"Some of the mines are in the sides of the mountains, where no hoisting is required, and the ore is brought directly to the open air without the necessity of climbing. Such mines are more profitable than the others, as they can be readily drained, and the expense of carrying the ore upwards is saved.
"The ore of Potosi is very rich, but, for that matter, so are the ores of Puno and Cerro de Pasco. Some deposits yield as high as two hundred dollars a ton. When you bear in mind that the miners of California find a profit in working mineral at ten dollars a ton you can realize the wealth of the silver deposits of the Andes.
"When I first came here," he continued, "I was fresh from the mines of Nevada. The rudeness of the Bolivian work was in very marked contrast to what I was so lately familiar with.
"Near the entrance of the first mine I visited I saw some specimens of rich ore lying on the ground. There was a group of three natives lounging around the place, a man, a woman, and a boy. The mine had been deserted for some time, and I found these people helped themselves to the mineral whenever they wanted it. Telling them I wished to see how they operated, and promising a reward for their trouble, I induced them to go to work.
INDIANS EXTRACTING SILVER FROM ORE.
"The man entered the mine, carrying a bar of iron and a rawhide bag. In a little while I heard the blows of the bar, and in the course of half an hour he returned with about twenty pounds of ore in the bag. Then the man and the woman pounded the ore upon flat stones, and reduced it to a coarse dust, which was placed in an earthen pot over a fire. The fire was fed and tended by the boy, while the man and woman looked on; they had performed their share of the toil, and were willing to give the youth a chance.
"A smaller pot was brought, in which the ore was placed after half an hour's roasting in the large one. This pot was filled with the dust, deposited on the bed of coals, and covered with a loosely fitting lid. The wood was piled over it and the fire burned fiercely. The whole mass became red-hot, and the fumes of sulphur filled the air as they rose from the smelting-pot.
"The fire was allowed to burn down, and when it was reduced to ashes and embers the pot was lifted out, and its contents were poured on the ground. There was a confused mass of slag and ashes, and in a few moments the man who had taken the ore from the mine pushed from the slag a button of silver weighing something more than an ounce. It was thrown into water to cool, and when in a condition to be handled it was passed over to me. I gave the man a dollar, together with some smaller coins to the woman and boy, and then walked away with my trophy."