Mexico, the wonderland of the South . nted by more improvedmethods. In this process the ore is first- crushed intopowder by great stone rollers turned by droves of is then conveyed to a paved court by a stream of wateruntil the mass, which resembles thin mortar, is about twofeet deep. Into this patio mud, as it is called, quicksilversalt and blue vitriol are thrown. A number of mules arethen driven round it for hours at a time until everythingis well mixed, several weeks being usually required to com-plete this process. The resulting mass is next deposited introughs of water, where th
Mexico, the wonderland of the South . nted by more improvedmethods. In this process the ore is first- crushed intopowder by great stone rollers turned by droves of is then conveyed to a paved court by a stream of wateruntil the mass, which resembles thin mortar, is about twofeet deep. Into this patio mud, as it is called, quicksilversalt and blue vitriol are thrown. A number of mules arethen driven round it for hours at a time until everythingis well mixed, several weeks being usually required to com-plete this process. The resulting mass is next deposited introughs of water, where the amalgam of silver and quick-silver sinks to the bottom, the metals being afterwardsseparated by a method of distillation. By the patio processit is asserted that not more than ten per cent of silver is suffering, however, is inflicted on the poor mulesby the action of the vitriolic Uquid, which eats into theirlegs and soon disables them. All along the road, fromMarfil to Guanajuato, there are large silver haciendas or. O aS 2 § S aSd THE SILVER CITY 367 reduction works, to which the ore from the neighboringmines is brought for extraction. Next to Guanajuato, the richest silver-mining district inMexico, is in the neighborhood of Pachuca, eighty-four milesfrom the capital. This town has a population of nearlyforty thousand, and its altitude is nearly eight thousandfeet, even higher than Mexico City. Pachuca is a verywindy place; at times roasting hot, at others freezing cold,so that it is not exactly a health resort. It is the only townin Mexico where there are houses with stoves and the surrounding districts there are nearly three hundredmines. Silver ore was first discovered there by a poorshepherd nearly four hundred years ago, since which timethe mines have been worked constantly and have yieldedfabulous sums. One of them. La Trinidad, produced nearlyfifty million dollars worth of silver in ten years. There is alarge American population in Pachuca
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