THE SAN JUAN MINES. 643 



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give satisfactory results on their trial run, which they were unable to make 

 until near the close of the season, owing to their machinery having been 

 delayed on the range ; the proprietors, however, pluckily went to work at. 

 once to remedy the evil, and will be running next season early. All this 

 machinery has been brought over the summit of the main range at an alti- 

 tude of 12,400 feet above tide-water, and with no road ; and the want of one 

 is all that holds the district back. I, myself, brought out this spring a 

 young Englishman'of wealth, to build this toll-road into Silverton, but as- 

 soon as he saw the mines and their richness, he did what others have done 

 before him — threw overboard the legitimate enterprise and went into mining 

 speculations — and so it goes on from year to year. The consequence is, that 

 the people of Silverton and the Animas district, have to depend on pack 

 animals to bring in nearly all the necesssaries of life, and at a cost of about 

 four cents per pound from the end of the Denver and Eio Grrande railway. 

 Isnot this a millstone round the neck of any people ? A Mr. Jones, of New 

 York, who has purchased some mines in Cunningham gulch, and is run- 

 ning compressed air drills in a tunnel of a prospective length of 2,000 feet, 

 has taken the road in hand, and already built it from the Silverton side to 

 near the summit of the range, and intends to complete it early next season. 

 Then' the district will "boom," and the hundreds of good mines whose 

 produce isealena, running 40 to 50 ounces silver to the ton (and which is now 

 rated "low grade," and will not pay to work), will be in full blast; and the 

 lead, which is now worthless, will pay the carriage of the ore to St. Louis. 

 "Would you believe it, that there are hundreds of tons of ore running say 

 30 oiinces of silver, lying about on the dumps of the mines round Silverton 

 as worthless? Such is the case. What do you suppose Greenp & Co. gave 

 for 100 ounce ore ? Just $42.00 They are making a fortune each yearj 

 and they deserve to, for having the grit to bring all their machinery 180 

 miles by wagon and pack animals. 



It has been estimated that here, within a radius of 20 miles, there are 

 over six thousand silver claims which are only having yearly assessment 

 work done on them, and all owing to the want of roads and smelt mills. 

 The best proof of the want of them is the simple fact that here in the Snef- 

 fels district, whose ores are the richest yet discovered in the San Juan 

 country, 100 ounce ore will not pay to work, and is not saleable at this 

 writing. 



But year by year a few capitalists find their way into the country, a 

 mill or two goes up, and another road is built, and the time is not far dis- 

 tant (experts say two years), when the man who owns a mine with a pay 

 streak of one foot of solid mineral running 50 ounces of silver to the ton, 

 will be worth a million. 



The Sneifels district is yet in its extreme infancy, but the wonderful 

 richness of its ores has made its fame known all over the mining world. 

 In this basin and the adjoining one there are thirteen mines being worked 

 this winter, and the probable output of ore on the dump in the spring will 



