280 



NEGRO SOLDIER ON WATCH. 



He is not a slave, but was born a free negro, which is the case with 

 most of those who enter the army. Every man born free has either to 

 serve the Emperor or pay tax money. As he had no money, he was 

 obliged to enlist. He did not know how long he was enlisted for, or 

 when he would be permitted to go home to Cuyaba, where his mother 

 lived. He had asked a number of times to be paid off and discharged ; 

 but he was answered the Emperor required his services, so he is uncer- 

 tain when he will be able to get off ; though, when he returns from this 

 trip faithfully, and reports himself to the commandante, he may be per- 

 mitted to go to Matto Grosso with the mail, and then he thinks of 

 detaching himself by not returning. Slaves are not employed as soldiers, 

 he tells me ; only the free blacks. From his tone, he considers the man 

 who cultivates the sugar-cane and cotton-plant is degraded, compared 

 with his own occupation. According to his account, there are a great 

 number of free-born black people in the province of Matto Grosso. He 

 considers the town of Matto Grosso a miserable place compared with 

 Cuyaba. The people in the former place are all very poor — mostly 

 colored folks — and the country round about is very little cultivated ; 

 but in the latter town there are rich white people, he says, who own slaves 

 and cultivate corn and beans. He always has plenty of tobacco to 

 smoke in Cuyaba, but at Fort Beira the men have very little ; they 

 are often without it, as well as pine-apples and plantains. The negroes 

 at Cuyaba have balls and parties, music and dancing, every night. 

 They don't drink chicha, nor do they understand Jbw to make it ; but 

 they drink great quantities of aguadiente, which the Emperor don't 

 give them as a part of their rations. They never get any at the fort 

 except by the mail-boat. When letters come from the Emperor, then 

 the soldiers get a jug or two of aguadiente by the mail-carriers, and it 

 is used up at once. 



September 18. — The negroes gathered a quantity of cream or Brazi! 

 nuts. from under a large tree on the Bolivia side. The nuts are encased 

 in a hard shell, which the men broke with our hatchet. The tree was 

 one of the largest in the forest, and the only one of the kind we saw. 

 Pedro pointed it out to them, otherwise we probably should have passed 

 it without knowing such good things were near us. The nuts, with a 

 turkey and goose, shot on the beach, served us for breakfast. The 

 negroes are poor fishermen compared with the Indians. There appear 

 fewer fishes below the juncture of the Itenez with the Mamore ; the 

 water is still muddy. At 9 a. m., thermometer, 80° ; and water of the 

 same temperature, which is rather warm drinking ; clear and calm. At 

 3 p. m., thermometer, 88°; water, 83°. The river is half a mile wide 



