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Sec. III, Ch. 11: Turquoise

Sec. III, Ch. 11: Turquoise Page of 366 Sec. III, Ch. 11: Turquoise Text size:minus plus Restore normal size   Mail page  Print this page
224                                The Turquoise.
indeed it was relatively more valuable than gold ; an ear­ring of it being deemed a fair exchange for a mule.
Of late years attention has been directed to the ancient workings for Turquoise at Los Cerillos, about 24 miles south-west of Santa Fé, in New Mexico. It is there found in little veins or nuggets, covered on the exterior with a white tufaceous crust ; but stones of much commercial value are comparatively rare, though lately some fine stones have come to hand. Many tons of the rock may be crushed without producing a single specimen.
Some of the Mexican Turquoises are of a fine blue colour, but are often disfigured by white spots which appear when the stone is polished. Most of these Tui-quoises, however, incline to green, and, in some specimens the green colour predominates. The chemical composition of the mineral from Los Cerillos has been made the subject of careful investigation by Prof. F. W. Clarke, the chemist to the Geological Survey of the United States.
The old excavations at Los Cerillos are of enormous extent, pits having been dug in the solid rock to a depth of 200 feet. About two centuries ago a sudden inundation broke in upon the unfortunate Indians who were working in the subterranean galleries, and killed about one hundred of the workmen. So great was the destruction generally that the enterprise was abandoned. But of late years workings have been resumed ; and a firm of New York jewellers working some of the mines has obtained some very fine stones.
Turquoise of green colour is also found in Cochise County, Arizona, at a locality known as Turquoise Moun­tain, which, was worked on a considerable scale by the ancients. The mineral is likewise known to occur in Mineral Park, Arizona ; and at a few localities in Nevada,
Sec. III, Ch. 11: Turquoise Page of 366 Sec. III, Ch. 11: Turquoise
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