Arizona republican., 1917-06-17
CHL0RIDE'S RECORD $40,OOO,O00'
By Thomas McCauley
CThe Chloride Herald)

According to the best available sta tistics, Chloride has produced, in eX- cess of $40, 900, 900 worth of ore. Much of this was produced as far back as the eos and the production has been strung along through the years, only the very richest ores being touched and these ores. lying as they did, very near to the surface, were very easily mined. Their richness enabled their being packed by burro team and freighted by slow moving oxen to the Colorado river, down which they were floated to the Gulf of California, thence up the coast to San Francisco, where they were loaded on large yes sells and shipped to Swansea, Wales, for treatment.
 Supplies were hauled overland from the Pacific coast, distance of 400 miles, by OK or mule teams, rendering the cost of everything bery high. In those days there was not foot of railroad in Arizona.
 The state was an unknown factor outside of the trail that was not devil ated from by schooner trains bound for California.
 Soldier the Pioneer
 History records the soldier as the pioneer miner of the Chloride district In quest of hostile Ird men, with whom he had regular and sanguinary engagements. he discovered the rich silver surface ores that were so abundant.
 He spent much of his time when not convincing the Wallapai or the Apache of the superiority of the white man over the red. in "chloriding" those rich silver ores.
 It was from his methods of mining that the camp received it's name chloriding being practically synony nous with ''gutting' a mine of it's rich ores, the exception being that the work was accomplished on the surface
 The stories of the finds made by the soldiers soon spread to California on the west and to New Mexico on the east and soon prospectors from civil life came drifting into the district.
 Those early-day prospectOrs fought many of our battles. without knowing it. Outside of continuing to stand off the Indian, who. nevertheless, sent several to their reward before ac- uuiescing in the situation, they opened up literally thousands of prospects.
 Look Like Stairs
 Some of their workings resemble nothing so much as stairs built for some giant. Just as soon as the rich oXidized ores began to turn into sul- phides, our wealth-seeker of the COG and 70s turned his attention to ores of easier access and utterly free of cOmpeXity.
 That is why it may be said that they fought our battles, by leaving us hun areds and hundreds of holes where to day good ore may be mined.
 For many years the district remain cd dormant No successful process for the separation of the zinc from the other metals was known. and as the smelters exacted a formidable fine from those having the hardihood to essay a resumption of mining the camp merely existed for many years, the hope burning strongly in the breasts of the residents that some how. some day a process for success fully treating the ores lying below the water level would be discovered.
 Like Ghost iCty
 When the European cOnflagration began Chloride was very much like one of the many ghost cities of the west. Mineral Park, the old county seat of Mohave county when "chlorid-
 ind ny iY1l the county. was indeed sad relic of past glory. Her buildings had fellen into decay.
 The court house, in which many thrilling scenes were enacted, was al most level with the ground, it's adobe walls easy victims to the storms of winter and early spring.
 It's old safe, which without doubt contained the records of title to prop erty in this county now regarded as highly valuable, lying on it's side, broken and eroded all it's primal strength long since departed.
 The old jail that held the law breakers of those golden days had for years been used as stable to house a burro or a COW for some hopeful old timer.
 Chloride itself boasted few old buildings and a few old residents. many of the residents boasting Of residence of more thanthirty years and predicting that some day the camp would enjoy rejuvenation. They argued. and with good reason, that s25 and $50 and s75 and $100 ore, such as was abundant in many of the old workings, although complex, would some day be mined at a profit; that some day some one would come for ward with a discovery that would simplify separating and render mining profitable.
 Demand Rooms Camp
 This was practically the situation in the fall of 1914 and it did not change materially until early in 1915, when the Allies frantic appeals for zinc and lead and copper reached America
 Coincident with this appeal came the most remarkable advance in metal prices that the mining worldever wit messed. Coincident, also, with this rise in prices came the announced success of oil flotation as applied to the treat ment of complex ores. The problem was solved over night, as it were.
 The dream of the old-timer came true and the Chloride boom was on. So great was the demand for war ,,oatalc that d,,river inc first ton he