4000003870

BooK

VIII.

Royal

Com1nentaries.

. 3 7

---~--------------------------

but then the fecond time they founded

again

their Houfes,

blov~

ing the fire,

e have faid, with the Pipes of Copper, when they made feparation of their

Lead from their Silver.

For in regard the

Indians

had not the knm ledge of all

rhofe inventions which the

Spaniards

have attained in the

of feparating Gold,

and Siver, ano Lead, performed by

Aqua

fortu,

and o her

Ingredient~;

their wa

was by often i\1elting, co burn out the Lead, and

refine

By wluch we may

obferve that the

Indians

had fame knowledge of refining the Silver of

Potoji,

be–

fore the' difcovery of QQ.ick-filver

and frill conferve that Arr, though not

c m–

monly or frequently known amongfi them as formerly.

The Mafiers and Owners of the Mines, perceiving that by this way of Melting

by natural Winds, !heir Goods and Riches were divided, and f!JU_ch

embe~elled

by being difperfed mto feveral hands; wherefore

rem

edy

this mconvemence,

they employed Day-labourers, who were

Indians,_

to dig

a.nd

exrraet: the Metal;

and then the

Spaniards

themfelves melted down theu- own

Silv

er; whereas before

the

Indians

having extraCl:ed the Ore, for every hundred weight thereofagreed and

ilipulated with their Mailers

return them.fuch a quantity of Silver. By this good

husbandry, and by the improvements they had made in the Art of Melting, they

made great

Bellows~

which being placed at a difiance, would blow their fires

in–

to an

extremity

of flame. But this neither proving a ready way, they made an

Eogine with

Whe~ls,

carried about with Sails like a Wind-mill , or turned by

Horfes; which fanned and blo :ved the fire with great violence. Nor did this nei–

ther doe the work, fo that the

Spaniards

defpairing of the fuccefs of their inv:entions,

_made ufe of thofe which the

Indians

had framed and conttived; and

things

continued for

2 2

years, untill the year

567,

when by the wit and indufiry of a

certain

Portugal,

named

Henrique Garces,

a great plenty ofQyick-filver was difcovered

the Province of

Huanca,

furnamed

Pi.Ilea,

which fignifies Greatnefs,or Eminence;

know not for what reafon, unlefs it be for the _great abundance of Qgick-filver

which that Counrrey yielded; which is

nece!fary in the founding of Metals

that

without

there is great wall:e and confumption; and which hath been

ufe~

full, that eight thoufand QQ_intals of it have every year been fpent

the

fervice

his

Majefiy

and yet notwithftanding this great plenty of Quick-filver which

was difcovered, the

Spaniards

were for fome time ignorant of the ufe which

might

be made thereof in the more ealie

ex~Cl:ing

of their Silver ; nor had they for

the fpace of four years after any good Affay-Mafter, untill the year

1571,

when a

certain

Spaniard

named

Fernandez:,

Vclafco,

who had lived at

Mexico,

and learned

the manner of extraeting the Silver with O!!ick-ftlver, came to

Peru,

and taught

the ufe of it to them there. As

Acofta

more largely and curioufly relates, to whom

I refer the Reader, who defires to be informed of many rarities and matcers of

this

nature worthy to be known.

Yy2

BOO