About the Discovery of the Patrocinho Diamond in Brazil

PATROCINHO.

One of Brazil's Largest Diamonds--"Picked up" in 1851--The Thieves of Minas--Geraes--A Gem without a a Pedigree.

This 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 Abaite, 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.