The province of which Para is the capital, was at the time Iallude to, the most extensive in the Brazilian empire, being about 1560 miles in length from east to west, and about 600 in breadth.Since that date--namely in 1853--it has been divided into two by the separation of the Upper Amazons as a distinct province.It formerly constituted a section, capitania, or governorship of the Portuguese colony.Originally it was well peopled by Indians, varying much in social condition according to their tribe, but all exhibiting the same general physical characters, which are those of the American red man, somewhat modified by long residence in an equatorial forest country.
Most of the tribes are now extinct or forgotten, at least those which originally peopled the banks of the main river, their descendants having amalgamated with the white and negro immigrants.[The mixed breeds which now form, probably, the greater part of the population, each have a distinguishing name.
Mameluco denotes the offspring of White with Indian; Mulatto, that of White with Negro; Cafuzo, the mixture of the Indian and Negro; Curiboco, the cross between the Cafuzo and the Indian;Xibaro, that between the Cafuzo and Negro.These are seldom, however, well-demarcated, and all shades of colour exist; the names are generally applied only approximatively.The term Creole is confined to negroes born in the country.The civilised Indian is called Tapuyo or Caboclo.]Many still exist, however, in their original state on the Upper Amazons and most of the branch rivers.On this account, Indians in this province are far more numerous than elsewhere in Brazil, and the Indian element may be said to prevail in the mongrel population-- the negro proportion being much smaller than in South Brazil.
The city is built on the best available site for a port of entry to the Amazons region, and must in time become a vast emporium;the northern shore of the main river, where alone a rival capital could be founded, is much more difficult of access to vessels, and is besides extremely unhealthy.Although lying so near the equator (1 28' S.lat.) the climate is not excessively hot.The temperature during three years only once reached 95 degrees Fahrenheit.The greatest heat of the day, about 2 p.m., ranges generally between 89 and 94; but on the other hand, the air is never cooler than 73, so that a uniformly high temperature exists, and the mean of the year is 81.North American residents say that the heat is not so oppressive as it is in summer in New York and Philadelphia.The humidity is, of course, excessive, but the rains are not so heavy and continuous in the wet season as in many other tropical climates.The country had for a long time a reputation for extreme salubrity.Since the small-pox in 1819, which attacked chiefly the Indians, no serious epidemic had visited the province.We were agreeably surprised to find no danger from exposure to the night air or residence in the low swampy lands.A few English residents, who had been established here for twenty or thirty years, looked almost as fresh in colour as if they had never left their native country.The native women, too, seemed to preserve their good looks and plump condition until late in life.I nowhere observed that early decay of appearance in Brazilian ladies, which is said to be so general in the women of North America.
Up to 1848 the salubrity of Para was quite remarkable for a city lying in the delta of a great river, in the middle of the tropics and half surrounded by swamps.It did not much longer enjoy its immunity from epidemics.In 1850 the yellow fever visited the province for the first time, and carried off in a few weeks more than four percent of the population.One disease after another succeeded, until in 1855 cholera swept through the country and caused fearful havoc.Since then, the healthfulness of the climate has been gradually restored, and it is now fast recovering its former good reputation.Para is free from serious endemic disorders, and was once a resort of invalids from New York and Massachusetts.The equable temperature, the perpetual verdure, the coolness of the dry season when the sun's heat is tempered by the strong sea-breezes and the moderation of the periodical rains, make the climate one of the most enjoyable on the face of the earth.
