New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-11-02

CLAIMS he had located at little Mexican village
| called Las Placitas, on the western side of the
Sandia Mountains He had found this rock in great
! abundance. Indeed, the vein from which he had
taken II was siXty-eight PAGES across! lie also
brought other specimens of stone which he sald was
so common "a Las Plactas that the MeXicans mao
built their corrals of it. These samples had been
aSsayed in Santa Fe, and the first showed @l'-oo
worth of gold to ton and the second ABOUT @iu
| worth Martin had staked out claims for himself,
for Governor Lew Wallace, foI the leading )eweler
of Santa Fe. and hundred men were aoout 10
start that morning for the new diggngs Before
we finished our breakfast the fortunate dlsc0Veref
came IN. apparently somewhat under the influence
of whiskey and took seat opposite u.s. He was
an ordinary looking fellow about fifty years old
and very plainly dressed, and it was Immediately
evidcnt that his head had been turned either by his
success or by the ardent spirits he had imbibed.
He talked very loudly and boastingly of the prop
erty he owned all over New-Mcxico Il heard that
some one had to grub stake" him to enable him
TO go out on his last prospecting expedition, but
was provokngly indefinite in everything he had TO
say about his recent discovery. The assay certlli-
cate was at the iewclry store. he said. and any
one who had doubts could go there and see 1t and
the specimens he had brought up. The vein was
sixty eight PAGES wide and he and his friends were
fixed"
| went down on the train that morning. and
while a hundred men did not leave Santa Fe, about
a dozen did. and a number of Others came on at
little stations along the road. Las Placitas is "a
Mexican village of perhaps a hundred inhabitants.
in the foothills of the Sandis Mountains about six
miles east of Bernalilo. The houses are very small
adobes. and of course, there was no pro-
vision for boarding and lodging the two or
fbroo who
in week The miDers were there
fore obliged to provide themselves with provisions
and bedding OF else 90 without them. An outfit
consisted of one or two pairs OF blankets, in which
were rolled up some provisions, generally canned
meats and crackers. The blankets were bound
mp with small rope with piece to go over one
shoulder and across the breast in order to carry
the bundle on tie back. On the outside of the
bundle there was generally coffee pot and trying
nan well blackened in camp fires. \ siX-shoOi'ng
navy revolver suspended in a holster from an am
muniton belt half filed with cartridges, and
pick and shovel. completed the outfit The men
from Santa Fe were generally dressed as they
would be if they We're going into the mountains to
camp for a few days. and those VINO got on at the
smaller stations looked like cowboys or mule
skinners. Two three days later saw some of
these men coming out either disguised or TO obtain
hard-looking set. They had slept on tho ground,
and apparently had had no opportunity to wash or
in any way arrange their toilets
did not 20 over to Las Placitas because be-
leved that the discoveries were Of no value, al
though in this may have been mistaken. 1t Is
true that respectable assayeT of this city found
cold at the rate of more than $1,000 to a ton IN
piece of rock which Martin said he got from Las
Pacitas, but piece of the same rock and supposed
to he equally rich was taken By MI. Sckels to
Colonel GIllettes assayer at the Canon del Aqua,
Mr. WheelocK. and he found only about 81 worth
of gold to ton. ! also met a gentleman at Los
Ccrilos whose partner had gone TO Las Pacitas and
staked ont some claims in their joint interest, and
forwarded some specimens TO be assayed lie
showed the assay certificate, and 1t read:
uGod-Hone; silver-none." | have heard OF no
s., 900 assays since the first one, even of any
rock being tested that contained 800 worth Of
gold.
That first assay recalled little story which
heard in Colorado living ut Colorado
Springs was DESTROYS of making sudden fortune,
and employed an old miner TO help him discover
mineral in the mountains about Pixies Po;si.
When they had their prospect hole all ready, they
employed mining expert TO examine and report
upon their property. lie gave an elaborate deScrp
tioE of the geology Of the country surrounding the
mine. and of the rock in which II was found. but
when he came to discuss the origin OF the pay ore
ne remarked that some veins were charged by sub
lmation and some bv precipitation, but that the
ore under discussion was the first he had been
called upon TO examine professionally that bore
unmistakable evidence Of having been charged with
a wheelbarrow. ! have suspected that the $1,000
specimen of ore which caused the last great min
ing excitement IN Santa Fe had been charged by
some process as little known in natures laboratory
as that of the whcelbarrow. u. L. w.