HIDDEN TREASURE 503 



right, and pass above the cascade, going round the 

 offshoot of the mountain. And if by chance the 

 mouth of the socabon be closed with certain herbs 

 which they call ' Salvaje,' remove them, and thou 

 wilt find the entrance. And on the left-hand side 

 of the mountain thou mayest see the ' Guayra ' (for 

 thus the ancients called the furnace where they 

 founded metals), which is nailed with golden nails. 1 

 And to reach the third mountain, if thou canst not 

 pass in front of the socabon, it is the same thing 

 to pass behind it, for the water of the lake falls 

 into it. 



" If thou lose thyself in the forest, seek the river, 

 follow it on the right bank ; lower down take to the 

 beach, and thou wilt reach the canon in such sort 

 that, although thou seek to pass it, thou wilt not 

 find where ; climb, therefore, the mountain on the 

 right hand, and in this manner thou canst by no 

 means miss thy way." 



[Having read this remarkable document, we 

 shall better understand Spruce's account of the 

 various attempts to discover the treasure, the chief 

 routes followed being marked by red lines.] 



With this document and the map before us, 

 let us trace the attempts that have been made 

 to reach the gold thrown away by the subjects of 

 Atahuallpa as useless when it could no longer be 

 applied to the purpose of ransoming him from the 

 Spaniards. 



Pillaro is a somewhat smaller town than Ambato, 

 and stands on higher ground, on the opposite side 



1 (i^u< TV sprinkled will) gi>]cl. F.i>. ] 



