New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1851-03-01


ores the DEAFNESS OF provisions, which have to be
brought from Valparaiso and the more southern
parts of Chill, the want Of water, and difficulty,
to say nothing Of the expense, Of land carriage
over desert districts In one instance il is we'll
known some thousand tqns of ores had lain, for
some years. at the mouth OF mine, which, for want
of rain and consequently forage Tor the mules it
was found impossible 10 remove and carry to the
port for embarkation. The working OF silver
mines, of late years, has been more attended to,
and the expectation of that metal has now in.
creased to more than 100000 marks annually.
In the meantime year after year rolled on bat
Don Miguel met with no better success than he
had previously done in the "cerro" of Potoli;
yard after yard was excavated, producing some
"manthus plOmos" OF silver sufficient to induce
him to proceed, but insufficient to pay the neces.
sary expenses; and as his capital was diminish
ing, and his debts increasing, he clearly saw him.
self again fast Fastening to ruin He was also
unhappy, for the deceit he had practised on his
countryman and friend, which he deeply regretted
and sincerely rePented, preyed upon bis mind and
spirits, so much 80, that although impending ruin
stared him in the face, he determined never TO
adopt the same stratagem again.
The poverty OF Don Miguel by this time became
notorious, and he was talked of and pointed at as
poor and unfortunate miner. To avoid being
arrested for debt he galoped backward and for
ward on the "cerro," from the mine to the villa
and from Copiapo TO the mineral OF San Antonio
at the rancho" or hut of an old Indian woman
about half way between both places, for the pur
pose Of breathing his horse, taking his "yerba
mate" ana smoking cigar. She never omitted
to inquire how the work of the mine proceeded
and from him plainly understood he was unhappy,
and on the verge Of ruin, unless some very extra
ordinary good luck turned up, and the mine be-
came suddenly rich, which, yard after yard, he
had been aDxiously but vainly expecting. Never
mind, Don Miguel" said the bronzed old woman,
"you shall have mine yet that Will make you
a rich man, notwithstanding all your present
troubles and which will not only enable you to pay
all your debts buteave you arch man into the bar
! gain" These remorks so often repe ated only drew
| deep Sigh from Don Miguel; and although there
was an earnestness In the tone and manner OF the
old woman, little or no attention was pad to them,
and they were no sooner uttered than forgotten.
At length she died some what suddenly, and on her
death bed charged her only son Ia woodcutter, who
| gained his livelihood by carrying wood from the
/ "cerro" to the town. to inform the unhappy Don
/ Miguel, what she had always intended to have
done herself, for from some unknown motive, OF
perhaps former kindness, she was grateful to hlm,
and determined to save him from what he clearly
confessed was inevitable ruin, although she well
knew her doing would meet with the disappro-
baton of all her Indian race,) that, In the cerro
| of Chanarcilla, some eighteen or twenty leagues
to the southwark and eastward of the town OF
Copiapo, there existed silver vein, unknown to
I person except herse1 ana ner son. ana winch
she had often referred to in their conversations
when he called to rest himself at her hut during
his numerous journeys to and from the mine and
the villa.
The son. in compliance with the charge Of bis
diving mother, made known her wishes on this
subject to Don Miguel, who Immediately accom-
panied him to Chanarcla, for the purpose of in
spectiDg the lode already mentioned, but with
little expectation of seeing anything like Its
boasted riches; but what must have been his as
Punishment on his arrival at the cumbre" or sum-
nit OF the h to find a solid mass of silver, stand
ing about two feet above the surface OF the stony
ground with cross rudely carved on the metal
Tradition saws the knowledge Of this vein had
been handed down in the family from father to
son, and from generation to generation, who each
in his turn vowed on kissing the cross, never to
make known or discover its situation to white
man. The once surrounding caxa" or walls OF
the lode, after q succession of ages, had decom
posed and fallen from the silver which stood
alone, a beautiful and splendid sight to the as
tonished, unhappy and almost broken hearted old
| MINER who gazed on in silence upon the white,
metallic mass. He returned Immediately to the
town Of Copiapo where he took out "pedimento
or document without loss of time, giving him
legal right to the discovery, and called the mine
| LA Descubridora," by which name it has long
been known in Chanarcilla, and up to the present
day retains its fame for the abundance of rich
silver ore it produces From this date Don Miguel
became rich and an altered man, and the Derv'
Gus debility of both body and mind with which he
had been for some years afflicted, caused by pow
erty distress and anxiety of mind, left him
entirely.
The discovery of such immense riches in the
"cerro" of Chanarca soon spread far ana wide
over the Southern and neighborng districts Of Hu-
asco and Coquimbo and also TO the province OF
Cayo on the Eastern side of the COrdillera dc los
Andes, one of the united" provinces OF Buenos
Ayres, whereof is said, in La Riojs aud Fumatina,
rich silver mineral deposits have been met with
From 900 TO 5000 persons from the provinces
soon hurried to the spot, where they lived under
the temporary tents, on part OF the bill. which,
in the mineral Of Ohansrcilla, is called " Las Ca
pas TO this day. Large masses Of rich native
silver of an almost incredible SIZE were found by
these persons in every direction, at the loot as
well as at the summit of the "cerbo;" and the
embarkaton of bar silver, NEARLY pure from Co.
piano TO Valparaiso has, since this discovery and
others of a more recent date, amounted to little
short of 200 600 marks (of eight ounces EACH an
pualy and, as some thousands of persons are at
present actually employed looking for, and finding
| new Mines that amount is gradually increasing
Probably no single mineral in Peru or Mexico,
during the present century, has yielded such an
abundance of rich silver ore In so short period;
much of which, it is well known, produced 10 per
cent Of silver, the large pieces OF which some Oh
them from three to four quintals) were so SOLID as
TO require blasting with powder to break them
asunder, and only melting and pouring into moulds
to form ingots-the quality of which, by assay,
was nearly pure. -,
Don Miguel much regretted the untimely death
of his old Indian friend and gave her son what Is
called doble'' in the mine, that IS permitting
| him TO work one Of the richest galleries OF the
mine for given time, with as many hands as he
could there quito work, which, after the expense
of extracting, carriage by mules TO the villa OF Co.
pispo, and, amalgamating in that place, produced
him sixty thousand dollars, clear of these expen'
ses. With this amount in silver he left Copiapo,
| "A Cd or
the purpose of selling it, and enjoying himself In
seeing the world, where, falling into the hands OF
some gamblers, he soon lost five or six thousand
dollars in one evening and, TO avoid being further
entsngled in their meshes, he left the city tor tue
port OF Valparaiso, to which place three OF them
! = i. H.. HI alh