106 



THE BOLICHES. 



grinding ore ; generally owned by Frenchmen or Italians, who grind the 

 ore that is brought to them in small quantities by the workmen in the 

 mines. Rivero's account of their charges is amusing. He says : " One 

 of these speculators commences with fifty dollars, (the value of a bo- 

 liche,) and at the end of two or three years is known to be worth a 

 fortune of eight or ten thousand dollars. He exacts from the workman 

 in the mine, who brings it to him, fifty or sixty-two and a half cents for 

 grinding a "carga" which is a very uncertain measure — sometimes a mule- 

 load, sometimes a man-load ; but in this case a small hamper-full. He 

 charges twenty-five cents for the water used in the beneficiation, twelve 

 and a half cents for the man who pours the water on, twelve and a half 

 cents for him who breaks the ore into small bits for grinding, sixty -two 

 and a half cents for the grinder, twelve and a half cents for the hole 

 where the mass of ground metal is deposited, (and if this is boarded, he 

 exacts twenty-five cents more,) and twelve and a half cents to clear the 

 water out of it, twelve and a half cents for taking the metal out of this 

 hole and putting it in a bull's hide, for the hire of which he charges 

 twenty-five cents ; so that the hide will yield the decent sum of sixty or 

 seventy dollars before it wears out and becomes useless. A hoe will 

 give as much more, for the hire of which twelve and a half cents is 

 charged, and six and a quarter cents besides for every time it is used in 

 incorporating the mass. He gains at least fifty cents in every arroba 

 of salt which he furnishes. For a pound of magistral, which is worth 

 fifty cents, he exacts two dollars. He gains fifty cents in every pound 

 of quicksilver ; so that, calculating these expenses with regard to a 

 caxon, they amount to about fifty dollars, which is just so much profit 

 to the bolichero. The ' relabes] moreover, are his ; and they are fre- 

 quently very valuable. He then expresses all the quicksilver from the 

 pella that he can, and receives it of the workman at three pounds the 

 mark, paying him six dollars and twenty-five cents ; by which negotia- 

 tion he gains a mark in every nine, after the quicksilver is driven off by 

 heat, bating to the workman at the same time half a pound in the ex- 

 traction of the quicksilver. The workman is contented with all this, 

 because, however little profit he makes, the ore which he delivered to the 

 bolichero for grinding cost him nothing but the stealing." This, how- 

 ever, is not always the case. The laborer frequently demands his wages 

 in a portion of ore. Custom seems to give him this right ; and the pro- 

 prietor of the mine complains, with justice, that he has to pay in ores 

 when they are rich, and in money when the ores are poor. 



A boliche consists of a large flat stone laid on an elevated platform 

 of rock or earth, and another, convex on its lower side, resting upon it. 



