Arizona weekly journal-miner., 1897-09-22
wilin,. ,ircaL Cnai Flrln.

JOuRNAL-MINER. l-As l have seen in the JoURNAL-MNER that Prescott has proposition for a shelter, which, if successful, ought to make a pros porous country of Iayapai. We have Rllnes of good standing and value, and where one of lesser value could easily be treated to the bene- fit of miners.
 Now, in regard to a smeiter! Where does your fuel come froml Wood Is expensive and would soon give out, and coal and coke sent in from other states wold also be very expensive. Now, 1t has been charged that some citizens of Prescott ex- pended $50 each on coal prospect on Willow creek on my reeommenda- tion. This IS not so, as had noth- ing to do with such con ract. At the time it Was offered me l refused; first, on the ground of not having the right kind of an outfit to drill with, and second, l would not drill three holes each l50 feet deep but l said l would take such 8 contract if l could drill one holo on the ground, whereon the, authority of practical and theoretical engineer in coal mining, I expected to strike the vein from 250 to 300 feet deep At the time l had coal company backing me up in the enterprise, and they had given me a drilling outfit aud practical coal miners to go ahead and develop such country as said coal company was sure would lead to success.
 On the advice of some citizens of Prescott, who did not seom to like to have strangers come in and develop the country to the welfare of the people, l sent the drilling outfit and miners back to await help from the people who gave me advice and offered me what l wanted-a diamond drill, waieh never came because the people thought that $500 to $l,000 for a drill was too expensive.
 While the drilling was m opera tiOn, 1 noticed the formation very closely, and many of the Prescott citizens to this day do not know the good results which were obtained through the shallow hole which was drilled in a shaft fifty feet deep. The miners could not stay in the bottom of the shaft on account of gas, and they had to drill from a platform fourteen feet from the bottom of the shaft. The top for nation consists of sand rock of diff ferent kinds, mixed with lime, called coal lime stone, fire clay and slate. The gas struck and on drill | ing from there MILL STONE GRIT was found, which showed from sand stone to lime stone, gray, blue and black slate and soap stone, which changed Co a little stringer of coal about four inches thick, and an analysis showed that it was bitu- mlnouS coal of a very good quality. l sent away a description of the formation to a good authority on coal. Information came back to me, "wby did you stop drilling whom you struck this little stringer of coal. You would have found many stringers not very far apart, and 1 your drills should not have been stopped 50 long as you drilled in coal formation. Only granite and l gneiss should have stopped your drill"
 Now, I would suggest to the eiti- 1 zens of Prescott that, as at Prescott ! there is a diamond drill in our reach, 1t would be a good idea to get it 1 and prospect in the above section. ! If coal in paying quantities was struck, the discovery would not only 1 aid the smelter proposition by fur nishing cheap fuel, but it would l start manufactures and foundries. and would make our little mountain city better than a Klondyke or a Leadville. You can not take a gold l or silver dollar in business and dou- bic 1t in value, and you could take ton of coal and get three or four times its worth out of it, and it can be had with very little expense.
 Respectfully, PAUL LosKE.