A history of the Brazil

by James Henderson

Mountains.—The most remarkable mountains in the vicinity of the sea are, the serra Guarapary, upon the river of the same name; that of Pero-cao, further to the north; Monte Moreno, near the entrance of the bay of Espirito Santo, and Mestre-Alvaro, which is a mountain almost circular, enjoying extensive views, and is the highest upon the coast. It is about three miles from the beach, in parts bare and rocky, in others covered with wood, having some fertile portions, the cultivators of which are generally within the parish of Nossa Senhora da Conceiçao of the serra. The best balsamic trees of the province are produced here; it is situated between the rivers Carahype, and Reis Magos, and formerly had a volcano. Five miles to the south of the river Piuma is Mount Agha, from whence issue excellent waters. It is a land-mark to navigators.

Mineralogy.—It produces gold, magnet, crystals, amethysts, and potters and other earths; the mountains in great part consist of granite.

Zoology.—The Puri tribes of Indians possess the western and central parts of the province, and yet make descents upon the sea-coast, generally doing considerable injury to the Christians who reside contiguous to the shore. They are rather meagre in person, but are courageous and perfidious. Some hordes are already domiciliated in aldeias, and live in peace with the conquerors, in the vicinity of the river Parahiba; but the greater portion wander about, not deviating from the habits of their ancestors. It is said their numbers have diminished, in consequence of the fatal rencounters they have had with the Aimbore tribe. They do not exercise any branch of agriculture; and as the soil, though fertile, cannot gratuitously supply a sufficient maintenance, there is a perpetual attack on all kinds of game. They are formidable enemies of the Corados; they use the bow and barbed arrow, and hold in high esteem all instruments of iron, and above all the axe. The skins of animals are not used for the covering of their naked bodies, nor for any other purpose. Amongst other wild quadrupeds, the deer, boar, monkey, ounce, and anta, are well known, against which a continual warfare is carried on, in which the gun is used as well as the bow. A kind of monkey (Sahium) is frequently met with, of an ash colour, with the face white. The colhereira, mutun, jacutinga parrot, arrara, inhuma, tucano, macuco partridge, and other birds of beautiful plumage, are generally seen, on proceeding beyond the cultivated grounds, which consist only of certain portions running parallel with, and not extending far from the coast; domestic animals are consequently not very numerous.

Phytology.—In the woods which cover a considerable portion of the country there is a great diversity of trees of excellent timber for building and other purposes; the Brazil wood, the sassafras, and the cedar, are well known; besides other resinous trees are those which afford gum-mastick, gum-copal, and the cajue-nut tree; those which produce the cupahiba oil are common. No other province possesses such an abundance of the tree that supplies the Peruvian balsam. The sipo clove is met with, the leaves of which exhale an aromatic, similar to the East Indian clove. The piquia produces a fruit of the size of an orange, full of a fine flavoured juice, with a great number of seeds. The goyty is a fruit of the size of a lemon, oblong, with little pulp, yellow, of a fine flavour, and filled with fibres attached to a large stone; there are two sorts similar in taste, and denominated mirim. The pitoma is larger than the mangaba, oblong, with a smooth rind, savory pulp, and a stone. Amongst the species of fruit trees which the Portuguese have here naturalized, the most useful are the orange and cocoa-nut; amongst other native trees are the jabuticaba, the ubaya, whose fruit is similar to the first, of excellent quality, and also grows upon the trunk, and even upon the roots that appear. The arassanhuna is also a fruit very much like the jabuticaba, but not of so much flavour, and grows at the point of the branches. The fig-tree fructifies in perfection.

The soil is particularly well adapted to the cane, of which there are many engenhos. Legumes, coffee, cocoa, bananas, water-melons, and mandioca, which latter is not grown in sufficient quantity for the consumption of the population, the inhabitants preferring the culture of the cotton tree, of which they make large plantations. Its produce constitutes their principal branch of commerce and wealth; they export a considerable quantity, partly in the wool, and partly in coarse cloth. A sort of narrow sail-cloth is likewise manufactured with it, called tracado, to which a preference is given to that of flax, for forming the sails of some of the coasting vessels. The production of rice and Indian corn is considerable.

Rivers and Ports.—The river Camapuan, commonly Cabapuanna, and which the Indians call Reritigba, originates in the serra of Pico, not far distant from the source of the Muryahe, runs between mountains augmented by various others which join it, and enters the ocean fifteen miles to the north of the Parahiba. It is navigable for large canoes for a considerable space, to a certain situation, where its current begins to be more violent and its bed less disembarrassed.

Ten miles to the north of the Camapuan, the Itapemirim empties itself, after a considerable course, and is already large on crossing the cordillera. It is said that one of its branches originates in the mines of Castello, which were abandoned in consequence of the invasions of the Puris and Aimbores. Sumacas advance some miles up it, and canoes much further.

The Piuma, which rises in an auriferous country to the west of the cordillera, discharges itself fourteen miles to the north of the Itapemirim, and affords navigation to canoes for a considerable space.

Twenty miles to the north of the Piuma is the Benevente, which is only considerable as far as the tide advances; it is supposed to descend from the cordillera.

The Guarapary, which discharges itself ten miles to the north of Benevente, is narrow and deep in the proximity of the sea, where it traverses the cordillera, beyond which it is unknown, as well as the country through which it flows.