Salt River herald., 1878-11-16
What Visitor Saw Recently in the Ancient
 Mines of Chihuahua.


 Some months ago a noted mining engineer visited some of the ancient silver mines in the state of Chihua- hua, in the interest of certain New York capitalists. What he saw there the gentleman has kindly described for the columns of Tue Stock Report, and as published below it will be read with keen interest.
 Leaving San Francisco on the 18th of April last and New York on the 20th, travelling via St. Louis and Kan sas City to Pueblo, thence over the Denver and Rio Grande railroad to Trinidad in Colorado, staging thence via Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Fl PasO Del Norte, down and across the Rio Grande, through the state of Chi huahua into the interior of old Mexi- co. I soon found myself at my old tricks. Climbing down and up notch ed poles, worming myself into those old silver mines and observing closely everything of interest under ground and on top. The table lands extend ing from Santa Fe away below the City of Mexico are unsurpassed for climate and agricultural advantages. The flattened foothills of the great Sierra Madre mountain range and its offshoots form at an average altitude of about five thousand feet above the sea, the
 GRANDEsT PLATEAU ON THE FACE OF THE GLOBE,
 With rich soil, good water, pure and invigorating air, fringed with rich and valuable mineral deposits and extend ing at least one thousand miles unin- terrupted. Capital is turning its tide that way just now and it is only matter of very short time when the screaming locomotive and rattling cars. freighted with moving ma chimes, gang blows, mining and other machinery, with hosts of energetic and intelligent, enterprising men and women to use them, will be footing alarm to a million of wild cattle now roaming over these beautiful plains. So inviting is the natural situation that no amount of border raiding or internal strife can bar the door of Mexico against the invasion of en- frightened enterprise, progress and thrift much longer. The natural or. der is move on and Mexico must keep step. I will only tell you now of a few of the
 WONDERFUL MINES OF SANTA EULALIA, leaving many other good mines and promising districts for another time. These mines, celebrated alike for their uncommon formation, unparalleled yield of silver in past times and al- most unaccountable antiquity, are situated in what is known as the San ta Eulalia mountains, oh-shoots lay ing about 100 miles to the east of the great Sierra Madre range, 20 miles east of the city of Chihuahua and 1000 feet higher, or at an altitude of G,690 feet above the sea level. The number of important and distinct mines contained in the district is computed at over 200, embraced in territory about two miles wide and five miles long. They are not found in Assures or even veins, but are cav ernous deposits. The country rock is gray limestone, with occasional dolo- mite, quartzite and masses of cement ed calcariOus bOulders. The ore is mostly argentiferous lead containing no gold. Silver is, however, found in almost every condition, and there are well authenticated traditions of fab ulous amounts of
 PURE NATIVE SILVER
 having been found, and such must have been thefact else they could not from tax of 121S cents on each pound of silver refined have erected between the years 1733 and 1750 the magnifi- cent cathedral of Chihuahua at cost of $150,000. Still further evidence of the wonderful yield of the mines of Santa Eulalia is to be found in the royal records and in the records of the Chihuahua mint, which show that between the above named periods over four hundred millions of dollars was registered in those offices, the largest per centage of which came from this grand old camp, and there is still to be seen million of tons of slag laying about the old furnace cities that were red hot 800 years ago. The ore deposits of Santa Eulalia diff fer from any that I have ever met in some particulars. An opening is bro- | ken tlrOuph the cap rock DerhaDS