TOPOGEAPHY— CACHOEIEA. 175 



by artisans and others who have not the means of making the grand tour in the 

 Old World. During the war of independence Great Britain offered to take 

 Itaparieâ in payment of the debt due to her by Portugal. But this would be 

 equivalent to surrendering the key of Brazil to the English, and the offer was 

 declined. 



On the Atlantic slope of the peninsula are situated varioiis suburban retreats, 

 such as Rio Vermelho and Bomfim with a church reputed to be the richest in Brazil. 

 The shores of the bay are also studded with nvimerous trading places, which com- 

 municate with Bahia by means of little steamers said to number over a thousand. 



Below Scodo Amaro, on the river of like name, which enters the bay at its 

 northern extremity, the State has established an agricultural institution and model 

 farm. Cachoeira, on the E,io Paraguassu, which debouches on the west side of the 

 bay, collects the tobacco, coffee, fruits, and other agricultural produce of the 

 district, and forwards it to Bahia either direct or through its out-port, Maragogipe. 

 Farther north lies la Feira de Santa Anna, " Saint Anne's Fair," chief market for 

 the cattle of the backwoods and of the S. Francisco valley. 



A viaduct of four spans, each 300 feet, the most remarkable structure of the 

 kind in Brazil, connects Cachoelra with its suburb of 8. Felix on the right bank, 

 terminus of the railway ascending the Paraguassu valley to the diamantiferous 

 district of Lençôes. In 1845, when first discovered, the mines of this district 

 yielded diamonds to the value of .£2,650. The blackish amorphous carbonado 

 diamonds used in piercing tunnels are chiefly obtained at Lençoes and the neigh- 

 bouring Chapada Diamantina west of the Paraguassu valley. 



NazaretJi, at the head of the navigation on the Jaguaripe estuary south of the 

 fertile Itaparica Island, supplies Bahia with manioc and other produce brought by 

 a railway from the interior. Another line runs from Bahia due north to the 

 station of A/agoinhas, where it bifurcates. One branch traverses the sugar and 

 tobacco plantations of the coast as far as Tiniho near the Rio Itapicuru, while the 

 other runs north-west towards Vi/ta Nova da Rainha, whence it is to be continued 

 to Joazeiro above the S. Francisco Falls. "Near Monte Santo, east of this branch, 

 was discovered in 1784 the famous meteorite of Bendego, a huge block weighing 

 114 cwt., which was afterwards removed at great expense to the museum of E,io 

 de Janeiro. 



South of Bahia follow the coast towns of Vatença, said to produce the best 

 cotton fabrics in Brazil, Taperoa, Cainamu, with the excellent harbour of Acarahy, 

 Contas, Ilhcos, founded in 1530, Canarieiras in the Jequitinhonha delta, formerly 

 a place of exile for political prisoners, Belmonte, which gives its name to the Lower 

 Jequitinhonha. In the upper reaches of this river the Paulistas founded the 

 famous mining town of Minas Novas in the territory of the Macusgi Indians early 

 in the eighteenth century. The place rapidly prospered, and as rapidly declined, 

 owino- to the severe fiscal measures taken to protect the interests of the Crown. 

 The yellow topazes and aquamarines of Minas Novas have enriched many col- 

 lections. 



A railway running from the port of Caravelks at the southern extremity of 



