Arnold Henry Savage Landor

“ In many places the sand, ashes, and red earth had almost consolidated into easily friable rock.
Where the actual rock was not exposed we had campos, campos, campos, stretching as far as the eye could see. Far from being monotonous, one had—or at least I had—a delightful sensation in riding across those interminable prairies of beautiful green. One could breathe the pure air with fully expanded lungs, and in that silent, reposeful solitude one felt almost as if the whole world belonged to one. We were not much worried by insects on those great open places ”

“ As we went along more and more headlands of the great plateau appeared before us to the west. We still went on descending on the top of the long spur of lava. When not too busy with our animals—and quite out of breath with the heat and stifling air from the heated rock—I sometimes glanced at the glorious panorama on both sides of us. When we had proceeded farther I ascertained that there were really two crescents contained side by side within a larger crescent. Under us to the south a vast undulating plain stretched as far as the eye could see towards the south-west and west. ”

“ First of all, it is so big that you seldom see both sides of the river at a time; its waters are muddy and filthy; its climate is damp, oppressive and unhealthy; its vegetation, when you are near enough the banks to see it, is entangled, half-rotted, and smelly. All along one's nostrils are offended by the fetid odour of mud and decayed vegetable matter.
People in Europe seem imbued with the idea that, as you go along the Amazon, you must be attracted by the great number of birds of beautiful plumage, insects and butterflies of all sizes and amazing colours. ”

“ When I did I found that we were already out of the channel and in the whirlpool, the canoe full of water but fortunately saved.
I lose most things in the world, but I never lose my patience nor my sense of humour. I could not help laughing when I looked at the expression on the faces of my dogs—an expression of terror and astonishment, as they looked first at the place from which we had emerged and then at me, which I am sure would have meant in words: "Good gracious! where in the world are you taking us?"
We had to halt as soon as convenient in order to cut some new paddles. ”

“ Not a sign could be seen anywhere of a human being; not a column of smoke indicating the presence of man rose anywhere in the clear sky. Nowhere did we meet disturbed vegetation; nowhere did we notice a trail or a passage through the vegetation coming to the water; nowhere did we meet abandoned camps or any signs whatever that human beings had ever lived there. There was no animal life of fair size on the surface; no parrots, no monkeys, no mammals of any kind—only millions of insects, which made one's life a burden. ”

“ In many places the mules slid and rolled down the precipitous slope of igneous rock and marble débris, scattering the packs in every direction. It was a wonder they were not killed. We urged the animals on, we pushed and pulled them, we held them with all our might by the bridles when they began to slide. After many narrow escapes we reached the summit—an immense flat stretch of campos with stunted trees and delicious crisp air—quite delightful after the stifling atmosphere of the Capim Branco basin. ”

“ Filippe and I listened. Surely there was somebody singing! We fancied we heard several voices. Had Benedicto met somebody in the forest?
"Benedicto! Benedicto!" we shouted out to him. "Have you found men?"
"No!" came the answer from Benedicto.
All of a sudden Filippe, whose eyes had been scanning the river in front of him, gave a violent jerk which nearly capsized the raft, exclaiming:
"Look! look! There is a canoe!"
"It is a rock," said I, as I screened my eye to look on the dazzling water, upon which the sun glittered so that it was almost impossible to perceive anything. ”

“ Farther on, from a high point, 1,450 ft. above the sea level, we could gaze once more upon a gorgeous panoramic view of the marvellous scenery we had left behind—the great plateaux of rock as red as fire, and "Church-rock" looming high against the sky. We kept on rising upon various undulations—that day's march was one of continuous ascents and descents. At 1,600 ft. we found more masses of vertically foliated slate, ashes consolidated into easily-friable sheets, and large quantities of beautiful marble. ”

“ To anybody accustomed to travelling in equatorial countries it seems amazing, on returning to civilization, to find what curious notions people have of the tropical forest. Even in the case of writers of distinction I could quote many passages which are painfully ridiculous. One of the greatest modern Italian writers, for instance—who, by the way, in one of his latest novels, copied almost word for word many pages from my books—added the poetic touch that in the tropical forest flowers were found so large that they could not be picked, and fruit so enormous that no human tooth could bite it! ”

“ The river kept its width of 200 m. After going along chapada on the left bank for some 3 kil., we came to magnificent forest—this time on both sides—with a luxuriant growth of rubber trees.
The scene, in its wonderful quietude, was most impressive. It made one's heart bleed to think that such rich land should lie unknown and unexploited in these enlightened and enterprising days of the twentieth century.
The sky above us was always interesting, with its typical filaments of mist, their lengthy radiations faintly marked upon the vivid blue of the sky vault and making a centre in the north. ”

“ Monkeys played gaily among the trees, evidently taking the greatest interest in the canoe. They followed us for long distances, jumping from tree to tree, shrieking with excitement and gazing at us with keen interest. We in the canoe suffered perfect torture from the millions of bees, gnats, and mosquitoes, which settled on us in absolute swarms and stung us for all they were worth. ”

“ Then the railway gracefully climbed in great curves over a plateau nearly 14,000 ft. high, where tufts of grass could be seen, giving a greenish appearance to the landscape.
We travelled along that great table-land, occasionally seeing a herd of llamas stampede away at the approach of the train, now and then observing circular stone walls erected by shepherds as shelters. A gable-roofed hut was occasionally seen. Picturesque natives in their ponchos and red or yellow scarves gazed, astonished, at the train throbbing along slowly upon the steep gradient of that elevated barren country. ”

“ We often came upon mountains standing alone, either on the top of table-lands or in the middle of extensive plains. Their presence seemed at first unaccountable.
Again as we journeyed onward the mules' hoofs were injured by treading over large expanses of lava pellets and sharp-edged, cutting, baked fragments of black rock, myriads of which also lay embedded in reddish half-formed rock or buried in layers of yellowish-red earth. ”

“ The green country before us, in great sweeping undulations, reminded one much, in its regularity, of the great waves of the ocean—what sailors call "long seas." Where the stream had cut through and left the underlying dome of lava exposed one could easily judge of the thick deposits of sand, ashes and pulverized rock which formed the strata above it.
We travelled over more red volcanic sand for some four kilometres, rising to 1,400 ft., on which elevation was thick matto, or stunted, much entangled forest. Then we emerged once more into glorious open country, marching over a stratum 8 ft. ”

“ With some difficulty we managed to get the animals up to the summit of the plateau (elev. 2,580 ft.) . From there we obtained a sumptuous view beyond. An immense dyke of brilliant red rock, flat-topped, lay majestically to the west. At its foot the Rio Pedra Grande had its birth, and then flowed westward into the Rio Roncador. Four gigantic flat table-lands stood impressively in a line. Three more, equally impressive, loomed in the south-west. Other minor ones, quite wall-like—rectangular in vertical section—appeared in the blue distance, while the horizon was barred by a long flat plateau. ”

“ Indeed, slavery existed—it exists to-day—in all Central Brazil, just as it did before slavery was abolished. Only in the old days of legal slavery it was limited to negroes; now the slaves are negroes, mulattoes, white people, even some Europeans. I have seen with my own eyes a German gentleman of refinement in that humble condition.
In the present condition of things the slave, in the first instance, sells himself or is sold by his family. There were indeed few, if any, of the labouring classes in Matto Grosso and Goyaz provinces who were free men or women. ”

“ Filippe, the negro, in his excitement, gave wild yells which set the mules stampeding, while green parrots in couples, scared at the sudden disturbance, flew overhead, adding piercing shrieks to the rapid tinkling of the mules' bells, the rattling of the baggage on the pack-saddles, and the shouts of the men trying to stop the excited mules. ”

“ The result of keeping so close to the bank, and having our heads continually brushed by the foliage which overhung the stream, was that each time we came in contact with the branch of a tree thousands of ants would drop on to the canoe and upon us, and would bite us furiously. This was most trying—an additional torture to that we had to endure of being stung all over by other insects which followed the canoe in swarms. ”

“ As we were marching by compass, with no trail whatever, we found ourselves entangled in a swampy valley with tall reeds, from which we had some difficulty in extricating ourselves. We eventually had to retrace our steps for six kilometres in order to find an easier way for our animals. After an examination of the country with my telescope from a high spot, I decided to go westward across a flat swampy plain of ashes, sand and water—most troublesome for the mules and horses. They sank deep into the soft ground and frequently rolled over, damaging saddles and baggage. ”

“ We were then in a magnificent basin 1,000 m. wide, with a great cluster of impressive rocks on the right side, in front of two enchantingly beautiful islands—Melisande Island, 400 m. long, Pelleas Island, 700 m. long—on the left.
Whenever I was gazing enraptured at the heavenly scenery Alcides always managed to send the canoe on to some rock, which quickly brought me back, not to earth but to water. His principle in life was always to do the worst thing and then you knew that nothing worse could happen—a topsy-turvy philosophy for which we all had to suffer. ”

“ For to the left we had the impassable barrier of rock; to the right the flames had already gained on us in a semicircle like a claw of fire. We stirred on our animals, lashing them. My men, with their heads wrapped to prevent suffocation from the stifling smoke, were in a great state of excitement. They were about to abandon the animals in order to save their own lives; but Alcides, Filippe, and I kept the rear, endeavouring to save men, baggage, and animals. The flames gained on us very quickly. They occasionally almost licked our animals. ”

“ Central Brazil was certainly a country of flat sky-lines—so flat that often when the distance became of a pure cobalt blue one had the impression of overlooking an immense ocean, to which the green undulations in sweeping lines in the nearer foreground added the impression of great waves. ”

“ The railroad from Mollendo went along the coast among curious eroded rocks of great interest; then gradually left the sea among sand-dunes and mounds upon the wide beach.
As the railway began to get higher and higher upon the steep gradient the scenery became more and more beautiful. Presently we found ourselves overlooking a wonderful flat valley between two high hill ranges in lovely green patches, cut with geometrical precision, and well cultivated. Giant cacti of the candelabrum type were plentiful. ”

“ In their curious way of reasoning they seemed to think that the railway would make life dearer in the city, that strangers would be coming in great numbers to reap the benefit of their country, and that the younger people who were satisfied to live there—because they could not get away—would all fly to the coast as soon as the railway was established, to enjoy the luxuries of Rio and São Paulo, of which they had heard, but could so far only dream of. They did not stop to think that the railways will certainly make Goyaz the richest country in the world. ”

“ In Brazil you have to resort to the streams, where the moment you remove your clothes you are absolutely devoured by mosquitoes, flies and insects of all kinds—a perfect torture, I can assure you. Once you were in the water, immersed up to the mouth, it took a brave man to come out again, as millions of mosquitoes and flies and gnats circled angrily and greedily above your head ready for the attack the moment you came out. ”

“ I have, indeed, the greatest respect and admiration for the noble self-sacrifice of the women of Goyaz. Devoted mothers and wives, to men who deserved no devotion at all—nearly all the men had concubines—gentle, humble, thoughtful, simple and hard-working, they did all the work in the house. They were a great contrast to the lazy, conceited, vain male portion of the population. Certainly, in a population of 10,000 people, I met two or three men who deserved respect, but they were the exception. ”

“ We were in a region of extraordinary interest and surprises. In the plain which extended before us there stood two conical hills in the far north-west, and three other hills, dome-like, each isolated, but in a most perfect alignment with the others, towards the east. Close to us were giant domes of rock, the surface of which formed marvellous geometrical designs of such regularity that had they been on a smaller scale one might have suspected them of being the work of human beings ”