170 SYSTEMATIC DESCRIPTION OF PRECIOUS STONES 



In 1834, the year in which the independence of Brazil was established, the Government 

 monopoly of diamond-mining ceased. Since this date the concession of full mining rights 

 has been granted to any petitioner on the payment of a small tax, varying in amount with 

 the area he proposes to work. The landowner is also entitled to demand 25 per cent, of 

 the rough production, and a duty of ^ per cent, is imposed on exported stones. 



The negro slaves, by whom the whole of the actual labour connected with the mines 

 was formerly done, were subjected to the strictest supervision. To minimise the temptation 

 to conceal valuable stones, the finders of large diamonds received special rewards ; thus, at 

 one time, the fortunate finder of a diamond of 17J carats received his freedom, but later, 

 when the price of slaves rose, this custom was dropped. 1 hose slaves, on the other hand, 

 who were detected in the act of concealing diamonds, were treated with barbaric severity. 



As may be gathered from the scene pictured in Plate VI., the whole of the work was 

 done by hand, the " cascalho " being carried in baskets on the heads of the negroes, and no 

 attempt made to save time and labour by the introduction of machinery or mechanical 

 appliances. Even at the present day the same primitive methods are still in use, the 

 difficulties in the way of the transport of large and heavy pieces of machinery to such 

 inaccessible regions being almost insuperable. It is always more practicable therefore to 

 employ hand labour, especially as, in addition to previous considerations, there is the fact 

 that since any one locality is soon exhausted it would be necessary to move the machinery 

 very often. The occupation of diamond-mining is very lucrative only under exception- 

 ably favourable circumstances ; as a rule, the working expenses are very high and the losses 

 by embezzlement considerable. 



Brazilian diamonds, when they first appeared in the market, were not favourably 

 received by the diamond-buying public, and were asserted to be either not diamonds at all 

 or inferior stones from India. On this account many Brazilian stones were sent first to 

 Goa, a Portuguese possession in India, and from thence entered the market as Indian stones. 

 When this arrangement came to the ears of the Dutch merchants, they at once entered into 

 a contract by which they secured a monopoly of the trade in Brazilian diamonds, which were 

 subsequently sent direct from Rio de Janeiro and Bahia to Amsterdam. In consequence of 

 a treaty entered into at a later date with the English Government, the whole output was 

 sent to London ; in recent times the majority of Brazilian stones are purchased by Fi-ench 

 houses and put on the Paris market. 



In the preceding pages the production and occurrence of diamonds in the State of 

 Minas Geraes, and especially in the district of Diamantina, have been described in some detail, 

 the total output from this State alone having exceeded that of the rest of Brazil. Other 

 States in which diamonds occur have been already named ; with the exception of Bahia they 

 are much less known than is the district of Diamantina ; their production is also much below 

 that of either Bahia or Minas Geraes and is now probably everywhere at an end ; this being 

 so, only a short notice of them will be given. 



In the State of Sao Paulo, to the south of Minas Geraes, diamonds have been found 

 in the rivers flowing into the Rio Parana. 



In the State of Parana diamonds have been found, more especially in the basin of the 

 Rio Tibagy. This river runs through the Campos of Guarapuavas and empties itself into 

 the Rio Parapanema, which is a tributary of the Parana. Diamonds are found also in the 

 tributaries of the Rio Tibagy, especially the Yapo and the Pitangru, and are everywhere 

 associated with a somewhat considerable amount of gold. These rivers are remarkable for 

 the presence in their beds of pot-holes and channel-like depressions, very local in their 

 occun-ence, and often containing a large ciuantity of stones. Just as in the districts 



