I was afterwards favored with a sight of the remaining diamonds in the Treasury; they appeared to be in quantity about four or five thousand carats. The largest did not generally exceed eight carats, except one of a fine octahedral form, full seventeen. Among the few colored diamonds, one of the smallest was of a beautiful pink, one of a fine blue, and several were of a green tinge; the yellow were the most common and least esteemed.
Having now finished my business, I took my leave of the treasurer, with thanks for his polite attention, and on my return home wrote a letter to the Conde de Linhares, stating the result of my visit. It was no agreeable task to a stranger to have to announce that a substance which had been considered as an inestimable addition to the treasures of the state, was in reality, though singular in its appearance, of very trifling value, and this too in a letter which was to be laid before the Prince. His Highness, however, was prepared for the intelligence, and was too noble-minded to manifest any chagrin at the disappointment. The poor negro who had presented it was of course deeply afflicted by this unwelcome news; instead of being accompanied home by an escort, he had to find his way thither as he could, and would, no doubt, have to encounter the ridicule and contempt of those who had of late congratulated him on his good fortune.
When I had nearly completed my preparations for the journey, Mr. Goodall, a most respectable merchant, expressed a desire to accompany me to Villa Rica, which I readily acceded to, as he was a most agreeable companion. Lord Strangford having procured him passports from the ministers, he was enabled to join me without delay. On the 17th of August, 1809, we set out on a journey which no Englishman had ever before undertaken, nor had any ever yet been permitted to pass the barrier of alpine mountains that stretch along the coast.
Having embarked in a large market-boat with our retinue, which consisted of the two soldiers before mentioned, and my servant, a most trusty negro-boy, we made sail at mid-day with a sea-breeze, and ran down the bay about six leagues. We then passed the island of Governador and various others, one of which was the beautiful Cocoa-nut island. Proceeding along the strait, formed by it and another of similar extent, we crossed a fine open bay, and arrived at the mouth of the Moremim, a picturesque river which presents in its serpentine course a great variety of beautiful scenery. It was now sun-set; the weather was mild and serene, and we paused awhile to enjoy one of the finest rural prospects which we had ever seen in Brazil—a fine romantic fore-ground, enriched by the vivid foliage of the woods on the banks of the stream, and contrasted by the bold outline of the mountains in the distance, among which we noticed that singular chain of perpendicular rocks, called the Organpipe mountains, from their resemblance in form and position to the front of the instrument alluded to. Having advanced two leagues up the river, we arrived at a village on its margin, called Porto da Estrella, a place of great stir and bustle, on account of the hourly arrival of numerous droves of mules laden with produce from the interior. Here are some poor dwellings, and a number of large storehouses for the reception of the produce. The muleteers, being provided with bedding and cooking utensils, never leave their cattle, so that good inns are to them unnecessary. We were shewn into the best in the place, which was as dirty and inconvenient as can possibly be imagined. I shall forbear to detail the discomforts of the night, and merely observe that they were such as to make us early stirrers in the morning. Our soldiers procured us mules, but owing to the great bustle of loading and unloading, we were not in travelling order until ten o’clock. We now proceeded about three leagues along the low land, having the range of mountains on our left, and passing the village of Piedade entered on a beautiful plain at their base. We stopped at a house at which the Prince Regent had remained three nights for the benefit of the air; but not being able to procure refreshment there, we passed on and began our ascent along an excellent paved road, extending five miles on a very steep elevation along the sides and over the ridges of the mountains. Having rested awhile at the half-way-house, which we had been near an hour in gaining, we toiled on, relieving ourselves at times by turning to take a view of Rio de Janeiro, and the bay, which from this lofty eminence appeared to great advantage. With some difficulty we reached the summit, which, as I suppose, is four thousand feet above the level of the sea; the atmosphere was at least ten degrees colder than on the plain.
Our next halting place was a small village called Corgo Seco, situated in a most rugged and uneven district, with not half an acre of level ground in any part of its vicinity. Having taken some refreshment here, we proceeded to Belmonte, a beautiful spot, situated by the edge of a rapid stream, which washes the base of an immense mountain of granite on the left. We journeyed along this stream until we reached a station called Padre Correa, from the name of its owner. It consists of a house and chapel, with a handsome area in front. The Father maintains a large establishment of negroes, many of whom are employed in beating out mules’ shoes from the cool Swedish iron, after they have been forged into form. For these articles there is a considerable demand, as the unwrought material pays no duty on this side the river Paraiba, while on the other it is taxed full 100 per cent. which is also the case with salt. The great consumption of these necessary articles has probably induced Government to lay these heavy duties upon them, but certainly every principle of good policy furnishes an argument against the measure. Padre Correa received us very hospitably, afforded us an asylum for the night, and assisted us in regulating our baggage by supplying a pair of cane panniers for one of the mules, which proved very serviceable. Before sun-rise we were awakened by the clatter of hammers in the forges; the weather was dewy, and so cold that my thermometer was down at 46 degrees. We passed some time in viewing the garden, which was in tolerable order, and contained some fine peach trees in blossom. Our host informed us, that he had a good plantation a few miles distant, but his chief concern was the selling of corn and shoes for the use of the mules.
Leaving this station we skirted the Piabunha, a river abounding in falls, which flows into the Paraiba. Among the hills and dales which we traversed, we at times observed farm-houses and plantations; but the road, farther on, was quite confined by continual wood-scenery. After proceeding about twenty miles we reached Cebolla, a tolerable establishment, consisting of a house of two stories, a small chapel, and a sugar-engine, in an unfinished state, situated in the bottom of a valley. The owner, Captain Jose Antonio Barbosa, was a Portuguese of the old school; he seemed much vexed that His Royal Highness had permitted strangers to travel the country, and treated us with a constrained civility, which shewed us that he thought we were come about no good. His conversation ran continually against the operations of Government in laying taxes upon rum and other commodities; and though he tasted the sweets of office, being part-renter of the lucrative ferry of Paraiba, which post he obtained through the interest of a very worthy gentleman in Rio de Janeiro, yet he had all the acerbity of a disappointed place-hunter. His self-interested and narrow-minded views were but too plainly directed to one object, monopoly; the mere mention of the Prince Regent’s liberality in permitting strangers to reside in Brazil appeared to torture him, and in short, so much of the snarler did he display while discussing this topic, that no character could have more forcibly reminded us of the dog in the manger. It is, however, but fair to add, that while indulging in severe reflections on strangers, he did not forget the duties of hospitality; before we went to rest, he invited us to partake of a family supper, consisting of a boiled duck smothered in rice, and a stewed pullet, to which sat down eight people, including ourselves. Having thanked our host for his kindness, we retired to the apartments allotted to us. My bed was so uneasy that I was obliged to sit up during most of the night, having no alternative, for as the clay floor was neither boarded nor paved, I could not venture to throw the bed clothes upon it, and sleep there. Never did mortal hail day-break with greater satisfaction; but my agreeable feelings were soon damped by one of those little vexatious accidents which in some states of mind are more hard to bear than real misfortunes. I had placed my thermometer in a wind-door or air-hole (for the aperture was not glazed); a stupid fellow, in fastening the bridle of a mule to one of the bars, threw down the instrument and broke it. Luckily I had another, therefore the loss was not so grievous.
Our soldiers having, with their wonted alacrity, provided mules, we set out at an early hour, and entered upon a much more level road than that of the preceding day. We passed along several valleys, the surface of which presented clay and decomposed granite, in some places more ferruginous than in others. There are numerous sheds all the way for the refreshment of travellers and their cattle. This day’s journey being only sixteen miles, we soon completed it, arriving about noon at the ferry of Paraibuna. This river, though as wide as the Thames at Westminster, is unnavigable, by reason of the large rocks which impede its course. The ferry-boat arriving, we went into it with all our mules, and were conveyed with oars and setting poles to the other side, where we found a Register for the examination of passengers, their passports, and property. The place is guarded by a few old soldiers, under the command of a lieutenant, who, though in ill health, shewed us every attention. Our soldiers got us a dinner cooked at a venda[34], kept by a young man originally from Oporto; we took tea and supped with the commandant, who assigned to us an apartment in the Register. He was very civil, and seemed highly pleased to see us, frequently exclaiming, “Os Inglezes são grande gente,” (the English are a great nation). We were gratified by this and other national compliments which he paid us, and not less so by the respect which every one who came to visit us testified for our country, as being in alliance with a Prince to whom they were enthusiastically devoted.
The Register is a substantial edifice of wood, built on posts to preserve it from the overflows of the river, which frequently inundate the sandy flat on which it stands. It contains a few rooms, which serve as barracks for the guards, and has a handsome gallery fronting the ferry. The station is low, and in summer is said to be very hot and unhealthy; a circumstance which, joined to the indolence and poverty of the inhabitants, may sufficiently account for the general appearance of debility observable among them. The little employment they have arises chiefly from the passengers who frequent this great thoroughfare, and from the numerous troops of mules which are continually arriving on their way to, as well as from, the interior. The barges of the ferry are as fine vessels as any I ever saw used for the purpose; and indeed they ought to be, for a considerable toll is paid, not only for every mule, or other beast of burden, but for every person crossing the river. The annual amount collected yields, no doubt, a handsome profit to the renters; but it might be considerably augmented if a regular road were opened to Canta Gallo, which is only eighteen leagues distant.
Being informed that our next day’s journey would be an arduous one, on account of the hilly district through which we should have to pass, we retired to rest betimes, and were stirring at an early hour. We mounted fresh mules, and proceeded along a good road through a rugged and thinly peopled district; in the course of five leagues, we passed over seven very high granite mountains, and eight smaller ones, and at length reached the ferry of the Paraiba, a river considerably larger than the Paraibuna. At the Register belonging to it, which is more extensive and better guarded than the former, all goods are examined and weighed, paying duty according to their weight, whatever be their kind, quality, or value. This regulation bears very unequally upon different articles; salt, for instance, pays nearly cent. per cent. iron and lead about the same; while woollens, cottons, and other light goods do not, on an average, exceed eight or ten per cent.
The commandant of the Register offered us every assistance, and was kind enough to provide us a fresh mule for our baggage. The short time we staid here did not allow much leisure for observation; and, indeed, there was little of novelty to observe. The situation of the Register is pleasant; the country around is well wooded and fertile, though mountainous. The river is almost destitute of fish.