Mining Camp Memories — Foreword, Prologue, Chapter #1, and first part of Chapter #2

In recent months it has been my joy to have renewed acquaintances with one of the “big boys” who lived in El Pao in my early years. When I say “big boys” I mean he was a few years older than me during the phase in childhood where a few years might as well be an eternity! But we are members of the same generation.

Michael John Ashe II (Mike) came to El Pao as a little boy with his beautiful family in 1953, the year of my birth. I remember his sister and twin brothers, who were closer to my age back then, when even 2 years was a big deal. 

It’s been great to have gotten back in touch with Mike, even if only through email. 

He has graciously agreed to let me post his reminiscences in this blog, something which I will do over the coming weeks and months, with a few interruptions here and there. 

His writings speak for themselves, but if I have something to add I’ll do so in parentheses identified by “RMB”

For now, I’ll only say that Mike’s family is a microcosm of the many families who came to El Pao and similar mining camps throughout South America in the 1940’s and 1950’s. The backgrounds varied greatly and the adventurous spirit was very high.

I know you will enjoy these. 

Thank you, Mike!

Michael John Ashe II

Foreword

Personal Narrative of Living in a Mining Camp

Now in my seventies, I thought it be best to delve into my memories of a an extraordinary childhood adventure before they escape me. 

Memories of Mining Camp living was akin to Time Traveling from a modern world to a far more basic and remote jungle life.

My parents, Herbert Carroll Ashe and Gloria McCluskey Ashe provided me with this great adventure to which I dedicate this humble accounting of our camp life together.

My grandmother Mama-Mary Ellen McCluskey I will always be thankful for her unconditional love.

To my El Pao classmate, Cheryl Serrao who suffered greatly from a genetic disorder that ended her life in her early teens. You are gone but not forgotten.

To Mike Ashley, Richard Barnes, and my wife Maria Cristina Ashe for their participation, help, and inspiration.

To my children and grandchildren, you are our greatest gift from God. Your love has always been unconditional and cherished by Nana and I. You have made us very happy. God bless you always.

Copyright 2021 by Michael J. Ashe

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage on retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Mining Camp-Memories-from my childhood’s perspective (Risk Takers and Adventurers)

Prologue

Pat Korb and Mike Korb were kind to send me an audio interview of their life in El Pao (1969-1970) a mining camp situated 36 miles south of the Orinoco River in the state of Bolivar. This prompted me to prepare these series of short stories about my experiences in growing up in several mining camps but primarily in El Pao circa 1950s. 

In the 1950s the State of Bolívar was sparsely populated. Cities and towns in the state included Ciudad Bolívar, Puerto Ordaz, Upata, San Félix, and Palúa. Ciudad Bolívar (aka CB) was the largest city and the state’s capital. CB’s population was less than 50,000 then and over 400,000 now. Palúa, Puerto Ordaz, Upata, and San Félix population I would estimate at less than 12,000. Now, a new city, Ciudad Guayana (formerly Puerto Ordaz, Palúa, and San Félix) population is about 1 million. The total population of the State of Bolívar is more than 1.4 million now. The country’s birth rate is one of the highest in the world. Needless to say, the State of Bolívar is a much different place now and most likely not for the best.

Pictures of Angel Falls — Water falls from a flat-topped top mountain (Tepuis) Auyan Tepui (Devils Mountain) in the State of Bolivar.  The highest waterfall in the world which drops over 3000 ft. In the 1950’s and today, travel is limited to a fly by with a small aircraft.  Dense jungle surrounding the falls and given its remoteness, the trip would be very risky. We never went there.

Chapter #1-Our First Mining Camp-Inspiration Arizona:

Before moving to Venezuela, Dad got a job working for an Anaconda Copper Inspiration Arizona, starting as a mucker (as a reference Inspiration lies between the towns of Globe and Miami).  The company furnished houses for the workers. The only thing I can remember was that there was a stove in the middle of the living room that I got burned on. Inspiration was a very typical company-run camp at an altitude of about 3,500 ft located in a beautiful part of Arizona. The area was isolated from the rest of Arizona and was considered as the state’s frontier, mainly due to its proximity to the famous San Carlos Indian Reservation.  The towns in the area remained frontier outposts well into the 20th Century. Plenty of murders, lynching and really bad hombres.  All of which was part of the lore of American Cowboy and the Western lifestyle.  Even now Globe is considered to be the most dangerous city in Arizona. The western movies captured the conflicts and violence between settlers and Apache warriors like Geronimo and Cochise,  but there were many others (notice how the bad guys were always the Indians maybe not a fair representation of history). They also captured the lives of colorful characters like Wyatt Earp, Doc Holiday and Big Nose Kate (hands down the most colorful woman in the frontier west).  I must say that the movies captured the most important stars- the beautiful western landscapes-John Ford’s work was the best. 

Picture of Malachite Quartz and Blue ball Azurite from a mine in Globe.

In 1950 during a routine medical checkup, it was determined that Dad had a mass in his left lung, that needed to be dealt with.  His doctor suggested that he go to Mayo Clinic (Rochester MN) since lung operations of this type were rare at that time.   Actually, the operation they performed was one of the first lobectomy at Mayo.  It was a brutal operation with a very large incision on his back (the procedure today is less invasive since it is done from the front).  The left lung has only two lobes while the right has three lobes so they ended up removing half his left lung.  Thankfully the mass was benign.  My mother would always tell me to take care of Dad, as we might not have him around for too long, he ended up living to 91!  

I had to stay with my Grandparents in Cananea Mexico (A mining town also operated by Anaconda where my grandfather worked) while my parents went to Mayo.  My mother returned by bus to Cananea while Dad remained in the hospital recovering.  Aunt Charlene was a nurse at Mayo and had just married my Uncle Don.  Their honeymoon plan was to drive to Cananea but that did include Dad tagging alone.   Dad would also be complaining about how much the incision hurt during the trip but Aunt Charlene always felt that he was milking it! 

The drive from Inspiration to Cananea took about 5 hours so we would make the trip quite often which was particularly fun for me once we crossed into Mexico.  The road from Naco to Cananea at that time was not paved and you would have to cross a series of arroyos (steep and not so steep gullies formed by fast -flowing water) most of which were dry or partially filled with water.  There were no bridges so the cars would have to enter the arroyos. When it rained, we would have to wait until the water subsided in order to pass. For me the trip was always a great adventure.  On one trip Dad and Uncle Don took me jack rabbit hunting.  The jack rabbits would stand up on their hind legs which provided an easy target for the hunter.  I think I was 4 years old at the time and my dad sited the rabbit and I pulled the trigger.  I remember crying and was unconsolable on the way back to Cananea after killing and retrieving that bunny rabbit. At my uncle’s 90th birthday he reminded me of that hunting trip which apparently left a long-lasting impression on both of us!

My grandparents house (owned by Anaconda) was located on a ridge just outside of town.  There was a Baseball Park nearby where the Cananea Mineros played as part of the Arizona Mexico League Mineros and won the league in 1955/56.  I was lucky to see Claudio Solano once, he played third base and hit over 200HR for the Mineros. Globe Miami Arizona Miners were also part of the league.  Any time I would go to Cananea I would visit the park.  The Cincinnati Reds were affiliated with the Yuma’s team in that league.  I don’t think that the Cananea Mineros played ball after 1958?  

There were about 8 company houses on the ridge where they lived and most folks had horses and barns out back.  My grandparents didn’t have horses but raised fryer chickens as well as egg layers and turkeys.  They had a maid for twenty years; her name was Anita  A wonderful woman (anyone and everyone that knew her loved her) I remember she would be in charge of killing the chickens (ringing their necks). One thing for sure chicken/eggs were always on the menu.

Naco on the US side crossing into the State of Sonora Mexico

Both my uncle Don and Dad worked for Anaconda for a short time.  I think both felt that opportunities were limited but it did end up giving both a good head start in their careers.  

Chapter 2-Second Mining Camp-El Pao Venezuela 

Infrastructure

The El Pao ore deposit was discovered in 1920.  Iron Mines Company of Venezuela (IMCOV) a wholly owned subsidiary Bethlehem Mines was formed after WWII.   In the late 1940’s IMCOV began Engineering Procurement and Construction of the El Pao ore deposit and supporting logistics facilities 1) Rail 36 miles/Locomotives /Gondola Cars used to transport ore to Palúa, 2) two port facilities a river port at Palúa (capable of holding 850,000 tons of ore and seaport at Puerto de Hierro and 3) a fleet of river ore carriers.  

Sparrows point shipyard in Baltimore Maryland built 6 ore carriers for IMCOV. The ore carrier Punta Anamaya was the first of eventually five sister ships that were built for the Iron Mines Company of Venezuela. These small ships, each 381-feet long and 64-feet wide were expressly designed and built for service on the Orinoco River in Venezuela to haul iron ore from Palúa to Puerto de Hierro (8,500-ton capacity) and then to be transshipped by ocean-going ore carriers (26,000-ton Capacity) primarily to Plants in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and Sparrows Point, Maryland. IMCOV also maintained an office in Caracas (capital of the republic) to interface with the Venezuelan Government.

I’d see them in port at Palúa and on the Orinoco. I would always be amazed at how big and beautiful they were.

Just the logistics of getting equipment through the jungle was a monumental task not to mention the amount of planning and engineering supporting this major undertaking which was extremely expensive. Potable water from the Caroni, Fuel to Run the Electric Generator at all locations, not to mention the camp and ports’ housing roads and infrastructure.  Don’t know if the returns justified the investment?  
Puerto de Hierro IMCOV Deep water port in the state of Sucre.

(Will continue with next section: “Moving In”)

The Lost World and Green Mansions

Green Mansions, the 1904 William Henry Hudson novel, was made into a 1959 movie starring Anthony Perkins and Audrey Hepburn. The director, Mel Ferrer, after concluding that he could not stage the film in the thick and impenetrable, not to say dangerous, jungles of Venezuela, had, nevertheless, taken the equivalent of about an hour of footage south of the Orinoco (not too far from the mining camp) and also in Canaima, much of which was incorporated into the movie. Although the motion picture, in its denouement, is not faithful to the book, it was pretty popular in Venezuela. The full title of the book included this subtitle: A Romance of the Tropical Forest. In sum, a young man fails at leading a revolution in Caracas and avoids execution by escaping to the deepest jungle, convinced he’ll never be able to return to civilization. There he meets an ethereal, mysterious beauty. Where did this non-Indian woman come from? Why do Indian tribes seek to kill her?

The Lost World, the Arthur Conan Doyle novel, published in 1912, was written after Doyle had bid farewell to Sherlock Holmes. It is a science fiction account of Englishmen who explore South America and discover an unknown jungle where dinosaurs roam. A major character is a young man who is determined to accompany the expedition in order to demonstrate his courage to a lady in London whom he hopes to marry. Upon his return he finds his efforts have availed him nothing and he goes back to the lost world. The inspiration for this work was most likely Venezuela, though some believe it’s Bolivia.  However, Venezuela is the one most often alluded to, especially Canaima, a vast region of interminable forests occupied by massive tepuys, which are, in essence, huge mesas or table top mountains with vertical walls. One of these is Auyantepui, the site of Angel Falls, the tallest uninterrupted water fall on earth. Another is Roraima, most likely Doyle’s inspiration for The Lost World, much of whose adventures take place on a tepui.

Incredibly, it has had over 5 film adaptations, the first being in 1925 with Wallace Beery in the title role of Professor Challenger and the next in 1960 with the inimitable Claude Rains in that role. If you’ve seen the great movie, Grand Hotel, the one with Greta Garbo’s plaintive, “I want to be alone! I just want to alone”, you’ll remember Wallace Beery as the unscrupulous General Director Preysing. As for Claude Rains, if you’ve seen Casablanca, you’ll recall him as bribe-taking Captain Louis Renault who, deadpanned, utters some of the most famous lines in the movies: “I am shocked! Shocked! That there is gambling in this place!” And also, “Round up the usual suspects.”

I confess to having seen the 1960 Lost World adaptation but only recalling the scene where a member of the expedition is eaten by a dinosaur. Sorry. I was just a kid. I also saw Green Mansions. I have not read either of the novels. But both books and movies have been a continuous presence in my mind given their link to Venezuela — even to the area where I was born — and the many times they were referenced in conversations as I was growing up.

As noted above, Angel Falls is in Canaima, on the spectacular Auyantepui. Although first seen by a European explorer, the Spaniard, Felix Cardona, in 1927, it bears the name of the American aviator, Jimmie Angel who, following the directions given to him by Cardona, flew over the falls in 1933. He returned in 1937 and attempted to land atop the mesa only to have his plane nosedive and sink in the marsh. He, his wife, Marie, and two other companions were faced with either staying atop a site where no one ever visited — the Pemon Indians, reasonably,  considered it too dangerous — or to descend the mighty mount by foot. It took them 11 days. It is entirely possible that the Pemon Indians had never seen the falls until after its discovery by air. It is a fact that they avoided Auyantepui and only began approaching it regularly after Angel’s fall (pun intended).

This adventure brought Angel Falls to the attention of the outside world and it in turn honored Jimmie Angel by naming the falls after him. His monoplane remained atop the mesa until 1970 when it was lifted by helicopters and now, restored, sits at the airport in Ciudad Bolivar, the capital of the state where the El Pao Bethlehem Steel mining camp operated.

Sir Walter Raleigh also explored Canaima in the late 1500’s. Some say he was the first European to have seen Angel Falls, but that’s doubtful given the extreme remoteness of Auyantepui. Even today, to get there, the traveler flies to Canaima from Ciudad Guayana. Then by foot, donkey, and canoe, he arrives at the foot of the falls days later, assuming the weather permits it. I visited once but never made it to the falls due to weather and having run out of time.

As a side note, the incident which led to Raleigh’s execution took place in Venezuela. It was his second expedition, in 1617. Against his orders, and against the express conditions of the English crown, a detachment of his men attacked a Spanish outpost, Santo Tomé de Guayana on the Orinoco. (The ruins of the fort are still there and the mining company arranged outings there several times. As can be imagined, this was exciting for us kids.) Raleigh’s son was killed in the attack. Raleigh returned to England where he knew he would be executed by beheading. 

Both Sir Walter Raleigh and Jimmie Angel kept being pulled back to Venezuela. Raleigh suffered great loss with his son’s death, exacerbated by knowing he also would die upon his return to England. Angel kept being drawn back time and again, and, during a rough landing in Panama, he suffered severe head injuries followed by a heart attack from which he never fully recovered. He died 8 months later in Panama but not before making sure to ask that his ashes be taken back to Auyantepui. Venezuela, especially Canaima, has drawn and continues to irresistibly draw explorers, naturalists, novelists, cinematographers, and many others. And will continue to do so.

They, and such as they, understand the pull of the land.

As to the tepuis (tepuy or tepuyes in Spanish), let’s get off the beaten track of precambrian quartz sandstone and go into the science fiction, Twilight Zone world of some contemporary theorists. Giant trees. Yes, some believe these structures were of a time when trees were giants in the land, composed of the equivalent of silicone and used by earth’s gods and priests to communicate across vast distances. So, suspend reality for a moment and when you see the photos of tepuis below, imagine them as tree stumps.

Giants indeed!

The novel was made into a 1925 movie of the same title.
Wallace Beery as Professor Challenger in the 1925 adaptation.
Claude Rains as Professor Challenger in the 1960 version.
Claude Rains as Professor Challenger in the 1960 version.
Mt. Roraima, in the southernmost region of Canaima, near the border with Brazil. It is almost certain that this phenomenon inspired Arthur Conan Doyle’s novel, The Lost World.
Kukenántepui provided inspiration for the movie Up.
Upuigmatepui
They do look like giant tree stumps!
Auyantepui and Angel Falls. 
Outpost, Santo Tomé de Guayana on the Orinoco. Attacked by the British in direct contravention to Raleigh’s orders in 1617.
Artist rendition of the execution of Sir Walter Raleigh
Jimmy Angel. Another example of the pull of the land. He was born in Missouri, but he was always pulled to Venezuela. He died in Panama, in 1956 after suffering head injuries during a rough landing. He asked that his ashes be taken to Angel Falls. His wife and children did so four years later.
The plane, restored, in Ciudad Bolivar
Plaque honoring Jimmie Angel in Canaima National Park