Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1870-07-29
NOTES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL.
Ry a Citizen of Independence.
BAHIA, Brazil, June l3, 1870

urday week from here, and cruisei about
until last Saturday, when we turned our
PROV for port. reaching here yesterday. We
we're in what are termed the "horse la,i-
tudes," on the borders of the Trade Winds,
where squalls are generally prevalent, and
at this season of the year particularly so,
and we had constant succession of them
during our whole cruise. However, we
liked it better than laying in these ports,
where there is nothing particularly enter
tanning to see or do, and where Yellow
jack or some other unpleasant epidemic,
is liable to work its way into ones vitals.
We had pretty narrow escape at Rio from
yellow fever. 1t was in the city, and just
before leaving two Of our men were taken
down with il. One got well, but he other
case proved rapidly fatal, and the poor fel-
low was buried at sea. 1t was rather an
anxious time for us, ana we scanned the
sick list for several mornings with good
deal of anxiety, but fortunately no other ca
ses occurred, perhaps the result of a strong,
cool breeze, which caught rom the
southwest, just after leaving port, ard which
blowing for two or three days, acted hygen-
icaly upon the ship and crew. AS this
was nearly a month ago. and as the health
Of the ship has since been excellent, and as
this port seems to be entirely free from epi
denies, we are in great hopes that We have
seen the last Of our yellow friend. X Y
Speaking of Madeira, let me say that if
ever have longed for "lodge in some vast
Wilderness have now an amendment to
offer. | prefer Funcha to the wilderness,
and a quiRta to the lodge, thousand to
! i'd hat T.l
low who got up the story about Paradise,
had seen the slopes of the rich hills of Ma
deira. Whatever of excellence there is Of
tropical and temperate fruits, whatever Of
richness and beauty in trees and flowers.
are here found under sky marvelous!v
bright, in atmosphere the sottest aud
most sensuonss, and temperature the most
equable.
Brazil. too, is a splendid country, with its
great rivers and bays, its mites of dia-
/ monds and precious stones, its deposits of
the more useful minerals, its vast forests Of
| valuable timber, rich stores of medicinal
plants, its vast droves of wild cattle, its end
less agricultural resources. But though
| discovered and settled sooner than the north
ern part Of our continent, much Of Ii is still
almost terra iRcogRitt, result due part
". perhaps, to climate, greatly TO the
mongre race of Portuguese, Negroes and In
dians. which inhabit il. The hills are Won
crously green in their wealth OF tropical TO-
liage, while flowers are endless in variety
and most gorgeous in colnring. Indeed it
recalls torcblv the lines OF IA familiar hymn
that | used to sing in my days of youth and
innocen' 2, that spoke Of a locality
"Wherc every prospect rIeases
And only man is vile
This Bay was discover.
ed by Americus Eespucius in 1903, and The
first settlement upon it dates back as far as
| 1910. The Bay is broad beautiful arm of
the sea, and extends to the nortEwari some
ten or twelve miles. A narrow strip Ct land
separates it on the east from the ocean, and
on the inner side of this tongue of terra
firma, Bahia or Sac .Salrndor is situated.
There are really two towns, one at the foot
of the hill or ridge-the old town-dir,y
and filthy. and the new town, surmounting
the ridge. and lying some hundreds of feet
above the Bay. The whie walls of both
stretch along for miles, divided by the steep
face of the hill, which is too abrupt to build
on, and whose slopes, gorgeouslv green with
the rank herbagc and rich foliage of the
grass and trees with which they are covered,
contrast most pleasantly with the lines of
houses on their SUBMITS and at their feet
The lower point of the ridge, iutting into the
sea, is covered with vallas and residences.
surrounded by the rich vcrdrrc ofthis climate
| Here is also fine public promenade, splen-
didly shaded by the wide.spreadng branch
es of the Bread-frnit and Mangueira Tor
Mango) trees, and embelished with Glove,
cinnamon, banana, and variety of palm
trees, and many species of gorgeously flow
ering shrubs. The upper city possesses
| many churches, whose domes and spires,
ornamented with colored tile Ia taste which
the Moors left behind them in Southern Eu-
rope and which the Portuguese transferred
here) lift themselves with pleasant effect
above the red roofs and white walls of the
houses which surround tfem, and from
which the matin and vesper bells ring out
in pleasing volumes of sound, as we catch
the tones out upon the water. The churches
themselves, however. haye nothing n6trea.
bic in architecture or internal adornments.
The religion, Of course, is CATH lie, though
| believe freedom of worship is accorded
The people are very superstitious, and swal-
low the most monstrous ictions regarding
their saints and their relics. The clergy
make good thing by selling prayers for
various purposes, in The form of pyrotech-
nics. Ii you want to pray for the iepose of
the soul of relative or friend or offer
petition to heaven for certain other benefits,
or to avert certain evils, you step into
store, buy prayer or a number of them, in
| the shape of rocket or bunch of firecrack-
ers, or a collection of Roman candles, or
some certain form of prescribed pyrctech-
mic, touch it off, and whiz, buzz, crack,
bang you have said your prayer! You
hear the cracking and banging all day, and
see the flash of the bursting rockets every
highland last night, being Saints lesti-
val, the display was quite brilliant. don't
know but that there is something to be said
in favor of the custom. 1t is rather an easy
way of putting up a petition, and if one
don get mixed, and buy the wrong prayer
of course he will be understood as well as il
he mumbed it out in the best or worst of
Latin, as the priests would do for hm--for
a cor sidera,ion. One man can pray lust
as easily and as we'll as another, and the
readiness with which it can be done, and
the a.tractiveness OF the prayer itself, as it
fzzes upward in streaks Of gorgeous light,
| invites to regular ana general attention to
this duty. Besides, don't our own preachers
teach that we must not hold to the form Of
prayer, but pray with the heart sincerely ?
and who knows but that this form of devo-
ton, sincerely and heartily performed, is as
acct ptable in Gods eyes, as the hest-slud.
led, smoothest worded, most oloauenily con-
ceived offering from our own pulpis2
Vehicles are but little used in Bahia. and
though they have recently established in the
upper town line of horse cars, still, owing
to the many inequalities of surface over
which the town extends. and the steep
grades of most Of the streets, the general
method Of getting about is, where one does
not wish to walk, in a sort of chair called
"Cadeira.' 1t is Il narrow upright box,
with wooden roof, and curtains at the sides,
and scat for single person, and is gotten up