202 MINES OF I OTOSI. 



LIB. iv. these mines, that which Bebelo discovered, which holdes 



his name vnto this day, was very famous ; and they say it 

 yeelded so great riches to Hanniball that everie day they 

 gathered three hundred pounds weight of silver, and vnto 

 this day they have always continued labouring in this mine, 

 so as it is now digd 15 hundred passes deep into the 

 mountaine. Out of which pits, notwithstanding the deapth, 

 the Gascoines that labour in them drawe out the water, 

 that they may worke with more ease, whilest their candelles 

 and lights last, and that in such aboundaunce as it seeines 



ufhfchro- to be a river.&quot; Hitherto are the woordes of Pliny, the 

 which I would set downe word by word, the better to con 

 tent such as know what mines be, seeing that what is tried 

 at this day was then in vse. And truely the riches of this 

 mine of Hannibal vpon the Pirrenean hilles, was great and 

 famous, which the Romans possessed, having continued the 

 work even unto Plinies time, which was about three hun 

 dred y ceres. The deapth of this mine was fifteene hundred 

 passes, which is a mile and a halfe : and it was so rich in 

 the beginning, that it was woorth daily to the maister 

 thereof three hundred poundes, at twelve ounces to the 

 pound. But although this were a great treasure, it did not 

 approach neere to that which in our time hath bin found in 

 Potosi : for as it appeareth by the Registers of the house of 

 contraction of that Province, and as many antient men 

 worthie of credit doe testifie, whenas the licentiate Polio 

 governed that Province, the which was many yeeres after 

 the discovery of this mountaine, they did every saterday 

 enter a hundred and fifty and twoo hundred thousand 

 peeces, whereof the Kings fift amounted to thirty and forty 

 thousand peeces ; and for every yeere a million and a halfe, 

 or little lesse. So as according to that computation they 

 did drawe every day from this mine thirty thousand 



worth if z e peeces, whereof there came to the King for his fift, sixe 



rialls and a, , 



fourth part, thousand peeces a day. 



