The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-08-07
The Famous Mines of PotOsi and Cerro
de PascO, and What Is Being
Done in Them at This Time.
A VISIT TO A BOLIVIAN MINE
SILVER PROPERTY OF BOLIVIA's
PRESIDENT, AND HOW HE GOT 1T.
A Big American Smelling Works in
the Andes which Makes a Profit
Exceeding 100000 Year.
Copyright. 1898. by Frank G. Carpenter,


ORURO, Bolivia, July 6.-Oruro is one of
the great mining centers of Bolivia. There
are rich deposits of silver and tin in the
Andes all about it, and the work goes on
in the mines night and day. There are rich
copper mines on the Desaguadero river, not
far from here, and the whole country in
fact, seems to be a bed of valuable minerals.
In the Huanani CWah-nah-ne) tin district
there is a conical mountain, which has
network of tin veins, in some of which the
pure ore has been followed down from the
top of the mountain a distance 900 feet. In
the Avecaya district near this, the tin lodes
are from one to three feet thick and now
and then contain great masses of solid tin
ore. Other veins are from six to eight feet
wide in places and some of the ere is so
pure that it is shipped to Europe as it comes
from the mines Other ore is crushed by
means of rocking stones and is smelted on
the spot in little blast furnaces and run into
fifty-pound pigs. All of these tin mines are
situated at least 1900 feet above the sea.
Bolivia has perhaps the richest silver
mines on earth She has produced vast
amount of the silver now in the world,
and did the price of silver rise she would
again flood the markets with her product
There are to-day in the dumps of the aban-
doned mines of this country millions upon
millions of ounces of silver which fine ma
chinery may some time reduce at profit
The methods of mining have been waste
full IN the extreme, and the high freight
rates now prevent anything but the rich
est ores being touched. The tin and sill
ver-bearing territory of Bolivia is about
1900 miles long and 21O miles wide. 1t
runs clear through the mountainous parts
of the country from south to north, and
everywhere throughout it, at distances
from fifteen to twenty miles apart, may
be seen these abandoned mines, which
were worked by the Spaniards. In 1S4S
the number of these mines was estimated
at 10000. Few such mines were exhausted.
The Spaniards forced the Indians to labor
in them, and they burrowed through the
earth, taking out only the richest parts
of the veins. These owners gave one-ffth
of what they mined to the Spanish CROWN
and il is known that between the time
of the coming of the Spaniards to Be-
livia and the year 1900 the country pro-
duced more than three and one-third bill
lion dollars in silver. From 1900 to 1925,
when Bolivia secured her independence OF
Spain. sixty-seven million dollars were TAX
en- out of the mines, and up to the present
it must be- 1 should say, very low estl-
mate to say that Bolivia has given the
world the enormous amount Of four bill
lion dollars worth of silver The greater
part of this metal came from the famous
silver mountain of Potosi, the mines OF
which have produced more than three Dll-
lion dollars worth of silver. To-day The
Potosi mines are to large extent exhaust
ed. and the town, which had at one time
more than 100000 people, has now hardly
one-fourth of that number.
A PRESIDENT MAKES A FORTUNE.
At present Oruro is far greater as a mil
ing center than Potosi. There are sorne
very rich mines here and one not far from
the city has netted the present president
of Bolivia a fortune This mine is called
the San Jose 1t was, / am told, discovered
by a Scotchman named Andrew Penny, who
came out here years ago as common me-
chanic. He was drunken sort of fellow
and was by no means particular as to the
character of his female friends. AT least
he married an Indian and was living with
her when his mine began to produce fabu-
lous amounts 1t continued good and soon
made him very wealthy He invested some
of his surplus in an estate in the old coun-
try and then died. BY the Bolivian law his
estate went to his wife and to his adopted
son, who was half-breed The widow con-
cluded to go to Scotland and see if she
could not capture the estate there She
failed, but her lawyer, who seems to have
been as little particular as was the old
Scotchman, made the ancient Indian widow
a proposal of marriage and came back with
her to Bolivia to live. The old lady soon
died, and the now President of Bolivia was
the lawyer who settled the estate. He did
this in such a way that for a consideration
the Scotch lawyer husband withdrew, leav-
ing the balance of the estate including the
mine to the President and the adopted son.
The President, ] am told, now owns five
eighths of the mine, and he has from it an
income of something like fifty thousand
Bolivian dollars week or more than fifty
thousands of our dollars month. The mine
I has ore in sight for long time to come,
and as his Excellency is the President
there is little danger of his title being dis
puted.
A VISIT TO A SILVER NINE.
Oruro is a mining town of 1900 people,
1t makes you think of the larger villages
of the valley of the Nile. save that there
is no green surrounding it. 1t lies at the edge
of bare gray hills in a desert. The streets
are narrow. Most of them are unpaved
and most of the houses are of one story.
matched with straw. Inc town water
works are mules who carry barrels of this
precious fluid about their backs and
large part of the population is made up of
Quichua (Keech-wa) Indians. The most of
the miners are half-breeds or Cholos. and
as mining is the chief industry you see
Cholos everywhere. There are also saloons
everywhere You know them by the little
red flags which are stuck in balls over
their doors. Just above the city on the
mountain is the Chilean mine called Sa-
cavon la virgen. This is a famous old
silver mine which has produced and is still
producing vast quantities of silver. 1t has
a capital of a million and it's stock is
worth. ] am told. $50 per cent. above par.
I visited it to-day The mine is managed by
Englishmen but the work in it is all done
by Bolivians. The miners labor half naked
in the tunnels. as the mine is like an oven
and the means of ventilation are poor
they take out only the best of the ore, and
this, when brought TO the surface, is
broken into little pieces by Indian women,
who sort out the best and throw the poorer
pieces away. There were several hundred