A small mount in the vicinity of this pottery presented much ferruginous matter, and a heavy substance that appeared to me barytes in a botryoidal form, a specimen of which I took with me. Since my return to England it has been proved, by analysis, to be Wavellite, without fluoric acid.
During my stay at Villa Rica, I rode to the city of Mariana, distant eight miles, by a tremendous and almost impassable road, along a ridge of mountains; and afterwards went thither by the general road which passes between two high hills, and for some distance along the river-side, all the way on the descent. The margins of the Rio do Carmo, which runs through the town, have been washed the whole way from Villa Rica: parties from which place held possession of this settlement as early as the year 1710, claiming it on account of the gold brought down from thence by the current of the river. It was made a bishop’s see about the year 1715, and was called Cidade de Mariana, in honor of the then reigning Queen of Portugal, the present Prince Regent’s grandmother. It is a small, neat, and well-built town, containing from six to seven thousand inhabitants. Here is a college for the education of young men destined for the church. The bishop is a prelate of exemplary character, and is beloved by all who know him. The place has very little trade, and depends chiefly on the mines and farms in its vicinity. Many miners reside here whose works are several leagues distant, some of them have also washings extending to the village of Camargo, situated beyond a large plain which stretches westward from the confines of the city.
Having resided in Villa Rica nearly a fortnight, I expressed a desire to visit two estates, forty miles distant, known by the names of Barro and Castro, both belonging to the Conde de Linhares. Between the years 1730 and 1740 these estates produced much gold, and were then in the possession of Senhor Mathias Barboza, a settler of great respectability, who took up these lands and drove the Aborigines from them. He becoming very rich, sent his only daughter to Portugal to be educated, where she remained, and after his death inherited his whole property. She was married in Lisbon to a gentleman of the family of Sousa, and from them are descended the two noblemen of that name, who now hold high official situations under the Prince Regent. His Excellency the Conde’s steward furnished me and my worthy friend with mules, and Dr. Lucas, the Judge, obligingly ordered every necessary to be provided for our journey. We rode through Mariana, and arrived at Alto do Chapada, a village, three miles distant from it, situated on an elevation in the midst of a fine plain. We soon afterwards reached a very high and confined situation, between two perpendicular mountains, from whence we had a bird’s eye view of the village of S. Sebastian. From this steep we descended, with great difficulty, on foot, to the Rio do Carmo at its base, over which is a very high-arched and picturesque bridge. Passing this ravine we proceeded a full league by the river side, through a rich country abounding in fine sloping hills and fertile plains, watered by numerous streams, which flow into the river in various directions, and all of which bear vestiges of having been formerly washed for gold. The road-side exhibited similar remains, and seemed to have been at some period connected with the river, which, in this part, is as large as the Thames at Windsor. We passed through San Giatanha, a straggling, thinly peopled village, and proceeding about three miles farther, arrived at an indifferent house, called Lavras Velhas, where we halted for the night, having performed half our journey. The owner of this place found it difficult, with thirty or forty negroes, to maintain himself decently, though the land was susceptible of every species of culture, and needed only the hand of industry to render it productive. Every thing about the establishment exhibited a pitiful spectacle of neglect, indifference, and sloth. It is but justice to add, that he treated us with the greatest civility, and amply supplied our necessities.