THE INCA MINING COMPANY’S OFFICES AT SANTO DOMINGO, BUILT OF MAHOGANY.
THE MAIN STREET OF CERRO DE PASCO.
The Nudo of Vilcanota embraces an extensive mining region to the north and west of Lake Titicaca; and the veins of precious metals follow the course of the Cordilleras, which, after separating, form the Nudo of Cerro de Pasco. The Cailloma mines, in Arequipa, and those of the Lucanas district, in Ayacucho,—both rich in silver,—are located in the western range, while those of Cuzco belong to the eastern and central Cordilleras. Puno lies in the heart of a vast mineral region; in its provinces some of the most productive mines of Peru are to be found. The Inca Mining Company, in which more than a million dollars of North American capital is invested, has developed gold mines of enormous value in the province of Carabaya, supplying about nine-tenths of the gold coined in Peru, and having a monthly output amounting in value to ten thousand pounds sterling. The history of this enterprise is an interesting sequel to the record of gold-mining in colonial days.
During the period of the viceroyalty, the gold mines of the province of Puno produced vast wealth, the viceroy once sending as a gift to Charles V. a nugget that weighed a hundred pounds, taken from San Juan del Oro; and one of his successors presented to Philip IV. another famous nugget, shaped like a man’s head and of great size. When the Indians revolted against Spanish authority a few years before the war of the Independence, those of Carabaya and Sandia joined the rebel ranks and slaughtered their masters, hoping to be relieved from the hard work of the mines. This uprising, and the war of Independence that followed, caused the mining industry to be totally neglected until the middle of the last century, when a party of explorers looking for cascarilla bark found gold in the bed of the Challuma River, and a rush followed, which lasted for two or three years. During that time several million dollars’ worth of gold was taken out, and a nugget weighing over four pounds was presented to General Castilla, then president of Peru. But the system of mining employed was primitive and, after the first excitement passed, only a few gold-diggers remained, the mines from that time being worked on a small scale until the Inca Mining Company purchased the Santo Domingo property a few years ago and set up a large establishment.
A MINING TOWN OF THE PUNA.
The discovery of the Santo Domingo gold mine was made by a Peruvian, Don Manuel Estrada, but it was the enterprising spirit of two North American prospectors, Chester Brown and Wallace Hardison, which led to its being exploited on a large scale. Mr. Hardison had seen, in Lima, samples of rich ore that had been found in Carabaya, and he was not long in making his way to the goldfields to investigate further. He was joined by Mr. Brown and they went to Santo Domingo together, starting from the Southern railway terminus at Juliaca on muleback, accompanied by their guides, and having with them a number of llamas laden with provisions and blankets. Both courage and faith were required to follow up a trail in such a rugged, mountainous country as that over which the Americans travelled. Part of the route was across the high sierra, sixteen thousand feet above sea level, where the riders could look on a sea of clouds rolling below, while the sun blazed down from a sky of wonderful blue. Only those who have travelled on these heights know how clear are the skies and how piercing is the white light of the sun at these altitudes. When there is no sun, the weather is freezing cold. The wealth of the Santo Domingo mine was apparent to the prospectors from the first, and the Inca Mining Company was organized at once with capital to purchase the property.
LLAMAS AND DONKEYS AWAITING CARGO AT CERRO DE PASCO.