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

face of the earth--or at grass roots" as
the miners say The story got abroad that
the National Bank al Santa Fe, N. NJ,
held over $500 in bullion that Doherty
and his comrades had mined with shovel
and rocker in five weeks. The report
seemed incredible for some time, but when
samples of the ore were seen by the
miners in Cochiti, Ell Paso, Tucson and
Las Cruces, i was enough to satisfy the
most skeDtical
A week later over 1900 miners from ev-
cry part of Texas Arizona, and Southern
California were moving scarcely stopping
70 take food and sleep towards San Felipe
creek. Hundreds Of men Travelled 800 and
400 miles on foot, and with mules and
donkeys' to the new diggings, and nearly
all of the excited men crossed desert ana
mountain for distance of $50 miles. AS
the multitude journeyed the reports Of
The richness of Doherty's find grew. until
II seemed as If literal wagon-loads OF rich
gold ore awaited che coming OF every mi
ner. Merchants and professional men in
Maricopa and Tucson. turning their bust
ness over to other hands, Joined In The
movement The hardships that the for
tuneseekers suffered In the mountains on
that stampede have never been fully
known A large number lost their lives
amid the snow and ice in the mountains
and many a man became an invalid for
life because of exposure. A severe bliz-
zard ragged In the mountains for several
days, while the miners were slowly trudg-
ing through them towards the San FELIPE
In one party of over 100 men from Texas
IbuI men were frozen to dedt0 one morn
ing, and twenty more died in the same
way in the mountains. To this day there
are In New Mexico and Arizona gray
headed miners who are minus a finger,
toe or an ear because of the terrible cold
on that stampede to Northern Arizona.
When at last the Doherty camp on the
San Felipe creek was reached. it was soon
seen tnat there was no ore IN the place
worth 'he digging, except by Doherty and
his friends, and that the reports OF their
find had been exaggerated beyond all
reason. Indeed, Dohertys own mine pee
tered out year or TWO later, and he got
only a few thousand dollars from IT, The
specimens OF ore that had been shown ia
El Paso and Tucson were the choicest
from the mine and not hit-or-miss pick
ups, as had been said Of them. How many
men got to San Felipe I'm that stampede
Will never be known. for IL was such an
awful experience. even for the toughest
miners, ard was such speedy failure that
a good part OF the men who Joined in it
have always been ashamed of The fact
Along IN the summer of 1875 a miner
well known throughout the Southwest,
named stevens, wrote 90 a friend, in Phoe-
nix that he had found claim that beat
anything IN mining this side Of the Com
stock lode in Nevada, and that with a
common iron mortar ard pestie he had
pounded out from $40 to 800 worth of gold
dusi day. The claim was located 100
miles southwest from Kingman near the
since famous Harqua Hala mining re-
gion), ard there was a chance, Stevens
letter sad, for other men to strike IL rich
OF course, such news as that could not he
kept quiet In less than two weeks that
whole part OF Arizona was deeply stirred
by the continued reports, which no one
seemed 70 have had time TO investigate. Of
the richness OF the mines that Stevens
had found
thousand or more miners. with camp
outfits and burrOs, started for Stevens
camp. 1t was a hot. dry summer, how
ever, and EXCEPT for several weeks Of
severe physical labor. some dreadful
thirst and the endurance Of a tempera-
ture that usually stood over 10 IN the
shade. no great hardship was suffered bv
the men. Arrived az the Stevens' camp.
Il was realized that there were claims
there worth working by about 100 men
Several hundred claims WERE however
staked out IN less than one day, but In
less than a fortnight the camp population
fen from LOO to less than 400. A month
later about 100 persons were left to do all
the mining at Stevens camp. 1t was
abandoned entirely ten years ago.
With the possible exception Of the gem
eral excitement of the stampede to the