252 PEHU. 



" To this, indeed, there was but one exception, and that was a 

 copper and silver mine, the ores of which are uniformly united, 

 in the province of Caxatambo. 



" When the patriots arrived in Peru, the mine was deserted 

 by all the labourers, in order to avoid being forced into the army. 

 In this state it remained for a considerable time ; but on the 

 Spaniards retreating into the interior, I recommenced working ; 

 and to secure my right to this mine under the new 7 Government 

 I at the same time transmitted a memorial and petition to the 

 established authorities, accompanied by a plan and description 

 of the mine, the result of which was the formal grant, as ex- 

 hibited in the Spanish document now in your possession. It 

 was not my good fortune to be allowed to follow up my plans, 

 which almost warranted a certainty of success. I had scarcely 

 commenced a second time when the Spaniards returned, and 

 everyone again was obliged to fly. The country, as is well 

 known, continued for a long time in a most distracted state, and 

 I was ultimately compelled to quit that part of Peru, robbed of 

 all my money, leaving everything behind me, miners' tools and 

 about 5000Z. worth of ores on the spot ready to be carried to 

 the shipping port. Numerous as my misfortunes had been in 

 Peru, and heavy as my disappointments, I felt none so sensibly 

 as this, because it was an enterprise entirely of my own creation, 

 and so open to view that I was enabled to calculate at a 

 certainty the immense value contained within the external 

 circle where the copper vein made its appearance in the cap of 

 the mountain, and to be obtained without risk or capital. 

 However, revolution followed revolution, and the war appeared 

 to me to be interminable. Even Bolivar's arrival at Lima made 

 it still worse, for he forced me into the army, with my property, 

 which is not paid to this day, to the amount of $20,000 ; and 

 at his urgent solicitations, disgusted as I was with what I had 

 seen and suffered in Peru, I determined on quitting it for a 

 time at least, and on visiting Colombia. Being at Guayaquil I 

 first heard the name of Costa Kica and its recently-discovered 

 mines, and having no doubt of the authenticity of my informa- 

 tion, I immediately proceeded thither instead of going to 

 Bogota to carry Bolivar's orders into execution, not having 



