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from the fcarctity of wood, been obliged to 
have recourfe to a rude kind of amalgama- 
tion for feparating and puritying the no- 
bler metals. M. @’Eibujar, dire€tor general 
of the Mexican mines, and whofe works 
prove him to be an intelligent mineralogift, 
was accordingly fent to Hungary to make 
himfelf mafter oF Born’s method of amal- 
gamation, and to engage expert German 
miners in the Spanifh fervice, for the pur- 
pofe of reftoring with their affiftance the 
American gold and filver mines to their 
former flourifhing fate. Helms, then 
chief affayer of ‘the mines and mint at 
Cracau, and the Baron von Noreen 
a Swedifh mineralogift, dire€tor of the 
mines at Miczanagora in the diftriét of 
Cracau, entered (in 1786) on the moft 
advantageous terms into the Spanish fer- 
vice, the former as direftor of the {melting 
houfes, and of the procefs of amalgama- 
tion; and the latter as dire€tor general of 
the conftructing and working of the mines 
in Peru. Accompanied by their families, 
a few negro fervants, and a great number 
of German miners ; they failed from Cadiz 
for Buenos-Ayres 3 and, in 1788, on the 
zgth of Oober, the vernal feafon in that 
part of the glohe, began their journey, at 
firft in carriages, and afterwards on horfe- 
back, by the common route of the poft, in 
an oblique dire€tion acrofs South America, 
through Pucumer and over the Cordilleras, 
Lima; an extent of way, 
amounting from Buenos-Ayres to Poto& to 
539, and from Hehe through Cufco and 
Guancavelica, to 40 5 leguas, or common 
Spanith miles, 20 to 2 degree of the equa- 
tor. In Potoii the German commiffioners 
remained until the 3oth of January 1790, 
and during their refidence endeavoured to 
difpel the; incredible barbarifm and igno- 
rance that prevailed in the mint and mining 
departments there. ‘ Helms, for his part, 
erected a laboratory, in which he daily read 
public leétures, accompanied with fuitable 
experiments, to an audience compofed of 
officers of mint, and proprietors of mines 5 
and fully inftructed fix young men in the 
fcience of metallurgy. Supported by the 
Governor, he fuccceded in expofing the 
total ignorance of the American overfeers 
and officers of the mines and mint; al- 
though the latter counterworked with all 
their might the: royal commiffioners, and 
particularly Heims, by fecret cabals and the 
bafeft calumnies. In writing and in con- 
verfation they decried the Germans as arch- 
heretics, German Jews, cheats 3 as men, 
in fhort, wno, it was to be feared, would 
corrupt the morals of the coe miners 
and their overfeers 5 and tried every means 
to render them fufpicious tothe proprietors 
of the mines, fearing left, enlightened by 
Helms and his affociates, they, fhould ex- 
amine too narrowly into the conduct of 
their ignorant and roguifh fervants. They 
Travels in South America 
even excited the Indian iabourers againft 
them, by infinuating that the foreigners 
had come folely for the purpofe of working 
the mines by machinery, and would thus 
deprive them of the means of fubfiftence.—» 
In this oppofition they were encouraged and 
joined by a numerous band of merchants in 
the principal cities; as Helms, in particu 
lar, fpoke loudly againft the enormous 
ufury by which they oppreffed the workers 
of the mines; and made every effort to 
have a ftop put to their rapacity. All thefe 
confpired ayain{t the German commiffioners, 
endeavoured before hand to prepoflefs the 
Viceroy of Peru againft them, and by his 
interference threw “ebftacles in their way, 
and rendered their plans abortive : —a mis-. 
fortune which more particularly happened 
to Helms after he left Potofi; as by his . 
German honefty and. fincerity (and perhaps 
likewife by his too great precipitancy and 
vehemence} he had raifed himfelf the 
greateft number of enemies. 
Scarcely had he arrived in Lima, when, at 
the defire of the Intendant of Guanca- 
velica, he was ordered to proceed to that 
celebrated quickfilver-mine, to introduce 
there the Idrian furnaces. But in procuring 
Helms this commiflion, the Intendant, an 
old Creole, who by pretended patriotic pro- 
jects had amafied a fortune of a million, 
had no other end in view but to derive a 
profit from furnifhing the neceflary build- 
ing-materials, for which he received more 
than four times their value: and when 
Helms fet himfelf againft his nefarious 
proceedings, he had the addrefs furrepti- 
tioufly to procure an order from the viceroy 
to fuipend the work. Vexation at the un- 
juft treatment he here met with, threw 
Helms into a fever, which ons him to 
leave Guancavelica. ‘Two other commif- 
fions which he received from Lima to in- 
troduce a better method of working the 
mines at Pafco and Bellavifta, 45 Spanith 
miles from Lima, proved equally fruitlefs ; 
as the viceroy abfolutely refufed him any. 
pecuniary affiftance from the funds appro- 
priated to the promotion of the mines, and 
would not permit him to raife the necefiary 
fupplies by means of a loan. All he could 
ebtain was acommendatory epiftle in praife 
of his zeal. He therefore refolved to leave 
Peru, a land morally and phyfically perni- 
cious to his health—-where, in the execu= 
tion of the moft dangerous and laborious 
commifiions, in which he was obliged toa& 
not only as director of the fmelting-houfes, 
but likewife as carpenter, {mith, and mafon, ° 
and in fhort be all in all withoutany affiitt- 
ance, he fuffered innumerable vexations ; 
where, inftead of encouragement and protec- 
tion, he experienced the moft mortifying ob- 
ftacles, and was attacked by the moft infi-” 
dious malice and calumnies ; and whence, 
as the reward of his labours, he brought 
back with him a deadly nervous fever, 
Accordingly, 
sss 
[ November, 
a me 
