The Orangeburg news. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1867-1875, 1867-06-15


Of Brazil arewhites indians. nesfoss and mix
ed races. The whites;are. Chiefly Portuguese
md their decendants;> of those most of the
wealthy are well educated and generally very
hospitablc, but education is limited, as schools
are very rare except in the large towns there
fore, the people generally, arc ignorant and
also very indolent Tire indolencc 1 think is
caused by the constant heat which was told;
has a.grcat tendency to keep tho whole human
system dcblitatci. Nearly ali of the labor Of
that country is performed by negro slaves, who
iafin sf abogt thrcc-ifths of tho population.
think that slavery there, will in tho COURSE of
time be abolished by gradual cmanipation,
though do not think that it will be done very
soon. I left Brazil about eight weeks ago
and young negro fellows were then worth from
five to seven hundred dollars; the people of
the United States appear to be more deeply in
terestod concerning the abolition of slavery
iii Brazil, than the Brazilians themselves; if
my predictions be true i'll regard to the abol-
ton of slavery there am confident that, that
country will be in much worse condition
than ours, as there is even now less prejudice
in Brazil between the different races than there
is in the Southern States.
y The religion of Brazil is Catholic although
there are two American churches in Rhode
Janioro, one of which is an Episcopal and the
other Presbyterian
Brazil is divided into provinces and each
province has apresidcnt appointed over it.
I The laws of the country arc very good, but
they are not properly inforccd, as the judges
as we'll as the jurics arc open for bribery and
corruption. There are but three railroads in
the empire. Roads for travelling by private
conveyance arc also very rare, and even these
that they have arc suitable for pack mules
onl" ~! it is nn these mack mules that all Of
their exports and imports arc transported
through tho interior of tho country. Asricul-
turc is i'll Il very backward state ami not more
than one f"ry-ninth part Of the country is
supposed to be cultivated. and manufactures
scarcely exist.
The people of the. interior live upon beef,
mutton, vegetables. E.rina and fruits. The
vegetables arc inferior, the cause of which il
the want of proper attention and cultivation.
The farina is used as substitute for bread.
and is mace of the roots of tile mandoca {:
the mandioca resembles vcryymuch. our Palma
'hrlstl plant; and tho juice of It's roots
pressed out, rs it is said to ho worry poiamous !;
after which thcsc roots AFRO kiln dried. and
ground into meal WHICH has the appearance
OF the mca! made Of Tndi:m-corn; this meal is
eaten on the meats and vegetables, without be-
ing carried through any other process.
Persons renewing to tho inferior of that
empire can never afford to cat wheat bread or
ham again from the fact that -four cannot be
bought for lcss than from twenty to twenty
tw" dollars Gin gold) per barrel, and hams for
not less than from forty 1.-Two to fifty cents per
pound; then tho expenses for transporting
these articles through the country ON pack.
mules arc very great The mules of that
country arc not large, but they are very fine,
End can be bought for from thirty-fivc to fifty
dollars per head. saw but four horses in the
empire and they were inferior 1 was told
that horses would net do we'll in that climate,
and that was the reason why So few persons
had them
There arc other things connected with the
history of Brazil too numerous for me to men
tion at present, but will give you full ac-
count of that country on some subsequent oc-
casion. NJ. d.. b.