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 8
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But against all these obstacles, operations were pushed vigor- ously forward. Roads were opened, buildings erected, hoisting works put in place, mills and furnaces were constructed, and the sights and sounds of a prosperous mining industry were again seen and heard in Southern Arizona. Tubac, the headquarters of the company's operations, became the most prosperous town in the Territory, and could boast a mixed population of between 400 and 500, with handsome residences, store-rooms, gardens, orchards, and many of the luxuries of civilized life. At Santa Rita, Sopori and Arivaca the reduction works were constantly at work, and a great deal of bullion was taken out. The ores were exceedingly rich and easily reduced, and, notwithstanding the constant raids of the Apaches, the work of development went steadily forward.
The breaking out of the civil war brought to an abrupt end- ing this effort to develope the mining industry of Arizona, and retarded for ycars the Territory's advancement. The garrisons stationed in the country were withdrawn, and the population left to the mercy of the Apaches. At this time camps were es- tablished at the Patagonia, the Santa Ritas, Cerro Colorado, Sopori and in the Cabibi district. The withdrawal of the troops was the signal for the savages to make their incursions more openly and vigorously. The marauding Mexicans from Sonora, believing that the government of the United States was broken up, crossed the border in large bands and carried off what the Apaches did not destroy. Exposed to constant attack, sur-
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rounded by savage foes, and harrassed by semi-savage outlaws, the mining camps and haciendas were abandoned. Tubac was surrounded by a horde of bloodthirsty wretches, and had not a party from Tucson come to its relief, every person within its walls would have been massacred. The Apache and the Sono- raian outlaw burned, robbed and destroyed; Tubac was reduced to a mass of blackened adobe walls, and in a few short months heaps of desolate ruins were all that was left of the prosperous mining camps of Southern Arizona. Those who were fortunate to escape with their lives fled from a country which seemed acursed of heaven and a very hell upon earth.
Two years of death and desolation passed over Arizona before the mining industry was once more revived. This time it was in Northern Arizona, and gold was the glittering prize that allured thousands to the banks of the Colorado. In the year 1862, placer gold, in paying quantities, was discovered by Pau- line Weaver in the neighborhood of La Paz, and within a year over 2,000 men were digging and delving after the yellow treas- ure in the mountains and dry gulches, east of the Colorado. A year later a party headed by the same indomitable old pioneer, discovered the diggings which bear his name, in Yavapai county, and a short time after, the whole coast was electrified by the wonderful discovery of Antelope Peak. This find attracted thousands of adventurers to Northern Arizona, and mining re- ceived such an impetus as had never been known in the previous history of the Territory. Ledges of gold, silver and copper were discovered and located, rich placer deposits were worked success- fully, quartz mills were erected and a veritable "boom" appeared to have struck Yavapai and Mohave counties. The mines worked were all gold-bearing, the quartz being exceedingly rich and easily reduced.
But in the meantime the Apache was not idle. He saw his chosen domain invaded by the pale faces, and he saw the hated race receiving fresh reinforcements day after day. He saw the game ruthlessly slaughtered and his favorite mescal grounds staked off and claimed by the prospector, and he resisted the advance of los Americanos. By the lonely trail and the public road, behind bush, and rock, and tree, the red assassin lay in wait for his victim, and many an unsuspecting pioneer was sac- rificed to his hate. Provisions and supplies of all kinds were only to be had at extravagant prices, almost everything being brought across the Colorado desert, at a cost of from fifty to twenty-five cents a pound. Under such unfavorable conditions it is no wonder that mining made slow progress in Arizona. But, nevertheless, it did advance. Capital was invested, many mines were opened, and a number of mills and furnaces erected, and considerable gold found its way out of the country.
The placing of the hostile Apaches on reservations, in 1874, marks one of the brightest periods in Arizona's history. Fresh
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life and hope was infused into the mining industry all over the Territory; prospectors struck into the regions lately infested by the savages, and Globe and Silver King were the rewards of their toil and industry. The fame of these discoveries spread over the land; thousands of restless adventurers turned their faces southward, and millions of dollars sought investment in Arizona mines. The discovery of Tombstone, a few years later, created a grand excitement, not only on the Pacific coast but throughout the east, and the rush to the wonderful Arizona camp has only been equalled by that to Leadville. The high grade of the ores, the vast extent of the deposits, and the small cost of reduction, caused a heavy investment of capital in the bonanza camp. The steadily increasing yield of bullion has been the marvel of the mining world; has demonstrated beyond cavil or doubt the richness of Arizona's mines, and shown that her right to wear the title of queen of our mineral realm is well- founded and fairly won.
The completion of the Southern Transcontinental route in 1879, and of the Atlantic and Pacific the present ycar, have re- moved the bars of isolation, and opened the Territory to immi- gration and capital. All portions of Arizona have felt the quickening and progressive impulses imparted by the iron rail. The country has been drawn into close communion with the great commercial arteries of the Union, and no longer is beyond the pale of modern progress. Its vast resources are becoming more thoroughly understood and appreciated, and the mining interests of the Territory have entered on a career of prosperity never before known in its annals. Capital is seeking investment, mills and furnaces are being erected, new discoveries are being made, and new camps are springing up, prospectors are swarm- ing through mountain and plain, a steady stream of bullion is finding its way out of the country, and Arizona is pushing her way to the front place as the leading mineral region of North America. The brilliant future which many of her ardent ad- mirers years ago prophesied seems at last about to be realized. The legends, tales, and traditions of the past, about her wonder- ful wealth, are proved to be well-founded; and some of the late discoveries would show that the half has not been told about the metallic treasures of this wonderful land.
That great traveler and scientist, Baron Humboldt, is credited with the saying, "the wealth of the world will yet be found in Arizona and New Mexico." The distinguished German never uttered a truer remark about the Territory. The country is one vast mineral field. From north to south, from east to west, gold, silver, copper, lead, iron, and a score of other minerals, are found in every mountain range and in every isolated peak. No- where on the continent is there such a variety or such an ex- tensive distribution of the precious metals. In other mineral- bearing States and Territories the precious deposits are found
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within certain well-defined limits, but in Arizona no such dis- · tinction prevails.
The whole Territory is literally a net-work of veins and ledges. Nature, here, in a prodigal mood, scattered her treasures with a lavish hand, and neglected no portion of her chosen mineral domain. In no part of Uncle Sam's vast mining farm is there found such a variety of ores, or such a number of beautiful min- eral combinations. This marked feature of the Arizona mineral field, was early noted by the explorers and scientists who visited it. Such rare specimens are found nowhere else. So beautiful in form, so rich, so dazzling with color, and so brilliant in lustre, no other country produces. Silver occurs in its native state, as a chloride, bromide, ruby silver, silver glance, brittle silver, poly- basite, sulphides, carbonates, antimonial silver, sulphurets, and many other rich combinations. Gold is found in its native state in alluvial deposits, in combination with sulphurets, and in its matrix of quartz. Copper occurs in its pure state, as a red and black oxide, as a carbonate, copper glance, a malachite, and sometimes as a sulphate.
No mining region on the globe can show ores carrying so high a percentage .of the precious metals as Arizona. In this respect the country stands pre-eminent. Ores which range from $1,000 to $5,000 per ton, are of such frequent occurrence that they create no comment; and rich chlorides, sulphides and glance, ranging from $10,000 to $20,000 per ton, have often been shipped out of the Territory. Before the opening of the railroad, ores that would not go $100 per ton, were cast aside as worthless; and even now, in many of the camps, anything less than fifty-dollar "rock" is scarcely looked at. And as with gold and silver, so it is with copper. Ores ranging from sixty to eighty per cent., are of common occurrence, and those which do not average above fifteen per cent. are passed by unnoticed. So also with iron, lead and other minerals; the grade of all being higher than any other mining country can show.
Besides the extraordinary richness of its ores, Arizona offers many natural advantages for the prosecution of mining enter- prises, which few other countries can show. Its climate stands unrivaled. No mountains of snow and no intense cold here in- terferes with the labor of the miner, and retards operations for several months in the year. Work can be prosecuted in the open air, in winter as well as in summer, and in this equable cli- mate, miner and millman can pursue their labors day and night without interference from the severity of the elements. Wood and water is plentiful in nearly every district, and if there is sometimes a scarcity of the latter at the surface, an abundant supply can always be had by sinking a short distance. The cost of opening roads is much less than in other regions, where the mountains are higher and more precipitous; and since the competition of two railroads, the expense of getting in machinery
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is much less than in many other mining regions of the west. No country can show better returns for the money invested, than Arizona. For every dollar that has been put in, it is safe to say ten dollars have been taken out. While in other States and Territories, assessments have been the rule and dividends the exception, here in Arizona the reverse has been the case.
Capital has done but little in the way of development. The intrinsic merit and wonderful richness of the mines, have devel- oped themselves. When a mine ceased to pay for the erection of machinery, the work of exploration, meet all running ex- penses, and pay regular dividends to stockholders, it has gen- erally been abandoned. While immense sums have been ex- pended in "dead work" in other Territories, and so-called mines carried on for years without returning a dollar of the money in- vested, an Arizona mine has had to pay from the "grass-roots" before capital would deign to notice it. The country has never yet had justice done to its vast mineral resources, or received that aid in their development, which has been poured with so lavish and reckless a hand into other States and Territories; and yet, there is no mining country where capital has met with such encouraging results, or which offers a finer field for invest- ment.
All mining regions are cursed, to a greater or less extent, with incompetency, ignorance and mismanagement in the conduct of operations, but it would appear as if Arizona has had more than her share of the quacks, who are such a serious detriment to the prosperity of mining countries. Many a promising enterprise has been brought to a disastrous ending, and many a fine prop- erty ruined, by the mismanagement of such men.
The mournful monuments to their incapacity and dishonesty, are seen in the abandoned mills and furnaces, in all parts of the Territory. So long as companies formed in the East, will persist in appointing men to handle their properties and spend their money, whose knowledge of mining has been learned from books, so long must they expect their money to be squandered recklessly and carelessly, and so long will the Territory have to bear the odium of disastrous failures. And yet, those gentle- men who appoint such incompetents, are, no doubt, careful busi- ness men, who would hesitate before placing in their counting- rooms or stores, men who were not thoroughly conversant with the duties to be performed. "Every man to his trade, is a safe motto in mining as in every other business, and practice is the only thorough school.
The ores of Arizona are very easily reduced. In the early days of mining, the Jesuit Fathers employed the primitive arastra and the rude adobe smelting furnace. From these imperfect facilities remarkable results were obtained, and in some districts both are yet used by Mexicans as well as by Americans. In the reduction of silver ores, the wet crushing
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system is generally pursued. Pans and settlers are also used, and the metal amalgamated by the aid of a few simple chemi- cals in conjunction with quicksilver. This is the process which prevails in the Tombstone and other districts where the ores are free from base combinations. Where silver occurs in connection with other metals, the ores are first crushed dry, after which they are roasted, and then passed through pans and settlers. Smelting ores of gold or silver are not plentiful, and there are only a few establishments where the smelting process is em- ployed. The percentage of loss is very small, and a saving of ninety-five per cent. is not an unusual result.
The reduction works in the Territory, at the p esent time, are not equal to the task of handling the ores which lie piled up in every district. Nearly all the mills and furnaces are kept em- ployed on ores from mines owned by the companies or indi- viduals who put them up. The poor mine-owner who gets out a few tons of ore is compelled to ship it to San Francisco, Denver, Omaha, or to New York for reduction. Ore must be of a high grade to stand the expense of transportation such a a distance, and, as a consequence, thousands of tons that will go from $40 to $100 are lying idle in every district. There are grand opportunities for the crection of reduction works like those in Denver, where the poor miner can turn his ore into cash. There is room for several establishments of the kind in the Territory, and their erection will not only prove a profitable investment to their owners, but will do much toward the development of the latent resources of this great mineral region.
We have said there is here the finest opening for capital presented by any mining country in the west, and the results already achieved will justify the assertion. Although not one- twentieth part of the money has been invested in Arizona that has found its way to Colorado or California, yet the dividends from the Territory, for over a year, have exceeded those from either of those States. Although the shipments of bullion from the country, seven years ago, were but a little over a hundred thousand dollars, it now stands third on the list of producers, and destined in a short time to occupy the first place. We have scen what the building of two railroads have done for Arizona within a short few years, and it is not unreasonable to look for a corresponding improvement from the building of others. It has been clearly demonstrated that cheap and rapid communi- cation is the chief aid which Arizona requires to place her in the front rank of the bullion-producing States and Territories, and from present appearances the day is not far distant when every county in the Territory will be provided with it.
As showing the wonderful increase in the yield of Arizona, since the opening of the Southern Pacific Railroad, we give the
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figures compiled by Wells, Fargo & Co's Express, for the past four years :
Production for 1879. $1,942,403
1880. 4,472,47 I
1881. 8,198,766
1882. 9,298,267
From being seventh in the list in 1879, Arizona became fifth in 1880, fourth in 1881, and third in 1882. A large quantity of rich ore and base bullion which finds its way out of the country is not included in the above, and it is safe to estimate the value of such ores and bullion as ten per cent of the figures given. There is no mining region on the coast or east of the Rocky Mountains which can make so flattering a showing. Facts speak much louder than words, and Arizona points to her record in the past as an earnest of what she will do in the future.
The copper product of the Territory for the past three years has been, as near as can be ascertained, as follows:
Production for 1880 2,000,000 pounds
1881 5,000,000
1882.
I 5,000,000
Estimated yield for 1883. . 20,000,000 ¥
The value of this product has been as follows: 1880, $400,000; 1881,$1,000,000; 1882, $2,400,000. Putting the price of Arizona copper for the year 1883 at fifteen cents, which is a low estimate, the value of the product will reach $3,000,000. The growth of the copper industry of the Territory has been something remark- able. Nine years ago there was only one furnace in the coun- try-a primitive concern in the Mexican style-with a capacity of from one to four tons wer day. Now there are in active op- eration ten furnaces, with a capacity of over 400 tons daily. There are, besides, several lying idle, temporarily, awaiting the opening of branch roads and the cheapening of the price of fuel. At the present rapid strides which this branch of mining is mak- ing, it promises in a few years to rival silver in the value of its product.
Many mines of value have been discovered in Arizona, and many more yet remain hidden in her hills and mountains. The prospectors that are now seeking for mineral indications through her rocky ranges are daily making discoveries in localities which had been passed over time and again by their predecessors. A country so thoroughly mineralized will not be fully explored for a century to come, and long after the present occupants, and their children's children, are mouldering in the dust, rich discov- eries of the precious metals will be made in Arizona.
The possibilities of such a region are simply without limit. Where every mountain and hill, and peak, and isolated butte is seamed, and crossed, and gridironed with mineral veins, fortunes
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will be found centuries hence. The poor miner, with no other capital than his stout heart and strong arm, has done much to bring those treasures to light. He has suffered hunger and thirst, endured the scorching suns of the desert, and the chilling winter winds of the mountains. He has done all that an un- domitable will and a dauntless energy can do, and he can do no more.
He has opened the way, and marked the road and stands beckoning for capital to follow after. He has shown the rich- ness and extent of this vast field and pointed out the opportunities for men of means who are desirous of investing in mining pro- perties. He has demonstrated that this southwestern corner of the United States is the treasure-house of the continent, and that vast fortunes are here waiting for men who have the enter- prise and the energy to reach out after them. Here is virgin territory, as yet, hardly touched by the pick or the drill. Here, large sums are not required for the erection of costly machinery to hoist the ore from thousands of feet below the surface, and keep out the vast quantities of water constantly flowing in. Here are millions of tons lying on the surface ready to be put under the battery or passed through the furnace. Here are high-grade ores; here is an equable clime; here are proper- ties to be had at a mere nominal figure; and here is every in- ducement for investment in legitimate mining enterprises.
It is not possible in a publication of this nature to give more than a passing glance at the vast mineral fields of Arizona. A volume would be required to do full justice to it, and convey to the reader a clear idea of its richness, variety and extent. In this necessarily brief resumé the leading mines of the Territory can only receive special mention. No doubt there are many others, equally as valuable, now undeveloped. But as the ac- knowledged test of the value of a mine is its bullion yield, those who have not yet made such a record cannot look for extended notice. For the purpose of conveying to the reader some idea of the mineral resources of the different portions of the Territory the mines of each county are given separately.
Cochise is the banner mining county of the Territory, and has well earned that proud distinction. In the extent of its ore bodies, their high grade, the comparative cheapness of mining and working them, and the output of bullion, it ranks with the great mining camps of the United States. It is safe to say there is no mineral region of like extent in the West that can make a better showing for the same length of time; there is none can show a larger return for the money invested, none where the div- idends have been larger or more regular, and none where the assessments have been fewer.
There is no division of the Territory more thoroughly miner- alized. Every hill, mountain and mesa within its borders is seamed with some valuable metal. The natural facilities for the
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reduction of ores are not surpassed in Arizona. There is abun- dance of wood and water in its mountain ranges, and the San Pedro river, which flows near its principal silver belt, always furnishes a never-failing supply of the latter. The climate is as perfect as one could desire, and out-door operations can be car- ried on in winter as well as in summer. The topography of the country makes the principal mining camps easy of access, and two railroads running through the county give it direct com- munication with the outer world.
Tombstone, the leading mining camp of Arizona, and one of the most prosperous in the West, has gained a national reputa- tion for the marvelous richness of its silver deposits and its large bullion yield. Its output during the past four years has upheld the reputation of Arizona as a mining region abroad, caused the investment of capital, and attracted the attention of moneyed men to the grand opportunities which this Territory offers.
The discovery of mineral in this portion of the territory, dates from the latter part of 1877. The region was long known to contain deposits of the precious metals, and as early as 1858 some prospecting was done near the San Pedro and the Bron- kow mine discovered, but the presence of hostile savages pre- vented any extended development, The district was the favor- ite haunt of the noted chief Cochise, and his band of blood-thirsty Apaches. From his natural fortress among the rocky crags of the Dragoon Mts. he overlooked the country for miles, always on the lookout for the coming of any small party of prospectors or travelers.
When A. E. Shieffelin, a persistent prospector, announced his intention of exploring the country beyond the San Pedro, he was warned that he would find a tombstone instead of a fortune in Cochise's domain. Nothing daunted by these gloomy prophe- cies, the indomitable prospector left Camp Huachuca in the lat- ter days of 1877, and directed his steps east of the San Pedro. In February 1878, his industry and energy was rewarded by the discovery of the rich silver deposits that have since gained a world-wide reputation. In remembrance of the doleful prognos- tications of his companions at Huachuca, he named the district "Tombstone," and thus it came that a name so "gloomy and peculiar ' was conferred on this famous mining camp.
The report of the rich discoveries in Southeastern Arizona, spread like wildfire to every camp east and west of the Rocky mountains, and an army of adventurers flocked to the new Sil- verado. Thousands of locations were staked out and many val- uable discoveries made, a city sprung into existence as if by magic, reduction works were erected, and a steady stream of bullion began to find its way out of the camp. The first stamp was dropped in June 1879, and since that time the flow of the precious metal has been steadily increasing. During this per- iod-a little over four years-it is estimated that the district has
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produced $25,000,000, and from not more than 150 stamps. There is no camp on the coast can make so good a showing, and the work of development is yet in its infancy, the deepest explor- ations being but a little over 600 feet. The ores thus far reduced have been found above water-level, and it is only within a brief period that preparations have been made to tap the bodies of mineral below the water-line.
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