The Unlikely Protagonist - The Scramble for the Amazon and the Lost Paradise of Euclides da Cunha - page 30

parts of the institution in the rising November heat of Rio's summer, the cadets were
hardly the obedient servants of Dom Pedro.
The commander of the school, General Clarindo de Queirós, was highly displeased
at the breach of discipline and forbade any cadets from participating in the protests and
antimonarchist events that were to coincide with Lopes Trovão's return. To avoid tru-
ancy of any kind, de Queirós planned a troop inspection by the minister of war, Tomás
Coelho, on the sweltering Saturday afternoon of November 3. In a clever maneuver, de
Queirós then postponed the review until the next day, thus assuring the presence of the
disgruntled cadets throughout the weekend, which cannot have improved their temper.
Tomás Coelho, in the company of Senator Silveira Martins, visited Praia Vermelha to
quell the Republican fervor of the unmanageable cadets. Due to the possibility of cloud-
bursts, Silveira Martins carried an umbrella as they examined the facility and cadets on
themorningofNovember4,1888.Thecadets,sothestorygoes,hadallplannedtobreak
their swords and bayonets as a sign of their contempt for the monarchy, and to shout
revolutionary slogans—at least this is what Arnaldo da Cunha would note in his diary
afteradinnerwithdaCunhasomeyearslater. 69 Atthecrucialmoment,however,theyall
presented arms obediently enough (although with a certain sloppiness noted by Coelho).
All except for Euclides da Cunha, who, after a few tries, did not succeed in breaking his
saber over his knee and instead threw it to the ground at the feet of Coelho. The general
embarrassment of the moment was enhanced by a defensive posture taken by Senator
Martins, who prepared to fend off any attack on the minister with a swordlike deploy-
ment of his umbrella. There is some suggestion by Rondon that it might have been a
cruel practical joke, that the berating words uttered by da Cunha were really directed at
hisfellowcadetsandnotatthemilitaryreviewers. 70 RobertoVentura,citinganarticlein
the Gazeta de Notícias ,indicatedthatdaCunhawasdemandingbettertreatmentinterms
of promotions. 71 Da Cunha was hustled off to the infirmary with a diagnosis of “over-
excitement,” andasGeneraldeQueirósandthedignitaries exitedtheparadeground,the
companies burst into shouts of “Viva!” for Lopes Trovão. Unable to control the cadets
and profoundly ashamed, de Queirós mounted his horse, clattered away, and returned
only the next day.
None of da Cunha's classmates seemed to have called on him while in the infirmary,
but da Cunha was enormously moved by a visit from the poet and medical doctor Fran-
cisco Castro, who told him, “Not all who surround you are incapable of seeing the
grandeur of your act, or the generosity of your ambition. I just came to extend a hand
in solidarity.” 72 Meantime, da Cunha's father implored the monarch to merely expel the
young man rather than subject him to military punishments.
While his adolescent cohort may not have been impressed, knowing Euclides as
reclusive, unhappy, and maladroit, his act of rebellion catapulted him into political