The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-26
MEXICANS CUNNING
 IN STEALING ORE
Miners of Southern Republic Have smooth Schemes to Get Away
 With the Bullion

According to G. l.. Sheldon, who is author of an interesting article on high sradns, which appeared recently in the Engineering and Mining Journal, some MeXicans are past masters at this style of stealing. In all high grade gold camps, nigh grading is common, but American miners are amateurs at carrying rich or concealed from the mines in comparison with the MeXicans, as this chapter of MT. Sheldon's will show:
 For ingenuity and cunning in stealing rich ores the Mexican beats them all. l have known of his greasng the hair of his head and his body, rubbing in thor oughly the fine drillings of native silver. The water boys who carry a five-galt ion oil can of water on each end of sl bamboo stick, which is light, strong and hollow, except at the joints knots, which are drilled through, join with the miners in filling the bamboo stick with the native silver drilings, thus getting away with several ounces at each trip
 Tn northern Mexico in recent years the theft of rich ore from a well known producer was enormous. From a distance 1 saw one morning 8 mule loads of ore going to a distant ranch, where it could be ground up in the tahonas. For distance from 10 to 100 miles from the mine, we have seen this ore, which was easily recognized, being ground in a ta- hona run by burro or mule.
 Two miners were caught one day going out on the main trail with over 5000 worth of ore on their backs. In the com pany doctors trunk was found several thousand dollars worth of malgam.
 But the gambucino is the shrewdest He makes business of robbing mines especially those not in active operation to such an extent that it is a notorious fact in Mexico that one rarely finds any rich ore in sight If free ore he grinds it in the tahona, and if base he will smelt it in an adobe furnace, using plenty of lead ore and litharge from some other adobe shelter. In either case, its identity is quickly changed.
 some merchant will always buy a product at a fraction of it's value. I re- call one case where the merchant and the prefect of the district stoodin to- gether, took the gambucino's gold. worth $500, and only gave him SEQ worth of goods. Then when he would not tell where he got the gold, they threw him in jail for 40 days. Later, during the Madero revolution. both the merchant and the prefect had to make themselves scarce. The latter was caught, his mule taken from him, and he was made to walk a distance of 60 miles to Culiacan, where he was turned over to the rebels in control l never learned what became of him.
 
 pounded up in an old quicksilver flash with short drill and then washed and banned down with horn spoon. But rich silver ores and an adobe furnace seem to have the preference. Often within radius of 10 miles of rich mine, there will be several adobe fur naces, the owners of which make a living from stolen ores They general ly have a prospect nearby from which they claim to obtain the ores but I never could find any ric hore in the prospect.
 often the Mexican mine owner is not very particular, allowing some ore to be stolen, rather than to make trou- ble. At one rich gold mine belonging to Mexicans, some of the employees are relatives and friends of the owners and it is rare that anything is said or any interference made with their stealing small amounts of ore, though 1t is a well known fact that there is consid- erable stolen all the time This mine has run continuously during all of the revolution with profit to the owners
 ''The only successful system of stop ping the theft seems to be the one adopted in South Africa at the dia- mond minec. There the employees are kept in an inclosed compound, never allowed outside or to communicate with outsiders. When one leaves he is stripped an examined for stone which might be slipped under the skin. In some cases he is physicked a we'll, be- fore being allowed to leave and even with these precautions, g valuable stone Is occasionally stolen.
 Tn our country self-respecting. honest man objects to being searched, the fellow who wants to get away with the>ore objects, and as 1t is often hard for the management to enforce search ing of men as they come off shift, tht theft goes on. Many say it makes .a better, livelier camp with more mon& &l, in circulation.