The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1893-06-24
FORTY YEARS STRETCH.
The Famous ssLost Leadv of Washing
ton County.
A Reported Re-discovery- Samples OF
Febulousiy Rich Ore Brought
Into st. George.

Judge E. G.. Woolley last evening re-
ceived word from St. George to the effect
that there is considerable excitement in
Dixie over the reported re-discovery OF
the famed "Lost Lead.'' Some parties
have just brought in to st. George SAM
Piles of ore from the Magotsa mountains,
about twenty-five miles northwest from
that place, which assays 2, 800 ounces sill
yer and some gold, and reliable men have
gone out to investigate the reported IND.
The history of the s'Lost Lead,' as
Mr.. Woolley remembers it, runs some
thing like this: Some time in the sos,
and before st. George was settled, two
men were going through that coun-
try on their way TO southern
California, travelling along the old Cali
fornia trail, down to the Santa Clara
river. Soon after passing through the
since noted Mountain Meadows, one of
the men, while lying down and drinking
from clear mountain creek near to its
junction with the Santa Clara, saw large
mass OF glltJering rock, which upon be-
ing lifted from It's bed in the stream
proved to be mineral of some kind and
very pure.
There appeared to be large ledge of
the ore projecting from the banks.
The men thinking the ore might be of
value, carried quite q quantity to the
Santa Clara settlement, about twenty
miles from the place where found and I've
miles west of the site of the present city
OF st. George.
Santa Clara was then an Indian mission
and but few white people were living
there.
The ore was placed on blacksm it'll S
anvil and hammered into shape, like IL
might be pure lead, but its value could
not be determined, as no one there was
well enough acquainted with minerals to
make any test.
The men carried some of the ore with
them to California, and the result was
that soon after one of the men returned
with a party to locate the mine, as the ore
proved on testing in San Bernardino to be
wonderfully rich in silver.
The party, together with some of the
men from Santa Clara, went out to the
place where the traveller supposed he got
the ore, but during the time he had been
absent in California one or more of the
Hoods for which that section is noted had
washed out the bed of the streams so
much that he was unable, after a long
and earnest search. to locate the place the
ore came from. The floods evidently
filled UP and covered over the place where
the ore had been exposed, and the bed of
the creek had changed its place.
The disappointed prospectors returned
to California, but other parties afterward
came and spent considerable time and
money in hunting for the now famous
Lost Lead.
Some of the men who were living at
Santa Clara at the time the ore was
brought there made several searches for
the mine, and it was but few years
since quite an effort was made by the
people OF that section to find the rich de-
posit of mineral, which there seems no
possible doubt exists in the vicinity OF
the Clara river, or one of its small tribu-
taries. There have been many small
pieces of rich float silver-lead ore found in
the MajoJsa mountains, but up to the
present no permanent ledge Las been
found.
There is very extensive deposit of iron
ore on the summit of the mountain about
where the Lost Lead'' is supposed to
| be, and carbonate lead ore carrying
/ from 90 to $50 ounces of silver to the ton
has been found on she opposite side of the
mountain, but has snot been developed
enough to determine whether it exists in
paying quantities.
Numerous pieces of gold ore have been
found in the Bull valley and Magotsa
mountains, and recently a ledge was
found containing low grade gold ore. OF
course "lost mines' have been quite
common in many parts of the country
and conservative people may feel it rather
to be expected of them to pooh, pooh at
the story of the 81 ost Lead' of the Ma
gotsa in Washington county, but there
are several men now living there who saw
and handled the marveIously rich ore,
which must have come from that
section, and it is but a matter
of time until the main deposit of
rich silver which exists in the Magotsa
mountains will be uncovered, if the in
vestigation now going on there shows
that the main ledge has not yet been
found.
Washington county with its great de-
posit of iron, lead, copper, silver and
gold, only needs a railroad passing
through from north to south to make if
one of the wealthiest portions of Utah.
Railroad facilities would also open up
new market for the great quantities OF
fruit and vegetables the fine soil and
semi tropical climate produce.