Southwest-sentinel. [volume] (Silver City, N.M.) 1883-189?, 1892-12-27

ulIerenl points 10 ieolll- INusuhloi
and below we give a part Of an
article clipped from the San Fran
cisco Examiner, which in speaking
of the oficials Of the Atlantic &
Pacific railroad company in pre-
tending to locate coal mines, was
discovered to be locating and pre-
pairing to work these gold fields,
and here is what the Examiner
says:
In the meantime an old pros
pector named French, who lived
in Winslow, began to wonder if
there was not more than coal being
looked for. His suspicious had
been aroused 10y the amount and
kind of machinery sent out, and
the fact that it always started out
Of Winslow at night.
About the 9TH of November a
party Of gentlemen left Winslow
one evening, and French and two
men whom he had taken into his
confidence followed them. They
went directly to the coal mines
over a plain wagon road. The
place was we'll known to French.
and he was certain that the men
he was following were not going
to stop there. Sure enough on ar
irving at the coal mine they only
camped over night and next day
kept on to the north.
In short, French and his party
trailed them up for I20 miles to
the point on the Colorado river
where the San Juan river empties
into it, and here they found their
suspicious confirmed. The coal
mine was a blind to cover the gold
mine, and the secret was out. The
parties in the secret had had all
the land surveyed and divided into
twenty acre tracts. The so-called
coal machinery was there and was
improved hydraulic mining ma
chinery.
1t is said here that when French
and his party came into the camp
they were offered $1,000 not to
leave for ten days, but one of the
party got back into Winslow after
they had staked off claims and
thus the news got abroad.
Williams, it appears, had found
both the placer mines and the
coal. Coming to Winslow he took
Mr.. Lesser into his confidence,
and it was decided to use the coal
mine for blind to cover a the opera
tons at the gold fields.
Every man employed or allowed
to go near was sworn to absolute
secrecy.
A trusted employee, Mr.. Karl
Snyder, n lawyer from Albuquer-
que, was sent clear around to Utah
in which territory the mines lie,
to the county seat Of San Juan
county, and there, under the pre-
text of taking testimony in a land
case, was made deputy county re-
corder, 50 that every claim could
be leaglly entered right on the
ground.
So far but one man has returned
from there, that beng the nan
Palmer, of French's party. He
made the most wonderful state
ments of the extent and richness
of the diggings, and stayed but
six hours, and then left at night
for the mines again.
Within twenty-four hours fifty
men were following on his trail,
and every day since has added to
the number, until the little towns
along the line of the railroad are
fairly depopulated.
Palmer said that the pay gravel
extended up the bed Of the San
Juan fifty miles, as far as he could
prospect before coming back, and
that every pan of dirt had every
where from a color to IS dust in
it.
The location is in a fearfully
rough country. 1t is about two
hundred miles north from here,
over a rolling, sandy country, des-
titute of timber or water. There
are nearer points in western Colo
RADIO, but the country is so rough
that the road from this point is
considered much the better, though
longer.
The find lies in San Juan coun-
ty, Utah, but being on the south
side of the Grand canon of the
Colorado, it is only accessible from