The weekly Arizonian., 1859-03-24

priatng it to the kings use. This put stop | to private enterprise; and, after the Indian war set tin, Arazuma became almost forgotten To- cahty and in generation or two afterward, the account of its mineral riches began to be discredited.
 We have the following record in evidence of the masses of silver extracted at Arazuma Don Domingo Asmendi paid duties on piece of virgin silver that weighed 275 lbs The kings attorney fiscal) brought suit for sev- eral other pieces, which together weighed 4033 lbs. Also for the recovery as curiosity, and therefore the property of the king, certain piece of silver of the weight of 2800 lbs This is probably the largest piece pure silver ever found in the world, and yet it was found only few miles distant from the contemplated track of our Pacific Railroad
 might continue enumerating the instances of mineral wealth brought to light in these two States Sonora and Chihuahua, if supposed it would be interesting to my readers but as they haH2 heard enough of silver, 1 may add that rich deposits of gold were found at Molatto in
 1906, and still greater discovery of gold was made few years ago. In this latter discovery, the poor diggers suffered so much from thirst
 that dollar was readily paid for single bucket
 of water, and at length by reason of the drought
 this rich placer had to be abandoned.
 Such is Sonora, region of country that com
 bints the rare attractions of the richest silver
 mines in the world lying in the midst of the
 finest agricultural districts, and where the eli
 mate IS as attractive as it's mineral riches But
 its richest mineral district is near its northern frontier, and is almost inaccessible, and can
 never be advantageousy worked without an
 abundant supply of mineral coal for smeltng,
 nor can any of it's mines or estates be success
 fully worked without greater security for life
 and property than at present exists The capi-
 talists of Mexico will not invest their means in
 developing the resources of Sonora and in con-
 sequence, the finest country in the world is
 fast receding to state of nature l found in . ltheg ealaee at Mexico copy of the last report of the Governor of Sonora upon the state of his Department, in which he mentions among many other causes of its decadence during the last few years, the extensive emigration of its l aboring population to California.
 Extravagant as are these statements of the l mineral riches of Sonora, they probably do not come up to the reality, as the largest of them are founded on the sums reported for taxation at the distant city of Mexico, when it was noto r rious as already stated that large portion O. 3 the silver was fraudulently concealed in order X to avoid the taxes Such concealment could - be successfully carried on in a region so distan Q and inaccessible as Sonora was in the time O s Philip V, for it was in the reign of that idio , king, before the liberal mining g-ordinance o ! Carlos III, that the Sonora mining-fever brok . out
 e A hundred years have passed since the onc }, formidable Apaches swept over northern Sc ,, nora like deluge, plotting out forever tn l. hopes which the Spanish court had conceive 1T of retrieving the fallen fortunes of their empir h from this EI Dorado. But Providence hal 'f ordered it otherwise. The Spaniards had don a enough to demonstrate its inexhaustibe wealth
 and then they were driven away from thl e "creation of silver" and the whole deposit hel l. for a hundred years in reserve for the uses C T. another race, who were destined to overru e the continent
 al I should but half perform my task shoul D. I omit to speak of the excellent bay and haI Id bor of Guaymas in the southern part of Sc Ot nora After San Francisco, it is the finest hal t. bor on the Pacific, and is the natural rout l- through which our commerce with the EaE of Indies should be directed. The long exper IS ence of Spain taught her that western rout le to the East Indies was so much superior to tn CT one by the way of Cape of Good Hope as e. compensate for transhipment of all her EaI or India merchandise upon mules backs trol a) Acapulco to Vera Cruz. Much more advantt 1T, geous must it be to us, when railroad frol ne Fl Paso passing through the midst of the silv' en district have described, shall transfer oI n- commerce with Japan and China to the Pacif ne side of our continent. Here the very silv' e' necessary for the purchase of tea is near y [ H. abundant as tin in some of the European mine a- and, as in California, the prospects held out O. the farmer are equal to mineral attractions.
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 This ere line jist fills the bill-DepiL