U2 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



home, stuccoed with lime and loam -which makes them appear 

 washed. Some of the more aristocratic of these 

 old dwellings have their stucco colored in panels of light 

 blue and pink, and gilt scrolls and rosettes, much the worse 

 through lapse of time, are seen running below the cornice. 

 Such buildings, too, are commonly provided with balconies 

 at the upper windows, and in rare instances they may be seen 

 extending across the entire front of the house, and" inclosed 

 with lattice work. In the old days the females were confined 

 within these gelosiasss if in Moslem countries, where fences 

 are not permitted to go out, except under strong guard, ror 

 to show themselves at the windows. The tiled roofs are 

 more or less concave, the result of large cornices 

 projecting out of the line of the general pitch. This gives 

 a Moorish cut to the building, the more marked when, 

 as is often (he case, birds or other figures terminate the over- 

 hanging angles. The ribbed appearance of the tiles, their 

 Waving edges at the. eaves, and the contrast of their color with 

 that of the walls, convey a pleasing effect to the eye of the 

 stranger. 



Take a view of a North American city from an elevation, 

 and it appears as if made up of chimneys, which appear as 

 thick as forest trees, but in Rio they are few and far between 

 and only seen upon more modern villas, and even then seem 

 to be confined to the suburbs. Another peculiarity is the dis- 

 posal of rain water, which instead of being brought down, as 

 with us, to the. pavement, shoots out of spouts at the eaves. 

 This is the universal practice, the water being poured into the 

 middle of the street. Smaller pipes project from the bottom 

 of the balconies, which are as numerous as the windows, and 

 discharge upon the walks, causing the foot passenger in wet 

 weather to perform numerous gymnastic feats and constant 

 dodging to and fro to avoid the miniature cataracts. What a 

 comfort this is to one passing through the more narrow thor- 

 oughfares, may be readily imagined. Doors are seldom pro- 

 vided with either knockers or bells, the caller rapping at the 

 entrance with his cane, or draws the end smartly across the 

 Blats that commonly fill the upper panel to admit the free cir- 

 culation of air. When, as before noted, a family resides upon 

 the .upper floors, the visitor, on entering the passage below, 

 announces his presence by clapping his hands, when a servant 

 instantly appears on the landing above. 



Every house possesses a piano, and the Brazilians of both 

 sexes are usually masterly performers. We were often 

 stopped in our rambles by hearing the voice of some lady 

 whose execution on the piano would not have disgraced a Ru- 

 benstein, and whose voice equaled in power, compass and 

 purity the Nilsson. Many of the Brazilian ladies excel in 

 beauty when young, but as they verge upon middle life de- 

 velop" too much embonpoint for the critical American eye. 

 Before a Brazilian lady becomes thus developed she can walk, 

 and even obesity does not develop the arkward gait familiar to 

 our eyes. A French woman can dance, an English woman 

 ride, and American women can do both ; but none but a Span- 

 ish or Portuguese can walk. We Americans pride ourselves 

 on the beauty of our women : we say they combine all the 

 graces of other nations ; but be that as it may, they cannot 

 walk. 



The great mass of the laboring classes subsist mainly on 

 flour made from the root of Manihot or Jatropa plant. This 

 bread root yields two forms of flour, and a liquor called 

 "Tucupi," or " Aquardiente de beiju." There are four spe- 

 cies : first, the Manihot utilUsima, or Manihot proper, of which 

 there are many varieties— among them the maicura, the low- 

 est, being only four feet high, but producing the largest and 

 best roots— I toque, Tambaqui, auriana and rnercura. Second, 

 Aypi (Maripi) or sweet mandioca, called "Yuca Dulce" on 

 the Maranon. possessing oblong, juicy roots, which become 

 sweet after they are gathered. The chicha made from it is 

 called "Masato." Third, Macachera, or Macasheira, 

 (Yuca of Peru), whose, root is used as a potato, roasted 

 or boiled. Fourth ; Manicueira, a sweet Manihot, dif- 

 ferent from Aypi, having a long, large root. Mandioca, or 

 Manihot, will produce in six months after planting without 

 cultivation. The root is deprived of its poisonous juice in a 

 curious strainer. A long tube of woven fibre, containing the 

 macerated root, is hung up, with a stone at the lower end, by 

 which means the diameter is diminished, and the juice squeez- 

 ed out. 



The Farina is the only farinaceous production of Brazil. 

 The mandioca or cassarn (vanihot utilissima) from which it 

 is made, is supposed to be indigenous, though it is not found 

 wild. It does not grow at a higher altitude' than 2,000 feet, 

 and life and death are blended in the same plant, yet every 

 part is useful. The cattle eat the leaves and stalks, while the 

 roots are ground into pulp, which, when pressed and baked, 

 form farina, the bread of all classes. The juice is deadly poi- 

 son ; thirty-five drops were sufficient to kill, in six minutes, a 

 negro convicted of murder ; but it deposits a fine sediment of 

 flttre starch that is the well-known tapioca, and the juice when 

 fermented and boiled, forms a favorite drink. The Manihot flour 

 is eaten by the. lower classes without preparation, and they ex- 

 hibit no small amount, of dexterity in their mode of eating, 

 which is to grab a handful and throw at the open month. 

 One of our lieutenants essayed the feat, much to the amuse- 

 ment of his comrades, for the effort to dispose of the farinha 

 a la Brn&'liciMe, powdered not only his own face, but a fair 

 share found its way down between his collar and neck, beside 

 impairing the spruceness of his uniform. To our shouts he 

 responded, "Laugh away, greenies, try it yourselves, and yon 

 won't find so much fun. I only tried for the purpose of giv- 

 ing you some sport, for since you have eaten lizards you have 

 all had a bilious look about the gills." This was a rub on the 

 whole party, for the day before we had been the guests of an 

 English naval officer, who gave a dinner out at Bennett's in 

 honor of his birth-day, and among other dishes was a salad 

 of iguana, of which we all partook bountifully without know- 

 ing that it was one of the reptiles of the lizard variety, which 

 we had often seen hawked through the streets. When the 

 nature of the dish became known it took several bumpers of 

 OUeguot to remove the effect, much to the amusement of the 

 Brazilian officers, who were at the table, and our host who 

 ■was no novice in Brazilian dishes and customs. To be just, I 

 must say the dish was excellent until its nature was revealed, 

 partaking so much of the flavor of chicken as to lead us to 

 Buppose it to be of that fowl. 



- Bennett's ! How many memories cluster around the name ! 

 Every American or Englishman considers it a duty to visit 

 here. Bight miles from the Praca de Conimercic, by the 

 street of Eugenho Velho, bordered with beautiful villas,' each 

 surrounded with groves of orange trees, palms and mangui- 

 ras, up th~ Tijuca getting a glimpse of the Bay of Nictherhoi 

 and its surroundings, down the opposite slope, and you are at 

 Bennett's. 



Mr. Bennett is an Englishman, long resident in Brazil. Im- 

 agine a rosy, benevolent Saxon face, crowned with snow 

 White hah, a rotund and portly presence, and a general air of 



gentleness, authority and roast beef, and you have a faint idea 

 of Scnhor Bennett! the mountain patriarch, who has rescued 

 from a wilderness a mountain dell through which ilows a sil- 

 very brook, and established a hotel which is sought by all lov- 

 ers of the beautiful and those who would escape from the heat, 

 dust and turmoil of the busy city. When I think of Ben net t/s 

 and the kindly host, the grasp of whose hand is a complete 

 welcome of itself, it causes a train of recollections of beauti- 

 ful mountain scenery, sparkling cascades, tropical verdure, 

 azure blue sky, delicious breezes, exhilarating rides and last, 

 but not, least, the comical combats between a wild duck re- 

 duced to domestication and the attendant negroes whose bare 

 legs it nips at eveiy opportunity. 



One of the celebrities of Bio is the aqueduct that supplies 

 the city with water, and is a rival of the famous Alacantra of 

 Lisbon, after which it was designed. It is a vaulted channel 

 of mason work, sometimes elevated on lofty arches far above 

 the earth, and again disappearing beneath the surface, always 

 pursuing the same gradual descent that compels a gentle flow 

 At stated distances are openings that provide for the proper 

 aeration of the pure and limpid stream it brings from the 

 basins on the summit of the Corcovado. The water works are 

 of nature's own handiwork, man only supplying the receiving 

 basins and the conduit. It is obtained by the condensation of 

 the moisture of the surrounding atmosphere by the cool trees 

 which crown the summit of the mountain, and from whose 

 broad leaves the aqueous fluid flows into the artificial lakes 

 provided for its reception. What is Croton or Cochuitate 

 compared to this ? Even the tunnel out into Lake Michigan 

 that supplies the "Garden City" is inferior, and hardly worthy 

 of mention in the same breath. 



One morning whde enjoying a visit from my om/h-re, the sur- 

 geon of the Z — , which had arrived but the day before from the 

 "Plata," andanchored a cable's lengthaway, — I was surprised 

 by a visit from Dr. Paulo C — , whose acquaintance I had 

 made at the dinner at Bennett's. Introducing him to my fel- 

 low medico, he invited us both to visit the hospitals with him 

 the following day. 



Under the cMperonuge of this accomplished gentleman we 

 the next morning boarded the little Constantia, which steamed 

 swiftly around the harbor from ship to steamer— passing by 

 the men-of-war only — receiving those who demanded hospital 

 attendance, after which we headed up the little bayof Jurajuba 

 on the southern shore of which stands the hospital of the 

 same name, in the midst of perpetual verdure, and where it 

 receives the full benefit of the cool breezes of the ocean and 

 perfume-laden zephyrs of the land uncontaminated with the 

 impurities incident to the city. 



The interior was clean and neat, and all that human inge- 

 nuity can devise for the unfortunates who filled the wards 

 seemed to be put in force. Here were patients from almost 

 every clime and of varied nationalities, whose wants were care- 

 fully administered to by attendant physicians and careful 

 nurses. The latter were far better than usually found in like 

 institutions, and I am told are compelled to pass a rigid exam- 

 ination as to qualifications ; in consequence of -which these 

 offices are filled by intelligent persons, irrespective of political 

 bias of favoritism, and furnish marked contrast to the awk- 

 ward beings that fill similar positions in our metropolitan char- 

 ities. Another marked difference was in the attendance of 

 the students from the Imperial Academy of Medicine, whose 

 behavior, attention and quietness I have never seen equaled, 

 or even approached by any similar body. Doubtless this is 

 largely due to the fapt that the Brazilian is not so boisterous 

 or demonstrative as the Yankee, but the fact that an educa- 

 tional qualification is demanded and rigidly enforced upon 

 the applicant who desires to enter upon the study of medicine 

 must have weight, the coarser elements being largely rejected. 

 The inspection of the hospital was truly a treat, for the sur- 

 roundings are unequaled, and the clean couches, quiet and 

 respectful nurses, all combine to heighten the pleasing con- 

 trast when the poor mariner is transferred from the dark, dir- 

 ty, stifling, foul-smelling "fo'c'sle" of a merchant ship to the 

 airy halls of the Jurujuba. 



On our return we were landed at the "Misrecordio," locat- 

 ed at the southern side of the city upon the shores of the bay, 

 and under the brow of Castillo Hill. Although not so cleanly 

 or perfect in its appointments as the. Jurujuba, it is nevertheless 

 a grand charity that it would be well for our own cities to 

 emulate. The best of assistance is here rendered to all, male 

 or females, white or black, at any hour of the day or night: none 

 being refused, even the most wretched. No recommendation 

 is needed for admittance. Its doors are open to all the suffer- 

 ing. 



The records of this charity show that eight thous.md pa- 

 tients are admitted annually to its wards, with a death rate of 

 nearly 12 per cent. Although this seems like an enormous 

 percentage, a glance at the beds, and an examination o{ the 

 records tor causes show us that it is extremely light, as a large 

 share of the applicants are afflicted with diseases of a malig- 

 nant type, or, wheu admitted, are in the advanced stages of 

 disease that can scarcely admit of a, favorable prognosis. 



Another extensive hospital visited was that of the Brother- 

 hood of San Francisco de Paula. This is located in an airy 

 position, and built in the most substantial manner. Being a 

 private hospital, the inmates are of an entirely different char- 

 acter to those previously visited, and in consequence is more- 

 elegant and has greater comforts. To each patient is assigned 

 an alcove, wherehe may receive any of the resident physicians 

 who maybe preferred to the regular attendants. Parlors are 

 provided for the convalescent, on whose tables are to be found 

 the journals of the city ; and large airy corridors are used as 

 promenades for those whose condition will permit, and over 

 which they can view some of the most elegant scenery of the 

 metropolis. 



The day following these visits, we were again the guests of 

 the Doctor, who took us in his carriage out to the Hospital 

 dos Lazeros, several miles from the city. This, as its name 

 indicates, is devoted to those afflicted with incurable skin dis- 

 eases of a leprous type, of which that termed Elephantiasu 

 grcBCorum seems predominant in and about Rio. It is not 

 only common, but extremely prevalent among the lower 

 classes, particularly those of mixed blood, and it was not un- 

 common to see the sufferers plying the vocation of mendicants 

 upon the streets, exposing the enormously swollen and de- 

 formed limbs, which give rise to the term elephant-like. It is 

 rare that such solicitation of alms is refused, and the bestower 

 hurries by in needless fear of contagion. 



The Doctor related an incident which transpired iu the 

 hospital under the observation of himself and many col- 

 leagues, besides several of the laity and priesthood. A medi- 

 cal mountebank claimed to have disco ved that the virus of the 

 CrotalisiJiorridm— rattlesnake— insinuated into the circulatory 

 system of a lepero would establish a cure, and so persistent 

 was he iu promulgating this idea both by word of month and 

 through the public press, that the experiment was 

 upon, and received Imperial sanction. But the question was, 



"who woffld bell the cat." Now the idea was not a new one. 



almost as old as the deluge, and like thai famous 

 rhiCtion of hydropathy, liable to kill more than it cured. The 

 ancient Greeks had held the same idea, but it. so far as known, 

 lacked confirmation or negation by At last a lep- 



ero of some fifty years of age, and who had : d. half 



a score of years, offered himself as a sacrifice, doubtless feed- 

 ing that death had no pangs greater than the mental and boC- 

 ily sufferings entailed by his malady. The serpent being pro- 

 cured, the patient thrust his hand into the cage in which it 

 was confined, but it shrank from the outstretched member, 

 and when cornered would only lick the hand, refusing tc 

 strike. At Inst the patient grasped the reptile, squeezing it 

 forcibly, wheu its poisonous fangs were imbedded at the base 

 of the finger. So quickly was it done, and so little sensation 

 was there in the diseased member that the victim was uncon- 

 scious of the act until his attention was called to the 1'n.y 

 drops of blood that marked the insertion of the serpents 

 fangs. 



Slowly the toxic effects of the poison made themselves man- 

 ifest, though seemingly retarded by the disease , before twen- 

 ty-four horns had elapsed the relief predicted by the charlatan 

 had been received, the victim was— dead. 



INTRODUCTION AND SUCCESSION OF 

 VERTEBRATE LIFE IN AMERICA.* 



By O. 0. Maksh. 



PBKSIDECTT OF THE BIOLOGICAL SEOTIOX OF THE AMEBICAN 



ASSOCIATION. 



Fourth Pafeb. 



THE Ungulates are the most abundant Mammals in the 

 Tertiary, and the most important, since they include a 

 great variety of types, some of which we can trace through 

 their various changes down to the modified forms that repre- 

 sent them to day. Of the various divisions in this comprehen- 

 sive group, the Perissodactyle, or odd-toed Ungulates, are 

 evidently the oldest, and throughout the Eocene are the pre- 

 vailing forms. Although all of the Peiissodactyles of the 

 earlier Tertiary are more or less generalized, they are still quite 

 distinct from the Artiodaetyles, even at. the base of the Eocene. 

 One family, however, the Coryphodontidm, which is well repre- 

 sented at this horizon, both in America and Europe, although 

 essentially Perissodactyle, possesses some characters which 

 point to a primitive Ungulate type from which the present 

 orders have been evolved. Among these characters are the 

 diminutive brain, which in size and form approaches that of 

 the Reptiles, and also the five-toed feet from which all the 

 various forms of the mammalian foot have been derived. Of 

 this family, only a single genus, GorffphQdon ( Bathmodon i, is 

 known, but there were several distinct species, They were 

 the largest mammals of the lower Eocene, some exceeding in 

 size the existing Tapirs 



In the middle Eocene, West of the Rocky Mountains, a re- 

 markable group of ungulates makes its appearance. These 

 animals nearly equaled the Elephant in size, but had shorter 

 limbs. The skull was armed with two or three pairs of horn- 

 cores, and with enormous canine tusks. The brain was pro- 

 portionally smaller fhahia any other land mammal. The fee$ 

 had five toes, and resembled in their general structure those 

 of Coryphodon, thus indicating some affinity with that genus. 

 These mammals resemble in some respects the Peiissodactyles, 

 and in others the Proboscidians, yet differ so widely from any 

 known Ungulates, recent or fossil, that they must be regarded 

 as forming a distinct order, the Bmocerata. Only three genera 

 are known, Dinoceras, Tinowas and Uintathermm, but quite 

 a number of species have been described. During the later 

 part of the middle Eocene, these animals were very abundant 

 forashorl til i and thenbecame extinct, leaving apparently 

 no sue: have in the Proboscidians 



their much modified descendants. Theirgenetie connection 

 with the Ooryphodonts is much more probable, in view of 

 what we now "know of the two groups. 



Besides these peculiar Mammals, which are extinct, and 

 mainly of interest to the Biologist, there were others in the 

 early Tertiary which remind us of those at present living 

 around us. 'When a student, in Germany some twelve years 

 ago, I heard a world-renowned Professor of Zoology gravely 

 inform his pupils that the Horse w T as a gift of the < lid World 

 to the New, ami was entirely unknown in America until in- 

 troduced by the Spaniards. " After the lecture, I asked him 

 whether no earlier remains of horses had been found on this 

 Continent, and was told in reply that tbe reports to that 

 effect werp too unsatisfactory to lie presented as lacis in science. 

 This remark led me, on my return, to examine tile subject 

 myself, and I have since unearthed, with my own hands, not 

 less than thirty distinct species of the horse tribe, in the Ter- 

 tiary deposits of tha West alone; and it is now, 1 think, gener- 

 ally admitted that Americais, after all, the true home of the 

 Horse. 



1 can offer you no better illustration than this of the advance 

 vertebrate palaaontology has made during the last decade, or 

 of the important contributions to this progress which oar Rocky 

 Mountain region has supplied. 



The oldest representative of the horse, at present known, is 

 the diminutive Eohippns from the lower Eocene. Several 

 species have been found, all about the si; Like 



most of the early mammals, these Ungulates bail forty-four 

 teeth, the molars with short crowns, and quite distinct in form 

 from the premolars. The ulna aud the fifoul i were entire and 

 distinct, and tnere were four well developed toes and a rudi- 

 ment of another on the fore feet, and three toes behind. In the 

 structure of the feet, and in tbe teeth, the Eohippus indicates 

 unmistakably that the direct ancestral line to the modem horse 

 has already scperated from the other PeriBBOdacfeyles. In the 

 next higher division of the Eocene, another genus (Orohippus) 

 makes its apperance, replaei i great- 



er, although still distant, resemblance to the ». The 



rudimentary first digit of tbe forefoot h red, and 



the last premolar has gone over to the molar si res. urohipopu 

 was but little larger than EohvppvM, and in aspects 



very .similar. Several species have been fou n ne hori- 



* Delivered before tie; , Ulvanoementof 



! 



