New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1872-03-22
THE HASSLER EXPEDITION.
FRYING AGASSIZ'S FISH.

VICINITY or RIO DE JANElRO-siAThEN bAh"b
BOXES or SPECIMENS.
PRoM AN OCCASIONAL CORRESPONDENT OF THE TRiBuNkl
RIO DE JANErRO Feb. 13.-I have been in
Brazil lust three weeks and am OF course ready To give
more complete and Trustworthy information concerning
Brazil than DO found in the pages OF Gardiner
Fletcher Mrs Agassz OF native authors. But will not
attempt IL.
We are nt length through with detentions at Rio
tho coal has come aboard this afternoon part OF IT,
and tomorrow sal for Montevidco This afternoon
we have been making experimental trips with the ttle
steam launch Agassz and find them satisfactory; enc
flies round the harbor like waer-beetlc ana with
cumbrous raft in tow she moves Ike swan The PRO
lessor has made good deal OF Of our detention here
gathering many valuable specimens here, and, with his
assstants especially DR.. SteIndachner, making very
numerous beautiful anatomical preparations OF fresh
specmeps An accident exceedingly vexatous de-
pryed him Of some of them He at the residence OF
a friend In the country, and had spent a day very
successfully making delicate dissecons OF fresh fish,
exposing internal parts These prepared fish were im
mersed In alcohol and committed for safe keeping to
black servant old and trusted who TO guard them
sacrcdy The next day when the Professor asked Tor
them the grinning negro showed him the pan IN when
they were frying. They had poured of the alcohol
scaled and cleaned tho fish, and were frying them TOT
the Professors breakfast Imagine the Professor =
grief: imagine the vexation of the friend, whose
the himself he of course thought he had Kept the
fish carefully and put them to their intended USE What
are fish good for but to eat
The photographers OF the scientific party have MADE
few photographs of living echiD and their success en-
courages them to hope they Will finally triumph over
the great difficulties of photOgraphng living animals III
the hot, damp atmosphere of tropical harbors. on
moving ship Photographers best appreciate TINS
accumulation of difficulties. The scientific gentlemen
have allowed themselves, OF course, some re-
Taxation, and they and the two ladies' OF
our company have made sundry little EXCURSIONS
TO interesting points in the neighborhood For my own
part have with two three of these little par
ties, and enjoyed them highly T1uca and Corcoyado
are very near the city Everybody Of course visits
them II your Bergen Hills were 5000 feet in hight and
clothed with tropical vegetation you can easily imagine
that their attractions would exceed those of the Central
Park These RIO Mountains are, in fact sort OF PARK
for the city takes but two hours by horse-car ana
diligence 10 reach the heart Of Tuca and the little group
OF mountains, of which the highest Is $500 feet hgh Is
laid ont by the Government with system OF admirable
roads and drives II Is hard to imagine better roads
The scenery In the Tuca itself is ne while the views
of Corcovado and the Gavio and OF the more distant
Sierra do Mar, very fine The Sierra do Mar (Angee
Coast RANGE passes along nearly east and west al about
80 miles north Of Rio. BY the Dom Pedro H. Rail
way We cross it about 90 miles northwest OF the
city, where there are lower passes 1t required bold
engineering ana one pretty long tuncl 10 Bet ocI anu
through 1927 meters about mile and quarter and at
an elevation Of 44G meters iC] feet above the At
the SEVENTEEN mile reach the River Parayba. flow
ing easterly the other side the range II reminded
mo of the susquehanna in many particulars. we ran
down along its banks 10 Entire Rios, 1913 miles by rail
from Rio and co in air line. Entire Rios Is the
present terminus OF the railway, but surveys made
and the work is begun Of continuing the
road down the Parahyba. and building q
long branch up the Parahybuna. These roads are
of c. inches gauge but there is branch 10 miles long,
bringing coffee out OF very billy valley, on which A.
inch Guagc is adopted with great success. At Entire
Rvos we took ges for Juz de Fora and reached
excellent new hotel there at p. twelve hours from
Rio. The next day found great pleasure in wander
ing through the garden Of Senior Mariana Lage, who
having done much to improve his native country by
making better roads and introducing better modes Of
culture as to eternal grattue benefactor Of
Brazil, has taken 90 in hand To please his
taste and give pleasure to every visitor. by
laying 1t out tropical garden. Wafer Is
brought In pipes from fine cascade half mile distant
and plays up fountains the hill In the center Of the
grounds, the house. Thence 1t goes to irrgate
places which waterloviDg trees ana shrubs are
planted and aferward TO supply large ponds for ducks
geese swans and aquatic plants In one corner is sort
OF Geological garden where many animals and birds OF
rarity or beauty kept We amused ourselves greatly
with a monkey nursing her baby, and had hearty
laugh over the odd grnaces and antics OF two Brazilian
uonkevs to each of whom we gave half of cigar As
soon as they smelcd the tobacco they seemed ntoX
Gated with delight cat with valeran or with catnp Is
sober and staid compared with such monkey. He
cannot take the tobacco from his yet he can
not spare either hand TO hold It to his nose for
he apparently wishes both hands, and both feet
and the his tail besides rubbing all parts OF his
body at once but particularly the small OF his back and
the crowI his head SO, in this frantic attempt he
changes the tobacco continually from hand to hand In
I,iuo, of
the two avorte parts, and all the while castingthe most
curious inquisyc glances toward the other monkey to
see II he is having much fun az himself.
We visited Juiz de Fora some Of the other places i'm
Inortazed In Mrs. Agassiz's narrative and also the
Agricultural School. This school was founded by the
Union and Industry Society of which Lage is President
and which built the splendid stageroad from Pctropos
10 Juz de Fora. But the Brazilian Government Is by no
means Indifferent TO agriculture and education. and In
one respect sets example which It will be criminal
folly the States Of North America not to follow Tho
Government cares for the forests, and takes energetic
| and effective means TO preserve and improve
Them both for the sake OF timber and for the sake OF
water supply. We also visited at Juz de Fora q
| German colony of about 1900 souls where We saw
excellent farming, took glass OF bier" with an
old soldier lne clear-eyed OF straight figure, who
proudly showed his medals and his old German Bible
ana whose door was quaint German Jingle a1ver
tizinc his bier" which may thus roughly put into
English:
Father Noah planted wine
with Joy the heart to I'll
Gambrinus brewcd beer
Our raging thirst TO still
so enter freely then;
Here what you wish you'll find
And IL you would not drink alone
I'm socially inclined.
But our party numerous that the good Kelmer
did not need to drink his "bier' with We
turned the next day by stage down the picturesque val
ley Of the Parahybuna to Entire Rios then by stage
the same splendid turnpike of the Union and Industry
Co.. up the valley Of the Piabanha, TO Petropois the