. The walls
+of the inside of the church are covered with memorial tablets, and there
+is an organ of great power and sweetness of tone.
+
+The "Ice House," so called, at Bridgetown is a popular resort, which
+everybody visits who comes to Barbadoes. Here one can find files of all
+the latest American and European papers, an excellent cafe, with drinks
+and refreshments of every conceivable character, and can purchase almost
+any desired article from a toothpick to a set of parlor furniture. It is
+a public library, an exchange, a "Bon Marche," and an artificial ice
+manufactory, all combined. Strangers naturally make it a place of
+rendezvous. It seemed to command rather more of the average citizen's
+attention than did legitimate business, and one is forced to admit that
+although the drinks which were so generously dispensed were cool and
+appetizing, they were also very potent. It was observed that some
+individuals, who came into the hospitable doors rather sober and
+dejected in expression of features, were apt to go out just a little
+jolly.
+
+The Ice House is an institution of these islands, to be found at St.
+Thomas, Demerara, and Trinidad, as well as at Barbadoes. Havana has a
+similar retreat, but calls it a cafe, situated on the Paseo, near the
+Tacon Theatre.
+
+The population of the island amounts to about one hundred and
+seventy-two thousand,--the census of 1881 showed it to be a trifle less
+than this,--giving the remarkable density of one thousand and more
+persons to the square mile, thus forming an immense human beehive. It is
+the only one of the West Indian islands from which a certain amount of
+emigration is necessary annually. The large negro population makes labor
+almost incredibly cheap, field-hands on the plantations being paid only
+one shilling per day; and yet, so ardent is their love of home--and the
+island is home to them--that only a few can be induced to leave it in
+search of better wages. When it is remembered that the State of
+Massachusetts, which is considered to be one of the most thickly
+populated sections of the United States, contains but two hundred and
+twenty persons to the square mile, the fact that this West Indian island
+supports over one thousand inhabitants in the same average space will be
+more fully appreciated. Notwithstanding this crowded state of the
+population, we were intelligently informed that while petty offenses are
+common, there is a marked absence of serious crimes.
+
+One sees few if any signs of poverty here. It is a land of sugar-cane,
+yams, and sweet potatoes, very prolific, and very easily tilled. Some of
+the most prosperous men on the island are colored planters, who own
+their large establishments, though born slaves, perhaps on the very
+ground they now own. They have by strict economy and industry saved
+money enough to make a fair beginning, and in the course of years have
+gradually acquired wealth. One plantation, owned by a colored man, born
+of slave parents, was pointed out to us, with the information that it
+was worth twenty thousand pounds sterling, and that its last year's crop
+yielded over three hundred hogsheads of sugar, besides a considerable
+quantity of molasses.
+
+England maintains at heavy expense a military depot here, from which to
+draw under certain circumstances. There is no local necessity for
+supporting such a force. Georgetown is a busy place. Being the most
+seaward of the West Indies, it has become the chief port of call for
+ships navigating these seas. The Caribbees are divided by geographers
+into the Windward and Leeward islands, in accordance with the direction
+in which they lie with regard to the prevailing winds. They are in very
+deep water, the neighboring sea having a mean depth of fifteen hundred
+fathoms. Being so far eastward, Barbadoes enjoys an exceptionally
+equable climate, and it is claimed for it that it has a lower
+thermometer than any other West Indian island. Its latitude is 13 deg. 4'
+north, longitude 59 deg. 37' west, within eight hundred miles of the
+equator. The prevailing wind blows from the northeast, over the broad,
+unobstructed Atlantic, rendering the evenings almost always delightfully
+cool, tempered by this grateful tonic breath of the ocean.
+
+Trafalgar Square, Bridgetown, contains a handsome fountain, and a bronze
+statue of Nelson which, as a work of art, is simply atrocious. From this
+broad, open square the tramway cars start, and it also forms a general
+business centre.
+
+The home government supports, besides its other troops, a regiment of
+negroes uniformed as Zouaves and officered by white men. The police of
+Bridgetown are also colored men. Slavery was abolished here in 1833.
+Everything is so thoroughly English, that only the temperature, together
+with the vegetation, tells the story of latitude and longitude. The soil
+has been so closely cultivated as to have become partially exhausted,
+and this is the only West Indian island, if we are correctly informed,
+where artificial enrichment is considered necessary to stimulate the
+native soil, or where it has ever been freely used. "I question," said
+an intelligent planter to us, "whether we should not be better off
+to-day, if we had not so overstimulated, in fact, burned out, our land
+with guano and phosphates." These are to the ground like intoxicants to
+human beings,--if over-indulged in they are fatal, and even the partial
+use is of questionable advantage. The Chinese and Japanese apply only
+domestic refuse in their fields as a manure, and no people obtain such
+grand results as they do in agriculture. They know nothing of patent
+preparations employed for such purposes, and yet will render a spot of
+ground profitable which a European would look upon as absolutely not
+worth cultivating.
+
+In any direction from Bridgetown going inland, miles upon miles of
+plantations are seen bearing the bright green sugar-cane, turning to
+yellow as it ripens, and giving splendid promise for the harvest. Here
+and there are grouped a low cluster of cabins, which form the quarters
+of the negroes attached to the plantation, while close at hand the tall
+chimney of the sugar mill looms over the surrounding foliage. A little
+one side, shaded by some palms, is the planter's neat and attractive
+residence, painted snow white, in contrast to the deep greenery
+surrounding it, and having a few flower beds in its front.
+
+The Marine Hotel, which is admirably situated on a rocky point at
+Hastings, three hundred feet above the beach, is about a league from the
+city, and forms a favorite resort for the townspeople. The house is
+capable of accommodating three hundred guests at a time. Its spacious
+piazzas fronting the ocean are constantly fanned by the northeast trades
+from October to March. Some New York families regard the place as a
+choice winter resort, the thermometer rarely indicating over 80 deg. Fahr.,
+or falling below 70 deg.. This suburb of Hastings is the location of the
+army barracks, where a broad plain affords admirable space for drill and
+military manoeuvres. There is a monument at Hastings, raised to the
+memory of the victims of the hurricane of 1831, which seems to be rather
+unpleasantly suggestive of future possibilities. Near at hand is a
+well-arranged mile racecourse, a spot very dear to the army officers,
+where during the racing season any amount of money is lost and won.
+There seems to be something in this tropical climate which incites to
+all sorts of gambling, and the habit among the people is so common as to
+be looked upon with great leniency. Just so, at some of the summer
+resorts of the south of France, Italy, and Germany, ladies or gentlemen
+will frankly say, "I am going to the Casino for a little gambling, but
+will be back again by and by."
+
+The roads in the vicinity of Bridgetown are admirably kept, all being
+macadamized, but the dust which rises from the pulverized coral rock is
+nearly blinding, and together with the reflection caused by the sun on
+the snow white roads proves very trying to the eyesight. The dust and
+glare are serious drawbacks to the enjoyment of these environs.
+
+As we have said, hurricanes have proved very fatal at Barbadoes. In
+1780, four thousand persons were swept out of existence in a few hours
+by the irresistible fury of a tornado. So late as 1831, the loss of life
+by a similar visitation was over two thousand, while the loss of
+property aggregated some two million pounds sterling. The experience has
+not, however, been so severe here as at several of the other islands. At
+the time of the hurricane just referred to, Barbadoes was covered with a
+coat of sulphurous ashes nearly an inch thick, which was afterwards
+found to have come from the island of St. Vincent, where what is called
+Brimstone Mountain burst forth in flames and laid that island also in
+ashes. It is interesting to note that there should have been such
+intimate relationship shown between a great atmospheric disturbance like
+a hurricane and an underground agitation as evinced by the eruption of a
+volcano.
+
+It should be mentioned that these hurricanes have never been known to
+pass a certain limit north or south, their ravages having always been
+confined between the eleventh and twenty-first degrees of north
+latitude.
+
+It appears that some curious Carib implements were found not long since
+just below the surface of the earth on the south shore of the bay, which
+are to be forwarded to the British Museum, London. These were of hard
+stone, and were thought by the finders to have been used by the
+aborigines to fell trees. Some were thick shells, doubtless employed by
+the Indians in the rude cultivation of maize, grown here four or five
+hundred years ago. It was said that these stone implements resembled
+those which have been found from time to time in Norway and Sweden. If
+this is correct, it is an important fact for antiquarians to base a
+theory upon. Some scientists believe that there was, in prehistoric
+times, an intimate relationship between Scandinavia and the continent of
+America.
+
+Though there are several public schools in Bridgetown, both primary and
+advanced, we were somehow impressed with the idea that education for the
+common people was not fostered in a manner worthy of a British colony of
+so long standing; but this is the impression of a casual observer only.
+There is a college situated ten or twelve miles from the city, founded
+by Sir Christopher Codrington, which has achieved a high reputation as
+an educational institution in its chosen field of operation. It is a
+large structure of white stone, well-arranged, and is, as we were told,
+consistent with the spirit of the times. It has the dignity of ripened
+experience, having been opened in 1744. The professors are from Europe.
+A delicious fresh water spring rises to the surface of the land just
+below the cliff, at Codrington College, a blessing which people who live
+in the tropics know how to appreciate. There is also at Bridgetown what
+is known as Harrison's College, which, however, is simply a high school
+devoted exclusively to girls.
+
+The island is not exempt from occasional prevalence of tropical fevers,
+but may be considered a healthy resort upon the whole. Leprosy is not
+unknown among the lower classes, and elephantiasis is frequently to be
+met with. This disease is known in the West Indies as the "Barbadoes
+Leg." Sometimes a native may be seen on the streets with one of his legs
+swollen to the size of his body. There is no known cure for this disease
+except the surgeon's knife, and the removal of the victim from the
+region where it first developed itself. The author has seen terrible
+cases of elephantiasis among the natives of the Samoan group of islands,
+where this strange and unaccountable disease is thought to have reached
+its most extreme and repulsive development. Foreigners are seldom if
+ever afflicted with it, either in the West Indies or the South Pacific.
+
+We are to sail to-night. A few passengers and a quantity of freight have
+been landed, while some heavy merchandise has been received on board,
+designed for continental ports to the southward. The afternoon shadows
+lengthen upon the shore, and the sunset hour, so brief in this latitude,
+approaches. The traveler who has learned to love the lingering twilight
+of the north misses these most charming hours when in equatorial
+regions, but as the goddess of night wraps her sombre mantle about her,
+it is so superbly decked with diamond stars that the departed daylight
+is hardly regretted. It is like the prompter's ringing up of the curtain
+upon a complete theatrical scene; the glory of the tropical sky bursts
+at once upon the vision in all its completeness, its burning
+constellations, its solitaire brilliants, its depth of azure, and its
+mysterious Milky Way.
+
+While sitting under the awning upon deck, watching the gentle swaying
+palms and tall fern-trees, listening to the low drone of busy life in
+the town, and breathing the sweet exhalations of tropical fruits and
+flowers, a trance-like sensation suffuses the brain. Is this the _dolce
+far niente_ of the Italians, the sweet do-nothing of the tropics? To us,
+however defined, it was a waking dream of sensuous delight, of entire
+content. How far away sounds the noise of the steam-winch, the sharp
+chafing of the iron pulleys, the prompt orders of the officer of the
+deck, the swinging of the ponderous yards, the rattling of the anchor
+chain as it comes in through the hawse hole, while the ship gradually
+loses her hold upon the land. With half closed eyes we scarcely heard
+these many significant sounds, but floated peacefully on in an Eden of
+fancy, quietly leaving Carlisle Bay far behind.
+
+Our course was to the southward, while everything, high and low, was
+bathed in a flood of shimmering moonlight, the magic alchemy of the sky,
+whose influence etherealizes all upon which it rests.
+
+
+
+
+          CHAPTER IV.
+
+     Curious Ocean Experiences.--The Delicate
+     Nautilus.--Flying-Fish.--The Southern Cross.--Speaking a
+     Ship at Sea.--Scientific Navigation.--South America as a
+     Whole.--Fauna and Flora.--Natural Resources of a Wonderful
+     Land.--Rivers, Plains, and Mountain Ranges.--Aboriginal
+     Tribes.--Population.--Political Divisions.--Civil
+     Wars.--Weakness of South American States.
+
+
+The sudden appearance of a school of flying-fish gliding swiftly through
+the air for six or eight rods just above the rippling waves, and then
+sinking from sight; the sportive escort of half a hundred slate-colored
+porpoises, leaping high out of the water on either bow of the ship only
+to plunge back again, describing graceful curves; the constant presence
+of that sullen tiger of the ocean, the voracious, man-eating shark,
+betrayed by its dorsal fin showing above the surface of the sea; the
+sporting of mammoth whales, sending columns of water high in air from
+their blowholes, and lashing the waves playfully with their broad-spread
+tails, are events at sea too commonplace to comment upon in detail,
+though they tend to while away the inevitable monotony of a long voyage.
+
+Speaking of flying-fish, there is more in the flying capacity of this
+little creature than is generally admitted, else why has it wings on the
+forward part of its body, each measuring seven inches in length? If
+designed only for fins, they are altogether out of proportion to the
+rest of its body. They are manifestly intended for just the use to which
+the creature puts them. One was brought to us by a seaman; how it got on
+board we know not, but it measured eleven inches from the nose to the
+tip of the tail fin, and was in shape and size very much like a small
+mackerel. After leaving Barbadoes, we got into what sailors call the
+flying-fish latitudes, where they appear constantly in their low, rapid
+flight, sometimes singly, but oftener in small schools of a score or
+more, creating flashes of silvery-blue lustre. The most careful
+observation could detect no vibration of the long, extended fins; the
+tiny fish sailed, as it were, upon the wind, the flight of the giant
+albatross in miniature.
+
+One afternoon, when the sea was scarcely dimpled by the soft trade wind,
+we came suddenly upon myriads of that little fairy of the ocean, the
+gossamer nautilus, with its Greek galleon shape, and as frail,
+apparently, as a spider's web. What a gondola it would make for Queen
+Mab! How delicate and transparent it is, while radiating prismatic
+colors! A touch might dismember it, yet what a daring navigator,
+floating confidently upon the sea where the depth is a thousand fathoms,
+liable at any moment to be changed into raging billows by an angry
+storm! How minute the vitality of this graceful atom, a creature whose
+existence is perhaps for only a single day; yet how grand and limitless
+the system of life and creation of which it is so humble a
+representative! Sailors call these frail marine creatures Portuguese
+men-of-war. Possessing some singular facility for doing so, if they are
+disturbed, they quickly furl their sails and sink below the surface of
+the buoyant waves into deep water, the home of the octopus, the squid,
+and the voracious shark. Did they, one is led to query, navigate these
+seas after this fashion before the Northmen came across the ocean, and
+before Columbus landed at San Salvador? At night the glory of the
+southern hemisphere, as revealed in new constellations and brighter
+stars brought into view, was observed with keenest
+interest,--"Everlasting Night, with her star diadems, with her silence,
+and her verities." The phosphorescence of the sea, with its
+scintillations of brilliant light, its ripples of liquid fire, the crest
+of each wave a flaming cascade, was a charming phenomenon one never
+tired of watching. If it be the combination of millions and billions of
+animalculae which thus illumines the waters, then these infinitesimal
+creatures are the fireflies of the ocean, as the cucuios, that fairy
+torch-bearer, is of the land. Gliding on the magic mirror of the South
+Atlantic, in which the combined glory of the sky was reflected with
+singular clearness, it seemed as though we were sailing over a starry
+world below.
+
+While observing the moon in its beautiful series of changes, lighting
+our way by its chaste effulgence night after night, it was difficult to
+realize that it shines entirely by the light which it borrows from the
+sun; but it was easy to believe the simpler fact, that of all the
+countless hosts of the celestial bodies, she is our nearest neighbor.
+"An eighteen-foot telescope reveals to the human eye over forty million
+stars," said Captain Baker, as we stood together gazing at the luminous
+heavens. "And if we entertain the generally accepted idea," he
+continued, "we must believe that each one of that enormous aggregate of
+stars is the centre of a solar system similar to our own." The known
+facts relating to the stars, like stellar distances, are almost
+incomprehensible.
+
+One cannot but realize that there is always a certain amount of
+sentiment wasted on the constellation known as the Southern Cross by
+passengers bound to the lands and seas over which it hangs. Orion or the
+Pleiades, either of them, is infinitely superior in point of brilliancy,
+symmetry, and individuality. A lively imagination is necessary to endow
+this irregular cluster of stars with any real resemblance to the
+Christian emblem for which it is named. It serves the navigator in the
+southern hemisphere, in part, the same purpose which the north star does
+in our portion of the globe, and there our own respect for it as a
+constellation ends. Much poetic talent has been expended for ages to
+idealize the Southern Cross, which is, alas! no cross at all. We have
+seen a person unfamiliar with the locality of this constellation strive
+long and patiently, but in vain, to find it. It should be remembered
+that two prominent stars in Centaurus point directly to it. The one
+furthest from the so called cross is held to be the fixed star nearest
+to the earth, but its distance from us is twenty thousand times farther
+than that of the sun.
+
+We have never yet met a person, looking upon this cluster of the heavens
+for the first time, who did not frankly express his disappointment.
+Anticipation and fruition are oftenest at antipodes.
+
+The graceful marine birds which follow the ship, day after day, darting
+hither and thither with arrowy swiftness, lured by the occasional refuse
+thrown from on board, would be seriously missed were they to leave us.
+Watching their aerial movements and untiring power of wing, while
+listening to their sharp complaining cries, is a source of constant
+amusement. Even rough weather and a raging sea, if not accompanied by
+too serious a storm, is sometimes welcome, serving to awaken the ship
+from its dull propriety, and to put officers, crew, and passengers upon
+their mettle. To speak a strange vessel at sea is always interesting. If
+it is a steamer, a long, black wake of smoke hanging among the clouds at
+the horizon betrays her proximity long before the hull is sighted. All
+eyes are on the watch until she comes clearly within the line of vision,
+gradually increasing in size and distinctness of outline, until
+presently the spars and rigging are minutely delineated. Then
+speculation is rife as to whence she comes and where she is going. By
+and by the two ships approach so near that signal flags can be read, and
+the captains talk with each other, exchanging names, whither bound, and
+so on. Then each commander dips his flag in compliment to the other, and
+the ships rapidly separate. All of this is commonplace enough, but
+serves to while away an hour, and insures a report of our progress and
+safety at the date of meeting, when the stranger reaches his port of
+destination.
+
+We have spoken of the pleasure experienced at sea in watching
+intelligently the various phases of the moon. The subject is a prolific
+one; a whole chapter might be written upon it.
+
+It is perhaps hardly realized by the average landsman, and indeed by few
+who constantly cross the ocean, with their thoughts and interests
+absorbed by the many attractive novelties of the ocean, how important a
+part this great luminary plays in the navigation of a ship. It is to the
+intelligent and observant mariner the never-failing watch of the sky,
+the stars performing the part of hands to designate the proper figure
+upon the dial. If there is occasion to doubt the correctness of his
+chronometer, the captain of the ship can verify its figures or correct
+them by this planet. Every minute that the chronometer is wrong,
+assuming that it be so, may put him fifteen miles out of his reckoning,
+which, under some circumstances, might prove to be a fatal error, even
+leading to the loss of his ship and all on board. To find his precise
+location upon the ocean, the navigator requires both Greenwich time and
+local meridian time, the latter obtained by the sun on shipboard,
+exactly at midday. To get Greenwich time by lunar observation, the
+captain, for example, finds that the moon is three degrees from the star
+Regulus. By referring to his nautical almanac he sees recorded there the
+Greenwich time at which the moon was three degrees from that particular
+star. He then compares his chronometer with these figures, and either
+confirms or corrects its indication. It is interesting to the traveler
+to observe and understand these important resources, which science has
+brought to bear in perfecting his safety on the ocean, promoting the
+interests of commerce, and in aid of correct navigation. The experienced
+captain of a ship now lays his course as surely by compass, after
+satisfying himself by these various means of his exact position, as
+though the point of his destination was straight before him all the
+while, and visible from the pilot house.
+
+How indescribable is the grandeur of these serene nights on the ocean,
+fanned by the somnolent trade winds; a little lonely, perhaps, but so
+blessed with the hallowed benediction of the moonlight, so gorgeously
+decorated by the glittering images of the studded heavens, so sweet and
+pure and fragrant is the breath of the sleeping wind! If one listens
+intently, there seems to come to the senses a whispering of the waves,
+as though the sea in confidence would tell its secrets to a willing ear.
+
+The ship heads almost due south after leaving Barbadoes, when her
+destination is, as in our case, Para, twelve hundred miles away. On this
+course we encounter the equatorial current, which runs northward at a
+rate of two miles in an hour, and at some points reaches a much higher
+rate of speed.
+
+As eternal vigilance is the price of liberty, so eternal scrubbing is
+the price of cleanliness on shipboard. The deck hands are at it from
+five o'clock in the morning until sunset. Our good ship looks as if she
+had just come out of dock. Last night's gale, which in its angry turmoil
+tossed us about so recklessly, covered her with a saline, sticky
+deposit; but with the rising of the sun all this disappears as if by
+magic. The many brass mountings shine with dazzling lustre, and the
+white paint contrasts with the well-tarred cordage which forms the
+standing rigging.
+
+While the ship pursues her course through the far-reaching ocean, let us
+sketch in outline the general characteristics of South America, whither
+we are bound.
+
+It is a country containing twice the area, though not quite one half the
+amount of population, of the United States, a land which, though now
+presenting nearly all phases of civilization, was four centuries ago
+mostly inhabited by nomadic tribes of savages, who knew nothing of the
+horse, the ox, or the sheep, which to-day form so great and important a
+source of its wealth, and where wheat, its prevailing staple, was also
+unknown. It is a land overflowing with native riches, which possesses an
+unlimited capacity of production, and whose large and increasing
+population requires just such domestic supplies as we of the north can
+profitably furnish. The important treaty of reciprocity, so lately
+arranged between the giant province of Brazil--or rather we should say
+the Republic of Brazil--and our own country, is already developing new
+and increasing channels of trade for our shippers and producers of the
+great staples, as well as throwing open to us a new nation of consumers
+for our special articles of manufacture. Facts speak louder than words.
+On the voyage in which the author sailed in the Vigilancia, she took
+over twenty thousand barrels of flour to Brazil from the United States,
+and would have taken more had her capacity admitted. Every foot of space
+on board was engaged for the return voyage, twelve thousand bags of
+coffee being shipped from Rio Janeiro alone, besides nearly as large a
+consignment of coffee from Santos, in the same republic. The great
+mutual benefit which must accrue from this friendly compact with an
+enterprising foreign country can hardly be overestimated. These
+considerations lead to a community of interests, which will grow by
+every reasonable means of familiarizing the people of the two countries
+with each other. Hence the possible and practical value of such a work
+as the one in hand.
+
+By briefly consulting one of the many cheap and excellent maps of the
+western hemisphere, the patient reader will be enabled to follow the
+route taken by the author with increased interest and a clearer
+understanding.
+
+It is surprising, in conversing with otherwise intelligent and
+well-informed people, to find how few there are, comparatively speaking,
+who have any fixed and clear idea relative to so large a portion of the
+habitable globe as South America. The average individual seems to know
+less of the gigantic river Amazon than he does of the mysterious Nile,
+and is less familiar with that grand, far-reaching water-way, the Plate,
+than he is with the sacred Ganges; yet one can ride from Buenos Ayres in
+the Argentine Republic, across the wild pampas, to the base of the Andes
+in a Pullman palace car. There is no part of the globe concerning which
+so little is written, and no other portion which is not more sought by
+travelers; in short, it is less known to the average North American than
+New Zealand or Australia.
+
+The vast peninsula which we call South America is connected with our own
+part of the continent by the Isthmus of Panama and the territory
+designated as Central America. Its configuration is triangular, and
+exhibits in many respects a strong similarity to the continents of
+Africa and Australia, if the latter gigantic island may be called a
+continent. It extends north and south nearly five thousand miles, or
+from latitude 12 deg. 30' north to Cape Horn in latitude 55 deg. 59' south. Its
+greatest width from east to west is a little over three thousand miles,
+and its area, according to the best authorities, is nearly seven million
+square miles. Three fourths of this country lie in the torrid zone,
+though as a whole it has every variety of climate, from equatorial heat
+to the biting frosts of alpine peaks. Its widespread surface consists
+principally of three immense plains, watered respectively by the Amazon,
+Plate, and Orinoco rivers. This spacious country has a coast line of
+over sixteen thousand miles on the two great oceans, with comparatively
+few indentures, headlands, or bays, though at the extreme south it
+consists of a maze of countless small islands, capes, and promontories,
+of which Cape Horn forms the outermost point.
+
+The Cordillera of the Andes extends through the whole length of this
+giant peninsula, from the Strait of Magellan to the Isthmus of Panama, a
+distance of forty-five hundred miles, forming one of the most remarkable
+physical features of the globe, and presenting the highest mountains on
+its surface, except those of the snowy Himalayas which separate India
+from Thibet. The principal range of the Andes runs nearly parallel with
+the Pacific coast, at an average distance of about one hundred miles
+from it, and contains several active volcanoes. If we were to believe a
+late school geography, published in London, Cotopaxi, one famous peak of
+this Andean range, throws up flames three thousand feet above the brink
+of its crater, which is eighteen thousand feet above tide water; but to
+be on the safe side, let us reduce these extraordinary figures at least
+one half, as regards the eruptive power of Cotopaxi. This mountain
+chain, near the border between Chili and Peru, divides into two
+branches, the principal one still called the Cordillera of the Andes,
+and the other, nearer to the ocean, the Cordillera de la Costa. Between
+these ranges, about three thousand feet above the sea, is a vast
+table-land with an area larger than that of France.
+
+It will be observed that we are dealing with a country which, like our
+own, is one of magnificent distances. It is difficult for the nations of
+the old world, where the population is hived together in such
+circumscribed space, to realize the geographical extent of the American
+continent. When informed that it required six days and nights, at
+express speed upon well-equipped railroads, to cross the United States
+from ocean to ocean, a certain editor in London doubted the statement.
+Outside of Her Majesty's dominions, the average Englishman has only
+superficial ideas of geography. The frequent blunders of some British
+newspapers in these matters are simply ridiculous.
+
+It should be understood that South America is a land of plains as well
+as of lofty mountains, having the _llanos_ of the Orinoco region, the
+_selvas_ of the Amazon, and the _pampas_ of the Argentine Republic. The
+llanos are composed of a region about as large as the New England
+States, so level that the motion of the rivers can hardly be discerned.
+The selvas are for the most part vast unbroken forests, in which giant
+trees, thick undergrowth, and entwining creepers combine to form a
+nearly impenetrable region. The pampas lie between the Andes and the
+Atlantic Ocean, stretching southward from northern Brazil to southern
+Patagonia, affording grass sufficient to feed innumerable herds of wild
+cattle, but at the extreme south the country sinks into half overflowed
+marshes and lagoons, resembling the glades and savannahs of Florida.
+
+The largest river in the world, namely, the Amazon, rises in the
+Peruvian Andes, within sixty miles of the Pacific Ocean, and flows
+thousands of miles in a general east-northeast direction, finally
+emptying into the Atlantic Ocean. This unequaled river course is
+navigable for over two thousand miles from its mouth, which is situated
+on the equatorial line, where its outflow is partially impeded by the
+island of Marajo, a nearly round formation, one hundred and fifty miles
+or thereabouts in diameter. This remarkable island divides the river's
+outlet into two passages, the largest of which is a hundred and fifty
+miles in width, forming an estuary of extraordinary dimensions. The
+Amazon has twelve tributaries, each one of which is a thousand miles in
+length, not to count its hundreds of smaller ones, while the main stream
+affords water communication from the Atlantic Ocean to near the
+foothills of the Andes.
+
+We are simply stating a series of condensed geographical facts, from
+which the intelligent reader can form his own deductions as regards the
+undeveloped possibilities of this great southland.
+
+Our own mammoth river, the Mississippi, is a comparatively shallow
+stream, with a shifting channel and dangerous sandbanks, which impede
+navigation throughout the most of its course; while the Amazon shows an
+average depth of over one hundred feet for the first thousand miles of
+its flow from the Atlantic, forming inland seas in many places, so
+spacious that the opposite banks are not within sight of each other. It
+is computed by good authority that this river, with its numerous
+affluents, forms a system of navigable water twenty-four thousand miles
+in length! There are comparatively few towns or settlements of any
+importance on the banks of the Amazon, which flows mostly through a
+dense, unpeopled evergreen forest, not absolutely without human beings,
+but for very long distances nearly so. Wild animals, anacondas and other
+reptiles, together with many varieties of birds and numerous tribes of
+monkeys, make up the animal life. Now and again a settlement of European
+colonists is found, or a rude Indian village is seen near the banks, but
+they are few and far between. There are occasional regions of low,
+marshy ground, which are malarious at certain seasons, but the average
+country is salubrious, and capable of supporting a population of
+millions.
+
+This is only one of the large rivers of South America; there are many
+others of grand proportions. The Plate comes next to it in magnitude,
+having a length of two thousand miles, and being navigable for one half
+the distance from its mouth at all seasons. It is over sixty miles wide
+at Montevideo, and is therefore the widest known river. Like the great
+stream already described, it traverses a country remarkable for the
+fertility of its soil, but very thinly settled. The Plate carries to the
+ocean four fifths as much, in volume of water, as does the mighty
+Amazon, the watershed drained by it exceeding a million and a half
+square miles. One can only conceive of the true magnitude of such
+figures when applied to the land by comparing the number of square miles
+contained in any one European nation, or any dozen of our own States.
+
+Juan Diaz de Solis discovered the estuary of the Plate in 1508, and
+believed it at that time to be a gulf, but on a second voyage from
+Europe, in 1516, he ascended the river a considerable distance, and
+called it Mar Dulce, on account of the character of the waters.
+Unfortunately, this intelligent discoverer was killed by Indian arrows
+on attempting to land at a certain point. For a considerable period the
+river was called after him, and we think should have continued to be so,
+but its name was changed to the Plate on account of the conspicuous
+silver ornaments worn in great profusion by the natives, which they
+freely exchanged for European gewgaws.
+
+Though nearly four hundred years have passed since its discovery, a
+large portion of the country still remains comparatively unexplored,
+much of it being a wilderness sparsely inhabited by Indians, many of
+whom are without a vestige of civilization. We know as little of
+portions of the continent as we do of Central Africa, yet there is no
+section of the globe which suggests a greater degree of physical
+interest, or which would respond more readily and profitably to
+intelligent effort at development. When the Spaniards first came to
+South America, it was only in Peru, the land of the Incas, that they
+found natives who had made any substantial progress in civilization. The
+earliest history extant relating to this region of the globe is that of
+the Incas, a warlike race of sun-worshipers, who possessed enormous
+treasures of gold and silver, and who erected magnificent temples
+enriched with the precious metals. It was the almost fabulous wealth of
+the Incas that led to their destruction, tempting the cupidity of the
+avaricious Spaniards, and causing them to institute a system of cruelty,
+oppression, robbery, and bloodshed which finally obliterated an entire
+people from the face of the globe. The empire of the Incas extended from
+Quito, in Ecuador (on the equator), to the river Monte in Chili, and
+eastward to the Andes. The romantic career of Pizarro and Cortez is
+familiar to us all. There are few palliating circumstances connected
+with the advent of the Spaniards, either here, in the West Indies, or in
+Mexico. The actual motive which prompted their invasion of this foreign
+soil was to search for mineral treasures, though policy led them to
+cover their bloodthirsty deeds with a pretense of religious zeal. Their
+first acts were reckless, cruel, and sanguinary, followed by a
+systematic oppression of the native races which was an outrage upon
+humanity. The world at large profited little by the extortion and golden
+harvest reaped by Spain, to realize which she adopted a policy of
+extermination, both in Peru and in Mexico; but let it be remembered that
+her own national ruin was brought about with poetical justice by the
+very excess of her ill-gotten, blood-stained treasures. The Spanish
+historians tell us, as an evidence of the persistent bravery of their
+ancestors, that it took them eight hundred years of constant warfare to
+wrest Spain from her Moorish conquerors. It is for us to remind them how
+brief has been the continuance of their glory, how rapid their decline
+from splendid continental and colonial possessions to their present
+condition, that of the weakest and most insignificant power in Europe.
+
+There are localities which have been visited by adventurous explorers,
+especially in Chili and Peru, where ruins have been found, and various
+monuments of antiquity examined, of vast interest to archaeologists, but
+of which scarcely more than their mere existence is recorded. Some of
+these ruins are believed to antedate by centuries the period of the
+Incas, and are supposed to be the remains of tribes which, judging from
+their pottery and other domestic utensils, were possibly of Asiatic
+origin. Comparatively few travelers have visited Lake Titicaca, in the
+Peruvian Andes, with its sacred islands and mysterious ruins, from
+whence the Incas dated their mythical origin. The substantial remains of
+some grand temples are still to be seen on the islands near the borders
+of the lake, the decaying masonry decked here and there with a wild
+growth of hardy cactus. This remarkable body of water, Lake Titicaca, in
+the mountain range of Peru, lies more than twelve thousand feet above
+the level of the Pacific; yet it never freezes, and its average depth is
+given as six hundred feet, representing an immense body of water. It
+covers an area of four thousand square miles, which is about four fifths
+as large as our own Lake Ontario, the average depth being about the
+same. Titicaca is the largest lake in the world occupying so elevated a
+site.
+
+The population of South America is mostly to be found on the coast, and
+is thought to be about thirty-five millions, though, all things
+considered, we are disposed to believe this an overestimate. There are
+tribes far inland who are not brought in contact with civilization at
+all, and whose numbers are not known. The magnitude and density of the
+forests are remarkable; they cover, it is intelligently stated, nearly
+two thirds of the country. The vegetation, in its various forms, is rich
+beyond comparison. Professor Agassiz, who explored the valley of the
+Amazon under the most favorable auspices, tells us that he found within
+an area of half a mile square over one hundred species of trees, among
+which were nearly all of the choicest cabinet and dye woods known to the
+tropics, besides others suitable for shipbuilding. Some of these trees
+are remarkable for their gigantic size, others for their beauty of form,
+and still others are valuable for their gums and resins. Of the latter,
+the india-rubber tree is the most prolific and important known to
+commerce. From Brazil comes four fifths of the world's supply of the raw
+material of rubber.
+
+The great fertility of the soil generally would seem to militate against
+the true progress of the people of South America, absolutely
+discouraging, rather than stimulating national industry. One cannot but
+contrast the state of affairs in this respect with that of North
+America, where the soil is so much less productive, and where the
+climate is so universally rigorous. The deduction is inevitable that, to
+find man at his best, we must observe him where his skill, energy, and
+perseverance are all required to achieve a livelihood, and not where
+exuberant nature is over-indulgent, over-productive. The coast, the
+valleys, and indeed the main portion of South America are tropical, but
+a considerable section of the country is so elevated that its climate is
+that of perpetual spring, resembling the great Mexican plateau, both
+physically and as regards temperature. The population is largely of
+Spanish descent, and that language is almost universally spoken, though
+Portuguese is the current tongue in Brazil. These languages are so
+similar, in fact, that the people of the two nations can easily
+understand each other. It is said to be true that, in the wild regions
+of the country, there are tribes of Indians found to-day living close to
+each other, separated by no physical barriers, who differ materially in
+language, physiognomy, manners, and customs, having absolutely nothing
+in common but their brown or copper colored skins. Furthermore, these
+tribes live most frequently in deadly feuds with each other. That
+cannibalism is still practiced among these interior tribes is positively
+believed, especially among some of the tribes of the extreme south, that
+is, among the Patagonians and the wild, nomadic race of Terra del Fuego.
+These two tribes, on opposite sides of the Strait of Magellan, are quite
+different from each other in nearly every respect, especially in size,
+nor will they attempt to hold friendly intercourse of any sort with each
+other.
+
+There are certain domestic animals which are believed to be improved by
+crossing them with others of a different type, but this does not seem to
+apply, very often, advantageously to different races of human beings. It
+is plain enough in South America that the amalgamation of foreigners and
+natives rapidly effaces the original better qualities of each, the
+result being a mongrel, nondescript type, hard to analyze and hard to
+improve. That keen observer, Professor Agassiz, especially noticed this
+during his year of scientific research in Brazil. This has also been the
+author's experience, as illustrated in many lands, where strictly
+different races, the one highly civilized, the other barbarian, have
+unitedly produced children. It is a sort of amalgamation which nature
+does not favor, recording her objections in an unmistakable manner. It
+is the flow of European emigration towards these southern republics
+which will infuse new life and progress among them. The aboriginal race
+is slowly receding, and fading out, as was the case in Australia, in New
+Zealand, and in the instance of our western Indians. A new people will
+eventually possess the land, composed of the several European
+nationalities, who are already the virtual masters of South America so
+far as regards numbers, intelligence, and possession.
+
+Since these notes were written, the Argentine government has sold to
+Baron Hirsch three thousand square leagues of land in the province of
+Chaco, for the formation of a Jewish colony. Agents are already at work,
+aided by competent engineers and practical individuals, in preparing for
+the early reception of the new occupants of the country. The first
+contingent, of about one thousand Jews, have already arrived and are
+becoming domesticated. Argentina wants men perhaps more than money;
+indeed, one will make the other. A part of Baron Hirsch's scheme is to
+lend these people money, to be repaid in small installments extending
+over a considerable period. For this extensive territory the Baron paid
+one million three hundred thousand dollars in gold, thus making himself
+the owner of the largest connected area of land in the world possessed
+by a single individual. It exceeds that of the kingdom of Montenegro.
+
+As to the zooelogy of this part of the continent, it is different from
+that of Europe, Africa, Asia, and North America. The number of dangerous
+beasts of prey is quite limited. There is nothing here to answer to the
+African lion, the Asiatic tiger, the elephant of Ceylon, or the grisly
+bear of Alaska. The jaguar is perhaps the most formidable animal, and
+resembles the leopard. There are also the cougar, tiger-cat, black bear,
+hyena, wolf, and ocelot. The llama, alpaca, and vicuna are peculiar to
+this country. The monkey tribe exceeds all others in variety and number.
+There are said to be nearly two hundred species of them in South
+America, each distinctly marked, and varying from each other, in size,
+from twelve pounds to less than two. The smallest of the little
+marmosets weigh less than a pound and a half each, and are the most
+intelligent animal of their size known to man. There are also the deer,
+tapir, armadillo, anteater, and a few other minor animals. The pampas
+swarm with wild cattle and horses, descended from animals originally
+brought from Europe. In the low, marshy grounds the boa-constrictor and
+other reptiles abound. Eagles, vultures, and parrots are found in a wild
+state all over the country, while the rivers and the waters near the
+coast are well filled with fish, crocodiles, and turtles. Scientists
+have found over two thousand species of fish in the Amazon River alone.
+
+The pure aboriginal race are copper colored, resembling the Mexicans in
+character and appearance. Like most natives of equatorial regions, they
+are indolent, ignorant, superstitious, sensuous, and by no means
+warlike. Forced into the ranks and drilled by Europeans, they make
+fairly good soldiers, and when well led will obey orders and fight.
+There can be no _esprit de corps_ in soldiers thus organized; the men
+neither know nor care what they fight for, their incentive in action
+being first a natural instinct for brutality, and second the promise of
+booty. In some parts of the country the half-breeds show themselves
+skillful workmen in certain simple lines of manufacture, but the native
+pure and simple will not work except to keep from starving.
+
+The Spaniards conquered nearly all parts of South America except Brazil,
+which was subject to Portugal until 1823, when it achieved its
+independence. The Spanish colonies also revolted, one by one, until they
+all became independent of the mother country. The history of these
+republics, as in the instance of Mexico, has been both stormy and
+sanguinary. Foreign and civil wars have reigned among them incessantly
+for half a century and more.
+
+The present political divisions are: Brazil, British Guiana, Dutch
+Guiana, French Guiana, Ecuador, United States of Colombia, Venezuela,
+Bolivia, Chili, Peru, Argentine Republic, Uruguay, and Paraguay. Brazil
+is the most extensive of these states, and is thought to enjoy the
+largest share of natural advantages, including in its area nearly one
+half as many square miles as all the rest combined. Its seaboard at
+Parahiba, and for hundreds of miles north and south of it, projects into
+the Atlantic a thousand miles to the east of the direct line between its
+northern and southern extremities. Besides her diamond and gold mines,
+she possesses what is much more desirable, namely, valuable deposits of
+iron, copper, silver, and other metals. We have before us statistics
+which give the result of diamond mining in Brazil from 1740 to 1823,
+when national independence was won, which show the aggregate for that
+entire period to have been less than ten million dollars in value; while
+that of the coffee alone, exported from Rio Janeiro in one year,
+exceeded twenty million dollars, showing that, however dazzling the
+precious stones may appear in the abstract, they are not even of
+secondary consideration when compared with the agricultural products of
+the country. The export of coffee has increased very much since the year
+1851, which happens to be that from which we have quoted. It must also
+be admitted that probably twice the amount of diamonds recorded were
+actually found and enriched somebody, all which were duly reported,
+having to pay a government royalty according to the pecuniary exigency
+of those in authority.
+
+The population of Brazil is between fourteen and fifteen million, and it
+is thought to be more advanced in civilization than other parts of South
+America, though in the light of our own experience we should place the
+Argentine Republic first in this respect. Indeed, so far as a transient
+observer may speak, we are inclined to place Argentina far and away in
+advance of Brazil as regards everything calculated to invite the
+would-be emigrant who is in search of a new home in a foreign land. Were
+it not that intestine wars are of such frequent occurrence among these
+states, and national bankruptcy so common, voluntary emigration would
+tend towards South America in far larger numbers than it does now. The
+revolutions are solely to promote personal aggrandizement; it is
+individual interest, not principle, for which these people fight so
+often. Unfortunately, every fresh outbreak throws the country back a
+full decade as regards national progress. The late civil wars in Chili
+and the Argentine Republic are illustrations in point. The first-named
+section of South America has suddenly sunk from a condition of
+remarkable pecuniary prosperity to one of actual poverty. Thousands of
+valuable lives have been sacrificed, an immense amount of property has
+been destroyed, her commerce crippled, and for the time being paralyzed.
+Ten years of peace and reasonable prosperity could hardly restore Chili
+to the position she was in twelve months ago. The country is to-day in a
+terrible condition, while many of the best families mourn the death of a
+father, a son, or both, whose lives have been sacrificed to the mad
+ambition of a usurper. Numerous families, once rich, have now become
+impoverished by the confiscation of their entire property. The Chilians
+do not carry on warfare in European style, by organized armies; there is
+a semblance only of such bodies. The fighting is mostly after the
+fashion of free lances, guerrilla bands, and highwaymen. There seems to
+be no sense of honor or chivalry among the common people, while the only
+idea of the soldiery is to plunder and destroy.
+
+The Peruvians whose cities were despoiled by Chili must have regarded
+the recent cutting of each other's throats by the Chilian soldiery with
+something like grim satisfaction.
+
+The obvious weakness of the South American states lies in their bitter
+rivalry towards each other, a condition which might be at once obviated
+by their joining together to form one united nation. The instability
+which characterizes their several governments in their present isolated
+interests has passed into a byword. Divided into nine unimportant
+states,--leaving out the three Guianas, which are dependent upon
+European powers,--any one of them could be erased from the map and
+absorbed by its stronger neighbor, or by a covetous foreign power. On
+the contrary, by forming one grand republic, it would stand eighth in
+the rank of nations as regards wealth, importance, and power, amply able
+to take care of itself, and to maintain the integrity of its territory.
+A community of interest would also be established between our government
+and that of these South American provinces, which would be of immense
+commercial and political importance to both nations.
+
+To those who have visited the country, and who have carefully observed
+the conditions, it is clear that this division of the continent will
+never thrive and fully reap the benefit of its great natural advantages
+until the independent republics assume the position of sovereign states,
+subservient to a central power, a purpose which has already been so
+successfully accomplished in Mexico.
+
+While we have been considering the great southern continent as a whole,
+our good ship, having crossed the equator, has been rapidly approaching
+its northern shore. After entering the broad mouth of the Amazon and
+ascending its course for many miles, we are now in sight of the thriving
+metropolis of Para.
+
+
+
+
+          CHAPTER V.
+
+     City of Para.--The Equatorial Line.--Spanish History.--The
+     King of Waters.--Private Gardens.--Domestic Life in Northern
+     Brazil.--Delicious Pineapples.--Family Pets.--Opera
+     House.--Mendicants.--A Grand Avenue.--Botanical
+     Garden.--India-Rubber Tree.--Gathering the Raw
+     Material.--Monkeys.--The Royal Palm.--Splendor of Equatorial
+     Nights.
+
+
+Para is the most northerly city of Brazil. It also bears the name of
+Belem on some maps, and is the capital of a province of the first
+designation. The full official title of the place is, in the usual style
+of Portuguese and Spanish hyperbole, Santa Maria do Belem do Grao Para,
+which has fortunately and naturally simplified itself to Para. It was
+founded in 1615, and the province of which it is the capital was the
+last in Brazil to declare its independence of the mother country, and to
+acknowledge the authority of the first emperor, Dom Pedro. It is the
+largest political division of the republic, and in some respects the
+most thriving. The city is situated about ninety miles south of the
+equator, and eighty miles from the Atlantic Ocean on the Para River, so
+called, but which is really one of the mouths of the Amazon. It is thus
+the principal city at the mouth of the largest river in the world, a
+fact quite sufficient to indicate its present, and to insure its
+continued commercial importance.
+
+As we entered the muddy estuary of the river, whose wide expanse was
+lashed into short, angry waves by a strong wind, large tree trunks were
+seen floating seaward, rising and sinking on the undulating surface of
+the water. Some were quite entire, with all of their branches still
+attached to the main trunk. They came, perhaps, from two thousand miles
+inland, borne upon the swift current from where it had undermined the
+roots in their forest home. Among the rest was a cocoa-palm with its
+full tufted head, some large brown nuts still hanging tenaciously to the
+parent stem. It had fallen bodily, while in its prime and full bearing,
+suddenly unearthed by some swift deviation of the river, which brooks no
+trifling impediment to its triumphal march seaward. How long, one would
+be glad to know, has this vast stream, fed by the melted snow of the
+Andes, poured its accumulated waters into the bosom of the ocean? A
+thousand years is but as a day, in reckoning the age of a mountain range
+or of a mammoth river.
+
+As we approached the city, the channel became gradually narrowed by
+several prominent islands, crowded with rich green vegetation, forest
+trees of various sorts, mangoes, bananas, and regal palms. Though it is
+thus broken by islands, the river is here over twenty miles in width.
+
+Para is yielded precedence over the other cities on the east coast of
+South America in many respects, and is appreciatively called "Queen of
+the Amazon," her water communication reaching into the very heart of
+some of the most fertile valleys on the continent. One incorporated
+company has established a score of well-appointed steamers, averaging
+five hundred tons each, which navigate the river for a distance of two
+thousand miles from its mouth. Para has an excellent harbor, of large
+capacity, accommodating an extensive commerce, a considerable portion of
+which is with the United States of North America. It has a mixed
+population of about fifty thousand, composed of an amalgamation of
+Portuguese, Italians, Indians, and negroes, and is the only town of any
+importance, except Quito, situated so near to the equatorial line,
+where the interested observer has the privilege of beholding the starry
+constellations of both hemispheres. Ships of five thousand tons
+measurement can lie within a hundred yards of the wharves of Para, where
+the accumulation of coffee, dyewoods, drugs, tobacco, cotton, cocoa,
+rice, sugar, and raw india-rubber, indicates the character of the
+principal exports. Of all these staples, the last named is the most
+important, in a commercial point of view, occupying the third place on
+the list of national exports. As we have shown, the import and export
+trade of the Amazon valley naturally centres here, and Para need fear no
+commercial rival.
+
+For a considerable period this unequaled water-way, forming the spacious
+port, and conveying the drainage of nearly half of South America into
+the Atlantic, bore the name of its discoverer, Orellana, one of
+Pizarro's captains; but the fabulous story of a priest called Friar
+Gaspar, self-constituted chronicler of the expedition, gave to it the
+designation which it now bears. All the Spanish records of the history
+and conquests in the New World, relating to the doings of Columbus,
+Cortez, Pizarro, and others, without an exception, were written in the
+same spirit of exaggeration and untruthfulness, leading that pious
+witness and contemporary writer, Las Casas, to pronounce them, with
+honest indignation, to be a tissue of falsehoods. Even our own popular
+historian, Prescott, who drew so largely upon these sources for his
+poetical productions, was forced to admit their manifest incongruities,
+contradictions, and general irresponsibility. This Munchausen of a
+priest, Friar Gaspar, recorded that a tribe of Amazons, or fighting
+women, was encountered far inland, on the banks of the mighty river, who
+were tall in stature, symmetrical in form, and had a profusion of long
+hair, which hung in braids down their backs. They were represented to be
+as warlike as they were beautiful, and as carrying shields and spears,
+the latter of which they could use with great skill and effect. It was
+this foolish story of the Amazons, hatched in the prolific brain of
+Friar Gaspar, which gave the river its lasting name.
+
+The Indian designation of the mammoth watercourse was significant and
+appropriate, as their names always are. They called it _Parana-tinga_,
+meaning "King of Waters," and it seems to us a great pity that the name
+could not have been retained.
+
+Para has the advantage of being much nearer to the United States and to
+Europe than Rio Janeiro, the capital of Brazil. Though the commerce of
+Rio is constantly increasing, in spite of its miserable sanitary
+condition, it is confidently believed by intelligent persons engaged in
+the South American trade, that Para will equal it erelong in the
+aggregate of its shipments. All freight is now landed by means of
+lighters, a process which is an awkward drawback upon commerce, and what
+makes it still more aggravating is that it seems to be an entirely
+needless one. Certainly a good, substantial, capacious pier might be
+easily built, which would obviate this objection, accommodating a dozen
+large vessels at the same time. The Brazilians are slow to adopt any
+modern improvement. Portuguese and Spaniards are very much alike in this
+respect. Wharves will be built at Para by and by, after a few more
+millions have been wasted upon the inconvenient process now in vogue,
+which involves not only needless expense, but causes most awkward and
+unreasonable delay, both in landing merchandise and in shipping freight
+for export. This serious objection applies to all the ports along the
+east coast of South America. There is always some private interest which
+exerts itself to prevent any progressive movement, and it is this which
+retards improved facilities for unloading and shipping of cargoes at
+Para. In this instance the owners of the steam tugs which tow the
+flat-bottomed lighters from ship to shore, and vice versa, oppose the
+building of piers, because, if they were in existence, these individuals
+would find their profitable occupation gone. If proper wharf facilities
+were to be furnished, commerce generally would be much benefited, though
+a few persons would suffer some pecuniary loss. As we have said, the
+wharves will come by and by, when the people realize that private
+interest must be subservient to the public good.
+
+The city of Para is situated upon slightly elevated ground, and makes a
+fine appearance from the river, with its lofty cathedral, numerous
+churches, convents, custom house, and arsenal standing forth in bold
+relief against an intensely blue sky, while fronting the harbor, like a
+line of sentinels, is a row of tall, majestic palms, harmonizing
+admirably with the local surroundings, though in the very midst of a
+busy commercial centre. The buildings are painted yellow, blue, or pink,
+the facades contrasting strongly with the dark red of the heavily tiled
+roofs, which, having no chimneys, present an odd appearance to a
+northern eye. Here and there a mass of greenery indicates some domestic
+garden, or a plaza presided over by tall groups of trees, among which
+the thick, umbrageous mangoes prevail. The Rua da Imperatriz is the
+principal wholesale street of the city, where the large warehouses are
+to be found, but the Rua dos Mercadores is the fashionable shopping
+street, through which the tramway also passes. The shops are rather
+small, but have a fair stock of goods offered at reasonable rates,
+though strangers are apt to be victimized by considerably higher prices
+than a native would pay.
+
+This, however, is not unusual in all foreign countries, so far as our
+experience goes. North Americans are looked upon as possessing unlimited
+pecuniary means, and as lavish in their expenditures, prices being
+gauged accordingly. This is a universal practice in Europe, and
+especially so in Germany.
+
+The climate is very moist, and it has been facetiously remarked that it
+rains here eight days in the week. One cannot speak approvingly of the
+sanitary condition of a place where turkey buzzards are depended upon to
+remove the garbage which accumulates in the thoroughfares. It is
+unaccountable that the citizens should submit to such filthy
+surroundings, especially in a locality where malarial fever is
+acknowledged to prevail in the summer season. Though at this writing it
+is the latter part of May, yellow fever is still rife here, and we hear
+of many particularly sad cases, ending fatally, all about us. This
+destroyer is especially apt to carry off people who have newly arrived
+in the country. The present year has been unusually fatal among the
+residents of Para, as regards yellow fever, which seems to linger longer
+and longer each year of its visitation. Our own conviction is that the
+people have themselves to thank for this lingering of the pest into the
+winter months, since the sanitary conditions of the place are
+inexcusably defective.
+
+Gardens in and about the city quickly catch and delight the
+eye,--gardens where flowers and fruits grow in great luxuriance. Among
+the latter are oranges, mangoes, guavas, figs, and bananas. The glossy
+green fronds of the bananas throw other verdure altogether into the
+shade, while in dignity and beauty the cocoanut palms excel all other
+trees. The tall, straight stem of the palm rises from the roots without
+leaf or branch until the plumed head is reached, which bends slightly
+under its wealth of pinnated leaves and fruit combined. If you happen to
+pass these gardens after nightfall, especially those in the immediate
+environs of the city, mark the phosphorescent clouds of dancing lights
+which fill the still atmosphere round about the vegetation. This
+peculiar effect is produced by the busy cucuios, or tropical fireflies,
+each vigorously flashing its individual torch. Do they shine thus in the
+daytime, we are led to wonder, like the constellations in the heavens,
+though hidden by the greater light of the sun? They are always
+demonstrative in the night, be it never so cloudy, foggy, or damp in the
+low latitudes. They keep their sparkling revels, their torchlight
+dances, all heedless of the grim and deadly fever which lurks in the
+surrounding atmosphere, claiming human victims right and left, among
+high and low, from the ranks of age and of youth. Insect life is
+redundant here. It is the very paradise of butterflies, whose size, wide
+spread of wing, variety, and striking beauty of colors, we have only
+seen equaled at Penang and Singapore, in the Malacca Straits. Some of
+the avenues leading to the environs are lined with handsome trees, which
+add greatly to their attractiveness and comfort. The silk cotton tree
+and the almond are favorites here as ornamental shade trees. The cape
+jessamine is universally cultivated at Para, and grows to a large size,
+filling the air with its agreeable fragrance. Here the oleander, covered
+with clusters of bloom, grows to the height of twenty feet and more. The
+lime, with its fine acid fruit, which is in great request in making
+cooling drinks, also abounds.
+
+The glimpses of domestic life which one gets in passing the better class
+of dwellings reveal rooms with tiled or polished wooden floors,
+cane-finished chairs, sofas, and rockers to match, a small foot rug here
+and there, a group of flowering plants in one corner, while hammocks
+seem to take the place of bedsteads. The temperature is high at Para in
+summer, and woolen carpets, or even mattresses, are too warm for use in
+this climate. Bignonias, oleanders, and other blooming plants abound in
+the flower-plots about the city, besides many flowering vines which are
+strangers to us, half orchids, half creepers. One is apt to jump at
+conclusions. These people dearly love flowers, so we conclude they
+cannot be very wicked.
+
+The families live, as it were, in the open patios, which form the
+centres of their dwellings, are shaded by broad verandas, and upon which
+the domestic apartments all open. The accessories are few, and not
+entirely convenient, according to a northerner's ideas of comfort; but
+this is compensated for by the fragrance of flowers, the picturesqueness
+of the surroundings, and the free and easy out-of-door atmosphere which
+ignores conventionalities. These attractive interiors suggest a sort of
+picnic mode of life which has conformed itself to climatic influences.
+Everything is very quiet, there is no hurry, and the stillness is
+occasionally interrupted by the musical laughter of children, which
+rings out clear and pleasantly, entirely in harmony with the
+surroundings. And such children! Artists' models, every one of them. It
+all seems to a stranger to be the very poetry of living, yet we venture
+to say that each household has its skeleton in the closet, and some a
+whole anatomical museum!
+
+At Bahia, further south, a revelation awaits the traveler in the
+delicious richness, size, and delicacy of the oranges which grow there
+in lavish abundance, and which are famous, all along the coast. Here at
+Para, the same may be said of the pineapple, the raising of which is a
+local specialty. These are not picked until fully ripe, and often weigh
+ten pounds each. When cut open, the inside can be eaten with a spoon, if
+one fancies that mode. They require no sugar; nature has supplied the
+saccharine principle in abundance. They are absolutely perfect in
+themselves alone. People sailing northward lay in a great store of this
+admirable fruit, which is as cheap as it is delicious and appetizing. In
+New England, the pines of which we partake have been picked in a green
+condition in Bermuda, the Bahamas, or Florida, to enable them to bear
+transportation. They ripen only partially off the stem, and after a very
+poor style, decay setting in at the same time; consequently the pulp is
+not suitable to swallow, and is always more or less indigestible. The
+Para pines are seedless, and are propagated by replanting the suckers.
+The crown, we were told, would also thrive and reproduce the fruit if
+properly planted, but the first named process is that generally
+employed, and is probably the best.
+
+In the neighborhood of Para are many large and profitable cocoa
+plantations, the industry connected with which is a growing one,
+representing a considerable amount of capital. But above all others, the
+gathering and preparing of raw india-rubber for exportation is the
+prevailing industry of this Brazilian capital.
+
+The common people seem to be an uncertain mixture of races, confounding
+all attempts properly to analyze their antecedents. They have touches of
+refinement and underlying tenderness of instinct, as exhibited in their
+home associations, but also evince a coarseness which is not inviting,
+to say the least. They are universal lovers of pet birds and small
+animals. No household seems to be complete without some representatives
+of the sort. Among these are cranes, ibises, herons, turtle-doves,
+parrots, macaws, and paroquets. Monkeys of various tribes, the little
+marmoset being the favorite, are seen domesticated in almost every
+private garden, full of fun and mischief, and affording infinite
+amusement to the youthful members of the household. Young anacondas,
+sometimes ten feet long, are kept in and about the dwellings, to catch
+and drive away the rats! The reader smiles half incredulously at this,
+and we do not wonder. If one of these rodents be caught in a trap and
+killed, it is useless to offer it to an anaconda as food. That
+fastidious reptile will eat only such creatures as it kills itself. This
+is also characteristic of the African lion and the tiger of India, when
+in the wild state; neither will molest a dead body, of man or beast,
+which they have not themselves deprived of life, though hyenas, wolves,
+and some other animals will even rob the graves of human bodies for
+food. We had never heard of anacondas employed as ratters before we came
+to Para, but we were assured by those who should know that they are
+especially effective in warfare against this domestic pest.
+
+Broad verandas give a grateful shade to most of the dwelling-houses,
+which are seldom over one story in height, each one, however, extending
+over considerable ground space. In the business part of the town,
+fronting the harbor, the houses are generally two or even three stories
+in height, it being necessary in such localities to economize the square
+feet of ground occupied. The same sort of external ornamentation is seen
+here as upon the house fronts in Mexico, namely, the profuse decoration
+of the walls with glazed earthen tiles, often of fancy colors, which
+gives a checkerboard appearance to a dwelling-house not calculated to
+please a critical eye.
+
+The Opera House of Para is a large and imposing structure, one of the
+finest edifices in the town, and the largest theatre, we believe, in
+South America, quite uncalled for, it would seem, by any local demand.
+It is built of brick, finished in stucco, the front being decorated with
+marble columns having handsome and elaborate Corinthian capitals. The
+house lights up brilliantly at night, being finished in red, white, and
+gold. It has four narrow galleries supported upon brackets, thus
+obviating the necessity for the objectionable upright posts which so
+provokingly interfere with the line of sight. The cathedral is a
+substantial and handsome structure, with a couple of tall towers, after
+the usual Spanish style, each containing a dozen bells. The interior has
+all the florid and tawdry ornamentation always to be found in Roman
+Catholic churches, together with the usual complement of bleeding
+figures, arrow-pierced saints, high-colored paper rosettes, utterly
+meaningless, together with any amount of glittering tinsel, calculated
+to catch the eye and captivate the imagination of the grossly ignorant
+native population.
+
+There are many minor churches in the city, and judging by the number
+seen in the streets, there must be at least a thousand priests, whose
+sole occupation, when they are not gambling or cock-fighting, is to
+cajole and impoverish the common people. It was a church festival when
+we visited the cathedral. There are over two hundred such days, out of
+every three hundred and sixty-five, in Roman Catholic countries,--not
+days of humiliation and prayer, but days of gross latitude, of
+bull-fights, occasions when the decent amenities of life are ignored,
+days when the broadest license prevails, and all excesses are condoned.
+There were a large number of women present in the cathedral on this day,
+but scarcely half a dozen men. The better class were dressed gayly, and
+wore some rich jewelry. The love of finery prevails, and pervades all
+classes. Some of the ladies were clad in costly silks and laces, set off
+by brilliants and pearls. Diamonds and precious stones are very common
+in this country, and a certain class seem to carry a large share of
+their worldly possessions showily displayed upon their persons. What the
+humbler class lacked in richness of material, they made up in gaudy
+colors, blazing scarfs, and imitation gold and silver jewelry. Nature
+sets the example of bright colors in these latitudes, in gaudy plumed
+birds and high-tinted flowers and fruits. The natives only follow her.
+The few men who were present came to ogle the women, and having
+satisfied their low-bred curiosity, soon retired to the neighboring
+bar-rooms and gambling saloons. On special festal days temporary booths
+are erected in the squares, in which intoxicants are sold, together with
+toys, cakes, cigars, and charms, the latter said to have been blessed by
+the priests, and therefore sure to prevent any injury from the evil eye!
+
+As in most of the South American cities, there are several elaborate
+buildings here, formerly used as convents, which are now devoted to more
+creditable purposes. The present custom house occupies one of these
+edifices, which is crowned with two lofty towers.
+
+There are plenty of mendicants in the streets of Para, who are very
+ready with their importunities, especially in appealing to strangers.
+The average citizens seemed to be liberal in dealing with these beggars.
+Saturday is called "poor day" in Para, as it is also in Havana,
+Matanzas, Cienfuegos, etc., when every housekeeper who is able to give
+something does so, if it be only a small roll of bread, to each visiting
+beggar. At most houses these small rolls are baked regularly for this
+purpose, and the applicant is nearly sure to get one upon calling, and
+if he represents a large family he may receive two. Money is rarely, if
+ever, given by residents, nor is it expected; but strangers are
+surrounded as by an army with banners, and vigorously importuned for
+centavos. The Spaniards and Portuguese are natural beggars.
+
+Here let us digress for a moment. The system of beggary prevailing in
+Spanish countries is very trying to all sensitive travelers. In Italy,
+Spain, and the south of France, especially at the watering-places, it is
+a terrible pest. Naples has become almost unendurable on this account.
+At every rod one is constantly importuned and followed by beggars of all
+sizes, ages, and of both sexes,--individuals who should be placed in
+asylums and cared for by the state. No reasonable person would object to
+paying a certain sum on entering these resorts, to be honestly devoted
+to charitable purposes, provided it would insure him against the
+disgusting importunities of which strangers are now the victims.
+Visitors hasten away from the localities where these things are not only
+permitted but are encouraged. It is thought to be quite the thing to
+fleece foreigners of every possible penny, and by every possible means.
+The contrast in this respect between the cities of the United States and
+those of Europe and South America is eminently creditable to the former.
+In the beautiful little watering-place known as Luchon, in the south of
+France, at the foot of the Pyrenees, with scarcely four thousand
+inhabitants, there are over one hundred professional beggars, who
+constantly beset and drive away visitors. Some of these, as usual in
+such cases, are known to be well off pecuniarily, but are marked by some
+physical deformity upon which they trade. If the stranger gives, he is
+oftenest encouraging a swindle, rarely performing a true charity. This
+is one of the increasing disgraces of Paris. Beggars know too much to
+importune citizens, but strangers are beset at every corner of the
+boulevards and public gardens, particularly by children, girls and boys,
+trained for the purpose.
+
+Of all the races seen in Brazil, the half-breed Indian girls are the
+most attractive, and until they are past the age of twenty-five or
+thirty years they are almost universally handsome, no matter to what
+class they belong. Those who have the advantage of domestic comforts,
+good food, and delicate associations develop accordingly, and are
+especially beautiful. They would make charming artists' models. The
+remarkably straight figure of the native women is noticeable, caused by
+the practice referred to of carrying burdens on the head. As already
+mentioned, if a negro or Indian woman has an article to transport, even
+if it be but a quart bottle, or an umbrella, it is placed at once upon
+the head. The article may weigh five pounds or fifty, it is all the
+same; everything but the babies is thus transported. These little naked
+creatures, always suggestive of monkeys, are supported on the mother's
+back, held there by a shawl or rebozo tied securely across the chest.
+When the children are six or eight years old, they are promoted to the
+dignity of wearing one small garment, an abbreviated shirt or chemise.
+
+The principal food of the common people of northern Brazil is farina and
+dried fish, with fried plantains and ripe bananas. Crabs and oysters of
+a poor description abound along the coast, and are eaten by the people,
+both in a raw and cooked condition. But the white people avoid the coast
+oysters, which sometimes poison those not accustomed to them.
+
+The finest avenue in Para is the Estrada de Sao Jose, bordered by grand
+old palms, which form a beautiful perspective and a welcome shade, the
+feathery tops nearly embracing each other overhead. The tramway takes
+one through the environs by the Rua de Nazareth, for five miles to Marco
+da Legua, where the public wells of the city are situated. The way
+thither is lined with neat and handsome dwellings, shaded by noble
+trees. The botanical garden is well worth a visit by all lovers of
+horticulture. The forest creeps up towards the environs of the town,
+wherein many of the trees are rendered beautiful by clinging orchids of
+gorgeous blue; others are of blood red, and some of orange yellow,
+presenting also a great diversity of form. One has not far to go to see
+specimens of the india-rubber tree, growing from ninety to a hundred
+feet in height, while measuring from four to five feet in diameter. This
+tree begins to produce gum at the age of fifteen years. The trunk is
+smooth and perfectly round, the bark of a buff color. It bears a curious
+fruit, of which some animals are said to be fond. The author has seen
+the india-rubber tree growing in the island of Ceylon, where it seemed
+to reach a greater height and dimensions than it does in the district of
+Para. A considerable portion of the roots lie above ground, stretching
+away from the base of the tree like huge anacondas, and finally
+disappearing in the earth half a rod or more from the parent trunk. The
+reader can hardly fail to be familiar with the simple wild plant, which
+grows so abundantly by our New England roadsides, known as the
+milk-weed, which, when the stem is cut or broken, emits a creamy,
+pungent smelling liquid. In the latitude of Para, this little weed, of
+the same family, assumes the form of a colossal tree, and is known as
+the india-rubber tree. The United States takes of Brazilian rubber, in
+the crude state, over twenty-five thousand tons annually. As to coffee,
+Brazil supplies one half of all which is consumed in the civilized
+world; but we should frankly tell the reader, if he does not already
+realize the fact, that it is most frequently marked and sold for "Old
+Government Java."
+
+The india-rubber tree is tapped annually very much after the same style
+in which we treat the sugar-maple in Vermont, and elsewhere, to procure
+its sap. A yellow, creamy liquid flows forth from the rubber tree into
+small cups placed beneath an incision made in the trunk. When the cup
+becomes full, its contents is emptied into a large common receptacle,
+where it is allowed to partially harden, and in which form it is called
+caoutchouc. The tapping of the trees and attending to the gathering of
+the sap furnish employment to hundreds of the natives, who, however,
+make but small wages, being employed by contractors, who either lease
+the trees of certain districts, or own large tracts of forest land.
+These Brazilian forests are very grand, abounding in valuable aromatic
+plants, precious woods, gaudy birds, and various wild animals. The
+number of monkeys is absolutely marvelous, including many curious
+varieties. A native will not kill a monkey; indeed, it must be difficult
+for a European to make up his mind to shoot a creature so nearly human
+in its actions, and whose pleading cries when wounded are said to be so
+pitiable.
+
+One of the peculiar street sights in Para is that of native women with a
+dozen young monkeys of different species for sale. Marmosets can be
+bought for a quarter of a dollar each. So tame are the little creatures
+that they cling about the woman's person, fastening upon her hair, arms,
+and neck, not in the least inclined to escape from her. It is remarkable
+and interesting to see how very fond they become of their owner, if he
+is kind to them. Like the dog and the cat, they seem to have a strong
+desire for human companionship. When seen running wild in the woods,
+leaping from tree to tree, and from branch to branch, they do not try to
+get far away from the presence of man, but only to keep, in their
+untamed state, just out of reach of his hands. Ships sailing hence
+generally take away a few of these animals, but as they are delicate,
+and very sensitive to climatic changes, many of them die before reaching
+Europe or North America.
+
+The great beauty of Para is its abundance of palm trees. The palm is
+always an interesting object, as well as a most valuable one;
+interesting because of its historical and legendary associations, and
+valuable, since it would be almost impossible to enumerate the number of
+important uses to which it and its products are put. To the people of
+the tropics it is the prolific source of food, shelter, clothing, fuel,
+fibre for several uses, sugar, oil, wax, and wine. It has been aptly
+termed the "princess of the vegetable world." One indigenous species,
+the Piassaba, is a palm which yields a most valuable fibre, extensively
+manufactured into cordage and ships' cables, for which purpose it is
+much in use on the coast of South America. It is found to be stronger
+and more elastic than hemp when thus employed, besides which it is far
+more durable. The product of this species of palm is also exported in
+large quantities to North America and to England, for the purpose of
+making brushes, brooms, and various sorts of domestic matting.
+
+The nights are especially beautiful in this region. We were interested
+in observing the remarkable brilliancy of the sky; the stars do not seem
+to sparkle, as with us at the north, but shed a soft, steady light,
+making all things luminous. This is the natural result of the clearness
+of the atmosphere. One is surprised at first to find the moon apparently
+so much increased in size and effulgency. The Southern Cross is ever
+present, though it is dominated by the Centaur. Orion is seen in his
+glory, and the Scorpion is clearly defined. In the author's estimation,
+there is no exhibition of the heavens in these regions which surpasses
+the magnificence of the far-reaching Milky Way.
+
+
+
+
+          CHAPTER VI.
+
+     Island of Marajo.--Rare and Beautiful Birds.--Original Mode
+     of Securing Humming-Birds.--Maranhao.--Educational.--Value
+     of Native Forests.--Pernambuco.--Difficulty of Landing.--An
+     Ill-chosen Name.--Local Scenes.--Uncleanly Habits of the
+     People.--Great Sugar Mart.--Native Houses.--A Quaint
+     Hostelry.--Catamarans.--A Natural Breakwater.--Sailing down
+     the Coast.
+
+
+The island of Marajo, situated at the mouth of the Amazon, opposite
+Para, and belonging to the province or state of that name, is a hundred
+and eighty miles in length and about one hundred and sixty in width,
+nearly identical in size with the island of Sicily, and almost oval in
+form. One of the principal shore settlements is Breves, on the
+southeastern corner of the island, which lies somewhat low, and consists
+of remarkably fertile soil, so abounding in wild and beautiful
+vegetation and exquisite floral varieties, that it is called in this
+region "the Island of Flowers." We can easily believe the name to be
+appropriately chosen, since, as we skirt its verdant shores hour after
+hour, they seem to emit the drowsy, caressing sweetness of fragrant
+flowers so sensibly as to almost produce a narcotic effect. The easterly
+or most seaward part of Marajo is open, marshy, sandy land, but back
+from the shore the soil is of a rich, black alluvium, supporting in very
+large tracts a dense forest growth, similar to all the low-lying
+tropical lands of South America. The population is recorded as numbering
+about twenty thousand, divided into several settlements, mostly on the
+coast, and consists largely of the aboriginal race found by the first
+comers upon this island, who, on account of their somewhat isolated
+condition, have amalgamated less with Europeans and the imported colored
+race than any other tribe on the east coast of the continent.
+
+The extensive meadows of Marajo are the grazing fields of numerous herds
+of wild horses and horned cattle, the former of a superior breed, highly
+prized on the mainland; and yet so rapidly do they increase in this
+climate, in the wild state, that every few years they are killed in
+large numbers for their hides alone. The exports from the island consist
+of rice, cattle, horses, and hides. There are some large plantations
+devoted to the cultivation of rice, the soil and water supply of certain
+districts being especially favorable to this crop. As intimated, a
+considerable portion of Marajo is covered with a forest growth so dense
+as to be compared to the jungles of Africa and India, and which, so far
+as is known, has never been penetrated by the foot of man. Travelers who
+have visited the borders of this leafy wilderness expatiate upon the
+strange, inexplicable sounds which are heard at times, amid the
+prevailing stillness and sombre aspect of these primeval woods.
+Sometimes there comes, it is said, from out the forest depth a wild cry,
+like that of a human being in distress, but which, however long one may
+listen, is not repeated. Again, there is heard an awful crash, like the
+falling of some ponderous forest giant, then stillness once more settles
+over the mysterious, tangled woods. Every time the silence is broken it
+seems to be by some new and inexplicable sound, not to be satisfactorily
+accounted for.
+
+The lagoons near the centre of Marajo are said to abound in alligators,
+which are sometimes sought for by the natives for their hides, for which
+a fair price is realized, since fashion has rendered this article
+popular in a hundred different forms. The number and variety of birds
+and lesser animals to be found upon the island are marvelous. Certain
+species of birds seem to have retreated to this spot from the mainland,
+before the tide of European immigration; indeed, it has for a long time
+been considered the paradise of the naturalist. Over thirty species of
+that peculiar bird, the toucan, have been secured here.
+
+When Professor Agassiz was engaged in his scientific exploration of the
+Amazon, he dispatched a small but competent party especially to obtain
+specimens from this island, the result being both a surprise and a
+source of great gratification to the king of naturalists. Many of the
+objects secured by these explorers were rare and beautiful birds, not a
+few of which are unique, and of which no previous record existed. There
+were also many curious insects and other specimens particularly valuable
+to naturalists, most of which are preserved to-day in the Agassiz Museum
+at Cambridge, Massachusetts. The toucan, just spoken of, is most
+remarkable for its beauty and variety of colors, as well as for the very
+peculiar form and size of its elephantine bill, which makes it look
+singularly ill-balanced. This ludicrous appendage is nine inches long
+and three in circumference; the color is vermilion and yellow delicately
+mingled. The toucan is much coveted for special collections by all
+naturalists, and is becoming very scarce, except in this one equatorial
+locality. Scarlet ibises and roseate spoonbills are also found at
+Marajo, both remarkably fine examples of semi-aquatic fowl, and when
+these are secured in good condition for preservation, the natives
+realize good prices for them. In order to procure desirable specimens of
+the humming-bird species, which are also abundant on this island, the
+native hunters resort to an ingenious device, so as not to injure the
+skin or the extremely delicate plumage of this butterfly-bird. For this
+purpose they use a peculiar syringe made from reeds, and charged with a
+solution of adhesive gum, which, when directed by an experienced hand,
+clogs the bird's wings at once, stopping its flight and causing it to
+fall to the ground. Some are caught by means of nets set on the end of
+long bamboo poles, such as are used to secure butterflies, but this
+method is poorly adapted to catch so quick moving a creature as a
+humming-bird. The author has seen, in southern India, butterflies of
+gaudiest texture with bodies as large as small humming-birds, which were
+quite as brilliant as they in lovely colors. The variety and beauty of
+this insect, as found anywhere from Tuticorin to Darjeeling, is notable.
+Wherever British troops are permanently settled, the wives of the common
+soldiers become very expert in catching and arranging these attractive
+objects, preserving them in frames under glass. These find ready
+purchasers for museums and private collections all over Europe, and are
+sold at moderate prices, but serve to add a welcome trifle to the
+extremely poor pay of a common soldier having perhaps a wife and one or
+two children to support.
+
+The island of Marajo was not formed at the Amazon's mouth of soil
+brought down from the interior by the river's current, as is often the
+case with islands thus situated, but is a natural, rocky formation which
+serves to divide the channel and give the river a double outlet into the
+Atlantic. Agassiz studied its character, and gives us an interesting
+statement as the result. He declared, after careful geological
+examination, that it is an island which was once situated far inland,
+away from the river's mouth, but which is now brought near to it by the
+gradual encroachment of the Atlantic Ocean, whose waves and restless
+currents have slowly worn away the northeastern part of the continent.
+This abrasion must have been going on for many thousand years, to have
+produced such a decided topographical change. For the word years, upon
+second thought, read ages, which will undoubtedly express the true idea
+much more correctly.
+
+There are over twenty species of palms indigenous to Marajo, which, as
+one skirts the water front, are seen growing along the far-reaching
+shore, fostered by the humidity of the atmosphere arising from the
+ever-flowing waters of the great river. Among these the peach-palm is
+quite conspicuous, with its spiny stems and mealy, nutritious fruit.
+There are also the cocoa-palm and the assai-palm, the latter gayly
+decorated with its delicate green plumes and long spear pointing
+heavenward, an emblem borne by no other tree in existence. The great
+variety of forms of plant life and giant grasses is extremely curious
+and beautiful on this interesting island. We heard, while at Para, of a
+proposal made by some European party to thoroughly explore Marajo, which
+has never yet been done, so far as is known to our time, and it is
+believed that some very interesting and valuable discoveries may be the
+result of such an expedition, composed of engineers, scientists, and
+naturalists.
+
+A day's sail to the eastward, bearing a little to the south along the
+coast, brings us to the port of Maranhao, which is the capital of a
+province of Brazil known by the same name, situated a little over three
+hundred miles from Para. The place is picturesquely nestled, as it were,
+in the very lap of the mountains, which come boldly down to the coast at
+this point. It was founded nearly three hundred years ago, is regularly
+built, and contains between thirty and forty thousand inhabitants.
+Nearly all of the houses, which are generally of two stories, are
+ornamented with attractive balconies, and have handsome gardens attached
+to them, where the luxurious verdure is with difficulty kept within
+proper bounds. Vegetation runs riot in equatorial regions. It is the one
+pleasing outlet of nature, whose overcharged vitality, spurred on by the
+climate, must find vent either in teeming vegetation or in raging
+volcanoes, tidal waves, and unwelcome earthquakes, though sometimes, to
+be sure, we find them all combined in the tropics.
+
+The harbor of Maranhao is excellent and sheltered, the depth of water
+permitting the entrance of ships drawing full twenty feet, an advantage
+which some of the ports to the southward would give millions of dollars
+to possess. According to published statistics, the exports during 1890
+were as follows: thirty-six hundred tons of cotton, six hundred tons of
+sugar, seven hundred tons of hides, a large amount of rice, and some
+other minor articles. The imports for the same period were estimated at
+something less than three million dollars in value. This is the entrepot
+of several populous districts, besides that of which it is the capital.
+The province itself contains a number of navigable rivers, with some
+thrifty towns on their banks. The bay gives ample evidence of commercial
+activity, containing at all times a number of foreign steamships, with a
+goodly show of coasting vessels. The place is slowly but steadily
+growing in its business relations, and in the number of its permanent
+population.
+
+It cannot make any pretension to architectural excellence, though the
+Bishop's palace and the cathedral are handsome structures. There are two
+or three other prominent edifices, quaint and Moorish, which were once
+nunneries or monasteries; also a foundling institution, a special
+necessity in all Roman Catholic countries. We found here a public
+library, and a botanical garden. Not far inland there are some extensive
+rice plantations, the province in some portions being specially adapted
+to producing this valuable staple. We were informed by those whose
+opinion was worthy of respect, that educational advantages are rather
+remarkable here, the Lyceum having in the past few years graduated some
+of the most prominent statesmen and professionals in Brazil. One thing
+is very certain, the authorities cannot multiply educational facilities
+any too rapidly in this country, nor give the subject any too much
+attention, especially as regards the rising generation of both sexes. So
+far as we could learn by inquiry, or judge by careful observation, the
+ignorance of the mass of the people is simply deplorable.
+
+Maranhao is situated about fourteen hundred miles north of Rio Janeiro,
+with which port it carries on an extensive coasting trade. The exports,
+besides the staples already spoken of, are various, including annotto,
+sarsaparilla, balsam copaiba, and other medicinal extracts, together
+with rum and crude india-rubber. The climate is torrid, the city being
+one hundred and fifty miles south of the equator; and though, like most
+of the towns on the eastern coast of the continent, it is rather an
+unhealthy locality, it is much less so than Para, and is a far more
+cleanly place than that city, its situation giving it the advantage of a
+system of natural drainage. The country near Maranhao abounds in native
+forests of exuberant richness, producing a valuable quality of timber,
+and affording some of the finest cabinet woods known to commerce, as
+well as a practically inexhaustible supply of various dyewoods, a
+considerable business being done in the export of the latter article. It
+was observed that the assai-palm, from which the palm wine is made, was
+also a prominent feature here. The trunk is quite smooth, the fruit
+growing in heavy bunches like grapes, dark brown in color, and about the
+size of cranberries, hanging in heavy clusters just below the bunch of
+long leaves which forms the top of the tree. The native drink which is
+made from these palm grapes is a favorite beverage in northern Brazil,
+and when properly fermented it contains about the same percentage of
+alcohol as English pale ale.
+
+To the author, the town of Maranhao was quite unknown; even its place
+upon the maps had never attracted his attention until after it was seen
+lying peacefully in an amphitheatre of tall hills, which come down close
+to the rock-ribbed shore of the Atlantic Ocean. This acknowledgment is
+between ourselves, for such a confession would sound very ridiculous to
+the good people of Maranhao.
+
+After leaving its harbor, our next objective point was Pernambuco, which
+is situated about four days' sail from Para by steamship, and about
+three from Maranhao.
+
+This well known port, with its one hundred and fifty thousand
+inhabitants, is reckoned as the third city of Brazil in point of size
+and commercial importance. It lacks elevation to produce a good effect,
+and recalls the low-lying city of Havana in general appearance, as one
+approaches it from the sea. The harbor is not what could be desired for
+a commercial city, having hardly sufficient depth of water for vessels
+of heavy tonnage, and being also too narrow for a modern long steamship
+to safely turn in. The American line of steamships come to a mooring
+inside the harbor, but the European lines, or at least the Pacific Mail,
+in which we made the home passage, anchor in the open roadstead, three
+quarters of a mile from the shore. The harbor is formed by a long
+natural reef, which makes a breakwater between it and the open sea, a
+portion of the reef having been built up with solid masonry to render it
+more effective. This remarkable coral formation, which is more or less
+clearly defined, extends along the coast for a considerable
+distance,--it is said for four hundred miles. Opposite Pernambuco it
+rises six feet above the water, that is, above high-water mark, and runs
+parallel to the front street of the city at the distance from it of
+about a third of a mile or less. A wide opening in the reef at the
+northern end of the town makes the entrance to the harbor. Off the
+northeast coast of Australia, there is a very similar reef-formation,
+fully as long as this on the South American coast, but situated much
+further from the shore.
+
+It is a serious drawback that passengers by large ocean steamers cannot
+enter the harbor of Pernambuco except by lighters or open boats; all
+freight brought by these steamers must also be transhipped. Landing here
+is often accomplished at considerable personal risk, and a thorough
+ducking with salt water is not at all uncommon in the attempt to reach
+the shore. To pull a boat from the open roadstead into the harbor, or
+vice versa, requires six stout oarsmen and an experienced man at the
+helm, so that landing from the Pacific Mail steamers is both a serious
+and an expensive affair. If a very heavy sea is running, the thing
+cannot be done, and no one will attempt it. The powerful wind which so
+often prevails on the coast occasionally creates quite a commotion even
+inside the harbor, among the shipping moored there, causing the largest
+cables to part and vessels to drag their anchors. Of course a vessel
+lying in the open roadstead, outside of the reef, has no protection
+whatever, and is in a critical situation if the wind blows towards the
+land. If it comes on to blow suddenly, she buoys and slips her anchor at
+once; she dares not waste the time to hoist it, but gets away as quickly
+as possible to where there is plenty of sea room and no lee shore to
+fear. Fortunately, though so fierce for the time being, and of a
+cyclonic character, the storms upon the coast are generally of brief
+duration, and like the furious pamperos, which are so dreaded by
+mariners further south, they blow themselves out in a few hours.
+
+The geographical situation of Pernambuco is such, in the track of
+commerce, that vessels bound north or south, from Europe or from North
+America, naturally make it a port of call to obtain late advices and
+provisions. The name has been singularly chosen, no one can say how or
+by whom, but it signifies "the mouth of hell," a cognomen which we do
+not think the place at all deserves. It is a narrow, crowded,
+picturesque old seaport.
+
+The town is situated at the mouth of the Biberibe River, just five
+hundred miles south of the equator, and is divided in rather a peculiar
+manner into three distinct parts: Recife, on a narrow peninsula; Boa
+Vista, on the river shore; and San Antonio, on an island in the river;
+all being connected, however, by six or eight substantial iron bridges.
+The first named division is the business portion of the capital, about
+whose water front the commercial life of Pernambuco centres, but the
+streets of Recife are very narrow and often confusingly crooked. Boa
+Vista is beautified by pleasant domestic residences, delightful gardens,
+and attractive promenades, far beyond anything which a stranger
+anticipates meeting in this part of the world. Though the business
+portion of the city is so low, the other sections are of better and more
+recent construction.
+
+The view of the town and harbor to be had from some portions of Olinda
+is very fine and comprehensive, taking in a wide reach of land and
+ocean. When a brief storm is raging, spending its force against the
+reef, the view from this point is indeed grand. The sea, angered at
+meeting a substantial impediment, seethes and foams in wild excitement,
+dashing fifty feet into the air, and, falling over the reef, lashes the
+inner waters of the harbor into waves which mount the landing piers, and
+set everything afloat in the broad plaza which lines the shore. The big
+ships rock and sway incessantly, straining at their anchors, or chafing
+dangerously at their moorings. Precautions are taken to avert damage,
+but man's strength and skill count for little when opposed by the
+enraged elements.
+
+This plaza, or quay, is shaded by aged magnolias of great height, and is
+the resort of unemployed seamen, fruit dealers, and idlers of all
+degrees. The house fronts in the various sections of the town are
+brilliantly colored, yellow, blue, white, and pink, also sometimes being
+covered halfway up the first story with glittering tiles of various
+hues. At nearly every turn one comes upon the moss-grown, crumbling
+facade of some old church, about the corners of which there is often a
+grossly filthy receptacle, the vile odor from which permeates the
+surrounding atmosphere. This was found to be almost insupportable with
+the thermometer standing at 90 deg. Fahr. in the shade, forming so obvious a
+means for propagating malarial fever and sickness generally as to be
+absolutely exasperating. Notwithstanding all appearances, the American
+consul assured us that Pernambuco is one of the healthiest cities on the
+east coast of South America. The yellow fever, however, does not by any
+means forget to visit the place annually. Experience showed us that the
+residents along the coast were accustomed to give their own city
+precedence in the matter of hygienic conditions, and to admit, with
+serious faces, that the other capitals, north and south, were sadly
+afflicted by epidemics at nearly all seasons.
+
+Pernambuco has several quite small but well-arranged public squares,
+decorated with fountains, trees, and flowers of many species. Two of
+these plazas have handsome pagodas, from which outdoor concerts are
+often given by military bands. The city is a thriving and progressive
+place, has extensive gas works, an admirable system of water supply,
+tramways, good public schools, and one college or high school. We must
+not forget to add to this list a very _flourishing_ foundling asylum,
+where any number of poor little waifs are constantly being received, and
+no questions asked. A revolving box or cradle is placed in a wall of the
+hospital, next to the street, in which any person can deposit an infant,
+ring the bell, and the cradle will revolve, leaving the child on the
+inside of the establishment, where the little deserted object will be
+duly cared for. Connected with the hospital are several outlying
+buildings, where children are placed at various stages of growth. We
+were told that about forty per cent. of such children live to grow up to
+maturity, and leave the care of the government fairly well fitted to
+take their place in the world, and to fight the battle of life so very
+inauspiciously begun. It has been strongly argued that such an
+establishment offers a premium upon illegitimacy and immorality; but one
+thing is to be considered, it prevents the terrible crime of
+infanticide, which is said to have prevailed here to an alarming extent
+before this hospital was founded.
+
+There is a passably good system of drainage, which was certainly very
+much needed, and since its completion the general health of the place is
+said to have considerably improved. This is not all that is required,
+however. There should be a decided reform in the habits of the people as
+regards cleanliness. At present they are positively revolting. The
+inhabitants are the very reverse of neat in their domestic associations,
+and home arrangements for natural conveniences are inexcusably
+objectionable; such, indeed, as would in a North American city, or even
+small town, call for the prompt interference of the local board of
+health. These remarks do not apply to isolated cases; the trouble is
+universal. Families living otherwise in comparative affluence utterly
+disregard neatness and decency in the matter to which we allude.
+
+The districts neighboring to Pernambuco form extensive plains, well
+adapted to the raising of sugar, coffee, and cotton, as well as all
+sorts of tropical fruits and vegetables. There are many flourishing
+plantations representing these several interests, more especially that
+of sugar. The storehouses on the wharves and in the business sections of
+the city, the oxcarts passing through the streets, drawn each by a
+single animal, and even the very atmosphere, seem to be full of sugar.
+It is, in fact, the great sugar mart of South America. The annual amount
+of the article which is exported averages some twelve hundred thousand
+tons. Sugar is certainly king at Pernambuco. People not only drink, but
+they talk sugar. It is the one great interest about which all other
+business revolves. The article is mostly of the lower grade, and
+requires to be refined before it is suitable for the market. The
+refining process is being generally adopted at the plantations. American
+machinery is introduced for the purpose with entire success. The export
+of the crude article will, it is believed, be much less every year for
+the future, until it ceases altogether. It was a singular sight to
+observe the naked negroes carrying canvas bags of crude sugar upon their
+heads through the streets, each bag weighing a hundred pounds or more.
+The intense heat caused the canvas to exude quantities of syrup or
+molasses, which covered their dark, glossy bodies with small streams of
+fluid. They trotted along in single file, and at a quick pace, towards
+their destination, unheeding the sticky condition of their woolly heads
+and naked bodies.
+
+Not far inland there are extensive meadows, where large herds of horned
+cattle are raised, together with a breed of half-wild horses, the
+breaking and domesticating of which, as here practiced, is a most cruel
+process. A certain set of men devote themselves to this business; rough
+riders, we should call them, very rough. Good horses are to be had at
+extraordinarily low prices. In the back country there are some grand and
+extensive forests, which produce fine cabinet woods and superior dye
+woods.
+
+By consulting a map of the western hemisphere, it will be seen that
+Pernambuco is situated on the great eastern shoulder of South America,
+where it pushes farthest into the Atlantic Ocean, fifteen hundred miles
+south of Para, and about five hundred north of Bahia. On the long coral
+reef which separates the harbor from the open sea is a picturesque
+lighthouse, also a quaint old watch tower which dates from the time of
+the Dutch dominion here. It is proposed to build additional layers of
+heavy granite blocks upon the reef, so as to raise it about six or eight
+feet higher and make it of a uniform elevation along the entire city
+front, and thus afford almost complete protection for the inner
+anchorage. It will be only possible to make any real improvement of the
+harbor by adopting a thorough system of dredging and deepening. There
+was evidence of such a purpose being already in progress on our second
+visit, two large steam dredging machines being anchored at the southerly
+end of the harbor.
+
+The people of this hot region know the great value of shade trees,
+consequently they abound, half hiding from view the numerous handsome
+villas which form the attractive suburbs of the city. Everywhere one
+sees tall cocoanut palms, clusters of feathery bamboos, widespread
+mangoes, prolific bananas, guavas, and plantains growing among other
+graceful tropical trees, rich in the green texture of their foliage, and
+thrice rich in their luscious and abundant fruits. Among the vine
+products we must not forget to mention a rich, high flavored grape,
+which is native here, and which all people praise after once tasting.
+The water, which is brought into the city by a system of double iron
+pipes, comes from a neighboring lake, and is a pure and wholesome drink,
+a most incomparable blessing in equatorial regions, which no person who
+has not suffered for the want of it can duly appreciate.
+
+The International Hotel is the favorite resort of strangers, and is
+situated a couple of miles from the harbor. It is surrounded by
+beautiful trees and flowers, the golden oranges weighing down the
+branches nearly to the ground by their size and abundance, while the
+young blossoms fill the air with their delicate perfume,--fruit and
+blossoms on the tree at the same time. The garden is thronged by
+household pets, and contains a spacious aviary. The monkey tribe is
+fully represented; gaudy winged parrots dazzle the eye with impossible
+colors. One partakes here, in the open air, of the refreshing viands
+amid the songs of birds, the occasional scream of the cockatoo, the
+cooing of turtle-doves, and the fragrance of a profusion of tropical
+flowers. The native servants are well-trained, and there is a French
+chef. We were told that this attractive place had once belonged to a
+very wealthy Brazilian, a planter, who had come to grief financially,
+and as the house was offered for sale, it had been purchased for one
+fifth of its original cost and adapted to hotel purposes. While enjoying
+our fruit at dessert, a somewhat similar experience was recalled as
+having taken place at Christiania, in Norway, where visitors enjoy the
+meals in a sort of outdoor museum and garden, surrounded by curious
+preserved birds mingled with living ones, the latter so tame as to
+alight fearlessly upon the table and await any choice bit guests may
+offer them.
+
+We shall not soon forget the very appetizing dinner of which we partook,
+amid such attractive surroundings, in the gardens of the International
+Hotel at Pernambuco. One fruit which was served to us is known by the
+name of the loquat. It is round, dark yellow, and about the size of a
+Tangerine orange,--a great favorite with the natives, though it is
+mostly stone and skin, and tastes like turpentine.
+
+This city is often called the Venice of Brazil, but why, it is difficult
+for one to understand. It is only poetical license, for there is not the
+first actual resemblance between the two cities. True, there are several
+watercourses, and half a dozen bridges, intersecting this Brazilian
+capital. One would be equally justified in calling the frail catamarans
+which are used by the fishermen in these waters, gondolas. This singular
+craft, by the way, consists of four or five logs of the cork-palm tree,
+confined together by a series of strong lashings, no nails being used,
+thus securing a necessary degree of elasticity. One end of the logs is
+hewn down to a smaller size or width than the other, thus forming stem
+and stern, while a single thick plank serves as a keel. There are no
+bulwarks to this crazy craft,--for it can hardly be called anything
+else,--the whole being freely washed by the sea; but yet, with a rude
+mast carrying a triangular sail, and with a couple of oars, two or three
+fishermen venture far away from the shore; indeed, we encountered them
+out of sight of land. A couple of upright stakes are driven into the
+logs, to hold on by when occasion requires. It is really wonderful to
+see how weatherly such a frail affair can be, and how literally safe in
+a rough seaway. The boatmen who navigate these catamarans (they are
+called here _janguardas_) manage to keep the market of Pernambuco
+abundantly supplied with the strange, fantastic fish which so prevail
+along the Atlantic coast in equatorial regions.
+
+We have seen a craft very similar to these catamarans in use off the
+Coromandel coast, between Madras and the mouth of the Hoogly River,
+which leads up to Calcutta. Here the natives manage them in a sea so
+rough that an ordinary ship's boat, if exposed, would surely be swamped.
+The Madras catamaran consists of three pieces of timber, mere logs
+twelve or fourteen feet long, securely bound together with ropes made
+from the fibre of the cocoanut palm. Nails are no more available here
+than in the former crafts we have named. No nails could withstand the
+wrenching which this raft is subjected to. The middle log is a little
+longer than the two outside ones, and is given a slight upward turn at
+the end which forms the prow. No sail is used, but two fishermen
+generally go out with each of these rafts, propelling them with
+broad-bladed paddles, used alternately on either side. Of course the
+natives who navigate these crafts are naked, with the exception of a
+breech-cloth at the loins. They are very frequently thrown off by the
+sea, but regain their places with remarkable agility. They manage also,
+somehow, to secure their fishing gear, and generally to bring in a
+remunerative fare from their excursions. Strange as the catamaran is, it
+must yet be described as breezy, watery, and safe--for amphibious
+creatures. There is one enemy these fishermen have to look out for,
+namely the shark, both on the coast of Madras and South America. It is
+more common to say when one is lost that the sharks got him, than it is
+to say he was drowned.
+
+The reef so often referred to, forming the breakwater opposite
+Pernambuco, is about forty feet in width at the surface, and is the
+marvelous architecture of that tiny coral builder which works beneath
+these southern seas. When it has reared a pyramid reaching from the far
+bottom of the ocean to the surface, its mission is performed and it
+dies. It lives and works only beneath the surface of the sea;
+atmospheric air is fatal to it. The pyramids of Egypt cannot compare
+with these submerged structures for height, solidity, or magnitude. One
+is the product of a creature of such seeming unimportance as to require
+microscopic aid to detect its existence; the other are monuments erected
+by ancient kings commanding infinite resources; the former being the
+process of nature in carrying out her great and mysterious plan; the
+latter, the ambitious work of men whose very identity is now
+questionable. If we were to enter into a calculation based upon known
+scientific facts, as to how many thousands of years were required for
+this minute animal to rear this massive structure, the result would
+astonish the average reader.
+
+On approaching Pernambuco from the sea, the first object to attract the
+eye is the long line of snow white breakers, caused by the incessant
+swell of the sea striking against the firmly planted reef with a
+deafening surge, breaking into foam and spray which are thrown forty
+feet and more into the air. As we drew near for the first time, the
+extended line of breakers was illumined by the early morning sun, making
+fancy rainbows and misty pictures in the mingled air and water. We were
+escorted by myriads of sea-birds, whose sharp cries came close upon the
+ear, as they flew in and about the rigging. Behind the reef lay the
+comparatively smooth waters of the harbor, dotted here and there by tiny
+white sails, curious-shaped coasting craft, rowboats, and steam tugs,
+while the background was formed by a leafless forest of tall ships'
+masts which lined the wharves, and partially screened the low-lying
+capital from view.
+
+We have remained quite long enough at this city of the reef, and now
+turn southward towards the more attractive port of Bahia.
+
+In running down the coast, the Brazilian shore is so near as to be
+distinctly visible, with its surf-fringed beach of golden sands
+extending mile after mile, beyond which, far inland, rise ranges of
+forest-clad hills, and beyond these, sky-reaching alps. It is often
+necessary to give the land a wide berth, as at certain points dangerous
+sandbars make out from it far to seaward; but whenever near enough to
+the coast to make out the character of the vegetation, it was of deepest
+green and exuberantly tropical. With the exception of one or two small
+towns, and an occasional fisherman's hamlet, the shore presented no
+signs of habitation, being mostly a sandy waste adjoining the sea, where
+heavy rollers spent their force upon the smooth, water-worn, yellow
+beach.
+
+
+
+
+          CHAPTER VII.
+
+     Port of Bahia.--A Quaint Old City.--Former Capital of
+     Brazil.--Whaling Interests.--Beautiful
+     Panorama.--Tramways.--No Color Line Here.--The Sedan
+     Chair.--Feather Flowers.--Great Orange Mart.--Passion Flower
+     Fruit.--Coffee, Sugar, and Tobacco.--A Coffee
+     Plantation.--Something about Diamonds.--Health of the
+     City.--Curious Tropical Street Scenes.
+
+
+Bahia,--pronounced Bah-ee'ah,--situated three hundred and fifty miles
+south of Pernambuco, is the capital of a province of the same name in
+Brazil, and contains nearly two hundred thousand inhabitants. It is
+admirably situated on elevated ground at the entrance of All Saints
+Bay,--_Todos os Santos_,--just within Cape San Antonio, eight hundred
+miles or thereabouts north of Rio Janeiro. The entrance of the bay is
+seven miles broad. For its size, there are few harbors in the world
+which present a more attractive picture as one first beholds it on
+entering from the open Atlantic. The elevated site of the city, with its
+close array of neat, white three and four story houses, breaks the
+sky-line in front of the anchorage, while the town forms a half moon in
+shape, extending for a couple of miles each way, right and left. Near
+the water's edge, on the lower line of the city, are many substantial
+warehouses, official establishments, the custom house, and the like.
+Between the lower and the upper town is a long reach of green terraced
+embankment, intense in its bright verdure. Probably no other city on the
+globe, certainly not so far as our experience extends, is so peculiarly
+divided.
+
+A sad episode marked our first experience here. We came to anchor in the
+harbor, according to custom, at what is known as the Quarantine. About a
+cable's length from us lay a large European steamship, flying the yellow
+flag at the fore. She came into port from Rio Janeiro on the previous
+evening; five of her passengers who had died of yellow fever on the
+passage were buried at sea, while two more were down with it, and were
+being taken to the lazaretto on shore, as we dropped our anchor.
+Probably they went there to die. This was naturally depressing, more so,
+perhaps, as we were bound direct for Rio Janeiro; but as we now came
+from a northern port with a clean bill of health, we were finally
+released from quarantine and permitted to land. It is late in the
+season--last of May--for this pest of the coast to prevail, but the year
+1891 has been one of unusual fatality in the South American ports, and
+none of them have been entirely exempt from the scourge, some showing a
+fearful list of mortality among both citizens and strangers. We were
+conversant with many instances of a particularly trying and sad nature,
+if any distinction can be made where death intervenes with such a rude
+hand. Victims who were in apparent good health in the morning were not
+infrequently buried on the evening of the same day! But we will spare
+the reader harrowing details.
+
+Americus Vespucius discovered Bahia in 1503, while sailing under the
+patronage of Portugal, and as it was settled in 1511, it is the oldest
+city in the country, being also the second in size, though not in
+commercial importance. The excellent harbor is so spacious as to form a
+small inland sea, the far-reaching shores of which are beautified by
+mingled green foliage and pretty villas stretching along the bay, while
+the business portion gives evidence of a growing and important foreign
+trade. This deduction is also corroborated by the presence of numerous
+European steamships, and full-rigged sailing vessels devoted to the
+transportation of merchandise. The buildings are generally of a
+substantial appearance, whether designed as residences or for business
+purposes, but are mostly of an antique pattern, old and dingy. Though
+the city is divided into the lower and the upper town, the latter two or
+three hundred feet above the former, it is made easily accessible by
+mechanical means. A large elevator, run by hydraulic power, is employed
+for the purpose, which was built by an energetic Yankee, and has been in
+successful operation several years, taking the citizens from the lower
+to the upper town, as we pass from basement to attic in our tall North
+American buildings. Between the two portions of Bahia there are streets
+for the transportation of merchandise, which wind zigzag fashion along
+the ravine to avoid the abruptness of the ascent. Besides these means,
+there are narrow stone steps leading upwards to the first level, among
+the tropical verdure, the deep green branches and leaves nodding to one
+from out of narrow lanes and quiet nooks. There is still another way of
+reaching the upper town, namely, a cable road, of very steep grade, one
+car ascending while another descends, thus forming a sort of
+counterbalance. By all these facilities united, the population manage
+very comfortably to overcome the topographical difficulties of the
+situation.
+
+Though there are few buildings of any special note in Bahia, the general
+architecture being quaint and nondescript, still the combined view of
+the city, as we have endeavored to show, is of no inconsiderable beauty.
+We approached it from the north, doubling Light House Point in the early
+morning, just as the rising sun lighted up the bay. Seen from the
+harbor, the large dome of the cathedral overlooks the whole town very
+much like the gilded dome which forms so conspicuous an object on
+approaching the city of Boston. The dark, low-lying, grim-looking fort,
+which presides over the quarantine anchorage, is built upon a natural
+ledge of rock, half a mile from the shore of the town, and looks like a
+huge cheese-box.
+
+In the upper portion of Bahia the streets are narrow, and the houses so
+tall as to nearly exclude the sun when it is not in the zenith. They are
+built of a native stone, and differ from the majority of South American
+dwellings, which are rarely over two stories in height, and generally of
+one only. We have heard it argued that it is advantageous to build
+tropical cities with narrow streets, so as to exclude the heat of the
+sun's rays and thus keep the houses cooler. This is not logical. Wide
+avenues and broad streets give ventilation which cannot be obtained in
+any other way in populous centres. Narrow lanes invite epidemics,
+fevers, and malarial diseases; broad thoroughfares give less opportunity
+for their lodgment. A beehive of human beings, crowded together in a
+narrow space, exhausts the life-giving principle of the surrounding
+atmosphere, but this is impossible where plenty of room is given for the
+circulation of fresh air.
+
+These tall houses of Bahia have overhanging ornamental balconies, which
+towards evening are filled with the female portion of the families,
+laughing, chatting, singing, and smoking, for the ladies of these
+latitudes smoke in their domestic circles. Narrow as the streets of
+Bahia are, room is found for a well patronized tramway to run through
+them. No one thinks of walking, if it be for only a couple of hundred
+rods, on the line of the street cars. All of the civilized world seems
+to have grown lazy since the introduction of this modern facility for
+cheap transportation.
+
+Bahia was the capital of Brazil until 1763, during which year the
+headquarters of the government were removed to Rio Janeiro.
+
+This is a sort of New Bedford, so to speak, having been for more than a
+century extensively engaged in the whaling business, an occupation which
+is still pursued to a limited extent. Whales frequent the bay of Bahia,
+where they are sometimes captured by small boats from the shore. It is
+supposed that the favorite food of this big game is found in these
+waters. There was a time when the close pursuit by fishing fleets fitted
+out in nearly all parts of the world rendered the whales wary and
+scarce. The catching and killing of so many seemed to have thinned out
+their number in most of the seas of the globe. Then came the great
+discovery of rock oil, which rapidly superseded the whale oil of
+commerce in general use. Thereupon the pursuit of the gigantic animal
+ceased to be of any great moment, while there was oil enough
+spontaneously pouring out of the wells of Pennsylvania, and elsewhere,
+to fully satisfy the demand of the world at large. Being no longer
+hunted, the whales gradually became tame and increased in numbers, so
+that to-day there are probably as many in the usual haunts of these
+leviathans in either hemisphere as there ever were. The briefest sea
+voyage can hardly be made without sighting one or more of them, and
+sometimes in large schools.
+
+There is a portion of the elevated section of Bahia which is called
+Victoria, a really beautiful locality, having delightful gardens,
+attractive walks, and myriads of noble shade trees. From here the
+visitor overlooks the bay, with its islands and curving shore decked
+with graceful palms, bamboos, and mango groves; upon the water are
+numerous tiny boats, while white winged sailing ships and dark, begrimed
+steamers unite in forming a picture of active life and maritime beauty.
+In the distance lies the ever green island of Itaparica, named after the
+first governor's Indian bride, while still farther away is seen range
+after range of tall, purple hills, multiplied until lost in the
+distance.
+
+A few grim looking convents and monasteries, which have gradually come
+into the possession of the government, are now used as free schools,
+libraries, and hospitals. There is a medical college here which has a
+national reputation for general excellence, and many students come from
+Rio Janeiro, eight hundred miles away, to avail themselves of its
+advantages, receiving a diploma after attending upon its three years'
+course of studies. From subsequent inquiry, however, not only here but
+in Rio and elsewhere, we are satisfied that the science of medicine and
+surgery stands at a very low ebb throughout this great southland.
+Foreign doctors are looked upon with great distrust and jealousy;
+indeed, it is very difficult for them to obtain a suitable license to
+practice in Brazil. This does not apply to dentistry, of which
+profession there are many American experts in the country, who have
+realized decided pecuniary and professional success. There were six or
+eight on board the Vigilancia, who had been on a visit to their North
+American homes during the summer season, at which time the fever is most
+to be dreaded here.
+
+The city contains over sixty churches, some of which are fine edifices,
+built of stone brought from Europe. This could easily be done without
+much extra expense, as the vessels visiting the port in those early days
+required ballast with which to cross the ocean. They brought no other
+cargo of any account, but were sure at certain seasons of the year to
+obtain a suitable return freight, which paid a good profit on the round
+voyage. Several of these churches are in a very dilapidated condition,
+and probably will not be repaired. The cathedral is one of the largest
+structures of the sort in Brazil, and is thought by many to be one of
+the finest. The cathedral at Rio, however, is a much more elaborate
+structure, and far more costly. It takes enormous sums, wrung from the
+poorest class of people, to maintain these gorgeous temples and support
+the horde of fat, licentious, useless priests attached to them, while
+the mass of humanity find life a daily struggle with abject want and
+poverty. Does any thoughtful person believe for one moment that such
+hollow service can be grateful to a just and merciful Supreme Being?
+
+Bahia was a flourishing port before Rio Janeiro was known commercially,
+and was the first place of settlement by English traders on this coast.
+The present population is of a very mixed character, composed of nearly
+all nationalities, white and black, European and natives. There is no
+prejudice evinced as regards color. Mulatto or negro may once have been
+a slave, but he is a freeman now, both socially and in the eyes of the
+law. He is eligible for any position of trust, public or private, if he
+develops the requisite degree of intelligence. Men who have been slaves
+in their youth are now filling political offices here, with credit to
+themselves and satisfaction to the public. The actual reform from being
+a degraded land of slavery to one of human freedom is much more radical
+and thorough in Brazil than it is in our own Southern States, where the
+pretended equality of the colored race is simply a burlesque upon
+constitutional liberty.
+
+The occasional use of that quaint mode of conveyance, the sedan chair,
+was observable, taking one back to the days of Queen Anne. Only a few
+years ago it was the one mode of transportation from the lower to the
+upper part of the town; but modern facilities, already referred to, have
+thrown the sedan chair nearly out of use. A few antique representatives
+of this style of vehicle, some quite expensive and elaborately
+ornamented, are still seen obstructing the entrances to the houses. The
+local name they bear is _cadeira_. When these chairs are used, they are
+borne upon the shoulders of two or four stalwart blacks, and are hung
+upon long poles, like a palanquin, after the fashion so often seen in
+old pictures and ancient tapestry.
+
+We have spoken of the narrowness of the streets through which the
+tramways pass. In many places, pedestrians are compelled to step into
+the doorways of dwellings to permit the cars to pass them. This is not
+only the case at Bahia, but also in half the busy portion of South
+American cities. These mule propelled cars are now adopted all over this
+country and Mexico; even fourth class cities have tramways, and many
+towns which have not yet risen to the dignity of having a city
+organization are thus supplied with transportation. The Bahia tramway,
+on its route to the suburbs, passes through fertile districts of great
+rural beauty, among groves of tropical fruits, orange orchards, tall
+overshadowing mangoes, and cultivated flowers. There is an attempt at a
+public garden, though it is an idea only half carried out; but there is
+a terrace in connection here called "The Bluff," from whence one gets a
+magnificent view, more especially of the near and the distant sea. These
+delightful and comprehensive natural pictures are photographed upon the
+memory, forming a charming cabinet of scenic views appertaining to each
+special locality, choice, original, and never to be effaced.
+
+We must not omit to mention a specialty of this city, an article
+produced in one or two of the charitable institutions, as well as in
+many humble family circles, namely, artificial flowers made from the
+choicest feathers of the most brilliant colored birds. None of these
+articles are poor, while some of them are exquisite in design and
+execution, produced entirely from the plumage of native birds. A
+considerable aggregate sum of money is realized by a certain portion of
+the community, in the regular manufacture of these delicate ornaments.
+Girls begin to learn the art at a very early age, and in a few years
+arrive at a marvelous degree of perfection, producing realistic pictures
+which rival the brush and pencil of a more pretentious department of
+art. Nearly all visitors carry away with them dainty examples of this
+exquisite and artistic work, which has a reputation beyond the seas.
+Thousands of beautiful birds are annually sacrificed to furnish the
+necessary material. Thus the delicate family of the humming-bird, whose
+variety is infinite in Brazil, has been almost exterminated in some
+parts of the country. There is one other specialty here, namely, the
+manufacture of lace, which gives constant employment to many women of
+Bahia, their product being much esteemed all over South America for the
+beauty of the designs and the perfection of the manufacture.
+
+The special fruit of this province, as already intimated, is oranges,
+and it is safe to say that none produced elsewhere can excel them. They
+are not picked until they are thoroughly ripe, and are therefore too
+delicate, in their prime condition, to sustain transportation to any
+considerable distance. Those sold in our northern cities are picked in a
+green condition and ripened off the trees, a process which does not
+injure some fruits, but which detracts very materially from the orange
+and the pineapple. The oranges of Bahia average from five to six inches
+in diameter, have a rather thin skin, are full of juice, and contain no
+pips; in short, they are perfectly delicious, being delicately sweet,
+with a slight subacid flavor. The first enjoyment of this special fruit
+in Bahia is a gastronomic revelation. The maracajus is also a favorite
+fruit here, but hardly to be named beside the orange. It is the product
+of the vine which bears the passion flower, but this we could not
+relish. It is a common fruit in Australia and New Zealand, where the
+author found it equally unpalatable, yet people who have once acquired
+the taste become very fond of it. The vine with its flower is common
+enough in the United States, but we have never seen it in a
+fruit-bearing condition in our country.
+
+The province of Bahia has an area of two hundred thousand square miles,
+and is represented as containing some of the most fertile land in
+Brazil, capable of producing immense crops of several important staples.
+It is especially fertile near the coast, where there are some large and
+thriving tobacco, sugar, and coffee plantations. The first mentioned
+article, owing to some favorable peculiarity of the soil in this
+vicinity, is held to be nearly equal to the average Cuban product, and
+it is being more and more extensively cultivated each year. Bahia cigars
+are not only very cheap, but they are remarkably fine in flavor. It was
+observed that old travelers on this coast made haste to lay in a goodly
+supply of them for personal use.
+
+A coffee plantation situated not far from this city was visited,
+affording a small party of strangers to the place much pleasure and
+information. The coffee plant is an evergreen, and thus the foliage is
+always fresh in appearance, yielding two harvests annually. Boa Vista,
+the plantation referred to, covers about one hundred acres, much of
+which is also devoted to the raising of fodder, fruit, corn, and beans,
+with some special vegetables, forming the principal sustenance of the
+people and animals employed upon the estate. At first, in laying out
+such a plantation, the coffee sprouts are started in a nursery, and when
+they have had a year's growth are transplanted to the open field, where
+they are placed with strict uniformity in long rows at equal distances
+apart. After the second year these young plants begin to bear, and
+continue to do so for twenty-five or thirty years, at which period both
+the trees and the soil become in a measure exhausted, and a new tract of
+land is again selected for a plantation. By proper management the new
+plantation can be made to begin bearing at the same time that the old
+one ceases to be sufficiently productive and remunerative to cultivate
+for the same purpose. The coffee-tree is thought to be in its prime at
+from five to ten years of age. Fruit trees, such as bananas, oranges,
+mandioca, guavas, and so on, are planted among the coffee-trees to
+afford them a partial shelter, which, to a certain degree, is requisite
+to their best success, especially when they are young and throwing out
+thin roots. The coffee bushes are kept trimmed down to about the height
+of one's head, which facilitates the harvesting of the crop, and also
+throws the sap into the formation and growth of berries. The
+coffee-tree, when permitted to grow to its natural height, reaches
+between twenty and thirty feet, and, with its deep green foliage, is a
+handsome ornamental garden tree, much used for this purpose in Brazil.
+The coffee pods, when ripe, are scarlet in color, and resemble cherries,
+though they are much smaller. Each berry contains two seeds, which, when
+detached from the pod and properly dried, form the familiar article of
+such universal domestic use. A coffee plantation well managed, in
+Brazil, is an almost certain source of ample fortune. The crop is sure;
+that is to say, it has scarcely any drawbacks, and is always in demand.
+Of course there are inconveniences of climate, and other things needless
+to enumerate, as regards entering into the business, but the growth and
+ripening of a coffee crop very seldom fail.
+
+As has been intimated, this port is famous for the production of oranges
+and tobacco; so Rio is famous for coffee, Pernambuco for sugar, and Para
+for crude india-rubber.
+
+We must not forget to mention one other, and by no means insignificant
+product of Brazil which is exported from Bahia, namely, diamonds of the
+very first quality, which for purity of color far exceed those of Africa
+and elsewhere. It appears that a syndicate in London control the world's
+supply of this peculiar gem from all the mines on the globe, permitting
+only a certain quantity of diamonds to go on to the market annually, and
+thus keeping up the selling price and the market value. No one is
+permitted to know the real product of the mines but the managers of this
+syndicate. The quantity of the sparkling gems which are held back by the
+dealers in London, Paris, and Vienna is really enormous; were they to be
+placed in the retail dealers' hands as fast as they are produced from
+the various sources of supply, they would be erelong as cheap and plenty
+as moonstones. This sounds like an extravagant assertion, but still
+there is far more truth in it than is generally realized. One of the
+public journals of London lately spoke of a proposed corporation, to be
+known as the "Diamond Trust," which is certainly a significant evidence
+that the market requires to be carefully controlled as to the quantity
+which is annually put upon it. In old times a diamond was simply valued
+as a diamond; its cutting and polishing were of the simplest character.
+A series of irregular plane surfaces were thought to sufficiently bring
+out its reflective qualities, but the stone is now treated with far more
+care and intelligence. A large portion of the value of a diamond has
+come to consist in the artistic, and we may say scientific, manner in
+which it is cut. By this means its latent qualities of reflection of
+light are brought to perfection, developing its real brilliancy.
+Accomplished workmen realize fabulous wages in this employment. A stone
+of comparatively little value, by being cut in the best manner, can be
+made to outshine a much finer stone which is cut after the old style.
+Amsterdam used to control the business of diamond cutting, but it is now
+as well done in Boston and New York as in any part of the world.
+
+The largest diamond yet discovered came from Brazil, and is known as the
+Braganza. The first European expert in precious stones has valued this
+extraordinary gem, which is still in the rough, at three hundred million
+sterling! Its actual weight is something over one pound troy. In the
+light of such a statement, we pause to ask ourselves, What is a diamond?
+Simply carbon crystallized, that is, in its greatest purity, and carbon
+is the combustible principle of charcoal. The author was told, both here
+and in Rio Janeiro, that there is a considerable and profitable mining
+industry carried on in this country, of which the general public hear
+nothing. The results are only known to prominent and interested
+Brazilians, the whole matter being kept as secret as possible for
+commercial reasons. No one reads anything about the products of the
+diamond mines in the local papers.
+
+We cannot say that the city of Bahia is a very healthy locality, though
+it certainly seems that it ought to be, it is so admirably situated.
+Yellow fever and other epidemics prevail more or less every year. The
+lower part of the town, on the water front, is so shamefully filthy as
+to induce fever. Upon first landing, the stranger finds himself almost
+nauseated by the vile smells which greet him. This section of the town
+is also very hot, the cliff, or upper town, shutting off almost entirely
+the circulation of air. It is here that sailors, particularly, indulge
+in all sorts of excesses, especially in drinking the vile, raw liquor
+sold by negresses, besides eating unripe and overripe fruit, thus
+inviting disease. One favorite drink produced here, very cheap and very
+potent, is a poisonous but seductive white rum.
+
+The trade and people in this part of the town form a strange
+conglomerate,--monkeys, parrots, caged birds, tame jaguars, mongrel
+puppies, pineapples, oranges, mangoes, and bananas, these being flanked
+by vegetables and flowers. The throng is made up of half-naked boatmen,
+indolent natives from the country, with negresses, both as venders and
+purchasers. As we look at the scene, in addition to what we have
+depicted there is a jovial group of sailors from a man-of-war in the
+harbor enjoying their shore leave, while not far away a small party of
+yachtsmen from an English craft are amusing themselves with petty
+bargains, close followed by half a dozen Americans, who came hither in
+the last mail steamer. A polyglot scene of mixed tongues and gay colors.
+
+In passing into and out of the harbor of Bahia, one can count a dozen
+forts and batteries, all constructed after the old style, and armed in
+the most ineffective manner. These would count as nothing in a contest
+with modern ships of war having plated hulls and arms of precision. Land
+fortifications, designed to protect commercial ports from foreign
+enemies, have not kept pace with the progress in naval armament.
+
+Bahia is connected by submarine telegraph with Pernambuco, Para, and Rio
+Janeiro, and through them with all parts of the civilized world.
+
+
+
+
+          CHAPTER VIII.
+
+     Cape Frio.--Rio Janeiro.--A Splendid Harbor.--Various
+     Mountains.--Botafogo Bay.--The Hunchback.--Farewell to the
+     Vigilancia.--Tijuca.--Italian Emigrants.--City
+     Institutions.--Public Amusements.--Street
+     Musicians.--Churches.--Narrow Thoroughfares.--Merchants'
+     Clerks.--Railroads in Brazil.--Natural Advantages of the
+     City.--The Public Plazas.--Exports.
+
+
+After a three days' voyage down the coast, between Bahia and Rio
+Janeiro, the tall lighthouse of Cape Frio--"Cool Cape"--was sighted.
+This promontory is a large oval mass of granite, sixteen hundred feet in
+height, quite isolated from other highlands, protruding boldly into the
+Atlantic Ocean. It forms the southeastern extremity of the coast of
+Brazil, and in clear weather can be seen, it is said, forty miles or
+more away. Here the long swell of the open sea is unobstructed and finds
+full sway, asserting its giant power at all seasons of the year.
+Experienced travelers who rarely suffer from seasickness are apt to
+succumb to this trying illness off Cape Frio. It is situated in latitude
+22 deg. 59' south, longitude 41 deg. 57' west, which is particularly specified
+because the line of no magnetic variation touches on this cape,--that
+line which Columbus was so amazed at discovering one hundred leagues
+west of Flores, in the Azores, nearly four hundred years ago. We had
+been running almost due south for the last eight hundred miles, but in
+doubling Cape Frio, and making for Rio harbor, the ship was headed to
+the westward, while the mountains on the coast assumed the most
+grotesque and singular shapes, the range extending from west to east
+until it ends at Cape Frio. The continent of South America here forms a
+sharp angle, but we were too full of expectancy as to the king of
+harbors towards which we were heading, to speculate much about Cape Frio
+and its ocean-swept surroundings.
+
+Rio Janeiro, the capital of Brazil, is also the largest, if not the most
+important city in South America, situated about twelve hundred miles
+north of Montevideo and Buenos Ayres, just within the borders of the
+southern torrid zone. The distance of Rio from New York direct is five
+thousand miles, but most voyagers, on the way through the West Indies,
+stop at three or four of these islands, and also at some of the northern
+ports of the continent of South America, the same as in our own case, so
+that about five hundred miles may be fairly added to the distance we
+have just named. Though the vessel was a month in making the voyage to
+this port, had we sailed direct it might have been done in two thirds of
+the time.
+
+After doubling the cape and sailing some sixty or eighty miles, we
+steered boldly towards the mouth of the harbor of Rio. For a few moments
+the ship's prow pointed towards Raza Island, on which stands the
+lighthouse, but a slight turn of the wheel soon changed its relative
+position, and we entered the passage leading into the bay. After passing
+the "Sugar Loaf," a rock twelve hundred feet in height, the city lay off
+our port bow. All is so well defined, the water is so deep and free from
+obstructions of any sort, that no pilot is required and none is taken,
+and thus we crept slowly up towards our moorings. As the reader may well
+suppose, to eyes weary of the monotony of the sea, the panorama which
+opened before us was one of intense interest. Everything seemed matured
+and olden. There was no sign of newness; indeed, we recalled the fact
+that Rio was an established commercial port half a century before New
+York had a local habitation or a name. The town lies on the west side of
+the port, between a mountain range and the bay, running back less than
+two miles in depth, but extending along the shore for a distance of some
+eight miles, fronting one of the finest and most spacious harbors in the
+world, famous for its manifold scenic beauties, which, from the moment
+of passing within the narrow entrance, are ever changing and ever
+lovely. The most prominent features are the verdure-clad hills of
+Gloria, Theresa, and Castello, behind which extend ranges of steep,
+everlasting mountains, one line beyond another, until lost among the
+clouds. Few natural spectacles can equal the grand contour of this
+famous bay. People who have visited it always speak in superlative
+language of Rio harbor, but we hardly think it could be overpraised. It
+is the grand entrance to a tropical paradise, so far as nature is
+concerned, amid clustering mountains, abrupt headlands, inviting inlets,
+and beautiful islands, covered with palms, tree-ferns, bananas, acacias,
+and other delights of tropical vegetation, which, when seen depicted in
+books, impress one as an exaggeration, but seen here thrill us with
+vivid reality. It is only in the torrid zone that one sees these lavish
+developments of verdure, these labyrinths of charming arboreous effect.
+
+Though so well known and so often written about, the harbor of Rio is
+less famous than beautiful. The bay is said to contain about one hundred
+islands, its area extending inland some seventeen or eighteen miles. The
+largest of these is Governor's Island, nearly fronting the city, being
+six miles long. Some idea of the extent of the bay may be had from the
+fact that there are fifty square miles of good anchorage for ships
+within its compass. Into the bay flows the water of two inconsiderable
+rivers, the Macacu and the Iguacu, the first named coming in at the
+northeast and the latter at the northwest corner of the harbor.
+
+The Organ Mountains,--Serra dos Orgaos,--capped with soft, fleecy
+clouds, formed the lofty background of the picture towards the north, as
+we entered upon the scene, the immediate surroundings being dominated by
+the sky-reaching Sugar Loaf Rock,--Pao d'Assucar,--which is also the
+navigator's guiding mark while yet far away at sea. This bold, irregular
+rock of red sandstone rises abruptly from the water, like a giant
+standing waist-high in the sea, and forms the western boundary of the
+entrance to the harbor, opposite to which, crowning a small but bold
+promontory, is the fort of Santa Cruz, the two highlands forming an
+appropriate portal to the grandeur which is to greet one within. The
+distance between these bounds is about a mile, inside of which the water
+widens at once to lake-like proportions. Clouds of frigate birds, gulls,
+and gannets fly gracefully about each incoming ship, as if to welcome
+them to the harbor where anchorage might be had for the combined
+shipping of the whole world. We have lately seen the harbor of Rio
+compared to that of Queenstown, on the Irish coast, twenty times
+magnified; but the infinite superiority of the former in every respect
+makes the allusion quite pointless.
+
+The Organ Mountains, to which we have referred, and which form so
+conspicuous a portion of the scene in and about Rio, are so called
+because of their fancied resemblance in shape to the pipes of an organ;
+but though blessed with the usual share of imagination, we were quite
+unable to trace any such resemblance. However, one must not be
+hypercritical. The gigantic recumbent form of a human being, so often
+spoken of as discernible along this mountain range, is no poetical
+fancy, but is certainly clear enough to any eye, recalling the likeness
+to a crouching lion outlined by the promontory of Gibraltar as one first
+sees the rock, either on entering the strait or coming from Malta.
+
+One of the most beautiful indentures of the shore, earliest to catch the
+eye after passing into the harbor of Rio from the sea, is called the Bay
+of Botafogo. The word means "thrown into the fire," and alludes to the
+inhuman _autos-da-fe_ which occurred here when the natives, on refusing
+to subscribe to the Roman Catholic faith, were committed by the priests
+to the flames! This is the way in which the Romish creed was introduced
+into Mexico and South America, and the means by which it was sustained.
+
+The principal charm of this lovely bay within a bay--Botafogo--is its
+flowers and exposition of soaring royal palms. The attractiveness of the
+handsome residences is quite secondary to that of nature, here revealed
+with a lavish profusion. This part of Rio is overshadowed by the tall
+peak of the Corcovado, "the Hunchback," one of the mass of hills which
+occupy a large area west of the city, and the nearest mountain to it.
+From its never-failing springs comes a large share of the water supply
+of the capital. The aqueduct is some ten miles long, crossing a valley
+at one point seven hundred feet in width, at a height of ninety feet,
+upon double arches. Another large aqueduct is in contemplation, besides
+which some other sources are now in actual operation, as Rio has long
+since outgrown the capacity of the original supply derived from the
+Corcovado. The drainage of the town suffers seriously for want of
+sufficient water wherewith to flush the conduits, which at this writing,
+with the deadly fever claiming victims on all hands, are permitted to
+remain in a stagnant condition! And yet there are hundreds of hills
+round about, within long cannon range, which would readily yield the
+required element in almost limitless quantity.
+
+We left the Vigilancia, and our good friend Captain Baker, with regret.
+The noble ship had borne us in safety thousands of miles during the past
+month, through storms and calms, amid intense tropical heat, and such
+floods of rain as are only encountered in southern seas. Watching from
+her deck, there had been revealed to us the glories of the changing
+latitudes, and particularly the grandeur of the radiant heavens in
+equatorial regions. A sense of all-absorbing curiosity prevailed as we
+landed at the stone steps, overlooked by the yellow ochre walls of the
+arsenal, in the picturesque, though pestilential city. The nauseous
+odors which greet one as he steps on shore are very discordant elements
+in connection with the intense interest created by the novel sights that
+engage the eye of a stranger.
+
+With a population, including the immediate suburbs, of over half a
+million,--estimated at six hundred and fifty thousand,--Rio has most of
+the belongings of a North American city of the first class, though we
+cannot refrain from mentioning one remarkable exception, namely, the
+entire absence of good hotels. There is not a really good and
+comfortable public house in all Brazil. Those which do exist in Rio
+charge exorbitantly for the most indifferent service, and strangers are
+often puzzled to find a sleeping-room for a single night on first
+arriving here. Tijuca, situated in the hills a few miles from the city,
+is perhaps the most desirable place of temporary sojourn for the newly
+arrived traveler, who will find at least one large and comfortable
+public house there, favorably known to travelers as Whyte's Hotel. It is
+some little distance from the city, but is easily reached by tramway,
+which takes one to the foot of the hills of the Tijuca range, whose
+tallest peak is thirty-four hundred feet above tide-water. This place
+abounds in attractive villas, tropical vegetation, and beautiful
+flowers, both wild and cultivated. From here also one gets a most
+charming view of the distant city, the famous bay, and the broad
+Atlantic; indeed, the view alone will repay one for making this brief
+excursion. The loftiest village in these hills is called Boa Vista.
+There are mountains, however, on either side, which are five or six
+hundred feet higher than the village containing the hotel. American
+enterprise is engaged at this writing in constructing a narrow gauge
+electric tramway to the summit of Tijuca. The driving road from the base
+to the top is an admirable piece of engineering, and is kept in the very
+best condition possible.
+
+The objectionable character of the Italian emigrants, who come hither as
+well as to our own States, was demonstrated by a party of them robbing
+and nearly murdering a resident of Tijuca who happened to be a short
+distance from his own house, the evening previous to the day which we
+spent at this resort. These Italians are mostly employed as workmen upon
+the railroad, though some are gardeners on the neighboring estates. In
+town they act as porters and day laborers on the wharves, as boatmen,
+and so on, but, as we were assured, are a lawless, vagabond element of
+the community, giving the police force a great deal of trouble.
+
+Rio has many large and commodious public buildings and some elegant
+private residences, the latter generally of a half Moorish type of
+architecture. Some of the edifices date back a couple of centuries. The
+early Portuguese built of stone and cement, hence the somewhat
+remarkable durability of these houses. The large edifice devoted to the
+department of agriculture and public works is one of the most noticeable
+in the city. The Bank of Brazil occupies a building which is classic in
+its fine architecture, being elaborately constructed of hammered
+granite. There is no more superb example of masonry in the country. The
+National Mint, on the Square of the Republic, is also a fine granite
+building; so is that devoted to the Bourse, where enormous values change
+hands daily. Educational institutions are numerous, well organized, and
+generally availed of by the rising generation. The National College is
+of notable influence in the dissemination of general intelligence, and
+the same may be said of the Polytechnic College, an excellent and
+practical institution. It should be observed that any well organized
+educational establishment is called a college in this country.
+
+The public library of Rio contains some two hundred thousand volumes,
+besides many valuable Spanish and Portuguese documents in manuscript. It
+is liberally conducted; black and white people alike, as well as all
+respectable strangers, have free access and liberal accommodations
+within the walls. This institution is an honor to Brazil.
+
+Rio has a new and well organized navy yard, a large arsenal, cotton
+mills, and several extensive manufacturing establishments. Among the
+latter is the largest flour mill we have ever seen. This is an English
+enterprise; but so far as we could learn, it had been found impossible
+to compete profitably with the American flour, as now landed at Rio. A
+foundling hospital on the Rua Everesta de Veiga is worthy of mention.
+Here, as already described in relation to another Brazilian city,
+infants are freely received and cared for, without any inquiry being
+made of those who deposit them. These little ones at the outset become
+children of the state, and are registered and numbered as such.
+Oftentimes the mother pins to the little deserted one's clothes the name
+she desires should be given to it, and the wish is usually regarded by
+the officials of the institution. The authorities put each child out to
+nurse for a year, but receive it back again at the expiration of that
+time, and at a proper period send it to school, and endeavor to rear it
+to some useful employment or trade. While the child is thus disposed of,
+the payment for its board and care is very moderate in amount, and is
+also contingent upon its good health and physical condition. Thus the
+deserted one is likely to have good attention, if not for humanity's
+sake, then from mercenary motives. This plan is copied from that which
+is pursued by the great foundling hospitals of St. Petersburg and
+Moscow, which are certainly the best organized and largest institutions
+of the sort in the world. Where so large a percentage of the children
+born are illegitimate, such a hospital becomes a real necessity. There
+has been no year since this establishment was opened, in 1738, as we
+were told, in which less than four hundred infants were received.
+Sometimes parents, whose worldly conditions have greatly improved, come
+forward after the lapse of years and claim their children. This right on
+their part is duly respected by their properly proving the relationship
+beyond all possible doubt, and paying a sum of money equal to that which
+has been actually expended by the state in the child's behalf.
+
+In the line of public amusements there is a large and well-appointed
+opera house besides eight other fairly good theatres, together with an
+excellent museum. The performances at the theatres are given in French,
+Spanish, and Portuguese. Italian opera is presented three times a week
+during the season. This year the performances were summarily stopped by
+the principal tenor dying of yellow fever. The theatre bearing the name
+of the late emperor is a sort of mammoth cave in size, and is capable of
+seating six thousand people, not one half of whom can hear what is said
+or sung upon the stage by the performers. Street bands of German
+musicians perform here as they do in Boston and New York; the mass of
+the people, being music loving, patronize these itinerants liberally.
+One band posted themselves daily before the popular Globe Restaurant, at
+the hour of the midday meal (breakfast), and performed admirably,
+reaping a generous response from the habitues. Most of the patrons of
+this excellent establishment were observed to be American, English, and
+French merchants, who attended to business in Rio during the day, but
+who went home to the elevated environs to dine and to sleep. "I have
+been here in business nine years," said one of these gentlemen to us,
+"and have been down with the fever once; but I would not sleep in Rio
+overnight for any amount of money, at this season of the year." This was
+early in June. He added: "The fever should have disappeared before this
+time, which is our winter, but it seems to linger later and later each
+succeeding year." This was a conclusion which we heard expressed by
+other observant individuals, but all joined in ascribing its persistency
+in no small degree to the imperfect drainage, and the vile personal
+habits of the mass of the common people, who make no effort to be
+cleanly, or to regard the decencies of life in this respect.
+
+As to churches, Rio has between sixty and seventy, none of which are
+very remarkable, all being dim, dirty, and offensive to the olfactories.
+The cause of the foul air being so noticeable in all of these Romish
+churches is the fact that no provision whatever is made for proper
+ventilation, and this, too, in places of all others where it is most
+imperatively necessary. The offense is created by exhalations from the
+bodies of the least cleanly class of the population. It is such who
+mostly fill these churches all over the continent of Europe, Mexico,
+South America, and the United States. Precisely the same disgusting odor
+greets the senses of the visitor to these edifices, be it in one
+hemisphere or another, but especially in Italy and Spain.
+
+The cathedral of Rio is a large, showy edifice, surrounded by narrow
+streets, and thus hidden by other buildings, so that no general and
+satisfactory outside effect can be had. The front and sides are of solid
+granite, and the whole is known to have cost a mint of money, yet the
+safety of the foundation is more than questionable. Like the grand
+church of St. Isaacs, in the Russian capital of St. Petersburg, great
+expense will doubtless have to be incurred to renew and strengthen it in
+this respect. It is believed that the site upon which Rio stands was
+once under the sea, and, geologically speaking, at no very remote
+period, which accounts for considerable trouble being experienced in
+obtaining secure and solid foundations for any heavy superstructure. At
+this writing, the cathedral is undergoing extensive repairs, inside and
+out, but in spite of the noise of workmen, the disagreeable lime dust,
+and the interference of a network of interior staging, it is still very
+striking in its architectural effect.
+
+In the old part of the town, two prominent cupolas dominate the
+surroundings. These belong respectively to the churches of Candelaria
+and San Luigi. The most popular church in Rio is undoubtedly that which
+crowns the Gloria Hill, called the Igreja da Gloria do Onterio, which
+overlooks the bay. Its commanding situation is very remarkable. In shape
+it is octagonal, and seems to be very solidly built. In front of the
+church there is a broad terrace, from whence a fine view may be enjoyed.
+On a moonlight night the picture presented from the Gloria Hill is
+something worth going miles on foot to behold. This church was the
+favorite resort of the late royal family when they were in the city,
+though much of their home life and all of their summers were passed in
+the hills of the Organ Mountains at the emperor's favorite
+resort,--Petropolis.
+
+The shops of Rio, notwithstanding they are generally small and situated
+upon streets so narrow that they would be called only lanes in North
+America,--close, confined, half-strangled thoroughfares,--will compare
+favorably in many respects with those of continental Europe. The larger
+number of the merchants here are French, together with a considerable
+sprinkling of German Jews. Indeed, can any one tell us where we shall
+not find this peculiar race represented in the trade centres of the wide
+world? In many of the fancy-goods stores the famous Brazilian feather
+flowers are exhibited for sale, but the best place to purchase these is
+at Bahia, where they are a specialty, and where their manufacture is
+said to have originated. The narrow streets, traversed by tramways, are
+at times almost impassable for pedestrians, and are often blocked by
+heavy mule teams for fifteen minutes at a time. By and by some lazy
+policeman makes his appearance and quietly begins to unravel the snarl,
+which he at length succeeds in doing, and the ordinary traffic of the
+thoroughfare is once more resumed. An unsightly gutter runs through the
+middle of some of these thoroughfares, which adds to the annoyances
+incident to ordinary travel. All are regularly laid out, chess-board
+fashion, very ill smelling, and harbor an infinite number of beggars and
+mangy dogs.
+
+It is customary for local merchants who employ European clerks--and
+there are many English, French, and Brazilians in Rio who do so,--to
+give them a fixed salary, quite moderate in amount, and to furnish them
+with lodgings also. The latter are of a very rude and undesirable
+character, in the business establishment itself, either over the store,
+or in the back part of it. The bedding which is furnished is of a
+makeshift character, rarely changed, and never properly aired.
+Exceedingly uncleanly domestic arrangements, or the entire absence of
+them, are also a serious matter in this connection, from a sanitary
+point of view. The clerks get their food at some neighboring restaurant,
+and contract irregular habits, all of which is both mentally and
+physically demoralizing. It is among this class of foreigners that the
+yellow fever finds the most ready victims. To sleep in these crowded
+business centres, in ill-ventilated apartments, with far from cleanly
+surroundings, is simply to provoke fatal illness, and during an epidemic
+of fever these places furnish fuel for the flames. Neatness and
+cleanliness among domestic associations in this city are entirely lost
+sight of and are totally disregarded by men and women.
+
+The Rua Direita is the State Street or Wall Street of Rio; a new name,
+which escapes us at this moment, has been given to it, but the old one
+is still the favorite and in common use. Here brokers, bankers, and
+commission merchants meet and bargain, and fiercely speculate in coffee.
+The principal shopping street is the Rua de Ouvidor, where the best
+stores and choicest retail goods are to be found. In the Rua dos
+Ourives,--"Goldsmith's Street,"--the display of fine jewelry, diamonds,
+and other precious stones recalls the Rue de la Paix of Paris. Diamonds
+are held at quite as high prices as in London or New York, and those of
+the best quality can be bought better at retail out of this country than
+in it. A poor quality of stone, off color, is imported and offered here
+as being of native production, and careless purchasers are not
+infrequently deceived by cunning dealers in these matters.
+
+Two vehicles cannot pass each other in this avenue without driving upon
+the narrow sidewalk. At times a deafening uproar prevails along these
+circumscribed lanes. The rough grinding of wheels, noisy bootblacks,
+whooping orange-sellers, screaming newspaper boys, howling dogs, the
+rattle of the street peddler, lottery ticket venders, fighting street
+gamins, all join to swell the mingled chorus. And yet these crowded
+thoroughfares would lose half of their picturesqueness were these
+elements to be banished from them. They each and all add a certain crude
+element of interest to this every-day picture of Vanity Fair.
+
+In their ambition to copy European and North American fashions, the
+gentlemen of Rio utterly disregard the eternal fitness of things,
+wearing broadcloth suits of black, with tall, stove-pipe hats, neither
+of which articles should be adopted for a moment in their torrid
+climate. Nothing could be more inappropriate. Linen clothing and light
+straw hats are the true costume for the tropics, naturally suggesting
+themselves in hot climates to the exclusion of woolen, heat-brewing
+costumes, which are necessary articles of wear in the north. Fashion,
+however, ignores climate and is omnipotent everywhere; comfort is
+subsidiary. Wear woolen clothing by all means, gentlemen of Rio, even
+when the thermometer hangs persistently at 95 deg. Fahr. in the shade, and
+the human body perspires like a mountain stream.
+
+The tramway system of Rio is excellent in a crude way. Statistics show
+that fifty million passengers are annually transported by this popular
+means from one part of the city to another, and into the suburbs. The
+street railway was first introduced here by North American enterprise,
+the pioneer route being that between the city proper and the botanical
+garden. The prices of passage vary according to distances, as is the
+case with the London omnibuses. The cars are all open ones, of cheap,
+coarse construction, and far from inviting in appearance, being entirely
+unupholstered, and affording only hard board seats for passengers to sit
+upon. They are usually drawn by one small donkey, whose strength is
+quite overtasked, but the ground in the city is so nearly level that the
+cars move very easily and rapidly.
+
+There is one delightful excursion from Rio which nearly all strangers
+are sure to enjoy. We refer to the ascent of Corcovado, the mountain
+which looms over Botafogo Bay to the height of twenty-two hundred feet,
+and to the summit of which a railway has been constructed. The grades
+are extremely steep, and the road is what is called a centre line,
+worked upon the cog-wheel system, the ascent being very slow and
+winding. The principle is the same as that of the railway by which Mount
+Washington is ascended, in New Hampshire, or the Righi, in Switzerland.
+This road was built by the national government, but as a pecuniary
+speculation it does not pay, though it is of considerable indirect
+benefit to the city. We will not dilate upon the grand outlook to be had
+from the summit of the Hunchback, which takes in a bird's-eye view of
+the harbor and its surroundings, but will add that no one should come
+hither without ascending Corcovado. The top consists of two rounded
+masses of bare rock, and is walled in to prevent accident, there being
+on one side a perpendicular descent of a thousand feet. It gives one at
+first a dizzy sensation to look down upon the vast city spread out over
+the plain, from whence a hum of mingled sounds comes up with singular
+distinctness. Even the bells upon the mules which are attached to the
+tram-cars can be distinguished, and other sounds still more delicate and
+minute. Just so balloonists tell us that at two or three thousand feet
+in mid-air they can distinguish the voices of individuals upon the earth
+below them. The experienced traveler learns to be astonished at nothing,
+but there are degrees of pleasure induced by beautiful and majestic
+views which mount to the apex of our capacity for admiration. One can
+safely promise such a realizing sense to him who ascends the Corcovado.
+
+A tramway which starts from the centre of the city will take the
+traveler to the base of the hill, through roads lined by palms of great
+age and beauty, finally leaving him near the point from whence the steam
+road begins the upward journey.
+
+Nictheroy, just across the harbor of Rio, on the east side of the bay,
+is a sort of faubourg of the capital, with which it is connected by a
+line of steam ferry-boats, as Chelsea is with Boston, or Brooklyn with
+the city of New York. It is the capital of the province of Rio Janeiro,
+and has broader streets, is more reasonably laid out, and is kept more
+cleanly than Rio itself. Space is found for a profusion of attractive
+gardens, and the senses are greeted by sweet odors in the place of
+needlessly offensive smells, which attack one on all sides in the
+metropolis so near at hand. It is quite a relief to get on to one of the
+ferry-boats and cross over to Nictheroy occasionally, for a breath of
+pure air. This is the native Indian name of the place, and signifies
+"hidden water," particularly applicable when these land-locked bays were
+shrouded in dense tropical woods.
+
+Unlike Para, Montevideo, and Buenos Ayres, this city has no special
+river communication with the interior, but her commerce is large and
+increasing. Railroads are more reliable feeders for business than either
+rivers or canals. It is a fact which is not generally realized, that
+Brazil has over six thousand miles of well-constructed railways in
+operation, besides having a telegraph system covering seven thousand
+miles of land service. In the construction of the railroads, the cost,
+so far as the ground work and grading was concerned, was reduced to the
+minimum, owing to the level nature of the country. As was the case in
+New Zealand, many of these railways were constructed at great expense,
+in anticipation of the wants of a future population, who it was hoped
+would settle rapidly upon the route which they followed. That is to say,
+many of these roads did not open communication between populous
+districts already in existence. This would have been perfectly
+legitimate. They run to no particular objective point, and seem to stop
+finally nowhere. The natural sequence followed. After being built and
+equipped with borrowed money, they were anything but self-supporting,
+and pecuniary aid from the government was freely given to enable them to
+be kept in operation.
+
+There must always come a day of reckoning for all such forced schemes,
+and the Brazilian railways were no exception to the rule. This is
+largely the primary cause of the present monetary troubles in this
+country, as well as in the Argentine Republic. The capital for the
+construction of these roads came mostly from England, and that country
+has been accordingly a heavy pecuniary sufferer. The rates charged for
+transportation upon most of the lines are also exorbitant, if we were
+rightly informed; so much so, in fact, as to prove nearly prohibitory.
+Scarcely any species of merchandise brought from a considerable distance
+inland will bear such freight charges and leave a margin for profit to
+the producer and shipper. Would-be planters of coffee and sugar-cane
+dare not enter upon raising these staples for the market, unless
+situated very near the shipping point, or near some available river's
+course, the latter means being naturally much cheaper than any form of
+railway transportation.
+
+Situated on the border of two zones, Rio Janeiro has the products of
+both within her reach, and thus possesses peculiar advantages for
+extensive trade and general commerce. It is in this latter direction
+that her progressive and enterprising merchants are endeavoring to
+extend the facilities of the port. The passenger landings--not
+wharves--which border the water front of the city here and there are of
+solid granite, from which at suitable intervals broad stone steps lead
+down to the water's edge, as on the borders of the Neva at St.
+Petersburg. We have few, if any, such substantial landing-places in our
+North American ports. We know of no harbor on the globe which enjoys a
+more eligible situation as regards the commerce of foreign countries,
+both of the New and the Old World. The one convenience so imperatively
+demanded is proper wharves for the landing and shipping of cargoes, thus
+obviating the necessity of the expensive and tedious lighter system. It
+is her many natural and extraordinary advantages which has led to so
+steady a growth of the city, notwithstanding the very serious drawback
+of an unwholesome climate, aggravated by the indolence and incapacity of
+the local authorities in sanitary matters. Both consumption and yellow
+fever have proved more fatal here than at any other port in South
+America, so far as we could draw comparisons.
+
+The well-equipped marine arsenal of Rio is of considerable interest and
+importance, as there is no other port on the Atlantic coast, between the
+Gulf of Mexico and Cape Horn, where a large modern vessel can go into
+dry dock for needed repairs. This receptacle is ample in size, and is
+substantially built of granite. Such an establishment as a national
+shipyard is a prime necessity to a commercial country like Brazil, which
+has eleven hundred leagues of seacoast.
+
+In the Plaza Constitution, which is a very grand and spacious park in
+the heart of the city, there is an elaborate and costly statue of the
+father of the late emperor, of heroic size. The pedestal is surrounded
+by four bronze groups, representing typical scenes of early Indian life
+in this country. The Paseo Publico is also a garden-like spot, extending
+three or four hundred feet along the bay. This is a cool and favorite
+resort of the populace. On the corners of the principal streets and
+squares there are little octagonal structures called kiosks, gayly
+painted, where hot coffee, lottery tickets, and bonbons are sold, as
+well as newspapers and flowers. Here, as in Havana, the city of Mexico,
+Naples, and many European cities, the lottery proves to be a terrible
+curse to the common people, draining their pockets and diverting them
+from all ideas of steady-going business. It is customary also for the
+regularly organized business establishments to patronize the lottery
+with never-failing regularity, charging a certain monthly sum to expense
+account, but the money is nevertheless paid out for lottery tickets. The
+bad moral effect of this upon clerks and all concerned is very obvious.
+When by chance any prize, be it never so small, is awarded, a great
+flurry is made of the fact, and advertisements emphasize it, thus to
+incite fresh investments in this organized public swindle. Tickets are
+sold by boys and girls, men and women, and half the talk of the
+thoughtless multitude is about the lottery, how to hit upon lucky
+numbers, and so on.
+
+It is a mistaken though popular idea that our New England consumptives
+have only to seek some tropical locality to alleviate their special
+trouble. Rio seems to be particularly fatal to persons suffering from
+pulmonary troubles. The same may be said of many other tropical regions.
+When consumption is developed in the Bahamas, Cuba, or the Sandwich
+Islands, for instance, it runs its fatal course with a speed never
+realized in the Northern States of America. Physicians do not send
+patients to foreign localities so indiscriminately as they used to.
+Almost every sort of climate is to be found within the borders of the
+United States, where also civilized comforts are more universally to be
+obtained than abroad. Besides which, an invalid does not have to brave
+seasickness and other ocean hardships, if sent to some eligible locality
+within our own borders.
+
+Though Brazil has long been, and is still, famous for its production of
+diamonds, precious stones, and gold, yet these are as nothing when
+compared with her exports of sugar, coffee, and hides, not taking into
+account her product of rice, cocoa, tobacco, dyewoods, and other
+important staples. A large portion of the abnormal growth of her forests
+is valuable for its timber, resins, fibre, and fruits. It is naturally a
+very rich country, with a world of wealth in its soil, but miserable
+financial mismanagement has caused the national treasury to become
+utterly bankrupt, and at this writing mercantile credit is an unknown
+quantity, so to speak. The natural resources of the country are
+unlimited; therefore it must be only a question of time when a healthy
+reaction shall set in, and a period of sound prosperity follow.
+
+It should be remembered in this connection that the immediate country of
+which we are speaking, that is, Brazil as a whole, is as large as the
+United States, leaving out the territory of Alaska.
+
+
+
+
+          CHAPTER IX.
+
+     Outdoor Scenes in Rio Janeiro.--The Little Marmoset.--The
+     Fish Market.--Secluded Women.--The Romish Church.--Botanical
+     Garden.--Various Species of Trees.--Grand Avenue of Royal
+     Palms.--About Humming-Birds.--Climate of Rio.--Surrounded by
+     Yellow Fever.--The Country Inland.--Begging on the
+     Streets.--Flowers.--"Portuguese Joe."--Social Distinctions.
+
+
+It would require many pages to properly describe Rio Janeiro with its
+curious phases of street life, its manners and customs, its local
+peculiarities, and moving panorama of events, all combining to make up a
+unique personality. These out-of-door scenes go far to tell the true
+story of any special locality. The fruit and vegetable market, near
+Palace Square, is a highly attractive place to visit at early morning.
+The negro women venders, always stout and portly creatures, with heads
+turbaned in many-colored bandannas, are eloquent in recommending their
+articles for sale, and are also very shrewd at a bargain. It is not
+uncommon for these middle-aged negresses to stand six feet high, without
+shoes or stockings, and to turn the scales at double the average weight
+of men of the same color and class. These women were all slaves in their
+girlhood. As regards prices charged for provisions, fruits, and
+vegetables, in the markets of Rio, they seemed to the author rather
+exorbitant, but doubtless permanent residents do not pay such sums as
+are charged to strangers for the same articles. We were heartily laughed
+at by a housekeeper on stating the cost of a small basket of choice
+fruit which we had purchased, being told that we had paid four times its
+market value. However, it was well worth the price to us, who had just
+arrived from an ocean voyage of five thousand miles and more. On
+shipboard fruit is necessarily a scarce article, and it was certainly
+worth something extra to be introduced for the first time to the
+luscious products of this region.
+
+The abundance and variety of flowers, as well as their cheapness and
+fragrance, make them a desirable morning purchase, with all their dewy
+freshness upon them. Oranges, limes, pineapples, lemons,
+alligator-pears, cocoanuts, grapes, mangoes, with an infinite variety of
+other fruits, make up the stock in trade, together with squealing pigs,
+live turkeys, and noisy guinea-fowls. Here also are various gaudy
+feathered songsters, in cheap, home-made cages, besides monkeys,
+marmosets, and other household pets. The macaws, chained by the leg, and
+the screaming parrots vie with each other and with the monkeys in the
+amount of noise they make. Wicker baskets filled with live ducks, geese,
+and fowls are borne on the heads of native women, who have brought them
+many a long weary mile from far inland, hoping to make a few pennies by
+their sale. The chatter of the women, the cries of men and animals, an
+occasional quarrel between two noisy Italians, ending in furious
+vociferations and gesticulations, all add to the Babel of sound. One
+little marmoset put his hand into that of the author, looking so
+appealingly into his face that, imagining the little fellow might be
+hungry, some nice edibles, calculated to rejoice the monkey heart, were
+promptly purchased and gratefully received by the marmoset, which, in
+his eager haste to consume the same, stuffed the sides of either jaw to
+alarming proportions. The little creature was wonderfully human, and
+having found a kindly disposed stranger, insisted upon keeping one of
+his tiny hands in our own, while he rapidly filled his mouth with the
+other.
+
+It is interesting to observe the artistic manner in which the native
+women, Indians and blacks, mingle and arrange the various fruits and
+vegetables, showing a natural instinct for the harmonious blending of
+colors and forms. A pile of yellow oranges, green limes, and mangoes had
+a base of buff-colored bananas picturesquely arranged with all the
+pointed ends of the finger-like fruit outward, while a luscious ripe
+pineapple formed the apex of the pile, set off jauntily by its
+cactus-like, prickly leaves. On the borders of the market and along the
+iron railing of Palace Square, black-haired, bareheaded Italian women
+displayed cheap jewelry, imitation shell, gilded combs, and other fancy
+trinkets for sale, embracing priestly knick-knacks, ivory crosses,
+crucifixion scenes, coral beads, high-colored ribbons, and gaudy
+kerchiefs. The bronzed faces of these black-eyed, gypsy-like women were
+very cadaverous, as though the land of their adoption did not
+particularly agree with them. It seems hardly possible that these
+peddlers could gain a livelihood trading in these tawdry and utterly
+useless articles among such a humble, impecunious class of customers as
+frequent the market, and yet their numerous wide-open, shallow tin boxes
+showed a considerable stock of goods.
+
+The fish market is a curious sight in the variety of colors and shapes
+afforded by the inhabitants of the neighboring bay, where most of them
+are caught. What an array of finny monsters!--rock-fish, large as
+halibut, ray, skates, craw-fish, cuttle-fish, and prawns half as large
+as lobsters, together with devil-fish and oysters. Funny idea, but these
+oysters, many of them, are grown on trees! How is this possible? Let us
+tell you. The mangrove trees line the water's edge; many of the branches
+overhang the sea, and are submerged therein. To these young oysters
+affix themselves, and there they live and thrive. The same phenomenon
+was observed by the author some years ago in Cuba. These oysters are
+found in small corrugated shells scarcely larger than a good-sized
+English walnut, which they somewhat resemble.
+
+In the fish market one sees some very original characters among the
+negro women who preside over the finny tribe. They are large,
+good-natured creatures, quick at a trade, and quite intelligent. We
+recall one, who was a prominent figure among her companions. She was
+tall, portly, and strong as a horse. Her head was decked with a bandanna
+kerchief of many colors, her flat nose and protruding lips indicating
+close African relationship. Secured behind one of her ears was a
+cigarette, while a friction match protruded from the other, ready for
+use. Her coarse calico dress, of deep red, was covered in front by a
+brown linen apron extending nearly to her bare feet. Her uncovered arms
+were about as large as a man's legs. This negress dressed the several
+kinds of fish with the facility of an expert, making change for her
+patrons with commendable promptness, and dismissing them with a
+good-natured smile, adding some remark which was pretty sure to elicit
+hearty laughter.
+
+As we stood viewing these things, a noisy fellow made himself very
+obnoxious to every person whom he met. He had evidently been too often
+to the neighboring spirit-shops. A police officer arrested the man by
+touching him lightly on the shoulder and saying a few words to him;
+then, pointing ahead, made the fellow precede him to the lock-up. Though
+this disturber of the peace was half drunk, he knew too much to resist
+an officer, which is considered to be a heinous offense and is severely
+punished in Rio. It was natural to contrast this scene with the violent
+resistance offered by offenders with whom the police of New York and
+Boston have often to deal.
+
+The streets of Rio, at all times of the day, present a motley crowd of
+half-naked negroes, overladen donkeys, lazy Portuguese, Italian, and
+Spanish loafers, smoking cheap cigars, with here and there a Jew hawking
+articles of personal wear, women with various heavy articles upon their
+heads, water carriers, vociferous sellers of confectionery, all moving
+hither and thither, each one intent upon his or her individual interest
+and oblivious of all others. The background to this kaleidoscopic
+picture is the low, stucco-finished houses, painted in lively red,
+yellow, or blue, interspersed here and there by bas-reliefs, the whole
+reflecting the rays of a torrid sun. Though it is all quite different,
+yet somehow it recalls the narrow, crowded streets and bazaars of Cairo
+and Alexandria. It is very natural, in passing, to regard with interest
+those screened balconies, and to imagine what the lives may be of the
+half orientally excluded women within them, while occasionally catching
+luminous glances from curious eyes. The notes of a guitar, or those of
+the piano, often reach the ear of the passer-by, sometimes accompanied
+by the ringing notes of a song, for the ladies of Brazil are extremely
+fond of music; indeed, it seems to be almost their only distraction. Of
+books they know very little, and any literary reference is to them like
+speaking in an unknown tongue. Even the one poet of Portugal, Camoens,
+appears to be a stranger on this side of the Atlantic. The isolation and
+want of intellectual resort among the average women of this country are
+a sad reality, and are in a degree their excuse for some unfortunate
+indulgences and immoralities, domestic unfaithfulness being as common
+here as in Paris or Vienna.
+
+The majority of the Brazilian women marry at or before the age of
+sixteen, and become old, as we use the term, at thirty. The climate and
+the cares of maternity together age them prematurely. In early youth,
+and until they have reached twenty three or four years, they are almost
+universally very handsome, but this beauty is not retained, as is often
+the case among the sex in colder climes. Of their charms, it must be
+honestly admitted that they are almost purely physical (animal); the
+beauty which high culture imparts to the features, by informing the mind
+and developing the intellect, is not found as a rule among Brazilian
+women. Of course there are some delightful and notable exceptions to
+this conclusion, but we speak of the women, generally, of what is termed
+the better class. Now and then one meets with ladies who have been
+educated in the United States, or in Europe, upon whom early and refined
+associations have left an unmistakable impress. The superiority of such
+is at once manifest, both in general ease of manner, and the
+inexplicable charm which high breeding imparts.
+
+One searches in vain for a full-faced, well-developed, hearty looking
+man, among the natives in the streets of this capital. The average
+people, both high and low, are sallow, undersized, and cadaverous.
+Sunken cheeks and thin figures are the rule among the men, a passing
+North American or Englishman only serving to furnish a strong and
+suggestive contrast. These people have brilliantly expressive eyes, with
+handsome teeth and mouths, though half shriveled up and undeveloped in
+body. If one pauses to analyze the matter, he comes to the conclusion
+that vice and short commons, unwholesome morals and an unwholesome
+climate, have much to do with this prevailing appearance, which must be
+in part hereditary, to be so universal, commencing some way back and
+increasing with the generations. As in Mexico, gentlemen meeting on the
+streets of Rio hug each other with both arms, at the same time
+inflicting two or three quick, earnest slaps with the flat of the hand
+upon the back. This is perhaps after an absence of a few days; but if
+they meet ten times a day, off come their hats, and they shake hands
+with the most earnest demonstrations, both at meeting and at parting.
+Kissing on both cheeks is common enough in many parts of Europe among
+society people, but this hugging business between men meeting upon the
+public streets strikes one as a waste of the raw material.
+
+It goes without saying that the popular religion of Rio Janeiro and the
+country at large is that of the Romish Church, though all denominations
+are tolerated by the laws of the republic. In some districts it is the
+same here as in Mexico and continental Spain, the Protestants being
+persecuted in every possible manner. Nevertheless, the power of the
+priesthood, we were creditably informed, is on the wane. They owe the
+loss of it in a great measure to the gross abuse of their positions and
+their shamefully immoral lives. No one conversant with the true state of
+the case, be he Protestant or Romanist, can deny this statement. The
+author thought that the Roman Catholic priests of Mexico were about as
+wicked a set of men as he had ever met with, taken as a whole, but
+further experience in South America has convinced him that the Mexican
+priesthood have their equals in immorality in Brazil, and elsewhere
+south of Panama. The popular religion of the country is one of the
+saddest features of its national existence, forming the great
+drag-weight upon its moral, and indirectly upon its physical progress.
+
+The Botanical Garden of Rio is a justly famous resort, situated about
+six miles from the city, behind the Corcovada, between that mountain and
+the sea, but it is easily reached by tramway, or better still by a
+delightful drive along the shore of Botafogo Bay, over a road shaded by
+imperial palms, together with occasional clusters of the ever beautiful
+bamboo, the sight of which recalled the luxuriant specimens seen in
+Japan and Sumatra. The nearest approach to this admirable public garden
+is to be found at Kandy, in the island of Ceylon, which, as we remember
+it, is considerably more extensive, and presents a larger variety of
+tropical vegetation. The examples of the india-rubber tree, especially,
+are finer in the Asiatic garden than we find them at Rio. A tall,
+slim-stemmed sloth-tree, straight as an arrow, and bare of branches or
+leaves except at the top, was pointed out to us here. It is so called
+because it is the favorite resort of that animal. This creature is very
+easily captured, and the natives are fond of its meat, which may be
+nutritious, but it can hardly be called palatable. As it is almost
+entirely a vegetable-feeding animal, we know not why there should be any
+objection to the meat it produces. The sloth climbs up into the tall
+branches of the tree described, though it does so with considerable
+difficulty, and there remains until it has consumed every leaf and
+tender shoot which it bears; then the voracious creature wanders off to
+find and denude another.
+
+The bread-fruit tree is interesting, with its handsome feathery leaves,
+and its large, melon-shaped product. It grows to fifty feet in height,
+and bears fruit constantly for three quarters of the year, then takes a
+three months' rest. It is only equaled in the profuseness of its product
+by the banana, forming one of the staple sources of food supply to the
+lazy, indolent denizens of tropical regions. The candelabra-tree, with
+its silver-tinted foliage, is one of the beauties of this charming
+Brazilian garden. Among other notable trees are fine specimens of the
+camphor-tree, the tamarind, the broad-spreading mango, opulent in
+fruitfulness, the flowering magnolia, also the soap-tree, with its
+saponaceous berries. The cochineal cactus was thriving after its kind,
+near by what is called the cow-tree, which interests one quite as much
+as any of its companions, rising over a hundred feet in height, with a
+red bark and fig-like leaves. The milk which it yields is of cream-like
+consistency, very similar to that from a cow, and it may be used for any
+ordinary purpose to which we put that article. The tree is tapped, as we
+treat the sugar-maple, in order to obtain its very remarkable and useful
+product. It is nutritious, that is freely admitted; but most probably it
+has some medicinal properties of a latent character, though of this we
+could learn nothing.
+
+The world-famed avenue of royal palms in the Botanical Garden of Rio is
+unique, being undoubtedly the finest tropical arboretum in the world
+arranged by the hand of man. We saw here a delicate little member of the
+palm family, a sort of baby tree, known as the small-stemmed palm of
+Para. Many trees from Asia have become domesticated side by side with
+the maple, the pine, and the elm from New England. Some of the large
+trees were decked with orchids and hanging lichens, the dainty and
+fantastic ornamentation of nature herself, not promoted by artificial
+means. The humidity of the atmosphere especially facilitates the growth
+of this beautiful family of plants, which are as erratic in shape as
+they are variegated in prismatic colors.
+
+It would require a whole chapter to do even partial justice to this
+remarkable garden behind the Corcovado mountain.
+
+One sees here myriads of delicate humming-birds, wonderful animated gems
+of color, remarkable in Brazil for their metallic hues. Such brilliancy
+of lustre, glancing in the warm sunlight, is fascinating to behold. The
+Spaniards call these delicate little creatures "winged flowers," and the
+Portuguese, "flower-kissers." A lady resident of Rio told the author of
+the vain attempt of a patient German scientist to domesticate a few
+specimens of these birds. He commenced by taking them from the nest soon
+after they were hatched, at various periods of their growth, and even
+after they had learned to fly, but although infinite care was taken to
+supply their usual food, and also not to confine them too closely, the
+naturalist was fain to acknowledge the impossibility of accomplishing
+his object, though the experiment extended over a period of two years.
+The ceaseless activity of this frail little bird renders any
+circumscribing of its liberty fatal to existence.
+
+Delicate, innocent, and apparently harmless as butterflies, these
+diminutive creatures are often very pugnacious, and when two males
+engage in a contest with each other, which is not seldom the case, one
+or the other often loses his life. If disturbed during the period of
+incubation, they will attack large birds and even human beings,
+directing their long, needle-like bills at the offender's eyes. Our
+informant told us the particulars of a man who, under such
+circumstances, came very near losing both of these organs. Scientists
+have succeeded in preserving over two hundred different specimens of
+this little feathered beauty, representing that number of species
+indigenous to Brazil. Some of these are only five or six times as large
+as a humble-bee. The artificial flowers already referred to as being for
+sale in the shops of Rio depend almost entirely upon the humming-bird
+for their delicate beauty; no other feathered creature affords such
+marvelous colors and exquisitely fine material for the purpose. The best
+specimens of this work are necessarily expensive, requiring, besides a
+truly artistic taste and eye, skill of execution, infinite patience, and
+much time, to produce them. We saw a choice design of this sort,
+measuring about fifteen by twenty inches, framed under a glass, the
+design being a bouquet of natural flowers, for which the asking price
+was five hundred dollars; four hundred and fifty had been refused. The
+feathers were almost entirely from the throat and breast of
+humming-birds, arranged by a woman who had made this work the occupation
+of her life from girlhood. We learned that such a piece of artistic
+effect represented nearly a year's labor!
+
+One also finds in the Rio shops flower-pieces ingeniously formed from
+the scales of high-colored fishes, as well as from the wings and bodies
+of native insects characterized by brilliant colors, but these of course
+will not compare in delicacy and beauty with the products of the
+feathers. The Brazilian beetle is prepared in a myriad of ornamental
+forms and in many combinations, sometimes mingled with feathers. In the
+Rua dos Ourives there are two or three shops where a great variety of
+such objects is offered for sale. These stores have also many choice
+native stones of great beauty, including the true Brazilian topaz, for
+which there is a growing and appreciative demand.
+
+The idea prevails that the climate of Rio is like some parts of Africa,
+suffocatingly hot all the time, but this is not correct. The American
+consul told the author that he had suffered more from the cold than from
+the heat in the environs of the city, where his residence is in a rather
+elevated district. He declared that the temperature, even in town, was
+rarely so extreme as is often found in the cities of the United States.
+He believes that the yellow fever might be effectually banished from Rio
+by the adoption of strict quarantine and effective sanitary measures in
+the city proper. As we have already intimated, consumption prevails here
+to an alarming extent. This is doubtless owing to the peculiar dampness
+of the atmosphere. We found that statistics show one half as many deaths
+from consumption as from yellow fever, taking the aggregate of five
+years. "The one disease comes annually in the heat of summer only, as a
+rule," said our informant, "while the other prevails more or less all
+the year round, year in and year out." During the two weeks which the
+author stopped at Rio, forty and fifty fatal cases of yellow fever a day
+were recorded, and doubtless more than that number actually fell victims
+to its ravages, as only those who died in the several hospitals were
+enumerated. We were in the city in June, one of the winter months in
+this latitude. Heretofore the fever has nearly always disappeared, as an
+epidemic, by the first or middle of May, even in years when it has been
+most prevalent and fatal. Notwithstanding the charm of novelty which so
+absorbs the stranger, we are free to confess there was a lurking dread
+of the subtle enemy which proved so swift and fatal all about us. Fifty
+deaths daily by yellow fever in a population exceeding half a million
+only served to show that it still lingered in a sporadic form where the
+seeds are perhaps never entirely exterminated. It most readily attacks
+strangers and the unacclimated, but no class is exempt. The indigent,
+careless, drunken portion of the population are no more liable, we were
+informed, to contract the disease than others of better habits. This
+outrages all preconceived notions of diseases of this character, but we
+were assured by good authority that it was really so. The day we left
+Rio, the English Bishop, a most estimable man, who was universally
+respected and beloved, died of the fell disease.
+
+The summer season begins in October and lasts until April, and is better
+known here as the wet season, the rain falling with great regularity
+nearly every afternoon, and at about the same time. Usually an hour of
+liberal downpour is experienced, then it promptly clears up and becomes
+bright and pleasant. The warmest month is February. The winter months
+are May, June, July, and August; this is the dry season, during which
+very little rain falls. The climate appears to be particularly injurious
+to persons who are troubled with a torpid liver. Elephantiasis is
+indigenous, but it is not very common; the few cases seen were upon the
+streets, and were those of negroes who exposed their diseased limbs to
+excite public pity, making the affliction an excuse for systematic
+begging. A score of such unfortunates were seen daily in and about
+Palace Square, and one or two regularly posted themselves before the
+Globe Restaurant, which is the Maison Doree of Rio Janeiro.
+
+The well-to-do merchants do not think of living in town, but select some
+pleasant spot in the environs, where they erect picturesque homes, often
+extremely attractive to the eye architecturally, and surrounded by
+lovely gardens, containing both native and exotic plants and trees. The
+contrast between commercial and rural Rio is something very striking.
+One presents all the grossness and belittling aspect of money-getting,
+the other the graces, liberality, and ennobling appearance of culture
+and refinement. Of all the trees in these attractive environs, the palm,
+in its great variety, challenges one's admiration most. We mention it
+frequently, for it was our constant delight. At every turn one comes
+upon it, in its several species,--the cocoa-palm, the palmetto, the
+cabbage, the assai-palm, the fanshaped-palm, and scores of other
+varieties. The hand and taste of woman are seen in these gardens of the
+environs. Flowers are selected and arranged as only feminine taste could
+suggest, while the broad piazzas are simply floral bowers and gardens of
+placid delights.
+
+The province round about Rio is beautified and rendered profitable by
+the many large coffee plantations, particularly attractive when the
+well-trimmed bushes are seen in full bearing, bending under the weight
+of red berries. Orange orchards abound, the branches of the trees heavy
+with the rich golden fruit; yet as an orange-producing section, Florida,
+in our own country, is fully its equal. The fruit of the southern part
+of the United States is much better and more intelligently cultivated,
+and is larger and fairer, than the fruit of this region. We except
+Bahia, however, in this remark; that is the very paradise of oranges.
+Besides the abundance of fruits, Flora reigns in Brazil, and near to Rio
+bignonias, passifloras, variegated honeysuckles, morning-glories,
+magnolias, and orchids mingle with the dark green mango trees and the
+delicate light green mimosas which meet the eye everywhere. It appears
+that the several species of flowers have their special season for
+blooming, when they are at their best, so that a large variety is always
+seen in bloom at all times in the year. We must confess to having felt
+half lost without the "Queen of Flowers," our grand favorite; but as to
+roses, it was found that the ever present ants maintained a fixed
+hostility to them, rendering it particularly difficult to rear them in
+this country. In all of the many lands we have visited, the author has
+never seen such superbly developed roses as are produced in and about
+the city of Boston. There is some quality in the climate of New England,
+added to the genius of her famous florists, especially adapted to their
+perfection.
+
+The broad leafed umbrella-tree--_chapeo do sul_--is often seen in this
+neighborhood cultivated as a shade tree, both in town and country, while
+the thick clustering bamboo, so often referred to, adds its unique
+beauty to the environs in all directions. The banana and plantain, both
+cultivated and wild, thrive hereabouts, and form an important adjunct to
+the food supply of all classes. The banana is cultivated by offsets, and
+is of rapid growth, coming to maturity and bearing fruit a few months
+after it is planted. Brazil seems to be well called the home of fruits
+and flowers.
+
+Has the reader ever chanced to hear of "Portuguese Joe," of Rio Janeiro?
+He is a man as well known in the capital of Brazil as the late emperor.
+Ostensibly he is only a successful shipchandler, wholesale grocer,
+purveyor--by appointment--to the American and British naval ships which
+put into Rio, or which are stationed here; but over and above his
+extensive commercial relations, we found him to be a Good Samaritan. He
+is quite ready for legitimate business, and has realized a handsome
+fortune by fair and honorable dealing. He charges a reasonable profit
+upon the various supplies which he furnishes, but his goods are exactly
+what he represents them to be, and he has the confidence of all who deal
+with him. His establishment grew up from a small beginning, he having
+come from Portugal to engage in business when only thirteen years of
+age. To-day he is in the prime of life, and his store on the Paraca de
+Dom Pedro II. is a city institution. The highest official, the
+wealthiest bankers, and the most influential merchants are glad to shake
+him cordially by the hand. Signor J. C. V. Mendes--the other title being
+a trade _nom de plume_ of long standing--is a gentleman by nature, and a
+true friend to all strangers who seek his counsels on arriving at Rio.
+We fortunately became acquainted with Signor Mendes on the first day of
+our landing, and are glad to speak of his ready courtesy and desire to
+make all Americans at home who arrive in the capital of Brazil. It is no
+particular recommendation, but it is a pleasure to say that, with his
+calm, self-possessed manner, his brilliant black eyes and genial smile
+lighting up his bronzed features, he is unquestionably the handsomest
+man whom we chanced to meet in Rio Janeiro. Manly beauty is not an
+imperative adjunct to excellence, but is still a very agreeable
+accessory.
+
+One naturally anticipates but will not find any social distinction as to
+race in this city. Color opposes no obstacle to progress in educational
+or official position. Pupils of the public schools meet on the same
+footing and mingle promiscuously. There is nothing to prevent the
+intelligent negro from becoming a judge or minister of state, or from
+filling any high civil office, if he develops proper ability. Many
+bureaus in the public offices are held by colored men, observably in the
+custom house, and the race generally is regarded with far more respect
+than with us in the United States.
+
+Providence has liberally endowed the larger portion of Brazil with a
+fertile soil, an unrivaled flora, and a delightful climate. For a
+tropical country, it is remarkably temperate and salubrious. It has
+mountain scenery excelling that of Switzerland, with fertile valleys
+surpassing those of Italy, and myriads of rivers affording ample means
+of transportation with natural and abundant irrigation. Unlike many of
+her sister states, including those on the west coast of the continent,
+she is exempt from earthquakes and the destruction caused by devouring
+tidal waves. While so much of Mexico and thousands of miles of the
+Pacific coast are scorched by drought, there are no districts of Brazil
+exempt from regular and refreshing rains, the importance of which cannot
+be overestimated. To crown all else, the splendid harbor of her capital
+by its size, safety, and beauty invites the commerce of the world. It
+would certainly seem, when we realize all of these special advantages,
+that nature had intended so large and favored a portion of the globe to
+ultimately be the home of a great, powerful, and prosperous nation.
+
+That the material growth of Brazil is mainly in the right direction is
+manifest to the most casual observer. The many lines of railways
+penetrating the country in every province will by and by prove to be
+effective means of development. Wherever the facilities are liberally
+afforded, not only individuals, but ideas, are sure to travel, and
+social and material improvement must follow. Civilization keeps pace
+with the iron horse. When the street rails penetrated the canons of
+Utah, polygamy was doomed. Material facts are stronger than arguments of
+well-meaning moralists. The establishment of so many railroads through
+the wilds of South America may not be a paying matter, it is not so at
+this writing, but a great moral purpose, and that of true progress, will
+be subserved by them. They will be the agents of enlightenment and
+civilization to many wild tribes of Indians, at the same time opening
+broad and favorable tracts of territory for settlement by emigrants from
+the crowded and overstocked states of Europe.
+
+On the homeward passage, when we visited Rio Janeiro for the second
+time, it was found to be rife with politics; but like Joseph's coat, of
+so many colors as to be confusing to a foreigner. It may reasonably be
+doubted if the natives themselves clearly understood what they wanted.
+The revolutionary element seemed very strong, and was led by men who had
+nothing to lose by agitation, but everything to gain by a lawless
+uprising. The most intelligent citizens predicted a popular revolution
+of some sort in the near future, and their anticipation proved to be
+correct. Revolution is chronic in South America.
+
+
+
+
+          CHAPTER X.
+
+     Petropolis.--Summer Residence of the Citizens of Rio.--Brief
+     Sketch of the late Royal Family.--Dom Pedro's Palace.--A
+     Delightful Mountain Sanitarium.--A Successful but Bloodless
+     Revolution.--Floral Delights.--Mountain Scenery.--Heavy
+     Gambling.--A German Settlement.--Cascatinha.--Remarkable
+     Orchids.--Local Types.--A Brazilian Forest.--Compensation.
+
+
+Petropolis,--or the city of Peter,--the fashionable summer resort of the
+citizens of Rio Janeiro, is a modern town, dating only from 1844, and
+contains at that season of the year a population of some eight thousand.
+The intense heat of the crowded city in the summer months, not to
+mention its usually unhealthy condition, makes even the acclimated
+inhabitants seek a refuge in the hills. So long as the fever continues
+to rage, merchants leave their families here, and come up nightly to
+sleep and breathe the fresh, pure air. It is only on the coast and in
+crowded communities that epidemics prevail. We were told by residents
+that a case of yellow fever never originated at Petropolis; that it was
+too elevated for the citizens to fear anything of the sort. It is so
+generally throughout the country; the yellow fever prevails only in the
+ports and at sea level, a peculiarity also observable in Cuba and the
+several West Indian islands. When the fever prevails, as it does
+annually at Havana and Matanzas, the wealthy citizens, and all
+unacclimated people who are able to do so, retire inland to elevated
+localities, where they are comparatively safe from the scourge. The same
+rule applies to the coast cities of South America,--Para, Pernambuco,
+Bahia, etc. It is a very important matter to the merchants of Rio that
+they have, within two or three hours' reach of their overheated city
+offices, a resort where they can sit in a dry skin and sleep in quiet
+and comfort. Had they not this resort, they would be obliged to succumb
+to disease, or to leave Rio for half of the year annually.
+
+Petropolis is situated in the Organ Mountain range, about thirty miles
+from the metropolis, and is something less than three thousand feet
+above tide-water. The town is built in a slight depression among the
+well wooded hills, forming a vale of alpine beauty, easily reached from
+Rio by boat and rail. The latter portion of the trip, comprising a sharp
+mountain ascent, is made by a system of railroad like that by which the
+summit of Corcovado is reached. The popular route is to cross the harbor
+at Rio by a large and commodious steamboat, a distance of twelve miles,
+and then to take the steam-cars. There is also another railroad route,
+all the way by land. The late emperor's summer palace is the prominent
+feature of Petropolis, together with its elaborate gardens, covering
+some fifteen or twenty acres of land. Hither come the diplomatic
+representatives of foreign nations to enjoy the salubrious mountain air
+and the hospitable society of the best people of Rio Janeiro, and to lay
+aside many of the constraints of city life. A great contrast is apparent
+here to the crowded streets and narrow lanes of the uncleanly capital,
+while the air is undoubtedly remarkable for its healthful and
+invigorating qualities. The summer palace is surrounded by elegantly
+arranged grounds, planted with rare flowers and choice trees from every
+clime. In general effect it resembles an old English country house,
+except for the tropical vegetation, the fine verdant lawns of grass, the
+only ones of any extent in the country, being particularly noticeable.
+This mountain resort has been called the Versailles of Brazil.
+
+It seems appropriate to recall, in brief, the family history of the late
+emperor, Dom Pedro II., of whose favorite abiding-place we are speaking.
+He enjoyed a distinguished reputation among modern rulers, was liberal,
+scholarly, and possessed of great experience of men and the world at
+large. Having been an observant and studious traveler in many parts of
+the globe, his endeavor was to adopt the best well-tried systems of
+other governments in educational and other matters relating to political
+economy. His system was mild, progressive, and designed for the general
+good of the people over whom he presided; in fact, it was too mild for
+the turbulent, unlettered masses of the provinces of Brazil. They were
+not intellectually prepared for such leniency.
+
+The royal family of Portugal fled hither in 1808, at the time of
+Napoleon's invasion of that country, but returned to Europe in 1821. A
+national congress assembled at Rio Janeiro the next year, and chose Dom
+Pedro, eldest son of King Joao VI. of Portugal, "Perpetual Defender of
+Brazil." He proclaimed the independence of the country, and was chosen
+"Constitutional Emperor." In 1831 he abdicated in favor of his only son,
+Dom Pedro II., who reigned as emperor until November 15, 1889, when he
+was dethroned by a bloodless revolution, and, together with his family,
+was exiled, Brazil declaring herself a republic under the title she now
+bears of the United States of Brazil. The feeling was nearly universal
+among the Brazilians that they desired to live under a republican form
+of government, but Dom Pedro II. was a man of such estimable character,
+so just, intelligent, and popular a ruler, that the revolution, which
+finally dethroned him, was deferred long after it was determined upon.
+The peaceful manner in which it was finally achieved is perhaps without
+precedent, and shows how thoroughly the mind of the active spirits of
+the nation was made up to this end. It was a political _coup d'etat_,
+accomplished without the burning of an ounce of gunpowder. The emperor
+himself seemed to accept the position as a foregone conclusion. We
+learned from persons who had been quite intimate with him that he had
+already anticipated the whole condition of affairs, foreseeing that it
+was inevitable. If this is so, he was wise as well as diplomatic and
+humane, for he had enough devoted adherents about him to have made a
+serious though doubtless futile conflict for possession. There are
+always myriads of the unthinking rabble ready to join and even fight for
+authority which is already established, especially when seconded, as was
+the case with Dom Pedro, by a strong personal popularity.
+
+The palace at Petropolis is, with its extensive grounds, now offered for
+sale, the country having no further use for palaces. It is understood
+that a local syndicate propose to purchase the whole and cut up the land
+into building lots, which are very much in demand just at this writing.
+It would not be surprising if Petropolis were to double its population
+during the next four or five years. Speculators are already at work
+"booming" the place, and a summer home here is just what the Rio
+merchant requires.
+
+Some queer stories are told about the every-day life of Dom Pedro by his
+neighbors. It seems, according to these reports,--for the truth of which
+we cannot vouch,--that he often chose as his associates and advisers
+uneducated persons of very humble origin, who had accumulated wealth by
+shrewdness and industry, besides which he latterly exhibited many very
+peculiar traits of character; but, as we say, it is difficult to decide
+whether these stories are to be relied upon. It is more than hinted that
+he had grown very weak minded, or, as the Scotch say, had a bee in his
+bonnet. At all events, it now appears that he did not possess the
+necessary energy and executive ability requisite to control a naturally
+turbulent and restless people, and that his summary dethronement, so
+peaceably accomplished, must have come sooner or later.
+
+It is very natural to speculate upon the present state of affairs in
+this country, since the change has taken place. To render a republic
+possible and successful requires a liberal degree of intelligence among
+the common people, that is, the masses at large. Unfortunately Brazil
+cannot boast of such a condition among her population. The educated,
+cultured portion of the community is quite limited, consequently the
+country is hardly fit for self-government. Ignorant masses are only
+amenable to the strong arm, and cannot, while untaught, be controlled
+through the influence of reason and argument. Past experience shows us
+that while a republic in the United States, France, or Switzerland means
+freedom and order, in these half barbaric southern states it signifies
+an alternation of revolution and of military despotism. Subject to the
+rule of Dom Pedro, Brazil was alike free from despotism and from
+disorder, so that it may be questioned whether his liberal reign was
+not, under the circumstances, the truest republic for which Brazil was
+fitted. Indeed, while these lines are being written, the question of a
+return to the former style of government is openly discussed at Rio
+Janeiro, where a state of political imbroglio exists very similar to the
+conditions which caused the late disastrous civil war in Chili, on the
+other side of the Andes. Such a shocking outcome, however, need never be
+feared in Brazil as has been developed by the sister republic on the
+Pacific coast, since both intelligence and civilization are far more
+advanced in Brazil than in Chili.
+
+The town of Petropolis and its neighborhood possesses good roads for
+driving purposes, this location having been for several years the pride
+and pleasure of the late emperor, who made the place what it now is by
+his liberal expenditures and the constant improvements which he
+instituted, paying for them out of his own private purse. The first
+selection of this healthful spot was also his idea, and he felt a
+personal pride in doing everything possible towards making it popular.
+The roads referred to lead one through delightful scenery and highly
+cultivated neighborhoods, beautified by art, until finally they lose
+themselves among the hills and amidst impenetrable forests. There are
+several fairly good hotels here, where the charges are moderate and the
+domestic conveniences execrable! The great variety of trees to be found
+in and about the town is marvelous, the palm and pine prevailing,
+interspersed with the beautiful feathery Brazilian cedar. The tree-ferns
+which grow here to a height of twelve feet are great favorites, with
+their bright green fronds, six feet in length, almost reaching the
+ground as the stalk bends gracefully with their weight. The scarlet
+passion flower is trained as an ornamental creeper in nearly every
+garden-plot, and tall fuchsias in various colors and pearl white
+camellias also abound. We have rarely seen the camellia in such variety
+of colors, or such profusion of flowers. It is often found blooming
+beside tall coffee-trees, themselves full of deep green clustering
+berries, the tree, where grown for ornamental purposes, being permitted
+to reach full proportions. Here one sees also a profusion of the rich
+green bamboo in prolific groves by the roadside, or surrounding humble
+cottages, thus forming a welcome shade. In midsummer, so rapid is the
+growth of the bamboo that every twenty-four hours adds two feet to its
+height, or in other words, it grows an inch each hour throughout the day
+and the night. Jack's fabulous beanstalk hardly surpasses the bamboo,
+though the former is an amusing myth, while the latter is simply a
+literal fact. Some very lovely gladioli and white roses were noted as
+adding their beauty to these charming hill gardens in the Organ
+Mountains. So abundant were the flowers of various kinds in the grounds
+which surrounded our hotel, that any one was welcome to pluck and
+appropriate them to the extent of his fancy. The public tables were
+supplied with fresh ones every day, forming great living pyramids of
+beautiful colors, emitting inimitable fragrance.
+
+Our hotel was situated on gently rising ground, commanding a
+considerable view of the plateau on which the town stands, with Dom
+Pedro's palace in the middle foreground, shaded by groups of palms. It
+was a delight to sit out-of-doors and watch the cloud effects as they
+hung over the tree-covered hills and peaks, closing their ranks now and
+again, and sweeping over the valley like a dashing charge of cavalry; or
+cautiously advancing in single scuds like infantry deployed as
+skirmishers; or, again, mottling the sky in white and peaceful masses.
+At the brief twilight hour, it was like a living poem to note the
+varying sunset hues creeping along the valley and gleaming through the
+branches of the grand old trees which broke the sky-line of the
+mountains, and the soft lilac blush of the sky, like a profile in
+silhouette, with sharp curves and infinite detail. A deep, broad gulch,
+opening towards the west, afforded a lingering view of the golden,
+crimson, and pink horizon, long after the day had closed, and until the
+stars gleamed forth through the transparent atmosphere and glorified the
+advent of night.
+
+This is nature in her happy moods. A little later, to these exquisite
+delights of the moment, an ugly obverse presents itself. "Only man is
+vile."
+
+From opposite the open window where we sit penning these lines,--it is a
+Sabbath evening,--there comes the sharp rattle of diceboxes and billiard
+balls, together with the loud, angry talk of persons engaged at gambling
+games of cards, interrupted by the repeated cries of the presiding
+genius of the roulette table: "Make your game, signors, make your game,"
+as he coolly rakes in the winnings of the bank. Italian, French,
+English, and Spanish adventurers mingle their jargon with Portuguese in
+the noisy throng who crowd the gambling "hell." It was said that
+seventeen thousand dollars were won by a Portuguese gentleman, last
+evening, in this "casino" just across the street, so losers to a like
+amount, on the same occasion, must have been rendered half desperate.
+The wretchedly demoralizing effect of gambling is apparent throughout
+all the cities of this republic, the common lotteries tempting the mass
+of the people, and various games of chance others who have money to
+risk.
+
+Petropolis is extremely attractive in many respects, the scenery round
+about it very much resembling that of Switzerland. The broad streets are
+lined with such pretty villas and attractive gardens that one falls to
+making romantic pictures of possible delightful things which might
+naturally happen in them, and is led to peer into nooks and corners with
+a prying earnestness amounting almost to impertinence. These avenues
+contain in their centres deep canals, thirty or forty feet wide, having
+granite linings and the upper portion of the banks neatly sodded with
+grass. Through these canals the water from the surrounding hills flows
+in a pure, rapid stream, carrying away the drainage of the town, which
+is emptied into them by underground conduits. These water-ways are
+crossed by numerous small but substantial bridges, painted scarlet,
+while the rushing river imparts a delightful coolness.
+
+The largest portion of the permanent inhabitants of Petropolis is
+composed of Germans, whose native tongue is heard on all sides, while
+the familiar clatter of wooden shoes speaks of Berlin, Dresden, and
+other German continental centres. The rosy-cheeked, flaxen-haired,
+blue-eyed children are also prima facie evidence of the prevailing
+nationality, though there are a large number of Italians who reside
+here. The latter keep small shops and are peddlers of fruit, or marble
+cutters and stucco workers, while many others find employment as
+gardeners.
+
+The highway to a certain mining district passes through the town, and
+many donkeys laden with inland products are constantly to be seen in the
+streets en route for Rio, giving the place a business aspect hardly
+warranted by the local trade. From the neighboring hills charcoal
+burners drive their donkeys every morning, laden with that article for
+domestic use in the town, forming picturesque groups on the public
+square, where they await purchasers. Others bring small-cut wood from
+the hill for fuel, packed in little, narrow, toy carts, each drawn by a
+single donkey. Scores of donkeys bearing tall, widespread loads of green
+fodder are so hidden by the mass of greenery which they struggle under,
+that none of the animal is seen at all, leading one to imagine that
+Birnam wood has literally come to Dunsinane. These animals are almost
+always attended by women, who sell the fodder in the market and return
+home at night with such domestic necessities as are required. Women are
+the laborers here, as at home in Germany, where they perform the hard
+work, while their husbands guzzle beer and smoke endless tobacco.
+
+Petropolis is, as we have said, steadily growing, but the banishment of
+the emperor will retard its progress, as it takes from the town its
+strongest element of assured success. We counted about a score of fine,
+large residences in course of construction. The climate here is like
+that of June in New England, and the verdure of the trees is perennial.
+
+There is a charming excursion which strangers rarely fail to enjoy,
+namely, to a place familiarly known as the Cascades. The village
+adjoining these falls is called Cascatinha, and is situated in the lap
+of the Organ Mountains, about five miles from Petropolis. The road
+thither leads along the side of a small but boisterous stream, which
+gladdens the ear with its merry, gurgling notes, past lowly, thatched
+cottages, orange orchards, bamboo and banana groves, and green breadths
+of well-cultivated, undulating land, finally ending in the midst of a
+panorama of bold mountain peaks, lovely with varied gradations of tint,
+and subtlest effects of light and shade. Here the abundant water
+furnished by the river, which is artificially adapted to the purpose,
+forms a series of cascades and falls, at the same time furnishing the
+motive power for operating extensive cotton and woolen mills, which give
+employment to several hundred men and women. A very humble type of life
+mingles hereabouts with that of a much more refined character. Naked or
+half-clad children are seen here and there playing with those who are
+comparatively well dressed. Nice cottage homes adjoin those of the
+poorest class. Children of both sexes are observed, only partially
+covered with rags, who are endowed with a loveliness of eyes and
+features, together with handsome figures, causing one to reflect upon
+the unfulfilled possibilities of such childish beauty.
+
+Men and women often bring into Petropolis and offer for sale beautiful
+orchids, which they find in the woods not far away. These they pack in
+green leaves, retaining a piece of the original bark or wood upon which
+they have grown. These pretty flowerings of exuberant nature are sold
+for a trifling price. Some are very remarkable in form and color, such
+as we have never before chanced to see, and for really rare ones the
+finders ask and receive good prices. We saw among them a specimen of the
+Flor del Espiritu Santo,--"Flower of the Holy Spirit,"--to find which is
+thought to bring to the fortunate discoverer good luck, as well as a
+handsome price for the orchid. These women may have passed whole days in
+their search of the forest, patiently breaking their way through nearly
+impassable jungles, before nature reveals to them one of her most dainty
+gems. As a rule, the forests are so dense that it is useless to try to
+penetrate them, except by following some beaten route,--a charcoal
+burner's road or a straggling way formed by a watercourse.
+
+We well remember, but can only partially describe, the glory and beauty
+of the Brazilian primeval forest. The general tone of the color is
+brownish rather than light green, influenced by the absence of strong
+light, for though the sun is glowing in the open country, here it is
+twilight. Not one direct beam penetrates the density of the foliage, the
+sombre drapery of the woods. At first one is awed by the vast extent of
+the forest, by the dark, mournful shadows, by the gigantic trees
+reaching so far heavenward, forming here and there gothic arcades of
+matchless grandeur, and by the bewildering variety of the undergrowth.
+Scarcely a tree trunk is seen without its parasite, green with foliage
+not its own, "beyond the power of botanists to number up their tribe."
+These dense jungles might be in India, or a bit out of "Darkest Africa;"
+one is barred by an impenetrable wall of vegetation. Where palms occur,
+it is almost always in groups; being a social tree, it loves the company
+of its species. So with the bamboo, which is found in the more swampy
+regions, but always in groups of its own family. These damp woods are
+the home of the orchids; it is here that they revel in moisture,
+clinging to the trunks of tall, columnar trees, fattening on decayed
+portions of the bark, but forming bits of lovely color, while about the
+stems of other forest monarchs wind creeping vines of rope-like texture,
+binding huge trunks in a fatal embrace. Their final strangulation is
+slow, but it is sure,--only a question of time. Lofty trees bear
+charming flowers, as lowly shrubs do in our northern clime. Arborescent
+ferns vie with the palms in poetic beauty, with their elastic, tufted
+tops. Bunches of lilac and blossoms of snowy whiteness hang in the air.
+Drooping mosses depend like human hair from widespread branches, and
+soft, velvety moss carpets the way, with here and there dwarf mimosas
+trailing beneath the ferns. Long vines of woody climbers, in deep
+olive-green, twine and intertwine among the ranks of stout, aged trees,
+breaking out at short distances with pink, blue, and scarlet buds,
+rivaling the color of the birds which flash hither and thither like rays
+of sunlight breaking through the leafy screen. Now and again the shrill
+or plaintive notes of unfamiliar songsters fall upon the ear, mingling
+with the cooing of the wood-doves and the low drone of the dragon-fly.
+The magnificent arboreal growth of these forests develops itself into
+thousands of strange and beautiful forms, stimulated by the constant
+humidity of the high temperature.
+
+The atheist must feel himself stifled for breath in the tropical forest,
+and his fallacious creed challenged by every surrounding object, while a
+new light illumines his unwilling soul with irrefutable evidences. The
+Supreme Being writes his gospel not in the Bible alone, but upon the
+grand old trees, the lowly flowers, the fleeting clouds, and upon the
+eternal stars. Those who seek nature for religious inspiration never
+fail to obtain it, untrammeled by the vulgar tenets of sectarianism or
+outraged by the tinsel of church forms and ceremonies.
+
+The observant traveler from the north is fain to seek some consolation,
+some evidence of the glorious law of compensation, while comparing the
+features of these poetical latitudes with his own well-beloved but more
+prosaic home. He remembers that if these gaudy birds do flout in vivid
+colors that dazzle and charm the eye, they have not the exquisite power
+of song which inspires our more soberly clad New England favorites.
+Brilliancy of feathers and sweetness of song rarely go together, a
+natural fact which suggests a whole moral essay in itself. The torrid
+zone clothes its feathered tribes in glowing plumage, but the colder
+north endows hers with heart-touching melody. If the flowers of the
+tropics exhaust the hues of the prism, attracting us by the oddity of
+their forms, while blooming in exuberant abundance, the sweet and lowly
+children of Flora in higher latitudes greet the senses with a fragrance
+unknown in equatorial regions. Joy is nowhere all of a piece. Blessings,
+we are forced to believe, whether in the form of beauty of color,
+fragrance, or melody, are very equally divided all over the world, and
+those portions which have not one, as a rule, are almost sure to have
+the other. When we become eloquent and appreciative in the lively
+enjoyment of scenes in a new country, it is not always because they are
+more desirable or more beautiful than our own; it is the newness and the
+contrast which for the moment so captivate us. That to which we are
+accustomed, however grand, becomes commonplace; we covet and require
+novelty to quicken the observation. Were the sun to rise but once a
+year, in place of three hundred and sixty-five times every twelve
+months, we would willingly travel thousands of miles, if it were
+necessary, to witness the glorious phenomenon. The most charming natural
+objects please us in proportion to their rarity or our unfamiliarity
+with them.
+
+
+
+
+          CHAPTER XI.
+
+     Port of Santos.--Yellow Fever Scourge.--Down the Coast to
+     Montevideo.--The Cathedral.--Pamperos.--Domestic
+     Architecture.--A Grand Thoroughfare.--City
+     Institutions.--Commercial Advantages.--The Opera House.--The
+     Bull-Fight.--Beggars on Horseback.--City Shops.--A Typical
+     Character.--Intoxication.--The Campo
+     Santo.--Exports.--Rivers and Railways.
+
+
+Santos is the name of a commercially important harbor situated on the
+east coast of South America about three hundred miles southwest of Rio
+Janeiro, after which city it is the greatest export harbor for coffee in
+Brazil. Otherwise it is about as uninteresting a spot as can be found on
+the continent. It became a city so late as 1839, and contains some
+twenty thousand inhabitants. Its annual export of coffee will reach an
+aggregate of two hundred and twenty-five thousand sacks. The bay is
+surrounded by a succession of hills, and is well sheltered, except on
+the southwest. The town is situated on the west side of the harbor, and
+hugs the shore, many of the houses being built upon piles. Behind the
+town to the westward rises a succession of mountain ranges. The
+immediately surrounding country is low and malarial, causing fevers to
+prevail all the year round. During the present season Santos has
+suffered more seriously from yellow fever than any other place on the
+coast in proportion to the number of its inhabitants. As a commercial
+port it has no rival in southern Brazil. Santa Catharina, Porto Alegre,
+and Rio Grande, the three harbors south of Santos, are rendered
+inaccessible for any but small craft, owing to sandbars at their
+entrances.
+
+This is the present terminus of the United States and Brazil Mail
+steamship route from New York, and notwithstanding its many drawbacks in
+point of sanitary conditions, is yet growing rapidly in commercial
+importance. Its wretchedly unhealthy condition causes one to hasten away
+to the more elevated country, where St. Paul is situated, and where the
+traveler runs little or no risk of contracting yellow fever or malarial
+affections of any sort.
+
+Santos is the port for St. Paul, with which it is connected by rail, and
+from which it is separated by about forty miles.
+
+This capital of the state of Sao Paulo, St. Paul, contains some ninety
+thousand inhabitants. The province is credited with a million and a
+half. The city lies just under the tropic of Capricorn, southwest of
+Rio, about two thousand feet above the level of the sea, upon a high
+ridge, covering an elevated plateau of undulating hills. It enjoys the
+sunshine of the tropics, modified by the freshness of the temperate
+zone. It is venerable in years, having been founded in 1554, but it
+seems to have taken a fresh start of late, as its population has doubled
+in the last decade. As intimated, it is entirely free from yellow fever,
+which is so fatal at Santos, and has excellent drinking water, together
+with good drainage and well paved streets. The city contains some fine
+public buildings, and has many handsome adornments, being largely
+peopled by North Americans and English; the former prevail in numbers
+and influence, indeed, it has been called the American city of Brazil.
+There is also a large Italian colony settled here. St. Paul has a good
+system of tramways, several Protestant churches, and a number of
+educational and charitable public institutions, together with many of
+the attractions of a much larger capital. Among the popular amusements,
+the theatre of San Jose is justly esteemed, and is a well-appointed
+establishment in all of its belongings. There are two spacious public
+gardens, embellished with grottoes, fountains, choice trees, and
+flowers, while the private gardens attached to the dwellings are
+numerous and tasteful.
+
+In the district round about the city venomous serpents are frequently
+met with, whose bite is as dangerous as that of the rattlesnakes of our
+northern climate. As the land is cleared and cultivated, they naturally
+and rapidly disappear. These reptiles fear man, and avoid his vicinity
+quite as earnestly as human beings avoid them. It is only when they are
+molested, trodden upon, or cornered, as it were, that they attack any
+one.
+
+The city is connected with Rio Janeiro by a railway, and two other
+railroads run from it far inland. The Rio and St. Paul railway is fairly
+equipped, but the roadbed is not properly ballasted, and consequently
+one rides over the route in a cloud of dust, while suffering from the
+oscillations and jolting of the cars. This railway, however, is one of
+the most successful and profitable in the republic. It is some three
+hundred miles in length, and passes through a dozen or more tunnels, one
+of which is a mile and a half in length. This tunnel required seven
+years' labor before it was passable. There is just now a great "boom" of
+land values in and about St. Paul. It is towards this state that the
+tide of Italian emigration is largely directed, for some reason which we
+do not comprehend, but it is probably stimulated by a combined effort to
+this effect.
+
+The passage southward from Rio Janeiro or Santos to Montevideo occupies
+about five days, but a large amount of rough ocean experience is
+generally crowded into that brief period, added to which the coasting
+steamers are far from affording the ordinary comforts so desirable at
+sea. Of the food supplied to passengers one does not feel inclined to
+complain, because a person embarking upon these lines does so knowing
+what to expect; but as regards the domestic conveniences and cleanliness
+generally, there is no excuse for their defective character. We are
+sorry to say that the class of Portuguese and Spaniards one encounters
+on these coasting vessels is far from decently cleanly in daily habits,
+carelessly adding to the unsanitary conditions.
+
+The wind in these latitudes is not only inclined to be fierce, but it
+usually goes entirely round the compass at least once or twice during
+the voyage, and is more than liable to wind up, off the mouth of the
+river Plate, with a regular and furious pampero. This is a hurricane
+wind, which is born in the gorges of the Andes, and thence pursuing its
+course over nearly a thousand miles of level pampas, gains speed and
+power with every league of progress. The season in which these
+hurricanes--for in their fury they deserve to be thus
+designated--prevail, is from March to September, but they are liable to
+come at any time. The wind is considered by the people of Montevideo to
+be wholesome and invigorating, as far as the land is concerned, but
+seamen dread it on shipboard, and call it a Plate River hurricane. We
+know of no more disagreeable roadstead than that of Montevideo, when a
+pampero is blowing. We have seen ships under these circumstances, with
+two anchors down, obliged to resort to the use of oil on the sea, to
+prevent themselves from being swamped. Though the inhabitants represent
+a pampero to be comparatively harmless on the land, yet it does
+sometimes commit fearful havoc there also, especially among the
+unprotected herds of wild cattle on the plains, and upon all trees or
+plantations which lie in its devastating course. It is true that it
+brings with it a bracing and life-giving atmosphere from the snow-capped
+Andes far away, and if it could only do so with less forceful
+demonstration, it would be a welcome visitor in the heated days of these
+regions.
+
+The most direct way to illustrate what these South American pampas are
+is to compare them to the vast prairies of our Western and Southwestern
+States. Any one familiar with those far-reaching, horizon-bounded plains
+knows what the pampas of the Argentine Republic are like. Beginning near
+the foothills of the Cordilleras, in their very shadow, as it were,
+these smoothed out, level lands extend hundreds of miles eastward to the
+great estuary of the Plate River, on the borders of the Atlantic Ocean.
+Though apparently sterile, the soil of the pampas, like the dry, baked
+land of Australia, only requires irrigation and cultivation to rival the
+most attractive valleys of Southern Europe. It is believed by scientists
+that these plains were once covered by a broad inland sea, connected
+directly with the Atlantic. In their present condition these pampas can
+hardly be called barren, since they give excellent grazing for extensive
+herds of wild cattle, which thrive and fatten upon the abundance of
+coarse, natural grass, similar to what is known as bunch grass in Texas
+and New Mexico. This product ripens and makes itself into standing hay,
+retaining its natural vitality and nutritious qualities throughout
+months of atmospheric exposure. After being close-cropped by the roving
+herds of cattle, the bunch grass renews itself, reproducing in great
+abundance.
+
+Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, is situated on the remarkable
+estuary of the Plate River,--Rio de la Plata, or "Silver River,"--whose
+spacious mouth is marked by two capes, Santa Maria and San Antonio, more
+than one hundred miles apart. Only a nautical observation will show just
+where the line of ocean ceases and that of the estuary begins. The
+unobservant passenger believes himself still sailing upon the broad
+ocean until he finally sights the land on which the city stands. The
+flag of Uruguay flying from various crafts--blue and white, in alternate
+stripes, with a glowing sun in the upper corner near the
+staff--indicates the near approach to the land it represents.
+
+On the island of Flores, fifteen miles from Montevideo, there are a
+lighthouse and quarantine station. The island is formed by a rocky
+upheaval, not over twenty feet above sea level, measuring about a mile
+in length and two or three hundred yards in width. The fierce pamperos
+render the navigation of this estuary oftentimes precarious. When
+approaching the broad river's mouth from the north, sailors know that it
+is near at hand, long before land is seen, by the color of the water,
+which comes forth in such immense volume as to impart a distinct yellow
+hue to the ocean for a long distance from the coast. This effect is said
+to be discernible one hundred miles off the shore, but thirty or forty
+miles will perhaps be nearer the truth, and is at the same time a
+statement answering all legitimate purposes. The tide about the estuary
+is mostly governed by the wind, and so up the river, showing no
+regularity in its rise and fall. The current of the Plate opposite
+Montevideo runs at the rate of about three miles an hour. In extent,
+this ranks as the third great river of the world, draining, with its
+affluents, eight hundred thousand square miles of territory; a mammoth
+basin, which is only exceeded by those of the Amazon and the
+Mississippi.
+
+The commercial activity of the port is shown by the arrival and
+departure daily of many large steamships, foreign and coastwise. Sixty
+European steamers are recorded as arriving here monthly, besides a
+number from the United States. The maritime business of the port is
+mostly in the hands of Englishmen, Americans, and Frenchmen. The
+native-born citizen evinces no genius in commercial matters. The
+department of the capital is the smallest in the republic, having an
+area of only twenty-five square miles, but it is fertile, well wooded
+and watered, its agricultural interests predominating, which is a most
+important fact in estimating the stability and pecuniary responsibility
+of any state.
+
+The city is exceptionably well situated on a small rocky promontory, or
+rather we should designate it as a peninsula, jutting out into the
+estuary, three of its sides fronting the sea, and as its streets are
+nearly always swept by ocean breezes, it is cool and pleasant even in
+midsummer. The land rises gradually as it recedes from the shore, and
+then declines to the bed of a small stream which empties into the bay,
+thus affording a natural surface drainage. Uruguay is a little more than
+twelve times as large territorially as the State of Massachusetts, and
+is divided into thirteen departments. There are over half a million
+acres of land under good cultivation in the republic, the principal
+staples being wheat and corn. Extreme heat and extreme cold are alike
+unknown, the country being within the temperate zone. The mean summer
+temperature is 71 deg. Fahr., that of autumn 62 deg., and of spring 60 deg.. There
+are, therefore, but few things which the climate is too hot or too cold
+to produce, while for the raising of cattle on a large scale it is said
+to be the best section of South America, and this forms, we believe, its
+largest industry.
+
+In approaching Montevideo from the sea, it is observed that the
+surrounding country is quite level, with scarcely a single object to
+break the distant view. Immediately upon landing one realizes that the
+city is clean and well built, though it is mostly made up of low
+structures one story in height. There are plenty of dwellings of two and
+three stories, however, in the more modern part of the town. Dominating
+the whole stand the lofty dome and towers of the cathedral, which faces
+the Plaza Constitution. The turrets are of striking proportions, each
+rising to the height of one hundred and thirty-three feet. The
+widespread dome would be grand in effect, were it not covered with
+glazed tiles of various colors, blue, green, yellow, and so on, the
+combined effect of which is anything but pleasing to a critical eye.
+Still, it is no more tawdry than much of the inside finish and
+meaningless ornamentation. There is an elaborate marble fountain in the
+centre of the plaza, besides some ornamental shrubbery and flowers. The
+very fine marble facade of the building occupied by the Uruguay Club
+adds to the beauty of the plaza. Near the fountain is a fanciful music
+stand, in which a military band is occasionally stationed to perform for
+the public pleasure. These South Americans would as soon give up the
+bull-fights as the popular outdoor evening concerts, the excellent moral
+effect of which no one can possibly doubt.
+
+An abrupt hill at the head of the harbor, four or five hundred feet in
+height, known as the "Monte," gives the city its name, Montevideo. This
+hill is crowned by a small fort and lighthouse, the latter containing a
+revolving light which can be seen a long distance at sea. A couple of
+miles inland rises another hill called the Cerrito, or "little hill."
+Several times during revolutionary struggles, these two hills have been
+fortified by opposing parties, who have desired to control the city, but
+restless revolutionists are now at a discount, fortunately, in this
+republic of Uruguay, a class of uneasy spirits who have reigned quite
+long enough on the southern continent.
+
+The town is built in the form of an amphitheatre, and has comparatively
+few edifices of importance. Its regular, straight streets and open
+squares are intensely Spanish. The Paseo del Molino is the fashionable
+part of the town, where the wealthy merchants reside in curious chalets,
+or _quintas_ as they are called here. There is rather an extraordinary
+taste displayed in the matter of buildings on this Paseo. Swiss
+cottages, Italian villas, Chinese dwellings, and Gothic structures are
+mingled with Spanish and Moorish styles. This architectural incongruity
+is not picturesque, but, on the contrary, strikes one as very crude and
+ill-chosen. The charm of domestic residences in any part of the globe is
+a certain adaptability to the natural surroundings, and is, when well
+conceived, a graceful part of the whole. Inappropriate structures are to
+the eye like false notes in music to the ear, an outrage upon harmony. A
+Swiss chalet in Hindostan, or a Japanese bamboo house in England, is
+simply discordancy in scenic consistency. Nature should always be a
+silent partner in the creation and adaptation of architectural designs.
+In olden times the Jesuits built a large mill near this spot, and hence
+the name of the place.
+
+The climate must be very equable and fine to admit of such fruit culture
+as exists here. The strawberries grown in the neighborhood are famous
+for their size and sweetness, the vines producing this favorite fruit
+all the year round. They are perhaps a little over-developed, and would
+doubtless be of finer flavor if they were smaller.
+
+The Plaza de la Independencia is highly attractive, and so is the broad,
+tree-lined avenue known as the Calle del Dieziochavo de Julio, named
+after the anniversary of the Uruguayan declaration of independence.
+This, indeed, is thought to be the most effective boulevard in all South
+America. On festal occasions it is decorated in an original and
+brilliant manner, having colored draperies hanging from the windows and
+balconies, bright colored cambrics stretched from point to point, with
+the gay flag of the republic festooned here and there. Chinese lanterns
+are hung from the trees, and arches spanning the roadway and bearing
+national designs are all ablaze with ingeniously arranged gas jets. Down
+one side of this long avenue and up the other, it being over a hundred
+feet broad, a civic and military procession marches on the annual
+recurrence of the date which its name indicates, the several divisions
+headed by bands of music, with flags flying and drums beating. On such
+occasions the windows and balconies are filled with groups of handsome
+women, in gala dresses, together with pretty children in holiday
+costumes, who add charm and completeness to the scene. This avenue is
+the Champs Elysees of the southern continent, a thoroughfare of which
+the residents are justly very proud.
+
+The streets and sidewalks generally are of better width in Montevideo
+than in most of the South American cities. Some few of the private
+residences display fine architectural taste, the dwellings being well
+adapted to the climate and the surroundings. Many of the city houses
+have little towers erected on their roofs, called _miradores_, from
+whence one gets an excellent view of the entire city and of the sea. The
+town is spread over a large territory, and stretches away into thinly
+populated suburbs, but all parts are rendered accessible by the
+well-perfected system of tramways which extend over fifty miles within
+the city and the immediate environs. In the absence of official figures,
+we should judge that Montevideo had a population of at least two hundred
+thousand. Every other nationality seems to be represented in its streets
+and warehouses, except that of Uruguay herself. Those "native and to the
+manner born" are conspicuous by their absence. Speaking of this rather
+curious characteristic to a friend who lives here, he replied: "There
+are probably fifty thousand European and North American residents doing
+business in this city, forming by far the most active element of the
+place. They are seen everywhere, to the apparent exclusion of the
+natives. Indigenous blood and energy could not have made this capital
+what it is at the present time. It is reaping the advantage of North
+American enterprise, English and American capital, and German
+shrewdness. These, combined with the natural advantages of the location
+and climate, will eventually make Montevideo the Liverpool of South
+America." Though all this goes without saying, our friend put it so
+aptly that his words were deemed worthy of recording. We do not hesitate
+to predict that the next decade will nearly double the number of the
+population here, as well as the aggregate of its imports and exports. No
+other city on the southern continent has greater advantages in its
+geographical position, or as regards salubrity of climate and
+adaptability to commerce. Were it not for the occasional visits of the
+howling pamperos, the climate would be nearly perfect, and even these
+exhibitions of a local nature are, as we have said, accepted with great
+equanimity by the people on land. There are few stoves, and no
+fireplaces or chimneys, in Montevideo. Cooking is done with charcoal on
+braziers out-of-doors, as is the custom in most tropical countries.
+
+The capital of Uruguay contains the usual educational and religious,
+charitable and scientific, public organizations, with appropriate
+edifices for the same. It should certainly be considered a reading
+community, having more daily newspapers than London, and double as many
+as the city of New York; also supporting a large number of weekly
+newspapers and monthly magazines. As to books, so far as a casual
+observer may speak, they are few and far between in family circles. The
+men read the newspapers, and the women fill up their leisure time with
+music and gossip. There is a national university in Montevideo, where
+over six hundred pupils are regularly taught at the present time, and
+there are forty-eight professors attached to this admirably organized
+institution. We heard it highly spoken of by those who should be good
+judges in educational matters. The custom house, with which the stranger
+always makes an early acquaintance after arriving in port, is a large
+and costly structure, three stories in height. The opera house is worthy
+of particular mention, being a spacious building of the Doric order,
+capable of seating three thousand persons, and when it is filled at
+night, the interior presents a grand array of elegant costumes and
+female beauty, the ladies of this city being noted for their personal
+charms. This is a circumstance not mentioned casually as a mere
+compliment, but simply as a fact. The opera house covers an entire
+square, and has two large wings attached to the main building, one of
+which is devoted to business purposes, and the other contains the
+National Museum. There is here the nucleus of a most valuable
+collection, to which constant additions are being made, both by the
+state and through personal liberality and interest. We are sorry to say
+in this connection that the bull-fight, as a public exhibition, above
+all other styles of amusement, is the favorite one with the rank and
+file of the populace, which is quite sufficiently Spanish to control the
+matter and insure its permanency. The bull-ring, wherein these brutal
+and terribly demoralizing exhibitions take place on each Sabbath
+afternoon during the season, is situated about a league from the city
+proper.
+
+It must be a country or district under Roman Catholic influence, and
+with more or less of a Spanish element permeating it, to admit of this
+style of desecrating the Sabbath, or, indeed, of indulging on any day of
+the week in an exhibition which is so thoroughly brutal, cowardly, and
+repulsive. It is a sad reflection upon the community, high and low, to
+state that the bull-fight is one of its popular entertainments. We have
+said that this is a cowardly game. The fact is, the bull is doomed from
+the moment he enters the arena. He has only his horns and his courage to
+help him in the unequal contest. The professional fighters opposed to
+him are all fully armed, and protected by sheltering guards, behind
+which they can retire at will. It is twelve experts pitted against one
+poor beast. Ingenious, heathenish modes of torture are devised and
+adopted to wound, to weaken, and to craze the victim. If it was one
+armed man against the bull, whether mounted or otherwise, it would be a
+more equal and gallant struggle,--but twelve to one! bah, it is only a
+cowardly game in which gallant horses and brave bulls are sacrificed by
+a dozen armed men. Even the matadore, who gives the final and fatal
+thrust with his sword, and who is looked upon as a sort of hero by the
+spectators, does not enter the ring to attempt the act until the bull is
+comparatively harmless, having been worried and wounded until he is
+exhausted by the struggle and the copious loss of blood, so that he is
+scarcely able to stand. Though reeling like a drunken man, he staggers
+bravely towards his fresh and well-armed enemy, showing fight to the
+last gasp.
+
+Realize the moral effect of such cut-throat exhibitions upon youth! The
+older, cruel and hardened spectators are only rendered more so, but the
+young and impressionable are then and there inoculated with a love of
+brutality and bloodshed, fostered by every fresh exhibition which they
+witness.
+
+The Exchange is a grand and spacious structure, admirably adapted to its
+purpose, being one of the finest business edifices in South America, to
+our mind infinitely superior in all respects to that of Rio, upon which
+so much money has been expended in meretricious designs. The author
+counted the names of some forty charitable institutions and associations
+in a Montevideo directory, eight or ten of which are maintained mostly
+by public endowment, such as hospitals, asylums for the poor,
+orphanages, industrial schools, lunatic asylums, and so on. Near the
+Plaza Ramirez there is a school of arts and trades, which at this
+writing accommodates a large body of pupils, taught by competent
+professors and experts. We were told that this institution was of great
+practical service in the cause of education, its general aim being
+similar to that of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. One was
+hardly prepared to credit Montevideo with so many and well-sustained
+educational purposes as she was found to be justly entitled to. The
+reader will observe that we speak qualifiedly of these matters; it is
+only the outward and most obvious characteristics of a city, so briefly
+visited, of which one can speak correctly. It would have been gratifying
+to have remained longer in this capital, to understand more clearly the
+educational advantages which are offered here. In this department of
+progress, Montevideo seems in advance of many larger cities.
+
+Squads of soldiers are seen lounging about the town, dressed in a
+uniform of the Zouave pattern, not very jaunty looking fellows, it must
+be confessed, but perhaps "as good food for powder as a better." The
+entire army of Uruguay consists of only five thousand men, of all
+branches. The president has also a battalion of body-guards, consisting
+of three or four hundred men, forming a very efficient as well as
+ornamental organization. This organization consists of men loyal to the
+administration, and beyond a doubt personally devoted to the president.
+The rank and file of the army embraces all shades of color, both as to
+mind and body, and is liable to become disaffected at the outbreak of
+any popular upheaval, or through the influence of designing men. This
+body-guard, however, being always on duty, is ready and able to turn the
+scale by prompt and consistent action, in favor of the established
+authorities, and thus nip rebellion in the bud. It is only after getting
+thoroughly under way that revolutionary attempts become formidable. At
+the inception, the strong arm promptly applied stamps out the life and
+courage of the mob, and renders sedition futile. "No parleying; fire
+promptly, and fire to kill; that ends the matter," said Napoleon. Blank
+cartridges and vacillation stimulate a half-formed purpose into action.
+
+One is forced to admit that beggars are rather numerous in
+Montevideo,--beggars on horseback and wearing spurs. They coolly stop
+their small, wiry, half-fed ponies, and with magnificent effrontery beg
+of any stranger they chance to meet for a centavo, a copper coin worth
+about two cents of our American money. The incongruity of beggars
+mounted, while the stranger of whom they solicit alms is a pedestrian,
+is somewhat obvious. It must be remembered, however, that horses are
+very cheap in this country, and that nearly every one rides or drives. A
+good serviceable animal can be bought in any of the South American
+cities at what we should consider a mere trifle to pay for one. A
+well-broken young saddle-horse will bring from twenty to twenty-five
+dollars, but the owner, if one of the dudes about town, will expend five
+hundred dollars upon a silver-decked saddle, bridle, and trimmings, a
+Spanish peculiarity which is also observed in the city of Mexico. A pair
+of well-matched carriage-horses, in good condition, can be had for
+seventy-five or eighty dollars. Mares are not worked in this country,
+being solely used for breeding purposes, and have no fixed price;
+indeed, they are not met with in the cities. It will be seen that for a
+beggar to set up business here requires some capital, but not much. De
+Quincey would describe Spanish beggary as having become elevated to one
+of the fine arts.
+
+There is a class of men in Uruguay called gauchos who devote themselves
+to breaking the wild horses of the pampas for domestic use. They are
+more Indian than Spanish, and pass their lives mostly as herdsmen of the
+vast numbers of animals which live in a semi-wild state upon the plains
+of South America. These men can hardly be said to train their horses.
+They only conquer them by a process of cruel discipline which thoroughly
+subdues the animal. After this the poor creatures are ever on the alert
+to obey their rider's will, prompted by a pressure of the powerful bit,
+and a merciless thrust of the long, sharp rowels. The gaucho reminds one
+of the cowboys of our Western States. He forms a very picturesque figure
+when seen upon his wiry little mustang, galloping along with his yellow
+poncho streaming behind him, his head covered by a broad-brimmed soft
+felt hat, his long, dark hair floating upon the breeze, and his broad,
+loose trousers fluttering in the wind. A lasso of braided or twisted
+leather sometimes swings from one hand, while the rider skillfully
+manages his horse with the other. Altogether the gaucho forms a picture
+of strong vitality and vivid color. He spends a small fortune upon his
+equipments, and his heavy spurs are of solid silver. He is not a hard
+drinker, an occasional glass of country wine satisfies him; but he will
+gamble all night long until he has lost his last penny to professional
+sportsmen, who somehow know the way to win by fair means or foul.
+
+Few strangers who visit Montevideo for the first time will be at all
+prepared to see such a quantity and variety of rich jewelry in the
+shops. Imported dress goods of the finest quality are also offered for
+sale in these shops. The Parisian boulevards have no display windows
+which contain larger or finer diamonds, sapphires, and emeralds; indeed,
+this country seems to be the home of precious stones and real gems. The
+silversmiths exhibit goods equally artistic and elegant. The best
+products of Vienna, Paris, and London, in the fancy-goods line, are
+fully represented here. Readers who have visited Genoa will recall the
+fine silver filigree-work which is a specialty of that city, but some of
+the manufactures of this character made here are quite equal, if they do
+not excel, that of the Italian capital.
+
+It seemed to be rather a singular and significant fact, that when a
+couple of pennies will purchase a tumblerful of the national tipple
+called cana, a raw liquor made from sugar-cane, and quite as strong as
+brandy, still comparatively few persons are seen under its influence
+upon the public streets. It is true that on all church festal occasions
+the common people have a regular carousal, and get very much
+intoxicated, whereupon they lose one day in repenting and two in
+recuperation. It is the same all over the world. The lower, uneducated
+classes, having no intellectual resort, seem imbued with the idea that
+to get thoroughly tipsy is the acme of pleasure. The inevitable
+punishment does not enter into the calculation at all, nor does it deter
+the victim from repeated excesses. It is curious to observe the peculiar
+effect which intoxicants produce upon people of different nationalities:
+the Russian gets boozy on vodka, and only becomes more loving to his
+species; the Mexican drinks pulque by the pint measure, and craves only
+to be permitted to sleep; the French guzzle brandy and wine until they
+become equally full of song and gayety; the American Indian is made
+utterly crazy and reckless by drink; the Irishman finds a fight in every
+glass of whiskey; and the Englishman who indulges overmuch becomes
+eloquent on politics and patriotism. In South America the common people
+who drink to excess are rendered pugnacious and revolutionary. The
+police arrangements of Montevideo are excellent, and the streets are
+safe for man or woman at any hour of the day or night, which one is
+forced to admit is more than can be truthfully said of the majority of
+large cities in either Europe or North America. There is no sickly
+sentimentality about crime and criminals here. If a man outrages the
+law, he has to suffer for it, and there is no pardoning him until he has
+worked out his entire penalty. It is the certainty of punishment which
+intimidates professional rascals. Official leniency and pardoning of
+criminals are a premium on crime.
+
+Between two and three miles from the city there is a public park, which
+is laid out with excellent taste and skill, forming a popular pleasure
+resort. There are here many fine native and exotic trees, as well as
+flowering shrubs and blooming flowers. This spacious park, intersected
+by a willow-lined stream, is called the Paseo, and is ornamented with
+statues, fountains, and rockeries. The grounds are also occupied by
+several small places devoted to amusements, shooting-galleries, billiard
+saloons, and gambling tables, very similar to the Deer Garden in the
+environs of Copenhagen. Citizens of Montevideo of the humbler class come
+hither with their families, bringing food and drink to be disposed of in
+picnic fashion. Bordering the sweep of the bay, which forms the harbor,
+are many cottages, the homes of the rich merchants. These villas are
+surrounded by flower gardens and graceful shrubbery, the endless spring
+climate making the bloom perennial. The flat roofs of many of the town
+houses are partially inclosed, so as to form a pleasant resort in the
+closing hours of the day, where family parties are often seen gathered
+together. Social life among the residents of the environs is very gay,
+and so indeed is that of the town residents, whose hospitality is also
+proverbial. The Hotel Oriental is the favorite hostelry of Montevideo,
+built of marble and well furnished, though it is hardly equal to the
+Hotel Victoria, its rival, architecturally speaking.
+
+The drinking water, and all that is used for domestic purposes in the
+city, is brought by a well-engineered system from the river Santa Lucia,
+which is tapped for this purpose at a distance of thirty or forty miles
+from Montevideo.
+
+The Campo Santo of the capital is admirably arranged and particularly
+well kept, being in several respects like those of Pisa, Genoa, and
+other Italian cities. It is the most elaborate cemetery in South
+America, surrounded by high walls so built as to contain five tiers of
+niches which form the receptacles for the dead. The grounds are nearly
+as crowded with elaborate tombs and stone monuments as Pere la Chaise,
+at Paris, the funereal cypress rising here and there in stately
+mournfulness above the marble slabs. The abundance of metallic wreaths
+and artificial flowers afforded another resemblance to the famous French
+cemetery. The freshness of many of the floral offerings showed that the
+memory of the departed was kept green in the hearts of those left
+behind. The traveler sees many such touching evidences of tenderness all
+over the world. Much of the marble work seen in these grounds was
+imported from Milan, and some from both Florence and Rome. The
+monumental entrance to the grounds, and the elaborate chapel within
+them, are both in good taste.
+
+Beef, hides, wool, hair, and grain seem to be the principal articles of
+export. Uruguay contains over half a million of people, and has an area
+of seventy-one thousand square miles, intersected by several railways,
+bringing the interior within easy reach of the capital. It is said to be
+growing more rapidly in proportion to its size and the present number of
+inhabitants than any other part of South America. The republic is best
+known to the world by its Indian name, Uruguay, but on many maps it is
+still designated as the Banda Oriental, that is, the "Eastern Border."
+It will be remembered that this now independent state was originally a
+part of the Argentine Republic, which was formerly known by that
+designation. Though Uruguay is one of the smallest of the independent
+divisions of the continent, it is yet one of the most important, a fact
+owing largely to its admirable commercial location. Nearly all of its
+territory can be reached by navigable rivers, while its Atlantic shore
+has a dozen good harbors. Sixteen large rivers intersect the republic in
+various directions, all of which have their several tributaries. Cheap
+internal transportation is assured by over three hundred miles of
+railways; also by these rivers. As already intimated, its agricultural
+interests are largely on the increase, the strongest element of
+permanency. Originally the pastoral interest prevailed over all other,
+but agriculture, both here and in the Argentine Republic, has taken
+precedence. The model farms near Montevideo are unsurpassed for extent,
+completeness, and the liberal manner in which they are conducted. Some
+large estates might be named which will compare favorably with anything
+of the sort which the author has ever seen in any country, where
+agriculture is followed on intelligent principles. Here the cultivation
+of the soil is carried on not solely to obtain all which can be wrung
+from it, in the way of pecuniary profit, but _con amore_, and with a due
+regard to system. As may be supposed, the return is fully commensurate
+with the intelligence and liberality exercised in the business. Such
+farming may be and is called fancy farming, but it is a sort which pays
+most liberally, and which affords those engaged in it the most
+satisfaction.
+
+To be an honest chronicler, one must not hesitate to look at all phases
+of progress, successful or otherwise, on the part of each people and
+country visited and written about. There are always deep-lying
+influences acting for good or evil, which scarcely present themselves to
+the thoughtless observer.
+
+One reason for the rapid growth of this republic of Uruguay is because
+of its gradually casting off the slough of Roman Catholic influence, a
+species of dry rot quite sufficient to bring about the destruction of
+any government. The same incubus which was of so long standing in
+Mexico, where its effect kept the people in ignorance and ferment for
+centuries, has at last been abolished, and modern progress naturally
+follows. In Uruguay the Romish Church has lost its prestige, having
+hastened its own downfall by blindly striving to enforce fifteenth
+century ideas upon people of the nineteenth. Monks and nuns have been
+expelled, and parish schools have been closed. Free schools now prevail,
+and general knowledge is becoming broadcast, which simply means
+destruction to all popish control. Intelligence is the antidote for
+bigotry, which explains the bitter opposition of the Roman Catholic
+priesthood to free schools wherever their faith prevails.
+
+In all of these South American provinces it has been found difficult to
+throw off the evil inheritance of sloth and anarchy which the Spaniards
+imposed upon their colonial possessions. The schoolhouse is the true
+temple of liberty for this people. In the department of Montevideo alone
+there are to-day over sixty free schools, and in the whole republic
+nearly four hundred, something for her authorities to point at with a
+spirit of just pride. This enumeration does not include the private
+schools, of which there are also a large number in the capital.
+
+We find by published statistics that Uruguay exports of wool, about
+seven million dollars' worth per annum; of beef, over six million
+dollars' worth; of hides, four million dollars' worth; and of wheat
+about the same amount in value as that of the last article named. These
+staples, however, are only representative articles, to which many more
+might be added, to show her growing commercial importance and assured
+prosperity.
+
+Our next stopping-place is the important city of Buenos Ayres, on the
+opposite bank of the river, about one hundred and fifty miles southwest
+of Montevideo.
+
+
+
+
+          CHAPTER XII.
+
+     Buenos Ayres.--Extent of the Argentine
+     Republic.--Population.--Narrow Streets.--Large Public
+     Squares.--Basques.--Poor Harbor.--Railway System.--River
+     Navigation.--Tramways.--The Cathedral.--Normal
+     Schools.--Newspapers.--Public Buildings.--Calle Florida.--A
+     Busy City.--Mode of furnishing Milk.--Environs.--Commercial
+     and Political Growth.--The New Capital.
+
+
+The city of Buenos Ayres--"Good Air"--is well named so far as its
+natural situation is concerned, but this condition of a pure atmosphere
+has been seriously affected by unsanitary conditions, naturally arising
+from the large influx of a very promiscuous population. A considerable
+percentage are Italians, and so far as personal cleanliness and decency
+go, they seem to be among the lost arts with them.
+
+This thriving city is the capital of the Argentine Republic, which, next
+to Brazil, is the largest independent state in South America, containing
+fourteen provinces, each of which has its own local government, modeled
+after those of the United States. The average reader will doubtless be
+surprised, as the author certainly was, to realize that this southern
+republic exceeds in extent of territory the united kingdoms of Great
+Britain, together with France, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Italy, Spain,
+Portugal, Belgium, Holland, and Greece combined, the actual area being
+something over twelve hundred thousand square miles. The province of
+Buenos Ayres is just about the size of the State of New York, and
+contains in round numbers a population of one million. Two hundred years
+ago, the city of Buenos Ayres had a population of five hundred. Having
+the statistics at hand, it is perhaps worth while to state that, of the
+aggregate population of the province, a majority, or fully six hundred
+thousand, are foreigners, classed as follows: three hundred thousand
+Italians, one hundred and fifty thousand French, one hundred thousand
+Spaniards, forty thousand English, and twenty thousand Germans. The
+number of North American residents is very small, though they control a
+fair percentage of the exports and imports. Authentic statistics show
+that they number less than six hundred. Paris is not more crowded with
+refugees from various countries than is this Argentine capital. Why such
+a spot was selected on which to establish a commercial city is an
+unsolved riddle, as it embraces about all the natural inconveniences
+that could possibly be encountered on the banks of a large river. The
+perversity of such a selection is the more obvious, because those who
+made it must have passed by a score of admirable points eminently
+superior in all respects to the one now occupied.
+
+The first view of Buenos Ayres on approaching it by water is peculiar,
+the line of sight being only broken by the church towers and a few
+prominent public buildings; the horizon alone forms the background of
+the picture. Unlike nearly all of the South American cities, there is no
+forest or mountain range behind or surrounding the capital. From its
+environs a continuous plain stretches away for nearly eight hundred
+miles to the foothills of the Andes. Situated between the 34 deg. and 35 deg. of
+south latitude, it enjoys a climate similar to that of the south of
+France, and almost identical with that of New Orleans. The site upon
+which the city stands is considerably above the level of the river, and
+though the streets are far too narrow for business purposes in the older
+portions of the town, they widen to a better size in the newer parts.
+The roadways are poorly paved, so that it is very uncomfortable to walk
+or drive over them. Boulevards are laid out to cut the older parts of
+the city diagonally, as was done in Paris and Genoa, and is now being
+done in Florence, so as to relieve the present insufficient capacity for
+the transportation of merchandise. One is apt, however, when remarking
+upon these particularly narrow and irregular streets in a foreign
+country, to forget that there are, in the older portions of the capital
+of Massachusetts, some quite as circumscribed and corkscrew fashioned.
+If we do not find all the excellences of civilization predominating, and
+admirable people in the majority here, we should do well to remember
+that we have also left them in the minority at home.
+
+The huge custom house of Buenos Ayres, with its circular form and high
+walls facing the river, recalls in general appearance Castle Garden in
+New York harbor, or the fort on Governor's Island. In its importance as
+a commercial emporium, this city disputes the first place with only
+three others in the southern hemisphere, namely, Rio Janeiro, Sydney,
+and Melbourne, the latter of which has lately added greatly to its
+harbor facilities by deepening and widening the Yarra-Yarra River.
+
+The dwelling-houses of Buenos Ayres are mostly built of brick, and are
+of a far more substantial character than those upon the west coast of
+the continent. They have much more the appearance of North American
+dwellings than Spanish, except that the windows are strongly guarded
+with iron bars, and the cool, shady patios present domestic scenes,
+mingled with flowers and fragrance, strongly local in color. The city is
+regularly laid out in squares of a hundred and fifty yards each, so when
+one is told that such or such a place is so many squares away, he knows
+exactly the distance which is indicated. The Plaza de la Victoria is
+surrounded by handsome edifices, including the opera house and the
+cathedral, the facade of the latter very much resembling that of the
+Madeleine at Paris. This square has a fine equestrian statue of some
+patriot, and a small column commemorating a national event. The city has
+a population equaling that of Boston in number, and we do not hesitate
+to say that it is more noted for its enterprise and general progress
+than any other of the South American cities. It has been appropriately
+called the Chicago of the southern continent. The republic, of which it
+is the principal city, has seven thousand miles of telegraphic wire
+within its area, a tangible evidence of enterprise which requires no
+comment. One remarkable line connects this city with that of Valparaiso,
+on the Pacific side of the continent, and is constructed with iron poles
+nearly the whole distance, crossing the Andes by means of forty miles of
+cable laid beneath the perpetual snows!
+
+It may well be supposed that the inhabitants of Buenos Ayres are of a
+cosmopolitan character, when it is known that the daily newspapers are
+issued in five different languages. As shown by the statistics already
+given, a considerable share of the people are Italians, who form much
+the larger portion of the emigrants now coming hither from Europe, or
+who have arrived here during the last decade. As additions to the
+population, they form a more desirable class, in many respects, than
+those who seek homes further north. After the Italians, the Basques are
+among the most numerous of the new-comers. There are over fifty thousand
+of this people settled in the province of Buenos Ayres alone, readily
+adapting themselves to the country. They are a strongly individualized
+race, whom no one is liable to mistake for any other. They maintain in a
+great measure the picturesque style of dress which prevails in their
+native land, no matter what their vocation may be here. As a rule, the
+Basques come with their families, bringing some moderate amount of
+pecuniary means with them, and at once devote themselves to agricultural
+pursuits. They take especially to the department of the dairy, making
+butter and cheese of excellent quality, for which they find a ready city
+market. They have a natural inclination towards cattle tending, and are
+looked upon by the authorities as among the very best of European
+emigrants. To promote this immigration to Argentina, a per capita
+premium has been paid heretofore by the government, who, indeed, are
+still ready to furnish a free passage for responsible emigrants, both of
+this and other nationalities. This generous offer has been so shamefully
+abused by the beggars, lazzaroni, and criminal classes of Naples and
+Sicily, that a check has necessarily been put upon it, particularly as
+regards the generally objectionable people of Sicily.
+
+As a shipping port, Montevideo has a decided advantage over this
+Argentine metropolis. Large steamers are obliged to anchor eight or ten
+miles, or even more, below the city, on account of the shallowness of
+the river at this point. A channel has been opened to facilitate the
+approach of vessels of moderate tonnage, but much yet remains to be done
+before the experiment will be of any practical advantage. Tugboats land
+passengers on the quay, who arrive by the large mail steamers. Vessels
+of not over twenty-five hundred tons can lie at the shore and land their
+cargoes by means of the limited conveniences of the new dock. One would
+think that this want of harbor facilities was an insuperable objection
+and impediment in the growth of a great commercial capital, but Buenos
+Ayres goes straight onward, progressing in wealth and business,
+apparently regardless of such disadvantages. The present aggregate of
+its imports, in round numbers, is one hundred million dollars per annum.
+
+Even to-day, while resting under so serious a financial cloud, with her
+credit at the lowest ebb, and so many of her lately wealthy merchants in
+bankruptcy, the city has a certain steady, normal growth, which it would
+appear that nothing can seriously impair. As we have intimated, the tide
+of immigration has been checked, though not entirely stopped, by the
+depressed financial and business condition of the country; still, in one
+closing month of the last year, October, 1891, over two thousand
+passengers arrived by steamship in Argentina, seeking new and permanent
+homes.
+
+When a pampero is blowing, it sometimes forces nearly all of the water
+out of the harbor, leaving it high and dry, so to speak, though the
+river is thirty miles in width opposite Buenos Ayres. Passengers,
+baggage, and freight have in the past often been landed by means of
+horse carts, hung on high wheels, and driven out into the water to such
+a depth as would float small boats and lighters. Indeed, this was for
+many years the common mode of landing freight and passengers at Buenos
+Ayres. Two long and narrow piers which have been built partially obviate
+the necessity of employing carts, unless the water becomes very low. It
+has been said in all seriousness, and we believe it to be true, that the
+cost of landing a cargo of merchandise at Buenos Ayres has often been as
+great as the freight by vessel from New York, Liverpool, or Boston.
+
+To construct a suitable harbor here for commercial purposes is a project
+attended by almost insurmountable difficulties, but the attempt is
+gradually being made. The water in front of the city is not only
+shallow, but the bottom is extremely hard, while the increase of depth
+down the river is so little that it would involve the dredging of soil
+for a distance of ten miles, together with an indefinite width. It is
+very doubtful if a channel in such a situation, liable to constant
+changes, could be effectually established and maintained at any cost.
+The city does not depend upon its foreign commerce alone for business,
+having a boundless and productive territory in its rear, of which it
+will always be the commercial capital. It is already a great railway
+centre, the republic having over seven thousand miles of iron and steel
+rails within its borders. Five railways radiate from Buenos Ayres at
+this writing, and a sixth is projected. One route has been surveyed with
+the idea of connecting this city direct with Valparaiso, the distance
+between the two capitals being about nine hundred miles. It is designed
+to take advantage of the road already completed to Mendoza, from whence
+the addition would cross the Cordilleras at a height of ten thousand
+feet, and pass through several tunnels, one of which would be two miles
+long.
+
+It should also be remembered, while on this subject of transportation
+facilities, that the Parana River is navigable for light draught
+steamers two thousand miles inland from Buenos Ayres, into and through
+one of the most productive valleys in the world. From Montevideo to
+Point Piedras, the river is uniformly sixty miles wide, and at Buenos
+Ayres it has only narrowed to about half this distance. The two main
+rivers which form the Plate are the Uruguay and the Parana, which in
+turn unite to form the grand estuary called Rio de la Plata.
+
+The city of Buenos Ayres has about as many miles of tramway as there are
+in Boston. The various routes are well managed, and afford an infinite
+amount of popular accommodation. This service is carried on by six
+different companies. It is not in the hands of one big monopoly, as with
+us in Boston. Competition in undoubtedly best for the public good, but
+the business can be more advantageously conducted by a single company.
+Experience has shown, however, that such a franchise is liable to great
+abuse in the hands of a corporation having no rivalry to fear.
+
+The citizens suffered long and patiently for want of good water for
+drinking and domestic purposes. This trouble has been partially obviated
+for a considerable time by the establishment of extensive water-works,
+but they are not adequate to the demand. The means for obtaining a new
+and additional supply are now under consideration. A system of drainage
+has also been constructed, which was fully as much of a necessity as the
+supply of water, but which, as usual, proves to be insufficient in
+capacity to perform the necessary work,--at least it but partially meets
+the requirements for which it was designed. People grow hardened by
+association with danger, but the importance of good and sufficient
+drainage for a capital in which malarial fevers prevail hardly requires
+argument.
+
+Unlike nearly all of the South American cities, Buenos Ayres has no
+Plaza Mayor, or public square, as a grand business and pleasure resort,
+a central point, par excellence, designed also for the recreation of the
+general public. There are, however, several spacious squares, quite
+large enough to represent such an idea,--nine or ten of them in fact,
+all of which are surrounded by fine buildings. The Plaza Victoria, for
+instance, already referred to, is some eight acres in extent, made
+brilliant at night by electric lights, which supplement the old style of
+gas-burners. The government house, the Palace of Justice, the cathedral,
+and other effective buildings front upon the Plaza Victoria. Eight or
+ten of the principal streets converge here, and this point is also the
+place of departure for several lines of tram-cars. The cathedral is in
+the Grecian style, the portico supported by twelve Corinthian columns,
+composed of brick, mortar, and stucco, but the general effect is the
+same as though each pillar was a monolith. The edifice is capable of
+containing eight or ten thousand people at a time, being equal in size
+and architectural effect to any ecclesiastical establishment on the
+continent. As this cathedral is a very remarkable one in many respects,
+we devote more than usual space to its description. It was rebuilt by
+the Jesuits in the seventeenth century, but was originally founded in
+1580, and is not much inferior to St. Paul's, London, as the following
+dimensions will show. It is two hundred and seventy feet long by one
+hundred and fifty in width, having an area of forty-five hundred square
+rods, and stands next in size to Notre Dame, Paris. The interior of this
+immense building, with its twelve side chapels, is dark, dingy, and
+dirty, while the want of ventilation renders the air within foul and
+offensive. It is only on some rare festal occasions that an audience at
+all adequate to occupy its great capacity is seen within its walls. A
+hundred persons do not seem like more than a dozen in such a place. Less
+than a thousand only serve to emphasize its loneliness. One sees a few
+women, but scarcely any men, present on ordinary occasions. The latter
+are content to stand about the outer doors and watch the former when
+they come from morning mass, or the ordinary Sabbath services. Here, as
+in Havana, Seville, and Madrid, the Spanish ladies, who lead a secluded
+home life, under a half oriental restraint imposed by custom inherited
+from the ancient Moorish rule in continental Spain, do not resent being
+stared at when in the streets. Probably this is the main attraction
+which draws most of the senors and senoritas to the church services,
+though undoubtedly many of them are devout and sincere in the outward
+services which they perform. At least, let us give them the benefit of
+such a conclusion.
+
+The national religion of Argentina is that of the Roman Catholic Church,
+but the power of the priesthood is strictly confined to ecclesiastical
+affairs, as in Uruguay. Absolute religious freedom may be said to exist
+here. No religious processions or church parades are permitted in the
+public streets. This used to be very different in times past, almost
+every other day in the Romish calendar being some saint's day, and it
+was the custom to make the most of these occasions by elaborate parades
+and gorgeous display. Besides some twenty-four Roman Catholic churches
+and chapels, there are a score presided over by Protestants of various
+denominations,--Episcopal, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Methodist, and so on.
+There is, as we were informed, a large and growing Protestant
+constituency in the city.
+
+It should be mentioned very much to her credit that Buenos Ayres has
+supported, since 1872, a series of normal schools, in which regular
+courses of three years' training are given to persons desiring to fit
+themselves to become school-teachers. To assist those wishing to avail
+themselves of these advantages, the government appropriates a certain
+sum of money, and those persons who receive this public aid bind
+themselves, in consideration of the same, to teach on specific terms in
+the free schools for a period of three years. There are quite a number
+of North American ladies employed in these schools, throughout the
+several districts of Argentina, receiving a liberal compensation
+therefor, and commanding a high degree of respect. The University of
+Buenos Ayres, with about fifty professors and some eight hundred
+students, stands at the head of the national system of education. It was
+founded in 1821, having classical, law, medical, and physical
+departments. There are also four military schools, two for the army and
+two for the navy.
+
+Buenos Ayres has more daily papers published within its precincts than
+either Boston or New York. It has several elegant marble structures
+devoted to the banking business, generally holding large capitals,
+though the financial condition of several of them at this writing is
+simply that of bankruptcy. This applies mainly to the state banks. There
+are here an orphanage, a deaf and dumb asylum, four public hospitals,
+and two libraries: the National Library containing some seventy thousand
+volumes, the Popular Library having fifty thousand. There is also a free
+art school, together with public and private schools of all grades. Last
+to be named, but by no means least in importance, the city has a number
+of fairly good hotels and restaurants, the latter much superior to the
+former. Hotels are not only a strong indication of the social refinement
+of a people, or of the want of it, but they are of great importance as
+regards the commercial prosperity of a large community. Travelers who
+are made comfortable in these temporary homes remain longer in a city
+than they would otherwise, spend more money there, and are apt to come
+again. If, on the contrary, the hotel accommodations are poor, travelers
+complain of them, and strangers avoid a city where they are liable to be
+rendered needlessly uncomfortable in this respect. Rio Janeiro is a
+notable instance in hand, a city whose hotels we conscientiously advise
+the traveler to avoid.
+
+We well remember, at the great caravansary in Calcutta, the only hotel
+there of any size or pretension, that a party of five Englishmen and
+five Americans, who had come from Madras with the purpose of passing a
+fortnight in the former city, shortened their stay one half, simply
+because the hotel was so wretchedly kept, the accommodations were so
+abominably poor, and the discomforts so numerous. Let us put this idea
+in mercenary form. Ten guests, expending at least eight dollars each per
+day, curtailed their visit seven days. It is safe to say that they would
+have left six hundred dollars more in Calcutta had they been comfortably
+lodged, than they did under the circumstances.
+
+We should not omit to mention the Commercial Exchange, in speaking of
+the public buildings of Buenos Ayres. It is a fine, large, modern
+structure, admirably adapted to the purpose for which it is designed.
+Until within a year, the edifice in Boston applied to the same purpose
+would not compare with that of this South American capital.
+
+There is no dullness or torpor in this city. All is stir and bustle.
+Life and business are rampant, and yet, strange to say, no one seems to
+be in any special hurry. Everything is done in a leisurely manner. The
+number of handsome stores and the elegance of the goods displayed in
+them are remarkable, while the annual amount of sales in these
+establishments rivals that of some of our most popular New York and
+Boston concerns in similar lines of business. One may count forty
+first-class jewelry establishments in a short walk about town. There is
+hardly a more attractive display in this line either in Paris or London.
+Diamonds and precious stones of all descriptions dazzle the eye and
+captivate the fancy. The Calle Florida is one of the most fashionable
+thoroughfares, and presents in the afterpart of the day a very gay and
+striking picture of local life, a large element being composed of
+handsome women, attended by gayly dressed nurses, in charge of lovely
+children wearing fancy costumes. The young boys affect naval styles, and
+their little sisters wear marvelously broad Roman scarfs, and have their
+feet encased in dainty buff slippers. What pleasing domestic pictures
+they suggest to the eye of a restless wanderer!
+
+On account of the narrowness of the streets, there is but one line of
+rails laid for the tramway service, so that a person goes out of town,
+say to Palermo, by one system of streets and returns by another. These
+cars move rapidly. A considerable distance is covered in a brief time,
+the motive power being small horses. An almost continuous line of cars,
+with scarcely a break, is passing any given point from early morning
+until night, and the citizens are liberal patrons of them. We saw some
+statistics relating to the number of persons carried by the tramways of
+this city annually, which were simply amazing, and which would make the
+management of the West End Railway of Boston "grow green with jealousy,
+or pallid with despair." Of course all this has been temporarily
+affected by the present financial crisis. As we have tried to show,
+Buenos Ayres is a wonderfully busy city, in which respect it resembles
+our own country much more than it does the average capitals of the
+south. There is none of the visible languor and spirit of delay which
+usually strikes one in tropical centres. People get up in the morning
+wide awake, and go promptly to business. There is no closing of the
+shops at midday here, as there is in Havana, Santiago, the capital of
+Chili, or some of the Mexican cities, so that clerks may absent
+themselves for dinner or to enjoy a siesta. A much more convenient
+course for both clerks and patrons is adopted, which does not block the
+wheels of trade. The idea of closing stores at midday to steal a couple
+of hours for eating and sleeping is a bit of Rip Van Winkleism entirely
+unworthy of the go-ahead spirit of the nineteenth century.
+
+The Plaza Retiro is as large as the Plaza Victoria, and occupies the
+spot where in old Spanish days the hateful exhibitions of the
+bull-fights were given. Indeed, this square was formerly known as the
+Plaza de Toros. Many historical interests hang about the locality,
+around which the rich merchants of the city have erected some palatial
+residences, faced to a certain height with marble on the outside. These
+domestic retreats have courtyards constructed one beyond another,
+covering a considerable depth, and forming a series of patios, each
+appropriated to some special domestic use,--the dining court, the
+reception court, and the nursery. In this square, and also in the Plaza
+Victoria, there are always plenty of hackney coaches to be found
+awaiting hire, and it should be remarked that charges are very
+reasonable for this service in Buenos Ayres.
+
+There are thirteen theatres in the city, and an admirable museum. The
+latter, rich in antiquities, is noted for its prehistoric remains of
+animals which once lived in the southern part of this continent, but
+whose species have long been extinct. This particular museum is
+advantageously known to scientists all over the world. The Colon Theatre
+is a large, well-equipped, and imposing place of entertainment, as much
+so as the Theatre Francaise, Paris, and takes a high position in
+representations of the legitimate drama and the production of the better
+spectacular plays. This house adopts what is called here the _cazuela_
+in the division of its auditorium, an excellent system, very general in
+South American theatres, and we believe, nowhere else. It consists in
+giving up the entire second tier of boxes or seats to the exclusive use
+of unattended ladies, an arrangement which seemed to us strongly to
+recommend itself. To this division of the auditorium there is a separate
+entrance from the street, and no gentlemen are admitted under any
+pretext whatever. So those who desire to come to the entertainments
+quite unattended can do so with perfect propriety, and are safe from all
+intrusion in this isolated position. The ladies of this city, when they
+appear in public, dress very elegantly, following closely North American
+and European styles, while displaying the choicest imported materials
+well made up. Perhaps comparisons are invidious, but we feel inclined to
+accord precedence in the matter of personal beauty to those of
+Montevideo. In dress, however, the ladies of Buenos Ayres certainly
+excel them. Each city has its local "Worth," but many dresses are made
+in Paris and imported, regardless of expense.
+
+There may be somewhere a noisier city than Buenos Ayres, as regards
+street life in the business section, but London or New York cannot rival
+it in this respect. Undoubtedly this is owing in a measure to the fact
+that the traffic of so large and busy a metropolis is crowded into such
+narrow thoroughfares, barely thirty feet in width, and often less than
+that, a portion of which space is taken up by the tramway tracks. The
+noisy vehicles which run on these rails make their full share of the
+racket and hubbub. Here, as in the cities of Mexico and Puebla, the
+drivers of the cars are supplied each with a tin horn, hung about his
+neck, or suspended from the car front, upon which he exercises his
+lungs, producing ear-piercing and discordant notes. Wheels and hoofs
+upon the uneven pavements increase the din, supplemented by shouts and
+language more forcible than proper, uttered by enraged teamsters because
+of the frequent blocking of the roadway. Add to these dulcet sounds the
+cries of itinerant fruit venders, fancy-goods sellers, and the shouts of
+persistent newsboys, and one has some idea of the irritating uproar
+which rages all day long in the older streets of Buenos Ayres.
+
+Cows and mares are driven singly or in groups through the streets of
+this city, and milked at the customers' doors, so that one is nearly
+certain of getting the genuine article in this line, though we were
+assured that some roguish dealers carry an india-rubber tube and flat
+bag under their clothing from which they slyly extract a portion of
+water to "extend" the lacteal fluid. "Is there no honesty extant?"
+Adulteration seems to have become an instinct of trade. Asses are still
+driven through the streets of Paris, in the early mornings, and the milk
+obtained from them is distributed in the same manner, whether with a
+slight adulteration of water or not, we are unable to say. It is not
+uncommon at Buenos Ayres to see a person served on the street with fresh
+milk just drawn from the animal, which he drinks on the spot. A very
+refreshing, modest, and nutritious morning tipple. Mares, as before
+mentioned, are not used for working or riding in this country, but are
+kept solely for breeding purposes and to furnish milk. This article is
+considered to be more nourishing for invalids and children than cow's
+milk, and is often prescribed as a regular diet by the physicians.
+
+The grand driving park of the capital, known by the name of Third of
+February, is situated at Palermo, some distance from the city proper,
+and covers between eight and nine hundred acres. On certain days,
+especially on Sundays, a military band gives a public outdoor concert
+here, when all the beauty and fashion of the city turn out in gay
+equipages to see and to be seen, forming also a grand and spirited
+cavalcade of fine horses and carriages. The races take place at Palermo,
+and, as in all Roman Catholic countries, on Sundays.
+
+The neighborhood of Buenos Ayres is generally under good cultivation,
+the soil and climate uniting to produce splendid agricultural results.
+The suburbs of Flores and Belgrano each present a very pretty group of
+quintas and gardens, wherein great skill and refinement of taste is
+evinced. The alfalfa, a species of clover used here in a green condition
+as fodder for cattle, and which is as rich as the red clover of New
+England, to which family of grasses it belongs, grows so rapidly and
+ripens so promptly that three crops are often realized from the same
+field in a single season. The immediate environs of the city are
+occupied by private residences, many of which are very elaborate and
+imposing, surrounded by charming gardens and pleasure grounds. Grottoes,
+statuary, and fountains abound, while orchards of various fruits are
+common, interspersed here and there with picturesque graperies. Some of
+the highways are guarded by hedges of cactus,--_agave_,--much more
+impenetrable than any artificial fencing. Trees of the eucalyptus family
+have heretofore been favorites here, originally imported from Australia,
+but they have ceased to be desirable, since it appears that nothing will
+grow in their shadow. They seem to exercise a blighting power on other
+species of vegetation. Figs, peaches, and oranges grow side by side,
+surrounded by other fruits, while the low-lying fields and open meadows
+nearest to the river are divided into large squares of three or four
+acres each, enameled with the deep green of the thick growing alfalfa,
+and other crops varying in color after their kind. Richest of all are
+the intensely yellow fields of ripening wheat still farther inland,
+whose softly undulating surface, gently yielding to the passing breeze,
+produces long, widespread floating ripples of golden light.
+
+The love of flowers is a passion among all classes of the people, and
+their cultivation as a business by experienced individuals gives
+profitable employment to many florists, whose grounds are pictures of
+accumulated beauty, fragrance, and variety of hues. There is as true
+harmony to the eye in such blendings as there is to the ear in perfect
+music. The reader may be sure that where the children of Flora so much
+abound, bright tinted humming-birds do much more abound, dainty little
+living feathered gems, rivaling rubies, sapphires, and emeralds.
+
+To insure the good health of her large and increasing population, the
+system of drainage in Buenos Ayres requires prompt and effectual
+treatment. The natural fall of the ground towards the river is hardly
+sufficient to second any engineering effort to this end. That typhoid
+fever should prevail here to the extent which it does, at nearly all
+seasons of the year, is a terrible reflection upon those in authority.
+This is a fatal disease which is quite preventable, and in this instance
+clearly traceable to obvious causes. Rio Janeiro, with its yellow fever
+scourge, is hardly more seriously afflicted than Buenos Ayres with its
+typhoid malaria. Indeed, it is contended by some persons living on the
+coast that the number of deaths per annum in the two cities arising from
+these causes is very nearly equal, taking into account the results of
+year after year. Sometimes, unaccountably, Rio escapes the fever for a
+twelvemonth, that is to say, some seasons it does not rage as an
+epidemic; but we fear, if the truth were fairly expressed, it would be
+found that the seeds are there all the while, and that the city of Rio
+Janeiro, like that of Vera Cruz on the Gulf of Mexico, is never
+absolutely exempt from occasional cases.
+
+The Argentine Republic contains more than a million square miles, as
+already stated; indeed, immensity may be said to be one of its most
+manifest characteristics. The plains, the woods, the rivers, are
+colossal. To be sure, all of her territory is not, strictly speaking,
+available land, suitable for agricultural purposes, any more than is the
+case in our own wide-spread country. No other nation equals this
+republic in the value of cattle, compared with the number of the
+population, not forgetting Australia with its immense sheep and cattle
+ranches. It is believed, nevertheless, that the agricultural interest
+here, as in Uruguay, is gradually increasing in such ratio that it will
+erelong rival the pastoral. The average soil is very similar to that of
+our Mississippi valley, yielding a satisfactory succession of crops
+without the aid of any artificial enrichment. The pampas have a mellow,
+dry soil, the common grass growing in tussocks to the height of three or
+four feet, and possessing a perennial vigor which mostly crowds out
+other vegetation. A few wild flowers are occasionally seen, and in the
+marshy places lilies of several species are to be met with; but taken
+all together the flora of the pampas is the poorest of any fertile
+district with which we are acquainted. A few half-developed herbs and
+trefoils occasionally meet the eye, together with small patches of wild
+verbenas of various colors. At long distances from each other one comes
+upon areas of tall pampas grass as it is called, so stocky as to be
+almost like the bamboo, eight or ten feet high, decked with fleecy,
+white plumes. Birds are scarce on the pampas. There is a peculiar
+species of hare, besides some animals of the rodent family, resembling
+prairie-dogs--_biscachos_--or overgrown rats, together with an
+occasional jaguar and puma, found on these plains, as well as that
+meanest of all animals, the pestiferous skunk. Animal life, other than
+the herds of wild cattle, can hardly be said to abound on the pampas.
+
+Until a few years since, Buenos Ayres enjoyed the distinction of being
+the capital of the province of the same name, as also of the Argentine
+Republic; but the present capital of the province of Buenos Ayres,
+called La Plata, is situated about forty miles south-east of Buenos
+Ayres, with which it is connected by railway. The site of the new
+capital was an uninhabited wilderness ten years ago, the foundation
+stone of this city having been laid in 1882. To-day La Plata has a
+population of about fifty thousand, although over seventy are claimed
+for it, a comprehensive system of tramways, broad, well paved streets,
+two theatres, thirty public schools, a national college, and six large
+hotels. There are many monuments and fountains ornamenting the
+thoroughfares, and what is now wanting is a population commensurate with
+the grand scale on which the capital is designed. An immense cathedral
+is being built, but has only reached a little way above its foundation,
+as work upon it has for a while been suspended. If the original plan is
+fully carried out, it may be half a century or more in course of
+construction. La Plata is suffering from the pecuniary crisis perhaps
+more seriously than any other part of the country. The city is lighted
+by both electricity and gas, issues five daily newspapers, has a very
+complete astronomical observatory, a public library, five railroad
+stations, and some very elegant public buildings. Its large
+possibilities are by no means improved, however. Of the buildings, the
+edifice of the provincial legislature, that of the minister of finance,
+and the legislative palace are all worthy of mention. The government
+house is a long, low structure, the front view of which is rendered
+effective by an added story in the centre, which projects from the line
+of the building, and is supported by high columns. The "Palace," as it
+is called, forming the residence of the governor of the province, is an
+elaborate and pretentious building, three stories in height, with two
+flanking domes and a dominating one in the centre. Of course La Plata
+has gained its start and rapid growth from the prestige of being the
+provincial capital, but it is now slowly developing a legitimate growth
+on a sound business basis, and though it can hardly be expected to ever
+equal Buenos Ayres in population and commercial importance, it
+nevertheless promises to be a prosperous city in the distant future; its
+citizens already call it the "Washington" of South America. A close
+observer could not but notice that many houses were unoccupied, and the
+streets seemed half deserted.
+
+While the most of our maps and geographies remain pretty much as they
+were a score of years ago, and a majority of the kingdoms of the Old
+World have changed scarcely at all, the Argentine Republic has been
+steadily growing in population, progressing rapidly in intelligence,
+constantly extending its commercial relations, and marching all the
+while towards the front rank of modern civilization. A detailed
+statement of its extraordinary development during the last twenty years,
+in commerce, railway connections, schools, agriculture, and general
+wealth, would surprise the most intelligent reader. It is believed by
+experienced and conservative people, particularly those conversant with
+the South American republics, that Buenos Ayres will be the first city
+south of the equator in commercial rank and population, within a quarter
+of a century. The increase of this republic in population during the
+last two decades has been over one hundred and fifty per cent., a
+rapidity of growth almost without precedent. The increase of population
+in our own country, during the same period, was less than eighty per
+cent. Twenty-four lines of magnificent steamships connect the Argentine
+Republic with Europe, and twice that number of vessels sail back and
+forth each month of the year, while its railway system embraces over six
+thousand miles of road in operation, besides one or two yet incomplete
+routes, though the opening of its first line was so late as thirty-four
+years ago. Add to this her system of inland river navigation, covering
+thousands of miles, which has been so systematized as to fully
+supplement the remarkable railway facilities.
+
+That Argentina rests at the present moment, as we have constantly
+intimated, under a financial cloud is only too well known to every one.
+It is a crisis brought about by an overhaste in the development of the
+country, especially in railroad enterprises. _Festina lente_ is a good
+sound maxim, which the people of this republic have quite disregarded,
+and for which they and their creditors are suffering accordingly. It is
+seldom that any newly developed country escapes the maladies attendant
+upon too rapid growth, but this is a sort of illness pretty sure to
+remedy itself in due time, and rarely impedes the proper development of
+maturer years. If this republic has been unduly extravagant, and
+borrowed too much money in advancing her material interests, she has at
+least something to show for it. The funds have not been foolishly
+expended in sustaining worse than useless hordes of armed men, nor in
+the profitless support of royal puppets.
+
+Nations no less than individuals are liable to financial failure, but
+with her grand and inexhaustible native resources, backed by the energy
+of her adopted citizens, this republic is as sure as anything mortal can
+be to soon recover from her present business depression, and to astonish
+the world at large by the rapidity of her financial recuperation. Her
+present annual crop of wool exceeds all former record in amount, and is
+authoritatively estimated at over thirty million dollars in value. To
+this large industrial product is to be added her prolific harvest of
+maize and wheat, together with an almost fabulous amount of valuable
+hides.
+
+
+
+
+          CHAPTER XIII.
+
+     City of Rosario.--Its Population.--A Pretentious
+     Church.--Ocean Experiences.--Morbid Fancies.--Strait of
+     Magellan.--A Great Discoverer.--Local
+     Characteristics.--Patagonians and Fuegians.--Giant
+     Kelp.--Unique Mail Box.--Punta Arenas.--An Ex-Penal
+     Colony.--The Albatross.--Natives.--A Naked
+     People.--Whales.--Sea-Birds.--Glaciers.--Mount Sarmiento.--A
+     Singular Story.
+
+
+The route to Rosario is rather monotonous by railway, taking the
+traveler through a very flat but fertile region, over prairies which are
+virtually treeless, not unlike long reaches of country through which the
+Canadian Pacific Railroad passes between Banff, in the Rocky Mountains,
+and Port Arthur, on Lake Superior. The monotonous scenery is varied only
+by a sight of occasional herds of cattle, feeding upon the rich grass,
+with here and there a mounted herdsman, and the numberless telegraph
+poles which line the track. It is at least a seven hours' journey from
+Buenos Ayres to Rosario. Occasionally a marshy reach of soil is
+encountered where large aquatic birds are seen, such as flamingoes,
+storks, cranes, herons, and the like.
+
+Rosario, in the province of Santa Fe, is the second city in point of
+population and importance in the Argentine Republic. It is a young and
+promising capital, hardly yet fairly launched upon its voyage of
+prosperity, but so far it has been singularly favored by various
+circumstances. The place is arranged in the usual crisscross manner as
+regards the streets of this country, which, unfortunately, are too
+narrow for even its present limited business. In place of twenty-four
+feet they should have been laid out at least double that width, in the
+light of all experience has developed in these South American cities.
+This new town is situated a little less than three hundred miles by
+water from Buenos Ayres, and about two hundred by land, railroad and
+steamboat connection being regularly maintained between them. The site
+is admirably chosen on the banks of the Parana River, fifty or sixty
+feet above its level, and it is destined to become, eventually, a great
+commercial centre. In 1854 it was only a large village, containing some
+four thousand people. It is the natural seaport, not only of the rich
+province of Cordova, but also of the more inland districts, Mendoza, San
+Luis, Tucuman, Salta, and Jujuy, the first named having a population of
+half a million. Owing to the height of the river's banks, merchandise is
+loaded by "shutes," being thus conducted at once from the warehouses to
+the hatches of the vessels. Already a number of foreign steamships may
+be seen almost any day lying at anchor opposite the town, while the
+railway communications in various directions have all of their
+transportation capacity fully employed. One of these lines reaches
+almost across the continent to Mendoza, at the eastern slope of the
+Andes, west from Rosario. Other roads run both north and south from
+here. The foreign and domestic trade of the place is second only to that
+of Buenos Ayres. Vessels drawing fifteen feet of water ascend the river
+to this point. As a shipping port, Rosario has to a certain extent
+special advantages even over the larger city, being two or three hundred
+miles nearer the merchandise producing points.
+
+There is already a population of some seventy-five thousand here, and,
+as we have intimated, the city is growing rapidly. Wharves, docks, and
+warehouses are in course of construction, and can hardly be finished
+fast enough to meet the demand for their use. There are a few
+substantial and handsome dwellings being erected, and many of a more
+ordinary class, in the finishing of which many a cargo of New England
+lumber is consumed. Some of the public buildings are imposing in size
+and architectural design, wisely constructed in anticipation of the
+future size of the city, whose rapid growth is only equaled by St. Paul
+in Brazil. The tramway, gas, and telephone have been successfully
+introduced. There is certainly no lack of enterprise evinced in all
+legitimate business directions, while attention is being very properly
+and promptly turned towards perfecting a carefully devised educational
+system of free schools, primary and progressive. When the founders of a
+new city begin in this intelligent fashion, we may be very sure that
+they are moving in the right direction, and that permanency, together
+with abundant present success, is sure to be the sequence.
+
+On one side of the Plaza Mayor of Rosario stands a very pretentious
+church, not yet quite completed, but as the towers and dome are finished
+it makes a prominent feature from a long way off, as one approaches the
+town. In the centre of this square is a marble shaft surmounted by a
+figure representing Victory, and at the base are four statues of
+Argentine historic characters. This square is adorned with a double row
+of handsome acacias. As regards amusements, so far as is visible,
+theatricals seem to take the lead, the place having two theatres, both
+of which appear to be enjoying a thriving business.
+
+When a new city is started in South America upon a site so well
+selected, and after so thoroughly substantial a plan, the result is no
+problem. The influx of European immigrants promptly supplies the
+necessary laborers and artisans, quite as fast, indeed, as they are
+required, while the ordinary growth and development of inland resources
+tax the local business capacity, enterprise, and capital to their
+utmost. Rosario needs to perfect a careful and thorough system of
+drainage. Fevers are at present alarmingly prevalent, arising from
+causes which judicious attention and sanitary means would easily
+obviate.
+
+We will not weary the reader by protracted delay at this point, having
+still a long voyage before us.
+
+Embarking at Montevideo, our way is southward over a broad and lonely
+track of ocean. If we can summon a degree of philosophy to our aid, it
+is fortunate. Without genial companions, surrounded by strangers, and
+thrown entirely upon ourselves, mental resort often fails us, life
+appears sombre, the wide, wide ocean almost appalling. One of the
+inevitable trials of a long sea voyage is the wakeful hours which will
+occasionally visit the most experienced traveler,--midnight hours, when
+the weary brain becomes preternaturally active, the imagination
+oversensitive and weird in its erratic conceptions, while forebodings of
+evil which never happens are apt to fill the mind with morbid anxieties.
+The very silence of the surroundings is impressive, interrupted only by
+the regular throbbing of the great, tireless engine, and the dashing
+waters chafing along the iron hull close beside the wakeful dreamer.
+Separated by thousands of miles from home, all communication cut off
+with friends and the world at large, while watching the dreary ocean,
+day after day, week after week, we imagine endless misfortunes that may
+have come to dear ones on shore. However limited may be the world of
+reality, that of the imagination is boundless, and sometimes one
+realizes years of wretched anxiety in the space of a few overwrought
+hours. It is such moments of passive misery which beget wrinkles and
+white hairs. Action is the only relief, and one hastens to the deck for
+a change of scene and thoughts. After experiencing such a night, how
+glad and glorious seems the sun rising out of the wide waste of waters,
+how bright and glowing the smile he casts upon the long lazy swell of
+the South Atlantic, as if pointedly to rebuke the overwrought fancy, and
+reassure the aching heart!
+
+Be we never so dreary, the great ship speeds on its course, heeding us
+not; its busy motor, like heart-beats, throbs with undisturbed
+uniformity, forcing the vessel onward despite the joy or sorrow of those
+it carries within its capacious hull.
+
+The Strait of Magellan, which divides South America from the mysterious
+island group which is known as Terra del Fuego, and connects the
+Atlantic with the Pacific Ocean by a most intricate water-way, is
+considerably less than four hundred miles in length, and of various
+widths. De Lesseps, with his successful Suez Canal and his deplorable
+Panama failure, is quite distanced by the hand of Nature in this line of
+business. It would require about ten thousand Suez Canals to make a
+Magellan Strait, and then it would be but a very sorry imitation. It
+will be remembered that the Portuguese navigator who discovered this
+remarkable passage, and for whom it is justly named, first passed
+through it in November, 1520, finally emerging into the waters of the
+new sea, upon which he was the first to sail, and which he named Mar
+Pacifico. Doubtless it seemed "pacific" to him after his rude experience
+in the South Atlantic, but the author has known as rough weather in this
+misnamed ocean as he has ever encountered in any part of the globe.
+
+One can well conceive of the elation and surprise of Magellan, upon
+emerging from the intricate passage through which he had been struggling
+to make his way for so many weary days. What a sensation of satisfaction
+and triumph must the courageous and persevering navigator have
+experienced at the discovery he had made! What mattered all his weary
+hours of watching, of self-abnegation, of cold and hunger, of incessant
+battling with the raging sea? Henceforth to him royal censure or royal
+largess mattered little. His name would descend to all future
+generations as the great discoverer of this almost limitless ocean.
+
+The passage leading to the strait on the Atlantic or eastern end is
+about twenty miles across, Cape Vergens being on the starboard side, and
+Cape Espiritu Santo--or Cape Holy Ghost--on the port. The entrance on
+the western or Pacific end is marked by Cape Pillar, Desolation Land,
+where the scenery is far more rugged and mountainous, the cape
+terminating in two cliffs, shaped so much like artificial towers as to
+be quite deceptive at a short distance. The narrowest part of the strait
+is about one mile in width, known to mariners as Crooked Reach. A
+passage through this great natural canal is an experience similar, in
+some respects, to that of sailing in the inland sea of Alaska, between
+Victoria and Glacier Bay, bringing into view dense forests, immense
+glaciers, abrupt mountain peaks, and snow-covered summits, the whole
+shrouded in the same solitude and silence, varied by the occasional
+flight of sea-birds or the appearance of seals and porpoises from below
+the deep waters. So irregular in its course is this passage between the
+two great oceans, so changeable are its currents, so impeded by
+dangerous rocks and hidden shoals, so beset with squalls and sudden
+storms, that sailing vessels are forced to double the ever-dreaded Cape
+Horn rather than take the Magellan route. A United States man-of-war, a
+sailing ship, was once over two months in making the passage through the
+strait, and Magellan tells us that he was thirty-seven days in passing
+from ocean to ocean, though using all ordinary dispatch. Within a
+fortnight of the writing of these notes, a European mail steamship was
+lost here by striking upon a sunken rock. Fortunately, owing to the
+proximity of the shore and moderate weather prevailing, the crew and
+passengers were all saved.
+
+Winter lingers, and the days are short in this latitude. A sailing ship
+would be compelled to find anchorage nightly, and some days would
+perhaps be driven back in a few hours a distance which it had required a
+week to make in her proper direction. Steamships usually accomplish the
+run in from thirty to forty hours, there being many reaches where it is
+necessary to run only at half speed. If heavy fogs and bad weather
+prevail, they often lay by during the night, and also in snow-storms,
+which occur not infrequently. The sky is seldom clear for many hours
+together, and the sun's warmth is rarely felt, the rain falling almost
+daily. Even in the summer of this high southern latitude the nights are
+cold and gloomy, ice nearly always forming. It must be admitted that
+this region, of itself, is not calculated to attract the most inveterate
+wanderer. One is not surprised when reading the rather startling
+narrations of the old navigators who made the passage of the strait,
+encountering the constantly varying winds, and having canvas only to
+depend upon. The marvel is that, with their primitive means, they should
+have accomplished so much. There are no lighthouses in this passage from
+ocean to ocean, though it has been pretty well surveyed and buoyed in
+late years, thanks to the liberality of the English naval service, by
+whom this was done. There is, in fact, a dearth of lighthouses on the
+entire coast of South America, especially on the west side of the
+continent. We can recall but three between Montevideo and Valparaiso, a
+distance, by way of the strait, of fully two thousand miles. The
+lighthouses we refer to are at Punta Arenas, Punta Galesa, near
+Valdivia, and that which marks the port of Concepcion, at Talcahuano.
+The Strait of Magellan is only fit as an abiding-place for seals,
+waterfowl, and otters; humanity can hardly find congenial foothold here.
+
+The natives of Patagonia, who live on the northern side of the strait,
+are called horse Indians, because they make such constant use of the
+wild horses; they do not move in any direction without them. Those on
+the Fuegian side are called canoe Indians, as the canoe forms their
+universal and indeed only mode of transportation. The former are a
+rather large, tall race of people, the men averaging about six feet in
+height; the latter are smaller in physical development, and are less
+civilized than the Indians of Patagonia, which, to be sure, is saying
+very little for the latter, who are really a low type of nomads. The
+Fuegians are believed to still practice cannibalism. One writer tells us
+that criminals and prisoners of war are thus disposed of, and that the
+last crew of shipwrecked seamen who fell into their hands were roasted
+and eaten by them. Their hostile purposes are well understood, for
+whenever they dare to exercise such a spirit they are sure to do so.
+They cautiously send out a boat or two to passing vessels, with whom a
+little trading is attempted, the main body of natives keeping well out
+of sight; but in case of any mishap to a ship, or if a small party land
+and are unable to defend themselves, they will appear in swarms from
+various hiding-places, swooping down upon their victims like vultures in
+the desert. The officers of the yacht Sunbeam, as recounted by Lady
+Brassey, found it necessary to turn her steam-pipes full force upon the
+swarming natives, who were doubtless preparing to make an effort to
+capture the yacht and her crew, hoping to overcome them by mere force of
+numbers. They were, however, so frightened and utterly astonished by the
+means of defense adopted by Lord Brassey that they threw themselves, one
+and all, into the sea, and sought the shore pell-mell. Humboldt, in his
+day, ranked these Fuegians among the lowest specimens of humanity he had
+ever met, and they certainly do not seem to have improved much in the
+mean time. One is at a loss to understand why the Patagonians should
+have impressed the early navigators with the idea that they were a
+people of gigantic size. There is no evidence to-day of their being, or
+ever having been, taller or larger than the average New Englander.
+Half-naked savages, standing six feet high, naturally impress one as
+being taller than Europeans clad in the conventional style of civilized
+people.
+
+The waters of Magellan are very dark, deep, and sullen in aspect, with
+insufficient room in many places to manage a ship properly under canvas
+alone. In their depth and darkness these waters also resemble those of
+Alaska's inland sea. The shores are quite bold, and the rocks below the
+surface are mostly indicated by giant kelp--_Fucus giganteus_--growing
+over them, a kind provision of nature in behalf of safe navigation. It
+will not answer, however, to depend solely upon this indication; the
+many rocks in the strait are by no means all so designated, nor are they
+all buoyed. Sea-kelp is very plentiful in this region, and serves many
+useful purposes. It forms a nourishing food for the Fuegians under
+certain circumstances, when their usual supply is scarce. They dry it
+and prepare it in a rude way suited to their unsophisticated palates. It
+also forms a portion of the support of the seals and sea-otters; these
+creatures feed freely upon its more delicate and tender shoots. It is
+wonderful how it can exist and thrive among such breakers as it
+constantly encounters in these restless waters, which are churned into
+mounds of foam in squally weather; but it does grow in great luxuriance,
+rising oftentimes two hundred feet and more from the bottom of the sea.
+It is curious to watch its abundant growth and its peculiar habits. If
+the wind and tide are in the same direction, the plant lies smooth upon
+the water; but if the wind is against the tide, the leaves curl up,
+causing a ripple on the surface, like a school of small fish. A specimen
+of giant kelp was secured from alongside of the ship, broken off at
+arm's length below the surface of the water. It was heavy and full of
+parasites. Upon shaking it, myriads of marine insects, shells, tiny
+crabs, sea-eggs, and star-fish fell upon the deck. All of these were of
+the smallest species, some almost invisible to the naked eye, but how
+wonderful they appeared under the microscope, which developed hundreds
+of forms of life infinitesimal in size!
+
+At a prominent point of the main channel is a strong box made fast by a
+chain, which always used to be opened by the masters of passing ships,
+either to deposit or to take away letters, as the case might be, each
+shipmaster undertaking the free delivery of all letters whose address
+was within the line of his subsequent course. In the whaleship service,
+especially during times now long past, this arrangement has been of
+great service, and there is no instance on record where the purpose of
+this self-sustaining post-office was disregarded. In these days of fast
+and regular post-office service, the "Magellan mail," as it was called,
+is of no practical account.
+
+There are several fairly good harbors in the strait, but the only white
+settlement was originally a penal colony founded by the Chilian
+government, though it no longer serves for that purpose, the convicts
+having risen some years since, and overpowered the garrison. A large
+portion of the Patagonian shore is well wooded, besides which an
+available coal deposit has been found and worked to fair advantage.
+Steamships, which were formerly obliged to go to the Falkland Islands,
+in the Atlantic, five hundred miles from the mouth of the strait, when
+running short of fuel, can now get their supply in an exigency at Punta
+Arenas--"Sandy Point." It is situated in the eastern section of the
+strait, about a hundred and twenty-five miles from the entrance. We do
+not mean to convey the idea that this is a regular coaling station,
+though it may some time become so. The town consists of straggling,
+low-built log-houses, and a few framed ones, reminding one of Port Said
+at the Mediterranean end of the Suez Canal, with its heterogeneous
+population. That of Sandy Point is made up of all nationalities,
+strongly tinctured with ex-convicts, and deserters from the Chilian army
+and navy. English is the language most commonly spoken, though the place
+is Chilian territory. It contains some twelve or fifteen hundred
+inhabitants, and is the most southerly town on the globe, as well as the
+most undesirable one in which to live, if one may express an opinion
+upon such brief acquaintance.
+
+We made no attempt to go on shore at Punta Arenas. A rain-storm was at
+its height while the ship lay off the town, and when it rains in these
+latitudes, it attends exclusively to the business in hand. The water
+comes down like Niagara, until finally, when the clouds have entirely
+emptied themselves, it stops. Jupiter Pluvius is master of the
+situation, when he asserts himself, and there is no one who can dispute
+his authority. Umbrellas and waterproofs are of no more use as a
+protection during the downpour, than they would be to a person who had
+fallen overboard in water forty fathoms deep. One of our passengers came
+on deck with a life preserver about his body, solemnly declaring that if
+this sort of thing continued much longer, the article would be
+absolutely necessary in order to keep afloat.
+
+During the season the Patagonians bring into Punta Arenas the result of
+their hunting in the shape of seal and otter skins, together with
+guanaco, and silver-fox skins, which are gathered by local traders and
+shipped to Europe. Occasionally a few sea-otter skins of rare value are
+obtained from here, fully equal, we were told, to anything taken in
+Alaskan waters. We have said that Punta Arenas is the most southerly
+town on the globe. The next nearest town to the Antarctic circle is the
+Bluff, so called,--also known as Campbelltown,--in the extreme south of
+New Zealand, where the author has eaten of the famous oysters indigenous
+there.
+
+Two sorts of supplies are to be obtained by navigators of the strait,
+namely, fuel and good drinking water. Sometimes a valuable skin robe may
+be purchased of the Patagonian Indians. It is called a guanaco-skin
+cloak, and made from the skin of the young deer. To obtain these skins
+of a uniform fineness of texture, the fawns are killed when but eight or
+ten days old; the available product got from each one is so small as
+hardly to exceed twice the size of one's hand. These are sewn together
+with infinite care and neatness by the Indian women, who use the fine
+sinews taken from ostriches' legs for thread. One of these guanaco-skin
+cloaks represents a vast amount of labor, and a hundred fawns must die
+to supply the raw material. Only chiefs of tribes can afford to wear
+them. Strangers who are willing to pay a price commensurate with their
+real cost and value may occasionally buy such an article as we describe,
+but these cloaks are rare. One was brought on board ship and shown to
+us, the price of which was twelve hundred dollars, nor do we think it
+was an excessive valuation. It was worth the amount as a rare curiosity
+for some art museum.
+
+That monarch bird of Antarctic regions, the albatross, frequents both
+ends of the strait, and sometimes accompanies steamships during the
+passage, together with cape-pigeons, gulls, and other marine birds,
+though as a rule the albatross is little seen except on the broad
+expanse of the ocean. A bird called the steamer-duck, also nicknamed by
+sailors the paddle-wheel duck, was pointed out to us by our captain. It
+is so called from its mode of propelling itself through the water,
+scooting over the surface of the strait while using both wings and legs,
+and creating considerable disturbance of the water, like a side-wheeler.
+The wings are too small to give it power of flight through the air. The
+steamer-duck is a large bird, nearly the size of the domestic goose;
+after its fashion, it moves with astonishing velocity, considerably
+faster than the average speed of a steamship. But we were speaking a
+moment since of the albatross, which is a feathered cannibal, and shows
+some truly wolfish traits. When one of its own species, a member of the
+same flock even, is wounded and drops helpless to the surface of the
+sea, its comrades swoop down upon it, and tearing the body to pieces
+with their powerful bills, devour the flesh ravenously. This was
+witnessed near the Arctic circle, between Hobart, in Tasmania, and the
+Bluff, in New Zealand, a few years ago, when some English sportsmen
+succeeded in wounding one of these mammoth birds from the deck of the
+steamship Zealandia. The only other known bird of our day which measures
+from eleven to twelve feet between the tips of the extended wings is the
+South American condor.
+
+The sea hereabouts abounds in fish, which constitute the largest portion
+of the food supply of the few Indians who live near the coast of either
+shore. The Fuegians dwell in the rudest shelters possible, nothing
+approaching the form of a house. The frailest shelter, covered with
+sea-lion's skins, suffices to keep them from the inclemencies of the
+weather. With the exception of an animal skin of some sort, having the
+fur on, secured over one shoulder on the side exposed to the wind, the
+canoe Indians wear no clothing. We were told that several of these
+natives, while quite young, were taken to England by advice of the
+missionaries and taught to read and write, being also kindly instructed
+in civilized manners and customs, which they gladly adopted for the time
+being; but upon returning to their native land, in every instance they
+rapidly lapsed into a condition of semi-savagery. It had been hoped they
+would act as a civilizing medium with their former friends, after
+returning among them, but this proved fallacious, and was a great
+disappointment to the well-meaning philanthropists. This same
+experience, as is well known, has been the result of similar experiments
+with natives of Africa and the South Sea Islands. The author is
+conversant with a striking illustration of this character in connection
+with an Australian Indian youth, which occurred in Queensland, and which
+was both interesting and very romantic in its development. It simply
+went to prove that hereditary instincts cannot be easily eradicated, and
+that not one, but many generations are necessary to banish savage
+proclivities which are inherited from a long line of ancestors.
+
+Gold is found to some extent in the beds of the streams in
+Patagonia,--free gold, washed from the disintegrated rocks. Natives
+sometimes bring small quantities of the gold dust into Punta Arenas,
+with which to purchase tobacco and other articles. Many heedless and
+unprincipled individuals sell them intoxicants, to obtain which these
+Indians will part with anything they possess, after they have once
+become familiar with the taste and effect of the captivating poison.
+
+Not far from Cape Forward, near the middle of the strait, which is the
+most southerly portion of the American continent, three native boats
+were seen during our passage. The steamer was slowed for a few moments
+to give us a brief opportunity to see the savage occupants. These three
+frail, ill-built canoes were tossed high and low by the swell of the
+Pacific, which set to the eastward through the strait. Each boat
+contained a man, a couple of women, and one or two children, the latter
+entirely naked, the others nearly so. They were Fuegians, raising their
+hands and voices to attract our attention, asking for food and tobacco,
+to which appeal a generous response was made. Their broad faces, high
+cheek-bones, low foreheads, and flat noses, their faces and necks
+screened by coarse black hair, did not challenge our admiration, however
+much we were exercised by pity for human beings in so desolate a
+condition. They certainly possessed two redeeming features,--brilliant
+eyes and teeth of dazzling whiteness. The fruit thrown to them seemed
+best to suit the ideas and palates of the children, who devoured
+oranges, skin and all; but the gift of clothing which was made to the
+parents was laid aside for future consideration, though there are
+probably no "ole clo'" merchants in Terra del Fuego. The men ate hard
+sea biscuit and slices of cold corned beef ravenously. The plump,
+well-rounded shoulders and limbs of the women showed them to be in far
+better physical condition than the men, whose bodies consisted of little
+besides skin and bones. They were copper colored, and the skin of the
+women shone in the bright sunlight which prevailed for the moment, as
+though they had been varnished. If their faces had been as well formed
+as their bodies, they would have been models of natural beauty. How
+these people could remain so nearly naked with apparent comfort, while
+we found overcoats quite necessary, was a problem difficult to solve
+satisfactorily.
+
+"They were born so," said our first officer. "As you go through life
+with your face and hands exposed, so they go with their entire bodies.
+It is a mere matter of habit,--habit from babyhood to maturity."
+
+All of which is perfectly reasonable. It was observed that on the bottom
+of their boats was a layer of flat stones, and on these, just amidship,
+was spread a low, smouldering fire of dried vines and small twigs,
+designed to temper the atmosphere about them. So frail were the boats
+that one of the occupants was kept constantly baling out water.
+
+It is impossible to form any intelligent estimate as to how many of
+these aborigines there are in and about the strait. They find food, like
+the canvas-back ducks, in the wild celery, adding shell-fish and dried
+berberries, and are a strictly nomadic people. After exhausting the
+products of one vicinity, for the time being, they move on, but return
+to the locality at a proper time, when nature has recuperated herself
+and furnished a fresh supply of vegetable growth and edible shell-fish.
+A stranded whale is a godsend to these savages, upon the putrid flesh of
+which they live and fatten until all has disappeared. In their primitive
+way they hunt this leviathan, but want of proper facilities renders them
+rarely successful. Occasionally they manage to plant a spear in some
+vital spot, deep enough to be effectual, so that the whale, after diving
+to the depths of the sea, finally comes to the surface, near the place
+where he was wounded, to thrash about and to die. Even then, unless it
+is at a favorable point, the large body is liable to be swept away by
+the strong tide setting through the strait, so that the natives seldom
+secure a carcass by these means.
+
+Not long since one of the European mail steamers, on approaching the
+Atlantic end of the strait, sighted an object which was at first thought
+to be a sunken rock. If this was its character, it was all important to
+obtain the exact location. A boat was lowered and pulled to the object,
+when it was found to be the carcass of a dead whale, in which was a
+stout wooden spear which had fatally wounded the creature. Securely
+attached to the spear, by means of a rope made of animal sinews, there
+were a couple of inflated bladders. The spear was evidently a Fuegian
+weapon, and though it had finally cost the whale his life, the dead body
+had been carried by the current far beyond the reach of those who had
+caused the fatal wound. The discovery showed the crude manner in which
+these savages seek to possess themselves of a whale occasionally and
+thus to appease their barbaric appetites. They could not pursue one in
+their frail boats, but the creature is sometimes found sleeping on the
+surface of the sea, which is the Fuegian opportunity for approaching it
+noiselessly, and for planting a spear in some vital part of the huge
+body. Whales, when thus attacked, do not show fight, but their instinct
+leads them to dive at once.
+
+A few whales were observed within the strait during our passage, some so
+near as to show that they had no fear of the ship. It was curious to
+watch them. There was a baby whale among the rest, five or six feet in
+length, which kept very close to its dam; it suddenly disappeared once
+while we were watching the school, though only to rise again to the
+surface of the sea and emit a tiny fountain of spray from its diminutive
+blow-hole. In passing a small inlet which formed a calm, sheltered piece
+of water, still as an inland lake, there were seen upon its tranquil
+bosom a few white geese, quietly floating, while close at hand upon some
+rocks, a half score of awkward penguins were also observed, with their
+ludicrous dummy wings, and their bodies supported in a half standing,
+half sitting position.
+
+Ducks seem to be very abundant in the strait, but geese are scarce. An
+occasional cormorant is caught sight of, with its distended pouch
+bearing witness to its proverbial voracity. All the birds one sees in
+these far away regions have each some peculiar adaptability to the
+climate, the locality, or to both. The penguin never makes the mistake
+of seeking our northern shores, nor is the albatross often seen north of
+the fortieth degree of south latitude. True, were the former to
+emigrate, he would have to swim the whole distance, but the latter is so
+marvelously strong of wing that it has been said of him, he might
+breakfast, if he chose, at the Cape of Good Hope, and dine on the coast
+of Newfoundland.
+
+Terra del Fuego,--"Land of Fire,"--which makes the southern side of the
+strait, opposite Patagonia, is composed of a very large group of islands
+washed by the Atlantic on the east side and the Pacific on the west,
+trending towards the southeast for about two hundred miles from the
+strait, and terminating at Cape Horn. The largest of these islands is
+East Terra del Fuego, which measures from east to west between three and
+four hundred miles. One can only speak vaguely of detail, as this is
+still a _terra incognita_. These islands do indeed form "a land of
+desolation," as Captain Cook appropriately named them, sparsely
+inhabited to be sure, but hardly fit for human beings. They are deeply
+indented and cut up by arms of the sea, and composed mostly of sterile
+mountains, whose tops are covered with perpetual snow. When the
+mountains are not too much exposed to the ocean storms on the west
+coast, they are scantily covered with a species of hardy, wind-distorted
+trees from the water's edge upward to the snow line, which is here about
+two thousand feet above the sea. In sheltered areas this growth is dense
+and forest-like, especially nearest to the sea; in others it is
+interspersed by bald and blanched patches of barren rocks. In some open
+places, where they have worn themselves a broad path, the glaciers come
+down to the water, discharging sections of ice constantly into the deep
+sea, crowded forward and downward by the immense but slow-moving mass
+behind,--a frozen river,--thus illustrating the habit of the
+iceberg-producing glaciers of the far north.
+
+One never approaches this subject without recalling the lamented Agassiz
+and his absorbing theories relating to it.
+
+The author has seen huge glaciers in Scandinavia and in Switzerland,
+forming natural exhibitions of great interest; each country has
+peculiarities in this respect. In the last-named country, for instance,
+there is no example where a glacier descends lower than thirty-five
+hundred feet above the sea level, while in Norway the only one of which
+he can speak from personal observation has before it a large terminal
+moraine, thus losing the capacity for that most striking performance,
+the discharge of icebergs. The best example of this interesting
+operation of nature which we have ever witnessed, and probably the most
+effective in the world, is that of the Muir glacier in Alaska, where an
+immense frozen river comes boldly down from the Arctic regions to the
+sea level, with a sheer height at its terminus of over two hundred feet.
+From this unique facade, nearly two miles in width, the constant
+tumbling of icebergs into the sea is accompanied by a noise like a salvo
+of cannon. This glacier, it should be remembered, also extends to the
+bottom of the bay, where it enters it two hundred feet below the surface
+of the water, thus giving it a height, or perhaps we should say a depth
+and height combined, of fully four hundred feet. Icebergs are discharged
+from the submerged portion continually, and float to the surface, thus
+repeating the process below the water which is all the while going on
+above it, and visible upon the perpendicular surface. Nothing which we
+have seen in the Canadian Selkirks, in Switzerland, Norway, or
+elsewhere, equals in size, grandeur, or clearly defined glacial action,
+the famous Muir glacier of Alaska.
+
+The most remarkable peak to be seen in passing through the Strait of
+Magellan is Mount Sarmiento, which is inexpressibly grand in its
+proportions, dominating the borders of Cockburn's Channel near the
+Pacific end of the great water-way. It is about seven thousand feet in
+height, a spotless cone of snow, being in form extremely abrupt and
+pointed. This frosty monarch sends down from its upper regions a score
+or more of narrow, sky-blue glaciers to the sea through openings in the
+dusky forest. Darwin was especially impressed by the sight of these when
+he explored this region, and speaks of them as looking like so many
+Niagaras, but they are only miniature glaciers after all. One sees in
+the Pyrenees and the St. Gothard Pass similar cascades flowing down from
+the mountains towards the valleys, except that in the one instance the
+crystal waters are liquid, in the other they are quite congealed. The
+group or range of which Sarmiento is the apex is very generally shrouded
+in mist, and is visited by frequent rain, snow, and hail storms. We were
+fortunate to see it under a momentary glow of warm sunshine, when the
+sky was deepest blue, and the ermine cloak of the mountain was spangled
+with frost gems.
+
+It would seem that such exposure to the elements in a frigid climate,
+and such deprivations as must be constantly endured by the barbarous
+natives who inhabit these bleak regions, must surely shorten their
+lives, and perhaps it does so, though "the survival of the fittest," who
+grow up to maturity, is in such numbers that one is a little puzzled in
+considering the matter. A singular instance touching upon this point
+came indirectly to the writer's knowledge.
+
+It appears that four Fuegian women, one of whom was about forty years of
+age, and the others respectively about twenty, twenty-five, and thirty,
+were picked up adrift in the strait a few years ago. It was believed
+that they had escaped from some threatened tribal cruelty, but upon this
+subject they would reveal nothing. These fugitives were kindly taken in
+hand by philanthropic people at Sandy Point, and entertained with true
+Christian hospitality. When first discovered they were, as usual, quite
+naked, but were promptly clothed and properly housed. No more work was
+required of them than they chose voluntarily to perform; in short, they
+were most kindly treated, and though the best of care was taken of them
+in a hygienic sense, they all gradually faded, and died of consumption
+in less than two years. They seemed to be contented, were grateful and
+cheerful, but clothing and a warm house to live in, odd as it may seem,
+killed them! They were born to a free, open air and exposed daily life,
+and their apparently sturdy constitutions required such a mode of
+living. Civilized habits, strange to say, proved fatal to these wild
+children of the rough Fuegian coast.
+
+
+
+
+          CHAPTER XIV.
+
+     The Land of Fire.--Cape Horn.--In the Open Pacific.--Fellow
+     Passengers.--Large Sea-Bird.--An Interesting Invalid.--A
+     Weary Captive.--A Broken-Hearted Mother.--Study of the
+     Heavens.--The Moon.--Chilian Civil War.--Concepcion.--A
+     Growing City.--Commercial Importance.--Cultivating City
+     Gardens on a New Plan.--Important Coal Mines.--Delicious
+     Fruits.
+
+
+Magellan named this extreme southern land, of which we have been
+speaking, "the Land of Fire," because of the numerous fires which he,
+from his ships, saw on the shore at night, and which were then supposed
+by the discoverers to be of a volcanic character. The fact probably was
+that the Indians did not fail to recognize the need of artificial heat,
+especially at night, though they had not sufficient genius to teach them
+to construct garments suitable to protect them from the inclemency of
+the weather. These fires were kindled in the open air, but the natives
+camped close about them, sleeping within their influence.
+
+Cape Horn, the extreme point of South America, on the outermost island
+of the Fuegian group, is a lofty, steep black rock, with a pointed
+summit, which has stood there for ages, like a watchful sentinel at his
+post. Two thirds of Patagonia and Terra del Fuego--the western
+part--belong to Chili, and the balance of both--the eastern
+part--belongs to the Argentine Republic. A recently consummated treaty
+between these two nationalities has fixed upon this final division of
+territory, and thus settled a question which has long been a source of
+dispute and ill feeling between them. This division makes Cape Horn
+belong to Chili, not a specially desirable possession, to be sure, but
+it is an indelible landmark.
+
+The sail along the coast northward after leaving the Pacific mouth of
+the strait affords very little variety of scenery; the dull hue of the
+barren shore is without change of color for hundreds of miles, until the
+eye becomes weary of watching it, as we speed onward through the long,
+indolent ocean swell. Arid hills and small indentures form the coast
+line, but as we get further northward, this dreary sameness is varied by
+the appearance of an occasional small settlement, forming a group of
+dwellings of a rude character, possibly a mining region or a fishing
+hamlet, connected with some business locality further inland. Sometimes
+a green valley is descried, which makes a verdant gulch opening quite
+down to the sea.
+
+This dense monotony becomes more and more tedious, until one longs to
+get somewhere, anywhere, away from it.
+
+In the dearth of scenic interest, we fall to studying the various
+passengers traveling between the Pacific ports, a great variety of
+nationalities being represented. Among those of the second-class was a
+handsome Italian boy, with marvelous eyes of jet and a profusion of long
+black hair. He had a small organ hung about his neck, and carried an
+intelligent monkey with him. The boy and his monkey joined in the
+performance of certain simple, amusing tricks to elicit money from the
+lookers-on. Both boy and monkey were happy in the result achieved, the
+former in liberal cash receipts, the latter in being fed liberally with
+cakes and bonbons. The capacity of monkeys for the rapid consumption of
+palatable dainties is one of the unsolved mysteries of nature.
+
+Schools of porpoises played about the hull of the ship, and clouds of
+sea-birds at times wheeled about the topmasts, or followed in the ship's
+wake watching for refuse from the cook's department. Occasionally the
+head of a large, deep-water turtle would appear for a moment above the
+surface, twisting its awkward neck to watch the course of the steamer,
+while shoreward the mottled surface of the gently undulating waves
+betrayed the presence of myriads of small fish, over which hovered
+predatory birds of the gull tribe. Now and again one would swoop swiftly
+downward to secure a victim to its appetite. Few albatrosses were seen
+after leaving the Pacific mouth of the strait. They are lovers of the
+stormy Antarctic region, with the tempestuous atmosphere of which their
+great power of wing enables them to cope successfully. The author has
+seen one of these birds off the southern coast of New Zealand which
+spread eleven feet from tip to tip of its extended wings. It was caught
+with a floating bait by one of the seamen and drawn on board ship, where
+it was measured, but not until a long contest of strength had taken
+place between men and bird. The albatross was slightly wounded in the
+mouth and throat by the process of catching him with a baited hook. But
+they are hardy creatures, and unless injured in some vital part pay
+little heed to a small wound. After this bird had been examined, it was
+liberated, and resumed its graceful flight about the ship as though
+nothing unusual had happened.
+
+An invalid girl of Spanish birth, who was perhaps sixteen years of age,
+very tenderly cared for by her mother, was propped up daily in a
+reclining seat upon deck, where she might find amusement in watching the
+sea and distant shore, while inhaling the saline tonic of the
+atmosphere. Poor child, how her large, dark eyes, pallid lips, and
+painful respiration appealed to one's sympathy! It required no
+professional knowledge to divine her approaching fate. She was really in
+the last stages of consumption, and was on her way to a popular
+sanitarium near the coast, hoping against reason that the change might
+prove restorative and of radical benefit. It was pleasant to observe how
+promptly every one on board strove to add to her comfort by simple
+attentions and services, and how the choicest bits from the table were
+secured to tempt her capricious appetite. The grateful mother's eyes
+were often suffused with tears, carefully hidden from the gentle
+invalid. Her maternal heart was too full for the utterance even of
+thanks.
+
+"Ah," said she to us in a low tone of voice, "she is the last of my
+three children, two boys and this girl. The two boys faded away just
+like this. Do you think there is any hope for her, senor?"
+
+"Why not, senora? We should never cease to hope. The land breeze and the
+springs where you are going may do wonders."
+
+Heaven forgive us. The child's fate was only too plainly to be read in
+her attenuated form, and the dull action of her almost congested lungs.
+
+One day a small, weary sea-bird, newly out of its nest, flew on board
+our ship quite exhausted, and being easily secured, was given to the
+young girl to pet. It soon became quite at home in her lap, eating small
+bread crumbs and little bits of meat from her fingers. Confidence being
+thus established between them, the little half-fledged creature would
+not willingly leave its new-found benefactress. It seemed to be a
+providential occurrence, affording considerable diversion to the sick
+one. For a while, at least, she was aroused from the listlessness which
+is so very significant in consumption, and her whole heart went out to
+the confiding little waif. It was a pretty sight to see the bird nestle
+contentedly close to her bosom, the pale-faced girl scarcely less
+fragile than the little feathered stranger she had adopted. No one
+thought that Death was hovering so very near, yet the third night after
+the bird flew on board the young girl lay in her shroud, with an ivory
+crucifix, typical of the Romish faith, in one hand, and the other
+resting upon the inanimate bird she had befriended, which had also
+breathed its last.
+
+Attempted consolation to a freshly bleeding heart is almost always
+premature, and there are few, very few, human beings competent to offer
+it effectually under the best circumstances. The sad-eyed mother
+listened to a few well-meant words of this character, but slowly shook
+her head and made no reply. Time only could assuage the keenness of her
+sorrow. By and by she spoke, with her eyes still resting upon that pale,
+dead face, where nothing but a wonderful peace and serenity were now
+expressed.
+
+"Have birds souls, do you think?" she asked, in a low, trembling voice.
+
+"Possibly," was the reply; "but why do you ask?"
+
+"Because," she continued, speaking very slowly, "that tiny creature and
+my darling died almost at the same moment, and if so, her spirit would
+have company on its way to the good God."
+
+The unconscious poetry of the thought, so quietly expressed by the
+sorrowing mother, as she sat beside the corpse with folded hands and
+burning eyes, which could not find the relief of tears, was very
+touching.
+
+The motor of the big ship throbbed on, the routine of duty continued
+unchanged, passengers ate, drank, and were merry, the sea-birds wheeled
+about us uttering their sharp contentious cries, and we pressed forward
+through the opposing wind and tide, as though nothing had happened. Only
+a mother's loving heart was broken. Only a soul gone to its God. Surely
+such sweet innocence must be welcome in heaven. But ah! the great
+mystery of it all!
+
+Most intelligent people will agree with us that no study known to
+science can compare with astronomy for absorbing interest. At sea one
+finds ample time, convenience, and incentive to study the sky, populous
+with countless hosts of constellations. Especially is it interesting to
+watch the numerous phases of the moon, beginning with her advent as a
+delicate crescent of pale light in the eastern sky, after the sun has
+set, and continuing to the period when she becomes full. Each succeeding
+night it is found that she has moved farther and farther westward,
+until, arriving at the full, she rises nearly at the same time that the
+sun sets. From the period of full moon, the disc of light diminishes
+nightly until the last quarter is reached, and the moon is then seen
+high over the ship's topmast head, before day breaks in the east. Thus
+she goes on waning, all the while drawing closer to the sun, until
+finally she becomes absorbed in his light. The interesting process
+completed, she again comes into view at twilight in the west, in her
+exquisite crescent form, once more to pass through a similar series of
+changes.
+
+The superstition of sailors touching the moonlight is curious. No
+foremast hand will sleep where it shines directly upon him. They are
+voluble in relating many instances of comrades rendered melancholy-mad
+by so doing. "They talk about the moon making the ebb and flow of the
+tide," said an able seaman to the author. "There's lots of queer things
+about the moon, but _that's_ d--d nonsense, saving your honor's
+presence." Thus Jack eagerly absorbs superstitious ideas, and ignores
+natural phenomena. No humble class of men are so intelligent in a
+general way, and yet at the same time so universally superstitious, as
+those who go down to the sea in ships.
+
+In coming on to the west coast it is natural, perhaps, for the reader to
+expect us to refer briefly to the late civil war in Chili, but we have
+not attempted in these notes to depict the local political condition of
+any of the states of South America. In the past they have most of them
+shown themselves as changeable as the wind, and remarks which would
+depict the status of to-day might be quite unsuited to that of
+to-morrow. The average reader is sufficiently familiar with the struggle
+so lately ended in Chili. One party was led by the late President
+Balmaceda, in opposition to the other, known as the Congressional party.
+That which brought about this open warfare was the refusal of Congress
+any longer to recognize the president on account of his high-handed,
+illegal, and venal official conduct. A line will illustrate the cause of
+the outbreak. It was the Constitution of the country as against a
+Dictatorship. The President of the Chilian Republic, like the President
+of the United States, has a personal authority such as nowadays is
+wielded by few constitutional monarchs. Balmaceda proved to be a tyrant
+of the first water, abusing the power of his position to condemn to
+death those who opposed him, without even the semblance of a trial. He
+succeeded in attaching most of the regular army to his cause by profuse
+promises and the free use of money, while the navy went almost bodily
+over to the side of Congress. The contest assumed revolutionary
+proportions, and many battles were fought. As a casual observer, the
+author heartily coincided with the Congressional party, and rejoices at
+their wholesale triumph.
+
+The suicidal act which ended Balmaceda's life was no heroic resort, but
+the deed of a coward fearing to face the consequences of his murderous
+career. It is not the man who has been actuated by high and noble
+sentiments who cuts his throat or blows out his brains. Such is the act
+of the cunning fraud who realizes that he has not only totally failed in
+his object, but that his true character is known to the world. Suicide
+has been declared to be the final display of egoism, and it certainly
+leaves the world with one less thoroughly selfish character. The
+disappearance of such an individual may produce a momentary ripple on
+the surface of time, but it fails to leave any permanent mark.
+
+Nearly three hundred miles south of Santiago, capital of Chili, on the
+Pacific coast, is situated the city of Concepcion. It stands on the
+right bank of the river Biobio, six or seven miles from its mouth, and
+contains about twenty-five thousand inhabitants. The people seem to be
+exceptionally active and enterprising, though at this writing suffering
+from the effects of the late civil war. It is the third city in point of
+size and importance in the republic, and dates from over three hundred
+years ago. It will be remembered also that it once held the place now
+occupied by Santiago as capital of the country. The city is built in the
+valley of Mocha, under the coast range of hills, and is justly famed,
+like Puebla in Mexico, for its pretty women and beautiful flowers. It is
+a clean and thrifty town, with handsome shops, a charming plaza, and an
+attractive alameda. This latter deserves special mention. It is a mile
+long, and beautified with several rows of tall Lombardy poplars, the
+sight of which carried us to another hemisphere, where those lovely
+Italian plains stretch away from the environs of Milan towards the
+foothills of the neighboring Alps and the more distant Apennines. Great
+things are prognosticated for Concepcion in the near future by its
+friends, and it is already the principal town of southern Chili. The
+streets are well paved, and lined by handsome business blocks, together
+with pleasant dwelling-houses, built low, to avoid the effect of
+earthquakes, the universal material being sun-dried bricks, finished
+externally in stucco. The facades are painted in harlequin variety of
+colors, yellow, blue, and peach-blossom prevailing. The town has really
+more the appearance of a northern than a southern city, and has long
+been connected with Valparaiso by railway.
+
+Some of the most extensive coal mines on this part of the continent have
+been discovered in this vicinity, and are being worked on a large scale.
+In fact, Coronal, not far away, is the great coaling station on the
+Chilian coast for steamships bound to Europe or Panama. One would
+suppose that this coal mining must be quite profitable, as we were told
+that twenty-five and even thirty dollars per ton was realized for it
+delivered at the nearest tide-water. The port of Concepcion is some
+seven miles from the city, where the river Biobio flows into the ocean
+at Talcahuano,--pronounced Tal-ca-wha'no,--a small town on Concepcion
+Bay possessing an excellent harbor. There are here a large marine dock,
+an arsenal, and a seaman's hospital. Close by the shore is a spacious
+and convenient railway station. The bay is some six miles wide by seven
+in length. There is a resident population of nearly four thousand, who
+form an extremely active community. The majority of the houses are of a
+very humble character and, like those of Concepcion, are built of adobe.
+
+Spanish capitals in the West Indies and South America were originally
+placed, like Concepcion, some distance from the coast, to render them
+more secure against the attack of pirates and lawless sea-rovers, who
+might land from their vessels, burn a town on the seashore, after
+robbing it of all valuables, and easily make good their escape; whereas
+to march inland and attack a town far from their base, or to proceed up
+a shallow river in boats for such a purpose, was a far more difficult,
+if not indeed an impossible thing to do. Thus Callao is the harbor of
+Lima; Valparaiso, of Santiago; and Talcahuano, of Concepcion. The
+situation of the last named capital is admirable, at the head of the
+bay, which affords one of the best harbors on the west coast of the
+continent. When the transcontinental railway from Buenos Ayres, on the
+Atlantic side, is finished, surmounting the passes of the
+Andes,--already "a foregone conclusion,"--it will have its termination
+here at Talcahuano, which must then become a great shipping point for
+New Zealand and Australia. Half a dozen lines of European mail steamers
+already touch here regularly. The river is too shallow to admit of
+vessels drawing more than a few feet of water ascending it so far as
+Concepcion, but Talcahuano is all sufficient as a port.
+
+Few places have been so frequently devastated by fire, flood, and
+earthquakes, or so often ravaged by war, as has this interesting city.
+In the early days the Araucanian Indians put the settlers to the sword
+again and again. This was the bravest of all the native Indian tribes of
+South America, and is still an unconquered people. The city was laid in
+ruins so late as 1835 by an earthquake, though no special signs of this
+destructive visitor are to be seen here to-day. Still, one cannot but
+feel that with such possibilities hanging over the locality, there must
+be few people willing to expend freely of their means for substantial
+building purposes, or to make Concepcion a permanent place of abode.
+Human nature adapts itself to all exigencies, however, and the place
+grows rapidly, notwithstanding the discouraging circumstances which we
+have named. It is not the native but the foreign element of the
+population which is doing so much for this region. Were the mingled
+native race to be left to themselves, there would be few signs of
+progress evinced; they would rapidly lapse into a condition of
+semi-barbarism. The Chilian proper is a very poor creature as regards
+morals, intelligence, or true manhood; his instincts are brutal and his
+aims predaceous.
+
+Like all South American cities, Concepcion is laid out by rule and
+compass, the fairly broad streets crossing each other at right angles.
+There is a large and costly cathedral, but a wholesome fear of
+earthquakes has caused it to be left without the usual twin towers,
+which gives it an unfinished appearance. The place also contains other
+churches, a well-appointed theatre, two hospitals, and several edifices
+devoted to charitable purposes. Opposite the cathedral stands the
+Intendencia, a large and handsome government house. Telephones and
+electric lights have long been adopted, and the telegraph poles do much
+abound. In these foreign places, so far away from home, to see the
+streets lined, as they are with us, by big, tall poles, holding aloft a
+maze of wires, is very suggestive; but where can one go that they are
+not? It is curious to realize that we can step into an office close at
+hand and promptly communicate with any part of the world. We may have
+sailed over the ocean many thousands of miles, and have consumed months
+to reach the spot where we stand, but electricity, like thought,
+annihilates space, and will take our message instantly to its
+destination, though it be at the farthest end of the globe. These
+marvelous facilities are no longer confined to populous centres.
+Electricity not only bears our messages to the uttermost parts of the
+world, but it propels the tramway cars in Rome, Boston, and Munich,
+while it also lights the streets of New York, Auckland in New Zealand,
+as well as of London and Honolulu.
+
+The importance of Concepcion is manifest from the fact that several new
+railway connections terminating here have lately been accomplished; but
+the important event already referred to, of the transcontinental
+railway, will finally insure her commercial greatness. The town is
+surrounded by a widespread, fertile country, abounding in both mineral
+and agricultural wealth, equal to, if not surpassing, any other province
+in Chili. The city was financially strong before the late civil war, and
+has still some very wealthy residents. The principal bank of Concepcion,
+with a capital of one million dollars, paid a dividend to its
+stockholders in 1890 of sixteen per cent. on the previous year's
+business. The cathedral and government house, already spoken of, front
+on the plaza, a large open square ornamented with statuary, trees, and
+flowers, the latter kept in most exquisite order and constant bloom by
+means of a singular and original device. It seems that each separate
+plot of these grounds is owned or cared for by a different family of the
+citizens, and that a spirit of emulation is thus excited by the effort
+of the several parties to make their special plot excel in its beauty
+and fragrance. This keeps the whole plaza in a lovely condition, and
+makes it the pride of the city.
+
+Society and business circles are mostly composed of foreigners, the
+German element largely predominating. The native, or humbler classes, as
+we have already intimated, are a wretchedly low people. They "wake"
+their dead before burial, much after the style which prevails in
+Ireland, except that the process is more exaggerated in manner. Drinking
+and debauchery characterize these occasions, which are continued often
+for three days at a time, or so long as the means for indulgence in
+excess last. In case of youthful deaths, the child's cheeks are painted
+red, and the head is crowned in a fantastic manner, the body being
+dressed and placed in a sitting position, thus forming a strange and
+hideous sight. Such treatment of a corpse could only be tolerated by a
+barbarous people. In the environs of the town, Lazarus jostles Dives.
+There are here many hovels, as well as a better class of residences.
+Some of them are wretchedly poor, built of mud and bamboo, the
+inhabitants half-naked and wholly starved, if one may judge by their
+appearance. On Saturday, which in Spanish towns and cities is called
+"poor day," the streets of Concepcion are full of either assumed or real
+mendicants. The Spanish race is one of chronic beggars,--they seem born
+so. Scarcely less of a nuisance than the beggars are the army of
+half-starved, mongrel, neglected dogs, that throng in the streets of the
+city, rivaling Constantinople.
+
+It should be mentioned that Concepcion has a good system of tramway
+service, and that the cars have attached to them a class of neat,
+pretty, and modest girls for conductors, who wear natty straw hats, snow
+white aprons, and are supplied with a leather cash bag hung by a strap
+about the neck. It seems rather incongruous that while so many evidences
+of real progress abound in this city, water, the prime necessity of
+life, should be peddled about the streets by the bucketful. Now is the
+time to perfect a system of drainage, and to introduce an adequate
+supply of good water, from easily available sources.
+
+The inexhaustible coal fields already mentioned, which are situated but
+a few miles away, must prove to be a lasting source of prosperity to
+Concepcion. They are far more important and valuable, all things
+considered, than a gold or silver mine near at hand would be. Indeed, it
+is found in the long run that the latter kind of mineral discoveries do
+not always tend to the material benefit of the community in which they
+are found. The earth produces far more profitable crops than gold and
+precious stones, even when considered in the most mercenary light. The
+business prospects of Concepcion, as we have pointed out in detail, are
+exceedingly promising. That the city is destined eventually to rival
+Valparaiso seems more than probable, and yet there is another side to
+this favorable aspect thus presented, which it is not wise to ignore.
+True, the climate is equable and healthy, but that great drawback, the
+liability to earthquakes and tidal waves, still remains, like a dark,
+portending shadow. In spite of this startling possibility there is
+something of a "boom" already instituted, at this writing, as to the
+prices of land in and about both the port and city of Concepcion. It is
+a fact that people will soon become calloused and heedless of almost any
+familiar danger. Jack turns in and quickly falls to sleep, when the
+watch below is called and relieves him from the deck, though the ship is
+in the midst of cyclone latitudes, and while a half-gale is blowing. The
+people of Torre del Grecco, at the base of the volcano, do not sleep any
+less soundly to-day because Pompeii was utterly destroyed by Vesuvius
+eighteen or nineteen centuries ago. The earthquake of 1835 first shook
+Talcahuano nearly to pieces, and then completed its destruction by a
+tidal wave which swept what remained of it into the sea.
+
+It goes without saying that most of the fruits and staple products of
+the tropics are to be found both at Concepcion and at the port of
+Talcahuano. Each place we visit seems to have some specialty in this
+line. Here, it is the watermelon. Favored by the soil and the climate,
+this fruit is developed to its maximum in weight, richness of flavor,
+and general perfection. They are sold cheap enough everywhere. A centavo
+will buy a large ripe one. Street carts and donkeys are laden with them,
+and so are the decks of all outgoing vessels. It is both food and drink
+to the poor peons, who consume the fruit in quantities strongly
+suggestive of cholera, dropsy, or some other dreadful illness. Any one
+accustomed to travel in our Southern States, in the right season of the
+year, will have observed how voraciously the negro population, young and
+old, eat of the cheap, ripe crop of watermelons; but these South
+American peons have a capacity for storage and digestion of this really
+wholesome article, beyond all comparison. A child not more than ten
+years of age will devour the ripe portion of a large melon in a few
+minutes, and no ill effects seem to follow. An adult eats two at a meal
+which would weigh, we are afraid to say how much, but they are
+considerably larger than the average melons which are brought to New
+England from the South. After all, the watermelon is healthful food,
+though it is more filling than nourishing. It will be remembered that
+the famous fasting individual, Dr. Tanner, after eating nothing for
+forty days and forty nights, took for his first article of nourishment,
+at the close of this time of fasting, half a watermelon, and that he
+retained and digested it successfully.
+
+
+
+
+          CHAPTER XV.
+
+     Valparaiso.--Principal South American Port of the
+     Pacific.--A Good Harbor.--Tallest Mountain on this
+     Continent.--The Newspaper Press.--Warlike Aspect.--Girls as
+     Car Conductors.--Chilian Exports.--Foreign
+     Merchants.--Effects of Civil War.--Gambling in Private
+     Houses.--Immigration.--Culture of the
+     Grape.--Agriculture.--Island of Juan Fernandez.
+
+
+Valparaiso--"Vale of Paradise"--was thus fancifully named because of its
+assumed loveliness. True, it is beautifully situated, and is a fine city
+of its class, located in an admirable semicircular bay, not upon one,
+but upon many hills, backed by a crescent-shaped mountain range. But
+when one compares its harbor to that of Naples, or Sydney in Australia,
+for picturesqueness of scenery, as is often done, it only provokes
+invidious remarks. The matchless harbor of Rio Janeiro, on the eastern
+coast of the continent, already fully described in these pages, is far
+more charming in general effect and in all of its surroundings, not to
+mention that it is more than twenty times as large. Valparaiso is the
+principal seaport of Chili, and indeed, for the present, it is the main
+port of the entire west coast of South America. By consulting the map it
+will be readily seen that Chili must ever be a maritime nation,
+depending more upon an effective navy than an army. The possession of
+the national ships of war by the Congressional party in the revolution
+so lately terminated gave them virtual control of the cities along the
+coast, at the outbreak of the emeute, and this means they employed
+against the Presidential party with the most ruthless effect. They did
+not hesitate to savagely cannonade and shell a city, though two thirds
+of the occupants were their own friends and supporters, provided it was
+held ostensibly, and for the time being only, by the supporters of
+Balmaceda. The outrageous bombardment of Iquique is an instance in
+illustration of this charge. The Chilian delights to be cruel; it is his
+instinct to destroy and to plunder. He is by nature boastful,
+passionate, and headstrong. This disposition seems to be born in the
+race, is in fact a matter of heredity, fostered by bull-fights and
+kindred entertainments. But the country must now pay for the enormous
+destruction of property of which the directors of the civil war have
+been guilty. The European powers have already begun to send in their
+demands for damages done to their non-combatant merchants. England comes
+first with a bill calling for payment of sixty million dollars. Spain,
+Italy, and Germany will follow. It is estimated that a hundred million
+dollars will be required to settle these foreign demands. Chili must
+pay. There is no avoiding it. Reckless destruction will be found to be
+rather an expensive amusement in future for these South Americans. Their
+outrageous and murderous treatment of citizens of the United States who
+land upon their shore is also like to cost them a heavy sum in way of
+penalty. The present is a good opportunity to teach them a salutary
+lesson. The Chilians will not be in a hurry to repeat crimes which they
+find entail sure and swift punishment.
+
+A majority of the population of Chili lives, as a rule, within a few
+miles of the sea, and her coast line extends from Cape Horn northward
+over two thousand miles to the borders of Bolivia and Peru. With this
+extraordinary length, she has an average width of hardly more than a
+hundred miles, bordered on the east by the western slope of the Andes,
+whose eastern side belongs to the Argentine Republic, and on the west by
+the Pacific Ocean. The present estimated area of the republic is about
+two hundred and twenty thousand square miles, containing a population of
+considerably less than three millions, though its capacious territory
+could be so divided as to make twenty-five states as large as
+Massachusetts. Sixteen hundred miles of steam railroads render the
+principal sections of Chili accessible to one another. The coast line
+has from time to time been undergoing decided changes through volcanic
+action. In 1822, after a visible commotion, the shore was permanently
+raised three feet at Valparaiso, and four feet at Quintere. This change
+extended over an area of a hundred thousand miles. Another but lesser
+elevation took place in the same region in 1835.
+
+There seems to be no accounting for the vagaries of a land subject to
+volcanic influences.
+
+The harbor of Valparaiso is well protected on the east, south, and west,
+but it is open to the north, from which direction come very heavy winds
+and seas during a couple of months in the winter season, often causing
+serious casualties among the shipping which may chance to be anchored in
+the harbor. A "norther" is as much dreaded here as it is at Vera Cruz
+and along the Gulf of Mexico generally.
+
+The entrance to the harbor is on its north side, and is a mile in width,
+more or less. The flags of nearly all nations are seen here, though the
+Stars and Stripes are less frequently to be met with than others. The
+city lies at the base of the closely surrounding hills, up whose sides
+and in the ravines the dwelling-houses have been constructed, tier above
+tier. Over all, further inland, looms the frosted head of grand old
+Aconcagua, twenty-two thousand feet and more in height, believed to be
+the tallest mountain in the western hemisphere. This mighty member of
+the Andean Cordillera is said to be ninety miles away, but it is so
+lofty and dominant, as seen through the clear atmosphere, that it
+appears almost within cannon range. At this writing the harbor presents
+quite a warlike aspect. English, American, French, German, and Chilian
+men-of-war are anchored here, looking after their several national
+interests, as affected by the civil war. The bugle calls of the several
+ships, the morning and evening guns, the display of naval bunting,
+together with the flitting hither and thither of well-manned boats, all
+unite to form a gay and suggestive scene. The Chilian cruisers in the
+hands of the revolutionists would not hesitate to batter down any
+government buildings on the coast, destroying incidentally the domestic
+residences and merchandise of non-combatants, were they not restrained
+by the presence of foreign flags and guns. When Balmaceda undertook by a
+proclamation to shut up the ports of Chili, and declared them blockaded,
+he was told by the several naval commanders on the coast that he could
+not establish a paper blockade, and that if the merchant ships of their
+several countries were in any way interfered with, he would have to
+fight somebody else besides the revolutionists. The ports were therefore
+kept as open to legitimate commerce as they ever were.
+
+The author was disappointed at not being able to reach Santiago, the
+capital of Chili, which is situated at the foot of the western slope of
+the Andes, nearly two thousand feet above tide-water. It is connected
+with Valparaiso by railway, and under ordinary circumstances can be
+reached in eight hours. The difficulties caused by the civil war, and
+the suspicion with which all foreigners were regarded, proved impossible
+to surmount without a protracted effort, and submitting to any amount of
+red tape. Santiago was founded by one of Pizarro's captains, in 1541,
+and now contains about two hundred thousand inhabitants. There are some
+Americans and many English resident in Santiago, together with Germans
+and Frenchmen, the foreigners being mostly merchants. We were told of
+two familiar statues which are to be seen in a public square of the
+city, in front of the post-office. One represents George Washington, the
+other Abraham Lincoln, both of which were stolen from Lima during the
+late conflict between Chili and Peru.
+
+But this is a digression. Let us once more return to the commercial port
+of Valparaiso.
+
+A considerable portion of this city has been reclaimed from the sea, and
+still more land suitable for the erection of business warehouses near
+the shore is being added to this part of the town. Local enterprise,
+however, is pretty much suspended for the time being, owing to the
+disturbed condition of political affairs. The mountains near at hand
+supply ample stone and soil for the purpose of extending the area of
+this business portion of the town. Sixty or seventy years ago, the city
+contained only a single street, on the edge of the harbor; to-day it has
+all the appearance and belongings of a great commercial capital, and a
+population of a hundred and thirty thousand. Except Rio Janeiro and
+Buenos Ayres, we saw nowhere thoroughfares more full of energetic life
+and business activity. The main avenue is the Calle Victoria, which runs
+round the entire water front, occupied by the banks, hotels, insurance
+offices, and the best shops in the town.
+
+There are four large daily newspapers published in Valparaiso, whose
+united circulation exceeds thirty thousand copies. "El Mercurio" has the
+eminent respectability of age, having been published regularly for a
+period of half a century. The facility for news-gathering is very good,
+as this city is connected with the world at large by submarine cable,
+but no such detailed and complete summary of intelligence is attempted
+as our North American journals exhibit daily. While on this subject, we
+may add that there are no newspapers in Europe, or elsewhere, which will
+compare with those of the United States in the average ability and
+journalistic merit which characterizes them. We do not say this in a
+boastful spirit, but simply make the statement as an incontrovertible
+fact.
+
+Some of the business structures along the harbor front of Valparaiso are
+fine edifices architecturally, and many of the retail stores will
+compare favorably with the average of ours in Washington Street, Boston.
+The elegant class of goods displayed in some of these establishments
+shows that the population is an habitually extravagant and free-living
+one. We were told, by way of illustration, that millionaires were as
+plenty as blackberries before the late civil war, while many wealthy
+men, foreseeing the catastrophe which was about to occur, shrewdly
+prepared for it, and by careful management saved their property intact.
+Many of the private houses on Victoria Street are spacious, elegant, and
+costly, the occupants living in regal style, to support which must cost
+a very heavy annual outlay. It appears that President Balmaceda
+discovered, during the late struggle, where and how to lay his hands
+upon the resources of a few of these citizens, and that such he
+completely impoverished, under one pretext and another, using their
+property to support his armed minions, and to swell the aggregate of
+funds which he sent for deposit in his own name to Europe. One or two
+cases of this sort were related to us in which the citizens were not
+only made to give up the whole of their private property, but were
+finally imprisoned and sentenced to death upon a charge of treason,
+without even the semblance of a trial!
+
+It is no marvel, to those who know the facts of his career, that a man
+who was guilty of such crimes, when at last brought to bay, finding
+himself betrayed and deserted by his pretended friends, should have
+blown out his own brains. The posthumous papers which he left, and
+wherein he tries to pose as a martyr, are simply a ludicrous failure.
+Jose Manuel Balmaceda was in the fifty-second year of his age when he
+committed suicide, and was at the time hiding for fear of the infuriated
+citizens of Santiago, who would certainly have hanged the would-be
+dictator without the least hesitation or formality, if they could have
+got possession of his person.
+
+The tramway-cars of Valparaiso are of the two-story pattern, like those
+of Copenhagen and New Orleans, also found in many of the European
+cities. They have as conductors, like Concepcion, very pretty half-breed
+girls, who appear to thoroughly understand their business, and to
+fulfill its requirements to universal satisfaction. If an intoxicated or
+unruly person appears on the cars, the conductress does not attempt
+personally to eject him. She has only to hold up her hand, and the
+nearest policeman, of whom there are always a goodly number about, jumps
+on to the car and settles the matter in short order. Girls were thus
+first employed in order that the men who ordinarily fill these places
+might be drafted into the army, during the late war between Chili and
+Peru, and as the system proved to be a complete success, it has been
+continued ever since. The fare charged on these tram-cars is five cents
+for each inside passenger, and half that sum for the outside; and, as in
+Paris, when the seats are all full, a little sign is shown upon the car,
+signifying that no more persons will be admitted, none being allowed to
+stand. The same rule is enforced in London, and the thought suggested
+itself as to whether our West End Railway Company of Boston might not
+take an important hint therefrom.
+
+The ladies and gentlemen of the city are a well dressed class, the
+former adopting Parisian costumes, and the gentlemen wearing a full
+dress of dark broadcloth, with tall stove-pipe hats. The women of the
+more common class wear the national "manta," and the men the "poncha."
+The former is a dark, soft shawl which covers in part the head and face
+of the wearer. The latter is a long, striped shawl, with a slit cut in
+the centre, through which the head of the wearer is thrust. Nothing
+could be more simple in construction than both of these garments, and
+yet they are somehow very picturesque.
+
+As we have already intimated, it is soon learned, upon landing at any
+port of the commercial world, what the staple products of the
+neighborhood are, by simply noting the visible merchandise made ready
+for shipment. Here we have sugar, wool, and cotton prevailing over all
+other articles. Guano and nitrate, which also form specialties here, are
+represented, though the supply of the former is pretty much exhausted.
+The nitrate trade is controlled by an Englishman of large fortune,
+Colonel North, known here as the "Nitrate King." This valuable
+fertilizer is the deposit of the nitrate of soda in the beds of lakes
+long since dried up, the waters of which originally contained in
+solution large quantities of this material. These lakes in olden times
+received the flow of a great water-shed, and having no outlet, save by
+evaporation, accumulated and precipitated at the bottom the chemical
+elements flowing into them from the surrounding country. The article is
+now dug up and put through a certain process, then shipped to foreign
+countries as a fertilizer, believed to put new heart into exhausted
+soil. England consumes an immense quantity of it annually, and many
+ships are regularly employed in its transportation.
+
+The custom house, situated near the landing at Valparaiso, is a somewhat
+remarkable structure, having a long, low facade surmounted by tall,
+handsome towers. This is eminently the business part of the town, and is
+called "El Puerto." The larger share of the residences of the merchants
+and well-to-do citizens is situated on the hillsides, to reach which it
+is necessary to ascend long flights of steps. At certain points
+elevators are also supplied by which access is gained to the upper
+portions of the town, after the fashion already described at Bahia, on
+the east coast.
+
+The majority of people doing business in Valparaiso are English, and
+English is the almost universal language. Even the names upon the city
+signs are suggestive in this direction. Among the public houses are the
+"Queen's Arms," the "Royal Oak," the "Red Lion," and so on. Besides an
+English school, there are three churches belonging to that nationality.
+There are numerous free schools, both of a primary and advanced
+character, an elaborately organized college, two or three theatres, and
+the usual charitable establishments, including a public library. The
+principal part of the city is lighted by electricity, and the telephone
+is in general use. A special effort has lately been made to promote the
+education of the rising generation in Chili, and we know of no field
+where the endeavor would be more opportune. Such an effort is never out
+of place, but here it is imperatively called for. The almost universal
+ignorance of the common people of Chili is deplorable, and little
+improvement can be hoped for as regards their moral or physical
+condition, except through the means of educating the youth of the
+country. A commissioner-general of education was appointed some time
+ago, who has already visited Europe and North America to study the best
+modern methods adopted in the public schools. This is a tangible
+evidence of improvement which speaks for itself, and is a great stride
+of this people in the right direction. Of course the late political
+crisis will greatly retard the hoped-for results, just as it will put
+Chili back some years in her national progress, whatever may be the
+final outcome in other respects.
+
+Gambling is a prevailing national trait in this country, by no means
+confined to any one class of the community. The street gamin plays for
+copper centavos, while the pretentious caballero does the same for gold
+coins. It is quite common in family circles, held to be very
+aristocratic, to see the gaming table laid out every evening, as
+regularly as the table upon which the meals are served. Money in large
+sums is lost and won with assumed indifference in these private circles,
+whole fortunes being sometimes sacrificed at a single sitting. Gambling
+seems to be held exempt from the censure of either church or state,
+since both officials and priests indulge in all sorts of games of
+chance. There are the usual public lotteries always going on to tempt
+the poorer classes of the people, and to capture their hard-earned
+wages.
+
+One virtue must be freely accorded to the business centre of this city,
+namely, that of cleanliness, in which respect it is far in advance of
+most of the capitals on the east coast of South America. Being the first
+seaport of any importance in the South Pacific, it is naturally a place
+of call for European bound steamers coming from New Zealand and
+Australia, as well as those sailing from Panama and San Francisco. In
+view of the fact that six hundred and fifty thousand people emigrate
+from Europe annually, seeking new homes in foreign lands, the Chilian
+government, in common with some others of the South American states, has
+for several years past held forth the liberal inducement of substantial
+aid to all bona fide settlers from foreign countries. Each newcomer who
+is the head of a family is given two hundred acres of available land,
+together with lumber and other materials for building a comfortable
+dwelling-house, also a cart, a plough, and a reasonable amount of seed
+for planting. Besides these favors which we have enumerated, some other
+important considerations are offered. Only a small number, comparatively
+speaking, of emigrants have availed themselves of such liberal terms,
+and these have been mostly Germans. If such an offer were properly
+promulgated and laid before the poor peasantry of Ireland and Spain and
+Italy, it would seem as though many of those people would hasten to
+accept it in the hope of bettering their condition in life. Whether such
+a result would follow emigration would of course depend upon many other
+things besides the liberality of the offer of the Chilian government.
+The Germans form a good class of emigrants, perhaps the best, often
+bringing with them considerable pecuniary means, together with habits of
+industry. The late civil war has put a stop to emigration for a period
+at least, and will interfere with its success for some time to come, if
+indeed Chili ever assumes quite so favorable a condition as she has
+sacrificed.
+
+There are some districts, including Limache and Pauquehue, where grape
+culture has been brought to great perfection, and where it is conducted
+on a very large scale. Wine-making is thus taking its place as one of
+the prosperous industries of the country. The amount of the native
+product consumed at home is very large, and a regular system of exports
+to other South American ports has been established. All of the most
+important modes of culture, such as have been proven most successful in
+France and California, have been carefully adopted here. Tramways are
+laid to intersect the various parts of these extensive vineyards, to aid
+in the gathering and transportation of the ripe fruit, while the
+appliances for expressing the juice of the grape are equally well
+systematized. One vineyard, belonging to the Consino family, near
+Santiago, covers some two hundred acres, closely planted with selected
+vines from France, Switzerland, and California, the purpose being to
+retain permanently such grades as are found best adapted to the soil and
+the climate of Chili. The white wines are the most popular here, but red
+Burgundy brands are produced with good success. The vines are trained on
+triple lines of wires, stretched between iron posts, presenting an
+appearance of great uniformity, the long rows being planted about three
+or four feet apart. Every arrangement for artificial irrigation is
+provided, it being an absolute necessity in this district of Chili.
+Trenches are cut along the rows of vines, through which the water, from
+ample reservoirs, is permitted to flow at certain intervals;
+particularly when the grape begins to swell and ripen. The fruit is not
+trodden here, as it is in Italy, but is thoroughly expressed by means of
+proper machinery.
+
+Geographically, Chili is, as we have intimated, a long, narrow country,
+lying south of Peru and Bolivia, ribbon-like in form, and divided into
+nineteen provinces. It has been considerably enlarged by conquest from
+both of the nationalities just named; including the important territory
+of Terapaca. The name "Chili" signifies snow, with which the tops of
+most of the mountain ranges upon the eastern border are always covered.
+Still, extending as she does, from latitude 24 deg. south to Cape Horn, she
+embraces every sort of climate, from burning heat to glacial frosts,
+while nearly everything that grows can be produced upon her soil. Though
+she has less than three million inhabitants, still her territory exceeds
+that of any European nationality except Russia. The manifest difference
+between the aggregate of her population and that of her square miles
+does not speak very favorably for the healthful character of the
+climate. There is no use in attempting to disguise the fact that Chili
+has rather a hard time of it, with sweeping epidemics, frequent
+earthquakes, and devouring tidal waves. The country contains thirty
+volcanoes, none of which are permanently active, but all of which have
+their periods of eruption, and most of which exhibit their dangerous
+nature by emitting sulphurous smoke and ashes. The unhygienic condition
+of life among her native races accounts for the large death-rate
+prevailing at all times, and especially among the peon children, thus
+preventing a natural increase in the population. Unless a liberal
+immigration can be induced, Chili must annually decrease in population.
+As regards the foreign whites and the educated natives who indulge in no
+extravagant excesses, living with a reasonable regard for hygiene,
+doubtless Chili is as healthy as most countries, but there is still to
+be remembered the erratic exhibitions of nature, a possibility always
+hanging like the sword of Damocles over this region. A whole town may,
+without the least warning, vanish from the face of the earth in the
+space of five minutes, or be left a mass of ruins.
+
+It is in the districts of the north that the rich mines and the nitrate
+fields are found, but the central portion of the country, and
+particularly towards the south, is the section where the greatest
+agricultural results are realized, and which will continue to yield in
+abundance after the mineral wealth shall have become quite exhausted.
+The southern portion of the country embraces Patagonia, which has lately
+been divided between Chili and the Argentine Republic. In short, Chili
+is no exception to the rule that agriculture, and not mining products,
+is the true and permanent reliance of any country.
+
+A little less than four hundred miles off the shore of Valparaiso, on
+the same line of latitude, is the memorable island of Juan Fernandez. It
+is politically an unimportant dependence of Chili, though of late years
+it has indirectly been made the means of producing some income for the
+national treasury. There was a period in which Chili maintained a penal
+colony here, but the convicts mutinied, and massacred the officers who
+had charge of them. These convicts succeeded in getting away from the
+island on passing ships. No attempt has been made since that time to
+reestablish a penal colony on this island. To-day the place is occupied
+by thriving vegetable gardeners, and raisers of stock. Every intelligent
+youth will remember the island as the spot where De Foe laid the scene
+of his popular and fascinating story of "Robinson Crusoe." The island is
+about twenty miles long by ten broad, and is covered with dense tropical
+verdure, gentle hills, sheltered valleys, and thrifty woods. Juan
+Fernandez resembles the Azores in the North Atlantic. Though generally
+spoken of in the singular, there are actually three islands here,
+forming a small, compact group, known as Inward Island, Outward Island,
+and Great Island. Many intelligent people think that the story of
+Robinson Crusoe is a pure fabrication, but this is not so. De Foe
+availed himself of an actual occurrence, and put it into readable form,
+adding a few romantic episodes to season the story for the taste of the
+million. It was in a measure truth, which he stamped with the image of
+his own genius. Occasionally some enthusiastic admirer of De Foe comes
+thousands of miles out of the beaten track of travel to visit this group
+of islands, by the way of Valparaiso. Grapes, figs, and other tropical
+fruits abound at Juan Fernandez. It is said that several thousand people
+might be easily supported by the natural resources of these islands, and
+the abundance of fish which fill the neighboring waters. An English
+naval commander stopped here in 1741, to recruit his ships' crews, and
+to repair some damages. While here he caused various seeds to be planted
+for the advantage of any mariners who might follow. The benefit of this
+Christian act has been realized by many seamen since that date. Fruits,
+grain, and vegetables are now produced by spontaneous fertility
+annually, which were not before to be found here. The English commander
+also left goats and swine to run wild, and to multiply, and these
+animals are numerous there to-day.
+
+Juan Fernandez has one tall peak, nearly three thousand feet high, which
+the pilots point out long before the rest of the island is seen. It was
+from this lofty lookout that Alexander Selkirk was wont to watch daily
+in the hope of sighting some passing ship, by which he might be released
+from his imprisonment. There are about one hundred residents upon the
+group to-day, it having been leased by the Chilian government as a stock
+ranch for the breeding of goats and cattle, as well as for the raising
+of vegetables for the market of Valparaiso. There are said to be thirty
+thousand horned cattle, and many sheep, upon these islands. Occasional
+excursion parties are made up at Valparaiso to visit the group by
+steamboat, for the purpose of shooting seals and mountain goats. Stories
+are told of Juan Fernandez having been formerly made the headquarters of
+pirates who came from thence to ravage the towns on the coast of the
+continent, and it is believed by the credulous that much of the
+ill-gotten wealth of the buccaneers still remains hidden there. In
+search of this supposititious treasure, expeditions have been fitted out
+in past years at Valparaiso, and many an acre of ground has been vainly
+dug over in seeking for piratical gold, supposed to be buried there.
+Some of the shrewd stock raisers of Juan Fernandez are ready, for a
+consideration, to point out to seekers the most probable places where
+such treasures might have been buried.
+
+
+
+
+          CHAPTER XVI.
+
+     The Port of Callao.--A Submerged City.--Peruvian Exports.--A
+     Dirty and Unwholesome Town.--Cinchona Bark.--The Andes.--The
+     Llama.--A National Dance.--City of Lima.--An Old and
+     Interesting Capital.--Want of Rain.--Pizarro and His
+     Crimes.--A Grand Cathedral.--Chilian Soldiers.--Costly
+     Churches of Peru.--Roman Catholic Influence.--Desecration of
+     the Sabbath.
+
+
+The passage northward from Valparaiso to Callao occupies about four days
+by the steamers which do not stop at intermediate ports. We entered the
+harbor in the early morning while a soft veil of mist enshrouded the
+bay, but as the sun fairly shone upon the view, this aerial screen
+rapidly disappeared, revealing Callao just in front of us, making the
+foreground of a pleasing and vivid picture, the middle distance filled
+by the ancient city of Lima, and the far background by alpine ranges.
+Callao is an ill-built though important town, with a population of about
+thirty thousand, and serves as the port for Lima, the capital of Peru.
+It has a good harbor, well protected by the island of San Lorenzo,
+which, with the small island of El Fronton, and the Palminos reef, forms
+a protection against the constant swell of the ocean. There are nearly
+always one or two ships of war belonging to foreign nations in the
+harbor, and large steamships from the north or the south. The sailing
+distance from Panama is fifteen hundred miles. The Callao of to-day is
+comparatively modern. Old Callao formerly stood on a tongue of land
+opposite San Lorenzo, but in 1746 an earthquake submerged it and drowned
+some five thousand of the inhabitants, foundered a score of ships, and
+stranded a Spanish man-of-war. In calm weather one can row a boat over
+the spot where the old city stood, and see the ruins far down in the
+deep waters. The present city has twice been near to sharing the same
+fate: once in 1825, and again in 1868. It is, therefore, not assuming
+too much to say that Callao may at any time disappear in the most
+summary fashion. The sunken ruins in the harbor are a melancholy and
+suggestive sight, the duplicate of which we do not believe can be found
+elsewhere on the globe. Though seismic disturbances are of such frequent
+occurrence, and are so destructive on the west coast of South America,
+they are hardly known on the Atlantic or eastern side of the continent.
+That they are frequently coincident with volcanic disturbances indicates
+that there is an intimate connection between them, but yet earthquakes
+often occur in regions where volcanoes do not exist. This was the case,
+not long since, as most of our readers will remember, in South Carolina.
+It has been noticed by careful observers that animals become uneasy on
+the eve of such an event, which would seem to show that earthquakes
+sometimes owe their origin to extraordinary atmospheric conditions.
+
+San Lorenzo is about six miles from Callao, and is four miles long by
+one in width. It is utterly barren, presenting a mass of brownish gray
+color, eleven hundred feet high, at whose base there is ever a broad,
+snow white ruffle, caused by the never-ceasing ocean swell breaking into
+foam. An English smelting company has established extensive works near
+the shore of the island, for the reduction of silver and copper ores.
+The approach to Callao from the sea affords a fine view of the
+undulating shore, backed by the snowy Cordilleras, the shabby buildings
+of the town, with the dismantled castle of San Felipe forming the
+foreground. In landing one must be cautious: there is always
+considerable swell in the harbor.
+
+The staple products of this region are represented by packages of
+merchandise prepared for shipment, and which are the first to attract
+one's attention upon landing, such as cinchona bark from the native
+forests, piles of wheat in bulk, hides, quantities of crude salt, sugar
+packed in dried banana leaves, bales of alpaca wool, and, most
+suggestive of all, some heavy bags of silver ore. Little is being done
+in mining at present, though the field for this industry is large. The
+difficulty of transportation is one of the great drawbacks, yet Peru has
+over a thousand miles of railways in her rather limited area. Gold,
+platinum, silver, and copper are all found in paying quantities. Coal
+and petroleum also exist here, in various inland districts. The guano
+deposits, which have yielded so much wealth to Peru in the past, are
+practically exhausted, while the nitrate-producing province of Tarapaca
+has been stolen by Chili, to which it now belongs. It is thought that
+the nitrate deposits can be profitably worked for fifty years to come.
+
+A crowd of the lazy, ragged population were loafing about the landing,
+watching the strangers as they came on shore at the wet and slippery
+stone steps.
+
+It is very plain that the great importance of Callao has departed,
+though there is still an appearance of business activity. Not long ago,
+a hundred vessels at a time might be seen at anchor inside of San
+Lorenzo; now, a score of good-sized ships are all one can count. This is
+owing to various causes: an unreasonable high tariff is one of them,
+exorbitant port charges is another, and the general depression of
+business on the west coast is felt quite as strongly here as at any of
+the ports. Like Santos, on the other side of the continent, Callao is
+ever an unhealthy resort, where a great mortality prevails in the fever
+season. The absence of good drainage and inattention to hygienic rules
+will in part account for the bad repute that the port has among the
+shipping masters who frequent the coast. The streets are particularly
+malodorous about the water front. The dirty vultures seem to be depended
+upon to remove offensive garbage.
+
+A certain remarkable occurrence sometimes takes place in this harbor,
+which, so far as the writer knows, is without precedent elsewhere. A
+ship may come in from sea and anchor at about sunset, in good order and
+condition, everything being white and clean on board, but when her
+captain comes on deck the next morning, he may find that his ship has
+been painted, inside and out, a dark chocolate color during the night,
+the atmosphere at the same time being impregnated with a peculiar odor,
+arising from this "paint," or whatever it may be, which clings
+tenaciously to every object, wood or iron. While it is damp and freshly
+deposited, it can be removed like fresh paint, but if it is permitted to
+dry, it is as difficult to remove as ordinary dried paint would be. No
+one can tell the origin of this nuisance, but most seamen whose business
+brings them to Callao have been through this experience. Of course it
+must be an atmospheric deposit, but from whence? It has never been known
+to occur upon the neighboring land, but only in the harbor. Scientists
+have given the matter their attention, and have concluded that it may be
+caused by sulphurous gases produced in the earth below the water, which
+rise to the surface and disseminate themselves in the surrounding
+atmosphere.
+
+From any elevated point in the city one may enjoy a delightful view, the
+main features of which are the Andes on the land side, and seaward, the
+broad heaving bosom of the Pacific. The corrugated peaks of the former,
+clad in white, seem like restless phantoms marching through the sky.
+Over the latter, long lines of inky blackness trail behind northern or
+southern bound steamers, while here and there a tall, full-rigged ship
+recalls the older modes of navigation.
+
+The smoother water inside of San Lorenzo is alive with small boats, some
+under sails, some propelled by oars, shooting in and out among the
+shipping which lie at anchor before the town. A pair of large whales
+assisted at this scene for our special benefit, just inside the harbor's
+mouth. It must have been only play on their part,--leviathans at
+play,--but they threw up the sea in such clouds of spray with their
+broad tails, as to make it appear like a battle-royal seen from a mile
+away.
+
+We mentioned the fact of seeing cinchona bark in bales ready for
+shipping. Of all the products of South America, gold, silver, and
+precious stones included, the most valuable is the drug which is called
+quinine, made from the bark of the cinchona tree. There is no other one
+article known to the materia medica which has been used in such large
+quantities or with such unvarying success by suffering humanity. It was
+first introduced into Europe from Peru, and was then known as Peruvian
+bark. It was supposed at that time to be found only in this section of
+the continent; but subsequently it was discovered to abound in all the
+forests along the course of the Andes, and especially on their western
+slope. So large has been its export that it was found the source of
+supply was rapidly becoming exhausted, until local governments awoke to
+the importance of the matter, and protected by law the trees which
+produce it. These are no longer ruthlessly cut down to die, when
+yielding their valuable harvest, but only a certain quantity of the
+desirable bark is taken from each tree annually, so that nature replaces
+the portion which had been removed, by covering the trunk with a fresh
+growth. The cinchona tree, having been transplanted from South America,
+is now successfully cultivated in the islands of the Malacca Straits,
+Ceylon, India, and other tropical regions.
+
+The tree which produces this valuable febrifuge belongs to the same
+family as the coffee plant. In appearance it is very like our native
+beech tree, having remarkably white wood.
+
+The llama is found nearly all over South America, and is often seen as a
+beast of burden at Callao, taking the place here which the donkey or
+burro fills in Mexico. It has been described as having the head and neck
+of a camel, the body of a deer, the wool of a sheep, and the neigh of a
+horse. We do not agree with those who pronounce the llama an awkward
+creature. True, the body is a little ungainly, but the head, the
+graceful pose, the pointed, delicate ears, and the large, lustrous eyes
+are absolutely handsome. It can carry a burden weighing one hundred
+pounds over hard mountain roads, day after day, while living upon very
+scanty food. It is slow in its movements, patient when well treated, and
+particularly sure-footed. It is of a very gentle disposition, but when
+it finds the weight placed upon its back too heavy, like the Egyptian
+camel, it immediately lies down and will not rise until the load is
+lightened. The llama, or "mountain camel," as it has been aptly called,
+is the only domesticated native animal. The horse, ox, hog, and sheep
+are all importations which were entirely unknown here four centuries
+ago. The llama has two notable peculiarities: when angry it will
+expectorate at its enemy, and when hurt will shed tears. The
+expectoration is of an acrid, semi-poisonous nature, and if it strikes
+the eyes will, it is said, blind them. The llama, guanaco, alpaca, and
+vicuna were the four sheep of the Incas, the wool of the first clothing
+the common people; the second, the nobles; the third, the royal
+governors; and the fourth the Incas. The first two are domesticated,
+guanacos and vicunas are wild, though they all belong to the same
+family.
+
+The manners and customs of any people new to the traveler are always an
+interesting study, but in nothing are they more strongly individualized
+than in the pursuit of amusements. A favorite dance, known here as the
+_zama cueca_, is often witnessed out-of-doors in retired corners of the
+plaza or the alameda, as well as elsewhere. It requires two performers,
+and is generally danced by a male and female, being not unlike the
+Parisian cancan, both in the movement and the purpose of the expression.
+The two dancers stand opposite each other, each having a pocket
+handkerchief in the right hand, while the music begins at first a dull,
+monotonous air, which rapidly rises and falls in cadence. The dancers
+approach each other, swaying their bodies gracefully, and using their
+limbs nimbly; now they pass each other, turning in the act to
+coquettishly wave the handkerchief about their heads, and also to snap
+it towards each other's faces. Thus they advance and retreat several
+times, whipping at each other's faces, while throwing their bodies into
+peculiar attitudes. Again they resume the first movement of advance and
+retreat, one assuming coyness, the other ardor, and thus continue,
+until, as a sort of climax, they fall into each other's arms with a peal
+of hearty laughter. A guitar is the usual accompanying instrument, the
+player uttering the while a shrill impromptu chant. When a male dancer
+joins in this street performance, as is sometimes the case, it is apt to
+be a little coarse and vulgar.
+
+There is very little in Callao to detain us, and one is quite ready to
+hasten on to Lima, the capital of Peru, hoping to escape the stench and
+universal dirtiness of the port.
+
+The city of Lima has at this writing about one hundred and sixty
+thousand inhabitants, and is situated six miles from Callao, its
+shipping port, with which it is connected by two rival railways. These
+roads are constructed upon an up-grade the whole distance, but the rise
+is so gradual as to be almost imperceptible, though Lima is over five
+hundred feet higher than Callao. The capital, which is clearly visible
+from the water as we enter the harbor, presents from that distance, and
+even from a much nearer point of view, a most pleasing picture, being
+favorably situated on elevated ground, with its many spires and domes
+standing forth in bold relief. It has, when seen from such a distance, a
+certain oriental appearance, charming to the eye of a stranger. But it
+is deceptive; it is indeed distance which lends enchantment in this
+case, for upon arriving within its precincts one is rudely undeceived.
+The apparently grand array of architecture on near inspection proves to
+be flimsy and poor in detail: everything is bamboo frame and plaster; no
+edifice is solid above the basement. Still, one can easily imagine how
+attractive the place must have been in those viceregal days, the period
+of its false glory and prosperity. The capital stands almost at the very
+foot of the Cordillera which forms the coast range, and is built upon
+both sides of the Rimac, over which stretches a substantial stone bridge
+of six arches, very old and very homely, but all the more interesting
+because it is so venerable. The width of the river at this point is over
+five hundred feet. In the winter season it is a very moderate stream,
+but when the summer sun asserts itself, the snow upon the neighboring
+mountains yields to its warmth, and the Rio Rimac then becomes an alpine
+torrent. It is like the Arno at Florence, which at certain seasons has
+the form of a river without the circulation. The anecdote is told here
+of a Yankee visitor to Lima who was being shown over the city by a
+patriotic citizen, and who on coming to this spot remarked to his
+chaperon: "You ought either to buy a river or sell this bridge."
+
+At the entrance of this ancient structure stands a lofty and very
+effective archway, with two tall towers, and a clock in a central
+elevation. Prominent over the arched entrance to the roadway is the
+motto _Dios y La Patria_,--"God and Country." Nothing in Lima is of
+more interest than this hoary, unique, moss-grown bridge.
+
+One pauses before the crumbling yet still substantial old structure to
+recall the vivid scenes which must have been enacted in the long, long
+past upon its roadway. Here madly contending parties have spilled each
+other's blood, hundreds of gaudy church processions have crossed these
+arches, bitter civil and foreign wars have raged about the bridge, dark
+conspiracies have been whispered and ripened here, solitary murders
+committed in the darkness of night, and lifeless bodies thrown from its
+parapet; but the dumb witness still remains intact, having endured more
+than three hundred years of use and abuse.
+
+It is not necessary to unpack one's waterproof or umbrella in Lima. It
+never rains here, any more than it does in the region of Aden, at the
+mouth of the Red Sea. All vegetable growth is more or less dependent
+upon artificial irrigation, and in the environs where this is
+judiciously applied the orange and lemon trees are heavy with golden
+fruit, forming a rich contrast with the deep green of the luxuriant
+plantain, the thick, lance-like agave, and the prolific banana. The city
+and its environs would be as poorly off without the water of the Rimac
+as would the Egyptians if deprived of the annual overflow of the
+fertilizing Nile. Though the river is so inconsiderable at certain
+seasons, still it does supply a certain quantity of water always, which
+is improved to the utmost. Dews some times prevail at night, so heavy as
+to be of partial benefit, giving to vegetation a breath of moisture, and
+taking away the dead dryness of the atmosphere. This, however favorable
+for vegetation, is considered unwholesome for humanity. The flowers and
+shrubbery of the plaza droop for want of water, and are only preserved
+by great care on the part of those in charge of them. In some of the
+private gardens the pashinba palm-tree is seen, very peculiar in its
+growth, being mounted as it were upon stilts, formed by the exposed
+straight roots which radiate, like a series of props, to support the
+tall trunk. At its apex is a singular, spear-like stem, pointing
+straight skyward, without leaf or branch, just beneath which are the
+graceful, long, curved palm leaves, exquisite in proportions, bending
+like ostrich feathers. At first sight this tree looks like an artificial
+production, in which nature has taken no part. Lying only twelve degrees
+south of the equator, Lima has a tropical climate, but being also close
+to the foothills of the Andes, she is near to a temperate district, so
+that her market yields the fruits and vegetables of two zones.
+
+Pizarro, the ambitious and intrepid conqueror of Peru, here established
+his capital in 1535, and here ended his days in 1541, dying at the hands
+of the assassin, the natural and retributive end of a life of gross
+bigotry, sensuality, recklessness, and almost unparalleled cruelty. In a
+narrow street,--the Callejon de Petateron,--leading out of the Plaza
+Mayor, a house is pointed out as being the one in which Pizarro was
+assassinated. Both Pizarro in Peru and Cortez in Mexico owed their
+phenomenal success to exceptional circumstances, namely, to the civil
+wars which prevailed among the native tribes of the countries they
+invaded. By shrewdly directing these intestine troubles so as to aid
+their own purposes, each commander in his special field achieved
+complete victory over races which, thus disunited and pitted against
+each other, fell an easy prey to the cunning invaders. Neither of these
+adventurers had sufficient strength to contend against a united and
+determined people. Such an enemy on his own ground would have swept the
+handful of Spaniards led by Pizarro from the face of the earth by mere
+force of numbers.
+
+Soon after its foundation, Lima became the most luxurious and profligate
+of the viceregal courts of Spain, and so continued until its declaration
+of independence, and final separation from the mother country. The most
+worthless and restless spirits about the throne of Spain were favored in
+a desire to join Pizarro in the New World. The home government, while
+purging itself of so undesirable an element, added to the recklessness
+and utter immorality which reigned in the atmosphere of Lima.
+Forty-three successive viceroys ruled Peru during the Spanish occupancy.
+The nefarious Inquisition, steeped in the blood of helpless and innocent
+natives, was active here long after its decadence in Madrid, while the
+local churches, convents, and monasteries accumulated untold wealth by a
+system of arbitrary taxation, and iniquitous extortion exercised towards
+the native race. What better could have been expected from Pizarro than
+to inaugurate and foster such a state of affairs? Under the influence of
+designing priests and lascivious monks, he was as clay in the potter's
+hands, being originally only an illiterate swineherd, one who could
+neither read nor write. The state documents put forth during his
+viceregency, still preserved and to be seen in the archives of Lima,
+show that he could only affix his mark, not even attempting to write his
+own name. Though Charles V. finally indorsed and ennobled him with the
+title of Marques de la Conquista, and appointed him viceroy of the
+conquered country, he was still and ever the illegitimate, low-bred hind
+of Truxillo in continental Spain. The palace of this man, who, with the
+exception of Cortez, was the greatest human butcher of the age in which
+he lived, is still used for government offices, while the senate
+occupies the council chamber of the old Inquisition building, infamous
+for the bloody work done within its walls. H. Willis Baxley, M. D., the
+admirable author, writes on the spot as follows: "When the apologists of
+Pizarro attempt to shield his crimes, and excuse his acts of cruelty by
+his religious zeal and holy purpose of extending the dominion of the
+cross, they may well be answered that the religion was unworthy of
+adoption which required for its extension that the wife of the Inca
+Manco, then a prisoner in Pizarro's power, should be 'stripped naked,
+bound to a tree, and in presence of the camp be scourged with rods, and
+then shot to death with arrows!' This cold-blooded brutality, and to a
+woman, should brand his name with eternal infamy."
+
+As we have intimated, Lima, like Constantinople, looks at its best from
+a distance, viewed so that the full and combined effect of its many
+domes and spires can be taken in as a whole; but whether near to it or
+far from it, few places in South America possess more poetical and
+historical interest. Its past story reads like an Arabian Nights' tale.
+Though the city is by no means what it has been, and wears an
+unmistakable air of decayed greatness, and though foreign invaders and
+civil wars have done their worst, Lima is still an extremely attractive
+metropolis. Even the vandalism of the late Chilian invaders, who
+outraged all the laws of civilized warfare (if there is any such thing
+as civilized warfare), regardless of the rights of non-combatants, could
+not obliterate her natural attractions and historical associations. The
+Chilian soldiers destroyed solely for the sake of destroying, mutilated
+statuary and works of art generally, besides burning historical
+treasures and libraries; and yet these Chilians claim to be the highest
+type of modern civilization on the southern continent. They strove to
+ruin whatever they could not steal and carry away with them from Peru,
+and, almost incredible to record, they wantonly killed the elephant in
+the zooelogical garden of Lima, and purloined the small animals. Noble,
+chivalrous Chilians! The rank and file of these people are the very
+embodiment of ignorance and brutality. The Chilian soldier carries, as a
+regular weapon, a curved knife called a _curvos_, with which he cuts the
+throats of his enemies. At close quarters, instead of fighting
+man-fashion, as nearly all other nations do, he springs like a fierce
+bull-dog at his opponent's throat, and with his curvos cuts it from ear
+to ear. After a battle, bands of these fiends in human shape go over the
+field, seeking out the wounded who are still alive, deliberately cutting
+their throats, and robbing their bodies of all valuables. It is Chilian
+tactics to take no prisoners, give no quarter. These brave soldiers
+would have burned Lima to the ground after gaining possession, had it
+not been for the interference of the foreign ministers, who had national
+men-of-war at Callao with which to back their arguments. These
+guerrillas--for that is just about what the Chilian soldiers are--knew
+full well that if even a small European battalion of disciplined men
+were landed and brought against them, they would simply be swept from
+the face of the earth.
+
+Lima is laid out with the streets in rectangular form, the central point
+being the Plaza Mayor, in the shape of a quadrangle, each side of which
+is five hundred feet in length. On the north side of this admirably
+arranged square stand the buildings occupied as government offices,
+together with the bishop's palace, and the cathedral overshadowed by its
+two lofty towers. The corner-stone of this edifice was laid by Pizarro
+with great ceremony. The spires, although presenting such an effective
+appearance, are constructed of the most frail material, such as bricks,
+stucco, and bamboo frames, but still, as a whole, they are undeniably
+imposing. In this dry climate they are, perhaps, enduring also. Like the
+facade of the church of St. Roche, in Paris, this of the Lima cathedral
+is marked by bullet-holes commemorating the Chilian invasion. The church
+is raised six or eight feet above the level of the plaza, as is usual in
+South America, standing upon a marble platform, reached by broad steps,
+well calculated to enhance the really graceful proportions, and add to
+the effect of its broad, high towers. The interior is quite commonplace,
+with the usual tinsel, poor carvings, and wretched oil paintings,
+including several grotesque Virgin Marys. These were too poor even for
+the Chilians to steal. Beneath the grand altar rest the ashes of
+Pizarro, the cruel, ambitious, reckless tool of the Romish Church. The
+cathedral was built in 1540, but has undergone complete repairs and
+renovations from time to time, being still considered to be one of the
+most imposing ecclesiastical edifices in America. Its original cost is
+said to have been nine million dollars, to obtain which Pizarro robbed
+the Inca temples of all their elaborate gold and silver ornaments.
+According to Prescott, the Spaniards took twenty-four thousand, eight
+hundred pounds of gold, and eighty-two thousand ounces of silver from a
+single Inca temple! Prescott is careful in his statements to warn us of
+the unreliability of the Spanish writers, nearly all of whom were Romish
+priests. Where figures are concerned they cannot be depended upon for a
+moment. They also took special care to cover up the fiendish atrocities
+of the Inquisition, and the extortions of the church as exercised
+towards the poor, down-trodden native race.
+
+One's spirits partook of the sombre and austere atmosphere which reigns
+at all times in this ancient edifice. It was very lonely. Not a soul was
+to be seen during our brief visit to the cathedral at noonday, except a
+couple of decrepit old beggars at the entrance, the faint, dull glare of
+the burning candles about the altar only serving to deepen the shadows
+and emphasize the darkness.
+
+The area of the Plaza Mayor embraces eight or nine acres of land, and
+has often been the theatre of most sanguinary scenes, where hand-to-hand
+fights have frequently taken place between insurgent citizens and
+soldiers of the ruling power of the day, while many unpopular officials
+have been hanged in the towers of the cathedral, from each of which
+projects a gibbet! The middle of the plaza is beautified by a bronze
+fountain with arboreal and floral surroundings. There was formerly some
+statuary here, which the brave Chilians stole and carried away with
+them, even purloining the iron benches, which they transported to
+Valparaiso and Santiago. The streets running from this square, with the
+exception of the Calle de los Mercaderes, have an atmosphere of
+antiquity, which contrasts with the people one meets in them. Even the
+turkey buzzards, acting as street scavengers, are of an antique species,
+looking quite gray and dilapidated, as though they were a hundred years
+old. In Vera Cruz the same species of bird, kept for a similar purpose,
+have a brightness of feather, and jauntiness withal, quite unlike these
+feathered street-cleaners of Lima. The "Street of the Merchants," just
+referred to, is the fashionable shopping thoroughfare of Lima, where in
+the afternoons the ladies and gentlemen are seen in goodly numbers
+promenading in full dress.
+
+There is here the usual multiplicity of churches, convents, and
+nunneries, such as are to be found in all Spanish cities, though the
+latter establishments have been partially suppressed. Some of the
+churches of Lima are fabulously expensive structures; indeed, the amount
+of money squandered on churches and church property in this city is
+marvelous. During the late war many articles of gold and silver,
+belonging to them, were melted into coin, but some were hidden, and have
+once more been restored to their original position in the churches. The
+convent and church of San Francisco form one of the most costly groups
+of buildings of the sort in America. The ornamental tiles of the
+flooring are calculated, not by the square yard, but by the acre. There
+are over a hundred Roman Catholic churches in Lima, few of which have
+any architectural beauty, but all of which are crowded with vulgar wax
+figures, wooden images, and bleeding saints. These churches in several
+instances have very striking facades: that of La Merced, for instance;
+but they are mere shams, as we have already said,--stucco and plaster;
+they would not endure the wear of any other climate for a single decade.
+
+With all this outside religious show in Lima, there is no corresponding
+observance of the sacred character of the Sabbath. It is held rather as
+a period of gross license and indulgence, and devoted to bull-fights,
+cock-fighting, and drunkenness. The lottery-ticket vender reaps the
+greatest harvest on this occasion, and the gambling saloons are all
+open. Children pursue their every-day sports with increased ardor, and
+the town puts on a gala day aspect. At night the streets are ablaze, the
+theatres are crowded, and dissipation of every conceivable sort waxes
+fast and furious until long past midnight. The ignorant mass generally
+has drifted into observing the rituals of the Romish Church, but there
+are many of the native Indians in Peru who cherish a belief of a
+millennium in the near future; a time when the true prophet of the sun
+will return and restore the grand old Inca dynasty. Just so the Moors of
+Tangier hold to the belief that the time will yet come when they will be
+restored to the glory of their fathers, and to their beloved Granada;
+that the halls of the Alhambra will once more resound to the Moorish
+lute, and the grand cathedral of Cordova shall again become a mosque of
+the true faith.
+
+The fact that the bull-ring of Lima will accommodate sixteen thousand
+people, and that it is always well filled on Sundays, speaks for itself.
+At these sanguinary performances a certain class of women appear in
+large numbers and in full dress, entering heartily into the spirit of
+the occasion, and waving their handkerchiefs furiously to applaud the
+actors in the tragedy, while the exhibitions are characterized by even
+more cruelty than at Madrid or Havana.
+
+
+
+
+          CHAPTER XVII.
+
+     A Grand Plaza.--Retribution.--The University of
+     Lima.--Significance of Ancient
+     Pottery.--Architecture.--Picturesque Dwelling.--Domestic
+     Scene.--Destructive Earthquakes.--Spanish Sway.--Women of
+     Lima.--Street Costumes.--Ancient Bridge of
+     Lima.--Newspapers.--Pawnbrokers' Shops.--Exports.--An
+     Ancient Mecca.--Home by Way of Europe.
+
+
+The large square in Lima, known as Plazuela de la Independencia, is
+grand in its proportions. One prominent feature is the bronze statue of
+Bolivar, the famous South American patriot. It also contains the old
+palace of the Inquisition, which looks to-day more like a stable than a
+palace. This detestable institution attained to greater scope and power
+here than it did even in Mexico. According to its own records, during
+its existence in the capital of Peru, fifty-nine persons were publicly
+burned alive as heretics, because they would not acknowledge the Roman
+Catholic faith, thousands were tortured until in their agony they agreed
+to anything, while thousands were publicly scourged to the same end.
+Could the truth be fully known as regards the bigoted reign of the
+priesthood at the time referred to in Peru, it would form one of the
+most startling chapters of modern history. But they were their own
+chroniclers, and suppressed everything which might possibly reflect upon
+themselves or upon their church. Retribution was slow, but it has come
+finally. The former convent of Guadeloupe is now occupied for a worthy
+object as a high school; the main portion of the cloisters of San
+Francisco have made way for the college of San Marco; that of San Carlos
+has supplanted the Jesuits; San Juan de Dios is now occupied as a
+railway station; while the once famous and infamous convent of Santa
+Catalina serves to-day as the public market.
+
+The University of Lima was the first seat of education established in
+the New World, or, to fix the period more clearly in the average
+reader's mind, it dates from about seventy years before the historic
+Mayflower reached the shore of New England. The National Library
+contains some forty thousand volumes, also a collection of Peruvian
+antiquities, besides many objects of natural history, mostly of such
+examples as are indigenous to this section. There is one large oil
+painting in this building by a native artist named Monteros, the canvas
+measuring thirty by twenty feet. The title is "Obsequies of Atahualpa."
+This was carried away by the thieving Chilians, but was finally restored
+to Peru. It should be mentioned, to their lasting shame, that the books
+which they stole at the same time have not been returned.
+
+The ancient pottery one sees in the collection of Peruvian antiquities
+is wonderfully like that to be found in the Boulak Museum at Cairo, in
+Egypt, Etruscan and Egyptian patterns prevailing over all other forms,
+which strongly suggests a common origin. Besides those which we have
+named, there are several other educational and art institutions in the
+city, together with three hospitals, two lunatic asylums, a college of
+arts, and the National Mint. One hospital, bearing the name of the
+Second of May Hospital, is a very large and thoroughly equipped
+establishment, occupying a whole square, and having accommodations for
+seven hundred patients. There are four theatres, one of which is
+conducted by the Chinese after their own peculiar fashion. The outsides
+of the dwelling-houses are painted in various brilliant colors, a
+practice which is found to prevail all over the southern continent, and
+which exhibits an inherent love among the people for warm, bright hues.
+The roofs of most houses serve as a depository for hens and chickens,
+noisy gamecocks especially asserting themselves before daybreak,
+forbidding all ideas of morning naps, unless one is accustomed to the
+din. Many of the dwellings are picturesque and attractive, with
+overhanging balconies and bay windows, the latter oftentimes finished
+very elaborately with handsome wood carvings and open-work lattices. As
+to the prevailing style of architecture, it is Spanish and Moorish
+combined, each building being constructed about a central patio, which
+is often rendered lovely with flowers and statuary, together with small
+orange and lemon trees in large painted tubs.
+
+The abundance of cracks in the walls of the dwellings, both inside and
+out, is a significant hint that we are in an earthquake country. A
+slight shake is hardly spoken of at all; they come so often as to be
+comparatively unheeded.
+
+In the environs of Lima the houses are built of adobe, rarely over one
+story in height, with very thick walls, this style having been found the
+best to resist the earthquakes, which must be very serious indeed to
+affect a low adobe house with walls two feet and a half thick. About
+these residences, which, not to put too fine a point upon the matter,
+are really nothing but mud cabins, there is often seen an attractive and
+refining feature, namely, small, but exceedingly pretty plots of
+cultivated flowers. It is astonishing how perfectly they serve to throw
+a flavor of refinement over all things else. The variety and fragrance
+of the Lima roses are something long to be remembered, and the people
+here seem to have a special love for this most popular of flowers. We
+had missed them nearly everywhere else in South America; therefore they
+were thrice welcome when they greeted us at Lima.
+
+There is a dwelling-house in this city belonging to an old and rich
+family, which is worth a pilgrimage to see. It is built of stone,
+artistically carved, with a square balcony and bay window on each side
+of the tall, spacious, and elaborately ornamented doorway. It is clearly
+Moorish in type, and must be nearly or quite three hundred years old.
+Photographs are found of its facade in the art stores of Lima, and most
+visitors bring one away with them as a memento of the place. The house
+stands even with the thoroughfare, and is only two stories in height,
+but is a beautiful relic of the past. It would be quite in accordance
+with the surroundings, were it to be transported to Cairo or Bagdad.
+
+On the way from the Plaza Mayor to this attractive bit of Morisco
+architecture, one gets frequent glimpses of pretty, cool, flower-decked
+patios, about which the low picturesque dwellings are erected, and where
+domestic life is seen in partial seclusion. An infant is playing on the
+marble paved court, watched by a dark Indian nurse. An ermine-colored
+cockatoo with a gorgeous yellow plume is gravely eying the child from
+its perch. Creeping vines twine about the slim columns which support a
+low arcade above the entrance floor. Farther in, a bit of statuary peeps
+out from among the greenery, which is growing in high-colored wooden
+tubs. The vine, which clings tenaciously to the small columns, is the
+passion plant, its flowers seeming almost artificial in their
+regularity, brightness, and abundance. A fair senora in diaphanous robes
+reclines at ease in a low, pillowed seat, and the senor, cigarette in
+mouth, swings leisurely in a hammock.
+
+It was a pretty, characteristic family picture, of which we should be
+glad to possess a photograph.
+
+Few cities have a more agreeable climate. The range of the thermometer
+throughout the year being for the winter season from 68 deg. to 75 deg., and in
+the summer from 80 deg. to 88 deg.. The Humboldt current, as it is called,
+sweeps along the coast from the Antarctic circle, causing a much lower
+temperature here than exists in the same latitude on the other side of
+the continent. Lima, it will be remembered, is situated about twelve
+degrees from the equatorial line. The climate is of exquisite softness,
+beneath a sky serenely blue; every breath is a pleasure, tranquillizing
+to both mind and body. Rain is of very rare occurrence, as we have
+intimated, but earthquakes are frequent. The most destructive visit of
+this sort in modern times was in 1745, which at the same time destroyed
+the port of Callao. Though Lima is blessed with such a seemingly equable
+climate, for some unexplained reason it is very far from being a healthy
+place. The great mortality which prevails here is entirely out of
+proportion to the number of inhabitants. There must be some local reason
+for this. Even in the days of the Incas, the present site of the city
+was deemed to be a spot only fit for criminals; that is to say, a penal
+colony was located here, where the earlier Peruvians placed condemned
+people, and where a high rate of mortality was not regarded as being
+entirely objectionable. The Campo Santo of Lima, in the immediate
+environs of the city, is built with tall thick walls containing niches
+four ranges high, and recalls those of the city of Mexico. It is not
+customary to bury in the ground. Some of the monuments are quite
+elaborate, but the place generally has a neglected appearance, and no
+attempt seems made to give it a pleasing aspect. It has neither flowers
+nor trees.
+
+The Spaniards, during a sway which lasted over three hundred years, were
+terrible taskmasters in Peru, enslaving, crushing, and massacring the
+natives, just as they did in Cuba and Mexico. The Indians were looked
+upon as little more than beasts of burden, and their lives or well-being
+were of no sort of account, except so far as they served the purposes of
+the invading hordes of Spaniards. The race which has been produced by
+intermarriage and promiscuous intercourse is a very heterogeneous one,
+born of aborigines, negroes, mulattoes, Spaniards, and Portuguese. In
+religion, as well as in daily life, the habits of the people are
+Castilian, whether red, yellow, or black. There is also a considerable
+Chinese population, which, however, as a rule, maintains isolation from
+other nationalities so far as intermarriage or close intimacy is
+concerned. Many of the Chinese keep cheap eating-houses, and always seem
+to be industrious and thrifty. They are the outcome of the coolie trade,
+by which the Peruvian plantations were for years supplied with
+laborers,--slave labor, for that is exactly what it was to all intents
+and purposes, call it what we may. But this cruel and unjust system has
+long been suppressed. Most of the small shops are kept by Italians, and
+the best hotels by Frenchmen. The banking-houses are usually conducted
+by Germans, while Americans and Englishmen divide the engineering work,
+the construction of railways, with such other progressive enterprises as
+require a large share of brains, energy, and capital.
+
+The women are generally handsome and of the Spanish type, yet they
+differ therefrom in some important and very obvious particulars. Their
+gypsy complexions, jet black hair and eyes, white, regular teeth, with
+full red lips, form a combination very pleasing to the eye. It must be
+acknowledged, however, that their complexions are aided by cosmetics.
+The features are small and regular, the ears being set particularly
+close to the head, which is always a noticeable peculiarity when it
+prevails. They are vivacious and mirthful, yet not forward or immodest.
+As regards the youthful portion, conventionality prevents all exhibition
+of the latter trait. In dress they follow the styles of Boston, New
+York, and Paris. As their brothers have been mostly educated in the
+cities named, they very generally speak French and English. Many of the
+ladies have themselves enjoyed the advantages of English, French, or
+North American schools in their girlhood. A certain etiquette as regards
+the society of men is very strictly observed here. No gentleman can
+associate with a young lady unless she is chaperoned by her mother or a
+married sister. From what we know of Spanish and Italian character, we
+are not at all surprised at the punctiliousness adhered to in both
+countries in this regard. There are very good reasons why such rules are
+imperative, not only in South America, but in continental Europe. Like
+most of the Spanish women, these of Lima, after the age of twenty-five,
+though they are rather short, and of small frames, nearly always develop
+into a decided fullness of figure.
+
+There is a semi-oriental seclusion observed at all times as regards the
+sex in this country. They are rarely seen upon the streets, except when
+driving, or going and coming from church; but one need not watch very
+closely to see many inquisitive eyes peeping from behind the curtained
+balconies which overhang the thoroughfares, and to catch occasionally
+stolen glances from pretty, coquettish owners, who would be very
+hospitable to strangers if they dared.
+
+Human nature is much the same in Lima as elsewhere. When seen on the
+streets, the ladies generally wear the black "manta" drawn close about
+the head and shoulders and partially covering the face. The manta is a
+shawl and bonnet combined, or rather it takes the place of a bonnet, and
+suggests the lace veil so universally worn at Havana, Seville, and
+Madrid, also recalling the yashmak worn by the women of the East. The
+Lima ladies cover half the face, including one eye; those of Egypt only
+cover the lower part of the face, leaving both eyes exposed.
+
+We are speaking of the better class of the metropolis. Among the more
+common people, instances of great personal beauty are frequent. One sees
+daily youthful girls on the streets who would be pronounced beautiful
+under nearly any circumstances, an inheritance only too often proving a
+fatal legacy to the owner, forming a source of temptation in a community
+where morals are held of such slight account, except among the more
+refined classes, of whom we have been speaking.
+
+One peculiarity is especially noticeable here among the native race: it
+is that the Peruvians seem to be mere lookers-on as regards the business
+of life in their country. All of the important trade is, as we have
+said, in the hands of foreigners. The English control the shipping
+interests, almost entirely, while the skilled machinists are nearly all
+Americans, with a few Scotchmen. We repeat this fact as showing the
+do-nothing nature of the natives, and also as signifying that for true
+progress, indeed, for the growth of civilization in any desirable
+direction, emigration from Europe and North America must be depended
+upon.
+
+The heavy alcoves of the old stone bridge at Lima are appropriated by
+the fruit women, whose tempting display forms glowing bits of color. The
+thoroughfares are crowded by itinerant peddlers of all sorts of
+merchandise. Milk-women come from the country, mounted astride of small
+horses or donkeys; water carriers trot about on jackasses, sitting
+behind their water jars and uttering piercing cries; Chinese food
+venders, with articles made from mysterious sources, balance their
+baskets at either end of long poles placed across their shoulders; the
+lottery-ticket vender, loud voiced and urgent, is ever present;
+newspaper boys, after our own fashion, shout "El Pais," or "El
+Nacional;" chicken dealers, with baskets full of live birds on their
+head and half a dozen hanging from each hand, solicit your patronage;
+beggars of both sexes, but mostly lazy, worthless men, feign pitiful
+lameness, while importuning every stranger for a centavo; bright,
+careless girls and boys rush hither and thither, full of life and
+spirit,--black, yellow, brown, and white, all mingling together on an
+equal footing. The absence of wheeled vehicles is noticeable, the
+tramway-cars gliding rapidly past the pedestrians, while pack-horses and
+donkeys transport mostly such merchandise as is not carried on the heads
+of men and women. Of the better class of citizens who help to make up
+this polyglot community of the metropolis, one very easily distinguishes
+the American, French, German, and English; each nationality is somehow
+distinctively marked.
+
+The stock of goods offered for sale in the pawnbrokers' shops, as a
+rule, is very significant in foreign cities; here the shelves of these
+dealers are full of valuable domestic articles, which the fallen
+fortunes of the once rich Lima families have compelled them to part with
+from time to time in a struggle to keep the wolf from the door. The
+Chilians took all they could readily find of both public and private
+property, and though they ruined financially some of the best families,
+they did not succeed in getting everything which was portable and
+valuable. Heirlooms are offered in these shops for comparatively
+trifling sums, such as rich old lace; diamonds; superbly wrought
+bracelets in gold, rubies, topazes, and other precious stones, set and
+unset; gold and silver spoons and forks of curious designs, and of which
+only one set were ever manufactured, intended to fill a special order
+and suit the fancy of some rich family. Drinking-cups bearing royal
+crests, and others with the arms of noble Castilian families engraved
+upon them, are numerous. There are also swords with jeweled hilts, gold
+and silver table ornaments, together with antique china, which might
+rival the Satsuma of Japan. Curio hunters have secured many, nay, nearly
+all, of the very choicest of these domestic relics, which they have
+mostly taken to London, where they obtained fabulous prices for them.
+
+We were told of an enterprising Yankee who invested one thousand dollars
+in these articles, took them to England, and promptly realized some
+eleven thousand dollars above all his expenses upon the venture.
+Returning to Rio Janeiro, on the east coast, he purchased precious
+stones with his increased capital, and, strange to say, although he was
+by no means an expert, among his gems he secured an old mine diamond of
+great value at a low figure, which, having been crudely cut, did not
+exhibit its real excellence. Taking the whole of his second purchase to
+Paris, he disposed of his gems at a large advance, and finally returned
+to New York with a net capital exceeding forty thousand dollars. This
+enterprising and successful individual bore the euphonious name of
+Smyth,--Smyth with a _y_,--Alfred Smyth.
+
+The three watering-places, or country villages of Miraflores, Baranco,
+and Chorillos, are connected with Lima by railway, and in these resorts
+many city merchants have their summer homes, occupying picturesque
+ranches. The Chilians sacked and burned these places during the war, but
+they have been mostly rebuilt, and are once more in a thriving
+condition.
+
+Peru was celebrated for centuries as the most prolific gold and silver
+producing country in the world; her very name has long been the synonym
+for riches. Although the product of the precious metals is still
+considerable, yet it is quite insignificant compared with the revenue
+which she has realized from the export of guano and phosphates. The
+former article, as we have already said, has become virtually exhausted,
+and the latter source of supply, still immensely prolific and valuable,
+has been stolen from her bodily by the Chilians, so that Peru has now to
+fall back upon industry and the remaining natural resources of the soil.
+
+The most remarkable peculiarity in the physical formation of Peru is the
+double Cordillera of the Andes, which traverse it from southeast to
+northwest, separating the country into three distinct regions, which
+differ materially from each other in climate, soil, and vegetation. To
+the proximity of the range nearest to the coast is undoubtedly to be
+attributed the frequent earthquakes which disturb the shore, whether the
+volcanoes are apparently extinct or not. It may be reasonably doubted if
+any of the volcanoes are absolutely extinct, in the full sense of the
+term. They may be inoperative, so far as can be seen, for an entire
+century, and at its close break out in full vigor. In consulting the
+authorities upon this subject we find that, since 1570, there have been
+sixty-nine destructive earthquakes recorded as having taken place on the
+west coast of South America. The most terrible of them was that already
+referred to, which destroyed Callao in 1745. It is stated that the
+shocks at that time continued with more or less violence for three
+consecutive months, and the records of the event further state that
+there were two hundred and twenty distinct shocks within the twenty-four
+hours following the enormous tidal wave which overwhelmed Callao. At
+present, hardly a week passes without decided indications of volcanic
+disturbance occurring, but these are of so slight a nature,
+comparatively speaking, that but little attention is paid to them by the
+native population, though it is true that sensitive strangers often turn
+pale at such an event and tremble with fearful anticipations.
+
+About twenty miles south of Lima, on elevated ground which overlooks the
+Pacific, is the prehistoric spot known as Pachacamac, in the valley of
+the Lurin River. The name signifies the "Creator of the World," to whom
+the city and its temples were originally dedicated. Here, upon the edge
+of the desert, once stood the sacred city of a people who preceded the
+Incas, and who have left in these interesting, mouldering ruins tokens
+of their advanced civilization, as clearly defined as are those of
+Thebes, in far away Egypt. Another fact should not be lost sight of in
+this connection, that many ancient remains to be found in this
+neighborhood evince a higher degree of intelligence, in their
+constructive belongings, than do any evidences left to us respecting the
+days of the Incas, with whom we are in a measure familiar. The
+archaeologists, whose profession it is to carefully weigh even the
+slightest tangible evidence which time has spared, long since came to
+this conclusion.
+
+Pachacamac was the Mecca of South America, or at least of the most
+civilized portion of it, if we may judge by present appearances, and by
+the testimony of history as far back as it reaches.
+
+The ruins at Pachacamac consist of walls formed of adobe and sun-dried
+bricks, some of which can be traced, notwithstanding the many
+earthquakes which have shaken the neighborhood. The site of the ruins is
+a hilly spot, and the sands have drifted so as to cover them in many
+places, just as the Sphinx and the base of the pyramids have been
+covered, near Cairo. Specific ruins are designated as having once been
+the grand temple of the sun, and others as the house of the sacred
+virgins of the sun. It is very obvious that the Incas destroyed a grand
+and spacious temple here, which legend tells us was heavily adorned with
+silver and gold, to make way for one of their own dedicated to the
+worship of the sun. Who this race were and whence they came, with so
+considerable a system of civilization, is a theme which has long
+absorbed the speculative antiquarian. It is easy enough to construct
+theories which may meet the case, but it is difficult to support them
+when they are subjected to the cold arguments of reason and the test of
+known history. Actual knowledge is a great iconoclast, and smashes the
+poetical images of the unreliable historian with a ruthless hand. The
+Spanish records relating to the period of early discovery here, as also
+of Pizarro's career and the doing of the agents of the Romish Church,
+have long since been proven to be absolutely unworthy of belief.
+
+About the ruins of Pachacamac was once a sacred burial place, where
+well-preserved mummies are still to be found, but the great, silent,
+ruined city itself does not contain one living inhabitant. The
+graveyard--the Campo Santo--remains, as it were, intact, but the proud
+city, with its grand temples dedicated to unknown gods, has crumbled to
+dust.
+
+Curiously carved gold and silver vases and ornaments, exhibiting the
+exercise of a high degree of artistic skill, have been exhumed in the
+vast graveyard surrounding these ruins, whose extent, if judged by the
+number of interments which have taken place here, must have been ten
+times larger than the present site of Lima, and it must have contained a
+population many times larger than that of the present capital of Peru.
+In the mouths of the well-preserved mummies found buried here, we are
+told that gold coins were found, presumably placed there to pay for
+ferriage across the river of death. Here we have a fact also worthy of
+note. It thus appears that this people must have had a circulating
+medium in the shape of gold coin. As the placing of coin in the mouth of
+the deceased was a custom of the ancient Greeks, may it not be that
+these people came originally from Greece or from some contiguous
+country?
+
+There are numerous other ancient remains in the neighborhood of Lima, of
+which even tradition fails to give any account. Antiquarians find many
+clues to special knowledge of the past in the remains which can be
+exhumed in places on the coast of Chili and Peru, in the ancient graves
+where the nitrous soil has preserved not only the bodies of a former
+people, but also their tools, weapons, and domestic utensils.
+
+       *     *     *     *     *
+
+To reach the United States from Callao, the most direct course is to
+sail northward fifteen hundred miles to Panama, and cross the isthmus,
+again taking ship from the Atlantic side; but the author's family
+awaited him in Europe, and as the Pacific mail service exactly met his
+requirements, he sailed southward, touching at several of the ports
+already visited, crossing the Atlantic by way of the Canary and Cape de
+Verde Islands to Lisbon, thence to Southampton and to London. Joining
+his family, he crossed the Atlantic from Liverpool to Boston, after an
+absence of seven months, traveling in all of this equatorial journey
+some thirty thousand miles without any serious mishap, and having
+acquired a largely augmented fund of pleasurable memories.
+
+
+
+
+          By Maturin M. Ballou.
+
+
+  EQUATORIAL AMERICA. Descriptive of a Visit to St. Thomas,
+    Martinique, Barbadoes, and the Principal Capitals of
+    South America. A New Book. Crown 8vo, $1.50.
+
+  AZTEC LAND. Crown 8vo, $1.50.
+
+  THE NEW ELDORADO. A Summer Journey to Alaska. Crown 8vo,
+    $1.50.
+
+  ALASKA. The New Eldorado. A Summer Journey to Alaska.
+    _Tourist's Edition_, with 4 maps. 16mo, $1.00.
+
+  DUE WEST; or, ROUND THE WORLD IN TEN MONTHS. Crown 8vo,
+    $1.50.
+
+  DUE SOUTH; or, CUBA PAST AND PRESENT. Crown 8vo, $1.50.
+
+  UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS; or, TRAVELS IN AUSTRALASIA. Crown
+    8vo, $1.50.
+
+  DUE NORTH; or, GLIMPSES OF SCANDINAVIA AND RUSSIA. Crown
+    8vo, $1.50.
+
+  GENIUS IN SUNSHINE AND SHADOW. Crown 8vo, $1.50.
+
+  EDGE-TOOLS OF SPEECH. Selected and edited by Mr. BALLOU.
+    8vo, $3.50.
+
+  A TREASURY OF THOUGHT. An Encyclopedia of Quotations. 8vo,
+    full gilt, $3.50.
+
+  PEARLS OF THOUGHT. 16mo, full gilt, $1.25.
+
+  NOTABLE THOUGHTS ABOUT WOMEN. Crown 8vo, $1.50.
+
+
+          HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & COMPANY,
+          BOSTON AND NEW YORK.
+
+
+
+
+  Transcriber's Notes:
+
+  List of books by Maturin M. Ballou was moved from the first page
+  to the end of the book.
+
+  Obsolete and alternate spellings of words were not changed.
+
+  Alterations to the text:
+    changed 'Hurricances' to 'Hurricanes' in Chapter I summary.
+    changed 'salter' to 'saltier' ... water is saltier than ...
+    removed hyphen from Ant-illes ... in those days the Antilles!...
+    changed 'adode' to 'adobe' ... adobe and sun-dried bricks ...
+
+  Changes made for consistency with remaining text:
+    added period after 'Private Gardens' in Chapter V summary.
+    added hyphen to 'well appointed'
+        ... commodious, and well-appointed ship,...
+        ... large and well-appointed opera house ...
+    removed hyphen from 'mail-boat'
+        ... as a mail boat running between ...
+    removed hyphen from 'sailing-vessel'
+        ... individuality about sailing vessels which ...
+    removed hyphen from 'fruit-tree'
+        ... the fruit trees are perennial,...
+    removed hyphen from 'light-green'
+        ... round, light green berry ...
+    removed hyphen from 'well-known'
+        ... his well known reason ...
+        ... This well known port ...
+    removed hyphen from 'summer-houses'
+        ... pretty summer houses and ...
+    added hyphen to 'mossgrown'
+        ... which are gray and moss-grown,...
+        ... the moss-grown, crumbling ...
+    removed hyphen from 'bee-hive'
+        ... formed an immense human beehive ...
+    added hyphen to 'well arranged'
+        ... white stone, well-arranged, and is ...
+    removed hyphen from 'tail-fin'
+        ... tip of the tail fin,...
+    removed hyphen from 'so called'
+        ... from the so called cross ...
+    added hyphen to 'well equipped'
+        ... upon well-equipped railroads ...
+    removed hyphen from 'copper-colored'
+        ... but their brown or copper colored skins ...
+    added hyphen to 'waterway'
+        ... this unequaled water-way,...
+    added hyphen to 'low lying'
+        ... all the low-lying tropical lands ...
+    removed hyphen from 'house-fronts'
+        ... The house fronts in the various sections ...
+    added hyphen to 'sea birds'
+        ... myriads of sea-birds, whose sharp cries ...
+    added hyphen to 'curious shaped'
+        ... curious-shaped coasting craft ...
+    added hyphen to 'sky line'
+        ... breaks the sky-line in front of ...
+    added hyphen to 'far reaching'
+        ... the far-reaching shores ...
+    removed hyphen from 'deep-green'
+        ... with its deep green foliage ...
+    removed hyphen from 'yellow-ochre'
+        ... by the yellow ochre walls ...
+    removed hyphen from 'tide-wate'
+        ... feet above tide water....
+        ... the nearest tide water ...
+    removed hyphen from 'well-organized'
+        ... any well organized education establishment ...
+    added hyphen to 'fancy goods'
+        ... many of the fancy-goods stores ...
+    added hyphen to 'stovepipe'
+        ... with tall, stove-pipe hats ...
+    added hyphen to 'never failing'
+        ... the lottery with never-failing regularity ...
+    removed hyphen from 'well-wooded'
+        ... among the well wooded hills ...
+    removed hyphen from 'well-paved'
+        ... drainage and well paved streets ...
+        ... broad, well paved streets,...
+    added hyphen to 'half naked'
+        ... the inhabitants half-naked and wholly starved...
+    deleted hyphen in 'snow-white'
+        ... natty straw hats, snow white aprons,...
+        ... a broad snow white ruffle ...
+    removed hyphen from 'well-dressed'
+        ... are a well dressed class ...
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Equatorial America, by Maturin M. Ballou
+
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+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
+eBook #36963 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/36963)