Journey to Canta Gallo.

SOME time after my return from Santa Cruz, a circumstance of a singular nature took place, which occasioned me to undertake a journey to a district called Canta Gallo, distant about forty leagues from the capital, and one of the latest discovered in this part of Brazil. Two men reported that they had there found a mine of silver, and brought to the mint a quantity of earthy matter reduced to powder, from which was smelted a small ingot of that metal. This report being officially laid before His Excellency the Conde de Linhares, I was solicited to go to Canta Gallo, and investigate the business on the spot, the two men being ordered to meet me there. Before I proceed to relate the result of my inquiry, I shall briefly describe whatever I observed worthy of note in the course of the journey.

Being provided with a passport, and also a sketch of the route, taken from a MS. map in the archives, I departed from Rio on the 10th of April, 1809, accompanied by Dr. Gardner, the gentleman already mentioned as lecturer on chemistry at the college of S. Joaquim. Having to pass to the bottom of the harbour, towards the north, we embarked in a small vessel, and being favored with a strong sea-breeze, ran down to the entrance of the fine river Macacu, which we reached after a five hours’ sail. The wind then dying, our boatmen took to their oars, and proceeding up the river, we reached a house called Villa Nova, where numbers of market-boats for Rio, were waiting for the land-wind and the turn of the tide. After taking some refreshment here, we rowed onward until the river became so narrow, that the vessel frequently touched the bank on each side, and the men were obliged to push her along with poles. At day-break we reached Porto das Caixas, a place of great resort from the interior, being the station where the mules discharge their loads of produce from the many plantations in the neighbourhood. The town consists of several poor houses, and of stores where goods are deposited for embarkation. The stratum hereabouts is primitive granite, covered with fine strong clay. Leaving this place, we proceeded for some distance and came to a large swamp, which we navigated in a canoe, with very little difficulty, and shortly afterwards arrived at the village of Macacu. It stands on a small eminence in the midst of a fine plain, watered by a considerable stream, over which there are two good bridges. Though almost at the base of the chain of the mountains that forms a barrier along the coast, the neighbourhood affords some fine situations; the land, in general, consists of a strong clay, but appears much worn out. The commander, Colonel Jose, to whom I introduced myself, gave me a very polite reception, as did also the brethren of the convent, to whom I paid a visit. I passed the night at the house of the EscrivÃo, a worthy gentleman, whose hospitality I still remember with peculiar gratitude, because it seemed to proceed, not from a cold sense of duty, but from the impulse of a warm and generous heart.

On the following day, being accommodated by the colonel with a horse and guide, I proceeded along the winding banks of the river, which, in many places, present most beautiful views. Here was more cultivated land than I expected to see; but the sugar-plantations, and, in general, the low pasture-grounds, are quite neglected. We passed several farms belonging to convents, which, from their apparent condition, and the accounts we received, do little more than maintain the negroes and incumbents upon them. There was rarely a milch cow to be met with: pigs and poultry were equally scarce. The population of these fine valleys is deplorably thin and poor; there was a general sickliness in the looks of the women and children, which may be imputed to their miserable diet and inactive life. I ought to state that the manners of the people here are mild and gentle; we were every where treated with civility, and all our enquiries were answered with the most friendly marks of respect and attention.

The air, as we drew nearer the mountains, was fresh and indeed cold. Towards evening we arrived at a farm belonging to a convent of nuns in Rio de Janeiro, where we were kindly accommodated for the night. This place is most agreeably situated, and might, under skilful and industrious management, be rendered a paradise. It has excellent clay, fine timber, a good fall of water, which forms a beautiful rivulet, and runs into a navigable river within one hundred yards of the house; a fine extent of arable land, and a still finer of pasture, which peculiarly qualifies it for dairy farming. It is distant only one day’s journey from Porto das Caixas, where there is a navigable communication with the metropolis. What a scene for an enterprising agriculturist! At present all is neglected: the house, the out-buildings, and other conveniences, are in a state of decay, and all the people who manage the land appear, in common with the animals that feed upon it, to be half famished.

The next morning we proceeded eastward, and crossing the stream, which was at least sixty yards broad and full three feet deep, rode along the farther margin, which is rather more elevated, and presents a view of some fine plains, stretching from thence to the base of the mountains. Journeying in that direction we reached the fine plantation of Captain Ferreira, who received us very politely, and shewed us every attention. This place, bounded by the alpine ridge behind it, is the extreme point to which the river Macacu is navigable. It is six or seven leagues from the village of that name. The estate maintains about one hundred negroes, who are chiefly employed in raising sugar, cotton, and coffee; but to me the situation appeared much better calculated for growing grain and feeding cattle, as the weather is at times cold, the evenings are often attended with heavy dews, and owing to the proximity of the mountains, there are frequent rains, accompanied by thunder and lightning. Numbers of fine springs burst forth from various parts of the hills, and form rivulets with falls, which, as here is plenty of fine timber, afford every means for working machinery. The owner lives in opulence, and is so humane and liberal to his people, that they seem to revere him as a father. We were much pleased with the air of domestic comfort and contented industry, which we observed among them on visiting their dwellings in the evening. Some of the negro-children were at play; others of more advanced age were assisting the women to pick cotton; and the men were scraping and preparing mandioca. Their cheerfulness was not at all interrupted by our approach, nor did they betray any uneasy feeling of constraint in the presence of their superiors. In lieu of candles, which are seldom to be met with but in the capital, they burn oil, extracted from the bean of the palm, or from a small species of ground-nut, here called meni.

About noon, on the following day, horses being provided, and a soldier appointed for our guide, we left the fazenda, accompanied by its hospitable owner, Captain Ferreira, who conducted us half a league on our way. The river, along which we passed in an easterly direction, bursts through vast masses of rock with great force, and in some parts forms considerable falls. The Captain, ere we parted, led me to a water-course, in which were found pieces of granite covered with manganese in a botryoidal form. After crossing the river twice, we arrived at what is called the first register, or searching-house, distant about two miles from the fazenda. This station is guarded by a corporal and a private soldier, who are charged with the receipt of various tolls, and are empowered to search passengers, in order to prevent the smuggling of gold-dust. After shewing my passport, I took leave of Captain Ferreira, who made me promise to pay him a longer visit on my return.

We had been warned of the badness of the roads, and were by no means agreeably deceived in them, for we were nearly four hours in going the next six miles. At the close of day, after a laborious and dangerous passage through abrupt ravines, and along the sides of steep hills, our guide announced that we were in sight of the second register, where it was proposed that we should pass the night. On arriving we found it a most miserable place, inhabited by five or six soldiers under the command of a serjeant. This good man gave us a hearty welcome, and with the assistance of his comrades, cooked us a supper of fowls, and regaled us with whatever else their scanty store afforded. We were not without music to our repast, for the house is built on the edge of a roaring torrent, which, bursting through a ravine, has washed away every thing except some huge masses of rock. A bit of ground, about ten yards square, is all the garden these poor people have, and even this is much neglected, for the guards here are so often changed, that no one thinks of adding to the comforts and conveniences of an abode, which others are to enjoy.

At day-break, we found that our mules had strayed into a wood adjoining, but as the road was stopped, we were under no apprehension of losing them, for the thickets on each side were impervious. This occurrence gave me an opportunity of seeing more of these remote regions; and certainly the imagination of Salvator Rosa himself never pictured so rude a solitude. On one side rose the great barrier of mountains, which we had yet to cross, covered to their summits with trees and underwood, without the smallest trace of cultivation; on the other lay the broken country, between this ridge and the plain, presenting the same wild features of sylvan scenery. The miserable hut at which we lodged, partook of the savage character of the neighbourhood, and seemed formed for the abode of men cut off from all intercourse with their fellows. On our return we were provided with a breakfast of coffee and eggs; as to milk there was no possibility of procuring any; a cow would have been considered here as an incumbrance, nor would any one of the six idle soldiers have given himself the trouble of milking her though they all had been dying of hunger.

On resuming our journey, we entered on a road still more steep and rugged than that which we had passed. We were often obliged to dismount and lead our mules up almost perpendicular passes, and along fearful declivities. In some places, the thick foliage of the trees, and that of the underwood, which grew higher than our heads, sheltered us from the sun, and indeed scarcely admitted the light. Not a bird did we see, nor the trace of any living thing, except some wild hogs. We passed several bare granite rocks of a gneiss-like formation.

In journeying to the next station, we observed nothing worthy of note, except a small saw-mill, worked by an overshot wheel, of very clumsy construction. The frame, which contains a single saw of very thick iron, moves in a perpendicular direction; at every stroke, a boy brings the timber up, by pulling a cord attached to a crank that moves the cylinder on which it rests. How readily, thought I, would the meanest Russian peasant improve this machine!

We proceeded on our way up an ascent so precipitous, that we were obliged to walk more than ride; after two hours toiling along the side of a granite mountain, in which we observed some beds of fine clay, we reached the summit, from whence we saw the bay of Rio de Janeiro, the sugar-loaf mountain, and the city itself, to all appearance, not more than four or five leagues distant from us, though, in reality, more than twenty. At this elevation, which we may state to be at four or five thousand feet above the level of the sea, the air was sharp and keen; the thermometer stood at 58°. Continuing in a north-easterly direction, we passed two poor solitary farms, and entered upon a range of scenery tremendously grand, composed of bare abrupt conical mountains, with immense water-falls in every direction. At the close of the day, we arrived at a farm-house, called Fazenda do Morro Queimado, the manager of which received us hospitably, and accommodated us for the night. The weather was so cold, that a double supply of bedclothes scarcely produced sufficient warmth; in the morning the thermometer was at 48° Fahrenheit. After the heavy dew had cleared away, we took a view of the grounds, in company with the manager; they appeared well-suited for a grazing-farm, but the temperature of the atmosphere is too severe for growing the common produce of the country; particularly cotton, coffee, and bananas, which are frequently blighted. I was informed that some wheat has been grown here, though the people are quite unacquainted with the European method of farming. Indian corn, for the feed of hogs, is the staple article. This plantation is infested by ounces, which, at times, prey upon young cattle; the manager, who is a great hunter, keeps dogs, though of a poor race, for the express purpose of destroying them, which is thus practised:—When the carcass of a worried animal has been found, or when an ounce has been seen prowling about, the news is soon proclaimed among the neighbours, two or three of whom take fire-arms loaded with heavy slugs, and go out with the dogs in quest of the animal, who generally lurks in some thicket, near the carcass he has killed, and leaves so strong a scent, that the dogs soon find. When disturbed he retreats to his den, if he has one, the dogs never attempting to fasten on him, or even to face him, but, on the contrary, endeavouring to get out of his way, which is not difficult, as the ounce is heavy and slow of motion. If he caves, the sport is at an end, and the hunters make up the entrance; but he more commonly has recourse to a large tree, which he climbs with great facility; here his fate is generally decided, for the hunters get near enough to take a steady aim, and seldom fail to bring him down, one of them reserving his fire to dispatch him, if required, after he has fallen. It generally happens, that one or two of the dogs are killed in coming too near, for even in his dying struggles, a single stroke of his paw proves mortal. The skin is carried home as a trophy, and the neighbours meet and congratulate each other on the occasion.

This farm, in the hands of an experienced and skilful agriculturist, might be managed so as to produce amazing returns. Its soil is wet, adapted to the growth, not only of Indian corn, but of wheat, barley, potatoes, &c. and it is so well irrigated, by numerous mountain streams, that the pastures are always luxuriant. Here are fine falls of water, and abundance of excellent timber, so that corn-mills might be erected at little more expense than what would arise from the purchase of mill-stones. Connected with the nun’s farm below, this establishment might be rendered one of the most complete and advantageous in Brazil.

Leaving Morro Queimado at noon, and descending on the other side of the ridge of mountains, we passed through an unequal tract, formed of hills and ravines. Onward the land appeared finer, and the timber of a superior growth, but there were few cultivated spots, and not many houses. The first extensive fazenda we reached was that of Manoel Jose Pereira, a native of the Azores, who managed his agricultural concerns much better than the other farmers whom we visited. We were shewn a large field of Indian corn, ready for cutting; the quantity that had been sown was about eleven fangas, or bushels, and the produce was estimated at fifteen hundred bushels, about one hundred and fifty for one. This was an ordinary crop; in good years the harvest yields two hundred for one. The corn, as before stated, is chiefly consumed in the fattening of pigs; the quantity requisite for this purpose is six or seven bushels each, and the time, ten or twelve weeks. The curing of bacon is performed by cutting all the lean from the flitches, and sprinkling them with a very little salt. This food has the peculiar effect of giving greater solidity to the fat, which of itself is not liable to putrefaction.

Though the owner of this farm has occupied it not more than five years, and has had only the assistance of his two sons, and six negroes, he has brought it into a very fair state of cultivation. In his coffee plantation we observed five thousand trees in full bearing, and the rest of his grounds were in an equally prosperous condition. His expenses, indeed, are light, and the only difficulties he has had to contend with, have been the bad roads, which are now much amended. The example of this man, it is to be hoped, will stimulate the emulation of his neighbours; for it has fully shewn the unbounded liberality with which nature here crowns the labors of the agriculturist.

On our way hence to the place of our destination, we passed through some forests of fine full-grown trees; one, which had fallen, I had the curiosity to measure; it was full seventy-six inches in diameter, at the thick end, and above twenty-five yards in length. Such a piece of timber I had never before seen. Within about three miles from Canta Gallo, we arrived at an excellent farm belonging to the Senhor Tenente, or treasurer of the district, who treated us very hospitably, and invited us to visit him on our return. Our reception at Canta Gallo was highly gratifying; the Governor, and all the principal inhabitants, overjoyed to see Englishmen in these remote parts, treated us with great cordiality and friendship; a dinner was provided, at which they testified to us the great respect they entertained for our nation, as being the great ally of a Prince whom they adored.