Page:Memoir of a tour to northern Mexico.djvu/31

Rh to hold out very fairly. The vein is found in sienite and greenstone, the gang consists of argillaceous iron ore, (yellow and brown iron ochre,) with which the native gold is very intimately mixed. A yellow or brown earth, a decomposition of the same rocks and found among them, is considered peculiarly rich in gold. The or are carried in bags to the surface, and on mules to the amalgamation mill in town. After the ores have been ground, by hand, (pounding them with rocks,) they are put in the mill, a small circular basin formed with rocks, with one or two millstones, which are constantly turned around in it by mule power. These millstones are placed on their face, revolving round a centre pole, which is turned by the animal. To the coarsely powdered ore, water, and then quicksilver, are added, and the amalgamation goes on in the usual way. Mr. Tournier told me that he worked in this way every day about two and a half cargas (750 pounds) of the ore, and that he draws, on an average, three-quarters of an ounce (about $12 worth) of gold out of it. Although the whole work at present is done on a very small scale, and would allow yet many improvements, Mr. Tournier makes nevertheless a smart business of it, and will soon turn his gold mine into real gold. Near Mr. Tournier's gold mine is a copper mine, (sulphuret of copper,) said to contain gold ore, and worked for some time, but now given up. Several other specimens of copper ore from the vicinity were shown me; a very rich iron ore I saw myself in the neighborhood; but neither of them is worked.

The old Placer is a very promising place for mines. The gold ores there were discovered by mere accident in 1828, and gold washings established; but besides that, the ground is barely touched, and will yet open rich treasures to the mining enchanter, who knows how to unlock them.

In the afternoon of the same day I left old Placer to pay a visit to the other mining place, southwest from it, called new Placer, and about nine miles distant. I rode there with Mr. Nolan, a French resident of new Placer. Our way lay through fine pine timber, over steep mountains, and through narrow ravines; the road is so rough, that no wagons can pass it. After having reached the highest point, an extensive plain is seen towards the south; and towards the west a small valley opens, in which new Placer, or Real del Tuesto, a town of about 100 buildings, is situated. Several foreigners reside here, generally storekeepers. In the house of one of them, with Mr. Trigg, I found a kind and hospitable reception.

The gold in new Placer is also got in two ways, by washing and by mining. The principal place for gold washing is about one mile southwest from the town, at the toot of a naked granitic mountain, the so-called "Bonanza." A cluster of houses, or rather huts, form here a small village, whose inhabitants live exclusively by gold washing, but look as poor and wretched as if they never handled any gold of their own. The whole place is excavated with pits, from whose depths they dig the same yellow auriferous ground as in old Placer, and they wash it also in the same way. Not a drop of water is found here; all the water for washing must be brought in barrels from new Placer. The wash gold obtained from new Placer is generally considered inferior to that of old Placer, as being more impure. To ascertain the correctness of this opinion, I examined some wash-gold from new Placer, and found it to contain: