The Tragedy of Mariposa Grant. A Human Interest Story of the Rise, Fall, and Dawning Rehabilitation of an Empire of Marvelous Riches
San Francisco: Mariposa Grant, Inc.
Undated, c. 1915. [12] pp, with illustrations from photographs, map. Old library blindstamp and ink accession number on front cover, otherwise unmarked, with old folding creases. Good.
Scarce investment prospectus for gold mining and farming property in Mariposa County, California. The new owners, identified only as "Mariposa Grant, Incorporated," denounce their predecessors—dating back to John Charles Fremont, who purchased the land in 1847—for failing to mine the land with proper equipment and skill and generally mismanaging its rich resources and economic potential. The history and production record of the existing mines on the 44,000-acre grant are described in detail, and a list of well-known mining engineers (J. Ross Browne, Josiah Whitney, Clarence King, and others) are said to have "declared in signed reports that the ore bodies of this mountain range of gold-speckled rock [are] inexhaustible." Now under proper management, the author claims, Mariposa Grant will be returned within a few years "to the position of honor as the premier producer of the 'Mother Lode' of California." 6 copies located in OCLC, most at public libraries.
Item #19445
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