The Phoenix Herald, 1879-06-11

thorities, nn engagement ensued, in' which he was defeated, captured", tried by court-martial and shot. TnK EXPEDITION OF 1871. In 1870-71, Gen Serna, (then Vice Vice-Goveruor - Goveruor Vice-Goveruor of Sonora) obtaining some information regarding this district, organized an expedition to discover it. The hostile Apaches, through the efforts of Gen. Crook, in Arizona, and the Mexican authorities in Sonora, had now been subdued and removed to distant reservations. Gen. Serna had no difficulty in finding the spot from which these large masses bad been taken, and he himself found a lump weighing 45 pounds. No less than 40 tons of pure silver has been taken out of the spot. Under his pro protection, - tection, protection, quite a number of prospect

lrom two to five feet in width, lying close together and covering the whole surface ot the hill. The openings openings-are - are openings-are mostly open cuts; seven of them cover a leneth on the veins of 25r feet and a width of 75 feet, their' greatest depth being only 20 fee!. fee!.-"El - "El fee!.-"El Hilo" is half a mile south and at an elevation of 4,100 feet above tide', tide',-The - The tide',-The ore is very rich in chlorides, and from a cut 30 feet long, two feet wide, wide,-and - and wide,-and four or five feet deep, Gen. Serna, in 1872, is said.to have taken $12,600 from the chloride ores and 50 pounds of silver from a single lot of 400 pounds of rock. The mine is now being worked by Mexicans. There

area great number of mines in this district, whose average assays reach from $50 to $100 per ton. The district lies upon a series of high ridges, separated by small guiches which converge toward the spot oecupieu by the hamlet, lying between Serna's aud Borquer's haci haciendas. - endas. haciendas. The sides of the ridges are covered with a rich growth of gram ma grass. Jvear by are immsnse for ests of pine walnut, etc. All the gulches contain running streams of water. Such is the description of tbo famous Plaueuas de Plata, a district famous in the l ast and destined to be more famous in the future, though we trust that it will not cost the blood and treasure to garner its wealth, that has been expended in the past. The

erable quantities of chlorides of sil silver - ver silver were found. A few feet below the surface this became more diffus diffused, - ed, diffused, the veins widened, and though apparently rilled with good ores, not native silver nor rich chlorides were found in sufficient quantitiesto repay the search. As these men were un unprepared - prepared unprepared to woik ores of any sort, the object of the expedition being alone for native or placer silver, after a feir mouths the place was again aban abandoned, - doned, abandoned, one man only being left, who kept up the search a few months longer, meantime sinking a shaft on a vein which he called "Mejai," to a depth of 45 vcras (125 feet), and re

chas de Plata" ( literally slabs of sil silver - ver silver enticing name ), is the name given to a locality in the Arizona Mountains, a dozen miles south of the border, 75 miles south of Tucson and 45 miles due north of Magdale Magdale-na, - na, Magdale-na, where, 121 years ago, according to the archives of Spain and Mexico, Spanish explorers discovered large masses of pure silver on the surface of the ground, and at a depth of a few feel in the form of slabs, balls and grains, some of them very large one weighing as much as 140 ar ar-robas - robas ar-robas (3,500 pounds), which had to be melted to be weighed and transported.

and porphyry. This is generally overlaid with a porphyritic conglo conglomerate - merate conglomerate to varying depths in the sum summits - mits summits of the ridges. The general di direction - rection direction of all the veins or ledges disv closed is nearly magnetic northeast and southwest. The ore of the Ra Raousset - ousset Raousset seems to hi all porphyritic, porphyritic,-containing - containing porphyritic,-containing principally bromides and chlorides of silver without gold or base metals. The ore is found in the conglomerate and appears to be' in a series of parallel veins, each

Here Xhey remained six weeks, but without any other attempt to enter the district owing to th? intrigues ol" arrival house. The Intrigues finally ended in an open rupture.upon which, the Count marched to Hermosillo, where he met the government troop and defeated them. He wnS subse subsequently - quently subsequently taken sick (some say poison poisoned, - ed, poisoned, nnd conveyed on a litter to' Gu Hy Hymns, - mns, Hymns, where his officers under an ar arrangement - rangement arrangement with the authorities em embarked - barked embarked for San Francisco.