Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1897-06-04
A Mineral Section That is Beginning
to Attract Widespread Attention
Among Mining Men.
ITS DISCOVERY AND ITS DEVELOPMENT
The Porphyry bikes so Prominent in
the Formation of Badly and Eliza
BEETHOVEN Exten Through this
Promising Section, Which is
Described by Our Special
Correspondent.

tlon of wide extent, which 10 beginning
to attract widespread attention among
mining men. This new mining area is in
the same range of mountains in which
the camps at Badly and Elizabethtown
are located, and the porphyry dikes which
are so prominent feature at Badly, ex-
tend through these mountains. The
mineral lands are divided into two dis
tricts, the Bonito and Urracs, and are
reached by roads and trails running up
the oanons through which the Bonito and
| Urraca rivers run.
DISCOVERY OF THESE DISTRICTS.
In 1875 a party of placer miners visit
ed the Urraca gulch and near the source
of the stream located placer grounds, did
some work, and it is said took 1913 of
coarse gold from under one rock at the
side of running water. But the water be-
came unruly on account of rains, flooded
the little tunnel and the miners quit.
From that time until last summer moth
ing more was ever done in the mining
way on either the Bonito or Urraca, and
the parks and mesas we're given over to
cattle grazing. Last fall another com
pany of placer workers camped near the
abandoned works, and again opened the
ground, put in 800 feet of open slulceway
and began a shaft to bedrock, but again
the water stopped operations. However,
this second attempt was not failure by
any means. The fact that placer grounds
were being worked in the vicinity of
| tajp nh nd
prospectors, reasoning that where there
is placer gold there must be lodes carry
ing gold in the vicinity, began to come in
and explore the hills for leads of the lat
ter. All winter long the cracking Of
rocks, the digging of holes, and the
scratching over of deposits went on,
wherever the absence of snow would per-
nit, and now a number of very promis-
ing claims are located and work on them
is being pushed in a way that only the
fever and excitement of finding wealth
can impart.
TOUR OF THE D1sTRICTs.
Yesterday, with Mr.. Francis Citation as
guide and host, spent in making tour
of the two districts. Before telling of
the holes, shafts and tunnels visited,
word concerning the country and
streams will not be out of place. From
the Clutton ranch west the land rises
rapidly to an elevation of 1000 feet.
Some of the most picturesque scenery IN
New Mexico is to be found in the Bonito
and Urraca canons: "The Lovers Leap"
"The Tooth of Time," the Black mountain
peaks, three in number, and number of
other places are all to be seen from the
trail leading up the eastern slope of the
| mountains. Along the streams the can
ons widen out into magnificent pine
grove parks, green and inviting.
MAGNIFICENT SCENERY, FINE HUNTING AND
More pleasant places for camping and
spending vacation could not be found
in thousands of miles of travel. Game is
abundant. Black, Cinnamon, and silver
tip bears, deer, grouse, and turkey are
plenty. Bears are entirely too numerous
for the comfort of miners at times, since
they make raids on camps during the
absence of occupants and devour sup
plies in manner that is almost bank
/
trout tempt the angler.
The Bonito and Urraca rivers furnish
an abundance of water, the latter running
the year round, and will furnish power
for mills wherever it is desired. On the
Bonito it will require but little work and
capital to build reservoirs of sufficient ca
paoity to supply placer grounds with all
the water needed. The building of roads
into the mining camps is an easy matter
and the grades will be readily handled.
AS the haul will be all down hill the trans
portation of ore will not be expensive,
and ores can be delivered at the smelters
in Pueblo for $3.50 per ton.
MINING CLAIMS LOCATED.
:, In the ride over the mountains the fol-
lowing claims were visited in the Bonito
district:
The Clouthier, owned and worked by
D. A. Couthier, has shaft ~ feet in
depth, with the surface ore assaying Sc
per ton. AS the shaft goes down the ore
grows richer and the lead increases in
size.
Nine Thousand feet up In the air are two
claims, the Lincoln, owned by Craig.
Hixenbaugh, and the Missing Link, be
longing to Atkins d Jones. On the Lin
coin shaft has been put down 30 feet
and the ore on the dump shows $22.50 in
gold to the ton. A shaft is being put
down on the Missing Link, depth Of Ii
feet having been reached, the surface ore
assayiug $l1. Our visit to these two
mines was short. Up there the wind blew
n rory ;pb III ~ opar ho al ~
edge on it like razor, and We were
glad to find lower level and greater
warmth.
At the edge of wide, green park is
located the Fannie, the property Of
Charles Abreu and D. A. Clouthier, who
are now busy driving cross-out tunnel
into the hill, hoping to strike the vein at
it's greatest width and richness.
The only sensational strike yet made
in the Bonto DISTRICT, has been on the
Fannie. Two lots of ores we're recently
sent away for assay, the first gave re-
turn of SIC per ton, while the last showed
1928 in gold to the ton. Work on the
tunnel is progressing rapidly, and where
the main vein ia cut, one of the richest
finds ever made in the territory is conf
IDENTIFY expected.
THE uRRAoA DISTRICT.
Leaving the Bonito we began a CLINT
what was almost straight up, over the di
vide between the Bonito and Urraca. Whei
the summit was reached we dismountet
and scrambled and slid down, down, dowl
into the Urraca canon. At the foot of tn
mountain the camp Of Van Allen q LogaI