Mohave County miner., 1900-01-27

others lesser amounts The district then worked was
about miles square, Since those early days the hardy
prospecto has branched and gold has been found
the side of the range and down the river for miles
In fact the whole slope of the valley the 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 stream and in the mountains but after
the conquest of Mexico by Core they concealed all
of the old workings and devoted themselves pastoral pur-
suits believing that the Spanish lust of gold would spread
death and desolaton their peaceful land Being of
the of Montezuma they fully of the
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 54O he found
tribes of people versed in the ruder elements of irrigation
and agriculture. Near the Gulf a tribe which he
designated Cucupas. Above New river and extending
to the Ha-weaha-mook (BiIl Williams Fork) the Cuchans
Yumas) had formed settlements and engaged the peace
tu pursuit of agriculture The A-moch-haves were far
ter up the river The Aztec guide taken from the City
of Mexico by Aarcon spoke the tongue and conversed
freely with the tribes and regarded them 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
con great chief came and gathered up the venuresome of
all the great tribes and marched away to the eastward
After months of travel they arrived big river and there
ther course lay southwark Moons and moons of travel
brought them to great water surrounded by beautiful val
the many fights the way and of the tribes that were con-
quered Then came the history of the return of worn
weary and bedraggeed band of descendants of the once
mighty host that went forth to found newempire The
fear that even 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 gold and pre-
clous stones is 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
"orkmeh lie scattered about Here mined the gem
stones and gold that went into the workshops of Montezu
ma there to be polished and worked into eweled sbanes
mere IN this desert country the barbarc followers of the Az
tee god provided the spndor of the kingdom on the far
away banks of Lake Tezcuco
Father Marco del Nico also incnes 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 anclents west of the San Francisco mountains and
many unhesltatngly locate it in the mountains and valleys
bordering the great Red River of the West-the Colorado