688 CENTRAL BRAZIL. 



Between the western end of this table-land and the Andes 

 of Bolivia is a wide plain from one thousand to fifteen hundred 

 feet in height, with here and there a few hills rising above 

 it. It is mostly covered by dense forests ; but occasionally 

 there are barren districts, in which only a stunted vegetation 

 appears. This plain is traversed by several tributaries of the 

 great River Madeira, which falls into the Amazon. In this 

 wide-extending table-land, and among the serras amidst it, 

 rise innumerable streams, which flow into the Amazon on the 

 north and the La Plata on the south — many of them, as they 

 plunge into the plain, forming foaming torrents and magni- 

 ficent cataracts. The vegetation of these highlands offers a 

 great contrast to the dense forest of the great valley and the 

 seaboard. 



The cerrados, as they are called, or scrub — consisting chiefly 

 of acacias and leguminosae — reach to the height of ten or 

 twenty feet. Numerous other shrubs and smaller plants, 

 many of which are medicinal, cover the ground, and send 

 forth a delicious perfume into the pure air. The tussock, in 

 thick clumps, is also seen growing in various directions ; in- 

 deed, altogether, the Campo is far more completely clothed than 

 either the Llanos or Pampas. 



Among these mountains are the celebrated diamond-mines 

 of Brazil. Some of the mines are reached by shafts of great 

 depth, sunk into the ea^th, whence galleries are run along the 

 veins, somewhat in the mode of gold-mines. Gold is also 

 obtained, by washing in the streams. The diamonds are pro- 

 cured in the same manner. The strictest watch is kept over 

 the slaves employed in searching for diamonds, to prevent 

 them from secreting the precious stones, and for this purpose 

 numerous overseers are required. 



