Tintic, Early Mines

The Tintic Mines. -- We have had a visit from Mr. N. P. Lake, deputy Recorder of Tintic Mining District. We learn from him that there are about six hundred miners at present at work in the district. Mr. Lake says they have plenty of good "pay" ore, and all they want is time, a little capital, and the Utah Southern railroad. They have been promised a post-office by the first of July.

We learn from Mr. Lake that Bishop Jenkins, this city, Mr. Charles Crismon, and Mr. H. P. Kimball are operating successfully. There are two smelting furnaces now in the district, and Crismon & Co. expect to put up another in two or three weeks. Two quartz mills are also expected to arrive shortly, one from the East and the other from the West.

The following are among the good paying ledges of the district: The Sunbeam, Great Eastern, Atlantic Cable, Eureka, Mammoth, Lucky, Morning Glory, Utah, Red Bird, Swansea, and the North Star, all of these are paying handsomely from the surface.

Mr. Luke will act as agent for the Tribune in his locality and furnish us further information, from time to time which we shall be glad to receive.

The Tintic Mines. -- This is a very extensive district containing 150 square miles. It is situated in Juab Co., in the Tintic valley and mountains, the most northerly point of which is probably in the neighborhood of twenty miles south of Camp Floyd or Fairfield.

Diamond City, -- or rather its proposed site -- the first place we visited in the district, is situated on the east side of the valley, some distance up in the hills, about 12 miles west of Goshen, and about 80 from Salt Lake City. There is a small stream of water at this place, sufficient. probably, for future town purposes, abundance of wood for fuel and a magnificent range for stock. The town was laid out in April last, having been surveyed by Charles Price, Surveyor of Juab Co., and contains 8 Blocks, 18 lots 50x100 feet in each block, besides 14 lots on the extreme east front. This town plat is owned by five gentlemen also engaged in mining near by. Henry Green & Sons have erected small smelter works at this place which had been in operation some three weeks, with which, however, they were still experimenting, not having perfected them at the time of our visit. There are a great number of ledges taken up in this vicinity, but many more yet unlocated, besides the undiscovered list which it is believed exceeds the number of those already found. Messrs. Beeston. Gough, Green and others took special pains to afford us all the information in their power. Mr Green, who is an old California miner, says that he has traveled from California to British Columbia, through Montana. Idaho and Nevada, but that he has nowhere seen indications of such rich and extensive mines as he finds on every hand in Utah. He also states he has found placer gold in the west range of the Tintic mountains, but water is too scarce for placer mining. The "Rising Sun," a ledge close by the "town," had assayed, we were told, $162 in gold, and $26 in silver, to the ton, near the surface; on the 28th ult. a shaft had been sunk upon it about 15 feet deep. The "Morning Glory" yielded as high as $160 in silver and copper. Average croppings of the "Linford" assayed 1/2 oz. of gold and 8 oz. of silver to the ton. The "Great Britain" croppings, 12 oz. silver to the ton. These figures were given to us by the parties who had the assays made.

Silver City -- is about 4 miles north of Diamond, and is in every respect a much finer location, with the exception of the entire absence of water which they have to haul several miles at present. This town site, which is owned by Messrs. Lake, Moore and Lewis, was first laid off on the 19th of last April and surveyed on the 1st of June by Mr. Price. It is to consist of 15 blocks, with an alley through each, and 8 lots 60x90 feet in each block. Hoople & Boatwright have a good blacksmith shop in operation, where all kinds of necessary work can be done. There is a bakery, owned by Chapel & Graves; a small store kept by Parsons & Lake, the stock of which will be increased as circumstances justify; a billiard saloon started by Joseph Hyde; and a restaurant run by Wm. Morrison, which was to have been in operation by the 4th inst., and which it is the design to extend as rapidly as possible to hotel accommodations. Messrs. Sabin & Cushman have a prospecting furnace in operation near town which is a great accommodation to the miners; ten dollars is the charge for smelting the bullion from 20 lbs. of ore. The proprietors handed us a small "brick" of bullion they had just run out of some ore, which can be seen at this office. Messrs. A. L. Horner & Co., intend erecting a furnace with a 10-foot hearth, at Silver City, if water is obtained; if not, they will put it up at a point about four miles to the south-west. They were waiting for fireclay from San Pete Co., where, we were informed by several experienced persons, as good an article can be obtained in abundance as can be found in any part of the world. If this enterprise proves successful, Messrs. H & Co. design erecting extensive smelting works. Our informant stated that an eastern firm had talked favorably of bringing a 50-stamp mill into Tintic, and that Wm. Jennings, Esq. had promised to render efficient aid in the development of this district. Messrs. Lake & Co. are sinking a well in the hope of obtaining water to supply the town; they were down 100 feet. Should they fail in getting water by this means, they talk of bringing it in pipes from a distance, as there are valuable and extensive mining interests in the vicinity, and both town and water are indispensable, as is also a

Daily Mail. -- Mr. Lake informed us that Col. Wickizer had assured them that mail service would be put on to Silver City by the 1st of July. The interests of the place really demand a daily, which should also be extended to Eureka. Diamond and Goshen. This could easily be done by establishing a branch route from Summit when the daily goes into operation to Fillmore. There are said to be upwards of a thousand men interested in Tintic mines already; we saw a great many there, and teams are constantly traveling the roads to and from the mines. If any place outside of Salt Lake City is entitled to a daily mail, surely this ought to be.

The First Discoveries -- in this valley were made by Joseph Hyde and Edward Peck, about the 13th of last December, who located the "Sunbeam." Since then Mr. Lake, who is deputy Recorder, says that over 200 district ledges have been located independent of extensions. It is his deliberate opinion that 200 mills and as many furnaces will be shortly needed in Tintic, for there are enough paying-ledges in that district alone, if developed, to supply the whole of the inhabitants of Utah with remunerative employment. The great drawback to the valley is the scarcity of water, but that will most likely be remedied in some way -- it is not improbable that several veins of water may yet be tapped in the course of the development of the mines.

The Future Of Tintic. -- There is no doubt this valley will, in a few years, be one of the busiest and most flourishing regions in the Territory. If half the anticipations of its friends are realized it will yet rival the most flourishing iron districts of England for furnaces and the busy hum of industry. We were assured that more than half the ledges now being worked are yielding ore that would pay well were there mills and smelters on the ground or near by; and there is no doubt that nearly all the others, as well as thousands more entirely undeveloped, will pay equally as well when they are fully opened up. But here, as elsewhere, the majority of those engaged in mining operations are poor men without the capital neccssiry to develop the wealth which lies beneath their feet. Many, however are working away with commendable and indomitable industry which, in spite of all difficulties, is sure to bring its reward.

Among the best leads so far discovered or tested in that district are the "Sunbeam," which, we were informed, had assayed as high as $900 to the ton in gold, silver, copper and lead; the "Diamond" "feet" of which are held at high figures by the owners; the "Mammoth" from which thousands of tons of ore have been already taken out; the "Eureka," which regularly yields paying ore, for certain kinds of which some White Pine parties offered $300 per ton, delivered in White Pine; the "Rising Sun," and the "Morning Glory," before referred to; the "Swansea;" the "Black Dragon;" the "Evening Star;" the "North Star;" the "Lucky;"’ the "Sampson" from which considerable ore has been shipped, and upon which, it is reported, more work has been done than upon any other claim in Tintic.

Ihe pluck and persevering energy of Mr. J. Brimhall of Spanish Fork, is worthy of notice and imitation, in the space of 80 days he and his son have, without any other aid and without waiting for numerous assays, sunk a splendid shaft about 33 feet deep and about 7 by 4 feet in width and diameter. There are several shafts down from 25 to 50 feet in depth, and work on many other ledges is being pushed forward vigorously.

Here, as elsewhere, the greatest courtesy was manifested by all with whom we associated, and both we and they regretted that circumstances prevented our spending more time in the district, which we could have done with pleasure and profit. Success to Tintic.