The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1892-10-23

are naturally the ruling class; as in all
nations of mixed races. the whltest, though
in ever SO small a minority, are the con-
trolling element. To these should be
added the soldiers. for though the rank
and file shade from black-and-tan to ebony,
they are Differed by white men, of com
manding talent and influence. IL was they
who wrought the recent revo-
luton which overthrow an empire
(reslIv against the wishes of the majority
of l r.ziliaus outside the capital), who
ousted the first president in the beginning
of his first term, and are capable at any
time of any sort of political oyerturnlng.
THE NEGROES AND INDIANS
or the Negroes there is not much to be
said. They come originally from the same
West African tribes as other American
Negroes, and as they have but lately
emerged from slavery, their capacity for
self government under the RepU Dlicau
system can easily be judged. There are
many names TO designate the different
shades of colored citizens. Scientifically.
the latter ones are classed as mulattoes,
quadroons. ociaroons, mearioids, leuco-
meanoids, etc; and locally, those darker
than mulattoes are known as "metifsn aud
"griffes," They are found in every walk
of life, from highest to lowest; on the
Judges bench, in the cabinet, under
priestly robes, as college professors,
authors and orators. Some of the mos {
celebrated beauties of the country are ne
crosses, who ride in emblazoned carriages
and I'LL their opera boxes with a blaze of
iewels.
Brazilian Indians are SAID to be about the
ugliest human beings on the face of the
earth, not excepting the ''Diggers" Of
Lower California aud the tribes of TERRA
del Fuego. The Botocudos, who are most
noted, have advanced FAR enough to till
small patches of land, live in nuts, raise
cattle and weave mats for sale. The Por
tuguese gave them their singular name
from the word botogue, meaning a barrel
bung, from their habit of wearing large,
round disks of wood in their ears and
under lips. This fashion used to go so far
that in middle life many Of them mad stiff
under lips projecting five or six inches,
holding plug as big as the top Of q coffee
cup. OF late years the custom is mostly
discontinued. but both sexes still 90 per-
fectly naked, except those living in the
near neghborhood of white settlements.
The men varnsh themselves eli over with
bright yellow paint. made from the bark
and gum OF species of palm; and the
women dress up" as some civilized ladies
do. by applying few streaks of
white and red 10 their faces, arms and
bosoms. Though many Of the Botocudos
that those of the far inland are yet cannihals
to the extent of eating their captlves taken
in war. Like the Greeks of the Homeric
age, they consider it the greatest of evils to
lie unburied after death, so they delight in
making flutes and trumpets OF their enc
MES bones. have the questionable pleas
ure Of owning one OF these CHASTITY trophies,
which has five holes and is ornamsnted
with tufts Of red and yellow feathers at
tached TO the bone by strings, but it re-
ouires somebody more courageous than
your correspondent TO test its value as
musical instrument by personal expert
ment.
RESEMBLE THE PUEBLos.
There is another Brazilian tri be, whose
name do not remember, who are an almost
exact counterpart of the Pueblos of Mexico
and Arizona-simple, peaceful and indus
trIous. They live near the coast, and are
doubtless descendants OF those Pinzou, Ca
bral and other early voyagers first encoun-
tered. But unfortunately they are few in
number and rapidly dying out; for among
their fierce neighbors the s'tcrn unto him
the other cheek also' principle is disas-
trons TO life and property. There