Arizona republican., 1911-08-25
NEW MEXICO EXCITED
 OVER ASPHAL1 YUM LAKE
Discovery of Large Asphalt Deposit
 in Albuquerque

pNitS 'O De DeNOHu llle SlduOW Ol d doubt the most valuable kind of as-
 phaltum, the lake of unknown area
 and unknown depth. has been dis covered in the Zuni hills. New MeXi-
 co, twenty-five miles from the scene of the Seven Lakes oil strike, the discoverer being Amado Chaves, a well known attorney and land owner of Albuquerque. The Albuquerque
 Evening Herald gives the following description of the find:
 MT. Chaves returned to Albuquer- que bringing with him samples of the lcomposition, portions of which were immediately dispatched to asphaltum experts with the request for an inn mediate analysis. >The manner in which Mir. Chaves stumbled on to
 the lake of asphaltum reads almost like a fairy tale. The strike is about one hundred miles from here.
 With the intention of making a
 trip through the Seven Lakes region, with which he has been familiar since a boy, Mir Chaves left Albuquerque several days ago. He visited his old
 home in San Rafael, near Garcia, and
  country taking with him several com
 panions. While walking along in a
 certain part of the Zuni hills, Mir.
 Chaves noticed that the ground was
 rather wobbly; that it seemed to be elastic. The sensation one received when walking over it was like that experienced when walking along an asphalt pavement in a city, upon which the sun had been shining steadily for several hours. MT. ChaVes kicked away the dirt and noticed peculiar substance under the sand. Pushing a sharp stick into the ground,
 he was surprised to bring up a mass of black. sticky material, resembling mixture of tar and oil. Believing that the geological formation of the country indicated oil, MT. Chaves con tinued his investigations with the re- sult that he was firmly convinced that he was standing on a bed CT asphalt or some other kind of mineral. Securing a pole thirty feet long he and his companions drove it into the sup posed bed of oil and were surprised that it went straight down with httie effort The pole did not touch pot tom. The formation was similar Tor a distance of hundreds Of yards around. And if the material MT. Chaves discovered is asphalt, II IS present in illimitable quantities. There k a lake of it, the area and depth of which no one knows. It IS under stood that MT Chaves owns in ms nv, name q parcel of land on which a mart of the lake is situated. Ac- cordinr to those familiar with the reographv of the country in which inc asphalt find was made. the spot
 where MT. Chaves stumbled on to fortune is formed to q certain eA- tent like a basin, somewhat slmlldr to the crater of an extinct volcano
 When reporter called on MT Cb,,.os ,odav he was shown the sam nIos of the supposed asphaltum, some Inf which have been sent away TOT chemical analysis. The samples prov led to be a black, cozy' hquld' yer! thick and very black, having the appearance for all the world or as nbaItum ready to throw on the street which is being paved. NIT. ChaNes' although very enthusiastic over HIS find was not in a position to say positively that the liquid is asphaf. Expcrts have told him that 1t IS as nhalt however. and he IS almost poS' lively convinced that it is
 Peoplc living in the vicinity oI tiie lasnhaltum lake have known o1 US existence for some time, but did not for a moment realize its value. Ihey were accustomed to going to the place and securing small quantities Tor use in fixing horses hoofs which had oeeh cracked and for other like jobs.
 All in all there is every reason V' bolievo that Mr. Chaves and ms aS- sociates have struck it rich and that they will be the successtul pluuers i'i tho having of the streets Tn AIpu- oucroue. native New Mexico aspildl. of course. preferred to the lmpoI'eu
 article Asphaltum in the manuiac- lturcd state is found in parts of South
 America. Europe. Asia and the west Indies but it is not found in conner iciaI quantities in the United States | Ir found in unlimited quantities with in o hundred miles of Albuquerque, V ,vuI mean much for this city. The ma | is only another indication that tIe half has not yet been told as to t''e oxtent of the wealth hidden Tn NeN NIexico's rock ribbed hills.
 Ii is understood that a corporati'i has already been formed to fully eN- pIoit the find made by NIT. ChaVesy