364 NORTHERN CHILE chap. 



cases to entertain the Chilian authorities ; libraries of well- 

 bound geological books ; miners brought out for particular 

 metals, as tin, which are not found in Chile ; contracts to 

 supply the miners with milk, in parts where there are no cows ; 

 machinery, where it could not possibly be used ; and a hundred 

 similar arrangements, bore witness to our absurdity, and to this 

 day afford amusement to the natives. Yet there can be no 

 doubt that the same capital well employed in these mines 

 would have yielded an immense return : a confidential man 

 of business, a practical miner and assayer, would have been 

 all that was required. 



Captain Head has described the wonderful load which the 

 "Apires," truly beasts of burden, carry up from the deepest 

 mines. I confess I thought the account exaggerated ; so that 

 I was glad to take an opportunity of weighing one of the 

 loads, which I picked out by hazard. It required considerable 

 exertion on my part, when standing directly over it, to lift it 

 from the ground. The load was considered under weight 

 when found to be 197 pounds. The apire had carried this up 

 eighty perpendicular yards, — part of the way by a steep passage, 

 but the greater part up notched poles, placed in a zigzag line 

 up the shaft. According to the general regulation, the apire 

 is not allowed to halt for breath, except the mine is six hundred 

 feet deep. The average load is considered as rather more than 

 200 pounds, and I have been assured that one of 300 pounds 

 (twenty-two stone and a half) by way of a trial has been 

 brought up from the deepest mine ! At this time the apires 

 were bringing up the usual load twelve times in the day ; that 

 is, 2400 pounds from eighty yards deep ; and they were 

 employed in the intervals in breaking and picking ore. 



These men, excepting from accidents, are healthy, and appear 

 cheerful. Their bodies are not very muscular. They rarely 

 eat meat once a week, and never oftener, and then only the hard 

 dry charqui. Although with a knowledge that the labour was 

 voluntary, it was nevertheless quite revolting to see the state in 

 which they reached the mouth of the mine ; their bodies bent 

 forward, leaning with their arms on the steps, their legs bowed, 

 their muscles quivering, the perspiration streaming from their 

 faces over their breasts, their nostrils distended, the corners of 

 their mouth forcibly drawn back, and the expulsion of their 



