The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-07-31
new MINES IN ARIZONA
REPORTS OF FABULOUS DISCOVERIES
CREDITED BY EXPERTS.
Two Districts which Are Said to Con-
tain Nearly All the Ores known
to Man-Center OF Activity.

At no time in the history OF mining IN the
Southwest has there been a rush into a
field which has equaled in volume the pres
ent influx of miners and capital to a great
recently discovered district in central and
western Arizona. Explorations being made
through the country north and far north
west of Phoenix are disclosing a wonderful
rich mineral territory; so rich, in fact, that
reports coming from there are apparently
OF a fabulous nature were they not borne
out by conservative mining men in the dis
trict. From Wickenburg and the Congress
mine. for 125 miles west. clear TO the Colo
RADIO river. and for many miles southwark,
lies this great area. which, until now, mas
been virtually an unknown land to the
white man. Without a doubt the dryest and
most desolate land in the United States.
and until a few years ago the home OF row.
ing bands of fierce Apaches, It has been
given a wide berth by the prospector. a
few daring gold seekers occasionally ven
tured to explore its trackless wastes OF
desert. totally devoid Of verdure and water.
but the majority fell victims to hunger and
thirst, or the quicker action Of the Apache
bullet. 1t various times daring prospectors
have found traces of gold and copper in
great quantities, but the inaccessibility OF
the region has prohibited thorough e~xplora-
ton.
Since the great strikes of gold made near
Wickenburg three months ago new interest
has been aroused in the Western country,
and. backed by Eastern capital, expeditions
into the district are being rewarded by dis
cOveries of a remarkable nature. Unusual
~ heavy rains and snow in the mountains
have lightened the task and put water IN
portions of the desert where that most
necessary of all things to the miner has not
been seen for years.
TWO MINERAL ZONES.
There are two distinct mineral-bearing
zones in Arizona. These zones run nearly
parallel through the whole Territory, ex-
tending into Utah and Nevada on the north
and Mexico on the south. each varying
from five to $50 miles in width and contain
ing within these limits all the well-known
mines of Arizona. The eastern zone fol-
lows the line of the Tushar mountains,
south in Utah. passing west of the San
Francisco mountains in Arizona, and in
Guided in this zone are the celebrated
United Verde copper mines, McCabe,
Crown King. in the Bradshaws, and far
ther south the rich copper mines around
Globe, and south, via Tombstone and Bis
bee. into Mexico.
The western zone takes in the De la Mar
gold mines in Nevada. and, farther south,
the Chloride mines above Kingman. the
Contact group and the old Crown Silver
Copper creek. on the head of the Bill Will
Jams river, and all the well-known mines
along that river. and. farther south IN
Yuma county, the Harcuvar and Harqua
Hala. Also in this district are the Con-
gress, which lately sold for $5.O00.OO0. and
all OF the wonderful discoveries near Wick
enburg and northern Maricopa county.
In both of these zones. and traced by the
same formations. as wei. as by a variety
Of minerals. each contains nearly all of
the ores known to man.
The geological is largely sedimentary,
also metamOrphic. Dykes that have been
forced through the upper formation, by
subterranean forces fitting the shales. are
in some instances nearly perpendicular.
Very large deposits of iron and lime are
seen along the entire length of these zones.
1t is the. southwest portion of the
western zone that is now being explored.
and only the vastness of the area to be
covered prevents a semblance to an ex-
have gone into the region. within the past
sixty days, and hundreds of others are now
Quitting for that purpose.
GREAT NATURAL WEALTH.
Two years ago A. w. Warwick, repre-
senting a strong English syndicate, organ
lied an exploring party and went into the
Bill Williams district, and Santa Maria
region, adjoining. Desert Indians had re-
ported enormous values, and they were fire.
quently seen going into Yuma and other
towns, with bags of gold, after trips into
those remote parts. Warwick's party spent
thousands of dollars in the examination,
and returned to civilization with glowing
accounts of the natural wealth of the iso-
lated desert. The country. they said, is
literally checkered with lodes, and the di-
versity of minerals is remarkable. Copper,
gold and silver are present everywhere.
The lodges cropping on the surface, show
inc n nTIFn lan6 NO tanfffrT
The Indians, zealously adhering to their
religious commandments, spoke of a coun-
try of remarkable wealth, but they refused
to define the location, as according TO their
theory Of theology, their passports to the
happy hunting grounds would be Cancelled
il they aided the whites in removing the
glittering metal from its resting place. The
natural things of beauty they believed
should be preserved for the native sons of
the soil. and they have made warfare on all
palefaceS who ATTEMPTED to interfere with
their real or imaginary rights.
The exploration party evaded rowing
bands of Indians, but in their close study
of the country. extending over several
months, they discovered several fresh evil
dences of mining by Indians. There were
also broadly scattered evidences of general
mining activity of former years. in which
Mexicans and Indians. before the arrival of
Americans in Arizona, employed crude de-
vices and machinery in extracting the min
on the surface. Arrastras of antique con-
structiOn were encountered here and there
over the workings. which had not yet ex-
hausted the surface richness.
DEVELOPMENTS PLANNED.
Warwick submitted a report, with maps.
to his company, which ~contemplates de-
velopment on a large scale. 1t is rumored
that this English syndicate is planning the
construction of a mammoth dam. on the
Bill Williams river. for the of
thousands of acres of fertile land adjoin-
ing the mineral land. as well as for the
purpose of creating water power. BY estab-
fishing agriculture there one of the greatest
costs of mining, that of transportation of
supplies. would be eliminated. The purpose
i'm securing water power is TO generate
electrical currents which could be wired to
all the mines of the district.
Wickenburg has become the center point
Of operation, and the old camp, after being
abandoned for ten years, has become the
l~lveliest spot in Arizona. For twenty years,
until 1850, N~ickenburg was the largest and
busiest mining camp in Arizona. Then the
Old Nulture mine closed down, and since
then Wlckenburg has been abandoned 10
the skul.1lng coyote and a few worthless
NeXicans. The great discoveries now being
made have worked a transformation in
the famous and ancient camp. 1t has grown
in less than ninety days from a cluster OF
wrecked and decayed shanties 10 a prosper
Gus city OF 1000 inhabitants. with new
buildings rising as fast as contractors can
90 the work, and with merchants who are
doing business of a size 100 times out Of
proportion 20 the size OF the city. in an
effort 10 provide for the millions of dollars
IN capital That are being put into the new