Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1896-08-07
AN IDEAL @ OLD CAMP.
The Hopeweli Mining Camp-Its Geo
graphical and Typographical
Location and Mineral
Formations.
FIRST LETTER OF A SERIES.
[From Our Special Correspondent.

IOPEWELL, N. M August 4th.-lt
does not require a stretch OF the imagi-
nation TO assert with truth that this is
.sthe richest gold camp on EARTH in
surface wealth, while In every instance
where any depth worth mentioning has
been attained, the ore bodies have be-.
come richer. The Hopewell, or Good
Hope gold fields are reached from Tres
Piedras, on the Denver & Rio Grande
Railroad, over a good wagon-road, and
are situated 10 the Chama range, on
the eastern slope of the continental
divide, the distance from the railroad
being about twenty miles. Twenty
miles above Hopewell the Rio Blanco
flows down to the Pacific, while TWEEN
ty.ive miles west the Chama stream
descends to the Rio Grande. This dis.
trict Is wholly situated on government
land. and therefore IS happily free from
the curse of land grants. Among the
Oldest producers are five patented
mines belonging to New York in
vestors.
Although the district is an old one
as a permanent producer OF placer
gold, 1t was not until the past few
years that the prospector turned his
attention from the beds Of the various
auriferous streams to the quartz leads
on the slopes above. Many thousands
of dollars in course rugged gold have
been taken from these placers, year
after year, and sent to the minis in a
quiet, unostentatious way since 1880,
when d. M. Field, j. Nj. Bennett and
a man named Morgan made the first
paintings here of rich gravel. Field
got his first lesson in gulch mining in
Georgia, his native state. He was
''grub staked" by j. P. Rlnker who
previously heid a position in the gen.
eral affairs of the Denver & Rio Grande
railroad at Colorado Springs. Since
that year MIR. Rinker has permanently
resided here and is now about to see
his dreams of an ideal gold camp real.
liz d. He is interested in several Of
the richest properties in the district
and is destined to become a man Of
great wealth.
The H%opewell gold belt is about
eight miles wide, and is now being
p%rospected about fifteen miles in
length. There are about 200 prospect
ors in the field and several hundred
claims have been located, including
those in the Bromide and Vallecito
sections. No effort to boom the camp
has been made, nor is any desired.
Many of the property owners have in
duced relatives and friends to invest,
and development work is now going on
at a lively rate in every direction.
However, there are many good proper.
ties awaiting Investment, and there is
plenty Of vacan ground which invites
the attention of the intelligent pros
pector.
The main part Of the district lies in
q basin hemmed in by a quartzite
range. The gold belt is chiefly in
schist formation. IN which strong por-
phyry dikes are eminent. The contacts
occur in the p%orphyry, granite, quartz
lite and schist. In another mineral
bearing belt lime predomlnates. When
the ground is not covered with debris,
and the mineral-beariDg lodges come
to the surface, float is pientlfully scat
tered. 1t is the exception, and not the
rule, to pick up a piece of mineral
bearing rock anywhere that will not
pan gold. 10 the leads, the gold is not
only held IN the quartz, but is literally
disseminated through the iron-bearing
schist. Iron, both In the hematite and
oxide forms, is freely associated with
the collaborating quartz.
There is abundance of water, grass
and timber, and of these and other
natural advantages something will be
said in a future letter. lIopewell now
comprises t~hirty-fve comfortable log
and frame houses, and about as many
tents are scattered over the district.
There are two grocery stores, a post
Office, hotel, butcher shop, saloon, bar
Der shop and a well-equipped assay Of
fee.
More hotel accommodations are
badly needed, as there is no place for
one-half the visitors to eat and sleep.
Those coming u%nprepared must put up
with the situation as best they can.
While a large amount of work is going
on 10 the mines, there is no demand at
present for more miners.
Most all the mines in the district
are in ore from the grass roots down.
Several of them are being actively de-
veloped while others are taking out
ore for shipment or for treatment on
the ground, when reduction plants,
now in contemplation, will be erected
in the neal future. A Cripple Greek
company of mill men are figuring on
the erection of an extensive plant in
which the latest improved methods of
gold saving will be applied. The gold
values run from $5 to $500 n milling
quantities while assays of choice
streaks Of quartz run up in the thous-
ands Of dollars. Free gold appears in
every lode where some depth has been
reached.
Numerous contracts have been en-
into for extensive development
work this season. John j. Pace and
bis associates have laid out a tunnel
on which 400 feet will be run to
numerous mines in a group of six
claims they own on Iron mountain. A
of this promising property
will be given in the next letter.
Joe Scott, Pierce Murphy and Henry
of Las Vegas, arrived last night.
Two more Las Vegas outfits are booked
'or to-day and to. morrow. The Meadow
City boys are showing their faith by
heir works.
Several parties Of capitalists from
Colorado points, and one from Omaha,
Neb., are looked for,to arrive here any