The Illinois free trader. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1840-1841, 1840-11-06
EuIaud Trade with Mexico.


Some account of the State of Chihua-
hua, one of the interior departments of
Mexico. was recently communicated in a
letter from a merchant of that country
published in the Washington Globe.
chihuahua is rich in silver MINES. Dur
ing period of four years, from 1924 to
1923, a single mine situated OIL the great
chain of mountains to the east of TIE city
of chihuahua produced more than eleven
millions of dollars in silver. But this
was a rare product. At present from
two to two and a half millions are obtain
ed annually from the mines of this dis
trict, the greater portions of them being
paralysed on account of the very high
prices of quicksilver. A large portion of
the precious metal thus yielded is ship
ped from the ports of Mazatan and Quay
mas, on the Pacific ocean, in exchange
for goods, brought from England; the
rest is exported by the way of Ma,amoras
or some other port on the Gulf of Mexico.
There are six chief mining towns in the
department of Chihuahua, in which there
are upwards Of four hundred shafts of
mines the few that are now worked en-
plOy from $4,000 TO $4,000 workmen.
Their duration is said to be incalculable,
and as the country is explored more and
more, new mines are discovered. 1t is
the opinion of the writer that the. applica-
ton of steam power to the working of the
mines would greatly facilitate operations
and render the business more profitable
The system of large companies, it is
thought, would also be an important i'm
provement, in the mode of conducting
the business, as at present the mines are
mostly in the hands of men of limited
means who are not able to undertake a
large system of arrangements.
With regard to the trade of that region,
some useful information is given, going to
show that by an interior route from the
state of Arkansas to chihuahua, the min
ing districts of that department might be
better supplied with goods than from the
ports of the Pacific. The annual con-
sumption of Chihuahua does not fall short
of three millions; the supplies come
mostly from England, although the near
est seaport OF the Pacific is six hundred
miles distant, and the transportation is
over difficult country. The writer
gives an account Of an expedition which
he undertook with two other merchants
in April, 1889, with a caravan of five
hundred mules and seven wagons, from
chihuahua to the frontier of Arkansas
He says:
"Without any track whatever, ant
trusting solely to chart and compass, will
which we were provided, we expected &c
encounter some obstacles to the passage
of carriages, and were prepared with iron
instruments for the purpose of removing
them. We feared that we should NEE
with water only at great distances, ant
that we and our animals would suffer
greatly from thirst. What was our sur
tprisc. however, and with what pleasur,
did we see the rcad level, firm, and cover
ed with pastures, with streams at distanc
cs Of two, three and four miles, and regu
larly supplied with fords Thus, sir
our new route is the best and shortest tina
we could desire between the two coun
tries. We travelled generally from on
watcr course 10 another, where we pas
sed The night, experimenting that we nigh
not meet another at d suitable distance