Arizona weekly journal-miner., 1888-03-28
Walnut Grove Ql9tYlct.

A gentleman who visited the above district for the JOuRNAL-MISER furnishes the following:
 The Great Placerita Country, in Wal. nut Grove Distric.-One of the richest
 and best portions of Yavapai county is
 that known as the "Placerita," and com | prises the western portion of Walnut Grove mining district. It is about thirty
 miles southwesterly from Prescott, and
 lies between Peoples valley and Walnut | Grove, and extends from Rich hill, on
 the southwest to the lower end Ot Skull
 valley and Copper Basin plains on the | northeast. It IS on a direct line and 1 range with the formation from Rich hill l northeasterly; Is about ten miles in | width and fifteen in length, and it Is ev. ! erywhere interspersed with lodges of 1 gold, silver, copper and lead, and almost ! every ravine, gulch and canyon con- I tains heavy placer gold, and many of them very rich. It is dotted all over with numerous springs of pure crystal l water, but Arastra creek and French gulch gre the only continuously flowing | streams.
 A. A. Moore's fine stock ranch and 1 range being at the nOrtheasterly end of this strip of country, and the stock ] ranches of Messrs. Fisher, Smith, Prince, Jackson, Carter, Campbell and Condron being immediately east of 1t, and those ol Gaines, Beach, Bashford, Miller, Hamilton and White on the west of it, and the Vacant plains-withOut water on the south. At least four No. stock ranches are now open for location and occupancy on this strip of country. The placer mines have only teen su- perfcially worked, and that by "dry wa> hing" process, although even in that way more than $1OO, 900 has been taken out of the main rlacerita gulch in coarse gold, somo of the pieces weighing over a pound, and one piece containing $9OO some four or five years ago Hon. A. w. Callen cold Grizzly'O conceived the idea oi taking water from Arastra creek into he rlacerita gulches in pipes and wash ing the gravel by hydraulic pressure, and formed company for the enterprise, dug a ditch about four miles in ngth from AGastra creek to the main Placerita sulch at its head, and demonstrated that water could he taken there and have :iUu feet pre ssure but just then the mil lionaire president of the company, Hon. I. c. Henry, became financially "tied up" by the Travellers Insurance com- pany in a $2,OOO,OOO lawsuit, (which few months ago was finally decided in Mir. Henry's favor,) and the company failed to further prosecute the work, and abandoned the enterprise, and the prop erty was sold by the sheriffon judgments against the entire company, except MT. Callen "Old Grizzly" bid in all the property and paid the company's indebt- edness, with money furnished him by his son, Jim $. Callen, who now owns the property. We anticipate that in the near future the son Jim will carry out his fathers, "Old Grizzly's" original plans, and form monied company that will dam Arastra creek, take water in pipes l to all the Placerita gulches, wash the gravel with hydraulic pressure, and take out millions of dollars in pure gold.
 The ledge mines in this strip of coun- try are too numerous to admit of c full |
 
 description for want of space. The Big | Rebel and Bonanza, owned by Jim s. Callen, are large and pay to work by arastra process for gold The Rose and Alta, owned by John F. Mahoney, are both good ones, and pay by arastras in gold, besides the Alta carries about sixty ounces in silver to the ton. In fact, MT. Mahoney, whose camp is two miles below "Old Grizzly's," on Arastrs creek, has lived there for the past nine years and supported his wife and family three children) from the gold obtained by working one arastra on quarts from his Rose mine. True, he does not get much ahead, but just think what capital would do with such . mine. The I'll Chance It, owned by Fred 2. Nagls, the