I HAD much desired to perform some considerable journey into the less populous and less cultivated part of the country. The chief engineer officer of Pernambuco had intended to visit all the fortresses within his extensive district, and had kindly promised to permit me to accompany him, but unfortunately his projected journey was delayed from some cause connected with his place, until the following season. As I did not know how soon I might be under the necessity of returning to England, I could not postpone my views for this length of time, and therefore made enquiries among my friends and acquaintance, and discovered that the brother of a gentleman resident at Goiana, was about to set off for that place, and would, probably, from thence proceed further into the country, with some object in view connected with trade. It was my intention to advance as far as Seara. I applied to the governor for a passport, which was immediately granted without any difficulty.
On the afternoon of the 19th October, 1810, some of my English friends accompanied me to my cottage at the Cruz das Almas, that they might be present at my departure, in the course of the ensuing night. Senhor Feliz, my companion, arrived in the evening, bringing with him his black guide, a freeman. Preparations were made for proceeding upon our journey, and about one o’clock, as the moon rose, we sallied forth. Senhor Feliz, myself, and my English servant John on horseback, armed with swords and pistols; the black guide also on horseback, without saddle or bridle, carrying a blunderbuss, and driving on before him a baggage-horse, with a little mulatto boy mounted between the panniers. My English friends cheered us as we left the Cruz, and remained in my quarters, the command of which I had given up to one of them during my absence. That part of the road which we traversed by moon-light I had already passed over a short time before, and subsequently from frequent travelling, my acquaintance with it was such, that I might have become a guide upon it.
Map of the Route
We rode along a sandy path for three quarters of a league, until we began to ascend a steep hill, of which the sides and the flat summit are covered with large trees, and thick brushwood growing beneath them. The hamlet of Beberibe stands at the foot of the corresponding declivity; to this place several families resort in the summer, and a small rivulet runs through it, of which the water is most beautifully clear. Half a league beyond Beberibe we crossed another rivulet, and immediately afterwards commenced our ascent of the hill of Quebracu, which is in most parts very steep and very narrow, being inclosed on one side by a precipice, and on the other by sloping ground covered with wood. This ridge of hill is quite flat along the top, and the path continues for half a league, between lofty trees and impenetrable brushwood. We descended into the long and narrow valley of Merueira, through which a rivulet runs, of which the water never fails. The hills on each side are thickly cloathed with wood, and in the valley are scattered several cottages, banana gardens, and mandioc lands, with a large inclosed piece of ground in which cattle graze. The ascent, on the opposite side of this beautiful vale, is very steep; the path along the summit of the ridge is similar to that over which we had travelled; we soon again descended, and on our arrival at the bottom, entered the long, straggling village of Paratibe, with mandioc lands and plaintain and tobacco gardens intermixed with the houses. The inhabitants are mostly labouring free persons, white, mulatto, and black. The houses are built on each side of the road at intervals, for the distance of one mile. A rivulet runs through it, which in the rainy season often overflows its banks to a considerable distance on each side. Beyond this village the road is comparatively flat, but is still diversified by unequal small elevations; several sugar-works are seen, and great numbers of small cottages; the passing of the country people with loaded horses, carrying cotton, hides, and other articles, the produce of the country, and returning with many kinds of wares, salt meat and fish from Recife, may almost be called continual.
The town of Iguaraçu, which we now entered, has been already mentioned in a former chapter; it is one of the oldest settlements upon this part of the coast, and stands at the distance of two leagues from the sea upon the banks of a creek. The woods, that border the paths or roads, are in parts so thick and close as to be impassable even to a man on foot, unless he carries in his hand a bill-hook or hatchet to assist in breaking through the numberless obstacles which oppose his progress. Of these the most formidable is the cipo; a plant consisting of long and flexible shoots which twist themselves around the trees, and as some of the sprouts, which have not yet fixed upon any branch, are moved to and fro by the wind, they catch upon a neighbouring tree, and as the operation continues for many years undisturbed, a kind of net-work is made of irregular form, but difficult to pass through. Of this plant there are several varieties; that which bears the name of cipo cururu is in the highest estimation, from its superior size and strength, and likewise from its great flexibility. Several kinds of cipo are used as cordage in making fences, and for many other purposes.
Iguaraçu is partly situated upon a hill and partly in the plain below, where a rivulet runs, and a stone bridge has been built, as the tide reaches this spot, and would render the communication difficult[27]. The place plainly denotes that it has enjoyed greater prosperity than it at present has to boast of; many of the houses are of two stories, but they are neglected, and some of the small cottages are in decay and ruin. The streets are paved, but are much out of repair, and grass grows in many of them. It contains several churches, one convent, and a recolhimento or retreat for females, a town hall, and prison. Its affluence proceeded formerly from the weekly cattle fair, which was held upon a plain in the vicinity, but this has now for some years past been removed to the neighbourhood of Goiana. Iguaraçu has many white inhabitants, several shops, a good surgeon, who was educated in Lisbon, and it is the resort of the plantations, to the distance of several leagues, for the embarkation of their sugar chests, and for the purchase of some articles of necessity. The town contains about eight hundred inhabitants reckoning the scattered cottages in the outskirts. The view from the tower of the principal church is said to be extensive and grand. The only regular inn of which the country has to boast is established here, for the convenience of passengers between Recife and Goiana, and at this we intended to have stopped had not the early hour at which we reached it, tempted us to push forwards before the sun became more powerful.[28]
The road continues flat and sandy, and two leagues beyond Iguaraçu we entered the village of Pasmado, which is built in the form of a square; it consists of a church and a number of cottages, most of them of mean appearance, containing from 300 to 400 inhabitants. We proceeded through it, crossed the most considerable stream we had yet seen this day, called Araripe, and entered the inclosed field attached to the engenho, or sugar-works, of Araripe de Baixo, belonging to a Portugueze. We expected to have obtained a dinner from this good man, but after considerable delay, to the great discomfort of our stomachs, we understood from our host, that his intended hospitality would not be in readiness, until the day would have been too much broken into by the additional delay; therefore we again mounted our horses about two o’clock, with a broiling sun, ascended another steep hill, passed several sugar-works and cottages, and crossed several rivulets, traversing a most delightful country. We rode through the hamlets of Bû and Fontainhas, at the former of which there is a chapel. From the latter the road is chiefly over a sandy plain, almost without wood, until the engenho of Bujiri is discovered with its field of grass and woods around. Immediately beyond it is to be forded the river of Goiana, influenced by the tide as far as this spot. The wooden bridge which formerly existed was now fast decaying and dangerous for horses; we gave ours to the guide, who led them through the water, riding upon his own, whilst we found our way across some loose beams. This operation did not delay us long; we received our steeds from the guide, with their saddles wet and themselves all dripping, and in a few minutes more entered the town of Goiana, between four and five o’clock in the afternoon. The distance from Recife to Goiana is fifteen leagues.