The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-08-01

1t was learned yesterday that few
days ago. while fishing in Big Cotton
wood canvon, Dr. Witcher of this city
and a Nevada miner had discovered
silver placer deposits in a small gulch
that empfied into the main canyon a
short distance above the Jones big
power plant. and that after making
4 tboroueh and satisfactory tests of the
ground these gentlemen had located
200 acres under the placer laws of the
United States. The gravel, which car
Iies black sand in abundance, gave as
say returns of $1.4O and $40 in silver
to the ton, and if the deposit is a per
manent one there can be no doubt but
that the proposition Will be a paying
cna
After hearing of the find. Herald
representative endeavored 10 find DR..
Witcher, but was unsuccessful, so this
paper is not prepared to state the value
or extent OF the new discovery.
The idea of silver placers is a novel
one to many mining men, but old veter-
ans state that there are such. although
in the west their number is limited
MIR. Gates, an Old prospector and
miner, informs The Herald that in Old
y and New Mexico the existence of silver
D placers have been known for many
years. and that he has known of in
stances where silver nuggets weighing
several pounds have been found in
placers Of this description a. La Fave.
another vel known miner and pros
pector, who has Travelled from British
Columbia to the heart of Old Mexico.
corroborates Mr.. Gates statement,
and adds that in the early history of
the Constock lode in Nevada, when
miners were washing for gold below this
famous old ledge they were greatly
troubled by the clogging of the rifles
with a heavy metallic substance, which
afterwards proved to be sulphides of
silver. worth SO a pound
In view of these facts, it would not
be at all surprising to hear that silver
placeTs had been found in Utah, and it
is possible that silver placers will yet
be discovered at Silver Reef in Wash
ington county, where silver in its ma
tive state exists in sandstone.
J. S. Templn, the eminent expert,
now of this city. who has visited nearly
every mining country in the United
States and Europe, relates some very
interesting accounts Of the silver mines
of North and South America.
Silver placers, he says, exist on the
Hassayampa river in Arizona, sixty
miles below Prescott These deposits
have been worked for many years by
whites and AIeXicanS, and today the
work Of saving the white metal is GO
ing on there. The metal exists in the
form Of a sulphide, and in its native
state. mixed with quartz, and nuggets
Of silver are washed out ranging in
size from a buckshot up to sixteen or
twenty pounds.
On Conejos Greek, one of the tribu-
taries Of the Rio Grande del Sur river,
about sixty miles north of Conitas sta
ton, on the Mexican Central railroad,
there are also extensive silver placer
diggings which have been worked for
more than 200 years, the product being
native silver Thirty miles east of these
Dlecers there are tin mines that carry
from to SO per cent in this metal. and
in the same locality there are tin plac-
ers. the product of which is known as
stream tin. This is recovered by the
MeXicans and run into matte in adobe
smelters, the matte being shipped to
the City of Mexico and then to Swan
sea. Wales. Mr. Templin himself. fol-
lOWluS llt GAdIlilllG VI lIl6 MeAlca0S.
washed out and smelted $500 pounds of
this valuable commodity While inspect
ing the mineral resources OF that coun-
try.
Mr. Templin also states that there
are large silver placer diggings south
west of Mendoza and northwest of the
north line of Laguna del Muerta, Cake
of DEATH in the northwest corner of
Chile; and that northwest of Lake I'll
ticaca, and northeast Of Puno Peru,
which is the end of the railroad run
ming from Moilendo, $50 miles from the
Pacific ocean, there are historic silver
placer mines that were worked by the
ancient Aztecs; and 80 miles from
Lima, on the headwaters of the Rimac
river, there are similar placers, which
are located about so miles below the
famous Cerro dc Pasco mine, which is
the largest silver producer in the known
world; and it is believed that these
silver placers owe their origin to this
great ledge of the white metal
The new finds in Big Cottonwood can
Won may not prove to be rich or extern
isive; but it is interesting to know that
ssuch a deposit. is not without a prece-
dent. and that silver placers are extern
sively and profitably worked in various
PARTS of the world.
WILL ENLARGE THE MILL.