Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1894-03-21
RIO GRANDE PLACERS.
Chunks Of Gold in the Garnets-Rich
Bars from COchiti to Taos
Mr.. Tenant Talks.

Mr.. W. "A. Tenant, representing the
Lucas Placer Mining company, of st.
Louis, is at the Claire. Mr.. Tenant has
just returned from st. Louis where he
took some samples of dirt to be assayed.
The property of the company is located
at the mouth of the Taos river, where it
empties into the Rio Grande, sixty. five
miles north of Santa Fe.
Mr.. Tennant tells some wonderful
stories of the placer diggings along the
Rio Grande, and it is hard to get him
to reveal the result of his assays, as he de-
clares no one will believe him, they are 80
rich. He says that it is his opinion that
the entire river bed from Embudo to CO.
chit is rich placer ground.
GOING AFTER GOLD.
Mr. Tenant said: "Some years ago
went into this section of tho country with
the full understanding that there was lots
of gold but nobody could save it. After
examining the ground thoroughly | ar
rived at the conclusion that | could save
the fine yellow stuff and determined to
try. l first located several good looking
claims and put in sluice box, and used
various kinds of rifles, with which I
saved "a cents yard on test run.
next went to work and built ditch, one
half mile of which gave me l25 foot
fall, and also put in two machines for
the purpose of saving the free gold.
CHARACTER OF THE GROUND.
"The gravel in that section of the coun-
try contains large quantities of black
sand, magnetic iron and what are termed
garnets. In our first process of treating
the dirt we lost all of the other pr oducts
except gold, that is, we lost tho
iron and garnets. There were as many
garnets almost as grains of black sand,
but we did not care for them. because we
did not think they we're of any value,
consequently we let the garnets alone
If the people who worked in tho same
country we are now working had known
Of the value of the little red stones, which
have been called garnets, they would
never have abandoned their claims, but
would have all become rich.
THEY ARE NOT aARNETs.
"lt was not supposed by any person, at
all familiar with the place, that any gold
was contained in the so-called garnets.
"When passed through here i've weeks
ago, had with me sack of samples
which took st. Louis to have assayed,
and tell you the result was SO great that
the company Immediately withdrew the
stock they had upon the market and now
you can not buy a share of stock of the
company. AS told, you we allowed what
we considered garnets to remain undis-
burbed Upon test and dividing the
different products of the sand we found
that the waste run all the way from $l35
TO $3.50 ton. The large quantities of
iron can be easily separated
with magnets and it runs all the way
from $12 to $50 ton. The small stones
called garnets are round balls of mineral,
the gold IN which can be seen with the
naked eye when they are crushed.
WONDERFUL DISCOVERY.
"Mr. Potter, of the St. Louis sampling
works, and man of discerning judgment.
'ays 1t is the greatest discovery he has
,ver heard of.
"Our property is about eighteen miles
lbove Embudo, in what is known as the
Box Canon of the Rio Grande. We intend
putting in en- amalgamation mill, as that
3 the cheapest and best way of treating
he sand. We have Huntington mill
md gold plates, and they are entirely suf-
icient at present. From mill runs we
lave saved SO per cent of the gold.
"The ground is easy to work. and
would be perfectly willing to take con
.ract to mine and mill all the sand they
bring for 81 ton. There is no doubt of
;he richness of the country, and there is
plenty of good ground left"