Washington sentinel., 1899-09-09
IT, !. .ss2 SENTINEL
An Ancient GOLD Mine.
EHgiHseyiRg.

LitieS OF IL m the names OF Cne IN
habitants, IN the form Of ornaments
and domestic appliances, and this
they had no difficulty in approprl-
ating. 1t was a source Of wealth,
however, which was rapidly eX-
hausted, and then they turned to
working the existing mines. and
to discovering others. There must
have been vast quantities Of allu
vial gold in those days to account
for the large amounts shipped to
Europe, but these were not the
sole source Of supply. There was
a great deal of actual mining and
crushing done, and recent re-
searches have shown that the
Spaniards had far more skill in
these matters than is generally
supposed. One OF these abandoned
mines in the province Of Darien is
now being worked, and has fur
nished ample evidence that the
Spaniards we're wonderfully sue
cessiul mining engineers, consld-
ering the po orness Of their mechan
ical appliances.
The Espiritu Santo mine must
have been very productive, for
Don Aneres de Aria, governor OF
the province of Darien, writing in
I774, stated he had learned from
the testimony OF those who had
worked in It that at one time more
than zoo men were employed in it,
working alternately day and night
There seems to have been plenty
ofgold, for the governor says there
was abundance for the owners after
the operatives, who were tree
blacks, had helped themselves,
They were pail a small dish Of
earth Tor each days work, and
from this they could wash in the
week sixteen to twenty castellanos
and sometimes twice as much. In
addition they plfered all they
could, and as, Of course, all the ore
passed through their hands, they
had no difficulty in appropriating
the rich pieces. A watch was kept
to prevent them carrying it out,
but it was often evaded. 1t is said
that the negroes and mulattoes
who worked in the mine would
sprinkle the heads of their sweet
hears with gold dust, which they
carried loose in their pockets, when
they went to balls Although the
traditions of the richness OF the
mine survived, and several persons
put the facts on record, nothing
was done with it until 1888, when
Mr.. Hammersley Heenan, OF Man
chester, formed an Anglo-French
Company, with a capital Of kzoo,-
900, to work the mine. Mr.. Hee-
nan considered that the historians
did not write with a view to com.
pany promotion, and that, there
fore, they might be believed; the
immediate result was disappoint.
ment, but eventually good returns
were obtained when the old work
ings were entered 400 leet below
the surface.
Such an experience is enough
to raise a genuine enthusiasm in
our minds regarding the Old engi-
neers who ventured so low. They
had left pumping engines behind
them. Five tread wheels were
found, some in a perfect state Of
preservation. In each the tread
wheel was ? feet IN diameter, and
had rungs like a ladder, up which
one or two men could climb. At
tached to it was a smaller wheel,
4 feet in diameter, around which
an endless cham OF buckets was
hoisted. The water was lifted in
stages Of about 80 feet each, and
the buckets were dumped into
dug-out lauader inserted under the
rim Of the small wheel. The Span
iards by these means raised about
80 gallons per minute TO a height
Of nearly zoo feet by muscular
force. Our pity goes out to the
unfortunate wretches condemned
TO the toll. The workings were
found to consist chiefly Of shafts,
both vertical and inclined, con-
nected together without any ap
parent system, arches and pillars |
OF high grade ore being LETT be-
tween them. No doubt the Span
iards followed to a great extent the
soft rich streaks which are found |
throughout the lode mass. The |
timbering in these lower workings |
was found in some cases to be in
perfect preservation, although it
has been buried and under water
200 feet below tropical forest for
nearly two centuries. The old
workings continued below the 100
foot level, but the next level. which |
is 80 feet 10 Wer, has not met any. |
II is not our intention to follow |
the fortunes of the present com. \
pany in detail. AS explained at
the meeting OF the Darien Gold
Mining Company, held in Man
chester on May 81, they have taken
A6S 900 in gold from above the
/ 90 foot level, and they are carry
ing the shalt down to 500 feet be-
low the surface. They believe that
they will reap an immense harvest
They have the courage Of their
convictions, and have laid out very /
large sums in machinery, bitches,
compressors, roads and buildings.
At the present rate OF crushing the
company have a profit Of over
$4,000 a month, and they hope TO
double this at least. At the same
time, whatever they may DO can
not diminish the praise and admir-
alton due 10 the Spaniards, who,