COLORADO. 



COMMERCE. 



117 



the number of veins discovered already reaching 

 several thousand. Assays above $100 per ton are 

 the rule, and those below that the exception, while 

 some veins Ir.ivt- given an average of $5,000 to the 

 ton. Throe furnaces arc in operation at Georgetown, 

 iiml two more in process of erection, but those in 

 operation are on so small a scale that they reduce 

 but a small percentage of the silver, although that 

 small amount pays largely. As yet there is only a 

 pack-trail to these mines, and the ore is brought down 

 on mules and jacks. One furnace is in operation at 

 Montezuma, on Snake River, for reducing argentifer- 

 ous galena. 



The largest piece of iron oro that I send you was 

 found by Deputy Surveyor George E. Peirce, and is 

 from a bed about thirty miles south of Denver. The 

 bed .or vein, which is horizontal, extends from five 

 miles in length to about a mile in width, and forms a 

 mountain or iron. The specular ore is from the 

 South Park, and is in vertical veins similar to the 

 gold veins. The magnetic ore is from near Golden 

 City, and is in vertical veins, bedded in felspar. I 

 have heretofore reported extensive veins of hematite 

 ore near Golden City. Zinc, both in the form of 

 silicate and sulphuret, is found scattered through 

 many of the gold and silver-bearing lodes, and in one 

 vein on Bear Creek I found no metallic ores except 

 sulphuret of zinc. 



The specimen of matte which I send you is made 

 at the Lyons furnace, near Black Hawk. It is pro- 

 duced by smelting the gold-bearing sulphurets of 

 copper, and contains all the copper, gold, and silver 

 of the ore. It is about sixty per cent, copper, and 

 varies from four hundred to six hundred dollars per 

 ton in gold and silver. This matte is shipped to 

 Swansea, in Wales, to be separated, the copper pay- 

 ing the expense of shipping and separating. The 

 specimens of gypsum and of variegated limestone 

 are from the base of the mountains west of Denver, 

 where they both occur in unlimited quantities. 



The Surveyor-General at Denver has also 

 sent to Washington specimens^ of silver ore 

 from the Anglo-Norman lode, near the head- 

 waters of Snake River, the product of which 

 will average $600 of pure silver per ton. The 

 sinking, of a shaft some eighteen feet has dis- 

 closed the fact that the ore improves in char- 

 acter from the surface down. The Suryeyor- 

 General states that this lode is probahly as rich 

 as any in the silver district. Discoveries have 

 also been reported by him of argentiferous 

 galena on James Creek, between St. Vrains and 

 North Boulder, which are important as show- 

 ing a continuation of the metal-bearing veins in 

 a direction nearly northeast from the plains. 

 In addition to these deposits of precious ores, 

 there is abundant evidence that large tracts are 

 underlaid by beds of bituminous coal, which 

 have as yet been very imperfectly worked, and 

 that oil-wells of considerable capacity exist 

 along the base of the mountains. 



With a view of bringing to public notice the 

 great mineral resources of the Territory, Mr. 

 George W. Maynard, an experienced miner and 

 geologist, was, early in December, appointed by 

 the Legislature commissioner to the Paris Ex- 

 position of 1867. The specimens, to be placed 

 by him on exhibition, comprise no less than 

 5,000 pounds of gold ore, with other kinds in 

 proportion. It has been proposed that the 

 commissioner should procure the circulation in 

 Europe of pamphlets, in various languages, de- 



scribing the mineral, agricultural, and ether re- 

 sources of Colorado ; and also that ho should 

 visit the principal European mines, and comma- 

 nicato the results of his observations to UK 

 ritorial papers. 



Though situated upon the western edge of 

 what is called the " Great American Desert," 

 the productiveness of Colorado in grain and 

 vegetables is in some seasons enormous. Sixty 

 and sixty-five bushels of wheat per acre are 

 by no means uncommon, and in 1866 as many 

 as seventy-five bushels of corn per acre were 

 raised on some farms. This is almost entirely 

 due to the hntelligent system of irrigation now 

 practised in the Territory. The dry season is 

 so uniform in duration and character, that, pro- 

 vided the farmer has protected himself against 

 drought by wet ditches traversing his farm, ho 

 can look forward to harvesting full crops with 

 a degree of security unknown in the East. The 

 chief danger to be apprehended is from the 

 grasshopper scourge, which, in 1865, desolated 

 the whole Territory. One of the richest agri- 

 cultural districts is that lying along the Arkan- 

 sas in Southern Colorado. The crops, in 1866, 

 were excellent, but so expensive and difficult is 

 it to get them to market, that but a small profit 

 accrues to the farmer. When the Pacific Rail- 

 road reaches Denver, there is little doubt that 

 a branch road will be started southward, along 

 the base of the mountains, toward Santa Fe. 

 This would bring the rich farming country of 

 the Arkansas valley into easy and cheap com- 

 munication with Denver, and stimulate its agri- 

 cultural productions immensely. This valley 

 alone could supply a population of several hun- 

 dred thousand with breadstuff's. 



COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES. 

 The fiscal year of the General Government ends 

 on the 30th June anntlally; hence the state- 

 ments of foreign commerce of the whole coun- 

 try, for the last year, embrace the period from 

 July 1, 1865, to June 30, 1866. It is the opin- 

 ion of the Secretary of the Treasury, that these 

 figures, taken* from the reports of the custom- 

 houses, do not present the whole truth. For 

 many years there has been a systematic under- 

 valuation of foreign merchandise imported into 

 the United States, and large amounts have been 

 smuggled into the country along our extended 

 sea-coasts and frontiers. To make up for under- 

 valuations and smuggling, and for cost of trans- 

 portation paid to foreign shipowners, twenty 

 per cent, at least should be added to the im- 

 ports, which would make the balance for the 

 past year against the United States nearly 

 $100,000,000. It is evident that the balances 

 have been largely against the United States for 

 some years past, whatever may have been the 

 custom-house returns. On no other ground can 

 the fact be accounted for, that a very large 

 amount of American bonds is now held in Eu- 

 rope, which are estiraatad as follows : United 

 States bonds, $350,000,000 ; State and municipal 

 bonds, $150,000,000 ; Railroad and other stocks 

 and bonds, $100,000,000; a total of $600, 000,000. 



