Travels in Brazil

by Henry Koster

My horse was brought out; I beckoned to Manoel, my constant companion, and calling to some freemen, who had returned from their work, and were now talking together in a groupe; I said, “who follows me?” A black carpenter, a white brickmaker, a mulatto carrier, and a labourer of the same cast, and likewise another slave, stepped forwards. Thus accompanied by six able men, including Manoel, who were all on foot, I set off on horseback at a round pace, knowing that in ascending the hill, they would pass me. The hill being surmounted, I again pushed on, and when I arrived at the short, but steep declivity which overlooks the plantation of Inhaman, I saw three men below, and heard the shrill Indian pipe. I looked back and saw that the carpenter and brickmaker had alone kept pace with me, and I know not how they were able so to do. I cried out, “Yonder are some of the party.” At the same moment, Monte, the brickmaker, fairly leapt down the steep declivity, and passed my horse; we descended upon the men, but were disappointed in discovering that although they were Indians, they were not those which we sought. Now we waited for the remainder of our party, who soon came up, and we returned quietly by another path towards home. On our arrival at the gate of Jaguaribe, I was informed that the party had quartered itself in a corner of the field, in and about the hut of another Indian; to this place we now directed our steps. Francisco Joze himself came out to speak to me, and soon several others placed themselves near to him. I sat on horseback, holding a parley, my men being on the other side of me, until Antonio, the mulatto carrier, (he who had been way-laid a long time before) came round and leaned against the horse’s neck, placing himself between me and the Indian. I afterwards found out, that he had observed that Francisco Joze held a drawn knife, and Antonio judged that this was intended against me or my horse, for the Indian well knew that if he wounded me it would probably enable him to escape. Several persons belonging to the plantation had now joined us, and the matter ended by the Indian allowing himself to be taken without resistance, and to be put into the stocks; a party of mulattos, or of creole negroes, would not have submitted thus quietly. Late at night he paid the debt, was released, and I saw no more of him for a considerable time.

I was now dismissing all those workmen who were not in debt to me, and at last only a few persons remained, whose services I required, and upon whose character I could depend. It was very seldom that I visited Recife, but when there was a necessity for so doing, I took advantage of moon-light nights in preference to travelling in the day-time, and was on these occasions accompanied by Manoel. The wood of Merrueira, through which we usually passed, is famous for the numerous stories of ghosts that wander, and of murders that have been committed in it. One night when the moon was not at a sufficient height to afford a tolerably clear view of the objects around, we were passing through this wood. I saw a figure before me in the middle of the path, which bore the appearance of a man standing still. I slackened my pace and called out, as is customary, “Who comes there;” but before I could possibly have received an answer, Manoel brushed past me, saying, “Let me see;” however I desired him to be quiet, as no harm might be intended. On a nearer approach, we discovered that an old stump of a tree had caused this alarm. On another occasion I sent this same slave from Recife to Jaguaribe, on foot, early in the morning, telling him that I intended to follow him, leaving Recife about eight o’clock in the evening. I was to be accompanied by Zacharias, another slave, whose courage was somewhat doubtful. Manoel arrived at Jaguaribe and immediately prepared one of the pack-horses, saying to the manager that he was going to meet his master who was on the road alone, for he said, “Zacharias is nobody[96].” The manager could not persuade him to give up his intention, and therefore as he knew that the slave was much tired with his walk, he came himself. I mention these anecdotes for the purpose of shewing the kind of man, who usually followed me wherever I went.

Several months now succeeded each other without any disquietude. I had another attack of ague during the rainy season, which was however much less violent than that of the preceding year. I likewise met with an accident which had nearly proved fatal, occasioned by a blow from the fore feet of a high fed horse; he reared and struck me, but this was done more in playfulness than with the intent to do mischief.

I had had some intention of leaving Jaguaribe, owing to the turbulence of the neighbourhood, to my ill-health, and to some disagreeable occurrences which had taken place between my landlord and myself. However, as this would have been very inconvenient, I resolved to stay, notwithstanding all these and other disadvantages.

Preparations were made in the month of August for setting the mill to work; the cane had not attained this year its accustomed growth, in most parts of the country, and that which I possessed was particularly stinted in size, for I had not commenced planting until it was almost too late. Every thing being ready towards the end of the month, I sent for a priest to bless the works. Unless this ceremony is performed, every person who is to be employed about the mill, both freeman and slave, would be afraid to proceed to his destined labour, and if any accident happened it would be ascribed to the wrath of heaven, for this breach of religious observance. The priest arrived and said mass, after which we breakfasted and then proceeded to the mill. The manager and several other freemen and the negroes stood around the works; a quantity of cane was placed ready to be thrust in between the rollers, and the four negroes whose part it was to feed the mill stood at their posts. Two lighted candles were placed close to the rollers, upon the platform which sustains the cane, and a small image of our Saviour upon the cross stood between them; the priest took his breviary and read several prayers, and at stated places, with a small bunch of weeds prepared for the occasion, which he dipped in a jug of holy water, he sprinkled the mill and the persons present. Some of the negroes sprang forwards to receive a good quantum of this sanctified water; and then the master of the sugar boiling-house led the way to the portion of the works of which he had the direction; and here there was another sprinkling. When we returned to the part of the mill in which the rollers stood, the priest took a large cane, and I did the same; then the signal being given the flood-gate was opened and the works were soon in motion, and according to rule the two canes which the priest and I held in our hands were the first to be ground. I had heard much of this ceremony from persons of the country, and I cannot avoid saying, that although something of the ridiculous may by many persons be attached to it, still I could not help feeling much respect for it. The excitement of devout feelings among the slaves, even of those feelings which are produced by the Roman Catholic religion, cannot fail to be serviceable, and if men are to exist as slaves this is doubtless the religion which is the best adapted to persons in a state of subjection. Slavery and superstition are however two evils which when combined, are surely sufficient to cause the misery of any country.

The carts, the oxen, and their drivers had not received the priest’s benediction; they arrived some time afterwards, bringing loads of canes, and the carts were ornamented with the longest that could be picked out placed as flag staffs, and bearing upon them handkerchiefs and ribbons. Each cart in succession stood before the door of the dwelling-house, and the priest complied with the wishes of the drivers.

There was a tall, thin mulatto man of about fifty-five years of age, of the name of Vicente, who lived near to Jaguaribe; he was in the habit, when he saw me about my own place, of stopping, that we might have some conversation. I liked much to hear his stories. He said, that now the country was becoming quieter,—that disturbances were less frequent than formerly. That there were now no Valentoens, valiant ones, nor any contas verdes, green beads[97]. He explained to me the precise meaning of the former, and the species of beads which were intended to be described by the latter. These Valentoens were men of all casts, whose whole business consisted in seeking opportunities of quarrelling; they attended all festivals and fairs, and their desire was to become so famous for courage as to render the knowledge of their presence on these occasions sufficient to keep in awe any other individuals who might wish to create disturbances, considering themselves privileged to revenge their own and their friends’ injuries; but they would not allow of any quarrel in which they were not concerned. Two roads cross each other at about the distance of one league from Jaguaribe, and at this spot, Vicente told me, that some of these men often stood, obliging all passers-by either to fight them or to dismount, take off their hats, and lead their horses whilst they were in their sight. These men wore round their necks strings of green beads, which had either come from the coast of Africa, bearing the wonderful property of conveying in safety their possessors through all descriptions of perils, or were charmed by Mandingueiros, African sorcerers, who had been brought over to Brazil as slaves, and in secret continued the prohibited practice of imparting this virtue to them. The men were accompanied by dogs of extraordinary size and activity, and possessing courage equal to that of their masters. These animals had been taught to drink rum, which they would do at their owner’s command, giving to all beholders an opinion of some supernatural qualities having been bestowed upon them. Vicente had been acquainted with some of these men, and was firmly persuaded of the virtues of the green beads, and that the dogs imbibed from their masters certain qualities, which made them superior to all the rest of their species. The expression of the man’s countenance changed entirely when he commenced the relation of these stories; it was at all times harsh; but now there was imparted to it a considerable degree of unpleasant wildness. When I expressed my doubts of the efficacy of the beads against a musket ball well-directed, his anger rose, but there was pity mingled with it, for one who had not seen those times of wonder. He seemed to be glad that they were over, and that all was now quiet; but yet he cherished a sort of regard for men whose lives had been passed in deeds of danger; for notwithstanding the charms, such he considered them to be, as the death of these men was generally violent, owing, as Vicente said, to some unfortunate removal of the beads from the person of him whose destined hour was arrived. It was not, however, from this person alone that I heard accounts of the Valentoens.[98]

There was an old creole negro residing in the neighbourhood of Jaguaribe, whose disposition led him to explore all the woods for miles around in search of game; he preferred this manner of obtaining subsistence to that of daily labour with the hoe or bill hook. He was acquainted with the situations in which the best timber was to be found; and could, in many instances, name the exact spot upon which some particular tree stood, which was required for any given purpose. This man often came to Jaguaribe, and on these occasions I usually called him into the house to hear his stories, whilst I sat in my hammock smoking. He was fond of tales of ghosts and Mandingueiros. The latter are famous, among other feats, for handling poisonous snakes, and can, according to his account and that of many other persons, by peculiar noises or tunes, call these reptiles from their holes, and make them assemble around them. These sorcerers profess to render innoxious the bites of snakes, to persons who submit to their charms and ceremonies. One of the modes which is adopted for this purpose, is that of allowing a tame snake to crawl over the head, face, and shoulders of the person who is to be curado de cobras, cured of snakes, as they term it. The owner of the snake repeats a number of words during the operation, of which the meaning, if they contain any, is only known to the initiated. The rattle-snake is said to be, above all other species, the most susceptible of attention to the tunes of the Mandingueiros. The above accounts I should not have related upon the authority of one or two persons. I have heard them repeated by several individuals, and even some men of education have spoken of the reputed efficacy of the tame snakes of the Mandingueiros, as if they were somewhat staggered in their disbelief of it; the reputation of the contas verdes is firmly established in the faith of those persons of the lower ranks who have heard of them. These men certainly do play strange tricks very dexterously.

I had not been so much inconvenienced by snakes as I had imagined I should; I had seen several different kinds in going through the woods, and particularly in that which leads from Jaguaribe to Paulistas. The path through it is not much frequented, and therefore the snakes have become bolder, crossing the road or running up a bank as I passed along. One afternoon I had a visit with which I could have well dispensed. I happened to look up whilst sitting in my hammock, and saw one of these reptiles, lying quite still upon the top of the wall of the room, in the opening which is formed by the supporters of the roof that rest upon it. I seized a pike and ran it into the snake, thus rivetting it to one of the beams of the roof, whilst I called to some person to assist me in killing it; but its writhing was so violent, that it soon liberated itself, and fell from the wall on the outside, where several persons waited for it. The people who were present did not know whether it was of the caninana or papa ovo (egg eater) species, as these are much like to each other. The former is accounted venomous, and the latter is by many persons supposed to be harmless. Both are of a grey colour above, and yellow underneath. The snake which we killed was about four feet in length.

The caninana is likewise sometimes called the flying-snake, as it has the power of springing to a considerable distance. It usually lies entwining the branch of a tree, and from thence darts down upon those who may molest it. The cobra d’agua, or water snake, was often to be seen in the rivulet which runs just below the dwelling-house of Jaguaribe; it is sometimes eight or ten feet in length, and of the thickness of a man’s arm. The colour of the back is a bright black, and the belly is of a pale yellow. The lower ranks of people say that it is poisonous; but I have heard this contradicted. The jararàca snake is from six to nine feet in length; the back is of a dusky yellow, and the belly is white; the point of the tail is black, the mouth is red, and it has two black and white streaks upon the throat. The çurucucù snake is of nearly the same size as the jararàca; it is black and yellow. This reptile is attracted by fire, and on this account would be more dangerous to travellers than any other description of snake, if its attention was not so totally directed to the fire, as to give time and opportunity of killing it. It has, as I was informed by many persons of credibility, been known to spring off the ground at a person carrying a flambeau. The çurucucù and the jararàca are known to be poisonous. The cypô snake is so called from its likeness to the thin and flexible shoots of the plants which bear this name. It is said to be poisonous.