SILVER. 195 



And first I will say, that the reason why they give silver LlB - Iv - 



the second place among- all other rnettalles is, for that it 

 approacheth neerer to golde then any other, being more 

 durable and lesse indarnaged by the fire, and more maniablc 

 then any other ; yea it passeth golde in brightnesse, beauty 

 and sound, the which is cleere and agreeable, for the colour 

 is more conformable and resembling the light, and the 

 sound more percing, more lively, and more delicate. Like 

 wise there are some places where they value silver more 

 then golde. It is yet an argument to judge that gold is 

 more pretious than other mettalls for that it is found with 

 greater difficultie, and Nature seems more sparing in bring 

 ing it foorth, although there be countries, as they say of 

 Chine, where they find golde more easily than silver ; 

 yet it is more common and ordinarie to finde silver with 

 more facilitie and greater abundance then gold. The Crea 

 tor hath furnished the West Indies with so great a treasure 

 of silver, as all that which we reade of in antient Histories 

 and that which is spoken of the mines of Spaine, and other 

 provinces, is not comparable to that we see in those partes. 

 The mines of silver are commonly found in mountaines, and 

 high rockes very desart, although they have sometimes bin 

 found in Plaines and Champaines. There are two different 

 kindes, the one they call straggling, the other fixed and 

 settled. The straggling are peeces of mettall found in 

 certaine places, the which dravvne away there is no more 

 found. But the fixed veines are those which have a con 

 tinuance in depth and length, like to great branches and 

 armes of trees, and when they find anie one of them they 

 commonly finde many in the same place. The maner to 

 purge and refine siluer which the Indians have vsed was by 

 melting, in dissolving this masse of mettall by fire, which 

 casts the earthly drosse aparte, and by his force separates 

 silver from lead, tinne from copper, and other mettalls mixt. 

 To this end they did build small furnaces in places whereas I 



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