Page 27 - The Mines of Kingston, New Mexico

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which it has been possible to gather information, and which proper- ly belong under the head of Middle Percha mines.
The Iron King is perhaps the best and most widely known of all the properties in the Percha district. It was the first location, and by reason of its quick sale at handsome figures, and the subse- quent development of its vast ore bodies, it caused to be fixed upon this section the attention of prospectors and mining men from all sections of the country. The mine was located in November, 1880, by Elliott and Forbes, who sold the property when there was only an
eight foot shaft upon it, for the sum of $25,000, Philadelphia people being the purchasers. It is located upon a zone or belt of limestone
in which the ore is mostly found lying conformably with the plane of the strata of the enclosing rock, and belongs to that class which comes under the head of limestone deposits. It is, in fact, the chief representative of that class of mines. It differs locally from most of the others because the strata of limestone which originally covered the ore along the east half of the claim's length has been almost en- tirely scored off, leaving exposed, close to the surface, the ore of the the vein, except where covered by thin scales of limestone, or the detritus incident to all mountain surfaces. The middle workings of the mine comprise two shafts and an adit level. One of these shafts
themainoneofthemine isdownseventyfeetandshowsoreall
the way, at the sides and bottom. The first forty feet is ore that
averages well in lead, being a decomposed quartz, carrying lead car- bonates and iron. The balance continues in -ore of a slightly differ-
ent description, consisting of brown oxide of iron principally, carry- ing copper carbonates and showing bunches of galena distributed throughout the mass. Three hundred feet west, or near the center of the claim, a shaft is down through limestone eighty odd feet, fol- lowing a streak of ore bearing lead carbonates. Between the two shafts an adit level is in forty feet, showing ore the whole way, top, sides and bottom. It is of the same general character, being a brown and red oxide of iron, galena and lead carbonate. Near the north end there are two shafts of fifty feet each, in black iron and manganese, carrying some lead. For two hundred and forty feet, the distance between these two shafts, an open cut has been excavat- edtoadepthoftenfeet,showingorealltheway. Attheextreme north end and close to the center end stake, there is a quartz cross