Mohave County miner., 1900-02-24
The district then worked was
Since those early davs the hardy

o+bers lasser amounts The district then worked
about miles square Since those early DAYS the hauy
prspec,o has branched and gold has been found on
the east side of the range and down the river for miles
In fact 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
conquest of Mexico by Cortes they concealed all traces
of old workings and devoted themselves pastoral pur-
suits believing that the Spanish lust OF gold would spread
death and desoaton their peaceful land Being of
the Of Monezuma they fully awarr ~ the over
throw of the Aztec king and the conscaon of everything
dear to the Aztec heart When Alarcon, the Spanish
explorer visited the valley of the Colorado in 54O he found
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
the Haweal-ha-mook (Bil Williams Fork) the Cuchans
(Yumas) had formed settlements and engagen the peace
full pursuit of agriculture. The Amochhaves far
her up the river The Aztec guide taken from the City
of Mexico by Aacon ske the tongue and convesed
freely with the tribes and regarded them of his
of people Among these tribes he found many golden
of curious manufacture The MOhaves related
tradition that long time before the appearance of Aar
great chief came and gathered up the of
all the great tribes and marched away the eastward
After months of travel they arrived big and there
their lay southwark. Moons and of travel
brought them great water surrounded by beautiful val
eys, where they built up many villages They told of
the many fights the way and of the tribes that
quered Then the history of the return of worn,
weary and bedragged band of descendants of the
mighty host that went forth to found newempire The
fear that into the depths of the desert would the Span
lard follow them caused the abandonment of every pursuit
but that of agriculture That they mined for gold and pre-
cious stones is evidenced every hand In the Great
Bend of the Colorado river and Mine al Park are the
old turquoise workings In the former place the works
extensive and vast quantities of the precious
must have been taken out The crude implements of the
workmen lie scattered about Here mined the gem
stones and gold that into the workshops of Montezu
there to be polished and worked into eweled shapes;
here in this desert country the barbarc followers of the Az
tee god provided the spendor OF the kingdom on the
away banks of Lake Tezcuco.
Father Marco del Nico also ncnes the belief that
this was the treasure house of Monema and aroux
that one OF the old priests in the Mission Monterey told
of the traditions of these Indian races which bear out this
assumption All the early explorers locate the gold fields
of the ancens west of the San Francisco mountains and
many unhestatinglv locate it in the mountains and valleys
bordering the great Red River of the West-the Colorado