Across Unknown South America | Page 6

are many who have a vague idea that Brazil is a German
colony; others, more patriotic, who claim it as an English possession.
Many of those who have looked at the map of the world are under the
impression that Spanish is spoken in Brazil, and are surprised when you
tell them that Portuguese happens to be the local language. Others,
more enlightened in their geography by that great play Charley's Aunt,
imagine it a great forest of nut trees. Others, more enlightened still,
believe it to be a land where you are constantly walking in avenues
adorned with wonderful orchids, with a sky overhead swarming with
birds of beautiful plumage. I have been asked in all seriousness whether
I found the Andes quite flat--great prairies (the person had heard of the
Argentine pampas and got mixed up)--or whether "it" was merely a
large lagoon!
I could quote dozens more of these extreme cases of ignorance, but of
one thing I am certain, and that is, that there are few people in the
British Isles who realize the actual size of the great Brazilian Republic.
Brazil is 8,524,778 square kilometres--with the territory of the Acre
newly acquired from Bolivia, 8,715,778 sq. kil. in extent; that is to say,
it covers an area larger than the United States of North America,
Germany, Portugal, Greece and Montenegro taken together.
Some of the States of the Republic are larger than some of the largest
countries in Europe: such as the State of the Amazonas with 1,894,724
sq. kil.; the State of Matto Grosso with 1,378,784 sq. kil.; the State of
Pará with an area of 1,149,712 sq. kil.; the State of Goyaz with 747,311
sq. kil.; the State of Minas Geraes with 574,855 sq. kil.; the Acre
territory, 191,000 sq. kil.
There are fewer people still who seriously appreciate the great
importance of that beautiful country--with no exception the richest, the
most wonderful in the world; to my mind undoubtedly the continent of
the future.
Incalculable is the richness of Brazil in mineral wealth. Magnificent

yellow diamonds are to be found in various regions, those of Minas
Geraes and Matto Grosso being famous for their purity and
extraordinary brilliancy; agates, moonstones, amethysts, emeralds,
sapphires, rubies, topazes, and all kinds of beautiful rock crystals are
plentiful. Gold exists in many regions on the central plateau--but
particularly in Minas Geraes and Matto Grosso; and platinum in the
States of São Paulo, Minas Geraes, Sta. Catharina and Espirito Santo;
silver, mercury, lead, tin, salicylated and natural copper are found in
many places, as well as graphite, iron, magnetic iron, oxide of copper,
antimony, argentiferous galena, malachite, manganese oxide, alum,
bituminous schist, anthracite, phosphate of lime, sulphate of sodium,
hæmatite, monazitic sands (the latter in large quantities), nitrate of
potassium, yellow, rose-coloured, and opalescent quartz, sulphate of
iron, sulphate of magnesia, potash, kaolin. Coal and lignite of poor
quality have been discovered in some regions, and also petroleum, but
not in large quantities.
[Illustration: Rio de Janeiro, showing the beautiful Avenida Central.]
Springs of thermal and mineral waters are numerous--particularly those
of which the waters are sulphurous or ferruginous; others contain
arsenic and magnesia.
Most beautiful marble of various colours is to be found, and also
enormous quantities of mica and amianth; porphyry and porphyroid
granite, carbonated and hydroxided iron, argillaceous schist, mica
schist.
Even richer than the mineral wealth is the botanical wealth, hitherto
dormant, of Brazil. Valuable woods occur in many Brazilian
forests--although it must not for one moment be imagined that entire
forests are to be found composed of useful woods. Indeed this is not the
case. Most of the woods are absolutely valueless. Still, when it is
realized that the forests of Brazil extend for several millions of square
kilometres, it is easy to conceive that there is plenty of room among a
majority of poor trees for some good ones. Most Brazilian woods are
interesting on account of their high specific gravity. Few, very few, will
float on water. On the central plateau, for instance, I could not find a

single wood which floated--barring, under special conditions, the burity
palm (Mauritia vinifera M.). Along the banks of the Amazon and in the
northern part of Brazil this is not quite the case. Some Brazilian woods,
such as the iron-tree (pao-ferro), whose name fitly indicates its
character, are of extraordinary hardness. The Brazilian forest, although
not specially rich in woods for building and naval purposes, is
nevertheless most abundant in lactiferous, oliferous, fibrous, medicinal,
resinous, and industrial plants--such for instance as can be used for
tanning purposes, etc. No country in the world is as rich as Brazil in its
natural growth of rubber trees; nor have I ever seen anywhere else such
beautiful and plentiful palms: the piassava (Attalia fumifera M.), the
assahy (Euterpe