IT is Worth your Thoughts & Conſiderations, to Enquire into the Reaſons and Cauſes, Why no Engliſh King, Prince, Noble-Man, Merchant, nor any other Perſon of Heroick Spirit, ſhould not, in all this Time, ſince America hath been Diſcovered, endeavour to be Maſter of Silver and Gold Mines, as well as the Spaniards; there being in many Places of America, now in the Hands of the Engliſh, as Rich, and as Plentiful Veyns and Mines to be Found, as any the Spaniards have in Peru, or New-Spain. But one Reaſon of this Misfortune, I believe to be this; He that hath had Subſtance, to have undertaken this Enterpriſe, hath wanted Skill, and durſt not Truſt another with a ſmall Stock out of Sight; nor would not go himſelf with ſuch as had Judgment therein: Or, He that hath had Skill, hath wanted Money, and Encouragement, to Manage and Carry on this Affair, and ſo could not undertake it, for want of a Stock; and as yet, no Perſon hath Petitioned any KING or PRINCE, about it: However, it is plain, and too true, the Mines have been Neglected, which one would think, ſince all the Kings, Princes, Grandees, and Perſons of Eſtates, in Europe, have known, That for 150 Years laſt paſt, the Spaniards have imported at Cales, from Ten to Forty Millions a Year, in Silver and Gold, beſides many Precious Stones, and other Rich Commodities, of great Value. The Knowledge of which, one would imagine, ſhould have ſtrongly induced ſome other Prince, or Heroick Spirited Men, to have uſed all their Endeavours to have Found and Diſcovered ſuch Mines; and have given them ſufficient Cauſe to have purſued the ſame, by ſending ſuch Perſons about this Affair, as well Underſtandeth ſuch Things: But the chief Reaſon and Miſchief, that theſe Mines have layn ſo long Neglected, is, Becauſe a few PROPRIETORS (as is before recited in the PREFACE,) having, together with the Land, got Grants from the Crown, of the Royalties, where Mines, and Mineral Countries are; and not uſing any effectual Means to Diſcover the Mines themſelves, at their Charge, the Enterpriſe hath remained intricate, and no ways feaſable to Others, by Reaſon of thoſe Grants; all other Perſons being prohibited to engage therein. For, to what purpoſe ſhall a Man ſpend his Time, Labour, and Money, to Enrich Others, by Seeking for That, which, when he hath found, neither He, nor his Heirs, ſhall Enjoy, nor any part thereof: To Engage in this, would be perfect Madneſs. This is the chief Reaſon, why the Engliſh are not Maſters of Silver and Gold Mines, as well as the Spaniards; and not the want of ſuch Mines, being within the Engliſh Territories and Dominions; for if this Sore was once Cured, The Engliſh would have a Plate-Fleet, in a few Years, Arrive in England, as well as the Flota doth in Spain. How great the Loſs of which hath been, and is, and how Acceptable and Profitable the Diſcovering of ſuch Mines, and an Arrival of a Plate-Fleet Yearly in England, would be, I leave every one to Judge, that knows the Uſe and Service of Silver and Gold: And the Cauſe and Cauſes, why there are no ſuch Mines Wrought in America, but what are Wrought by the Spaniards, are only the Reaſons afore-ſaid; concerning which, I hope, I have ſaid ſufficient; and that ſome better Care will be taken, for the Future, whereby all thoſe Grants, relating to the Mines in America, may be Null'd, Revok'd, and made Void, (only in ſuch Clauſes as concern Mines,) by the King's moſt Excellent Majeſty, and the Prudence of this Preſent Parliament; and that the KING hereafter may remain ſole Lord of the Field, and Royalties, in all Parts of Africa, and America, that are now, or ſhall be, Annexed to the CROWN of England, &c. The Indians, both on the South and North Side the Aequinoctial, had Found the Mines, and Wrought in them (after their Faſhion) for above Three Hundred Years before the Spaniards came there; or elſe moſt of the Mines had layn Undiſcovered to this Day, by Reaſon of the Spaniards Lazineſs; for the Indians of Peru, having Lived ſome Hundreds of Years in a civiliz'd Government, before the Spaniards Arrival, had Wrought the Mines, and got great Quantities of Silver and Gold, although they were in no proper way of Working them, nor had any Iron or Steeled Tools, fit for the Service of the Mines; but only Tools of Copper, which they Valued more than Silver or Gold, in regard the Tools and Utenſils of Copper were moſt ſerviceable for their Domeſtick Affairs, and all other Occaſions, in their Times: So that, for many Years, where-ever the Spaniards came, unleſs they Found Veſſels of Silver and Gold in the Indians Houſes, or ſomewhere Wore about them, at their Ears, Lips, Necks, or Noſes; or was conducted, by the Indians, to the Mines, and Places, where the Silver and Gold had been got, The beſt and Richeſt Mines, the Spaniards now have, lay Void, and for a long Time Unwrought; being no more taken Notice of, than ſome Mineral Countries now are by the Engliſh, in ſeveral Parts of America. And the beſt Method (for Gathering and Taking up Gold,) moſt of the Spaniards had, for many Years, was only to Cleanſe and Scower up the ſmall Rivers and Brooks of the Countrey, falling from the Mountains; from the Sands whereof, they Gathered much Gold, without the Experience of Digging, Mining, and Sinking of Shafts, to ſeek for Veyns and Rakes: The Knowledge of which hath not been many Years Underſtood, and Practiſed by them; nor is yet Underſtood, Uſed, and Practiſed to that Heighth, and to ſuch Advantage, as it might be. So that, in many Places, which are now in the Poſſeſſion of the Engliſh, there was never any Shafts Sunk, and put down, either by the Engliſh, or the Spaniards; their chief Objects, and Places of Tryal, being only the Surface of the Earth, with the Brooks and Rivers, as afore-ſaid. And therefore it remains, without Contradiction, there is all the probable Signs and Symptomes of Rich Veyns to be had, and Found, for Digging and Seeking for. And to this Day, the beſt Method and Way that is Known, Practiſed, and Uſed by the Spaniards, and Indians, for Gathering and Taking up Gold, in Flat-Work, is as followeth: The Spaniards ſet their Indians and Negro Slaves out a Parcel of Ground, Forty or Fifty Yards Square, more or leſs, as the Patroon or Maſter thinks fit; which Ground, the Indians and Slaves Dig up as Deep as they Find any Gold in it; and as they Dig it, throw it into Wheel-Barrows; which being done, their other Slaves run it away to the next River, or Running-Brook, and there lays it down, and Returns for more; and in this Manner they Labour, till their Days Work is done, in Digging and carrying of Earth. At the River, or Running Brook, there are alſo ſeveral other Indian Women, Boys, Girls, or Slaves, at Work, having Bowls, or ſmall Treays with Handles; where a Negro Boy or Girl, having firſt broken and beaten the Lumps of Earth ſmall, where, by Reaſon of the Heat, it immediately dryes; which when it is dry, they put about an Engliſh Peck of that ſmall Earth, ſo beaten and dryed, into one of thoſe Treays, as afore-ſaid, at a Time; and then the Woman ſhakes and dances it about in the Water, turning the Bowl or Treay about and about, till the Water hath Waſht away all the Earth, and Rubbiſh; and what Gold is in it, ſinks, and remains at the Bottom; which not being fully Cleanſed from the Earth, is put into a Bowl that ſtands by, to undergo a ſecond and a third Cleanſing. And in this Manner, the Women, Boys, and Girls, renew filling of their Treays and Bowls, with that Earth, till their Days Work is done; and ſo daily gather more or leſs Gold, according as it happens, and as that Flat-Work is more or leſs Plentiful of Gold; Purſuing this Method in Digging, Carrying, and Waſhing, as long as that Earth hath any Gold in it worth their Labour; and then they remove to another Place. After this Way, they Work out all their Earth and Land, that lies near Rivers, or Running-Brooks, that hath Gold in it; but where the Gold lies at a great Diſtance from any Running Water, they are obliged to let all alone, or elſe to loſe the greateſt Part of the Gold that is ſmall; for in ſuch Places that are remote from the Water, (as on the Tops and Plains of the Mountains, where there is generally the moſt plentiful Store of Gold) the beſt Ways they Uſe or Underſtand to gather it there, are theſe: They Dig the Earth, Dry it, then Beat it ſmall, and Sift it; which done, they Spread or Strow it thin upon the Ground, and there it lies, till the next Showers of Rain Waſh it; and then they pick out what Gold they can; which being done, they draw the Earth up and down with Coal-Rakes, or turn it with Shovels, and ſpread it thin again, and let it lye till other Rains waſh it, and ſo pick it over again; which Operation, being twice or thrice Repeated, and having taken what Gold they can out this Way, they then ſhovel all the Earth together upon Heaps; and if there be no Pools or ſtanding Waters near, they make Ponds or Pools, which when the Rain-Water hath filled, they carry that Earth, ſo laid upon Heaps, thither, and waſh it, with their Treays and Bowls, in thoſe Pools, as aforeſaid: And by this Means they get ſome more Gold, although moſt of the fine and ſmall Gold is quite loſt, becauſe the Water of thoſe ſtanding Pools ſoon grows dirty and muddy, and thereby rendred unfit to ſeperate the fine duſt Gold from the Earth, for want of clear running-Waters; which Error, and Defect, might eaſily be amended, and all the Gold, though never ſo ſmall, preſerved, if they underſtood the way of Huſhing, and uſing long Buddles, and Landers: As much Gold might be taken up in a Month, by the ſame Number of Hands, as they now take up in Seven Years: But, whether this be a proper Place, and a fit Time, to Shew and Deſcribe the Way of Huſhing, and Uſing theſe Buddles and Landers, I know not, till I find what Reception and Countenance theſe ARTICLES will meet with. And if the Deſign of this Book meets with Encouragement, I will Publiſh a Book, Entituled, The Royal Miner; (in which, the whole Method and Progreſs of Digging, Working, and Carrying on of Mines, from the firſt Beginning, or Breaking of Ground, to the Melting, Refining, and Making the Oars into Metal, ſhall be clearly Taught and Deſcribed; together, with all the Work-Tools, Inſtruments, and Materials, Uſed in and about the Mines: As alſo, what Incidents, or Accidents, Prejudicial, or Profitable, hath, doth, and may attend the ſame, as far as Art, or Nature, hath Diſcovered theſe things to Humane Reaſon: In all which, (I may ſay, without Boaſting,) I have had long Experience, and am as capable to Acquaint Poſterity with, as any Perſon extant, having, for Six and Twenty Years paſt, been univerſally concerned in Mines, in all, or moſt of the Mineral Countries of England, not only as a Partner, Maſter, or Owner of them; but in the Practick Part of their Workman-ſhip, from the Beginning, to the End:) In which Book, I will deſcribe the Method of theſe Buddles and Landers, for Huſhing, and the moſt proper Way of taking up, and gathering of Gold, with many Uſeful and Beneficial Directions and Inſtructions, in and about the Mines, and Mineral Countries of England, and other Places, ſhall be fully ſet out and deſcribed. In the Interim, If this ſmall Book ſhould fall into the Hands of any Detractors, who, through Ignorance, or Envy, ſhall exclaim againſt any thing herein mentioned, or hereby intended; I ſhall only give ſuch Perſons this modeſt Reproof, Quis niſi mentis inops oblatum reſpuat aurum? and he may well be reckoned a weak Man, if not a Fool, that will cenſure, ſlight, or condemn any thing, in which he never acquired ſufficient Knowledge to be a competent and fit Judge.

Gentlemen,

I would not have You, or any of You, think, or believe, that Gold, and Silver, or the Oars of any other Metals, lyes in the Earth, in ſuch Plenty, or in ſuch a Manner, as to diſcover themſelves to every vulgar or unskillful Eye; however, it is certain, There is great Plenty, and many Rich Veyns to be Found in the Engliſh Territories; & for what I have mentioned before, concerning a Plate-Fleet coming Yearly into England, if Liberty, and fit Encouragement, be given, I will Undertake to Effect and Perform it. And, if any of You deſires further Information in this Affair, I am ready to Acquaint You with it, when You Command me; and to Shew You how, where, and by what Ways and Means the ſame may be Effected; ſo that, if Liberty and Encouragement may be given; I doubt not, but to have Five Hundred Miners at Work, in Two Years Time; by which, with ſome Negroes, and other Perſons, that I will Cauſe to be brought to them, in Two Years Time more, I queſtion not, but to make the Mines flouriſh to a greater Degree, than I ſhall now Speak of.