USA > Arizona > The resources of Arizona; a description of its mineral, farming, grazing and timber lands; its rivers, mountains, valleys and plains; its cities, towns and mining camps; its climate and productions; with brief sketches of its early history etc > Part 13
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Mayflower district is south of Clifton, and cast of the Gila. It contains some promising ledges of silver and copper, upon which a little work has been donc.
Lone Star district is north of the Gila, opposite the town of Safford. It has some small but exceedingly rich copper veins.
Pinal county is, at the present time, next to Cochise, the largest bullion producer in the Territory. Its ores have long been noted for their extraordinary richness, and for the varicty of their mineral combinations. The ledges are large and well- defined, and the formation in which they are found gives every assurance of permanency. The Gila river, which flows through the mineral belt, affords an unlimited supply of water, while wood is found everywhere in sufficient quantities for ore re- duction. The formation of the Pinal ore belt has many of the complex characteristics peculiar to the geological structure of Arizona. In many of the mountain ranges the remains of former volcanic action are seen in the masses of conglomerates, lava-rock and sand-stones, yet found in many places. Lime- stones, quartzite, syenite, granite and porphyry are found every- where, the last two generally containing the ore bodies.
Every mountain range in the county seems to be thoroughly mineralized, and gold, silver, copper, icad and iron are met with in every hill and peak. No county has produced such magnifi- cent native silver specimens, and none can show such immense masses of native copper. Except Cochise, no county has made a better record in the past, and none has a brighter outlook for the future. It has the ores in abundance, has an ample supply of wood and water, and is blessed with a perfect climate every month in the year.
PIONEER DISTRICT .- In the year 1871, the present governor of California, who was then a colonel in the regular army, com- manding in Arizona, established a picket post near where the town of Pinal now stands. The Apaches were very troublesome at that time, and were constantly raiding the farming settle- ments on the Gila from their fastnesses in the Pinal Mountains. A road was also constructed over the mountain into the higher valleys of the Pinal range, which is yet known as the "Stoneman Gradc," and is the main traveled route from Pinal and Silver King, to Globe. A soldier, named Sullivan, employed in build- ing this road, when returning from his work, one evening, sat down to rest on a ledge, near the canıp. Seeing some black- looking pieces of rock, he picked them up and attempted to break them, but he found that they flattened out like a piece of lead. He knew nothing about silver ores, but he put them in his pocket and wended his way to camp.
Shortly after his term of service expired and he drifted to the ranch of Charley Mason, on the Gila River. Sullivan remain- ed here some time, and frequently showed the black ore (pure sulphide of silver) to Mason and others, but would tell no one
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where he found it. One day he suddenly disappeared, and was not heard of for years. He was supposed to have been killed by the Apaches, or to have perished on the desert in the attempt to return to the place where he found the black nuggets.
For several years prospecting parties explored the Pinal range in search of Sullivan's find, but without success. In the search, a party of four farmers from the Gila valley penetrated to where the town of Globe now stands, and located the rich copper mine after which the town is named. In 1875. Chas. G. Mason, Benjamin W. Regan, William H. Long and Isaac Copeland started for the Globe mines with a train of animals to bring in some of the ore. On the way back they camped for the night a short distance from the present hoisting works on the King. Next morning when preparing to start, it was discovered that one of the mules was missing. Copeland went out to hunt the animal, and after a short search, found him standing on the top of a "little brown hill" near the foot of the Stoneman grade. Going up to secure him, Copeland stumbled over the croppings of the great mine which has since become famous as the Silver King. Sullivan's secret was a secret no longer, and they had at last found the long-sought treasure. The discovery was made on the 22d of March, 1875, and it was the first claim staked off in what was afterwards known as Pioneer District. Thus was the famous Silver King discovered, and it is recorded that the mule who played so important a part in making it, was turned out to graze in green pastures, and never more carried saddle or afarejo.
The mine was worked by the original locators until June, 1876, when Copeland sold his interest to Mason. Previous to thi a great deal of rich ore had been shipped to California. A short time after Long sold his interest to Regan, and he and Mason became the sole owners. In January, 1877, Mason sold his interest to Col. James M. Barney, and on the 9th of May, 1877, the Silver King Mining Company was incorporated under the laws of the State of California, and the work of develop- ment began in earnest, A twenty-stamp mill was put up on Pinal creek, five miles from the mine, and later on concen- tration works were added.
The total yield of this mineral wonder, since its discovery, has been over $4,000,000; $1,500,000 of which has been paid to stockholders, and to-day, at a depth of over 800 feet, it looks better than at any time in its history. The mine crops on a little conical hill, at the foot of the Pinal mountains. The for- mation enclosing the ore is porphyritic, but there are also many indications of quartzite.
The vein formation of the King mine is different from any- thing yet found in Arizona, and has long been an interesting study for scientists. To quote from Professor Blake's descrip- tion, "this quartz-vein, instead of forming a sheet-like mass, or
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filling between parallel walls, is approximately cylindrical or columnar in its form, filling a nearly vertical, spirally-formed cavity, as if it had risen as smoke rises in a chimney, but circling about the riven rocks, until it reached the surface by many outlets." This is the Silver King; an immense circular deposit of ore, with thousands of veinlets running into the country rock which surrounds it. These veins reticulate and cross each other in every conceivable direction. Along the western side of this immense ore-chamber an irregular mass of white quartz, of a circular shape, and some eighty feet in diameter, is found all the way to the deepest workings. This body of quartz carries bunches of rich ore, and has never yet been thoroughly explored. In fact, to quote the language of Mr. Phillips, the superintendent, "the ore-limits of the mine arc not known in any direction underground."
So far as explorations have extended, no well-defined bound- ary to the ore has been found. Wherever the little veinlets are followed beyond the main chimney ore is found, and as there is nothing like a wall, the size of the ore body cannot be deter- mined. Seven levels have been opened. The seventh, or lower level, is the largest. It is an immense chamber, 200x100 feet, and which has already produced nearly 20,000 tons of ore. Following around the walls of this immense chamber, the native silver, and the other beautiful mineral-combinations, reflect back the light of the candles in a thousand brilliant flashes. Wherever penetrated, the small veins are still found run- ning into the porphyry from the rich ore body in the center. The floor of this level is the richest yet found in the mine, and fairly sparkles with native silver in every direction.
From this level, and from those above it, there is now enough of ore exposed to keep the works running for the next three years. About sixty tons are sent to the mill daily. The ore is concentrated, and the product shipped to California. The ore, as it comes from the mine, is not assorted, and consequently a great deal of waste rock is put through. The average for 1882 was $61 per ton. From fifteen to twenty tons are concentrated into one. The mine pays its regular dividends of $25,000 per month, which could easily be trebled by increased reduction facilities.
The richness and variety of the ores of the Silver King have made it famous throughout the mineral world. Such beautiful clusters of native silver no mine on the continent has ever pro- duced. It is estimated that before the reduction works were put up, $1,000,000 were shipped to California, and that this ore averaged $1,000 per ton. The general character of the ores in the deep workings arc sulphides of lead, zinc, and copper, highly impregnated with silver. Among the minerals found in this mine are argentite, zinc blende-in large quantities-barite, copper glance, horn silver, auzerite, and a dozen other varieties.
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TOWN OF SILVER KING, A.T.
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Nowhere, throughout the mineral regions of the west, has Nature set up such another laboratory. The native silver is found in beautiful forms of leaf and wires, and also in threads as fine as- hair or silk, and of a dazzling whiteness. It is said that one- fourth of the bullion has occurred as native silver. A railroad from the mine to the Gila river is in contemplation, and will, no doubt, be built at an early day, and extensive reduction works put up at that point.
Whether we consider its singular geological structure, the: wonderful richness and variety of its ores, its immense deposit, or its yield of bullion, the Silver King must be rated among the great mines of the world. It stands alone in its original and distinctly marked features; alone in its wealth of virgin metal and unapproachable in the extent, grandeur and almost un- limited possibilities of its future. It has been rightly named, and is a worthy monarch for Arizona's vast mineral domain. No other can show such a treasure-house of silver gems, and · there is none in either continent that has so brilliant a future.
PIONEER district extends ten miles each way from the Silver King location, and includes many valuable minin : properties, which have produced exceedingly rich. North and south from. the King, and for miles along the western slope of the Pinal range, the country has been located for miles. West of the Silver King, and adjoining that property, are the Bilk and Mowry locations. On the Bilk a perpendicular shaft has been sunk to a depth of over 1,000 feet, and is still being pushed down. It is understood that the pitch of the great ore chamber in the King is to the west, and the owners of the Bilk hope to strike it within the limits of their claim at a depth of 1,200 feet. The ground they are sinking in is similar to that which encloses the great bonanza, and they have strong hopes of cutting the deposit.
Southerly, a company called the South Silver King, are also sinking with the hope of finding the great ore body. They are now down over 400 feet. On the North King and the Eastland locations, situated north and east, respectively, from the Silver King, shafts have been sunk with the hope of finding the great chamber, but without success.
In the vicinity of the King are the , Last Chance and Mount View owned by the Windsor Consolidated Mining Company. The former has a shaft 400 feet, and has produced ore worth $100 per ton, It is a four-foot ledge. The Mount View is a three-foot vein, which has yielded $100 per ton. The ores are an argentiferous galena, and are worked at the company's five- stamp mill at Pinal. The Josephine mine is one mile north of the King. It is a large vein, and has been located for over two miles. The principal claims on the ledge are the Pike, Union East, Lost Prize and Rosalie. Ore from the Pike has yielded $50 per ton.
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The West Union has a shaft 240 feet, and shows a two-foot vein of antimonial silver that assays from $50 to $200 per ton. The Monarch of the Sea is one mile from the King. It is a small vein, but exceedingly rich. There is a tunnel on the ledge 340 fcet. The Washington is 1,200 feet north of the King. There is a continuous ledge, the entire length of the claim, eight inches wide, that goes from $100 to $700 per ton. The First Chance, an extension of the Mount View, Big Pete, Alicc Bell, Fernandez, Flagstaff, and many others in this neighborhood, are very promising properties. The Fernandez has five or six locations on it. The Redeemer runs parallelled with the Fer- nandez, and four locations, the Amador, Norway, Scotland and Black Cloud, have been made upon it. These claims are owned by the Terra Rica Mining Company, of Pinal, are from two to four feet in width, and assay from $50 to $100 per ton.
The Silver Queen is about two miles south of the King. It is the first location in the camp, and carries silver and copper. The Wanna Whatta adjoins the Queen. It is opened by several shafts and tunnels, and has produced a great deal of ore that has yielded $400 per ton. The Athens is north of the King, and has produced some of the richest ore ever taken out of the dis- trict. The Copper Top adjoins the Silver Queen. It has a shaft 200 feet. The Web-foot adjoins the Wanna Whatta, and shows a five-foot vein of galena that yields $30 per ton. There are scores of other claims within a radius of three miles from the King, showing some development, good ore, and well worthy of mention here.
Some ten miles south of the King, at the Hastings camp, are a group of mines upon which considerable work has been done. The Surpriser has been opened by a tunnel 800 feet in length, and by several shafts. A fine twenty-stamp mill was erected on the property, but, owing to some misunderstanding among the members of the company, the property is lying idle. The Gem, adjoining the Surpriser, has a ten-stamp mill, and has been opened by several shafts and tunnels, but it is also idlc. The Arco, Lewis, Queen Creek and many other claims are in this section. A great deal of work has been done, and some very rich ore taken from them.
About five miles south of Pinal are a group of mines that are looking extremely well. The Savage, Emma, Hope, and Hayes, are the most prominent. The first named has produced ore that has gone $800 per ton. The Continental group are situated about six miles from Pinal on the road to Florence, and embrace the Europe, Asia, Africa, America, and Australia. They are all on one immense ledge which stretches across the country for several miles. This vein will average over six feet wide and is thoroughly mineralized. The ore is mostly free milling, but there is, also, considerable galena. Two parallel veins run along on either side of the main ledge and unite with it at the south-
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crn end. This massive vein, which seems to be the mother lode of the country, has been explored by several shallow shafts and short tunnels, and wherever opened shows a strong vein of good ore. The formation of this portion of the district is mica shist and talcose slate. Happy Camp is situated about three miles northeast of Pinal. The veins which are found in granite and quartzite are small but rich.
Rodgers district is in the Superstition range twelve miles north of Pinal. There is abundance of wood and water, and while the ledges are not large the ore is a rich carbonate. The World Beater is the principal ledge, and has produced ore that yielded $1,600 per ton. A small furnace has been erected on this property, and is now turning out considerable bullion. Coles district is to the west of the Rodgers camp, in the same range. It is a beautiful country, and its ledges are producing very rich carbonate ores. Box Cañon camp is six miles southwest of Pinal. It has some fine-looking properties, the Bruiser being the principal vein. It shows a six-foot vein of galena worth $30 per ton, silver.
BELLE AIR DISTRICT, is situated about fifteen miles east of Florence, and about six miles north of the Gila river. The for- mation is porphyry, and the ore is a galena and carbonate of lead, carrying silver. The veins are large and there is abund- ance of water and wood at the river. The Silver Belle and Columbia are the principal mines of the camp. Both claims are situated on a steep mountain and are worked by adit levels. The Belle shows an ore body thirty feet wide, galena and car- bonates. It is opened by a 300-foot tunnel which taps the vein at a depth of 225 feet. From this level a winze has been sunk 100 feet to connect with the Columbia. Over 5,000 tons have already been taken from this mine, which has yielded over $163,000. The Columbia joins the Belle, and is opened by a tunnel 200 fcet in length. It is fully as large a vein as the former, and car- ries ore of the same character and equally as rich.
These properties are owned by the Pinal Consolidated Mining Company, who have erected a water-jacket furnace of twenty tons capacity at Butte, on the Gila, six miles from the mines. Here, the ores are run into base bullion, worth $250 in silver, which is shipped to San Francisco. The works are com- plete in all respects, and include five large kilns for the burning of charcoal. Offices, boarding-houses, etc., have been erected and quite a little village has sprung up at Butte. The company also purchase rich ores from the surrounding camps, and its bullion shipments go forward as regularly as clock-work. The Marti- nez, Blue-bird, Guild, and many other valuable properties are found in Belle Air district.
MINERAL HILL DISTRICT, is situated in the foot-hills of the Pinal mountains, fifteen miles from Florence. The Specie Pay and the Alice are the principal locations. The former shows a
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vein from five to ten feet in width. The ore is an argentiferous galena, and smelts readily. The Specie Pay joins the Alice, carries ore of the same character, and shows a ledge fully as large. It is opened by a tunnel which taps the vein at a depth of 250 feet. Work is now being prosecuted on these mines, and some very fine ore is being extracted. The ledges occur in the contact between granite and slate.
MINERAL CREEK .- This district is about twenty miles east of Florence, on a tributary of the Gila. The ores are copper- bearing, and the ledges are among the largest and richest in the Territory. The Ray Copper Company own the following claims : Ray, Copper Bell, Clifton, Copper Bottom, St. Julien, Reed, Melrose, Burnside, Esperanza, National, Lily, Ida Bell, Tibbets, Monday, Monroe, Bilk and Scorpion. The company is an unassessable one, incorporated under the laws of the State of New York, with 500,000 shares, with a par value of $10 per share. Geo. H. Sargent, of Boston, is president, and Louis Zeckendorf, of Tucson, secretary. The mines are near the Gila river, and on the line of the proposed narrow-guage rail- road from Tucson north, now under course of construction.
A thirty-ton furnace has been erected on the banks of the Gila, and is steadily producing bullion. The work of develop- ment is being vigorously pushed on the Ray, Scorpion and Bilk, and about forty men are regularly employed.
The Ray is one of the most remarkable mines in the Terri- tory, and appears to be an immense mass of native copper, in a formation of decomposed syenite. The mine has been opened to a depth of over 100 feet by tunnels and shafts. A cross-cut at the fifty-foot level shows the vein to be over thirty feet, con- sisting of native copper, oxides and glance, which assay from thirty to seventy per cent. Not a pound of waste has yet been hoisted, and there is ore enough in sight to supply the smelter for two years. The Ray is certainly one of the most valuable copper properties in the Territory.
The Bilk is opened by a 100-foot shaft, and a drift 160 feet. The vein is from three to four feet wide, the ore being a carbon- ate of copper, averaging eighteen per cent.
The Scorpion has a shaft 120 feet, and shows a strong vein, yielding at the rate of eighteen per cent. copper. But little work has been done on the other claims owned by the company, but they all show fine surface indications.
The Keystone, one mile northeast from the Ray, shows large croppings of copper ore, sixty feet wide, on the surface. It is opened by several cuts and short tunnels. The ore is said to average sixteen per cent. The Dreadnought, Burnside, and many other very promising claims are located here, and with development the camp promises to become one of the largest copper producers in Arizona.
Between Mineral creek and Butte there are a number of fine
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copper properties, the most prominent being the Copper Belle, which has lately been sold to an Eastern company, who are now prosecuting work upon it.
Some five miles east of Dripping Springs station, on the road to Globe, and near the line of the San Carlos reservation, the Tweed copper mine is located. It is a large ledge, carrying very high grade, and although but little work has been done, it promises to become one of the leading copper properties of the county.
In Saddle mountain district, near the junction of the Gila and San Pedro, are some large silver-bearing ledges, on which con- siderable work has been done. There is an abundance of wood and water in this camp, and the climate is delightful. The veins are from two to four feet wide, and assay all the way from $50 to $500 per ton.
BUNKER HILL DISTRICT contains some very fine copper properties. The Kentucky Giant has a tunnel over 100 feet, and a shaft 50 feet. The formation is porphyry, granite and lime. The ore body is large and will average from 15 to 20 per cent. The ore is a carbonate of copper, and is found associated with iron in large quantities.
The Owl Heads camp is thirteen miles north of Red Rock station, on the Southern Pacific railroad. The formation is porphyry and syenite. The ledges are well-defined and crop out strongly on the surface. Water is found in springs, and mesquite and palo verde grow on the hillsides. The Jessie Ben- ton is the principal mine. It is opened by a shaft 100 feet in depth, and shows a vein of chloride ore, two feet wide, which yields 200 ounces to the ton. The Desert adjoins the Jessie Benton, carries the same character of ore, and is opened by sev- eral shafts and tunnels. These properties are owned by the Jessie Benton Mining Company, who have erected a five-stamp mill, and are making regular shipments of bullion. There are a number of fine-looking prospects in this camp which are idle at present.
CASA GRANDE DISTRICT .- This district is twenty miles south from Casa Grande station, on the Southern Pacific railroad. The principal mine is the Vekol. It was discovered by a Papago In- dian, and has produced remarkably rich chloride ore. There is no regular vein, the ore being found in the chambers and caves of a limestone hill. Three tunnels have been driven into this hill, the longest being over 300 feet, and from these tunnels cross- cuts have been run in all directions, so that the hill is literally honeycombed in the search for the ore. For a distance of 600 feet along the length of the location, and for 300 feet in width, ore is found in streaks of from three inches to eight feet wide. The ore bodies have been tapped by a winze from the main tun- nel, 150 feet below the surface. In fact, wherever opened, rich rock has been discovered. The ore is a chloride, containing
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large nuggets of metallic silver. It is assorted, and the richest shipped to the Pinal smelter. Since the opening of the mine 3co tons have been worked, and have yielded at the rate of 250 ounces per ton. There are now over 3,000 tons on the dumps, which is estimated at $50 per ton. The property has paid its way from the start, and with reduction works on the ground would become one of the leading bullion producers of the county. The entire hill seems to be one immense bed of orc, whose length, breadth or depth has not yet been determined. Abundance of water is found one mile from the mine, and there is wood suffi- cient for all purposes on the surrounding hills.
Six miles south of the Vekol there is a group of copper ledges, the principal claims being the Coporosity and Welshman. A forty-foot shaft has been sunk on the Welshman, and a cross- cut made, exposing a body of ore ncarly twenty feet wide, rich in oxides, carbonates and glance. This vein, it is claimed, will go eighteen per cent. copper, and it is certainly one of the finest copper prospects in the Territory. The Little Chief, Silver Monarch and White Flag, and several other large copper and silver bcaring ledges, are in this neighborhood.
The Reward copper claim is in a spur of the Vekol range, and some six miles east of that mine. It shows large croppings on the surface, and has been opened by a tunnel 175 feet in length. Large bodies of ore are on the dump, and the ledge is a strong onc. It is owned by a Boston company, who are doing work on a well in order to secure a water supply. The ore carries large quantities of iron.
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