Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1890-05-09
AMONG THE BRAZILIAN.
f0s
An e E Mlsrs' ,,'ife at no,.,

IA the Markeis-Iifa a.
an E'astle Currency. "o'ela-
Among the most interestin,.
20 the traveller in Braziltee. novelties
markets and the bird hazars "n ~ city are
ket Is ordinarily to be reva., me mar.
pulse OF the town. II 1t he aat, Us the
clean and orderly the blood a observed,
o 81 sne community may safely lh' a
sia t as excellent. Judged 10 10 con.
,est mere are few If any coast to ~ this
Isl brazii IN which there is sound d io@as in
Inc markets are dirty. disora sesllon.
unattractive. There are scanta esiy and
managed displays of meats ~ ana III,
llve on lerked beef of inferior on ~ poor
iish there is larger assor sraaes' OF
fresh vegetables are laekinr '-r n but
display OF tropical fruits is disanno,san.,t the
Bahia oranges are delicious. bn ptO,,'llng
perlor to the best Florida oranao not su-
IN ehe New York market. Mansoa seen
abundant and cheap. Ranaa soes are
smaller, butmore delicate in ea. are
those seen in the Northern NEIL l' .nan
most delicious fruit to be found - lhe
IS the pineapple. Nortberno~. - brazil
inns fruit weeks after it has been MA, "a.
IN lts green state have only fain p'eaea
Oh It's sweetness, lusciousness a, iuea
ilclous flavor. Here the pineann a W.
picked when the tropical sun hal Is
tected its chemical work and ~ PET
IS ready to melt in the mouth 4 iruit
be an atfront to nature to snrin,,,. "ouio
upon 1t when sliced. 1t is mellow 1 ova
running with juice, and of incomnss orer-
navor' The finest pineapples ara ' tba
found in Pernambuco, but The s tr','
grows almost everywhere in PHI au,O
There are other fruits, such as a1l paalii
pears, melons, chirimoyas and saa1.
and great variety Of tra poes,
nuts. Fruit is cheap here, the finest finest
pineapples being sold for tbra ."ess
Tour Ger g to the experienced n.t,. u
ana Tor ten cents to the unwarv traaa
en- Parrots are also inexpensive in a.
oazars adjoining the market mo h 'l9
does not seem to acquire the portprnaaa
tongue readily, for among the msnm 'T
have seen have not found ono aoat
plished linguist The plumage how
ever, is of bewildering brilliapce sna
beauty VIII ndreds of them arc 500
together. The parrots are exbibitea -
close proximity to monkev-caoas an a
American tradition of a mon5ou.oa1
parrot time apparently not havino bo
come current in Brazil. The monLa~.
are OF all ages, sizes, colors and species
but nearly all that are seen in the
oazars are unframed, the purchasers no.
ing expected to begin as well as IN CON-,
plete the process of education.
Hotels are few and ill-conductod IN
brazilian coast towns, but there are ov.
celent French and German restapran+a
in Bahia and Pernambuco. good tobla
d'hote dinner of half a dozen courses il
served, and excellent wines are IN ba
mad at reasonable rates, When one hos
the Dill to settle he finds that the scora
runs into the thousands. The basis NJ
the currency is an imaginary unit. the
refs, 1000 of which make a milrei.
worth, apart from exchange, about 60
cents. The lowest nickel coin is 100
rels, worth cents. Below these are
copper coins, 20 reis being the smallest
| have scene equivalent to a cent. If
one dimes with a friend at restaurant
the score will amount to {, 500 reis-a re-.
suit startling to the uninitiated
When real-estate transactions are
conducted the figures rise into the mill.
ions, and when trade statistics are com.
puted billions and trillions are brought
in. Reversing the process one pays9
900 reis to a boatman to go shore from
steamer, LOCO reis, or milreis, for
bottle of beer and some cheese. 800 refs
to guide for ride on street-car, 100
refs for turn on the lift from the upper
to the lower turn, and another 100 refs
for having his boots BACKED. This
financial system must tend to impart
to poverty, for even beggar
must have some consciousness
of atfluence when 100-reis nick
ell is dropped into his cap
For the American who comes
South with a feeling of honest
pride in the fact that specie payments
have been resumed in his country. and
that paper money there is as good as
gold, an hour of humiliation is in re-
serve. When he exchanges his shining
$40 gold piece into Brazilian currency
he receives for at current rates Of ex-
change eighteen milreis-that is, $4,000
refs; but the eighteen milreis are only
equivalent to S9-that is to say 81 has
been sacrificed in the exchange To
complete his dissatisfaction the paper
money is exceedingly dirty and ire
deemable in coin. Gold and silver are
never seen here, yet are heavily dis
counted when foreigners bring them in,
an inconvertible currency commanding
a heavy premium.