| Mandioca first set cuttings. | Commencing to grow & form Root. | Nearly full grown & appearance of the Root. |
Having finished my affairs at Canta Gallo, I set out on my return to the capital, accompanied for about a league of the road by the worthy governor, the captain, the treasurer, and almost all the inhabitants. During a residence of about fifteen days among these excellent men, my table had been sumptuously supplied without cost, and I had been treated with a degree of respect far exceeding my expectations or merits. I took leave of them with regret, wishing most sincerely that it might be in my power to be of service to them at court, by making representations in their favor.
I arrived at Morro Queimado at night, after a journey of thirty-four miles[32], and on the next day, in good time, reached the house of my worthy friend Captain Ferreira. Being now less pressed for time, I took a more leisurely survey of his establishment, particularly of his sugarwork and distillery, both which are very ill conducted. When I saw the furnaces for heating the coppers in the latter, I freely told the Captain, that they could not have been constructed on a worse plan, but I received for answer, that no better was known. It would, indeed, be extremely difficult to introduce improvements into this or any other parts of the distillery, for every thing is left to the management of the negroes. When I asked any question concerning the process, the owner professed his ignorance of it, and sent for one of the African foremen to answer me. With this man I reasoned respecting the excessive quantity of fuel consumed to no purpose, and proposed a method for saving it, as well as for correcting the disagreeable taste of the rum, caused by the empyreuma; which was, to redistil it with an equal quantity of water, taking care previously to clean out the still; but he only laughed at me, and signified that his certainly must be the best method, for he had learned it of an old sugar-maker. Thus it is, that from the indifference of the owners to their own interest, things are suffered to go on in the same routine, being left to the direction of men who shrink from a temporary increase of labor, even when it promises them a lasting advantage. This aversion to improvement I have often observed among the inhabitants of Brazil: when, for instance, I have questioned a brick-maker, a sugar-maker, a soap-boiler, or even a miner, as to his reasons for conducting his concerns in such an imperfect manner, I have been almost invariably referred to a negro for answers to my interrogatories.
Some parts of this estate are said to contain gold, and at the time of my visit, Captain Ferreira was negociating for permission from Government to work them. I presented to him a drawing of a plan for washing the cascalho in a manner superior to that commonly practised, and explained to him the use of grinding or stamping those concrete masses frequently found in it, which generally contain particles of gold, but being too hard to be crushed by the hand, are thrown aside among the debris.
In this fazenda, as in most others, the conveniences for storing the produce, are so very poor and imperfect, that the weevil soon gets into the corn, and the cotton, coffee, and other produce are liable to be deteriorated in a thousand ways. The stabling, too, is bad, and the cattle are deplorably neglected; indeed, the only part of the live-stock that seems to be tolerably well attended to, is the swine. In the dwelling-house I observed a total inattention to domestic comfort; its general appearance confirmed a remark which I had often heard made, that the owners of estates here, dislike to live upon them, and considering their residence as only temporary, make shift with poor accommodations.
The tract of land belonging to the farm is full two miles square, and though still susceptible of great improvement, has not been wholly neglected; the parts already cleared have produced many valuable crops, and the rest will no doubt, in a few years, be brought to an equally promising state of cultivation.
Having staid two days with Captain Ferreira, I set out on the morning of the third for Porto das Caixas, where I arrived at two o’clock, after a journey of thirty miles, and was delayed some time, as the river was crowded with vessels, laden with ship-timber, for the capital. As soon as the navigation became sufficiently open, I embarked in a large boat, of about ten tons burthen, and rowing all night to the mouth of the river, sailed with a land wind, and arrived at Rio de Janeiro about noon. My first care was to inform His Excellency the minister of my return, after which I employed a few days in drawing up my journal for his inspection. He received it in the handsomest manner, and laid it before his Royal Highness, who was pleased to signify, that my description of the country, through which I had travelled, merited his approbation.