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Show [23 J 34 · " tienda" or store, where they exchange their gold for .bread and meat. · h d b W now reached the house of a Frenchman, w o s~eme to, e most eextensively engaged in mining; he had three mills, and one was then at work. This mill, a .specimen ~f all th~ others, ~as ~f th rude construction· it consisted of a ctrcular pit ten feet m di~~ e:;r, and about eight 'inches deep; the sides _and. bottom.lined 'th flat slabs of stone. In the centre of this pit an a_x1s was ::.~cted, from' which three beams projected horizontally. To the longest arm a burro was attached, to the two ?thers large blocks of stone were attached with cords, so that their flat surfaces were dragged over the bottom of the pit. . . The ore that is here found in quartzose rock Is broken m to small pieces and thrown into the pit; water is. also pourecl i~, and donkey holds his m<1notonous round; the mtxture no.w at!ains the consistency of thin mud; a couple .of ounces of qmck silver a~e thrown in; this forms an amalgam wtth the gold, and when the pi~ is cleared from the water, the amalgam is coLlected from the crevices between the stone slabs, it is tied up in a piece of rag or buckskin thrown into a crucible anu the mercury sublimed. Around this mill we found iron ore of remarkable purity, which is dug out with the gold. The proprietor of this mi~e very generously ~ave. us as many specimens of the ore as we Wished. The gold exists m small particles, visible to the eye, scattered through a quartzose gangue. We now ascended to the mines. Here we found deep wells; they are ascen_ded. and descended by the means of n~tched .pine trees that extend ·diagonally across. I procured a specimen from a vein that had been just struck. These pieces had a smoky appearance, as if produced by the flame of a candle, but the stain is ·indelible. The mountain sides were scattered with fragments of granite and rock containing gold. We now return eel to th house of our entertainer, who refused to receive any remuneration for the trouble we had caused him, and who gave us many specimens of the ore. Having taken our leave, and inquired our route to the new mine, or" Tuerto," as it is generally called, I suppose from the crooked stream that runs near, we set out on a difficult path: across the mountains. We passed up a steep ravine, so steep that t~e rolling of stones had worked a straight road that looked as if hmbcr had been dragged down the hillside. As our mules climbe'd up, the loose stones came clattering down. We soon reached ~he summit, an(l commenced the descent. Here we saw much dark blue lim estone; some, in fact, almost black. On the road we met S:nor .Don Jose Chavi~, of Padillas; he was attended by one of hts peons, and was gomg to the same place whither we were bound. ~ e s_oon e~tered the vall.ey that separates the two ranges of mountams m which the gold mmes are located. From this place we had a fine view of the mountains and onP is struck wi~h the arrang~m.ent of the lines, they being nea1~ly straight, and runn~ng up pyram~dlcally,_showing the loose sandy nature of of the soli. After a nde of eight miles we reached the village of 35 [231 • Tuerto and inquired our way to the house of Mr. Richard Campbell where we were kindly received, a:1d most hospitably treated. He ~howed us some fine specimens of native gold that had been founcl in the neighboring valleys, anrl were sc~ttered thr.ough the detritus that is formed by the crumbling down of the auriferous rocks of the mountain. One spec~men was worth $15. In the evening we vi~ited a town at the base of the principal mountain· here, rn ing led w · th the ho'uses, were huge mounds of earth thr'own out from the wells, so tnat the village looked like a vi! lade of gigantic prairie dog~.· Nearly all the people there were at their wells, and were drawmg up bags of loose sand by ~eans of windlasses. Around little pools, men, women, and chihhen were grouped, intently poring over these bags o~ loose sand, washing the earth in wood_en platters or goat horns. One cann~t but feel pity for these m1serable wretches, and c.ongratulate himself that he Joes not possess a go_ld mine. Eve~ the life of the poor pastores is much prefer a b 1 e 'to. that _of these dig.gers. of go I d. Tuerto contains about 250 mhabttants. It 1s situated on a ra-vine, that just furnishes s?ffic:ient. wa~er for t.his pl.ace and the town at the base of the moun tatrns, wh1c·h IS 1! miles distant. Some of the people own large flocks . of sheep, which they · keep in the val- , ley of the Pecos. . , .. . . · _ In the evening we saw the" vtllan?s mtlk1_ng thetr goats. Thts business requires considerable dextenty, and IS not one of the least amusing scenes in New Mexico. . October 1.-We now started to examine the mines of the new placer. Mr. Campbell kindly furnished us mules, in order that ours might have an opportunity to r~st and to graze. We first visited a lead mine situated near the road that · runs to St. Antonio · it is in a dir;ction nearly south, situated at the foot of the mo~ntains, and over'laying a bed of fossilifer~us limestone. We collected specimens of the lead ore, and .the limestone; ,t.hen, proceeding eastwardly commenced ascendmg the mountam. Ou·r course now changed' towards the north .. Near the summit of the mountain we visited a large copper mme. Mr. Campbell proceeded to enter with great caution, and to]~ us. that he feared least som~ evil disposed JVIexicans sho~l.d be lurkmg m these caver~s, forthere were many discontented spints about t~e country, t.rymg to re.volutionize the people, and some were saul to dwell m these mine~ and caverns. · . · We found bP.autiful specimens of ore o~ c.opper of van'ous lnnds. Mr. Campbell ground up some 1\rith the ::ud of a coupl_e of stones, and after a little washing showed us a _great. many particles of gol_d and silver; indeecl, the ore was quite nch WI~h these met.als. Th1s vein went through a compact limestone that IS worn as If a water cou~se ?nee ran through the place now· occupied_ by the ore. The proJecting pieces of rock are rounded, and the stdes of the passage worn into deep rounded fissures that our host calls pockets; and he tells us that in them the richest ores are found: Around the mouth of the mine we saw pieces of carbonate of hme scattered;. it had been dug out with the copper ore. |