Sheep are kept upon every estate for their flesh, when that of a more esteemed kind fails; that is, either when the oxen are in a meagre state, owing to a long continuance of dry weather; or that the herdsman is too much occupied at home, or too lazy to go out and kill one. The mutton is never well-tasted, and though it is true that in the Sertam no care whatever is taken in rearing or feeding the sheep, still I do not think that this kind of meat is to be brought to any great perfection[51]. The lambs are covered with fine wool, and this continues until they are one year and a half or two years old; but after this age, it begins to drop, and is replaced by a species of hair. Although the wool should remain longer in some instances, it appeared to me that it was coarse and short[52]. A wound upon the body of this animal is more difficult to heal than upon that of any other, and the flesh of it is of all others the most rapid in its advances to putrefaction.
The division of property in the Sertam is very undeterminate, and this may be imagined, when I say, that the common mode of defining the size of a fazenda, is by computing it at so many leagues; or, as in some cases, by so many hundreds of calves yearly, without any reference to the quantity of land. Few persons take the trouble of making themselves acquainted with the exact extent of their own property, and perhaps could not discover it if they made the attempt.
The climate is good; indeed the inland flat country is much more healthy than that immediately bordering the coast. I can hardly name any disorders that appear to be peculiar to it; but several are known. Agues are not common, but they exist. Dropsy also they are acquainted with. Ulcers in the legs are common, but less so than upon the coast. Ruptures frequently occur. The small-pox[53] makes dreadful ravages, and the measles are much dreaded. When the venereal disease has once settled, the sufferer seldom gets rid of it entirely; applications of herbs are used, but as these people are unacquainted with or unable to follow its proper mode of treatment, some of the patients are crippled, and the major part of them never again enjoy good health. The yaws also is to be met with; but I had afterwards more opportunities of seeing this complaint, and will therefore not now give any account of it. Instances of consumption occur. The hooping-cough did not appear to be known in any part of the country which I visited; I made many inquiries respecting it, but could not obtain any information upon the subject. I slept many times in the open air, and never felt any bad effects from so doing. The dew is trifling, and a high wind is usual in the night. The sun is powerful, and is of course particularly felt in travelling over sandy loose soil; but it did not seem to do any mischief. I never suffered from head-ache, and excepting the attack of the ague, which is accounted for from the heavy rain which we experienced, I never enjoyed better health.
The food of the inhabitants of the Sertam consists chiefly of meat, of which they make three meals; and to this is added the flour of the mandioc stirred up into paste, or rice sometimes supplies its place. The bean, which is commonly called in England the French bean, is a favourite food; it is suffered to run to seed, and is only plucked up when quite dry and hard. I have often been surprised to see of how little service maize is to them as food, but yet it is occasionally used. In default of these, the paste of the carnàûba is made; and I have seen meat eaten with curds. Of green vegetables they know nothing, and they laugh at the idea of eating any kind of salad. The wild fruits are numerous, and to be obtained in any quantities, but few species are cultivated; among the latter are the water-melon and the plantain. The cheese of the Sertam, when it is fresh, is excellent; but after four or five weeks, it becomes hard and tough. Some few persons make butter, by shaking the milk in a common black bottle, but this must of course be experimental, and not general. In the towns even of the Sertam, rancid Irish butter is the only kind which is to be obtained. Wherever the lands admit of it, these people plant mandioc, rice, &c. but much, I may say the greater part of the vegetable portion of their food, is brought either from more fertile districts near to the coast, or from the settlements still further back,—the vallies and skirts of the Cariris, Serra do Teixeira, and other inland mountains.
The trade of the Sertam consists in receiving small quantities of European manufactured goods[54]; the cotton cloth of the country, of which they make some among themselves; a small portion of European white earthenware, and considerable quantities of the dark brown ware of the country, which is made for the most part by the Indians who live in the districts that contain the proper kind of clay; rum in small casks; butter, tobacco, snuff, sugar or treacle made up in cakes, spurs, bits for bridles, and other gear for their horses, excepting the saddles, of which the greater part are made in their own districts; gold and silver ornaments also find a market to a certain amount. The pedlars travel about from village to village, and from one estate to another, bartering their commodities for cattle of all kinds, cheese, and hides of horned cattle. A colt of from two to three years, sells for about one guinea; a horse broken in for the pack-saddle, for two or three guineas; a horse broken in for mounting, from five to six guineas. A bullock of two years, ten shillings; a full grown ox, one guinea and a half; a cow varies much, according to the quantity of milk, from one guinea to five guineas. A sheep, from two to three shillings; a goat for slaughter is worth even less, but a good milch goat is valued at one guinea, and sometimes higher. Children are frequently suckled by goats, which increases the value of these animals. The goat that has been so employed always obtains the name of comadre, the term which is made use of between the mother and godmother of a child; and so general is this, that she-goats are frequently called comadres, without having had the honour of suckling a young master or mistress. Dogs are sometimes valued at from one to two guineas, and even higher, if they are good sporting, or good house and baggage-dogs. A fowl is as dear as a sheep or goat; and in one instance, as has been related, I paid four times the money for one of these birds that I had given for a kid. The hawkers seldom obtain money in exchange for their wares; they take whatever is offered, and hire people to assist in conveying the cattle or produce to a market, where they are exchanged for goods, and then the owner again returns. A twelvemonth is sometimes passed in turning over the property once; but the profits are usually enormous; two or three hundred per cent.
During my stay at Natal, the governor shewed me a species of wax which is produced from the leaves of the carnàûba, a tree I have frequently mentioned. A quantity of this wax was sent by him to Rio de Janeiro; it is mentioned in one of Dr. Arruda’s publications, and a sample of it found its way to England, and has been taken notice of by the Royal Society[55]. The governor, in one of his journeys through his province, passed the night, as often happened, in a peasant’s cottage. A wax candle was lighted and placed before him, which was rudely made, but afforded a good light; he was somewhat surprised at this, because oil is generally used; on making enquiry, he found out that the wax dropped from the leaves which covered the cottage, during the heat of the day;—I suppose the cottage had been newly built, or that a fresh covering of leaves had been put on to it. He afterwards made the experiment himself, tried some of the candles, and became confident of the importance of the vegetable wax. The governor also gave me a piece of iron ore, which was the produce of the captaincy of Rio Grande. He told me that he entertained little doubt of the existence of considerable quantities of this metal in this part of the country, and that the Government would be well recompensed for their trouble, if proper persons were appointed for the purpose of making discoveries on this subject. I saw some cloth which he had ordered to be woven from the thread of the crauatâ[56]. Its texture was not unlike that of the coarse linen which is used for sheeting; it is very strong. I have some of the thread in my possession.
As soon as I had arranged that I should leave Natal in the morning of the 6th February, the governor told me that he intended setting off on business relating to his province at the same time. We took leave of each other at night, and in the morning when I rose, I found myself in possession of the house, as he had set out at four o’clock. We did not get away until about seven, owing to the number of horses’ loads, and other matters which it was necessary to arrange. I felt quite at home at Natal, though I was yet distant from Recife seventy leagues; but the country is well watered, well wooded, and comparatively well peopled.
I passed again through St. Joze, the Indian village, but did not turn off from the road towards Papari. I slept at a hamlet, and in the morning proceeded to Cunhàû. About ten o’clock we were under the necessity of turning loose, and leaving behind upon one of the plains, a horse which I had purchased at Chafaris; he was completely fagged, and could not proceed farther. The colonel of Cunhàû was not at home, but his steward wished me to make use of his master’s house; however, I merely mentioned having left a horse at some distance upon the lands of the plantation, and the guide drew for his government the mark which it had upon the haunch. I have often observed the quickness of these people in recognising a mark which they have once seen, and the accuracy with which they will draw it after having only taken seemingly a casual glance, and perhaps after a period of some weeks has elapsed since they had had even this[57]. We then rode on half a league to the hamlet. The commandant of this place introduced himself to me, and was extremely civil; he put my horse into his stable and wished me to stay until the following morning, but I preferred advancing, and slept the same night at another hamlet two leagues beyond. This day we passed several rivulets which were all much swollen, but none of them were sufficiently full to prevent the continuance of our journey. There had already been some rain, and the face of the country bore a more pleasing appearance. Two letter-carriers passed through the place in the evening, and I wrote by them to a friend at Pernambuco, that the cottage at the Cruz das Almas might be ready for me on my arrival.
The next day we passed some sugar plantations and over some hills; the country was most beautiful, for every thing looked green and healthy. I crossed a considerable rivulet at the foot of a hill, and, ascending on the opposite side, put up at a single cottage, which was inhabited by white people; an old man, a widower, with a fine family of handsome sons and daughters. Their cottage had not room for us all, and therefore we intended to sleep in the open air altogether, but the old man insisted upon my going to sleep in the house, and I was not sorry for this, being rather afraid of a return of the ague. Nearly at sunset, or at the close of the day, which in that country are almost about the same time, the tame sheep was missing; great search was made for it, but to no purpose. The old man ordered two of his sons to set out, and not to return until every enquiry had been made in the neighbourhood. I did all in my power to prevent giving this trouble, but he persisted, saying, “No, you are under my roof, and this unfortunate circumstance may lead you to have an unfavourable opinion of me.” Long after dark the young men returned with the sheep and a mulatto man in custody. I wished the man to be released, but they said that this could not be, for he was a runaway slave, who had committed many depredations, and for whose apprehension a considerable reward was offered by his master. They had followed the footsteps of the sheep upon a sandy path as long as the day-light lasted, and then had taken a direction, which they thought might lead to some mocambos, or huts of the wood, made by runaway slaves. After they had proceeded a little way, the bleating of the sheep was heard, upon which they prepared themselves and came suddenly upon this fellow and a woman who were in a hut; the woman escaped, which they regretted, as she was likewise most probably a runaway slave. The man was taken into the house, and was tied fast upon a long bench with his face downwards, and the cord was passed round his arms and legs several times; this was done in the room which I was to inhabit for the night. The whole of the family retired to rest, and left us together; I had my knife with me, but naturally soon fell asleep. In the morning the bench and the cords remained, but the man was gone; he had crept through a small window at the opposite end of the room. The young men of the house were sadly vexed, but I told them it was their own fault, for some of them should have kept watch, as they could not suppose that I should remain awake, who had come in fatigued from travelling. We were now afraid that he might have taken one of our horses for his more convenient escape, but this was not the case.