  The Heart of Brazil—Brazil, its Size and its Immense Wealth—Rio de Janeiro—Brazilian Men of Genius—SÃo Paulo—The Bandeirantes—The Paulista Railway "More than three months to reach the spot?" asked the cinematograph man in amazement. "Then perhaps Monsieur is on a journey to Mars or the moon! There is no spot on earth that takes so long to reach." (Hearty laughter at his own wit.) That exclamation, and wise words that follow, came from the assistant of one of the largest firms of cinematograph appliances in Paris, where I had called in order to purchase a moving picture apparatus and 10,000 metres of film to be used on my forthcoming journey across the South American continent. The shop assistant had very honestly warned me that if the films were to be used in a damp, tropical climate, they must be exposed and developed within three months of their manufacture. After that time they would become so perforated and fogged as to be quite useless. I had remarked that it would take me more than three months to reach the spot where I should begin to take cinematograph pictures. "Will Monsieur please tell where is the spot where he would be likely to use the films?" continued the assistant, still overcome with surprise. "In the heart of Brazil ... in the very heart of Brazil?... Oh, mon Dieu! mon Dieu!" (More laughter and a look of compassion at me.) "Mais nous avons une de nos maisons tout À fait prÈs de lÀ!" (Why, indeed, we have one of our factories quite close to there.) It was then my turn for hearty laughter and the look of compassion. "Pray," I inquired, "tell me more exactly. Where is your factory close to the heart of Brazil?" "It is quite, quite close. It is in Montreal, Canada.... You will send your films there ... two or three days' journey.... It will take us a week to develop them ... two or three days for their return journey. In a fortnight you will have them back again." Quite close, indeed: only a distance of some 65° of latitude—or some 7170 kilometres as the crow flies—with no direct communication by land or water! That was the Frenchman's knowledge of geography; but I find that the average Englishman, unless he is directly interested in those countries, knows little better, and perhaps even less. Time after time I have been asked in London if Brazil were not a province of Mexico, and whether it is not through Brazil that the Americans are cutting the Panama Canal! There are many who have a vague idea that Brazil is a German colony; others, more patriotic, who claim it as an English possession. Many of those who have looked at the map of the world are under the impression that Spanish is spoken in Brazil, and are surprised when you tell them that Portuguese happens to be the local I could quote dozens more of these extreme cases of ignorance, but of one thing I am certain, and that is, that there are few people in the British Isles who realize the actual size of the great Brazilian Republic. Brazil is 8,524,778 square kilometres—with the territory of the Acre newly acquired from Bolivia, 8,715,778 sq. kil. in extent; that is to say, it covers an area larger than the United States of North America, Germany, Portugal, Greece and Montenegro taken together. Some of the States of the Republic are larger than some of the largest countries in Europe: such as the State of the Amazonas with 1,894,724 sq. kil.; the State of Matto Grosso with 1,378,784 sq. kil.; the State of ParÁ with an area of 1,149,712 sq. kil.; the State of Goyaz with 747,311 sq. kil.; the State of Minas Geraes with 574,855 sq. kil.; the Acre territory, 191,000 sq. kil. There are fewer people still who seriously appreciate the great importance of that beautiful country—with no exception the richest, the most wonderful in the world; to my mind undoubtedly the continent of the future. Rio de Janeiro, showing the beautiful Avenida Central. Rio de Janeiro, showing the beautiful Avenida Central. Springs of thermal and mineral waters are numerous—particularly those of which the waters are sulphurous or ferruginous; others contain arsenic and magnesia. Most beautiful marble of various colours is to be found, and also enormous quantities of mica and amianth; porphyry and porphyroid granite, carbonated and hydroxided iron, argillaceous schist, mica schist. Even richer than the mineral wealth is the botanical wealth, hitherto dormant, of Brazil. Valuable woods occur in many Brazilian forests—although it must not Where, perhaps, Brazil's greatest richness lies is in All these wonderful riches are absolutely dormant; more than that, absolutely wasted for lack of population, for lack of roads, trails, railways, or navigation of the rivers. The coast of Brazil is highly civilized, and so, more or less, is the immediate neighbourhood of large cities; but the moment you leave those cities, or the narrow zone along the few hundred kilometres of railways which now exist, you immediately relapse into the Middle Ages. When you get beyond the comparatively narrow belt of semi-civilization, along the coast, Brazil is almost as unknown as Mars or the moon. The people who know least the country are, curiously enough, the Brazilians themselves. Owing greatly to racial apathy, they care little for the trouble of developing their beautiful land. They watch with envy strangers taking gold, diamonds, platinum, and precious stones out of their country. They accuse foreigners of going there to rob them of their wealth; yet you seldom meet a Brazilian who will venture out of a city to go and help himself. The Brazilian Government is now beginning to wake up to the fact that it is the possessor of the most magnificent country on earth, and it is its wish to endeavour to develop it; but the existing laws, made by short-sighted politicians, are considered likely to hamper development for many years to come. Brazil is not lacking in intelligent men. Indeed, I met in Rio de Janeiro and S. Paulo men who would Rio de Janeiro as it was in 1903. Rio de Janeiro as it was in 1903. It would be impossible to enumerate here all the clever men of Brazil. They are indeed too numerous. The older generation has worked at great disadvantage owing to the difficulty of obtaining proper education. Many are the illiterate or almost illiterate people one finds even among the better classes. Now, however, excellent and most up-to-date schools have been established in the principal cities, and with the great enthusiasm and natural facility in learning of the younger generations wonderful results have been obtained. On account partly of the exhausting climate and the indolent life that Brazilians are inclined to lead, a good deal of the enthusiasm of youth dies out I left London on December 23rd, 1910, by the Royal Mail steamship Amazon, one of the most comfortable steamers I have ever been on. We touched at Madeira, Pernambuco, and then at Bahia. Bahia seen from the sea was quite picturesque, with its two horizontal lines of buildings, one on the summit of a low hill-range, the other along the water line. A border of deep green vegetation separated the lower from the upper town. A massive red building stood prominent almost in the centre of the upper town, and also a number of church towers, the high dome of a church crowning the highest point. I arrived in Rio de Janeiro on January 9th, 1911. It is no use my giving a description of the city of Rio de Janeiro. Everybody knows that it is—from a pictorial point of view—quite a heavenly spot. Few seaside cities on earth can expect to have such a glorious background of fantastic mountains, and at the same time be situated on one of the most wonderful harbours known. I have personally seen a harbour which was quite as strangely interesting as the Rio harbour—but there was no city on it. It was the Malampaya Sound, on the Island of Palawan (Philippine Archipelago). It does not do to examine everything too closely in detail when you land—for while there are buildings of beautiful architectural lines, there are others which suggest the work of a pastrycook. To any one coming direct from Europe some of the statuary by local talent which adorns the principal squares gives a severe shock. Ladies in evening dress and naked cupids in bronze flying through national flags flapping in the wind, half of their bodies on one side, the other half on the other side of the flags, look somewhat grotesque as you approach the statues from behind. But Rio is not the only place where you see grotesque statuary—you have not to go far from or even out of London to receive similar and worse shocks. If Rio has some bad statues it also possesses some remarkably beautiful ones by the sculptor Bernardelli—a wonderful genius who is now at the head of the Academy of Fine Arts in Rio. This man has had a marvellous influence in the beautifying of the city, and to him are due the impressive lines of the finest buildings in Rio, such as the Academy of Fine Arts. Naturally, in a young country like Brazil—I am speaking of new Brazil, now wide awake, not of the Brazil which has been asleep for some decades—perfection cannot be reached in everything in one day. It is really marvellous how much the Brazilians have been able to accomplish during the last ten years or so in their cities, on or near the coast. Brazilians have their own way of thinking, which is not ours, and which is to us almost incomprehensible. Thanks to the strong credentials I carried—among which were letters from H.E. Regis de Oliveira, Brazilian Minister in London—I was received in Rio de Janeiro with the utmost consideration and kindness. From the President of the Republic to the humblest citizens, all with no exception treated me with charming civility. My stay in Rio was a delightful one. The Brazilians of the principal cities were most courteous and accomplished, and it was a great pleasure to associate with them. Intense interest was shown by the Government of the country and by the people in Dr. Pedro de Toledo, Minister of Agriculture, Brazil. Dr. Pedro de Toledo, Minister of Agriculture, Brazil. I endeavoured to find suitable civilians. No one would go. The Brazilian forest, they all said, was worse, more impenetrable than any forest in the world. Brazilian rivers were broader, deeper and more dangerous than any river on earth. Wild beasts in Brazil were more numerous and wilder than the wildest animals of Africa or Asia. As for the Indians of Central Brazil, they were innumerable—millions of them—and ferocious beyond all conception. They were treacherous cannibals, and unfortunate was the person who ventured among them. They told stories galore of how the few who had gone had never come back. Then the insects, the climate, the terrible diseases of Central Brazil were worse than any insect, any climate, any terrible disease anywhere. That is more or less the talk one hears in every country when about to start on an expedition. I carried, as usual, very little medicine—merely three gallons of castor oil, a few bottles of iodine, some I had twelve of the best repeating rifles that are made, as well as excellent automatic pistols of the most modern type, and several thousand rounds of ammunition—chiefly soft-nosed bullets. These weapons were carried in order to arm my followers. Although I had several first-class rifles for my own use—following my usual custom, I never myself carried any weapons—not even a penknife—upon my person except when actually going after game. Again on this occasion—as on previous journeys—I did not masquerade about in fancy costumes such as are imagined to be worn by explorers, with straps and buckles and patent arrangements all over. I merely wore a sack coat with ample pockets, over long trousers such as I use in town. Nor did I wear any special boots. I always wore comfortable clothes everywhere, and made no difference in my attire between the Brazilian forest and Piccadilly, London. When it got too hot, naturally I removed the coat and remained in shirt sleeves; but that was all the difference I ever made in my wearing apparel between London and Central Brazil. I have never in my life adopted a sun helmet—the most absurd, uncomfortable and grotesque headgear that was ever invented. I find, personally, that a common straw hat provides as much protection as any healthy person requires from the equatorial sun. If I give these details, it is merely because they There are many people who are enthusiastic over a dangerous project when they first hear of it, but on thinking it over and talking with friends and relatives their enthusiasm soon wears off. That is what happened in Rio. I wasted some time in Rio—socially most enjoyably employed—in order to get followers and come to some suitable arrangement with the Government. I was deeply indebted to the Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Pedro de Toledo, for allowing me the free use of all the telegraphs in Brazil, and also for a special permission (of which I never availed myself) to use, if necessary, the flotilla of Government boats on the Amazon. Credentials were also furnished me, but owing to the way in which they were worded they were more of a danger to me than a protection. They actually proved to be so once or twice when I was compelled to present them. The expedition was considered so dangerous that the Government published broadcast statements in the official and other papers stating that "Mr. A. H. Savage Landor's expedition across Brazil was undertaken solely at his own initiative and absolutely at his own risk and responsibility." They also circulated widely the statement that I had promised not in any way to injure or hurt the native Indians, that I would not supply them with firearms of any kind, and that I would in no way ill-treat them. In a luxurious Administration car placed at my disposal by Dr. Paulo Frontin I left Rio by the Central Railway, escorted as far as S. Paulo by Dr. Carlo da Fonseca, a railway engineer, sent to look after my comfort by the Central Brazilian Railway Company. On approaching S. Paulo in the early morning I was much struck by the activity of the waking city as compared with Rio. Carts were dashing to and fro in the streets, the people walked along fast as if they had something to do, and numerous factory chimneys ejected clouds of smoke, puffing away in great white balls. The people stopped to chat away briskly as if they had some life in them. It seemed almost as if we had suddenly dropped into an active commercial European city. The type of people, their ways and manners were different from those of the people of Rio—but equally civil, equally charming to me from the moment I landed at the handsome railway station. With a delicious climate—owing to its elevation—with a population of energetic people chiefly of Italian origin, instead of the apathetic mixture of Portuguese and negro, S. Paulo was indeed the most flourishing city of the Brazilian Republic. Its yearly development was enormous. Architecturally it was gradually becoming modified and improved, so that in a few years it will be a very beautiful city indeed. Already the city possessed beautiful avenues and a wonderful theatre. Senador Alcindo Guanabara, a great Literary Genius and Patriot of Brazil. Senador Alcindo Guanabara, a great Literary Genius and Patriot of Brazil. Everybody knows what an important part the I cannot indulge here, as I should like to do, in giving a complete historical sketch of the amazing daring and enterprise of those early explorers and adventurers and of their really remarkable achievements. Their raids extended to territories of South America which are to-day almost impenetrable. It was really wonderful how they were able to locate and exploit many of the most important mines within an immense radius of their base. The history of the famous Bandeiras, under the command of Raposo, and composed of Mamelucos (crosses of Portuguese and Indians) and Tupy Indians, the latter a hardy and bold race, which started out on slave-hunting expeditions, is thrilling beyond words and reads almost like fiction. The ways of the Bandeirantes were sinister. They managed to capture immense numbers of slaves, and must have killed as many as they were able to bring back or more. They managed, therefore, to depopulate the country almost entirely, the few tribes that contrived to escape destruction seeking refuge farther west upon the slopes of the Andes. Although the Brazilians—even in official statistics—estimate the number of pure savage Indians in the interior at several millions, I think that the readers of The Jesuits endeavoured to save the Indians from the too-enterprising Bandeirantes, with the result that the missions were destroyed also and the missionaries driven away or killed. Brazil occupies to-day in the world's knowledge practically the same position that forbidden Tibet occupied some fifteen or twenty years ago. It was easier to travel all over Brazil centuries ago than now. The Bandeirantes became extraordinarily daring. In 1641 another slave-hunting Paulista expedition started out to sack the missions of Paraguay and make great hauls of converted Indians. The adventurers invaded even the impenetrable territory of the Chaco. But, history tells us, the Jesuits, who were well prepared for war, were not only able to trap the 400 Paulista Bandeirantes in an ambuscade and to set free their prisoners, but killed a great number of them, 120 of the adventurous Bandeirantes thus supplying a handsome dinner for the cannibal Chaco Indians. Infuriated at the reverse, the survivors of the expedition destroyed all the missions and Indian villages upon their passage, not one escaping. They came to grief, however, in the end. Few only returned home to tell the tale. That lesson practically ended the slave-hunting expeditions on a large scale of the The astonishing success which the dauntless Paulistas had obtained everywhere made them thirst for gold and diamonds, which they knew existed in the interior. They set out in great numbers—men, women, and children—in search of wealth and fresh adventure. Several of the towns in distant parts of the interior of Brazil owe their origin to this great band of adventurers, especially in the section of Brazil now called Minas Geraes. The adventurers were eventually outnumbered and overpowered by swarms of Brazilians from other parts of the country, and by Portuguese who had quickly arrived in order to share in the wealth discovered by the Paulistas. They finally had to abandon the mines which they had conquered at an appalling loss of human life. The ardour of the Paulistas was quelled but not extinguished. About the year 1718 they started afresh to the north-west in the direction of the Cuyaba River and of Goyaz, where they had learnt that gold and diamonds of great beauty were to be found. So many joined in these adventurous expeditions that S. Paulo was left almost depopulated. That is how those immense territories of Goyaz and Matto Grosso were discovered and annexed to S. Paulo, but eventually, The Paulistas were great fighters. In 1739 they were able to drive away the Spaniards from Rio Grande do Sul and forced them to retreat into Uruguay. After many years of vicissitudes in war and exploration—after phases of prosperity, oppression, and even of almost total ruin, owing to maladministration and official greed—things began to look up again for SÃo Paulo when the port of Santos was thrown open to the trade of the world, in 1808. The history of Brazil during the last hundred years is too well known to be repeated here. During the last few years the State of SÃo Paulo has attained amazing prosperity, principally from the export of coffee—perhaps the most delicious coffee in the world. Although nearly all the rivers of the State of SÃo Paulo are absolutely useless for navigation, owing to dangerous rapids, the State is intersected by innumerable streams, large and small—of great importance for purposes of irrigation and for the generation of electric power. The most important harbour in the State is Santos. Ubatuba, SÃo SebastiÃo, Iguape and Carranca are ports of less consequence. It is principally from Santos that the exportation of coffee takes place. The Municipal Theatre, Rio de Janeiro. The Municipal Theatre, Rio de Janeiro. The State extends roughly in a parallelogram from the ocean, south-east, to the Parana River, north-west; between the Rio Grande, to the north, and the Rio Paranapanema, to the south, the latter being two tributaries of the Parana River. The State can be divided into two distinct zones, one comprising the It is in that second zone that immense coffee plantations are to be found, the red soil typical of that tableland being particularly suitable for the cultivation of the coffee trees. It is hardly necessary here to go into detailed statistics, but it may be sufficient to state, on the authority of the Directoria de Estatistica Commercial of Rio de Janeiro, that during the first eleven months of the year 1912, 10,465,435 sacks of coffee were exported from Brazil—mostly from SÃo Paulo—showing an increase of 548,854 sacks on eleven months of the previous year. That means a sum of £40,516,006 sterling, or £5,218,564 more than the previous year; the average value of the coffee being, in 1912, 58,071 milreis, or, taking the pound sterling at 15 milreis, £3 17s. 5½d. a sack—an increase in price of 4,628 reis = 6s. 2d. per sack, on the sales of 1911. The other exports from the State of SÃo Paulo are flour, mandioca, cassava, bran, tanned hides, horns, The area of the State of SÃo Paulo has been put down at 290,876 sq. kil. Its population in 1908 was calculated at 3,397,000, and it had then more inhabitants to the square kilometre than any other part of Brazil. It is useless to give actual figures of the population, for none are reliable. Although this State is the most civilized in Brazil, yet a good portion of its western territory is still practically a terra incognita, so that even the best official figures are mere guess-work. Owing to the wonderful foresight of that great man, Antonio Prado—to my mind the greatest man in Brazil—a new industry has been started in the State of SÃo Paulo which promises to be as lucrative and perhaps more so than the cultivation of coffee. It is the breeding of cattle on a gigantic scale, the magnificent prairies near Barretos, in the northern part of the State, being employed for the purpose. Slaughter-houses and refrigerating plants of the most modern type are to be established there, and with such a practical man as Antonio Prado at the head of the enterprise, the scheme is bound, I should think, to be a success. With the population of the Republic gradually increasing—it could be centupled and there would still For some years cattle breeding has been carried on successfully enough, but on a comparatively small scale, in this State. Experiments have been made in crossing the best local breeds, principally the CaracÙ, with good foreign breeds, such as the Jersey, Durham and Dutch stocks. Pigs of the Berkshire, Yorkshire, Canasters and Tatus type are the favourites in SÃo Paulo, and seem to flourish in that climate. Sheep-breeding is also successful, and would be even more so if proper care were taken of the animals. Of the wool-producing kinds, those preferred are the Leicester, Merino, Oxford and Lincoln, the Oxford having already produced quite excellent results. The Government of the State, I understand, is at present giving great attention to the matter, and is using discrimination in the selection of suitable breeds from foreign countries in order to procure the best animals of various kinds for the production of meat, butter, and hides. I also believe that an endeavour is being made to produce in the State a good breed of horses for military and other purposes. The elevation of SÃo Paulo city is 2,450 ft. above the sea level. Thanks to the kindness of the President of the Baron de Rio Branco. The Paulista Railway was interesting, as it was the first line in Brazil constructed entirely with Brazilian capital. The line was begun in 1870, but since that date several extensions have been successfully laid out. Up to 1909 the lines owned and worked by the Paulista Railway were the 1·60-metre-gauge trunk line from Jundiahy to Descalvado (north of S. Paulo), and the two branch lines of the same gauge from Cordeiro to Rio Claro; Laranja Azeda to S. Veridiana; the two branch lines of 0·60 m. gauge from Descalvado to Aurora and from Porto Ferreira to S. Rita do Passo Quatro. Then they possessed the one-metre trunk line from Rio Claro to Araraquara, with the following branch and extension lines: Visconde de Rio Claro to Jahu; Araraquara to Jaboticabal; Bebedouro to Barretos; Mogy Guasso RincÃo to Pontal; S. Carlos to S. Euxodia and Rib. Bonita; Agudos to Dois Corregos and Piratininga; and the loop line through Brotas. Of the total charters for 1,114 kil. 261 have been granted by the Federal Government and are under their supervision, whereas 583 kil. are under charter granted by the State of SÃo Paulo. The following statistics taken from the last Brazilian Year Book show the wonderful development of the passenger and goods traffic on the Paulista Railway:—
At Jundiahy the Paulista Company has extensive repairing shops for engines. Formerly they had there also shops for building carriages, but these are now constructed at the Rio Claro Station, partly from material which comes from abroad. The rolling stock of the Company is excellent in every way—quite up-to-date, and kept in good condition—almost too luxurious for the kind of passengers it has to carry. It is principally after leaving Campinas that the scenery of the line is really beautiful—wonderful undulating country—but with no habitations, except, perhaps, a few miserable sheds miles and miles apart. At Nueva Odena the Government is experimenting with Russian and Italian labourers, for whom it has built a neat little colony. After a time each labourer becomes the owner of the land he has cultivated. I am told that the colony is a success. |
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