3°
EecembW. ^~,0° ° White pei'fons, and 639,000 Blacks, many of whom
e.— ---> are free; making together 666,000, in the proportion of
feventeen to one. The Indians, who are employed to do the
King’s work in this neighbourhood, can fcarcely be confid
e d as inhabitants; their refidence is at a diftance, from
whence they come by turns to their talk, which they are
obliged to perforin for a fmall pay. The guard-boat was
conftantly rowed by thefe people, who are of a light copper
colour, and have long black hair.
The military eftablifhment here confifts of twelve regiments
of regular troops, fix- of which are Portuguefe and fix
Creoles; and twelve other regiments of provincial militia.
To the regulars the inhabitants behave with the utmoft humility
and fubmiffion; and I was told, that if any of them
fhould negledl to take ofF his hat upon meeting an officer;
he would immediately be knocked down. .Thefe haughty
feverities render the people extremely civil to any ftranger
who has the appearance of a Gentleman. But the fubordi-
nation of the officers tliemfelves to the Viceroy is enforced
with circumftances equally mortifying, for they are obliged
to attend in his hall three times every day to alk his commands
: the anfwer conftantly is, “ There is nothing new."
I have been told, that this fervile attendance is exadled to prevent
their going into the country; and if fo, it effectually
anfwers the purpofe.
It is, I believe, univerfally allowed, that the women, both
of the Spanifh and Portuguefe fettlements in South America,
make lefs difficulty of granting perfonal favours, than
thofe of any other civilized country in the world. Of the
Ladies of this town fome have formed fo unfavourable an
opinion as to declare, that they did not believe there was a
model! one among them. This cenfure is certainly too general
;
neral; but what Dr. Solander faw of them when he was on ' 768i
• i . December*. fhore, gave him no very exalted idea or their chaitity: he v__
told me, that as foon as it was dark, one or more of them
appeared in every window, and diftinguiftied thofe whom
they liked, among the Gentlemen that walked pat! them,
by giving them nofegays ; that he, and two Gentlemen who
were with him, received fo many of thefe favours, that, at
the end of their walk, which was not a long one, they threw
whole hatfuls of them away. Great allowance muft certainly
be made for local euftoms ; that which in one country
would be an indecent familiarity, is a mere aifb of general
courtefy in another ; of the fadt, therefore, which I have
related, I fhall fay nothing, but that I am confident it is
true.
Neither will I take upon me to affirm; that murders are
frequently comiftitted here; but the churches afford an afy-
lum to the criminal: and as our cockfwain was one day
looking at two men, who appeared to be talking together in
a friendly manner, one of them fuddenly drew a knife and
ftabbed the other; who not inftantly falling, the murderer
withdrew the weapon, and ftabbed him a fecond time. He
then ran away, and was purfued by fome Negroes who were
alfo witnefles of the fad!; but whether he efcaped or was
taken I never heard.
The country, at a fmall diftance round the town, which
is all that any of us faw, is beautiful in the higheft degree ;
the wildeft fpots being varied with a greater luxuriance of
flowers, both as to number and beauty, than the beft gardens
in England.
Upon the trees and bufhes fat an almoft endlefs variety of
birds, efpecially fmall ones, many of them covered with the
moft. elegant plumage; among which were the hummingbird..