184^ 



TRAVELS IN BRAZIL. 



tain (As cabegas), we passed through several gar- 

 dens ornamented with fuchsia, near to the Hospicio 

 de Jerusalem, and by the side of a deep trench to 

 a naked ravine, irregularly rent, and full of masses 

 of rock, which had fallen down, presenting a pic- 

 ture of wild desolation. How great was our asto- 

 nishment, when our friend signified to us that this 

 was the rich gold mine of Villa Rica. The mine 

 in which we then were belonged to Colonel Velozo, 

 and is one of the oldest and most productive. Sieves 

 and raw ox hides w^ere placed at certain distances, 

 in trenches full of water, conducted from the 

 summit ; the first serve to stop the coarser sand, 

 and the latter to catch the gold dust in the hair, 

 which stands erect. Here and there we also saw 

 detached trenches (mondeos), in which the auri- 

 ferous mud or sand collects. As soon as the 

 rainy season commences, these simple preparations 

 are put in motion. The water which is led into 

 the trenches, washes the gold out of the stones, 

 and brings it either into the trenches, or between 

 the hair of the hides ; the gold is then washed 

 out of the mud in those receptacles, by negro 

 slaves, who sit there stripped to the waist on 

 wooden benches, with their bowls ; and the gold 

 caught by the ox hides, washed in tubs made for 

 the purpose, and beaten out. The former pos- 

 sessors always had their mine worked by several 

 hundred slaves, and derived immense profit from 

 it ; at present, however, it seems to be much 



