Martin Rattler

by R. M. Ballantyne

  CHAPTER XI

  THE HERMIT'S STORY

  "My ancestors," began the hermit, "were among the first to land uponBrazil, after the country was taken possession of in the name of the Kingof Portugal, in the year 1500. In the first year of the century, VincentYanez Pin?on, a companion of the famed Columbus, discovered Brazil; andin the next year, Pedro Alvarez Cabral, a Portuguese commander, tookpossession of it in the name of the King of Portugal. In 1503, AmericusVespucius discovered the Bay of All Saints, and took home a cargo ofBrazil-wood, monkeys and parrots; but no permanent settlement waseffected upon the shores of the new continent, and the rich treasures ofthis great country remained for some years longer buried and unknown toman,--for the wild Indians who lived here knew not their value.

  "It was on a dark and stormy night in the year 1510. A group of swarthyand naked savages encircled a small fire on the edge of the forest on theeast coast of Brazil. The spot where their watchfire was kindled is nowcovered by the flourishing city of Bahia. At that time it was awilderness. Before them stretched the noble bay which is now termed_Bahia de Todos Santos,_--All Saints' Bay.

  "The savages talked earnestly and with excited looks as they stood uponthe shore, for the memory of the wondrous ships of the white men thathad visited them a few years before was deeply engraven on their minds;and now, in the midst of the howling storm, another ship was seenapproaching their land. It was a small vessel, shattered andtempest-tossed, that drove into the Bahia de Todos Santos on that stormynight. Long had it battled with the waves of the Atlantic, and the bravehearts that manned it had remained stanch to duty and strong in hope,remembering the recent glorious example of Columbus. But the storm wasfierce and the bark was frail. The top-masts were broken and the sailsrent; and worst of all, just as land hove in sight and cheered thedrooping spirits of the crew, a tremendous wave dashed upon the ship'sstern and carried away the rudder.

  "As they drove helplessly before the gale towards the shore, the nakedsavages crowded down upon the beach and gazed in awe and astonishment atthe mysterious ship. A few of them had seen the vessels of AmericusVespucius and Cabral. The rumour of the white men and their floatingcastle had been wafted far and wide along the coast and into the interiorof Brazil, and with breathless wonder the natives had listened to thestrange account. But now the vision was before them in reality. On camethe floating castle, the white foam dashing from her bows and the tornsails and ropes flying from her masts as she surged over the billows andloomed through the driving spray.

  "It was a grand sight to see that ship dashing straight towards the shoreat fearful speed; and those who looked on seemed to be impressed with avague feeling that she had power to spring upon the strand and continueher swift career through the forest, as she had hitherto cleft herpassage through the sea. As she approached, the savages shrank back infear. Suddenly her frame trembled with a mighty shock. A terrible cry wasborne to land by the gale, and all her masts went overboard. A huge wavelifted the vessel on its crest and flung her further on the shore, whereshe remained firmly fixed, while the waves dashed in foam around her andsoon began to break her up. Ere this happened, however, a rope was thrownashore and fastened to a rock by the natives. By means of this the crewwere saved. But it would have been well for these bold navigators ofPortugal if they had perished in the stormy sea, for they were spared bythe ocean only to be murdered by the wild savages on whose shore they hadbeen cast.

  "All were slain save one,--Diego Alvarez Carreo, the captain of the ship.Before grasping the rope by which he reached the shore, he thrust severalcartridges into his bosom and caught up a loaded musket. Wrapping thelock in several folds of cloth to keep it dry, he slid along the rope andgained the beach in safety. Here he was seized by the natives, and wouldno doubt have been barbarously slain with his unfortunate companions;but, being a very powerful man, he dashed aside the foremost, and,breaking through their ranks, rushed towards the wood. The fleet savages,however, overtook him in an instant, and were about to seize him when ayoung Indian woman interposed between them and their victim. This girlwas the chiefs daughter, and respect for her rank induced them tohesitate for a moment; but in another instant the Portuguese captain wassurrounded. In the scuffle that ensued his musket exploded, butfortunately wounded no one. Instantly the horrified savages fled in alldirections leaving Carreo alone!

  "The captain was quick-witted. He knew that among hundreds of savages itwas madness to attempt either to fight or fly, and the happy effect ofthe musket explosion induced him to adopt another course of action. Hedrew himself up proudly to his full height, and beckoned the savages toreturn. This they did, casting many glances of fear at the dreadedmusket. Going up to one who, from his bearing and ornaments, seemed to bea chief, Carreo laid his musket on the sand, and, stepping over it sothat he left it behind him, held out his hand frankly to the chief. Thesavage looked at him in surprise, and suffered the captain to take hishand and pat it; after which he began to examine the stranger's dresswith much curiosity. Seeing that their chief was friendly to the whiteman, the other savages hurried him to the campfire, where he soonstripped off his wet clothes and ate the food which they put before him.Thus Diego Carreo was spared.

  "Next day, the Indians lined the beach and collected the stores of thewrecked vessel. While thus employed, Carreo shot a gull with his musket;which so astonished the natives that they regarded him with fear andrespect amounting almost to veneration. A considerable quantity of powderand shot was saved from the wreck, so that the captain was enabled tokeep his ascendency over the ignorant natives; and at length he became aman of great importance in the tribe, and married the daughter of thechief. He went by the name of _Caramuru_,--'The man of fire.' This manfounded the city of Bahia.

  "The coasts of Brazil began soon after this to be settled in variousplaces by the Portuguese; who, however, were much annoyed by theSpaniards, who claimed a share in the rich prize. The Dutch and Englishalso formed settlements; but the Portuguese still retained possession ofthe country, and continued to prosper. Meanwhile Diego Caramuru, 'the manof fire,' had a son who in course of time became a prosperous settler;and as his sons grew up he trained them to become cultivators of the soiland traders in the valuable products of the New World. He took a piece ofground, far removed from the spot where his father had been cast ashore,and a short distance in the interior of the country. Here the eldest sonsof the family dwelt, laboured, and died, for many generations.

  "In the year 1808 Portugal was invaded by Napoleon Buonaparte, and thesovereign of that kingdom, John VI., fled to Brazil, accompanied by hiscourt and a large body of emigrants. The king was warmly received by theBrazilians, and immediately set about improving the condition of thecountry. He threw open its ports to all nations; freed the land from allmarks of colonial dependence; established newspapers; made the pressfree, and did everything to promote education and industry. But althoughmuch was done, the good was greatly hindered, especially in the inlanddistricts, by the vice, ignorance, and stupidity of many of the RomanCatholic priests, who totally neglected their duties,--which, indeed,they were incompetent to perform,--and in many instances, were no betterthan miscreants in disguise, teaching the people vice instead of virtue.

  "Foremost among the priests who opposed advancement was a descendant ofthe 'man of fire,' Padre Caramuru dwelt for some years with an Englishmerchant in the capital of Brazil, Rio de Janeiro. The padre was not animmoral man, but he was a fiery bigot, and fiercely opposed everythingthat tended to advance the education of the people. This he did, firmlybelieving that education was dangerous to the lower orders. His churchtaught him, too, that the Bible was a dangerous book; and whenever a copyfell into his hands he immediately destroyed it. During the disturbancesthat took place after the time of King John's departure for Portugal, andjust before Brazil became an independent state under his son, the EmperorDon Pedro I., Padre Caramuru lost a beloved and only brother. He wasquite a youth, and had joined the army only a few months previously, atthe desire of his elder b
rother the padre, who was so overwhelmed by theblow that he ceased to take an active part in church or political affairsand buried himself in a retired part of his native valley. Here he soughtrelief and comfort in the study of the beauties of Nature by which he wassurrounded, but found none. Then he turned his mind to the doctrines ofhis church, and took pleasure in verifying them from the Bible. But as heproceeded he found, to his great surprise, that these doctrines were,many of them, not to be found there; nay, further, that some of them wereabsolutely contradicted by the word of God.

  "Padre Caramuru had been in the habit of commanding his people not tolisten to the Bible when any one offered to read it; but in the Bibleitself he found these words, 'Search the Scriptures.' He had been in thehabit of praying to the Virgin Mary, and begging her to intercede withGod for him; but in the Bible he found these words: 'There is onemediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus.' These thingsperplexed him much. But while he was thus searching, as it were, forsilver, the ignorant padre found gold! He found that he did not requireto _work_ for salvation, but to _ask_ for it. He discovered that theatonement had been made once for all by Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God;and he read with a thrilling heart these words: 'God so loved the world,that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in himshould not perish, but have everlasting life.'

  "Long and earnestly did the padre ponder these words and pray over them;and gradually the Holy Spirit enlightened his mind, and he saw howhateful that system was which could forbid or discourage the reading ofthe blessed word of God. He soon resolved to forsake the priesthood. Butwhen he had done so, he knew not what to turn his hand to. He had no onelike-minded to consult with, and he felt that it was wrong to eat thebread of idleness. Being thus uncertain what to do, he resolved in themeantime to carry goods into the interior of the country, and offer themfor sale. The land round his dwelling and his own gun would supply himwith food; and for the rest, he would spend his time in the study of theBible, and seek for more light and direction from God.

  "Such," continued the hermit, "is a slight sketch of the history of mycountry and of myself."

  "Yourself?" exclaimed Martin.

  "Yes. I am the Padre Caramuru, or rather I _was_. I am Padre no longer,but Senhor Carlos Caramuru, a merchant. Yet I know not what to do. When Ilook round upon my country, and see how they know not the precious wordof God, my heart burns in me, and I sometimes think that it is my duty togo forth and preach."

  "No doubt ye are right," said Barney. "I've always bin of opinion thatwhen a man feels very strong in his heart on any partic'lar subject, it'sa sure sign that the Almighty intends him to have something more to dowith that subject than other men who don't feel about it at all."

  The hermit remained silent for a few minutes. "I think you are right,friend," he said; "but I am very ignorant yet. I have no one to explaindifficulties to me; and I fear to go about preaching, lest I shouldpreach what is not true. I will study yet for a time, and pray. Afterthat, perhaps, I may go forth."

  "But you have told us nothing yet about the trade of the country," saidMartin, "or its size, or anything of that sort."

  "I will soon tell you of that when I have lighted another cigar. This onedoes not draw well. Have you got a full pipe still, my friend?"

  "All right, Mr. Carrymooroo," replied Barney, knocking out the ashes."I'll jist load wance more, and then,--fire away."

  In a few minutes the big cigar and short pipe were in full play, and thehermit continued:--

  "This country is very large and very rich, but it is not well worked. Thepeople are lazy, many of them, and have not much enterprise. Much isdone, no doubt; but very much more _might_ be done.

  "The empire of Brazil occupies nearly one-half of the whole continent ofSouth America. It is 2600 miles long, and 2500 miles broad; which, as youknow perhaps, is a little larger than all Europe. The surface of thecountry is beautiful and varied. The hilly regions are very wild,although none of the mountains are very high, and the woods aremagnificent; but a great part of the land consists of vast grassy plains,which are called llanos, or campos, or silvas. The campos along the banksof the River Amazon are equal to six times the size of France; and thereis one great plain which lies between the Sierra Ibiapaba and the RiverTocantins which is 600 miles long by 400 miles broad. There are very fewlakes in Brazil, and only one worth speaking of--the Lagoa dosPlatos--which is 150 miles long. But our rivers are the finest in thewhole world, being so long, and wide, and deep, and free from falls, thatthey afford splendid communication with the interior of the land. But,alas! there are few ships on these rivers yet, very few. The rivers inthe north part of Brazil are so numerous and interlaced that they aremuch like the veins in the human body; and the great River Amazon and afew of its chief tributaries resemble the arteries.

  "Then as to our produce," continued the hermit, "who can tell it all? Weexport sugar, and coffee, and cotton, and gold, silver, lead, zinc,quicksilver, and amethysts, and we have diamond mines--"

  "Di'mond mines!" echoed Barney; "och but I would like for to see them.Sure they would sparkle most beautiful. Are they far off, Mr.Carrymooroo?"

  "Yes, very far off. Then we export dye-woods, and cabinet-woods, anddrugs, and gums, and hides,--a great many hides, for the campos are fullof wild cattle, and men hunt them on horseback, and catch them with along rope called the _lasso_."

  "How I should like to have a gallop over these great plains,"murmured Martin.

  "Then we have," continued the hermit, "rice, tapioca, cocoa, maize,wheat, mandioca, beans, bananas, pepper, cinnamon, oranges, figs, ginger,pineapples, yams, lemons, mangoes, and many other fruits and vegetables.The mandioca you have eaten in the shape of farina. It is very good food;one acre gives as much nutriment as six acres of wheat.

  "Of the trees you have seen something. There are thousands of kinds, andmost magnificent. Some of them are more than thirty feet round about.There are two hundred different kinds of palms, and so thick stand thegiant trees in many places, with creeping plants growing between, that itis not possible for man to cut his way through the forests in some parts.Language cannot describe the grandeur and glory of the Brazilian forests.

  "We have numbers of wild horses, and hogs, and goats; and in the woodsare tiger-cats, jaguars, tapirs, hyenas, sloths, porcupines, and--but youhave seen many things already. If you live you will see more. I need nottell you of these things; very soon I will show you some.

  "The population of my country consists of the descendants of Portuguesesettlers, native Indians, and Negroes. Of the latter, some are free, someslaves. The Indians go about nearly naked. Most of them are in a savagestate: they paint their skins, and wear gaudy ornaments. The religion ofthe country is Roman Catholic, but all religions are tolerated; and Ihave much hope for the future of Brazil, in spite of the priests."

  "And do ye git much out o' the di'mond mines?" inquired Barney, whosemind was running on this subject.

  "O yes, a great deal. Every year many are got, and Government getsone-fifth of the value of all the gold and diamonds found in the country.One diamond was found a short time ago which was worth ?40,000."

  "Ye don't say so!" exclaimed Barney in great surprise, as he blew animmense cloud of smoke from his lips. "Now, that's extror'nary. Why don'teverybody go to the mines and dig up their fortin at wance?"

  "Because men cannot _eat_ diamonds," replied the hermit gravely.

  "Troth, I niver thought o' that; ye're right."

  Martin laughed heartily as he lay in his hammock and watched his friend'sexpression while pondering this weighty subject.

  "Moreover," resumed the hermit, "you will be surprised to hear thatdiamond and gold finding is not the most profitable employment inthis country.

  "The man who cultivates the ground is better off than anybody. It is afact, a very great fact, a fact that you should get firmly fixed in yourmemory--that in less than _two years_ the exports of sugar and coffeeamounted to more than the value of all the diamonds found in _eighty_ye
ars. Yes, that is true. But the people of Brazil are not well off. Theyhave everything that is necessary to make a great nation; but we are nota great nation, far from it." The hermit sighed deeply as he ceasedspeaking, and fell into an abstracted frame of mind.

  "It's a great country intirely," said Barney, knocking the ashes out ofhis pipe, and placing that much-loved implement carefully in his pocket;"a great country, but there's a tremendous big screw loose somewhere."

  "It seems curious to me," said Martin, in a ruminating tone of voice,"that people should not get on better in a country in which there iseverything that man can desire to make him rich and happy. I wonder whatit wants; perhaps it's too hot, and the people want energy of character."

  "Want energy!" shouted the hermit, leaping from his seat, and regardinghis guests for a few moments with a stern expression of countenance;then, stretching forth his hand, he continued, in an excited tone:"Brazil does not want energy; it has only one want,--it wants the Bible!When a country is sunk down in superstition and ignorance and moraldepravity, so that the people know not right from wrong, there is onlyone cure for her,--the Bible. Religion here is a mockery and a shame;such as, if it were better known, would make the heathen laugh in scorn.The priests are a curse to the land, not a blessing. Perhaps they arebetter in other lands,--I know not; but well I know they are many ofthem false and wicked here. No truth is taught to the people,--no Bibleis read in their ears; religion is not taught,--even morality is nottaught; men follow the devices and desires of their own hearts, andthere is no voice raised to say, 'You are doing wrong.' My country issunk very low; and she cannot hope to rise, for the word of her Maker isnot in her hand. True, there are a few, a very few Bibles in the greatcities; but that is all: that cannot save her hundreds of towns andvillages. Thousands of her people are slaves in body,--all, all areslaves in soul; and yet you ask me what she wants. Ha! she wants_truth_,--she wants to be purged of falsehood. She has bones andmuscles, and arteries and veins,--everything to make a strong andhealthy nation; but she wants blood,--she has no vital stream; yes,Brazil, my country, wants the Bible!"