12 



water worn pebbles. This gravel has sometimes a t^^''^' 

 ness of one hundred feet or more, and a large portion ot 

 the distance extends back from the river fifteen or twenty 

 miles to the mountains. 



MINERALS — GOLD. 



Near Muerto springs, eastward, near the head waters of 

 the Limpia, are many quartz and quartoze veins, in one 

 of these Mr. Delany, an employe at the Muerto stage 

 station, says he got specimens of gold, of which he gave us 

 some tine ones in quartz. He reports the gold to be abun- 

 dant, but he refused to show us the locality unless we 

 would give him $1000, and also buy the land and give him 

 one-half interest in the property, to which we did not 

 agree. 



However, the indications in that region are such that 

 probably both gold and silver will be found there. 



Mr. Williains, agent of the Central Railroad, told me 

 that he had seen gold panned out of the sand and gravel 

 of ravines in paying quantities, near and at the lead and 

 silver locality, fourteen miles east of Fort Quitman. A 

 spring of good water is said to be near. 



The Hon. C. R. Johns, of Austin, has lately shown me 

 some specimens of gold ore, from rocks' near the head 

 waters of Little Llano, in Llano county. It is in quartoze 

 and feldspatic (orthoclase) rocks. 



ARGEIiTTIFEROtTS GALENA, OB SILVER AND LEAD GEES. 



About fourteen miles eastwardly from Port Quitman, 

 on the western borders of the mountains, argentiferous 

 galena is said to be abundant along a ravine. It is also said 

 to be in veins. We saw numerous large specimens of the 

 ore in the hands of different persons at Fort Quitman. Our 

 specimens have but a small per cent, of silver, being 

 nearly pure galena. 



These ores also occur in a spur of the Organ mountains, 

 about one mile north of Franklin, in El Paso county, at 

 the old Padre mine, which is said to have been worked to 

 the depth of about ninety feet. Here argentiferous galena 

 was obtained, and the mine was worked for its silver. 

 The vein filled a fissure of carboniferous limestone, which 

 is overlaid by cretaceous limestones and sandstones a few 



