The mines which produced this immense wealth, at length became gradually less abundant; and, as the precious metal disappeared, numbers of the miners retired, some to the mother-country, loaded with riches, which tempted fresh adventurers, and many to Rio de Janeiro and other sea-ports, where they employed their large capitals in commerce.
Villa Rica, at the present day, scarcely retains a shadow of its former splendor. Its inhabitants, with the exception of the shopkeepers, are void of employment; they totally neglect the fine country around them, which, by proper cultivation, would amply compensate for the loss of the wealth which their ancestors drew from its bosom. Their education, their habits, their hereditary prejudices, alike unfit them for active life; perpetually indulging in visionary prospects of sudden wealth, they fancy themselves exempted from that universal law of nature which ordains that man shall live by the sweat of his brow. In contemplating the fortunes accumulated by their predecessors, they overlook the industry and perseverance which obtained them, and entirely lose sight of the change of circumstances which renders those qualities now doubly necessary. The successors of men who rise to opulence from small beginnings, seldom follow the example set before them, even when trained to it; how then should a Creolian, reared in idleness and ignorance, feel any thing of the benefits of industry! His negroes constitute his principal property, and them he manages so ill, that the profits of their labor hardly defray the expenses of their maintenance: in the regular course of nature they become old and unable to work, yet he continues in the same listless and slothful way, or sinks into a state of absolute inactivity, not knowing what to do from morning to night. This deplorable degeneracy is almost the universal characteristic of the descendants of the original settlers; every trade is occupied either by mulattoes or negroes, both of which classes seem superior in intellect to their masters, because they make a better use of it.
During my stay here, I paid frequent visits to the mint, and was liberally permitted by the officers to see every process performed there. In the smelting-house were eight or ten small blast-furnaces, in form much resembling blacksmiths’ hearths. The fuel used is charcoal. When a quantity of gold-dust is brought, (no matter whether large or small), say, for instance, six ounces, it is first permuted, and a fifth taken for the Prince; the rest is put in a Hessian crucible, about three inches in diameter, which is immediately placed in the furnace. A quantity of corrosive sublimate is then put to it, which, on being heated, exhales very strong fumes; the scoriæ, if any be formed, are taken off with a pair of tongs, and more sublimate is added if required. Ebullition sometimes occurs, in which case the crucible is covered with a bit of common tile. As soon as the mercury is evaporated, the gold is poured into an ingot-mould, previously rubbed with animal fat; it is afterwards turned out into a tub of water. The ingot generally, in some part or other, has mercury attached to it, (which it seizes immediately), and the part of the gold thus affected assumes the appearance of lead[38]. To remove this, they hold it in a strong fire with a pair of tongs until the mercury is evaporated. It is afterwards sent to the assay-master, who first compares it on the touchstone with gold bars of different alloys, ascertained and marked, and then assays it. The two methods being found to agree, the assay-master stamps upon the ingot its degree of fineness, (called _toque_), also its weight, its number, the name of the place, and the year. It is then registered in a book kept for that purpose, and a copy of the entry is made out on a slip of printed paper, in which the ingot is wrapped, and delivered to the owner for circulation. The operation of melting a given quantity seldom occupies more than ten minutes or a quarter of an hour; that of cupelling about double the time: but I have seen men deliver their gold-dust, and receive it in a circulating form in less than an hour; so that little delay takes place, and, as there are six furnaces, the bringers of gold have seldom to wait for their turn. The pale color and low quality of various bars of gold are always imputed to the silver, platina, or other metal contained in them. I have seen some as low as sixteen carats, and others as fine as 23-1/2 carats, which is within half a carat of what is denominated pure gold. Twenty-two is the standard, and gold exceeding that receives a premium according to its fineness.