Part 26

I brought out my blanket and pillow last night to facilitate the preparations of mine host for my night’s rest; and a rude bedstead with cords of the sipo vine, over which were some matting, a horse-blanket, and a sheet, gave promise of comfort. But the numerous fleas beset me so that I was induced to strip off shirt and drawers and wrap up in the blanket to protect myself against them. Getting once clear of these pests, and having the woollen blanket next my person, it was impracticable for them to make an entrance, as their legs get tangled in the wool so as prevent jumping, or even crawling to any considerable extent.

It is somewhat remarkable that no bedbugs or chinches have been seen in this country, and it is fortunate for the lower classes (who are so filthy) that this insect does not propagate here to any large extent.

I am sitting upon my trunk writing, while the corn is being shelled and other arrangements are progressing for our outfit. My two tin-plates, and knife and fork, have been brought forth for use here, and upon the voyage. I gave my friends at Paranapanema upon separating a can of tomatoes, and one of partridge, reserving two cans of tomatoes and one of mutton for this trip; and, from the present aspect of affairs, they are likely to be in urgent demand, as supplies are scarce.

One of the men working on this place has shot a large monkey, and these people tell me that these ugly animals are frequently eaten here, but I hope it will not be served up for our trip.

One of the advantages I hoped to derive in being separated entirely from those speaking English was improvement in the use of the Portuguese language, but these caipiras have such a bad pronunciation that I have considerably greater difficulty in communicating with them than with educated Brazilians, and there is not much encouragement to learn any of the language from them, so that I will talk no more than is needed.

After a great trial to my patience, we started at noon, and I found the son was to accompany the old man as my escort for the voyage. Making a halt at the son’s house, I found a cucumber lying on the table, and getting some salt, it was enjoyed very much. This is a new place, as is also that of the wife’s family near by, and there are a number of new shanties through this obscure tract of country, which have been built as retreats for those getting out of the way of recruiting officers. I witnessed the modus operandi of dodging the issue this morning, in the movements of a man and his wife.

She was mounted astride of one horse, and sundry supplies of eatables were packed in panniers upon another tackey, while the man went afoot with his gun. Upon inquiry as to their destination, the only answer was, that they were going into the forest to sojourn for a time.

The country passed through to-day was for the most part hilly and very poor, having the native pine in great number and of large size, which here, as its namesake with us, is an indication generally of thin soil. The wood of this is more like the soft white pine, and not much used.

An hour before sundown we reached a house, when my escort intimated to me we would stop for the night. I suggested that we had made a very short journey, being only fifteen miles, and that it was some time until night; yet he said there was no house, water, or pasture to be found at any convenient distance, so that I had to acquiesce. Now we shall see more of caipira life, but in somewhat better condition than the miserable abode of my old camarada’s family. The house was a very good mud wall and thatched roof structure, with four divisions; one being for the corn, another the cooking-apartment, and the two others for sleeping-rooms. As the manner of constructing the walls of these houses is characteristic of this class of people, it may be stated that upright timbers are placed in the ground at the corners, and at such other points as the size of the building requires, upon which rests the plates for the roof. Between these uprights are arranged vertically and longitudinally, making a check-work, numerous small strips or laths of the palmetto, upon which is plastered a mortar composed of clay with an admixture of cow-dung. This last-named article is used in this country to give tenacity to the mortar, and, from the general resort to it, I infer that it must serve a good purpose. A wall plastered in this way on the outside and inside gives protection to the inmates from the weather, and, if not subjected to any violence, will remain for a number of years in good condition.

These thatched houses (palhaçar casas) are covered with a kind of long coarse grass, or with the leaves of a species of palm, secured to the laths of the roof by the sipo vine; and each layer extending partly over the foregoing, a very thorough security against rain is effected. With occasional repairs, this covering serves as protection for ten or twelve years.

In such walls, and with such a covering, an earth floor is usually found, and this may be the natural soil, if in a clay region, but is usually made with mortar, such as is used on the walls. As it is very rare to see a chimney in any kind of a house in Brazil, this style of building is of course without any other place for a fire than upon the dirt floor, in the middle of the apartment used for cooking, and the smoke finds its way through the roof as best it may.

The house at which we are to spend the night is owned by Senor José Francisco de Aranna, who is a tall, dark-skinned man, and probably having a mixture of Indian and negro blood; while his wife is a stout and rather comely white woman, being much fairer complexioned than most of those seen in this country. She seemed to be expected to perform most of the labor about the establishment, and got our dinner ready in a reasonable time.

The table for myself and my two attendants consisted of a large stool, having a cloth which only partially covered it, upon the middle of which was poured a large pile of farina, and upon each of three corners were plates, filled with regular home-made hominy and pieces of pork which had been cooked with it.

Not having met with any gritz before, since coming to Brazil, I enjoyed this dish hugely.

After it was disposed of, these plates were removed and others with small bits of fried pork were set down before each of us, which were to be eaten with the farina; but my appetite had been pretty well satisfied with the previous abundant supply, and I ate but little of this, while, however, my attendants made clean plates. Again we were called upon to partake of a dessert of big hominy, which was very nice, but beyond the capacity of my stomach, yet the other men managed to worry down all that was served.

As I have stated elsewhere, the big hominy is made here with the whole grains of corn, by being pounded in a mortar, and they don’t seem to know any thing of treating it with lime or ashes, to remove the outside. Its use is confined entirely to the category of dessert, even among the best people in the land, under the name, cangica.

While the articles furnished on this occasion were substantial, and the surroundings clean, the style of serving them was very primitive and plain, presenting a fair type of the living among the better order of caipiras.

Our host filled out the backwoods character by giving me some music on the viola, which is an instrument resembling the banjo, but with metallic strings, and is in great repute with these people. He sang at my request, which gave a zest to his performance, and I gave the best evidence of the soothing influence of his music by going to sleep during the rather protracted performance. Being in the dark, none of the party observed this act of appreciation.

THURSDAY, _January 4, 1866_.

I was honored during the night with the only bedstead in the house, consisting of some forks driven into the ground, upon which some small straight poles were laid, and having over them a piece of flag matting. With the assistance of my blanket and pillow, my sleep was profound and refreshing.

The old man who accompanied me reposed in the crib upon the unhusked corn, while the son spent the night in some equally convenient place, of which I was not advised.

We were not permitted to leave without breakfast, and giving again the bill of fare will afford a farther specimen of the good things enjoyed by this class of people. The immense pile of farina on the cloth in the middle of the stool greets us at the outset, with a big deep plate full of beans and small pieces of meat for each of us, on the corners of this temporary table. There being no seats about the house, I use my trunk as was done last evening, and the others hunker down to it.

This was followed by plates of soup, in which the beans and meat had been cooked, and we were expected to eat farina with it. There is a peculiar art with these people, in throwing the farina into their mouths with a spoon, and not touching the lips with it, so that all use the same spoon without any indelicacy, in eating from the common pile. Next came the big hominy, and we closed with plates of sweet milk. These articles should have been served together, and thus conformed to the usages among the better class, but they were furnished separately in this caipira regime.

We had no coffee here, and as it is more in keeping with these people to use the rum of the sugar-cane, (cachaça), it was tendered but declined.

I observed after eating each time, that my camaradas rose to their feet, and bringing their hands in contact before them, went through some short ceremony, which was construed as a thanksgiving for what they had received. This I presume is peculiar to the class, as nothing of the sort has been observed among the better order of people. There is no asking of blessing at table, or returning thanks, nor is there any family worship, where I have been heretofore; but among these people I heard a service at the house of Senor Pedro, before I rose in the morning, which seemed to be some devotional exercise on the part of the family; and it is evident that some of them have more regard for religious observance than the more refined class of society throughout this country.

Returning my acknowledgments for the hospitality received, we took our leave of this very respectable backwoods family and set out, with the assistance of another caipira to show us the route.

We were shown first into a blind path, leading down a steep hill, and with a continuation of hills and hollows through the woods for a considerable distance, but reached after a time a plainer way, leading by the most irregular and winding course that ever man or beast has travelled. It was that style of substitute for a road known here by the name picado, and consists in having a few of the small saplings and shrubs cut out, so that a horse may pass, and scarcely permitting a rider to accompany him.

At one time the knees are in contact with a tree in making a short turn; at another, a limb or bent cane of immense size endangers the head, and but for the use of the large sheath-knives carried by the camaradas, the path would have been impassable in many parts. These tremendous cutlasses, with which every camarada and almost every traveller is equipped, are equal to a small axe in clearing away obstructions; and though it looks somewhat savage to see them sticking in the belt of almost every man upon a voyage, they are very useful, and even necessary, in a trip such as the present.

Neither of my attendants wore shoes, and upon entering this narrow and rugged path, beset with brambles and thorns, they rolled up their breeches above their knees, having less fear of tearing their flesh than of injuring their clothes. Indeed their scanty outfit of wearing apparel made this precaution very proper, in view of the tough appearance of the natural covering of their legs. With my boots outside of my pants I secured a like immunity from damage to my raiment.

From our entrance into these woods until we passed out into the Faxina road, a distance of sixteen miles, we were surrounded by lands which were evidently of good quality; and yet, for the most part, so hilly as to render their cultivation very difficult. A portion of the soil is what is known among us as mulatto land, and other parts of a dark gray aspect. The supply of water at all points is quite sufficient for domestic uses, but only two places that would afford facilities for erection of machinery.

The remoteness of these lands belonging to the public domain from a market, and the great difficulty of getting a practicable road in any direction, must be a barrier to the occupation of this territory; otherwise it might be a desirable location for families.

I observed in the midst of this immense forest a small pole pen, and, upon inquiry, learned that it had been used for confining hogs at night that were driven along this route to Iporanga.

The nature of the soil and the character of the growth changed materially on reaching the large open road; and here again we encountered the pine, indicating thin land, though lying more favorably.

After proceeding upon this road, leading from the town of Faxina to Iporanga for four miles, we halted for the night at a beautiful stream, and I availed myself of the opportunity to take a most refreshing bath after the fatiguing day’s travel.

We had travelled twenty miles only, but, considering the nature of the road, it was a good result.

After the horses had grazed around until they were satisfied, they all came up near our rancho and stood for some time, in expectation of something more substantial. But just then the men were preparing dinner, and while we were eating our broiled pork and farina, of which the meal consisted, the animals all moved off upon the road we had come. I intimated to them that the animals were going away, “Os animals estão indo embora,” to which one of them simply replied, that they would not go far, “Não vão longe;” but after finishing his grub the old man set out in search of them upon my suggesting that they would probably return to his house, “Talves aquelles animals voltarão a sua casa.”

After he had been gone for half an hour, I perceived the son was getting very anxious, but nothing was said indicating any misgivings, while it struck me very forcibly that we might be destined to camp here much longer than desirable. At length the young man started off on the road, when I called to him “Onde vai, Senhor?” (Where are you going, sir?) To which he replied that he was going for fuel—“para lenha,” and turned into the woods. My impression was that he was starting to look for the old man and the mules, but I had no idea of being left here in the wild woods alone, and I kept my eye on his movements closely. At length the old man returned with the animals, having run some two miles to overtake them on their homeward-bound course; and they have received a caution, which will enable them in future to understand the movements of these brutes. They now gave them their corn, and confining the only horse in the train with a bell on his neck, as a rendezvous signal, the mules were allowed to go at large for the night.

We found at this place an old dilapidated rancho of the palm leaves, and seeing that a rain was approaching I stretched my blanket under this, and it served to protect all three of us from the showers that occurred at intervals during the night. My position was on the outside, the others between me and the fire; and the thought occurred to me more than once that any wild beast that might approach from these dense woods must come upon me first, yet I did not care to lie so near the fire as the change would bring me, and gave no signs to them of having any apprehension.

FRIDAY, _January 5, 1866_.

A pot of beans with the shank-bone and feet of a shoat having boiled over the fire during the night, the coffee was promptly prepared and the breakfast was soon served, when I moved off to encounter the worst roads that can ever be travelled. Each of the party was well mounted, and our two pack-mules were substantial and active; but it was with the greatest difficulty that the animals scrambled up the hills, and required the greatest care in sliding down the steep slopes, while the ridges and mud-holes in the comparatively level portions of the road were most serious obstacles to their progress. These roads, where pack trains of mules travel, become crossed from side to side with alternate ridges and hollows by the constant treading of the animals in the same tracks. In strict keeping with the Brazilian character, they follow in the footsteps of those who have gone before, and nothing induces them to change their unvarying adherence to the same track. Thus, one after another, and four or five abreast in a broad road, lines are formed entirely across, resembling when they become dry the ridges formed for planting the sweet potato. Indeed this correspondence is so striking that the first instance seen, being upon a road that had ceased to be travelled by these troops of pack-mules, induced me to think that a crop of potatoes or other roots had been planted there. Yet, upon inquiry, I learned that these ridges resulted from the very thing encountered on the road to-day, and by lapse of time all signs of tracks had disappeared.

On our route the depressions were either full of water and mud, or the slope at one side kept them drained; but in either case it was difficult for the mules to step over the high ridges, and one needs but to try the experiment of stepping repeatedly over elevations of this kind to know how tiresome it must prove to the animal when kept up for some considerable time.

On the hillsides the clay was for the most part solid, and with a slight rain that was falling it was very slick, which impeded our ascent; and our descent of these slick smooth slopes was something very peculiar, and to me quite amusing. The mules seemed to understand the thing perfectly, and would glide down as boys descend a steep clay bank upon a slide, making a continuous impression like the trail of a small narrow slide upon the side of the hill, from top to bottom. The two pack-mules were kept ahead, and upon reaching the top of one of the hills, away they would go one after the other, and as soon as they were out of the way, then down went the animals of the camaradas, as if upon skates, in quick succession, and going with that great speed resulting from the declivity. At the outset, I felt some concern as to following this example upon my staunch and rather tall mule, hunting for a rough part of the ground to descend so as to keep his feet from sliding. But I soon found that it was better to let him go as the others did, and when he would get under way on a long, steep hill, he went down almost with the velocity of a locomotive-engine.

These mules are without shoes, and indeed the best-secured shoes would probably be lost in the stiff mud. The hoof penetrates the clay in the soft parts of the road, and when drawn out it pops at every step like a cupping-glass jerked suddenly from the skin. Only one of the animals made a complete fall during the day, and that was the horse, which was running loose at the time. The mules frequently slipped upon their knees in ascending the slick hills, but were upon their feet again in an instant. These men give their mules the rein entirely loose in descending the hills; and though I felt like keeping a check upon my bridle at first, I observed that the others got on better without tightening their reins, and that the pack-mules went safely without bridles, so that I soon concluded to give my brave and sturdy mule his will, letting him select his own way and his own speed in descending the hills.

When we approached the crest of the serra, the route became so very steep and rugged that, in compassion to my faithful animal, I dismounted and walked up several hills. The camaradas had previously on sundry occasions relieved their animals by walking; and the old man got a fall in going up a slick hill very much such as that which occurred to the horse.

There has been a considerable amount of labor bestowed upon this route across the serra, to make it practicable for pack-mules and those under the saddle; yet it is very difficult to make the trip even with excellent animals, and inferior stock could not traverse this awful road.

I am now entirely satisfied as to the cause of the cotton and other freight going from Faxina and other neighboring places, over the long route by way of São Paulo, to Santos upon pack-mules.

The difficulties of the passage across this serra may not be so great elsewhere as the route by which I travelled to-day; but from all that can be learned it is not likely that communication will ever be made easy from that region to the navigable waters of the Ribeiro de Ignape. Should the same amount of labor be given to the line from Itapetininga to Sette Barros which has been expended upon the Serra de Santos, it is most likely that a practicable road could be made there; and that route is perhaps the most important of any that could be selected for the accommodation of the public interests of the country. The vast and very fertile region of Botocatu would find a ready outlet for its products by this line of communication, and the large tract of agricultural country lying between this place and Apiahy calls loudly for a road to this river, over which wagons as well as pack-mules may pass with facility. A road to Sette Barros, or some point on the Rio Inquia, would secure steamboat transportation, and redound to the greatest benefit of the people throughout this entire region, while it would promote vastly the interests of the government. If the difference of freight by such a line, and the long line of pack-mules to Santos, is considered, it ought to induce prompt action in effecting it.