St. João d’El Rey, the capital of the district so called, is a considerable town, and contains at least five thousand inhabitants. It is situated near the Rio das Mortes, which runs northerly, and empties itself into the Rio das Velhas. The country around it is very fertile, and produces excellent fruits, both exotic and indigenous; also Indian corn, and beans in great quantities; as well as a little wheat. This _comarca_ being more cultivated than any other part, is called the granary of the district; cheese is made here in tolerable quantity, and bacon very indifferently cured, both which are sent to Rio de Janeiro, and form a considerable trade. Great numbers of fowls are also sent thither, and a little rum, sugar, and coffee. Provisions of all kinds are much cheaper than at Villa Rica; pork and beef are about a penny per pound, poultry in proportion, and vegetables equally cheap.
About two leagues distant from the town is the rivulet of San José,[62] formerly abounding in gold-washings, some of which continue good, particularly those in the vicinity of a pretty village, called Campanha. In the neighbourhood is a mountain that produces a great quantity of iron pyrites, which many people believe to be gold, and say that no method is yet known for extracting it. In this district are a great number of pines of a very singular variety, from the bark of which exudes much resinous gum. The wood is of a fine brown-red color, full of knots, and inconceivably hard.
Some cotton, although not very considerable in quantity, is grown in this district; it is spun by hand, and woven into coarse clothing, generally for the use of the negroes. Finer cloth is sometimes woven for table linen. The making of lace is a favorite occupation with the ladies of St. João d’El Rey, who are reputed to be more attentive to domestic concerns than those of other towns, many of them being descendants of the Paulistas, so celebrated for industry and economy.
The district of Sabará was discovered and settled by the Paulistas, who took possession of it as early as the year 1690, or, according to some accounts, twenty years earlier. They founded the town which is now the capital of the district, and worked several gold-mines in its neighbourhood, the produce of which they sent to their native place, as it was their custom to do with all the gold found in the various parts which they explored; on this account the city of S. Paulo acquired a much higher reputation for riches than it merited, it being generally believed that all the gold sent from thence was procured in that vicinity. Some years after the establishment of Sabará, the Court of Lisbon sent out a nobleman as governor to reduce the settlers, and to oblige them to pay a tribute in conformity to the laws of the colony. The settlers took up arms, and several encounters took place, in one of which the nobleman was killed: but, after some time, the viceroy sent great reinforcements into the interior, and quelled the insurgents, who submitted to pay a fifth of the gold produced. An adventurer of the name of Artis, who was a man of great intrepidity and perseverance, and had made considerable discoveries in the neighbourhood, was afterwards appointed governor, and this proved the means of reconciling all parties.