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Page 12 Desert Messenger celebrates the Arizona Centennial with Voices from The Past in Quartzsite, AZ Excerpts from "In the Shadow of Saguaros" by Rosalee Oldham Wheeler The Red Cloud Mine Known around the world as the source of the world's fi nest wulfenite crystals, the long and rich history of the Red Cloud Mine in the Trigo Mountains of La Paz County, Arizona fi rst began as a producer of silver and lead ore. The name the Indians gave this place was, Aleh Shonak or a "place of small springs". In the early 1860s the mine was discovered while woodchoppers were cutting wood six miles inland from the Colorado River to be used in the steam engines on the fl at boats hauling freight up and down the river. In the 1860s, the closest town of any size near the Red Cloud Mine was Si- lent, which had the largest population of the several inland mining towns lo- cated near that stretch of the Colorado River. A post offi ce operated in Silent from November 8, 1880 until March 13, 1884. Silent's citizens lived in dugouts rather than wood houses. The scarcity of lumber, along with very hot sum- mer days and cool winter nights made dugout housing a pleasant necessity. There were three general merchandise stores, a hotel, a saloon, and the popu- lar La Cantina La Plata dance hall. The Red Cloud Mine fi rst operated as an open-cut mine between the 1860s and 1870s. Then in 1878, Warren Hammond cut into an immense ore body that for over the next seven years yielded over $30,000 in lead/silver (at 1880s prices, of course...which was about $1 per ounce for silver). In 1885 the Red Cloud was surveyed for a patent for Horton and Knapp. Later in 1889, the new owners, Hubbard and Bowers shipped dry concentrates that yielded 300,000 pounds of lead and 22,500 ounces of silver. The value of the ship- ment was recorded at $32,850. Early miners stoped (step-like un- derground excavation for the removal of ore being mined in successive lay- ers) in the fi rst four meters of the vein before resorting to stoping in just se- lected areas. According to the Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum, by 1890 the mine had probably produced over www.DesertMessenger.com $1 million (at 1995 prices) in silver by stoping, by which time the workings had reached its peak. Had it not been for a visit back in 1880 by A. E. Foote, a Philadelphia mineral deal- er, the fate of the Red Cloud might have been sealed. How- ever, while Foote was taking ore samples from the tailings he observed many small but stunning red crystals. He showed them to noted geolo- gist Benjamin Silliman who recognized the mineral as be- ing secondary in lead deposits like the ones fi rst described by Franz von Wulfen, an Austrian miner- alogist. Wulfenite had been discov- ered at the Red Cloud Mine! I last visited the Red Cloud Mine in 2000 to learn more about renewed ef- forts to excavate more of the rare and beautiful red-orange wulfenite crys- tals. The elderly caretaker spoke of this extraordinary mineral with pride and affection. He showed me several stunning specimens and allowed me to purchase three small clusters of vibrant red-orange, square windowpane-thin crystals encased in what he said was soft Calcite and Limonite. He also dis- played samples of thicker crystals that looked like smooth cubes of stone. Today, the wulfenite from the Red Cloud Mine is widely regarded as the world's best wulfenite because of its stunning red and orange colors in combination with its high luster, good crystal size (to over 5 inches), and stunning transparency. Eagerly sought after by collectors ' We are loaded with goodies! Furniture, Glassware, Yard Art, Here we go again! Antiques, Collectables, Linens, Jewelry. Lots of Vintage Items...and Great Prices! We will open Dec. 1st Hope to see you here! at 8am Vendor Spaces Available OPEN DAILY 9-4 THRU FEBRUARY 315 E. Ironwood, Quartzsite (next to the QIA) and enthusiasts, wulfenite is one of the most beautiful and well formed of all minerals. It usually occurs in shades of tan to butterscotch, yellow to orange, and the deep red of the Red Cloud Wul- fenite. In very small amounts, wulfen- ite is found in lead mines throughout the world including the Mina Ojuela in Durango, Mexico. With Arizona's November 7, 2012 large silver-lead deposits wulfenite can also be found in the Glove Mine south of Tucson, the Hilltop Mine in Co- chise County, and the Rowley Mine in Maricopa County among others. Adding to the fame of La Paz County minerals, a beauti- ful specimen of Red Cloud Wulfenite was one of four minerals depicted in a set of 29-cent U.S. post- age stamps issued in September of 1992. In 1994, at a federal court auction Wayne Thompson and a group of in- vestors purchased the Red Cloud Mine with a plan to mine for specimens of wulfenite. They began digging an open- pit that eventually reached a depth of 60 feet. On April 1, 1996, the miners opened the Red Gem Pocket, a crystal- lined open vein that is the largest and most productive pocket ever found at the Red Cloud. Hundreds of matrix specimens were recovered, along with dozens of top quality pieces. In 2002 Bryan Lees & Company acquired the claim stripping tons of overburden off the vein in order to follow the incline to the bottom of the vertical shaft. Even though they recovered some beautiful specimens, poor sales did not cover the high cost of operations, and they halted mining in 2003. Since then, the BLM ordered the mine to be fully reclaimed, and both the old and new mine workings have been backfi lled with more than 20,000 tons of waste rock. With the mine reclaimed and thousands of sparkling wulfenite crystals again hidden from view, an- other collector must have known the future value of my three prized wulfen- ite specimens when they lifted them from a ledge on the fl agstone fi replace in my Quartzsite home. Independant Living in Quiet, Tranquil RV Park in Quartzsite • Comforts of Living in Your Own RV • 24-hour Non-Emergency Medical Care • 24-hour Registered Nursing Services (on call) • Medication Delegation & Reminders • 3 Well Balanced Meals & Snacks • Personal Hygiene Care • Transportation to Doctor Appt. • Light Housekeeping • Laundry Services • Monitors in Each RV • Year-round or Seasonal For more information contact 928-927-5193 Now Open!