﻿NO. 7 



SMITHSONIAN EXPLORATIONS, I926 



55 



cliff 2,500 feet high. The district is unusual in that lead, zinc, 

 silver, copper, and sulphur have all heen mined here. The great 

 length but shallow depth of these mines makes it more economical 

 to work them by the old Spanish methods than by modern ones. 

 Much of the ore is brought to the surface on the backs of peons, 

 often up ladders made of notched logs, popularly called " chicken 

 ladders." It is said that a strong peon will carry loads in excess of 



Fig. 58. — The mining camp of Ojucla at Rlapimi, Durango. The rocks are 

 Cretaceous limestone. (Photograph by Foshag.) 



100 kilos (220 lbs.). Figure 57 shows a young lad carrying a sack 

 of heavy lead ore by means of a tump line. 



In the northeastern part of the state of Durango, near the village of 

 Mapimi, is the Ojuela mine — ^one of the greatest lead mines of the 

 world. Within this one mine are over 550 miles of tunnels driven to 

 extract the ore. The camp itself is perched on a steep limestone 

 mountain. Before the town, rises an almost vertical cliff" of Cre- 

 taceous limestone 2,000 to 3,000 feet high. It is in the hills lying at 

 the base of this cliff that the ore bodies lie. 



A^elardena, a district lying along the Cuencame River in Durango, 

 has mines of copper, lead, and silver. The Ternares mine, located in 

 the San Lorenzo Range, has been worked for over 200 years. The 



