Chapter C: W. V (2)

The drive up the river to Barrackpore, some fourteen miles, over a perfectly level road, with rows of trees almost the entire length, is beautiful, and a great relief from a heated city. It is a military station, and the country residence of the governor, besides being the finest park in India; there is also found there a large collection of wild animals, among which the giraffe, the tiger, and ostrich are seen in perfection. Ten miles higher up, the French have a small possession called Chandernagore, which they have retained during all the conquests and battles of Europe. It is antiquated, but prettily situated, a small town without back country; their whole force consists of twenty Sepoy soldiers, but the tricolor is floating from the government house. It is a favorite asylum for unfortunate debtors and persons of small means, and is a nuisance in the eyes of the English, but the rights of France and treaties must be respected. The Danes had a settlement near by, which the English bought, but “_la grande nation_” declined selling.

The Hindoos have a great fancy for painting their faces, with a streak down the nose and across the forehead, as well as lines on the cheeks, and bars of a yellow color made from powdered sandal-wood, which looks like gold upon a black ground. The eyes and nails of many are dyed with henna; a part of the foot is also dyed red. A great variety of character is to be found in the bazaars, not forgetting the beggars with daubed faces, and hair filled with ashes; they are not in such favor as the fat Brahmin bulls of the priests, which walk along and eat where they please, until the poor benighted Hindoo raises his hands together to his head, and cries, “Now, good bull, pray go eat at some other shop.” The Chinese population are at full liberty to enjoy their opium, to which they are so much addicted, and it is curious to see the effect produced upon them by the use of the drug. You will find some fifteen at a time lying upon couches, inhaling the fumes, which seem to put them in a happy state, after which they gradually recover. The opium leaves its bad effects in prostration of the system, and the habitual smoker may readily be known from the expression of the face and eyes. The manufacture and sale of the article, which is a monopoly of the East India Company, is its greatest source of revenue.

LXVIII.

STEAMER PEKIN, FOR BOMBAY, _Oct. 20, 1851_.

From Calcutta I came down to Madras, the capital of the Presidency of the same name, by the steamer Haddington, on her way to Suez. It lies some six hundred miles south of Calcutta, and is a city of considerable trade, notwithstanding its bad roadstead, where the surf is most formidable. We landed in a masoolah boat, of great depth of hold, entirely open, built of elastic wood, the joints stuffed with oakum and sewed together, without a nail in the construction, which enables them to spring and give when they strike bottom. These boats are worked by twelve boatmen, who keep up a singular chant or howl as they pass through the almost irresistible surf.

I found here a means of floating, which surpasses the Ceylon or Sandwich Island boats, being more primitive; they are called catamarans, and the natives manage them in the most skilful manner. Imagine to yourself a small raft eight feet in length, of three logs tied together and pointed at one end, which they go out upon, and which, when they return, is untied, and dried upon the shore. One or two men are seen upon these slight supports in the heaviest surfs, like black imps sitting crouched upon their heels and making good use of their paddles. Sometimes they are thrown off and hidden in the waves, but like magic they catch on again. One of the great objects of attraction for strangers is the civil and military service club, about three miles from town, and prettily situated with all the comforts and luxuries of the east. The hotels of the city are miserable.

There is but little to interest the traveller at Madras, which is on a flat sandy plain, with reddish-colored soil. Black Town, the native part, is poorly built, and the people are a cringing, menial, lazy set, kept under great subjugation and treated as brutes by the existing powers. The climate is better than that of Calcutta, on account of the sea breeze, and the drives along the sea beach, which in the suburbs make the place supportable. The jugglers and mountebanks of this country are celebrated, and perform some remarkable feats. We were infested with them in the street in front of our hotel, performing somersets, springing through hoops, and passing over swords, &c., without the aid of spring boards upon the solid earth. Next come the snake charmers, who bring their snakes in baskets, which are placed upon the ground; they then play a sort of bagpipe, after which they blow at the snakes and play again, when they open the basket and a large cobra-de-capello rises up with a peculiar hood spread back of the head, his long neck arched like a horse’s; he attempts to strike, but the charmers know their distance. We had half a dozen snakes dancing at the same time, around their masters, while another group was waiting to swallow swords and stones. In landing or going out, self-defence compels one to jump into a buggy or palanquin, as these poor people are very persevering, being better paid by Griffins, or foreigners, than by residents.

The Sepoys, or native troops, appear well on parade early in the morning; they are completely dressed in white drill, and the officers in red coats and white pantaloons. The Madras Presidency has some forty-two thousand Sepoys and eight thousand European troops, which serves to keep all the population quiet between the Bengal and Bombay Presidencies.

Our steamer is slow, making only eight knots an hour at the top of her speed. She has just been caught by a typhoon in the China sea, which has swept away decks, yards, and spars, with a loss of five out of her six boats, and will have to go into dock at Bombay. Since leaving the bay of Bengal, and the last of the south-west monsoons, we have had quiet and beautiful weather, running up the Malabar coast of the Arabian sea. I will finish this letter in Bombay.

LXIX.

BOMBAY, _Nov. 7, 1851_.

It was my good fortune to arrive here the first evening of the new year, and the commencement of the Hindu festival Tumashee, in which the Parsees unite in a general illumination of the bazaars and private residences, with shade lamps of variegated glasses, and a large display of Chinese and other paintings, the shops being open and occupied by the people of all races, Mahrattas, Parsees, and Hindoos of every caste, but no Moormans, or Mussulmans, the latter having had a religious contest with the Parsees, in which several houses were destroyed and pillaged. The Mussulmans being followers of Mahomet, have a strong aversion to the Parsees, or fire worshippers, as well as the Hindoos, or worshippers of idols. About five thousand of the former had collected at the mosques, and threatened to exterminate the Parsees, causing great anxiety. The Governor ordered out a large special constabulary police, and the troops were in readiness at given signals; the corners of streets and public places were placarded with orders in different languages to close all spirit and opium shops, and restrictions against carrying or selling arms. The great variety of picturesque costumes during this festival exceeded those of any city I had yet found. The display of bandys, drawn by oxen with ribbons of silver and gold-gilt, and filled with women and children, literally loaded with bracelets, nose and ear-rings, amulets, &c., in which the wealth of many consists, surpassed what I had seen at Calcutta. Among my introductory letters I had one to a Parsee house, from which I received much civility, and which gave me an opportunity of informing myself about this peculiar people, who are called fire-worshippers, and of whom so little is known. It is a small sect in comparison with others, and its members are a commercial and trading people; many live in good style, and drive fine equipages, and one of their number was knighted by the Queen for his many noble acts. The bequests of Sir Jamtsejee Jejeebhoy to many charitable institutions rank him as one of the most benevolent individuals of the age. The Parsees are the followers of Zoroaster, who lived about 389 B.C., and who was their lawgiver; his doctrine teaches them to believe in one God. They worship no other Being or symbol like him, and believe in a future state of existence.

They say they take the sun, moon, and fire as emblems of purity, and as the most powerful and obvious evidence of the supreme government, and in performing their five prayers daily they face any of these mighty elements. They are the descendants of the ancient rulers of Persia, from which country they were driven away in the seventh century, being unwilling to embrace Islamism, when eleven thousand were compelled to become Mahometans within twenty-four hours, under the penalty of death. The refugees were received by a lenient Hindoo prince, who gave them shelter and protection provided they would agree to certain stipulations. First, To throw away fire-arms. Second, To lay aside the original costume and adopt the peculiar one which they now wear. Third, not to kill or eat a cow, that animal being one of the favorite idols of the Hindoos. Pressed by necessity, they adopted these and other restrictions, and offered a solemn pledge, to which they still adhere. They wear a white garment and girdle around the waist, composed of seventy threads, about as large as a lady’s stay-lace. These are worn as insignia of religion. Children after seven years old wear it, and parents are morally responsible for them till they are ten years of age. If they die before ten, they are considered innocent, and are supposed to go to heaven. They feed and clothe their poor in a liberal manner. They drink wine and eat animal food, with the exception of beef, veal, and pork; have one wife, and are betrothed in infancy; the males marry at fourteen, and the females at twelve, and the marriage festival and procession costs some thousands where it can be afforded.

My Parsee friend will marry his son of fifteen to his bride of twelve in a few months. They cannot eat with us or drink out of the same vessel that we do. I accept civilities among the Parsees, but we eat at separate tables, and I have noticed among the most devoted a prayer murmured over me, and a glance of kindness. The Hindoos cannot assign any reason why the body should be burned, the Mahometan why it should be interred, nor the Parsee why it should be placed in a circular, high-walled, amphitheatrical cemetery, where the bodies of men, women, and children are placed in separate exposures for decay, and destruction by birds of prey; and they deny the assertion made by their enemies that the condition of future existence is denoted by the part of the body first attacked by the birds. I saw one public and one private cemetery of the kind on high hills; no one was permitted to enter. The position of Bombay, in Lat. 18° north, at nearly the head of the Indian Ocean, with a good harbor and sea-breezes, with its suburbs and fine dwellings, and forests of cocoa and date trees along good drives, makes it more agreeable and less hot than Calcutta. Within the inclosure of the old fortified town stands the arsenal, mint, cathedral, and other public edifices. I attended the cathedral last Sunday, but found few worshippers, although every appliance for comfort and ease. I counted fourteen long punkahs suspended from the ceiling, and as many men employed outside pulling the cords. Open rail pews, bamboo seats with arms, marble pavement, and a free circulation of air, but poor preaching and bad delivery, had driven the congregation away. The dock-yard here is the finest in the East, and is resorted to by all vessels for repairs; I noticed in it a frigate of the Imaum of Muscat, built of teak thirty years old. The mint for coining--the chief coins are rupees, nearly the size of half-dollars--is admirably well arranged, and would do credit to any country. They had nine presses at work, and were turning off one hundred and fifty thousand daily, out of the sycee silver, which comes from China, in payment for opium.

Having visited the hospital and benevolent institutions, to see what was doing for humanity in this part of the world, I was induced to visit the most extraordinary institution I had ever heard of: a hospital for diseased animals, established by the Parsees. I found there not only hundreds of horses, oxen, buffaloes, goats, and other cattle, but dogs and cats, which are never killed, but are allowed to enter the hospital gratis, and are kept until they recover or die. The great curiosity is the caves of elephants, on an island opposite Bombay. Taking supplies, we started early, in a covered boat; the tide being down, we were carried a long distance on men’s shoulders, to the shore, and around the mountain side through the trees to the bungalow of the Sepoy guard, and then entered the cave to see the Hindoo idols. The entrance is fifty-three feet wide, the height of the ceiling eighteen feet, and the depth one hundred and forty-three feet; it is nearly as wide as deep, and is supported by massive pillars, carved out of solid dark trap rock.

In the recess in the rear is seen a gigantic tri-formed god. Brahma is in the middle as creator, with placid face and jewelled cap. Vishnu, the presiding deity, is represented with a beautiful face, and with the sacred lotus flower in his hand. Siva, who fills up the other side of the tri-formed gods, holds a cobra serpent; he frowns, being the destroyer. From the chin to the crown of the head is six feet, the caps are three feet more. There are steps behind the bust where a Brahmin might have hidden for priestly imposition. The courts of death are at the right and left, as are also pilasters and figures fourteen feet high. There are various chambers and large colossal figures of divinities within the cave, which to me were interesting, being of a different style of sculpture from either the Egyptian or Chinese idols, and were once very beautiful, though they have been much defaced by the Portuguese in the early possession of the country. A few miles from town, on Malabar Point, is the place of pilgrimage for the Hindoos. It is a village with a community of some five hundred persons or more, subsisting upon charity. It is situated upon the side hill, inclosed by walls, and descending towards the ocean, with a water-tank, or large reservoir, some hundred feet long and square, and about twenty ghauts or stone platforms, to descend, and is surrounded with houses and temples. The front verandas are filled with bells of all sizes, and the idols of various deities. The half-naked priests, with painted faces and long hair and beards, were sitting in groups, quarrelling for the division of the spoils.

I had a good opportunity of seeing the mode of worship here, notwithstanding that the jealousy of the people allowed me to go no further than the threshold. One family came covered with jewelry, and had their own priest. Vessels filled with water were suspended over the stone of fertility, which constantly drips upon the flowers placed upon it; and the devotees touched each other’s hands, and went through various acts of devotion before the idols of the five different gods, while offerings were made.

LXX.

ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT, _Nov. 24, 1851_.

I have felt more like writing you since I left Bombay, where I confidently expected advices from friends, which I have been deprived of for some months; and having heard indirectly, without particulars, of the death of a beloved sister, I was anxious to arrive at this place, where I am put in possession of that which is so highly valued by the traveller--letters from home. From Bombay I embarked with the Achilles down the Indian Ocean to Aden, some one thousand six hundred and forty miles, situated near the entrance of the Straits of Babelmandel, and recognised in her an old acquaintance, having made a passage by her from Glasgow to Liverpool, some years since.

Aden is the coal depot of the Peninsular and Oriental Company’s line of steamers, and here we were obliged to wait during three days for the arrival of the steamer Erin, which replaced the Precursor, that had been caught in a violent hurricane and disabled, at the mouth of the river, below Calcutta. The Erin is the steamer that sunk the Pasha, by collision off the coast of Malabar, some time ago. I feel thankful in having escaped typhoons, hurricanes, and accidents, of which many have occurred while I have been in the East, and hope to be favored for the future in my peregrinations, until I once more return to my friends and native land. Aden is a strongly fortified place, called the “Gibraltar of the East.” It was constructed by the East India Company, in order to resist the encroachments of the Arabs, and is situated in a desert country, without a sign of vegetation, a portion of it being in an extinct volcano. It is one of the most disagreeable spots in the world for a long sojourn, with no attractions aside from the camp, and all necessaries come from abroad when the Arabs do not choose to supply them. The heat at times has been almost insupportable; the Red Sea is considered the Tophet of the East by travellers. Not unfrequently in summer, passengers become perfectly exhausted, and some sudden deaths occur. The shores in general are barren and arid, with high volcanic mountains at intervals, with exceptions, of course, as we sighted Mocha, which is forty miles above the entrance of the Straits, and is celebrated for its choice coffee. We passed the usual landing-place for Mahometans proceeding to Mecca. We had about forty passengers from Bombay, and northern India, mostly officers on leave, or retired pensioners; among the number were several ladies, and twelve children, going home to be educated, so we were not at a loss for juvenile music. We made the passage up the Red Sea in five days and a half, and found, as we advanced towards Suez, that the weather became cooler.

Mount Sinai and the localities designated as the spots where Moses and the Israelitish army crossed, were pointed out and commented upon. As we approached Suez the sea narrows, and a place some thirty miles below, where the water is thirty fathoms, or one hundred and eighty feet in depth, is said by the Arabs to be that where Moses crossed. It is twenty miles wide, and the rise and fall of tide is very small; so that the most sceptical must allow the crossing to be quite as miraculous as the sustaining of vast bodies of people in these arid plains and mountains for a long sojourn. The arrangements are now very perfect in crossing the isthmus, and it scarcely merits the name of desert in comparison with the fifteen days’ journey across the Arabian sands to Palestine, during my former travels in the East.

The Pasha deserves great credit for his transit accommodations. At Suez, a dirty village upon a sandy plain, is a large stone hotel, and in approaching the town a small steamer meets and conducts you to the wharf, where camels in large numbers are ready to convey luggage and cargo across to Cairo, a distance of eighty-five miles. They are started off, and passing us, we are sent in vans with two high wheels, and a double shaft for two horses or mules, with a pair of leaders. These vans contain six persons and their luggages, and are changed every five miles. There are four places for supplies on the desert, where most articles can be obtained desirable for comfort, including couches to repose upon during the halt. I found them so much improved since I was last in Egypt, that I was agreeably disappointed. The road is beaten by constant travel, except that there is heavy sand in some places. The greatest objections are the rays of the sun, and the fiery sand, which affect the eyes; but it is of short continuance, as we cross in sixteen hours. The supply of water, and, indeed, every trifling article, must be carried on the backs of camels. The transit across the isthmus and down the Nile from Grand Cairo to the canal at Atfeh to Alexandria, is in the Pasha’s name; and arrangements are being made for the construction of a railway between the first and last named cities.

At Grand Cairo I found that great changes had taken place since I last visited it, not only in the hotels, but in the general appearance of the city. The most beautiful edifice, or monument, is the new alabaster mosque, with its nobly gilded domes and interior decorations, its lofty minaret towering above the citadel, and inclosing a catafalque in one corner, with the remains of Mehemet Ali, who had massacred the Mamelukes at a spot hard by, one only escaping by a fearful leap, killing his horse under him. I once described to you my visit to, and reception by, this extraordinary man, whose remains I am now gazing upon, while a thousand reflections cross my mind. Turning my eyes from the spot, there stood in the distance the almost imperishable pyramids, and the Nile, flowing without change, bathing the land of Goshen as in days gone by. The bazaars were filled as usual with an immense multitude of men, veiled women, and children, and donkeys, and camels. The streets being very narrow, our carriage was preceded by a runner, cracking his heavy whip to clear the passages. I find small, but not uncomfortable steamers now coming from Cairo to Atfeh, the termination of the Mahmoud canal, making with the current some twelve miles per hour; also barges for passengers, towed by small steamers on the canal, with very fair living accommodations. Alexandria has become more like a European city; the suburbs near the banks of the canal are occupied with the residences of foreigners, and the vicinity of the Obelisk, or Cleopatra’s needle, and Pompey’s pillar, looks less deserted than formerly.

LXXI.

STEAMER SEVERN, ISLAND OF TENERIFFE, _Dec. 22, 1851_.

From Alexandria, Egypt, I embarked on board of the steamer for Malta, with the privilege of continuing to Gibraltar or Lisbon, to await the arrival of the steamer from England, on her way to South America. The weather was heavy and boisterous for the first two days, which caused some delay, and required four and a half days to make the passage of eight hundred miles to Malta.

Our leisure time was passed in rowing about the harbor, viewing the English fleet; and I amused myself in the Lazaretto in visiting my old quarters where I was confined in quarantine twenty-one days, coming from Egypt during the prevalence of the plague. The fortifications are very strong, and the island is an agreeable place for sojourn in the winter; the rides to the bay where St. Paul was shipwrecked and landed, and where a chapel is erected on the spot; the so called Grotto of Calypso; the Church of the Knights of St. John; the ancient catacombs; and the general drives and views, make it well worth tarrying at; but having been all over the ground, there was no incentive to remain, so we proceeded to Gibraltar, one thousand miles further, with beautifully fine weather, coasting along the bay of Tunis, with Sicily and Algiers in view, and then branched off to the opposite coast of Spain, passing close to the bay of Malaga, with white-capped mountains in the distance, and the famous quicksilver mines of Adva at their base, until we approached the frowning rock of Gibraltar.

Those of our passengers who had never passed along the Mediterranean, enjoyed all the sights and various changing views; I, however, could not feel the same interest, except in the way of reminiscences of past scenes. Gibraltar, as you are aware, is considered invulnerable; its strength surpasses any fortification in the world, and as long as Great Britain retains her present ascendency, it would be useless to attempt its capture, as starvation of the garrison would be the only successful artifice. We were informed here that the French had just bombarded Tangier, on the opposite coast of Morocco, and knocked down the town about the ears of the Moors. On the opposite side of the straits is Ceuta, a strongly garrisoned fortress belonging to the Spaniards; the straits here are seventy-two miles wide. The current was setting into them at the rate of two miles per hour, and always running in the same direction. The nearest point to the African coast is St. Cruzes, towards Tarifa Light, on the European side; it is seven miles wide.

Gibraltar is considerably improved, many new buildings having been erected, but its contraband trade with the south of Spain is now much reduced, and the people complain of hard times. Trafalgar Bay, famous for the victory and death of Lord Nelson, lies only a short distance north. I don’t recollect, while travelling in the beautiful country of Malaga, Grenada, Seville, and Cadiz, to have said anything of Portugal, to which my travels were also extended, at that time, but at the risk of repetition I must remark that Lisbon is prettily situated on the Douro, about twelve miles from its mouth, and were it not for the dark aspect of the city, the effect of climate upon the sandstone, it would show to great advantage, situated as it is upon an undulating surface, with portions of its pinnacles looking like a tower of stairs. It is much cleaner than formerly, filthy streets then being its chief characteristic. The trade of Portugal has declined, and the government and people have become more and more impoverished. They have had no rain since last May, and the country is suffering. Processions were being held from the churches to invoke the Virgin for refreshing and copious supplies of the vivifying element. One of the most extraordinary mosaic pictures of large size is the Annunciation of the angel to the Virgin Mary; it is here in one of the churches, and is said to have cost a million of dollars. The stone aqueduct which rests upon several ties of arches, and supplies the city with water, is considered a stupendous work; it is much shattered by a former earthquake. The promenades and gardens are tolerable, as are also the quays and public squares, but the port seems deserted by merchant vessels. A part of the English fleet lay in the river, and among the number was one which, although small in comparison with the other craft, had given evidence of her sailing qualities to the world, and all eyes were directed to her. It was the little, low, raking-masted yacht, America.

I found myself once again on board the ship Severn, having made a passage with her in the West Indies, under the same commander, three years since. We had a mixed company of passengers, consisting of duchesses, countesses, not forgetting Lady Wortley, who visited the United States some time since, military and civil officers, South American Spaniards, Portuguese Brazilians, Frenchmen, Germans, and English, some twenty of whom we left at Madeira for the benefit of their health; the rest will continue to Teneriffe, Cape de Verde, Pernambuco, Bahia, Rio Janeiro, &c., where we land and take supplies of coal. The rigid formality of strict English society is confounded with the life and liberty of the different races thrown together, and five languages are continually heard at table.

Madeira is a pretty and picturesque island. Its vineyards, which are its only resource, have acquired for it a lasting name; its climate is renowned, and is much resorted to, particularly by English invalids, the number of whom amounts ordinarily to about three hundred, who are a source of great profit to the poor people, subjected to Portuguese rule. The harbor of Funchal is an open roadstead, and as there was a heavy rolling sea the night before our arrival, the landing was bad, especially for ladies, but once ashore, horses and palanquins were at command. The latter are so unlike the conveyances that bear the same name in the East Indies, that I must describe them. They are in the form of colossal shoes with the front part cut or pared down one-half, the heel being a support for the back, as you sit upon cushions with head erect; they are supported by rods attached to the pole, each end of which rests on the shoulders of a man, and in that way you are carried up and down hill, having a sort of top to protect you from the sun’s rays.

Madeira lies two days south from Lisbon, and Teneriffe one day and a half from Madeira. There are nine islands in the group; the people are generally poor. The chief town is Santa Cruz; it is pretty well built, and streets are clean; wine is its chief means of support. There are some fine views all through the islands; the peak of Teneriffe is the most remarkable, towering some twelve thousand feet high, and covered with snow.

1852.

LXXII.

BAHIA, BRAZIL, _Jan. 2, 1852_.

From the island of Teneriffe, on the opposite side of the Atlantic, we proceeded south to the Cape Verde islands, and stopped one day to receive coal at St. Vincent, but had difficulty in getting a supply, as fever and starvation had destroyed one hundred and fifty out of the small population of six hundred, and laborers were procured from the island of St. Antonio, and fed and kept by the English consul, who is the agent of the Cape of Good Hope Steam Company. Several coal-vessels were waiting impatiently to be discharged. A small American whaler had lost her mate, and five of her crew, and the captain was not expected to survive. We were besieged for medicines, which we gave as liberally as we could, and also landed the contributions of flour, corn, &c., from Madeira. Our passengers were much alarmed, particularly the Brazilians, who imagined that they inhaled the pestilence with every breath, and brought forth large supplies of cologne and volatile salts. The purser, doctor, and myself were the only persons who landed, and we found the people dying from sheer exhaustion; many would not take the medicines which we offered them. Such squalid wretchedness I hope never to witness again. We had constant trade-winds from the N.E. for some days, with warm, delightful weather, and when we crossed the line, the sailors, not having forgotten the former visits of Neptune, amused themselves and the passengers, by dressing in couples, one on all fours under a sack, imitating a donkey, with long ears and false tail, mounted by a third, and beaten with sticks by the whole cavalcade.

The following day these jolly fellows listened with attention to the prayers and services of the Church of England, which were read by the officers. The first land we sighted towards the American coast, was the island of Fernando Norona, some three degrees south of the mouth of the river Amazon; we ran close under the rocky shore. It is used by the Brazilians for transportation of prisoners, and rarely visited. Whaling vessels sometimes touch, and for supplies of cattle and vegetables. The scenery of the island appeared enchanting. We arrived at Pernambuco, Lat. 8° south, sixteen hundred miles from Cape Verde, in advance of the usual time, which gave us a good opportunity of seeing the city, and riding several miles in the country. The view from the steamer, the natural reef of coral rocks, fifteen miles in length, forming the harbor; the town of Olinda on the hill to the north, with its white houses amid groves of green cocoa-nut trees, strike the beholder as exceedingly beautiful, and I found the town more cleanly than I expected, as the Brazilians, like their predecessors, the Portuguese, are renowned for filth. The city is prettily situated on three islands connected by bridges; it has some nine thousand population, one-third whites and two-thirds slaves; the buildings are high and well-constructed, but the interiors are poorly furnished; the narrow streets are offensive, but those of tolerable width are in better order. We found immense numbers of mules and horses, which come long distances from the interior, laden with cotton and sugar. The foreign population is small, some five hundred in all, French, English, and Germans; the latter predominate in the Brazils, as several colonies of them have been formed under the auspices of government. Of Americans there are only eight or ten; their numbers are usually small, but they are to be found at all commercial points of importance, and to them we are indebted for the great luxury of ice, which the people here had been deprived of for a long time; we could also obtain supplies of fruit.

We have some disaffection on board among passengers of different races and tastes, as to the supplies, and a committee was formed to wait upon the commander, who is a worthy and excellent person. But the system of the West India and South American Steam Co. which allows the captain equal to one dollar and eighty-seven and a half cents per day per head, wines, sodas, and other refreshments being ticketed, and settled for weekly, is found obnoxious by many passengers, who pay monopoly fares, and is entirely different from the liberality displayed by the Peninsula and Oriental Company, who, notwithstanding the mail contract and monopoly systems, are much more liberal in their provisions and accommodations. But with the increase of American steamers, their influence will be felt, not only in this respect, but more particularly in point of speed. The English mail contract throughout the East exacts only eight knots running time, and the West India and South America nine knots per hour, which is slow work for one accustomed to American steamers. Necessity is driving the English to a higher rate of speed, and the company is now constructing new and faster boats to run to Chagres, in order to prevent the tide of travel from setting to New York. We found two American whalers in quarantine at Pernambuco, which had touched at St. Vincent, and had some fever on board; we had obtained a clean bill of health, and having no sickness, we were permitted to pass. It was a great relief to get a drive of six miles, in the country where nature appears so beautiful even during the heat of this, their summer, with the thermometer at eighty-five, passing through groves of cocoas, palms, breadfruits, tamarinds, oranges, and other tropical trees, with melons and other fruits to satisfy thirst. We first learned here that war had been actually declared between Brazil and Buenos Ayres, and that the government had granted a loan and part of the fleet to blockade the port of the latter, while the Banda Oriental attack with the land forces. The son of Gen. Manzilla, and nephew of Rosas, the Dictator of the Argentine republic, is a fellow passenger; he promised to accompany me in the interior of Buenos Ayres, but the shock is rather astounding, and we can only learn the facts at Rio Janeiro.

The entrance to Bahia, or Bay of All Saints, is really beautiful; it lies four hundred miles south of Pernambuco, and the entrance is seven miles broad; its fine harbor is protected from all winds, and the rich country about it receives the waters of several small rivers. Americus Vespucius discovered it in 1503, under the patronage of the King of Portugal, and his carrying home a species of dye-wood, which, when cut, resembled coals of fire, gave Brazil its name, from Brazas, or coals. Bahia owes its foundation to the fact of the captain of a shipwrecked vessel in 1510 having his life spared by the Indians, after most of the crew were killed. The town is divided into two parts, the Praya, or Citada Baxa, under the hill, and Citada Alta, above, which appears quite antique. The descent is difficult, but by well paved roads and cadeiras or ornamented chairs supported by two negroes, which are in general use, it is quite practicable. The streets are clean, as Yellow Jack has improved the habits of the filthy Portuguese. New Year’s day is kept here as holiday, and our passengers enjoyed themselves in visiting the public gardens and riding about the suburbs, while a party of sixteen dined together at the hotel on the summit of the hill, with a fine view of this magnificent bay, which in some respects recalls the harbor and site of Naples in miniature. The hedges are of lime trees; grapes are in season, bananas and melons abound; the seedless orange here is superior to that of any other part of the world. The public garden is situated on the boldest and most commanding height of the old town, one side looking upon the ocean, and the other upon the bay, with iron railings to prevent falling down the precipice.

The large Jaca tree which furnishes fruit larger than the cocoa, and affords fine shade, is found here. Formerly the privilege of the whale fishery was sold for a considerable sum, but at present it is reduced. The island of Itaporica, in the bay, has some oil establishments, and whales are occasionally killed; the flesh is much admired by the negroes, and is found in the market for sale. There are extensive plantations in the country, with two or three hundred slaves, and large quantities of sugar, cotton, and tobacco are produced. It is the Havana of Brazil for the manufacture of cigars. Large quantities of American flour are imported, but the food of the common people is farina made from the root of the mandioca. There is a fine race of negroes here, and they appear better dressed than I had expected to find them; but from what I can learn, their condition will not compare favorably with the negroes of our Southern States, whose enhanced value in the absence of the slave-trade induces kind treatment aside from motives of humanity.

LXXIII.

RIO JANEIRO, BRAZIL, _Jan. 13, 1852_.

From Bahia, I came down by steamer, a distance of seven hundred and twenty miles, under the most favorable circumstances, in three days, making the moderate average of ten miles per hour. The entrance or mouth of the harbor lies between two small islands, and is one mile wide and skirted on each side by immense masses of solid rock, six hundred feet high, if not higher; the hills are steep and fortified. The view of this splendid harbor is majestically grand, increasing in size to eight or ten miles, and in this gulf are many small islands distributed about and occupied by small villages: the sheet of water is fringed with green verdure, bright villas, and immense high craggy peaks of mountains, forming one of the most beautiful pictures. The city lies low in a valley, and appears from an elevated spot of a semicircular form; the streets run at right angles, with public squares without trees, but as the Brazilians and Portuguese idolize filth, don’t expect much in the way of cleanliness. The hotels are vile for a city of three hundred thousand people, even if one-half are negroes; in this warm climate, with the thermometer in the month of January at 92°, you can well imagine the annoyance from vermin in badly conducted dens. I was obliged to fight a bloody battle the first night with the bugs, who disputed possession, and the following morning I abandoned my quarters for better ones. There is a considerable French population here, and one street is supplied with every variety of Parisian fancy goods, so much so that one for the moment would almost imagine himself in Paris; but he would soon be undeceived on demanding prices, and finding them double or treble what they are in France, the Brazilian duties being from eighty to one hundred per cent. on many articles, which offers a premium for smuggling. It is said the customs are here ten million dollars, but the Emperor receives four hundred thousand per annum, and has now a war on hand with Buenos Ayres, and a force of from thirty to forty thousand men to be kept up. As some one must pay for this, it falls upon the consumers, and for the benefit of those who expect to reside here, I will state that the expenses and luxuries of life, inclusive of carriage hire, exceed those of Calcutta or London. The country is rich and fertile; sugar, coffee, and hides enter largely in the exports. Our people know how to appreciate Rio coffee, particularly along the valley of the Mississippi, and we have become for our population the largest consumers of coffee in the world.

I have escaped the odoriferous smells of the narrow streets and the heat of the city for a few days, in visiting the new city and private summer residence of the Emperor Pedro II. called after him, Pedropolis, where he has founded a colony of Germans, in the valley of the mountains, two thousand four hundred feet above the level of the sea and about twenty-seven miles from Rio, and where the temperature of the air is from 68° to 70° Fahrenheit, while in the city the thermometer ranges from 85° to 92°. We proceeded by a small steamer across the bay, winding among many little islands in a second bay, and thence up a small meandering river to the landing-place, where we took land-carriage to the base of the mountains, where our vehicle containing four persons was drawn by four mules, over a zigzag, well constructed road, with parapet walls and stone arches for the mountain torrents, built by government at heavy cost; the entire distance was accomplished in seven hours. The panorama of the bay and city in the distance from the crowning point is superb. There were some fourteen hundred families of Germans composing this colony, and they have employment upon the roads, in the erection of houses, and improvement of the town, which is well laid out, with streams of pure water passing through it. Many fine mansions have been erected by city gentlemen; the Emperor is building a palace of solid construction, which has already occupied four years, and cost two hundred thousand dollars, and will require two years more to complete it, as the work progresses slowly, and is a fat job for the builders. Many of the Germans have sold out their grants of town lots, and bought lands in the neighborhood, which they are cultivating, and I could almost imagine myself in parts of Switzerland, for the style of the dwellings, and the costume and figure of the German peasants carried me back to Faderland. As long as the Emperor spends money freely, all will work well, but if his patronage is withdrawn the place will decline, it being too expensive for the masses and too difficult of access.

I saw here a group of German girls in Bloomer costume, with a part of the palace band, who were playing from house to house. I met with an American on his way to the diamond mines, some five hundred miles in the interior--a persevering pioneer from old Kentucky, who had not been home in twenty-four years. He had married a Portuguese who had died, and he had his family with him, who had been educated in England, his second wife being an English lady. He had some two hundred hands engaged in his business--a profitable one, as Brazil exports some four million dollars’ worth of diamonds annually. Droves of mules were constantly passing to the different mines of gold, diamonds, and other precious stones in the interior. I was shown some handsome specimens said to be worth two thousand dollars per ounce in the rough. The Emperor and Empress are seen almost daily in their promenades about the suburbs or through the town, with a small escort, and sometimes quite alone; the people speak well of their kindness and liberality. The Emperor is only twenty-four years of age, and his consort, the sister of the King of Naples, is his senior by three years, and not at all remarkable for beauty. I saw them at the opera last evening, in full costume; they appeared to advantage, it being the close of a gala day, the Emperor having received at his palace all military officers of distinction. He was clad in full military dress; he is of good stature, with a well developed figure, a face of the Austrian or Russian type.

The frigate Congress is now in port, proceeding to Monte Video, and our Minister, Mr. Schenck, whose health is somewhat feeble, accompanies her. If the city of Rio Janeiro is remarkable for its filth, and the depravity and immorality of its inhabitants, it can boast of the beauty of its suburbs, which extend for many miles. La Gloria and Botafogo, and other villages situated upon the little indentations and bays, are very pretty, and nature is very prolific in her supply of fruits and flowers. One of the most beautiful drives is to the botanical garden, some six miles from town, the road winding along the beautiful bays, the shores lined with the villas of foreigners and wealthy residents, and the gardens filled with a great variety of fruit trees and flowers peculiar to the climate. I found in the botanical garden avenues of stately palms, not unlike the cafetals in the island of Cuba; a bamboo labyrinth, and an acre or more of the tea plant, as a reminiscence of China; a grove of cinnamon trees of large size, equal to those of the island of Ceylon; and in fact, all the productions of the tropics except the cocoa-nut, which I have lost sight of since leaving Bahia. The city is supplied with water from the mountains by aqueduct, and some three hundred tanks have lately been placed at the corners of the streets; but I drink river water of an underground culvert in the city. The offal is carried in vessels upon the heads of the negroes at night, and thrown upon the beach and in the harbor.

It is only surprising that the yellow fever does not always exist here; it is a blessing instead of a curse, if it only improves the cleanliness of the people. The currency of the country is government paper, from one milreis upwards. Of gold there is considerable, of the value of twelve dollars each piece; there is no small silver, but the quantity of copper in circulation is enormous. It is not as bad as in China, where twelve hundred small coins go to the dollar; but here, if a milreis, valued at sixty cents, is exchanged, you obtain a thousand reis; the smallest coin is valued at ten reis, making it necessary to ballast equally well your pockets; but fortunately, however, ferry boat and omnibus tickets go well, and remind one of our own shin-plaster days.

LXXIV.

MONTE VIDEO, _Jan. 20, 1852_.

The continuation of the South American line of steamers is maintained by the Prince, of only four hundred tons burden, which takes the mails and passengers from Rio Janeiro to this place and Buenos Ayres, one hundred and twenty miles further up the river. It is always agreeable to meet with old acquaintances, and in this instance I was surprised to find that our captain had formerly been in command of a mail packet from St. Thomas to La Guayra, which had carried me down to Venezuela. Our passage, of something more than one thousand miles, was made in a little over four days.

Monte Video lies at the north of the Rio de la Plata, one of the largest rivers in South America after the Amazon; it was discovered in 1515 by Juan Diaz de Soles, who proceeded as far as 34° 23´ south latitude, but was killed, as were also his crew of four men. A few years later Sebastian Cabot, who went to discover the Straits of Magellan, and penetrated as high as the conflux of the Parana and Paraguay, some two hundred leagues, had a fight with the Indians, and succeeded in taking their treasures of silver from Peru; and supposing the supply inexhaustible gave the stream the name which it now bears, Silver River. It is over a hundred and fifty miles wide at the mouth, but at Buenos Ayres it is reduced to forty. The influence of this formidable river is seen by the water being colored more than four hundred miles at sea. The position of this port is desirable on account of its ready access and geographical position; it has a temperate climate, and moderately dry winds from the land to counteract the humidity of the sea air. It once had a population of seventy thousand, which has been reduced to twenty-five thousand by a nine years’ siege, which was successfully resisted with the aid of the French, who have paid for some years annually forty thousand dollars per month to sustain the place against the besieging army of Oribe, at the head of the Buenos Ayrean forces of the Dictator Rosas. I found that the town had suffered severely, particularly in the deserted houses and crumbling walls; the pavements of the streets are badly broken up, and everything had the appearance of desolation; but the siege being raised last October, much life and activity have since been displayed in repairs, and the blockade has been removed from vessels proceeding to Buenos Ayres.

Oribe, the tool of Rosas, has now retired to his quinta, or farm-house, and is said to be poor. His army was headed by General Urquizas, in connexion with the allied forces of Brazil, and those of the provinces of Entre Rios and Uruguay, and they are now proceeding to “beard the lion in his den,” having crossed the river Parana, on their way to Buenos Ayres by land, while the Brazilian fleet are occupying the river. The French have eleven vessels of war now in port, and in the town are quartered fifteen hundred troops, reminding one of a garrisoned town in France. Brazil has now taken upon herself the charges of the war, and relieved the French; she has a large number of German troops employed, and the Monte Videans feel sanguine that with an army of thirty thousand men on a good war footing, they will be able to overcome any force that the tyrant Rosas can produce, although his infantry and cavalry are estimated at from twenty-five to forty thousand, by far the greatest force ever brought together in South America.

The houses here have mostly azoteas, or flat roofs, which afford a fine promenade for the ladies, who have the advantage of seeing all that passes over the parapet. Notwithstanding they have suffered so severely, and have made such sacrifices, many families having been beggared, they support an opera which is well attended, and the fair sex looks as graceful and charming as in most Spanish towns.

I am now proceeding to Buenos Ayres, where I will finish this epistle.

LXXV

BUENOS AYRES, _Feb. 1, 1852_.