Henry Koster

[1] I have made use of this spelling, from the word cocoa being applied in the English language indiscriminately to that tree and to the cacao; and as we most probably derived the word from the Portuguese language, it may perhaps not be considered improper to distinguish the two plants in this manner.

[2] A house answering both these purposes has lately been established at Recife by an Irishman and his wife. 1815.

[3] It is perhaps not generally known, that the bags of cotton are compressed, by means of machinery, into a small compass, and fastened round with ropes, that the ships which convey them may contain a greater number.

[4] I did not discover any vestiges of the fort which stood here at the time of the Dutch war.

[5] I shall use this word exclusively, when speaking of Europeans of this nation; and the word Brazilian, when speaking of white persons born in Brazil.

[6] This is the name by which the fort is usually distinguished, but I rather think that it is not its proper appellation.

[7] I am not quite certain whether it is the third or fourth.

[8] I sailed from Pernambuco in the very last convoy of 1815, previous to the peace with the United States, which consisted of twenty-eight vessels, viz. two ships of war, two prizes to them, and twenty-four merchant vessels, fourteen of which were from Pernambuco, and the remaining ten from Rio de Janeiro and Bahia.

[9] An edict has lately been issued at Rio de Janeiro by the Regent, declaring himself the Prince Regent of the United Kingdoms of Portugal, Brazil, and the Two Algarves. 1816.

[10] I saw, in the year 1814, a very fine root of wheat that had been raised in the Campina Grande of the province of Paraiba, about thirty leagues to the northward of Recife.

[11] This has lately been removed to Recife, owing to a report of some plan of revolt amongst the negroes, which has since proved to be without foundation. 1815.

[12] A Portugueze gentleman once observed to me, that in France and other countries many clever men had written and spoken strongly, and for a considerable length of time against this way of life, and that they at last even effected their purpose with much difficulty; but, he added, in Pernambuco such is the conduct of the friars, that no writing and no speaking is necessary to bring them into disrepute.

[13] “Irmam, nÃo tenha vergonha.”

[14] In speaking of the Priesthood, it must be always recollected, that the Secular and Regular Clergy are two totally different bodies of men, and as distinct in their utility, their knowledge, and their manners, as they are in their situation in life.

[15] I think that the Caza Forte and the Cazas de Dona Anna Paes, of which an account is given in the History of Brazil, vol. ii. p. 124, distinguish the same place under different names.

[16] When the Englishmen, who first established themselves at Recife, had finished the stock of tea which they had brought with them, they enquired where more could be purchased, and were directed to an apothecary’s shop. They went, and asked simply for tea, when the man wished to know what kind of tea they meant; he at last understood them, and said, “O, you want East-Indian tea,” “Cha da India,”—thus considering it as he would any other drug. But at the time of which I am now speaking, great quantities are consumed.

[17] I once heard, that a person who had been in England, and had returned to Pernambuco, observed, that the two things which surprised him the most in that country, were, that the people did not die, and that the children spoke English. He was asked his reason for supposing that his first wonder was correct, to which he answered, that he never had seen the Sacrament taken to the sick.

[18] A Juiz Conservador, Judge Conservator, of the British nation has been appointed for Pernambuco, but at the period of my departure from Recife, he was not arrived. Very soon after the commencement of a direct commercial intercourse with Great Britain, a vice-consul was appointed for Pernambuco, by the consul-general at Rio de Janeiro; this person was superseded by a consul sent out direct from England, who is subject to the consul-general of Brazil, but the place is disposed of by the government at home.

[19] When Brazil was in its infancy, the clergy could not subsist upon their tythes, and therefore petitioned the government of Portugal to pay them a certain stipend, and receive the tenths for its own account; this was accepted, but now that the tenths have increased in value twenty-fold, the government still pays to the vicars the same stipends. The clergy of the present day, bitterly complain of the agreement made by those to whom they have succeeded.

[20] A great confusion exists in Brazil respecting measures. Every captaincy has its own, agreeing neither with those of its neighbours, nor with the measures of Portugal, though the same names are used invariably: thus a canada and an alqueire in Pernambuco represent a much greater quantity than the same denominations in Portugal, and less than in some of the other provinces of Brazil.

[21] A patent has been obtained, and a manufactory established upon a large scale for making cordage from the outward rind of the coco-nut. Ropes of this description are, I believe, much used in the East Indies.

[22] An old woman applied at the gates of a convent, late one evening, and told the porter, an old friar, who was quite blind, that she wished one of the brothers to go with her, for the purpose of confessing a sick person. The old man, with perfect unconcern, gave her to understand, that they were all out, adding, “but if you will go to the garden gate, and wait there, some of them will soon be creeping in.”

[23] The younger members of the Franciscan order enjoy very much the duty of going out to beg, as opportunities offer of amusing themselves. A guardian was chosen at Paraiba some years ago, who examined the chest in which the money belonging to the community was kept, and on finding a considerable sum in it, gave orders that no one should go out to beg. He was a conscientious man, and said, that as they had already enough, the people must not be importuned for more, until what they possessed was finished. He kept the whole community within the walls of the convent for the term of two or three years, for which each guardian is appointed. On another occasion, the friars of a Franciscan convent chose for their guardian a young man, whose life had been very irregularly spent in any thing rather than the duties of his calling, under the idea, that during the continuance of his guardianship, they would lead a merry life,—that very little attention would be paid to the rules and regulations of the Order; but they were mistaken, he changed his habits as soon as he found himself at their head; the gates were rigidly closed at the proper hour, and according to the old and vulgar proverb, of “Set a thief,” &c. the duties of the convent were performed with much greater austerity than before.

[24] An anecdote was related to me of one of these couples, which occurred some years ago, under a former Governor. A solitary passenger, between Olinda and Recife, witnessed part of the following scene, and the remainder was described by one of the actors in it. A couple of criminals, of which one was a white man, and the other a negro, accompanied by their guard, were walking over the sands, to reach a ford, and cross the river at its narrowest part. Three horsemen, one of whom led a fourth horse, saddled and bridled, rode up, and one of them knocked the soldier down, whilst the white man of the chained couple urged his companion to go with him to the led horse, and mount up behind him: this the black man refused to do, when one of the horsemen, who seemed to direct the others, called out, “Cut the fellow’s leg off.” The criminals are secured to each other by the ankle. The negro now agreed, and both mounted the horse, and the whole party galloped away, first binding the soldier hand and foot. They passed through Olinda at full speed, and when they had arrived at some distance, a large file was made use of, and the negro was set down with all the chains and bolts. The party then proceeded, and were never afterwards heard of. It was imagined, that the man who made his escape in this manner, was the relation of a rich person in the interior, who had either committed some crime, or had been thus unjustly punished.

[25] Lately, a cadet has come forwards, and has taken the direction of these matters; he has apprehended several persons of infamous character, but of determined courage; he has done much good, risking his life under circumstances of great danger, and even to extreme rashness has he been carried by his zeal. This young man well deserves promotion. That thus the police should fall into the hands of inferior officers, shows the irregular footing upon which it stands.—1814.

[26] The arrival of another colonel to the regiment of Recife, and the increase of activity in the officers, has altered its appearance much for the better. The regiment of Olinda or of artillery, has been also much improved by the attention of its colonel, and the entrance into it of several well-educated Brazilian officers of the first families.

[27] The lower part of the town is the site of the siege, which, in its infancy, the settlement sustained against the savages, as is “related by Hans Stade, the first traveller who wrote any account of Brazil.”—History of Brazil, Vol. I. p. 46.

[28] I had frequent opportunities afterwards of resting at this inn; on one of these, I happened to ask for salt, which is not usually placed upon the table; the master of the house, in the customary familiar manner of the country, expressed his surprise, at the additional quantity of salt which I wished for, but it was brought to me, and nothing further was said. This occurred in the morning, soon after our arrival at the place; at dinner, to our dismay, the soup and almost all the other dishes were so plentifully supplied with the unfortunate ingredient, as to be scarcely eatable. We complained of this to the master, who answered, “Why, I thought you liked salt.” “Cuidei que eram amigos de sal.”

[29] Is this word abbreviated from Desertam, used as an augmentative (according to the Portugueze custom) for Deserto?

[30] Matutos, woodmen, inhabitants of the mato.

[31] A person with whom I was afterwards acquainted, has since cleared one of these islands, and has formed some salt-works upon it.

[32] The word Sertam is used rather indefinitely, as it does not only mean the interior of the country, but likewise a great part of the coast, of which the population is yet scanty, receives this general name. Thus, the whole of the country between Rio Grande and Pernaiba is called Sertam. Pernaiba is a small province, situated between Seara and Maranham.

[33] The rafts employed upon small rivers are of a construction similar to those already described on a former occasion, save that still less workmanship is bestowed upon them.

[34] History of Brazil, Vol. II. p. 104 and 155.

[35] The castor tree is known in Brazil under the same name; indeed, there is much similarity between the seed of this plant, from which the oil is extracted, and the larger kind of tick.

[36] Between two and three years after this journey, I heard again of my friend the Major. I became acquainted with a man who resided at the foot of the Serra do Teixeira, which is beyond the estates of the major’s father. The old colonel was killed by a bull before his own door. The animal had been driven into a small inclosure, and became mad from feeling himself confined. It was necessary to bring him to the ground, which is done in a peculiar manner, by running a short iron prong into a certain part of the thigh. The herdsmen were afraid, and wished to let the beast have time to cool and become less violent; the old man, who was between seventy and eighty years of age, told them, that if they were afraid, he would attack him, and immediately entered the inclosure; but before he could prepare to receive the bull, and was still leaning against the palings, the animal ran at him, and fixed his horns through the old man’s body, with sufficient force to run them into the palings, and in such a manner that before he could extricate himself, one of the herdsmen ran a long knife into his head between the horns, and brought him to the ground; but the old man lost his life.

[37] “Falla a lingua de negro.”

[38] Vide Appendix.

[39] “Deixa estar meu amo.”

[40] I heard in the beginning of the year 1815, that the bar had been completely choaked up during a violent gale of wind from the sea, whilst two coasters were in the river, taking in cargoes for Pernambuco.

[41] This person has since been removed to a province of more importance.

[42] “Mofino como caboclo.”

[43] I heard, from good authority, that there are two instances of Indians having been ordained as secular priests, and that both these individuals died from excessive drinking.

[44] Caboclo he so para hoje.

[45] Another member of this family was also to be apprehended, but the governor could not fix upon any means by which the arrest was to be accomplished. A man of well-known intrepidity and of some power was sent for by the governor, to consult with him upon the subject. This person offered to go alone, and acquaint the Feitoza with the orders that had been issued against him, and in fact to try to take him into custody. He set off, but Feitoza was apprized of his coming and of his errand, and, immediately leaving his estate, proceeded to Bahia, where he embarked for Lisbon, arriving in due time at that place. The person who set off to arrest him followed him from place to place, arrived at Bahia, and embarked for and landed at Lisbon. He enquired for Feitoza, heard that he had spoken to the secretary of state, and had again embarked on his return homewards, but that the ship was delayed by contrary winds. He likewise went to the secretary, and shewed the orders which he had received for the arrest of Feitoza, making known the particular crimes which had made his apprehension requisite. Feitoza was taken into custody and put into the Limoeiro prison, where his persecutor or prosecutor went to visit him, saying as he approached,—“Well, did not I say so,”—“Entam eu que disse,” alluding to his determination of apprehending him. He returned to Brazil and gave an account of his mission to the governor, from whom he had received his orders. This man was well known in the province of SearÀ, and the truth of the story is vouched for by many respectable persons with whom I conversed. This Feitoza has not been heard of.

[46] Arruda says it is white, vide Appendix, therefore some other ingredient may have been mixed with that which I saw.

[47] CabeÇa de Vaca is particularly mentioned.—History of Brazil, vol. i. p. 109.

[48] There is a print in BarlÆus which represents the Portugueze crossing the river St. Francisco upon rafts or logs of timber; these must, I think, have been similar to those which are at present used in the Sertam.

[49] A mulatto woman once said to me, “The children of mulattos are like whelps, they are of all colours.” “Filho de mulatto, he como filho de cachorro, hum sahe branco, outro pardo e outro negro.”

[50] Dr. Manoel Arruda da Camara says, that before the dreadful drought of 1793, it was considered to be one of the duties of the herdsmen to destroy the wild cattle, that which was already half tamed, might not be induced to mix with it, and by this means become wild; and he adds, that this is still the case in the Sertoens of Piauhi. He published his pamphlets in 1810.

[51] When I resided at Jaguaribe, and upon the island of Itamaraca, in the years 1813 and 1814, I took some pains in this matter; but the meat was not good, and though all kinds of flesh in Brazil have less flavour than that of the same species of animal in England, still I think that the mutton of Brazil is more unequal to the mutton of England, than is the case respecting the beef of the two countries.

[52] Lieutenant-Colonel Joam da Silva FeijÒ, in a pamphlet published at Rio de Janeiro in 1811, on the sheep of the province of SearÀ, says, “That the sheep of that part of the country bear wool which has all the marks of being of a superior quality; that it is in general soft, shining, well curled, of a good length, and strong.” He again says, “That the governor,” the same of whom I have spoken, “sent a small quantity of it to England, which was much admired and esteemed.” I did not certainly remark particularly the sheep of SearÀ, and his opinion must of course be taken in preference to mine, as this gentleman is the naturalist of the same province; however, I bought several as food, and their skins were invariably covered in the manner which I have above described. When I resided at Jaguaribe and Itamaraca, I possessed a considerable number of sheep, and of these I can speak positively.

[53] Vaccination is finding its way among them in spite of prejudice.—1815.

[54] This branch of trade increases most rapidly.—1815.

[55] Vide Appendix for a further account of this wax.

[56] Vide Appendix for a further account of this plant.

[57] In the year 1813, I was one evening in company, when I heard a gentleman request one of the party to ask the Englishmen who were present, if any of them had ever left a horse upon his plantation. I turned round and recognised the colonel of CunhÀÛ. The horse was sent to me about a month afterwards.

[58] In the year 1812, I met Feliciano and one of the others, who was his brother-in-law, in one of the streets of Recife. They recollected me, and I was stopped by both of them getting hold of my coat on each side. They asked me if I was going again to travel, for if I was, they said that they were unemployed, and would go with me. Their attack had so much the appearance of being more in violence than in the gladness of old friendship, that one or two of my acquaintance who chanced to pass at the time, stopped and enquired what was the matter, supposing that I had got into some scrape. These fellows literally held me fast, until I had answered all their questions. Their fidelity seems to militate from the general unfavourable character which I have given of the Indians; but unfortunately, individual instances prove very little.

[59] I had imagined that he did not intend to return again into my service; but on my second voyage to Pernambuco, I found him at the house of one of my friends, employed as a household servant, and I heard that he had come down to Recife two days after I had left the place, for the purpose of remaining with me; but as I was gone, he had entered into the service in which I found him. Julio was an exception to almost all the bad qualities of the Indians; and if I was again to travel in that country, I should use every endeavour to have him in company. He belonged to Alhandra.

[60] The information which is contained in this note I had from Captain Juan Roman Trivino, of the Spanish ship St. Joze, of 300 tons burthen. He received orders to proceed from Rio de Janeiro to Maranham, for the purpose of loading cotton, in the commencement of the year 1815. He arrived off the settlement of SearÀ, and sent on shore for a pilot to take him to St. Luiz; he was informed that none resided at SearÀ, but that he would find one at JeriquaqÙara, a high hill between SearÀ and Parnaiba. On arriving near to this place, he discovered an Indian in a canoe fishing, who came on board, and offered to pilot him to St. Luiz. This was agreed to, and they proceeded; but from mistaking the two points of land in the manner mentioned above, the Indian took the vessel into the bay of St. Joze, on the 15th March. They kept the lead going, even before they discovered the error into which they had been led, as is the custom with all vessels bound to St. Luiz. The ship was brought to an anchor off the village of St. Joze, which is situated upon the N.E. point of the island of Maranham, in eleven fathoms water. Whilst they continued in the mid-channel of the bay, they found from eighteen to twenty fathoms. The depth of water regularly decreases from the centre of the bay towards the land on each side; but it contains no insulated sand banks. The ship was at anchor off the village of St. Joze two days; they then proceeded through the channel, which is inclosed on either side by mangroves, and is so narrow in some parts that the yards at times brushed against the branches. The wind was fair, and they sailed through without being obliged to tow or warp the ship. The depth of water varied from five to two and a half fathoms; the bottom was of mud. About halfway through the channel, the tide from the bay of St. Joze and that from the bay of St. Marcos meet. This takes place nearly but not quite opposite to the mouth of the river Itapicuru. They were two days in sailing from the anchorage ground at St. Joze to the island of Taua, which is situated near to the S. W. corner of the island of Maranham. Here the ship came to an anchor in nine fathoms water, with a sandy bottom; the captain sent to St. Luiz for another pilot, as the man who had brought them thus far was not acquainted with the remainder of the navigation. The island of Taua is rocky, and uninhabited, and is covered with palm trees. The village of St. Joze appeared to Captain Trivino to be of considerable size, but, with the exception of two or three, the houses were built of slight timber and of the leaves of different species of palm trees. Its inhabitants were mostly fishermen. He mentioned that he saw a shoemaker at work there. Captain Trivino understood from his pilot that the river Itapicuru is at its mouth 120 yards wide, and that its depth is one fathom and a half.

[61] Joam IV. sent over one Bartholomew Barreiros de Ataide with three miners, one a Venetian and the other two French, to search for gold and silver. After two years’ search up the Amazons they returned to Maranham, and offered to supply the people with iron at a cruzado, about 2s. 4d., per quintal, 128 lbs. weight, if the state would engage to take all that they should produce at that price. The people were afraid to enter into any such contract. The island was so rich in this ore that foreign cosmographers called it the ilha do ferro in their maps, and all who came there with any knowledge of the subject said that it was ore of the best quality. A thing of great importance to Portugal, which bought all its iron, and yet this discovery was neglected.—From a Memoir of Manoel Guedes Aranha, Procurador from Maranham, 1685, in the 6th Vol. Pinheiro Collection of MSS. in the possession of Mr. Southey.

A royal manufactory of iron has been established in the captaincy of St. Paulo, called “The Royal Fabric of S. Joam de Ypanema.” I obtained a knowledge of the fact from two letters in Nos. 45 and 56 of the Investigador Portuguez, a periodical publication published in London. I am sorry to say, that the two letters to which I allude have arisen from some differences existing among the directors of the Fabric.

[62] I have just in time received the following statement of the exportation of cotton from Maranham, from the year 1809 to 1815:

		Vessels.	Bags.
1809.	To Great Britain in	51	55,835
——	To other parts	29	21,006
1810.	To Great Britain	37	40,684
——	To other parts	19	11,793
1811.	To Great Britain	36	48,705
——	To other parts	19	6,053
1812.	To Great Britain	29	35,767
——	To other parts	29	4,803
1813.	To Great Britain	35	50,072
——	To other parts	27	10,101
1814.	To Great Britain	22	31,205
——	To other parts	34	14,436
1815.	To Great Britain	32	28,539
——	To other parts	49	22,216

[63] A person of the name of Belfort first planted rice at Maranham, and some of his descendants now reside there in opulence.

[64] “There were five sugar works or engines, as they are called, at Itapicuru, which compounded for 5000 arrobas of their produce. On the island there were six engines in full employ, 1641.”—History of Brazil, Vol.II, p. 9.

[65] He has been removed, was ordered to Lisbon, and ultimately, on his return to Rio de Janeiro, was refused admittance, for a short time, to the Prince Regent.

[66] It is not perhaps generally known, that there are published in London three or four Portugueze periodical works. One of them is prohibited in Brazil, and I have heard it said, that all of them are so situated; but they are principally intended for Brazilian readers, and they find their way all over the country, notwithstanding the prohibition. I have seen them in the hands of civil, military, and ecclesiastical officers, and have heard them publicly spoken of by them. It is said that the Regent reads them, and is occasionally pleased with their invectives against some of the men in power.

[67] About twelve months afterwards, I had an opportunity of being personally known to this man, and found him to be very superior to any individual of his or any other order of friars with whom I have been acquainted.

[68] A British consul has since been appointed to Maranham.

[69] An ouvidor has been appointed to Aldeas Altas, and Piauhi has been raised to the rank of an independent provincial government. These are improvements which shew that regular government is gaining ground.

[70] Before I came away in 1815, a considerable portion of the sand (which was covered by the tide at high water) between St. Antonio and Boa Vista, had been raised, and houses had been built upon it. The principal street of St. Antonio has been paved. The bridge of Boa Vista has been rebuilt of timber; and that between St. Antonio and Recife was about to undergo considerable repair. The hospitals, likewise, were to be improved; and as I have heard since my arrival in England, of the appointment of a most worthy man to the direction of one of them, I trust that this intention has been acted upon.

[71] Vide Appendix.

[72] Bolingbroke says, that instances are frequent of some of the European swine escaping into the woods, where they live wild; and he adds, that their increase has been immense. In another place he speaks of a species of this animal, which is peculiar to tropical America, and is called the warree which he says is about the size of an European hog, and much like it in shape. The porco do mato is not the sus tajassu, which is, I imagine, what Bolingbroke calls the picaree hog.—Voyage to the Demerary, &c. by Henry Bolingbroke, in Phillips’ Collection of Modern Voyages, vol. x. p. 57 and 129.

The tajaÇu is to be met with at Maranham, but is not known at Pernambuco.

[73] Directions were given by the capitam-mor, that a reservoir for rain water should be formed; and these have been carried into effect. 1815.

[74] The Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday are properly the days of the intrudo, but the sport is, as in the case in question, often commenced a week before the appointed time. Water and hair powder are the ingredients which are established to be hurled at each other, but frequently no medium is preserved, and every thing is taken up heedlessly and thrown about by all parties, whether it be clean or dirty, whether it may do mischief or is harmless.

[75] The account which Labat gives of l’arbre À Savonettes does not agree in all points with mine; the difference may arise from various circumstances to which some clew might have been discovered, if attention had been paid to the subject upon the spot. He says that the leaves are three inches in length, and “cet arbre est un de plus gros, des plus grands et des meilleurs qui croissent aux isles.”—Nouveau Voyage, &c. Tom. vii. p. 383. Du Tertre says, that it grows en abondance le long de la mer; dans les lieux les plus secs et les plus arides.—Histoire des Antilles, &c. Tom. ii. p. 165. I have only heard of the Saboeiro at some distance from the coast.

[76] Limoeiro was raised to a township by an AlvarÁ issued from Rio de Janeiro on the 27th July, 1811; but this was not then known. It has now a mayor, municipality, and capitam-mor.

[77] This place was erected a township by the same AlvarÁ, which was issued respecting Limoeiro; and by the same, the villages of Cape St. Augustin and of St. Antam were likewise raised to the rank of towns; a sure sign is this of the increase of population.

[78] This village is as much or more generally known by the name of Lagoa d’Anta, as by that of Nazareth; but the latter is the name which it bears in law. The former name, which means the Lake of the Anta, seems to denote that that animal was known in this part of the country; but in the present day, I could not meet with any of the peasants who knew what the word Anta was intended to signify.

[79] History of Brazil, Vol. i. p. 467 and 468.

[80] History of Brazil, Vol. i. p. 467 and 468.

[81] History of Brazil, Vol. ii. p. 237.

[82] “Senhora nam, he o Diabo.”

[83] “Que diz, meu amo?”

[84] “Ave-Maria, Nosso Senhor nos livre.”

[85] These practices were, or rather are, at present, carried on in one part of the country with which I am well acquainted. The persons who commit the crimes are white men and of high birth. Among them was a priest. The magistrate of the district in question was applied to by a man who had lost a cow, mentioning that he more than suspected where she was, and at the same time naming the place. A tropa, a troop or party, of ordenenÇa soldiers was collected, and these men were dispatched to search the house, which had been pointed out, under the command of a corporal of well-known courage. They arrived there and knocked; the door was opened by the owner, who was the priest connected with the gang; he said that he could not allow his house to be entered without an order from the ecclesiastical court. This answer was conveyed to the magistrate who had signed the order, the soldiers remaining round about the house. A second order arrived, and the bearer brought with him a couple of hatchets, thus expressively pointing out to the corporal what he was to do. Forthwith preparations were made for breaking open the door, when the priest said, that he would allow the corporal to enter alone; the man fearlessly went in, but as soon as the door was again closed the priest seized upon him, and some of his negroes who were in another apartment sprang forwards to assist their master; but the corporal disengaged himself, and standing upon the defensive called to his men, who soon broke into the house. Search was made, and the carcase and hide of the cow were found, and were with the negroes taken publicly to the nearest town. The mark of the red hot iron upon the haunch had been burnt out of the hide, that discovery might be rendered less easy. The priest was punished by suspension from saying mass for a few months. I was subsequently acquainted with him; he was received by many persons as if nothing had been amiss; but he was not received as heretofore, for the individuals of his own profession would not, generally speaking, associate with him. The circumstance had not however so completely prevented his re-entrance into decent society, as such a crime would have done in many others countries, or so much as would have occurred at Pernambuco, if he had been a layman.

[86] A free negro, with whom I had been acquainted whilst I resided at this place, and who came to see me when I removed to Itamaraca, told me, with much horror pictured in his countenance, of the fate of a man who had worked for me. He said that this person occasionally became a lobos homem, a wolf man. I asked him to explain, when he said that the man was at times transformed into an animal of the size of a calf, with the figure of a dog; that he left his home at midnight in this metamorphosed state, and ran about with the violence of a mad dog, and that he attacked any one whom he might chance to meet. The black man was perfectly persuaded of the correctness of his own statement, when he related having, with his brother-in-law and his sister, met this uncommon beast, near to their own cottages. I suppose it was some large dog which prowled about to satisfy his hunger in the neighbourhood of these habitations; but no, the man was persuaded that it was poor Miguel.

[87] On Saturdays only, throughout the country, are cattle slaughtered; and thus weekly many persons of each neighbourhood assemble, as much to converse and hear the news as to purchase their portion of meat. On one of these occasions, a young man of colour was stooping to arrange upon the end of his walking stick the meat which he had bought, at the moment that a person of considerable power was riding up. The man of importance, when he came near to the young mulatto, struck him with a long cane with which he rode, saying “why don’t you take off your hat when a white man appears?” The blow was felt severely, and still more severely answered. The man of colour drew his knife, and quickly turning round, ran it hilt deep into the groin of him by whom he had been insulted; and then with the bloody knife in his hand, he ran off, vowing destruction upon any one who touched him. The rich man had only time before he died, to direct that the murderer should not be pursued, owning that his own impetuous tyranny had deservedly produced this catastrophe. The young man returned in a few weeks to his former home, and was not molested by the relatives of him whom he had murdered, nor did the law take cognizance of the deed.

[88] The following anecdote exemplifies the feudal state of the planters a few years ago. It was related to me by a gentleman upon whose veracity I have every reason to rely. Some fifteen years ago, the governor of Pernambuco sent for a sergeant of the only regiment of the line which existed at that time, whose courage was well known and much dreaded. He received orders from the governor to proceed with all expedition possible to the sugar-plantation of Monjope, distant from Recife four leagues, for the purpose of taking the owner of that place into custody; or if he found that his apprehension alive was impracticable, he was then to bring his head to the governor. The sergeant was desired to pick out as many soldiers as he thought fit to accompany him; but he said that he should go alone, and consequently the following morning he set forth. On his arrival at Monjope, he was received by the owner of the plantation, who was a colonel of militia, or a capitam-mor. Being seated, he quietly made his errand known, shewing to the great man the order for his apprehension, and mentioning the additional instructions in case of disobedience. The colonel left the room, but soon returned with a bag containing about the value of 100l. in gold coins, and presenting this to the sergeant, told him to return and tell the governor that he would visit him as soon as possible, and explain to him the circumstances which had given rise to this mission. The sergeant took the money, and set out on his return; and by the way bought a sheep, killed it, and then cutting off its head, put this into a bag. On arriving at the palace, he placed his bloody burthen upon the ground, and pointing to it, said to the governor, “I have executed your commands; he would not come, and therefore I have brought his head.” The governor, all amazement, answered, “and have you really killed the colonel of Monjope?” The sergeant replied, “I have only acted according to the orders which I received.” The following morning, what was the astonishment of the governor, to hear that the colonel of Monjope was in waiting, and wished to see him. He gave him an audience, matters were explained, and they parted good friends. The sergeant was sent for after the departure of the colonel, and on being questioned, told the whole story, and shewed the bag of money. The governor was displeased, but at the same time ashamed of the rash orders which he had given. The sergeant was however too useful a man to be in disgrace.

[89] Slaves are permitted to purchase their own freedom, on tendering to the master the sum of money which he originally gave for them. But I shall presently speak more at large of this law and of slavery, as it exists in Brazil.

[90] Vide Appendix for a farther account of the coco-tree.

[91] An old Portugueze, whose faith in the intercession of saints could not be very strong, being asked for alms to assist in the decoration of an image, refused to give any thing, and added, “The saints are in a much better situation than I am; they don’t want any assistance from me.”

[92] I insert the following passage from No. 32d. of Dr. Thomson’s Annals of Philosophy, p. 138. It is given for the purpose of acquainting the supporters of our Lady of the O, that salt oozes from walls in an heretical, as well as in a Catholic country:

“The formation of nitre upon calcareous stones in certain situations has been long known, and advantage has been taken of it to procure that important salt in great quantities; though no satisfactory theory of the formation of the salt itself has yet been offered to the public. The present paper contains a set of observations on the appearance of an efflorescence of salt-petre on the walls of the Ashmole laboratory at Oxford, a large ground room, sunk below the area of the street. The walls are built of Oxford lime-stone, a granular floetz lime-stone, containing many fragments of shells, of vegetable bodies, and composed of 96 carbonate of lime, and 4 of ochrey sand. The salt formed was nearly pure, though it contained traces of lime and of sulphuric and muriatic acids. What was formed in winter contained most lime. The formation of this salt was most rapid in frosty weather; it formed slowly, and the quantity even diminished in moist weather after it had been deposited. Exclusion from the air did not preclude the deposition of the salt, though it diminished it considerably.” p. 70.—The paper, of which the above is an analysis, is by John Kidd, M.D. professor of chemistry in Oxford.

[93] Some time ago a wooden figure was brought up out of the sea in a fisherman’s net; it was deposited in a place of safety, and was on inspection, by some person who was judged competent to decide upon the subject, declared to be an image of St. Luke; it was removed to a church, and has taken its place as a representative of that saint. Now, I have heard it whispered, that this said St. Luke is no more than the figure-head of some unfortunate vessel which had been cast away, or that the figure had been broken off by a violent wave.

[94] I am not certain of the situation of the Monte das Tabocas, where one of the chief battles was fought between the Portugueze and the Dutch in 1645.—History of Brazil, vol. ii. p. 108. There is now a plantation called Tabocas, which is owned by one of the chiefs of the Cavalcante family; but as I was acquainted with him and several other persons of the same description, I think the circumstance would have been mentioned, if this had been the place.

[95] At the distance of twenty leagues or more from Recife, there resided formerly the Padre Pedro, upon the sugar plantation of Agua Azul, or the blue water. He had obtained a grant from the Crown, of the surrounding lands, of one square league in extent, and had fixed his dwelling upon a high hill, the summit of which was only to be reached by a serpentine road which he had made with great labour. The sugar works were likewise upon the hill, and the field around the eminence was inclosed by a deep and broad ditch, and a thick hedge on the outside. The situation was remote, and the adjoining country was in a very wild state; the woods were extensive, and almost impenetrable. The disposition of the priest was as wild as the country in which he delighted to reside. All deserters from the regiments of the line, and all persons who had committed crimes in supporting the insulted honour of their families, in quarrels and provocations exciting momentary violence of passion, were received by him; but he did not afford protection to the thief. The fellows who were harboured by him inhabited the woods around the field, and some of them had erected their huts upon the sides of the hill, thus forming a line of communication; so that with a whistle or a conch, soon were assembled at his door forty or fifty men, who were prepared to perform any service of whatever description he might name; because they well knew that if they were bereft of his protection, his aid would be given in the law’s support. To injure the priest or any of his satellites, was followed by destruction to the offending person. He was, however, in the habit of sending many presents to the chief persons in office, that no notice might be taken of his proceedings; for although the government might not be able to destroy his feudal independence, still it might have shaken his power. The priest was once sent for by a late governor of the province; he obeyed, and brought with him a considerable number of his determined followers; he dismounted, and ascended the steps of the palace, leaving directions to his people, who remained below, that no person should be permitted to enter after him. The governor complained to him of his avowed practice of harbouring deserters; to which the priest replied, that he thought his Excellency was aware of the inutility of speaking to him upon that subject; and having said this he immediately left the room, mounted his horse, and proceeded homewards without molestation.

Another anecdote of this strange man was communicated to me by a person who had witnessed the transaction. Two officers of justice or bailiffs, arrived at Agua Azul, and served a writ for debt upon him; the priest received them with great calmness, but shortly afterwards he ordered some of his people to take these two men and harness them in the mill (which was then at work) in the places of two of the horses, (eight of these are employed at the same time). He then ordered that the works should go on, and that a negro boy should sit above and make these unfortunate fellows assist in its movement; there they remained for some minutes, until half dead with fatigue and fear, he turned them loose, and told them to relate to their employer the manner in which they had been treated, threatening to do the same to him, if he could obtain possession of his person. The priest had a considerable number of blood hounds, which were usually unchained, and were lying about the house; thus rendering dangerous an approach to his dwelling. The animals were well trained, for a call from their master was sufficient to make them lie still, and allow of the advance of a stranger. This person died only a few years ago; but as I have already elsewhere said, the time for such characters in Brazil is fast going by.

[96] “Zacharias nam he ninguem.”

[97] Labat, in speaking of the Indians of Guyana, says, “Leurs plus grandes richesses consistent dans les colliers de pierres vertes qui leur viennent de la riviÉre des Amazones. C’est un limon qu’on peche dans le fond de quelques endroits de ce grand fleuve.” He continues his description of them, and then says, “ces pierres sont spÉcifiques pour guÊrir l’Épilepsie ou le mal caduc, ou du moins pour en Ôter et suspendre tous les accidens tout autant de tems qu’on les porte sur soi, et qu’elles touchent la peau.”—Voyage du Chevalier des Marchais en GuinÉe, isles voisines et a Cayenne, tom. iv. p. 65 and 66.

The lower orders in Brazil make use of an iron ring round the wrist for this purpose.

I was informed that the Contas Verdes came from Africa, but some may have found their way from the Orellana, and been put into requisition by the Mandingueiros.

I refer the reader to the History of Brazil, vol. i. p. 607, for a farther account of the green stones of the Amazons.

[98] A man of large property being much provoked at some outrage which had been committed by one of these Valentoens, (who was a white man,) had said at his own home, that when he met the man he would horsewhip him. This was repeated to the outlaw, and shortly afterwards they met accidentally in one of the narrow-paths in the neighbourhood. The Valentam was well-armed with musket, sword, and knife; he requested the gentleman to stop, as he had something to say to him. The outlaw asked him for a pinch of snuff, and then offered his own box, from which a pinch was in like manner taken. He then mentioned the injurious words which had been repeated to him. The unfortunate offender directly imagined what would follow, and therefore set spurs to his horse, but the road was without any bend for some distance; the Valentam knelt down upon one knee, and fired with the effect which he wished for. He quietly walked on along the same road, telling the whole story of his meeting, at the first village through which he passed. This man was at last taken, tried, and hanged at Bahia, through the very great exertions of the brother of the person whom he had murdered. He could not be executed at Pernambuco because he was a white man. The transaction occurred at a short distance from Jaguaribe, about fifteen years ago.

[99] Labat speaks of a tree, of which the fruit is a perfect cure for the bite of the most dangerous snakes. He says that it comes from the isthmus of Darien; that the buccaniers were informed of its virtue by the Indians who accompanied them in their expeditions across the isthmus. He does not give the name of the tree; but says “sans nous embarasser du nom de l’arbre nous nous contentons d’appeller son fruit noix de serpent.” In his time there were three of these trees at Martinique, which were of the size of apricot trees in France. He says that he witnessed the success of the fruit. The account of the plant and its virtues is too long to be inserted here. It is to be found in the Nouveau Voyage aux isles de l’Amerique, tom. iii. p. 234 to 238.

In the same work, I find the following manner of cure from the bite of a snake, which will not however be very generally adopted. “Ceux qui ont assez de courage ou de charitÉ pour s’exposer a faire cette cure se gargarisent bien la bouche avec de l’eau-de-vie; et aprÈs avoir scarifiÉ la place, ils la succent de toute leur force, ils rejettent de tems en tems ce qu’ils ont dans la bouche, et se la nettoyent et gargarisent À chaque fois, observant de presser fortement avec les deux mains les environs de la partie blessÉe. On a vÚ de trÉs bons effets de cette cure, mais elle est trÉs-dangereuse pour celui qui la fait; car s’il a la moindre ecorchÛre dans la bouche, ou qu’il avale tant soit peu de ce qu’il retire, il peut s’attendre À mourir en peu de momens, sans que toute la medecine le puisse sauver.” tom. i. p. 167.

[100] In the year 1630, the island contained three and twenty sugar works.—History of Brazil, vol. i. p. 476.

[101] History of Brazil, vol. i. p. 36.

[102] History of Brazil, vol. i. p. 476.

[103] History of Brazil, vol. i. p. 489.

[104] History of Brazil, vol. i. p. 540.

[105] History of Brazil, vol. ii. p. 143.

[106] History of Brazil, vol. ii. p. 176.

[107] History of Brazil, vol. ii. p. 177.

[108] History of Brazil, vol. ii. p. 241.

[109] “Porque o seu coracam assim manda.”

[110] One of these Indians was selling crabs at Pasmado, when a purchaser began to pick out those which he preferred; but the Indian stopped him, saying, “Don’t begin to pick my crabs, for I belong to Amparo.” Thus even the crabs which were caught by the dependants of this great man were to be respected.

[111] The dependants do not always shew the respect which, seemingly, they ought to render to their patron. One of the Indians of Amparo (not he of the crabs) met his master, the owner of the place, in the field near to the dwelling-house. The Indian took off his own hat to speak to his master, but the same was not done by his superior; however the fellow quickly performed this for him, saying “When you speak to people take off your hat.”—“Quando se falla a gente tira se o chapeo.” The master took this quietly and when the conversation ended, his hat was returned.

[112] Vide Appendix.

[113] I do not know whether I might not almost say of Brazil: Regarding Itamaraca, there exists the following adage, “What is it that persecutes thee island?” The answer is “The being an island, the ants and Guedes.” “Que te persegue ilha? Ilha, formiga, Guedes.” Or in other words, the inconvenience occasioned by being obliged to cross the channel from the main land; the ants, which sufficiently explain for themselves; and Guedes;—these were a family of unquiet spirits who resided in the island, and kept it in perpetual turbulence from their quarrels. The remains still exist; but now they are good and peaceable subjects.

[114] “Agora Senhor Rei, vai te embora.”

[115] In 1646, after the Portugueze had taken possession of the guard-ship at Os Marcos, they proceeded to that which was stationed at Itapisuma or Tapissuma, and this was burnt by the Dutch.—History of Brazil, vol. ii. p. 177.

[116] A man of colour with whom I was acquainted possessed several tame oxen, some of which with a cart he used to hire to the planters by the day, and one or other of his sons attended to drive them. Two of these animals were stolen, and a suspicion falling upon a man of reputed respectability in the country, who had rented a sugar plantation not far distant, one of the sons of the owner of the oxen determined to try to ascertain the fact. He dressed himself in leather, as a disguise, and rode to the dwelling of the person in question, where he arrived at dusk. The master of the house was not at home, but he spoke to the housekeeper, saying, that he had just arrived from the Sertam with cattle on sale, which would reach the neighbourhood on the following morning; he requested to know if she thought her master would purchase his drove. She answered in the affirmative, but said that he had better stay all night, for the purpose of seeing the intended purchaser, who would arrive on the next day. The false Sertanejo told her not to be uneasy about his accommodation, as he would sleep in the mill, to which he rode, and there he remained very quietly during the early part of the night. When all was still he began to search for the hides or horns of his oxen. The former would be recognised by the private mark, which was made (as is usual) with a red-hot iron upon the right haunch, and the latter he would know from the peculiar bore of their tips (by which they are in part harnessed to the cart) for he had bored them himself, and was in the constant habit of driving these oxen; besides, tame oxen are so seldom killed, that if he found any horns which were bored, he might presume that they were those of his beasts. He had given up his search, and almost all hope of finding what he sought, when, as he lay in his hammock, he happened to cast his eyes upwards, and saw two fresh out-stretched hides hanging to the higher wood-work of the mill. He scrambled up the timbers with a lighted piece of wood in one hand; and moving this to and fro near to the hides, that it might give a better light, he discovered that they bore his father’s mark. He lost no time in cutting from both of them the pieces which contained the mark, and carefully preserving these he mounted his horse about two o’clock in the morning and rode home. He kept the bits of leather as trophies, and shewed them in proof of his former assertions respecting the person who had stolen the oxen, but neither did he obtain, nor did he expect to obtain any redress. These transactions occurred in 1811, and within five leagues of Recife.

[117] It has obtained the name of formiga de roÇa. The word roÇa means literally a piece of land that has been planted, of which the native wood has been cut down and cleared away. But at the present day, in Pernambuco, the word roÇa is applied to the mandioc plant exclusively; thus a peasant will say “hum bom roÇado de roÇa,” a good field of mandioc. The word roÇado is used in speaking of any kind of field; as for instance, a fine roÇado for cotton,—a fine roÇado for cane, &c.

[118] In the Nouvelle Relation de la France Equinoxiale, by Pierre Barrere, I find that the great red ant is as troublesome in the neighbourhood of Cayenne as in the part of South America which I visited. p. 60.

[119] Labat says, “Cet insecte engraisse les volailles.” I know that fowls are fond of the insect; but the peasants of Pernambuco prevent the poultry from eating it, because they say that such food gives a bad taste to the flesh; this is, I think, by no means improbable, for the copim has a most disagreeable smell. This author afterwards continues the same subject, saying, “Il y a deux sortes de bois qui ne sont pas de leur goÛt; l’acajou et le bois amer. Cela vient de ce que le suc et le bois de ces deux arbres est extrÉmement amer.”—Nouveau Voyage, tom. ii. p. 389 and 392.

I do not know what tree he means by the bois amer, which in another place he calls Simarouba. I well know that the red ant will not molest the leaves of the acaju tree; but the same occurs with regard to many other plants. The leaves of the acaju are certainly extremely bitter.

[120] “Como a lua era forte.”

[121] I have seen Piso’s account of the snakes of Brazil; and although the description which I have given of those which I saw, and of which I heard, differs somewhat from his, I have allowed mine to remain as it originally stood. Piso mentions the root of the jurepeba plant as being efficacious in curing the bites of snakes. Is this the jurubeba? If so, it is surprising that it should not now be used for this purpose. The jurubeba is to be found in almost all situations; a small shrub which yields a fruit resembling the potatoe apple. A decoction of the root is taken frequently at the present day for coughs and colds.

Piso likewise speaks of the caatia, or caiatia, or caacica plant, which he says, has deservedly obtained the name of the herva de cobras; his description of it at p. 102, agrees in some respects with that of the herva cobreira, of which I have spoken at chapter 12; but it can scarcely be the same, for mine would have been more plentiful if it had been indigenous.

[122] History of Brazil, vol. i. p. 47.

[123] History of Brazil, vol. i. p. 485.

[124] Labat in his Nouveau Voyage aux isles de l’Amerique gives an elaborate account of the mangrove plants. He speaks of three species, and treats in the first place of the mangle noir ou paletuvier. To this tree he applies precisely what I should say of the mangue vermelho or red mangrove, with respect to its manner of growing, and to the description of the plant altogether, excepting in regard of the bark which he states in the mangle noir, to be fort brune, whereas the red mangrove derives its name from the red colour of the inside of the bark. He says that it is used for tanning, and “on peut se servir du tronc de cet arbre pour les ouvrages oÙ l’on a besoin d’un bois qui rÉsiste À l’eau,” tom. ii. p. 195 and 197. I suppose he concluded that this would be so as the wood grew in the water. Now the mangues with which I am acquainted soon rot, even in salt water when used as stakes; for although the trees are propagated by means of shoots, if a part of the stem of one of them is put into the ground it does not take root, and indeed soon rots in any situation. The pens for catching fish are made of posts which are obtained from the forest, and these are scarce and dear. Would not the mangrove be used, if it was sufficiently durable?

He speaks afterwards of the mangle rouge, and this from his description appears to me to be what the Pernambucans call the mangue bravo; this does not grow in salt water, but in the vicinity of it. It is a large tree of irregular make, the branches being much twisted and full of knots.

Bolingbroke in his voyage to the Demerary describes the red mangrove as I have seen it, but he says that the bark is grey. In the Third Report of the Directors of the African Institution, p. 8, I find that some notion was entertained in 1809, of introducing the mangrove bark into this country for tanning.

[125] I once asked an African negro the name of this tree, and he answered coraÇam de homem or man’s heart; thus he did not chuse to use the name of negro’s heart. The man knew the usual name perfectly well.

[126] The iron wood is mentioned by Bolingbroke in his voyage to the Demerary; and the bois de fer, by Labat, in the Voyage du Chevalier des Marchais À Cayenne, &c. he says, “Le bois de fer se trouve par-tout en quantitÉ,” tom. iii. p. 240.

[127] Marcgraff also speaks of a species of jacaranda, which is a white wood.

[128] I shall give the names of those with which I am acquainted: parÔba, jacaranduba, guabiraba, araroba, cicopira, embiriba, sapucaia, aroeira do Sertam. This last is only found in parts far removed from the coast, and is accounted of equal value with the pao ferro.

Labat, in speaking of the kinds of wood which are fit for building, says, “Je ne croi pas devoir renvoyer À un autre endroit la remarque que j’ai faite sur tous les bois qu’on met en terre qui est, que pour peu qu’ils soient bons ce n’est pas la partie qui est en terre qui se pourrit ni celle qui est dehors, mais seulement ce qui est au ras de terre.” This I have found to be true to a certain extent; but there are some species of timber which rot very quickly under ground, though the part which he terms au ras de terre is certainly that which decays the most speedily. He continues “Pour Éviter cet inconvenient, il faut brÛler la partie qui doit Être en terre et quelques pouces au dessus, c’est-À-dire la sÉcher au feu ou dans les cendres rouges, sans la rÉduire en charbon, afin que la seve ou l’humiditÉ qui s’y pourroit encore trouver, soit entierement dessechÉe, que les pores se renfermant, les parties se raprochent les unes des autres, le bois devient plus compact et par consequent plus propre À rÉsister À l’humiditÉ.”—Nouveau Voyage, tom ii. p. 386.

This is done in Pernambuco, and is found to be of great service; but it is only practised with those woods which are known not to be naturally durable under ground.

[129] Labat says, “L’arbre que nous appellons acajou aux isles du Vent, est le mÊme que celui que les Espagnols appellent cedre dans la Terre-ferme et dans les grandes isles. Je ne sai qui a plus de raison; car je n’ai jamais vÛ les cedres du Liban, que selon les rÉlations que j’en ai lÛ ne ressemblent point du tout au cedre Espagnol.” He says likewise, “Ce qu’il ne faut pas confondre avec l’acajou À fruit dont j’ai parlÉ dans un autre endroit.”—Nouveau Voyage, tom. viii. p. 208 and 212.

He speaks in vol. ii. p. 94, of two large Indian canoes made of bois d’acajou or cedre. I am inclined to think that the acajou of the islands and the cedre of the Spaniards is the pao amarello of Pernambuco.

[130] Piso says, that its small clustering red fruit has the property of curing meat owing to its acidity and astringency.

[131] The indefatigable and all-observant, although unfeeling and brutal Labat, has also mentioned the pinham, under the name of medicinier ou pignons d’Inde, and he gives a print of it. His account of the plant is elaborate, and he speaks of three kinds. Of that of which I have treated, he says, “Sa fleur n’a rien de beau. Elle ne vient jamais seule, mais en bouquets composez de plusieurs fleurons d’un blanc sale tirant sur le verd. Chaque fleuron est composÉ de cinq feuilles en maniere d’etoile, qui font comme un cul de lampe arrondi avec un col plus resserrÉ et terminÉ par l’extrÉmitÉ des feÜilles qui se renversent en dehors. Le fond du fleuron est garni et comme renfermÉ entre cinq petites feuilles. C’est du centre de ces fleurs que l’on voit sortir le fruit; ordinairement il est de la grosseur d’une noix commune d’Europe.” He says again (after speaking of its purgative quality, which it likewise possesses with that of provoking vomiting) alluding to the separation of each seed into two parts, “Lorsqu’elle est recente, elle se partage naturellement en deux parties, entre lesquelles on trouve une petite pellicule À qui on attribÜe une qualitÉ de purger plus violemment qu’a tout le reste de la noix.” My old woman said, that the pinham should not be given, unless the person who prepared it was well acquainted with it, because a certain part of the seed was dangerous; but she would not shew me where the dangerous substance was to be found. Labat continues, saying that four or five of the seeds are a proper dose as a purge, “mais quand on en prend une plus grande quantitÉ, on s’expose À des vomissemens cruels et À des Évacuations trop grandes.” He mentions a fact which is curious. In speaking of Europeans having oftentimes eaten of this nut without being acquainted with its properties, he says, “une rÉgle gÉnÉrale qu’il faut observer a l’egard des fruits qu’on ne connoÎt point est de n’y point toucher À moins qu’on ne voye q’ils out ÉtÉ bequetez par les oiseaux.”—Nouveau Voyage, tom. iii. p. 300, 301, and 302.

In Piso, p. 83, an account will be found of the Munduy-guacu, Lusitanis Pinhoes do Brasil, ejusque usu in medicina.

I have perhaps quoted too copiously in writing an account of those plants which Labat has described, but I must have followed so nearly what he has said, that my description might have been supposed to have had his for its basis. Perhaps these plants need not have been described at all, but to some readers a confirmation of what other travellers have said may afford satisfaction.

[132] History of Brazil, vol. i. p. 466.

[133] The following story was current at Conception, and I knew all the persons of whom it was related. A young man was intimate in a family of a rank inferior to his own, and he frequently made presents to several individuals of it, which was generally thought strange, as it did not contain any young female. Therefore to account for this predilection, it was reported, that the good old woman to whom he was so kind, possessed a small image of St. Antonio, which was concealed in a bit of old cloth; and it had several scraps of ribbons and I know not what else, tied to its neck, legs and arms; and with this she was said to perform certain mysterious rites, which secured the continuance of the young man’s affection towards herself and family.

[134] When I resided at Jaguaribe, I was once standing by and hearing the conversation of a man and woman, who were laughing and joking upon several subjects; but I was more particularly amused when the man answered to something that had been mentioned, saying, “I will ask Our Lady of the Conception.” The woman replied, “But she will not grant what you ask;” he then said, “Well, I will then apply to Our Lady of the O.”—Thus entirely forgetting that the same person is intended under another name.

[135] “Em negocio de branco, negro nam se mete.”

[136] “Morra e deixe de bobagems.”

[137] “A sua gente he mais sabida que a nossa.”

[138] “Dizem, que Vm. he muito santo.”

[139] Labat, in the Voyage du Chevalier des Marchais, a Cayenne, &c. vol. iii. p. 253, gives an account of the bees which corresponds in some respects with mine. He says, “Elles n’ont point d’aiguillon, ou il est si foible qu’il ne peut entamer l’Épiderme aussi sans prÉparation et sans crainte on les prend a pleines mains sans en ressentir autre incommoditÉ qu’un leger chatouillement.”—I do not think those of Pernambuco would be found to be quite so harmless.

[140] I have seen a print in BarlÆus representing this channel as still being open, and the fort situated upon an island which it almost entirely covers.

[141] I have been much blamed by one of my friends for not having eaten of the flesh of the jacarÈ; and indeed I felt a little ashamed of my squeamishness, when I was shown by the same friend, a passage in a French writer, whose name I forget, in which he speaks favourably of this flesh. However, if the advocate for experimental eating had seen an alligator cut into slices, he would, I think, have turned from the sight as quickly as I did. The Indians eat these creatures, but the negroes will not, no not even the gabam negroes who are said to be cannibals.

[142] In making use of the word Brazil, it must be understood that I mean to denote that portion of the country which I have had opportunities of seeing. The agriculture of the provinces of Rio de Janeiro and Bahia is doubtless in a more forward state than that of Pernambuco and the line of coast to Maranham.

[143] I insert here a description of a machine for rooting up the stumps of trees, by Cit. Saint Victor, member of the Society of Agriculture, for the department of the Seine.

“It consists of a bar of forged iron, about two feet eight inches long, one inch thick towards the handle, and of two inches towards the breech or platform. The platform, which is circular, is fourteen inches in diameter. This platform serves as the base of the chamber or furnace of the mine, which is three inches in diameter, and three inches eight lines in the length of its bore. The stopper or tampion, which serves as a plug to the mine, is of the same diameter, to enter within after a slight paper or wadding. It is attached by a chain to the gun or mortar, which last is eight inches in diameter. About two inches above is added a small touch-hole and pan. The hole is directed in an angle of forty-five degrees, and is primed with powder to communicate with the charge with which the chamber is filled up to the stopper. This engine may be cast even with more facility in brass or bronze, and in this case it must be a little thicker in all its dimensions, in order to afford a resistance equal to that of the forged iron.”

“USE OF THE MACHINE.”

“When the machine is charged with powder, a small excavation is made with a pick-axe, in the centre of the stump. The machine is then placed in it, so that the plug immediately touches the wood. Care must be taken to fill all the vacancies, either with stones or pieces of iron or wood, more especially beneath the platform of the machine, in order that the explosion of the powder may have its full effect on the stump, of which, if necessary, the principal roots should first be cut if any appear on the surface of the ground near the stump that is to be eradicated.”

“When the machine is firmly fixed in its place, the priming is put into the pan, a slow match applied, the length of which is sufficient to allow time to retire to a proper distance from the explosion.”—Journal of Natural Philosophy, &c. by W. Nicholson, vol. iv. p. 243 to 245.

In Pernambuco the only means of rooting up the stumps which is known, is that of digging deep trenches round about them.

[144] Labat says, that in clearing lands, it is not necessary to take up the stumps of the trees, unless they are those des bois mols dont les souches poussent des rejettons; now in Brazil, almost all the trees that have been cut down put forth shoots.

[145] It has been discontinued of late years by some persons, and I have heard it said, that the ratoon canes do not grow so well; but that the land requires to be laid down for a much shorter period.

[146] Labat says, “Les terres neuves grasses et fortes fournissent abondamment de la nourriture aux souches, et les entretiennent pendant quinze et vingt ans et plus, sans qu’on s’apperÇoive d’aucune diminution, ni dans l’abondance, ni dans la bontÉ, ni dans la grandeur, ni dans la grosseur, des rejettons;” and he even says that the stumps “conduisent plutÔt leurs rejettons À une parfaite maturitÉ, pourvÛs qu’on ait soin de rechausser les souches,” &c.—Nouveau Voyage &c. tom. iii. p. 368.

I had previously read the following passage in another work, “Dans les plantations situÉes au bord du Demerari on fait trente recoltes successives de sucre sans transplanter les cannes, &c.—Voyage a la Guiane &c.” p. 222.

As this work is of doubtful reputation, I should not have cited any statement which was made in it unless I was myself aware of its correctness, or unless the fact was mentioned by other writers; but when Labat speaks of the same thing, there must be some foundation for the statement.

[147] Labat says, “Toutes les terres, en un mot qui sont neuves, c’est-À-dire qui n’ont jamais ÉtÉ planteÉs, ni semÉes, dans lesquelles on met des cannes aussi-tÔt qu’on a abbatu les arbres qui les couvroient, portent des cannes trÉs grosses et en quantitÉ, remplis de beaucoup de suc, mais gras, crud, peu sucrÉ, trÉs difficile À cuire et À purifier. Je me suis trouvÉ quelquefois dans ces circonstances et particulierement À la Guadeloupe, ou ayant fait dÉfricher une terre neuve, À plus d’une lieÜe du bord de la mer, et l’ayant plantÉe en cannes c’etoit quelque chose de surprenant de voir le nombre, la grosseur et la hauteur de ces cannes, lorsqu’elles n’avoient encore que six mois; cependant je les fis couper a cet Âge, et aprÈs que j’eus retirÉ ce dont j’avois besoin pour planter, je fis faire de l’eau-de-vie du reste, et je fis mettre le feu au terrain pour consumer les pailles, dont la pourriture n’auroit servi qu’À augmenter la graisse de la terre. Quatorze mois aprÉs cette coupe, je fis employer en sucre blanc les rejettons qui Étoient crÛs, dont la bontÉ repondit parfaitement À la beautÉ, qui ne pouvoit Être plus grande.”—Nouveau Voyage &c. tom. iii. p. 339.

His account of this affair still continues, but I have transcribed the more important part of it.

The master of the grammar school at Itamaraca, told me that he acted in the same manner with respect to a quantity of cane which he once planted upon a piece of land that was afterwards cultivated by me; he was satisfied that this was the better plan, when the land is in the state which Labat describes; but the people in general thought that he was mad, until crop time came, and then they changed their opinion.

In another work Labat says, “le terrain nouvellement dÉfrichÉ, Étant naturellement gras et humide, et sa situation le rendant encore aqueux, les cannes qu’il produit, sont À la vÉritÉ grosses, grandes, pleines de suc; mais ce suc est gras et aqueux; il est par consÉquent plus long À cuire, plus difficile À purifier, de sorte qu’il faudra abbatre et mettre au moulin plus de cannes, purifier et cuire plus de jus ou de suc pour faire une barrique de sucre, qu’il n’en faut À la Martinique pour en faire quatre.”—Voyage du Chevalier des Marchais a Cayenne, &c. tom. iii. 204. In the little experience which I had, I was surprised to find an increase or decrease in the quantity of the product of the same number of cart loads of cane from different quarters of the plantation; but my mind was then too much occupied to allow me to look for the cause of this.

At the time that Labat wrote his account of the French portion of the Columbian islands, (from 1693 to 1705) they were in a state which resembled much that of Brazil in the present day; that is, the colonists were forming establishments and clearing lands; agriculture was in a rude state, and as sugar colonies were then, comparatively speaking, new things, improvements were daily striking the thinking men who went out to those places; for it was a subject to which intellect was at that time turned. The system in the Columbian islands has now been much benefited, by the advanced state of the mother countries which possess them; and the communication between the islands belonging to the several powers which rule them, has led them to adopt and to profit by each other’s inventions and ideas. But Brazil has been left to its own resources; no interest has been taken in its concerns from without, nor has any regard been paid to the mental advancement of the people belonging to it, so that it cannot be wondered at that the country should have made very little progress. However the similarity of the state of the French islands in the time of Labat, to that of Brazil at the present day, and his powers of observation, induce me to think that some of his remarks may be useful in the latter country, although they may be out of date in the places of which he wrote. Thus much I say, as a reason for making frequent notes from him.

[148] Labat speaks of seeing canes planted down to the water’s edge at Guadaloupe; he says that he tasted the juice of some of them, and found it to be rather brackish; “d’oÙ il Étoit aisÉ de conclure que le sucre brut qu’on en feroit, pourroit Être beau, comme il l’etoit en effet en tout le quartier du grand cul-de-sac, mais qu’il seroit difficile de rÉussir en sucre blanc, comme il est arrivÉ.”—Nouveau Voyage, &c. tom. iii. p.71.

[149] Besides the usual mode of holing, Mr. Edwards mentions the following method; “the planter instead of stocking up his ratoons, and holing and planting the land anew, suffers the stoles to continue in the ground and contents himself, as his cane fields become thin and impoverished, by supplying the vacant spaces with fresh plants.”—History of the West Indies, vol. ii. p. 207.

[150] A plough drawn by two oxen, constructed after a model which was brought from Cayenne, has been introduced in one or two instances.

[151] The passages in this chapter which are marked as being quotations, are taken from Edwards’ History of the West Indies. I mention this, once for all, to save room and trouble.

[152] The author of the Nouveau Voyage &c. tom. iii. p. 218. mentions having covered the claying house belonging to a mill, the property of his Order, with the tops of the sugar cane. I never saw this practised in Brazil, and indeed Labat says, that they were not commonly put to this purpose in the parts of which he writes. He says, that a species of reed was usually employed. In Brazil there is a kind of grass which answers the purpose, and is durable; and this quality, Labat says, that the cane tops possess; however in Brazil the leaves of the coco and of other palms are generally used.

Although it was the general custom to employ the cane tops for planting, Labat objects to them from his own authority, upon the score of these not possessing sufficient strength to yield good canes. The same opinion is general in Pernambuco.

[153] Labat lays great stress upon the ripeness of the canes. “Il faut donc observer avant que de couper les cannes quel est leur degrÉ de perfection et de maturitÉ plutÔt que leur Âge,” &c.—Nouveau Voyage, &c. tom. iii. p. 353.

But when a plantation has a large crop, it is absolutely impossible to attend so particularly to the ripeness as he inculcates; some of the cane must be ground unripe, and other parts of the field cannot be cut until after the proper time.

[154] The French friar complains of the rats, and says that there was in his time a chasseur de rats upon every estate. He says that he made his chasseur bring the rats that were caught to him; and he desired to have the whole rat, for if the heads or tails only came, the bodies were eaten by the negroes, which he wished to prevent, as he thought that this food brought on consumption. I know that the negroes in Brazil eat every rat which they can catch, and I do not see why they should not be well tasted and wholesome food, for they feed on sugar-cane and mandioc. I cannot refrain from transcribing the following statement: “Il y a des habitans qui se contentent que le preneur de rats leur en apporte les quËues ou les tÊtes. C’est une mauvaise methode, parce que les preneurs voisins s’accordent ensemble et portent les quËues d’un cÔtÉ et les tÊtes d’autre, afin de profiter de la recompense que les maÎtres donnent, sans se mettre beaucoup en peine de tendre les attrapes.”—Nouveau Voyage, &c., tom. iii. p. 358.

[155] “Dorminhoco como negro de Engenho,”—as sleepy as the negro of a sugar-mill, is a common proverb.

[156] In a few instances the “upright iron plated rollers” used in the Columbian islands have been erected. These have been sent from England, and are much approved of, particularly for mills that have the advantage of being turned by water.

[157] Labat says, speaking of the same dreadful kind of accident, “Ce qui pourroit arriver si la largeur des Établis ni les en empÊchoit;” he also mentions the necessity of having “sur le bout de la table une serpe sans bec bien affilÉe, pour s’en servir au besoin.”—Nouveau Voyage, &c. tom. iii. p. 406 and 407.

[158] The author of the Noveau Voyage, &c. says, the Portugueze, when they first established themselves in Brazil, and indeed even at the present time, (1696) in some places make use of mills for grinding the sugar cane similar to those of Normandy, “pour briser les pommes À faire le cidre, et dont on se sert aux pÄis ou il y a des oliviers, pour Écraser les olives.”—tom iii. p. 428.

I never heard of any description of mill being employed at the present day, excepting that which is in general use.

[159] In the French islands the liquor was passed through a cloth when conveyed from the first cauldron into the second: of the trough I find no mention.—Nouveau Voyage, &c. tom. iv. p. 24.

[160] In the Voyage du Chevalier des Marchais a Cayenne, &c. I find that “le sucre sÉchÉ au soleil est toujours plus susceptible d’humiditÉ, que celui qui a ÉtÉ bien sÉchÉ dans une bonne Étuve.” tom. iii. p. 205.

In the fourth volume of the Nouveau Voyage, p. 106 to 110, is a description of an oven for drying clayed sugars; this would be interesting to Brazilian readers, but it is too long to excuse insertion before a British public.

[161] The long improved ovens, such as are used in the Columbians islands, are beginning to be introduced.

[162] The following method of preparing the temper will be useful in the country of which I am treating, and therefore I think I may be permitted to insert it, although it is long.

“Le barril À lessive Étant posÉ sur la sellette ou sur un trÉpied, on en bouche le trou avec une quantitÉ de paille longue et entiere, aprÉs quoi on y met une couche composÉe des herbes suivantes, aprÉs les avoir broyÉes entre ses mains, et aprÉs les avoir hachÉes.

“Herbes À blÉ; c’est une herbe qui croÎt par touffes comme le blÉ qui est levÉ depuis deux ou trois mois, et À qui elle ressemble beaucoup. On arrache la touffe entiere avec sa racine qui est fort petite.

“La seconde se nomme herbe À pique. Cette plante a une tige droite de la grosseur d’un tuyau de plume d’oye et de la hauteur de quinze À dix-huit pouces. Son extrÉmitÉ porte une feÜille comme celle de l’ozeille pour la couleur et pour la consistance, mais qui ressemble entiÉrement au fer d’une pique.

“La troisiÉme est la mal-nommÉe. C’est une petite herbe dÉliÉe, fine et frizÉe À peu prÈs comme les cheveux des nÉgres.

“On met ces trois sortes d’herbes par portion Égale, avec quelques feÜilles et quelques morceaux de lianne brÛlante. Cette lianne est une espÉce de lierre, dont la feÜille est plus tendre, plus mince et les bois plus spongieux que le lierre d’Europe. On Écrase un peu le bois et les feÜilles, avant que de les mettre dans le barril. C’est avec ces quatre sortes d’herbes qu’on garnit le fond du barril jusqu’ À trois pouces de hauteur; on les couvre d’un lit de cendre de pareille Épaisseur, et l’on choisit la cendre faite du meilleur bois qu’on ait brÛlÉ, comme sont le chataignier, le bois rouge, le bois caraibe, le raisinier, l’oranger ou autres bois durs, dont les cendres et les charbons sont remplis de beaucoup de sel. On met sur cette couche de cendre une couche de chaux vive de mÊme Épaisseur, et sur celle-ci une autre couche des mÊmes herbes, ausquelles on ajoÛte une ou deux cannes d’inde ou de seguine bÂtarde, amorties au feu, et coupÉes par ruelles de l’Épaisseur d’un ecu. Cette plante vient sur le bord des eaux marÉcageuses, sa tige est ronde d’un pouce ou environ de diamÉtre; sa peau est fort mince et fort verte; le dedans est blanc, assez compacte, et rempli d’une liqueur extrÉmement mordicante, qui fait une vilaine tache, et ineffaÇable sur le linge et sur les Étoffes oÙ elle tombe. Sa feÜille est tout-a-fait semblable pour la figure À celle de la porÉe ou bette, mais elle est plus verte et plus lisse, et ses fibres ne se distinguent presque pas; on ne les met point dans la lessive. Toutes ces herbes sont extrÉmement corrosives et mordicantes. On remplit ainsi le barril de cendre, de chaux, et d’herbes, par lits jusqu’À ce qu’il soit plein, et on le termine par une couche des mÊmes herbes bien broyÉes et hachÉes. Quand on se sert des cendres qui viennent de sortir des fourneaux, et qui sont encore toutes brÛlantes, on remplit le barril avec de l’eau froide; mais lorsque les cendres sont froides, on fait boÜiller l’eau avant que de la mettre dans le barril. On met un pot ou un autre vaisseau sous le trou qui est bouchÉ de paille, pour recevoir l’eau qui en dÉgoÛte, que l’on remet dans le barril, et que l’on fait passer sur le marc qu’il contient, jusqu’À ce que cette lessive devienne si forte que la mettant sur la langue avec le bout du doigt, on ne puisse pas l’y souffrir, et qu’elle jaunisse le doigt, comme si c’Étoit de l’eau forte.”—Nouveau Voyage, tom. iv. p. 33 to 35.

[163] A few of the more wealthy planters have sent for large stills from England, and have, of course, found their infinite superiority over those in common use.

Even in the time of Labat, his countrymen were much before the Pernambucan planters respecting the arrangement of the still-houses. They had copper stills.

[164] The alvarÀ was passed the 21st January, 1809. One to the same effect had been passed on the 22d September, 1758, for the captaincy of Rio de Janeiro; this was extended to other captaincies, at first as a temporary law, but it was afterwards several times renewed; and it was at last allowed to be in force in all the ultra-marine dominions of Portugal, by the alvarÀ of the 6th July, 1807. However as there were some restrictions attached to this law, that of 1809 was passed. By this last, in the first place, executions cannot be made upon sugar estates which are in a working state and do work regularly, and that have under cultivation that quantity of ground which is requisite for the carrying on of the work of the mill, and for the support of the slaves; executions can only be carried into effect upon one third of the net produce of such plantations; the other two thirds being left for the expences of cultivation, and for the administration, that is, for the support of the owner.

Secondly. Executions can however be made if the debt is equal to or above the value of the estate; but the whole of the slaves, the cattle, the lands, and the implements belonging to the engenho must form one valuation, nor can they be separated; but they must all be taken as parts of the engenho.

Thirdly. If there are more debts than one, and these together make up the sum which may cause the plantation to be subject to execution, still some law proceedings must be entered into, by which these several debts may be placed in such a form as to be considered as one debt. Thus the government does those things which ought not to be done, and leaves undone those things which ought to be done.

[165] “Qu’ils (les cabrouettiers) ayent soin, quand il est nÉcessaire de leur faire Ôter les barbes, qui sont certaines excrescences de chair, qui leur viennent sous la langue, qui les empÊchent de paÎtre. Car les boefs ne coupent pas l’herbe avec les dents comme les chevaux, ils ne font que l’entortiller avec la langue et l’arracher; mais quand ils ont ces excrescences, qui leur causent de la douleur, ils ne peuvent appliquer leur langue autour de l’herbe et deviennent maigres et sans force.”—Nouveau Voyage, &c. tom iv. p. 179.

Of this disorder I never heard, but there is one to which horses as well as horned cattle are subject; it is produced by the animals feeding upon fields of which the grass is very short. The flesh grows from the roots of the teeth towards their edges, and at last renders it impossible for the beasts to eat.

[166] The following is a statement of the number of cases of sugar exported from Pernambuco, from the year 1808 to 1813.

I obtained it from my friend Mr. I. C. Pagen, who resided at Recife during a considerable portion of the time.

[167] I have seen some fine cotton shrubs at the distance of one or two leagues, and even less, from the sea coast; but the attempts that have been made to cultivate it to any extent in such situations, have not, from what I have seen and heard, met with the desired success. Might not the Sea-Island seed be sent for, and a trial of it made? The Pernambuco cotton is superior to that of every other part, excepting the small quantity which is obtained from those islands.

Bolingbroke, in his “Voyage to the Demerary,” says that “On the sea coast the British settlers also commenced the culture of cotton, and found that land to answer much better than the soil up the river.”—In Phillips’ Collection, &c. p. 81.

The cotton of the settlements upon the part of South America of which he writes, is very inferior to that of Pernambuco.

In the Third Report of the Directors of the African Institution, p. 23, I find it stated, that “the saline air of the sea-shore, which generally destroys coffee, is favourable to cotton;” at p. 27, it is said that cotton never fails to degenerate “when it has been propagated in the same ground for many years without a change of seed.”

[168] I have heard that the seeds would form a very good food for cattle, if they could be completely freed from all particles of wool; here lies the difficulty.

[169] In Labat’s time these machines were likewise worked by the feet of the person who was employed in thrusting the cotton against the rollers.

[170] Mr. Edwards calls the species of the cotton plant which is cultivated in the Columbian islands, the common Jamaica, of which “the staple is coarse but strong.” It is difficult to clean, owing to the brittleness of the seeds. It is strange, as Mr. Edwards remarks, that the British cotton planters should be acquainted with species of the shrub which produce finer wool, and yet continue to rear this inferior quality.

[171] The following is a statement of the export of cotton from Pernambuco, from the year 1808 to 1813. It was furnished to me by my friend Mr. I. C. Pagen, who resided at Recife during a considerable part of the time.

From this it would appear that in saying, at chapter 1st, that the export from thence at the present time is between 80,000 and 90,000 bags annually, I have over-rated the real number. But it will be seen that the increase has been considerable from 1812 to 1813, and I know that it still continues to increase as rapidly, if not more so.

[172] Edwards’ History of the West-Indies.

[173] History of Brazil, vol. i. p. 233.

[174] Mr. Southey says, “When the mandioc failed, what was called stick flour (in Portugueze farinha de pao) was made from the wood of the Urucuri-iba, which they cut in pieces and bruised; and this being less liable to corrupt than the mandioc, is now generally used in the Brazilian ships.” vol. i. p. 233. The farinha de pao which is at present used in these ships, is made from the mandioc, and the name of stick-flour is by no means inapposite; for it always requires to be picked before it is used, to take out the bits of the husk and of the hardened fibres of the root which may chance to remain. But the name may have, and most probably did, commence with the stick-flour of the Urucuri-iba; and when the substance from which it was made was changed, the name still continued. I refer the reader to the History of Brazil for a farther account of the mandioc.

[175] Du Tertre gives three remedies for those who have drank of the juice. “Le premier que j’ay veu pratiquer heureusement c’est de boire de l’huile d’olive avec de l’eau tiede, ce qui fait vomir tout ce qu’on a pris; le second qui est tres-assurÉ est de boire quantitÉ de suc d’ananas, avec quelques goutes de jus de citron; mais sur tous les remedes, le suc de l’herbe aux couleuvres, dont tous les arbres de ces isles sont revÊtus, est le souverain antidote, non seulement contre ce mal, mais encore contre toute sorte de venin.”—Histoire des Antilles, &c. tom. ii. p. 118.

Labat does not believe in the virtue of the herbe de couleuvres in this case.

[176] Du Tertre speaks of the savages making use in their dishes of l’eau de manyoc.—Histoire des Antilles, &c. tom. ii. p. 389.

“Nos sauvages qui en mettent (the juice of the mandioc) dans toutes leurs sauces n’en sont jamais incommodez parce qu’ils ne s’en servent jamais que quand il a boÜilli.”—Nouveau Voyage, &c. tom. i, p. 400.

Likewise in the “Voyage a la Guiane,” p. 101, “Le suc de manioc cet instrument de mort devient, travaillÉ par les creoles de Cayenne, une sauce appÉtissante et salutaire.”

“The juice is boiled with meat and seasoned, and makes excellent soup, which is termed casserepo, and used in pepper-pot and sauces.”—Voyage to the Demerary, &c. by H. Bolingbroke, p. 149.

Dr. Pinckard mentions having tasted in the colony of Demerary of the juice of the cassada prepared as sauce.—Notes on the West-Indies, vol. ii. p. 257.

During the famine of 1793, the people of Pernambuco made use of the juice as food; but in times of plenty it is regarded as being unfit for any purpose. It is by evaporation that it loses its poisonous qualities.

[177] Du Tertre speaks of a species of harmless mandioc, which is called Kamanioc, and he adds, that it is assez rare.—Histoire des Antilles, &c. tom. ii. p. 114.

Labat likewise speaks of the Camanioc, “comme qui diroit le chef des maniocs. En effet son bois, ses feÜilles et ses racines sont plus grandes et plus grosses que les autres maniocs. Mais comme il est beaucoup plus long tems À crÔitre et À mÛrir, et que ses racines rendent beaucoup moins de farine parce qu’elles sont plus legÉres et plus spongieuses que les autres, on le neglige et peu de gens en plantent.”—Nouveau Voyage, &c. tom. i. p. 411.

It is not only the root of the macaxeira which is smaller, but the plant is, I think, altogether smaller than the other species.

Barrere, in the Nouvelle Relation de la France Equinoxiale, p. 61, speaks of the harmless species under the name of maniok sauvage.

[178] Barrere says, speaking of Cayenne, “Les Creoles prÉferent encore au meilleur pain du monde la cassave qu’elles mange rarement sÉche; car elles la font toujours tremper dans l’eau ou dans quelque sauce: c’est sans doute cette nourriture qui leur donne cette couleur pÂle, et qui fait qu’elles n’ont point de coloris.” I am afraid he does not look quite far enough for the want of colour in the ladies of Cayenne.

Then again, he says, “On ne mange que trÉs rarement a Cayenne, ou pour mieux dire, presque jamais de la Coaque, qui est la nourriture ordinaire des Portugais de ParÀ, du Maragnan, et des peuples, qui sont sur les rivages du fleuve des Amazones.” He describes the coaque; and it is clearly the farinha, but he does not explain how the cassave was made, of which the creole ladies were so fond, and which did them so much mischief.

He says afterwards, “Les Indiens Portugais, quand ils veulent prendre leurs repas, ils mettent une poignÉe de coaque dans le creux de la main, qui leur sert d’assiette; et de lÀ ils la font sauter adroitement dans la bouche; l’on boit par dessus une bonne coÜye d’eau et de boisson; et voila leur repas pris.”—Nouvelle Relation de la France Equinoxiale, p. 55, and 56.

This mode of eating and the abstemiousness of the repast are both common in Brazil to all casts of people. With respect to the cassave, I cannot comprehend what he means. But, contrary to his notion, to eat farinha in the manner that he mentions quite dry, although it is done by most people, is not reckoned wholesome. In fact, it is one of the duties of a feitor or manager to see that the negroes do not make their meals with dry farinha, but he should see that they make piram; this is done by mixing the flour with boiling water or gravy. The negroes do not dislike piram, but they are sometimes too idle or too much fatigued to take the trouble of cooking their victuals; and therefore they eat the farinha dry, and their salt meat with it, after having smoke-dried the latter upon a wooden skewer. The disorder which is said to proceed from constantly eating dry farinha is the dropsy. The flour of the mandioc swells considerably when it is moistened: if the expansion takes place in the stomach it may be injurious, and this may perhaps afford some reason for the opinion of the Brazilians upon the subject.

[179] Du Tertre mentions the same practice,—of steeping the mandioc, and says that the savages were in the habit “de la sÉcher au soleil et l’ecorce s’ostant d’elle-mesme, ils pillent le manyoc dans un mortier, pour le reduire en farine, qu’ils mangent sans autre cuisson.”—Histoire des Antilles, &c. tom. ii. p. 114.

Labat says, that the maroon negroes used to prepare it in the two following ways. “C’est de la couper par morceaux, et de le mettre tremper dans l’eau courante des rivieres ou des ravines pendant sept ou huit heures. Le movement de l’eau ouvre les pores de la racine et entraÎne ce trop de substance. La seconde maniere est de le mettre cuire tout entier sous la braise. L’action du feu met ses parties en mouvement et on le mange comme on fait des chataignes ou des patates sans aucune crainte.”—Nouveau Voyage, &c. tom. i. p. 410.

I think the said negroes must have been accustomed by degrees to eating the mandioc in this manner. I should not be willing to recommend either of these ways of cooking it.

[180] “Les Espanhols en font des tasses pour prendre le chocolat. J’en ai vÛ de trÈs belles bien travaillÉes, cizelÉes, enrichies d’argent sur un pied d’argent, et d’ autres sur un pied fait d’un autre morceau de cocos bien cizelÉ.”—Nouveau Voyage, &c. tom. iii. p. 273.

[181] “On prÉtend que l’arbre est autant d’annÉes À rapporter du fruit, qu’il a ÉtÉ de mois en terre, avant de pousser son germe.”—Nouveau Voyage, &c. tom. iii. p. 267.

Labat does not however vouch for the truth of the statement. He speaks of the cabbage of the coco-tree being very good; and I agree with him. A coco-tree was cut down at Itamaraca, and the vicar sent me the cabbage of which several dishes were made, and they were excellent.

[182] Vide Appendix for a further account of the coco-tree.

[183] Labat was a most determined experimental eater, and therefore I was not surprised at meeting with the following expression of regret, “Je suis fachÉ de n’avoir pas expÉrimentÉ pendant que j’Étois aux isles, si cette huile ne seroit pas bonne À manger.”—Nouveau Voyage, &c. tom. iii. p. 283. I wish he had.

[184] Mr. Clarkson, in his work on the Impolicy of the Slave Trade, p. 13 and 14, mentions that a small billet was brought to England from the coast of Africa among a parcel of bar-wool; that “it was found to produce a colour that emulated the carmine, and was deemed to be so valuable in the dying trade, that an offer was immediately made of sixty guineas per ton for any quantity that could be procured.”

[185] History of Brazil, vol. i. p. 19.

[186] Labat is much enraged, in his work of the Voyage du Chevalier des Marchais a Cayenne, &c. at the idea of the Portugueze monopolizing the trade in Brazil wood, by persuading all the world that the only true wood came from Pernambuco, or Fernambourg, as he calls it. He imagines that the Brazil is the same as the logwood.

[187] The long banana or plantain appears to be of much more importance in Demarary and the adjoining colonies, for Mr. Bolingbroke says, “This coast (between the Essequibo and Pomaroon rivers) possesses a considerable advantage over the other sea-coasts, from its being able to rear any quantity of plantains.”—Voyage to the Demarary, &c. p. 115; and at p. 87, he speaks of the same fruit being the “negroes’ chief food.”

Labat mentions a means of rendering the banana serviceable in travelling; and as the ingredients of his receipt are all of them good, the mixture must, I should imagine, be likewise good, and therefore I insert it for the benefit of those who may, as I have been, be much in want of something palatable, when crossing the SearÁ-Meirim. “Ceux qui veulent faire cette pÂte avec plus de soin, font d’abord sÉcher les bananes au four ou au soleil, puis ils les gragent, ils y mÊlent ensuite du sucre pilÉ, avec un peu de poudre de canelle, de gÉroffle et de gingembre, tant soit peu de farine et un blanc d’oeuf pour lier toutes ces choses ensemble, aprÈs qu’elles ont ÉtÉ paitries avec un peu d’eau de fleur d’orange.”—Nouveau Voyage, &c. tom. iii. p. 314. Fewer ingredients might be made use of.

Du Tertre says of the banana, “Quand on le coupe on voit une belle croix imprimeÉ sur chaque tronÇon; c’est qui a fait croire À plusieurs que ce fruit est le mÊme qu’Adam mangea dans le Paradis terrestre,” &c.—Histoire des Antilles, &c. tom. ii. p. 140.

Labat speaks of the same story, but adds, “Adam pouvoit avoir meilleure vÛË que nous, ou la croix de ces bananes Étoit mieux formÉe.”—Nouveau Voyage, &c. tom iii. p. 307. I was once desired by a Brazilian woman of colour to cut the banana lengthways, and not across, for by the latter manner of dividing the fruit, I should cut the Cruz de Nosso Senhor, Our Saviour’s Cross.

[188] Labat says, that “la patate est une espece de pomme de terre que approche assez de ce qu’on appelle en France les Taupinambours.”—Nouveau Voyage, &c. tom. ii. p. 400.

Du Tertre says, “Lorsque les ouragans ont tant de fois ravagÉ les manyocs de nos isles, on a toujours eu recours aux patates, sans lesquelles bien du monde auroit pery de faim.” And again, “Tous les matins, c’est une coustume generale par toutes les isles de faire cuyre plein une chaudiere de patates pour dejeÛner.”—Histoire des Antilles, &c. tom. ii. p. 118 and 119.

[189] Labat says, in speaking of cacao, “On ne manque jamais de planter du manioc en mÊme tems qu’on met les amandes en terre.” This is done for the purpose of defending the plant from the sun. “On arrache le manioc au bout de douze ou quinze mois”—“et sur le champ on en plante d’autres, mais en moindre quantitÉ, c’est a dire, qu’on ne met qu’un rang de fosses au milieu des allÉes;” and he recommends that the water-melon, the common melon, and such like plants should be sown between the mandioc and the cacao-trees.—Nouveau Voyage, &c. tom. vi. p. 397 and 398.

[190] Labat is angry at a notion which was entertained in his time by some people, that the black Ipecacuanha was only to be found near to the gold mines in the interior of Rio de Janeiro. He speaks of a third species of Ipecacuanha, which he distinguishes by the epithet of gris, and he likewise mentions the white kind; both of these, he says, answer the same purpose as the black, but a larger dose is required.—Nouveau Voyage, &c. tom. vi. p. 29.

[191] “Vieyra, in his letters, mentions a received tradition that Emanuel ordered all the spice plants to be rooted up, lest the Indian trade should be injured, and that ginger was the only spice which escaped, because it was under-ground. He does not appear to have recollected the impossibility of carrying such an order into effect upon a continent.”—History of Brazil, vol. i, note to p. 32. Dr. Arruda alludes to this order in his Discurso sobre a utilidade da instituiÇam de jardims, &c. And he adds that a few cinnamon trees at Pernambuco escaped as well as the ginger, p. 8.

[192] “On one article, guinea-grains or malagueta-pepper, the duty has been doubled; not with a view of increasing the revenue, but of operating as a prohibition of the use of it, as it is supposed to have been extensively employed in the brewing of malt-liquor. The Directors however have great reason to doubt the existence of the deleterious qualities ascribed to this drug; as they find it to be universally esteemed in Africa one of the most wholesome of spices, and generally used by the natives to season their food.”—Fourth Report of the Directors of the African Institution, p. 16.

If this article and the malagueta of Brazil are the same, I should be strongly inclined to agree with the Report; and indeed I conceive that it is not only harmless but extremely wholesome. A decoction of the pods is used among the peasantry as an injection in aguish disorders.

[193] Noticias MSS. quoted by Mr. Southey, History of Brazil, vol. i. p. 320.

[194] Labat says, “a l’Égard du thÉ, il croÎt naturellement aux isles. Toutes les terres lui sont propres, j’en ai vÛ en quantitÉ À la Basseterre.” &c.—Nouveau Voyage, &c. tom. iv. p. 225.

He mentions it again, and seems to be quite confident that the plant of which he speaks is the tea shrub.

[195] “Il faut que les graines se naturalisent au pays, et quand cela est fait elles produisent a merveille. J’ai experimentÉ qu’ayant sÉmÉ des pois qui venoient de France, ils rapportoient trÉs peu, les seconds rapportoient davantage, mais le troisiÉmes produisoient d’une maniere extraordinaire pour le nombre, la grosseur et la bonte.”—Nouveau Voyage, &c. tom. i. p. 367.

[196] Du Tertre speaks of the same occurring in the Columbian Islands.

[197] Again Labat, “On employe le suc des oranges aigres avec un succÈs merveilleux et infaillible À guerir les ulcÉres quelque vieux et opiniÁtres qu’ils puissent Être.”—Nouveau Voyage, &c. tom. iii. p. 254.

The orange is cut into two pieces, and is rubbed violently upon the sore.

[198] History of Brazil, vol. i. p. 216.

[199] This was not the case at one time in the French islands. “Quand quelque commandeur abuse d’une negre, l’enfant mulastre qui en vient est libre, et le pere est obligÉ de le nourrir et de l’entretenir jusqu’a l’age de douze ans, sans l’amende À laquelle il est encore condamnÉ.”—Histoire des Antilles &c. tom. ii. p. 460.

Labat tells us that “Le roi a fait revivre par sa Declaration la loi Romaine, qui veut que les enfans suivens le sort du ventre qui les a portez,” and this revival took place in 1674, when the king took the islands from the Companies which had held them during his pleasure.—Nouveau Voyage &c. tom. ii. p. 192.

[200] The majority of the clergy of Pernambuco, both regular and secular, are of Brazilian parentage. The governor is an European, and so are the major part of the chief officers, civil, military, and ecclesiastical; but the bishop is a Brazilian, and so is the ouvidor.

[201] Our wicked stage coach and post chaise system.

[202] The term of Senhor or Senhora is made use of to all free persons, whites, mulattos, and blacks, and in speaking to a freeman of whatever class or colour the manner of address is the same. Dr. Pinckard says, in his “Notes on the West Indies,” “the title of Mrs. seems to be reserved solely for the ladies from Europe, and the white Creoles, and to form a distinction between them and the women of colour of all classes and descriptions.”

[203] I refer the reader to Edwards’ History of the West Indies, vol. ii.

[204] “Era, porem ja nam he.”

[205] “Pois Senhor Capitam-mor pode ser mulatto?”

[206] To this statement some explanation is necessary, owing to the regulations of the Portugueze military service. Privates are sometimes raised to commissions by the intermediate steps of corporals, quarter-masters, and sergeants; these men gain their ensigncies without any relation to their birth; and though a decidedly dark coloured mulatto might not be so raised, a European of low birth would. It is to enable a man to become a cadet and then an officer without serving in the ranks, that requires nobility of birth.

[207] The son of this man is a priest.

[208] “Negro sim, porem direito.”

[209] Manumitted creole blacks are, I am nearly certain, admitted into these regiments.

[210] There was a rumour of the appointment of a white man as colonel of this regiment, and also of a white colonel for the Recife mulatto regiment; and I was asked by several individuals of these casts whether there was any truth in the report. I cannot believe any thing of this kind; the liberal policy which seems to pervade the Council of Rio de Janeiro forbids that such a report should be believed; but if this should be true, most pernicious will be the consequences, which from such a determination may be expected to proceed.

[211] The priests of the island of St. ThomÉ, upon the coast of Africa, are negroes. I have seen some of these men at Recife, who have come over for a short time. I have heard that they are prohibited from saying Mass any where excepting upon the island for which they are ordained; but I can scarcely think that this can be correct. In the Voyage du Chevalier des Marchais en GuinÉe, isles voisines et a Cayenne, I find that men of mixed blood were ordained in the islands of St. ThomÉ and Principe, and the editor of the work says, “presque tout le clergÉ de la cathedrale (of St. Thome) Étoit de cette couleur.” Vol. iii. p. 4. “L’Eglise de S. Antoine qui est la Paroisse (of Prince’s Island) est dÉservie par des prÊtres noirs ou presque noirs, c’est À dire mulÂtres.” p. 30.

I have, as is stated in the text, heard from good authority, that the law forbids the ordination of mulattos; what the practice is I am quite certain, and I hope the law may be favourable also.

[212] This word is without doubt derived from EgypÇianos; I am told that the word gitanos is also used as a name for these people.

[213] A Portugueze writer says, “When permission was given in Portugal to work upon several of the holidays, the same was not extended to Brazil from a principle of humanity, that the slaves might not be deprived of any of their days of rest.”—Correio Braziliense, for December, 1815, p. 738.

[214] In the island of Grenada “every manumission is by an act of the island, charged with a fine of one hundred pounds currency;” it is said that this law has neither operated as a productive fund nor as a prohibition.—Edwards’ History of the West-Indies, vol. i. p. 380.

At Surinam, says another writer, “Si un maÎtre voulait affranchir son esclave, outre la perte qu’il fesait de son negre, il Étoit encore obligÉ d’acheter fort cher des lettres de franchise, sans lesquelles aucun noir ne pouvait Être instruit dans la religion ChrÉtienne, ni baptisÉ.”—Voyage a la Guiane et a Cayenne en 1789, et annÉes suivantes, p. 224.

Bolingbroke says, “It is by no means an uncommon thing in these colonies for negroes when they have accumulated a sufficiency, to purchase their freedom; and I have known many instances of negroes who paid their owners a proportion of the purchase-money, and were allowed after emancipation to workout the balance.”—Voyage to the Demerary, &c. p. 65.

I give this statement, and should be happy to transcribe any other, with which I might meet in the course of reading, of the same tenor; but it must be recollected that the “Voyage to the Demerary” is decidedly written in favour of the slave trade and of slavery.

[215] The owner of a sugar plantation, with whose sons I was well acquainted, possessed a slave, who had the management of the sugar boiling house during crop time, and who was accounted by all who knew him and understood the business, to be a most excellent workman.—This man accumulated a sum of money, which he offered to his master for his freedom, but it was not accepted; and although the slave made great interest with persons of consideration in the country, he could not accomplish his end. His master loaded him with irons, and he was made to work in this state. He did not obtain his liberty till after his master’s death, when the widow received his money, and manumitted him. His trade of sugar-boiler renders him large profits yearly, and this injured man now lives in ease and comfort. This instance of refusal, and some others of which I have heard, would make me doubtful of the foundation upon which the custom of manumitting is placed, if I did not know how easily the laws relating to many other important points are evaded through the influence of wealth and power. I did not see a copy of the law or regulation on the subject, but I never met with any one who made a doubt of its existence. I never met with any one who doubted that the slave had a right to appeal, if he thought proper; whether he would be heard or not was another question.

[216] The major part of the slaves that abscond, are brought back to their owners, but some do escape, and are never afterwards heard of. They remove to some distant district and there reside as free men. Those who have once tasted of the sweets of free agency, for any length of time, even if they are brought back to their masters, scarcely ever remain longer than is requisite to seek an opportunity of eluding the vigilance of those whose business it is to watch them; they soon brave the risk of another detection. A young and handsome mulatto man of these unsettled habits once applied to me to purchase him. He had by mere accident been discovered only a short time before, by a friend of his master in the Sertam, where he had married a free woman, and had been considered as free himself. He was brought back to his master, was sold to another person, escaped, returned, and again fled, and had not, when I left the country, been heard of for a twelvemonth.

[217] The following circumstances occurred under my own observation:—A negress had brought into the world ten children, and had reared nine of them. These remained to work for their owners; the woman claimed her freedom, for the tenth child did not die until it had arrived at an age when it did not require any farther care from her; but it was refused. She was hired to a gentleman as a nurse for one of his children. This person did all in his power to obtain her freedom, but did not succeed; he purchased her, and immediately had a deed of manumission made out by a notary-public. When he returned home to dinner, he desired his wife to tell the woman that she was his slave, and in the course of the day the deed was given to her. When I left the country, her only fear was, that as she was free, her master and mistress might turn her away; thus proving, by her anxiety, how happy she was.

[218] Du Tertre says, speaking of negro baptismal festivals—“les parrains et les marraines qui sont ordinairement de FranÇois amis de leurs maitres, ne laissent pas de contribuer À la bonne chere.”—Histoire des Antilles, tom. ii. p. 528.

Fellow slaves, or free persons of colour, are usually the sponsors in Brazil; but it is better, I think, that fellow-slaves, that is, belonging to the same master, should be sponsors, for they take a considerable interest in their god-children. The god-child, indeed, in any of the ranks of life, never approaches either of its sponsors without begging for their blessing. Labat, in speaking of a negro whom he had made renoncer tous ses pactes implicites et explicites qu’il pouvoit avoir fait avec le diable, says,—“Je chargeai sont maitre, qui Étoit aussi son parrain de vieller soigneusement sur sa conduite.”—Nouveau Voyage, &c. tom. ii. p.54.

I never heard of the master in Brazil being likewise the god-father, nor do I think that this ever happens; for such is the connection between two persons which this is supposed to produce, that the master would never think of ordering the slave to be chastised.

[219] The same occurs in the Spanish and French colonies. Du Tertre, who seems from the general tenor of his work, to have been a much better man than friars usually are, speaks of the difficulty of converting the Caribs, and of their indifference to religion, and then adds, “Mais les nÉgres sont certainement touchez de Dieu, puis qu’ils conservent, jusqu’À la mort, la religion qu’ils ont embrassÉe; qu’ils en pratiquent les vertus et en exercent les oeuvres, et je puis dire avec veritÉ qu’ils y vivent bien plus Chrestiennement dans leur condition, que beaucoup de FranÇois.”—Histoire des Antilles, tom. ii. p. 502.

[220] Labat says that the inhabitants of St. Domingo were in the habit of marking the negroes which they bought by burning the skin, and he adds, in his Dominican way, “De sorte qu’un esclave qui auroit ÉtÉ vendu et revendu plusieurs fois paroÎtroit À la fin aussi chargÉ de caracters, que ces obelisques d’Egypt.” This was not practised, as he tells us, in the islands (Martinique and Guadaloupe) and he adds that their negroes, and principally the creole slaves seroient au desespoir qu’on les marquÂt comme on fait les boeufs et les chevaux. The small islands did not require this practice, but St. Domingo un pais aussi vaste, could not do without it, because the slaves ran away to the mountains.—Nouveau Voyage, &c., tom. vii. p. 260.

The St. Domingo planters have paid severely for all their misdeeds, and therefore of them nothing need to be said in the present day. The vastness, however, of Brazil, which is a little more vaste than St. Domingo, does not require that the slaves should be marked like cattle.

[221] Edwards’ History of the West-Indies, vol. ii. p. 82, and 147.

[222] The base, the most abominable practice of some masters and mistresses, and of the latter oftener than the former, increases the bias which these miserable, these uneducated beings must be expected to have towards licentiousness. Females have been punished because they have not increased the number of their owners’ slaves. This is a fact; but it is almost too much to believe. On which side does the extreme of depravity lie?

[223] The following circumstances occurred within my own observation. A negro woman applied to a planter to be purchased, for which purpose she had brought a note from her master. She was accepted, and a bargain was concluded between the two persons; however, the day after she had taken up her abode upon the estate of her new master, she came to him, and falling down upon her knees, said that she had had a fellow-slave who wished likewise to serve him, and she begged him to purchase her companion. The new master spoke to the owner of the slave in question on the subject, but he refused to sell him, and the matter rested in this manner; but on the third day, he received a visit from the owner, offering the slave for sale, adding that the man had refused to work, and had threatened to hang himself; and as he was a Gabam negro, he much feared that he might put his threat in execution. The price was soon fixed, and on the following morning the man made his appearance. He proved to be a most excellent slave.

[224] The following occurrences took place upon the estate of a wealthy planter to the South of Recife, and the anecdote was related by the owner of the plantation himself. A negro complained to his master of the infidelity of his wife; she was immediately questioned; and other enquiries being made, and the truth of the statement respecting her conduct being proved, she was tied to a post to be flogged. Her husband was present, and at first he rather received pleasure from the sight of her sufferings; but he soon stopped the driver’s hand, and going to his master, begged him to order her to be unbound, and that he would pardon her, for he added, “If there are to be so many men, and so small a number of women upon the estate, how is it to be expected that the latter are to be faithful.” “Para que Senhor tem tantos negros et tam poucas negras.”

[225] The ships which are employed in this trade oftentimes fill some of their water casks with salt water, when they leave Brazil, that they may serve as ballast; and on taking their live cargo on board upon the coast of Africa, the salt water is replaced by that which is for the use of the additional number of persons. On one occasion a vessel had proceeded for some days on her voyage from Africa towards Brazil with a full cargo, when the discovery was made that the casks had not been filled with fresh water. The coast of either continent was too distant to enable the vessel to reach one or the other, before the greatest distress must be experienced, and therefore a most shocking expedient was resorted to,—a great number of the negroes were thrown overboard. This misfortune was accidental and occurred unintentionally, and a man must have been in a similar situation before he can declare that he would not act as the Portugueze did on this occasion; but the circumstances arose from the nature of this execrable trade.

[226] I was present on one occasion at the purchase of some slaves. The person who was chusing those which suited his purpose, singled out among others a handsome woman, and a beautiful boy of about six years old. The woman had been a slave at Loanda upon the coast of Africa, and she spoke a little Portugueze. Whilst the selection was going on, the slave-dealer had happened to leave the room; but after it was concluded he returned, and seeing the persons who had been set apart to be purchased, said, he was sorry the woman and child could not be sold, for they formed part of a lot which could not be separated. The purchaser enquired the reason of the formation of a lot in this instance, and was answered that it consisted of a family, the husband, wife, and three children. The dealer was then requested to point out the individuals which composed it, and they were all bought together. How few slave-merchants would have acted in this manner! The whole family was present during the greatest part of the time, but there was no change of countenance in either the husband or the wife,—both of them understood the Portugueze language; the children were almost too young to know what was about to happen, and besides we spoke in a language which they did not understand. That their parents did feel deeply the separation which they must have apprehended as being upon the point of taking place, I have not the slightest doubt, because I frequently saw these slaves afterwards, and knew how much they were attached to each other and to their children. But whether it proceeded from resignation, from despair, from fear, or from being ashamed to shew what they felt before so many strangers, there was no demonstration of feeling. Negroes may have feelings, and yet not allow the standers-by to know what they feel.

[227] An instance occurred at Liverpool of the attachment of some of these people to their master. At the commencement of the direct trade from Brazil to Great Britain, some small vessels came to Liverpool manned in part with slaves, owing to their masters being ignorant that their arrival upon British ground would make them free. However the men themselves were soon made acquainted with this circumstance, and many of them availed themselves of the advantages which were to be thus obtained. One of the men belonging to a small bark left his vessel, and having entered himself as a seaman on board some other ship, returned to persuade three of his companions to do the same; but he was answered, that they were well treated where they were, had always been used kindly, and therefore had no wish to try any other way of life. These three men returned to Brazil in the bark, and I have heard that they were set at liberty by their master on their arrival there. I hope it was so. When the advocates of slavery relate such stories as these, they give them as tending to prove that slaves in general are happy. Anecdotes of this kind demonstrate individual goodness in the master and individual gratitude in the slave, but they prove nothing generally; they do not affect the great question; that is rested upon grounds which are too deeply fixed to be moved by single instances of evil or of good.

[228] Mr. Edwards mentions some of the Gold coast negroes, or those of the adjacent countries, and gives as an instance the chamba negroes, who follow this custom.

[229] Whilst I resided at Jaguaribe, I heard that two negroes of this nation had murdered a child of three or four years of age, the son or daughter of their master, and that they had been caught in the act of preparing to cook part of the body. The men were carried down to Recife, but the person who informed me of these circumstances did not know what punishment had been inflicted upon them.

[230] I merely state what is the general idea upon the subject in that country, without giving an opinion upon the general question.—Mr. Edwards says that it is a disease and not a habit.—History of the West-Indies, vol. ii. p. 141.

Labat is of opinion, that it is a habit and not a disease.—Nouveau Voyage &c. tom. ii. p. 11.

[231] There was one in 1814, and another in February of the present year, 1816.

[232] Edwards’ History of the West-Indies, vol. ii. p. 64.

[233] The negroes who are obtained in the province of Senegambia, “are known to the West-Indian planters by the general name of Mandingoes.”—History of the West-Indies, vol. ii. p. 50.

“There is a sort of people who travel about in the country, called Mandingo-men; (these are Mahommedans) they do not like to work; they go from place to place; and when they find any chiefs or people whom they think they can make any thing of, they take up their abode for a time with them, and make greegrees, and sometimes cast sand from them, for which they make them pay.”—Correspondence of Mr. John Kizell in the Sixth Report of the Directors of the African Institution, p. 136.

[234] Mr. Edwards says, “In Jamaica the negroes are allowed one day in a fortnight, except in time of crop, besides Sundays and holidays, for cultivating their grounds, and carrying their provisions to market.” The Protestant church enjoins the observance of three or four holidays, and the Catholic church of above thirty.

Du Tertre says that the custom of giving a certain portion of time to the slave for the purpose of providing for his own maintenance, was introduced into the Columbian islands by “les Holandois chassez du Recif,” and he adds that they “gouvernent leurs esclaves À la faÇon du Bresil.”—Histoire des Antilles, vol. ii. p. 515.

[235] One of these old men, who was yet however sufficiently hearty to be often in a state of intoxication, and would walk to a considerable distance to obtain liquor, made a practice of coming to see me for this purpose. He would tell me, that he and his companions were not slaves to the monks but to St. Bento himself, and that consequently, the monks were only the representatives of their master for the due administration of the Saint’s property in this world. I enquired of some others of the slaves, and found that this was the general opinion among them.

[236] An old slave, who had been invariably well treated, for he had never deserved punishment, was asked by his master if he wished to be free; he smiled, but said nothing; the question being repeated, he answered that of course he wished to be free; the master then told him that his deed of manumission should be drawn out that same day; upon this being said, the slave shook his head, saying, “Why do you say such things to laugh at your old black man.” However, as soon as he was persuaded that it was true, he began to dance about like one who was mad, and for some minutes could answer no questions, nor could any directions be given to him.

[237] The Saturday of each week is not sufficient for the slave to provide for his own subsistence, unless the labour of his master, is done by task work, in which case, he may manage to finish this in due time, and to work a little each day upon his own provision grounds. He may indeed be able to live, by assisting the Saturdays, through the labour of his Sundays and holidays, even if the labour of his master is not done by piece-work; but this is not just, for to the Sundays and holidays he has a right as his own, even if his master supports him; but slavery and justice seldom go hand in hand.

[238] A planter with whom I was acquainted, was once seen by a person who happened to call upon him, occupied with three of his companions in flogging four negroes; the men were tied at a short distance from each other to four posts, and as the operation continued, there was much laughing and joking, for as they lashed their miserable victims, they cried out,—“Here is to the health of such and such a person.” It is some comfort to be able to say, that this wretch has been ruined; but his ruin has been caused by his treatment of his slaves, which has occasioned the death of some, and the escape of others from his power in a less melancholy manner.

Another man, on ordering a slave to work in the sugar-mill, was answered, that he was sick and could not go, but the master persisted. The negro went, saying, “you will then kill your slave;” and vexed with the treatment which he received now, and had suffered on other occasions, he placed his head near to one of the wheels, (for it was a water-mill) by which it was severed from his body. I could mention many anecdotes of this description, indicative of individual blackness of heart, such as have been related of all nations who have had to do with slaves; but few will suffice. Neither of the stories which are above related, occurred in the great and pre-eminent instance of depravity of which the scene was the Mata, and which has been mentioned in a former part of this work; in that case 55 slaves were consumed in less than fifteen years.

[239] Might not an act be passed for the British Colonies, obliging the master to manumit his slave, on the fair value of the individual being tendered? However, this is not a place for discussion.

[240] I met with the following passage in a work of much reputation upon the affairs of the British sugar islands. “The circumstance wherein the slaves in the West Indies seem mostly indebted to their owners’ liberality are, I think, those of medical attendance and accommodation when sick.” Would not a man take his horse to a farrier if any thing ailed him?

[241] Horses are usually marked upon the right haunch with the private mark of their owners; but the beasts which have been bred by slaves are marked on the left haunch or on the shoulder-blade. This proves, among many other corroborating circumstances, that though the law may prohibit a slave from possessing property, custom has established a practice which is better adapted to the present state of the country.

[242] The plan of distributing the new-comers among the old established negroes to be taken care of by them, as is practised in Jamaica, has not been adopted in Brazil. I think the effect of this must be good, for thus each established slave takes an interest in one of his newly-arrived companions; the new slaves too may be sooner reconciled to their situation, by the interest which is shewn in their behalf; and their wants may be made known to the master with more ease. The law which was passed at Rio de Janeiro in 1809 (mentioned in chapter 16th) for preventing executions for debt upon the property of sugar planters, may have one beneficial effect;—the slaves cannot, unless the master pleases, be sold separately from the estate for the purpose of paying debts; the master cannot be forced to dispose of them, unless the debt amounts to the value of the estate; and thus the slave is advanced in some slight degree towards the condition of a serf.

[243] Bicho, means an animal, in the common acceptation of the word; but the insect which is commonly, in other countries, called the chigua, is known at Pernambuco, only under the name of bicho.

[244] Dr. Pinckard, in his “Notes on the West-Indies” mentions that mercury was used for the complaint at Berbice, with very little success. Mr. Edwards doubts “if medicine of any kind is of use in this disease.” This writer likewise states that he had heard of the Gold Coast negroes inoculating their children with the complaint, and also the notion which they have of the disease getting into the bone. Bolingbroke says, “No effectual cure has, I believe, ever been found for it. Salivation will drive it in, but sulphur and other opening medicines are now preferred to induce its coming out;” and again “There are black women who inoculate their children for this disorder; its violence is thereby lessened.”—Voyage to the Demerary, &c. p. 54.

In the “Voyage À la Guiane et À Cayenne fait en 1789 et anneÉs suivantes,” I find that speaking of the same disorder, “on la gagne trÉs-aisement avec les Indiennes qui en sont presque toutes attaquÉes.” It is supposed by Mr. Edwards to be brought from Africa, and the same idea exists in Brazil; indeed it is less known among the Indians than among the people of colour.

[245] A small proprietor in Brazil is a man who possesses from two to ten slaves. A large proprietor upon an average, in the part of the country of which I may speak, possesses from twenty to sixty slaves.

[246] A slave belonging to a colonel of militia, who was a planter of great wealth, was in the frequent practice of concealing himself in the woods for some days at a time; on being brought back, he was punished, and soon again ran away; and this behaviour continued for some time. In one of his rambles he met his master, who was riding alone in one of the narrow roads of the country. The slave placed himself in the middle of the path, and taking off his hat, saluted his master as if he had been only slightly acquainted with him, and addressed him, begging that he would give him some money. The colonel was much alarmed, and granted his request, upon which he was suffered to proceed, but was admonished to be silent upon the subject. The slave was soon taken; but he continued to run away, to be brought home, to be punished, and again to go through the same proceeding so frequently and for so many years, that at last his master allowed him to do as he pleased; indeed he was somewhat afraid of a second meeting in the woods, when he might not perhaps be treated so courteously. He as obstinately refused to sell the negro as the negro objected to serving him; because he knew that the slave wished to be sold to some one else, and from a notion which some of the planters entertain of not choosing to dispose of any person whom they have owned, unless by manumission.

[247] There was a boy of twelve years of age, of African birth, who belonged to Jaguaribe; this child often inhabited the woods for several days together. He killed a calf on one occasion, and separated the quarters of the animal by means of a sharp stone. He was discovered by the dropping of the blood, from the field to the hiding-place. As soon as the owner of the calf found the boy, he wished, of course, to take him to his master; but the boy laid himself down upon the ground and refused to stir. The man bound him to a tree, and went home to fetch a horse, upon which he placed the boy and tied him there; he walked after him to Jaguaribe, driving the horse on before. The boy was punished; but a few hours after he had been flogged, he said to one of his companions, “Well, at least I have had the honour of being attended by a pagem,” or page, the usual word for a groom. This happened under a former tenant of Jaguaribe.

A short time before I left that plantation, the same boy fled with another of nearly the same age, both of them being about fourteen years of age. They had been absent some days, when late one evening an Indian labourer brought them both home. The children had thrown off all cloathing, and had made bows and arrows suited to their own size, with which they were to kill poultry, rats, &c. as food. Their appearance was most laughable, but it was distressing; it was soon known that they were found, and many of their companions and other inhabitants of the plantation assembled to see and to laugh at these terrible negros do mato, or bush negroes. The boys had been well treated by me, and therefore the propensity to continue in practices which had commenced under severe usage could be their only inducement to prefer the woods now.

[248] One of the men who was in my possession used to say, on being tasked with any theft, “to steal from master is not to steal.” “Furtar de Senhor nam he furtar.”

[249] Strange notions exist on this subject. Several nostrums are in repute for the curing of this habit; but that of which the fame stands the highest, is, earth that is taken from a grave dissolved in water and given to the negro without his knowing what he is taking.

[250] The Investigador Portuguez and the Correio Braziliense, two Portugueze journals published in London, have arranged themselves on the side of justice, humanity, and sound policy. The former of them has been translating Dr. Thorpe’s pamphlet respecting the colony of Sierra Leone, and has given portions of it in each number. I hope the editors will be aware of the necessity of fair play, and will next proceed to translate “The Special Report of the Directors of the African Institution” in answer to the charges preferred against them by Dr. Thorpe. I know no more of the matter to which either of the pamphlets relate than what I have gathered from them, and from Mr. Macauley’s letter to H. R. H. the Duke of Gloucester. But let there be fair play, let each side be heard and judged. This is due to the African Institution, owing to the until now unimpeached characters of its leading members. By so doing the editors of the journal would prove most decidedly their sincerity in the cause of abolition.

[251] The cry against the injustice and tyranny which is said to have been exercised by Great Britain in the employment of her naval superiority, has been removed at least on this score; for a sum of money was agreed to be paid by Great Britain to the government of Brazil for the purpose of reimbursing those of its subjects whom it might judge to have been unjustly treated.

The captures, of which complaint was principally made, were effected under the impression that all ships which bore the Portugueze flag, trading to the coast of Africa for slaves, ought to be of Portugueze build. This was a mistake arising from misunderstanding the treaties which were concluded between the two Powers in 1810.

[252] Observacoens sobre a prosperidade do Estado pelos principios liberaes da Nova Legislacam do Brazil, p. 16.

[253] Correio Braziliense for December 1815, p. 735.

[254] Investigador Portuguez for June 1816, p. 496.

[255] I met with the following passage in a work of high and deserved reputation. “The Romans, notwithstanding their prodigious losses in the incessant wars which they carried on for centuries, never experienced any want of men in the early periods of the commonwealth; but were even able to send colonies abroad out of their redundant population. Afterwards, in the time of the Emperors, when the armies were generally kept in camps and garrisons, where a soldier is perhaps the healthiest of all professions, the Roman population in Italy had greatly diminished, and was visibly declining every day, owing to a change in the division of property, and to the pernicious and monstrous increase of domestic slavery, which had left the poorer class of free citizens without any means of subsistence, but public charity.”—Essay on the Military Policy and Institutions of the British Empire, by C. W. Pasley, Captain (now Colonel) in the corps of Royal Engineers. Note to p. 505.

In the work in which the note appears, it is introduced for the purpose of proving, that “the total average population in any country can never be affected by the annual number of deaths, but depends solely and exclusively upon the means of subsistence afforded to the living.” I have transcribed it inasmuch as the author of it states, that domestic slavery was one of the causes of the decrease of population in Italy; and though the pernicious effects of slavery do not act to the same extent in Brazil, it does undoubtedly prevent the rapid increase of the numbers of the people of colour; and if the trade in Africans continues much longer, it will tend to stop the increase altogether of the persons of mixed blood. That the increase of the free population of colour ought to be encouraged, no one will deny; they are the pillars of the state, the bulwark from the strength of which Brazil becomes invincible.

[256] I am aware that this is not the case with all nations; but although it may not be correct when speaking generally, its application to the people of whom I am treating, will not, I think, be found to be erroneous.

[257] If the camara or municipality of each township held the rank which it ought, this alone would produce much zeal in the higher ranks of people.

[258] ObservaÇoens sobre o commercio franco no Brazil, p. 80.

[259] Antonio de Araujo de Azevedo, Minister and Secretary of State for Naval and Ultramarine Affairs. He has lately been created Conde da Barca. It was formerly said that he was a French partizan; but he is a true patriot, who opposes the entrance of the undue influence of any foreign power into the affairs of the government of which he is a member.

[260] These arguments savour somewhat of peevishness; let these plain questions be asked. Does Great Britain interfere in the police of Brazil? Would Great Britain take the trouble of negotiating respecting any regulations which Brazil might enact for the better preserving of internal good order, and for providing with more ease for the apprehension of improper persons? The truth is that Brazil does not require any thing of the kind, and Great Britain does, consequently each Power acts according to its situation.

[261] The Alien Bill has given offence. Does not all the world know that it was passed for the purpose of preventing the entrance into Great Britain of those unquiet spirits who have desolated the Continent of Europe for so many years; and some of whom aided in burning the towns and villages of Portugal? Would Great Britain change her plan of operations for any one Power on earth, or even for all of them combined? Each government must act as suits its own peculiar circumstances.

[262] Must not Great Britain build ships because Brazil will not? Why does not Brazil form a navy?

[263] I do not know how far good policy directs that preference should be given to the Portugal wines over those of other parts; but it is rather hard that the people of Great Britain should be obliged to drink the wines of Portugal, when others of a superior flavour might be obtained, if restrictions did not exist against their consumption.

[264] The privileges which British subjects have long enjoyed in the dominions of the crown of Portugal are considerable. I give as concise an account of them as I possibly can. “D. Joam by the grace of God Prince Regent of Portugal, &c. To all my Corregedores, &c. be it known, that Joam Bevan declares himself to be a merchant, resident in this city (Lisbon, I suppose,) and a subject of his Britannic Majesty, and therefore competent to enjoy all the privileges and immunities which have been conceded to British subjects, &c. The merchants of that nation may freely trade, contract, buy and sell in all these kingdoms and lordships, &c. and where a doubt arises concerning any business with them, this shall be construed rather with a bias in their favour than against them⁽¹⁾. British subjects can only be arrested and confined in their own houses, according to their rank in life, or in the castle of St. Jorge; and these arrests cannot be carried into executions by bailiffs (homems de vara) but only by the alcaide⁽²⁾. They are exempted from the payment of certain duties upon those articles which they can prove to be for the use of their own families. They cannot be obliged to give up their houses or warehouses against their consent⁽³⁾. They cannot be obliged to serve as guardians, and they are exempted from certain imposts. They may carry offensive and defensive arms, by day and by night with or without a light, taking care not to do with them what they ought not to do.”

Then follow the penalties to which those officers will be subjected who do not pay a due regard to these privileges.

The clerks and servants of Englishmen enjoy the same privileges to the number of six, provided they are not Spaniards.

British subjects cannot be arrested, nor can their houses be searched without an order from their judge-conservator. Then follow some regulations by which their law proceedings may be rendered as easy as possible. They are not subject to the jurisdiction of the Juiz de Orfaons & Auzentes⁽⁴⁾.

The copy of the privileges from which the above has been extracted is passed in the name of John Bevan. I obtained it at Pernambuco as a curiosity. If the state of government in Brazil is considered, these privileges are absolutely necessary for the prevention of oppression; and even the privilege of wearing arms is not more than is requisite, because although the laws which prohibit Portugueze subjects from carrying arms ordain severe penalties, still scarcely any man in Brazil leaves his own home without some species of weapon; and the crime which is committed in so doing is too general to be punished.

⁽¹⁾ Mais em seu favor do que em odio.—What occasion is there for this? Impartiality is what is required.

⁽²⁾ An officer of a rank somewhat superior.

⁽³⁾ An officer of government can turn an unprivileged man out of his house by placing the letters P. R. upon his door.

⁽⁴⁾ The officer into whose hands the property of orphans falls, and of those persons who die without heirs resident upon the spot. It is difficult to reclaim what has found its way into this office.

[265] Du Tertre, in speaking of a species of Karatas, which is to be found in the islands, “dans des deserts pierreux, oÙ il ne se trouve guere d’eau douce,” says “les paysans travaillez de la soif y courent, parce que ces feÜilles sont tellement disposÉs, qu’elles se ferment en bas comme un verre, oÙ on trouve quelquefois une pinte d’eau fraische, claire et trÉs saine, et cela a sauvÉ la vie À plusieurs qui sans cela seroient morts de soif.”—Histoire des Antilles, tom. ii. p. 100.

I heard this mentioned frequently whilst I was in the Sertam; but at the time we were in want of water, we were not crossing any of those lands upon which the plant grows.—Transl.

[266] Bolingbroke says, that “it is a common thing to feed swine with pine-apples. My astonishment was increased when our conductor took us to a large trench fifty rood long, and twelve feet wide, which was absolutely filled up with pine-apples; they so completely overran the estate at one time, that he was obliged to root them up for the purpose of preventing their farther extension.”—Voyage to the Demerary, &c. p. 21.

Neither pigs nor pine-apples are to be found thus by wholesale in Pernambuco.—Transl.

Barrere says “La Pitte, qui est une espÉce d’ananas, fournit encore une filasse d’un bon usage. Le fil en est plus fort et plus fin que la soye. Les Portugais en font des bas qui ne cedent en rien, dit-on, par leur bontÉ et par leur finesse aux bas de soye.”—Nouvelle Relation de la France Equinoxiale, p. 115.

Old Ligon says “the last and best sort of drinke that this iland or the world affords, is the incomparable wine of pines; and is certainly the nectar which the gods drunke; for on earth there is none like it; and that is made of the pure juyce of the fruit itselfe, without commixture of water or any other creature, having in itselfe a naturall compound of all tastes excellent, that the world can yield. This drinke is too pure to keep long; in three or four dayes it will be fine; ‘tis made by pressing the fruite, and strayning the liquor, and it is kept in bottles.”—A true and exact History of the Iland of Barbadoes, 1657.

[267] Du Tertre speaks of a species of Karatas, which agrees, from his description, with this in the height of the stalk, the shape of the leaves, and the colour of the flowers; which he says are estroileÉs—Transl. He adds, “Avant que les boutons de ces fleurs soient ouverts ils sont remplis d’un fort beau et bon cotton, dont l’on se peut servir utilement: apres que l’on a fait boÜillir les fÜeilles l’on en tire du fil dont l’on se sert en plusieurs endroits de l’Amerique, non seulement À faire des toilles, mais encore À faire des licts pendans. La racine et les fÜeilles de cette plante broyÉes et lavÉes dans une riviere, jettent un suc qui estourdit si fort le poisson, qu’il se laisse prendre À la main: ce grand tronc qui est tout spongieux estant sechÉ, brulle comme une mÉche ensouffrÉe, et frotÉ rudement, avec une bois plus dur, s’enflame et se consume.”—Histoire des Antilles, tom. ii. p. 106.

Labat gives the same account, and adds that persons who are in the habit of smoking “ne manquent jamais d’avoir sur eux leur provision de tol.”—Nouveau Voyage, &c. tom. 6. p. 142.

“Le caratas dont j’ai parlÉ dans un autre endroit est bien meilleur que la Savonette pour blanchir le linge. On prend la fÜeille et aprÉs en avoir ÔtÉ les piquans, on la bat et l’Écrase entre deux pierres et on frote le linge avec l’eau. Elle produit le mÊme effet que le mielleur savon, elle fait une mousse ou Écume Épaisse, blanche, qui decrasse, nettoye et blanchit parfaitement le linge, sans le rougir ou le brÛler en aucune facon.”—Nouveau Voyage, &c. tom. vii. p. 385.

[268] At Pillar, upon the island of Itamaraca, the persons who are in the habit of preparing the cairo, dig holes in the sands below high water mark, and bury the rind of the coco for several days before they beat it. I suppose this method is resorted to, owing to the want of a running stream in which to steep the rind.—Transl.

[269] There are some breaks, but they are not extensive, as far as I am acquainted with the country.—Transl.

[270] In Wildenow this plant is so arranged.—T.

[271] “The inhabitants of the plains of IguaraÇu make use of it to fasten together the rushes from which they make the mats that are used for pack-saddles.”—Discurso sobre a Utilidade da Instituicam de Jardims, &c.

Padre Ignacio de Almeida Fortuna told me, that he had had a pair of stockings made from the fibre of the Macaiba. I brought some of the fibre to England; it is extremely strong and fine. I think Dr. Arruda may perhaps have been rather hasty in ranking it with the tucum, in the difficulty of obtaining it. At Itapissuma, near to Itamaraca, a great quantity of thread is manufactured for fishing-nets, &c. and it has at that place a fixed price.—Transl.

“Referring the meeting to what was communicated in the last annual Report on the subject of a species of hemp, manufactured from the leaves of a particular kind of palm which abounds in Sierra Leone and its neighbourhood, the directors have now to add, that one of their Board, Mr. Allen, has lately subjected a small quantity of cord, manufactured from this substance, to experiments calculated to ascertain its strength, as compared with the same length and weight of common hempen cord. The result has been very satisfactory.” In five trials, the average is as follows “hempen cord 43lbs. 3-fifths. African cord 53lbs. 2-fifths, being a difference in favour of the African cord of 10lbs. in 43lbs.”—Fourth Report of the Directors of the African Institution, p. 15.

[272] I have often in the course of this volume spoken of the jangadas.—Transl.

[273] The seeds have a strong aromatic smell, and the taste is very pleasant.—Transl.

[274] In the neighbourhood of Goiana I saw a large piece of land completely covered with the common maracuja; the owner of the ground complained to me of the trouble which he should have in getting rid of the plant when he should wish to cultivate the land.—Transl.

[275] Excepting in times of famine, the food which may be thus obtained causes too much destruction to allow of its becoming general, and even if it should for a time afford subsistence to the people, this cannot last long, for the trees will soon be destroyed. The quantity of food which each tree yields is too small, the growth of the trees too slow, and the space which each plant occupies too considerable ever to render the cabbage of the palms a permanent staple food of any country.

Dr. Arruda has not spoken of the dendezeiro or dende tree, which, next to the coco tree, is the palm which is of the most service to the Pernambucans. An oil of good quality is made from the nut, and is sold in Recife as a culinary ingredient, being more generally used than the coco oil. The fruit resembles much that of the coco naia, according to Arruda’s description of the latter.

Labat, who has a propensity to call in question the opinions of others, in speaking of the tree which he calls palmier franc ou dattier, says, “On prÉtend que cet arbre est mÂle et femelle, &c. Je suis fÂchÉ de ne pouvoir pas souscrire au sentiment des naturalistes, mais j’en suis empÊchÉ par une expÉrience que j’ai trÉs-sÛre, opposÉe directement À leur sentiment, qui dÉment absolument ce que je viens de rapporter sur leur bonne foi; car nous avions un dattier À cÔtÉ de notre couvent du MoÜillage À la Martinique, qui rapportoit du fruit quoiqu’il fut tout seul. Qu’il fut mÂle ou femelle, je n’en sÇai rien, mais ce que je sÇai trÉs certainement, c’est que dans le terrain oÙ est le Fort Saint Pierre et le MoÛillage et a plus de deux lieuËs À la ronde il n’y avoit et n’y avoit jamais eu de dattier, &c.”—Nouveau Voyage, &c. tom. iii. p. 276.

[276] The goiaba is to be found in all situations in Pernambuco; there is scarcely a cercado (field) of any sugar plantation which has not several of these trees scattered about upon it. The goiaba is never cut down, for the people are fond of it, and the cattle likewise feed upon it. The araÇa is another species of the same plant; the shrub and the fruit of this are smaller than the goiaba, and the inside of the fruit is of a pale yellow colour, instead of a deep red.—Transl.

[277] Labat speaks of a species of canelle bÂtarde, and he adds, “On se sert beaucoup en Italie d’une canelle semblable À celle que je viens de dÉcrire; les Portugais l’apportent du Bresil dans des paniers de roseaux refendus et À jour; on l’appelle canelle geroflÉe (canella garofanata). On la met en poudre avec un peu de gÉrofle, de veritable canelle, de poivre et de graines tout-À faite resemblables À celles de nos bois d’Inde des Isles, et on en fait un debit assez considÉrable.”—Nouveau Voyage, &c. tom. iii. p. 92.

[278] In the Philosophical Transactions for 1811 is given, “An Account of a Vegetable Wax from Brazil,” by William Thomas Brande, Esq. F. R. S. The work from which I extract part of the account is Nicholson’s Journal, Vol. xxxi. p. 14.

“The vegetable wax described in this paper was given to the president by Lord Grenville, with a wish on the part of his Lordship, that its properties should be investigated, in the hope that it might prove a useful substitute for bees’ wax, and constitute in due time a new article of commerce between Brazil and this country. It was transmitted to Lord Grenville from Rio de Janeiro by the Conde das Galveas⁽¹⁾, as a new article lately brought to that city⁽²⁾, from the northernmost parts of the Brazilian dominions, the capitanias of Rio Grande and SearÁ, between the latitude of three and seven degrees north; it is said to be the production of a tree of slow growth, called by the natives carnÂÙba, which also produces a gum used as food for men, and another substance employed for fattening poultry.”

“The wax in its rough state is in the form of a coarse pale grey powder, soft to the touch, and mixed with various impurities, consisting chiefly of fibres of the bark of the tree, which when separated by a sieve amount to about 40 per cent. It has an agreeable odour, somewhat resembling new hay, but scarcely any taste.”

(Here follow various chemical Experiments which I wish I could insert, but they are too long.)

“Having been unsuccessful in my attempts to bleach the wax in its original state, I made some experiments to ascertain whether its colour could be more easily destroyed, after it had been acted upon by nitric acid, and found that by exposing it spread upon glass to the action of light, it became in the course of three weeks of a pale straw colour, and on the surface nearly white⁽³⁾. The same change was produced by steeping the wax, in thin plates, in an aqueous solution of oxymuriatic gas, but I have not hitherto succeeded in rendering it perfectly white.”

(Other chemical Experiments follow, which are of considerable Length.)

“From the preceding detail of experiments, it appears that although the South American vegetable wax possesses the characteristic properties of bees’ wax, it differs from that substance in many of its chemical habitudes; it also differs from the other varieties of wax, namely, the wax of the myrica cerifera, of lac, and of white lac. The attempts which have been made to bleach the wax have been conducted on a small scale; but from the experiments related, it appears that after the colour has been changed by the action of very dilute nitric acid, it may be rendered nearly white by the usual means. I have not had sufficient time to ascertain whether the wax can be more effectually bleached by long continued exposure, nor have I had an opportunity of submitting it to the processes employed by the bleachers of bees’ wax.”

“Perhaps the most important part of the present inquiry is that which relates to the combustion of the vegetable wax, in the form of candles. The trials which have been made to ascertain its fitness for this purpose are extremely satisfactory; and when the wick is properly proportioned to the size of the candle, the combustion is as perfect and uniform as that of common bees’ wax. The addition of one eighth to one tenth part of tallow is sufficient to obviate the brittleness of the wax in its pure state, without giving it any unpleasant smell, or materially impairing the brilliancy of its flame. A mixture of three parts of the vegetable wax with one part of bees’ wax, also makes very excellent candles.”

⁽¹⁾ This nobleman is since dead.

⁽²⁾ It was sent to Rio de Janeiro by Francisco de Paula Cavalcante de Albuquerque, Governor of Rio Grande do Norte.

⁽³⁾ The portion which the Governor of Rio Grande gave to me was in the form of a cake, which could not be pierced, but was brittle; it was of a pale straw colour.—Transl.

[279] “On l’apporte (the root) en Europe coupeÉ en rouelles blanches & assez lÉgÉres.”—Voyage du Chevalier des Marchais a Cayenne, &c. tom. iii. p. 262.

I brought some of it to England in powder.—Transl.

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES:

—Obvious print and punctuation errors were corrected.

—The transcriber of this project created the book cover image using the title page of the original book. The image is placed in the public domain.