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Show ; SAGA OF ALTA'S MINES r v -s . - .- , u ' , , t r " 'Z ' - . fmrnp Mine at A!ta - . V-' "... - . -' ' . i ....... ... , i - . . . ... .r -5 ', i ' ." ' ' c . ; '''."'' ..--.f . i'. ; - . . Ll -' " V ' . " ' .. ? y :ll"!7J. . ja,. . ". ' , $0U S'oov Lr!e Cc-t'cn.-. - ' 'v " V-vT'V'-V- By COL. GEORGE H. WATSON President and Gen. Manager Alta United Mine Co. DOZENS of mines crowning the Wasatch mountains loek down on Salt Lake City. 25 miles northwestward from Dig and Llt-tla Llt-tla Cottonwood districts. ReneraJlv referred to as "Alta" lo honor of 'their first town. In 18C3, before the Ontario mine began to flood the world with sil-Ter, sil-Ter, Alta was a busy lit tlo camp dl&semlnatlng reports of silver-lead strikes and backing the reports with occasional small shipments of ore. Who first stuck a pick into the ground Is not known, though It la related that grass-root exposure ex-posure of mineral were made nt the Instance of tlio Indefatigable Oen. Patrick K. Connor, of Kort Dounlun, as early as 1SG4. The strike which gave Alia Its first million and. Incidentally, led to International notoriety, was made by James F. Woodman, assisted as-sisted by three companions Chls-holm. Chls-holm. Woodhull and IteKch. A mineral-stained surf.iee streak tempted Woodman's piek and, SKI feet down, become a fabulous ore body. The "Kmma" mine had been discovered For flour, bacon and other supplies the miners had gone In debt to Salt lake merchants. Now the Kmma Mining Co. was formed and n large interest In It taken by Walker Ilrothers, storekeepers store-keepers and embryo bankers. Litigation Liti-gation over an option on this mine. Its purchase by a l!ritlh company In 1872 and an Invent ical Ion of charges thnt the American minis tr to London used his nfllclal position posi-tion to boost tho stock am printed print-ed history. For two years beholder be-holder were dnzzled by the size and richness of the F.mma. Scarcely Scarce-ly loss InipresHive were tho slopes of the Flagstaff, Just west of the F.mma, also taken over by a Hritish com pany. Claims were located all nlong Llttlo Cottonwood, lllg Cottonwood (the next, canyon north) and (he ridge between the two. A multitude multi-tude of tunnels and .'drifts nosed Into tho outcrops and, presently, several prospects were shipping ore. The Kmma'B great shoot was terminated by a fault which cut off tho ore llko a knife, but not before some threo million had been mined and hundreds of thou.'iands paid as dlvidendH. Meanwhile rich veins had been discovered In the Prince of Wales and Maxflidd mines on tho lllg Cottonwood Hide, and tho Albion, on tho divldo to tho south, whom tho xonn extended extend-ed ovor Into American Fork enn yon. Ore deposits of Importance were uncovered In tho City Kocks. Col umbus, North Star, Crlzzley, Toledo, Tole-do, Heed ,Vr lleminn and many others. During tho Ill's I year of production ore was hauled by ox ttium down I.illlo Cottonwood can-you can-you autl tu Oduti, thuuee by rail to San Francisco and by water to Swansea. Wales, where It waa smelted and refined. 'Soventy-three was a big year for the town of Alta. Five breweries assuaged the thirst of the miners, six sawmills cut lumber for buildings build-ings and timbers for the mines. The population swelled to 6,000. Saloons and dance halls did a flourishing business. So did the cemetery south of town. Tradition, has It that more than a hundred men were killed la fights OTr mining claims. The faulting of tho Emma vein, followed by the domonetizatloD of silver In lS7:t, was a serious blow to the camp. Then, in 1S74, came a catastrophe which was to reduce Alta for a generation to the status of a ghost camp. An enormous snnwslldo swept down from Kmma hill at tho north. The life was crushed from GO men In buildings on tho main street. There the snow was 40 feet deep. Fire broke out and added to the ruin. Oro discoveries continued, but rejuvenation of tho town was discouraged dis-couraged by the lack of transportation transpor-tation facilities. Alta is about S.500 ft. nbovo sea level. In S miles Tho road to Salt Lake valley drops tOOO ft. Ore of any but the highest high-est grade could not bo moved profitably prof-itably by wagon. A narrow-gauge railroad gave Rome relief until high operating cost forced Its abandonment. ab-andonment. The solution has been found In federal highways and nut ut rucks. Splendid roads up the rapyons are Hearing completion. .Medium grade om soon will bo marketable. A mine ns prolific as tho Kmma was developed on the liig Cottonwood Cotton-wood side In lOl l. It is called the "Cardiff". Keonomles effected by thi merging of older workings and coordinated operations point to an era of low-cost production. With nil lis handicaps the Alta ore 7ono has pnxluccd nbout 000. lino, gross, and many thousands of dollars have gone to stockholders. stockhold-ers. Dividends, up to 1H17, reported report-ed by the U. S. Geological Survey, Include jnno.iino from the Kmmn JlMi.iinil from the Vallejo and J7X.-!MH) J7X.-!MH) from the South llerla (all now owned by the Alia 1'nllod Mines Co.); f:i;,n.ono from tho Flagstaff, and $2rj,!2: from Iho Columbus Con., (both belonging lo the Wasatch Mines Co.); fllS.OtlO from tho Maxlleld, J i'.:"..niin from the Cardiff nnd $700,000 from vnrlous smaller properties. Lead silver oro has been Alto's moat Important contribution lo the wovhV, though ronsiilerable copper and nomo gold have figured on the set i lenient iiheets. In some mines bismuth Is a promising resource Kecently tho hlr.h proportion of gold In Iho western part of the area has Inspired much activity there. Tho feeling Is general that the greatest obstacles to production from Alta have been ovorri'mo an" that Iho mno Is ontei'lng an epoe uf unprecedented prosperity, |