Brazil, the Amazons and the coast .. . an pass ; but large ocean steamers have to anchorin the roadstead, two or three miles out. Here freight istransferred to lighters, and passengers scramble down thesides to dancing boats, at no small hazard of life and , we are spared this ordeal; at high tide our littlesteamer passes behind the reef to the inner anchorage,whence we can reach the shore in two or three minutes. The reef looks much like an artificial breakwater ; fromend to end, it forms almost a straight line, and the height is * Hence this region is often distinguished as mato,
Brazil, the Amazons and the coast .. . an pass ; but large ocean steamers have to anchorin the roadstead, two or three miles out. Here freight istransferred to lighters, and passengers scramble down thesides to dancing boats, at no small hazard of life and , we are spared this ordeal; at high tide our littlesteamer passes behind the reef to the inner anchorage,whence we can reach the shore in two or three minutes. The reef looks much like an artificial breakwater ; fromend to end, it forms almost a straight line, and the height is * Hence this region is often distinguished as mato, forest, and the peasants whoinhabit it are called tnatutos. DOWN THE COAST. 439 very uniform—about ten or twelve feet above high the northern end there is a curious round tower or fort,dating back to the colonial times. Over the reef and againstthe tower the surf ishes wildly, sending showers of spray tothe still water within ; when the swell is heavy there is agrand battle here, with great banners of white tossing against. The Reef at Pernambuco. the sky. Within, the water is always smooth ; the narrowspace is crowded with vessels, large and small, and the con-stant movement tells of commercial life and activity. Pernambuco is made up of two cities. The older portionoccupies the end of a long, narrow peninsula, known as Re-cife, the Reef, though the reef proper, as we have seen, isfarther out. Between the peninsula and the main-land thereis a long creek or bay, the continuation of the harbor. Theupper portion of this creek is shallow, but about the end of 440 BRAZIL. the peninsula it is deep enough to float schooners and smallbarks, which receive and discharge their cargoes at the citywharves. Hence, the exporting and wholesale business isconfined to the peninsula and to the opposite shores of themain-land, where the other portion of the city lies. Two orthree bridges connect this division with the old town. Pernambuco commercial life centres about the water-fronta
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, booksubjectbrazild, bookyear1879
