Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-04-22
PARRAL IN THE CENTER
OF RICH MINE DISTRICT
Mexican Town. With Population of
10000. Scene of Recent Tragic
Happenings.

Farral. Mexico. which recently was
the scene of tragic happenings in con-
nection with the arrival there of Gen.
Pershing's punitive expeditionary force.
is in the heart of the fabulously rich
}, gold and silver mines district of the
southern republic. mines which were
among the first discovered by the
Spanish Conquerors and which began
pouring their stream of wealth into
the Golfers of the monarchs of Aragon
and Castillo as early as 15+I. This
town. which has population of less
than 10000. has been the center of
Francisco Villas operations for sew
ersl years. Its historical and COM
mercial importance are set forth con-
cIsely in a bulletin issued today by the
National Geographic 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 la Cruz. Parrai's whole his
tory centers below ground. ill the mar
velously rich Neta Colorado 'red veinb
which runs from north to south
through the ParraI mining district. in
Guiding Minas Nuevas and Santa Bar
bara.
Mines Operated in 1900.
"As early as 1900 before the first
permanent English settlement in the
United States, there were seven thou
sand miners employed in this district
bringing from the depths of the earth
the yellow metal destined to sustain in
splendor. for a time. the opulent court
of the then most powerful monarchy in
b.
cnt Parrai has continued to enrich the
world from its seemingly ineXhauStible
store of silver and gold, the only IN
terruption having been caused 10y
rebellion of the oppressed natives. who
one occasion flooded all the mines
of the district and then deserted the
city by the thousands.
The richness of the ore III this sec
ton is shown by the fact that Amerl-
IAN mining companies find it profitable
TO-DAY to smelt the tailings or refuse
IF the old Spanish works.
"One of the most interesting incl
d-uts in the early history of Parral
. Trt.rs about a time-stained church
.>uown as La Iglesia de la Virgen del
.aSo. the favorite place of worship
'aS the Indians of the district. In
Ji"1 devout native began the con-
: ucton of the church, paying his
!, peIs with ingots of pure gold, which
oduced mysteriously once week.
During the twenty years required to
iiuiid the structure the plouS Indian
btnled the spies commissioned to dis
cover the source of his treasure. but
when his work was finished the Span
ish commander summoned the miner
before him and demanded that the To-
cation of the mine be disclosed When
the Indian refused to tell, he was tor
tured to death, carrying with him to
the grave the secret which 200 years
of search have failed to reveal.
Multi-Millionaire, Once Peon.
Zone of the sights of Parral is the
palace of multi millionaire mine
owner, once humble peon. In this
house. which is shut in by adobe huts
and narrow streets, there are big draw
ing rooms and museums with luxurious
carpets, over which the owners fight
ing cocks are allowed to roam at will.
it is said. Twenty pianos are among
the most highly priced possessions of
this simple, public-Spirited native, the
sources of whose wealth is La PalmIlla
(little palm) silver mine. which he
discovered many years ago.
..Parral was not always the chief city
of this mining district. In 1850 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 it held
sway embraced the territory now COM
prising Chihuahua, Coahuila, Sonora.
Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Califor-
mia and Colorado"