OCR Text |
Show LETTER FROM LITTLE COTTONWOOD. COT-TONWOOD. ( Correspondence) of the Herald.) Tlie Mlni Emma and Davenport Hlllt The Davenport and Matilda Mlues Immense Development. Alta, Little Cottonwood, December 3, 1872. Editors Herald : Ihavd often expressed in letters to the Herald, and to other journals, east and west, the opinion that the Emma and Davenport hills (they are one and the same,) were pregnant with a series of the largest and richest silver lodes ever found on the continent. This opinion was based almost exclusively exclu-sively upon an examination of the mines on Emma hill proper, as until yesterday I had never particularly and critically examined any of the mines located on the Davenport extension of the hill. In company with Mr; J. H. Ely, the principal owner, and Mr. Smith, the superintendent of the Davenport-Matilda mines, I yesterday explored ex-plored all of the workings of these properties, and after a careful examination exami-nation of their present developments and their surroundings, and estimating their prospects at a large discount from as certain a guarantee of immense wealth as mineralogies indications ever show, I have no hesitancy in declaring them the richest mines I have sfeo in the Territory, not excepting the Emma and Flagstaff. - , As these mines are already developed I to an extent that assures the general regularity of their ore lodes, as distinguished distin-guished from simple deposits, and as the plan of working them contemplates their systematic and scientific development develop-ment on a large scale, I will give you, in detail, the plan and present condition condi-tion of the various workings. THE DAVENPORT SHAFT Is just over the summit of the divide between the waters of Little aod Big Cottonwood canyons. It is Bunk perpendicularly per-pendicularly to a depth of twenty feet, and from its bottom an incline dipping at an angle of about thirty degrees, follows the line of a large and rich body of ore in a southerly direolion, under the oomb of the divide, to the Little Cottonwood side of the summit, a distaooe of 288 feet, ending with a vertical prospecting shaft, . forty-five feet deep and all the way through ore. This direction of the lode suggested the idea of working it from the Littlo Cottonwood Cot-tonwood side, as being much more economical than the original method of opening the mine on the opposite side, and Boon after Mr. Ely purchased the property, he wmmenoed to run a tunnel tun-nel from the Boutnern slope of the mountain about midway between its base and summit. THIS TUNNEL Is in 455 feet, and that it is very near the lode is evident from the faot that when we were at the bottom of the Davenport incline we could distinctly hear the men at work drilling into the faoe of the tunnel. A covered and stilted tramway connects it with the roadway at the foot of the hill. At its interior end, its floor is 310 feet vertically verti-cally below the Burface of the mountain, moun-tain, and it will tap tho lodo at a depth of about 400 feet Tho tunnel is woll timbered where timbering is necessary, is sufficiently high, aod as soon as a connection is made with the mines, will be thoroughly ventilated. At a distance of 3U5 foet from its outlet a branch tunnel ia being run to tap tho MATILDA MINE, A property of which I have not heretofore here-tofore written at length, and ono that merits a particular description. The prospecting shaft on this mino is eighty feet deep, and from its bottom a love! has been run in a northerly and southerly direction (corresponding generally gen-erally with tho direction of tho Davenport Dav-enport lode) a length of eighty feet. This level is run on tho line of a body of oro of huge dimensions, one that is never loss than ton feet in width, , aod often widens to twenty and even thirty feet. At neither end of the level, nor at its bottom, is there any indication of the diniunition or cessation cessa-tion of the lode, aod its continuity and great eitent is demonstrated by ihe fact that a second level, about tweoty feet higher, has been run on the oxaot lino of the time body of ore for a distance of fifty feet without audio? aud-io? an end limit, and without showing aDy contraction of the vein. I saw the Emma in its prime, and whi'e it exhibited a greater width of ore lhn the Matilda shows, tho lode laokod the regularity of formation that is palpatio palpa-tio in the latter, and tho ore was of a much poorer avcrago quality. The Matilda ores arc of a higher average quality than aoy I have neon in the Territory. They can bo readily milled, mill-ed, as also those of tho Davenport, and if Mr. Ely buil Is, a ho u-f.rnis mo that he oertainly will, thirty stamp mill, tho bullion product from incso mines will within two years rival that of" the Itaymond & Ely mines at riocho, ia Nevada. llcppcotfully, Wasatcu. |