Travels in Brazil

by Henry Koster

CHAPTER XII.

JOURNEY TO UNINHA.—CONTINUATION OF MY RESIDENCE AT JAGUARIBE.—NEGRO BROTHERHOOD OF OLINDA.—BLESSING THE SUGAR WORKS.—MANDINGUEIROS AND VALENTOENS.

ABOUT the middle of January, 1813, I went to stay for some days at the cottage of an acquaintance, who resided upon the plain of Barbalho, for the purpose of purchasing a few horses. This place is near to the village of Monteiro; but it is on the opposite side of the river. Barbalho is a plain of some extent, upon which cattle are turned out to feed; the soil of it is a stiff dark-coloured clay, and the grass which grows upon it is of a coarse species; this becomes quite dry during the summer months, and when in this state it is set on fire, that the tender shoots which again spring up may serve as food for the animals that are to graze upon it. The fire will run along the ground, urged by a fresh breeze; it will sometimes contract, and at others spread each way, presenting to the beholders a fiery wall. The sight is grand; it is upon a large scale, which gives to it a terrific appearance. The inhabitants of the skirts of this plain carefully preserve a circle around their houses and gardens, clear of vegetation; apprehensive of some inconsiderate traveller who may chance to light his pipe as he goes along, and throw away unextinguished the fire-stick of which he has made use.

The person with whom I was staying persuaded me to ride with him to the sugar plantation of Uninha, which is distant six leagues to the southward of Barbalho; he described the place as being very beautiful, and I consented. This was the only opportunity which conveniently offered itself of seeing the country in this direction; but I much regret not having made greater exertions to visit the southern districts of Pernambuco. We passed through the hamlet and by the parish church of the Varzea. A considerable extent of country is known under this name, containing some of the finest cane lands of the province, which are owned by men of wealth, who know the value of what they possess, and consequently the plantations are in a flourishing condition. The Varzea is famous in Pernambucan history, as the site of a great deal of fighting. Camaragibe, which is in the vicinity, or rather a part of the Varzea, and is spoken of by the historian of that country, is now a flourishing sugar plantation.[94]

We reached the sugar plantation of Camasari, belonging to the Carmelite friars; it is in high order, that is, the slaves and cattle are in good condition, and every thing upon it appeared chearful; but it does not yield so much produce as it might, if the strength of the labourers was pushed to the utmost. I looked into the mill, which is turned by water, and saw some handsome mulatto girls feeding the mill with cane; they were dressed in petticoats of printed cotton, and smocks of cambric muslin, and they wore upon their necks and in their ears gold ornaments; they were singing in parts very tolerably. The difference between the plantations which belong to convents, and those which are possessed by individuals who reside upon them, and have a direct interest in every trifling increase or decrease of the gains, is very striking. The estates of friars are worked almost exclusively by negroes who have been born upon them; every thing goes on easily and regularly. If much is made, the better satisfied is the chief for the time being; but if, on the contrary, little is obtained, still the affairs of the community go on. We proceeded, and at some distance beyond, descended from a high hill into a narrow valley, which was completely embosomed by the eminences around, and so enclosed that we appeared to intrude upon its inhabitants in crossing this spot of their retirement. The grass upon the hills was dry; but all below was yet in full health.

At length we arrived at the plantation of Uninha, which is situated upon an extensive field, composed of uneven ground and watered by several springs. The mill is turned by oxen, which is a late improvement; horses being usually employed where water cannot be obtained. We dined with the owner, and he returned with us to Barbalho in the afternoon. I was much delighted with the day’s amusement. This was the most beautiful part of the country which I visited taken as a whole. The hills and the vallies are not high or extensive, but they are decidedly marked. Here cultivation formed a considerable feature in the country, the cane lands were extensive, and the mills for its manufacture into sugar numerous.

On my return from Uninha, I wished still to remain at Barbalho for a few days, and therefore the owner of the cottage at which I was staying went on to Jaguaribe, to remain there until I could join him. I staid with Manoel and Simam. One morning Manoel had gone to cut a bundle of grass, and on his return met with an old acquaintance, a creole negro; they quarrelled by the way, and as they came near to where I was residing the matter became serious, and blows were given and received, both of the men being armed with long poles. Simam saw this, took up a drawn sword which was lying upon a chair, and ran out to assist his comrade. I went out to put a stop to the business, and discovered that Simam had cut an enormous gash in the fellow’s head; the man was brought into the cottage and his wound was dressed. An acquaintance of mine happened now to come in, and he took charge of the negro, and carried him home to his master. The negro was taking a load of grass for the governor’s horses, who was residing at Monteiro, which is within half a mile of the site of these transactions. Notice would have been taken of the affair immediately, owing to the circumstance of the negro being employed? for the governor, if His Excellency had not been informed that the offending negroes (for such I consider mine to have been) belonged to an Englishman, upon which no more enquiry was made; and as it was discovered that the master had nothing to do with the affray, no cognizance was taken of the matter by the military power. If the owner of the wounded slave had chosen so to do, he might have put me to much expence and trouble, for he might have accused my negroes of assaulting his; but the law of itself seldom does any thing. Even in cases of murder the prosecutor, or accuser as he is called, has it at his option to bring the trial forwards or not; if he can be bribed or otherwise persuaded to give up the accusation, the matter drops to the ground. Thus the spirit of law is changed, from the principle of bringing an offender to justice for the general good of society, to that of prosecuting in revenge for the crime which he has committed against an individual.

Soon after my return to Jaguaribe, I was one evening surprised at the arrival of a white man, who was habited in uniform of blue and red, and accompanied by a great number of loaded horses, and of men, who were dressed in leather after the manner of the Sertam; he delivered to me a letter, which I discovered not to be for me, but for an Englishman who was occasionally with me; however, I of course requested him to stay, and gave directions for the accommodation of his followers. He was a commandant from the interior, distant 130 leagues, in the back settlements of the province of Paraiba, at the foot of the Serra do Teixiera. He had put on board of jangadas at Paraiba a considerable quantity of cotton, which he had brought down from his estate, and he was now travelling to Recife for the purpose of receiving it, and of purchasing necessaries or rather luxuries for his family; to which he appeared to be extremely attached. We soon became intimate, and when he proceeded to Recife at the close of a few days, he left some of his men and horses at Jaguaribe. It is among the inhabitants of places so remote as the district from which he came, that clanship more particularly exists; he had with him ten persons, most of whom were his compadres, that is, the commandant was sponsor to one of the children of each. This relationship is accounted very sacred in Brazil, and I believe in all Roman Catholic countries; it is a bond of brotherhood, which permits the poor man to speak to his superior with a kind of endearing familiarity, and unites them in links of union, of which the non-observance would be sacrilegious. The commandant made me several visits from Recife, and after a delay of two months, he set off on his return homewards. He was a man of most determined spirit, whose name is respected all over the part of the country which he inhabits; and this respect was produced by his wealth and individual character, which brooks no insult; and yet there was a natural goodness in his nature, which broke forth very strongly when he shewed me the letters which he had received from his children, each of them, even to the youngest, having written to him. He had lately lost his wife; his manner of speaking of her was most affectionate. He told me, that he had some intention of taking orders as a secular priest.

Soon after the commandant left me the following occurrence took place hard by, which is characteristic of the state of the country, and similar to what frequently happens; although this of which I am about to speak, might have been avoided, if the actors in it had been a little older, and a little less hot-headed. A young man who resided in this neighbourhood had been lately appointed to hold a military situation in the district, of which he was proud, and owing to which he had assumed an additional degree of personal importance. He possessed a high-spirited horse, and would sometimes turn him loose, although he had no fenced field into which he could put him. The animal soon found out the cane land of an adjoining estate, and destroyed, considerably, the young plants; from hence he would open the gate of the field, (which from the manner that the gates of plantations are usually made, it was very easy for him to do) and would come and offer battle to some of the hard worked horses. This was often repeated, notwithstanding that the animal had been caught each time, and sent home with a request that this might not again occur. However, at last one of the beasts of the estate was lamed by the horse, and rendered unfit for service, at least for some time. The owner was much vexed, and as one of his slaves was about to carry a message to some distance, he told him to ride the officer’s horse. He went,—and the owner was informed of this; he way-laid the slave, and took the horse from him. The planter heard the next day, that the officer had expressed to many persons a wish to meet him, however no notice was taken of this. As he rode on the following morning to see his workmen, he saw the captain in the path on horseback talking to a mulatto man. The planter spoke to him, saying that he wished to pass, which he could not do unless he moved, and mentioning at the same time that he was informed of his wish to see him. The captain spurred his horse towards his adversary, attempting at the same moment to draw his sword; but this he did not do with ease, from some entanglement of the belt. The other man drew his, which was inclosed in a walking-stick, and rode up to him, putting the point close to his breast, thus shewing him how easily he might by this unforeseen advantage have taken his life. The mulatto man had now recovered from his astonishment, and ran in between the horses, striking them and driving them asunder. They still remained for some minutes in high words; but the captain had not, as was afterwards well known, supposed that the other was armed, and therefore his ardour for the combat had now cooled considerably.