

BRAZIL 



BRAZIL. 



101 



eepeoially European*, who 



of tWaee*. The acorpion, which 



... ,!,-.. .'.;., ' 

 the hmUy of 



d be/o7torope is not known in Brazil ; but Mar- 



in.. e* more than thirty *peete of wild bees, nearly all of 



whioh are without Mac*, and H enppoaed that eome of them could 

 W dameetiealed. Gardner, however, during hi* four yean* travel* in 

 BMfl, *ir w O*M Meant made to do ao, and that wa* by a Cornish 

 miner in the OoM Dhtrirt In UM province of San Paulo the nopal- 

 tree grow*, and UM inhabitant* collect f-phin 1 Several attempts 

 tarn bean Bade to introduce UM silk-worm, but hitherto we believe 



10a^ss>*SIUU*b> WV*1**4*J w*s*J**iia.i i in "'f 



introdoo* UM ilk-worm, but hitherto we believe 



wealth of Brazil U considerable. Gold is found on 



both sides of UM Bern do* Vertentce, from the Serra de Mantigueir. 

 to UM north branch of the Serra do* Paricia, for a distance of about 

 bat farther on the north than on the south side. It is 

 re or lea*, in almoat all the riven which form the upper 

 --i of the Francesco, Toeantina, Araguay, and Ouapore", but by 

 far the great** quantity ha* been collected in the affluents of the 

 Francesco. The greatest quantity ha* been obtained by washing the 

 end from the bed of certain rivers, or the alluvial deposit on their 

 It is only in comparatively recent time* that attempts have 

 ' to work the mine* in the mountains. Before the beginning 



of UM awl century the quantity of gold obtained wan inconsiderable, 

 but it increased rapidly. The greatest quantify wa* found between 

 1753 and 1793, and from that tune it continued to decrease, mainly 

 owing to UM better portion of the auriferous aand having been 

 exheoetod, and to UM amount of capital required to work the veins in 

 UM momraahM on a regular intern. British capital has within the last 

 few yean been employed with considerable success, and the mine* at 

 Congo 8oeo, near the Villa de Sabara, on the banks of the Rio das 

 VeJhaa, a tributary of the Rio de & Francesco, at Cocaes, at Morro 

 Vetto, sad elsewhere, are the result of British enterprise. Iron is 

 vwy abundant : hi some places, as at Minaa Oerae*, there are whole 

 mountains of ore ; according to St Hilaire, it may be regarded as 

 ioeihauetibU, bat up to the present time it has been worked on an 

 exteoeiv* Male only in two or three places. Copper was once worked 

 to a ixineirlenhls extent. No silver ha* been found, and only slight 

 Indications of tin and quicksilver. Platinum occurs on the banks of 

 UM Rio Abaete', a tributary of the Francesco, and in some other places. 

 Lead and cobalt are more common. Arsenic, bismuth, antimony, and 



No country probably is richer in diamonds than Brazil, but hitherto 

 they have only been found in the rivers. The moat western streams 

 in which diamond* bare been discovered are some of the upper 

 brandies of the Paraguay. The diamond district, of which the 

 Cldade IHamenUna is the centre, or the district of Tejuco, where by 

 far UM |i*let quantity of diamonds ha* been found, is situated 

 ader 18' 8. let, and comprehend* both side* of the Serra de Espin- 

 heeo. It is traversed by the Rio lequetinhonha, an upper branch of 

 UM Rio Belmotrte ; UM small riven of the western part of the dis- 

 trict (all into UM FranoMoo. In this district about 10,000 persons are 

 UM collection of diamonds The searching for stones, 



InrmMrly a monopoly of UM government, i* now free to all. To the 

 oath-wet* of this district, on the Abaetl and Indaia, both of which 

 join UM Fiauoseuu on UM left bank, between 18 and 19, there is 

 another diamond district, in which some of the largest diamond* 

 hav* been found ; but the March here ha* been long aban- 

 U the plain of the Rio Parana- diamonds are found in the 

 , which fcfla into the Paranapanema, a tributary of the Parana. 



of the gold and diamonds of Brazil has however become 

 able compared with it* other products. The yellow topazes 

 ear Villa Rice are much mt tamed. Amethyst, and other 

 a* (tone* are found hi Mine* Geraes. 



Bra**! eoald not maintain it* hnmana* stock of cattle if the people 

 ' to boy sail, without a (apply of which the animal* will 

 The table-land doe* not contain rock-aalt, but a great 

 ef sail patohee occur on the surface oovored with a salt 

 lick up. Thee* prfchea, which gene- 

 rally do not exeeed a few eqoare yard*, doable the value of an estate. 

 Je^ l ,aa.aH|1aBoea.^ 



ZV^ *!? yg-** iMMbI*thcee on the high land of Iran 

 Asia, Two of them ar> very exteaeive ; on* rune, on both aide* of 



the fru between 7' end 10' a let., from the Villa de Urubd to 



Me* VOk ae lnnifi with m average breadth of from 80 to 100 

 mike, the other veita*.^ near the weeteraboondary of the empire, 

 he*****, the Paraguay and the flerra de Agoapehy, beginning on the 

 --. ef UM Jurw. and extowtmf in a south we-torn direction fur a 



(re** daHasm. In both oMriete the eoHaee i* .lightly undulating, 

 l UM .all whieh appear* on tfc. aurtko. after the rain* i. extracted 

 7 **. UM earth, and learia the water to evaporate. In come 

 pUena, ale** the Fra*e*ee<> aad to the prvrmee of Ceart, large cavern. 

 e**ur, UM eefl of w.teh i. imprexMtod with saltpetre. In other 



laqoettehoi ha. alum i* found 



The inabitanU of Brazil consist of aborigine* and of 

 foreigners, who have settled here in the but three centuries. The 

 aborigine, are divided into a great number of tribes, but they so far 

 resemble one another in figure, complexion, and habits, a* to appear 

 to belong to the same race. They an of a middling size and of slender 

 make. Their complexion i* a shining light copper colour, which 

 sometimes pannre into a yellowish-brown ; their hair is black, lank, and 

 rough, their eyes are small, dark brown, and placed a little oblique ; 

 their cheek-bones are prominent All these characters indicate a 

 resemblance to the race which inhabits the eastern part* of Asia, 

 They have little hair on the chin. It is remarkable, that though these 

 tribes agree so well in their external characters, they hart- :ill a dif- 

 ferent language, even if a tribe consist* of only a few families, win. I. n 

 sometime* the case. It is true that most of these languages contain 

 some common root*, but the relationship is not so close that one can 

 be easily understood or learned because another is known. These 

 tribe* are still in a very low state of civilisation, but they are not 

 unacquainted with agriculture, and with scarcely an exception culti- 

 vate the ground and plant the two kinds of mainline, bananas, and a 

 species of palm-trees. They have likewise divided their huuting- 

 grounds, and marked these division* by boundaries. Still they derive 

 the greater part of their subsistence from the chace, the wild fruits of 

 the forest, and from fishing. In some tribe* the men and women go 

 naked, in others the women have some clothing. The number of 

 these Ravage tribes probably exceeds 200 ; many of them, however, 

 consist of only one or two families. This is particularly the case with 

 the tribes in the plain of the Amazonas to the north of the river, 

 where the people live in a completely isolated state, and at great 

 distances from one another. To the south of that river the tribes 

 are much more numerous, and often consist of several thousand 

 individuals. 



All the aborigines, who lead an independent and roving life, are 

 called in Brazil Indianos Bravos, or Gentios, in contradistinction to 

 the Indianoe Manses (Domesticated Indians), who have settled aiiic.iiij 

 or in the neighbourhood of the Europeans. Of these domesticated 

 Indians, there is a very considerable number, especially on the coast. 

 They were brought together by the Jesuits, and induced to settle in 

 villages, called in Portuguese aldeas, where they were accustomed to 

 agricultural labour. But on the suppression of that order, the 1 1 1 

 left their abodes and returned to the woods, where they now cultivate 

 a piece of ground, hardly sufficient to give them a bare subsistence, 

 and employ their time chiefly in fishing and hunting. Tlirir huts are 

 better than those of the savage tribes, and they profess Christianity. 



The foreign settlers are either Portuguese, or negroes from Africa 

 who have been brought over as slaves, and for the most part :u 

 in a stnte of slavery. The Portuguese and the negro have inter- 

 mingled with one Another, and with the aborigines. The descendants 

 of Europeans and negroes are called Mulattos ; those of Europeans 

 and aborigines, Mameluccos ; and those of the negroes and Indians, 

 Caribocos. The offspring of the mulattos and negroes, who are called 

 Cubras, are also very numerous. The descendant* of the negroes are 

 called in Brazil Creoles. The Mameluccos are valued for their quiet 

 disposition and their honesty. 



The whole population of Brazil is estimated at from four to five 

 millions; but the different independent aboriginal tribes, whirli still 

 possess more than half the surface of the country, are not included in 

 this account. It U conjectured that the whites number less than a 

 million ; the negroes about two millions, of which number more than 

 three-fourths are slaves ; and the mixed races and Indians somewhat 

 more : but, as we pointed out before, all the statements hitherto 

 published respecting the population of Brazil, whether of the i-min- 

 empire, of the several province*, or of particular towns, are mere 

 estimates, and generally founded on very insufficient data. 



Political lXnm(u.Rnx\l is divided into nineteen provin- 

 which fifteen are situated along the coast, and four in the in 

 Along the coast, beginning from the south, are the following 

 provinces : 



1. a Pedro do Rio Grande do Sul comprehends the sandy plain 

 that stretches along the shore from the boundary of the n-puhlu ..( 

 Uruguay to the Rio Mambituba, a small river which enters the sea 

 south of the Morro de S. Marta, and also the whole o>imiry K'twevn 

 this plain and the Rio Uruguay. This province is rich in cattle :m.l 

 hones, produce* the grains of Europe, and rice, as well a 

 European fruiU; vines also succeed very well. In the most north, m 

 districts along the Rio Uruguay there are a few feeble tribes of i.|.- 

 pendcnt Indians. 8. Pedro, the only harbour of thin province, is 

 situated near the mouth of the Rio S. Pedro, and is formed l>y a 

 tongue of land. A* vessels cannot approach near the town of S. I V 1 1 -. < 

 which contain* nearly 4000 inhabitants, and carries on an 

 trade with Rio Janeiro, they remain at a place called 8. Jozl. Porto 

 Atfyrt, the capital of the province, situated on a buy formed by the 

 Rio Jacuhy, is well built, and contains an hospital and several schools 

 The popul.ition m 1845 was about 10,000. 



2. a Catharinn .-IB the hilly country along the coast 

 between the Hio Mambituba and the Itio .Sidiy, which separates it 



Paulo, and also the island of S. Cittharina: it lies bctv, <<n 

 '2V '2' and 25* 60'. Hera the grains and fruit* of Europe are culti- 

 vated together with those of a hotter climate. There are some good 



