A Sportsman 143 



of Colorado. The report was published in the year 

 1827 for the benefit of English capitalists who had 

 invested largely in Mexican mines, and was the result 

 of a long and critical examination of the mineral re- 

 sources of the country. 



"'The hitherto unexplored regions in the north of 

 Mexico contain mineral resources which, as discoverers 

 proceed, are likely to make the future produce of the 

 country infinitely exceed the amount that has been 

 hitherto drawn from the comparatively poorer dis- 

 tricts of the South.' The specimens which I have 

 seen of the ores extracted from about 36° north lati- 

 tude almost induce one to adopt the theory that the 

 proportion of silver contained in the ores increases as 

 you advance north, a theory which is generally be- 

 lieved at present in Mexico, and which is certainly 

 confirmed by the superiority of all the northern ores 

 over the richest districts in the South. 



"The line of Mexico at that time extended along 

 the Arkansas River to the 42d parallel, which included 

 the regions of New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado ; the 

 line of Colorado commencing at 31° and ending with 

 41° north." 



These were some of the arguments included in my 

 published work of 1865, prior to the discovery of silver 

 in Colorado. The results of mining in Colorado and 

 Utah and regions beyond have fully verified the 

 prophecies given in 1865 as to increasing mineral val- 

 ues as mining has proceeded northward from Mexico. 



Over the Range, Mr. Tabor, afterward Governor 

 of Colorado, and briefly a United States Senator, was 

 engaged in keeping a small station, where we pur- 

 chased supplies. We were camped near a large body 



