The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1888-11-15
REV. ]. ". w6Lt1NG
Gives an Interesting Account of his Voyage
Home From Brazil.
Southern Christian Adrocate.

Mr.. EDITOR: On starting purposed
keeping an account of the journey and
sending the notes taken to you. But the
first part of the voyage was very sea.
sick, and of course could not write, and
then found / must write in pencil, so
have not started till now. This is Sunday,
October 14th, and though we have had
no worship on the steamer, | extended
my morning devotioDs through several
hours, thinking of the precious promises,
of the loving mercy of Christ and the
privilege of serving Him. consecrated
myself aftesh to that service, and then
spent some time in reading stepping
Heavenward," !" and find this to mean get
ting better. I am surprised at how slow
and how wandering are my steps.
If all goes we'll, to day two weeks we
will 20 into New York, but now we are
in tropical sea two degrees South Of the
Equator, and have two days run to bring
us to our last stopping place in Brazil,
which is Para, large city right under
the Equator.
The first two days out from Rio de
Janeiro was very sick, but at the end
of that time I reached Bahia, where
friends met me, Gook ms to the house OF
DR.. Blackford, the Presbyterian mission.
ary. His wife was Miss CASTOR, from
South Carolina. She has relatives in
Chester, and there'I once met her young.
er sister, Miss Eloise CASTOR. Her
father is DR.. Castor, a professor now in
the Medical College Of Georgia and lives
in Atlanta.
The Dr.. and Mrs Blackford were very
kind, and, getting rested and being well
filled with good homelike eating, l have
been in good condition ever since. In
fact, am now as comfortable as on land
and only little anxious to get to the
journeys end at Pernambuco I had a
very pleasant time also. was enter.
tanned at the home of Rev. Mr.. Smith,
and there met Mrs. Bostwick and Miss
Bostwick. They are the wife and daugh-
ter of the United States Consul at that
place, and very pleasant Christian people
They took me on trip to the old cathe.
dral town of Olynda, settled by the Ger.
mans centuries ago. In fact, both
families showed me many kindnesses and
made my stay in this city Of sugar and
| pine apples very pleasant. On the
voyage Z have seen quite number ol
whales. At one time four came close
alongside the ship putting and sending
up the spouts of foam and water at s
great rate. In these tropical seas it is
also an interesting sight to notice the
| flying fish. at times great schools oi
them rise from the waves, and with theil
wings shining like the brightest silver
they 60 sailing away over the waters
But as soon as their wings get dry .heJ
fall back into the water, but often soor
rise again for another flight.
/ The pleasantness of your voyage de-
pends much upon those with you. Le
me tell you about our company and oul
eating. I will take those at the dinner
table-twenty.two seated. The captain
i of the ship at one end and the first Office
at the other. On my side Of the table
and next to the captain, come first hi:
three daughters. The mother dice
recently and he is taking them thi'
voyage with him. On the same side
comes next 8 Catholic priest, then you
humble servant, young Brazilian, ther
young man who is coming home from
the Argentine Republic, where he wen
to carry fine horses next to him ses
captain, whose ship was lost and he il
going home after a two years absence
aud that side is closed by young mar
and his sister, who are out seeing tht
world. Opposite to them are the purse
and doctor of the ship, then numbe
whom I do not know, and that side il
closed up by an officer of the United
States Navy going home from the Soutf
Atlantic squadron. He is the one VIII
went in charge Of the expedition which
was sent to bring back the bodies of those
who died in the Greedy expedition
| Next to him is lady going to Boston
but her home is in Pernambuco
Brazil. In language it is a mixture. To
day I noticed them talking German
French, Portuguese and English. ! vii
not attempt to give you the full bill o
fare, but something that l can recall
| Soup, baked fish, salads and. vegetables
roast goose and pigeons, rice, bread, etc.
to accompany, plum pudding, cake, driet
figs, raisins, oranges, bananas, nuts, etc
and all along nearly all the foreigner
are drinking freely of wine, of which
took none, of course. I have q prett.
good appetite, but the bill is certainl.
too much for me, so | eat along in tn
simple places lest might be sick.
have made q discovery which sur
prised me little. There is traveller OF
board from Germany and now on hi
way to New York and thence to Berlin
u Well, in the course of our conversation
what should turn up but the fact that il
Columbia, S. O., he and as boys playe.
together as far back as the year 1858. /.
need to be on my good behavior, fo
everywhere go / meet some one who ha
known me before.
This is October 10th and we are in th,
mouth of the Amazon River and haV'
been for over fifty, miles, but as yet cal
only see land on one side. We expect tt
get TO the city of Para to night. We ar
right under the Equator, and it ls yer!
warm, though not more so than l haV'
seen it in July in South Carolina.
October 1Sth.-I have spent day il
Para in the home of Rev. Mr.. Nelson, wit
is a missionary belonging to Bishop Tay
lor's selfsupporting work in this country
| have now been in every important por
in Brazil, from Santos in the South, k
this city under the Equator. | did no
find the heat SO very !great. The ex
tremes of the thermometer are n and W
and for six months the average during
the day is SS, and the nights much cool
err; so that the trouble in Para is not tn
ercessiue heat, but the continuous heat
an endless Summer, without a Spring
Autumn or Winter. 1t is the home 0
yellow fever, and strangers are sooi
attacked. We are now off for the Carib
bean Sea, and so I leave the shores o
Brazil for while at least. have nov
crossed the Equator several times but felt
no Jar of the ship as we crossed, nor did
see any red line in the sky, except th,
red line of the blazing tropical sun
However, the earth, like the people OF
1t, is such chapgeable little body tina
she seldom rolls her equatorial lint
around right under the face of the sun
This time we met the sun eight degree
South, and as he was going South and w
coming North, We soon parted, and wher
on the Equator he gave us quite north
ward shadow.