huge hopper. Into which upward, of 20.000
.pounds of ore are emptied each twenty
four hours.* The8,e furnaces are kept at
a perpetual white heat, and as the ore be
comes roasted the quicksilver passes, to
gether with the smoke, in a thin trans
parent vapor .into the » adjoining con
densers. -'These latter are kept at a me
dium . low,' temperature by the constant
forcing of cold . water through numerous
intersecting pipes. -.' .;. .
¦ As the mercurial vapor. comes In contact,
with x thie cooling element it resumes it
former ' consistency and falls to the bot
tom,of the condensers, whence it is car
ried, off; in Its refined molten state to the ;
weighing department. \ The great subtil
ty with ; which -.the ¦ mineral-laden vapor
pentrates the ; most- minute apertures Is
remarkable. .It forces itself, through im
perceptible cracks and pores of .the reduc
ing,, plants and^becomes _so 2 densely • lm- '"
bedded in the. brick and wood work of the
various structures that, the latter, have to
be destroyed -at Intervals in order to se-
condensers. The process of extracting, the
quickllver ,is at once simple and. unique.
The top of each : furnace'. is fitted, with a
MHfBJ|^^^^^Sfe^§lS^^feI'^^l5g^lJt@SSS
'The reduction^ plant; at -New; Almaden. Is
without -exception the. largest and most
modern In the ,world. ;. ; The ; works corisls t
mainly. of six" immense furnaces, each pro
vided " with "a" series ¦ of • from . four to" six
A number ; : of these i, tunnels : have been
run f rom ; the levels of. the mine,"
straight out to the elope of the mountain,
to facilitate the removal of .the ore,; -which
is 1 accomplished'; through ...the ' medium of
tram .'cars.' : '- At .the mouth of each tunnel
is ¦ a ". large open . shed, called a ; planl 11a,
where the ore .Is . screened and assorted.
From* these points tramways; extend" for
a distance of three miles down the": moun
tain to the brinjt of a steep incline, down
which the ore is carried by mean's'of'grav
ity-'cars to the great distilling works be
low. v^< '." ' '; k. v ._'. • '¦../•; .-'- ¦ :¦-. '¦¦-
open portal, • and .presently : we emerged
fromthe side of the mountain 700 feet be
low;where we. had previously, entered. ".
could possibly he crowded Into the space
of two short: hours.
The most interesting feature of this
long" deserted level was a wide chamber
•near "the . foot- of an old • Unused shaft,
called the "chapel." At onte end of this
awesome apartment -were the remnants
of a shrine before which, in the old days,
the. natlvemlners each" morning upon'de
scending to , their work . were wont : to per
forrrf*thcir, devotions. Nor is this [the only
reminder "of the time when Spanish usages
prevailed, j For. to this day ; every shaft;
drift .and chamber throughout the entire
mine Is designated by ) a : Spanish name,
: while at"; least j two-thirds ; of ., the ' present
foice of miners are of the same origin.
Our tour of the lower galleries com
pleted, ray ; guide conducted me, : this i time
by , way of the elevator, back to. the level
whence we had . last descended. , Here i we
entered a' long, straight "tunnel; > at the
; further' end of-whlch a shining white disk
appeared.' As we proceeded this
gleaming "patch resolved- Itself into an.
QIRLS who Send out wedding Invi
tations to SCO friends, and who
• have a "small fortune expended on
- the florist, the enirraver. the cater
er, the bridesmaids and the. ushers, to
ray nothing of the payment to tha fash
ionable officiating. clergyman, these gins
have one kind of a wedding.
The .girl who .slips, off after the day has
done, meets her Intended and rides on a
street- car as near to the Little Church
Around -the Corner as the car will take
her. Joins, hands with, her partner In the
study of the assistant rector, and with
never a present or a congratulation, this
girl has another kind of, wedding.
But -the girl who lives In Trlvandrum,
under, the dictatorship of the Maharajah
of .. Travancore. ¦ has yet a different and
-distinct .experience., . Sir Rama. Varma
was a notability. Not only was he en
titled to t .e suffix of the letters !'O. C
S.,I.V* but he was also known far and
¦ wide., as the 1 Maharajah. He has passed
on to the Nirvana of all good Brahmlna.
'but 'his -tribe Increases. The four grand
daughters of Sir Rama have been envied ¦
cf the rest of Travancore. Before they
" were married, the service* of the most
expert astrologers in the land were called
In to forcast the day most auspicious
for the ceremonies. The date being agreed
upon, the grandmother of the girls set
about the selection of four eligible*.
When such a . quartet has . been picked
from the local swells, the astrologers
were, again called upon, this time to ap
prove or disapprove the choice. Thera
.was a great consulting of horoscopes—
and the wise men gave their consent.
Finally, the State erected a gorgeous
pavilion, and In this the four couples were
married, the actual ceremony consisting In
tha tying of a necklace around the neck
of. the, bride by the groom. In the pres
ence of the, Brahmin priest and relatives;
"after, which there was a four days' cele
bration and procession of the newly
mated— a procession - aided as to spectac
ular effect by the presence of an elephant
guard and white clad Nair girla. The ages
of the brides of this occasion ranged from
"« to 10 years. *.';'v
Queer Wedding
Customs.
• ¦ • - -¦--¦>.;.;-.:'.• ,;¦¦".¦¦.; '¦¦;:. • ¦.
Having inspected the principal sources
of the mineral charged rock ¦ my guide
proposed a visit to the lower levels, long,
since worked out and abandoned." To
reach this* portion of the mine my com
panion led the way to a narrow aperture
whence a yet steeper declivity reached
away Into the depths of the mountain.
This he explained to me was a "winze."
or in other words a rapid transit, timo
saving connection penetrating the 100-foot
division between .two levels, the use of
which obviated the necessity of retra/cing
the mile or more of stopes and tunnels to,
the nearest elevator shaft. For my own
part, however, as I gazed into the black
ness of that, all but perpendicular corrU
dor I' Inwardly owned my thorough will
ingness to undergo the fatigue'- and other
inconvenience of the more circuitous'
route. But my cheerfui convoy evidently
f oi got to inquire as to . any possible
pretcrence I might entertain. Laying hold
on the bight of a slick, greasy looking
rope made fact at the entrance to the
cavern; he bade me do likewise, and a mo
nleni later vanished into the darkness
ahead. A& there seemed no other respect
able way out of it 1 took a firm grip on
the line, and . ft was perhaps
well that my conductor shouted back. the
injunction to "keep my' head and my hold,
wnether I kept my feet or not," for it
seemed to me 1 had but little, use for the
latter during the progress of that brief
but eventful passage.' However, I pres
ently brought up at the nethermost ex
tnihity of this veritable short ; cut, and
what I beheld by.the tttful flame of my
companion's reignlted torch more than
compensated for the sundry bruises and
abrasions I had sustained en transit. ' We
were on the threshold of a mighty cham
ber, the vaguely distinguishable roof and
environing walls of which seemed gar
nished^with silvery ! stars, .where the flick
ering light was reflected; from the glisten
ing points of Innumerable stalactites with
which the Interior was hung. We reveled"
but briefly In this truly enchanting scene,
however,, for my companion : was ; plainly
bent. on showing me just as many/of those
eighty-six miles "of devious burrowings as
..'... ... ¦ ' ¦• '
!ne chambers known as stopes or labors.
The men employed throughout the mine
are exposed to constant, risks "of saliva
tion from continually handling the mer
curial ore. 'The' native- mineral Is volatile
at any temperature above. 40 degrees and
Its absorption into the system produces
rheumatic .pains, causes the teeth to, be
come loose and leaves the constitution' in
a most deplorable plight generally. To
obviate this as much , as possible, when
the ore is exceedingly rich /the men are
worked In short shifts, relieving each
other every few hours. '
The main ore body Is from fifteen to
thirty feet wide and usually runs in -an
oblique, direction . from, the apex of the
mountain, which results In the vast slant-
• • . •
Durir-g p. recent visit to this mine, the
writer, accompanied by one. of the super
intendent?, made an extended tour of Its
labyrinthine depths. The descent was ac
complished by means of th^double-decked
electric cage, which at the first dizzying
drop through the black, grewsome shaft
precipitated us to the 700-foot level. Upon
quitting the car at this point we found
ourselves in a spacious subterranean ante
chamber, at Intervals In the walls of
which appeared the low timbered portals
of the various tunnels radiating to divers
parts of the mine. Entering one of these
we . followed its tortuous course for the
distance -of --a -mile,- when we suddenly
came out upon an Immense rock-roofed
fissure extending at a sharp angle across
our way. Turning into this strange ap
perturc, we took the upward course and
after a short, brisk climb came upon a
large crew of miners at work with picks
and drills getting out the ore. A casual
examination of a specimen of . this pay;
rock, which my companion pronounced
the average run, revealed the presence of
cinnabar in layers and veins of vivid re1.
Occasionally, where the ore Is unusually
rich. It presents a rich, vermilion color
throughout and in weight Is heavier than
lead.
In 1SC4. however, the New Almaden was
scld for 11.700.000 to a company of Ameri
cans, who proceeded to develop the prop
erty under a more modern system and
with such success that in a short time
the mine became celebrated as the great
est quicksilver producer In existence. The
amount of work performed on the prop
erty since is nothing short of amazing.
From the highest point in the ledge, which
lies at an altitude of 1723 feet, four shafts
have been sunk, one of which reaches a
depth cf 2450 feet, the bottom being 750
feet below the sea level. Leading off from
these shafts Is an. Intricate maze, of
drifts, stopfs and tunnels penetrating to
the many sections of the mine where- tho
c!nna!:rr has been located. The distance
represented by these" underground .pas
sages aggregates a total of , eighty-six
mile?, nearly every foot or which has been
hewn through the solid rock.
vein were run from the summit "into the
depths of the mountain. In traversing
these steep subterranean Inclines the na
tive miners used for ladders long timbers
with notches hewn atNintervais for foot
holds. Likewise.' instead of ore cars heavy
rawhide panniers, known as ceroons and
borne on the backs of the miners, were
employed In transporting the quartz to
the upper world.
Recognizing ihe Immense value of the
deposit the Mexican at once filed a claim
on the ledge. <in<3 subsequently formed a
company which undertook the develop
ment of th» property. It was then that
the mine received Us name, being chris
tened after the renowned Almaden lode
cf Spain. And yet twenty years more of
comparative lethargy were "destined to
flayse before the wonderful resources of
the mine should be revealed to the world.
During this period identically the same
methods were employed In delving for the
metal as had obtained for centuries in
connection with the original Almaden. In
stead of the modern system of shaft-
Elnking and tunneling, deep horizontal
Elopes following the trend of the quartz
TWENTT-FIVE thousand tons of re£
fined quicksilver is the record of the
celebrated New Almaden lode, situ
ated in tl'e heart of the California
Sierras. And 50,000.000 pounds is a
prodigious output for a single quicksilver
inline, especially when It is considered
that the average deposit of the metal in
qucEtion works out long before one-fiftieth
part of such a yield is realized.
It was clcse bordering on a century ago
that the presence of quicksilver in the
Santa Cruz mountains was revealed to the
early time CaUfornians. The discovery
came ebout under most peculfar fircum-
Etarices. For many years the Indians of
the section referred to had been accus
tomed to color their faces with a most
\ - ivid vermilion, the proj>ertiej« and true
value cf which were never once *u?pectrd.
Finally, however, a tpeoimen of the rock
¦which supplied the p!gm*~nt was shown hy
ore of the Indians to Don Antonio Eunol.
who upon examining It detected a myriad
of minute scintillating globules imbedded
therein. Mistaking these shining particles
for silver the old don Io?t no time In seek
ing out the locality whence the original
Fpecimen had been prccured. Finding an
Immense vein of the ore at the summit of
a mountain peak, he industriously set
ebout after the most approved method,
with mortar and pestle, to pulverize the
fame ln<~'<j«»ntal to extracting the coveted
Espial therefrom Much to his bewilder
lent. however, the substance de\-eloped
F'.ngularly elusive tendency, effectually
resisting every attempt at concentration.^
with the result that after the expenditure
of a year's time and several hundred dol
lars in various experiments the project
¦was abandonee! as a hopeles delus on.
This somewhat ludferous venture trans
pired In the year 1S24. ar.d It was rjot until
twenty years later that Andres Castillcro.
a Mexican officer sojourning in the vlcin-
Jty. examined ;he ore and pronounced it
cLnnatar. •
While the. use of quicksilver enters
largely Into/ various phases of medicine,
arts and science the world over, by far
the greater bulk of the product H ex
ported to China. There, oddly enough. It
Is extensively resolved Into Its chief
original element— the exquisite ¦vermilion,
for which, the Celestials have so lone been
famous, and which first led to Its discov
ery In America. ;
medium-grade ore -In, sight, however, to
keep the great reduction works employed
for many years to come.
The present output of the New Almaden
mines aggregates about 1S3 tons per year,
¦which is only about one-tenth of Its
former yield. . There is still sufficient
cure the escaped metal. When several
years ago the old intermittent furnace*
were removed, the ground beneath them
to a depth of thlrty-flve feet was worked
over and 153.000 pound* cf the stray metal
lecevered. Few workmen continue Ions
at the reducing works before exhibiting
the disastrous efTects of absorbing tha
mercurial fumes Into their system. . Con
sidering these risks, the pay Is inordinate
ly small, the men rarely receiving over
SI 50 per day for their work. After refine
ment .the quicksilver is carefully weighed
into metal flasks, each holding- seventy-six
and a half pounds, and In this shape Is
shipped to the general storage vaults In
San Francisco. ¦
f THE ilSVNUAY, CALL.
5
UNIQUE INDUSTIES
OF CALIFORNIA
TONS OF
NATIVE
QUICKSILVER