The herald., 1898-04-11

heat would be great were 1t not for th'
elevation of 5000 feet above sea level, which
gives the country a climate very mucf
like that of Southern California, though
not so warm as the interior of this coun
try in midsummer.
A LOS ANGELES PARTY
A small party consisting OF K. b. ray
loro of the founders of South Riverside
now Corona-and for years the president OF
the Citizens bank of that place. but now
of this city. who was the leader Oh the
party, and Mr.. John S. johnson
formerly OF Riverside, but more recently
of the Jackson hotel, Santa Monica, and
w. S. Parker of this city and A. 5.
Garrison of Sioux City, Iowa, also one OF
the founders of South Riverside, recently
visited the rich fields.
Mr., Taylor is a thoroughly reliable man
and a mining expert, and the informatlon
given by him in this article can, therefore
be relied upon as being thoroughly relia-
BILE.
Last December Mr.. Taylor Informed the
writer that he and his party were ABOUT
to start for a very rich gold mining coun-
try in South America, and that as soon as
he could get there and ascertain just what
the situation was he would write the 1uii
particulars for the benefit of the readers
of The Herald.
AN UNEXPECTED RETURN
few days since Mr.. Taylor and Mr.
Johnson, unexpectedly to their FRIENDS, re-
turned to Los Angeles, and Mr.. Garrison
returned to his home in Sioux City, Iowa,
as the two latter gentlemen had been taken
with malarial fever, and return nome
seemed to be the only way to save their
lives. Mr.. Parker remains in South Amer
lea. awaiting Mr.. Taylor's return TO tnat
country next May. Mr.. Taylor kindly con-
sented to personally give The Herald an
account of his trip and what he touno' IN
lien of sending the same by letter, as ne
expected to do.
THE LINE OF TRAVEL
IN the 9Th of last December the party
loft this city via the Southern Pacific for
Mobile from which place they sailed across
the Gulf of Mexico to the mouth OF the
Magdalena river in the United states
of Colombia, landing at Port Colom-
bia. From that point to Barranquilla, a
distance of 20 miles up the river, there is a
railroad, built, owned and run by Ameri-
cans. They love a concession of such
nature that all freight going up the river
must go over that railroad, as the river is
fmpassable at that point. The government
gave the builders a subsidy of $4,000 mile
to build the road, and it now earns $4,000
A. month, at a cost for running expenses OF
$4,000 a month Mr.. Taylor got these fig-
ures from the manager of the road. The
concession was to run fifty years and COM
menced about ten years ago.
The Magdalena river is navigable for
boats of light draft for a distance from
Barranquilla of 900 miles. The river is
somewhat like the Platte in Nebraska. 1t
is wide and shallow.
PROFITABLE STEAMBOATING
There is a company that runs five boats
I'D this river. They have no schedule time
on which to run. They go as they please
and stop as they please. They can make
the round trip in six weeks time, but they
may take as many months in which to do
that much work. They clear for each boat
about $4,000 on each round trip.
A SHORT, CHEAP RAILROAD
Mr.. Taylor's party took boat and went
UP almost 600 miles to the town of Puerto
Berrio An excuse for a railroad then
takes them westward to Coracoli, 2S miles
distant, from which point the hurricane
deck of mule must be utilized for dis
tance of about 100 miles, to Medelln, city
of about 40, 900 population. This is the only
means of travel over a mountain trail,
made by the government, between this city
and civilization.
THE MINING DISTRICT
Medellin is the center of the rich mining
district which covers a tract of mountain
and valley country extending about $50
miles in length by about 100 miles in width
in the state of Antioquia.
Within this territory are a number of
wealthy mining companies, besides thou
sands of people who work the placers
on their own account in small way.
MILLIONS OF GOLD
A French company which ships it's gold
out of the country once in three months,
made a shipment at the same time that Mr..
Taylor and his two sick comrades re-
turned home. This shipment consisted of
sixteen mule loads, $50 pounds to the mule,
the gold being worth $3.50 to the pound or a
total shipment of 81 ,12O 900, making grand
total of S4,4S0,000 a year.
An English company a few days before
had shipped out 1900 pounds of gold worth
s45O,000. This was its quarterly shipment
almost $2,0O0,000 a year.
The natives who work on a limited scale
sell their gold to the government, and this
shipment amounts to from $i0O000 to 500, 900
a month, an average of about $500,000 a
month, or $6,000,000 year.
MORE MILLIONS
On the Cauca river an English company
owns 2O,0OO-acre tract of land which they
use for various purposes. In the center
of this tract a stockade is built surround
ing 5000 acres of land, and within this
stockade are very rich placer and quartz
mines. They employ one thousand men
continually, and the shipments are un-
mated the amount at $1,5Oo 900 every three
months, or $4,000 900 year, and thinks this
is very conservative estimate of their
output.
Taken altogether, this section of coun-
try must produce 50 100000 a month in gold
bullion, or S24 ,0O0,0 900 year.
PLACER MINING
The placer mines have been known and
operated in crude way for years, but it is
only within a few years that they have be-
gun to attract attention. and in connection
with the quartz mining to yield large
amounts of the precious metal.
The placers as rule are not worked to
advantage. They have no machinery for
properly handling the water. and hence
the richest portion of the placers below the
water level cannot be worked.
LOS ANGELES COMPANY PLACERs
MIR. Taylor and his associates have Sc
curad a very rich claim and tteypropose to