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The village of Concepcao seemed to me large enough to contain 

 two thousand inhabitants, but, like most others in this exhausted 

 district, it was fast hastening to decay. The rent of a tolerable 

 house is about two shillings a month. The only manufacture carried 

 on here is that of a little cotton, which is spun by the hand, and 

 woven into coarse shirting. It appears to be a maxim among the in- 

 habitants rather to go naked, than labour to clothe themselves. The 

 vestiges of old gold-washings in every direction, and the slight quan- 

 tities still found in all parts, from the summits of the mountains to 

 their bj|^es, might almost lead a traveller to conclude that the whole 

 country was at one period auriferous. The surface is in general fine 

 red earth, and in many parts presents fine situations for iron-works, 

 as there is ore and wood in abundance. It is much to be wished 

 that such works were established ; for iron is so dear at Concept ao, 

 and the people in general so poor, that the mules have seldom a shoe 

 to their feet, which is irksome to the riders, and dangerous to the 

 animals themselves, as they are continually coming down, particu- 

 larly when ascending a clay-hill, after a shower of rain. 



Neither here, nor in any other part of my journey from Villa Rica, 

 did I observe any limestone, though I was informed that consider- 

 able quantities were found near Sabara. 



Taking leave of the worthy curate, I set out for Tapinha-canga*, 

 distant about thirty miles. After an unpleasant ride through a 

 rough stony country, abounding in quartz laminated with schistus, I 

 reached a village called Corvos, where there are some gold-washings, 

 one of which produced, about half a year ago, a net profit of 8001., 

 though only four negroes were employed a month upon it. The road 

 to the village above-mentioned led through a most uneven tract, pre- 

 senting formidable precipices, which required us to travel with so 

 much caution, that we did not complete our journey until an hour 



* Canga is the name of ferruginous quartz, fragments of which abound in this town, 

 and are used for paving the streets. 



