Sierra County advocate. [volume] (Kingston, N.M.) 1884-1960, 1893-02-10
FROM KEAN ST. CHARLES
ri Paso Bullion
KingMan, Arix, Jan. 81. '92.

OF the San Juan | on y had smal
piece OF paper left as the snax
and branches that oourssd M
while crossing through the Navajo
Reserve left littls clothes On no
back, taking pockets along Wit
the rest, hsnce / only sent in a fs'
lines to warn the boys that tn
San Juan was q fraud. When
say fraud | mean that there is n,
gold there that will pay the pros
pector or the investor to extract
1t may be that some Of thos, who
have located miles of sountry be-
lieve that there is something in it,
but If they do, they have a new
way OF finding out that / didn't
catch onto, As they were all rsclin-
ing in easy positions during my
several days prospect OF the camp.
Eating seams to be the regular
daily routine and thev shuttle the
cards to see who is to get up the
next day about nine o'clock to
build the Are Ii thsro was pay
gold there, which there is not,
new set Of man thsn those now
sneumbering the ground would
have to bs on hand to get it out
When | first struck the gold fields
(sxeuse the tsrm) Immediately
went to panning. took gravel
from the rim rock and former bed
rocks of The river. A little -four
gold was ths result in each case
about, | shoald Judge, one dollar
a mouth to the man if he worked,
and saved it. Aud now let me
correct general impression that
has gone forth tnat no bed rock
has bseA reached There are strata
after strata Of hard sandstone that
lios high and dry above the rivers
bed that once WAS bed rock, the
gravel being left as the river kept
c catting despsr into the sandstone,
whish may be tan thousand feet
thick for all anybody knows There
is as much bed rock above where
the river now flows as can bs found
in its bed. Ten thousand years
from now what is now the bottom
Of the river, will be = sand and
gravel deposit many feet out Of
water, and it will also have a few
little flaky colors OF gold; enough
to cause some poor well-msaning
suss to imagine that on bed rock
the nuggets will be big as pears.
| noticed that the color became
fewer as d-pths was reached in the
shallox shafts sunk in the river
bottom, aiming to get to solid bed
rock, which may be and likely lie
of feet below the river
bed, showing to my mind that
the gold there is higher than the
sand. No man has taken out a
cent in gold nor will any man do
80. Bones may f.sce the unwary
out OF few dimes by his monte lay
out and Sawyer get rid of his ba-
coz at fabulous prices, but miners
are dswn on their luck who attempt
to do better in the San Juan sheep
fields and will only get deeper in
the miro.
The Navajoes are dark skinned
people, but they are not d fools,
and as lsng as ths American suck
,r buys their ponies at race hsrss
prices and takes nothing away
With him, they will continue to
smoke the pipe OF peace cut of the
tobacco pouch OF the white man,
Ths blsxA-faced correspondents
who have the noble savage on the
war path and gold nuggets in pods
nave not bsAn near the gold fields,
md If they had bosn, they wouldn't
know a gold mine il they met it
Walking up the street with a plug
aat tilted over Its color bump.
will be in the White Hills be-
ore this reaches you. | am now
,i1ty miles from that place. Re-
ports from the White Hills are fiat
.ering and / see rich ore coming
rom thore. l will pitch my tent
here and attempt to unsarth some