The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-04-18
THE MERRICK GOLD MINE.
A Reminiscent of a Lost Arizona
Bonanza.

Quite a large book might be written
of the exciting scenes incident to the
life of a prospector in the west, and
perhaps no country on earth is so re-
plete with the mysterious and the I'M
real, the tragic and the romantic as
the inter mountain region. and her peo-
pie are a queer combination of mortals.
Standing on the apex of the Blue
Mountains in southwestern Utah and
looking southwest towards the Gala
hasa Mountains and on beyond to the
Navajo range is country desolSte IN
the extreme. None but a prospector of
the olden time would have undertaken
a prospecting trip in a land so far from
civilization and inhabited only by the
bloodthirsty Navajo. Utes and Piutes.
Even now this section is $50 to 200
miles from any known habitation, and
it is we'll to be safe from the re-
negade who have made their homes
there for a nuSlber of years. Many
have heard of the famed Merrick Mine,
which was found in Copper canyon,
near the Navajo Mountain, in 1879 by
a man of the name of Merrick, the ore
from which being literally held to-
gether by wires of gold.
According to history and tradition
Merrick accidentally found this claim
while hunting for water 1t is a dry,
arid region and he had been without
water for two days and the sun beat
shade. He had wandered over the
desert. lodging tarantulas. rattle
snakes, centipedes and side-winders,
and at last stumbled rather than
walked into what is now known as
Copper canyon, far from the haunts OF
men, away from the scenes OF crime.
In this God cursed region he found a
small brook and assuaged his thirst
and started to return TO his camp; he
soon found that ne had lost his way
and was compelled to camp that night
in a cave which he believed was for
merlv occupied by the cave-dwellers.
There was quite a lot of ore scattered
around which he soon found upon eX-
animation to be literally covered with
free gold. He took p or 80 pounds of
the stuff with him and on his return to
civilization he found the assay Value 10
be 1916 in gold.
This was in the fall of 1879. and Mer-
rick. being a poor man, concluded it
better to work all winter and thus Sc
cure sufficient funds to revisit his mine
in the spring He kept his secret to
himself all winter-so far as known he
did not speak of it to a single soul. the
presumption being that some one would
go in ahead of him and steal his Won
derful find. The mysterious actions of
Merrick. however, regarding his trip,
aroused the suspicious of several and
they kept a close watch on his move
ments. He finally took a man named
Mitchell into his confidence, and the
two loaded their pack animals and
started for the mountains. This was
early in the spring of 1880 Just be-
fore they started. Mitchell stated TO
friend of his in the strictest confidence
that Merrick had said the mine was
in what is known as West canyon, one
of the canyons leading into Copper can
Won. near the Navajo mountains, in
Arizona. southwest of the Blue mount
aims about $50 miles.
In that day the least mystery in re-
gard to a find excited the cupidity of
prospectors and when it was learned
that Merrick had started on his trip.
it was only two days later that quite
party was made up. composed of
many well known prospectors and pio-
neers. and they at once took the trail
of Merrick and Mitchell. The party
consisted of John Sessions and Billy
Mathews of Parrot City, Colo; Noah