Brazil at the Dawn of the Eighteenth Century

Chapter XII: The New Route from the City of Rio de Janeiro to the Mines

177 chapter xii y The New Route from the City of Rio de Janeiro to the Mines L eaving the city of Rio de Janeiro by land with people carrying loads and walking as the Paulistas do, the first stop is Irajá. The second stop is at the mill of Constable Tomé Correia; the third is at the docks of Nobrega on the Iguaçu River, where there is passage on canoes and rowboats; and the fourth is at a place named for Manuel de Couto. He who comes by sea and with an easy sailing in one day, can arrive at the port of the parish of Nossa Senhora do Pilar. In one more day, traveling in a canoe going up the Morobaí River or going by land, you arrive by midday at the referred spot of Couto. From there, the path goes to Cachoeira at the foot of the mountains and you can rest at camps. From that point, you begin to climb the mountains, which is two good legoas. Coming down from the summit, you can eat at resting places called the Pousos Frios [“Cold Repose”]. At this summit, there is a large flat plain big enough to hold a battalion. On a clear day, it is a beautiful place from which you can see Rio de Janeiro and its entire bay. From Pousos Frios, the path goes to the first cultivated fields belonging to Captain Marcos da Serra, and from there in two days’ journey to the second cleared lands belonging to the lieutenants. From the lieutenants’ clearing, it is a day’s trip to Pau Grande, cultivated lands which open the way. From there, you rest in the wild at the foot of a hill called Cabaru. From this hill, the trail goes to the well-known Paraiba, which can be crossed in canoes. On this side of the river, there is a small store owned by Garcia Rodrigues, and there are plenty of provisions for those making the journey. On the other side of the river is the house belonging to Garcia Rodrigues with vast cultivated fields. From here, in two days’ journey the trail reaches the Paraibuna River. The first of these days, it passes through the back country and Map of the new route from Rio de Janeiro to Minas. Planche VI from André João Antonil, Cultura e Opulência do Brasil por suas drogas e minas, translated and edited by Andrée Mansuy-Diniz Silva, Paris, Institute des Hautes Études de l’Amérique Latine, 1965. 179 The New Route from Rio de Janeiro to the Mines by the second it reaches the edge of the river. Here there are cultivated fields, goods, and provisions for those making the trip. This river is not as wild as the Paraiba and can be crossed in canoes. From the Paraibuna, it is two days’ journey to the lands belonging to the assayer Simão Pereira. The resting place on the first of these is in the wild. From the fields of Simão Pereira, the path goes to those of Matias Barbosa, and from there to the farm owned by Antônio de Araújo. From there, it continues to the farmlands of Captain José de Sousa and on to those of the district administrator, Tomé Correia. From these lands, the path goes to some new fields owned by Azevedo and from there to lands belonging to the judge of the customs house, Manuel Correia, and from there to the lands of Manuel de Araújo. During this entire part of the trip, the Paraibuna River is nearby. From the lands belonging to Manuel de Araújo, the path goes to a smaller cleared area also owned by him. From this little area, the trail goes to the lands owned by the bishop, and from there to some other lands also owned by him. From the second lands owned by the bishop, it is a small journey to Borda do Campo, the farmlands owned by Colonel Domingos Rodrigues da Fonseca. Those going to the Mortes River pass by these lands to those of Alberto Dias, and from those to the lands of Manuel de Araújo, which are called “Ressaca.” From there, the trail goes to Ponta do Morro, which is a large camp where they have established many claims and extracted a lot of gold. There is a little...