3 22 CAVE AND CUFF DWELLERS. 
was surreptitiously taken out to escape the 
heavy imposts levied by the crown, and 
which must have been enormous. The 
most famous period of “bonanza” for 
the Batopilas district was during the last 
fifty years of the eighteenth and the first 
years of the present century. During 
this time the famous mines of Pastrana, 
El Carmen, Arbitrios, and San Antonio 
were discovered, and yielded the 
fabulous returns which have been 
variously estimated at from sixty 
million to eighty million dollars. From 
the outset of the Mexican Revolu¬ 
tion in 1810 a period of decay set 
in, which reduced Batopilas greatly and 
almost caused its ruin. The many revo¬ 
lutions, together with the wonderful dis¬ 
coveries of very rich gold and silver 
mining districts adjoining this one, de- 
