El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-10-14
Gift HEARD FROM

This Time He says He Has a Sure
Thlnr-Dry Dirt Pans Out 500
In Gold Per Ton-Wil1 Buy Some
Blocks of Stock For Friends
Who Will Speak Quick.
A. w. Clifford, Familiarity known as
"Giff," who was one of the original
proprietors OF the San Antonio Light,
writes to his old friend, Col. Jas. P.
Newcomb, about his big gold find in
New Mexico. The Light reprints the
letter as follows:
Jerilla, N. M, Sept. 25. '99.
Hon. Jas. P. Newcomb, San Anto-
MO, Texas.
Friend Newcomb: In answer to you
numerous questions about the recent
finds of placer gold in this section,
I will not attemp to give you Q geolo-
gical description, for gold is where you
find it regardless of what competent
experts may say or believe to the con-
trary.
In 1878 when you and 1 were pub
fishing the old Texas Sun. L visited
for our special edition devoted to adj
vantages of FL Paso, Presidio, Pecos
and Tom Green counties, which we
pu blished in spring of 10. I was try
ing to run down at the time an old In
dian legend that told of q river of gold
where nuggets were found as big as
your 6st by the Indians who came in
from the continent of Atlantis and
for hundreds of years carried the
where Cortez finally found it by the ton
already coined into money, jewelry and
house utensils In the city of Mexico,
captured and sent 1t back to Spain by
the ship load. At the time 1 did not
find any gold nuggets, but 1 did find
plenty of unfriendly Indians, and rs l
had lost no Indians, 1 cut dirt without
luxuries of hot beer al 81
pany of few old settlers. most
of whom have long ago passed to the
happy hunting ground across the dark
river of death. Had some one at the
time prophesied that in '99 would be
presidsn of the United States, or SER
wing life sentence in the pen,1 might
have said possibly so; but to have said
that would be mining for gold ia the
Jarilla mountains, I would have said,
you are surely talking through your
hat.
From 1880 to 1882 this camp exper-
fenced temporary excitement over
the proposed building of the White
Oaks railway from Ell Paso to White
Oaks, 1T which time placer gold was
cial proposition. Placer ground was
located covering three by elk miles and
q dry washer used proving the ground
to yield from the grass roots, about IS
per day per man. but at the time water
had to be h hauled 5...u forty
q cost of IS per Dbl, and supplies from
III 81 vi . ho
failure of the proposed White Oaks the
camp was completely abandoned until
the spring of '9S when the enterprising,
pushing, working Eddy brothers insu-
gerated the Ell Paso and Northeastern
railway from Ell Paso, Texas, to the
Salado coal fields, q distance of ITO
miles, which instituted courage anew
into the struggling prospector, and the
camp again took on new life, and now
gives promise to the world of uncov-
ering the greatest gold find of the
nineteenth century. Coarse nugget
gold weighing in value from Is cents
to SO each was found on July 4th last,
which created camp excitement, and
within forty-eight hour placer ground
WAS located two by four miles. Tenn
porary crude rockers, sluices and dry
work of testing tho ground was carried
this month, when several dry
washers arrived and work began on a
commercial basis. The first fifty yards
of dirt from grass roots yielded 81 per
yard, averaging about $40 per day per
man. On Monday and Tuesday of last
Friday and Saturday dirt was encount-
cred that gave up 800 per yard.
Any one with experience or
knowledge about placer min
ing knows what this means. II is
simply astounding, goes ahead of Ca
lifornia of '49, Pixies peak Of '52 and
Klondike OF '97. 1t must be seen, felt,
smelt and tasted to be believed. You
want to keep an eye on US, for if it con-
begun, we will astonish the world.
This camp Jarilla is situated about
fifty miles northeast of Ell Paso, Tex
as, in Otero county, eNew Mexico, on
the New Ell Paso and Northeastern
railway, and embraces small range
of low hills fifteen miles long by three
miles wide of erruptive formation, car
rying all the ear marks for the max
ing of permanent profitable min
ing camp. In the hills are many
veins bearing gold, silver, copper, lead
and iron and the whole ia wonderfully
we'll mineralized. The leads have all
been located and up to date about
$3.50 900 has been spent by the different
companies in development work. and
the product has been about 5000 tons
OF ore which has yielded at the Ell Paso
shelters from SIT to $50 per ton.
The placer ground begins at the foot
of the mountains on the eastern slope
and extends down into the fat for
three miles. 1t may be more extern
sive and under excitement may be
located ten by fifteen miles.
It is dry camp. Water shipped in
by rail from Ell Paso and sold to min