It is, however, to Corcovado that one goes for a magnificent view of Rio and the bay of the same name. This famous hunchback mountain almost overshadows the city and the climb up affords views of dazzling magnificence. It is a great granite cone, precipitous on all sides save one, and an electric line, which follows this slope, now takes the traveller almost to the very summit. Leaving the station in the city, the road first runs over the old and well-preserved Carioca Aqueduct where, for a few blocks, the car runs along high above the red-tiled roofs of the capital city. Then it begins the climb up along the side of the mountain. Now one obtains a view of the bay, and again one looks out over the city to the Serra da Mar mountains in the distance; again it is Tijuca, or the peak of Tingue, that dominates the horizon. The abandoned aqueduct follows the bends of the road and has been broken in many places, for new water pipes now carry the water supply from the original source. An old and famous convent, Santa Theresa, is seen, where husbands used to place their wives for safekeeping when departing on a military expedition. Past hotels, villages and showy private homes the road winds and twists. Finally the line changes to the rack system, as the grade becomes more steep, and at last, after a climb for a few minutes up steps hewed out of the solid rock, the little pavilion is reached that crowns the mountain’s summit. Here beautiful views meet the gaze of the traveller in every direction; mountains on one side, the sea and beautiful bay on the other. On a clear day a panorama of fifty square miles may be seen with the unaided eye. Sheer precipices of more or less bare rock extend down for a distance of fifteen hundred feet or more. A stone merely dropped over the crowning walls would descend to the plains below. It is to the bay that one will turn with most interest. There, in the distance, is the seemingly narrow channel through which all boats must pass on their way to the city. Then nearer to the city is the famous Sugar Loaf, with its curious outline. The blue waters of the bay studded with numerous small islands, the curved shores, the white streaks which mark the cities, and the broad white line, which indicates the Avenida Central and the Beira Mar, acquire a new meaning, and become photographed upon one’s memory in indelible colours; it is then one fully realizes that he is gazing upon one of the most beautiful panoramas that nature has prepared for the delectation of mankind.
CHAPTER V
MINAS GERAES AND MINING
There is another route to Bello Horizonte, the capital of the state of Minas Geraes, but I chose the one through Petropolis, because I was to have the pleasure of the company of the American Embassador. Petropolis was the one time capital of the state of Rio de Janeiro. There are other cities in the state of Rio besides Petropolis. Among these are Therezopolis, which occupies a magnificent site on a commanding hill that gives a fine view of the surrounding country, and Nova Friburgo, the oldest immigrant settlement in Brazil. This city was established almost a century ago by a number of Swiss colonists, and is reached by another railway of almost an equal ascent with the route to Petropolis, heretofore described. This little colony has grown into a prosperous settlement and preserves many of the characteristics of the race which founded it.
Boarding the semi-weekly express train at Petropolis, which is here termed “grande velocidade,” we were soon winding around the hills and through the narrow passes threaded by the river. Occasionally little primitive villages and a few unimportant adobe towns picturesquely grouped along the banks of the stream were passed. The scenery is beautiful as pass after pass unfolds itself on the journey down to lower altitudes. One is impressed by the extent of mountainous territory which is encountered by the traveller all over the republic, with the exception of the country traversed by the mighty Amazon and its tributaries. It is a constant surprise to see the vast amount of soil in Brazil that is actually without development. Mile after mile of this land, which is within a comparatively short distance of the capital, had the appearance of never having been occupied by settlers, or ever having been disturbed by agriculturists. Although broken it could well be adapted to the raising of stock, at least for sheep and goats, for these animals would find sustenance. It seemed to me that cattle could be raised profitably also, since it would not be necessary to feed them, as pasture will grow all the year round.
AN OX TEAM OF MINAS GERAES.
The few natives who did live in the little mud-brick huts, with thatch roofs, that cling to the side of the hills eked out a very poor existence, if one judged by the appearance of everything around their homes. A few chickens and pigs with plenty of dogs, perhaps a mule and a cow, constituted the only stock that one could see. A little patch of corn, a banana stalk or two, and perhaps a patch of mandioca root, seemed to be the only attempt at agriculture of the improvident negro or poor whites who dwell on these beautiful hills. The houses contain only the very crudest of furniture with rude beds and the very simplest of culinary outfit. Nature is perhaps too bountiful, and man depends upon that bounty rather than his own exertions.
The mandioca is a small shrub with a tuberous root that grows in nearly every part of Brazil. It grows to the enormous size of fifteen and twenty pounds, and somewhat resembles an enormous radish or sugar beet. In its natural state it contains a very poisonous juice which must be eliminated before the real substance can be used for food. It is first pressed and then washed, and the water must be thrown away for it is poisonous. The root is then ground into a meal which is very rich in starch. One large root will sometimes produce as much as two gallons of this prepared meal. After being crushed the meal is at once roasted, or otherwise it will turn sour and be spoiled. Tapioca is one of the products of this tropical tuber. The utilization of this root was first discovered by the Indians, who found a method of getting rid of the poisonous qualities. To-day, the mandioca, or farina, flour is one of the principal articles of food in Brazil, not only among the poorer classes but also with the well-to-do. Many of the articles served on the hotel tables are thickened with the mandioca meal. This, with rice and beans, furnishes the almost exclusive food of the poor. On the railway trains one will see that this meal comprises one of the chief articles of the lunches which have been brought by one’s fellow passengers.