MEXICO’S TREASURES.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 16304, 3 December 1918, Page 7

MEXICO’S TREASURES.

FACT AND FICTION. If legends and "well authenticated stories .are to be believed, there are more lost mines of vast richness in Mexico than in any other country in the world (says the New York Sun). Conditions since the earlier history of that country have contributed to efface the location of mines as well as of buried treasure.

Tradition locates most of the lost mines—or mir.ns tapadas—in northern Chihuahua and Sonora, in the Sierra Madre. This .area was until 25 years ago subject to periodical raids from Apaches, and miners were often forced to fly for their lives to the interior, and shafts and tunnels were concealed and frequently all surface improvements destroyed by the miners themselves to prevent discovery until they could safely return. That many never returned and that many mines are still tapeda no one acquainted with the history of mining in Mexico can doubt. In many instances tho trails loading to old mines have been totally destroyed during tho rainy season, when the face of nature is sometimes altered beyond recognition At any peon jacal ono hears stories of lost mines incalculably rich in gold ore or bullion, and fiction is so interwoven with fact that the most logical mind finds it difficult to toll where ono leaves off and the other begins._ It is no exaggeration to say that millions of dollars have been spent in pumping out old shafts ad removing debris from ancient tunnels, many of which, no doubt, wore abandoned by the Spaniards themselves as worthless. A few old mines have proved rich, a few more of sufficient value to work at a fair profit, but 90 per cent, of them are said to ho worthless under present conditions, and none of them contained buried treasure in bullion, though considering the, remoteness of the mines and the fact that shipments of bullion were made to the ports only once or twice a year, it may well be that much metal was left buried when a hegira took placo before the ferocious Apache. There are many enticing stories of lost treasure open to anyone who can find tho hidden key, but none of these offers such temptations as the story of the Bellas del Plata mines. The truth of this is borne out by documentary evidence to bo found in certain old records of the ancient Mexican customhouse in operation a century and three-quarters ago. Somewhere between the years 1736 and 1741, when, Arizona was Spanish territory, Don Diego Armendi, a wandering Mexican miner, reached a settlement of the Papago Indians, situated almost upon the present boundary lino between Arizona and Sonora, Mexico. The Papagoes, who still cover this area, called their settlement “Arizonac.” Don Diego Armendi by some chance came across a hidden deposit of silver and' astonished the Mexicans bv returning with what was probably ‘the largest virgin lump of the precious metal before or since found in the world. It contained no less than 27001 b. of pure silver. Armendi had another virgin lump of 2751 b.. while the aggregate weight of several other nuggets was 40231 b. According to the Spanish policy of exorbitant revenue assessment, these tremendous nuggets were unreasonably taxed by tho Mexican Custom House officer of those early times when Don Diego’s find became known. A dispute arose between tho officer and tho finder of the silver and the matter was appealed to the Viceroy of Mexico, who decided that tho controversy, involving, as it did, the largest silver nugget found in the world, was beyond his responsibility and that it would have to he referred to the King of Spain himself.

The King, taking the Viceroy’s hint, .promptly ruled that a nnggot weighing 27001 b. must bo regarded as a curiosity and that ail natural curiosities of great value found in the colonies must by courtesy bo regarded' as the property of the Crown. Armendi was naturally heartbroken at this loss of his priceless nugget. It is said that ho left Mexico in disgust without revealing the precise, locality of the wonderful mine. It was, however, known beyond doubt that the lumps of silver wore found in or near the Bapago settlement of “Arizonac,” which grew to bo known ns “Bellas del Pata,” which in Spanish means “balls of plate,” The old name, “Arizonac,” thereupon became widely applied to this region, and when the present State of Arizona was carved out of Mexico its name was directly derived from this Papago village, somewhere near which the abandoned mine of Armendi still remains undeveloped. The monster nugget was sent to Mexico and coined in the mint there for the Spanish King. Soon after the misadventure of Don Diego Die place became abandoned and lost sight of, and the ardour of sonic unskilful miners who attempted to recover the deserted wealth became cooled. The nuggets were found on or near the surface, and discouragement doubtless overcame the followers of Armendi because they failed to pick up more surface deposits. In those days they had no facilities for deep mining. But the lost mine about which tradition gathers thickest is Taiopa, supposed to bo located in the Salmaripa district in Sonora. Little documentary e.vklcnce exists to prove Taiopa a reality, and that has evidently been manufactured by unscrupulous manipulators. A wealthy Mexican made a trip to Madrid several years ago, and after minute search at great expense found absolutely no data to show that such a mine, was over worked for the Crown of Spain, and no reliable data in the Mexican archives or elsewhere prove such a mine urns ever known.

But quite as trustworthy as most written documents are the traditions gathered' from the Pima Indians. They stoutly maintain that Paiopa exists, and a few claim to know its locality. Small quantities of very rich ore are occasionally sold at the mountain mining camps, and all attempts to follow the Indians to the spot where it is found or bribe them to reveal it have failed. But the fascinating secret, in part, has been revealed to a vronian. All tales of lost mines have for their central figure a. grateful Indian, and this story is in that particular monotonously like the rest. The facts so far as known are the following:— About 15 years ago an old Pima chief fell ill in one of the valley pueblos and was cured by a Mexican woman so well known and so estimable that her statement was universally accepted. The old Indian returned to his tribe and from time to time,sent her rich bits of ore, which assayed thousands of dollars to tho ton. All her'efforts to induce him to lead her to the mine wore futile. He said the Great Spirit would strike him dead if he did. - The plucky senora finally went to' the mountains and lived among the. Indians for three months, doctoring tho Indians and giving presents of

calico and gay ribbons to the women and small quantities of mescal to the men of the tribe. She became convinced beyond doubt that the spot from which the rich ore came from was Taiopa. The chief admitted that it was the mina tapada, that was worked when he was a hoy. After much .persuasion and the gift of a goodly portion of the liquor they said that she might discover it Ulir aided and save the Indians from the penalty of sudden death for revealing it. Overjoyed at gaining so much, she had two burros packed with provisions, and, mounted on mules, she and two Indian women set out. They travelled mostly at night, passing through deep canyons and over lofty mountain passes. The fourth night, some hours after dark, the Indian women led her into a deep canyon, and paused a short distance from a large rock. In tho dim moonlight an old, arrasta was seen, and across the canyon was a large ore dump, from which opened a tunnel. The ■woman gathered pieces of ore from the dump and arrastra, but was hurried away hy the Indians, who said they would be killed if they delayed beyond tho time given them by the chief. They travelled until the moon went down, rested a fow hours and went on before daylight, completely bafiling the Mexican woman as to the route by which they bad brought her. They arrived at the pueblo at nightfall, and having taken four days to roach the mine and but one to return, the obvious conclusion was that she had been led about in a circle—a curious method of satisfying the complex Indian conscience. . . Despairing of getting more, the Mexican woman returned to her home. A few months later she returned to search for the elusive Taiopa, but without success.