Am.  Jour.  Pharro. 
Jan.,  1887. 
Suljjhur  Industry  of  the  West. 
17 
which  consists  of  melting  the  sulphur,  forcing  and  straining  it  through 
a  cylinder  by  the  heat  and  pressure  of  steam,  and  as  the  ore  is  only 
contaminated  with  lava  sand,  it  is  very  easily  separated. 
In  many  parts  of  this  deposit  the  vapors  are  still  rising  and  the  depo- 
sition is  continuous.  In  sinking  shafts  the  vapors  are  so  intense  that 
several  workmen  are  required,  for  one  man  is  soon  overcome  and  another 
one  must  take  his  place ;  and  often,  birds  and  small  animals  enter  the 
sulphur  pits  for  shelter  and  are  soon  overcome  and  suffocated.  In  1872, 
a  party  of  business  men  endeavored  to  find  the  extent  of  this  deposit. 
On  camping  out  the  first  night,  their  tents  were  filled  with  vapors  and 
they  were  nearly  suffocated  ;  next  day  they  started  to  sink  a  shaft, 
again  the  vapors  drove  them  away  and  they  had  nothing  to  show  for 
their  trouble  except  a  pair  of  sore  eyes  apiece.  On  their  return  they 
reported  the  discovery  of  the  infernal  regions  in  active  operation.  The 
way  in  which  this  deposit  was  discovered  is  a  rather  peculiar  one :  it 
was  noticed  that  at  a  certain  time  in  the  year,  when  the  foliage  of  the 
trees  was  just  beginning  to  appear,  that  wherever  a  tree  was  growing 
near  a  sulphur  deposit  it  was  greener  and  more  advanced  than  the  trees 
about  it ;  knowing  this  fact,  a  single  person  was  enabled  to  discover 
and  locate  fourteen  deposits.  This  advanced  growth  was  probably  due 
to  the  warmth  of  the  rising  vapors.  Soon,  after  the  discovery  of  these 
beds,  some  English  capitalists  sent  over  experienced  men  at  a  great  ex- 
pense, who,  being  ignorant  of  this  fact,  failed  to  make  a  single  location. 
A  few  years  ago  sulphur  was  discovered  in  Mt.  Humboldt,  Xevada, 
which  was  98  per  cent,  pure,  but  it  proved  to  be  only  a  "  pocket "  and 
was  soon  exhausted.  Rich  deposits  were  also  discovered  in  New  Mex- 
ico as  well  as  in  California  and  Colorado ;  in  fact,  at  the  Exposition  at 
New  Orleans,  nearly  all  the  western  States  reported  sulphur  deposits 
and  exhibited  specimens  of  the  ore,  but  owing  to  lack  of  railroad  fa- 
cility, or  extent  of  the  ore  these  deposits  have  not  been  operated  to  any 
degree. 
The  high  rates  of  freight  in  the  West  have  been  a  great  drawback  to  the 
mining  industries,  and  have  compelled  us  to  borrow  of  our  neighbors 
when  we  have  abundance  at  home.  This  is  the  case  with  our  sulphur 
industries.  We  now  import  nine-tenths  of  our  sulphur  from  Sicily. 
The  ore  there  is  taken  from  the  bed  of  an  extinct  crater,  several  hun- 
dred feet  below  the  surface,  and  is  carried  to  the  surface  upon  the  backs 
of  children.  The  ore  does  not  average  above  20  per  cent.  It  is  then 
partially  refined  and  shipped  to  us  as  "crude  sulphur;"  this  is  done  to 
2 
