The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1894-07-15

EgYDIlan temples dIlSc W Tie imagination,
you feel as if translated to another sphere,
and that this verdant gallery must lead to
a mansion of the gods.
Para Is emnently commercial city.
An immense amount of business is carried
on in the great. yello w-painted warehouses
that line its water front It's port is the
busiest in South America. Not only the
transatlantic vessels and those from the
United States and other parts of the same
continent do business at Para, but the
river traffic is very great. as all the exports
and imports of the vast AmaZonian valley
must pass this way, the Interior towns be
supplied with the necessaries of life and
their multitudinou products brought away.
The great staple product of this part of
Brazil is indiarubber. Seven-eighths of
the worlds supply comes from This port.
Ships carry it away from Para at the rate
of about S6.500.000 worth per annum.
Cacao comes next in value, about $1,000 600
worth a year being shipped from Para.
b rail nuts and quantities of sugar, cotton,
T ice, piacaba rope, tobacco, palm oil, va
n lila, sarsaparilla, farina, cloves. annatto,
Isl nglass guarana, hides, skins fine cabi-
net woods, feathers, turtle-egg butter, and
other queer but desired articles make up
the commodities handled at this port.
Speaking of cabinet woods, some OF the
choicest varieties in the world abound here
as commonly as pine at home-not only
tulip, ebony, rose, mahogany, cedar, laurel,
tortoise SHELF wood. but the rare and
beautifully notified snake wood" golden
brown mao de areO," speckled tugo.
zebra-striped mOisacOatidra, violet-tinted
Dalo santo, pale green, ivory white. jet
black and blood-red varieties, whose
ames | do not know Some of these have
recently been introduced into the United
States tor the inner furnishings of rich
mems houSes-for mantels and sideboards.
wainscotS and mosaic floors.
There are always picturesque scenes
along the waterSde of Para. Hundreds
of canoes are drawn up on the shore The
larger ones have little cabins of palm
matched in the stern. While the Indian
and mulattO bOatmen from ''up the river"
are selling their produce in the town, and
afterward getting gloriOusy drunk on the
proceeds, their families remain in the
canoes, or. at most, within sight of them
The marked difference of character dis.
played by The two races is nowhere more
apparent. While the gaudily dressed ne
crosses and mulattOes are cnattering and
quarrellng at the top of their voices, and
their dirty children tumble about on the
muddy shore. shouting. crying, fighting, in
cessantly making riot of some sort, the
Indian women sit very still and quiet in
their canoes. carrying on a Subdued out
friendly conversation with one another
Their children, always stark naked, are
clean, sleek and shining, and ALWAYS very
quiet. Many of these Indians have come
from the distant rivers that flow into the
Amazon, from 100 10 500 or 600 miles away.
Though very dark. they are not copper
colored like our Northern Indians, but OF
a clear, rich brown. Some of the younger
women are decidedly handsome, and all
are eXqulSltely neat In their loose dresses
of white cotton or light-colored calico,
with simple ornaments and hair smoothly
braided. Many of them have never seen
any more of the city than is yisi ole from
the water, or at most only the nearest
streets or markets and poorer shops: for
The men. having quickly sold their small
cargoes, are anxious TO leave with the re-
turn tide. But that brief glimpse OF city
life is quite enough fer the Indians. They
have no desire to remain among noisy
negroes, sweltering streets and glaring
white walls. and long for the cool, shady
forests where they can swing their cotton
hammocks by the waterside and lounge
away the bot noon hours as free from
care as the birds above them.
Besides the small canoes there are manv
larger ones. belonging to the traders who
make long voyages on the upper rivers.
They bring back forest produce. which
they have received in exchange for their
wares. Here are bales OF crude rubber.
in fiask-shaped masses, as it came from
the molds; tall baskets of manioc meal.
the bread of the poorer classes bundles of
dried salt fish, in steaks cut from the
huge pirarucu; bags OF cacao and Brazil
nuts; enormous turtles, reposing peace
fully on their backs; clay pots of crabs
and hairy shrimps and piles of odd-look-
ing fish. Nearly all the canoes bring down
monkeys, parrots and song birds from the
forests in wild-cane cages. some for sale and
others pets of the canoe families, which
money could not buy.
You need not be frightened out of your
wits if, while being entertained in Bra
lillian home, you find big snake comfort
ably asleep IN your chair or coiled up
under your pillow, or feel his Shiny length
drawn slowly across your breast in the
night time. 1t is only the useful and
harmless house snake. which people keep
as we of the north do cats for exterminat-
ing mice and reaches.
l have not yet learned how to spell the
Portuguese name of his snakeship, but
have been introduced to him a number of
times. so to speak, and live in hourly dread
of his attempting 10 cultivate closer ac-
qua!ntance He is from eight to twelve
feet long, and is dressed in gray, notified
with black. Already we have been offered
several Of these sO-called beauties" to
take home with US as a souvenir of pleas
ant visits. When we have declined the
honor. without being able to quite disguise
our shuddering horror, we have been
asked with surprise, Don't yon have rats
aud reaches in your country?" And it is
lmposSib BILE to tell ones Kind entertainers
that we infinitely prefer millions of rats
and billions of reaches 10 their favOrite
eXterminatOr.
The very best advice l can offer to the
uninItiated coming to Brazil is this: Never
step out of bed slpperless in the dark, nor
put bare foot down by day without first
looking sharp TO where il is going; nor
don your hose or shoes or any other article
of clothing without first treating it like a
bottle of medicine, "so be we'll shaken be-
fore taken" Never get into bed without
first inspecting the curtains and looking
carefully between the sheets and under
the pillows; never poke careless fingers
under a table spread or rug or into any
darkened corner, nor walk rashly into a
thcket or clump of flowers, or even in the
rank grass of house garden. THE trail
of the serpent is over it ALL" in fact as
well as fguraiively. Besides the big
snakes there are deadly ones no longer
than your finger; tiny vipers. darling liz
ards. huge hairy tarantulas, scorpions,
centipedes and gemlke bugs whose sting
is fatal; so that you never touch leaf or
flower without feeling that death may be
lurking under it in some guise.-Fannie
Is. Ward in Globe Democrat.