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Early Mining Man
In 1866 the Federal Government passed legislation that put into law what
had been common practice in the Territory. The declaration supported informal
code: "Rules of
Miners" with the affirmation…
"…that the mineral lands of the public domain, both surveyed and unsurveyed, are hereby declared to be free and open to exploration by all citizens of the United States…"
It went on to define extralateral rights, patenting of lode claims and water rights. The unencumbered use of property was a vital incentive for frontier prospectors. Many left well-established towns and homesteads in the hopes of finding success. A surprising number came to the Ortiz Mountains south of Santa Fe in 1828:
the first gold rush in the American West. Two thousand of the fifty thousand people living in New Mexico set up camp at Dolores. Later, in the backwash of the California Gold Rush, miners drifted in on rumors of new strikes.The operation was simple, excruciating work. For the first time, anyone
who could withstand the conditions and disappointments had the means to hit
paydirt. With provisions and basic tools, prospectors trudged up canyons
in search of gravel beds that held ore. Guided by intuition,
one or two
men would set up camp and begin sifting gravels.
They placed a screen over a rocker or cradle, shoveled in pebbles and shuffled it under a stream of water to separate the heavier stones. Lacking water, they resorted to dry washing. Placing a pile of gravel on a blanket, they held the corners and tossed the gravel in the wind. The next step was crushing the ore to egg-sized pieces with a mortar and pestle, an "arrasta" or at a stamp mill. Combined with mercury, the gold formed an amalgam that was washed again to eliminate the gangue, (waste). Ore obtained from hard rock mining was also harder to recover. Reducing silver in particular required elaborate procedures and complex metallurgy [the patio process].
Hundreds of mining camps cropped up, bloomed and died with the last load of ore. Many of the buildings and structures left abandoned are still upright today; imbued with the rich associations of a past-present.
Planning a visit? Pick up a copy of Ghost Towns and Mining Camps of New Mexico by James E. & Barbara H Sherman. Find out what was there then, what is here now and how to get there |
Big claims were made in the prospecting era, and some proved out. The strikes were spectacular but, as Paige Christiansen states in the Story of Mining in New Mexico, "The mining history of New Mexico has the bulk of its detail in this (20th) century. In terms of production, only an insignificant amount of the total predates 1880." More important, the network that connected those hundreds of claims was essential to capture the real wealth of large capital investment.
With the enthusiasm of options traders, entrepreneurs marketed golden investment opportunities to the capitals of capital.
Spreading the Word: It's not surprising that some of the first businesses
established in new mining towns were local newspapers. Features included local,
regional and international mining news. Bold headlines wired across the country
announced new claims and stock offerings.
The Images: The earliest surveys of the frontier established the lure of the West with well-published images. The crew often included a photographer, none more popular than William Henry Jackson. Reproductions of his dramatic panoramas captured the public imagination with the romance of the Land of Opportunity.
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