Although reports of quicksilver in the Big Bend had circulated for years, no one had ever taken them seriously. The Indians had used cinnabar for their war paint and for the red pigments in paintings that can still be seen in scattered shelters of the Big Bend. In 1847 Dr. Ferdinand Romer, a German scientist visiting Texas, traded an Indian a leather lasso for a small quantity of quicksilver (mercury).
Both Texans and Mexicans heard reports before 1850 of the quicksilver, but no serious explorations were undetaken until 1884 when Juan Acosta reportedly showed a specimen to Ignatz Kleinman, who operated a general store in Presidio, Texas. Kleinman took up a claim near what became known as California Hill and went to work. He failed to find sufficient quantities to make the mine profitable, but did interest a California company in taking over the search. They abandoned the attempt after finding little ore, although they were on top of one of the richest fields in the country. The site of their operations became known as California Hill when one of the miners carved that inscription on a rock.
Although reports of quicksilver in the Big Bend had circulated for years, no one had ever taken them seriously. The Indians had used cinnabar for their war paint and for the red pigments in paintings that can still be seen in scattered shelters of the Big Bend. In 1847 Dr. Ferdinand Romer, a German scientist visiting Texas, traded an Indian a leather lasso for a small quantity of quicksilver (mercury).
Both Texans and Mexicans heard reports before 1850 of the quicksilver, but no serious explorations were undetaken until 1884 when Juan Acosta reportedly showed a specimen to Ignatz Kleinman, who operated a general store in Presidio, Texas. Kleinman took up a claim near what became known as California Hill and went to work. He failed to find sufficient quantities to make the mine profitable, but did interest a California company in taking over the search. They abandoned the attempt after finding little ore, although they were on top of one of the richest fields in the country. The site of their operations became known as California Hill when one of the miners carved that inscription on a rock.
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