Marietta daily leader. (Marietta, Ohio) 1895-1906, 1900-11-25
YANKEE SILVER KING
North American Who Has Vast
Wealth in Chill.
Friendship of n Spanish Priest Bring,
Kim knowledge of an Ola silver
Mine Which Yieldu an linz
mense Fortune.

The most successful North American
in Chill, and probably the wealthiest OF
all the Yankees who have sought for.
tune in the southern continent is
George B. Chace, known in the mineral
markets of the world as Chili's silver
king, writes Douglas White, in Aims.
lees.
ButMr. Chace was not always Croe.
sus. Thirty-fve years ago he left Cal.
ifornia after long and futile search
for paying prospect. In 1865 he land.
ed at Iquique. Peru. From there he
went to Tarapaca. Chilli where he got
work in the nitrate beds. He made
friends with old Padre Miguel who
read mass in the little church at Pozc
Almonte. little town in the interior.
surrounded by the great nitrate de.
posts The priest taught Chace the
Spanish language and helped him to ac'
quire an acquaintance with the geog.
raphy of the locality. AS soon as Chace
had laid aside sufficient from his earn.
ings he would start on a prospecting
tour. For nine years he searched and
toiled in vain. Chace was beginning to
lose heart. One day when he was talk.
ing to Padre Miguel about his luck,
the old priest told him of wonderful
silver mine in the neighborhood that
had been worked by the Spaniards
hundred years before. where was
this wonderful mine?" was Chace's
first query. And the old priest told OF
its location somewhere in the north.
west of Pozo Almonte. exactly where
Miguel could not say, but if memory
served him rightly, there was among
the archives of the little church a map
of the mines location. The Spanish dis.
coverersi in their gratitude had given to
the church an interest in their fortun.
ate find, and with much devotion chris.
tened it "El Mnas de San Pedro San
Pablo" (the Mine of St. Peter and st.
PauD.
The following day from the old
church's archives was brought an old
sheet of parchment, yellow with age,
traced with the rough outline of min
ing location. Down in the corner were
the names of the original owners, the
date of discovery and the dedica tion of
portion of the mines production to
the church. One line and only one.
gave anything like distinct clew by
which the mine might be traced, and
that was struggling mark stated to
be the road to Huantajaya.
Chace presented a request for a trac-
ing of the map, the padre accommodate |
ed him, and with the next dawn the
prospector WAS away on his search.
The antique map makers had draft
ed better than first appearances in
dicated, and, further to aid the seeker
after wealth, there had been no
change in the trail leading from Huan-
taJaya past the mines location.
Fortune was at last with the Yankee
miner. Inside of three days his pick
was delving into the abandoned and !
forgotten pile of tailings. The mine
itself was uncovered from the midst
OF thick growth of underbrush.
Delirious with his great find, Chace
made his way back to Pozo Almonte
and thence to the coast.
An assay proved that the half
worked tailings of the San Pedro
San Pablo were richer than many
original discoveries, and it was not a
hard matter to secure the required
capital for working the find. But the
good fortune did not end in the pile
OF tailings. With his now plentiful
supply of money, Chace reopened the
mine itself. and with little trouble
picked up the lost lead For years
the once abandoned property has paid
sums even more fabulous than in the
days when the Spaniards crushed
their ores under the pressure of pa
tlent burros' hoofs and stamp mills
were unknown even to the inventive
American.
The relocation of San Pedro San
Pablo was but the beginning of the
Chace millions. for in the past 25
years he has located several proper
ties which have rivaled the old Span
sh find. Among these may be men
TONED the Discobradora and San Au-
yustin mines in the interior of the
province of Antofagasta, both of
which have yielded millions His lat
EST enterprise is n bunch of claims
II what is known as the Chuuuicu.
nata, wonderfully rich mineral dis
-rict well back in the mountains of
These claims promise
20 be the richest of the Chace prop
.rties when their extent is consid-
cred, as they number 20 claims in all.
With all this good fortune, Chili's
silver king has not been allowed to
accumulate his millions in peace.
First came the change in govern
nent, when the province of Tara r
'aca passed from the hands of Peru
nto those of Chill at the settlement d
'f the devastating war between these {
wo republics. This meant an over =
lauliAg of titles and consequent dis
'utes. One of these centered on
]hace's properties, with the result
hat he has during the last 12 years
pent more time in the courts of
hill than he has at mining. and aft Z
+ long, tedious legal battle has at
asst wiped out any possible question .
gainst his ownership. Meanwhile
is great properties have been pro- d
ucing wealth, and in spite of the
act that a Chilian lawsuit is even d