The decree conceding to one or more companies the entire or partial construction of a railway which, commencing in the municipality of Rio de Janeiro, should terminate in such points in the Provinces of Minas and St. Paulo as should be most advantageous, was promulgated in 1852. A company was organized with a capital of thirty-eight thousand Contos of reis, or nineteen millions of dollars; the general plan being to construct a trunk line from the city of Rio de Janeiro to the River Parahyba, a distance of about 67 miles from the coast. A contract was made with an English engineer, Mr. Edward Price, for the building of the first section of this road, extending a distance of 38½ miles, from Rio de Janeiro to Belem. For the construction of the second section, which embraced the mountain barrier separating the valley of Parahyba from the sea-coast, and in which the greatest difficulties were therefore to be encountered, it was proposed by Senhor Christiano B. Ottoni, President of the road, to employ American engineers, and if possible to engage the services of men who had actually constructed railways across mountain ranges in the United States. To this effect, Colonel C. F. M. Garnett was engaged as chief engineer, and came to Brazil in 1856, accompanied by Major A. Ellison, as his principal assistant. Colonel Garnett remained in the country somewhat more than two years, during which time the portion of the road known as the second section, and extending from Belem to Parahyba, was laid out and its construction commenced, surveys being also made of the branches up and down the river, constituting the third and fourth sections. On Colonel Garnett’s departure, Major Ellison remained as chief engineer, having his brother, Mr. Wm. S. Ellison, associated with him in the direction of the road. In July, 1865, at which time the road was actually completed as far as Barro de Pirahy, the company being unable to raise funds for the continuation of the work, it was assumed by the government, as a national undertaking, and Major Ellison, resigning his position, was succeeded by Mr. Wm. S. Ellison as chief engineer.
The difficulties of construction throughout the second section were immense; indeed, there was an almost universal distrust of the practicability of the work. Even after it was considerably advanced, it would probably have been abandoned but for the energy of the President, who shared the confidence of the engineers, and pushed forward the enterprise almost single-handed, in spite of the incredulity of its friends and the objections of its opponents. The sharpness of the mountain spurs rendering it impossible in many cases to pass around them, tunnels became necessary, and fifteen were actually made, varying from 300 to more than 7,300 feet in length, forming, in the aggregate, three miles of subterraneous line. Of those tunnels, three pass through rock decomposed to such a degree that lining throughout was necessary, while the rest are pierced, for the greater part, through solid rock, though requiring the same precaution occasionally. The total length of lining with masonry is 5,700 feet. In the course of this operation constant danger and difficulty arose from the breaking in of the rock, and in one instance the whole mountain spur through which the tunnel had been driven parted from the main mass and, sliding down, obliterated the work, so that it was necessary to begin the perforation again, contending continually against the enormous pressure of the loose superincumbent débris. Were this the fitting place, it would be interesting to give the history of this enterprise more in detail; especially that of the work connected with building the great tunnel and the temporary track which was in use when I first passed over the road. Suffice it to say, that all that portion of the road which is included within the second section is a triumph of engineering, which excites the admiration of the most competent judges, and is in the highest degree creditable to those under whose direction it has been accomplished.
V.—PERMANENCE OF CHARACTERISTICS IN DIFFERENT HUMAN SPECIES.
As my special object of study in the Amazons had reference to the character and distribution of the fluviatile faunæ, I could not undertake those more accurate investigations of the human races, based upon minute measurements repeated a thousand-fold, which characterize the latest researches of anthropologists. A thorough study of the different nations and cross-breeds inhabiting the Amazonian Valley would require years of observation and patient examination. I was forced to be satisfied with such data as I could gather aside from my other labors, and to limit myself in my study of the races to what I would call the natural history method; viz. the comparison of individuals of different kinds with one another, just as naturalists compare specimens of different species. This was less difficult in a hot country, where the uncultivated part of the population go half naked, and are frequently seen entirely undressed. During a protracted residence in Manaos, Mr. Hunnewell made a great many characteristic photographs of Indians and Negroes, and half-breeds between both these races and the Whites. All these portraits represent the individuals selected in three normal positions, in full face, in perfect profile, and from behind. I hope sooner or later to have an opportunity of publishing these illustrations, as well as those of pure negroes made for me in Rio by Messrs. Stahl and Wahnschaffe.
What struck me at first view, in seeing Indians and Negroes together, was the marked difference in the relative proportions of the different parts of the body. Like long-armed monkeys the Negroes are generally slender, with long legs, long arms, and a comparatively short body, while the Indians are short-legged, short-armed, and long-bodied, the trunk being also rather heavy in build. To continue the comparison, I may say that if the Negro by his bearing recalls the slender, active Hylobates, the Indian is more like the slow, inactive, stout Orang. Of course there are exceptions to this rule; short, thick-built Negroes are occasionally to be seen, as well as tall, lean Indians; but, so far as my observation goes, the essential difference between the Indian and Negro races, taken as a whole, consists in the length and square build of the trunk and the shortness of limbs in the Indian as compared with the lean frame, short trunk, deep-cleft legs, and long arms of the Negro.
Another feature not less striking, though it does not affect the whole figure so much, is the short neck and great width of the shoulders in the Indian. This peculiarity is quite as marked in the female as in the male, so that, when seen from behind, the Indian woman has a very masculine air, extending indeed more or less to her whole bearing; for even her features have rarely the feminine delicacy of higher womanhood. In the Negro, on the contrary, the narrowness of chest and shoulder characteristic of woman is almost as marked in the man; indeed, it may well be said, that, while the Indian female is remarkable for her masculine build, the Negro male is equally so for his feminine aspect. Nevertheless, the difference between the sexes in the two races is not equally marked. The female Indian resembles in every respect much more the male than is the case with the Negroes; the females among the latter having generally more delicate features than the males.
On following out the details concomitant with these general differences, we find that they agree most strikingly. In a front view of an Indian woman and a Negress the great difference is in the width between the breasts of the former as compared with their close approximation in the latter. In the Indian the interval between the two breasts is nearly equal to the diameter of one of them; while in the Negro they stand in almost immediate contact. But this is not all; the form of the breast itself is very different in the two. The Indian woman has a conical breast, firm and well supported, the point being turned so far sideways that the breast seems to arise under the arm-pit, the nipple being actually projected on the arm in a full-faced view of the chest. In the negress the breast is more cylindrical, looser, and more flaccid, the nipple being turned forward and downward, so that in a front view it is projected on the chest. In the Indian the inguinal region is broad and distinctly set off from the prominence of the abdomen, while in the Negro it is a mere fold. As to the limbs, they are not only much longer in proportion in the Negro than the Indian; their form and carriage differs also. The legs of the Indians are remarkably straight, in the Negro the knees are bent in, and the hip as well as knee-joint habitually flexed. Similar differences in other parts of the body are visible from behind; in the Indians the interval between the two shoulders, the shoulder-blades being comparatively short in themselves, is much greater than in any other race. In this respect the women do not differ from the men, but share in a feature characteristic of the whole race. This peculiarity is especially noticeable in a profile view of the figure, in which the broad rounded shoulder marks the outline in the upper part of the trunk and tapers gradually to a well-shaped arm, terminating usually in a rather small hand; the little finger is remarkably short. In the Negro, on the contrary, the shoulder-blades are long and placed more closely together, the shoulder being rather slim and narrow, and the hand disproportionately slender, though the fingers are more extensively webbed than in any other race. In this respect there is little difference between male and female, the build of the male being more muscular, but hardly stouter; in both, a profile view shows the back and breast projected forwards and backwards of the arm. The proportions between the length and width of the trunk, as compared with each other, and, measured from the shoulder to the base of the trunk, hardly differ in the Indian and Negro; this renders the difference in the relative length and strength of the arms and legs the more apparent.
I need not allude to the difference of the hair; everybody knows the heavy, straight black hair of the Indian, and the wrinkled, woolly hair of the Negro. Nor is it necessary for me to recall the characteristic features of the Whites in order to contrast them with what has been said above of the Indians and Negroes.
Only a few words more concerning half-breeds are needed to show how deeply seated are the primary differences between the pure races. Like distinct species among animals, different races of men, when crossing, bring forth half-breeds; and the half-breeds between these different races differ greatly. The hybrid between White and Negro, called Mulatto, is too well known to require further description. His features are handsome, his complexion clear, and his character confiding, but indolent. The hybrid between the Indian and Negro, known under the name of Cafuzo, is quite different. His features have nothing of the delicacy of the Mulatto; his complexion is dark; his hair long, wiry, and curly; and his character exhibits a happy combination between the jolly disposition of the Negro and the energetic, enduring powers of the Indian. The hybrid between White and Indian, called Mammeluco in Brazil, is pallid, effeminate, feeble, lazy, and rather obstinate; though it seems as if the Indian influence had only gone so far as to obliterate the higher characteristics of the White, without imparting its own energies to the offspring. It is very remarkable how, in both combinations, with Negroes as well as Whites, the Indian impresses his mark more deeply upon his progeny than the other races, and how readily, also, in further crossings, the pure Indian characteristics are reclaimed and those of the other races thrown off. I have known the offspring of an hybrid between Indian and Negro with an hybrid between Indian and White resume almost completely the characteristics of the pure Indian.