The area in which the oil occurs is further defined between the "hogback" above mentioned and a prominent ridge formed by the sandstones of the Middle Cretaceous, extending northward from the town of Tejon and a little west of the range line between ranges 5 and 6 east, New Mexico principal meridian.

These lands are covered by sandstone and shales of the Upper Cretaceous and Tertiary age. The strata are inclined at an angle of 25 to 35 degrees with the horizontal, the dip being to the east, southeast, or northeast, so that the edges of the upturned strata meet the explorer in going from west to east as successive ridges of strata of successively higher (or later) geological position. The shales and sandstones alternate in such a way that the latter, being harder, form the tops or crests of the ridges.

The large series of shales with the partings of sandstone that reposes on the "Punta de la Mesa" sandstone and occupies the surface of the western part of the company's land, and extends underneath at a depth below the whole of it. is a known and explored oil horizon in Colorado, and in this Territory to some extent, at least. This series of yellow and bituminous shale is one of great extent, measuring about 3,000 feet in thickness, and is also of great importance to the oil prospector, for it is the most promising oil zone in the Territory, and is equivalent to the Florence shales of Colorado. It is capped by 1.200 to 1,300 feet of alternating sandstone and shales in which the important coal beds of the region occur. It is probable that this is the equivalent of the Laramie, for it is succeeded by a large series of loose earthy and marly shales and sands of the Tertiary age. In the last-mentioned beds are petrified forests of considerable extent.

The economic interest, so far as oil is concerned. is confined to the shales and sandstone of the upper or marine Cretaceous reposing on the Punta de la Mesa ̈ sandstone. This series is at various places charged with organic matter, and it is not rare for it to produce well-defined beds of lignite coal, as if in anticipation of the later Laramie measures. In other cases the organic matter has undergone another species of disintegration, producing oil and gas instead of coal, and this is the case in the field in question. The thickness is here as great as in the Florence district of Colorado, and the geological formation may therefore be said to be distinctly favorable for oil production.

ACTUAL EXISTENCE OF OIL.

Amid all the theoretical conditions concerned in the occurrence of oil no one is so important as the actual discovery of oil sign. In the present case traditions run to the effect that oil has exuded in small quantities from the spring indicated on the map from a time whereof the memory of man is not to the contrary." At the time when the Wallace Oil Company began its investigation the existence of such a spring was a matter of general knowledge. A considerable amount of work was done by the company in excavating and cleaning out the spring, which has also been explored by means of a drill and piped to a depth of 60 feet. This pipe, 2 inches in diameter, rests apparently upon a thin stratum of sandstone and passes through shale. At the time of my visit a small amount of water was issuing from the spring, and a slight agitation of the pipe was sufficient to bring to the surface of the water globules of oil, which spread themselves upon the water in a perfectly characteristic way. Bubb es of gas also appear from time to time. The gas seems to be a carbon dioxide and in part sulphurated hydrogen. I was informed that at the time the pipe was driven a considerable quantity of oil was collected, and that it proved satisfactory in all respects.

The appearance of the oil I saw is that of a paraffin base oil rather than of asphalt oils, but examination of a sample showed it to be rather a heavy oil of dark color, with a specific gravity of about 0.9246. burning with a black smoke and afterwards giving off white fumes. and having a heavy asphalt base with a considerable percentage of paraffin. This would make a good fuel oil, but will also refine, producing a fair amount of lubricating and illuminating oil, leaving a residue of asphalt. It may be added. the same shales beneath the Laramie coal beds are to be found to the north and east of Las Vegas, but in this part of the Territory they have a different texture. They are highly bituminous and are interbedded with limestone instead of sandstone and contain abundant remains of Inoceramus fragilis and other marine fossils. In fact it is a deeper sea facies of the same series.

It remains to mention the curious and unexpected fact that certain local phases of the Jura-Trias, or Upper Permian, have been proven to be highly charged with asphalt. This is notably true in and about the Pera grant in Guadalupe County, where enormous masses of sandstone are charged with as high as 8 or 10 per cent of dry asphalt. It can hardly be doubted that such rock under a suitable cover would form a source of petroleum.

Practically, then, it has been shown that New Mexico shares with Colorado in the possession of at least three zones of oil production, one in the Lower Cretaceous, one in the upper marine Cretaceous shales, and one far below these in the red beds. The conditions for oil accumulation, given a bed of bituminous shale from which oil may be distilled, are the following:

First. A porous stratum, as of sand or vercicular limestone, to contain the oil. Second. An impervious cap, as of shale, to retain the light fluid.

Third. An arched configuration of strata, to produce a dome or inverted trough (anticline), to prevent the escape about the edges of broken strata.

Fourth. Sealing water, to act as in the case of a gasometer, to prevent escape and apply pressure.

In addition all cases furnish their own local problems of an economic nature. The too eager investigator should remember that immediately upon the discovery of oil a new set of problems are opened that may prove not less perplexing than those touched upon.

MINES AND MINERALS.

[Prepared by the Bureau of Immigration.]

DESCRIPTIVE OF A REGION RICH IN Gold, Silver, COPPER, LEAD, IRON, ZINC, TURQUOIS AND OTHER GEMS-MINING OPERATIONS THAT ANTEDATE DISCOVERY OF GOLD IN CALIFORNIA OVER A CENTURY-GRADUAL GROWTH AND PROMISING OUTLOOK.

IRRESISTIBLE CHARM OF GOLD.

The Spaniards enjoy the distinction of being the first Europeans to plant permanent settlements on American soil, and the region now designated on the maps as New Mexico witnessed the founding of the earliest of these pioneer colonies. In 1541, in his search for the fabled Seven Cities of Cibola, Coronado penetrated as far north as Santa Fe. The glowing reports transmitted to Spain by this intrepid explorer and those who soon followed him into the trackless wilderness, then peopled exclusively by thousands of savages and infested by wild animals of almost all kinds, resulted in the founding of Spanish colonies in the territory certainly as early as 1600, thus antedating the founding of Jamestown by the English at least seven years and the landing of the Pilgrim Fathers at Plymouth at least twenty years. The history of mining in New Mexico is coeval with that of these first settlements. Indeed, the discovery of quantities of gold, silver, copper, lead, iron, and other minerals, besides such precious stones as turquois, rubies, garnets, and opals. in the gravel beds and mountains of what was then termed New Spain unquestionably was the chief reason why the Spaniards braved all the perils and hardships incident to planting and maintaining the settlements indicated. It thus happened that millions of dollars' worth of gold and silver were washed out of the sands and dug out of the mountains of this Territory over a century before the precious yellow nuggets were found in the tailings of Sutter's mill in California.

STORY OF PIONEER MINING.

When Coronado and his venturesome followers originally passed through New Mexico, they found large colonies of Indians at various points in the fertile Rio Grande Valley and elsewhere in the Territory. Fully 15,000 of these primitive people occupied the present site of the city of Santa Fe and formed probably the largest of these ancient pueblos. Besides the comparatively inoffensive Pueblo Indians, thousands of wilder savages, such as Navajos, Apaches, and Utes, roamed over all parts of the Territory where game and fish abound. These Indians exhib ited to the greedy eyes of the Spaniards many enchanting nuggets of gold, rich specimens of quartz gold, silver and copper ore, rude decorations of the precious metals, and permitted glimpses of some of their gods graven out of stone whose eyes were composed of turquois of the rarest tints and texture and whose other ornaments were inset gems of much value. The pursuit of the treasures indicated at once became the absorbing occupation of the Spaniards Hundreds and probably thousands of Indians were enslaved and forced to work in the mines by the crudest and most laboriors methods. The amount of labor done during this early period and the value of the metals rescued can only be inferred from the miles of underground workings subsequently discovered, the rade reduction appliances and slag piles fornd in various places, and the traditions that have been handed down from generation to generation. In 1680 the Indians broke loose from the chains of slavery that had been fastened upon them. murdered many Spaniards, and forced those who escaped death to leave the Territory. During the ensuing

twelve years the Pueblos held undisputed possession of Santa Fe and all the surrounding mining districts. They expressed their hatred of enforced toil in the mines either by destroying all the workings or so completely covering them up that it is believed some of the more important of them have never since been found.

AFTER THE RECONQUEST OF SANTA FE.

After the reconquest of Santa Fe by Diego de Vargas in 1692. mining was resumed in the Territory in a desultory fashion, and, in spite of remoteness from the seaboard and commercial centers, lack of transportation facilities, absence of system and labor-saving appliances of any kind, hostility of Indians, and kindred causes, soon became an important source of wealth. Naturally attention was first directed to the renewed development of the extensive placer grounds and the restoration of the old mine workings in the southern part of Santa Fe County, which section not only witnessed the earliest mining operations in this Territory, but in the vast domain now embraced in the United States, and gradually prospecting and mining were extended to other parts of the Territory. Unquestionably the gold mines of Taos County and those of Grant County. particularly the Pinos Altos placers, were worked during this period and large values were extracted therefrom.

The operation of the rich placer deposits in southern Santa Fe County was attended by the greatest difficulties under both Spanish and Mexican rule. During dry seasons water was packed on burros for several miles, and in winter scanty supplies were secured by melting snow with heated rocks. Modern tools and appliances were not dreamed of. The early workers were rarely ever able to sink their pits to bed rock, where the richest gravels are always found, and they were obliged, even when developing the richest streaks. to leave about one half of the material standing as safety pillars. The strippings (or comparatively low-grade dirt) were of course thrown away, as there was no way then known of securing the values therefrom. Yet fortunes were washed out in this slow and laborions manner long before Fulton invented the steamboat or Stevenson pulled the throttle of the first locomotive. The gold saved was usually coarse, and many large nuggets were taken out at different times. One of these, found in Santa Fe County, is said to have been worth $6,000. It is certain that during recent years a nugget worth $400 was found near Dolores, and after heavy rains nuggets worth several dollars each are often picked up in both the Old and the New Placers districts. These inexaustible deposits of auriferous gravel are still being worked by descendants of the pioneer Spanish miners by means of dry washers," but such slow methods will soon be mere memories. Modern methods and machinery promise soon to begin on a large scale the work of rescuing the golden values from these extensive gravel beds. Millions of the precious metal are certain to reward the enterprise.

OLDEST LODE MINE IN AMERICA.

Some of the lodes in the surrounding hills, whence the placer deposits undoubtedly crumbled and washed down, were extensively worked under both Spanish and Mexican rule, and there are evidences that much gold was extracted therefrom. It is estimated that gold to the amount of $5,000,000 was taken out of the old workings of the famous Ortiz mine, and the wealth of several of the prominent native families can be traced to this source. It is certain that this is the first lode mine operated in what is now United States territory.

Soon after the initiation of mining a few miles south of Santa Fe, and before the Pueblo revolt of 1680, the Spaniards penetrated the rugged mountains north in Taos County, and there opened and operated by means of Indian labor mines of gold, silver, and copper of great value. The Franciscan Fathers, working in the name of the church. are said to have taken out several million dollars in this way. Immediately following the revolution, the infuriated and triumphant Indians. believing that Spanish cupidity for mineral wealth was the sole cause of their oppression, filled up the mines, so far as possible obliterating all traces of them, and stubbornly refused to disclose their location when the Spaniards returned. Among the traditions firmly believed by many of the native people is that, before the Pueblo uprising, millions in gold and silver were taken out of the mines in the Taos Mountains near Arroyo Hondo, and that the Spaniards concealed a hoard of $14.000.000 in one shaft before fleeing from their savage conquerors. While the last feature of this tradition will doubtless be classed by most people along with the story of Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp, the statement that numerous mines were opened and worked in the Taos region before the Pueblo insurrection is proved by the later discovery of many of the ancient workings, and color is given