196 



A VOYAGE TO 



thousand feet above the sea, and two thousand feet 

 above the inferior limit for the cultivation of European 

 grain. The thermometer descends as low as forty, 

 though it rarely rises above eighty. In the evenings, it 

 is sometimes so cold as to render necessary a change 

 of clothes, and to make use of brazeros.^ In the vici- 

 nity of the capital, the tropical fruits are not in as great 

 perfection as they are on the sea coast; but in lieu of 

 these, all the European fruits, apples, grapes, peaches, 

 are uncommonly fine. This delightful country may 

 be considered as still in a state of wilderness, and in- 

 habited by a number of savage tribes towards the Pa- 

 rana, who are continually at war with the Portuguese, 

 and retain the same ferocity as when the country was 

 first settled. They must finally disappear, before the 

 inarch of civilization. 



The principal port is Santos, said to be safe and 

 commodious, but being merely the entrepot to St. Paul, 

 as Laguira is to Caraccas, the town is inconsiderable. 

 The inhabitants of St. Paul are spoken of as the most 

 hospitable and polished in Brazil, which may seem 

 somewhat extraordinary, considering their origin and 

 their character half a century ago. The history of 

 those people occupies one of the most conspicuous pa- 

 ges in American annals; their character has been vari- 

 ously represented, and generally little to their advan- 

 tage. Charlevoix, and all the Jesuits, represent them 

 in the most unfavorable light; and they have been spo- 

 ken of by most writers as barbarians, possessing 

 enough of civilization to render them formidable, as 



*A kind of pan filled with embers, used by Spaniards and 

 Portuguese, instead of fire-places and chimnies. 



