The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-08-07

carried from forty to seventy-five miles
to the smelters on the backs Of llaInas.
Each of the llamas carries about 100
pounds, and they are driven here by
the Indians in herds of from twenty
to fifty. 1t is not an uncommon thing
for 1900 llamas to be unloaded in
day at Casapalca, and the yards of the
smelter were full of those curious
beasts during the whole of my stay.
1t takes the llanas ten days to make
the round trip from Cerro de Pasco and
about two days from Yauli. 1t is one
of the curious features of freighting
In the Andes that, although YauH is
on the line of the railroad, just twenty
five miles from the smelling works,
the ore can be brought that distance
more cheaply on llama back than on
the cars. In the same correction eggs
down the mountains co the markets
of the lowlands on lFamas, although
the railroad almost parallels the route
of the llama trail.
There is another large smelter at the
end of this railroad, at Antofagasta,
on the sea. This snelter belongs to the
famous Huanchaca Silver Mining COM
pany, which produces the greater part
of the silver of Bolivia today. The
smelling works are Of vast extent, COM
pairing in size with any in the United
States. They have cost about two and
one-half million American dollars, and
smelt the ores of this company eXclu-
sively. 1t is a magnificent establish
nent and is now well managed.
GOLD MINING IN PERU.
I have already said something about
geld mining in Bolivia. There is ore
thing which l failed to mention, ard
this apples to silver mi es as W, H. This
IS the difficulty which I am informed
exists of holding on to a good mine
here Without a law suit. Many of the
notary publfcS, through whom the
mines when discovered are taken, are
said to be entirely INSCRIPTIONS, and
it is almost impos IDLE o prevent frat d.
A common thing is for the notary 10
issue papers to himself for the same
property and to antedate them. IL the
mine turns out good he claims it by
right OF prior title. Another method
is to leave some important clause out OF
the papers SO that it will furnish a
ground for defect of title, and a third
method is to forge papers claiming and
substantiating prior title 1 heard the
other Gay Of such papers being brought
in evidence, in which the water marks
on the pap shovel that tie raler was
| made at "a later date than at that at
which the wrftir upon it was purport-
ed to have been filed. I am told that
there are today but few mines of value
in Bolivia which are in the hands of
| foreigners which have not law suits
connected with them, and it behooves
| the American who comes here to watch
| his titles very carefully and to beware
OF trusting anyone further than he can
heip. In Peru l understand that the
| mining laws are more carefully worded
| ard that the chances Of fraud are
| considerably less
| AS to the existence of gold almost
| eV0rVW here I'm tbo0a AJ,l1o
| tains there is no doubt but the find
ing it In paying quantities is a differ
ent thing. Tho amounts of treasure
gathered by the Indians before the
| days of the Spaniards and since then
have given a false idea of the richness
of the country. In the days of the
Incas these Indian chiefs, called kings
by the Spaniards, had the masses as
their slaves. They could put thou
sands of them at gold washing in the
various rivers and, though each man
got but little, the aggregate was large.
There was little wear and tear on the
gold thus gathered. It was not used
as money and but little Of 1t went in
to the hands of the common people
1t accumulated as the ornaments of
the mobiles and as decorations In the
temples, and was consequently found
In great quantities when the Spaniards
| came. The Spaniards themselves used
the Indians as slaves, and worked
them so hard that today the Indian
population Of both Bolivia and Peru
Is not one tenth of what it was at the
time of the invasion Of Pizarro.
Travelled for some days with an
English mining engineer named Sharp,
who has been sent out here by some
London capitalists to investigate GER
tain properties. Said he: $50 far as 1
have gone, and have travelled extern
slvely in central parts Of Peru, I find
that gold lodges are few and far be-
tween and very uncertain as to extent
The free gold has been pretty well
worked out, and what Ia left Is in iron
pyrites, copper pyrftes and arsenical
pyrites. from which it Is difficult to ex-
tract 1t. The mines are pockety and
uncertain. Such mining as Is done by
the Peruvians is after the most waste
full methods. They use the arastria
process, and lose at least one-third of
the gold" Frank G. Carpenter.