The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1859-07-07
WEALTH OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS.

At recent meeting ofthe Boston Society of Nat
ural History, an instructive paper on the mineral
resources of the Rocky Mountains was presented BY
VIM. P. Blake. 1t is altogether probable that fur
ther explanations will show that the gold deposits
found in New Mexico extend not only as far north
| as Pixies Peak, in Kansas. but on the slope of the
mountains opposite the sources of Fraser river
very little IS yet known of all this region which
affords vast and most interesting field for scientific
exploration. Mr. Blake's paper is confined chiefly
| to New Mexico.
The gold field of New Mexico has been known
and worked since 1928, and is confined to the Placer
or gold mountains, about twenty miles from Santa
| re towards Albuquerque: the yield of gold has
been chiefly from the washings. and not from veins
and was estimated in lS47 by WislczenuS, as vary
ing from thirty to two hundred and fifty thousand
dollars year, but it afterwards so diminished
that it was counted by hundreds instead of thous-
ands. These placers on the subordinate or out
line ridges of the Eastern ranges of the Rocky
! Mountains, and are true hill deposits afordng
coarse gold like that from the high pacers of Cali
| fornia The pay gravel from twenty to one hun.
| dred feet below the surface is generally very rich
Owing to the scarcity of water very large amount
OF gravel has been untouched. Veins beds in the
rocks, containing gold, Outcrop higher up in the ra-
vines; in one place, gold in strata Of Quart
zose sandstone and in great ferruginous beds rather
| than VEINS the sandstone appears to have been
charged with aurlterous pyrites. bv the decompO-
| sition of which gold has been liberated At other
points regular quartz veins bearing gold and pyrites
are found, and some of them have been worked at
times for over twenty years-the Ortsz and Bggs
mines have been worked to a depth of about l35
feet in a deserted mine in the mountains known as
"Los CerillOs," worked nearly 200 wears ago the
principal shaft is 200 feet deep, cut vertically and
with great precision through solid rock. The larg-
est lump found at the pacers was worth 50 900 and
from this they all the war to $50 and $50 the
gold from New Placer is black and ill-lookng on the
surface, but is very fine, being worth $50 an ounce
the Mexican miners are paid sic for it, and
their wages by the day from 60 to rs cents Tho
| gold mountains and placers are about 300 miles
south OF Pixies Peak, and there is but little doub
that gold will be found over this entire dis
tance. The Rocky Mountain gold from assays made
at the Daglonega branch mint Georgia, is nearly
one tenth richer than the California gold and lit
tie richer than the Australian
''Next to gold, but of greater Importance to the
country, is the existence OF the Rocky Mountain
chain OF beds of coal both bituminOus and anthra-
cite coal in thick beds and of superior quality
near Santa Fe and in the vicinity of the gold mines
The presence of anthracite in the Rocky Mountains
Is OF great national Importance in many points OF
view. One OF the chief questions in connection with
the proposed railroad to the Pacific has been where
shall fuel be obtained? Here we have store of the
most compact fuel, at point nearly midway be-
tween the Pacific and the Mississippi. This is one
great reason for the construction of a central road
to the Rocky Mountains near Santa Fe: coal not
having been tound and probably not existing in
workable beds in the lower and porphvritic ranges
of western Texas and southern New Mexico. Wood
Is not abundant except at great elevations, and the
! coal is much more accessible and desirable: it il
valuable not only for railroad purposes but for do
nestle mining and metaurgical operations
"There is every reason to believe that the Rocky
Mountain chain is rich in silver ores in the shape
of argentiferOus galena. Stevenson's mines near
Franklin, El Passo, have long been known and are
very rich. In other localities are ancient and de.
serted mines, capable of being proftably WORKED
Of copper ores there are several localities the sui
phuret, with the blue and green carbonates occurs
In the Placer Mountain native copper and red OK
ide are found near Jemez, in the valley of the Ric
Grande, resembling those found in such abundance
and richness at Arizona. Magnetic iron ore is abun
dant in the mountains the gold mines and as
coal and limestone plentiful in the vicinity NAV
at some future time be proftably worked for iron
and steel Specular iron is said also to exist there
in veins or beds. Besides metals and ores there are
many valuable minerals and gems-among others
the much priced chalchuil of the ancient Mexicans;
this is variety of the turquoise; garnets, of great
clearness and very beautiful colors are brought in
by the Navajo Indians some are equal in size and
value to the garnets of Bohemia. Chrvsolites are
also found. 1t will thus be seen that the miaera
| resources of the Rocky Mountains are extensive,
and of a character to render the region in a great
measure Independent of distant sections of the coun-
try. Its rapid settlement and explorations which
must result from the great emigration to the newly
discovered placers will not fail to bring to light
many new localities of valuable minerals, and thus
hasten the organization of and powerful
statp.'