The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-08-01
THE LA SAL MOUNTAINS.
Interesting Letters From the Miners
Basin Country.


Gid R. Proper writing from Miners
Basin, in the La Sal mountains, Utah
to the Denver Mining Reporter, says:
/ There is probably no new mining Sec
/ ton in the western country of which
/ there is so little known as the La Sal
/ district, bordering on the western part
! of Colorado. Many contend that this
/ promising section of country belongs
, in a, great part to Utah, but as yet no
! Utah men have shown a disposition to
! develo&uits various resources In fact,
there are no other class of miners and
prospectors developing and exploring
/ this section but Colorado men In the
La Sal range there are about 300 men
engaged in prospecting and develop
ment work very few of whom are from
the Utah side. The majority are from
Cripple Creek, Aspen, the San Juan
country, and other portions of Colo
RADIO.
Like many of the valuable sections of
Colorado that are proving rich and pro-
ductive camps, the La Sal has had its
numerous drawbacks during period of
three years past. and not until the pres
ent season has anything been done in
the way of actual work. The result so
far has been that a fair showing is be-
ing made, and. most important of all,
we now have a class of experienced and
industrious prospectors and miners go
ing ahead and opening up the country
TO the satisfaction of all.
The question of the most practicable
route into the country is one of great
importance to those intending a trip
here. Cisco, a station on
THE RIO GRANDE WESTERN.
is the most feasible point into the main
range. From there a daily stage runs
to FL Monte, two miles from here, and
SO miles by stage. There are good roads
all the way, and if necessary. one can
easily make the trip from Grand juno
ton by conveyance.
The location of Miners Basin is a
natural townsite, at the foot of Mineral
mountain, the heart of the north divi
sion of the main range. Water and
timber are plentiful in every part of
the country. Nature. in its great work,
seems to have left nothing undone in
the way of creating this as the pros
pector's paradise The elevation ranges
from 5000 to 13, 800 feet-Mt. Wass be-
ing the highest peak.
The La Sal range proper is divided
into what is known as the north and
south divisions, separated by a low
pass, called Geyser pass.
Very little prospecting has been done
in the south division, yet one of the
biggest copper mines in the country is
being developed there, the Big Indian
property, recently purchased by Ed
Loose and others of Provo and Salt
Lake, from Captain May and S. n.
King, two well-known San Juan, Colo,
mining men. There is a big country
between Geyser pass and the south end
of the mountain, and, from reports,
some rich gold and copper veins are be-
ing discovered.
AS regards the formation of the
country, 1 can say the walls of the
veins are granite on the foot and a pho
nolite or porphyritic quartz on the
hanging. The trend of the leads is
north and south, with an occasional
dyke cutting the formation at right an
giles. These dykes are of a peculiar orr
gin, made principally of porphyry and
jasper quartz. The surrounding coun
try in the desert on the west and the
lowlands Oh the east is a. red sandstone
formation, and lays almost fiat, until
1t comes up against the mountain range, |
when the formation changes abruptly
to that of granite and porphyry The |
schist most invariably carries values
IN GOLD AND COPPER ORE,
while the porphyry, found found in
blowOuts and alone, is chiefly free mill |
ing rock, running very high in gold. In |
placer mining operations, all classes of |
float rock are found, some of which !