Los Angeles herald., 1905-03-31

With the discovery of vast deposits
of gold and silver ores in Tonopah four
years ago the state of Nevada has
awakened from a sleep which had
lasted for almost twenty years, or
ever since the close Of the excitement
over the fabulous mines of the famous
Comstock lode at Virginia City in the
early sos.
The excitement attendant upon the
almost unheard of values which were
being extracted by the leasers from
the Mizpah, Valley View and other
great ledges in Tonopah had hardly
ceased when ores of still more phe-
nomenal richness were discovered in
Goldfeld, twenty-five miles to the
south.
This now famous camp has estab-
lished in a remarkably short space of
time a record, and which it has since
maintained unbroken by single disap-
pointment, equaled by few if any gold
camps the country has ever known.
Small wonder is it then that the
Oldest inhabitant, the most conserva-
tive expert and the tireless prospector,
who for years has roamed these desert
wastes in search of the precious metal,
listens with dumb amazement to the
tales which now almost daily come UP
from Bull Frog. At no time nor place
in the state of Nevada nor in golden
California in her palmiest days were
such samples Of gold quartz to be
seen. That the famous Comstock of
twenty years ago, Tonapah and Gold
field of today were and are great is
known to everyone, but that the mines
of the Bull Frog in the Amargosa
desert are even greater is now al
most a general belief among those
who have visited that wonderful camp
and have seen for themselves her al.
most fabulous deposits of mineral
wealth.
The mines of the Bull Frog were
discovered and located less than a
short five months ago, yet at this time
there are people there by the hun
dreds, the town, Amargosa, has a
score or more Of eating and drinking
places, a half dozen general stores,
feed corrals, postoffice, in short a
thriving camp fourishes there, ninety
miles from the nearest railroad point,
where a short few months ago was
nothing.
The Bull Frog district is situated
south and east of Goldfeld in a spur
of the Grape Vine mountains and
fourteen miles northeast of the Fun
eral range, which defines the northern
boundary of Death valley. The town,
Amargosa, which is in the center of
the district is sixty miles south by
wagon road from Goldfeld, which is
the present nearest Quitting point.
The general profile of the country is
mountainous and extremely rough in
places. The Grape Vine range is
heavily timbered with Pinon pines,
which will supply timbering for the
mines for many years, and there is an
abundant supply of water both in the
Amargosa river and the Clark spring,
the water from The latter now being
piped to the town which it will reach
by gravity. and will provide a suf-
ticient supply for long time to come.
The altitude at the townsite is $500
feet above the sea level, and at the
Amargosa river bed, four miles dis
tant, 5000 feet. Freight for the dis.
trict is now arriving from three diff
ferent points-Tonopah on the north,
which is ninety miles distant; Ivan.
pah station on the Santa Fe, which is
south and distant 12O miles, and from
several points on the new Salt Lake
q Los Angeles railroad.
A weekly stage service is now be-
ing operated between Goldfield and
Amargosa. and ii is understood that
another is TO be put on at once be-
tween Caliente on the Salt Lake line
TO run bi-weekly. This will save at
least three days time for passengers
coming in from Utah and Colorado,
and when the Clark line is completed
to Los Angeles the time from that
point TO the new gold fields will be
shortened from six to three days.