PEON MINERS AT LUNCH
Until within the last few years since American capital has undertaken to develop many of the Mexican mines, only the most primitive methods were in use. Even to-day many are operated in the same old way, although modern machinery is being rapidly introduced. The expense of fuel has been a great drawback in the less productive mines, and the shafts many hundreds of feet deep are worked with a windlass and mule power. Coal costs as high as $15 (gold) per ton at the mine and is then cheaper than wood at $14 (silver) per cord. At these prices steam power becomes very expensive. In those early days only those ores could be mined at a profit that could be treated at the mine, because of the great expense of transporting the ore-laden rock on the backs of mules.
The patio process of amalgamating silver is still generally used. This first came into use in 1557, being discovered by Bartolome de Medina, a miner. The ore is first crushed into a powder by an immense rolling stone that is revolved by teams of mules. This powder is then carried into a patio, or paved court, by a stream of water until the mass is about two feet deep. Quicksilver, salt and blue vitriol are then thrown into it and several teams of mules are driven around and around until the mass is thoroughly mixed, which requires several weeks. This is then thrown into troughs of water, where the amalgam of silver and quicksilver will sink to the bottom. By a process of distillation the silver is then separated from the quicksilver. Within five years after the discovery of this process Zacatecas alone had thirty-five of these reduction works in operation. It is claimed that not over ten per cent. is lost by this simple method. The poor mules eventually become horrible looking sights from the action of the vitriol on their legs. This patio mud has been used in the construction of the huts of the peons. A company was formed to tear down a whole row of these huts in Guanajuato just to extract the little metal that was left in them. The crown retained a monopoly on the quicksilver, and realized great profits upon this necessary metal in treating the silver ore.
The first bonanza mines were discovered at Zacatecas in 1546 by Juan de Tolosa. So rich were they and so great was the influx of miners, that the place was made a city forty years later. For two hundred and fifty years fabulous sums of silver were taken from the hills surrounding this quaint city. Some of the richest mines of the country have been located near Pachuca. More than three hundred silver mines are found there and in the near-by districts of Regla and Real del Monte. One mine, The Trinidad, is said to have yielded $50,000,000 in ten years. There was very little stock speculation with the mines in the early days. There was at least one exception where an English company bought an old producing mine and the $500 shares rose to $80,000 but in the end the mine proved to be a failure. Catorce is also a rich mining town, and the mines have produced many millions of silver ore. The State of Oaxaca is likewise rich in gold and silver bearing quartz. None of the great bonanzas were found there, but a steady stream of gold and silver has been produced by the Oaxaca mines. I heard an interesting story of a young prospector who had spent several years and all his money in the search for wealth near Ejutla in that state. Having only a few dollars left he invested his all in dynamite and placed it in the lode with a prayer for luck. The blast revealed a rich “lead” which he sold for $600,000 a few days later.
The richest mineralized section in the whole republic is probably that in and around Guanajuato, the “hill of the frogs.” This district was discovered by two mule drivers in 1548 who were on their way from Zacatecas to the City of Mexico, and from that date until the present time a billion and a half dollars’ worth of silver has been produced. A hundred years ago Guanajuato was one of the largest cities and it is admitted by all travellers to be one of the most picturesque cities in the New World. Its wealthy mine owners lived like princes and spent their money like drunken sailors. Fortunes were made and lost. About a hundred years ago two mines there were producing four million ounces of silver annually. These mines were worked by the Aztecs long before the Spaniards came. This is called the La Luz district.
To-day Guanajuato is a much smaller city than it was a half century ago because of the decrease in mining activity. The Theatre Juarez is a beautiful building and was built and is owned by the state, which seems strange to an American. The state or municipal ownership of theatres in Spanish-American countries is quite common. The Republic of Guatemala takes more pride in its national theatre, the Teatre Colon (Columbus), than in any other public building. A curious sight in this city of Guanajuato is the panteon, or crypt, where bodies are buried for five years. If burial fees are not paid again at the end of that time, the bones are thrown in a heap. However, many of the bodies are found mummified and these are placed against the wall making a horrible, gruesome sight,—one that will not be soon forgotten by the traveller. It is like the crypt underneath the Capuchin Church in Rome.
The Spanish conquerors mentioned nothing of silver among the Aztecs, but all their ornaments were of gold. The value of the presents of gold ornaments given to Cortez by Montezuma is estimated by Prescott at more than $7,000,000. The source of this great gold supply has never been discovered, for, although gold in small quantities is found in many places intermingled with silver, yet the amount mined was very small in comparison with the value of the silver. In more recent years owing to improved methods of separating the precious metals from the quartz, the proportion of gold produced has been increasing. From 1810 to 1884 mining reached a very low ebb because of the unstable form of government and constant revolutionary movements. The crude methods formerly in use became unprofitable, and foreign capitalists were afraid to invest money for fear that a change in the government might occur over night and wipe out everything. The old mines had been worked to such a depth that they were flooded and could not be kept in workable condition by the bucket brigade. The disturbed political conditions had developed large and bold bands of robbers; and as all traffic had to be carried over lonely mountain trails, mining became very insecure and consequently unprofitable.
Since the extension of the railway systems and the establishment of a stable government, mining is again attracting a great deal of attention. The government encourages foreign investments in the mines. Many of the old bonanzas have been taken over by new companies with both good and bad results for the investors. The introduction of modern machinery has so reduced the cost of mining that lower grade ores can be profitably worked. Even the dumps that have been accumulating for centuries are being worked over at a fair profit. Smelters and mills for the cyanide process are springing up in all of the mining regions. Modern pumps are taking the place of the mule and windlass in keeping the mines free from water. The fame of the old bonanzas has no doubt aided in fleecing the gullible through fake companies organized by unscrupulous and even criminal promoters. American miners and prospectors are met with all over Mexico in the mining districts. It is safe to say that the majority of them have either met with disappointment or are living in hope of a “strike.” These conditions are the same in every mining district the world over.
The mining laws are simple and practical. Boards are established in every mining community who look after the mining interests. Any one discovering a claim can “denounce” it before this board and he is protected. Foreigners have the same rights as citizens in “denouncing” a claim. A mining claim is called a “pertenencia” and is one hundred metres square thus consisting of ten thousand square metres. The surface ground must be settled for with the owner. A tax of ten dollars must be paid annually to protect the claim from forfeiture. More than twelve thousand claims are now on record as shown by government statistics. The government only claims a one-twenty-fifth instead of the royal one-fifth exacted by Spain.