Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1881-05-13
4 ROMANCE OF FAMINE.
~ Professor ". ii. smith. the Brazil
inn Explorer.

Like I'LL TOHldllCeS, ~ liii lto DSSlii-
ming i'll commonplace. A young Por-
tugIesc farmer, newly married and
seeking to better his lot, emigrated to
Brazil, and tire Providence that we call
chance, led him to the Province Oh
Ceara, III the northeastern part OF the
Empire. There lie hired a little farm,
bought u score or two of cattle, and be-
gan life anew as u stock farmer.
En- process Of time the young couple
were blessed with five children, boys
and girls. The little ones were pretty
and intelligent, and they were no bur-
lien to the farmer, for rs things 90 III
Brazil, lose de Castro was very prosper.
ols. True, he could not aspire to a
place with lis rich neighbors, who
owned whole leagues Of land, and
counted their herds by thousands. But
the Ccara peasants, looking up from
tie depths Of their own utter poverty,
regarded him with profound respect.
Was not his house Whitewashed and
rooted with tile instead Of palm-thatch3
Had lie not an English saddle, and
three hired herdsmen? and the chill
dren mirdbiL dfctu had they not shoes
every one If them
.lOsc's farm was about $50 miles in
land, not far from the village Of leo,
and close by one Of the great highways
which lead from the coast to the inte-
rior. In common parlance this region
IN called tire "sertao," or desert, but ii
would be altogether wrongto judge of
il by that ominous name Trsie, III the
Try season il il parchcd and barren
looking, for then the grass on the plains
and hillsidcs has disappeared, and the
clumps of forests have shed their leaves
rs ours do in winter; only here and
there groups Of carnahuba palms keep
up i show Of dusty green, or u poison
un3 lco bush lures the hungry cattle.
But with the first rains every sleeping
plant starts into wide-awake life; you
can almost see the leaves grow. In II
weeks time the. sertao is like May
landscape III New England; and toward
the end Of the rainy season, in May or
June, ii il one of the most beautiful
regions in the world. Ten thousands
of pretty flowers dot the prairie land,
where tile cattle feed knee deep in
rich grass; then the woods are masses
of green, and every little stream is a
luamy torrent and screaming parrots
aud soft-voiced thrushes and fairy
winged butterflies are telling their own
stories Of Overlooking happiness.
The rainy season was the busy and
happy time for Josie and his workmen.
Very soon after the rains came on they
planted fields IF cassava and corn, from
which they were to harvest their year
" supplies of provisions. The herds
nien, clad in leather from head to foot,
galloped here and there over the hills,
branding the young cattle, hunting for
trays, capturing the fiercest patriarchs
IL the herd with their long lassos.-
Onee little Mia, the pet daughter, had
ia adventure that might have ended
her story before the romance had be-
gun. She was sitting in the grass, max
ing il necklnce Of pretty cotu-seeds,
when u vicious bull espied her red
dress and rushed ut it down the hill
head lowered and hoofs Gathering in a
cloud of dust. But the leather-clad
herdsman was too quick for him; spur
ring his horse into tornado speed, he
caught the bull Mt the shoulder with
liz lance-likc vara, overturning the
heavy animal as deity rs skilled
wrestler throws his clumsy antagonist
NV twist Of his elbow 1t is il com.
mon trick of the rdgueir0S, but it saved
little Nita's life; and the herdsman did
not soon forget the generous present
which Jose gave him.
III the summer the cattle were pas
,ured along the dry river bed where
some patches of green fingered, there
WAS little danger Of their straying while
the grass lasted. and the hcrdsmen
were almost idle. Jose often went to
the village market ut leo, where he re.
ccived clothes and household utensils
i'll exchange for hides and cassava meal
Sometimes Mother Maria went with
him. sitting on the steady old family
horse. with her children III great panier
baskets slung on either sides of her.
That is a common mode of travelling in
tile sertaa
tine evening III March, 1877, num-
her of strangers were gathered 1T the
farmers house. They were travellers,
and had met there by accident. Like
iii the country people, Jose was very
hospitalile, and never begrudged sup
per or lodging. to benighted herds.
man al mule-drivcr The men tied
their hammocks in the great porch and
swmg 70 and fro, chatting while they
smoked their pipes before going to
sleep.
How arc your crops. farmer" asked
one YOU ought u DO well on this bot
tom land. "
Bad. bad answered Jose, signing.
Here we hive had almost no rains;
none ut all since january, and hardly
any since. planted after shower in
February. but the field has dried up
and | must try il again.
You are rs we'll of rs the rest 81
us. said one who had just come in
from the interior; 1t Cascoiha not a
drop Of rain has been seen. and the
drinking pools are all drying up. !
know man who has lost 4 dozen Of
cows.
And /, said another. .shave planted
twice and failed: pray God it may not
be bad year.
The first speaker. an old man, took
mp the word II remember" he said
the bad years III the 'forties, when the
herdSmen We're almost ruined; and III
1925, when i was boy, 50 many cattle
died that my father had to buy COWS
from other provinces; the poor people
nj gather at the villages, and some 81
them died of hunger
A man who had not yet spoken added
Il bit Of information: Il have come
from Fortazela, and the bishop has or
dered prayers for rain in all the
churches. God alone can save us" he
added piously.
The travellers went their several ways
in the morning. buta shadow of com.
ing .esil Was felt at the farmhouse
Jose watched the sky anxiously To
ward the end of the month a, few show
ers fell and the fields were planted
again butno heavyIrains followed; tn.