CHAPTER VII.
ALAGOAS AND SEREGIPE.
Area, Products, and Population of Alagoas.—Maceio, the principal Seaport.—Rivers navigable only by boats, except the San Francisco.—Cataract on the same, at the famous Falls of Affonso; a new sight for Used Up travellers in search of the picturesque in the tropics.—Primitive condition of the Province of Seregipe, and prospects of rapid improvement through Railways.
The adjoining province to Pernambuco is that of Alagoas, so called from lakes situated a short distance from the coast, and where the capital of the province was originally placed; but latterly the shipping port of Maceio has been preferred, and it has grown into a flourishing little town, where a good deal of produce is cleared. It is built on the gentle slope of a hill, a short distance from the bay or harbour, formed, like all others in Brazil, by a reef of coral rocks, inside of which a vessel rides in safety with plenty of water. Its exports first in importance are cotton, and sugar, and then hides. With the exception of the Reconvavo of Bahia, there is probably no part of Brazil so populous as the greater part of this province, which, embracing an area of about 150 by 60 miles, has a population of fully a quarter of a million, chiefly addicted to agriculture, here prosecuted with great success, as the soil is most rich, yielding nearly every Brazilian produce in great profusion; but tobacco, once a prime staple, is falling off, owing to the cessation of imported slave labour; cotton is now fast taking its place, and its cultivation is being followed most encouragingly, common cotton cloth being also made in most of the houses, though the manufactured article is imported, with trifling exceptions. There are numerous rivers in the province, but none of them navigable for any distance, except by boats, in the construction of which the inhabitants greatly excel. In this province is the famous cataract of Paulo Affonso, over which the River San Francisco is precipitated a perpendicular height of fifty feet, one of the grandest sights in nature; and we look forward with confidence to the time when it will be a familiar sight also to the western traveller, as the projected railway from Pernambuco, after traversing nearly the whole province, is to terminate almost at the very foot of the Falls. Of all the provinces of the great empire of Brazil there is none probably that may calculate with greater certainty on a more rapid augmentation of its prosperity from railroads than Alagoas, as nearly all the traffic is now conducted on horse-back and in a species of canoe; and as the productiveness and variety of the soil are vast, correspondingly large will be the result of affording the numerous population the means of transport. The town of Alagoas itself contains about 14,000 inhabitants, and possesses some good educational and large religious establishments, being situate in the midst of an agreeable and fertile country, surrounded by some of the finest timber-trees in the empire, the province yielding to none in the quality or quantity of its forest produce, inclusive of Brazil wood.
Seregipe, contiguous to, is also a good deal mixed up with Alagoas. They are both intersected by the great river San Francisco, which, though it might be made navigable for hundreds of miles above the falls of the same name, and be rendered a source of valuable commerce, is navigable only by small smacks for a comparatively very short distance from the sea, all goods destined for the interior farther up having to be carried on the backs of horses to another part of the river, and there put on board jojos, that is, two or more canoes lashed together, and traversed at top by a piece of board. It is worth remarking, that in ascending this river, and indeed most rivers on this coast, the wind blows up for some two hours continuously, which admits of sails being used, and the descent is easily effected by the current without the wind, which blows downwards for nearly the same space of time towards the coast. The area of Seregipe is estimated at 18,000 square miles, the population at about 200,000. This province is likewise very productive, especially in fine timber, though vast tracts are still altogether uncultivated, but very large herds of cattle prosper on the fine pastures which everywhere abound. The principal town is Sao Christovao, but is not of importance, sufficient to require any detailed notice, or to detain us from the large and important town and province we next proceed to, viz., Bahia.
CHAPTER VIII.
BAHIA.
Bahia, its old name retained in a new place: the province and the city; present condition and splendid prospect of both.—Intra-mural peculiarities and Extra-mural properties.—Prolific sugar produce.—Historic, artistic, and archæological attractions of Bahia.—Souvenirs of the Jesuits.—Relics of St. Ignatius Loyola and St. Francis Xavier.—A Bahian church built in Europe.—British Bahian clergyman and local railways.—Health of the city.—A Brazilian poet warbling native wood-notes very wild.—Necessity for keeping a nautical eye in fine frenzy rolling towards the Abrolhos.—Departure from Bahia.—Approach to the Brazilian capital, and untoward preliminary to the Argentina’s acquaintance therewith.—Stray notes on Bahia, containing memoranda on Brazilian matters in general.
Note to the Illustrations.—Both the illustrations in this chapter are copied from ‘Sketches in South America,’ by Sir W. Gore Ouseley, who, in a letter-press ‘Key’ to his beautiful portfolio of drawings, affords some interesting particulars, of which the annexed is an abridgment:—The first remarkable object in approaching the harbour of Bahia is the Fort of St. Antonio, situated on the point of a rock, forming the extremity of the Cape called after that saint. It is not large, but it is a fair specimen of the numerous solidly-constructed stone forts that have been scattered by the Portuguese (and Spaniards) throughout their colonial possessions, wherever deemed necessary for purposes of defence or aggression, and which bear witness, in their well-built walls, and often handsome details, to the ample means, military skill, and power, that backed the zeal of the first settlers in South America, and founded the Brazilian empire. Fort St. Antonio has on its highest part a light-house, of great service to mariners in making the port at night, as there are shoals off the point. Opposite to Cape St. Antonio is a long low island, called Itaparicá, between which and the port is the channel for large vessels. The scenery near Bahia does not present the striking features that distinguish Rio de Janeiro; it has neither the well-wooded hills nor the lofty precipitous rocks that environ the capital of Brazil. It is, however, very pretty, varied by small hills and acclivities, and ornamented by the tall, graceful cocoa-nut and the usual luxuriant vegetation of Brazil. The Cape, like the coast generally of the province of Bahia, is surrounded by coral rocks; and a reef of coral extends to a considerable distance from and along the shore. The beach is sandy, with large stones strewed on it by the action of the waves. After passing the Cape and Fort St. Antonio, which are on the right on entering the harbour of Bahia, the next prominent objects are the church and villas on the high land, called Victoria, overlooking the harbour. It is a favourite and picturesque suburb of Bahia, and is the chosen site of several ‘chacras’ or quasi country residences. The elevation is sufficient to avoid the extreme heat of the lower town and to get the benefit of the sea-breeze. It is considered a healthy situation, and a tolerable carriage-road leads to the English cemetery, marked by a cross in the foreground, and to the point of St. Antonio, as well as along the coast. On the beach are several ‘Armaçaos,’ or places where whale-boats are kept, and whales cut up. They are provided with capstans and tackle, for hauling up the carcase and blubber to be reduced to food by the poor, the flesh looking like coarse beef. The whale on this coast is pursued in large sailing-boats, and harpooned while the boat is under sail. In the inner harbour are situated most of the wharves, quays, and warehouses along the beach and projecting into the water; and here numerous vessels lie in perfect safety; the foreign men-of-war generally near a round castellated tower or fort, not far from the entrance. Bahia is divided into two towns, the upper and the lower, the former of which being more modern, is built with greater regularity than the latter; and contains many handsome buildings, including a rich cathedral, the palaces of the archbishop and governor, a court of appeal, theatre, hospitals, a library of from 60,000 to 70,000 volumes, and many other edifices, chiefly of an ecclesiastical character. The lower town, San Salvador, or Bahia, is dirty and badly laid out, but in it are to be found the exchange, arsenal, and imperial dockyard. About three miles north-east are yards for the construction of merchant shipping. The houses are mostly of stone, and often lofty. The Dutch have left traces of former possession in the brick paving of some of the streets. At the foot of the steep height, covered with foliage, and crowned by the ‘Paseo Publico,’ or public promenade, is a small landing-place for boats, conveniently situated for those who prefer a steep but clambering ascent to the upper town, to being first taken round the point into the interior basin and landed in the lower town, to be thence carried up by negroes in a sort of palanquin. Those in use here consist merely of a chair on a platform of boards, suspended from the centre of an arched pole or beam, the projecting swan-necked ends of which are born on the shoulders of two men, who relieve themselves by the occasional use of a stick as a lever applied under the pole as it rests under the opposite shoulder. The motion is neither pleasant nor the position seemingly secure. Yet not only ladies, but men, and of no light calibre, invariably use them for transport to the upper town and in visiting. The chairs are sheltered by curtains from the sun, and the woodwork as well as curtains are often gilt and showily and expensively ornamented. The steepness of the streets prevents the use of wheel-carriages, except in a few directions, and causes the substitution of these palanquins. Bahia, founded in 1549 by Thomas de Souza, first captain-general of Brazil, is one of the most important commercial cities in America; and prior to the transfer of the vice-royalty in 1763 to Rio, was the capital of Brazil. It is defended by several forts, some of great strength. It was stated some years ago to contain above 150,000 inhabitants, among whom are many very wealthy proprietors and merchants. This population is divided pretty equally into whites, mulattoes, and blacks. A few miles from Bahia, on the Atlantic coast near Rio Vermelho, is a small ruined chapel, dedicated to St. Gonçalo, said to be the first building devoted to Christian worship constructed in Brazil, or, as some say, in America.
Bahia, or San Salvador da Bahia, is commonly called by the former name, which is only the abbreviation of the title given by the first settlers to the bay, at the head whereof stands the capital, viz., ‘Bahia de todos os Santos,’ or ‘All Saints’ Bay,’ as already stated; but some geographers of the present day retain the old nomenclature; and in so recent and authoritative a work as the eighth edition of the ‘Encyclopædia Britannica,’ now in course of publication, the reader is referred, for the province and city of Bahia, to the article San Salvador, which may be expected to make its appearance somewhere towards the end of 1856, by which time, it is to be hoped, the subject will have expanded to dimensions corresponding with such procrastination in its treatment by such means.