Near the above described property Messrs. Simmons & Roberts have sunk three shafts to a depth of 40 feet each, and Campbell & Beatty put down a shaft 100 feet, all in ore of a character and value similar to that found in the other mines. Both wood and water are obtainable in the district, pine timber growing on the hills, and a good stream of water is flowing down into the desert only 1¼ miles distant from these mines. With the character and grade of the ores found in these veins, and the advantages of wood and water, it would seem that these mines might be successfully operated, particularly as some of the owners are possessed of sufficient means. It is the expressed intention, however, to sink deeper and determine more fully the extent and character of the ore in depth before placing expensive machinery on the ground.
THE IBEX MINE.
Among the mines that have attracted unusual attention in this county during the past year, the Ibex Mine stands prominently in the front rank. It is located 3½ miles from Ibex Station, on the line of the A. & P. R. R., and not over 11 miles north from The Needles. The Ibex property is in the Ibex Mining District, and consists of seven claims, which were located in 1888, now owned by residents of Riverside and San Bernardino. The principal claim is called the Ibex. The vein strikes east and west, dipping at an angle of 45°. Two shafts, one 60 feet and one 52 feet, had been sunk at the time this information was obtained. At the bottom of the 52-foot shaft a drift 38 feet in length has been run on the vein. Surface cuts and trenches are quite numerous on the several claims, and a large amount of quartz containing gold had been exposed. Free gold could be seen in considerable quantity in some of the porous quartz. The quartz is thoroughly crystalline, showing many cavities as a result of the decomposition and leaching out of the sulphuretted minerals it originally contained. These cavities are all lined with minute quartz crystals, which have been deposited evidently since the removal of the sulphides. Rock of this description is full of gold, seemingly. It is so loose in texture that careless handling shakes out the golden grains. John Anderson, of San Bernardino, one of the owners, volunteered the information that from 2 to 4 feet of this rock sampled $100 to $150 per ton. The owners had determined the latter part of April to ship this free-milling ore to The Needles, where a mill was being constructed. Some of the quartz from the lowest workings contains small crystals of pyrite and chalcopyrite, but it would still be classed as an ore susceptible of free amalgamation. The Ibex property had a promising look in the spring of 1892. Its further development will be looked to with great interest by all interested in desert mines.
MONTE NEGRAS DISTRICT.
Near the south boundary of San Bernardino County, and about 75 miles directly east of Mount San Bernardino, a new mining district has been organized within the past two years, and considerable development work accomplished by the claim owners, who, as usual, are men of limited means.
This district is 22 miles northeast of Cottonwood Springs, 16 miles north of Eagle Mountain, and about 6 miles south from Virginia Dale. The belt is about 1½ miles in width and 5 miles in length. The veins trend north and south.
This new district, which has been named the Monte Negras, or Black Mountain District, has attracted considerable attention by the discovery in one of the claims of nuggets of gold and quartz of extreme richness. At the time of this discovery some newspapers in this county published the report that the mythical “Pegleg Smith” Mine had actually been found, which only added to the excitement produced by the bringing into San Bernardino of several hundred dollars worth of specimens.
I visited this new district in the month of May, 1892, and spent several days in making an examination of the claims and adjacent country. The Monte Negras camp is on the south side of the range of hills 45 miles northeast of Walters Station, on the line of the Southern Pacific Railroad, being reached by a fair desert road. By fair I mean a heavy, but not rough or hilly road.
Walters Station is nearly 200 feet below the level of the sea. From that point every foot of the way is up hill, till a divide near Cottonwood Springs is reached, at an altitude of 3,157 feet, the distance being 27 miles; from there to the foot of the wash, which extends 2 or 3 miles from the base of the mountains, down hill 19 miles, where the altitude is 1,300 feet. The altitude of the camp is 1,520 feet. All the mines lying back in the mountains are at higher, though varying, altitudes, the greatest elevation being 3,500 feet, at the Ramona. The neighboring peaks rise from 200 to 800 feet higher.
This district is distant about 35 miles from Cadiz, on the line of the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad. I have never traveled the road, and know nothing of it, although I am told it is a good desert road. Wood is not obtainable at all in the vicinity of the mines, and water is scarce, but has been obtained by sinking a well in a basin at Virginia Dale, a few miles north of these mines. A shaft was sunk 140 feet in the wash 3 miles south of the most southerly Monte Negras mines, but no water was obtained. Bedrock was not reached at the depth mentioned, but it is not unlikely water may be secured by continuing this shaft downward.