Arizona weekly citizen., 1883-05-12

l It would be perhaps Tar better Tor tht
 reputation of thls paper for verucity il
 much of the following article wert
 omitted, for the statements made, al
 though truthful to the most minute de
 tall, read like exsSeration. Irath |,
 stranger than fiction, even in the hand
 matter-of-fact business of mining, an,
 in Arizona 1t Is paruculary so. for surel,
 no fiction ever portrayed such store
 houses of the precious metals as arc now
 known to exist In this favored land
 while the possibilities of the future an,
 practically unlimited. Mining here l,
 m its feeble infancy. lt is stlil chil,
 of hOp- that mus; develop irto th.
 strong manhood of gla-ions realIiy
 Here and there, over the hll.s and mouu
 taIns m almost every dlrecu 'n, appeal
 the visible evidences of the presence o
 the precious metals which he In th,
 rocky embrace ot the eteraal hiils
 awaiting the skiIlful tcil oi the sturi,
 miner to lay open the vastuess oi thel. treasures.
 The Great Architect O; the vast mi
 verse, ID Ills lncompreheusihle omnipo teDce, might have possibly created bet
 Ter deposits of gold. sllveg and copper ! than exist ID ArizOns. out up to thl, l tune tle fact has brel sau>factruN | demonstrated that He has not done so
 and despite pessimI-tIc foyebodlugs
 each slcceeiIng wear ot their develop
 ment brings forth better fruits than
 nave been gathered in the past.
 4 few years ago, when the venture i some prospectors StrollIUg over the hIils | about the Davidson mountains, near the ] Empire ranch, stumbled upon tue slight ! mineral cropplngs which, half out of a ] feeling of derlsiJn they named the To | tai Wreck, they never IT a moment in | their widest lma- -inIngs conceived the | shadow O thought that they had | found a mine that in few years would | become the pride of Pima county, and
 the scene of such activity as now exists l m the embryo city. Yet the desultury
 work to comply with the avs governing | the assessment labor, brought to light l better things than were expected, and when the prospect passed into the hands ] -E ! since brought 1t 10 It's present state uf ! development, they determined to set for
 ever at rest all question of the value of | the property, and tue prospecting work which has opened up one of the grand est orebodies m the country. For two years the steady labor has gone forward, 1 energetcally and Intei.iEeutly, and each
 succeeding day has br ught fresh eu-
 courag-meut and inspired a stronger
 faith Tn tue ultimate greatness of the
 property.
 A representative of the CITIZEN en- lnyed the privilege of visiting the IOtal
 Wreck mine, last Monday, and he Was accorded the rare pleasur- of thorough examination uf tine property from the surface of the ground tO the lowest
 level.
 Although under the guidance of Mr.
 Shaw, the foreman, who has had charge of the practical workings underground,
 the shaft was entered from the tunnel at tine depth Of 2l2 feet for a better de-
 scriptlOu the reader will accom- yany hun
 from the summit of the hI.l, at the hoist ing works, down tn Oughaut the dark subterranean passages below. As the edge lUclines from the top of the shaft at an angle of aDnut 37 degrees, a1 easy descent Is made by thelconvenient stairway that has been constructed alongside the tranway. Fms man shaft Is about 7X9 feet m slza and ls Well and strongly tlmberei with Oregpn pine throughout its entire depth of 35O feet, and its drifts, wings and stcIes are aisu finely braced wIsn strong and heavy timbers.
 Down the first level, loo feet, the vein IS seen through She tlmo-rS upon either side. although no ore has been stopped excepting f1r the last tuIrTy-iivs feet immediately above thls level, where for distance of sixty five feet the ore has been removed. On this level the south drift has been ruu T.. feet. in ore with d cross-cut Of 65 iust. 4 winz- from tuiz | level extends to the 2JD-f,Ot level-shnW- Iug ore aI the way. The north drift is l ID 97 feet, also showing a good body Of 1 ore.
 The ljO-fOot level has a south drift of | B feet, aud 27 feet from the main shaft | an upraise to the loo foot level, lowIng | a big body of very fine ore. The north | drift IS m l5 feet with some stoping in | a good ore body up about 3J feet. Be- | tween this and the lJl-fOot level IS . found body of yellow chloriies, very rich iu silver. So far most of the ore | used has come from the stopes on this | level, an4 it Is surely big body of good 1 ore.
 The 2D1-foot level has a souih drift of | IA feet with a WIuZe to the 3jJ-fout | level Considerable stoping has beeu begun from this level The north drift | Is m l05 feet, all m ore with cOusIdera- ble stopping ID a big body of hign grade | ore. The tunnel leading to the main | dump connects with level, and ore cbutes | from the several levels above terminate | here: and the ore cars are loaded with I ore from above by simply opening the gates of the clutes and letting It fall | into them. This being the main work iug level, and the point where the ore is delivered into inc cars. more elaborate work has been done to accommodate the The tunnel topping the shaft at thls level Is l4O feet 10 the vein and 24S feet Co the shaft. Tins point IS just 2l2 feet from the mouth of the shaft at the hoistiug works. The stop ing on this level aggregate some lS feet in l-ng h and in some portions It Is four stopes high.
 The 2J l-sDOt l-vel has south drift of i5 feet an ! a north dri of ll2 feet, all in ore. On thIs level, fifty feet from tue shaft on the north drift, the stopIrg has disclosed a body of very high gra ie ore, -ich ID horn silver. some s pecimens pf-l which are beautiful beyond Imaslna- .iou. The winZe from e2JI-fOnj level passes through the north drift of ulls evel to the north drift of the 30O-foot evel, and 1t passes the entire distance through a continuous ore body. F. })0-foot level has 8 sXty-fOnt drift iu he north, and forty-foot drift to the ;outh, where the drift passes under a pig body of rich appearing ore, m which 10 stOuing has vet been done.
 Down still deener the lowest level yet cached Is the 3j0-foot level, which has north drift of sixty feet, both iu good pre- bodies, of width yet undstermin' d.
 Tn the whole mina the ore body iu- 'reases both in quantity and quality as lepth is attained.
 The ledge runs nearly north and outh and the veIn has an easterly dip.
 A new shaft IS being sunk on the Alll- ide below the mouth of the tunnel which, at a depth of fifty feet, has 'ntered large ledge Of splendid ore that promises to surpass in extent and rich less anything yet found in the mine. Here, contrary to expedition, the ledge l lips into the hillside. and IS probably pur or striuger of the main ledge, and gill probably add is volume ore to the lready large body of the main ledge at he point of intersection.
 At the top of the shaft, on the apex of ' he hill in which the mine Is located, re the hoisting works. The building Is 5xS0 feet in size, and the works ara riven bv a 40-lorss power double en- inc. with locom tive boiler. A double ! ct of reels. 4 feet in diameter, run re- pectively the ore car in main shaft and { wood car on a tramway from the mill q a1,r