THE TREASURE CHEST OF MERCURIAL MEXICO 



63 



Still more pretentious and decidedly 

 more picturesque are the churches on the 

 Yeta Madre, thank offerings for the ma- 

 terial blessing's vouchsafed to the chosen 

 few in the early days of mining. Each 

 mine supported its own thriving com- 

 munity, its priest, and its church. Cata, 

 Rayas, and San Cayetano still raise their 

 cathedral spires in peaceful benediction, 

 their whitened domes reflecting the glo- 

 ries of the setting sun as their hushed 

 aisles recall the ritual of the noonday of 

 mining activity. 



A WONDERFUL EDIFICE 



The church of Yalenciana (San Caye- 

 tano) has not been despoiled; neither 

 time nor marauding man has changed its 

 imposing grandeur ; the grayness of its 

 walls and the tarnish of its altars give to 

 it an additional touch of peace (see pic- 

 ture, page 36). Antonio Obregon, to 

 commemorate the finding of the great 

 Yalenciana bonanza, began building this 

 church in 1765 and completed it 20 years 

 later. The exterior ornamentation sug- 

 gests Arabesque influences, but the archi- 

 tecture is unknown. Above the dome is 

 an arrow, supposed to point the direction 

 of the Mother Lode. Its interior decora- 

 tion, altars, and furnishings testify to the 

 lavish hand of the builder. The high 

 altar is heavy with silver ; piers, arches, 

 and roofs are elaborately carved and 

 show the individuality of the artisans, and 

 the inlaid pulpit is one of the finest in 

 Mexico. Let us hope that this monument, 

 at least, will long escape the desecrating 

 hand of vandalism and the ravages of 

 warfare. 



Six years after the conquest of Mexico 

 the old Spanish fortress of Santa Ana 

 was built to repress the depredations of 

 the Chichimecas, an Indian tribe, who 

 were constantly menacing the travelers 

 from Zacatecas to the coast. Twenty- 

 two years later silver ores were discov- 

 ered in this district, and an old document, 

 found in the archives of the Court of 

 Mines, Guanajuato, records the de- 

 nouncement of the Rayas mine. Nine 

 years later the Rayas and Mellado mines 

 pointed conclusively to the existence of a 

 mineralized lode — the Veta Madre de 

 Guanajuato, extending from Tapeyac to 



Sierra. This was during the reign of 

 Queen Elizabeth. 



NO MUSHROOM GROWTH 



The mining history of Guanajuato vies 

 with that of the Nevadan gold camps of 

 our days, only that instead of the unsub- 

 stantial mushroom growth, typifying the 

 American mining booms, permanent and 

 lasting monuments were raised, and re- 

 main as mute though eloquent testimonv 

 of former industry and wealth. 



In the year 1600 there were 4,000 men 

 at work along the Mother Lode. A few 

 years later the Sierra vein system was 

 found and, according to established cus- 

 tom, material blessings were reflected in 

 pious charities. In the "Efemerides 

 Guanajuatenses" there is mention of the 

 blessing of a baptismal font in the chapel 

 of El Cubo. In 1619 a royal patent was 

 granted to this industrial center, whereby 

 it received the dignity of the name of 

 Yilla Real de Guanajuato. 



That slavery flourished in these earlv 

 days is evidenced by two proclamations 

 of 1590 and 1667, prohibiting the sale of 

 Indians as slaves and the branding of a 

 slave in the face. In 1700 the Villa Real 

 de Guanajuato claimed a population of 

 16,000, mostly recruited from old Spain. 

 Mining methods were most crude, ex- 

 plosives were unknown, and the only wav 

 of breaking rock was by building fires 

 against an exposed rock- face and, while 

 hot, dashing cold water on it, causing it 

 to crack and split off. 



The eighteenth century marked an era 

 of progress and unprecedented pros- 

 perity. A record of precious-metal pro- 

 duction was established, which our Corn- 

 stocks, our Tonopahs, Goldfields, and 

 other Western bonanzas have not ap- 

 proached. Gunpowder was used in bore- 

 holes, pumping machinery was installed, 

 and development advanced to greater 

 depths ; the output increased, and many 

 of the peon mine-owners became so 

 wealthy and attained such power and 

 celebrity that they were granted patents 

 of nobility by the King of Spain and were 

 counted among the elite of the Spanish 

 aristocracy. Francisco Mathias de Busto, 

 owner of the Cata mine, became Yiscount 

 de Duarte ; Jose de Sardaneta, on finding 



