The three principal mining districts organized in this region are: 1. Ute Creek district on the east side;

2. Willow Creek district on the south side; and

3. Elizabethtown on the west side of Baldy Mountain.

UTE CREEK DISTRICT.

The Aztec Mine is situate between Ute Creek and the Poñil River, in a range of silicious slate, which extends in an eastern direction from the foot of Baldy Mountain. It was discovered in the spring of 1868, by three miners, Lynch, Dogherty, and Fosley. These men, while prospecting at the base of the range, found some "float" quartz, rich in gold, which they traced to a "slide" forming a depression of the surface partly filled with decomposed vein matter. This material yielded as high as two and three dollars to the pan, (about twenty pounds of "dirt" or aurif erous gravel.) On this "slide" they worked for a while and finally found the lode higher up and nearly on top of the hill, at a point where the present main shaft is located. Two thousand feet east and one thousand feet west of this shaft are owned by the company-L. B. Maxwell owning seven-twelfths, J. Dold one-sixth, Colonel Bergman one-twelfth, Shelby one-twelfth, and Lynch one-twelfth.

The shaft sunk on the property is ten by seven feet in the clear, and 100 feet deep. It follows the dip of the lode for about 90 feet at an angle of 750 northeast. At a depth of about 35 feet two drifts have been run into the lode in opposite directions, one bearing north 41° west, the other south 36° east. The drift toward the west is 120 feet, and that toward the east 110 feet long. The dip of the vein near the end of the latter drift is 65° northeast; its width in these openings is variable from a few inches to four feet. To within 90 feet from the surface both strike and dip of the lode are remarkably regular, but below that depth the dip changes very suddenly from 750 to nearly horizontal, and the bearing, which in the upper part of the shaft was north 56° west, turns apparently to north 710 west. It must be remarked, however, that correct observations are very difficult in a labyrinth of drifts, the planning and working of which certainly surpasses any irregularity which the lode itself may present to the eyes of men not used to mining on veins and unable to explain to themselves such disturbances, as in older mining countries are perfectly understood.

In this case a second vein, in places very rich and three and one-half feet wide, joins the lode. This is the true cause of the variation in strike and dir above spoken of. But, under these circumstances, it may be confidently expected that the irregularity appearing so great to inexperienced eyes, will be proved to be of little import by future developments. Although the strike of the lode may remain a different one from that found above, the former dip of the vein is very likely to ap pear again a little lower down. Some more iron and copper pyrites will undoubtedly make their appearance, and lean streaks may occur; but nevertheless, if the lode is worked according to a regular system, and especially if particular attention is paid to the constant development of new ore bodies in such a manner that sufficient reserves are always on hand for a steady supply of the mill, the vein will undoubtedly deserve to be called an uncommonly rich one.

The quartz of the Aztec contains, like nearly all the gold ores of that region, a large proportion of peroxide of iron, which gives it a brown color, similar to that of the Colorado surface ores. This ingredient is undoubtedly the product of the decomposition of iron pyrites. Some H. Ex. Doc. 207- -25

decomposed feldspar, quartz in crystals, and occasionally a little carbonate and sulphate of copper, are also present. A seam of copper pyrites is found in the bottom of the shaft. The slate, thin layers of which oc cur in the lode, is often stained green by copper salts and contains free gold. So far all the gold is found to be perfectly free from any coating, generally finer than common gunpowder, and on an average much smaller in size than that found in the gulch claims below the lode. Wire gold is met with occasionally.

The Aztec mill is owned by the same parties who own the mine. It is situate on Ute Creek, in a well-watered and heavily-timbered region, and, according to measurements made by Mr. Bloomfield, 10,790 feet above the sea. A tramway 1,675 feet long has been constructed to carry the ore from the mine to the mill. The latter contains 15 stamps, was built by the Eagle foundery at Chicago, and cost, including freight, $8,000. The stamps weigh 425 pounds each, and drop at the rate of 33 times per minute. They are propelled by a twelve horsepower stationary engine. Nearly all the gold is amalgamated in the battery-box and a very small proportion only is taken from the amalga mated copper plates. A "clean-up" is generally made every other day, and the plates are washed with a solution of cyanide of potassium. The strained amalgam yields by retorting about half its weight in gold of very good quality. A lot of retorted gold from this mill, sent to the United States assay office at New York, assayed .8353 in gold and .159 in silver; another lot from the same mill, weighing 266.80 ounces, assayed .841 in gold, and .152 in silver; coin value $4,613 43; currency value $6,282 17, less $6 38 taxes $6,275 79 net. Five men are employed in this mill, and one of the owners is the superintendent. Eighteen to twenty men are working in the mine, and keep four drills running in the day-time and two at night. Wood costs $2 35 per cord at the mill. From $2 to $2 50 and board is paid to the men; board is $1 per day. Lumber delivered at the mill costs $30, and mining timbers $15 per thousand feet. Freight from Sheridan, the terminus of the Kansas Pacific railroad, to the mines costs two and a half cents per pound, and from St. Louis five and a half cents.

The mill commenced crushing rock October 29, 1869. Colonel Bergman has kindly furnished me with an account of the work done; the yield of gold bullion is taken from the books of the Aztec Company: October, 1868, to April, 1809.

No. tons crushed.

3

20

14

140

6

90

16

200

16

200

16

200

71

850

Which yielded 1,678 oz. 7 dwt. 13 grains of gold. This, sold at $22 currency per 02., amounted to $36,823 50.

Average yield per ton of ore, $56 90 currency.

During the month of May, 1869, the mill was run for one week on very rich ore,

which yielded at the rate of $3,000 per day.

The above statistics speak exceedingly well for the richness of the mine.

The Big Jackó or Montezuma lode was discovered lately by a miner called Big Jack, between Ute Creek and Black Horse gulch, within half a mile of the Aztec mill. It is reported to be even richer than the Aztec. L. B. Maxwell, the owner of the grant, is the principal shareholder in this claim, which is 3,000 feet long. He is putting up a 30stamp mill, 15 of which will be in operation by the end of October, 1869. The lode has been traced for about one mile. The discovery shaft is 50 and another shaft 40 feet deep. A tunnel, running on the lode, has been commenced, which is intended to strike the discovery shaft at a depth of 300 feet. About 600 tons of ore have been extracted. Two test-runs at the Aztec mill have given a result of $75 per ton, and the balance of the ore is expected to yield fully as high.

Considerable excitement prevails on account of this new discovery, and Colonel Watts, who has seen it, calls it the best lode in America. And indeed, if it does all it is expected to do, viz., if it is able to

supply regularly a 30 stamp mill with ore containing $75 gold per ton, it may well be called not alone the best lode in America, but in the world; especially if we consider that the cost of working the mine should be comparatively low, while the gold occurs in a free state, so that the cheapest of all processes, the common stamp mill process, can be profitably employed.

The cost of extracting and milling one ton in Ute district is estimated at $10 to $20, according to the size of ore bodies met with, and to more or less skill and economy in the management. This is higher than it should be.

Considerable prospecting has been done during this year on the ridges near the Poñil River, north of Ute Creek, and many leads were discov ered. The following are a few of them: The Swansea lead, shaft 20 feet deep; the Gates lead, shaft sunk 13 feet. The ore of both is said to yield a fair prospect in the pan. The Frenchman's lead is situate be tween the Swansea and Gates. The Stonewall lead is reported to be encased by a hanging wall of granite and a foot-wall of slate. A shaft 28 feet deep is sunk high up on the hill; one 10 feet deep lower down on the slope. The Chico lead is a two-inch crevice, which is said to prospect well. A shaft has been sunk on it to a depth of 25 feet.

The gulches on the east side of Baldy Mountain, though prospected very little so far, are all said to contain gold. On the Poñil, piles of stones are found, said to be the remains of ancient washings by the Spaniards and Mexicans. The part of Ute Creek between the Aztec mill and Mr. Maxwell's house has been most thoroughly explored. Im mediately below the Aztec mill some very coarse gold has been found. A specimen now in Mr. Brueckner's collection contains so much wiregold in a brown ferruginous mass, that of the whole weight of one ounce four-fifths are gold. It has undoubtedly been washed down with the detritus from the Aztec lode. A $40 nugget was taken out on July 30, 1869. Most of the metal taken up on Ute Creek so far is leaf-gold, all of which is very coarse. The finer kind, of which the ore of the Aztec contains a great deal, has probably been deposited further down the gulch, where the grade is less steep. The gold washed out now is so coarse that the use of quicksilver in the flumes could be entirely dis pensed with. Machinery for hydraulic washings has been put up in two localities near the Aztec mill and near Mr. Maxwell's house, several miles below the mill. Out of one of these claims $1,700 were taken in six weeks. The highest yield taken out of any gulch claim on Ute Creek in one week was $700. The gold does not occur everywhere in the gulch, but is rather "spotted." Thirty-five men in all are working in these claims. At the hydraulic works near Maxwell's house the bedrock, which consists of siliceous slate, lies from 10 to 30 feet deep. L. B. Maxwell, who owns the claim, employs six men at a time, and two hose supplied with about 150 inches of water, miner's measurement. The sluices are provided with log riffles. One foot of cement immedi ately on the bed-rock is exceedingly rich in gold.

It appears to be the opinion of the miners generally that the gulches on the east side of Baldy Mountain (Ute district) are not as rich as those on the west side, (Moreno district,) but that the lodes in the former are better on account of the greater regularity of the country

rock.

WILLOW CREEK DISTRICT.

A man by the name of Kelley discovered gold in Willow Gulch in October, 1866. The secret was kept pretty well during the winter,

but