Show OLD AZTEC MINES OF COLORADO spokesman review spokane wash mark W musgrove pioneer mining man of this city who abo is known in most mining camps on the pacific coast has returned home after a visit of several months to the old aztec mines in southern colorado these mines are 25 miles southwest of min cos a town on the rio grande southern railway regarding these wonderful mines mr musgrove said located high on the mountain side the mines command the most magnificent view in the world and show to what length the aztec sense of the beautiful must have been developed As one rides gradually up toward the mines the grandeur and magnificence celice of aie ae view of hill dale and monster crag dawns upon one at the labor and skill of this so called savage race a man of today can but wonder here are cities that covered a thousand acres and in the town are to be found single buildings of rooms and some of these buildings are today almost as perfect as at the time they were finished in these cities were vast auditoriums where the multitudes must have gathered there were public squares in which had been built public or baptismal and at present many of these ruins are far out on the desert miles from the running water of today find buried pottery beneath some of the ruins pottery has been uncovered and has the appearance ot having been used for cooking purposes and other pottery has been found that is as bright and new as though it had never been used most remarkable of all perhaps are the remains of an irrigation system that must have been one of the greatest pieces of that class of work ever carried through by engineers ancient or modern so vast were the flumes blumes carrying this water that mountains were cleft to make way for the projects the present tenants of these lands the utes and the navajo indians are as interesting as the ruins by which they are surrounded Koun ded Althou hg these tribes herd their cattle goats and sheep on the same ranges and trade at the same stores the one cuts his hair short and the obder ot jer wears his hair long the navajo women weavers make blankets that when folded hold water and the ute women make a 9 blanket if were to save their lives navajo indians are expert jewelers fashioning beautiful bracelets and ornaments from silver but the ute indians can do nothing of the kind I 1 found that some of these indian jewelers make perfect masonic emblems causing me to believe that at some time they must have been up in masonic rites added to the mysteries I 1 have just related is the mystery of lost rivers madly flowing streams rushing along only to disappear in the earth and be seen no more such are the things to be found in the district ten miles from the four corners the corners where colorado arizona new mexico and utah meet rich in resources but this country is also great in its resources huge coal veins in many places showing on the surface to be from six feet to 50 feet in width run through thu the country copper deposits some of them very rich in native copper are to be found in the hills in some of the canyons natural flows of oil are to be found some of them without work having been done seeping five or six barrels of oil per day placer deposits are both rich and extensive and are near the surface the gold being fine and flaky getting coarser and heavier as work proceeds to bedrock prospects have been found frequently showing as many as colors to the pan these bars extend for miles and conservative miners estimate that they would yield 60 50 cents per cubic yard on the average although running much more at places there are no large bowl ders and no cement gravel and ample water and coal is to be had many miners are taking out from 3 to 5 per day with the rocker for dredge work the low bars could be worked with a dredge at 2 cents per yard the high bars could be worked with giants so far the great trouble has been to divert the waters of the san juan river |