Page 225 - Cooke's Peak - Pasaron Por Aqui

for the first three years, and this group included
many who either already had been, or were destined to be, significantly involved in mining.112
It remained until 1876 for the seed to be planted that would germinate into the Cooke’s Peak Mining District and later flower into the most valuable lead producing area in New Mexico.
the presence of additional men at the hostelry near
Cooke’s Spring, the Apaches helped themselves to
oneofSamuelJ. Lyons’cowsbeforeabandoningthe 117
It is obvious that Orr, who had a ranch about nine miles from Cooke’s Peak, was successfully prospect- ing with Irington in Cooke’s Range. The ore from their Blackhawk Mine was of high grade, assaying 32 ounces of silver (per ton) and running 60 percent lead. They had excavated only 15 feet from the surface, and the vein was 10 feet wide and increasing. The two were able to dig out five to six tons per day, so they had the potential of making considerable profit if either an efficient way could be found to convey the ore to a market or reduce it near the source. They reportedly considered erecting a smel- ter on Orr’s ranch, but there is no evidence that this
iio
was accomplished.
Orr and his partner were not the only ones brave
enough to risk being caught by the Apaches who considered Standing Mountain (Cooke’s Peak) an integral part of their homeland. Lyons divided his time between operating the caravansary at the site of Fort Cummings and prospecting in the nearby mountains. He found, and on occasion displayed, numerous specimens of gold and silver ores, but there is no indication that he ever made a significant strike prior to his violent death in May of 1880 at the
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hands of the Apaches.
The miners were frequently harassed by the
Apaches, who prevented any meaningful develop- ment of the mineral resources, and highwaymen who continued to ply their trade in nearby Cooke’s Canyon. Apparently one of the Apaches’ main camps was located at the mouth of the defile later named Hadley Draw, about half-way between aban- doned Fort Cummings and the future site of Cooks
been credited by most historians as the person
responsible for the first discovery of recoverable
they opened the Montezuma Mine.114
During the 1860s and 1870s, prior to establishing
Grant County from the western portion of Dona Ana County, considerable prospecting was conducted in the southernmost extension of the Rocky Moun- tains. These were extremely perilous times as prospectors and ranchers not only had to contend with a desolate region, they also had to lean on natural resources that were in short supply in an area nearly devoid of potable water. In addition, the Apaches were yet to be controlled and attacked groups as well as individual would-be miners. There were also outlaws roving the area who would not hesitate to rob stages and kill for gold, a little horse-
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flesh, or even a few rounds of ammunition. Indeed, it was not always lone miners or prospec- tors who ran into more trouble than they could handle. Residents along the Lower Mimbres, in- cluding Ed Orr and Lon Irington, lost stock to raid- ing Apaches in early September 1876. They and Jessie Coomer, Dick Mawson, and Luciana Mon- toya decided to follow the trail of their stolen stock southward in the direction of the Florida Mountains. They continued past the Floridas to the southernmost peak of the Tres Hermanas where they struck a rancheria of about 30 Apaches. At the outbreak of violent confrontation, another 25 In- dians rose from behind a nearby rock ledge, and the
Anglos had to make a run for it.
The strategic retreat quickly became a rout and
nearly turned into a disaster. The men fled north about 15 miles before they reached a defensible point of high ground. Orr’s horse was so exhausted in the race that it fell dead when he dismounted to make a stand. After resting their surviving mounts, the party continued to the site of abandoned Fort Cummings, still trailed by a dozen warriors. Despite
minerals on Cooke’s 1 13 Peak.
Other sources indicate thattheinitialdiscoverywasaresultofjointventures by Orr and Lon Irington in 1877 when they located the silver-rich Blackhawk Mine, and in 1880 when
Edward Orr has
Chapter 7
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(not Cooke’s).
° 190
It is not surprising, therefore, that
This was not the only time Orr and
pursuit.
Irington fled to Fort Cummings to save their hides from the Apaches.
on at least one occasion Orr and a helper en-
countered seven Apaches who prevented them from
reaching Orr’s works. They judiciously returned to
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Orr’s ranch.
Apparently frustrated by their inability to capital-
ize on the Cooke’s Peak mines, Orr and Irington joined several other prospectors from the Pinos Altos area to examine mineral possibilities in the Floridas. Other members of the party included James R. Adair, Frank C. Bell, Edward Fulton,