Albuquerque daily citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1895-1903, 1902-01-29
JICARlLLA PLACER DISTRICT.
Old and New Methods of Working the
District.

District.
The following information is taken
in part from a prospectus printed by
the White Oaks Eagle for the Jicarilla
Placer company in 1898. and is proba-
bly, the most reliable data to be had
concerning the of the dis
trict:
1T has been conceded vy all authori-
ties for many years that the Jicarilla
placers are the richest and most ex-
tensive in the territory. if not the rich
est in the entire United States. All
kinds of tests nave been made of the
pay dirt and the verdict has been
unanimous that the deposit of gold
there is practically without limit, and
has a quality of fineness rare in placer
diggings, which fact has been demon
strated by frequent assay from the
United States minis, giving as high as
939 in fineness, or $19.40 an ounce.
showing the gold to be almost pure.
The locality embraces an area of
about ten square miles, having an av-
erage depth of about twelve feet, in
which the greater portion of h placer
deposit Is found, or about 1913 ,904 600
cubic yards OF dirt containing gold,
some of it running fabulously high.
Conservative estimates have placed
the value of the dirt at 80 cent a cubic
yard. 1t will be readily seen that at
this low estimate, that there are mil
lions of gold yet to be taken from
these placers.
"The principal gulches in the placer
district are as follows: Ancho, six
miles long; Rico, five miles; Juana,
four miles; Pine, five miles; Spring,
three miles; Soldier, two miles; White
Oaks, two miles. Besides these there
are other general and lateral gulches
that contain gold.
IN spite of the fact that until re-
Gently little water has been obtaina-
BILE, hundreds of thousands of dollars
have been taken out by the crude
methods of the dry washer, small rock
er. etc, or such devices as could be
constructed most readily and at least
expense. The rocker as shown in the
center of this page being the most gen.
orally used for securing the gold. h
natives here are obtaining water to be
used in the rocker by rolling great
snow balls and then melting it in a
vessel over a p~ineknot fire, others
have hauled water a distance of sew
eral miles, and still others have re-
sorted to catching the food waters
during the wet season to operate their
rockers, but none of these methods
have proven very profitable since the
early history of the camp when Otero,
father of our present governor, worked
a regiment of poems in the district one
winter and cleaned up, it is said, about
$50 900. The salary of these semi
slaves was small, if they were paid
anything at all, and their food of the
p~lainest kind, evidently.
Many thousands of dollars have been
expended, trying to secure water, and
all kinds of speculation resorted TO by
different companies; some OF the
schemes embracing plans for piping II
from Rio Bonito, forty miles south, and
from the Captain mountains, a dis.
lance of nearly thirty miles; but never
succeeded until the American Placer
mpan undertook it little over a year
ago, put in powerful drilling machinery
and obtained an abundance of water
at a reasonable depth. following which
they installed the Johnston placer
dredge.
The dredge is now il operation and
there is no brighter field anywhere for
this character of mining. The new
line, FL Paso & Rock Island railway
passes within seven miles"