336        QUICKSILVER  MINES  OF  OLD  AND  NEW  ALMADEN. 
of  the  twelve  apostles.  Each  is  capable  of  containing  ten  tons 
weight  of  ore.  The  furnace  is  kept  burning  for  three  days,  and 
the  same  period  is  required  for  cooling." 
Mr.  Russell  Bartlett,  the  United  States  Commissioner  on  the 
Mexican  and  United  States  Boundary  Question,  who  visited 
California  in  1853,  gives  the  following  account  of  the  New 
Aim  is  den  Mine  :— 
"  New  Almaden  consists  exclusively  of  the  buildings  belonging 
to  the  company  which  owns  the  quicksilver  mine.  It  embraces 
furnaces,  storehouses,  dwelling-houses  for  the  officers  and  labor- 
ers, offices,  mechanics'  shops,  &c.  Many  of  them  are  of  wood, 
but  a  large  and  fine  range  of  substantial  brick  buildings  is  now 
in  the  process  of  erection,  to  take  the  place  of  the  wooden  ones. 
The  novelty  of  the  business  of  extracting  the  quicksilver  from 
the  cinnabar  required  a  number  of  experiments,  involving  a  very 
heavy  expenditure ;  for  there  were  few  mines  in  the  world  where 
the  operation  was  carried  on  on  a  large  scale,  and  it  could  not  be 
expected  that  a  rival  company  like  this,  whose  operations  would 
effectually  interfere  with  the  trade  the  latter  had  for  ages  enjoyed, 
would  be  permitted  to  derive  any  information  from  their  long 
experience.  Machinery  of  various  kinds  was  therefore  imported 
from  England  and  the  United  States  at  enormous  cost,  much  of 
which  has  since  been  rejected,  either  on  account  of  the  great 
expense  of  running  it,  or  its  inadequacy  to  perform  the  service 
required.  Six  furnaces  are  now  in  operation  reducing  the  ore, 
all  of  which  seem  to  be  alike,  and  of  the  most  simple  construction. 
The  ore,  when  brought  from  the  mine  and  deposited  near  the 
furnaces,  is  separated  according  to  its  quality.  The  larger  masses 
are  first  broken  up,  and  then  all  is  piled  up  under  sheds  near  the 
furnace  doors.  The  ore  is  next  heaped  on  the  furnaces,  and  a 
steady,  though  not  very  strong  fire  is  then  applied.  As  the  ore 
becomes  heated  the  quicksilver  is  sublimed,  and  then  being  con- 
ducted by  pipes  which  lead  along  the  bottom  of  the  furnace  to 
small  pots  or  reservoirs  imbedded  in  the  earth,  each  containing 
from  one  to  two  gallons  of  the  metal.  The  furnaces  are  kept 
going  night  and  day,  while  large  drops  or  minute  streams  of  the 
pure  metal  are  constantly  trickling  down  into  the  receivers. 
From  these  it  is  carried  to  the  store-house,  and  deposited  in 
large  cast-iron  tanks  or  vats.  These  are  of  various  shapes  and 
sizes,  and  are  fixed  in  solid  beds  of  stone  and  mortar.  The 
