New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1868-08-01

| DOWN IN THE MINEs-LIFE IN THE VII
| LAGEs-THE PLATCADOS-BAsALTIC ROCKS
THE GREAT BARRANCA.
From Our Own Correspondent
SAN MIGUEL DE REGLA, June %, 1863
Yesterday chance was given your correspondent
TO examine two mines of the celebrated region of
Real del Monte-One describable special mine of
wickedness and the other an actual working not of
penitentiary character The Jail of the Real is an
cient and ordinary; but its prisoners remarkable.
In this stone crib and the mine underneath kept
two score of convicts or less, who wear striped
brooches and cotton nghtcaps and have their heads
tonsured that they shall not by mistake be suf-
fered to escape out of the mines. These mines all
run into each other, by wonderful labyrlntnlne
system. Basking in the sunlight OF the Jalyard 1
saw dozen of the conycts half asleep and, through
grating overhead another party playing cards IN one
Of the cellsthe worst of them holding the best hand
If by any possibility blood could be trumps. these
were murderers manslayers, and robbers, sentenced
for ten years and as ugly as such gentry are the
world over. The Mexican code is not q cruel One
evidently for the deadest villain in the prison
has no more than ten years TO serve, and the case
might be worse for all that the wet workings Of the
Real are not the peasantes OF retreats In fact the
complaint is made that it is hard to get manifest
murderer sentenced to death in the capital ITSELF and
the laws and legal executives are elsewhere super
sensitive to Imprisonment. Prompt arrest, trial, and
conviction, and fair and safe impnsOnment-sO that
it will be impossible for highway robber to turn
upon his captors-wOuld work amazing good. The
penitentiary of the Real is incompatible for the
gle consideration that it is mine. No labor more
useful and penltential, than this of mining, could,
with justice TO the end in view. be invented. The
murderers at the Real descend halfamle from their
cells, and there dig out q respectable ore. There is
Justice in the fact that the robbers who made it their
whole business to steal silver on the highways are
here put to the tantazing task of digging it Some
such equitable disposition of the labor question be-
low ought TO have happened in Tartarus when Homer
had the working of that mine or cavity - ,
Moran mine is quite another affair. IL is the
nj Real COMMANDS workings.
the best and for these reasons most ylstaOe, since
also the senior mines are the workings OF couple OF
centuries. Moran Is not IN danger OF being drowned
out as is the case sometimes with the awful depth
of Dolores, in consequence of which the big engine
of the Real is doing work as heavy as falls to
the arm of any steam-ttan in Mexico OF on the Con
tinent The employment given to the largest engines
and machinery here, at Pachuca ana at Ielasco.
shows upon what scale the mining operations OF
the neghbOrhOod have been conducted. Dolores
mne-well-named for the convicts sake, mine OF
SORROWS said to be three thousand feet deep some
hundreds less than the depth of the famous old mine
of Bohemia To pump water out of this depth Is TOO
great task continuously for the best Of engines and
the Real Company are now striking through the
hills and under the town an enormous adlt level
which is to relieve the work Of draining by dis
lance in hight of several hundreds of varas, as also
to save the connections of the other mines from being
swamped by the present drain of Dolores. BY means
of the new adit, the drainage will be taken a
mile distant from its present outlet. The i'm
mense level cut through the Cornish mine,
bearing stream which is sometimes like river the
work, which is nevertheless, something remarka-
BILE The descent into the mine of Moran Is more
than 800 feet by slippery ladders. The Levels run
through IL are yet few and simple, ana no Yast ga-
/ leries occur of immemoTial digging large shaft
/ sunk far down into underground midnight, is the
way TO the suface for water and metal winch are
brought up in great cowskin bags. Young as Moran
is compared TO the damp old age OF Dolores, q pump
and dam necessary TO ITS deep-most well-Delng.
It's orc is excellent, and Afforded me some OF the
best specimens which have been able to pick out Of
the mines of this region. They contain silver gener-
ally sulphuret, in alliance variously with iron Ply
rites bronze mundeck, zinc, and i'll nelghbOrhood TO
pOrphyTy, spar, and rock crystal of beautiful kind
OF the general yield of the mines of this district
shall be betterable TO speak IN letter from Pachuca
sturdy surprise IL Is to hear the Engllshmans burr
of welcome down deep these very bowels oil Mexico,
and even better for an unrecommended stranger TO
meet with cordial courtesy from Mexican admins
trador. Deep in this mre at more than 800 feet our
ears were put to the rough rock walls to hear through
on the other side of us the steady pick and hammer
of the adti Jewelers. working IN upon Moran. AS
have said the mines are connected, and / am told
that one may wander with guide for days under
ground Moran is perhaps the best OF the Real MINES
whose business now needs nothing so much as the
recupeTatiOn deriyable from the abolition OF mineral
rents so that the Company may start upon the re-
ducton Of inferior ores and II possible prospect
are all upon good scale. The best establishments
of the Company are at Veasco and Regla, some
miles distant from Real del Monte, at winch places
both the barrel process of washing and the lead
smelling process have been practced perfectly.
A diligenceride to-day brought us TO San Miguel de
Regla Our felow-travelers were an excellent lady
who smoked cigarettes, a young Mexican, and a
ranchero Oh horseback. The country Is handsome
mapped out, as one may say, or this many-yallled
Mexico; the crops are simple ana gOod, generally
but failing now for want of rain the hills are toer
ably wooded which is rare sign IN the plateau OF
Anahuac aud at st. Miguel there are even such
dreams of vegetation as thickets and groves, with
running commentary OF cascades and streams. AS
we passed VelascO three highway robbers were
brought out to be shot under the great village tree
and l suppose they died without sign OF
sInoknp cgaTs-so stolidly yet brayey do these mis-
creants Of Mexico accept the worst fate that happens
TO them, To such wTetches, some OF whom are I'M
doubtedly driven TO the highway for want of work,
death is but an incident. and not the worst AT HUI
asca we see an open-ar shrine and stand on the out
side of the paroquia from which perch the priests
used to declaim on Sundays ere the Liberals came
into power The priest of the place looks snuify ana
smokes The shOOlmaster-whO teaches reading
writing, and arithmetic-tells me that
and and hospitabie. The style and title Of the
village pulque shop suggest a stqpendous jolly,
TamOs amigos al SoLp Friends, let us 60 70 the
Velasco, Friends, let us go to Paradise" BUT hu-
asca is more peculiarly distinguished as having been
the home and birthplace OF the reignlng pandlt OF
these parts" says yager. have no fear OF Nori-
ega himself" remarked the cigarette smoker : lie
always treated me politely; but ms men are greas
savs a Cornishman. Venturng TO inquire whether
il was true that Noriega had about month ago
forcibly taken an old man out OF leasco Jail ana
shot him for having killed in self defense the y0at0r
of his daughter was given TO understand that there
were extenuating circumstances and, at all events
that free speech upon the single topic OF Noega was
not politc in Huasca This prince of good fellows IS
a middle-aged demon, athletically formed, with
fine maxary disposition of features, strong deyei
opment of the combative pump ana ualk
east of face, and an intense expression OF
brow and eyes He is sometimes superbly
horsed and dresses like q pldteGdo plate2do IS
silyer-Ined robber in other words. His sombrero Is
trimmed and his Jacket broidered with silver, and