Martin and Barney continue their Travels, and see Strange Things—Among others, they see Living Jewels—They go to see a Festa—They fight and run away.
Martin Rattler and Barney O’Flannagan soon after this began to entertain a desire to travel further into the interior of Brazil, and behold with their own eyes the wonders of which they had heard so much from their kind and hospitable friend, the hermit. Martin was especially anxious to see the great river Amazon, about which he entertained the most romantic ideas,—as well he might, for there is not such another river in the world for size, and for the many curious things connected with its waters and its banks. Barney, too, was smitten with an intense desire to visit the diamond mines, which he fancied must be the most brilliant and beautiful sight in the whole world; and when Martin asked him what sort of place he expected to see, he used to say that he “pictur’d in his mind a great many deep and lofty caverns, windin’ in an’ out an’ round about, with the sides and the floors and the ceilin’s all of a blaze with glittering di’monds, an’ top’zes, an’ purls, an’ what not; with Naiggurs be the dozen picking them up in handfuls. An’ sure,” he would add, “if we was wance there, we could fill our pockets in no time, an’ then, hooray for ould Ireland! an’ live like Imperors for ivermore.”
“But you forget Barney, the account the hermit has given us of the mines. He evidently does not think that much is to be made of them.”
“Och! niver mind the hermit. There’s always good luck attends Barney O’Flannagan; an’ sure if nobody wint for fear they would git nothing, all the di’monds that iver came out o’ the mines would be lyin’ there still; an’ didn’t he tell us there was wan got only a short time since, worth I don’t know how many thousand pounds? Arrah! if I don’t go to the Mines an’ git one the size o’ me head, I’ll let ye rig me out with a long tail, an’ set me adrift in the woods for a blue-faced monkey.”
It so happened that this was the time when the hermit was in the habit of setting out on one of his trading trips; and when Martin told him of the desire that he and Barney entertained to visit the interior, he told them that he would be happy to take them along with him, provided they would act the part of muleteers. To this they readily agreed, being only too glad of an opportunity of making some return to their friend, who refused to accept any payment for his hospitality, although Barney earnestly begged of him to accept of his watch, which was the only object of value he was possessed of,—and that wasn’t worth much, being made of pinchbeck, and utterly incapable of going! Moreover, he relieved their minds, by telling them that they would easily obtain employment as canoe-men on the Amazon, for men were very difficult to be got on that river to man the boats; and if they could stand the heat, and were willing to work like Indians, they might travel as far as they pleased. To which Martin replied, in his ignorance, that he thought he could stand anything; and Barney roundly asserted that, having been burnt to a cinder long ago in the “East Injies,” it was impossible to overdo him any more.
Under these circumstances, therefore, they started three weeks later to visit a populous town about twenty miles off, from which they set out on their travels, with a string of heavily laden mules, crossed the low countries or campos lying near to the sea, and began to ascend the sierras that divide this portion of Brazil from the country which is watered by the innumerable rivers that flow into the mighty Amazon.
The cavalcade consisted of ten mules, each with two goodly sized bales of merchandise on its back. They were driven and attended to by Negroes, whose costume consisted of a light cotton shirt with short sleeves, and a pair of loose cotton drawers reaching down to the knee. With the exception of a straw-hat this was all they wore. Martin, and Barney, and the hermit each bestrode a mule, with a small bale slung on either side; over the front of which their legs dangled comfortably. They had ponchos with them, strapped to the mules’ backs, and each carried a clumsy umbrella to shield him from the fierce rays of the sun; but our two adventurers soon became so hardened and used to the climate, that they dispensed with the umbrellas altogether.
The sierra, or mountain range, over which they passed was about thirty miles in extent, being in some places quite level and open, but in others somewhat rugged and covered with large but thinly scattered trees, the most common of which had fine dark-green glossy leaves, with spikes of bright-yellow flowers terminating the branchlets. There were also many peculiar shrubs and flowering plants, of a sort that the travellers had never seen the like of in their native land.
“How I wish,” said Martin with a sigh, as he rode along beside his friend Barney, “that I knew something of botany.”
Barney opened his eyes in surprise. “Arrah! it’s too much of a philosopher ye are already, lad. What good would it do ye to know all the hard names that men have given to the flowers? Sure I wance wint after the doctor o’ a ship, to carry his box for him when he wint on what he called botanical excursions; and the poor cratur used to be pokin’ his nose for iver down at the ground, an’ peerin’ through his green spectacles at miserable bits o’ plants, an’ niver seemin’ to enjoy anything; when all the time I was lookin’ far fornint me, an all around me, an’ up at the sky, seein’ ivery beautiful thing, and snifterin’ up the sweet smells, an’ in fact enjoyin’ the whole univarse—an my pipe to boot—like an intelligent cratur.” Barney looked round as he spoke, with a bland, self-satisfied expression of countenance, as if he felt that he had given a lucid definition of the very highest style of philosophy, and proved that he, Barney O’Flannagan, was possessed of the same in no common degree.
“Well, Barney,” rejoined Martin, “since you give me credit for being a philosopher, I must continue to talk philosophically. Your botanical friend took a microscopic view of nature, while you took a telescopic view of it. Each view is good, but both views are better; and I can’t help wishing that I were more of a philosopher than I am, especially in reference to botany.”
“Humph!” ejaculated Barney, who seemed not quite to understand his young friend, “yer observations are remarkably thrue, and do ye great credit, for yer years. Ah! Mr Hermit, good luck to ye! I’m glad to see that ye’ve got some consideration for man and baste. I’m quite ready for my victuals, and so’s my mule; aren’t you, avic?”
Barney’s latter remark was addressed to his patient charger, from whose back he sprang as he spoke, and slackened its girths.
It was now approaching mid-day, and the hermit had pitched upon a large tree as a fitting spot for rest and refreshment. Water had been brought up the mountain in a huge calabash; but they did not require to use it, as they found a quantity in the hollow stump of a tree. There were several frogs swimming about in this miniature lake; but it was found to be fresh and clear and good, notwithstanding.
Towards evening they passed a string of mules going towards the town which they had just left. They were driven by Negroes, most of whom were slaves, and nearly quite naked. A Brazilian merchant, wearing a picturesque broad-brimmed, high-crowned straw-hat, a poncho, and brown leather boots armed at the heels with large sharp spurs, rode at the head, and gave the strangers a surly nod of his head as they passed. Soon after, they descended into the plain, and came to a halt at a sort of roadside public-house, where there was no sleeping accommodation, but where they found an open shed in which travellers placed their goods, and slung their hammocks, and attended to themselves. At the venda, close beside it, they purchased a large bag of farina, being short of that necessary article of food, and then set to work to prepare supper in the open air; while the merry Negroes, who seemed to enjoy life most thoroughly, laughed and sang as they removed the bales from the mules’ backs and cooked their simple fare.
Barney’s cooking propensities now came into full play; and, with the variety of fruits and vegetables which the country afforded, he exercised his ingenuity, and produced several dishes of so savoury a nature that the hermit was compelled to open his eyes in amazement, and smack his lips with satisfaction, being quite unable to express his sentiments in words. While thus busily and agreeably employed, they were told by the owner of the venda that............