172 AMAZONIA AND LA PLATA. 



trade in rubber, gums, ores, and the salt brougbt from the neighbouring Rio 

 Salitre. Boa Vista, another riverine station above the falls, is also to be connected 

 by rail with Pernambuco through Cdbroho, Agttas, Bellas, and Garanhuns. Of 

 these various projects to turn the cataracts one only is completed — the railway 

 running through the States of Pernambuco and Alagoas between Jatoha and 

 Piranhas heading the navigation on the lower S. Francisco. 



Below the falls follow the busy towns of Propria in the State of Sci-gipe, and 

 Penedo in Alagoas. Penedo dates from j6"20, and occupies an important strate- 

 gical position captured by the Dutch, who here erected a strong fort, some remains 

 of which are still seen. At present all the vessels crossing the bar ascend to 

 Penedo, where they ship cotton, skins, rice, and other produce in exchange for 

 European wares. 



In Sergipe, the " paradise of the Brazilian Union," and smallest of the federal 

 States, the population is concentrated chiefly in the valley of the Rio Sergipe, a 

 tributary of the Cotinguiba. Aracnju, the present capital on the south bank seven 

 miles above its mouth, is accessible to vessels drawing six feet, and this place 

 ranks second in Brazil for the export trade in sugar. Here are also shipped 

 cotton, brandy, and other produce brought down from Maroini and Larangciras, and 

 several railways are advancing northwards to Capella and westwards to Simâo 

 Diaz, future centre of various converging lines. San Christomo, the old capital, 

 stands on the Rio Vasa Barris, which is obstructed by shoals and mudbanks, and 

 accessible only to boats, although there are fully 12 feet of water on the bar. 



At the southern extremity of the State the coast is indented by a third 

 estuary, that of the Rio Real, towards which converge several watercourses. Of 

 these the most important is the Rio Piauhy, which flows near the town of Estaiicia, 

 one of the chief agricultural centres of these coastlauds. 



On the Bahia coasts all traflic tends to gravitate tovvai'ds Sa)i Salcador de 

 Bait la, or simply Bahia, at the entrance of the vast inlet of Todos os Santos Bay. 

 Bahia, second largest city in Brazil, occupies the extremity of the promontory 

 which shelters the magnificent inland sea. The headland on which it stands is 

 the highest land round the whole basin, so that from a height of about 150 feet 

 the upper town commands an extensive view of the shipping, bay, islands, road- 

 stead, and surrounding plains. In the lower town the busy thoroughfares run 

 parallel with the shoi'e in the narrow space comjjrised between the water and the 

 escarpments of the headland. The two quarters are separated by an intervening 

 zone of verdure, where the graceful foliage of tall palms and leafy mangoes con- 

 trasts with the neighbouring domes and belfries. At night two parallel lines of 

 light three or four miles long indicate the position of the upper and lower towns, 

 which are connected by zigzags, an elevator, and two inclined planes traversed 

 by locomotives. A small public garden separates the city proper from the 

 fashionable suburb of Victoria, which extends southwards to the wooded heights 

 at the extremity of the headland, indicated from a distance by the lighthouse of 

 San Antonio. 



According to the local records, the first settlement was here formed in 1510 



