15 



Real del Monte Company. It would be interesting to refer briefly to 

 the ups and downs of one of the mining enterprises of Mexico the 

 Real del Monte as a typical case which exemplifies what has happened 

 with many other of our mines, namely, that sometimes they yield large 

 profits, and soon afterwards they cause tremendous losses. The Real 

 del Monte is located about three miles from Pachuca, a large mining 

 centre and the capital of the State of Hidalgo, distant about sixty miles 

 southeast of the City of Mexico. 



In 1739, a Biscayan, by the name of Don Pedro Jose Romero de Ter- 

 reros, came from Santander and settled in Queretaro. He acquired 

 a fortune of $60,000 in a small store in 1749, closed up his affairs, and 

 started to return to his native land. On reaching Pachuca he met an 

 old mining friend, Don Jose Alejandro Bustamante, who called his 

 attention to the Real del Monte. In company with Bustamante he 

 staked out the Biscaina, Santa Brigida, and Guadalupe mines and began 

 to get the water out, but they soon exhausted their united funds. How- 

 ever, they succeeded in raising money in the City of Mexico on hard 

 terms and drained their properties by a tunnel, which started at Moran, 

 on the northern slope of the mountains, and, running 9000 feet through 

 hard porphyry rock, struck the vein at a depth of 600 feet. This was 

 accomplished a few years later in 1759. Bustamante by this time had 

 died, but Terreros continued the work. On striking the vein he drained 

 it, and in 1760 began the erection of the Hacienda de Regla, to work 

 the rich ore he was taking out. He took out $15,000,000 at a small 

 cost, repaid his advances, built and presented to the King of Spain 

 a man-of-war and 4700 bars of silver, for which he was created Conde 

 de Regla. He lived in grand style in the City of Mexico, and built a 

 palatial residence on Cadena Street. 



He died in 1781, and was succeeded by his son, the second Conde, 

 who from 1774 to 1783 struggled with the water, which, as depth was 

 attained, was very severe ; according to Ward, twenty-eight horse-whims 

 were employed in the drainage at great expense and unsuccessfully. 

 However, they had gotten down to 324 feet below the Moran adit on 

 the Biscaina vein in the Guadalupe and Santa Teresa shafts. The 

 production was $400,000 per year, drainage costing $250,000 per 

 year, and sinking was abandoned, and the work was confined to 

 drifting above water level. 



From 1801 to 1809, $300,000 per year was taken out, but the cost 

 of extraction was severe. Humboldt visited the property, and in 1810 

 the war of independence broke out, and all operations were suspended. 

 Meanwhile the water rose and the Moran tunnel caved in, and so 

 allowed the water to rise to an enormous height, and the district went 

 to rack and ruin. 



In 1822 the Conde's administrator, Don Ignacio Castelazo, made a 



