234 TRAVELS IN BRAZIL. 



called Mineiros, is raw cotton ; but besides that, a 

 considerable quantity of coarse cotton stuffs, for 

 clothing for the negroes, and for exportation 

 to Rio Grande do Sul and Buenos-Ayres, is 

 brought hither, chiefly from the district of Sahara 

 and S. Joao d'El Rey; also cheese, bacon, and 

 cakes of marmalade of quinces : many precious 

 stones likewise come hither from the interior, and 

 we were assured that a great contraband trade is 

 carried on in gold dust and diamonds, though nu- 

 merous police officers exercise great vigilance to 

 prevent it. 



As all the goods which are sent from Rio to 

 Minas, Goyaz, and Mato G rosso, likewise have 

 to go by Porto de Estrella, there is always a 

 great deal of business going on here, and it is 

 therefore very strange that there is not a single 

 good dwellinghouse, or even any secure magazine 

 for the goods. Every body must submit to take 

 shelter in a wretched scarcely covered shed, where 

 goods are likewise deposited. If the traveller does 

 not carry his provisions with him, as is the usual 

 custom, he must provide himself with what he 

 wants from the vendas, of which there are some 

 here, and must get his provisions dressed himself. 

 The meal generally consists of beans, boiled with 

 bacon, or of dried beef broiled ; for dessert we have 

 banians and cheese. The traveller sleeps upon an 

 ox hide, or on a frame of laths fixed in the earth, 



