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Rh Alvarado. This mine was unusually rich, and for a time Alvarado demonstrated his prosperity to the world in rather a spectacular fashion, among other things, offering to pay the national debt of Mexico, and in constructing a palace at Parral said to have cost about half a million dollars. However, when his bonanza was worked out and after he had spent most of his fortune in search of another, he decided to dispose of his mining interests to a strong Boston company, which built a large cyanide plant, installed machinery, and invested money and intelligent effort in developing the low grade ores which Alvarado had left behind as valueless. This camp has remained inactive since the last American there was murdered by so-called revolutionists, although some small undertakings were subsequently carried on under German auspices.

The other and less important silver camps of Mexico were scattered all over the republic and are too numerous to specify in detail, but with hardly any exceptions they had been exploited by Spaniards or Mexicans at one time or another, had then been abandoned as unprofitable and later taken up and worked by American or European capital, usually expended under the direction of American mining engineers or practical miners who had no interest other than that of an employee earning his livelihood by his ability and education,