Show SAGA OF ALTAS MINES aa VE 0 4 EMM M ne of alfa ea 4 uta k x W its tw 44 wa by COL GEORGE H WATSON president and gen manager alia alta united mines co of mines crowning the D DOZENS wasatch mountains look down on salt lake city 25 miles northwestward from big and lit tie ile cottonwood districts generally referred to as alta in honor of their first town in 1868 before the ontario mine began to flood the world with sil sit ver alta was a busy little camp disseminating reports of sliver 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 Is related that grass root ex postures of mineral were made at the instance 0 of the indefatigable gen patrick E connor of fort douglas as early as 1864 the strike which gave alta its first million and incidentally led to international notoriety was made by james F woodman as aisted by three companions ghis holm woodhull and reisch A mineral etain ed surface streak tempted woodman Wood mans s pick and 83 93 feet down become a tab fab ilous ore body the emma mine had been discovered for flour bacon and other supplies the miners had gone in debt to salt lake merchants now the emma mining co wals formed and a large interest in it taken by walker brothers store keepers and embryo bankers lit litt gallon gation over an option on this mine its purchase by a british company in 1872 and an investigation of charges that the american min s ter to london used his official tion to boost the stock are print ed history for two years be holders were dazzled by the s ze and richness of the emma scarce ly less impressive were the slopes of the flagstaff lust just west of the emma also taken over by a british company claims were located all along little cottonwood big cottonwood the next canyon north and the ridge between the two A multi tude of tunnels and shafts nosed into the outcrops and presently several prospects were shipping ore the emma emmas s great shoot was terminated by a fault which cut oft off the ore like a knife but not before some three million had been mined and hundreds of thousands aid as dividends meanwhile rich veins had been discovered in the prince of wales and maxfield mines on the big cottonwood side and the albion on the divide to the south where the zone extend ed over into american fork can yon ore deposits of importance were uncovered in the city rocks col umbus north star grizzley tole do reed benson and many others during the first year of production ore was hauled by ox team down little cottonwood can yon and to ogden thence by rail to san francisco and by water to swansea wales where it was smelted and refined seventy three was a big year for the town of 0 alta five breweries assuaged the thirst ft vf the miners six sawmills cut lumber lor for build ings and timbers tor for the mines the population swelled to 5 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 in fights over mining claims the faulting of the emma vein followed by the do ol 01 silver in 1873 was a serious blow to the camp then in 1874 came a catastrophe which was to reduce alta ita tor for a generation to the status ot of a ghost camp an enormous swept down from emma hill at the north the life was crushed from 60 men in buildings on the main street there the snow was 40 feet deep fire broke out and added to the ruin ore discoveries continued but rejuvenation of the town was dis cou raged by the lack of tran trang por tation facilities alta Is about 8 ft t above sea level in S 8 miles the road to salt lake valley drops it t ore of any but the high est grade could not be moved prof stably by wagon A narrow gauge railroad gave some relief until high operating cost forced its ab andon ment the solution has been found in federal highways and auto trucks splendid roads up the canyons are nearing completion medium grade ore soon will be marketable A mine as prolific as the emma was developed on the big cotton wood s de in 1914 it is called the cardiff economies effected by the merging of older workings and coordinated operations point to an era of low cost production with all its handicaps the alta ore zone has produced about 37 gross and many thousands of dollars have gone to ers dividends up to 1917 report ed by the U S geological survey include from the emma WO tom the vallejo and 78 trum from the south hecla all now owned by the alta united mines co from the flagstaff and from the columbus con b botn 0 t a belonging to the wasatch mines co from the maxfield from the cardiff and from various smaller properties lead silver ore has been alta a most important contribution to the world though considerable copper and some gold have figured on the settlement sheets in some mines bismuth Is a promising resource recently the high proportion of gold in the western part of the area has inspired much activity there the feeling Is general that the greatest obstacles to production from alta hare have been overcome and that the zone Is 1 entering an epoch ot of unprecedented prosperity |