The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-04-23


fees above the ground without a branch.
and end at last in canopy of beautiful
green fern-like leaves Some of the res
licences have rows of these trees at the
entrances TO thir gardens. They do not
heeo marble columns. for. nature fur
nlshes these palms in their places
Che Oh the hnest avenues of these palms
Is In the botanical garden here. but there
are other parks which you never hear of
Wnich nave trees quite as fine. During a
Drive through the city one day l passed
street in which there were four rows
OF these lofty trees. The grove was at
least mile long and each palm was on
the average 100 feet high. 1t was the
most wonderful evidence OF the God-like
In nature have vet seen.
Ihe City of Rio covers about nine
square miles 1t lies on low plain be-
tween the mountains and the harbor ex-
tending back to, and for some distance
UP the hill The streets go up hill and
down. Ihey cross one another at all
sorts of angles. and the blocks are of as
many different shapes as those of Wash
lnston. The old part of the city Is very
narrow and quaint, some of the streets
near the wharves being so low that they
are Hooded at every rain. Near here are
the sums OF the town, where yellow fever
IS rampant in summer and where the
stranger almost takes his life in his
hands to go through. Large families live
mere In one room and everything Is
soualid and dirty
The city is so badty arranged as TO SAN
1tary matters in this section that the
very stones breathe miasma The sun
never gets fair chance at the streets,
for they are SO narrow that wnen the
street cars go through they almost
Craze the sidewalk. The car drivers are
no respecters Of persons, and friend of
mine here said that the numerous one
legged men of Rio have been made SO
not in the wars, but by losing their legs
from the careless tram cars.
A little back from these slums and the
warehouse section is vast quarter in
which the most Of the business of Rio is
done. This Is also an old part Of the city.
Some Of the houses are moss grown and
they are al most all quaint and pictu-
rescue. Here you find the chief clubs.
the most famous restaurants and the
best shops.
ON THE RUA Do OUVIDOR.
The center of this part of Rio. and In
fact the center of the capital Of Brazil,
is the street called the Rua do Ouvidor
This is the Broadway, the Pennsylvania
avenue. the Champs d Elysees Of Brazil.
1t is the great shopping street, the Cos
siping place. the Rialto of the Brazilian
capital. 1t has the best stores. 1t has
the chief newspapers and the best of
everything that the Brazilians think
good.
Here there are thousands of men and
boys who come for nothing else than to
shake hands and talk, to see and be seen.
1t Is on the Ouyidor that the politician
holds his reception, Here the candidate
comes to feel the pulse of the people, and
here revolutions and uprisings are plot
ted. l was walking down the Rua do
Ouvidor the other day with Col. Charles
Page Bryan. our minister to Brazil. We
were on our way to visit the houses of
congress, and I urged the minister to
hurry, fearing we might be too late The
minister replied:
There is no danger: We are In plenty
of time, and l am sure congress Is still
sitting
How can you tell?r" asked l. .Where
is the building?" "Does the Brazilian
flag float from 1t as, 1t does from our
capitol when the houses are sitting?"
"Oh no." replied Minister Bryan ''You
can't see the houses of congress from
here. They are more than a mile away
In another part Of the CITY, but I know
that congress has not yet adjourned be-
cause there are so few silk hats on the
Ouvidor. Every senator and deputy wears
tall hat, and they all rush for the Ouvi-
dor as soon as the session is over"
There are other things on the Ouvidor
which are far more interesting than the
politicians. The streets are filled with all
sorts Of strange characters. At times
you imagine yourself sirt Naples, at times
In Paris, and again in the Mosk at Cairo.
The street is as narrow as the Moski
1t Is indeed so narrow that by law no
animal or wheeled vehicle is allowed to
enter it, 1t is lined with one, two and
three-story houses. the walls of which are
painted white, blue, brown pink, yellow
and all other imaginable colors Tho
roofs are so irregular that they cut the
sky line, looking like the ragged side of
an old saw. The houses on the opposite
sides of the street lean toward each
other as in some of the old cities Of Ger
many.
BRAZILIANSs ARE PATRIOTIC.
Each house has flag pole extending
out from it's walls, and those On the two
sides of the street almost t1Ich in the
center, forming a very thicket of flag
poles, and making canopy over. the
crowd below. Between the poles from
building to building are arches Of iron
gas pipes running from one side Of the