The banks of the sea, and of the small brooks which water this part of the country, are almost covered with the small crabs called Cancer vocans; some of these had one of the claws called by naturalists the hand, very large; others had them both remarkably small, and of equal size, a difference which is said to distinguish the sexes, that with the large claw being the male.
There is the appearance of but little cultivation; the greater part of the land is wholly uncultivated, and very little care and labour seem to have been bestowed upon the rest; there are, indeed, little patches or gardens, in which many kinds of European garden stuff are produced, particularly cabbages, peas, beans, kidney beans, turnips, and white radishes, but all much inferior to our own: water-melons and pine-apples are also produced in these spots, and they are the only fruits that we saw cultivated, though the country produces musk, melons, oranges, limes, lemons, sweet lemons, citrons, plantains, bananas, mangos, mamane apples, acajou or cashou apples and nuts; jamboira of two kinds, one of which bears a small black fruit; cocoa-nuts, mangos, palm-nuts of two kinds, one long, the other round; and palm-berries; all which were in season while we were there.
Of these fruits the water-melons and oranges are the best in their kind; the pine-apples are much inferior to those that I have eaten in England; they are, indeed, more juicy and sweet, but have no flavour: I believe them to be natives of this country, though we heard of none that at this time grow wild; they have, however, very little care bestowed upon them, the plants being set between beds of any kind of garden-stuff, and suffered to take the chance of the season. The melons are still worse, at least those that we tasted, which were mealy and insipid; but the water-melons are excellent; they have a flavour, at least a degree of acidity which ours have not. We saw also several species of the prickle pear, and some European fruits, particularly the apple and peach, both which were very mealy and insipid. In these gardens also grow yams and mandihoca, which in the West Indies is called Cassada or Cassava, and to the flower of which the people here, as I have before observed, give the name of Farinha de Pao, which may not improperly be translated, Powder of Post. The soil, though it produces tobacco and sugar, will not produce bread-corn; so that the people here have no wheat-flour, but what is brought from Portugal, and sold at the rate of a shilling a pound, though it is generally spoiled by being heated in its passage. Mr. Banks is of opinion, that all the products of our West Indian islands would grow here; notwithstanding which, the inhabitants import their coffee and chocolate from Lisbon.
Most of the land, as far we saw of the country, is laid down in grass, upon which cattle are pastured in great plenty; but they are so lean, that an Englishman will scarcely eat of their flesh: the herbage of these pastures consists principally of cresses, and consequently is so short, that though it may afford a bite for horses and sheep, it can scarcely be grazed by horned cattle in a sufficient quantity to keep them alive.
This country may possibly produce many valuable drugs; but we could not find any in the apothecaries’ shops, except pariera brava, and balsam capivi; both of which were excellent in their kind, and sold at a very low price. The drug trade is probably carried on to the northward, as well as that of the dying woods, for we could get no intelligence of either of them here.
As to manufactures, we neither saw nor heard of any except that of cotton hammocks, in which people are carried about here, as they are with us in sedan chairs; and these are principally, if not wholly, fabricated by the Indians.
The riches of the place consist chiefly in the mines, which we supposed to lie far up the country, though we could never learn where, or at what distance; for the situation is concealed as much as possible, and troops are continually employed in guarding the roads that lead to them: it is almost impossible for any man to get a sight of them, except those who are employed there; and, indeed, the strongest curiosity would scarcely induce any man to attempt it, for whoever is found upon the road to them, if he cannot give undeniable evidence of his having business there, is immediately hanged up upon the next tree.
Much gold is certainly brought from these mines, but at an expense of life that must strike every man, to whom custom has not made it familiar, with horror. No less than forty thousand negroes are annually imported on the king’s account, to dig the mines; and we were credibly informed, that the last year but one before we arrived here this number fell so short, probably from some epidemic disease that twenty thousand more were draughted from the town of Rio.
Precious stones are also found here in such plenty, that a certain quantity only is allowed to be collected in a year; to collect this quantity, a number of people are sent into the country where they are found, and when it is got together, which sometimes happens in a month, sometimes in less, and sometimes in more, they return; and after that, whoever is found in these precious districts, on any pretence, before the next year, is immediately put to death.
The jewels found here are diamonds, topazes of several kinds, and amethysts. We did not see any of the diamonds, but were informed that the Viceroy had a large quantity by him, which he would sell on the King of Portugal’s account, but not at a less price than they are sold for in Europe. Mr. Banks bought a few topazes and amethysts as specimens: of the topazes there are three sorts, of very different value, which are distinguished here by the names of Pinga d’agua qualidade primeiro, Pinga d’agua qualidade secundo, and Chrystallos armerillos: they are sold, large and small, good and bad together, by octavos, or the eighth part of an ounce; the best at 4s. 9d. All dealing, however, in these stones is prohibited to the subject under the severest penalties: there were jewellers here formerly, who purchased and worked them on their own account; but about fourteen months before our arrival, orders came from the court of Portugal, that no more stones should be wrought here, except on the King’s account: the jewellers were ordered to bring all their tools to the Viceroy, and left without any means of subsistence. The persons employed here to work stones for the King are slaves.