Devil in the Mine

There are legends upon legends as to who first discovered cinnabar in Terlingua. The natives in the area had used the bright red ore’s hue to paint pictographs on cave walls for thousands of years. There is no question about who refined the cinnabar.  There is no doubt as to who used Terlingua’s resources to exploit a people, region, and ultimately the entire economy of early 20th century Big Bend Texas. 

Howard E. Perry knew extravagance. While living in the desert he was a sailing member of the New York Yacht Club. At the same time, he cashed in on the backs of the Mexican miners who died of mercury poisoning pulling ore from the ground. The disparity between the man in the mansion on the hill and the men who worked for him was sickening. The average time spent in the mine before mercury poisoning began affecting them was less than 5 years. The men who got sick were happy to have a job for pennies a day, all the while unaware of the horrific nature of their own impending death. 

The process is nightmarish. It starts with uneasiness and a declining in general health. It spirals into madness. Ever hear the term “…mad as a hatter?” It came from haberdasher’s use of mercury in hat making, and their profession’s tendency to end up in the asylum. Such was the end for most of the west side of Terlingua Cemetery’s burial area, the part from the mining days. The men there died young, mostly in their 30’s and 40’s, at the hands of the Chisos Mine. 

One can imagine that between the dangers in the mine and the drunkenness, as well as the sickness and violence, that Terlingua was once one of the most uniquely appalling places in the early 20th century. Who knows how many lives the Chisos Mine ultimately took, but you can visit several hundred in the Terlingua Ghost Town Cemetery.