gns to
fortunate mine-owners, some of whom had afforded loans or rendered
other services, and they received the high reward of being admitted
into the ranks of the Spanish aristocracy. Thus the builder of the
great church of Valenciana at Guanajuato, which has been described in
this chapter, from plain Antonio Obregon became Count of Valenciana.
And, again, another miner of that city, Sardaneta, who drew millions
from the famous Rayas mine, from the _bonanza_ which his persistent
adit upon the "mother lode" laid bare, received the title of Marquis of
Rayas. Still another--marquis and viscount--this wonderful city and its
silver mountains afforded in Francisco Mathias, the owner and worker of
mines upon this mighty ore deposit. To some of these men, as related,
there have remained monuments in the great churches they built. The
Marquis of Sardaneta raised up the massive and enduring structures
which form the buildings of the Rayas mine at Guanajuato, whose
striking architectural features of flying buttresses, massive walls,
and sculptured portals arrest the traveller's attention. No sheds of
props and corrugated roofs are there; but arches, pillars, and walls of
solid stone, cut and carved, defying the centuries--and above their
portal is the sculptured image of Michael the archangel.

Pachuca, the wonderful silver-producing city not far from the capital
of Mexico, produced a Mexican noble. This was Pedro Romero de Terreros,
who, in 1739, having discovered a great _bonanza_, enriched himself by
this characteristic stroke of fortune. He rendered some service to the
King--presenting a battleship to the Imperial Navy--and was created a
count--Conde de Regla.

It is not to be supposed that the Spanish Government did not recognise,
in its demands for bullion from its colony of Mexico, any necessity for
scientific advancement in mining. A petition sent to Carlos III. in
1744 by various prominent persons, and originated by one of the
foremost miners of the country, secured the Royal assent to the
creation of a "Mining Tribunal," and towards the close of the century
this was established, with a school where the sons of poor miners
received gratuitous education in mining, without distinction of caste
or colour. Indeed, the sons of Indian chiefs of the Philippines were
brought over and instructed here, and returned later to stimulate gold
mining in their native land. A special tax on miners was then imposed
for the purpose of ra