USA > Arizona > History of Arizona and New Mexico, 1530-1888, Volume XVII > Part 80
USA > New Mexico > History of Arizona and New Mexico, 1530-1888, Volume XVII > Part 80
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745
SOUTHERN APACHES.
ally hostile, but were hard pressed by the troops. Depredations were constant, but the loss of life was
the copper mines, and efforts to induce the Apaches to go to Bosque Redondo. "The chiefs gave some encouragement; but depred. continued. Carleton de- clined to permit Supt Steck to go for a talk with the Mimbres, who must surrender without conditions.
1866. Intention to make a campaign against the Mimbres and estab. a post. A Gila reserv. spoken of, but no Ind. on it. 1867. No change, but continued hostilities. 1868. Agency at Limitar; constant depredations.
1869. Ind. thought to be tiring of war. Chiefs interviewed by Agent Drew and willing to go on a reserv. at Hot Spring, which is recommended. 1870. Over 500 Mimbres and Mogollones, with a few Mescaleros, heing fed at Cañada Alamosa. Gen. Pope has no hope of estab. the Apaches on a reserv., but agent thinks differently. Agency consolidated with that of the Mesca- leros in July, but there is no further trace of this change.
1871. From 1,200 to 1,900 Ind. at Cañada Alamosa, who, however, ran off when Colyer's escort appeared. Cochise and his Chiricahuas submitted this year, and came in to the Cañada. Colyer, the peace com., decided to fix the reserv. farther north-west, at Tularosa, because of the unsuitableness of the Cañada for agric., and the proximity and opposition of the settlers, who at a public meeting complained of thefts of cattle and crops, and made prepara- tions to use forcible measures.
1872. About 450 Ind. removed in April, much against their wishes, to the new reserv. at Tularosa. The rest, including Cochise's hand, had run away to avoid removal. About 1,000 went for a time to the Mescalero reserv., and many resumed their raids.
1873. From 600 to 700 on the reserv. very discontented; depred. frequent. The efforts of Maj. Price to enforce the return of stolen cattle caused all to run off, but 700 were caught and brought back.
1874. Ind. transferred, in accordance with their wishes, to the vicinity of the Cañada, and a new reserv. of 750 sq. m. set off at the Ojo Caliente, or Hot Spring, where they behaved better, and even worked a little. Cochise died this year, and a Chiricahua reserv. was estab. in s. E. Arizona.
1875. Apaches quiet; 1,700 on the Hot Spring reserv., receiving their rations aud committing no depred. A little farming. Whiskey causes some trouble. Settlers ejected, and new buildings being erected.
1876. General peace and a little progress. A slight trouble in April was promptly quelled by military. About 250 Chiricahuas came to Hot Spring, when their reservation was broken up, a part of the tribe being removed to S. Carlos, and the rest going on the war-path.
1877. Ind. acc. to agent 'idle, dissolute, and drunken,' yet some encour- aging results in agric. Gen. Pope pronounces them 'squalid, idle vagabonds, utterly worthless aud hopeless.' In April-May 450 of the Hot Spring Ind. were forcibly transferred to S. Carlos in accordance with the policy of concen- tration, the rest running off before the removal, the 450 soon escaping from S. Carlos, and all resuming their raids. There were many fights, Victorio be- ing in command of the hostiles. About 200 surrendered in Oct., and were returned to Hot Spring, but part of them ran off again. A party also came in to the Mescalero reserv.
1878. Victorio in Feb. surrendered, but on the attempt to remove them from Hot Spring ran away again. In June they came in voluntarily to the Mescal. reserv., and it was decided to let them remain; but were frightened off by the coming of county officials, the chiefs being under indictment for murder, and fearing arrest. After a destructive raid they were driven into Mexico.
1879-80. Congress decided against a proposition to move the Apaches to the Ind. territory. Down to Sept. 1879, acc. to Gen. Pope's report, there were no very serious troubles, though petty depred. never ceased; but then Victorio with 60 Ind. came from Mex., and attacked the herders at Ojo Cali-
746
INDIAN AND MILITARY AFFAIRS.
slight. Then in 1870-1 about 1,800 of the savages, tiring somewhat of war, were fed at Cañada Alamosa, in the region of Fort Craig. By Vincent Colyer a reservation was selected at Tularosa, where about 500 -the rest going on the war-path-were transferred against their will, and lived in discontent and trouble during 1872-3. In 1874 they were returned to near their former home, and a reservation was set off at Ojo Caliente, and here they lived in comparative quiet, though without any real progress until 1877. Then the unwise concentration policy caused the Hot Spring reservation to be broken up, and 450 of the Apaches were forcibly removed to San Carlos in Arizona. From this time until 1882 southern New Mexico was for the most part a bloody battle-ground. The suc- cessive outbreaks and raids of Victorio, Nané, Loco, Chato, Gerónimo, and others are mentioned in my note, and more details are given in the chapter on Indian affairs in Arizona. Since 1882, though the renegades from Arizona have several times raided the frontier district, there has been comparative peace. The management of the southern Apaches has been a difficult problem; but the Indian department has much to answer for in the disasters of the last decade, since most of these may be traced to unwise removals against the wishes of the Indians, in disregard of
ente, killing several and driving off 46 horses. He was joined by 100 from Mex. and by a large party of Mescaleros, and a bitter warfare ensued. Col Hatch took command and killed about 100 Ind., driving Victorio into Mex. Hitherto the scattered Mex. herders in southern N. Mex. had been spared by the Chiricahuas, to whom they rendered much aid; but now their Mescalero and Comanche allies spared nobody, and from 70 to 100 settlers were killed. Victorio twice recrossed the frontier and was driven back, being finally killed in Mexico. The newspapers in these years are full of items respecting these raids. A volunteer force was organized by the legisl.
1881-2. In July 1881 and April 1882 the renegades, now under Nané, made bloody raids across the border, and were driven back. They had been largely reenforced by the Mescaleros and by Chiricahuas from S. Carlos, under Loco. The Hot Spring reserv. was now abolished, and all Apaches not at S. Carlos or on the Ft Stanton reserv. were treated as hostiles. In 1882 an arrangement was made by which the hostiles could be pursued across the line.
1883-5. No troubles except with the renegades from Arizona under Gerő- nimo and Chato, who committed many atrocities on the southern border, nota- bly the killing of Judge McComas and family in April '83.
747
APACHES IN NEW MEXICO.
promises made, and against the protests of the mili- tary authorities. Of the Apaches, only the remnants of the Jicarillas and Mescaleros remain in New Mex- ico, and these under control on their reservation. Serious outbreaks are probably at an end. The prob- lem of ultimate improvement remains unsolved.
CHAPTER XXX. INDUSTRIES AND INSTITUTIONS.
1864-1887.
MINERAL WEALTH - MINING NOTES OF 1864-79-GREAT PROSPECTS AND SMALL RESULTS-STATISTICS OF PRODUCTION-THE MINING DISTRICTS- GOLD, SILVER, COPPER, COAL, AND IRON - THE 'BOOM' FROM 1880- AUTHORITIES - RESUME OF DEVELOPMENTS - GENERAL RESULTS AND PROSPECTS-SPANISH AND MEXICAN LAND GRANTS-LIST OF CLAIMS- PUBLIC LANDS AND SURVEYS-AGRICULTURE-STATISTICS-SLIGHT PRO- GRESS-STOCK-RAISING CATTLE AND SHEEP - MONOPOLY AND OTHER OBSTACLES -- MANUFACTURES-TRADE-RAILROADS-TELEGRAPH LINES -- STAGE AND MAIL ROUTES-BUREAU OF IMMIGRATION-SCHOOLS-PUBLI- CATIONS OF THE JESUIT COLLEGE- NEWSPAPERS-CHURCH AFFAIRS.
FROM the earliest times New Mexico's prospective mineral wealth has been recognized, and there has hardly ever been a year, perhaps never a decade, in which a few mines of some sort have not been worked. The early Spanish workings, never successful on a large scale, have left traces at many points; but, as elsewhere fully explained, have been habitually and grossly overrated in modern times. Practically, noth- ing but prospecting was ever done by the Spaniards or Mexicans, and very little more by the Americans for many years after their occupation of the territory. Their small numbers, isolation, and lack of capital, the general apathy of the native population, the heavy cost of transportation, and frequent Indian troubles, afford sufficient explanation of the slight progress made, while each year's operations furnished addi- tional foundation for faith in ultimate success.
Such work as had been previously undertaken was for the most part suspended, on account of the con-
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749
MINING IN NEW MEXICO.
federate invasion of 1861-2 and the ensuing Indian wars; though at Pinos Altos, in the south-west, a nucleus for future operations still remained; in Santa Fé county preparations for active work were being pressed forward at the Old and New Placers; and each year the natives washed out a considerable quan- tity of gold in the wet season at many different points. The annals of New Mexican mining in 1864-79 would consist of a long series of detached items, not without interest in themselves, but entirely too bulky for pre- sentation here. I append some general notes and references.1 The yield of gold and silver has been
1 See N. Mex., Acts, 1864 et seq., as per résumé already given, for legisla- tive action on mines, including the incorporation of many companies. For mining laws of the territory at different periods, see N. Mex., Revised Laws, 726-32; Mills' Hand-book of Min. Laws, and Guide to N. Mex. Las Vegas, n. d., 12mo, 35 p .; Raymond's Silver and Gold (1873), p. 453-9; Rand's Guide to Colorado, 85; Avery's Hand-book of N. Mex., 95-7; Rand & McNally's Overland Guide, 236-7; N. Mex., Business Directory, 1882, p. 185-97; Ritch's Blue-Book, 127-8. For mining information in the successive years, see the annual reports of the surveyor-gen. of N. Mex., in U. S. Land Office Reports, 1864 et seq .; also Raymond's Reports on statistics of mines and mining, 1869 et seq.
1864. N. Mex. Mining Comp., Preliminary Report. N. Y., 1864, 8vo, 21 p. This comp. had been organized in '53, and incorporated in '58, to work the Old Placer mines, having purchased the Ortiz grant. This pamphlet contains by-laws, act of incorp., extracts from Gregg, etc., and corresp. intended to 'boom' the company's enterprise. Operations continned for several years, with no very great success, so far as this comp. was concerned. Not much done anywhere this year, on account of the Indians.
1865. Quartz-mill being built at the Ortiz mine. Furnaces at Las Cruces at work on ore from the Organos Mts; 2-300 miners at work at Pinos Altos, with good prospects. Owen (Richard E.) and E. T. Cox, Report on the Mines of N. Mex. . .. Published by John S. Watts. Wash., 1865, 8vo, 59 p. This is a report of a geologist and chemist, including an examination of several mines; published in the interests of some comp., and showing everything in some- what bright colors.
1866. Much prospecting and many discov., including the Moreno mines, Colfax co. N. Mex. Min. Co. at work; another comp. organized to work the mines farther south in same district. Little progress in smelting at Las Cruces, for want of capital. Machinery en route to Pinos Altos. Gold de- posited at U. S. mint, $3,155. Gov. Arny's Message treats of 'mineral re- sources,' indicating that nothing much is being done. Copper discov. near Ft Union. Meline's 2,000 Miles, 170-9, has a chapter on mines, with some- thing of personal observation. Clifford's Overland Tales, 367-83, has a chap- ter on 'my first experience in N. Mex.' in '66, a pleasing sketch of life at Ft Bayard, and some information on the mines. Sir Morton Peto's Resources, N. Y., 1866, p. 170-1, mentions the copper mines of the s. w.
1867. Browne and Taylor's Report, 324 et seq., contains Com. J. W. Tay- lor's report on N. Mex. mines, chiefly made up from old auth., and Gov. Arny's message of '66. It is also found in Hunt's Merch. Mag., Ivi. 208, and Goddard's Where to Emigrate, 143. Much development at Pinos Altos; 1,000 men at work; 600 lodes within 6 miles; 15-stamp mill. Gold found near
750
INDUSTRIES AND INSTITUTIONS.
estimated at $125,000 to $250,000 per year down to 1868, $500,000 annually in 1869-74, and $400,000 in
Taos, and 400 men at work. Ore at Old Placers yields $27. Many discov. of silver, but no work. Fifty silver mines in the Organos Mts.
1868. Moreno mines produced about $200,000 in placer gold. Some in- form., especially on the Ortiz mine, in the gov.'s message. The S. F. news- papers of '68-9 have many items.
1869. Gold product, $500,000; no silver. The Moreno mines in 3 districts - Ute Cr., Willow Cr., and Elizabethtown-yielded $200,000, of which $100,000 was from the Aztec mine. Hydraulic machinery at work in the gulches; 270 lodes registered at Pinos Altos and Central City; product from quartz, $60-70,000. Mills at Old and New Placers badly managed; chief mines, the Cunningham, Ortiz, and Brahm. Coal being mined at the Placers. Ditch projected from the Pecos. Gold and silver lodes on the Arroyo Hondo, in north. Gold-washing near Abiquiu. Carson lode in Manzano Mts very rich. Lincoln co. mines, gold placers and quartz-Sierra Blanca, Carriza, and Jicarilla-showing well. Recent discov. of copper and silver in the Magda- lena Mts, Socorro co. The Organos Mts yield 80 per cent lead and $50 silver. Prof. Hayden, U. S. Geol. Survey, Ist, 3d rept, visited and described several min, districts, and has much to say ou coal and other minerals.
1870. Chief excitement at Ralston (Shakespeare), and Ciénega, Grant co., where the silver lodes proved rich and numerous. Increased production of the Moreno mines, the Aztec paying $62,000 in 3 months. In Sta Fe the N. Mex. Min. Co. had suspended operations. Large deposits of iron, but as yet no smelting. On anthracite and other coal beds, see Raymond's Report; and McFarlane's Coal Regions, 72-6; S. F. Scientific Press, April 29, 1871. Mining stat., in U. S. Census Reports, 9th, Industries. Items and corresp. ou the Burro mines, or Virginia dist (Ralston), in Hayes' Scraps, Mining, iii. 206-9, 212-14, 217-26.
1871. Increased yield from Moreno quartz and placers; Maxwell rancho sold to an English co. Artesian well of 300 ft at the Sta Fé placers not suc- cessful. Details of Pinos Altos region in report of R. Sturenburg, in Land Off. Rept; prospects good, but no true fissure veins yet discovered. Some silver development in the Corona del Pueblo dist, Socorro co., but mines badly managed and results exaggerated. Hayden's U. S. Geol. Surv. Rept has in- formation on coal deposits.
1872. No material improvement or important discov. Gold yield of Moreno and the Placers $100,000; Aztec mill suspended. Grant co. pros- perous, but operations stopped at Ralston for want of machinery. Prod. of the co. $350,000. Silver City lively, with 4 mills which produced $6,990 in a week. Richness of Socorro co. mines confirmed. Ruby dist, in Rio Arriba co., shows some activity; includes the reported diamond-fields; many precious stones exhibited by Ayres and Buckley. For 1872-4, see Raymond's Statis- tics; Id., Silver and Gold; Id., Mining Industry; all being his annual reports, separately published.
1873. Encouraging success at Silver City. Among the claims surveyed are many in Ruby and Spring Hill dist. Wheeler's U. S. Geog. Survey, iii. 632-6 and passim, contains much on the anthracite coal and other minerals. Partly reproduced in Ritch's Illust. N. Mex., 118-23.
1874. Eleven mining claims surveyed. Not much new development; but great activity in the old districts, especially in Grant and Socorro.
1875. Eleven claims surv. Wheeler, U. S. Geog. Surv. Rept, 1876, p. 66-7, 143-4, 201, describes the Aztec dist in Colfax, said to have yielded $1,000,000 since '68; 12 veins; greatest depth 180 ft; yield per ton $60; formerly a mill, now only arrastras. Also the Sta Fé placers, where only a little rude wash- ing is done; nothing on the rich veins. An article on the copper mines in Coast Review, vii. 375-7.
1876. Nothing new of importance. Many claims surveyed. Capital much needed. Wheeler, in his report of 1877, p. 1295-1303, describes the northern
751
PROGRESS IN THE MINES.
1875-80. The total deposit of gold in United States mints and assay offices down to 1867 was only $85,459. The chief developments during this period were in the districts of western Colfax and Taos counties, where gold placers were profitably worked whenever water could be obtained, where ditches were con- structed and hydraulic methods introduced to some extent, and where, at intervals, stamp mills were run- ning after 1868; in Sta Fé and Bernalillo counties, at or near the old and new placers, where the customary washing operations were supplemented by several not very successful experiments in quartz-mining, though the veins were rich, where a mica mine was worked to some extent, and where a bed of pure anthracite coal was opened; in the Sandía and Manzano ranges of Bernalillo and Valencia, where nothing beyond prospecting was practically effected; in the Magdalena Mountains of Socorro, where rich deposits of silver and lead were found; in the region of Fort Stanton, or the Mescalero reservation, Lincoln county, where were rich gold placers and numerous quartz veins ; in the Organos Mountains of Doña Ana, the silver ores from which were smelted without much real success at Las Cruces ; and above all, in the counties of Grant and the later Sierra in the south-west, where the old copper mines were for the most part unworked, but where gold was washed from many gulches, and where minerals, quoting from a work by De Groot and Leembruzzen, pub. in Dutch in 1874. See also Sta Fé, Centennial Celeb., 30-4.
1877. Fine deposits of mica worked 75 m. N. w. of Sta Fé. Rich placers near Ft Stanton, in Sierra Blanca, but great lack of water. The prod. of the year is estimated by the surv .- gen. as $304,000 gold, chiefly from placers; $496,000 silver, chiefly from Grant co .; 2,010,000 lbs. copper, chiefly from Grant; and 850,000 lbs. lead, chiefly from Socorro.
1878. Increased yield. New impetus expected from early completion of the R. R. Mica mines flourishing.
1879. The gov. in his report takes a very favorable view of the prospects, declaring that the era of prosperity has begun in earnest. Las Animas Peak gold dist, in Doña Ana, is a recent discov. of rising repute. Other new develop- ments are at Hillsborough, Ft Stanton, in the Sandía and Manzano mts, near Alburquerque, Los Cerrillos in Sta Fé, near Taos, and in Moreno district.
For statistics of production to 1879, chiefly founded on the estimates of Valentine, of Wells, Fargo, & Co., see Balch's Mines, Miners, etc., 512; Del Mar's Hist. Prec. Metals, 168; Las Vegas Min. World, 149; U. S. Sec. Treas., Rept on Finances, 1866-7.
752
INDUSTRIES AND INSTITUTIONS.
many silver mines were developed and many more discovered, especially in the districts of Pinos Altos, Silver City, Burro Mountains, Hillsborough, and Lone Mountain. This was the most prominent section, hav- ing several mills at work and producing more silver bullion than all the rest of the territory.
From 1879-80 there was a veritable 'boom' in the New Mexican mines, the railroad bringing a large influx of prospectors, and, what was still more essen- tial, of capitalists, from abroad. So numerous and complicated were the new developments that only the briefest résumé can be presented here.2 Numerous
2 Leading authorities are the Las Vegas Mining World, 1880 et seq., a paper devoted to the mining interests of N. Mex., and full of useful informa- tion, especially in 1880-2, later articles being of a more general and less valuable nature; Burchard, H. C., Report of the Director of the Mint upon the production of the precious metals in the U. S., Wash., 1880-3; U. S. Land Office Reports, 1880 et seq .; Balch (Wm R. ), The Mines, Miners, and Mining Inter- ests of the U. S. in 1882, Phil., 1882, 4to; N. Mexico, Scraps, a collection of newspaper clippings; N. Mexico, A Complete Business Directory and Gazeteer of the Territory, Sta Fé (1882), containing a description of the mineral re- sources by counties; Santa Fe Trail, 1881 et seq .; Ritch, Wm S., Illustrated New Mexico (Sta Fé), 1883; Id., Aztlan, Boston, 1885, a later ed. of the same work; N. Mex. Bureau of Immigration Report on Bernalillo Co., by Wm C. Hasledine (on Doña Ana by A. J. Fountain; Grant by W. H. Lawrence; Lin- coln by J. J. Dolan; Mora by Wm Krænig; Rio Arriba by Sam. Eldodt; S. Miguel by G. W. Prichard; Sta Fé by C. W. Greene; Socorro by M. Fischer and Ant. Abeitia; and Taos by L. C. Camp). All or most of these were pub- lished as separate pamphlets in 1881-2; and all together in N. Mex. the Tourist's Shrine, Sta Fe (1882), which contains also Ritch's N. Mex. and its Resources, all with much mining matter; Avery's Hand-book of New Mexico, Denver, 1881, 16mc; Arizona History (Elliott & Co.).
1880. Total prod. of bullion: gold 8677,499, silver $626,078; total of ore raised from deep mines $861,309; worked $441,691; average yield of gold ore $6.62, silver $52.65. Balch. Valentine's estimates of total prod. in '80, $711,300; '79, 8622,800. More discov. than in the past 20 years. Southern placers at Pinos Altos, Hillsborough, Nogal, and Jicarillas doing well, but lacking water. At the New Placers a pipe line nearly completed. Rich placers found on the Rio Grande in north, and on Rio Hondo and Colorado. Prof. Silliman reports that the region from Embudo north contains very ex- tensive deposits of gold gravel for hydraulic mining, 600 feet thick-the most important gold discov. made since Cal. and Australia. The Old Pla- cers or Ortiz grant sold to a N. Y. and Cal. co., and in this region hydraulic miu. to be done on a large scale. Grant co. mines booming; only one smelter at work outside of Grant. Good results in Socorro mines. Other districts, most of them new, which promise well are Silver Buttes, near New Placers, Placitas in Sandía Mts, S. Simon, Shakespeare, Cook's Peake, and McEvers in Grant co., White Oaks and Nogal in Lincoln, S. Agustin in Doua Ana, Picuríes in Taos, Las Vegas, or S. Carlos dist, in S. Miguel, Hell Cañon, east of Alburquerque, Black Range, in Socorro and Sierra, with many mines, and Los Cerrillos in Sta Fe. Hayward, J. L., The Los Cerrillos Mines, South Framingham, Mass., 1880, contains a brief history of the Cerrillos and Galis- teo districts, with regulations, list of mines, and maps showing hundreds of
753
LATE DEVELOPMENTS.
as they are, these developments are confined for the most part to the old regions, which, however, cover a
claims. Prof. Silliman also describes these mines, only a few of which were developed. The ores were rich and the situation on the R. R. and near coal-beds excellent. Here was a turquoise mine, and somewhat extensive old Spanish workings. The Shakespeare Mining Journal was published at St Louis to boom the Burro mines. The Homestake mine, White Oaks dist, is mentioned as the richest gold mine in N. Mex. Coal was found in several new places, one of them near Alburquerque. The Cooney dist and gold mines of Cañon del Agua are described in Tucson Star, Nov. 24-5, '80.
1881. Wonderful development and almost daily discoveries, though pri- vate land grants and Ind. are great obstacles. 40 claims surveyed, of which Cooney, Encarnacion, and Mimbres districts are new. Product of the year, Valentine's estimate, $814,944, of which $705,000 was ore and base bullion, exported; the local prod. being $32,944 gold and $77,000 silver. Mint de- posits to June '81, $54,940 gold, $262,212 silver. Coal area on U. S. lands 1,080 acres, sold 720 acres. The coal mines at Amargo, Rio Arriba, yield 225 tons per day. There is no other min. development in this co. Taos has many rich mines; hydraulic operations on Rio Hondo, Bernalillo districts, Hell Cañon, Tijeras Cañon (copper, silver, and lead); New Placers, where water has been brought 15 m. from Sandía mts; and Nacimiento, copper, in the Jemes region. Mora co. believed to have much min, wealth, but unde- veloped on account of the land grant. S. Miguel has Mineral Hill, S. Carlos, Sweepstakes, and Blue Canon; but only slight development. Socorro's prominent mines are Socorro Tunnel, Torrence, and Merritt; the richest in Central N. Mex .; 3,000 locations in past 6 months; bullion shipped to date $1,067,834; R. R. of 8 m. to the coal-heds to be completed this year. In Grant co. Silver City ranks Ist and Georgetown 2d for the whole territory in prod. of bullion. One mine at Silver City has yielded $1,200,000. The Lake Valley dist (Sierra co.) is wonderfully rich, perhaps the greatest de- posit in the world, chlorides yielding $5,000 to $20,000 per ton. 4 groups and comp., each with a capital of $5,000,000; smelters and mills being built. The copper mines of the south-west not worked. New copper discov. in the Oscuras mts, Socorro, said to be the best yet found.
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