Part 21

Here, and in the vicinity, laborers are daily employed in blowing up the rocks with gunpowder, by which process vast fragments are frequently thrown down, and repeatedly strike the precipice with a dreadful crash, which, combined with the loud report of the explosion, reëchoed from side to side by the lofty cliffs, makes a noise resembling thunder, for which it is frequently mistaken by strangers. It is the opinion of the greater part of those who have viewed these rocks, that they were once united, and were separated by some terrible convulsion of nature. A bridge of one arch, from rock to rock, over the Avon, has long been in contemplation; but if the blowing up of these rocks should still be persisted in, the design will be rendered impracticable. This is the more to be regretted, because stone of the same quality is to be procured lower down the river.

Now it is in the fissures and cavities of these rocks, that the beautiful crystals called _Bristol stones_, or _diamonds_, already mentioned, are found. They are clear and brilliant, and being without color, so richly and brilliantly reflect the light, as to be almost next to the diamond in appearance, and are often palmed off on the unpracticed for the latter gem. They are extensively used in many of the plainer kinds of jewelry, and when set over gold-leaf, or thin paper of delicate tinges, are often made closely to resemble some of the richest gems known.

GOLD AND SILVER MINES.[4]

The mines of La Plata, so denominated on account of the abundance of silver they contain, are chiefly situated in the provinces which were formerly attached to the Spanish viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata; but which, since the South American states revolted from the mother country, have been included in the republic of Bolivia, or Upper Peru as it is sometimes called. With the exception of Mexico, Bolivia is the richest country in silver which has yet been discovered, and contains innumerable mines both of that metal and of gold. All its northern provinces teem with mineral opulence; and those of Laricaja and Carabaya, have been distinguished by the production of the latter, and still nobler metal, in its virgin state. In consequence, however, of the recent political convulsions, mining, once the richest source of revenue, is in a depressed state; many of the mines being filled with water and totally neglected.

Footnote 4:

The account of the mines of South America and Mexico is mostly from Humboldt, and as will be obvious to the reader, has reference in many things to their past history and progress, rather than to their present condition.

The mountain of Potosi formerly produced weekly about five thousand marks of silver, that is, from thirty to forty thousand dollars; a surprising produce, when it is considered that it has been wrought since 1545, at which time it was accidentally discovered by an Indian, or native, as represented in the cut. In hunting some goats, he slipped from a slight elevation, and to save himself caught hold of a shrub, which coming away from the ground, laid bare the silver at its root. At the commencement it was still more abundant, and the metal was dug up in a purer state.

[Illustration: DISCOVERY OF SILVER IN PERU.]

The silver was often found in shoots like roots, imbedded in the earth. Six thousand Indians were sent every eighteen months, from the provinces of the viceroyalty, to work this mine. The expedition was called _mita_; and these Indians, having been enrolled and formed into parties, were distributed by the governor of Potosi, and received a small daily stipend, (equal to about thirty-four cents of our currency,) until the period of their labor was completed. They were thus doomed to a forced service, nothing less than slavery, so long as it lasted, which the Spaniards have endeavored to justify by the plea that laborers could not otherwise be procured.

Lumps of pure gold and silver, called =papas=, from their resemblance to the potato, were often found in the sands. The poor likewise occupied themselves in =lavaderos=, or in washing the sands of the rivers and rivulets, in order to find particles of the precious metals.

To compensate for the mines rendered useless by the irruption of water, or other accidents, rich and new ones were daily discovered. They were all found in the chains of mountains, commonly in dry and barren spots, and sometimes in the sides of the =quebredas=, or astonishing precipitous breaks in the ridges. However certain this rule might be in the region of Bolivia, it was contradicted in that of Peru, where, at three leagues’ distance from the Pacific ocean, not far from Tagna, in the province of Arica, there was discovered the famous mine of Huantajaya, in a sandy plain at a distance from the mountains, of such exuberant wealth that the pure metal was cut out with a chisel. From this mine a large specimen of virgin silver is preserved in the royal cabinet of natural history at Madrid. It attracted a considerable population, although neither water nor the common conveniences for labor could be found there, neither any pasturage for the cattle.

In the mint of Potosi, about six millions of dollars were annually coined; and the mines of the old viceroyalty of La Plata, taken collectively, are reckoned to have yielded about sixteen millions.

The mines of Mexico, or what was formerly called New Spain, have been more celebrated for their riches than those of La Plata, notwithstanding which they are remarkable for the poverty of the mineral they contain. A quintal, or sixteen hundred ounces of silver ore, affords, at a medium, not more than three or four ounces of pure silver, about one-third of what is yielded by the same quantity of mineral in Saxony. It is not, therefore, on account of the richness of the ore, but from its abundance and the facility of working it, that these mines have been so much superior to those of Europe.

The fact of the small number of persons employed in working them, is not less contrary to the commonly received opinion on this subject. The mines of Guanaxuato, infinitely richer than those of Potosi ever were, afforded from 1706 to 1803, nearly forty millions of dollars in gold and silver, or very nearly five millions of dollars annually, being somewhat less than one-fourth of the whole quantity of gold and silver from New Spain; notwithstanding which, these mines, productive as they were, did not employ more than five thousand workmen of every description. In Mexico, the labor of the mines was perfectly free, and better paid than any other kind of industry, a miner earning from five to five dollars and a half weekly, while the wages of the common laborer did not exceed a dollar and a half. The =tenateros=, or persons who carried the ore on their backs, from the spot where it was dug out of the mine, to that where it was collected in heaps, had a sum equal to a dollar and ten cents for a day’s work of six hours. Neither slaves, criminals, nor forced laborers, were employed in the Mexican mines.

In consequence of the clumsy, imperfect and expensive mode of clearing them from water, several of the richest of these mines have been overflowed and abandoned; while the lack of method in the arrangement of the galleries, and the absence of lateral communications, have added to the risk, and greatly increased the expense of working them. Labor has not been, as in the working of the European mines, abridged, nor the transportation of materials facilitated. When new works were undertaken, a due consideration was not bestowed on the preliminary arrangements; and they were always conducted on too large and expensive a scale.

More than three-fourths of the silver obtained from America is extricated from the ore by means of quicksilver, the loss of which, in the process of amalgamation, is immense. The quantity that used to be consumed annually in Mexico alone, was about sixteen thousand quintals; and in the whole of South America, about twenty-five thousand quintals were yearly expended, the cost of which there, has been estimated at more than a million dollars. The greater part of this quicksilver, in later years, was furnished by the mine of Almaden in Spain, and that of Istria in Carniola, the celebrated quicksilver mine of Huancavelica in Peru, having greatly fallen off in its produce since the sixteenth century, when it was highly flourishing. The prosperity of the silver mines, both in Mexico and Peru, therefore depended very much on the supplies of quicksilver from Spain, Germany and Italy; for such was the abundance of the ore in those provinces, that apparently the only limit to the amount of silver obtained there, was the want of mercury for amalgamation.

In taking a general view of the riches of the other portions of America, Humboldt, who has supplied these details, remarks that, in Peru, silver ore exists in as great abundance as in Mexico, the mines of Lauricocha being capable of yielding as great a produce as those of Guanaxuato; but that the art of mining, and the methods of separating the silver from its ore, are still more defective than in Mexico. Notwithstanding this imperfect system, the total amount of the precious metals annually furnished by America, was at one time estimated at upward of forty-two million dollars; the gold being in proportion to the silver as one to forty-six. From 1492 to 1803, the quantity of gold and silver extracted from the American mines, was equal in value to five billion, seven hundred and six million, seven hundred thousand dollars; of which immense sum, the portion carried to Europe, including the booty gathered by the conquerors of America, is estimated at five billion, four hundred and forty-five million dollars, averaging seventeen million and a half of dollars yearly. The annual importation up to 1803, being divided into six periods, appears to have constantly augmented, and in the following progressive ratio. From 1492 to 1500, it did not exceed two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. From 1500 to 1545, it amounted to three millions of dollars. From 1545 to 1600, to eleven millions. From 1600 to 1700, to sixteen millions. From 1700 to 1750, to twenty-two millions and a half. And, lastly, from 1750 to 1803, to the prodigious sum of thirty-five million, three hundred thousand dollars.

The first period was that of exchange with the natives, or of mere rapine. The second was distinguished by the conquest and plunder of Mexico, Peru and New Granada, and by the opening of the first mines. The third began with the discovery of the rich mines of Potosi; and in the course of it the conquest of Chili was completed, and various mines opened in Mexico. At the commencement of the fourth period, the mines of Potosi began to be exhausted; but those of Lauricocha were discovered, and the produce of Mexico rose from two millions to five millions of dollars annually. The fifth period began with the discovery of gold in Brazil; and the sixth was distinguished by the prodigious increase of the mines of Mexico, while those of every other part of America, with the exception of Brazil, were then constantly improving.

The gold mines of Brazil have been very productive. Those called general, were about seventy-five leagues from Rio Janeiro, the staple and principal outlet of the riches of the Brazilian territory. They formerly yielded to the king, annually, for his right of fifths, at least one hundred and twelve arobas (weighing twenty-five pounds each) of gold; so that their yearly produce might then have been estimated at upward of three and a half millions of dollars, and that of the more distant mines at about one-third the sum.

The gold drawn from them could not be carried to Rio Janeiro, without being first brought to the smelting-houses established in each district, where the right of the crown was received. What belonged to private persons was remitted in bars, with their weight, number, and an impression of the royal arms. The gold was then assayed, and its standard imprinted on each bar. When these bars were carried to the mint, their value was paid to the possessor in coin, commonly in half-doubloons, each worth eight Spanish dollars. Upon each of these half-doubloons the king gained a dollar, by the alloy and right of coinage. The mint of Rio Janeiro was one of the most beautiful in existence, and furnished with every convenience for working with the greatest celerity. As the gold came from the mines at the same time that the fleets came from Portugal, the operations of the mint and the coinage proceeded with surprising quickness.

In Africa, the kingdom of Mozambique abounds in gold, which is washed down by the rivers, and forms a chief part of the commerce of the country. The kingdoms of Monomotara and Sofala likewise furnish considerable quantities of gold; and the Portuguese residing in the latter territory, half a century ago, reported that it yielded annually two millions of =metigals=, equal to somewhat more than a million sterling. The merchants exported from Mecca, and other parts, about the same quantity of gold. The soldiers were paid in gold dust, in the state in which it was collected; and this was so pure, and of so fine a yellow, as not to be exceeded, when wrought, by any other gold beside that of Japan. Gold is likewise found on the island of Madagascar. The Gold Coast is so denominated from the abundance of gold found among the sands: it is not, however, so productive as has been generally supposed, owing to the intense heats, which, in a great measure, prevent the natives from prosecuting their researches.

In Asia, the island of Japan is most productive of gold, which is found in several of its provinces, and is, in by far the greater proportion, melted from its ore. It is also procured by washing the sands, and a small quantity is likewise found in the ore of copper. The emperor claims a supreme jurisdiction, not only over the gold mines, but over all the mines of the empire, which are not allowed to be worked without a license from him. Two-thirds of their produce belong to him, and the other third is left to the governor of the province in which the mines are situated. But the richest gold ore, and that which yields the finest gold, is dug in one of the northern provinces of the island of Niphon, a dependency of Japan, where the gold mines have, in past times, been highly productive, though now they have much fallen off. In the Japanese province of Tsckungo, a rich gold mine, having been filled with water, was no longer worked: as it was, however, so situated, that by cutting the rock and making an opening beneath the mine, the water could be easily drawn off, this was attempted. At the moment of beginning the operation, so violent a storm of thunder and lightning arose, that the workmen were obliged to seek shelter elsewhere; and these superstitious people imagining that the tutelar god and protector of the spot, unwilling to have the bowels of the earth thus rifled, had raised the storm to make them sensible of his great displeasure at such an undertaking, desisted from all further attempts, through the fear of incurring his displeasure, and could not be induced to go on with it.

Thibet, a mountainous country of India, contains a great abundance of gold, which is traced in the rivers flowing from that territory into the Ganges. In Hindoostan there are not any mines of gold; but in the Irnada district gold is collected in the river which passes Nelambur in the Mangery Talui, a nair having the exclusive privilege of this collection, for which he pays a small annual tribute. Silver is in general rare throughout the oriental regions, and there is not any indication of this metal in India; but in Japan there are several silver mines, more

## particularly in the northern provinces, and the metal extracted from

them is very pure and fine.

Turning to Europe, Dalmatia is said in ancient times to have produced an abundance of gold. Pliny reports that in the reign of the emperor Nero, fifty pounds of this precious metal were daily taken from the mines of that province; and that it was found on the surface of the ground. It is added, that Vibius, who was sent by Augustus to subdue the Dalmatians, obliged that hardy and warlike people to work in the mines, and to separate the gold from the ore.

Bossina, in Sclavonia, contains many mineral mountains, and has rich mines of gold and silver. The district in which the latter are found, is named the =Srebrarniza=, being derived from the word =srebr=, which signifies silver in all the Sclavonian dialects. Their produce resembles the native silver of Potosi, and is found, combined with pure quartz, in small, thin leaves, resembling moss.

The kingdom of Norway formerly produced gold; but the expense of working the mines, and procuring the pure ore, being greater than the profit, these have been neglected. There are, however, silver mines, which are extremely valuable, and give employment to several thousands of persons. The principal of these is at Königsberg, and was discovered in 1623, when the town was immediately built, and peopled with German miners. In 1751, forty-one shafts and twelve veins, were wrought in this mine, and gave employment to thirty-five hundred officers, artificers and laborers. A view of one part of this mine is given in the cut on the next page.

The silver ore is not, as was at first imagined, confined to the mountain between Königsberg and the river Jordal, but extends its veins for several miles throughout the adjacent districts, in consequence of which new mines have been undertaken in several places, and prosperously carried on. One of the richest and most ancient of the mines, named “Old God’s blessing,” has sometimes, in the space of a week, yielded several hundred pounds’ weight of rich ore. The astonishing depth of this mine, which is not less than a hundred and eighty fathoms, perpendicularly, fills the mind of the beholder with amazement; and the circumference at the bottom forms a clear space of several hundreds of fathoms. Here the sight of thirty or forty fires, burning on all sides in this gloomy cavern, and continually fed to soften the stone in the prosecution of the labors, seems, according to the notions commonly entertained, an apt image of hell; and the swarms of miners, covered with soot, and bustling about in habits according to their several employments, may well remind one of so many evil spirits; more especially when, at a given signal that the mine is to be sprung in this or that direction, they exclaim aloud: “=Berg-livet, berg-livet=!” “Take care of your lives.”

[Illustration: SILVER MINE AT KÖNIGSBERG.]

The gold mines of Cremnitz, in Hungary, lie forty miles south of the Carpathian hills; and twenty miles further to the south are the silver mines of Shemnitz. These are called mining towns; and the former is the principal, its rich ores being found in what is styled metallic rock. Its mines also produce a certain proportion of silver. Hungary is beside enriched by a mineral peculiar to itself, or one, at least, which has not hitherto been discovered elsewhere, namely, the _opal_, a gem preferred to all others by the oriental nations. The opal mines are situated at Ozerwiniza, where they are found in a hill consisting of decomposed porphyry, a few fathoms beneath the surface. Their produce is of various qualities, from the opaque-white, or semi-opal, to the utmost refulgence of the lively colors by which this noble gem is distinguished.

Transylvania and the Bannet, contain numerous and valuable mines, consisting chiefly of gray gold ore, and white gold ore. The finest gold is found at Olapian, not far from Zalathna, intermixed with gravel and sand. The sands of the Rhine, also, in various places contain traces of gold.

The mountains of Spain were, according to ancient writers, very rich in gold and silver; and accordingly Gibbon calls that kingdom, “the Peru and Mexico of the old world.” He adds, that “the discovery of the rich western continent of the Phenicians, and the oppression of the simple natives, who were compelled to labor in their own mines for the benefit of strangers, form an exact type of the more recent history of Spanish America.” The Phenicians were acquainted only with the sea-coasts of Spain; but avarice, as well as ambition, carried the arms of Rome and Carthage into the heart of the country, and almost every part of the soil was found pregnant with gold, silver and copper. A mine near Carthagena, is said to have yielded daily twenty-five thousand drams of silver, or over thirteen hundred thousand dollars a year. The provinces of Asturia, Gallicia and Lusitania, yielded twenty thousand pounds’ weight of gold annually: but rich as these mines are, the modern Spaniards have chosen rather to import the precious metals from America, than to seek them at home.

Portugal is in many parts mountainous; and these mountains contain, beside others, rich ores of silver. But the Portuguese, like the Spaniards, having been supplied with metals from South America, and

## particularly with an abundance of gold and silver from Brazil, have not

worked the mines in their own country. Gems of all kinds, as turkoises and hyacinths, are also found in these mountains, together with beautifully variegated marbles, and many curious fossils.

But the richest and most productive gold mines of Europe, at the present time, are probably those of Russia. It had long been known that gold was to be found in the Russian dominions; but in 1829, Baron Humboldt, with two scientific associates, at the request of the emperor of Russia, made a mineralogical tour to the Ural and Altai mountains. In this journey, they not only discovered new localities of gold and silver, but from the geological features of the country suggested that, at certain localities, diamonds would also probably be found, which accordingly happened. And as the result of the report they made to the Russian government, mining operations were commenced on a large scale in these mountains, which have now become one of the most prolific gold regions in the world. The increase of these sources of gold, in extent and amount, has been such, that from the value of about ten thousand dollars in 1836, the amount received in 1843, was some eighteen millions of dollars; and the supply has since increased annually, until at present, 1855, it amounts to about twenty million dollars a year. Most of this large amount of gold is gathered from washing the sand and loose earth, and not from deep mines; and as it is every year becoming greater and greater, it must add immensely to the wealth and resources of the Russian empire.