METHOD OF WORKING THE MINES. 



and eighty-five perpendicular feet. It was reckoned 

 one of the richest in the neighbourhood, until its 

 depth became so great, that the expense of raising 

 the ore to the surface overbalanced its value when 

 brought there, and made it more profitable to work 

 poorer ores of more easy access. It is said there 

 is an intention of running a horizontal shaft from 

 the side of the mountain into the mine, at the level 

 of the lake, in order to save the upward carriage ; 

 but it is questionable if there be yet spirit enough 

 in the country for such an undertaking. There is 

 no saying, indeed, what Bi'itish capital and enter- 

 prise, aided by machinery, may effect, especially as 

 there are but few silver mines wrought at present 

 in Chili ; and the returns might therefore be 

 considerable. 



After dinner, on our return to the town, we 

 sallied forth to take another survey of the ruins, 

 which we never tired of looking at ; for scarcely 

 any two of the houses were shaken down exactly 

 in the same manner : but it was no less interesting 

 to mark the effect of the earthquake on the minds 

 of the inhabitants. Many of the most wealthy 

 and industrious had removed to other quarters ; 

 some from apprehension of a recurrence of the 

 evil, and some from the natural , effect of the 

 destruction of property, which, for a long time, 

 seemed likely to paralyse active exertion. One 

 very serious consequence of the earthquake has 

 been the diminution in the only stream of water by 

 which the town is supplied, and to this cause we 

 must ascribe great part of the emigration. As the 

 population decreased, many inch mines were of 

 course abandoned. 



But such, fortunately, is the tendency of man 

 to trust rather to his chance of future good- 

 fortune, than to be influenced by experience, how- 

 ever fatal, that the people were busily engaged in 

 rebuilding their houses, and again working their 

 mines, as if nothing had happened. Copiap6 has 

 been destroyed about once every twenty-three 

 years ; the latest well-authenticated periods of 

 these catastrophes being 1773, 1796, and 1819. 



In the course of our walk, we discovered near 

 the stream a grove of trees, in the centre of which 

 stood a neatly-built cottage, surrounded by farm- 

 offices and garden, with everything in the most 

 rural style, and in the centre of all, a gold-mill, 

 which though characteristic enough of Copiapd, 

 certainly looked somewhat out of place, in a court- 

 yard. This establishment belonged to a man who 

 had been making a handsome fortune by a copper- 

 mine, till, unfortunately for the proprietor, it gra- 

 dually degenerated into a mine of gold : from that 

 moment the tide of his fortune turned, and ever 

 since has been on the ebb. This, which at first 

 looks a little paradoxical, is precisely what might 

 be expected. The scarcity of gold, the uncer- 

 tainty of its extent in any given situation, and the 

 consequent great cost of production, are the cir- 

 cumstances which, while they give it so high an 

 exchangeable value, render mining speculations 

 in gold invariably hazardous. On the other hand, 

 copper exists in great plenty, and is easily wrought. 

 In these countries, therefore, it has become a com- 

 mon saying, that a diligent man who works a copper 

 mine is sure to gain ; that he who opens one of 

 silver may either gain or lose ; but that if the mine 

 be of gold, he will certainly be ruined. 



The gold -mill which we examined, consisted of 



an upright shaft, or spindle, the lower end of which 

 was fixed to a horizontal water-wheel, working in a 

 sunken water-course ; this gave a rotary motion 

 to the spindle, which passed through the centre of 

 a large circular trough on the ground. In this 

 trough a millstone was carried round upon its edge, 

 on a horizontal axis projecting from the spindle. 

 Small pieces of the ore were thrown into the trough, 

 which was kept full of water by a constant small 

 stream ; and when the machine was put in motion, 

 the stone went rapidly round, crushing and grinding 

 the ore under the water. 



As soon as the whole has been reduced, by this 

 process of trituration, to a fine mud, quicksilver is 

 added, and by its union with the detached particles 

 of gold, an amalgam is fprmed. This process is 

 said to be quickened by the agitation of the water, 

 and the friction of the millstone. The water is 

 allowed to trickle off by a nick cut in the edge of 

 the trough, and is received in long wooden chan- 

 nels, covered with coarse cloth, the folds and irre- 

 gular parts of which catch any stray portions of 

 gold, or of the amalgam, which the agitation of the 

 water may have thrown out of the trough. When 

 all the gold is supposed to be combined with the 

 quicksilver, the water is removed, and the amal- 

 gam being exposed to heat in vessels adapted to 

 the purpose, the quicksilver is distilled off, and the 

 gold remains behind in a pure state. 



After passing a considerable time at the gold- 

 mill, we strolled along the face of the hills, which 

 are indented in many places by copper mines, or 

 rather quarries ; for the rock is here so rich in ores 

 of that metal, that it is broken from the surface, 

 and smelted at once. 



It was interesting to notice how constantly the 

 earthquake occupied all people's thoughts at this 

 place, however much they might seem to be en- 

 grossed by other objects. In the early part of the 

 evening, an English gentleman, resident at Copia- 

 pd, invited me to visit a family of his acquaintance, 

 living in theundestroyed suburb called theChimba. 

 Though almost worn out with the day's work, I 

 was tempted to go, by the promise of being pre- 

 sented to the handsomest young woman in Chili. 

 We had come here, it is true, with our thoughts 

 full of mines, deserts, and earthquakes ; or, if we 

 had originally any thoughts of mixing with society, 

 the desolate appearance of the town had chased 

 them away ; nevertheless, we could not refuse to 

 visit a lady with such pretensions. We found her 

 very pretty and agreeable ; but what entertained 

 us particularly was her vehement desire to have a 

 wider field for the display of her charms, which, 

 to do the secluded beauty no more than justice, 

 were of a very high order, even in this land of fas- 

 cination. The accounts she had heard from others 

 of the fashionable world of Santiago, and of Co- 

 quimbo, had so completely turned her head, that 

 earthquakes had ceased to make the usual impres- 

 sion. " I see," cried she, " other people running 

 out of their houses, full of terror, beating their 

 breasts and imploring mercy ; and decency, of 

 course, obliges me to do the same ; but I feel no 

 alarm — my thoughts are all at Coquimbo. How 

 can my uncle be so unkind as not to repeat his 

 invitation !" We consoled the pretty damsel as 

 well as we could, and as she had spoken of earth- 

 quakes, asked her if there had been one lately. 

 "No," she answered, "not for some time — I really 



