The Republican journal., 1892-08-18
, Diamond Mines of Brazil.

,FpEAGE YIELD BY THE METHODS EN-
ntoYED. WHERE THE ''FoRMACAo
rIAMANTE'' OCCURS. SOME OF THE
,1tKIEST FINDS. ABANDONED FIELDS.
DlAMoND MINING IN ITS PALMIEsT
JAYS.
special correspondence of The journal.
Bow JESUS DA LAPA, BRAZIL, 1872
though enough diamonds are annually
.le IN the wilds of Brazil to largely supply
hc markets of Europe, the world knows
,,rhng whatever about how and where
.l, GEMS are obtained or the relative
Fl. hness and extent of the mines; and as
b.. he Brazilian newspapers-youm might
search them from end to end, every day
hid year, without ever being able to
ad word of mining news. This drought
ntormation is no doubt partly due to
.t TACT that the enterprising reporter is
.r abroad in the land, as at the North,
M Nat South American journals contain
HIN, If what we call news, but are
sHN devoted to romances and to lengthy
,puotions on all manner OF topics eX-
,lose OF present practical Importance
M 8 is also possible that the shrewd
al~. being well aware that nothing but
-pd cupidity viii intuse much energy
bcm cuuntlymcn, consider it wiser to
si no statistics concerning the results
.lteir labor. We came to this Bahia
r1iuce, in which the oldest mines are
..a.ca, with the firm intention OF finding
IN about it ourselves of pilgrimaging
ttt diamond fields, and even of poking
.,oWn inquisitiVe fingers into the dirt and
iug cut precious stones. us little Jack
uucr pulled rlums from his pie. Rio
laneiro acquaintance discouraged us
uu the attempt 10y raking up all manner
lugaboos, which grew in size as we
feared the ultima thule for in Bahia. they
qououneed it absolutely impossible. They
tainted in darkest colors the long, arduous
mneys into uninhabited regions, where
accomodations exist for man or beast,
a certainly none for ladies; they told
nood curdling tales of atrocities which
azlian savages have perpetrated upon
alclurs, Of panthers and boa constructors
4J other denizens OF the tropical wilder
.,>s and some of them even went so far as
Js>ert that there are no more diamond
ue> in the country-at least none that
m worked at the present day,
Among all these teIrors one thing
v knew to be Urue-that hundreds
t -lou sands OF lives have been sacrificed
amOnd- mining in Brazil: for in this
u.- nj the world dame Nature protects
g treasures by placing them in fever
united, disease breeding districts, which
W. more dangerous to travellers than the
rt-ons that guarded the golden apples of
lrSperides. SO finally we compromised
.-4 ourselves. between discretion and
guai>tic pride. by coming more than
f WaN-to this remote hamlet OF Good
sils which is situated near the Jump
--uH place from such civilization as ex-
u interior Brazil, on the very verge OF
IaaoWn wilds To reach it we Travelled
.-o>~ country by stage-coacll to the near
illa4c on the Rio sac Francisco, and
vida 1ol weary days we sailed and sailed
Wat mighty river, in slow going,
tll matched uganda. The Sac Fran
,.o rising Somewhere in the mountains
Ninas-Gelaes, 1iows almost due north
s.. cutting Bahia province in twain,
phil enters the Atlantic a little way below
Ia port of Pelnambuco and along its far
,utuern course, especially i'll the province
4 Ninas- Geraes, the most celebrated dia-
Nd fields are found Time was when
n mines OF Bonn Jesus da I4apa We're the
N'~t important of them all, for the very
diamond ever discovered in Brazil
as found near this village. The story of
rnding is as follows:
Many years ago, when all the coun-
round about was still waste
arie, one moonlight night a cer-
4A senior Manuel das Dores Machado.
1Ause iazenda was several miles further
The river was riding homeward from
4 unsuccessful search otter a stray pony
uetully picking his way, as to this
-tf Is necessary, among the innumerable
l-hills and armadill) holes-when he
>lyed an object OF wonderful brightness,
.te1ing on top OF a little mound of fresh
ud which an Industrious ''tatu'' dur
wing owD, had just turned up. Dis
"1unting quickly, he was as much aston
shed as delighted to and that it was a di;-
W0nd-and a big one too. A first he said
utlling about it to his neighbors and
SENDS; but the latter could not long re-
ua.n in ignorance OF the fact that he had
AIKEN all the slaves off the farm and set
Iltn To searching for something on the
Isolate prairie. And so the strange news
SPREAD, people fucked in from all parts
0id with excitement; and in six months
lne the hitherto almost unnhabitcd re-
-ln became the most densely populated
portion OF Brazil Senior Manuel owned
VI the land for miles around, and in the
iIot flush Of success, believing his store
treasure to be exhaustess, he gave
tNay diegings right and left to his favorites
i Al L