Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1880-01-02
The City CI ga 3~azu,
BY MISS AMELIA laEoPP.

sign of its decline upon the waite
| when our steamer-her silent cours
pursuing-came in sight of the cit
of Para. The chimes of the gram
old cathedral foated over the water:
whilst the white church spires wer
| gold capped in the setting sun. w
anchored four miles out, our steam
er drawing too much water for us t,
approach nearer, and were conveyed
in to shore in small boats.
Para, formerly called Belem, /
situated upon a low elbow of land a
the junction of the river Guiana witt
the river Para, 1t is eighty mile
from the mouth of the Amazon riv
er, containing a population of thirty
thousand inhabitants. There arr
very few foreigners here, mostly Eng
lish. The prevailing religion is Ro
man Catholic, with very faithful fol
lowers. This equatorial city is tn,
capital of the rich province of Para
whose superficial extent is abou
thirty-nine thousand square leagues
is the most northern maritime pro
vince of Brazil. The climate, like
that of the rest of the Amazoniar
valley, is extremely warm and op
PresSive during the day, the nights
and mornings cooler and more en-
durable. The climate is not healthy
for foreigners, and the utmost care
is required to keep moderately well
During the summer it rains nearly
every day, or favors the people with
a heavy shower at stated times; these
though brief are violent. 1t is not
an uncommon occurrence to heal
business men make appointments be-
fore or after the rain.
The city is poorly laid out, with
narrow, irregular streets, dirty and
badly paved. The houses generally,
in the business part of the city, are
from four to five stories in height,
built of brick plastered and colored
white, with red tile roofs; chimneys
not being fashionable a stove pipe
may be seen projecting from the roof.
The lower part of these buildings are
mostly used for stores and offices;
the third and fourth flats for fami-
lies, the kitchens being next the
roof, wich is very inconvenient for
the conveyance of water and mark
citing, &c. However, in the suburbs
are seen many handsome private res
idences-or sitioS-built of brick,
one and two stories, with prettily
painted tile fronts, surrounded by
beautiful pleasure grounds, filed
with exquisite shrub0ery. There is
rather sUperahundance of this,
which is rather Objectionable to a
foreign taste, it is an old saying
THAT you cannot have too much Of
a good thing," but an excess of p'ly-
thing IS not pleasing. Some II the
public buildings are - nne-such
as the palace of the government, con-
.sidered the finest in the province,
and the Bishops palace. Good ho-
tells, fine stores and chapels. The
oldest cathedral in Brazil is here, in
a fine state of preservation. They
are rapidly introducing foreign con-
veniences. The city is brilliantly
lighted with gas-it is said the COM
pany (Which is a foreign one) when
erecting their lamps were not re-
stricted as to number, and being
paid for each light, and of a specu-
lative tendency, put in some places
as many as a dozen in a square, max
ing the city look as if it was in a
blaze or broad illumination. The
street cars are drawn by jackasses,
generally three in number. The
drivers are spirited men, keeping the
poor animals moving at a rapid
speed; they blow their fish horns
fercely at the street corners, making
a noisy and not unamusing appear
ance. The theatre is beautiful.-con-
tanning five tiers of galleries Oh each
side, in front of the dress circle are
large arcades with marble tile floors
where the audience promenade be-
tween the acts, while in the rear is a
large hall hung with mirrors and
beautiful glass chandeliers, where
the gaily disposed may dance on the
pretty smooth floor to the orchestral
music. l visited the market which
is indeed a curiosity, being dirty and
uncomfortable in appearance, great
stacks of fresh beef were piled upon
a kind of a pyramid in the center,
making one recoil from its bloody
appearance. Abundance of fruit was
to be seen with few vegetables.
The cOlored women-mostly slaves
who do much of the selling, pre-
sent a nice appearance with their
clean, nicely starched print dresses.
The hair is elaborately brushed, stand
ing out from their heads as if anx-
ious to get away altogether. The
toilet is not considered complete Un-
less adorned with knot of natural
flowers. They are civil and cheer
full, the noise of their voices though
not boistrous make the place appear
lively in the extreme. l saw the
slaughter house which is an extern
sive place. The price of meat is
regulated by law. The beef cattle
are brought from Marajo, a large
island situated at the mouth of the
Amazon, and a fine grazing country.
They are brought in vessels con-
structed for the purpose; they are
often five or six days coming and
are merely supplied with water. and
on their arrival they present a weak,
emaciated appearance, in this condi-
tion they are slaughtered for market.
Great quantities of meat are con-
sumed bere rs in most places in Bra
iii. Milk is q luxury seldom used.
The milkman may be seen driving
the COW with her calf tied to her tail
and, when you desire to purchase,
milk in your presence TO assure YOU
it is fresh. There are very few dai.
ries in the vicinity, the pasturage be.
ing unfit for grazing purposes, the
cattle being fed principally upon
American hay.
The city cannot be called clean,
and fiocks of buzzards-Para's scav-
engers-may be seen flying in every
direction. There is a heavy fine i'm
posed for shooting them, as they are
highly valued. The cemetery is