Diamond District of Brazil. 245 



brooks, at a distance from the royal establishments ; and some- 

 times they carry their audacity so far, as to take them from 

 the gravel accumulated near the servicos, or washing-places of 

 the crown. These persons are commonly Maroon negroes, 

 who have established themselves in the midst of rocks and in- 

 accessible ravines. The slaves employed by the administra- 

 tion practise a thousand tricks to purloin the diamonds, and 

 frequently succeed. In the very face of the inspectors, they 

 know how to hide them between their toes, in their ears, in 

 their mouth, among their hair, and sometimes they even swal- 

 low them. There are some negroes who make it their business 

 to send out of the district the stolen diamonds, and in spite of 

 the vigilance of the soldiers who guard the frontiers, these art- 

 ful men, who know all the centinels, find means to make their 

 way through them. At one time purchasers were readily 

 found out of the district, who concealed the diamonds in bales 

 of cotton or other merchandise, and forwarded them to their 

 correspondents at Rio Janeiro or Bahia. 



The following is the method of working for the diamonds. 

 When a certain quantity of the gravel or cascalhao in which 

 they occur has been taken out of the river and put up in heaps, 

 a ditch about two feet is made, and water is brought into it. 

 The negroes, whose business it is to examine the cascalhao, 

 place themselves upon a bench placed in this ditch. Each slave 

 has a wooden dish about fifteen inches in diameter, which he 

 fills with cascalhao. He at first takes out of it the largest 

 stones ; he then plunges the dish into water, stirs it briskly, 

 and removes from it all the gravel, till there remains only sand 

 in the bottom. If he perceives in this sand a brilliant stone, 

 he takes it between his thumb and inside finger, rises from his 

 bench, and goes to deposit it in a small vessel filled with pure 

 water, and placed on a stool before the inspectors. When he has 

 finished his examination, he inverts his wooden dish, stretches 

 out his arms and separates his fingers, to show that he has not 

 kept any thing. He then goes again to fill his dish with cas- 

 calhao, and repeats the same operation. During all this time 

 the inspectors, sitting opposite to the negroes at the distance 

 of about twelve feet, keep their eyes on all their motions to 

 prevent any fraud. 



The inspectors remit every night the diamonds that have 



