Arizona republican., 1917-06-17

Prices still continued so low that at a meeting in New York, before l went west in October to inspect the Seven Devils district of Idaho, l recollect the most flattering anticipation we could entertain was that at present copper prices it would take us three years to pay off our debt: Before I returned east the French syndicate had been organ ized and we were negotiating sales to Nj Secretan for three years at 14A. 131i and 12A cents.
 The S300,00 debt evaporated like dew. The ore. after amalgamation, up to this date had been drawn almost en- tirely from the Atlanta ore body which had been so happily discovered in 1884. IL extended for a distance into the Queen claim. But during the shutting down we had been led through the John Smith stope into the famous Southwest ore body-both on the Atlanta claim. Million and Quarter Output Then the future of the company was assured on million to million and quarter pounds of copper a month production for years to come. Ben Will liams' report for the broken year of 1887 carries us back to primitive con- ditions We burnt in our furnaces 10,- 253 tons of coke. or just what we now use in one month, and under our boilers 3,554 cords of wood. The results of stripping our hillsides of this timber have been the oft recurring floods which sweep down our canyon every big rain. Till 1882, when our mountains had been robbed of all the timber within miles of the town. l do not recollect single destructive flood.
 During the eight months of 1887 there were produced 5,945,55O pounds of black copper from the ore taken almost ex- clusivey from the second and third levels of the Atlanta, which yielded 9.99 per cent copper. The first experi- ne1t was made with large furnace S0X42 inches, which replaced one of the 3o-inch jackets
 Looks to Railroads
 The increased production forced upon the management the necessity of pro- viding better transportation facilities than eighteen mule teams. When the Copper Queen was first opened the
 
 the Santa Fe was surveying substan- tially along the line of our present road from Deming into Sulphur Springs val ley, and hesitating whether to penetrate Mexico through the Sonora river valley or by way of Nogales.
 l called on President Nickerson of the Santa F'e with MT. Martin to point out the prospective valley of Bisbee and advocate the Deming railroad scheme via the Sonora river, but he treated us with supreme indifference, and built south from Benson, under a traffic arrangement between Demihg and Benson with the Southern Pacific. The results we all know
 Our own railroad projects would probably never have been thought of if we had been linked up with strong road from our point of delivery Had the Santa Fe built from Deming to Guayams, via Bisbee and the Sonora river, they would have absolutely con- trolled the freight of Bisbee and the CananeaS. Cananea would probably have sprung into prominence long be- fore it did. and this Sonora branch of the Santa Fe. instead of being drain on the parent stock would have been a profitable feeder
 Fraieht Hauled 65 Miles
 When the Queen was first opened freight was hauled up the San Pedro valley to Hereford and thence along the main flank of the Mule Pass mountains into Bisbee, distance of 65 miles Tc avoid this circuitous route we used tc take the stage to Tombstone and ride into Bisbee over the trail
 By 1883 the Sonora railroad was run nlng out Benson and the Copper Queer had built an excellent toll road with ter per cent grades over the mountains from Bisbee into Fairbanks. a distance of about 90 miles. The teaming ovel this road was done for S7 a ton by Carrm and later by Durkee at s6 a ton But in 1886 steam transportation was felt to be a necessity. Yet before en.