The Opelousas courier., 1901-02-16
SILVER KING OF Chill
ROMANTIC CAREER OF THE RICHEST
YANKEE IN SOUTH AMERICA.

Been Grateful for the Favor Which Gave
Him Wealth.
'"The most successful North Ameri-
can in Chile, and probably the wealth
lest Of all the Yankees who have sought
fortune in the southern continent, is
George B. Chace, known in the mineral
markets Of the world as 'Chile's Sill
yer King" writes Douglas White il
Ainslee's Magazine.
But Mr.. Chace was not always a
Croesus. Thirty-tiye years ago he left
California after a long and futile
search for a paying prospect. In 1865
he landed at Iquique, Peru. From
there he went to Tarapaca, Chile,
where he got work in the nitrate beds,
He made friends with old Padre Mi
guel, who read mass in the little
| church at Pozo Almonte, a little town
in the interior surrounded by the great
nitrate deposits. The priest taught
Chace the Spanish language and helped
him to acquire an acquaintance win
the geography of the locality. AS soon
as Chace had laid aside sufficient from
his earnings he would start on a pros
pecting tour. For nine years he search
ed and toiled in vain. Chace vas be-
ginning to lose heart. One day when
he was talking to Padre Miguel about
his luck, the old priest told him Of q
wonderful silver mine in the neighbor-
hood that had been worked by the
Spaniards a hundred years before.
Where was this wonderful miner was
Chace's first query. And the old priest
told Of it's location somewhere to the
northwest of Pozo Almonte, exactly
where Miguel could not say,
but if memory served him right
ly, there vas among the archives
Of the little church a map
of the mines location. The Spanish
discoveries in their gratitude had
given to the church an interest in their
fortunate find, and with much devo-
ton christened it FL Minas de San
Pedro y San Pablo (The Mine of st.
Peter and St. Paul. So it happened
that the map vas filed in the old
church at the corner of Pozo Al
monte's plaza. The old priest glad
ly promised to look up this map on the
morrow.
THE following day from the
church's archives was brought an old
Shaet If norchmopf UalIou, with oro
traced with the rough outline Of a
mining location. Down in the corner
were the names of the original owners,
the date Of discovery, and the dedica-
ton Of a portion of the mines produc-
ton to the church. One line, and n
only, gave anything like a distinct
clew by which the mine might be
traced, and that was a struggling mark
stated to be the road to Huantajaya.
"Chace presented a request for a
tracing Of the map, the padre accom-
modated him, and with the next dawn
the prospector was away on his search.
1.-THE antique map-makers had draft
ed better than first appearances indi-
Gated, and further to aid the seeker af-
ter wealth, there had been no change in
the trail leading from Huanta5aya
past the mines location. Fortune was
at last with the Yankee miner. In
side Of three days his pick was delving
into the abandoned and forgotten pile
of tailings. The mine itself was uncov-
cred from the midst Of a thick growth
Of u~nderbrush. Delirious with his great
find, Chace made his way back to Pozo
Almonte, and thence to the coast.
IAN assay proved that the half
worked tailings Of the San Pedro y
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 sup
ply Of money, Chace reopened the mine
itself, and with little trouble picked up
the lost lead. For years the once aban-
doned property has paid sums ever
more fabulous than in the days when
the Spaniards crushed their ores under
the pressure Of patient buEros' hoofs
and stamp mills were unknown even
to the inventive American.
''The relocation Of San Pedro y San
Pablo was but the beginning of the
Chace millions, for in the past twenty
five years he has located several prop
critics which have rivaled the old Span
fish find. Among these may be men,
toned the Discobradora and San
Augustin mines in the interior of the
Province Of A~ntofagasta, both Of which
have yielded millions. His latest en-
terprise is a bunch Of claims In what
is known as the C~huquicumata, a
wonderfully rich mineral district well
back in the mountains Of A~ntofagasta.
These claims promise to be the richest
Of the Chace properties when their ex-
tent is considered, al they number
twenty claims in all.
with all his good fortune, Chile's
silver king has not been allowed to &C
cumulate his millions in peace. First
came the change in government, when
the Province of Tarapaca passed from
the hands of Peru into those Of Chile
at the settlement of the devastating
war between these two republics. This
meant an overhauling of titles and
consequent disputes. One Of these
conferred on Chace's properties, with
The result that he has during the last
twelve years spent more time In the