THE REAL DE MINAS.
For some years past--that is to say, since the day when Captain Sutter,
while digging a well at his plantation in San Francisco, accidentally
found a lump of virgin gold--the discovery of the rich mines of the New
World has so aroused interest and excited admiration, by giving a fresh
impulse to avarice and covetousness, that we consider it necessary to
say a few words here about the mines. Of course we shall allude to
those situated in the country where our scene is laid--that is, in
Sonora.
Sonora is the richest mining country in the world. We assured ourself
by official data that six hundred bars of silver and sixty bars of
gold, worth together a million of piastres, were brought to the Mint
of Hermosillo in 1839. To this large amount a nearly equal sum must
be added, which is not brought to be assayed, in order to avoid the
payment of the duty, which is five per cent, on silver and four per
cent, on gold. This country also possesses most valuable copper mines,
but the population generally abandons the other metals to seek virgin
gold.
No country in the world possesses auriferous strata so rich and so
extensive (_criaderos or placeres de oro_). The metal is found in
alluvial soil in ravines after rain, and always on the surface or at
a depth of a few feet. In the north of the province of Arispe, the
placers of Quitoval and Sonoitac, which were found again in 1836,
and to which we shall soon have to allude more specially, produced
for three years two hundred ounces of gold per day,--that is to say,
reducing it to our money, the large sum of two hundred and fifty
thousand pounds.
The gold seekers restrict themselves to turning up the soil with a
pointed stick, and only collect the nuggets that are visible; but
if the streams were diverted from their course, and large washings
undertaken, the profits would be far more considerable. It is not rare
to find nuggets weighing several pounds; we saw at Arispe, in the
hands of a miner, one that was worth nine thousand piastres, or about
eighteen hundred pounds; and the Royal Cabinet at Madrid contains
several magnificent specimens. We will soon describe how and why the
working of these strata was interrupted.
Most of the buildings of the _pueblos_, or Missions of Sonora, serve
as the gathering place of the nomadic workmen and traders who collect
round any important mine so soon as its working is begun. The place
where the workmen assemble takes the name of _Real de Minas_ or
_Mineral;_ and if the mine promises to be productive for any length
of time, the population definitively settles round it. Many important
towns of Mexico had no other origin. The facility with which the miners
earn large sums explains the enormous consumption of European goods
which takes place in the provinces. Simple rancheros may frequently
be seen spending in a few days seven or eight pounds of gold, which
only cost them a week's toil. Unhappily, the ruinous passion for
gambling--that shameful leprosy of Mexico, whose inhabitants it
degrades--prevents the great mine owners from keeping a large capital
on their hands, and thus checks works on a great scale.
Before resuming our narrative, we must also give the reader certain
information about the Indian nations that inhabit the territory of
Sonora. There are in this province five distinct tribes; the Yaquis,
the Opatas, the Mayos, the Gilenos, and the Apaches. The Yaquis and
Mayos occupy the country to the south of Guaymas, as far as the Rio
del Huerto; they let themselves out to the creoles as farm labourers,
masons, servants, miners, and divers. Their number is about forty
thousand. The Opatas reside along the bank of the San Miguel de
Horcasitos, the Arispe, the Los Ures, and the Oposina; they are very
good workmen and excellent soldiers. They have always served the
government faithfully, both Spanish and Mexican, and their number is
estimated at thirty thousand.
The Gilenos spread along the banks of the Gila and Colorado rivers.
The Axuas and Apaches, who belong to the Sierra Madre, are confounded
under the name of Papazos. These Indians are nomadic, and only live
by hunting and plunder; they were formerly encamped to the north of
Chihuahua and Sonora; but being driven back by the progress of the
Americans and Texans, they threw themselves upon the Mexican territory,
where they cause immense damage, for they are well supplied with
firearms, which they obtained in exchange for peltry and cattle at the
American establishments at the Arkansas, the Missouri, and the Rio
Bravo del Norte. In order to complete this brief enumeration of the
Indian nations of Sonora, we will mention a mission established at the
gates of Hermosillo, and in which five hundred Seris Indians lived; a
thousand members of the same tribe, formerly one of the most powerful
in this country, but now almost extinct, dwelt on the coast to the
north of Guaymas, and in Tiburón or Sharkesland.
We will now temporarily leave Stronghand and José Paredes at the top of
the hill, where they found a shelter from the inundation, and lead the
reader to the Real de Minas of Quitoval, where certain important events
are about to take place.
It was the evening: the streets and plazas of the pueblo were crowded
with individuals of every description: Yaquis Indians, hunters, miners,
gambusinos, monks, and adventurers, who composed the motley population
of the Mineral, mounted and foot, incessantly jostled each other, and
bowed, spoke, laughed, or quarrelled. Some were returning from the
placer, where they had been at work all day; others were leaving their
houses to enjoy the evening breeze; others, and they were the larger
number, were entering the drinking shops, through whose doors could be
heard the songs of the topers, and the shrill, inharmonious tinkling
jarabes and vihuelas.
One of these _tendajos_, of a more comfortable and less dirty
appearance than the rest, seemed to have the privilege of attracting a
greater number of customers than all the rival establishments. After
passing through a low door and descending two steps of unequal height,
the visitor found himself in a species of hideous den, resembling at
once a cellar and a shed, whose earthen flooring, rendered uneven by
the mud constantly brought in by customers, caused persons to stumble
at each step who visited the place for the first time! A hot heavy
vapour, impregnated with alcoholic fumes and mephitic exhalations,
escaped through the door of this den, as from the mouth of Hades, and
painfully affected mouth and eyes, before the latter became accustomed
to the close, obscure aspect of the place, and were enabled to pierce
the thick curtain of vapour, which was constantly drawn from one side
to the other by the movements of the customers. They perceived, by the
dubious light of a few _candils_ scattered here and there, a large and
lofty room, whose once whitewashed walls had become black at the lower
part by the constant friction of heads, backs, and shoulders, to which
they served as a support.
Facing the door was a dais, raised about a foot above the ground; this
dais occupied the entire width of the room, and was divided into two
parts; that on the right contained a table forming a bar, behind which
stood a tall, active fellow, with false look and ill-tempered face, the
master of the tendajo. Above the head of this respectable personage,
who answered to the harmonious name of Cospeto, a niche had been made
in the wall, in which was a statue of the Virgin, holding the Holy
Infant in her arms; in front of the statue a dozen small wax tapers,
fixed on a row of iron points, were burning. The left hand portion of
the dais was occupied by the musicians, or performers on jarabes and
vihuelas.
On each side of the room, the centre of which remained free for the
dancers, ran rickety, badly made, and dirty tables, occupied at
this moment by a crowd of customers, some seated on benches, others
standing, laughing, talking, shouting, quarrelling; drinking mezcal,
refino, pulque, or infusion of tamarinds, or else staking at monte the
gold earned during the day at the mine, and which their dirty hands
fetched from the pockets of the shapeless rags that served them as
garments. A few women, creatures without a name, whose features were
sodden with debauchery, and eyes deep sunk with drinking, were mingled
with the crowd; and all, both men and women, were smoking either cigars
or husk cigarettes.
Nothing can describe the hideous aspect of this infamous Pandemonium,
the refuge of all the vices of the province, overlooked by the gentle,
smiling face of the statue of the Virgin, whose features, in the light
of the tapers, assumed an expression of wondrous pity and sorrow.
At the moment when we invite the reader to enter this drinking shop
with us the fun was at its height, the room was full of drinkers and
dancers, and the whole mob laughed, yelled, and made a row which would
have rendered the saint herself deaf. On the left, near the door, a
man, wrapped up in a thick cloak, one end of which was raised to his
face, and completely concealed his features, was sitting motionless at
a separate table, looking absently and carelessly at the dancers who
whirled round him. When a newcomer entered the tendajo, this man looked
toward the door, and then turned his head away with an air of ill
humour when he perceived that the newcomer was not the person that he
had been so long expecting, for he had been sitting alone at this table
for upwards of two hours. Still no one paid, or seemed to pay, any
attention to him--all were too much absorbed in their own occupations
to think about a man who obstinately remained gloomy and silent amid
this revelry. The stranger, so often deceived in his expectations, at
length gave up looking toward the door; he let his head fall on his
chest and went to sleep, or pretended to do so, either for the sake of
not attracting attention, or else to indulge with greater freedom in
his reflections.
All at once a formidable disturbance broke out at one end of the
room; a table was upset by a vigorous blow; oaths crossed each other
in the air, and knives were drawn from boots; musicians and dancers
stopped short, and a circle was formed round two men who, with frowning
brows, eyes sparkling with intoxication and passion, a zarapé rolled
as a buckler round the left arm, and a navaja in their right hand,
were preparing, according to all appearance, to attack each other
vigorously. The tendajero, or master of the house, then proved himself
equal to the position he occupied--he leaped like a jaguar over the
counter behind which he had hitherto stood coldly and indifferently,
merely engaged in watching his waiters and serving customers; he closed
the front door, against which he leant his powerful shoulders, in order
to prevent any customer bolting without payment of his score, and
prepared with evident interest to witness the fight.
The two men, with outstretched legs, left arm advanced, bodies bent
forward, and knife held by the middle of the blade, were standing
looking in each other's eyes, ready for attack, defence, or parry. All
at once the mysterious sleeper appeared to wake with a start, as if
surprised by the voice of one of the adversaries, took a hasty glance
at the combatants, and then darted between them.
"What is the matter?" he asked, in a firm voice, the sound of which
affected the duellists, who were astounded at an interference they had
been far from expecting.
"This man," one of them answered, "has lost three ounces to me at
monte, through the unexpected turn up of the ace of spades."
"Well?" the stranger interjected.
"He refuses to pay me," the gambler continued; "because he declares
that the cards were packed, and that consequently I cheated him, which
is not true, for--_viva Dios;_ I am known to be a caballero."
At this affirmation, which was slightly erroneous, a smile of singular
meaning, but which no one saw, curled the stranger's lip; he continued,
in a more serious voice--"It is true that you are a caballero, and I
would affirm it were it necessary; but the most honest man is subject
to deceive himself, and I am convinced that this has happened to you.
Hence instead of fighting with this caballero, whose honour and
loyalty cannot either be doubted, prove to him that you recognise
your error by paying him the three ounces, which you claimed of him
through an oversight; this gentleman will apologize for having used
certain ugly expressions, and all will then be settled to the general
satisfaction."
"Certainly, I am convinced that this caballero is a man of honour; I
am ready to proclaim it anywhere, and I regret with all my soul the
misunderstanding which momentarily divided us," said the individual who
had not yet spoken, though he remained on the defensive, a position
that slightly contradicted the apparent good humour of his remark.
The stranger then turned to the man whose friend he had so unexpectedly
made himself, and gave him a sign which the other appeared to
understand.
"Well, caballero," he said, with an irony whose expression was hardly
noticeable, "what do you think of this apology? For my part, I consider
it complete and most honourable."
The man thus addressed hesitated for a moment; a combat was evidently
going on in his mind; his furious glances seemed to challenge the
company; and had he perceived on the face of one of the spectators an
expression of contempt, however fugitive it might have been, he would
doubtless have immediately picked another quarrel. But all the persons
who surrounded him were cold and indifferent; curiosity alone was
legible on their features. He unrolled his cloak, returned the knife to
his boot, and held out his hand to his adversary at the same time that
he gave him three ounces.
"Pardon me an involuntary error at which I am trully confused," he
said, with a courteous bow, but with a sigh he could not restrain.
The other took the ounces without pressing, thrust them away in
his capacious pockets with far from ordinary dexterity, returned
the salute, and mingled with the crowd, who, through a lengthened
acquaintance with the two men, did not at all comprehend this peaceful
result.
"Now, Master Kidd," the stranger continued, as he laid his hand on the
shoulder of the adventurer, who stood motionless in the middle of the
room, "I suppose that all your business here is settled; so, with your
permission, we will withdraw."
"As you please," Kidd answered, carelessly, for this man was no other
than the bandit we came across in the opening of our story.
The groups had broken up, the crowd had dispersed, musicians
and dancers had returned to their places, and the two men could
consequently leave without attracting attention. The stranger, when
he reached the purer atmosphere of the street, took several deep
inspirations, as if trying to expel from his lungs the vitiated air
he had been constrained to swallow for so long. Then he turned to his
companion, who was walking silently by his side.
"_¡Cuerpo de Cristo!_ Master Kidd," he said, in a tone of ill humour,
"you are, it must be confessed, a singular fellow; you compel me, the
commandant of this pueblo, to come and hunt you up at this filthy
den, where, on your entreaty, I consented to meet you, and instead of
watching for my arrival, you leave me among the most perfect collection
of bandits I ever saw in my life."
"Excess of zeal, captain; so you must not be angry with me for that,"
the bandit answered, with a cunning look. "In order to be punctual at
the rendezvouz I gave you, I had been for nearly four hours at worthy
Señor Cospeto's. Not knowing how to spend my time, I played at cards.
You know what month is; once I have the cards in my hand, and the gold
on the table, I forget everything."
"Good, good," the stranger answered. "I am willing to believe you.
Still, I pledge you my word, that if you dupe me in the affair you have
proposed, and the information you offer to sell me is false, you will
repent it. You know me, I think, Master Kidd?"
"Yes, Captain Don Marcos de Niza, and I suppose that you know me too;
but of what use is this discussion? Let us settle our business first,
and then you can act as you think proper."
The Captain gave him a suspicious glance. "It is well," he said, as he
rapped at the door; "come in, this is my house; I prefer treating with
you here to the tendajo."
"As you please," the bandit said, and followed the Captain into his
house, the doors of which were closed behind them.