258 A VISIT TO THE PROVINCES 



new veins 'have been found from time to time in different parts of the hill, until there are now 

 118 mines in operation. One of the most valuable was found by four laboring miners quite close to 

 the Descubridora, and so near to it in point of time that the patent for it is said to have been 

 pushed through the forms of office on the day before the issue of that for the discovery of Godoi. 

 It was called El Manto de los Bolados, from the extraordinary number of nearly pure silver stones 

 extracted from one hole in it within an incredibly short time. A single block cut out with chisels 

 for it could not be drilled and blasted weighed more than 3,300 pounds ; the entire mass up- 

 wards of 6,000 pounds, yielding above $80jOOO. The value of the stones extracted from this 

 locality, exclusive of what each squandered on his mistress, is known to have been not less than 

 $700,000; yet though the same four men also found the rich Bolaco, not one of them has left 

 a farthing with which to buy bread for housefuls of half-starved children. And the like may 

 be said of nearly every discoverer of silver mines in Chile. The sudden acquisition of wealth 

 leads to extravagance and riotous living before the mine is fairly in progress to meet consequent 

 demands, and after a month or two the necessities of the debauchee can only be met by its sale. 

 Thus, few mines in any of the mineral districts remain as heirlooms to the families of the finders ; 

 and not one among all that have been found in El Bolaco, unless of those denounced within 

 a year or two. "Tres Puntas," a district more recently rescued from obscurity, has still its 

 original proprietors in many cases ; their swarthy, almost Indian complexion and rough bauds 

 betraying, in circles to which sudden wealth has given them access, their humble parentage and 

 previously rough lives, as does also the stiffness of their manner and language. 



The entrances to most of the mines on El Bolaco are enclosed by railings, within which the ores 

 are deposited as they are brought up. On one or more sides of the enclosure are the residences 

 for the administrador (superintendent), assay er, if there be one, and treasurer, together with 

 apartments for one or -more of the proprietors when they come to make a personal overhaul. 

 Many of these houses, as at "ElDelirio," "La Descubridora.," "LaCandelaria," and others, are 

 commodious and well furnished, notwithstanding obstacles to obtaining supplies ; and though the 

 tables may not exhibit the profusion of fresh vegetables one may find at Santiago, they are 

 abundantly supplied with all that should be desired by a reasonable man, even in the midst of 

 vegetable life. 



One is apt to believe that the life of a laboring miner is one of great hardship and privation, 

 and in certain respects it is so. Toil beneath the surface of the ground, where the only air to enter 

 the lungs is saturated with the smoke of gunpowder and burnt tallow, and where the light of day 

 can never penetrate, is doubtless more painful than if the same muscles and nerves were similarly 

 exerted under the blue vault of heaven ; but beyond these discomforts, the miners at El Bolaco have 

 neither hardships nor privations not encountered by their fellow- laborers above ground. None 

 work more than eight hours per day, for which there is good pay and abundant food. True, if 

 the mine is in "buen beneficio" (producing well), night brings no relaxation from toil ; but what 

 matters day or night to those who delve in the very bowels of the earth ? Who among them 

 can say when comes the daylight ? They are of two classes : barreteros those who break out 

 the ore; and apires those who bring it to the surface, or, if the mine have one, to the mouth 

 of a vertical shaft, whence it is lifted by a windlass. Within the past year or two, shafts of this 

 kind have been cut to nearly all the old mines, the proprietors finding ventilation indispensable 

 at the extremity of some of their lodes, even did they disregard the labor of conveying quanti- 

 ties of rubbish so far. 



On an average, barreteros receive $25 and apires $12 per month, 20 ounces of fresh baked 

 bread, 24 figs, 16 ounces of boiled beans, and 6 ounces of wheat, daily an amount of food quite 

 sufficient to maintain two men their families being thus tacitly acknowledged. The wheat is 

 either boiled with the beans, or is made into mote, by scalding in lye, to remove the husks. 

 They are generally strong, athletic men, with broader shoulders, deeper chests, and more mus- 

 cular limbs than those engaged in agricultural life. Yet, while they all seem to enjoy the very 

 best health, one is rarely known to live more than fifty years. There are instances of miners 



