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THE
GOLDEN AMERICAS.
A STORY OF
GEEAT DISCOVEBIES AND DAKING DEEDS.
BY JOHN TILLOTSON. C*-.
ILLUSTRATED WITH
MANY ENGRAVINGS FROM DESIGNS BY EMINENT ARTISTS.
LONDON:
WARD, LOCK, AND T Y I, E R, WARWICK HOUSE, PATERNOSTER ROW.
LONDON :
PRINTED BY JAS. WADE, TAY1STOCK STREET, COVENT GARDEN.
Bancroft Library
CONTENTS,
CHAPTER I.
Golden Ophir — Prince Henry — The Impassable Cape— Christopher Columbus — The Council of Salamanca — The Discovery of the West Indies and Mainland of America — The Penalty of Success — Nunez and the South Sea . Page \
CHAPTER II.
The Messengers of Nunez arrive too late — Pedrarias de Avila — Fifteen Hundred Gentlemen on the Look-out for Gold — Famine — The Requisition — Caribs — A •Little Affair at Santa Martha— Nunez Summoned to the Presence of the Governor — Burning a Cacique — Gaspar de Morales in the Quest of Pearls — Promotion of Nunez — A New Governor — Nunez Beheaded — Spanish Cruelties — Las Casas — Cardinal Ximenes — His Benevolent Intentions with regard to the Indians— The Pope's Bull— Magellan 33
CHAPTER III.
Herman Cortes finds favour with Ovando — Serves under Velasquez — The Exploring of Mexico — Touches at Cozumel — Finds an Interpreter — Tabasco — A Battle and a Victory — Female Slaves — San Juan de Ulloa — Deputies — A Message to the King — The King's Answer — The March upon Mexico — Monte- zuma — A Bold Expedient — Battles — Triumph of the Spanish Arms in Mexico —End of Cortes .59
CHAPTER IV.
Francisco Pizarro and the Discovery of Peru — Advances into the Country — The Incas — March upon St. Miguel de Caxamarca — Description of the City — The Meeting with the Inca — Pizarro' s Perfidy— Cruel Massacre of the Peruvians — Seizure and Imprisonment of the Inca — Enormous Ransom Demanded and Agreed to — Pizarro' s Refusal to fulfil his Promise — Fate of the Inca — Berral- cazar attacks Quito — Quarrel with Alvarado — Arrangements for the Govern- ment of Peru — Almagro Marches on Chili — The Siege of Cuzco — Negotiations between Pizarro and Almagro — Treachery — End of Pizarro . • » 92
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER V.
" Gaping" after the Wealth of the Incas — Proposition of Martin de Suza— Con- cerning Alexis Garcia — Lost— George Sedentio in Search of Garcia — A Deceitful Act— Discovery of the Silver River — Taking Possession — Wild Stories of the Gold Regions — Mendoza and his Followers— Some Account of Buenos Ayres as it was — The Story of Maldeneda— Lion's Gratitude — How St. Blaze fought for Corpus Christi — A Solemn Fast — The Religious Element in the Search for Gold — Up the River — Paradise and its People . Page 111
CHAPTER VI.
The Aztecs — Great Civilisation among the People — Manners, Government, Laws, Literature, Art, Religion — The Spanish Conquest — Rule of the Spaniards — Sad Condition of the People— Three Hundred Years of Oppression— State of the Country — Physical Geography, &c. — Maximilian — Narrative of the Coun- tess of Kollonitz 131
CHAPTER VII.
The Golden Brazils— Extent of the Country— Political Division of Castes - Idleness and Vanity— Sugar Plantations— The Pardos, or Mulattoes— Creoles— Slavery —Mode of obtaining Liberty — Wild Hordes, their Habits, &c. — Explorations by Mr. Bates — Primeval Forests — Afloat on the King of Rivers — Concerning the Fauna of the Country 172
CHAPTER VIII.
About the Discovery of the Brazils — Yanez Pinion ; also concerning Alvarez Cabral and the King of Portugal — A Promising Cargo — Amerigo Vespucci — Prosperity of the Settlements — Bahia — Rio — Customs of the Country — Natives — River Nanny — Man-eaters — Nothing in the Way of Trade— Forest Land — Odd Sort of Etiquette — Amazons — Disagreeable Predicament with the Ladies ....», 193
CHAPTER IX.
What we knew of the Fauna of Brazil Two Hundred Years Ago — Indian Sala- mander— Serpents— Rattlesnake — Its Poisonous Sting — The Serpent Quaker — A Big Swallow — Good for Food — A Sting and its Cure — Like Cures Like — Cobra Verde— The Kaniana— The Iron Pig of Brazil— All about Everything in Brazil, but according to a Very Old Authority 216
CHAPTER X.
A Voyage in the ship Phantasm — The Organ Mountains— Splendid Panorama — Taking in Coal — Exempt from Customs — Hospitable Entertainment— A Dance of " Niggers "—The Bay— The Peak of Corcovado— Railways— Rio— In the Markets — In the Woods — Amongst the Palms — A Forest Full of Monkeys — Out on the broad Amazon — Native Indians — A Dance and a Challenge — Religious Festivity— The Altar of the Household— Turtle's Eggs— Aquatic Birds— On the Negro— Victoria Regia— The Land of Palms ... 228
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XI.
A Land but Little Known — More about Chili — Pizarro and Almagro — Climate — Earthquakes — Volcanoes — The Mines — Ascent of the Cordilleras — Physical Geography of the Country — Modes of Communication — Rope Bridges — Rugged Roads — Travelling on Man-back — Utility of the Banana — Valpa- raiso— Mineral Wealth of the High Chains of the Andes — Oddities in Farming Page 263
CHAPTER XII.
South American Llanos — Herds of Oxen — The Mirage — Wild Horses — Dry and Rainy Seasons — Overflow of the Rivers — Crocodile and Jaguar — The Gym- notus — The Pampas — Sir Francis Head's Account — The Gauchos Preparing for War — A Fierce Encounter — Killing the Christians, Ac. . . . 303
CHAPTER XIII.
Colombia — Its Political Divisions — Aspect of the Country — Its Mountain Range — Pampas, Llanos, Savannahs — Wealth of the Country — The Peai-1 Fishery — Agriculture — Great Natural Riches — Eciiador — New Granada — Vene- zuela 318
CHAPTER XIV.
Brazil again — Rio de Janeiro — Coffee Grounds — How Coffee is Grown in South America — Something about the Silver River — Something about Patagonia . 331
CHAPTER XV.
About Calif omia — Its Discovery — How it attained to Notoriety, and won Golden Opinions of all Men— Concerning the Gold Regions— Mr. Butler King's Report — How the Gold was Found — How the News Spread— How the People Gathered— How Fortunes were Made and Lost— Billionaires and Bankrupts — Fraser River — How California got its Name — Gold ! Gold ! — The Ship Canal— Something About San Francisco . . . .346
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGB.
Lisbon ...... 4
Salamanca ..... 5
Teneriffe, the Largest of the
Canary Islands ... 8
The Arms of Spain ... 9
Labourer in the Gold Mines . 13
An Indian Labourer ... 16
Indian Sepulchres ... 17 Humility— Washing the Feet of
the Poor 20
Native Indian Children . . 21
Granada ..... 24
In the Land of Gold ... 25 A Spanish Settlement in the
Indies 28
Gigantic Trees of America . . 29 Spanish Soldier of the Sixteenth
Century 32
Carthagena 33
Spanish Ships of the Fifteenth
Century 36
South American Indians . . 37
A Mexican Girl .... 40
An Indian Village ... 41
Near the Island of Pearls . . 45
Indian Labourer .... 48
Indian Labourer .... 49 Ordinary Reed-House in South
America ..... 52 Cardinal Ximenes ... 53 An Indian Settlement ... 56 On the Rio de la Plata . . 57 Christopher Columbus . . 60 Columbus at the Council of Sala- manca 61
Settlement near Zempoalla . . 65
Hernan Cortes .... 68
Montezuma ..... 69
PAGE.
Mexican Idols and Altar . . 73 Entrance to an Ancient Mexican
Temple 77
Colossal Head of a Mexican
Deity 80
Plan of the City of Mexico . . 81 Grand Fountain in the City of
Mexico 85
Grand Square, Mexico . . 89
The Andes 93
Francisco Pizarro ... 96 Cuzco . . . . . .101
House of Pizarro at Cuzco . . 105 The Escurial, Madrid . . .108
Heraldic Arms of Peru . . 110
Cadiz 112
Native Artisan .... 117 Charles V. of Germany . .120 Paraguayans . . . .121 A Settlement on the Banks of La
Plata 125
Peruvian Gold-Miner's Hut . 133
Ancient Mexican Architecture . 137 Mexican Woman of the Labouring
Class 145
Mexican Agricultural Labourer . 149
Travelling in Mexico . . . 153
Mexican Porter .... 161
View of Modern Mexico . . 165
Mexican Native Soldiers . . 169 A Brazilian Plantation on the Right Bank of the Lower
Amazons 173
View of the River Navay, a tribu- tary of the Amazons . .177
South American Forest . . 184 Arrival at a Native Village on the
Amazons 185
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PACK.
Monkeys 188
Settlement on the Amazons . 189 A Ship of the Eighteenth Century 193 Seville . . * . . . .196 Antwerp Cathedral . . .197 A Settler's Home . . .201 Heraldic Shield of Brazil . . 208 Isabella II. . . . , .209 The Flag of Brazil . . .213 Eock Snake, Cobra di Capello,
and Boa Constrictor . . 217 Crocodile, Alligator, and Lizards. 221
Ant-Eater 225
Tortoise 227
South American Forest . . 229 The Koad to Valparaiso . . 233 The Wellingtonia Gigantea . 237
Negro 240
Primitive Bridge . . . .241
Hindoo 244
OntheEiver . . . .245 A Brazilian Belle ... 249
Turtle 252
Aquatic Birds . . . .256 Forest Scene . . . .257 Sugar Plantation . . . 260
PAGE.
Cotton Plant . . . .261 The White Water-Lily . . 263 Water-Course in the Forest . 265 A Lake in the Forest . . .269 A Chilian Miner . . . .272 A Volcano in the Cordilleras . 273 Chilian Savages . . . .276 Street Scene in Valparaiso . . 277 A Fishing Village . . .281
Jaguar 285
A Chilian Mother . . .289 Ancient Indian Monumental Re- mains 293
In the Eegions of Gold . . 297 Horse-Hunting in the Wilderness 301 Crocodile and Jaguar . . . 305 An Indian Farm .... 313 South American Puma . . 317 South American Belle . . 329 Singular Eock Formation . . 333 Sketch in Eio . . . .337 Coffee Plantation . . . 344 At the Diggings . . . .353 On the Coast . . . .361 In California ." . . . 365 Sketch in the Chinese Quarter . 373
LIST OF SEPARATE ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE.
THE PUNISHMENT OF A MAN-EATER Frontispiece.
No HOPE OF EESCUE 32
CORTEZ APPROACHING THE CITY OF MEXICO 64
PORT OF SANTIAGO .90
MEXICAN DANCERS . 128
VIRGIN FOREST IN THE BRAZILS 160
A CHRISTMAS CEREMONY IN BRAZIL 176
DANCE OF THE BAYENTE BY THE YAHNAS . 192
A LAY BROTHER OF PERAS TRANSACTING BUSINESS . .'*'.. . 208
TURTLE INCLOSURE 223
NATIVE BOAT ON THE AMAZON 240
TRAVELLING IN THE ANDES .256
HUNTING THE GUANACO 272
A SPANISH SETTLEMENT ON THE AMAZON 288
NATIVE INDIANS WORKING A SPELL 304
FISHING IN THE BRAZILS ..... .... 320
A RAFT ON THE RIVER . ... . 352
•V
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
A STOEY OF GEEAT DISCOVEEIES AND DAEING DEEDS,
CHAPTER I.
Gold— Ophir, Where Is It ?— Feet to Feet— Prince Harry— Map of Africa and Elsewhere, with Much Left Out— The Impassable Cape — Virtuous Obstinacy — Perestrelo's Son-in-Law — The Council of Salamanca — A Voyage — The Penalty of Success— The Triumph of Inferiority— Savage Independence- Auriferous Lands —Nunez —The South Sea.
TjST every age and in every clime gold has been precious. If the wandering Israelites demand an idol, it is a golden calf ; if Xebu- chadnezzar proclaims a new and material divinity, it takes the form of an image of gold ; if a house be built for the Lord, it must be overlaid with pure gold ; the altar must be of gold, and the cherubim stretching their wings over it must be covered with gold ; " and the candlesticks of pure gold, five on the right side and five on the left, before the oracle, with the flowers and the lamps and the tongs of gold, and the bowls and the snuffers, and the basins and the spoons, and the censers of pure gold ; and the hinges of gold, both for the doors and for the inner house of the most holy place." Golden Solomon luxuriated in auri- ferous treasure, and Hiram's fleet brought gold from Ophir in great plenty, and " King Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold ; six hundred shekels of gold went to one target ; and he made three hundred shields of beaten gold ; three pounds of gold went to one shield." And his throne was of ivory overlaid with gold ; " and all King Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold, none were of silver ; it was nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon ;" for the king " made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones." All the dreams of richest royalty are outrivalled by this wondrous monarch — great king of splen- dour, blest above all men with a golden genius, and wisdom that is better than gold— the golden sceptre-bearer of a golden age.
B
2 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
Whence caine all this gold to golden Solomon ? Where was this golden Ophir which yielded its abundant treasure to the King of Israel ? It was somewhere in the golden east, but where ? Three years the argosies were on their voyage, and brought back produce, which it is said clearly settles that it could not be in Western Asia, or on the continent of Europe, and makes it doubtful whether it could be any- where on the coast of Africa. There seems more reason to suppose that it was in the East Indies, and Ceylon is the site selected by Emerson Tennent. But as seven cities contended for the honour of being the birthplace of Homer, and seven cities boast of the tomb of the patriarch Job, so sixteen different places have been from time to time regarded as the land of Ophir, and no man knows its accurate position to this day.
Men dreamed of gold, and found it more or less, and valued it exceedingly. The splendour of the golden sunshine, the beauty of the golden corn, the golden glory of the sunlit sea, all seemed made to render homage to the precious metal, as if the Mighty Architect meant to set forth gold as the most glorious of all created things, and overlaid the things of earth and sea and sky, His universal temple, with symbols of gold — images also of that golden city where saints with golden crowns shall tread a golden pavement.
O that long-lost land «of gold, the Ophir of King Solomon! Is it lost for ever, like Eden, and do cherubim with flaming swords keep the gates that lead to it ? Is it to be found in the lost Atlantis— in the mysterious island each night swallowed up in the devil's hand ? Has all the world been searched — is every place known — or is there, as some visionaries contend, a world yet undiscovered — a world beyond the Pillars of Hercules and the end of the earth ?
It is a difficult matter for us to conceive of the world with the Americas and Australia left out. Four hundred years ago the larger portion of the world was entirely unknown. Learned men had satisfac- torily to their own minds settled its form and its foundations. It was a vast plane of land and water, with the heavens stretched over it like a canopy. That instead of this it should be a ball suspended in mid-air, whirling on its own axis with tremendous rapidity, and flying through space with inconceivable velocity, was foreseen four centuries ago by blind guessers ai the truth, whom authority would have delighted to discredit for their audacity, and to have knocked on the head like querulous, carping dogs, and put to eternal silence.
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. " 3
But there are some men who will think in spite of authority — who will not be silenced, and who escape being knocked on the head. There were those who guessed that the Straits of Gibraltar and Hercules' Pillars were not the boundary of the habitable world.
" Know that this theory is false ; his bark The daring mariner shall urge far o'er The "western wave, a smooth and level plane, Albeit the earth is fashioned like a wheel. Man was in ancient days of grosser mould, And Hercules might blush to learn how far Beyond the limits he had vainly set The dullest sea-boat soon should wing her way ! Man shall descry another hemisphere, Since to one common centre all things tend ; So earth, by curious mystery divine, Well balanced hangs amid tbe starry spheres. At our antipodes are cities, states, And thronged empires ne'er divined of yore."
Foremost among those who pushed forward the discovery are the Portuguese with Prince Henry at their head ; then there are Ferdinand and Isabella, Columbus, and the whole band' of brave captains after him, who found out and added a new world to the old in the discovery of the " Golden Americas."
, Prince Henry of Portugal (born in 1394) was the third son of John the First of Portugal and Philippa of Lancaster, so he had got Planta- genet blood in his veins. He was well educated, so far as education was then understood, and he had a mighty liking for that learned treatise of which so many people have heard and comparatively so few have seen — the Imago Mundi of Cardinal Petro de Aliaco. He was very sure that the world was not all discovered — that all mundane conquests had not been achieved ; and so he sat down to study his maps, and found a very infant world indeed. We have heard of a Chinese map of the world which represented the Celestial continent only, with a few islands for the barbarians ; we have heard also of a Presbyterian minister in one of the Shetlands who used to pray for his own place " and the adjacent islands of Great Britain and Ireland !" The maps four hundred years ago were of this calmly self-asserting character.
These maps are most fantastic and miserably incomplete. More than half the world is absent. What is represented is misrepresented, but what is wanting in accuracy is attempted to be made up in picto- rial detail. All the principal cities are denoted by little houses and a church or two ; Jerusalem occupies the centre of the globe ; Paradise
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
is surrounded with foliage, impenetrable brushwood ; the winds are shown by fabulous deities sitting on leather bottles all round the earth. Western Africa terminates at Cape Nun, or Not, and there is no hint of a world beyond that forbidding negative ; the statue of the Canaries flourishes its club ; Prester John, signifying Abyssinia, wears a tower- ing mitre of which even Theodore might have been proud ; and all the other countries of Africa are represented by their kings in royal costume, which is quite unlike the original, and we have over it all — scattered here and there according to the artist's humour — Portuguese camps and
little black men, and giraffes and camels. Long after the issue of the map before us, Swift wrote —
" Geographers in Afric's maps
With savage pictures fill their gaps,
And o'er uninhabitable downs
Place elephants for want of towns."
And yet it was with a chart such as we have described that Columbus set sail.
Prince Henry of Portugal studied his maps, and thought of Ophir, and El Dorado, and the Garden of the Hesperides, where gold inex- haustible awaited the happy finder. Where was Prester John, the mythical pontifical prince who, it was asserted, governed first beyond Armenia, and then in Abyssinia? Would that almost omnipotent being ever be found ? Would El Dorado ever be entered ? Well, not if we stopped this side Cape Not. So .Prince Henry sent out his captains to molest the Moors and make discoveries.
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 5
The Portuguese mariners, we are told, had a proverb, " He who would pass Cape Not, either will return or not" (Quern passar o Cabo de Nam, ou tornara ou nam), intimating that if he did not turn before passing the cape he would never turn at all. But it was passed by two of Prince Henry's captains, Johann Goncalvez Zara and Tristram Vaz. These sea worthies were driven out of their course by storms, and accidentally discovered a little island where they took refuge, and from that reason called the island of Porto Santo. They found there a race of people by no means altogether barbarous, and possessing " a kindly
SALAMANCA.
and fertile soil." The prince was delighted with the news his captains brought him, more on account of its promise than its substance ; and in the same year he sent them out again together with a third captain, Bartolomeo Perestrelo, assigning a separate ship to each, to discover more islands, and improve Porto Santo.
From Porto Santo, Goncalvez Zara and Tristram Yaz saw something that seemed like a cloud, made for it in two boats, and found it to be an island very abundant in trees, and thence called Madeira (wood). Prince Henry was still further pleased with his captains' successes, and made them rulers over the island of Madeira, while the governorship of Porto Santo was given to Perestrelo. This Perestrelo is interesting to us as being the father-in-law of Columbus, who indeed lived at Porto Santo for some time, meditating new discoveries.
Other adventurers there were who got as far as Cape Bojador, but shrank from going farther, because, they said, "it is clear that
6 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
beyond this cape there is no people whatever ; the land is as bare as Lybia ; no water, no trees, no grass ; the sea so shallow that a league from the land it is only a fathom deep ; the currents so fierce that the ship which passes that cape will never return." The people at home, of course being farther off from the strange land, and knowing less about it, exaggerated these reports, and declared that the men who arrived in those foreign parts turned from white to black 5 that the natives, if any, were cannibals, and that the Portuguese were not required to supply those savages with fresh meat ; that it was very- plain those far-off countries were only meant for wild beasts, and that to attempt the civilisation of such lands was to strive to change the decrees of Providence.
But Prince Henry had in him the incitement of what has been called " a virtuous obstinacy." He was not to be overawed by vulgar and ignorant criticism, so he sent out other expeditions that sailed far beyond Cape Bojador, and came back with good news. Who should say but that they were straight on the way to the El Dorado ? Then Prince Henry applied to Pope Martin the Fifth, praying that his holiness would grant to the Portuguese crown all that it should conquer from Bojador to the Indies, together with plenary indulgence for those who should die in the attempt. The pope granted this.
"And now," says a Portuguese historian, "with this apostolic grace, with the bounty of royal favour, and already with the applause of the people, the prince pursued his purpose with more courage and with greater outlay."
Goncalvez obtained some gold-dust — real gold —
" Gold, gold, gold, gold, Hard and yellow, shining and cold"
— and expectation was on tiptoe. " He got some black slaves also, which were very much admired for their colour. As to the gold, we are told by an historian (Faria y Sousa), "it awakened, as always, covetous- ness." A sad thing, we suppose, but nothing is more true. Mammon was the " least erected spirit that fell from heaven," ever going with downcast eyes — "admiring more the riches of heaven's pavement — trodden gold — than aught divine or holy." Perhaps the Portuguese h'ad found a richer treasure for the time in seizing slaves than Guinea gold, and they worked this mine — man-stealing — with considerable success, sustaining themselves for a cruel traffic by reflecting — or per- suading themselves— that in thus enslaving the bodies they were freeing
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 7
the souls of the poor heathen. So the prince carried on his work of discovery and conversion, got what gold he could, and slaves as good as gold in the market. He was not particularly successful ; his fleet of fourteen vessels came back with neither news nor produce ; and of the two gentlemen sent out to the Cape de Verde Islands, instructed to introduce the Christian religion, one was killed and the other glad to make his escape.
We must hasten, however, with the narrative of African discovery, all of which tended to the discovery of America. We must leave Ca da Mosto, who has given the most valuable information with regard to Africa in those days; we see the voyagers touching here and there along the coast from Cape Bojador — the once impassable " outstretcher" to Sierra Leone ; we see King Alfonso adopting a new system of African commerce ; we see Fernando Gomez, by his captains, Juan de Santarem and Pedro de Escobar, discovering the Gold Coast, which they call Ora de la Mina ; we see Don Juan the Second succeeding his father Alfonso on the throne, and his captains taking possession of the Gold Coast in his name as Lord of Guinea ; we see the discoverers extending still further to the Cape of Good Hope ; and then we turn away to Perestrelo's son-in-law — Columbus.
Columbus was a native of Genoa, and born of humble parents. His father was a wool-comber, but he had the boy taught as well as his means would allow. He learned to read and write, obtained some knowledge of arithmetic, drawing, and painting, little Latin, and no Greek. But he loved the sea — the open sea— and as the habits of the people among whom he dwelt were nautical, and the age was one of adventure and discovery, the boy took very naturally to the ocean wave, and at fourteen years old began a seafaring life. Navigation in those days was but little understood ; to navigate meant to sail from some port of the Mediterranean — " hugging the shore," as the sailors say — and exposed all the while to the attacks of those water-rats the Barbary pirates, as merciless a set of villains as ever hoisted a black flag. So amid these frequent cruisings from port to port, and frequent struggles with sea-robbers, Columbus passed the early days of his life. He made the best use he could of the scanty education which had been afforded him, treasured it up, and added to it every day ; and amid the greatest privations, and the uncongenial society of men who had no thought above the wants and duties of the hour, kept alive his lofty aspirations.
8 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
People were talking of the admirable doings of Prince Henry of Portugal — of strange discoveries which had been made. They talked of countries where the rocks were red-hot, and the sea boiled — where men walked about with their heads under their arms. They talked of lands where the city streets were paved with gold, and jewels as common as dewdrops ; and Columbus listened to it all and wondered. He wondered whether there could be any truth in it — whether there was land beyond the water, land not yet discovered, whence could have drifted the singular canes which he had heard of, and the pieces
TENERIFFE, THE LARGEST OF THE CANARY ISLANDS.
of carved wood that had been cast ashore on the African coast. He wondered whether the earth was really a plain level, as was then believed ; and he thought of these things through the day, and dreamed of them through the night.
Columbus went to Lisbon to hear more of the discoveries that had been made, and day after day you might have seen him, for he was a religious man, entering the Church of All Saints at prayer-time. Men noticed him; children looked curiously into his face; the eyes of a noble lady fell upon him ; her heart was touched, she sought an inter- view, and shortly afterwards they were married. This marriage intro- duced Columbus to those who were able to help him forward with his project. His father-in-law, Don Bartolomeo Marrio de Perestrelo, had been one of Prince Henry's most distinguished officers, and the use of his maps, plans, and charts was of great service to Columbus, who now began to correspond with the learned men of the day. He felt thoroughly convinced that an undiscovered region lay beyond the
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
9
Western Ocean ; he felt a deep impression that it was the will of God he should discover it : he determined to devote the whole of his life to that object.
Trouble came upon him. Sickness and death were in his house. Trials and afflictions followed fast on one another. The grave closed over his wife. He lost his fortune in consequence of the war which then devastated the land, and quitted his house in deep poverty, with his little son for his only companion. He was so poor that he begged at a monastic house, not so much for himself as for his boy ; but he never lost sight of the object of his life — to find a new world. Columbus suggested a plan to the Portuguese court for the fitting out of an
THE ARMS OF SPAIN.
expedition to search for the continent which he himself felt firmly persuaded was to be found. But his proposal was coldly received, and ultimately rejected. He next determined to solicit help from the court of Spain, and began to beg his way to the capital. It was during this journey, that, weary and footsore, his child almost dead with fatigue, he craved a little bread and water at a convent door. The prior of the convent was interested in the noble-looking stranger, and began to talk to him. That conversation convinced the churchman that he had to deal with no common man. Columbus revealed his project, and the prior introduced him to the Cardinal Mendoza, first minister and confidential adviser of the crown.
Cardinal Mendoza was a man of extensive information and liberal mind. He was struck by the good sense of the poor stranger, and recommended him to the king. You must know that King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella were then reigning in Spain, and that Spain was a colossal power, boasting to be the mistress of the sea. The king and the cardinal agreed that a council should be held for the purpose of
10 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
taking into consideration the credibility of Colunibus's statements. This council met at Salamanca. It was entirely composed of priors, priests, and monks, who monopolised all the learning, both secular and religious, of that age. Some were men of large and philosophic minds, others narrow bigots, but all were imbued with the notion that geogra- phical discovery had reached its limits long previously. Before this- learned body had Columbus, a simple seaman, strong in nothing save the energy of his convictions and the fire of his enthusiasm, to appear, and defend a scheme which to them must have appeared little short of the dream of a madman. The difficulties of his position may be guessed from the nature of some of the objections made to his undertaking. If Columbus supported one of his statements by a mathematical demonstration, he was met by quotations from the Book of Genesis, the Psalms of David, the Prophets, the Epistles and the Gospels, St. Chrysostom and St. Augustine, St. Jerome, St. Gregory, St. Basil, St. Ambrose, and, last and greatest, Lactantius Firmianus. Columbus quoted Pliny to show that many of the wisest of the ancients enter- tained a belief in the existence of a southern antipodes. But Pliny was ably rebutted by Lactantius, who, renowned doctor and learned theologian that he was, thus speaks : — " Is there any one so foolish as to believe that there are antipodes with their feet opposite to ours ; people who walk with their heels upwards and their heads hanging down ; that there is a part of the world in which all things are topsy-turvy, where the trees grow with their branches downwards, and where it rains, hails, and snows upwards ? The idea of the roundness of the earth was the cause of inventing this fable of the antipodes with their heels in the air, for philosophers having once erred go on in their absurdities, defending one another." Let clerks, shopmen, golddiggers of every class, and adventurous young ladies hearken to this reverend father, and beware ! Better bear those evils that you have in Old England than fly to a region where you hang with your heels upper- most, and where the trees, like cows' tails, grow downwards !
St. Augustine was next quoted, but he combats the doctrine of the antipodes in a calmer strain, and by arguments which have their weight with some persons at the present day. He declares that to assert that there were inhabited lands on the opposite sides of the globe would be to maintain that there were nations not descended from Adam, it being impossible for them to have crossed the intervening ocean. But this would be to disbelieve the Bible, which expressly declares that all men
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 11
are descended from a common parent ; ergo, &c. Columbus's simplest and fundamental proposition that the earth was spherical like a ball was met by the passage in Psalm civ., where the heavens are said to be extended like hide (extendens ccclum sicut pelleni) ; and Paul compares them to a tabernacle, all clearly showing that the heavens are flat. Others of the council admitted the rotundity of the earth, but denied the possibility of circumnavigating it ; firstly, on account of the scorching heat of the torrid zone, and secondly, because at least it would take three years to do so, in which time the explorers would perish of hunger, it being impossible to carry provisions sufficient for so long a period. Others said that, suppose a ship did reach India, she could never get back, for the rotundity of the globe would place a hill in her way, up which the strongest wind could not blow her.
It would be useless to enumerate the arguments by which Columbus refuted all these absurdities. They were those which every schoolboy is acquainted with at the present day ; but our admiration of his talents and courage is increased when we remember that so intimately were questions of science connected with religious belief in that day, and particularly in Spain, that he ran imminent risk of being charged with
For five long weary years Columbus continued at intervals to urge- his project on the attention of the court. At length Queen Isabella was moved by his earnest eloquence and untiring patience. Refusing" longer to listen to cold and timid counsellors, she said —
"I will assume the undertaking for my own crown of Castille, and am ready to pledge my jewels to defray the expenses."
So a treaty was signed on the 17th day of April, 1492, by which Columbus bound himself to be the faithful vassal of Spain ; and on the 3rd of August, in the same year, he and his companions weighed anchor from the port of Palos, in Andalusia. The armament consisted of three small vessels — the Santa Maria, the Pinta, and the Nina. On board the first, which was the largest, Columbus hoisted his flag. The- second was commanded by Martin Alonzo Pinzon; the third by Vincente Janez Pinzon.
A few days brought them to the Canary Islands, the western boundary of the known world. Beyond this all was unknown — a sea in which no craft had floated since man was for the first time " taught by the little nautilus to sail." For days and weeks they sailed onward —
12 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
" The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew,
The furrow followed free, They were the first that ever beat Over that silent sea."
The men grew terrified — mutinous, and were inclined to throw Columbus overboard and steer for home ; but they were kept from any open act of violence, and after sixty days hope began to revive. Here and there, tossed and toyed with by the ocean, were pieces of curiously carved wood ; occasionally an abundance of weeds would be seen, which had evidently been but recently torn from the rocks ; strange birds were discovered wheeling about in the air, and settling on the rigging ; and one day, as a seaman leaned overboard, he observed a fresh thorn branch filled with red berries. Columbus addressed his people that evening as the sun sank, and besought them to be very watchful during the night. Besides the gratuity of thirty crowns for life, he engaged to bestow upon him who should first discover land a velvet doublet. At two in the morning the signal was given by one Roderick Triava.
The land they saw was an island about fifteen leagues in length, without any hills, and all covered with trees. Columbus went ashore in a boat with a well-armed crew. Groups of simple natives, olive colour in complexion, and with black hair, gazed with astonishment at the new comers, especially when Columbus, who was clothed in scarlet, knelt and kissed the ground, and then planting the standard of Leon and Castille, took formal possession in the name of the sovereigns of Spain. The island was one of the Bahamas, and Columbus gave it the name of St. Salvador. His discoveries were subsequently extended to the mainland of the American continent.
It was a grand holiday when Columbus returned to Spain, and made his triumphal entry into Barcelona. Clouds of banners and flags were waving, throngs of gaily-dressed people crowded the public ways, the prolonged roar of cannon burst from the battlements of the port, and the bells rang out from all the churches a mass of merry music, that rushed like a whirlwind over the town. And Columbus rode through the streets with almost royal pomp — petted and caressed by all, but hated by many for his great success. Indians from the New "SVorld marched in two ranks, with rings of gold on their legs, and crowns of feathers on their heads ; then came the crews of the vessels, bearing crowns of gold, stone idols, beautiful flamingoes, glittering with brilliant
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 13
hues, land tortoises, alligators, branches of strange trees. Over them all the admiral's flag, with the inscription —
" For Castella y por Leon Novero Mundo allo Colon."*
The history of the further discoveries of Columbus need not be traced in detail here. His many successes made him many foes. He had found a new continent, which promised to be an'inexhaustible mine of wealth to Spain. Envy, hatred, malice, and their friend and partner, uncharitableness, leagued against him. He was popular, and
X
LABOURER IN THE GOLD MINES.
must pay the penalty. He was accused of exercising too great an authority in the new settlements, of arrogating to himself a princely state, rightfully belonging only to the ting, of diverting money from the royal treasury into his own pocket. A commissioner was sent out to inquire into these charges — a man who hated Columbus, and was resolved to ruin him, if it were at all practicable. The admiral resented the interference of the commissioner, who took possession of his house, and, on the pretence of treasonable conduct, put Columbus in chains, and sent the gallant hero back to Spain a prisoner. On arriving at the court he was released, and treated with respect ; but his heart was
* To Castille and Leon Columbus gave a new world.
14 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
broken, and he did not long survive the disgrace to which he had been subjected. He died May 29, 1506. He was buried in the Cathedral of Seville, the city which he had rendered famous, and his name became for ever illustrious in the annals of the great and good.
There are two facts in connection with the life of Columbus which it is important we should observe. First, that the indomitable energy of his character led him to remain steadfast to the one purpose of his life, through circumstances of the most distressing and adverse nature ; he persevered and triumphed; he discovered the New World. And the second fact is, that great and good men are seldom rewarded as they ought to be. The continent which Columbus discovered is called by the name of a man who was but a follower and imitator of the famous Genoese. The claims of Americus Vespucius are not to be compared with those of Columbus; but the New World has been christened by his name. The value of the discovery which Columbus made was underrated. " If Columbus had not crossed the Western main and found the New World, somebody else would." So said detractors. "After all, it was an easy matter." It was then that Columbus asked his critics to stand an egg on its apex ; and they tried, and tried, and failed, and said it was impossible, until, with a smile, the old sailor slightly broke and compressed the shell at the apex, and lo ! the egg stood erect before their astounded gaze. It was very simple, very easy ; but not one of their wise heads had hit upon it till they saw it was done. And thus, when America was found, it was easy to find America.
The enemy who had supplanted Columbus was Francis de Bobadilla, and after sending off the admiral in chains, he is accused of indulging in a course of "favouritism, covetousness, injustice, and mob service." He appears to have allowed the Spaniards to treat their Indians as a labour gang, to be set to work anywhere without any restriction. His government did not last more than a year and a-half . He was succeeded by one Nicholas de Ovando, a Knight of the Order of Alcantara. In choosing Ovando, Los Reyes, as the King and Queen of Spain called themselves, seem to have taken pains, so far as they could, to secure a worthy governor of the Indies. Previous to his departure from court they were particular in giving him instruc- tions both verbal and written. Amongst these instructions was one which Isabella particularly insisted upon — namely, that all the Indians in Hispaniola should be free from servitude and be unmolested by any
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 15
one, and that they should live as free vassals, governed and protected by justice, as were the vassals of Castillo. He arrived at St. Domingo on the 15th of April, 1502.
Las Casas, now in his 28th year, came out in the same fleet ; and he tells us that as the vessels neared the shore, the Spanish colonists ran down to hear the news from home, and to tell their good news exultiugly in return, which was, that an extraordinary lump of gold had been found, and that certain Indians were in revolt. "I heard it myself," the historian says ; and he is right to chronicle the fact, showing as it does the views which prevailed among the settlers of the advantage of an Indian revolt in furnishing slaves. This great piece of gold which they talked about had been found accidentally by an Indian woman at the mines, while listlessly moving her rake to and fro in the water one day during dinner time. It contained 3,000 pesos worth, equal to 1,350,000 maravedis, and in the festivities that took place on the occasion was used as a dish for roast pig, the miners saying that no King of Castillo had ever feasted from a dish of such value. We do not find that the poor Indian woman had any part in the good fortune. Indeed, as Las Casas says, she was fortunate if she had any portion of the meat, not to speak of the dish.
Amidst various kinds of trouble Ovando began his rule, and the people he had with him — all sorts of people, who knew nothing what- ever of mining operations — rushed off to the mines, as people always do in a gold fever, and were vastly disappointed because they discovered mining to be excessively hard work, with no commensurate reward. This was the case in modern tunes, when the Ballarat diggings in Australia were attracting shoals of emigrants. It was true that the gold was plentiful, but the labourers were more than equal to the golden harvest. The average returns gave about three pounds a week to the diggers, and when we consider that provisions were very expen- sive, the three pounds dug out of the earth or washed out of the mud was not of more worth than five-and-twenty or thirty shillings at Home. It is true there were great prizes, which is also true of every kind of occupation, but these were few and far between. As the prudent emigrants to Australia soon left the diggings and grew rich in trading and farming, so with these Spanish settlers — a few were wise enough to buy land, cultivate it, and grow wealthy, but the majority rushed to the mines and starved.
To the Indians the conduct of the Spaniards was cruel and
16 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
treacherous. Enthusiastic Isabella, who doubtless imagined that her new subjects were very well cared for, would have been thoroughly shocked could she have beheld them working in the mines and on the roads like so many convicts, enslaved, starved, whipped, as a prepara- tory process for teaching them Christianity. Before the Spaniards arrived, these Indians smoked their pipes in peace and were happy, knowing nothing of a civilisation for which they had no relish. There was nothing in what the Spaniards did to commend their faith or
AN INDIAN LABOURER.
practice to the Indians, who kept out of their way, or escaped from them as often as they could.
As for any inducements which the Spanish religion held out to the Indians, we may judge how far they were understood or estimated by the story of Hatney, cacique of a part of Cuba, who kept spies at Hispaniola to tell him of the goings on there of the Spaniards. This man was not unacquainted with their forms of worship, and it is probable that he may have seen, or at least have heard of, the act of humiliation which priests and devotees would sometimes perform in washing the feet of the poor ; but he was wise enough to know that it was a form, and that humility was strange to the Spaniards. He feared that they would come, as they afterwards did, to his territory ;
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
17
•IP'
18 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
so, calling his people together, and recounting the cruelties of the Spaniards, he said that they did all these things for a great lord whom they loved much, which lord he would now show to them. Forthwith he produced a small basket filled with gold. " Here is the lord whom they serve, and after whom they go, and, as you have heard, already they are longing to pass over to this place, not pretending more than to seek this lord ; wherefore let us make to him here a festival and dances, so that when they come he may tell them to do us no harm." The Indians approved this counsel, and danced round the gold till they were exhausted, when the cacique turned to them and said that they should not keep the god of the Christian anywhere, for were it even in their entrails it would be torn out, but that they should throw it in the river, that the Christians might not know where it was. "And so," says the account, " they threw it."
Our opinion of the Indians would be lowered if we found that they were attracted by the whites, and willingly adopted their mode of life. The Spaniards were indeed forbidden to enslave peaceful Indians, but they did it; they were allowed liberty to capture or kill cannibal Indians, and the permission naturally led to the grossest abuse. Any Indian who dared to resist a Spaniard was denounced as a man-eater, and was either immediately enslaved or put to a cruel death. For a long time it was the practice to suspend so-called man-eaters on a cross, and leave them to be pecked to death by the vultures. As to Ovando, his conduct to the Indians was swift and severe in all cases where he suspected resistance ; for example, there was an Indian queen, Anacona, of Xaraquay, and her people, with whom he had been on friendly terms. But a quarrel arose between her people and the Spanish settlers in her neighbourhood. A report was spread that the Indians of Xaraquay were meditating a revolt, and Ovando resolved on making a terrible example. He would go himself to Xaraquay, a distance of seventy leagues from St. Domingo, and take vengeance on the plotting rebels. Anacona came out to meet him with numbers of her people, singing and dancing as in former times. All sorts of hospitality were offered and accepted, and if the poor queen had suspicion of evil, she now fondly imagined that the 14 severe-looking governor" was appeased. Ovando, however, was bent on her destruction ; on the principle that prevention is better than cure, he argued it would be better to crush an insurrection before it broke out than to suppress it afterwards.
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 19
"With these thoughts in his mind, he ordered that, on a certain Sunday after dinner, all the cavalry should get to horse on the pretext of a tournament. The infantry, too, he caused to be ready for action. He himself, a Tiberius in dissembling, goes to play at quoits, and is disturbed by has men coming to him and begging him to look on at their sports. Poor Anacona absolutely jumps into the trap prepared for her. She tells the governor that her caciques, too, would like to see this tournament, upon which, with demonstrations of pleasure, he bade her come with all her caciques to his lodgings, for he wanted to talk to them, intimating, as I conjecture, that he would explain the game to them. Meanwhile, he gave his cavalry orders to surround his lodgings ; he placed the infantry at certain points, and told his men that when, in talking with the caciques, he should put his hand in his scarf (the thing from which probably hung his Alcantara order of knighthood), they should rush in and bind the caciques and Anacona. It fell out as he had planned. All these deluded Indian chiefs and their queen were secured ; she alone was led out of the lodgings, which were then set fire to, and all tlie chiefs burnt alive. Anacona was afterwards hanged, and the province was desolated."
The next occasion Ovaaido had to chastise the Indians was upon another outbreak in the province of Iliguey. that province which we have seen reduced to obedience by Juan de Esquibel. The Indians of this district had agreed to make bread for the Spaniards, but not to carry it to St. Domingo. This was now endeavoured to be imposed upon them. Las Casas is convinced from his experience that the conduct of the little garrison which had been left in Higuey was disorderly and licentious, according to the usual fashion of the invaders. The result was, that the Indians rose and attacked the fort, burnt it, and put to death the garrison, with the exception of one who escaped to tell the news. The governor instantly proclaimed war, and gave Juan de Esquibel the command. The war was carried on in the accustomed way as regards the unavailing efforts of the Indians, and with more than the accustomed ferocity on the part of the conquering Spaniards. There were some signal instances of valour shown by the Indians. On one occasion, where Las Casas was an eye-witness, a naked Indian, with only his bow and arrows, maintained, unhurt, a close contest with a well-armed Spaniard, to the admiration of both armies, standing aloof to behold the engagement. The Indians, however, found their chief safety in flight; and it is recorded that
20
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
21
those whom the Spaniards compelled to act as guides, and whom they kept attached to them by ropes, often threw themselves off the precipices, and thus balked their masters. Unfortunately, amongst the Spaniards themselves were men who had become quite skilful in tracking Indians, so much so, that from the turn of a withered leaf they could detect which way a party had gone of those they hunted
NATIVE INDIAN CHILDREN.
after. The cruelty wreaked by the Spaniards upon their captives was excessive. They used the same mode of sending terror amongst the Indians which had been adopted in the former war— namely, cutting off the heads of their captives. Las Casas mentions that on one occasion they hanged up thirteen Indians, " in honour and reverence of Christ our Lord and His twelve apostles." These men, hanging at such a height that their feet could just touch the ground, were used as
22 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
dumb figures for the Spaniards to try their swords upon. This hideous cruelty Las Casas says he saw, but at the same time he adds, with a shrinking which all will feel to be natural, that he fears to relate these things now, hardly being able to persuade himself but that he must kave dreamt them. On another occasion he saw some Indians being burnt alive in a sort of wooden cradle. Their cries disturbed the Spanish captain taking his siesta in his tent, and he bade the alguazil who had the charge of the execution to despatch the captives. This officer, however, only gagged the poor wretches, who thus fulfilled their martyrdom in the way he originally intended them. "All this I saw with my bodily mortal eyes," emphatically exclaims our witness for the feet.
It is painful to pursue the story of the gold-seekers, and the craft and cruelty practised on the inoffensive Indians. It is painful to know that while all this was going on Columbus still lived, and, although permitted to continue his voyages of discovery, was denied his old command, and, amid enemies and spies, could find no rest till he found it in the grave. He had opened the way for thieves and murderers to slay and steal, he had shown the direction in which gold was to be had and fair lands unfairly won, and others were now rapidly following their persecuted, outraged pioneer.
The passion which Columbus had excited, the land to be won, the gold to be claimed, did not die with him. A new impulse had been grwen to the people of Europe, a new world was before them. The eagerness to explore the wonderful secrets of the new hemisphere became so active that the principal cities of Spain were in a manner depopulated. There was a furore for America ; emigrants thronged the quays and wharfs, new vessels were chartered, an impetus was given to maritime pursuits ; busy people grew weary of their common business, and longed to be busy in a new clime ; they fled away like birds of passage, knew no fear, admitted no doubt, were full of hope and confidence, only crying out for sea-room and a fair start.
The New World was a world of romance. Travellers, who are always said to tell strange stories, told the strangest things that ever had been heard. They told of nations where ladies formed the army, manned the navy, sat in solemn judgment on offenders, who had estab- lished themselves in full authority, not to be put down by anything that called itself man. They told of wondrous giants, before which Goliath sinks into miserable insignificance, and pictured a land so rich
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 23
that the sands sparkled with gems, and golden pebbles, as large as birds' eggs, were dragged out of the river in nets.
And though there was a good deal of dupery in all this, the dupers duped themselves as well as others. This is seen by the extravagant nature of many of their enterprises.
Some of them went in search of the golden fountain of wealth, more sure to cure diseases, so they said, than the Pool of Bethesda in the old time ; that needed an angel to trouble it ere it had curative efficacy, this was ever the same !
Others, dreaming of gold — yellow gold — hard gold — looked out for the imaginary tomb of Yenu, built of the precious metal, and the Temple of Doboy, likewise of the same sort of stuff. The name of Castillo, del Oro (Golden Castille) held out a bright promise to the fortunate settler, but it too frequently happened that instead of g®ld the settler found a grave. America was a realm of enchantment. The simple natives, with their defenceless bodies and rough weapons, were no match for the well-trained, well-armed Europeans ; they fled before them by hundreds, and the stories of those days are as wonderful as any legend of chivalry.
Among those who were called forth by the Spanish voyages of discovery we must not omit to notice Vasco Nunez de Balboa. He was a man of high birth, hardy, bold, and adventurous ; and has gained for himself a lofty position, not only in the history of his own land, but in the history of the world.
He held office under Ferdinand, and had long sought to find out a way to his favour. Gold-finding was that way; Balboa learned the secret, and turned his attention in that direction.
This Vasco Nunez Balboa was a daring man who must have his pleasures, perhaps even when he could not pay for them. Hence we find him escaping from his creditors in a big cask on board ship, and labelled victuals for the voyage. There was a great outcry when he was discovered, and all sorts of vengeful punishments for his unwarrantable intrusion freely canvassed, such as starving, flogging, or setting adrift on a desert island. But Nunez was not easily daunted; he was clever, crafty, courageous, forward in enterprise, good-humoured, and handsome. He rose to be a man of considerable consequence, and became Governor of Darien. The following account of what happened is taken from a very interesting work, entitled The Conquerors of the New World and their Bondsmen : —
24 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
" Thirty leagues from Darien, and adjoining to Careta's territory, was a country called Comogra, situated on the sea coast, the cacique of which country was named Comogre. This chief being brought into friendship with the Spaniards by one of Careta's relations, who had taken refuge from his own lord at Comogre's court, Vasco Nunez went with his men to visit Comogre. The Spaniards were much surprised by the signs of comfort and civilisation which they found in this Indian chief's dwelling. Indeed, it was the most like a palace of any- thing that had been seen since the discovery of the Indies. Its dimensions were a hundred and fifty feet in length, eighty in breadth, and eighty in height ; the floors and ceiling were exquisitely wrought,
and it contained many apartments, a granary, cellars, and, what perhaps was most curious, a room where the bodies of the king's ancestors were preserved as mummies. Comogre gave his Spanish visitors a splendid welcome, and presented them with four thousand pesos of gold and seventy slaves. A fifth part of whatever gold was discovered belonged by right to the King of Spain, and it was to watch over his rights that a veedor on the part of the king was appointed. While the Spaniards were weighing out this fifth part of the gold which Comogre had given them, or dividing the residue amongst themselves, there arose, to use the expressive words of an old translation of Peter Martyr, a ' brabbling among the Spaniards about the dividing of the gold.' "
Now Comogre had seven sons, of noble appearance and largo
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
25
stature, and the eldest was a young man of great spirit and ability. It would have been well, perhaps, for the -whole of South America it' lie had not been a man of this kind.
IN THE LAND OF GOLD.
"The youth, seeing this miserable contention amongst the Spaniards, which must have appeared singularly contemptible in the eyes of an Indian who would value little the substance these Spaniards were quarrelling about, and who, even for a great thing, would have
26 THE GOLDEX AMERICAS.
thought such contention unseemly and ungentlemanlike — for a noble indifference about most earthly things is to be seen at the bottom of the Indian character throughout both continents — was disgusted at this clamour ; and, after the fashion of Brennus, dashing with his hand the scales in which the gold was, and scattering it about, he made the following speech : — ' What is this, Christians V is it for such a little thing that you quarrel? If you have such a love of gold that to get it you disquiet and harass the peaceful nations of these lands, and, suffering such labours, banish yourselves from your own lands, I will show you a country where you may fulfil your desires. But it is necessary for this that you should be more in number than you are now, for you would have to fight your way with great kings, and .amongst them, in the first place, with King Tubanarna, who abounds with this gold, and whose country is distant from ours six suns.'
" Then he signified to them, by pointing with his finger, that this rich territory lay towards a sea, and southwards ; which sea, he said, they would come to, passing over certain sierras, and where other nations had ships a little less in size than those of the Spaniards, navi- gating with sails and oars ; and that, traversing that sea, they would find a land of great riches, where the people had large vessels of gold out of which they ate and drank — where, indeed, there was more gold than there was iron in Biscay. It appears that the shrewd Indian had been making inquiry with respect to the manufacture of the Spanish swords. The above is not to be taken as a speech set down in a classi- cal history, but the substance of it really appears to have been uttered by the young Indian prince. Juan Alonzo and the other Spaniard, who had lived \\ith King Careta, served as interpreters ; and these men seem to have been fated to be the conduits, as it \\ere, of great deeds and great evil.
" It appears, however, that the young prince said that a thousand men would be requisite for this undertaking, and that, when asked for the grounds of his intelligence and for his advice, he made another speech, in which he told the Spaniards that his countrymen, too, had wars, and that he had learned these facts from one of their own men (' Behold him,' he exclaimed) who had been a captive in those countries he spoke of. He also offered to accompan^ the Spaniards, being bound himself ; and he said that they might hang him on the next tree if his words should not prove true. The substance of his speeches, and, pro- bably, a good part of the very words, were conveyed to the Spanish
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 27
court. This was the first notice of the Pacific and also of Peru ; it is likely that Pizarro was a bystander. ' Our captains,' says Peter Martyr, * marvelling at the oration of the naked young man, pondered in their minds and earnestly considered his sayings.' It seems that, for injuries done in former times to his nation, this youth wished to stir up the Spaniards against his neighbours, and that he suggested a joint inva- sion whenever the Christians should be reinforced, offering to join to them his father's forces. * A prudent youth/ this prince is called by both historians, Peter Martyr and Las Casas ; but it is not the descrip- tion, I think, that would now be given of him ; and one would say that it needed not the lights of history or the thoughtfulness of refined civilisation to make all prudent people well aware of the latent danger of an over-powerful ally.
" The Spaniards having baptised Comogre and his family, giving to him the name of Don Carlos, took their leave and returned to Darien joyful and thoughtful, in the feverish state of mind of persons seeing before them great enterprises for which they are not quite prepared. When they arrived they found that Vaklivia had eome with a ship and some provisions, also with a gracious message from the authorities of Hispaniola ; but as Las Casas well says, ' In the house of a gambler joy remains but a short time' (En casa del talmr poco dura la alegria') ; their provisions lasted but a few days, and famine, always on their track, soon began to attack them again. It was not altogether their own fault on this occasion, for a great storm had destroyed what they had sown. They lived now as we suppose the feudal barons to have lived in the middle ages — by predatory forage, robbing and devastating wherever they could.
" It was about this time that Vasco Nunez sent Valdivia to Hispa- niola with the king's fifth of the gold. It amounted to fifteen thousand pesos ; but neither he nor his gold ever reached their destination, for his vessel was wrecked in a perilous part of the sea near Jamaica, called the- Vivoras, or Pedro shoals, and he himself perished by the hands of the Indians.
" Yasco Nunez has been held to be a man who dealt very wisely, and, upon the whole, very mercifully, with the Indians ; but we are told that he was accustomed to put them to the torture in order to make them discover thoso towns which had most gold and provisions, and then to attack these towns by night. He wrote to the admiral saying that he had hanged thirty caciques, and must hang as many as he should take,
28 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
for the Spaniards, being few, had no other way until he should be supplied with more men. He meant that terror was his only means of supplying the defect of force.
" Hearing of a temple full of gold in the country of a cacique called Dabaybc, towards the south of the Gulf of Urata, the Spaniards made an incursion into his caeiquedom, and, the Indians offering little or no resistance, Vasco Nunez's men devastated the country. Meanwhile
A SPANISH SETTLEMENT IN THE INDIES.
Colmenares had been sent to the east of the gulf, whither Vasco Nunez, after his return from Dabaybe, went to join him, and, uniting their companies, they entered the territory of a cacique called Abenamache. This chief and his men made as stout resistance as they could with their two-handed wooden swords called macanas, rushing fiercely on the Spaniards, but to little purpose. After the battle, a common soldier whom the cacique had wounded came up to him, and, with one blow of his sword, struck the cacique's arm off. From thence Yasco Nunez, leaving Colmenares behind him, went up a river and entered the
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 29
territory of a cacique named Abibeyba, where the houses were in trees (as the ground was marshy) of such bigness that seven or eight mea hand in hand were scarcely able to surround one of them ; but these Indians, though living in this strange manner, do not seem to have
GIGANTIC THEES OF A3IEIUCA.
been particularly barbarous or neglectful of the comforts of life, for it is mentioned that they had their cellars underground for fear of the wine being spoiled by the motion of the trees when shaken by the wind. Abibeyba was summoned to descend from his tree-fortress, and when
30 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
he refused, the Spaniards began to cut down the tree, upon which he was obliged to come down. They asked him for gold, in reply to which he said he had none himself, and did not care for it any more than for stones, but he promised to endeavour to get some, and was allowed to depart for that purpose. As he did not return, however, at the stated time, the Spaniards destroyed his settlement. This Abibeyba, in his wanderings among the mountains, came upon Abenamache, the cacique who had lost his arm ; bewailing their hard fate, they betook themselves to Abraibe, a neighbouring chief into whose country a foraging expedition headed by a Spaniard named Raya, of the force left with Colmenares, had lately penetrated, and kad retired, losing three men."
The caciques, finding that the Spaniards were bent on seizing everything, conspired, attacked Colmenares, a Spanish settlement, and were entirely defeated, many slaughtered, many more carried into slavery. Another conspiracy ended in the same way, and the poor Indians seem to have been thoroughly disheartened. Vasco Nunez sent messages to the King of Spain, informing him of the promised gold region, and he was appointed captain-general. But enemies were watching him. An old foe, Bachiller Enciso, into whose vessel Nunez had been smuggled in a cask, was undermining the good opinion in which he was held by his sovereign, and so the heart of Nunez was filled with apprehension. Still he assumed great confidence, and resolved to be the discoverer of that sea and of those rich lands to which Comogre's son had pointed. It was no use waiting for reinforce- ments from. Spain, when probably along with those reinforcements would come his own dismissal. So early in September, 1513, he set out on his renewed expedition for finding the other sea, accompanied by a hundred and ninety men well armed, and by dogs which were of more avail than men, and by Indian slaves to carry the burdens. Coming into the territories of the cacique Poncha, he contrived to assure that chief that his object was discovery, and not conquest, and it was his policy at that time to keep his word. He secured the chief's friendship by the present of some looking-glasses, hatchets, and hawk -bells, in return for which he obtained guides and porters. With these Nunez pursued his journey, and ascending the mountains entered the country of an Indian chief named Quarequa, who, at the head of his people, offered some formidable resistance, but was entirely defeated, and Peter Martyr tells us " it was a scene to remind one of the shambles." Taking
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 31
•with him fresh guides, the Spanish commander pursued his way to the- most lofty sierras, and on the 25th of September came near to the top of a mountain whence the South Sea was visible. A little before he reached the height he was informed of his near approach to it, and ascended alone. Then as he gazed upon the vast Pacific — the first man of the Old World, so far as he knew, to behold this sea — he knelt down and gave thanks to God. Then he beckoned to his men to come up, and after united thanksgiving addressed them thus : —
" You see here, gentlemen and children mine, how our desires are being accomplished, and the end of our labours. Of that we ought to be certain, for as it has turned out true what King Comogre's son told of this sea to us who never thought to see it, so I hold for certain that what he told us of there being incomparable treasures in it will be fulfilled. God and His Blessed Mother, who have assisted us so that we should arrive here and behold this sea, will favour us that we may enjoy all that there is in it."
At the conclusion of this address, Vasco Nunez caused certain memorials to be made by the cutting down of trees, the rearing of crosses, and the heaping together of stone, and he then formally took possession of the sea in the names of the Kings of Castille.
Continuing his journey, Nunez, after an engagement with the people of the cacique Chiapes, made peace, and obtained a good supply of gold in return for some showy trifles. While with these people he sent on two of his principal officers — Francisco Pizarro and Alonzo Martin — to find the nearest way to the seashore. Alonzo Martin was the first to discover it, and returning with the intelligence, Vasco Nunez himself went down to the shore, accompanied by about eighty of his men. The tide had ebbed, and the water was nearly two miles distant, but it soon returned, and Nunez, with a sword in one hand and a banner representing the Virgin and Child and the arms of Spain in the other, stood knee-deep in the water, and took formal possession in very precise and somewhat bombastic language : —
"Long live the high and mighty monarchs Don Ferdinand and Donna Juana, sovereigns of Castille, Leon, and Aragon, in whose names I take real, and actual, and corporeal possession of these seas, and lands, and coasts, and ports, and islands of the South, and all there- unto annexed ; and of the kingdoms and provinces which do or may appertain to them in whatever manner, or by whatever right or title, ancient or modern, in times past, present, or to come, without any con-
32 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
tradiction ; and if other prince or captain, Christian or infidel, or if any law, condition, or sect whatsoever shall pretend any right to these lands and seas, I am ready to maintain and defend them in the name of the Castillian sovereigns, whose is the empire and dominion over these Indies, islands and terra frma, Northern and Southern, with all their seas, both at the Arctic and Antarctic Poles, on either side of the equinoctial line, whether within or without the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, both now and in all time, as long as the world endure, and until the final day of judgment of all mankind."
SPANISH SOLI>HR OF THE SIXTEENTH CEK1UKY.
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
33
CARTHAGENA.
CHAPTER II.
The Messengers of Nunez arrive too late — The New Governor, Pedrarias de Avila — Fifteen Hundred Gentlemen on the Look-out for Gold — Famine — The Requisition — Caribs — A Little Affair at Santa Martha — Nunez Summoned to the Presence of the Governor — Juan de Ayora — Burning a Cacique — Bachiller Enciso — A Native Response — Gaspar de Morales looking out for Pearls — A Defeat— Captain Becerra — Badajoz— The Promotion of Nunez — Marriage — The Port of Acla— The Station— Talk of a New Governor— Suspicion- Nunez Loses his Head — Spanish Cruelty — Las Casas— Cardinal Ximenes — His Benevolent Intentions towards the Indians — A Council of Discovery — Juan Diaz de Solis and Others — Paraguaza — The Pope's Bull — Magellan.
"VTUNEZ had sent his messenger to Spain to tell of the wonderful •*••' things he had done, and how gold was to be had galore. But, unfortunately for him, another governor had been appointed before his messenger arrived, hence it came to pass that all his messenger had to communicate exalted the position of his successor, but added nothing to him. Spain, of course, was in a state of excitement at the idea of fishing up gold with nets, but the people cared nothing for the dis- coverer. His mightiness of Spain had already appointed an elderly gentleman of high connections, one Pedrarias de Avila. He had unhorsed a good many knights in the tilt-yard, and had won for himself the name of Jouster. Why a man who could govern his horse and
D
34 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
carry his lance straight should be the best governor for a new settle- ment it required the penetration of a Spanish king to see, but there is this to be said for King Ferdinand, the man was old, and, as a rule, old men have no grand ambitious projects, and are therefore most excellently loyal to their sovereigns. What are the uses of independent schemers when the mind lacks its lissomness and the body is weak ? There is nothing left but submission, shelter, and shadow, and the avenging, if you be in the humour, of small spites. Not that Pedrarias was a man to yield willingly, to consent to be nothing ; he had in earlier days been called " Furor Domini," and in later days had best have been called Furor Diaboli, for he was sulphur, ultra sulphur — a devil.
Had not Comogre's son, with whom gold was of no account, stated that a thousand men would be necessary to make their way to the sea, and obtain the riches which were there to be obtained? Pedrarias, to be on the safe side, enlisted twelve hundred, and the armament was speedily augmented by three hundred more volunteers. "When he arrived at Seville he found no fewer than two thousand young men eager to be enrolled in his forces, and " not a small number of avaricious old men," many of whom offered to go at their own expense.
A good many of the volunteers were rejected, as a specified number of ships had been drafted on the expedition, and room there was none for all who wanted to go. Four principal officers and a bishop were esteemed essential, and the retinues of these gentlemen occupied some space.
Pedrarias had his instructions, foremost of which was the duty of inculcating Christianity, of making these Indians know " Our Lord," and to reverence " His Holy Name," to receive " Our Sacred Faith," and much more to the same effect. Then, as to the apportionment of Indians, they might be dealt with in three ways. First, they might employ the Indians as personal servants — that is, to take bodily possession of them, and compel them to work ; secondly, arrange- ments might be made with the caciques, or rulers, in which case slaves would be supplied as per contract ; thirdly, war might be made upon them, and well-armed soldiers were most likely to make easy victory over naked and almost unarmed savages. In case of war, all the Indians taken alive were to be made slaves of immediately for life, and any resistance on the part of the Indians was to be construed into a casns belli. A certain requisition (El Requerimiento) was made out,
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 35
and the Indians were expected to acquiesce. The requisition was to the following effect : —
" On the part of the king, Don Fernando, and of Dona Juana, his daughter, Queen of Castile and Leon, subduers of the barbarous nations, we, their servants, notify and make known to you, as best we can, that the Lord our God, living and eternal, created the heaven and the earth, and one man and one woman, of whom you, and we, and all the men of the world, were and are descendants, and all those who come after us. But on account of the multitude which has sprung from this man and woman in the five thousand years since the world was created, it was necessary that some men should go one way and some another, and that they should be divided into many kingdoms and provinces, for in one alone they could not be sustained.
" Of all these nations God our Lord gave charge to one man, called St. Peter, that he should be lord and superior of all the men in the world, that all should obey him, and that he should be the head of the whole human race, wherever men should live, and under whatever law, sect, or belief they should be ; and He gave him the world for his kingdom and jurisdiction.
" And He commanded him to place his seat in Rome, as the spot most fitting to rule the world from, but also He permitted him to have his seat in any other part of the world, and to judge and govern all Christians, Moors, Jews, Gentiles, and all other sects. This man was called Pope, as if to say, admirable great father and governor of men. The men who lived in that time obeyed that St. Peter, and took him for lord, king, and superior of the universe ;" (imagine what Tiberius or Nero would have said to this!) "so also have they regarded the others who, after him, have been elected to the pontificate, and so has it continued even till now, and will continue till the end of the world.
" One of these pontiifs, who succeeded in the room of that St. Peter in that dignity and seat which I have mentioned as lord of the world, made donation of these isles and terra firma to the aforesaid king and queen, and to their successors, our lords, writh all that there are in these territories, as is contained in certain writings which passed upon the subject, as aforesaid, which you can see if you wish.
" So their Jiighnesses are kings and lords of these islands and laud of terra** foina by virtue of this donation ; and some islands, and, indeed, almost all those to whom this has been notified, have received
36
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
and served their highnesses, as lords and kings, in the way that subjects ought to do, with good will, without any resistance, imme- diately, without any delay, when they were informed of the aforesaid facts. And also they received and obeyed the priests whom their highnesses sent to preach to them and to teach them our sacred faith ; and all these, of their own free will, without any reward or conditionT have become Christians, and are so, and their highnesses have joyfully and benignantly received them, and also have commanded them to be treated as their subjects and vassals ; and you, too, are held and obliged
SPANISH SHIPS OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTUKY.
to do the same. Wherefore, as best we can, we ask and require you that you consider what we have said to you, and that you take the time that shall be necessary to understand and deliberate upon it, and that you acknowledge the Church for lady and superior of the whole world (por senora y superiora del universo mundo), and the high priest called Pope, and in his name the king and queen, Dona Juana, our lords in his place, as superiors, and lords, and kings of these islands and this terra firma, by virtue of the said donation, and that you consent and give place, that these religious fathers should declare and preach to you aforesaid.
"If you do so you will do well, and that which you are obliged to
38 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
do to their highnesses, and we in their name shall receive you in all love and charity, and shall leave you, your wives, and your children, and your lands, free without servitude, that you may do with them and with yourselves freely that which you like and think best ; and they shall not compel you to turn Christians, unless you yourselves, when informed of the truth, should wish to be converted to our sacrecl Catholic faith, as almost all the inhabitants of the rest of the islands have done. And besides this, their highnesses award you many privi- leges and exemptions, and will grant you many benefits.
"But if you do not do this, and maliciously make delay in it, I certify to you that, with the help of God, we shall powerfully enter into your country, and shall make war against you in all ways and manners that we can, and shall subject you to the yoke and obedience of the Church and of their highnesses ; we shall take you, and your wives, .and your children, and shall make slaves of them, and as such shall sell and dispose of them as their highnesses may command ; and we shall take away your goods, and shall do you all the mischief and damage that we can, as to vassals who do not obey and refuse to receive their lord, and resist and contradict him ; and we protest that the deaths and losses which shall accrue from this are your fault, and not that of their highnesses, or ours, nor of these cavaliers who come with us. And that we have said this to you and made this requisition, we request the notary here present to give us his testimony in writing, and we ask the rest who are present that they should be witnesses of this requisition."
This document, of which it is probable never the like was seen before or since, was drawn up by the learned Doctor Palacios Rubios. It is chiefly remarkable for its absurd presumption, and a learned historian says of it — "I must confess that the comicality of this docu- ment has often cheered me in the midst of tedious research or endless details of small battles. The logic, the history, even the grammatical construction, are all, as it seems to me, alike in error. Stupendous assumptions are the staple of the document, and the very terms, such as ' Church,' ' privileges,' ' vassalage,' ' exemptions,' are such as require a knowledge of Christianity and of the peculiar civilisation of Europe for anybody to understand. Then, when it is imagined how little these difficulties would be smoothed by translation, we may fancy what ideas the reading of the document, even when it was read, conveyed to a number of Indians sitting in a circle, squatting on their hams."
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 39
The requisition was regarded by the Spaniards as a very gracious act, and its clauses were not to be indiscriminately applied; of its benefits the Caribs or cannibals were to be no partakers ; they might be seized, killed, or enslaved, just as it might suit the convenience of their captors. This reservation admitted of all kinds of injustice, as, for example, Juan de Castellanos tells us of some Caribs in the neighbour- hood of Santa Martha who were called Caribs, and treated as such, not because they ate human flesh, but because they defended their property.
Furnished with this wrondrous requisition, Pedrarias, with a gallant company of fifteen hundred men, set sail from the port of San Lucar in a well-appointed fleet on the 12th of April, 1514. At its first outset the armament was driven back by stormy weather, but after refitting made the voyage without the occurrence of any incident of importance. Before reaching Darien the fleet entered a harbour called Santa Martha, and the Indians resented the intrusion by wading into the water to attack the ships, and by the discharge of poisoned arrows. A sally was made by the Spaniards, and several women and children were captured. After this adventure the fleet made its way to Darien.
On his arrival Pedrarias sent a message to Nunez — he, Pedrarias, was the new governor — let Nunez make note of that. The discoverer of the South Sea, busy with some labourers putting a straw thatch on his house, and attired in no better costume than a cotton shirt, loose drawers, and slippers, was happy, so he said, to hear of the governor's arrival, and he sent him a respectful welcome, with the assurance that the colony was ready to receive him. The colony, consisting only of about four hundred and fifty persons, was in no condition to resist the fifteen hundred gentlemen from Spain, even had they the desire to do so, therefore, in peaceful garb, singing the Te Deum, they went forth to meet my lord from Spain, and Pedrarias landed and billeted his men.
Next day Nunez was summoned to the presence of the governor, and was requested to give an exact statement of the. condition of the colony, the disposition of the natives, the discoveries already made, and the speediest way to the gathering in of the golden harvest. To all inquiries Nunez replied fairly and honestly, and to the best of his ability. The penalties which were pronounced against him for certain irregularities were withdrawn, and he \v as invited to assist in the gold crusade. While preparations were being made the fifteen hundred
40
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gentlemen found themselves uncomfortably circumstanced — there was no victuals to be had. The old colonists were not prepared for so great an accession to their numbers, and had no means, and perhaps
no very great desire, to supply their wants. Men in silk and brocade fed like cattle on the herbage, fought and struggled for garbage ; one of the principal hidalgos went through the streets saying he was
42 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
starving, and in sight of the whole town dropped down dead. In less than a month seven hundred men perished.
This terrible calamity delayed the South Sea expedition, but at length Pedrarias sent out a captain — Juan de Ayora — with four hun- dred men, to make settlements and build fortresses in the lands of the caciques Comogre, Pocorosa, and Tubanama. These chiefs had been friendly with Nunez, but they found an unrelenting tyrant in Ayora. One unfortunate cacique who was unable to supply sufficient gold to satisfy his demands was burnt alive ; this terrible lesson had its effect, and gold was brought in abundantly, on receipt of which Ayora committed what we should call embezzlement ; he made off with the money, and gave no account of it to Pedrarias or the King of Spain.
Bachiller Enciso was entrusted with a commission to the caciques in Genii, and he read the requisition to them. " They replied to him," he tells us, " that, with respect to what I said about there being but one God, and that He governed the heaven and the earth, and was Lord of all things, that it seemed good to them, and so it must be ; but that in what I said about the Pope being the lord of all the universe in the place of God, and that he had given the land of the Indies to the King of Castile, the Pope must have been drunk when he did it, for he gave what was not his ; also, that the king who asked for or received this gift must be some madman (cdyun Zoco), for that he asked to have that given him which belonged to others ; and they added that, should he come there to take it, they would put his head on a stake. They were lords of this country, and there was no need of any other." Upon receiving this answer, Enciso explained to them what dreadful things would be done to them if they did not submit, to which they responded that if he were not silent they would put his head on a stake, which Enciso seems to think they certainly would have done if it had not been for a vigorous resistance. No profitable result came of Enciso's mission.
Other expeditions were fitted out by men who were less scrupulous than Enciso, men who read or ran through the requisition as boys might run through a fifth of November rhyme, and fell upon the Indians without pity or remorse. They robbed them, carried off their wives and daughters, burnt their villages, by way of carrying out the instructions they had received at the court of Spain to Christianise the natives. The Cuban hounds were of use to the Spaniards, and were
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 43
employed in tracking runaway Indians, and in tearing to pieces offenders who had dared to offer opposition to the advance of civilisa- tion, as shown by the hidalgos from Europe.
Among the swaggering Spanish captains who took part in the expeditions there was one Gaspar de Morales. He Avent to look for pearls in the Tezarequi islands, with some eighty warriors and as many Indians as could be made to serve. On his way he fell in with Captain Becerra, who had been capturing slaves and winning gold by torturing caciques. There was but small chance of gleaning golden grain when Becerra had reaped his harvest, but Morales gathered some handfuls, and then directed his attention to the territories of a cacique called Biru, very warlike and very rich. Biru is supposed to be a corruption of Peru. He approached the city by night most probably, as was the fashion, gabbled the requisition in the primeval forest, then with the cry of " Santiago !" rushed on the undefended place. There was fire and slaughter ; the cacique and his people fled, were pursued, turned, fought, and fought so obstinately that the Spaniards thought it prudent to retire, stabbing their Indian captives at intervals on their march back.
Another expedition was conducted by Captain Becerra. He was well furnished with men, and carried with him all the apparatus of war, amongst which we are told that he had pieces of artillery capable of throwing "balls as big as an egg." No particular kind of egg being mentioned, this explanation is scarcely less plain than that " about the size of a lump of chalk." However, it was plain so far that Captain Becerra was in earnest, and was fully bent on the conversion of the caciques. He marched into the province of Cemi, where the people were already so well acquainted with Christianity, and had received such excellent theological instruction from Spanish captains, that they fell upon Becerra and made a swift end of him and his, leaving none but an Indian boy to tell the tale to Governor Pedrarias.
The governor was greatly surprised at the intelligence, and took, in a figure, to sackcloth and ashes — that is to say, he ordered a day of humiliation. Public prayers were offered to the effect that God would be mercifully pleased to withhold His anger, to confound and convert the caciques, and uphold the right cause, and the Spanish cause in particular, right or wrong. Gonzalo de Badajoz was comforting him- self shortly afterwards with the idea that these prayers had been answered, for he had killed many Indians and collected a large amount
44 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
of gold ; but, unfortunately, he was beguiled by a wily Indian into leav- ing his station with an insufficient guard, which guard was cut to pieces in his absence, and all his heaped-up treasure recaptured by the Indians.
A further expedition was sent out under one Espinosa, who took with him a Franciscan monk, Francisco de San Roman. This good man, who it appears was simple enough to believe that the Spaniards really wanted to convert the Indians, was horror-stricken at what he beheld. He wrote home, begging the authorities "for the love of God" to interfere, declaring that in this expedition of Espinosa's he had seen forty thousand Indians, with his own eyes, killed by the sword or thrown to the dogs. But Espinosa was successful. He got back the gold Badajoz had lost, and he brought with him two thousand slaves.
There was one man watching all this very intently, and taking note, as it were, for future service : this was Yasco Nunez. He felt himself aggrieved at being superseded, and was on the look-out for the chance of retaliation. And there was one man watching Vasco Nunez very closely, bent on putting an end to him at the first favourable opportunity; this was Pedrarias, who, knowing the injustice of his own conduct, and the fickleness of kings, was never sure but what the South Sea discoverer might be restored to royal favour ; so he hated and plotted.
Pedrarias was right in his surmise. When the court of Spain heard of the discovery of the South Sea, Vasco Nunez was regarded as a man who had done the state good service. Hitherto it had been the practice to speak slightingly of his ability, but the intelligence of what he had found, a great sea leading down to the gold regions, changed all that, and the good opinion they now entertained of him was likely to increase rather than diminish when men came to reflect upon the nature of his discoveries, and the mode in which he had followed them out. A title was to be bestowed on him ; henceforth he was to be known as Adelantado, and to rule as governor in Coyva and Panama. The King of Spain did his best to make Pedrarias and Vasco Nunez act in concert ; a man may do his best to make oil and water com- mingle, and be unsuccessful after all. Pedrarias was jealous, and his first intention was to thrust his rival into gaol, and, having thus quietly disposed of him, to make his own terms with Spain ; but the Bishop of Darien favoured Nunez, and so managed matters as to patch up a peace between him and the governor. In order to strengthen this
46 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
alliance, Pedrarias gave his daughter in marriage to Nunez, who agreed to the terms somewhat unwillingly, seeing that he cared nothing for the governor's daughter, but much for a beautiful Indian captive who had captivated her captor.
The rivals being, to all outward appearance, reconciled, Pedrarias sent Vasco Nunez to occupy a town in the port of Acla, whence he was to prepare to embark for the South Sea. There he set himself to the construction of the necessary vessels and the collection of the required stores, and in this he was helped by two hundred of Espinosa's men, who were growing tired of inactivity. It was hard work. The wood had to be cut and made ready at Acla, and thence conveyed across the Sierras to the river Yalsa, there to construct four brigan- tines. A station was built on the top of the Sierras, and thither the wood was carried ; the station was distant from Acla twelve miles, and the roads were terrible. Five hundred Indians perished, literally worked to death, and as they died off fresh impressments were made, and the requisite number of Indians forced to labour. It turned out that much of the wood was worm-eaten and worthless, and a very high tide carried off a great part of their work ; provisions also got very short, and altogether Nunez had bad times of it. Still he per- severed, and at last succeeded in completing the brigantines, in which he set sail, with certain of his company, for the Island of Pearls.
Just about this tune news came that it was probable Pedrarias would be superseded, and that one Lope de Sosa would reign in his stead. Yasco Nunez was annoyed, because his fortunes seemed now bound up with those of his father-in-law, and disgrace to the one would mean injury to the other. He was talking one evening with two friends about sending Francis Garavik to Acla to ascertain the real state of affairs, and to bring back iron and pitch for the completion of the other two brigantines. All that he said was in itself perfectly harmless ; there was not a shadow of sedition or conspiracy in it, but an eavesdropping sentinel heard just enough to make him believe that Nuuez was bent on making off with the ships, and stripping the Island of Pearls for his own special benefit. For the time the sentinel kept the secret of what he supposed to be a deep conspiracy, but in course of time he allowed his suspicions to escape him ; they were reported to Pedrarias, who was already very doubtful of his son-in-law's fidelity. Mastering his fury, the old man wrote a crafty letter begging Nunez to come to Acla to confer on business. Nunez, without dreaming of
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 47
treachery, hastened to meet his father-in-law. On the road he fell in with Pizarro, who had come with soldiers to arrest him. Nunez was utterly surprised, but he offered no resistance ; he was thrown into confinement, and immediate proceedings taken against him. All sorts of false charges were adduced, backed by false evidence, and he was cast for death. His implacable father-in-law would listen to no appeal, grant no delay, but ordered that the sentence of death should at once be carried into effect. The execution took place in a public square, and was witnessed by Pedrarias from between the reeds of the wall of a house some twelve paces from the scaffold. Nunez and four of his officers were beheaded in quick succession during the brief twilight of a tropical evening. Pedrarias confiscated the property of Nunez, and ordered his head to be impaled upon a pole, and exposed in the public square till decomposition should take place.
All through the story of the Spanish colonisation in the Indies the cruelty and injustice of the Spaniards is terribly distinct ; jealous and treacherous with regard to each other, they made common cause against the Indians, and the suffering of the people is without a parallel. Many of the Indians had recourse to suicide as a means of escape, for they believed in a future state, and yearned for the rest and peace which that state promised. Accordingly, they put themselves to death, whole families together, and villages invited other villages to join in the exodus from this world. On one occasion a number of Indians belonging to one master had resolved to hang themselves, and so to escape from their labours and sufferings. Their master was made aware of this intention, and he came upon them just as they were about to carry it into effect. "Go seek me a rope too," he exclaimed, " for I must hang myself with you." He then gave them to understand that he could not do without them, they were so useful to him, and that he must go where they were going. They, believing that they could not get rid of him anywhere, agreed to remain where they were, and with sorrow laid aside their ropes to resume their labour.
When the celebrated Las Casas represented to his bishop the inhumanity exercised upon the Indians, and informed him that seven thousand children had been destroyed in three months, the prelate broke in with these words : "Look you, you droll fool, what is this to me or to the king?" Las Casas answered, " Is it nothing to your lord- ship or to the king that all these souls should die ? O great and eternal God ! And to whom, then, is it of any concern?"
48 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
It was soon after this that the king died.
At the time of Ferdinand's death, Juana, the occupant of the throne of Castile (for Ferdinand was but regent), and the immediate heiress of that of Aragon, was insane, and her eldest son, Charles V., was but in his sixteenth year. Ferdinand, therefore, nominated by will a regent to the kingdom, choosing the celebrated Cardinal Ximenes for that office. The king, when discussing on his death-bed the question of the regency, is said to have expressed himself thus : — " If we could make a man for
INDIAN LABOUREK.
the occasion, I should wish for a more tractable one than Ximenes, for to deal with the ways of men every day degenerating, after the rigorous old fashion which Ximenes holds by, is wont to create difficulties in a state." But the king went on to say that the integrity and justness of Ximenes were qualities of the first order ; and then, again, that he had no connections among great nobles, and no private friendships which he would give way to ; moreover, mindful of the benefits he had received from Ferdinand and Isabella, he had been very intent upon their affairs, and, as the king concluded by saying, u Ximenes has shown constant and clear examples that he is of our mint, if I may so express myself."
As there is good reason to think that Ferdinand had no special
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49
liking for the cardinal, the king's choice does both of them the more credit ; and, indeed, of all the men of those times in that kingdom there was not one whom we read anything of to be compared with Ximenes, especially in the faculty for government. There is now, then, some hope that, should he turn his attention to Indian affairs, something- distinct and forcible will be done in them.
INDIAN* LABOUEEB.
Adrian, the Dean of Louvain, who had been Charles V.'s tutor, and who, in the latter days of Ferdinand, had been sent to Spain to watch over the prince's interests, produced powers from the young prince, nominating him (Adrian) to the government. Ximenes would not admit the validity of these powers, it being contended on his side that the regency of Castile had been left by Isabella's will to Ferdinand until Charles should be twenty years of age, and consequently that any act done by Charles during Ferdinand's life was invalid. On the other side it was argued that a regent could not create by will a regency.
50 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
Finally, it was agreed that the question should be referred to Charles himself for decision, and that, meanwhile, Ximenes and Adrian should govern jointly. Afterwards there came a letter from Charles confirming the nomination made by Ferdinand's will of Ximenes — or rather the recommendation given, for it appears not to have amounted to more than that — and putting Adrian into communication with Ximenes, still calling the former ambassador.
Adrian was a quiet, scholastic, just man, with good purposes, and very averse to much business. He could not have had any prepon- derating influence in affairs, and is said to have sent a complaint to Flanders of the way in which Ximenes took all the government upon himself. Afterwards the Flemish ministers of Charles sent over Monsieur de Laxaos, a great wit, and one of Charles's household, and also, at a subsequent period, another Fleming, to act in concert with the cardinal, who received them courteously, but did not admit them to much authority. One day, when they must have been in a daring mood, they resolved to exercise some power independently of the cardinal- governor, and affixed their names first to some documents, leaving Ximenes to add his. The cardinal sent for the clerk who drew up the document, tore it up, bade him write out another, and it is said that thenceforward the cardinal did not trouble his so-called colleagues for their signatures. There is no doubt that this was not mere arrogance, but that he acted strictly within the limits of his power. And really a regency is sufficiently weak of itself without being cumbered with unwelcome colleagues of dubious powers and unfriendly intentions. Moreover, the cardinal had quite enough to contend against from his own countrymen in the exercise of his functions. Of the high-handed way in which he managed them there is the well-known story of his reply to certain Spanish grandees who wished to be informed of the grounds of his authority, whereupon he showed them the documents upon which it rested — namely, the will of Ferdinand and the written approbation of Charles ; then, leading them to a window, requested them to look out on a large body of troops with a park of cannon, which he suggested to them were the ultimate reasoning of kings.
There is another story of him not so often mentioned, but which is very significant. The Duke de Infantado, being highly incensed against Ximenes, sent a priest of his ducal household with a most in- sulting message to the cardinal, reproaching him, amongst other things, with his low origin. The priest, after kneeling down and begging the
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 51
cardinal's pardon for what he was about to say, said it. His eminence asked the priest if he had anything more to say. He replied, " No," on which the cardinal made this answer: "Return to your master, whom you will find already regretting his insolent and foolish message." And so it proved to be.*
From these particulars we may form some idea of the character of the celebrated cardinal. He had not been careless about the Indians, and had felt the responsibility involved in setting up colonies amongst them. In accordance with the faith he held, it was plain to him that all hope of a future happy life depended on inducing the Indians to accept the doctrines of Christianity and to submit to the rite of baptism. No doubt he had done what he could, but it had not, until the time to which we now allude, been a matter in which he could very well practically interfere. The statements of Las Casas were to him astounding, but he listened with patience.
Xiineu.es had taken considerable interest in the affairs of the Americas, and when, after the decease of the king, he became acquainted, through Las Casas, with the deplorable condition of the Indians, his zeal and sympathy were excited on their behalf. He thoroughly inquired into the whole matter, and he resolved on com- missioning proper persons to instruct the Indians, and to look after their welfare. He was of opinion that fit and proper men for this work might be found amongst the Jeronimites, and he wrote to the principal of their order on the subject. Las Casas, who was naturally anxious about the answer of the Jeronimites, went one Sunday morning to hear mass at their convent near to Madrid ; there he found a vene- rable man praying in the cloister. Upon asking him whether there was any reply to the cardinal's missive, the old man told him that he was one of the priors who had brought an answer, that they arrived last night, and that the cardinal, having been made aware of their arrival, was to come to the convent that day.
Accordingly, in the course of the day, the cardinal and Adrian came with a cavalcade of courtiers to the convent. The monks received the Junta in the sacristy, the main body of the courtiers remaining out- side in the choir ; amongst them, doubtless to his no small chagrin, the Bishop of Burgos, long accustomed to direct Indian affairs, but now of I no authority in these matters.
* The Conquerors of the Nciv World.
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53
The cardinal, after thanking the order for the tenor of their reply, and magnifying the work in hand, desired Las Casas to be called for, who, to his great delight, walked through the assembled courtiers, much regarded by them, and, as he conjectured, most regarded by the Bishop of Burgos. Entering the sacristy, Las Casas knelt before the cardinal, who told him to thank God that the desires which God had given him were in the way of being accomplished. The cardinal then told him
CARDINAL XIAIEXES.
that the priors had brought twelve names of persons who might be chosen for the work, but that three would suffice. His eminence added that this night Las Casas should have letters of credit to the general of the Jeronimites, and money for his journey, and that he was to go and confer with that prelate about the choice of the three, informing the general of the requisite qualities for the office in question. Las Casas was then to bring to court the first Jeronimite he should make choice of; the despatches should be prepared, and he might at once set off for Seville.
Observe throughout that nothing lingers in the cardinal's hands. Commonplace statesmen live by delay, believe in it, hope in it, pray to it ; but his eminence worked as a man who knew that the night was coming, " in which no man can work."
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Las Casas, almost in tears with, joy, poured out bis tluuiks aiiJ blessings on the cardinal, and concluded by saying that the money was not necessary, for that he had enough to sustain him in this business. The cardinal smiled and said, " Go to, Padre ; I am richer than you are." (Anda, Padre ; que yo soy mas rico que ros.) And then Las Casas went out, " the cardinal saying many favourable things of some one who shall be nameless." *
Jealousy and envy did what they could to depreciate Las Casas in the opinion of the cardinal, but they failed in making any serious impression, and the preparations for departure were carried on with all possible rapidity. The mission given in trust to Las Casas and those who accompanied him was of great importance. He was empowered to free the Indians from forced labour, to form them into little common- wealths, owning allegiance to the Spanish sovereignty ; he was to see that they were instructed in the Christian faith, and to guard them from all ill-treatment on the part of the Spanish colonists. The Jeroni- inite fathers, on arriving in the " Indies," appear to have been far too peaceful to do much for the relief of the people, and impressed Indians still worked in the mines, while those who resisted were hanged or burnt alive. " They were all," as Peter Martyr says, " horrid transac- tions, nothing pleasant in any of them." In the meantime, discovery went on of new lands, and what was called a Council of Discovery was appointed by the Spanish authorities.
Juan Diaz de Solis, who, with Janez Pinzon, Amerigo Vespucci, and Juan de la Cosa, the pilot of Columbus, was a member of the Spanish council appointed to deliberate upon discoveries yet to be made, sailed to South America in 1514, and, doubling Capes St. Roque, St. Augustin, and Frio, entered the bay upon which now stands the city of Rio Janeiro, and was probably the first European to set foot upon the coast thus far to the south. He supposed the bay to be the mouth of a passage through to the South Sea so lately discovered by Balboa. He proceeded to the south, ascertaining the position of every headland and indentation with all the precision the instruments and science of the time would permit. At last he found a great opening of the sea towards the west : he took possession of the northern coast for the King of Spain, and named the gulf Fresh-water Sea. Subsequently, finding that it was a river, and that silver mines
* Tlie Conquerors of the New Worll.
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existed there, be named the stream Rio de la Plata. The Indians called it Paraguaza. He found the country fertile and attractive, and abundance of the wood which had given to the whole region the name of Brazil. He went on shore with a small party, but soon fell into an ambuscade laid for them by the natives. Solis and five of his com- panions were taken, killed, roasted, and devoured by the horrible cannibals who inhabited the country. The Spaniards who remained on board the ships witnessed the shocking catastrophe, which so appalled and horrified them that they fled in dismay and sailed back to Spain.
We now find the Pope of Rome the great authority and arbitrator in those days, issuing an ultimatum which should henceforth close for ever all disputes as to the rival claims of Spain and Portugal. His holiness foresaw that between two such powerful nations, each bent on discovery and appropriation, a collision was almost certain ; and that, without the pastoral crook separated the belligerents, much Christian blood might be shed in the capture of "salvages" and the spoliation of new countries. To guard against this evil the Roman bishop declared that all new lands hereafter to be discovered to the east of the Azores should belong to the crown of Portugal, and that all those which were discovered to the west of the Azores should become the property of Spain.
In spite of Columbus and Da Gama, the infallible Pope ignored the world's rotundity, and insisted upon its being flat — an undulating plane under a canopy of sky. Of course ships, so argued the Pope, might go on sailing to the east or to the west for ever, and the farther they sailed the greater distance they must necessarily put between each other ; that they should ever meet at the antipodes was an extravagant idea not to be recognised by the wearer of the fisherman's ring. Unfortu- nately for the Pope's decree, the Portuguese and Spaniards did meet, and blood and murder was the result ; and an envious and implacable hatred sprang out of it which could not be suppressed by any Papal bull whatever.
There was a Portuguese, I ernao Magalhaens, or, we should say, Ferdinand Magellan, by name, who had served with some distinction in the East Indies, but found his claims slighted at home, and himself treated with that cool and quiet contempt which is perhaps more exas- perating than open injustice. He withdrew to Spain, became intimate with a fellow-countryman — Ruy Falero — who had been scouted as a charlatan. By this man's advice he applied to Cardinal Ximenes, asking
5G
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to be sent out on a voyage of discovery. The plan was simple. What- ever the Pope of Rome might affirm to the contrary, he was satisfied of the spherical form of the world. Now Columbus had started upon his voyage to the west in order to reach the East Indies by a western
route, and he had failed. Magellan proposed to seek the Portuguese Spice Islands — the Moluccas — by sailing, if possible, from the Atlantic into the South Sea, discovered five years before by Nunez. His idea was to attempt to find a passage through the mainland of South America by
58 THE GOLDEX AMERICAS.
the Rio de la, Plata or some other channel opening upon its eastern coast. Should this succeed, Spain would possess the East Indies as well as the West ; since if the Moluccas were discovered by the way of the west, even though situated to the east, they would fall expressly •within the allotment made by the Papal bull.
Ximenes saw the force of Magellan's theory, and a Spanish fleet of five vessels was equipped and placed under the command of Magellan. He was to be the governor of any islands he might discover, and was to take a twentieth part of the clear profit of the expedition. The fleet sailed from Seville on the 10th of August, 1519.
Magellan reached Teneriffe in six days. Of this island the historian of the voyage, Pigafetta, tells many strange stories. It never rains there, he says, and there was neither river nor spring in the island. The leaves of a tree, however, which was constantly surrounded by a thick mist, distilled excellent water which was collected in a pit at its foot, where the inhabitants and the wild beasts assembled to quench their thirst. Passing the equinoctial line and steering south-west, Magellan came, about the middle of December, to the coast of Brazil. There he found the natives willing to trade, and the trade was exceed- ingly profitable to the Spaniards. To obtain a couple of geese for a small comb ; for a little piece of glass, fish enough to make a meal for ten men ; a large basket of potatoes for a yard of ribbon, was not bad for the Dons. One sailor made a little fortune out of a pack of playing cards, obtaining no less than six fat chickens for the king of spades. Pursuing their voyage, they coasted the land for about two months, and came to a country which at first they took to be uninhabited, but at last a man of gigantic stature presented himself upon the shore. He was in a state of utter nudity. By friendly gestures he was induced to come to the spot where Magellan had landed, and there he was regaled •with 'some cooked meat. Several of the people afterwards came on board ship, and intimated that they regarded their visitors as having dropped from the sky. These savages Magellan called Patagonians, from words indicating the resemblance of their feet, when shod with the skin of the llama, to bears' feet. There is no doubt that the state- ments made with regard to the Patagonians were grossly exaggerated, but the narrative is still full of interest. To drink half a pail of water at a draught, to swallow live mice, to inflict a violent gash in the fore- head for the cure of the head, to thrust a spear down their throats to make them vomit, are matters we are not obliged to credit ; but that
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the Patagonians were an extraordinary people there is no reason to dispute.
\Ve need not follow Magellan through the rest of his voyage. Sailing through the straits which bear his name, he found — in spite of the Pope's bull — that Columbus was right, and that the world was round.
CHAPTER III.
Heman Cortes : a Lawyer, a Soldier, an Adventurer —Finds Favour with Ovando — Serves under Velasquez — Mexico — Eeceives his Commission to Explore and Conquer Mexico — Touches at Cozumel — Finds an Interpreter — Tabasco —A Battle and a Victory— Female Slaves— San Juan de Ulloa— Deputies— A Message to the King— The King's Answer— "A house divided against itself" — March upon Mexico — Montezuma— A Bold Expedient— Battles — Treachery— The Search of All : Thirst for Gold— Triumph of Spanish Arms in Mexico— End of Cortes.
TTERNAN CORTES was born at Medellin, a small town of Estre- madura, in the year 1485. He was intended for the legal profession, but became disgusted with it long before he had com- pleted his studies, and, turning his attention to soldiering, took service under the famous Gonsalvo de Cordova. But his military aspirations were disappointed, he being seized with a severe illness which for the time entirely prostrated his energies, and when he recovered, his oppor- tunity of accompanying De Cordova was lost. Bent upon adventure, and with an eye to profit, he looked longingly towards the Western Indies, where the Spaniards were reaping, or were said to be reaping, golden harvests.
At the age of nineteen, with certain letters of introduction, he went to the island of St. Domingo, and was there very kindly received by Ovando, the governor. Thanks to this patronage he obtained several lucrative appointments, and in this way he spent seven years. At the end of that period he accompanied Don Diego Velasquez to Cuba, where he became Alcade of San Jago, and is said to have exhibited great ingenuity on several occasions. But a larger sphere was needed for the display of his abilities, and an opportunity soon offered well calculated to test his powers.
Mexico had just been discovered by Grijalva, a lieutenant of Velasquez'. This man had not attempted to found a colony, nor had he taken solemn possession in the name of Spain. This was resented
GO
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by Velasquez, who commissioned Cortes to subjugate the newly- dis- covered country, a work which he was very well pleased to accept. Hastening his departure, Cortes set sail from San Jago on the 18th of November, 1518, with ten vessels, seven or eight hundred Spaniards, eighteen horsemen, and several pieces of cannon. Velasquez having
CHBISTOPHER COLUMBUS.
a sort of premonition that the conquest of Mexico would be a matter of importance, and reflect credit on the conqueror, began when it was too late to regret that he had not undertaken the work himself. He made an effort to recall the commiesion, and meditated on shutting up Cortes in gaol ; but the time Avas past when he could change his original purpose, and Cortes was on his way to Mexico.
Touching at the island of Cozumel, Cortes found a Spaniard named
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Jerome de Aquilar, who had been detained captive amongst the Indians for eight years. Without much difficulty he effected his release, and
was amply rewarded, as the man was thoroughly versed in many of the Indian dialects, and was consequently exceedingly useful as an interpreter. From Cozumel Cortes proceeded to the river of Tabasco,
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where he found the people hostile to his designs, and by no means willing to listen to his friendly overtures. He was not likely to hesitate on the course to be taken, but immediately opened fire and effected a landing. In the battle which followed the Mexicans were utterly beaten, and compelled to acknowledge the King of Castile as their sovereign, to grant Cortes a good supply of provisions, to give gold and slaves, and a quantity of cotton garments.
Continuing his voyage westward, he reached San Juan de Ulloa. No sooner had his vessels entered the harbour than a large and hand- some canoe, full of people, shoved off the shore and approached the ships. Among those in the canoe were two persons evidently of superior station ; they were, in fact, deputies from Tentile and Piepatoe, two officers intrusted with the government of the province by the monarch, Montezuma. These men came on board Cortes' ship and addressed him in most respectful terms. The language, however, which they employed was entirely unknown to Aquilar, his interpreter, and the position was awkward and embarrassing. Cortes saw that 1 these men were no rude savages, with whom all necessary communi- cation might be sustained by signs ; they were men of intelligence and good breeding, and felt the awkwardness of the dilemma as much as did Cortes himself. Happily one of the female slaves — known after- wards as Donna Marina — presented to Cortes at Tabasco, came to his relief. She, it appeared, was by birth a Mexican, but had fallen into the clutches of the Tabascans in early life. There she had acquired their language, but had not forgotten her own ; so with her help and that of Aquilar, Cortes and his visitors were enabled to converse, Cortes addressing Aquilar in Spanish, Aquilar translating to the woman in Tabascan, the woman re-translating to the Mexicans. It was a pon- derous and difficult mode of arriving at a correct understanding on either side, and doubtless many blunders were made, but it was the only available plan.
Cortes was informed of the condition of his visitors, and assured oi the good feeling of the Mexicans. They would be glad to know the object of his visit, and if it were in their power to render him any assistance they would do so very readily. Cortes declared in respectful language that he entertained the most friendly feeling towards the Mexicans, and that his object in visiting them was to propose certain great measures to their prince, Montezuma, that the propositions he had to make were for the welfare and prosperity of the people, and
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that lie would take an early opportunity of explaining himself more fully to the governor.
Cortes indeed took the earliest opportunity ; for the next morning, without waiting for any further communication from the authorities, he landed his troops, horses, and artillery, established himself in a fortified camp, and began to erect huts for his men. So far from offering any resistance, the natives rendered them every assistance with a good-humour and alacrity which were fatal to themselves.
On the next day the governors of the province, Tentilc and Piepatoe, arrived at the camp of Cortes, attended by a magnificent retinue bearing presents of fine cotton, gorgeous plumes, and golden orna- ments for their visitors. Cortes received them with marked respect, informed them that he was the ambassador from Don Carlos of Austria, King of Castile, and that he was commissioned to submit weighty matters to the sovereign of Mexico. The deputies endeavoured to make him understand that they would undertake to communicate with the king if he would be pleased to acquaint them with the propositions he had to make. This Cortes haughtily declined ; representing his royal master, he could communicate with nothing less than royalty itself. In vain they attempted to dissuade him from his purpose, foreseeing evil if he penetrated to their capital ; but Cortes was not to be dissuaded, and could hardly conceal his impatience.
Observing among the Mexican retinue some artists making sketches of his camp and artillery, and noticing the wonder which his people excited, he resolved on still further increasing their surprise. Cour- teously inviting the deputies to witness some of the military manoeuvres of Europe, he caused his troops to go through a sham battle, in which the guns and horses so terrified the poor deputies that it was with difficulty they could be reassured of the friendly intentions of Cortes. Pictures were made of all that the Mexicans esteemed most interesting, and these were forwarded to Montezmna, with a present from Cortes of European curiosities, together with a courteous message.
Thanks to the high state of civilisation to which the Mexicans had arrived, the present and message were conveyed to the capital, a distance of 180 miles from San Juan de Ulloa, in a space of time which would then have been deemed incredible in Europe. As soon as the • king's answer was received, the same officers who had hitherto treated with the Spaniards were' employed to deliver it. Their mission was delicate and not without danger, for Montezmna had indignantly
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refused to receive the stranger, and while sending him handsome presents, desired him immediately to quit the country. The deputies did not at the first declare the mind of the king to Cortes, but they introduced the presents borne by one hundred slaves. It was a brilliant display which these presents made as they were spread out on mats in order to show them to the best advantage. Cortes and his officers viewed with admiration the various manufactures of the country ; cotton stuifs so fine and of such delicate texture as to resemble silk ; pictures of animals, trees, and other natural objects, formed of feathers of different colours, disposed and mingled with such skill and elegance as to rival the works of the pencil in truth and beauty of imitation. But what chiefly attracted their eyes were two large plates of a circular form, one of massive gold representing the sun ; the other of silver, an emblem of the moon. These were accompanied with bracelets, rings, collars, and other trinkets of gold ; and that nothing might be wanting in order to give the Spaniards a complete idea of what the country afforded, there were some boxes filled with pearls, precious stones, and gold unwrought, as found in the mines or rivers.
Cortes received the presents graciously enough, but when he heard the message that the Mexican monarch would not permit the approach of foreign troops on his capital, and that he desired the Spaniards would immediately withdraw from his territory, he became peremptory. As the representative of the great king, his master, he insisted on a personal interview, and declared that he could not and would not return to his own country until he had accomplished his purpose.
The Mexicans were astounded at his daring ; that any man should presume to dispute the will of their king was a thing unparalleled. Cortes had placed matters on the footing of a speedy issue — either Montezuma would receive him as friend or enemy, either he would have his interview by favour or force : there was no convenient middle course left open. It seems a daring thing for any man to have done, but there was less daring than may be supposed. Cortes knew well that, highly civilised as the Mexicans were in many respects, they were terrified by his cannon and surprised by his horsemen — he had novelties which put to flight their courage. At that time the Mexican Empire had attained a pitch of grandeur to which no society ever rose in so short a period. Though it had subsisted, according to their own traditions, only a hundred and thirty years, its dominions extended from the North to the South Sea, over territory stretching, with some small
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interruption, above five hundred leagues from east to west, and more than two hundred from north to south, comprehending provinces not inferior in fertility, population, and opulence to any in the torrid zone. The people were warlike and enterprising ; the authority of the monarch unbounded, and his revenue considerable. If, with the forces which might have been suddenly assembled in such an empire, Monte - zuma had fallen upon the Spaniards while encamped on a barrer,
SETTLEMENT NEAR ZEMPOALLA.
unhealthy coast, unsupported by any ally, without a place of retreat, and destitute of provisions, it seems impossible that, even with all the advantages they possessed, they could but by flight have saved them- selves from utter destruction.
But one of the main difficulties with which Cortes had to contend was found in the adherents of Velasquez, who began to murmur and cabal, and to urge upon the commander the preposterous character of the idea which led him to imagine that with so inadequate a force he could conquer the vast empire of Mexico. Cortes listened to their
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arguments, and professed to accede to their wishes, going so far, indeed, as to promise that on the next day they would set out on the return voyage. He reckoned on the temper of his own men — the wild adventurers who had followed his fortunes in order to make their own, and who, having now had some experience of the treasures of Mexico, would not be likely to yield to pusillanimous counsel. He was not mistaken. As soon as the report spread that the conquest of Mexico was to be abandoned, loud indignation was expressed in the camp, accom- panied with threats against those who had suggested it ; the adven- turers declared it to be unworthy of Castilian courage thus to fly at the first appearance of danger, and that it was exhibiting a marvellous want of faith in the Holy One, who, had doubtless sent them thither to impart the blessings of Christianity to the benighted people. They swore if Cortes would lead them on they would cheerfully follow him to conquest or death, and that if he chose to listen to the voice of timid counsellors and to return to Cuba, they would appoint a new commander and complete the conquest without him.
This was precisely what Cortes had foreseen. He knew the temper of his men too well to doubt them. Affecting surprise at their altered resolve, he expressed his willingness to be their leader, and without allowing them time to cool or reflect, he set about carrying his design into execution.
His first step was to constitute a form of civil government on the model of a Spanish corporation. All the persons chosen were adherents of his own, and the instrument of their election was drawn out in the king's name, and contained no allusion to Velasquez. At the first meeting of the council Cortes applied for leave to enter, approach- ing with every mark of profound respect, and in a long harangue explained that after the legal constitution of the new court, represen- tative of the Spanish monarchy, it would ill become him to hold a commission granted by lesser authority ; he would, therefore, resign his truncheon and commission received from Velasquez. His resigna- tion was promptly accepted, but the council thought so highly of his merits that, in the king's name, they elected him chief justice of the colony and commander-general of the forces, which offices he was empowered to hold until such time as the royal will might be made known on the matter.
This complete triumph— this coup <Tetat— placed Cortes in the possession of unlimited authority, and he acted upon it with that
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caution and circumspection which might have been expected from him.
Although the Spaniards were few in number, and the Mexicans a great people, Cortes had been advised that there were dissensions and jealousies amongst them, and that some of the caciques or petty princes would be only too ready to assist him in his premeditated attack on Montezuma. Of the truth of this he soon had evidence. Some Indians approaching the camp in a mysterious manner, were encouraged to- trust in the friendliness of the Spaniards. They stated that the people,, both of Quaibislan and the Zempoallians, were willing to make a treaty with the strangers, relying for success in their rebellion upon the assistance thus to be obtained. Cortes acceded, destroyed his fleet,, and made a treaty with the Indians.
In the year 1519 Cortes began his march from Zempoalla, with five hundred men, fifteen horse, and six field-pieces. The rest of his troops, consisting chiefly of such as from age or infirmity were less fit for active service, he left as a garrison in Villa Rica. The cacique of Zeinpoalla supplied him with provisions and Indians, whose office was to carry burdens, and to perform all servile labour, who greatly relieved the Spanish soldiers in carrying their baggage and dragging along the artillery. He offered, likewise, a considerable body of his troops, but Cortes was satisfied with four hundred. Nothing memorable occurred until he arrived on the confines of Tlascala. The inhabitants of that province were fierce, warlike, and high-spirited, though less advanced in civilisation than the subjects of Montezuma, to whom they were implacable enemies, and had been united in an ancient alliance with the caciques of Zempoalla. Cortes, though he had received informa- tion of the martial character of this people, flattered himself that his professions of delivering the oppressed from the tyranny of Montezuma might induce them to grant him a friendly reception ; but instead of the favourable answer which was expected, the Tlascalans seized the ambassadors, and, without any regard to their public character, made preparations for sacrificing them to their gods. At the same time they assembled their troops, in order to oppose those unknown invaders if they should attempt to pass through their country by force of arms. They concluded, from Cortes' proposal of visiting Montezuma in his capital, that, notwithstanding all his professions, he courted the friend- ship of a monarch whom they both hated and feared. In addition to this, they despised the small number of the Spaniards ; as they had not
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yet measured their own strength with that of these new enemies, they had no idea of the superiority which they derived from their arms and discipline.
UERXAN CORTKS.
Cortes, having waited some days in vain for the return of his ambassadors, advanced into the Tlascalan territory, where he found their troops in the field, who attacked him with great intrepidity, and, in the first encounter, wounded some of the Spaniards and killed two
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horses — a loss, in their situation, of great moment, as it was irreparable. After this, Cortes proceeded with more caution, and fortified every
MONTEZCMA.
camp with extraordinary care — measures which were highly necessary, as, for fourteen days, the Tlascalans continued their almost uninter- rupted assaults with a degree of perseverance and valour to which the
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Spaniards had seen nothing parallel in the New World. Though this very warlike people brought into the field armies which appear, as regards their numbers, sufficient to overwhelm the Spaniards, their want of military order and discipline, with their constant solicitude to carry off the dead and wounded, prevented their making any permanent impression on their enemies. In addition to this, their very defective weapons, though used with the greatest courage, were insufficient to penetrate the quilted jackets which the soldiers wore ; so that though many of the Spaniards were wounded none were killed. The Tlascalans also, in accordance with their custom, gave their enemies due notice of their attacks, and also sent them a large supply of poultry and maize, as they scorned to attack an enemy enfeebled by hunger, and it would be an affront to their gods to offer them famished victims, as well as disagreeable to themselves to feed on such emaciated prey.
As Cortes pursued his march he observed, and not without astonishment, that everything wore an air of an advanced civilisation and great prosperity. At last he came within sight of the city of Mexico ; in the middle of a vast plain, partly encompassed by a lake, and partly built on the island within it, the city towered aloft like some gorgeous creation of fairyland. The Spaniards could scarcely believe their senses as they saw every instant new proofs of the im- mense wealth and apparently boundless resources of the sovereign of Mexico.
Montezuma would fain have excused himself from an inter- view with the strangers, and when they were within but a short distance of his capital, he sent out ambassadors endeavouring to pacify with presents those whose approach he so dreaded ; but Cortes would listen to no terms, not even from the lips of the king's closest relations ; he was resolved on seeing the monarch. Of course he represented himself as personally of no importance, but as the agent of the sovereignty of Spain as a man of infinite consequence, who dare not submit his master's interests, or respect, or dignity, in any way to the caprice or humour of another monarch. So that at length Montezuma, finding it impossible to rid himself of his troublesome and uninvited guest, went forth to meet him on the plains of Mexico.
Montezuma was then forty years of age, of a good stature, a dark complexion, a cheerful countenance, wore short hair, and a little black beard. He lived in extraordinary magnificence, both with regard to the number of his courtiers and the extent of his army. When he
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went to the Ca, or temple, he carried a staff made half of wood and half of gold. He was always preceded by the chief officers of state, two of whom bore maces, emblematic of truth and justice. All this display had its effect on Cortes ; he saw plainly enough that he had not to deal with savages, but this did not in the least degree alter his determination of annexing Mexico to Spain.
When they drew near the city, about a thousand persons advanced with the greatest pomp, and individually saluted Cortes. These were followed by a company of the highest rank, dressed in the most splendid habiliments. In the midst of this company was Montezuma, in a chair or litter, richly ornamented with gold, jewels, and feathers of various colours. Four of his principal favourites carried him on their shoulders, others supporting a canopy of curious workmanship over his head. When he drew near, Cortes dismounted, advancing towards him with officious haste, and in a respectful posture. Monte- zuma saluted him with the utmost respect, insomuch that the con- descension of ordinarily so proud a monarch most fully impressed the people with the idea of the Spaniards being divinities. Montezuma con- ducted Cortes to the quarters which he had prepared for his reception, and immediately took leave of him with a politeness not unworthy of a court more refined.
" You are now," says he, " with your brothers in your own house. Refresh yourselves after your fatigue, and be happy until I return."
The place allotted for their lodging was surrounded by a stone wall with towers at proper distances, and its apartments and courts were so large as to accommodate both the Spaniards and their Indian allies. The first care of Cortes was to take precautions for his security, and to enjoin on his numerous sentinels the strictest vigilance.
In the evening Montezuma returned in a similar manner, and brought presents of such value to every one of his followers as showed both the liberality of the monarch and the opulence of his kingdom. Cortes had a long conference with the monarch, in which the latter informed them that their coming perfectly agreed with an ancient tradition of the Mexicans, of the founder of their colony promising that his descendants should visit them, and reform their constitution and assume the government, and desired that the Spaniards should consider themselves as masters in his dominions, for both himself and his subjects should be ready to comply with their will, and even to anticipate their wishes. Cortes replied in his usual style with respect
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to the dignity and power of his sovereign, and made his speech coincide with the tradition he had just heard.
All the wealth displayed, all the hospitality shown, only served still further to arouse the avarice and cupidity of the Spaniards ; they were, or fancied they were, in the very midst of inexhaustible treasure ; they had but to put forth their hands and take of the fruit of the tree of mercenary life.
Cortes and some of his officers expressed a strong desire to be- hold the famous temple of Ca, to which allusion has already been made, and Montezuma, so far from offering any opposition, most courteously acceded to their request. Amid an astounding display of pomp he himself led them to the sacred pile. It was approached by an ascent of 114 steps. From the top of the temple Montezuma showed them the whole of the city — a panorama unequalled in the world. Most of the city was within the lake to which those dykes conducted, each ^one having a drawbridge to cut off communication with the mainland when it might be thought desirable to do so. Montezuma conducted his visitors to the temple of the god of war, also to the temple of the god of the infernal regions — both these gods were sup- posed to be brothers, as if war and the devil had something to do with one another, and their temples, as an old writer informs us, were " full of a deadly stench, caused by the men there sacrificed."
Montezuma having thus courteously entreated his guests, gave them into the charge of his nephews, with strict injunctions to behave to them respectfully and hospitably. Cortes and his chief officers were lodged in a palace which had formerly been inhabited by Montezuma's father, and the soldiers were all freely and comfortably quartered.
It seems not only cruel but atrociously wicked of the Spaniards to accept of this gratuitous kindness, knowing well, as they did, what they purposed doing ; but the spell of gold was upon them — they were overcome of Mammon —
" The least erected spirit in heaven,
For even in heaven his looks and thoughts were alway downward bent, Admiring more the riches of heaven's pavement, trodden gold, Than aught divine or holy."
Of all the princes who had swayed the Mexican sceptre Montezuma was the most haughty, the most violent, the most spirited. He was impatient of control ; his subjects looked up to him with awe, and his enemies with terror. The former he governed with unexampled
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rigour ; but they were impressed with so high an opinion of his capa- city that they offered no opposition. As to the neighbouring princes, ho
MEXICAN IDOL AND ALTAR.
defeated them in almost every battle that was fought, until resistance to the great Montezuma appeared to be madness. But though the talents of Montezuma might be admirably adapted to the transaction
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of affairs of state in a country like Mexico, they were altogether in- adequate to a conjuncture so extraordinary as that of the arrival and haughty demands of the strangers. From the instant the Spaniards appeared on his coasts the king began to exhibit symptoms of embar- rassment and timidity. Instead of taking such resolutions as the consciousness of his own power or the memory of his former exploits might have inspired, he deliberated with an anxiety and hesitation which did not escape the attention of his meanest courtiers. Some- thing of superstition there was mixed up with this strange irresolution on the part of the king. The people, as well as their monarch, felt that some great calamity was impending. There was a belief that a formidable race of invaders should one day come from towards the regions of the rising sun and overrun and desolate their country. The daring behaviour of the Spaniards favoured the idea that these were the men of whom their oracle had spoken, and although Montezuma talked in a vain rage about sacrificing these insolent men to the honour of the gods, he made no show of resistance when they made their appearance.
So the Spaniards settled in Montezuma's capital, and professed to be devoutly religious men — men who if they stole a pig would certainly devote the trotters to God's glory. Thus it came to pass one day that as the soldiers were searching about for a place to make a Christian church in, they broke through into an apartment the door of which had been lately closed up, and there they found a great quantity of gold and jewels, for it was the chief treasure- chamber of Montezuma. They saw the rich nuggets and the sparkling gems — they felt the desire to appropriate all they saw, but Cortes did not think the affair was yet sufficiently ripe for an open display of violence. They consequently reclosed the apartments, but forgot no more than did Fatiina what the secret chamber held.
Cortes was determined to obtain possession of the person of the monarch. With Montezuma once fairly, or foully, in his hands, he felt certain that he could obtain what terms he pleased to demand. It was about this time that he received intelligence that some of the men he had left at Vera Cruz had been killed by the Indians, who had thus convinced themselves that the new comers were really mortal, of which they had entertained fears and doubts. The news enraged the Spanish captain, and afforded him a pretext for quarrel. Sending a message to Montezuma to the effect that he desired an immediate interview, he,
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accompanied by five or six chosen officers, went down to the emperor's palace, and there loudly upbraided him with breach of faith. He was resolved, he said, that the king should submit to be his prisoner, a hostage for the safety of the Spaniards, or that he would take prompt and deadly vengeance. The defiant tones and the angry gestures of the Spaniards intimidated the Mexican king ; and their language, which was interpreted to him by the woman Marina, convinced him that they were thoroughly in earnest, and that if he refused their terms, or, at the least, to hold parley with them, his own life was not worth five minutes' purchase. The Spanish heroes played with their swordhilts in a menacing way that was very suggestive of murder, saying — " Let us end this matter with the sword."
Montezuma excused himself with regard to the Yera Cruz massacre, promising satisfaction, and urging that it was improper and unparalleled to make prisoner of a king with whom no quarrel existed ; he was willing that his son and two daughters should be placed in the charge of Cortes and should be regarded as hostages. Cortes flatly refused ; either the king should be made prisoner or die. Seeing that none but this fatal alternative was accorded to him, Montezuma reluctantly consented, and was carried prisoner to the quarters which he had himself assigned for the accommodation of his Spanish visitors. There a guard was put upon him, but it was kept secret that he was a prisoner for fear of the people.
To the quarters of Cortes, whither it was supposed the emperor had resorted in honour and good fellowship to the Spaniards, princes and lords came from vast distances to have audience ; they entered the presence of the sovereign barefooted, not coming straightforward, but sidling, with their eyes fixed on the ground ; all their rich garments were left in an outer chamber, and they came before the king as his poor subjects, bowing till their foreheads nearly touched the ground. These men, who regarded their king as almost divine, were totally unsuspicious of his real position in Cortes' quarters. That he should submit to bondage would have seemed to them a thing incredible, and that which must at all hazards be revenged ; but Montezuma was some- what of a coward, and knowing that any disclosure on his part, though it might end in sweeping away the Spaniards, would, nevertheless, be the occasion of his own immediate destruction, forbore to disclose anything. Four principal men who had been associated with the massacre at Vera Cruz were captured and burnt alive ! Montezuma
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asked leave once to go out a-hunting, and another time to the temple ; both requests were granted, but he was attended by a guard of 150 Spaniards, and notice was given him that any attempt to escape, or any commotion amongst the people, would result in his own instant death.
But Cacaniazia, King of Tescuco, ascertained that his uncle Monte- "iima was a prisoner ; he conceived a plan for effecting his rescue, and at the same time crowning himself as emperor. This design he com- municated to the nephews of Montezuma, who by some means let their uncle know. He informed Cortes of the particulars and advised that they should all be arrested, which was accordingly done by his authority. The imprisonment of these great men emboldened Cortes to demand of Montezuma that he should swear fealty to the King of Spain, and he, after much hesitation and long conference with his principal caciques, resolved to do it. This he did in all due form, promising to pay a tribute, with the tears standing in his eyes, and the same was done by the petty kings subject to him.
Cortes seeing so much gold must now needs know where they found it, and Montezuma sent some Indians with Spanish officers to three several places, who returned with a very large quantity of golddust, which the Indians had gathered in the sands of certain rivers. After this, Montezuma, by way of tribute to the King of Spain, made a present to him of all his father's treasure, which was shut up in the apartment of which mention has already been made. Many of the caciques also offered splendid jewels and golddust. All the gold being melted into plates by the king's officers and sealed, there was found to be the value of 600,000 pieces of eight, whereof one-fifth part being deducted for the king, and another fifth for Cortes, the rest was divided amongst the men.
A foolish act of bravado, or what Cortes might have described as an excess of religious zeal, nearly led to a great outbreak amongst the people. Over one of the heathen temples a cross was raised, which so excited the indignation of the priests that they provoked the people to the very point of rebellion. Montezuma, who saw the danger, advised Cortes to begone, but the wily Spaniard declared it to be impossible ; he had destroyed his ships, and must wait till he could build others. Montezuma commanded that the vessels might be prepared, and the work was carried on as speedily as might be.
This being the posture of affairs in Mexico, and Velasquez under-
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standing that Cortes had sent deputies to the emperor with rich presents without taking notice of him, he fitted out nineteen sail, with 1,420 pieces of cannon, and sent them under the command of Pamphilo de Narvaez,
with whom went an oydore or judge of San Domingo to mediate between Velasquez and Cortes, since it had been in his power to hinder him from setting out. The fleet coining into the port of St. John de Neva, Monte-
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zuina had notice of it, the Indians bringing an elaborate painting of the whole of the shipping, which "told the news as plainly as a telegram. Alarmed at the trouble which might ensue, he sent a rich present with friendly overtures to Narvaez, for he had learnt thoroughly by this time that nothing would satisfy these white men but yellow gold.
In answer to his message and present, Montezuma received word from Narvaez that this Ferdinand Cortes was a rebel and a traitor — a runaway subject, destitute of all authority to act on behalf of the King of Spain — and that he, Narvaez, as the true and well-accredited servant of that distinguished monarch, had been commissioned to arrest the traitor, and to restore Montezuma himself to immediate liberty and to the enjoyment of all his former possessions. All this Montezuma related to Cortes, who wrote to Narvaez entreating him not to raise the city against him, promising all fair terms, offering to him all the portion of land that had yet been subdued, and offering to retire to another province. Montezuma in the meanwhile was set at liberty, although he was strictly watched.
Narvaez refused to listen to any compromise, and declared his inten- tion of marching upon the city of Mexico. Cortes saw plainly the dangerous position in which he was placed, lie must either surrender or fight, and the former was not in his nature. Leaving his friend and comrade Pedro de Alvarado to re-secure the person of Montezuma, and obtaining the assistance of some 6,000 Indians, he marched out with his little fores to give battle to Narvaez, upon whom he "fell suddenly in the dead of night, completely routed his troops, and made of himself a prisoner." The next day all the soldiers of the adverse party took an oath to be obedient to him, and thus his forces were strengthened and also with the addition of nineteen ships. But in the midst of his triumph he received intelligence from Pedro de Alvarado of a revolt in the city, and without hesitation he marched at the head of all his forces upon Mexico, which he entered in triumph. To Montezuma, who came forth to the palace courtyard to meet him, he refused any word of greeting or of friendly feeling, accusing him of maliciously correspond- ing with Narvaez and fomenting rebellion.
At this slight nothing could exceed the indignation of the Mexican king ; with heart and soul he incited his people — quietly, surreptitiously, but none the less effectually — to rout out the Spaniards. The civil war in the city of Mexico became serious ; the Indians, with pikes and slings and darts, attacked all the Spanish quarters, and it was obvious to
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Cortes that something must be done immediately or that all would be lost. So he brought forth Montezuma and instructed him to tell the people to desist.
The monarch did the bidding of his conqueror, and with bowed heads and in deep silence the Mexicans obeyed. Then Cortes directed the king to speak well of the Spaniards, and the king did so. This was too much ; they saw the man they had once respected had no longer respect for himself ; they felt the deep indignity, and with a wild cry the battle recommenced. The first to fall was Montezuma. The people saw him in his death agony ; the superstition of their creed taught them that Heaven's vengeance would fall upon them, for they had slain their king, so they turned and fled.
Hearing that a new king had been elected, Cortes acquainted him with Montezuma's death, and sent him his body that it might be honourably buried ; he then demanded of the Mexicans that they should put one of Montezuma's sons in possession of the empire, because he whom they had chosen was no lawful emperor, renewing his demands for peace and offering to depart from Mexico. Instead of peace they fell so furiously upon his quarters that many of his soldiers were killed, whereupon the next day he marched out with all his forces to be revenged, burnt a number of houses and killed an abundance of Indians, but with great loss on his side. Perceiving that it was impossible he should be able to withstand so vast a number of enemies, provisions and powder also growing scarce, Cortes resolved on taking his departure from Mexico. As an act of vengeance he put to death all Montezuma's kindred and the caciques who had been taken prisoners, and then, on Thursday, the 10th of July, 1520, when the Indians least expected it, he began his march silently out of the city, carrying with him a wooden bridge to pass over those places where the banks were broken down.
As the troops of Cortes were passing over the banks at midnight, though it was very dark, the Indians perceived them, and attacking them both by land and from the canals in a great number of boats, killed at least twenty Spaniards, part with the sword and part drowned in the water, besides several prisoners, the canal being choked with dead men and horses.
It was in this engagement that Pedro de Alvarado took a wonderful leap to escape falling into the hands of the enemy. The place was for many years known as " Alvarado's Leap."
Having passed the bridge, Cortes came in all haste to Tabasco, still
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pursued by the Indians, who harassed his rear and fell upon the sick and wounded. He found the people of Tabasco all in arms against him, and was forced to retreat by the by-roads. In a deserted temple he
found a temporary refuge for his exhausted men, and on the site of this temple a Christian church was afterwards erected and dedicated to Our Lady de Remedias. The flight from Mexico, the long pursuit,
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81
••^;:
LJ L !
PLAN OF THE CITY OF MEXICO.
the terrible loss sustained, caused the occasion to be called the Dismal Night, " because," says an old writer, " of the great slaughter, especially of those who forwarded their own deaths by not forsaking their gold."
G
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The Spaniards continued their retreat, still facing the Mexicans at intervals, and standing as it were at bay. On the 14th of July there was a very remarkable battle, and the slaughter was great on both sides, after which, upon a muster, there were found but 440 Spaniards. This small body continued to retreat to Tlascala. 'I here they were rein- forced by 120 meu and seventeen horse, Francis de Garay having sent three ships to take possession of the river of Panuco ; the soldiers meeting with more opposition than they expected, went all over to Cortes,
Cortes now thought good to send away some officers and soldiers, part into Spain and part to Hispaniola and Cuba, to make known what he had done up to that time, and some to Jamaica to buy horses. There was also another arrival of soldiers from Spain, so that on the 28th of December he marched with tolerable confidence on Tescuco. There he was honourably received by seven of the principal lords of the country and the petty king, who gave him a gold banner. Some days after, finding himself strong, having received other recruits, brought by the king's treasurer in one ship, and thirteen brigantines he had caused to be built being ready, he resolved on subduing the country and ascer- taining the best way of laying siege to Mexico.
Accordingly he set out on the 5th of April, 1521, with 365 Spaniards and above 20,000 armed Indians, besides those who followed the army " like crows, only to glut themselves with man's flesh." After subduing Tespullan, passing forward through Cornavaca, he overthrew the Mexicans in a sanguinary battle, but they bringing fresh forces into the field attacked the Spaniards several times, and Cortes retired to Tescuco. There, hearing that certain friends of Jvarvaez were conspiring against him, he had every one of them hanged.
Upon a muster at Whitsuntide, 1521, Cortes found he had eighty- four horse, 050 foot, armed with sword and lance, and 194 with fire- arms. He took 150 of these and distributed them amongst the brigan- tines, each of which carried twelve oars ; the rest of his men he divided into nine companies, giving one man the chief commaml o er three of them. Hi- ordered 8,000 Tlascalans to besiege Izta}>a,lapa. Cuibacan, and Tacuba, and broke down the aqueduct of Chapultepeth, that carried water to Mexico. He went in his brigantinos about the lake, and, sinking several canoes of Indians, made his way « v< r to Iztapalapa to relieve (iouzalo de Sandoval, who was beset by the Mexicans. Having brought him off, he sent him to attack the biu>K of Tcpeaquilla,
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afterwards called the Causeway of Our Lady of Guadaloupe, whilst, dividing his forces into three parts, and backed by the brigantines, he went to assault the Mexicans. The Spaniards could do but little,, because at night they lost all the ground they had gained upon the causeways; for all the houses being encompassed with water, with trenches cut about them, the Indians opened them at night that the men and horses might fall in.
On the 24th of June the Spaniards were attacked on all sides, and although they kept their ground with comparatively small loss, Cortes saw that these repeated engagements were acting prejudicially upon his forces, and resolved on a sudden assault upon Mexico. The three little squadrons advanced three several ways, but all to no purpose, for Cortes pushing forward upon one of the causeways, whither he had been beguiled by the Indians, preferring to fall back, was borne down in the water and mud, wounded in the leg, and lost sixty of his men as prisoners. The other squadrons fared no better. The Spanish prisoners were all sacrificed by the Indians to the god Huychilobos, the bodies being afterwards cast out to be devoured by wild beasts, with the exception of the legs and arms, which the Mexicans reserved to be eaten with chilmole or hot sauce.
After these severe losses the Spaniards were almost entirely forsaken by their Indian allies, and made but small progress against the Mexi- cans. Cortes in vain made application to the king for peace, who daily grew more obstinate. He therefore again sought alliance with the Indians, and with their help caused the city to be simultaneously assaulted at three different points. The attack was successful : Cortes penetrated to the temple of Tlarelullo, on which he set up his colours. The king retired to the port, where the dykes were opened and the houses surrounded by water, but the Spaniards kept up a deadly and constant fire. At last the unhappy prince fell into the hands of Cortes, and when brought before him made a noble defence which should have brought the Castilian blood into his face. The prisoner acknowledged his crime : it was that of defending his own land and his father's lands against the depredations of strangers. He had failed, and all he asked was that he who had taken all would with his own sword take his prisoner's life. Cortes spared him for some time, only to make the bitterness of death more terrible in the end.
After cleansing the streets and removing the dead bodies, the next thing was the torturing of the hero of Tescuco to oblige him to dis-
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cover where the gold was hid, all they had found being worth but 386,000 crowns. In this work there was no delay on the part of the Spaniards. They had come to seek for gold, and gold they were resolved on having. When the Spaniards were resolved they did not hesitate as to the means, whether they had to deal with heathen Indians or Christian Netherlander. At the sack of Antwerp, the famous — rather infamous — Spanish Fury, the acts of diabolical cruelty com- mitted make the heart turn sick. There seems something in the Spanish nature more bitterly and fiercely cruel than is to be found in any other so-called civilised people. To Spain the world was indebted for the Inquisition, the institution of the holy office which tortured and killed so many thousands of hapless beings on charges of heresy. The rack, the whec4, the fire, the sword, the multiform varieties of exquisite torment, were never in the whole world's history so freely shown as in that of Spain. Unhappy Mexicans to fall into the hands of such apostolic missionaries ! Then the city was rebuilt that it might be again inhabited, and several commanders were sent to subdue other provinces. Cortes had in a great measure completed his bloody work, and there was a .glut of gold — gold as common as stones in the street. All sorts of stories about the inexhaustible wealth of Mexico went forth — some of them grossly exaggerated, some of them below the truth, but all representing the conquered city as the golden capital of a golden land.
Peter Bercius, John and .Theodore de Bry, quoted by De Ovalla, spoke in the strongest terms of the wealth of the people. There is the report of a garden which belonged to one of their kings, in which all the forms of vegetation, herb, bush, shrub, tree, fruit, flowers, sprang from the earth, or were so represented as to deceive the eye in shapes of massy gold. In the royal houses also these were made entirely of precious stones ; so much had they of gold that not only was it the common custom to eat off gold plate, but they made their tables of gold, their chairs of gold, their sofas of gold ; they dwelt in literally golden houses. One of the historians tells us that a great deal of this fell to the Spaniards on the conquest of America, but that " the best part was hid and concealed by the Indians, which to this day they keep undiscovered, being in that way intractable and extremely close."
Among other precious pieces of gold-work, says Ovalla, authors make particular mention, and admire with reason the chain which the King Guaynacapa, the eleventh King of Peru, caused to be made at the birth of his son Guascar, who was to inherit the crown, for each
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link of it was as ' big as the wrist of a man, and as long as twice the length of the (Irande Plac.e of Cusco, which in all might be about seven hundred feet long. Two hundred Indians could but just lift it up from the ground. The boy so honoured was called by a name sig- nificant of the golden castle. "The chief motive the king had," says our author, " to order this chain to be made was that the dances which were to be made at his birth might be more solemn, and worthy of his royal person ; because the manner of dancing with the Indians is to take one another by the hand and make a circle, so moving two steps forward and one backward, draw closer and closer to the king to make their obeisances, and the king caused this chain to be made for them to take hold of instead of taking hold of one another."
The ancient histories of Mexico make particular mention of a flood, probably a tradition of the Noahic deluge ; they state that in that awful calamity all men and beasts perished, except one man and one woman, who were saved in a boat. The man was called Coxcox and the woman Chichquerzue. This couple coming to the foot of a mountain, called Culhuacan, went ashore, and there had many children, who were all born dumb. When they were multiplied to a great number, one day a pigeon came, and from the top of a tree gave them their speech ; but not one of them understood the other's language, and therefore they dispersed, each one going his several way to take possession of a new country. About fifteen heads of families joined together reached the place now called Mexico : this was in the year answering to the year of the world 1325. This was said to be the beginning of the Mexican empire, but little beyond the wildest tradition is known respecting its early progress.
Of the known Emperors of Mexico we have, according to Mexican tradition — Acamapictli, the first king elected when they established themselves on the lake. Hutzizhuitl, son of the former, who obtained the crown not by hereditary descent, but through the elections of elders and chiefs of the republic. Chimalpopoca, brother of the former, who suffered the greatest indignities from his brother-in-law, Maxtla, Emperor of Azcapuzalco. Izcohuatl, son of the former King Acamapictli, elected on account of the valour and credit he had manifested while captain-general of the armies. Moctecuhzma (or Montezuma) th First; he was elected on account of his extreme bravery and merit. His name signifies angry man ; he was Ilhmcamiua, or the man who shoots arrows to heaven. Axayacatl was his successor,
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followed by Tizoc, who paid the penalty of his effeminate habits with his life. He was succeeded by his brother Ahuizotl, who in turn yielded the throne to the famous Montezuma, against whom the Spanish General Cortes was now to wage battle. At his death, the war with the Spaniards being as yet unfinished, Cuitlahuatlan was proclaimed king, and soon afterwards was made prisoner, and finally executed by the command of his captor.
After the conquest by Cortes, Mexico was made a province, or, as it was called, a Corregimiento of New Spain. It is described by the old writers as being 313 miles long in a direct line from S.W. to N.E., from the port of San Diego de Acapulco in the South Sea to the bay or lake of Panuco, near the north. It is bounded, they tell us with marvellous circumspection, by the province and bishopric of Mechoacan on one side, and on the other by the province of Tlaxcala, a line being drawn through these from E.S.E. to W. Its width is thirty-seven leagues, forming an irregular figure, for being narrow in the strip on the South Sea coast, it continues widening as it reaches north.
The following description of the city of Mexico will not be read without interest : — The plan of the city is square ; its diameter within the gates is 4,340 Spanish yards from north to south, and 3,640 from east to west ; the ground is level, the streets straight, and drawn at right-angles, being a little more than fourteen yards wide. The town is surrounded with a wall of uncemented stones, and the channels which lead from the lake disperse their waters in various small canals, which flow through some beautiful streets, and are covered with craft and canoes, which every day appear loaded with supplies of fruit, flowers. &c., and make their way up as far as the walls of the palace of the viceroy, which is situated in the Plaza Mayor. The buildings are magnificent, and some of them of the most beautiful architecture. There are different markets, where may be found a regular supply of everything that the people can require. The city is approached by seven stone causeways, which are — Guadalupe to the north, Tacusa to the west, San Antonio to the south, built by the Indians, and the others by the Spaniards being La Piedad, Ascapuscalo, Tacuba, Santiago, and Chapultepeth. The whole of the city is paved, the principal streets with freestone, some of them being provided with proper drainage.
In the city of Mexico there are several fine fountains, the waters of which come from various parts ; the best and sweetest are said to
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be those of Santa Fe, a settlement some two leagues distant from the city, the water being conveyed upon an aqueduct of more than nine hundred arches, each of eight yards wide. Another aqueduct, similar to this, comes from the pool of Chapultepec, about a league distant, and formerly there was one towards the south, through Churrobusco, of which nothing but the vestige remains.
There were and still are several fine promenades in the city, and various places of amusement.
Independently of the title of the most noble, most loyal, renowned, and imperial city, there was conceded to Mexico by Charles V., in 1523, the title of Cabeza y Corte del Keyno (head and court of the kingdom), who also granted to it the liberty of using the arms which it had in the early times, the which were a shield with a castle of three towers, an eagle upon a tuna-tree with a snake in its beak ; at the foot of the tree ran some waters ; on the side without the shield were two lions, and upon the top a crown ; also, by a schedule of the 4th of July of the same year, there were further conceded for the arms of the corporation arid the city a blue shield of the colour of water, to represent the lake ; a gold castle in the middle, and three bridges of stone leading to it, the two side bridges not quite touching the castle, and upon each a lion, standing, and having his feet upon the bridge and his talons on the castle, and within the orle were ten golden tuna-leaves, and above all the imperial crown.
In 1530 the same emperor granted to the city the title and privileges of Burgos Cabeza de Castillio, and in 1548 the titles of most noble, most loyal, and most illustrious. It also enjoyed the privilege of being called the Grande de Espana, and the Senor Don Carlos III. granted in 1773 to the persons belonging to the chapter the use of gold em- broidery on their official dresses.
Of the gold captured in the sack of Mexico, two shiploads were sent to Castile, being all that remained of Montezuma's private treasure. The present or tribute, or whatever it might be called, was accompanied by a petition that he might be appointed to the govern- ment of New Spain. Unfortunately both for Cortes and the king, neither the present nor the petition reached their proper destination. The two vessels were seized by a French privateer, and the golden stream was diverted into a French channel.
" By St. Denis," quoth the King of France, " our German emperor and cousin of Portugal seem to be for dividing the New World between
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them. It would pleasure me to see Adam's last will, that I might be certain they are his rightful legatees."
Returning to Spain, Cortes was at first honourably received, treated with distinction, and was furthermore entrusted with command ; but he was surrounded by detractors who filled the king's ears with base insinuations, and at last he fell into neglect. Spain was careless of her benefactors when they had accomplished her work. Columbus had died of a broken heart, and Nunez as a felon. What could Cortes expect? There is a story told that one day he forced his way through the crowd that had collected about the royal carriage, mounted the step, and looked in. Astonished at so gross a breach of etiquette, the monarch demanded to know who he was.
" I am a man," replied the Mexican conqueror, " who has given you more provinces than your ancestors left you cities !"
After this Cortes secluded himself from society, and died in 1554 a disappointed man.
That Hernan Cortes was a man of considerable ability, great daring, and physical courage, there can be no question ; but he lacked a proper regard for justice and humanity. He accomplished much for Spain, and Spanish ingratitude was his reward ; but towards the native races with whom he had to deal there was no sparing, no mercy, no apparent sense of right.
"While Cook is loved for savage lives lie saved, See Cortes odious for a world enslaved ; Where wast thou, then, sweet Charity, where then, Thou tutelary friend of helpless men ? Wast thou in monkish cells and nunneries found, Or building hospitals on English ground ? No ; Mammon makes the world his legatee, Through fear, not love ; and Heaven abhors the fee. Wherever found (and all men need thy care), Nor age nor infancy could find thee there. The hand that slew till it could slay no more, Was glued to the sword-hilt with Indian gore. Their prince, as j ustly seated on his throne As vain imperial Philip on his own, Tricked out of all his royalty by art, That stripped him bare, and broke his honest heart, Died by the senteace of a shaven priest, For scorning what they taught him to detest. How dark the veil that intercepts the blaze Of Heaven's mysterious purposes and ways !
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 91
God stood not, though He seemed to stand, aloof,
And at this hour the conqueror feels the proof ;
The wreath he won drew down an instant curse,
The fretting plague is in the public purse :
The cankered spoil corrodes the pin'u: state,
Starved by that indolence their minds create.
Oh ! could their ancient Incas rise a^a n,
How would they take up Israel's taunting strain !
Art thou, too, fallen, Iberia ? Do we see
The robber and the murderer weak as we ?
Thou that hast wasted earth, and dare 1 despise
Alike the wrath and mercy of the skies,
Thy pomp is in the grave, thy glor - laid
Low in the pits thine avarice has made.
We come with joy from our eternal rest
To see the oppressor in his tur j. oppret sad.
Art thou the god the thunder of whose hand
Rolled over all our desolated land,
Shook principalities and kingdoms down,
And made the mountains tremble at Ins frown ?
The sword shall light upon thy boasted powers,
And waste them, as thy sword ha3 wasted oars.
'Tis thus Omnipotence His law fulfils,
And vengeance executes what justice wills." — COWPER.
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CHAPTER IV.
Francisco Pizarro and tlio Discovery of Peru — Advances into the Country — The Incas — March from St. Miguel to Caxamarca — Description of the City — Meeting with the Inca — Perfidy of Pizarro — Cruel Massacre of the Peru- vians— Imprisonment of the Inca — Enormous Hansom — Pizarro' s Refusal to fulfil his Promise — Fate of the Inca — Berralcazar attacks Quito — Quarrel with Alvarado — Arrangement for the Government of Peru— Almagro marches on Chili — The Siege of Cuzco — Negotiations between Pizarro and Almagro — Civil War— Vasca de Castro sent out from Spam — Death of Almagro — Ambitious Schemes of the Governor — Gonzalo Pizarro — Orellano — Treachery —The End of Pizarro. •
r\ OLD was the Alpha and the Omega of the Spanish and Portuguese
" desire. With whatever pretext they set forth, the enriching of themselves with the treasures of the New World was its real object. Since Nunez de Balboa had received hints of the vast wealth to be found beyond the South Sea, gold-seeking had been the ardent passion of every adventurer, and to obtain it they were ready to commit any act of atrocity or to endure any amount of toil and privation. East of Panama, it was said, were the gold regions ; but much of disappointment had attended many of the expeditions, and the wliite men were begin- ning to doubt the truth of the Indians, and to imagine that the natives had exaggerated the treasures of their country. Not so thought Fran- cisco Pizarro, Diego do Almagro, and Ilernando Luque.
Pizarro was of mean birth, and in his childhood had been employed by a swineherd. Education of a literary nature he had none ; he could neither write nor read, and it is said that his bitter hatred against the unhappy Inca Atahualpa was intensified by the monarch discovering his ignorance. Early in life Pizarro had become associated with the camp followers, being engaged in any coarse, rough work that might be assigned him ; but his soldierlike qualities., endurance, courage, deter- mination, brought him into notice, and the expeditions to the New World offered unusual facilities for making the fortune of an aspiring man. Diego de Almagro, like Pizarro, was of obscure birth, and had only through much hardship obtained military distinction. As to Hernando Luque, he was a priest who had amassed a considerable amount of wealth. These three men formed a confederacy which was authorised by Governor Pedrarias at Panama.
The first attempts of these men in seeking the gold regions were
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attended with but small success. They heard much but found little. Just as they had resolved on a renewed effort of a bolder and more extensive character than had yet been attempted, a new governor was appointed at Panama, and he looked with suspicion on their movements. He was inclined to regard Francisco Pizarro as a dangerous man for a young colony ; he was therefore ordered home, an order which he flatly refused to obey. His friends were deterred by his daring obstinacy, all but thirteen of his soldiers forsook him, and the fortunes of Pizarro were seriously overcast. At last, however, he obtained a ship and discovered the coast of Peru, where he found the natives far more civilised than he had seen in any other part of the New World, and that gold and silver were to be obtained in profusion. Thus encouraged, he ventured to return to Panama to seek assistance and obtain if possible the counte- nance of the governor ; but the governor was inflexible. Nothing daunted, Pizarro made a voyage to Spain, and there so represented the matter to the king that he obtained authority from the sovereign to take possession of Peru in the royal name. Careful that this authority should be conferred upon himself, Pizarro neglected his brother adven- turers ; and although he renewed the confederacy, required them to recognise in him their chief.
On returning to Panama, Pizarro and his companions set sail for Peru. Their whole force amounted to three vessels and a hundred and eighty soldiers. Dropping down, like birds of prey, on many small and undefended places on the Peruvian coast, they speedily enriched them- selves with spoil, despatching some of it to Panama, and receiving from thence a reinforcement of thirty men. Advancing into the country, Pizarro ascertained that the people were governed by Incas, who were not only regarded as earthly rnonarchs but as heavenly kings. They were accounted divine, and their origin was traced to the sun. Pizarro had established his quarters at a place called St. Miguel, but he resolved on marching upon the capital, which bore the name of Caxa- marca.
The march led the adventurers through a totally unknown country across rivers and lakes, through vast forests, and over stupendous mountains ; the country was thickly inhabited by a people who, with- out much difficulty, might have crushed the mere handful of men that had ventured amongst them. It was reported that the royal forces at Caxamarca amounted to no less than fifty thousand trained warriors, while the Spanish force consisted of less than two hundred. The
THE GOLDEN" AMERICAS. 95
followers of Pizarro hesitated ; they saw the tremendous risk, and were for turning back upon St. Miguel, but Pizarro silenced them. Assem- bling his troops, he declared that a crisis had now arrived which it required all their courage to meet. No man should think of going forward on this expedition who could not do so with his whole heart ; let those who had misgivings as to the success of the adventure turn back. No shame should be cast on them, and their rights to spoil should be fully recognised. It was now possible for them to return ; in a few days it would be impossible. St. Miguel was now within reach ; it was but poorly garrisoned ; let those who would without fear go back ; as for himself, h* should go forward. Nine persons only availed themselves of this pe*«ri»sion — four belonged to the infantry and five to the cavalry. The rest applauded their leader's resolution, and determined to follow him.
"Lead on !" they shouted ; " lead on wherever you think best ; we will follow with good will, and you shall see that we can do our duty."
Before theirf were the mighty Andes, a formidable barrier between them and the spoil they sought, but the ascent was made without much difficulty, and the descent was easy and rapid. There, shining like a golden city in the dark skirts of the Sierra, was Caxamarca.
Beautiful was the city of Caxamarca. Backed by a wood of dark old trees, and seen from distant mountain-tops, it sparkled in the sun- beams like a monarch's signet-ring — a city of gold ! On the slope of the surrounding hills stretched the white tents of the people, as thick, it is said, as snowflakes. The Inca sent a message to Pizarro, inquiring his intentions, and demanded whether he came as an enemy or a friend. To this the wily Spaniard answered that he came with the most kindly feelings, that he was sent with loving words from a powerful sovereign, and had news to tell which would rejoice the heart of the Inca. Atahualpa — for such was the Inca's name — believed it all. So a meeting was appointed and fixed.
While the Inca prepared his retinue to appear with becoming magnificence, Pizarro thought of a dark and shameful scheme. He knew well the advantage of having the Inca in his power, so he resolved to act a traitor's part, and with a smiling face to seize on the unsuspecting monarch.
Saturday, the 16th November, 1532, was a bright and beautiful day. The clouds passed away, and the sun rose brightly on the city. The shrill trumpets called the Spaniards to arms. Every arrangement
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was made to carry out the scheme of Pizarro. The soldiers were con- cealed, but so as they could rush forth at a moment's notice. Pizarro examined their arms himself, and saw they were in good order. Every breastplate was garnished with bells. A great feast was prepared; but before this was served mass was performed with great solemnity,
imd the soldiers sang the saintly song, " Else, O Lord, and judge Thine own cause !" One might have thought them a company of martyrs, instead of a lawless band of men whose god was gold.
It was late in the day before the Peruvians advanced towards them, nnd then the Indian procession was seen approaching. In front there came a large body of attendants, sweeping every particle of dust from the road. Then came the Inca, sitting on a throne, and borne on the
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shoulders of his principal nobles. His throne was covered with plates of gold and silver, and enriched with precious stones, while the royal robe was studded with jewels that blazed like the sun. Thirty thou- sand soldiers and followers spread themselves over the fields and around the Inca, and as far as the eye could reach over the broad meadows were seen the stately forms of the Peruvians. The utmost grandeur was exhibited by them all, and gold seemed to them as the sand of the seashore, and jewels as leaves in the forests.
The Spaniards little expected that the Inca would come so well attended, and were ready to give up their scheme; but suddenly Atahualpa sent a message, saying he should stop that night at a neighbouring city. Pizarro gladly received the news. Once again he addressed his men, once more circulated his orders, and as the evening shadows stole over the earth every Spanish soldier had taken Ms allotted place. And the Inca entered the city. His slaves sang songs of triumph, " which in our ears," says one of the conquerors, " sounded like the songs of hell!" Then came his attendants. Some wore a showy stuff, chequered white and red, like the squares of a chessboard. Others were clad in pure white, bearing banners of silver and copper, and the guards were clothed in blue liveries and wore jewelled earrings.
As the leading lines of the procession entered the Grand Square — larger, says an old chronicler, than any square in Spain — they opened to the right and the left for the royal retinue to pass. But not a Spaniard was to be seen. Atahualpa was clothed like a king ; a crown rested on his head ; his hair was decorated with golden ornaments ; a collar of emerald was around his neck. His appearance, indeed, was magnificent and imposing, and the Spaniards, although well accus- tomed to solemnity and grandeur, could not look upon this wondrous barbarian without some sense of awe.
Casting his glance around the square, he inquired for the strangers as he could not perceive them, and his inquiry being made known, Pizarro's chaplain stepped forward, holding in one hand a book, and in the other a crucifix. In a lengthened speech, directed to the Inca, and which had necessarily to be translated before that potentate could arrive at the least idea of its meaning, he set forth what he called the doctrines of the true faith. He endeavoured to explain the mysteries of the Trinity, the creation, the fall, and the vicarious sufferings of the Redeemer. From this he proceeded to state that a
H
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commission was given to the apostles of Christ to proclaim the Gospel everywhere ; that St. Peter was the prince of the apostles, that he held the keys of heaven, that he ruled the Church on earth through his successors, the Sovereign Pontiffs of Rome ; that these Popes were answerable to no human being for their actions, and might do as'thev would with all the nations of the earth, but that they were always remarkable for clemency, mercy, kindness, and grace ; that in order to benefit the Peruvians and give them an opportunity of acquiring a knowledge of Christianity, and a consequent hope of heaven, one of the Popes had given Peru to the King of Castile, to whom henceforth the Inca would be required to do homage as to his sovereign lord.
The bright eyes of the Inca flashed, and his dark brow grew darker, as he demanded —
" By what right do you tell me these things ?"
" It is written in this book," was the priest's answer, as he exhibited his breviary.
The Inca took it, glanced hurriedly through its pages, which were totally unintelligible to him, then cast it from him in contempt.
"This book," said he, "tells me nothing — it is silent — I know not of your deities, but my God dwells in the heavens."
The fact of the Inca casting away the sacred book was the occasion of an immediate attack by the Spaniards on the Peruvians. " The Word of God is mocked at," they cried — " to arms ! to arms ! Avenge this insult on the impious dogs !"
The signal for assault was given ; the guns were discharged ; the military music sounded ; the cavalry charged fiercely ; the infantry rushed on, sword in hand ; Pizarro himself led a few chosen followers directly towards the Inca, and notwithstanding the noble resistance offered by his attendants, dragged him to the ground, and made him prisoner. The Peruvians, totally unprepared for a struggle, were unable to defend themselves, and fell easy victims to the perfidious and brutal Spaniards. The Grand Square was slippery with blood ; four thousand at least of the unfortunate people were butchered, fire and sack finished the work for the night, and Pizarro found himself, by his coup d'etat, master of the situation.
The unhappy Inca, accustomed all his life to the slavish reverence of his subjects, who held him to be more of a god than a man, was shut up in an apartment twenty- two feet in length and sixteen in breadth, and there treated with but scant courtesy by his conquerors.
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Now, if he had ever doubted what was the main design of the strangers' arrival, he was plainly informed of their object. They had come for gold ; they sought for the hidden treasure ; they were resolved on obtaining gold, if they flooded the land with blood in the search for it ! The old cacique who had told his people that gold was the Christian god was not far wrong.
" A curse on him who found the ore ! A curse on him who digged the store ! A curse on him who did refine it ! A curse on him who first did coin it !"
Atahualpa offered an enormous ransom. He promised to fill the room in which he was confined with golden vessels as high as he could reach. A line was drawn upon the wall to mark the stipulated height, and in due time the enormous mass of treasure was accumulated. After setting aside one-fifth as the king's royalty, and giving a hundred thousand pesos* to the newly-arrived soldiery, there remained for Pizarro and his brother adventurers no less a sum than 1,528,500 pesos !
The ransom being paid, Atahualpa demanded that his captor should fulfil his part of the contract, and give him his liberty. This simply just demand Pizarro flatly refused. It had never been his intention that the Inca should escape. Almagro, the close companion of Pizarro, was very anxious that the captive should be assassinated, but Pizarro was wily, and sought to give a colour of justice to the act, to make the murder judicial, and not a common murder. He was accused of various crimes against Spain, against the Christian religion, against the rule of Pizarro ; he was tried with all the formalities of a Castiliau court of law, and was pronounced guilty. He was condemned to be burnt alive, and ordered for instant execution. The monk who attended him to the stake affected the liveliest interest in his spiritual welfare, and by threats and promises at last induced the Inca to receive the rite of Christian baptism. The miserable king doubtless imagined that his life would be spared if he consented, but the only mitigation of his punishment was that he was strangled at the stake instead of being burnt alive !
There were few or none of the royal seed left. The late Inca had himself murdered those whom he suspected, and Spanish chivalry had
* A peso was at that time worth about twenty shillings of our money.
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either slain or driven away the rest ; so the people, without any recog- nised ruler, offered but a feeble show of resistance to the advance of the Spaniards and Pizarro ; his troops, trebled in number, marched into Cuzco, and took possession of its enormous treasure.
Although an outward friendship existed between Pizarro and Almagro, bo£h of whom received the honour they coveted from King Ferdinand, Almagro had not altogether forgiven or forgotten Pizarro's former cunning in securing emoluments for himself instead of equally sharing with his fellow-adventurer. Pizarro could well understand this, and hated Almagro — it is natural for the wrong- doer to hate the wronged. Pizarro was a man of small jealousies also, as well as of unbounded avarice and cruelty, and he was jealous of Ahnagro's popu- larity. There is a story told of Atahualpa, during his imprisonment, astounded by the use of letters, copying the word Dios on his thumb- nail, and asking the sentry what it meant. Not satisfied, he tried another soldier, and received the same reply. At length he asked Pizarro, who could give no answer, for Tie had never learned to read! We are told that this humiliation, unintentional as it was on the part of the Inca, the Spaniard never forgave. Against Almagro he felt a bitter animosity, just in the same way ; not that the man had done him any wrong, but that Ferdinand had at last made him a sharer in his honour.
Setting himself about the erection of a great city at Lima, Pizarro occupied his time between the carrying on of this work and the regu- lation of his government. Almagro, in the meanwhile, began his march towards Chili with a body of 570 men. The route he adopted was both difficult and dangerous, and his troops suffered severely. On arriving in the plains they were surprised by a far more warlike people than they had yet encountered. Before, however, the result of the contest could be known, Almagro was recalled to Peru.
The Peruvians had revolted against the Spaniards. They had invested Pizarro at Lima, and his brothers Juan Gonzales and Ferdi- dand at Cuzco. More than half of the last-named city was in their possession when Almagro arrived. But he came not only to defeat the Peruvians, but to claim authority in Cuzco. From the court of Spain he had received a royal patent constituting him the governor of a certain district which included Cuzco, at the news whereof the Pizarros refused to yield. Almagro was not a man to be so thwarted. He won over their adherents, seized the city, defeated the Peruvians, asserted
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himself, and let the whole Pizarro family understand that he meant to act on his royal patent.
"Pizarro, with his usual cunning, knowing that the delay of active
measures was the best thing that could be done until he had obtained additional forces, had recourse to arts which he had formerly practised but too successfully — amusing Almagr ; with prospects of settling their
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differences amicably, but constantly shifting his ground — and thus passed away seven months. By utter disregard to truth and honour he obtained the release of his two brothers, the third having been killed by the Peruvians; and they, in conjunction with Alvarado, persuaded sixty of the men who formerly guarded them to accompany them in their flight. Pizarro now threw off the mask of reconciliation, and marched against Almagro, at the head of about seven hundred men. In the plains of Cuzco a very obstinate battle was fought between the two parties, and, notwithstanding the greater number of veterans and cavalry were on the side of Almagro, Pizarro, by the superior number of his forces, and by a skilfully-directed fire from a body of musketeers, obtained a decisive victory, which was used in the most cruel and barbarous manner. Almagro endeavoured to save himself by flight, but was taken prisoner, and guarded with the strictest vigilance. He was kept for several months in suspense, although his doom was fixed, until his soldiers had left Cuzco, when he was impeached of treason, formally tried, and condemned to die. He was strangled in prison, and afterwards publicly beheaded. He left one son, whom he named as successor to his government, pursuant to a power which the emperor had granted him."
Pizarro was fully aware of the critical position in which he had placed himself. One of Almagro's friends was already on his way to Spain, where he would no doubt represent in forcible terms the out- rageous conduct of his enemy. Pizarro therefore himself despatched a messenger with a counter-statement, and the King of Spain, not knowing how to act, but wishing very heartily that the discoverer of Peru was dead, commissioned Yasca de Castro to proceed to Peru and institute an inquiry, but on no account to anger or offend Governor Pizarro should he unfortunately be still alive. If he were dead, Vasca de Castro carried proper credentials by which he was himself constituted to the chief office in the state.
Pizarro, in the meanwhile, being rid of his enemy Almagro, had proceeded to act as though the vast empire of Peru were all his own. He had divided the land amongst his own friends and followers, selecting the best and richest for himself, giving the rest to his adhe- rents, and denying a single acre to any one who had followed Almagro, although they had helped to effect the discovery of the country, and to subjugate its people.
Eapid as had been the progress of the Spaniards in South America
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since Pizarro landed in Peru, their avidity of dominion was not yet satisfied. The officers to whom Ferdinand Pizarro gave the command of different detachments penetrated into several new provinces ; and though some of them were exposed to great hardships in the cold and barren regions of the Andes, and others suffered distress not inferior amidst the woods and marshes of the plains, they made discoveries and conquests which not only extended their knowledge of the country, but added considerably to the territories of Spain in the New World. Pedro de Valdivia took up Almagro's scheme of invading Chili, and, notwith- standing the fortitude of the natives in defending their possessions, made such progress in the conquest of the country that he founded the city of St. Jago, and thus began the establishment of the Spanish dominion in that province.
But of all the enterprises undertaken about this period, that of Gonzalo Pizarro was the most remarkable. The governor, who seems to have resolved that no person in Peru should possess any station of distinguished eminence or authority but those of his own family, had deprived Benalcazar, the conqueror of Quito, of his command in that kingdom, and appointed his brother Gonzalo to conduct its government. He instructed his brother also to attempt the discovery and conquest of the country to the east of the Andes, which, according to the in- formation of the Indians, abounded with cinnamon and other valuable spices. Gonzalo, not inferior to any of his brothers in courage, and no less ambitious of acquiring distinction, eagerly engaged in this difficult service. He set out from Quito at the head of three hundred and forty soldiers, near one-half of whom were horsemen, with four thousand Indians to carry their provisions. In forcing their way through the defiles or over the ridges of the Andes, excess of cold and fatigue, to neither of which they were accustomed, proved fatal to the greater part of their wretched attendants. The Spaniards, though more robust, and inured to a variety of climates, suffered considerably, and lost some men ; but when" they descended into the low country their dis- tress increased. During two months it rained incessantly, without any interval of fair weather long enough to dry their clothes. The immense plans upon which they were now entering, altogether without inhabitants or occupied by the rudest and least industrious tribes in the New World, yielded little subsistence. They could not advance a step but as they cut a road through woods, or made it through marshes. Such incessant toils, and continued scarcity of food, seem more than
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sufficient to have exhausted and dispirited any troops. Allured by frequent and false accounts of rich countries before them, they per- sisted in struggling on until they reached the banks of the Coca, or Napo, one of the large rivers whose waters pour into the Maragnon, and contribute to its grandeur. There, with immense and persevering labour, they built a barque, which they expected would prove of great utility in conveying them over rivers, in procuring provisions, and in exploring the country. This was manned with fifty soldiers, under the command of Francis Orellano, the officer next in rank to Gonzalo Pizarro ; and the stream carried them down with such rapidity, that they were soon far ahead of their countrymen, who followed slowly, and with difficulty, by land.
At this distance from his commander, Orellano, a young man of an aspiring mind, began to fancy himself independent, and, transported with the predominant passion of the age, he formed the scheme of dis- tinguishing himself as a discoverer by following the course of the Maraguon until it joined the ocean, and by surveying the vast regions through which it flows. This scheme of Orellano's was as bold as it was treacherous, for he violated his duty to his commander, and abandoned his fellow-soldiers in a trackless desert, where they had hardly any hopes of success, or even of safety, but what were founded on the service which they expected from the barque ; thus attempting to open his path to glory over the graves of his countrymen. Yet so great was his daring, that he ventured the navigation of nearly six thousand miles, through unknown nations, in a vessel hastily constructed with green timber and by very unskilful hands, without provisions, without a compass, and without a pilot. Committing himself fearlessly to the guidance of the stream, the Napo bore him along to the south until he reached the great channel of the Maragnon. Turning with it towards the coast, he held on his course in that direction. He made frequent descents on both sides of the river, sometimes seizing by force of arms the provisions of the fierce savages seated on its banks, and sometimes procuring a supply of food by a friendly intercourse with more gentle tribes. After a long series of dangers, which he encountered with amazing fortitude, he reached the ocean, where new perils awaited him. These he likewise surmounted, and got safe to the Spanish settlement in the island of Cuba ; from thence he sailed to Spain. The vanity natural to travellers who visit regions unknown to the rest of mankind, and the art of an adventurer solicitous to magnify
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his own merits, concurred in prompting him to mingle an extraordinary amount of the marvellous with the narrative of his voyage. He pre- tended to have discovered nations so rich that the roofs of their temples
were covered with plates of gold, and described a republic of women so warlike and powerful as to have extended their dominion over a considerable tract of the fertile plains which he had visited. Extra-
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vagant as those tales were, they gave rise to an opinion that a region abounding with gold, distinguished by the name of El Dorado, and a community of Amazons were to be found in this part of the New World ; and such is the propensity of mankind to believe what is wonderful, that it has been slowly and with difficulty that reason and observation have exploded such fables. The voyage, however, even when stripped of every romantic embellishment, deserves to be recorded, not only as one of those memorable occurrences of that adventurous age, but as the first event which led to any certain knowledge of the extensive countries that stretch eastward from the Andes to the ocean. No words can describe the consternation of Gonzalo Pizarro on not finding the barque at the confluence of the Napo andMaragnon, where he had ordered Orellano to wait for him. He would not allow himself to suspect that a man whom he had entrusted with such an important command could be so base as to desert him at such a juncture ; but imputing his absence from? the place of rendezvous to some unknown accident, he advanced above fifty leagues along the banks of the Maragnon, expecting every moment to see the barque appear with a supply of provisions. At length he came up with an officer whom Orellano had heartlessly left to perish in the desert, because he had the courage to remonstrate against his perfidy. From him he learned the extent of Orellano's crime, and his followers perceived at once their own desperate situation when deprived of their only resource. The spirit of the stoutest-hearted veteran sank within him, and all demanded to be led back instantly. Gonzalo Pizarro, though he assumed an appearance of tranquillity, did not oppose their inclination. But he was twelve hundred miles from Quito ; and in that long march the Spaniards encountered hardships greater than those they had endured in their progress outward, without the alluring hope which then soothed and animated them under their sufferings. Hunger compelled them to feed on roots and berries, to eat all their dogs and horses, to devour the most loathsome reptiles, and even to gnaw the leather off their saddles and sword-belts. Four thousand Indians and 210 Spaniards perished in this wild, disastrous expedition, which continued nearly two years ; and as fifty men were on board the barque with Orellano, only fourscore got back to Quito. These were naked, like savages, and so emaciated with famine that they had more the appearance of spectres than of men.
During the absence of Gouzalo, Pizarro had been still further involving himself in the most serious difficulties ; making hosts of
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 107
enemies, and growing utterly careless as to all consequences. The adherents of Almagro were not likely to forgive their own injuries, in that they were denied their share of the plunder, even if they forgot the fate of their friend. Young Almagro was greatly beloved — loved for his own sake as well as for that of his father ; he was a young man of prepossessing manners, of soldierly bearing, and generous heart. The Almagrians — many of them reduced to absolute want and burning to revenge themselves on Pizarro — saw in this youth a fit leader for their enterprise.
Rumours of the plot were afloat in Lima ; Pizarro was warned, but he treated the whole matter with contempt, satisfied, as he expressed it, that he was perfectly safe so long as every man in Peru knew that he could in a moment cut off any head which dared to harbour a thought against him.
So the conspirators formed a plan for the assassination of Pizarro. They waited and watched — made no over-haste in the matter ; but when the hour came struck the blow effectually.
As the conspirators traversed the plaza, one of the party made a circuit to avoid a little pool of water that lay in their path. " What !" exclaimed Rada, " afraid of wetting your feet when you are to wade up to your knees in blood !" And he ordered, the man to give up the enterprise, and go home to his quarters. The anecdote is charac- teristic.
The governor's palace stood on the opposite side of the square. It was approached by two courtyards. The entrance to the outer one was protected by a massive gate, capable of being made good against a hundred men or more ; but it was left open, and the assailants, hurrying through to the inner court, still shouting their fearful battle-cry, were met by two domestics loitering in the yard. One of these they struck down. The other, flying in all haste towards the house, called out — " Help ! help ! the men of Chili are all coming to murder the governor"
Pizarro was at this time at dinner, or, more probably, had just dined. He was surrounded by a party of friends, who had dropped in, it seems, after mass, to inquire after the state of his health, some of whom had remained to partake of his repast. Among these was Don Martinez de Alcantura, Pizarro' s half-brother by the mother's side ; the Judge Velasquez, the bishop elect of Quito, and several of the principal cavaliers in the place, to the number of fifteen or twenty. Some of
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them, alarmed by the uproar in the courtyard, left the saloon, and running down to the first landing on the stairway, inquired into the cause of the disturbance. No sooner were they informed of it by the cries of the servant, than they retreated with precipitation into the house ; and, as they had no mind to abide the storm unarmed, or at best imperfectly armed, as most of them were, they made their way to a corridor that overlooked the gardens, into which they easily let them- selves down without injury. Velasquez, the judge, the better to have
THE ESCURIAL, MADRID.
the use of his hands in his descent, held his rod of office in his mouth ; thus taking care, says a caustic old chronicler, not to falsify his assurance that "no harm should come to Pizarro while the rod of justice was in his hands."
Meanwhile the governor, learning the nature of the tumult, called out to Francisco de Chaves, an officer high in his confidence, and who was in the outer apartment opening on the staircase, to secure the door, while he and his brother Alcantura buckled on their armour. Had his order, coolly given, been as coolly obeyed, it would have saved them all, since the entrance could easily have been maintained against a much larger force till the report of the cavalier who had fled had brought support to Pizarro. But, unfortunately, Chaves, disobey-
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 109
ing his commander, half-opened the door, and attempted to enter into a parley with the conspirators. The latter had now reached the head of the stairs, and cut short the debate by running Chaves through the body and tumbling his corpse down into the area below. For a moment they were kept at bay by the attendants of the slaughtered cavalier ; but these, too, were quickly despatched, and Eada and his companions, entering the apartment, hurried across it, shouting out —
" Where is the marquis ? Death to the tyrant !"
Martinez de Alcantura, who, in the adjoining room, was assisting his brother to buckle on his mail, no sooner saw that the entrance to the antechamber had been gained, than he sprang to the doorway of the apartment, and, assisted by two young men, pages of Pizarro's, and by one or two cavaliers in attendance, endeavoured to resist the approach of the assailants. A desperate struggle now ensued. Blows were given on both sides, some of which proved fatal ; and two of the conspirators were slain, while Alcantura and his brave companions were repeatedly wounded.
At length Pizarro, unable, in the hurry of the moment, to adjust the fastenings of his cuirass, threw it away, and enveloping one arm in his cloak, with the other seized his sword, and sprang to his brother's assistance. It was too late ; for Alcantura was already staggering under the loss of blood, and soon fell to the ground. Pizarro threw himself on his invaders like a lion roused in his lair, and dealt his blows with as much rapidity and force as if age had no power to stiffen his limbs.
" What ho!" he cried, " traitors ! have you come to kill me in my own house ?"
The conspirators drew back for a moment, as two of their body fell under Pizarro's sword ; but they quickly rallied, and, from their superior numbers, fought at great advantage by relieving one another in the assault. Still, the passage was narrow, and the struggle lasted for some minutes, till both of Pizarro's pages were stretched by his side, when Kada, impatient of the delay, called out — " Why are we so long about it? Down with the tyrant!" And taking one of his companions, Narvaez, in his arms, he thrust him against the governor.
Pizarro, instantly grappling with his opponent, ran him through with his sword ; but at that moment he received a wound in the throat, and, reeling, he sank on the floor, while the swords of Eada and several of the conspirators were plunged into his body.
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" Jesu !" exclaimed the dying man, and tracing a cross with his finger on the bloody floor, he bent down his head to kiss it, when a stroke more friendly than the rest put an end to his existence.
Waving aloft their blood-stained swords the conspirators rushed into'the streets, declaring what they had done ; they were joined by about two hundred of their friends ; they carried young Almagro in solemn procession through the city ; then assembling the magistrates and powerful citizens, induced them to acknowledge him as his father's successor in the government.
So ended the rule and the lif e of Pizarro — a man of heroic endurance and undaunted courage, but a man who knew neither pity nor remorse. Southey has well written of him —
" Pizarro here was born ; a greater name The list of glory boasts not. Toil and pain, Famine and hostile elements, and hosts Embattled, failed to check him in his course ; Not to be wearied, not to be deterred, Not to be overcome. A mighty realm He overran, and, with relentless aim, Slew or enslaved its unoffending sons, And wealth, and power, and fame were Ids rewards. There is another world beyond the grave, According to their deeds where men are judged. 0 reader ! if thy daily bread be earned By daily labour — yea, however low, However wretched be thy lot assigned, Thank thou, with deepest gratitude, the God Who made thee, that thou art not such as he."
HERALDIC ARMS OF PERU
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. Ill
CHAPTER V.
Pizarro's Successes Excite the Emulation of his Countrymen— u Gaping" after the Eich Land — Peru the Magnet — How Martin de Souza Proposed to Beach the Golden Regions — Concerning Alexis Garcia — A Bold March, and what Came of it — Is he Dead or Alive ? — George Sedentio goes in Search of Garcia — The Paraguayans Fall on the Embassy — A Deceitful Act — Sebastian Cabot Hits on the Mainland of America — He is also fortunate enough to Discover the Silver River — After the Fashion of Discoverers he takes Pos- session of it in the Name of an Earthly King — A Mare's Nest — Sebastian Hertado— A Difficulty— A Brutal Act of Passion— Death— Fort Holy Ghost —Wild Stories— Gold— Making a Clutch at "Wealth— Gold, the Bitterest Curse of Man — Peter Mendoza and his Followers— The City of Buenos Ayres — Some Account of the Place as it is now — The Indians Indignant — A Fight with the Indians — Famine — The Story of the Woman named Mal- deneda — A Lion's Gratitude— John Oyola — The High Road to Peru — How Saint Blaze Fought for Corpus Christi — Ivala Chosen Governor — Buenos Ayres Abandoned — Building of the City of the Assumption — The Religious Element — A Solemn Fast — Indian Treachery — An Indiscreet Old Lady — The Land of Golden Mystery— Up the River— The Island of Paradise— A City Forsaken — Worshipping a Serpent— The Land of Peru— The Great River— Mineral Products — Golden Treasure — Agriculture— The People.
T)IZARRO having accomplished so much in the Tray of winning • wealth for Spain in the New World, incited others by his example to emulate his successes. The Spaniards, as an old writer tells us, "gaping after the vast wealth of the Incas, kings of those parts, possessed them- selves of a large tract of land along the Pacifick Ocean, commonly called the South Sea." Peru was the magnet; the country it was affirmed, and indeed was proved, abounded in gold and silver ; the only question was how to reach it by the easiest and speediest course, and people set themselves to devise the means. Some of these people knew nothing, and were, as a natural consequence, confident that their scheme must succeed. But there were others who knew much of the matter, and who pondered before they spoke, which in a general way it may be said it is a wise thing to do.
Among those who first proposed to reach Peru along the coasts of the Atlantic or North Sea was Martin de Souza, who governed Brazil for John H. of Portugal and divided it into provinces, and was ambitious to vie with the Spaniards in discovering new countries that might increase his majesty's dominions. For this purpose he sent Alexis Garcia, a man of undaunted resolution, with his son, three Portuguese,
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and a number of native Indians, from the southern part of Brazil to pierce as far as might be into Central America. Garcia marching with his company some three hundred leagues, came into Paraguay, and inducing some two thousand of the people to recognise him as their captain, fell upon the Peruvians, seized much spoil, and sending his Portuguese companions back to Brazil for further assistance, was cruelly murdered by the Indians who had voluntarily followed him. His son was spared on account of his youth, and, says the historian, " the father's memory will live for ever, because he durst with so small a company traverse almost all the land between the two seas that encompass South America, travelling unknown ways where no Euro-
pean had been before, and through fierce and warlike nations, showing that nothing is impracticable to those who prefer gain and benefit of posterity to their own lives." His companions returned to Brazil, and besides the account which they gave of the friendships contracted with the people of Paraguay and of the wealth of the Inca, produced pieces of gold and silver as confirmatory evidence of the truth of their assertions.
The Portuguese were overjoyed by the intelligence. Here they saw the way to rival Leon and Castile. One George Sedentio, a brave man but not over-prudent, placed himself at the head of some sixty of his countrymen and marched to the relief of Garcia, whom they expected to find alive. When the Paraguayans beheld this reinforcement they imagined it had been sent to avenge the murder of Garcia, and at once fell upon it, killing its commander and putting his followers to flight. It was then that the Paranessian Indians, affecting to be the friends of
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 113
the Portuguese, committed a gross act of treachery. They invited them into their boats, promising to take them safely to the other side of the Paraguayan river ; but the boats into which they enticed the fugitives were rotten and worm-eaten, and being in the middle of the river, the Indians pulled off the clay which they used instead of pitch, by which means the boats sank, drowning all the Portuguese ; the Para- nessians, who were naked and good swimmers, getting safe to shore. Very plainly there was a lot of rough work to be done, and those who tried to do it must be fearless. Pizarro was fearless. He had achieved much simply through his fearlessness ; he was not to be daunted ; if he must die he must die, but the work he proposed to himself must be carried through at all hazards. Perhaps there were men as brave as Pizarro with more principle in them, and from observation and expe- rience we may know, if we will, that principle is the strongest thing under the sun to carry a man through.
We have all heard of Sebastian Cabot. He was the son of Giovanni Gabota, better known as John Cabot. This man had been a true friend to Columbus, and encouraged him in his enterprise as to the finding of a new world. In daring and ingenuity he was scarcely inferior to the Genoese sailor, and he was not content to "hug" the coast, as was the practice of mariners in those days ; hugging it, lest haply they should be floated out to mid-ocean and never find their way back to land again. He was confident that a north-west passage might be discovered, and acted on his own theory as to how it was to be found ; he is said to have hit on the mainland of America before it was ever seen by St. Christopher. Sebastian adopted his father's theory, and made a voyage some years later in which he comforted himself that, but for a mutiny amongst his men, he should certainly have succeeded. This Sebastian Cabot, painfully convinced that finding encouragement at home was almost or altogether as hard as finding the north-west passage, took service with Spain and went out to the Golden Americas.
Sebastian Cabot was fortunate enough to discover the Rio de la Plata, the Plate or Silver River, and after the manner of discoverers he took possession of it in the name of his majesty of Spain. He went in and out freely among the people on its banks, and found them apparently harmless and hospitable, he being totally unacquainted with the fate of poor Garcia. When the Indians exhibited to him several articles of plate which had belonged to the unfortunate man,
I
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Cabot took them for specimens of native manufacture, and was struck by the artistic ability of these untutored aborigines. He offered to buy them and his offer was accepted, and thus he became the possessor of stolen goods of robbery accompanied with violence. As the natives offered no opposition and were disposed to be friendly, Cabot erected a fort, and, making it as strong as circumstances would allow, dedicated it to the Holy Ghost, and leaving two of his chief captains — Nuna de Lara and another — in charge with a garrison of 120 men, hastened to Spain to tell of the discoveries he had made, and discount^them as profitably as possible.
Now there was in the fort a right trusty fellow, who bore the name of Sebastian Hertado. He was every inch a soldier, " his soul as far from fraud as heaven from earth." He had a wife named Lucy Mirando, and Mangora, chief of the Timbussians, saw her, coveted, and resolved on her capture. Hertado, suspecting no evil, lived on very friendly terms with the natives, and was particularly courteous to the wily chief. It was the habit of the Indians, "for a consideration," to send provisions into the Spanish fort, and this was regarded as a sort of bond of union between the two peoples. One day it happened that Hertado was away from the fort at the time the Indians had to deliver provisions. Mangora, the chief, had calculated upon this circumstance, and had collected together no less than four thousand men. He did not allow them to appear, but kept them in ambush while he sent on the ordinary number with the supply of food. No opposition was made to the entrance of these men ; on the contrary, bringing such excellent supplies, they were very heartily welcome. The garrison neglected their common precautions, and were suddenly overwhelmed by the appearance of a formidable army. A frightful massacre, battle it could not be called, ensued — a fearful slaughter, which swept away all excepting Lucy Mirando, four boys, and four women. Nuna de Lara killed Mangora, but was himself slain. "We can in some degree imagine the deplorable condition of Lucy; no sooner was Mangora killed than his brother Siripus made overtures of love. On finding himself scornfully rejected, he made a close and vigilant search for Hertado. The search was successful ; Hertado was captured, and then the brutal savage dealt out his vengeance on the man and wife. Lucy was burnt to death ; Hertado was fastened to the trunk of a tree, and shot to death with arrows.
A few men had accompanied Hertado, and as soon as these few
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 115
heard of what had befallen the garrison at Fort Holy Ghost, they retired to the other side of the river, where they built a fort under the command of Mosquera. There they were joined by Edward Perez, a Portuguese, who secretly plotted that the Spanish fort might be taken from those who held it, but who signally failed.
In the meanwhile, Cabot had reached Spain, and was adding fuel to the fire of enthusiasm with regard to the Golden Americas. What marvels were there he had not seen with his own eyes ! — what unheard- of, undreamed-of treasure was there to be had for the seeking in the auriferous region he had so recently left ! We must not accuse Master Cabot of being the author of all the wild stories that were afloat — Indians walking about with their heads under their arms ; rivers where the net was used to fish up gold ; fountains which secured health and long life; pools which changed everything to gold; mines full of richest treasure. What Cabot told other people exaggerated Gold everywhere ; palaces of gold wrought in the most elaborate fashion ; temples of gold with golden altars ; houses of gold, with golden doors and golden tables, and sofas of gold ; and carpets of golden thread, and cushions stuffed with gold-dust, golden pipes, golden divans, and gold all studded with precious stones. Diamonds such as an Indian mogul never saw, nor yet were yielded by Golconda ; rubies such as never yet were found in the rich sands of Ceylon ; pearls such as never yet were brought by divers from the depths of the deep ; emeralds, one of them worshipped as a goddess by the Peruvians ; sapphires and amethysts, carbuncles, topazes, garnets, and beryls ; trees of gold and grass of gold, and dewdrops of pearls and rivers of silver ; a land where metal held its own, and men had but to stretch forth the hand to take of the fruit of the tree of all commercial life. Cabot's state- ments, and the exaggeration of those who repeated them, turned the heads of the Spaniards ; they were thirsting for gold, they were hungry for gold, and were right willing to brave all dangers to make a clutch at that which, badly employed, shall prove the bitterest curse of man, and eat into the flesh as it were fire !
Two thousand two hundred men shipped themselves under Peter Mendoza, and sailed from Cadiz. Every one of the company expected to come home laden with wealth. An awful storm fell on them during the voyage, and had their cargo been of gold it must all have gone overboard to lighten the ships. Some of the vessels took refuge in the harbour of Rio de Janeiro, and those aboard were thankful for their
116 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
lives. They subsequently got together again, with some losses, on the banks of the Plate River, and there they built the city of Buenos Ayres.
The city is built upon a bank from fifteen to twenty feet above the level of the river. Including its suburbs it extends north and south for upwards of ten miles, with a breadth in its centre of about one mile and a half. It is built on a uniform plan ; the streets, which are all straight, intersect each other at right angles at every hundred and fifty yards, dividing it into a number of squares, each having an area of about four English acres. The provincial streets, which were formerly all but impassable in wet weather, while in the dry season they were obscured with clouds of dust, are now tolerably well paved and pro- vided with footpaths on either side. The houses and other buildings have also been greatly improved within the last few years, and their interiors rendered much more comfortable ; upper stories are now gene- rally added to them ; chimneys, that were formerly all but unknown, are common ; they are supplied with English grates, and with coals carried out from Liverpool as ballast. Most sorts of European furni- ture have found their way into the residences of the upper classes. Almost every house in the principal streets has a garden both before and behind it, and many have latticed balconies in which odoriferous shrubs are reared. Though on the edge of one of the greatest rivers in the world, water in Buenos Ayres is both scarce and dear. The wells, though numerous, afford nothing but hard, brackish water, unfit for culinary purposes. There are no public cisterns; rain-water is, indeed, carefully collected in a few private tanks, but the mass of the people have to pay high for their daily supply, which, instead of being raised from the river by machinery, and conveyed in conduits to public pumps, is carried about in butts mounted on bullock-carts.
The quarter of the city inhabited by Mestizos and negroes is wretched and filthy in appearance, and strongly contrasts with the opulence and taste displayed in the other parts. The Plaza, or great square, contains the cathedral and the town-hall, a handsome stone edifice built by the Jesuits ; and a whole side of it is occupied by the Recova, a range of piazzas a hundred and fifty yards long and above twenty in width, inclosing a double range of shops. In the centre of the square is a small obelisk erected to commemorate the declaration of independence. The town-hall is chiefly used as a prison, but meetings of the municipality are sometimes held in the upper rooms, and from
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117
the balcony the citizens are harangued on public occasions. The cathedral— a large, handsome edifice, with a cupola and porticoes — has its interior profusely decorated with carving and gilding, and its
NATIVE ARTISAN.
dome painted in compartments representing the Acts of the Apostles. The church of the Franciscans and that of the Convent of Mercy are next in rank, and have steeples and cupolas nearly in the same style as the cathedral. In the former there is a painting of the " Last Supper,"
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well executed by a native Indian artist. There are many other Catholic churches, several convents and nunneries, a Protestant church, Presby- terian chapel, &c., a foundling hospital, orphan asylum, and other benevolent institutions. These edifices are all built of fine white stone found in the plain not far from the city. The fort, which contains the residence of the supreme director and the government offices, is a square brick and stone building near the river. The university — one of the most celebrated in South America — occupies a very extensive building, which has recently been fitted up at a great expense ; a suite of six rooms in this building contains the state library, a good collec- tion of about 25,000 volumes.
The estuary of the Rata is very broad, but is also in most parts shallow, incumbered with sandbanks, and infested with sudden gusts of wind called pamperos. Its navigation is consequently attended with a good deal of difficulty, and ships bound for Buenos Ayres generally take pilots on board. There is no harbour, and vessels drawing sixteen or seventeen feet water anchor in the outer roads, called the Arnar- radero, seven or eight miles from the shore, loading and unloading by means of lighters. This, too, is an operation by no means free from danger, boats being sometimes swamped in crossing the bar between the outer and inner roads. From the want of a pier, and the shallow- ness of the water on the beach, even the boats are not able to come close to the shore, but are met at a little distance from it by a rude sort of ox-carts, into which they deposit their goods at favourable circum- stances, which might, however, be much improved by a little exertion and outlay on the part of the government. This operates as a heavy drawback on the trade of the city, and tends proportionably to augment that of Montevideo, which is more easily accessible. But notwith- standing the competition of the latter, ard the great Increase of its trade of late years, Buenos Ayres is still the principal outlet for the produce of the vast countries traversed by the La Plata, and especially for the provinces situated on its right bank.
But the Spaniards were not permitted to build up their city of Buenos Ayres without molestation. The native Indians showed con- siderable animosity; and sometimes by open hostility, and at other times by secret intrigue, they hindered the progress of the work and endangered the safety of the settlers. The settlers deserved very little consideration from the Indians, upon whose lands they seized without scruple, and whom they treated rather worse than their dogs. They
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took their stand on the Catholic authority of his majesty of Spain, and were exceedingly hard on the aborigines, who would not or could not understand by what right they did these things. On one occasion the Indians attacked the settlers in overwhelming numbers, and slew many, but the Spaniards defeated them, and made great slaughter.
It happened shortly after this that a grievous famine fell upon the Spaniards, and the people of Buenos Ayres seemed given over to destruction. At the beginning of the scarcity very stringent regula- tions were made and strictly enforced as to the commissariat, and one man who was detected stealing a lettuce was stripped of his ears in the market-place. It is probable that such examples were needed, for the Spaniards ready to perish had but small regard for the difference between mine and thine. Gradually the famine increased, and the rations had to be reduced. The miserable people had the appearance of so many ghosts as they glided through the streets, and cast longing eyes on the foulest and most offensive carrion.
There is a very curious story told by one of the old writers con- cerning a woman named Maldeneda. Dying of starvation in the city, she ventured to quit the gates, and preferred exposing her life to the wild beasts or the savages rather than perish with hunger. Creeping into a den — a natural cavern — she found herself face to face with a lioness, but the poor beast was acutely suffering, and Maldeneda bestirred herself to render it what help she could. The creature re- covered, and the woman for weeks dwelt with it in the cave, the animal going forth at night and bringing in the prey which it had taken, and which served for their joint support. When Maldeneda returned to the city certain charges of sorcery were brought against her, and she was condemned to be exposed to the wild beasts. This was done ; but amongst these wild beasts was the lioness she had befriended, which now became her preserver ; standing by her side, it flew at any beast that attempted to harm her, and so her life was saved. She afterwards found a refuge among the Indians. Stories have been told of similar instances of gratitude and devotion on the part of the lion, but what amount of credit is to be attached to them it is impossible to say.
Some time after the famine was over, John Oyola, the deputy- governor, made a journey towards Peru, leaving Dominick Ivala in charge. Oyola was convinced that an easy, or at least a practicable, road might be found through Paraguay to Peru, and he was not mis- taken. As to the native Indians, some of them offered considerable
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opposition to his progress, while others professed the most friendly regard. They were all alike wily and treacherous. Knowing that the fort of Corpus Christi was but badly garrisoned, they made an attack upon it, but were repulsed ; throughout the fight, as a Spanish autho- rity informs us, the figure of a man with a glory round his head, and a sword in his hand, was seen above the fortress— a spiritual champion, who was none .other than St. Blaze !
CHARLES V. OF GERMANY.
In the meantime Oyola penetrated into Peru, and there he was fully convinced that of the wealth of the land the half had not been told him. The Indian who had been his guide assisted him in securing a large amount of treasure, with which he began his return journey. His Indian guides had no intention of allowing him and his few fol- lowers to reach Buenos Ayres. In the dead of night the perfidious natives fell on the little band, of which not one escaped alive.
On the receipt of news of Oyola's death, Ivala was chosen governor, which choice was confirmed by a commission under the Emperor Charles V. It then became a grave question whether it would be best to build a number of small towns and forts so as to command a wide
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range of ground, or, keeping well together, erect a stronghold that would be capable of defying the Indians. The Indians, indeed, rendered the occupation of Buenos Ayres next to impossible, and it was at last
resolved to abandon this station and to build a new town higher up the river. The City of the Assumption, or Asuncion, was founded in the year 1535, on the summit of a commanding eminence on the left bank
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of the Paraguay. From its advantageous position it became of sufficient importance to be made a bishopric in 1547. That was esteemed as a great honour, and friars, " black, white, and grey," abounded as they do now, convents and nunneries being the most prominent buildings in the place.
Affairs had not gone well with the Spanish settlers in Paraguay. Of all the host that had come forward to enrich themselves with gold and silver, but six hundred remained alive when the town of Assumption was founded — "To show us," says the Spanish historian, "the great mischief that attends the search after wealth, which is the incentive of all evil."
In 1539 a solemn fast was held in Assumption, for the troubles of the settlers had been many. Fasting and penance was to be strictly observed ; flagellants were to traverse the streets stripped to the girdle, and vigorously applying knotted cords to their naked shoulders as they sang the penitential psalms. The Indians had made themselves acquainted with what was to take place, and regarded it as an excellent opportunity for falling on the Spaniards and putting them to death. The conspiracy was carefully arranged, and notification was made to the Indians who resided in the city as to what was to be done. Now there was one Spanish gentleman to whom an old Indian woman was much attached, and when she heard of the intended massacre she could not forbear communicating to her master the danger in which he was placed. He went straight to the governor, and the affair was laid before the council. Next day, when the wily Indians flocked through the gates, they found the Spaniards fully prepared for them. A great battle followed, in which the Indians were defeated with much loss.
But Peru was the land of golden mystery to which the Paraguayan settlers would fain penetrate, and the river, to Governor Ivala, seemed to be the highway that led to it. An expedition was accordingly fitted out, and a voyage undertaken up the river. It chanced on the voyage that the expedition arrived at a very beautiful island, on which the voyagers landed and gave the name of Paradise. The island was clothed with the richest verdure, abounded with fresh water, yielded delicious fruit, and was apparently free from everything noxious. Here, much to the indignation of Ivala, several of his company expressed their wish to remain. Here they had found what they had sought in vain elsewhere— a more secure refuge from the Indians than was to be had on the banks of the river, an island they could easily defend, and
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where they could dreain away their lives surrounded by everything captivating to the senses. The governor's appeals and threats at last prevailed, and the voyage was continued.
They reached Peru, entered a town which the people had abandoned -at their approach, and found no living thing within it except a huge and hideous serpent which the natives worshipped as a god. This reptile was in a gorgeous temple, and was destroyed with much diffi- culty.
Everything in Peru, the serpent excepted, delighted the new comers, and nothing was more welcome than the abundance of gold which they easily discovered.
Peru extends over a vast and varied region, its area being estimated at 500,000 square miles. The country is naturally divided into three regions — that between the coast and the Andes, that occupied by the Andes, and the region east of the Andes forming a part of the basin of the Amazon. There is a wonderful variety in these three regions in all their physical characteristics. The coast region, from Tumbez on the northern frontier, to the river Leche, is mostly a desert and sandy waste in the last degree barren. The Andes and their ramifications have been roughly estimated as covering an area of 200,000 square miles. They consist of two main chains, or Cordilleras, connected in many parts by cross ranges and inclosing several extensive valleys. The space inclosed between the Eastern and Western Cordilleras, called the Sierra, is partly occupied by mountains and naked rocks, partly by table-lands yielding short, fine grass, and extensive hilly pasture-grounds, and partly by fertile valleys. The third region is but little known ; it is mostly covered by all but interminable forests, with a scanty population scattered over it, and a few Roman Catholic mission stations.
The country gives birth to one of the largest rivers in the world, the Amazon. This river is formed by the united waters of the Tunquraqua and Ucayale. The Amazon and its tributaries afford perhaps the greatest extent of inland navigation of any known river system. Its amount may be moderately estimated at about from 40,000 to 50,000 miles. The Amazon itself is navigable to the east of the Andes — that is to say, a distance of 2,000 miles from the sea.
" At present the vast and fertile country watered by this gigantic river is nearly in a state of nature, being mostly covered with dense forests which afford shelter to wild beasts and reptiles of various de- scriptions. During the period of the inundation a great extent of the
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low country on both sides of the river is laid under water. There can, however, be little doubt that at some future period all its immense basin will be occupied by civilised nations. The Amazon will then be one of the most important and valuable, as well as extensive, channels of communication in the world/'
But the mineral products of Peru were the great attraction for many years after the Spaniards made themselves the masters of the country, and we still associate the name with the idea of unlimited abundance of gold and silver. Humboldt estimated the. annual value of the precious metals produced in Peru at the beginning 4of the present century at 6,240,000 dollars (£1,248,000), but, since that date it has materially declined. At the time of the Spanish invasion the wealth of the country was enormous, and the inhabitants far from being an ignorant or uncivilised people. This is shown by the monuments which still remain to attest their ability, and is seen not only in the highways of the Incas, which may almost compete with the Roman roads, but in the specimens of art industry which are still preserved.
Art, among the Peruvians, was not ^confined, as "was the case in Mexico, with one or two exceptions, to the reproduction of sacred effigies ; it enriched the country with reaFstatues destined to perpetuate the recollection of historical personages, and free from the excess of awkward ornament which is observable [in the productions of the Mexicans. We find that even the foundation of museums, which seems to be reserved for the most civilised nations of Europe, was not altogether foreign to the Peruvians. As early as the fifteenth century, Yasca, the general of the armies*of ^.Guayna Capac, had ordered each of the tribes composing the empire ^to bring the great guaca of their country, that is to say, the most venerated idol ; and when these statues had been collected, he formed a sort of'pantheon out of them.
However indisposed we may be to put undoubting faith in what is told of those famous gardens of the Inca, in which flocks of alpacas (animals of the llama tribe) in gold were guarded by herdsmen of the same metal, who stood near strange annuals, all combining intrinsic value of material with exquisite finish of workmanship ; it is not the same with the works in gold which Pizarro sent off to Seville imme- diately after the conquest, and which were intended for Charles V., as an addition to the impost levied by the crown. Francisco Xeres, the private secretary of the conqueror, had abundant leisure to examine
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and admire them, for it was on board one of his vessels that they were conveyed to Europe ; and he thus describes them : —
" On board the Sancta Maria del Cainpo, which arrived on the 9th January, 1534, were thirty-eight golu.:«' and forty-eight silver vases,
among which was a silver eagle, containing upwards of ten gallons of water. Two immense pans, one golden, and the other silver, capable of containing a whole Jox cut in pieces, recalled to the recollection of the devout conquerors the sea of brass in the temple of Jerusalem."
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We will spare the reader any account of the bars of gold, weighing^ altogether 53,000 ounces, and 5,480 silver marks thrown carelessly in the middle of this splendid gold work of the Inca ; we will only speak of a golden idol of the size of a child four years old, and the dimensions of which are given by Xeres without any other remark of importance. But it is quite certain that, if the vases and the idol had been subjected to the simple process of moulding on their arrival at Seville, the American museums in Europe would have presented much more curious specimens of Mexican art than are now found in them. France, no less than Spain, has failed to profit by the opportunities afforded her of enriching her collections at a moderate cost.
The art of working in gold as applied to ornamental vases or dress, and the various productions of pottery, are the principal sources from which a knowledge of Peruvian art can be obtained in the present day. The costliness of the materials employed by the artists of Cuzco has been fatal to statuary productions. On the contrary, in the guacas of Peru,as in the hypogoea of Etruria, vases are still to be met with, made of extremely fine clay, not, however, without a certain degree of solidity, in consequence of which they have greatly multiplied in cabinets of curiosities for some years past. The ornamentation of these vases, which is almost always borrowed from the animal kingdom, affords evidence, not only of a remarkable richness of invention in the semi- barbarous artist who produced them, but also of a delicate taster reminding one in some measure of that elegance of form so prominent in Grecian antiquity.
With regard to agriculture, the Peruvians at the period of the Spanish invasion were probably more advanced than they were in later years, but foreign troubles and internecine warfare had reduced them to a very miserable condition. Dr. Smith, speaking of Peruvian farming of the present time, says : — " The agriculture of Huanuco, though alluring to the eye of the ordinary traveller, who only glances at its rich and waving fields of maize, inclosed within tapias or fences of mud, and hedges of the Indian fig and aloe or maguey plants, is in every way defective. The fields owe their luxuriance to Nature rather than man, except in the single advantage of water, which he often directs and supplies to them. Manure is a thing never thought of, and he implements of husbandry are of the rudest kind. The plough, slight and single-handed, is constructed merely of wood, and without a mould-board. The ploughshare is a thick iron blade (or, where iron is
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not at hand, a piece of hard iron-wood), only tied, when required for use, by a piece of thong, or lasso, on the point of the plough, which divides the earth very superficially. Harrows they have, properly speaking, none ; but sometimes use, instead, large clumsy rakes, or a green bough dragged over the sown ground, with a weight upon it to make it scratch the soil. Instead of the roller, they break down the earth intended for cane plants, after it has got eight or ten ploughings and cross-ploughings, with the heel of a short-handed hoe. For smoothing down the clods of earth, some Indians use a soft, flat, round stone, about the size of a small cheese, which has had a hole beaten through its centre by dint of blows with a harder and pointed stone. To the stone thus perforated they fix a long handle, and as they swing it about they do great execution in the work of citspiando, or field-levelling. Lucern, or alfalfa, is cut down, and used green, cattle and working oxen for the plough and sugar -mills being fed on it ; yet the scythe is not in use among the great planters, who find it necessary to keep two or three individuals at the sickle to cut down food for herds, which in the day- time are fed on irrigated pastures, but at night in corrals or pens. The inhabitants are accustomed to break up potato grounds on the face of steeps with deep narrow spades having long handles. In the same manner the soil is turned up by those who have neither plough nor oxen, but who yet sow maize on the temperate flats on the hill-sides. People thus circumstanced make holes in the ground with a sharp- pointed stick, where they bury the seed. The Indian sows the white- grained maize in preference to the yellow, as he considers that when toasted it makes the best " cancha," or substitute for bread, and that when boiled it makes the best "wzofc," or simply boiled maize; it has, moreover, the credit of making the most savoury cliica, or beer, which they home-brew whenever they have a little surplus grain. They also make a kind of beer from the fermented juice of the maize-stalks compressed between small rollers of wood turned by the hand. Dry maize leaves and stubble are most used in the foddering of cattle. The sugar-mills in the valley of Huanuco are mostly made of wood, and wrought by oxen. On the larger estates small brass rollers are used, but water-power is not thought of, the proprietors adhering to the old practice of working with oxen day and night throughout the year, barring accidents, and feasts, and holidays."
The population at the present time consists principally of native Indians, Spaniards, negroes, and the races of mixed origin derived
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from the foregoing ; but of the number of each we have no authentic estimate. The accounts of the Indians given by recent travellers are in many respects conflicting and various ; we believe, however, that the statements of Ulloa may, on the whole, be safely depended on. That excellent observer represents them as in the lowest stage of civilisation, without any desire for the comforts and conveniences of civilised life, immersed in sloth and apathy, from which they can be rarely roused, except when they have an opportunity of indulging to excess in ardent spirits, for which they have an excessive fondness. With the exception of Mr. Stevenson, most recent travellers say they are dirty in the extreme, seldom taking off their clothes, even to sleep, and still more rarely using water. Their habitations are miserable hovels, destitute of every convenience or accommodation, and disgust- ingly filthy. Their dress is poor and mean, and their food coarse and scanty. Their religion is still tainted with the superstition of their forefathers, but they are great observers of the external rites and ceremonies of the Church, and spend large sums of money in masses and processions : a species of profusion to which they are excited and encouraged by their priests, who profit by it. We have previously made some statements illustrative of their attainments in the arts at the epoch of the Spanish invasion. The oppressions to which they have since been subject have probably sunk them to a lower point in the scale of civilisation than they then occupied, and no doubt it would be possible, were proper care taken, materially to improve their habits and condition. A good deal, too, of their apathy and little progress in arts and industry must be ascribed to the physical circumstances under which they have been placed, the mildness of the climate and the fertility of the soil, which, on the one hand, by diminishing their wants, and on the other, by enabling them to supply those which they do feel with comparatively little exertion, take away and greatly weaken some of the most powerful motives that prompt to labour and invention. Still, however, we are well convinced, notwithstanding the statements and reasonings to the contrary of M. d'Orvigny and others, that the Indians are naturally an inferior race, and, indeed, wholly incapable of any degree of civilisation. The state religion is the Roman Catholic, and Peru having been the country in which the direct influence of Spain was perhaps more felt than in any other of her Transatlantic possessions, a great deal of intolerance was formerly shown towards individuals of a different creed, though we believe a
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considerable portion of this has disappeared since the establishment of the republic. Lima is the seat of an archbishop, who holds the chief ecclesiastical authority. The Jesuits, in the seventeenth century, and afterwards the Franciscan monks, established various Indian missions in the east parts of the country. But these have almost gone to decay, and the former missionary college of Ocopa, about twelve miles south- eastern of Tarma, suppressed at the revolution, but afterwards restored, is by no means flourishing, and many Indians of the interior are relapsing into paganism. The clergy are said to be careless of their duties, and lax in their morals. "The Indians and curates are often seen chattering and driving hard bargains in relation to first-fruits (for tithes are collected by the state), marriages, burials, and religious festivals, which latter are closely interwoven with the entire social system of the country. The Sierra curates are men commonly much worn out in constitution at the age of forty. These gentlemen, when their home becomes irksome, start off, swayed by some sudden impulse, to the nearest town of white inhabitants, where they enjoy a finer climate and more gratifying company. The curate not unfrequently resorts to a mining village, under pretext, perhaps, of selling his primicia, or first-fruits in grain, gambling with the miners day and night till the primicia be all swallowed up, and the poor residentiary returns home involved in a debt which he cannot pay for the next six months, even should his curacy be worth 4,000 or 5,000 dollars a year, though it be ofteoer much less."
The very name of Peru calls up in the imagination a boundless display of the precious metals. No doubt there has been gross exag- geration, but the Peruvian mines have indeed yielded an enormous amount of treasure. Potosi in Bolivia has been chiefly famous for the wealth of its silver mines. The city stands on the declivity of a moun- tain, the Cerro di Potosi, and connected with the range of the Andes. In the early part of the seventeenth century this city is said to have had a population of 150,000, but it is now almost deserted. Extensive suburbs, once tenanted by Indians and miners, are now without an inhabitant, and the vestiges of the streets are all that remain.
"The Cerro di Potosi, which is eighteen miles in circuit and rises to the height of 16,037 feet, is supposed to be a solid mass either of the ores or the matrix of the precious metals of which it has produced a vast quantity. Viewed from the city it appears dyed all over with numerous tints, green, orange, yellow, grey, and rose colour. The
K
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discovery of its wealth was made by an Indian, who, in hunting some goats, slipped, and to save himself took hold of a shrub, which, in coming away from the ground, laid bare the silver at its root. The mines were first wrought systematically in 1545, from which time till 1803 they are said to have produced 1,095,500,000 piastres, or £237,358,334 worth of silver, on which duty was paid ; and during the same period they also produced a large quantity of gold ; at the same tune that great quan- tities of both metals were smuggled or put into circulation without payment of the duty. About 500 openings are said to have been made in the mountain, but the number of mines wrought during the present century has rarely exceeded one hundred. At one time the mines yielded about 30,000 ducats a day, and for a lengthened period they produced about 9,000,000 dollars a year. But they had begun to decline long previously to the revolution, and since then they have been, whether from their exhaustion, defects in the mode of working, or the want of capital, nearly unproductive. The ore is pulverised in water-mills worked with over-shot wheels at from one to ten miles from the city."
It was the love of gold that brought the Spaniards thither • it was the love of gold that kept them there. Here's the secret ; here is the answer to the riddle.
ei How quickly Nature falls into revolt When gold becomes her object ! For this the foolish, over- careful fathers Have broke their sleep with thought, their braiii with care, Their bones with industry ; For this they have engross'd and piled up The cankered heaps of strange achieved gold ; For this they have been thoughtful to invest Their sons with arts and martial exercises : When, like the bee, taking from every flower The virtuous sweets,
Our thighs packed with wax, our mouths with honey, We bring it to the hive, and like the bees, Are murdered for our pains."
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CHAPTER VI.
The Aztecs — Great Civilisation among the People — Manners, Government, Laws, Literature, Art, Eeligion— Spanish Conquest — Eule of the Spaniards in Mexico — Depressed Condition of the People — Three Hundred Years of Oppression — State of the Country— Physical Geography, &c. — Maximilian — Narrative of the Countess of Kollonitz.
WHEX the Spaniards invaded Mexico in the early part of the sixteenth century, that rich and extraordinary country was peopled, as we have seen, by a race or races to which, in a certain sense, the term civilised may be applied. The country was subjected to the government of one monarch. The people were collected together in cities, sometimes of considerable extent. The ancient city of Mexico, for example, must have had a population of 00,000 or 70,000. A mer- cantile class had acquired influence in the empire ; trade was held in respect and protected by law, and no impassable barriers of caste distinguished the different ranks of the people. The people followed different handicraft trades, the results of which were in some cases products of considerable excellence. The cotton fabrics, for example, of which specimens still exist, were good. The art of dyeing these was known and practised with success. Ornaments of considerable preten- sions were also made of gold and silver. With regard to architecture, many of the buildings of these ancient Aztecs were grand and massive, somewhat resembling the stupendous erections of Egypt, Babylon, and Assyria. Like them, too, they were ornamented with hieroglyphical writing. Cities were supplied with water by means of aqueducts. Roads of good construction, such as would not disgrace a Roman military engineer, extended throughout the empire. The law of terri- torial possession was recognised, and territorial succession was regulated by statute. In astronomy great progress had been made ; the year was divided into 365 days like our own, but no odd six hours was recognised, to compensate for which, at the end of every fifty-two years, five days were added.
All these facts tend to prove the native inhabitants, whom we may for convenience' sake simply term Mexicans, had entered upon that phase of social development which must be termed civilisation. Other proofs to this effect might be easily adduced — as, for instance, the existence of relays of couriers at different stages throughout the
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empire, the establishment of night-patrols, and the practice of illumi- nating the cities at night by bonfires lighted in the streets. But despite these evidences of civilisation, the Mexicans, regarded from another point of view, were savages in the worst acceptation of the term. They waged war often for no other purpose than that of making prisoners to offer up in sacrifice to their gods, and they were confirmed cannibals. That such an abyss of demoralisation as these facts presuppose should have been descended into by a race so cultivated is without precedent in the history of mankind, and still more extraordinary does it appear in connection with the reverence in which were held the virtues of chastity and temperance. The punishment for a breach of duty in either of these respects was death, with one remarkable exception — people above threescore years and ten were allowed to get drunk to their heart's content. Would it not be well if people, being a law unto themselves, would determine never to be given to indulgence till they were seventy years of age ? If at that age they felt the inclination towards excess, Nature would not be true to herself.
There is every reason to suppose that the consolidation of the native government on the basis in which the Spaniards found it had not been of very great antiquity. Not only was this the popular belief, but it is confirmed by such native records as have escaped the ravages of time and the destructive enthusiasm of the early Spanish missionaries, who destroyed the greatest number of these records (all of them hieroglyphic) as so many barbarous relics of idolatry. These records state that the various tribes constituting the native population, and of which the Aztecs were the most powerful, and the last to arrive from some distant unknown regions from the north-west, brought with them the civilised arts of the regions whence they had been expelled, and after wandering many years as nomadic tribes, at length commenced about the thirteenth century to build the Mexican cities. This testimony seems probable enough, but ethnologists are still left in the dark as to the geogra- phical origin of these tribes and their cognate ramifications. Although the first consolidation of the Mexican races into a regular government is represented to have taken place in the thirteenth century, yet the first epoch of their wanderings is referred so far back as the fifth, which corresponds with the Mongolian disturbance in China coeval with the setting in motion of the Huns ; and Huinboldt assumes that the Mongolian race first passing into Siberia, one division passed east- ward into Europe, where they were subsequently known as the Huns,
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and another division entered upon the American continent, and eventually settled in Mexico as the Aztecs and their associate tribes.
The seat of government was the capital, Mexico, whence the Aztec sovereign despatched his mandates to the tributary potentates of the provinces of Tescuco and Tacuba, or consulted the sacred Delphi of Cholula, or, at the bidding of the god of war, called the youth of the nation to his standard. His power, we are told, although supreme throughout his wide expanse of territory, was in part shared by a warlike aristocracy, and greatly controlled by a powerful and secret- working priesthood. In point of fact, the sovereign of Mexico was very similarly circumstanced to our Plantagenet kings, two dominant forces, the feudal or baronial and the ecclesiastical, modifying the exercise of the royal supremacy.
According to M. Chevalier the economic and social condition of the Aztecs gave proofs of a high civilisation. Many prosperous towns which have since perished crowned the uplands of the Tierra Fria, or even the plains of the Tierra Caliente, and the armies of the Mexican emperors were larger than any that now could be mustered. We are told that, although without horses, cattle, or iron, the agriculture of the Aztecs was excellent, and their lands rich with maize and banana, and growing magnificent crops of cotton amidst inclosures of aloes and cactus, attested their progress in the arts of husbandry. They were proficient also in irrigation and gardening ; and the Spanish historians describe with delight how the sides of their hills were bright with terraces of shrubs and flowers, artificially watered, and how their lagoons appeared to blossom with their floating nurseries of the chinampas. With regard to their architecture, it was well displayed in stately streets and magnificent causeways, in huge pyramidical monuments rivalling those of Egypt, but of sculpture and painting they seem to have been ignorant, except in their rudest and coarsest forms, but they were much skilled in fashioning ornaments of gold and silver. " In mining they seem to have made no progress, but they had advanced in other mechanical arts, and the vessels with which they navigated their lakes, the mills with which they ground their corn, the earthenware which ornamented their dwellings — even their weapons of war, which ingeniously supplied the want of iron by other devices — are enumerated by the Spanish writers as evidences of their real civilisation."
Although the literature of the Aztecs was confined to the use of
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hieroglyphics, it nevertheless exhibited a considerable amount of mental culture. In the symbolic pictures which speak at once to the eye there is very much of force and energy — indeed, it is plain that this Aztec race had in them the germ of a great and mighty people. The Spaniards tell us that in poetry this singular race were peculiarly gifted, and that they were reminded in many of their sacred songs of the Psalms of David. It is asserted that the invaders ruthlessly destroyed many compositions which reflected high credit on native genius, and frag- ments which have been preserved reveal a degree of thought and philosophical reflection totally at variance with all our ideas of barbarism. Their knowledge of mathematics was considerable ; their legal maxims were approved at Salamanca ; their calendar, according to Laplace, was the most accurate then in existence. As to their morality, it is described as highly honourable to them. Women were treated with respectful consideration. A part of the people were indeed slaves, but the slavery was not hereditary, was mild in its form, and does not seem to have brutalised either bondsman or owner.
In matters of religion the Aztecs were idolatrous, and their sacred rites were sanguinary. "The lofty pyramids, on the summits of which the images of their gods were raised, were often the altars of human sacrifices, and on stated occasions the flesh of the victims was dis- tributed among the worshipping crowds who assisted at the hideous spectacle. Every summer hundreds of hapless captives were immolated at the shrine of Mexitli, the Aztec god of war and battles, and the ' new fire of Tezcatlipoca ' — so the rising sun was denominated at certain regular periods of the year — was welcomed by the priests in the temples with the blood of the fairest youth of the vanquished. There were other festivals equally terrible when the fires that blazed from the stones of sacrifice were dark with the smoke of slaughtered men, and when — emblem of human destiny — a figure clad in gorgeous apparel ascended slowly the pyramid of death, and was there killed in the sight
of the people Idolatry and a distorted notion that the
powers of the invisible world must be propitiated with human blood have been found existing in other races with much intellectual and moral advancement, and the ideas of expiation and redemption are the most sublime of the Christian mysteries. Moreover, the hideous rites of the Aztecs were mingled with others of singular beauty, not unlike those of the ancient Greeks, and even these rites were the degraded types of a faith in many respects remarkable, for the Aztecs believed in
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a future state, in the existence of an unknown God of which their idols were only the signs, and in something like moral government ; and with them, as with many other nations, a revolting exterior ceremonial was only the symbol of an internal creed which contained much of truth and purity."
M. Chevalier, to whose interesting work on Mexico we are indebted for many of these particulars, may possibly have somewhat exaggerated the lofty civilisation of the Aztecs, but that they were a great people far removed from barbarism there can be no question. In describing the conquest of the country, M. Chevalier dwells too much on the religious enthusiasm of the Spaniards, and too little on their greed for gold. It was cupidity carried them to Mexico, and not Christian zeal.
From 1520 to 1810 Spain was dominant in Mexico. Gradually the boundaries of the empire were extended, until not only the Aztec country but the neighbouring provinces of Texas and California were included in the Spanish colony. At the capital a Spanish viceroy held sway, and reproduced in his viceregal court, all the pride, the jealousy, the craft, and cunning of the court of Madrid. Mexico, in superstition and haughty defiance of others, became a little Spain, with this difference, that it was made to suffer many distressing fiscal regula- tions, which hampered its commerce and restricted its trade. As to the viceroys sent by Spain to govern Mexico, they were for the most part those needy Lidalgoes who were sorely in want of money, and by no means very particular as to the means by which it was to be obtained ; they were bent on enriching themselves, and not on dispensing justice or advancing the condition of the people over whom they ruled. All offices of trust were conferred on Spaniards ; all the highest dignities of the Church were held by Spaniards ; enormous wealth was granted to the ecclesiastical establishments ; the revenues of the temporal state were excessive. Mexico and the Mexicans were made to yield up their gold, and, misgoverned in all ways, to sink into a miserable state of weakness— all their industry subjected to a governing board that sat at Cadiz!
Mexico was called the jewel of the Spanish colonies, but the Spaniards valued it only for the money it was worth. They were shortsighted in their cupidity also, and permitted the country to sink in the scale of civilisation, to languish into decay. Oppression is said to make a wise man mad, but with an apathetic people it will often happen that oppression simply degrades them ; they lose heart, they
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submit, they die, " and make no sign." " The vanquished Aztecs were mere Helots ; at first to a great extent enslaved, then given liberty only to know that they were a subject and degraded race, deprived of
social and political rights, and kept in a state of perpetual degradation. They were called ' the people without reason ;' forbidden all intercourse with their conquerors ; set apart in village communities for taxation ;
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and debarred from acquiring knowledge or becoming of any civil importance." Kept down, ill governed, controlled by tyranny, igno- rance, and superstition, they sank lower and still lower.
But while the moral and intellectual condition of the people became worse, while they were reduced by the tyranny of the mother country to complete political inaction, they increased in material prosperity. And gradually there crept in seeds of sedition against Old Spain. When America, iu the English colonies, began to assert herself — when she would have no more of British despotism, and flung taxed tea into Boston harbour — when she seized on the tune of " Yankee Doodle" and made it her own, and let the Britishers know that King George was not paramount — the Spanish settlements began to Avonder why they shoidd care more for Madrid than did the Anglo-Saxon race for London. They sympathised with the creed of liberty. When it came to pass that Paris rose up, and all France with her, and proclaimed liberty to the captive, and made all Caesar's household look through the little window and drop their heads into Sanson's basket — then the Spanish settlements in Central America were stirred, and by-and-by they raised the standard of independence. Their allegiance to Old Spain, however, was not disowned until the dethronement of Charles IV., the audacious usurpation of Napoleon, and the troubles that ensued in the Peninsula. "Then followed," says a writer in the Qtarterty Review, " a long and sanguinary contest between the mother country and the dependency, in which frightful crimes were committed on either side by the impassioned combatants, and in which the pride and cruelty of domination, and the cunning and savageness of a subject race, displayed themselves in a series of atrocities. We need not dwell on the ruthless acts of the commanders of the Spanish Cortes, or the viceroys of the inhuman Ferdinand, or on the barbarities of Hidalgo and Morellos, and other chiefs of the war of liberation. Nor is it necessary to review the incidents of the short yet promising reign of Iturbide — an adventurer of moderation and ability, who com- posed for a time the contending parties and reduced Mexico to a monarchy, yet soon lost his precarious authority. In 1823, after passing through a long trial of civil Avar and national suffering, the Mexicans were declared independent, and, though not without monarchical sympathies, proclaimed their government a republic, after the pattern of the United States."
Under the Commonwealth, M. Chevalier tells us, Mexico was in a
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deplorable anarchy, accompanied with the usual melancholy results — a want of security for persons and property, the engagements of the state repudiated, industrial energy languishing or dead, the high roads tra- versed regularly by brigands, the moral character of the nation degraded, education neglected even in its few establishments, and hideous cor- ruption in the administration of justice. One can hardly believe how many individuals were presidents during the last six years, succeeding each other by revolutions, while public opinion had become hopeless and prostrated among the more respectable citizens.
There is scarcely matter of surprise in this. Three centuries of bondage are ill calculated to constitute a free people. Unused to the exercise of liberty, they naturally enough fall into licence. What can those know of constitutional freedom who have been brought up in tyranny and superstition? What could have been expected from the masses of the serf-like, outlawed and degraded Aztecs? The re- publican government, unsustained by a moderate and enlightened nation, degenerated into a struggle of factions, led on by reckless and profligate adventurers, who, as each acquired a temporary ascendency, had a brief reign of terror and selfishness, in which a few partisans were aggrandised, and the general interests were neglected or sacri- ficed. "Public spirit, order, the sense of security, regard for justice and private right — all that makes a commonwealth great and thriving — could not exist in this state of things, which reminds us of the wretched anarchy of the great republics in their decline, and led to the same inevitable consequences — revolutions, fitful convulsions in the state, a general want of confidence in it, a decline in all the sources of its strength, the decay of its material prosperity, and symptoms of its approaching dissolution."
When this season of conflict came to an end the condition of Mexico was, in point of fact, worse than when it was held in bondage as a Spanish dependency. The United States had appropriated both Cali- fornia and Texas. The Yankees had entered the city of Mexico in triumph,, and had dictated terms of submission. There were brigands on all the roads levelling black mail, of whom the feeble government could in no wise rid itself ; flocks and herds were carried off as in the days of the old Border warfare, when the Scots "lifted" English cattle or made a Douglas' larder of some strong place. The communications throughout the country were dangerous and almost impassable. Agri- culture had declined considerably ; the maize fields of the Tierra Tern-
140 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
plada, the magnificent corn lands of the Tierra Fria, and the cotton plantations of Anahuac, were in many places waste and desolate. The towns exhibited similar signs of decay, " the public buildings of the capital were ruinous ; the streets had no longer the look of opulence ; and a rotting navy in choked-up ports attested the state of Mexican commerce." As to the population, that had very considerably de- creased ; there were hardly any immigrants from Spain, or, indeed, from any part of the world ; and in consequence of the condition of the country the native races were not increasing.
Had there been no internecine Avar in the United States, had Wash- ington's great work stood firm and fast, it is probable that Mexico might have lapsed into the Union. But the all-annexing American Republic, split into twain, shattered by hostility, impoverished by gun- powder charges, has been unable to command, or even to give sisterly embrace, and so Mexico has to stand alone. M. Chevalier truly remarks there is perhaps no region in this world, not even Constanti- nople or Egypt, which has been more plainly designated by Nature as a seat of opulence and civilisation than Mexico. " A peninsula dividing the Atlantic and Pacific by a fertile yet narrow neck of land that abounds in every kind of product, and possesses harbours in either ocean, the position of Mexico should make it an entrepot for the com- merce of Europe and Eastern Asia, an emporium for a magnificent traffic, a stage and a highway for the exchange of two worlds."
The extraordinary fertility of Mexico and the abundance of its mineral products should tend to assure its greatness. There are three great divisions of Mexico which have received their names from the Spaniards long ago ; and these again have been infinitely subdivided with reference either to differences of levels or to a diversity in their products. The first of these zones is the Land of Heat (Tierra Ca- liente), a belt of seaboard that stretches some way up the inclined plane leading to the table-land above. Here vegetation is exceedingly rich, on account of the warmth of the temperature, and the number of streams diffusing their waters. It is most exuberant on the east part of the seaboard, for the prevailing trade winds blow on the coast, bringing with them their moisture drawn from the ocean. This zone is famous for its tropical productions. Unfortunately, at many points, especially near the harbours on the Atlantic, it is desolated by the yellow fever, whose deadly focus is the neighbouring marshes, which, however, industry will yet drain, with the aid of the powerful appliances of our
THE GOL*DEN AMERICAS. 141
day. Higher, half-way up the inclined plane, extends the zone of the Temperate Land (Tierra Templada), its mean temperature being from eighteen to twenty degrees (French). Here the thermometer expe- riences but few variations and the season is like a continual spring. This is a delicious region ; its most perfect type will be found in the neighbourhood of the town of Xalapa, and also near those of Orizaba and Chilpancingo, the place of assembly of the First Congress. Its vegetation is nearly as abundant and vigorous as that of the seaboard ; but the air is not torrid, or impregnated with the miasma that exhales from the Tierra Caliente. It is free also from the myriads of insects of a venomous or disagreeable kind which are found in swarms in the lower region, to the great discomfort of the inhabitants. Here the pure air of the uplands is breathed without any of that occasional keenness that is dangerous to persons with weak chests ; and it is, so to speak, a territorial paradise in places where, as at Xalapa, there is an abundance of pure water, or where it is supplied at all seasons from the eternal glaciers of the mountains — the Peak of Orizaba and the Heights of Perote. Above the temperate zone extends the Land of Cold (Tierra Fria), so named by colonists from Andalusia, who felt the climate in parts of it somewhat resembling that of the Castiles ; but to French, German, or English immigrants its cold would appear of the mildest character. The mean temperature of the capital, and of the greater part of this region, is not less than seventeen degrees (French) ; it is only a little lower than that of Naples and Sicily, and is that of Paris for three months of the summer. There, as in other parts of the tropics, the variations of heat are much less than in the most temperate parts of Europe. In the season which can be called winter only by stretching the analogy of the terms of our dictionaries, the mean heat of the day at Mexico is from thirteen to fourteen degrees (French), and in summer the thermometer in the shade does not rise above twenty- six.
The fertility of the Mexican soil is very remunerative, and it abounds in all kinds of vegetable wealth. There is an immense variety, from the wheat of Europe to the cotton of the tropics. M. Chevalier says—
"The traveller who ascends or descends the plateau, meets strange and exquisite contrasts of Nature, and contemplates every kind of culti- vation and products, which seem to blend with each other, though else- where never seen together. If he starts from the summit of the table-
142 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
land, he traverses sometimes forests of pines that remind him of those of the North of Europe, and sometimes inclosures of olives or vines. or fields golden with maize or wheat, with spaces between, over- shadowed with cactus — whose sad vegetation loves the dry land — or with the wild or reclaimed aloe. As he descends, he meets repeatedly the orange-tree, introduced and multiplied by the Spaniards ; the cotton-plant, indigenous to the soil, for the Aztecs wove the fibre into clothes, and even made an armour of it ; that kind of cactus which bears cochineal, and dates also from the Aztec period ; the silk-plant, growing in many varieties ; the banana, valuable as the food of the poor; the sugar-cane, coffee, and indigo plants, importations which have thriven admirably ; and the vanilla and the cocoa tree, each native growths, for chocolate and vanilla were served by Montezuma to Cortes. And as he reaches the lowest levels he finds himself among that mag- nificent exuberance of fruits and bright aromatic plants which the tropic sun can alone mature, and the culture of which is of special interest."
With regard to the mineral wealth of the country we are told that if Mexico has a fertile surface that affords the greatest capabilities to the agriculturist, she hides the richest treasures in her bosom. The country abounds in mines of silver, and yields also a great deal of gold, extracted from the former metal. Two regions, however, California and Australia, have surpassed Mexico for some years past in the production of the precious metals. But Mexico, up to 1848, was the first country in the world for this wealth, and the amount of silver and gold she exported exceeded that of the entire of America. And if she has lost her pre-eminence in this respect, it is the fault of man, and not of Nature. Her mines are, for the most part, placed in situations that are not injurious to life or health, unlike those of her rival, Peru, that are in a region of intense cold, caused by the eternal snows of the Andes. This single circumstance secures to the mines of Mexico a considerable advantage when they shall have been properly worked and developed.
There is one peculiar advantage which Mexico appears to enjoy, and that is comparative freedom from the desolating effects of earth- quakes and volcanoes. All who are at all intimate with the physical geography of Southern and Central America must know the disastrous effects of volcanic action throughout the region of the Andes. M. Chevalier says —
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 143
"Another superiority of Mexico over a portion of the equinoctial regions of America is the small number of its volcanoes, and the absence of those tremendous earthquakes which elsewhere have laid cities in ruins. In the whole of the peninsula a hundred years ago there were only four volcanoes active ; the Peak of Orizaba, which for three centuries has had no remarkable eruption ; Popocatepetl, constantly smoking, but not in a great degree, and hitherto innocuous to the neighbourhood ; the hill of Tustla, and the volcano of Coliina, that appear never to have done any mischief. In September, 1759, a new volcano — that of Irullo— made its appearance, under circumstances of a terrifying kind. It is still alive, and around its base a number of little cones have sprung up that have not ceased to smoke occasionally. None of the Mexican cities have experienced those earthquakes of that portentous and fatal character which have desolated, and even sometimes overthrown, Guatemala, Lima, Caraccas, and other centres of population in Central and South America. In some of them, however, shocks have been felt, and this has been the case with Mexico ; but these shocks have been so faint that they have not given uneasiness to the inhabitants. They have not prevented the erection of houses to the height even of three stories, though they have compelled the Mexican architects to lay their foundations deep and solid, and to avoid a slender and lofty style, like that of our Gothic cathedrals. The beautiful edifice of the Mincria at Mexico, whose airy columns were a model of elegance, soon showed symptoms of decay and ruin. In the capital the houses do not always seem upright at their angles ; where streets cross y.ou sometimes see a slight bend in the buildings as you look upwards, but this is all that has ever been caused by these mild and inoffensive perturbations."
From all this we may gather that Mexico is well fitted to be the seat of a noble civilisation. Nature has scattered her stores in rich profusion ; on the earth bloom all the flowers of paradise, and below lay the golden stores, the auriferous treasures which have lifted men io the highest or cast them to the depths. As to the people, they are of an extremely mixed character, comprising about 68,000 Creoles, or descendants of Spaniards; 28,000 Mestizos, or half-castes between Europeans and Indians, but many of whom are scarcely distinguishable by colour from the former; about 35,000 copper- colon red natives, 10,000 mulattoes, and 6,000 Europeans. This refers to the city of Mexico. Latrobe tells us that the lower orders of the population are
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filthy, despise labour of every kind, and are constantly seen lying in the church porches, leaning against the walls, and loitering about the markets. In many respects they bear a striking resemblance to the lazzaroni of Naples ; but the lazzaroni are not stained with the crimes of robbery and murder, for which the lazzaroni of Mexico are disgracefully notorious. The higher classes much resemble the " upper ten " of Spain. Of the Mexican women Frances Erskine says —
"You ask me how Mexican women are educated. In answering you, I must put aside a few brilliant exceptions and speak en masse — the most difficult thing in the world, for these exceptions are always rising up before me like accusing angels, and I begin to think of individuals when I should keep to generalities. Generally speaking, then, the Mexican senoras and senoritas write, read, and play a little, sew, and take care of their houses and children. When I say they read, I mean they know how to read ; when I say they write, I do not mean they can always spell ; and when I say they play, I do not assert that they have generally a knowledge of music. If we compare their education with that of the girls of the United States, it is not a comparison but a contrast. Compare it with that of Spanish women, and we shall be less severe upon their faineante descendants. In the first place, the climate inclines every one to indolence, both physically and morally. One cannot pore over a book when the blue sky is constantly smiling in at the open window ; then out of doors, after ten o'clock, the sun gives us due warning of our tropical latitude, and even though the breeze is so fresh and pleasant, one has no inclination to ride or walk far. Whatever be the cause, I am convinced it is impossible to take the same exercise with the mind or with the body in this country as in Europe or in the Northern States. Then, as to schools, there are none that deserve the name, and no governesses. Young girls can have no emulation, for they never meet. They have no public diversions and^no private amuse- ments. There are a few good foreign masters, most of whom have come to Mexico for the purpose of making their fortune by teaching or marriage, or both, and whose object naturally is to make the most money in the shortest possible time, that they may return home to enjoy it. The children generally appear to have an extraordinary disposition for music and dancing, yet there are few girls who are proficients in either.
u When very young they occasionally attend the schools, where boys and girls learn to read in common, or any other accomplishments
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that the old women can teach them ; but at twelve they are already considered too old to attend those promiscuous assemblages, and masters are got in for drawing and music to finish their education. I
MEXICAN WOMAN OF THE LABOURING CLASS.
asked a lady the other day if her daughter went to school. ' Good heavens !' said she, quite shocked, ' she is past eleven years old !' It frequently happens that the least well-informed girls are the children of the cleverest men, who, keeping to the customs of their forefathers,
L
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are content if they confess regularly, attend church constantly, and can embroider and sing a little. Where there are more extended ideas, it is chiefly amongst families who have travelled in Europe, and have seen the different education of women in foreign countries. Of these the fathers occasionally devote a short portion of their time to the instruction of their daughters, perhaps during their leisure evening- moments, but it may easily be supposed that this desultory system has little real influence on the minds of the children. I do not think there are above half-a-dozen married women, or as many girls above the age of fourteen, who, with the exception of the mass-book, reac! any one book through in the whole course of the year. They thus greatly simplify the system of education in the United States, where parties are frequently divided between the advocates for solid learning and those for superficial accomplishments, and according to whom it is difficult to amalgamate the solid beef of science with the smart sauce of les beaux arts.
" But if a Mexican girl be ignorant, she rarely shows it. They have generally the greatest possible tact, never by any chance wandering out of their depth or betraying by a word or sign that they are not well informed on the subject under discussion. Though seldom graceful, they are never awkward, and always self-possessed. They have plenty of natural talent, and where it has been strongly cultivated, no women can surpass them. But they love indolence. Said a beggar-woman to my English maid, 'Ah, if you only knew the pleasure of doing nothing T "
As the population is increasing but slowly, M. Chevalier is of opinion that the industrial wants of the country might be met by an importation of Coolies, while its higher orders, he trusts, would receive an accession from European immigration. He says — "A civilised government that wished to attract a large number of Coolies to Mexico would succeed without the slightest difficulty. It would be enough to treat them with common justice, and to abstain from the outrages and injustices inflicted on them by the colonists of California and Australia, In these countries the Chinese race has been subject to exactions and other bad treatment ; for instance, they are constantly threatened with expatriation. Nevertheless, they remain in considerable numbers. If such a race knew that a country existed where they would receive pro- tection as well as the white man, there would be no need of funds to send for them ; they would hasten." M. Chevalier wrote just at the
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time of the French intervention in Mexican affairs, and the late Emperor Maximilian was being elevated to the throne.
The career of Maximilian and its unhappy end need not be dwelt upon at any length here, but from some of the works published in connection with the short reign of the ill-fated monarch we may glean many particulars illustrative of Mexican scenery and of Mexican life. The Countess Paul Kollonitz has given a very interesting account of the Court of Mexico. Her narrative is exceedingly graphic, and to her we are indebted for the following particulars of the landing at Vera Cruz : —
" It would appear scarcely possible to land in the New World at a spot whose appearance is so little adapted to content the impatient expectation with which one draws near to a strange quarter of the globe, as is the case at Vera Cruz. The coast is flat and sandy, without vegetation. The roofless white houses of the town, which are built in straight rows, and form broad, uniform streets, give to the whole the appearance of a large cemetery.
" La Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz, founded by Cortes, is one of the most unhealthy spots in the world. During eight months every year the yellow fever rages and diminishes the number of Europeans who have been attracted to it by the interests of trade, and also of those Mexicans who, having been born in the higher part of the country, are obliged to pass some tune in the dreaded port. The dangerous miasmas of the town are quite harmless to the real inhabitants. The causes of the peculiarly raging character of the disease are to be attributed in part to the high sand- downs which hinder the free current of air, and in part to the morasses which surround the town, and which exhale noisome vapours from the decaying animal and vegetable stuff , or to the bad drinking-water and the excessive heat that prevails in Vera Cruz.
" The wreck of a stranded French vessel upon a coral reef close by helped to engrave the melancholy appearance of the place still more deeply upon our memory.
" Westwards, upon the island Sacrificio, the French fleet had chosen its anchorage. In front, upon the coast of the mainland, are the distant graves of many thousands of French soldiers, who had landed here at the commencement of the expedition, under the command of the able Admiral Jurien de la Graviere, and who had fallen victims to the epidemic. Their countrymen have named this place with sad humour * Le Jardin d'Acclimatation.'
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"The Themis had gone on in advance, and had announced our arrival ; yet all was silent as the grave. There was no motion in the harbour, and none upon the coast. The new ruler of Mexico stood in sight of his kingdom, and was on the point of landing, but his subjects remained in concealment ; no one came to receive him.
"An uncomfortable feeling stole over us all, but the emperor maintained a sarcastic tranquillity. It seemed as if he endeavoured to turn his tolerably cutting satire against himself.
" The atmosphere was, from every point of view, oppressive ; the situation cleared up at length. General Almonte, who had held the reins of government until the arrival of the emperor, and during the negotiations as to the acceptance of the throne, was awaiting at Orizaba news of the landing, since the dread of the yellow fever kept him and his suite as long as possible away from Vera Cruz. From Orizaba to the port is, however, a good day's journey, and therefore he had not yet arrived.
" Vera Cruz itself was by no means favourable to the new position of affairs. Of its 8,000 inhabitants most are foreigners, who, connected with the large business houses of the capital, had profited by the disorders to enrich themselves by smuggling and evasion of the laws. Every firm and resolute government was odious to them. The prefect of the town, together with the ayuntamiento (the municipality) of the town, had gone in great perplexity to meet General Almonte. After a considerable period the commander of the French fleet, rear-admiral Bosse, appeared on the scene, with his aide, both of them apparently in very bad humour because the emperor had not anchored in the midst of the French fleet, according to their desire. The Rear- Admiral stepped on board with an unparalleled want of consideration and propriety, and gave vent to his anger ; whilst he set before us, in sharp colours, all the dangers and disagreeables to which we were exposed by remaining where we were. Above all, he maintained that we had anchored in the most contagious spot, that to remain through the night here would be dangerous ; he quoted the cases in which sailors and passengers had in a single night fallen victims to the vomiting-sickness ; and then he spoke of the dangers to which our journey to Mexico would be exposed, that bands had been formed to take captive the imperial pair, and that General Bazaine had not time enough at his disposal to look after our safety, &c. He continued to speak for some tune in this tone. This was the first, but, alas ! not the last, example
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that we had of French arrogance in Mexico. At length, towards evening, came Almonte, General Sala, and all the notables of Vera Cruz. Almonte, who is the son of the priest Morellos, so celebrated in
MEXICAN AGRICULTURAL LABOURER.
the war of independence, and of an Indian woman who gave birth to him in the mountains (al monfe), made a very favourable impression upon us. On his bronzed but handsome countenance there was an expression of goodness and friendliness, and his conduct was simple,
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but polite and refined. Our greeting was a shake of the hand, for such is the commencement of every acquaintance in Mexico, though it appeared to us, naturally, at first, more trusty and familiar than it is intended io be.
"With the approach of night, salutes were fired from Fort San Juan de Ulloa ; the town of Vera Cruz was illuminated with Bengal lights, and the French fleet hung lanterns to every mast, and fired off rockets.
" We none of us could sleep, the expectation and excitement were too great. At half -past four mass was read on the middle deck, and at five we rowed off; to the Mole, where we disembarked. The nearer we approached the town, the more distinct became the mephitic odour, the distinguishing feature of Yera Cruz. The yellow fever had broken out but a short time before in consequence of the festival of the Corpus Christi, which had been celebrated under a burning sun. For this reason we found no sojourn in the town had been proposed."
Vera Cruz was founded towards the end of the sixteenth century on the spot where Cortes landed. It received the title and privilege of a city from Philip III. in 1615. The castle of St. Juan de Ulloa, which commands the town, is built on the small island of the same name about 400 fathoms from the shore. It is a strong citadel, and its north- western angle supports a lighthouse, with a brilliant revolving light about seventy-nine feet above the sea. The harbour of Yera Cruz is a mere roadstead between the town and castle, and is exceedingly insecure.
Notwithstanding, however, its numerous disadvantages, Yera Cruz maintains its commercial importance. The precious metals, cochineal, sugar, flour, indigo, provisions, are the principal articles of exportation. During the period that the foreign trade of Mexico was carried on exclusively by the^oto which sailed periodically from Cadiz, Yera Cruz was celebrated for its fair held on the arrival of the ships. It was then crowded with dealers from Mexico and most parts of Spanish America, but the abolition of the system of regular fleets, in 1778, proved fatal to the fair, as well as the still more celebrated fair of Portobello.
In resuming the narrative of the Countess Kollonitz we find that as soon as they trod upon Mexican soil the services of the Austrian Court, which had up to that moment provided the honours due to the arch- ducal pair, were at an end. Says the countess —
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" It was here that Mexican ladies were to undertake our duties, but we looked for them in vain. The dread of yellow fever had deterred them even from the reception of their new rulers. The populace of Vera Cruz was badly represented, and was content with a few triumphal arches and the banging of the customary petards.
" The reception was excessively chilling. Their majesties drove, under the escort of the French and Mexican military and civil autho- rities, to the * Plaza,' where the cars waited for them. The word 4 station' is not in the dictionary here. The cars are comfortable for a short distance, and built with a view to business ; the seats are of plaited straw, and the blinds Venetian, so that there is a free passage for currents of air. The line was itself laid rapidly by the French, with a view to bringing the troops as quickly as possible out of the reach of the dangerous pestilence. But the fastidious European feels but little •confidence in it. The luxury of signalmen is quite unknown, and would be, under the circumstances, almost impossible. The line makes its way over marsh and desert, where one only sees stunted and scorched bushes and a few cactus-plants.
"We travelled on in this way for an hour as far as Soledad, a small, lonely place, where a wooden building had been erected and decorated in haste, and a sumptuous breakfast prepared. A band of music played ; a great multitude had assembled. According to Mexican custom, a great deal of time was wasted here, and it was almost midday when we again continued our journey. There could be no doubt that the district in which we were was the ' Tierra Caliente,' or torrid zone.
"The train took us on an hour further to Somalto, and here the •delights of Mexican railways ended. We left the cars to get into the carriages which were in readiness for us, and then separated into two parties.
" Their majesties wished to travel to the capital by smaller journeys and with longer halts by the way ; but the whole company consisting of eighty-five persons, with more than five hundred pieces of luggage, it was not possible to find sufficient accommodation and entertainment unless a separation took place. The two high chamberlains and myself, with some of the gentlemen who intended to take up their permanent abode in the country, and the servants and their families, amongst whom were seven little children, went on first. We stood for a long time upon the open heath, till the various owners had found their .goods. At last we got into our vehicles. Their majesties had an
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English travelling-carriage, which proved the solidity of its build by arriving at Mexico without any damage. My companion and I occupied a comfortable phaeton, while all the rest were packed into high covered diligences, which were intended to hold twelve or fifteen people. Each of these was drawn by eight mules, two in front, then four harnessed together, and then two more. We very soon quitted the plains, and with them the region of yellow fever.
" The range, which we had long seen in the distance, drew nearer and nearer, vegetation became more and more luxurious, and at last we approached Chiquihuiti, a high mountain clothed in all the charms of tropical magnificence. Again we saw trees garlanded by twining creepers ; again flowers of every hue' were scattered over hill and valley. We particularly noticed the deep blue or purple convolvuli, of unusual size, which wound round every stem and up the highest branches. Great butterflies, orange-coloured shot with a lovely blue, darted about as if holding high holiday. We saw but few birds, and very pretty ones.
" It was the beginning of the rainy season. The clouds gathered and hid the sun, and, to our sorrow, often veiled the mountains, so that we did not see much of Orizaba, a peak of 17,000 feet high, nor of the famous Star Mountain, the Citlatepete of the Aztecs. The heat became more bearable as we approached the ' Tierra Templada,' or temperate zone, which extends almost to the plateau of Anahuac, the elevated plain upon which Mexico is built. This plain belongs to the 4 Tierra Fria,' or frigid zone, notwithstanding the peculiar mildness of its climate.
" The territory through which we were travelling is almost unin- habited ; now and then we came upon solitary huts built with reeds and covered with palm or maguey leaves. Then sallow Indians, with deer-like eyes, peeped inquisitively out, the men sometimes nursing their little children in their arms, the women holding fowls in their laps, which they caressed. Their terrible poverty, and, withal, their patience, awoke a feeling of sad sympathy. They seem to have few wants, to be nearly destitute of clothing, still more so of cleanliness ; yet they are fond of flowers, which they plant round their dwellings. Great bushes of Datura shade their huts and shed far and wide the fragrance of their rich flowers.
" Nothing is cultivated ; all is wild primeval forest ; Nature rules with unbounded sway. We crossed over many mountain torrents rushing downwards between rocky defiles ; everywhere there are deep
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153
ravines and precipices, which we dared not look over, with steep walls, rendered still more inaccessible by thick bushes and creepers. These ravines are called " barancas," and play an important and dangerous part in the guerilla warfare of this country.
" At Palo del Macho we found dinner ready in an edifice hastily
constructed of green wood and prettily decorated. The honours were done by the Prefect of Cordova, Senor Mendosa, the brother of the Count del Valle de Orizaba, with whom we afterwards became so well acquainted.
"The diligence and post communication between Vera Cruz and
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Mexico is very well and regularly arranged. At intervals of two and three hours, and often in most unfrequented places, one finds a large stable, which is always connected with a pulqueria (a taproom). The Mexican, who does not know the value of time, uses every opportunity of this sort to be as long as possible on the road ; but on this occasion the want of mules was a real excuse, as all that could be mustered had been placed at the emperor's service. In spite of all the scolding and maledictions of our companion — Colonel Viscount de la Pierre, who had forced himself upon us at Soledad as our marshal, and who gradually proved himself a very disagreeable escort — hours were wasted in useless waiting. Orizaba had been assigned to us as our station for the first night ; but it became more and more impossible to get farther than Cordova, which was very unpleasant to us, as the Imperial pair had chosen this town as their halting-place for the night, and so the whole cortege reassembled there, an inconvenience which should have been avoided.
*' The roads grew worse and worse, and no European can form an idea of them, nor of the hindrances that have to be overcome. They .are often nothing but the dried-up beds of mountain torrents. One place is called ' Sal si puedes,' 'Get out if you can;' and, indeed, it requires all the skill of a Mexican driver, and all the untiring energy of the spirited creatures, to perform this task. At first we were frightened, but it was impossible not to put confidence in the bold, resolute mule- driver. We often had animals who had never been in harness before. It was with extreme repugnance that they went through the pre- parations for their new work; but when once these were over, the •coachman on his box, with his helpers, had them completely in his power. With sixteen reins and a long whip in his hand, he guides them without difficulty, shouts, whistles, and hisses ; while the mule-boy, who forces them to start by throwing stones at them, gets off the box perpetually to collect fresh stones, to examine the road, put the drag on, to set the harness to rights, without the pace being in the least slackened ; and then, seated again in his place by the coachman, he .seizes the proper moment to bombard the lazy or restive mule with .stones. This is the school through which he must pass to enable him by-and-by to occupy the first place on the box. A good diligence- •driver is a very valuable person, and justly so. If he drives on the road between Vera Cruz and Mexico, he earns 120 pesos per month — about 550 florins of our money — has his expenses paid, and at the end of the
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year, if he has not had a single overturn, he may claim a reward of 250 pesos — more than 500 florins.
"In his undyed leather jacket, his hairy goatskin leggings (zapa- teros), and his broad-brimmed hat, the sombrero trimmed with gold, which serves equally as a protection from the rays of the sun or from torrents of rain, he is an original and picturesque figure. To add to all this, the ruler of our destiny maintained an immovable composure in spite of all the outbursts of wrath from the ominous Monsieur de la Pierre.
"I was already struck by the politeness which prevails even among the lowest classes. The muleteers at the stations were always met by the coachmen with a shake of the hand, and spoken to as ' Senor.' Never did we hear a loud word, scolding, or abuse among these people ; they exhibit a gentleness and an indifference which would drive active, bustling Europeans to despair. ' Quien sabe T — ' Who knows ?' — is the common answer to all queries, petitions, or threats.
"It had been quite dark for three hours, when we reached Cordova at ten o'clock at night. Here all was arranged for their Majesties to pass the night in a large house gaily decorated, and containing very fine rooms. But that eighty tired-out people should, in addition, claim a lodging had not been anticipated.
"With great difficulty my friend and I found beds; and we were almost ashamed of this distinction, as the gentlemen and servants were obliged to pass the night, some in the carriages, some on chairs, or upon the stony pavements of the courts and stairs. It was vain to think of sleep ; music, shouting, and the banging of mortars went on through the whole night. At two o'clock the Imperial pair arrived ; speeches had to be heard and answered ; a supper had to be eaten, which seemed as if it would never come to an end ; and when at last it was over, there was not much time left for rest.
" At half -past six in the morning we proceeded on our journey, and reached a very rich and cultivated neighbourhood, passing through most beautiful forests, near country houses and haciendas with fields of sugar- canes, maize, coffee, and cacao plants, through gardens full of orange, pomegranate, and other fruit trees. At this point of our journey we came to banana and palm trees, and even the road was in better con- dition. We everywhere came across preparations for the reception of the ' Emperadores.' Endless triumphal arches had been erected of the choicest flowers, and decked with gay flags and streamers ; every poor Indian had fastened to his hat some token of festivity. Here, where
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the people can boast^ of a regulated possession, and are well-to-do in the world, the longing for order is very great ; and hence the joy and thankfulness at the hope of an era of peace is warm and heartfelt.
"At ten a.m. we reached Orizaba, which lies in a grand position in a narrow valley, and is inclosed by lofty mountains. The summits of the highest are unfortunately covered with clouds as soon as the rainy season begins; and on this occasion the noble peak, which I learned later so heartily to admire, remained quite hidden. We were received with the greatest solemnity. Deputations came to meet us, and speeches were delivered, thanking us for having escorted the imperial pair ; petards were fired, &c. At the entrance of one house we were welcomed by a troop of ladies, and escorted into the decorated apartments prepared for the reception of their majesties.
" The emperor's bed was of rose-coloured silk. A good luncheon was offered us with the greatest friendliness ; fortunately, one of the ladies was a Frenchwoman, and could act as interpreter in the exchange of courtesies.
" Charmed with the beauties of the land, and rejoicing in the hospi- tality which was everywhere displayed, we tried to express our grateful feelings, which seemed to surprise the Mexicans very much. In this respect, indeed, they had not been spoiled by the French, who favoured them with nothing but abuse and humiliations ; and though they appeared to bear all this with great meekness, yet bitterness and hatred rankled in their hearts.
" We could not remain long in Orizaba, for we were to pass the night in Palmar. Our intention was opposed by all sorts of objections ; first on the part of the French, and then by Mexicans ; then it was impossible to procure mules; and as our gentlemen sided with the objectors, it was impossible to make head or tail of the affair, and it was not till we had absolutely started, and been overtaken by an escort of twenty men, that we learned that intelligence had arrived that the guerilla chief, Diaz, was lying in ambush with a part of his followers, in a hacienda through which we must pass, in the hopes of taking the emperor unawares. They had, therefore, delayed our journey until further news had arrived. The fact was indeed confirmed, but at tKe same time all necessary measures had been taken. We saw every- where bodies of troops, and the encampments of flying detachments ; but before we arrived at the dangerous hacienda we met the French general, Braincourt, who, with excessive politeness, came to meet our
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carriage to welcome us, and to assure us that we had no further cause of fear, for the guerillas had already dispersed.
" All this had much delayed us. Night came on, and we could see no more of the fine scenery. We were climbing the Cordilleras, called here Cumbres, which extend from the Rocky Mountains to South America, .through the Isthmus of Panama.
" We had left in Orizaba one carriage full of women and children ; the others were now drawn up the long and steep heights slowly and cautiously. Soldiers with torches sat upon the imperials of the dili- gences, and at our side the escort curbed in their horses, and listened anxiously to every sound. We saw, however, nothing but myriads of large fireflies, which swarmed in the bushes, and in the midst of the watch-fires of the scattered French encampment. It was bitterly cold after the excessive heat of the day before, so we buried ourselves in our plaids and our cloaks.
"The next time that I passed over the Cumbres on my return journey, it was in full daylight; and when I saw the road which we had travelled over in pitch darkness, I could not help shuddering. It had, it is true, been constructed by the Spaniards skilfully, and on a magnificent scale ; but since their time it has fallen into a state of neglect, which would cause it in Europe to be regarded as quite impracticable. Deep clefts, masses of rocks, and stems of trees would appear to be almost impassable obstacles ; but Mexican drivers and their brave beasts hardly think anything of them. Prudence, skill, and endurance conquer all difficulties.
" It was midnight by the time we had climbed the heights of the Cumbres de Delcorado ; we were all exhausted, and when we reached a small place, La Canada, we determined to make our halt there, as Palmar was still distant several hours' journey. The gentlemen entered the public-house, and encamped upon tables, chairs, and benches. We had our carriage shut up, and remained in it. A few days later, our host was attacked and murdered by the guerillas.
"As soon as it began to dawn we set out again, and breakfasted at Palmar, an odious little place, which consists, like most of the villages in Mexico, of one large square, upon which a large cathedral -like church is built, encircled by tolerably high walls. The houses, nearly on a level with the ground, very low, and with flat roofs, look in con- sequence like great dice, and are entirely without windows ; the only opening through which light and air penetrate to the interior is the
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door. The exterior walls are often painted with glaring colours, in smooth stripes, or arranged in squares.
" Palmar was the theatre of one of the bloodiest battles which were fought during the course of the wars of independence. The priest Morellos opposed successfully in this spot the Spanish General Iturbide, the same who shortly afterwards turned the war to his own profit, using it as a ladder for his promotion to the Empire of Mexico.
" The neighbourhood is ugly beyond expression ; under a thin coating of sand a hard stratum of lava extends to a great distance, and testifies to the former devastations of the abundant volcanoes. Their force is, however, almost expended, though some few still emit clouds of hot vapour ; but earthquakes of frequent occurrence prevent one's forgetting the terrible power which is raging in the bosom of the earth, and oftentimes hurries towns, with their inhabitants, to destruction.
"The only cultivated growth of the undulating plain is the maguey, the large fields of which are surrounded by thick cactus-hedges. The maguey (Agava Americana), wrongly called aloe in our hothouses, rises often here to a height of seven or eight feet, and out of it is extracted the pulque, which is the Mexican's drink par excellence.
" The maguey was much planted and highly prized formerly by the Aztecs ; for, besides the sap, out of which they prepared an intoxicating drink, they used the leaves to roof their house, made stuffs and ropes out of its fibres, ground them to pulp to make paper ; in short, the maguey supplied nearly all the necessities of the ordinary man. Now it has become a fertile source of wealth to many people. In its eighth or tenth year, before it begins to blossom, it forms a milk-white sap at the heart (corazon} • the heart is extracted, and a round hollow is scooped out, in which is collected all the sap, which would otherwise have been absorbed by the long flower-stems. During a period of from three to five months the Indian draws the juice daily from this well, and we were assured that a healthy plant will yield sixteen buckets of pulque in this space of time. After this it dies, but leaves behind, at the root, a quantity of sprouts, which, when planted, yield in their turn a rich produce.
" The cactus, or nopal, upon which the cochineal worm is reared in some parts of the country, is a melancholy plant when one meets it in great masses, but it exhibits great variety in its blossoms, which are sometimes white, sometimes red or yellow. Some of the species rise
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straight to the height of ten or twelve feet, and with their forbidding prickles form a good protection for gardens, and are used as gigantic fences.
"The giants Popocatepetl and Iztazzihecatl rose before us; they are between 1,600 and 1,800 feet high, and covered with perpetual snow ; their summits were almost always concealed by clouds. We had reached the plateau of Puebla, nearly 6,800 feet above the level of the sea, and situated in the most fruitful and best cultivated part of the country ; broad fields of corn and maize extended before our eyes, but everywhere we could perceive traces of the devastations which had been caused by the civil war ten years before, and by the siege of Puebla last year. Churches, haciendas, whole villages were in ruins, and presented a most melancholy spectacle.
"At length the town of Puebla de los Angeles lay before us, with its countless cupolas and church towers soaring above the roofless houses. As we drew near, we observed a great number of riders in the extraordinarily picturesque dress of the country. They were citizens from the town, who, on hearing the news of our arrival, had hastened to meet and escort us. They seemed to be one with their little swift horses, as if they had grown with them ; and the saddles and bridles were adorned with gold embroidery and bright silk tassels. In many cases the father and two little sons sat on one horse, or several boys sat behind one another, and rode merrily along ; the tout-ensemble formed a lively, interesting picture."
Puebla is about 125 miles distant from Vera Cruz. It was founded by the early Spanish settlers, and was formerly, and is still to a con- siderable extent, the hotbed of priests. When Bullock visited it, Puebla had no fewer than sixty-nine churches, nine monasteries, thirteen nunneries, and twenty-three colleges. He says of the churches they were the most perfect he had ever seen. Those of Milan, he tells us, Genoa, and Rome are built in better taste, but in the interior decorations, the quantity and value of the ornaments of the altar, and in the richness of the vestments worn by the priests, they are far surpassed by the Puebla churches.
A tolerably good trade was carried on in Puebla, and the manufac- tures of glass and earthenware kept up their reputation until the siege ; but, like Mexico, the city swarms with beggars. The countess says that as she approached the town it exhibited little more than ruins, and yet a year before it had made a gallant three months' resistance-
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She tells us that as they left the suburbs and reached the interior of the city the impression was more favourable. To resume the narrative in the words of the countess — " We drove through broad, regular streets and great squares, past noble churches. Every street has a canal running through the middle of it, paved over with broad stones. This carries off the torrents which stream down in the rainy season. On both sides there are footways, and old descriptions speak of the pave- ment as excellent, an opinion which I cannot endorse. Battles in the streets and barricades may have produced a disagreeable change.
" In spite of this, Puebla is a very attractive town, and its archi- tecture is far more beautiful and peculiar than that of Mexico ; it is kept cleaner, and bears fewer traces of fallen greatness than the metropolis, the splendour of which has suffered so much from revolu- tions and civil wars. The houses are higher, and look less squeezed together, and have not that universal, monotonous yellow hue which one notices in Mexico. The love of the Aztec race for warm, bright colours holds its own as yet here, and is often applied with much taste and artistic feeling. The house assigned to us was washed over with red, and faced with white and blue varnished tiles of porcelain — an original and pretty idea, which was repeated in many other houses in the town.
" We were received here with great rejoicings ; many ladies and gentlemen accompanied us up the broad staircase leading into a large, airy passage, supported by columns, which ran round the inner court, and was decked with orange-trees and flowers. From this we proceeded into carpeted rooms, furnished with every luxury and comfort which the most fastidious European could require. They were spacious and lofty, and had large windows reaching to the ground, and provided with balconies.
" Our words of thanks, our exclamations of pleasure and astonish- ment, were always answered by those long speeches with which the Mexicans accompany their hospitality, and studied civility, and in which the famous phrase, ' a la disposition de Ustecl ' (* at your dis- posal'), plays the prominent part. And really they consider the guests whom they bring under their roof almost as the masters of the house.
"The son of the prefect did the honours for us instead of his father, who had gone to meet the emperor, and when he had led us into the dining-room, where a long table awaited us, spread with an interminable
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supper, we observed that the rest of the company had remained behind in the drawing-room. A pause of confusion ensued, and at last the young Mexican stammered out that no one could take a place at this table who was not invited by us. Our invitation was conveyed to the rest of the party, who would not seat themselves till after endless mutual compliments. Among the ladies, a pretty, bright little woman-, who was called Mrs. General, was the only one who understood a little
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French ; among the gentlemen the knowledge of this language was rather more diffused, but still very limited. The difficulty of inter- course was increased by the fact that European ideas of politeness correspond in no way with those of the Mexican, and it always took a long time before our mutual efforts were understood.
" For the same reason we sat looking at each other after supper for a long tune before the company gave signs of departing. We had had three entirely sleepless nights, and three hot, weary days' journey, and were almost overcome by sleep and fatigue, yet we could not make up
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our minds to make the move, owing to the lofty formality of our host. At last we came to an understanding, and the desired repose was granted us. Never shall I forget the delight with which, after nearly two months' deprivation, I found myself in a wide, comfortable, stationary bed, in a cool, roomy apartment. I woke next morning agreeably refreshed, but soon learnt with sorrow that my companion was confined to bed by a serious indisposition. Her looks caused great anxiety to us at first, but this was happily removed before long ; her elastic nature quickly overcame the evil. Instead of one day we spent two in Puebla, and were able to proceed on our journey on the 3rd of June.
" We had found much to interest us in this town, less perhaps as regards the churches, which were over-decorated with treasures and gilding, than the observation of new and strange manners and customs ; the details are all so un-European that one cannot see and wonder sufficiently. My greatest pleasure here, as it was later on in Mexico, was to drive under the * Portales,' the broad colonnades which surround the chief square, where Indians from all parts of the country offer native productions for sale, and where I always met with fresh and characteristic objects to gratify my desire for knowledge, or to exercise my powers of reflection.
" The approaching arrival of the imperial pair had excited activity everywhere ; triumphal arches had been erected, churches and houses decorated, all sorts of preparations made. People were never tired of asking about the personal appearance or the mental qualities of their majesties. Everywhere a deep gratitude was expressed that out of love to Mexico they had been willing to leave their home and family, to undertake the long voyage, and to rule over a land which had been thrown into the deepest confusion by a long series of misfortunes, by civil war, treachery, and covetousness ; whose inhabitants had lost all moral power — nay, more, every idea of morality, and who, with a truly painful humility, pronounced the verdict upon themselves, ' There are none here but rogues and thieves !' It is impossible at first sight to believe the truth of this, alas! well-established self-condemnatory verdict; for the stranger meets with such engaging and hearty cordiality, that he is disposed to be indignant at the injustice of the sentence. The character of the people is so devoid of strength and energy, and so incapable of resisting the slightest temptation or seduc- tion, that it has in consequence sunk to the deepest pitch of demora-
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lisation, though it is not devoid of a certain tenderness and refine- ment that make at first a most favourable impression. People who have been accused of the most illegal public transactions, who have injured thousands by their treachery and cunning, who know of no right and of no law, you will find in the family circle to be the tenderest and fondest sons, husbands, fathers, or brothers. They overwhelm their relations with delicate attentions and benefits, and extend this gentle disposition to all who are connected with them by personal friendship.
" Puebla, whose population is assessed at about 70,000, is ahead of Mexico, both as regards its numbers and the excellence of its educa- tional establishments ; and as to its activity, industrial or commercial, it would seem that its inhabitants are more active, intelligent, and morally less abased than those of the capital. There appeared also to me to be better regulations and less neglect. The town is surrounded with gardens, which supply the necessary fruits and vegetables ; and the prosperity appears to be far more universal than in Mexico, where the contrast between wealth and misery is very striking.
" On the second day we caught sight of the fortress of Guadalupe, which commands the town, and from whence one gains a view over the plain, with its beautiful encircling mountains ; westwards the gigantic chain, from which rise the snowy summits of Popocatepetl and Iztazzi- huatt, eastwards the Sierra Madra, with the Peak of Orizaba and the Cofre de Perote, and between them the mountains of Malinche. It is, indeed, an imposing view, and its beauty is much heightened by the won- derfully clear atmosphere, which brings the distance nearer, and which lends a transparency to the mass overhead which we in Europe are wont to call sky, and which appears with us like a compact covering. This transparency, more than anything else, conveys to the senses an idea of the infinite. The eye finds no point on which to rest ; all is boundless, and the heart, too, rises in astonishment, admiration, and reverence.
" In the afternoon we mounted to the terrace of our house, which in this country almost universally takes the place of a roof, from whence we could admire the mountains, which were cloudless — a rare spectacle at this period of the year. Unhappily, the communication between our dwelling and the terrace was very imperfect, and in springing from a considerable height I sprained my foot, a mishap which for a long while hindered my walking, and caused me a thousand disagreeables during our onward journey. Notwithstanding this, we left Puebla next day at eight o'clock in the morning."
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Among the interesting remains of the Aztec people of Mexico is the famous pyramid of Cholula. It is built of brick about 175 feet in height, with a breadth of 1,400 feet at the base. In these days it is scarcely to be recognised as the work of human hands. It rises in three terraces, green with plants, overgrown with trees ; on its summit stands a church with high cupolas and many towers, surrounded by tall cypresses.
A beautiful story from pre- Aztec times attaches to this pyramid. We are told that the Toltecs, who ruled over the broad plains of Anahuac, and much of the land that borders on it, before the time of the Aztecs, were a mild, peaceful race, who busied themselves with the arts and sciences, cultivated the land, and reared flowers and fruits. Their deities were also of a gentle disposition, and were pleased with the pure fire which burned in the temple (teocali), and with the offering of flowers, whose sweet fragrance penetrated to them, and made them inclined to grant man's everlasting petitions. But no god was so favourable to man as was Quetzalcoatl, the god of the air. He had lived amongst them, had taught them the art of cultivation and working in gold, besides that of ruling wisely over distant lands and nations of greater importance. That was Mexico's golden age: a measure of maize was so large that it required the whole strength of a man to carry it ; the cotton hung in gay colours from the plants, a sweet odour filled the air, and birds with splendid plumage sang the most musical melodies. But Quetzalcoatl was an enemy of war, and when it was mentioned he stopped his ears. Therefore he aroused the hatred of a more powerful divinity, and was obliged to fly. He stayed his flight in Cholula, where a pyramid with a beautiful teocali was built in his honour. Quetzalcoatl, however, wandered still farther till he had reached the sea and the gulf ; then he took leave of his lovers and worshippers, promised to return one day, and entered a boat which was made of snake-skins, and sailed far off into the east, whence the sun came. He was a large white man, with a long beard. The Indians await his return with longing, for with him will return happiness and riches, and the golden age, in which the Toltecs once revelled, will bloom again.
But later on, when the Aztecs had driven out the gentle race of Toltecs, they learned their arts and sciences, but did not imitate their mildness of disposition ; they were cruel and harsh, bloodthirsty and revengeful, and they attributed like qualities to their gods. The chief
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god was Huitzlipochtli, or Mejetli, the god of war ; they slaughtered the captive enemies in his honour, and even offered them to him as burnt sacrifices.
But they shed blood not only in honour of the god of war ; in Cholula, where the fragrance of flowers had enchanted the tender heart of Quetzalcoatl, human sacrifices were offered to him. Young men and
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maidens out of the conquered cities were slain upon the pyramid of Cholula by the priest clothed in a red mantle. He tore their hearts out of their breasts, sprinkled the images of the gods with the blood, and let it run far down over the walls of the pyramid. Six thousand people are said to have been sacrificed every year in this way.
This legend of the good white man, who was to come again as the redeemer of Mexico, is said to have fervently impressed the native races with regard to the unfortunate Maximilian. The Indians, not- withstanding their outward Christianity, still cling tenaciously to the superstitions of their fathers, and the " coming man," who is to restore their country to its pristine glory and prosperity, is always a white man from over the sea.
There is great uncertainty even among the learned as to the origin and descent of the Mexican Indians. It is known that the inhabitants of the New World were called "Indians" owing to the erroneous opinion which prevailed, at the time of the discovery of America, that Columbus had landed upon an island belonging to India. The deepest researches reach back to the eighth century, when the Toltecs immi- grated into the country, cultivated it, and established a species of civilisation. Later on, they deserted it, and spread themselves over Central America. A century after the departure of the Toltecs, the Chichimecs wandered into the vale of Anahuac from the far north-west — a rough hunting tribe, found by the Spaniards in the north of the Mexican plateau, remains of which even now inhabit Michoacan, Guada- laxara, and San Luis Potosi. The Nahuatlacs must have come into Anahuac in seven tribes, from the north, about the twelfth century. One of these tribes — that of the Acolhuans — was governed by the poet- king of Tezcuco, Nezahualcoyatl ; another branch was that of the Aztecs, which, under Montezuma, extended its sway over the wide plain of Anahuac, and mastered all the other races. According to an oracle, the Aztecs were to end their wanderings at the place where they found a cactus (nopal) growing out of a stone and an eagle perched upon it. There they founded the town of Tenochtitlan, also called Mexico, after the war-god of Mexitli. This fable is the origin of the Mexican coat-of- arms, which represents an eagle sitting upon a nopal with a snake in its beak.
All these tribes had a common language, — the "Nahuatlac " — now spoken by most of the Indians, and called the Aztec tongue. There are traces of original races, with manners and languages of their own, all
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over the country. They used to count at least forty languages in the territory of the former kingdom of New Spain. The " Mayas," a nume- rous aboriginal tribe, with a tongue of their own, live in Yucatan and part of the provinces of Las Chiapas and Tabasco. The Mexican Indians are small and thin, but well built and very muscular ; their skin is about as dark as that of our gipsies, only more sallow ; their dark, black eyes are set rather obliquely in their heads, their cheek-bones are prominent, their foreheads low, their hair of a glossy black and straight, the beard stronger than amongst the Indians of North America. In some of the tribes the long chin projects, the forehead retreats suddenly, the lips are broad, and the head very large ; for this reason these races are very ugly, while the greater number of Indians have very expressive features. The women, on whom neglect and dirt have a particularly unpleasing effect, are more ugly than the men, but all have an expression of gentleness, suffering, and submission. Prescott, in his famous work upon the conquest of Mexico, says, speaking of the Indians —
" Those familiar with the modern Mexican will find it difficult to conceive that the nation should ever have been capable of devising the enlightened polity which we have been considering. But they should remember that in the Mexicans of our day they could only see a con- quered race, as different from their ancestors as are the modern Egyptians from those who built, I will not say the tasteless pyramids but the temples and palaces, whose magnificent wrecks strew the borders of the Nile at Luxor and Karnac. The difference is not so great as between the ancient Greek and his degenerate descendant, lounging among the masterpieces of art, which he has scarcely taste enough to admire, speaking the language of those still more imperishable monu- ments of literature which he has hardly capacity to comprehend. Yet he breathes the same atmosphere, is warmed by the same sun, nourished by the same scenes, as those who fell at Marathon, and won the trophies of Olympic Pisa. The same blood flows in his veins that flowed in theirs. But ages of tyranny have passed over him ; he belongs to a conquered race.
"The American Indian has something peculiarly sensitive in his nature. He shrinks instinctively from the rude touch of a foreign hand. Even when this foreign influence comes in the form of civilisa- tion, he seems to sink and pine away beneath it. It has been so with the Mexicans. Under the Spanish domination their numbers have silently melted away. Their energies are broken. They no longer tread
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their mountain plains with the conscious independence of their ancestors. In their faltering step and meek and melancholy aspect we read the sad characters of the conquered race. The cause of humanity, indeed, has gained. They live under a better system of laws, a more assured tranquillity, a purer faith. But all does not avail. Their civilisation was of the hardy character which belongs to the wilderness. The fierce virtues of the Aztec were all his own. They refused to submit to European culture — to be engrafted on a foreign stock.
" The relations in which the earth and man stand to each other are quite different here and in our over-populous Europe. In the one -case he has turned every hand-breadth of ground to account; he has cultivated the niggardly soil in the sweat of his brow, and forced it to produce such plants as are useful to him ; he has to protect every blade of grass in its growth under uncongenial circumstances ; he has to wait anxiously for sunshine and showers to assist his labours, and his greatest enemy is the changeableness of the climate. He estimates the growth of field and forest by his own necessities ; it is for the service of man only that everything blossoms and ripens — for his food, clothing, shelter, and warmth ; and yet how seldom does it satisfy all his wants ! How many are there who hunger and shiver, have no roof above them, no clothing to cover them ! The earth is poor in Europe in comparison with the needs of its inhabitants.
" On the other hand, how entirely different are the circumstances of this great continent, where moisture and warmth draw out the fertility of the soil, and where the population is so thinly scattered that all this wealth remains unused ! The earth is free and independent ; Nature lavishes her gifts for her own pleasure, and adorns herself with fruits and flowers. In the few spots that have been sown by the hand of man she has rewarded his labour four-hundredfold. The inhabitant of the town is the only needy person, and he only if he is sick or crippled. The Indian is never rich, but never poor; cotton grows everywhere, from which he prepares his scanty clothing ; every tree, every shrub, provides him with food. Future times will no doubt produce a great alteration; Europe is pouring its overflow into this broad, generous bosom ; all eyes will be fixed with interest upon the New World, and relations will be established which we cannot now conceive, exceeding all our present notions, and proving how small is much that appears great in our eyes, and more especially our own wisdom."
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The following account of a visit to the mines, in which the Indians are largely employed, will be read with interest : —
" Mr. Barren, Don Pedro Escandon, and two young Frenchmen, the one a nephew of the writer Chateaubriand, and bearing the same name, were our companions on this journey ; we drove with them in a diligence through a great deal of unpleasing country, which, moreover,
MEXICAN NATIVE SOLDIEKS.
was not thought to be very safe. The gentlemen had revolvers with them, six Zouaves sat upon the imperial, and when half-way the 4 Guardia Rurale,' which is in the pay of the Mining Company, came to meet us. It is in this manner that country excursions are made in Mexico. We rested for a short time at a miserable little place, Tisayuca, half-way between the capital and Pachuca, and found a very good dejeuner a la fourchette in a dirty inn, full of flies, kept by a French landlord.
"Then we went on towards the naked-looking mountains, which
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contain rich veins of silver, are rented by the ' English Mining Com- pany,' and yield a large profit.
"The little unlovely town of Pachuca lies in a narrow cleft at the foot of these mountains. The director of the company possesses a roomy house here, built after the fashion of the country, but furnished in all the luxury of English habits. Mr. Thomas Auld was just about to follow his family to England, and to resign the dictatorship, which had made him a very wealthy man in the course of a few years ; his brother, Mr. Scuart Auld, was to succeed him. Both the brothers, and the wife of the latter, received us with a kindness and friendliness which laid us under great obligations. The eight days which we spent under their hospitable roof were, in truth, not the least pleasant of those passed in this distant country.
" The first morning was occupied in inspecting the most productive mine, Rosario, into which one enters without descending, and out of which there came such a stream of hot air that we did not penetrate farther than about two hundred yards. The mineral ore containing the silver lay everywhere scattered about our narrow paths, and a few strokes of the hammer were sufficient to put us in possession of some specimens of it. Then we went to the haciendas, great edifices, where we learned the different processes ; how the water was pumped out of the shafts, how the ore was crushed, the silver separated and purified (by the amalgamation of quicksilver) from all alloy ; how the quick- silver was then itself removed, the pure silver collected in porous cupels, finally smelted, and cast into heavy bars. A bar contains the value of about 1,500 dollars; twenty-eight bars are sent off every fortnight, which gives a gross produce of 12,000,000 dollars in the year. A third of this goes towards all the expenses of working, another third for the interest per cent, which is paid to the State, while the remainder forms a clear profit, and is divided among the shareholders. More than 1,200 Indians work in these mines, and 1,600 mules are employed in the haciendas. The guard of the company goes twice a month with the bars of silver to the seaport towns, from whence they are shipped, for the most part, to England.
" The company has made excellent roads everywhere; we travelled upon one of them in the afternoon, escorted by the trim Guardia Rurale, over a high mountain, to Real del Monte. We went along precipices that made our hair stand on end ; the mountains are covered only with brushwood and gay flowers. The Spaniards have completely
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 171
rooted out the neighbouring forests, so that the aspect is melancholy. But there was some compensation for us in the fine distant views we obtained over the plain and towards the snowy range.
" As we approached Real del Monte the vegetation assumed a diffe- rent character, and at length we drove through a noble forest of ilex, in a ravine behind which lies a little town, at a height of 10,000 feet. Even in these low latitudes no warmth reaches to such an elevation. I had not shivered so much for a long time as I did upon this July afternoon in the tropics, and the stove-fire in the house of Mr. Stuart Auld I found excessively cheering. All the houses in this neighbour- hood have shelving roofs to protect them from the frequent falls of snow, which give the landscape an almost European character. One could easily fancy oneself transplanted to the Alps ; the valleys are united by well-engineered mountain roads, the vegetation no longer wears a tropical aspect, and the forests consist of evergreen oaks, cedars, and cypresses, and of those beautiful pieces of fir which had already excited our admiration upon the heights of Rio Frio. The formation of the rocks is very marvellous ; the celebrated ' pines cargados ' stand out like pyramids from the green turf of the narrow valleys ; in other places rise lofty walls of porphyry at the side of the road, and conceal in their clefts dahlias, convolvuli, sylvias, and other gaudy flowers. The waterfall of Regla is also very interesting. It dashes down high rocks of basalt, not far from the pretty hacienda of San Miguel. How manifold is the beauty in which this mighty con- tinent is adorned, and how much more grandeur we might have seen and admired had not rain and robbers, and the difficulty of communi- cation, laid such heavy fetters upon our love of travelling ! After a sojourn of eight days in Pachuca we returned to Mexico, and took up our abode in the pretty house of the family Escandon, in the ' Calle del Puerte de San Francisco.' Since we were deprived of more excur- sions to a distance, we visited all that offered most interest in the neighbourhood of the capital, and sought after all extant evidence of the conquest of Mexico, and for all particulars which could give us an insight into that period, but there is, unfortunately, but little such information to be found.
" The celebrated tree the ' Noche Triste ' is of the same age and family as the trees of Chapultepec (Taxodium distichum, or Ahuahuates in Mex.) It is of immense girth, its top is already dead, and it stands in a former churchyard, near a decayed monastery. Beneath its shade
172 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
Cortes is said to have enjoyed a few hours' repose with a handful of faithful followers, after the greater part of his troops had been attacked and massacred, and he could hope for no escape otherwise than by a glorious death. Aided by craft, courage, and genius, the daring adventurer had penetrated with his small band into the very heart of the kingdom, even to the capital itself, the renowned Tenoch- titlan. He became the guest of the dreaded Montezuma, inha- bited his most beautiful palace, at the foot of the largest teocali, was honoured by the Aztec emperor, and laden with gifts at his hands. The inhabitants of the town named the Spaniards l the white gods,' admired, revered, and dreaded them."
CHAPTER VIT.
The Golden Brazils — Extent of the Empire — Political Division of" Castes — Idle- ness of the Native Brazilians — Brazilian Vanity — Sugar Plantations — The Pardos, or Mulattoes — Creoles— Slavery — Mode of Obtaining Liberty — Indian Mentos, or Civilised Indians, and Tapinos, or Wild Hordes — Habits of the Wild Indians — The Tupinambas — The Amazons — Explorations by Mr. Bates — Primeval Forests — Afloat on the King of Rivers — Santarem — Obydos — The River Negro — Flies— Melipona Bees — Ants — Scarlet-faced Monkeys — More about the People of Brazil.
T EAVING for awhile Golden Mexico, we shall direct the reader's "*^ attention in this chapter to the subject of the Golden Brazils, the most golden, so it is now said, of all the Americas.
Of this country, perhaps more than of any other in the world, it may truly be said : —
" Stern Winter smiles in this auspiciotis clime : The fields are florid in eternal prime : From the bleak pole no winds inclement blow, Mould the round hail, or flake the fleecy snow 5 But from the breezy deep the groves inhale The fragrant murmurs of the eastern gale."
In extent Brazil is second only to the colossal empire of China. The length from north to south is nearly 2,700 miles, and the breadth from east to west approaches 2,300. On the south and east its shores are washed by fhe waves of the Atlantic Ocean; on the west it is bounded by Peru, Bolivia, and La Plata ; and on the north by Guianc — French, Dutch, and British — and Columbia. A great portion of the
174 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
country consists of high table-lands and mountains, the vegetation is rich and luxuriant, and it has been justly remarked that no country is more favoured by nature for the carrying on of an extensive commerce.
In Brazil, unlike the Spanish and English colonies, there is hardly any political division of castes, and very few of those galling and de- grading distinctions which have been made by all other nations in the management of their colonies. This was not intended by the mother country, but has arisen from the circumstances connected with the colonisation of this vast territory, which rendered intermarriage with the natives inevitable. It is true that, according to the old code, people of colour are not eligible to some of the chief offices of government, nor can they become members of the priesthood ; but from the mildness of the laws the mixed classes have gained ground considerably, and the regulations against them are evaded, or rather have become obsolete. Marriages between white men and women of colour are by no means rare, and the circumstance is scarcely observed upon, unless the woman be decidedly of a dark colour, for even a considerable tinge will pass for white. The laws as to slaves are peculiarly humane. The diseases and the vices introduced by Europeans are said to produce a fearful mortality amongst the natives. At the time when the Jesuits Anchieta and Nobraga exerted themselves to introduce European civi- lisation, an epidemical sinall-pox suddenly carried off two-thirds of the population.
The Brazilerois, or native Brazilians, born of Portuguese parents, in the Brazils, inherit all the idleness and inactivity of their European ancestors. Weech remarks, " that the very narrow compass in which the necessities of the poorer classes are confined is almost incredible. A hut, constructed of thin poles of wood, plastered together, as it were, with earth, and covered with straw, is ample security against the sun and rain ; a straw mat serves them as a bed, seat, and table ; a dish and pot complete the house and cooking apparatus ; a couple of cotton shirts, a pair of linen trousers, a calico jacket, a pair of wooden shoes, and a coarse straw hat complete a wardrobe that furnishes them hand- somely for a year; and a kitchen-garden, a few fruit trees, and a mandive field furnish them with a plentiful subsistence. Give them but a viola (a small guitar strung with metal strings), and some tobacco to make their much-loved paper cigars, and their dearest wishes are gratified. Smoking the latter, and strumming on the former, they can beguile entire half-days in a state of enviable forgetfulness, vegetating
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 175
like the plants. A few fowls, sent to the city from time to time, furnish the necessary supplies; and there are thousands of families whose annual income does not exceed twenty milrees " (four pounds ten shil- lings English money).
Mr. Bates tells us that among the Brazilians proper he found much to admire ; that their government was efficiently and liberally admin is - tered ; but that the state of religion in the country was, with some exceptions, low and unhealthy. There is a zealous bishop, of devout and irreproachable life, and there are a few priests who are worthy of their superior ; but, as a rule, the priests are both ignorant and irreli- gious, exercising a really baneful influence on the morals and habits of the people. The half-castes are various, and present some favourable specimens ; but the native Indians exhibit in Brazil, as elsewhere, a want of adaptability to circumstances, an incapacity for any kind of culture, and a general inflexibility of organisation, which make their long continuance extremely doubtful.
The established religion of Brazil is the Roman Catholic ; but all other religions are tolerated, and there is not now, whatever there may have been formerly, much intolerance among the Brazilian Catholics, except among the lowest and least-instructed classes. Indeed, the others are generally distinguished by a want of zeal in religious matters, and are more occupied with the outward ceremonies of religion than with its spirit or practical influence. There are, of course, great differences among the clergy. Some of them possess the virtues and acquirements that are suitable to their station, but such is not generally the case, the majority being ignorant, bigoted, and not unfrequently immoral. A reform of the priesthood would do more than anything else to improve the national character and morals.
Ecclesiastical affairs are under the direction of an archbishop, at Bahia (originally a bishopric, being the first founded in Brazil, in 1522, and raised to the archiepiscopal rank in 1667) ; six bishops — viz., at Rio, Pernambuco, Maranhao, Para, Mariana, and San Paulo ; and two *' prelacias," with episcopal powers — viz., Goyaz and Cuyaba. The church of Brazil has been for some time engaged in a dispute with Rome as to the appointment of the bishops, the people claiming the sovereign right of nomination, which the Church rejects.*
Monasteries and nunneries are, or rather were, numerous in many
* McCnlloch.
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parts of Brazil. The saints' days are said to be celebrated in a manner as splendid as at Rome. A recent writer observes that neither the carnival at Venice, nor the declining masquerades of Paris, can convey an exact idea of the tumult and extreme absurdities which prevail during the days of the "intrude," or carnival, not only at Rio, but throughout the cities of Brazil. Luckily, however, measures have been taken for lessening the number of monasteries and nunneries. The revenues of many of them have reverted to the crown, and their buildings have been applied to other and more useful purposes.
Among one of the strangest customs among the native population is that one of the woman specially elected to the ceremonial distinction bearing from the altar at nine o'clock on Christmas-day a baby, or an effigy, representing the child Jesus. This is carried all about the village, the woman being attended by two Church followers, who collect alms to be duly handed over to the priest. Later in the evening the procession is made up by several maidens, all with their lamps trimmed, who escort the representative mother and child to church.
The wealthy inhabitants of the country differ only from those of the city in their greater ignorance. Wealth alone possesses value in their eyes ; knowledge and character appear to them almost superfluous. The stranger, therefore, who cannot boast of wealth, is, in their esti- mation, a very insignificant person.
Denis gives the following quotation from an unpublished voyage in Brazil, by M. de Tollenare, in which he distinguishes between the vanity of the Parisian and the Brazilian : —
" The vanity of a Frenchman," says he, "peeps out in his conver- sation, by his pretensions to wit ; if he be rich, he wishes everybody to believe that he owes his wealth to his talents, although it is more fre- quently due to chance. His luxury will be the expression, more or less happy, of good taste. He refines upon the conveniences of life ; follows the most absurd fluctuations of fashion ; pretends to an admi- ration of the fine arts, while he admits within the circle of his friends only those who manage flattery with address.
" The Brazilian, infected with the sin of vanity, is self-satisfied, and does not care to conceal it ; whatever may be the source of his wealth, he never considers the means by which he obtained it as any reproach ; he never tries to disguise them ; let him be but rich and he is insensible to shame; when he is poor he is perpetually exhibiting maladresse. His luxury is rude and solid ; his admiration rests upon substantial
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177
ornaments and massive jewels. Both men and women bestow much, attention on their toilet when they appear in public ; * madarne ' repairs to mass, attended by a numerous retinue of slaves, richly attired, and on her return she perhaps squats upon a mat, to eat, with her fingers, dry fish and mandive !"
The planters of Brazil are very similar to those of other countries.
VIEW ON THE RIVER NAVAY, A TRIBUTARY OF THE AMAZOX3.
The possession of an engenho (sugar plantation and manufactory) esta- blishes among the cultivators a sort of nobility. A serihor d'engenlio is always spoken of with respect, and to attain this rank is the object of every one. When the serihor is in the company of his inferiors, or even of his equals, he is reserved, holds his head high, and speaks in that loud and commanding tone that betokens the man accustomed to be obeyed.
The mulattoes (commonly called Pardos, signifying of a brown colour, for the term mulatto is regarded as a reproach in Brazil) are the offspring of Europeans and negroes. They show considerable
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ingenuity and perseverance in the mechanical arts, and are said to display a taste for painting.
There can be no doubt of the effectual influence of the mulatto in the political affairs of the country : a physical organisation essentially energetic, and which fits him to bear up against the heat of the climate, his activity, and his intelligence point him out as a person likely to make a conspicuous figure in a revolution, if not to organise a move- ment.
The Creoles are those born in Brazil of African parents ; the Mam- lucos are the offspring of whites and Indians ; the Curibocos, of negroes and Indians ; and the Cubros of mulattoes and negroes. The African negroes form, as has been seen, a very large proportion of the popula- tion. Their condition, though not equal to that of the slaves in Buenos Ayres and adjacent countries, is upon a far better footing than in many other colonies. It varies, however, in the different provinces, and is best in those situated in the interior. In the provinces formerly inhabited by the less warlike races among the Indians, who formed early alliances with Europeans, the introduction of negroes has been less necessary. Such, for example, is the case with Rio Grande do Sui7 San Paulo, and the countries traversed by the Amazon. The negro popu- lation is most numerous in the provinces devoted to the raising of sugar and coffee, as Bahia and Rio Janeiro, and in these probably they have the greatest facilities for obtaining their liberty. The negroes brought to Brazil belong generally to Angola, Anguiz, Benguela, Cabinda, Mozam- bique, and Congo. Since the recent attempts to suppress the trader Koromantines, or negroes from the Gold Coast, who are thought to possess a greater degree of intelligence, are not so frequently met with. There are three modes by which the negroes of Brazil obtain their liberty : it may be granted them by their master while living, or he may bequeath it to them by his will, or they may obtain it by ransom, The Brazilians divide the Indian races into "Indies Mentos," civi- lised or converted Indians speaking the Portuguese language ; and Tapinos or Gentios, or wild hordes.
The general opinion has been that the whole American race, from the Polar regions to the Straits of Magellan, offered no^distinctive traits,. and that it was almost impossible to subdivide it. But a'closer inspec- tion has shown that there is as great a difference amongst them as among any of the other great varieties of the human race.
With few exceptions, the natives of Brazil appear to belong to the
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great family of the Guaranis, the differences in the tribes resulting from the different situations in which they have been placed, and originating partly in physical and partly in moral and accidental circumstances.
Speaking generally, the natives of Brazil are of a bright-yellow copper colour ,- short, robust, and well-made ; hair black, lank, coarse, and deficient on the chin ; face round, cheek-bones not particularly prominent ; skin soft and shining ; nose short, nostrils narrow ; mouth middle-sized ; lips thin ; eyes small, oblique, and elevated towards the exterior angle. They are in an extremely low state of civilisation, their industry being confined, in addition to the arts of hunting and fishing, and the gathering of wild fruits, to the culture of manioc and bananas. In some tribes clothes are wholly or all but wholly unknown ; in others the women wear a scanty covering round their middle ; and in others both sexes are partially clothed. The practice of painting the skin is universal, and some of them were, and indeed still are, in the habit of inserting wooden rings by way of ornament in the under-lip. Almost all the tribes were anthropophagists, devouring the captives they had taken in war ; but this horrid custom, if it did not entirely cease at the epoch of the conquest, has since nearly fallen into disuse, and M. D'Orbigny denies that the Guaranis ever ate their children and parents, as has been affirmed by some travellers.
Mr. Bates, however, states that in more than one of his excursions beyond Ega he met with Indian cannibals. The species were at least two, and an individual belonging to one of them was very well satisfied in her appetite for human flesh being recognised. In revenge for one of their raids a cannibal tribe was attacked, and amongst the captives was the best dispositioned Indian girl whom Mr. Bates ever met. But one day he heard her relate, without the smallest hesitation, and with perfect artlessness, how she had herself eaten a portion of the bodies of the young men whom her tribe had killed and roasted. She evidently did not in the least suspect that there was anything unusually horrible or atrocious in the act ; and, what was still more remarkable, the widow of one of the victims was present, and the only interest she showed in the matter was that of making sport at the broken Portuguese in which the girl told the story.
The Indians are in general grave and serious, but they are notwith- standing fond of feasts and pastimes, and are fond to excess of spirituous liquors. In some tribes they admit of a plurality of wives ; and the men, engaged in chase or in war, or sunk in apathy and idleness, devolve
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on the women the principal care of the domestic concerns. It is doubtful whether some of the more barbarous tribes have any idea of a Supreme Being, but they mostly all believe in the existence of malignant demons, whom they are anxious to conciliate. Among the tribe called Tupi- nambas, the chief was at the same time elective and hereditary — that is, a preference was generally given to the son as his father's successor, though the custom does not appear to have been immutable. Montaigne, on meeting an Indian chief at Havre, inquired, through an interpreter, what was his right among his tribe, upon which the latter replied — " It is that of marching foremost to battle ;" and this might be said to express succinctly the extent of power assigned to him by his people. The Tupinambas chiefly inhabit the coast from the river Camama to the San Francisco. The Corvados, formerly very numerous, are now reduced to a number comparatively insignificant. They dwell chiefly on the banks of the Rio Xipoto, in Minos Geraes. They have one trait that distinguishes them from most other Indian tribes — that is, they bury their dead. The Corvados, it appears, have lost much of their primitive ferocity, and with it also much of their former courage and intelligence.*
The Cafutos, a mixture of Indians and negroes, are a very singular race. What gives them a peculiarly striking appearance is the exces- sively long hair of the head, which, especially at the end, is half curled, and rises almost perpendicularly from the forehead to the height of a foot or a foot and a-half, thus forming a prodigious and very ugly kind of peruke.
The Vuris, at the commencement of the present century, were very troublesome enemies to the Brazilians. A great many fazendos have been from tune to time destroyed by them. The Rio Doce, the South banks of the Parahyba, San Fidelis, and the country watered by the Rio Pomba, in Minas, are the chief points exposed to their incursions. This race is more implacable than any of the Indian races of Brazil. The Botocudos, descended from the Aymores, occupy at present the territory lying between the Rio Doce and the Rio Vardo. They inhabit the recesses of the forests, are little addicted to agriculture, and are exceedingly fierce. The name given to them by the Portuguese is derived from patoque, or botoque (literally the bung of a cask), from the circular ornament they wear in their ears and lips.
* McCulloch.
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We must not omit to notice that the Indians on the shores of the Amazons are fond of ornament, and that, especially among the Orejona tribe, they adopt a heavy earring of wood, thrust through the lobe of the ear, and represented in the accompanying engraving. It is cer- tainly no great ornament, and must cause considerable pain, but it is worn with much pride by the people.
The principal rivers of Brazil are the Amazons, and some interesting details concerning these noble waters and the neighbouring forests are furnished by Mr. Henry Walter Bates, who, in 1848, made an expedi- tion with his friend, Mr. Wallace, on the rivers. Their object was to explore the natural history of its banks, to collect objects and to gather facts towards solving the problem of the origin of species. Some thou- sands of miles of country were explored, and eleven years spent in the search, the result of which was given to the public six years ago. There is something wonderfully attractive in the idea of traversing these path- less virgin forests — forests that had never yet been trodden by civilised man. "Their exuberance of beauty and variety, their damp warm moisture, and their extraordinary wealth of insect life, the solemn
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shade of their heaven-kissing palms, and the impenetrable arch of foliage they sustain ; the far-stretching Amazons, with a drainage of more than a million and a half of square miles ; the sparse and motley population found at intervals upon their banks " — all this has an especial charm with it, more interesting than a romance and beautiful as a fairy tale.
Let us enter the primeval forest, and, under conduct of our guide, gaze with admiration on the splendid scene.
" The tree-trunks were only seen partially here and there ; nearly the whole frontage, from ground to summit, being covered with a diversified drapery of creeping plants, all of the most vivid shades of green ; scarcely a flower to be seen, except in some places a solitary scarlet passion-flower, set in the green mantle like a star. The low ground on the borders between the forest wall and the road was encumbered with a tangled mass of bushy and shrubby vegetation, amongst which prickly mimosas were very numerous, covering the other bushes in the same way as brambles do in England. Other dwarf mimosas trailed along the ground close to the edge of the road, shrinking at the slightest touch of the feet as we passed by. Cassia-trees, with their elegant pinnate foliage and conspicuous yellow flowers, formed a great propor- tion of the lower trees, and arborescent arums grew in groups around the swampy hollows. Over the whole fluttered a larger number of brilliantly- coloured butterflies than we had yet seen; some wholly orange or yellow (Callidryas), others with excessively elongated wings, sailing horizontally through the air, coloured black and varied with blue, red, and yellow (Heliconii). One magnificent grassy- green species (Coloenis dido) especially attracted our attention. Near the ground hovered many other small species, very similar in appearance to those found at home, attracted by the flowers and the numerous legu- minous and other shrubs. Besides butterflies there were few other insects except dragon-flies, which were in great numbers, similar in shape to English species, but some of them looking conspicuously different on account of their fiery red colours."
And now the ground rises, the character of the soil seems to change ; we are in a part of the forest which is of second growth. The grasses are abundant ; all the evergreens of our gardens seem reproduced in gigantic dimensions ; the heat is intense, the silence profound. There is no noise of bird or beast.
" To obtain a fair notion of the number and variety of the animal
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 183
tenants of these forests, it is necessary to follow up the research month after month and explore them in different directions and at all seasons. During several months I used to visit this district two or three days every week, and never failed to obtain some species new to me of bird, reptile, or insect. It seemed to be an epitome of all that the Para forests could produce. This endless diversity, the coolness of the air, the varied and strange forms of vegetation, the entire freedom from mosquitoes and other pests, and even the solemn gloom and silence, combined to make my rambles through it always pleasant as well as profitable. Such places are paradises to a naturalist, and if he be of a contemplative turn there is no situation more favourable for his indulging the tendency. There is something in a tropical forest akin to the ocean in its effects on the mind. Man feels so completely his
insignificance there and the vastness of Nature.
* * * * * # •
" We often read in books of travels of the silence and gloom of the Brazilian forests. They are realities, and the impression deepens on a longer acquaintance. The few sounds of birds are of that pensive or mysterious character which intensifies the feeling of solitude rather than imparts a sense of life and cheerfulness. Sometimes in the midst of the stillness a sudden yell or scream will startle one ; this conies from some •defenceless fruit-eating animal, which is pounced on by a tiger-cat or stealthy boa-constrictor. Morning and evening the howling monkeys make a most fearful and harrowing noise, under which it is difficult to keep up one's buoyancy of spirit. The feeling of inhospitable wildness which the forest is calculated to inspire is increased tenfold under this fearful uproar. Often even in the still hours of midday, a sudden crash will be haard resounding afar through the wilderness, as some great bough or entire tree falls to the ground. There are, besides, many sounds which it is impossible to account for. I found the natives generally as much at a loss in this respect as myself. Sometimes a sound is heard like the clang of an iron bar against a hard hollow tree, or a piercing cry rends the air ; these are not repeated, and the suc- ceeding silence tends to heighten the unpleasant impression which they make on the mind."
What a fertile and attractive field of investigation is here opened to the naturalist ! Within an hour's walk of Para are to be found seven hundred varieties of butterflies !
" In 1849 there were, no steamers of which the author could avail
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SOUTH AMERICAN F033ST.
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185
himself for this voyage, and he was glad to arrange for a passage in a merchant schooner of about forty tons burthen. Scarcely knowing where he might stop, he provided himself with the various necessities
ARRIVAL AT A NATIVE VILLAGE ON THE AMAZONS.
of housekeeping, with provisions, chests, ammunition, a few books, and about a hundredweight of copper money. The crew of the schooner consisted of twelve persons, one of whom, the pilot, was remarkable for an endurance that in Brazil seemed almost incredible. Save for two or
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three hours in the morning, he never quitted the helm night or day, having even his meals brought to him by others. The crew were on very easy terms with one another and with their officers, and were by no means overworked. On the twenty-eighth day of an easy and not unbroken voyage, the schooner made the main stream of the Lower Amazons, having sailed through the river Parta and the channels on the •south-west of the island of Marajo. Any tolerable atlas will show the course. But here is the main stream of the well-named King of Rivers, with its total breadth of twenty miles, divided by a series of islands into three streams. ' Its ochre-coloured waters,' says Mr. Bates, ' did not present the lake-like appearance of the Para or of the Tocantins, though there was no lack of majesty ; but they had all the swing, so to speak, of a vast flowing stream.' Before night the vessel had passed the mouth of the Xingii, the first of the great tributaries of the Amazons, and 1,200 miles in length. Then came an introduction to the storms of the river. A black cloud was seen in the north-east, and scarcely had the sails been taken in when the squall burst forth, * tearing the waters into foam, and producing a frightful uproar in the neighbouring forest.' A drenching rain followed ; but in half-an-hour all was again calm, and the full moon appeared sailing in a cloudless «ky. Various weather was experienced, and great variety was observed in the breadth of the river and in the position of the land beyond its banks, and in due time the voyagers approached Santarem and the mouth of the Tapajos. The Tapajos flows into the Lower Amazons irom the south, is 1,000 miles long, and during the last eighty of them rolls its clear olive-green waters over a breadth of from six to ten miles. Yet it is only over a short space on the- right bank of the river that you can observe the fact of its inflow, notwithstanding the con- trasted colours of the two waters. ' The white turbid current ' of the Amazons usurps throughout almost the whole breadth of the bed, and opposite to the mouth -of this mighty confluent, and in the middle of the main river, you cannot make out that the Tapajos flows into it at all. Well may the Portuguese call the Amazons King of Rivers.
" Mr. Bates paid a short visit to Santarem, and was pleased with the generally clean and agreeable appearance of the town. It has the advantage of a situation equally beautiful and desirable, and, though 400 miles from the sea, ' it is accessible to vessels of heavy tonnage coming straight from the Atlantic.' The voyage of 200 miles from the Macacos Channel, by which the author entered the Amazons, was made
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 187
by this ill-rigged schooner in only three days and a half, against stream, but with the advantage of a steady trade-wind that blows up- stream for five or six months of the year. We shall return to Santarem a little later, but at present our destination is Obydos. It is some fifty miles higher than Santarem, and on the opposite bank of the river."*
At Obydos, or rather in its neighbourhood, Mr. Bates discovered a forest full of monkeys.
" At Obydos he obtained a solitary specimen of the musical cricket, called by the natives, in allusion to its so-called music, Tanana. The music consists of a sharp and extremely loud ' resonant stridulation/ often repeated. The cricket is two and a quarter inches long, pale green, and belongs to a group intermediate between crickets and grass- hoppers. It produces its note by means of curiously- constructed wing-cases.
" After remaining for some weeks at Obydos, the author embraced an opportunity of getting up to the river Negro. On every day, at about noon, the vessel was made fast in the shadiest place that could be found, while the master cooked dinner on shore, and his passengers hunted for new species in the forest. In the afternoon, the only object of life was to escape the sickening heat of the sun, even the stifling cabin being thought preferable to the unshaded deck. Then came the intensely- appreciated and delicious coolness of evening. The forest, too, woke out of its profound siesta, and every living thing in it gave forth its voice ; fireflies, swift and brilliant, flashed to and fro among the gathering shadows, and at length all, save here and there a grass- hopper or a tree-frog, became hushed and still beneath the infinite blue sky and the unspeakable glory of its stars. The author was almost daily adding largely to his collection of objects, the voyage being made by very easy ' stages ;' and a few days before reaching the Negro, but after passing that prince of tributaries the Madeira, a river 2,000 miles long, he made acquaintance with that traditionary pest the piiim-fly. This satanically-inspired little creature of only two-thirds of a line in length, having here commenced its reign, at about 900 or 1,000 miles from the sea, ' continues henceforward as a terrible scourge along the upper river or Solimoens, to the end of the navigation on the Amazons.'
* Quarterly Review, 1863.
188
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" It comes forth only by day, relieving the mosquito at sunrise with the greatest punctuality, and occurs only near the muddy shores of the stream, not one even being found in the shade of the forest. In places where it is abundant it accompanies canoes in such dense swarms as to resemble thin clouds of smoke. It made its appearance in this way the first day after we crossed the river. Before I was aware of the presence of flies, I felt a slight itching on my neck, wrist, and ankles, and on
looking for the cause, saw a number of tiny objects, having a disgusting resemblance to lice, adhering to the skin. This was my introduction to the much-talked-of pium. On close examination they are seen to be minute two- winged insects, with dark-coloured body and pale legs and wings, the latter closed lengthwise over the back. They alight imperceptibly, and squatting close, fall at once to work , stretching forward their long front legs, which are in constant motion, and seem to act as feelers, and then applying their short, broad snouts
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to the skin. Their abdomens soon become distended and red with blood, and then, their thirst satisfied, they slowly move off, sometimes so stupified with their potations that they can scarcely fly. No pain is felt while they are at work, but they each leave a small circular raised spot on the skin, and a disagreeable irritation. The latter may be avoided in great measure by pressing out the blood which remains in the spot ; but this is a troublesome task when one has several hundred punctures in the course of the day. ... In the course of a few days the red spots dry up, and the skin in time becomes blackened with the endless number of discoloured punctures that are crowded together. The irritation they produce is more acutely felt by some persons than others. I once travelled with a middle-aged Portuguesey who was laid up for three weeks from the attacks of pium ; his legs being swelled to an enormous size, and the punctures aggravated into spreading sores.
"Another part of the same district was interesting for its Velopoeus wasp and for Melipona bees. They build with clay in the most patient and vigorously masonic fashion. Not less interesting were the white ants. In a single termitarium were found, besides the kiug, queen, and workers, no fewer than eight species of soldiers, their arms and armature strikingly different. The occasional exodus from a termi- tarium is a very remarkable occurrence. It continues on close evenings or cloudy mornings during several days, and is attended with the greatest excitement among an apparently very anxious community. The way is cleared for the ants just perfected from pupae, and away they fly by myriads. They fill the air with the loud rustle of their wings, and, when attracted by lights, will crowd your chamber with innumerable legions, regardless whether they alight on the flame of your lamp or the table you are writing on.
"Almost as soon as they touch the ground they wriggle off their wings, to aid which operation there is a special provision in the struc- ture of the organs, a seam running across near their roots and dividing the horny nervures. To prove that this mutilation was voluntary on the part of the insects I repeatedly tried to detach the wings by forcer but could never succeed whilst they were fresh, for they always tore out by the roots. Few escape the innumerable enemies which are on the alert at these times to devour them — ants, spiders, lizards, toads, bats, and goatsuckers. The waste of life is astonishing. The few that do survive pair, and become kings and queens of new colonies.
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"A still more remarkable ant was found up the Tapajos, in a channel of about a quarter of a mile in breadth. Wherever the beach was sandy it was covered with ' swarms of the terrible fire-ant, whose sting is likened by the Brazilians to the puncture of a red-hot needle. There was scarcely a square inch of ground free from them.' Farther up the same river was a village, Aveyros, which, a few years previous,, the inhabitants had been compelled to desert by this furious little tormentor. At the time of the author's visit they had returned, but we imagine they must before this have been again driven into exile,, for the whole village had been undermined. ' The houses are overrun with them ; they dispute every fragment of food, and destroy clothing for the sake of starch.' Your only chance of preserving anything edible is to suspend it in a basket by a cord that has previously been well soaked in capaiiba balsam. The pium is diabolically inspired, but the fire-ant is so diabolical by nature as to need no inspiration. If you dare to stand in the street for only two minutes, though at a distance from their nests, your audacity is resented as intolerable. You are punished without mercy by a horde of fiends that swarm up your legs, each of them digging his jaws well into your flesh (for better purchase) the instant he touches it, doubling in his tail and stinging with all his might. The legs of the chair on which you sit to enjoy the evening air must be anointed with the balsam ; your indis- pensable footstool must have its legs anointed in like manner ; and the cords of your hammock, above all, must be soaked for very life's sake.
"It is high time, however, to descend the Tapajos, and, having recovered from its dangers to health and its fatigues, to make for the Solimoens or Upper Amazons. After a not very agreeable voyage of five weeks from Barra on the Negro, Mr. Bates arrived at Ega. It took but a short time to convince him that he could not do better than lay himself out forthwith for a long, pleasant, and busy residence there. The result has been the enrichment of the chief museums of Europer and a far greater enrichment of the knowledge of natural history everywhere. Mr. Bates was very kindly received by the simple-hearted people of the place, and grew much attached to them. One day he was explaining to a little circle that his pursuit of science in their neighbourhood was not without some remuneration from abroad, when one of his listeners grew' suddenly enthusiastic, and exclaimed, ' How rich are these great nations of Europe! We half -civilised creatures
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know nothing. Let us teach this stranger well, that he may stay amongst us and teach our children.'
"Scarlet-faced monkeys, the Parauaca" monkey, the owl-faced night apes, Barrigudo monkeys, marmosets, were all found at Ega. Another curious monkey-like creature found there was the jupura"; it has six cutting-teeth to each jaw, has long claws instead of nails, and has proper paws in lieu of hands. Many species of bats were observed, some of them exceedingly curious, and five species of toucan, the com- monest of them being Cuvier's, and the most notable the curl-crested toucan. Of other birds there was a scarcity, which Mr. Bates saw reason to think was more apparent than real. It often happened, he says, that he passed a whole day in the richest and most varied parts of the woods without seeing one, while at other times the forest would suddenly and swiftly swarm with whole hosts of them — circumstances which were clearly to be accounted for by the gregariousness of the birds. It was found, indeed, that even the insectivorse were, in this instance, like other birds, and hunted in flocks.
"In insects the neighbourhood of Ega is peculiarly rich. The author obtained there, during his four and a half years' residence and rambling, upwards of 7,000 species. They included 550 distinct species ; and he may well say, ' Those who know a little of entomology will be able to form some idea of the riches of the place in this department, when I mention that eighteen species of true papilio (the swallow-tailed genus) were found within ten minutes' walk of my house.' Let the hunter over English moors, and commons, and fields think of that, and keep the tenth commandment if he can."
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A SHIP OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY.
CHAPTER VIII.
About the Discovery of the Brazils — Yanez Pin9on ; also concerning Alvarez Cabral and the King of Portugal — A Promising Cargo — Amerigo Vespucci — The Brazil Coast divided into Captaincies — Prosperity of the Settlements — Arrival of Out- driven Koyalty — Independence— Ancient Capital of Brazil, Bahia — Description of the City — Its Opulence— How the First Settlers Fared — An Old Legend — Buildings in Bahia — About Rio, the Modern Capital- Description of the City — Its Beauties and Defects — The Houses, the People — The Customs of the Country — Population — Indians — Ants — Mexican Indians — M. Marcoy — The Natives— The Eiver Nanny — Man-Eaters : Nothing in the Way of Trade — Habits and Want of Habits— The Essentials of Civilisation — Jesuit Missionaries — St. Ignatius of Pevas— Orejone Indians — Forest Land — A Home Picture — Beauty of the Natives — Specimens of the Yahna Language — A Dance — Odd Sort of Etiquette — Amazons— A Disagreeable Predicament with the Ladies.
4 MONO those who accompanied Columbus — now Saint Columbus, -*-*- surely well worthy of his saintship — was Yanez Pn^on, a native of Palos. He had the love of adventure in him, and probably the thirst for gold as strongly as most men. In his exploration for new
0
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lands in the New World he is said to have touched at Cape St. Augustinr coasted along the Brazilian coast as far as the River Amazon, thence ta the mouth of the Orinoco. He does not appear to have thought very highly of the land, and to have satisfied himself with taking formal possession, as was the fashion of the time, in the name of Leon and Castile, and then to have left it, never suspecting, probably, the rich treasures, the mountains of wealth the country contained. The discovery by Yanez Pinqon is said to have been made in January, 1500.
In the same year Pedro Alvarez Cabral was appointed admiral of a large fleet, sent out by Emanuel, King of Portugal, to follow up the successful voyage of Yasco de Gama in the east. Adverse winds drove the expedition so far west, that on the 25th of April Cabral fell in with the coast of Brazil, which he supposed at first to be an island ; and on Good Friday the fleet cast anchor in a commodious harbour, to which he gave the name of Porto Seguro. Having taken possession of the country for the crown of Portugal, by erecting a cross, and giving it the name of Tierra de Santa Cruz, Cabral proceeded on his voyage, taking care, however, in the first place, to send information of his discovery to his sovereign. Soon after this intelligence reached Portugal, Emanuel despatched a small squadron to explore the country,, under the command of the famous Amerigo Vespucci, who had been invited from Seville for that purpose in 1502, and who made a second voyage in a subsequent year. In 1504 he again returned to Europe, bringing with him a valuable cargo, including a quantity of Brazil wood.
It was not until 1508 that a third voyage of discovery was under- taken to Brazil, as the advantages which had accrued on the former voyages did not appear to have answered the expectations of the projectors. Amerigo Vespucci was then despatched by the King of Spain, to whose service he had returned, to take possession of the country. But this produced a remonstrance from Portugal; and a dispute having arisen amongst some of the leaders of the expedition, it returned to Spain without effecting anything of importance. In 1515 another expedition was fitted out from Spain, the command of which was assigned to Juan Diaz de Solis, with the ostensible purpose of finding a passage to the great Pacific Ocean. To this navigator is- supposed to belong the honour of having discovered the harbour of Rio Janeiro, on the 1st of January, 1516, though the priority in this, respect has been disputed by the Portuguese admiral, Martin Affonso-
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 195
de Souza. On the return of the expedition to Spain, the Portuguese government claimed the cargoes, and again remonstrated on this interference on the part of Spain.*
In the reign of Joan III., the coast was divided into captaincies, many of which extended fifty leagues. It is needless to follow step by step the rising fortunes of the Brazilian territory. Various towns sprang up along the shore, which were subject to the vicissitudes that then usually awaited newly-founded colonies. They were successively taken and plundered by the French, Dutch, and English, who, if not expelled, usually contented themselves with a short possession, and abandoned them, after frequently committing the most barbarous atrocities. Notwithstanding these calamities, the colony continued to increase in prosperity and importance under the superintendence of the Portuguese government. But it experienced a severe check on the annexation of Portugal to the crown of Spain, in 1588, during the reign of Philip II. As the mines that had been discovered down to that period yielded less wealth than those of the Spanish possessions in South America, Brazil did not receive much favour from that monarch. The Dutch took advantage of this indifference on the part of Spain, and many Mynheers flocked even from Golden Antwerp and elsewhere in the Northern Venice ; and it was not, indeed, until they had made considerable inroads, that an expedition was fitted out, in 1640, to expel them from the territory. About this period the house of Bra- ganza was restored to the throne of Portugal. After a long and desperate struggle the Dutch were compelled to evacuate Brazil in 1654. Henceforward it continued in the possession of Portugal, but the latter country being in a very abject, impoverished state, instead of rendering assistance to its colony, was compelled to rest its principal hopes of being able to maintain an independent existence on the wealth and resources of Brazil, which it subjected to all the galling and vexatious restraints of the old colonial system.
In 1808 a new era began in Brazil. The French having invaded Portugal in the course of the previous year, the prince regent, John VI., and his court, accompanied by a large body of emigrants, set sail for Brazil, where they arrived on the 25th of January, 1808. Brazil immediately ceased to be treated as a colony. In the course of the same year her ports were thrown open to all friendly and neutral
* McCuUoch.
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nations ; and by a decree dated the 15th of November, 1814, all nations vwere allowed to trade freely with them.
The revolution in Portugal, in 1820, was very speedily followed by a revolutionary movement of the same description in Pernambuco; and to restore tranquillity, and anticipate the further progress of revolution, the government, in 1821, proclaimed the adoption of the Portuguese constitution. Soon after this, the king having left Brazil for Portugal, a struggle commenced between the Portuguese, who wished to recover their former ascendency over Brazil, and the Brazilians, who were resolved to preserve their newly-acquired liberties, which ended in the
complete separation of all connection, other than that subsisting between independent states, between the two countries. The govern- ment of Brazil having been intrusted to the crown prince, Don Pedro, he refused to admit the troops sent out by Portugal to support her authority, or to obey the instructions of the king his father. In the following year, 1822, Brazil was declared to be a free and independent state, and Don Pedro assumed the title of emperor. After several stormy debates, the project of a constitution submitted by the emperor was accepted, but the disputes between the emperor and the chamber of deputies having continued, the former abdicated the throne in favour of his son, a minor, in 1831, and, singular as it may seem, the rights of the latter have hitherto been preserved, and some attempts at insurrection by the republican party have been sup- pressed without much difficulty, and internal tranquillity was pretty well maintained.
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The ancient capital of Brazil, officially called San Salvador da Bahia de Todas os Sandos, but more generally known by the simple name of Bahia, possesses a magnificent harbour. This harbour, which gives much commercial importance to the town, has long been
ANTWERP CATHEDRAL.
the admiration of mariners, and the skilful French hydrographer, whose book is an authority in part of South America, does not hesitate to place it amongst the first of the numerous ports of which he gives so clear and exact a description. " All Saints' Bay," says he, " taking it
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in its full extent, forms a very deep gulf in the continent ; this gulf, which is known by the name of Iteconcaro, is nearly thirty miles in circuit, and receives the waters of several rivers, some of which are considerable.
" The largest fleets would be safe in Bahia, for in many situations vessels would find good anchorage, secure from all gales, whilst the fertility of the surrounding country would insure them all necessary supplies.
" On the eastern side of the principal entrance, where the ground rises in an amphitheatre from the shore, is situated the town of San Salvador, which possesses some fine buildings ; it stands on uneven ground intersected by gardens, and it is divided into the high and low towns. Next to Rio Janeiro, the town of Bahia is the most important in Brazil, and has a population of 100,000. Several forts, built on the summit, as well as at the base of the declivity, command the coast and protect the town ; the dockyard is defended by the fort Do Mar, a circular fortification built upon a bank of sand two hundred toises from the shore."
Not only is Bahia an opulent and singularly picturesque town, it is also a city of old traditions, strange memories, and even poetic legends. Brazil had only been discovered three years, when, according to several trustworthy authors, whose chronology, however, is questionable, the entrance of the bay was explored for the first time by Christovam Jaques, who erected one of those sculptured stone pillars which were then called Padroes, and which marked the progress of the navigators along the uncultivated shores. Seven or eight years later, about 1510 or 1511, the numerous tribes of the Tupinamba Indians, who wandered on the fertile coasts of Itaparica, or Tapagipe, had had time to forget the passing of the European ship, when a vessel trading in dye-woods was stranded upon the shore of the pleasant district which now bears the name of Victoria. It is said that the shipwrecked mariners all perished, devoured by the savages, with the exception of a brave Gallician, who maintained so much sang-froid in the midst of peril, and displayed so much dexterity among the Indians, as to save his life and earn for himself the privileges of a chief. Arriving in the presence of the Tupinambas, who received him clamorously and with menacing gestures, Alvares Correa, seizing a stray arquebuse which the waves had cast up among the other remains of the wreck, loaded it, aimed at a bird, which he killed, and the report of firearms resounded for the
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first time on these shores. Henceforward the young European bore the name of a dreaded animal ; he was called Caramouron, in memory of the mysterious power of which he had just given proof. The tribe of Indians, struck with terror, surrendered to him ; the daughter of a chief, the beautiful Paraguasson, united her fate to his : he ruled abso- lute where he thought he must have perished. Tired of a life among the Indians, but faithful to his young companion, Correa left Brazil accom- panied by her, and embarked in a Norman ship, commanded by Captain Duplessis. But here the legend, decking itself in the most brilliant colours, and warming with the most varied incident, belies all chrono- logy. Welcomed on the banks of the Seine by Catherine de Medici, who had been recently united to Henry II., Paraguasson, so the story runs, received baptism in an old chapel at Paris, and took the name of the young queen who acted as her godmother. Sated with the marvels of Europe, she soon left France with Alvares Correa to return to her own country, where she established herself in her native village, bringing with her the fruitful germs of Christianity, and subsequently the conquerors owed to her the legal surrender of the magnificent territory upon which the city now stands.
This legend, ?which is in the mouth of every Brazilian, and which has even given rise to a national poem, receives no support from chrono- logy ; and the Brazilians, who now really make deep researches as to their origin, take good care to defend it, and content themselves with their own explanations. They divide the marvellous events into two parts, and attribute them to two Europeans cast on their shores about the same time ; it is thus that they elicit the truth of the story.
They assert that Alvares Correa, united to Paraguasson, was the primitive founder of the city, but do not allow that he went to France ; he received the first donotario, Pereiro Continho, and even shared his misfortunes ; but later, in 1549, when the noble Thome de Souza was on the eve of laying the foundations of a regular town in the midst of these warlike tribes, he became the most active agent of colonisation ; he acted as lingua — that is to say, interpreter — charged with directing the difficult negotiations which must precede the erection of a capital in a wild region, the inhabitants of which are little known. With Thome de Souza came men acquainted with the difficult art of subduing this proud people and of commanding obedience. Navarro, Anchieta, Nobrego, and others, descended the rivers of the South, in order to render their assistance to the new governor; and when, in 1557,
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Caramouron died in the midst of his children like a patriarch full of days, the towers of the cathedral were already rising on the verdant hill where the vast college of the Jesuits was in course of construction.
This brief account, although very insufficient, at least serves to show to what epoch the most important edifices of this capital belong, buildings whose erection was actively continued under Duarte da Costa and Mendo de Sa, the illustrious governor, whose death occurred in the year 1577.
The genius which planned so many edifices was more active than provident. The requirements of commerce increasing, houses and immense magazines, called trapiches, multiplied, forming the vast street of La Praya, which borders on the sea, and which is continually menaced by the fall of the enormous buildings of the high town. The disastrous events of the years 1671 and 1748, when more than sixty persons perished, crushed by the landslip, seemed to be entirely forgotten, when catastrophes quite as lamentable at last awoke the solicitude of the authorities. About twenty years ago one of the most active and provident men who have presided over the destinies of this great city, Don Scares d'Andrea, rightly informed the legislative provincial assembly that, all the precautions required by prudence having been neglected, there remained only two courses to be taken — either to abandon completely this part of the town, or to avert as soon as possible the peril by which it was threatened, especially at the season of the diluvial rains, which cause a return of the landslips. On this occasion he gave the opinion of an experienced French engineer, Colonel de la Beaumelle, who had remarked, while staying at Bahia, the defective system of construction, and proposed to remedy it by the erection of vast buttresses, calculated to sustain the unstable ground. The wise administrator wished to adopt this system, and to undertake these gigantic works without delay.
We do not here pretend to name all the edifices of the city, or we should have to describe the old cathedral (Sa Se), constructed in the year 1 552 ; the Jesuit college, built entirely of marble, by the side of which is the valuable library, founded, thanks to the suggestion of Don Gomez Ferrao, from the proceeds of a lottery, in 1811 ; the palace of the former governors, now occupied by the president of the province; the Mint, which traces its origin back to the year 1694 ; the play- house, only erected in 1806; and the public promenade, planted in 1808, by the orders of the Count dos Arcos, to whom the town is in-
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debted for many other useful institutions. From the Passeio Publicor where rises the obelisk in commemoration of the arrival of John VI. r we direct our steps towards the charming lake known by the name of Dique, which, at only a short distance from the town, recalls all the delights of those virgin woods now only to be met with in the interior. Descending towards the low town, which also has its monuments, we may mention the Church of the Conception, which was built, so to speak, at Lisbon; for all the stones, cut and numbered, were brought thence, about the year 1G23, to the spot where
A SETTLER S KOHL;.
they were put together. We must not fail to notice the Ex- change, a vast building finished in 1816, the magnificent mosaic floor of which displays the richest collection of indigenous woods known in South America. Among . the innumerable religious edifices we must at least mention the great convent of San Francisco, founded in 1594 ; San Bento, erected thirteen years previously ; Los Carmos, San Pedro, the monasteries Das Merces, Do Desterro, Da Soledad, the residence of the Ursuline nuns. We remark upon the little church of Da Graca, from the fact that it contains the tomb of Paraguasson, and notice the Nossa Senhora da Victoria, because the date of 1552 shows
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it to be the most ancient of these religious structures. Among the many edifices belonging to different ages, we must do honour to the attention to preservation paid by the last magistrates charged with the municipal administration. It is a ruined chapel, but a really very fine specimen of the architecture of the eighteenth century, an age in which so many churches were erected in Brazil. On the road leading to the delightful district called Bom-Fim, may still be seen the chapel of San Goncalo. Scarcely a century has passed since the last stones were set in its facade ; agaves, palms, bananas, and even cocoa-trees, now grow in disorder around it, and completely block up its entrance. Thousands of other plants spring luxuriantly from the fissures in its walls, and hasten its destruction. No pains have, however, been taken to retard its decay, which might have been easily avoided ; for this chapel, constructed in 1763 by the Jesuits, in a beautiful situation, had -only been completed six years before the destruction of the powerful order to which it belonged. Its decay soon commenced, and at the beginning of this century Lendley described its picturesque ruin as one of the most interesting objects in the neighbourhood of Bahia.
The city of Rio Janeiro, the present capital of Brazil, extends some three miles along the south-west side of the bay, and being much intersected by hills, it is difficult to get a good view of the whole range, unless from the top of one of the mountains near the city, such as the celebrated " Corcovado," which stands out like a pulpit on the plain below, and is some 2,500 feet perpendicular. The view from this pulpit on a clear day is superb, and almost unequalled in the world ; the city, with its numerous divisions and suburbs, below you — the bay, extending as far as the eye can reach until lost in the plain below the Organ mountain — the sea, studded with numerous picturesque islands, with vessels looking like white specks upon it, and seen to a great dis- tance, all together form a most enchanting picture, and amply repay the toil of an ascent. The mountain is of granite rock, like all others in this country, but thickly wooded almost to the summit, and you come out quite suddenly on the bare point before alluded to, so much resembling a pulpit. The following description in a publication * con- taining some of the best word-painting of Brazilian city life anywhere to be met with, will be readily recognised as most just by all who have been long in the capital: — " The town of Rio Janeiro (its proper name
* A Sketcher's Tour Bound the World. By Eobert Elwes.
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is St. Sebastiano) is the largest and best in South America, and the population about equals [that of Liverpool. It is laid out in regular squares ; the streets are narrow, which at first sight seems objection- able to an Englishman, but he soon finds that it affords protection from the scorching sun ; and the thoroughfares are tolerably well paved and lighted, and have trottoirs at the sides. To obviate the inconvenience arising from the narrowness of the streets, carriages are only allowed to go one way, up one street and down the next, and a hand is painted up on the corners to show which way the traffic is to flow. The best street, Rua d'Ouvidor, is nearly all French, so that one can almost fancy oneself in the Palais Royal ; and nearly every- thing that is to be found in London or Paris may be bought in Rio. Many English merchants have houses in the city, but most of the shopkeepers are French, and this proves a perfect blessing to visitors, for a Brazilian shopman is so careless and indolent that he will hardly look for anything in his stores, and will often say he has not got the article asked for, to save himself the trouble of looking for it. The best native shops are those of the silversmiths, who work pretty well, and get a good deal of custom, for Brazilians and blacks revel in orna- ment, often wearing silver spurs and a silver-hafted knife, though perhaps they may not have any shoes to their feet. The Brazilians are very fond of dress, and though it seems so unsuitable for the climate, wear black trousers and an evening suit to walk about the streets in. Strangers will find no curiosities in Rio Janeiro except the feather flowers, which are better here than in Madeira, and fetch a higher price. , A Frenchwoman, who employs a number of girls of all com- plexions in her business, is the principal manufacturer. They are made, or ought to be, entirely of undyed feathers, the best being those of a purple, copper, or crimson colour, from the breasts and heads of humming-birds. One of these wreaths has a beautiful effect, and reflects different- coloured light. The wing-cases of beetles are also used, and glitter like precious stones. Madame has her patterns from Paris, so the wreaths are generally in good style and newest fashion. The worst shops are kept by English, and this will be found a general rule in these foreign towns. The^merchants are good and honest ; but if one wishes to be well taken |jin, go to a shop kept by an English- man." In consequence of the tortuous formation of the streets, con- structed round the base of the hills, it is difficult to get more than a bird's-eye view of the city, on ground made by encroachment on the
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sea, consequently the streets are low, without drainage, and in several of the back ones the water collects and stagnates, to the great detri- ment of health and comfort. Rio itself is a bad copy of Lisbon — streets at right angles, a large square facing the sea, and the suburbs extending up the hills which everywhere meet your eye.
In Lisbon the streets are tolerably well made, but here they have built them so miserably narrow that scarcely one carriage can pass through, much less pass each other ; and it is evident that such vehicles were never contemplated in the original formation of these streets. The only way of getting over the difficulty is for carriages coming into the city to take one line of streets, and those leaving it another, which they do, excluding omnibuses altogether from the principal thoroughfares. Improvements in this way are most backward, and there seems a great want of municipal government. In many places the pavement is exe- crable, and generally very bad, the difficulty having probably been increased by laying down mains for water and gas— the latter now in process of execution — and also by heavy rains, which have washed away many parts of the road, and otherwise caused much damage. When once this troublesome job is got through, it is to be hoped some effec- tive measures will be taken to put the streets and branch-roads in order, otherwise they will soon be rendered impassable. Coach and coach - spring making must be thriving trades here, especially with the immense increase that has taken place in the number of carriages and omni- buses ; and it is really wonderful how they stand the continual shocks they have to endure. Mr. Robert Elwes, from whose work we have already quoted, thus writes : —
"The inhabitants of Rio Janeiro are fond of carriages, but the specimens generally seen would not do for Hyde Park, being chiefly old-fashioned coaches, drawn by four scraggy mules, with a black coachman on the box and a postillion in jack-boots on the leaders, sitting well back, and with his feet stuck out beyond the mules1 shoulders. The liveries are generally gorgeous enough, and there is no lack of gold lace on the cocked hats and coats ; but a black slave does not enter into the spirit of the thing, and one footman will have his hat cocked athwartships, the other fore and aft ; one will have shoes and stockings with his toes peeping through, the other will dispense with them altogether. But the old peer rolls on unconscious, and I dare say the whole thing is pronounced a neat turn-out. The Brazilians are great snuffers, and always offer their box if the visitor is a welcome
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 205
guest. It is etiquette to take the offered pinch with the left hand. Rape is the Portuguese for snuff, hence our word ' rappee.' They do not smoke much. The opera was good, the house very large, tolerably well lighted, but not so thickly attended as it might have been. The ladies look better by candle-light, their great failing being in their com- plexions, the tint of which may be exactly described by the midshipman's simile of snuff and butter. The orchestra was good, many of the per- formers being black or mulattoes, who are excellent musicians. The African race seem to like music, and generally have a pretty good ear. Both men and women often whistle well, and I have heard the washer- women at their work whistling polkas with great correctness. I was amused one evening, on going out of the opera when it was half over, offering my ticket to a decent-looking man standing near the door, he bowed, but refused it, saying that men with jackets were not allowed in the house."
Government seems at last alive to the absolute necessity of doing something to improve the sanitary condition of the city and also its internal organisation, as they have lately got out some good practical English engineers, who, we have no doubt, will suggest an effective mode of dealing with present difficulties. If they do not adopt decisive measures, the rate of mortality may be expected to augment fearfully in a dense population of 300,000 to 400,000 inhabitants huddled together in some 15,000 houses surrounded by impurities of every kind, not the least being the stagnant water in the streets. No exact census has ever been taken of the population of Rio Janeiro, which, however, is believed to be between the two figures above given. There is a migratory population, but the accumulation of humanity of every race and colour contained in some of the large dwelling-houses is something extra- ordinary. As before observed, Nature has done much for this country, and if the natural facilities of Rio Janeiro were properly turned to account, and local improvements carried out with energy and spirit, it might be rendered one of the finest and most luxurious places within the tropics. The opportunity is now open to them ; the government possess ample means, and it is just a question whether measures of pro- gress are to be greatly achieved or the city to be abandoned to its fate. The great evil attending all improvement in Brazil is an undue apprecia- tion of native capability, and a disparagement or distrust of those whose practical experience would enable them to grapple with the difficulties that surround them — a kind of little jealousy and mistrust that prevents
206 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
them from availing themselves of opportunities thrown in their way to carry out undertakings necessary to the well-being of the country ; nor can they understand the principle onj which such things are regulated in England, still less the magnitude of operations carried on there and in many other parts of Europe. Yet the time seems to be coming when these principles will be better understood here, and when the applica- tion of English capital towards the improvement of the country may be safely and legitimately brought to bear.
Few spots in the New World are more indebted to Nature than the environs of Rio Janeiro, all possible combinations of scenery being included in one magnificent perspective. One of the best views is from Corcovado Mountain, which, although upwards of 3,000 feet in height, can be ascended on horseback. Like most mountains around, it is rather a rock, or Titanic monolith, than a mountain, and it may be compared with the gnomoH of a gigantic sun-dial ; and, in fact, its shadow in particular localities supplies the place of a parish clock. Its sides are still in great part covered with forest and "matts," or jungle, notwithstanding numerous fires by which it has been devastated, and the immediate result of which is a deficiency in the supply of water to parts of the capital ; for the destruction of trees here, as elsewhere, causes a scarcity of the aqueous- element, and the springs which arise on and around this mountain feed the conduits and aqueducts that convey that fluid into Rio. From the summits may be seen the whole extent of the harbour and city, the Organ Mountains in the distance, several lakes along the coast, a wide expanse of ocean, and innumerable ravines and spurs of the mountain covered with richest foliage. The most remarkable, however, of all the mountains near the capital is the Garin, with a flattened summit, sometimes called by the English the Table Mountain, in Portuguese the " Square Topsail," to which it bears a resemblance. It is reputed to be inaccessible — at least, it has not yet, as far as can be ascertained, been ascended. Opening into the outward harbour is Botafogo Bay, a short distance from the capital, where many foreign merchants reside to enjoy the cool sea breezes, and where the buildings are of a superior description, with beautiful gardens attached, many being luxuriantly planted with oranges and lemons, bananas, pomegranates, palm-trees, and a vast variety of shrubs and vegetables peculiar to Brazil, including the universal cabbage- plant, in great profusion. The aqueduct, which is passed in several places in the ascent of the Corcovado. is a well-built and striking object,
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 207
crossing several streets of Rio, and conveying excellent water from the heights of that mountain to the different fountains in the town.
The population of Rio, on the arrival of the royal family, did not amount to 50,000, but afterwards rapidly augmented, so that in 1815, when declared independent, the number had nearly doubled, and now is estimated at about 400,000, with the suburbs and the provincial capital of Nithershy, on the opposite shores of the bay. This increase is partly to be ascribed to the influx of Portuguese, who have at different times left their country in consequence of the civil commotions which have disturbed its peace, as well as of English, French, Dutch, Germans, and Italians, who, after the opening of the port, settled here — some as mer- chants, others as mechanics — and have contributed largely to its wealth and importance. These accessions of Europeans have effected a great change in the character of the population ; for at the commencement of the century, and for many years afterwards, the black and coloured persons far exceeded the whites, whereas now they are reduced to less than half the number of inhabitants. In the aggregate population of the empire, however, the coloured portion is still supposed to be treble the white.
But it is impossible to arrive at anything like an exact census of the Indian population of South or Central America. The Indians are docile and obliging, and their capability of bearing burdens is enormous. They are far more intelligent than the negroes, and the basis of their character is more noble. In referring to this subject, especially with regard to the natives of Mexico, the Countess Kollonitz says : —
" It is very interesting to visit the Indian villages of Santa Anita and Ixtacalco, in the neighbourhood of Mexico. The Pasco de la Viga, one of the promenades of the city, extends southwards from Mexico, where the canal of Chalco opens into the spacious harbour, in which hundreds of Indians land every morning with their wares. Thi& promenade leads to the villages, which are inhabited solely by Indians. Flowers betray their vicinity ; however small and poor the hut may be, it is always surrounded by most fragrant and beautiful flowers.
" This is a glorious walk ; the snow mountains rise straight before you, as if they were the sole object of the road, and they appear to be very near, owing to the clearness of the atmosphere ; to the right are broad meadows and luxuriant fields of maize, surrounded bv wild straggling shrubs with red flowers. The Indians bring their fruit and
208
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
flowers, maize and hay, upon flat canoes to the city. Women in bright red petticoats, with children and dogs, lie in picturesque attitudes near the rich cargo ; an awning fastened to two poles gives them shade from the glowing rays of the sun. Far out to the left stretch the famous Chinampas, or floating gardens of the Indians. In old times the surface of the Lake Chalco was pure and clear, and the waves wantoned according to their own caprice ; but the Indians covered it with rafts and straw matting, upon which they strewed soil, and planted thereon flowers and vegetables. These rafts are now firmly fixed ; they are no longer driven hither and thither by the waves, but form little islands, surrounded by hedges of roses, and filled with the finest vegetables. Standing in his canoe, the Indian rows from one to
HERALDIC SHIELD OF BRAZIL.
another, and enhances the charm of the scene by his own peculiar appearance. These Chinampas provide the whole town with fruit and vegetable. When we arrived at Santa Anita and Ixtacalco, and the children caught sight of us, they vanished in a trice, but soon re- appeared with great bunches of flowers, which they offered us. They received our little presents with joy, and as often as we repeated our visit this exchange took place, to our mutual satisfaction.
" The Indians are zealous Roman Catholics, even though in many points the superstition of their fathers has grown up in close union with the new creed. The clergy, who have a great influence over them, keep them purposely in the deepest ignorance. In other respects the Mexican priests have always been the zealous protectors of the oppressed and heavily-afflicted Indian race. The great Queen Isabella II., who always took the warmest interest in her newly- acquired subjects, who were so badly treated by the Conquistadores, was painfully anxious about them when on her deathbed, and com-
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
209
mended them to the pity of her successor. The clergy, for the most part, loyally fulfilled these her last wishes. As far as they could they opposed the avarice and cruelty of the colonists, and their voices often resounded with energetic complaints before the throne of the Kings of Spain. Barthelemy Las Casas was never weary of describing, both in speech and writing, the woes of the Indians, in the hopes of enlisting humanity and justice on their side. At the end of the last century the Bishop of Michoacan, Antonio de San Miguel, in a memorial to
ISABELLA II.
Charles III., exposed the defects of political institutions which gave the Indians over as a prey to the harshest treatment at the hands of ths whites. Alterations were made which lightened their lot, but a real protection from the unscrupulous behaviour and covetousness of cunning men who have power in their hands is not to be expected in a country where caprice prevails, and individuals are not controlled by the strong tribunal of public opinion."
As to the Brazilian Indians, we have already noticed some of their peculiarities ; more remains to be said, and, thanks to M. Paul Marcoy, we are enabled to furnish some interesting particulars.
The strictest attention is paid by the people as to the position they
p
210 THE GOLDEX AMERICAS.
occupy in regard to their descent from the Spanish settlers. Those of the longest genealogy claim the title of don and donna, and consider themselves to be of the white race, while the tint of their complexion varies from that of a decayed leaf to brickdust. They represent a sort of native aiistocracy ; they are generally attired in a short white shirt T with pantaloons of blue cotton and a stiaw hat of native manufacture. Their feet arc, as a rule, bare. We are now speaking especially of the Iquitos on the banks of the River Nanny, an affluent of the Amazons. The wild Iquitos are still accused of devouring the dead and murdering the living, bub there is little doubt that in this matter they have been dangerously calumniated. But the accusation has made no very serious: alteration in the business transactions of the infidel and non-infidel Indians. In a matter of trade the Christian Indians are right willing to admit the heathen to their table and to drink with them from the same cup. About once a week these so-called cannibals appear in the Iquitos village in company with their wives. They are ready to exchange fish for anything they can get, and their "catch" will some- times be so great as to give them those important articles of civilisa- tion— a shirt and a pair of breeches Not that the wild Indian values these things very much ; a week after he has obtained them he will be seen without them, his free limbs exposed to the free air and the free sunshine — in fact, in a state of complete nudity with the exception of a girdle and a small and beautifully-worked apron. The arms used by these people arc a lance, some eight feet long, of which \,hey are as proud as one of the yeomen of the guard of his halberd.
As to the women — the mothers— they carry their little ones stark naked at their backs, accommodated with a sort of sling of cotton material. On the inarch the women employ themselves in making; nets and other useful articles, such as hammocks. Theirs is real, earnest work — work which when completed will bo of good use ; not fancy work, " red with the blood of murdered time." Some of the net- work wrought by these so-called savages is exceedingly beautiful. They obtain from the mission station beads of all colours, and string them together in their manufacture in the form of vine-leaves and other devices. A French writer naively suggests that this sort of thing will lead to the adoption of appropriate under-linen and a sansflectum petticoat.
The native races on the shores of the Napo are divided into three tribes — the Orejones properly so called, the Cootoo, and the Angeteros.
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 211
The Orejones are tall of stature, and remarkable for their well-knit and supple frames. Their eyes are small and slightly oblique, and elevated at the outer corners, their noses large and broad, their lips thick and full. They allow their hair to grow long, and it sometimes reaches to their shoulders. The nostrils are usually pierced, with a small piece of bamboo thrust through, to which is appended a couple of sea-shells. The ears are also usually pierced, and some sort of orna- ment suspended from the lobe. The women follow the example of the men in the decoration of their person, and frequently distort their ears by the weight they will attach to them in the shape of earrings. The principal weapon in use is the fearful bamboo lance, a long, pointed wooden spear, which inflicts wounds so terrible that recovery is hopeless.
Scattered among these people, and among the native tribes generally on the banks of the Amazons, are many mission stations, where priests act as the schoolmasters as well as the spiritual directors of the people. The missionary settlement of Pehuas, or, as it is now called, Pevas, was founded in 1684 by the Jesuits of Quito, and dedi- cated to St. Ignatius Loyola. Everything went well with the fathers until 1788, when the baptised Indians revolted, murdered the principal of the mission, and returned into the woods to adopt again the old wild life of their fathers. Another mission village bearing the same name wras afterwards established at a short distance from the old one. The natives returned, and were for awhile very well affected to the priests, but they again suddenly retired — this time without the shedding of blood, but on both occasions the village was destroyed. A third time St. Ignatius of Pevas rose, phoenix-like, from its ashes. It now, after an existence of fifty years, comprises twenty-three houses, inhabited by forty-five matrimonjos or families, averaging six persons, thus giving a population of two hundred and seventy individuals, including the aged and the young children. The church and convent are the two principal buildings in the town. The brothers are nearly all French, most of them young, and all men of good ability. They have united with their apostolic functions that of traders, and cotton goods, provisions, hatchets, tools of all kinds, and weapons of various descriptions are kept in stock for the accommodation of the natives.
The Orejone Indians appear to adapt Christianity to their own traditions, and to receive with no very special reverence the teachings of the missionaries. The natives believe that the soul is the mistress of the body, but it is not regarded as immortal ; it dies with the body,
•2\-2 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
but may sometimes be resuscitated in another form. They acknowledge something approaching to the doctrine of the Trinity — a creative God, called Omasoronga ; a preserving God, named Iquedema ; and a Spirit of love and intelligence, denominated Puguayama. They have a tradition of the Deluge, and of a family being preserved in a skiff which floated on the waters for many days.
But the Indians are well disposed towards the brothers, and many of them will implicitly receive their teachings. They will obey without questioning — sometimes — but not always ; the love of a free life in the woods draws them away from the more regular habits of a civilised community. Yet still they do believe in these men — men who have left the " centre of civilisation," Paris, itself to Christianise and civilise the heathen. They are found, as M. Paul Marcoy shows, to be more respectful to their teachers than are some purse-proud, self-sufficient, baptised pagans nearer home.
Very grand and very beautiful is the description which the writer to whom we have just alluded furnishes of the forests on the shores of the Amazons. The deep solitude, the prodigal luxuriance of Nature, the wondrous tangled mass of foliage, the song of the wild bird, the gibbering monkeys — all so foreign, all so strange, yet all so inviting — man absent— life present. Immense forests of palms and mixed species of trees meet the eye, with climbing and parasitic plants which extend to the lower part of the basin of the Rio de la Plata and the plains to the west of Buenos Ayres. Everything on a colossal scale : everything magnificent. He tells us of the overpowering heat and of the delightful shade, of a march which seemed interminable in company with one of the brothers, of fatigue which entirely overcame him, of the delights of refreshment, and of an introduction to a native family who dwelt in the woods.
The man, he tells us, was about thirty years of age, admirably (Developed, but entirely naked with the exception of a strip of cotton cloth round his middle. He was reclining in his hammock and playing with his last-born, a pretty little fellow who ni-^ht have served a painter as a study for the divine Bambino. Tin child was laughing joyously as it stood on the robust body of its father, upheld by his strong hand as it jumped and capered. Just below the hammock were two comical little children in high spirits and great good-humour with each other. Their mother — a very fine-looking young woman, but as destitute of clothing as her lord — was brightening irp the fire nnd
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
21:5
making preparations for a nieal. Both the man and the woman. M. Marcoy says, were remarkable for their extreme beauty of form : the man was a superb gladiator, the wife a Niobe of the noblest type. The admiration expressed by M. Marcoy — the genuine enthusiasm of an artist for the beautiful— gratified the president of the mission station, who permitted him to see and to sketch some beautiful speci- mens of " the human form divine." He tells us that in the Indians who were shown to him he saw finer classic models than he had ever- seen sitting as models for gods and heroes in the ateliers of Paris at five francs the sitting. Both the men and women were splendidly formed, and the women wore their curious ornaments with an air of wnccl<' which would have done no discredit to a young lady of fashion.
THE FLAG OF BRAZIL.
Both by the native Indians themselves, as well as by the Catholic- missionaries, M. Marcoy seems to have been hospitably entertained. Arriving at a village, he is welcomed by the women, children, and aged men, and entreated to remain until the return of the husbands and fathers from their hunting and fishing. They are hearty in their reception, and serve him with an excellent supper in the largest hut in the village ; two old women cooking, two damsels serving, with all kinds of courtesy and good-will. After supper the Yahnas talked together for some tune in an undertone, and then an old man announced that they would execute, in honour of their visitor, the national dance of the Bayente. The Bayente, by the way, is nothing more nor less than the devil of the Yahnas. The dance was performed by three principal men, who dressed themselves in sacks, which they put over their heads, and allowed to descend below the knee. The bottom of the sack, or more properly speaking the opening of each sack, was orna- mented, and that portion which covered the head was drawn up to n point and also decorated. Holes were made for the eyes and mouth, something like a Guy Fawkes mask, and each dancer was provided
214
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
with a native pipe or flageolet, tD give music to the dancing. As to the dance itself, it was a wild series of contortions, becoming wilder as it proceeded, until it closed with t'-ie utter prostration of the dancers.
Some of our readers may be glad to know something of the language spoken by the Yahnas ; we therefore append a few specimen words : —
|
God |
Tupana. |
Manioc |
Clmchia. |
|
Devil |
Bayente. |
Banana |
Sanilue. |
|
Heaven |
Arichu. |
Cotton |
R'chuer. |
|
Sun |
Hini. |
Palm |
Cojoleno. |
|
Moon |
Arimaney. |
Flower |
Ramoch |
|
Star |
Narchi. |
Wax |
Ma pa. |
|
Day |
Niana. |
Peccary |
Hagun. |
|
Night |
Nipora. |
Tiger |
Nimbou. |
|
Morning |
Tanaramase. |
Caiman |
Noroto. |
|
To-day |
Tatander. |
Bird |
Huicha. |
|
Yesterday |
Nibia. |
Butterfly |
Euyuta. |
|
Water |
Aah. |
Mouth |
Nashi. |
|
Fire |
Jigney. |
Musquito |
Ninoh. |
|
Rain |
Humbra. |
White |
Papase. |
|
Cold |
Sanora. |
Black |
Mihanacai. |
|
Heat |
Huanequi. |
Red |
Tuinah. |
|
Earth Stone |
Muka. Ahuichun. |
Green ]_ ' Blue J |
Ancachi. |
|
Sand |
Quericha. |
Theft |
Saperanu. |
|
River |
Nahna. |
Flying |
Saperanuma. |
|
Forest |
Toha. |
Work |
Yamutatara. |
|
Tree |
Hamunino. |
To Fasten |
Nampichiiia. |
|
Wood |
Hinqunsen. |
To turn round |
Agatara. |
|
Man |
Huano. |
To Travel |
Yansuima. |
|
Woman |
Unaturuna. |
Arriving |
Sitamana. |
|
Child |
Huina. |
Departing |
Saimana. |
|
Widow |
Rimitio. |
Sleeping |
Rimaheni. |
|
Old |
Rimitona. |
Waking |
Saynesema. |
|
Young |
Medra. |
Eating |
Ejemi. |
|
Death |
Sanitiura. |
One |
Tekini. |
|
House |
Rore. |
Two |
Nanojui. |
|
Piroyne (boat) |
Muiiiun. |
Thres |
Mama. |
|
Oar or Paddle |
Satian. |
Four |
Hairojuna. |
|
Basket |
Hitlion. |
Five |
Tenaja. |
|
Girdle |
Pichanai. |
Six |
Teki-natea. |
|
Bow |
Cano. |
Seven |
Nanojui natea. |
|
Lance |
Rouhuea. |
Eight |
Muiiua natea. |
|
Poison |
Ramnea. |
Nine |
Nairo juino natea. |
|
Fish |
Quikua. |
Ten |
Huiji juino. |
The Yahnas, notwithstanding the efforts of the Catholic mis- sionaries, entertain but a very confused idea of their faith. They mingle their own superstitions with the teachings of the missionaries, and the amalgamation is most perplexing. They call the Virgin Mary Ama-
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 215
maria, and describe her as being the mother of all the stars and the sister of Jesus Christ, whom they call Imaycama. In their view of things Satan was nothing more than the very humble servant of the evil spirit Bayente, a sort of agent acting on commission in the world of darkness.
In exchange for some knives, M. Marcoy obtained a complete dress, as worn by the native dancers in compliment to Bayente, together with a couple of flutes.
As to the missionaries, if they fail sometimes in making clear the abstruse doctrines of divinity, they do not fail, as a general rule, in obtaining the respect and affection of the people. Once influenced by the "fathers," they are exceedingly docile, submitting to penances without a murmur. Thus M. Marcoy tells us at one mission he found two young women — girls we might say, but girls are women soon in Brazil — kneeling in a corner. He asked the reason. They had laughed in prayer-time ! As a punishment they were to kneel twelve hours on their bare knees, of course without food. One of the girls had leant her head against a convenient beam and fallen fast asleep, but the other was wide awake and very miserable. Of course M. Marcoy did what you or I would have done — he "begged them off," and the two pretty creatures, released from such " durance vile," fbw off with the merry note of a bird that had regained its liberty.
When our " guide, philosopher, and friend" became acquainted with the Ticunas, he found them not altogether unlike the Yalmas. If a Yahna called his god Tupara, so did the Ticuna, and if one called the devil Bayente and the other Mhohoh, it signified little. They had their own peculiarities, but they danced a dance very similar to that of the Yahnas, and seemed to enjoy it every bit as well. One of their customs is singular. If a member of another tribe present himself at the hut of a Ticuna, the rule is, although they may expect his coming, to offer hostile resistance, and at the point of the lance, and with arrow on the string, to oppose entrance. But these warlike demonstrations are purely a matter of etiquette, and as soon as the visitor can playfully effect his entrance he is heartily welcome, and takes possession of the first vacant hammock he can find. The huts of the Ticunas are usually fitted up with three or four hammocks, in which the leading members of the family may recline at leisure. Nets to preserve the lounger or sleeper from the musquitoes are spread over the hammock, and the visitor does not fail to avail himself of the accommodation. But the matter of etiquette— etiquette is laborious — is not over yet. The
-21G THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
master of the house, in a voice like that of a ventriloquist, and peculiar to the Ticunas, demands —
"Who art thou? whence comest thou? Art thou a friend or an enemy ? and what is thy business here ?"
The visitor satisfies the owner of the house as well as he is able ; if he be well known, and the visit be a visit of friendship, he clears up the difficulty in a light and joyous manner ; if it be a mere business, transaction, it is not likely he would mount to the hammock, but stand quietly until etiquette gave way to commerce. Maybe he wants to sell ; maybe he wants to buy ; in either case he waits his due time, goes through the preliminary pantomime as well as may be, and then enters on the broad question of what will you give me for so much, or what will you take for that.
The Ticuna women are remarkable for their strength and courage. They are the Amazons of the Amazon. It is said that in some parts of the country they rule absolutely — where and in what country do the \vomen not? — that their prowess is something extraordinary, and that if a being of the masculine gender excite their ire, it is so much the worse for him, (where is it not ?) as they make nothing of compelling him to run the gauntlet — he altogether in undress, and they all armed with bundles of twigs, every stroke from every one of which is like a volley of small shot !
CHAPTER IX.
What we knew of the Fauna of Brazil Two Hundred Years Ago— The Cha- meleon, or Indian Salamander — A Deadly Poison — Serpent a — The Battle- snake — Its Poisonous Sting, and Mode of Cure — The Serpent Guaku — A Big Swallow — Good for Food — A Formidable Assailant — A Sting and its Cure — Like Cures Like— Cobra de Cipo — The Adder Ibiara— The Cobra do Corais— Cobra Verde —The Kaniana — The Ibirako and Others — Land Croco- diles—Scorpions—Ants— Various Specimens — The Iron Pig of Brazil — Birds — The Wild Goose— Other Feathered Favourites — All about everything in Brazil, but according to a veiij old authority.
T7ROM Mr. John Nieuboff, who made his exploration in the Brazils "T some two hundred and twenty years ago, we glean many par- ticulars of the fauna of the country, much of which has been confirmed by more modern travellers. Of the chameleon, or Indian salamander, we are told that the creature, which is not only found in Brazil but als*>
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
217
in the Isle of Java, belonging to the East Indies, and which by our people is called gekko, from its constant cry (like, among us, that of the cuckoo), is properly an Indian salamander. It is about a foot long ; its skin of a pale or sea-green colour, with red spots. The head is not unlike that of a tortoise, with a straight mouth. The eyes are very large, starting out of the head, with long and small eye-apples. The tail is distinguished by several white rings ; its teeth are so sharp as to
BOCK SNAKE, COBRA-DI-CAPELLO, AND BOA CONSTRICTOR.
make an impression even upon steel. Each of its four legs has a fine crooked claw, armed on the end with nails. Its gait is very slow, but wherever it fastens it is not easily removed. It dwells commonly upon rotten trees, or among the ruins of old houses and churches ; it often- times settles near the bedsteads, which makes sometimes the Moors pull down their huts. Its constant cry is gekko, but before it begins it makes a kind of hissing noise. The sting of this creature is so venomous that the wound proves mortal unless it be immediately burned with a red-hot iron, or cut off. The blood is of a palish colour, resembling poison itself.
218 THE GOLDEX AMERICAS.
The Javanese used to dip their arrows in the blood of this creature ; and those who deal in poisons among them (an art much esteemed in the island of Java by both sexes) hang it up with a string tied to the tail on the ceiling, by which means it being exasperated to the highest pitch, sends forth a yellow liquor out of its mouth, which they gather in small pots set underneath, and afterwards coagulate into a body in the sun. This they continue for several months together by giving <laily food to the creature. It is unquestionably the strongest poison in the world, being of so corrosive a quality that it not only raises blisters wherever it touches the skin, but turns the flesh black, and causes a gangrene. The inhabitants of the East Indies say that the best remedy against this poison is the curciimie root.
There are also several sorts of serpents in Brazil, such as rattle- serpents, double-headed serpents, and such- like, called by the Brazilians boigvacu, or siboya, arabo, bioby, boicininga, boitrapo, boykupekanga, bapoba, kukuruka, ibiara, jakapekoaja, ibiboboca, jararaka, manima, \oiia, tarciboya, kakaboya, amorepinima.
We, however, says the quaint writer we are quoting, give you an account of those only that dwell in the houses and woods of Pernam- buco, passing by the rest, as not so well known among us ; and it is observable that although some of the American or Brazilian serpents exceed those of Europe in bigness, they are, nevertheless, not so poisonous.
The serpent of boicwinya, or boicinininga, likewise called boiquira by the Brazilians, is by the Portuguese called kaskaveda and tanged/or^ meaning "a rattle," and by our people a rattle-snake, because it makes a noise with its tail not unlike a rattle. This serpent is found both upon the highway and in desolate places ; it moves with such swiftness as if it had wings, and is extremely venomous. In the midst it is about the thickness of a man's arm, near the elbow, but grows thinner by degrees towards the head and tail. The belly and head is flattish, the last being of the length and breadth of a finger and a half, with very small eyes. It has four peculiar teeth, longer than all the rest, white and sharp like a thorn, which it hides sometimes within the gums. The skin is covered with thick scales, those upon the back being somewhat higher than the rest, and of a pale yellowish colour, with black edges. The sides of the body are likewise yellowish, with black scales on each side ; but those upon the belly are larger, four- square, and of a yellow colour. It is three, four, and sometimes five
THE GOLDEN AMEUICAS. 219
feet long, has a round tongue, split in the middle, with long and sharp teeth. The tail is composed of several loose and bony joints, which make such a noise that it may be heard at a distance ; or rather, at the end of the tail is a long piece consisting of several joints joined within one another in a most peculiar manner, not unlike a chain. Every year there is an addition of one of these joints, so that you may know the exact age of the serpents by their number ; Nature seeming in this point to have favoured mankind, as a warning to avoid this poisonous creature by this noise. The sting of this creature is some- what slow in its operation, but it is ultimately fatal, for in the begin- ning a bloody matter issues from the wound, afterwards the flesh turns blue, and the ulcer corrodes the adjacent parts by degrees. The most .sovereign remedy used by the Brazilians against the poison of this and other serpents, says good Master Nieuboff, is the head of the serpent that has given the wound, which they bruise in a mortar, and in the form of a plaster apply it to the affected part. They mix it commonly with fasting spittle, wherewith they also frequently moisten the wound. If they find the poison begins to seize the nobler parts, they use the tiproka as a cordial, and afterwards give strong sudoriiics. They also lay open the wound, and apply cupping-glasses to draw the venom thence, or else they burn it with a red-hot iron.
The serpent kukuruka is of an ashy colour, with yellow spots within and black speckles without, and has just such scales as the rattle- serpent. The serpent gtiakn, or siboya, he tells us with extreme gravity, is unquestionably the largest of all serpents, some being eighteen, twenty-four, nay, thirty feet long, and of the thickness of -a man in the middle. The Portuguese call it kobre dcbado, or the roe- buck serpent, because it will swallow a whole roebuck or any other deer it meets with ; and this is performed by sucking it through the throat, which is pretty narrow, but the belly vastly big. After they have swallowed such a deer they fall asleep, and so are caught. Such an one, says Nieuboff, I saw near Paraiba, which was thirty feet long and as big as a barrel. Some negroes accidentally saw it swallow a roebuck, whereupon thirteen musqueteers were sent out, who shot it and cut the roebuck out of its belly. It was of a greyish colour, though others are inclining more to the brown. It is not so venomous as the other serpents. The negroes and Portuguese, nay, even some of the Dutch, eat the flesh ; neither are its stings looked upon as very infec- tious, the wound healing up often without any application of remedies ;
•220 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
so that it ought not to be reckoned among the number of poisonous serpents no more than the keninana, mavina, and vocia. This serpent being a very devouring creature, greedy of prey, leaps from among the hedges and woods, and standing upright upon its tail, wrestles with both men and wild beasts ; sometimes it leaps from the trees upon the traveller, whom it fastens upon, and beats the breath out of his body with its tail. The serpent jararaka is short, seldom exceeding the length of an arm to the elbow. It has certain protuberant veins in the head like the adder, and makes much such a noise. The skin is covered with red and black spots, the rest being of an earth colour. The stings of this creature are as dangerous, and attended with the same symptoms, as those of other serpents. Its body — the head, tail, and skin being; before taken away together with the entrails — boiled in the water of the root of jurepeba, with salt, dill, and such-like, is looked upon as a very good remedy.
The serpent loitrapo, called by the Portuguese cobra de cipo, is about seven feet in length, of the thickness of a man's arm, feeds upon frogs, and is of an olive colour ; it is very venomous, and when it stings occasions the same symptoms as the serpent kukuruka — nay, the wound is accounted past curing unless you apply the hot iron.
The adder ibiara, by the Portuguese called cobra vega, or cobra tfa des cabecas — that is, the double-headed serpent, because it appears to hive two heads, which, however is not so. They are found in great numbers lurking in holes underground. They feed upon ants, arc of the thickness of the length of a finger, and a foot and a half long, of a silver colour ; nothing is more poisonous than the stings of these creatures, though not beyond all hopes of cure, provided the before- mentioned remedies be applied in time.
The serpent by the Brazilians called ibiboboka the Portuguese call c >bra de corals. It is very beautiful, of a snow-white colour, speckled with red and black spots, and about two feet long ; its sting is mortal.
The serpent biobi — called by the Portuguese cobra verde, or the green serpent — is about three-quarters of a yard long, and the thickness of a thumb, of a shining green colour. It lives among houses, and hurts nobody unless when provoked. The sting is, however, full of poison and scarcely curable. A certain soldier, says our authority, being wounded by one of these creatures, which lay hidden in a hedge, in his thigh, did for want of proper remedies die in a few hours after- wards ; his body swelled and turned pale blue.
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
221
The serpent kaniana is yellow on the belly and green on the back ; its length is about eight hands, and it is looked upon as the least venomous of all. It feeds upon eggs and birds, and the negroes and Brazilians eat the body after they have cut off the head and tail.
CROCODILE, ALLIGATOR, AND LIZARDS.
The serpent called by the Brazilians ibirako is of several colours — white, black, and red spots. The sting of this creature is very poisonous, attended with the same symptoms as that of the kukuruka, for it kills infallibly, unless proper remo-lies be applied immediately. If the poison has not seized the heart, they boil the flesh of the same serpent with certain roots, and give it the patient in wine.
The serpents tareyloia and kakaboya are amphibious creatures. The first is of a blackish colour, very large, and stings when provoked, but this is not very difficult to be cured. The kakaboya is of a yellowish colour, six hands long, and feeds upon tame fowl.
222 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
Not only in the captainship of Pernambuco, but also all over Brazil and America, likewise in the Isle of Java, in the East Indies, are a certain kind of land crocodile, called by the Brazilians scnanibi — by our people seyuan; they vary in size from three to five feet long, but seldom exceed five feet ; they are entirely covered with scales, which are somewhat larger in size on the back, legs, and beginning of the tail than on the other parts ; the neck is about three nails long, the eyes arc black and bright, and the nostrils are in the hindmost part of the head. Each jawbone is full of small black and short teeth ; the tongue is very thick ; all along the back from the neck to the tail are small sharp teeth of a greenish colour ; they are larger on the neck, and gradually get smaller towards the tail. The skin is of a delicate green, with black and white spots. It has four legs and feet, with five claws armed with sharp nails. It can live two or three months without food. Its flesh is as white as that of a rabbit, and of as good a taste as that of fowls or rabbits, if it be boiled or fried in butter, taking care that it is well done. There are also in Brazil lizards, both great and small ; some are green, others greyish, about four feet long, with sparkling eyes. The negroes feed upon some of them, which they kill with blunt arrows ; they broil them after they have skinned them, and eat them without the least harm. Among all those that are found among the thorns and briars, or the ruins of houses, there is but one kind venomous, which is called Ubora. They are like the others to look at, but smaller, not ex^diiig in size a nail and a half long; they are of an ash colour, inclining tq white ; the body and limbs thick and swelled with the poison, b^l^tiie tail short and broad. The wounds given by them are full of a tnTlKisagreeable-smelling matter, with blue swellings, causing severe pain irear the heart and in the bowels.
There are also certain creatures called thousand leys, as likewise hundred legs, by the natives called ambua, who bend their body as they crawl along, and are very poisonous. The first are commonly found in the houses, the last among the woods, where they not only spoil the fruits of the earth, but also plague men and beasts.
Scorpions, by the Brazilians called jaaclailra, are found here in great numbers, being in shape like the European scorpions, but not so pestiferous, consequently the wounds given by them are easily cured. They lurk in houses, behind old stools, benches, and chests. They are exceedingly large, no larger being found in any other parts, some of them being five or six feet long, and of considerable thickness.
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 223
Thcro are such prodigious quantities of ants in Brazil that for thi^ reason they are called by the Portuguese Rey de Brazil— that is, King of Brazil. They eat all that comes in their way, such as fruit, flesh, fish, and insects, without any harm. There is also a certain winged ant, about tAvo nails long, with a triangular head, the body being separated into two parts and fastened together by a small string. On the head are two small and long horns, their eyes being very smalL On the foremost part of the body are six legs, three joints in each, and four thin and transparent wings — to wit, two without and two within ; the hindcrmost part is of a bright brown colour, and round, which is eaten by the negroes. They dig into the ground, like the mole, and consume the seed. There is also another kind of great ant, resembling a great fly, the whole body of which is about the length of half a finger, and separated into three several parts, the last part resembling, in shape and size, a barleycorn, the middle part of an oblong figure, with six legs, about a finger long, each of which has four joints : the foremost part, or the head, is pretty thick, in the shape of a heart, with two horns, and as many black crooked teeth. The white of the eyes is inclining to black, the whole composition of the head being the two eyes, placed opposite to each other, resembling the figure of a heart- The fore and hinder parts are of a bright red colour.
There is another kind of ant, of a bright black colour, with black and rough legs. It is about the length of a finger, with a large four- square head, starting black eyes and teeth, and two horns, about half a finger in length. The body is also separated into three parts, the foremost of an oblong figure, not very thick, with six legs, each of the length of half a finger, the middle part very small and square, not exceeding the size of a flea. The hinder part is the largest of the three, of an oval figure, and sharp on the end. These three parts are fastened together with a single string ; the Brazilians call it tapijai.
There is besides this another ant, called by the Brazilians kupia, of a chestnut brown colour, its head being as large as another ant, with black eyes, two horns, and two tusks instead of teeth. It is divided into two parts, the foremost part with six legs being some- what less than the hindermost. At certain seasons it gets four wings, the foremost being a little larger than the hindermost, which it loses at a certain time.
The iron pig of Brazil, called by the Brazilians kuandu, and by the Portuguese ourico kachiere, is of the size of a large ape, ita whole body
224 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
being covered with sharp spikes of three or four fingers long, without any hair. Towards the body these spikes are halfway yellowish ; the remaining part is black, except the points, which are rather of a whitish shade, and as sharp as an awl. When they are vexed they are able, by a certain contraction of the skin, to throw or dart them with such violence as to wound, nay, sometimes kill, men or beasts. Their whole body, to measure from the back part of the head to the beginning of the tail, is a foot long, and the tail a foot and five inches in length, which likewise has sharp spikes, the rest being covered with bristles like other hogs. The eyes are round, starting, and glistening like a carbuncle. About the mouth and nose they have hair of four fingers' length, resembling those of our cats or hares, only longer. Their feet are like those of apes, but with four fingers only, without a thumb, instead of which you see a place vacant, as if it had been cut away, The fore-legs are less than the hind-legs ; they are likewise armed with spikes, but not the feet. This creature commonly sleeps in the day- time, and roves about by night ; it breathes through the nostrils, is a great lover of fowls, and climbs up the trees, though very slowly. The flesh is of no ungrateful taste, but is roasted and eaten by the inhabi- tants. It makes a noise jii, like the luyaert.
That four-legged creature, by the Brazilians called cu, by the Portuguese priguiza, and by the Dutch luyaert (lazy-back), from its lazy and slow pace, because in fifteen days' time it scarcely walks above a stone's throw. It is about the size of a middle-sized fox, its length being a little above a foot, to measure from the neck (which is scarcely three fingars long) to the tail. The fore-legs are seven fingers long to the feet, but the hinder legs are about six ; the head round of three fingers in length : its mouth, which is never without a foam, is round and small, its teeth neither large nor sharp. The nose is black, high, and glib, and the eyes small, black, and heavy. The body is covered all over with ash-coloured hairs, about two fingers long, which are more inclined to the white towards the back. Round about the neck the hair is somewhat longer than the rest. It is a very lazy creature, unable to undergo any fatigues, by reason its legs are, as it were, disjointed in the middle ; yet it keeps upon the trees, but moves, or rather creeps, along very slowly. Its food is the leaves of the trees ; it never drinks, and when it rains hides itself. Wherever it fastens with its paws it is not easily removed ; it makes, though seldom, a noise like our cats.
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 225
The ant-eater is thus called because he is said to feed upon nothing but ants ; there are two sorts, the great and the small. The Brazilians call the first tamanduai, and the latter tamanduqti-guacu. It is a four- legged creature the size of a dog [query — about the size of a lump of chalk?], with a round head, small mouth, long snout, and no teeth. The tongue is of a roundish shape, but sometimes twenty-five inches — nay, two feet and a half — long. When it feeds it stretches out its tongue upon the dunghill till the ants have settled upon if, and then swallows them. It has round ears and a rough tail ; it is not nimble, but may be taken with the hand in the field. The small one, called tamenduai-guacu, is of the size of a Brazilian fox, about a foot in length. On the fore-feet it has four crooked claws, two larger ones in the midst and the two smaller ones on the sides. The head is round, yet pointed at one end, a little bent below, with a little black mouth,
without teeth. The eyes are very small, the ears stand upright about a finger's length. Two broad black lists run along on both sides of the back. The hairs on the tail are longer than those on the back ; the extremity of the tail is without hair, wherewith it fastens to the branches of the trees. The hairs all over the body are of a pale yellow, hard and bright. It is a very savage creature ; grasps everything with its paws, and if you hit it with a stick, sits upright like a bear, and takes hold of it with its mouth. It sleeps all day long, with its head and fore-feet under the neck, and roves about in the night-tune. As often as it drinks, the water spouts forth immediately through the nostrils.
The Brazilians have also a kind of serpent about twofatliom* long (I), without leg*, with a skin of various colours, and four teeth. The
Q
226 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
tongue is split in the middle, resembling two arrows, and the poison is hid in a bladder in its tail.
The four-legged creatures, called by the Brazilians tatu and tatupera, by the Spaniards armadillos, by the Portuguse encuberto, and by the Dutch scliPt-verten (shield-hog), because it is defended •with scales, like as with an armour, resembles in size and shape our hogs; there are several sorts of them. The uppermost part of the body, as well as the head and tail, is covered with bony shields, composed of very fine scales. It has on the back seven partitions, betwixt each of which appears a dark brown skin. The head is altogether like that of a hog, with a sharp nose, wherewith they grub underground; small eyes, which lie deep in the head; a little but sharp tongue; dark brown and short ears, without hair or scales, the colour of the whole body inclining to red ; the tail in its. beginning is about four fingers thick, but grows by degrees sharp and round to the end, like those of our pigs. But the belly, the breast, and legs are without any scales, but covered with a skin not unlike that of a goose, and whitish hair of a finger's length. It is generally very bulky and fat, living upon inaloens and roots, doing considerable mischief in the plantations. It loves to rout underground, eats rabbits and the dead carcasses of birds or any other carrion; it drinks much, lives for the most part upon the land, yet loves the water and marshy places. Its flesh is fit to be eaten. It is caught, like the doe in Holland with the rabbits, by sending a small dog abroad, who by his barking gives notice where it lurks underground, and so, by digging- up the ground, it is found and caught.
The bats in Brazil, called by the inhabitants andirika, are of the size of our crows; they are very fierce, and bite most violently with their sharp teeth. They build their nests in hollow trees and holes.
The bird called by the Brazilians ipekati apucij by the Portuguese pata, is no more than a goose, and for that reason is called by the Dutch a icild-goose . It is the size of one of our geese at nine months old, and in all other respects resembles them. The belly and under the tail, as well as the neck, is covered with white feathers, but on the back to the neck, on the wings and head, the feathers are black, inter- mixed with some green. There are also black feathers intermixed with the white ones on the neck and belly. They are rather larger than our geese ; their bills resemble those of our ducks, are black, and turned at the end; on the top of them grows a broad, round, and black piece of
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 227
flesh, with white speckles. They are commonly found near the river- side, very fleshy and well-tasted.
The, bird called by the Brazilians Toucan (or large bill) is the size of a wood-pigeon. It has a crop about the breast about three or four fingers in length, of a saffron colour, with high red- coloured feathers round the edges, which are yellow on the breast, black on the back and other parts of the body. Its bill is very large — the length of a palm of the hand, yellow without, and red within. It is almost incredible how so small a bird can manage so large a bill but that it is thin and light.
The bird called by the Brazilians Kokoi is a kind of crane, very pleasing to the sight, as large as our storks. Bills straight and sharp, about six fingers in length, a yellowish colour inclining to green. The neck fifteen fingers long, the body ten, the tail five ; their legs covered half way with feathers about eight fingers in length, the remaining part being six and a half ; the neck and throat are white, both sides of the head black, mixed with ash-colour ; on tho neck beautiful plumes. The flesh is like that of a crane — it is eatable.
All these particulars from the old historian must be accepted with a grain of caution, and looked upon much as we glance at those para- graphs in newspapers which are headed " Curious if True."
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
CHAPTER X.
Starting for Eio in the sliip Phantasm— The Organ Mountains — Splendid Pano- rama— Taking in Coal — Exempt from Customs — Hospitable Entertainment, and a Dance of " Niggers " — The Bay— The Peak of Corcovado — Eailv,-aya — " I am young and happy, and not ambitious to be killed "—Hospitality —Rio— The Markets— In the Woods— Foliage -Calling your Flowers Hard Names — Tn the Woods again — Amongst the Palms — A Forest full of Monkeys — On the River— Visiting a Coffee Plantation — Out again upon the broad Amazon — Native Indians — A Dance — A Challenge — The Difficulty : shall it be "Pop Goes the Weasel ?"— More Dancing — Religious Festivity— The Altar of the Household— In the Woods again— On the Sea Beach — Turtle— Alligators' Eggs — Beautiful Foliage — Going a-Fishing — Aquatic Birds— On the Eio Negro — The Victoria Eegia — The Land Palms — Back towards Eio.
T EAVING the old naturalist to spin still further yarns, some of -^ winch, if properly tested, would turn out speedily but ropes of sand, let us find our way again to modern Brazil, following somewhat in the wake of M. Agassiz.
It is early morning as our good ship Phantasm draws near to Rio ; we recognise Cape Frio, and a few hours later receive the agreeable news that the Organ mountains are in view — a splendid chain of moun- tains with summits two or three thousand feet in height ; rugged tops
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
229
and sharp declines toward the sea. As we approach the bay the scenery becomes wondrously grand — something new, something surprising, at every turn ; an immense expanse of water, a grand panorama of lofty- heights, and jutting into the sea the well-known rock which bears the name of Puo de Assucar.
SOUTH AMERICAN FOREST.
We reach our place of anchorage, but the prospect is so delightful that we are in no hurry to leave our floating mansion. And the captain is all courtesy and attention, and would not that we should hurry our- selves upon any account. The scenery is really charming, and its novelty renders its natural charms doubly attractive ; at last, however, we put off to a small island, and our ship takes in her coal and other necessaries.
Thanks to being in good company, and thanks to our letters of introduction, thanks to a beneficent fortune, we are spared the ravages
230 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
of the Custom House officers. Brazilian Custom House officials arc exceedingly like to their brethren all the world over ; they seem to rejoice in the little brief authority committed to their hands, and to like nothing so well as to tumble out the contents of your boxes and leave you mourning over the debris. But we are spared this annoyance, and a light vehicle wafts us to the elegant mansion of a gentleman, from whom we expect and receive the most hospitable entertainment. Eat, drink, and be merry ; but we can scarcely eat or drink for the strange sights and sounds around — every minute a new surprise ! What gorgeous foliage ! What grand mountains ! What a charmingly laid out garden ! Xew wonders all through the day, and as the silver crescent moon rises in the steel-blue sky, while yet the sun is sinking to rest beneath a cloudy canopy of gold and crimson, come scores of negroes from the iields — scores upon scores, black as ebony, and somewhat fantastic in their attire. They have taken their evening meal and have " spruced " themselves up for a bit of a holiday, and soon they are in the midst of it. The elders squat on the ground, their dancing days being over, but the young folks are bent on Terpsichorean enjoyment. The girls are addicted to white dresses and turbans made of gaudy handkerchiefs ; the men have showy coloured pantaloons and white shirts. How the girls coquet ! Black or white, coquetry is an art that most girls under- stand, and the airs and graces of the fashionable belle ,are closely imitated by the " darkies." Now strikes up the music, and away go the dancers into all the mysteries of the fandango. As the dance proceeds the dancers become more and more excited and whirl round and round like humming-tops, singing some strange wild chorus which ends in a shriek. This is genuine dancing by the light of the moon. It is pro- tracted to a somewhat late hour, and it is a sight once seen not to be easily forgotten.
Look over the bay, how it ripples gently under the silver light! See here and there lamps gleaming out on the water ; see the lofty mountain — giant sentinel — rising up high into the calm sky. What a scene of calm and peace there is over it all !
But now we must advance upon Brazil ; we expect to see strange sights, but all our conception of the magnificence of the scenery is far exceeded by the reality. We see Nature under an entirely new aspect, and the sensations awakened it is impossible to describe. To look on the grand old mountains richly clothed with tropical vegetation forms an epoch in one's life. Then the marvellous forests, rich, dense, myste-
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 231
rious ; the lofty trees, the extraordinary foliage, the gigantic parasites ; nothing whatever can be compared to them in the temperate zone.
Amid all this abundant display of the affluence of Nature, where man seems indeed but of small account, we are surprised, almost shocked, by the scream of a railway whistle. What ! iron roads here ? Locomotives in the primeval forest? Even so — and tunnels through the mountains ! It shocks your sensibility, of eourse ; you are aware of the incongruity of the whole thing ; but civilisation must advance, and it takes for its symbol the theodolite.
Enter one of the carriages — comfortable, commodious, even elegant. The obliging directors are good enough to place it in the front of the locomotive, so that our view of the Sierra may not be disturbed by engine smoke and showers of sparks from the stoker's fire. You will not hesitate to enter ; you have been on all sorts of lines — English, French, German, North American — you know the risk and do not think about it. Not so with a charming Brazilian lady, recently married, who, in answer to an invitation to accompany us, says, very gravely, " I am young and happy, and am not ambitious to be killed."
Through scenery never to be forgotten, with glimpses of such glorious vegetation as never could occur to the wildest dreamer; through a region of rich coffee plantations stretching out far and wide on every side. These plantations supply the chief traffic of the line. Enormous quantities of the precious grain are being continually con- veyed by it to the town. Not far from the last station on the line is a large coffee estate with a fazenda very noble in its proportions. The estate yields five or six hundred tons of coffee in good seasons. These fazendas are buildings of a singular appearance. They are only one story high, but cover a very large space of ground. Here, shut out from all the world beside — isolated — an old chieftain in his feudal castle, the proprietor resides for some months in the year. The house is of course well supplied with everything that can be required, and there my baron lives — monarch of all he surveys, and ready — ay, and more than ready — to give ample hospitality to friend or stranger. Hospitality, by the way, is certainly a striking feature in the character of the Brazilians. They are generous to a fault, and while giving warm and hearty welcome, as we all do, to bosom cronies, they are never forgetful to entertain strangers.
The railway work, with its bridges and tunnels, is a marvel of engineering skill. Well planned and well carried out, it reflects great
232 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
credit on the energy and enterprise of a people we are too often accus- tomed to regard as given over to voluptuous sloth.
Now let us leave our carriage, glance for a moment on the Eio Parahyba — perhaps drop a line and catch a couple of strange fish, the like whereof we never saw before ; then turning, let us look round on the luxuries of Nature — flower-beds of immense extent, and groves of magnificent palms, that remind us of the colonnades in the temples of old Egypt.
We have to make the ascent of the famous Peak of Corcovado, and we begin our journey in a comfortable carriage, but presently we have to leave our vehicle and mount horse. . The winding road is excellent in dry weather, but it is slippery and dangerous after a heavy fall of rain. Of course we are favoured with fine weather. The ride is delicious ; the scenery exceeding everything on which our eyes have yet rested ; it is superb, and the air is laden with the sweet perfume of the forests which lie down deep below us. Foliage of all colours is massed together in picturesque confusion ; the stately palms rise up and stretch over the road a canopy of verdure ; now and again a little foun- tain leaps into life and sends a slender rill down the mountain side. And when at last we reach the summit, what language can convey an idea of the extent, variety, and grandeur of the panorama? There, still and beautiful in its placidity, is the bay, encompassed by the smiling land, except at that part which opens into the ocean. Dotted over the surfcce of the bay are islands which from our point of view seem scarcity larger than pebbles; the mountains, clad in diversified foliage encircling the bay, seem to lose their heads in the clouds, forming altogether a marvellous picture. But the chief charm of the landscape is, after all, its great extent ; we cannot well descry the individual objects which make up the whole, but yonder mass of darkness is a forest, and yonder strip of green a prairie, and away yonder, a mass of dazzling colour, a sierra; those ribbons of silver are rivers or streams ; there are brightly-coloured shadows in the blue depths of the bay, reflections of houses, forests, gardens, mountains, and the deep blue above ; there is over it all a grandeur only to be realised when seen.
The summit of the peak is surrounded by a wall, as on one side the descent is almost vertical, and a false step would be sudden death. AYe, although boastful of strong heads, turn giddy at the awful depth, and half-a-dozen horrible images arise of what might be done in madness, fury, jealousy, revenge, from that lofty, lonely height. Another glance
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at the beautiful prospect, and the " shades of evening o'er us stealing" warn us to return. The descent is effected without accident, and we look up from Rio at the giant rock, and can scarcely credit our own senses that we stood on its summit but a little while back.
Let us bide awhile in Rio. Whither away ? We turn our feet towards the market. There is much to be seen. What piles of oranges ! What resplendent flowers ! What splendid vegetables ! Do we long for Covent Garden ? Not at all. Here are picturesque groups of negroes; not fixed as statues, not toiling under a driver's whip, but giving themselves up, as it were, to the pleasures of commerce — gay, easy, witty, and not by any means ill-looking. They are a fine, athletic race, with far better physiognomies than the blacks in the United States ; they were brought originally from Western Africa, and are as *' black as black." The women are exceedingly well grown — models of beauty so far as the figure is concerned. There are a great many negroes — both men and women — actively engaged in the market, selling their wares with such alluring arts and extravagant encomiums as cannot be withstood. The women all adopt high muslin turbans and shawls of many colours, which they arrange in the most captivating but appa- ren'ly negligent manner. See, two ladies of colour quarrel in the market as ladies will ; see with what effect they will arrange and re- arrange their shawl, now taking it completely off, now making us think they would fling it from them, now gathering it solemnly about them with all the airs of a tragedy queen. Most of the women are remarkable for the beauty of their arms and the elegance of their hands. Those who have infants generally bring them with them to market in a sort of little hammock slung on their backs. The majority of the negroes from the Mina district are Mohammedans, and preserve, it is said, their faith in the prophet while they engage in the religious rites of the Roman Catholic Church. They are good-humoured, industrious, perhaps a little too talkative, but then, you know — for this applies more especially to the women — what women are not ?
Among the objects of special interest which we see here for the first time is the colossal fruit of the sapucaia, a species of lecythis which belongs to the same family as the Brazil nut. There are many varieties of this fruit, the largest of which is a kind of apple, very well known as the melon.
The woods which cover the hills of the Tijuca are very beautiful, and of luxuriant vegetation. But there is a difficulty. We are, for
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instance, surrounded by new and surprising specimens of arboriculture and of floriculture, which, by the way, have never known any culture ; it is quite true that the rose by any other name may smell as sweet, but we like to know it by its name, and the very name calls up " a thing of beauty," and a sweet scent not to be equalled by the perfumer. Well, you ask in vain the names of the plants about you. Nobody knows or nobody cares to tell. Their magnificent leaves, their gorgeous ilowers — one can never get at the solution — never know what they are called. ]f you ask a botanist, he invariably gives you the scientific name, which is as far from the popular name as heaven from earth — " Yonder, that magnificent tree — Oreodoxa oleracea." Of course we have all due respect for scientific nomenclature, but when we ask the name of an elegant tree or a splendid flower, we do like to be answered honestly, and not to have brought into the simplicity of common language the majesty of an official Latin appellation. Thomas Hood rebuked us long ago for calling our lovely flowers such hard names ; sure 'tis a pity we did not give heed to the exhortation.
But let us a-hunting go. We have the invitation of one who can well afford hospitality, and who is the very man to be hospitable. His f azenda is quite a wilderness of rooms, with no upstairs — a house which may almost be said to extend over acres. Now we should like to capture a wild boar — at least a peccary ; we should like to snare a few birds, or bring them down with a clean shot ; a monkey or two would not be objectionable. Well, we must try our fortune and live the lives of hunters, and be more diplomatic than violent if we would succeed. We can easily find nice little stations in the forests, leafy hermitages where we may lie perdu and take our opportunity for striking our game. We can — or our coloured brethren can for us — carry such things as we may need to recruit exhausted nature into the grand old woodlands, and chatting and smoking, with an occasional " bang!" which wakes up all the echoes, and scares a covey of birds if it kills one, we pass the day, coming back to the f azenda in the evening, there to realise the idea of the feudal age.
We have a great hall in the f azenda ; do not call it a dining-room, for it bears no resemblance to one. Here there is a large table running all the length of the chamber, with a cross table at the uppermost end. Here sit our host and we his honoured guests, and down the long table sit inferior people, the place of Vice being occupied by the overseer of the estate. The dishes, the appointments, the quantity of solid food con-
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sumed — all these things heighten and strengthen the idea of a baronial banquet ; it is thoroughly feudal from beginning to end. But the scenery — ah ! the scenery is not such as is to be found in Europe.
We must not leave our friend the owner of the fazenda without visiting his coffee plantations and getting as much information as we can as to his methods of management. Everything is, indeed, so well done here that we are warranted in regarding it as a model establish- ment. It stands at the foot of the Sierra da Babylonia. The dwelling- house is commodious, and has a snow-white front, to which a green lattice gives a cheerful relief. Its ground plan is that of a long parallelogram ; the orangery is placed near the house on the ascent of a hill, and is exceedingly well kept, the pale yellow fruit contrasting beautifully with the deep green foliage. On the other side of the path leading to the house are the gardens, admirably arranged, and offering a rich mass of form and colour to the eye. Beyond lie the coffee plan- tations, extending over the hills for several miles. The fields nearest to the house are those in which the young plants are nurtured — a sort of nursery coffee ground ; here they are allowed to remain for a year. The plants are then transferred to the place which they are definitely to occupy. In the third year the young coffee plants begin to yield fruit, but the first harvest is very small. If the plant be healthy and planted in a favourable soil, it will go on gradually improving, and will sometimes yield two harvests in one year, during a period of thirty years. When the laud appears to be exhausted no effort is made at restoration ; it is simply abandoned, and a new location taken up, and a new portion of land brought under culture. There can be no doubt that many of these ancient plantations might, with no great trouble or expense, be again brought under culture, and that an immense extent of virgin forest is being unnecessarily sacrificed to the indolence or carelessness of the planter. Time, the Great Teacher, will put this right. Another reform which is greatly needed is that of the construction of roads from the various coffee plantations to a high road leading to the seats of commence. At the present time but little has been done in this way, and the means of transport are altogether inadequate to meet the necessities of the case. Of course the iron roads are the best roads of all, but there is in many cases no proper communication between the plantation and the railway station, and the ordinary plan is for the negroes to carry loads of coffee on their heads, and thus descend the mountains as best they may.
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Let us for awhile visit Para. The voyage is not accomplished without some misadventures, and \vc enter the harbour in a pelting shower of rain ; but we have suffered no real hardship — such a thing would be impossible in that excellent vessel the Phantasm — and when we drop the anchor we drop along with it all memories of storms. There is a road bearing the name of Nazareth, and it is planted with trees on either side for the distance of three or four miles. The effect is
THE WELLINGTONIA GIOAXTEA.
very beautiful. The trees are chiefly mangoes and palms. Here we notice a splendid palm which has become the victim of a gigantic creeper. The parasite has completely wound the tree in its treacherous and fatal embraces, and ere long the stately palm will and must perish ; the hour of the tree's decay will seal the doom of the parasite. Beyond, on either hand, above, around, are the most attractive diversities of vegetation. We pass by the skeleton of a house, whether a ruin or a house abandoned when half -built we know not, but it has no windows, no doors, only the open spaces left, and the foliage, pitiful as the red- breasts in the nursery story, has covered it with leaves — rich, full of all varieties of form and colour — vegetation has clothed the house with
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beauty; the framework of the window is completely hidden in the superabundance of foliage, and within the house there is what appears to be a splendid garden, and there are found birds of gayest plumage. It is like a glimpse of fairyland.
On reaching Para, on the banks of one of the tributaries of the Amazon, we again fall in with the Indians, and have another oppor- tunity of admiring their wonderfully beautiful symmetry and even elegance of deportment. They, like all Brazilians, are hospitable to the extent of their ability, and the good wives are ready with cocoa or tapioca, and the men willing to please us with a trip in their skin boats or canoes.
What a delightful change does this quiet life afford from the noise, bustle, and confusion of city life, of rapid travelling, of over-crowded hotels, and the like ! It is the abode for hermits — wandering in such a wilderness would be delightful. You remember the old story of the good father who quitted the monastic home one day for a little ramble, and was led on by the sweet singing of a bird, until on his return he found that more than a hundred years had passed. One is reminded of the legend by the desert, which in all the wild luxuriance and splendour of uncultivated nature, rejoices and blossoms as the rose.
Here is the little village of Breves. Its population, like that of all the establishments on the Lower Amazon, consists of a mixture of races. Here we may notice the regular features and the clear skin of the white man, the dark skin and black locks of the Indian ; we may trace in several both of the men and women traces of the African blood, but the prevailing type is Indian. Come into the cabin from which such curious sounds proceed, and behold, we are in a menagerie. All round the walls — occupying, indeed, every available space — are parrots, paroquets, and monkeys, all in good condition and for sale. AVe can be accommo- dated, if we require it, with insects and serpents, but we prefer the plumage of the parrot and the grinning face of the monkey. Monkey ! Does it look like many men we wot of? Does not he look sly enough to warrant the story of his being able to speak if he would, but, cunning rogue, preferring a dumb life and idleness to talk and work ? Idleness — yes, he is idleness offering temptation to you know who to set his four hands to mischief ; mischief is his very element, and nothing seems to amuse him more than a high game of jinks with a philo- sophical tortoise.
Next morning we ascend in our boat the l\io Aturia, a canal of
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some extent, and affording an ample opportunity of studying the ricli verdure on either bank. Above all other forms of vegetable life the palms are the most conspicuous, both for their gigantic size and extreme elegance of outline. Leaving the Aturia we penetrate another canal, and as the sun goes down come to a second halting-place. Hospitality itself from our Indian friends, and cleanliness and regard to health unknown to many of our peasantry or poor town artisans. The Indian cabin is the produce of the forest; the trunks of trees support it, branches of trees cover it, the interstices are all filled up with leaves. There is a sheltered walk outside, and the inside is divided into two compartments, the sleeping and the waking rooms: — the room to live in and the room to repose. But your Indian ventilates his bedroom all day long, and hangs the hammock outside to have all the benefit of the fresh air ; it is beautiful, clean, and sweet, and is suspended in the bed- room only when it is wanted. They do these things differently at home. We have often thought it would be a great improvement in the sanatory arrangements if hammocks could be introduced into our cottages instead of fixed bedsteads, or a villainous bed spread on the floor. See how easily it might be put away, how clean and pure it might be kept, with less trouble and less cost than is now devoted to stump or truckle beds.
We visit the depths of the forest under Indian guidance, and find the most primitive of bridges thrown over little streams — just the trunk of a tree, nothing more, but a trunk which bountiful Nature has busily adorned with strange varieties of vegetation. Our guide tells us to have no fear, and we try to follow his example of lightly skipping over dangerous bits of ground. Everything is colossal ; it seems as though Nature dwarfed man— as if the men who traversed these marvellous forests should be gigantic, if but to cope with tree, and fruit, and flower.
Out again upon the broad Amazon. We lounge on the deck of our vessel and watch the setting sun. What splendour it throws over the whole scene! what rich colouring it adds to that which is already radiant with the hues of the iris ! And when the evening comes, and we are smoking quietly and indulging in the luxury of doing nothing, how clear is the sky ! how profoundly still the water ! later, when the stars shine out, how brilliant are the stars ! Gliding placidly along, the vegetation on both banks of the liver seems to grow more and more beautiful. Surely it is a land of enchantment. Xow'we are floating on
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a broad lake and it is morning, and we are at another Indian station, where we receive every attention, and of a superior kind than we have yet experienced on the voyage.
The cabin where we are entertained is much larger and altogether better arranged than are the majority. There is an air of greater taste and refinement about it, traceable, we suspect, to our pretty hostess, who is really pretty and has a sweet voice, though a little infantine. Every- thing is exquisitely bright and clean, and the windows — of course unglazed — are guarded by palm-leaves, not stretched over them, but hanging in full bunches so as to be stirred by the passing breeze and
give delicious coolness to the air, with little glints of sunshine that are never oppressive. There is everything necessary for use — nay, more, there are many luxuries ; and the good man of the house, a fisherman — all the Indians are fishermen — is very proud to receive us, and does his best to make us welcome. He is not so happy in his way of doing- things as his wife. What man can hope to compete with a woman in little delicate attentions ? He is withal somewhat taciturn and gloomy, but the voices of his children — and he has his quiver filled with these — call light into his eyes and something like a smile on his lips. Well. you are right — a glass of caxuca cheers him up amazingly, and then will he take out his violin — oh, such a violin! — and play us a tune — oh. such a tune ! — but it sets the babies' feet a-dancing. He has a neigh- bour, a well-made fellow, who is aware of that circumstance, and poses when he talks and rides on horseback in the style of a true cavalier —
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a good fellow at heart, who cultivates manioc and is never tired of admiring his handsome wife. Now it chances one evening that we are all together, and perhaps our host's barbitone, or perhaps the jerks of baby's feet, set us to ask a favour. AVe should be delighted to see a native Indian dance. There is reluctance, but the reluctance is over- come, and the four dance. Is it to be called dancing ? It is a grave and serious business ; they move slowly, majestically ; they snap thumb and fiu£Gr in lien of castanets ; they are throughout exceedingly sedate •
PRIMITIVE BRIDGE.
t docs not in the least resemble a dance of " niggers." And now, with no pretension to a pun, the ball rests with them, and they challenge us for an exhibition of our national dance. What is it ? Were we of the Emerald Isle they should have a jig and no mistake about it ; if we claimed Scotia for our land, a three-reel or a strathspey should be promptly executed ; but what shall we do as modern English ? There are not enough of us to do Sir Roger ; we'll waltz. Exquisite ! beauti- ful! Our Indian friends are thoroughly delighted. AVe English have the reputation of caring for little that is not strictly practical, just as the devotional spirit of the Yankee is declared to be confined to the sole worship of the omnipotent dollar ; and to dance — to waltz for the
R
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entertainment of Brazilian Indians is something to be written in books.
We subsequently, however, have an opportunity of seeing the Indians less severe in the dancing exercise — less solemn and dignified in the mysterious rites of the "light, fantastic toe.71 Before we take our leave of the village there is the celebration of a/e/c, in our honour chiefly, we have reason to believe, but ostensibly in honour of saint somebody. The mother of our host's wife — one of the most hideous of old women — arrives early in the morning, and with some other elderly ladies makes a considerable to-do before a common showy-looking wooden box, which we afterwards ascertain to be the family altar. They scrape and shuffle, bow and twist, and sing prayers or hymns which are exceedingly doleful to hear. The religious part of the day's ceremonial having been completed, the festivities begin, and we have ample opportunity of witnessing various kinds of dances, which are mostly accompanied with a wild chant. After it is all over we Jhave a little refreshment, and then take leave of our entertainers, not without some reluctance on both sides, for they have shown themselves full of generosity, and we trust we have not been ungrateful.
One tiling there is to notice about these Indians : the men ibave a very easy time of it, and would not on any account take part in the hard work of the establishment. This is all done by the women and children, and with the children the boys arc precocious in their assertion of man- hood and consequent exemption from drudgery. We find this arrange- ment and unequal division of toil prevailing among nearly all wild tribes. Courtesy to the fair sex, politeness, attention, a regard for their comfort and convenience, and a desire to secure them from rough work or hard usage are the marks of civilisation. The more civilised we are the better are our mothers and wives and daughters cared for — it is only a brute that would ill-treat women — only a coward who would insult them, only a fool who would endeavour to behave to them as if they were in any way inferior. Now the Brazilians are not cruel to their women, but they have enough of the barbarian in them to let them toil and drudge in work which should be done by men.
And now we have reached the town of Manaos ; it is but a small place — a cluster of houses, many of them fallen into ruin, but the town still asserts itself and has its Treasury and Legislative Chamber, its Post Office, its president's residence, and the inevitable Custom House. The site of the town is happily chosen at the junction of the Rio Negro,
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.the Amazon, and the Solhnoens. Insignificant as the place now is, it will probably become a great centre of commerce and navigation ; but when we consider the immense extent of country immediately sur- rounding it still occupied by virgin forests — forests almost impenetrable — we feel that a considerable time must elapse before the trade and commerce of the locality become of much importance.
The forest scenery around Manaos is wonderfully attractive. Here we found less palms, although some of these trees exhibit colossal pro- portions and are remarkable for vigour and beauty. But here we found the Sumaumeira (Eriodendron sumauma), a gigantic tree which, unlike its brethren of the forest, periodically sheds its leaves. The good people of Manaos make evening promenades in the woods, and long lines — Indian file — of Brazilians and negroes may be seen descending to the river with water-jars on their heads. The effect is very pretty.
Not far off is Tabatiiiga, a frontier town of Brazil adjoining Peru. It is supposed to be a military station, and the idea is maintained by three indifferent pieces of artillery and half-a-dozen soldiers lounging in the sun — at least, such is my impression. Our stay is very short, and our next station is Teffe.
Now of all the small stations we have visited on the Amazon, Teffe is without question the most agreeable. A sandy beach, only covered during the rainy season, separates the town from the river. The houses are of a dazzling white, and are embowered in palm and orange trees. The effect is very delightful. Beyond the town are verdant lands, forming a gradual ascent, and here herds of cattle and flocks of sheep are grazing. The hill is crowned by a forest — a forest which furnishes some charming walks both morning and evening.
Thanks to the good offices of friends, we get comfortably housed. Our dwelling is pleasantly situated, commanding good views both right and left, and the frontage looking on the sandy beach, the river, and the opposite shore. It is all very lively and interesting. There is an orangery, and more than one reservoir of turtle — O Calipash and Calipee ! excellent turtle — but an ordinary article of food here. The interior is well arranged and furnished, considering the climate and the place, and, moreover, considering that we are birds of passage, there is little left for us to desire.
Perhaps it might add to our comfort if we had attendants more after the old pattern, but domestics are not easily procured. It is the fishing season (September — October), and the men arc busy drying and salting
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the fish. The season also is coming on for hunting for turtles' eggs, also for the labours of the field, but, more and above all, the Indian has but little liking for household service, and it is probable that if you arrange with them to-day they will decamp to-morrow. An occasional glass of caxuca is, to the men at all events, a great attraction, and this will sometimes induce a servant to remain when no other consideration would. Our dinner is served from a neighbouring house, and the waiter arrives punctually with the mats. Our waiter is an elderly man ; he wears a pair of cotton drawers, originally white, now of all colours
and none, which reach to the knee. He has naked feet ; the upper part of his body is partially — and very partially — covered with an article of raiment which at some primitive period of history may have been recog- nised as a blue shirt. On his head he has a straw hat. Our second attendant indulges in but little drapery, making up for lack of dress material by ear-rings, nose-ring, lip-ring, &c., all of a heavy pattern.
Stroll out into the forest in the early morning, hear the shrill cry of the paroquets, and the ceaseless chattering of the monkeys. Leaping and climbing in the branches of the trees, these four-handed cousins of ours seem to resent the intrusion on their solitude, but with all due respect to them we cannot forego the pleasure of the walk. And here come troops of women, going to the fields or other work, many with babies slung at their backs and with water-pots upon their heads, all the natives very courteous, giving us "Good day" cheerfully. Stroll out^before our house in the evening, when the setting sun crimsons
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the Amazons and gilds the coming night. Here are a little company of Indians taking their supper on the sands ; yonder is their canoe loaded with fish. Presently the Indians will kindle a fire and prepare the fish for use at home or for sale. They have also a good load of turtles' eggs. The scene is altogether highly interesting and picturesque. Next day we pay a visit to the country residence of a cultivator, a residence called, as these country houses are, a sitio. The trip is made in a canoe, and is highly enjoyable. Our host is thoroughly hospitable, well sustaining the proverbial character of the Brazilians, and the coffee and manioc cake which are served immediately on our arrival are very acceptable.
We have here the opportunity of examining the beach of the river, and learn that it is the favourite resort of turtles, who lay their eggs in the sand. But we are also told that at some parts the alligators use it for the same purpose. Some of these alligators are formidable monsters, and the natives have a great terror of them, as indeed they well may have. It is not pleasant when you are taking a comfortable bath, for example, to find that an alligator has taken it into its long head to share it with you, and will probably make an effort to lunch very much at your expense. With regard to the turtles' eggs, the natives are very ingenious in their mode of discovering them, and at one season of the year it becomes a profitable pursuit.
The Indian on the look-out for turtle eggs walks somewhat rapidly along the sands, as if he were simply bent on getting over the ground, and had really no other intention. But by what we can only account for as a peculiar instinct he stops suddenly when he comes to a buried nest, and, throwing up the sand, finds his prize eight or ten inches below the surface. There are, no doubt, some peculiar indications of the right spot, but they are so slight as to escape any but long- practised eyes. Besides the turtles and the alligators, various kinds of fish and birds lay their eggs in the sand.
The extraordinary luxuriance of the foliage and the heat of the climate make house-building a very light and superficial affair. The palm yields its treasures for parlour and kitchen and hall ; most of all — most grateful of all— for a shaded verandah, where we may doze away the burning heat of day. A bunch of palm-leaves will shelter us from the sun; a bunch of palm-leaves will shelter us from the shower — to what uses can we not turn this beautiful and bountiful tree?
Let us go a-fishing, not" with net or line, but with harpoon and
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javelin ; we can, under instruction, spear a few fish — the Indians are very dexterous at this sport. Let us go shooting in the depths of the forest. But the forest has no path for our feet in the direction we desire to take. We arm ourselves with big knives and hatchets, and cut and chop our way through. Here is a splendid piece of water, almost surrounded by gigantic rushes ; here are flocks of aquatic birds, who, probably scenting mischief in our coming, fill the air with their shrill cries and rise up above our heads. We bag some of them, and while so occupied our Indian servants spread our mats under the shelter of the giant trees, and there we eat and drink our fill, and sleep and dream of fairyland. Some of the birds we have taken are exceedingly beautiful in form and of a snowy- white plumage.
On the Amazon again : a couple of alligators putting their pointed heads out of the water to watch us put off, perhaps hungering after us, perhaps wishing to taste what kind of meat we are made of, as in Arctic regions we are somewhere told the bears showed a peculiar desire to know the flavour of Dutch flesh. Away on the broad bosom of the Amazon, and in and out its many winding tributaries. We are to visit Lake Hyarmary, and in due time we reach the neighbouring village. At first sight it scarcely gives us the idea of an Indian village at all, as it is composed of a number of sitios scattered here and there. We are well received, and lodged on the brow of a hill on the other side of which is the lake. The lake is of great extent and very beautiful, and a sail on its waters is delightful. A little incident which occurs during our stay here marks the primitive habits of the Brazilians. On account of the visit of the president of the district there is a great dinner given by the owners of the sitios, and many of the well-to-do Brazilian Indians are invited. They come with their ladies — in fact, are largely represented by ladies — in white dresses, with roses or jasmine in their hair. The table is spread with excellent taste and in European fashion. But the Brazilian ladies are ill at ease ; they use or misuse their knives and forks, and are as awkward with them as we might be with Chinese chopsticks. At last a Spanish cavalier takes pity on them, and says, "Away with etiquette; follow your own fashion, ladies, and eat with your fingers." They laughingly acknowledge the familiarity by adopting the suggestion, and soon satisfy their appetites with thumbs and fingers. There is a dance in the evening to the music of a violin or violoncello and a flute, and the festivities are protracted far into next day.
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Festivities ! These Brazilians seem never weary of them. When we get back to Manaos the whole place is in a state of marvellous agitation, which has lasted some days. A ball is to be organised in honour of somebody or other, and the questions are being pressed by the less informed on the better informed as to where the ball is to take place, on what day, at what hour, and private confabulations are being held by the women folk as to what they shall put on, and, how they shall best secure the truly feminine triumph of being the best-dressed lady in the room. Well, the day of the ball is officially announced, and it is to take place at the palace ! The palace is the name invariably given to the residence of the president, and no matter how small and insignificant the house may be the pompous title is bestowed upon it. The night arrives. It is all that can be desired. Carriages being totally unknown in Manaos, we walk to the palace by the light of a lantern — we walk carefully, seeing that we are in full dress, and have a painful apprehension that we shall enter the palace gates with soiled plumage. We are saved this annoying degradation, at all events. What a display ! Silk and satin, lace and muslin, and complexions running the whole gamut of colour from black to white, with some very good specimens of copper skins. We are pleased to find that the black ladies are treated with precisely the same respect as is shown to the whites, and that miserable and wicked distinction of colour seen in the United States of North America is happily "conspicuous by absence." It is not often, indeed, that a pure negro is found in fashionable society, but the mulattoes are very numerous. On their arrival at the ball the ladies are conducted to the couches which are ranged around the room. Occasionally a cavalier will summon sufficient courage to pass along the line of fire, or take his seat for awhile to have a little chat. But it is not until the dancing really commences that anything approaching to gaiety sets in. At intervals tea and other refreshments are circulated, and punctually to the hour supper is served. Each lady is conducted to the supper table by a cavalier, who is, of course, as all dancing attendants always are, all courtesy and attention. Then comes the ever-to-be-deplored speech-making, during which some of us get back to the ball-room, and as the dancing re- commences there is heavy firing heard, and the steamer comes in from Para with the news of a Brazilian victory, which news is received with great applause. We get another invitation to another ball to-morrow, to celebrate the glorious triumph of Brazilian arms.
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250 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
The district of the Manas, a thriving settlement, is very interesting, and we make several excursions in the surrounding neighbourhood. The prosperity of the place is mainly traceable to the exertions of M. Michelis, who has resided there for five-and-twenty years. The dwel- lings of the Indians can scarcely claim the dignity of being called houses : they are simply cabins thatched with straw. The residence of M. Michelis is tolerably well built, and the church is a neat structure with a wooden cross before the door. But, notwithstanding the humble appearance of the place, the people are remarkably intelligent, moral, and industrious, and devote themselves to the cultivation of the guarana with considerable success.
In visiting another village we make the acquaintance of theManda- rincas, a civilised tribe of Indians, and are by them very kindly enter- tained. At the entrance to their village is a church, built entirely by themselves. It is capable of accommodating five or six hundred persons ; the walls are of clay, gaily painted on the inside with pigments extracted by the Indians from the leaves and roots of native plants. There is a large wooden font just within the door ; the altar is gaily decorated, and in a niche above it is a rude carving of the Virgin and Child. The paintings are very rough, and resemble the stars and other devices with which boys of an artistic turn delight to embellish their kites. Service is seldom performed in the church, but a priest visits the station at certain intervals, says mass, christens the children, and ties in bonds of wedlock any couples who desire it. A quiet, simple, primitive people, these Indians are devoutly religious after their fashion, and their lives might shame many who know their creed better. They wear the ordinary dress of civilised Indians, the men pantaloons and cotton shirts, the women calico dresses, with their hair drawn up to the top of the head. Two of these people — a man and a woman — are, with the exception of their faces, completely tattooed in a curious network pattern, which when the upper part of their bodies is exposed, gives them a very singular appearance ; the lines, which are stained blue, cover the throat, breast, and arms, and intersect each other so as to form small diamonds, not unlike the patchwork of a harlequin's jacket. There is an old woman also with a tattooed face stained blue, her eyes surrounded by lines in the shape of a pair of spectacles.
Returning to Manas, we go a-fishing to catch strange fish, especially to secure a specimen of the boto. Our Indian allies are opposed to his
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 251
capture, having certain superstitious feelings with regard to him, and when, later in the day, we are apprised that a boto has been taken, and awaits us in the sand, we are cruelly disappointed to find that the fish has suffered sad mutilation, as the Indians have helped themselves to various portions to use as charms.
We explore the forest — abandon ourselves to the luxurious enjoy- ment of the great world of vegetation ; at each step new marvels are disclosed — everything colossal — everything beautiful. We stop and rest beneath the shadow of the palms.
Palms ! What unrivalled splendour, what gorgeous beauty, do we behold !
Palms ! But it is not for their beauty alone that palms are worthy to be noticed. They are not mere elegant sultanas of the forest, spending a luxurious, idle life, rearing their proud heads aloft, and waving their delicate plumes to the breeze. Far from it. Palm-trees, though they are very beautiful, are still more useful, no vegetable genus yielding such a variety of products.
Now just let us take a glance at these products, and try tc* enumerate some of the chief amongst them. One may be well pardoned for skipping over some, so varied and so numerous are they.
Let us see, then. There is the cocoa-nut, to begin with : this is the product of a palm. And here it is necessary for us to be precise, and to state that by the term cocoa-nut we mean the large bullet-like thing, with a thick shell, and a central cavity filled with a liquid which people are agreed to term milk — not, however, that it resembles the animal fluid very much, even in appearance. This explanation is necessary, inasmuch as some people confound the palm cocoa-nut with that which, being ground in a mill, furnishes the cocoa of the shops. The two have not the slightest alliance, botanical or otherwise ; neither does the cocoa-making cocoa-nut grow on a palm. The date, again, is the produce of a palm-tree ; and whilst on this topic, the reader's attention may be drawn to a somewhat curious fact. The hard stone which lies in the centre of a date, and which can scarcely be cut by hammer and chisel— so tough and hard is it — this date-stone is the part which corre- sponds with the edible portion of a cocoa-nut ; and, conversely, the shell of a cocoa-nut is the corresponding part to the edible and fleshy portion of the date. Cocoa-nuts and dates having suggested their respective trees, the sight of a composite candle reminds us of the oil palm, that valuable tree which supplies the negroes with a substitute
252 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
for butter, and helps to form our soap, candles, and lubricating fat for railway axles. Sago, again, is the produce of a palm, as is also the valuable astringent catechu, so useful in medicine and the manufacture of leather. Various in their properties as are the bodies already men- tioned, as being the produce of the palm tribe, they are only a few instances chosen almost at random, and give but a faint notion of the rich treasures derived from the tribe of palms.
We have hitherto considered each species as affording us only one single product, but this is hardly doing justice to our friends the palms. For instance, take the cocoa-nut palm. In the first place it yields us its fruit — the nuts — but these are not a tenth of its products.. Those graceful leaves, which wave like an enormous plume of ostrich-feathers
TUKTLE.
in the breeze, were once enveloped in a sheath, forming a sort of gigantic unexpanded bud. In this state it resembles a cabbage in appearance, and if cut just at this period, it is delicious to eat after boil- ing, forming a very good substitute for the cabbage, to which, indeed, it is preferred by many. Then, again, the juice of the cocoa-nut palm — and, indeed, of many others — is valuable. If collected and allowed to ferment, it yields a very agreeable wine ; but if evaporated whilst fresh, it yields sugar precisely similar to that of the cane. Although the juice of the cocoa-nut is saccharine, yet that of the date-palm is more saccharine still. A great many specimens of those finely-crystallised sugars now brought from the East Indies were never extracted from the cane, but were obtained from the juice of various species of palm- trees, more especially the date-palm. Returning to the cocoa-palm (Cocos nucifera), and scrutinising its productions more narrowly, we shall find that others yet remain to be adverted to. Who does not know that the external husk of the cocoa-nut yields, when properly
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 253
manipulated, a valuable textile fabric ? In regions where the cocoa- palm grows this property of the fibre of its husk has been known to the natives from time immemorial, but amongst ourselves the discovery of this property is altogether modern, and resulted, like many other good tilings, in accident, as follows : —
The oil which cocoa-nuts yield when expressed was found, about the year 1840, to be a valuable material. At least, the oil was in that year applied to the manufacture of candles, being mixed with palm-oil, and treated by a chemical process, concerning which we shall have a little to say hereafter. Well, the process of subjecting ground cocoa-nuts to pressure, in order to extract their oil, requires the use of bags of some coarse fabric. When first the manufactory was established in Ceylon these fabrics were conveyed there from England, until at last Mr. W. Wilson discovered that the best fabric for the construction of pressure-bags was that obtained from the husk of the cocoa-nut itself. Then arose the introduction of cocoa-nut fibre to commerce for many other purposes. Beds are now stuffed with it, mats formed of it, ropes, cordage, hearthrugs, brushes, and, in short, to so great a variety of different purposes is it applied, that we relinquish in despair the task of enumerating them.
Palms belong to that great division of the vegetable kingdom which botanists term endogenous, inasmuch as their stems grow by the central deposition of woody fibre, the word endogenous signifying growing internally, or within. It is in tropical lands that the endogenous form of vegetable structure assumes its greatest development — not only constituting certain gigantic trees, of which palms are one species, but presenting itself in the shape of bamboos, canes, and grasses, with which we inhabitants of a temperate zone, can only become acquainted by description, or by the stunted pigmy-like offshoots which sometimes vegetate — flourish one cannot say — in our palmariums and hothouses.
All the large trees of temperate climes are of exogenous growth — that is to say, their stem increases in size by annual depositions of woody fibre externally, or next to the bark, whence arises the denomi- nation exogenous, which signifies growing without, or externally, just as endogenous signifies growing internally, or within. The largest endo- genous plants which temperate climes produce are the tall grasses, such as wheat, barley, oats, &c.
The determination whether a vegetable belongs to the endogenous or exogenous class is easily arrived at by several modes of investigation,
254 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
the simplest of which, in cases where it can be applied, consists in the examination of a section of the vegetable trunk. If any of our native trees be cut across, and the plane of section polished, a prime indication of exogenous development will be seen. The trunk will be observed to consist of numerous concentric rings, each corresponding to the growth of one season, and therefore from an examination of them the age of the tree may be predicted. Moreover, the distinction between pith, wood, and bark will be complete, each of these several portions of the vegetable trunk being well marked.
On cutting across an endogenous trunk — the larger the better, hence the trunk of a palm-tree is best, although the section of a rattan cane affords satisfactory indications — a great difference of structure between this and the structure of the exogenous vegetable will be manifest. In the first place, there is no longer recognisable any well- marked distinction between pith, wood, and bark ; all three of which are confused and in a manner blended together. Secondly, the con- centric rings, so evident in the other case and so distinctive, are here altogether wanting. The vegetable tissue appears thrown confusedly together, an appearance which results from the peculiar manner in which the trunk is formed — namely, by the internal deposition of woody fibre — hence the term endogenous.
Perhaps the section of the trunk cannot be obtained. In this case the determination may readily be made by an examination of a leaf. The leaf-veins of exogenous plants are reticulated, whereas those of endogenous plants are parallel. A third method of distinguishing endogenous from exogenous plants is afforded, at least in the majority of instances, by the seeds, which in endogenous plants only consist of one lobe, or cotyledon, whereas the seeds of exogenous plants consist of two — hence arises the botanical term monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous, which are respectively employed to indicate endogenous and exogenous plants. This botanical digression (necessary, however, to the satisfactory comprehension of our subject) has led us away from the consideration of palms, but we will now resume their description.
We have already stated that palm-trees may be regarded as bota- nically allied to the lilies and bulrushes of temperate regions. Let not the non-botanical reader think the comparison strange ; he will find, when he comes to be acquainted with the principles of botanical science, that the mere size of vegetables has little or nothing to do with their alliances?. The nature of the organs of fructification is a far surer sign ;
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 255
guided by these and some other appearances, the botanist refers the various members of the vegetable world to their proper natural families. In this way it is found that rose-bushes and apple-trees are very nearly allied, as in like manner are nettles, elm, and fig-trees. It is not our object to explain fully the nature of such botanical alliances, these forming the proper subjects of a treatise on botany. We will, however, direct the reader's attention to one little peculiarity of inflorescence — that is to say, the nature, and arrangement of flowers — from a conside- ration of which he will at once recognise a similarity, or alliance, in this respect between bulrushes and palms. The flowers of both consist of what botanists term a spadix, enveloped by a spathe.
A spadix consists of a long projection thai imaginative botanists liken to a sword, which being denominated spada in Latin, this form of inflorescence is termed a spadix. Arranged upon this spadix, and growing out of it, are seen flowers and young fruit, and enveloping the spadix with its appendages is seen a leaf -like sheath ; this latter is termed a spathe. A good example of a spadix inclosed in a spathe is furnished by the Arum maculalmn of botanists, which is found in hedge- rows. The common bulrush, with which our country readers must be familiar, supplies an instance of the spadix without a spathe.
Viewed with regard to their woody fibre, palm-trees exhibit great similarities to the stem of ferns. The likeness may be observed even on examining one of our own English ferns, but the resemblance is still greater when the section of one of the tropical tree-ferns is the subject of comparison. Like these tree-ferns, too, palm-trees must have been created very early in the history of the world ; evidence to this effect is furnished to us by the existing coal-fields of many regions. For the most part, these coal regions consist of fossilised ferns ; but the remains of palm-trees are also found : this is our proof. Palm-trees are now found growing native in Europe, Asia, Africa, America, and Australia ; but, with the exception of two dwarf species — the Chamxrops humilis in Europe, and the Cliamxrops palmetto, in North America — they are all denizens of tropical lands, and their region may be considered as bounded by the thirty-fifth clegree of northern, and the fortieth of southern, latitude. Nevertheless, one species at least— the date-palm — has been so far naturalised in certain localities of Southern Europe, especially Andalusia and Valencia, that it grows to maturity and pro- duces fruit, though far inferior to the dates of Africa. The greatest authority on palm-trees is Ilerr von Martius, a German botanist, who,
256
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
with a view of studying their characteristics, devoted three years to a travelling excursion in Brazil, a region more rich in palms than any on the face of the globe. This botanist considers that there are existing at this time upwards of a thousand species of palms. If the opinion be correct, future botanical explorers have a rich field of investigation
AQUATIC BIRDS.
yet untrodden, inasmuch as no more than 175 species have yet been individualised and described ; of these 119 belong to South America, 42 to India, and 14 to Africa. Cosmopolitan denizens of the vegetable world, as we have seen that palm-trees are, different species affect diffe- rent localities. Some love to wave on mountain crests, others delight to fringe the sea-coast, and others will only arrive at perfection on the banks of rivers and streams ; moreover, with few exceptions, a few species refuse to flourish if taken from their own native land, and conveyed to
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
257
another of seemingly identical climate. Amongst the few exceptions to this rule, the cocoa-nut palm and the date-palm deserve especial mention ; provided the climate be hot enough, and that the sea be near enough, they flourish and bring forth fruit. It is a very curious fact, not satisfactorily accounted for, that the cocoa-nut palm will not flourish at any great distance from the sea; hence islands are best adapted to their culture, and in Central Africa there are none. Botanists are inclined to refer this predilection for the sea-shore to the tendency
FOEEST SCENE.
which these trees have to take up salt ; and the idea is partly confirmed by the known fact of their partiality, if the term may be allowed, for alkaline food. Ceylon may be regarded as the head-quarters of cocoa-nut palms, for in that country the trees thrive best. This fact is usually attributed, and it would seem justly, to the fact that the natives treat their conversation-loving friends to a frequent dressing of their own ashes. So great an amount of alkali do the ashes of these trees contain, that the Cingalese washerwomen rarely employ any soap, but, steeping the ashes in water to extract the alkali, they employ the resulting fluid.
Among the vegetable productions of Brazil are sugar, coffee, cotton, cocoa, rice, tobacco, maize, wheat, mandioc, bananas, ipecacuanha'
s
258 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
ginger, jams, oranges, figs, sarsaparilla, and various others. Of these the most important, in a commercial point of view, are sugar and coffee, which are now, in fact, the staple products of the empire, and the culture of which has increased with almost unexampled rapidity. Sugar is principally raised in the province of Bahia, the soil of which ir admirably suited to its growth ; but it is also extensively produced in some of the other provinces. The value of the sugar exported from the different ports of the empire is supposed to be little short of £1,600,000. The coffee of Brazil used not to be liked in Europe, owing to defects in its treatment. The merit of having introduced a better system is due to Dr. Lecesne, a planter from St. Domingo, who, having established himself in the vicinity of Rio, instructed the cultivators in the most approved methods of treating the plant. The effects of this liberal conduct have been most striking. Coffee is still principally produced in the vicinity of Rio, and so rapidly has its cultivation been extended, that, while its produce in 1818 only amounted to 74,215 bags, it amounted in 1830 to 704,384 bags, and in 1843 to nearly 1,200,000 bags! Estimating the average crop at 1,100,000 bags, worth at the port of shipment three pounds a bag, the total value of the coffee exported would be £3,300,000 ! And notwithstanding its extraordi- nary extension, such are the boundless capacities of the country, that the culture of both sugar and coffee may be said still to be in its infancy, and to admit of an indefinite increase.
Cotton ranks, next to coffee and sugar, as one of the principal products of Brazil. It is mostly grown in the provinces of Pernambuco and Maranham, and, in respect of quality, is inferior only to sea-island cotton. Its cultivation has not, however, been increasing for several years past. The exports may amount, at an average, to about 170,000 bags of 160 Ibs. each, worth about five pounds per bag, making in all the sum of eight hundred and fifty thousand pounds. Tobacco is prin- cipally grown in the islands in the bay of Rio Janeiro, in that of Angra dos Reys, and other islands on the lowest coast land ; it is, however, inferior in quality to that of the United States, and the cultivation has rather decreased. Rice is largely cultivated in some places, and is exported ; but the principal dependence of the population is on the mandioc, manioc, or cassava (Jatroplia maniliof), regarded by the Indians as a bequest from their prophet Sune, and which, on that account, has sometimes been supposed not to be indigenous. But, if connected at all with the plant, the function of the prophet was most
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. i'a«*
probably confined to instructing the Indians in the mode of its use. And this, though a most essential service, was by no means an obvious one, for, in its natural state, the root of the plant, which is the only part that is made use of, is extremely dangerous, the juice being a deadly poison in which the Indians were accustomed to dip t&eir arrows. When, however, the latter is expelled, the residuum or farina- ceous part is perfectly wholesome, and makes, indeed, a highly-nutri- tious and excellent food. And long before the discovery of America the Indians were in the habit of expelling the juice by first peeling and then beating the roots into a coarse powder, and subjecting the latter to pressure and to the .influence of heat in bags made of rushes, On the estates of the planters the roots are now ground in mills, pressed, and the perfect expulsion of the juice effected by heating the residuum in vessels placed over a brisk fire. Manioc is found on every table in Brazil, and supplies a great number of excellent dishes. Tapioca, so well known and extensively used in Europe, is a preparation of maniocy and is almost wholly brought from Brazil. The imports of thia article into this country only have recently amounted, at an average, to abot?t 1,550 cwts. a year. The culture of the manioc is said to be most unfavourable to the soil, exhausting it in the course of a few years. This, however, is of comparatively little consequence in a country where waste land is so abundant as in Brazil.
A species of sweet manioc (Maniliot awini) is also found in Brazil. It is boiled and eaten in the same manner as the potato, but it is not serviceable in the manufacture of flour.
Notwithstanding her fertility and extent, Brazil is indebted to foreign countries, and especially to the United States, for large supplies of wheat flour. This has been said to be a consequence of the im- suitableness of the soil for the culture of wheat ; but this does not really appear to be the case, that species of grain being found to> succeed extremely well in the southern provinces, and on the table- lands of th interior. The importation of flour is rather, we ineline to think, a consequence of the indolence of the natives, and of the preference given to the culture of coffee. The province of Par& fe particularly fitted for the growth of rice, and might supply it in anj quantity.
The culture of the tea-plant has been tried in Brazil, and the soil and climate have been found suitable to its growth ; but its culture list* not nude, and could not rationally be expected to make, much
260 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
inasmuch as it can only be successfully carried on where labour is abundant and cheap, whereas it is tere both scarce and dear.
The forests of Brazil, which are of vast extent and luxuriance, f urnish almost every variety of useful and ornamental wood ; their products being adapted alike to shipbuilding, carpenter's work, cabinet work, and dyeing. The cocoa-tree is plentiful in the sandy soils along the coast. It is thicker and taller than in the East Indies : cocoa is in
SUCtAR PLANTATION.
general use among all ranks, and forms one of the chief articles of the internal trade, and also supplies considerable quantities for exporta- tion. The carasatto, or castor-tree, is an indigenous production, and is in general use for lamps and other purposes. The jacarandu, or rose- wood, is peculiarly valuable for cabinet work, and is extensively exported. One of the most valuable woods, the Csesalpinia brazili-fto. or Brazil wood (called ibiripitanya by the natives), producing a beautiful red dye, has been already referred to. It is found in the greatest abundance and of the best quality in the province of Pernarnbuco ; but, being a government monopoly, it has been cut down in so improviden t
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 261
a manner that it is now seldom seen within several leagues of the coast. There are also cedars, logwood, mahogany, and other kinds of wood that are profitable to the country. The forests of Brazil, particularly those in the province of Para, along the Amazon, yield vast quantities of caoutchouc, or indiarubber, the uses of which have been so very greatly extended during the last dozen years. At an average of the three years, the imports of this substance into this
COTTOX PLANT.
country from Para amounted to 3,790 hundredweights a year. Nuts are also extensively exported.*
But now we leave the forests for awhile, and sail on the black waters of the Rio Negro.
Everything is very solitary. Not a single canoe do we meet during the whole of the day. At the little village of Tana Peassu we come to anchor and pass the night. Our next halting-place is Pedreira. It is a small village, consisting of about twenty houses, on the margin of the forest, where are situated several manioc plantations. The village
* McCnUoch.
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is tolerably full, for it is Christmas time, and the feast is being kept witk all due solemnity. We make the acquaintance of the parish priest, who isvites us to look over the church. We find the outside of the building out of repair, but the interior in good condition, and the altar Btore richly decorated than could well be expected in so poor a place as Pedreira. An image of the infant Saviour rests on a verdant couch in a small cradle made of leaves and flowers. The priest is an Italian, \vlio has passed many years of his life among the South American Indians, partly in Bolivia and partly in Brazil. He does not, like his tjtwfrere of Tana Peassu, pronounce a pompous eulogy on the salubrity of his parish. On the contrary, he says that the intermittent fever, fraia which he is himself a sufferer, prevails frequently, and that the people are very poor, and sometimes quite destitute. The Indians ccdoxe all their privations very well, but the few whites who reside in the village suffer severely. It seems strange, passing strange, that in a country so fertile, famine should ever be known — it is traceable, no doubt, to the natural indolence of the people.
Again on the Amazon, making our way back to Rio, we see, for t3ie first time, that extraordinary plant, the Victoria Regia. It ojveas upon the surface of the calm water something like our water- lily, but ia proportions of which we, accustomed to stunted vegetation, caa scarcely form an idea. The flowers are not less than a foot in breadtk, and the leaves float upon the surface of the water in the form of large discs, five or six feet in diameter. The structure of these leaves l& very singular. Their shape is that which botanists callpetio- fofe — -that is to say, the petiole stalk is attached to the centre from beaeath : they are smooth and green at the upper part, and have a raised border of two inches in breadth all around, like that of a sieve or large plate. Below they are of a reddish colour, and divided into a large number of compartments by very prominent veins, which leave them triangular or quadrangular spaces, containing the air lielps to support the leaves upon the water, so that birds and ot&wr «mall animals have been often seen running about and pursuing tfcear prey upon them, as if on solid planks.
This marvellous flower, as Tennyson says, "anchored to the bottom," annually exhibits its wonders. In a way that would have charmed the Lady of Shalot, the charming spectator may see
"The water-lily bloom."
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 263
Thanks to science and Sir W. Hooker, and those much-abused people, the Commissioners of Woods and Forests, the Victoria Regia has become one of us, and buds and flourishes here, in this land of fog, and cloud, and rain, as vigorously as it ever did in that warmer climate where first it sprang into beauty and life.
THE WHITE WATEK-LILY.
CHAPTER XI.
A Land but little known — The Desert of Atacama and the lofty Cordillei'as — Chili — Pizarro persuades Diego de Almagro to undertake its Conquest — Its Conquest — The Conquerors much harassed by the People — Cupidity of the Soldiers— The Climate of Chili— Earthquakes— Volcanoes— The Mines of Chili — Chilian Miners — More about the Climate — Ascent of the Cordilleras — Hunting the Guanaco — The National Dance of Chili— Physical Geography of the Country — Modes of Communication — Rope Bridges — Rugged Roads — Sagacity of the Mules — Travelling on Man-back — Utility of the Banana — The Harbours of Valdivia, Concepcion, and Valparaiso — City of Valparaiso — Mineral Wealth of the High Chain of the Andes — Pumas, Jaguars, &c. — Vegetable Productions — Oddities in Farming — Mining.
fT* HOUGH much has been written at various times about the New -*- World, comparatively little is known of that portion of it extending from Peru to Patagonia, upon which Nature has so profusely lavished her bounties, that it has been called the garden of South America. The approach to this beautiful and fertile country is fraught with much difficulty and danger ; the wide desert of Atacama on the north, and the lofty Cordilleras on the east, presenting formidable natural barriers to travellers, who generally pursue the precipitous mountain route, rather than cross the sandy waste of the desert.
Soon after the conquest of Peru, the fame of the mineral treasures of Chili having reached Pizarro, he persuaded his companion and rival, Diego dc Almagro, to undertake the command of an expedition to
264 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
attempt its conquest. In the year 1535, Almagro and his followers set forth, but in crossing the Andes, the fatigue and cold to which they were exposed proved fatal to a large portion of his army. They were at first well received by the natives, but having penetrated as far as Coquimbo, they met with much opposition, and a battle ensued, in which the Spaniards were victorious; but so dearly bought was the victory that Almagro had no wish, in the then weakened state of his forces, to hazard another engagement with these warlike tribes, and hearing of a disturbance in Peru, he decided on returning.
In the year 1540, Pizarro resolved to renew the attempt to subjugate Chili, and appointed his quartermaster, Pedro de Valdivia, to the com- mand of this second expedition. He, profiting by the misfortunes of Almagro, reached Chili without experiencing any loss, but on his arrival was attacked on all sides. In spite of the valorous opposition of the Chilian tribes, the Spanish invaders succeeded in penetrating as far as the province of Mapocho, now called Santiago, where Valdivia laid the foundations of the capital of Chili.
The conquerors were much harassed on all sides by the neighbouring tribes, and several battles were fought, in which the slaughter on both sides was very great. The wearied and discouraged soldiers formed a conspiracy to murder their general, that they might be enabled to return to Peru ; but Valdivia having discovered this base design, caused the leaders of the plot to be put to death, and, to divert the thoughts and satisfy the cupidity of his soldiers, sent a detachment of them to the gold mines of Quillota. The plan fully succeeded, for when they beheld the vast riches of this region, all desire to return was gone.
From this time the Spaniards gradually extended their conquests until their territory had reached its present limits. Besides the narrow strip of land between the desert of Atacama and the river Biobio, they gained possession of the port of Valdivia, the Archipelago of Chiloe, and the island of Juan Fernandez.
Perhaps the most formidable enemies of the Spaniards were the Araucauians, a fine warlike race of people, inhabiting the beautiful tract of land lying between the rivers Biobio and Valdivia. They entertained an ardent love for their country and for freedom, and boldly resisted the hostile attacks of the Spanish invaders, who founded several towns in Araucania, which were repeatedly taken and destroyed by this brave people, who still retain their territory. Since the libe- ration of Chili, which took, place in the year 1817, an independent
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WATER-COURSE IN THE FOREST.
266 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
republican government has been maintained, with little interrup- tion, under a chief magistrate, called a supreme director. During the year 1825 a congress was convened, which framed a constitution for the republic, and now forms the basis of the government. The inde- pendence of this country has been acknowledged by the United States and Great Britain. The republic of Chili is divided into nineteen provinces. The principal towns are Santiago, founded in 1541 by Don Pedro de Valdivia, and situated upon a plain extending the whole length of Chili ; Valparaiso, the most important seaport of the republic, stretching nearly a mile along the shore, some of the houses being irregularly scattered over the hills, which rise abruptly behind the town ; and Concepcion, on the river Biobio, possessing one of the most commodious harbours in the world. Coquiinbo and Copiapo have also good harbours ; and Valdivia, which is situated on a river of the same name, can boast one of the finest on the coast, but has no cultivated country round to give it importance.
" The climate of Spanish Chili," says Robertson, in his History of America, " is the most delicious of the Xew World, and is hardly equalled by that of any region on the face of the earth. Though bordering on the torrid zone, it never feels the extremity of heat, being screened on the east by the Andes, and refreshed from the west by cooling sea-breezes. The temperature of the air is so mild and equable, that the Spaniards give it the preference to that of the southern pro- vinces in their native country. The fertility of the soil corresponds with the benignity of the climate, and is wonderfully accommodated to European productions. The most valuable of these — corn, wine, and oil— abound in Chili, as if they had been native to the country." The wheat is remarkably fine, and is said sometimes to yield a hundredfold. The potato is indigenous to the soil ; it grows wild in the fields, but only produces a small root of a bitterish taste.
The numerous rivers of Chili, fed by the melting snow from the mountains, flow with the rapidity of torrents, and are therefore seldom navigable, but irrigate the valleys, rendering them the most fertile in the world.
This beautiful country has been much convulsed by earthquakes at various times. Great convulsions are rare, but a year seldom passes without some slight shocks being felt, which, on account of their fre- quent occurrence, excite little attention. There are fourteen volcanic mountains in a constant state of eruption, situated in that part of the
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 267
Andes belonging to Chili, and many others discharge snioke at intervals. On account of their position in the centre of the range of mountains, the lava and ashes which are ejected do not reach beyond their limits. The wealth of this productive country is not confined to the surface ; the bowels of the earth yield unbounded treasures. Valuable mines of gold, silver, copper, and lead have been discovered in various parts, as well as those containing tin and quicksilver. Much attention is paid to the gold mines, which are very numerous and rich ; the sands of almost every stream contain some portion of this precious metal. " Almost all the precipitous and broken ground," says Fraser, "con- tains gold in greater or less quantities; the surface of the earth in which it is found is generally of a reddish colour, and soft to the touch." The silver mines are found in the highest and coldest parts of the Andes. Many of them, though rich in ore, have been abandoned on account of the difficulty and expense in working them in this unfavour- able situation. The copper mines, which are generally situated near the coast, are very productive. Antimony and fossil-salt, as well as sal-ammonia and saltpetre, are found iu great abundance in Chili. Pit-coal is also very plentiful.
The miner of Chili is bold, enterprising, and prodigal — so accus- tomed to the sight of .the precious metals, that he learns to disregard them, and attaches but little value to money. As a class, the miners are extravagant in their habits, passionately addicted to gaming — in which pursuit they pass most of their leisure hours — and shockingly intemperate. They generally die in the greatest distress — cut off in their prime by the effects of their unhealthy mode of life, and the dele- terious gases which they inhale in the mines.
The climate of Chili, as we have already noticed, is justly celebrated throughout the world, and that of Santiago is deemed delightful, even in Chili ; the temperature is usually between GO deg. and 75 deg. The country- round is extremely arid, and were it not for its mountain streams, which afford the means of irrigation, Chili would be a barren waste for two-thirds of the year. Kains fall only during the winter months (June to September), and after they have occurred the whole country is decked with flowers. The rains often last several days, are excessively heavy, and during their continuance the rivers become impassable torrents. At Santiago the climate is drier and colder, but snow rarely falls. On the ascent of the Cordilleras the aridity increases with the cold. The snow was found much in the same state as at Terra
2C8 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
del Fuego, lying in patches about the summits. Even the high peak of Tupongati was bare in places, and, to judge from appearances, it seldom rains in the highest regions of the Cordilleras, to which cause may be imputed the absence of glaciers.
"Several of our gentlemen," says Captain Wilkes, "made an excursion to the Cordilleras, in order to get information in their various departments. I regretted they were not provided with the necessary instruments for ascertaining heights. The party left Santiago in biloches, and travelled to the eastward live leagues, to the ' Snow Bank,' from which the city is supplied. The ascent was gradual, but quite constant, as no intervening ravines occurred. They then took horses, leaving their biloches to return. Their route after this lay up a valley. On the surrounding heights the guanacoes were seen in great numbers."
As they proceeded they found the middle region was marked by spiny plants, principally 13urnadesia. The soil was found to be a mixture of loose earth and pieces of rock. On rising higher the vegetation became almost wholly extinct. Places occurred of an eighth of a mile in breadth destitute of verdure of any. kind. The party then ascended a ridge belonging to the main body of the Cordilleras, and at an elevation of about ten thousand feet they reached its summit. Here they had an extensive view of all the line of the snow peaks. That of , Tupongati appeared the most conspicuous, although at a distance of eighty miles. The guide asserted that he could see smoke issuing from its volcano in a faint streak, but it was beyond the vision of our gentlemen. The peak itself from this view of it was quite sharp- pointed. The scene immediately around them w?s one of grandeur and desolation ; mountain after mountain, separated by immense chasms to the depth of thousands of feet, and the sides broken in the most fantastic forms imaginable. In these higher parts of the Cordilleras they found a large admixture of the jaspery aluminous rock which forms the base of the finest porphyries, also cWorite in abundance. The rock likewise contains fine white chalcedony, in irregular straggling masses. Trachytic breccia was observed in various places. The porphyry is of a dull purple colour, rather lighter than the red sandstone of the United States. No traces of cellular lava were observed, nor of other more recent volcanic productions. No limestone was seen in the regions traversed by them ; all the lime used at Santiago is obtained from sea-shells, nor were any proper sedimentary rocks seen.
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 2G9
Nothing could be more striking than tlie complete silence that reigned everywhere. Not a living thing appeared to their view. After spending some time on the top they began their descent, and
A LAKE 3N THE FOREST.
after two hours' hard travelling they reached the snow line, and passed the night very comfortably in the open air, with their blankets and pillows or saddle-cloths. Fuel for a fire they unexpectedly found in abundance, the Alpinia umbellifera answering admirably for that
270 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
purpose, from the quantity of resinous matter it contains. Near their camp was the bank of snow before spoken of, from which the city has been supplied for many years. It covers several acres. The height they had ascended was about eleven thousand feet, and the Cordilleras opposite them about four thousand feet higher. The view of the mass of the Cordilleras in its general outline was not unlike those of Mont Blanc and other mountains in Switzerland.
Mr. Peale went in search of the guauacoes, and succeeded in killing one nine feet in length and four feet in height. They were found to frequent only the most inaccessible summits, and are said never to leave the vicinity of the snow. They feed upon several small thorny bushes, which impart a flavour to their flesh and a smell to their excrement that may be distinguished at some distance from their places of resort. They make a peculiar sound when alarmed like that of the katydid (gryllus). This animal is never hunted for the market, though its flesh is good. The benzoar is often found in its stomach, and is highly prized among the natives and Spaniards as a remedy for various complaints. It is also used as a gum.
All the party suffered greatly from the heat of the sun's rays and the dryness of the atmosphere. Their faces and hands were blistered, and the nose and lips made exceedingly sore, while tlic reflection of the light from the snow caused a painful sensation to the eyes.
The Chilians are extremely fond of the dance called the mmacueca. This may be called the national dance, and is in vogue among the common people. It is usually performed at the , which is a
kind of amphitheatre, surrounded by apartments, where refreshments, including strong drinks, are sold, and is generally well filled by both sexes. The dance is performed on a kind of stage, under an open shed. The music is a mixture of Spanish and Indian, and is performed altogether by females, on an old-fashioned long and narrow harp, one end of which rests on the lap of the performer, and the other on the stage, ten feet off. A second girl is seen merrily beating time on the sounding-board of the instrument. On the right i,s another, strumming the common chords on a wire-string guitar or gittern, making at every vibration of the right hand a full sweep across all the strings, and varying the chords. In addition to this, they sang a national love- song, in Spanish, at the top of their voices, one singing a kind of alto, the whole producing a very strange combination of sounds.
The dance is performed by a young man and woman. The former
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 271
is* gaudily decked in a light scarlet jacket embroidered with gold lacp, white pantaloons, red sash, and pumps, with a tiny red cap, whilst that of his partner consists of a gaudy painted muslin dress, quite short and stiffly starched, not a little aided by an ample pair of hips. Thrown over all is a rich-coloured French shawl : these, with well-fitted silk stockings, complete her attire. These last are in truth characteristic of the Chilian women of all classes, and they take no pains to conceal them. One not unfrequently sees the extravagance of silk stockings in the washerwomen at their tubs, and even with their hands in the suds. The dress in general fits neatly, and nature is not distorted by tight- lacing or the wearing of corsets. Nothing is worn on the head, and the hair, parted and equally divided from the forehead back to the neck, hangs down in two long plaits on each shoulder to the waist.
The style of dancing is somewhat like a fandango. The couple begin by facing each other and flirting handkerchiefs over each other's heads, then approaching, slowly retreating again, then quickly shooting off to one side, passing under arms without touching with great agility, rattling and beating time with castanets. Their movements are quite graceful, those of their feet pretty, and withal quite amorous. The gestures may be readily understood not only by the native audience, but by foreigners. I cannot say much for its moral tendency.
The higher classes of females have the name of being virtuous and estimable in their domestic circle, but we cannot say that they are beautiful. They dress their hair with great care and taste. Their feet are small, and they have a graceful carriage.
The French fashion of dress prevails, and they are just beginning to wear bonnets. The advancement of civilisation is rapid ; the imita- tion of foreign habits and customs will soon predominate over those of Chili ; and, what is of more consequence, some attention is being paid to their education.
The country rises successively from the coast to the Great Cordillera of the Andes ; but not by a number of successive terraces running parallel to each other and to the sea, except in the north. " Elsewhere the surface," as Mr. Miers says, " is not formed by a series of table heights, reaching from the sea to the foot of the Cordillera ; but it is a broad expansion of the mountainous Andes, which spreads forth its ramifications from the central to the longitudinal ridge towards the sea, diminishing continually, but irregularly, till they i ea:-h the ocean. . . . These mountainous branches are of considerable
•27'2
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height, being seldom less than one thousand feet, and more generally two thousand feet, above the bottom of the valleys which intersect them ; it may, therefore, be readily conceived that there is but little level country between the smaller branches of these chains ; the more
A CHILIAN MIXER.
valuable portions were formed by the beds of the rivers, now compara- tively small, although there is evidence of their having been once the courses of greater streams. Some of those valleys present broad expansions of surface, such, by way of illustration, as that portion of
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•273
274 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
the country called the Valley of Aconcagua. These are the patches which constitute the finest and boasted portions of the middle of Chili."
The great Cordillera of the Andes has, in South Chili, a mean elevation of thirteen or fourteen thousand feet above the level of the ocean ; but it presents many peaks which rise to a considerably greater height. These peaks, most of which are volcanic, begin to be numerous beyond latitude 30 deg., and increase in number as we proceed further south. The principal one is that of Aconcagua, about latitude 32 deg. 10 min., which has been proved to be at least twenty-three thousand feet .in height, and therefore ranges first among the mountains of South America, At intervals it is an active volcano. North of 33 deg. 30 min. the Cordillera is divided into two separate ranges, inclosing the immense valley of Uspallata, so celebrated for its mineral riches, and other valleys. The principal road across the Andes, from Santiago and the Yale of Aconcagua to Mendoza, crosses Uspallata ; several other passes from Chili, in the La Plata territories, exist further south. The improvement of the countries embosomed within the Andes is much retarded by the want of easy communication. Sometimes the intercourse between places in the immediate vicinity of each other is interrupted by quebrad&t, or rents, generally narrow, sometimes of a vast depth, and with nearly perpendicular sides.* The famous natural bridge of Icononza, in Columbia, leads over a small quebrada ; it is elevated about three hundred and twelve feet above the torrent that flows in the bottom of the chasm. Most of the torrents that are passed in travelling over the Cordilleras are fordable, though their impetuosity is such when swollen by the rains as to detain travellers for several days. But when they are too deep to be forded, or the banks too inaccessible, suspension bridges are thrown over them, of a singular make, but which, notwithstanding their apparently dangerous and fragile construction, are found to answer the purposes required. Where the river is narrow, with high banks, they are constructed of wood, and consist of four long beams laid close together over the precipice, and forming a path of about a yard and a half in breadth, being just sufficient for a man to pass over on horseback. These bridges have become so familiar to the natives that they pass them without appre- hension. Where the breadth of the river will not admit of a beam
« M'Cullocli.
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 275
being laid across, ropes constructed of bejucos. a species of thin elastic cane, of the length required, are thrown over. Six of these ropes are stretched from one side of the river to the other ; two, intended to serve as parapets, being considerably higher than the other four ; and the latter being covered with sticks laid in a transverse direction, the bridge is passed by men, while the mules, being divested of their burdens, are made to swim across. All travellers have spoken of the extreme danger of passing these rope bridges, which look like ribbons suspended above a crevice or impetuous torrent. But this danger, according to Humboldt, is not very great when a single person passes over the bridge as quickly as possible, with his body leaning forward. But the oscillations of the ropes become very great when the traveller is conducted by an Indian who walks quicker than himself : or when — frightened by the view of the water seen through the interstices of the bamboos — he has the imprudence to stop in the middle of the bridge and lay hold of the ropes that serve as a rail. Some of the livers of the higher Andes are passed by means of an invention or bridge denominated a tarabiia. It conveys not only tlie passengers, but also their cattle and burdens, and is used to pass those torrents whose rapidity, and the large stones continually rolling down, render it impossible for mules to swim across. It consists of a strong rope of bejuco extended across the river, on each bank of which it is fastened to stout posts. On one side is a kind of wheel or winch, to straighten or slacken the rope to the degree required. From this rope hangs a kind of movable leathern hammock, capable of holding a man, to which a rope is fastened for drawing it to the side intended. For carrying- over mules two ropes are necessary, and these much thicker and slacker. The creature being suspended from them, and secured by girths round the belly, neck, and legs, is shoved oil and dragged to the opposite bank. Some of these bejuco bridges are of great length, and elevated to a great height above the torrent.
A bridge of this sort was constructed by the fifth Inca over the Desaquadero, or river that issues from Lake Titicaca, where it is more than two hundred feet in width ; and on account of its utility is still kept up. Sometimes, instead of being made of bejucos or osiers, these suspension bridges are made up of twisted strands, or thongs of bullock's hide. Mr. Miers passed along one of this sort, in Chili, two hundred and twenty-five feet in length by six feet wide ! It con- veyed over loaded mules, and was perfectly secure.
270
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The ruggeduess of the roads in the less frequented parts of tho Andes can hardly be described. In many places the ground is so narrow that the mules employed in travelling have scarcely room to set their feet, and in others it is a continued series of precipices. These paths are full of holes, from two to three feet deep, in which the mules set their feet, and draw their bellies and their riders' legs along the ground. The holes serve as steps, without which the precipices would be in a great measure impracticable ; but should the creature happen to set
CHILIAN SAVAGES.
it* foot between two of these holes or not place it right, the rider falls, and if on the side of the precipice, inevitably perishes. This danger is even greater where the holes are wanting. The tracks are extrenialy steep and slippery, and in general chalky and wet ; and where there are no holes to serve as steps, Indians are obliged to go before with small spades to dig little trenches across the'path. In descending those places where there are no holes or trenches, and which are sometimes many hundred yards deep, the instinct of the mules accustomed to pass them is admirable. They are sensible of the caution requisite in the descent. On coming to the top of an eminence they stop, and having
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277
placed their fore-feet close together, as if in a posture of stopping them- selves, they also put their hind-feet together, but a little forwards, as if going to lie down. In this attitude, having, as it were, taken a survey of the road, they slide down with the swiftness of a meteor. The rider has only to keep himself fast in the saddle, without checking his beast, for the least motion is sufficient to disorder the equilibrium of the mule, in which case they must both unavoidably perish. The address of these creatures is here truly wonderful, for in this so rapid motion, when they
STHSET SCEXE IX VALPARAISO.
seem to have lost all command of themselves, they follow exactly the different windings of the path, as if they had previously reconnoitred and settled in their minds the route to follow, and taken every precaution for their safety. There would otherwise, indeed, be no possibility of travelling over places where the safety of the rider depends on the experience and address of his beast.
The valleys of the Cordilleras, which are deeper and narrower than those of the Alps and Pyrenees, and present scenes of the wildest aspect, give rise also to several other peculiarities in the mode of travelling. In many parts, owing to the humidity of the climate and the declivity of the ground, the streamlets which flow down the mountains have
278 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
hollowed out gullies from about twenty to twenty-five feet in depth. The pathway which runs along those crevices is frequently not above a foot or a foot and a half in breadth, and has the appearance of a gallery dug and left open to the sky. In some places the opening above is covered by the thick vegetation which grows out from both sides of the crevices, so that the traveller is forced to grope his way in darkness. The oxen, which are the beasts of burden commonly made use of in this country, can scarcely force their way through these galleries, some of which are more than a mile in length ; and if the traveller should happen to meet them in one of the passages, he has no means of avoiding them but by climbing the earthen wall which borders the crevice, and keeping himself suspended by laying hold of the roots which penetrate to this depth from the surface of the ground.
" In many of the passes of the Andes," says Humboldt, " such is the state of the roads that the usual mode of travelling for persons in easy circumstances is in a chair strapped to the back of one of the native porters (carqueros), or men of burden, who live by letting out their backs and loins to travellers. They talk in this country of going on a man's back (andar en carqueros} as we mention going on horseback. No humiliating idea is annexed to the trade of carquero ; and the men who follow this occupation are not Indians, but mulattoes, and sometimes even whites. It is often curious to hear these men, with scarcely any covering and following an employment which we should think so disgraceful, quarrelling in the midst of a forest because one has refused the other, who pretends to have a whiter skin, the pompous title of Don or Su Merced.
" The usual load of a carquero is six or seven arrobas ; those who are very strong carry as much as nine arrobas." When we reflect on the enormous fatigue to which these miserable men are exposed, journeying eight or nine hours a day over a mountainous country ; when we know that their backs are sometimes as raw as those of beasts of burden ; that travellers have often the cruelty to leave them in a forest when they fall sick ; that they earn by a journey from Ibaque to Cartago only twelve or fourteen piastres in from fifteen to twenty-five days — we are at a loss to conceive how this employment of carquero should be eagerly embraced by all the robust young men who live at the foot of the mountains. The taste for a wandering life, the idea of a certain inde- pendence amid forests, leads them to prefer it to the sedentary and monotonous labour of cities. The passage of the mountain of Quindin
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 279
is not the only part of South America which is traversed on the backs of men. The whole of the province of the Antioquia is surrounded by mountains so difficult to pass that they who dislike trusting themselves to the skill of a bearer, and are not strong enough to travel on foot from Santa Fe de Antioquia to Bocca de Xares or Rio Samana, must relinquish all thoughts of leaving the country. The number of young men who undertake the employments of beasts of burden at Choco, Ibaque, and Medellin is so considerable that we sometimes meet a file of fifty or sixty. A few years ago, when a project was formed to make the passage from Nares to Antioquia passable for mules, the carqueros presented formidable remonstrances against mending the road, and the government was weak enough to yield to their clamours. The person carried in a chair by a carquero must remain several hours motionless, and leaning backwards. The least motion is sufficient to throw down the carrier ; and his fall would be so much the more dangerous as the carquero, too confident in his own skill, chooses the most rapid declivities, or crosses a torrent on a narrow and slippery trunk of a tree. These accidents are, however, rare ; and those which happen ' must be attributed to the imprudence of the travellers, who, frightened at a false step of the carquero, leap down from their chairs."
In order to protect travellers, when they are sojourning in this desert country, from the inclemency of the weather, the carqueros provide themselves with several hundred leaves of a plant of the banana species, which they pluck in the mountains before they begin their journey. These leaves, which are membranous and silky, are of an oval form, two feet long and sixteen inches in breadth. When the travellers reach a spot in the midst of the forests where the ground is dry, and where they propose to pass the night, the carqueros lop a few branches from the trees, with which they make a tent. In a few minutes this slight timber- work is divided into squares by the stalks of some climbing plant, or by the threads of the agave. The banana leaves having in the meantime been unrolled, are now spread over the above work, so as to cover it like the tiles of a house. These huts, thus hastily built, are cool and commodious, and Humboldt mentions that he passed several days in the valley of Boquia under one of these leafy tents, which was perfectly dry though exposed to incessant rains.
Between the ramifications of the mountain chains and the sea some small plains line the coast. The shores are mostly high, steep, and rocky, as is general along the whole of the west coast of South America.
280 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
They have almost everywhere, however, deep water near them, and there are many tolerable harbours, the best being those of Valdivia, Concepcion, Valparaiso, and Coquimbo, though some are safe only during certain seasons of the year.
Valparaiso has greatly increased in size and consequence within the last few years, and has become the great seaport of Chili, and, indeed, of the whole coast. Although it labours under many disadvantages as respects its harbour, which is inferior to others on the coast, yet it is the nearest and most convenient port to Santiago, the capital.
"I have had," says a well-known traveller, "some opportunity of knowing Valparaiso, and contrasting its present state with that of 1821 and 1822. It was then a mere village, composed, with but few exceptions, of straggling ranches. It has now the appearance of a thickly- settled town, with a population of thirty thousand, five times the number it had then. It is divided into two parts, one of which is known by the name of the Port, and is the old town ; the other by that of the Alrnendral, occupying a level plain to the east. Its location is by no means such as to show it to advantage. The principal buildings are the custom-house, two churches, and the houses occupy- ing the main street. Most of the buildings are of one story, and are built of adobes or sun-dried bricks. The walls of the buildings are from four to six feet thick. The reason for this mode of building is the frequent occurrence of earthquakes. The streets are well paved. The plaza has not much to recommend it. The government-house is an inferior building. Great improvements are now making, and many buildings are on the eve of erection.
"They are about bringing water from one of the neighbouring springs on the hills, which, if the supply is sufficient, will give the town many comforts. On the hills are IP any neat and comfortable dwellings, surrounded by flower-gardens. These are chiefly occupied by the families of American and English merchants. This is the most pleasant part of the town, and enjoys a beautiful view of the harbour. The ascent to it is made quite easy by a well-constructed road through a ravine. The height is two hundred and ten feet above the sea.
"The east end of the Alrnendral is also occupied by the wealthy citizens. The lower classes live in the ravines. Many of their habita- tions are scarcely sufficient to keep them dry during the rainy season. They are built of reeds, plastered with mud, and thatched with straw. They seldom contain more than one apartment.
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281
fefe
2«2 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
" The well-known hills to the south of the port, called the -Main and Fore Top,' are the principal localities of the grog-shops and their customers. These two hills, and the gorge (quclrada') between them, seem to contain a large proportion of the worthless population of both sexes. The females, remarkable for their black eyes and red ' bayettas,' are an annoyance to the authorities, the trade, ai*d commanders of vessels, and equally so to the poor sailors, who seldom leave this port without empty pockets and injured health.
" It was difficult to realise the improvement and change that had taken place in the habits of the people, and the advancement in civil order and civilisation. On my former visit there was no sort of order, regulation, or good government. Robbery, murder, and vices of all kinds were openly committed. The exercise of arbitrary military power alone existed. Not only with the natives, but among foreigners, gambling and knavery of the lowest order, and all the demoralising effects that accompany them, prevailed.
" I myself saw on my former visit several dead bodies exposed in the public squares, victims of the ciicliillo. This was the result of a night's debauch, and the fracas attendant upon it. Xo other punish- ment awaited the culprits than the remorse of their own conscience.
" Now Valparaiso, and, indeed, all Chili, shows a great change for the better ; order reigns throughout ; crime is rarely heard of, and never goes unpunished ; good order and decorum prevail outwardly every- where ; that engine of good government, an active and efficient police, has been established. It is admirably regulated, and brought fully into action, not only for the protection of life and property, but in adding to the comforts of the inhabitants.
" The predominant trait of the Chilians, when compared with other South Americans, is their love of country and attachment to their homes. This feeling is common to all classes. There is also a great feeling of independence and equality. Public opinion has weight in directing the affairs of state. The people are fond of agricultural pursuits, and the lower orders much better disposed towards foreigners than in other parts. Schools and colleges have been established. .11 id a desire to extend the benefits of education throughout the population is evinced."
The rivers of the middle and south provinces are sufficiently numerous, but they are all small. The north part of the country is scarcely watered by any ; and from Maypo to Atacama, a dis-
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tance of one thousand geographical miles, all the rivers and streams together would not form so considerable a body of water as that with which the Rhone enters the Lake of Geneva, or as that of the Thames at Staines. The rivers retain pretty much the same quantity of water throughout the year ; they are not augmented much at any particular season by the melting of the snows, since, while in the summer the snow on the upper mountain ranges melts, that on the lower heights liquefies even in the winter. They are generally unfit for the purposes of trade. In the north there is no stream navigable for laden boats for more than six miles inland ; in the middle provinces the Maule is the only one which brigs of a hundred and fifty tons burden can enter at high tide, and these cannot ascend far ; and in the south, the Callacalla, or river of Valdivia, is the only one capable of being entered with safety by ships carrying sixty guns. Some lakes, or rather lagunes, are scattered over the country ; they are most nume- rous in the south, and in the provinces of Yaldivia, and in Araucania, are of some size. A few are sixty or seventy miles in circumference.
According to Schmidtmeyer, the high chain of the Andes is chiefly composed of argillaceous schist, while the lower chains and mountain groups are principally granite. Sienitic, basaltic, and felspar por- phyries, serpentines of various colours, quartz, hornblende and other slates, pudding-stone, and gypsum abound in the Cordilleras, and fine statuary marble is said to abound in the department of Copiapo. Chili is extremely rich in metals. Silver is found there at a greater elevation than any other metal ; it is also met with in the valleys or bowls in the lower ranges; but, generally speaking, its quantity decreases in proportion to its distance from the Andes. Gold is most frequently situated at a much less elevation than silver ; it is found chiefly in the " bowls," and perhaps few of the lower mountain ranges throughout Chili are without it. Most, or perhaps all, rivers wash down gold. The copper mines are one of the chief sources of national wealth. Lead and iron are found in abundance, but neither is much sought after. Zinc, antimony, manganese, arsenic, tin, sulphur, so pure as not to require refining, alum, salt, and nitre are plentiful. Coal mines have been opened near Concepcion. The coal improves with the depth of the mine, and has already become a considerable article of trade and consumption at Valparaiso. The soil of the south provinces is sandy and saline, and in the opinion of some of our travellers not one- fiftieth part of the northern half of Chili can ever be cultivated. Some of
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the valleys in the central provinces, as that of Aconcagua, present broad and fertile expansions of surface, and others, being considerably inclined, admit of irrigation wherever water can be procured ; but the hilly parts, being dried and parched during the greater part of the year, are incapable of culture. South of the River Maule, however, the proportion of cultivable land is larger, the soil becoming progressivcly more stiff and loamy.*
Fertility increases in proportion as we proceed south. As one of our writers f observes, at Concepcion, in the south of Chili, tLe eye is delighted with the richest and most luxuriant foliage. At Valparaiso, which lies between one hundred and two hundred miles farther north, the hills are poorly clad with a stunted brushwood, and a faint attempt at grass, the ground looking everywhere starved and naked. At Coquimbo even this brushwood is gone, and nothing is left to supply its place but a wretched sort of prickly pear-bush, and a scanty sprinkling of wiry grasses. At Guasco there is not a trace of vegetation to be seen, all the hills and plains being covered with bare sand, excepting where the little solitary stream of water caused by the melting of the snow amongst the Andes gives animation to the channel which conducts it to the sea. The respective latitudes of these places are 37 deg., 33 cleg., 30 deg., and 28i deg. Extensive forests cover Araucania and the south provinces. The flanks of the Andes also exhibit profuse vegetation. The Mimosa farnesiana flourishes over most of the country, and the alyarob is nearly as common. The gnillai, the bark of which produces a natural soap, is brought to the town as an article of trade. Laurels, myrtles, cypresses, and other evergreens grow to such a size as to be highly useful for their timber. Most European fruits flourish, but tropical plants are few. The numerous groves of palm and cinnamon trees have all disappeared. Chili pro- duces many hard woods, which in a great measure supersede the use of iron in the country. The herbaceous plants and flowers are so rich, various, beautiful, and novel, that to a botanist, Mr. Miers says, no treat can be greater than a journey through the Cordillera.J
The coguar, or puma, the jaguar, llama, guanaco, numerous monkeys, and other wild animals common to this continent inhabit Chili. A kind of beaver (Castor luddibrius) frequents the rivers, and the chinchilla abounds in the desert country of the north. The great condor, several
* Miers. f •' aptain Basil Fall. £ Schmidtmeyer.
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vultures, pelicans, and other water fowl, flocks of parrots, paroquet*, and many others are among the birds; whales, dolphins, cod, and pilchards are caught around the coasts. The skunk, which when pursued emits an intolerable odour, is a native of Chili ; but in other respects this country enjoys a singular freedom from annoying or venomous quadrupeds, noxious insects, and reptiles.
The climate and soil of the south and central parts of Chili arck highly suitable for the culture of European grains. South of latitude
30 deg., the limit at which they cease to attain perfection varies from three thousand seven hundred to five thousand feet above the ocean, but at the height of three thousand feet the harvests are extremely good. Only the middle provinces, however, produce sufficient corn for exportation after supplying the wants of their inhabitants. Aconcagua is by far the best cultivated province, and that which exports most corn. Its produce goes chiefly to the market of Valparaiso. Wheat is the staple, and in the north almost the only grain cultivated. Barley is grown in the south ; maize, buckwheat, and oats are but little raised,
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and rye is unknown. Kidney beans are exported to Peru, and occasionally to Brazil. All kinds of pulse are common, and potatoes are extensively cultivated, though they fail in flavour. Culinary vegetables are raised, especially near the towns. Water melons are very fine, and gourds of a good flavour are produced in great abun- dance ; the latter are appendages to every Chilian dish of boiled meat. Hemp of good quality is grown chiefly in Aconcagua. The sugar-cane has been tried, but does not succeed. Rice and cocoa are imported. At Quillota there are some good gardens ; in Aconcagua province the vineyards and olive gardens yield an abundance of good fruit; and in that of Concepcion, which was once celebrated for its wine, the vineyards are still extensive, and the grapes fine-flavoured. Elsewhere, both orchard and garden cultivation is in the background. The olive crops are good, but the oil is ruined by a bad mode of treat- ment, and rendered unfit for European markets. Little care is taken in the culture of corn. The art of agriculture is sadly behind. The plough, which is everywhere alike throughout the country, consists of only a part of the trunk of a tree, with a crooked branch which serves as a handle, the forepart of the trunk being wedge-shaped, and having nailed to it a somewhat pointed flat piece of iron, which performs the necessary operation of coulter and share, neither of which was ever heard of by the natives. The yoke is fastened not to the shoulders but to the horns of the oxen, according to the approved ancient Spanish method. The substitute for a harrow is a heap of bushes weighed down with stones. The turning up of the soil by spade-digging and the use of the English hoe are unknown, and what little weeding is practised is per- formed by the hand or the lladebone of a sheep. And these miserable expedients are resorted to while iron exists in profusion in the country, and furnaces are constantly at work ! Lands are cultivated until worn out, with the interval of a fallow every four or five years : no manure is used. Reaping is performed by means of a rough sickle ; and the corn, in quantities of about one hundred or one hundred and fifty quarters at a time, thrashed out in a hard, dry spot of ground, by being galloped over by horses. It is then generally left in the open air for some months, not being housed till the rainy season begins. Few farms are wholly arable, and such as are so are small and situated in narrow valleys.
Cattle-breeding is the most important branch of rural industry. In the middle provinces the liacicndas, or farms, feed often from
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ten to fifteen thousand head of cattle; in some cases as many as twenty thousand, and on the smallest grazing farms from four to five thousand head arc reared. The black cattle in some parts are strong and bony, but in the north small ; they are dull, and neither the beef nor milk they yield is very good. The horses of Santiago arc said to be excellent, well broken, and more docile than those of Buenos Ayres. Those of the country generally are well made, and gallop though they do not trot well ; they are said to be so strong and hearty as to be able to carry their riders above eighty miles a day at a gallop, with very little rest, and no other food than lucerne grass ! The mules and asses are of a good size, hardy and strong ; the former are the general beasts of burden, and are especially used in travelling across the Cordillera. Goats are plentiful, being more fitted than sheep for the pastures of Chili. The sheep are said to be very inferior, and both the mutton and wool bad. Hogs arc not very good, and very little of their flesh is consumed. In the dry season the cattle are often reduced to great straits for want of food.
After its conquest by the Spaniards, Chili was divided into three hundred and sixty portions, which were given to as many individuals ; and though by the Spanish law of succession these portions have been. and continue to be, subdivided frequently, most estates still remain very large. The proprietors of these large grazing estates usually reside with their families in the towns, and keep on their farms a major- domo, or steward, under whom are a head and a few subordinate herdsmen, and these are assisted sometimes by a few tenants who hold their dwellings under the proprietor by a kind of feudal tenure, being obliged to give their services in any kind of labour that is required of them, -without pay, or for a very small remuneration. Land is never leased out to agricultural tenants but from year to year ; the latter have neither oxen for ploughing, mares for thrashing, nor capital to get in their crops ; and all these and all other kinds of assistance come from the proprietor, who is repaid out of the produce of the land, which he, besides, generally buys up at two-thirds or half what the farmer might sell it for, could he command the necessary funds to harvest it. The cultivator, in short, is rather worse off than the day labourer, and is even in the habit of hiring himself out as such, at times, to recruit his means. He is destitute of most comforts, can seldom read or write, nor has any means within his reach of educating his children. The moment his harvest or the produce of his garden is
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reaped, the landlord greedily enforces his right to the stubble and pasture for the benefit of his cattle, and large droves are even fre- quently turned in before the produce is cut, either utterly destroying the crops, or obliging them to be gathered half ripe. The tenant is scarcely ever allowed to build his hut on cultivated grounds, to inclose his rented land with fences, or to possess any cattle ; and a multitude of other arbitrary practices tend to keep the peon in that state of servitude in which it is the object of the proprietor to retain him.
It is a common saying in Chili, that %: a diligent man who works a copper mine is sure to gain ; but that if the mine be of gold he will certainly be ruined." This is probably owing in great part to the circumstance of many mines having been opened or wrought by persons without capital, who are very soon obliged to suspend their operations, land-carriage being difficult and laborious, and fuel, water, and fodder very scarce in those districts which are the richest in ore. The mines are mostly wrought by t\vo parties, one the proprietor of the mine, who supplies the labour, the other the haWitador, who ad- vances the capital. The proprietor, who usually resides on the spot and superintends the works, is seldom wealthy enough to conduct them on his own resources, and it is generally the haMitador, or moneyed individual, who resides at the port where the metal is shipped, who *alone derives any ultimate benefit from the mine, j Some interesting particulars are giycn with respect to a native tribe by a reliable authority, who says — "Before our departure from the harbour a bark canoe came alongside with an Indian, his squaw, and four children. The tribe to which they belonged is known by the name of the Petcherai Indians. They were entirely naked with the exception of a small piece of sealskin, only sufficient to cover one shoulder, and which is generally worn on the side from which the wind blows, affording them some little shelter against its piercing influence.
" They were not more than five feet high, of a light copper colour, which is much concealed by smut and dirt, particularly on their faces, which they mark vertically with charcoal. They have short fa^-e, narrow foreheads, and high cheekbones. Their eyes are smal^and usually black, the upper eyelids in the inner corner overlapping the under one, and bear a strong resemblance to those of the Chinese. Their nose is broad and flat, with wide-spread nostrils, mouth large, teeth white, large, and regular. The hair is long, lank, and black, hanging over the face, and is covered with white ashes, which gives
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them a hideous appearance. The whole face is compressed. Their bodies are remarkable from the great development of the chest, shoulders, and vertebral column ; their arms are long, and out of pro- portion; their legs are small and ill-made. There is, in fact, little
A CHILIAN MOTHER,
difference between the size of the ankle and leg ; and when standing-, the skin at the knee hangs in a large, loose fold. In some the muscles of the legs appear almost wanting, and possess very little strength. This want of development in the muscles of the legs is owing to their constant sitting posture, both in their huts and their canoes. Their
u
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skin is sensibly colder than ours. It is impossible to fancy anything in human nature more filthy. They are an ill-shapen and ugly race. They have little or no idea of the relative value of articles, even of those that one would suppose were of the utmost use to them, such as iron and glass ware. A glass bottle broken into pieces is valued as much as a knife. Red flannel torn into strips pleases them more than in the piece; they wound it around their heads as a kind of turban, and it was amusing to see their satisfaction at this small acquisition.
" The children were quite small, and nestled in the bottom, of the canoe on some dry grass. The woman and eldest boy paddled the canoe, the man being employed to bale out the water and attend to the fire, which is always carried in the bottom of the canoe, on a few stones and ashes which the water surrounds.
" Their canoes are constructed erf bark, are very frail, and sewed with shreds of whalebone, sealskin, and twigs. They are sharp at both ends, and are kept in shape, as well as strengthened, by a number of stretchers lashed to the gunwale.
" These Indians seldom venture outside the kelp, by the aid of which they pull themselves along ; and "their paddles are so small as to be 'of little use in propelling their canoes unless it is calm.
" Their huts are generally found built close to the shore, at the head of some small bay, in a secluded spot, and sheltered from the prevailing -winds. They are built of boughs or small trees, stuck in the earth and brought together at the top, where they are firmly bound by bark, sedge, and twigs. Smaller branches are then inter- laced, forming a tolerably compact wickerwork, and on this grass, turf, and bark are laid, making the hut quite warm and impervious to the wind and snow, though not quite so to the rain. The usual dimensions of these huts are seven or eight feet in diameter, and about four or five fest in height. They have an oval hole to creep in at. The fire is built in a small excavation in the middle of the hut. The floor is of clay, which has the appearance of having been well kneaded. The usual accompaniment of a hut is a conical pile of mussel and limpet shells opposite the door, nearly as large as the hut itself.
"These natives are never seen but in their huts or canoes. The impediments to their communication by land are great, growing out of the mountainous and rocky character of the country, intersected with inlets, deep and impassable, and in most places bounded by abrupt
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precipices, together with a soil which may be termed a quagmire, on which it is difficult to walk. This prevails on the hills as well as in the plains and valleys. The impenetrable nature of the forest, with the dense undergrowth of thorny bushes, renders it impossible for them to overcome or contend with these difficulties. They appear to live in families, and not in tribes, and do not seem to acknowledge any chief.
"They were found to be great mimics, both in gesture and sound, and would repeat any word of our language with great correctness of pronunciation. Their imitations of sounds were truly astonishing. One of them ascended and descended the octave perfectly, following the sounds of the violin correctly. It was then found he could sound the common chords, and follow through the semitone scale with scarcely an error. They have all musical voices, speak in the note G sharp, ending with the semitone A, when asking for presents, and were continually singing.
" Their mimicry became at length annoying, and precluded our getting at any of their words or ideas. It not only extended to words or sounds, but actions also, and was at times truly ridiculous. The usual manner of interrogating for names was quite unsuccessful. On pointing to the nose, for instance, they did the same. Anything they saw done they would mimic, and with an extraordinary degree of accuracy. On these canoes approaching the ship, the principal one of the family, or chief, standing up in his canoe, made an harangue. Although they have been heard to shout quite loud, yet they cannot endure a noise ; and when the drum beat or a gun was fired, they invariably stopped their ears. They always speak to each other in a whisper. The men are exceedingly jealous of their women, and will not allow any one, if they can help it, to enter their huts, particularly boys.
" The women were never suffered to come on board. They appeared modest in the presence of strangers. They never move from a sitting posture, or rather a squat, with their knees close together, reaching to their chin, their feet in contact and touching the lower part of the body. They are extremely ugly. Their hands and feet were small and well-shaped, and from appearance they are not accustomed to do any hard work. They appear very fond, and seem careful of their young children, though on several occasions they offered them for sale for a trifle. They have their faces smutted all over, and it was thought,
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from the hideous appearance of the females, produced in part by their being painted and smutted, that they had been disfigured by the men previous to coming alongside. It was remarked that when one of them saw herself in a looking-glass she burst into tears, as Jack thought, from pure mortification. The men are employed in building the huts, obtainiug food, and providing for their other wants. The women were generally seen paddling their canoes.
" When this party of natives left the ship and reached the shore, the women remained in their canoes, and the men began building their temporary huts ; the little children were seen capering quite naked on the beach, although the thermometer was at forty degrees. On the hut being finished, which occupied about an hour, the women went on shore to take possession of it. They all seemed quite happy and contented.
" Before they left the ship the greater part of them were dressed in old clothes that had been given to them by the officers and men, who all showed themselves extremely anxious ' to make them comfort- able.' This gave rise to much merriment, as Jack allowed no difficulties to interfere in the fitting. If the jackets proved too tight across the shoulders, which they invariably were, a slit down the back effectually remedied the defect. If a pair of trousers was found too small round the waist, the knife was again resorted to, and in some cases a fit was made by severing the legs. The most difficult fit, and the one which produce! the most merriment, was that of a woman, to whom an old coat was given. This she concluded belonged to her nether limbs, and no signs, hints, or shouts could correct her mistake. Her feet were thrust through the sleeves, and after hard squeezing she succeeded in drawing them on. With the skirts brought up in front she took her seat in the canoe with great satisfaction, amid a roar of laughter from all who saw her.
" Their mode of expressing friendship is by jumping up and down.
'• Their food consists of limpets, mussels, and other shell-fish. Quar - tities of fish and some seals are now and then taken among the kelp, and with berries of various kinds and wild celery they do not want. They seldom cook their food much. The shell-fish are detached from the shell by heat, and the fisli are partly roasted in their skins without being cleaned.
" When on board one of them was induced to sit at the dinner- table ; after a few lessons he handled his knife and fork with much dexteritv.
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He refused both spirits and wine, but was very fond of sweetened water. Salt provisions were not at all to his liking, but rice and plum- pudding were agreeable to his taste, and he literally crammed them into
his mouth. After his appetite had been satisfied he was in great good- humour, singing his ' Hey meh leh,' dancing, and laughing. His mimicry prevented any satisfactory inquiries being made of him relative
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to a vocabulary. Some of the officers painted the faces of these natives black, white, and reel ; this delighted them very much, and it was quite amusing to see the grimaces made by them before a looking-glass.
" One of these natives remained on board for upwards of a week, and being washed and combed he became two or three shades lighter in colour. Clothes were put on him. He was about twenty-three years of age. His astonishment was very great on attending divine service. The moment the chaplain began to read from the book his eyes were riveted upon him, where they remained as long as he con- tinued to read. At the end of the week he became dissatisfied, and was set on shore, and soon appeared naked again.
" They are much addicted to theft, if any opportunity offers. Although we had no absolute proof of it, we are inclined to the belief that they bury their dead in caves."
The riches of Chili, we are informed by an old authority, are of two sorts : first, those which Nature has bestowed on it, without the help of human industry ; and secondly, those which have been produced and invented by the inhabitants, to improve and enjoy its fertility. To the first kind belong its mines of gold, silver, copper, tin, quicksilver, and lead, with which Heaven has enriched it. Of the copper of Chili arc made all the great guns for Peru and the neighbouring kingdoms, in the garrisons of which there are always stores, particularly on the coasts. All the bells of the churches, and utensils for families, are of this metal, so that since the working of these mines no copper has come from Spain, for the Indies are sufficiently supplied by them with all they can want.
There is, he says, little lead worked, because there is little use for it ; quicksilver less. Those of silver likewise lie unwrought, because the golden mines are of less charge, and so everybody has turned their industry towards them; they are so many and so rich, that from the confines of Peru to the extremest parts of this kingdom, as far as the Straits of Magellan, there is no part of the country but they discover them ; which made Father Gregory of Leon, in his map of Chili, say that this country ought rather to have been called a plate of gold than to go about to reckon up its golden mines, which are innumerable.
All the authors who have written of this country, says our quaint authority, do mightily enlarge upon its riches, and the same is done by all those who have navigated the Straits of Magellan. Antonia de Herrera, in his general history of the Indies, says that in all the West
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Indies no gold is so fine as that of Valdivia, in Chili, except the famous mine of Carabaya ; and that when those mines were first worked (which was before those Indians who are now at peace with us were at war), an Indian among them did use to get from them every day twenty or thirty pesos of gold, which comes to near five hundred reals of plate, and was a wonderful gain.
And then we are told by John and Theodore de Bryce that when isTodales passed the Straits of St. Vincent, otherwise called Straits Le Maire, there came some Indians from the country called La Tierra dtl Fuego, who exchanged with the Spaniards a piece of gold of a foot and a half long, and as broad, for scissors, knives, needles, and other things of little value, for they do not value gold as we do. Other authors say that most of the gold that was laid in the Inca's treasure was brought to him from Chili, though, having never subjected the Araucanos, he could not have that quantity which this rich country would else have afforded.
But what need I weaiy myself, says he, in citations of people abroad, when those who live in the country of Chili, and see it every day, are the best testimony of the great riches that the Spaniards have drawn from these mines, which were so great that I have heard the old men say, in their feasts and entertainments, they used to put gold-dust in their salt- cellars instead of salt ; and that when they swept the house, the servants would often find grains of gold in their sweepings, which they would wash out, for the Indians being the persons that brought it to their lords, they would often let some fall.
As we have already stated, it is much more easy to get gold than silver out of the mines, because this last costs much pains ; first, to dig it from the hard rock, then to beat it in the mills to powder, which mills are chargeable, as also is the quicksilver necessary to be used to make the silver unite, and all the rest of the operations requisite to refine it ; but the advantage of getting gold has no other trouble in it than to carry the earth in which it is found to the water, and there wash it in mills on purpose, with a stream which carries off the earth, and the gold, as being heaviest, goes to the bottom.
It is true sometimes they follow the gold vein through rocks and hard places, where it grows thinner and thinner, until at last the profit that arises is very small, yet they persist in following it, in hopes it will grow larger, and end at last in that which they call Bolsa, which is, when coming to a softer and easier part of the rock, the vein enlarges so that
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one of these hits is enough to enrich a family for all their lives. There is now less gold found than formerly, by reason of the war the Spaniards have had with the nation of Araucanos ; but still some is found, par- ticularly in Coquimba, where, in the winter, when it rains much, is the great harvest of gold, for by the rain the mountains are washed away, and the gold is easier to come at. There is likewise some gold in the territories of the Conception, in which I was told by a captain who entered into our society, that there was, not above half a league from the town, a pond, or standing water, which is not deeper than half the height of a man, and that when the Indians have nothing to spend, they send their wives to this pond ; and they going in, feel out with their toes the grains of gold, and as soon as they have found them they stoop down and take them up. They do this until they have got to the value of two or 'three pesos of gold, and then they seek no longer, but go home, and do not return for any more as long as that lasts ; for they are not covetous, but are content to enjoy without laying up.
I brought with me to Italy one of these grains thus found, of a pretty reasonable bigness ; and sending it to Seville to be touched, without either putting it in the fire, or using other proofs, it was allowed to be of twenty-three carats, which is a very remarkable thing. Now the peace is made, and the warlike Indians quiet, the Spaniards may return to search for the gold of Valdivia, and other mines thereabouts, which will extremely increase the riches of the country.
As for the product made by the industry of the inhabitants, it con- sists principally in the breed of their cattle of all kinds ; sending the tallow, hides, and dried flesh to Lima, where, having first retained the necessary proportions for themselves, which is about twenty thousand quintals of tallow every year for that city, and hides accordingly, they distribute the rest all over Peru ; the hides are often carried up to Potosi, and all the inland tract of mines ; they are also carried to Panama, Carthagena, and the rest of that continent ; some of this trade extends itself likewise to Tucuman and Buenos Ayres, and from thence to Brazil.
The second is the cordage and tackling with which all the ships of the South Seas are furnished from Chili ; as also the match for firearms, with which all the king's garrisons along the coast are provided from those parts ; for the hemp, which makes the first material of all these provisions, grows nowhere in the West Indies but in Chili ; there is also packthread exported, and other smaller cordage.
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The third product is mules, which are sent to Potosi, through the desert of Arcama.
The fourth product is the cocoa-nuts, which are the fruit of the
palm-trees, and do not, indeed, proceed from industry, but grow wild in the mountains without any cultivation, so thick that I have seen several leagues of this tree. Almonds likewise, and the product of
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gardens which do not grow in Peru, are carried thither with great profit. When I came to Lima (says our garrulous author), I observed that the aniseed, which had been bought at Chili for two pieces of eight, was sold there for twenty ; and the cinnamon seed bought at twenty was sold for fourscore ; which makes merchants very willing to trade to those parts, as hoping to grow rich in a small time ; and this increases the riches of Chili, by drawing every day thither men with good stocks. The gains made this way are so considerable that a man who has a thousand crowns to employ in land, flocks, and slaves to take care of them, may every year have a revenue of ten or twelve thousand crowns, which is a gain of twenty-five per cent., very lawful and without any trouble to one's conscience or subjection to the dangers of the seas ; for those who will run the hazard of that element gain much more, for the merchants, by many commodities, get a hundred, and two hundred — nay, three hundred per cent. — in a» navigation of about three weeks, which is the time usually employed from Chili to Lima, without any fear of pirates, all those seas belonging entirely to the King of Spain, and so free from those robbers. Besides, it is very seldom that any storms are felt in that voyage, or at least not any that endanger the loss of the ships. The greatest danger proceeds from the covetousness of the owners and merchants, who, trusting to the peace- ableness of those seas, and that they sail all the way from Chili to Lima before the wind, they load up to the mid-mast. It is no exaggeration, because I have seen them go out of the port with provisions for the voyage and other necessaries as high as the ropes that hold the masts ; and though the king's officers are present to prevent them overloading the ship, yet generally they are so deep in the water that they are but just above it ; and with all these there are many goods left behind in the magazines of the port ; for the land is so productive of everything that the only misfortune of it is to want a vent for its product, which is enough to supply another Lima, or Potosi, if there were one.
It is upon this foundation that it is affirmed generally that no country in all America has a more solid establishment than Chili ; for in proportion to the increase of inhabitants in Peru, Chili must increase too in riches, since it is able to supply any great consumption, and yet have enough of its own in all the kinds of corn, wine, flesh, oil, salt, fruit, pulse, wool, flax, hides, tallow, chamois leather, ropes, wood, and timber, medicinal remedies, pitch, fish of all kinds, metals of all sorts,
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and amber. There wants silk ; and it is to be wished it may never get thither but for ornament to the altars, for it is already the beggaring of the country, by reason of the great expense in rich clothes, particu- larly by the women, who are not outdone in this even by the bravest ladies of Madrid or other parts ; but yet the land is so proper for the silkworms that if any one carries the seed of them there I am persuaded it will take with great abundance, the mulberry-trees being already there as full-grown and in as great beauty as in Spain.
The wax likewise comes from Europe, though there are bees which make both honey and wax. Pepper and other East India spices come from abroad, though there is a kind of spice which supplies the want of them very well ; and the authors mentioned above say that in the Straits of Magellan there is good cinnamon, and that on those coasts there grow trees of a most fragrant smell in their bark, and which have a taste like pepper, but of a more quick savour.
In the whole kingdom the herbage and the fishing are in common, as also the hunting, and the woods for fuel and timber, and the same is practised as to the salt-mines. There is no imposition on trade through all the kingdom, every one being free to transport what goods he pleases either within or without the kingdom.
The authority we have so far quoted goes on to tell us something of the Chilian volcanoes, with which we shall conclude this chapter.
There are in this Cordillera, or chain of mountains, sixteen volcanoes which at several times have broken out, and caused effects no less admirable than terrible and astonishing to all the country; amongst the rest that which happened in the year 1640 is worthy to be remembered. It broke out in the enemy's country, in the territory of the Cacique Aliante, burning with so much force that the mountain, cleaving in two, sent forth pieces of rock all on fire with so horrible a noise that it was heard many leagues off, just like the going off of cannon.
The first of these volcanoes is called the volcano of Copiago, and is in about twenty-six degrees altitude of the pole, about the confines of Chili and Peru ; in thirty degrees is that of Coquimbo ; in thirty- one and a half is that of La Sigua ; in thirty-five that of Peteroa ; in thirty-six and a half that of Chilan ; in thirty-seven and a quarter that of Antoco ; this is followed by that of Notuco in thirty-eight and a half ; that of Yillarica is in thirty-nine and three-quarters ; near this another, whose name I know not, in forty and a quarter ; and in forty.
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one is that of Osorno ; and near that in less than a quarter of a degree that of Guanauchuca ; and in little more than forty-two degrees that of Quehuczabi ; and last of all are two more, one without a name, in forty-four ; and that of St. Clement, which is forty-five and a half.
These are the known volcanoes of Chili ; we have no knowledge of others which may be as far as the Terra del Fuego, because till this time our discoveries have not gone so far ; but there is no doubt there are some, and they are to be found before one comes to Chili, in the kingdoms of Peru and Quito. Diego Ordonnes de Salvos, in his book, Voyage through the Whole World, mentions among the rest one that is near the fall of the river in the Valley of Cola ; it is on a mountain in the form of a sugar-loaf, like that of La Plata in Potosi, and that in winter it throws out so much smoke and ashes that it burns up all the grass within two leagues round about it.
He likewise mentions another in the entrance of the province of Los Quixos, near the town of Maspa, and speaks of another, which broke out near Quito, in a mountain called the Pinta, and he affirms that the ashes fly two leagues and a half from the mountain, and he has seen them lie on the houses about four feet deep in the nearest places to the mountain. Lastly, he tells of that of Adiiquipa, which buried the vineyards, and had almost overwhelmed the city. To this day there are seen the effects of that desolation, which ruined many families by destroying their houses and possessions. At the same time he observes that the earthquakes, which before were frequent, ceased from that time, and this may be the reason perhaps why the earth- quakes in Chili have always been considerably less than that of Peru, because Chili has more breathing-holes for the vapours to exhale by.
There is no room for doubting of the immense riches which these mountains inclose in their bowels, for it is a certain argument, and proves it, to see only the mineral riches of Chili, which are, as it were, indices of what may be contained in these rocks, as the rivers which fertilise the country are a proof of the unexhausted fountains contained in the rocks and precipices.
I think, he says, two causes may be assigned why these riches do not manifest themselves and become more. The first is that general state reason and inviolable maxim among the Indians to conceal and not to discover them to any other nation. This they observe so punctually that it is among them a capital crime, punishable with death, to break
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silence in this matter, which they make sacred and indispensable, and if any one among them, either of interest, negligence, or any ether motive of conveniency, discovers anything of this kind, his death is infallible, and no power on earth can save him.
I remember on this subject that some gentlemen, having, by
presents, insinuations, and flattering, come to the knowledge of some treasure by the means of an Indian, and prevailed with him at last to guide them to some very rich mines in a remote mountain, he begged earnestly of them to be secret, or otherwise he was a dead man, let them take never so much care of him. They promised him accordingly, and so they set out, and he brought them through horrid rocks and
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precipices, where it looked as if never man had set his foot, nor scarce any living animal. Every day they met with certain marks which the Indian had told them of beforehand. First, after so many days they discovered a red mountain, and then at a certain distance from that a black one on the left hand ; then a valley which began from a monstrous high mountain or rock ; then at so many leagues a mountain of chalk. All which signs the guide went showing them, verifying thereby the relation he had given them beforehand, and comforting them up to endure the hardships by the hopes of f ulfilling at last their expectation, and seeing their labour rewarded.
Their provisions failed them, and they were forced to come back to provide more to pursue their enterprise. The Indian was always in fear of being discovered, knowing that he ran in that no less a hazard than that of his life. They returned then to a town, and to secure their Indian from his fright of beiDg discovered they locked him up in a room very safe ; but the night before they were to set out again, without ever baing able to discover how it was done, for there were no signs by the door of anybody's going in that way, as they went to call the Indian in the morning they found him strangled, by which means, being deprived of their intent, and having lost the hopes of satisfying their dssire, they returned to their own homes, though with a reso- lution to try again, being encouraged by so much they had already discovered.
The other reason to be assigned for not seeking after these mines is the great plenty of everything necessary for life, so that hunger, which is the prompter of covetous desires, being wanting, there are few that care to run a hazard and lose their conveniences at home to go through impracticable deserts upon search for hidden treasures, particularly as there is so much around them so much easier to get at.
Such is the account of an early visitor to Chili.
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 303
CHAPTER XH.
South American Llanos — Herds of Oxen — Nature of the Soil — The Mirage— Wild Horses — Dry Season — Insects — The Rainy Season — Overflow of the Rivers — Enemies — Crocodile and Jaguar — The Gymnotus— La Plata — Mountainous Districts — The Pampas — Sir Francis Head's Description of the Regions — Climate of the Pampas — The Pampas Indians — The Gauchos Preparing for War — A Fierce Encounter — Killing the Christians — The Religion of the Pampas Indians — Fondness for Strong Drink — An Excellent Precaution — Humboldt's Views .of Nature.
TTTE may now refer to some of tlie leading physical peculiarities of
South and Central America.
Since the discovery of the new continent, Humboldt informs us its plains (llanos) have become habitable to man. Here and there towns have sprung up on the shores of the steppe-rivers, built to facilitate the intercourse between the coasts and Guiana (the Orinoco districts). Everywhere throughout these vast districts the inhabitants have begun to rear cattle. At distances of a day's journey from each other we see huts woven together with reeds and thongs, and covered with ox-hides. Innumerable herds of oxen, horses, and mules (estimated at the peace- ful period of my travels at a million and a-half) roam over the steppe in a state of wildness. The prodigious increase of these animals of the Old World is the more remarkable from the numerous perils with which, in these regions, they have to contend.
When beneath the vertical rays of the bright and cloudless sun of the tropics, the parched sward crumbles into dust ; then the indurated soil cracks and bursts as if rent asunder by some mighty earthquake, and if, at such a time, two opposite currents of air, by conflict moving in rapid gyrations, come in contact with the earth, a singular spectacle presents itself. Like funnel-shaped clouds, their apexes touching the earth, the sands rise in vapoury form through the rarefied air in the electrically- charged centre of the whirling current, sweeping on like the rushing water- spout which strikes such terror into the heart of the mariner. A dim and sallow light gleams from the lowering sky over the dreary plain. The horizon suddenly contracts, and the heart of the traveller sinks with dismay as the wide steppe seems to close upon him on all sides. The hot and dusty earth forms a cloudy veil, which shrouds the heavens from view, and increases the stifling oppression of
304 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
the atmosphere ; while the east wind, when it blows over the long- heated soil, instead of cooling, adds to the burning glow.
Gradually, too, the pools of water, which had been protected from evaporisation by the now seared foliage of the fan-palm, disappear. As in the icy North animals become torpid from cold, so here the croco- dile and the boa-constrictor lie wrapt in unbroken sleep, deeply buried in the dried soil. Everywhere the drought announces death, yet every- where the thirsting wanderer is deluded by the phantom of a moving, undulating, watery surface, created by the deceptive play of the re- flected rays of light (the mirage). A narrow stratum separates the ground from the distant palm-trees, which seem to hover aloft, owing to the contact of currents of air having different degrees of heat, and therefore of density. Shrouded in dark clouds of dust, and tortured by hunger and burning thirst, oxen and horses scour the plain, the one bellowing dismally, the others, with outstretched necks, snuffing the wind in the endeavour to detect, by the moisture in the air, the vicinity of some pool of water not yet wholly evaporated. The mule, more cautious and cunning, adopts another method of allaying his thirst. There is a globular and articulated plant, the melocactus, which incloses under its prickly integument an aqueous pulp. After carefully striking away the prickles with his fore-feet, the mule cautiously ventures to apply his lips to imbibe the cooling thistle-juice. But the draught from this living vegetable spring is not always unattended by danger, and these animals are often found to have been lamed by the puncture of the cactus thorn.
Even if the burning heat of day be succeeded by the cool freshness of night, here always of equal length, the wearied ox and horse enjoy no repose; huge bats now attack the animals during sleep, and, vampire-like, suck their blood, or, fastening on their backs, raise festering wounds, in which mosquitoes, hippobosces, and a host of other stinging insects burrow and nestle. Such is the miserable existence of these poor animals when the heat of the sun has absorbed the waters from the surface of the earth.
When, after a long drought, the genial season of rain arrives, the scene suddenly changes ; the deep azure of the hitherto cloudless sky assumes a lighter hue. Scarcely can the dark space in the constellation of the Southern Cross be distinguished at night. The mild phos- phorescence of the Magellanic clouds fades away. Even the vertical stars of the constellations Aquila and Ophiuchus shine with a flickering
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
305
and less planetary light. Like some distant mountain, a single cloud is seen rising perpendicularly on the southern horizon : misty vapours collect and gradually overspread the heavens, whilst distant thunder proclaims the approach of the vivifying rain.
Scarcely is the surface of the earth moistened before the teeming steppe becomes covered with ryllingise, with the rnany-panicled paspa- lurn, and a variety of grasses. Excited by the power of light, the herba-
CROCODILE AND JAGUAR.
ceous mimosa unfolds its dormant, drooping leaves, hailing, as it were, tt e rising sun in chorus with the matin song of the birds and the opening flowers of aquatics. Horses and oxen, buoyant with life and enjoy- ment, roam over the plains. The luxuriant grass hides the beautifully- spotted jaguar, who, lurking in safe concealment, and carefully mea- suring the extent of the leap, darts, like the Asiatic tiger, with a cat-like bound on his passing prey.
At times, according to the account of the natives, the humid clay on the banks of the morasses is seen to rise slowly in broad flakes. Accompanied by a violent noise, as on the eruption of a mud volcano
x
304 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
the atmosphere ; while the east wind, wheii it blows over the long- heated soil, instead of cooling, adds to the burning glow.
Gradually, too, the pools of water, which had been protected from evaporisation by the now seared foliage of the fan-palm, disappear. As in the icy North animals become torpid from cold, so here the croco- dile and the boa-constrictor lie wrapt in unbroken sleep, deeply buried in the dried soil. Everywhere the drought announces death, yet every- where the thirsting wanderer is deluded by the phantom of a moving, undulating, watery surface, created by the deceptive play of the re- flected rays of light (the mirage). A narrow stratum separates the ground from the distant palm-trees, which seem to hover aloft, owing to the contact of currents of air having different degrees of heat, and therefore of density. Shrouded in dark clouds of dust, and tortured by hunger and burning thirst, oxen and horses scour the plain, the one bellowing dismally, the others, with outstretched necks, snuffing the wind in the endeavour to detect, by the moisture in the air, the vicinity of some pool of water not yet wholly evaporated. The mule, more cautious and cunning, adopts another method of allaying his thirst. There is a globular and articulated plant, the melocactus, which incloses under its prickly integument an aqueous pulp. After carefully striking away the prickles with his fore-feet, the mule cautiously ventures to apply his lips to imbibe the cooling thistle-juice. But the draught from this living vegetable spring is not always unattended by danger, and these animals are often found to have been lamed by the puncture of the cactus thorn.
Even if the burning heat of day be succeeded by the cool freshness of night, here always of equal length, the wearied ox and horse enjoy no repose; huge bats now attack the animals during sleep, and, vampire-like, suck their blood, or, fastening on their backs, raise festering wounds, in which mosquitoes, hippobosces, and a host of other stinging insects burrow and nestle. Such is the miserable existence of these poor animals when the heat of the sun has absorbed the waters from the surface of the earth.
When, after a long drought, the genial season of rain arrives, the scene suddenly changes ; the deep azure of the hitherto cloudless sky assumes a lighter hue. Scarcely can the dark space in the constellation of the Southern Cross be distinguished at night. The mild phos- phorescence of the Magellanic clouds fades away. Even the vertical stars of the constellations Aquila and Ophiuchus shine with a flickering
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
305
and less planetary light. Like some distant mountain, a single cloud is seen rising perpendicularly on the southern horizon : misty vapours collect and gradually overspread the heavens, whilst distant thunder proclaims the approach of the vivifying rain.
Scarcely is the surface of the earth moistened before the teeming steppe becomes covered with ryllingise, with the many-panicled paspa- luin, and a variety of grasses. Excited by the power of light, the herba-
CKOCODILE AKD JAGUAR.
ceous mimosa unfolds its dormant, drooping leaves, hailing, as it were, the rising sun in chorus with the matin song of the birds and the opening flowers of aquatics. Horses and oxen, buoyant with life and enjoy- ment, roam over the plains. The luxuriant grass hides the beautifully- spotted jaguar, who, lurking in safe concealment, and carefully mea- suring the extent of the leap, darts, like the Asiatic tiger, with a cat-like bound on his passing prey.
At times, according to the account of the natives, the humid clay on the banks of the morasses is seen to rise slowly in broad flakes. Accompanied by a violent noise, as on the eruption of a mud volcano
x
308 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
they form an impenetrable barrier. The sudden growth of these plants is quite astonishing, and though it would be an unusual misfortune in military history, yet it is really possible that an invading army, un- acquainted with the country, might be imprisoned by these thistles before it has had time to escape from them. The summer is not over before the scene undergoes another rapid change : the thistles suddenly lose their sap and verdure, their heads droop, the leaves shrink and fade, the stems become black and dead, and they remain rattling with the breeze one against another until the violence of the pampero, or hurri- cane, levels them with the ground, where they rapidly decompose and disappear ; the clover rushes up, and the scene is again verdant. The vast region of grass in the Pampas for four hundred and fifty miles is without a weed, and the region of wood is equally extraordinary. The trees are not crowded, but in their growth such beautiful order is observed, that one may gallop between them in every direction. The whole country is in such beautiful order that if cities and millions of inhabitants could suddenly be planted at proper intervals and situations, the people would have nothing to do but to drive out their cattle to graze, and to plough whatever quantity of ground their wants require. The climate of the Pampas is subject to a great difference of tempe- rature in winter and summer, though the changes are very regular. The winter is about as cold as our month of November, and the ground at sunrisa is always covered with white frost, but the ice is seldom more than one-tenth of an inch thick. In summer the sun is oppressively hot. The difference, however, between the atmosphere of Mendoza, San Luis, and Buenos Ayres, which are all nearly under the same lati- tude, is very great ; in the two former, or in the regions of wood and grass, the air is extremely dry. There is no dew at night ; in the hottest weather there is apparently very little perspiration, and the dead animals lie on the plain dried up in their skins. But in the province of Buenos Ayres, or in the region of thistles and clover, vegetation clearly announces the humidity of the climate, and the dead animals on the plain are in a rapid utate of putrefaction. On arriving at Buenos Ayres, the walls of the houses are so damp that it is cheerless to enter them ; and sugar, as also all deliquescent salts, are there found nearly dis- solved. This dampness, however, does not appear to be unhealthy. The south part of the Pampas is inhabited by Indians who have no fixed abode, but wander from place to place as the herbage around them becomes consumed by their cattle.
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 309
The north part and the rest of the provinces of La Plata are inhabited' by a few straggling individuals, and a few small groups of people, wha live together only because they were born together. The travelling across the Pampas is really a very astonishing effort. The country has no road but a track which is constantly changed. The huts, termed posts, are at different distances, but upon an average about twenty miles from each other, and in travelling with carriages it is necessary to send a man before to request the GaucJios to collect their horses. The country is intersected with streams, rivulets, and rivers, with pantanos or marshes, through which it is absolutely necessary to drive. In one instance the carriage, strange as it may seem, goes through a lake, which of course is not deep. The banks of the rivulets are of tea very precipitous, and I constantly remarked that we drove over and through places which, in Europe, any military officer would, I believe, without hesitation, report as impassable. The most independent way of travelling is, however, on horseback, without baggage, and without an attendant. In this case the traveller has to saddle his own horse, and to sleep at night upon the ground on his saddle ; and as he is unable to carry any provisions, he must throw himself completely on the feeble resources of the country, and live on little else than beef and water.
Sir Francis Head, in his invaluable book, Journeys Across the Pampas, furnishes the following graphic account of the Pampas Indians : —
The Indians of whom I heard the most were those who inhabit the- vast unknown plains of the Pampas, and who are all horsemen, or rather pass their lives on horseback. The life they lead is singularly interest- ing. In spite of the climate, which is burning hot in summer and freezing in winter, these brave men, who have never yet been subdued, are entirely naked, and have not even a covering for their head. They live together in tribes, each of which is governed by a cacique ; but they have no fixed residence. Where the pasture is good there are they to be found, until it is consumed by their horses, and they then instantly move to a more verdant spot. They have neither bread, fruit, nor vegetables, but they subsist entirely on the flesh of their mares, which they never ride ; and the only luxury in which they indulge is that of washing their hair in mare's blood.
The occupation of their lives is war, which they consider as their noble and most natural employment ; and they declare that the proudest attitude of the human figure is when, bending over his horse, man is
810 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
riding at his enemy. The principal weapon which they use is a spear eighteen feet long ; they manage it with great dexterity, and are able to give it a tremulous motion which has often shaken the sword from the hand of their European adversaries. From being constantly on horseback the Indians can scarcely walk. This may seem singular, but from their infancy they are accustomed to it. Living in a boundless plain, it may easily be conceived that all their occupations and amuse- ments must necessarily be on horseback ; and from riding so many hours the legs become weak, which naturally gives a disinclination to an exer- tion which every day becomes more fatiguing ; besides, the pace at which they can skim over the plains on horseback is so swift, in com- parison to the rate they could crawl on foot, that the latter must seem a cheerless occupation.
As a military nation they are much to be admired, and their system of warfare is more noble, unincumbered, and perfect in its nature than that of any other nation in the world. When they assemble, either to attack their enemies or to invade the country of the Christians, with whom they are now at war, they collect large troops of horses and mares, and then, uttering the wild shriek of war, they start at a gallop. As soon as the horses they ride are tired, they vault upon the bare backs of fresh ones, keeping their best until they positively see their enemies. The whole country affords pasture to their horses, and when- ever they choose to stop they have only to kill some mares. The ground is the bed on which from their infancy they have always slept, the flesh of mares is the food on which they have ever been accus- tomed to subsist, and they therefore meet their enemies with light hearts and full stomachs, the only advantages which they think men ought to desire.
How different this style of warfare is from the march of an army of our brave, but limping, foot-sore men, crawling in the rain through muddy lanes, bending under their packs, while in their rear the mules and forage, and pack saddles, and baggage> and waggons, and women, bullocks lying on the ground unable to proceed, form a scene of despair and confusion which must always attend the army that walks instead of rides, and that eats cows instead of horses. How impossible would it be for a European army to contend with such an aerial force ! As well might it attempt to drive the swallows from the country as to harm these naked warriors.
A body of these Indians (says Sir Francis) crossed my path as I was
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 311
riding from Buenos Ayres to Mendoza and back. They had just had an engagement with the Rio Plata troops, who killed several of them, and they were lying naked and dead on the plain not far from the road. Several of the Gauchos who were engaged told me that the Indians had fought most gallantly, but that all their horses were tired, or they could never have been attacked ; the Gauchos, who themselves ride so beau- tifully, declare that it is impossible to ride with an Indian, for that the Indians' horses are so much better than theirs, and also that they have such a way of urging them on by their cries, and by a peculiar motion of their bodies, that even if they were to change horses, the Indians would beat them. The Gauchos all seemed to dread very much the Indians' spears. They said that some of los Barbaros (the Indians) oharged without either bridle or saddle, and that in some instances they were hanging almost under the bellies of their horses, and shrieking so that the horses were afraid to face them. As the Indians' horses got tired they were met by fresh troops, and a great number of them were killed.
To people accustomed to the cold passions of England it would be impossible to describe the savage, inveterate, furious hatred which exists between the Gauchos and the Indians. The latter invade the country for the ecstatic pleasure of murdering the Christians, and in the contests which take place between them mercy is unknown. Before I was quite aware of these feelings, I was galloping with a very fine-looking Gaucho, who had been fighting with the Indians, and after listening to his report of the killed and wounded, I happened very simply to ask him how many prisoners they had taken ? The man replied by a look which I shall never forget. He clenched his teeth, opened his lips, and then sawing his forefinger across his bare throat for a quarter of a minute, bending towards me, with his spur striking into his horse's side, he said, in a sort of low, choking voice, " Se ma tan todos " (We kill them all). But this fate is what the Indian firmly expects, and from his earliest youth is prepared to endure not only death but tortures, if the hard fortunes of war should throw him alive among his enemies ; and yet how many there are who accuse the Indians of that imbecility of mind which in war bears the name of cowardice ! The usual cause for this accusation is, that the Indians have almost always been known to fly from firearms.
When first America was discovered the Spaniards were regarded by the Indians as divinities, and perhaps there was nothing which tended
312 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
to give them this distinction more than their possessing weapons which, resembling the lightning and the thunder of Heaven, sent death among them in a manner which they could not avoid or comprehend ; and although the Christians are no longer considered as divine, yet the Indians are so little accustomed to or understand the nature of firearms, that it is natural to suppose the danger of these weapons is greater in their minds than the reality.
Accustomed to war among themselves with the lance, it is a danger also that they have not been taught to encounter ; for it is well known that men can learn to meet danger, and that they be«ome familiar with its face, when, if the mask be changed and it appear with unusual features, they again view it with terror. But even supposing that the Indians have no superstitious fear of firearms, but merely consider their positive eifects, is it not natural that they should fear them? In Europe, or in England, what will people with sticks in their hands do against men who have firearms ? Why, exactly what the naked Indians have been accused of doing — run away. And who would not run away?
But the life which the Indian leads cannot but satisfy any unpre- judiced person that he must necessarily possess high courage. His profession is war, his food is simple, and his body is in that state of health and vigour that he can rise naked from the plain on which he has slept, and proudly look upon his image which the white frost has marked out upon the grass, without inconvenience. What can we " men in buckram " say to this?
The life of such a people must (Sir Francis remarks) be very interest- ing, and I always regretted that I had not time to throw off my clothes and pay a visit to some of the tribes, which I should otherwise certainly have done, as, with proper precautions, there would have been little to fear ; for it would have been curious to have observed the young sporting about the plains in such a state of wild nature, and to- have listened to the sentiments and opinions of the old ; and I would gladly have shivered through the cold nights, and have lived upon mare's flesh in the day, to have been a visitor among them.
From individuals who had lived many years among them (Sir Francis- continues), I was informed that the religion of the Pampas Indians is very complicated. They believe in good spirits and bad ones. If any of their friends die before they have reached the natural term of life (which is very unusual), they consider that some enemy has pre-
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313
vailed upon the evil spirit to kill their friend, and they assemble to- determine who this enemy can be. They then denounce vengeance against him. These disputes have very fatal consequences, and have
the political effect of alienating the tribes from one another, and of preventing that combination among the Indians which might make them much dreaded by the Christians.
They believe in a future state, to which they believe they will be transferred as soon as they die. They expect that they will then be
314 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
•constantly drunk, also that they will always be hunting ; and as the Indians gallop over their plains at night, they will point with their long spears to constellations in the heavens, which they say are the figures of their ancestors, who, reeling in the firmament, are mounted upon horses swifter than the wind, and are hunting ostriches. They bury their dead, but at the grave they kill several of their best horses, as they believe their deceased friend would otherwise have nothing to ride. Their marriages are very simple. The couple to be married, as soon as the sun sets, are desired to lie on the ground with their heads to- wards the west. They are then covered with the skin of a horse, and as soon as the sun rises at their feet they are pronounced to be married.
The Indians are very fond of any intoxicating liquor, and when they are at peace with Mendoza and some of the other provinces, they often bring skins of ostriches, and hides, to exchange for knives, spurs, and liquor.
The day of their arrival they generally get drunk, but before they indulge in this amusement they deliberately deliver up to their cacique their knives, and any other weapon they possess, as they are fully aware that they will quarrel as soon as the wine gets into their heads. They then drink till they can hardly see, and fight, and scratch, and bite for the rest of the evening. The following day they devote to .selling their goods, for they never will part with them on the day on which they resolve to be tipsy, as they conceive that in that state they would be unable to dispose of them to advantage.
They will not sell their skins for money, which they declare is of no use, but exchange them for knives, spurs, mate, and sugar. They refuse also to buy by weight, which they do not understand ; so they mark out upon a skin how much is to be covered with sugar, or any- thing of the sort which they desire to receive in barter for their property. After their business is concluded they generally devote another day to Bacchus, and when they have got nearly sober they mount their horses, and with a loose rein, and with their new spurs, they stagger and gallop away to their wild plains.
With regard to the sandy deserts of South America, they are chiefly found surrounding the broad waters of the Paraguay river, and south- ward, at some distance from the western banks of that river, extends the sandy desert of the Gran Charo, to which reference has already been made. The district of Atacama belongs to the department of Potosi, in Bolivia, and comprehends all the country of the Bolivian
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 815
a'epublic, which lies to the west of the Andes along the Pacific Ocean. It is divided into Upper and Lower. The lower country presents over nearly all its surface nothing but an uninhabited and uninhabitable desert, consisting of wide plains covered with a dark brown, and in some places quite black, sand, with here and there a streak of white. In the plains rise some high ridges, and a few immense rounded knolls, but in no part are any traces of vegetation to be discovered. This description is particularly applicable to the southern part, which •extends towards the boundary of Chili, in which many Spaniards perished for want of water at the time of the first Conquest.*
In connection with this subject we may here introduce a beautiful passage from Humboldt's Views of Nature.
" At the foot of the lofty granitic range which, in the early age of our planet, revisited the irruption of the waters on the formation of the Caribbean Gulf, extends a vast and boundless plain. When the traveller turns from the Alpine valleys of Caraccas, and the island- studded Lake of Nicaragua, whose waters reflect the forms of the neighbouring bananas, when he leaves the fields verdant with the light and tender green of the Tahitian sugar-cane, or the sombre shade of the cacao groves, his eye rests in the south on steppes, whose seeming elevations disappear on the distant horizon.
" From the rich luxuriance of organic life, the astonished traveller suddenly finds himself on the dreary margin of a treeless waste. . . . Like a limitless expanse of waters, the steppe fills the mind with a sense of the infinite. . . . But the aspect of the ocean, its bright surface diversified with rippling or gently- swelling waves, is productive of pleasurable sensations — while the steppe lies stretched before us, cold and monotonous, like the naked stony crust of some desolate planet.
"In all latitudes Nature presents the phenomenon of these vast plains, and each has some peculiar character or physiognomy, deter- mined by diversity of soil and climate and by elevation above the level of the sea.
" In Northern Europe the heaths, which, covered by one sole form of vegetation to the exclusion of all others, extend from the extremity of Jutland to the mouth of the Scheldt, may be regarded as true steppes. . . .
* Hughes.
316 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
' ' The plains in the interior of Africa present a grander and im- posing spectacle. Like the wide expanse of the Pacific they have remained unexplored until recent times. They are portions of a sea of sand, which towards the east separates fruitful regions from each other, or incloses them like islands, as the desert near the basaltic mountains of Harudseh, where, in the oasis of Siwah, rich in date- trees, the ruins of the Temple of Ammon indicate the venerable seat of early civilisation. Neither dew nor rain refreshes these barren wastes, or unfolds the germs of vegetation within the glowing depths of the earth ; for everywhere rising columns of hot air dissolve the vapours and disperse the passing clouds.
"Wherever the desert approaches the Atlantic Ocean, as between Wadi Nun and the White Cape, the moist sea air rushes in to fill the vacuum caused by these vertically ascending currents of air. The navigator, in steering towards the mouth of the River Gambia, through a sea thickly carpeted with weeds, infers, by the sudden cessation of the tropical east wind, that he is near the far-spreading and radiating sandy desert.
" Flocks of swift-footed ostriches and herds of gazelles wander over this boundless space. With the exception of the newly-discovered group of oasis, rich in springs, whose verdant banks are frequented by nomadic tribes of Tibbos and Tuaricks, the whole of the African deserts may be regarded as uninhabitable by man. It is only periodi- cally that the neighbouring civilised nations venture to traverse them. On tracks whose undeviating course was determined by commercial intercourse thousands of years ago, the long line of caravans passes from Tafilet to Timbuctoo, or from Mourzouk to Bornon ; daring enter- prises, the practicability of which depends on the existence of the camel, the ship of the desert, as it is termed in the ancient legends of the East.
" On the mountainous range of Central Asia, between the Gold or Altai Mountain and the Kuen-lun, from the Chinese Wall to the further side of the Celestial Mountains, and towards the Sea of Aral, over a space of several thousand miles, extend, if not the highest, certainly the largest steppes in the world. . . . The vegetation of the Asiatic steppes, which are sometimes hilly and interspersed with pine forests, is in its groupings far more varied than that of the Llanos and the Pampas of Caraccas and Buenos Ayres. The more beautiful portions of the plains, inhabited by Asiatic pastoral tribes,
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are adorned with lowly shrubs of luxuriant white-blossomed rosace se ; crown imperials (fritillurise), cypripedese ; and tulips. As the tori id zone is in general distinguished by a tendency in the vegetable forms to become arborescent, so we also find that some of the Asiatic steppes of the temperate zones are characterised by the remarkable heights to which flowering plants attain ; as, for instance, saussurese, and other
SOUTH AMERICAN PUMA.
synantherese, all siliquose plants, and particularly numerous species of astragalus. On crossing the trackless portions of the herb-covered steppes in the low carriages of the Tartars, it is necessary to stand upright in order to ascertain the direction to be pursued through the copse-like and closely-crowdei plants that bend under the wheels. Some of these steppes are covere i with grass ; others with succulent, everg:een, articulated alkaline plants; while many are radiant with
318 TPIE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
the effulgence of lichen-like tufts of salt, scattered irregularly over the- clayey soil like new-fallen snow. . . .
"Like the greater part of the Desert cf Sahara, the Llanos, the- most northern plains of South America, lie within the torrid zone. Twice in every year they change their whole aspect, during one-half of it appearing waste and barren like the Libyan desert ; during the other covered with verdure, like many of the elevated steppes of Central Asia."
CHAPTER XIII.
Colombia — Its Political Divisions — Aspect of tlie Country — Its Mountain Eange — Pampas, Llano?, Savannahs— Wealth of the Country — The Pearl Fishery — Agriculture — Great Natural Riches — Ecuador— New Granada Venezuela.
/COLOMBIA is an extensive region in the north part of South ^ America. It is bounded on the north by the Caribbean Sea ; on. the cast by British Guiana and Brazil; on the south by Brazil and Peru ; and on the west by the Pacific Ocean and the republics of Central America. It includes, in 1,156,000 square miles, the republics of Now Granada, Venezuela, and Ecuador. The geographical division of the Country is into three zones; the first comprises the country between the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea and the Andes; the second the mountainous region; and the third the immense savannahs which stretch south and east to the Amazon, and the mountains bordering on the Orinoco.
The great Cordillera of the Andes enters the province of Loxa from the sotith> where it is nearly fifteen thousand feet in height ; it divides into two parallel ridges, in the elevated valley between which, nine thousand feet above the level of the sea, Quito and other towns are situated. East of this valley rise the summits of Copaurcu, sixteen thousand three hundred and eighty feet, Tungaragua, sixteen thousand seven hundred and twenty, Cotopaxi, seventeen thousand nine hundred and fifty, and Guyambu, eighteen thousand one hundred and eighty feet ; and on its west side those of Chimborazo, twenty thousand one hundred, Henisa, sixteen thousand three hundred and two, and Petchincha, fifteen thousand three hundred and eighty feet high ; all covered with perpetual snows, from amidst which torrents of flame and lava have frequently burst and desolated the surrounding country. These two ranges afterwards unite, but near one degree north aga'n
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separate, inclosing the lofty valley of Pastes, bounded by the stilt active volcanoes of Azufsal, Gambal, and others, as well as the extinct one of Chiles. Beyond Pastes the Cordilleras consist of three rangesr the most west, the elevation of which is generally less than five thousand feet, follows the coast of the Pacific, and terminates in the Isthmus of Panama; the central range is interposed between the valleys of the Cauca and Magdalen rivers, and terminates near Mompox; and the third, being the most east and highest range, extends to the extremity of the Parian promontory. This last-named range divides the waters which flow into the Orinoco on its east from the Magdalena, Zulia, Tocuyco, and their affluents on its west side. Many of its summits reach above the limit of perpetual snow ; and it has numerous lower summits, called paramos, which rise to ten thousand or twelve thousand feet above the level of the sea, and are constantly enveloped in damp and thick fogs. The city of Bogota, eight thousand one hundred feet above the sea, is built on a table-land formed by this mountain range, as are the towns of Migua, San Felipe el Fuerte, Barquesimoto, and Tocuyo ; but these are at a much lower elevation than Bogota, the mountain decreasing in height very con- siderably north of Merida. The mean elevation of the Andes in Colombia is about eleven thousand one hundred feet ; their altitude is greatest near the equator. In Venezuela there is another mountain system, unconnected with the Andean, from which it is separated by the Orinoco, and the plains of Caraccas, Varinas, and those in the east parts of New Granada. This system has been called the Cordillera, or Sierra of Parima. It is less a chain than a collection of granitic mountains, separated by small plains, and not uniformly dis- posed in lines; its mean height is not above three thousand five hundred feet, although some summits rise to upwards of eight thousand feet above the level of the sea.
Colombia includes the most northerly of the three great basins of the South American continent, the llanos of Varinas and Caraccas,' which, like the pampas of Buenos Ayres, consist of savannahs or steppes devoid of large trees. These, in the rainy season, appear from the high lands as a boundless extent of verdure, but in time of drought they are a complete desert. Humboldt remarks that " there is some- thing awful, but sad and gloomy, in the uniform aspect of these steppes." "I know not," he says, "whether the first sight of the llanos excites less astonishment than that of the Andes. The plains of
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the west and north of Europe present but a feeble image of these. All around us the plains seemed to ascend towards the sky, and that vast and profound solitude appeared like an ocean covered with sea- weeds." The chief characteristic of these steppes, like those of North Asia, is the absolute flat of one hundred and eighty leagues which •extends from the mouths of the Orinoco to Araure and Ospinos, and from San Carlos to the savannahs of the Caqueta for two hundred leagues. This resemblance to the surface of the sea strikes the imagination most powerfully where the plains are altogether destitute of palm-trees, and where the mountains of the shore and of the Orinoco are so distant that they cannot be seen. Occasionally, however, fractured strata of sandstone, or compact limestone, stand four or five feet higher than the plain, and extend for three or four leagues along it ; and convex eminences of a very trifling height separate the streams which flow to the coast from those that join the Orinoco. The phenomena of the mirage, and the apparitions of large lakes, with an undulating surface, may frequently be observed. These savannahs are watered by the numerous streams which form the Meta, the Apure, and finally the Orinoco, and the periodical overflowings of which convert the whole •country, during five months of the year, into an inland sea. The equally well- watered plains of Ecuador are intersected by numerous large branches of the Amazon, and form a part of the great central basin of the continent.*
Cocoa, coffee, cotton, indigo, sugar, tobacco, hides, cattle, and Brazil wood are the principal articles of culture and commerce ; the grain and the nutritious roots known in the West Indies by the name of ground provisions, are produced only in sufficient quantities for home consumption. Maize is grown everywhere, and when ripe is pounded in wooden mortars into a coarse meal, there being no more perfect machinery for grinding it. Wheat is grown on the higher lands, especially in New Granada, where it succeeds as well as in England, and often yields forty bushels an acre ; two crops may be produced in a year. A substitute for bread is found in cassava, which is procured by a process similar to that for making starch from the yuca root ; the plantain is to the mass of the natives what the potato has become .to the poor of Ireland; the rice of Colombia is indifferent. Cocoa (properly the cacao nut) is principally grown in Venezuela, on
* McCulloch.
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the rich soil of the coast, in Varinas, and Guayaquil. It does not come into full bearing till after eight or nine years' growth, but after that continues in produce from twenty to thirty years, bearing two crops a year with little trouble or expense. Previously to the revolution, Venezuela yielded nearly two hundred thousand fanegas — a fauega of land being about two acres and a half English — of one hundred and ten pounds each, the value of which was nearly five million dollars ; this quantity at that time was two -thirds of all the cacao then made use of. The cultivation of cacao has, however, diminished; that of coffee having been in part substituted for it. Coffee has been intro- duced into almost all the temperate valleys of Venezuela, and the province of Santa Martha and Mariquita in New Granada; but its culture is conducted with less care than in the West Indian Islands. Its produce and the trade in it have, however, increased rapidly since the revolutionary war, and it now forms by far the greatest article of export.
Cotton is grown in all parts of the country, but principally in the valleys of Aragua, and the provinces Cartagena and Maracaybo. The produce is said to be inferior in quality to that from the uplands of North America, which is in great measure owing to the defective mode generally followed of cleaning and depriving it of the seed. In the province Cartagena the plant is grown upon newly- cleared land, be- tween successive crops of maize. Before the revolution, the quantity exported from Caraccas amounted to between two and three million pounds, and the export from the coast of New Granada was still greater ; at present its growth for export is insignificant. Indigo is cultivated principally in the valleys of Aragua and the province Varinas, and formerly was exported in large quantities, but the com- petition in this article which British skill and capital has produced iu Hindostan, materially affects this branch of agriculture. The tobacco of Caraccas is greatly superior to that of Virginia, yielding only to that of Cuba and the Rio Negro ; in some places, as at Cumanacoa, it is even superior to the latter. Under the Spanish regime, the culture . and sale of tobacco were monopolised by the government. All indi- viduals authorised to raise it were registered, and the entire produce was brought to the government depots (estancos), and sold to its agents at a certain fixed price, who again sold it to the consumer at a large advance. The Colombian congress originally abolished this among other monopolies ; but finding that they could not spare the revenue
Y
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of which it was productive, it was again revived. The cultivation of the plant had, however, from some cause or other, so much declined, that the revenue derived from the monopoly ceased to be of any material importance, and a law passed the congress for its abolition on the 1st of June, 1834. The works (trapiclies) erected in different parts of the country for the fabrication of sugar were mostly destroyed during the revolutionary war, and very few of them have since been repaired. No sugar is now exported, and the half-inspissated juice of the cane is only used for confectionery, or is eaten by the natives with their chocolate.
From what has been said it will be evident that Colombia is a country of great natural riches, suffered to lie for the most part waste. Were its inhabitants of an active and industrious disposition, and its resources developed even in a moderate degree, it would be one of the richest and most important countries in the world. Previously to the arrival of Columbus the horse and ox were unknown in the New World, but the llanos are now covered with herds of both. In the early part of the present century it was estimated that there were from the mouths of the Orinoco to the lake Maracaybo, one million two hundred thousand oxen, one hundred and eighty thousand horses, and ninety thousand mules — an estimate which Humboldt thought too low. Sheep and goats 'are plentiful in the table-lands of Bogota; animal food is cheap and much consumed ; and hides, wool, and cheese form a prin- cipal portion of rural produce. Agriculture generally is in a very low state, and the government have been lately desirous to promote its improvement by encouraging foreign settlers, and disposing of the waste lands to them at a low rate, and exempting them for a period from taxes. Few people possess estates of five thousand pounds a year — five thousand dollars are reckoned a good income. Near Pamplona the grounds are surrounded with stone-wall hedges, which give an air of proprietorship not often seen ; and in the valley of Serinze (New Granada) a similar plan is adopted, and cultivation is in a tolerably advanced stage. Commonly, however, the natural indolence of the natives precludes this.
Venezuela occupies the greater part of the northern shores of South America and the adjacent countries. Near the parallel of 9 deg. north latitude, it extends from east to west, from Punta Barima, 60 deg. west longitude, to the mountains of Ocana, 73 deg. 30 min. west longi- tude, and nine hundred miles in length. The greatest width is in the
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meridian of Cape Codera, 66 deg. 15 min. west longitude, where it extends from the line of Brazil 1 deg. to 10 deg. 40 min. north latitude, or more than six hundred and sixty miles from south to north. But its most northern point, Punta Galliona, is 12 deg. 25 min. north latitude.
On the east it borders on British Guiana, and on that part of the Brazilian province of Rio Negro which comprehends the basin of the Rio Branco. The boundary -line between Venezuela and the British possessions has never been determined, and that which separates the Republic from Brazil runs through countries which are almost un- known. The line of separation is north of 1 deg. north latitude, on the banks of the Guainia, or Rio Negro, between S. Carlos del Rio Negro and S. Jose de Marabitanos. New Granada is west of Vene- zuela. On the south, the boundary begins at a point about fifty miles west of S. Carlos, and thence runs due north, cutting the Rio Negro above Maroa, and proceeding to the Orinoco, where that river turns northward at the mouth of the Rio Atabapo.
The boundary of Venezuela includes the most northern portion of the Eastern Andes of New Granada — namely, the paramos of Porquera and others. Though the most elevated part of this region rises above the line of vegetation, the valley, slopes, and table-lands which extend on both sides are very fertile, producing, according to their elevation, the grains and fruits of Europe or those of tropical countries. The physical character of that part of Venezuela west of the Lake of Mara- caybo is not known, as it is in possession of two independent tribes. It is partly covered with trees, and partly extends in woodless plains. That portion of the range west of the Gulf of Trieste has an arid soil, and suffers frequently from want of moisture. Coffee is successfully cultivated in some parts. The remainder of this mountain-region, which, with the exception of the coast, receives abundant rains, is also distinguished by the great fertility of its valleys. About one-half of the plains of the Orinoco lie within Venezuela. The river Manapiere may be considered as separating the Llanos de Barcelona from those of Caracas and Varinas, which are also called cattle plains, on account of the numerous herds of cattle which they feed. The country sur- rounded by Rio Orinoco is nearly covered with the ridges of the Prime Mountains, of which about one -half are included in Venezuela. The mountains are generally covered with trees. Level plains extend south of the upper course of the Orinoco, which are covered with trees,
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and very fertile, but nearly uninhabited, owing to the superabundance of rain and the unhealthiness of the climate.
Owing to the different degrees of heat and moisture which prevail in the different regions of Venezuela, there is a great variety of pro- ducts. The cerealia and fruits of Europe succeed only in a compara- tively small extent of country. In some parts only tropical grains and roots, with maize and rice, are cultivated. The objects of agriculture which are cultivated with a view to exportation are cacao, coffee, tobacco, indigo, and cotton ; the sugar-cane is also cultivated, but the produce is consumed in the country. The forests produce several kinds of wood suitable for dyeing and cabinet-work; vanilla and sarsaparilla are collected in quantities sufficient to form articles of export. The most important articles of export are derived from the Llanos de Caracas and Yarinas, consisting of mules, ox hides, and jerked beef. Pearls were formerly fished along the northern coast on both sides of the island of Cubagua, but at present the fishery is not so productive. The mineral wealth of Venezuela is not great; silver mines were formerly worked ; gold is found in the small river Aroa, which falls into the sea south of the mouth of the Rio Tocayo, and in the neighbourhood a rich mine of copper is worked. There are un- equivocal indications of iron, alum, sulphur, and some other minerals ; salt in considerable quantity is collected in the lagoons of the peninsula of Araya and in the vicinity of Cora.
The population is somewhat vaguely estimated at nine hundred thousand, consisting of whites, negroes, and a numerous mixed class.
Unless the rudest arts of civilised life are considered as belonging to manufacturing industry, this branch of business can hardly be said to exist in Venezuela.
The eastern coasts of Venezuela were discovered by Columbus, in his third voyage, in 1498, and the western by Alonzo de Ojeda, in 1500. The Spaniards had some trade with the native tribes, and a few missionaries attempted unsuccessfully to convert them. The progress of the country towards civilisation was slow in the seventeenth century, but in the eighteenth was more rapid, owing chiefly to the smuggling trade carried on between the Dutch and English colonies in the Columbian Archipelago. The advantage derived from this trade made the Creole inhabitants of the country aware of the still greater profits which might accrue from a free trade, and which they could only obtain by a separation from Spain. A revolution took place in 1810,
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and on the 5th of July the independence of Caracas, as the country was then called, was proclaimed. This was soon followed by a war, and lasted to 1823, when the Spaniards gave up their best possession, Puerto Cabello.
New Granada occupies the north-western part of South America. On the east it borders on the Republic of Venezuela, on the north the Caribbean Sea. On the west of it is Central America. Further south it is washed by the Pacific. Within these boundaries are included the whole of the ranges of the Western and Central Andes, together with the mountain region which unites their northern extremities, and occupies the country between 5 deg. and 8 deg. north latitude, east of the course of the Rio Magdeleria. These regions differ greatly in their productive powers and in healthiness. The first region is said to have a good soil and generally healthy climate. The greatest part is covered with trees, but also contains considerable savannahs, with good pasture ground. The second region contains the paramos of the Andes, which are extensive table -lands on the summits of the range, nearly without vegetation, but they occupy a small portion, the remainder being in general very fertile. The north-western districts have tropical products. In the vales of the third region tropical plants are cultivated. The fourth region has an arid and rocky soil, and a very small portion of it is cultivated, but it is rich in gold and silver ; it is very thinly settled. The fifth region is distinguished by fertility, as the greater part of its surface is an alluvium ; but, being very unhealthy owing to the superabundance of moisture and the quantity of stagnant water, it is very thinly settled, except along the banks of the Rio Magdelena. The seventh region is a continuous forest, unhealthy in the highest degree from the incessant rains and the great heat. Numerous small and deep Alpine lakes occur in the slopes of the mountain ridges and on the paramos, but large lakes are not numerous in the interior.
There is a great difference of climate between the paramos, the elevated table-land of Bogota, the vales of the Magdelena and Cauca, and the low districts along the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific, and this difference produces a corresponding variety in productions.
The European cerealia, with potatoes, and the aracacha root are the principal objects of agriculture on the table-land of Bogota, and in the districts north of it along the western declivity of the Eastern Andes. In the vales of the great rivers, and on the low plains along the coast, maize, plaintains, and several roots are cultivated for food. Cotton,
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cacao, tobacco, and sugar are cultivated as articles of commerce, but the last-mentioned article is not considerable. The woods contain many kinds of useful trees, and a few of them furnish articles of export, as the brasiletto and fustic from the forests which inclose the Sierra de Santa Marta. Considerable quantities of cinchona and ipecacuanha are collected, the latter on the banks of the Rio Magdelena, the former on the Sierra de Santa Marta, and the Andes of Merida, Santa Fe, and Popayan. The balsam of Tolii is collected on the banks of the Rio Sinu. On the plains largo herds of cattle feed, and supply jerked beef and hides as articles of commerce. Pearls are procured in small quantities in the Bay of Panama. Gold is found in the Central and Western Andes. The population is small and of mixed tribes.
Ecuador, deriving its name from its position under the equator, has an area the actual extent of which has never been definitely marked, but it is probably not far from 250,000 square miles. It is decidedly a mountainous country. The Andes extend over the greatest part of its territory, spreading out in elevated plateaux, and rising in lofty peaks from these elevated plains. The people have given the name of kudo, knot or group, and also of paramo, cold, bleak desert, to these plateaux, many of which, though maintaining the same elevation, are anything but level. Twenty-two of the mountains of Ecuador rise above the line of perpetual snow, and others rise to the height of ten thousand feet. Of these the majority are volcanoes, some constantly active, others occasionally so, some throwing out lava and scoriae, others pouring down on the valleys below rivers of hot and sulphurous waters and huge masses of semi-liquid mud. In the eastern range the highest mountain, Cayambi, has an altitude of 19,813 feet ; Chimborazo is the highest mountain in the western range, having an elevation of 21,371 feet.
The precious metals are mostly found in the department of Quito and Assuay, though some gold is washed from the sands of the rivers in Guayaquil. The province of Oriente is said to be particularly rich in gold and silver, but it is mainly populated by Indians, who most care- fully conceal from all strangers the localities where these treasures are to be found. Indeed, with regard to the golden wealth of Ecuador, it has not been profitably worked for many years past ; this in a great measure is easily accounted for by the troubled condition of the Republic, but that its auriferous ores are of extreme value there is no reason to doubt. At the tune of the discovery of the country it was
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remarkable for its yield of precious stones, particularly for its rubies and emeralds of large size, but the Spaniards readily appropriated all that were to be got, and were never scrupulous as to the means they took to satisfy their cupidity.
In the mountain slopes of Ecuador medical science finds many of its choicest remedies. There grows in abundance the cinchona -tree, which yields the Peruvian bark and the quinine of commerce ; sarsa- parilla, ipecacuanha, balsam of Tolu, vanilla, canella, copaiba, gentian, valerian, cassia fistula, the croton tiglium, from which is obtained the croton oil of commerce ; solanum dulcama, ratania, the root of which is the rantany of the druggists ; the liquid amber, the bitter cucumber, the poppy, and the guaco, warranted to heal the bite of the rattlesnake. All these long names, significant of all things disagreeable in the way of physic, are scarcely so pleasant as a fine yield of gold and silver — the medicine lands not, as a general rule, being so acceptable as a game of play on Tom Tidler's ground ; but still these things are not to be despised, and when prostrated by sickness, trembling at the approach of the black camel, we willingly enough exchange our gold for physic. Ecuador would therefore be a very useful land, if only for the supplies which it furnishes to the druggist.
The rivers of Ecuador are of two classes : those which discharge their waters into the Pacific, and have a short and precipitous course ; and those which, rising in the Andes, descend their eastern slope and unite with the Amazon or some of its branches, forming a part of the great fluvial system of the Amazonian basin. Many of these are navigable for a considerable distance. The principal rivers discharging into the Pacific are the Mira, the Onzora, the Ostiones, the Esmeraldas, once famous for its emeralds, and the most considerable. It rises in the vicinty of Cotopaxi, near the sources of the Napo and the Pastaza, and after a long and circuitous course, discharges its waters into the Pacific.
Although lying directly under the equator, many portions of Ecuador enjoy a mild and delightful temperature, a perpetual spring or autumn. The sea- coast is low, hot, and sickly, but as we proceed towards the interior we find the valleys lying between the ranges of mountains possessing a warm but not hot climate, and producing abundantly all the tropical and many of the temperate fruits. In the valley of Quito the temperature is the most equable on the whole surface of the globe. There are but two seasons in the Ecuadorian
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climate : the winter, or the rainy season, commences in December and ends in May, the other, called summer or the windy season, begins in May or June, and ends in November. The former is a season, not of perpetual rain, but of frequent and fertilising showers; during the summer rain seldom falls.
A few words may now be devoted to British Guiana.
The whole surface of the coast lands of British Guiana is on a level with the high water of the sea. When these lands are drained, banked, and cultivated, they consolidate and become fully a foot below it. It requires, therefore, unremitting attention to the dams and sluices to keep out the sea, one inundation of which destroys a sugar estate for eighteen months, and a coffee one for six years. The original cost of damming and cultivating is fully paid by the first crop, and the duration of the crops is from thirty to fifty years ; so that, though great capital is required for the first outlay, the comparative expense of cultivation is a mere trifle compared with that of the West India islands, not- withstanding that the expense of works, buildings, and machinery may be treble or quadruple, being built on an adequate scale for half-a- century of certain production.
Between the first and second chains of hills are some extensive savannahs, which approach the sea-shore east of the River Berbice. South of the Pacaraima chain and the Rupunoony are others still more extensive, but not so well watered. In the latter region are situated the small lake of Amucu and the frontier settlement of Pirara. With the exception of these savannahs, and the swamps on the Berbice, the interior is mostly covered with hill ranges and dense forests.
The greatest slope of the country is towards the north, in which direction run the principal rivers. The chief of these is the Essequibo, which rises in the Sierra Acarai, about forty miles north of the equator, and discharges itself into the ocean by an estuary nearly twenty miles wide, after a course of at least six hundred and twenty miles. Its entrance is much impeded by shoals, and it is navigable for sailing vessels for only about fifty miles from its mouth. According to the volume of water, its current is more or less strong, but it is seldom more than four knots an hour, even during the rainy season. The Corentyn rises about latitude 1 deg. 30 min., and longitude 57 deg., and discharges itself also by an estuary twenty miles wide. Between these two rivers run the Berbice and the Demerara ; the former may be ascended for one hundred and sixty-five miles by vessels drawing
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329
seven feet water ; the latter is navigable for eighty-five miles above Georgetown, which is situated near its mouth. The Mazaruni, Cuyuni, and others, affluents of Essequibo, are the other principal streams.
SOUTH AMERICAN BELLE.
All the large rivers bring down great quantities of detritus, which, being deposited around their mouths and estuaries, renders the whole coast shoal. For twelve or fifteen miles seaward the mud bottom is covered by only three or four feet water.
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The forests abound with trees of immense size, including the mora excdsa, sipari, or green-heart, and many others, yielding the most Yaluable timber, and an abundance of medicinal plants, dye-woods, and others of excellent quality for cabinet-making. Arnotto, so exten- sively used in the colouring of cheese, grows wild in profusion on the banks of the Upper Corentyn. That magnificent specimen of the American flora, the Victoria lieyia, was discovered by Mr. Schoinburgk on the banks of the Berbice. Another indigenous plant deserving of mention is the Jiai-arry, a papilionaceous vine, the root of which con- tains a powerful narcotic, and is commonly used by the Indians in poisoning waters to take the fish. The Indians beat the root with heavy sticks till it is in shreds, like coarse hemp ; they then infuse it, and throw the infusion over the area of the river or pool selected. In about twenty minutes every fish within its influence rises to the surface, and is either taken by the hand or shot with arrows. A solid cubic foot of the root will poison an acre of water, and the fish are not thereby deteriorated.
The staples of the colony are at present sugar, coffee, and cotton ; the two latter were formerly almost exclusively grown, but their culture is now in a great measure superseded by that of the sugar-cane.
The coast regions are the only parts cultivated for sugar ; but many tracts in the interior seem to be equally well fitted for that purpose ; coffee, also, is grown only on the coast ; but, according to Mr. Schoin- burgk, no tract appears better suited for it than the central ridge of the mountains. The Indians have generally some indigenous cotton growing round their huts, and among the Macusis (or the Rupununi) it is raised to a considerable extent. It comes to perfection in most parts of the colony, but is cultivated by the colonists only on the coast, and even there it has of late been nearly abandoned, the planters being undersold by those of the United States.
There ar>e> numerous other products which as yet neither form articles of export nor of internal consumption, for which both the soil and climate are suitable, and which might be raised with advantage were it not for the want of labour. Among these are rice, maize, Indian millet, Victoria wheat, cocoa, vanilla (a native of Guiana), tobacco, and cinnamon. Between the Berbice and the Essequibo there is a tract of many thousand acres, possessing the means of constant irrigation, on a small portion of which three crops a year have been repeatedly raised ; but at present it is nearly all a complete wilderness,
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and will so continue till labour becomes more abundant and cheaper. The coast region, which is covered by a deep layer of vegetable mould, forming what is called a peyass soil, is so extremely fertile that six thousand and even eight thousand pounds of sugar, and from twenty to thirty thousand pounds of plantains, are sometimes produced on an acre ; but in order to cultivate this soil, dams raid embankments, as before stated, are necessary, and agriculture is conducted at a great outlay, and on large estates.
CHAPTER XIY.
Brazil again— Rio de Janeiro — Coffee Grounds — How Coffee is Grown in South America — Something about the Silver River — Something about Patagonia.
T ET us return to Rio. We have said already something about the •M coffee plantations. Let us describe one of them with more detail. A cup of coffee is sometimes more delicious than a bit of gold.
We suppose ourselves already landed at the city of Rio de Janeiro. Being too late to start to-day, we take rooms at the Exchange Hotel, kept by a most respectable Englishman. We can, however, glance at some features of the coffee trade as it appears in Rio. Our hotel fronts to the southward on Rua Direita, the principal business thoroughfare of the city. As we descend to the street we find ourselves amid the bustle of the business centre of this great metropolis of South America. Turning our faces eastward, a few steps bring us to the Praca do Com- mercio (the Merchants' Exchange), and adjoining this the Alfandega, or Custom House. At both these establishments all business is trans- acted between nine in the morning and three in the afternoon. No vessel is allowed to discharge or take in cargo before or after. At the Custom House three or four cargoes of coffee are cleared almost every day, having paid a moderate export duty to the government. Negro- drays (each a cart with five stalwart Africans pulling, pushing, and shouting at the top of their voices), mule-carts, omnibuses, and hacks are all mixed up in apparently inextricable confusion. But above all the confusion of Rua Direita a stentorian chorus of voices is heard *' responding in quick measure to the burden of a song."
Casting our eyes in the direction whence comes this measured suc- cession of musical grunts, we see above the heads of the multitude " a line of white sacks rushing around the corner of Rua de Alfandega "
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(Custom House-street). Elbowing our way through the crowd, we discover that each of these sacks is borne on the head of " a living ebony Hercules." This is a train of Brazilian coffee- carriers. They go in companies of a dozen or twenty each, of whom one selected as captain takes the lead. Their only dress is a short pair of pants, reaching from the waist to the middle of the thigh, the limbs and body being left to the fullest and freest play of the muscles. Each has upon his head a bag of coffee weighing five awabas, or one hundred and sixty pounds ; and they move on at a measured and rapid trot, keeping step with the double-quick time of some wild Ethiopian ditty. In perfect accord with this we have heard a strange, rattling music, which we now perceive proceeds from an instrument resembling exactly the mouthpiece of an ordinary watering-pot. This is partly filled with gravel, corked up, carried in one hand, and rattled in the time of the ditty, in a style resembling that in which a negro barber plays his wisk.
The strength of spinal column and the amount of neck muscle that these coffee -carriers develop are truly astonishing. We saw one of them carry on his head a full-sized crate of crockery; and another carry from Rua Direita to the summit of Corcorado (a distance of three miles, and a height of 2,800 feet), over a rugged mule-path, a box containing a ham, a turkey, a leg of mutton, a roast of beef, ten loaves of bread, two dozen of claret, two dozen of ale, two dozen dinner-plates, three large meat-dishes, and forks, napkins, and other things required for breakfasting and dining a party that made the ascent by moonlight, one fine morning, in order to see the god of day come up from his morning bath in the old Atlantic.
From the time the coffee reaches Rio until it is stowed away in the hold of the vessel, it is all handled and carried by these coffee- carriers, and all in sacks of a hundred and sixty pounds each.
After dinner, and a turn up Rua de Ouridor, which is at once the Rue Vivienne, Regent-street, Broadway, Chestnut-street, and Mont- gomery-street of Rio de Janeiro, though neither very broad nor long, we give orders to be called at five, and retire. We are aroused at the appointed hour, and after our almoco we walk through the city, passing on our way the City Hall, the Mint, the Assembly Building, the Peni- tentiary, and other prominent public buildings, reaching the depot of the famous Dom Pedro Segundo Railway, at the south-west corner of the city, just as the numerous church and convent bells are ushering in the new-born day.
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The first forty miles of the road is in a north-westerly direction, over a level plain, mostly covered with marsh, and a coarse, file-toothed grass, the road having little of interest along it after we leave the
SINGULAR ROCK FORMATION IN BRAZIL.
Palace San Christowaa, which is the emperor's principal residence. This is but three miles out of the city, bordering the railway on the north. The emperor has a summer palace at Fetropolis, thirty-six miles distant, a little above the head of the most magnificent bay in the world.
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We hurry along, with few stoppages, until we reach the foot-hills of the Terra do Mar, or coast range. Thence, in the next forty miles, we make an ascent of four thousand feet, without a single switch-back, the grade being in places three hundred feet to the mile, while some of the curves on the heaviest part of the grade are made to a radius of two hundred and eighty feet. Slowly but steadily we are dragged up, up, up, our "camel-back" engine seeming at times short of breath, and ready to give in. Within these forty miles we are plunged into, and thundered through, seventeen tunnels, one of which is a mile and a half in length, and cost a quarter of a million sterling.' Between these we skirt along, and sometimes over, immense precipices, where we look down into the dizzy depths of the dark and dense Brazilian forest of the ravines and valleys below. As our iron horse stops for food and drink we hear the monkeys and the parrots chattering to- each other in an unknown tongue, and the keel-bill and bell bird put in their ringing reply. The old trees are festooned with mosses and decked with the many-hued flowers of the orchideae (air plants), while the sons of these fathers of the forest are stayed on all sides with the rope-like ipecacuanha, popularly known as cipo in Brazil. Away across the ravine on an opposite slope a sunlit cascade pours its silvery flood into the insatiable depths beneath. We reach the summit at last, where we find an extemporised village of the railroad's creating.
We now start down the western face of the serras, with brakes down and engine reversed, but for all that going at a frightful degree of speed. Down, down, down we rush, head foremost, to the banks of the Parahiba, a river which forms the boundary line between the provinces of Rio de Janeiro and Minas Geraes. This mighty railroad was constructed expressly to develop the resources of the interior coffee regions of Brazil, and to bring the fruits of those broad acres to market. Where this road intersects the Parahiba is a great porto Je embanjfue, or shipping depot of this caminhos tie ferro, or railroad.
The mountain air has been bracing, and we are a little tired and much more hungry ; so the moment our box is opened we follow the lead of other ravenous ones to the taverna. Even here they have the fashionable hours of eating, and though well in the afternoon we are much too early for dinner, so we must order a scyunda almoco (a second breakfast). We are set down to a grilled roach, some jerked beef, black beans, farina, fried potatoes, and the inevitable but ever-welcome cup of coffee. This beverage is almost a syrup, and yet as clear as
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brandy. Brazilians know now to make coffee, as well as to produce it, But we have not yet become accustomed to the strong and almost bitter taste of this condensed extract of the berry whose mysteries we have come to explore, so we take our coffee au la it.
Outside the taverna we confront a thousand or more mules, which we are informed have come in laden with coffee from the neighbouring province. We make our way to the Esta9ao, where we find piled in. every direction thousands of sacks of coffee.
We take a mule each, and cross the Parahiba to see where all this- comes from. Immediately upon reaching the western shore of the river we are plunged into immense forests of coffee. The trees resemble somewhat the Khamnus catharticus, or familiar buckthorn, the colour, size, and character of the berries being different, and the coffee plant having far less spines. The trees are planted about six or eight feet apart each way, and grow naturally from twelve to thirty feet high, although, for the sake of convenience in gathering the fruit, they are seldom allowed to attain a height of more than ten or twelve feet. This region of country is very hilly, and the soil is light, dry, and silicious, the prevalent opinion being that coffee will not thrive in moist ground. If, however, you shall have time, on our return to Rio, to visit Bennett's, in the valley of the Tijuca, just go up to the bath in a spur of the valley, and you will find growing close by the waterside a cafier many times larger and more prolific than any we shall see in Min as Geraes.
The shrubs are transplanted with care from the nursery at one year of age, and in two or three years thereafter become fruitful, and will continue to produce two crops per annum from ten to twenty years. An occasional tree bears well for twenty-five or thirty years, and instead of two there are often three gatherings from the same trees, during the year. The tree is an evergreen, while the blossoms are 3r most delicate white, emitting an exquisite fragrance. We find on the same tree, and indeed on the same twig, the blossom, the newly-formed berry, the green and the matured fruit. When ripe the berry very closely resembles the cranberry in external appearance, though some- what larger. Each berry contains two seeds or grains of coffee in the centre of the pulp, with their fiat sides or faces opposed to each other. Each grain is covered with a tough integument or membrane, and they are additionally separated from each other by a layer of the pulp interposing.
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Each tree produces from one to eight pounds of berries, the average being about three pounds. It is now the gathering season, and we see hundreds of negroes in every direction ; some shaking the berries upon gathering-sheets spread upon the ground, others picking the fruit direct from the trees. A negro will pick about an aroba (thirty-two pounds) of berries per day. These are dried by being spread upon pavements or level tables of ground prepared for the purpose, which pavement or table is called a terrene. These should be sheltered from the sun. As the fruit dries the pulp forms a sort of shell or pod, as we perceive in examining some that have been longer gathered, and which being perfectly dry are now being passed through a coffee huller, a machine in which a fluted roller is closely opposed to a breast- board, between which roller and breast-board the berries are made to pass. The pulp is washed away, leaving the beans free. These are again dried as before, after which the tough membrane is remove'd by a somewhat similar process with heavy rollers. The chaff is next separated by winnowing ; and the coffee is now ready to be bagged and stored, or taken to market.
Coffee, like some other articles of commerce, is greatly improved by age; and for this reason we find immense quantities of it stored for a time, although the difference in market value between the old and the new does not pay the interest on the money. Mocha coffee, it is said, will attain its best savour in three years, while Rio, St. Domingo, Laquayra, Maricaybo, Costa Rica, and all other American coffees require from twelve to fifteen years to perfect their flavour.
We may now take another look at the Silver River — Rio de la Plata. Rio de la Plata is a large river of South America, draining with its numerous affluents the greater part of the states of La Plata, Banda Oriental, and Paraguay, with smaller portions of Bolivia and Brazil. It is formed by the union of two important branches, the Parana and Uruguay, and, gradually increasing in width, becomes a very large •estuary, entering the South Atlantic Ocean between Punta Negra, on the north-east, and Cape St. Antonia, on the south-west, having on its north bank the city and port of Monte Video and the colony of San Sacramento, while on the opposite side, 124 miles from its mouth, is Buenos Ayres. The basin of this great river is estimated to occupy about 1,250,000 square miles, being inferior in extent only to those of the Amazon and Mississippi. Its length, from the source of the Paraguay to its mouth, is about 2,450 miles.
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The longest and most direct river, and that of the largest volume, belonging to this great water system, is the Paraguay, which on receiving the waters of the Parana, at Corrientes, assumes the name of that branch. It has its sources in the low ranges connecting the great mountains of Peru and Brazil, which constitute the watershed between the affluents of the Amazon and those of the Rio de la Plata. Many navigable streams join it from the east as it passes through Brazil, but those on the west side, though not so numerous, are much more exten- sive. Between the seventeenth and nineteenth degrees of south latitude occurs that wide region of swamps called the Lake of Xarayes, which during the periodical inundations of the river is flooded ,80 extensively as to form a great inland sea, stretching from east to west between 200 and 300 miles, and from north to south upwards of 100 miles, with a depth of ten or twelve feet. At the close of the rainy season these waters are carried off by the Paraguay, which is navigable from this point to its mouth, for vessels of forty or fifty tons, a direct distance of 1.200 miles. The other western affluents are tae Pilcomayo and Verm e jo, which fall into it between Assumption and Corrientes, both having their sources in Bolivia, and flowing south-east through the great cliaco or desert. The Pilcomayo, after a course of 1,000 mites, enters the main stream by two branches, about sixty miles apart. It is shallow, and not navigable even by canoes. The Vermejo, which falls into the main river about 135 miles below that last mentioned, rises on the east slope of the Andes, and is navigable for large boats through the whole of the level country for nearly 700 miles.
The Parana — which, as we have before observed, joins the Paraguay at Corrientes, and gives its own name to ite lower part — rises in the table-land of Brazil, hardly 120 miles from the shores of the Atlantic. It flows south, and then curves westward, separating Brazil from Paraguay, and, lower down, divides the latter country from the states of La Plata. It has numerous affluents, but though the main stream be upwards of 1,000 miles in length, it is not navigable for more than 100 miles, owing to the saltos, or falls, the lowest of which, close to the island of Apipe, is in latitude 27 deg. 20 mm. south, and 56 deg. 47 min. longitude west. From this point the river at once becomes navigable for vessels of 300 tons. The most important fall, however, is con- siderably higher up the stream, in latitude 23 deg. 30 min. south, being upwards of fifty feet in height. From Corricntes the united river now flows on, much broken by islands, overrun with trees, and subject to
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 339
inundation. The only considerable tributary of the Parana below Corrientes is the Salado, which rises in the east Cordillera of the Andes, and after a devious course through the mountains, runs south-eastward through the Pampas to its junction with the main river, near Santa Fe, in latitude 31 deg. 40 min. south. Here the Parana divides into numerous branches, formed by pretty large islands, becoming more frequent lower down the stream, which at length opens into the estuary of La Plata by a long but narrow delta, having two principal branches. The depth at the mouth is seldom less than two fathoms, and there is an uninterrupted navigation throughout the year for vessels of 300 tons from Assumption, upwards of 800 miles from the mouth. It has been estimated, says Mr. Darwin, that the river at its source has only a fall of one foot per mile, and much less lower down in its course. Indeed, a rise of seven feet at Buenos Ayres may be perceived 180 miles from the mouth of the Parana. But notwithstanding these advantages, we met during our descent very few vessels. One of the best gifts of Nature seems here wilfully thrown away, so grand a channel of com- munication being left nearly unoccupied — a river in which ships might navigate from a temperate country, as surprisingly abundant in some productions as destitute of others, to another possessing a tropical climate, and a soil perhaps unequalled in fertility in any part of the world. How different would have been the aspect of this country if English instead of Spanish colonists had, by good fortune, first sailed up this splendid river !
The inundations of the Paraguay and Parana bear a close analogy to those of the Nile. Both rivers rise in the torrid zone, nearly at the same distance from the equator, and both, though holding their courses, towards opposite poles, disembogue by deltas in about the same latitude. Both are navigable for very long distances, and both have their periodical risings, bursting over their natural bounds, and inundating immense tracts of country. The Parana begins to rise about the end of December, soon after the commencement of the rainy season in the south tropic, and increases gradually till April, when it begins to fall somewhat more rapidly till the beginning of July. A second rising, called repunte, is occasioned by the winter rains south of the tropic of Capricorn ; but it seldom overflows the banks.
The ordinary average of the increase below Corrientes is twelve feet ; but at Assumption, where the river is more confined, the rise is said to be sometimes as much as five or six fathoms. Occasionally, however,
340 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
these floods are much higher, penetrating into the jungles of the interior, and drowning numbers of wild animals, the carcasses of which poison the air for months afterwards. The river at these times is exceedingly turbid, from the great quantity of vegetable substances and mud brought down by it. The velocity of the stream in the higher and narrower parts at first prevents their deposition, but as it ap- proaches the lower lands, or pampas, they are spread over the face of the country, forming a grey slimy soil, which increases vegetation in a surprising degree. The extent of ground thus covered during the inundations is estimated at 30,000 square miles.
The Uruguay — the other great branch of the estuary of La Plata — takes its name from the numerous falls and rapids which mark its course. It is upwards of 803 miles in length, rising in latitude '21 deg. 30 niiu., on the Sierra de South Catherina, in the province of that name, only about seventy-five miles west of the Atlantic Ocean. Its course is at first nearly due west, but is afterwards turned southward by a mountain-range, separating it from the Parana. It receives several important affluents, of which the Negro, the principal river of Banda Oriental, is the chief. It joins the estuary of La Plata about fifty miles below the junction of the latter, and its clear blue waters may be distinguished from the muddy stream of the Parana for miles after their junction. The country through which the Uruguay flows is of a very uneven and rocky character, in consequence of which the navigation is broken by many reefs and falls, only passable during the periodical floods. Of these the lowest are the Saltos Grande and Chico, in latitude 31 deg. 30 min., about 190 miles above its mouth.
The estuary of the Rio de la Plata, the recipient of these great rivers, is about one hundred and eighty-five miles in length ; its breadth at the mouth being about one hundred and thirty miles, though it gradually becomes narrower, till, opposite Buenos Ayres, it has a width of only twenty-nine miles. The coast on the north side is in general high and rocky ; whereas on the opposite side the shores are low, extending inwards in immense pampas. The depth of the river increases towards the mouth, where it averages ten fathoms ; but at Monte Video it scarcely exceeds three fathoms, and gradually lessens, so that vessels drawing more than sixteen feet of water cannot ascend above Buenos Ayres. East of Monte Video is an immense bank of sand and shells, called the English Bank ; besides which there are many other sandbanks, covered when the river is low with only about
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 341
eight feet of water, one of which, called the Ortiz, is in some parts between eleven and twelve miles in width. The currents are extremely irregular both in rate and direction, a consequence of the immense volume of water brought down at certain seasons by the Parana, as well as of the influence of the winds at the mouth of the river ; indeed, this variability of the winds and currents constitutes one of the chief difficulties in navigating the Plata, which, on this account, has been termed II Injierno de los Marineros.
In calm weather the currents are generally very slack, and almost as regular as tides, setting up and down the river alternately. The effect produced by the pamperos, or south-west gales, so-called from their blowing over the pampas south of Buenos Ayres, is remarkable from the singular fluctuations in the depth of the water before and after their occurrence, the river being always higher than usual when they begin, whereas, after they have continued for a few hours, the water is forced out to sea, so that the sandbanks begin to appear, and on some occasions even the anchoring grounds have been laid bare ! The tides are so much disturbed, and, as it were, hidden by the currents, that it has been affirmed they have no existence ; but, according to the American Coast Pilot, they are clearly discernible in calm weather, though their rise seldom exceeds six feet.
We may now offer a few words about Patagonia, an extensive country of South America. Little, however, is really known respecting this region beyond its vast outline. " The Andes in Patagonia appear to consist of but one Cordillera, the mean height of which may be estimated at 5,000 feet, but opposite Chilloe there are some mountains probably from 5,000 to 6,000 feet in height. The west coast is abrupt, very much broken, and skirted with a great number of irregularly-shaped rocky islands. The east coast has been most explored. The surface of the country appears to rise from the Atlantic to the Andes ; it is a succession of terraces, all of which are alike arid and sterile, the upper soil consisting chiefly of marine gravelly deposits covered with coarse, wiry grass. No wood is seen larger than a small thorny shrub, fit only for purposes of fuel, except on the banks of a few of the rivers subject to inundation, where herbage and some trees are occasionally found. This sterility prevails throughout the whole plain country of Pata- gonia, the complete similarity of which in almost every part is one of its most striking characteristics."
Patagonia was discovered by Magellan in 1519. The following
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particulars respecting the discovery will be read with interest: — Passing the equinoctial line, and losing sight of the polar star, Magellan steered south-south-west, and in the middle of December struck the coast of Brazil. His men made excellent bargains with the natives. For a small comb they obtained two geese ; for a piece of glass, as much fish as would feed ten men; for a ribbon, a basket of potatoes — a root then so little known that Pigafetta describes it as resembling a turnip in appearance, and a roasted chestnut in taste. A pack of playing-cards was a fortune, for a sailor bought six fat chickens with the King of Spades. The fleet remained thirteen days at anchor, and then pursued its way to the southward along the territory of the cannibals who had lately devoured De Solis. Stopping at an island in the mouth of a river sixty miles wide, they caught in one hour penguins sufficient for the whole five ships. Magellan anchored for the winter in a harbour found in south latitude 49 deg., and called by him Port Julian. Two months elapsed before the country was discovered to be inhabited. At last a man of gigantic figure presented himself upon the shore, capering in the sands in a state of utter nudity, and violently casting dust upon his head. A sailor was sent ashore to make similar gestures, and the giant was thus easily led to the spot where Magellan had landed. The latter gave him cooked food to eat, and presented him incidentally with a large steel mirror. The savage now saw his likeness for the first time, and started back in such fright that he knocked over four men. He and several of his companions, both men and women, subsequently went on board the ships, and constantly indi- cated by their gestures that they supposed the strangers to have descended from heaven. One of the savages became quite a favourite ; he was taught to pronounce the name of Jesus and to repeat the Lord's Prayer, and was even baptised by the name of John by the chaplain. This profession of Christianity did the poor pagan no good, for he soon disappeared— murdered, doubtless, by his people, in consequence of his attachment to the foreigners.
The whole description given by Pigafetta of these savages, whom Magellan called Patagonians — from words indicating the resemblance of their feet, when shod with the skin of the llama, to the feet of a bear — is now known to be much exaggerated. It is certain that they were by no means so gigantic as he represented them. He adds, that they drank half a pail of water at a draught, fed upon raw meat, and swallowed mice alive ; that when they were sick and needed bleeding,
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 343
they gave a good chop with some edged tool to the part affected ; when they wished to vomit, they thrust an arrow half a yard down their throat. The headache was cured by a gash in the forehead.
The Patagonia Indians are tall and bulky, and, though not absolutely gigantic, they may be said, after rejecting the exaggerations of the early, and the contradictory statements of later, travellers1 to be the tallest people of whom we have any accounts, the average height of the men being probably not under six feet. Their heads and features are large, but their hands and feet are small ; and their limbs are neither so muscular nor so large -boned as their height and apparent stoutness would induce one to suppose. They are of a dark brown copper colour, with black hair, lank and coarse, and tied above the temples by a fillet of plaited or twisted sinews. A large mantle of guanaco skins, loosely gathered about them, and hanging from the shoulders to the ankles, is, with a kind of drawers and loose buskins, almost their only article of dress, and adds much to the bulkiness of their appearance. They neither pierce the nose nor lips, but disfigure themselves greatly with paint. They lead a wandering life, living in tents formed of poles and skins, and subsisting on the flesh of the wild animals they catch. Both men and women ride on horseback, and are often furnished with saddles, bridles, stirrups, spurs, and Spanish goods of various kinds, which they obtain from Valdivia and other places in South Chili. Their arms consist generally of a long tapering lance, a knife, or a scimitar, if one can be procured, and the lolas, a missile weapon of a singular kind, carried in the girdle, and consisting of two round stones covered with leather, each weighing about a pound. These, which are fastened to the two ends of a string, about eight feet in length, are used as a sling, one stone being kept in the hand, and the other whirled round the head till it is supposed to have acquired sufficient force, when they are together discharged at the object. The Patagonians are so expert at the management of this double-headed shot that they will hit a mark not bigger than a shilling with both the stones at a distance of fifteen yards. It is not customary with them, however, to strike either the guanaco or the ostrich with them, but to discharge them so that the cord comes against the legs of the ostrich, or the fore-legs of the guanaco, and is twisted round them by the force and swing of the balls, so that the animal, being unable to run, becomes an easy prey to the hunters. These people live under various petty chiefs, who, how- ever, seem to possess but little authority.
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The guanaco abounds over the whole of the temperate parts of South America, from the wooded islands of Tierra del Fuego, through Patagonia, the hilly parts of La Plata, Chili, even to the Cordillera of Peru. Its wool is in request, being of a fine texture ; the general colour is rich rufous brown, the head and ears being grey. The neck is peculiarly long, the tail a little raised and curved round ; the height at the top of the shoulders about three and a half feet.
Generally, the guanacos, which go in herds, are wild and extremely wary. The sportsman frequently receives the first intimation of their presence by hearing from a distance the peculiar shrill neighing note of alarm. If he then looks attentively he will perhaps see the herd standing in a line on some distant hill. On approaching them a few more squeals are given, and then oif they set at an apparently slow but really quick canter, along some narrow beaten track to a neigh- bouring hill. If, however, by chance he should abruptly meet a single animal, or several together, they will generally stand motionless, and intently gaze at him, then perhaps move on a few yards, turn round, and look again. That they are curious is certain, for if a person lies on the ground and plays strange antics, such as throwing up his feet in the air, they will approach by degrees to reconnoitre him. This is an artifice frequently practised by sportsmen with success, as it has, moreover, the advantage of allowing several shots to be fired, which are all taken as parts of the performance. Another mode of capturing them by the Indians is for many hunters to join and drive them into a narrow pass, across which cords have been drawn about four feet from the ground, with bits of cloth or wool tied to them at short distances, somewhat in the way adopted by gardeners to keep small birds from the seeds. If there are guanacos among them they leap the cords.
On the first arrival of the Spaniards, llamas were used as beasts of burden ; indeed they were the only animals which the natives had for conveying merchandise from one part to another, of which a hundred- weight was a sufficient load for one of ordinary size, with Avhich they could travel only about fifteen miles a day. The llamas are now only used in high, mountainous districts, as horses are so numerous that they are easily obtained in South America. The flesh is still eaten by- the Indians and settlers, the former regarding it as a great delicacy. Cords and sacks, as well as stuffs for ponchos and other articles, are made from the wool. In Mexico the bones are changed into weaving implements. Even the dung is used for fuel.
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CHAPTER XV.
About California — Its Discovery — How it attained to Notoriety, and won Golden Opinions of all Men— Concerning the Gold Regions— Mr. Butler King's Report — How the Gold was Found — How the News Spread — How the People Gathered— How Fortunes were Made and Lest — Billionaires and Bankrupts — Fraser River— How California got its Name — Gold ! Gold I—- The Ship Canal — Something About San Francisco.
/CALIFORNIA — most golden of the auriferous regions of America V in modern times — was discovered by Don Cabrilla, in the year 1542. Thirty-six years later Sir Francis Drake coasted its shores. It was not colonised by the Spaniards tilllTGS, when several military posts, presidios, and mission stations were set up. Not till about the year 1836 was the country much resorted to either by English or Americans. When, however, settlers began to dwell in "the good land" they were irritated and annoyed by the rule of Mexico, and after the war between the United States and that unhappy country, California was ceded to the Union (1848).
Very shortly after this California attained a marvellous notoriety — it was the modern Opkir ! The discovery of the auriferous deposits rendered it an object of universal interest, directed to her shores an unparalleled amount of emigration, and increased her population, in two or three years, in a tenfold proportion !
The gold region of California, says Mr. Butler King, is between four and five hundred miles long, and from forty to fifty miles broad, following the line of the Sierra Nevada. Further discoveries may, and probably will, increase the area. It embraces within its limits those extensive ranges of hills which rise on the eastern border of the plain of the Sacramento and San Joaquin, and extending east- wardly from fifty to sixty miles, they attain an elevation of about four thousand feet, and terminate at the base of the main ridge of the Sierra Nevada, There are numerous streams which have their sources in the springs of the Sierra, and receive the water from its melting snows, and that which falls in rain during the wet season.
These streams form rivers which have cut their channels through the ranges of foot-hills westwardly to the plain, and disembogue into the Sacramento and San Joaquin. These rivers are from ten to fifteen miles, and some of them probably twenty miles, apart.
The principal formation, or substratum, in these hills is talcose
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 347
slate; the superstratum, sometimes penetrating to a great depth, is quartz. This, however, does not cover the entire face of the country, but extends in large bodies in various directions ; is found in masses and small fragments on the surface, and seen along the ravines, and in the mountains overhanging the rivers, and in the hill sides in its original beds. It crops out in the valleys and on the tops of the hills, and forms a striking feature of the entire country over which it extends. From innumerable evidences and indications it has come to be the universally admitted opinion among the miners, and intelligent men who have examined this region, that the gold, whether in detached particles and pieces, or in veins, was created in combination with the quartz. Gold is not found on the surface of the country presenting the appearance of having been thrown up and scattered in all directions by volcanic action. It is found only in particular localities, and attended by peculiar circum- stances and indications. It is found in the bars and shoals of the rivers, in ravines, and what are called the " dry diggings."
The rivers, in forming their channels, or breaking their way through the hills, have come in contact with the quartz containing the gold veins, and by constant attrition cut the gold into fine flakes and dust, and it is found among the sand and gravel of their beds at those places where the swiftness of the current reduces it in the dry season to the narrowest possible limits, and where a wide margin is consequently left on each side, over which the water rushes, during the wet season, with great force.
As the velocity of some streams is greater than others, so js the gold found in fine or coarse particles, apparently corresponding to the degree of attrition to which it has been exposed. The water from the hills and upper valleys, in finding its way to the rivers, has cut deep ravines, and wherever it came in contact with the quartz, has dissolved or crumbled it in pieces. In the dry season these channels are mostly without water, and gold is found in the beds and margins of many of them in large quantities, but in a much coarser state than in the rivers, owing, undoubtedly, to the moderate flow and temporary continuance of the current, which has reduced it to smooth shapes, not unlike pebbles, but had not sufficient force to cut it into flakes or dust.
The dry diggings are places where quartz containing gold has cropped out, and been disintegrated, crumbled to fragments, pebbles, and^ust, by the action of the water and the atmosphere. The gold has been left, as it was made, in all imaginable shapes, in pieces of
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all sizes, from one grain to several pounds in weight. The evidences that it was created in combination with quartz are too numerous and striking to admit of doubt or cavil. They are found in combination in large quantities. A very large proportion of the pieces of gold found in these situations have more or less^quartz adhering to them. In many specimens they are so combined they cannot be separated without reducing the whole mass to powder and subjecting it to the action of quicksilver. This gold, not having been exposed to the attrition of a strong current of water, retains in a great degree its original con- formation.
These diggings, in some places, spread over valleys of considerable extent, which have the appearance of an alluvion, formed by washings from the adjoining hills, of decomposed quartz, and slate, earth, and vegetable matter. In addition to these facts, it is, beyond doubt, true that several vein-mines have been discovered in the quartz, from which numerous specimens have been taken, showing the minute connection between the gold and the rock, and indicating a value hitherto unknown n gold mining.
These veins do not present the appearance of places where gold may have been lodged by some violent eruption. It is combined with the quartz in all imaginable forms and degrees of richness. The rivers present very striking, and, it would seem, conclusive evidence, respecting the quantity of gold remaining undiscovered in the quartz veins. It is not probable that the gold in the dry diggings, and that in the rivers — the former in lumps, the latter in dust — was created by different pro- cesses. That which is found in the rivers has,Fundoubtedly, been cut or worn from the veins in the rock with which their currents have come in contact. All of them appear to be equally rich. This is shown by the fact that a labouring man may collect nearly as much in one river as he can in another. They intersect and cut through the gold region, running from east to west, at irregular distances of fifteen, twenty, and sometimes thirty miles apart.
Hence it appears that the gold veins are equally rich in all parts of that most remarkable section of country. Were it wanting, there are further proofs of this in the ravines and dry diggings, which uniformly confirm what Nature so plainly shows in the rivers.
We may shortly state that the works, or " diggings," as they are termed, are divided into wet and dry, the former^being^those in the beds of the rivers and streams, and the latter in the higher grounds. It is
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 349
a mistake to suppose that gold is found only in the beds of the rivers. It is distributed through all the detritus of certain valleys, or parts of valleys, and ravines, and is merely exhibited, as it were, in the banks and sands of the rivers and watercourses. The instruments used by the diggers were, in the first instance at least, of the rudest descrip- tion. After being dug up, the ore is placed in a basket or sieve, and washed, to free it from sand, earth, and other impurities. The hard- ships and fatigue hitherto undergone at the diggings have often been very great, and those only who had the advantage of a strong consti- tution could expect to brave them with impunity. Parties in the " wet diggings " are frequently immersed, under a broiling sun, in water up to the knees, or higher, and though the labour in the " dry diggings " be perhaps less dangerous, it also is of a kind that nothing but the auri sacra fames would induce most persons to undertake. It is probable, however, that in consequence of the better settling of the country, these serious drawbacks either have been, or speedily will be, materially abated. The search for gold is occasionally prosecuted for a lengthened period without success, while, on the other hand, some fortunate individuals tumble at once on a rich deposit, where they make large sums, with but little labour, and give fresh stimulus to the hopes and exertions of every one else. In the autumn, fever and ague prevail to a considerable extent in some of the valleys, and have proved fatal to not a few of the diggers.
Quicksilver is also a product of California. The only mine at present worked is situated near San Joseph, within a short distance of the south angle of the bay of San Francisco. It belongs to, or is claimed by, Mr. Forbes, of Tepic, is wrought by miners from Mexico, and is very productive. Quicksilver, and also silver, are said to be found in sundry other places.
It was known from the statements of the earlier visitors of the country that gold had been found, or was believed to exist, in Cali- fornia ; but these statements had been either forgotten or made no impression, and it was not till late in May, or early in June, 1848, that the auriferous deposits were discovered that have attracted so much attention, and have had such wonderful results. They were found on the south fork of the American river, a tributary of the Sacramento, at a place now called Coloma. The news of the discovery, and of the unparalleled richness of the deposits, spread with extraordinary rapidity, and Mr. B. King states that before the end of the season
350 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
about five thousand men had been attracted to the spot, and that their enterprise had been rewarded by the acquisition of gold worth £1,000,000 sterling. During the following winter information of the discovery spread on all sides, and to a great distance, and in the season of 1849 immigrants of all descriptions, and from the remotest countries, including Americans, Mexicans, Peruvians, Chilinos, Europeans, South Sea Islanders, Chinese, and others crowded in swarms to the Sacra- mento and its affluents. A camp of at least ten thousand Mexicans is said to have been formed. " They had," says Mr. B. King, "quite a city of tents, booths, and log cabins, hotels, restaurants, stores, and shops of all descriptions, furnishing whatever money could procure. Ice was brought from the Sierra, and ice-creams added to other luxuries. An inclosure made of the trunks and branches of trees, and lined with cotton cloth, served as a sort of amphitheatre for bull- fights ; other amusements, characteristic of the Mexicans, were to be seen in all directions."
The foreigners resorted principally to the south mines, which gave them a great superiority in numerical force over the Americans, and enabled them to take possession of some of the richest in that part of the country. In the early part of the season the Americans were mostly employed on the forks of the American. As their numbers increased they spread themselves over the south mines, and collisions were threatened between them and the foreigners. The latter, how- ever, from some cause, either fear, or having satisfied their cupidity, or both, began to leave the mines late in August, and by the end of September many of them were out of the country.
Mr. King estimates the gold collected in 1849 at the immense sum of about 40,000,000 doUars, or £8,000,000 sterling ! Since then the immigration into the country has vastly increased, and still greater quantities of gold have been collected. Hitherto it had been princi- pally taken from the north rivers, those which flow into the San Joaquin having been comparatively neglected. But Mr. King says that the latter are believed, by those who have visited them, to be richer than those more to the north.
It is also stated that deposits have been discovered in the Trinity, a river which, rising north of the sources of the Sacramento, flows west to the Pacific, into which it empties itself in about the 40th degree atitude ; and it is further affirmed that gold has been discovered iu other and still more remote localities, or in certain points of the Gila
THE GOLDEN AMEKLCAS. 351
and Colardo. But the truth is that our information is a great deal too scanty and imperfect to enable any estimate to be formed either in regard to the extent or richness of the auriferous region. It is probable that in both respects there has been a good deal of exaggeration. Still, however, there can be no question, as evinced by the quantities already obtained, that the deposits are of the richest description ; and if the surface over which they extend be anything like the reported extent, it will be long indeed before they can be exhausted ; and the influx of the precious metal obtained from them will have a powerful, and, we think, a highly beneficial, effect in all parts of the commercial world.
California was born of a mining excitement. Marshall picked up the first piece of gold at Sutter's Mill, on the 19th of January, 1818 ; on the 7th of March, Humphreys showed the men how to separate the precious metal from the clay and gravel by washing ; and in May, the people of the territory made a general rush to the mines. The first reports of the discovery reached the Atlantic slope in September, and as they were soon confirmed in the most emphatic manner by private letters, by official reports, and by shipments of gold-dust, the eastern states were filled with excitement. It so happened that the news came soon after the close of the Mexican war, from which thousands of young men had just returned, after several years of most exciting adventure. The victors of Buena Vista and Chapaltepec did not feel disposed to spend their lives in planting corn and mauling rails. California was the place for which they had been waiting. The facts that on the Sacramento, men vvithout capital, without experience, without education, and without even association, were making from a hundred to a thousand dollars a day,* that there were rich mines for everybody, that the climate was a perpetual spring, and that the country had great natural resources, besides its mineral wealth — these facts were enough to pro- foundly affect a people like the Americans. And they were profoundly affected. From the lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, and from the Atlantic to the borders of the Indian territory, the chief subjects of conversation in every town, in the spring of 1849, were Calif ornia and the multitudes who were going thither. Fifty thousand of the most active men of the nation went in that year to the new El Dorado, and for four years more an equal number followed annually. They went to a new land, on the other side of the world, on the shore of an ocean almost unknown ; a
* From £20 to £200.
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land of wonders, a land of strange industry, of strange society, and of unexampled rewards for labour and enterprise. Fortunes were made and lost in a month. Everybody was flush of money beyond all expe- rience, and the majority spent it as fast as they got it. The gambling saloons were the places where the bulk of the population met in the evening. There were few women, few homes, no costly houses, or dear furniture. Every man was independent, and most of the miners could carry all their property on their backs without inconvenience.
In the valleys, towns, and cities, although the population was more permanent, business was far from having the steady character which it has in Europe, or the Atlantic states. The hope of a high profit is "better even to-day than the certainty of a small one. We have reversed the proverb, and two birds in the bush are worth more than one in the hand — provided we can come within good range of them before they fly I The isolated situation of the state, its entire dependence for most of the necessaries of life on the Atlantic coast, the small population, the facili- ties for buying up the stocks of merchandise and forestalling the market, led to a multitude of remarkable speculations. The abundance of money, the high rates of interest, the rapid increase of population, the fires and floods, the insecurity of titles, and the general intention among the Californians in early times to return to their old homes, contributed to discourage slow and sure methods of doing business, and to impress the whole state with the stamp of speculation and feverish anxiety to make great fortunes. A considerable proportion of the leading business men are now, and were to a much larger extent eighteen years ago, hopeful of becoming millionaires, but not quite confident of escaping bankruptcy.
But the mining population was especially restless. Every week reports were circulated that new diggings had been found where fifty dollars, or one hundred dollars, or five hundred dollars a day could be made, and many always went to verify the reports, but so many of these stories were circulated, and being told of places near by, were so soon contradicted, that none of them attracted general attention, until January, 1851, when gold was found in the sands at Gold Bluff, on the ocean shore in Klamath county. Half-a-dozen well-known persons answered that the immense masses of sand on the beach contained from three to ten dollars of gold per pound. One gentleman, who went thither for a company, sent them word that their claim would yield forty-three million dollars to each member ! Iii those days, when little
.
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353
was understood about the distribution of gold, this story was not incredible, and scarcely improbable, and in two days after these state- ments were published, eight vessels were advertised in San Francisco for Gold Bluff. Many had started previously, and thousands prepared now to start ; but soon the other side was heard, and, as no confirmation came, the excitement died away almost as rapidly as it arose.
The discovery of the Australian mines occurred in 1851, at the time when the California diggings were still in a very productive condition, and very few left the coast. About the close of 1853 a
AT THE DIGGINGS.
series of false letters, in regard to the opening of rich gold-mines on the head-waters of the Amazon in Peru, were published in the Panama papers, and, as it was supposed that they were written in good faith and had some foundation in fact, they were republished by the public journals of California. They misled a thousand men to go to Callao, and on their arrival there they were astonished to find that the people in Peru had never heard of the new diggings.
The Kern River excitement, in the spring of 1855, surpassed every- thing that had preceded it. In this case, as in several others which had gone before it, a number of false letters, written undoubtedly with a deliberate purpose to deceive, were published. The purpose was attained, for not less than five thousand miners went to Kern River, and as many had prepared to follow them. Men in every branch of
2 A
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employment threw up their business, or sold out at a sacrifice. Labour rose in value, and many farms and mines lay idle for the lack of labourers. It looked for a time as though all other places were to be deserted for Kern River. But in a few weeks it was known that there never had been rich diggings in the valley, and that the few claims which had paid were worked out.
For nearly three years the miners of California enjoyed comparative quiet, and then in the spring of 1858 came the news that rich auriferous deposits had been discovered oa the banks of Fraser River, within a hundred miles of its mouth. The diggings were not extensive, but the gold was fine, implying that it had been carried by the river a consider- able distance, and the opinion was formed from the analogies of California experience that there must be rich and extensive placers in the upper part of the basin of the stream. The Sacramento, the Feather, and the San Joaquin rivers never had any rich bars near their mouths, and they are far from being so large or so long as the Fraser. It was evident that the gold of the bars near Yale had not come from the neighbouring hills, but had been brought down by the current for a long distance. These facts justified the presumption, which, however, was not verified, that the valley of the Fraser must be richer in gold than that of the Sacramento was in 1849 ; and this presumption was the main cause of the Fraser fever. Another cause was that the miners were spoiling for an excitement. Many of the rich placers were exhausted. The line rivers, the gulches, and the shallow flats would no longer pay for white labour. The country was full of men who could no longer earn the wages to which they had become accustomed, and they were unwilling to come down to farming at thirty dollars per month. They had become industriously desperate. They were ready to go anywhere if there was a reasonable hope of rich diggings, rather than submit to live without the high pay and excitement which they had enjoyed for years on the shores of the Sacramento. Many of them had become unfit for the placid and orderly routine of the common labourer in other countries. They were demoralised by prosperity. These men welcomed the rumours that a new California had been found in the basin of the Fraser with joy and enthusiasm. They would not wait for the verification of the rumours. They would not allow others more confident than themselves to go and take up all the good claims. They started with as little delay as possible, and the people of Victoria, through whose town all the news came to San Francisco, were amazed
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 355
at the rush of thousands of Californians for diggings which had yielded little gold, and had been taken up so far as they were known or accessible.
The first notice of the mines was published in March ; on the 20th of April the migration commenced, and in that month five hundred adven- turers went ; in May, two thousand ; in June, nine thousand five hun- dred ; and in the first ten days of July, six thousand to eighteen thousand in all. Nine steamers and twenty sailing vessels were engaged in the trade, the distance being only one thousand miles by sea, and the breezes very favourable to sailers. By the 10th of July more than one voter in six had left the state, and it seemed probable that the migration would continue at the same ratio. The mining counties, having few homes, were the chief sufferers. Some of them lost more than a third of their population. General bankruptcy stared them in the face. Real estate lost from twenty-five to seventy-five per cent, of its market value. The stages were unable to carry the passengers bound to Fraser River as fast as they applied. San Francisco, although the adventurers pur- chased their supplies and spent money there while waiting for the vessels that were to carry them off, suffered also. There was a great decrease in the value of city lands ; lots in Montgomery-street south of Bush, now worth one thousand five hundred dollars, were offered for one hundred dollars per front foot. Several of the wealthiest real estate owners made preparations to " hedge," and save themselves from loss here by buying lots in Victoria. Claims in the mining districts in demand in March at one thousand dollars went begging in June for buyers at one hundred dollars, and the town property in the mountains suffered an equal depreciation. It seemed that the glory of California had departed. But the Fraser fever terminated more suddenly than it commenced. Though there were thousands of skilful miners on Fraser River, up to the 10th of July less than one hundred thousand dollars in gold dust had arrived in San Francisco. Their letters to their friends were not encouraging. They had been told before starting that the river was high with melting snow, and that the bars would not be accessible until low water should come with midsummer, and they were willing to wait ; but those parts above high-water mark did not pay like the high bars of the Yuba and Feather in 1849, and there were no ravine diggings like those of California. Some of the adventurers had succeeded in ascending the river several hundred miles, but they found nothing that came up to their expectations. In Victoria there
356 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
-were eight thousand men without employment, and many of them with- out money. On the 10th of July there were not less than two thousand men in San Francisco ready to sail for Fraser River, and thousands of others in all parts of the state were preparing to start notwithstanding the lack of encouraging news ; but their intentions were changed within two days. The steamer Brother Jonathan, which sailed from the port on the 8th of July, foundered at sea ; and though this disaster proved nothing against Fraser River, it was the shock which crystallised the general idea previously entertained unconsciously that the rush had continued too long. The migration suddenly stopped ; soon the adven- turers began to come back, and in a few months they were nearly all at work in their old places, many of them cured of their desperation by their hardships and privation in British Columbia, and glad to get back on any terms to " God's country," as they called it.
In the spring of 1860 the Washoe excitement began. Silver mining was a new business to the Calif ornians, but they rushed into it furiously. The Comstock Lode was one of the largest and richest silver veins in the world, yet, notwithstanding the inexperience of the miners, it was developed with a speed never witnessed elsewhere. Some of the ore yielded five thousand dollars per ton. In 1863 the mines produced twelve million dollars, more than any other silver district had ever yielded ; and in June of that year the Gould and Curry mine alone was worth, at the market price of the stock, six million dollars, and several others were worth more than one million dollars each. Immense fortunes were made, mostly by residents of San Francisco, who brought their profits there, and used them to enrich and beautify the city. Washoe is nearer to the Golden Gate then is Shasta, or Los Angeles, and all its trade came to California, which, however, did much in return, for three thousand silver mining companies, with thirty thousand stockholders, a nominal capital of one billion dollars, and market value of about fifty million dollars, were organised. Many of these companies employed prospectors, and sent them out travelling over Nevada to find silver mines, and transferred large amounts of money from the western to the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada. Everybody that had any money was crazy for shares in silver mines, of which they knew nothing, and of which their friends knew nothing, and of which, indeed, nothing could be known, as they had never been opened or examined in any way. Usually a certificate of assay was produced to prove that the lode was rich ; but the sample assayed was small, and the only
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 357
evidence that the sample came from the lode in which a claim was to- be sold was the assertion of some unknown individual, while the richness of a genuine sample was no proof of the general character of the lode.
For three years the rush of people and the manufacture of stock went on. The fact that only a dozen mines paid dividends, and that two thousand nine hundred and eighty- eight others cost more than they came to, did not seem to attract or deserve attention, and the excitement continued until it was stopped by a shock. The Gould and Curry mine, which possessed a large deposit of rich ore, had worked it nearly out, with great speed and in a very wasteful manner, but so as to pay splendid dividends. A few of the leading stockholders, having examined the mine and come to the conclusion that the large dividends must soon come to an end, sold their shares and advised their friends to do likewise. A large quantity of the stock was thrown on the market ; the price fell rapidly, and in a year after it was sold for five thousand six hundred dollars, it sold for only nine hundred dollars per foot. The value of that one mine had no influence on the productive- ness of any other ; but its panic produced a similar effect on all the other silver stocks, and the Washoe fever came to an end. The mines which were paying were thenceforth valued according to their dividends, and the others were dead. People looked back on their folly with amaze- ment. They had entered into a business of which they knew nothing ; they had purchased property which they had never seen ; they had intrusted it to men of whom they knew nothing save that they were ignorant of silver mining, which more than any other occupation requires the attention of experts and the supervision of the owner. There was no search of title — none of the checks required by prudence in other transactions. It is not strange that thirty million dollars were paid for worthless paper, and spent on useless work. Thousands of households were impoverished, but as many others were enriched, and as work was abundant and wages high, the state and metropolis were the gainers in the general result.
Turning from these practical business details, let us inquire how California came by its name. "What's in a name?" Shakspeare makes Juliet say — this is all very well for a love-sick girl, but there is much in a name. An American writer dilates upon it largely. Cronise says — and we have neither grounds nor inclination to question his authority, though we have not the means of verifying it— that the
358 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
name occurs for the first time in a Spanish novel, and that it was first applied to an actual country — namely, to a portion of what is now Lower California — by Bernal Diaz. This latter statement he gives on the authority of Yenegas, whose Natural and Civil History of California was published in 1758. From other sources we learn that Bernal Diaz discovered Lower California and applied the name in 1534. This is about the extent of our positive information on the subject — anything beyond this is inference.
A name is a word, and in tracing the derivation of a word the laws of etymology demand two things — first, a reasonable resemblance in sound as well as meaning, any changes that may present themselves following a certain analogy ; and, second, a probable historical con- nection. Let us illustrate by an example: — Our English word "stranger" is formed from the Latin preposition "ex," which was in certain circumstances written as a simple "e," showing that the "x" was not an essential part of it. The change of form from "e" to "stranger" may appear very violent, but is clearly traceable. From "ex" comes the preposition "extra" (as "intra," "citra," and "ultra," from "in," "cis," and a lost root); from "extra" comes "extraneous;" from the latter the old French " estranger " (modern, " etranger ") ; and from this last our English "stranger." We have chosen this illustration because all the Latin words have been adopted into English, so that they will be familiar to every reader. The historical descent from the Latin through the French to the English is so well known that proof is wholly unnecessary. We may now briefly notice the conjectures that have been already hazarded on the question before us.
The Spanish words "Caliente homo" (hot oven) have been assumed as a plausible origin for the name, and the tcmescals, or " sweat-houses," of the natives have been cited as a probable occason for it. The change of "h" into "f" forms not the slightest difficulty, being entirely in analogy with the change of "/emma" (" woman") into " hembra," and " fame " ("hunger ") into " hambrse," and of course nothing was more probable than that the Spanish discoverers should give the country a Spanish name, unless it be that they should retain an Indian one. But, besides the objection that the name was known in 1510 (at which time it is hardly possible that anything should have been known of the native sweat-houses), there is another which is absolutely destructive of the hypothesis. It is in direct contradiction of the usage or analogy
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 359
of the language. No Spaniard would use the phrase " Caliente homo " any more than an English-speaking person would say, " He wore a hat black," or " His wife is a woman handsome." Homo caliente is the only admissible way in which the words could be used, and if the name had been formed from these elements, with the assumed change in their form (which would be a violent one, however), it would quite certainly have been Fornicalia, never California.
The Greek " Kala phora nea " and " Kala phor-neia," and the Latin " Calida-fornax," fail utterly, as Cronise observes, in historical proba- bility. The assumption would be a violent one that the originator of the name was acquainted with them, and still more so that, if he was, he should have drawn upon that knowledge to find a name for his new acquisition, instead of taking one from his native tongue.
Cronise remarks (though merely as a curious circumstance) that in Bavaria rosin is called " Kalifornea." The true state of the case is, crude rosin is called " Harz ;" but the prepared rosin, which is used for fiddle-bows and other purposes, is known in the German Pharmacopoeia by the name of " Colophonium," from " Colophon," an ancient Greek city of south-western Asia Minor. Under this name it is sold by druggists all over Germany, but is frequently asked for under that of *' Californium ;" punningly by those who know better ; ignorantly by those to whom the name of the thriving young state is more familiar than that of the old Greek town. This, therefore, helps us nothing in our inquiry.
We have before alluded to the possibility of the name being from an Indian source. In those names left among us from the old Indian languages of the country there are not wanting traces of a capability for combination which show that they might furnish such a name as " California." Thus the termination of " Mokel-umne," " Tuol-uinne," and " Cos-umnes," seem to point to a root of some such nature as our English "hurst," "dale," or "holm." Thus also " So-noma," " So- lano," "So-toyome," and "So-nora," may be surmised to be com- pounds, all containing a common root, and there is a name in the neighbourhood on which a daring speculator might build an hypothesis of an Indian origin — namely, " Cali-stoga." But, in the first place, do we know that " Cali-stoga" is an Indian name? We are not at all events possessed of sufficient information either to affirm or deny it. In the next place, taking it for Indian, we must bear in mind that the name of California was first applied to a locality more than one thou-
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sand miles distant from Calistoga, and although we may reasonably conclude that the same language prevailed in places so close together as Sotoyome (near Healdsberg), Sonoma, Solano, and even Sonora, the probabilities are materially altered when we are considering two places so far apart as the head of Napa Valley and St. Lucas. Then, again, how did the author of the romance, written in or before the year 1510, hear of the Indian name, supposing it to have been then in existence in the country ? Anahuac and Peru were powerful empires, the fame of which had spread far over the continent, and vague reports of the latter reached Vasco Nunez at Darien many years before the country itself was discovered by Europeans. But the tribes of California were small, feeble, and unknown to fame ; not till three centuries and a half after that novel was written was its renown to spread through the habitable world. In short, the hypothesis must be given up ; it has nothing like ground enough to rest upon. What, then, have we to warrant us in supposing that Bernal Diaz was acquainted with the name before he came to this coast and applied it on his discovering the country ? and where did the author of the novel get it from ? The answer to these two questions will exhaust what can be said on our subject.
Bernal Diaz left Spain with the expedition sent out under Pedrarias in the end of 1513 or commencement of the following year. Even supposing, therefore, that it was not .quite so simple a matter in those days to mail the last new novel to a friend in the colonies as it is now, still he had abundant opportunity to see it before he left home. That he was a man of sufficient intelligence and education to be likely to read it is sufficiently proved by the excellent True History of the Conquest of New Spain of which he was the author, a work which has done more to bring his name down to our days than either his gallantry as a soldier in the hard fights by which Mexico was won, or his enterprise as a discoverer. Beyond these probabilities, it is true, we cannot advance, for he nowhere makes any allusion to the work nor quotation from it. But if we calculate the probabilities of the same combination of sounds being fallen upon by him and by the author of the romance (or even of the same name being borrowed by both from the same source), independently of each other, we shall find them to be to the former as one to a million. It is true that the name Missouri occurs in Kurdistan as well as in the Western States, with no possibility of connection between them, and that of Tehama in Arabia as well as in
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California, with the barest shadow of a possible connection ; but these examples exhaust the list of such cases.
As to the probability of his thinking of it when he found California, some more tangible grounds can be shown. In the romance so often mentioned the following passage occurs : — "Know that on the right hand of the Indies" [that is, to the north of Mexico, as Diaz would
ON THE COAST.
understand the expression] "there is an island called California, very near to the terrestrial paradise." Lower California was long taken to be an island, and it was an idea of Columbus, as well as of Las Casas, with both of whom Diaz might well be acquainted, that the terrestrial paradise was somewhere in this part of the world. If, therefore, he was acquainted with the above passage, it would certainly, to a man with his ideas and beliefs, appear very applicable to the country which he had discovered.
Leaving it, then, to our readers to attach such degree of likelihood
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as they judge fit to the first supposition, we proceed to our last question, Where did the author of the romance find the name?
In considering this question we must bear in mind that the author knew nothing whatever of the country he described, consequently could not be influenced by any circumstances connected with it— such as local name, local customs, physical appearance, or natural pro- ductions. The considerations that would recommend a name to him would be of a wholly different nature. Now we have a suggestion to offer, which our readers must judge of for themselves, though, of course, if we did not consider it a likely one, we should not take the trouble to present it.
Some one thousand six hundred years before that romance was written there lived at Rome a lady, filling a very prominent position there. She was the wife of a rising politician, called Cains Julius Caesar, and her name was Calphurnia. Now, the name is sufficiently uncommon to have a little smack of novelty about it, which might well recommend it to the writer of a romance, while at the same time it is not so obscure as to render it unlikely that it would be known to a man moderately acquainted with ancient history. It has come down as a name to our own times, being now borne by a lady who was recently matron of one of the large charitable institutions of San Fran- cisco. The changes in the spelling are very slight, and all warranted by abundant analogies. Thus the insertion of the i is the same as the difference between the English cap-tain or chap-ter and the Spanish cap-i-tan or cap-i-tulo, all from the same Latin root; the change of ph to / is what every Spaniard makes daily when he writes fotografia for photography ; and the change of u to o is the same as from the Latin diurnas (daily) to its Spanish deriv&tive jornal (journal).
Perhaps some very inquisitive person may ask, what does the name Calphurnia mean? Good 'friend, we cannot tell. Nobody knows. Only this can be said about it, that if, as there seems no reason what- ever to doubt, it was the feminine form (slightly altered) of the name Calpurnius, it appears in the name of Lucius Calpurnius Piso, and another, not at present remembered, as that of one of the original gentes, or clans, of which the Roman State was composed. In this way it carries us back to the times ante urbs condita — before the city was founded — in other words, seven and a half centuries before Christ — and its form seems to indicate an Oscan or Etruscan parentage. As nothing of these languages remains to us but a few half-obliterated
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 363
inscriptions, there is a very slim likelihood of our ever knowing more of it than we do. An ill-natured person would remark that probably it was the name of some big robber, and indicative of the qualities proper to such a personage ; but in the benignant charity of our nature we repudiate the supposition, and insist upon it that the name must have had a highly respectable meaning, since otherwise it would not be a fit appellation for the Golden America of CALIFORNIA.
At the time of our visit, says an instructive writer, the country of California altogether presented rather a singular appearance. Instead of a lively green hue, it had generally a tint of a light straw-colour, showing an extreme want of moisture. The drought had continued for eleven months, the cattle were dying in the fields, and the first view of California was not calculated to make a favourable impression either of its beauty or fertility.
There is perhaps no other country where there is such a diversity of features, soil, and climate as California. The surface exhibits the varieties of lofty ranges of mountains, confined valleys, and extensive plains. On the coast a range of high land extends in length from Cape Mendocino to latitude 32 deg. N., and in breadth into the interior from ten to twenty miles.
The valley of San Juan, of no great extent, lies between these hills and the Sierra, which is a low range of mountains. East of the Sierra is the broad valley of the Sacramento, which is prolonged to the south as far as Mount San Bernardino, under the thirty-fourth parallel. Beyond this valley is the California range, which is a continuation of the Cascade range of Oregon, and whose southern summits are capped with snow. This range gradually decreases in height until it declines into hills of moderate elevation. To the east of the Californian mountains are the vast sandy plains, forming a wide trackless waste, destitute of everything that can fit it for the habitation of man or beast.
The soil is as variable as the face of the country. On the coast range of hills there is little to invite the agriculturist, except in some vales of no great extent. These hills are, however, admirably adapted for raising herds and flocks, and are at present the feeding-grounds of numerous deer, elk, &c., to which the short sweet grass and wild oats that are spread over them afford a plentiful supply of food. No attempts have been made to cultivate the northern part of this section, nor is it susceptible of being the seat of large agricultural operations.
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The valley of the Sacramento and that of San Juan are the most fruitful parts of California, particularly the latter, which is capable of producing wheat, Indian corn, rye, oats, &c., with all the fruits of the temperate and many of the tropical climates. It likewise offers fine pasture grounds for cattle. This region comprises a level plain from fifteen to twenty miles in width, extending from the bay of San Francisco beyond the mission of that name, north and south. This may be termed the garden of California ; but although several small streams and lakes serve to water it, yet in dry seasons or droughts, not only the crops but the herbage also suffers extremely, and the cattle are deprived of food.
The Sierra affords little scope for cultivation, being much broken, barren, and sandy. It is in places covered with cedar, pine, and oak ; but it offers few inducements to the settler. The great valley of Sacra- mento next succeeds. It lies nearly parallel to the San Juan, and is watered by the San Joachim river and its branches. In this valley the Californian Indians principally dwell. The San Joachim receives its waters from the many streams that issue from the Californian range of mountains. T^hese are well wooded, their base being covered with oaks, to which succeeds the red Californian cedar, and after it, in a still higher region, pines, until the snows are encountered. On the eastern side of this range there is found very little timber, and in consequence of the want of moisture trees do not flourish, even on the west side. The inland plain constituting a large part of Upper California, is, according to all accounts, an arid waste, the few rivers that exist being periodical, and losing themselves in the sandy soil.
In climate California varies as much if not even more than in natural features and soil. On the coast range it has as high a mean temperature in winter as in summer. The latter is in fact the coldest part of the year, owing to the constant prevalence of the north-west winds, which blow with the regularity of a monsoon, and are ex- ceedingly cold, damp, and uncomfortable, rendering fire often necessary for comfort in midsummer. This is, however, but seldom resorted to, and many persons have informed me that they have suffered more from cold at Monterey than in places of a much higher latitude. The climate thirty miles from the coast undergoes a great change, and in no part of the world is there to be found a finer or more equable one than in the valley of San Juan. It more resembles that of Andalusia, in Spain, than any other, and none can be more salubrious. The cold
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winds of the coast have become warmed, and have lost their force and violence, though they retain their freshness and purity. This strip of country is that in which the far-famed missions have been established ; and the accounts of these have led many to believe that the whole of Upper California was well adapted for agricultural uses. This is not the case, for the small district already pointed out is the only section of country where these advantages are to be found. This valley extends beyond the pueblo of San Juan, or to the eastward of Mon-
IN CALIFORNIA.
terey ; it is of no great extent, being about twenty miles long by twelve wide. The Sierra, which separates the valley of San Juan from that of Sacramento, is about one thousand five hundred feet high, barren and sandy. Pines cover its summit, and the climate is exceedingly dry and arid, though cooled by the fresh wind that passes beyond them.
The Sacramento is the largest river in California. One of its branches, Destruction River, takes its rise near Mount Shaste, and has been examined throughout the whole of its course by land parties, until it joins the Sacramento. The Sacramento has its source in the eastern spurs of the Shaste Mountain.
The first branch of any size in descending the Sacramento is that called Feather River, which joins it below the Prairie Butes, coming from the north-east. This branch takes its rise in the California
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Mountains, near their northern end, and has a course of about forty miles. The American River is a small branch that joins the Sacramento at New Helvetia. After receiving this stream, the Sacramento is joined by the San Joachim, which courses from the south, and below their confluence enters the bays of San Pablo and San Francisco.
With regard to San Francisco city much criticism has been offered.
It was to a Mons. Yioget that the astonishing idea of laying out a city upon the peninsula of San Francisco was first presented in a serious and business-like manner. The cause of his selection for the perfor- mance of a duty with which immortality is usually associated was that he was an engineer, and was in possession of the only instruments which could then be discovered in all Yerba Buena. It would perhaps be unjust to enter upon a criticism of his work till at least the circum- stances by which he was surrounded were recalled. Even in those early days there were men of faith in the scattered hamlet by the Golden Gate. They looked down upon the broad expanse of a noble bay, and they said to themselves — " As sites for cities are getting scarce, a great emporium must, some time in the far-off future, spring up here." In imagination they beheld streets, and squares, and promenades take the place of the chapparal and the sand dunes by which the .face of Nature was covered, but without any very clear idea of the causes which were to promote their construction, or the manner in which the details were to be carried out.
The basis for all these dreams was a few houses scattered about the peninsula. The engrossing subject of conversation was hides and tallow. The bells of the old mission tolled, every Sabbath, away in the distance, and the good missionaries celebrated their masses, it is to be feared, almost exclusively for the poor Indians, who found, to their great contentment and satisfaction, that Christianity was only another name for regular rations, duly and fairly distributed. The waters of the bay then washed the eastern line of Montgomery-street, and where stately structures now rise, boats were once beached. The peninsula, as you looked westward, presented the appearance of a lump of baker's dough which had been kneaded into fantastic hills and vales — a lump of baker's dough, too, which, after having been worked, had been forgotten so long that the green mould had begun to creep over it. For upon this windy tongue of land the forces of Nature had been operating through long geological ages. The westerly winds, blowing upon it with ceaseless moan for the greater part of every recurring
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 367
year, had rolled up the sand from the bottom of the quiet Pacific, and then, when it had been accumulated on the firm land, had fashioned it into the most grotesque shapes.
It was upon a site so unpromising that Monsieur Vioget was called upon to lay out a city. The paper upon which he sketched his plan was level, and presented no impediment to the easy transit of the pencil. Over hill and dale he remorselessly projected his right lines. To his serene mind it made but very little difference that some of the streets which he had laid out followed the lines of a dromedary's back, or that others described semicircles — some upr some down — up Telegraph Hill from the eastern points of the city — up a grade which a goat could not travel — then down on the other side — then up Russian Hill, and then down sloping towards the Presidio. And this crossed with equally rigid lines, leaving grades for the description of which pen and ink are totally inadequate. He had before him the most beautiful and picturesque site for a city that could anywhere on the face of the earth be found — a cove entirely sheltered from norther or south-wester, with a lofty eminence on either side, and a high longitudinal ridge in the background. What if he had terraced these hills, and applied the rule and square only to the space lying between them ? But be executed the work assigned to him — he devised a plan by which every settler could with ease trace the boundaries of his possessions, and placed all of the peninsula which it was then thought could be used in the course of a century for purposes of human habitation, in a marketable condition. He little knew, when he was at work with his compasses and rulers, that every line he drew would entail a useless expenditure of millions upon those who were to come after him ; and that he was then, in fact, squandering money at a rate that would have made a Monte Christo turn pale.
His work was fair to look upon on paper — very difficult if not bewildering to follow out on foot. These streets pushed ahead with stern scientific rigour. Never did rising city start upon more imprac- ticable courses. It was to be a metropolis of uncertain if not jocular mood — now showing itself in imposing grandeur as it gathered around some lofty eminence, and then utterly disappearing into some totally unimaginable concavity, leaving nothing on the horizon to catch the eye of the distant observer but a wretched tail of mean houses, gradually disappearing to the tops of the chimneys.
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But absurdly though the work of tracing out the lines for the future habitation of a large population was performed, it had its humanising effects upon the founders, apart altogether from the expectations of great profit, which the prospective sale of eligible lots, however lop- sided, engendered. They no longer regarded themselves as castaways upon an almost unknown shore. The picturesque confusion of a first settlement was indeed apparent. No intelligible plan of city could be imagined from the location of the few houses by which the peninsula was dotted ; but for all that, Stockton Street and Broadway had been successfully carried out ; and Montgomery, Kearny, and Dupont Streets were beginning to develop themselves. It was some consolation to the benighted founder, when endeavouring to clamber up the rough sides of Telegraph Hill on his way home, that, however surprising it might appear, he was then slowly making his way on all-fours, and fearful of broken bones and a cracked crown, really at the corner of Montgomery and Yallejo Streets, where palatial edifices were at that moment ger- minating, and which, though silent, weird, and forbidding at that hour, was destined to echo with the sounds of active, bustling life before long.
The town did begin to spring up after Monsieur Vioget had fixed the manner in which it was to grow, but not with any great rapidity. Hides and tallow are very important articles of commerce ; but, how- ever great may be the demand for them, they are not capable of forcing the building of large cities in a very short space of time. The world needs leather for shoes, harness, and a variety of other purposes. There is a saying that "there is nothing like leather," but it is not universal in its application. Nor was the other staple to be despised. Millions of men still grope their way by the light of tallow candles. But young Yerba Buena had powerful and well-established rivals to contend with. The Russian Bear, enjoying a better location, was ex- tensively engaged in the business. If nothing had occurred to alter the course of things, a century would have elapsed even before Mon- sieur Vioget's plan had been carried out. But the news from the interior was becoming stranger, more exciting, and more bewildering every day. Discovery followed discovery in quick succession, and the shining gold began to flow this way in steady streams. Some obser- vations had been made on the climate, the capacity of the soil, and the facilities for commerce. There was a settled conviction that the far-off land of California would some day come into public notice ; but here
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was gold— the very article after which civilised man was in the hottest pursuit — the metal which represented everything : luxury, fine clothing, fine houses, lands, friends, doting wives, loving children, the respect of mankind here below, and heaven hereafter — in immense, incalculable, bewildering, intoxicating abundance, at their very doors ! Who can estimate the force of the mad whirl of those early days, when it was first revealed that colossal fortunes were within the reach of all who had strength enough to wield a pickaxe and labour for a short time ? That social prominence which, in the older civilisations, the persons who then found themselves in California could not hope ever to achieve except by some extraordinary freak of good luck, was now within the grasp of every one of them — for deference, respect, and precedence wait humbly upon the happy possessor of gold in plenty.
It did not take long to discern that the plan upon which Vioget had laid out the city was entirely unadapted to the site. A large amount of engineering knowledge was not necessary to enable any one to reach that conclusion. Mr. O'Farrell then took the matter in hand. He proposed to change the lines of the streets, so as to conform as much as possible to the topography, but his suggestions were not received with the favour which he expected. There was not an incipient millionaire then in all San Francisco who did not have safely locked up in his trunk the title-deeds to the lot or lots that were going to be the most valuable. It is possible that nobody had made up his mind as to the particular use for which his property would be required. It might be needed for a Custom House, or the Capitol of the new State, the germ of which Marshall had found in the mill-stream, near Sutter's Fort, or some grand and inexplicable structure necessary to the new order of things. Whatever it might be, each settler's lot was the lot above all lots — sure to prove the focus of the new city, gradually unfolding its outlines into a vast metropolis. Bancroft Library
It is manifest that against such an uproar and jangling of interests no single man could make any headway. O'Farrell was obliged to content himself with securing the widening of the streets laid out by his predecessor, and then proceeded to lay off the southern portion in wide streets at right angles, which the flatness of that section fully justified. He found a nondescript plan of a city, and his first care was to supply it with a backbone, which, in the shape of Market-street, traverses the city from the eastern front as far west as it is likely to be closely built upon during the existence of the present generation, and
370 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.
then added on the other half. Probably posterity may forgive him for running his right lines over Rincon and Townsend Street Hills with the same airy carelessness which Vioget manifested in respect to Telegraph and Russian Hills, when the difficulties under which he laboured are taken into consideration.
It can hardly be expected that a plan conceived under the circum- stances above set forth, and carried out in the way we have briefly sketched, could have resulted in anything very complete in itself, or very pleasant to look upon. The stranger, as he paces the deck of the in-coming steamer at night — for a stranger among the Californians always takes the shape of a passenger by sea, and never of a solitary horseman slowly ascending a rugged pathway — is enraptured with the sight which San Francisco presents. As the steamer passes Black Point, the dull red haze upon which he had been gazing begins to assume shape and form ; when he rounds Clark's Point, a spectacle is revealed which more than repays him for all the dangers and hardships of the voyage. On either side of him rise Telegraph and Rincon Hills like luminous cones, while, in the background, towers above all Russian Hill in stories of light. Nor is the illusion at all dissipated as he is whirled from the wharf, through the well-lighted streets, to his hotel. Unfortunately, his enthusiasm is not destined to last long. When he comes to walk abroad in the full light of day, he sees fine structures, it is true— stores brilliant enough for Broadway or the Boulevards, and a style of architecture more elegant and graceful than is generally to be found in American cities, particularly in the case of private dwellings, and well-built though somewhat dirty streets. But as soon as he begins to trace out the lines of the great thoroughfares, he finds that "Nature, wherever he turns, has been cut and slashed, dug down and filled up, out of existence ; unsightly defiles confront him wherever he goes. Here he finds a house barely peeping over the side-walks, and evidently straining itself in the operation ; while five good stories are revealed in the rear. Others still, elevated in so reckless and impertinent a manner, above grade, as to be suggestive rather of a pigeon-house than a human habitation — ready to descend the moment they are summoned by the remorseless contractor. From the first error there is, of course, no escape. San Francisco will have to grow in accordance with the lines originally marked out for her.
The extraordinary influx of Chinese is a marked feature in San Francisco city. The San Francisco Bulletin says : — " In the first eight
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 371
months of 1869 our net gain of population by sea arrivals has been Sil,624. Of this number a larger proportion than usual were Chinese, the whole number of that people who arrived being in the neighbourhood of 11,000. This figure, however, ought not to be taken as representing net gain, for what with the return of Chinese to their own country and the departure of many to other States and Territories, there has probably been little addition to the number of Chinese in the State a year ago. If the exact number of Chinese that arrived in eight months this year was 11,000, that would give an average of 1,375 a month, and the same ratio for the remaining four months of 1869 would make a total of 16,500. With one exception, this is a larger number of Chinese than ever arrived in California in one year. As long ago as 1852 the total number of Chinese arrivals at this port was 18,434 ; and the excess of arrivals over departures was 16,378. The next largest arrival was in 1854, when over 15,000 were landed here and 12,677 remained. The arrivals during the five years previous to 1869 showed a considerable falling off as compared with all earlier years up to 1852 ; while the ratio of departures to arrivals was larger, and, with the deaths, effected a considerable reduction of the Chinese population of California. But for the marked increase in arrivals during the present year we should be warranted in assuming that the Chinese immigration was abating. From the best information obtainable the number of arrivals in the last 16 years gives an average of 6,531 per annum. In 1866 the arrivals were as low as 2,355 ; and the arrivals from 1864 to 1868 show an average of only 3,219 per annum, and the excess of arrivals over departures was only 994 per annum. These statements tend to show that so long as the Chinese movement to America is clear of any external forcing influence, and left to its own impulse, it does not threaten an undue influx." They have their own quarter, and there reap a good harvest.
The Chinese have many holidays, and they seem to appreciate them. Weddings and funerals are improved as occasions for rest and for feasting. Of course, at funerals, the near relatives who are especially bereaved, and who feel their loss, can have little enjoyment, and, so far as they are concerned, the term holiday would be inappropriate ; but this is far from being the case with all who assemble to witness the funeral ceremonies, and to partake of the feasts, which have first been spread for the repast of the spirit of the dead, as well as for any other spirits that may choose to partake.
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There are saints' days, or birthdays of the gods, many times more than enough to fill all the days of the calendar ; and -whenever any person or family feels religiously inclined, or can afford the time and expense, they may, in China, hear of gatherings at some one or other of their numerous temples. The first and fifteenth of every month are observed by many as religious seasons. More people resort to the temples at these periods than at others.
The times of the vernal and autumnal equinoxes, and of the winter and summer solstices, are noted by the Chinese, when more than usual activity is observed about the temples; more people than usual are seen in the streets with the sticks of incense, gilt papers, candles, and other offerings on their way to the shrines of the gods. Ancestors and household divinities are especially remembered at these seasons. Our market-men may have noticed that at these times there is a niucli greater call for ducks and chickens by their Chinese customers ; and those engaged in efforts to educate and evangelise this people have occasion to notice that their congregations and schools are thinner when these holidays occur on the Sabbath, or near the beginning or end of the week. Of the equinoxes and solstices, the winter solstice is observed more generally and with more enthusiasm than the others ; more people buy poultry, the temples have more visitors, the theatres are open day and night, and are more crowded, and more of the house- servants ask to " go and see their cousins."
On the fifteenth of the eighth month, at night — the season of our harvest moon — this luminary is an object of adoration by people from their open windows 5 and in the courts, and from the balconies of their houses.
The proprietors of the little temples in San Francisco are ac- customed, at various times, to extemporise special performances, in order to attract a multitude of worshippers, and thus replenish their revenue by the sale of candles, prayers, incense-sticks, gilt paper, and the like. They also receive much in the form of subscriptions and presents. The ceremonies continue for three or four days, and crowds throng about the premises day and night. Almost every Chinaman in the city will so manage as to get some respite from his labours and cares to visit the temple, and perhaps treat himself to a sort of feast, or, at least, he will be more liberal in the supply of his table at such times than at others.
The arrival of friends from China, and the leave-taking when
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friends are about embarking for home, are made occasions for social gatherings and for feastings. Formerly these occurrences were more irregular than at present, for the sailing ships might arrive and depart at any time ; but now, since the monthly steamers come and go with considerable punctuality, the Chinamen look forward to the days of
.-*•
SKETCH IN THE CHINESE QUARTER.
arrival and departure with great interest, and there are many who make this an occasion to take a whole or a half holiday for the purpose of seeing neighbours or relatives fresh from the place where they were born, and gathering from them all manner of news and gossip ; while in the case of those who are about to return they have many letters to write and many messages to deliver, and they must needs eat and drink together before they separate.
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In China the people have no Sabbath, but in California they conform, in some measure, to the customs of the people. In the mines many work steadily on through the Sabbath, the same as on other days, while others imitate the example of too many of the miners, and take the day for cleaning up their gold, and for washing, mending, marketing, bargaining, and adjusting accounts. Labourers in the employment of those who keep the Sabbath often take the day for visiting, gambling, opium -smoking, for washing and mending, or for a walk about the town ; while a few go to their church, or assemble at the schools established for them. There is some reading done on this day, with much writing of letters and a large amount of sleeping ; while with the merchants it is a day for collections and for writing up their accounts. Amongst the employes along the line of the railroad, the Sunday is a day on which many pigs and fowls are brought to grief, as this seems to be the butchering day in those Chinese camps, while those not occupied in butchering and in preparations for an extra dinner, and not employed in repairing garments, amuse themselves with games, or enjoy their pipes.
Chief of the Chinese holidays, or rather that which eclipses all the rest, is the festival of the New Year. On this occasion all China abandons itself to merry-making, one feu-de-joie resounds throughout the Empire ; from north to south, from east to west, the country is wreathed in clouds of smoke perfumed with incense or laden with the smell of powder ; while every habitation looks gay with its red and tinselled paper fluttering in the breeze. Every Chinaman, whatever his business or his social position, and in whatever part of the world he may be, will claim at least this one holiday during the year.
The Chinese compute their ages from the beginning of the year. A child born any time during this year will be called two years old on and after the next New Year's day, and after the following New Year he will be called three years old, so that there will, as we see, be some children said to be three years old who have not yet seen three hun- dred and sixty-six days.
The New Year is a period which is held in anticipation for weeks, or even months ; indeed, the whole business of the year is conducted with the grand settlement day in view, when all liabilities must be met, and all debts paid, so that every person may be able to commence the succeeding twelve months with a genuine happy New Year ; no one grieving over broken hopes, none angry with creditors who have failed
THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 375
to fulfil their promises, and none chagrined because they are unable to meet their obligations. This leads us to speak more particularly concerning the preparation for this grand festival.
First of all is the financial question, "Whom do I owe, and who owes me ? Can I meet all my liabilities, and will my debtors pay me ?" The business is closely watched, and the books carefully written up and often examined, and an account of stock is taken. Collectors are early sent to any doubtful parties ; in conversations with honest and solvent debtors such allusions are made to former transactions and future necessities that they may not be in danger of overlooking "that little bill ;" while accounts of long standing are again taken from the file, and fresh efforts are made to press some drops of pay from the oldest and least hopeful subjects. The San Francisco merchants increase their collecting force, who traverse the State, and who visit Oregon and Nevada, and penetrate the snow regions of Montana ; nor are they deterred by any obstacles when there is before them a prospect of securing the settlement of an account. The express companies find the Chinese department of their business very brisk about these days, occasioned by the quantity of letters going out, and the amount of treasure coming in.
Happy is that man who can close the year with no duns at the door, and no creditor's anathemas to pursue him to spoil the New Year's festivities ; happy is that firm whose balance-sheet is evenly poised, while cash in the safe and the goods in readiness for future use are gratifying evidence of the favour with which their god of wealth has served them.
As the year approaches its close, careful observers will notice how lean the stock is growing on the shelves of some of the stores in the Chinese quarter, and what a haggard, anxious look their occupants begin to wear ; and if they follow up their observations they will see how appearances grow worse, until the ** evening of the year" finds the premises closed, and the proprietors non est invenfut.
It is not uncommon for those who have no means for meeting their liabilities to secrete themselves until the Old Year has fully expired and the New Year has come in, for during the New Year's congratulations and merrymakings no duns are tolerated. He who on such a day could have the temerity to present a bill, or to hint that any person's enter- tainment might relish better were it paid for, would be deemed un- worthy the interchange of civilities with gentlemen.
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Not only do the people strive to close the year with all old scores "wiped out and accounts adjusted between man and man, but they wish also to come to a settlement with the gods ; therefore the unusual activity about the temples, and the throngs of men, women, and children passing to and fro in their best attire, with baskets of incense- sticks and other offerings, and therefore also the constant and abundant clouds of incense around the shrines of the household divinities and the ancestral tablets. These religious rites are hurried on as the year draws to its close, partly because of the tradition which all have heard, and which many believe, that before the close of the year — say on the twenty-sixth of the twelfth month — the local deities all gather up their accounts and journals, and ascend to "report" to the Supreme lUiler, the Pearly Emperor ; and that they do not return till the first of the iirst month, and some say not till even a later day.
One feature of a Chinese New Year in San Francisco, of which account may be made, is the number of callers from amongst the Yankees them- selves. The merchants appear highly delighted to see and welcome all the citizens whom they can recognise as friends, and all with whom they have had any kind of business connections ; and to provide for such calls, a large stock of wines, cigars, and other refreshments has been secured. It should be noted, however, that liquors and cigars are not usually offered to the callers of their own race, but only to the white people. Many entire strangers enter the stores merely from curiosity, and they also are treated with the same hospitality, and even with a cordiality usually extended to old acquaintances. They are likewise exposed to a raid from that class who are always thirsty, who go from house to house washing their throats with champagne and brandy, taking at each place a cigar or two, while troops of boys and half- grown men, who, at other times, pelt and hoot at " John " when they meet him alone, and where they will not be in danger of arrest, arc clamorous for cigars, fire-crackers, and sweetmeats.
And in the midst of this animated and enlivening scene, we take farewell of THE GOLDEN AMERICAS.