Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-09-25
THE BELEAGURED CAPITAL.
The City of Rio de Janeiro and its Envi-
ronments.
Its Peerless HaPbOr and Extensive
DOcks-PrOgress Made in Re-
cent Years In the City.


Janeiro. the capital of Brazil, and toward
which the eyes of the civilized world are
now turned in anxiety and waiting, Is stu
| ated on the western side of the finest natur-
al harbor in the world. and, together with
its numerous environs, comprises an indie
pendent municipality with an area of some
so square miles, divided into nineteen
parishes.
/ The best-known Of the suburbs of Rio are
Botafogo. the Vale of Larangerias, the
height OF Tejuca, San Cristoyal, and Santa
Teresa At .Botafogo is situated the won
derful botanical gardens OF worldwide
fame. the entire distance, however. whether
inland or by the shores of the bay, being
but continuous garden Of great beauty
| and wealth of yertiure The celebrated
avenue of Palms has been described and
admired by thousands of visitors from all
| parts of the world.
| The actual entrance 10 this magnificent
harbor is between Fort Santa Cruz and
/ Fort San Juan. the channel being about
/ LOO yards in width.
| Once past this narrow entrance, and the
bay spreads out on either hand TO width
| varying from two to seven miles, and ex-
| tending inland distance of not less than
| sixteen miles.
The available anchorage Is not much
| short of fifty square miles in area, AMI 1t
has a good holding ground for anchorage.
| The surroundings Of this peerless harbor
are composed Of bold hills and promontories
of the most varied color. and there are
| large numbers Of islands in the bay. Of all
/ sizes, the largest being the nha do Gober-
nador, containing twelve square miles Of
| area and population of nearly 5000 peo-
| pie. Rio de Janeiro. oeing the capital is
| the seat of the principal arsenal which is
| well provided with docks. machiue shops,
and all the appliances Of a modern dock
yard Several Of the Brazilian cruisers have
been built at the arsenal
Extensive Docks.
The arsenal. with its two fine stone docks,
Is on the north side of the Ilha das Cobras
(Snake Island and not far distant is the
small island upon which Is located a fine
commercial cry dock capable of receiving
the largest merchant ships entering the
port.
Nearly all Of the streets of Rio are ex-
ceeuinsiy narrow, generally crooked, and
Tar from clean. although the plentiful sup
ply or water which Is allowed to flow be-
side many of them renders them less open
10 the reproach of flthiness than would
otherwise be the case.
The fashionable street Is the celebrated
Rua do Oouvidor. and Is lined on both sides
throughout its length with fine shops, stores
and bazaars. Even this street is no wider
than many alleys In more favored parts
| OF the world. but Is crowded with the fe-
male wealth and fashion Of Rio during the
| Few hours OF the afternoon when shop
Il
| business street, however. Is the Rua Pre-
miro de Marco. formerly Rua Dereita, and
Is wide. pleasant, and kept tolerably clean
II Is notable for being perfectly straight,
/ running froin the Palace Gate to the Con-
vent of Sac Bento
On this street are located the exchange.
the post ofhce. custom house and the i'm
perial chapel, built in 1851 According to
the last census the population of Rio is
about 100000. of which foreigners number
nearly one-third.
| water supply and Sewerage.
The city Is we'll supplied. with water.
| which Is distributed through the streets
and to the public squares In beautiful foun-
tains and stone basins The prtncipal
aqueduct brings its supply of excellent wa
ter from Lijuca, distant some twelve miles.
and crosses the valley separating Monte de
santa Theresa from Monte de Santo An
| tonic on double tier of graceful arches
many of them being ninety feet high This
| aqueduct Is one of the rights Of the CITY.
ana brings strongly to mind the old Roman
purpose. "
The sewerage of Rio de Janeiro ia some-
what below the average of continental
cities, but great progress has been made in
recent years In this direction. an English
company having acquired a governmental
concession for providing the city with an
emcient sewer system.
National Library.
J The great national library conta,n;no
nearly 10000 volumes. is a credit TO the
city, and is the nucleus of many smaller
institutions in the country The situation
or Rio. south of the equator Is degrees "a
| minutes. gives 1t all the advantages and
disadvantages of the tropics amon1 ,b 20
latter being the annual Eruption of yellow,
Iever Indeed this disease is seldom absent
rom tne hospitals Of Rio and becomes cpl
|
warmest month is January, the temnera-
lure ranging from a maximum of .learIv
| IU degrees Fahrenheit to a minimum az *
In June the thermometer seldom shows
| ABOVE 50 degrees. and the lowest tempera
ture observed has been about CO.
win an annual rainfall of about sixty
meme, ,n II Is not singular that tropical vege-
tation hourishes with luxuriance ,,ar,I
| leled in few countries of the world ne -
| ends alone of Brazil outnumbering those
OF the rest of the world combined
81, braZlI was discovered in 1899 by one of
the companions of Columbus Vincent
fanez Pincon, who took posse ssion of the
country for the Spanish government. hut
made no settlement.
The Great River.
Brazil Is credited with the largest river in
the world-the gigantic Amazon-and n 10
not only the largest, but the longest. afford.
Ing easy navigation within Brazilian terri
toy of something over 5000 miles This
great river flows uniformly through quite n
level territory, and 1t has but few -apids
and no falls As showing the flatness Of
the country passed through by the Amazon.
the effect of the tides in the Atlantic is fell
for 400 miles from its mouth, and conversely
the river current Is distinctly felt at sea for
more than 200 miles. The following de-
scription of the remarkable tidal phen,me-
non. called the bore" Is taken from a
writer on the subject:
During three days before the full and
new moons. the period of the higher or
spring tides. the sea. instead Of occupying
SIX hours to reach its flood, swells TO ITS
hlghest limit In one or two minutes The
noise or this terrible flood Is heard five or
SIX miles on and increases as 1t approaches
Presently you see a liquid promonrory
Twelve or fifteen feet high, followed by an
other and another. and sometimes by a
fourth These watery mountains spread
across the whole channel and advance with
prodigious rapidity, rending and crushing
everything in their way.
Immense Areas
Brazil has an area Of about 32SS 900 souare
miles, or not far from that of all Europe
and 1t has a seaboard Of nearly four thou
sand miles in extent The population of
Brazil is a singular miture of the native
Indian and their Portuguese conquero-s.
the result being a type somewhere about
midway between the two. The dark skin
straight black hair and generally small size
showing the Indian derivation, while the
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