El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1898-01-19
WEALTH IN SULPHUR.
Ell PasO COunty's Sulphur Deposits
Rival Those of Sicily.

Rival Those of Sicily.
One of the grea test sour ces OF the as
yet unCevelCped mireral wealth OF FL
Pa-o county lies n the extre me north
cas- .eru POI tion of the Ounty, and Is IN
the form of almo limitless deposi of
nearly pure sulphur. easily accessible
std requiring but little capital Chiefly
for refining works. to place it on the
marke' IS a finished prod ct These
deposits fill numerous patelliform ba-
sins or C. aters of Xt.nct volcanoes on
The pleius southeast of the southern
point of the Quad alupe mountains, be-
ginning two to three miles south OF
Delaware creek and twelve miles west
of Guadalupe station on the PecOs VAL
lev railroad. So far they are known
to exist on some twelve or fourteen
sections Of land, and are believed to
extend over many more, though but
tive We claims have bean located and
these but specifically prospected by
shafts usually from twelve to fifteen
feet in depth, only one being as deep
as thirty feet, and all these in nearly
pure sulphur to the greatest cepth at
tanned. The region round about might
be called prairie, though dotted here
and there with low hills overgrOwn
with scrub cedar and covere with the
finest grasses Numerous springs of
pure water exist in the vicinity, and
TipnnS great spring ranch lies six
miles south.
Thee basius or craterS are usually
f. ON 800 to 700 ieet in diameter, and
toward the center it Geclin@s 10 a
d t pth of three or four feet, the surface
beng IN n covering of b ackentd
ear h, strongly impregnated with
sulphur, anu presenting the apper-
ance of having been bIackened with
su phuric acid. In one shaft, sunk in
the hope of striking water, a liquid
was encountered at depth of fifteen
fe ct, but on b ing tasted it proved TO
b. very strOog sulphuric acid, and
when the faster hurriedly elected it
from his mouth, adul, era ted with SAL
iva as il was, it stained deeply and did
some injury to his coat sleeve. 1t is
bells We d, however, that this acid is
small in quantity detained by some
so ia rock basin, and that it was form
ed by percol%ting rainwater taking
sulphur in Sutton as it descended.
"a indicating the process by which
these vast masses of sulphur were de-
posited. TIM has left no trace. AS the
country round about is gypsum, 1t
10 : hit be infe rred that both minerals
were deposited from sulphur springs,
or springs containing sulphide of by
drogep, which ,Ometimes deposits sui
phur by the partial oxidation of the
hydrogeu, a "a gypsum by the more
complete oxidation OF the hydrogen.
Such springs flowing into basin lake
,ht II covering the region would pour
limItless quansit. es of sulphide of by
drOgen (Oniy partial ly OXioized) down
the crattra of extinct volcanoes, thus
ultimately filling them with sulphur TO
unknown and probably very great
depths, while the impregpaJed water
spread out in tie soallow lake would
t.al W nd
deposit the gypsum beds now found
surrounding the cra.ers. Or, as the
craterS of extinct volcanoes las in the
case of Popocatapel) are frequently
| found plugged with sulphur, it may be
that this mi eral, in bilmated
state, arose from great depth ana was
precipitated on the lips and walls of
| the crater until the OrIfce was filed :.
But whatever the process of deposit
| ton may have beer, 1T is certain that
these deposits OF sulphur are of such
vast Xtent and purity that Ell PasO is
destined 20 rival the famous sulphur
deposits of Sicily, from which island
| the United S ates alone formerly lm-
ported $50, 700 worth of sulphur an
nual;y.
Near the surface of the basins in
que stiou, where more or less earthly
| matter has become mixed with the
| mineral and even pebble of foreign
rock are i'm be 1ded, the mass shows
| only about so per cent sulphur but
deeper down the sulphur is found al
most pure (9S per cent? and in massive
beds, finely lined with varying colors
ana resem bling the finest yellow clay.
Twelve different companies have al
ready treated and partially prospected
claims, and one of these companies has
projected railroad from Guadalupe
station over the PecoS VALLEY railroad
To the mines, there being already
fine wagon road over the south extend
ing thirty miles west from The Peco5
Valley road. AS these deposits are
| numerous. doubtless of great extent Or
depth and are Known to be exceedingly
rich. the tie d is an inviting one for
prospectors and small capitalists. The
material can be mined and refined at
little cost, and can be marketed at
wholesale at S32 per ton for roll and
1873 to S35 per ton for -four.