Rocky Ford enterprise., 1894-08-02

w. II. COMBS, well known mining
operator, has Just returned from four
months trip to Arizona and is at the
Albany. Mr.. Combs purpose in tax
ing the trip was to secure SOME valid.
able gold mines in the vicinity OF
Prescott for an Eastern syndicate. His
mission was entirely successful and re-
suited in securing the valuable group
of claims known as the Venezia group,
in the Hassyampa district, thirteen
miles from Prescott. The considera-
tion paid was large but the mipes arc
said to be Of great richness.
"There is quite romance connect
ed nth the discovery and develop
ment of these claims, said Mr. Combs.
'In 1885, Ferdinand Scopel, an ltal-
ian of the middle class, borrowed a
mule from Mexican and started out
from Prescott prospecting. He had
lust 81 in money when he discovered
the Venezia vein and on finding it of
such richness he began to work it,
putting up an arrastra, which he
worked with his mule.
"He took out considerable money in
the course of time, built cabiu and
brought his wife and daughter, who is
handsome and athletic young woman.
He purchased more mules and now has
six arrastras' running. He has twenty
four feet of water which he uses for
six months of the year, employing
steam the remainder of the year. His
wife and daughter help him to mine
the claims and run the plant.
"The daughter, who is pretty
girl, strong enough to throw burro
from the trail, and speaks five Ian
guages, packs the ore and wood and
runs the windlass while the wife runs
the arrastras. They have already
taken out and sold over $50, 900 in
gold. In the course Of time Scopel
has added six other claims to his orig
inal location and has done 1000 feet
of development work upon tho proper
ty. The ore is of high grade milling
quality yielding from SO to $3.50 per
ton. The vein itself ranges from
eight inches to eight feet wide. 1t
adjoins the old Crook property in
Crook canon, which has produced
from 5000, 900 to $500, 900, and 1t is
estimated that in the Venezia group
there are between 100, 900 and 100,
900 tons of ore in sight.
81 have been working for four
months to purchase the property for
Eastern parties and have at length Sc
cured deed for it. OF course, l am
interested in the purchase and will
manage the mines. We are going to
erect two fve-foot Huntington mills
and, for the present, probably TO-
stamp mill, which will be enlarged
later. ! have great expectations for
the future of these mines and believe
they will increase in richness as we
get deeper.
"Arizona is favorite locality for
Colorado mining investments. AL
ready number of fine prospects are
being worked and owned by Colorado
mon. The Lynx Creek Mining com
pany, principal among whose owners
are A. w. Rucker of Denver, G. w.
Ellis of Aspen and Willard s. Morse,
formerly Of Morse & Bush Of the
Windsor hotel, is working some splen-
did properties in the Prescott district.
They have taken out great deal oi
mineral and are making regular ship
ments of bullion. They don't make
much noise but the profits of the com.
pany are handsome. They run two
stamp mills and in one mine there is Q
ten-foot vein of $40 free milling orc
The Phoenix mine, Pine Mountain
property, also shows large body oi
high grade ore.
1.-THE Gladiator property in the Brad
shaw mountains is owned by Byron A
Shear, Senator Timmons and A: Falco
who formerly operated at Alpine and
Telluride, and lately at the iron mines
of Duluth. The ore is high-grade and
improving with depth, and a ten-stamI
mill is in operation on the property
The Crown King, near the Gladiator,
produces 81 900 per day.
'The Red Buck at Walnut Grove
owned by Frank Church, Mart Wat
rous, P. L. Palmer, w. b. Palmer
and Frank Evans, is a fine property
and a large stamp mill, which vii
start up in few days, has been bull,
by the owners. The Little Jessie
property in Chaparral Gulch, owned
by John s. Jones, who entered thu
district five years ago with 5000 as hi
whole capital, is now producing $50,
UUU per mOnUn. Jones uoW OWLS IhlE
teen claims.
1.-The United Verdi Copper Com
pany of Jerome, Arizona, is shippin!
80, 900 pounds of matte daily ant
Campbell & Wood of Denver are nov
building a narrow gauge road to th'
jerome property from the Granit'
Creek country to connect with tn,
Santa Fc, Phoenix & Prescott railroad
The copper company's freight bill!
amount to $500 per day.
"A fine property is the Butternut
owned by T. w. Roggs, son of ex
Governor Boggs of Missouri, who drov,
the Mormons out of the state in 1916
This property produces ore that run
20 per cent. in copper and $25 il
gold and silver. Boggs is character
He went to California with the ill
fated Donner party in 1916, when h,
was but ten years old. He is now 81
years of age and boasts that he ha'
never travelled on the cars. He ha
been in Arizona twenty years and say
the cars never caught up with him,
but they have always been behind him
''For twenty years he has mined il
the Big Bug district and fought In
dians. He has fine home in shad!