488 



BRAZIL. 



expedition of Vespucci, they ate one of his comrades ; and in the houses, the Portuguese found 

 smoked and salted human flesh. The faces of these savages were as much distorted, as their 

 dispositions were debased, having been bored into holes for the insertion of pieces of stone, 

 some of which weighed 16 ounces. The females bored only the ears for ornaments of bone, 

 or for small gourds, and the ears became so much elongated as to resemble at a distance those 

 of a spaniel. The ears of the men were so much stretched, that, in going to battle, they tied 

 them behind or tucked them up, to deprive the enemy of the advantage of a grasp. In some 

 districts, there was greater civilization ; and Orellana saw good pottery, and paved roads with 

 rows of fruit-trees on either side. Some of the tribes cultivated maize, and had tame parrots 

 and domestic fowls. The early discoverers were treated with the classic fable of the Amazons, 

 a nation of women governed by a woman. They were said to have several yearly interviews 

 with the males of another nation, to whom they sent all the male children. The Amazons were 

 represented as being very warlike. It seems, that whenever the early discoverers had the de- 

 sire to believe anything wonderful, the natives readily furnished any amount of evidence or 

 affirmation. The Jesuits, who generally obtained great influence over the savages, did not find 

 the most satisfactory converts in Brazil. For a time, they were permitted to baptize the victims 

 that were to be devoured ; but the permission was taken away, on the belief, that the flesh when 

 sprinkled with water did not taste so well, and the Jesuits had no way to confer baptism but by 

 stratagem, wetting with water the sleeve of the tunic, and laying it, as if without design, upon 

 the head. 



Where cannibalism prevails, there is little hope that the sick and the aged will receive hu- 

 mane treatment. The sick were neglected, and left to die ; sometimes they were buried aUve, 

 in a sitting posture, as the dead also were. These are the annals of "savages so barbarous, 

 that little sympathy could be felt for any sufferings which they endured." 



The Indians are now scattered over the remote parts of the country, and are ferocious and 

 murderous. Efforts have been made to civilize them, but without much success. Lands and 

 an allowance of food were given to such as would abandon the savage life ; though some com- 

 pulsory means were ahowed to the agents, who were but too prone to abuse them for their own 

 advantage, and the Indians were often held to labor for others. The Aldeas are posts of civi- 

 lization, under the direction of a priest. In some of these, the moral restraints are not strictly 

 enforced ; and in such, the condition of the Indian is little better than that of a brute. The 

 hut in which he lives is but a roof of boughs supported by four posts ; a hammock, and a cup 

 to mix his sole food, mandioc meal and water, are all his furniture ; and his only covering is a 

 rag about the middle. 



The principal tribes are the Puris, many of whom hve in villages and aldeas. The Boticu- 

 dos live near the eastern mountains of the Minas Geraes, and they receive their name from the 

 botoque, or plug of wood, inserted in an incision of the under lip. The Tupis are a few wan- 

 dering tribes near the Spanish provinces on the Uraguay ; and the Guacoros or Indian horse- 

 men occupy the Paraguay for 100 leagues about the mountains of Albuquerque, and fight the 

 Spaniards and Portuguese with spears and bows. 



The first impression of a stranger at Rio Janeiro is, that he is at a place where the extremes 

 of mankind are collected. Two thirds of the population are slaves ; and of these, many are so 

 debased by servitude, that they seem as nearly allied to the baboon as to the human species. 

 Except the partial covering of a rag worn as an apron, these are naked, and their skins have 

 become so indurated by hardship and exposure, that they seem like the hides of beasts. Some 

 are yoked to drays, others wear heavy chains upon the leg and neck, and thus encumbered 

 carry huge burdens. Some are seen champing the green stalk of the sugar-cane, like cattle, or 

 coiled up hke dogs, and sleeping in the sun. Horses and mules are used only for pleasure or 

 show, and the poor slaves look at their easy condition and gay trappings with envy. In the 

 public square, the traveler may see the negro in higher employments, and mark how his capa- 

 cities rise with his condition ; he may see a negro regiment, well armed and disciplined, capable 

 of any evolution, and marching to the music of its own band, the composition of the sable 

 leader. Numerous blacks are also seen as itinerant merchants, neat in their persons, and with 

 a sense of decorum superior to that of whites in the same employment. Lastly, the negro may 

 be seen in churches, not only kneeling by the side of his master before the altar, where all are 

 equals, but officiating as a priest, instructing the whites in their duties, and administering to them 

 the holy rites of religion. Many laws favorable to the slaves exist, but, as in the case of the 

 Indians, they are evaded. A slave, after 10 years' servitude, is entitled to his freedom, and 

 also when he is the parent of 10 children. Thirty-three holidays are allowed, and on these the 



