In addition to slave-hunting, there were other inducements for traders in the interior. Sarsaparilla and other drugs were found in abundance, as were cinnamon and nutmeg, the vanilla and indigo. Cacao grew in plenty. Of the cultivated produce, cotton was the most important; the cotton of _Maranham_ was at this time accounted the best in America. Mandioc supplied the inhabitants with a satisfactory substitute for wheat-flour. Tobacco was one of the branches of agriculture chiefly cultivated in _Brazil_ from the first. At the time in question this industry had grown into disuse in _Maranham_ from want of hands. As such persons as were without a trade could only procure subsistence by means of slaves, many families in _Maranham_ fell into distress owing to their not being able to procure the latter. The Portuguese had grown so accustomed to depend on slave-labour, that they allowed themselves to fall into destitution rather than work for their families; it was thought dishonourable for free men to cultivate the soil. In strange contradistinction to the apathy of the Portuguese with respect to engaging in agriculture, was the eagerness with which they embarked in commerce. It was found necessary to restrain the civil and judicial officers by means of statute; whilst the clergy showed equal readiness to join in speculations. Still, in spite of every disadvantage, the provinces of _Pará_ and _Maranham_ gradually, though slowly, acquired population and importance. Such, however, could not be said of the adjoining captaincy of _Ceará_, which possesses neither river nor harbour, and is the least fertile portion of _Brazil_, being subject to fatal droughts. Owing, nevertheless, to the disadvantages which this captaincy possessed for colonization, its native inhabitants were free from the molestations which beset those of _Maranham_ and _Pará_. The settlement of the neighbouring captaincy of _Rio Grande do Norte_ dates from the commencement of the seventeenth century. In this province, whilst it was under the Dutch, great efforts were made for exploring the country, civilizing the _Tapuyas_, and improving the general condition of the people. The palace of Maurice of Nassau, together with the buildings and public works erected under his auspices, are solid mementoes of his administration, which is still further commemorated in the history of _Barlæus_. During the government of this Viceroy an attempt was undertaken to discover the vestiges of some people who had possessed the country before the race of savages then existing, an attempt which has left the race in question a subject of curious speculation to the learned in such matters.[8]