1820 REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 



lies between Hazleton Mountain and King Solomon Mountain and leads into Baker's 

 Park from the south. King Solomon Mountain having been designated in a map 

 recently issued by the topographer of a government surveying party as the high peak 

 to the north of Howardsville, various parties at Silverton and Howardsville were inter- 

 rogated as to its positive location, all of whom stated that the high peak to the south 

 of Howardsville is locally so known ; with relation to gulch boundaries, Arastra Gulch 

 lies upon its western sides, Cunningham upon its eastern. The most prominent mine 

 in Arastra Gulch is the Golden Giant, the Little Giant of old, notorious from early dis- 

 covery and years of litigation, upon which, however, some 10 men have been working 

 during the season. This remarkable mine is worthy of casual mention on account of 

 the phenomenal deposit of its ore. In general, the ores of one district differ radically 

 from those of another, and so also do mines almost contiguous ; the smelter of experi- 

 ence can readily designate from external appearances the mines from whence his ship- 

 ments come without reference to the invoices. 



The main pay-streak of the Golden Giant is very narrow, often but 3 inches in thick- 

 ness, but well defined, within which run two parallel seams of the chloritic ore known 

 as ripidolite, the dark olive-green masses from .2 to .5 inch in thickness containing 

 free gold and finely granular argentiferous galena, which, like the ripidolite, permeates 

 also the intervening quartz. The assay of a specimen of the collection from this mine 

 exceeds $5,000 ; far greater ones, however, have been frequently made at Silverton, sev- 

 eral running as high as $27,000. The first machinery brought into the San Juan was 

 for this mine in 1872 ; it was at immense expense, the trip from Del Norte, about 90 

 miles, occupying 58 days ! Arastra Basin, where numbers of very promising lodes are 

 situated, gave permanent employment to over 20 men. 



Cunningham Gulch is as a whole the farthest developed in the district, within its 

 limits being employed from 100 to 150 men. 



Galena Mountain, at whose base flows the Animas, towers above Howardsville, on the 

 east of the gulch. Over twenty lodes were worked there during the season, chiefly 

 low grade, 50 ounces being the average. 



Green Mountain is on the east side of the gulch, and south of Galena Mountain, 

 being nearer the Continental Divide, where over 35 men have been continually em- 

 ployed. The principal mines are the Little Fanny, Osceola, R. Blum, and Flat Broke, 

 all owned by a company in which the Neigold Bros, and Rodell are largely interested ; 

 the magnificent Pride of the West, and the Philadelphia, 1,000 feet higher and 1,500 

 feet therefrom, touching its southeast limit, the latter being the chief reliance of Nei- 

 gold Bros. Above the Philadelphia to the north and near the summit of the mountain is 

 the Royal Bengal Tiger, and 5 other lodes, where gold-bearing quartz was discovered. 

 Farther up the gulch are the Green Mountain and several other promising mines. At 

 the upper end of the gulch are the handsome buildings belonging to the mining prop- 

 erty of Mr. Edward Inness of New York City, which will be noticed hereafter. 



King Solomon Mountain, on the opposite side of the gulch, possesses a large number 

 of lodes, the most valuable being the Highland Mary, employing in its entire establish- 

 ment over 50 men, and the North Star, where some 25 were continually at work. 



From a point near the Highland Mary Works may be had one of the finest views in 

 the San Juan of the immense extent and well-defined character of its mineral veins. 

 From the side of Green Mountain the various lodes may be seen exposed upon the sur- 

 face from the bottom of the gulch up, and entirely over the face and summit of King 

 Solomon Mountain opposite, which is over 2, 000 feet above the gulch at this point. The 

 whole face of the mountain, it has been found, is covered with a multitude of lodes, 

 forming almost a net-work upon its surface. The general direction, however, of the 

 great mineral belt is to the northwest and southeast. 



The subdistricts may be concluded with Kendall Mountain, upon which are situated 

 a large number of locations, possessing 20 that were being developed, though scarcely 

 at the time (September 30) beyond the stage of assessment work. While they may de- 

 velop richer deposits on deeper mining, they could at the time scarcely be considered 

 as averaging over low-grade ores, most of them not making mill runs of over 80 ounces. 

 The mining wages in general paid to workmen about Silverton were found to be $3 per 

 day and board, or $3.50 to $4 on their " finding" themselves. 



£ In order to give a clearer idea of the work and capital involved in the development 

 of a mining district like the Animas or any of its subdistricts, it may not be amiss to 

 mention the preliminary steps that are essential. 



In the entire San Juan the discoverer of a vein or lode is allowed a surface area of 1,500 

 feet along the vein, or 150 upon each side of the vein and perpendicular thereto. The 

 planting of a stake containing the location notice and the designation of its boundaries 

 nolds the "mine" for the period of sixty days, by the end of which time a 10-foot shaft 

 must be sunk or a vertical exposure of 10 feet of the vein be made, to prevent its being 

 "jumped," or taken by the first comer. With a month or ninety days from the date 

 of the discovery stake, the location certificate must be filed in the office of the county 

 recorder. The amount of work necessary upon a lode to file this certificate is generally 

 known as the first assessment, a certain amount in accordance with the requirements 



