Mohave County miner., 1900-02-03

others lesser amounts The district then worked
about two miles square Since those early days the hardy
prospector has banched and gold has been found
the east side of the range and down the river for miles
the whole slope of the valley the east side Of the
Colorado river carries gold in greater les quantity
Beside this great waterway have lived for centuries several
great Indian tribes In the centuries gone by they mined
the gold along the and in the mountains, but after
the conquest of Mexico Cores they concealed all
of the old workings and devoted themselves pastoral pur
suits believing that the Spanish lust of gold would spread
death and desoation their peaceful land Being of
the of Montezuma they fully of the
throw of the king and the conscation of everything
dear to the Aztec heart. When Alarcon, the Spanish
explorer visited the valley of the Colorado in 540 he
tribes of people versed in the ruder elements of irrigation
and agriculture. Near the Gulf tribe which he
designated Cucupas. Above New river and extending
to the Haweaha-mook (Bil Williams For) the Cuchans
Yumas) had formed settlements and engaged in the peace
ful pursuit of agriculture The A-mochhaves far
ther up the river The Aztec guide taken from the City
of Mexico by AacOn spoke the tongue conversed
freely with the tribes and regarded them as of his own race
Of people. Among these tribes he found many golden
ornaments of curious manufacture The Mohaves related
tradition that long time before the appearance of Alar
chief and gathered up the venturesome of
all the great tribes and marched away to the eastward
After months of travel they arrived big river and there
their course lay southwark Moons and moons of travel
brought them to great water surrounded by beautiful val
eys where they built up many villages. They told of
the fights the way and of the that were con-
quered Then came the history of the return of worn
weary and bedagged band of descendants of the once
mighty host that went forth to found newempre The
fear that into the depths of the would the Span
lard follow them caused the abandonment every pursuit
but that of agriculture That they mined for gold and pre-
clous stones evidenced every hand In the Great
Bend of the Colorado river and Mineral Park are the
old turquoise workings In the former place the works
are extensive and vast quantities of the precious stones
must have been taken out The crude implements of the
workmen lie scattered about. Here mined the gem
stones and gold that went into the workshops of Montez
ma there to be polished and worked into eweed shapes
here IN this desert country the barbac followers the Az
tee god provided the spendor OF the kingdom on the far
away banks of Lake Tezcuco
Father Marco del Nico also incne to the belief that
this was the treasure house of Monezuma and
that one of the old priests in the Mission Monterey told
OF the traditions of these Indian races which bear ont this
assumption All the early explorers locate the gold fields
OF the ancients west of the San Francisco mountains and
many unhesitatngy locate it in the mountains and valleys
bordering the great Red River the West-tbe Colorado