The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1892-09-04

small lake half mile away, where, IN
order to get u suitable pressure for tho
houses OF Pernambuco, IL Is pumped into
huge reservoir Of massive masonry on top
Of & neighboring hill. whence 1t flows to
the city through an 1S-inch pipe.
The highway from the interior sugar
beit-one of the richest in the world-lies
through this suburb, and the products OF
hundreds OF remote sugar estates 10
brought to port on the backs OF mules. The
class Of planters who still stick TO the old
mode of transportation are called sertane-
Jos. and twice every year they come to Per-
nambuco on marketing expediIions-a
weeks. fortnight's. perhaps even longer
journey from their distant homes. The
typical sertaneio-we are not speaking OF
the better class of planters, but Of the nu-
merous small farmers-wears pindora hat,
shaped like q sugar loaf. under which his
bushy black hair frames q distnctively
Portuguese face--thin, bronze, with burn
ing eyes whose most prominent expression
Is OF Unsuitable curiosity and next OF sus-
picion; cotton shirt and trowsers, the
former rolled to the elbows, the latter to
the knees his brown feet bare or thrust
into homemade slippers. He journeys on
horseback, perched on top of two large,
oblong bags of sugar strapped on each side
OF the animal, followed by u train OF mules,
each similarly laden. The master leads
the procession, his feet thrust forw ard
under the horses nose; tpe mule next to
him is perhaps ridden by 8 trained monkey
In lieu OF human drivers; the next by
pair OF screaming parrots, another by
splendid golden breasted, green coated,
scarlet and blue winged macaw-all apDar-
emily as gravely alert TO the business Ia
hand, that of getting tho cargo safely TO
port, as the master himself. There are
rawhides to protect the sugar from rains
and heavy dews. and night after night the
cavalcade has peacefully calnped by the
wayside; the sertanejo to slsep in his ham
mock slung between two trees, with the
starry sky for counterpane, monkey, par
animals teth6red near. AT the f1rst peep OF
dawn all are astir; and having packed his
load-two big. oblong bundles on each
beast as before and every monkey aud par
rot in his own particular place, the SER
tanejo goes behind his horse, seizes hold of
his tail. puts foot on the hook joint and
leaps on top of the load as if ascending a
flight Of stairs. Every mule of the troop
has been educated to understand that thiss
is the signal to take bis place in the train,
and in an instant the oavalcade Is canter-
ing down the green valley, under the dew
dropping trees that overhRng the highway.
They invariably stop the Last night in Cax-
anga-partly from habit and because there
are vendas on purpose, similar TO the mes
L
and also to fortify himself for t0mOrrow's
conflict with traders presumably sharper
than himself; SO that during the semi-an-
nual sugar harvest time this little hamlet,
VIGOROUSLY sleepy and quiet by day, sud
denly wakes up to few turbulent and
boisterous nights, when gaming runs high
and rum flows freely. But at daylight the
sertanejos are again on the road, psusing
only at the bridge OF San Antonio to pull
off his hat and mutter prayer to the
patron saint OF travellers in it's wooden
shrine and SCATTERING into the Trapixe
quarter OF the port before the sun is fairly
up.
Until within few years the sunrise
hour was the busiest time in Pernambuco,
and during the sugar season, Trapixe
market presented scene which for varied
interest could hardly be surpassed in the
world. There were the country sertanejos
in full force, with their horses, mules and
sugar bags; the city merchants, in dainty
suits of white linen, delicately lingering
the samples of sugar; vendors of cakes,
oranges. dulces and beverages, screaming
their wares in high falsetto; wood dealers
with twin bundles OF faggots strapped to
their donkeys sides; poultry sellers, also
on mule back, with huge cane caggers filled
with fouls which yoelferously advertise
Themselves; cows and goats, each with q
muzzled offspring tied to its tail, driven the
rounds to be MIXED TO the order of custom
ers; chattering monkeys, shrieking par
rots, captive song birds, perfect Babel of
sounds-the heart of which all the Trapixe
sugar market, and sugar the moving cause.
Nova days the railways aud coasters,
which bring in twc-thirds of the crop, and
the new sugar exchange which opens at 9
am. have somewhat modified the scene by
lessening the number of sertanejos, but
have by no means done away with the lat
ter or diminished their pictnreness. The
ordinary price OF sugar at Pernambuco is
8 cents per pound for brown and for
white The white sugars are almost ex-
clusiVely sent to the various Brazilian
ports and up the Rio de la Plata; while
the brown goes to the United States and
England.
FANNIE B. WARD.
PERNAMBUoo. Brazil, July 30.