MINAS GERAES AND MINING
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.
[Illustration: AN OX TEAM OF MINAS GERAES.]
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.