Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1903-09-23

which scarcity q rain In their immed.
late section had caused to be much
less than ordinarily. A sick wife In
the house prevented him from enter.
tanning us at HIS own board but lie
placed at our disposal the vacant
house Of his son, Juan, and supplied
US with light, fuel and a full coffee pot
Of well-made coffee which with ouI
abundant supply Of cooked eatabIea
fully satisfied all wants Of the inner
man. A bright fire was made In the
fireplace, blankets and quilts spread
| upon the floor and an evening Of real
enjoyment entered upon. Its pleasure
was greatly augmented By the com,
pany Of Mr., Martinez who came fin 10
talk with lis ana who was drawn ont
10 tell Of the days Of long ago whom
he was boss Of thirty-nIne OK team
freighting outfits working for the GOV.
crnment IN The removal Of the Kiowas.
cummancfies and other tribes 10 reser-
~yations III the Indian Territory, Of the
terrible severity Of the winter when
animals froze To death In their tracks
and sno and sleet for Twenty-Five
days obscnred the sun. In this try
ing time his own stock al saved
only BY being turned loose along the
river banks whore they subsisted upon
willow twigs during the storms long
duration.
For twenty-five years past Mr.. Mar
tlnez has lived here peacefully on
the bank of san Pablo creek engaged
In numbering, farming and occasional.
" in politics. A year or 50 ago
through the fundamentally Of II. u.
Blake ne was led 70 prospect FOR min
eral In the high hills on his ranch the
result being the discovery Of copper
bearing sandstone in a large body.
This he Is now developing and recent.
" d shipment of thirty tons was made
10 the Matt+Standish mill where an ex-,
perimental run will be made as soon
as the mill is In operation.
Our guide and counselor, Blake, was
induced TO leave us for tho night by
the allurement Of Mr.. Ma~rtinez's guest
room where he knew there was a bed
OF pleasing softness. Charley and |
accepted the comfortable fireplace and
the blankets spread on the floor with
the saddles for pillows MS almost too
much luxury for people bent upon
camping out for this could be called
at most only camping I'M" At first
this was the way we looked at the sit.
uation. but as that floor kept coming
up through the bedding and rubbing
Itself against our tired bones getting
and harder with each move or
our bodies ms we turned from side to
side seeking a soft spot we con-
that the ground itself would
been a more comfortable resting
place and that Blake was not only
wise In tho mining business but n ge-
MUS In knowing d good thing when
offered To him as was shown by HIS
acceptance Of Don Dionicio's parlor
bed In preference to the bare
as a sleeping place. Morning
didn't come any too soon. We break.
tasted carly out doors In the warm
OF the sun; then strolled over TO
where the great lodge of white sand,
stone Is exposed from which the tests
OF value are soon 70 be made.
The next thing was to saddle up
and get under way bound for the Blake
contact vein located some two miles
the main range In ono Of the
foothills This vein has been deyel.
pped by a transverse working about
feet deep showing something
pf the extent OF the mineral bearing
which Il bounded by a well de.
lned wall OF limestone above Il but
Is Of unknown depth. Refreshing our
from a spring of pure cold
water on this promising mineral claim
We speeded away to the so-called
overflow mine OF the Blake Mining /
X Is but a half mile northwest
II the Martinez property and Is evi.
lently a continuation Of that. hence
appropriately
The Overflow.
Here Is an immense body Of min.
rallied rock lying exposed 10 the eye
md waiting for nothing 10 turn II into
but the drill and the blast and
he mill 10 concentrate It's values. To
something of It's extent and con
~