In 1744, when there was no other colony to the west of the St. Francisco but St. Romao, these mines were discovered, and made known to Gomez Freyre d’Andrade, governor of Rio de Janeiro, who ordered the country to be divided according to the prevailing custom. These mines attracted a great concourse of people here, and their affluence in gold led to the concurrence of a numerous party in the purpose of expelling the Indians, whom they at once drove from this extensive district. The inhabitants of Paracatu, and those of the parishes of its vast circuit, constitute one regiment of cavalry, seven companies of whites, three of mulattoes, and two of free blacks. On the left margin of the river St. Francisco, almost at an equal distance between the mouths of the Urucuya and Paracatu, is the considerable arraial and parish of St. Romao, with a church dedicated to St. Antonio da Manga, a chapel of Our Lady of Rozario, and another of St. Francisco. It is the head of the julgado, with much commerce, being the depositary of various productions of the country, and of a large quantity of salt, which is conveyed by barks and canoes from the salterns of Pilao Arcado and its vicinity. The river at its greatest floods enters the streets of this place. Its inhabitants, even the females, are passionately fond of gambling. Melons and water-melons are very abundant. The other parishes of the district of Paracatu are St. Anna dos Alegres, near the mouth of the river Catinga, a little above the river Somno; the Lady of Penha, near the Urucuya, a day’s voyage from the St. Francisco; Carynhenha, Andayha, and the Lady of Amparo do Salgado, with a chapel of Our Lady of Rozario, which is a flourishing arraial, and promising a considerable increase. It is five miles from the St. Francisco. The inhabitants raise cattle, sugar cane, and the cotton tree. The district of Paracatu makes a part of the bishopric of Pernambuco. There is yet within this comarca the arraial and julgado of St. Antonio do Curvello, otherwise Papagayo, well situated in a plain, refreshed with salubrious breezes, and near a small stream, which falls into the Velhas on the left. This is almost eighty miles from Sabara. The inhabitants of the julgado, amounting to eleven thousand five hundred and thirteen, are agriculturists and cattle breeders.