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THE RIO DAS VELHAS
A Treasure of Brazil--Found in the famous Diamond Province of Minas-Geraes.
Almost as little is known of this gem as of the "Star of Diamonds." It was found about the year 1852, in the Rio-das-Velhas (Guaicuti), a large river flowing from the Paraupeba Mountains, through the province of Minas-Geraes, Brazil, northwards to the the right bank of the San Francisco. In the absence of any further information it is interesting to identify the locality of the river which gives the gem its title. The upper branches of the San Francisco rise on the north of the Serra-das-Vertentes, 3,000 feet above the sea. They are principally the Paraupeba, and that more properly called the S. Francisco, which unite after a course of above 150 miles in 19 degree 20' S. lat. The river then flows in a northerly direction to its junction with the Rio-das-Velhas. Before this, however, it forms the cataracts of Pirapora. The Rio-das-Velhas rises in the neighbourhood of Villa Rica on the northern declivities of the Serra Mantiqueira, and runs upwards of 250 miles.
It is not unlikely that the stone under notice may have travelled down the San Francisco to the point where it was eventually found. We hope at a future day to trace its wanderings since those pre-adamite days when nature first set it adrift in the "troubled waters." |
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Precious Stones Guide Vol 10
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