THE BRAZILS.

A BELT of mountains, of the average height of 4,000 feet, runs north and south at no great distance from, and nearly parallel to, the sea coast, about the central part of the Brazils. Several streams fall from these mountains, those on the eastern side into the Atlantic, but the more numerous and considerable ones on the western side swell the Parana in its course to the Rio de la Plata. The eastern rivers are not navigable, except perhaps the Rio de Francisco, whose tributary branches rise out of the very centre of the mining district.

It appears from the account of this mining district, and also from the books of Von Spix and Martus, that gold is abundantly scattered through the rocks of the mountains, the superincumbent soil, and the beds of the rivers, over a surface of many thousand square miles in extent, but generally in such minute particles as to require a considerable degree of labor in collecting it; sometimes it is found in crystals, sometimes in a dendritical form, and more rarely in lumps; of the latter a piece was found at Villa Rica which weighed sixteen pounds. It is said that this metal has frequently been found in little lumps under the roots of plants pulled out of the ground, having accidentally been washed thither by the rains. So universally indeed is gold disseminated over the central parts of the Brazils, that a golden shower, more extensive and substantial than that which is said to have been poured into the lap of Danae, might be supposed to have fallen upon them. Even in the streets of Rio, children may be seen, after heavy rains, picking up pieces of gold.

In the mountains this precious metal is found in a red heavy loam, in beds of clay slate, quartzy mica slate, or in veins of quartz and red ironstone. It usually assumes its most beautiful form in the large foliated iron mica slate; it is also found in arsenical iron pyrites. All the numerous streams that trickle down the sides of the mountains, but more especially those at their feet which assume a slow and muddy character, are auriferous, not only in their beds but their banks also. Nor is gold the only treasure that the Minas Geraes possesses. We are assured by Von Spix and Martius, that almost every kind of metal is to be found here, with the exception of silver; ironstone, which may be considered to form the chief component part of the long chain, is so rich as to produce ninety per cent. of metal; lead is found beyond the Rio de S. Francisco; copper in S. Domingos; manganese in Paraopeba; platina in sev

eral of the mountain streams; quick silver, arsenic, bismuth, antimony, and red lead ore, about Villa Rica; diamonds in Tejuco and Abaite; yellow, blue and white topazes, grass and blueish green aqua-marines, red and green tourmalins, chrysoberyls, garnets, and amethysts, in Minas Novas. To which may be added that which is, or ought to be, the greatest of all treasures, yet the most neglected, a very fertile soil covered with a luxuriant vegetation, capable of producing every luxury and necessary of life, under a climate which, from the elevation of the surface, is temperate and agreeable. But here, as elsewhere, the auri sacra fames has exerted a baleful influence over the infatuated inhabitants. Neglecting agricultural pursuits, their whole attention has till very lately been drawn to the mines, a lottery in which the great prize generally remains in the wheel. It is a curious circumstance, stated by the Bavarian travellers, that at the first place they entered in the gold district, the only currency was a depreciated paper money, with a large number of forged notes. Mr. Caldcleugh thus describes the capital :—

"As Villa Rica may be considered the emporium of the Minas Geraes, and as the thoroughfare to the diamond district and other parts in the interior of Brazil, there is still the appearance of much bustle; but it is quite evident from the deserted houses and general appearance of neglect, that it no longer boasts the population that it once contained, nor the affluence which at one time prevailed in such an extraordinary degree. No place exhibits a more interesting spectacle to the moralist than this. A large mountain, thickly veined with gold, draws, on that account, a population of upwards of thirty thousand persons, who, in the course of sixty or seventy years, exhaust its precious riches. With nothing else to recommend it, the soil being very unproductive, and the immediate inhabitants little inclined by love of agriculture to endeavor to improve it, the population, at the end of a century, decreases to a third of its former number, and the streets and the palace, the governor, and the establishment, are alone left as monuments of the extraordinary riches which once prevailed. Poverty has now her full sway at Villa Rica; the streets swarm with mendicants, who, if` diseased, confine themselves entirely to begging; but if in health, alternately try the bowl in the streams and the charity of the more affluent in the town."

There are three modes of collecting the scattered particles of gold-by scooping up the sediment of rivers-by splitting the rock

with fire or gunpowder, and carrying the fragments to a stamping mill-and by turning streams of water into trenches made in loamy auriferous soils, along the declivities of the mountains. The few solitary negroes that are now employed at the lavras, or washing places, may still be seen, each with his wooden bowl, "picking up," says Mr. Caldcleugh, "a miserable and uncertain subsistence of a few vintems daily." The isolated hill upon which Villa Rica stands, appears from the base to the summit absolutely like a honeycomb, by the perforations that have been made into the veins or nests of quartz. Whatever gold is found must be carried to the registering office, in order to be smelted and fined, that the Emperor may receive his fifth, and good care is taken, by placing guard houses, that as little smuggling as possible may be carried on. At the diamond mines of Tejuco, the negroes who are suspected of ccacealing diamonds, are turned over to an old woman, who acts as the village doctress, and doses them with strong decoctions of plants. Mr. Caldcleugh mentions an instance of an old woman of this kind practising upon a lady, on her way from Villa Rica to Rio de Janeiro, who was stopped at the registro on suspicion of concealing a very large and valuable diamond; which the old woman very shortly produced, and was rewarded for her pains.

On the river Ypanema an iron foundry has been established, which is now worked by Germans, after having been abandoned by some Swedish miners, introduced by the Conde Linhares.-—~ These poor people, disgusted and dissatisfied with the idleness, irregularity, and impracticability of the mulattoes and negroes, soon became, like the Chinese, lingering and longing after their native land, and some of them having died, the others took an early opportunity to quit the country. The ore is rich, producing ninety per cent, but the iron is brittle, owing, it is supposed, to the nature of the charcoal. Where there are any good roads of communication, this foundry, it is said, would supply all South America with iron.

It would appear from the Bavarian travellers, that the little profit arising from the search after gold has at length induced the inhabitants of the mining districts to turn their attention to their fertile lands, as a surer source of wealth and that, wherever this has been the case, the appearance of their houses without, and their neatness and comfort within, form a striking contrast with the residences of those who continue the pursuit after gold.

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A VISIT IN CANADA.

CHAPTER THIRD.

In many portions of our own country and in those parts of the Canadian frontier bordering on the territory of the States where the work of cultivation is rapidly advancing, a remarkable state of society exists. All the varieties of moral improvement intermediate between the extremes of human condition, are joined in strange union. The descendants of the forest warriors, the masters of our continent, inheriting the proud spirit of their untameable ancestors, and cherishing under every vicissitude of degradation the recolle tion of the departed greatness of the nation; the emigrant from tae mist-clad hills of Scotland still holding fast the economic princip.es of his native land; the wanderer from the teeming population of Ireland, thoughtless and profligate, brave and generous as in the green island of his birth place; the sturdy native of Holland, careful of his gains, and diligently plodding on the road of persevering industry, the only turnpike leading to certain wealth; the sons of New England exhibiting their characteristic shrewdness and enterprise, their cunning in overcoming the difficulties of a bargain, and their contrivance and hardihood in subduing the wilderness; the subject of France, cheerful, good humored, and contented with any lot Providence has assigned for his occupation, with a capacity to gain an easy livelihood where a grass-hopper would perish by starvation; all these are often gathered within the circle of some little settlement, and their peculiarities of language, manners and feelings are thrown in strong contrast. In some of the youthful towns, on one side the boundary, which have recently sprung up and advanced to maturity with a rapidity of growth only comparable to that of the prolific vegetable in the tales of childhood, and in the more ancient villages, beyond the separation line, it is sufficiently amusing to notice the effects of this intermixture. The most favorable point of time the observer could select for his notices, would be that intermediate period between the closing of day and of labor, and the sleepy hours of repose, the pleasant evening time, every where devoted to rest, refreshment, and amusement, when the noises of industry cease, and all feel at liberty to seek relaxation in the manner best pleasing to each. Then the Dutchman will be certainly found, seated in the "stoop," a portion of his edifice more necessary to his comfort than the roof which covers his substantial farm house, with his short pipe, rolling forth clouds of

smoke, and listening to the drowsy humming of the bees from their straw hives, or quietly communing with his family, in the very height of sober enjoyment. From the Irish hovel, where the brown jug was circulating freely, and the contents, loaded with no oppressive excise, were flowing out among the boon companions gathered together to drive away care, he would hear the voices of more noisy merriment, or perhaps the confusion of some quarrel, having its origin, and termination in friendship, amicably settled by a few blows and the seasonable interposition of those with passions less irritable. In passing the white painted ville of the Frenchman, from the fragments of rapid and lively conversation he might chance to overhear, he would believe its inmates were of a quiet and anoffensive race, not disposed to disturb their own peace or that of their neighbors with real or imaginary troubles. The Scot, frugal and industrious, would be engaged with contemplations of past losses or present gains, with devotional meditations or recollections of his former home. The Yankee, he would be at his public or private house, discussing the merits of the officers of government, arguing the mysteries of theology, dealing out political speculations, resolving the difficulties of law, examining the nice questions of military or militia science, driving his bargains, projecting new speculations, and inquiring into matters and things in general, with his countrymen. Skilful in argument, acute in reasoning, ingenious, well informed, and inquisitive, the New England men when they migrate from their parent hives, lose no opportunity of sharpening their faculties, increasing their knowledge, or adding to their possessions, by the wits, the knowledge, or the wants of others. The Indians still hovering about the settlements of the White men, if we may be allowed to borrow a term to express their condition from the scientific stone-hammerers, are in a transition state, adopting some of the improvements of civilized life and retaining much of their fierce character; building houses with the axe and saw, but wrapping the blanket around their athlectic frames; putting the European hat over their black locks, but still girt with the peag belt, and retaining the embroidered mockasin on their feet. They will be seen strolling along the streets, fierce and fiery, or surly and stupid, as the spirit they worship has partially or perfectly finished its work. Or, if the encamping place of their tribe be near, where they have planted their wigwams in contempt of the rights gained by some scrap of paper whose force