INHABITANTS OP THE EASTEEN STATES. 139 



imported from Africa. In the beginning of the seventeenth century a revolt 

 broke out among the negroes, a few of whom, having obtained some firearms, took 

 refuge in the bush, where they founded qnilomhos or settlements on the Rio Una 

 ("Black E-i ver "), which reaches the coast some 60 miles south of Pernambuco. 

 A larger group of these runaways established themselves in the present State of 

 Alagoas, where they soon became powerful enough to found a little republic, 

 whose capital, Palmares, had a population of 6,000, and traded with Pernambuco. 

 But the planters, alarmed at the flourishing state of this community of freemen, 

 organised an expedition against them, and, after a first failure, captured Palmares 

 and distributed the inhabitants over the plantations. 



Amongst the populations of this seaboard those of Ccara enjoy throughout 

 Brazil a high reputation for energy and enterprise. Like their neighbours they 

 are a blend of three distinct stocks, retaining the endurance, tenacity, and cunning 

 of the Indians, the buoyancy, impulsiveness, and kindliness of the negroes, the 

 intelligence and strength of the whites. They are often driven by the long 

 droughts to seek employment elsewhere, and mainly to the immigrants from 

 Ceara is due the growing prosperity of Amazonia. They number at present 

 nearly 20,000. 



Topography — Towxs of Maraxhao. 



TaryassK, on a marine inlet near the Pio Turyassu in the State of Maranhao, 

 exports sugar and other agricultural produce, besides hides, horses, coarse crockery, 

 and costly hammocks. South-west of this place, between the Gurujîy and Mara- 

 cassume rivers, stands the little group of the Monies Aureos ("Gold Hills"), 

 which, however, are almost entirely neglected; nor has any attempt been made to 

 woi'k the copper ores discovered in the Maranhtio Mountains. 



On the east coast beyond Turyassu follow Cururupu and Guiinardps, the latter 

 a great centre of the sugar industry. But the largest place on the coast between 

 Para and Pernambuco is S. Liiiz de Maranhào, or simply 8. Luiz, built on the site 

 of the settlement founded in 1610 by La Pevardière, and named in honour of 

 Louis XIII. Standing on the west side of a low island separated by the Mosquito 

 creek from the m.ainland, S. Luiz commands the two estuaries, which reach S. 

 Marcos bay farther west. This bay is accessible to vessels of heavy tonnage, and 

 the harbour, although gradually silting up, has developed a considerable export 

 trade in sugar, hides, and coffee. All the coast steamers call at S. Luiz, while 

 small craft ascend the Pindare, Grajahu, and other streams flowing to the bay. 



In the district are several small places, such as Alcantara, noted for its cacaos ; 

 Yianna, on a lake draining to the Rio Pindare ; Monçâo, higher up on the same 

 river, centre of a brisk trade in live stock brought from the interior and even from 

 the Tocantins basin. A railway has long been projected to run from the coast 

 near S. Luiz up the Grajahu valley to the banks of the Tocantins with a station at 

 Carolina at the mouth of the Manoel Alvez Grande. 



On the Itapucuru, which traverses the eastern part of Maranhao, the chief 

 place is Caxias, native town of Gonçalvez Bias. In the district cotton and othej* 



