Although these White Queen crystals were the first specimens of the mineral to be clearly recognized and determined, it is the Pala Chief locality that has yielded all the large and elegant crystals that have neeri cut for gems or made the basis of physical experiments. These have all been received from Mr. Frank A. Salmons, from his mine already described; although the mineral has been found at some other neighboring localities.
It seems now, indeed, that the unaltered pink and lilac spodumene really occurs at several places within a limited region in "San Diego and Riverside counties. Mi. Frederick M. Sickler, an explorer very familiar with the district, claims to have been the original discoverer of the mineral some years ago, jointly with his father, Mr. M. M. Sickler, but its composition was not known, and from its association with colored tourmaline it was regarded as a peculiar variety of that species. Since becoming acquainted with its real character Mr. Sickler has searched for it at various points in the vicinity, and has located several claims, together with other parties, particularly a French prospector, named Bernardo Hiriart, and his partner, Pedro Teiletch. The name of Hiriart Mountain has been given to a ridge containing several outcrops yielding these minerals, and Mr. Sickler has furnished the writer with a very clear and connected account of these interesting localities.
He describes the several occurrences as found in three parallel north-and-south ridges called, respectively, Pala Mountain, Pala Chief Mountain, and Hiriart Mountain, lying within a breadth of little over 1 mile and separated by two narrow valleys, each with a stream. On the first named is situated the great lepidolite mine, containing radiated pink opaque rubellite; on the second is the Pala Chief gem mine, where the large crystals of colored tourmaline and kunzite are found; on Hiriart Mountain are several points of kunzite occurrence, including the White Queen mine. The three ridges are much alike geologically, consisting of the same dark bluish-gray diorite described by Mr. Schaller, and traversed by pegmatite dikes, with a north-and-south strike and a westerly dip. Mr. Schaller states that there is a marked difference between the upper and lower portion of these dikes, the former having the coarse pegmatite character and containing the tourmalines and spodumenes, and the latter being a fine-grained, striped rock consisting chiefly of quartz, feldspar, and mica. If this fact bo established as general, it shows that the gem minerals lie within a somewhat limited zone, which may in time be worked out. The fine cr\\stals of the upper portion are found mainly in pockets, with crystallized feldspar and quartz, and often embedded in a peculiar pink or reddish claj'-like substance. This latter is doubtless the same as that identified by the writer with montmorillonite, which has been noted at Branchville, Conn., Paris, Me., and other localities of lithia minerals.
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