118 PRODUCTIVE SCORIA. 
security in their rights and property—more 
hberty, in truth, under the Spanish dynasty 
than at present. 
No better evidence can be found of the ex- 
tensive operations which have been carried 
on in this the greatest mining district of North- 
ern Mexico, than in the little mountains of 
scoria which are found in the suburbs of the 
city. A great number of poor laborers make 
a regular business of hammering to pieces 
these metallic excrescences, from which they 
- collect silver enough to buy their daily bread. 
An opinion has often been expressed by per- 
sons well acquainted with the subject, that a 
fair business might be done by working this 
same scoria over again. There are still in 
operation several furnaces in the city, where 
silver ores extracted from the mines of the 
surrounding mountains are smelted. There is 
also a rough mint in Chihuahua (as there is 
indeed in all the mining departments), yet 
most of its silver and all of its gold have been 
coined in the cities further south. — 
When [ arrived at Chihuahua, in 1839, a 
great féte had just come off for the double 
purpose of celebrating the anniversary of the 
Emperor Iturbide’s birth day (Sept. 27, 1783), 
and that of his triumphal entrance into the 
city of Mexico in 1821. It will be remem- 
bered, that, after Mexico had been struggling 
for independence several years, General Itur- 
ps who had remained a faithful officer of 
crown, and an active agent in persecuting 
a champions of Mexican aa liberty, finding 
ban BEN ie 
