The universal geography : earth and its inhabitants

248
AMAZONIA AND LA PLATA.
gold, and at some points the railsvay between Pelotas and Bage traverses coal
fields of bad quality. The gold mines of Lavras have been worked since I8;J5.
In the upper Uruguay basin the only places of any note are >S'. Borja, formerly
a famous mission founded by the Jesuits in the midst of the Guarani Indians ;
Itaquy, nearly opposite the Aguapey confluence, with a Government arsenal on
the Argentine frontier ; Urufjuayana, riverside port of Alegrete, chief town of the
Ibicuy basin. In the war with Paraguay, Uruguayana was the scene of a
memorable event. It was seized in 1865 by 5,000 Paraguayans, who had to
capitulate after undergoing a formal siege by three of the allied armies com-
manded by the Emperor dom Pedro in person. Almost every town in Brazil has
a street, square, or promenade bearing the name of Uruguayana in memory of
this doughty exploit.