Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1900-04-25
DESERT Is A GOLD MINE.

Thomas A. Edison had invented a Sc
cret process by which the sands of the
desert could be relieved of the gold
which lies in them.
But the scheme, while very COM
mendable, seemed too ambitious for
success. Lately, it a developed that
the Wizard has not only completed
his invention, but is getting ready to
put it to work.
h importance Of this invention may
be gathered from the fact hat such a
process, working successfully, would
multiply many times the production of
gold In this country. There are thou
sands of square miles of gold-bearing
lands in the United States that cannot
be worked on account of lack of water.
In the great desert of the south and
southwest there are vast expanses of
rich sands that might be made to give
up millions of ollar worth of gold if
the necessary water could be obtained.
A friend of Edison's, a scientist of no
mean repute, says.
ITO mining men this has been one of
the greatest problems and the fact that
a man like Edison was engaged in try
ing to solve it has been a matter of
the greatest interest to them. In fact,
they have had unbounded faith in the
ability of the wizard of electricity to
make good his promises, n there are
few people now who will dare to assert
that the secret process will not prove a
success.
while ore COMMENTATORS are not a
new thing, Mr.. Edison's machine is
nlq in every respect. The only
man, however, who knows the secret
of it's construction is the inventor him
self, and even when it is put in opera
ton no other persons will share the
Cn1pnf VIII t1n ouoorA:~~ 80 -~k~
employe who will be taken from his
New Jersey laboratory to assist Mr..
Edison in it's operation. The only thing
that the outsiders, or even the workers
at the mines, will see of it's workings
will be the gravel being dumped into
the hopper at one end and coming out
at the other end, separated from it's
precious burden of gold, which will be
delivered at another part of the ma
chine ready for the work of the refiner,
Those who construct the machine will
have no idea of how it is operated.
They will be given certain parts of the
machine to make according to designs
knowledge as to the purposes for which
the parts are intended. Some idea Of
the secrecy with which the concentra-
tor has been built may be gathered
from the fact that although it has been
in process of construction for more than
u S"h lAlO law LAAo LAG I dIl6S A1O
chine was to be used for that purpose
was not known by any employee at the
laboratory until a few weeks ago.
LAS soon as the inventor was per-
suaded that he had accomplished his
object he proceeded to organize a com"
any to operate the machine. Mr..
Edison then purchased the abandoned
Artez Grant, in New Mexico, paying
about $751; 900, 900 for the $4,000 acres. and
it is there that the machinery is now
being installed. The first plant is to
be located at Dolores, and others will
be set up at different parts of the ter
ritory.
Dolores lies in the very heart of the
Ortez Grant, but no one Would imagine
to loo at the surrounding country
that millions of dollars worth of gold
was concealed in the sun-baked sand.
Metallurgists have estimated that there
is between $500, 0O0, 900 and $500, 000, 600
in gold buried in the rocks and gravel
0 these $4,000 acres of barren New
Mexican ground.
while the history of the Ortez Grant
has always been regarded as somewhat
romantic, 1t is particularly interesting
at this time, when the eye of the entire
financial world is turned upon this New
Mexican waste. The original grant
was made to Antonio Ortez by the Mex
lean government in 1888, but at that
time it contained more h $4,000 acres.
This grant was patented by act of con-
gress in 1861 n was confirmed in 1876.
A number of years & Ii. 200 acres of
this land was sold to the Cerrillos Coal
n Iron company.
About this time the grant was ac-
quired by the New Mexican Mining
company. but in 1896 the corporation
passed into the hands Of Samuel H.
Elkins, as receiver. In spite of the
fact that the property contained mil
lions of dollars in gold no one had ever
been able to make the property pay
the expenses of mining and t~ransporta-
ton. Under the management of MI.
]1lkins. however, the property was
made to pay so well that all claims
against the company were settled in
full and the grant was in many ways
improved. Squatters We're driven from
the land, prospects were leased for
large sums, and finally the entire prop
erty was sold to Mr.. Edison.
1.-THE Oftez mine, which is the largest
and Oldest of the ore producing proper
ties on the grant, was located in 1888.
1t was soon in a condition to be worked
quite successfully. mule power being
used for the work. 1t was to obtain
proper pasturage for these mules that
the vast amount of land was secured.
and it is this pastureage that now con-
stftutes the great placer fields in which
Mr.. Edison proposes to work.
The first plant of the new company
is to be located in what is known as
Cunningham gulch. During the past
year many shipments of the placer
ground from the gulch and other points
in the grant have been made from Ger
rilos. which is the nearest shipping
point to the grant, and all ave been
addressed to East Orange, N. j. There
they have undoubtedly been treated by
the inventors new process at his abb
oratory and only Mr.. Edison and his
condants know the result of this work.
That the inventor has been successful,
however, is quite evident from the fact
that such a large amount of capital
1,ac conilrod 40 Loacilsx au ax-oal -4.- e~-