53 



A wide \ciii or iron ore was discovered crossing tlie Colorado in tlie midst of A'ir;;in or Boulder 

 Cafiou. 



Small beds of alum occur in some of the side canons leadin;;' down to tlie Colorado in the 

 vicinity of Virjiin Cafion. 



Salt occurs in deposits as ore in beds and wells. The most remarkable of the deposits is found 

 along the Virgin, some five or six miles below Saint Thomas, in a very ])urc form, showing re- 

 markable cubical crystallizations. There are two very extensive deposits near the bed of the Itio 

 \'irgen, lying between its mouth and the entrance of the Muddy. Near the former point is a large 

 and deep salt well, having its upper surface at a distance of about GO feet below the mesa bank. 

 A large bed of salt is found in Jiailioad X'alley; tliis, however, is (piite impure, ami only of service 

 in the reduction of ores b}' the roasting process. Other beds occur to the north and east of the 

 route from Cave Valley to Treuss Lake. 



But to the silver that is to come from thest> rough and rugged hills must we look for the future 

 jirosperity of Southern Nevada, and the benefit, both local ami national, that is to be derived there- 

 trom. 



So long as it is known that there is still hoi)e of finding a fresh silver deposit, so long will eager 

 and industrious men .seek for it and dig it out, and it now seems probable that for long years to 

 come the annual silver yield of Nevada will be on the increase. 



The most valuable districts in the area above mentioned that have already been discovered are 

 Ely, Morey, Timi)ahute, and Pahranagat. The first i>romises the largest results; the second has 

 over six thousand tons of ore in sight, of a very rich quality ; the third has been ^■ery little devel- 

 oped, but has line surface indications ; the fourth and last has been developed considerably, and 

 shows large veins of low-grade ore. 



The ])rospeets of the next four years, if they continue favorabl<>, ought to induce cai)italists to 

 build a railroad line through this country, which will have a tendency to open ni> mines of the low- 

 grade ores, that at the present time cannot be worked piofitably. 



Ill VERS, CREEKS, AND SPRINGS. 



Of ri\-ers, within the area embracetl, there are but four, viz, Colorado, llumlioldt, \'irgin, and 

 ]Muddy. The latter, excei)t in a section bordering upon or in the Great American or some other 

 de.sert, would never, even in name, approach the dignity of a river, and in the final maps will be 

 changed to " creek." 



Of creeks, there is an abundance in .some localities, in others a remarkable scarcity; varying 

 greatly in their nature and extent, at some i>laces confined to the mountains, losing themselves 

 before reaching the extremity of the foot-hills; at others stretching farther out only to become 

 entirely absorbed after reaching the dry plains. 



It is a noticeable fact that the majority of the mountainrangessiiow more creeks on their eastern 

 slopes, a fact easily e\|)lained from the more freipient tilting of the strata in that direction, and 

 the conse(iuently greater horizontal extension of the foot-hills. 



The Colorado and Rio X'irgen, in their turn, will receive a succinct descrii>tion. The Humboldt, 

 better known, needs none. The Muddy so limited in extent, needs oidy a few words for its source, 

 volume, and course. The present recognized source occurs in a number of springs of tepid water, 

 near the southern end of the canon called "Arrow Canon," leading out from Pahranagat Valley; 

 doubtless these again have their source in Pahranagat Lake, which is fed from the ditt'erent thermal 

 springs that start in the valley of that name, which in turn may be fed from the dia in age of Sierra 

 Valley, gaining their high temperature in subterranean transit. 



It is not unlikely that similar sources, flowing through other subterranean channels, feed the 

 .springs that act as a source to the Muddy, to those of the s[>rings in Pahranagat Valley, yet one 

 naturally asks for the outlet of Pahranagat Lake, that receives streams amounting in all to ;!,()(l(l 

 inches of water. 



The temperature of the sitrings, so far mentioned, varies fVoni about (>7 - to Ol'^ Fahrenheit, 

 the latter obtaining at "Ash Sjuings" in Pahranagat X'alley. 



In the itinerary the fact of the waters rising in Spring or Cedar Valley, above the Mormon set- 



