Brazil, the Amazons and the coast .. . with loving fingers until the impossible is 156 BRAZIL. realized in their fairy groves, and the palms bend over withquivering joy, to catch a glimpse of their beauty. Yet even in this charmed retreat we are warned of theevil side. For thousands of mosquitoes come charging upfrom the swamps, and march seven times around us, and sound theirhorns, andtake us bystorm, andslay andspare not. Itis hard to ap-preciate evensuch scenery,when it in-volves a kindof St. Vitussdance on thepart of thespectator :when the booters goflying slowly off from your body, just a
Brazil, the Amazons and the coast .. . with loving fingers until the impossible is 156 BRAZIL. realized in their fairy groves, and the palms bend over withquivering joy, to catch a glimpse of their beauty. Yet even in this charmed retreat we are warned of theevil side. For thousands of mosquitoes come charging upfrom the swamps, and march seven times around us, and sound theirhorns, andtake us bystorm, andslay andspare not. Itis hard to ap-preciate evensuch scenery,when it in-volves a kindof St. Vitussdance on thepart of thespectator :when the booters goflying slowly off from your body, just able to carry the pint or so of bloodwith which their stomachs are distended. If the mosquito wereonly susceptible to moral suasion ! But he is as heartless asthe New York small boy ; he laughs at your torments, andmakes merry with your woe, and dances diabolically on hishind legs to see you slapping yourself, and grins when yougnash your teeth. And then, when you are routed, hegathers with his comrades on a palm-leaf, and lifts up his. P ck nt. Tobacco leaves AMERICAN FARMERS ON THE AMAZONS. 157 voice in songs of mirth and gladness, and sleeps with apeace that passeth all understanding. But at Taperinha, the mosquitoes keep to the woods,only coming out at night, when doors and windows are se-curely barred against them ; so we can converse sociably ofan evening, and sleep in our cotton hammocks undisturbed. There are plenty of interesting things to see about thehouse. Fifteen or twenty men and women are employedhere in preparing to-bacco by the Ama-zonianprocess, whichis as different as pos-sible from ours. Theleaves are pickedfrom the stalks oneby one, as they arelarge enough; slight-ly dried for a day ortwo, under shelter,and brought to thehouse in great bas-kets. Here the mid-rib is removed byboys and women,and the leaves—two,four, or eight poundstogether—are spreadout in layers, oneover the other, rolledtogether, and bound with strips of bark. Next, the roll iswound tigh
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, booksubjectbrazild, bookyear1879
