Show GREAT COPPER DEPOSITS Excitement Over Discoveries In La Salle Mountains J M Cunningham the well known cattleman of western Colorado whose cattle range in the La Salle mountains close to the Utah line is in the city with a shipment of cattle says the Denver News Mr Cunningham is greatly interested in the new excitement excite-ment over the big copper discoveries in his neighborhood and reports that there is a regular rush of prospectors into that section and that a town has already been laid out in the Paradox valley which is oneof the most beautiful beau-tiful valleys in the west and through which the big copper vein which has created the last excitement is supposed to run We have known that copper existed in that neighborhood for some years said Mr Cunningham last night at the Albany but while there have been many discoveries the veins have never been found in place A couple of eastern east-ern men became interested in the country and placed a prospector there some three years ago and he has been quietly buying up everything of value there and prospecting around until this last find on La Salle creek which is near Paradox creek The story of the find is rather interesting inter-esting and goes to show how near men may come to fortune and yet miss it A stockman over there named John Criss had turned some burros out to range Ion jon j-on the ridge between Paradox creek and La Salle creek Last spring he r went out after them and while looking around accidentally came across the i vein where it was exposed on the ridge SOLD A FORTUNE FOR A SONG Thinking it might have some value I he located a claim on it and broke off apiece a-piece of the rock which he showed to I Mr Angel the prospector who was representing rep-resenting the eastern capital He thought it looked fairly good and offered of-fered to take the claim from him on a 1 lease and bond for 2000 Criss was only too glad to accept such an offer Well the 2000 was paid some time ago That claim could not be purchased today to-day for 50000 cash The two cars of ore taken out returned 40 in gold to the ton and 50 per cent in copper It is a bonanza without doubt I would have found it long ago only my cattle cat-tle did not happen to go that far up La Salle creek j Since that discovery became public a mining expert named Poole representing repre-senting some Denver capitalists has traced the vein for over five miles It crosses La Salle creek through the ridge into Paradox valley and beyond The ore is about four feet wide in a well defined vein and it looks like a great big thing The railroads are already deeply interested in-terested in the strike and the people of that country are doing everything they can to encourage the building of a road into the country There are two good routes in The Rio Grande South rn can get in by building down the San Miguel river It would reach the new district with a line about 100 miles long RIO GRANDE WESTERNS OPPORTUNITY OPPOR-TUNITY But the Rio Grande Western has the best opportunity and I understand is carefully considering it That is to build from Cisco Utah south down the Grand river through the Moab fruit country to the Dolores and up the Dolores Do-lores to Paradox creek This would I make a line about 120 miles long butt but-t would be a broad gauge and would open a paying fruit and stock country I all the way There is really enough along the line to make it a paying venture ven-ture now and if the La Salle mines prove as good as they now appear it will be a settled fact by spring that a line will be constructed There is a great deal of excitement through our section over the discoveries discover-ies and I understand the owners are on the way out there to investigate and arrange for the construction of some sort of a smelter to put the ore Into a matte for more economical shipment ship-ment Development work is being pushed and the proposition seems to grow bigger every day I was in therein there-in November and it looks like a big thing The hills are covered with prospectors pros-pectors and I have no doubt that some more big finds will be opened up for the whole country is full of mineral but has been left in the hands of the stockmen most of the time it being so far from railroads that only an occasional occa-sional prospector ever drifted that way |