Weekly journal-miner., 1909-12-08
SILVER KING MINE
 HAS HISTORIC RECORD.

| The recent reOpenlng Of the Old Silver King in Pinal county brings back to the old pioneers the many stories of the early days when mining was done in a primitive and meager way. Of the many stories surround ing the different properties of Ari- zona, which were working in the early days, there are none more interesting than that of this, the king of silver mines, the Silver King. During the early part of the year 1871 General Stoneman, then in com mand of the outpost near where the old town of Pinal was later built, decided to build road to the upper Finals, over the foothills, in order to have an outlet to the south and east, and also to facilitate the carry ing of fuel. Accordingly with the help of the soldiers, he built what is today known as the Stoneman Grade and what is now a portion of the road | HUH lO
 Among the soldiers of Stone mans command was a man named Sullivan, who was at that time serving on his second enlistment, and it fell to this soldiers lot to be on the detail that was working on the grade. The work was very ar duous and tiresome to say nothing of the many great dangers through which these hardy men passed. One evening as he was returning to the | barracks he sat down on a rock to rest. Noticing a piece of rock that had a peculiar color he picked it up to break it. but instead of breaking the rock fattened out, being almost entirely pure silver. Sullivan went on to the camp. but said noth- ing about his find to anyone. Later on he tried to locate the point where he had found the rock, but could not find it. About a year after this Sullivan was discharged and a few months later drifted to a rancher 's, named Charley Mason. Sullivan re- mained here for several days and tried almost every day to locate the rock, but was unsuccessful. Finally he told Mason what he had found, and showed him the sample which he had found. Mason then interested three other ranehers in the quest, named Benjamin W. Began, Wm. H. Long and Isaac Copeland.
 These four men then took up the search for the mine. Shortly after this Sullivan left the house one day to search for the mine, and was never heard of again. It is not known whether he left the country or was killed by the Apaches. The latter is generally believed to have been his fate.
 Just about this time the Indians became more hostile than ever ow- ing to the fact that the government had withdrawn the soldiers from that district, and left the settlers unprotected from the depredations of the marauding bands of redskins, and the search for the lost mine was given up for two years. On Christmas day in 1875 the four named men started into the mountains fully arm ed and equipped for a stay of sev- eral months for the purpose of finding the ledge. One morning, while they were encamped on the south slope of the Finals, one of the mules which they had used for packing strayed away and Copeland started out to look for it. His trail led him to point east of the grade where he stopped his horse to reeonnoiter for Indians. While he was looking over the hills, he happened to notice a peculiar looking ledge of rock a few feet distant, and walking over to it, found that he had at last found the marks which Sullivan had made to relocate the ledge long be- fore. Riding back to the camp he told his companions of his find.
 This was on the morning of March %, 1875.
 It is told that the mule that so fortunately strayed away that morn ing was put on a pasture and never more carried a pack or did any work, spending the rest of his days as the pet of the miners.
 The locators worked the mine from date of discovery until June, 1876, when Copeland sold his interests to Mason. The price paid is not a mat ter of record.
 A few months later Long sold his interests to Began, and Mason and Began then became the sole owners.