152 NEW TRACKS IN NORTH AMERICA. 
The general character of the veins about the boundary line 
and in northern Sonora is, that they are narrow, often very 
rich, generally very numerous, but capricious—giving out, or 
changing their direction so continually, that the miner can 
“never feel certain of his prospects beyond what he actually 
sees as day by day he develops his mine. There are some 
exceptions to this, such as the large masses of mineral giving 
a low percentage of precious metal which are situated about 
the head-waters of the Rio Santa Cruz, forming what is called 
the Santa Cruz mining district. To develop this region, 
many mines were opened, called the French, the Empire, 
Boundary, Patagonia, &c. The ores yielded but thirty dollars 
of silver per ton. They were so easily reduced (being argen- 
tiferous galena), that mining prospered here until the troops 
were withdrawn at the breaking out of the American civil 
war, and the region was left to the mercy of the Apaches, 
who nearly succeeded in massacring those who were working 
the Patagonian Mine, drove off the stock, and made mining 
for a time impossible. Much fine machinery now remains 
idle ; for up to the present time the miners have not resumed 
work, 
A second district (the Cababi), situated about sixty miles 
west of St. Xavier del Bac, has now about six mines being - 
worked upon it. The ore is the black sulphuret of silver, 
and yields an average, including first, second and third 
grades, of 100 dollars per ton. 
A third district is called the Tucson district: it occupies 
the mountains immediately to the west of that: town. The 
ores are very rich ; but the veins are thin and capricious. 
In the Santa Rita Mountains there is a fourth district of 
the same name (Santa Rita). Silver mines were opened 
here; but since the manager, Mr. W. Wrighton, was killed 
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