was hanged as being the author of them. Whilst he was in prison, the water got poffeffion of his mine. Superftition foon made it imagined, that this was a punishment for the horrid act they had perpetrated against him. This idea of Divine vengeance was revered for a long time; but at last, in 1740, Diego de Bachna affociated with other opulent people to avert the springs which had deluged fo much treasure. The labours which this difficult undertaking required were not finished till 1754. The mine yields as much now as it did at firft. But mines ftill richer than this have been difcovered: fuch, for example, is that of Potofi, which was found in the fame country where the Incas worked that of Porco. An Indian, named Hualpa, in 1545, pursuing fome deer, in order to climb certain steep rocks laid hold of a bufh, the roots of which loofened from the earth, and brought to view an ingot of filver. The Indian had recourse to it for his own ufe, and never failed to return to his treasure every time that his wants or his defires folicited him to it. The change that happened in his fortune was remarked by one of his countrymen, and he difcovered to him the secret. The two friends could not keep their counsel and enjoy their good fortune they quarrelled; on which the indifcreet confident difcovered the whole to his mafter, Villaroell, a Spaniard who was fettled in the neighbourhood. Upon this the mine became known, and was worked, and a great number of them were found in its vicinity; the principal of which are in the northern part of the mountain, and their direction is from north to fouth. The most intelligent people of Peru have obferved, that this is in general the direction of the richest mines. : The fame of what was paffing at Potofi soon spread abroad, and there was quickly built at the foot of the mountain a town, confifting of fixty thousand Indians and ten thousand Spaniards. The fterility of the foil did not prevent its being immediately peopled. Corn, fruit, flocks, American ftuffs, European luxuries, arrived there from every quarter. Industry, which every where follows the current of money, could not fearch for it with fo much fuccefs as at its fource. It evidently appeared, that in 1738 thefe mines produced annually near nine hundred and feventy-eight thousand pounds, without reckoning the filver which was not registered, and what had been carried off by fraud. From, that time the produce has been fo much diminished, that no more than one eighth part of the coin which was formerly ftruck is now madę. At At the mines of Potoft, and all the mines of South-America, the Spaniards, in purifying their gold and filver, ufe mercury, with which they are fupplied from Guança Velica. The common opinion is, that this mine was difcovered in 1564: the trade of mercury was then ftill free; it became an exclufive trade in 1571: at this period all the mines of mercury were fhut, and that of Guança Velica alone was worked, the property of which the king reserved to himself. It is not found to diminish. This mine is dug in a prodigiously large mountain, fixty leagues from Lima. In its profound abyss are seen streets, fquares, and a chapel, where the mysteries of religion on all feftivals are celebrated: millions of flambeaux are continually kept to enlighten it. Private people, at their own expense, work the mine of Guança Velica. They are obliged to deliver to government, at a stipulated price, all the mercury they extract from it. As foon as they have procured the quantity which the demands of one year require, the work is fufpended. Part of the mercury is fold on the spot, and the rest is fent to the royal magazines throughout all Peru, from whence it is delivered out at the fame race it is fold in Mexico. This arrangement, which has occafioned many of the mines to drop, and prevented others from being opened, is inexcufable in the Spanish fyftem: the court of Madrid, in this refpect, merits the fame reproaches as a miniftry in other countries would incur, that would be blind enough to lay a duty on the implements of agriculture. The mine of Guança Velica generally affects those who work in it with convulfions: this and the other mines, which are not lefs unhealthy, are all worked by the Peruvians. Thefe unfortunate victims of an infatiable avarice are crowded all together and plunged naked into these abyffes, the greatest part of which are deep, and all exceffively cold. Tyranny has invented this refinement in cruelty, to render it impoffible for any thing to efcape its reftlefs vigilance. If there are any wretches who long furvive fuch barbarity, it is the ufe of cocoa that preserves them. In the Cordilleras, near the city of Paz, is a mountain of remarkable height, called Illimani, which doubtless contains immenfe riches; for a crag of it being fome years ago fevered by a flash of lightning, and falling on a neighbouring mountain, fuch a quantity of gold was found in the fragments, thet for fome time that metal was fold at Paz for eight pieces of eight per ounce; but its fummit being perpetually covered with ice and fnow, no mine has been opened in the mountain. The city of La Paz is of a middling fize, and from its fituation among the breaches of the Cordilleras, the ground on which it ftands is unequal, and it is alfo furrounded by mountains. When the river Titicaca is increased, either by the rains, or the melting of the fnow on the mountains, its current forces along large maffes of rocks with fome grains of gold, which are found after the flood has fubfided. Hence fome idea may be formed of the riches inclosed in the bowels of thefe mountains, a remarkable proof of which appeared in the year 1730, when an Indian, wathing his feet in the river, difcovered fo large a lump of gold, that the Marquis de Castle Fuerte gave twelve thousand pieces of eight for it, and fent it as a prefent to the King of Spain. HISTORY OF CHIL I. CHILI is fituated between 25° and 45° fouth latitude, and 65o and 85° weft longitude; its length is one thousand two hundred and fixty miles, and its greatest breadth five hundred and eighty: it is bounded on the north, by Peru; on the east, by Paragua or La Plata; on the fouth, by Patagonia; and on the weft, by the Pacific ocean. It lies on both fides of the Andes; Chili Proper lies on the weft, and Cuyo or Cutie, on the caft. The principal towns in the former are St. Jago and Baldivia; in the latter, St. John de Frontiera. The first attempt of the Spaniards upon this country was made by Almagro in the year 1535, after he and Pizaro had completed the conqueft of Peru. He fet out on his expedition to Chili with a confiderable body of Spaniards and auxiliary Indians. For two hundred leagues he was well accommodated with every neceffary by the Indians, who had been subjects of the Emperors of Peru; but reaching the barren country of Charcos, his troops became discontented through the hardships they fuffered, which determined Almagro to climb the mountains called Cordilleras, in order to get the fooner into Chili; being ignorant of the invaluable mines of Potofi, contained in the province of Charcos, where he then was. At that time the Cordilleras were covered with fnow, the depth of which obliged him to dig his way through it. The cold made fuch an impreffion on his naked Indians, that it is computed no less than ten thousand of them perifhed on thefe dreadful mountains, one hundred and fifty of the Spaniards fharing the fame fate, while many of the survivors loft their fingers and toes through the excess of cold. At last, after encountering incredible difficulties, Almagro reached a fine, temperate, and fertile plain on the oppofite fide of the Cordilleras, where he was received with the greatest kindness by the natives. Thele poor favages, taking the Spaniards for deputies of their god Virachoca, immediately collected for them an offering of gold and filver, worth two hundred and ninety thousand ducats; and foon after brought a prefent to Almagro worth three hundred thousand more. Thefe offerings only determined him to conquer the whole country as foon as poffible. The Indians, among whom he now was, had acknowledged the authority of the Peruvian Incas, or Emperors, and confequently gave Almagro no trouble. He therefore marched immediately against those who had never been conquered by the Peruvians, and inhabited the fouthern parts of Chili. Thefe favages fought with great refolution, and difputed every inch of ground; but in five months time the Spaniards had made fuch progrefs, that they must infallibly have reduced the whole province in a very little time, had not Almagro returned to Peru, in confequence of a commiffion fent him from Spain. In 1540, Pizaro having overcome and put Almagro to death, feat into Chili, Baldivia or Valdivia, who had learned the rudiments of war, in Italy, and was reckoned one of the best officers in the Spanish fervice. As he penetrated fouthward, however, he met with much oppofition; the confederated caziques frequently gave him battle, and displayed great courage and refolution, but could not prevent him from pene trating to the valley of Mafiocho, which he found incredibly fertile and populous. Here he founded the city of St. Jago, and finding gold mines in the neighbourhood, forced the Indians to work in them, at the fame time building a caftle for the fafety and protection of his new colony. The natives, exafperated at this flavery, immediately took up arms, attacked the fort, and though defeated and repulfen, fet fire to the out works, which contained all the provifions of the Spaniards. Nor were they difcouraged by this and many other defeats, but ftill continued to carry on the war with vigour. At laft, Valdivia having overcome them in many battles, forced the inhabitants of the vale to fubmit; upon which he immediately fet them to work in the mines of Quilotta. This indignity offered to their countrymen redoubled the fury of thofe who remained at liberty. Their utmost efforts, however, were as yet unable to step Valdivia's progrefs. Having croffed the large rivers Maulle and Hata, he traversed a vast tract of country and founded the city of La Conception on the South fea coaft; he erected fortreffes in feveral parts of the country, in order to keep the natives in awe, and built the city called imperial, about forty leagues to the fouthward of Conception. The Spanish writers fay, that the neighbouring valley contained eighty thousand inhabitants of a Y 2 peaceable |