As a remedy may be found in this world for all evils, there has not been wanting an invention for extracting this metal, which is the strangest imaginable. The Indians, who were so ingenious, found that in some parts the silver could not be extracted with the aid of bellows, as was the case at Potosi. They, therefore, made certain moulds of clay, in the shape of a flower-pot in Spain, with many airholes in all parts. Charcoal was put into these moulds, with the metal on the top, and they were then placed on the part of the hill where the wind blew strongest, and thus the metal was extracted, which was then purified and refined with small bellows. In this manner all the metal that has been taken from the hill is extracted. The Indians go to the heights with the ores to extract the silver, and they call the moulds Guayras.[514] In the night there are so many of them on all parts of the hill, that it looks like an illumination. When the wind is fresh they extract much silver, but when there is no wind they cannot by any means extract silver; so that, as the wind is profitable in the sea for navigating, it is so here for extracting silver. As the Indians have no overseers when they carry the metal up to the heights, it must be supposed that they have enriched themselves, and taken much silver to their own homes. This is the reason that Indians have come from all parts of the kingdom to this settlement of Potosi, to take advantage of the great opportunities offered for enriching themselves.[515]
CHAPTER CX.
There was the richest market in the world at this hill of Potosi, at the time when these mines were prosperous.
IN all parts of this kingdom of Peru we who have travelled over it know that there are great fairs or markets, where the natives make their bargains. Among these the greatest and richest was formerly in the city of Cuzco, for even in the time of the Spaniards its greatness was caused by the gold which was bought and sold there, and by the other things of all kinds that were sent into the city. But this market or fair at Cuzco did not equal the superb one at Potosi where the traffic was so great that, among the Indians alone, without including Christians, twenty-five or thirty thousand golden pesos exchanged hands daily. This is wonderful, and I believe that no fair in the world can be compared to it. I saw this fair several times, and it is held in a plain near the town. In one place there were cestos (bags) of coca, the most valuable product in these parts. In another place there were bales of cloth and fine rich shirtings. Here were heaps of maize, dried potatoes, and other provisions, there great quantities of the best meat in the country. This fair continued from early morning until dusk; and as these Indians got silver every day, and are fond of eating and treating, especially those who have intercourse with Spaniards, they all spent what they got, so that people assembled from all parts with provisions and other necessaries for their support. Many Spaniards became rich in this settlement of Potosi by merely employing two or three Indian women to traffic in this fair. Great numbers of Yana-cuna,[516] who are free Indians with the right of serving whom they please, flocked to the fair, and the prettiest girls from Cuzco and all parts of the kingdom, were to be met with at the fair.
I observed that many frauds were committed, and that there was little truth spoken. The value of articles was not great, and cloths, linens, and Hollands were sold almost as cheap as in Spain. Indeed, I saw things sold for so small a price, that they would have been considered cheap in Seville. Many men, possessed of great wealth, owing to their insatiable avarice, lost it by this traffic of buying and selling, some of whom fled to Chile, Tucuman, and other parts, from fear of their debts. There were also many disputes and lawsuits among the traffickers.
The climate of Potosi is healthy, especially for the Indians, for few or none fall ill there. The silver is conveyed by the royal road to Cuzco, or to the city of Arequipa, which is near the port of Quilca. Most of it is carried by sheep, without which it would be very difficult to travel in this kingdom, owing to the great distance between the cities, and the want of other beasts.
CHAPTER CXI.
Of the sheep, huanacus, and vicuñas, which they have in most parts of the mountains of Peru.
IT appears to me that in no part of the world have sheep like those of the Indies been found or heard of. They are especially met with in this kingdom and in the government of Chile, as well as in some parts of the province of the Rio de la Plata. It may be that they will also be found in parts that are still unknown. These sheep are among the most excellent creatures that God has created, and the most useful. It would seem that the Divine Majesty took care to create these animals, that the people of this country might be able to live and sustain themselves, for by no other means could these Indians (I speak of the mountaineers of Peru) preserve their lives without these sheep, or others which would supply them with the same necessaries. In this chapter I shall relate how this is.