334 AVOYAGETO Book IX. 



all the modern geographers. All thofe which I have 

 fearched are, however, filent as to any remarks on this 

 place. 



The next place on this coaft is Rio Camamn, a 

 large river, about twenty-five leagues to the fouth- 

 ward of Bahia here are numbers of fmall towns and 

 villages, and the banks of this river are the beft inha- 

 bited of any part of the Brazils. There are not lefs 

 than three or four hundred fmall vefTeJs employed by 

 the inhabitants to convey their commodities to Bahia 

 and Rio de Janeiro. The Jefuits formerly held a great 

 traffic with this place, and fent a large frigate loaded 

 from thefe parts to Paraguay, but with what goods I 

 could never learn the fource of this river is in the 

 centre of the gold mines, from which circumftance it 

 is eafy to guefs at fome part of their cargo. 



From hence to the Ilheos is a bold (bore-, afterwards ve- 

 ry rocky and ftioaly, till you get to the fouthward of the 

 Abrolhos. Off the mouth of Rio Grande there is not 

 above6 or 7 fathom water at the diftance of 10 leagues 

 from the land. On this coail there are many little har- 

 bours, and rivers whole borders are well inhabited •, 

 the chief of which are des Contas, los Ilheos, Rio 

 Grande, and Porto Seguro; but their entrances are 

 very dangerous v/ithout a ^l^:ilful pilot, and their trade 

 the fame as at Camanu. I proceed, therefore, to Rio 

 dos Caravellos, into which the Abrolhos forbid an en- 

 trance without the affillance of a Ikilful pilot. On the 

 banks of this river are feveral little towns and villages, 

 at one of which they build veflels of one hundred 

 tons burthen ; this river was well known to the Je- 

 fuits, and the moil convenient place they could have 

 thought of, if they had had a mind to finger any of 

 the gold before it came under the infpe6lion of the 

 king's officers for moft of the Bandeiras, or com- 

 panies that go in fearch of new mines, or to feek for 

 gold in the torrents between the inland mountains, 

 afcend this river as far as they can in their canoes. 



