The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1880-07-22
New Mexico's Wealth.


for several Eastern capitalists. In a
conversation with a reporter of the
Chicago Times he said his attention was
first directed to the Cerillos district.
This is twenty-four miles southwest of
Santa Fe, and is bordered on the south
by the Galestio river, an affluent Of
the Rio Grande The district has long
been known as a mineral region, the
mines having been worked by the Indi-
ans before the Spanish conquest. This
was especially the case with the wonder
full and renowned turquoise mine, from
which Cortez sent back to Spain mag
nificent Jewels for the crown.
The turquoise mine is the most con-
spicuous object in the district. 1t has
been made very convenient landmark
by the erection near it of a flagstaff,
surmounted by "a globe of silvered glass.
This mine was wrought by the Indians
in the time of the Aztecs, and was sub.
sequently worked by them, with no tools
but stone hammers, for their Spanish
conquerors. The debris taken out of
that mine prior to 1850 covers meas.
ured area of twenty acres The tur-
quoise is beautiful blue stone of great
hardness, and it occurs in white or
creamy decomposed feldupar in little
seams and small concretions The
stones are never very large, being rarely
the size of hazel nut, and the seams
are not often one-fourth of an inch
wide. and frequently are only one-eighth
of an inch. The cost of obtaining the
stones is therefore very high.
In 1850 the Indians revolted, drove
out the Spaniards, and to this day no
Indian will give any white man informa-
ton about any mine. The turquoise
mine lay idle till recently. 1t has now
been cleaned out by Mr.. Hyde, repre-
-enting Eastern capitalists, who has
spen. good deal of money on the prop
erty. In clearing out the mine, Mr.
Hyde unearthed many interesting relics.
Fragments of Aztec pottery, vases,
drinking and cooking utensils, and tools,
were found in considerable numbers.
He found many of the stone hammers
used 10y the Indians, together with
wedges, mauls, etc. The hammers are
fashioned from Il lard svenite, which
forms the crest Of a neighboiing hill.
| They are ten or twelve INCHES long and
weigh about twenty pounds each. At
the upper end of each is a groove, so
that il could be tied on to it's handle.
One complete hammer had been found,
the stone head being bound to an oak
handle with strips of oak bark. This
mine is interesting as the only turquoise
mine, and probably the oldest mine of
any description in America.
Very numerous silver. bearing veins
intercept the irruptive rocks which form
the Cerillos district. The whole region
is one of porphyritic or irruptive rocks,
which had been thrown up in compare
lively recent geologic period. That
they were thrown up since the tertiary
is shown by the fact that the tertiary
rocks on the southern border are pre-
foundly altered by the heat of the irrup-
ton the sedementarv rocks are meta
morphosed into crystalline forms, and
the strata are standing on edge.
The area of upheaval Is SIX or eight
miles one way by four or five the other.
Without an exception, all the rocks in
this area belong to the irruptive class.
In them are numerous assures, generally
parallel and running from the northeast
to the southwest, and filled with mineral
veins of argentiferous galena, and silver
at the rate of about forty ounces to the
ton for the surface ores. The veins are
not large they are well defined, and few
have been explored below the water
level. Most of them have been explored
only by superficial prospecting holes,
made to establish mining claims. To
maintain these 500 worth of work
must be done annually, but the miners,
in calculating this assessment work, call
eight hours II DAYS work, and value it at
81 an hour, when they don't care to do
anything but protect their titles
Some of the ILLS is this district rise
to height of nearly 1000 feet above
the general level, which is 5000 feet
above the sea. 1t is emphatically dry
country. There is not drop of water
in the Cerillos region, except what is
hauled four miles from the Cerilios
creek to the mining camy. Some mines,
however, have reached the water level,
and this gives assurance that in the
futnre water will te easily obtained. |