Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1881-01-30
ARIZONA CORRESPONDENCE.
IL King and Tombstone the
Seat of Empire.
TOMBSTONE, Pima Co., Arizona,

Seat Oh
TOMBSTONE, Pima Co., Arizona,
Jan. 20, 1881.
EDITOR SENTINEL: Despite its sepul
chral name, Tombstone is by no means
dismal locality. Indeed the contrary ii
the case, for clearer skies, purer air, bright
err days and genial sunshine, more delight
full nights and heelthful, invigorating eli
mate exists nowhere on this continent
Leaving San Francisco yonr correspondent
bent his steps toward New Mexico, but this
now important center lying en- route and
being much discussed in all circles abroad,
he got a lay-over ticket at Benson, the en-
barking depot for here, and transferred
himself, baggage and wraps to Harris 4
Co.'S six-horse stage coach, and was landed
safe and sound at the Cosmopolitan Hotel
at noon, having occupied about -four and
a half hours in making the 25 miles con
| Meeting the Southern Pacific with this
! camp. The surrounding landscape is not
an unpleasing one, though the lines and
bounding ranges lie bare and bald, devoid
| Of the timber and underground coverings
| which relieve the eye and lend q charm to
| country objects elsewhere. From Benson
| to Tombstone the line of travel lies along
level mesas and over low, rolling hills,
while the grade is by no means distressing
on horse-fesh. Passing Contention City
one is allowed enough hating time to look
around to note its claim to SO ambitious q
title. He is, however, somewhat disap-
pointed on beholding M or two adobe
| stores, the usual saloon, a rickety black
Il ox.s4l .11n opI ono or fxuo ofhar ohanfiao
as all that constitutes the city. The San
| Pedro, a small, sw~ift-iowing, clear water
| stream, dignifed here with the name Of
river, wends its serpentine course close by,
and supplies the aqueas necessary to the
two fine quartz mills erected there. One
of these, the Sunset. ten stamps, is now
for some unexplained reason lying in IN
profitable idleness, instead Of waking the
sleeping echos of the canyons with the
cheerful music Of its stamps. Not far off
stands the really elegant, well erected 30
stamp mill of the
CONTENTION COMPANY,
The drop of whose stamps is music sweet
to the ears of the man OF lodges, prospects
and silver. The mill is q wet crusher, the
slums from whose tanks is held in i'm
mense reservoirs in front and bounding
the roadside and line Of travel. The vast
Stun accommodations will, / am informed,
yield not less than from S25 to $50 per
ton in silver, which is not q very high
figure when the assay value OF the COM
pany's ores come to be considered, and
this value ranges from 500 to $500 per
ton, giving probably an average Of $3.50
per ton. Farther up the aforesaid stream,
toward the southeast, is located Charles
town, the site OF the Grand Central Mill,
now nearing completion. This is to be a
25-stamp, battery, etc., wet crusher also,
as is the Empire, hard by. This mill is
now being run on Tough Nut ore with re-
markable results. And appropos of this, last
months clean up Of this mill fully explains
what l shall farther along refer to more
fully, namely, the ease and the little cost
of mining and handling the Tombstone
ores. DEFENDERS aggregate yield OF this
mill was, / have been credibly informed,
S185 600 in silver, while the cost of ex-
tracing and milling the ore did not exceed
$25 900, exclusive of the transportation
charges Of the ore, which does not exceed
So so per ton-hauling ten miles. From
these figures one may easily understand
how large a profit margin is left this COM
pany, and so in the case Of the other
bullion-producing corporations doing bus
mess here. Approaching the misnamed
TOWN OF TOMBSTONE
The eye OF the dust-laden, weary traveller
is occasionally greeted with a view of road
side adobe dwellings, and not far from the
entrance to the town is erected an adobe
walled five-stamp mill, used partly as a
sampler by chloriders and prospectors.
There is, however, little chloriding lone
here, mine owners and l~ocators preferring
A.. IL A. o,;,ora1 Ia ,,xNp tha I,.a-a e.,
the inspection Of strangers and intending
purchasers. The tow is well laid out
upon a not over-elevated plateau conven-
lent to the mines. The streets are wide,
clean, we'll side-walked and intersect at
right angles, the lateral ones being num-
bered from west to east and the Longitude
nal ones named after some citizen whose
merits entitled him TO be thus immortal
lied, such as Allen street, Fremont street,
etc. In point Of architectural adornments
the streets present a very pleasing appear
ance, albeit the majority OF the structures
are not more than one story high, crowned
by the usual adobe fiat roof or slanting
canvas one, and in these respects are in
keeping with the ideas Of the country
which,, as regards dwellings and stores,
have been derived from the adjoining
Mexican States. The adobes, when nicely
succeed, as they are here, present a neat,
clean outside appearance, while the in
terror comforts are of the most enjoyable
character, especially during the summer
~solstice when the temperature OF these re-
gions resembles the atmosphere of the
neither ones where Dante beheld his idol
lied Beatrice.
IN POPULATION AND BUSINESS
| Tombstone is as top-heavy as is Uncle
Sans army with its numerous Generals.
This at first glance is evident to the OBJ
servant stranger who comes to spy out the
country and rate the business prospects
and the social aspects of the place. There
are probably 1000 or 200 structures Of
all grades fringing the streets here, while
the inhabitants must number at least
5000 to keep within proper approximate
bounds. Now this is a large population
for a place not affording steady employ
ment to more than 400 miners. In conse-
quence there are many idle, who, had they
remained in their former localities might
have employed their physical capital to
greater advantage than they have here.
Eureka's two great properties employ as
many if not more than are employed here
altogether, Notwithstanding the fact that
there are eight or nine hosting works visit
BILE from the streets, and that there are ter
or twelve incorporated properties in pro
cess of operation and partial development
From the foregoing data the stalwart soni
of toll, for whose benefit I here presen'
them, can each for himself understand
how much better it is for him to remain
where he is and be contented with his lot
!. employed. than to come here in searcl
of what he left behind him and canno
very readily obtain here. For these rea
sons I would not encourage miners of an,
grade to come here to leok for work by thu
day exclusively, and the same applies will
equal force to other orders OF labor, sucl
as clerks, bookkeepers shopmen, lawyers
doctors and Micawbers generally, for her,
there are already enough and to spare
But If men have some means and prefer Il