THE BA TOP/LAS DISTRICT. 325 
miles. Of these the Batopilas Mining 
Company owns and operates over sixty. 
It is without doubt one of the most im¬ 
portant American mining ventures in 
Mexico. It is also a mining company that 
has had great difficulties to contend with. 
Its isolation in the establishment of a 
business of such magnitude in the heart 
of the Sierra Madres in so short a number 
of years is an accomplishment suggestive 
of great energy. This company owns 
nearly all the famous old mines in this dis¬ 
trict which, in the times of the Spaniards, 
yielded those fabulous bonanzas that 
caused the astonishment of the world. 
It has had to repair the follies which, 
from a scientific standpoint, were com¬ 
mitted by several generations of in¬ 
expert and short-sighted Mexican 
mine owners. It has had to clear 
