Hunting a home in Brazil

by James McFadden Gaston

Before leaving the bark, it should be mentioned that several boats came along side with cards from the respective ship chandlers, which they were very intent upon delivering to the captain, with an invitation to take a seat in the boat for a row to the city. One of these was from the firm of Baldwin & Co., with which he expected to deal, and at which we stopped a short time after going ashore. Mr. Baldwin had left the city for a visit to Baltimore, and we were told that his impression was, that an honest man ought not to continue in this branch of business. The house however seems to be well supplied with the various articles usually needed aboard of ships, and it is likely that persons needing to purchase any thing in this line may do so on as favorable terms here as elsewhere in the city of Rio.

From this place, which is very near the wharf, we proceeded with the captain to the house of Phipps Brothers & Co., on Rua Pescadores, who are the consignees of his cargo. The young men in the office spoke English, and were very accommodating in giving us information in regard to various matters outside of their business. We learned that Colonel Clarey from the city of Baltimore had arrived in this city a few days previous, and it was supposed that he was still here. But we were subsequently informed that he had left the city, and proceeded by way of Santos to the city of São Paulo.

In passing through this business part of the city, several negro men were seen with little else than a cloth around their loins, carrying immense burdens; while negro women were seated upon the side-walks with the body of a chemise as the only covering above their waists. These women were engaged in traffic of various kinds, and seemed to be as entirely unconscious of any undue exposure as we would suppose Eve was, originally, in the garden of Eden.

The captain had some Brazilian money, and made a very satisfactory trade with one of these women, getting three oranges for a dump, which is equal to two cents, and bought enough to give us all a good bait of this delicious fruit. I had a United States twenty-five cent coin, for which she was only willing to allow me eight dumps or sixteen cents, but I declined her proposition, and afterwards got ten dumps or twenty cents for my quarter of a dollar,[^[2]] and invested a portion of it forthwith in oranges. It is one of my weak points to have an inordinate fondness for oranges, and this fruit being unusually fine in Rio, and very cheap, I expect to consume a large number daily. Bananas are also very abundant and very cheap; but it is not the season for pine-apples, and the few here are held at high prices, even as much as fifty cents each.

I was struck with the large strings of onions that were seen hanging in almost every part of the market, and was told that they are shipped to the port from Portugal in immense numbers, though the soil and climate of Brazil is said to be well adapted to their production. Those things which grow here in great abundance, without work, satisfy the wants of the lower class of people, and they do not care to devote their energies to tilling the soil.

The streets of Rio de Janeiro, in the business portion of the city, through which we passed, are for the most part very narrow, and having a depression in the middle to serve as a drain. It is difficult for two carts or other vehicles to pass each other, and on one occasion we had to enter the door of a store to avoid contact with the wheels, when two carts were passing in one of these narrow defiles leading to the store of Phipps Brothers & Co. In going to this place, however, we passed through Rua da Direita, which is at this portion perhaps the broadest street in the city, and upon this is located the business palace and the church of the Emperor, Dom Pedro II.

In front of these buildings is an open plaza, with a fountain of water on the opposite side, at which persons may be seen almost constantly filling their vessels with the pure and limpid fluid, that is conveyed by an aqueduct from the hills outside of the city.

This plaza is constantly occupied with carriages and hacks for hire, and there are also quite a number of two-wheeled tilburys, having accommodation for but one person beside the driver. Mules are generally driven in these vehicles, two to the former, and one to the latter, and while they are used almost exclusively in all public equipages, it is not uncommon to see a fine pair of mules likewise in an elegant private carriage.

The mules here present a fine appearance, being of large size and having good action, with apparently more life and spirit than the mules with us in the United States. This however is accounted for by the comparatively light service which is done by them, which came under my observation during this afternoon.

I observed that horses are also used in private equipages and for the saddle, but they did not strike me as being of superior quality. There was a number of fancy-colored horses of rather small size, in single harness, and they seemed to be compact, hardy animals, with good action, and fine spirit. They belong doubtless to the stock of wild horses captured in the plains of Buenos Ayres or in the lower provinces of Brazil, yet I had no opportunity of instituting an inquiry as to their origin.