54 



THE MINES. 



Cordillera at Valparaiso whilst I was there, had to return without cross- 

 ing, because he could not bear the sight of the sheer descents. 



The valley of Parac lies about east and west, and the veins of silver 

 on the sides of the mountains E. N. E. and W. S. W., thus crossing 

 the valley diagonally. There are four mines belonging to the establish- 

 ment, which employ about sixty workmen, though more could be em- 

 ployed to advantage. These men are directed by a mayordomo and 

 four corporals. They are divided into two gangs for each mine: one 

 party will go on duty at 7 p. m. and work till 5 a. m., when they come 

 out, rest two hours, and go on again till 1 p. m. They are then 

 relieved by the other party. This is very hard work, for the mines 

 are very wet and cold. The getter-out of the ore wields, with one 

 hand, a hammer of thirty pounds, and the carriers of the ore bear a 

 burden of one hundred and fifty pounds from the bottom of the shaft 

 to the surface — a distance in this case of about a quarter of a mile, of a 

 very steep and rough ascent. When I first met one of these men 

 toiling up in the dark, I thought, from the dreadful groans I heard 

 before I saw him, that some one was dying near me ; but he does this 

 "a purpose," for when we met he had breath enough to give me a 

 courteous salutation, and beg a paper cigar. Boys commence this 

 work at eight years of age, and spend probably the greater part of 

 their lives in the mine. 



The mine called Sta. Rosa, which we visited, has a perpendicular 

 depth of five hundred and twenty feet — that is, the bottom of the 

 shaft, which penetrates the mountain at an angle from the horizon of 

 about 25°, is five hundred and twenty feet below the mouth of it. By 

 the mining laws the shaft (canon) of the mine must be three feet eight 

 inches high, three feet five inches wide, and arched for security. The 

 superincumbent earth frequently requires to be supported by beams of 

 wood laid against each other in form of Gothic arch. I could not learn 

 how much ore a man could get out in a day, for it is a very uncertain 

 quantity, depending upon the hardness of the rock that encloses the 

 vein. Malarin told us that he had instructed the workmen not to blast 

 whilst we were in the mine, because the dreadful reverberation of sound 

 often had an unhappy effect upon people not accustomed to it, which, 

 as we were men who sometimes dealt in heavy artillery, we did not 

 thank him for. 



Returning from the mine we met a drove of llamas on their way 

 from the hacienda. This is quite an imposing sight, especially when 

 the drove is encountered suddenly at a turn of the road. The leader, 

 which is always elected on account of his superior height, has his head 



