328 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 102 



city there are very rich mines of 22-carat gold veins ; but the country 

 is not settled, for lack of labor and because the location is low and 

 unhealthy. There are likewise silver, copper, and iron mines, and 

 a mine of stone unique in nature ; it is all shot through with white 

 pyrites (marcasite), gold and silver streaks; they make very hand- 

 some and attractive altars out of it, and it is utilized for other special 

 purposes. 



977. The hill of Itoto, on which are the very rich emerald mines, 

 is a league out of the city. There are many veins in which chalcedony 

 occurs and other forms of emerald, altogether like diamonds in being 

 hard, white, and with a diamond's cutting edge, but for some reason 

 not mature or ripened. They have come on other mines of these 

 emeralds in the neighborhood of the hill of Itoto, at half a league, 

 I league and farther off. The hill of Itoto where this rich mine is, 

 is very high, with soil black as charcoal ; the veins where the emeralds 

 are formed, are in general soft. The way they handle them is to 

 dig out all that earth following the veins in their search for the 

 emeralds ; they have flumes coming from a river which runs near 

 the hill, and nearby, large tanks full of water with sluice gates, which 

 they call tamires. 



978. When they have excavated and followed the veins enough, 

 they raise the sluice gates and the water which has been dammed up, 

 dashes out with such force that it carries off all the earth excavated 

 and leaves clean what has been mined, and at once they find the 

 emeralds in that sort of soft, black, stony covering in which they 

 are formed. Those that are matured and ripened, are of a very fine 

 and uniform green, and among them are stones of priceless value ; 

 others are green with some whitish blotches, which are not fully 

 matured ; the white ones need seasoning. It sometimes happens that 

 many are found together, which means great wealth. In fine, it is 

 usual in these mines, just as in gold and silver mines, that sometimes 

 they run richer than others. The water of this river which flows 

 near the city, is generally almost black, both from the soil it runs 

 through and from the mine operations. 



979. Three leagues from the ridge of Itoto there is another called 

 Abipi, on which there are likewise very rich emerald mines. These 

 are not exploited, for lack of water, which is quite essential for 

 working and exploiting a mine ; without it there can be no exploita- 

 tion. There are also mines of very fine beryls, among which there 

 are large crystals, brilliant, clear, and transparent, with other mines 

 to give thanks to the Creator for. 



