This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1901 Excerpt: ...by the lack of an adequate medium of exchange. In twenty years, the New World gave to the Old World more gold and silver than the latter possessed before the discovery of the former, and the impulse was given to progress and civilization that has never ceased. Mexico and Peru far outstripped all contributors, with ...
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This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1901 Excerpt: ...by the lack of an adequate medium of exchange. In twenty years, the New World gave to the Old World more gold and silver than the latter possessed before the discovery of the former, and the impulse was given to progress and civilization that has never ceased. Mexico and Peru far outstripped all contributors, with Mexico well in the lead. Those old Spaniards had marvelous noses for the precious metals. Very little that cropped on the surface eluded their keen scent, and the country is dotted over with the ruins of their forgotton industry. But for obvious reasons, their work was very seldom thorough and comprehensive. Their knowledge of mechanical appliances was extremely limited. If a mine could not be operated through a tunnel, their only means of hoisting was on the Building a Quartz Mill. The Battery Frame in Place. backs of peons, who carried huge leather bags up what are appropriately termed "chicken ladders"--mere notched poles set aslant in a shaft. I have traversed them, hanging on with four sets of nails and my teeth, and then, when I saw a native go sailing up with a hundred and fifty pounds on his shoulders, never deigning to reach for support, I couldn't help saying "You're a bird." If water was encountered, it had to be lifted out the same way. Then, the processes of extraction were extremely crude and tedious, certainly not more than fifty per cent, of the value being saved. The cost of powder for blasting, also, was enormous. So it had to be a rich mine to attract a Spaniard at all, and even then he came to the end of his rope before long. In fact, what they were always looking for was "shipping ore," that is, ore rich enough to be carried to the seaboard and transported thence to Spain for final reduction. And ...
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Add this copy of A Glimpse of Old Mexico; Being the Observations and to cart. $37.63, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2016 by Wentworth Press.
Add this copy of A Glimpse of Old Mexico: Being the Observations and to cart. $54.95, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2016 by Palala Press.