There is another route to Bello Horizonte, the capital of the state of Minas Geraes, but I chose the one through Petropolis, because I was to have the pleasure of the company of the American Embassador. Petropolis was the one time capital of the state of Rio de Janeiro. There are other cities in the state of Rio besides Petropolis. Among these are Therezopolis, which occupies a magnificent site on a commanding hill that gives a fine view of the surrounding country, and Nova Friburgo, the oldest immigrant settlement in Brazil. This city was established almost a century ago by a number of Swiss colonists, and is reached by another railway of almost an equal ascent with the route to Petropolis, heretofore described. This little colony has grown into a prosperous settlement and preserves many of the characteristics of the race which founded it.

Boarding the semi-weekly express train at Petropolis, which is here termed “grande velocidade,” we were soon winding around the hills and through the narrow passes threaded by the river. Occasionally little primitive villages and a few unimportant adobe towns picturesquely grouped along the banks of the stream were passed. The scenery is beautiful as pass after pass unfolds itself on the journey down to lower altitudes. One is impressed by the extent of mountainous territory which is encountered by the traveller all over the republic, with the exception of the country traversed by the mighty Amazon and its tributaries. It is a constant surprise to see the vast amount of soil in Brazil that is actually without development. Mile after mile of this land, which is within a comparatively short distance of the capital, had the appearance of never having been occupied by settlers, or ever having been disturbed by agriculturists. Although broken it could well be adapted to the raising of stock, at least for sheep and goats, for these animals would find sustenance. It seemed to me that cattle could be raised profitably also, since it would not be necessary to feed them, as pasture will grow all the year round.

The few natives who did live in the little mud-brick huts, with thatch roofs, that cling to the side of the hills eked out a very poor existence, if one judged by the appearance of everything around their homes. A few chickens and pigs with plenty of dogs, perhaps a mule and a cow, constituted the only stock that one could see. A little patch of corn, a banana stalk or two, and perhaps a patch of mandioca root, seemed to be the only attempt at agriculture of the improvident negro or poor whites who dwell on these beautiful hills. The houses contain only the very crudest of furniture with rude beds and the very simplest of culinary outfit. Nature is perhaps too bountiful, and man depends upon that bounty rather than his own exertions.

The mandioca is a small shrub with a tuberous root that grows in nearly every part of Brazil. It grows to the enormous size of fifteen and twenty pounds, and somewhat resembles an enormous radish or sugar beet. In its natural state it contains a very poisonous juice which must be eliminated before the real substance can be used for food. It is first pressed and then washed, and the water must be thrown away for it is poisonous. The root is then ground into a meal which is very rich in starch. One large root will sometimes produce as much as two gallons of this prepared meal. After being crushed the meal is at once roasted, or otherwise it will turn sour and be spoiled. Tapioca is one of the products of this tropical tuber. The utilization of this root was first discovered by the Indians, who found a method of getting rid of the poisonous qualities. To-day, the mandioca, or farina, flour is one of the principal articles of food in Brazil, not only among the poorer classes but also with the well-to-do. Many of the articles served on the hotel tables are thickened with the mandioca meal. This, with rice and beans, furnishes the almost exclusive food of the poor. On the railway trains one will see that this meal comprises one of the chief articles of the lunches which have been brought by one’s fellow passengers.

It is perhaps wrong to think only of the practical in the midst of scenes of natural beauty, but as our train whirled along with its grande velocidade, past rapids which could be converted into incalculable power for the manufacturing so essential in the world, I could not refrain from thinking what fine power was here going to waste. A little of it is utilized in generating electricity for the cities of Nictheroy and Petropolis, and there are a few cotton mills run by the water power of this stream. Not one unit of the available power is utilized, however, although in this land of expensive fuel there is a great call for electric power and current. At last the Parahyba River, a still finer stream of water, is reached and the railroad follows up this stream. At Entre Rios (which means “between the rivers”) a change is made from the Leopoldina Railway to the Central, which is a government line. After a couple of hours the train reaches Juiz de Fora, which is the largest town in the state of Minas Geraes. In 1867 Juiz de Fora was described by a writer as a town with “a single dusty or muddy street, or rather road, across which palms are planted in pairs.”

At the present time this city contains a population of perhaps twenty-five or thirty thousand people. It is in a region of great productiveness, and in a mild and semi-tropical climate. The surrounding hilly country forms a rich and extensive coffee district, and is also very favourable to the growth of corn and beans, as well as other products. Cattle raising is also an important industry. It is a comparatively modern town, and its streets are laid out much wider than the older towns. There are several colleges here, and the public schools are unusually good, so that the number of educated persons is exceeded by few places in the entire republic. Several small manufacturing industries have been established to make use of the rapids in the Parahyba River which flows through the city.

About a ten hours’ journey in a northerly direction from Juiz de Fora lies Bello Horizonte, the new capital of the state of Minas Geraes. After leaving Juiz de Fora the railroad climbs the higher altitudes, and it is not long until the coffee region is left behind. The atmosphere becomes cooler and more exhilarating as the altitude increases. Like most of the cities Bello Horizonte is built in a valley surrounded by hills, with a river running through it. It is a city made to order, for the site was selected only sixteen years ago. At that time there was scarcely a habitation on the chosen site, but the location seemed to please the government and so it was decided to erect a city to be used as a capital. Like La Plata, in Argentina, it is a city built after an architect’s designs, and, because of the elaborate plans made for it, was given the name “bello,” which signifies beautiful. It has been likened by the enthusiastic Brazilians to our own city of Washington, because of its broad avenues and many plazas, and the modern style of its buildings. The principal avenue, Affonso Penna, named after the late President, who founded this city while he was President of the state, is one hundred and fifty feet broad, and has a triple row of shade trees its entire length. The public buildings are attractive because of their newness, and are a radical departure from most of the public buildings that one may see in Brazil. A magnificent palace for the executive has been erected, and a number of buildings for the legislature and other branches of the government. The city is well lighted and is altogether a bright and cheery place.

The state of Minas Geraes is one of the largest and most important states in Brazil. It is larger than France and contains a population of more than four millions of people. It derives its names from its mineral wealth, for Minas Geraes signifies general mines. It has within its borders many mines, and possesses the oldest gold mine in the country. There are many small towns but no large cities, so that most of the population dwell in small villages. Much of this state, like many of the others, is still undeveloped, and railroads have not yet penetrated large sections of it.

This state has the honour of having struck the first blow for freedom from the oppressive rule of Portugal. Joachim JosÉ de Silva Xavier is the traditional hero of this event in Brazil. This patriot was a travelling dentist and, because of his occupation, was nicknamed Tiradentes, which means “to draw teeth.” He belonged to a club of men who had banded together for patriotic purposes. Spurred on by the success of the American revolution, and angered by the attempt of the mother country to impose iniquitous taxes upon the colony, these men met in secret for many months. Tiradentes in his trips around the country preached his revolutionary doctrine, and many new adherents were added to their cause. The wandering dentist was probably not the originator of the various schemes of this body of dreamers, for far abler men than he were among them, but he probably did more to spread the doctrine than any of the others. At length, in 1789, before their plans were fully matured, the plot was discovered, and the leaders were arrested in Ouro Preto, at that time the capital, and thrust into prison in that city. They were imprisoned in dark and damp cells for many months, pending the trial and decision of the matter.

Each one of the conspirators was finally condemned to death, but all escaped this extreme penalty through influential connections, except the unfortunate Tiradentes. He was made the scapegoat of the whole affair, and was executed in the public square of Ouro Preto, on the 21st of April, 1792. His body was quartered and the head exposed in that city. The right arm and leg, and also the left arm and leg, were each sent to different cities, there to be exposed publicly as a warning to other possible conspirators. His house was torn down and the ground salted to purify it; and it was ordered that no building ever again be constructed on that tainted soil. His property was confiscated; his family and their descendants were declared “infamous” and disgraced, even to the third generation. To-day, the name of Tiradentes is honoured all over Brazil, monuments have been erected to him and streets named after him in many cities. In the principal plaza of Ouro Preto is a marble column, upon which stands a statue of the martyred “tooth-puller.” The pedestal of this monument is the original stone on which he was exposed in a pillory and publicly scourged, on the very spot on which now stands his splendid monument. Many of the places connected with this conspiracy are preserved; and even the spot on which stood the house of Tiradentes, which was destroyed by order of the government, is sacredly preserved and guarded for the patriotic lessons which it teaches.

A branch of the Central Railroad runs from the main line back among the hills to this city of Ouro Preto, the “black gold.” It lies in the hollow of a narrow valley and is completely surrounded by high, rock-capped hills. All about the hills are the rough, red and gray, yellow and brown holes made by the old miners, which have been enlarged and washed by the rains. The roughly paved streets ascending and descending the hills are narrow, crooked and irregular. Carts and carriages are of little use, and the freight is generally carried on the backs of pack mules. One can see building timbers, stones, flour and water thus carried through the streets of Ouro Preto on almost any day.

Although gold mining in Brazil never reached the proportions it did in Mexico and Peru, it was no inconsiderable factor in the early development of the country. As early as the middle of the sixteenth century, parties of intrepid pioneers had penetrated several hundred miles into the interior. They found auriferous ground in some of the streams in what is now the state of Minas Geraes. As soon as the news reached the settlements other parties of explorers followed, and the tablelands, mountains and streams of this district were overrun from SÃo Paulo to the south and from Bahia on the east. One can not help but admire the rugged courage of these sturdy prospectors, who set out into the tractless forests and moorlands in search of the yellow metal. They bridged rivers, enslaved the Indians and dotted the province with little settlements. It was not long until a small but steady stream of gold was trickling across the sea to Portugal. The crown exacted a tax of twenty per cent. on the entire output, and this naturally led to a great deal of smuggling.

Because of this surreptitious mining it is impossible to give the entire output of the gold mines of this province. Official records, however, show that between the years 1700 and 1820, no less than thirty million ounces having a value of more than $500,000,000 were produced. Legends of the fabulous production of certain mines are recounted, and a few mines were worked for more than a century.

Because of the crude methods in use, and the difficulty of working them at great depths, many of the mines were abandoned before they were really exhausted. One of the principal mines now worked is the Morro Velho, which was operated in a desultory way for a long time by the colonial settlers. In 1818 it was pronounced exhausted. A few years later this mine was reopened and has been worked by an English company ever since, and is still producing a profitable output. It has now reached a great depth. Gold is found nearly all over the state of Minas, although the production to-day is not so great as in the earlier days. A great deal of it is low grade ore, which can be worked profitably only with the latest improved machinery, so that not only the cost of operation can be reduced to a minimum but the greatest percentage of the gold and silver may be extracted from the gravel and quartz.

Many other minerals are found in this state, but few of them are worked. There are a number of iron outcrops reported which are said to be composed of almost pure ore. Copper has been found in Minas, as well as in several other states, although little exploitation has been done, and platinum is also mined. Brazil contains the largest mines of manganese ore that have yet been discovered. This metal promises to be of more value in the future. Monazite, an essential element in the manufacture of mantles for incandescent gas lights, is mined in large quantities and shipped to Europe.

Many precious stones are found in Brazil. Among them are amethysts, tourmalines, aquamarines, topaz—and, lastly, the diamond. India was the original source of diamonds. In 1728, almost two centuries ago, these precious stones were first discovered in Brazil. For a century and a half Brazil held the absolute supremacy in the production of diamonds, until the discovery of the South African fields transferred the centre of the diamond industry to that region. Although the number of diamonds of Brazil to-day is far less than those of South Africa, it is said by experts that the Brazilian diamonds have a far larger proportion of what are classed as the “first water,” those which have a tinge of bluish steel in them, than any other country, and the diamonds of that country bring the very highest market price.

The centre of the diamond industry in Brazil is at Diamantina, in the state of Minas Geraes, although these precious stones are also found in the states of Motto Grosso, Bahia, Goyaz, and ParanÁ. Heretofore the methods of mining diamonds in Brazil have been of the very crudest sort, the same that have been used almost from the time of the first discovery. Just recently American capital has purchased the leading mines, and modern dredging machinery has been installed, as well as machinery for the separation of the gravel products from the diamonds. These machines are run by water power generated from the streams along which the diamonds are found. This will revolutionize the diamond industry in Brazil, and the possibilities are that the production of diamonds in that country will be greatly increased.

There is, and has always been, a fascination about the diamond. Not only is it unrivalled for lustre, brilliancy and fire, but it is so hard that no known substance can cut it or make the slightest indentation save, another diamond. The popular saying that it takes a diamond to cut a diamond is literally true. Furthermore, it is composed of pure carbon, and is thus related to two of the commonest of substances, coal and graphite. The appearance of the diamond when first picked up is very different from its appearance after the skillful cutter and polisher have done their work, for it is very dull and the non-expert would probably not recognize it.

The discovery of the diamonds in Brazil was by accident. In searching for gold and silver some singular stones, supposed to be pebbles, were discovered. The negro labourers were attracted by their uncommon qualities and geometric forms, and showed them to their masters. In the card games which were popular in the mining camps these pebbles had been used for counters. At length, an officer, who had been in India, and had seen the diamonds of that country, suspicioned their real nature. Upon a comparison of the weight with other pebbles he found a great difference. As a result some were sent to Lisbon to be examined, from whence they were forwarded to Holland, and the Hollanders pronounced them to be real diamonds. It has been estimated that during the one hundred and eighty-one years since the discovery of diamonds, Brazil has produced two and one-half metric tons of these valuable stones, or twelve million carats. The value of the production each year amounts to about one million dollars of actual value. This is small in comparison with the mines of South Africa, but no such force or vitality has been expended in the mining. And yet the production is much simpler. The diamantiferous fields of South Africa have required the most expensive machinery, and every device that human ingenuity could devise for the successful extraction of the diamonds. In Brazil, so far as discovered, the diamond deposits are all alluvial and are found on the surface, and in or along the beds of rivers. Hence no deep mining is necessary as in Africa. These river gravels also contain a considerable amount of gold, which helps to pay the cost of dredging. The primitive processes in use are very similar to those in use in placer gold washing. The gravel is dug out and placed in small wooden bowls. The miners then proceed to a convenient place on the stream and laboriously wash out their material, gradually getting rid of the particles not wanted. Sometimes a pit is excavated, and a part of the stream diverted into it for the washing process.

Although no diamonds have been found in Brazil as large as some of the extraordinary gems that have been unearthed in the Kimberly mines, some beautiful and large stones have been discovered. One of these, called the “Regent of Portugal,” weighed two hundred and fifteen carats, and has been estimated to be worth more than a million dollars. It is now numbered among the French state jewels. Another was the “Star of the South,” which was found by a negress who was at work in the mines near Diamantina. This diamond weighed in the rough two hundred and fifty-four and one-half carats, but when cut was reduced to one hundred and twenty-five carats. It is a fine stone of first quality. A large one was discovered in 1908 which was one and one-third inches long and three-quarters of an inch in width, which would make it of extraordinary size.

The discovery of the Braganza diamond is an interesting story. This was in 1791. Three men who had been convicted of capital offences were sent out into exile among the Indians and wild beasts. As they were forbidden to enter any city, or hold any communication with the world, they searched for treasure. While washing for gold in the Abaite River, they were attracted by the gleam of a curious stone. As diamond washing was prohibited they took the stone to a priest. He ventured to lead them to the governor, and the diamond was presented to him. At the request of the priest the three men were pardoned, but the government retained the gem.

The black diamonds, called “carbonados,” are found in greater quantities in Brazil than in any other country. These are used solely for commercial purposes in making points for drills. They are as hard as the other diamonds, but lack the transparency and brilliancy of the white stones. The “carbonados” are found in much larger sizes than the others, one of three thousand and seventy-eight carats having been discovered. These stones have a considerable value and are worth from $25 to $75 per carat, the price depending upon the demand and supply. Nothing has ever been discovered that is so good for drilling hard rocks as the diamond drills made from these “carbonados,” and they have been successfully used in drilling many railroad tunnels.