Chapter LXXV: Appendix: Mexican Mining Terms

_Agua_—Water. _Acciones_—Shares in a mine. _Ahogar_—To gouge out a mine by working narrow and only in rich places. _Ademada_—Timbered. _Abonar_—To pay a debt by instalments. _Azogue_—Quicksilver. _Aire_—Air. _Bonanza_—A large and rich body of ore—prosperity. _Borrâsca_—Barren rock—bad luck—adversity. _Bartolina_—A chamber cut out in a mine in which to keep tools and stores. _Barranca_—A precipice. _Barretero_—A miner. _Barrena_—A drill. _Batea_—A wooden bowl used in washing auriferous earth. _Buena saca_—Doing well. _Contro-pozo_—An “upraise” to meet a winze. _Contra Mina_—An underground connection. _Charqueo interior_—To lead water to a drain. _Cavallo_—A “horse”—a block of barren rock in the midst of a body of ore. _Cinta_—A streak of ore. _Chorrerra_—A cave—the caving in of a mine. _Cavassos_—Borings—drillings. _Cavasal_—A cross-piece—timber. _Calabrote_—A large rope. _Cabreste_—A hair rope—a line. _Canada_—A deep ravine, gulch. _Cuarzo_—Quartz. _Cascajo_—Gravel. _De Cielo_—The roof—working overhead. _De Pied_ or _a Pique_—Beneath the floor—sinking, or working down. _Derotada_—Gutted, spoiled and abandoned. _Dispacho_ or _Dispensa_—An ore-house. _Destajo_—A contract. _El Cordon_—A ridge or spur of a mountain. _El Creston_—A crest or outcropping. _El Rumbo_—The course. _El Manto_—(mantada)—A flat deposit. _Escabar_—To strip a claim on the surface merely. _El Tajo abierto_—An open cut. _El Socabon_—An adit. _El Tiro general_—The main shaft. _El Crucero_—A cross-cut. _El Fronton_—An ore breast. _El Alto_—The hanging wall. _El Abajo_—The foot wall. _El Patio_—The level space at the mouth of a mine or tunnel. _Echardero_—A platform for weighing, sorting, or packing ore on. A Patio of a mine. _En Frutos_—In ore. _En Borra_ (_Emborrescade_, _Borrasca_)—Not in pay ore—“petered out”—applied to the barrenness of veins, not to dead work, as a tunnel run to reach a vein. _Fundido_—Filled with water. _Fueros_—Special privileges. _Guardas de Labor_—Roof and walls of a mine in general. _Grantio_—Granite. _Hilos_—Threads of ore. _Hundido_—A settling or sinking. _Las Sierras_—Mountains or mountain ranges. _La Guia_—A guide, or the float rock. _La Recuesta_—The dip. _Las Medias_—The boundary lines of a claim as marked by _Las Escatas_, stakes, or _Estacada_, staked off. _Las Guardas Rayas_—Monuments of wood or stone. _La Demasia_ or _Hueco_—The unclaimed ground between two claims. _La Bocca-vieja_—The mouth—the old mouth. _La Obra_—The tunnel—the work. _La Lumbrera_—The air shaft. _Las Canones_—The drifts. _La Cata_—A small pit—a “coyote hole.” _La Tabla_—A stope. _La Patia_—A narrow footpath in a mine. _Las Respaldas_—The walls of a mine. _Los Caminos_—The travelled roads in a mine of any kind. _Los Planes_—The deepest workings or bottom of a mine. _Los Pilares_—The pillars of a mine—place of timbers—to “_dispilar_” a mine is to dig down the pillars. _Las Desagues_—The drains of a mine. _Las Escaleras_—The notched stepping poles or ladders in a mine. _La Tronada_—The rocks thrown down by a blast. _Los Llavis_—Beams, timbers. _Latones_—Small poles. _La Quebrada_—A ravine. _Maderas_—All kinds of wood used in a mine for any purpose. _Mecati_—A small line. _Minero_—A miner. _Nivel_—A level. _Obsa muerta_—Dead work. _Orcones_—Forked poles. _Oro_—Gold. _Oro en polvo_—Gold dust. _Oro en pasta_, _bruto_ or _virgen_—Gold bullion. _Presa_—A dam. _Pileta_—A sump or tank. _Paradera_—Sluice-gates. _Pico_—A pick. _Pala_—A shovel. _Polvora_—Powder. _Plata_—Silver. _Plata virgen_ or _brulo_—A rude mass of silver—native silver. _Pizarra_—Slate rock. _Puertas_—When a vein pinches—“cap rock.” _Pied direcho_—A stud. _Pedregal_—A stony place. _Roca_—A rock. _Risco_—A steep rock. _Reata_—A rope for tying mules or horses. _Suffocante_—Hot, bad air. _Terrero_—A pile of waste rock. _Un Mineral_—A mining district. _Una Veta_—A lode or ledge—a true fissure vein. _Una Veta tapada_—A “blind” ledge or lode—a lode that is covered with soil. _Una Vena_—A vein—a narrow seam or streak. _Una Pertinencia_—A claim on a lode. (By the Mexican mining law it is _200 Varas ie Medin_—200 yards running measure. A _vara_ is 33 inches.) _Un Pozo_—A shaft, pit, or winze. _Un Labor_—Any part of a mine from which ore is being extracted. _Un Claro_—Any worked out portion of a mine. _Un Tapextle_—A landing or platform in a shaft—a gallery. _Un Quarton_—A slip or “fault” which cuts off the ore. _Un Clavo_—A chimney of ore. _Un Amparo_—A permit from the Government to quit work on a mine for any time beyond the customary four months in each year. _Un Ojo_—A “pocket.” _Una Bonanza_—A big rich strike. _Una Caida_—A fall—a slide. _Un Barreno_—A drill-hole. _Un Cohete_—A blast. _Un Tequio_—A task—each cleaner’s pile of ore. _Una Adema_—A set of timbers. _Un Malacate_—A horse whim. _Una Manesuela_, _Argans_, _Hicho bueno_—A windlass. _Una Soga_—A native rope. _Un Negocio_—An enterprise, transaction, or business. _Veta Cata_—A new vein. _Vapor_—Foul air. _Ventilacion_—Ventilation. _Ventilar_—To Ventilate.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Transcriber’s Note

The list of illustrations, though numbered consecutively, are somewhat disordered.

Illustration #43 (“Rhode Island Mill, Gold Hill”) at p. 222 is
listed _after_ #42 (“Wood and Water”) on p. 227.
Illustration #44 (“Resicence of Hon. J. P Jones”), also referring to
p. 222 is simply missing.
Illustration #46 (“Lumbering on Lake Tahoe”) consists of two
drawings with the first “Log Riding:” not appearing in the list.
Illustration #80 (“The Hottest Place”) appears at p. 449, not p.
459.

In the Table of Contents,