The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-06-15

Leadvle mining district In Colorado,
there has been none In forty years that
equaied thar which attended the news OF
The hndlng OF great deposits of gold and
silver in Tombs tone, In Southern Arizona.
southeast from Tucson, In 1879. But that
story has often been told.
During the last ten years there have been
for or fye stampedes 60 mining camps in
the Southwest, In the middle OF the winter
of 1880 all of California as far north as
San Francisco. and all Of Arizona as far
east as Prescott and Phoenix was stirred
as IL had not been for several years by the
news that rich placer mines had been
found by some Mexicans In Lower Califor-
MIA seventy miles south Of San Diego
That was one OF the most spontaneous
stampedes known in this region. Sam
pies OF the pay dirt were sent TO San Diego
to be assayed one Sunday afternoon. the
assayer found IL would run over $500 to the
ton. Somehow the secret got out, and
graph operators in San Diego spent the
next two days and nights sending and re-
ceiving messages about the new diggngs.
Before Thursday morning some 5000 or
1000 men and youths were on their way.
by cars, wagon, horseback, ocean coast
boats, and on foot to San Diego and Lower
California. The hardware stores In los
Angeles and San Diego, and in every viii
lage for 100 miles around. sold every pick
AK. shovel, tin drlPping-pan, washdish. aud
breadpan they had on hand to personz
who equipped themselves for placer min
ing. For a week nothing but the discov-
cry Of gold IN Lower California, and the
Pacific coast was talked Then, when the
week was over, and the first persons who
had been down TO the mines returned to
San Diego, declaring the stories of wealth
there 10 be lies and the excitement over
The discoveries 10 have been manufactured
for purpose the Old miners went home
and philosophcally said, Il might have
told you so all the time"
The last Of the big stampedes TO mining
camps la the Southwest was that to tho
Harqna Hala diggings IN the spring of
1889. The mines were found in the north
western part Of Arizona, close to the Col-
orado river and the boundary lines be-
tween Arizona California and Nevada.
For several months in the winter of 1sS9-90
there came almost every week ne Ws or
the big prospects that a half dozen min
ers, who had moved from one camp 10
another in the territories and in Mexico
Tor nearly . generation, had at last come
across at Harqua Hala. In March ana
April quantities of gold dust and nuggets
from the mines came into the hands OF
several bankers in San Bernardiuo and
Los Angeles. The newspapers published
some figures as 10 the prospects at Har-
qua Hala, and in week or two there
was another general rush for the new
d.ggings The railroads did a great busi-
ness for several weeks, carrying men as
far as the Colorado river. From there
they packed themselves on the little river
steamboat at eXorbitant rates up to the
mines. Hundreds who had hardly a dol
lar to their names, tr0mped over the
mountains 80 and 200 miles. Some men,
in their wild anxiety TO get to Hardua
Haa with their camp outfit and all their
personal belongings, packed them in bar
rels, and rolled the barrels 100 miles to
the camp Several persons lost their lives
In this stampede. from hunger. In forty
days Harqua Hala grew from a popula-
ton Of fifty TO over two thousand. AS Is
generally the case, the few mines there
were taken IN before the news of the
find had gone abroad and there was noth-
ing for the deluded miners 20 do when
they got there. but sit about camp ana
watch their more lucky associates dig out
the rock. After a few weeks the mining
population at Harqua Hala dwindled away
at the rate Of 100 or more day A large
part of them are now searching among
the mountains, through the canons on
the desert and in the foothills for pros
poets OF their own. A good active miner
viii locate a half dozen mining claims in
year. but less than 10 per cent. of these
are ever worked more than TO remove
few feet OF rock and earth for a better
investigation Of the pay rock in sight.