The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1915-03-31
T He Il AS KIN TIER
5PICTJJRESO JJE. MEXICO
IH--The Silver Of Gaunajuata.
By Ereder1p J-sHnskin.

II H. xnG 5olkV0f5
By Erederip
No region in all the world since the
time began has produced an amount
Of silver that can compare with that
which has come out of GuanajnaIo
No city In all American can today
boast the possessions of as many
nummies. In addition to which, II
throws down the gauntlet to any RI
val on the western hemisphere which
aspires to an atmosphere. color
scheme, which will transport the be-
holder to the Holy Land and cause
him to believe that he is gazing upon
the scenes of Biblical history.
All or these circumstances and
others lend to this mid-Mexican city
"a fascination that is equaleed by few.
American rivals This treasure valut
of the gaes is situated in the very
center OF all Mexico. Two-thirds o.:
the way from FL Paso to Mexico Clay,
it is. pitched into e steep canyon al
an elevation OF Z 900 feet. Fantastis
ca1ly it schambles up the PERCEPTIONS
sides of a canyon, attempting to fnd.
\ abiding places for its 10000 soul.
upon these treeless, but cactus-studd.
led slopes. With temperaments thai
are instinctive1y artistic. the build
eers of the town nave followed and
iaccentuated the natural tints of tie
building stone hereabout. and every
Il house works into scheme OF mos;
delicate tintings OF pale blue. cream.
and pink. So unusual is this effect
4 and so readily may 1t be seen. be-
/ cause of the precipitoustopogr aphy
THAT all beholders are Instantly i'm
4 pressed.
4 but this city Of color serves no 9th
err purpose than to act as the clear
l.1nE-nouse or a custer OF SILVER mines,
Esuch as man has never found at any
other spot on earth. From these
mines are said to have been taken,
Ii during the years that have interyen-
ed since the first Spanish adventur.
ers learned of their fabulous wealth,
billion and a half dollars. No
other silver producing region has APP
preached this sum, and there is q
question il any city has produced any
Ilsort of mineral wealth to this amount.
The Spanish doubloons and pieces Of
l'eight that figured as the inspiration
in stories Of piracy when buccaneer-
ing was in It's prime. were largely
made of silver from Guanajuato.
when the court Of Spain was at the
lpoint of its highest development
much OF the wealth that maintained
it came from three great mines locat-
ed here and worked for the profit OF
the crown. These mines kept Span
ish governmental Golfers filled for
centuries and are still producing.
tits because the Guanajuata silver
mines have been producing for SO
long that they have chalked upsSt to
their account a sum of money that is
so vast. 1t was in 1913 that the
Spaniards found out that the Aztecs
were taking silver from the slopes
OF these lofty canyons. For S67
years the production has gone stead
lily forward, has continued through
VI war and peace, just as it is continu-
y ing undated during the present SER
6 les of revolutions. To haul the silver
that has come out of the mines OF
Guanajuato it would require train
of freight cars ten miles long
The stores that are told about
Guanajuato of the fortunes that
have been made and the prolfiigate
manner in which this money has been
lavished, rival the most fantastic
yarns OF fiction. a hundred years
ago. for instance, two mines in the
La Luz district we're yielding 1000
900 ounces Of silver every year. "A
poor pTospector, named Zambrano
developed a claim and frantically al
tempted to spend money as fast al
it came in, frequenting The capitals
of Europe in the process, yet died
with 60.000,000. One of these men
sent the king s2,O0O.0O0 as a Christ
mas present and asked permission tt
build "a gallery Of solid silver around
III his Guanajuato house. which request
was denied him. The mine owners
at one time had to beaprohibited by
the authorities from scattering silver
coins in the streets OF the CITY, as they
a awcre pauperizing too large percen-
Il tage Of the community. There is to-
q day a Mexican. who GYMS one OF
II these mines, across the entrance OF
(which he has built great steel doors.
He does not operate itfreg u1arly, but
8 merely opens 1t up when he Is In need
sfof money and sends in workmen to
d replenish his Golfers. Pedro Alvara-
n do. an Indian. and once q peon. is
= today one OF the wealthiest men In
! THE world and through a silver mine
y he discovered in this district He has
built fifty churches and a hundred
Il schools. At one time he distributed
3 50, 100000 among the poor. He
some years ago. attracted a good deal
of attention by volunteering to pay
"A the &nal1OHdl#ueDIt OtsIMeNlC0sstfu
III figures were presented. however. he
" found that even he was unequal to
u them.
These foods OF silver have mostly
q come despite crude and unscientific
4 l5methods. The silver is found largely
I lin the hardest OF quartz, and the
J. methods OF getting this stone out of
the lodges before the Introduction OF
i lnodern machinery, was unique. When
the Spaniards came they found that
/ the Indians would build a. fire