The Morrills and Reminiscences - C. H. Morrill

Howe was champion of the prohibition cause, while it was generally understood that Boss Stout represented the liquor interests. The fight on this question dragged through the entire session. Several times the prohibitionists decided that they had a majority and that they would force the issue, but when it came to a canvass of their votes on the floor of the House, something had happened to prevent some of their friends from being present. Some members had been called home by sickness in their families, some had eaten too much "beefsteak" and were confined to their rooms.
There was a story in circulation that the liquor interests of the state had raised a fund amounting to sixteen thousand dollars to be used in defeating the bill, and that the money was turned over to a certain Omaha politican (sic) to be delivered to a certain Lincoln politician. The lobbyists were frantic, as the session had been awfully dry financially. The man from Omaha declared that he had delivered the money to the man in Lincoln; the Lincoln man was certain that he had never received a dollar. The lobby concluded that the two had divided the swag, and it then decided that prohibition was a good thing, and that the bill should pass; but for some reason it failed.
During the following summer Henry Atkinson, at that time surveyor-general of New Mexico, came to Lincoln.. While there he visited the Governor's office and after telling about general conditions in New Mexico, stated that the important object of his visit to Lincoln was to inform his friends about the wonderful

gold and silver mines in the new Cereo mining district, about fifteen miles from Santa Fé. He named several of his friends to whom, politically, he was under obligations, and said that if we would have a meeting, he would show us what he had already secured in mines and mining claims. The party included several men from Omaha.
At this meeting General Atkinson exhibited specimens of gold and silver ore taken from his mines. Those present were greatly interested in the wonderful specimens of horn silver ore. The General stated that he had nothing to sell, and that it was not necessary for us to purchase mines, since with his assistance we could locate claims just as valuable as his. Naturally we were all ablaze with the "get-rich-quick" mining fever. He frankly stated that he did not know how many millions he had, but felt sure it was only a question of digging it out of the ground. He proposed that we select two or more of our number to return with him to New Mexico. Those selected were to locate claims for themselves and their associates, all claims to be the property of the syndicate.
After discussing the question as to who should go, it was decided that Morrill was the only man who could get away from business. I absolutely refused, as I knew nothing about mines or mining. At the next meeting of the "Gold and Silver Mining Syndicate," we concluded that we would be obliged to give up the whole proposition. I still had the "get-rich-quick" fever and offered to go, provided the syndicate would

employ a mining expert. Finally it was decided that a committee should call on Professor Stewart, who was a geologist and mineralogist, and offer to let him in as an equal partner in the syndicate, provided he would go with Atkinson and me to Santa Fé and give his services and knowledge of minerals for such length of time as would be necessary. After an examination of the specimens and a further conference with Atkinson, he accepted the proposition. The Professor had a complete assaying outfit and we were soon off. The nearest railroad point to Santa Fé was La Junta. From this point we went nearly two hundred miles by stage via Las Vegas. At that time the city of Santa Fé had about ten thousand inhabitants,. of which nine thousand were Mexicans. All of the products grown by the Mexicans in the surrounding valleys were brought to Santa Fé on pack animals. These included hay, wood, grain, garden truck, and so forth. Nearly every building was a one-story structure. These were constructed of sun-dried brick about one foot square. The houses were generally connected with those on adjoining lots. Built in this way, around an entire block of ground, there was in the center an enclosed court, used as a meeting place for the women, and a playground for the children. The brick, made of blue clay mixed with straw, are almost indestructible in that climate. The old Mission church, constructed of this material and said by the Mexicans to be over five hundred years old, was still standing.

At the hotel we were seated at the same table with General Lew Wallace and his wife. At that time the General was Governor of New Mexico. The Legislature was in session, but since all proceedings were in Spanish, we were not interested.

It was decided that Professor Stewart should remain in Santa Fé, and that I should go to the camps to procure, from mines already opened, samples of ore for assaying. About two thousand claims were already located. On many of them work was being done. In camp I was told of an old Spanish mine called the Minne del Tero. In company with others I explored this mine several times. It had not been worked for perhaps one hundred or more years. Large bodies of ore had been taken out to a depth of several hundred feet. The shaft was on an incline of about forty-five degrees. Logs, standing upright, had been placed on the incline and steps cut in the logs, making a sort of ladder or stairway that reached to the bottom of the excavation. Governor Wallace informed me that a tradition existed to the effect that at the time the mine was being worked, the Mexicans held the Pueblo Indians as slaves, requiring them to mine the ore, carry it on their backs to the surface, and thence three hundred miles into Old Mexico to be smelted. The ore was of no value until it had been put through the smelting process. Wherever the ore is melted there is always slag, and slag is indestructible. The nearest point where slag had been found was three hundred miles south. Many thousands of


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