As I had written to mention the day upon which it was my intention to arrive there, I was received by one of my people upon the shore of the main land; and the canoe which plies for the purpose of carrying passengers across, was ready to take me. The saddles were removed from the horses’ backs, we entered the canoe, and shoved off from the shore, the horses swimming by the side of it. The passage across, is, at this its narrowest part, about half a mile. On landing upon the island, we saddled the horses, and rode for about one quarter of a mile along a sandy path, which is bordered to the left by the water of the channel that runs between the island and the main, and on the right by coco-trees, until we reached a narrow creek, which is not fordable at high water and in this state we now found it. I left the horses to the care of Manoel, until they could be passed conveniently, whilst I followed the man who had come to receive me. We proceeded over the bridge which was constructed of loose beams, and scarcely safe even for foot passengers; immediately beyond it we passed by several cottages with mango trees before them, and then ascended the steep hill, upon the summit of which stands the town, built in the form of a square. We entered it at one corner, and near to my new habitation, which was a large stone building, much dilapidated, with one story above the ground floor. In the prosperous days of this settlement, when its rank in the province was considerable, this edifice was raised as a town-hall above, and prison underneath; but now that the decay of the place had rendered it unworthy of its former distinction, the building was no longer kept in repair, and was now almost in ruins.
The island of Itamaraca, which is in length about three leagues, and in breadth about two, is situated at the distance of eight leagues to the northward of Recife, and is entirely separated from the main land by a channel of unequal width, varying from one league to half a mile. The island does not contain any stream of water, but in the neighbourhood of the town water gushes from the hill wherever it is dug for. That which is obtained from the springs in the neighbourhood of Pillar, is not however good. Itamaraca is, perhaps, the most populous part of the province of Pernambuco, taken as a whole, the immediate vicinity of Recife excepted. It contains three sugar mills, which are well stocked with negroes; and many free persons likewise reside upon the lands belonging to them[100]. Besides the lands attached to these works, there are other considerable tracks which are subdivided among and owned by a great number of persons of small property. The shores of the island are planted with coco-trees, among which are thickly scattered the straw cottages of fishermen; and oftentimes are to be seen respectable white-washed dwellings, which are possessed by persons whose way of life is frugal, and yet easy. The salt-works upon the island are likewise one great source of its wealth; these are formed upon the sands which are overflowed by the tide at high water.
The long village of Pillar, situated upon the eastern side of the island, is at the present day the principal settlement, although that which is called the town of Conception, where I now resided, standing upon the S.E. side of the island, claims seniority, but its better times are gone by; its situation was considered inconvenient, others are at present preferred; and if the parish church did not stand here, and render necessary the presence of the vicar, the place would shortly be deserted. It has now a desolate neglected appearance, an unpleasant stillness, producing sensations of a very different description from those which are excited by the quietude of a place that has never witnessed busier scenes. Its site is the summit of the S.E. point of a high hill, which rises almost immediately from the water’s edge. The square, in which are situated the parish-church,—my new residence,—the vicarage, a low, long, white-washed building,—and about fifteen cottages, is very spacious; but large pieces of ground now remain unoccupied; the houses which stood upon them have been removed, or have been allowed to decay and fall, giving room to banana and tobacco gardens. The centre of the square was covered with brushwood, and a narrow path went along the four sides of it immediately in front of the houses, which afforded to the inhabitants the means of communicating with each other. There is one street branching from it and leading down towards the creek, over which I passed on my arrival; it is formed of small low huts, and is closed at the end farthest from the square, by a church, which is dedicated to our Lady of the Rosary, the patroness of negroes.
The harbour is good, and the entrance to it is commanded by an old fort, which is much out of repair; the garrison is scanty, and without discipline. On one occasion I took a canoe, and went down to the bar. I wished to sound, but my canoe-man begged that I would not, as it might bring him into trouble; and indeed we were in sight of the fort, and the commandant is jealous, being an elderly man and an advocate for the old system of exclusion. The entrance to the port is formed by an opening in the recife or reef of rocks which runs along the whole of this part of the coast. This opening is of considerable width, and its depth will admit of large vessels; but I could not obtain exact information upon the subject. From the main land on one side, and from the island on the other, two long sand banks jut out on each side of the channel, which separates Itamaraca from the continent. These banks are dry at low water, and at neap tides are not completely covered. They shoot out so far that they nearly reach to the reef. The bar is easily discovered from the sea, as it is immediately opposite to the channel or river into which it leads, and as there are breakers to the northward and southward, but none are to be seen at the place which is to be entered. Having entered the bar, some small breakers will be seen a-head, or rather towards the south side of the channel, unless the tide is out, and then the water is quite still. These breakers are farther in than the outermost point of the south sand-bank. They are formed by some rocks which lie at a considerable depth below the water’s edge. I tried to reach them with a pole of two fathoms in length, at low water during spring tides, but did not succeed; and my canoe-man said that he doubted whether another fathom and a half would touch them. The passage for large vessels is between these rocks and the north sand-bank, for the passage between them and the south bank only admits of small craft. I could not learn that there were any other rocks or banks than these which I have mentioned. The anchorage ground is opposite to the fort, and on the outside of it; but opposite to the town of Conception, which is farther in than the fort, there is considerable depth of water. Some parts of the ground are rocky, but others afford safe riding.
The magnificent prospect which may be enjoyed from the clumsy wooden balcony of the town-hall, compensates in some degree for the dismal state of the place in which it stands. In front is an extensive view of the sea, which is always enlivened by numerous jangadas and canoes sailing to and fro, and occasionally by the large craft that trade between Maranham and Recife, and by ships arriving from Europe or returning thither. To the right is the broad channel immediately below, and the bay which it forms on the opposite side, with the picturesque village of Camboa upon its shores, and the pointed hill of the Engenho Novo, covered with wood, rising behind it; but as this hill does not extend far, and rather rises in the form of a cone, the river Iguaraçu runs along the plain, and is now and then discovered, but oftentimes concealed, by the dark green mangroves; these however sufficiently point out its course, and lead the eye to the white specks which beautifully mark the site of the higher buildings of the town of Iguaraçu, peeping out among the vast expanse of wood of a lighter green, which reaches as far as the eye can compass. To the left is a narrow and deep dell, bounded on the opposite side by a ridge of rising ground of equal height with that upon which the town is situated. Behind is the flat plain, which runs along the hill to the distance of one league; it is in places much contracted and in others spreads widely.
The town of Conception was formerly fortified; the three sides upon which it is enclosed by the steep declivity to be ascended in reaching it, have been rendered still more precipitate, even than they would naturally have been, as they are cut perpendicularly to the height of twelve feet, presenting a wall of earth to those who ascend the hill, and as the soil is a stiff clay, and the passing and repassing not considerable, the paths which have been formed through the wall are still exceedingly steep. On the fourth side, entrenchments were made across the plain upon the summit of the hill; these were shewn to me; for it was necessary that they should be pointed out, as they were almost concealed by the brushwood; and even large trees which were growing in them. Upon one spot, on the quarter nearest to the sea, and now the site of a cottage, is still plainly to be discovered the situation of a fort, and a short time ago a gun, which appeared to be of six pounds calibre, was dug up.
The distinctions attending the rank of a town were removed some years past from hence to Goiana, and the only mark which Conception still possesses of its former importance, is the obligation by which the magistrates of Goiana are bound to attend the yearly festival to the Virgin at the parish church.
Itamaraca is one of the oldest settlements of the Portugueze upon the coast of Brazil. It was given to Pero Lopes de Souza, who took possession of it in 1531.[101] The Dutch made an attack upon it in 1630, and although they did not succeed in taking Conception, they built a fort which they called Fort Orange[102], and this is the fortress which now exists upon the island. However, in 1633, the Dutch “dispatched such a force as rendered resistance hopeless; the town of Conception was yielded to them, and with it the whole island[103].” In 1637, the Dutch deliberated, “whether the seat of government should be removed to the island[104].” This did not take place; the opinion of those who proposed the plan being over-ruled, but I cannot avoid thinking that it possesses many advantages of which Recife cannot boast. The port of Itamaraca may not admit of vessels of so much burthen as the Poço harbour of Recife, but the former is much more safe even than the Mosqueiro port. If Brazil was to be at war with any naval power, Recife might be destroyed with ease, whereas if a town had been erected upon the main land, opposite to the island, or upon the inside of the island, it could not be molested by shipping, for it would be necessary that a vessel should enter the channel before she could bring her guns to bear. Besides this advantage, Itamaraca and the neighbouring shores of the main land, enjoy those of wood and water in abundance, in the latter of which Recife is particularly deficient. In 1645, Joam Fernandes Vieira, the principal hero of the Pernambucan war, attacked the island, but did not succeed in dislodging the Dutch[105]. The Portugueze again attempted to regain possession of it in 1646; they crossed over at a place called Os Marcos[106], which is now a coco-tree plantation, and a large house is built upon it; the property belongs to a Portugueze cattle-dealer who resides chiefly at Iguaraçu. Opposite to Os Marcos is the shallowest part of the channel. The Portugueze did not gain their point entirely, “but the Dutch abandoned all their other posts to retire into the fort”[107], which was not surrendered to the Portugueze until the expulsion of the Dutch in 1654.[108]
I happened to arrive at Conception upon the day of the festival, the 8th of December, however as I had many matters to arrange, I did not see the ceremony in the church, but was invited to dine with the vicar. I went at two o’clock, and found a large party assembled, to which I was happy in being introduced, as it consisted of several priests who are the men of most information in the country, and of some of the first laymen of the island. The dinner was excellent and elegant, and the behaviour of the persons present was gentlemanly. I was placed at the head of the table, as being a stranger; and a friend of the vicar took the opposite end of it, whilst he himself sat on one side of me. I never met a pleasanter dinner-party, there was much rational conversation and much mirth, but no noise and confusion. The company continued together until a late hour, and indeed the major part of the priests were staying in the house.
The parish of Itamaraca has now for some years enjoyed the blessings which proceeded from the appointment of the present vicar, Pedro de Souza Tenorio. His merit was discovered by the governor, whom he served as chaplain, and by whose application to the Prince Regent was obtained for him his present situation. The zeal of the vicar, for the improvement of the districts over which he has controul is unremitted; he takes pains to explain to the planters the utility of the introduction of new modes of agriculture, new machinery for their sugar-mills, and many alterations of the same description which are known to be practised with success in the colonies of other nations; but it is not every novelty which meets with his approbation. It is no easy task to loosen the deep-rooted prejudices of many of the planters. He is affable to the lower ranks of people, and I have had many opportunities of hearing persuasion and entreaty made use of to many of his parishioners, that they would reform their habits, if any impropriety of behaviour in the person to whom he was speaking had come to his knowledge. His occasional extempore discourses on subjects of morality when seated within the railings of the principal chapel, delivered in a distinct and deep-toned voice, by a man of commanding person, habited in the black gown which is usually worn by men of his profession, were very impressive. He has exerted himself greatly to increase the civilization of the higher orders of people in his parish; to prevent feuds among them;—to persuade them to give up those notions of the connection between the patron and the dependant, which are yet too general; he urges them to educate their children, to have their dwellings in a state of neatness, to dress well themselves, their wives, and their children. He is a good man; one who reflects upon his duties, and who studies to perform them in the best manner possible. He has had the necessity of displaying likewise the intrepidity of his character; his firmness as a priest, his courage as a man, and he has not been found wanting. He is a native of Pernambuco, and has not degenerated from the high character of his provincial countrymen; he was educated at the university of Coimbra in Portugal.