Minas Gerais

“ Minas Geraes, the fourth inland State and the fifth in size, has Bahia on the north, Bahia and Espirito Santo east, Rio de Janeiro southeast, São Paulo southwest, and Goyaz west, a small southwest corner about reaching Matto Grosso below. Although without a seaport and with no large city, Minas is the most populous of the States, with an active industrious population. The State leads in mineral riches of almost every kind; it is one of the foremost in agriculture of all varieties, being second to São Paulo in coffee ”

“ As the Canard region become populated, crossings were made to reach the villages at low tide over the Cornwallis River. A road was made connecting the up-river settlements with Grand-Pré to the Gaspereau, where the principal centre of Minas developed, with its church, its protected landing-place and port for vessels, its store-house, and the office of the Deputy, where deeds and important documents were kept. ”

“ In 1750, five years before the removal of the inhabitants, Minas had a population of four thousand. There were thirty-five villages, named after the original founders who came from Port Royal—Gaspereau and Grand-Pré were the only exceptions.
Upon the Grand-Pré meadows may be seen the thirteen sections of dykes raised from time to time, till the whole extent of marsh became enclosed. It was a laborious work for the people, who numbered only four hundred in 1700. Most of the marshes were enclosed during the following forty years as the families grew to manhood, and new settlers came. ”

“ The appearance of the shores of the Bason of Minas, while sailing towards its entrance, is exceedingly beautiful:—the luxuriant woods, lagoons, hills, dales, bays, rivers and headlands, the numerous picturesque islands, the extensive farms, verdant prairies, and thriving villages which meet the eye on every side, form a succession of rich and varied landscapes. ”

“ This family increased in numbers in Minas, and two villages bore the name, one in Minas and the other in Canard. There were fifty Heberts at the time of the dispersion.
We may now review the growth of the Acadian Minas from the coming of the first settlers in 1681 to the year 1755, when Colonel John Winslow, with the [Pg 5] New England volunteers, encamped upon the church ground of St. Charles at Grand-Pré. In December of that year the houses and barns, churches and mills of the Acadians were destroyed, and for five years the country was without an inhabitant. ”

“ To the north-east elevations of quite another kind have been slowly rising upwards from the horizon as the car speeds along. As the town of Pando itself is more nearly approached, the distant mountains of Minas have swollen into view to assert themselves in a fashion that is not to be overlooked. Great rounded masses piled in dim purple against the horizon, their aspect presents a sharp contrast to that of the dunes close by. ”

“ BELLO-HORIZONTE, or Minas, a city of Brazil, capital of the state of Minas Geraes since 1898, about 50 m. N.W. of Ouro Preto, connected with the Central of Brazil railway by a branch line 9 m. in length. Pop. (estimated) in 1906, 25,000 to 30,000. The city was built by the state on an open plateau, and provided with all necessary public buildings, gas, water and tramway services before the seat of government was transferred from Ouro Preto. The cost of transfer was about £1,000,000. The city has grown rapidly, and is considered one of the most attractive state capitals of Brazil. ”

“ The discovery of gold in Minas Geraes a little while before caused a great influx of adventurers, and Rio was the only gateway to the mining territory. It soon possessed a population of several thousand and became a city of social and commercial importance. Other communities grew and many new provinces were formed. With increasing wealth and agricultural and mineral prosperity came evidences of discontent with the body politic. ”

“ The people of the state have always been distinguished for their energy and enterprise, especially during the colonial period. The early population was largely composed of half breeds, known as Mamelucos, and the exploration of the greater part of the interior of Brazil is due to them. Their exploring parties, called bandeiras, discovered the first gold mines of Minas Geraes and Matto Grosso, drove the Jesuit missions from Paraná, and traversed the interior northward into Piauhy, north-westward almost to Quito, westward into Bolivia and southward into Rio, Grande and Paraguay. ”

“ The population of Minas Novas is thin, compared with its extent, but is daily increasing. It does not appear that mining is the object which attracts settlers, though there is a considerable quantity of precious stones exported, which are found only here, as has been before observed. ”

“ The boundaries of Minas Geraes, to the east, lay along the adjacent captaincies of Rio de Janeiro, Bahia, and Pernambuco. Towards the north and west there lay an undefined extent of unappropriated{191} territory. To the south the province is bounded by the captaincies of S. Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The whole captaincy is a portion of an immense mountain-range. A winter of two months’ duration commences in May, when the average temperature is about 50° Fahrenheit; in the hot season the heat never exceeds 80°. ”

“ I am writing as if I had been among the inhabitants of central Africa: Banda Oriental would not be flattered by the comparison; but such were my feelings at the time.
The next day we rode to the village of Las Minas. The country was rather more hilly, but otherwise continued the same; an inhabitant of the Pampas no doubt would have considered it as truly Alpine. The country is so thinly inhabited, that during the whole day we scarcely met a single person. Las Minas is much smaller even than Maldonado. ”

“ If half that geologists have said of Brazil is true, this country is destined to become one of the greatest mining regions of the Americas; it has an extraordinary variety of minerals, but their location in the interior where little transportation exists, added to the restraining influences of archaic mining laws, has checked enterprise. Before the European War began plans were well under way for development of important iron mines in Minas Geraes by an English company, but work is in abeyance at present. ”

“ But a love-lit soul pure as snow,—
Beckon me an angel of light.
A body of beauty is mine.
O poet, moulder of me,
Inbreathe with breathings divine,
Or body alone let it be.
[Pg xi]
CONTENTS.
[Pg 15]
AT MINAS BASIN.
About the buried feet of Blomidon,
Red-breasted sphinx with crown of grey and green,
The tides of Minas swirl,—their veilëd queen
Fleet-oared from far by galleys of the sun.
The tidal breeze blows its divinest gale!
The blue air winks with life like beaded wine!—
Storied of Glooscap, of Evangeline—
Each to the setting sun this sea did sail. ”

“ It was not to be expected that the motley crowd of adventurers of all classes which thronged to the mines should long continue to live together with the same harmony that might be expected from a more settled community; and Minas Geraes soon acquired the unenviable notoriety, which had hitherto belonged to Maranham{174}, of being the most turbulent settlement in Brazil. Its people were divided into two classes, called, respectively, Paulistas and Florasteiros or strangers. ”

“ The hotels are comfortable, train service good, and the journey through a country of beautiful scenery and interesting people and towns.
This is the great mining State of Brazil. Of it Marie Robinson Wright says: “Few countries can boast of such an abundance and variety of mineral resources as Minas Geraes, which derives its name, signifying General Mines, from the industry that gave it existence, and which owes to this principal attraction the preponderance of its population.” ”

“ Contrary to the case in the rest of Brazil, many broken noblemen and men of education came here to mend their fortunes, and the colony, and eventually all the province of Minas Geraes, became a focus of “civilization,” as that word was understood in those days,—much powdered hair, knee-breeches, beauty patches, minuets—and swarms of miserable slaves. It may be that the courtesy of the poor Africanized inhabitants of to-day is but a hold-over from those times of elaborate etiquette. ”

“ It is needless to observe that in Minas Geraes, as in all other mining districts throughout the world, whether in California, Australia, or Africa, the proportion of crime was enormous.
The captaincy of S. Paulo is one of the greatest provinces of all those of Brazil. The elevation of the capital makes it in point of climate more desirable than that of any other city in the empire. It contained at the time of the removal of the royal family about twenty-four thousand inhabitants, one-half of them being European. ”

“ River transport has some local value on the upper São Francisco and its larger tributaries, and this will be greatly increased when the Central do Brazil railway reaches the head of navigation on that river.
The population of Minas Geraes is chiefly of Portuguese origin, which has been constantly strengthened by immigrants from the mother country. A considerable admixture from other nationalities has resulted from the influx of mining adventurers, and some German colonies have been established in the state. The negro population is large, and there is a still larger contingent of mixed races. ”

“ We also have record of the younger married couples who came to make homes in the new country of Minas. The villages grew chiefly in clusters about the establishments of the elders. Dykes were built. Land was cleared of wood for their gardens and orchards. Roads were made connecting all the centres of farm life. Winter roads for their timber, fencing, and firewood were made. Finally, they cut a way through the forests from Halifax to Annapolis Royal. They were increasing in population, and in worldly goods. ”

“ Morro Velho, where is the queen of the Minas Geraes Mines, is a very curious and interesting place, unlike any other I have seen in Brazil. It has a good deal of bustle, life, and cheerfulness about it which one scarcely sees elsewhere. It is an extensive, elevated valley, surrounded by mountains and divided into districts or settlements, each consisting of villages made up of detached cottages without streets, after the manner of most villages in Minas Geraes. Congonhas must be excepted, as that is a regular village with shops ”

“ The only parts that are as yet comparatively well-peopled are the coast strip and the fertile valleys debouching on that strip, some inland districts in the state of Minas Geraes, and in the southern states of São Paulo, Santa Catharina, and Rio Grande do Sul. Even in these the population is still far below the capacities of the country. ”

“ Thus we find 32,000 or more are colonized in Chile and Argentina, regions extending as far south as forty degrees from the equator, while the Brazilian colonies of Sāo Paulo, Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul are in the south of the republic, extending to thirty-five degrees below the equator and containing the mass of the German population, though there are some thousands in the tropical state of Minas Geraes lying between fourteen and twenty-three degrees south of the equator, a mountain mining region, where altitude supersedes latitude in the comfort of temperature. ”

“ The surface of Minas Geraes is broken by mountain ranges and deeply eroded river courses, the latter forming fertile valleys shut in by partly barren uplands, or campos. The reckless destruction of forests along the watercourses also adds to the barren aspect of the country. ”

“ In addition to the mining industry, which has been carried on for over two hundred years, Minas does a considerable trade in cattle, coffee, tobacco, and other agricultural products. The dairy industry has recently become prominent, and offers a good field for the investment of capital and experience, whilst a fresh source of wealth exists in the manganese discovered in the State when a cutting was being made for the Central Railway. ”

“ Mining at Cuyabá was attended with a danger from which Minas Geraes was free, namely, the presence of hostile and resolute Indians. Military discipline was found necessary for self-preservation; but the attitude of the savages was at least attended with the good result of compelling the settlers to sink their own jealousies and differences in making common cause against them. Thus the settlement of Cuyabá soon began to flourish as much as had those of Minas Geraes. ”

“ Nearly all this gold was found in placers easily washed out by hand in the crudest manner; when the rich alluvial deposits along river valleys were exhausted Brazil ceased to be a gold producer on a spectacular scale. In Minas Geraes rich sands were found near the present Ouro Preto, the first mining city that was founded bearing the name of Villa Rica; all about it the whole country is still in heaps, turned over by the miners who came a couple of hundred years ago. ”

“ About half way between the two cities, the road passes through the Arraial de Passagem, a small village, the inhabitants of which formerly subsisted by gold washings, but the mines being now exhausted, they occupy themselves with the cultivation of provisions, for which they find a ready market in Ouro Preto.
During my short stay in the Imperial city, I lived in the house of Senhor José Peixoto de Souza, having carried letters to him from Morro Velho. He is the principal merchant in the province of Minas, and possesses the finest house in the city ”