Two English merchants only were established at St. Luiz; the commercial transactions of British houses of trade were entrusted chiefly to Portugueze merchants of the place[68]. Many of these were accustomed to little ceremony, and walked the streets in short jackets, some of them were without neckcloths and a few without stockings; but others dress according to the manner of persons in Europe. It was with much difficulty that I could persuade the generality of those with whom I conversed that I had no business to transact; they could not comprehend the motive by which a man could be actuated who was putting himself, by travelling, to certain inconveniences for the sake of amusement; indeed many persons would not be convinced, and thought that in so saying I had some sinister views.
I had not many opportunities of gaining information respecting the interior, but still I will mention what I heard. The banks of the river Itapicuru, of which I have already spoken, though they are much cultivated compared to what they were a few years ago, are yet very wild, and there is space incalculable for new colonists. The captaincy of Piauhi and the interior of the State of Maranham abound in cattle, and these parts of the country are not subject to droughts. The town of Aldeas Altas[69], which is situated in the latter, and the city of Oeiras in the former and further inland, are said to be flourishing places. Great numbers of cattle are annually driven from these quarters of the Sertam to Bahia and Pernambuco. The proprietors of the estates which are situated in districts so far removed from the seat of government are at times unruly, and a party of soldiers, which was sent up to arrest one of these men, some time before I arrived at St. Luiz, returned without effecting its purpose.
Among other anecdotes, I heard of a mulatto slave who ran away from his master, and in the course of years had become a wealthy man, by the purchase of lands which were overrun with cattle. He had, on one occasion, collected in pens great numbers of oxen which he was arranging with his herdsmen to dispatch to different parts for sale, when a stranger who came quite alone made his appearance, and rode up and spoke to him, saying that he wished to have some private conversation with him. After a little time they retired together, and when they were alone the owner of the estate said, “I thank you for not mentioning the connection between us, whilst my people were present.” It was his master, who had fallen into distressed circumstances, and had now made this visit in hopes of obtaining some trifle from him. He said that he should be grateful for any thing his slave chose to give to him. To reclaim him, he well knew, was out of the question—he was in the man’s power, who might order him to be assassinated immediately. The slave gave his master several hundred oxen, and directed some of his men to accompany him with them to a market, giving out among his herdsmen that he had thus paid a debt of old standing for which he had only now been called upon. A man who could act in this manner well deserved the freedom which he had resolved to obtain.
As it was my intention to pass the ensuing summer in England, and no ships arrived from thence, I was afraid of being delayed some months for a conveyance, therefore I thought it better to take my passage in one of the ships which were about to sail. I preferred the Brutus, as I was intimate with the supercargo, a young Portugueze. We set sail from St. Luiz on the 8th of April, in company of another British ship; but we were soon out of sight of each other, owing to one vessel holding a better wind. On the 18th we reached variable winds, in lat. 22° N. lon. 50° W. It is not usual to find them so far to the southwards, therefore we might consider ourselves remarkably fortunate. We passed our time pleasantly, as the weather was fine and the wind favourable. On the 7th of May, the wind freshened, but we had a good ship and plenty of sea-room. A wave struck the stern and entered the cabin on the 8th in the morning, setting every thing afloat; this occurred soon after we had risen. On the 9th we discovered two vessels at a great distance a-head and rather to windward, both of them were laying to, but soon each appeared to stand on different tacks. One proved to be an English brig loaded with timber; she was water-logged and about to sink, and the latter was an American ship, which had lain to, and was in the act of assisting the people in leaving her. If the brig had not been loaded with timber she must have gone down long before. As the American ship was bound to her own country, we took the crew on board the Brutus, nine persons; they were in most woeful plight; some lame, others nearly naked, and all of them half starved with cold and hunger. The vessel had sprung a leak, which increased so rapidly, as to oblige them to retreat from the deck into the foretop, where they had been for three days and two nights, almost destitute of provisions.
We arrived safe off Falmouth on the 20th of May. Here the supercargo and myself landed, and proceeded to London.
CHAPTER X.
THE AUTHOR SETS SAIL FROM GRAVESEND AND ARRIVES AT PERNAMBUCO.—STATE OF RECIFE.—JOURNEY TO BOM JARDIM WITH A CAPITAM-MOR, AND RETURN TO RECIFE.
AT the commencement of the winter my friends again recommended a return to a more temperate climate than that of England; and therefore understanding that the Portugueze ship Serra Pequeno was upon the point of sailing, I took my passage in her. She was lying at Gravesend, and on the 4th October, 1811, I embarked again for Pernambuco.