The State of SÃo Paulo, called the most progressive, if not the most important in Brazil, has for its chief seaport the city of Santos, to which the majority of tourists will have come by express steamer from Montevideo. Every ship calls at Santos, even coming up to the docks, so that all must see this city. The only question is whether or not to go up to SÃo Paulo, distant two hours by rail. This should be no question. Every one must go if only for the ride and a glimpse of this prosperous and busy capital, returning the same afternoon. Fare one way 12$900. Should the steamer’s schedule not permit of this excursion, one should still go, and either wait over until the next steamer, a ticket on the Lamport and Holt serving also on the Royal Mail, or proceed from SÃo Paulo by rail to Rio, fare 54$500. Or if preferred, one may continue in the same steamer to Rio, thence return later by rail to SÃo Paulo, and embark at Santos on his homeward journey, an arrangement which affords certain advantages. In this way one has the great pleasure of twice entering the magnificent harbor of Rio, which it were a pity to miss altogether. On the other hand, journeying by rail from SÃo Paulo one may, if on the right train, enjoy a wonderful view of the city and harbor while descending from the plateau above down to sea level. But as somewhat similar views may be had from Corcovado, Tijuca, and the road to Petropolis, this is less important and desirable than the view of Rio from the sea, peculiarly entrancing at early dawn. To stay over from one weekly steamer to the next is not too much if one cares to visit a coffee plantation and see a little of the country; a day or two is better than nothing.

The name of SÃo Paulo, the greatest coffee-producing region of the world, is less familiar to people generally than that of its seaport, Santos, as the name Santos is attached to a very small portion of the coffee thence dispatched to all quarters of the globe. As almost every one occasionally or regularly drinks coffee, under the name of Java, Mocha, or another, which has been grown in SÃo Paulo, there is an especial interest in learning something of the country. SÃo Paulo is an active flourishing State, not at all in accordance with the general idea of Brazil, chiefly associated with the hot Amazon basin; it is an upland temperate region of 75,000 square miles, a trifle larger than the whole of New England with New Jersey added.

Brazil, like most other tropical lands, is fortunate in having a fair portion of her surface considerably elevated above the sea, and thus with an agreeable climate of quite temperate character. The Coast Range, which includes the Serra do Mar extending from Espirito Santo to Santa Catharina is indeed a godsend to the country, endowing it, through regions of great extent, with wonderful scenic beauty, besides modifying the climate; while in SÃo Paulo and Minas Geraes, a parallel range with two peaks, Itapeva and Marins, 7000 and 8000 feet, confers additional advantage. Between these two ranges, as also west of the second, the land is high, the lowland being confined to a narrow strip along the coast. Unlimited water power, one estimate is 2,000,000 horsepower, now unexploited, is a valuable asset of the State; for the various tributaries of the ParanÁ have a number of large cataracts both useful and beautiful, the Itapura Fall 1500 feet wide and 40 high, the Avanhandava 50 feet high, and others. In spite of this the rivers in considerable stretches are navigable. Besides the cultivation of coffee for which the State is pre-eminent, sugar, cotton, rice, and tobacco, fruit and cereals are, or soon will be, important productions.

Santos. The port of Santos (Hotels, Grande, Washington, Internacional), called one of the best and most important of the world, receives annually more than 1500 steamers besides sailing vessels. The largest ocean liners anchor alongside the quay, which extends from the SÃo Paulo Railway Station two miles down along the front of the town. The fine docks were built by a local company, which in 1892 began the construction, on a base from 10 to 20 feet thick, of a huge sea wall of granite rising 5 feet above high water mark. Hydraulic and other machinery is provided to receive and discharge freight, and commerce has grown rapidly until, in 1911, it amounted to $160,000,000 exports and $65,000,000 imports.

Santos is an ancient town founded in 1544 or earlier by Braz Cubas. A hospital established by this gentleman, the first charitable institution in Brazil, was called Todos os Santos, from which the name Santos was gradually used to designate the town. After his death at an advanced age, Braz Cubas was buried in the chapel of the hospital. Its early origin might seem to indicate that the place was particularly unhealthy, and it has in fact had a bad reputation as a seat of yellow fever; but for some years now it has been as healthful as need be. The State and City authorities, awaking to the importance of such matters, accomplished the sanitation of the port by means of a perfect system of drainage and a good water supply.

Though the fact is not apparent, Santos, a city of 70,000 people, is situated, 3 miles from the ocean, on an island, the northeast shore of SÃo Vicente; but so close is the island to the mainland that in the dry season when the river has no water it becomes a peninsula. On the opposite side of the river-like channel by which ships enter the harbor, is a larger island, Santo Amaro. It is all very pretty, as luxuriantly clad hills slope almost to the water’s edge. At the southwest end of the island, SÃo Vicente, is the old town of that name, an hour by rail from Santos. Toward the south end are two popular summer resorts where some of the Santos people, especially the foreigners, live all the year around, while from the interior many come down for the summer. At the entrance of the channel called GuarujÁ, the fortress of Barra Grande on the east guards the harbor, while opposite is the suburb of Barra with charming country homes. Half way up the channel the docks give evidence of commercial activity. Opposite the city of Santos on the island Santo Amaro, beyond the hills is the seashore resort GuarujÁ, called the most picturesque in South America, on a rounded knoll overlooking the ocean, among higher hills clothed with virgin forest. This fashionable resort which is reached by means, first, of a short sail across the channel, then of a half hour’s railway ride, not so grand or expensive as Mar del Plata, has natural advantages far greater. Near the white sandy shore are pretty streets lined with chalets and Queen Anne cottages, a casino, a large hotel with gardens, and luxuriant natural vegetation; accommodations may be procured here at reasonable prices, except during the season, when people from all over Brazil make the place full to overflowing.

At Santos every one goes ashore if only for the few hours that all ships tarry. The business streets are close by and the pretty central plaza but a short distance. This old part of the city between the docks and the 15th of November street preserves the narrow old-fashioned alleys, we should call them, of the colonial period, by no means unpleasant on a hot day. Although warm, it is usual to see persons hurrying about, for business is done between ten and four, a shorter day than in most Brazilian cities; here imperative, as many business men daily come in the morning from SÃo Paulo, returning by the afternoon train. A Brazilian writer whose translator’s English is frequently amusing says, “People do not run, they fly. The sweat dampens the collars, the converses are resumed to the exchange of monosyllables, as it is necessary that everything be finished before the last train starts.” Away from the business section are broader streets and fine houses, with a hotel called excellent. Two long wide avenues, Nebia and Anna Costa, crossed by streets which are gradually being built up, extend towards the sea. Street cars run in this and other directions, and if time permits it is a pleasant ride to a pretty seashore suburb with rolling surf and attractive dwellings at the end of the route.

But now we must climb the CubatÃo Hill, we might even say mountain, to the capital city, by the SÃo Paulo Railway. An elevation of 3000 feet is gained in a very short distance, as the Serra do Mar is indeed close to the shore. The height seems too steep to climb with any ordinary means, and in fact it is. Extraordinary means are employed, inclined planes on a much larger scale than we have seen before, of novel construction and carrying regular railway coaches. It is a strange and wonderful ride through tropical forests, along the side of steep inclines of great picturesque beauty. Often when the region is shrouded in mist a rift therein, disclosing a tremendous chasm below, has a rather startling effect.

This railway is ranked by experienced British engineers among the great mechanical achievements of the world, such as the Brooklyn and Forth bridges. Due to the initiative of Visconde de MauÁ, it makes an ascent of 2600 feet in the short distance of seven miles. Beginning only 15 feet above the sea five inclined planes with a grade of eight per cent, each about a mile and a quarter long, serve for the rapid climb. Four intermediate levels of about 600 feet each separate the planes; a bankhead at the top is a little longer. Above each plane is a stationary engine to run the cables, and to grip these a small special engine is attached to each car. The winding engines for the cables are built under the track, partly underground, receiving light from the side. One is surprised to see two double roads, but the first proving insufficient for the freight traffic, soon after 1895 a new incline was begun, just above on the same slope, with improved technical arrangements. The tracks are very curious. On the inclines each double-track has but three rails for both up and down, these being 1.6 meters distant one from another, the middle rail serving for both the ascending and the descending cars, which obviously do not meet on the inclines, but may on the intermediate levels. On each side, in the center of the space between the middle and the outside rails, the pulleys are fixed which carry the cable. This is an endless steel wire of enormous strength, run by a 1000 horsepower engine, and capable of carrying 6 freight or 3 passenger cars at a time. The entire capacity of the cables is 17,500 tons daily, or under pressure 22,000 tons. These remarkable engineering works as greatly deserve the attention of the tourist as the scenery. In this short section there are 16 viaducts, 15 tunnels, and two miles of retaining wall, with a volume of masonry exceeding 80,000 cubic meters. For one cutting over 150 feet deep, 300,000 cubic meters of earth was removed. The Grota Funda viaduct is 334 feet long and nearly 150 feet high in the center. Two viaducts have masonry arches, the rest steel. A difficult problem was the drainage, and many surface drains of the extensive system may be observed in passing. The road, though but 100 miles long, extending from Santos to Judiahy and passing SÃo Paulo half way is one of the richest in the world. In spite of the enormous expense involved in its unusual construction, from the fact that it carries the most freight and charges the highest prices, it yields the largest dividends of any road in Brazil, sometimes fifty per cent. Its heaviest earnings come from the transport of coffee, as in the section served by this line there are perhaps 15,000 plantations with 500 million coffee trees. From these the road carries 7 of the 10 million bags annually exported, besides ordinary freight transportation. The passenger traffic hardly pays, or greatly increases in volume, as the two hours’ ride from SÃo Paulo to Santos is more than most men care to take daily.

SÃo Paulo

Hotels. The Sportsman, the Grand, the Majestic, the Albion.

After climbing the mountain side, an hour more over a rolling country brings one to the station called Luz, in the city of SÃo Paulo, said to be the largest and most costly railway station in South America, and one of the finest in the world. The tracks are arranged below the street level, hence there are no grade crossings. This city, the second in Brazil, and with its about 400,000 inhabitants taking third position among the cities of South America, will be a surprise to most travelers. Located on the Tropic of Capricorn, its elevation gives it a healthful climate which in combination with other advantages has produced men awake to the spirit of progress and eager to develop the astonishing resources of this richly endowed State. The city is not only the capital and the seat of State Government, but a notable center of education and industry, and the home of many men of great wealth. It is an ancient city, going back to the middle of the sixteenth century, 1554, its name SÃo Paulo, which had been previously applied to a Jesuit college here, being transferred to the new settlement by the Governor-General of Brazil, Mem de SÁ. Though of greater age than any city in our own country, for three centuries it made small progress. In 1872 it was a town of 26,557 people. But within the last forty years it has shown amazing growth, which few of our cities can parallel, an increase of nearly fifteen fold. Although on the edge of the tropics, from its elevation of 3000 feet, it has a climate like that of Southern Europe. From the neighboring mountains it receives an excellent water supply, while its site on rolling ground affords excellent drainage facilities and in places a splendid outlook.

The hotel accommodations are unfortunately inadequate for the rapid development and business of the city. They are fairly comfortable, though apt to be over-crowded. It is well if possible to engage a room in advance. The Sportsman’s Hotel on the rua SÃo Bento is by some called the best; the Grand, the Albion, and the Majestic are not far distant. The prices are all about the same, from $3.50 to $5.00 a day, American plan. A new hotel is now being constructed, large and modern. The main streets of the business center, naturally the old part of the town, are rather narrow and not all checkerboard fashion as in most of the cities visited. This, no doubt, is due to the fact that the surface is irregular, with hills and valleys such that in one place a viaduct 800 feet long and 50 wide, called the Viaducto ChÁ, forms a curious street leading from the rua Direita over an old part of the town, once a tea garden, to a hill in the newer section, where the handsome Municipal Theater is situated. This imposing edifice, with streets on all sides, recently erected at a cost of a million dollars, compares with the best in Europe and surpasses any in the United States. The seating capacity is a trifle less than that of the Paris Opera House. The seats for the orchestra are, according to the Wagner system, placed below the general floor level.

The commercial center of the city, not far from the hotels mentioned, is a triangular plaza called Tiradentes. The rua SÃo Bento, the Quinze de Novembro, and the Direita are the principal shopping and business streets. The Largo de Palacio is a square near by, on which is the fine Palace of Congress; the handsome Agricultural Building of the German style; the Treasury, covering 700 square meters, the work of a Brazilian architect, Ramos Azavedo; and the Judiciary Building of the Roman Doric order. Other noteworthy buildings are the Post Office, the Exchange, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Public Library. Some of the finest streets are the Avenidas Tiradentes, and the Rangel Bestana passing the Largo de Concordia with the always interesting Market Place, the ruas da Liberdade, Santo Amaro, da ConsolaÇÃo. The last three lead to the splendid Avenue Paulista, with shaded parkway along the center, the finest boulevard of the capital, on which are many of the handsomest residences. Of course the city has electric lights and cars, and many miles of fine asphalt pavements, though in the outskirts, on account of the city’s rapid growth, there may be a few streets yet unpaved, which should be avoided. Automobiles and fine carriages are numerous, and delightful drives may be taken to see the fine public buildings and the multitude of charming and splendid private residences. From a residential point of view few more attractive places will be found anywhere. The many churches one writer calls magnificent, another says only the modern ones are of artistic merit. The Cathedral, the churches of SÃo Pedro, S. GonÇalo, and Remedios are among the most important.

Many of the fine buildings of the city are devoted to educational purposes. The city takes especial pride in its Polytechnic School, said to be the best in Brazil, in view of its fine laboratories, the practical character of the studies, and its imposing edifice opened in 1894. Instruction is given in architecture and in civil, industrial, agricultural, mechanical, and electric engineering. Also it has a School of Chemistry, with courses in dentistry and obstetrics. The Government maintains a Law School having a five years’ course. Its library of 50,000 volumes is free to the public. About the same size is the general Public Library. The fine large Normal School, overlooking the PraÇa da Republica, occupies a whole square near the center of the city. With a library of 12,000 volumes, with laboratories, museums, rooms for manual labor, gymnastics, and military exercises, it is said to be equal in equipment and installation to any in America. A kindergarten, equal to the best in any part of the world, occupies an annex. A Commercial School for training bookkeepers and tradesmen, is included in the educational system. A spacious building east of the Jardim Publico is occupied by the Lyceum of Arts and Trades, where various trades are taught, such as tailoring, carpentry, printing, and many others. This institution, with towards 1000 pupils, is supported by a private association. Especially noteworthy by Americans is the famous Mackenzie College, opened in 1892 on the corner of rua de SÃo JoÃo and Ypiranga. Schools of lower grades were established in 1870 by Presbyterians, gradually becoming a complete graded system from kindergarten to high school. On this model the government schools were largely planned and on the floor of the Brazilian Congress the school system was said to have been the greatest factor in their educational development of the last twenty years. The college was the first of American fashion in Brazil. Coeducation is followed, though the girls live elsewhere. The Chamberlain Dormitory was erected in 1901 for the boys. The President of the College is Dr. H. M. Lane, and the institution is affiliated with the University of the State of New York.

One of the most important points of interest in SÃo Paulo, though on the outskirts of the city, at the same time a monument and an institution of learning, is the Ypiranga, a splendid edifice erected in 1885 on the spot where, in 1822, the Independence of Brazil was proclaimed. As it is regarded as one of the finest structures in Brazil, the name of the artist, Caviliere Tomaso G. Bezzi, is given. The building, which fronts on a broad open space, houses a museum with treasures of historical and scientific interest, many curious and valuable relics, and fine paintings by Brazilian artists. The beautiful Park, the Jardim Publico or Jardim da Luz, will naturally be visited by every one. Directly opposite the Luz Station, created by Royal Charter in 1790, it was first opened in 1825. Adorned with a profusion of flowers, trees, a pretty lake, and other decorations, it is a delightful resort for resident and stranger.

Well worthy of a visit is the Hotel of Immigrants, a large establishment fitted up in the most sanitary and appropriate manner. Thousands of families from Europe are here welcomed annually, and entertained free of charge for a short period. A Government agent speaking their language meets the strangers on their arrival in Santos, and escorts them to this Hotel. Later they receive free transportation to wherever in the State they desire to go, and their interests are looked after by a board. This State is the only one with its own especial department of immigration and active propaganda.

High-grade institutions of a sanitary character are numerous in the city, as a Bacteriological, a Sero-therapic, a Pasteur, and various other Institutes. Fine large hospitals for general and special diseases, and for colonists of various nationalities, will be observed in an extended drive.

Coffee. If time permits, the tourist will surely enjoy a visit to a great coffee plantation. There are none in the immediate vicinity of SÃo Paulo, but it is a pleasant journey of 80 miles to the city of Campinas, in the vicinity of which are fazendas galore. This is one of the oldest and most flourishing towns of the State, with a population of about 50,000, modern and prosperous, well paved and lighted, with good schools and a fine large Cathedral.

The State of SÃo Paulo now furnishes one-fourth of the world’s coffee supply and this section is one of the largest producing districts in Brazil. Near Campinas, the great fazenda of Baron Geraldo de Rezende will charm the favored visitor. A magnificent house and gardens, with a splendid collection of rare orchids and 800 varieties of roses, are a not unnatural possession of the owner of half a million coffee trees. A much vaster estate but too remote for many travelers to inspect is that of the coffee king of the world, Col. Francisco Schmidt. Coming as a colonist to this state he has achieved a success of which one might well be proud. Of the 700,000,000 trees in the State, Col. Schmidt owns more than one per cent, 7½ million. On the various plantations live 8000 people, contented and prosperous; a school is provided for each village. The soil and climate of SÃo Paulo are so well adapted to this industry that the crop is several times as heavy to the acre as in most other coffee growing countries. A family of three or four persons can take care of 10,000 trees and by cultivating other agricultural products at the same time could live on the proceeds.

In 1817 the first shipment of coffee was made from Brazil, about 6000 bags; in 1906, 13 million bags were exported, 10 million being the average. The consumption of coffee in recent years has wonderfully increased. Though generally considered less injurious than tea, both should be utterly tabooed to children and young people. To persons of mature years who have not taken it earlier to their injury, its moderate use may not be harmful, in some cases may even be beneficial. In humid climates it seems to be used freely with less ill effects than in a dry and bracing air, where habitual stimulant of any sort may be undesirable.

Although famed for its coffee, SÃo Paulo can produce almost anything else: rice, sugar, cotton, tobacco, tea, cocoa, wheat, corn, sweet potatoes, other vegetables, and fodder plants are among its products. Of these, the marmallade de cavallo, is called the most nutritious of fodder plants known.

From SÃo Paulo to Rio the journey may be made by land or sea. If going by rail, one may be advised to take the night train, on the ground that there is nothing to see, that it will be dusty, and that the ride of 12 hours is a long and fatiguing day’s journey; the distance is about 310 miles. Also a day is thus gained to spend either at SÃo Paulo or Rio. On the other hand, some persons who have made the trip by daylight speak of it with enthusiasm. In the early morning one passes on gentle slopes fields of glossy green coffee trees, groves of oranges, jungles of palms and bananas, with enormous clumps of feathery bamboo, and little towns on the hillsides. At the stations are women selling fruit, and negro boys with trays of tiny cups of black coffee, hot and sweetened. After a while an alluring stream is passed, with pleasant towns. Midday is hot and dusty. Farther on are reddish grassy slopes and in climbing the wooded ridge many cattle may be visible. Higher ascends the train, the valleys are blue below: delightful scenes are on every hand, mountains abrupt and fantastic appear. Yet ever there is soft rich verdure; at last comes swift descent towards a panorama of wonderful loveliness. At dusk the train rolls into Rio, where, says the Involuntary Chaperone, “All the dreams come true.”