Hunting a home in Brazil

by James McFadden Gaston

After an early breakfast, we were supplied with a negro guide by Major Silveira, and travelling through a region that was almost entirely campo, we proceeded twelve miles to the residence of Senor Major José Maria Gavião, at São José.

In his absence, we were kindly received by his family; and upon his arrival, we had the strongest demonstration of his generous hospitality. He not only treated us with the best he had to eat and drink, but supplied us with fine horses to ride over his plantation.

He has only established himself here a few years, and yet his arrangements are very complete. He has a large tract of land lying remarkably well for cultivation, and very fair soil, though not of the best quality. It is free from frost, and thought to be well suited for coffee culture. He has one hundred and twenty thousand coffee plants of different ages already planted, and is ready to extend the number when he has rains to favor transplanting.

He has a good saw-mill, with perpendicular saw, which works very satisfactorily. He has also a grist-mill that makes beautiful corn-meal; and really it is refreshing to see the meal instead of farina, which is the substitute in most of the parts of the country for bread.

We availed ourselves of the fine bathing facilities at the mill to refresh our persons, and put on clean clothes. The Major sent down large towels for us, and provided likewise a bottle of Cognac, for us to take a little after concluding the bath, to prevent any bad effects of the cold water. Bathing in this climate is not only very grateful to our bodies but it is regarded essential to health and comfort.

I here had an opportunity of enjoying for the first time a feast of that delicious fruit, the jaboticaba. It is a large, dark purple fruit, resembling very much the appearance and taste of the finest specimens of muscodine, but the average size is somewhat larger than the largest muscodine, and the juice is even sweeter and more delicate than that of the muscodine. It is regarded entirely free from danger, when the juice alone is eaten, and many swallow the pulp also without experiencing any inconvenience. This fruit is an anomaly in its location upon the body of the trees, or upon the larger limbs, by a very short, delicate attachment, and is not found upon the twigs or ends of the branches as other fruits. The tree producing it is a tall, smooth, light-yellow colored forest growth; and in riding out to the woods, a negro ascended one of them and gathered a quantity of the fruit. It grows also when transplanted, and makes a beautiful shade-tree for a yard, while bearing the choicest fruit.

I ate at the house, likewise, the cassia, which is a fruit produced in the campos, and has a very pleasant acidulous taste, that is found very good when used as a lemonade with water. This fruit has the peculiarity of producing the seed at the lower end, exterior to the investment. Though found upon a small shrub in the campo, it is grown under cultivation upon a large tree, and of much larger size and finer flavor.

We were shown here a small hand-roller cotton-cleaner, which is the only reliance thus far for a gin. A small spinning jinney of the old pattern is also used; and the mortar and pestle are employed for beating big hominy.

Friday, October 20, 1865.

We rode out this morning before breakfast to the location of a small colony of Brazilians, employed by Major Gavião in cultivating his lands. Most of them own some slaves, and they are also employed upon the place. As the sole object in these arrangements seems to be for the coffee culture, the contract with the proprietor leaves them free to cultivate the intervening ground for themselves, and the consequence is, that their cribs are full of corn, while the proprietor has to buy his supply from the country around. They have hogs, also, in fine order, and every thing about their little settlement looks to be in a thriving state. In addition to this, the laborer is paid five cents per year for each coffee plant that he sets out and gets to growing, thus having a good cash income, independent of the supply of provisions. This principle works well for the contractor, but is certainly not favorable for the landowner, as he certainly should avail himself of some part, at least, of the productions of the land, during the period it is occupied by the contractor or colonist, as he is, in this instance.