[F. S. A., Letter from Arizona Territory, Alta California, May 28, 1865]

 

LETTER FROM ARIZONA TERRITORY.

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[From an Occasional Correspondent of the Alta California]

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EL DORADO CAÑON, UPPER COLORADO RIVER, )

Arizona Territory, May 10th, 1865.  )

            Editors Alta:  Things are certainly taking a new start here.  El Dorado Cañon has actually awoke ; not only does she produce rich ores, but the simon-pure silver bricks.

            The New Era Company cleaned up, last week, in six days' run, one hundred and twenty pounds of amalgam ; they only run five stamps and one pan.  I think that will do very well for croppings.  They never obtained from the Techatticup vein, where thousands of tons of the same ore crops out, enough to keep the largest mill in Washoe employed for years.  This Company ship their bullion direct to the San Francisco Branch Mint.

A New Strike.

Was made last week on the Tobias vein : the miners struck water in the shaft, at the depth of twenty-eight feet from the surface, and two or three feet lower brought them on to the vein, which is exceedingly rich, and three feet wide.  The Superintendent of this mine, Mr. Henry Spier, has on the dump thirty tons of croppings, which he claims will work one hundred and fifty dollars to the ton.  A new lode was discovered here yesterday by some prospectors, which assays very rich in silver.  They named it the Yellow Jacket, and have gone at once to work on it.  It is from five to eight feet wide, and crops out for a long distance, and the croppings will pay to work.

            The Colorado Mill men arrived here last week from San Francisco, and soon operations in this mill will commence.  It is a first class ten stamp mill, and designed expressly for custom work.  Wood is delivered at these mills at twelve dollars per cord, by a Mr. Wilburn, of Cottonwood Island, twenty-five miles below here.  He has a line of barges plying between this port and Cottonwood Island.

At the Queen City Mine,

Miners continue to take out very rich ore.  Last week the Superintendent of the Waitt Consolidated arrived here from your city, and has commenced operations on the Waitt mine again.  He expects, by pushing the drift eight feet further, that they will strike a very rich vein.  I have no doubt about it, for the croppings of this rich lode work remarkably well.

            Miners renewed work on the New Mexico to-day.  They will employ the Era Mill to crush their ore.

            Two days ago Mr. O. D. Gass arrived here with his pack train from Salt Mountain, loaded with a splendid pure article of crystallized salt, which he chopped out of the mountain with axes.

The Colorado River

Is five feet above low water mark.  Large quantities of drift wood are floating down.  I am informed to-day by a gentleman who was at the mouth of this Cañon yesterday that over thirty cords of wood passed down the river, and when it arrives at its usual height at this time of the year, which is from five to seven or eight feet higher, then you can expect to see at any point on the river at least fifty cords of wood pass in one day.  Quite a trade is springing up here in saving this article.

F. S. A.