Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1895-02-07
MEXICAN ONYX.
A Species of Marble That Is Much
Used in This Country.
Used by the Ancients for Making xasks
and Idois-where the Largest De-
posits of the Agate Are
Found.

Some officers of the United States
army in the war with Mexico noticed
in chapel of that country a rarely
beautiful window made of thin trans
lucent pieces of richly colored stone
One of the officers brought home some
pieces of the stone and left II with a
jeweler in this city TO be dressed and
shaped, but being ordered to the
frontier he went away without receiv-
ing the finished material back from the
jeweler. This was the first of the stone
seen IN this country. and it attracted no
great attention. About thirty years
later considerable quantities of the ma
terial were exhibited as Mexican ONYX
at the Centennial exposition at Phila-
+ delphia
The Mexican onyx of that dav was
greatly admired. but the prlce was so
high, about ten times what it now is.
that the material was looked upon as a
semi-precious stone. Ever since 1875
the material has become cheaper and
cheaper, until now it is used in large
quantities. though only in expensive
structures. One Of the earliest build
ings to contain a large quantity of
Mexican onyx was luxurious London
hotel built not many years ago. Its
staircase of Mexican ONYX cost twenty
! Ave Thousand dollars. Many new build
/ ings in this city, says the New York
| Sun, have been ornamented by the
lavish use of Mexican ONYX. A great
business building downtown has a
J stairway of this stone, and several of
the new Filth avenue hotels have ONYX
wainscoting and stairways A private
house in Chicago has twenty-five thou
sand dollars worth of Mexican ONYX in
the hall
Mineralogists have known all along
that Mexican onyx is not true ONYX.
but species of marble. 1t is specially
an aragonite, made up Of calcium oxide
Of iron and magnesium. To the last
two it owes its peculiar beauty of color.
Several of the Mexican states send ONYX
TO us, but the largest deposits are found
near Tecali, in the state of Pneblo. II
was used by the ancient Mexieans fer
masks, idols and other small objects.
and some of the modern Mexicans, find
ing these works of their ancestors adj
Inircd hS travellers. turn out like objects
from t,4s stone and sell them at rood
prices William Cooper. Of Esperanza,
found sbont sever years ago in vol
canc OF Mexico a deposit that is now
called mosaic agate. 1t Is peculiarly
beautiful sort of Mexican onyx, in
which the Formation has been broken
up cn,scr pressure. There are a Cali
foraia onyx and an Arizona onyx, each
lieiug a marble of amber hues. and
aragoDitc IS also found IN iowa
MeNiean ONYX Is easily worked, and
has been used not only for building
purr. SOS. iaat for ornamental household
articles lamp standards, table tops.
maateis and other articles, large and
small Some of the earlier articles OF
the sort have considerably decreased IN
value since the price Of the onyx came
down and it has been SO lavishly used
in building II is. of course. not suited
for statuary. because it's varicgated col
ors would give the subject a motley APP
pearancc that would not bc beautiful.
but absurd. The material Is too valu-
able to be used much in places where
il would be exposed to the weather
Its use has become so extended in this
city that it is now largely imported by
few marble dealers. 1t hardly gives
in the crude state the promise of it's
finished beauty, and scraps and frag-
ncnts Of the crude stoac are now
wasted that would have been eagerly
preserved were its price what it was
nineteen years ago. 1t may be doubted
whether any church of the United
States has been decorated as the little
Mexican chapel of nearly fifty years
ago.
An extensive dealer in Mexican onyx
and other marblees says that the stone
is less used than it was ten years ago.
SO he thinks, because other and cheaper
stones. notably African marble. are
more beautiful. There have been
within a few years several notable
speculative importations of Mexican
onyx. In some of these eases the i'm
porters, finding the sale unexpectedly
slow. were unable to pay the duties.
and the quantity in port broke the
price. Mexican onyx sells in the rough
at six To twenty dollars cubic
foot. Large pieces fetch more than
their proportional price. The saving
into slabs adds about two dollars d
cubic foot 10 the price. and the further
cutting. fitting and polishing greatly
increases the value of the stone There
is often a loss of forty per cent of ma
terial in preparing it for wainseoting,
/ so that the finished product fetches as
I high rs six dollars foot When one
( inch thick specially beautiful speci-
/ mems fetch even more. and il Is posi-
! bic 10 run up the cost Of building
/ decorated with specially chosen ONYX
/ to fabulous sum
Z Making Up Lest Tlmc
In regard To the difficulty OF making
up lost time ON railways. writer in
! foreign paper says: Thus To take n
L. !.