A THREE-HANDED GAME OE MONTE 



The Mexican peon loves excitement, and while bull-fighting is his first enthusiasm and 

 cock-fighting a substitute for times and places which offer none of that amusement, monte 

 and keno are the ever-ready means of relieving the tedium of quiet. 



guided by wire ropes, are used for hoist- 

 ing- men, rock, and supplies, and even an 

 experienced engineer is excused a feeling 

 of fear and trepidation when straddling 

 the bale over this yawning hole. The al- 

 most nude natives, oblivious of danger, 

 jumped aboard, holding their torch of 

 candles in the free hand, and as they were 

 lowered began to sing. A flood of melody 

 filled the shaft, a full crescendo reverber- 

 ated from wall to wall, followed by softer 

 cadences, and as I peered down into the 

 hole the bucket continued its slow de- 

 scent, the lights of the torches became 

 more and more indistinct, the darkness 

 deepened, the prayerful song came up 

 with decreasing volume until it seemed 

 like a distant echo from the unknown. 



Then there was no 

 them audible, and 

 "Amen." 



Guanajuato is a 

 record, in its mines. 



light visible ; no an- 

 I involuntarilv said 



city rich in historic 

 in its natural beauty, 

 and in its architecture. To describe even 

 briefly the many things of interest would 

 occupy more space than can be given to 

 this article ; but mention must be made of 

 the theater, the prison, the Pantheon, the 

 Esperanza dam, and some of the many 

 churches along the Yeta Madre. 



El Teatro Juarez faces the plaza in the 

 center of the city. It is an imposing pile, 

 perhaps out of keeping with its surround- 

 ings ; but Guanajuato is a city wherein 

 the picturesque and strictly practical are 

 irreconcilably mixed together. The de- 



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