USA > New Mexico > History of New Mexico : its resources and people, Volume II > Part 60
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The district west of the town of Socorro, which was so active in the eighties, is now almost deserted. The demonetization of silver paralyzed the silver industries of Socorro mountain, and the decline of the Kelly and Graphic mines, upon whose ores the great Rio Grande smelter chiefly de- pended for its business, put a quietus to its other principal industry.
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Among the earliest in the Socorro mountain region were J. F. Downing and E. Z. Smart. Some years ago Mr. Smart prospected a broken and almost unknown country, some miles north of Socorro, nearly opposite the village of San Acacia, on the western side of the Rio Grande. In this locality he discovered the Dewey lead property, which now consists of three claims, and upon which considerable development has been done.
The Mines of Taos County .- Three years after the opening of the famous lead fields of the Magdalena district and the even more famous placer properties near Elizabethtown, prospectors commenced to drift westward, through the Red River pass into Taos county. They took some gold from the stream and its gulches, but the region failed to pan out anything like the Moreno valley. Ten years afterward a smelter
George W. Stubbs, mining promoter and operator at Albuquerque, came to New Mexico in 1894 and became principal owner of rich placer fields on the Chama river in Rio Arriba county. On the 19th of Septem- ber, 1900, he, with T. J. Curran, organized and incorporated the Juras Trias Copper Company, capitalized at one million dollars, Mr. Stubbs being manager, secretary and treasurer. In 1901 they effected the or- ganization of the Mogollon Gold &. Copper Company, incorporated Sep- tember 23d of that year, with a capital of $1,250,000. Mr. Stubbs is the New Mexico representative of that concern. He is one of the successful mining men of New Mexico, and has done much to develop the natural resources of the state in this direction, and thereby contributes in sub- stantial measure to the prosperity of the Territory. Mr. Stubbs, having been in the past and at present in touch with the mines and mining con- ditions of this part of New Mexico, is perhaps better posted in mining affairs in this part than any other man in north and west New Mexico.
Lucien M. Lasley, prospector and promoter of gold mining proper- ties, was born in Boyle county, Kentucky, March 23, 1847, and was reared in Lincoln county, spending much of his life in the central section of the Blue Grass state. In early youth he recognized the Divine call to the min- istry of the gospel, but fled from the will of God many years, not enter- ing upon the work and life until over forty years of age, after which he devoted many years of his life to preaching the gospel and to evangelistic work. On the 22d of May. 1899, he arrived in New Mexico, and after a month or two spent in the Territory, became actively connected with mining interests and has since given his attention exclusively to that busi- ness. He had no practical knowledge of mining when he came here, but a new field was being opened up in the vicinity of San Marcial, and be- coming mentally interested in the processes he soon afterward made finan- cial investment and has since become well known as a prospector and pro- moter of gold mining properties. He has sold several undeveloped prop- erties at prices ranging from one thousand to ten thousand dollars. Hav- ing made a close and earnest study of mining in all of its various branches he has prospered in his undertakings and has assisted materially in the development of the rich mineral resources of this section of the country by placing upon the market valuable mining lands which have been worked to good advantage, and has succeeded in bringing eastern capitalists' at- tention to this rich mineral section, otherwise overlooked.
Fro. Il Stubbe
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was built on the property now known as the Copper King, but, after a short trial it was shut down, and in 1889 it was burned down. The first systematic prospecting and developing began about the time the townsite of Red River City was located, in 1894, and, although the camp has the advantages of abundant wood and water, it has the disadvantage of long distance from transportation.
The best property in the district is the Jayhawk mine, located at Black mountain, three miles north of Red City. It consists of about seventy acres of ground, most of which is patented, a good concentration mill, and some 300 feet of tunnel. besides tables, a boiler, an engine and a crusher. Five distinct leads have been pierced by the tunnel. The ores are gold and silver bearing, values of the former metal largely predominating.
Some rich ore has been taken from what is known as the Black Copper district, at the head of the Red river, and extensive developments were made in gold properties, several years ago; but litigation was chiefly responsible for the suspension of active work. Thomas Cannard, an old prospector, has a number of good claims, partially developed, in this dis- trict. In this region, also, the Cashier Mining and Milling Company has made over 1,000 feet of development on its claims, and has a steam hoisting and pumping plant.
The Rio Hondo, or Twining district, was quite active in the early 'gos after the discovery of promising properties in the vicinity of the old Amizette camp. The most extensive development was undertaken by the Fraser Mountain Copper Company, at the head of the Hondo river, thirty- five miles east of Tres Piedras, on the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, and eighteen miles north of the county seat. The company purchased 1,200 acres from William Fraser, who had located the original claims on Fraser mountain : built roads all over the property, and erected dwellings, board- ing houses and shops; opened a bed of fire clay for the manufacture of brick to be used in the extensive plant, which included a 100-ton concen- trator and smelter, run by electricity, and drove a number of tunnels and drifts into Fraser mountain for about a mile and a half, even penetrating to the Red river side of the range. In addition to this holding, the com- pany owned 640 acres near Fraser mountain, comprising groups of gold, silver, lead and iron claims. Unfortunately the company undertook more work than it could carry out, and its large properties went into the hands of a receiver.
In the southern part of Taos county, near Cieneguilla, on the east side of the Rio Grande, is the famous Glen-Woody gold camp, which ex- hibits the greatest body of gold quartz in the Southwest. It was estab- lished in 1902 by W. M. Woodv, a former placer miner and Klondiker, and is owned by the Glen-Woody Mining and Milling Company.
Luna County Mines .- The lead-silver and silver-lead country cen- tering in Cook's peak, twenty miles north of Deming, was discovered in 1876, about a year after Cooney made his remarkable gold strike in the Mogollon mountains of Socorro countv. Ed. Orr is pronounced the pioneer of the Cook's peak district, and Messrs. Taylor and Wheeler the prospectors who really located the producing properties and made the region a factor in the mining world. In the early 'Sos they staked out the Montezuma, Graphic, Desdemona and Othello claims, the two last named being purchased by J. K. Gooding and Giles O. Pierce in 1882.
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They afterward became the property of the Consolidated Kansas City Smelting and Refining Company, which was later absorbed by the Ameri- can Smelting and Refining Company. Besides its original purchase the latter corporation now also owns the Monte Cristo mine, another remark- ably rich holding.
George L. Brooks took the first ore from the camp at Cook's peak in the summer of 1882. Although Victorio had removed himself and his warriors from this region several years before, the Apaches were still troublesome, and it was necessary to take precautions against their raids. So that when Mr. Brooks graded the wagon road up the main canyon to the top of the divide, above the present site of the postoffice, he was obliged to prosecute the work under an escort of soldiers from Fort Cummings. After its completion, he hauled out 2.700 tons of ore, a portion of it going to the Lake Valley smelter and the balance to Florida, the nearest railroad point.
The Graphic mine, one of the first locations made by Taylor and Wheeler, is now the property of the Graphic Mining Company. The Teel and Poe mines, known as the Summit group, are also important producers. These two properties, with the mines already mentioned under the owner- ship of the American Smelting and Refining Company, have yielded the great bulk of the lead and silver credited to the district. The Desdemona, Othello and Monte Cristo mines are estimated to have produced $2,000,000 ; the Graphic, $500,000; the Teel and Poe. $350,000; and all other prop- erties, $250,000-making the total production about $3,100,000. Of the total value, about four-fifths is lead and one-fifth silver.
Victorio district receives its name from the fact the country was once a favored camping ground of the noted Apache chief. It lies immediately south of Gage, a station on the Southern Pacific, and has been made fa- mous by the output of the St. Louis and Chance mines, which have pro- duced the bulk of the $1,150,000 taken from the district.
The importance of Luna as a mining county rests solely upon her lead production, Socorro only, among the counties of New Mexico, ex- ceeding her figures in this regard. In 1902 the total production in the Territory was 2,490,885 pounds, of which the mines of Luna county yielded 711,825 pounds.
Gold and Silver Mines of Sierra County .- Sierra county has produced some of the most productive mineral fields in New Mexico, both of gold and silver. The discovery and exploitation of her rich deposits of the precious metals cover the late '70s and the early 'Sos, or about the same period as the first development of the lead-silver districts of Luna county. The placers and lodes of gold are chiefly in the country around Hillsboro, and the first discoveries in that region were made by Dan Dugan and Dave Stitzel, who, at the time, were prospecting on the east side of the Mimbres. On the 20th of April. 1877, they found some float, which Dugan rejected, but which his partner had assayed, and to the great surprise of both it proved to carry $160 in gold value per ton. In the following month, they returned to the place of their discovery and located the Opportunity and Ready Pay mines. Their first five tons of ore, taken to the old quartz mill on the Mimbres river, netted them $400. In the August following the opening of these pioneer mines the first house was built on the present site of Hillsboro, and the town was founded.
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In the meantime Dugan had branched out into other discoveries, for in June, 1877, with Frank Pitcher, he found the Rattlesnake, or Snake mine. As the two prospectors were returning to their camp in Ready Pay gulch. they killed a large "rattler." and soon after sat down to rest. As they talked they commenced to take up the loose rocks around them and carelessly break them into smaller pieces. To their surprise free gold was found among the fragments, and they immediately made a claim and named it the Rattlesnake lode.
In November of that vear placer gold was found in the Snake and Wicks gulches, and the discoveries soon extended so as to embrace the territory around Slap-Jack hill. The result of these discoveries of both placer and lode gold was to draw quite a population to Hillsboro during the fall and winter of 1877. It is said that during the winter of 1877-8 one George Wells enriched the stores and saloons of the town with $90,000 in gold dust and nuggets, taken from Wicks gulch.
The Hillsboro district has been a steady producer of gold up to the present, its total output having been estimated as high as $9,000,000. As to its natural features, it has been compared to an immense wagon wheel, the spokes of which converge in the direction of Las Animas peak, as its hub. The leading mines located on the spokes are Opportunity, Ready Pay, Bonanza, Enterprise, Golden Era, Garfield, Eldorado, Montreal, Rich- mond. Empire, Snake, Bobtail, Butler, Morning Star, Mckinley and the Wicks. The largest producers have been the Bonanza, with an output valued at over $1,000,000: Opportunity, more than $500,000; Richmond, over $250,000, and Snake and Bobtail (on the same vein as Opportunity), considerably over $100,000. The placer properties are now being generally worked by Mexicans, and their production is small-probably not to ex- ceed $6,000 or $7,000 per year.
In the southern part of Sierra county are the remarkable silver depos- its of the Lake Valley district, which include the famous Bridal Chamber, unanimously pronounced by geologists to have been the purest body of silver ore ever discovered in the world. The mine is located at the south- ern end of the Black range, near the town of Lake Valley, and has pro- duced fully 2,500,000 ounces of silver, $3,000,000 in values being extracted in one period of six months, and $1,200,000 in an area of seventy-five feet square. An immense body of pure horn silver was found buried under a thick deposit of porphyrite, and in all the Lake Valley district the ores are covered with an immense iron-flint blanket. In the early days of the Bridal Chamber the silver body, after being uncovered, was simply sawed out in blocks.
On the east side of Lake Valley, where are the Stone Cabin, Standish and Black Prince claims, the geological blanket mentioned comes to the surface denuded of its lime covering. In such places as the flint has been penetrated by shafts it is found to be of great thickness, and the bottom has not yet been reached at a depth of over fifty feet. To the west of the camp and the developed territory of the district, about half a mile, is a mountain of porphyry, at whose base silver is found in bowlders. Several carloads of this ore have been shipped, yielding from $40 to $60 per ton.
The rich ores of Lake Valley are the silver horn variety, sulphides, and flint carrying horn silver. Other ores are quartz impregnated with silver, and galena and carbonate lead. Iron manganese ore, worth from
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$2 to $20 per ton, and too siliceous for fluxing purposes, is piled up in the dumps around the mines. In fact, all these heaps of so-called refuse are composed entirely of low grade ores of some kind, and await the fortunate man who can devise some cheap method of extracting them.
Both the rich discoveries of the Lake Valley district and of the Kings- ton camp, further to the northwest, were the direct results of the excite- ment which followed the prolific gold findings at and around Hillsboro. It was George W. Lufkin, a cowboy prospector from the Hillsboro camp, who, in August, 1878, picked up a piece of heavy stone in the vicinity of the Bridal Chamber, and, purely as a matter of curiosity, had it assaved. To his astonishment, the float carried at the rate of several thousand ounces of silver to the ton, but, as is usual, Lufkin received only a few dollars for his claim, which led to the opening of the Bridal Chamber, the Thirty Stope and other silver mines of phenomenal richness. Among the early owners of the Lake Valley mines, before the discovery of the Bridal Chamber, were John A. Miller and Martin Cox, the latter of Silver City. After considerable development had been done by them and other indi- viduals the best claims were absorbed by the Sierra Grande Company (capi- tal. $2,000,000), the Sierra Bella (capital, $1,000,000), and the Sierra Apache (capital, $1,000,000). These consolidations were effected in the early '8os, and for several years thereafter the developments and opera- tions generally were conducted by the Sierra Grande Company.
A blacksmith by the name of John Leavitt leased a piece of ground from the management, uncarthed a mass of horn silver, and then sold his lease to the company for a few thousand dollars, being unable to work the deposit himself. This was named the Bridal Chamber, and on the day of
J. W. Burke, superintendent of the Bigelow Mining Company, with residence at Hillsboro, is a native of Franklin county, Massachusetts, born June 24, 1846. He acquired his education in the public schools of that locality and has practically, throughout his entire life, been connected with mining interests. He was employed at tunnel work and at mining in the east, and in 1875 came to the west, being identified with mining operations in Arizona and in California prior to his arrival in New Mexico. He also worked on railroad construction in the south for seven years. In 1879 he came to this Territory, prospecting in the Sierra Madre mountains for a year, and in 1880 he made his way across the black range, settling at Chloride and at Fairview. He remained in that region working claims and contracting until 1885, when he went to Kingston, where he engaged in mining for a year. He next went to Hermosa, and has since been in- terested in the Hermosa, Kingston and Hillsboro camps, taking up his abode in the city of Hillsboro in 1896. He had charge of the Snake mine for about seven years, and is now superintendent of the Bigelow Mining Company. His familiarity with the several departments of the business from the prospecting to the most modern processes of developing the mines and separating the ore has well qualified him for his present responsible position. He has a wide acquaintance in mining circles and is familiar with the varied experiences of frontier life in New Mexico, when the In- dians were numerous in this part of the country. and frequently went upon the warpath. On more than one occasion Mr. Burke has joined organiza-
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X Buke
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its discovery George Daly, the famous ranchman and general manager of the Sierra Grande, was killed by Apache Indians. Dr. F. M. Endlich was the first to give the property a thorough scientific examination and reveal its remarkable possibilities-which were afterward realized.
The Sierra Grande Company operated the mines for some fifteen years, closing down in August, 1893. Principally under this management the yield was approximately as follows : Bridal Chamber. 2,500,000 ounces of silver : Thirty Stope, 1,000,000 ounces; Emporia Incline, 200,000; Bunk- House, 300,000 : Bella Chute. 500,000; Twenty-five Cut, 200,000; Apache, with other mines, 300,000-total, 5,000,000 ounces of silver.
New development has been going on to some extent since 1901, under the Lake Valley Mines Company, and considerable ore has been shipped ; but it now runs rather low in silver values.
About fifteen miles to the northeast of Lake Valley is a district which, twenty years ago, produced some high grade silver bromide. It is known as the Bromide No. I, or the Tierra Blanca district, and has also yielded many thousands of dollars in surface gold. At the Log Cabin mine the metal occurred in pockets, just below the grass roots, and seldom exceed- ing a depth of ten feet. Near the head of Trujillo creek is the Outlook, now the principal producer, and shipments of ore have been made from it which were remarkably rich in both gold and silver values.
The Black Range mineral districts are in the western and northwest- ern parts of Sierra county, lying on the eastern slope of the Continental Divide and covering a wide belt from Kingston on the south to Grafton on the north-fifty miles north and south and fifteen miles east and west. In the fall of 1880 Messrs. Chapman, Phillips, Heard and Elliott made the
tions of the citizens who have proceeded against the red men in order to protect life and property. For thirty-four years he has been affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, and is now a member of Kingston Lodge No. 16, A. F. & A. M., and also Hillsboro Lodge No. 12. A. O. U. W.
Mr. Burke married Miss May Roberts at Hermosa, New Mexico, in 1891. Their children are Ethel and John R.
John B. McPherson, who is engaged in mining operations in Hills- boro, came to the Territory in 1878 when there was only one house and one store in the city where he now makes his home. A native of Ohio, he was born in Dayton February 22, 1844, and was reared in Indiana to the occupation of farming. On the 20th of July, 1861, at the age of fifteen years, he enlisted for service in the Union army as a member of the Thirty- third Indiana Infantry and remained at the front for four years. In 1862 he was taken prisoner, but was soon afterward released. A short time be- fore the close of the war he was again captured, and for thirty days was in Libby prison. The first fighting in which he participated was at Wild- cat Mountain, in Kentucky. He was also in the Atlanta campaign, par- ticipating in various battles, leading up to the siege and capture of the city of Atlanta. was with Sherman on the celebrated march to the sea and in the Carolina campaign. He was captured at Goldsboro while doing scouting duty. After the war he was engaged in farming and stock-raising in Indiana and in Kansas, and the possibilities for business development and success led him in 1878 to come to New Mexico. Locating in Hills-
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first discoveries and locations in the Kingston camp. Their claims in- cluded the Empire, Iron King and the Eclipse. Later the Brush Heap was staked out by one Johnson, and the Blackeyed Susan by Elliott and Forbes. the latter being one of the original party of prospectors who formed the Kingston camp. Dan Dugan, one of the original discoverers of gold at Hillsboro, located Gray Horse and Lady Franklin, the latter a famous producer in its day.
In 1880 several parties, composed of such men as Harry W. Elliott, Frank B. Pitcher, J. J. B. McPherson, J. P. Blaine, J. W. Wilson (some of whom were founders of the Kingston camp), located a number of claims in this vicinity. At first there was no permanent settlement made at Chloride, originally known as Bromide, but early in January, 1881, there was a general stampede to the new diggings, and in a short time there were hundreds of miners, prospectors, capitalists and adventurers locating claims in the district. At this time the first log cabin was erected and the first store opened in Chloride.
On the afternoon of the 18th of January, of that year, while most of the inhabitants of the town were prospecting in the hills, the Apaches
boro he staked some prospects, being associated with Hank Dorsey, a dis- tinguished pioneer, who discovered the placers six miles northeast. They made some money, the largest nugget taken out being worth eighty-six dollars, while the largest prospect was valued at twenty-seven dollars to the pan. Mr. McPherson afterward went through the county to the pres- ent site of Chloride in search of some horses that had been stolen by the Indians. Later he returned, but subsequently visited the Chloride district, where he located some claims. He worked the Mountain King mine for gold and silver and has been actively interested in mining and prospecting since his arrival in the Territory, being one of the oldest residents in camp. In 1882 he located on a ranch on the Rio Percha, where he engaged in raising hay and fruit, having an orchard of five acres. This is one of the best small orchards in the Territory, having a large variety of trees. It is carefully irrigated and yields a splendid return in fruit of fine size, qual- ity and flavor. He is also engaged in the raising Belgian hares and of bees, having an excellent apiary. He has been a promoter of business interests here, especially in the line of the development of the natural resources of the Territory, and his efforts have been of direct service in advancing the growth and upbuilding of the district. He is still interested in military affairs and for three years served as first lieutenant of Company A of the First Regiment of Cavalry of the New Mexico National Guard.
Mr. McPherson was married in Missouri in 1868 to Miss Jennie Milli- gan. She died in 1894, leaving one child, a son, Guy.
W. W. Williams, who for many years has been engaged in mining in Sierra county, has taken an unusually active interest in public matters in his county. He was born in Basin City, Montana, in 1869, and educated chiefly in the public schools. In early life he engaged in mining. In 1894 he removed to New Mexico and has since made his home in Sierra county. For several years he managed the affairs of the Wicks Mining Company, one of the principal developers of the mineral resources of that section of the Territory. He is a stanch Republican, has served as mayor of Hills-
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suddenly attacked the store, killing Messrs. Overton and McDaniells and wounding Henry E. Patrick. Then rounding up what horses and mules remained in camp, the Indians dashed away in safety. This raid did not check the tide of gold hunters, and in a short time a city of tents graced the picturesque little valley, which later gave place to a town of more substantial buildings. Chloride prospered, notwithstanding that the Apaches occasionally raided the country until as late as 1887, thus fixing the name Apache upon the entire district.
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