A Woman's Journey Round the World. Ida Pfeiffer
than words, that he intended to murder, and then drag us into the forest.
We had no arms, as we had been told that the road was perfectly safe, and the only weapons of defence we possessed were our parasols, if I except a clasp knife, which I instantly drew out of my pocket and opened, fully determined to sell my life as dearly as possible. We parried our adversary’s blows as long as we could with our parasols, but these lasted but a short time; besides, he caught hold of mine, which, as we were struggling for it, broke short off, leaving only a piece of the handle in my hand. In the struggle, however, he dropped his knife, which rolled a few steps from him; I instantly made a dash, and thought I had got it, when he, more quick than I, thrust me away with his feet and hands, and once more obtained possession of it. He waved it furiously over my head, and dealt me two wounds, a thrust and a deep gash, both in the upper part of the left arm; I thought I was lost, and despair alone gave me the courage to use my own knife. I made a thrust at his breast; this he warded off, and I only succeeded in wounding him severely in the hand. The Count sprang forward, and seized the fellow from behind, and thus afforded me an opportunity of raising myself from the ground. The whole affair had not taken more than a few seconds. The negro’s fury was now roused to its highest pitch by the wounds he had received: he gnashed his teeth at us like a wild beast, and flourished his knife with frightful rapidity. The Count, in his turn, had received a cut right across the hand, and we had been irrevocably lost, had not Providence sent us assistance. We heard the tramp of horses’ hoofs upon the road, upon which the negro instantly left us and sprang into the wood. Immediately afterwards two horsemen turned a corner of the road, and we hurried towards them; our wounds, which were bleeding freely, and the way in which our parasols were hacked, soon made them understand the state of affairs. They asked us which direction the fugitive had taken, and, springing from their horses, hurried after him; their efforts, however, would have been fruitless, if two negroes, who were coming from the opposite side, had not helped them. As it was, the fellow was soon captured. He was pinioned, and, as he would not walk, severely beaten, most of the blows being dealt upon the head, so that I feared the poor wretch’s skull would be broken. In spite of this he never moved a muscle, and lay, as if insensible to feeling, upon the ground. The two other negroes were obliged to seize hold of him, when he endeavoured to bite every one within his reach, like a wild beast, and carry him to the nearest house. Our preservers, as well as the Count and myself, accompanied them. We then had our wounds dressed, and afterwards continued our journey; not, it is true, entirely devoid of fear, especially when we met one or more negroes but without any further mishap, and with a continually increasing admiration of the beautiful scenery.
The colony of Petropolis is situated in the midst of a virgin forest, at an elevation of 2,500 feet above the level of the sea, and, at the time of our visit, it had been founded about fourteen months, with the especial purpose of furnishing the capital with certain kinds of fruit and vegetables, which, in tropical climates, will thrive only in very high situations. A small row of houses already formed a street, and on a large space that had been cleared away stood the wooden carcase of a larger building—the Imperial Villa, which, however, would have some difficulty in presenting anything like an imperial appearance, on account of the low doors that contrasted strangely with the broad, lofty windows. The town is to be built around the villa, though several detached houses are situated at some distance away in the woods. One portion of the colonists, such as mechanics, shop-keepers, etc., had been presented with small plots of ground for building upon, near the villa; the cultivators of the soil had received larger patches, although not more than two or three yokes. What misery must not these poor people have suffered in their native country to have sought another hemisphere for the sake of a few yokes of land!
We here found the good old woman who had been our fellow passenger from Germany to Rio Janeiro, in company with her son. Her joy at being once more able to share in the toils and labours of her favourite had, in this short space of time, made her several years younger. Her son acted as our guide, and conducted us over the infant colony, which is situated in broad ravines; the surrounding hills are so steep, that when they are cleared of timber and converted into gardens, the soft earth is easily washed away by heavy showers.
At a distance of four miles from the colony, a waterfall foams down a chasm which it has worn away for itself. It is more remarkable for its valley-like enclosure of noble mountains, and the solemn gloom of the surrounding woods, than for its height or body of water.
29th September. In spite of the danger we had incurred in coming, we returned to Porto d’Estrella on foot, went on board a bark, sailed all night, and arrived safely in Rio Janeiro the next morning. Every one, both in Petropolis and the capital, was so astonished at the manner in which our lives had been attempted, that if we had not been able to show our wounds we should never have been believed. The fellow was at first thought to have been drunk or insane, and it was not till later that we learned the real motives of his conduct. He had some time previously been punished by his master for an offence, and on meeting us in the wood, he no doubt thought that it was a good opportunity of satisfying, with impunity, his hatred against the whites.
CHAPTER IV
JOURNEY INTO THE
INTERIOR OF THE BRAZILS
This second journey I also made in company of Count Berchthold, after having resolved on penetrating into the interior of the country, and paying a visit to the primitive inhabitants of the Brazils.
2nd October. We left Rio Janeiro in the morning, and proceeded in a steamer as far as the port of Sampajo, a distance of twenty-eight miles. This port lies at the mouth of the river Maccacu, but consists of only one inn and two or three small houses. We here hired mules to take us to the town of Morroqueimado, eighty miles off.
I may take this opportunity of remarking that it is the custom in the Brazils to hire the mules without muleteers—a great mark of confidence on the part of the owners towards travellers. Arrived at their destination the animals are delivered up at a certain place fixed on by the proprietor. We preferred, however, to take a muleteer with us, as we were not acquainted with the road, a piece of precaution we regretted the less, on finding the way frequently obstructed with wooden gates, which had always to be opened and shut again.
The price for hiring a mule was twelve milreis (£1 6s.).
As we arrived at Porto Sampajo by 2 o’clock, we resolved on going on as far as Ponte do Pinheiro, a distance of sixteen miles. The road lay mostly through valleys covered with large bushes and surrounded by low rocks. The country wore a general aspect of wildness, and only here and there were a few scanty pasture-grounds and poverty-stricken huts to be seen.
The little town of Ponte de Cairas, which we passed, consists of a few shops and vendas, a number of smaller houses, an inconsiderable church, and an apothecary’s; the principal square looked like a meadow. Ponte do Pinheiro is rather larger. We experienced here a very good reception, and had an excellent supper, consisting of fowls stewed in rice, flour of manioc, and Portuguese wine; we had also good beds and breakfasts; the whole cost us, however, four milreis (8s. 8d.).
3rd October. We did not set off till 7 o’clock: here, as everywhere else in the country, there is no getting away early in the morning.
The scenery was of the same character as that passed the day before, except that we were approaching the more lofty mountains. The road was tolerably good, but the bridges across the streams and sloughs execrable; we esteemed ourselves fortunate whenever we passed one without being compelled to stop. After a ride of three hours (nine miles), we reached the great Sugar-Fazenda [11] de Collegio, which in its arrangements is exactly like a large country seat. To the spacious residence is attached a chapel, with the offices lying all around; the whole is enclosed by a high wall.
Far and wide stretched the fields and low eminences, covered with sugar canes: unfortunately, we could not see the mode of preparing the sugar, as the canes were not yet ripe.
A planter’s fortune in the Brazils is calculated by the number of his slaves. There were eight hundred of them on the plantation we were viewing—a large property, since each male slave costs from six to seven hundred milreis (£60 to £70).
Not far