Tombstone epitaph., 1892-02-14
OVER THE LINE.
X Few Items of Interest by Oac W hO Knows ihe
 Country.
FRoNTERAs, Sonora,

! fSU. C, lCS- ED. PRosPEcToR :-I have just ar rived from thirteen days trip to some of the mines in the Moctezuma dis trict of SonoIs, Mexico, and my prin- cipal reason for visiting there was to post the management of the San Luis Mining and Reduction Co. in matters pertaining to the shipping of our sister republican, custom house mat ters.
 My travelling companions were NIT. E. Guignon and Mir. De Moss of St. | Louis, Mo-, both shareholders of said company. We arrived at the mine after a very pleasant journey through beautiful country in many respects. had the pleasure of meeting MT. Gains Paddock, president of the com pany, and MT. Dameron, also a share holder, and as far as l could learn, these gentlemen were well pleased with the mill plant and mine. had the pleasure of meeting MT. F. V. Layton, the able superintendent of the mlne, well known Tn Tombstone mining circles.
 The ge eIeral developments of the mine show the master hands of a iudicious and able management in every respecV
 Being neither a mining man nor "expert' on mining, l took 1t upon myself to quietly crawl about on my own hook and responsibility to view the working of the lixiavation plant erected by MT. D. I. Nichols, and as l have passed a good deal of my time among machinery will say that it is piece of work doing great credit to 1 himself and his assistants-a bydy of frst--class millwrights and engineers, and not to forget, gentlemen" who | had hand in it's construction. l ad- mired it the more because 1t was | hauled by OK teams, mule teams, burro back and in all conceivable kinds a;.d ways of transportation known in new, and so to speak, unex- plored countries, and erected under many difficulties, comparatively speak ing, in a very short space of time.
 On my way home visited the Moe | tezuma Concentrating Co.'S works and mine-the concentrating works which are really and indeed a criterion to go by in mining in Sonora dealing with rebellious ores and are worth while studying. They are the results of the practical hands and genius of Mr. Willard Richards, d gentleman from New Jersey, who has proved himself a pretty a5le mining man, and ore who can well take his rank among his old and experienced and sun baked cousins Of Arizona.
 This plant chews up from D to 30 tons of rock daily into concentrates, and does it % we'll that the tailings finally assay but about 4 OF to-the ton, It is marvellous piece of practical work run in all by four mill hands and one engineer, and though labor saving machinery Is often condemned by th lsboring man, in this case il is a boon to ilim, for were it not for such | plants the expense of mining such ores would De too great, and equal to abandonment. This plant is 8 success and completely overthrows the saying that no man ever made a dollar at mining in Sonora. Mining at best IS a gamble, and even be mine 8 rich one, there is such thing as overtax- ing it with expenses, and thereby in viting failure, and such failures we have unfortunately many on record, where the mlne itself is not,to blame.
 had the pleasure of meeting MT. Lew Richards and his amiable wife and children, whose guest was until next morning, when I pulled out towards the United States.
 w. HEYN.