On which Mr. Raymond remarks: "That this is ridiculously low, no one who knows how many men are mining in Arizona can for a moment doubt." It is certain that at that time, and for some time subsequently, there were no express offices in Arizona; that bullion was largely taken out of the Territory privately and by mail; that considerable silver was contained in shipments of copper and lead ore, of which silver no account would appear, except in the returns of the mines; and further, that considerable bullion was, and is, shipped via New Mexico, for which Arizona gets no credit. It would, therefore, appear that at that time the express company had no great facilities for obtaining information; and that, even now, the greater part of the gold and silver produced do not go by express. John Wasson, Surveyor-General of the Territory, estimated the product for 1875 at $1,500,000. A recent estimate places the product of Arizona for the present year at $1,500,000 silver, and $500,000 gold. With a view to determine this point, the following monthly products of a few of the leading mines are tabulated: Stonewall Jackson, and other mines owned by same $100,000 50,000 75,000 80,000 75,000 30,000 37,000 $447,000 Or $5,364,000 per annum from seven of the leading mines. Other mines in Mojave County in the aggregate probably equal $1,750,000 more, or an aggregate of over seven millions for all of Mojave County, and a few of the leading mines elsewhere, leaving out hundreds of rich mines in the other five counties. The estimate for Nevada this year is $50,000,000; and it needs no Sutro tunnels, or other expensive schemes, to get out twice that amount in Arizona, with half the capital, one-fourth the labor, and one-third the cost. When the insane policy of depreciating our own product to the ruin of the nation, in order to further the schemes of European financiers and American speculators, is put down, (as it must be at any cost) the business of silver mining will receive a further impetus, inasmuch as we urgently need as currency to-day more than six times the annual product of all the silver mines of the United States. The following is a list (probably incomplete) of the new quartz mills purchased or erected in Arizona within the six months ending October, 1877, viz: Champion (steam drop)... Some of those previously in operation are as follows: Ostrich.. Stamps. 2 10 10 10 10 5 5 10 20 5 10 97 Stamps. 10 3 10 A few mills in the Hualapai District, not specified, estimated at... 5 10 6 5 10 5 10 40 5 15 134 At the low estimate of $1,000 per stamp per month, (and some run as high as $8,000) the mills above recorded would make $2,772,000 of bullion per annum. This is exclusive of smelting works, of ore shipped for reduction elsewhere, and of very large quantities on the "dumps" awaiting expected facilities for reduction. But these mills are entirely inadequate for the purpose. Mills and smelting works are still urgently needed in every mining district; and with competent managers are certain to pay a liberal percentage on the capital invested, if used wholly for custom work, where no risk is possible except such as might result from a failure of all the mines within convenient distance. If capitalists will invest money in such enterprises as these, bringing solid and certain returns, it would not only be far more desirable for the community, but better for themselves than when put into stocks, land-grabs, and other forms of respectable gambling. Gold, silver, copper, lead, iron, wood, coal, a bracing climate, a fertile soil, irrigating facilities over a large area only needing developmentthese constitute a combination of natural resources only needing roads, capital, and labor to make Arizona the richest State in the Union. CHAPTER V. MINES, MILLS, AND LOCATIONS. DESCRIPTION OF MINES, ETC., IN THE SEVERAL COUNTIES. YAVAPAI COUNTY; COMPARISON WITH SOUTHERN ARIZONA; MINERALS AND DISTRICTS NEAR PRESCOTT; CHARACTER OF ORES; LOCATORS; TOWNS AND MILLS. COPPER MINES AT CLIFTON; COAL; LIST OF LOCATIONS IN YAVAPAI COUNTY. PIMA COUNTY; THE SANTA CRUZ VALLEY; OLD MEXICAN WORKS; MINING DISTRICTS; COPPER, GALENA, AND ARGENTIFEROUS ORES; COAL; TABLE OF MINES IN PIMA COUNTY. PINAL AND MARICOPA COUNTIES; PIONEER AND GLOBE DISTRICTS; MINING CAMPS AND TOWNS; DESCRIPTIONS AND LOCATIONS; VALUABLE INFORMATION; SILVER KING; GLOBE; STONEWALL JACKSON; VULTURE MINE; COPPER LODE; TABLE OF MINES IN PINAL AND MARICOPA COUNTIES. YUMA COUNTY; FIRST AMERICAN MINING; CASTLE DOME; WEAVER; HARCUVAR; COST OF LABOR AND LIVING; LIST OF MINES. MOJAVE COUNTY; MOUNTAINS; SETTLEMENTS; MINERALS AND MINES; TABLE OF MINES. While the mining wealth of Southern Arizona was known centuries ago, even to races which, in respect of written records, are pre-historic, that of the north (that is, as far as settlements have yet extended) dates in the main from 1857 to 1863, in which latter year the Weaver diggings were found by American explorers arriving from the Colorado river and the Pima villages. Subsequently ascending the Hassayampa, one of these explorers, in the winter of 1863-4, reached Lynx Creek at about ten miles east of Prescott. In 1866, Mr. Ehrenbergh (who discovered the celebrated Vulture mine) predicted the results of future developments when he wrote that there a continuous range of gold-bearing rock from near Wickenburg to ten miles north of Prescott, and from the Lower Hassayampa to the Agua Fria, which would embrace an area of at least one thousand square miles. The containing rock is nearly the same in this entire section." And in the tract thus designated, the mining districts and mine locations are now more numerous than in all other parts of the Territory combined; not because of its intrinsic superiority, but because in past years it could be protected with less difficulty from Indian was attacks, and was less liable to Mexican depredations. Hence a comparative concentration of population; with its accompanying facilities. Up to October 1st, 1876, of 11,605 mines located, and recorded in the Territory, 7,298 were in the county of Yavapai; but the proportion is probably much less at the present time, and will continue to diminish as the causes which once impeded the development of the generally richer southern mines pass further back into history. In the vicinity of Prescott the general direction of the mountain ranges, quartz veins, and dikes trends from north-west to south-east. The country rocks are metamorphic slates, feldspathic granites of various tints, veins of epidote and hornblende, quartzites and white quartz stained with oxyd of iron. These last are very prominent, of great length and width, but rarely carry any precious metals. These veins are in most instances barely outcropping upon the tops of the rounded hills, but easily traced by the float. In some localities trap rocks and metamorphic slate dikes are very prominent. In the vicinity of the slate formations the principal metal-bearing veins are to be found, the metal veins usually running parallel, in a few instances only crossing at nearly right angles. Volcanic trap rock and scoria lie scattered over the table lands or mesas, disintegrated, then washed away, leaving the rounded foothills with their primitive characters but slightly disturbed. The alluvial detritus was washed into the valleys, impregnated with alkaline salts and vegetable matter, forming a dark, rich mold, and producing splendid crops. Gold has been found in nearly every locality in Yavapai county wherever diligent search has been made, both in veins and in bars and gulches. It is noticed that the lodes when first opened carry a good percentage of gold, but at a greater depth run into or carry a large per cent. of silver. It is found also in the granitic, feldspathic, quartzose, hornblendic, slate, and talcose rocks, free and intimately mixed with various sulphides, often in beautiful crystals of the octohedral form; wire gold has been found; also scales and nuggets of respectable size. Silver occurs, native, in various lodes, in tangled wires, arborescent filaments and in nuggets; also, as horn silver, chloride, chloro-bromide, as sulphide associated with lead, iron, antimony, zinc, etc. The Black Warrior lode has produced beautiful specimens of wire silver; also, the Peck, Silver Prince, Tip-Top, Silver Flake, Kit Carson, Lone Star, Little Tiger, and others. The Sumner lode produces a new combination of ore. The principal vein matter is micaceous iron, iodide |