# Mexico in 1827/Volume 2/Chapter 12

SECTION II.
We took leave of Guanajuato and its hospitable inhabitants on the 20th of November, and continued our journey towards San Luis Pŏtŏsī, which both Mr. Martin and myself were desirous to visit, on account of its growing importance as a commercial town. We were likewise anxious to see the celebrated mining District of Catorce, which is very little known in Mexico; and notwithstanding the assurances of the natives, that it would be impossible for us, with children and a lady of the party, to attempt to cross the country between Catorce and Durango, where we should find neither houses, nor accommodations of any kind, we were not without hopes of discovering some direct road to the North that would exempt us from that worst of all ​evils—the necessity of passing twice over the same line of desolate and monotonous country. This we must have done, had we proceeded from Guanajuato to Durango by the usual route through Zăcătēcăs and Sŏmbrĕrētĕ, by which alone we could hope to reach Aguas Calientes on our return, where it was our intention to branch off towards Guadalajara and Valladolid. The appearance of the map was not indeed encouraging, for there is not a single Rancho laid down in the whole tract of country that we were about to traverse; but Mrs. Ward having resolved rather to take her chance of bivouacs, and a little starvation, than to be left behind until we could meet her again at Aguas Calientes, we determined to take our own line, and to trust to Providence to carry us through. Our horses and mules were quite refreshed by a week's rest, and, with the exception of my little girl, who was still far from strong, we were all in admirable travelling condition ourselves; so that we looked forward almost with pleasure to the difficulties which we were about to encounter.
We left Guanajuato by the gate of Marfil, and proceeded to Silao, a "Pueblo Ranchero," surrounded with maize fields, about four and a half leagues off, and from thence to the Hacienda de Chĭchĭmĭqūīllăs, situated in a barranca full of Aguacates, fig-trees, oranges, and magnificent Palma Christi. The climate was almost "templado," for the road from Silao, which is itself 1,389 feet lower than ​Mexico, is a gradual slope, and the Hacienda is protected by surrounding hills. The country about is beautifully cultivated, and on the plains around I shot a number of hares, and several wood-pigeons of a very large and delicate kind.
It was our intention to have proceeded on the first day to La Tlăchĭquēră, another Hacienda, stated to be half-way between Guanajuato and Săn Fĕlīpĕ, in the centre of a ridge of mountains, which can only be avoided by taking a circuitous route through Leon. Most fortunately, on making inquiries at Chĭchĭmĭqūīllăs, we found so great a difference of opinion amongst the natives respecting the distance, some calling it five, and others fifteen leagues, that we resolved not to attempt the passage of the Sierra without being sure of having daylight enough before us to accomplish it. On the 21st we set out at a very early hour, and, after winding for near two leagues up the bed of a river, full of deep sand and rocks, we plunged at once into the heart of the mountains, where our guide soon grew bewildered, and at mid-day confessed that he no longer knew where he was. Having ascertained, as well as we could, the direction in which the Tlachiquera ought to lie, we toiled on for nine long hours, sometimes ascending places where the united exertions of all our men and mules could hardly make the coach advance half a mile in an hour; at others, opening a passage with our swords through the cactuses and thorny bushes which obstructed the way; and, on ​one occasion, traversing a slope so exceedingly precipitous, that three lassos passed through the carriage, and over the roof, with all the strain upon them, on the upper side, that men and horses could apply, were hardly able to keep the carriage upon its wheels, or to prevent it from descending into the valley below. This is the real advantage of the lasso. As an ordinary mode of drawing, it can only be used in a country like the Pampas, where you traverse a plain of some hundreds of miles in extent; but it may always be applied on an emergency, where the saddle is provided with a ring, or a pommel suited to the purpose, and it is then of the most essential service. Wherever we came to a pass too steep for our jaded mules to face, we attached lassos to different parts of the carriage, and, as no horse refuses to draw in this manner, by the united exertions of the party, the obstacle was soon overcome. We were nearly exhausted, however, with such continued efforts, and still more by the want of water, when Hilario, who had been detached to take a view of the country from the highest ridge in sight, brought us the joyful intelligence that he had discovered the Hacienda, from which we were not more than two leagues distant. Notwithstanding this favourable report, we did not reach it till long after dusk, having been twelve long hours upon the road, without seeing a house or a human being. Our difficulties were much increased by the impossibility of catching any of our fresh mules to supply ​the place of those who began the day in the coach; for the country was so covered with Nopales and loose stones, that it was impossible for the hardiest lassoer of the party to put his horse into a gallop, without imminent risk both to the animal and to himself. In general we stopped to change at some "corral," or enclosure, into which the loose mules and horses are driven; but on the road to the Tlachiquera such an accommodation was desired in vain. To compensate this we had the assistance of the bull-dog, whom I have mentioned as the guardian of the coach upon the road. The natural ferocity of this beast had long lain dormant, but it was roused by the cries of the servants, and joining them in their pursuit of the mules, he fastened upon one of the animals by the nose, and in an instant pinned it to the ground; nor was it without great difficulty that he was compelled to relinquish his hold. From this moment he assumed quite a new character, and attacked in so wanton a manner pigs, and every other creature that came in his way, that I was almost glad to lose him, as we did shortly afterwards, on entering San Luis Pŏtŏsī.
Our accommodations at the Tlachiquera were exceedingly bad, for there was nothing but the size of the walls to denote the former importance of the estate, which was totally ruined during the Revolution. The Rancho del Vĕnădītŏ, from which the Viceroy Apŏdācă took his title, in consequence of the capture of Mina, is in the vicinity of La ​Tlăchĭquēră; and the whole Sierra was constantly overrun by parties of Insurgents or Royalists. There is a fine presa (reservoir) of water, however, immediately below the house, and provisions were abundant; but Mrs. Ward was lodged in a barn, where she was considerably annoyed on the following morning by a mule, that forced its way in through the shattered door, just as she was beginning her toilet, notwithstanding her vehement entreaties that no one would come in. The rest of the party were crowded into one small sala, where we supped first, and then put up our beds, there not being room for them and the table at the same time.
Nov. 22. We reached Săn Fĕlīpĕ, a town formerly of some importance, but now in ruins, many of the houses being unroofed, while the Adobe walls, deprived of their usual coating of white, present a most desolate appearance. The first four leagues of the road from La Tlăchĭquēră were steep and mountainous, but after crossing a ravine, at a Rancho called El Passo de los Arrāstres, we entered the elevated plains of San Felipe, and continued to traverse them without interruption for the space of six or seven leagues. I never saw any thing so extraordinary as the number of hares in every part of this plain. I shot two or three after breakfast in some bushes by the side of the road, and gave them to one of the servants to hang to the pommel of his saddle; his horse, frightened with the unusual load, ran away, and I believe, that without exaggeration, I may say, that ​before he had gone a quarter of a mile, he was driving fifty hares before him. They put one another up, and formed altogether a most curious assemblage, as they scoured along before my startled man, and his still more startled steed. Three leagues from the Passo de los Arrastres, there is a large Hacienda called Săn Jūān de los Llānŏs, in a very dilapidated state, but with an abundant supply of water. The "presa" was covered with ducks, some of which I shot, and they formed, with the hares, a very comfortable addition to the slender fare that San Felipe afforded us; where the venta was tolerably clean, and airtight, but meat was not to be obtained, except at market-hours.
Nov. 23. From San Felīpe to El Jărāl, ten leagues.
About two leagues from San Felipe, there is a ramification of the Sierra Madre to cross, with a long descent, or mal passo, called El puerto de San Bărtōlŏ, very inconvenient for carriages, but not absolutely dangerous; at least, we did not think so after La Tlachiquera. The ascent and descent occupy about three leagues. We breakfasted at the pueblo de San Bărtōlŏ, from whence to the Jărāl we passed through a succession of vast potreros, well walled in, and interspersed with fields of Indian corn.
The Hacienda is seen from a considerable distance ​in the centre of a fine valley, about twelve leagues in circumference, the whole of which belongs to the Marques del Jărāl, the most opulent landed proprietor of Mexico, and one of the most extensive landholders in the world. Besides the estate of the Jărāl, he possesses several large Haciendas in Zăcătēcăs, and his lands extend, with little interruption, as far North as Săn Mătēo, from whence he takes his second title. His riches are immense, and proceed from various sources. According to the data given me by the Administrador, he has of ganado mayor, y menor, (horned cattle, sheep, and goats,) with horses, and mules, (cavallada, y mulada,) at Sierra Hermosa, and other places, three millions of live stock. Of these, 30,000 sheep are sent annually to the Mexican market, where they average from twenty to twenty-four reals, (two and a half and three dollars) each.
As many goats are slaughtered at the Casa de Matanza of the Jărāl, where tallow (Cebo) is made from the fat, which sells upon the spot for four and a half dollars the arroba, and is often retailed in Mexico at two reals the pound. The skins are worth six or eight reals each, and are disposed of to the leather-dressers of Guădălajāră and San Luis Pŏtŏsī.
The ratio of increase for wheat in the valley of the Jărāl is twenty-five to one, a thousand fanegas being the ordinary produce of forty fanegas sown. In a good year the crop infinitely exceeds this, and ​has been known to amount to two thousand fanegas. When converted into flour in the Count's own mills, the wheat sells at San Luis (sixteen leagues distance) for fourteen and fifteen dollars the Carga, of two fanegas, which are reckoned equivalent to three hundred pounds.
Maize averages usually from two hundred to two hundred and fifty for one; but the price, in ordinary years, seldom rises above twelve reals the fanega.
From five to six thousand arrobas of Chile are likewise produced in the vicinity of the Jărāl. It is worth, in Mexico, six dollars the arroba, while the carriage and alcavala are paid with one.
The great fertility of the valley of the Jărāl is due to the abundant supply of water distributed, apparently with profusion, to every part of the estate, from an immense "presa," constructed sixty years ago by the grandfather of the present Count. The front wall of this "presa" is 2,008 varas in length, and of immense thickness. It intercepts the whole of the water that descends during the rainy season from the surrounding mountains. The basin in which this water is received, though artificial, has, from its size, the appearance of a natural lake. It is surrounded by trees, and is situated about three leagues to the South-west of the house. Part of the road lies, as usual, through uncultivated land, and part through vast fields of maize; but the temperature of the valley formed an agreeable contrast to the cold which we had experienced in crossing the high plains between La Tlăchĭquēră and the Puerto ​dĕ Săn Bărtōlŏ; and the sight of any thing like water or vegetation was delightful, after the deserts which we had passed, covered with broken rocks, the cactus, and dwarf palms. I rode to the reservoir on one of the Count's horses, not of the old breed, for which the Hacienda was celebrated before the Revolution, (for that has become almost extinct,) but spirited, and with high, though easy action.
Nothing could be more hospitable than our reception at the Jărāl, with the exception of the absence of the master, who either from shyness, or, as it was alleged, from urgent business, left the Hacienda with his family the day before our arrival, and deputed his Administrador to do the honours. We found, however, a splendid dinner prepared, and the whole house thrown open for our accommodation, with a crowd of servants in waiting to take charge of the baggage, and to arrange it in the different rooms. On the following morning, when, notwithstanding the solicitations of the Administrador, we pursued our journey towards San Luis, a mule was sent with us, laden with a whole sheep, a dozen fowls, four cheeses, a quantity of bread and fruit, and four bottles of a strong spirit called vino Mescal, resembling whiskey in flavour, but extracted from the Măgūey, in a distillery recently established by the Count.
The Jărāl is the last place of any note in the State of Guănăju͞atŏ. The village attached to the Hacienda contains three thousand inhabitants, five hundred of whom are more immediately ​"dependientes de la casa," (yearly servants of the family,) while the rest, though not in permanent annual employment, derive their subsistence from the same source. The Count's house, with the church and other buildings connected with it, are solid and spacious, though by no means magnificent. The pueblo presents an appearance of wretchedness totally unworthy of its vicinity to the abode of so wealthy a proprietor: it consists almost entirely of mud huts, and many of these are in a state of decay.
Nov. 24. From the Jărāl to San Luis Pŏtŏsī, sixteen leagues.
The road, on leaving the valley of El Jărāl, passes near a large pueblo called El Valle de San Francisco, four leagues from the Hacienda, and runs from thence to Tierra Blanca three leagues, La Pila three leagues, Real de los Pozos two, and San Luis three and a half. La Pila and Los Pozos were formerly amalgamation works, in which the ores from the mines of the Cerro de San Pedro were reduced. These mines have been abandoned for many years on account of the extreme poverty of the ores, which, notwithstanding a "ley de oro," by no means inconsiderable, will not defray the expence of working. Eighty thousand dollars were spent in a fruitless attempt to bring them into activity about ten years ago; but the heaps of old slag that are to be seen at the present day in every direction about San Luis attest their former abundance, as the epithet of Pŏtŏsī, bestowed upon the Intendancy, bespeaks the ​reputation which they at one time enjoyed for wealth.
The State of San Luis possesses a population of 250,000 souls. The capital, including the "barrios," or suburbs, which cover a great extent of ground, contains between fifty and sixty thousand inhabitants, and it is supposed that as many more are concentrated within a circle of six leagues in its immediate vicinity.
The State Congress is composed of fourteen deputies, elected in the proportion of one for each twenty thousand souls. In ecclesiastical matters San Luis is dependent upon the Bishoprics of Guădălajāră, and Valladolid, between which the spiritual jurisdiction over its territory is divided.
The revenue proceeds from the same sources as that of Guănăjūātŏ, with the exception of the "Contribucion Directa," which has not been tried. It has proved sufficient to cover, hitherto, the whole expenditure of the State, as well as its "contingent," San Luis, in 1826, not being one dollar in arrears with the Federation. This is partly owing to the excellent management of the present Governor, Don José Ildefonso Diaz de Leon, a man of great activity and intelligence, and partly to the advantages which San Luis derives from its situation as the natural depôt for the trade of Tampico, with the Northern and Western States. Zăcătēcăs, Sŏmbrĕrētĕ, Dŭrāngŏ, and Guădălajāră already draw from this source a large proportion of their foreign imports; ​and since the building of the new town of Tămăulīpăs, which, from being upon a more elevated spot than the old town (Pueblo Viejo) of Tampico, is less subject to the vomito, there is every appearance of a rapid increase in this branch of commercial intercourse.
The foreign trade of San Luis is, at present, almost entirely in the hands of Old Spaniards or North Americans. In 1826, there was not a single French or English house established there, although France had appointed a commercial agent to reside in the town; for which office Mr. Martin had selected Don Ignacio Soria, a very respectable man, and one of the deputies in the Legislature of the State, The European imports consisted principally in French brandies, wines, silks, and cloths; English hardware and printed cotton goods; with some "mantas," or ordinary cotton manufactures from the United States. Most of these articles were originally smuggled in, through Tampico, in American bottoms; for, until the commencement of the year 1825, there was no custom-house north of Veracruz; and this advantage rendered competition on the part of the merchants of the Capital, who paid the duties established by the Tariff, impossible. Prices have risen at San Luis in proportion as the facilities for smuggling have diminished; but there are still openings enough for the contraband trader on a line of coast three hundred leagues in extent, and there are few articles of foreign manufacture that may not be ​purchased in the North at a price much below that at which they must be disposed of, had not the payment of the duties upon them been eluded.
In addition to its foreign trade, San Luis supplies the neighbouring States of Lĕōn and Cŏăhūīlă with home-made goods of various descriptions. The town abounds in tailors, hatters, leather-dressers, and smiths; a tannery, too, has been lately established there, and, on a small scale, the whole population seems industrious. With the exception of the capital, the State contains no large town. It is divided into Haciendas, few of which exceed thirty "Sitios" in extent, while the general average is about fourteen.
Many of these Haciendas would be valuable from the extraordinary fertility of the soil, but the want of a market renders the agricultural produce a mere drug. Maize sells, in ordinary years, for four and six reals the Fanega, (one, or one and a half dollar the carga of 300lbs.) and even at this price purchasers are not always to be found.
In 1826, the dryness of the season had given an unusual value to the stock upon hand, (nearly the whole crop of the year being lost,) and maize was selling at twenty reals the fanega in the vicinity of San Luis, and at thirty, and thirty-six reals near Catorce, where the demand was great, and the ​supply precarious; but this was an event of which there had not been an example for upwards of twenty years. It is to the low price of grain in general that the preference given to breeding estates in the North must be attributed. Most of the Haciendas of San Luis are vast sheep-walks, and Dŭrāngŏ, Zăcătēcăs, and Chĭhūāhuă produce a large proportion of the mules and horses with which the Southern States of the Federation are supplied.
One of the most fertile districts of the old Intendancy of San Luis Potosī, now divided into four sovereign States, was the Valle del Maīz, on the Eastern declivity of the Cordillera, which separates the Tierra Caliente from the Table-land. It was entirely in the hands of Old Spaniards, most of whom perished during the war, and is at present abandoned; but should the project now before the Congress for rendering navigable the River Tămĭū ever be carried into execution, the Valle del Maiz might recover its former importance, as a channel would be opened for the conveyance of its produce to the coast.
We passed one whole day at San Luis, (Nov. 25,) in order to make acquaintance with the principal inhabitants, and to collect statistical information, as well as to repair the damage sustained by our travelling equipage, both in the passage of the mountains of La Tlăchĭquēră, and during a violent storm ​by which we had been surprised on our way from the Jărāl. By leaving Mexico so late in the season, we hoped entirely to escape the rains, but as we drew towards the North we found evident symptoms of their prevalence. At San Luis they assured us that they had hardly seen the sun for forty days, and the swampy state of the country around demonstrated the correctness of the assertion. It is impossible to conceive any thing more trying than the discomfort of a Mexican inn under such circumstances. Without a fire, and often without a roof that will exclude water, there is no possibility of drying the baggage, clothes, or saddles. The poor horses stand shivering, after a hard day's journey, in an open patio, while the paved court, from the violence with which the rain descends, is converted into a pond, through which you have to wade in order to pass from one room to another.
All these delights did we experience on the evening of our arrival, and it was with most sincere pleasure that we found ourselves restored, on the following morning, to the advantages of a bright sun and a cloudless sky, which accompanied us afterwards during the remainder of our journey The yard was filled in an instant with bedding, cloaks, mangas, and hats, suspended upon lines, and in a few hours comfort was, to a certain extent, restored. Unfortunately the sun had not the power to heal the injury done by the cold to our mules and horses, four of which were rendered useless for several days ​by swellings on the back, brought on by sudden exposure to the wet night-air.
Both Mr. Martin and I were much pleased by our intercourse with the Governor, who showed every disposition to give us information upon all subjects connected with the resources of the State, and was evidently gratified by our curiosity. He is a native of Catorce, where he has a share in several mines, and is moreover the proprietor of a large Hacienda, (Los Charcos,) with a fortune of 200,000 dollars, acquired entirely by his own exertions. A part of this fortune he has devoted to the public service, by advancing the money required for the establishment of the Tobacco fabrica, (which, in 1826, produced 5,000 dollars monthly, and gave employment to two hundred poor people,) and by becoming a large subscriber to the College recently opened at San Luis Potosi, where instruction is given, free from all expence, to poor students, in Latin, Jurisprudence, Theology, and Constitutional rights.
This institution was founded by a voluntary subscription, for which, in six weeks, 42,000 dollars were collected. It contained fifty-six scholars, besides eighteen pensioners, the sons of respectable families, whose parents were able to contribute one hundred and forty dollars yearly towards the expences of the establishment; and its flourishing state may be regarded as a proof both of the existence of more public spirit than travellers usually give the Mexicans credit for, and of a desire to improve, ​which must, in a little time, produce the most beneficial effects.
Nov. 26.—From San Luis to Bocas, twelve leagues.
The Hacienda of Bocas is one of "Cria y labor," (an estate both for breeding, and tillage.) It belongs, with the adjoining Hacienda of Crūces, to an Obra pia, or charitable institution, under the direction of the Conde del Peñasco. Bocas contains fourteen "Sitios;" Cruces thirty, on which there are 70,000 sheep, besides horses and mules. Bocas possesses no water for irrigation, and consequently does not reckon upon more than one good year in twenty for maize: in this, the ratio of increase amounts to four hundred, and four hundred and fifty for one. Of the intervening crops, some are lost, but the price of maize seldom exceeds eight reals the fanega, and is often as low as four.
The Hacienda is situated upon a little eminence, in an opening of the hills, which extend across the plain on each side. A river runs at the foot of this ridge; and upon another eminence immediately opposite the house, there is a church, connected with it by a road and an avenue of trees.
The country between San Luis and Bocas is a plain, intersected at intervals by mountain ridges of no considerable height. The road, in the dry season, is good; but when we passed, it was so much injured by the rains, that we were ten hours in performing the twelve leagues.
Nov. 27.—We left Bōcăs early, and proceeded ​across a country alternately composed of sand and stones, covered with dwarf mimosas, the cactus, and the aloe, to La Hĕdĭōndă, a village seven leagues from Bōcăs, where we breakfasted. From thence to El Vĕnādŏ, another large Pueblo, which we reached at five in the evening, after ten hours travelling, there was not a single object of any interest, with the exception of the hares and rabbits, the number of which was really curious. The inhabitants of El Vĕnādŏ were all in the church upon our arrival, listening to the discourse of a Padre Misionero, whose powerful voice was heard in every corner of the Plaza, rising and falling with that peculiar monotony by which monkish oratory is generally distinguished. We took possession of the empty inn, and, finding the mistress very troublesome upon her return from chapel, we fairly ejected her from her own premises, and secured ourselves from interruption by closing the doors until the following morning, when the payment of her bill without dispute, for the use of her house and stables, reconciled her to her temporary banishment. Sleep, however, or quiet, was out of the question, for every room in the house, and every building near it, were occupied by game-cocks, bred for the Catorce market, and just at that time in training for the great cock-fights in which the miners indulge during the Christmas holidays. About two in the morning, the noise made by these creatures became quite intolerable; and at six, we ​were happy to escape from it by commencing our journey.
Nov. 28.—We had a very long day before us, as it was our intention to sleep at the Hacienda of Guădălūpĕ Cārnĭcērŏ, eleven leagues from Cătōrcĕ, and eighteen from El Vĕnādŏ. Fortunately the road was good, particularly the latter part, which leads from the Real de Chārcăs, (a town with about 5,000 inhabitants, six leagues from El Vĕnādŏ,) to the Hacienda, where we arrived before dusk. On the way we passed the Governor's Hacienda of Los Chārcos, surrounded by enclosures six or seven leagues in extent, walled in for "Ganado menor," sheep and goats;) but the country was dreary and deserted, without water or cultivation. At Guădălūpĕ, maize cost thirty reals the fanega, (seven dollars and a half the Carga;) and we paid two dollars for permission to water our animals at the "Tanque" belonging to the estate.
Nov. 29.—From Guădălūpĕ to Cătōrcĕ, eleven leagues. During the whole of the way we left the metalliferous mountains of Cătōrcĕ, (running nearly due North and South,) to the East, and drew nearer by degrees to the Cañada, or opening, through which we were to ascend to the town. The name, (La Cañada de los Catorce,) is supposed to have been derived from the death of fourteen Spanish soldiers, who are said to have been killed there by a tribe of Indios Bravos, (unsubdued Indians,) by whom the ​mountains were inhabited before the discovery of the mines.
Nothing can be more bleak and dreary than the appearance of the whole Cordillera of Catorce: a few narrow mule-paths, or the white bed of a torrent indistinctly traced upon the surface, alone break the monotonous colouring of the mass; and the town, though placed at an immense height, is invisible from below, being completely hidden by the brow of the mountain: not a tree, not a blade of grass is to be seen in its vicinity; yet fifty years ago the whole district was covered with forests, which might have lasted for centuries, had not the improvident and wasteful spirit of the first adventurers wantonly destroyed these treasures, which to their descendants would have proved invaluable. Whole woods were burnt in order to clear the ground, and the larger timber required for the mines is now brought from a distance of twenty-two leagues.
At the Cañada, where we arrived about two o'clock, the carriage was entirely unloaded, and its contents transferred to a number of asses, which we hired to convey them to the town. Mr. Macartney, the managing agent of the Catorce Company, had the goodness to take charge of the eldest little girl, with a horse perfectly accustomed to the roads; while Mrs. Ward, with the baby in her arms, was seated in a silla de manos, (a sort of sedan-chair, open before,) belonging to the Obregones, which was carried by four Indians. The ascent commences ​
​immediately upon leaving the Cañada, where there are a few Haciendas de beneficio, and two solitary trees; and continues without interruption until the very summit of the mountain is gained, about 1,600 feet above the level of the plain. The path is very narrow and rocky, without any sort of parapet on the side of the precipice; and as in many places there is hardly room for two persons to pass without touching, accidents frequently occur, particularly at the hours when the mules and asses are descending: from the mines with ores for the Haciendas in the Cañada below. With an excellent horse it took me exactly one hour and ten minutes to reach the Campo Santo, from whence you first obtain a view of the town; and the rest of the party were much longer, particularly the Mexican maids, whose fears prevented them from riding, and who toiled up the whole way on foot. On reaching the highest ridge, you see Catorce immediately below you, in a sort of hollow, beyond which again the mountain rises precipitately above a thousand feet, the course of the Veta Madre, or great Mother vein, being distinctly designated upon it by the buildings annexed to the mines. The situation of the town itself is very singular, as it is intersected by vast ravines, which occasion no little irregularity in the buildings, (many of the houses having one story on one side and two or three on the other,) and surrounded by masses of rock, amongst which the working classes seek a refuge from the inclemency of the ​weather. The view of the lights belonging to these hovels at night, scattered over the dark sides of the mountain, sometimes peeping forth from a barranca, and at others shining bright upon a little platform, so elevated and inaccessible that you can hardly suppose it to be the abode of any human being, is exceedingly singular. Catorce, however, notwithstanding the difficulties of the approach, is abundantly supplied with provisions; meat, fowls, fruit, and all other necessaries being brought from the Tierra Caliente to the East, as well as from the Table-land; and the competition in the market is so great, that maize, which, during the scarce season of 1826, had often been worth two and a half and three dollars in the plains below, had been sold constantly in the town at two dollars the fanega.
We were lodged in a house belonging to the Catorce Company, situated in the principal street, (La calle del Commercio,) where we met with a most hospitable reception from Mr. Macartney: the house was exceedingly small, but we were infinitely more comfortable in it than we should have been in more spacious quarters, both from his kindness, and because we possessed the advantage of a fireplace, which the severity of the cold rendered a most valuable acquisition. The height of the town of Catorce above the level of the sea, according to the measures taken by Captain Wylde, and given to me by Colonel Grasses, is only 7,760 feet, or 292 feet higher than Mexico; but a difference of four and a half ​degrees of latitude makes this elevation much more sensibly felt; and in the winter there are few colder spots than the summit of the Sierra of Catorce. The mine of La Purisima is 390 feet higher than the town, and the Cerro de la Leona 1,110 feet; but the whole range is exposed almost equally to the cold winds from the north and north-west, which sweep across it at times with incredible violence. To the east there in no protection, as the descent towards the coast commences almost immediately; and to the west, between Catorce and that branch of the Sierra Madre upon which the mineral deposits of Zacatecas, Fresnillo, and Sombrerete are situated, there is not a single intervening ridge.
I have heard doubts expressed with regard to the accuracy of the measurements by which the height of Catorce has been ascertained; and from the numberless accidents to which a barometer is exposed, it is certainly possible that Captain Wylde may have been deceived in the result of his observations. Most people are of opinion that the elevation exceeds considerably the 7,760 feet at which he has rated it, and they justify this belief in the following manner. On leaving the valley of Mexico there is an immediate descent of 767 feet into the valley of Tula, and this continues to increase as you advance from Arroyo Sarco towards the Băxīŏ, Zĕlāyă being 1,138 feet, and Salamanca 1,707 feet below the level of the Capital. Guănăjūātŏ rises again, and is only 633 feet lower than Mexico; and although from Mărfīl ​to Sĭlāo and the Hacienda of Chichimiquillas, there is a considerable descent, the rise afterwards, in passing the mountains of La Tlachiquera, is so great, that the plains of San Juan de los Llanos are supposed to be but little inferior in elevation to those of the Capital itself. They are called by the natives El Espinazo (the back-bone) of the Table-land; and throughout the whole extent of this dreary ridge, which stretches as far north as Saltillo, the stunted vegetation, and the scarcity of water, seem to designate it as one of the most elevated portions of the central plateau. There is a descent, indeed, into the valley of the Jărāl, and you afterwards rise but little between that place and San Luis Potosi, or between San Luis and the Cañada of Catorce; but the ascent to the town being at least 1,500 feet, the height of the plain would be only 6,200 feet above the level of the Gulf, if that of the Real itself be correctly computed. The question must be decided by a series of barometrical observations, taken both above and below; and I mention it upon this account as worthy of the attention of some future traveller.
Nov. 30.—We visited the Sŏcăbōn of La Purisima, the mines of El Serēno and Dolōres Trompeta, with the Socabon and mine of La Luz.
In order to reach these works you have to descend the North-eastern declivity of the range of mountains upon which the town stands, as far as the Potrero, a spacious platform, so little elevated above the level of the surrounding plains, that it is ​accessible to wheel-carriages. On the first discovery of the mines it was intended to build the town upon this spot, and many regret that the resolution was not adhered to; for water, which the Potrero wants, might have been easily conveyed to it by an aqueduct, while provisions and other necessaries would then have reached Catorce in carts, without the expence or risk with which their conveyance up the Cañada is at present attended. It is supposed that the Viceroy, Count Revilla Gigedo, was misled by the representations of some individuals, whose habitations were already built upon the present site of the town, to which a preference was consequently given for the construction of the Government Offices, and these determined the position of the rest.
It is difficult to conceive any thing bolder than the idea of the Sŏcăbōn, (adit,) of La Purisima, or more magnificent than its execution. In order to understand its object, it is necessary to have an idea of the position of the Veta Madre, which, as already stated, occupies the whole side of the mountain above the town, running in a direction nearly due North-east and South-west, and varying in width from three, to thirty, and in some parts, even forty varas. Upon this vein are situated a large proportion of the mines, from which the great wealth of Catorce has proceeded. The uppermost, La Purisima, is followed in regular succession as you descend towards the town, by the mines of Valenciana, San José, Guadalupe de Veta Grande, La ​Concepcion, Guădălūpītŏ, La Estrella, Zacarias, and Dŏlōrĕs Mĕdĕlliñ, all celebrated for their riches, and all, from the unskilful manner in which they were worked at first, encumbered with water in the lower levels, which it is extremely difficult to extract from above, although the riches of the vein are known to have been undiminished at the time when the workings were suspended. Amongst the mines thus abandoned by the original proprietors, is Dolores Medellin, which was in Bonanza in the lower levels when given up. To drain it and the neighbouring mine of Zacarias, a new shaft called El Tiro del Compromiso, was sunk by a Company of Natives, at an expence of 170,000 dollars; but the enterprise was abandoned when the shaft had reached the depth of 280 varas from the surface, it being discovered that three malacates would not be sufficient to clear the mines of water. Such, however, was the opinion entertained of their value, that it was resolved to effect the object by bringing an adit, or galerie d'écoulement, from the level of the Potrēro, which, after passing through the whole of the mountain traversed by the Veta Madre, (called by the natives Barriga de Plata, from the immense quantity of that metal which it has produced,) would cut the vein about eight yards west of the sliaft of El Compromiso, at the depth of 277 varas from the surface, and just 2,000 varas from the mouth of the Socabon. The Company formed for this purpose consisted of the present Governor of the State (El Licenciado ​Diaz), Don Xavier Martin (the Diputado de Mineria), and Don Antonio Ŏrtīz, with many others of the most experienced practical miners of the district, each of whom took a share in the undertaking, and contributed his quota towards its expences. The work was commenced in 1817, and in four years 755 varas were driven, at an expence of about fifty dollars per vara for manual labour, without including tools, powder, and other contingent charges. Six and even eight varas were sometimes driven in the week; and in 1818, when the expences were heaviest, a payment of fifty dollars weekly was often required upon each share. In 1821, the reduced state of the district, in consequence of the emigration of all the Spanish capitalists and the unsettled aspect of affairs, compelled the shareholders to suspend their operations, which were not resumed until funds were supplied for the purpose by the Catorce Company, under whose superintendence, however, but little progress was made. Their first resident agent laid out a large sum in buildings for the reception of ores, houses for superintendents of works, and other superfluous improvements, such as throwing a bridge over a ravine, and commencing a road to the Hacienda purchased by the Company at El Cĕdrāl, but seemed to regard the adit, which alone could give value to these works, quite as a secondary undertaking. In twelve months it only advanced forty-five varas; and twelve hundred varas remained to be driven, when the derangement of the affairs of ​the Company, in consequence of the failure of the house of Goldschmidt, by which it was supported, put a stop to their operations altogether.
The dimensions of the Socabon, at the mouth, are eight varas high by six wide, but at the distance of six hundred varas, its height is reduced to five and a half varas, and its width to five.
When first seen it has the appearance of a natural cavern.
The sides, where the strata through which the work is carried are soft, are secured by masonry, and it is expected that before it reaches the Veta Madre, it will cut a number of other veins, which ​are known to traverse the mountain, any one of which that proves productive will furnish funds for the prosecution of the enterprise, as the extraction of the ore will be effected at once in carts. Should all these veins be cut in "Borrasca," which it is difficult to suppose, the total expence of driving 1,200 varas that remain, is estimated by the gentlemen by whom the work has been hitherto conducted, at 250,000 dollars, including a most liberal allowance for every contingent charge. Ultimate success is regarded as certain; for in the mine of La Purisima, which has been worked to the depth of 550 varas, (or eighty varas below the level of the adit,) the ores of the Veta Madre are found not to diminish in richness, nor the vein itself to decrease in width. Besides, as the drainage of all the mines above the Socabon will be effected by it, according to the mining laws, (the due observance of which is secured by the interest that a number of the most influential natives, who are engaged in the undertaking, will have in enforcing them,) the whole of these mines become tributary to the Company, which receives a share of the ores of all the levels drained by its labours, on the upper part of the vein.
The Tiro of El Compromiso was begun in 1804, and continued till 1807, at an expence of 168,000 dollars. It is now allowed by all to have been an ill-judged work, although the native miners maintain that the quality of the ores of Dolores Medellin was such as to justify almost any expence that could be ​incurred in order to reach them. Don José Vărēdă, an old Rēscătădōr, informed me that he had himself reduced ores from it of eight marcs to the arroba.
The Catorce Company has twelve Barras, or a full half share in the adit of La Purisima, without "Alimentos," and the whole outlay is to be repaid out of the first fruits. The stores, tools, &c. required for the work are to be furnished by the Company at the invoice price, with a profit allowed by the Mexican proprietors of twenty-five per cent.
The mines of Sereno and Dolōres Trompeta likewise belong to the Company, and may be regarded as one mine, since the workings communicate underground. They are situated close to the mouth of the adit, upon the vein of Dolores. The vein is narrow, but the ores are rich, and a considerable quantity has been extracted since the mine came into the possession of the Company; there is therefore little doubt as to the repayment of the 36,000 dollars, which, (including 12,000 dollars advanced to the proprietors,) have been laid out upon this "negotiation." It is however not comparable in importance with the great adit, connected, as that undertaking is, with contracts for several of the principal mines upon the Veta Madre, as Guadalupito and Estrella, both of which the Company holds, in addition to those of Zacarias and Dolores Medellin, of which I have already spoken. Respecting these, the most enthusiastic expectations are entertained by the natives, who all conceive that the day ​upon which the Socabon of La Purisima strikes the Veta Madre will be the commencement of a new epoch in the annals of Catorce, equal in splendour to that of the discovery of the district in 1773, when an addition of nearly four millions of dollars annually was made to the mining produce of New Spain.
Besides these mines, the Company possesses that of Zăvālă, commonly called "Del Padre Flores," from the name of its first proprietor; the history of which is exceedingly curious, although the expectations of future produce are by no means great.
In 1778, when the fame of the riches of Catorce attracted settlers from every side, the Padre Flores was amongst their number, and, unwilling to remain idle where all were employed in seeking the gifts of fortune, he purchased for 700 dollars a mine recently denounced upon a little vein nearly due north of the town, where he began to work. After following some little "Hilitos," or threads of rich ore, to about twenty varas from the surface, a small Boveda, or vaulted chamber, was discovered, full of a loose metalliferous earth, so completely impregnated with particles of silver, that it was bought up at once by the Rescatadores, at the price of one dollar for the pound weight of ore. Neither powder nor the usual implements of mining were required for the extraction of this earth, which was, in fact, nothing more than extremely rich ores in a state of decomposition. The first Boveda was small, in ​comparison with a second, situated about sixty feet lower, and full of the same metalliferous dust, with which the Costales (miners' sacks) were actually filled with the horn Cucharas (spoons) used in making the "Tentadura," (essaying the richness of the ore.) The Bonanza commenced in 1781, and lasted till the middle of 1783, during which period the Padre Flores received for his share of the profits three millions and a half of dollars; and this, (be it recollected,) at a time when, in order to obtain a sufficient number of workmen, the "Partido," or share of the ore raised assigned to the miners, often amounted at Catorce to one-half of the produce, and was hardly ever less than one-third. The profits of the Rescatadores, too, are supposed to have been very large, as, notwithstanding the price paid for the carga, (300 dollars,) at the mouth of the shaft, they came even from Leon and Guanajuato to purchase the ores, and afterwards carried them a distance of sixty and eighty leagues to their Haciendas. The total amount of the silver raised during the three years, may therefore be estimated at from six to seven millions of dollars; it being upon record, that sales to the amount of 64,000 dollars were sometimes effected in a day.
The celebrity of the Mine of Zăvālă drew adventurers from all quarters to the spot, and the ground about the Pertinencia of the Padre Flores is poached in every direction by shafts sunk in the hope of discovering such another "Bolsa de Dios Padre," ​("Purse of Our Father above," by which impious name he designated his mine,) as had fallen to his lot. But the boldest measure was that of the Conde del Peñasco, who, having contrived to obtain possession of the papers belonging to the Mine of Zăvālă, (deposited in the Mining Deputation of the district,) removed in one night the "Mofaneros," or landmarks, which serve to distinguish the different "Pertinencias," sunk a little shaft close to Zăvālă, and drove a cross-cut from it directly into the Padre's treasure-chamber, from which he carried off a very large sum (in ores) before his operations could be stopped by the intervention of the tribunals. Indeed, as the title-deeds had been secreted, it is difficult to say how the affair would have been brought to a decision, had not ecclesiastical censures been resorted to, which in that age were still all powerful. The Conde was compelled, by a sentence of excommunication, to give up the stolen papers, and to ask pardon on his knees of the Padre for the fraud practised upon him. This the Padre not only granted, but cancelled, at the same time, the debt which the Count had incurred by the extraction of ores in so unwarrantable a manner.
This story could hardly be deemed worthy of credit, were it not confirmed at the present day by several contemporaries of the Bonanza, as well as by the evidence of written documents which I have seen. I have likewise visited the two Bovedas, in the second of which the mouth of the cross-cut ​driven by the Count's orders is still distinctly visible.
The most peculiar circumstance in the Bonanza of Zăvālă is the total absence of a vein, not a vestige of which is to be seen either in the mine, or any where in its vicinity, with the exception of the little Veta de San Francisco, which is just visible at the mouth of a socabon begun by the Company at the foot of the hill upon which the mine is situated. This socabon is intended to explore the mountain immediately below the great Boveda, at the depth of about 150 varas. It must be 340 varas in length; and the expence is estimated at 60,000 dollars. But although it might not be imprudent to risk this sum, in order to investigate satisfactorily a spot productive of such immense riches, the terms of the contract are so unfavourable as to render any idea of working the mine entirely out of the question; the Company having only ten Barras, for which they were to pay 20,000 dollars as "Alimentos," to be repaid, together with all other expences, out of one half of the produce, the other half going to the Mexican proprietors. These onerous conditions determined Mr. Stokes, the present director of the Catorce Company, to give up the undertaking at once, and Zavāla is abandoned, probably for ever.
From Dolores Trompeta we proceeded along the Potrero to the mine of El Refugio, or La Luz, (it is known by both names,) denounced in 1804 by the Licenciado Gordoa. During the two first years ​he was nearly ruined, the mine having required a very considerable outlay, and produced no profits; but, in 1806, a Bonanza commenced, which can hardly yet be said to have terminated. In the course of it, Gordoa has acquired a fortune of one million of dollars, and the estate of Mal Passo, near Zacatecas, for which he paid 700,000 dollars more. In 1815 and 1816, the extraction of the ores of La Luz became extremely difiicult, in consequence of the great depth of the lower levels; but the present Governor of the State, who was at that time residing at Catorce, and acting as Gordoa's representative, undertook to apply to it a socabon, originally projected for the mine of La Purisima, the levels of which it would enter at about 412 varas from the surface. The measures for this socabon, the mouth of which, (like that of La Purisima,) is situated in the Potrero, were taken by two native miners, Don José Maria Varēda, and Don Antonio Ŏrtīz, and the work commenced after the rainy season of 1817. On the 25th of April, 1822, the vein was cut 715 varas from the mouth of the socabon. A communication was immediately effected with the old workings above, which were drained by this new channel, while a shaft was sunk in order to explore the vein below, which, when I saw it, was 150 varas in depth: the ore is raised by a malacate, erected in a large excavation made for the purpose in the side of the socabon.
This noble work is six varas broad and five high. ​An aqueduct runs down one side for carrying off the water from the shaft, while the ores are brought to the "despacho," or receiving-room, in carts. The ventilation is excellent, and we were much struck with the order and regularity apparent in every part of the establishment, in which from four to six hundred men are employed daily. The mine, at the end of 1826, was not "de buenas," that is, was not producing good ores; and it was even supposed that there would be a deficit of from three to four thousand dollars upon the year; but Don Xavier Martin informed me that, as Rescatador, he had frequently purchased ores there at the rate of 300 dollars per carga, (of 300 lbs.) and that he once, from eleven pounds of ore, from a particular working called El Ojo de San Pedro, obtained nine marcs and six ounces of silver: the ore was what is called "metal azue," (blue metal,) the value of which he happened to be the first to discover. In 1825, the weekly sales of La Luz frequently amounted to 20,000 dollars. My desire to be acquainted with its proprietor was much diminished by learning that for fourteen years he had not seen his mine, never having had the curiosity even to visit the beautiful works that have been executed there by his agents. Passing from one extreme to the other, he now dreads incurring the slightest expence that the mine itself will not cover; and the administrador informed me, that should another six months elapse without ​profits, the whole establishment would probably be broken up.
The socabon has been continued about 100 varas in the direction of the Purisima, beyond the point where the vein of La Luz was cut; but the work is now suspended. Five hundred varas more are required in order to reach the Veta Madre, the whole distance being calculated at 1,300 varas, of which 814 are already driven. The other great adit (that of La Purisima) is 700 varas longer, and consequently will be attended with more expence; but it has the advantage of intersecting the Veta Madre at a much lower point, and of thus rendering tributary several mines in lieu of one.
Dec. 1.—We visited La Purisima, and Concepcion, Guadalupe de Veta Grande, and the other mines upon the mother vein.
The two first belong to the family of the Obregones; and the brothers, Don Lorenzo and Don Isadoro Obregon, reside at Catorce, in order to superintend the works. The Purisima was discovered in 1780 by some wood-cutters, who denounced the spot, in consequence of having found some lumps of silver attached to the roots of a tree there, but sold their title for 300 dollars to Don José Antonio Dāvălŏs, who again made over a half share in the mine to the father of the Ŏbrĕgōnĕs, on condition that he should be at the expence of sinking a shaft, of which the mine was in want. The first great ​Bŏnānză began in 1787, and continued for more than twenty years, in which time the mine was sunk to its present depth, 536 varas. It has now three shafts, one below the other; and this increases the difficulties of the drainage so much, that many are of opinion that it can only be effected by the adit of La Luz, which, as already stated, would enter the lower levels at the depth of 412 varas. The mine, however, is still kept "Amparada" by the present proprietors; that is to say, men enough are employed upon it, from time to time, to preserve a legal right of possession; and in a good week, ores to the amount of four or five hundred dollars are occasionally raised.
The Concepcion belonged originally to Don Bernade Cĕpēdă, who sold the mine in borrasca to the Ăgūirrĕs, with whom Ŏbrĕgōn made a contract similar to that concluded with Davalos for the Purisima. In 1798, a Bonanza commenced, that only terminated with the Revolution.
During the war, the mine was neglected, and became gradually full of water; in consequence of which, a contract was concluded with the house of Gordon and Murphy for a steam-engine, by which it was hoped that the drainage might be speedily effected.
This engine, the first of the kind transmitted to Mexico, was sent out, in 1821, by a special permission from the Spanish Government, and landed at Tampico in May 1822. Its conveyance from this place into the interior was entrusted principally ​to Mr. Robert Phillips, whom I found in charge of the machinery at the time of my visit. Of the hardships endured, and the perseverance and activity displayed by him in the execution of this task, I can give no better idea than by publishing an account of his journey, as drawn up by himself, which will be found in the Appendix, (Letter A.) The engine did not reach Catorce until the 11th November, 1822; the caravan having found it necessary to proceed as far North as Monterey, in order to reach the Puerto de los Muertos, the only spot north of Jălāpă at which it is possible for a wheel-carriage to ascend from the coast to the Table-land. They afterwards proceeded by Saltillo to Catorce, and deposited the boilers, and all the larger pieces of machinery at the Potrero, from whence they were drawn up to the summit of the mountain by means of pulleys, and a six-inch rope, an operation which it required four whole days to effect.
Unfortunately a fatal error had been committed in not sending out iron-pipes for the pumps. Wood was not to be procured at Catorce, and was brought at a vast expence from La Huasteca, (the Tierra Caliente below;) but when bored, the timber proved unable to sustain the weight of the column of water, raised from the depth of 300 varas; and, after a great loss of time, Mr. Phillips was sent to Cincinnati, (on the Missisippi,) where he succeeded in procuring cast-iron pipes. With these he returned to Catorce, in September 1825, and on the 1st of June, 1826, ​the engine again began to work. In November, the mine was almost entirely drained; but the working was not carried on with activity on account of the want of funds.
It is hardly to be expected that the Aviadores, or "Habilitators," will ever derive much advantage from the speculation, as they have no confidential agent upon the spot, and have not attempted to interfere personally in the management. All the absurd charges established in the infancy of Catorce in order to attract workmen, have been renewed at Concepcion. Besides a "Partido," varying from one-half to one-fourth, (the quantity diminishing as the ores increase in value,) the "Cuchara," or share, of the Administrador swallows up one-tenth of the whole produce of the mine, whether the ores raised prove sufficient to cover the weekly expences or not. This lucrative situation is held by a Mr. Medina, whom the Habilitators selected as their confidential agent; and who, after making over one-third of his profits to Don Isidoro Ŏbrĕgōn, as an inducement to undertake the whole management of the concern, lives in comfort and idleness upon the remainder at San Luis Potosi. His profits during the year 1825, when the mine lost, are said to have been 20,000 dollars. The produce of 1825 was, however, considerable; a clavo rico having been discovered in the upper levels, overlooked in former times, which produced, when worked, 80,000 dollars. Out of this the castings for the steam-engine, and a part of the ​money advanced upon the mine by Mr. Dollar, were paid.
It is through this gentleman, whose contracts were made over to the Anglo-Mexican Association, that that Company now holds a share in the Concepcion. They have likewise made some trifling advances upon the mine themselves, one moiety of which has been already repaid. Of the goodness of the mine there is as little doubt as of the power of the engine to drain it, if it be regularly worked; but the system at present pursued is so bad, and the misunderstandings between the "Aviadores" and the proprietors so frequent, that but little is to be expected from the undertaking. Seventeen and a half per cent, (including the share of the administrador, a tax of five per cent, called capilla, and another of two and a half per cent, in favour of a doctor who does not exist,) are now deducted from the produce, and distributed amongst those more immediately connected with the mine: the remainder barely covers the "memorias," or weekly expences; and while this plan is adhered to, there is little difficulty in predicting the result.
Besides the share in Concepcion, the Anglo-Mexican Company holds at Catorce contracts for the mines of Guadalupe de Veta Grande and Milagros. Both of these are regarded as undertakings of great promise; but the terms upon which the Company has undertaken to work them are so onerous that it is absolutely impossible that the drainage should ​proceed until the contracts are cancelled, and more equitable conditions substituted for them. In Guadalupe, for instance, the "Habilitators" have only six barras, or one-fourth, for which they paid at once 20,000 dollars as "alimentos," and bound themselves to lay out 100,000 dollars upon the mine. Should this prove insufficient, for every additional sum of 20,000 dollars advanced by them, they are to receive an additional barra until they have acquired nine barras, which number they are not to exceed. The Company would therefore pay 180,000 dollars in all, for something more than one-third of the mine; and this, in a district where the possibility of obtaining more favourable terms has been so clearly demonstrated by the contracts concluded by Mr. Crawford, on the part of the Catorce Company, with the Governor and Don Xavier Martin, for the socabon of La Purisima, and the mines upon the Veta Madre connected with it; in all of which the "aviadores" are allowed a full half, without "alimentos" or advances of any kind, except those required for the prosecution of the work itself.
In Milagros the works had been suspended in consequence of a law-suit with the proprietor.
The Veta Descubridora of Catorce was worked as early as 1773: it is situated to the N.N.W. of the town, and has never produced a single good mine; nor were the riches concealed in its vicinity suspected until 1778, when a free black, by name Milagros, a wandering musician, returning across ​the Sierra late in the evening from Mătĕhūālă, where he had been employed at some village fête, lost his horse, and being forced, in consequence, to pass the night in the mountains, lighted a large fire upon the spot where the shaft of Milagros was afterwards sunk. In the morning he discovered a cake of silver amongst the embers, upon which he immediately denounced the vein, and is said to have drawn from it, within ten yards of the surface, ores producing sixty marcs of silver to the carga.
But before this denunciation, which first attracted the attention of the public, Don Bernabé Cĕpēdă was working the mine of Guădălūpĕ on the Veta Madre, in the midst then of impenetrable forests, and sending silver to Mătĕhūālă, and other places, to be reduced, without any one knowing from whence it proceeded. The good fortune of Mīlāgrŏs soon covered the barren rocks with inhabitants. Shafts were sunk upon the Veta Madre in rapid succession, the most important of which I have already enumerated; and other veins were discovered, some intersecting the great mother-vein, as that of La Luz, and others perfectly distinct from it, as those of Zavala, Dolores Trompeta, and San Ramon.
The principal mines upon the vein of La Luz were San Geronimo and Santa Ana, which belonged to Captain Zuñiga, of whose will I have already made mention. He bequeathed four millions of dollars for charitable institutions, reserving a fund for working his mines, which appears to have been swallowed up, ​together with all other judicial deposits, during the Revolution. The great Bonanzas of his mines began in 1787 and 1789.
The mine of San Rămōn belonged, together with the mines of Dolores and Serreno, to Don Jorge Parodi, a Genoese, and produced, in 1787, a Bonanza of two millions of dollars. The richness of the ores may be inferred from the fact, that those of the mine of Serreno, which yield five and six marcs of Silver per carga, were regarded as unworthy of attention, and the workings not extended beyond their present depth of one hundred and thirty-seven varas: while the vein of San Ramon was explored in all its ramifications with the greatest care.
Zuniga, on his arrival at Catorce, was merely a muleteer, who visited the mountains with supplies for the newly discovered district; meat and every other necessary being then paid for almost à peso de plata, (by their weight in silver.) Encouraged by the examples of sudden riches which he saw around him, he sold his mules, and purchased with the proceeds (about 2,000 dollars) the two mines from which he afterwards derived such enormous wealth. They were at that time "catas," that is, new denunciations, without a shaft, or any other requisite; but the ores were rich at the very surface, and the Rescatadores, who flocked to Catorce from the neighbouring districts, enabled him to convert the produce at once into dollars, and thus to prosecute his works with great activity. His title of captain he bought in his more prosperous ​days; indeed, it appears that, from his munificence, he almost bought the Viceroy himself; for on the great Besamanos days in Mexico, he used to appear at court with a pocket-handkerchief full of gold toys, and tell Branciforte, (at that time Viceroy,) as he passed him almost without a salute, and proceeded to the private apartments of the Vicequeen, "I don't come to see your Excellency; Soy un barbaro, y no se nada de Cortes, (I am a barbarian, and know nothing of courts,) vengo à ver a mi niña, (I come to see my little girl,)" the Viceroy's daughter, on whom the contents of the handkerchief were of course bestowed.
Most of those who made fortunes at Catorce, were men like Zuñiga, of little education, and no resources. Parodi, Don Pedro Medellin, (the proprietor of the mine of Dolores,) and twenty others, whose names it would be useless to enumerate, were all "barbaros;" and the extravagance of their expenditure was such as might have been expected from the facility with which their wealth was acquired. Medellin, upon one occasion, spent six-and-thirty thousand dollars upon an entertainment given in honour of a godchild at Saltillo; and at the time when the Partido amounted to one-third of the ores raised, common miners have been known to lose two and three thousand dollars in a morning at a cock-fight. Fortunately, there were some exceptions, and though the descendants of the more prudent adventurers, who invested in land a part of their profits, have ​all quitted the vicinity of Catorce, and purchased property in more fertile districts, their estates still bear evidence to the richness of the mineral deposits from which they proceeded. The Dāvălŏs purchased large Haciendas near Aguas Calientes. The Obregones at Leon. The Aguirres established themselves at Mătĕhūālă, and are proprietors of the great Hacienda of Vĕnēgăs. The Padre Flores acquired large estates in Zăcătēcăs. The Licenciado Gordoa, (proprietor of La Luz,) has done the same: and in addition to these a number of small fortunes were made, varying from sixty to one hundred thousand dollars, by Spaniards, all of whom have removed to Europe since 1810, with their capitals.
The present produce of the district, in which there was not, in December 1826, a single mine in Bonanza, varies from fifty to seventy bar's of Silver monthly. There being no mint at San Luis, the greatest part of these bars are transmitted to Zacatecas, and coined in the mint there; but many are sent direct to Refugio, at the mouth of the river Bravo, where they are exchanged for contraband goods from New Orleans and the Havana, with which Catorce is better supplied than any other place in the Federation. Almost every house in the town is a shop, and you may find in them French and Spanish wines, Virginia and Havana tobacco, Catalan paper in abundance, (all articles most strictly ​prohibited,) with European linens, cottons, and hardware, mantas, and even furniture from the United States, which are introduced through Refugio, where the duties are never very burthensome, even in cases where their payment is not entirely evaded. The goods are landed upon the coast by small American schooners, and afterwards conveyed into the Interior by a sort of mixed breed of French, Spaniards, and Italians, who are perfectly acquainted with the country and the wants of the different towns, and time their remittances accordingly. Several of these adventurers were pointed out to me, who came to Catorce, at first, with a board of images upon their heads, but now rank amongst the most respectable merchants of the place. Throughout Mexico, indeed I believe in every part of Spanish America, they are ignorant of the distinction made in Europe between the wholesale and the retail trade. There is nothing at all inconsistent with their ideas of propriety in keeping a shop: a "tienda" is, on the contrary, attached to every Hacienda, and the proprietor regards the profit on the sale of the goods, with which it is his business to keep it supplied, as a part of his yearly income. This was always done, too, in remote parts of the country in great mining "negotiations;" and thus the wages of the miners being naturally exchanged at the shop for the supplies of which they might be in want, a small capital was sufficient to keep up the circulating medium required, the whole of the weekly issues returning almost immediately into the ​hands of the proprietors. In some instances, where dollars were scarce, checks upon the shops were given for the amount due to each labourer, and thus a sort of paper circulation created, which was seldom objected to where the credit of the adventurers was tolerably well established.
At Catorce, the Governor of San Luis has two shops, from which he derives a very considerable addition to his income; but his principal profits consist in the trade in "bars" of silver, which, as it is now organized, affords to any capitalist a very profitable investment, unaccompanied by any risk.
The silver is bought up from the poorer miner's and rescatadores, who are anxious to convert it into ready money as speedily as possible, at seven dollars and six reals the marc. At San Luis the mint price is eight dollars and two reals. The "Bar" contains 136 marcs, which, at four reals profit upon each, leave 540 reals, or sixty-seven dollars and a half, to the purchaser, out of which must be deducted two dollars for the carriage of the "bar" to San Luis, and two dollars more for commission and agency there and at Catorce. The net profit is therefore sixty-three dollars and a half on each bar, and in an establishment where thirty and forty bars are negotiated monthly, the amount at the end of the year is very considerable.
I have given these details upon a subject, which to many of my readers may appear unimportant, in order to exemplify the possibility of silver being ​sold in the more remote districts, at four and four and a half dollars the marc during the Revolution, although the mint price was never less than eight dollars, and two or four reals. It will be seen that there is nothing improbable in the fact, since in time of peace, and within fifty leagues of the capital of a mining state, the sacrifice of four reals upon the marc is still made, in order to obtain immediate supplies in dollars. As the produce of the country increases, these supplies will become more abundant, and the profits of the capitalist diminish in proportion; but much time will probably elapse before the present rate of discount can materially decrease.
Of the great Haciendas, or amalgamation works of Catorce I can say nothing, as I was prevented from visiting them by the distance, and the extreme badness of the roads. I was informed, however, that those belonging to the Catorce Company, the Governor, and the principal rescatadores, at El Cĕdrāl, Vĕnēgăs, and Mătĕhūālă, are all upon the model of those of Guanajuato, and, in general, extremely well conducted. The spots selected for most of them abound, (comparatively at least,) in wood, water, and forage, the extreme dearness of which in the Real itself sufficiently accounts for the ​state of wretchedness to which all similar establishments there are reduced. An arroba of common Zacate, (dry grass,) costs at Catorce from one and a half to three reals. Maize rises during moments of scarcity to eight and ten dollars the fanega. The ordinary price is from two to three dollars, and even at this the expence of maintaining the number of mules required for a large establishment of tahonas, or arrastres, where water-power cannot be applied, would be enormous. It is on this account that every possible mode of shortening the process of amalgamation has been resorted to by the rescatadores of Catorce, who have introduced a mode of treating the poorer ores, called El beneficio de Cazo, which is but little known in other districts. The ores are prepared for this process by washing, upon an inclined plane, (La Planilla,) which is in fact a bad substitute for the concentrating machine, mentioned in the preceding book. When separated, as much as possible, from the earthy particles, they are placed in a large cauldron, with a copper bottom, called El Cazo, below which a fire is kept up. The metalliferous earth is then diluted with water, until it becomes quite of a thin consistency, when salt is added, (pa. limpiar, castrar,) and quicksilver in the usual proportion; this is not, how ever, thrown in until the fluid has been in a boiling state for at least two hours. The whole is kept in motion by a man provided with a rake, (rastrillo,) and in six hours the incorporation of the quicksilver with a portion ​of the silver is generally found to have taken place. The water is then drawn off, and the residue (called polvillos) submitted to the ordinary process in the Patio, not more than one-half of the silver being extracted in the Cazo. The same process is sometimes carried on upon a larger scale, the Cazo being made to resemble an arrastre in shape, with a fire beneath, while the contents are kept in constant motion by two large blocks of wood, attached (like the blocks of granite in the arrastre) to a revolving cross beam, worked by a mule. This system is termed "Beneficio del fondon," a caballo, and is infinitely more productive than that of the simple Cazo; as, from the weight of the blocks, there is no deposit, and the action of the mercury upon the ores is much promoted. If the boiling be continued sixteen hours in lieu of eight, there seldom remains anything for the patio; but as the process is attended with more expence, it is seldom resorted to.
We remained at Catorce five whole days, being constantly induced to defer our departure by the number of objects that unexpectedly claimed our attention. During this interval I visited all the mines described in the preceding pages, nor can I sufficiently express my obligations to their proprietors for the readiness with which they answered my innumerable inquiries, and supplied me with every information that it was in their power to convey. They all seemed most anxious that the resources of their district should be made known to Europe, for ​they consider its future prosperity as intimately connected with that of the Company, by which they hope to see the Veta Madre restored to its pristine splendour, and they imagine, not without some reason, that the recent discouragement of European Capitalists has proceeded more from a doubt as to the producing powers of the country, than from any other cause.
I have seldom witnessed more hospitality, or a more friendly feeling towards foreigners, than was evinced at Catorce. Nor was this a display elicited by my visit, for I was assured by the agents of both the companies that they had uniformly met with the most kind and liberal treatment, and that the good understanding which prevailed in 1826, had not upon any occasion been interrupted. With regard to ourselves, nothing could exceed the politeness with which we were treated. On the 3rd of December, the day before our departure, we dined with a very large party at the Obregones, whose table might certainly have induced a belief that the Concepcion was in Bonanza, for a more magnificent display of dishes I have seldom seen, and many of them were brought from a distance of fifty and sixty leagues. In the evening we went to a ball, at which all the belles of the place were assembled. We found the same scarcity of gloves and corsets amongst the ladies, as at Guănăjūātŏ, but segars were countless; and though the old Mexican mackaw dress of 1823, (scarlet and yellow, ​with pink or green shoes,) prevailed in all its purity, the brilliancy of the colours was rendered less intolerable by the clouds of white smoke in which the wearers were enveloped. The utmost good-humour however prevailed, as soon as the apprehensions of "etiqueta rigurosa," which the presence of so formidable a person as Mrs. Ward at first occasioned, had a little subsided: a Padre Dominicano had the goodness to play us some national airs upon a harpsichord, which had penetrated into these elevated regions; and a valse figurée was danced with the guitar, (played alternately by the lady and gentleman while dancing,) which, if not particularly decent, was at least singular, and executed with great precision.
On the following morning we took leave of our numerous friends, to many of whom I was indebted for some very valuable additions to my mineralogical collection, and descended, accompanied by a number of the most respectable inhabitants of the town to the Cañada, where our coach was already loaded, and only awaiting our arrival, in order to commence its route towards Sŏmbrĕrētĕ, which was the next place of importance on our road towards the North.
The descent from Catorce is much more formidable than the approach to the town from below. Yet so familiarised had we become with rocks and precipices, that Mrs. Ward did not think of dismounting, but rode down to the Cañada without apprehension. ​She had indeed served a pretty good apprenticeship during her residence in the place, for the road to the two Socabones of La Purisima and La Luz, to both of which she accompanied me, is infinitely worse than that to the Cañada; and even the ascent to the Veta Madre, which she visited two or three times, in order to get a good drawing of the town from the Tiro del Compromiso, is not without danger.
* ↑ The servant was an Englishman, and was riding with a snaffle bridle. I never saw a horse succeed yet in running away with a Mexican upon him, or with a Mexican bit.
* ↑ The "Sitio de ganado mayor," of Mexico, comprises a square of five thousand varas, or a superficies of twenty-five millions of varas.
* ↑ Cohahuila and Texas, New Leon, Tamaulipas, and San Luis.
* ↑ By official returns in my possession, it appears, from January to November, (1826,) 7856 Bars had been sent to San Luis.
* ↑ I hardly know whether the term of "discount" can be properly applied to the operation which I have just described. European bankers, however, would probably be glad to be able to effect their discounts upon so substantial a substitute for paper.
* ↑ This drawing will be engraved separately, together with views of Sŏmbrĕrētĕ, Zacatecas, Tlalpujahua, Valladolid, and Guanajuato, should my present undertaking have the effect of awakening public curiosity with regard to Mexico sufficiently to encourage me to proceed.