The copper era., 1909-02-04
In the CIiftOn-MOrenci District.


 The following article appeared in recent edition of the Fl Paso Herald, and while it does not cover all of the properties. it will no doubt prove in- teresting to mining people. Appear ing in an outside paper, it will give the outside world an idea of what disinterested people think Of the Clifton-Morenci district, which is destined to be one of the biggest mineral producers in the southwest:
 Morerci, Arizona, is the center of a great mining activity and from the present outlook the district will come to the front as one of the richest copper, gold and silver mining dis tricts of the great southwest.
 M5renci at the present time is not a business town, like Globe, Bisbee, Douglas and others, as the extensive operations being carried on there are under the direction of two big com panies, each having store and car ing for it's employees in the m1nner seeming best to its managers, but the operations are so extensive as to support population of between six and seven thousand in MorenCi alone.
 The Detroit Copper Mining Com- paHy has the greatest interests in Morenci, these interests being mines. concentrators, smelters, railroads, buildings, water works, electric light plant, ice manufacturing plant, hotel, club buildings and other struct- ures.
 There are no store delivery wagons but the butchers, bakers, milkmen and others, deliver on mules. A man rides one animal and leads another with wide panniers in which repose the packages for delivery.
 The milkman will ride up ringing his bell and leading an animal pack ing two large milk cans on a saddle designed to keep them upright, and be so arranges his milk sales as to draw about equally from each can. There are no runaway milk and bakery wagons, but occasionally a mean mule ''starts something' on a narrow trail and there is just as much excitement as you can ordinarily get out of half dozen city runawaYs.
 You aresurprised to see in Morenci a store building of cut stone, four stories high, which has not it's equal for size and appearance anywhere in the southwest. The stores of the Copper Queen company in Douglas and Bisbee may even exceed it in floor space, but not in appearance. There is a handsome hotel building magnificent club house and d large and beautiful school, all belonging to the D. c. company, as it is called for short. Each building for it's purpose . is in architectural beauty and in cost of construction fully equal, if not superior to any other building of it's class in the entire southwest.
 The Detroit Copper company owns thousands of acres of the best min, eral land in the district, and is pro- ducing all the copper ore it can handle with its present facilities The mines are fully equipped with the latest mining machinery and the ore mine timbers and other materials are cheaply and quickly handled by steam engines commonly called 'donkeys," small, but powerful and capable of climbing steep grades. The company has large concentra- %O laA eD ping its product direct to the mar kets of copper.
 The Arizona Copper company is also large holder of valuable min- eral lands in the districts, but it's principal reduction works are at Clifton, about three miles away on an air line and seven by a wagon road which starts from a point below the Morenci hotel in the lower camp. This company is working a large number of men in Morenci and for supplying them maintains a large stock of general merchandise, the main store being a large brick build ing.
 The A. c. company handles it's ores with electric engines, hauling from the mines to the large concentratOr and then taking the concentrates from the mill to the tramway. High grade ore is taken directly to the tram. This tram is reached from the Morenci side of the hill through a tunnel. Here the ore is loaded into cars running up and down the long hill by gravity and at the foot of the mountain is dumped into great bins. The narrow gauge road operated be- tween Clifton and Metcalf then hauls the ore into Clifton, where it goes to the shelter.
 Morenci is connected with the outer world by d narrow gauge road from Guthrie, point on the Arizona x New Mexico road, which, in turn, connects with the Southern Pacific at Lordsburg and with the Fl Paso and Southwestern at Hachita. This makes Morenci, as are Clifton, Met calf, Duncan and other towns in the same section, feeders for Fl Paso. This narrow gauge road is called the Morenci Southern and belongs to the Phelps-DOdge interests, as does the