Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-09-17

EVi ~ " Should you De so uniOr-
innate as to fall dead in some sequestered spot
unnoticed Of the living, be sure they would find
you ont in the twinkling of an eye and in an in
credib.y short time prepare your clean-picked
skeleton to grace some doctors shop or museum
collection. A heavy fine is imposed for killing
one Of these hinge carrion birds, and were it not
for them your chances of life in this locality
would be appalling.y diminished, since they do
more than all the city fathers toward keeping
this hot underlined. vile-smelling city in a state
OF comparative cleanliness
Naturally. the next thing you notice is the
extremely picturesque custom house. for thither
Won must go Immediately upon landing to the
reseueo of your luggage A fine old church and
convent have been appropriated to this ig-
noble use. and in the shady clOister garden,
with wealth Of graceful, long-leaved plants
and thorn-crowned heads carved above
every arched doorway, you undergo the
customary tussle with suspicious officials.
The next move is to seek abiding
place, and you will probably take every
body's advice and go to the Hotel do Com
mercio. which is in reality the only decent inn
in the place. although the name of the others
i .egiOn. Ascending some worm-eaten wooden
steps You are shown to enormously large but
bare apartments. which remind You of town
halls. but are redeemed from ugliness by the
awning-shaped French windows, ench opening
on n nttlt DalCODy. Inc tlEN DtCOIltS-
which il is safe TO say that all your time indoors
not devoted to eating and sleeping will be spent.
overlook an inner court yard, CAV with flowers
and Gagged song birds and screaming parrots and
chattering monkeys and turbaned house ne
gresses-a typical Brazilian interior of which
one never tires.
ATTRACTIONS OF THE DINING ROOM
When minded to seek the dining room you
find it deliciously cool and clean. its long
French windows also opening upon flower
gardens, with sanded floors, white cloths, white
china and white-aproned mulatto walters,
French cooking and fruits that have attained
absolute perfection, especially pineapples.
which grow to enormous size and are served in
ways We have never seen before. Reckoned in
the coin Of the country the charges seem abb
surdly high. ! 500 refs per diem to each person,
until you remember that the sum represents
only about 50 Of our money. and that you are
enjoying all the comforts Of New York hotel.
with the luxuries Of the tropics thrown in.
AWAY of here on the Amazon river the in
terror Of Brazil within 100 miles of the prime
val. untrodden forest
In Para the fashionable time for promenad-
ing Is early in the morning. between desayuno
(bed room coffee) and the regular II O'Clock
breakfast There Is much more busting
activity than one expects to find in a tropical
city. especially along the wharves. for scores of
steamers come and go every day-not only
those plying up and down the Amazon. supply
ing the river towns with all the necessaries of
life and bringing away the multitudinous
products of the interior, but ocean ships direct
from Europe and the United States and from
the other ports of the southern continent so
that Para enjoys more trade than any other
South American city. The foreign ships carry
AWAY enormous quantities of India rubber-the
staple product Of this part of Brazil-besides
hundreds Of tons Of Brazil nuts, fine cabinet
woods. sugar, cotton, cloves. rice, sarsaparilla,
farina. cocoa, annatto, isinglass, piasaba rope,
turtle-egg butter and other queer but valuable
commodities. Speaking of cabinet timbers,
some Of the choicest varieties In the world
abound here commonly pine at home.
&c, but many kinds Of jucaranda Crosse wood,
the rare and beautiful tortoise-shell wood
xebrs-striped moiracoatidra, violet-tinted paolo
santo. golden-brown mao de arco. intricately
notified tuyo and q hundred others whose names
do not know, all of which are being rapidly
introduced into the United States for the inner
fni-hings Of rich mems houses, mosaic floors,
wsinscots, &c.
THE SPECIAL QUARTERS.
One knows exactly where to look for every
thing in Pars, for there is an especial quarter
devoted TO each branch Of trade and strata Of
society. The first and second streets running
parallel 10 the anchorage ground are devoted to
the wholesale stores, ship chambers banks and
eonsulates The third street back. called the
Rua dos Mercados (.'Street Of Merchants'') con-
tains all the retail shops, and to the limits
Of the town A tramvay runs down the middle
Of the Rua Mercedes, and the two-storied build
ings on both sides are painted in all the colors
Of the rainbow and covered with gaudy adver-
tisements, the goods hung in long streamers
and otherwise arranged with q view to deco
rntive effect, 30 that the whole street seems to
Be draped xith flags and pennons. The mer-
chants used 10 live above their stores. in the
good old Portuguese and Spanish style, but that
fashion disappeared a few years ago and now
all the well-to-do reside in another part of the
city. All the Wholesale establishments remain
closed every afternoon, for the merchants con-
sfder the hours between sunrise and IL a. m.
quite sufficient for business purposes and spend
tie rest Of the day in their flower gardens. sip
ping coffee and smoking cigarettes with friends
who saunter in and out.
So TAR ~ comfort IL concerned the afternoon
b The best part Of the day in Para-when it
does not rain The mornings are extremely
sulsry, What wind there Is blowing from the
westward, laden with the humid, sticky fogs
and malaria Of the tropical lowlands while In
the afternoons ocean breezes blow. The rainy
season. however, extends over tvo-thirds Of
the year and heavy showers fall in the after
part Of the day, accompanied with terrific
thunder and lightning, which render the nights
cool and pleasant. but reduce the unpaved streets
70 reeking quagmires- Though variable the
climate Of Para is not unhealthy-for South
America To the credit Of the Zipadoses be 1t
sid that yellow fever has never vet invaded the
place. but terfanas intermittent fever), hardly
lsss 70 be dreaded. invariably follow the nine
month"; rainy season and smallpox is present
IL year round, often In epidemic form
LIKE MOST BRAZILIAN CITIES
The general sppearsnceof Para is like that
q most Brazilian cities, with some points Of
difference. There are the same whitewashed
or pAle-tinsed walls, with red-tiled roofs. mar
ROW streets, laid out on the checker-board
plan, and innumerable churches and plazas.
Bat thsse public squares, unlike any Others
have seen, do not appear to be used by the
populace, being painless and overgrown with
fank grasa. Ths houses, too, have their pecu-
haxitieG An are large and many are very
pretty, covered with blue and white tiles and
surrounded by palm trees and strange shrubs
Here the distinguishing feature is the veranda
A IN Bahia, IL h the talouse or latticed bal
coay. every house being surrounded by them,
outside as we'll - In. "A veranda inside the
house, you say. Yes, because the house is
built around patio, or central court yard, and
the wide verAnda that surrounds its inner
walls overiooks this blooming garden and il
shout the most important part of the establish
msnt. Here the children play and nv lady
lounges With her mandolin and needlework dur
ing all hours of the day and the master and his
friends enjoy their afternoon coffee and cigar
sttss when showers drive them 10 shelter.
Always some part Of the yeranda, or an apart
mont opel ming upon II, h utilized Is Q dining