Arizona weekly citizen., 1882-04-02
THE cuEsIeHT NrEr

4hI. I. A. NnhHhnt, wno arrived yester-
 day from the Gunsight mine, Myers dis trlct. where be has spent the past two
 months, furnishes us the following in re-
 latlOn to matters and things that have
 come under his personal observation: Since about the 2jth of January last work upon the Baker three-compart-
 ment shaft Of the Gunsight mine has
 been pushed right along. This has been { and still IS the principal, almost the only,
 work in baud upon this property, since ! 1t is to be the working shaft for not only ! the Gunsight but also for other of the cOmpanys locations, all lying within radius of less than 1000 feet. 4 ! part of this work, an extensive roadway,
 as also a working dump in froat of the shaft, and foundation for the hoisting
 machinery above it, had to be blasted
 ont of the solid rock before the actual
 work Of sinking could be advantageous ly prosecuted. While blasting out for
 tue machinery work in the shaft proper
 had to be suspended for about one week.
 At another time, owing to the fact that
 some of the shaft tiInbers en rUute from
 Gila Bend were delayed on account of
 the condition of the roads, made impas-
 sable b, the rains, the work was sus-
 pended for two days. With these excep-
 tions Superintendent Caldwell and Fore
 man B, T. Russell have managed in the
 face of various obstacles to keep the
 work of sinking the shaft going on both
 night and day, all reports to the contra
 " notwithstanding. When the lAiners
 were obtainable, three shifts of five men
 each were cons 'antly engaged m the
 shaft; at other times, or when the men
 were not to be had, as was the case more
 than once, two shifts of ten hours each
 were employed. In this manner, the shafr, on the 25th inst, had been driven
 down and perfectly timbered to a depth of l0i feet. To properly timber the shaft to this depth required 5000 feet Of sawed timbers and planking.
 4 fine 30-horse power hoisting engine | and boiler Is in place, but has not been | used up to the present because a heavy l cast iron plate pertaining to the boiler ! furnace had failed to come to hand. con- | sequently the boiler could not be set up | A duplicate IS now en route and in aboni I two weeks from this date the loisting will be done by steam. At present 1t k done by whlm, with which about two feet depth is made per day. The inten- ton Is to sink the shaft 800 feet before entering upon the regular extraction O. ores, or further development of the two immense led.es, the GunsiSht and Sil- yer Girt, midway between which the shaft Is being sunk through the country rock. But, as showing how nearly the whole hill will come to be a solic mass of ore, a three-foot ledge of wha' appears to be good ore has been cut il the shaft itself. Mr. Chalfant says tha' in his candid conviction the glowing re- ports of the great exte and value O! the ore bodies in the adjacent mines arr DO exaggeration of apparent facts. H. also saystha ID view or the great amount of preliminary work to be done, several months, possibly q year, may elapse be fore actual mining can be fairly begun It hoped and expected that water insuf fcient amount to supply mill right al the dump will be struck in the working shaft. The realization of that hope mus the value of the property ma teriallv since, otherwise, the ores vii have to be transported some five miles for reduction. Knowing something oi the actual condition of things and ths situation in general, NIT. C. gives Mr Bivlns, the General Manager and Mr. Caldwell, the Superintendent in charge decided credit for the pluck, energy and displayed by both, in meeting and overcoming the many difficultie, hey have had to contend with in bring ag, ,tliiss nrq5'eEtE. end 5hf araiTeeIy ad- Ianced state of development. But for hem, the first named especially, it is moi t all likely the district would have been leard of for years to come. Now it b'ds air to soon he one of the most impo ! ant in the entire Territory.