Southwest-sentinel. [volume] (Silver City, N.M.) 1883-189?, 1893-11-07
THE MAUp s. MINE.
1ta Discovery, It's Failure and Final
Succeaa.

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In the year 1887 but few prospectors
bad entered the narrow gorge Of Silver
Creek. A few pioneers, such as John r.
Eberle, Alma johnson, John Lambert
and a few others, noticing the great
assures filed with quartz which cut
through the rock-walled canon on both
sides, made a few locations. John Eberle
put up some substantial cabins in what
ia now known as Lower Camp Tor Crank
town. and then proceeded to do some
work on his various claims. Among them
was one good, strong, well-dedued vein
which crossed the canon obhquely about
two miles above his cabin and which he
named the Giant. ia short crosscut was
run on this claim through very hard
Quartzite and the vein was ~intersected
But alasl instead OF the rich, gsudy,
glittering peacock" ore which up to
this time had been the goal Of the pros.
pector's labors, and for which the older
~neighboring camp Of COoney had become
famous, q dry, barren looking quartz
encountered and was pronounced by
its owner as mot worth a -" and the
claim was abandoned. This proved to
be the character OF the ore in all the
veins, aud the few struggling prospeotors
did not feel a bit encouraged. Indeed
the outlook for a new mining camp was
anything but bright. That dry, barren
looking quartz, speckeled here and
there with black, certainly did not look
very rich, and one OF the. p~rospectors
upon his return to Cooney told them
that "he wouldn't pick 1t up in the road"
About this time Howard Wilson, q
negro prospector strayed into the Mog-
ollons with a small grubstake procured
somewhere, and started out in search Of
the precious, finally landing in Silver
Creek canon. While prospecting there
he encountered the same ledge formerly
located by John Eberle, and on following
il up, broke OF some OF the surface
groupings and. took them TO his camp
showing them TO his neutrality-suspicious.
who laughed at him for carrying such
worthless trash about in. his pocket. But
he did not think the rook..was altogether
worthless. 1t seemed TO him that in his
wanderngs through Utah aud Nevada
he had seen such rock before and those
black specks had been called sulphide
Of silver, usually carrying gold, and 1t
was the very kind ofrstuf they were
looking for, so he concluded'to do.some
work and get the ore tested. The first
assay he had made returned 80 ozs. Of
silver and nearly an ounce. Of gold.
Realizing that he had made q valuable
find and also that he needed a partner
to help in the work, he gave Ben Holmes,
an old veteran ~prospector, a half interest
in his claim.
The mine was called the Maud 8. IN
favor Of the famous little trotter who
had that year made her wonderful record
against time. The two men worked dill
igently and their labors we're not in vain
for the deeper they went the stronger
and richer became the ore. It was at
this time that Capt. NJ. Cooney, manager
Of the old Cooney mine, heard OF the
new discovery and paid it a visit. Being
impressed with the substantial o~utcrop
of the ledge and the various rich assays
which had been procured, he made the
offer that for one third interest in the
claim, he would move his five stamp
mill from Mineral Creek to work the ore
from the Mand S. The offer was &C
cepted, and after months Of hard work
in building roads over the dreRry noun
t6ins, the mill was at last gotter over,
put in shape aud operations commenced.
The result was disastrous. At the end
Of q year the mine was nearly twenty
thousand dollars in debt. just why this
was, will always remain a mystery. The
ledge held out handsomely, and the
only reasonable solution Of the matter
was that the managers had not thorough
knowledge N Iardlng the character Of
the ore and consequently a large pei
cent of the precious metal was wasted
The mill was then stopped and all opera.
tions on the mine ceased.
It was then that the negro prospectoI
found a rich pocket Of gold ore in what
is now known as the Elephant Cub, 10
Gated about one thousand feet east Of
the original discovery. He took out 9
few tons, mllled it, and with the proceeds
turned bis back upon Silver Greek and
his rich find. He finally reached Il
Paso, but the gay metropolis on the Dor
der, with its attractions and temptations
proved too much for his unsophisticated
soul, and one morning he woke up bro
ken in heart, spirit and pocket In the
county Jail. lie bethought himself Of
Mr.. Jack Fleming Of Silver City, who
had previously made him an offer fol
his interest in the Maud s. He wrote
to this gentleman, and the outcome Of
it wa that Mr.. Fleming purchased the
interest for q comparatively small sum
Some time after this Ben Holmes dice
in Silver City, leaving his estate TO b
administered by John Morehead. Thil
left the ownership Of the mines in The
hands Of Capt. Cooney, Jack Fleming
and the heirs Of Ben Holmes, represented
by John Morehead.
About q year after this Mr. John 7
Mitchell, a prominent miningman o
Silver City, while visiting the MogollonI
had his attention attracted by reports
1919. a.. Nh q n I'LL.