TRAVELS IN BRAZIL. 183 



cut out of the v/ood of the fig-tree (gamelleira), from 

 a foot and a half to two feet in diameter, and a foot 

 deep, (gamella, pajiella, patea^^ and a leather bag 

 fixed before them. They generally select those 

 places in which the river is not rapid, where it makes 

 a bend, and has deep holes. They first remove the 

 large stones, and upper layers of sand, with their 

 feet or their gamella, and then take up a bowl full 

 from the deeper and older gravel of the river 

 (cascalho virgeni). They continue to shake, wash, 

 and strike off the stones and sand at the top, till 

 the heavy gold dust appears pure at the bottom of 

 the vessel, on which a little water is thrown in with 

 the hand, and the gold at length put into the 

 leathern bag. This mode of gold-washing is here 

 called mergulhar^ diving. Every bowl of cascalho, 

 the washing of which requires about a quarter of 

 an hour, generally yields from one to two vintems*, 

 and a man may gain in this manner, several florins 

 in a day. They sometimes wash the cascalho 

 upon a platform {canoa\ erected on the spot. 



Having now reached the celebrated centre of 

 the gold country, we ardently wished soon to visit 

 the mines themselves. Our friend, Mr. Von 

 Eschwege, kindly met our wishes, and conducted 

 us to the eastern declivity of the Morro de Villa 

 Rica, which has hitherto yielded the greatest 

 abundance. From the southern hill of the moun- 



* A Vintem is l ^^d. 

 F 4 



