Chapter XI: Arrayas to San Romão (2)

We started early from the Buriti swamp where we slept, with the expectation of reaching the fazenda do Rio Claro about mid-day, but a little before that time we found, by the direction in which we were going, that we had taken a wrong road. A little after mid-day we came to the S.E. termination of that part of the Serra das Araras on which we had been travelling, whence we had an uninterrupted view of the vast plain that stretches to the south and east, studded here and there with a few small lakes. After descending the Serra by an easy path, we rested during the middle of the day beneath some trees, by the side of a little stream of cool water that came rushing down from the Serra, not knowing where we were, nor when we might meet with any one to give us information. We soon found the track again, and travelling through a flat thinly-wooded country, on an indifferent path, for about half an hour, we arrived at a small house, which we found empty; and a little further on we came upon another in the same state. Following the same path for about an hour, we met a black man and a boy, from whom we learned that we should arrive at a fazenda about half a league further on; we likewise ascertained at the same time that the road we had chosen was a round of about three leagues and a half to the fazenda do Rio Claro, but that it was much better than the one usually travelled; this at least was some consolation for the error we had committed. It was nearly sunset when we reached a small fazenda, called San José, where we put up for the night; the house was not only small, but in a wretchedly ruinous condition, and belonged to a mulatto, who did not seem to be very industrious. The Rio Urucuya, which runs directly east from the Serra Geral, and empties itself into the Rio de San Francisco a little below San Romão, passes close to the house, and is even there of considerable width and depth. On this day’s journey I collected no new plants, being the only instance of failing to do so in my travels since I left the coast.

Next morning, after receiving proper directions for the fazenda do Rio Claro, we left San José, and not long after we started came to a large rivulet which was so deep and muddy that it became necessary for all the luggage to be carried over by the men, and owing to the difficulties of the fording this occupied about two hours. As the stream is narrow, and the banks high on each side, it would not be difficult, in the course of a day, to form a good wooden bridge over it at a trifling expense, for plenty of wood exists close by; but this is scarcely to be expected from those who will not give themselves the trouble of erecting a decent house to live in, notwithstanding they are surrounded by an abundance of materials. When all had been passed over, I found it was then too late to go on until we had breakfasted, we therefore remained here till the afternoon. While at breakfast, an elderly white woman and her son arrived on the opposite side of the stream, and after having crossed it, they remained during the middle of the day in our encampment. We found this woman, notwithstanding her age, to be lively and active, qualities not common among Brazilian women. I learned from her that she was going to a place at a distance of five days’ journey, to fulfil a vow she had made to San Antonio, some short time before, when she was suffering from illness. During our stay at this place, we were greatly tormented with carrapatos. We started early, and shortly before sunset arrived at last at the fazenda do Rio Claro, having passed through a flat, thinly-wooded country, covered with several large coarse kinds of grass.

This fazenda takes its name from a little stream that flows past it, and falls into the Urucuya, about a league further south. Although the house was large and commodious, compared with the generality of others in those parts, the owner, Senhor Manoel Lucas, would not give us accommodation for the night, but sent us to a small open shed in front of the hut of one of his slaves, where we slung our hammocks, after having tied up some hides to keep out a cold wind that blew down from the Serra. The men slept in the open air, on the ground, by the side of a large fire. As I had a great many plants to pack up, and as it was necessary to get two more large hide trunks made to put them in, we remained four days at Rio Claro for this purpose. During our stay we found the proprietor to be no less exorbitant than Captain Faustino, of San João, in the extravagant prices he demanded for the dried hides and Indian corn that I bought of him, and equally inhospitable in his demeanour.

The whole time we remained here, was spent in the shed before mentioned, where we were roasted by day, and starved with cold by night. We found it so extremely cold in our hammocks, for want of a proper supply of blankets, that we rose several times during the night in order to warm ourselves by the fire around which the men slept.

It was on the afternoon of the 12th of June that we left the inhospitable banks of the Rio Claro, and after a journey of two leagues, arrived at the next fazenda, called Boquerão, from the owner of which we met with a very different reception from that at the Rio Claro; we were not only accommodated in his own house, but shortly after our arrival, he prepared for us an excellent supper of fresh beef, a luxury we had not enjoyed since we left the fazenda of San João, near San Domingo. I now regretted very much that I had not delayed my preparations until our arrival at this place, as we should have found everything more comfortably provided. The trees since we descended the Serra, I observed to be very different from those we had there met with, resembling much more those existing in the Sertão country of Piauhy; they consisted of the Cambaiba (_Caratella çambaiba_, St. Hil.), the Folha larga (_Salvertia convallariodora_, St. Hil.), two species of arboreous _Bignonia_, with yellow flowers, and the Sicupíra (_Commilobium polygalæflorum_, Benth.); there were besides a fine _Gerascanthus_, bearing large panicles of white flowers, a silk-cotton-tree (_Bombax_), and a simple leaved _Rhopala_.

Our host, whose name I regret I have neglected to record, would not allow us to depart on the following morning till we had breakfasted. As our stock of provisions was again becoming short, he sold me as much dried beef as I thought would carry us to San Romão, which was not now many days’ journey distant. We rested during the heat of the day at the next fazenda, after travelling two leagues and a half; in the afternoon we went another two leagues, and remained for the night at the fazenda of Santa Maria. The country still continued flat and dry, partly open and partly wooded; some of the open places abounded, as far as the eye could reach, with the large yellow clay nests of the white ant, among which we saw several ant-eaters, and a large flock of the ostrich of the country, which, as soon as they saw us, fled with extraordinary rapidity. From Santa Maria, we went on to a little hamlet called Espigão, half a league distant; it consisted of a few small houses, at one of which we stopped to make enquiries about the road; it belonged to a tailor, who was at work outside the door; as soon as we arrived, about half a dozen young women, of all colours, and dirty in the extreme, came out to reconnoitre us. Following the directions, we went on about a league further, and halted to breakfast at an uninhabited house, by the side of a beautiful stream of clear water, flowing from a Buriti palm swamp. Resuming our journey in the afternoon, we crossed the stream, but were puzzled which road to take of the two that presented themselves, one led to the south, and another to the east; and as our general direction was easterly, we followed that course. After travelling about two leagues and a half through a very arid and barren country, consisting of long flat sandy tracts, wooded with a few stunted trees and bushes, and large open Buriti swamps, we arrived at another uninhabited house. During the latter part of this journey, the road inclined so much towards the north, that I felt certain we had not taken the right one, and determined to retrace our steps on the following morning, and take that which led to the south. As the house was in a very ruinous state, we slept under some trees; and as the nights had now become too cold for the use of hammocks, we generally abandoned them, and adopted instead an ox-hide laid on the ground, by the side of a large fire, with a trunk placed at our heads, and two or three others alongside; a heap of wood was always collected and laid within reach, and as the hardness of our beds never allowed us to sleep too soundly, the fire was always well kept up; the men had another fire to themselves.

On the following morning we returned to the place where the two roads separated, and breakfasted under the shade of a large Sicupíra tree. Fortunately, just as we were about to start, the same old lady and her son whom we met at the fazenda do Rio Claro, now passed us, on her return from the fulfilment of her vow; from her we learned that we were altogether out of our proper course, and that to regain it, it was necessary to return to Espigão, at which place there were also two roads, and that we had been directed to the wrong one; we had, therefore, no alternative but again to retrace our steps, having lost a day and a half by this erroneous information. On reaching Espigão, we took the other road without making any further enquiries, and after travelling about a league and a half, reached the banks of a small river, half an hour after sunset. We passed the night under some trees on the banks of the stream, which is called the Riberão de Area; it is only about twenty yards broad, and shallow enough to allow the horses to pass over with their loads, but as the bottom was very bad, from the great quantity of smooth rounded stones, I thought it safer to have all the luggage conveyed over next morning in a fine large canoe, which we found made fast on the opposite side, by which means we escaped all risk of damage from the slipping of the horses’ feet. The country around this place was very pretty, being flat on each side of the river to a considerable distance, well covered with grass, and thinly wooded; immediately above the ford, there is a long rapid, the rushing of the water over which is heard at a great distance. The canoe being large, we were not long in passing the luggage, and afterwards we made a journey of about two leagues and a half, through a slightly undulating, arid, and barren country, consisting chiefly of bare grassy hills, covered in many places with abundance of ferruginous stones, and flat, sandy, thinly-wooded Taboleiras. We rested by the side of a small stream which flowed from a Buriti swamp, and as there were no large trees, we sheltered ourselves from the burning sun among some bushes which grew on the margin of the rivulet. In the afternoon, another journey of two leagues and a half through a similar country, brought us to a little fazenda called Taboca, which belonged to a mulatto. On starting next, morning, the owner accompanied us for nearly half a mile, in order to put us upon the right road, there being several other paths leading to different places.

A journey of about ten leagues from this place, which occupied two days and a half, brought us to the banks of the Rio Urucuya, at a place called San Miguel, little more than a league to the westward of its junction with the Rio de Francisco, and here we had to cross it; the stream was about a gunshot in breadth, and very deep. As there was no regular ferry established here, we hired a small canoe, by means of which all the packages were safely taken across in two hours. The horses were passed about a quarter of a mile further up, at a place where they had only about half the breadth of the river to swim. It was in the morning that we arrived at this place, and although no corn could be obtained for the horses, I determined to remain till the following day, in order to give them a rest, all being in a very exhausted state, in consequence of their long journey, and the want of nourishing provender. We were now only five leagues from the Villa de San Romão, and were the more anxious to reach it as soon as possible, as our stock of provisions had been exhausted the evening before we reached the ferry. The journey from Boquerão occupied a longer time than we anticipated, and we were disappointed on finding, that after leaving that place, we could obtain nothing by purchase at a few small fazendas we passed. I have everywhere observed during my travels in Brazil, and the same remark has been made by M. Auguste de St. Hilaire, that the nearer a traveller comes to a town or village, the less chance he finds of being able to renew his stock of provisions. The men had still a few french-beans and a small piece of fat bacon left, but not more than would suffice them for a single meal; Mr. Walker and I had now been two days and a half without tasting any solid food, sustaining ourselves during that time entirely on strong tea, for we had not been able to meet with a single wild animal of any description; we had often before suffered severely from thirst, but had never been so long without food; it was fortunate we had the tea, as it prevented us from suffering nearly as much from hunger, as I expected we should have done. We stopped at a house on the south side of the river, which was both miserable and small, belonging to an old black woman, the only resident there; she had nothing, not even a fowl to sell. We slept in a part of the house that wanted a roof, and had only a small portion of the walls entire; a large fire was kindled in the middle of the floor, by the side of which we spread out hides for our beds.

As there was some difficulty in finding one of the horses, it was late next morning before we left the banks of the Urucuya. After travelling nearly a league, we halted for some time at a place where there are two small lakes, called As Dus Irmãas. We did not proceed further, having been informed, before we started, that we should not meet with a drop of water for the next three leagues, and this in the afternoon we found to be really the case, the road leading through one continued flat dry sandy plain, thinly covered with bushes and small trees. We reached the first watering place a little before sunset; it is called Riacho, and is about a league from San Romão; there is no house there, nor could I observe any appearance of habitation on the whole road from the Urucuya to the Villa. We hoped to have reached the Villa that evening, but the horses were too much fatigued to go further; we therefore encamped for the night under some trees by the side of a limpid rivulet; none of us had had a morsel to eat, but we had all a large basin of strong warm tea, which made up in some measure for the want of a more substantial supper. To this Mr. Walker and the men added a pipe of tobacco, as they were all inveterate smokers.

At length, on Sunday morning the 21st of June, we entered the Villa de San Romão, and having proceeded to the house of the Juiz de Paz, in order to show him my passport, he very kindly sent a person to look after a house for our reception. He was not long in finding one, and as soon as the horses were unloaded, I dispatched a man in search of provisions, but, strange to say, he could find nothing but farinha. A market had been held early in the morning, of both fresh and dried beef, but all had been sold off before our arrival; a most fortunate occurrence, however, afforded us a better breakfast than we anticipated. Just as we were preparing some tea, which we intended to take with some farinha, a little boy came to enquire if I would buy a fish which he had just caught, and which was lying on the banks of the river. I went there immediately, and for the value of a few pence, bought the fish, a fine species of salmon upwards of two feet long, which I need not say was soon cooked, and formed a most welcome meal for all of us.

The Villa Resonha de San Romão is situated on the south bank of the Rio de San Francisco, in the district of Paracatú; it is small, not containing above one thousand inhabitants, and forms a square of several long narrow irregular streets; the houses are all of one story, and without exception, built of wicker-work and clay, there being no stone in the neighbourhood; the principal streets run parallel with the river, and the three which are nearest to it, are almost every year inundated by the overflowing of its waters during the season of the rains. The other part of the town being somewhat higher, is exempt from this annoyance; the house we inhabited was one of those exposed to the floods, and although the floor was at least four feet above the level of the street, it required to be abandoned annually for some time; during the great flood of 1838, to which I was witness on my voyage up the Rio de San Francisco, the water rose five feet above the level of the floor, and the walls still retained evident marks of the fact. The population consists chiefly of people of colour, and I do not believe that a dozen white families exist in the whole Villa. Most of the respectable inhabitants are shopkeepers, who supply the fazendeiros, and those who reside in the surrounding country, with European and other goods. The place cannot be said to have any trade of its own, the principal source of traffic being fish, caught in the river, which after being salted and dried, is sold to the inhabitants of the Sertoes, who are remarkably fond of this food. The better class of the inhabitants are greatly addicted to gambling, resorting every day for that purpose to the house of an old captain, who is the owner of a spirit shop; having occasion to call several times on some of them, with letters of recommendation that I brought from Goyaz, I seldom found them at home, being always directed to the above house, where they were sure to be found, in company with one of the two priests belonging to the place, and this on Sundays, no less than on other days. This priest, Padre Francisco Fernandes Vianna, although a man of most benevolent disposition, was far from being a model of morality to his flock; to him, however, I was indebted for several acts of kindness, as also to Lieut. Col. Thomas de Conceição, a person of considerable intelligence, who forms an exception to the general character I have given of the inhabitants. From this gentleman I received letters of recommendation to the excellent and learned Padre Antonio Nogueira Duarte, of Contendas, a small village between the Rio de San Francisco and the Diamond District, a person who is spoken of in the highest terms, both by St. Hilaire and by Spix and Martius. I expected to pass through this village, and to have the pleasure of meeting with one, who though now a very old man, still takes a delight in the pursuits of natural history, but when I found that in order to visit him, I should be obliged to make a round of several leagues, I renounced all idea of doing so, both on account of the fatigued condition of my horses, and of the great desire I now had to reach a place where my funds, which were in a very reduced state, could be renovated. The first evening, as I walked through the town, I was surprised to hear one or more fiddles playing in almost every house; this is the instrument almost exclusively used by the barbers in Rio de Janeiro, and the other large cities and towns along the coast, but in the interior it is very seldom met with, the guitar being a greater favourite, and generally used both by ladies and gentlemen. In San Romão, however, this usual fashion is departed from, no young lady’s education being considered complete unless she has learned to handle the bow.

It being now the dry season, the river was many feet below its banks, and although of great breadth, appeared narrow when compared with what it was when I first beheld it, in 1838. It abounds in fish, which at this season are brought in canoes in great plenty, and sold in the Villa at a very cheap rate. During my residence there, I prepared specimens of most of the ordinary kinds, which are now in the British Museum. The following are the names of a few of those which are most esteemed.

1. _Surubím._[13]—This fish, which is a species of sturgeon,
often reaches the length of six feet. It is taken most commonly
in nets, but sometimes also, especially by the Indians,
by being shot at with an arrow, to which a strong cord is
attached. The flesh of this species dried is that principally
sold in the Sertão; I have frequently tasted it, and found it
excellent.

2. _Curumatám._—This, as well as the three following, belongs
to the _Salmonidæ_; it is about two feet in length, and both
in colour and taste its flesh has a very near approach to
our common salmon. It inhabits the bottom of the river, and
is generally taken with a drag-net, but never with the hook.
During my stay in San Romão, several canoes came in every
morning, nearly full of them, and sold at about a halfpenny
each fish. The stomach is very thick and muscular, but in all
those I examined, I never found anything but a large quantity
of fine earth, in hard lumps.

3. _Dourádo._—A beautiful fish, from two to four feet in
length; it is generally taken with the hook, but is not
considered delicate food. We, nevertheless, relished the first
we ate very much, it being this species I bought of the boy on
the day we arrived at San Romão.

4. _Matrixám._—Somewhat similar to the _Dourádo_, but smaller,
and considered a much superior fish.

5. _Piau branco._—From one to two feet long, and with much
larger scales than any of the others; it is taken with the
hook, and its flesh is much esteemed.

6. _Curvínha._—About two feet in length, with a scaly head; it
takes the bait readily, but the flesh, which is soft, is not
considered good.

7. _Traíra._—Also about two feet long and rather slender; it
takes the bait, and is much esteemed.

8. _Pirá._—About two and a half feet long, with a protruded
beak; is only taken with the drag-net, and is considered a
delicate fish.

9. _Mandí._—One of the _Siluridæ_, and perhaps a species of
_Mystus_; from a foot and a half to two feet long, with no
apparent scales, and long barbecels proceeding backwards from
its mouth. It keeps near the bottom of the river, is taken by
the hook, and considered one of the best fish it produces.

10. _Pocomó._—This and the following also belong to
the _Siluridæ_, and are, perhaps, species of the genus
_Hypostomus_. The _Pocomó_ is an ugly black fish, about two
feet long, covered with large hard plates. It keeps near the
bottom, and is taken in great plenty in the nets which are
thrown for other fish. During my visit, the sandy shores of the
river were covered with those which had been thrown out of the
nets. It is seldom eaten, but makes good bait for other fish.

11. _Cascuda._—This species is smaller than the last, and very
much resembles it, except that it is of a yellow colour.

The _Piráuh_ and _Piába_, of both of which I have already spoken, are as abundant here as they are below the Falls of Paulo Affonso; besides these, there must be many others which I had not an opportunity of seeing. During the whole time we remained in San Romão, we lived principally on fish; indeed, it is so abundant and so cheap, that fresh beef is rarely offered in the market. The navigation of the river being uninterrupted from this place to the Falls of Paulo Affonso, many canoes are continually passing up and down; their principal cargo up is salt, from the manufactories which exist on the vast saline flats on both sides of the river below Porto do Salgado; this is partly sold for money, and partly exchanged for hides, tobacco, &c.

As it was essentially requisite to arrange and pack the large collections made during our journey from Arrayas, and as our long journey now began to manifest its effects on the men, as well as on the animals, I determined to give them a sufficient rest, by remaining a fortnight at San Romão; accordingly the horses were sent to pasture on a large island in the river, immediately opposite the town; this island is about half a league long, and a quarter of a mile broad; the pasture there was not very good, but the horses remained much safer than in any other place. Horse stealing is so very common in this quarter, that scarcely a troop arrives, from any distance, that does not lose one or more animals; before our arrival, we became aware of this fact, and were advised to put our troop on the island for safety. As the country was greatly dried up around the town, by the effects of the long drought, I did not here add much to my collections; and, indeed, a slight accident that occurred to me, prevented my walking about so much as I should otherwise have done. A few days after we arrived, I went to pay a visit to a gentleman, when in going up a few steps at the door, my foot slipped, and my leg came with considerable violence against the sharp edge of one of the brick steps; the wound, although small, troubled me greatly, for owing to the fatigue I had previously undergone, and the innutritious nature of our food, my body had evidently fallen into a somewhat scorbutic state. I did not finally recover from the effects of this accident till nearly two months afterwards, when I rested several weeks in the house of a kind friend in the Gold District.