EASTERN OFFICE:
MINERVA, OHIO.
WESTERN OFFICES:
Colorado Springs, Colo., and Taos, New Mexico.
Introductory.
In calling your attention to one of the richest districts in the whole Rocky Mountain system, we must say in the first place that the old Spanish and Mexican land grant controversies have greatly retarded the development of large tracts of the richest mineral lands throughout New Mexico, particularly in Taos County; but the United States court of private land claims and the United States supreme court have finally passed upon the validity of practically all these grants, and this has recently thrown open some very rich fields. Among these is the Rio Hondo district in Taos County.
This district contains, without any exaggeration, almost inexhaustible bodies of good paying gold, silver and copper ore. In the year 1680 these same Taos mountains gave up millions in gold and silver to the Spaniards, although worked by the crudest possible methods; and now, after lying idle for hundreds of years they are again about to give up their treasures to a few lucky corporations who have secured property in this vicinity. The Rio Hondo District is situated about the center of the county, a few miles north of the quaint old Mexican town of Taos, the county seat. Plenty of mining timber and streams of the clearest water make this an ideal place for reduction plants and the economic handling of ores.
In speaking of mining, many people think of a mining proposition as a gamble. True it is, that the unscrupulous promoter has been too much in evidence, and it is not surprising that an intelligent public is inclined to look with suspicion at even the legitimate mining enterprise. Mining when conducted along business lines, is just as legitimate and far more profitable than any other enterprise, but the investor must exercise care and judgment if he would make his investments profitable.
Mining is not affected by seasons or stagnant markets. Manufactories are influenced by competition, over-stocked market, variations in the price of raw material, and by the condition of the financial centers. Farming depends largely on the weather, and even when everything conspires to produce good crops, market conditions are frequently such as to subject the farmer to a loss of his entire season’s work.
Concentrating Plant and Smelter—1¼ Miles from the “American.”
The product of the mountain is always the same. The mines are the banks established by nature; are not affected by runs; have a market that is always certain, with a demand that is constantly increasing and a wealth of resource—the limit of which is co-extensive with the world.
But there is one thing that investors should bear in mind: “Mines are made—not found,” and a mine is not made in a day. When any other business is being built up, investors do not look for dividends until a market is created and the supply is sufficient to meet the demand. Many good mines have been ruined by the haste of stockholders in demanding dividends before the mine is put in condition to pay; and by their refusal to recognize the necessity for a large outlay in order to make dividends certain.