108 DOTTINGS ON THE ROADSIDE. [Chap. VIII.—D. S. 
but frequently whatever good things they may have 
in their possession, such as cacao beans, chocolate, 
lumps of sugar, wax candles, etc.; and the wife of the 
impoverished miner could lay her hands on nothing 
better than a piece of scented soap. But she promised 
to present a chalice to the village church if St. Peter 
would let her husband, who had been so singularly 
unfortunate in gold-mining, find a good silver-mine. 
The husband having fully ratified the vow, both 
awaited with confidence the asked-for intercession. 
They were not doomed to be disappointed. A short 
time afterwards an Indian called, and the miner’s mi¬ 
serable plight became at once the topic of conversa¬ 
tion. “ If it is rich stones you are harping after,” said 
the Indian, “I can take you to a place where you shall 
find enough to last you a lifetime.” The offer was 
gladly accepted, on condition that if the place turned 
out as rich as represented the Indian should receive 
three cows for showing it. Chopping-knife in hand, 
and a few provisions on their back, the two entered 
the thick virgin forest which stretches from Libertad 
to the shores of the Atlantic Ocean. After travelling 
several leagues, they arrived at a place where the 
Indians were in the habit of .shooting javalis, a kind 
of wild boar. “Will this satisfy you?” asked the 
guide triumphantly. The miner was dumfounded. 
After years of fruitless toil and search, he saw at last 
before him a property combining all the features of a 
good mine. On the slopes of a hill rising five hun¬ 
dred feet above a river-bed, and ensuring a natural 
drainage, he found a wide lode of quartz rock, 
