Big Bug.—This district is situated east of Lynx creek, and about twelve miles from Prescott. It is surrounded by a forest of pine timber, and has abundance of water. The ores carry native gold and silver. Considerable placer gold has been taken from this camp. The Bell has three feet of argentiferous galena ore, assaying $80 per ton. It is opened by a shaft 260 feet deep, and by a tunnel 200 feet long. It carries gold and silver. The Plat Bonita has a shaft 70 feet. It carries 4 feet of milling ore, assaying $60 per ton. It contains silver and gold. The Middleton shows 4 feet of milling ore, assaying $50 per ton. It is opened by a shaft 70 feet deep. The Poland has a tunnel 60 feet. It has a 3-foot vein of smelting ore, assaying $50 per ton. The Dividend is a 3-foot vein of gold-bearing quartz that has worked $20 per ton. It has a shaft 120 feet. The Galena is a ledge of gold quartz that has yielded $20 per ton. It has three shafts, 80, 100, and 125 feet, each. The Big Bug shows 3 feet of base ore that has worked $20 per ton, in gold. It is opened by an 80-foot shaft. The Eugenia shows 2 feet of gold pyrites. It has a tunnel 100 feet in length. The Belcher is opened by several shafts and tunnels. It carries 2 feet of free-milling gold ore that has yielded $20 per ton. The Lottie is a 4-foot vein of milling ore, carrying gold and silver, and assaying $60 per ton. It has a 100-foot shaft. The Champion has a shaft 100 feet deep. It is a 4-foot ledge of milling ore, assaying $60 per ton, and containing gold and silver. The Mesa, Pine Tree, Forest City, Black Fox, Challenge, Oury, Belcher, Ticonderoga, Independence, Crown Point, Kebel, Bunker Hill, Hamilton, and many other valuable prospects, are in Big Bug. Several Eastern companies are now operating in the district.
Groom Creek.—This camp is about six miles from Prescott, in one of the finest timbered and watered regions of Northern Arizona. The ledges are regular and compact in a granite formation; they carry gold and silver. The Lone Star has a vein 2 feet wide of argentiferous galena ore, assaying $100 per ton. It has two tunnels, 94 and 74 feet, respectively, besides several shafts. The Golden Chariot is a 2-foot vein of gold and silver ore. It is opened by several shafts and drifts. The Mountain shows a two-foot ledge of gold quartz. It has a 70-foot tunnel. The Dauphin has a shaft 45 feet. It shows a strong vein, 4 feet wide, of free-milling ore, carrying gold and silver. The Mirabile has 18 inches of high-grade free-milling ore. It is opened by a shaft 85 feet deep. The Minnehaha has two shafts, 85 feet each. It carries 20 inches of rich milling ore, some of which, shipped to San Francisco, has gone $300 per ton. The Nevada shows 20 inches of milling ore, assaying $160 per ton. It has two shafts, 40 and 35 feet each.
The What Cheer is a large vein of free-milling ore, with a 50 foot shaft. Select ore from this mine has gone $300 per ton. The Alcyone shows 2 feet of galena that assays $60 per ton. A 35-foot shaft has been sunk on the claim. The Surprise has a shaft 40 feet and carries 2 feet of free-milling ore, assaying $150 in gold and silver. The Homestead, Uncle Joe, Adell, Heathen Chinee, Gazelle, Chicago, Old Put, Black Hawk, Canadian, Alta, Providence, Wakefield, Gray Eagle, Omaha, Benjamin, and scores of others well worthy of special mention, are in this district.
Cherry Creek.—This camp is situated about twenty-five miles east of Prescott, on the southern end of the Black Hill range. It is on the main road to the Verde; has plenty of wood and water, and a desirable situation. The ores carry gold and silver, and are easily reduced. The Black Hills is a ledge of argentiferous galena ore, 12 feet wide, and assaying $40 per ton. The mine is opened by a 40-foot shaft. The Silver Streak is a 4-foot vein, assaying $50 per ton in gold and silver. It has a 25-foot shaft. The Rustic shows 18 inches of carbonate ore, that assays $150 per ton. It is opened by a 35-foot shaft. The Hiawatha has a shaft 30 feet deep, with 2 feet of carbonate ore, assaying $50 per ton. The Hercules is a strong vein, nearly 4 feet wide, carrying silver and copper. It assays $60 in silver. The Sarah Jane shows a 2-foot vein of gold quartz, that assays $75 per ton. It has a 35-foot shaft. The Gold Ring, Carbonate Chief and Parole are fine looking prospects, carrying rich ore and good-sized veins. There are numerous other locations ill this district deserving mention, which must be omitted for want of space. Considerable gold is being taken out with arrastras, and the claims are steadily improving as they are sunk upon.
Weaver.—This district is the oldest in the county, having been organized in 1863, after the discovery of the rich gold deposits of Rich Hill. In a depression on the summit of this mountain about $500,000 in coarse gold was found lying on the shallow bed-rock, near the surface. The gulches running down from this mountain were also rich in placer gold; they have been worked since their discovery up to the present time, and have produced, it is estimated, $500,000, making the yield of Weaver district in placer gold, $1,000,000, The ores of the district are nearly all gold-bearing. Weaver is about thirty-five miles south from Prescott. The Leviathan is an immense gold-bearing quartz ledge, in some places 300 feet wide. Assorted rock from the mine has worked $50 per ton , in arrastras. It is opened by a tunnel, which cuts it 100 feet below the surface, and by several shafts and cuts. It is estimated there are 2,000,000 tons of ore in sight in this enormous vein. The Marcus shows a vein, 3 feet wide, of free-milling gold ore, to a depth of 68 feet, after which it changes to a sulfide. The free milling ore, worked in arrastras, has yielded as high as $200 per ton. The vein is opened by an incline 85 feet deep, and by a shaft 65 feet, connected by drifts. A new working shaft has been started, and is now down sixty feet. There are scores of other promising properties in this district, among which may be mentioned the Metallic Candle, with a shaft 40 feet deep, and a vein of gold quartz 20 feet wide; the Emerald has a tunnel 125 feet lung and a shaft 20 feet deep; the Buckeye has a shaft 30 feet deep; the Cosmopolitan has a shaft 20 feet; the Sexton has a shaft 20 feet. Between thirty and fifty men are steadily at work in the placers of this district, all making good wages.
Martinez - The Martinez District joins Weaver on the west. The ledges are gold-bearing, large. and well defined. A mill has been erected on the Cumberland, but incompetency and mismanagement caused it to prove a failure. The mine carries ore that assays $250 per ton, and has yielded over $4,000 from arrastras. The Martinez is a 6-foot vein assaying heavily in silver. The Model is situated in People's valley, but is included in Weaver district. It is a small vein of rich gold quartz, which averages about $50 per ton. It is opened by a shaft 150 feet deep, and by several tunnels. A Huntington mill, with a capacity of 5 stamps, has been erected on the property. The Miner is near the Model, It shows a vein of gold quartz 2 feet wide. It has a 100-foot shaft and several drifts, cross-cuts, etc. A five-stamp mill has been put up on the claim and is working satisfactorily. The mine is owned by the Bedrock Mining Company.
Tonto Basin.—This district is in the south-eastern part of Yavapai county. The veins are large, carry gold and silver, and there is a plentiful supply of wood and water. The House and Ruse claim has a shaft 100 feet and 250 feet of tunnels. The vein is 5 feet wide, free-milling silver ore. The Dougherty shows a 5-foot vein of silver ore, and is opened by a 94 foot shaft. The Osceola has a shaft 115 feet deep and a 6-foot ledge of gold quartz The Golden Wonder is opened by a shaft 150 feet deep. The ledge is 5 feet wide. The Zulu is a large vein of free-milling gold and silver ore, assaying $100 per ton, and opened by a shaft 65 feet deep. The American, Silver Belt, Excursion, Last Chance, Accident, and many other valuable locations, have been made in this district.
Silver Mountain —This district is south of the Tiger in the foothills of the Bradshaw range. Some of the largest ledges in the Territory are found here. The formation is granite and porphyry. Among these immense veins may be mentioned the Mammoth, from 50 to 300 feet wide, and traceable across the country for several miles. Five claims of 1,500 feet each, have been located on the ledge. But little work has yet been done, although some very fine ore has been taken out. The mine contains silver and native gold. Among the other veins of unusual size are the Excelsior, Great "Western, Mountain King, and Snowball.
Walnut Grove.—This district is about thirty miles south of Prescott, and embraces the eastern end of the Antelope range. The veins are small, but rich in gold and silver. Wood and Water are found in abundance on the Hassayampa. Among the prominent claims may be mentioned the Crescent, Josephine, Vesuvius, Rephel, and many others. A five-stamp mill has been erected in the district, but is now idle.
Thumb Butte.—This camp is six miles west of Prescott, in the Sierra Prieta range. It contains some small veins carrying very rich silver ore. The surroundings are all that could be desired; wood and water are found everywhere. There are several claims with shafts from 20 to 70 feet, all showing fine ore.
Agua Fria.—This district is sixteen miles east of Prescott, in the foothills west of the stream of the same name. The ore is silver and of a very high grade. The mines are in contact formation between slate and granite. The Silver Belt is the leading mine of the district. It is opened by three shafts, 65,110, and 165 feet in depth. The ore is a carbonate, carrying chlorides, horn silver, and native silver, and yields $250 per ton. The ore is smelted and the base bullion shipped to San Francisco. The capacity' of the furnace, which is run by the water power of the Agua Fria, is 7 tons in 24 hours. The Belt has produced nearly $100,000 in silver. The Kit Carson, Silver Flake, Agua Fria, and Raible and Hatz claim, are the other principal mines in the district.
Black Canyon.—This district is twenty-five miles east of Prescott. It extends from the eastern spurs of the Bradshaw range to the Agua Fria. The veins are principally gold-bearing, with regular and well-defined walls. There is plenty of timber on the slopes of the Bradshaw range, and water at all seasons in the Agua Fria and the Black Canyon, This latter stream, which drains a large area of mountain country, has produced considerable quantities of placer gold, and is yet being worked for the metal. The leading claims of the district are the Ballenciana, the Wickenburg mine, the Zika mine, and the Sonora. The Zika claim is worked in arrastras run by water power on the Agua Fria. It is a strong vein of gold ore. The Wickenburg has a large ledge of quartz, showing pure gold all through the vein. It is worked by arrastras.
Copper.—Yavapai is rich in copper ores; they are found in every part of the county, some of them of a very high grade. Very large deposits are found east of the Agua Fria and in the southern end of the Juniper range; copper is also found in the Walnut Grove district, in the country west of Date creek, and in Castle creek, south of the Bradshaw mountains. So far as developed, these deposits show ore of a high percentage, and of a character easily reduced. The only copper mines which have been thoroughly opened are situated in the Black Hills, about twenty miles north-east from Prescott. The Eureka, the leading mine of the group, has been explored by several tunnels, which have tapped the vein nearly 200 feet below the surface. The ledge is from 8 to 16 feet in width, and over 1,600 tons are on the dump. The property has recently been purchased by Eastern parties, who intend to erect reduction works. The Wade Hampton is on the same ledge as the Eureka, and carries a large ore body similar in character. There are many other promising claims in this district, which possess the advantages of wood and water, and will be only forty miles from the Atlantic and Pacific railroad.
Return
to The Arizona Page:
Arizona Gold Rush Mining History
