Mohave County miner., 1910-06-18
With cortez Came Many Practical
 Mining Men.

That they were eminently success ful, there can be no doubt and often now that success is wondered at. Some people seem to look upon the Spaniard of that time, as having been merely soldiers and presumably ig- norant of anything connected with mining or knowledge of mutallurgical treatments.
 This is not so, the Iberian peninsula had been a mining country from the very earliest times. probably even in the prehistoric ages. Human remains were found in the Potosi mine, rear Guadalcanal in lS45 and in the Gala mine in 1858 and it is believed from their occurrence, that the deposits were worked prior to the advent of the Phoenicians. Similar stone ham, mers, apparently of prehistoric origin, have been found at Cueva de la Moro, Rio Tinto and elsewhere. In an old cave on the Mesa de los Pinos at Rio Tinto large number of stone wedges, hammers and picks were discovered, these generally being always made of the hard porphyry, like the tools of later date.
 The Phoenicians were the first his torical miners and there is no doubt that a large immigration of these peo- pie into Spain took place; their old slag-dumps have been found under those of the Roman period.
 They in their turn were followed by the Carthagenians QOO to 200 B. C.) and they are known to have worked iron mines in Murcia and Cartagena and elsewhere.
 About POO B. c. the Romans arriv- ed, the Carthagenians were driven out, and the reputed mineral wealth of Spain was doubtless the prime cause of the Roman invasion. The period of Roman occupation lasted over 800 years and during that time the copper deposits of the south were actively worked-Ihe earliest chroniclers of mining operations dating from 75 B. c. Their operations were most extensive and many relics of these old miners have been brought to light. They did most effective smelting, their slags contain only or per cent of copper. The smelters were small and wood charcoal was the fuel; it has been cal culated from the slag dumps that they represent 3O,OOO,O GOO tons of ore mined. It is interesting to learn that the smelters were operated by differ ent people to those who worked the mines. in fact, they were worked by a trust. so after all the modern monop- oly of the custom smelters is no new thing.
 The Goths dislodged the Romans and were in power from 400 to 700 A. D., during which time mining does not seem to have actively Aourished, the Moors then came, only to be dislodged by the Christians of Aragon and Gas tile.
 In 1926 and 1870 we find concessions. granted for mining in the Huelva dis trict, great activity prevailing and kings's officers appointed to collect the tribute.
 It was from Palos de la Frontera, on the estuary near Huelva that Colum- bus sailed in l492 on his famous ex- petition that discovered the New nd at | hn both COrtez and Pizarro landed.
 It would only be natural, that when the astounding news of the mineral riches of Mexico and Peru were brought home to Spain, that the min CTS, always an adventurous class, should have fiocked to these wonder. ful countries, so rich in silver, gold and, for all they knew, unknown met als of even greater value.
 So it is fair to presume that with Cortez' men were many valiant sol diers as well able to pound a drill or use a spade as to wield his good sword. and these were the ones that, with the practical knowledge of mining and metallurgIcal treatment, were able to direct the manifold mining operations that sprang up in every nook and cor ner of New Spain.
 Likewise, the priests who accom- panied the invading forces were men of education and recruited from the entire Catholic world, among them were men of science. as far as science was known in those days and the met allurgy of the new colony benefited from their experience, as witnesses the discovery by Medina of the patio nrOceSS which could not have haan