CHAPTER XIII

MINERAL WEALTH. ROMANCE AND ACTUALITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255

Forced labour in the mines--Silver and bloodshed--History of discovery--Guanajuato--the _veta Madre_--Spanish methods--Durango-- Zacatecas--Pachuca--The _patio_ process--Quicksilver from Peru--Cornish miners' graves--Aztec mining--Spanish advent--Old mining methods-- Romance of mining--The Cerro de Mercado--Guanajuato and Hidalgo--Real del Monte--Religion and mining--Silver and churches--Subterranean altars--Mining and the nobility--Spanish mining school--Modern conditions--The mineral-bearing zone--Distribution of minerals geographically--Silver--The _patio_ process--Gold-mining and production--El Oro and other districts--Copper--Other minerals--General mineral production--Mining claims and laws.