the Indian miners are sacrificed. A
melancholy example of the effects of this negligence is presented by
the now ruined mine of Matagente (literally _Kill People_), in which
three hundred laborers were killed by the falling in of a shaft. I
descended into several of the mines, among others into the
_Descubridora_, which is one of the deepest, and I always felt that I
had good reason to congratulate myself on returning to the surface of
the earth in safety. Rotten blocks of wood and loose stones serve for
steps, and, where these cannot be placed, the shaft, which in most
instances runs nearly perpendicular, is descended by the help of rusty
chains and ropes, whilst loose fragments of rubbish are continually
falling from the damp walls.

The mine laborers, all of whom are Indians, are of two classes. One
class consists of those who work in the mines all the year round without
intermission, and who receive regular wages from the mine owners;--the
other class consists of those who make only temporary visits to Cerro de
Pasco, when they are attracted thither by the _boyas_.[70] This latter
class of laborers are called _maquipuros_. Most of them come from the
distant provinces, and they return to their homes when the boya is at an
end. The mine laborers are also subdivided into two classes, the one
called _barreteros_, whose employment consists in breaking the ore; and
the other called _hapires_, or _chaquiris_, who bring up the ore from
the shaft. The work allotted to the hapires is exceedingly laborious.
Each load consists of from fifty to seventy-five pounds of metal, which
is carried in a very irksome and inconvenient manner in an untanned
hide, called a capacho. The hapire performs his toilsome duty in a state
of nudity, for, notwithstanding the coldness of the climate, he becomes
so heated by his laborious exertion, that he is glad to divest himself
of his clothing. As the work is carried on incessantly day and night,
the miners are divided into parties called _puntas_, each party working
for twelve successive hours. At six o'clock morning and evening the
_puntas_ are relieved. Each one is under the inspection of a mayor-domo.
When a mine yields a scanty supply of metal, the laborers are paid in
money; the barreteros receiving six reals per day, and the hapires only
four. During the _boyas_ the laborers receive instead of their wages in
money, a share of the ore. The Indians often try to appropriate to
themselves surrep