Chapter I (9)

Owing to the kind assiduities of my worthy host, the evening passed very agreeably. Many of the neighbours came to see and converse with me, as I was the first Englishman, or perhaps foreigner, who had ever travelled so far into the interior. Their curiosity led them to examine almost every implement I carried with me; my saddle, bridle, and stirrups, were viewed with great attention; nor could they imagine how it was possible to sit in the former with any degree of safety. There was no convincing them that it was much preferable to the Portuguese saddle, which has a ridge about eight inches high, both before and behind, so that the rider is, as it were, in the stocks, and, though not so liable to be thrown out, has a most galling and uncomfortable seat.

The next morning I visited the negroes’ houses, and was much pleased to find one set apart for the reception of poor distressed travelling negroes, who here find a fatherly protection, and are allowed to stay as long a time as may suit their necessities. On taking leave of the good old gentleman, I could not prevail on him to accept any remuneration for his kindness, and he replied to my thanks with the warmest assurances of welcome. I crossed a fine stream, and rode through several plantations of sugar-cane, which were at this season nearly ready for cutting. The country, as we proceeded, gradually became more mountainous, and abounded with argillaceous schistus very full of quartz. After riding about sixteen miles, we saw a very singular mountain, or bare rock of granite, called Itambé, forming part of a high ridge which lay on our left. About four o’clock we arrived at a poor village, also called Itambé, situated near a fine river of the same name. This place was formerly of some consequence, but as the gold in its vicinity failed, it sunk into poverty and wretchedness. It contains about a thousand inhabitants, who, degraded to the lowest stage of inactive apathy, looked as if they were the ghosts of their progenitors haunting the ruins of their departed wealth.

Every thing about them bore a cheerless aspect; the houses were ready to fall to the ground through want of repair; the door-places were overgrown with grass, and the patches of garden-ground that here and there appeared, were covered with weeds. The face of the country, too, was entirely different from that which I had passed on my way hither, being universally sterile, dry, and stony. It may well be supposed, from this description, that our accommodations here were of the worst kind: we halted at a miserable abode, where they offered us some mouldy Indian corn and _feijones_, and, after a great deal of difficulty, procured us a fowl. My servant was obliged to clean all the utensils before they could be used; and the soldiers while cooking, were obliged to guard the pot lest some half-famished prowler should steal it. The commandant of the place, with whom we had afterwards some conversation, answered our remarks on the visible signs of starvation in the looks of the villagers, by coolly saying, “While they get Indian corn to eat, and water to drink, they will not die of hunger.” I was glad to depart from this home of famine as fast as possible, heartily joining in the exclamation which the Portuguese have bestowed upon it; “Das mizerias de Itambé _libera nos Domine_!”—(From the miseries of Itambé the Lord deliver us!)

After riding about five miles, we came to the River Das Onzas, so named from the numbers of those animals which formerly infested its banks. Changing our mules at a village called Lagos, cosisting of a few miserable _fazendas_, we proceeded a league over a most rugged and mountainous road, and passing a ridge, entered on a fine country, presenting to view a grand picturesque mountain nearly a league distant from us; about mid-way up was a large house, to which we directed our course. We forded a rather deep river called Rio Negro, on account of the blackness of its waters, caused by the decomposition of bituminous or vegetable matter. Its margin, along which we rode for some distance, presented some fine grazing land. Passing through a broken and irregular tract of country, we arrived at another deserted village called Gaspar Soares, and rode up to the house above-mentioned, the owner of which was from home, but his lady received me very politely. Having arrived rather early in the evening, I employed myself some time in walking about the grounds: the mountain on which the house stands consists almost entirely of micaceous iron ore[41]; the wall before the door of the house was built of that substance. In some parts, to my great surprise, I observed it lying in regular strata, not more than an inch in thickness, between beds of white sand. The quantity of ore found in this neighbourhood is so considerable as to have induced Government to commence an iron-work, under the direction of Dr. Manoel Ferreira da Camara, Intendant of the Diamond District. In aid of this undertaking, the gentleman, at whose house I was a guest, has presented a square league of woodland, the only tract of that description in the neighbourhood. The ground for the intended works is marked out, and a few blocks of stone are prepared; but the undertaking seems to go on very slowly, and probably will not arrive at any great degree of perfection.

This hill and the streams near it were formerly rich in gold, but they have been completely washed, and are at present as much exhausted as the works at Itambé. A rivulet which runs over the top of the hill afforded conveniences for washing, which are very rarely to be met with; it is now intended to be converted to the use of the iron manufactory.

On the following day I continued my route northerly, over a fine country, and, after riding, or rather walking, about six miles of bad road with wretched mules, ascended a hill abounding with rich compact iron ore. Two leagues of the way were covered with excellent oxide of iron, and it appeared as if the hills were entirely covered with that substance. Without any material occurrence, we arrived at a beautiful rivulet, near which stood a miserable hut, where two women were weaving cotton. This place, apparently so insignificant, proved one of the most interesting, in a mineralogical point of view, which I had hitherto visited. It is called Lagos, and also bears the name of Ouro Branco (White Gold), in allusion to a granular substance, not unlike gold in size and weight, found in a gold-washing in the bed of the stream. This substance, which has since been proved to be platina, was discovered many years ago in the _cascalho_ below the vegetable earth, and incumbent on the solid rock, accompanied with gold and black oxide of iron. From these circumstances the people judged it to be gold united with some other metal, from which it could not be separated; and, as the quantity of real gold found was small, and the white gold, as they called it, was not known to be of value, the work was gradually neglected, and at length abandoned. I procured a specimen of the substance: it appeared accompanied with _osmium_ and _iridium_, and was in rougher grains than the platina brought from the province of Choco; which latter circumstance may be owing to its not having been triturated with mercury. Now that the substance is known to be platina, it is doubtful whether the work might be resumed with advantage, as the demand for that article is at present so small, that the quantity sold would hardly pay expenses. Near this place is a work called Mata Cavallos.

The rivulet of Lagos empties itself into the Rio de St. Antonio, along which we rode a small distance, and proceeding about four miles farther, arrived at Conceição, a large and tolerably handsome village. I was conducted to the house of the curate, who kindly assigned to me an apartment for the night, and, perceiving that I was unwell, gave me an invitation to rest a day, which I very gladly accepted.

I here received many visits from the villagers, whose curiosity had been excited by the news of an Englishman having arrived: some of them were upwards of eighty years of age, and, as they had resided here more than fifty, they were able to give many curious accounts of the country, and of the progress and decline of its mines. I was much pleased with the information they communicated, but more so with the attention of the good curate, who corrected every misrepresentation, and seemed anxious that I should not be led into error, either through accident or design. By some means or other, an opinion circulated among them that I was a medical man, and numbers of infirm persons, principally old men, women, and children, were brought to me for advice. In the evening we were entertained with music by some of the younger females, who brought their guitars, and sung several pleasing airs.

I was here shown a Buticudo Indian boy, apparently about nine years of age, who had been taken about six months before. He could not utter a word of Portuguese; but, from the expression of his countenance, his mind seemed capable of receiving any tuition. His eyes had so much vivacity in them that they almost spoke, especially when his attention was attracted by any thing agreeable, as I found by offering him a few sweetmeats, with which he seemed much delighted. I examined his features and the construction of his frame with some curiosity, as exhibiting the characteristics of the singular race of men from whom he sprung. The face was short, the mouth rather wide, the nose broad, the eyes large and black, skin of a dusky copper color, hair jet-black, strong, straight, and of regular length, limbs stout and well-proportioned, feet large, probably from going without shoes. He lived with a poor woman, who clothed and brought him up exactly as one of her family. On enquiring how he came there, I was informed that he belonged to a party of Indians who were surprised at a place about six leagues distant, and all either fell or escaped, except this little fellow, who was taken care of, and brought hither by an officer resident in the village.

Being still too unwell to travel, I remained another day, and met with every attention and care from the good clergyman and his housekeeper. In the course of conversation, he informed me that he studied and had been ordained at S. Paulo; and when he learnt that I had been there so recently, seemed much pleased, and asked me many questions respecting the present state of that city, which showed his attachment to it as the scene of his youthful days.

About a week previous to my arrival, this village was the scene of a somewhat remarkable adventure. A _tropeiro_[42] going to Rio de Janeiro with some loaded mules, was overtaken by two cavalry soldiers, who ordered him to surrender his fowling-piece; which being done, they bored the butt-end with a gimblet, and finding it hollow, took off the iron from the end, where they found a cavity containing about three hundred carats of diamonds, which they immediately seized. The man in vain protested his innocence, stating that he had bought the gun of a friend: he was hurried away, and thrown into prison at Tejuco, where I afterwards saw him. The diamonds were confiscated, and the soldiers received half their value. The fate of this man is a dreadful instance of the rigor of the existing laws: he will forfeit all his property, and be confined, probably, for the remainder of his days in a loathsome prison, among felons and murderers. What must be the feelings (if, indeed, he can be said to possess any) of the fellow who betrayed him; for, doubtless, the poor man owed his misfortune to some secret villain, in the shape of a confidential friend, who, having learned his mode of carrying diamonds concealed, had, for the sake of a paltry premium, or from some mean spirited motive, given notice of it to Government! How must the miscreant recoil at having brought to irreparable ruin, and plunged into that lowest state of human misery, perpetual imprisonment, a man who not only claimed his sympathy as a fellow-creature, but was united to him by the ties of friendship!

The village of Conceição, seemed to me large enough to contain two thousand inhabitants, but, like most others in this exhausted district, it was fast hastening to decay. The rent of a tolerable house is about two shillings a month. The only manufacture carried on here is that of a little cotton, which is spun by the hand and woven into coarse shirting. It appears to be a maxim among the inhabitants rather to go naked, than labor to clothe themselves. The vestiges of old gold-washings in every direction, and the slight quantities still found in all parts, from the summits of the mountains to their bases, might almost lead a traveller to conclude that the whole country was at one period auriferous. The surface is in general fine red earth, and in many parts presents fine situations for iron works, as there is ore and wood in abundance. It is much to be wished that such works were established; for iron is so dear at Conceição, and the people in general so poor, that the mules have seldom a shoe to their feet, which is irksome to the riders, and dangerous to the animals themselves, as they are continually coming down, particularly when ascending a clay-hill, after a shower of rain.

Neither here, nor in any other part of my journey from Villa Rica, did I observe any limestone, though I was informed that considerable quantities were found near Sabará.

Taking leave of the worthy curate, I set out for Tapinhoá-canga[43], distant about thirty miles. After an unpleasant ride through a rough stony country, abounding in quartz laminated with schistus, I reached a village called Corvos, where there are some gold-washings, one of which produced, about half a year ago, a net profit of £800, though only four negroes were employed a month upon it. The road to the village above mentioned led through a most uneven tract, presenting formidable precipices, which required us to travel with so much caution, that we did not complete our journey until an hour after sun-set. I was received into a very respectable house, which had the appearance of former opulence. The owner, Captain Bom-jardim, a venerable old gentleman, came to welcome me: on entering into conversation, he informed me that he had emigrated hither from Oporto at the age of seventeen, and had lived here sixty-two years. He was tempted to settle here by the hope of participating in the rich treasures for which the country was then famed; but he arrived two or three years too late: the mines were already on the decline, and he was obliged to turn his attention to agricultural pursuits, in which he persevered with such success that he was enabled to realize a comfortable independency, and to bring up a numerous family in credit and respectability. It had been well if his neighbours had profited by so eminent an example, instead of deserting the country when the gold on its surface disappeared. That many did so was evident from the declining state of the village; a great number of its houses were falling to decay, others were untenanted, and its population, which formerly amounted to near three thousand, was dwindled to a third of that amount.

Continuing my journey next day, I crossed the ridge of a lofty chain of mountains, abounding with streams, that were much swoln in consequence of the late rains; one of the largest, called Rio dos Peixes, I forded thrice, and entered on a wide champaign country. In many parts I saw large tracts of bare places, where the grit-stone alternated with argillaceous schistus. The next ten miles led through an elevated and fertile plain, intersected with rivulets in every direction, and well calculated for farming, but very thinly inhabited. Early in the afternoon I reached an eminence, from which I had a fine view of Villa do Principe, situated on the rise of a lofty hill opposite, the base of which was washed by a rivulet called _Corvinho dos Quatro Vintens_[44]. On arriving in the town, I was conducted to the house of the governor, or chief magistrate, who received me very politely, and introduced me to his lady and a party of friends, with whom I took tea.

Villa do Principe was established as a _comarco_, or district, in the year 1730, when the gold-washings were most productive: but it dates its origin fifteen years earlier, at which period the place was discovered by the Paulistas, who had then commenced to migrate from Villa Rica and the adjacent settlements. The town at present contains about five thousand inhabitants, the most considerable proportion of whom are shopkeepers, and the rest artisans, farmers, miners, and laborers. Here is a house of permutation, to which every miner in the district brings the gold he obtains, and pays the royal fifth, as is done in Villa Rica. The _ouvidor_ holds the office of mint-master, which renders his situation one of the best in the gift of the crown. Here are several inferior officers belonging to various departments of the public service. As this town is situated very near the confines of the Diamond District, and on the high road leading to it, the strictest regulations prevail respecting the passage of all persons thither. No one, except travellers on business, with certificates to that effect, is suffered to proceed, until a formal notification has been made to the governor of that district; the laws of which are so strict, that any person found within it, out of the regular road, is liable to be apprehended on suspicion, and subjected to an examination, which frequently occasions much trouble and delay.

The country around Villa do Principe is very fine and open, being free from those impenetrable woods, which occur so frequently in other parts of the province. Its soil is in general very productive, and the climate mild and salubrious.

At a washing about six leagues distant, a lump of gold was found of several pounds weight. From the same place I procured some above two ounces, and obtained the large crystals now in my possession, one of which is considered unique.

I quitted Villa do Principe about noon on the day following, after making my acknowledgments for the polite attentions of the governor, who kindly sent a servant to attend me the first league of the road. This man I commissioned, under a promise of pecuniary recompence, to collect for me land-shells and insects, against my return, which I expected would take place in two or three months; and, from the aptness with which he received my directions, (joined to the prospect of emolument), I had little doubt but that he would attend to them.

As we journeyed on, I perceived that the country bore an aspect entirely different from that in the neighbourhood of Villa do Principe: its surface, consisting of coarse sand and rounded quartz pebbles, was almost destitute of wood or herbage. One hillock near the road exhibited perpendicular laminæ of micaceous grit, which, on alighting from my horse and examining, I found to be flexible. My soldier, hearing me remark that the country bore characteristics which I had never observed elsewhere, exclaimed, “Senhor, we are in the Diamond District.” This circumstance, which I had not before thought of, fully accounted for the change. We travelled over a very sterile country for the first four leagues, and passed several high mountains. Towards the close of the day we reached an eminence, from which we beheld a most romantic cluster of dwellings, resembling a labyrinth, or a negroes-town in Africa. We descended the hill, and approached the place; when, it being nearly dark, I was conducted to a house much larger than any of the others, where I learnt that the establishment was a diamond-work called San Gonzales, the first which occurs in the Serro do Frio. It has been some time on the decline, and employs about 200 negroes. The intendant, a very intelligent man, had been apprised of our coming by a letter from the governor at Tejuco, and gave me a very friendly reception. While engaged in conversation with him, I observed (it being now moon-light) some fine cows in front of the premises, and concluded that they were come to be milked, but this I understood was not the case. They were licking the doorposts and sides of the houses, with much apparent eagerness, and, on enquiring what this signified, I was told that they wanted salt. They were so tame and gentle that, on holding out my hand, they licked it; when, being desirous to see the effect which salt produced on them, I procured some, and gave them a handful: but they became so very unruly for more, that had I not immediately desisted and retired, their fury might have produced serious consequences. This article is so necessary for the support of the cattle, that their very existence depends on it, yet it is encumbered with a heavier duty than any other article of import, iron alone excepted. Surely, when it is considered that vast herds are daily sent from this province to Rio de Janeiro, each paying a toll of nearly twelve shillings on crossing the river Paraibuna, the impolicy of this duty must be self-evident, because, in raising the price of the commodity to an excessive degree, it checks the breed of cattle, and thus ultimately defeats the purpose for which it was imposed.

The next day, before we left this romantic place, I devoted some time to an examination of the refuse-hillocks contiguous to the diamond-works, but found nothing among the heaps of quartzose stones, which had been washed when this place was more in repute. I here noticed a thin stratum below the roots of the grass, which I had elsewhere seen, but never so distinctly characteristic. It is called _bergalhão_, and consists of quartz pebbles, generally angular, and not unfrequently large beds of solid quartz not more than four or five inches thick. This stratum does not appear to have been formed at the same time, or by the same means as the _cascalho_, from which it is invariably separated by a stratum of vegetable earth unequal in thickness; it has more the appearance of a thin bed of quartz subsequently shattered into innumerable fragments.

Having taken leave of the administrator, I proceeded through a continuation of mountains and sterile country, very thinly inhabited. I stopt at one of the best of the few miserable houses on the road to procure some refreshment. There was a half-starved cat in the door-way, the sight of which plainly evinced to me what I had to expect. Poor animal, thought I, the habitation in which thou existest, will not afford maintenance for a mouse, much less for thee! While musing on this picture of distress and famine, a poor meagre woman came to the door, of whom I requested a little water, which she brought me, and while I was drinking it she began to implore charity. Her countenance had already expressed what her tongue now uttered: I gave her the few provisions my soldiers had with them, together with a small piece of money, and took leave;—the last words I heard from her were those of gratitude.

Ere we arrived at this place, we had seen Tejuco at full twelve miles’ distance, and were now much nearer. We crossed two rapid rivulets, one of them called Rio Negro, the waters of which were of a very black color, and afterwards passed a guard-house, or register, called Milho Verde, situated near a stream of the same name, formerly much noted for diamonds. Here a band of soldiers are stationed, who are always on the alert, riding after and examining passengers. The country is extremely rough, and destitute of vegetation, covered in all directions with grit-stone rocks full of rounded quartzose pebbles. We rode two miles along the Corvinho de St. Francisco, which runs through the ravine at the foot of the mountain on the side of which Tejuco is built, presenting much the same appearance as Villa Rica. I entered the town, and took up my abode at the best inn, which contained some neat rooms, and afforded tolerable accommodations.

This was Sunday the 17th of September, being one month since my departure from Rio de Janeiro, during which period I had been almost continually on horseback; for the time I remained at Villa Rica was principally occupied in journies to various places in the neighbourhood.

CHAP. XIII.

_Visit to the Diamond Works on the River Jiquitinhonha.—General Description of the Works.—Mode of Washing.—Return to Tejuco.—Visit to the Treasury.—Excursion to Rio Pardo.—Miscellaneous Remarks._

THE continual fatigues, and want of accommodation on the journey, had rendered me very unwell, and I was therefore desirous of resting a week at Tejuco before I proceeded to the diamond mines; but, learning that I had been expected for the last two or three days, I sent one of my soldiers up to the house of Dr. Camara, the governor, to announce my arrival, and to state that I was prevented by indisposition from personally paying my respects to him. He immediately came with a few friends to visit me, gave me a most hearty welcome to Tejuco, and staid with me at least three hours. I delivered to him my public and private letters, passports, and other credentials, which he perused with great satisfaction, observing to the _ouvidor_ and his friends, that I possessed the same privileges which they did, having permission from the court to see every place I wished, which they were directed to show me. He then told me that, in expectation of my arrival, he had delayed a journey to the greatest of the diamond works, called Mandanga, situated on the river Jiquitinhonha, which employs about a thousand Negroes, and on particular occasions double that number. He was desirous that I should see this great work with all the machinery in operation, which would be very speedily removed, the late rains having swoln the rivers so much as to render working more, impracticable. He therefore kindly invited me to breakfast at his house on the following morning, when he would have all in readiness for a journey of about thirty miles to the place above mentioned.

At an early hour I arose; and, though so unwell as to be scarcely more than half alive, I could not resist the favorable opportunity now offered me of gratifying the curiosity which had so long occupied my mind, by visiting the diamond mines, in company with the principal officer in the administration of them, who was therefore qualified to furnish me with the amplest information. A fine horse was waiting for me at the door, and I rode up to the house of the governor, who introduced me to his amiable lady, daughters, and family, with whom I had the honor to take breakfast. Several officers of the diamond establishment arrived on horseback to accompany us, their presence being required on this occasion.

At nine o’clock we set out, and crossed the ravine, watered by the small rivulet of St. Franciso, which separates Tejuco from the opposite mountains. The road was very rough and uneven, continually ascending or descending mountains of considerable extent, the strata of which were grit alternating with micaceous schistus, and presenting an immense quantity of rude masses, composed of grit and rounded quartz, forming a loose and friable kind of pudding-stone. The country appeared almost destitute of wood, presenting occasionally a few poor shrubs; there were no cattle to be seen, yet some of the tracts would certainly maintain sheep in great numbers. Having halted at a place about half way, we descended a very steep mountain, full a mile in the declivity, and entered a ravine, where we crossed a very good wooden bridge over the river Jiquitinhonha, which is larger than the Derwent at Derby. We rode along its margin, where the land appears much richer, presenting a good vegetable soil covered with underwood; and, proceeding about a league, arrived at the famed place called Mandanga. The habitations, which are about one hundred in number, are built detached, and are generally of a circular form, with very high thatched roofs, like African huts, but much larger. The walls are formed of upright stakes, interwoven with small branches, and coated with clay inside and out. The houses of the officers are of the same materials but of much more convenient form, and whitewashed within. Near some of the houses we observed inclosures for gardens, which, in some degree, enlivened the prospect, and gave an air of comfort to these rude and simple dwellings.

I remained here five days, during which I was occupied in viewing and examining various parts of the works, of which I shall here attempt to give a general description.

This rich river, formed by the junction of a number of streams which will be hereafter noted, is as wide as the Thames at Windsor, and in general from three to nine feet deep. The part now in working is a curve or elbow, from which the current is diverted into a canal cut across the tongue of land, round which it winds, the river being stopped just below the head of the canal by an embankment, formed of several thousand bags of sand. This is a work of considerable magnitude, and requires the co-operation of all the negroes to complete it; for, the river being wide and not very shallow, and also occasionally subject to overflows, they have to make the embankment so strong as to resist the pressure of the water, admitting it to rise four or five feet.

The deeper parts of the channel of the river are laid dry by means of large _caissons_ or chain-pumps, worked by a water-wheel. The mud is then carried off, and the _cascalho_ is dug up and removed to a convenient place for washing. This labor was, until lately, performed by the negroes, who carried the _cascalho_ in _gamellas_ on their heads, but Dr. Camara has formed two inclined planes about one hundred yards in length, along which carts are drawn by a large water-wheel, divided into two parts, the ladles or buckets of which are so constructed that the rotatory motion may be altered by changing the current of water from one side to the other; this wheel, by means of a rope made of untanned hides, works two carts, one of which descends empty on one inclined plane, while the other, loaded with _cascalho_, is drawn to the top of the other inclined plane, where it falls into a cradle, empties itself, and descends in its turn. At a work, called Cangica, formerly of great importance, about a mile up the river on the opposite side, there are three cylindrical engines (_wims_) for drawing the _cascalho_, like those used in the mining country of Derbyshire, and also rail-ways over some uneven ground. This was the first and only machinery of consequence which I saw in the Diamond District, and there appear many obstacles to the general introduction of it. Timber, when wanted of large size, has to be fetched a distance of one hundred miles at a very heavy expense; there are few persons competent to the construction of machines, and the workmen dislike to make them, fearing that this is only part of a general plan for superseding manual labor.

The stratum of _cascalho_ consists of the same materials with that in the gold district. On many parts, by the edge of the river, are large conglomerated masses of rounded pebbles cemented by oxide of iron, which sometimes envelop gold and diamonds. They calculate on getting as much _cascalho_ in the dry season as will occupy all their hands during the months which are more subject to rain. When carried from the bed of the river whence it is dug, it is laid in heaps containing apparently from five to fifteen tons each.

Water is conveyed from a distance, and is distributed to the various parts of the works by means of aqueducts, constructed with great ingenuity and skill. The method of washing for diamonds at this place is as follows:—A shed is erected in the form of a parallelogram, twenty-five or thirty yards long, and about fifteen wide, consisting of upright posts which support a roof thatched with long grass. Down the middle of the area of this shed a current of water is conveyed through a canal covered with strong planks, on which the _cascalho_ is laid two or three feet thick. On the other side of the area is a flooring of planks, from four to five yards long, embedded in clay, extending the whole length of the shed, and having a slope from the canal, of three or four inches to a yard. This flooring is divided into about twenty compartments or troughs, each about three feet wide, by means of planks placed on their edge. The upper ends of all these troughs (here called canoes) communicate with the canal, and are so formed that water is admitted into them between two planks that are about an inch separate. Through this opening the current falls about six inches into the trough, and may be directed to any part of it, or stopped at pleasure by means of a small quantity of clay. For instance, sometimes water is required only from one corner of the aperture, then the remaining part is stopped; sometimes it is wanted from the centre, then the extremes are stopped; and sometimes only a gentle rill is wanted, then the clay is applied accordingly. Along the lower ends of the troughs a small channel is dug to carry off the water.

On the heap of _cascalho_, at equal distances, are placed three high chairs[45] for the officers or overseers. After they are seated, the negroes[46] enter the troughs, each provided with a rake of a peculiar form and short handle, with which he rakes into the trough about fifty or eighty pounds weight of _cascalho_. The water being then let in upon it, the _cascalho_ is spread abroad and continually raked up to the head of the trough, so as to be kept in constant motion. This operation is performed for the space of a quarter of an hour; the water then begins to run clearer, having washed the earthy particles away, the gravel-like matter is raked up to the end of the trough; after the current flows away quite clear, the largest stones are thrown out, and afterwards those of inferior size, then the whole is examined with great care for diamonds[47]. When a negro finds one, he immediately stands upright and claps his hands, then extends them, holding the gem between his forefinger and thumb; an overseer receives it from him, and deposits it in a _gamella_ or bowl, suspended from the centre of the structure, half full of water. In this vessel all the diamonds found in the course of the day are placed, and at the close of the work are taken out and delivered to the principal officer, who, after they have been weighed, registers the particulars in a book kept for that purpose.

When a negro is so fortunate as to find a diamond of the weight of an _octavo_ (17-1/2 carats), much ceremony takes place; he is crowned with a wreath of flowers and carried in procession to the administrator, who gives him his freedom, by paying his owner for it. He also receives a present of new clothes, and is permitted to work on his own account. When a stone of eight or ten carats is found, the negro receives two new shirts, a complete new suit, with a hat and a handsome knife. For smaller stones of trivial amount proportionate premiums are given. During my stay at Tejuco a stone of 16-1/2 carats was found: it was pleasing to see the anxious desire manifested by the officers, that it might prove heavy enough to entitle the poor negro to his freedom; and when, on being delivered and weighed, it proved only a carat short of the requisite weight, all seemed to sympathize in his disappointment.

Many precautions are taken to prevent the negroes from embezzling diamonds. Although they work in a bent position, and consequently never know whether the overseers are watching them or not, yet it is easy for them to omit gathering any which they see, and to place them in a corner of the trough for the purpose of secreting them at leisure hours, to prevent which they are frequently changed while the operation is going on. A word of command being given by the overseers, they instantly move into each other’s troughs, so that no opportunity of collusion can take place. If a negro be suspected of having swallowed a diamond, he is confined in a strong room until the fact can be ascertained. Formerly the punishment inflicted on a negro for smuggling diamonds was confiscation of his person to the state; but it being thought too hard for the owner to suffer for the offence of his servant, the penalty has been commuted for personal imprisonment and chastisement. This is a much lighter punishment than that which their owners or any white man would suffer for a similar offence.

There is no particular regulation respecting the dress of the negroes: they work in the clothes most suitable to the nature of their employment, generally in a waistcoat and a pair of drawers, and not naked, as some travellers have stated. Their hours of labor are from a little before sunrise until sun-set, half an hour being allowed for breakfast, and two hours at noon. While washing they change their posture as often as they please, which is very necessary, as the work requires them to place their feet on the edges of the trough, and to stoop considerably. This posture is particularly prejudicial to young growing negroes, as it renders them in-kneed. Four or five times during the day they all rest, when snuff, of which they are very fond, is given to them.

The negroes are formed into working parties, called troops, containing two hundred each, under the direction of an administrator and inferior officers. Each troop has a clergyman and a surgeon to attend it. With respect to the subsistence of the negroes, although the present governor has in some degree improved it by allowing a daily portion of fresh beef, which was not allowed by his predecessors, yet I am sorry to observe that it is still poor and scanty: and in other respects they are more hardly dealt with than those of any other establishment which I visited: notwithstanding this, the owners are all anxious to get their negroes into the service, doubtless from sinister motives, of which more will be said hereafter.

The officers are liberally paid, and live in a style of considerable elegance, which a stranger would not be led to expect in so remote a place. Our tables were daily covered with a profusion of excellent viands, served up on fine Wedgewood ware, and the state of their household generally corresponded with this essential part of it. They were ever ready to assist me in my examination of the works, and freely gave me all the necessary information respecting them.

Having detailed the process of washing for diamonds, I proceed to a general description of the situations in which they are found. The flat pieces of ground on each side the river are equally rich throughout their extent, and hence the officers are enabled to calculate the value of an unworked place by comparison with the amount found on working in the part adjoining. These known places are left in reserve, and trial is made of more uncertain grounds. The following observation I often heard from the Intendant: “That piece of ground” (speaking of an unworked flat by the side of the river) “will yield me ten thousand carats of diamonds whenever we shall be required to get them in the regular course of working, or when, on any particular occasion, an order from Government arrives, demanding an extraordinary and immediate supply.”

The substances accompanying diamonds, and considered good indications of them, are bright bean-like iron ore, a slaty flint-like substance, approaching Lydian-stone, of fine texture, black oxide of iron in great quantities, rounded bits of blue quartz, yellow crystal, and other materials entirely different from any thing known to be produced in the adjacent mountains. Diamonds are by no means peculiar to the beds of rivers or deep ravines; they have been found in cavities and water-courses on the summits of the most lofty mountains.

I had some conversation with the officers respecting the matrix of the diamond, not a vestige of which could I trace. They informed me that they often found diamonds cemented in pudding-stone, accompanied with grains of gold, but that they always broke them out, as they could not enter them in the treasury, or weigh them with matter adhering to them. I obtained a mass of pudding-stone, apparently of very recent formation, cemented by ferruginous matter enveloping grains of gold and diamonds; likewise a few pounds of the _cascalho_ in its unwashed state.

This river, and other streams in its vicinity, have been in washing many years, and have produced great quantities of diamonds, which have ever been reputed of the finest quality. They vary in size; some are so small that four or five are required to weigh one grain, consequently sixteen or twenty to the carat: there are seldom found more than two or three stones of from seventeen to twenty carats in the course of a year, and not once in two years is there found throughout the whole washings a stone of thirty carats. During the few days I was here they were not very successful; the whole quantity found amounted only to forty, the largest of which was only four carats, and of a light green color.

From the great quantity of _debris_, or worked _cascalho_, in every part near the river, it is reasonable to calculate that the works have been in operation above forty years; of course there must arrive a period at which they will be exhausted, but there are grounds in the neighbourhood, particularly in the Cerro de St. Antonio, and in the country now inhabited by the Indians, which will probably afford these gems in equal abundance.

After residing here five days, we visited a diamond work called Monteiro, about two miles up the river, and went a league further to a gold-work called Carrapato. The _cascalho_ at this work was taken from a part of the river eight feet deep, which formed an eddy under a projecting point; I was shewn a heap of it, that was estimated to be worth £10,000. In removing this heap from its bed, four hundred negroes had been employed three months; and to wash it, would occupy one hundred men for three months more, the expense of both operations amounting to perhaps £1,500. We arrived at this place at eight o’clock in the morning; six negroes were employed four hours in washing two troughs, containing together about a ton of _cascalho_, when, to my great surprise, after the water ran clear, and the large stones were thrown out, the black oxide of iron, of which there was great abundance, was fringed with grains of gold, a novel and very agreeable sight to a stranger. The gold was taken out at three or four different times, and, when the washing was completed, was dried over a fire and weighed: it amounted to nearly twenty ounces Troy. This is esteemed a very rich place, and such circumstances are of rare occurrence. The whole neighbourhood is sterile, presenting the same characteristics as those before described. By proper cultivation the vallies might be rendered very productive; but, as the troops of negroes and their officers are continually changing, no agricultural establishments are formed.

This place probably derived its name from a most disagreeable insect, which infests the low brushwood in the neighbourhood. It is like a sheep-tick; and, on getting access to any part of the body, it fastens imperceptibly, buries its head under the skin, and draws blood until its body is swelled to the size of a bean. If forcibly removed, it leaves a very deep disagreeable hole, which is frequently difficult to heal. The best mode of getting rid of the animal is to anoint it with either laudanum or oil, and suffer it to remain until it dies, when it will drop off.

In the afternoon we returned to Tejuco by another route more mountainous than that by which we had come. Crossing a deep ravine, formerly very rich in diamonds, we rode up a mountain full a mile on the ascent, and passed several rivulets, which I was informed had produced many fine stones. These, and in fact all the best situations in the district, had been in the possession of the smugglers, and were explored by those enterprising men. In the course of our journey, I observed that whenever a traveller or a negro was seen by any of our party at a distance from the road, a soldier was instantly dispatched to bring him to the officers, before whom he underwent an examination.

In the evening we arrived at Tejuco, where I was desirous of remaining a week to recruit my strength. Dr. Camara ordered my baggage to his house, whither I removed in compliance with his pressing invitation: he was kind enough to give me his library as my private room; it was extensive and very select, consisting chiefly of English authors on science. Adjoining to it is a fine garden of nearly three acres in extent, planted chiefly with grass. It was formerly a gold-washing, and consequently presented a surface of only refuse stones; but the present proprietor levelled it, brought a little soil from various parts, and planted a peculiar variety of grass, which he keeps in cutting for his mules. This was the commencement of the fruit season; the peaches, with which the trees were loaded, were nearly ripe. The asparagus, and vegetables of every description, were very fine. The climate appeared to be mild and genial; the thermometer was generally at 62 degrees at sunrise, and at mid-day, in a room rather exposed to the sun, rose to 74 degrees.

Tejuco being situated in a sterile district, which produces nothing for the maintenance of its inhabitants, in number about six thousand, depends, for a supply of provisions, on farms situated several leagues distant. The bread of the country was at this time extremely dear; Indian corn, from which it is made, being from 5s. 6d. to 6s. the bushel; beans and other pulse in proportion. Beef was very indifferent, this being the dry season; pork and poultry were rather plentiful. At no place do I recollect to have seen a greater proportion of indigent people, particularly of females. Full a hundred and fifty of these unhappy persons come weekly to receive portions of flour which the governor was pleased to allow them. They are totally without occupation, here being neither agriculture nor manufactures to afford them any; yet both these main supports of the population might be introduced, if a proper spirit of industry prevailed among the inhabitants. The land would, with little trouble, yield excellent crops, were any kind of inclosures made, which, it must be allowed, is an undertaking attended with some difficulties, yet not of such magnitude as to render it hopeless. With respect to manufactures, a most valuable material is at hand, as cotton from Minas Novas, distant only from sixty to one hundred miles, passes through this place to the capital.

Yet, notwithstanding the idleness of the inhabitants, Tejuco may be called florishing, on account of the circulation of property created by the diamond works. The annual sum paid by Government for the hire of negroes, salaries of officers, and various necessaries, such as nitre and iron, does not amount to less than £35,000, and this, added to the demands of the inhabitants of the town and its vicinity, occasions a considerable trade. The shops are stocked with English cottons, baizes, and cloths, and other manufactured goods; also hams, cheese, butter, porter, and other articles of consumption. Mules from Bahia and Rio de Janeiro came loaded with them. Great complaints were made among the shopkeepers of the bad quality of the cotton goods, and of their losing their colors in washing. Some of the principal inhabitants exclaimed against the introduction of foreign luxuries, and rather wished that their trade with England should furnish them the means of working their iron mines, and enable them to defend themselves.

Tejuco, owing to its situation by the side of a hill, is very irregularly built; its streets are uneven, but the houses in general are well constructed and in good condition, compared with those of other towns in the interior. Its name, which, in the Portuguese language, signifies a muddy place, is derived from places of that description in its neighbourhood, which are rendered passable by being covered with large pieces of wood.

Through the kind care and attention of Dr. Camara and his excellent family, my health was in part re-established, and I was enabled to ride out daily, occupying myself in seeing all I could, and gaining the best information, in which I was assisted by my worthy host and all his friends. Our evenings were passed in a most agreeable manner, among the parties which regularly assembled at the Intendant’s house, consisting of some of the principal inhabitants of the town. In these parties the gentlemen engage at whist, and the ladies take tea and play round games, or enter into conversation on the passing occurrences of the day. In no part of Brazil did I meet with society so select and agreeable; this may certainly be called the court of the mining district. In their manners there was no ceremonious reserve or courtly refinement, but their whole demeanour was genteel and well-bred, enlivened by an ease and good humor which the affability of the chief and his amiable lady and daughters ever tended to promote. The company all dressed after the English mode, and in dresses of English manufacture: the gentlemen were almost all men of title, distinguished with stars, yet the _constellation_ which they formed, was far inferior in brilliancy and elegance to that of the ladies.

I was invited to pay a visit to the treasury, which can only be viewed when a meeting of officers is called, as the treasure is kept in chests, under three distinct locks, the keys of which are entrusted to three several officers, who are all required to be present at the opening. They here showed me the diamonds taken from the _tropeiro_ at Conceição, which were in general much better than those from the mines worked by Government. One about eleven carats was a very fine stone, perfectly crystallized, in the form of an octahedron. The unfortunate man from whom they were taken, I was informed, was very ill in prison. I was then shown about eight hundred carats found in the regular course of washing; they were in general very small, not one exceeding five carats. I observed several round and many inferior ones colored. Those with a dark green hue and rough exterior, were, they informed me, when cut, of the purest water, and from Rio Pardo.

Here the diamonds found in the district are deposited monthly, as they are received from the different works. They are carefully weighed, and some selected and kept separate. The average quantity obtained may be estimated at from 20,000 to 25,000 carats annually, which are sent under a military escort to Rio, and there lodged in the treasury.

The diamonds are tied up in black silk bags, and deposited in elegant inner cabinets, the whole of which are locked up in strong chests bound with iron.

They then showed me the gold, which was in large bars, weighing from five to ten pounds each, the whole of which I estimated at full 150lbs. weight. It was found in the district of Cerro do Frio, and was reserved to pay part of the expenses attending the establishment.

An excursion was some days afterwards proposed to another diamond work, called Rio Pardo, distant about twenty miles in a north-west direction. After proceeding a third of the way, over a country covered with a poor wiry sort of grass, we passed several fine falls of water, and crossed a ridge of mountains. The land as we advanced appeared much better, though still very naked, having only a few poor crooked small trees, that rather increased than took from its desolate appearance.