CHAP. XII.PROVINCE OF MINAS GERAES.
Boundaries—Extent—Climate—Discoverers of its Mines—Mountains—Rivers—Mineralogy—Zoology—Phytology—Exports—Comarcas and Towns.—Comarca of Villa Rica—Limits—Mountains—Rivers—Capital—Povoações.—Comarca of Rio das Mortes—Limits—Mountains—Rivers—Povoações.—Comarca of Sabara—Limits—Mountains—Rivers—Lakes—Povoações.—Comarca of Serro Frio—Limits—Rich in Diamonds—Mountains—Rivers—Povoações—Diamond District—Tijuco—Seat of Diamond Junta.
Boundaries—Extent—Climate—Discoverers of its Mines—Mountains—Rivers—Mineralogy—Zoology—Phytology—Exports—Comarcas and Towns.—Comarca of Villa Rica—Limits—Mountains—Rivers—Capital—Povoações.—Comarca of Rio das Mortes—Limits—Mountains—Rivers—Povoações.—Comarca of Sabara—Limits—Mountains—Rivers—Lakes—Povoações.—Comarca of Serro Frio—Limits—Rich in Diamonds—Mountains—Rivers—Povoações—Diamond District—Tijuco—Seat of Diamond Junta.
This province, created in the year 1720, being until that period a portion of that of St. Paulo, is bounded on the north by the province of Bahia, from which it is separated by the river Verde, and by that of Pernambuco, from which it is divided by the river Carynhenha; on the south by the serra of Mantiqueira, which separates it from that of St. Paulo, and the rivers Preto, Parahibuna, and Parahiba, which divide it from the province of Rio de Janeiro; on the west by the province of Goyaz; and on the east by that of Espirito Santo, Porto Seguro, and a part of Bahia. It is nearly four hundred miles long from north to south, and two hundred and eighty of medium width, extending from 15° 30′ to 21° 40′. The climate is temperate compared with others of the torrid zone, arising from the elevated and mountainous nature of this province. The winter commences in October, always with thunder. Some years, in the months of June and July, towards the southern part, cold and frost are prevalent, and water congeals in vessels exposed to the night air.
Gold, which is found in all the districts of this province, was the origin of its name, (General Mines,) and which becomes still more appropriate, since all other metals are ascertained to exist here.
The discovery of this country is owing to the intrepidity of S. F. Tourinho, an inhabitant of Porto Seguro, who, proceeding up the river Doce, in 1573, traversed it as far as the Jequitinhonha, by which he descended.
A few years afterwards A. D. Adorno, with a view of profiting by the mines of emeralds discovered by Tourinho, advanced, with one hundred and fiftywhites and four hundred Indians, up the Cricare, and came back by the same river as his precursor.
Many years had elapsed when, with the same project, M. d’Azevedo penetrated into this country as far as the lake Vupabussu.
In 1793, a Thaubateno, A. Rodriguez, entered the certam of Cuyate, accompanied by fifty men; but discord interrupted their proceedings, and Rodriguez returned by the capitania of Espirito Santo, where he exhibited three oitavas (a drachm each) of gold, to demonstrate that he had traversed auriferous lands. Proceeding to Rio de Janeiro, and thence to Thaubate, he soon expired, in consequence of the exhausted state he was reduced to by the fatigues and privations of the enterprise, previously recommending his brother-in-law, Bartholomew Bueno, to persevere in this project.
Impelled by the poverty to which extravagancies had reduced him, Bueno set out, in 1694, upon the enterprise, accompanied by Captain M. d’Almeida and other persons, directing their course by the heads of the serras pointed out in the diary of the late Rodriguez.
Captain M. Garcia, accompanied by Colonel S. Fernandez and other adventurers, actuated by similar motives, took their departure in the following year; met with Bueno at the serra of Itaberava, near thirty miles to the south of Villa Rica, and returned the first with twelve oitavas of gold, which led to the establishment of a melting house in the town of Thaubate.
This circumstance caused a great many Paulistas to undertake various other voyages, in spite of the fatigues and dangers with which they were beset; not as hitherto in capturing savages, but in the animating pursuit of gold. With this view numbers formed establishments in the province. Hence arose the envy which subsisted between the Thaubatenos and Piratininganos, who never associated in their mining expeditions.
With the project of finding gold F. D. Paes penetrated the certams of Serro Frio, and arriving at the situation of Anhonhecanhuva, (which in the Indian idiom signifies “water that hides itself,”) at present called Sumidoiro, (“to swallow up,”) he dwelt there more than three years, undertaking various journeys during the time into Sabara Bussu, where he found, in the serra Negra, precious stones; which not satisfying him he retroceded as far as the serra Tucambira, (the crop or maw of the Tucano,) and from thence to the river Itamarindiba, (a small rolling stone,) where, from its having fish, he remained for some time. Although his party was diminished by the desertion of the major part in the serra Negra, impatient at their long stay there, he determinedto visit the lake Vupabussu, (Large Lake,) which he ultimately found, after a laborious search; and was also directed, by an Indian which he had taken, to the emerald mines. On the return of this certanista towards St. Paulo, he died near the river Velhas, where he fortunately met with, amongst other countrymen, Manuel de Borba Gato, his son-in-law, to whom he left the golden fruits of all his labours.
In the mean time D. Rodrigo de Castello Branco entered the country, with the appointment of superintendent of the mines, and wishing also to participate in the credit of discovering the emerald mines, on his arrival at the river Velhas sent to beg of M. de Borba Gato a part of the equipment and provisions left him by Paez. His refusal to comply with this request occasioned some menacing words to escape from Branco, which were sufficient to cause his assassination basely by a servant of Gato, to whom General A. de Sa offered a pardon, in the name of the King, on condition of his pointing out the copious mines of Sabara, discovered by him. Those conditions being fulfilled, the rank of lieutenant-general was unwisely and undeservedly granted to this instigator of murder.
The abundance of gold attracted a great number of Paulistas and Europeans to this province, between whom obstinate disputes arose, and a prolonged civil war.
M. N. Vianna, a native of the town of Vianna, was chief of the European party, who had appointed him governor of the new mines, when A. d’Albuquerque Coelho, the first general of the province of St. Paulo, with prudence and power, terminated, in 1710, the sanguinary dissensions between the disputants.
This province, whilst a comarca of that of St. Paulo, and before it had generals for governors, was various times visited by those of Rio de Janeiro, not only at the period of the disorders caused by the Paulistas and Europeans but anterior to the conclusion of the strifes that existed among the Piratininganos and Thaubatenos.
D. Lourenço d’Almeyda was the first general of the province, which appointment was bestowed upon him with much splendour in the church of Our Lady of Pilar, of Villa Rica, on the 18th of August, 1720. This province is now, comparatively speaking, tolerably populous, and divided into four comarcas.
Mountains.—It is the most mountainous country in the Brazil. The serra Mantiqueira, which is the most celebrated in the province, commences in the northern part of that of St. Paulo; from thence, running almost north-east, not without many windings, as far as the town of Barbacena, where it inclinesnorthward to the extremity of the province, varying its direction, elevation, and name, and extending many branches from both sides of greater or less extent and height. It bounds in part all the comarcas.
Rivers.—None of the other provinces are so abundant in water, and the greater part of its rivers have their origin in the Mantiqueira Serra, and their egress in general by four channels; two flowing eastward, namely the Doce and the Jequitinhonha; the St. Francisco northward; and the Rio Grande westward. The first irrigates the comarca of Villa Rica, the second that of Serro Frio, the third that of Sabara, and the last that of St. Joao d’el Rey.
Mineralogy.—Gold, platina, silver, and brass, iron, pewter, lead, mercury, antimony, bismuth, amianthus, talk, calcareous stone, granite, black jasper marked with white;amolar, or grindstone, fossil-coal, saltpetre; white, red, yellow, grey, and black argils; diamonds, rubies, emeralds, chrysolites, topazes, sapphires,aqua-marinas, agates, amethysts, petrifactions, (pingos d’agua,) crystals, flintstone, andpedra sabao, of a pearl colour, very compact and heavy, but easily worked; images, candlesticks, and vessels by the turner are made of this stone. It affords excellent chalk, and its very fine dust is sought after by travellers. Many profound caverns and excavations are met with, from whence immense quantities of gold have been extracted. Some rocks are perforated from one side to the other; others have disappeared entirely, in the course of withdrawing their rich contents. Many mountains frequently reverberate, demonstrating that they are fully charged with minerals. A great number of torrents have been diverted, for a greater or less space, from their natural beds, to facilitate the extraction of gold and diamonds.
Zoology.—All the species of Spanish domestic animals are bred here; the oxen and hog are the most numerous; the savage quadrupeds and birds met with in the adjoining provinces are common in this. The population principally consists of negroes, the property of the miner and the agriculturist. Indians exist only upon the eastern boundaries of the province. Many persons of all complexions are met with of the age of one hundred years.
Phytology.—The soil produces in abundance the first year; the second usually little, and in the third almost nothing; it is therefore requisite, according to the present mode of agriculture, to allow it to remain fallow for some years, until it is covered with a strong brushwood, which is then burnt down to form the first coat of manure.
Here are cultivated mandioca, tobacco, sugar, (the greater part of which isdistilled into spirit,) cotton, (part of which is manufactured into cloth,) wheat, rye, and a great quantity of white Indian corn, the dry flour of which is the ordinary bread; this corn, after the skin is taken off, dressed, and sweetened with sugar, is a dainty introduced into every banquet, and is calledcangica. Also are grown potatoes, legumes, hortulans, coffee, and indigo. Amongst other medicinal plants, there are ipecacuanha, columbo root, liquorice, jalap, a species of spikenard upon the serra Caraça; vanilla, and theurucudye tree. Amongst the resinous trees, are remarked the gum-copal, gum-mastick, benzoin, andangico. In some places are the storax, and the oil of cupahiba tree; in others thebarbatimoes, its leaves nourishing thecantharidas, which is a lucrative branch of commerce. Some trees furnish fine bark, some ashes for the soap-house, others venom, with which fish are killed, and the upper bark of a tree which supplies the realquina, or Jesuit’s bark. There is a variety of the palm, and of trees affording fine timber for building. The cedar is common in some situations, and the Brazilian pine grows in the southern part, near the skirts of serras. There is a shrub differing from themyrica cerifera, the trunk and branches of which are always covered with a species of wax; also theverniz, or varnish tree, with which the Indians dye theircuyas(clay cups.) Almost all the fruit trees of Portugal are naturalized here, but none of them improve; the peach and quince alone fructify abundantly; from the latter, a large quantity of sweetmeats are made. Thecajue, thejabuticaba, thearaticu, and themangabafruits are common; also oranges, limes, bananas, pine-apples, and water-melons.
From this province are exported hides, skins of deer, and of other wild animals; coarse cotton and woollen cloth, tobacco, coffee, fruits, sugar, cheese, pork,pedra sabao, precious stones, saltpetre, marmalade, &c. The whole is conducted to the metropolis upon mules, which proceed in caravans of one hundred and more, divided into troops of seven, managed by one muleteer. Their return cargo consists of salt, and other dry and moist goods.
The treasury, besides the diamonds, fifths of gold, dizimos, duties upon negroes and goods introduced from the ports, of cattle, horses, and mules, entering from St. Paulo, receives a considerable revenue on the passage of rivers by bridges and barks, which are numerous.
In the year 1808, the circulation of gold dust, till then, the only circulating medium, was prohibited, and coins of the three current metals substituted.
In the year 1714, this province was divided into four comarcas; namely,
The comarca of Villa Rica, otherwise Oiro Preto, (Black Gold,) which is the least extensive, and the main part yet uncultivated, is bounded on the north by that of Serro Frio, from which it is separated by the river Doce; on the west by that of Rio das Mortes; on the south by the province of Rio de Janeiro; and on the east by that of Espirito Santo. It comprises one hundred and forty miles from east to west, and one hundred and twenty from north to south.
Mountains.—The serra of Oiro Preto, which is a portion of the Mantiqueira, its most elevated head, called Itaculume, (the Child of Stone,) is considered the highest in the province. The serra of Oiro Branco, (White Gold,) to the south of the preceding, the Serra Negra, with mines of iron, and the Serra Lappa are both to the north of the capital. Nearly thirty miles north of Marianna is the celebrated Serra Caraça, so called from having a portion similar to an enormous physiognomy. It is a dismemberment of the grand cordillera, with near fifty miles of circuit at its base, being steep and craggy all around. On a plain about three miles square, in a broken part of its summit, there is a species of monastery, where various hermits dwell, some drawn thither by devotion, and others from persecution; their habit is a black cassock. Theysustain themselves upon charity, and the productions of the adjacent land, where they raise cattle and rye. The edifice is of stone; the church of elegant architecture, and dedicated to Our Lady May dos Homens (Mother of Men). In the garden there are various European fruit trees, such as the apple, pear, plum, cherry, quince, chestnut, olive, and walnut; also trees from the oak to the yellow broom and furze. The land is watered by various rivulets, which after uniting flow to the Percicaba. In its vicinity is the serra of Itaubira, which terminates in two rocky pyramids. Between the river Doce and the Parahiba, there is an extensive branch of the Mantiqueira serra, from whence emanate many torrents; the Serra Frecheira is the name of a portion.
Rivers.—The Doce, which is the largest of the comarca, has its origin in the serra of Mantiqueira. After flowing for a considerable space to the north-north-east, under the name of Chopoto, it receives the Piranga, which runs from the serra of Oiro Branco; afterwards the Guallacho, formed by two streams of the same name distinguished by the appellations of north and south, and which issue from the serra of Oiro Preto. At this confluence it inclines to the east, and gathers the Bombaca and the Percicaba, which flow from the west, and have their sources in the Serra Lapa. Here it takes the name by which it enters the ocean. A little lower it is united also on the left, by the considerable river St. Antonio, which comes from the north-west, traversing an extensive territory, abounding mainly in cattle. Of the streams which form it, some descend from the Serra Lapa, others from Serro Frio. Ten miles further, it is joined on the same side by the Corrente, which flows from Serro Frio, with more than one hundred miles of course. Thirty miles lower, it receives the large Sassuhy, whose heads emanate from the serras of Serro Frio and Esmeraldas; its margins are thinly inhabited. After it follows the Laranjeiras, in the same direction, between woods abounding with wild beasts and savages. The Cuyate, which runs north-east, is the largest of those which enter it on the right; its mouth is a little below the preceding, and it gives the name to an interior district inhabited by Indians. The Manhuassu, (which some say is larger than Cuyate,) after flowing through large woods north-eastward, and bounding the certam of Cuyate, is lost in the Doce, a little above the Escadinhas.
Amongst others, the Doce has four remarkable falls: Escura, a little below the mouth of the Percicaba; Magoaris, a short way below the Corrente; Ibiturunas, a short distance above the Sassuhy; and Inferno, between the confluences of the Cuyate and the Manhuassu. The adjacent territory of this fine river is mostly of great fertility; in some places the root of the mandioca grows to a prodigioussize. Independently of the above obstacles, the Doce is navigable for a great extent, and I was assured by an ouvidor, having a neighbouring jurisdiction, that no very great expenditure on the part of the government would render it the most important and certainly the best medium of transit for the produce of the interior districts of Brazil. The Maquipoo is one of its first tributaries received on the right, and enters a little above the mouth of the Bombaca.
The Preto originates in the serra Ititiaya, a branch of the Mantiqueira range, and runs eastward through the territory of the Ararys, bounding the province, until it enters the Parahibuna, which latter rises near the Chopoto, and flows into the Parahiba.
The Pomba, which as has been observed, is a tributary of the Parahiba, waters an extensive tract on the southern part of this comarca, and passes near the parish of St. Manuel, whose inhabitants are Coroado and Crapo Indians, with some whites, principally raising Indian corn, legumes, some sugar, and numerous hogs. The fertility of the country, with the navigation of the river, promises it a future increase. Its church is forty miles from the mouth of the river.
Villa Rica, antecedently Oiro Preto, was created a town in 1711, and is large, populous, abundant, and flourishing. It is the capital of the province, and the residence of the governor, at present Don Manuel de Portugal e Castro; likewise of the ouvidor of the comarca, who holds other offices, serving also as crown judge with jurisdiction over the whole province. It has a Juiz de Fora, who is also attorney-general; a vicar-general, and professors, I had almost forgot royal, of primitive letters, Latin, and philosophy. This town is ill situated at the southern base of the serra of Oiro Preto, amongst gloomy rocks, upon very uneven ground, and frequently covered with fogs, which are said to cause amongst the inhabitants continued colds or defluxions from the head. There is a house of misericordia, founded by G. F. d’Andrade, in virtue of a law of the 16th April, 1738; a smelting house; a junta of the treasury, composed of four deputies, the ouvidor of the comarca, the attorney-general, the general treasurer, and the auditor, with the governor as president. It has ten chapels, of the Lord Bom Fim, Almas, St. Anna, St. Joam, &c.; besides three Terceira orders of St. Francisco d’Assis, Carmo, and St. Francisco de Paula, almost all of which, with four bridges, are of stone. The palace, military quarters, and municipal house, are considered to be handsome; the latter has an annual revenue of about fifteen thousand crusades. It has a fort with some pieces of ordnance, which are fired occasionally on holidays; fourteenfountains of crystalline water, and a hospital. Its inhabitants, principally miners and dealers, live in two parishes, called Our Lady of Pilar and Conceiçao. This town is two hundred and thirty miles north-north-west of Rio de Janeiro.
There are in Villa Rica twenty-five judicial appointments. The smelting house has sixteen official situations; the office ofIntendente, which afforded annually five thousand two hundred and fifty crusades, independently of perquisites, has been discontinued here as well as in all similar establishments in the Brazil. In the treasury, besides the deputies already mentioned, there are sixteen other situations, the most lucrative of which is theEscrivao Contador, (the auditor of the treasury,) having three thousand crusades annually; and the smallest is that ofContinuo, (a sergeant, or beadle,) not having more than one hundred and fifty milreas (about thirty-seven pounds.) There is also a tribunal entitled “Junta of the conquest and civilization of the Indians and navigation of the river Doce,” established in 1808. Its principal object is to promote agriculture upon the margins of that river, which, however, advances very slowly.
The inhabitants of Villa Rica, and of six parishes within its district, form two regiments of auxiliary cavalry, fourteen companies of whites, seven of mulattoes, and four of free blacks.
Eight miles to the west of Villa Rica is the arraial and freguezia of St. Bartholomew, famous for the large quantity of marmalade that is exported from it.
Ten miles to the north-west of Villa Rica is the freguezia or parish of Our Lady of Nazareth da Cachoeira, where the governors have a house of recreation, occasionally passing some days there in the amusement of shooting deer and partridges.
Twenty miles to the south-east of Villa Rica is the considerable arraial of Piranga, situated near the river of the same name, with a church of the Lady of Conceiçao, and a chapel of Rozario. The inhabitants cultivate the necessaries of life, and a large quantity of tobacco, to which the soil is very favourable.
In the vicinity of the river Piranga, within the district of the parish of St. Antonio d’Itaberava to the south of Villa Rica, is the large arraial of Catas Altas da Noruega, with a chapel of St. Gonçalo.
Marianna, originally the arraial of Carmo, until 1711, when John V. bestowed upon it a register of royal duties, and the name of Villa Leal do Carmo, (Loyal Town of Carmo.) It was created an episcopal city in 1745, by the same monarch, with the name of his consort. It is small, well supplied, andsituated in a gently elevated country, near the right margin of the Ribeiro, or stream of Carmo, with the chapels of Our Lady of Rozario, St. Pedro, Santa Anna, St. Gonçalo, St. Francisco, for the mulattoes, and Mercez, for the creolian blacks; also two Terceira orders of Carmo and St. Francisco, whose chapel is elegant. There are two squares, and seven fountains of good water. The streets are paved, and the houses of stone. The municipal house is one of the best structures, and has water within it; the cathedral, dedicated to the Lady of Assumpçao, is more elegant than solid. The episcopal palace is handsome; the seminary spacious, the chapter is composed of fourteen canons, including the dignitaries of archdeacon, archpriest, chanter, and treasurer-mor, with whom twelve chaplains, and four young choristers officiate. The Juiz de Fora presides over the orphans and the senate, which has eleven thousand crusades of annual revenue. He fills other situations, and has, besides, twenty public officers under his inspection. All the inhabitants of Marianna are parishioners of the cathedral, and, with those of its surrounding twelve parishes, form two regiments of cavalry, twenty companies of infantry, (all whites,) ten of mulattoes, and five of free blacks. This city is eight miles east-north-east of Villa Rica; the intervening road is paved in parts, and bordered with many houses, having near it two arraials, and passes three stone bridges.
Eight miles to the north-east of Marianna, near the arraial of Antonio Pereira, (its founder,) in a rock at the end of a delightful valley, is a grotto formed by nature, and converted into a small chapel, dedicated to the Lady of Lapa, where every Sunday mass is chanted, and a festival takes place on the 15th of August. The roof, which is of calcareous stone, is overspread with stalactites, or crystallizations formed by the filtration of the water.
Fifteen miles north of the same city is the arraial and parish of Inficionado, which derived its name from the circumstance of the refuse of gold in melting being at first excellent, and becoming afterwards inferior, so that it acquired the name of Oiro Inficionado, (Infected Gold.) It is the native country of the poet, who was the author of the poem ofCaramuru, “the Man of Fire,” a conspicuous character in the history of Bahia. Its church is dedicated to the Lady of Nazareth. The inhabitants raise the necessaries of life and cattle, and are miners.
Catas Altas de Matto Dentro, (profound searchings within the matto, or woods,) formerly a large and flourishing arraial, with a church of the Lady of Conceiçao, has fallen into decay with the decrease of gold. The deep mines, wrought for the extraction of gold, were the origin of its name. It is abouteight miles from the preceding, and the inhabitants are agriculturists, including breeders of cattle and miners.
Nine miles from Catas Altas is the large, flourishing, and commercial arraial of St. Barbara, near the stream of the same name, having various religious structures, and promising considerable augmentation. The occupations of its inhabitants are similar to that of the last place.
Ten miles from St. Barbara is the arraial of Cocaes, with rich mines of gold, in the district of the parish of St. Joao do Morro Grande.
The comarca of Rio das Mortes, so called from the river which washes it, and equally known by the name of its head town, St. Joao d’el Rey, is bounded on the east by the comarca of Villa Rica; on the north by that of Sabara, from which it is separated by the serra Negra, and by the rivers Lambary and Andayha; on the west by the provinces of Goyaz and St. Paulo; and on the south by the latter and that of Rio de Janeiro. It is computed to comprise one hundred and seventy square miles. This comarca has many portions of land appropriated to the culture of mandioca, Indian corn, and legumes; likewise to plantations of sugar and tobacco, which are the most lucrative articles of exportation; in some places the cotton tree prospers, and in some of the southern districts considerable quantities of rye and wheat are raised. Cows are generally abundant, also sheep and hogs. Pork and cheese are important branches of export. There are auriferous grounds, which occupy a great many people in the working of them.
Mountains.—The principal are the serra of Lenheiro, in the vicinity of the town of St. Joao d’el Rey; of St. Joze, near the town of that name; of Lopo, not far from Cabo Verde; of Assumpçao, on the western part, between the Rio Grande and the Pardo; of Parida, which serves as a limit on the same side from the Rio Grande northward. In the southern part there is the extensive Mantiqueira, in parts bare and rocky, in others covered with wood. It contains theCachinezeIndians, who are inconsiderable in number, stinted in growth, and timorous, and confine their hostility to robbing the neighbouring parishes of some cattle. The serra of Juruoca, which is a branch of the preceding, takes the name of a stone calledayuru, “parrot,” andoca, “stone,” and which stands upon it where there is a cataract seventy yards in height. The serra of Carrancas is situated between the Rio Grande and Verde. The serra of Letras, (or Letters,) a branch of the preceding, derives its name froma species of hieroglyphic, a natural curiosity, which is observed in the interior of a vast and curious cave, formed of divers eruptions or projections of a sandy stone, some of considerable elasticity with various kinds of plants which grow there. The pretended letters, owing their origin to ferruginous particles, are rude and illegible, and no more than a superstitious hierography, arising in the ignorance of the people, who attribute them to the hand of the apostle St. Thomas. Near it there is a hermitage dedicated to the same apostle. The serra of Vigia, so called from having served for a long time as a watch-tower to the sentinels of a band of runaway negroes, who had established themselves in that district, is twenty miles distant from St. Joao d’el Rey. The serra Cachambu is between the river Jacare and the Rio Grande.
Rivers.—The Rio Grande, the largest of the comarca, dividing it into southern and northern, and having its origin upon the serra Juruoca, after gathering many small streams, flows at first northward, then north-west for a considerable space, and receives the large river Das Mortes, which rises in the serra of Oiro Branco, from whence it runs west, becoming large with the currents that join it by both margins. From this confluence, which is about seventy miles west of the town of St. Joao d’el Rey, the Rio Grande continues its course westward, increasing much to the boundary of the province, where it begins to serve as a limit between the provinces of Goyaz and St. Paulo; it is stored with a variety of fish.
The Sapucahy flows from the serra Mantiqueira, has numerous windings, and is enlarged by many other rivers, the largest of which is the Verde, that rises near the source of the Rio Grande, and, after having watered an extensive territory, pastured by large herds of cattle, runs north-west, and irrigates a similarly stocked and larger country in the province of St. Paulo, where it has its junction with the preceding.
Near the margin, and not far from the origin of the Mozambo, a branch of the Sapucahy, there are several wells of sulphureous water, some warmer than others, which have been found beneficial in certain diseases; and between the plains of the river Verde and Baepondy, near a rivulet which falls into the Verde, there are various mineral and vitriolic waters.
In this comarca originate the Pardo and Jaguary, which wash the northern part of the province of St. Paulo, the Paraupeba, Para, Lambary, Bambuhy, and the St. Francisco, which receives them: these are the principal rivers in the northern part.
The Camanducaya is a branch of the Sapucahy. The Jacuhy, Jacare, andCapivary are discharged into the Rio Grande, below the confluence of Das Mortes. The Peixe and the small Das Mortes enter the large Das Mortes; the latter twenty miles below St. Joao d’el Rey, and the other still further. Thedoirado,mandin, andpracanjubaare the best fish in those rivers.
St. Joao d’el Rey, antecedently Rio das Mortes, is the head town of the comarca, and the residence of its ouvidor, who acts in other situations, and is also crown judge. It is one of the largest, and the most abundant places in the province, and is agreeably seated in a flat country, about two miles from the river that gave it the primitive name till 1712, when John V. gave it the present name and the title of a town. It has a church of the Lady of Pilar; two chapels dedicated to the Lady of Dores and Mercez; one to St. Pedro; others to St. Antonio, St. Caetano, St. Francisco, administered by the blacks; two Terceira orders of the Lady of Carmo and St. Francisco. The chapel of the latter is the finest in the whole province, and stands upon a largepraca, or square. It has also an hospital, and two bridges of stone over the small channel of Tijuco, which divides the town into two portions; a Juiz de Fora, who is also head of the orphan establishment; an attorney general; a royal professor of Latin; a vicar-foraneo; and a smelting-house, with the same appointments as that of Villa Rica, excepting theabridor dos cunhos, (engraver of coins.) The judicial appointments are also the same.
This town has tolerably good houses, with paved streets. All the necessaries of life of the country are cheap. There are here whitetangerinaoranges, which are not met with in any other part. The road, which leads to the Rio das Mortes, upon which there is another large bridge of wood, is bordered byquintas, or country houses. About the middle of this interval is the arraial of Matozinhos, with a chapel of Espirito Santo. In its suburbs are cultivated the cane, much Indian corn, some rye, a little mandioca, and cotton; and at a greater distance cattle are bred. Mining is the general occupation.
There are twelve chapels in its extensive environs, generally provided with chaplains, who are, with as many more coadjutors of the vicar, privileged to administer the sacraments in his jurisdiction. This town is nearly eighty miles to the south-west of Villa Rica, about the same distance south-south-west from Sabara, and upwards of two hundred north-west of Rio de Janeiro.
Eight miles to the north-north-west of St. Joao d’el Rey, and near the right margin of the Rio das Mortes, is the middling town of St. Joze, with the handsomest church in the province, dedicated to St. Antonio, a chapel of the Lady Rozario, and another of St. Joao Evangelista: it abounds with the necessariesof life, and is provided with good water. The inhabitants, and those of its wide district, who are well supplied with Catholic places of worship, raise much Indian corn, some barley, a diversity of fruits, cattle, and numerous herds of hogs, its principal riches. Some are miners.
Barbacena is a middling town, having a beautiful aspect, well situated in the proximity of the serra Mantiqueira, and three miles from the Das Mortes, with a church of the Lady of Piedade, a chapel of St. Francisco de Paula, two of the Lady of Rozario and Boa Morte. In its environs is the Brazilian pine; and the olive tree fructifies in some parts. The inhabitants raise cattle, and cultivate the most substantial lands with the most useful articles; some search for gold, and others are occupied in various branches of industry, with advantage to the place. It is thirty-five miles east-south-east of St. Joao d’el Rey, and fifty south-south-west of Villa Rica.
Quelluz, otherwise Carijos, is a town finely situated about thirty miles south-south-west of Villa Rica, fifty north-east of St. Joao d’el Rey, and three from the Congonhas, near the skirt of the serra of Oiro Branco. It has a church of Our Lady of Conceiçao, two hermitages of St. Antonio and Carmo. Cattle is the wealth of its inhabitants.
Tamandua is a middling town between two small streams, which are branches of the Lambary. It is well supplied with the provisions of the country, and has a church of St. Bento, two chapels of Our Lady of Mercez and Rozario, another of St. Francisco de Paula, with a fraternity, whose brothers enjoy extraordinary privileges. It is nearly ninety miles west of Villa Rica, fifty north-west of St. Joao d’el Rey, seventy south of Pitangui, and seventy west-north-west of Sabara. The inhabitants and those of its district are cattle breeders, farmers, and miners.
Campanha, properly the town of Princeza da Beira, is in a state of mediocrity, situated in a plain twelve miles from the Verde, with a church of St. Antonio do Valle de Piedade, (St. Anthony of the Valley of Piety,) two chapels of the Lady of Rozario and Dores, one of St. Sebastiao, and another of St. Francisco de Paula, with a brotherhood subject to the town of Tamandua. It has a Juiz de Fora, who is head of the orphans, a royal professor of Latin, and a vicar, and is nearly eighty miles south-west of St. Joao d’el Rey, and one hundred and fifty south of Pitangui. The inhabitants and those of its environs are miners, farmers of rye, wheat, Indian corn, tobacco, some mandioca, cotton, and sugar, and raise many cattle and hogs. In some situations are cultivated flax; and generally coarse woollens and cottons are manufactured.
St. Maria de Baepondy is yet a small town. The church is dedicated to Our Lady of Conceiçao, and the wealth of its inhabitants consists in tobacco, for which the soil is well adapted. It is fifty miles east of Campanha, and was created a town by a law of the 19th of July, 1814, when to its civil government were added two ordinary judges, one of orphans, three magistrates, two regulators of the market, two public scriveners, judicial and notarial, the first filling also the offices of escrivao of the town house, excise, and market, the other the office of escrivao of the orphans; there is also an alcaide and his escrivao.
St. Carlos de Jacuhy is situated near the origin of the river which lends it the name, has a church of the Lady of Conceiçao, and was created a town by the same law as Baepondy, with the same civil officers, to whom the parishioners of Cabo Verde became subject. It is near the boundary of the province of St. Paulo, and is abundant in cattle.
In this comarca are the following parishes:—St. Anna de Sapocahy, twenty-five miles from the river of the same name; the inhabitants cultivate legumes and are gold miners. Conceiçao de Camanducaya, fifteen to the right of the Jaguary; it exports hides. Carmo de Cabo Verde, near the river from which it takes the name; its parishioners cultivate cotton, some wheat, are miners, and export hides. St. Anna d’Itajuba, where wheat, rye, and Indian corn are cultivated. Pouzo-Alegre, whose inhabitants are agriculturists. St. Pedro d’Alcantara Oiro Fino, where there are hot springs; it is fifty miles from the town of Bragança, and cattle and wheat are its productions. Conceiçao das Laoras do Funil, sixty miles from St. Joao d’ el Rey; the inhabitants are agriculturists. Conceiçao de Pouzo Alto, fifty miles from the town of Campanha, where cotton and wheat are raised. Conceiçao da Juruoca St. Gonçalo, formerly a large and flourishing arraial, near twenty miles from Campanha; the inhabitants are miners and agriculturists.
This comarca is bounded on the north by the province of Pernambuco; on the west by that of Goyaz; on the south by the comarca of Rio das Mortes; and on the east by that of Serro Frio. It is three hundred and fifty miles from north to south, and more than two hundred and ten from east to west. It is watered by many rivers, the whole tributary to the St. Francisco, which traverses its southern part and separates it on the north from the comarca of Serro Frio. It abounds in pasturage and large herds of cattle, and has minesof various metals, diamonds, and other precious stones. It produces Indian corn, mandioca, rice, sugar, tobacco, legumes, cotton, various fruits, and in many parts plenty of game.
Mountains.—The serras of Marcella, Christaes, and Tabatinga, are the most elevated portions of the cordillera which limit it on the west. The serra of Jinipapo is in the vicinity of the confluence of the river Velhas; the serras Quatys and Araras in the centre of the western part. The serra Negra separates it from the comarca of Rio das Mortes for a considerable space, and is almost entirely of stone, having mines of good gold. The serra Lapa follows that of Oiro Preto to the north. The serra of Piedade extends nearly northward. Those of Saudade and Itucambira run north and south for a great extent, and at a considerable distance from the river Velhas, serving as limits between this comarca and that of Serro Frio.
Rivers and Lakes.—The river St. Francisco, which is the largest of the province, and receives a great part of its other rivers, rises in the vicinity of the serra of Canastra. After flowing a considerable space towards the north-east and gathering various small streams on both sides, it receives on the left the Bambuhy, which flows from the boundary and brings with it the Perdiçao, that originates in the serra Marcella: this is the first considerable stream that enlarges the St. Francisco. Twenty-eight miles lower it is joined on the right by the Lambary, which waters the extensive district of the town of Tamandua; as much further to the north it receives on the left the Marmellada, that flows from the serra Quatys. Eighteen miles lower the considerable river Para is incorporated with it, after running more than one hundred and forty miles from the south-east and passing the town of Pitangui. The Paraupeba follows, whose course is not less than two hundred and ten miles, its origin being near the town of Quelluz. The country through which it flows abounds with cattle.
Twenty-five miles below the confluence of the Paraupeba is that of the Andaya, which comes from the boundary, running along an extensive and moderately elevated cordillera, (whose southern portion is called Saudade and the northern Quatys,) and bringing with it the Funchal. This river, one hundred miles long, abounds with precious stones, amongst which there are many diamonds.
A little lower the Borrachuda, discharged also on the left, is not much inferior to the preceding, and runs like it along the western side of a cordillera called the serra Araras, which is parallel with the former.
Eighteen miles below, the considerable Abayte discharges itself on the same side, and is formed by two streams of the same name, that unite much above its mouth, whose origins are more than one hundred miles distant from each other; one comes from the south-west, the other from the north-west, and brings the waters of the small river Chumbo, that passes the base of a morro where there is a rich mine of lead, from which it takes the name. The intervening territory of the origins of the Abaytes is a wood, denominated the Matta da Corda, which invites the agriculturist, having various intervals of campinhas, where numerous herds of cattle graze, their owners living at a great distance.
Fifty miles further is the grand cataract of Pirapora, and fifteen beyond it the confluence of the large river Das Velhas, (Old Women,) originally Guaycuhy, which in the language of the aborigines signifies the same, and whose origin is in the vicinity of St. Bartholomew, six miles to the west of Villa Rica. It has a great number of falls, windings, and more than two hundred miles of course. The Parauna, the Pardo, and the Curmatahy, which unite with it on the right, and the Bicudo on the left, are its largest tributaries.
A little lower, the St. Francisco receives on the right the Jequetahy and the Pacuhy. Their adjacent lands are pastured by large cattle. Further on, the large Paracatu enters it on the left, the principal heads of which are the Escuro and the Prata, incorporated with the Arrependidos, which limits for some distance the two provinces. These rivers unite themselves a few leagues above the Corrego Rico, (Rich Channel) that passes near the town of Paracatu. Here it takes this name. Its largest tributary is the Preto, which issues from lake Feia, near the arraial of Coiros, in the province of Goyaz, and after having gathered a great number of small streams, joins the Paracatu on the left, almost at an equal distance from the confluence where it takes and that where it loses the name. A little below the Preto, on the opposite side, the Paracatu receives the Sonno, rich in precious stones, which brings the waters of the Almas, that joins it on the left. The Paracatu is navigable to a little below the Corrego Rico, and its crystalline waters are so light, that they float a considerable way above those of the river which receives them. Its lateral lands are abundant in cattle.
Twenty miles to the north, the St. Francisco receives, on the same side, the large Urucuya, navigable for a considerable distance. It originates on the boundary of Goyaz, is narrow and deep, having clear waters, which flow withsuch rapidity, that, on entering the St. Francisco, they at all times roll across, sensibly affecting the lands of its eastern margin. The St. Rita, joining on the right, and the Claro on the left, are its principal tributaries, both traversing sterile lands possessing cattle.
It is followed by the Acary, Pardo, Pandeiro, Salgado, Pindahyba, Itacaramby, and the Japore, the whole entering by the western margin. The Pandeiro has fine water, an extensive course, and traverses large woods of excellent timber with many cedars, where numerous colonies might be advantageously established, for the cultivation of their fertile soils.
A few leagues below the Japore, the important river Verde enters on the eastern side; and about the same distance further, the Carinhenha, which is large and navigable for a considerable extent. It rises in the chapadas of Santa Maria, near the limits of Goyaz; its crystalline waters, having a rapid current, flow for a considerable way without mixing with those of the St. Francisco after entering it.
We will finish the description of the noble St. Francisco when we treat upon the province of Pernambuco, which is bounded by this river from hence to the ocean. This very extensive river, as well as those mentioned which enlarge it, abound with fish, of which thedoirado,sorrubin,mandin, andpiranha, are the best.
Near the right margin of the St. Francisco, and eighteen miles below the confluence of the Bambuhy, is the lake Feia, of a circular form, about three hundred yards in diameter, of dark green water, and inhabited by thesucuryandsucuriusnakes, and the alligator. No reptile or even bird approaches to drink its waters. About two miles to the north, there is another called Lake Verde, narrow, six miles long, and the haunt of the same horrible creatures. Both lakes are discharged into the St. Francisco. Thesucuriuandsucurydiffer only in colour; the first is of a blackish hue, and the other grey: they have two large claws, or talons, near the extremity of the tail, with which they secure themselves to roots or the points of stones under the water, when they wish to seize any animal. The teeth are sharp pointed, and inclined towards the gorge, so that the prisoner cannot escape, although the monster wished to withdraw its hold.Sucuryshave been killed twenty yards long. These snakes are supposed to be a species of thesucuriubaof other provinces.
Villa Real do Sabara, (Royal Town of Sabara) is the head of the comarca, and ordinary residence of its ouvidor, who also acts in other situations. Itstands near the right margin of the Velhas, where this river receives the small stream that affords the town’s name, in a low situation, surrounded with mountains, and is large, flourishing, well supplied with meat, fish, and the common necessaries peculiar to the country. It has a church of the Lady of Conceiçao, a chapel of Our Lady of O, another of Rozario, and a numerous fraternity of blacks, two Terceira orders of Carmo and St. Francisco. There is a Juiz de Fora, who is head of the orphan establishment; a vicar; the usual professors of the first letters and Latin; and a smelting house for gold, the expenses of which are forty thousand crusades annually, having the same appointments as that of Villa Rica, with the exception of the engraver of stamps for coining, and the third founder. This town has a good fountain of excellent water in the street of Caquende, and four entrances from the cardinal points, all but one having wooden bridges; the eastern and southern are over the Sabara. The judicial officers are the same here as in the capital of the province; the annual revenue of the camara, or municipal body, is nine thousand crusades. The heat is here more intense in the hot months than in any other povoaçao in the province, arising, most probably, from its reflexion from the circumjacent mountains. A register for receiving the royal duties was, in 1712, established in this place, which is thirty-five miles north-north-west of Marianna, seventy north-east of Tamandua, near one hundred south-west of Villa do Principe, and seventy-five north-north-east of St. Joao d’ el Rey. The inhabitants, and those of six parishes within its district, (viz. Rio das Pedras, St. Antonio, Curral d’ el Rey, St. Luzia, Congonhas, and Rapozos,) comprising altogether forty-six thousand three hundred persons, are miners and farmers, and form two regiments of cavalry, one with eleven, and the other with eight companies, all whites; twenty companies of infantry; a regiment of eleven companies of mulattoes; and another of seven companies offorro, or free blacks. In the year 1788, the population of Sabara consisted of seven thousand six hundred and fifty-six persons, and eight hundred and fifty houses. In 1819, its inhabitants did not exceed nine thousand three hundred and forty-seven.
This comarca, which is nearly as large as England, does not, exclusive of the district of Paracatu, contain more than one hundred and thirteen thousand, three hundred and sixty-four souls. Senhor Gama, who was recently its ouvidor or governor, collected materials, during his triennial government, for a map of the comarca, which he presented to the minister of state at Rio de Janeiro, in expectation that his labours would at least have received some approbation; but the subject was treated with indifference. Senhor Gama subsequently mademe a present of the map, an exact copy of which is here introduced. The signal of a standard upon the map points out those places rich in diamonds, which, by a strange policy, are rigidly preserved untouched as a resource for the government; and whenever they are worked, if the proceedings are conducted upon the same principle as the diamond grounds of Tijuco, will certainly not be a source of much revenue to the state.