The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-05-28
famine has not been nearly 80 bad az that
of 1878. but 1t has been bad enough.
A CITY OF UPPER BRAZIL,

OF 1873. but 1t has been bad enough
A CITY OF UPPER BRAZIL.
Forteleza IL fair type of the cities of
upper Brazil. 1t lies right on the coast
without pier or a landing place to aid
you In getting from the ship to the shore.
There is practically no harbor to speak Of
The ship casts anchor far out and you
approach the shore in boats. When you
get within several hundred feet of 1t you
are met by half-naked men who hold out
their arms to you and carry you in them
on TO the land The shore slopes so that
the boats cannot come further up and
you have to- depend upon men. l have
made the trip several times and have al
ways thanked my stars that / was not
dropped into the water, as was the case
With another passenger, a Brazilian dandy
dressed In white duck. His white duck
suit got ducking and when he reached
the shore he'made me think of drowned
cat-a white cat.
Forteleza lies ION a hill just above this
beach We climbed up the hill over
cobble stone road went 6y a beautiful
park in which were palm trees and tropi-
cal plants and then went to a low sky
blue building known as the French hotel.
From this point made my tours over the
city.
STREETS OF MASHED RAINBOWS.
Forteleza is remarkably clean. It's
streets are well paved with clean cobbIes
and It's houses look as though they had
just received a fresh coat of kalSomine.
The streets cross one another at right
angles. They all have narrow sidewalks
walled with these clean bright-colored
houses. AS you look down one side of the
street you have the effect ofaa solid wall
splashed with mashed rainbows. Every
house is of a different color and all colors
are used.
The most of the houses are of one story.
Only the better classes can afford two.
Each house has one; or two windows.
and door facing the street Both win
dows and door are covered with green
shutters which raise up instead of swing
ing back. The shutters of the doors are
divided in halves at the height of your
waist. The upper half of each door is
usually raised just enough for a woman
or girl to peep out, In many of the win
dows there are two. girls, but at every
window and every door there is one.
This is the condition on the sunny side
of the street. On the shady side the win
dows are open, the shutters raised up
and the women hang out and stare. They
are not, as a rule, pretty. women, and
many have their hair hanging down their
backs. The most are untidy and not a
few wear mother hubbards." Some have
babies in their arms ranging in ages from
John Rogers youngest, who you know
was at the breast, to as old as four years
All of these babies are naked. Their
mothers squat them before them on the
window. stills and display them as though
baby nudity was the most natural thing
in the world. Indeed, there is no i'm
modesty in it. Clothes are only q mat
ter of custom, and in this hot climate
one would be far better off without them
Few of the children here up to the age
of four wear anything, and I certainly
vika6 fhAr,a 4, I, !, Il
one wants to get out of his skin and flesh
and sit in his bones, but for the sake of
fashion we wrap ourselves in Sleeps
wool and layers of cotton and steam like
tea kettles.
IN THE MARKETS.
Among the most important places of
the small Brazilian cities are the ma r.
kets. That of Forteleza is as fine as that
of any American city of the same size.
There are two great buildings, covered
with roofs of corrugated iron and divided
up into stalls by a lattice work of iron
bars. The floor is of tiles and each of
the meat stalls has white marble coun-
ter Beef is sold for to cents pound,
and other meats are exceedingly cheap.
There are ducks and geese and queer
chickens. The Forteleza fowls have
neither hair nor feathers on their necks
and heads and their skin is blood red
line ears OIL the zch1ckenS. are strangely
like those of human beings. They look
like buttons fastening the head together.
The lack of feathers gives the chickens
sort of decollete air, so much so, indeed,
that it seems. positively indecent. If 1
were a Ceara chicken 1. should certainly
wear a collar ora bitsofe lace around my
neck.
CEARA LACE.
Speaking of lace, this is one of Ceara's
specialties. 1t is sold in the market by
both colored women and whites. The
women make it themselves Some of it is
very fine and very cheap. 1t is sold Ivy
the yard, In lace handkerchiefs and also
in yol1es for chemises. Every woman
down here wears a chemise cut low at the
neck, with about six inches Of lace set
in at both front and back and running
from shoulder to shoulder. In order that
1 may not be supposed to be prying into
the forbidden mysteries Of the toilet, I
would say that the common woman of the
markets and elsewhere often wears Moth
ing but chemise which falls from the
neck to the feet, and that any one who
walks the street cannot help seeing how
such garments are cut, both in front and