MINES OF POTOSI. 199 



hee was forced to lay holde vpon a brauncli, wliicli issued LlB - Iv - 

 from a veine of a silver mine (which since they have called 

 La Eica) which he pulled vp, perceiving in the hole or roote 

 thereof rnettall, the which hee knew to be very good, by 

 the experience hee had of the mines of Porco : and after 

 finding vpon the ground certaine peeces of mettall, which 

 lay broken and dispersed neere to this veine, being scarse 

 well able to iudge thereof, for that the colour was spoyled 

 and changed by the sunne and raine, he carried it to 

 Porco to trie by the Huayras (which is the triall of mettall 

 by fire), and having thereby found the great riches and his 

 happy fortune, he secretly digged and drew metfcall out of 

 this veine, not imparting it to any man vntil that an 

 Indian, called Huanca, of the valley of Xauxa, which is 

 vpon the bordures of the Cittie of Kings, who remaining 

 at Porco, neere vnto Hualpa of Chumpivilca, perceved one 

 day that he made a refining, and that his wedges and 

 brickes w r ere greater then such as were vsually made in 

 those places : and also increasing in his expence of appar- 

 rell, having till then lived but basely. For this reason, and 

 for that the mettall that his neighbour refined was different 

 from that of Porco, he thought to discover this secret, and 

 wrought so, that although the other kept it as secret as hee 

 could, yet thorow importunitie he was forced to carry him 

 vnto the rocke of Potosi, having enioyed this rich treasure 

 full two months. And then Hualpa the Indian willed 

 Huanca for his part to take a veine, which he had discovered 

 neare to the rich veine, which at this day is called the veine 

 of Diego Centeno, that was not lesse rich, but more hard to 

 digge and to draw foorth ; and so by agreement they divided 

 betweene them the richest rocke in the world. It chaunced 

 after, the Indian Huanca finding some difficulty to digge 

 and draw foorth his mettall, being most hard, and the 

 other Hualpa refusing to impart any of his mine vnto him 

 they fell at debate ; so as Huanca of Xnuxa grieved there- 



