Part 27

In different parts of the serra, which is here known as the “Morreo de Chumbo,” (hill of lead,) large mines of lead ore have been discovered; and the large proportion of metal and its freedom from impurities would insure an abundant yield.

Large masses of limestone are also present in several places. In one place, iron ore was likewise observed, which is doubtless connected with an extensive deposit. I was particularly struck with collections of superior red chalk, which would be well adapted for red pencils, as well as the ordinary marking purposes of chalk, while it might also serve as a pigment when ground. There is said also to be a deposit of coal in the range of hills next to Iporanga, but this may be a misapprehension of inexperienced persons. Should there prove to be coal-mines here, the value of the whole assemblage of mineralogical specimens would be immensely enhanced.

All these treasures might be made available which are located upon slopes of the serra looking towards Iporanga, but on the other side the difficulties of transportation are almost insurmountable.

Upon the top of the serra, between two ridges, there is a farm, upon which corn was growing most luxuriantly. Bananas and coffee trees were also seen at another place, looking very well.

An exceeding fine black bull was observed all alone far up on the ridge, and his appearance indicated fine stock. Other cattle in excellent condition were seen elsewhere, and in one group there were four bulls, two of which were very large.[29]

SATURDAY, _January 6, 1866_.

We reposed last night at an old site of a fazenda, belonging to the estate of Senor Rafael, who died about a year since leaving a large property. A negro woman, having charge of the house, gave it up to our possession, and assisted us some in our culinary arrangements, for which she was rewarded by taking breakfast with these camaradas, after I had eaten my frugal meal. The farina was made into mush this morning, and thus furnished something of a variety in our fare.

Having now descended from the elevated land, we proceeded along a stream, called the Ribeirão de Camarga, which was crossed no less than nine times within a few miles; and after leaving it, three other smaller streams were crossed within as many hundred yards, all converging to empty into one channel that was subsequently passed, as it made its way into the great receptacle of these waters, the Ribeira de Ignape.

Within six miles we reached the village of Iporanga, and ascertaining that Senor João Paulo Dias, to whom I bore a letter, was not in town, I called at his house, and found Senor Joaquim José Vieyra da Rocha in possession, who treated me very kindly. He provided a very good meal for me, and yet having no knife on the table, left me to manage with a fork and a spoon. Upon intimating my wish to arrange for proceeding upon my journey, he went and brought Senor Manoel Joquim da Rocha, who advised me to proceed to Xiririca in a canoe, and arrange there for farther progress.

To this I acceded, and requested him to make all the requisite arrangements for the trip on the water, and let me know what was to be paid. He stated that it would be better for me to go this afternoon, some eight miles down the river to the situ of Senor João Paulo, to whom I had brought the letter, and spending the night with him, I could resume my voyage to-morrow morning. All being in readiness, he went with me to the point of embarkation, and upon my proposing to pay, he said all was settled in advance, and that I had nothing to pay. Besides this, he gave me two letters to parties in Xiririca, to facilitate my progress from there. This gentleman being an entire stranger, and having no personal interest whatever in serving me, I appreciated most gratefully his kindness in this matter.

I learned from Senor Manoel that Senor Street had been here some days ago, but had returned to Cananea, and perhaps to São Paulo; yet it was my expectation that he might still be found at the former place, and my wish was to communicate with him if possible in this region.

In descending the river, my negro boatman told me that the gentleman to whose house I was going was one of a party in canoes at a landing near by us. I directed him to stop his canoe at this place, and upon meeting Senor João Paulo, the letter of Senor Joaquim Custodio Merada of Paranapanema was delivered to him. He invited me to return with him and his family to the town; but upon stating to him my destination, he proposed at once to go back with me to his situ below.

I suggested to him that this would perhaps incommode his family, but all seemed to acquiesce cheerfully, and returned.

His cotton field was visited, and the land seemed to be well adapted to the growth of this article; but the work was very deficient, and the want of proper culture was indicated in the large number of stalks that were allowed to remain in a hill. In some instances, I counted as many as eight stalks growing in close proximity to each other, and the hills generally had more than three stalks. I advised him to reduce the stand to two stalks in a place, for a portion at least of his crop, that he might see the benefit of thinning it out. I selected one stalk which happened to be alone, and counted upon it twenty-two squares; and no stalks where there was two or more in a place exceeded sixteen squares, thus illustrating on the spot the advantage of more space.

A portion of the plants on this place have been destroyed by the ants, (formica,) and I suggested to him that the use of the plough in planting and in the subsequent cultivation of the cotton, would be likely to keep the soil free from the ant:

Another portion of the field was overrun with the weeds; and even the hoe had not been used in any part of his cotton, so as to afford a good result. A part of this land is river bottom, but above ordinary inundations, while another part is elevated land, running up from this flat, and it seemed that the latter was the best suited to the production of cotton, being also less liable to the attacks of the ant. This low land would doubtless suit corn well, yet it is here as we see all the world over, the article that is supposed to bring most money has precedence; and no corn was seen, though he stated that it was planted in some other portions of land.

The lands lying along the river thus far are very hilly and almost mountainous, with here and there, as at this place, a level space in which cotton, corn, or sugar-cane is planted. The more irregular lands are usually covered with mandioca, the root of which is the great source of farina, that is so generally used as food in this country.

Coffee trees were observed growing well in the yard at this place, having a good crop of berries and abundant blooms, where the berries were not yet formed. Senor João informed me that coffee gives a good yield here, and that there is no frost in this section to damage the crop.

There is a rice pounding-mill in operation adjoining the dwelling, and it is expected to connect a cotton-gin with the same water-power.

As yet there are no cotton-gins in this region of country, and any one who would anticipate the supply of the planters by erecting machinery for cleaning and packing cotton upon this river, would realize a fine return from his investment.

Senor João gave me this evening a fine specimen of lead ore, taken from a deposit within five miles of Iporanga; and he says there is certainly a bed of coal in the same vicinity, specimens of which he has sent to Rio de Janeiro, but no report has yet been received from the examination of it. He states that a good road can be made from the site of this lead and coal to the river, and transportation in large canoes thence to Xiririca, at which point the river becomes navigable for steamboats.

A large coal-mine here would be far more valuable than a gold mine to the fortunate owner.

Senor João Paulo Dias is the delegado of police for the municipality of Iporanga, and occupying a position in society which entitles his statements and opinions to respect. Upon inquiring the facts as to health and climate in this locality and the adjacent country, he gives an unqualified voucher for their salubrity and pleasantness. I see nothing that could induce disease; and the atmosphere is dry, with the sun shining all the day brightly, while the elevation gives a more pleasant temperature than in lower places, or even in the plateau lands.

I am informed that none of these troublesome little insects which penetrate the skin of the feet, and other parts, are found here, and yet there are hogs constantly about the yard.

I learn here that the lands of Dom Prates, of which mention was previously made, are located near the route from Apiahy to Iporanga, and though hilly are considered fertile. It is stated, however, that the coffee trees planted there have all died, from some inscrutable cause. I am satisfied that the land is very unfavorably located for transportation, and shall not try to visit it under all the circumstances.

The important matter in selecting a place is to secure lands adapted to all the variety of products, which are exempt from liability to sickness, and affording ready means of communication with a market, by means of navigation. Such I trust may be found combined in the neighborhood of Xiririca; and without spending time looking at other points I will proceed to investigate those lands.

SUNDAY, _January 7, 1866_.

Though this day should have been observed as a day of rest, the arrangement of Senor Manoel made it incumbent to proceed in his canoe down the river to-day. After breakfasting with Senor João Paulo I was provided with a supply of chicken, fish, etc., etc., for my dinner, and took my departure at 9 o’clock A. M. The large fish, of which I had a part, and had also partaken at breakfast, was caught with a hook from the river, and though the name has escaped me, it was a fine specimen of what these waters produce. I understand that large fish are not so frequent here as lower down in the stream, but that there are a great many of good size for table use in all parts of the river.

While coming down in the canoe I read in the Portuguese Testament the sixth chapter of St. John’s gospel, and tried to profit by the lessons of dependence upon the Lord which it inculcates.

In the early part of my descent the lands were quite mountainous on each side of the river, but the irregularity of the surface gradually became less, until I reached a region where the elevations afforded only an agreeable relief to the more uniform configuration of the surface.

All the corn seen in the first part of the voyage seemed to have been planted early, and had become prematurely dry, giving an unfavorable impression of the yield of this region. But that observed lower down, and more recently planted, looked fresh and vigorous, while the corn approaching maturity was evidently of better stamina than that passed above. This change was evident after descending twenty miles, and decided after reaching the Inguary. This small river enters opposite to a very pretty island, which looks as if it would be productive; and the appearance of the corn on each bank of the Ribeira indicated good soil.

Upon descending further, the Laguary, a larger stream on the left, was passed, and I was told that canoes ascend it to a considerable distance.

Below this is the island of Bananal Grande.

My sturdy negro boatman did not seem inclined to expend much his energies upon his paddle, and I endeavored to stimulate him by offering a reward for a quick trip. But he subsequently sat down to paddle, and actually went to sleep. I then said that he must be very tired, and proposed to relieve him for a time, but he insisted there was no need of my doing so, and seemed to turn over the paddle to me reluctantly. My progress was not the most satisfactory, and getting into a swift place, the canoe made headway towards a point of land which I had to turn. The negro, perceiving my inability to manage his craft, again took the paddle, and after this there was no more sitting down to sleep. These fellows stand up in using the paddle or pole, and it is surprising how long they can continue this severe labor without intermission. This canoe was a regular dug-out, as are all on this river. It measured about twenty (20) feet in length, two (2) feet across the mouth, and eighteen (18) inches deep. The general thickness did not exceed one inch, with a belt of increased thickness in the middle, and with somewhat more substance in the bottom.

The negro informed me that such a canoe could be bought for six dollars ($6.00) at Iporanga.

Reaching Xiririca shortly after 6 o’clock P. M., I went immediately to the house of Senor Miguel Antonio Jorgi, and upon presenting the letters I bore from various parties, he proposed that I should proceed with him and his family down the river to his situ. To this I cordially assented, saying, “En eston as suas ordens.” His wife was introduced to me, and having learned that she spoke English, I forthwith propounded the interrogatory, “Falla Inglez, Senhora?” But I was answered, “Não, Senhor. Esquece toda lingua Ingleza.” She had spoken English when she was first married, but having no one to converse with for eight years, it had been forgotten, and I was left to my small acquirements in Portuguese as the only means of communication with this family. Senor Guilherme, a son of Senor Miguel, was also presented to me, and a number of other gentlemen who happened to be at the house when I entered. I escorted Senhora to the canoe-landing, giving her my arm, as I had learned this act of civility was viewed much in the same light as with us. All that was said by either was mutually understood, and my prospect for getting on in my communications with intelligent, educated people, is far more encouraging than in my intercourse with the caipiras with whom I have been for several days past in coming across the country.

I was accommodated in the huge family canoe, which had a covering of raw-hide, and all were comfortably protected for the voyage of ten miles.

The negro with the other canoe, in charge of my baggage, was directed by Senor Miguel to follow us.

MONDAY, _January 8, 1866_.

Requesting Senor Guilherme to write a note of thanks for me to Senor Manoel Joaquim da Rocha, for the service rendered by the man and the canoe in bringing me down the river, they were dismissed this morning at an early hour to return to Iporanga.

Having learned definitely that Senor Street has left this section, I am thrown upon my own resources in making any exploration of the lands, and, as Senor Miguel seems very kindly disposed, I have accepted his invitation to remain a few days for the purpose of looking around the country.

His dwelling and all its appliances present an air of substantial comfort, and even of elegance in some respects. The parlor is a large, well-furnished apartment, and has a piano of the bureau order, which is very fashionable in this country. His wife performs well upon this instrument, and has also the accomplishment of speaking French and Italian, though she has forgotten most of her English. She is very sprightly, and appears quite young for the wife of a gentleman of fifty-five years, as I take Senor Miguel to be from his appearance. He is originally from Spain and retains much of the harsh accent of that country in speaking the Portuguese, so that I do not understand him with the same facility as I do his wife or his son. The only fruit of the present marriage is one pretty little girl, who is quite a prattler. By a former marriage he has this son and two others, one a lawyer at Ignape, and the other a Catholic priest at Bahia.

Senor Miguel has at this place extensive machinery with water-power, for treating rice and sugar-cane, from the latter of which the rum (cachaça) is the chief yield, as it is found to pay better than the sugar or molasses.

I was struck with the convenience of his rolling scaffolds for sunning the rice, there being three or four of different elevations, so that one goes under the other, and each having its separate track, they can be compactly stored under a house or drawn out to be exposed to the sun. A similar plan to this would be well suited for drying coffee, yet nothing of the kind was seen in the coffee establishments, and they should profit by the suggestion. Upon these a few of the women and children about the house can draw out or run under shelter, as may be required, a large amount of rice or coffee.

There is also a saw-mill in operation here which seems to be of long standing, and has a perpendicular saw that works rather slowly.

The water-power used for these several purposes is a stream of no great magnitude, that comes into the Ribeira at this point, and by throwing a dam across some short distance above, he secures sufficient water for his purposes.

The residence and other buildings are located upon the bank of the river within a short distance of the water, and sundry large canoes supply the means of transportation to and from this place, which is called Caiacauga.

These canoes are of various sizes, made out of a solid log of wood. The one in which we all came down last night is forty-five feet long, thirty-two inches deep and thirty inches across the mouth. But there are others larger than this in all respects, and some measuring three feet across the mouth.

The largest canoes will carry ten thousand pounds of freight upon this river, and are worth about one hundred dollars; those of eight thousand pounds capacity may be bought for ninety dollars; while those of five thousand pounds capacity are valued at fifty dollars. From this down to the size capable of carrying two men and their baggage, the price ranges even as low as five dollars. This is found to be a very economical means of transportation, and those who employ their canoes for the public charge but twenty cents per head from Xiririca to Ignape, a distance of between ninety and one hundred miles. The steamboats adopt the same scale of rates; and from Ignape to Rio de Janeiro the rate of transportation is forty cents per head, making the entire freight from Xiririca to Rio de Janeiro only sixty cents per head when transported by water.

In comparing this with the table of published rates from Santos to Rio Claro, or any of the interior towns in the direction of Araraquara, it is found the latter is two dollars and forty cents per head without including the further item of shipment to Rio de Janeiro from Santos. So much for the difference of water and pack-mule transportation. We may reasonably calculate that the transportation to Rio from Araraquara will be five-fold greater than from Xiririca, even when the line of railroad is completed from Santos to Campinas. The pack-mules being placed on the upper part of the line will continue to exact a heavy tariff before articles reach the cars, and the rate of freight by railroad must exceed very much that by water.

This matter is of great consequence in the profits of a crop; and while many articles are entirely precluded from market, by the rates of transportation on pack-mules from the interior of this province, even coffee and cotton cannot be forwarded to any advantage, except when the prices of these commodities are very high. On the other hand, there is scarcely any thing marketable which could not afford to pay the freight from Xiririca and leave a margin of profit; and all that is saved upon coffee and cotton is clear gain to the planter in this region.

The Ribeira de Ignape is navigable for steamboats of light draught at all seasons up to Xiririca, and at the ordinary state of the water, during the rainy season, those drawing eight feet can pass up it. The part affording least depth of water is at the mouth, all other parts of the river, being very favorable for navigation.

It runs very smoothly opposite the site of Caiacauga; and in passing down a few miles this afternoon, I was impressed with its special adaptation for navigation.

I visited, in company with Senor Miguel, the farm of Senor Manoel Roberto de Almaida, about two miles down the river; and though being under cultivation, it interested me greatly.

Cotton of American seed had been growing four years without pruning, and yielded two crops a year. The present prospect for a crop is fair, and I counted an average stalk having forty-two grown bolls upon it, while an isolated stalk had eighty-five bolls. I saw a very large stalk of cotton separate from the planting of the field, where it had ample space to spread, which must have had, at the least calculation, two hundred bolls.

This is the first specimen seen which has been growing for such a length of time, and it has not even been cut off, as most of the plants have been, which are more than one year’s growth. The appropriateness of this climate for the continuous production of cotton from a single planting during four years, is illustrated by a considerable field growing in this place; and apart from being arranged in rows, it affords but little evidence of attention. The land is evidently inferior to most of the surrounding territory, and yet it is of that dark gray order, with an admixture of coarse gravel, that is usually best adapted to the culture of cotton. The recently planted cotton also looks well, and if it was cultivated properly, would doubtless far exceed the yield of that which has been on the land four years.[30]

Coffee trees of great age were seen here still bearing some fruit, and younger trees, with a full crop of the berries, indicated a climate well suited to this article. This man is eighty-five years old, and has a sister ninety years old living in this neighborhood, giving good evidence of the healthfulness of the country.

TUESDAY, _January 9, 1866_.