the rivers, and, in some places, from the mines, which the natives
work. However, they do not work the mines steadily, but only when
forced by necessity; for because of their sloth and the little
work done by their slaves, they do not even try to become wealthy,
nor do they care to accumulate riches. When a chief possesses one or
two pairs of earrings of very fine gold, two bracelets, and a chain,
he will not trouble himself to look for any more gold. Any native who
possesses a basketful of rice will not seek for more, or do any further
work, until it is finished. Thus does their idleness surpass their
covetousness. In spite of all this, we see that the land possesses much
gold; for all men, whether they be chiefs or not, whether freemen or
slaves, extract and sell gold, although in small quantities. Then, too,
many ships come every year to these islands, from Bornei and Luzon,
laden with cloth and Chinese goods, carrying back gold [13] with them;
yet, with all this regular withdrawal of gold, the natives have always
gold enough with which to trade. All these things permit us to infer
that, if the mines were worked steadily and carefully by Spaniards,
they would yield a great quantity of gold all the time. Nevertheless,
in some places where we know that mines exist, the natives do not
care to work them; [14] but, on the arrival of the foreign vessels
for purposes of barter, they strike a bargain with those foreigners
and allow them to work in the mines for a period agreed upon. From
this it is clearly evident how slothful these people are.

There are places in these islands where pearls can be found, although
they are not understood or valued by the natives; therefore they do
not prize them, or fish for them. Cinnamon is also to be found here,
especially in the island of Mindanao, where a large quantity of it is
gathered on the headland called Quavit, [15] and in Samboaga and other
parts of the said island. In some places we have seen pepper trees and