Leaving Morro Queimado at noon, and descending on the other side of the ridge of mountains, we passed through an unequal tract, formed of hills and ravines. Onward the land appeared finer, and the timber of a superior growth, but there were few cultivated spots, and not many houses. The first extensive fazenda we reached was that of Manoel Jose Pereira, a native of the Azores, who managed his agricultural concerns much better than the other farmers whom we visited. We were shewn a large field of Indian corn, ready for cutting; the quantity that had been sown was about eleven fangas, or bushels, and the produce was estimated at fifteen hundred bushels, about one hundred and fifty for one. This was an ordinary crop; in good years the harvest yields two hundred for one. The corn, as before stated, is chiefly consumed in the fattening of pigs; the quantity requisite for this purpose is six or seven bushels each, and the time, ten or twelve weeks. The curing of bacon is performed by cutting all the lean from the flitches, and sprinkling them with a very little salt. This food has the peculiar effect of giving greater solidity to the fat, which of itself is not liable to putrefaction.
Though the owner of this farm has occupied it not more than five years, and has had only the assistance of his two sons, and six negroes, he has brought it into a very fair state of cultivation. In his coffee plantation we observed five thousand trees in full bearing, and the rest of his grounds were in an equally prosperous condition. His expenses, indeed, are light, and the only difficulties he has had to contend with, have been the bad roads, which are now much amended. The example of this man, it is to be hoped, will stimulate the emulation of his neighbours; for it has fully shewn the unbounded liberality with which nature here crowns the labors of the agriculturist.
On our way hence to the place of our destination, we passed through some forests of fine full-grown trees; one, which had fallen, I had the curiosity to measure; it was full seventy-six inches in diameter, at the thick end, and above twenty-five yards in length. Such a piece of timber I had never before seen. Within about three miles from Canta Gallo, we arrived at an excellent farm belonging to the Senhor Tenente, or treasurer of the district, who treated us very hospitably, and invited us to visit him on our return. Our reception at Canta Gallo was highly gratifying; the Governor, and all the principal inhabitants, overjoyed to see Englishmen in these remote parts, treated us with great cordiality and friendship; a dinner was provided, at which they testified to us the great respect they entertained for our nation, as being the great ally of a Prince whom they adored.
[CHAP. IX.]
Description of Canta Gallo.—Of the Gold-washing of Santa Rita.—Account of the supposed Silver-Mine.
CANTA GALLO, though so near the seat of government, was not known until about twenty years ago. It is situated in the midst of a fine well-wooded country, abounding in springs, and intersected by narrow valleys and ravines. The bottoms of some of these ravines formerly contained gold, which was accidentally discovered by some grimpeiros[27] from Minas Geraes, in the course of their searches about the great river Paraiba, and the Rio Pumba. The richness of these beds of gold, and the fertility of the circumjacent country, attracted numbers of adventurers, who placed themselves under the direction of an able chieftain, named Mão de Luva, on account of his having lost one hand, and his wearing a stuffed glove in its place. The band soon amounted to two or three hundred persons, who washed every part in the neighbourhood worth washing, before they were discovered. Being very determined men, they lived free of control, and bade defiance to the laws. It was not until about three years after their first settlement, that the existing government was apprised of them; when, alarmed at the report of their numbers, which was doubtless exaggerated, they sent out spies to discover their rendezvous. This, after much time and great difficulty, was effected; the spies, in wandering through the solitary woods and fastnesses in the neighbourhood, were attracted toward the place, by the crowing of a cock:—hence the name of Canta Gallo, which was subsequently given to it. They introduced themselves as smugglers, who wished to belong to the fraternity, and after living there some time, found means to give information to government, at Rio de Janeiro, who issued proclamations, offering pardon if the whole body would surrender. This measure was ineffectual; the grimpeiros were well provided with fire-arms, and determined to defend themselves as long as any gold could be found. In a year or two afterwards, the washings began to fail, and thus the great bond of interest which united them being loosened, some deserted the place, and the rest became less vigilant in taking measures for their defence. The government seized this favorable opportunity for reducing them; a considerable force was assembled in the vicinity, with orders to make an attack at a certain fixed day, which was known to be celebrated by the grimpeiros as a festival in honor of some saint. At the expected time, while they were engaged at a great banqueting, and too much occupied with their wine to think of their arms, which had been laid aside, (the flints having been secretly taken out), about a hundred soldiers rushed in among them; those who were sober enough flew to their arms, exclaiming, “We are sold! we are betrayed! treason! treason!” The contest was short; the soldiers seized the ringleaders, who were either sent to Africa, or imprisoned for life; of the rest, some were taken prisoners, others fled, but were pursued for years afterwards, and a few fell in the attack.
The Government, having thus become masters of this territory, and imagining it to be as rich in gold as when the grimpeiros first settled there, issued many injudicious regulations, oppressed the natives beyond example, built registers in various parts, to prevent contraband, and filled the whole neighbourhood with guards. The numerous settlers, whom the supposed richness of the place afterwards attracted, soon found that the cream had been skimmed by the smugglers, and by degrees turned their attention to agriculture, a less precarious source of subsistence than mining. So little gold is at present found, that His Highness’s fifth scarcely pays the officers and soldiers appointed to receive it. There are some situations alike favorable to mining and farming; with a small capital, a man may here turn both pursuits to account, if he can bring himself to conform to the customs of the place. The land is strong and good; its various inequalities present spots adapted to the growth of almost every description of produce. In the valleys, and on the sides of the mountains, the soil, in some parts, consists of strong clay, but more generally of a fine, rich, vegetable mould. The rock, or solid stratum, which appears at various depths below it, is granite, composed of feldspar, hornblende, quartz, mica, and frequently garnets. When found in a decomposing state, it is denominated pizarra. No metallic substances, except gold and oxides of iron, appear; the former, which is found in the interjacent bed of cascalho, exists only in grains; I examined a considerable quantity, but could not discover a single particle in a crystallized state.
The country appears to be very poorly stocked with cattle; no cows are kept for milking, nor is any attention here paid to the production of an article of diet, so essential to the subsistence of a poor family; a few goats are kept, and the only milk used is that which they yield. The common food of the inhabitants is as follows:—for breakfast, a kind of kidney beans, called feijoens, boiled, and afterwards mixed with the flour of Indian corn; for dinner, feijoens boiled with a little fat pork and some cabbage leaves, and a sort of pudding, made by pouring the water from the pork on a plate of the farinha, which is eaten with the hand, and much relished; for supper, some poor vegetables, also boiled up with fat pork. Fowls, which are bred here in great numbers, are generally cut to pieces and stewed for table. Wine is rarely used, even among the higher ranks; but here are fruits in great abundance, particularly bananas and oranges, which form a considerable part of the general diet.