Entering the port of St. Catherine’s by the north, we passed several islands, on one of which, westward of the entrance, stood the respectable fort of Santa Cruz. After running a few miles in shoal water, we sailed into a narrow passage, guarded by two forts, which forms the harbour. From the anchorage, and more particularly from the landing-place, which is at the bottom of a verdant slope of about five hundred yards, the town has a most beautiful appearance, and the perspective is nobly crowned by its fine cathedral. The green is interspersed with orange-trees, and forms an agreeable parade. Immediately on entering the town, we discerned in its general appearance, and in the manners of its inhabitants, a striking superiority over those which we had of late visited. The houses are well built, have two or three stories, with boarded floors, and are provided with neat gardens, well stocked with excellent vegetables and flowers. The town consists of several streets, and may contain from five thousand to six thousand inhabitants. It is a free port. The produce of the island consists in rice, maize, mandioca, coffee of excellent quality, oranges, perhaps the finest in the world, and a variety of other fruits. Sugar and indigo are likewise produced, but in small quantities. A profusion of the finest flowers indicates the genial nature of its climate; the rose and the jessamin are in bloom all the year round.
The surface of the island is varied with mountains, plains, and in some places swamps; here is found a stratum of excellent red clay, which is manufactured into jars, culinary vessels, large water-pots, &c. which are exported in considerable quantities to the Plata and to Rio de Janeiro. The lands capable of cultivation are under considerable improvement; a great extent of them was formerly covered with large trees, but as great quantities have of late years been cut down and used for ship-building, good timber may now be considered scarce. They grow flax here of a very fair quality, of which the fishermen make their lines, nets, and cordage. The sea hereabouts produces an abundant variety of excellent fish, and some fine prawns; so large is the supply to the market, that a quantity of fish[10], sufficient to dine twelve persons, may be had for a shilling. Meat is much the same in quality as at Monte Video, being rather hard and lean; its general price is about three halfpence per pound. Pigs, turkies, ducks, poultry, and eggs, as well as fine vegetables and excellent potatoes, are plentiful and cheap.
The trade of this place is inconsiderable, as the produce does not much exceed the consumption of the inhabitants, who are in general far from rich. It affords an agreeable retirement to merchants who have discontinued business, masters of ships who have left off going to sea, and other persons, who, having secured an independence, seek only leisure to enjoy it. Few places are better calculated for such a purpose than this; it is enlivened by the numerous coasting-vessels from Bahia, Pernambuco, and other ports, bound for the Plata, which frequently touch here; and it is amply provided with artisans of all descriptions, such as tailors, shoe-makers, tin-workers, joiners, and smiths. The inhabitants in general are very civil and courteous to strangers; the ladies are handsome and very lively, their chief employment is making of lace, in which they display great ingenuity and taste.
The mountains of the interior, and the rocks on the coast, are of granite. Close to the fort, on the left hand of the entrance to the harbour, is a vein of green-stone in various states of decomposition, which ultimately migrates into clay of a superior quality to that generally found in the valleys. The soil in the interior, being rather humid, is surprisingly fertile. It consists principally of a rich vegetable decomposition, on which shrubs and plants grow in great luxuriance. Myrtles appear in all parts, and a most beautiful variety of the passion-flower is found in equal abundance. Here is also a profusion of roses, pinks, rosemary, &c.
The animals are chiefly opossums, monkeys, and armadillas; there are various serpents, among which is the beautiful coral snake. Of birds, there are cranes, hawks, parrots, of various species, humming birds and toucans, the latter of every variety in great numbers.
The climate is serene and wholesome, its solstitial heats being moderated constantly by fine breezes from the south-west and north-east, which are the winds that generally blow here; the latter prevails from September to March, and the former from April to August, so that a voyage to the north, during one half of the year, is slow and tedious.
The island is divided into four parishes: 1st, Nossa Senhora do Desterro; 2d, St. Antonio; 3d, Laguna; and 4th, Ribeiraõ. The divisions of the opposite part of the continent are likewise under the jurisdiction of the governor of St. Catherine’s, who is subject, in certain cases, to the captaincy of S. Paulo, and in others to the government of Rio de Janeiro. These divisions, are 1st, St. José; 2d, St. Miguel; and 3d, Nossa Senhora do Rosario; the entire population of the island and its dependencies amounts to about 30,000 souls.
Of the fortresses which defend this island, the most considerable is Santa Cruz before mentioned; there are four others, Porto Groed, Ratoé, Estreito, and Conceição. Off the former there is safe anchorage for a fleet of men of war, and the harbour which it protects may be entered by ships of 300 tons, if not of a heavy draught of water. Ships passing the channel are required to send a boat on shore at Santa Cruz before they proceed.
To the west of the island, on the opposite coast, is an almost inaccessible barrier of lofty mountains, thickly covered with trees and underwood. At a small port in the vicinity, called Piripi, which has a very pretty river, an immense quantity of fish is caught, dried, and exported. They are extremely fat, and very soon become rancid.
On the continent, opposite the town of St. Catherine’s, stands the pleasant village of St. José, the inhabitants of which are principally occupied in sawing timber into planks, making bricks, and growing rice. The net gains of a poor family here are incredibly small, but the necessaries of life are cheap, and they have few incentives to curtail their present enjoyments for the sake of improving their future fortunes. Near this village is a lovely vale called Picada, thickly studded with white cottages, embosomed in orange-groves and plantations of coffee. The gently-sloping hills which enclose this spot, give a picturesque effect to the bold rugged scenery beyond them. This valley, and others contiguous to it, form the extremities of the territory habitable by the Portuguese, for on the land to the westward, though at a considerable distance, dwell the Anthropophagi, here called Bugres. These savages live entirely in the woods, in wretched sheds made of palm-branches, interwoven with bananas. Their occupation is chiefly hunting with bows and arrows, but they frequently employ these weapons in hostilities against their neighbours. A party of them will sometimes way-lay a Portuguese[11], whose residence is solitary; they have even been known to attack and destroy whole families. No regard to humanity seems indeed to be paid by either party in their encounters; they are mutually bent on a war of extermination.