El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-10-30
CANANEAS
PROPERTY
A Most Interesting Story Of
the Famous Mine.
BATTLES AND MURDERS
Have Resulted From the Various
Disputes That Have Come Up
With Regard To Titles
Troubles May Not Be Over Yet

Troubles May Not Be Over Yet.
The decision just rendered by the
supreme court OF Mexico. giving w. c.
tireene clear title tn the Cananeas
mining property in Sonora" said J. E.
Clubhouse yesterday. recalls to me the
Interesting history of that much fought
for property
Il remember distinctly when the
property was first opened by Ameri-
cans in 1879. and have watched the
fight with interest up to the beginning
of this suit. The property was work
ed by the Spaniards or Indians long
before an American had explored that
country but for some unknown reason
the mines had been abandoned. In
1879 Dick Jacobs. Payson and the
Barnes brothers opened the mines and
worked them extensively for three
years. The low price of copper caused
their failure and all four of the men
lost all they had. Starvation staring
them in the face they left the camp
and returned to- California to begin
their career anew.
The property was then forgotten for
two years but in 1884 an old prospec-
tor named George Kilt located the
mines again while going over the es-
tate of Governor Piscaro. then gov
ernor of the state of Sonora. With
two associates. Bennett and Benham.
he organized n company of Ohio peo-
pie and again began developing the
property. This was during the excite
ment at Tombstone. Arizona. when
that section of the west was making
history. The greed of prospectors and
spectators. the imperfect mining laws
and hundreds of other things kept the
country in constant trouble and Can
aneas had its share. Fights. riots and
even battles We're not uncommon and
many a man crossed the river in
his efforts to have his way.
Bennett and Benham put in a smell
ter at the Cananeas and began opera
lions on an extensive scale At times
when copper would rise in value it
looked like they had struck il rich.
They had several hundred men en-
plOyed- In the spring of 1884. just af-
Ter Bennett and Benham took hold of
the property. riots were almost every
day occurrences. On one occasion an
American teamster struck a Mexican
boy with whip and the result was
the calling out of the Mexican troops
by Governor PiScare. The Mexican en-
ployes became indignant and made an
attack on the teamSter. He escaped to
the camps of the Americans and there
battle ensued. There were about
fifty people on each side and the rum
known To this day. Governor Piscaro
called ont the troops and ended the
disturbance and for time at least
all was quiet. 1t was later renewed
however. and nothing like peace was
known then for years.
Benham was a rather proud east
erner and never knew how to handle
Mexican labor He brought a fine
team to Cananeas and spent much of
his time driving over the hills. One
day he told Mexican to take his team
and exercise them. The Mexican
obeyed and gave the team more exer-
else than they could stand. One horse
died from the effect. Benham en-
ragged at the act reprimanded the Mex
lean and was in the act of furnishing
him when the Mexican grabbed a shot
gun and emptied its contents into Ben
hams head. He died instantly and his
vie shipped his remains to his eastern
home.
With the death of Benham trouble
began again and has not ended yet
In 1886 the company failed on account
of the low price of copper together
with bad management and the mines
were deserted for the third time. They
had built big smelter but before they
left the Smelter was taken piece by
piece to Tombstone and sold. Just
here a piece OF history not confirmed
comes in. 1t is said that a stranger
took up the property but being unable
to work hired a Chinaman to watch
it. He came back several years later
and the Chinaman demanded his mon
ey- The stranger refused to- pay and
the Chinaman killed him with an az
The mines were forgotten again until
w G. Greene came along in 1894.
Greene was once a cowboy running
around Tombstone and was then a
typical western customer with the
small fortune of horse and saddle
He made a trip into the Cananeas
country and found the mines over
which so many men had been killed.
He returned to Tombstone and mar
ried a rich widow and with her money
began the development of the mines
again. He interested eastern capital
and put up another Smelter but when
he was ready to- operate the mines ex-
tensively old owners of the property
came in and began worrying him. The
rest of the story Is too fresh in the
minds of the public to he related as
an old story. Greene received title
to the property in the supreme court of
Mexico last week but has several suits
in the courts of Arizona and the out
come of it all is yet some distance
in the future"