152 



THE GEOLOGIST. 



like that of Chile, of tertiary age, excepting, perhaps, that of Bogota, 

 M hich may be of the carboniferous or even cretaceous period. 



Gold, the yellow representative of earthly riches, at once the blessing 

 and the curse of life, in this auriferous land appears before us eyery^ here, 

 ornamenting the clothes of the living and decking the bodies of the dead, 

 covering wooden idols and hanging as jingling bells from the branches of 

 the sacred trees ; tempting the avarice of the proud Spaniard to murder 

 and to theft, and to gather ghstening treasures which should perchance 

 make him the prey of some stronger buccaneer. The mines of Spiain are 

 closed ; even the Espiritu Santo, from which alone more gold yearly went 

 through Panama than from all the other mines of America put together. 

 Then there is the gold-district of Coyba ; the mine at Bogota, the king's fifth 

 from which was 300,000 dollars ; the gold-dust of Panama and Pacora ; 

 the mountain of the " Block of Gold " in the Cano del Pilon de Oro ; the 

 streams of the Chepo, where Major Don shovelled out the gold-earth by 

 panfuls ; and the thousands of graves in Chiriqui, abounding in golden 

 images and earthen pots of gold beside the black dust of mouldered bodies. 



So much for New Granada. Now for Equador or Quito. We have 

 here too some geological gleanings. Coal is mentioned as occurring in 

 Amortajado, and probably in Puna, Santa Clara, Santa Elena, and the coast 

 of Choro. 



Passing by Latacunga and the volcano of Cotopaxi, Quito, and the vol- 

 canic Pichincha, we come to the land of the mighty Chimborazo, rearing 

 itself high above the chain of the Andes, like a majestic dome upon those 

 ancient monuments. What mean those tales of giants which the Caras 

 believe came to these coasts on floats of rushes, and were annihilated in 

 their evilncss by the wrath of God? Now that man's antiquity is proven, 

 we must seek the interpretation of such old legends ; for, like the Eastern 

 fable of the elephant and tortoise, there may be a long-lost meaning in 

 them. In the similitudes of these traditionary tales we shall see the 

 race-badges of many an ancient people. 



Whether Manta, the seaport to Monte Christo, has derived its name 

 from the broad mantle-like fish which is said to squeeze the pearl-fishers of 

 Panama to death, is not to our purpose, but it is so to know that it has an 

 emerald-mine, and that the emeralds are found in crystals in the rock, and 

 have something of a vein-like character. " Some are half-white, others half- 

 grccu, but they get ripe and come to perfection." At Tezcuco there was, 

 in the " Tribunal of God," a skull crowned with an emerald. 



At Manta, too, and Punta S. Elena, large fossil bones are met with ;* 

 some, so Humboldt states, being those of large cetaceans. Of gold, 

 too, we get frequent accounts, in the form of abundance of ornaments. 

 The entire range of the Cordilleras abounds with gold, silver, and copper, 

 and the former metal is found in every river which has its source 

 in the high lands; the mountain-range of Llanganate (S.S.E. of Quito) is 

 known as the " mother " of the gold found in the streams that run from it. 

 Quicksilver is seen to ooze, out of the ground in Cuenca ; and the district 

 of Esnicraldas only requires searching in its streams and rocks for the 

 b(>nHtiful gems from which it takes its name. But where is the far-famed 

 mine from which the ancient rulers of Quito drew those gigantic emeralds 

 so valned by the Conquistadores, and some of which are treasured as the 

 crou n-jowels of Spain. That it exists there is no doubt ; but the Indians, 

 if (hoy know the spot, conceal it. An emerald as big as a hen's egg fell 

 into the hands of Pizarro's followers : cannot modern adventurers find it 



* The orcm-rciico of those rcmaius is also referred to ia a i)aper in the Geograpliical 

 Society's Journal, x.\., 1S50. 



