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.

We passed through Chapada, a little dirty village, once famous for its washings, as were all the streams and ravines in the vicinity, and proceeded over some good clay-land, and a considerable tract of peat-moss, well watered by streams which burst in all directions from the hills. The country was open, and had a most romantic appearance, caused by a quantity of low rocks of soft pudding-stone, laminated, which lay on the surface in the most irregular forms. These lands were well calculated for pasturage, particularly in the season of abundance, but I was told that the cattle put to graze upon them were frequently stolen by the negroes[48], and that there were many noxious plants in the herbage which proved fatal to the beasts that ate them.

We arrived at the houses of the establishment about eleven in the forenoon, and walked four miles farther to the diamond works, on which a full troop of negroes was then employed. Rio Pardo is a dirty paltry-looking rivulet, which runs into the Rio Velho: in some parts it is confined by shelving rocks of quartz, through which it runs rapidly; in others it takes a serpentine course, and forms eddies, which are called caldrones, on account of their resemblance to the cavity of a boiler. The bed of the river, though confined, has a stratum of cascalho of variable thickness, which, after the current has been diverted, is dug up, and washed in the same way as at Jiquitinhonha. The caldrones, or holes, formerly eddies, but now partly filled with cascalho, so as to be no more than three or four feet deep, are frequently found to contain many diamonds; one of them, which was cleared by four men in as many days, produced one hundred and eighty carats.

Rio Pardo, though paltry and insignificant in its appearance, has produced as large a quantity of the most precious gems as any river in the district. The rough blueish-green-colored diamonds, formerly so much esteemed by the Hollanders, continue to be found here, and the stones of this rivulet are to this day reputed the most valuable in Brazil. The accompanying substances are somewhat different from those of the washings at Mandanga; here is no bean-like iron ore, but a considerable quantity of flinty-slate, like Lydian-stone, in various shapes and sizes, and very small black oxide of iron; the earthy matter is also much finer than at the above place. I was informed that there remained as much unworked ground as would occupy a hundred negroes full twenty years.

Rio Pardo runs about a league to the westward of Capella Velha, which is a chapel on a mountain, washed at its base by a stream, called Corgo de Capella Velha, which some years ago was worked, and produced diamonds of great size and superior brilliancy. The rivulets to the eastward of this ridge of mountains run into the Jiquitinhonha; those to the westward have their course into the Rio Velho, which flows into the Rio de San Francisco. The height of the mountains I had no means of ascertaining, but they are considered as undoubtedly the highest in Brazil. The air in this elevated region is pure and rather keen; the thermometer in the mornings and evenings stood at 62, and at mid-day about 74. In all the parts which I visited, the land appeared favorable for the growth of almost every species of produce, and, if properly inclosed and cultivated, might in no long time become the granary of the district.

On our return to Tejuco I was shown several dwarfish trees, of the height and size of a common crab-tree, with extremely crooked branches; and was informed that they were a species of the quercus suber. I cut from them some pieces of bark about an inch in thickness, which were elastic, and actually proved to be cork. It seemed to me a question of considerable interest, whether these trees, if regularly planted and attended to, might not produce cork of as good a quality as that which we obtain from the Mediterranean.

After resting a few days, I accompanied the Intendant to a small diamond work, called Corolina, and returned the same day. This work some years ago produced many good stones, but at present it employs very few people. The mode of washing is exactly the same with that practised at Mandanga.

At Tejuco some tolerably good barley was shown to me; it was not so heavy as that of our best from Norfolk, and was but little known. The Intendant uses it as provender for his mules whenever he can obtain it. On examining the sample, I could not but reflect that, if land so ill-managed produced such barley, how much superior would be the quality of the grain under good management.

At a subsequent period of my visit, the Intendant, with whom malt-liquor is a favorite beverage, expressed a desire to see some of the barley converted into malt, in order to brew beer, and, after repeated solicitations, I undertook to make the experiment. A quantity was procured which I endeavoured to prepare in the best manner that circumstances would allow. Having steeped it the requisite time, I put it on a cold floor, and managed it as is customary in our malt-houses; when it had germinated sufficiently, I dried it over a slow fire; afterwards, having cleansed it from the combs by rubbing, I crushed it, and finally mashed it. The infusion produced a tolerable wort, which, however, I did not deem sufficiently good, as it wanted saccharine matter: this deficiency I supplied by the admixture of a small quantity of sugar. It was then boiled until it was judged of a proper consistency, and a very pleasant bitter was added instead of hops. The fermentation I endeavoured to promote with leaven, which had been prepared a few days before, and, when that process had terminated, the liquor was put into small casks, which we stopped close. Though it might not prove good from the hasty manner in which the process was conducted, yet the mode of preparing it was exemplified, which was the main purpose of the experiment. It appeared to me by no means impossible either to make malt or to brew beer, if proper places were made under-ground, so as to ensure a moderate degree of cold for the operation of malting, and for the subsequent process. Sugar is here so abundant, that any quantity of saccharine matter might be added to improve the poorness of the malt; and it is highly probable that a very pleasant beverage might be made, which would relieve the inhabitants of this remote district from the necessity of having recourse to the metropolis for bad wines, and from the ill effects which proceed from drinking bad spirits distilled in the vicinity.

Many parts of this fine country abound in oranges, pines, peaches, guavas, and a great variety of indigenous fruits, both sweet and acid, particularly the jaboticaba, which is very rich in mucilaginous matter; yet no attempt has hitherto been made to obtain wine from any of them. Ginger and pepper grow here spontaneously, and many spices might probably be cultivated with success.

Grass for cattle was as dear at Tejuco as at Rio de Janeiro, and the small quantity which cost eight-pence would scarcely suffice a mule a day. The Intendant and the Captain of the cavalry had each of them about two acres under cultivation, of a species called Engorda Cavallos (fattener of horses), which grew from five to seven feet high, with a thick esculent stem, and long lancet-shaped leaves. It has a large fibrous root, and is well-calculated for stony ground where there is little earth; it even grew among rounded stones that had been washed three years before[49].

The Intendant, who had a taste for rural economy, and more particularly his lady, were very anxious to make their own butter and cheese, and expressed a great desire to be instructed in the process as practised in England, though milk was very scarce; and it was not without much difficulty that, after sending a few miles, about three gallons were collected. In the mean time such household utensils as were most fit for the purpose, having been made ready, and others procured, very excellent butter was produced, and afterwards a few cheeses were made, which there was every reason to suppose would prove good. The lady interested herself greatly in the experiment, not only performing part of the operations, with the assistance of her daughter, but inviting several of her friends in the town to see with what little trouble the processes were performed, and distributing the products among them[50]:—a rare example of industry! I am decidedly of opinion, that, were the females of Brazil better educated, especially in whatever relates to domestic economy, and were they accustomed to see the concerns of a household conducted with regularity and order, they would be better members of society; for I have ever observed in them that inquisitive disposition and desire of information, which may be called the first step to improvement. But what can be expected from ill-educated females, reared from their infancy among negras, in miserable houses, scarcely affording a shelter from the rain, or a shade from the sun, and destitute of every ray of comfort!

In 1815, some iron works were established at the Morro de Pilar, a mountain rich in ore, about twenty-five leagues south of Tejuco, on the road to Villa Rica. The Observador Portuguese, vol. xvii. p. 143, contains an interesting account of the festivities which took place when the first sample of iron was brought from thence to the capital of the Diamond District.