As some of the mules had strayed during the night, we were delayed at our encampment till near noon on the following day; this was not at all agreeable, for we were exposed to a hot sun, without any means of sheltering ourselves from its influence. As I had now no animals of my own, I was obliged to submit to the will of the tropeiro, who did not seem very anxious to proceed rapidly on his journey. We found the mode of travelling in the southern provinces very different from that we had been accustomed to in the northern. Horses are seldom or never used, and only one journey is made in the day, which, according to the nature of the road, extends from three to four leagues. The troops, which often consist of as many as from fifty to one hundred mules, are very well organized, those which are not conducted by the owner himself being entrusted to an Arrieiro or muleteer, who, mounted on horseback, follows in the rear of the troop. It is he who gives the necessary orders for its starting and halting, looks to the condition of the pack saddles, and takes care the loads are well balanced, as otherwise they would gall the backs of the animals; it is also part of his business to examine the feet of the mules, when the troop halts, to ascertain the state of their shoes, and replace those which have been lost; the situation of Arrieiro is generally held by a free mulatto, and to him also the sale and purchase of goods is often entrusted. The roads in Brazil are so narrow that the animals are obliged to go singly, one before the other, and so much are they accustomed to this, that even when the road is broad enough for many to go abreast, they still persist in the habit they have acquired of following one another. The troop is subdivided into divisions (lotes) of seven mules each, which are separately managed by a driver (tocrado), who goes on foot, and is generally a negro. From As Borbas we made a journey of about three leagues and a half, through a hilly, rocky, uninteresting country, and arrived at a place called Tres Barras. Shortly before reaching it we passed the Arraial de Milho Verde, but at a short distance to the south, at a place called Váo, we crossed a small river over an old half-rotten wooden bridge. At this place there are a few poor looking houses, the owners of which are principally diamond washers; one of them showed me a few diamonds, all of which were very small, and not nearly equal in colour to those found near the Cidade Diamantina; one was jet black, a colour that not unfrequently occurs.
Leaving Tres Barras, another journey of three leagues and a half brought us to the Cidade do Serro. The road leads through a hilly undulating country, evidently much lower than that in the Diamond district which we left behind at Tres Barras; it had now lost its barren rocky appearance, the greater part of the rounded hills being wooded to their tops, and occasionally houses and plantations were to be seen in the hollows. In place of the gravelly soil which exists in the Diamond district, the red argillaceous ferruginous clay, so common in the country, again made its appearance. We came in sight of the city when about a league distant from it, and although much smaller than the Cidade Diamantina, its elevated situation gives it quite as striking an appearance. Like it, the greater part of the Cidade do Serro is built on the slope of a hill, which, however, is of less elevation, and the houses are not so closely crowded together. At this place I parted with the tropeiro who brought us from the Cidade Diamantina, and as there was no inn of any description, I took up my quarters in the public rancho, which is a large well-built house, expressly constructed for the accommodation of the troops that pass and repass, three only of which are allowed to rest in it at a time, and the proprietor charges four vintims (about two pence) per night to each tropeiro for the accommodation. He has adjoining it, a large venda, for the sale of provisions and Indian corn, and it is understood, that the tropeiros are expected to purchase there what they require for themselves, their men, and their mules. At this rancho I met with a muleteer returning to Ouro Preto, with his mules unloaded, eighteen of which I hired to carry us forward, and for which I agreed to pay him on our arrival there, 180 mil-reis, or about 22l. sterling.
Cidade do Serro, formerly known by the name of Villa do Principe, is situated partly on the northern acclivity, and partly upon the ridge of a hill which runs from east to west, and consists, principally, of one long street, with a few others that intersect it; these are nearly all well paved, and the houses are, with but few exceptions, white-washed. As in the capital of the Diamond district, almost every house has a small garden, which gives to the city a very pleasing appearance, when seen from a distance. I remained here only part of a day, and had, therefore, little opportunity of gaining much information respecting it; it struck me, however, during a walk through its principal street, that it was a dull place. According to St. Hilaire, it contained in the year 1817, a population of from 2,500 to 3,000 inhabitants; it has a few good shops, but the greater part of the respectable inhabitants are agriculturists, who have their fazendas in the neighbourhood. Gold at one time was found rather plentifully in the argillaceous soil, particularly in a small stream which runs in the valley below the city called the Corrego de quatro vintems; it is now, however, nearly exhausted, and only a few of the more wealthy citizens employ some of their slaves in search for this metal.
The hills around the Cidade do Serro, are covered with a grass which the Brazilians call Capim gordura (Melinis minutiflora, Nees ab E.). It is covered with an oily viscous matter, and universally makes its appearance in those tracts, which have been cleared of virgin forest for the purposes of cultivation; both cattle and horses are very fond of it, but although they soon fatten on it, the latter get short-winded, if they feed on it for any length of time. Martius considers this plant to be truly a native of Minas Geräes, while St. Hilaire is of a different opinion; as it is now everywhere so common in this province, it is a difficult matter to say which of those excellent botanists is in the right; all the agriculturists that I have spoken with on the subject agree with St. Hilaire, although they differ in opinion in regard to the place of its original growth. It is only on the mountains, that it is found covering large tracts, and at present it is rapidly extending northwards. St. Hilaire during his travels did not observe it beyond 17° 40´ of south latitude; but while crossing the Serra Geral from Goyaz to Minas, I met with it many degrees to the north of that parallel. T noticed it only near houses, and there is little doubt that in the course of a few more years it will overrun that chain in the same manner that it has done those of Minas. The seeds had evidently been brought from the latter country by troops, which pass that way into Goyaz; it is not to be met with at all in the Sertão. Another plant which makes its appearance with this grass, and one of the worst pests which the Brazilian farmer has to contend with is the Pteris caudata, a large brake similar to that so common in many places in Great Britain; it is called by the common name of Samambaia.
Leaving the Cidade do Serro, and passing through a hilly country, which is more thickly wooded, and contains a greater number of habitations than that we had lately traversed, a journey of four leagues brought us to the Arraial de Tapanhuacanga, where we passed the night in the public rancho; a large troop of about one hundred mules had arrived there before us, from Rio de Janeiro, loaded with European merchandise. This village is situated in a hollow, which is surrounded by some rather high hills, the nearest of which are covered with grass, a few solitary trees, and an immense number of the large clay nests of the white ant; while the more distant are covered with virgin forests. At the time the village was founded, gold was discovered abundantly in the neighbourhood, but it is now very nearly exhausted; it contains at present only about twenty or thirty houses, the greater part of which are falling into ruin, and the two churches are in the same condition. Below the village runs a small stream, in the bed of which a few miserable beings still endeavour to earn a livelihood by washing for gold. While in the rancho, one of the men belonging to the troop brought in a handful of branches covered with leaves, with which, after holding them some time over the fire, so as to render them brittle, he made a kind of tea for himself and his companions; from the fruit on it, I found it to be a species of Symplocos. The leaves of many other shrubs and trees are used in the same manner by the inhabitants of Minas, under the name of Congonha; those of the Ilex Caraguayensis, from which the celebrated Yerba of Paraguay is prepared, are most commonly used.
We left Tapanhuacanga early next morning, and having accomplished about five leagues and a half, we halted at a fazenda called Retiro de Padre Bento, a large house built on the gentle slope of a grassy hill; our whole journey, indeed, was through an open, hilly, grassy country, the pasture being chiefly Capim gordura. In many places the ground had been turned up to a great extent in search after gold, but the workings were all abandoned; large tracts were likewise covered with the tall brake of which I have already spoken. One of the most common trees I observed was a fine large Hyptis (H. membranacea, Benth.) bearing great panicles of purple flowers. This tree is from twenty to forty feet high, and is one of the largest species of the family of the Labiatæ I met with in Brazil.
After travelling about half a league next morning, we passed through the Arraial de Nossa Senhora de Conceição de Mato Dentro. This village is situated in a hollow, on the banks of a small stream, and is surrounded by high grassy hills; it contains about two hundred houses arranged in two long parallel streets, and is one of the most miserable looking places I have ever seen; many of the houses are falling into decay, and those which are still inhabited, are not even white-washed, but are merely covered with the red clay used in plastering them. The country around has a barren aspect, but as the hills are all covered with Capim gordura, it does not look quite so sterile as that around the Cidade Diamantina; they are, however, destitute of all those beautiful small shrubs, which render the mountains in the diamond district so interesting to the botanist. Except a few small gardens attached to some of the houses, there are no signs of cultivation in the neighbourhood of Conceição. At a short distance from this village the road passes over a high hill, upon reaching the top of which we got into a cold dense mist, which was rolling down into the valley before the wind, but which disappeared as soon as it reached a warmer atmosphere. We travelled in the mist for about half a league, and finally emerged from it by descending the opposite side of the Serra. On this descent we met another large troop consisting of upwards of one hundred mules, part of which was destined to the diamond district, and part to Minas Novas; the road was here so narrow that our small troop was obliged to halt while the others passed.
About a league and a half from Conceição, we passed a small iron work belonging to a German blacksmith; it is situated in a most romantic spot on the banks of a small river, the waters of which rush through a narrow rocky channel, and is surrounded by hills covered with virgin forests. The proprietor of this establishment told me that he had been eighteen years in Brazil, seven of which had been spent at this place. His furnace is a small one, making only a hundred weight of iron per day, but he was about to erect another of equal size. The blasts for the furnace, and for the forging fires, as well as the large hammer by which the iron is beaten into bars, are worked by water. He had several men in his employ, making all kinds of iron implements used in the country, but principally shoes for mules, for which he finds a quick sale from the tropeiros that are daily passing. He also manufactures a small quantity of steel, which he confessed to be of an inferior quality; there is abundance of iron-stone in the neighbourhood, and plenty of wood to make charcoal for reducing the ore. The province of Minas Geräes is perhaps richer than any part of the world in iron; indeed, as St. Hilaire observes, it may be considered as inexhaustible.[19] In Europe iron ore is generally found at a considerable depth, but in Minas it is frequently met with near the surface.
From Girão, for so this forge is called, we went on another league, and halted for the night in a public rancho at a fazenda called Escadinha. The country during the latter part of the journey was well wooded with virgin forests similar to those on the Organ mountains, and like them abounding in tree-ferns, small palms, and a large species of bamboo. It was quite refreshing to be once more in such a region, after wandering so long in the arid provinces of the north.