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Show To Drain Rich Mine AMERICAN COMPANY WU.L SEEK TREASURE OF AZTECS. Now Hidden Below Muddy Waters of Small Lake Tradition Is That Untimely Death Will Come to Him Who Finds Wealth. Los Angeles, Cal. The fluannjun HIlo silver mine In Mexico, which the legends of four centuries have named as the richest mine In the world, Is to be reopened by American energy. Cor-, tez, the conqueror of Mexico, seized It, but since 1810 the galleries have been bidden below the muddy waters of a small lake. Now the CuMellano Consolidated Mines Company will try to drain off this water and work tho mine. L. I). Oodln, mannger of tho company, com-pany, makes tho announcement of his company's Intention and tells the old tale of tho wonders of tho mine which, for generations, has stirred tho blood of treasure seekers the world over. Ho will leave his friends in Los Angeles for Tcplo soon and begin tho tremendous tremen-dous tnsk before him. It Is not tho first attempt that has been inado to carry off the waters that for so many years have been protecting protect-ing this burled trcasuro of tho ancient Aztecs. Thousands of dollars havo been spent by adventurers and spent In vain. The waters havo kept their Becret despite the efforts of tho best machinery in the hands of the most competent engineers. Tho latest effort ef-fort may fall but it it succeeds, says Mr. Oodln, the owners of the property will be repaid a thousandfold for their time and tho money they havo Invested. In-vested. At least they will have tho experience experi-ence of the preceding workers on tho problem to aid them. Ten yenrs ago Alfred Lonegan. an Englishman; spent $30,000 In an effort ho made to drain the property. He failed after ho had lowered the level of tho protecting water to the entrance of tho first gallery, gal-lery, piercing the depths of thu mine. Since then the Jealous waters have crept back to their old level and the mine remains tho mystery It has been so long. (luanajiiatlllo, ub the peonB around Topic call tho mlno, waa one of tho many which tho Spaniard wrested from Montezuma after tho fall of his kingdom.. It lies in the mountains near tho llttlo town of Topic, about 90 miles from the const. Cortcz and his men worked It, In a small way, using goatskin bags and mules to piotect the workings from the Inroads of the water, which seemed bent on avenging tho former owners of tho mine by flooding out the new. I.egond, over ready to wenvo fnntnatic talcs about such 'places, has asserted that at least 200 of these animals wero kept constantly at work, night nnd day, to freo tho mine from water. For many yenrs the mlno was worked, giving up millions of sliver. In all It Is estimated that $12,000,000 waa taken out of Its drifts by Mexicans and Spaniards beforo the onsweeplng flood conquered nnd filled the working galleries mid drovo out the workers. When Lonegan managed to lower the level to tho eutranco of the first gallery, or drift, many signs of tho former miners wero found. Qucof tools, the "churn drill" nnd Iron picks, tipped, with steei, Jiad been thrown to one sldo as though the water had como on with a rush ut last. Legend has It that tho men who shall attempt to drain (ho old Ouana-Juatlllo Ouana-Juatlllo and rob it of lis treasures will meet an untimely death. Tho natives who first worked tho mlno, lu a crudo way, wero murdered by tho followers of Cortcz. The successors of theso. In turn, wero killed by tho native Mexicans Mexi-cans a hundred yean afterward and tho Mexicans were ugalu exterminated after a bloody feud with tho representatives represen-tatives of tho Spanish. Then when Mexico revolted against tho rule of Spain In 1810 the Spaniards who were working the mlno were attacked and driven from tho mine with terrific Iosb of life. So sudden waB tho attack that the workmen wero compelled to leave their tools In the various drifts, as Mr. Lonegan found when he entered the first drift ten years ago. Oodln snaps his fingers at these childish beliefs and says that within tho next year ho will havo tho old Ouanajuatlllo as dry as a bona and all of its treasuros revealed for tho. Ixmdon corporation for which he labors. la-bors. Two electric sinking pumps, which will throw COO gallons of water each minute, night and day, will be Installed at tho old mlno. Ample electrical power 1 furnished by a turbine wator power pldnt owned by tho company. Mr. Oodln says It will be necessary to sink the present mine shaft, which goes down 300 feet, about tho same distance deeper und then tap tho many galleries of the old mine which will bo above the bottom of tho extended main shaft and let tho water from tho Internls rush Into the bottom of the big pit. whero the electric pumps can roach It ii this I havo always done. I cannot e a It has done mo any harm and when my third teeth began to prick through last June, I made up my mind that the tobacco might hnvo done it by preserving pre-serving tho roots." Mr. Harrington was born !i Ward Twelve, South Boston, and remembers-when remembers-when the old Mount Washington hoi tot was mado Into an nsylum for tin blind. This subject led him td discuss dis-cuss further Ideas on physical science, aa believed by him: "I have always eaton heartily of meat and avoided sweet stuff. That's whnt ruins tho teeth. If tho young folk would slop eating so much candy and smoking cigarettes nnd not stay out so Into nlghtn at dancing parties, they would havo better eyes nnd better bet-ter tooth, and bo stronger every way. Tho boys are too slow nnd tho girls more for ornament than uso." Mr. Harrington has been n hard working man, making shoes until 1868, j and for 12 years arter that was owner I and proprietor of an express route bo-twocn bo-twocn Boston nnd Wakefield. |