There were hardly any palm-trees, and the
few there were, reminded us, from their thin stems and scanty
foliage, of those of a colder climate.
The prospect from the Serra struck us all with astonishment. The
entire valley with its woods and prairies was spread far and wide
before our sight as far as the bays, the little detached huts being
quite indistinguishable, while only a part of the town and a few
masts of ships were perceptible in the distance.
A turning in the road soon shut out this charming picture from our
gaze; we then left the Serra and entered upon a woody, uneven tract,
alternating with large level grass-plots, covered with low
brushwood, and innumerable mole-hills, two feet high.
Half way from Santos to St. Paulo is a place called Rio Grande, the
houses of which lie, after the Brazilian fashion, so far apart, that
no one would suppose they had any connection with each other. The
owner of the mules used on this journey resides here, and here,
likewise, the money for their hire is paid. If the traveller
desires to proceed immediately he has fresh mules given him, but,
should he prefer stopping the afternoon or night, he finds very good
victual and clean rooms, for which he has nothing to pay, as they
are included in the five milreis (10s. 10d.), charged for the mules.
We snatched a hasty morsel or two, and then hurried on, in order to
complete the second half of the road before sunset. The plain
became broader and broader the nearer we approached the town; the
beauty of the scenery falls off very much, and for the first time
since I left Europe, did I see fields and hills of sand. The town
itself, situated upon a hill, presents a tolerable appearance; it
contains about 22,000 inhabitants, and is a place of considerable
importance for the internal commerce of the country. In spite of
this, however, it has neither an inn nor any other place where
strangers can alight.
After inquiring for a long time in vain for lodgings, we were
directed to a German and a Frenchman, with the remark that both
received lodgers out of pure politeness. We first went to the
German, who very bluntly cut us short by saying that he had no room.
From him we proceeded to the Frenchman, who sent us to a Portuguese,
and on visiting the latter we received the same answer we had
obtained from the German.
We were now greatly embarrassed; the more so, because the wearisome
nature of our journey had so fatigued the Frenchman that he was
hardly able any longer to sit upright in his saddle.
In this critical position I thought of the letter of recommendation
that Herr Geiger had given me in Rio Janeiro, for a German gentleman
of the name of Loskiel, who had settled here. I had intended not to
deliver this letter until the next day, but "necessity knows no
law," and so I paid my visit the same evening.
He was kind enough to interest himself for us in the warmest manner
imaginable. He gave one of the gentlemen and myself lodgings in his
own house, and our two companions in that of a neighbour of his,
inviting all of us to dine at his table. We now learned that in St.
Paulo no one, not even an hotel-keeper, will receive a stranger if
he be not provided with a letter of recommendation. It is certainly
a lucky thing for travellers that this strange custom is not
prevalent everywhere.
16th December. After having completely recovered ourselves from the
fatigues of our yesterday's ride, our first thought was to view the
curiosities of the town. We asked our hospitable host for
information on this point, but he merely shrugged his shoulders, and
said, that he knew of no curiosities, unless, indeed, we chose to
look upon the Botanical Garden in the light of one.
We went out, therefore, after breakfast, and first of all viewed the
town: where we found that the number of large and well-built houses
was, in comparison to the size of the two places, greater than in
Rio Janeiro, although even here, there was nothing like taste or
peculiar architectural style. The streets are tolerably wide, but
present an extraordinarily deserted appearance, the universal
silence being broken only by the insupportable creaking of the
country people's carts. These carts rest upon two wheels, or rather
two wooden disks, which are often not even hooped with iron to keep
them together. The axle, which is likewise of wood, is never
greased, and thus causes the demoniacal kind of music to which I
alluded.
A peculiarity of dress, very remarkable in this hot climate, is here
prevalent: all the men, with the exception of the slaves, wear
large cloth cloaks, one half of which they throw over their
shoulder; I even saw a great many women enveloped in long, broad
cloth capes.
In St. Paulo there is a High School. Those who study there, and
come from the country or the smaller towns, are exposed to the
inconvenience of being refused lodgings under any one's roof. They
are obliged to hire and furnish houses for themselves, and be their
own housekeepers.
We visited several churches which possess very little worth looking
at, either inside or out, and then concluded by proceeding to the
Botanical Garden, which also contains no object of any interest,
with the exception of a plantation of Chinese teas.
All our sight-seeing did not occupy us more than a few hours, and we
could very conveniently have begun our journey back to Santos the
next morning; but the Frenchman, who, on account of the great
fatigue he had suffered, had not accompanied us in our walk, begged
us to put off our return for half a day longer, and to arrange it in
such a manner, that we should pass the night in Rio Grande.
