and half way down there is a ledge round the mouth; as when they make a well, the upper half is wider, and the lower half, being faced with masonry, is narrower, and ends upwards in a sort of ledge. At times the fire comes out with great fury, and sends forth many stones, that look like great fiery pieces of iron. I have seen this, and it seems that the fire has worked on them, and left them as cinders. They destroy the herbage for half a league round; and the Indians, to appease the fire so that it may not come and destroy them, bring a virgin there, at certain times of the year, to offer her up, and they throw her in. They are then joyful, for they believe that they are saved. In this sacrifice, and in those to the statue, many people die every year. A friar, they say, entered as far as the ledge half way down the mouth, and thence he looked down and saw a certain thing like metal, of the colour of fire, and he let down a link of an iron chain by a rope, but when he drew it up he found nothing.[1] I do not think it can be gold, because gold is cold, and if extreme force was not used, very little could be broken off. I believe that the fire contains what there is in it, and does not receive anything from any other source. This land is poor in gold. No mines have been found, except seventy leagues from Leon; and by taking the people from a warm and level country to dig out gold at such a distance and in high mountains, a very large part of the population has disappeared; and afterwards, there being no one to cultivate the land, the Spaniards began to make slaves, and to reward the chiefs who brought slaves to them. They were taken in great numbers to be sold at
- ↑ Fray Blas de Ymesta, and two other Spaniards, were let down into the first mouth in two baskets, with an iron bucket and a long chain, to draw up some of the fiery matter, which they believed to be gold. The chain went down for 150 fathoms, and as soon as it came to the fire, the bucket and some links of the chain melted. The gold seekers remained there that night, without wanting fire or candle, and came out again next morning in their baskets, very much frightened. Herrera.
