The Intendant holds a place of great trust: he is the superior

magistrate, and his duty is to administer justice, and to see that

the laws peculiar to the district are duly executed. He is of course

president of the assembly, or juncta, and calls meetings whenever he

thinks proper; he disposes of the military force of the district,

orders roads to be made or stopped, and stations guards on them to

examine travellers, and to detain suspicious persons. He has also

the privilege of giving or refusing permission for persons to enter

the district, or settle in it; and every one, however high in rank

and property, who passes thither is supposed to have the Intendant’s

express concurrence, which, as a matter of form, is sometimes dispensed

with. He appoints officers, signs all papers, receives all reports

that are made, and acts accordingly. To him solely the treasury is

entrusted for the payment of the salaries of the officers, the negroes’

wages, tradesmen’s bills, and every incidental expense attending the

establishment. He issues paper-money, and withdraws it from circulation

whenever he thinks proper; for all which he is responsible to

Government alone, and may be said to be almost absolute in his office.

In addition to these important functions, the present Intendant has

assumed the whole direction and regulation of the mining concern, which

none of his predecessors ever practically interfered with, it being the

peculiar province of the Administrator-general. For this undertaking

he is equally qualified by the superiority of his talents, and by the

extent of his acquirements: he studied mineralogy many years under

the celebrated Werner, by whom he was considered as one of his most

enlightened disciples; afterwards he travelled through Hungary, and

all the most interesting German states; and, lastly, made the tour of

England and Scotland, where he resided two years.

The Administrator-general, to whom belong the management and direction

of the works, ought to be equally experienced in mining and mechanics,

particularly in hydraulics: he should be a man of general information,

combined with great practical knowledge, relative to the locality of

the district, so as to be able to ascertain the real value of every

situation, and to direct the operations accordingly. He should have a

mind fertile in resources, and prepared to meet every disappointment

or casualty that can possibly occur, that the time of the negroes may

not be employed in vain; he should also facilitate their labors by the

introduction of machinery, and should be particularly attentive to

their good treatment, since on them his success, and consequently his

reputation, must in a great measure depend.

On this latter point humanity and policy ought alike to direct the

attention of the superiors of the establishment. It is natural to

suppose that negroes, when treated with harshness, ill fed and ill

clothed, will be indifferent to the interests of their employers, and,

perhaps, determined not to find diamonds, whereas, when subjected

to milder and kinder usage, which might be done without relaxing in

vigilance, they would become anxious to please, and would search more

diligently in order to obtain notice and reward. It must be obvious

that negroes rarely conceal diamonds for _themselves_; and yet custom

has rendered the feelings of their real owners in Tejuco so irritable,

on being suspected to encourage the practice, that if the word

_grimpeiro_ (smuggler) is mentioned in conversation, they shudder with

horror and distort their features, calling on the Virgin to witness

their abhorrence of a crime to which Government has attached the

greatest disgraces and punishments.

Pure, honest souls! Being a stranger in the country, I conceived

that these gentlemen really felt the sentiments which their words

and gestures expressed; and, as persons of all ranks seemed to fear

conversing on the subject, I thought at first that I should not see

a single diamond in all Tejuco, except those in the treasury; but

a little acquaintance with the town soon convinced me that I was a

novice; for, on visiting a few friends to whom I had introductions, I

found that diamonds were bartered for every thing, and were actually

much more current than specie. Even pious indulgencies were bought

with them; and surely no one could have suspected that the seller of

His Holiness’s bulls would condescend to taste the forbidden fruits of

Tejuco.

As I had the honor to reside at the house of the Intendant, I was

considered by the people of the town as a person connected with

Government, and therefore as one who ought not to be informed of the

secret traffic among them; hence, when in company with the officers

of the establishment, whenever the word _grimpeiro_ was mentioned,

I found it necessary to manifest the same feelings of disgust which

they did; and, on expressing my surprise that any one could so far

degrade himself as to be guilty of the crime of smuggling diamonds,

it was tacitly agreed that no white man could stoop to such dishonor.

The point was soon settled; for I found it best not to oppose general

opinions, nor to enter too minutely on delicate subjects; and it was

sometimes expedient for me to seem regardless of what I was most

steadfastly looking at.

In Tejuco there are about nine or ten principal shopkeepers, to whom

the establishment itself, and the officers belonging to it, are

frequently indebted; indeed, these men receive the greater part of the

money due to the various persons employed in the works, in exchange

chiefly for English commodities of one description or other. The

establishment is paid once a year, and for this purpose a sum not less

than 300,000 crusades is sent from Villa Rica, to which may be added

60,000 or 100,000 more, found in the gold mines of the district. The

greater part of this money flowing into the hands of the shopkeepers,

as above stated, is immediately employed in a way injurious to the

interests of Government; nor can worse policy be imagined than that

of allowing so large an expenditure in a place which offers such

temptations.

Some years ago many gold-mines were washed in this district, but as

information was given that diamonds were found in them, they were

ordered to be abandoned. At present more equitable measures are

adopted, and the proprietors are commencing to work some of them again,

under an agreement to give up whatever diamonds they find.[57]

There is a general order to work all the gold-mines which were formerly

confiscated, and this measure will, it is hoped, increase the quantity

of gold, and have a good effect in every respect.

If Government are obliged to hire negroes wherever they can obtain

them, (which appears to be the case), it would be at least expedient to

have a store to supply them, in order that the money paid in wages to

them might return into the funds of the establishment.

The hiring of negroes to the diamond works is the favorite occupation

of all ranks in Tejuco; rich and poor endeavour to engage in it to as

great an extent as their property will allow. The pay of the slaves

is trifling compared with the risk, their labor being heavy, their

maintenance poor, and their treatment harsh; there must, therefore,

be some temptation not openly seen, yet as well known as light from

darkness. Numbers of persons are thus induced to reside in Tejuco

under various pretexts, but with no other real view than to get their

negroes into the service, and to live idly on their wages, and on what

they conceal or pick up. Thus all fatten upon the pasture, except

those in the extreme of indigence, and others who, from the neglect of

economy, are always poor. There are a numerous class, from the age of

seven years to upwards of twenty, who are without any visible means of

earning their subsistence, and would remain idle even if manufactories

were established; for though they are brought up from their infancy

with negro-children, yet in the working department they would abandon

their former play-fellows. The people in general are rendered more

averse from habits of regular industry by the continual hopes which

they indulge of becoming opulent by some fortunate discovery of mines;

these fallacious ideas, which they instil into the minds of their

children, strongly prejudice them against labor, though they all exist

miserably, and not unfrequently depend upon donations. Their education

is extremely limited: they are in general total strangers to the

sciences, and are very scantily informed on any useful subject.

As the object of my journey into this district was to examine into the

real state of affairs, and to give a true report of them on my return,

for which purpose I was furnished with many privileges never allowed

to any person before, and was thus enabled to see all that I desired,

humanity requires that I should make some observations on the fate of

those unfortunate persons who have been tempted to smuggle diamonds,

and have been caught in the act. I even mentioned the subject to His

Excellency, the minister, on my return to Rio de Janeiro; but as his

occupations were great, and the state of my health required me to leave

the country immediately, nothing more was said of it.

The great demand for these precious articles, and the facility of

secreting them, have caused them to be searched for and carried away

in violation of the existing laws of the country. Of the numbers who

have engaged in this illicit traffic, from an eager desire to become

rich at once, many have eluded the vigilance of the guards, and have

finished their career with credit and opulence; others less fortunate

have been detected, and have incurred the punishment annexed to the

offence, namely, the surrender of their illegally acquired treasure,

the confiscation of their whole property, and exile to Africa, or

confinement, perhaps for life, in a loathsome prison. Mild as are

the criminal laws of Brazil, the latter part of this sentence is an

exception at which human nature shudders. Surely, when a poor wretch,

who has been tempted to this offence, has atoned for it by the loss of

all he possessed, he has suffered sufficiently without being subjected

to the forfeiture of personal liberty, and to all the woes incident to

hopeless captivity. Far be it from me to countenance any infringement

on the laws which have been established for the protection of property,

either public or private; to respect the institutions of whatever

nation I may live in, I hope I shall always be among the first, and to

encourage others to disregard them, the very last; for illicit trade

of every description is a deceitful and dangerous pursuit, the sweets

of which are ever attended with a counteracting portion of evils. The

object of my reasoning is to shew that these degraded persons have been

of service to the state, and may still be rendered useful to it. May

it be permitted me to enquire who were the discoverers of perhaps all

the diamond mines which have enriched the caskets of the royal family

of Portugal beyond comparison with those of any other state, and which

have not only augmented the revenues of the government, but have proved

the source from which many respectable and enterprising individuals

have derived their opulence? Adventurers, who, at great risk and with

indefatigable toil, have penetrated unknown forests, and explored deep

ravines among the haunts of the savage Anthropophagi, in search of

gold-mines, and in them have by chance found diamonds. When a place

of this description has been once discovered by these men, it seldom

remains long secret; the agents of Government take possession of it,

and either work it immediately, or guard it until a future occasion.

The discoverer of course flies from the place; and if he have picked

up a few stones, or robbed the earth of some of its most brilliant

rarities, he will seek the best and safest means of procuring value for

them. If he be a man of sufficient property, he will hire a few mules,

load them with cotton, bacon, and other commodities, and proceed to

Rio de Janeiro in regular form. On his arrival there, he enters some

good house in which he has confidence, and disposes of his concealed

treasure. His mind is then relieved from apprehension, and he begins

to make preparations for his return. His first care is to lay out his

money to the best advantage; negroes are his chief object, and these

pay a duty to the state on their leaving Angola, and another of ten

_milreis_ each on entering the mining country. If they be employed

in mining, Government obtains a fifth of the gold found, and if in

agriculture, a tenth of the produce is exacted. The next object of

the adventurer is to lay in a stock of woollens, and other English

manufactures, which pay a duty of fifteen _per cent._ on being landed,

and are subject to another, according to their weight, on entering

the territory of the mines. Thus it really appears that most of the

contraband property is divided between the state and the smuggler: but

this is not all; the diamonds are sent out of the country, and real

effects of value are received in return, leaving a balance entirely in

favor of Brazil.

This illicit trade has been carried on to a very considerable extent:

there is a strong presumptive authority for stating that, since the

first discovery of the mines, diamonds to the amount of two millions

sterling have thus found their way to Europe, exclusive of what the

contractors accounted for. This has been owing to the ill management

of the whole establishment, and to the total want of necessary

regulations, which have prevailed so long, that it will not be easy to

apply a remedy. Let us suppose for a moment the system to be changed;

the two thousand negroes employed in the establishment to be the

property of the crown (whom two years’ profit of the diamond mines

would be adequate to purchase); these negroes to be supplied with every

article for their support from a general store, and to be treated

as mildly as possible; they would then form a society, and, knowing

no other masters than their officers, would have only one common

interest to serve. The contraband trade by this means, though perhaps

not totally destroyed, would receive an irrecoverable blow, and would

be reduced almost to nothing. Should such a change take place, the

shopkeepers, and those persons who subsist by hiring negroes to the

works, would find the source of their emoluments dried up, and, rather

than remain at Tejuco, would migrate to situations more congenial

to their interests: thus the district would be freed from that bane

which has so long overrun it, and Government would reap the advantage

of having the mines worked by their own negroes, whom it would be

difficult for others to seduce.

Another evil which such a change of system would be calculated to

remove, is the following:—Every article of sustenance required for

the establishment is purchased of farmers who reside a few leagues

from Tejuco, or who have farms at a greater distance; and this absurd

practice is the cause of much unnecessary intercourse. There are

thousands of acres of excellent land in the vicinity of the diamond

works, having choice of situation, and fit for the growth of every

species of produce. How well might a part of the force above-mentioned

be occasionally spared for a few days only, to be employed in the

first operations of husbandry, which would be, to inclose a sufficient

quantity of ground in various parts for the maintenance of the

establishment. A certain number of negroes would be allotted, in

proportion to the land under cultivation, and on particular occasions,

as in harvest, an auxiliary force would be always at hand. This would

be farming with double advantage; the plough would work instead of the

hoe; after-crops would be sown to be eaten off the ground, which would

thus be enriched and kept in good condition. Numbers of acres would be

planted with artificial grass, subject to irrigation where that was

practicable, and thus, contrary to the general practice, the cattle

would be provided with subsistence in the dry season. Indian corn,

wheat, mandioca, feijones, potatoes, &c. would be cultivated, and,

under proper management, would yield crops equal to the most sanguine

expectation. Storehouses, with requisite conveniences, would soon be

erected, in which the grain might be kept without spoiling. Thus would

the first principles of husbandry be introduced into the district, and

prove a source of more lasting benefit to the state than mines either

of gold or diamonds, for when the latter were exhausted there would

remain an active and industrious population. It seems, indeed, to have

been the purpose of nature, in distributing these precious substances

in these remote and almost unknown parts, to allure civilized men to

settle upon them.

From the circumstances which have been already explained, it will

appear that, under the present system, the Government pay for all

the diamonds that are found here, and probably receive little more

than one-half; therefore it is evident that those conveyed through

other channels can be sold to the public at a lower price than that

at which the former are obtained. But the embarrassed state of the

establishment is such, that the managers cannot lessen their expenses,

being obliged to take credit for every article, and to hire almost any

negroes that are offered. These evils have taken too deep root to be

eradicated, even by the abilities of the present Intendant: had such a

man been placed here forty years ago, empowered to act without control,

and to govern the district as private property, on the principles above

stated, he might have rendered it a province both rich and independent.

As all the diamonds found in these works belong to the crown, the

royal family have been accustomed to select from the quantity annually

remitted whatever stones they considered worthy their notice,

which were generally those exceeding seventeen carats. They were

formerly sent to Holland to be cut, the Dutch being the contractors

of the diamonds, from the first discovery of the mines; but since

the emigration of the court to Rio de Janeiro, that trade has been

transferred to England, where these precious stones annually arrive,

and are sold by private contract.

The collection of diamonds now in the possession of the Prince Regent

is unequalled in number, size, and quality, by that of any potentate

in the world; and I am credibly informed that it exceeds in estimated

value three millions sterling.

This district has a direct communication with Bahia, and a few troops

of mules are continually employed in going from one place to the

other. The journey is much longer than to Rio de Janeiro, but the

country is less mountainous; there are fewer _ranchos_ or hovels on

the road, and in one part it is requisite to carry fresh water for two

days’ consumption. The commodities sent from Tejuco to Minas Novas

are very trivial, consisting of smuggled gold, chrysoberyls, topazes,

amethysts, and other stones; in return for which are brought English

fine manufactured goods, particularly hats, printed cottons, stockings,

and saddles, which have been much cheaper in Bahia than in England.

Coarser articles are generally sent from Rio de Janeiro, the distance

being, as before observed, much shorter.

Of navigable rivers we can say but little. The many small streams,

that rise in various parts, join and form the Jiquitinhonha, which,

as before observed, may be navigated to sea, without any impediment,

in at most ten days’ time. How much would the country be benefited if

a port were established at the entrance of this river, and vessels

were allowed to load and unload; canoes would find their way from

thence into the interior in the short space of twenty days, loaded

with every article necessary for the consumption of the district. How

superior would this mode of conveyance be to that of making roads

through impervious woods, and over almost impassable mountains. How

many thousands of crusades annually expended on mules would be thus

saved to the public, and what numbers of men would thus be trained for

the service of the marine, instead of those now employed as muleteers.

With the advantage of such a communication, Minas Novas and Cerro do

Frio would soon more than double their population, and it might be

anticipated that the banks of these fine rivers, now lying deserted

and useless, would bloom with every variety of vegetation, which this

genial climate is capable of producing.

Under the present system Tejuco ought to maintain itself, and have the

least possible intercourse with other places. Its commerce ought to

be confined wholly to gold and precious stones; but should Government

determine to make diamonds a free trade, then a contrary policy would

be requisite. On this subject I shall, in the sequel, have some

observations to make.

The quadrupeds of Cerro do Frio are common to other parts of Brazil.

Mules are the principal beasts of burthen, and are much dearer than

in the districts more to the southward. Horses are not so numerous,

but cheaper, being in very little request, and used only on journeys

of pleasure. Horned cattle are bred at a considerable distance, and

brought for the consumption of the place. Sheep are almost unknown;

hogs and goats are more plentiful; of dogs there are but few, and the

race is very indifferent. Ounces are very seldom seen; there are not

many deer; the danta, or tapir, is not uncommon.

Of birds there are a few varieties, but in no great numbers;

partridges are rather common; we shot several in our way to the

different mines, which proved good eating. Domestic fowls are in

tolerable plenty, but by no means cheap, being eighteen-pence to two

shillings each.

Of serpents, I saw only one, and it was harmless: but I was informed

that the rattle-snake and the _jararaca_, both equally venomous, are

common in this district. Lizards are very numerous, and the _cayman_,

or alligator, is found in most of the lagoons and rivers.

Fish are extremely scarce in all the streams, owing to the quantity

of matter with which their waters are impregnated from the numerous

washings.

This district is in general free from that troublesome plague, the

mosquito, as that insect is peculiar to low and swampy places, and does

not bite with such disagreeable effect in elevated and airy situations.

Bees are but little attended to, and are scarcely known; were the

management of them better understood and practised by the inhabitants,

they might be much increased, and wax might even be exported.

In closing my observations on this district, I may be permitted to add

some particulars relative to the capital. The families whom I had the

honor to visit appeared to live in great sociability. They frequently

form tea-parties. The dress of the ladies consists almost entirely of

articles of English manufacture, cotton-prints, straw hats, artificial

flowers, jewelry, &c. Owing to the distance of Tejuco from a sea-port,

piano-fortes have not been introduced here, or they would probably be

in considerable demand; for the ladies in general have a taste for

music, and touch the guitar with great spirit and elegance. Dancing is

a favorite amusement, and all appear much pleased and animated with the

English country-dance. The ladies seldom go abroad, except to mass,

and then they are usually carried in a chair hung with curtains and

a canopy, and suspended from a pole borne by two men. The sedentary

habits of the females I have often thought injurious to their health;

but, since English saddles have been introduced, they begin to take

airings on horseback.

Warm baths are very generally used, being considered of great efficacy

in removing recent colds, to which all persons here are liable, on

account of the peculiar nature of the climate. They are invariably

offered at night to travellers, as a means of relieving the pains

occasioned by the fatigues of the day.

A continuance of ill health obliged me to take leave of my friends in

Tejuco, and to return to Rio de Janeiro with all possible expedition.

It will not be expected that I should relate all the particulars of my

journey thither, as I retraced my former route with a few occasional

deviations; I shall therefore confine myself to whatever I saw worthy

of interest which I did not observe on my way to Tejuco.

Dr. Camara did me the honor to accompany me as far as San Gonçal, and

showed me a work a short distance from the establishment, near the

margin of a river of the same name. As I staid here one entire day

with this gentleman, I had leisure to examine this singular situation,

where I, for the first time, found mountains of sienite, incredibly

hard, composed of hornblende and feldspar. About forty years ago this

excavation, which was of considerable depth, was suddenly filled up by

the bursting-in of the side, for want of proper support to resist the

pressure of the incumbent stratum, which falling in immense masses,

totally destroyed the works; and they remained in this state until

about two years ago. As the wings of vague report are in general much

longer than those of truth, this place had the reputation of being

extremely rich in diamonds, and the apparent impossibility of clearing

it, added greatly to the credit which was given to it. Old inhabitants

came forward to say that they had been employed in the works when the

accident happened, and that the diamonds found in them excelled in

number, size, and fineness those produced at any other place. These

reports soon reached the ears of the Intendant, who, within a year

after entering his office at Tejuco, formed a plan of clearing and

excavating the works. Such a stupendous undertaking was calculated only

for a man of his superior talents and enterprise. He stationed there

four hundred negroes under the direction of the best officers on the

establishment; inclined planes were formed, and pulleys calculated to

lift immense weights were erected. As some of the masses of sienite

were too large to be raised whole, and the substance was so hard

that steel would not stand to bore it, they were obliged to contrive

means for breaking them. Recourse was had to large fires, with which

the rocks were heated, and cold water was thrown upon them from tubs

suspended by long pieces of timber formed somewhat like cranes. After

six months of very heavy and incessant labor, the place was cleared.

Let us for a moment reflect on the sanguine expectations which had

been formed respecting the size of the diamonds, their number and

brilliancy, the honors that would be conferred on the officers, &c.

and we may judge what must have been the general disappointment, when,

after the very bottom had been scraped, not a diamond was found! Thus

ended this serious trial, made at great expense, labor, and risk; like

many other speculations, built on the delusive stories propagated by

old miners respecting places formerly worked, by which new adventurers

are generally tempted, and frequently ruined.

I continued my former route, visiting the same friends who had received

me on my journey to Tejuco, until I arrived at Cocaes. In the vicinity

of this place are found fine amethysts and crystals, through which

titanium is interspersed. Proceeding from hence, I took a more easterly

route to Bromada, distant about five leagues. A great part of the road

was covered with rich iron ore. I passed through the village of St.

John, and entered a fine valley, through which ran a little rivulet,

called St. Antonio;—a more delightful place cannot be imagined: the

grounds, which lay in gentle elevations, were capable of every kind

of cultivation, and appeared calculated amply to repay the farmer for

any labor he might bestow on them. In addition to these advantages,

and that of a fine climate, this vicinity yet contains some places

extremely rich in gold. At the end of this valley we crossed the

rivulet over a good stone bridge, and passed through a pretty hamlet

called Barra; proceeding a league further, we arrived at the house

of Captain José Alvarez, who received me with great kindness. This

being Sunday, many of the neighbours were on a visit to his house; a

sumptuous dinner had been provided, and the evening passed in very

interesting conversation relative to the mode of mining in that

neighbourhood. Next day I went to visit the gold-works belonging to

this gentleman, the principal of which was situated near the summit

of a mountain of decomposed granite, one part of which seemed to have

slipped from the other, leaving a cleft of twenty feet perpendicular.

The face of this cleft appeared of different colors, some more red

or brown than others; the parts esteemed most rich in gold had the

appearance of irregular cavities, filled by a stalactitic substance

in decomposition. This mountain has produced a great quantity of

gold, and continues yet rich: it may be truly called auriferous; for

I directed negroes to bring me specimens of earth from every part of

the cleft, from the roots of the grass to the bottom, all of which I

found to contain gold. At this place stamps are used to reduce the more

indurated substances, but they are so ill constructed as to produce

but little effect. After a most pressing invitation to stay, and

advantageous offers of land to a considerable extent, which I found it

expedient to decline, I took leave of the owner of this establishment,

and passed a very large house belonging to _Capitao Mor_ Penha, a very

opulent miner, who has a large establishment of negroes, and extensive

lands. I continued my route five leagues through an auriferous country,

passed the village of St. Barbara, and arrived at Cantas Altas. From

hence I proceeded to Villa Rica, without observing any thing worth

notice.

I was here received with the same attention and respect which I had

experienced on my first visit. Finding it necessary to remain a few

days to recruit my health, I examined a variety of substances that had

been collected for me during my absence, but was not fortunate enough

to meet with any thing very interesting. The theatre being open, I

passed two evenings there, and was much gratified to find that the

rational amusement of the drama had superseded savage bullfights. The

theatre and decorations were neat, and the performances tolerable;

were they better encouraged, the public would receive greater

gratification. They have ever been under the control of the governor,

and are generally so fettered as to be obliged to perform such pieces

only as his caprice may dictate.

Leaving Villa Rica, I continued my journey to the capital, where I

arrived about the middle of February 1810, in a most exhausted state,

from the combined effects of fatigue and an indisposition which

continual exertion and want of rest had increased in a considerable

degree. I informed His Excellency the Conde de Linhares of my arrival,

and, in a few days afterwards, had the honor of presenting to him

a report, stating the particulars of my journey. I was afterwards

introduced to the Prince, who did me the honor to express his

approbation of my account of the country through which I had travelled,

and requested me to publish it. He was graciously pleased to make both

my attendants inferior officers, in reward for their good conduct;

and when I expressed my thanks for this mark of his attention, he

replied, that it was too trivial to notice, and desired me to name in

what manner he could testify the sense he entertained of my services.

At this moment my health was so extremely precarious, that I could

not think of remaining in Rio de Janeiro, where I found myself daily

getting worse; otherwise I have not the smallest doubt that the

generosity of the Prince would have amply repaid me for the fatigues I

had encountered.

CHAP. XVI.

_General View of Minas Geraes._

THE _capitania_ of Minas Geraes extends from 600 to 700 miles from

north to south, and about the same distance from east to west. It is

bounded on the north by the _capitania_ of Bahia; on the west by that

of Goyaz; on the south by the river Paraibuna, which divides it from

the _capitania_ of Rio de Janeiro. It is separated from the _capitania_

of Espirito Santo and the coast by an immense chain of mountains, which

country, being inhabited by the Aborigenes, is of course very little

known.

This _capitania_ is estimated to contain three hundred and sixty

thousand inhabitants, of whom two hundred thousand are negroes, or

their immediate offspring. The population of Indians is not included

in this estimate, nor can it be ascertained; they are considered as by

no means numerous, as they never make any opposition against an armed

force, however small. In the course of my journey I did not see one,

except the child at the village of Conceição, nor did I ever hear of

one of the race of the Buticudos becoming civilized, or living in any

of the villages with the settled inhabitants[58].

The regular military establishment of the _capitania_ is very

respectable, and consists of 1400 cavalry, which number is prescribed

by law. Their principal station is at Villa Rica, where the general

resides, who, jointly with the governor, issues all orders respecting

them. They form a disposeable force for the general service of the

_capitania_; they are appointed to guard certain places known to

contain valuable products; also to receive tolls, collect tythes,

patrol the roads, and search suspicious persons, for which purposes

parties of them are stationed at the various guard-houses and

registers. They go in quest of felons, guard the prisons, and likewise

execute orders to impress men levied for service in Rio de Janeiro.

They are employed exclusively in the mining country, which they never

quit, except when they escort diamonds and treasure to the capital,

or are dispatched on any particular service. The regiment is a very

fine one, and enjoys so high a reputation, that numbers are continually

offering to enlist in it. While I was at Villa Rica, nearly two hundred

volunteers were serving, without any remuneration whatever, waiting

to be placed on the establishment according to their seniority, as

vacancies should occur. This affords the general an opportunity of

choosing the most soldier-like men, and those of best character; in

which respects it is asserted, and I believe with great truth, that the

corps is unrivalled. The officers enter very young, and serve as cadets

for a certain period, during which they perform the duty and receive

the pay of privates, from whom they are distinguished by a star on the

right shoulder, and generally exercise together. They are promoted

according to seniority.

Besides this force, there is a militia, in which all the male

inhabitants of the _capitania_ are enrolled, and are liable to be

called out when occasions require. It is a part of the present policy

of the Prince’s ministers to stimulate the Creolians to active

occupations, by obliging them either to till their grounds, or to enter

the ranks and become soldiers.

The known produce of this vast extent of territory comes next under

consideration. On this subject I shall not follow a variety of vague

accounts, which have been compiled with little regard to truth, but

shall present to the reader the result of my own observations.

The great quantities of gold, precious stones, iron, &c. produced in

this country have been largely treated upon. Lead ore appears to be

rare, as it is found only near Abaité. Antimony abounds in the vicinity

of Sabará; native bismuth is found near Villa Rica; arsenical and iron

pyrites are very common; titanium is found in octahedral crystals,

also in beautiful prisms and tender spicula, finely grouped in rock

crystal. Platina may be obtained in tolerable quantities at Lagos, but

the place which produces it has been abandoned from want of a market.

Chromate of lead, _I was informed_, is found in the vicinity of Cocaes;

but I have reason to suspect I was imposed upon. At Tejuco, also, I was

shown some, and was presented with two pieces, which are uncommonly

fine, more brilliant in color than that from Siberia, and distinctly

crystallized on a matrix of granular sand-stone, accompanied with the

green oxide of chrome. Copper can scarcely be said to exist in this

country; the only place at present known to produce it, is a mountain

twenty leagues from Tejuco, where small particles appear in a rock

of quartz and hornblende: the matrix is so hard, and the quantity of

copper so trivial, as to afford no encouragement to work it. The place

has been examined by the Intendant, and is known to most persons in

Tejuco[59]. No mines of silver have been discovered in the _capitania_,

but the gold is generally found to contain that precious metal,

sometimes in great proportion. No tin, cobalt, or any other metal,

except those above mentioned, have been hitherto met with.

Of salts, impure nitrate of potass is formed in great abundance,

generally, if not always, in calcareous situations, in a tract of

country which commences from ten to fourteen degrees west of Tejuco,

particularly at Monte Rodrigo, which is situated between the two

celebrated rivers called Rio dos Velhos and Parauna. This mountain is

very large and well wooded; the stratum is calcareous, and contains

many eaves furred, as it were, with nitrate of potass. Since Government

has made nitre an object of commerce, and encouraged its production,

many families have settled at this place, and have collected large

quantities of this saliferous substance, which, after several

operations, is sent to Rio de Janeiro, where it is refined for the

great powder-manufactory recently established near that city.

In various places are found the finest clays in great plenty, fit for

porcelain and earthenware of every description, which are entirely

neglected. In other parts I saw cyanite, actinolite, tremolite,

pot-stone, and chlorite. Conglomerate masses of recent formation,

enveloping diamonds and grains of gold, are sometimes, though rarely,

met with; also a siliceous substance of a fine dark-blue color,

probably totally unknown.

On the vegetable products of this _capitania_ I have but few

observations to make, in addition to those already given in the course

of my narrative. Many parts are well calculated for the growth of

hemp and flax, and water for steeping them is easily obtained in most

situations; so that the only impediment to the introduction of these

useful plants appears to be the labor required to clear them.

In the immense woods the finest trees are frequently destroyed by the

creeping plants, which cannot grow without adhering to some support.

When they attach themselves to a tree, they shoot up very rapidly,

encircling it with numerous fibres, and in a few years become so strong

as entirely to stop the growth of the tree, and at length destroy it.

When in a young state, they are so flexible as to be used for ordinary

purposes instead of cords. I have seen negroes make their bridles of

them, and ride with them for a day together.

As these forests remain unexplored, many of the trees are unknown, and

consequently the qualities of their barks. However, there are some used

by the inhabitants in dying yellow; and I was informed some yielded

a black color that could not be washed out. There is a variety which

serves for curing skins, or tanning, some of which give the hide a red

color, others leave it almost white: but this art is so little known,

and the people are so averse to employments of this sort, that it has

hitherto made little progress.

Gum tragacanth is in great plenty, and of a very good quality. There

are immense quantities of aromatic shrubs; and I found in many places,

upon the bark of trees, and more particularly upon old wood, a lichen,

which yielded to water a most beautiful crimson color[60]. Jointed

canes grow spontaneously, frequently above thirty feet long, and in

many places form arcades over the road: these plants always indicate

the soil to be very fertile.

Ferns grow so large, as almost to lose their characteristic: I have

frequently seen them twelve feet high. These and other succulent

plants, when reduced to ashes, serve to make soap, of which almost

every negra knows the process, and most families make for their own

use. It is very sharp, and washes white articles uncommonly well[61].

In this fine country, where almost every gradation of climate may be

found, European fruits, such as olives, almonds, chesnuts, mulberries,

&c. would thrive, if properly attended to.

The mulberry is cultivated at one place, where I saw a few silk worms.

The climate is favorable to them, but the population is not sufficient

to carry the breeding of them to any extent, as they require great

attendance and care.

Cochineal may be said to be almost unknown in the _capitania_;

the _palma Christi_ grows spontaneously, and from its seeds great

quantities of castor oil may be extracted. For bananas and other

tropical fruits the climate is not sufficiently hot, and is too

changeable. Beans, peas, and pulse in general are very fine; pumpkins

also, and cabbages grow to a great size. It is a fine country for

flowers; the rose is extremely fragrant, and is in bloom all the year.

Varieties of the passion-flower are found in all parts; pinks and

carnations, with numberless other flowers, grow in great profusion.

This _capitania_ contains four _comarcas_, or districts, St. João d’El

Rey, Sabará, Villa Rica, and Cerro do Frio, all of which produced much

more gold a few years after their discovery than at present, though in

the year 1809 Villa Rica alone received for gold permuted a hundred and

six _arrobas_ of thirty-two pounds each. The mines in the other three

_comarcas_ cannot be rated to permute less than from fifteen to twenty

_arrobas_, therefore the _capitania_ may be estimated to yield to

Government, as the annual fifth, a quantity not less than one hundred

and fifty _arrobas_.

St. João d’El Rey, the capital of the district so called, is a

considerable town, and contains at least five thousand inhabitants. It

is situated near the Rio das Mortes, which runs northerly, and empties

itself into the Rio das Velhas. The country around it is very fertile,

and produces excellent fruits, both exotic and indigenous; also Indian

corn, and beans in great quantities; as well as a little wheat. This

_comarca_ being more cultivated than any other part, is called the

granary of the district; cheese is made here in tolerable quantity, and

bacon very indifferently cured, both which are sent to Rio de Janeiro,

and form a considerable trade. Great numbers of fowls are also sent

thither, and a little rum, sugar, and coffee. Provisions of all kinds

are much cheaper than at Villa Rica; pork and beef are about a penny

per pound, poultry in proportion, and vegetables equally cheap.

About two leagues distant from the town is the rivulet of San

José,[62] formerly abounding in gold-washings, some of which continue

good, particularly those in the vicinity of a pretty village, called

Campanha. In the neighbourhood is a mountain that produces a great

quantity of iron pyrites, which many people believe to be gold, and say

that no method is yet known for extracting it. In this district are

a great number of pines of a very singular variety, from the bark of

which exudes much resinous gum. The wood is of a fine brown-red color,

full of knots, and inconceivably hard.

Some cotton, although not very considerable in quantity, is grown in

this district; it is spun by hand, and woven into coarse clothing,

generally for the use of the negroes. Finer cloth is sometimes woven

for table linen. The making of lace is a favorite occupation with the

ladies of St. João d’El Rey, who are reputed to be more attentive

to domestic concerns than those of other towns, many of them being

descendants of the Paulistas, so celebrated for industry and economy.

The district of Sabará was discovered and settled by the Paulistas,

who took possession of it as early as the year 1690, or, according to

some accounts, twenty years earlier. They founded the town which is

now the capital of the district, and worked several gold-mines in its

neighbourhood, the produce of which they sent to their native place, as

it was their custom to do with all the gold found in the various parts

which they explored; on this account the city of S. Paulo acquired a

much higher reputation for riches than it merited, it being generally

believed that all the gold sent from thence was procured in that

vicinity. Some years after the establishment of Sabará, the Court of

Lisbon sent out a nobleman as governor to reduce the settlers, and to

oblige them to pay a tribute in conformity to the laws of the colony.

The settlers took up arms, and several encounters took place, in one of

which the nobleman was killed: but, after some time, the viceroy sent

great reinforcements into the interior, and quelled the insurgents, who

submitted to pay a fifth of the gold produced. An adventurer of the

name of Artis, who was a man of great intrepidity and perseverance, and

had made considerable discoveries in the neighbourhood, was afterwards

appointed governor, and this proved the means of reconciling all

parties.

Respecting the working of the mines throughout this _capitania_, it has

been already observed, that much loss of time and labor is occasioned

by the want of machinery, and proper implements for the workmen. Not a

cart or wheel-barrow is in use: every thing necessary to be removed is

carried on the heads of the poor negroes, in _gamellas_, who have in

many instances to climb up steep ascents, where inclined planes might

be employed to great advantage, and would be formed with very little

trouble. The cassoon is the only hydraulic machine known, and is very

generally adopted: but it is constructed with great difficulty and

expense, and can be used only where a strong current of water can be

commanded. Pumps might, at very trivial cost, be constructed on the

simple plan of the machines used to pound their Indian corn.

The tedious process of washing the _cascalho_ for gold in _gamellas_,

would be much shortened by using a machine of very easy construction.

Suppose a cylinder to be formed of bars of iron longitudinally placed,

and nailed to circles of wood, open at each end, and suspended on

two centres, one about sixteen inches higher than the other. At the

highest end the _cascalho_ is to enter by being put into a hopper which

communicates with it. The bars must be nailed almost close to each

other at the upper end, gradually widening to the lower end, where

they should be about half an inch asunder. The cylinder ought to be

from ten to twelve feet long, and a stream of water conducted to fall

upon it length-wise: it should be inclosed, like a dressing-machine

in a flour-mill, and be subjected to a very quick motion. The portion

of _cascalho_ containing the most gold will fall through, near the

upper end; the other parts, according to their comparative fineness,

gradually descending until nothing but the pebbles fall out at the

lower end. The earth, &c. falling into partitions or troughs below the

cylinder, would be ready for being separated from the gold by hand,

which might be done with very little trouble. Machines of this kind

might be made on any scale, and, if generally known and adopted, would

save the labor of the negroes in a tenfold degree. The one constructing

in Cerro do Frio will, when complete, do more work than a hundred

negroes in the same space of time. A considerable improvement might yet

be made in this useful apparatus; for, if the gold, &c. washed from

the machine were to fall upon troughs placed in an inclined position,

having a channel across about a yard from the upper end,[63] all the

gold would precipitate into it, and; if a negro were to be continually

employed in agitating the water, the earthy matter would run off,

leaving only the gold and the ferruginous particles, which might be

easily separated by mercury[64]. The utility of machinery of this kind

is too obvious to need pointing out.

Mills composed of three heavy irregular stones, resembling our

flint-mills, would reduce many of the ferruginous aggregates and

softer substances which contain gold. The matter thus reduced might be

immediately washed by falling or being put into the inclined planes

before described, and would, no doubt, prove the means of obtaining

considerable quantities of the precious metal, which would be otherwise

lost. Stamps might be useful where gold is found in hard and brittle

substances: but these would be more effectually pulverized by a heavy

stone rolling upon its edge, not unlike a tanner’s bark-mill.

In many instances, hand-sieves might be useful, and would save much

time and labor in washing, but perhaps they would be too expensive.

Even miners’ tools are much wanted, the only ones in use being the

iron bar and the hoe. The common miner’s pick would in many cases be

serviceable, and _bucking-irons_[65] would reduce the matrix much more

effectually than beating it with stones, which is the only mode now

practised. It is a most unfortunate circumstance, and very detrimental

to the interests of the miners, that whatever is made of iron is so

dear as to be beyond the means of the inhabitants to procure, nor have

they any substitute for it.

When the present state of the mining country is considered, and its

rich resources are compared with the want of science, which prevents

the inhabitants from improving them, how much is it to be wished that

Government would establish and encourage economical societies on the

plan of our Society of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce, in which

inquiries might be made into all subjects relative to the useful arts.

Repositories also might be established in all the principal towns

of the _capitania_, where models of useful machinery and various

implements might be kept for the inspection of the public. Scientific

publications should be purchased, and every means employed to promote

the cultivation of science among the inhabitants. At the meetings of

the societies, every measure tending to increase the commerce of the

district should be discussed with particular attention; honorary gifts

should be made to those who most promoted its welfare, and premiums

should be offered for the encouragement of all attempts to ameliorate

the condition of the working class of the negroes.

Thus emulation would be enkindled among them, and useful knowledge,

descending from parent to child, would soon be universally diffused.

This would be the true foundation of the prosperity of the country;

for no territory perhaps in the world is so rich in natural products,

and at the same time so neglected for want of an enlightened and

industrious population.

CHAP. XVII.

_Brief Notices on the Capitanias of Bahia, Pernambuco, Seara, Maranham,

Para, and Goyaz._

THE _capitania_ of Bahia, to the northward of Minas Geraes, comes next

under consideration, respecting which, as I did not visit it, I have

only to present some observations from the best information I could

procure. It extends a considerable distance along the coast, being

bounded on the north by the great river St. Francisco, which runs into

the sea in lat. 11° south, and separated from the district of Ilheos

(formerly a _capitania_) by the river Das Contas in lat. 14° south. It

receives its name from the capacious bay on which its capital is built,

and which affords excellent anchorage for ships of any burthen. St.

Salvador, the capital, also called Cidade de Bahia, was originally the

seat of the supreme government of Brazil: it consists of two parts, one

built on low ground near the shore, where the commerce is carried on,

and the other on a high hill, which being considered the most healthy,

is the residence of all the people of consequence. Its population

is said to be nearly equal to that of Rio de Janeiro, and is stated

at not less than seventy thousand souls. The houses are built with

latticed windows and balconies, similar to those in Rio de Janeiro.

The churches are the public buildings most worthy of notice: they are

said to be richly ornamented within. The government of the city is

vested in a governor, who is nominated by the court for three years.

Here all law proceedings, civil and criminal, come before the tribunal,

called _Rellaças_, the sentence of which is in general final, though

appeals in certain cases may be made to a higher tribunal, called the

_Dezembargo do Paço_.

This town is tolerably defended, also the bay, as well as circumstances

will permit. On the shore is a royal arsenal, and numerous houses for

stores, &c. The custom-house and wharfs are conveniently situated.

Ships of war have been built here, also many very large and fine

vessels for the merchant service. For these purposes a large supply of

fine timber was (and, I presume, continues to be) readily obtained from

the interior from the number of fine rivers which flow into the bay.

The wood holds iron better, and is superior to our oak.

The manners and customs of the people differ little from those of the

inhabitants of the capital; but it is said that in the best societies

here, more gaiety and refinement prevail, and the higher classes are

more sociable, than in Rio de Janeiro. A taste for music is general;

there are few houses without the guitar, and all the more respectable

families have piano-fortes. The ladies dress in the English style,

and ornament themselves with gold chains: they wear very few diamonds;

their favorite gem is the chrysolite. For deshabille at home they wear

a kind of loose dress, over which they throw a veil on the entrance of

strangers. They are considered as far less industrious than the females

of the southern districts. The domestic dress of the men consists of a

jacket and loose trowsers, made of light printed cotton.

Religious processions take place here, as in Rio de Janeiro, on

great festivals and rejoicing days; and these festive occasions are

distinguished by various amusements, which continue from morning

to night. At these times the Brazilians have a custom of covering

the walls and balconies of their houses with velvet or beautiful

silks, embroidered with gold lace, in architectural orders, made and

ornamented for the purpose; thus adorned the houses exhibit a most

splendid appearance.

One of the most memorable seasons of rejoicing of late years was when

the Prince touched at this city on his voyage to Rio de Janeiro, and

remained several days. The inhabitants testified their loyalty and

attachment to him by every public demonstration of joy, and by a

display of all the grandeur and magnificence which they had means to

furnish. As a more solid proof of their attachment and regard, they

unanimously voted to subscribe a sum equal to a million sterling to

build a palace for the royal family, if the Prince would condescend to

reside among them.

The climate is always warm, but is refreshed by the sea-breeze, and

is in some degree tempered by the long absence of the sun, the nights

being of almost uniform length throughout the year. Though hotter than

Rio de Janeiro, Bahia is considered much more healthful, having a more

airy situation, and being better supplied with water. The practice of

bathing is very general, and most of the houses have conveniences for

this purpose.

Bahia is plentifully supplied with provisions. Beef and pork are in

abundance; the former is decidedly bad, the latter tolerable. Fish are

in great plenty and variety, and form a principal article in the diet

of the inhabitants. Fish, with sallad, is the general supper of almost

all ranks; even the rich desire nothing more for this repast in family.

Numbers of retail shopkeepers, who sell wine, cheese, groceries, &c.

buy fish and fry it, and afterwards retail it in small quantities.

Poultry is in plenty, but not cheap; vegetables, and pulse of every

description, are in very great profusion. The markets are well supplied

with all the tropical fruits, many of which are said to be in great

perfection, particularly the pine, the mango, and the banana; the

latter is esteemed the best in America. Preserved fruits are in great

abundance, owing to the cheapness of sugar; great varieties of them

are sold in the streets, and two or three preserved limes in a cup

of syrup may be bought for less than a penny. Even the lower orders

conclude the meanest dinner with this delicious delicacy.

The soil of this _capitania_ is peculiar, and is esteemed the best

in Brazil for the growth of the sugar-cane. This advantage, and the

conveniences arising from the numerous rivers that flow from the

interior into the bay, have occasioned the establishment of many sugar

plantations, undoubtedly the finest in the country, which have produced

immense quantities of that article. The soil most adapted to the plant,

and held in the highest estimation, is a black greasy loam, a deposit,

containing a large quantity of decomposed vegetable matter.

The opulent and best informed planters have imported steam-engines for

the crushing of cane, which will probably prove very advantageous, and

cheaper in many situations, as they can at all times be worked, and are

as easily regulated as a water-mill.

The mode of cultivating the cane has already been detailed. If planted

in new soil, it is fit for cutting in fourteen months, but in old and

poorer land it requires eighteen or twenty months. When ripe, the

canes are cut and dressed by taking off the top leaves, &c. which

afford excellent provender for cattle; they are then brought to the

mill, which is composed of three wooden or iron cylinders, moving on

their axes in a perpendicular position, and between them the canes

are repeatedly passed until all the juice is expressed, and they are

reduced to a mass of dry fibres.

The cane-juice is conducted through spouts to a large boiler or

clarifier, where a certain quantity of alkaline matter, called

_temper_, is added to it[66]. Afterwards it is conducted to the largest

of a range of boilers, consisting of three, or sometimes four, one

less than another. The largest seldom contains more than one hundred

gallons. Here the syrup boils for a certain time, and is continually

skimmed; it is then laded to the next, where it continues to boil until

more of the aqueous fluid is evaporated; after which, it is laded into

the third boiler, and is there sometimes sufficiently boiled without

removing it into the fourth. They judge of its consistency by the

touch; a little of the syrup is taken between the thumb and finger, and

if it forms threads, and breaks on being drawn about an inch, it is

supposed to be boiled sufficiently[67]. It then begins to granulate,

and is gently laded into earthen pots of the form of a sugar-loaf,

about two feet deep and ten inches in diameter at the open end, where,

on cooling, it becomes concrete. In the lower end of each pot is a

small hole, which at first is nearly closed; but after the sugar begins

to cool, it is unstopped, and a piece of cane is put in to admit the

molasses to drain. Soon after the moulds are filled, they are removed

into an airy room, where they are placed so that the molasses drain

into a large cistern, from whence they are conveyed into the fermenting

vats, which are recepticles for all the refuse of every description in

the sugar-house. In the process of fermentation much depends on the

quality of the wood of which the vats are made; some of them bring the

liquor into a proper state for distillation two or three days sooner

than others.

The greatest part of the sugars made here are clayed, by a very simple

operation, which consists merely in covering the sugar with very moist

clay, the water from which percolates the mass, and carries with it the

remaining molasses. When the earthy matter becomes dry, more is applied

until the sugar is perfectly freed, and nearly white. This operation

renders the article unfit for making loaf sugar. After remaining in

the drying-house about six weeks, the moulds are placed with the large

end downwards, and the sugar leaves them; they are then beaten down to

powder in large strong cases, constructed of four entire planks, and

the two ends, generally about eight feet long, and about twenty-six

inches square[68], holding from fifteen to sixteen hundred-weight. The

cases, when filled, are nailed down, and are ready for shipping.

The principal points to be attended to in making sugar are, first, that

the canes be all ripe, and well cleaned from _trash_ and leaves; next,

that they be immediately crushed, and not suffered to lie in heaps

to heat; and thirdly, that the rollers, and all the passages for the

liquor, be well cleansed by washing as often as necessary.

A greater quantity of sugar is shipped from Bahia than from all the

other parts of Brazil united, and in general it is of a very good

quality; that from certain plantations is particularly so. It is

not however, esteemed of so strong a body as our best from the West

Indies[69].

The tobacco of this _capitania_ is peculiar to it; and, by an exclusive

privilege, no other part of Brazil was allowed to cultivate the same

sort. It has given rise to much commerce, and has enriched many

families. It was the most esteemed sort, not only in Portugal, but in

Spain, and all her colonies, where it has been sold at great prices.

Great quantities of it were consumed in Barbary; and on many parts of

the coast of Guinea the demand for it was such that it was almost

impossible to carry on trade for gold, ivory, gums, and oil without

it. The mode of growing and manufacturing it is as follows:—First, a

good piece of ground is prepared, the finer dressed the better; the

seed is sown broad-cast, and when the plants are about six weeks or two

months grown, they are transplanted into ground prepared as before. In

eight or ten months they arrive at their full growth, and when ripe

the leaves are taken from the stem, which frequently grows from four

to seven feet high. They are laid upon the ground, or, in preference,

upon any support which will preserve them from absorbing moisture,

and admit a free circulation of air underneath. When they become in a

slight degree withered, they are twisted with a strong winch, the end

of one leaf uniting with the other, and the twist is coiled into a

roll weighing from thirty to forty pounds. By this operation the juice

of the leaf is expressed, which is viscid, and when oxidated becomes

of a black color, not unlike molasses. The tobacco, after this last

operation, is fit for commerce.

It is an object highly worthy the attention of the Portuguese

government, to introduce other modes of curing tobacco. There can be

no doubt that the soil and climate are congenial to it, and, were it

properly prepared, it would probably equal any in Virginia, and become

as great an article of commerce among the northern nations. Should

such a commerce be pursued, how many cargoes of this commodity alone

would arrive in our ports, and from thence be distributed to the

different markets of Europe!

Cotton has of late been grown here in considerable quantities, and

has been sent to England at nearly the same price with that grown in

Pernambuco, and its plantations are daily increasing and improving[70].

Here are many plantations of coffee, but it is not esteemed so fine

as that from Rio de Janeiro. Rice is produced in tolerable quantity,

and its quality is superior: but the husk is so difficult to separate

from the grain, that a great part is bruised in the operation, and is

thus rendered of less value. The method of cleaning it is bad. Why not

apply such mills as those used in Carolina, of which there is now one

working at Maranham by steam, that has improved the quality of rice so

materially, that it now sells in Europe for nearly the same price as

the North American.

The beautiful dye-wood, called Brazil-wood, is shipped from this port

and Pernambuco, of a quality much superior to that of Rio de Janeiro.

This is one of the articles prohibited from general commerce, being

the property of the royal household. Fustic in small quantities is

brought from the interior.

The indigo made here is so far inferior to that imported from India

as scarcely to be worth mentioning. It is owing to the great quantity

of lime in it. There is a general opinion among all who make indigo,

that some part of the process is very prejudicial to the health of

the negroes, who frequently become sick, and often die while employed

in it, which is most probably owing to deleterious gas which escapes

during fermentation.

Bahia has a considerable trade with all the ports on the coast,

from whence are exported various articles, the prices of which are

continually fluctuating. A great number of fine brigs and smaller

vessels are employed in this trade.

Produce to a considerable amount was exported to the River Plata, from

whence a great quantity of hides and tallow were returned.

The imports to Bahia from Europe consist in general of the same

articles with those specified in the description of Rio de Janeiro. In

this _capitania_ was found the largest piece of native copper that has

ever appeared, being in weight upwards of 2,000lbs. It was discovered

several years ago by some persons who were preparing to wash for gold.

To the north of Bahia are the _capitanias_ of Pernambuco, Seará,

and Maranham, the interior of which is very little known, though

some parts of the coast are tolerably populous. Pernambuco, though

situated nearly in the latitude of eight degrees, is considered

healthy. The town is built on a rising ground, much exposed, and

constantly refreshed by the sea-breeze. It has many excellent edifices,

and is supposed to contain more opulent merchants, in proportion to

population, than any other place in Brazil. It produces _vanilla_,

cocoa, and a considerable quantity of sugar; but the chief article

of its trade is cotton, which for many years had the reputation of

being superior to any other, but of late it has much deteriorated,

from neglect, either in the growth, or in the gathering the pods and

cleaning it from the seeds, or probably from general inattention to the

whole management of it. The cotton, when ready for packing, is pressed

into raw hides, so hard as to form very heavy packages. The operation

is superintended by an officer authorised by Government, who puts a

stamp upon it describing its quality, which enables the shipper to pass

it through the custom-house, where it pays a heavy duty on exportation.

The district of Seará is but little known, it enjoys an extensive trade

in cotton and sugar. Maranham, though a very small district, has of

late raised itself considerably into eminence by the cultivation of

cotton, the other productions are the same as those of Pernambuco.

Cotton and rice are the staple articles, with some cocoa and sugar,

numerous cargoes of which are annually exported.

The dye-wood of these districts is considered excellent, and is

sometimes shipped from this coast. The tree which produces the

_annatto_ is very common, and the seeds from which it is washed are

of the best quality, and might be obtained in great abundance. Cocoa

may be grown in any quantity; capsicum, pimento, ginger, &c. are very

plentiful.

The markets are well stored with fish and meat, the latter very

indifferent in its kind. Poultry, vegetables, and fruits, are in great

abundance.

St. Louis, the capital, is built upon an island, and is esteemed

healthy, though so near the equator. Several rivers run into the bay,

which afford an eligible conveyance for the produce of the vicinity.

The island is said to contain 20,000 inhabitants, and the population in

the rivers is by no means inconsiderable.

The _capitania_ of Pará, is considered the largest in Brazil: its

extent is imperfectly known. The principal town is called Belem, where

the governor resides, and, its government being superior, it may be

said to preside over several of the neighbouring districts. The land

is low and unhealthy, the great river, or port, is much interrupted

by shoals and currents. It is a dangerous coast, and exposed to a

continual swell, so as to render it hazardous for ships to anchor upon

it, as they roll so much that they not only endanger their masts, but

are subject to strain.

The town of Pará is situated on the river Tocantines, the navigation

of which is difficult, and is seldom attempted, except by small craft:

the Confiance sloop of war with great care sailed up it, and anchored

near the town, several days previous to the expedition against Cayenne.

The town may contain ten thousand inhabitants, who are in general

very poor, probably from want of commerce: for although the great

rivers Tocantins and Amazons have their source, the latter in Peru,

and the former in the _capitania_ of Goyaz, though they receive almost

millions of inferior streams in their course through immense tracts of

territory, yet they are not productive of any commerce of consequence.

The exports from Pará consist of a considerable quantity of rice,

cocoa, cotton, drugs, hides of various sorts, woods, and a few other

articles. The trade is much on the increase, and it is to be hoped,

that from its vast internal communications, it may be greatly extended,

and more ships loaded for Europe, as a cargo is generally rather

precarious, and sometimes difficult to be obtained.

The climate is hot, as may well be supposed, from its lying so near

the equinoctial. Thunder, with lightning and rain, occurs generally

every afternoon, when the air becomes more cool, and the heat less

disagreeable.

On conversing with creditable men who had lived many years at Pará,

Maranham, and upon the coast, I never heard them relate the strange

accounts of the Indians which Estalla has related. As a Spaniard, he

seems to be amusing the public with the actions of his own countrymen

in Chili, and to aim, in common with all the writers of his nation, to

prejudice the world against the Portuguese.

The _capitania_ of Goyaz is bounded chiefly by Minas Geraes on the

east, Matto Grosso on the west, and Pará on the north. Its greatest

extent in length is from lat. 6° south to 21°. Villa Boa, its

principal town, is situated in lat. 16° south, about eighty leagues

to the west of Paracatu, from whence there is a good road. Here is

a permutation-house, where all the gold found in the _capitania_ is

permuted. The governor is elected for three years, after which he is

generally appointed to Bahia or Minas Geraes. In the _capitania_ are

many gold mines, some of which produce gold of a very fine quality.

Diamonds have been found in some parts, which are different in their

appearance from those found in Cerro do Frio, having more brilliancy

on their exterior; but when cut, they are not in general of so pure

a water, though of a very desirable size. As this fine district is

so distant from the coast, it has very little commerce in any of

its productions, except the valuable substances above mentioned,

and cattle, which are bred on the frontiers; also some cotton, and

occasionally a few particular articles, which are sent to Rio de

Janeiro. The mules on the return-journey, are all loaded with salt,

iron, cheap cotton-prints, woollens (particularly baizes), hats,

fire-arms, powder, and shot, and a variety of artificers’ tools. When

any of the inhabitants have any thing peculiarly precious to dispose

of, they generally take it to Rio de Janeiro, and lay out the proceeds

chiefly in the purchase of negroes, (they being at all times the first

object), iron, salt, and other commodities.

The population is very small in comparison to the extent of the

district, but is likely to be increased by new settlers; although

the indigent in Villa Rica, Tejuco, and other places in the mining

country, are little inclined to remove out of society, even for the

chance of riches: in fact, having no negroes fit to work, and being

totally destitute of exertion themselves, all situations are to them

indifferent. These are by no means the class of people who can be

styled adventurers. The poorer class of inhabitants who have obtained

a small portion of gold, sometimes make a journey to Paracatu or

Villa Rica, to purchase what negroes they want. This _capitania_ has

been very little explored, and scarcely any thing is known of its

productions beyond what is above stated; indeed, it is not unreasonable

to presume that the soil contains the same variety of metals as the

district of Minas Geraes. Many persons from thence, with whom I have

conversed, speak of it with delight as being a fine country, having

numerous rivers well stored with fish, woods abounding with fine birds,

which afford excellent diversion to the sportsman; also a great variety

of animals.

This _capitania_ communicates with Matto Grosso, S. Paulo, and Pará, by

rivers which are navigable, though frequently interrupted by falls.

CHAP. XVIII.

_Geographical Description of the Capitania of Matto Grosso[71]._

RESPECTING this extensive portion of Brazil, I had an opportunity

of gaining considerable information, being intimately acquainted

with the commanding officer of the military force stationed there,

Colonel Martines, an engineer of extraordinary merit, who had made

four journeys to Matto Grosso, and had resided there some years. He

was kind enough to give me a description of his route from S. Paulo

to the capital of that province, and promised me a chart of the

navigable rivers and roads from thence to Pará, which had been formed

by officers of his party, together with documents in illustration

of it. But he being hastily called away on a particular service, was

prevented from executing his promise, and I could only profit by the

verbal description which he repeatedly gave me. This description,

as proceeding from an officer of such undoubted veracity, it was my

intention to give to the public; but, after my return to England, I was

agreeably surprised to find a MS. nearly corresponding with it, in the

hands of that eminent geographer, Mr. Arrowsmith, who has liberally

permitted me to make use of it. To his excellent map, compiled

according to the latest MS. charts communicated from Brazil, I beg

leave to refer the reader for an accurate delineation of the particular

localities here detailed.

This extensive _capitania_ is separated from the neighbouring territory

belonging to Spain by the intervening channels of the rivers Paraguay,

Madeira, Mamoré, and Guaporé, which form a broad and natural trench

around it of five hundred leagues in circuit, by means of which, and by

upwards of thirty rivers that empty themselves into it, a communication

is opened through many and distant points with the interior of Brazil.

This _capitania_, from its geographical position, has ever been

considered as the grand outwork of Brazil, not only because it covers

the interior divisions of this vast portion of the new continent,

which is the cradle of its greatest rivers, branching in innumerable

channels, and enriched with great and untouched treasures; but also

because, by this extensive channel, the Portuguese are enabled to

penetrate to the establishments of Spain in Peru.

_The River Araguaya, or Grande._

The eastern boundary of the _capitania_ of Matto Grosso, separating

it from that of Goyaz, is the river Grande, two hundred leagues from

Villa Bella. This river, known in the state of Pará, by the name

of Araguaya only, which is conferred on it by the numerous nations

inhabiting its banks, has its remotest source in lat. 19°, and running

north and south, intersected at various points by the meridian of 52°

30′, flows in lat. 6° into the Tocantines, wherein it loses its name;

and both, thus united in one ample stream, continue their course for

three hundred and seventy leagues, and fall into the southern estuary

of the mighty river Amazons in lat 1° 40′ between the two celebrated

bays of Marapata and Limseiro, opposite to the great island of Joannes,

or Murajo, and twenty leagues west of the city of Pará. The river das

Mortes, which rises far to the west of the Rio Grande, and forms its

highest western branch, running for a considerable space to the east,

and afterwards to the north, with an entire course of 150 leagues, till

it enters the Araguaya in lat. 12°, is entirely within the _capitania_

of Matto Grosso.

The river Araguaya is peopled by many tribes of warlike savages; it

abounds in all the productions peculiar to the state of Pará, and

affords an uninterrupted navigation from the city of that name, and

by the river, with the centre of Brazil and the _capitania_ of Matto

Grosso. The same is practicable by the river das Mortes, and other

western branches which enter the Rio Grande below. These branches,

no doubt, contain unexplored mines; for there is no physical reason

why gold should be found in the rivers that enter the Araguaya on the

eastern side, (where, besides Villa Boa, are situated several villages

belonging to the _capitania_ of Goyaz), and not likewise in the

branches on the opposite side. It is positively known that the river

das Mortes is auriferous, and hence it is fair to conclude that the

smaller streams which flow into it are much more so, for the nearer the

source the greater is the quantity of gold found. The mines of one of

its western branches were abandoned, not from the absence or scarcity

of the precious metal, but because, being remote from the road, and in

the midst of a swamp peopled by savages, the few settlers could not get

conveniently supplied with arms, implements, and other articles.

In some of these mines gold above twenty-three carats has been found,

but the greater part is only of seventeen, and of a green color, being

combined with a large portion of silver.

_The River Chingu_,

the clearest, and one of the largest and most copious branches of the

Amazons, which it enters on the south side, after a course of three

hundred leagues, in lat. 1° 42′, and long. 53°, seventy leagues west

of the city of Pará, in a direct line, but one hundred of navigation,

is confined in a great part of its course to the _capitania_ of Matto

Grosso.

Its remote sources supply, not only the lands in which rise also the

branches and rivers forming to the east and north the upper part of the

river Cuiaba, but also that large space north of the river das Mortes,

intersected by the great road from Goyaz, extending as far as the river

Porrudos. There is a tradition among the guides of the Sutãos[72] of

Pirá and the Indians established on the banks of the Chingu, that,

after mounting the first large falls of this river, much gold was found

in it, of which the Jesuits, those great explorers, obtained a large

quantity. It is probable that the now unknown Minas dos Martirios,

famous as the first discovery made by Bart^o. Bueno, and of which I

have heard repeated mention in S. Paulo, exist only on some of the

many branches that form the river Chingu. For this enterprising man,

after having discovered those mines, returned to S. Paulo in order to

engage negroes, and provide implements for extracting those treasures,

which to this day continue to elude the searches of others, retraced

his course; but passing by the mines of Cuiaba, which had been just

discovered and were found wonderfully productive, he was there deserted

by the greatest part of his followers. Fearing that he should lose the

rest also, he turned eastward, and, in his anxiety to avoid the mines

of Cuiaba, got still farther from those of dos Martirios, until he lost

himself in the immense wastes, wherein he wandered many months, and

at length accidentally found the mines of Goyaz, which his father had

before seen. These, like all the rest, proved very productive at the

beginning.

This rich and new discovery soon diverted the attention of adventurers

from the preceding; and the route to the Minas dos Martirios, together

with their positive situation, have long been lost in a vague tradition

of their existence. As the place was explored without the assistance of

a compass, or any of the means necessary for defining its geographical

position, there could not but prevail much doubt and uncertainty

respecting it. Now there is no such discovery on the river Tocantines,

which comprehends the whole _capitania_ of Goyaz: the first account

places it near a river, which indeed runs into the Amazons, like the

Tocantines, but which was sought for passing near the upper branches,

and west of the river Cuiaba, a situation in which the river Chingu

alone is found; other explorers place it on the Araguaya, which renders

it useless to look there, for it is more than two hundred leagues

north-west of the place sought. This is substantiated by a fact of

later date, which is as follows:—A grandson of Bart^o. Bueno, under

the direction of an ancient journal of this discovery, describing

the route to it, descended by the river das Mortes, and entered some

extensive plains on its western bank, on which he travelled westward

for some days, when he arrived at a plain covered with white _Mangaba_

trees, which were designated in the journal. From this place they had a

sight of some detached high mountains between the north and west, three

of which were of the figure specified, and indicated the situation of

the Minas dos Martirios. An unexpected attack of the Indians, in which

the chief and many others of the adventurers were killed, dispersed the

party, and frustrated the object at the moment when it appeared to be

already attained.

The river abounds in various products: cocoa is in plenty; there are

some spices, and various indigenous fruits.

_The River Tapajos_

is the third which derives its copious sources, flowing through

numerous large branches, from the _capitania_ of Matto Grosso. It runs

north between the Madeira and the Chingu for three hundred leagues,

flowing into the Amazons in lat. 2° 24′ 50″, and long. 55°, which is

the geographical position of the town of Santarem, situated at its

mouth one hundred and eighteen leagues from the city of Pará, and one

hundred and sixty-two by the shortest navigation. The river Tapajos

rises in the plains of the Parexis, so called from an Indian nation

which inhabits them. These plains occupy a vast space, not level, but

formed by undulating heaps of sand and light earth, resembling large

waves. The spectator who is in the midst of them ever sees before

him a distant and extended mount; he advances towards it by a gentle

and long declivity, traverses the plain, and advances by an ascent

equally gentle until he gains imperceptibly the heights he saw; another

eminence then presents itself, and he proceeds with the same recurring

circumstances. The soil of these wide plains is sandy, and so light

that loaded beasts in passing sink into it so much as to impede their

progress. The pasturage is poor, consisting of a grass composed of

wiry stalks a foot high, and small rough lancet-shaped leaves; the

animals in grazing pluck them up with the roots covered with sand; on

this account the passage by land is difficult and tedious; though, on

finding any of the streams, which abound in these plains, there is

grass and other mild herbage, which afford tolerable pasturage. The

plains of Parexis form, to a large extent and breadth, the summit of

those high mountains of the same name, and are situated on some of

the most elevated land in all Brazil; for from them descend the two

greatest rivers of South America,—the Paraguay, as well in its own

numerous heads, as in its great and higher branches, the Jauru, the

Sypotuba, and the Cuiaba,—and the Madeira, which is the largest river

that flows into the Amazons on the south.

The Tapajos, flowing in a direction contrary to that of the above-named

river, rises in these mountains. Its westermost branch is the river

Arinos, which intwines its sources with those of the Cuiaba at a

short distance from those of the Paraguay. The river Arinos has a

western branch, called Rio Negro, from which, to the point where it is

navigable, there is a passage of eight leagues over land to the river

Cuiaba, below its upper and greatest falls; and, in like manner, from

the Arinos itself the passage to the same part of the river Cuiaba is

twelve leagues.

The Arinos is auriferous at its springs, and in 1747 the mines of

Santa Isabel were discovered in it, but immediately abandoned, as not

answering the expectations created in those fortunate times by the

great quantities of gold drawn from the mines of Cuiaba and Matto

Grosso. The lands were infested by dangerous tribes of warlike Indians.

The river Sumidouro empties itself on the south side into the Arinos,

and its source being a short distance from that of the Sypotuba, a

large western branch of the Paraguay, there is an easy communication

from one river to the other. The famous discoverer, João de Souza

Echevedo, in 1746, made this passage: he descended the river Cuiaba,

and sailing up the Sypotuba to its very sources, he there passed his

canoes over land into the Sumidouro, which he navigated, following the

current, notwithstanding that the river runs for some distance under

ground, and thence derives its appellation. After this, he passed into

the Arinos, and thence into the Tapajos, where he surmounted the falls,

though more difficult than those of the Madeira, and discovered many

symptoms of gold in the river of Tres Barras, a western arm of the

Tapajos, a hundred leagues below the springs of the Arinos. West of

the Sumidouro, and in the plains of Parexis, the river Xacurutina has

its origin to the north of the river Jauru: it is famous for a lake,

situated in one of its branches, where every year is produced a great

quantity of salt, which is a constant cause of war among the Indians.

Some navigators make the Xacurutina an arm of the Arinos, and others of

the Sumidouro. In these plains of Parexis, terminating to the west in

the high mountains so denominated, which, extending two hundred leagues

in a north-north-west direction, front the Guapore at a distance of

fifteen or twenty leagues, springs the river Juruena, between the heads

of the Sarare and the Guapore, a league east of the former and two

west of the latter. This river, the largest and westermost branch of

the Tapajos, rises in lat. 14° 42′, twenty leagues north-north-east of

Villa Bella, and, running north one hundred and twenty leagues, flows

into the Arinos, and with it forms the bed of the Tapajos.

The Juruena receives on both sides many small rivers, those from

the west affording many practicable communications by short passages

over-land with the Guapore and its confluent streams. The uppermost

of these, which is nearest to Villa Bella, is the Securiu, navigable

even there, and almost to its source. This is a league north of the

principal source of the river Sarare, which, a quarter of a league

from its head, is three yards deep and five broad. Thus sailing up

the Juruena, into the Securiu, and making from its source the short

land-passage of a league to the Sarare, the navigator may reach Villa

Bella in less than eight days, without any other obstacle than that of

the fall formed by the Sarare, three leagues below its source, where it

precipitates itself from the Parexis mountains on the western slope:

this difficulty may be surmounted in detail, or by at once passing

the four leagues, for the Sarare from its fall becomes immediately

navigable to the capital of Matto Grosso. A league north of the source

of the Sarare is the first head of the river Galera, the second

confluent of the Guapore below Villa Bella; and a league east of the

same head rises the Ema, a western branch of the Securiu, affording

equal facility of communication. The Galera has three other sources

north of the first in the plains of the Parexis, all ample streams; the

last and most northerly, called Sabará, is distant little more than

a league from the source of the river Juina, a large western branch

of the Juruena. Thus by the Juina and the Securiu, with a crossing

of five or six leagues, so as to pass the falls of the Galera on the

western scarp of the mountain, the Juruena may be connected with the

Guapore.

Lastly, the Juruena may be navigated to its upper fall, which is within

two leagues of its own source. The fall is formed by two small leaps,

the river being, even in this part, thirty yards broad and of great

depth; from hence downwards it flows with great rapidity, yet its falls

are not greater, and are more passable, than those of the Arinos.

With the same circumstances, and by similar short land-passages, a

communication is practicable from the Juruena with the rivers Guapore

and Jauru, which are to the eastward of it, although these two rivers

precipitate themselves from the south side of the Parexis mountains,

where they rise, and immediately form numerous and extensive falls.

From the geographical position of the Tapajos, it is evident that this

river facilitates navigation and commerce from the maritime city of

Pará to the mines of Matto Grosso and Cuiaba, by means of its large

branches, the Juruena and Arinos; if the short passages over-land

should be found troublesome to drag canoes, the goods may be forwarded

immediately on mules. This navigation to Matto Grosso is at least two

hundred leagues shorter than that performed through the Madeira and

Guapore; it is consequently less tedious and expensive, and equally

advantageous to the mines of Cuiaba. The navigation of the river

Tapajos might lead also to new discoveries in the vast unexplored parts

of this river, up to its entrance into the plains of the Parexis,

and their products might add to those of the extensive regions on

the Amazons. Besides this, the river is known to be auriferous for a

great part of its course: it is known also, that, passing from the

Juruena into its western arm, the river Camararé, and the heads of the

river Jamary or das Candeas, which, running in broad streams down the

eastern side of the Parexis mountains, enters the Madeira, there are

mines which have inspired great hopes, though but lately seen, after a

fruitless search of twenty years.

_The River Paraguay_

has its remote springs to the west of the heads of the Arinos in

latitude 13°, and, after a southern course of six hundred leagues,

enters the ocean under the appellation of the Rio de la Plata. The

heads of the Paraguay are seventy leagues north-east from Villa Bella,

and forty leagues north from Cuiaba, and divided into many branches,

and already forming complete rivers, which, as they run south,

successively unite, and form the channel of this immense river, which

is immediately navigable. To the west, a short distance from the main

source of the Paraguay, is that of the Sypotuba, which disembogues on

its west bank in lat. 15° 50′, after a course of sixty leagues. In

the upper part of this river, and near its western branch called the

Jurubauba, was formerly a gold-mine, which was worked with considerable

profit; but the superior advantages derived from others subsequently

explored in Matto Grosso and Cuiaba, caused it to be abandoned, and

its site is not now known with certainty. The little river Cabaral,

also auriferous, enters the Paraguay on the west side, three leagues

below the mouth of the Sypotuba. On the banks of the latter lives a

nation of Indians, called _Barbados_, from the distinction peculiar to

themselves, among all the Indian nations, of having large beards.

The Boriars Araviras inhabit the banks of the Cabaral: they are a

mixture of two different nations, who in the year 1797 sent four

chiefs of their tribe, accompanied by their mother, to Villa Bella,

in order to solicit the friendship of the Portuguese. The nation

called Parrarioné lives in their neighbourhood, close by the Sypotuba.

A league below the mouth of the Cabaral, on the east bank of the

Paraguay, is Villa Maria, a small and useful establishment, founded in

1778. Seven leagues south of Villa Maria, and on the west bank of the

Paraguay, the river Jauru disembogues into it in lat. 16° 24′. This

river is remarkable for the boundary-mark erected at its mouth in 1754,

as well as for being entirely Portuguese, together with the lands on

its south bank, and bordering on the Spanish possessions. It rises

in the plains of the Parexis in lat. 14° 42′, and long. 58° 30′, and

running south to lat. 15° 45′, the situation of the Register of the

same name, it there turns to the south-east for thirty-four leagues,

till, by an entire course of sixty leagues, it reaches its junction

with the Paraguay. There are salt-water-pits, which in part have

supplied Matto Grosso, ever since its foundation, with salt: they are

in the interior of the country, seven leagues from the Register, and

extend to a place called Salina de Almeida, from the name of the person

who first employed himself in these works.

These salt-pits are situated along the margins of broad marshy bottoms,

in which are found fish of the same kind with those in the Paraguay.

The Salina de Almeida is not far distant from the bank of Jauru, and

the great quantity of saline liquid found in it continues three leagues

farther to the south, where a junction is formed with another from the

west, called Pitas; westward of which are high and dry plains, where

are found numerous large circles, formed by a species of palm called

Carandas. These plains terminate nine leagues west of the Salina de

Almeida, in a large pool or marsh, called Paopique, which runs to the

south.

The confluence of the Jauru with the Paraguay is a point of much

importance: it guards and covers the great road between Villa Bella,

Cuiaba, and their intermediate establishments, and in the same manner

commands the navigation of both the rivers, and defends the entrance

into the interior of the latter _capitania_. The Paraguay from this

place has a free navigation upwards, almost to its sources, which are

scarcely seventy leagues distant, with no other impediment than a large

fall. These sources are said to contain diamonds.

The mark placed at the mouth of the Jauru is a pyramid of beautiful

marble, brought to this distant point from Lisbon. It bears

inscriptions commemorative of the treaty between the courts of Spain

and Portugal, by which the respective territories, of which it stands

as the boundary, were defined.

The lofty chain of mountains, which extends from the sources of the

Paraguay near its eastern bank, border the river opposite the mouth

of the Jauru, and are terminated seven leagues below it by the Morro

Escalvado in lat. 16° 43′. Eastward of this mount or point, all is

marsh, and nine leagues below it there flows into the east side of

the Paraguay a deep stream or river, called Rio Novo, discovered in

1786, which may hereafter afford a navigation to near St. Pedro d’El

Rey, when the aquatic plants that obstruct its channel are removed.

The most distant sources of this river are the rivulets of Sta. Anna,

Bento Gomes, and others which cross the great road of Cuiaba to the

west of Cocaes. In lat. 17° 33′ the west banks of the Paraguay become

mountainous at the north point of the Serra da Insua, which, three

leagues to the south, makes a deep break to form the mouth of the

lake Gaiba. This lake extends westward, and there is a broad canal of

four leagues in extent, which comes from the north, communicating from

the above lake to that of Uberava, somewhat larger than the Gaiba,

situated exactly contiguous to the Serra da Insua, on its north side.

Six leagues and a half below the mouth of the Gaiba, and opposite this

mountainous bank of the Paraguay, is the mouth of the St. Lourenço,

formerly called Porrudos. Twenty-six leagues above this the river

Cuiaba enters its western bank in lat. 17° 20′, and long. 57° 5′: these

two rivers are of great extent; that of Lourenço has its sources in

lat. 15°, forty leagues east of the town of Cuiaba, receiving (besides

the branches crossed by the road from Goyaz) other great streams on its

east side, such as the Paraiba or Piquiri, which receives the Jaquari

and the Itiquira, all of moderate size, and navigable. The Itiquira

has been navigated to its heads, from whence the canoes were dragged

over-land to the Sucuriu, which falls into the Parana four leagues

below the mouth of the river Tiete on the opposite side. The rivers

Itiquira and Sucuriu were found to have fewer and smaller falls than

the Taquari, and the land-passage is much shorter and more convenient

than that of the Camapuão, so that this navigation is preferable to

that by the two last-mentioned rivers: it is attended by only two

obstacles,—many Indians, and a want of provisions.

The navigation to the town of Cuiaba by the river of that name, from

its above-mentioned confluence, is short and easy: in the first ten

leagues, after passing the two small islands of Ariacuni and Tarumus,

occurs a large plantation of bananas, formed on an embankment on the

east side of the river. Three leagues above this place the Guacho-uassu

enters the Cuiaba by its east bank, and on the same side, seven leagues

farther, the Guacho-mirim. From this point the river winds in a

north-east direction, eleven leagues to the island of Pirahim, and from

thence makes a large bend to the east, receiving numerous streams, and

passes the town of Cuiaba, which is situated a mile to the eastward of

it. This town is ninety-six leagues to the east of Villa Bella, and the

same distance from the confluence of its river with the Paraguay. It

is large, and, together with its dependencies, may at present contain

30,000 souls. It is well provided with meat, fish, fruits, and all

sorts of vegetables, at a much cheaper rate than at the sea-ports.

Their country is well adapted for cultivation, and has rich mines, but

in some places little water to work them in dry weather. They were

discovered in 1718, and have been estimated to produce annually above

twenty _arrobas_ of gold of extremely fine quality. These mines have

produced an enormous quantity of gold compared with the thinness of the

population, and the want of means, machinery, &c. for working them.

Twenty leagues south-west of the town of Cuiaba is the settlement of

St. Pedro d’El Rey, the largest of all the adjacent settlements, and

contains full 2,000 inhabitants. It is situated near the western side

of the rivulet Bento Gomes, which, at the distance of a league and a

half south of the settlement, forms a large bay, called Rio de Janeiro.

The river Cuiaba has its sources forty leagues above the town, and its

banks are cultivated through the greater part of its extent, including

fourteen leagues below the town, down the stream. Four leagues below

the principal mouth of the river Porrudos, the Paraguay is bordered by

the mountains that separate it from Gaiba on its western bank, and in

this place they obtain the appellation of _Serra das Pedras de Amolar_,

from being composed of a stone of which whet-stones are made. This

is the only spot which is not inundated by the floods of the river,

and is therefore much visited by the canoes that navigate it. These

_Serras_ terminate two leagues to the south in those of the Dourados,

immediately below which there is a channel on the west side of the

Paraguay, which, piercing between two high detached mounts, called

Cheines, leads to the lake Mendiuri, six leagues long, and the largest

on the Paraguay.

From the Dourados the Paraguay runs southward to the Serras of

Albuquerque, where it touches directly on the northern point, on which

is situated a town of that name. These Serras form a compact square of

ten leagues, and contain much calcareous stone; the land is considered

the best on either side the Paraguay, from the river downwards, and

only equalled by that on the western margins of the lakes Mandiuri

and Gaiba. From Albuquerque the Paraguay turns to the east, skirting

its Serras, which terminate at the end of six leagues in the Serra do

Rabicho, opposite which, on the north bank of the river, is situated

the lower southern mouth of the Paraguay-mirim. This is an arm of the

Paraguay, which, terminating here, forms an island fourteen leagues

in length from north to south: it is the usual channel for canoes in

times of inundation. From the mouth of the Paraguay-mirim the river

takes a southerly direction to the mouth of the Taquari, navigated

annually by flotillas of canoes and other craft, which come from S.

Paulo to Cuiaba, and even as far as the Register of Jauru, when their

destination happens to be Villa Bella.

As this navigation is an object of great importance, from its

connecting two distinct districts, the following compendious

description of the route pursued in it may not prove uninteresting; it

is abstracted from the diary of a man of science, who performed the

journey a few years ago, in the month of October, when the Paraguay

begins to retire to its own channel. The description may commence at

the Taquari, as the voyage from thence to Cuiaba and the Jauru has

already been detailed. The largest of the many mouths of the Taquari

in the Paraguay is in lat. 19° 15′, and long. 54°. In the first ten

leagues of navigation, the channel of the river is lost, as it crosses

some large plains, covered with water to the depth of several feet.

This is contiguous to Taquari, a place where the river is much confined.

From this place it is twenty leagues to the resting-place of Allegre,

in lat. 18° 12′, and this space contains, on both banks of the Taquari,

many entrances into the paths, which lead in time of the floods to

various distant places on the Paraguay, Porrudos, and Cuiaba. From

this resting-place there are thirty leagues of navigation, on the

course of the river east to the fall of Barra, where it is impeded

and unnavigable above a mile, though a part of it may be passed in

half-loaded and part of it in empty canoes. At the head of this fall

the river Cochim enters the Taquari, and the navigation here quits

the latter for the Cochim. At its mouth it is twenty fathoms broad,

and a league upwards receives on its south bank the Taquari-mirim, a

river nearly as broad as itself. A little above this confluence is

situated its first fall, which is called _da Ilha_, and may be passed

in empty canoes. A league above is the fall of Giquitaya, passed

with half cargoes, and a league and a quarter farther, that of the

Choradeira, the current of which is very rapid. Beyond this is the

fall of Avanhandava-uassu, where the cargoes are carried over-land for

half a mile, and the canoes are conducted through a difficult channel

of three fathoms, at the end of which they are pushed over the rocks

in order to pass the head or cataract. Half a league above is the fall

do Jauru, so called from a river of that name, which enters the Cochim

above it, on the north side. From this confluence upwards there occur

seven falls in the course of five leagues and a half, in the midst

of which distance the river cuts and is enchannelled in a mountain,

through which it runs smoothly, although scarcely five fathoms broad,

and receives on its south side the stream of the Paredão, which is

said to be auriferous. Half a league above the last of the seven falls

before-mentioned are three successive ones, called _Tres Irmãos_, and

at an equal distance above them, that of Das Furnas, which is passed

laboriously with canoes unloaded. From this place the navigation

continues on the Cochim through a succession of falls, until that river

is joined by the Camapuão, eight yards in breadth at its mouth. From

this point to its junction with the Taquari, the course of the Cochim

is thirty leagues.

The river Camapuã, along which the navigation is continued, becomes

narrower on passing some rivulets that flow into it, and so shallow,

as to be in general scarcely two feet deep, and the canoes are rather

dragged than navigated along its sandy bed. After two leagues of this

labor, they quit the Camapuão-uassu, leaving it on the right hand,

choked with fallen trees, &c., and enter into the Camapuão-mirim, up

which they proceed one league, when they reach the _fazenda_, or

estate, of the same name. This is an important establishment, belonging

to the Portuguese, in the centre of those vast and desert regions

that intervene between the great rivers Paraguay and Parana, ninety

leagues south-south-west, in a direct line from the town of Cuiaba. The

place seems very proper for a Register, to prevent the smuggling of

gold in this route, and to fix the duties on goods passing to Cuiaba

and Matto Grosso. The canoes and cargoes are transported from the

Fazenda de Campauão by land about a mile to the river Sanguixuga, the

principal source of the Rio Pardo. From the end of the land-passages

the navigation continues down the Sanguixuga, and, in the interval of

three leagues, they pass four falls to the Rio Vermelho (so called

from the color of its waters), which enters the Pardo. Half a league

from the mouth of the Vermelho, the Pardo has the fall of the Pedras

de Amolar, and a league below receives on its south side the river

Claro, from which, after proceeding two leagues of level stream, there

occur nine falls in the space of two leagues more. The passage of them

occupies twelve or fourteen days in going up the river, though only one

in returning. Below the last of these, called the Bangue, the river

Sucuriu enters the Pardo on its south side. Three leagues below the

mouth of the Sucuriu is the cataract of Curare, about eight yards high,

to avoid which the canoes are hauled over land, through a passage of a

hundred yards. From this cataract, in the space of ten leagues, there

occur ten falls, which occupy fifteen or twenty days in ascending the

river, though only one in descending. The breadth of the Rio Pardo in

this part is twenty-two fathoms. Two leagues below the last of these

falls is a deep inlet of three hundred and ninety fathoms; half a

league lower the canoes are hauled over a space of land of a hundred

and fifty yards. Half a league further is the fall of Sirga Negra; one

league further, that of Sirga Matto; and a little more than a league

from thence, the great cataract, or Salto da Cajuru, ten yards in

height, to avoid which, the canoes are hauled through a narrow channel

here formed by the river. At a distance equal to the preceding is the

Cajuru-mirim, and immediately after is found the fall of _da Ilha_, the

thirty-third and last on this river. Six leagues below this fall, the

Rio Pardo receives on its north side the river Orelha da Anta;[A] and

four leagues lower down, on the same side, the Orelha da Onça[73], from

the mouth of which, after eleven leagues of navigation, is found the

junction which the river Anhandery-uassu makes from the south with the

Pardo, which, from the passage of Camapuão to this point, completes a

south-east course of forty-five leagues in extent. The Anhandery and

the Pardo, from their confluence, run sixteen leagues of navigation

westward, in one channel, and disembogue in the west bank of the

Parana in lat. about 21°. The velocity of the current of the Rio Pardo

is very irregular: it may be navigated downward in five or six days,

but cannot be ascended in less than twenty or thirty, and that by

hauling, for the force of the stream in some places is too great for

oars.

The river Parana is of great breadth and weight of water, and is

navigated against its current up to the mouth of the fine river Tieté.

In the first three leagues occurs the island of Manoel Homem. Five

leagues above this island the Rio Verde falls into the Parana, by

a mouth of forty-two fathoms, on its western bank, and at an equal

distance above, on the opposite eastern side, the river Aguapehy

enters, by a mouth apparently above twenty yards wide. Eight leagues

above this river, and on the west side of the Parana, the large river

Sucuriu has its mouth, at least fifty fathoms wide, and, after four

leagues of navigation further, on the same side of the Parana, is

found the mouth of the large and interesting river, the Tieté[74]. The

distance between the rivers Tieté and Pardo, according to the windings

of the Parana, may be estimated at thirty-five leagues; the direction

north, inclining to the east. Passing up the Tieté, in the first three

leagues is found the great Salto de Itapura (a great cascade) to avoid

which, the canoes are dragged sixty fathoms over-land. A league above

is the difficult fall of Itapura-mirim; another league upwards are the

three falls, called Tres Irmaos, and little more than that distance

onward, that of Itupiru, half a league long; two leagues further is the

fall of Uaicurituba-mirim, and in the upper part of it the small river

Sucury enters the Tieté upon its north bank. One league above it is the

fall of Utupiba, a quarter of a league in length. The same distance

above is the fall of Araracangua-uassu, which is passed with unloaded

canoes. Five leagues above this is found the Araracangua-mirim; one

league further, the Arassatuba, and at the same distance, Uaicurituba,

from which, in the space of nine leagues, occur seven falls. Three and

a half leagues above the last of them is that of the Escaramunca, so

called from the abrupt windings of the river among a thousand rocks and

stoppages. Two leagues above this is the large fall of Avanhandava,

where the canoes are unloaded, and their cargoes carried half a mile

over-land[75], and the canoes hauled the greatest part of the way, to

avoid a cataract sixteen yards perpendicular. A league and a half above

this is the fall of Avanhandava-mirim, and very near it, that of the

Campo, from which there are fourteen leagues of clear navigation to

those of the Camboyu-voca, and next to the Tambau-mirim and Uassu, both

within the compass of two leagues. One league further is the fall of

Tambitiririca; three leagues from thence, the Uamicanga, and a little

more than two leagues upwards, the Jacuripipira enters the Tieté on

the north side, and has a mouth fifteen fathoms broad. A league and

a half above this is the Jacuripipira-mirim, six leagues from whence

is the fall of Congouha, a league in length. For the space of eight

leagues from this there are six falls, of which the last is Banharem.

From this it is three leagues and a half to the mouth of the Paraniaba,

thirty-eight fathoms broad: it enters the Tieté on the north; and

the latter river from this point immediately narrows itself to forty

fathoms wide. From the mouth of the Paraniaba there is a navigation

of four leagues to the small fall of Ilha, and fourteen leagues more,

with frequent windings to that of Itahy, near a populous village,

called Jundahy. Six leagues from this is the fall of Pedrenegoa, which

is a quarter of a league long; and half a league above it, the river

Sorecaba, which comes from the town of the same name, in lat. 23° 31′,

empties itself on the south into the Tieté. Near this town are several

mountains, called Guaraceaba, some of which abound with rich oxide of

iron, which on smelting, has proved very good. Upon them grows fine

timber for machinery, and wood of every size, fit for reducing into

charcoal. Numerous streams flow from them, which may be employed to

great advantage, and their base is washed by the river Campanhes,

near the Capivara, both of which empty themselves into the Tieté at

a short distance. From the river Sorecaba it is only six leagues to

Porto Felix, where all the embarkation is now made to Matto Grosso

from S. Paulo, the distance being about twenty-three leagues from

that city. Through this conveyance, salt, iron, ammunition, clothing

for the troops, &c. are sent annually by Government.—Trading parties

frequently arrive at S. Paulo from Cuiaba in the month of February, and

return in April or May.

Resuming our account of the Paraguay, it is to be observed that the

Embotetieu enters that river five leagues below the mouth of the

Taquari, and on the same side. It is now called Mondego, and was

formerly navigated by the traders from S. Paulo, who entered by the

Anhandery-uassu, the south branch of the Pardo. On the north bank of

the Mondego, twenty leagues above its mouth, the Spaniards founded the

city of Xerez, which the Paulistas destroyed. Ten leagues above this

place, in the mountains that form the upper part of the Embotetieu,

there is a tradition that there are rich mines which were discovered

fifty years ago. One league below the mouth of the Mondego there are

two high insulated mounts fronting each other on the Paraguay: at the

extremity of the southern declivity of the mount on the west side, near

the bank of the river, is the garrison of New Coimbra, founded in 1775;

it is the last and southermost Portuguese establishment on the great

Paraguay. Eleven leagues to the south of Coimbra, on the west side of

the Paraguay, is the mouth of Bahia Negra, a large sheet of water of

six leagues in extent, being five leagues long from north to south: it

receives the waters of the wide-flooded plains and lands to the south

and west of the mountains of Albuquerque. At this bay the Portuguese

possessions on both banks of the Paraguay terminate. From thence the

river continues to lat. 21°, where, on its west bank, is situated a

hill known to the Portuguese by the name of Miguel José, crowned with

a Spanish fort with four pieces of artillery, called Bourbon. Three

leagues above this the little river Guirino falls into the Paraguay

on the east side. Nine leagues to the south of the above fort, and in

lat. 21° 22´, are other mountains, on both sides the Paraguay, which

command this river; for the eastern side is surmounted with a lofty

chain extending to the interior of the country, near which is the

sugar-loaf mount; the opposite side is equally mountainous, but not

so high or extensive; and in the middle of the river there is a high

rocky island, which, with the mountainous banks on each side, forms two

channels of about a musket-shot across. This, in case of war between

the neighbouring nations, would be a post of the highest importance, as

it forms a natural barrier, which would require little fortification

to render it an effectual obstacle to invasion. Here terminate those

extensive inundations, to which both banks of the Paraguay are subject:

they commence at the mouth of the Jauru, and to this point cover

an extent of one hundred leagues from north to south, and forty in

breadth, at their highest floods, forming an apparent lake, which

geographers of former days, as well as some moderns have termed the

Xarayes. This inundation confounds the channel of the great Paraguay

with those of its various confluents, in such a manner that, from

twenty to thirty leagues above their regular mouths, it is possible, in

time of the floods, to navigate across from one to the other, always

in deep water, without ever seeing or approaching the banks of the

Paraguay. During this wonderful inundation, the high mountains and

elevated land which it incloses appear like so many superb islands,

and the lower grounds form a labyrinth of lakes, bays, and pools, many

of which remain after the floods have subsided. From the intricacy of

these inundated plains, the navigation is rendered impracticable to

all who do not unite experience with skill. From this position, (the

only barrier on the Paraguay), the banks downward are in general high

and firm, particularly the eastern or Portuguese side. In lat. 22° 5′,

a considerable river empties itself into it, which the Spaniards, at

the demarcation in 1753, would have to be the Corrientes, whereas the

heads of this river are twenty leagues north of the real Corrientes

mentioned in the treaty.

Between the Paraguay and Parana there runs from north to south an

extensive chain of mountains, which have the appellation of Amanbay;

they terminate to the south of the river Iguatimy, forming a ridge

running east and west, called Maracayer. From these mountains spring

all the rivers which, from the Taquari southward, enter the Paraguay,

and from the same chain, also, proceed many other rivers, which, taking

a contrary direction, flow into the Parana, one of them, and the most

southerly, being the Igoatimy, which has its mouth in lat. 23° 47′, a

little above the seven falls, or the wonderful cataract of the Parana.

This cataract is a most sublime spectacle, being distinguished to the

eye of the spectator from below by the appearance of six rainbows, and

emitting from its fall a constant cloud of vapors, which impregnates

the air to a great distance. On the north side of the Igoatimy, twenty

leagues from its mouth, the Portuguese had formerly the fortress of

Bauris, which was abandoned in 1777. The Igoatimy has its sources ten

leagues above this place, among high and rugged mountains. The river

Xexuy enters the Paraguay on the east side in lat. 24° 11′, twenty

leagues below the Ipane, another small river, called Ipanemirim,

intervening.

This is a summary and highly interesting description of Portuguese

Paraguay, to the point where the territory ought (as our Tourist

observes) to extend! and such is the situation of this great river,

that the above-mentioned rivers which concentrate toward the interior

of Brazil, enter it on the eastern side; not one enters it on the

western, from the Jauru to the parallel of the Ipane. Many parts of

the banks of all those rivers are laid under water at the time of the

floods, and the plains are covered to a considerable depth.

A river of such vast size as the Paraguay, in a temperate and

salubrious climate, abounding with fish, bordered by extensive plains

and high mountains, intersected by so many rivers, bays, lakes, and

forests, must naturally have drawn many of the Indian nations to

inhabit its banks: but, immediately after the discovery of the new

continent, the incursions of the Paulistas and Spaniards seem to have

dispersed and destroyed the numerous tribes: the Jesuits transplanted

many thousands to their settlements on the Uruguay and Parana. Other

nations fled from the avarice of the new settlers to countries

less favored, but more secure by reason of their distance, and the

difficulty of approach. This emigration of one nation to districts

occupied by another, became the fruitful source of inveterate and

sanguinary wars among them, which tended to reduce their numbers. There

are, however, still some Indians left on the borders of the Paraguay,

among whom the Guaycurus, or Cavalier Indians, are principally

distinguished for valour. They occupy the lands from the river Taquari,

extending southwards, along all the rivers that enter the Paraguay on

the eastern side, as far as the river Ipane, and in like manner, on

the opposite bank, from the mountains of Albuquerque downwards. They

have made war repeatedly on the Spaniards and Portuguese, without ever

being subdued. They are armed with lances of extraordinary length,

bows, arrows, &c. They make long incursions on horseback into the

neighbouring territories; they procure horses in exchange for stout

cotton cloaks, called _Ponches_, which they manufacture. There are

other Indian nations inhabiting these large tracts, some of whom have

intermixed both with the Portuguese and Spaniards, there being few of

the latter on any part of the confines without some traces of Indian

physiognomy.

From the river Xexuy, downwards, the Paraguay takes its general course

southwards for thirty-two leagues to the city of Assumpcion, the

capital of Paraguay, and the residence of its governor. This city is

situated on an obtuse angle made by the eastern bank of the river; the

population is by no means trifling, and there are some Portuguese

among the inhabitants. The government is of vast extent, and its

total population is said to amount to near 120,000 souls. The land is

fertile, and contains many rich farms: its principal produce is the

_matte_, which is exported to Tucuman and Buenos Ayres, from whence

it is sent to various parts of the Spanish dominions, along the coast

of Chili and Peru, being a general article of consumption among all

ranks of people. Its other products are hides, tobacco, and sugar. From

Buenos Ayres large boats arrive at the city of Assumpcion, after two or

three months’ passage; the only difficulty in navigating is the great

weight of the waters of the Paraguay, which flow with great rapidity:

but this disadvantage is lessened by favorable winds, which blow the

greater part of the year from the south.

Six leagues below Assumpcion, on the western side of the Paraguay, the

river Pilcomayo enters that river by its first mouth; its second is

fourteen or sixteen leagues lower. In this space some other smaller

rivers enter on the eastern side, and amongst them the Tibiquari, on an

arm of which, twenty leagues south-east from Assumpcion, is Villa Rica,

a large Spanish town, with much property in cattle on its extensive

plains. The river Vermelho enters the west side of the Paraguay in lat.

26° 50′: on a remote upper branch of this river is the town of Salto,

near an accessible fall; it is an important point to the Spaniards, who

are transporting their goods from Buenos Ayres, Tucuman, &c. to Upper

Peru.

_The River Parana_,

or Great River, which the first discoverers considered as the

chief, on account of its abundant waters, unites with the eastern

side of the Paraguay in lat. 27° 25´, and their united streams take

the name of the Rio de la Plata, which originated in the following

circumstance:—Martim de Sousa, the first donatary of the _capitania_

of St. Vicente, furnished Aleixo Garcio, with an adequate escort to

explore the hitherto untrodden wilds to the west of the extensive coast

of Brazil. This intrepid Portuguese, by the route of the Tieté, reached

the Paraguay, which he crossed, and penetrated considerably into the

interior, from whence he returned, it is said, loaded with silver, and

some gold: but he halted on the Paraguay, and waited for the coming of

his son, a youth of tender years, with some of his people, whilst he

sent forward an account of the discovery. He was surprised by a body of

Indians, who killed him, took his son prisoner, and carried off all his

riches: the year following, sixty Portuguese, who were sent in search

of Garcia, shared the same fate. The Spaniards who first settled on

this river, seeing so much silver amongst these Indians, and supposing

it to be the produce of the country, called the river La Plata.[76]

The Parana derives its principal sources from the west side of the

mountains of Mantiqueira, twenty-five leagues west of the town of

Paraty.

CHAP. XIX.

_Account of the Capitania of Rio Grande._

THE _capitania_ of Rio Grande is one of the most important in Brazil.

It is of considerable extent, and is bounded by the _capitania_ of

S. Paulo on the north, Matto Grosso on the west, and by the Spanish

territories, between it and the Rio de la Plata, on the south.