Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1903-10-22

rock here. scrutinizing canon wall
there.
Once she was so worn out by ex-
posture and hardship that she and her
brother took refuge for several weeks
in the squalld novel OF Yaqui Indian
family in the Santa Maria mountains,
some 10 miles from the nearest white
settler. All one winter they lived in a
cabin on the Sonora side of the
mountains, subslsting chiefly on beans
and pork, with occasional vegetables
bought from Yaqui herjers. A little
money was earned at Nogales and
Tombstone TO keep up the meager
camp supplies, by assaying for pros
pectors who came there.
But at last fortune smiled on Mary
West In May. 1897 ON the eastern
side of the Warren mountains, thirty
four miles northwest from Nogales,
the girl prospector came upon an out
cropping ledge Of golden ore that was
well worth any ones While. Several
months of manual toll uncovered the
property to show that it was valuable.
That was the beginning OF the Man
zanita mine, which has produced over
$4,000 in gold up 10 date, and has
still promise of more wealth.
Twenty-Five years ago Mary Vests
father was an assayer at the Little
Pittsburg silver mine in Leadvme.
Col. She is a native of GAINESVILLE,
Wis, and third born OF FIVE children
Our family lived within rife shot
Of the Little Fytsburg, said she the
other day in the office OF the Wiscon-
sin mine, so ! often ran over to the
brick assay Office at the mine where
father was busy all day. l had the
childish curiosity to know what he
was about as he crushed bits OF ore
from sample sacks all day long and
| performed various asasys in the ovens
and crucibles. He was a born teacher.
Before | was even II years old | had
rudimentary knowledge of what
silver ores were worth and how simple
assays were made. Father use 20
make private asays at home for gold
and silver prospectors. IN the course
of few years was helper to my
father, and l came to know a thousand
and one things about metallurgy that
all mining pTospectors should know
and few do know.
when father died the family was
left in debt and with no income. The
older boys went to Idaho and / be-
came teacher in a mining camp in
Colorado. Supporting my mother and
myself. | saved money enough for a
course in a Denver school of mines
during the summer vacation. | was
the only girl student ever at the in
stitufion. After finishing course at
Chicago university l became a fully
equipped woman metallurgist, the first
in the United States, | am told.
Two years more of school teaching
! followed, then the news of the silver
finds at Chloride, in Mojave county,
Arizona, reached men. With my
mother and younger brother ! Wen;
there and opened an assay office. 1t
was discouraging venture. Miners
had no faith in an assayer in
petticoats and mining there was on the
wane.
"A griZzled old prospector trudg I'd
into my office one day with a sack of
gold rock specimens from over the
San Lorenzo mountains and Maricona
desert. He had no money. and he
proposed that he and | become mining
partners, SO my brother and | started
/ for the claim. Those specimens were
all right and the ledge was a rich
one, but the property had beeh
claimed by three men before my
partner got there. We had no monev
for legal contest for ownership and
had no heart for stealing other peo-
pies property. So | quit. But be
came prospector right there. was