I have here annexed Sir James Long's letter.
"Mr. Aubrey, I cannot obey your commands concerning my grandfather's
sinking of pitts for metalls here at Draycott, there being no person
alive hereabouts who was born at that time. What I have heard was so
long since, and I then so young, that there is little heed to be taken
of what I can say; but in generall I can say that I doe believe here
are many metalls and mineralls in these parts; particularly silver-
oare of the blew sort, of which there are many stones in the bottome
of the river Avon, which are extremely heavy, and have the hardnesse
of a file, by reason of the many minerall and metalline veines. I have
consulted many bookes treating of minerall matters, and find them
suite exactly with the Hungarian blew silver oare. Some sixteen or
eighteen yeares ago in digging a well neer my house, many stones very
weighty where digged out of the rocks, which also slaked with long
lyeing in the weather. I shewed some to Monsieur Cock, since Baron of
Crownstronie in Sweden, who had travelled ten yeares to all the
mines in North Europe, and was recommended to me by a London
merchant, in his journey to Mindip, and staied with me here about
three weekes. He told me the grains in that oare seemed to be gold
rather than copper; they resembled small pinnes heads. Wee pounded
some of it, and tried to melt the dust unwashed in a crucible; but the
sulphur carried the metall away, if there was any, as he said.
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