W. H. Koebel

Minerals—Past obstacles to the proper working of mines—Gold—Auriferous prospects—Situation of the goldfields of Uruguay—Past and present workings of the mines—Influence of politics on labour—The Corrales mines—Manganese—Districts in which iron ore is met with—Mineral centres—Minas—Maldonado—Silver—Copper—Marble—Gypsum—Slate—Sulphur—Asbestos—Precious stones—Diamonds and rubies—Jasper—Agate—The amethyst and topaz—The water-stone—A peculiarity of Uruguay—Viticulture—Date of the introduction of the vine—Vicissitudes at the start—Subsequent rapid progress—Vineyard area of the present day—The introduction of suitable plants—Countries of origin—Production of grapes and wine—Departments most suitable to the industry—The seal fisheries—Originally carried on by the Indians—Habits of the seals—Development of the industry—Government grants—Conditions and concessions—Number of skins obtained since 1873—Islands inhabited by the seals—Method of killing and curing—Waste of seal life—Suggestions for the improvement of the industry—Scientific measures necessary—A diplomatic incident in connection with the seal fisheries.

It is quite possible that Uruguayan minerals may yet cause something of a sensation throughout the world. In the past her deposits of the kind have lain comparatively undisturbed, owing to similar reasons that have hampered the industry in Peru and Bolivia—want of transport facilities. With the rapid spread of the railways, however, these disadvantages will shortly become minimised, when no doubt considerably more will be heard of the mineral wealth of the country.

Let it be clear that I am not making the following remarks in the character of a mining expert. The latter profession, according to vulgar report, is at times not averse to fiction; but the gap that separates an author from a goldfield is uncomfortably wide. This apparently frivolous foreword is not altogether uncalled for, since to speak with undue optimism of the presence of the yellow dross is dangerous to the layman writer, and profitable only to the expert. Nevertheless, the auriferous prospects of Uruguay, so far as such can ever be assured, give no small promise of success.

The chief goldfields of Uruguay lie in the northern province of Rivera, and are situated in the neighbourhoods of Corrales, CuÑapiru, and Zapucaya. A district here of from thirty-five to forty miles in length and of about seven miles in breadth is thickly interwoven with auriferous reef. The knowledge of the wealth in this particular spot is no new thing, as ancient superficial workings on the part of the Indians prove. From that time the mines had apparently fallen into disuse until comparatively recent years, when they were in a sense rediscovered by a French company. The concern, it is true, met with a consistent lack of prosperity. The actual working is said to have been carried on in a fashion that was both half-hearted and old-fashioned. The period, moreover, was a peculiarly disturbed one from a political point of view, and the province of Rivera has always been famed as the birthplace and chosen haunt of revolutionary movements. An English company, however, has now assumed control of the mines, a modern plant is at work, and gold is actually being yielded.

Such are the bare historical facts of the chief mines at Corrales. According to the experts, reefs have been met with that will yield five ounces to the ton, and, should the reefs prove deep, the prospects are practically limitless. But this remains to be seen. In the meanwhile the earth has promised! But its promises, like its crust in parts, are sometimes of pielike material. In this case, should the anticipations be realised, there will be no little stir in the province of Rivera—and elsewhere.

In the neighbourhood of these mines are enormous deposits of manganese that are just now beginning to attract special attention. The quantities of iron, too, that are to be met with here are rather exceptional. Rivera, however, constitutes by no means the sole mineral district of Uruguay. The provinces of Minas, Artigas, Maldonado, Salto, PaysandÚ, Montevideo, and San JosÉ are all more or less well endowed with the various species.

Of these remaining centres Minas is probably the richest. Traces of gold are to be met with here, although in a minor degree, and silver, copper, marble, gypsum, slate, sulphur, and asbestos would probably all repay organised handling. Minas also produces lead, but this, too, has suffered from considerable neglect. Indeed, I believe that one of the very few ransackings of the mines that have occurred was for the purpose of manufacturing bullets for the armies during the revolutionary and civil wars at the beginning of the nineteenth century.

The province of Maldonado contains copper, iron, marble, gypsum, sulphur, and slate, and here, too, the mineral field has remained almost unexploited up to the present. Montevideo holds manganese and iron, Salto copper, Florida iron, PaysandÚ copper, and San JosÉ asbestos. These, at all events, constitute the principal centres of the minerals specified, although there are others of comparative insignificance in many other districts.

Uruguay, too, is by no means without its precious stones. Odd rubies and diamonds have been met with from time to time, and the jasper and agate are fairly common. The stones, however, that obtain in really considerable numbers, and that are consequently of the chief commercial interest, are the amethyst and the topaz. Of both these some magnificent specimens are to be met with in the Province of Artigas. These very handsome stones are now attaining a distinct popularity amongst the visitors to Montevideo. To those who have not the opportunity of visiting the remote province of Artigas itself, it may be mentioned that Agosto Wild, in the Calle Veinte Cinco de Mayo in Montevideo, is a most trustworthy and reliable dealer.

A peculiarity of Uruguay is the water-stone that is met with in the neighbourhood of Salto. This consists of a rounded portion of stone, more or less knobbly and opaque or smooth and transparent as the case may be. In the latter the water that is enclosed within it is almost as plainly seen as though it were held within rather dull glass, and with every movement of the crystal-like material the motion and bubblings of the water are very clearly evident. There have been some mental gymnastics ere now concerning the advent of the apple within the dumpling: but the presence of this water within the stone suffices to puzzle the more scientific minds. So far as I am aware, no adequate explanation of the phenomenon has yet been vouchsafed.

Viticulture is one of the more recent industries of Uruguay. It has now, however, obtained a firm hold, and the future of the commerce is distinctly promising. It was as late as 1860 that the first tentative plantings of the vine occurred, and it was not until 1875 that a couple of really important vineyards were established, one at Colon and the other at Salto, in the north-west of the republic. Even then the undertaking did not meet with immediate success, and it was some while ere the type of plant was discovered that would lead to the most favourable results in the local soil.

This, however, once discovered, the progress of viticulture has proceeded almost without a check. The rapidity of its increase may be gathered from the following figures. In 1880 the number of vineyards in Uruguay was 16; in 1890, 181; whereas in 1895 the total had swollen to 748. Since that time the industry has continued to spread. Thus in 1897 the vineyards had increased in number to 824, while in 1905 the viticultural census showed the very respectable total of 1,453.

It is only natural that this great increase in vineyards should have been accompanied by the introduction of a greater variety of suitable plants. The types of vines that now flourish in Uruguay hail from France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Germany, the importance of the various kinds being in accordance with the seniority rendered them in order here. Of the French species introduced the most popular are the Sauvignon, Cabernet, Pinot Noir, Castel, Merlot, Verdot, Semillon, Sauvignon blanc, Clairette blanche, and some half-dozen others; of the Italian the Piamonte, Grignolino Negro, Asprino, Docetto, Leonarda, Lambrusca, Cipro Negro, and Verdea. The favourite Spanish varieties are the CariÑana, Morrastel Bouchet, Murviedo, Malvosia Blanca, Pedro Ximinez, while from Portugal have been introduced the black and the white grape, and from Germany the Riesling.

The cultivation of the vineyards is attended by the greatest expense in the south of the country, where the comparatively humid climate lends itself more readily to the propagation of the various diseases to which the vine is subject. Here the American grape, owing to its immunity from phyloxera in a great degree, flourishes admirably. The departments in which viticulture is chiefly carried on are at Montevideo, that possesses a vineyard area of 1,426 hectares; Salto, 719 hectares; Canelones, 699 hectares; Colonia, 490 hectares; Maldonado, 330 hectares; PaysandÚ, 177 hectares; Florida, 132 hectares; Soriano, 125 hectares; and Artigas, 97 hectares. In the remaining departments the viticultural industry is of small account.

The later increase in the actual production of grapes and wine will be evident from the following table:

The sealing industry of Uruguay is of considerably greater importance than is generally supposed. Mr. C. E. R. Rowland, the British Consul at Montevideo, is the leading English authority on the subject. The following article, then, which he has kindly supplied, may be taken as authoritative:

The aboriginal races of this part of South America were known to have resorted to the coast-line during the summer months for their fishing expeditions, the Indian race of the CharrÚas occupying the coastline from above the river town of Colonia to the borders of the Brazilian frontier at al Chue, on the Atlantic.

Traces of their encampment grounds are still to be found along this coast, principally from Maldonado to the Brazilian frontier, where many of their primitive weapons and utensils are still to be met with, and also the remains of what must have been their watch-fires, mounds of burnt bones, containing amongst the rest bones and teeth of seals which crumble under touch.

This coast in these former times evidently abounded in seal life, as the natural conditions offered every attraction to these now timid animals. A storm-beaten coast, with plentiful havens, in the mouth of a large estuary abounding with fish, enticed the seals to the shore and made them an easy prey to the Indians, but time has driven them to the present rookeries which now afford them protection.

The first record of the sealing industry on the coast of Uruguay having been put to practical purposes is that in the year 1834 they were rented by the Government for the period of ten years to SeÑor Francisco Aguilar for the sum of $80,000. The condition was imposed that he should erect a suitable edifice to be used as a public school in the town of Maldonado. This latter condition was altered insomuch that the building, when completed, was used as a chapel, and has remained so ever since.

From the termination of this contract up to the year 1858 this industry was worked by various tenants, but in this latter year the Government passed a Law imposing a tax of 20 centavos per skin and 4 centavos per 10 kilos of seal oil, to be paid in equal proportions to the municipalities of Maldonado and Rocha Departments, on whose coasts the islands are situated. A further Law in the year 1896 doubled these taxes, which were destined by the said Law to be applied by the municipal authorities to the public works and the creation of artificial parks.

The following tables will show the number of skins produced from these islands since the year 1873:

The islands inhabited by seals on the coast of Uruguay are:

The Castillos Rocks are very difficult of access on account of the heavy swell breaking on them. The Polonio group consists of three small islands lying directly off the cape of same name, and are called Raza, Encantado, and De Marco.

The sealers' huts and boiling-house are on the mainland in a small bay to the north-east of the lighthouse. The seals when killed on these islands are skinned with the inside lining of fat attached and are brought on shore, when the inside lining of fat is taken off and boiled down. The dead carcasses are left on the island, and in my opinion the presence of so many dead seals destroyed by human agency must have some effect upon those animals frequenting these islands, making them wary and cautious in returning again to a place where the remains of their companions are so visible.

Coronilla Islands consist of two large islands, covered with herbage, and one small "islote," or reef, generally awash with the sea.

On the largest of these islands the sealers live during the season for the purpose of salting the skins and boiling down the carcass of the seals for oil. At the end of the season the skins and oil are brought into Montevideo by tug-boats.

On Lobos Islands the killing is carried out in a different manner. A large corral is erected on the middle of the island, and, when seals are plentiful and the wind and weather are specially favourable, a drive is made by about fifty men with clubs, who, getting between the seals and the sea, drive them gently towards the corral. This is done without much difficulty, and perhaps two thousand may be enclosed in one day. Once enclosed they are allowed to wait until all preparations for killing are complete. They are then driven out in batches of twenty or thirty to the skinning-shed and boiler-house, where they are dispatched at leisure.

By this mode of killing I am inclined to think that there must be a great waste of seal life from an absence of a proper knowledge as regards the animal killed. No selection is made from those driven down, and every animal is killed even if the skin is worthless or mangy. The majority of the animals slaughtered are females, consequently the stock of production is gradually lessened. Were a skilled sealer employed for the proper classification of the animals before killing, it would do away to some extent with the extermination of seals whose skins at that season were practically worthless.

On the Paloma Islands very few seals are killed.

The seizure of the Canadian schooner Agnes G. Donohoe in the year 1905 on the alleged grounds of sealing in jurisdictional waters—that is, within the three miles limit—caused the intervention of the British Government. The master and men were under arrest for a period of ten months, but the case, diplomatically handled at that time by her Majesty's Representative, Mr. Walter Baring (Minister), and Mr. Robert Peel (ChargÉ d'Affaires), was finally settled with satisfaction to both Governments by the tactful procedure of his Majesty's present Representative, Mr. Robert J. Kennedy, Minister Plenipotentiary and Envoy Extraordinary.