Mexico weekly ledger., 1879-06-05
FROM COLORADO.
OPHrR. MAY 26th. 1879.

EDITOR LEDGRR-Dear Sir: As q
great many of the citizens OF Au-
drain county are anxious to obtain
some reliable information in regard
to Colorado, / will endesyor, in a
condensed manner, to give them such
information rs | am In possession of
in reference to this portion of the
state, and the intervening country
and ron.e.
Fro KANSAS City the most direct
and reliable route will be by the A.
L. & Santa Fe road; buy tickets to
Alamosa, the terminus of the Denver
& Rio Grande Narrow Guage. Dis
lance to. Pueblo, 634 miles. From
Pueblo to Alamosa $50 miles. Par
ties purchasing second-class tickets
will save SIS between Kansas City
and Pueblo and about S17. so to
Alamosa. AS a single ticket on the
Narrow Guage will cost 10 tents per
mile, the accommodations are the
same for 1st and I'd class fare on that
road, and after leaving Topeka pas
sengers holding second-class tickets
ride in any of tho coaches, the only
difference is in not being. allowed to
take sleepers on second-class tickets.
FROM ALAMosA
IT. o r ~SS vi ~
miles, the farea.n tie SIG by coach,
over a splendid road and as fine
coaches and horses as will be found
in any country. Leave Alamosa at
half past ten O'Clock p. M, reach
Lake next night at supper; hut par
ties destined fer Lake, should buy
through tickets at Kansas City, price
SAP. There are two routes from
Lake to Silverton, one by the way of
Henso Creek over Engineer Noun
tain, over which is said to be the
highest wagon road in the United
States, altitude over $4,000 feet, the
other by the way of Burrows Park
the two i~n,ersecting ut the forks OF
the Anlmas, from thence to Silverton
a distance of IA miles. The latter
route is somewhat the longest, but at
the Cabel House the traveller will be
agreeably surprised by being treated
TO the best accommodations to be
had in San Juan. AS regards meals
and lodging, splendid beef, excellent
head. all kinds of canned fruits,
bnckw heat cakes for breakfast, with
home mad. syrup, good butter and
clear White tat,'e linen, good beds,
&C., &c.
Is in ordinary seasons, a very ."eiJ
camp of about 1900 resident pol :"
lation, and has the most beautiful To-
cation imaginable. Situated on the
Animas river, in Bakers Park. &C.
ment creek joins the Animas on the
north and Mineral creek on the south.
There are some very nice cottages in
the place and everything indicates
more taste than is usually to be found
in q mining country.
OPIIR,
Our present headquarters is situat-
ed on the Howard Fork of the Rio
San Miguel, distant from Silverton
10 ailes over the range. 1t is a new
camp, being only 2 years old. At
present it consists of only perhaps a
dozen log cabins, but as a saw mill
is now in operation there will be con-
siderable improvement made in the
future. The river runs nearly east
and west ION the north of the valley is
Silver Mountain; on the south is
Yellow Mountain. There are some
of the best prospects located on eth
er mountain 10 be found in San Juan.
On Silver Mountain the Valley View
Summit, Stattsburg, Black Sulphercts,
Gold King, Asceola. Nettie Powhat-
an and others. Yellow Mountain
is first, the Nevada, owned by Evans
Bro, an excellent mine, has paid
from the start and is now showing
splendidly. The next is the Cham
pion of the Camp, the Parsons. 1
call it the champion from the fact
that it is q poor mans mine, having
paid from the surface and having
more development than any other in
the camp except, perhaps the Neva-
da. There is over two hundred feet
of tunneling and drifting on this
mine, and it is only n year old.
They have now about sixty ton of
ore on the dump, a splendid location,
only about 500 feet above the town,
with plenty of fine timber, a good
cabin, and an Ore House 27xl4, ore
from this mine has milled runs Of $50
or at Lake City, now starting Il
tunnel on a third level, which will
cut the vein at 4 depth of over one
hundred feet vertically. Next the
Monterzumal an extension of the
Parsons at 80 feet deep showing fine
mineral. Next the caribbean Grand
Captain, and Colorado, the latter
showing good mineral, non running
under 100 OF. There are other fine
prospects on this mountsin not yet
sufficiently developed to determine
their value.
/ will here mention for the benefit
of parties coming to this section,
that the most direct route from Ala
mosa, will be to leave the Lake City
road at Antelope Springs, and cross
the range to Silverton, passing by
Barbours and G~alloway's. Two
miles below town, the Towards
Fork and Lake Fork join and form
the South Fork, and on the latter are
located some excellent mines, also a
large lake full of excellent mountain
trout. i would most earnestly adj
wise all parties of small means TO pom
der well before they determine to
come to Colorado. The cost of liv-
ing is very high, the accommoda-
tions are of the rudest kind and none
but the most rugged can stand the
fatigue and exposure incident to a
mountain life. There are a few who
make a lucky strike, but a majority
fail. / will close for the present,
and will, in my next, speak Of the
business prospects outside of mining
.1Ao.nofa annnnyf,n