El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-04-29
CENTER
Of RICH MINES
For More Than 400 Years
Parral Mines Have Yield
ed Immense Wealth.

Washington, D. c., April 29.-Par-
raj Mexico, which recently was the
scene Of tragic happenings in connec-
ton with the arrival there of a cavalry
column Of Pershing's punitive expe-
d,tionary force, is in tho heart of the
cautiously rich gold and silver mines
district Of the southern republic. mines
which we're among the first discovered
nv tbe SPANISH conquerors and which
began pouring their stream Of wealth
INTO the Golfers of the monarch Of Ara
gon and Castillo as early as 1541. This
town, which has population OF less
than 10000 has been the center of
francisco Villas operations for several
years Its historical and commercial
Importance are set forth concisely in
a bulletin issued by the National Geo
graphic society, whose headquarters is
in Washington, which says:
situated on the banks of the semi
dry Parral river. at the foot OF the
Sierra de Ia Cruz, Parrals whole his
tory centers below ground, in the mar
velously rich Neta Colorado cred VEIN
which runs from north TO south
through the Parral mining district, in
GLIDING hinas Nuevas, and Santa Bar
Big Mining Camp of 1900.
CAS- early as 1900, before the first
permanent English settlement in the
United States, there were 1000 miners
employed in this district, bringing
from the depths of the earth the yell
low metal destined to sustain in splen-
dor, for a time, the opulent court Of
the then most powerful monarchy in
Europe From that day up to the
present, Parral has continued to en-
rich the world from its seemingly in
exhaustible store Of silver and gold,
the only interruption having been
ha. Of -
natives, who on one occasion, flooded
all the mines Of the district and then
deserted the city by the thousands.
THE richness Of the ore in this Sec
tion is shown by the fact that Ameri-
can mining companies find it profit
able today to smelt the tailings Of re-
fuse Of the old Spanish works.
Pious Indians Secret Wealth.
zone Of the most interesting incl
dents in the early history of Parral
centers about a time-honored church
known as La lglesia de la Virgen del
Rayos the favorite place of worship
among the Indians of the district. In
1890 a devOut native began the con-
structiOn of the church. paying his
helpers with ingOts Of pure gold which
he produced mysteriOusly once a week.
During the 20 years required to build
the structure the pious Indian baffled
the spies commissioned to discover the
source Of his treasure, but when his
work was finished the Spanish COM
mander summoned the miner before
him and demanded that the location
OF the mine be disclosed. When the
Indian refused TO tell, he was tortured
to death, carrying with him 20 the
grave the secret which 200 years OF
search have failed to reveal.
PeOn Who Becnme Rich.
"One of the sights of Parral is the
palace Of a multi millionaire mine
owner, once a humble peon. In this
house, which is shut in by adobe huts
and narrow streets, there are big
drawing rooms and museums with
luxurious carpets, over which the
owners fighting cocks are allowed
to roam at viii, ii is said Twenty
pianos are among the most highly
priced possessions Of this simple, pub
lic-spirited native the source Of whose
wealth is La Palmilla Qittle paIml
silver mine, which he discovered many
years ago.
"Parral was not always the chief
city Of this mining district In 1880
the nearby town of Santa Barbara
was the seat Of government for a vast
region equal to one-third the area
OF the United States today, exclusive
OF Alaska. The country over which il
held sway embraced the territory now
comprising Chihuahua. Coahuila, So
nora, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona,
California and Colorado.