Abbeville press. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1860-1869, 1866-02-09
LIFE IN BRAZIL.

| A"uouidIeiy utter tne tefmlnatlOn OF
the war, a number of Confederate officers
left the South with the view of finding a
home in Brazil. This fever Of emigration
to Brazil still exists in some parts of the
South, and on this account the following
notes Of travel in Brazil, written BY an
e1.Confederate, possesses peculiar inter.
est at this time. The observations are as
gathered in the country in the month of
July. r
We have arrived at our mort
of destination, Rio Janeiro. We find the
weather is not very hot here, as we feared
lit is about like that of Virginia in June.
There is fine breeze here; the nights are
quite cool. Went to the police Office and
got Our passports, which was sent there
by the officials on the steamer; all pass
ports are required to be revised by these
functionaries. Last night we went to the
theatre. 1t was all in Language unknown
to US, but the dancing and acting were in.
teresting.
| About two or three miles from Rio Ja-
neiro is situated the Emperor's Palace. It
is on high elevation with magnificent
walks, arbors, etc., surrounding it. As
ne passed along we saw coffee plantations
on all sides.- One coffee tree yields from
twenty to one hundred pounds of coffee.
The berries are green, red and black in the
same cluster, which resemble our cherry
somewhat. The country is very mountain.
ous. The coffee, sugar cane and corn fields
are on hiiiiiss nearly perpendicular. They
never use plows to tii,'!i the land, but simply
the common hoe. Some OF the .planta-
tions turn out from $loo. 900 to $l50,2oO
worth of coffee per annum, and have as
many as three thousand negroes. We see
any quantity of oranges and bananas grow.
ing.
The scenery going over the mountains
is grand, aud the finest I have ever seen.
The railroad is completed about one hun
dred miles from Rio, and TO enable the
company to use it, they have built tenn
porary road over this mountain, while the
tunnel is building.
The system Of slavery in this country is
of the hardest kind. You see all the ne
groes that have been brought from Africa
have their faces horribly gashed more or
less. 1t was done in Africa, to distinguish
what tribe they belong to. Those born
here have not these marks. 1t is some
fifteen or twenty years since the..slave trade
was stopped here; but frequently they are
run into the country. The worst and most
repulsive part of The custom lie, that where
negro is found free or emancipated, he is !
allowed to associate by marriage and 9TH
erwise With the first in the Empire. 1t is
lsughable to see both sexes of negroes go
ing through the streets singing and talking
to themselves, generally in their native
tongue. AS general thing, they have
loads on their, heads, ranging from a dia
mond pin to a sack Of coffee, as we'll as
large round baskets filled with various ar
ticles;or, in some instances, FIVE or six emp.
ty -four barrels.
They have extensive markets here we'll
supplied with all kinds of fruit, fish, poul-
try, vegetables. etc. The fowls are very
large-ehickenS as:large as our turkeys
ducks as large as our geesei turkeys weigh
from 20 to:3o pounds.
The currency here is called copper coin,
which is forty reis, the sizs Of a Canada
copper. twenty-five dumps are enc mill.
reis, making 1000 reis for one milreis. A
,contey is 900 millrsis, or say $500. 7
We had our hands full looking around,
and expect to be kept busy while here.
The Brazilian ladies, if such they. z can
be called, go about in. a .halE-naked. condi.
,tion.f - 49, -, -. :.
& The authorities are very anxious, and
hold. out every inducement to emigrants.
MoDEHN W1snoM ~ hsv finally cum
tsW the konklusion that there amt Truth
'enuff in the world, just now, to do the biz.
ness With, and If sum kind.uv kompromise
cant be bad, the; devil might az we'll step
IN and run the conssrn at onst. ~
Don't tell the world yure SORROWS, emmy
more than you would tell them yure
shaMe. ~ ss.-r- . >
Philosophers are Ike gfaveyards-thsy
take all things just az they cum, and give
them g decent burial, and suitable epi:
r. Emmy body kan tell where; lightning.
struck last, butt takessa smart tass tewf
find p1t where il is going to, ,strike nex time
E-thfs j one of thes differences between