Page:Mexico in 1827 Vol 2.djvu/603

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been validated.
MEXICO IN 1827
583

in diameter. The first inhabitants who flocked to this new district, were principally poor people, who became possessed of mines which they had not power to work; and on this account few have yet attained any considerable depth. The deepest, (Santa Juliana,) is not more than seventy varas, but it has produced ores so rich, that they have been carried to Chĭhūāhuă, (eighty leagues,) and to the Parral, (one hundred and thirty leagues,) to be reduced, there not being any reduction works on the spot when the bonanza commenced. Near the surface of the earth, all the lodes contain a considerable quantity of gold; this diminishes as the workings increase in depth, while the proportion of silver augments. The Mineral is situated in a deep ravine with very little level ground about it, the mountains rising on each side from the arroyo. In 1826, the population was rapidly increasing, and there was no want of the necessaries of life, though everything was still exceedingly dear. In the immediate neighbourhood are several mining districts of very great promise, some ancient, and some newly discovered. Such are Rosario, Nabosayguame, El Potrero, Quipore, El Pilar de la Cieniguita, El Pilar de Milpillas, Batopillilas, and Cajurichic. These form a circle, the centre of which is the Indian village of Moris, situated in an open valley capable of considerable cultivation. Jesus Maria is near the summit of the mountains, and is consequently cold in the winter, the surrounding ridges being occa-