The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1888-04-11
VENEzUELA'S GOLD MINES.
Auriferous Fields on tho Banks of tho
Suruari ~Rivcr-Scenes in Camp.

persons 10 bilious fcvcrS, and in the
height of the rainy season tho mortality
Is great among tho rcgrocs, who often
sleep III the open air and take but little
care of themselves. Chills and fever is n
common complaint. Position in life has
a great deal to do with the liability to
sickness, as upont the quality of the living
accommodations much depends. The
fever seems to thoroughly weaken the
o of the sick, and for months after n
sick man has left his bed he appears like
n living corpse. Much of the disease
contracted ut the mines is no doubt due
to excuses of various kinds, which seem
to be inscparablc from life in a mining
country. When the greatest care is
needed, III reference to every detail of
eating, drinking, clothing and living,
little is taken by the majority, and the
result is that the various foreign en-
ploycs, or officers as they are called
American, English and Gcrman-from
the chief mining engineer down to the
Irish blacksmiths, are continually sick or
recovering from sickness.
L have seen over half the "oficcrs" of
one company sick, thus nccessitating
double work from the others, conducting
to similar sickness. Doctors arc plcnti.
full, but they, too, arc often laid up. At
night Il dense mist from the river covers
the whole valley like a pail. No wonder
there are fcvcrs.
The ore from tho mines, after being
crushed, passes under the stamp heads,
on TO Which a stream of watcri is flowing.
and then crushed into fine powder from
the battery over tho amalgamation tables.
These arc of copper, covered with a
coating Of mercury. The gold particles
amalgamatc with the mercury, and tho
water carries the quartz grains on into
the race below. The tables arc cleaned
every twcnty-four hours, the mill being
stopped to allow Of this. The result from
the day working of this immense ma
chlncry is a couple of balls of VARYING
siHc--Say Of an cgg-of amalgam, which
arc carried down to the house, weighed
and h deposited in the safe until n
sufficient quantity is had for rctorting.
After rctO:ting the resultant gold is
ready for shipment. Some gold is slippcd
III the rctortcd form and some is melted
and cast i'll the form of bars before ship
mont. The shipment Of bullion takes
place once a month, the various COM
panics bringing their gold to the office
whence the bullion tram starts. The
bullion Is carried over the road i'm charge
of a mounted party Of guards well
armed.
Bullion day is sort Of n holiday for tho
chief officers of tho companies. on which
they all meet togcthcr and discuss mutual
affairs. Tho bullion train i'm returning
brings up ANAL and tn" money to paw the
labor and other expenses. Then, for many
days, the scene at u COmpany's Office is n
lively one, the miners bcsicginr tho win
dows for letters and with injuries os TO
when pay day will come. Tho money
comes up generally in English sov%crcigns,
with occasionally some American gold.
There is very little change in the country.
and ten or five cent Venezuelan pieces
arc rare. English, French, German and
American money is that chiefly i'm circu-
lation. Tho standard of Venezuelan
currency Is n 100 cents, or scncillio dol
lar, worth about what our dollar is, but
accounts in Venezuela arc kept in Macu-
quino. a Macuquino dollar is worth
about four-ifths of the scncillio dollar.
or to be exact, 74.7G cents American
gold. a five cent piece is n ton cent
piece cut i'll two, and divided again it
passes for two and onc-half cents.
An event in life at a mine ia tho mr.
rival of Il freight train of bullock carts or
burros. Tho Venezuelan in charge, after
much fumbling. finds the bill of lading.
and then the checking of the pack
ages while all the idlcrs look on. Some
times it is n cargo of boxes containing
tins of green corn, tomatoes, oysters,
Holsters, preserved fruits, etc, from tho
states. Then it is bulky machinery.
stamp heads, TASKS of mercury, dyna-
mite or fuse. The smaller mining stores.
such as dynamite, fuse, shovcls, picks,
machctcs, hammers, drill iron, rope.
etc, are kept in a store room in the
living house of "A mining company.
Let me describe n sleeping apartment
mt the mines, as it will give an idea of
the manner of living. The floor is COW
cred where the iron bed stood with mat
ting, under which are some coffee sacks.
The hammock, thrown up over the mos
quito frame of the bed, is stretched across
the room. The carrata roof, in which
aro numerous spiders and n friendly
house snake, who occasionally comes
down on the floor, Is the ceiling. An
immense toad, who is of use. rs he
catches many insects, lives under the
bed, and is on good terms with n small
dog Of the country who sleeps in the
room. The windows, without glass, are
simply protected by rough Venetian
shutters, and when it rains n steady
stream pours in several places through
the roof. The disagrceablo insects known
as chigoes arc numerous, and great care
has to be taken to avoid their %acquaint-
ancc. The temperature Mt the mines is
quite high during the day, but as tho
nights arc cool, warm bed COVERINGS o,e