the influence of this original groundwork of character, the Brazilians of the cities and alluvial provinces regard their empire as standing on the threshold of an unexampled national progress; and hence, there may be some excuse for them putting on, what to us may appear as, a somewhat defiant front. Setting aside the difficult task of estimating the moral capacities of this high-mettled race, there are natural advantages of every kind in favour of Brazilian prosperity. A territory extending over thirty-six degrees of latitude and thirty-four of longitude—including within its borders some of the finest rivers of the globe,—possessing a soil all but universally fertile, and a climate whose tropical heats are tempered by Atlantic breezes: such a region, of which not one-hundredth part is yet cultivated, presents a splendid field for material progress and future national greatness.
Turning from these anticipations, and glancing beyond the Brazilian life which is already familiar to us, we catch glimpses of another population connected with the Eastern Brazilians only by the necessities of commerce and production. In this inland society are mingled—under some strange and many picturesque aspects—several distinct varieties, of which the early creole, the aboriginal, and the negro races are the original types. Any rapid material progress will bring changes into this strange society, and already is it entering on a transition stage. Yet all the races of Brazil now contribute towards the exports of the empire; even the dejected Indios mansos—the unhappy Botocudo, brings his collection of vanilla, caoutchouc, and sarsaparilla to exchange for knives or cotton goods.
The creole planter forms the link between the subject and ruling races of Brazil. His habits and style of living present a combination of patriarchal simplicity, with the luxury of the modern slaveholder. His fazenda is always open to the passing traveller, who freely avails himself of this hospitality, it being one of the established customs of the country. Thus the planter constantly finds at his table guests unknown to him by name, who represent the various classes of the moving population of the provinces. A brief description will suffice to introduce some of these, and may serve to illustrate the manners of the free races. Frequently these guests are of the planters’ own class, who may be present in his fazenda either as hunters or visitors. This last, though a general term, has a special significance. A Brazilian senhor whenever he pays a visit, does so with the intention of indulging in the sole dissipation of the provincial creole—that is, cards or games of chance. Ordinarily temperate and regular in his habits, the planter when once absorbed in lansquenet, forgets the changes of day and night, and all his usual occupations.
Here may be named a character peculiar to the inland provinces of Brazil—the bilheteiro. He is the administrator of the system of lotteries, and posts rapidly through the provinces to dispose of the tickets. He cannot accept the hospitalities of the fazenda, the feverish anxiety of his clients forbids his resting, and his frame is early worn out by fatigue and exposure to torrid heat or the humid atmosphere of the forests. This taste for gambling is inherited from the early Portuguese conquistadores; and to such an extent does it prevail that a recent traveller, M. D’Assier, says, that this practice absorbs all the spare revenues of the creoles, and consumes those funds which might otherwise provide the much-needed roads and railways into the interior.
Perhaps the most striking physiognomy which appears at the fazenda is that of the muleteer, or rather the mule-dealer. He is of mulatto race, though his swarthy sunburnt countenance often displays hints of Indian blood, and his tall stature and long flowing hair give an aspect of wildness to his figure. Coming from a distant province at the head of two or three hundred mules, he pastures them on the plantation until they are sold or reared. The planter, having little use for his extensive pastures, expects no return from the muleteer, except occasional assistance in the training of the horses and mules on the farm; and whilst he stays in the neighbourhood, he comes and goes as he pleases at the table of the planter. The mule-dealer, being at little charge for his stock, often amasses a fortune; he then buys a plantation, and often gives to his son a professional education in one of the eastern cities, where men of mulatto race frequently rise to positions of eminence.
The mule-train is the only means of communication between the distant provinces of Brazil and the cities or river-ports. The guardian of these caravans, called an arreador, is always a mulatto. His position is one of considerable responsibility: he is the treasurer, captain, and veterinary surgeon all in one, and he has to control his negro assistants as well as the mules. On his care the planters depend for the transmission of their sugar, coffee, and cotton to the cities, and for their supplies of salt and carna seca (dried meat), for the negroes, as well as wine and European luxuries for themselves. From a lower class of mulattoes the planter generally chooses his overseer, or feitor, as he is called. These men, often of huge stature and coarse in manners, are said to combine in their character the ferocity of the early invaders with the sensuality of the negro race.
Let us return to the free table of the fazenda. There is often found the mascata, a superior class of pedlars, who, for the sake of profits (which have often exceeded two thousand per cent.) are content to brave the perils of the forest and mountain torrent. These men are generally Europeans—either Jews from the Rhenish provinces, who carry jewellery and trinkets; or Parisians, who bring perfumery and light silks; or Swiss or Italians, who are vendors of plaster saints and figures of the Virgin. The mascata has abused the hospitality of the generous planter, and has all but ruined his own craft by his anxiety to maintain his splendid rate of profit. These wandering merchants all speak French, but it is only the true Parisian garçon whose address enables him to stay without offence week after week at the fazenda.
The padre (priest) and the doutor (surgeon) are often seen at the table of the planter, but more as regular visitants than as guests. A glance at the position of these two professional classes will in-