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Show 26 RIO DE JANEIRO. April, 1832. eaten by the horses, and the roots are ground int~ a pulp, which, when pressed dry and baked, for~s the .farmha: the prm· C·i pa1 art1'cle of sustenance in the Braz1ls. It .I S· a cunouhs' , though well-known fact, . that th~ expressed JUICe of t IS most nutritious plant is h1ghly pmsonous. A few. years ago a cow died at this Faz~nda, in consequence of havmg drunk some of it. Senhor Figuireda told me that he had planted, the year before, one bag of feijao or. beans, and three of rice. the former of which produced e1ghty, and the latter thre~ hundred and twenty fold. The pasturage supports a fine stock of cattle and the woods are so full of game, that a deer had been killed on each of the three previous days. This profusion of food showed itself at dinner, where, if the tables did not groan, the guests surely did : for ea~h person is expected to eat of every dish. One day, haVIng, as I thought, nicely calculated so that nothing should go. away untasted, to my utter dismay a roast turkey and a p1g a~peared in all their substantial reality. During the meals, It was the employment of a man to drive out of the room sundry old hounds, and dozens of little black children, which crawled in together, at every opportunity. As long as the idea of slavery could be banished, there was something exceedingly fascinating in this simple and patriarchal style of living : it was such a perfect retirement and independence of the rest of the world. As soon as any stranger is seen arriving, a large bell is set tolling, and generally some small cannon are fired. The event is thus announced to the rocks and woods, but to nothing else. One morning I walked out an hour before daylight to admire the solemn stillness of the scene ; at last, the silence was broken by the morning hymn, raised on high by the whole body of the blacks ; and in this manner, their daily work is generally begun. On such fazendas as these, I have no doubt the slaves pass happy and contented lives. On Saturday and Sunday they work for themselves, and in this fertile climate the labour of two days is sufficient to support a man and his family for the whole week. April, 1832. RIO DE JANEIRO .. 27 APRIL l4TH.-Leaving Socego, we rode to another estate on the Rio Macae, which was the last patch of cultivated ground in that direction. The estate was two and a half miles long, and the owner had forgotten how many broad. Only a very small piece had been cleared, yet almost every acre was capable of yielding all the various rich productions of a tropical land. Considering the enormous area of Brazil t~e proportion o~ cultivated ground can scarcely be con~ s1dered as any thmg, compared to that which is left in the st~te of I!ature : at some future age, how vast a population it Will support ! During the second day's journey we found the road so shut up, that it was necessary that a man should go ahead with a sword to cut away the creepers. The forest abounded with beautiful objects; among which the tree ferns, though not large, were, from their bright green foliage, a~d t~e elegant curvature of their fronds, most worthy of admuatwn. In the evening it rained very heavily, and although the thermometer stood at 65°, I felt very cold. As soon as the rain ceased, it was curious to observe the extraordinary evaporation which commenced over the whole extent of the forest. At the height of a hundred feet the hills were buried in a dense white vapour, which rose like columns of smoke from the most thickly-wooded parts, and especially from the valleys. I observed this phenomenon on several occasions : I. suppose it is owing to the large surface of foliage, preVIOusly heated by the sun's rays. W~ile staying at this estate, I was very nearly being an eyewitness. to one of those atrocious acts, which can only ta~e place m a slave country. Owing to a quarrel and a lawsu~ t, the owner was on the point of taking all the women and children from the men, and selling them separately at the publ.ic auction at Rio. Interest, and not any feeling of compasswn, prevented this act. Indeed, I do not believe the inhumanity of separating thirty families, who had lived tog~ ther for many years, even occurred to the person. Yet I will pledge myself, that in humanity and good feeling, he |