Chapter XII: San Romão to the Diamond District (2)

The mine of Captain Almeida was close to the Rio Jiquitinhonha, upon an elbow of land that at one time must have formed the bed of the river. A mine in the neighbourhood had been worked by the government about forty years ago, which yielded, in the course of three years, not less than thirty-seven lbs. six drs. of diamonds;[18] the formation, as it is called, becoming exhausted at the end of this period, the mine was abandoned. In the expectation of similar good fortune, Capt. Almeida commenced operations near the same place, about seven months before my visit, with upwards of a hundred and fifty slaves, all of whom were hired from his neighbours. At an expense of about £1,000 sterling, he brought a small stream of water from a distance of a league and a half, opened a large excavation, and erected pumps, worked by a water-wheel, for the purpose of clearing the mine of water. The excavation was carried on to the depth of about thirty feet, without encountering any proper diamond formation, although on being washed it yielded a small number of stones of no great value. A short time before my arrival he commenced another excavation in the same neighbourhood, about forty yards square. The different kinds of soil through which it was necessary to cut, before reaching the deposit in which the diamonds were found, were, in the first place, about twenty feet of a reddish sandy soil, which was loosened by the hoe, and then washed into the river by a current of water, issuing from the small stream that served to work the water-wheel; below this was about eight feet of a tough yellowish clay, which was dug out by the hoe, and carried away on the heads of negroes, in flat wooden bowls about a foot and a half in diameter, no such implement as a barrow being known here; beneath this clay appeared a layer of coarse reddish sand, about two feet and a half in thickness, below which was found the peculiar soil that contains the diamonds. When this diamond formation consists of loose gravel, it is called Cascalho in the language of the miners, and Canga, when found in the shape of a ferruginous conglomerate; this bed varies from one to four feet in thickness, and the gravel of which it is composed, consists of small pebbles of primitive rocks, which from their rounded and polished nature have evidently, at some distant period, formed the bed of a stream of running water. These pebbles are of various kinds, but when there appears much of what they call Esmeril preto, a variety of tourmaline, the Cascalho is considered to be rich in diamonds. The Cascalho generally rests upon a substratum of a kind of hard clay called Pizarra, beneath which are found the solid schistose rocks which generally prevail throughout the whole diamond district. Sometimes Canga, or the agglutinated gravel, rests upon a rock called Marmore, which appeared, from the description of it given by Captain Almeida, to be a kind of limestone; and when this occurs, it is always found to be rich in diamonds.

The manner in which the washing of the Cascalho is carried on is the following: along one side of a pond of water is placed a range of eleven troughs, about three feet square, made of small straight stakes driven into the ground, the side next to the water being much lower than the others; the bottom is made of clay closely pressed down; the troughs are called Bacós, and into each of them a portion of Cascalho is put by a slave stationed there for that purpose; immediately in front of each Bacó stands a slave up to his knees in water, having a large flat wooden plate (Bateia) with which he dashes water upon the Cascalho with considerable force; by this means, and by stirring it at frequent intervals with a small kind of hoe, it is freed from the earth and sand with which it is mixed, when the larger particles of gravel making their appearance on the surface are taken out; it is during this process that the largest diamonds are generally found. Immediately in front of these troughs, and about three feet above the level of the ground, separate seats are erected for two overseers, each armed with a long leathern whip, who keep a strict look out that no diamonds are stolen. This labour is continued from morning till about four o’clock in the afternoon, when the Cascalho, thus washed and purified, is taken out of the Bacós, and carried to the side of a little stream of running water, to be finally washed. On accompanying the captain to witness the performance of this operation, which to the stranger is the most interesting process in diamond-mining, I found seven slaves seated on the side of a small canal about four feet broad, with their legs in the water nearly up to their knees; this little stream of running water is called the Lavadeira. Each of the slaves had a large flat wooden plate, similar to that used in washing the rough Cascalho, into which a small shovelful of the purified Cascalho was put by a slave stationed behind the others for that purpose. This done, the washer filled the Bateia with water, and whirling it round in a peculiar manner on the surface of the stream, the larger gravel rose to the top, and was carefully examined. This being repeated several times, he then placed the Bateia on his knees, the right knee being considerably lower than the left, when with his hand he threw water on the fine gravel, which was thus washed out with great care into the canal, continuing in this manner until the Bateia was empty; it is in this last process that diamonds are expected to be found. A small Bateia, containing a little water, was placed on a low pedestal between the two overseers, and into this the diamonds were put as they were found, which on this occasion amounted to eleven, all of which, however, were small. In the bottom of the Bateias is always found a small quantity of gold dust, which is carefully preserved.

Although diamonds are usually found in the diluvial gravelly soil above described, that is not, however, the matrix in which they have originally been formed. Whatever may be the case in other countries, I remained perfectly satisfied that here, they have originally been formed in the metamorphic quarto-schistose rock, of which the mountains in the Diamond district are constituted, and that they have, during a long series of years, been washed down along with the other débris, to the places where they are now found so abundantly. These rocks are rather soft in their nature, and of course easily disintegrated; hence the many wild ravines which intersect this range, excavated by the small streams that flow from it. Small masses of the rock have frequently been found containing diamonds imbedded in them; in the Cidade Diamantina I saw two beautiful specimens, in each of which one half of a small diamond was exposed; the extravagant price asked for them prevented me from purchasing either.

When we read in books, that the diamond is a production of the most recent geographical epoch, as stated, for instance, by Dr. A. Petzholdt, in Jamieson’s Journal, no. 68, we cannot help imagining that those who promulgate such opinions, have been led astray by travellers, who have listened to the idle stories of the uneducated inhabitants of Diamond countries, who almost all assert, that diamonds are regenerated in the course of a few years, in the soil from which others had previously been taken. This I found to be a very common opinion in Brazil; but those best able to form a just conclusion on the subject, for instance, such intelligent miners as Captain Josè D’Almeida e Silva, believe otherwise. It is true that he, as well as others, have frequently a second time washed the same Cascalho that had been worked when the government held the monopoly in its own hands, not because they believed new diamonds to have been since formed, but because they well knew that in those times the Cascalho was not so carefully examined as it is at present; indeed, notwithstanding the most careful scrutiny, it is believed that some diamonds still escape notice.

We resumed our journey on the following morning, and after travelling about two leagues and a half, we halted to breakfast in an open shed, belonging to a house by the road-side, which was then uninhabited. The country through which we passed was hilly, and well-wooded with small trees and shrubs. The ascent and descent of the higher hills are much facilitated by the care bestowed on the formation of the roads, as they are well paved with large flat blocks of the schistose rocks, of which the mountains are composed. In many places, however, the pavement is beginning to give way, from the water flowing over it in the rainy season, and if not repaired, it will soon fall into a very ruinous state. A wooden bridge, also, which crossed a small river, and which appears to have been at one time of excellent construction, was now in such a decayed state, that no one could venture to pass over it; we were consequently obliged to ford the stream a little way below the bridge. In the bed of the river we saw several groups of people washing for diamonds. Early in the afternoon, we started for the Arraial de Mendanha, only half a league distant; the road led through a flat bushy valley, surrounded on both sides by mountains, those on the left rose to a considerable height, and presented the same arid rocky aspect as the mountains in the Highlands of Scotland. In the middle of this valley ran the Rio Jiquitinhonha, which we crossed to reach the village on the opposite side: this was easily accomplished over a well-constructed wooden bridge, of considerable span, on which is a toll-bar, the first we had yet met with in the country, and this afforded evidence that we were now approaching a more civilized part of Brazil than any we had yet traversed. At this bar, I had to pay forty reis for each loaded horse, and twenty for each of my men, which I did with much pleasure, as I well knew the labour and risk encountered in passing the luggage over rivers, when not provided with bridges.

On enquiring for a place where we might pass the night, we were directed to the public Rancho, but finding it a small place, extremely dirty, and occupied by a number of black Tropeiros, I could not think of taking up my quarters there. Ranchos are large sheds, generally open at the sides, and built near a venda, for the accommodation of travellers. This was the first I had seen since leaving the coast, but I afterwards found them very common on the more frequented roads in Minas, but particularly on the great highway between the Gold district and Rio de Janeiro. Rather than remain at the Rancho, I preferred hiring an empty house for the night, and obtained, at last, after some trouble, the keys of one that was newly built.

The Arraial de Mendanha appeared to be a flourishing little place, containing a population of about eight hundred persons, nearly every house being inhabited. The situation of the village, although romantic, is far from fertile, being on the bare rocky bottom of a high mountain, which nearly overhangs it, with little or no ground in its vicinity fitted for plantations of any description. The greater part of the inhabitants obtain an income by employing their slaves in mining for diamonds, or by keeping shops to supply the others with provisions and clothing, principally in exchange for diamonds and gold-dust, and were it not, indeed, for the diamond mines that exist in the neighbourhood, not a single house would have been erected in this place. Soon after leaving Mendanha on the following day, we began the ascent of the Serra, which bears the same name; it was about a league in length, and notwithstanding its steepness in many places, the excellence of the road rendered it comparatively easy. In nearly its whole extent, it is well paved with large flat blocks of the sandy schistose rock, of which the Serra is formed, taking a zigzag direction, where the ascent is steepest; the lower part of the Serra, particularly along a deep ravine, by the side of which the road leads, is pretty well wooded with small trees and shrubs, but towards the summit it presents the same bare alpine appearance as that we had crossed before reaching the little gold mine at Lavrinha. I walked up the greater part of the ascent on foot, botanizing all the way, and picked up several novelties. From the summit to Duas Pontes, which is a league distant, the road leads through a flat rocky and bushy country, with some elevated ridges on the left, covered with a very stunted shrubby vegetation. At Duas Pontes, where we halted to breakfast, we found two houses, being the only ones existing between Mendanha and the Cidade Diamantina, a distance of four leagues; the place takes its name from two bridges which exist near it, standing about a mile distant from each other, both very well constructed of timber. One of the houses was a small venda belonging to a negro, who informed me that he was a native of Africa, and had worked for many years as a slave in diamond washing, but that by the provident use of his privilege of working on his own account on Sundays and holidays, he had been fortunate enough to find as many diamonds as enabled him not only to purchase his freedom, but that of his wife and several children. Near this place I found a species of _Rubus_ loaded with fruit, which forcibly reminded me of the days of my boyhood, and the bramble hedges of my native country. In open places, I met with a few specimens of a second species of _Physocalyx_, and a beautiful _Andromeda_, having large panicles of crimson flowers. We were now only two leagues distant from the Cidade Diamantina, a journey that might easily have been accomplished that afternoon, but not wishing to enter it by night, owing to the great difficulty a stranger always experiences in find accommodation, as well for himself as for his animals; under such circumstances, I resolved to take up my abode for the night, in an open campo on the top of the Serra, near a small stream of water, within half a league from the city. The country through which we passed on this short journey was almost entirely destitute both of trees and shrubs, consisting chiefly of large undulating grassy campos, in many places abounding in great blocks of rocks, similar to that of which the Serra is composed. Two miles before reaching the place where we halted, we obtained a most extensive view of the country to the eastward, which is perhaps one of the most rugged and arid regions existing in Brazil; as far as the eye could reach, nothing was to be seen but hundreds of bare hills, whose barren tops were whitened by the numerous _Lichens_ with which the rocks were covered. Overlooking these lower ridges stood the lofty peak called Itambé, the top of which is upwards of 6,000 feet above the level of the sea. It was with great difficulty the men could find as much wood as would make a fire to cook our supper, and we were obliged, for the first time, to lay ourselves down to sleep without a large fire burning all night, at a time, too, when the cold was greater than any we had yet experienced.

On rising in the morning, the thermometer indicated 54°, Fahrenheit, under which temperature we were all shivering with excessive cold, so long accustomed as we had been to a warmer climate. In an hour’s time, after resuming our journey, we commenced the descent of the Serra, over a road constructed in the same manner as the ascent at Mendanha, but neither so long nor so steep; shortly after which, we came in sight of the famous Cidade Diamantina, or city of Diamonds. This capital of a rich province occupies the whole acclivity of a Serra, equal in height to that we had just descended, from which it is separated by a narrow valley. The traveller approaches the city so suddenly, that it almost appears as if called into existence by the power of magic; he is astonished at the sight of so great an assemblage of large white-washed houses, intermingled with many churches, rising gradually one above the other along the steep sides of the Serra, together with the numerous small plantations, by which the houses in the suburbs are surrounded, consisting of orange trees, bananas, and the usual productions of a tropical country; together with abundance of the compact growing Jabuticabeira, and many fine trees of the large grotesque Brazilian pine (_Araucaria Brasiliana_), which contrasts strangely with the rocky and absolutely bare country, that surrounds the city on all sides: it is, indeed, an Oasis in the desert.

Having no letters of recommendation to any person in the city, I went immediately on my arrival to the house of the Juiz de Paz, to present my passport, and learning from him that a small inn was to be found in the lower part of the city, I determined to put up there, until I could succeed in hiring an empty house for a few days; fortunately, the landlord had one to let, in the upper part of the city, whither we quickly removed, glad that we were not obliged to remain at the inn, where the accommodations were far from tempting.

This place, formerly known as the Arraial de Tijuco, was, in the year 1839, elevated to the dignity of a city, under the name of Cidade Diamantina, from its being the capital of the Diamond district. According to information which I received from the Juiz de Paz, its population amounted to about 6,000 souls; the streets are very irregular, and generally very narrow, as well as badly paved; both within the city and in the suburbs there are many fine houses, of two and three stories, and as there is abundance of excellent stone in the neighbourhood, nearly all are built of this material. They are constructed, however, at an enormous expense, owing to the great distance from which timber can be obtained; it is all dragged by bullocks from the Sertão, a distance of from four to sixteen leagues, over a rugged, hilly country, through which carts cannot pass; owing to the same reason, fire-wood is extremely dear in the city, and very bad in quality, as it is often brought for sale in a half green state. Many slaves are employed by their owners in cutting the large shrubs that grow in the ravines, within a short distance from the city, the branches of which are made up into bundles, and offered for sale from house to house; the stems of the large tree-lily (_Vellozia_) are also collected for fuel, particularly a kind that exudes abundance of resinous matter. The Tropeiros on approaching the city with their loaded mules, always bring with them, from the wooded countries, as many bundles of split wood as suffice them for the purposes of cooking till the period of their departure.

Many of the shops are quite equal in appearance to those in Rio de Janeiro, and are provided with nearly the same articles, the difference in price seldom exceeding twenty per cent. All European goods, with the exception of a few from Bahia, are brought from Rio on the backs of mules, which are daily to be seen arriving in troops, sometimes of a hundred at a time. With the exception of the few vegetables grown in the gardens around the city, every product consumed here as food is brought from a distance of from ten to twenty leagues, and sold in large market places, called Intendencias. These products consist chiefly of farinha de mandiocca and Indian meal, the latter being much more extensively used in the province of Minas, than in the northern provinces; also dried beef, sugar, pork, cheese, Indian corn, french beans, rice, and castor-oil, which is used to burn in lamps. The city contains three or four handsome churches, one called Nossa Senhora da Rosaria, belongs to the negroes from the coast of Africa, and where, over the high altar, is seen the figure of a black virgin. As we lived closed to this church, I attended on several evenings the celebration of one of its festivals, and found not only the blacks who usually attend the church, but many of the most respectable male and female inhabitants of the city. Every thing was conducted with the greatest propriety, and on one evening I heard a very excellent sermon preached by one of the priests belonging to the city. During our stay a Novena was held in another of the churches, Nossa Senhora das Mercês, where I attended several times; on all these occasions I was particularly struck with the different mode in which the ladies dressed here, from that I had observed in other parts of the interior. In the large towns I had previously visited, I remarked that a greater number of ladies attended church during the Novenas than at any other time, when both the more respectable, as well as the poorer classes, were always dressed in their best attire. In Cidade Diamantina, although the churches on such occasions were equally well attended, the most respectable ladies were not so well dressed as usual, and were it not that the superior classes avail themselves of the privilege of squatting on the floor before the altar, they would not be distinguished from the poorer individuals who take their station behind them. They all appear in the same kind of dress, which consists of a dark coloured cloth cloak, with a large cape, in which they muffle themselves; and a white handkerchief which is tied round the head, surmounted by a man’s hat. During the three weeks I remained in the city, I never saw a lady walking abroad in any other kind of hat; some few were white, but black seemed the most fashionable.

The most elevated portion of the city is about 4,000 feet above the level of the sea, and the climate is consequently mild. During my stay in the month of July, the thermometer ranged from 54° to 60° at noon, a temperature we had long been unaccustomed to, and we suffered not a little from the cold. As a fire could only be kindled in the kitchen, we used all to get as close to it as possible, particularly in the morning; it was however during the night that we suffered most, for our bed-clothes were too light for this climate, and my stock of money had now become so far reduced, that I could not afford to purchase additional blankets either for myself or my men. It was necessary to devote the little that I had to the purchase of a stock of provisions, for the continuation of our journey; there was no one here to whom I could apply for money, and we were still far from any of the English Mining establishments, where alone I could expect to obtain cash for bills on my agents in Rio de Janeiro. The coldest months in this region are May, June, and July; the hottest months are those of November, January, and February, during which period the thermometer ranges from 74° to 88°, but mostly only reaching 84°. During the early part of the warm season, thunder storms are very frequent, which always come from the north. For a few days after our arrival, the air was clear and bracing, but a cold drizzling rain soon set in, which lasted nearly a week. The houses have generally a small garden attached to them, in which I observed most of the common European vegetables, such as potatoe, cabbage, pease, lettuce, parsley, &c.; as well as many of the flowers that are ordinarily cultivated in the gardens of Europe. Some of the European fruit trees are also found in the gardens, such as the apple, pear, peach, fig, and quince. The city is abundantly supplied with excellent water, from springs that take their rise in the mountain on which they are situated. These streams are conducted into several of the houses, and many families are by this means supplied with one of the greatest luxuries that can be enjoyed in a warm climate, at a very small expense; there are also several public fountains in different parts of the city.

The privilege of diamond washing, formerly a monopoly of the government, is now accessible to any individual who chooses to risk his time and capital in this labour, a privilege only conceded since Brazil has declared its independence; all that is required is that the adventurer should give notice to the Camara municipal, of the exact spot where he intends working, a notice demanded in order to protect some of the virgin tracts still preserved as royal property. The greater portion of the inhabitants of the Cidade Diamantina who possess a few slaves, employ them in the washings, which are generally chosen in places where the Cascalho is near the surface, and near the beds of the little mountain streams, which are so numerous in the adjoining locality. Many free blacks also work on their own account, and thus obtain a precarious livelihood. The persons engaged in these adventures are generally a very improvident race, for even those who carry on the most extensive Serviços, as the workings are called, often run deeply in debt after a rich washing has been exhausted, before they succeed in finding another productive spot. I was assured by one of the most extensive miners in the district, that the excitement produced by this kind of life is like that of a gambler: whoever enters upon it, never renounces it. The district which gives rise to this curious source of industry, is comprised within the space of fourteen leagues square, and it is beneath the mark to state that 10,000 individuals subsist entirely upon the product of diamonds and gold extracted from its soil. It is not, however, so much the miners as the shopkeepers who reap the greater share of profit from this source of industry, all of whom trade more or less in diamonds and gold-dust, which they take from the miners in exchange for the supply of their own wants, and those of their slaves. It is rare to meet with a miner, who is not in debt to some shopkeeper, to whom he is bound to give in payment the product of his washings, at a lower rate than he could obtain, if he had the advantage of offering them in an open market to the highest bidder. The life of a shopkeeper, although not so exciting as that of a miner, is one, however, less subject to risk; he generally soon grows rich, while the poor miner struggles on in poverty, his greatest source of happiness existing in hopes that are seldom realized.

Slaves are allowed to work on their own account on Sundays and holidays, not in the Serviços of their masters, but any where else, except on the royal preserves; and it was told me as a remarkable fact, that most of the largest diamonds obtained in this district have been found by slaves on these occasions; it is not, however, an unfair inference to conclude, that as the blacks are most expert thieves, some of those stones at least have been stolen. Better opportunities now exist for more readily disposing of diamonds thus obtained, than when the workings were entirely in the hands of the government. In those days they were mostly disposed of clandestinely to contraband dealers, many of whom used to hide themselves in the mountains by day, and at night visit the huts of the slaves, to purchase the stolen property; even the shopkeepers were deeply engaged in these illicit transactions. The Juiz de Paz, who was during the period of my visit one of the richest merchants in the city, owes his fortune to the following circumstance:—At the time Brazil still remained under the dominion of Portugal, he was the proprietor of a small shop, and occasionally made a journey to Rio de Janeiro to purchase goods. One evening returning from one of these long journeys, having retired to rest earlier than usual, he heard some one knocking at his door, to which at first he paid no attention, concluding it to be only some customer; but, as the noise continued, he at last arose, when he saw a slave who had come to offer a large diamond for sale, that weighed about two pennyweights and a third. The price asked for it was six hundred mil-reis, at that time equal to about £180 sterling; but not having so much money in his possession at the moment, he was obliged to borrow some for the occasion. Early next morning he set off on his return to Rio de Janeiro with his purchase, stating to his friends that he had forgotten some important business, which could only be settled by his presence. On reaching the capital, he found it necessary to use great caution in endeavouring to dispose of his prize, as all trade in diamonds was at that time contraband, any one found dealing in them being condemned to ten years’ transportation to Angola, on the coast of Africa, his property being at the same confiscated, and sold for the benefit of government. At last he was prevailed upon to dispose of it for 20,000 mil-reis, about £6,000, which amount was paid to him in hard dollars; never having seen so large a sum of money, he was perfectly astonished at its amount when it was brought to him, and after regarding it for some time, he asked with great simplicity if it all belonged to him. Shortly afterwards, the individual who bought the diamond sold it for 40,000 mil-reis, and when the Juiz learned its great value, and found that he might have sold it for at least a third more than he received, his mortification it is said was so great as to affect his mind. He has long, however, recovered from his chagrin, and is now one of the most active, as well as the most extensive, gold and diamond merchants in the district.

The temperate climate enjoyed by the inhabitants of this part of the country, renders them more healthy than those who live in the Sertão; the women are the most beautiful I met with in Brazil, and the men are also a finer race than those of the low countries, many of them having more the appearance of Europeans, than of inhabitants of a tropical climate. The diseases most common here are those induced by sudden variations of temperature, such as colds and inflammatory complaints; the slaves who are constantly working up to their knees in water, are subject to rheumatism; their diet, which is not of the most nutritious nature, consists chiefly of boiled French beans and Indian corn meal (fubá), which, with the addition of hot water, is made into a thick paste, called Angú; this gives rise to general debility, particularly in those addicted to the immoderate use of rum. It is not the slaves only who are given to this vice, but whites of both sexes, in almost all classes of society, indulge in it to a great extent; this is in some degree manifest, from the very great quantity of that spirit daily brought to market, for it is said, that for every troop that enters the city with provisions, another arrives with rum from the sugar plantations in the low countries. I must confess that I saw but few instances of intoxication in the streets, except among persons of colour.

As I arrived in the city without letters of introduction, I made very few acquaintances among the inhabitants. During my stay, however, I received great kindness from Senhor Antonio Gomez de Carvalho, the Juiz de Paz, and Major Luiz José de Figueredo, the President of the Camara Municipal, both of whom called on me the day after we reached the city. M. Auguste de St. Hilaire, who visited these provinces in 1817, speaks in high terms of the great hospitality of the inhabitants of Minas Geräes, but they do not now appear disposed to treat foreigners with the same familiarity as formerly; this may be attributed to their great intercourse with Europeans, particularly since the introduction of English mining companies, which has greatly tended to alter their character. In one of the houses where I occasionally visited, I met with Portuguese translations of Sir Walter Scott’s ‘Ivanhoe’ and ‘Guy Mannering,’ They had been sent from Rio de Janeiro to one of the daughters of the family by whom they had been read with the greatest admiration; she had received an excellent education, and composed verses fluently. I was rather surprised when informed that neither a bookseller’s shop nor a library existed in the city.

During my residence in this place, news arrived that produced a great sensation; the young Emperor, Don Pedro the Second, had been called upon to assume the reins of government, contrary to the wish of the regent, before he had attained the age provided by the Legislature; a proceeding that seemed to be highly approved of by the greater part of the inhabitants, and rejoicings were consequently made on the occasion. In the afternoon, high mass was celebrated in the Matriz church, at which were present all the members of the town council, as well as the whole body of the national guard. In the evening there was a general illumination, and the national guard, after firing several volleys in front of the house of the commandant, paraded through the principal streets, with the band playing, accompanied with the town council, and all the principal inhabitants of the city. I walked along with the council, having been invited to do so by the president, and had thus a good opportunity of witnessing the whole proceedings; every now and then a halt was made before the house of some respectable citizen, where generally five or six persons recited verses, composed during the day in honour of the occasion, while the ladies of the house, from the balconies, were showering down flowers perfumed with Eau de Cologne; and occasionally the crowd below was honoured by a song from one of the fair ones. This was repeated for three successive nights; many of the verses produced on this occasion were extremely appropriate, but a greater part consisted of the most fulsome adulation of the young Emperor, which was perhaps as unmeaning and ephemeral, as that bestowed on his father, who when he proclaimed the independence of Brazil, received honours from these same people, little short of those bestowed on a Deity, but after a propitious reign of ten years, was suffered to abdicate in favour of his infant son, without any expression of regret on their part. On the contrary, they appeared to rejoice in a measure that tended to the consummation of those republican views, which at that period seemed likely to draw the Empire into one general vortex of anarchy and confusion. Happily, however, for the country, the greater portion of the community had the good sense to resume its attachment to those monarchical institutions that seem well adapted to the habits and manners of the Brazilian people, and I had now the good fortune to witness the exuberant effusions of an enthusiasm, which I hope will prove more lasting than that exhibited by them on a former occasion towards the illustrious founder of the Brazilian Empire.

When we arrived in the Cidade Diamantina, my horses were in bad condition, owing to the long and fatiguing journey they had just accomplished, and the bad pastures on which they had latterly been obliged to feed. I found, however, to my regret, that the pasturage here was still worse, and I feared that by the time I was ready to leave, they would not be in a condition to resume the journey. The only pastures here are to be found on the top of the Serra above the city, in a region very arid, and particularly cold at this season, whence indeed it derives its name of the Serro do Frio. Although they were fed twice a day with Indian corn, they grew thinner and weaker after the setting in of the cold rain, so that notwithstanding all our care and attention, eight of them died in the course of a few days. Finding the remaining ten were totally unfit for service, I thought it better to dispose of them at once, for a mere trifle (70 mil-reis), rather than see them die off one by one. The person who bought the horses immediately removed them to the Sertão. As this occurred at a time when my stock of money was almost exhausted, with no immediate hope of being able to renew it, I was brought nearly to a stand; with the money I received for the horses I was enabled to hire a troop of mules to convey us to Cidade do Serro (formerly Villa do Principe), which is ten leagues distant from the Cidade Diamantina, on the road towards Rio de Janeiro, and having made the necessary arrangements, I prepared for my departure.