Arizona weekly enterprise., 1890-09-06
JEROME.
ONE OF THE GREAT MINING CAMPS
 OF YAVAPAI COUNTY.
Bad Roads---Better Transportion Fla ciIities Needed--A Big Mining Camp and one of Great
 Promise.

The Jerome Copper property, known as the United Verde, and one of the principal groups of mines in Yavapal county, IS To- cated on the northern point of the Black Hills range, about 2S miles northeast of Prescott, about 250O above the Verde valley. The houses are mostly built upon the side hill, their fronts being supported by timbers. The smelters are located at the head of small gulch, and the road runs within few feet of its incline, af- fording facilities for loading and unload ing supplies, matte and bullion.
 The transportation problem Is one of the greatest difficulties this mine has to contend with, the road leading up from Witherell station on the Prescott and An- zona Central, being difficult to keep in repair The sandy ground Is filled with boulders and at every rain the soil Is washed away leaving the road for miles one mass of boulders. This is especially the case on it's western end. These bould- CTS are often of large size, weighing tons. The storms of August 2nd and Sd left the road in an impossible condition from the summit to the foot of mountain. The waters gathered in the road and became raging torrent several feet in depth which tore up great rocks and hurled them about like playthings. The road could be great | ly protected by the construction Of cul- | verts to carry the waters across 1t before | they accumulated with too great force. | From the summit, which has an altitude of $500 feet above sea level, to the mine, the soil is composed of heavy clay and | does not wash, but becomes stiff and hard to pull through Men are constantly at work cutting oak brush to prevent the road from becoming impossible. The road question Is a serious one to the com pany, and many thousands of dollars could be saved annually if some practical person was placed In charge of 1t instead of permitting every teamster to act as all independent road overseer.
 An engineer is now at the camp for the purpose of ascertaining the cost of z
 bucket line from Yagers rass to the mine and also one to the foothills on the wes
 side. To Yager's pass it Is called foul miles, while it Is seven by the road. The
 company has also had a survey made iron
 the Atlantic < Pacific Railroad, for a rail
 way line, but the route presents many en
 gineering difficulties.
 The company has saw-mill on tht
 east side, with plenty of pine timber Il
 the neighborhood. Timbers F by |
 inches, and 16 feet ill length, are lai(
 down at the mine for $l.90 each, the hau
 being from six to seven miles.
 The hauling from the railroad station
 B miles, costs SS pel ton each way ant
 there are twenty-eight teams engaged Il
 hauling. There is grade of eight mile
 on the west side, and only light wagons
 comparatively speaking, can be used
 Even with these it requires from five t ! 1,.r l., rl-oA AI.r
 season many teams can be seen on tn
 summit turned out to await better roads
 the men with their blankets spread to dry
 In the winter season these roads are i'm
 passable and the work at the smelter suspended.
 The deepest workings in the Wad
 Hampton are 270 feet. Here the wate stopped further sinking The mine wa prospected eighteen months before tn i present owners completed their purchas, and prospecting is still continued. In tn i thousands of feet of tunnels and stope silver and copper ores may be seen sid f by side.
 f The native copper ore and the silver or
 are worked at the smelter; the ore that |, shipped runs from 34 to 45 per cent ' copper and g OF. in silver. The matte , sacked and averages 45 to So per cen I copper and 100 to 800 ozs, silver Thel . are two grades of matte; one giving 45 f 60 per cent copper and 100 to 300 Oz l silver, and the other 30 to 50 per cel r copper and 200 to 800 ozs silver.
 A reverberatory furnace of 20 tor F capacity is nearly finished. The otht : furnaces are 40 tons each, giving them n capacity of loo tons daily.
 1 Strangers visiting this camp shoul v provide themselves with blankets, as I < accommodations exist for guests. I'll e employees board and lodge in the buil' f ing owned by the company and the tray l. will not justify provisions for visitors Hay is worth SIP in Verde valley all $ brings $l7 at Jerome, distance of tiN f miles.
 i With better transportation faciliti d Jerome would become one of the mo p prosperous mining camps of noIthel II Arizona, and even with it's existing diff n culties in this respect it is paying han e somely as an investment.