Pioche daily record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1872-1876, 1873-07-30
LETTER FROM SOUTHERN CALI
EORNIA.


We left Phoebe on the 18th of June
last, and made a vely pleasant trip, 100
miles, to Rector's and Johnson ranch
on the Muddy river. They have fine
lot of land for farming and grazing pur-
poses, and a great deal of good land
besides is lying idle, with plenty of water
for irrigating; but it is claimed by Mr..
Indian, because the Indian Agent has |
said it all belongs to them, and after
awhile the whites will all have to leave,
and the land will be taken as an Indian
Reservation, and the Indians will be fed
by the Government. The Indians are
very impudent and saucy now. When
we were there they wanted us to buy
several small lots of barley at an enor-
nous price, and when we refused to buy
it, one, by the name Of Frank, said:
Now, you go; You no more stop here;
all Injin grass and all Injin water; Injin
Agent heap talk-you yamose.' And the
red devil made several threatening mo-
tons with his bow and arrows, but he
did not bluff US. Our belief is that the
Agent is not worth " cuss or those
Indians would be made to know and to
keep their place. Their complaints were
many about his unfulflled promises, and
one that understood what he was about,
said (making motion across his throat
at the same time with his hand): Heap
fix EN- byme by, all same Modocs."
They are posted ON the Modoc question.
We left the Muddy and crossed the 80.
mile desert easily, and arrived at the Las
Vegas ranch on the 23d of June, and met
Shorty and some more OF the Phoebe
boys on their return trip from FL
Dorado Canyon. They had some
very rich ore with them. The Las
Vegas ranch is certainly an Oasis in the
desert" as it looks so much like a green
carpeting of grass, and trees amid hills
of burning sand, and it is plentitully
supplied with fine streams Of pure and
! cooling water, and is grand resting
G place for the weary prospector to and
from the Colorado river and the Arma-
gosa desert Aftei resting and recruiting
our stock two days, we started for the
e well known Potosi mine, and arrived at
= that place on the 9th OF June, and found
I two men there who had been watching
= the mine it appears tor several years
+ awaiting purchaser. Mr.. Geo. Pringlt
e and Dutch John, Of our party, stopped
n at this mine in the employ of Mr.. Nor
a gan, who lately has bought it. The Pc
y tosi mine is in lime stone formation
is high up on the Potosi Mountain. 1t j
II an immense deposite OF galena ore, am
II is enough worked and explored to shoS
it to be fssure vein. In one of tn
drifts towards the south, there is a larg
lie quantity of milling ore, and enoug
re smelling ore already III sight to run
: large furnace for months The mine
800 or 800 feet above the valley, and we
'e situated to run tramway to the plal
o. below There is n plenty of watel
besides plenty of nut pine timber
easily got at to make charcoa
for smelling, for 100 years to come.
he this mine was i'll Cottonwood canyon {
of at Eureka it would command an emo
e. nous price A road can be made for
70 moderate price SO miles to Cottonwoo
- Island in the Colorado river, whel
o. steamboats, easily run, and where ii
rs, bullion can be shipped to San Francisc
IS. The ore assays from ithis mine run fro
=. $50 to 5000 per ton. June 30 we startt
''' from the Potosi mountains, for the gre
Armagosa river and made our drives
or Lieut.. Wheeler's map, which we -four
nc to be very accurate in the distances fro
the different wartering places, we arriv,
at the head of the Armagosa river on Il
an I'd of July. Thermometer 100 in t
shade, water salty, grass salty. b
bo Coulter left me in the lurch, and | W
left, on the southern end of the great A
NJ magosa desert, alone, with my wag
ent and 3 animals | stood the sutfocating he
so for two days and then struck camp
Mo Salt Springs, where once there was
Wv, w. mill and some exceedingly rich &C
zoo quartz, and where there is a party
des Mexicans now prospecting for the ma
ledge, which was never found by the n
party, who worked altogether in sol
low foothills. The Mexicans have fou
some rich float rock in the main mot
!. tain. By the way, let me S
an for the benefit of future prospect'
-, in this part Of the country, that
'he was at the Salt Spring mines, that Br,
ose fogle got the rich specimen of @
hey mixed with reddish oxidized iron o
,or and red quartz, for | saw the pieces
i''- had in Austin in 1865. / have me-
lur- seen any ore before, nor since, like
H until saw the Mexicans with the sa
lev quality of rich ore at Salt Springs, a
il any others who have seen the piece
had, will go to Salt Springs, they '
om- not prospect the Arizona Mountains q
tin, more for the Breyfogle mine, for IL
rer. will Immediately recognize the similar
,o, of the ore. There was party in Al
. ~. gosa county looking for Mr.. Breyfog
Inc mine as / came through. So this inl
eed- nation ought to set at rest the Breyfo
swindle.
-. saw another party hunting for
UP Great Gun-sight lode, with spirituali
instructions. But the spirit that wo
ion. lead party around in that hot, sal
vor and dry country, think is big #
So stop at Salt Springs this narrait
will write you more soon. Yours,
II, 4 ,,.1s