lead, to Capitan, with its vast fields of iron and coal on the south. Seven great gold mines are worked in the vicinity of White Oaks.

The mining interest of the White Oaks district has materially improved during the last year. There have been many additional discoveries of mineral wealth. As instance the Compromise mine especially, which has become famous for its rich and extensive ore deposits. It bids fair to be the big mine of the county, if not of southern New Mexico. The ore is not only rich in this mine, but the lead in which it is found is about 14 feet wide on the surface, and will easily average $20 per ton. The ore is generally sulphide, and requires the cyaniding process to extract its values, as a rule, but a large quantity of very rich, visible, free-milling ore has been taken from the mine.

This mine is to be added to the other producers of the camp, and gives assurance of much mining prosperity at the town of White Oaks for some time to come.

The Jicarilla mining district has been a successful one the year past, so far as preparation is concerned, for placer mining on a large scale. It has been thought for many years that this locality, although rich in placer gold, would never become a successful mining district, for the reason that sufficient water had not been found to handle the placer dirt; but this objection has been completely removed. Not only has capital and enterprise demonstrated that there is water in this locality, but that there is an abundance of it. The Jicarilla placers will not be known hereafter as dry placers, as they have been known in the past.. The American Placer Company, at a large expense, completed a well at the head of Ancho Gulch, within the last year, in this district, which furnishes a flow of water, at a low estimate, of not less than 200 gallons per minute. This well in a heretofore dry country is not only a well for the washing of placer dirt, but the railroad above mentioned has for the last six months depended upon it for its greatest supply of water. The water is not only found in abundance, but is soft, and very desirable for the railroad engines, as well as for stock and domestic purposes. This discovery will work a great revolution in placer mining in the district, and no doubt will lead to other undertakings that will result in more water, and in course of time all of the placer grounds in that locality will be handled. at a profit.

The tests so far made of the placer dirt in this locality have been highly satisfactory. The company above referred to has recently finished a large hydraulic and dredging machine, and the water has been conducted to this machine by means of pipes. The machine has a capacity for treating from 80 to 100 tons of material per hour. The lowest placed upon the value of this dirt is 25 cents per cubic yard, on an average. There are thousands of acres of rich placers in the district, and it will take probably a hundred years to treat the dirt and take the gold therefrom by any process. There is room here for more machines and more mining developments, and now that the railroad passes near the mouth of Ancho Gulch, the accessibility of the place is easy as compared with what it has been in the past. There are all sorts of theories as to the source of this placer gold. It is claimed by some that there are large mineral deposits, and probably leads in that locality from which this gold has eroded, and washed down the canyons and over the mesas. Certainly there is a field here for the lode prospector, and if the theory above mentioned is the correct one the time will come when some wonderful discoveries of rich ores will be made.

IRON AND COAL.

The iron and coal fields near Capitan have been opened, and the shipments of coal the past year amounted to about 169,440 tons, valued at the mines at $326,880, the bulk of it going to El Paso, thence to Texas and Mexican points. About 250 men are now engaged in this industry. Last fall over 10,000 acres of coal and iron lands in this section were sold to Pennsylvania and Michigan parties, and the Bethlehem Steel Company is planning to establish at Capitan a great industrial city. The success which the El Paso and Northeastern Railroad has met with in opening up this region of Lincoln County has had the effect of stimulating other railway and kindred enterprises.

A new mining camp known as Shellyville has sprung into existence in Lincoln County within the past year. It is located about 25 miles west of White Oaks and on the west side of the White Mountains. While it is yet a new camp and little known outside of the county, it has some very promising properties. Immense ledges of silver and copper have been discovered there, and considerable quantities of ore have been mined. These properties are also to be added to the former list of mining properties in this county.

There have been other rich discoveries in the county within the last year. At the headwaters of the Bonito in the White Mountains, on Turkey Creek, a large lead of free gold ore has been discovered, and it promises to be one of the large producers of this section.

The development of copper properties in the Gallinas Mountains is opening up some rich and valuable mines. Considerable quantities of copper ore were shipped from this locality before the building of the railroad above mentioned, and now that the road runs within a few miles of the mines we may expect a lively and thriving mining camp

here.

CENTERS OF POPULATION.

White Oaks, Capitan, Lincoln, Pecacho, and Nogal are the principal towns in the county. Lincoln is the county seat, with a population of about 350. All have excellent public-school buildings, the one at White Oaks costing $10,000. The latter place is a thrifty, growing town, with a wide-awake class of people, numbering probably 800, who are largely interested in mining and stock raising. Capitan covers a beautiful site of 200 acres, located in the midst of a coal and iron industry, and has had a rapid and substantial growth since it was established, in March of last year. It is located about 14 miles from the coal pits, and now has a population of some 450.

Nogal, or Black Walnut, so called from the great number of these trees growing in the neighborhood, is located in a delightful mountain park, well watered by streams and springs, and enjoys a large trade from the adjacent ranches and mining camps.

In a beautiful valley 7 miles from Lincoln is the old military post of Fort Stanton, which now serves as the United States marine hospital, an acknowledgment by the Federal Government of the superiority of the climate in this section, of which the citizens of Lincoln County never tire of boasting.

TIMBER RESOURCES.

Lincoln boasts of a magnificent belt of timber, pine, spruce, mountain ash, and cottonwood, with occasional patches of black walnut.

The mountain sides are thickly wooded for nearly 100 miles in extent, and some day the lumber industry will prove here one of immense proportions.

LUNA COUNTY.

Luna County, which was created by the thirty-fourth legislative assembly, and organized April 1, 1901, is in the extreme southern part of the Territory, bordering upon Mexico, and having between it and the Arizona line on the west a narrow extension of Grant County, which also touches the line of Mexico. The county extends 56 miles north and south and 54 miles east and west, and contains 1,935,360 acres, being two and one-half times the size of Rhode Island.

The Mimbres River traverses it from north to south. There is running water in its upper course, but lower down it sinks. It is primarily a cattle and mining country, although it has a fine rich soil which can be made to produce abundant crops of all sorts, as well as fruits of the finest quality, through the medium of irrigation. The returns of the assessor's office give the amount of agricultural land under irrigation and cultivated or used for stock-feeding purposes as 9,353 acres, although as the county develops there will no doubt be hundreds of thousands of acres added to it.

As the last census was taken while Luna County was still a part of Grant, it is impossible to determine the population definitely, but it is from 2,500 to 3,000, over one-half of which is in Deming, the county seat.

The census of 1900 gives Deming a population of 1,341; Lower Mimbres precinct, 486; and Cooks precinct, 504. There are besides about 100 inhabitants in the part taken from Doña Ana County and now included in Luna County, thus giving Luna County in 1900 a population of 2,431.

RAILROADS.

The assessed valuation of the county is $1,292,878. Two railroad lines, the Southern Pacific and the Santa Fe, pass directly through it, with a junction at Deming. Large numbers of men are working on the grade of the Bisbee road from Bisbee to Deming.

This work is nearly completed, and much of its material has been received. This line runs from Deming to Carizilillo Springs in the southern part of the county; from that place to a point near Lordsburg, and thence to Bisbee.

The railroad mileage in Luna County is as follows: Southern Pacific, 65 miles; Santa Fe, 110 miles; Bisbee, 65 miles, or 240 miles in all. Thus it will be seen that the railroad facilities are excellent, enabling shippers to send out products cheaply and conveniently. It is understood that the Bisbee road has behind it the owners of the great Arizona copper mines at Clifton, Morenci, and Bisbee, which will make them heavy carriers.

CLIMATE.

The mean altitude of Luna County is nearly 5,000 feet. Probably no county in New Mexico has so mild a climate. The winters are warm and snow is rare, seldom lying on the ground longer than an hour or two after falling. The summers are pleasant and the nights almost always cool, so that one rests well. There is no malaria lurking it its pure atmosphere. It is free from ague, chills, and fever. For those troubled with rheumatism, catarrh, asthma, bronchitis,

throat or lung diseases there can be found no better climate. This is Nature's own sanitarium for the consumptive; many who have come to this county in the earlier stages of the disease have become completely cured. The elevation, the ozonized air, the pure water, the invigorating breezes, are just what they need. The summer temperature is so modified by the light airs from the mountains as not to be in the least degree oppressive. The average minimum temperature is 28°, taken for a period of ten years. There are in the whole year 300 days of sunshine, 20 days actually cloudy, and 45 days partially cloudy. The 45 days recorded as partially cloudy, however, are frequently more pleasant than a totally cloudless day. There are in reality very few days in the year which one can not enjoy out of doors.

All the villages and little settlements have schools, post-offices, and stores. School terms are from six to nine months in length and the very best teachers are employed at good salaries.

STOCK.

As a cattle country Luna County offers remarkable facilities. Stockmen are never obliged to feed, their herds pasturing the year round in the valleys and mountains. In years past, during a dry time stock frequently suffered for lack of water; this has been obviated by the digging of wells, the whole country being dotted with windmills, than which there is no cheaper power for raising water. There are many hundreds of these in the county, and as there is always an abundance of grass, it is in this sense everything that could be desired. Owing to the mild and equable climate, and abundant water and grass, stockmen have found the country an ideal one for breeding. It has been claimed that the actual cost of raising an animal which will sell for $15 will not exceed $2. (This presupposes the possession of an original stock and the owning of a fair-sized herd of cattle.)

There are about 50,000 head of cattle in the county; nearly all stock that will average up well.

A

Poultry thrives if a little attention is given it. A very ready market for chickens, turkeys, and eggs exists all over the Southwest. number of chicken ranches established in the county should yield their owners handsome returns. For years quantities of poultry and eggs have been shipped into New Mexico on almost every train from the East. These products, with a little enterprise, could be raised at home, where they would be not only a considerable source of revenue, but prevent the constant sending of money out of the Territory for something it can produce as well at home.

MINING DISTRICTS.

The county contains five mining districts. The first and most important of these is Cooks, 20 miles north of Deming, where are located vast deposits of lead. The ore is almost entirely lead carbonates, carrying about 40 per cent in lead and 10 ounces in silver, and is especially sought after by the smelters on account of its desirability for fluxing. The deepest working is about 250 feet; as depth is attained there are good copper indications, and it is the opinion of the well informed that, with development, Cooks will yet have a reputation as a copper-producing camp.

The Graphic Mining Company has taken from its properties something like $500,000 in lead and silver. The El Paso Smelting Company's group of mines have yielded $2,000,000 in the past fifteen years. The Teel and Poe Mining Company have shipped between seven and eight hundred cars of ore, averaging $500 a car in value, or between three hundred and four hundred thousand dollars. Aside from the above-mentioned properties, about $200,000 have been taken from the various mines in the district. Among these may be mentioned the Flower Queen, Chance, Leadville, and Inez.

The Victoria mining district lies in the western part of the county, near the line of the Southern Pacific Railroad. It has produced in the past over $1,500,000 in gold, silver, and lead. The two principal mines here are the Chance and the St. Louis, and it is from these that most of this amount has been realized. From the Chance mine, Mr. Michael Burke, of Deming, on a lease, took out in less than a year mineral to the amount of $90,000. Wolframite also occurs in this district. This very scarce and valuable product is found in only a few places in the Southwest. J. Corneilson's mine yields wolframite of a very high grade.

Twenty-five miles south of Deming lies the Tres Hermanos mining district. There are many properties here which have produced well, although they are all practically undeveloped. It is safe to state that from the Cincinnati alone $100,000 has been taken.

The Yellow Jacket, owned by Judge Seaman Field; the Hancock, owned by J. B. Hodgdon and James Martin; the Contention; the Johnstown; the A. J. Clark group, and the claims of A. Beals & Co., are all good properties. From several of these considerable sums have been taken. The Hancock is a true fissure lode, with seven shafts upon it, from 60 to 145 feet deep, within a length of 445 feet.

Most of the mines were originally worked by men with limited capital, who were obliged to follow small bunches of ore in order to pay expenses. Silver and lead are the main products of the camp, although gold also occurs. Much of the ore is of high grade.

The district as a whole will probably run from 334 to 62 per cent lead, and from 18 to 51 ounces per ton in silver, with from one-quarter to 1 ounce in gold.

The line of the Bisbee road passes very near this camp, which will have a very strong tendency to increase development of property in the district.

The Florida district is in the Florida Mountains, 12 miles southeast of Deming. But one good mine has been developed in this district, the Silver Cave, from which over $60,000 have been taken. J. G. Clarke and Hodgdon & Allison have done a great deal of work at the upper end of the range, as has also Mr. Frank Priser in the southern portion.

The

The Carizilillo district is in the southwestern part of the county. It is directly on the line of the Bisbee Railroad and produces silver and copper. The Golden Cross and Eagle Mining Company have done considerable work here, as have also Merrill and Byron. It lies near the line of Mexico, and has abundant wood and water. Byron and Merrill properties are in very promising formation. Luna County certainly has a bright future as regards mining. But a small fraction of its territory has been prospected. The mines which have been discovered have not always been worked on the most economical basis. The increase of railroad facilities will have a tendency to promote renewed interest in this the most attractive and, der favorable circumstances, most remunerative of all enterprises.