Between Alcocer and Orellana, there is an ir6n mine in
fandftone, with the fi.neft red ocre in the World. A fteep
mountain muft be croffed to arrive at Nabalvillar, where
there are blood ftones, and a fpecies of black earth,
which fhines when rubbed in the hand, but is only a blend
or dead mineral of no ufe. From henee you go to Logrofan,
at the foot.of a chain of hills which run from eaft
to weft, called La Sierra de Guadalupe. In coming out of
the village, a vein o f phofphoric ftone croffes the road»
obliquely from north to fouth. It is a whitiih ftone without
any flavour. When pounded and thrown on the fire,
it burns, and emits a blue flame, without any fmell(«).
In the mountain to the north of this village, there is- a
filver mine in a whitiih ftone, with white mica, and in the
mountain of Guadalupe to the fouth, there is a copper
mine in a flaty ftone, jafpered with blue and green. An
extenflve uncultivated plain lies half way between Nabalvillar
and Logrofan, covered with the kermes oak ; but
before you reach Logrofan, the fandftone difappears, and»
thehoufes o f that village are built with granite from the
hills of Guadalupe.
A ft c r having gone out of our road to examine the
phofphoric ftone, we returned again to Orellana, at which
{a) Mr. Bowles fays it is the pflrtogiflon of the coal that caofes this flame, but this explanation
cannot be admitted; for it is well known that the phofphoric fiones emit a Wue light,
when heated,, without being expofed, to any fubftance, fuppofed to contain phlogifton.
place
place we croffed the Guadiana, where its bed is very ihal-
low, in order to fee a lead mine two leagues further to
the fouthward, on the road to Zalamea (a). This mine is
found on a fmall eminence called Vadija, or Valle de las
minas ; the vein runs from north to fouth, cuts the flaty
ftone, and is feén in a bed of quartz, which is difcovered
from a brook about two hundred paces from the firft
ihaft, where the vein does not follow as I faid above, but
ftrikes off from eaft to weft. The miners loft it by crof-
fing the brook from north to fouth, when they fhould
have followed it according to the direction o f the foft flate
as I did, and found it again.
Continuing two leagues further to the fouthward from
this mine towards Zalamea, there is a filver mine without
any lead in the fpar; this vein is found in a rock o f granite,
cut contrary to its natural direction, and confifts o f
fpar, quartz, white and yellow pyrites, with a ihining,
black, fmall pyritous matter. The country, for many
(<*) The town of Zalamea is fix leagues from Aracena, in the very heart of the Sierra Morena.
The country people have a tradition, that it was buih by thofe perfons fent there by
Solomon in queft of the filver mines, who named the place after him, in proof o f which they
aifert that a very antient caille juft by, is itili called Caftle. of Solomon. One o f the villages
in the jurifdi&ion o f 'Zalamea is named Obiud, and the river near it Odiel, being Hebrew
names, which I was informed of, fays a celebrated Spaniih writer, by a clergymau, as well
as by antient people of the place; but this is not fo eafy to prove, or for me to give ¿ífent
to, merely on their traditional relations. I f it were true, that the Tharjis of fcripture was
Tarlejjus, then indeed it might be prefumed that the treafures were got from hence; for which
I refer them to Goropius Recanus Lib. 7. Hifpanicorum. See Antigüedades de Sevilla
por Rodrigo Caro. Sevilla 1634.
leagues