DIAMOND REGION. 



307 



" If, as we are assured, the laws which heretofore governed this branch 

 of industry are not legally repealed, they have at least completely fallen 

 into disuse. The inhabitants of Diamantino only complain that the 

 prohibition of the slave trade renders it impossible for them to profit by 

 the wealth of the country. 



"In 1746 valuable diamonds were found, for the first time, in Matto 

 Grosso, and were soon discovered in great quantities in the little river of 

 Ouro. The governor, Manuel Antunes Nogueiza, designing to take 

 possession of these lands for the benefit of the Crown, ejected the in- 

 habitants therefrom. Famine made great ravages among the wretches 

 thus deprived of their homes. 



"From that time the country seems to have suffered every evil. A 

 long drought was followed by a terrible earthquake on the 24th Sep- 

 tember, 1746. It was not until May 13, 1805, that the inhabitants 

 were again permitted to take possession of their property, but upon 

 condition of remitting to the Crown,, under severe penalties, all the dia- 

 monds found. 



"In 1809 a royal mandate established at Cuyaba a diamond junta. 



" Gold and diamonds, which are always united in this region, as in 

 many others, are found, especially in the numerous water-courses which 

 furrow it, and also throughout the whole country. 



" After the rains, the children of Diamantino hunt for the gold con- 

 tained in the earth even of the streets, and in the bed of the river Ouro, 

 which, as has been said, passes through the city ; and they often collect 

 to the value of one or two patacas (from eight to fifteen grains) Brazil 

 weight. 



" It is related that a negro, pulling vegetables in his garden, found a 

 diamond in the earth attached to the roots. It is also said that, shortly 

 before our arrival at Diamantino, a muleteer, driving a stake in the 

 ground to tie his mules to, found a diamond of the weight of a demi- 

 oitava, (about nine carats.) This last circumstance occurred in the 

 chapada (table land) of San Pedro. 



" We have heard it stated that diamonds are sometimes found in the 

 stomachs of the fowls. 



" The rivers Diamantino, Ouro, and Paraguay appear already to be 

 completely exhausted. The river JBurite continues to furnish many 

 stones; but the Santa Anna, so to speak, is still virgin, and, notwith- 

 standing the incredible quantity of diamonds taken from it, it does not 

 appear to have lost its primitive richness. 



" It would appear, however, that diamond-hunting is not as produc- 

 tive as it is believed; for they quote in the country, as very remarkable, 



