Weekly journal-miner., 1911-10-25
HASSAYAMPA PLACERS.

LOTOWANA PLACER CAMP, Oct. ls.-The rich strike made yesterday by A. J. Hollis of Wickenburg has caused much excitement and today there have been numbers in the field
 looking for auriferous gravel. It seems that Kellis went to small wash just back of the Brill ranch, where dry plaeering operations were forwarded last year, and secured sample weighting 20 pounds, and, taking it into Wiekenburg. he banned it. getting a dollars worth of gold. A MT. Jolly of Jerome, was with him when he made the find. The gold this San Domingo field, and there was one 25-cent nugget. This dirt was taken from the surface of the wash and in but one place did he get to bed rock. Last year, it IS said, dry placermen worked this guleh for some distance and made big money. The finding of this rich spot indicates to all who have in vestigated at all, that the "flow of
 gold lis steady from some source further up. Some maintain that the
 eonglomerates carry gold in some quantity, and as the erosion of this material is constant the gold natur- ally is washed out of the conglomer- ate and washes down to the arroyos with the summer and winter rains. Others incline to the belief that the entire area of benches is covered with auriferous gravel which gradu- ally is washing down to the lower levels. This gold probably has been deposited, in part, for ages, and the balance comes from the erosion of the hills at the back of the field,
 where there are innumerable gold
 veins. some being regularly worked. The Kellis find has given the doubt ing ones much confidence.
 The success of operations here, how ever, absolutely depends upon water. The field is too far from the Hassay- ampa river to consider its waters. The building of dams will solve the
 well along with their work on the 1 first dam. They have an excavation
 probably 10 feet deep, 100 feet long, 9 feet wide-and this is filled over half with water now, when there has been no rain for a long time. This ' indicates the presence above of num- erous springs or other water sources,
 for this excavation is gradually fill | ing. The Tub Springs wash also has running water right now. In the
 large wash back. of the Brill ranch l i had some Mexicans digging for bed
 rock the other day, but they were
 compelled to stop, the water came in ! on them so fast. These things are
 coming to light regularly, and give
 confidence in the future and in the
 success of the placering operations.
 One old timer was with me the other
 day and after he had seen Sanger s and the Tub Spring and the big Brill washes he said: "There's water here | in plenty-and what a Gods shame | it is that people did not know of it | before. There have been many peo- pie die right in here for lack of water. when if this had been known they would have been able to dig a
 few feet and get plenty. For, if | there is water here now, l am sure there always is." And this is un- ! doubtedly the fact. Numbers of peo- pie have figured on the Hassayampa
 water The fact is, the placer ground ! for the most part is from two to four miles from the river. The Brill
 ranch wash is close enough that water | from the river may be used on part
 of it, but the balance must be saved