OCR Text |
Show MYTHS WOVEN ABOUT SIMPLE MEXICAN PEON PEDRO ALVARADO NOT MINING CROESU8 HE HAS BEEN REP-q REP-q RESENTED TO DE. EXTRAVAGANT TALES ARE WITHOUT TRUTH Believes Hlmtetf to Be Worth Millions, Mil-lions, But In Reality Has Hard Work to Raise Comparatively Small Sum Systematically Plundered Plun-dered by Those In His Employ-Is Employ-Is Famed Throughout Region for Generosity, But Shirks Publicity. Mexico City. Pedro Alvurado, about whom Action and fnncy have woven tnlcs of fabulous wealth und countless treasures. Is a Mexican peon. Willingly Willing-ly has he submitted to tho flattery and adulation which his fellow townsmen have Ravished upon him on account of his ownership of a bonanza silver mine, albeit in the profits of that 'nine ho has hud but a meagre share. All the extravagant tnles of Pedro Alvarado's wealth, of his ability to pay tho Mexican national debt, and of his efforts to commission several regiments of Mexicans to subdue tho YnqulB, aro pure myths. Ho believes himself to-day tho wealthiest man of the universe, and no one has ever dared to dispossess li lm of the delusion he cherishes, that his mine is the greatest thing of its kind In tho world. Hut notwithstanding he is reputed to be worth $150,000,000, he has had the greatest trouble within with-in the Inst three mouths to raise $300,-000. $300,-000. The fact that he only has been able to accomplish this at a sacrifice of practically all ho possessed has still failed to bring him to a proper estimate esti-mate of his fortune. Lack of Management. As ono approaches Parral on the branch of the Mexican Central railroad rail-road from Jlmluez, tales of Alvarado's greatness nro heard on all sides, It the average Mexican peons uro doing tho talking. If, on tho other hand, one strikes tho expatriated American who has been living In the vicinity far a year or two, ho will eonfldchtully tell one, "on the side," that tho Mexicans nro simply reporting what they have lieurd. If ono fraternizes with the peons for any length of tlmo ono will llnd that their Ideas of Alvarado's wealth uro derived largely from tho rich oro which their relatives employed employ-ed at the mlno abstract surreptitiously surreptitious-ly from tlmo to time. The system under which Alvarado's property has been operated has rendered render-ed smuggling of this character quite easy, and the belief Is general among tho Intelligent class at Parral that If Alvarado had ever received one-tenth of the value of what his mine produced produc-ed he would Indeed como close to meeting tho many stories that are circulated cir-culated about him. Mine Well Equipped. Tho Palmllln mlno Is sltuuted on tho outskirts of Parral, and tho story of its development Is filled with legendary legend-ary tales, out of which It Is difficult to deduco the truth. It Is enough to say that tho mine Is well equipped with tho latest of American electrical mining min-ing machinery, which furnishes n striking evldenco of tho ability of American drummers to sell Alvnrado almost anything they cure to tell him about. Loss than a year ago a hustling representative rep-resentative of a largo American nilne car company showed Alvarado a sample sam-ple ol tho conipajiy'ii latest product. So taken was'ho with this car that he ltnmedlntolyKavo an order for 100 like It. Ho has nover used ono of them, hut keeps them In storage for his own personal per-sonal edification nnd Tor that ot his guests. "Tho tlmo will como when I will need them all," Is what Alvarado answers an-swers when questioned nbout his folly. fol-ly. Visit to Alvarado. After becoming acquainted with tho Important developments at Parral, If ' one lias tho necessary Iiillueuco nnd pull with Bnuiehody who Is on friendly friend-ly terms with Alvnrado, an Invitation to visit IiIb property Is soon forthcoming. forthcom-ing. While his Ideas of hospitality differ dif-fer In many respects from thoso to which wo are accustomed In the United States, still, when showing his guests his proporty, ho seems to forget for-get his nllegcd greatness and bo-comes bo-comes quite chummy with thoso he Is entertaining, Tho Invitation o tho writer of tills artlclo to go Into tho Pnlmllla mine called for n prompt attendance at the mouth of. the shaft ut 8 o'clock In the morning. The mlno being situated on the very top of ono of tho highest peaks In tho district, and the road leading to It belug very dllllcult, tho visitor was half an hour late. Sitting on Ore Pile. Alvurado was found Bitting on tho upox of ono ot his richest ore piles. Without evon bo much as rising he extended ex-tended his hand smilingly as the Interpreter In-terpreter porformed tho Introduction. After u time Alvnrado suggested a hull lu the exphirntlon, and seating himself passed around cigarettes and began to talk about his output und other Items connected with tho operation opera-tion of the mine. The exaggeration ho made Use of was staggering. He thought nothing of saylne HU before long his mlno would nfford employment employ-ment to 100,000 men, and bucked this up with tho assertion that ho would hoist 10,000 tons of ore every day, once he got the mine working ns he planned to have It. This sort of talk easily suggested tho origin of ninny of tho stories of wealth that one hears In Mexico nnd elsewhere concerning this Interesting personage. Exploring the Mine. Strange us It may seem, Alvarado Is almost totally In Ignorance of what Is being done fiom day to day at his property. Those in charge of the do'-vclopment, do'-vclopment, who seem to bo mostly relatives, rel-atives, are satisfied to give him a percentage per-centage of the dally receipts, pocketing pocket-ing a good deal of the 'balance and spending the rest upon Billy oporutlons that fall to make any appreciable Improvement Im-provement of the mine. After a while Alvarado suggested a continuation of the exploration of his mine, nnd showed the way Into lingo chambers cut Into tho rock from which great quantities of ore had already al-ready beon abstracted. Here and there the Interpreter pointed out big streaks of tho rich chlorides of silver that go to make the property a bonanza. Then came the hardest part of tho trip tho Loaded Ore Wagons Leaving Mine, descent of what Is known as a "chicken "chick-en lndder," which Is not any too agreeable agree-able for one unaccustomed to moving about In mines. The "Chicken Ladder." Tho chicken ladder is a huge post' Inclined nt about 15 degrees, upon which wooden blocks havo been fastened fast-ened nbout 14 inches apart. Wonderful Wonder-ful to relate, tho Mexican peons' employed em-ployed In tho mines, enrry on their backs suspended by heavy thongs ncross their foreheads loads varying In weight from 75 to 100 pounds. They mount the chicken ladders with the utmost celerity and do not seem to think tho performance anything wonderful. won-derful. At the bottom of the chicken ladder lad-der a group of Mexicans wero squatted In one of the drifts, consuming tho over-famous tortlllu, which, together with the everlasting frloln, makes up the dnlly faro of these human beusts or burden. The tortilla corresponds to what wo might call a big, rough soda cracker, and upon It thos frloln (red bean) Is smeared by tho greasy hand of tho ono who Is preparing to par-tnko par-tnko of tho delicacy. Alvurado, It Is said, never passes a group ot thesj) tortilla tor-tilla eaters without partaking of their hunihlo meal. Alvarado Is careful o seo that his visitors do not 'miss nny important item in his mine, and on this occasion occa-sion It wns all of four hours beforo ho had shown ovorythlng ho wished to exhibit. ex-hibit. Then camo nn Invitation to dinner, din-ner, nnd tho Invitation having boon accepted, tho mine owner accompanied his guest to tho surface and gave thb necessary orders to his cook. Whllo Alvardo was waiting tho call of the cook his visitor hail nn excellent excel-lent opportunity to study his personality person-ality nnd his character. He Is a little man, weighing about 120 pounds, passes without dolling his cap nnd making the sign of the cross. A Generous Giver, His charity abounds on all sides, and ho constantly has men employed In' excess ex-cess of his needs simply to keep their families out of want. When he was asked why he still retained the antiquated anti-quated burros and ore wagons to curry his ore to Parral Instead of Installing a tramway, he said: "What would all my men and 500 burins do If they had no oro to carry?" It Is ulong this line or reasoning that Alvarado has built up a philosophy or his own, which, while it perhaps Is comical, cannot help arouse certain admiration for his character. Up to live months ago Alvarado's inlile wns hoisting about 150 tons a day, or which about 50 tons wero sent away for treatment and the bnlance left on tho dumps. The American mining min-ing engineer Is almost overcome when told that It takes 500 men to accomplish accom-plish such a littlo work, but of course, ho does not appreciate the extraordinary extraordi-nary conditions that prevail at the Pal-mlllu. Pal-mlllu. While no ono nt the mlno knows definitely whnt the oro yields per ton, It Is believed that the high grade will average from $250 to f500 per ton, and that the low-grade will run from $15 to $35 a ton. Tho values nro all present pres-ent In sllvor, with some occasional lead ores. Tho mlno nt tho time of the visit referred to was making nbout 800 gallons gal-lons of water per minute, but the pumps wero quite ablo to take caro of this How, Here again ono Is put In close touch with Alvarado's lack of business sense. Instead of draining tho mlno by a tunnel which ho could easily run nt the hnsn of tho mountain, moun-tain, where his mlno Is located, he goes to work and has all tho water pumped to tho tup of tho hill, from whero It Hows to tho bottom again through sluices built for tho purpose. Tho surface equipment at the Palmllln Pal-mllln Is on a part with tho best which can bo seen at any largo American mine. His repair shops nro of tho best and he has nover been known to turn down uny suggestion for Improvements Improve-ments that have over, been made to him, unless the offers Interfered with his principles. There Is a leak somewhere, some-where, however, between the gross profits and the net Income, which up to this tlmo no one has ever been able to explain. It Is this unknown drain that has practically ruined Alvarado to-day nnd that has made It necessary for him to pledge all he owns to rnlse a bare $300,000. He Shirks Publicity. Strange as It may seem, Alvarado personally shirks publicity. On no account ac-count would he allow a photograph of himself to bo taken, although quite willing to havo his entire mine nnd equipment photographed under any clicumstnnces that may suit the one taking the picture. "I do not want people to think I am a monkey," said Alvnrado, His residence nt Parral Is a mini' nturo palace, anil Its furnishings con- Where the Richer Ores Are Sacked quick, alort and extremely nervous. He has a well-shaped head with prominent prom-inent forehead, topped by a short crop of hluck hair. Ho wears u stubby beard that shows the lack ot care. His features aro pleasant, barring nn unusually un-usually pointed noac, and when ha smiles ho shows boiuo very good teeth. He Is 14 years old. He has u keen sense of humor, appreciates a Joke, and Is always ready both to give and tako. His knowledgo of things Is limited limit-ed to tho confines ot Chihuahua, his native state, He knows almost nothing noth-ing ot the world. He Is u devout Catholic, und In various va-rious little nooks hi. his mine chapels have been constructed, which he never tain many expensive pieces of wrought silver, any of which he Is quite willing to part with us gifts to those who catch his fancy. He has Invested some ot his money in a large hotel in Par ral, but he bus wisely decided not to run the hotel himself. For an individual who has seen so littlo ot the world and wno, one might say, has beon buiiod In his native town from his birth, Alvarado shows u genius that cannot fall to obtain for him respect throughout the district In which ho lives, His ambitions nro centered cen-tered In doing good, and he still clings to the Idea that some day he will be able to help every Mexican who requires re-quires his assistance. |