92 
DOTTING^ ON THE ROADSIDE. [Chap. VI.— B S. 
bank of the Mico, and the machinery upon it is worked 
by that river. The system of mining is that com¬ 
mon throughout Spanish America, and consists of 
sinking a pozo about twenty-five feet, and then driv¬ 
ing a banco or adit, at right angles to the pozo for the 
same length, and so on until water is reached, when 
the works come to a standstill. The labour of bring¬ 
ing up the ore, however, is immense, and increases in 
proportion to the depth, the miners having to carry 
one hundred pounds weight of the ore to surface by 
climbing notched poles, with the tanate (or leather bag) 
supported on their backs by a strap across the fore¬ 
head. For this labour they are paid ^9 - 60 per month, 
and their board, amounting to another d?8; total, 
#17'60, say £3. 155. 
Several other mines were being worked during this 
first visit, some of which passed into the hands of the 
Foreign Lands, and subsequently, the Chontales Com¬ 
pany. They are beyond question rich in gold and 
silver, possessing broad veins, which it will require 
many years, with the most powerful and approved 
machinery, to exhaust. The whole of this district is 
covered with veins of gold and silver, of greater or 
less value, according to their breadth and the facility 
with which they can be worked and drained. The 
auriferous and argentiferous district of Chontales com¬ 
mences near the town of Libertad, in the mountain 
range, which runs nearly parallel to Lake Nicaragua; 
it is many miles in width, and continues from this 
point towards the east to an unknown distance. To 
give an idea of how little is known of these unex- 
