Bisbee daily review., 1905-05-09
TOMBSTONE THE
 COUNTY SEAT
Preparing to Add Its Golden Flood to the Wealth of cochise Couaty-Ex- traordinary Development Work in Progress.

ner Of the Territory and Stretcnlng SO miles and more along the Mexican frontier line and bordering for almost an equal distance upon its sister ter Titory New Mexico. Within it's linn it's are embraced 1SS full townships, more than 6,500 square miles of ter ritory. or 4,2O9,000 acres of land It's rugged mountains lifting their heads into the blue where the snow storms are yet playing hide and go seek it's uncounted measures of mineral wealth. much of it H1touched and un- located, its vast stretches of valley land waiting for the time to come when the provident husbandman with water at his beck and call will con vert it into garden spots as rich as the valley of the Nile, make of Co chise county even in its present prim- itive and undeveloped state one of the richest counties not only in the Ter ritory but in the west.
 Tombstone is the county seat of this rich county, and within the rec Ollection of those now living was the metropolis of all this Southwestern country, and poured it's treasures of silver and gold into the lap of intel lgent industry. Much of romance and history has been woven around the name of Tombstone, and tragedy has held the boards for more than one evenings show
 Edward Schefflin, the famous pros pector. located the first mineral, sil- yer mine, in the Tombstone district in 1S1S, and Tombstone was born in a night and christened for the mine which Schefflin had found and nam ed.
 No sooner had Schefin's rich find been heralded to the world than every prospector of the Southwest rushed to the new Fl Dorado. Every thing in sight was staked, and Tomb stone grew to be a city of fifteen thousand people, the metropolis of the Southwest, with the reputation of being the toughest place on the map.
 Many of the claims staked and worked in the last years of the sev- enties and early eighties were found to be very rich in silver and gold ore. Tombstone prospered and grew rich as the silver and gold was taken from her rock-ribbed hills. Substan- tial brick and stone blocks were erected, handsome homes were built, churches and schools were organiz- ed, broad, beautiful streets were laid off, and the town was in the heyday of its glory. But there came dark days for Tombstone, and the mining camp of which it was the pulse and life. When the shafts had reached a depth of 600 feet in their develop ment and search for the rich ore bod ies which they were continually un- covering vast flood or lake of water was penetrated. For a time this inn mense body oI water was attempted to be controlled by large pumps in- stalled upon the 600 level and work
 
 stalled in two of the many mines, and soon it was discovered that the pumping out of one mine had the ef- feet of unwatering the district. There was at this time many different min ing companies operating in the dis trict, and consequently many diverse interests and no unity of action to control the constantly increasing in flow of waters could be secured. Mis- fortune followed in rapid succession, the two pumping plants were burned down, the water rapidly rose in the working shafts and drifts of the mines, and the decadence of Tomb stone had come. After about eight years of productive activity, when speculation was rife and fortunes un- covered in a week, every mine in the district was closed down, and Tomb stone was but a memory of it's for mer greatness. During the period of the camps early activity it is esti- mated by the best authorities that gold and silver to the value of S40,- O00, 900 was taken out and made rich the early operators. The mines be- ing closed there was no occupation for the miner and laboring man, and he folded his tent and moved away. Saloons and business houses closed their doors, and Tombstone went to sleep and, as old Rip Van Wrinkle, slept for twenty years" All this time, however, the ore bodies be- meath the water levels and in many of the claims which had not reached that depth were just as rich as ever. In fact, from a silver camp at the surface depth was transforming Tombstone into a gold camp with ever increasing values.
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