THE DIAMOND MINES--MORE AND MORE ASTONISHING!
If Martin Rattler was amazed at the treatment he experienced at the hands
of his new acquaintances on arriving, he had occasion to be very much
more surprised at what occurred three hours after his incarceration.
It was getting dark when he was locked up, and for upwards of two hours
he was left in total darkness. Moreover, he began to feel very hungry,
having eaten nothing since mid-day. He was deeply engaged in devising
plans for his escape when he was interrupted by the door being unlocked
and a Negro slave entering with four magnificent candles, made of
beeswax, which he placed upon the table. Then he returned to the door,
where another slave handed him a tray containing dishes, knives and
forks, and, in short, all the requisites for laying out a supper-table.
Having spread a clean linen cloth on the board, he arranged covers for
two, and going to the door placed his head to one side and regarded his
arrangements with much complacency and without paying the slightest
attention to Martin, who pinched himself in order to make sure he was
not dreaming.
In a few minutes the second Negro returned with an enormous tray, on
which were dishes of all sizes, from under whose covers came the most
savoury odours imaginable. Having placed these symmetrically on the
board, both slaves retired and relocked the door without saying a word.
At last it began to dawn on Martin's Imagination that the overseer must
be an eccentric individual, who found pleasure in taking his visitors by
surprise. But although this seemed a possible solution of the difficulty,
he did not feel satisfied with it. He could with difficulty resist the
temptation to attack the viands, however, and was beginning to think of
doing this, regardless of all consequences, when the door again opened
and the Baron Fagoni entered, relocked the door, put the key in his
pocket, and, standing before his prisoner with folded arms, gazed at him
intently from beneath his sombrero.
Martin could not stand this. "Sir," said he, starting up, "if this is a
joke you have carried it far enough; and if you really detain me here a
prisoner, every feeling of honour ought to deter you from adding insult
to injury."
To this sternly delivered speech the Baron made no reply, but, springing
suddenly upon Martin, he grasped him in his powerful arms and crushed him
to his broad breast till he almost broke every bone in his body.
"Och! cushla, bliss yer young face! sure it's yersilf, an' no mistake!
Kape still, Martin dear. Let me look at ye, darlint! Ah! then, isn't it
my heart that's been broken for months an' months past about ye?"
Reader, it would be utterly in vain for me to attempt to describe either
the words that flowed from the lips of Martin Rattler and Barney
O'Flannagan on this happy occasion, or the feelings that filled their
swelling hearts. The speechless amazement of Martin, the ejaculatory
exclamations of the Baron Fagoni, the rapid questions and brief replies,
are all totally indescribable. Suffice it to say that for full quarter of
an hour they exclaimed, shouted, and danced round each other, without
coming to any satisfactory knowledge of how each had got to the same
place, except that Barney at last discovered that Martin had travelled
there by chance, and he had reached the mines by "intuition." Having
settled this point, they sobered down a little.
"Now, Martin darlint," cried the Irishman, throwing aside his hat for the
first time, and displaying his well-known jolly visage, of which the
forehead, eyes, and nose alone survived the general inundation of red
hair, "ye'll be hungry, I've small doubt, so sit ye down, lad, to supper,
and you'll tell me yer story as ye go along, and afther that I'll tell ye
mine, while I smoke my pipe,--the ould cutty, boy, that has corned
through fire and wather, sound as a bell and blacker than iver!"
The Baron held up the well-known instrument of fumigation, as he spoke,
in triumph.
Supper was superb. There were venison steaks, armadillo cutlets, tapir
hash, iguana pie, and an immense variety of fruits and vegetables, that
would have served a dozen men, besides cakes and splendid coffee.
"You live well here, Barney--I beg pardon--Baron Fagoni," said
Martin, during a pause in their meal; "how in the world did you come
by that name?"
Barney winked expressively. "Ah, boy, I wish I may niver have a worse. Ye
see, when I first corned here, about four months ago, I found that the
mine was owned by an Irish gintleman; an', like all the race, he's a
trump. He took to me at wance when he hear'd my voice, and then he took
more to me when he corned to know me character; and says he to me wan
day, 'Barney,' says he, 'I'm gittin' tired o' this kind o' life now, and
if ye'll agree to stop here as overseer, and sind me the proceeds o' the
mine to Rio Janeiro, a great city on the sea-coast, an' the capital o'
Brazil, I'll give ye a good share o' the profits. But,' says he, 'ye'll
need to pretind ye're a Roosian, or a Pole, or somethin' o' that kind;
for the fellows in thim parts are great rascals, and there's a few
Englishmen among them who would soon find out that ye're only a jack-tar
before the mast, and would chate ye at no allowance; but if ye could
spake no language under the sun but the gibberish pecooliar to the
unbeknown provinces o' Siberia, ye could escape detection as far as yer
voice is consarned; and by lettin' yer beard grow as long as possible,
and dressin' yersilf properly, ye might pass, and be as dignified as the
great Mogul.'
"'Musha!' said I, 'but if I don't spake me own tongue I'll have to be
dumb altogither.'
"'No fear,' says he; 'I'll tache ye enough Portuguese in a month or two
to begin with, an' ye'll pick it up aisy after that.' And sure enough I
began, tooth and nail, and, by hard workin', got on faster than I
expected; for I can spake as much o' the lingo now as tides me over
needcessities, and I understand most o' what's said to me. Anyhow, I
ginerally see what they're drivin' at."
"So, then, you're actually in charge of the mine?" said Martin, in
surprise.
"Jist so, boy; but I'm tired of it already; it's by no means so pleasant
as I expected it would be; so I'm thinkin' o' lavin' it, and takin' to
the say again. I'm longin' dreadful to see the salt wather wance more."
"But what will the owner say, Barney: won't he have cause to complain of
your breaking your engagement?"
"Niver a bit, boy. He tould me, before we parted, that if I wanted to
quit I was to hand over the consarn to the interpreter, who is an
honest fellow, I belave; so I'm jist goin' to pocket a di'mond or two,
and ask lave to take them home wid me. I'll be off in a week, if all
goes well. An' now, Martin, fill yer glass; ye'll find the wine is not
bad, after wan or two glasses; an' I'll tell ye about my adventures
since I saw ye last."
"But you have not explained about your name," said Martin.
"Och! the fact is, that when I corned here I fortunately fell in with the
owner first, and we spoke almost intirely in Irish, so nobody understood
where I corned from; and the interpreter hear'd the master call me by my
name; so he wint off and said to the people that a great Barono Flanagoni
had come, and was up at the house wid the master. But we corrected him
afterward, and gave him to understand that I was the Baron Fagoni. I had
some trouble with the people at first, after the owner left; but I
pounded wan or two o' the biggest o' them, to such a extint that their
own friends hardly knew them; an' iver since they've been mighty civil."
Having carefully filled the black pipe, and involved himself in his own
favourite atmosphere, the Baron Fagoni then proceeded to relate his
adventures, and dilated upon them to such an extent that five or six
pipes were filled and finished ere the story came to a close. Martin also
related his adventures; to which his companion listened with such
breathless attention and earnestness that his pipe was constantly
going-out; and the two friends did not retire to rest till near daybreak.
The substance of the Baron's narrative was as follows:--
At the time that he had been so suddenly separated from his friend,
Barney had overcome many of his opponents, but at length he was
overpowered by numbers, and his arms were firmly bound; after which he
was roughly driven before them through the woods for several days, and
was at length taken to their village among the mountains. Here he
remained a close prisoner for three weeks, shut up in a small hut and
bound by a strong rope to a post. Food was taken to him by an old Indian
woman, who paid no attention at first to what he said to her, for the
good reason that she did not understand a word of English. The persuasive
eloquence of her prisoner's tones, however, or perhaps his brogue, seemed
in the course of a few days to have made an impression on her; for she
condescended to smile at the unintelligible compliments which Barney
lavished upon her in the hope of securing her good-will.
During all this time the Irishman's heart was torn with conflicting
feelings, and although, from the mere force of habit, he could jest with
the old woman when she paid her daily visits, there was no feeling of fun
in his bosom, but, on the contrary, a deep and overwhelming sorrow, which
showed itself very evidently on his expressive face. He groaned aloud
when he thought of Martin, whom he never expected again to see; and he
dreaded every hour the approach of his savage captors, who, he fully
expected, retained him in order to put him to death.
One day, while he was sitting in a very disconsolate mood, the Indian
woman entered with his usual dinner--a plate of thick soup and a coarse
cake. Barney smiled upon her as usual, and then letting his eyes fall on
the ground, sighed deeply,--for his heart was heavier than usual that
day. As the woman was about to go, he looked earnestly and gravely in her
face, and putting his large hand gently on her head, patted her grey
hairs. This tender action seemed to affect the old woman more than usual.
She laid her hand on Barney's arm, and looked as if she wished to speak.
Then turning suddenly from him, she drew a small knife from her girdle
and dropped it on the ground, as if accidentally, while she left the hut
and re-fastened the door. Barney's heart leaped. He seized the knife and
concealed it hastily in his bosom, and then ate his dinner with more than
ordinary zest; for now he possessed the means of cutting the strong rope
that bound him.
He waited with much impatience until night closed over the Indian
village, and then cutting his bonds, he tore down the rude and rather
feeble fastenings of the door. In another instant he was dashing along at
full speed through the forest, without hat or coat, and with the knife
clutched in his right hand! Presently he heard cries behind him, and
redoubled his speed; for now he knew that the savages had discovered his
escape and were in pursuit. But, although a good runner, Barney was no
match for the lithe and naked Indians. They rapidly gained on him, and he
was about to turn at bay and fight for his life, when he observed water
gleaming through the foliage on his left. Dashing down a glade he came to
the edge of a broad river with a rapid current. Into this he sprang
recklessly, intending to swim with the stream; but ere he lost his
footing he heard the low deep thunder of a cataract a short distance
below! Drawing back in terror, he regained the bank, and waded up a
considerable distance in the shallow water, so as to leave no trace of
his footsteps. Then he leaped upon a rock, and, catching hold of the
lower branches of a large tree, drew himself up among the dense foliage,
just as the yelling savages rushed with wild tumult to the water's edge.
Here they paused, as if baffled. They spoke in rapid, vehement tones for
a few seconds, and then one party hastened down the banks of the stream
towards the fall, while another band searched the banks above.
Barney's heart fell as he sat panting in the tree, for he knew that they
would soon discover him. But he soon resolved on a bold expedient.
Slipping down from the tree, he ran deliberately back towards the
village; and, as he drew near, he followed the regular beaten track that
led towards it. On the way he encountered one or two savages hastening
after the pursuing party; but he leaped lightly into the bushes, and lay
still till they were past. Then he ran on, skirted round the village, and
pushed into the woods in an entirely opposite direction from the one in
which he had first set out. Keeping by one of the numerous tracks that
radiated from the village into the forest, he held on at top speed, until
his progress was suddenly arrested by a stream about twenty yards broad.
It was very deep, and he was about to plunge in, in order to swim across,
when he observed a small montaria, or canoe, lying on the bank. This he
launched quickly, and observing that the river took a bend a little
further down, and appeared to proceed in the direction he wished to
pursue,--namely, away from the Indian village,--he paddled down the rapid
stream as fast as he could. The current was very strong, so that his
little bark flew down it like an arrow, and on more than one occasion
narrowly missed being dashed to pieces on the rocks which here and there
rose above the stream.
In about two hours Barney came to a place where the stream took another
bend to the left, and soon after the canoe swept out upon the broad river
into which he had at first so nearly plunged. He was a long way below the
fall now, for its sound was inaudible; but it was no time to abate his
exertions. The Indians might be still in pursuit; so he continued to
paddle all that night, and did not take rest until daybreak. Then he
slept for two hours, ate a few wild fruits, and continued his journey.
In the course of the next day, to his great joy, he overtook a trading
canoe, which had been up another tributary of this river, and was
descending with part of a cargo of India-rubber shoes. None of the men,
of whom there were four, could speak English; but they easily saw from
the Irishman's condition that he had escaped from enemies and was in
distress; so they took him on board, and were glad to avail themselves of
his services: for, as we have before mentioned, men are not easily
procured for voyaging in those parts of Brazil. Three weeks after this
they arrived at a small town, where the natives were busily engaged in
the manufacture of shoes, bottles, and other articles of India-rubber;
and here Barney found employment for a short time.
The seringa, or India-rubber-tree, grows plentifully in some parts of
Brazil, and many hundreds of the inhabitants are employed in the
manufacture of shoes. The India-rubber is the juice of the tree, and
flows from it when an incision is made. This juice is poured into moulds
and left to harden. It is of a yellowish colour naturally, and is
blackened in the course of preparation. Barney did not stay long here.
Shoe-making, he declared, was not his calling by any means; so he seized
the first opportunity he had of joining a party of traders going into the
interior, in the direction of the diamond districts. The journey was long
and varied. Sometimes by canoe and sometimes on the backs of mules and
horses, and many extraordinary adventures did he go through ere he
reached the diamond mines. And when at length he did so, great was his
disappointment. Instead of the glittering caves which his vivid
imagination had pictured, he found that there were no caves at all; that
the diamonds were found by washing in the muddy soil; and worst of all,
that when found they were dim and unpolished, so that they seemed no
better than any other stone. However, he resolved to continue there for a
short time, in order to make a little money; but now that Martin had
arrived he thought that they could not do better than make their way to
the coast as fast as possible, and go to sea.
"The only thing I have to regret," he said, at the conclusion of his
narrative, "is that I left Grampus behind me. But arrah! I came off
from the savages in such a hurry that I had no time at all to tell him
I was goin'!"
Having sat till daybreak, the two friends went to bed to dream of each
other and of home.
Next morning Barney took Martin to visit the diamond mines. On the way
they passed a band of Negro slaves who encircled a large fire, the
weather being very cold. It was at that time about the end of July, which
is one of the coldest months in the year. In this part of Brazil summer
and winter are reversed,--the coldest months being May, June, and July;
the hottest, November, December, January, and February.
Minas Geraes, the diamond district, is one of the richest provinces of
Brazil. The inhabitants are almost entirely occupied in mining or in
supplying the miners with the necessaries of life. Diggers and
shopkeepers are the two principal classes, and of these the latter are
best off; for their trade is steady and lucrative, while the success of
the miners is very uncertain. Frequently a large sum of money and much
time are expended in mining without any adequate result; but the
merchants always find a ready sale for their merchandise, and, as they
take diamonds and gold-dust in exchange, they generally realize large
profits and soon become rich. The poor miner is like the gambler. He
digs on in hope; sometimes finding barely enough to supply his
wants,--at other times making a fortune suddenly; but never giving up
in despair, because he knows that at every handful of earth he turns up
he may perhaps find a diamond worth hundreds, or, it may be, thousands
of pounds.
Cidade Diamantina,--the City of Diamonds,--is the capital of the
province. It is a large city, with many fine churches and buildings; and
the whole population, consisting of more than 6000 souls, are engaged,
directly or indirectly, in mining. Every one who owns a few slaves
employs them in washing the earth for gold and diamonds.
The mine of which Barney had so unexpectedly become overseer, was a small
one, in a remote part of the district, situated among the mountains, and
far distant from the City of Diamonds. There were only a few huts, rudely
built and roofed with palm leaves, besides a larger building, or cottage,
in which the Baron Fagoni resided.
"Tis a strange life they lead here," said Barney, as he led Martin down a
gorge of the mountains towards a small spot of level ground on which the
slaves were at work; "a strange life, and by no means a pleasant wan; for
the feedin' is none o' the best and the work very sevare."
"Why, Barney, if I may judge from last night's supper, the feeding seems
to be excellent."
"Thrue, boy, the Baron Fagoni feeds well, bekase he's the cock o' the
roost; but the poor Naygurs are not overly well fed, and the critters are
up to their knees in wather all day, washing di'monds; so they suffer
much from rheumatiz and colds. Och, but it's murther entirely; an' I've
more than wance felt inclined to fill their pockets with di'monds and set
them all free! Jist look, now, there they are, hard at it."
As he spoke they arrived at the mine. The ground in the vicinity was all
cut up and dug out to a considerable depth, and a dozen Negroes were
standing under a shed washing the earth, while others were engaged in the
holes excavating the material. While Martin watched them his friend
explained the process.
The different kinds of soil through which it is necessary to cut before
reaching the diamond deposit are, first, about twenty feet of reddish
sandy soil; then about eight feet of a tough yellowish clay; beneath this
lies a layer of coarse reddish sand, below which is the peculiar soil in
which diamonds are found. It is called by the miners the _cascalho_, and
consists of loose gravel, the pebbles of which are rounded and polished,
having at some previous era been subject to the action of running water.
The bed varies in thickness from one to four feet, and the pebbles are of
various kinds; but when there are many of a species called
_Esmerilopreto_, the cascalho is considered to be rich in diamonds.
Taking Martin round to the back of the shed, Barney showed him a row of
troughs, about three feet square, close to the edge of a pond of water.
These troughs are called _bacos_. In front of each stood a Negro slave up
to his knees in water. Each had a wooden plate, with which he dashed
water upon the rough cascalho as it was thrown into the trough by another
slave. By this means, and by stirring it with a small hoe, the earth and
sand are washed away. Two overseers were closely watching the process;
for it is during this part of the operation that the largest diamonds are
found. These overseers were seated on elevated seats, each being armed
with a long leathern whip, to keep a sharp look out, for the slaves are
expert thieves.
After the cascalho had been thus purified it was carefully removed to the
shed to be finally washed.
Here seven slaves were seated on the side of a small canal, about four
feet broad, with their legs in the water nearly up to their knees. The
canal is called the _lavadeira_. Each man had a small wooden platter,
into which another slave, who stood behind him, put a shovelful of
purified cascalho. The _bateia_, or platter, was then filled with water
and washed with the utmost care several times, being closely examined
after each washing, and the diamonds picked out. Sometimes many platefuls
were examined but nothing found; at other times several diamonds were
found in one plate. While Martin was looking on with much curiosity and
interest, one of the slaves uttered an exclamation and held up a minute
stone between his finger and thumb.
"Ah! good luck to ye, lad!" said Barney, advancing and taking the diamond
which had been discovered. "See here, Martin; there's the thing, lad,
that sparkles on the brow o' beauty, and gives the Naygurs rheumatiz--"
"Not to mention their usefulness in providing the great Baron Fagoni with
a livelihood," added Martin, with a smile.
Barney laughed, and going up to the place where the two overseers were
seated, dropped the precious gem into a plate of water placed between
them for the purpose of receiving the diamonds as they were found.
"They git fifteen or twinty a day sometimes," said Barney, as they
retraced their steps to the cottage; "and I've hear'd o' them getting
stones worth many thousands o' pounds; but the biggest they iver found
since I corned here was not worth more than four hundred."
"And what do you do with them, Barney, when they are found?"
inquired Martin.
"Sind them to Rio Janeiro, lad, where my employer sells them. I don't
know how much he makes a year by it; but the thing must pay, for he's
very liberal with his cash, and niver forgits to pay wages. There's
always a lot o' gould-dust found in the bottom o' the bateia after each
washing, and that is carefully collected and sold. But, arrah! I wouldn't
give wan snifter o' the say-breezes for all the di'monds in Brazil!"
As Barney said this he entered his cottage and flung down his hat with
the air of a man who was resolved to stand it no longer.
"But why don't you wash on your own account?" cried Martin. "What
say you; shall we begin together? We may make our fortune the first
week, perhaps!"
Barney shook his head. "No, no, boy; I've no faith in my luck with the
di'monds or gould. Nevertheless I have hear'd o' men makin' an awful
heap o' money that way; partiklarly wan man that made his fortin with
wan stone."
"Who was that lucky dog?" asked Martin.
"Well, ye see, it happened this way: There's a custom hereaway that
slaves are allowed to work on Sundays and holidays on their own account;
but when the mines was a government consarn this was not allowed, and the
slaves were the most awful thieves livin', and often made off with some
o' the largest diamonds. Well, there was a man named Juiz de Paz, who
owned a small shop, and used to go down now and then to Rio de Janeiro to
buy goods. Wan evenin' he returned from wan o' his long journeys, and,
being rather tired, wint to bed. He was jist goin' off into a comfortable
doze when there came a terrible bumpin' at the door.
"'Hallo!' cried Juiz, growlin' angrily in the Portugee tongue; 'what
d'ye want?'
"There was no answer but another bumpin' at the door. So up he jumps,
and, takin' down a big blunderbuss that hung over his bed, opened the
door, an' seized a Naygur be the hair o' the head!
"'Oh, massa! oh, massa! let him go! Got di'mond for to sell!'
"On hearin' this, Juiz let go, and found that the slave had come to
offer for sale a large di'mond, which weighed about two penny-weights
and a third.
"'What d'ye ask for it?' said Juiz, with sparklin' eyes.
"'Six hundred mil-reis,' answered the Naygur.
"This was about equal to £180 Stirling. Without more words about it, he
paid down the money; and the slave went away. Juiz lost his sleep that
night. He went and tould the neighbours he had forgot a piece of
important business in Rio and must go back at wance. So back he went, and
stayed some time in the city, tryin' to git his di'mond safely sold; for
it was such a big wan that he feared the government fellows might hear
o't; in which case he would have got tin years transportation to Angola
on the coast of Africa. At last, however, he got rid of it for 20,000
mil-reis, which is about £6000. It was all paid to him in hard dollars;
and he nearly went out o' his wits for joy. But he was brought down a peg
nixt day, when he found that the same di'mond was sold for nearly twice
as much as he had got for it. Howiver, he had made a pretty considerable
fortin; an' he's now the richest di'mond and gould merchant in the
district."
"A lucky fellow certainly," said Martin. "But I must say I have no taste
for such chance work; so I'm quite ready to start for the sea-coast
whenever it suits the Baron Fagoni's convenience."
While they were speaking they were attracted by voices outside the
cottage, which sounded as if in altercation. In another minute the door
burst open, and a man entered hurriedly, followed by the interpreter.
"Your overseer is impertinent!" exclaimed the man, who was a tall swarthy
Brazilian. "I wish to buy a horse or a good mule, and he won't let me
have one. I am not a beggar; I offer to pay."
The man spoke in Portuguese, and Barney replied in the same language.
"You can have a horse _if you pay for it_."
The Brazilian replied by throwing a heavy bag of dollars on the table.
"All right," said Barney, turning to his interpreter and conversing with
him in an under-tone. "Give him what he requires." So saying he bowed the
Brazilian out of the room, and returned to the enjoyment of his black
pipe, which had been interrupted by the incident.
"That man seems in a hurry," said Martin.
"So he is. My interpreter tells me that he is quite like one o' the
blackguards that sometimes go about the mines doin' mischief, and he's in
hot haste to be away. I should not wonder if the spalpeen has been
stealin' gould or di'monds and wants to escape. But of course I've
nothin' to do with that, unless I was sure of it; and I've a horse or two
to sell, and he has money to pay for it; so he's welcome. He says he is
makin' straight for the say-coast; and with your lave, Martin, my boy,
you and I will be doin' that same in a week after this, and say good-bye
to the di'mond mines."