peared
on the way to accomplish his errand, and after some time it was learned
that he had been assassinated. Confident, however, that he had found
some way of guarding the gem, de Sancy had the body of the messenger
disinterred;! and in his stomach the diamond was found.
Some
time after de Sancy sold the diamond to Queen Elizabeth of England, and
it remained in the possession of the English royal family until about
1695, when it was sold to Louis XIV. of France, for one hundred and
twenty-five thousand dollars. It was stolen in the robbery of the Garde
Meuble, but turned up about 1828, and was sold by a French merchant to
Prince Demidoff. It then went back to the land of its birth, India, for
it was bought by an Indian prince, in whose possession it either
remains, or, according to some authorities, it is owned by a French
syndicate. The Sancy is almond-shaped, facetted on both sides, and
weighs 53-1/2 carats.
After
those of India the Brazilian diamond-fields were the first important
ones to become known. The date of their discovery is generally
considered to be 1729. The diamonds were first found in river sands
which had for some time been worked for gold by adventurers who
penetrated into the region from the coast, but who attached no
importance to the little bright crystals sometimes seen in the bottoms
of their gold pans. It is said that a monk who had seen diamonds mined
in India was the first to recognize the nature of the Brazilian
stones. The news of the discovery reached the Portuguese government,
and the king of Portugal immediately took possession of all lands
likely to be diamondiferous, at the same time inaugurating a despotic
rule which burdened the country for many years. The diamonds at first
obtained came wholly from the sands and gravels of the brook and river
beds. These sands, universally known by the Portuguese word cascallios, still
afford a large part of the supply of Brazilian diamonds. Extensive
upland deposits are, however, now also known. These are called servicos do camjjo, while the river deposits are known as servicos do rio. Several
provinces of Brazil afford diamonds, vi/,., Bahia, Goyaz, Matto Grosso,
Parana, and Minas Geraes. In all these, except the first and last
named, the mining is desulto-y. and consists simply in washing river
sands by means of wrooden bowls. Enough diamonds are thus obtained to afford a precarious living to the fiscadores, as
they are called, who follow this occupation. The chief diamond-bearing
region is in the province of Minas Geraes, and the city of Dia-mantina
is its geographical and commercial center. This city is located about
five hundred miles from the sea coast, at the head wraters of the Rio Jequitinhonha and Rio Doce. The valleys of these rivers are
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