The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-01-29
QUEER CUSTOMS OF BRAZIL.
soma Of the Strange Diseases Which
PuzZsl Medical Men.
From the Ne1v York Times.

VrazIiauS. Funerals are notable IN that
for Young unmarried lady, coffin, hearse,
end the livery OF the driver must be bright
seafIet. the four white horses drawing the
naorss must be covered with scarlet nets,
and scarlet plumes must deck the horses
loads. No women so to the cemeteries.
The mother, the widow. must not exhibit
her grief in public.
For the swell funeral of young girl the
cofTiu. hearse, livery OF the driver, ard nets
and plumes for the horses must be royal
nu-ple. For elderly persons black and gold
are the adornmelts Of mOrtuary trappings.
At weddings the bride does not wear
orange blossoms, but orange flowers are
ressnteI by the groom and his bride to
their unmarried friends, and they are sup
U1sed to pass them on to their unmarried
ecouaiutances. This custom has a hidden
msaniug, dating lack to the twilight of
Tnau's history. The flower is an emblem Of
fecundity, and the passing on" of the
cifr signifies Go thou and do likewise
Tie calling of porters-the business of
uorserage-is a regular one, and is divided
into classes. There are porters whose
speciality is handling piaaos-delivering,
transferring them. You never see a piano
ona truck or in furniture van -Four men
bear upright pianos on their heads, and
SQUARE and grand pianos are carried in
sings suspended from two poles, resting on
tie should rs of four men.
Iron safes are transported by porters, de-
hverel from the warehouses, moved from
one piace TO another and put in position
all bv sheer strength
If YOU buy NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS., piano,
a safe-the puTcha er must bargain with
the porters for the dlivery. And if you
do not make your bargain TO carry and put
in position, the porte. will leave the article
or articles at your door, unless you agree to
nav additional for placing them in your
house or rooms.
In the business streets of the city-in the
wholesale and warehouse distrlcts-the car
ros urbanOs-a street car line with narrow
gauge track-ruus up one and down
another of the narrow ways, on almost
every street In the coffee districts there
are regular freight cars run on these tracks
for the transport of coffee in bags to the
coffee docks.
The porters who have their habitat in
these streets use hand trucks made to
track" on the street car rails. As you
walk along the shady sides of these streets
the porters unCccupled are longing in the
doorways or sleeping on their trucks, which
partly obstruct the sidewalks. You nave to
keep lookout all the time or you will soil
the bottoms Of your trousers against tle
grease-iripping wheels Of these trucks.
The streets in the residence portion of the
city are infested day aud night with peripa-
tetic vendors, peddlers, and retailers of
fruits, vegetables, and in the summer, of
ices. Their discordant cries, clapping Of
sticks, rat-a-tat on tin or iron pans, make
both day and night hideous
The Brazllians are fond of looking out
upon the paSsers-by i'll the streets. In the
mornings and evenings the windows Of the
houses on the shady sides OF the streets are
filled with women and children leaning half
out. They recognize their acquaintance
walking or riding by N the street cars with
waves of their hands Fine places with
grounds in front of the houses have raised
platforms, where the members of the fam
lily sit in the evening for the double pur-
pose of enjoying the breeze and Watching
the passeIs by.
This is tae hight of the summer season,
aud the thermometer in the shade stands
for several hours Of the daytime at from
$50 to So. In the business part of the city,
with its narrow streets, this heat
IS at times very oppressive,
but, except inextraordinary sea
sons, there is scarcely a day with
out breeze, either from the bay and fSea or
from the mountains, which ameliorates tne
heat perceplibly. The mornings and even
lngs are almost iuvar ably fresh aud delight
full. The temperature of the houses at
night depends greatly upon their location.
If they are situated so as to catch the breeze
from the water or from the mountains there
is no trouble in sleeping.
If the sanitary condition of the city was
as it should be Rio would always be per-
fectlv healthy But the drainage is bad and
their is insufficient water to keep the sewers
thoroughly flushed and the streets clean.
If Rio had the abundance of water which
Paris has, and its drainage system was as
perfect, it would be a more healthy city
than the French capital. The curse of Rio
is city Improvement company which has
a privilege of sewerage and drainage and
all the appliances thereof. The expend!-
ture of $50, 600. 900 would give Rio perfect
natural drainage, supply an abundance of
water, and make the tide circulate in all
the little coves and bays Of the great bay
about and on which ii is built.
There are some strange diseases here
which puzzle the medical profession to &c
count for. Beri-beri is a swelling of the
feet and lower part of the legs-dropsical
in it's nature. 1t is the result of Initiated
blood, but what causes this vitlatlOn OF the
blood is not SO satisfactorily accounted for.
AS a rule, the disease attacks those whose
daily Authorization is bad, but it does at
tack these who live well-whose cui inc is
apparently perfect. Accesso perniciosa is
another remarkable disease. 1t is a violent
fever, which comes on with scarcely any
premOulUOQS-a I6rrluc neaO IN UDe mead
the brain on fire-and death ensueS IN a few
hours. The medical profession attribute it
to the effect of the heat-a sort of sun
stnoke-but persons die of it who are not
exposed to the sun.
There are always endemic cases of yellow
fever here, but it is only epidemic when
there is "a long continued season of dry hot
weather. SO long as there is rain every
day or several times "a week yellow fever
does not become epidemic. Keep the city
perfectly clean. flush the drains twice q
day, wash the streets morning and night,
use disinfectants freely, introduce and COM
pei the use of the cork closet in all tene-
ment houses and localities, and there would
never be a yellow fever epidemic in Rio
or any other Brazilian coast city.
There are a few simple precautions to be
observed by people living here, and they
will not be exposed to any greater risks
than In New York. Eat sparingly and Of
the hest food, never drink anything but
red or white wines and only with your
meals Take all the exercise you can in the
early mornings, keep out of the sun, and
never get excited, worried, or over-exert
yourself Use fresh fruits and vegetables
literally, observed regular habis in every
thing. aud sleep we'll Ii you can't sleep,
get away.
Those who can live at Petropolis on the
Corcovado, OF in Tljuca always have cool
nights and are in no sort of danger from
malarial or contagious diseases. The Senas,