The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1881-07-21
DWELLING IN DURANGO.
special Correspondence Of the RepaDlican.

Special Correspondence of the Republican
| DURANGO, Mexico, April 11.-The old
! Spanish mining laws, that, with few mod,
ifications, are still in force in Mexico, are
most liberal in their provisions. Any one
discovering new mine, or one that has
been abandoned, can go to the next magis-
trate with specimen of the ore found, and
make his de1auscs0 (claim), which secures
him the first right to the mine, no matter
on whose land it may be situated first
discoyerer has right to double claim.
The law gives him 80 days, in which time
he must dig about 20 feet in the supposed
vein. AS soon as that is done he presents
| himself again before the magistrate, and
| demands to be put in possession. To that
effect, that officer, one surveyor and four
witnesses repair to the ground, which is
surveyed in the directions given by the APP
| plicant. One claim or pertSBe1attd is about
/ 200 yards each way, but varies according
to the pitch of the vein, and is generally
at the option of the applicant in any form
or shape desired.
| IF a de7aat1sci0 is made for a company it
covers more ground than for single individ-
uals. The magistrate turns to the four car
dinal points of heaven, and calls in loud
voice, upon all those that may have any OBJ
| lection or claims, to come forward and pre-
sent them, If nobody protests, the posses
sion is declared valid and perpetual, as long
as the owner complies with the laws.
! If any mine is not worked by the owner
or his employees at least four months in the
| year, and new conner may denounce it as
abandoned. But if the proprietor works
his mine again before a new claim is fled
| it renews his title of possession, even if he
had stopped work for years.
| In case of abandoned mines the law re-
quires no extra work on the vein, but that
the shaft or hole be closed up as far as
practicable.
| If farms, houses, or other improvements
happens to be on the claim, fair remun-
Grafton is to be given for damages sustain
| ed.
The only exception concerns coal mines;
that in all cases belongs to the proprietor
| of the land, and no such mine can be OPP
| perated without written agreement with
| him.
The cost of denuncso is 81 in this
state-probably in others, too. The costs
of surveying and taking possession vary
according to size and distance of the claim
| from $500 to 5000.
| The several states claim the sovereign
right to grant concessions under certain
| circumstances, thus extending the right of
| property one or more years, during which
grant the work may be suspended without
prejudice to the owner; but after expira-
ton of the delay so granted if work is not
at once resumed, anybody may take pos
session and claim the mine as legally aban
| doned
The general custom of the Mexicans and
| strangers, too, is to claim (denounce)
everything and watch an opportunity to
sell to companies Thus it often occurs
that Americans buy at very high figures
| mines that they could have acquired for a
| trifle if they only had known hoao.
Quite often, too, some sharpers try to
| jump valuable claim. This gives ample
| room for litigation, and if courts are slow
and full of deceit in certain states well
known to us, they are here still more SO,
as well may be imagined.
| A proper way to systematic affairs and
secure to American as we'll as to other cap
italists safe and paying investments, would
| be to form strong company, under man
/ agement of men well and favorably known
| in the financial world for fair dealing and
reliability.
Such company should establish at one
or more central points in Mexico branch
| office with competent assayist and wide
awake real estate man, under whose diTec
| ton several discreet and energetic young
mon should, with Mexican guides, act as
runners, mining scouts and prospectors in
tie vicinity at any moments notice.
| The assay-office would soon sustain it
self in a country where mining is the para
mount interest Since we are in Mexico
hardly day elapses but some Mexican
drops in on us with specimens of this or
that ore, and asking our opinion or ad
vice.
/ Through the assay-office all the paying
| deposits of the neighborhood would soon
| be located, while the real estate man, with
| his corps of assistants, could soon find out
if the mines had been denounced and legal
ly acquired, if they had been, or still were,
abandoned, or, if the property of others,
under what conditions they could be OBJ
tanned.
| Specimens taken on the spot by reliable
assistants could then be forwarded to the
home office, with all valuable and detailed
information, and the mines be brought in
| to the market with the Endorsement of the
/ company.
| All valuable mines newly discovered, or
really abandoned-and their name is
| legion-could be claimed and worked by
the company until they had found a pur-
| chaser.
| Such an enterprise would not only pay
exceedingly well but furnish means of re-
| liable information to capital seeking in
veStment.
| All the outlay required in the beginning
would only be for the establishment of as
| say offices and the salary as well as travel
ing expenses of officers and assistants.
These are merely the outlines of plan
seemingly practical that has forcibly sug
gested itself to me by the state of affairs of
mining in Mexico, as seen every day.
If st. Louis business men do not take
the hint some others surely will.
The great wants are fuel and water,
more especially the first. 1t is true the in
side of the Sierre contains yet large forests
of pine and oak that are daily converted
into charcoal, but how long viii that last?
L begin to believe that nearly all the denud-
ed mountains we met were once covered
with timber, and that Spaniards as well as
MeXicans used them all up for smelling
purposes. 1t is indeed high time that the
railroads tap this country and thus bring
ore and fuel in closer contact.
Every morning can be seen fiocks of ma
tives gathering dried cow manure in the
suburbs of the city to cook our coffee or
chocolate UNCLE TIM.
They came into dangerous place