Wisconsin herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1846-1849, 1846-03-07
The Wonderful Mime of Dia.
IllOndS.

All readers OF newspapers nave SEEM
within the past year, some one or more
notices of the discovery Of a remark.
ABLY productive mine Of diamonds
The following details respecting it, and
which we believe will not be without
interest, we translate from one of our
Paris files. Should they prove reliable,
they are certainly more surprising than
ANYTHING of the kind before known
IBuff. Pilot.
eve. some time SINCE announced the
discovery Of mine Of diamonds, in
Brazil. We have now received from
Rio Janeiro, a letter which furnishes
some curious details upon the explor-
alton OF this mine-the most fruitful
and the most extensive ever yet dis
covered.
"For some months past, says the
letter. which is dated the lst of August,
Is45, the communications and the COM
mercial relations with the province OF
Bahia have exhibited the most extra
ordinary activity. A great number OF
inhabitants, Of spectators and adven-
turers, and even some proprietors OF
sugar works, have emigrated. with their
slaves, to the province of Bahia, where
is situated an immense mine of dia-
monds, of which the products are real
" incredible. 1t was discovered last
October, by slave, who, in twenty
days, had collected seven hundred ca
rats of diamonds, and had carried them
some distance, for sale. The slave was
arrested and imprisoned, but steadily
refused to tell where he obtained his
diamonds. He was finally suffered to
escape, and some intelligent Indians
were employed to watch his move
ments. These followed him for sew
eral days, and finally surprised him.
while digging for diamonds, not far
from Caxocina, the second town of the
province of Bahia. Search was then
Instituted, more extensively, along a
chain of mountains, called Sincura. and
upon the banks of the Paraguassa,
which falls into Bahia bay.
"The first who established them
selves at the mine of Sincura, were, for
the most part, fugitives from justice,
and murderers and these evinced their
presence by assassiuations and burn
ings. The difficulty of subsisting, in
the country, and the danger to which
those were exposed who repaired thith-
er for the purpose of buying the dia-
monds, with the money Of the country,
deferred honorable dealers from en-
tering into the trade. But, gradually,
the population having been augmented,
some police regulations were adopted
by the numerous settlers and the
mining operations, for the first time,
were then carried on upon an extensive
scale. The population, which, but re-
Gently was only 5000 souls, scattered
through three hamlets, had become, at
the end of July last, more than thirty
thousand, and was still increasing
There are now seven villages and the
central point of the commerce in dia-
monds. is at one of these named Par
aguasse, which, though well peopled,
has vet no more than twelve small
houses constructed of masonry. To
this place most of the miners resort. on
Saturday and Sunday, to make sale OF
what diamonds they have collected du-
ring the week.
"The diamonds from the Paraguasse
mine are generally of brown color,
and very irregular in their form.--
White, and light green, almost trans
lucent, when taken from the mine, dis
tinguish those from Lancoes-another
locality. and the name of its village, for
this mine is by no means single spot,
and villages spring up wherever sue
cessful opening OF the soil is made
These last have the octoedrical form,
and are the most perfect and valuable.
Often, pits are sunk from twelve to fiji
teen feet before reaching the formation
in which the diamons occur. Dia-
monds are also found in adjacent, stony
ravines, in the bottom of the Paraguas-
Sc river, and in the rivulets which fall
into this stream.
"The price of the diamonds Of this
nine varies, at Bahia, from Sl34 to
s26S, the octave, according to their
beauty and size. The octave is Ia
carats, but the Brazil carat is "A per
cent less than the French carat.
"The two English packets of May
ard June, from Brazil, carried to
Europe about !SI,000,000 worth of