Kitabı oku: «Our Little Brazilian Cousin», sayfa 3

As they continued down the stream, the thatched native huts became fewer, and there could be seen the tiled roofs of the country homes of the wealthy. It was not long before Affonzo saw, gleaming through the trees, the white walls of their own Fazenda and, landing quickly, he bade good-by to Vicente, and rushed across the lawn to tell all his adventures to his mother and Lola.

CHAPTER V
A VISIT TO GRANDMAMMA'S

The Fazenda of the Senhor Dias stood upon a hill overlooking the Amazon. About it were trees and gardens, and a small stream flowed through the grounds toward the great river. A pleasant little summer-house was set under a giant palm tree and about the whole place was an air of ease and comfort. Upon the broad, pillared veranda and between the shady trees hammocks were slung for the midday siesta, and the life of the villa was cheerful and pleasant.

Affonzo was very tired the day after his jaunt through the forest, and toward evening he lazily lay in a cool hammock swinging back and forth. His sister sat on a cushion at his feet listening in delight to the story of his adventures.

Lola was only eight years old and she thought her big brother of eleven quite the most wonderful boy in the world.

"How I wish you could have been with me, Lola," said Affonzo. "Of course you could not, for girls can not go to the places that boys can. But it was most exciting! What you would like would be to hear Vicente. He told me a wonderful story."

"Do tell it to me," said Lola, and Affonzo retold the story of the Gilded Man, to her great delight.

"Oh! what a nice story," cried Lola as he finished. "What was the Indian's house like?"

"It wasn't a real house, you know," said Affonzo. "It was a little round hut all thatched with straw, and he had bows and arrows and all kinds of things." Affonzo was rather vague in his description. "The trees around were the finest I ever saw. Oh! I am sure there is no country in the world like ours!"

Lola smiled, and, touching the strings of her guitar, sang softly:

 
"Minha terra tene palmerias
Onde canta a Sabia
As aves que acqui gorgeiao
Nao gorgeiao como la.
 
 
"Nosso ceo teni mais estrellas
Nossos varzenes tem mais flores
Nossos bosques tem mais vida,
Nossos vida mais amores."⁶
 

"Brava, little one," cried Uncle Prudente who had come out from his siesta refreshed and cool. "That was very prettily sung, little patriot. Have you children heard the news?"

"What news, my uncle?" asked Affonzo.

"That you are to go home with me to-morrow to see your grandmother."

"How glad I am!" cried Affonzo, and Lola danced up and down in delight, saying,

"It is long since we have been in Para, and the ride on the river will be so pleasant."

The next day was bright and fair and their sail down the great river as pleasant as they had anticipated. The air was cool and the sun partially under a cloud, so that the heat was not too great and the banks of the stream, with their trees and flowers, presented views as vivid and changing as a kaleidoscope.

The city of Para is one of the most important places in Brazil. From it are sent out into the world all the produce of the wonderful valley of the Amazon, – woods, rubber and fruits. Its markets are busy spots of industry, and its harbour teems with shipping.

The mother of the Senhor Dias lived in a handsome house on the edge of the town. Since the death of her husband she had lived with her only unmarried son, the Uncle Prudente of whom the children were so fond. She received the travellers warmly. Her son Martim's wife was very dear to her, his children her idols, especially Affonzo. He was his grandfather's image; with his flashing black eyes, his proud mouth, his quick, impetuous manner, he was so like the noble old man she had so loved, that he seemed to embody the youth of her beloved dead.

"You must remain for a long visit with me," she said to the children. "I have asked the children of friends to come and play with you in the garden this afternoon. Some of your school-mates will be here, Affonzo, and some little folk for Lola. I hope you will have a pleasant time."

"You are most kind, grandmamma," cried both children, and when their friends came, they all repaired to the shady garden behind the house.

There were about a dozen boys and girls all chattering at once, but in a moment's quiet Lola said,

"Let us play 'Dona Sancha.' I should like it so much and we have thirteen, just the right number."

"Yes," said a little girl named Catharina.

"There are seven girls and six boys. One of us must be it."

"Who shall be it?" they all cried merrily, and one of the larger girls stood them in a row and repeated,

 
"I am a little widow
From the seacoast there;
I wish to find a husband
But I can't tell where.
Shall I marry this one? Yes.
Shall I marry that one? No.
Shall I marry this one? Yes,
For I love him so."
 

The lot fell to a little black-eyed girl called Constancia, who was then blindfolded and around whom the others formed a circle by joining hands. Then all danced around Constancia singing,

 
"Madame Dona Sancha
Covered with silver and gold,
Take away your veil then,
Your eyes we would behold."
 

At this Constancia uncovered her face, and sang,

 
"I am the daughter of a count,
The grandchild of a king,
Behind a stone they made me hide,
A most peculiar thing."
 

Then the others sang,

 
"Valentin-tin-tin —
Who is married,
Who is married,
She who is not must remain alone."
 

At the last words the boys and girls let go of each other's hands and each one, including Constancia, made a rush for a partner. Lola was the one to be left out and she had to be blindfolded, and take Constancia's place in the centre of the ring. So the game went on, each girl taking her turn in the centre as often as she failed to catch a partner in the scramble.

When the children were tired of play, their grandmother sent out Christovao, an old white-haired negro who had once been a slave, and he showed them many wonderful tricks of juggling. He made flowers to bloom in their hats, money to grow on trees, and many other queer things to happen, and his pet monkey kept them laughing with his queer antics. Then they all sat down around the stone fountain and had a delicious luncheon of doces,⁷ cocada,⁸ and sweet cakes, and Affonzo and Lola went to bed that night quite delighted with their first day in Para.

 
My country has shades
Where the Sabia sings
The birds of your glades
No like melody brings
 
 
Our Heaven has more stars
Our fields have more flowers
Our woods have more life
Our life has more love.
 

CHAPTER VI
EN ROUTE TO RIO

Para is one of the most beautiful of Brazilian cities, with large cool houses, and squares and gardens gay with wonderful orchids, – purple, crimson, gold and white.

The weeks spent at grandmamma's were full of delight to Affonzo and Lola, and they enjoyed all the pleasant happenings of life in the city. One day in October they sat in the garden playing with the pet monkey, a saucy little creature with a thousand cunning tricks and ways, almost human in his intelligence.

"I wonder how soon we shall go home," said Affonzo. "I begin to weary of doing nothing."

"I do not know," said Lola. "But I heard mamma say something strange about it to-day. She and my father were talking while I was playing with the cockatoo and mamma said, 'It will be a long trip and I should dislike to leave them behind.' 'It would do you little good to go with them,' said my father, and mamma replied that the worry of leaving them would take away all the pleasure of the trip if they were not to accompany her; then she saw me looking and bade my father be silent. What trip could they mean?"

"I am sure I do not know, and you should never remember a conversation not meant for you," said Affonzo, virtuously. Then, his curiosity getting the better of his virtue, "I wonder where they can be intending to go!"

"But if I should not remember what I hear, then you should not either," said Lola pertly, for she did not like to have Affonzo correct her.

"We are two quite different people," said Affonzo. "I am much older than you."

"When one is old, one should behave better than one who is young," Lola retorted.

"Both are quite old enough not to quarrel," said their mother's voice sternly, as she came up unnoticed. "What are you quarrelling about?"

Both children were silent and ashamed.

"If you dare not tell the cause, then cease the quarrel," said the Senhora. "And remember that well-bred children do not dispute. Now sit down while I tell you what is going to happen.

"Your father has intended for some time to make a business trip to Rio de Janeiro, going by boat from Para. He wishes me to go with him, for I have not been well of late, and he thought best to leave you two with your grandmother. I wished you to accompany me, and some news has just come which has caused him to give his consent.

"Your Uncle Juan, who went to study medicine in Philadelphia, married there a beautiful North American lady, and has a little daughter the age of Affonzo. She is named Maria and she had the great misfortune to lose her mother a few months ago. She grieves terribly and her father is bringing her to Brazil in the hope that among his people she will grow well and strong again. They will reach Rio de Janeiro in a short time, and we want to be there to see them. Would you like to go with us on this trip?"

"Indeed yes, mamma!" cried both in one breath. "When do we start?"

"To-morrow," she replied. "I did not tell you before, because I feared you would too much excite yourselves. Then too I thought something might happen to prevent our going and you would be disappointed."

"Hurrah," cried Affonzo. "We shall see Uncle Hilario!"

"And I shall see my cousin Martim!" cried Lola.

"Yes, we shall visit my dear brother, and you shall have a very happy time with two cousins to play with.

"Now you must be good children and give me a chance to pack up your clothes. No questions!" She held up her finger playfully. "Those you may save to ask me on ship-board. Here is a map which shows just where we are going, and you may trace out the course and Affonzo can tell you about all the places from his geography, Lola," and she left the two children poring over the geography, their tongues fairly clacking in their excitement.

The Icamiaba is a large steamer plying from Mañaos to Rio, and by noon the next day the little party of four were safely embarked and the steamer made its way out of the beautiful harbour. The long voyage was begun, but to Affonzo and Lola it was not tedious, for, the only children on board, they soon became pets with all and were in a fair way to being spoiled with attention. The second day out the steamer made its first stop at Pernambuco on the easternmost point of Brazil, and the children watched the entrance into the harbour with great interest.

"Pernambuco is called the Venice of America," said their father. "You know Venice is an Italian city built on islands, with waterways instead of streets, and here there are so many canals and arms of water reaching in from the sea that Pernambuco is called the Venice of America."

"What a lot of steamers there are!" exclaimed Affonzo as they approached the reef which protects the harbour. This reef runs along the Brazilian coast for hundreds of miles, forming a natural breakwater, sometimes twelve feet above high tide.

"N-I-L-E," spelled Affonzo as they passed a huge steamer anchored outside the harbour. "What kind of a boat is that?"

"English," said his father. "The English run a line of steamers from Southampton to Lisbon, and thence to Rio Janeiro. These boats carry a thousand passengers, and are so large that they cannot go through the cut in the breakwater."

"Oh, papa! What a queer building! What is it?" asked Lola, as they passed an odd-looking fort on the rocks.

"That is a relic of Dutch days in Brazil," said the Senhor. "You know the Dutch once laid claim to all this part of the country."

"Did they?" asked Lola in surprise. "How did they get here and what became of them?"

"It is a long story, little one, but quite an interesting one," said her father. "You know Brazil was discovered by a Portuguese, Pedro Alvarez Cabral, who sailed into the Bay of Porto Seguro at Bahia, April 25, 1500, and took possession of the land in the name of the Portuguese crown, naming it Vera Cruz. The Spaniards had made discoveries in the north of South America, the English and French had come in along the Amazon and within the next few years the Dutch entered the river and built forts on the Xingu. Then came a long struggle between the Dutch and the Portuguese as to who should possess the land. In 1624, a Dutch admiral took possession of Bahia, but a handful of Portuguese recaptured the place the next year; then came a succession of battles, first the Dutch being victorious, then the Portuguese. At last the Dutch sent Prince Maurice of Nassau as Governor General of their possessions in Brazil, but he returned to Holland in 1644 and from that time on the Portuguese were successful. They laid siege to Pernambuco (then called Recife) and blockaded the port with sea forces while the land army assaulted it on the other side. The Dutch surrendered in 1654 and Brazil became a Portuguese colony."

"Then I suppose everything was peaceful," said Affonzo, but his father laughed and said,

"There has not been much peace in Brazil since the Portuguese first discovered it. After the foreigners left, the Indians remained unconquered, and the Portuguese sent many expeditions against the natives in the interior. Many adventurers went on these expeditions, and they were called Bandierantes.⁹ They treated the Indians cruelly and enslaved many, although the Pope had forbidden making slaves of the Indians.

"Another fight which took place near here was with negro slaves. Some of them escaped and fled to the forest of Palmeiras, in the Province of Alagoas. Here they maintained a colony for sixty years and were only subdued in 1697. Some of their chiefs leaped from a high rock into the sea rather than be captured."

"How did they get slaves in our country?" asked Lola.

"That's a rather big subject for such a little girl," said her father. "The early settlers could not get any one to work for them, so they brought black people from Africa, as did most of the Southern countries. One good thing was that here slavery was abolished without a drop of blood being shed, while in North America they had a terrible war.

"Now we are entering the harbour, Affonzo. See how many ships! In one year there were one thousand one hundred and eighty-one ships here! They come from all parts of the world, laden with all manner of things, but they nearly all go away freighted with sugar. There are thousands of tons of it exported every year. The boat will stop here some hours, so we will go ashore and drive about the city."

"Oh, thank you, papa," cried the children, and their mother added, "It will be a pleasant change from the ship."

So the four went ashore and drove about the cheerful city, with its gaily painted houses, passing one public building glazed in yellow and green tiles, another in imitation pink marble trimmed in sky blue. Crossing a long bridge, they saw magnificent gardens with brilliant flowering plants, and the fine fruit-market where they purchased the luscious Pernambuco abacoxi the finest-flavoured pineapple in the world.

"It is a very fine city," said Affonzo as they returned to the steamer.

"But not as handsome as Para," said Lola. "That's the prettiest city in all Brazil," and her father laughed.

When they steamed into Bahia two days later just at twilight, she still insisted that Para was the most beautiful place in the world, but Affonzo was delighted with Bahia.

"Capt. Diego Alvarez was one of the early explorers here," said the Senhor, as they sat upon the deck in the moonlight, watching the crescent of lights which rise from the harbour toward heaven, for the main portion of Bahia is built upon a high bluff overlooking the river.

"He was captured by the Indians and was about to be killed, when the chief's daughter threw herself in front of him and saved his life. Alvarez fell in love with her and married her, taking her with him to France, where she was honoured and cared for all her life. Some of the best families in Bahia boast that she is their ancestor."

"What are sent out from here?" asked Affonzo.

"Thousands and thousands of cocoanuts, for one thing," said the Senhor. "It is a fortune for a family to have a cocoa plantation, for the trees produce from fifty to eighty years, and need little attention after the first year or two. They are very easy to raise. After planting, the weeds are kept away from the trees, and during the first year, banana plants are grown between the rows to shade the young trees. The fourth year the first crop is gathered and the trees produce two hundred clusters of fruit with thirty or forty nuts each. People net about sixty thousand dollars a year from a plantation of fifty thousand trees."

"It must pay to raise cocoanuts at that rate," said Affonzo. "Does manaioca pay as well?"

"Not quite, but it is about as easy to raise. Everyone has to have manaioca. The rich use if for puddings and desserts in the form of tapioca, while the poor people use the fariulia de manaioca¹⁰ as their chief food. It also makes good starch, for the roots ground up in water deposit their starch as a fine white powder.

"A farm of twelve acres belonging to a friend of mine and planted with forty thousand plants produces eighty thousand pounds of tapioca, which at the lowest price brings two thousand four hundred and twenty-five dollars."

"The children are growing to be regular little encyclopedias," said the Senhora. "They must go to bed now, or I am afraid their brains will burst with so much knowledge."

"Not much danger of that," laughed the Senhor. "Most of it goes in at one ear and comes out the other," but Lola and Affonzo exclaimed indignantly, "Oh, no, papa, indeed it does not."