HENRY HAWKS a.d. 



1572. 

 is marvellous to beholde : the apparell both of them and 

 of their wives is more to be compared to the apparell of 

 noble persons then otherwise. If their wives goe out of 

 their houses, as unto the church, or any other place, they 

 goe out with great majesty, and with as many men and 

 maids as though she were the wife of some noble man. I 

 will assure you, I have seene a miners wife goe to the 

 church with an hundred men, and twenty gentlewomen 

 and maids. They keepe open house : who will, may 

 come to eat their meat. They call men with a bell to 

 come to dinner and supper. They are princes in keeping 

 of their houses, and bountifull in all maner of things. 



A good owner of mines must have at the least an Things neces- 

 hundred slaves to cary and to stampe his metals ; he ^^p.f° ^^^^^ 

 must have many mules, and men to keepe the mines ; he JIJ^^^ ^^ 

 must have milles to stampe his metals ; he must have 

 many waines and oxen to bring home wood to fine the 

 oare ; he must have much quicke-silver, and a marvellous 

 quantity of salt-brine for the metals ; and he must be at 

 many other charges. And as for this charge of quicke- 

 silver, it is a new invention, which they finde more profit- 

 able then to fine their oare with lead. Howbeit the same 

 is very costly : for there is never a hundred of quick- 

 silver but costeth at the least threescore pounds sterling. 

 And the mines fall dayly in decay, and of lesse value : 

 and the occasion is, the few Indians that men have to 

 labour their mines. 



There is in New Spaine a marvellous increase of cattel. The plenty of 

 which dayly do increase, and they are of a greater growth ^^^^^^^• 

 then ours are. You may have a great steere that hath an 

 hundred weight of tallow in his belly for sixteene shil- 

 lings ; and some one man hath 20000 head of cattel of 

 his owne. They sell the hides unto the merchants, who 

 lade into Spaine as many as may be well spared. They 

 spend many in the countrey in shooes and boots, and in 

 the mines : and as the countrey is great, so is the in- 

 crease of the cattell woonderfull. In the Island of Santo 

 Domingo they commonly kill the beasts for their hides 



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