Arizona weekly citizen. [volume] (Tucson, Ariz) 1880-1901, 1894-07-07
AT MAMMOTH.
How Impalpable Gold Be-
comes the Real Article.
A PROSPEROUS CAMP.
Work Cheaper and the Output
Larger than from the
old Workings.
A PROSPEROUS CAMP.

1t takes wagons that haul eight tons
to haul their gold, at the Mammoth.
Every day, three wagons to the team,
and three teams three times day, they
load the gold into those wagons. The
mules, eighteen or twenty of them,
strung out for six rods, strain and tug
at that gold. The wagons are loaded to
the pulling strength of the animals.
Not pound is left behind that can be
hauled. And the load is only for the
gold. The chute is opened and out it
GENES, twenty-dollar gold pieces, or tens
or fives, take your choice, gold watches
and rings and pins and pens and teeth.
Then daily they take the load of 162
horses-a total of third of a mile of
gigantic wagons and mules. The load
is only for the gold, but it is not all
gold. The yellow coins and baubles and
teeth are not safe in sight, so they have
been carefully concealed In dust and
small pieces of rock with which they
fill the wagons. So carefully is it hid
den that days together not coin, not
ring, not piece of gold so large as a
pinhead may be seen.
Hills of gold literally hills OF it-yet
there for weeks at a time not gold
enough is seen in the deposit to fill a
hens tooth.
This gold must go through three pro-
cesses.
They mine it, at cost of sixty cents
q ton.
They haul it to the mill at an expense
of eighty-five cents ton.
And they mill it, costing 81 ton.
Let US take bar of gold and follow
it from the mine to reality.
When that deposit of gold was laid
away, it was put in an ideal hiding
place. Far from the hauDts of men, it
lies, on high mountain, itself a good
part Of that mountain, hidden by a sur
face of wash" that the prospector of
only ten years ago spied through.
When it was brought forth, it was put
in good hands. Indeed the whole west
has no better mine superintendent than
Mr.. Andy Collins, while the mill is ex-
cellentiy managed by Harry Barnhart.
Method and watchfulness are the chief
characteristics. If drift does not hold
up the desired asssy-for every drift Is
carefully sampled, car by cart is not
worked. Then another sample is taken
at the ore bin of every car dumped, for
an average of the mine. The average
assay of the nine Is ten dollars to the
ton.
Occasionally from the outer world in
the vicinity of the mine may be heard
distant deep muffled "boomp' Drill and
torn gap into the cowels OF the noun
tain and left masses of dust and rock for
the enduring hills. Pick and shovel
work follow, car is called into use and
away it goes to the day. Our gold bar
has an inception.
The mountain that holds the gold is
capped by two peaks, forming a huge
and perfect saddle IN shape. Under the
middle OF the saddle are the mine and
workings. Mining men say that there is
not better planned mine IN the coun-
try than at the Collins property, and GER
tainly it so appears. Work was insti-
tuted on the mInes-there being moth
ing then but a couple of shafts-the 1st
of last February. From this Superin-
tendent Collins at once began supplying
ore for fifty stamps, and did his devel-
opment work beside. Today he has a
we'll developed mine, and as / already
said, one in good shape for all draughts
OF ore on it.
The air supply is No. ]. 1t is worked
on two main levels with an intermediate
level. Tracks are laid in the main levels,
and over the lower one are chutes,
where the car men draw off the ore.
IShould the outlet of the chute be
choked with a piece Of boulder as big
as a bushel, prod or two with the car
mans bar breaks it to bits. One char
acteristic of Collins ore is that it is
rather friable and easily mined and
crushed; another characteristic Is the
immense bodies. It's neighbor, the
Mammoth, was well named; and that
name would apply equally to the new
workings. The first work was done
right under the saddle, whence the ore
was let down on an incline, the loaded
car descending pulling up the empty
one. The ledge at the surface was fifty
two feet from the east wall to the west
wall. A rib worth anyway SO ton and
fifty two feet wide and practically bot
tomless! That saddle is indeed trim
med and lined with gold. And the vein
becomes wider with depth. A neigh
boring ledge widened from thirty-fve to
forty-fiye feet on development, besides
becoming wider with depth, and there is
no reason for this not proving the same.
All now is so well placed for the OBJ
tanning of ore that on the 1st of July
the force in the mine will be cut down
from twenty to fifteen men, while the
usual 125 tons a day will be supplied.
The cost per ton of mining, while devel-
opment was in progress, was ninety
cents a ton. Most of the ore is now
taken from the lower levels.
WHAT THE MULE DOES
Comes next, or the process of transpor.
tation.
Johnny" said Superintendent Col
Inns the other day, shows the waste?'
John at the end OF a big chamber
grinned. "Tbere amt any here" he
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