Audubon County Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Audubon Co., Iowa) 1885-1894, 1890-04-10
A WONDERFUL NINE.
WORK OF AN ENGLISH COMPANY
IN SOUTH AMERICA.
5urrowing 1900 Feet Through the
Solid Rock to Got Gold.

South America, from the earliest
journeys OF the Spanish Adventures,
has been pictured rs n land of wonder
full wealth, aud tho history of its set
tlemcnt is scarlet with the blood OF
those who died because they could not
or would not reveal the whereabouts
Of mines or of hidden treasures. Frank
Vincent in his entertaining book,
"Around and About South America"
gives this interesting description of
the greatest gold mino on the southern
continent, aud of the most remarkable
in tho world:
Passing through Congonbas, you as
oend n harp ridge, and find just be-
You'd il the village and mine OF Moro
Nellio.
A very remarkable and interesting
experience was my descent iuto the
mine. AT ono of the ncighboring offices
some miners clothes were given to me,
Especially useful rs shield against
falling stones was a hat made of very
stout felt, To the front of this u can
die stuck into n small lump of clay.
Two iron cages, or cars, were run
with wire ropes by water power, and
filled n vertical shaft, bored, after the
first hundred feet or SO, in the sold
rock, TO depth of l,i50 feet.
In reaching the bottom we descend
ed innumcrablc ladders of mtcrmina-
be length. The roofs and the sides
of tho mine were everywhere support
cal by the hardest woods of Brazil.
Two feet square was the average thick
ness of these timbcrs, though occa-
tionally saw them rs much as three
feet square. AT the bottom, such of the
roof MS could see seemed to be sup
ported by great wooden" columns, be-
tween which was u solid backing of
heavy planking.
All through the mine the visitor is
startled and alarmed by variety of
continuous rumblings and rcycrbern-
tons, The calls of the men To each
othe- and the commands of the bosses
have also an ominous sound. These
goblin noises, penetrating through the
murky darkness, combine with the
liRH'St NhlNIl NUlt NbuUt INV
SO many vicious Jack o Lanterns, TO
surround one with pnndomonium,
The mir, however, is everywhere re-
markably pure, pleasantly disillu-
sionary fact, rather unusual, IA no
| fresh air il forced from above.
While watching the men and stand
ing on the next higher platform, noises
| like distant but heavy thunder would
occasionally be heard. These, they
,old me, were blasts Ia remote and
smaller galleries. Dynamite is used
for these blasts, scventy-liyc pounds n
day being required. The men ut the
end of our gallery next fired seventeen
charges, rs we Nil stood under what is
regarded as tho strongest wall, for
| fear of horrible stone flakes falling,
though the drifts are blasted and
cleared so oncctually that there is but
very little danger The various re.
ports of the exploding charges were
mir struck us with powerful force.
After the sharp crash, as Of the hcay-
lest artillery, the ground would shake
| violently beneath our fc {, while the
| whole minc appeared TO be rocking
and tumblng for some seconds. The
rcycrbcrating echoes were especially
sonorous.
The clatter of tho mills is heard
night and day, Sundays and holidays,
week in and week out. The mining
works were al shown me by the
obliging superintendent, Mr.. Chal-
mcrs. A general view Of the place
brings into prominence huge water
course and iron siplIon coming down
n hill TO the extreme left or west. The
| driving power il water, introduced In
fiji ncs, aud this one is seven miles IN
length. Then you see, ut tie north,
the quarter where the married slaves
reside, and, some distance above it on
The hillside, the abode of the bachelor
miners, appropriately styled "Timbuc,
too" The stamping mills, with thcil
| roCk-crushcrs and the strakcs, are III
the centre, tucked into little valley
nearer are the huge mill wheels, sixty
feet in diameter, one Of which furnish
es power for working the pumps. The
| great storc-bouse of the company
covers the hill-sid 70 the south Of Tho
| casa gIuRfa. Hero are collections OF
everything likely 10 be needed in tn,
works or mine, from candles "a
machinery.
BY the by, eight gross Of candles art
every day used in the mine. Tho
| 90 Of ~ OF 10
with corn and beans for the coDsump.
ton of the miners. The mine keeps
busy five great stamping mills, one OF
| them being like those have seen in
| California. The others are huge
clumsy affairs, though answering thcil
| purpose very well. / followed all thu
various processes of the works, from
where the rough ore leaves the shafts
mouth, until saw the gold bars ready
Tor transport TO Rio and shipment Il
England. Employed in cxcavating and
hauling the mineral and timbering the
mine are some 400 men, the nationali.
ties embracing English, Brazilians
Portuguese, Italians, Germans, Austri
ans, Spanish and Chinese. In the
works are employed sixty Chinese
seventy-fvc English and nearly l,O0t
natives.
MANY native women are occupied
with Tn" lighter work, as at the strako'
and in the amalgamation rooms. SiA
times year what is termed the ''golt
troop" carries the bars of gold in one
of the ordinary countl y carts, attended
by only two or three natives, down Il
the Dom Pedro III. Railway, whenc,
the precious freight is quickly carried
to Rio. 1t is remarkable fact tina
no escort is deemed necessary with thi'
shipment. The bars weigh, on al
average, about eight pounds troy, ant
contain about one-half per cent. sill
yer. They have to be remelted in Eng
land, for publication, before being
marketable, and are then worth abou
5000. The present company, which
| hoe baop urnpl inc tho nina fnt. ppprl