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Dr. Gomedez, a man of talents and science, with whom I entered 

 into conversation, and who afterwards shewed me a fine collection 

 of gold in various forms, some like duck-shot, others laminated with 

 micaceous iron, others arborescent. He had also some specimens of 

 stalactitic matter, on which nitre was forming, others of specular 

 iron ore, and three or four fine pieces of chrome, which I at first 

 took for realgar. From this gentleman I received considerable in- 

 formation respecting the mineralogy of the country, which is so dif- 

 ficult to be obtained accurate, that I found reason to reject all which 

 did not correspond with what I saw. In the course of the evening 

 the party was joined by the Count de Engenhausen, who commands 

 a corps of cavalry in the district. He made many enquiries of me 

 respecting England, that being the country in which he had received 

 his education, and to which he seemed as much attached as to his 

 native soil. 



This large establishment, though still rich in gold, is worked by 

 only two hundred negroes. One part of the estate is an auriferous 

 mountain of schistus, containing beds of micaceous iron ore ; the 

 latter substance forms a thin stratum, which contains gold in grains 

 laminated with it. It is singular to remark, that the cascalhao, 

 which generally, nay almost invariably, occurs in ravines and low 

 situations is here found at a very small depth below the summit. 



The discovery of the original gold-mine in this rich sesmaria is said 

 to have been owing to the following accident. Some negroes em- 

 ployed in clearing the land, broke up an ant-hill of considerable 

 size, when on laying it open to the air, for the purpose of destroy- 

 ing or dispersing the insects, large grains of gold were found. It is, 

 however, highly probable that the general characteristics of the 

 soil had led to the discovery long before this period, and that the 

 accident here related served only to indicate the presence of gold in 

 a part which had not been supposed to contain any. The estate is 

 situated almost in the centre of the mining coqntry, and is reputed 

 one of the richest portions of it. The owner and his brother, who 



