98 



SIX MONTHS IN MEXICO. 



a cross, and as large as a cathedral, had 

 been very ably constructed, and roofed with 

 shingles, under the direction of Don Jose 

 Benitas, with the aid of Indians only, and 

 without the use of iron, being lashed firmly 

 together with thongs of raw hides. The pur- 

 pose of this shed was to cover the engine, and 

 the various workshops, as well as the mouth 

 of the mine, and to protect the workmen from 

 the sun and rain. The erection of roofs of this 

 magnitude in England would have incurred 

 an enormous expense, and would have called 

 for the talents of our ablest architects. 



Indian workmen, like all uninformed peo- 

 ple, are strongly prejudiced in favour of 

 their own customs ; and Europeans who have 

 taken mines in Mexico will have much to 

 contend with before they can bring them to 

 work under their directions. They are indeed 

 particularly averse to innovation. A common 

 wheelbarrow is much too complex a machine 



