PINOS ALTOS Spanish Mexico had been mining in the area of Santa Rita del Cobre in New Mexico for a hundred years or so before Americans stumbled onto the scene and tried their hand at it too. The American effort there got underway in 1860. It was on land long being used as a homeland by the Chiricahua Apache. Their chief, Mangas Coloradas, or Bloody Sleeves, did not care for Americans in his neighborhood. One day he stopped by for a chat with the friendly intention of pointing out to the miners that there were much richer deposits a short distance to the west. He was talking about Morenci and Globe which were both fabulously wealthy deposits, but the miners wouldn’t listen to good advice when it was offered. Instead, they overpowered Mangas and whipped him
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