Arizona republican., 1908-12-02
AN ANCIENT
 PAINT MINE IA Recent Discovery Not Far
 From Parker WHAT WAS II WORKED FOR :? It is Estimated That Its Con- tents Are Sufficient to Decorate the Whole United States--A Possible New h. dustry at Parker.
WHAT WAS II WORKED FOR |?
By Tom ShultZ.)

Parker, Ariz., Nov. 3O.-(Special cor respondence of The Republican.)- Among the many industries that will likely be promoted at Parker some day, is that of manufacturing minerat paint, a large deposit of which is located F miles north of Parker in the Monument tai Peak Mining district.
 The property consists of seven loca- tions and is situated about eight miles from the river on the California side and is owned by J. F. Raney of this place. An analysis of the substance shows it to be a very pure quality of ferric hydrate of iron and shows on the surface to be from 300 to HOO. feet wiGe and is located for 5000 feet. This immense ledge pitches to the south under a caDping of iron, lime and jas per.
 This property has been extensively worked in the past. by whom, quite likely, will forever remain. conjecture. Large quantity of stone hammers and axes are to be found on the ground, but nothing in the way of a utensil to suggest that any modern method had anything to do with its past eXplora- tion
 This property was located over a year ago b. Dave Harris, who was more energetic than any one has been since in exploring the holes made by these prehistoric people By erosion the incline shafts are largely blocked and one has to crawl in order to make his way through many places. The longest shaft, MT. Harris found to be 175 feet to the point of his investiga- ton, at which place the shaft took a sharper dip. Here he halted and roll ed rocks down and could hear them rumble out of hearing without striging bottom. There are several other shafts of more or less importance. one of which Mir. Rane. has a flash light photo. showing a large chamber, some 70 feet in diameter, that has been stopped. the roof of which, is supported by pillars of material left for the pur- pose and others constructed of stone. Numerous depressions over the surface mark the places where workings at one time existed but they have long since been almost obliterated by erosion and wash.
 
 terial in two instances. the first as fer ric hydrate of iron of a high order, va lue from :35 to $40 per ton, and the second. classed it as a high grade of red Ochre.
 The thing that strikes one very fore ibly, is. who it was that perforrsed this ancient mining? What was it that they mined? If it was paint, by whom and where vas it used? Evidences l prove that g vast amount of some thing was mined and if it was paint our lost predecessors must have been a very populous and highly decorative people
 The south extension of this property | is located for it's showing of high grade | copper and gold oT,s by Humphry & l Bowman Bros. The name of their | property is the Copper Bell and is most | ,avorably spoken of as having the pos | sibility of making a large producer. In | his cOnhection it is a reasonable sup | position that Mir. Raney's paint mine is . 'nly a leached iron cropping and that 'alues in copper will be determined up- )n development.
 The property is located within two niles of the county road leading to Copper Basin. A wagon road can be built right onto the mine at little cost Nr. Raney will, within a short time be- gin work intending to reconstruct and lean out one of these old shafts for he purpose of determining what night be at the end of it. If the pro- luct has a commercial value as a paint 'lr. Raney has enough to supply the