LXXIII.
Rio Janeiro, Brazil, Jan. 13, 1852.
From Bahia, I came down by steamer, a distance of seven hundred and twenty miles, under the most favorable circumstances, in three days, making the moderate average of ten miles per hour. The entrance or mouth of the harbor lies between two small islands, and is one mile wide and skirted on each side by immense masses of solid rock, six hundred feet high, if not higher; the hills are steep and fortified. The view of this splendid harbor is majestically grand, increasing in size to eight or ten miles, and in this gulf are many small islands distributed about and occupied by small villages: the sheet of water is fringed with green verdure, bright villas, and immense high craggy peaks of mountains, forming one of the most beautiful pictures. The city lies low in a valley, and appears from an elevated spot of a semicircular form; the streets run at right angles, with public squares without trees, but as the Brazilians and Portuguese idolize filth, don’t expect much in the way of cleanliness. The hotels are vile for a city of three hundred thousand people, even if one-half are negroes; in this warm climate, with the thermometer in the month of January at 92°, you can well imagine the annoyance from vermin in badly conducted dens. I was obliged to fight a bloody battle the first night with the bugs, who disputed possession, and the following morning I abandoned my quarters for better ones. There is a considerable French population here, and one street is supplied with every variety of Parisian fancy goods, so much so that one for the moment would almost imagine himself in Paris; but he would soon be undeceived on demanding prices, and finding them double or treble what they are in France, the Brazilian duties being from eighty to one hundred per cent. on many articles, which offers a premium for smuggling. It is said the customs are here ten million dollars, but the Emperor receives four hundred thousand per annum, and has now a war on hand with Buenos Ayres, and a force of from thirty to forty thousand men to be kept up. As some one must pay for this, it falls upon the consumers, and for the benefit of those who expect to reside here, I will state that the expenses and luxuries of life, inclusive of carriage hire, exceed those of Calcutta or London. The country is rich and fertile; sugar, coffee, and hides enter largely in the exports. Our people know how to appreciate Rio coffee, particularly along the valley of the Mississippi, and we have become for our population the largest consumers of coffee in the world.
I have escaped the odoriferous smells of the narrow streets and the heat of the city for a few days, in visiting the new city and private summer residence of the Emperor Pedro II. called after him, Pedropolis, where he has founded a colony of Germans, in the valley of the mountains, two thousand four hundred feet above the level of the sea and about twenty-seven miles from Rio, and where the temperature of the air is from 68° to 70° Fahrenheit, while in the city the thermometer ranges from 85° to 92°. We proceeded by a small steamer across the bay, winding among many little islands in a second bay, and thence up a small meandering river to the landing-place, where we took land-carriage to the base of the mountains, where our vehicle containing four persons was drawn by four mules, over a zigzag, well constructed road, with parapet walls and stone arches for the mountain torrents, built by government at heavy cost; the entire distance was accomplished in seven hours. The panorama of the bay and city in the distance from the crowning point is superb. There were some fourteen hundred families of Germans composing this colony, and they have employment upon the roads, in the erection of houses, and improvement of the town, which is well laid out, with streams of pure water passing through it. Many fine mansions have been erected by city gentlemen; the Emperor is building a palace of solid construction, which has already occupied four years, and cost two hundred thousand dollars, and will require two years more to complete it, as the work progresses slowly, and is a fat job for the builders. Many of the Germans have sold out their grants of town lots, and bought lands in the neighborhood, which they are cultivating, and I could almost imagine myself in parts of Switzerland, for the style of the dwellings, and the costume and figure of the German peasants carried me back to Faderland. As long as the Emperor spends money freely, all will work well, but if his patronage is withdrawn the place will decline, it being too expensive for the masses and too difficult of access.
I saw here a group of German girls in Bloomer costume, with a part of the palace band, who were playing from house to house. I met with an American on his way to the diamond mines, some five hundred miles in the interior—a persevering pioneer from old Kentucky, who had not been home in twenty-four years. He had married a Portuguese who had died, and he had his family with him, who had been educated in England, his second wife being an English lady. He had some two hundred hands engaged in his business—a profitable one, as Brazil exports some four million dollars’ worth of diamonds annually. Droves of mules were constantly passing to the different mines of gold, diamonds, and other precious stones in the interior. I was shown some handsome specimens said to be worth two thousand dollars per ounce in the rough. The Emperor and Empress are seen almost daily in their promenades about the suburbs or through the town, with a small escort, and sometimes quite alone; the people speak well of their kindness and liberality. The Emperor is only twenty-four years of age, and his consort, the sister of the King of Naples, is his senior by three years, and not at all remarkable for beauty. I saw them at the opera last evening, in full costume; they appeared to advantage, it being the close of a gala day, the Emperor having received at his palace all military officers of distinction. He was clad in full military dress; he is of good stature, with a well developed figure, a face of the Austrian or Russian type.
The frigate Congress is now in port, proceeding to Monte Video, and our Minister, Mr. Schenck, whose health is somewhat feeble, accompanies her. If the city of Rio Janeiro is remarkable for its filth, and the depravity and immorality of its inhabitants, it can boast of the beauty of its suburbs, which extend for many miles. La Gloria and Botafogo, and other villages situated upon the little indentations and bays, are very pretty, and nature is very prolific in her supply of fruits and flowers. One of the most beautiful drives is to the botanical garden, some six miles from town, the road winding along the beautiful bays, the shores lined with the villas of foreigners and wealthy residents, and the gardens filled with a great variety of fruit trees and flowers peculiar to the climate. I found in the botanical garden avenues of stately palms, not unlike the cafetals in the island of Cuba; a bamboo labyrinth, and an acre or more of the tea plant, as a reminiscence of China; a grove of cinnamon trees of large size, equal to those of the island of Ceylon; and in fact, all the productions of the tropics except the cocoa-nut, which I have lost sight of since leaving Bahia. The city is supplied with water from the mountains by aqueduct, and some three hundred tanks have lately been placed at the corners of the streets; but I drink river water of an underground culvert in the city. The offal is carried in vessels upon the heads of the negroes at night, and thrown upon the beach and in the harbor.
It is only surprising that the yellow fever does not always exist here; it is a blessing instead of a curse, if it only improves the cleanliness of the people. The currency of the country is government paper, from one milreis upwards. Of gold there is considerable, of the value of twelve dollars each piece; there is no small silver, but the quantity of copper in circulation is enormous. It is not as bad as in China, where twelve hundred small coins go to the dollar; but here, if a milreis, valued at sixty cents, is exchanged, you obtain a thousand reis; the smallest coin is valued at ten reis, making it necessary to ballast equally well your pockets; but fortunately, however, ferry boat and omnibus tickets go well, and remind one of our own shin-plaster days.