The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1892-06-19
RAMDLES ABOUT RIO
Protestant Churches Among Por-
tugese Catholics.
SOME BRAZILIAN IRREGULARITIES
People Who Carry Everything on Their Heads
A Curious and interesting Market
Place-RiO's Churches.

correspondence Of The SUNDAY HERALD. l.
In no part of the world except Paraguay,
are so many and diverse articles carried
about on peoples heads, as In Brazil In
tho former country, (Which is peculiarly
one Of women, you know, since most Of the
men were killed in Lopez's wars. when you
cali at q house and hand the servant your
card to present TO the mistress. she clsps
it on her head and walks OF, with back
braced as stii11y as if the bit Of paste board
weighed a hundred pounds; precisely as
the female porters sstote'' your trunks up
town from the railway station or steam
boat landing, and the waitress brings your
dinner, or laundried linen or freshly black
ened boots.
Here Ia Rio everything movable is car
ried on the head, from cakes 10 collins with
corpses inside, from Piano cases and ward
robes to the smallest parcels. AS rule,
the streets are too narrow for carts and
drays; horses are scarce and negroes are
numerous, and so the latter serve instead
as beasts Of burden. Dry goods peddlers
preambulate the streets, striking their
yard sticks sharply together. like elongated
castinets, in front CT every house, followed
by porters bearing on their heads chests,
bales and boxes Of tnery-fowers, feath-
e,s, shoes, under garments, and all the rest
Of female toggery. This inlterant plan is
OF mutual advantage, for it is considered
highly questionable and quite beneath the
dignity Of ladies belonging to the better
class to visit the shops; and it enables the
merchants TO work Off many things they
could not otherwise dispose Of. In the
same way the furniture dealer sends
around his chairs and tables and sofas for
inspection.
The tin-shop man, beating q frying pan
10 call attention, crowds every body on the
narrow sidewalk with his bulging load OF
culinary utensils, topped. perhaps with
bath tub, or tin trunk, such as brazllians
use Tor travelling, painted SKY blue with
scarlet and purple roses on the front.
Fruit. poultry and vegetables are borne
from door to door on the heads OF market
men and women. The butcher SENDS his
man around with the odds and ends OF the
slaughter house-trlpe, liver, Sleeps heads,
brains-piled high on shallow tray
Water carriers balance casks and buckets
on their heads: cooks, cham bermalds and
walters follow The universal fashion. AJAX
for a glass OF water, an orange, towel,
and nine times out of ten it will be brought
10 you on somebody's pate; and should you
die here. (Which may heaven forDid), you
would probably be toted to Gaia IN the same
manner.
Do you see that stalwars Zenobia, whose
bare arms and legs are round, firm and
glossy as polished ebony, stalking up the
street with all the dignity OF a queen and q
deal more natural grace, balancing folded
cotton umbrella on top OF her kinky crest.
Though her head is otherwise bare Ia the
hottest rays Of the monday sun, she feels
no need of shade. being born TO heat, like
hry n. . orchids II iE related that
in the early days of railroad building in
Brazil, the laborers employed in the work
of excavation carried away thousands OF
tons of dirt, in baskets on their heads.
Some Henry BerRh OF d contractor, plying
their arduous toll in this sweltering eli
mate. went 20 no end Of trouble and ex-
pense to provide them with Yankee wheel
barrows The wOrkmen eyed the new
tangled contrivances with evident 0lstrust,
but accepted them without murmur, as in
duty bound. An hour later when the phil
anthropic contractor came Gown 10 see how
they were getting on with the new LABOR
saVers-what was his disgust TO ind that
though each man filled his barrow TO the
brim with garvel be then hoisted it on top
Of his head with the aid of one Of his fell
lows, and trotted 10 the dump with IL In
stead OF being bent up double, as one would
think considering the heavy loads they con-
stantly stager under, these human beasts
y
with spines like the tempered steel Of
Damascus blades. They are the Caryatides
OF the present dav-the Atlantis and lola
mones Of mythology brought down to
modern times.
TIE MARKET PLACE.
To one who can arise with the lark, a
visit to Rios market place is enjoyable
but later in the day, when the tropical sun
has had a chance st the filth with which
the place abounds. vile smells render 1t IN
endurable. 1t is down by the water front,
near The great stone quays, and its enor-
nous buildings cover an entire block eked
out BY sheds that ramble down adjacent
streets and several open squares. Up to
1884 Rio Possessed 10 regular market place,
but from time immemorial this beach was
used for the sale OF iish, because il was
necessary to have one central place for
that commodity on account OF the tithes
vigorously exacted from the fishermen.
Most Of the produce now sold in Rio is
bought in boAts from the fertile islands
mad shores Of the bay. During the early
pay. of the day the market place Is always
more than crowded. is crammed--with
Vesticuiating Portuguese, filing the air with
smoke and profanity; add negresses,
clothed Ia Precipitation as with O garment,
aud not much else, barring slippers and
cigarette bead necklace and gorgeous tur-
Lau. with the addition Of chinese and
scanty petticoat.
I'be customers too. we've a study. They
are mostly women OF the middle class, tot
tering around on high heeled shoes, with
iaco mantillas on their heads like the Beno
ras Of Seville and Cadiz; like them also
being generally plain Of face, coffee coloreo
Of skin, short OF statue. obese in figure
and inclined, at the age OF twenty five OF
thereaDouts, TO develop mustaches worthy
OF grenadlers.
one nav stroll for hours-lf he can en-.
dure the mingled odors Of fish and filth, de-
cayed vegetables and dirty humans, among
.hick-set ranks of baskets of fruit-mostly
fruits unknown 10 northern eyes-of every
conceivable shape and color, smooth.
riaued. knobbed and set with spines: vege
tables queer in shape and hue, suggesting
complicated COLES OF which our plain ''gar-
den sass" is innocent; fish in glitterinp
piles. scaly shiny and odorous. but showing
lovely lines OF ruby, opal, emerald, pearl
aud gold. II you are brave enough to pen
citrate the depths Of The interior, you will
md more gypsy-llke, hall naked hucksters
eQuatted on the ground, their chatter
sounding above the gibbering of monkeys,
The paw, pawn OF shrill-voiced parrots.
and the souawking of imprisoned poultry.
To the very roof the comm odities are piled.
and from the central rafters swing inflated
bladders, strings Of sausage. tripe sailed
fish articles of clothing and goodness
knows what not. Birds, whose brilliant
plumage looks as If it had been dipped in
melted jewels. hop about the cages Of wild
bamboo: skins Of toncans, flamingoes and
other gorgeous feathered creatures HANG
on door-posts, countless monkeys mock
humanity; and hundreds Of "frigate birds
lowering over all, with wines like those
the early Italian painters bestowed upon
beelzebub and his attendant devils, ado
confusion to the outcry and bewildermeri
Of motion TO the scene.
You naturally essay TO purchase certain