New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-01-20

were prudential reasons Tor their marked pref
erenccs for poor harbors. The West Indies were
for a long time the cruising ground for buccaneers
and pirates At st. Thomas two castles on the
mountain side are pointed out TO visitors as former
stronghOlds for these lawless marauders, who had
q rowing commission to plumber vessels and TO
ravage the main coast, and there is hardly an i'm.
portant island in the Windward and Leeward
groups that does not have its traditions and rem
iniscences of corsairs and frcebooters Of the
The Portuguese cttements the northern and
eastern coasts of Brazil were constantly exposed
to piratical raids, and nacccSsbility was an ele.
ment of security. The selection of the site of
St. LUZ de Maranhao may be explained in this
way. There is deep indentatlOn of the coast
where several navigabe rivers empty into the
sea behind a large island The town OF Alcantara,
on the outer rim Of the bay, he reached
without difficulty. without reference 10 the tide;
but the inner basin of Maranhao can only be APP
preached and entered when the wafer is highest.
The channel leads close to a miniature fort. armed
with antiquatcd Portuguese guns. ana winds
among sand heaps, to which pebbles could be
flung from the deck of the vessel 80 sharp are
the turns and SO restricted is the Anchorage ground
that no prudent steamship captain cares TO take
the risk of entering port at night. The harbor
is practically closed against vessels Of deep
draught twenty hours out of twenty-four. Sc
curity against the pirates Of the oldcn time
has multiplied the veNations and difficulties of
navigation and trade
DECLINING COMMERCE OF MARANHAO.
MaranhaO, seen from the harbor or outer bay,
is more picturesque and attractive than Para.
There is background of wooded heights and
steep hills in place of the unbrolen levels of the
banks of the Amazon. Reaches of white sand
are foil for the red roofs and the blur OF
gaudy colors on the fronts Of houses and shops.
The double spires Of the cathedral and other
churches and the long. mur<y facade Of the
Presidents palace are balanced in the landscape
" lighthouse and fortress in one quarter and
i'm another by the cluster Of houses across the
bay at Alcantara. Maranhao has a characteristics
beauty that is softcncd and refined by NOON
light; but by garish daylight illusions are dis.
PEELED. In the well-pavcd but grass grown streets
the decadcnce of its commercial fortunes is
corded The deserted and ill-kcpt pubic garden
close by the water tells of an ambitious past
that has been followed by period Of d>cnchant-
ment. The lack of stir and hustle in the streets
so markedly in contrast with the noise and ac-
tivity of Para betolens the decline Of trade and
influence. Maranhao was once the centre Of the
rubber trade and Of the commerce of Northern
Brazil BY its rivers entrance af
iorded to the eastern quarter of
the Amazon. During the last twenty
years Para has gone forward 10y leaps and bounds,
and snatched from it commercial supremacy.
Already the successful rival exceeds il in popula-
tion by 10000. and is growing steadily every
year. Here everything indicates that the city
has its best days, and is laboriousiy strug-
Cling to maintain its population Of 10000 without
further decline. Tie visitor may stand for half
an hour a street corner without seeing a cart
trundling over the pavement There is an air
If dineness and melancholy broodng over the
town. Even the freshest Of the tiled shop fronts
have an unmistakabc shabby gcntccl appearance
though their occupants had once had chances
Of success in the world and then had missed them.
BRAZILIAN ARCHITECTURAL EFFEcTs-
Brazilian town presents 10 a Northern cyc
somewhat nharmonious confusion OF coors.
The houses are mainly Of stone and brick low
studded and with high-pltchcd roofs close 10 the
ground. Shingcd, tin or iron roofs would be
intolcrabe on account Of the heat. and clay
tiles overlapping one another when painted red
form the best material for covering house.
The lower walls are either kasomincd, painted
or tiled, and the coorS are chosen without refer
encc 10 principles Of combination or contrast.
The Brazilian apparently takes the blue tropical
sky his basis for decorative effects and assumes
that under it all light shades especially green
pink, yellow and brown, Will harmonic. when
toned down by the dark Wcaihcr-staincd red
tiles in the roofs. With blinds and balcony rail
ingS of vivid green, and with door and window
frames Of sharply contrasting shades, the eject
TO the unaccustomcd eye is that Of tumble ~
cOlOrs. The shops and more prctcntiOus structures
either have ccmentcd fronts painted or kalsomincd
in bands Of color, or are lined with green and
blue Portuguese glazed tiles Of simple patterns.
Here, at Para, the tiled fronts furnish the
most striking feature Of the architecture Of the
town. and since the process of cleaning and re-
glazing them is expensive, these are also the
freshest and least dingy eXtcriors. The converts.
m0nasterics, churches hospitals and houses Of
mercy are ordinarily painted whtc-cmblema-ic
Of purity that, alas. has departed from tine
Church in Brazil not one well-I,ept garden
could | find anywhere. In the heart Of the
town there are few mangoes, chesnuts and
Towering trees in what passes for the market
square, but in order TO get any gmpscs Of
equatorial vegetation, one has 70 20 10 the out
skirts where the tall cOcoanuts wave their ragged
plumes, the garland mangOcs cast a generous
shade or the banana-stalkS shoot out Of tiiclci
of luXuriant underground. There, too are seen
the mud houses with coarse matched roofs, which
are both more comfortable ana more durable
homes for the poorest negroes than the best and
most carefully built frame tcncmcnts Of New
York would be. Timber has 10 be sparngly used
in Brazil, since there are insects that honcycomb
it with persistent boring and perhaps the coolest
habtation is the hut of clay with thatch im-
pervious TO heat.
STREET COSTUMES or MANY KINDS
If burring effects of color are furnished by the
architecture Of a Brazilian town. confusion is
worse COMPOUNDED when the costumes on the streets
are scanned The better class Of BraZil.ans wear
black and white at business. varied by such Eng
lish checked and gray wOOen suits may he
seen in IA Northern city during the summer months
The Pnringm.he merchant preicrs dlgnllind hlacll