1881 - El Dorado

El Dorado is in Colorado District, in the extreme southeastern corner of the State, and is about four miles west of the Colorado River, near the celebrated El Dorado Canon. It was started in 1861, at the time of the discovery of ore and the organization of the district, and at present consists of a store, boarding-house, saloon, blacksmith shop and a few dwellings. A ten-stamp mill was erected in 1864, almost entirely composed of old material and machinery. This was run at intervals for three or four years, after which its capacity was increased by the addition of five stamps and a roasting furnace. At the present time a new ten-stamp mill is being built. The nearest railroad station is Fort Yuma, on the Southern Pacific Railroad, with an excellent chance for steam navigation up the Colorado to Callville. The cost of freight from San Francisco, by water, is eighty dollars per ton. El Dorado Canon is a remarkable fissure through masses of rock, and is twelve miles in length. Its width varies from twenty to two hundred yards, and its walls are from two hundred to six hundred feet in height, abounding in striking and majestic scenes. Through this canon flows the Colorado, having a fall of 240 feet to the mile. By reason of ravines or washes, it is conveniently reached from the mines, and affords an unlimited supply of water. Wood from the adjacent mountains is delivered at ten dollars per cord. Much of it is rafted down the river for a distance of 125 miles. Float-wood is also caught in large quantities during high water, and costs only one dollar per cord. Ore was discovered in April, 1861, by Joseph Good and others, from North San Juan, California. For several years considerable work was done. No steam hoisting works have been put up at any of the mines, hand windlasses being used where tunnels and cuts are impracticable. Salt is obtained from the mines near the Rio Virgen, and is brought down in boats from St. Thomas. The veins in the district are found in talcose slate, and run southeast and northwest across the formation, and dip to the southeast at a slight angle. The ores are base, and contain lead, antimony and zinc, and in addition to silver, carry ten per cent, of gold. Six hundred and fifty locations have been made in all, forty of which have been recorded within the past year. The principal mines are the Savage, Nash, January, O. K., Silver Eagle, Silver Legion and Techatticup. The latter-named mine contains a shaft 380 feet deep, and a tunnel 400 feet long. Mining prospects are regarded as very promising.

Extracted, 2021 Aug 25 by Norma Hass, from History of Nevada, published in 1881, pages 489-490.