The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1892-08-14
BRAZIL'S DIAMONDS
Average Yield of the Mines by
Methods Employed.
SOME OF THE LUCkIEsr FINDS
Where The ~gormacao Diamanten Occurs and
the abandoned Fields-Diamond Min
ing in Its Palmiest Days.

BoM JESUS DA LApA. Brazil, July ], 1892.
Especial correspondence Of The SUNDAY
HERALD.i-Though enough diamonds are
annually dug in the wilds of Brazil to
largely supply the markets Of Europe, the
world knows nothing Whatever about how
and where the gems are obtained, or the
relative richness and extent Of the mines;
and as to the Brazilian newspapers-you
might search them from end 10 end, every
day in the year. without ever being able to
find word OF mining news. This drought
Of information is no doubt partly due to
the fact that the enterprising reporter is
not abroad in the land, as at the north, and
that South American journals contain little
Of what we call news" but are chiefly
devoted to romances and to lengthy dis
ouisitions on all manner Of topics except
those of present practical Importance; and
1t is also possible that the shrewd miners,
being well aware that nothing but aroused
cupidity viii infuse much energy into their
countrymen, consider It wiser to furnish
no statistics concerning the result Of their
labor.
We came to this Bahia providence, in
which the Oldest mines are located, with
the firm intention Of finding out all about
it for ourselves-of pilgrimaging TO far
diamond fields, and even of poking our own
inquisitive fingers into the dirt and pulling
out precious stones, as little Jack Horner
pulled plums from his pie. Rio de Janerio
acquaintance discouraged US from the at
tempt by rRking up all manner OF bugaboos,
which grew ia size as we neared the ultima
absolutely impossible. They painted In
darkest colors the long, arduous journeys
into uninhsbited regions, where no accom-
modations exist for man or beast and Ger
taluly none for ladies. They told curdiing
tales o. atrocities which Brazilian savages
have perpetrated upon travellers, OF panth
ers and boa constructors and other denizens
OF the tropical wilderness; and some OF
them even went SO far as TO assert that
there are no more diamond mines in the
country-at least none that are worked at
the present day.
Among all these terrors, one thing we
know TO be rrue-that hundreds Of thou
sanos OF lives have been sacrificed TO dia-
mord mining il Brazil; for ia this part Of
the world Dame Nature protects her treas
ures by placing them In fever-haunted,
disease breeding districts which are more
dangerous 10 travellers than the dragons
that guarded the gOlden apples of Hesper-
selves, between discretion and journalistic
pride by coming more than half way-to
this remote hamlet Of Good jesus which
is situated nesr the jumping of place from
such civilization IS exists in interior
Brazil, on the very verge of unknown
wilds. To reach ii we travelled across
country by stage cosch 10 the nearest vii
lage on the Rio San Francisco, and then for
weary days we sailed and sailed on that
mighty river in Slow going, palm matched
uganda. The San Francisco. rising some
where in the mountains OF MinAs- Ceres,
flows almost due northward, cutting Bahia
province IN twain. and enters the Atlantic
q little way below the port OF Pernam buco;
Rnd along it's far southern course especially
ia the province Of Mnas-Gsroes the most
celebrated diamond fields are found. Time
was when the mines Of 3om Jesus ia Lapa
were the most important OF them all for
the very first diamond ever discovered in
Brazil was found near this village. The
story Of its finding is as follows:
Many years ago, when ali the country
round about was still vast prairie, one
moonlight night a certain Senor Marvel
dRs Dores Machado. whose fazenda was
several miles further up the river, was
riding home from an unsuccessful search
after stray pony-carefully picking his
way, rs TO this day is necessary, among the
innumerable ant hills and armadillo holes
brightness glittering on top of a little
mound OF fresh sand which an Industrious
.'tatu'-burrowing owl-had just turned
up. DismountinR quickly, he was as much
astonished Rs delighted 10 find that it was
a diamond-sno big one. too. At first he
said nothing about il 10 his neignbors and
friends. but the latter could not long re-
main ia ignorance OF the fact that he had
taken all the slaves of the farm and set
them TO searching for something On the
desOlate prairie. And so the strange news
spread People hocked IN from all parts,
wild with excitement, and ia ak nor tbs
time the hitherto almost uninhabited region
became the most Gensely popllsted portion
OF Brazil Senior Msnvel owned al the
land for miles around, and in the first flush
OF success, believing his store OF treasure
70 be exhaustless, he gave away diggings
right and left 10 his fsvorites and made a
liberal grant for tue foundation Of a town,
which was duly christened BON Jesus da
IIapa. When the surface stones we're all
picked up-which did not take long. BY
reason Of the multiIudes engaged in the
work-Rnd the sands Of the river had been
washed, unsuccessfully, for q few miles VI
and down, the crowds gradually dispersed
but enough remained-probabiy because
they were too poor and INDECENT TO get
awsy-to give some permanent importance
10 the town and its vicinage The people
hereabouts are mostly Catholicism igncr-
ant class which is understood to include all
persons OF mixed blood. the African pre-.
dominating, who are neither fazeudeiros-
farfuers-nor neutrality-suspicious.
generally non-property holding Probably
one reason why the place was not entirely
deserted, like most other decayed mining
regions, was because the mines had not
been worked by any great company, whose
collapse, when Il did occur, would have
been cndden and complete, dragging down
many people and running the country, for
miles around. put here no machinery had
ever beet employed, nobody had invested
any money, end the advonturers, who had
lost nothing but extravagsnt hopes, were
quite as cOntented in one place As another.
Therefore, many OF the examiners became
small farmers, and Unfortunately for
rapid progress), and San Francisco prairie
is SO well adapted TO agricultural purposes
that the lazy Caboclos can supply all their
simple wants by working two or three
months out Of the twelve.
Though diamond hunting was practically
at en- end ia this locality as long ago as
1871, q cesultory search is still kept mp, and
with very fair returns, II seems 10 me, con
sidering the methods employed. I have
visited number OF small shops and bam-
boo huts Of CabOlco citizens, ostenBibly &c
buy diamonds; and in every case a little
stem OF bamboo was produced, hollow ike
bottle with q twisted leaf stuck in the
end for s cork, out Of which the master Of
the house ratified number OF small dia.
monds into the palm Of his hand Some
times the stones sre not diamonds nj ali.
only pretty bits Of quartz, and always the
the owners wanted more for each tiny gem
than would be asked for much larger and
better cut diamonds ia Paris. London OF
New York. Though Of purest water
Brazilian diamonds are uniformly small as
compared with those of India. To be sure
few very large ones have been found
notably the Estrella DO Sui, "Star OF the
SOUTH y which figured at the Paris exposi
sfcr ~ 1Shf ps a ivaf IN tha rel,.hrota ~