The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1914-08-30
ny Franz q. CARPENTER.


deposits of that mineral that IL will
some day drive tho mines 81 Malaysia
and Cornwall out Of existence. Tin
Il found found almost everywhere il.
the western chain OF tho Andes 1t
Is mined on the high slopes about Lake
T'ticacR, and thcr. arc great tin dc
posits In the main ranges oT the COR
dillera Real ana its numerous spurs.
Right here i'm the heart 81 bolivian
plateau, eight hours ride ny train from
La Paz, is tin mine. uUt of which
they have been taking tho OF" Tor gen
eratione. The min" has a tunnel that
starts into il out of the very Heart Of
the city, and one has 10 walk through
this less Tran half = mile bcforc I've
comes to tho workings. Tbcs" have
been extended to Il depth Of 80" feet.
with solid tin all the way. 80 one
knows how far down the rr" goes
The mine was worked 10y tho SpaniardS
for silver. but later ON chum""d from
silver to tin, and the bulk Of the pro-
duct is now in that metal.
The tin orc lies in veins between
layers Of rock. II is the meat Of "a
mighty stone sandwich that has !" b.
blasted out and carried To the surface
There the great chunks Of tim ami rock
are broken To piccos and sorted over
by Indian women, who pick out all
the ore that will pay To hc sent away
Tor reduction.
During my sta, here visited this
mine. Back ot the buildings contain.
ing the machinery Of its main Wrrks
are mounds of broken stone and piles
of valuable ore. The mounds look like
gravel. They are tho waste of Tho
mine. having only about per cent Of
the metal. The good ore look: lik"
That of silver az lead. II is so ,lull in
color that no one would ina zinc that
It could produce the shine one finds on
new disIpan ~ wash boilcr.
spent some tim" WATCHING the In.
dian women AT work. The owe comes
out In chunks. some Of which are ten
times as hiI as %oir head The women
break the chunks into pieces with
heavy steel hammers and pick ont tn.
bits that contain tin and silver. They
have faces The color Of copper. and as
they sit on The ground pounding awaN
their black bare icct ANA ROSY bar"
calves can hc seen showing "u' FROM
under their very fpll skirts. They ar.
dirty and frowsN and THEW hair nud
bodies form the homes ol unm"uti on-
able insects. They are muscular. Their
continual pounding gives them large
arms and they are noted for the size of
their biceps. They keep al the Job
from daylight To dark. and their earn
ms are about 80 cents Of our money.
They are pa i'll by the amount that 'hcN
do, and II WAS with difficulty that
got them to stop work and pose fo
my pictures.
Nearly all az these girls were chew
ing coca and thcir checks were swcllcd
out by the fat quilts inside them. Will,
| waited some OF the miners came out
and photographed them. asked a.
to wages and they told M" they We're
paid about 30 cents for ten or cl"N-It
hours work underground Tic men
are brought nv in tn" mines and arc
The mining company that owns this
mountain OF minerals has three die
fcrcnt properties. All Of which are pro
ducing silver and Tin. II hi" hundreds
OF miners auU keeps 80 women ~
work. The oturo mines nave always
paid we'll. ana to-day they arc produc-
Ing good dividends. visited them
when was here some years aGu, be
fore tho railroad To lii raH had yet
been constructed. The fuel then used
was the llama manure, brought in hy
caravans from all over the country.
II took four tons, OF tina, stun to rui,
the forty horsepower engine :&y;cntys
four hours, and rcmcmbcr @ruis wiil,
one of tho managers Of the mine iat"
the pit where the fuel was stored. 1t
then contained l5O.ooo pounds 90 Hama
tiroppings The stuff locked like gray
bullets or gravel; il was as dry as u
bone and gave forth no smell
To-day the company rs using coai
at a cost of about $40 q ton. II has in
stalled tho most modern machinery
and IL is sayin. money by employing
anthracite gas engines that give "a 40
per cent fuel efficiency. using ono pound
and a half Of anthracite per horsepower
per hour. This saves "a great deal In
a region where the coal frcights from
the seacoast are from SO L" $50 rcI
tor.
have already written of ',ho mines
OF Potosi that were opcncd az ny the
Spaniards. since ihcir hcguuiu" TIA"
have produced S3.ooc. 600, rOo OF $i.oe".
GOO, 900 worth OF silver ana II is now
thought millions of dollars more were
thrown aWaN IU the tim which was
mixed with the silver The p"opl" did
not understand tho value ~ tn" hHscr
III etal They could not realize mat il
might some DAY he worth Slloo ton.
which has been its selling price with
in the past year, although II is nos
very much less. 50 They took oui thu
silver ana loft tho tin ON thu dumps.
whence II has bccn washed away by
the streams 81 this us changed. and
the great profit is now in the tin, the
Potosi owners having originated u syn
dicatc TO op.rat" the property on ~
almost solclS f"r TIM. and wili capital
ize them lar-.ly ou their fame i'm the
past "a silver produccrs.
There are otlor tin mines Of cuor
nous value IN tine Potosi district LA
Salvatore he's produced Is much as
200, 600 pounds 81 pur, tins ia a month.
and thu Unia miucs are NOW Welding
moro than 5co.c0O pounds Of that
mineral every twelve hours. Tho Cucia
mines arc the property OF Stuou l.
patino who might he called the TIM
IA NJ ~