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Show Amid Dtexico'5 fcicfi TMittesll View or Parral, PARRAL, Mexico, which recently was the scene of tragic happenings happen-ings in connection with the arrival ar-rival there of General Pershing's Per-shing's punitive expeditionary force, is in the heart of the fabulously rich gold and silver mines district of the southern south-ern republic, mines which were among the first discovered by the Spanish conquerors and which began pouring their streams of wealth into the coffers cof-fers of the monarchs of Aragon and Castile as early as 1547. This town, which has a population of less than 20,000, has been the center of Francisco Francis-co Villa's operations for several years, says a bulletin issued by the National Geographic society. Situated on the banks of. the semi-dry semi-dry Parral river, at the foot of the Sierra de la Cruz, Parral's whole history his-tory centers below ground, in the mar-velously mar-velously rich Veta Colorado (red vein), which runs from north to south through the Parral mining district, including in-cluding Minas Nuevas and Santa' Barbara. As early as 1600, before the first permanent English settlement in the United States, there were 7,000 miners employed in this district, bringing from the depths of the earth the yellow yel-low metal destined to sustain in splendor, splen-dor, for a time, the opulent court of the then most powerful monarch in Europe. From that day up to the present pres-ent Parral has continued to enrich the world from its seemingly inexhaustible store of silver and gold, the only interruption in-terruption having been caused by a rebellion re-bellion of the oppressed natives, who on one occasion flooded all the mines of the district and then deserted the city by the thousands. The richness of the ore in this section sec-tion Is shown by the fact that American Ameri-can mining companies find it profitable today to smelt the tailings or refuse of the old Spanish works. Indian Kept His Secret. One of the most interesting incidents inci-dents in the early history of Parral centers about a time-stained church known as La Iglesia de la Virgen del Rayo, the favorite place of worship amcng the Indians of the district. In 1690 a devout native began the construction con-struction of the church, paying his helpers with ingots of pure gold, which he produced mysteriously once a week. During the twenty years required to build the structure the pious Indian baffled the spies commissioned to discover dis-cover the source of his treasure, but when his work was finished the Spanish Span-ish commander summoned the miner before him and demanded that the location lo-cation of the mine be disclosed. When the Indian refused to tell he was tortured tor-tured to death, carrying with him to the grave the secret which 200 years of search have failed to reveal. One of the "sights" of Parral is the palace of a multimillionaire mine owner, once a humble peon. In this house, which is shut in by adobe huts and narrow streets, there are big drawing draw-ing rooms and museums with luxurious carpets, over which the owner's fighting fight-ing cocks are allowed to roam at will, it is said. Twenty pianos are among the most highly prized possessions of this simple, public-spirited native, the source of whose wealth is La Pamilla (little palm) silver mine, which he discovered dis-covered many years ago. Parral was not always the chief city of this mining district. In 15S0 the nearby town of Santa Barbara was the seat of government for a vast region equal to one-third the area of the United States today, exclusive of Alaska. The country over which it held sway embraced the territory now comprising com-prising Chihuahua, Coahuila, Sonora, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California Califor-nia and Colorado. Durango Also Rich in Mines. Parral lies only a little north of the borders of the state of Durango, which is surpassed in the number of its mining min-ing properties, aggregating more than 4,000, by only two states in Mexico Chihuahua and Sonora. Its natural resources re-sources include silver, gold, lead, tin, copper, sulphur and rubies. The state's wealth is not confined to minerals, however, for there are extensive forests for-ests of valuable timber and the agri cultural resources are capable of almost al-most unlimited development, while 1,-000,000 1,-000,000 head of stock find rich pasturage pastur-age on its fertile tableland. The Nazas river, which empties into Lake Habas, Is the principal waterway of the state. It is known as the Nile of Durango. In the spring, as the snow melts, the river inundates its valley, val-ley, leaving a rich deposit of silt brought down from the mountains. After the waters have receded the land bursts into bloom like a miniature Egypt, cotton, barley and wheat growing grow-ing In great luxuriance, while the whole landscape assumes the aspect of a flower garden. One of the most interesting trees to be found on the mountain slopes of Durango Du-rango is a species of pine, the needles of which the Indians and Mexicans boil and use as a remedy for stomach troubles. trou-bles. Its taste is like that of anise seed. The wood of these trees is much used by the Indians in the manufacture manufac-ture of their primitive violins. One of the products indigenous to Durango, but one of which the state does not boast, is a venomous species of scorpion whose sting is almost invariably in-variably fatal in the warm regions of the state, but which is more painful than dangerous in the higher and cooler cool-er altitudes. In the vicinity of Durango Duran-go City 60,000 of these spiders are killed annually, some of the natives making a business of destroying them, collecting from the municipality a bounty of one centavo per scorpion. City Has Wonderful Climate. At an elevation of 6,000 feet, the city of Durango, capital of the state, enjoys a matchless climate, which has earned it the sobriquet, "town of sunshine." It is one of the oldest Spanish settlements settle-ments in the republic, having been founded by Captain Ibarra two years before the followers of Don Pedro Menendez de Aviles Initiated the permanent per-manent colonization of the United States at St. Augustine. The site of the present city was reached by the adventurer and silver-seeker, Mercado, who in 1552 discovered the famous Iron mountain of the suburbs. When Ibarra arrived with his colonists the country was occupied by nomadic savage sav-age tribes. One of the odd customs of the Durango Du-rango district is the funeral ceremony for children. "An angel is being buried" bur-ied" is the explanation which a native will give of a gay procession headed by a woman bearing aloft on a board a bundle bound in white. The parents of the child are obligated to give it joyfully to heaven, to the accompaniment accompani-ment of music and dancing. If there is weeping the baby cannot enter paradise para-dise until it has gathered all the tears. One of the places of historic interest is the town of Santiago de Papasquia-ro, Papasquia-ro, said to derive its name from "paz quiero," meaning "I want peace." The phrase alludes to the defeat of the Indians In-dians following a massacre of the missionaries mis-sionaries and a burning of the churches by the Tepehuanes and Tarahumares in 1616. After the outrage the Indians gathered a force estimated at 25,000 and marched on Durango City. The governor of the province, with 600 valiant val-iant whites, determined to resist and save the territory for Spain. In the battle which followed, the Spanish chroniclers declare, the governor completely com-pletely overcame the insurgents, who lost 15,000 men. After this overwhelming overwhelm-ing defeat the Indians wanted peace. Durango derives its name from the old Spanish town of that name, in the Basque provinces. |