THE AMERICAN SPORTSMAN'S JOURNAL. 



TeriflH, Cii'f » >!!:irs a Year. I 



NEW YORK, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 1877- 



f Volume 5).— No. 8. 

 (No. ill JKuliou St., N. T. 



INDIAN SUMMER. 



DEAR Maud, I hear across rue morn 

 The bluejay calling in the corn. 

 Oh, iu my heart I tread, to-day, 

 Along- our old, coo!, woodland way 

 within the shadows still 

 Ttie acorns dropping on the hill. 



A hawk sails by on silent wings ; 

 The far, low whirr of partridge wings 

 Comes a faint ripple on the air ; 

 Tis restful silence everywhere ; 

 So still, that from the maple's crown 

 I hear the red leaves eddying down. 



A gleam of silver far away 



The viver lies asleep to-day ; 



The single shallop loitering by 



Seems poised between the wave and sky 



All haste i3 rounded Into calm, 



And earth and sky are swathed in balm. 



^attfh $m$tqm ^mjjannttqten* 



Seov-^id Paper. 



THE beautiful cit of San Sebastian is better known as 

 "Rio,'' or Rio de Janeiro, obtaining the latter name 

 from the beautiful bay on which it is situated ; this, in turn, 

 received its appellation from De Louza, who entered it for the 

 first time on .New Year's Day, 1531. Erroneously supposing 

 the beautiful sheet of water in wmick he had anchored to be 

 the dibowiliment of a river, he beslowed upon it the name 

 which it now bears: " River of January." The aboriginal 

 title of the estuary of the Atlantic is JS ictfterJioi— Concealed 

 Pj^atef— which is so appropriate that it seems almost a sacri- 

 lege to have allowed the former to usurp it. 



Besides its extreme beauty of location, Rio possesses a cli- 

 mate incomparable for salubrity. It is unsurpassed ; even in 

 the hottest months the thermometer rarely rises above 90° 

 Fh,, I am told, and it is tempered by the cool sea breeze that 

 sets in at 11 a. m., followed by the delicious zephyrs that fan 

 the earth from early night-fall until dawn. Neither does it 

 present any resemblance to our northern cities with their even 

 sites ; there are no compact brick walls, dingy roofs and tall 

 chimneys, but it is diversified by hills^of irregular but pictu- 

 resque shape, which shoot up in different directions, leav- 

 ing between them flat intervals of greater or less extent. 

 Along their bases and up their sides stand rows of buildings 

 whose whitened walls and green-tiled roofs are in happy con- 

 trast with the deep green foliage that always surrounds and 

 frequently embowers them. 



The morning following our advent upon the bosom of the 

 beauteous Nictherhoi, as many as can obtain the desired per- 

 mission crowd into the stem sheets of the cutter for the shore. 

 At the landing we are surprised at the progressiveness of our 

 South American brethren, for we land upon a quay of hewn 

 granite, built to endure for ages, which effectually takes the 

 conceit from the New Yorker, who would fain believe that 

 Gotham embodies all things desirable ; we cati but think of 

 the meanness and squalor of our own wharves, and our eyes 

 te opened to the disgust so often expressed by foreigners 

 for its marine environment. Here our ears are saluted by a 

 i m of tongues that certainly rivals if it does not si 1 "- 

 pass the disturbance supposed to have been made one morning 

 4,174 years— Hike to be exact, you see— pre/ious in Assyria. 

 Portuguese, German, French and English all salute our cars, 

 spoken in the highest possible key, with accompaniments of 

 choice oaths and intermingling of, I should judge, a dozen or 

 more African d'r'ectr 



As wc look around the Largo de Paco we see not only a 

 (narked diversity of costumes but cf race as well, though the 

 African c°ems to predominate. Number a of them ate group- 

 ed around the fountain for the purpose of obtaining the water 

 lowing from a do?3n pipes, which they Ixar off in tubs or 

 upon lb sir heads: for the residences of Rio are not 

 .'—except, it may be, in rare '-isianced— with water 

 ivvvs. 



O'hers sit upon the benches beBide i heir baskets and stands 



3f merchandise, while around them stand a chattering group 



s'aves, who seem to have no thought or care but for 



the moment. Moving to and fro are numerous blacks, their 

 heads burdened with various pieces of merchandise, such as at 

 home wotdd demand a dray, and whose weight seems to pre- 

 clude the possibility of their being otherwise moved. A quar- 

 tette of stalwart fellows move off at a trot with a grand piano, 

 while a train of nearly naked coffee-carriers rush by in full 

 song with sacks of the succulent berry which would cause a 

 stalwart man to stagger under if bome upon the back or in 

 the arms. The habit of bearing burdens upon the head ap- 

 pears to have strengthened the muscles of the neck and shoul- 

 ders, and imparted the erect grace and dignity of attitude and 

 movement for which the Mina blacks are so celebrated. Here, 

 too, we see the old palace which gives to the square its name, 

 exhibiting a long forgotten and heavy style of architecture, 

 with balustraded windows and stuccoed walls. Though used 

 as a residence for the viceroys in the days of Portuguese su- 

 premacy, it is now abandoned to more public uses, being occu- 

 pied by various public offices. Close by is the Royal Chapel, 

 and adjoining, the Chapel of " Our Lady of Mount Carmel," 

 now metamorphosed into a Cathedral. 



One of the finest streets of the city is the Rua Direita open- 

 ing out of the Largo de Paco. It is wide and well paved with 

 square stone blocks, said to have been brought from Great 

 Britain. With its busy throngs, the numerous omnibuses snd 

 carriages, negro water-carriers and express wagons, the Rua 

 Direita presents as lively a scene — though more diverse in 

 character, as our own Broadway. It is in marked contrast 

 to many of the streets, which are mere thoroughfares, the 

 carnage -way being but six feet in width, with the gutter in 

 the middle and full two feet below the curb, thus precluding 

 the possibility of two vehicles passing each other. To the 

 stranger this difficulty seems insurmountable, but it does 

 not present so great an interference to travel as imagined. 

 Vehicles are allowed to traverse these streets only in one 

 direction, which is indicated on the corners with great dis- 

 tinctness under the name of the street itself, obliging the 

 driver of a Vehicle, if he desires to retrace his steps, to 

 drive around a square. A violation of the direction would 

 subject the offender to a heavy penalty, as the police regu- 

 lations are very strict and rigidly enforced. These guar- 

 dians of the public are soldiers of the National Guard and un- 

 der military subordination, hence Rio enjoys a greater im- 

 munity from burglaries, incendiarism and street brawls than 

 any other city of the Western hemisphere. Here the police- 

 man is not an ornamental appendage, but a useful officer. It 

 is certainly odd to northern eyes to see a National Guardsman 

 in full uniform, with sabre and pistols, standing on the street 

 corners or superintending the proceedings of a crowd of jabber- 

 ing blacks congregated around a fountain, and to know that 

 he is enacting the role of a policeman. 



The Rua de Ouvidor, just mentioned, is probably the best 

 known to foreigners of all the streets in Rio, for here the jew- 

 elry trade centres, and here are the shops where are sold the 

 most wonderful trinket!:',, bracelets, necklaces, flowers made 

 from sea shells, and large fish scales f rat rival pearls in 

 lustre ; flowers made from the wings of insects, and pins, ear- 

 rings and stuus that are but the gorgeous beetles, common to 

 the Empire, deftly set in gold. A pair of sleeve buttons I pur- 

 chased were green beetles, whose backs presented a metallic 

 lustre, and fjeelihg so much so that I would not believe in 

 their genuineness until the obliging jeweler removed one 

 from its setting, showing the legs carefully folded and glued 

 underneath. 



Here, too, are displayed the wonderful insect and feather 

 flowers which have a world wide celebrity, and whose imita- 

 tion of natural growths are so marvelously faithful and cor- 

 rect as to defy inspection. The colors of the feathers employ- 

 ed are not natural, but are said to be produced by a device of 

 the Indians, who pluck out the feathers of live birds and infuse 

 into the various vacancies colors which are reproduced in the 

 plumage when they grow again. The bouquets made from 

 the throats and breasts of humming-bird?, of which there are 

 numerous varieties in Brazil, present many vaiiationsof color, 

 are unsurpassed in their splendor. The humming-bird, 

 known to naturalists as the Tro6tP,wpolytmus, is called by Mr. 

 Gosse " the gem of American ornLhology," and it well de- 

 serves the title, for the eje is dazz'ed with the resplendent 

 golden green, purplish black, deep blue gloss and gorgeous 

 emerald green that it exhibits as it hovers over the flower, 

 seeking its f:od. 



The omnibus is an "institution" in Brazil, and although made 

 after the model of those of North American cities, the major- 

 ity of these vehicles go by the name of gondolas. Why a title 

 that seems to our ears inseparable from Venetian canals and 

 Adriatic scenery should be applied to a "bus," seemed a mys- 

 tery. We were informed that the Government having granted a 

 monopoly to an omnibus company, which became obnoxious, 

 followed with a concession to a "gondola company," thus plas- 

 tering over theGordian knot rather than cutting, and so effec- 

 tually as to almost obliterate it. 



Every bus has painted upon the side in large characters "14 

 pessoas," which is tho number they can carry comfortably. In 

 the Brazilian omnibus or gondola there is never "room for 

 one more," for when the number is complete, the conductor 

 hangs the door, shouting " vamoa embora"— equal in the Yan- 

 kee vernacular to "git, "the driver flourishes his whip, the four 

 mules attached to the vehicle make a plunge, the gondola gives 

 a lurch, and away you go at a keen gallop, skipping over rocks 

 and gutters at a regular breakneck speed. It seems a wonder 

 that some one is not frequently killed or maimed by being run 

 over, but we could not hear of a single instance of such a°mis- 

 hap. The darkies do not scurry out of the way as the vehicle 

 approaches until the last moment, and it seems a miracle that 

 they should escape, particularly when their heads are laden 

 with heavy water jars. A gondola ride is exciting, and as we 

 became used to it, we wagered cigars on how near we would 

 come to the next darkey without touching him. Another pe- 

 culiar feature of Rio is that no one enters or leaves a public 

 vehicle without removing his hat and saluting the inmates. 

 How the Gothamites or those self-complacent spokes of the 

 "Hub" would stare at such a bit of gentility occurring in then- 

 own cities. Then, too, if a vehicle become stuck in some 

 slough, our Brazilian brethren do not jump out to stand around 

 and encourage Jehu with expletives regarding the duties of the 

 city fathers, or with valuable hints as to what might or should 

 nave been done. No, they keep their seats, take a pinch of 

 snuff all round, settle back as if reaching their journey's end 

 was the least of all their cares and could comfortably be dis- 

 pensed with for several years to come, and thus complacently 

 await the end of the bargain which the driver is making with 

 the assembled blacks. After the assurance of sundry pieces of 

 the coin of the realm, or promise cf something jm-a matar 

 o bixo—m order to kill the beast, the darkies place their 

 shoulders to the wheel, and the four mules with recovered 

 temper gallop on. 



It is astonishing what an amount of Spiritus Frumenti and 

 kindred beverages it takes to k'.lla "beast;" the typical 

 nine lives ascribed to the feline race seems as nothing to the 

 frequent resuscitations this animal undergoes. The only thing 

 that corresponds in our country is "that pain in the stomach " 

 that can only be rssuaged with three fingers of "suthin' 

 straight," and even then the remedy seems to lack in effect 

 v iless others assist in the imbibition ; then, too, the recur- 

 rence of the colic c-ems to be as frequent as the recurrence of 

 \ltal force to the " beast." 



On many streets the first floors of buildings are devoted to 

 trade, while the upper ones are occupied by the merchants as 

 dwellings. This wes once the universal custom, but of late it 

 has been growing in disfavor, and now tradesmen and clerks 

 form a large proportion of the inhabitants of the suburban 

 towns of Praia, Grande or Nitherhoi, or San Domingo, across 

 the bay, at Botafogo to the south of the city, and Eugenho 

 Velho and San Christover to the west. At evening the full 

 omnibuses and crowded steamers present an animated specta- 

 cle only equaled by the return of the same crowd in the 

 morning, in general, the residences with the profuse foliage 

 surrounding, possess all the elements of beauty and luxury, 

 but now nd then cne sees a building of the olden time, with 

 its heavy fortress-like walls of cement and stone, hipped roof 

 and dormers, and the front of the first story ocenpiedbyan 

 enormous door or archway to allow the passage of the family 

 vehicle, which is here housed; and here, too, are the stables, 

 while the apartments above are reserved for domestic uses' 

 The only entrance is by this same carriage way. These old- 

 fastened houses are mostly two stories, some three, no two 

 of which are precisely alike. They have not what would be 

 called a handtcme front, nor anything approaching to one - 

 nor could there be, since all entrances are on the pavement 

 level, and in olden times no porticoes nor steps were allowed 

 The walls are of rough stone like our foundation walls at 



