The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1880-05-27
A Primitive Brazilian Village.

In Erere, a typical village of the semi
civilized AmazOnian Indians, we shall
learn how it is possible for men and
women to live almost separated from
the civilized world; how single family
can provide themselves, not only with
food, but with house, furniture, utensils
everything in fact but clothing and a
few coarse articles of iron and steel.
Wherever we 90 we viii meet with
nothing but kindness and mostenta-
tioUs pOiteness. For instance, walking
across the weedy plot in front of our
windows we can call on old Joao Bap-
tista, the best hunter and the best fish
ermau in the village. JOao rises to meet
us, offering his hand everybody shakes
hands here, even more than in the
States), and inviting us to a seat on the
rough wooden bench by the door. He
is dressed in coarse canvass trousers
and short Jacket or shirt; the cloth is
stained dull red with murnchy 1t is
soiled, for this is his wOrk-day dress;
but YOU may be sure that it covers a
clean body The old man is busily
shaping a paddle, using his clumsy
knife very cleverly on the hard itauba
wood. He cOnverses quietly, answer
ing our questions and asking a few in
return, but he is not talkative.
The women of the house remain at a
distance unless they are spoken to. The
code of social life here does not permit
them to intrude their presence on male
visitors. If the lady of the party is with
us they sit by her side, curiously eX-
amining her clothing and asking simple
questions about her country far
away, wonderful land, which, like Rome
and paradise and heaven, exists to them
only in name. The little ones, after the
universal child-greeting of extending
their palms fora blessing, stand watch
inc us silently.
Examine the structure of the house
Roughly hewn logs of itauba and pao
a. arco for the uprights set in the grOund
they viii last for fifty years. Beams
and rafters are of other hardly less du-
rable timbers; the Joints are secured
with pegs or with strips of bark. Roof
and sides are covered with excellent
palm-leaf thatch, tied on in regular lay
erS, like shingles. AS for floor. there
is Mother Earth, with few mats laid
down under the hammOcks. There are
no windows, and the doOr-ways are
closed with palm-leaf mats. So you
see the whole house is formed of mate
rials which every Indian can gather in
the forest with no other tools than his
heavy wood-knife and clumsy, straight
handled AK. Some houses have the
sides built up with Jumps of clay gath
cred from the Rowland creeks; walls of
this material. supported by frame
work Of poles and sticks, are durable
but very unsightlv. In the larger
places they cover the adobe with plas-
ter and whitewash the outside very
neatly. ~ - d.
The dwelling does not boast of much
furniture Besides the. reed mats and
cotton hanmocks, there are only two
or three benches (the boards of which
have been hewn out of-sOlid logs and
some green wooden trunks with pre-
posterous KEYS. These latter contain
the fiesta dresses; the coarser. work
day garments hang on lines behind the
hammocks. The trunks are rather ar
ticles' of luxury than of necessity; in
other houses we will see great balaio
baskets taking their place; but every
well-tO-do-lndian considers it incum-
bent on him to have a trunk, if he can
get it f0r money or credit. The last Z
items Of furniture are two low stools, /
which attract our attention bv
their singHlarity. One is made of {
the dry hard Skin of the alligator's
breast. curved inward so that the scaled (
surface forms the seat and the incurled !
edges the feet. the other is the shell of !
a large terrapin. common in the neigh
boring woods. Under the roof there |
is 4 g6ral, or staging of poles, for man.
dioca baskets, dried fish and various I.
pots and kettles. The most of these, /
however. are in a little shed-like kitch- .
en- back of the house. Every Indian |
dwelling. no matter how poor, has its !
Kitchen separated from the man struc- |
ture. The primitive fireplace is formed /
Of three large stones; for bellows there |
Is a little mat-fan, or. very likely, the !.