CHAP. X.

MIDDLE AGES.

251

Dorado. How much earlier they had beenworked does not appear; but in the year 1523they produced 38,000 pounds of silver; in thenext year, 33,700; in 1525, 52,800. In 1564 theyfell off so as to yield only 11,400 pounds; andthough once they increased again to 20,000pounds, they never more attained that point;and have long since ceased to alford any 1 .

About two miles from Zell, in the Tyrol, is asmall establishment where the sand is washedfor gold. Mines were opened here for gold byone Spengler, who was brought from the Hartzin 1435; and between that time and the year1504 sixteen mines in the whole were opened.As the mines were situated in a province belong-ing jointly to the archbishop of Salzburg andthe prince of Tyrol, disputes arose which im-peded the work, and finally suspended it 2 .

Besides the product of the mines, gold wasobtained by washing in many parts of the Aus-trian dominions. In the Danube there wereformerly gold washings, and even in the presentday some is found in the sands between Vienna and Presburg , mixed with transparent quartz andiron, but the quantity is so small as to be almostunworthy of notice.

More extended accounts of the Austrian minesthan of other countries have been deemed pro-

Vierthaler, vol. ii. p. 178.

2 Idem, vol. ii. p. 191.