1871.] 343 [Jackson 



wood Canons " cary-copper pyrites and " horseflesh " copper ores. 

 Iron is found in abundance but as yet is not made available. 



Now as to the financial success of the mines I have but a few 

 words to say. Of course all mines which produce ores rich enough 

 in silver to leave a profit after shipping to either of the points where 

 smelting is carried on, say San Francisco in the West. Omaha, 

 Chicago, Newark and New York in the East (I speak more par- 

 ticularly of lead and silver ores), are profitable, and are making 

 their owners rich. But for those mines which produce ores, carrying 

 only say from 15 to 25 ounces silver, the future is rather doubtful. 



Smelting has been undertaken and carried on by people wholly 

 ignorant ©f the business, and as yet has proved a failure ; and I am 

 decidedly of the opinion that until it is carried on by a company with 

 a very large capital, and under the direct charge of some one fully 

 capable to conduct such enterprises, it will continue to be a failure. 

 We lack many things here to enable us to make an immediate suc- 

 cess of smelting, yet should works, as I have stated above, be erected 

 at some central point where all the classes and varieties of ores 

 would become available, I think they would prove successful. 



There are several ordinary German blast furnaces under opera- 

 tion at various points in the territory, and they are producing more 

 or less lead; but I fear should one make careful examination of their 

 work, assaying the ores before they go into the furnace, and keep 

 accurate account of the quantity used, and then assay the pig 

 lead and weigh up the quantity produced, they would find that 

 from 25 to 30 per cent, of the lead was lost, and from 20 to 40 per 

 cent, of the silver unaccounted for. Some of the lead produced here 

 contains as high as 15 per cent, of antimony. 



One specimen of lead which was brought to me to determine the 

 percentage of antimony it contained, yielded 15 ounces of sulphide 

 of lead, showing conclusively that it had been melted, but that they 

 failed to get a thorough reaction, and the sulphur had not been- 

 eliminated. Yet the future should be prosperous for this place, and 

 another year I look for great changes. 



But I am drawing this letter into too voluminous proportions, and 

 yet I have to speak of the subject which I considered the principal 

 one of interest when I commenced to write. 



Last fall a person came into my office with a sample of ore to be 

 assayed for lead and silver, mistaking some black shining crystals 

 for galena. My assistant mixed up an assay in the usual way for a 



