The Black range. (Robinson, Socorro County, N.M.) 1882-1897, 1883-07-06
Silver in Ancient Times and
Foreign Countries.

Silver was known to the ancients as
early as gold. Although gold was used
more profusely in the earlier times of
man, still silver has heidi its relative
value from that time until the present.
Considering the lapse of time since the
discovery of both metals, the fluctua-
tions have been extremely small. They
have passed through the world since
the earliest ages, hand in hand, and
seem to be inseperable. Their physi.
cal and other properties are almost
identical. The ancients, who were
totally ignorant of the science of chem
istry, were aware of this fact. They
claimed the sun resembled their gold,
and the moon their silver, and the
regularity of both planets was similar
to the regularity of the supply of both
metals; that their sun shone brighter
than their moon, and was a greater
benefit to them, consequently they
thought that gold was a truer metal
than silver and should be more appre-
ciated. None of the metals have been
a greater blessing to man with the ex-
ception of iron) than gold and silver
They are the agency of peace and pros
perity between nations. 1t is claimed
that "the pen is mighter than the
sword" but we must remember that
the superiority of the "pen" is due to gold
and silver, or their equivalents. 1t is
with surprise and admiration that we
recognize the precise uniformity with
which our creator has distributed
gold and silver throughout the world.
Each nation has its supply for the
wants of her people, not lavishly, but
enought to remind us that by industry
alone we can acquire them. g..
In Europe silver occurs in England,
Sweden, SaXony, Bohemia, Silesia, No
way, Russia Germany, Arabia, Spain
Writemberg, also in France, Hungary
and Pennsylvania. In Asia, Siberia and
especially China and Japan, where silver
constitutes the chief portion of the cur
rency. In Europe perhaps the most cee-
brated silver mine is that of Konigsberg,
IN Norway, in the neighborhood of
Mt. Johnskunden. which towers up to
the height of more than 5000 feet. The
mines were first worked in 1924 the
deepest is 1870 fathoms. and out of it
was taken an enormous mass of native
silver, now in the Museum of Natural
History, at Copenhagen, Denmark,
measuring six feet long, two feet broad
and eight inches thick, and estimated
to contain five hundred pounds weight
of pure silver. The total quantity of
silver extracted from the Konigsberg
mines during the two hundred and
seventeen years from 1924 to 1910 in
clusive) was 2,O23,214 pounds avoirdu'
pois. 1t is stated that native silver
constitutes more than four-ffths of the
total product of these mines. The
greatest credit is due to South America
and Mexico for the largest and most
productive silver veins in the world.
Silver lodes of South America occur
along the eastern declivity of the
southern Andes, chiefly in rocks of the
Jurassic age, which are represented
there by various kinds of limestone
sandstone and conglomerate. These
odes are also found, though rarely, in
porphyry, which In that case assumes
a stratifed appearance. Silver lodes
are usually intimately connected with
intrusive dykes of porphyry and dio
rite. OF this portion of South Ameri
ca, Bolivia, Peru and Chilli contain
most Of the productive lodes, which
generally resemble each other in char
acters and mode CT occurrence. The
famous Potosi mines are in Bolivia
Gormerly Upper Peru, and the moi
less important mines of Cerro de Pasco
arein Peru, where also in the provinces
of Pataz, Huamachuco, Caxamarea anC
Chata, important silver mining dis
tricts exist. In Chill the silver mines
are found in a narrow belt extending
one hundred and fifty leagues from
north to south, which commences il
the vicinity of 81. Jago and ends in Co
piapo. The richest lodes occur between
this city and the village of Copiapo
The silver is met with in these lode'
in the native state, in chloride, chloro
bromide and iodide and in simple an(
complex sulphides. In Chilli nativ,
silver is often associated with arsenide'
and arseniates of cobalt and copper
and the amalgam (arguerite) has als'
been raised in large quantity. Th'
silver ores are generally accompanies
by sulphides of other metals and b,
quartz. According to Domeyko.
variety of pearl spar (aukerite) occur
in nearly all the silver lodes of Chill
but the gangue of the rich silver. lode
of the districts of Copiapo and Coquim
no is chiefly sulphate of baryta (heav.
SPAR, the strings of which serve
guide to the miners in their search fo
new uroductiye lodes.