Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-10-08
SOME NOTED MINES
Exhibition Of Mineral Re-
sources of Rhodesia.
WEALTH OF SOLOMON
WHERE THE TREASURES OF THE
INCAS WERE FOUND.
Exhibits of the Westinghouse Company
and the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad Company.
WEALTH OF SOLOMON

Railroad Company.
BY WILLIAM E. CURTIS.
Special Correspondence of The Evening Star and
Chicago Record Herald
ST LOUIS, September %, 1904.
The British government has made fine
exhibition of the mineral resources of South
Africa in the mining building, and particu-
lGrly those of Rhodesia, the colony that was
founded by and named in honor of the late
Cecil Rhodes. There, in the wilderness. lie
the remains of extinct civilization and
traces of industries that persisted thousands
of years ago.
Rhodesia is the Ophir of the Bible. From
those very mines, whose ores are spread out
In the cases of the mining building, King
Solomon obtained the gold that was used in
the adornment of his temple. Rider Hag-
gard has written a charming story about
them, and has described the country ac-
curately If we are to believe tradition,
King Solomon's mines have yielded millions
of treasure, but they were only touched
The use of modern machinery increases
their value many fold. because 1t enables
the miners to reduce ores that were beyond
the power of the ancients.
Oldest Mine in Operation.
1t is quite an interesting coincidence that
in the very next booth should be displayed
a model of the famous Rio Tinto copper
nine at Huelva, Spain, together with sam
PIES of its product. That is the Oldest mine
in the world now in operation, and 1t has
been worked continuously since the bold
Phoenictans ventured past the Pillars OF
Hercules, as the Straits Of Gibraltar were
called in ancient times, and carried the
standard of Hiram, King of Tyre. into the
Iberian peninsula and the British Isles.
They discovered tin Ii Cornwall, England,
and copper on the southern coast of Spain,
just across the river from the sleepy little
town of Palos. where Columbus lived in the
monastery of La Rabida, and hltted out MS
first expedition. The mines of Rio Ttnto
furnished the copper for Solomon's temple
as the mines of Ophir furnished the gold.
and they have been worked ever since.
The model will show you system of tun-
nels and shafts by which a mountain has
been honeycombed. No other mine has pro-
duced so much of value; none has contribute
ed to the wealth of so many nations. 1t
was worked for centuries by the Phoe
nicians, then by the Romans, the Vandals,
the GothS the MoorS. the SpaniardS and
now it belongs to an English company, and
its superintendent is a young American,
graduate of the Columbia School of Mines.
The Mines of the Incas.
Another famous mine, with history that
is almost as interesting, and one of the
greatest producers of wealth that was ever
known, is represented by rich specimens of
ore in the Peruvian section, and Alexander
Garland, who has charge there, will show
you many other specimens from the Andean
deposits which have lain practically dor
mant for centuries awaiting the industry
and the capital necessary to develop their
wealth. For 700 miles on both sides of
the Andes and the Cordilleras. the twin
chains of peaks that furnish backbone
for the southern continent the earth Is
stored with all kinds of minerals, even
more profusely than the Rocky mountains.
Here and there the Incas, with the simplest
tools and the most primitive processes, dug
out gold, silver, copper and other metals,
which they used in the construction of their
buildings and for other purposes, and you
will remember that when the Spaniards
under Pizarro looted the country they sent
home hundreds of millions of dollars worth
of gold and silver, stripped from the walls
of the temples and palaces. large part
of this treasure came from the mines of
Cerro de Pasco, situated In the heart of the
Andes, about hundred and fifty miles east
of Lima, Peru. After the conquest the
Spaniards continued to work the deposits
with the same primitive processes and by
Indian hand labor until the fall in the price
of silver made it Improbable. With their
awkward methods they were unable to COM
pete with the producers of Mexico and the
United States and were obliged to abandon
the treasure.
Many people thlnk tnat the CerrO de PdSCO
mines are the most extensive and the most
valuable deposits in the world, but that re-
mains to be demonstrated. They have al
ready yielded hundreds of millions of dol
lars under the primitive processes of the
Incas and the Spaniards, and there is no
doubt that they were the greatest source of
the almost fabulous wealth of the Incas.
The introduction of modern machinery,
which until the railroad was finished was
impossible, will enable the company to work
he re ynt1n ra mid nd
nomically and utilize the lower and re-
fractory grades of ores. Scattered around
the mountain sides are the tailings of seven
centuries, which alone are worth millions
upon millions of dollars, and can be sue
cessfully reduced by modern processes.
The Santa Barbara Mine.
In the Peruvian exhibit are also samples
of ore from another famous mine in the
mountains of central Peru. 1t Is known as
Santa Barbara. 1t lies in the district of
Huancavelita, and is the only quicksilver
deposit known in South America. 1t has
been producing for thousand years, but
fifteen or twenty years ago was abandoned
because it could not compete with the mines
of Spain, Austria and California, where ma
chinery is in use. 1t Is owned by the gov
eminent of Peru. and may be leased or pur-
chased by any syndicate that has the cap
ital to build a railroad to it.
Missouri and Pennsylvania have the larg-
both have been installed with great skill
and taste.
In the extreme corner of the varied indus
tries building, just opposite the transporta-
ton building, is locomotive and tender
about fifteen feet long and three feet high,
built entirely of glass tubes-the tubes that
are used for gauges in locomotives and sta
tionary engines. 1t is one of the most GU
rious pieces of mechanism upon the
grounds and you wonder why it was placed
in such an out-of-the-way corner. 1t is ex-
hibited by the builder, manufacturer OF
gauge tubes at Perth, Scotland, and is
larger than the little steam locomotive that
draws the miniature train about the
grounds. 1t is five times as large as the
little electric locomotive which the stu
dents OF the Missouri School of Mines have
set up in their exhibit to show how lead
ore is handled down in the southwestern
part of the state.
The Westinghouse Company is the larg-
est individual exhibitor, and occupies IS 600
square feet of space, and the Baltimore and
Ohio railroad occupies 81, 600 feet with its
historic exhibit, which not only covers that
system, but the entire world. No country
in which a locomotive whistle was ever
heard is without representation.
Two Old-Fashioned Locomotives.
OF immediate interest to the American
people are two old-fashioned locomotives,
the Jefferson and the ssrrra Weller ubjoh