The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1893-01-10
NO PLACE FOR POOR MEN.
Cass Hite Tells All About the San Juan
Gold Country.


Gold Country.
Cass Hite, who has spent the last ten
years in exploring and prospecting in the
Henry mountains and the San Juan
country, has written a. long letter to the
Denver Republican, containing much in
teresting descriptive matter. He explored
the San Juan country at various times
from the fall of 81 to the fall of 'SS, when
it was a very hazardous undertaking to
visit that region. His letter carries out
the statements frequently made by The
placers along the Colorado and the San
Juan, but that capital can develop them
and make them pay well.
"Rincon. - he says, ''thirty-five miles
ADORE the mouth of the San Juan, is as
far as road can ever be taken down the
river, and is about ninety to hundred
miles to where it empties into the Colo
RADIO river. From that point the San
Juan enters and plunges through three
canyons that are dark and appalling as
the mighty canyons on the great Colorado.
see by the papers that they are claim
ing coarse gold in those places. | look
upon that as an impossibility. The Elk
mesa upon the north and the Mesa Gala
hasa on the south are entirely sedimentary
been found in the Sedimentary rocks is
fine gold. Coarse gold does not travel far
from the leads. The whole country has
lost several thousand feet OF its surface.
The great process OF erosion has worn the
gravels, bedrock and all down, down to
the sea. Gold being soft and heavy has
naturally ground very fine as it travels.
The only show, according to my belief.
for coarse gold in that region would be IN
CHI, crfrl lob M "a north n IF
the Navajo mountain, which is at the
junction of the San Juan and Colorodo.
They head in the trachytic formation of
that island mountain, and unless they
have found coarse gold in shale, mari
and sandstone, then there is no show for
nuggets outside of those few little short
cuiches heading up into the Navajo
mountain. You ask me my opinion and,
although 1 may be wrong, l do not think
there is any coarse gold in the country.
MUCH FINE GOLD.
But for fine gold, and large areas evenly
distributed. as fine gold most generally
is, that has great future. That entire
country is sedimentary rocks. Erosion
has caused that great box canyon coun-
try. and left between them high mesa
formations which show in the most dis
tinct manner the great strata of time.
The stupenduous belts of the sedimentary
often cut 2, 600 and 8, 600 feet in depth. A
stratum of quartz pebbles, many feet in
thickness, constitute one OF those great
blankets that cover that entire country,
and with that stratum | contended for
two wears. / never found anything that
a poor man could work, although l am
convinced I know of much good gold
property in that section that could be
worked at a good profit with capital
enough to put it in working order. The
gravel in that quartz stratum, the water
level of the stratas for miles, would sug-
gest that It was formed by glaciers.
The great canyons of the lower San
Juan and the Colorado have performed
the functions of mighty sluice boxes.
The fine gold and the richest of the black
sands, owing TO their gravity, have
dragged along behind all other matter and
deposited wherever th9y had a chance in
large and small bodies. and in some in
stances very rich. From the mouth of
Moonlight canyon It is about thirty five
miles to the confluence of the San Juan
and Colorado. That is very rough can
yon, and with but few gravel deposits.
Coming into the San Juan from the south
are Moonlight canyon, Copper canyon,
Foote' and East canyon, the latter being