The Virginia star., 1882-12-23
old Veins OF silver.

The obtaining of the precious metals
from the earth h one OF the pursuits
into which men rush as earnestly now
as they did thousands OF years agone.
Neither hardship nor danger serve TO
deter, nor uncertainty as to finding
what thew seek. stop them from nnu-
merable privat1oGs and unimaginable
seventies of work in the pursuit OF 1t.
Since the toilers in the Asian sands and
the slaves in the Spanish mines, there
has scarcely wanted generation that
has not had its gaze riveted upon some
new El Dorado, and that has not coun-
ted its thousands who failed and it's
tens who gained the treasure of the
rocks and rivers. And yet, as Hum
boIdt, in his "New Spain,' philosophi-
caIly considers, this element of treasure
hunting in wild regions OF the earth has
it's redeeming features in the general
interests of mankind.
He notes, III effect, speaking of the
mining regions of Mexico. particularly,
that many sections OF the earth owe
their redemption from being barren
wastes, given over to desolation, to the
hunt of men in such regions for their
precious metals that these regions
which were thus destitute of other at
fractions for man, through their mineral
wealth, added largely to the stores of
riches of the rest of the world that
these uncultivatsble portions of the
earth are thereby pressed into the ser
vice of mankind and become factors of
prosperity.
He instances the mining towns which,
in his time, had sprung up in the Span
ish-ruled intendencies of San Luis Po-
tosl, Zacatacas and Durango, to dig up
the rocks aud extract the silver from
the mountains OF their neighborhoods.
Potosi was afterwards broken up, part
OF its territory going to the State of
Nueva Leon. In the new State is the
rich mining district of Nillaldama,
around which are mines of great rich
ness. The traditions of the country
tell that their discovery was accidental.
The mountains are of granite formation
and lnterspersed here and there with
caves and assures. In one of these
caves, as the tradition 1uns, party of
wandering Spaniards found one day
place where some of their Aztec prede-
cessors had built fire to cook their
meal, and where the fire had been the
SpaniaGds found lot of molten metal.
This, on examination, proved to be
silver, and thenceforward the ribs OF
the noun tains were searched in every
direction for the silver ore. It's in this
district of Vulaldama that the Mlnos
Viejos, OF as the translated phrase is,
"Old Mines" lie close by the Guada-
iupe NINE which Is controlled by Phila-
deiphia capital. The Minos Vleios, ac-
cording to the statement of one who
recently examined them, have in time
past, been extensively worked, but
when the war of independence IN Maxi-
co, 1910, broke out were lett, abandoned
by the Spaniards who owned them and
suffered the ravages OF TIM.
The story of all this part of Mexico
is one OF abandonment and decay. from
which it is slowly being rescued, and
largely by American aud Philadelphia
enterprise. Lead, iron, copper, coal, !,
tsoii,s sand silveg are foy4nd al Through
this land, and if natural advantages
count for any thing, it viii rot be long
until ahese abundant resources OF nature
aro. utilized for mans service. The
mountains are clothed with woodlands
and water is plenty. The roads through
the country are the natural highways,
smooth and easy for transpor. alton
purposes, but best of all, the great
equalizer of our civilization, the rail
road, already passes through the land.
and will, more rapidly, perhaps. than
any other material agent, bmid the land
up to prosperity.