URIQUE AND ITS MINES. 287 
monplace thing in the world, and without 
the least sign of ostentatious politeness. 
I doubt very much whether any American 
under the same circumstances would have 
done as much. His father, Don Buena¬ 
ventura Becerra, lived here also, and both 
united in showering on us the most ac¬ 
ceptable acts of hospitality during our 
whole stay; and these were doubly wel¬ 
come, coming as they did in such a spon¬ 
taneous and wholly unexpected manner. 
Urique is most interesting in that vast 
and substantial mineral wealth of which 
the little town is practically the center. 
The discovery of the rich district of 
Urique is to be attributed, so I am told, 
to the “ adelantados ” or “conquista- 
dores,” Spanish names equivalent to 
“ adventurers,” and then given to the 
commanders of expeditions organized but 
