Page:Mexico in 1827 Vol 2.djvu/469

Rh of the enterprise has consisted; for the mouth of the great shaft of Rayas being situated upon a steep slope, it has been found necessary to excavate the mountain on one side, and to raise a platform upon the other, in order to command a sufficient space for the action of the machinery. One of the Mălăcātĕs of Rayas is the largest ever built in America, the cylinder, or drum, being eight and a half varas in diameter, and the palanca, or beam, by which it is moved, twenty-four varas in length; it is worked by eight horses, which are changed every three hours, and occupies the whole of an enormous "Galera," built in the vicinity of the shaft.

When the Company commenced its operations, the Tiro General was inaccessible from the quantity of water, that it contained. This was supposed to proceed from some internal communication with the; mine, and it consequently became requisite to carry on the drainage of the two simultaneously; for which purpose three Malacates were erected at the shaft of Santa Rosa. By their operation, the water was gradually lowered eighty-one varas and three-quarters, and the bottom of the new shaft laid open; but it was not until October 1825, that it was rendered sufficiently accessible for the great work of deepening it to recommence. Even then it was only with difficulty that workmen were found willing to undertake the task, for of all mining labours there are none so dangerous as those which are