chisel, it is generally finely sprinkled through the lode , and often serves to nail together the particles of stone through which it is disseminated." —"The ores of the Pastiano mine, near the Carmen , were so rich that the lode was worked by bars, with a point at one end and a chisel at the other, for cutting out the silver. The owner of the Pastiano used to bring the ores from the mine with flags flying, and the mules adorned with cloths of all colors. The same man received a reproof from the Bishop of Durango when he visited Batopilos for placing bars of silver from the door of his house to the great hall ( sala ) for the bishop to walk upon."
The next mine of interest in our progress northward is the Morelos, "which was discovered in 1826 by two brothers named Aranco. These two Indian peons were so poor that, the night before their great discovery, the keeper of the store had refused to credit one of them for a little corn for his tortillas. They extracted from their claim $270,000; yet, in December, 1826, they were still living in a wretched hovel, close to the source of their wealth, bare-headed and bare-legged, with upward of $200,000 in silver locked up in their hut. But never was the utter worthlessness of the metal, as such, so clearly demonstrated as in the case of the Arancos, whose only pleasure consisted in contemplating their hoards, and occasionally throwing away a portion of the richest ore to be scrambled for by their former companions, the workmen."
Near the Morelos is the Jesus Maria. Though on the western or Sonora slope of the mountain, it is only eight leagues from Chihuahua. This, like Morelos, is a modern discovery, and, of course, was not included