The Straight Mind Monique Wittig download

https://ebookbell.com/product/the-straight-mind-monique-
wittig-57342566

Explore and download more ebooks at ebookbell.com

Here are some recommended products that we believe you will be
interested in. You can click the link to download.

The Organized Mind Thinking Straight In The Age Of Information

Overload 1st Edition Daniel Levitin

https://ebookbell.com/product/the-organized-mind-thinking-straight-in-
the-age-of-information-overload-1st-edition-daniel-levitin-10692260

The Organized Mind Thinking Straight In The Age Of Information

Overload 2nd Edition Daniel J Levitin

https://ebookbell.com/product/the-organized-mind-thinking-straight-in-
the-age-of-information-overload-2nd-edition-daniel-j-levitin-50769300

The Organized Mind Thinking Straight In The Age Of Information

Overload Daniel J Levitin

https://ebookbell.com/product/the-organized-mind-thinking-straight-in-
the-age-of-information-overload-daniel-j-levitin-4744306

The Organized Mind Thinking Straight In The Age Of Information

Overload Daniel J Levitin

https://ebookbell.com/product/the-organized-mind-thinking-straight-in-
the-age-of-information-overload-daniel-j-levitin-5405958
Think Straight An Owners Manual For The Mind Jon Guy

https://ebookbell.com/product/think-straight-an-owners-manual-for-the-
mind-jon-guy-44856634

How To Burn Your Own Mind The Delicious Little Sparks Guide For
Straight Women Knight

https://ebookbell.com/product/how-to-burn-your-own-mind-the-delicious-
little-sparks-guide-for-straight-women-knight-12295704

The Straight State Sexuality And Citizenship In Twentiethcentury

America Sexuality And Citizenship In Twentiethcentury America Margot
Canaday

https://ebookbell.com/product/the-straight-state-sexuality-and-
citizenship-in-twentiethcentury-america-sexuality-and-citizenship-in-
twentiethcentury-america-margot-canaday-34750660

The Straight Statesexuality And Citizenship In Twentiethcentury

America Margot Canaday

https://ebookbell.com/product/the-straight-statesexuality-and-
citizenship-in-twentiethcentury-america-margot-canaday-7249268

The Straight Line How The Fringe Science Of Exgay Therapy Reoriented
Sexuality Tom Waidzunas

https://ebookbell.com/product/the-straight-line-how-the-fringe-
science-of-exgay-therapy-reoriented-sexuality-tom-waidzunas-10428622
 Another Random Document on
Scribd Without Any Related Topics
 THE CRATER OF VESUVIUS.

Many people lost their lives, some in consequence of remaining to

protect their property, and others from venturing too near out of
motives of curiosity. At one time a group of fifty or more people
were surrounded by the lava, and burned to death in sight of those
who were powerless to aid them. They were standing on a little hill,
and did not see, until too late, that the lava had flowed around it,
and placed them on an island, as it were, with a red-hot river all
around them. Many others were burned by the lava and the hot
blasts which came from it in various parts of its course. A gentleman
who witnessed the eruption thus describes the scene in a letter
written from Naples on the 27th of April, 1872:—
“Yesterday morning I went out to get a
carriage to go up Mount Vesuvius, and on STORY OF AN EYE-
WITNESS.
my way I was asked by a respectable
looking man in the street if I had heard the news of the night. He
then told me that hundreds of people, who had gone up the night
before to see the burning lava in the Atrio di Cavallo, were dead. I
had seen the mountain at eleven o’clock the night before, when
there was a stream of lava running from the top of the cone into the
Atrio—that is, the valley between Vesuvius and the adjoining hill, the
Somma, where there seemed to be a lake of fire. Later in the night
there was a tremendous eruption, a large crater opening suddenly
between the Observatory and the Atrio di Cavallo, across the path of
the visitors, it is said, of a mile in diameter. We started from Naples
at eight o’clock. The view of the mountain was magnificent. An
enormous cloud of dense white smoke was ascending to an
immense height above the mountain, like great fleeces of cotton
wool, quite unlike any cloud I ever saw. I could see the lava rushing
from several openings to the right of and above the Observatory, but
below the cone. The lava was still flowing from the cone into the
Atrio, but no ash or dust was thrown up. We drove on to Resina,
where the population were in fearful excitement, not knowing what
to do, and apparently apprehensive of instant death—everybody
making signs to us, and telling us to go back. We went on to the
Piazza di Pugliano, where we were stopped and told that no one was
allowed to go up the mountain, by order of the police. However,
after some expostulation, I took a guide on the box and started
again.
“A few minutes afterwards we met a
cart bringing down a dead body, and as AN ISLAND OF FIRE.
we went on we saw other bodies—at least twelve—of which one
only appeared to be living. They were frightfully burned on the face
and hands, and some, which were carried on chairs, in a sitting
position, were very ghastly objects. Further on we met people—
officials, apparently—coming down, all warning us to go back. At
last, when we had arrived at an elbow of the road not far below the
Observatory, we met the officer who has charge of the Observatory,
who said we could not go on; that the danger was imminent; that
the lava was running across and down the road before us; that he
had orders from the prefect of Naples to prevent any one ascending,
and that we could not pass. My coachman was getting a little
anxious, though I will do him the justice to say he was not afraid; so
I consented not to take the carriage beyond a turn in the road above
us to the right, especially as I did not wish to meet the lava in a
narrow road where we could not turn the carriage. We left the
carriage there, and ascended on foot with the guide by a path
straight up the mountain-side.
“At length we stood on the edge of the flat ground reaching to the
foot of the cone. Currents of lava were running down on both sides
of us far below; the craters from which they flowed were hidden by
the smoke; clouds of smoke were ascending from the top of the
cone, and the lava still pouring down the Atrio. The roar of the
mountain, which we had first heard at Portici was now tremendous,
continuous, and unlike anything else I ever heard,—millions of peals
of thunder rolling at the same time,—when suddenly, about noon,
there was a cessation, with a low, rolling sound; and one heard the
ticking and rippling of the lava currents pouring down the hill-sides
below. Then, in about a minute, came a deafening roar, shaking the
ground under our feet; and a new crater burst forth just on the
other side of the Observatory, as it seemed to us, and dense clouds
of ashes and stones were thrown up into the air on the left hand of,
and mingling with, the great white cloud, making a great contrast
with the dark-brown dust and ashes, which rose perpendicularly to
an immense height. The roaring continued and kept on increasing till
it became deafening, and I began to think it might injure our ears.
We staid there about an hour and a half.
“The scene was magnificent, the smoke
occasionally clearing away and giving us A MAGNIFICENT SCENE.
the view towards the Atrio, that towards the cone being always
clear; but as some of our party fancied that the ground might open
under our feet, and that we might find ourselves in the midst of a
new crater, I at length reluctantly sent the guide to bring up the
carriage. Had I been alone I should have staid there till the evening.
When we had gone down a short distance the same phenomena
again appeared. The sudden cessation of the tremendous roaring,
the clicking and rippling of the falling lava, and the low muttering
became then again audible; then the fearful roar, and the shaking of
the ground, and another crater burst forth on the flank of the
mountain, below the Observatory, sending up clouds of dust and
ashes, which rolled over and over till they reached an enormous
height, but quite separate from the other clouds. All this time the
sun was shining in an Italian sky without a cloud.
“After stopping some time to admire the scene, we continued our
descent; but before we reached the bottom of the hill we saw the
lava from the last crater tearing its way down through the vineyards
to our right with wonderful rapidity. Just an hour after we left the
top of the hill the cone commenced sending up torrents of stones,
which fell in all directions; but whether the red-hot hail reached our
position on the height I know not. When we reached Resina it was
curious to see the congratulations for what they thought our escape
on the faces of the people. The uncertainty and the panic were
gone, and they were steadily packing up their beds and the few
things they could carry, and starting with every sort of conveyance
to put their guardian saint, St. Gennaro, between them and the
danger. When I started from Naples I expected to find all the world
at the top of the mountain; but, to my great surprise, there was not
a single stranger there—only the few persons employed in bringing
down the dead. I believe the police prevented any carriage passing
after ours. The awful roaring of the mountain continued and
increased till midnight, when it ceased, and only roared again for a
short time about four o’clock. To-day the mountain is quieter, and
the Neapolitans are a trifle less pale. The view of the mountain at
midnight was grand in the extreme.”
Several villages were destroyed in this
THE ERUPTION
eruption, and many acres of vines were SUBSIDING.
covered with lava and ashes. But as soon
as the eruption was over, many of those who had fled returned to
whatever of their old homes they could find. There is something
strange in the fascination of the people for the places which they are
well aware are liable at any time to the lava torrent or the storm of
ashes. Eruptions have occurred, and will occur again; but all the
reasoning you can offer would not induce these Italian peasants to
go and live elsewhere.
At the present time Professor Palmieri reports from his
observatory, near the top of the crater, that symptoms have been
observed by him which indicate a new eruption, and strange to say,
the Italians, who are accustomed to live constantly in danger, quietly
look out for the occurrence, living at the very foot of the death-
dealing mountain. The soil is extremely fertile, and eagerness for
wealth seems here even to expel fear for death.
 XIII.
THE CAVERNS OF NAPLES.

EXCAVATIONS NEAR NAPLES.—POZZUOLI.—VISIT TO THE CAVE OF THE CUMEAN

SIBYL.—ACCIDENT TO AN ENGLISH TRAVELLER.—HUMAN PACK-HORSES.—
DARKNESS AND TORCHES.—THE LAKE OF AVERNUS.—DROWNED IN BOILING
WATER.—A DANGEROUS WALK.—IN NERO’S PRISON.—INSTRUMENTS OF
TORTURE.—USE OF THE RACK.—THE IRON BEDSTEAD.—BROILING A MAN
ALIVE.—TREATMENT OF PRISONERS.—AN ANCIENT FUNERAL. —VIRGIL’S
TOMB.—CONSTRUCTING WINE CELLARS.—NOVEL PLAN OF ROBBERY.

The traveller who visits Naples has abundant opportunities for

making underground explorations in the neighborhood of that city. A
few of the places he can examine are of natural origin—the Blue
Grotto, for example; but by far the greater part of them are artificial.
A most interesting journey can be made to Pozzuoli and its
immediate neighborhood. With a longing desire to see some of the
underground curiosities that have made that part of Italy famous, I
arranged a tour in that direction before I had fairly settled myself at
the hotel. We made a party of three, all Americans, and all as
impatient and uneasy as our race is said to be when travelling on the
continent. A skirmish with a horde of rapacious coachmen secured
us a carriage, and we drove out of Naples by the road which skirts
the bay in the direction of Rome.
Arriving in the vicinity of the famous places, we were beset by
guides, who almost climbed into the carriage in their eagerness to
secure an engagement. We picked out the cleanest of the lot, or
rather the least dirty, and mounted him upon the box by the side of
the driver, where he sat in all the dignity of an emperor. He spoke a
confused jumble of English, French, and Italian, which was no
language in particular, but might be anything in general. His first
movement was to stop at a wayside house, from which a woman
emerged bringing us half a dozen candles or torches of twisted rags
and tallow, each of them as large as one’s wrist, and about three
feet long. We objected to so many, but the guide assured us they
would all be needed. I was inclined to doubt his statement, from my
knowledge of the rascality of guides in general; but he met me with
the promise, “Me them will pay for if not they be wanted, Si, signor.
You verrez will.”
Of course we could not refuse after this guarantee. I paid for the
torches with a silent resolution to make the fellow eat what were left
over; and, as the tallow was bad, and the rags were worse, there
was good reason to believe they would not make an agreeable
dinner.
Soon after making this purchase, the
work of sight-seeing began. Each place we GOING TO POZZUOLI.
visited had a man at the entrance, and not one of us could go inside
without paying for the privilege. There were always a half dozen idle
fellows hanging about ready to sell cameos and other curiosities
which had been dug up in the vicinity, as they solemnly avowed; in
reality the cameos were of modern manufacture, and made in Rome
or Naples. The speculators would begin by asking fifty francs for a
cameo which was worth about five, and which they would sell for
five if they could not get any more. If we safely ran the gantlet
through these avaricious tradesmen, we were beset by local guides
who wanted to lead us, and we generally found it desirable to
employ some of them in order to see what the place contained. In
one instance these guides acted as pack-horses, and I can testify
that one of them, at least, had all that he wanted to carry; and this
is the way it happened.
CITY OF NAPLES, BAY, AND MT. VESUVIUS.— SEAPORT OF SOUTH ITALY, NEAR
THE SITES OF HERCULANEUM AND POMPEII.
 A RIDE IN NAPLES.

At the cave of the Cumean Sibyl, where the Emperor Nero and
other famous men of the olden time were accustomed to go to hear
the prophecies on which their fate depended, we found a larger
crowd than usual. A party of Americans were just emerging as we
entered, and one of them intimated that the place laid over anything
he had yet seen. Our torches were lighted, and we went forward
quite a distance, through a tunnel eight or ten feet wide, out of
which a smaller tunnel descended. Down this tunnel we walked until
we came to the edge of a black, repulsive pool, over which the light
shone very dimly. There was considerable smoke hanging over the
water, and altogether the place was about as gloomy as anything I
had ever seen. For all that could be discovered, the pool might be a
thousand feet deep, and any number of miles across; to venture
upon it might be like venturing upon the Atlantic Ocean, or any other
great body of water. I noticed that the guides had their trousers
rolled to the knee, and were barefooted. They fearlessly entered the
water; two of them carried the torches, and three others backed
themselves to the edge where there was a sort of stepping-stone.
“What is to be done now?” we asked of our private guide.
“Montez ze backs ze men of,” he replied. “You they carry porteez
will to Grotto del Sibyl.”
We hesitated to trust ourselves with
these fellows, who might drown us, or HUMAN PACK MULES.
throw us into a hole a few thousand feet deep, and leave us to come
up again through the crater of Mount Vesuvius. But finally we
concluded to try it, and so we mounted our two-legged steeds and
rode off.
It happened that I was the heaviest of our party, and it also
happened that the man who took me did not weigh as much as I did
by at least fifty pounds. He trembled beneath me like a plateful of
jelly in the hands of an intoxicated waiter, and I expected every
moment he would drop me into the water. We went out from the
shore into the smoky darkness, and in less than a minute we were
completely at sea. Water was beneath and around us, and there was
a black sky above that we could almost touch. No horizon was
visible, and altogether we seemed to be in a world about ten feet in
diameter, and without sun, moon, or stars.
Our porters splashed along in water about two feet deep, and I
thought much more of the liability of my pack animal to stumble
than I did of the Cumean Sibyl and her oracles. Nero was less in my
mind than the garlic-eating Italian beneath me, and I was much less
interested in the Roman kings than in a certain subject of Victor
Emanuel. Our trio exchanged comments on this novel mode of
travelling, and for the time we had very little appreciation of the
wonderful history of Rome and her dependencies.
As near as my recollection serves, we
CUMEAN SIBYL.
had about five minutes of this sort of
travel, when the head of our procession came to a halt before a
recess in the wall, which our leader described as the Sibyl’s Bath. It
seems that before delivering her oracles, she used to take a bath, on
the principle, doubtless, that cleanliness is next to godliness, and the
purer her skin the more likely would the gods be to aid her with their
inspiration. The artists represent her as a pretty woman, and of
course she was well aware that frequent bathing had a tendency to
preserve her good looks.
The couch or bench where she reclined when delivering her
oracles was pointed out, and as it then appeared, it was anything
but comfortable. The presence of the water in the cave was
explained to be something modern, and not at all in fashion when
the Sibyl used to be at home to visitors of wealth and distinction.
She used to keep her floor dry and well swept, and probably she had
a little sideboard with a cold ham or two and a bottle of wine. Nero
was a frequent caller, both in fashionable and unfashionable hours,
and used to send her valuable presents. Mrs. Nero was jealous, but
the old gentleman was in a position to do pretty much as he liked,
and didn’t mind her scolding. One of my companions showed me a
scrap of paper, which he said he found just inside the entrance to
the cave, while I was paying off the guides. It ran as follows:—
May 10, 4 P. M.
Dearest Sib: Expect me at eight. The old lady is going out this evening,
and won’t miss me. Have the tea ready, and send out for a bottle of
Clicquot. I will bring a mince pie and some Limburger cheese; also a new
pair of ear-rings and a chignon.
Your loving
Nero.

I suspected that the note was a forgery, as it was written in

English, and the paper had the water-mark of 1866. I called my
friend’s attention to these slight discrepancies, and he at once put
the paper in his pocket, and said nothing more about it.
After looking at the couch of the Sibyl we started back to our
landing-place. Just as we neared it we met another party going in.
One of the porters of the new party was
evidently weak in the knees, for he AN UNFORTUNATE
ENGLISHMAN.
stumbled just as he passed me, and went
down like a handful of mud. The gentleman he carried was dropped
into the water, and fell flat, as though intending to take a swim. He
slowly rose to his feet, and after blowing the water from his mouth
with a noise like the spouting of a whale, he ventured several
remarks that were nowise complimentary to his porter or to the
place. He appeared somewhat excited. His language showed him to
be English, but there was nothing in it to indicate that he was a
member in good and regular standing of the Church of England. He
did not finish his journey to the bath and couch of the Sibyl, but
followed us to the shore, where he wrung himself out, and then
retired to his carriage to be hung up to dry. With a heartlessness
peculiar to many travellers, he refused to pay the porter for his
services. It is fortunate that the latter did not understand English, as
he would have been offended at the remarks which were made
about him.
From the Sibyl’s Cave we went to the famous Lake of Avernus,
which was described by Virgil long before anybody who reads this
book was familiar with a single word of Latin. Near the lake is the
famous passage into the mountain about which Virgil wrote:—
“Facilis descensus Averni. Sed revocare gradum, hic opus, hic
labor est.”
We paid our admission fee, and then prepared according to the
directions of the guide. We laid aside our coats and vests, removed
our collars, neck-ties, and hats, and altogether put ourselves in a
condition quite improper in polite society. A boy stood ready to
precede us in a costume consisting of a pair of pantaloons and a tin
pail. A fresh egg was now shown us, and we examined it to see that
it was quite cold and raw. The boy then took the egg and a torch,
and went into a tunnel like the one at the Sibyl’s Cave. A blast of hot
air met us at the entrance, as though it came from a furnace, and I
thought of Nebuchadnezzar and the treat that he used to have for
his visitors. On and on we went, and also down and down. Old Virgil
was right when he said that the descent was easy, for we went
down with the grace of so many oysters entering the mouth of a
champagne bottle. Hotter and hotter grew the air, and before we
were half way down I remembered some business that I had
neglected when I left America. I wanted to go back to look after it,
but my friends argued that it would keep a little longer, and I had
better go on. So we continued down into the bowels of the
mountain, over a slippery pathway and in a temperature as
agreeable as that of the stoker’s room on a steamship.
We reached the end at last, and the boy stooped to the edge of a
pool of water and placed the egg within it. We could see a thin vapor
rising from the surface, and readily imagined that it was steam. The
boy was careful of his hands, more careful than was necessary, since
he might have added to the interest of the occasion by scalding
them, and then hiring another boy to take his place. There were
plenty of boys outside who could be hired cheap, and if a dozen
were killed daily by scalding, or rendered helpless, it would have
made no serious diminution of the Italian population.
We stood there a couple of minutes, and
then the boy took the tin pail and scooped FACILIS
AVERNI.
DESCENSUS

up the egg and a quart or two of water. He

then started back, and scrambled quite nimbly up the steep and
slippery path. It was a difficult ascent to make, and we
acknowledged that Virgil’s head was level when he told about the
labor required to retrace one’s steps from Avernus. We perspired like
a man who has just learned that he is the father of triplets, and by
the time we completed the journey, our clothing was pretty
thoroughly saturated. The boy was accustomed to it, as the old
lady’s eels were to being skinned, and the hide on his shirtless back
looked like the outside of a long-used pocket-book. The egg was
thoroughly cooked, and the water in the pail was of a scalding
temperature, altogether too hot to put one’s hand into. The egg cost
us half a franc, and so did the boy: one of us ate the egg with a little
salt, but we declined to eat the boy with or without salt, and he did
not urge us.
The guide told us that one day an Englishman went down the
“descensus Averni,” and on arriving at the hot water, he stepped
around so carelessly that he slipped and fell in. His cries and shrieks
rang through the tunnel; he was pulled out as quickly as possible,
but he was so badly scalded that he died in a few hours. Several
accidents have happened there by persons scalding their hands and
feet, but the character of the place is such, that people are likely to
be careful; otherwise there would be frequent casualties to record.
We visited the ruins of temples that
were erected to I don’t know how many NERO’S PRISON.
deities, and the next subterranean exploration that we made was at
Nero’s Prison, as the guide and the guide-books call it. We left our
carriage and went on foot up a narrow lane, and along a path where
beggars followed and beset us at every turn; notwithstanding their
importunity, they did not extract any money from us, though they
appeared in all the conditions in which beggars could possibly
present themselves. Nero must have been a charming personage if
one could judge of him by looking at the place where he used to
shut up those who offended him. It was a subterranean affair, and
we were obliged to light our torches to explore it. We were led
through winding passages into cells that were anything but
comfortable, the guide stopping every moment to explain to us the
nature of each one of the cells, and the uses to which they were
put. They were small enough to render it utterly improbable that a
man would exert his legs very actively in running, after he was once
shut in, and as for light and ventilation, they were quite in keeping
with the size of the apartments.
I inquired about the character of the food which Nero used to
furnish to the occupants of his boarding-house, and was told that it
was not of a luxurious character. Nero had no table d’hôte, but used
to send the meals to the rooms of his guests. None of them are alive
now, and their early death is to be attributed in many cases to the
treatment they received. At the time they resided there, oysters had
not been invented, and there is nothing on record to show that the
delicious conglomerate which we call hash had made its appearance.
Some of the patrons used to express a desire to live on the
European plan, and take their meals outside; but the proprietor
would never permit it. And it must be said, to his credit, that his
establishment was to a certain extent a free lunch concern, as he
never charged anything for board and lodging. Everything was
gratis, and of course the patrons who complained must have been
mean fellows, who couldn’t be satisfied, no matter what you might
do for them.
The furniture of the place was very
simple. It had been mostly removed when CHOICE FURNITURE.
we were there, but it consisted originally of a bundle of straw on the
ground and a double lock on the door. There used to be a
gymnasium, where they kept a choice lot of racks, thumb-screws,
and other luxurious arrangements. Life in the private rooms used to
be monotonous, and in order to render it interesting, Nero would
take his patrons into the gymnasium to amuse them. Some of them
he would play a joke upon by tying them down on a rack and then
winding up the machine so that a man of five feet eight would often
be converted into six feet two. When he had been played with in this
way, they would turn him loose, though releasing him did no good,
as he was generally dead before they let him off.
 NERO’S GYMNASIUM, AN APARTMENT IN “NERO’S PRISON.”

The gymnasium had another PROCRUSTES’ BED.

arrangement, patented by Mr. Procrustes,
which was intended to equalize all men, and make them of a
uniform height. This invention, based on the principles of mechanical
communism, was a bedstead of iron, and there were various
individuals who enjoyed the treat of being placed upon it. A poet has
alluded to it as follows:—
“This iron bedstead they do fetch
To try our hopes upon.
If we’re too short we must be stretched,
Cut off if we’re too long.”

When they laid out a man on this couch, if its length corresponded
with his, he was immediately removed before he had time to go to
sleep. If he was short, both in money and in stature, they elongated
him until he could touch headboard and footboard at the same time;
and if he was a tall fellow, they shortened him at the feet with a
large pair of shears that were kept for the purpose. When a hundred
men had been measured on this bed and placed in a row, they were
found to be of the same elevation. A good many of them died soon
afterwards, but people were numerous in those days, and the dead
ones were not missed by those who didn’t know anything about
them.
Down in the kitchen, Nero had a gridiron resembling a garden
gate, or a section of an iron fence. He had so many cooks that all of
them could not be constantly employed, and so he busied himself to
devise ways to employ them. He found that the gridiron was just the
thing, and when his cooks were idle he used to take one of his
lodgers down stairs and promise him a good roast. The lodger would
be thinking of a nice turkey or a leg of mutton when Nero said
“roast” to him, and as the private table was not very good, he was
always ready to go below. When they got down stairs Nero would tip
the wink to the cooks, who would seize the lodger and tie him on
the gridiron. They then built a fire under him, and Nero carried on
the joke by standing alongside with a big ladle and pouring hot oil
over his guest. When he was done brown, and turned over and done
on the other side, they would let him off to enjoy the fun of seeing
the sell played on the next man. No doubt he would have enjoyed it
had he not been dead long before they got through with him.
When we returned to Naples, we went
by another route than the one we had THE TOMB OF VIRGIL.
taken in the morning. At one place our way led through a tunnel cut
into the solid earth, and said to be more than two thousand years
old. It has worn down greatly since it was first opened; the marks of
the axles of carts and wagons are visible along its sides ten or
twelve feet above the present floor. It is lighted by torches placed at
regular intervals along the walls, and is an important thoroughfare
for people going between Naples and certain villages and towns to
the north of it. At the end nearest to Naples we were taken to what
is supposed to be the Tomb of Virgil, though its authenticity is
considerably in doubt. It certainly is not much of a tomb, and many
a man not half so talented or famous as Virgil has been lodged after
death in far more beautiful quarters than these.
The peculiar nature of the earth composing the hills around
Naples has greatly facilitated the construction of tunnels and caves.
It is almost identical with that of the bluffs of Vicksburg—easy to
cut, and at the same time sufficiently firm to prevent falling in. No
roofing or arching of any kind is needed, and the tools ordinarily
used in excavations are all that are required. Consequently every
man who has a hill on his farm can construct a spacious wine cellar
at little expense; and if he has a friendly neighbor over the hill, they
can easily cut their way through, and save the trouble of climbing
when they want to visit each other.
I heard of Neapolitan thieves who sometimes find out a well-
stored wine cellar in the side of a small hill, and carefully observe its
position. Then they erect a small house on the other side, and begin
a small tunnel. They cart the dirt away at night, and after a month
or so enter the cellar and steal enough wine to pay them
handsomely for their trouble.
 XIV.
THE EXCAVATIONS OF DR. SCHLIEMANN, AT MYCENÆ (GREECE).

HIS EARLY LIFE AND IDEAL.—THE TREASURES OF PRIAMUS.—DESCRIPTION OF

THE SPOT.—EARLY HISTORY OF MYCENÆ.—PAUSANIAS, THE ANCIENT
ARCHÆOLOGIST.—WHERE THE EXCAVATIONS WERE COMMENCED.—THE
TOMB OF AGAMEMNON AND HIS FAITHFUL WARRIORS.—DESCRIPTION OF
THE TREASURES FOUND.—PROOFS OF THE IMMENSE ANTIQUITY OF THE
TOMBS.—RECENT PORTRAITS TAKEN OF HEROES OF ANCIENT GREECE.—
HOW IT WAS DONE.—THE VALUE OF THE DISCOVERIES REGARDING ART
MATTERS.—HERACLES STRUGGLING WITH THE LION.—DR. SCHLIEMANN’S
HEROIC WIFE.—DISCOVERY OF THE TEMPLE OF ÆSCULAPIUS.—A BYZANTINE
CAVE UNDER THE ROCK.—A DISCOVERY WHICH FILLS ATHENS WITH JOY.—
THE STATUE OF VICTORY FOUND IN ALMOST PERFECT CONDITION.

DR. AND MRS. SCHLIEMANN, THE EXCAVATORS, AT MYCENÆ (GREECE).

 Dr. Heinrich Schliemann, the great excavator, of whom so much
has been said of late, is a German by birth, and a man of an
idealistic character. In his youth, he dreamed of the heroes of
antiquity; he was a passionate student of the Trojan war, and the
adventures of Odessus and Agamemnon. He loved to hear, in school,
Homer recited, and afterwards, when he went through his
variegated life, as ship’s boy, ship’s broker, clerk, commercial
correspondent, and, at last, as an independent and rich merchant,
one ideal pursued him, that of seeing, for himself, the seat of Homer,
and the fatherland of the heroes of whom that great poet of
antiquity sings; he wanted to find the traces of the past dead. After
he had occupied himself, for many years, with his plan, after having
surmounted innumerable obstacles, of which he gives a touching
description in his autobiography, he succeeded, in 1867, in
undertaking his first trip to Ithaca, the Peloponnesus, and Troja. The
searches then made led to the discovery of the treasures of Priamus,
which astounded the world; and scarcely has the astonishment of
such remarkable discoveries cooled off, when Dr. Schliemann
surprises us by a new miracle. He believed in the divinity, and found
its trace; the treasures showed that Priamus had existed; the tomb
identified Agamemnon.
But before entering upon a description of the excavations, and the
treasures found therein, we deem it highly necessary to give a
description, in outline, of the spot where the gems of antiquity are
being unearthed.
We cannot do better than give the
DESCRIPTION OF THE
extract from the notes of an excursion,
SPOT.
made on the very spot, under which Dr.
Schliemann is now digging for treasures and historical facts, which
undoubtedly are of the greatest importance for the knowledge of
antiquity and the land of Homer. This excursion was made in 1871,
some five years before the persistent doctor commenced his
researches.
It reads substantially as follows:
 “From Tiryns we proceeded, Feb. 7th, by carriage to Argos, the
city of Inachus, where we found horses saddled, waiting for us, to
enable us to go to Mycenæ. We crossed, on our way, the river
Inachus, and found, on the Argolic plain, for the first time, the red
poppies which we afterwards noticed as so abundant in Palestine.
After having gone up the crumbling steps of the amphitheater, the
most important monument at Argos, (where, beset by the
importunate solicitations of some boys, we bought two or three old
coins, where coin is said to have been first invented. The invention
of coin is ascribed to the Lydians, yet it is certain that it was used at
Argos.) We mounted our horses and rode over the plain, finding in
many places only a difficult bridle-path, to the treasury of Atreus, or
the tomb of Agamemnon. This structure, for it may be either
treasury or tomb, or both, (we commend to Dr. Schliemann the
solution of the problem,) consists of a building cut out of the side of
a hill, entrance to which is through a gateway, down an inclined
plane, with walls on both sides, into two vaulted apartments—one
larger than the other, and both now empty. The most remarkable
feature is the gateway, and especially the huge soffit which spans it,
not more from its immense size, than from the apparent impossibility
of removing it from the place which it occupies, held in its position
by its own weight, and supporting the pressure of the mass above it.
(A similar contrivance we noticed in the gateway of the temple of
Jupiter at Baalbek.) ‘The remains of copper nails in the walls of the
larger apartment, indicated that it had been sheathed with copper
plates, while the inner chamber may have been coated with marble.’
“Here, after having examined the ruin, we lunched and again
mounting our horses, proceeded to view the celebrated ‘Lions’ of
Mycenæ, once the site of the royal palace of Agamemnon—itself a
ruin in the time of Homer—its foundation going back to an almost
dateless antiquity. The ruins of Mycenæ are, in many respects,
unequaled in interest by any object in Greece. Their position is
fortunate; there is no habitation near them. The traveler ascends
from the open plain to the deserted hill on which they stand. The
walls of the citadel may still be traced in their entire circuit, and on
the western side they rise to a considerable height. Only a few
foundations of ancient buildings remain, and one or two cisterns
hewn in the rocky soil, and lined with cement. Such is the present
state of the Acropolis of Mycenæ. Two gates, one on the northeast,
the other on the northwest, both guarded by a tower, gave entrance
into the city. The two gates and tower seem to have been
connected, and illustrate the military architecture presented to our
notice in the Iliad. The ‘Lions’ are represented in high relief,
rampant, headless, their feet resting on a pedestal which is a Doric
column reversed, carved out of a block of gray limestone. By whom
erected, or for what purpose, must ever remain a mystery. Perhaps
the simplest explanation is the best, that they denote the ‘courage
leonine,’ and were heraldic badges upon the national escutcheon of
Mycenæ. We clambered over the walls of the ruined palace of
Agamemnon, on the hill-side we came across several pieces of
antique pottery, which we have preserved. To make the illusion more
complete, while we were exploring the ruins, a fierce, wolfish,
shepherd-dog, the only guardian of the place, in a field below, kept
up a loud, persistent barking, which ceased not till we had left the
spot.”
It is perhaps too soon, in the present imperfect state of the
excavations at Mycenæ, to form a true estimate of their value, as
related to the authenticity of the heroes of Homer. However, we will
give, as far as that is possible, from the reports of Dr. Schliemann
himself, a review of the wonderful things which this great sapper
and miner has brought to light:
The city of Mycenæ must have been
THE CITY OF MYCENÆ.
wonderfully beautiful. Homer calls it “the
city rich in gold and broad of streets,” at the time when the ruler of
Mycenæ, Agamemnon, assisted the Greeks against Troja, with one
hundred ships, and a great number of men, for which service he was
elected their commander-in-chief. He fell, at his return, by the
faithlessness of his wife, and with him the glory of the city was
gone. Only rarely we find, in history, traces of her unimportant
existence. About the middle of the fifth century B. C., she was
destroyed by the Argivi, and her inhabitants dispersed.

THE EXPLORATIONS AT MYCENÆ. THE TREASURY OF ATREUS (ENTRANCE.)

The ruins were never taken away, and they were only for
archæologists of antiquity and of the modern times, an object of
interest.
The “gate of lions” of Mycenæ, which has been built in over-old
Grecian style, has been known long ago; it gave entrance to the
bourg; Pausanias, who, while traveling in Greece, two centuries after
Christ, visited the old city of Atreus, probably found the gate in a far
better condition than it is at the present date; it was, for him, an
object of the highest interest, and he was of opinion that the Cyclops
themselves had builded the gate and walls. Further, he relates:
“Under the ruins of Mycenæ, is a well, and the under-earthly
apartments of Atreus and his descendants, which served them as
treasuries. There are also tombs; in the first place, that of Atreus,
and then all the graves of those who returned with Agamemnon
from Troja, and who, like he, were murdered by Aegisthus. Only
Clytemnestra and Aegisthus have not been deemed worthy of being
buried there; their graves are outside of the wall.”
Dr. Schliemann, reading this account of the archæologist of
antiquity, had not the slightest doubt but that the history of Greece
was more than a mere tradition, and how wonderfully have his
presentiments been fulfilled!
When we enter the bourg by means of the “gate of lions,” we are
soon enabled to continue on our way through a corridor, which is
formed by a well-preserved stone wall which surrounds a circular
plain of about fifty feet in diameter; the wall reaches nearly to the
height of a person’s breast. On this plain, Dr. Schliemann
commenced his excavations; already at a small depth they found the
first traces; several slabs of a yellowish lime, adorned with ancient
reliefs, and showing that they once had served as slabs on graves.
On taking them away, they saw a broad shaft in the earth, twenty
feet long, and ten feet deep; a second, parallel to the first, followed,
and afterwards, three others were found behind the smaller sides of
the first two. Of course, Dr. Schliemann was bound to penetrate to
the extreme depth of these shafts, and while digging, he found
earthenware, and small objects manufactured of gold.
At last, they came to the extreme depth on a hard floor, and here
three skeletons were lying, at a little distance from each other,
surrounded by innumerable weapons and objects of luxury, partly of
gold, and partly of silver; one of these corpses was distinguished by
exceedingly well-preserved teeth.
This was the tomb of Agamemnon and
THE TOMB OF
his faithful warriors.
AGAMEMNON.
Dr. Schliemann, in his correspondence to
the London Times, describes the treasures which he found lying
around the bodies, in the following manner:
“Among the most interesting objects of
this sepulchre I reckon the magnificently DR. SCHLIEMANN’S
ACCOUNT.
ornamented golden buttons. Twelve are in
form of a cross, and one of them is two and one-fifth inches large,
and three inches long; three are somewhat smaller, and the
remaining eight are of a still less size. Of splendidly ornamented
round gold buttons were found, in all, two hundred and sixteen, two
of which are two inches in diameter, seven are of the size of a five
franc piece, and two hundred and seven are still smaller. All these
buttons, the lower part of which consists of a bone button in form of
our shirt buttons, must have served on the clothes of the deceased,
whereas all which show only a flat piece of bone or wood, have
evidently served to decorate the sheaths of swords, lances, etc., to
which they had been soldered with tin, or otherwise fastened. There
were in all found in the tomb, twenty-five two-edged bronze swords,
sixteen of which are in a perfect state of conservation; four of them
had handles plated with gold and richly ornamented. There were
also found with the swords, five large handle-buttons, four of which
are of alabaster, and one of wood; all of them are ornamented with
golden nails. Further, two golden shoulder belts, which were worn on
the shoulder across the breast; both are four feet long, and one and
three-fifths inches broad. There were further found two large girdle-
belts ornamented with circles and flowers; one of them is composed
of two pieces. There was also found a part of a similar belt, and a
child’s golden girdle-belt, only one foot four inches long, and two
and one-fifth inches broad. Further, a splendidly ornamented golden
handle, probably of a scepter. It terminates in a dragon’s head,
whose scales seem to have been imitated by square pieces of rock
crystal, which are inlaid like mosaic. This is an object of marvelous
beauty, of which Homer would have said, ‘A wonder to look upon.’
There were also found seven large and one small golden diadems—
one of the former is ornamented with golden leaves. All of them
show splendid ornaments of circles and spiral lines. Further, four
golden ornaments of the greaves, almost in form of a bracelet: one
comb of bone, in a large handle, or casing of gold, of the usual form,
as ladies wear it; one enormous, most magnificently-ornamented,
massive, gold bracelet, weighing three hundred and sixty grammes.
In the center of the ornamentation of this bracelet is soldered a
separate piece of gold, representing the sun with his rays. The size
of this bracelet is so enormous that the person who has worn it must
have had gigantic arms. Quite in opposition to the size of the
bracelet are two massive golden seal rings, the opening of which is
so small that they would only fit a child of ten years. I, therefore,
suppose that they may have been used as seals only. One of the
seals represents two warriors on a two-wheeled chariot with two
horses, which seem to run at full gallop; one of the warriors is
holding a bow in his hand, and has just shot an arrow at a stag. The
stag is wounded, and in anguish turns his head. The other seal ring
represents a warrior who has just vanquished his three enemies, and
is in the act of giving, with his uplifted sword, a last blow to one of
them, wounded, and kneeling before him on one knee; the latter
tries to parry the blow with his uplifted hands and with a lance,
which he holds in his right, and seems to throw at his opponent.
Another seems to be mortally wounded, for he lies on the ground,
leaning on both his hands. The third, who alone of all the four
warriors has a helmet with a crest on his head, is flying under the
cover of an enormous shield which reaches from his neck to his
heels; but still he turns his head towards his victorious enemy, and is
in the act of throwing a lance at him. The anatomy of all the men is
so well observed, their posture is so faithful to nature, and
everything is executed with so much art, that when I brought to
light these rings, I involuntarily exclaimed: ‘The author of the ‘Iliad’
and the ‘Odyssey’ can only have been born and educated in a
civilization which could produce such wonders. Only a poet who had
master-pieces of art like these continually before his eyes could
compose those divine poems.’
“At the head of one of the bodies was
found a large and heavy golden helmet, WONDERFUL GEMS.
but it had been much crushed, and had become nearly flat under the
ponderous weight which pressed upon it. In its present state, it is
difficult to describe it. On its forepart, the openings for the eyes and
mouth, as also a protuberance ornamented with small stars, are
distinctly visible, as also on the top of the helmet, the tube for the
crest. The back part is beautifully ornamented with an imitation of
the hair. The face of the same body was covered with one of the
golden masks which we frequently met with. It seems to have been
the custom with the ancient Greeks, to cover the faces of their
beloved dead, with masks of gold which exactly represent the
outline of the features; probably they did so to preserve the face.
We find this custom back in the wooden masks of the Egyptian
mummies. The breast and sides were covered by a one-foot eight-
inch long, and one-foot broad, thick plate of gold, which was no
doubt intended to represent the coat of mail. There were further
found one hundred leaves of gold, either of circular or of cross-like
form, with impressed ornamentation, consisting either of spiral lines,
or of circles. Further, three very heavy golden breast-pins, of which
the one is five and one-half, the other five, and the third four and
one-half inches long. The last is crowned with a ram, the two others
with an ornament in shape of a helmet, and the heads of all the
three breast-pins are perforated, probably to put in a flower. There
were further found two masterly ornamental objects of massive gold
in the form of crosses; also a large golden vase weighing one and
seven-eighths kilogrammes: it has two handles, a large foot, and
ornamented with three upper and two lower parallel lines, between
which is a row of fourteen stars; further, a large golden vase with
one handle, and an ornamentation representing seven beautiful
flowers; another golden vase with two handles; further, a splendid
little golden œhœ, or wine can, with an ornamentation of spiral
lines. Further, six golden drinking cups, one of which is a drinking
cup with two handles, on each of which is a pigeon, each of the two
handles being joined to the foot by two separate golden blades. This
goblet reminds us of Nestor’s goblet, which was also ornamented
with pigeons (see ‘Iliad,’ XI, 632, 635). One of the other goblets is
ornamented with parallel flutings. There were further found two
small golden vessels; also, eight silver vases, three of which are
admirably conserved; one of the other has its bottom and the mouth
of bronze; below its bottom were found one hundred of the
aforesaid golden buttons. I further found, in this tomb, thirteen large
bronze vessels. This kind of vessel was in high esteem in the heroic
age, and we see them continually mentioned by Homer as prizes in
the games. I suppose that to each hero were given in the grave the
goblets and other objects which were dear to him in his lifetime,
having been won by him in the games, or having been given to him
by his host as a pledge of hospitality and friendship. There was also
found a large quantity of small perforated amber balls of necklaces,
and a bronze or copper fork with three teeth, which had probably
served on the funeral pyres. There were further found thirty-five
arrow heads of obsidian. Nothing could give a better idea of the
great antiquity of these tombs than these stone arrow-heads, for the
‘Iliad’ seems to know only arrow-heads of bronze (e.g., ‘Iliad,’ XIII,
650 and 662). Probably there had also been deposited bows and
quivers in the tomb, but they would have been of wood, and would
have rotted away. To my greatest regret, among thousands of gold
ornaments, there is not even a single sign resembling writing, and it
therefore appears certain that the sepulchres belong to an epoch
which preceded the introduction of the Phœnician alphabet. Had the
latter been known, the Mycenæan goldsmiths, whose continual
efforts appear to have been directed to the invention of a new
ornamentation, would have been very ambitious to show the novelty
of the alphabet. A second proof of the immense antiquity of these
tombs, is the entire absence of any vestige of either iron or glass, or
of any pottery made on the potter’s wheel. But the hand-made
pottery had reached a high degree of perfection, such as has never
been attained here in later times by the pottery made on the wheel.”
The doctor, enthusiastic as he is with his new discoveries, had the
mortal remains of the immortal heroes taken from their graves, and
the great departed ones received the unprecedented honor to have
their portraits painted by an artist of our day. Of course, the golden
mask was used for that purpose.
 The greatest scientific importance of the discoveries at Mycenæ,
lies in the fact that we now make acquaintance with a kind of art
which very nearly approaches oriental representation and oriental
technique. It can easily be seen, from the works of art found by the
excavations, that the artists of that remote time did not care so
much to give true representations of real existing things, but to
procure to dead things, as much as possible, a living, graceful form.
Among the treasures, a golden plate
was found, upon which Heracles is GRECIAN MYCENÆ.
ART IN

engraved, struggling with a lion. This last

engraving, above all others, may serve as a scientific guide, through
the labyrinth of the treasures of Mycenæ. The struggles of Heracles
with the monsters of the earth, are the property of Grecian tradition;
hence, we have not to deal with Asiatic or India-European art, but
with real, purely Grecian art.
The most precious objects found at Mycenæ, are collected at
Athens, with those formerly found by the doctor among the
treasures of Priamus, and are preserved in the vaults of an Ionian
bank.
It is proper that we should allude to Dr. Schliemann’s heroic wife,
of whom, as his most valuable and sympathetic assistant in his
labors, he speaks, as is most fitting, in words which constitute her
highest eulogy. The story of their union reads like a romance. “Mrs.
Schliemann is the only woman in Greece who knows the Odyssey by
heart.” The Dr. once said, before a party of Athenians, that he would
marry the first lady who could recite the Odyssey. A fair Greek girl
appeared one day, unintroduced, and asking if the promise was
genuine, recited Homer, and secured her home. She also secured a
wife’s share of $1,000,000. The two have been faithfully burrowing
among its ruins themselves, and as will be seen from the portrait,
she is proud of the accomplishments of her husband, and wears one
of the trophies of his glory, the head apparel of queen Helena,
whose elopement with Paris, the son of Priamus, caused the Trojan
war.
 It is known that the archæological
society of Athens, under whose direction STATUARY AND
ARCHITECTURE.
Dr. Schliemann is now excavating at
Mycenæ, and from whom he has met with no little opposition,
besides the difficulties arising from the nature of the ground, which
would seem, to a less resolute spirit, almost insurmountable, have of
late made some valuable discoveries at Athens. They have cleared
away the debris on the south side of the Acropolis, and have
discovered the temple of Æsculapius, where they have found many
bas-reliefs representing the goddess of health, and two very
beautiful marble heads, nearly perfect; also, some inscriptions of
great historical value. They have also found a Byzantine cave under
the rock. This circumstance reminds me of some exquisite
specimens of sculpture seen by me, while in Athens, in my visit to
the Acropolis. From these we return to the recent excavations at
Olympia. These are carried on by a commission from the German
and Greek governments. The latest discoveries announced are those
made on the site of the celebrated temple of Jupiter, consisting,
among others, of a Doric capital, with its abacus in excellent
preservation, considered as belonging to one of the columns
supporting the eastern pediment of the temple, fragments of bronze,
and terra-cotta objects, also, of the marble tiles described by
Pausanias as composing the roof; and a magnificent torso, supposed
to be the statue of Jupiter, one of the group of figures adorning the
pediment of the temple. On the last day of the year, however, a
telegram was received by the king from Dr. Demetriades,
announcing a discovery which has filled Athens with joy. The statue
of Niké (Victory), one of the group in the pediment, has been found
imbedded in the soft, alluvial soil, in an almost perfect condition—as
if it had only yesterday been taken down from its lofty pedestal. It is
said to be a figure of unmatched beauty and grandeur, and what
gives it a higher value is that the name of Praxitiles himself is
engraved on it. Thus much is as yet known, but details are eagerly
waited. Archæological discovery is eagerly pursued in every part of
the land, of which it may be said that not a spadeful can be turned,
without revealing some new treasure of its most glorious epoch.
 The objects found by Dr. Schliemann have been forwarded to
England, and placed in charge of the National Bank. They have been
placed under the care of that institution for safety, and will remain
there in the strong room, until a suitable museum can be provided,
when they will all be labeled, and will be exposed, in proper cases,
for the public to see them.
It is a fact not generally known, that Dr. Schliemann is not assisted
by any fellow-enthusiast in the cause of archæology, nor is he in the
employ of any society. He defrays the expenses all himself, and we
may be assured that they are very heavy.
It is but proper that we should allude here to the fact that Mrs.
Schliemann is most ably and energetically assisting her husband in
the discovery of the treasures of the ancients.
The dome of the Second Treasury was
broken in, a long time ago, and therefore THE SECOND TREASURY.
it is better known to antiquarians; but Mrs. Schliemann has now
thoroughly excavated, and explored the whole building. While her
husband was excavating within the walls of the Acropolis, she
undertook the excavation of this relic of the past, and the approach
to it, which was formerly completely concealed, is now laid bare. Its
position is close to the Gate of Lions, and it is found to differ only in
slight details from the other one, known as the Treasury of Athens.
The lintel over the doorway is the largest stone in the building. It is
twenty feet long, seven feet wide, and eighteen inches deep, and a
course of large stones of the same depth is carried all around the
walls, on the same level. The diameter of the dome is a little less
than that of the Treasury of Athens, but as there is an opening in the
top, by which the light enters, the view is not so impressive. The
inhabitants of Mycenæ did not seem to be acquainted with the
principle of the arch, as the dome is constructed with courses placed
horizontally. Dr. Schliemann, pretending that Agamemnon was buried
here, calls it the Tomb of Agamemnon; others have named it the
Tomb of Cassandra.
 The Treasury of Athens shows the most perfect condition of
building of the ancients. The second, third, and fourth treasuries
(there are four in all), gradually decrease in architectural skill, and
we might almost say of the fourth, that it is nothing but an
excavation made in the soil, speedily covered with rough stones. It is
covered in such a way that a person entering it has to creep on all
fours.
For what purpose these buildings were created, remains a
mystery. In the Homeric age, tombs are always described as “piled,”
or “heaped up;” they are always mounds, and the fact of the earth
covering these so-called “treasuries,” is a strong evidence of their
sepulchral character; but the magnificently built accessories would
lead to the conclusion that it belongs to a period posterior to the
Iliad and the Odyssey.
Hector’s tomb is described as the
“hollow grave.” This was the primitive cell, HECTOR’S TOMB.
which became developed into an unarched dome. Of this, many
examples are found in the tumuli near Kertch, some of them of a
very large size, and, though different in construction, they afford a
good illustrative parallel. In the structures just described, we find a
developed architecture which seems to have been rich with metallic
decoration. Here all resemblance to the simple cell of the hollow
grave has been lost, and now the foot or two feet of earth, heaped
on the top, is nearly all that is left to remind us of the original
mound, from which this style of tomb had its origin.
 XV.
MEXICO AND ITS MINES.

THE USES OF SILVER.—COIN AND ITS ABUNDANCE.—PUZZLES OF POLITICAL

ECONOMISTS.—WONDERFUL SKILL OF THE SILVER-WORKERS.—THE SILVER
PRODUCT.—THE MINES OF MEXICO.—THEIR EXTENT AND RICHNESS.—
GUANAJUATO AND ITS MINES.—THE VETA MADRE.—VISIT TO THE SERRANO
MINE.—UNDERGROUND PYROTECHNICS.—THE VETA GRANDE.—THE
PACHUCA MINE.—AN OFFER TO THE KING—THE GROUND PAVED WITH
SILVER.—SULPHUR MINERS.—ASCENT OF A MEXICAN MOUNTAIN.

One of the most important of the metals is the one known as

silver. All the civilized nations use it for the manufacture of coin as a
circulating medium, and the consumption of the metal for this
purpose alone is very great. Political economists have busied
themselves with the problem of the immense annual waste from the
wearing away of gold and silver, but thus far they have met with no
success. For large amounts, bank notes—either of the government
or otherwise—are in use, and have many advantages over coin. But
for small amounts, gold and silver have not been replaced, and there
is little probability that they will be. Their jingling makes an
agreeable sound, but unfortunately it reduces the weight of the coin,
and wears away, particle after particle, which cannot be saved by
any process yet invented.
Silver has long been used in the Arts, and its whiteness renders it
particularly desirable for this purpose. Of late years, it has taken a
very prominent place, especially in America, and the productions of
the silver-workers border on the marvelous. At the Philadelphia
Exhibition, the display of silver ware in the American section was
such as to attract large crowds at all hours when the place was open
to the public, and there were few visitors who did not confess
themselves astonished at what they beheld. There was an endless
variety of silver work, from very small articles up to very large ones.
Down to a few years ago, the English and other people over the
Atlantic had almost a monopoly of silver work, and were justly
entitled to a claim for superiority. But at present, the American
workmen are equal to any competition, and some of the ornamental
pieces they have recently turned out cannot be surpassed anywhere
else in the world.
The impetus given to this branch of Art is due, to some extent, to
the abundance of silver in the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra
Nevadas, and the desire to make as much use of it as possible.
Some have feared that the opening of so many silver mines would
cheapen the metal, and cause a great shrinkage in the value of that
now on hand, but up to the present, no such result has been
reached. Silver has taken the place of gold, for many uses, and if
matters go on in the future, as they have gone in the past, the
demand will long continue to equal the supply.
One of the foremost silver-producing countries in the world is
Mexico, and its fame extends a long distance into the past. The
metal was known to the ancient Aztecs, and was worked by them,
with exquisite skill, into numerous ornamental and useful articles,
but among the vast mineral treasures of Montezuma, the quantity of
silver was small compared with that of gold, and gave little promise
of the argentiferous mines of his territories.
The Spaniards had a keen eye for
THE SPANISH MINERS.
valuable things, and no sooner did they
find what the country contained in mineral wealth, than they
proceeded at once to develop it.
They opened mines wherever there were indications of silver, and
so fast did they progress that it was estimated, at the beginning of
this century, that operations were going on in from four thousand to
five thousand localities, which might all be included in about three
thousand distinct mines. These were scattered along the range of
the Cordilleras in eight groups, the principal of which, known as the
central group, contains the famous mining districts of Guanajuato,
Catoree, Zacatecas, and Sombrerete, and furnished more than half
of all the silver produced in Mexico.
The great vein, or Veta Madre, is referred to elsewhere, and is one
of the most remarkable deposits anywhere known. It is contained
chiefly in clay slate, and crosses the southern slope of the hills in a
northwest and southeast direction, dipping with the slates (the range
which it follows) from forty-five to forty eight degrees toward the
southwest. The width averages a hundred and fifty feet, and the
depth is unknown. It has been traced about twelve miles, but its
most productive portion thus far, or rather, the portion operated, is
only about a tenth of that distance.
The mines of Zacatecas, opened in 1548, are also upon a single
vein, called the Veta Grande, averaging in thickness about thirty
feet. The formation is of green stone and clay slate, the former the
most productive. The veins of Catoree are in limestone, supposed to
be of carboniferous age.
The greatest proportion of silver in
THE ORE IN THE MINES.
every mining district of Mexico is obtained
from the sulphuret of silver, an ore of gray color, disseminated
through the quartz matrix in minute particles, and more or less
combined with other metals. The other varieties of argentiferous
ores are numerous, but comparatively small in quantity; they are the
chloride of silver, ruby silver, native silver, argentiferous pyrites, and
argentiferous galena.
The comparative quantities of these, at the different mines, is very
variable, and few of the miners are able to determine them with
exactness. Notwithstanding the antiquity of the silver mining
business in Mexico, the processes which are employed are still far
from perfect, and greatly behind those of the Nevada and other
mines. The ore in Mexico is so rich that it has not been considered
worth while to practice any economy or to bring science to the
miner’s aid.
Welcome to our website – the perfect destination for book lovers and
knowledge seekers. We believe that every book holds a new world,
offering opportunities for learning, discovery, and personal growth.
That’s why we are dedicated to bringing you a diverse collection of
books, ranging from classic literature and specialized publications to
self-development guides and children's books.

More than just a book-buying platform, we strive to be a bridge

connecting you with timeless cultural and intellectual values. With an
elegant, user-friendly interface and a smart search system, you can
quickly find the books that best suit your interests. Additionally,
our special promotions and home delivery services help you save time
and fully enjoy the joy of reading.

Join us on a journey of knowledge exploration, passion nurturing, and

personal growth every day!

ebookbell.com