Meader.] 



344 [October 4. 



crucible assay for lead, and obtained a brittle button which he could 

 not account for ; he called my attention to it, and I found it to be 

 " bismuth." 



The result of this examination was not arrived at until some time 

 after the man who brought the ore in had left town, and it was not 

 until December that I found him again, at which time I learned 

 where he got the ore, and made arrangements for an interest in the 

 mine. My father immediately proceeded to the place (which is 

 about two hundred and fifteen miles south from here, in " Beaver 

 County," seven miles from the town of Beaver), and made an exam- 

 ination of the property. He found a well defined vein cropping out 

 boldly and strongly for three thousand feet in length. On one side 

 of the vein the rock consists of granite, while at the other side 

 it is carbonate of lime. The vein is about seven feet wide, and 

 as far as developed, down to a depth of fifty feet, is very regu- 

 lar. The gangue consists of quartz, hornblende, some granite, and 

 is interspersed with garnets. 



The bismuth exists as sulphide (bismuthite), or I should say 

 ( bismuthinite ) and bismuth ochre, and as yet there is no other 

 metal mixed with it ; the gangue, however, contains some iron 

 pyrites. From all appearances it is the largest deposit of bis- 

 muth ever discovered ; we are going to work it, and it is our inten- 

 tion to crush and concentrate the ore on the ground for the present, 

 as we can bring it up to a product containing easily 40 per cent, of 

 bismuth. 



Some specimens of the ore I have found to contain as high as 

 37 per cent., just as they came out of the mine. I look upon it as 

 one of the most valuable discoveries yet made in the Territory. 



It is my intention, as soon as father returns from the mine, to 

 make you up a collection of specimens and forward to you, at which 

 time I may have more to say on the subject. 



Yours very truly, 



J. B. MEADER. 



P. S. I might mention that, as a general thing, the silver ores 

 here are entirely free from gold, but there are one or two exceptions, 

 The " Flagstaff" mine, situated not far from the " Emma," in Little 

 Cottonwood Canon, produces an ore which will, on the average, 

 contain 58 per cent, of lead, 60 ounces silver, and T ^ of an ounce of 

 gold, while all the other mines in the immediate vicinity do not con- 



