hoped that though he himself had but a short time to live, yet that by
our means his son should be established after his death. And I left with
him one Francis Sparrow, a servant of Captain Gifford, who was desirous
to tarry, and could describe a country with his pen, and a boy of mine
called Hugh Goodwin, to learn the language. I after asked the manner how
the Epuremei wrought those plates of gold, and how they could melt it
out of the stone. He told me that the most of the gold which they made
in plates and images was not severed from the stone, but that on the
lake of Manoa, and in a multitude of other rivers, they gathered it in
grains of perfect gold and in pieces as big as small stones, and they
put it to a part of copper, otherwise they could not work it; and that
they used a great earthen pot with holes round about it, and when they
had mingled the gold and copper together they fastened canes to the
holes, and so with the breath of men they increased the fire till the
metal ran, and then they cast it into moulds of stone and clay, and so
make those plates and images. I have sent your honours of two sorts such
as I could by chance recover, more to shew the manner of them than
for the value. For I did not in any sort make my desire of gold known,
because I had neither time nor power to have a great quantity. I gave
among them many more pieces of gold than I received, of the new money of
twenty shillings with her Majesty's picture, to wear, with promise that
they would become her servants thenceforth.

I have also sent your honours of the ore, whereof I know some is as
rich as the earth yieldeth any, of which I know there is sufficient, if
nothing else were to be hoped for. But besides that we were not able to
tarry and search the hills, so we had neither pioneers, bars, sledges,
nor wedges of iron to break the ground, without which there is no
working in mines. But we saw all the hills with stones of the colour
of gold and silver, and we tried them to be no marcasite, and therefore