The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 1919-12-12

trip to the mine. IhlS requires
two days travelling over a trail
which must really be travelled over
to be appreciated It has prac-
tically been cut directly through
the jung.es, and crosses mountains
and valleys and mountain torrents.
1t is of course very tiresome and
wearisome trip. Landed finally
at the Chicago mine, one sees a
collection of a dozen bamboo
shacks in little depression in the
famous Cordilleras, at an altitude
of not over $500 it,, and yet with a
delightfully."- cool climate and no
mosquitoes We are only seven
degrees north of the equator, yet
l have never seen the thermome-
ter over 80 degrees nor under 60
degrees. The nights are cool and
at least two blankets are required
to keep out the chill due to the
humidity.
The native shacks consist of
long buildings with four to six
rooms in each. which will house
as many families. One room to a
family of four or eight is ample,
as they sleep on rude beds or the
dirt floor and cook in an open fire
pace in the corner. There is no
furniture of any kind; they sit on
the floor, and eat on the floor, and
sleep on the floor. The rooms are
separated by bamboo stats SO there
is no privacy. The children run
naked while the men and women
wear very simple clothes and all
20 barefooted. They were born
and raised in poverty and know
nothing else
The women get up at 3 or o.
clock in the morning and start
cooking for the men, and the
smoke rising up from the many
fire-places through the thatched
roofs in early morning looks like
the whole village was afire. The
men 90 to work in the mine at six
o'clock, and work ten hours, 6 a
m. TO IL II. M, then IL till 5 p. M.
The average wage of the miner is
81 20 day. while the foreman
gets 50 90 day and others get as
high as S1.5O. OF this, each man
must pay Soc for his rations per
day. The rations are the same
thing every day. corn, beans, rice,
meat, pamela (crude sugar., lard,
coffee; while the women cooks get
&c day per man for cooking h 8
rations.
The mine is a tunnel PROPOSE
ton. The ore is a gold-bearing
quartz with sulphides mixed thru
1T. 1t is fairly rich ore, of which
ny hand labor we manage to get
out about l5 tons per day.
This is about the capacity OF
the mill. which consists Of crusher.
a Hardinge Ball and Pebble mill,
Dorr Classi6er, two Dorr Agita-
tors and set of FIVE counter cur
rent Dorr thick keners, filters and
zinc boxes. The precipitates are
melted on the ground and the
gold bar shipped to the mint,
which is located at Medellin.
One who has been used to min
ing and milling in district where
supplies are available at nom
ent's notice, where food does not
have to enter into the calculations
at all, where labor of some kind is
always obtainable. can hardly
realize the immense obstacles one
is confronted with in proposition
of this kind For example certain
pump supplies were ordered by
cable last June, and we are hold
ing the pumps together by wire
at this time waiting for the repairs.
We have been out of salt and lard
for week, because the extreme
high waters, this being the wet
season, have prevented the mule
skinners getting in with food sup
plies. Labor is so scarce that it
we fred the incompetents we
would have to shut down the pro-
perty. The mine operator in the
states who thinks he has troubles
ought to try mining and milling
in wilderness like this.
Respectfully yours.
WALTER A. FUNK.