Formerly several gold and silver mines were wrought in Huailas; there are upwards of thirty mills for grinding the ore in different parts of the province, but at present little attention is paid to mining; however, small quantities of gold and silver are extracted. At Yurumarca there is a mountain which contains large veins and strata of the loadstone; near to which is a copper mine, now abandoned, because the ore did not produce gold, as was expected, when it was first wrought. Large quantities of alum are prepared from a mineral near Yurumarca, by the process of solution and evaporation; but it is generally subjected to a second operation of refining at Lima.
On the whole, the province of Huailas is most bountifully supplied with all the necessaries, and many of the luxuries of life; the situation is commanding, and Huaras is calculated to become a large mercantile town, the general mart for the provinces of Huailas, Huamalies alto, Huamalies bajo, and Conchucos; but for the furtherance of such a project, the port of Santa ought to be opened; it is a secure harbour, and is the nearest of any to Huaras.
After visiting the principal towns in Huailas, I went to the province of Conchucos, which adjoins it to the northward. This province is more irregular than the former; some of the valleys are very low, and consequently very hot; in these the tropical and equatorial fruits come to perfection, and at Huari del Rey, the capital, I have seen very fine pine-apples, grown in the province. The valleys are generally small, being merely bottoms of the ravines, _quebradas_, and the soil is produced by the heavy rains which fall on the adjoining mountains: these carry down the decayed animal and vegetable matter, as well as the decombres of the stone of which they are composed, and hence the soil is remarkably productive. Some of the villages are situated in very cold climates, being from five to eight thousand feet above the level of the sea; they are generally small miserable places, inhabited chiefly by indians, who cultivate patches of barley and maize, which seen from the valleys appear to hang in the clouds. I have often beheld a man ploughing with a yoke of oxen lent to him by the farmers, where I should have imagined that a goat could scarcely have tripped along in safety. A few small sheep and goats are the only animals which they possess, excepting dogs, of which useless animals, each hut, _rancho_, contains at least half a dozen. Many of these indians are employed by the more wealthy inhabitants in manufacturing tocuyos, bayetones, flannels, and coarse cotton stockings. The females generally spin and knit at home, and the men go to the obrages to weave, dye, full, &c. Some very fine ponchos are made in Conchucos, and sold at the amazing price of a hundred or a hundred and fifty dollars each; others, made of brown wool, are called _bordillos_, and fetch from five to ten dollars each; of the coarse wool and all the refuse _jerga_ is made, which is formed into wrappers for sugar, and common dresses for the slaves and the poorer sort of indians. This province manufactures more of this kind of cloth than any of the neighbouring districts, and some of the inhabitants are wealthy, but the poor indians are truly miserable.