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XXIII
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PATROCINHO.
One of Brazil's Largest Diamonds—" Picked up " in 1851— The Thieves of Minas-Geraes—A Gem without a a Pedigree.
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HIS
is one of the very largest stones ever found in Brazil. It was picked
up in 1851, near the source of the Rio Patrocinho, a small stream
watering the district in the centre of the province of Minas Geraes,
which is the most elevated portion of the Brazilian table-land. It lies
along the upper course of the Rio de San Francisco. Nearly every kind
of metal has been found, at one time or another, in this province. It
is particularly rich in iron, gold, and diamonds. The latter have been
chiefly discovered in the Tequetinhonha and Abai'te, instances of which
have already been mentioned. A large portion of the country washed by
these rivers is still held by Indian tribes, though some districts are
well settled by Europeans. Cidade Diamentina, formerly Tejaco the
capital of the diamond district, is situated on an acclivity of a
mountain, 4,000 feet above the level of the sea. These diamantiferous
regions have produced many splendid stones, but none about which less
is known than the " Patrocinho," our efforts to unearth it having so
far proved singularly futile.
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