Page:Mexico in 1827 Vol 2.djvu/599

Rh seems to nail together the particles of stone, through which it is disseminated. The lodes are of considerable width, but the masses of silver are only met with at intervals.

In the mine of El Carmen, the Marquis of Bustamante, after the first bonanza, drove thirty varas in depth without meeting with any thing to repay his labours; but being fully persuaded that all lodes have their alternate points of good and bad, he continued until, at the depth of forty varas, he met with the second bonanza. There is very little water in the mines of Batopilas, excepting those situated near the bank of the river, and these the river itself might be made to drain. The population of the town was, at one time, very considerable, but it has decreased of late, whole families having gone to the new discoveries of Mŏrēlŏs and Jesus Maria; the first of which lies in the vicinity of Batopilas, and appears to possess all the characteristics by which the lodes of that district are distinguished. It was discovered in the spring of 1826, by two brothers (Indians,) by name Arauco, to one of whom a little maize for tortillas had been refused upon credit the night before. In two months they extracted from their mine 270,000 dollars; yet in December 1826, they were still living in a wretched hovel close to the source of their wealth, bare-headed and bare-legged, with upwards of 40,000l. sterling in silver locked up in their hut. I possess two large specimens of the ores: they are almost pure silver, and there is