with an Account of its Gold Mines. 297 



fo much neglefted is the ignorant fuperftition of the natives. 

 They never will venture to dig in any place where they fuf^ 

 pe(St great riches to be concealed until they have fent thither 

 a diviner, as he is called, to find out whether their labours 

 will be attended with fuccefs. The whole art of thefe di- 

 viners, called in the language of the country Talmiga, con- 

 filts in their difcovering, as they pretend, by the voice of a 

 certain bird, whether abundance of gold is to be found in a 

 certain place ; whether the labourers will be attacked by fick- 

 nefs; whether there are in it many fpirits to impede the la- 

 bourers and conceal the gold from them, with other things 

 of the like kind. If the bird gives a favourable anfvver to all 

 thefe queflions, the diviner muft endeavour to fecure the fa- 

 vour of the prote6ling fpirits of the place by offerings of va- 

 rious kinds; after which a few workmen may begin digging, 

 and. continue their labour as many days or months as the 

 bird has prefcribcd. If the bird, however, gives an unfa- 

 vourable anfwer to only one queftion, no perfon will venture 

 in fuch a place to dig a hole of only a few inches in depth. 

 Many rich mines remain, therefore, unexplored, becaufe the 

 proplietic bird, or the Talanga, are not in good humour. 



When the workmen have arrived at the place where, ac- 

 cording to the permiffion of the Tulanga, they may dig up 

 gold, they hold ferious counfel with the bird once more, and 

 allc it in what particular fpot they mull begin. When this 

 is done, they firfl conduft water to the fpot; for without water 

 they cannot proceed, as by its means they wa(h away the 

 earth and clay from the pit, that the ftones and fine fand, 

 among which the gold is contained, may remain pure. If 

 the fituatioa of the ground will not admit of the water beincr 

 conduced in farrows, they make a kind of gutters of hollow 

 wa/'/rt trees, which they fupport with props. When they 

 have brought the water to the place where the mine is to 

 be worked, they make a pit of twenty, thirty, or forty feet ia 

 circumfcrencf', according to the number of workmen : fome- 

 times there arc eight, and fometimes ten or twelve. As long 

 as the water has room to run oiT, they fufier it to carry wiih 

 it the earth, which they keep continually turning and flirrir.nr 

 in the pit; biU u hen the pit becomes fo deep that there is 



Vol. \I. Q (j no 



