under the Mexican government.

The silver ore brought to San Francisco from our mines, has been
tested by a dozen different officers, in as many different ways,
and no result falls BELOW FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS PER TON OF ORE.

Senator Gwin goes on to Washington soon, and will corroborate my
statements. He has a piece of the silver, the first smelted in
San Francisco, showing $8,735 20--EIGHT THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED
AND THIRTY-FIVE 20-100 DOLLARS PER TON OF ORE. Mr. Dunbar is
getting the petition to Congress signed--and moving in the
affairs of the Territory in connection with Mr. Ehrenberg and ourfriends--but the government came near "crushing us out" by
sending a Custom House Collector to consume and destroy what
little we had saved from the Apaches. Can nothing be done to rid
us of a Custom House? It is no protection. The Territory (as yet)
produces nothing but minerals--and we have to pay duty upon every
article of consumption. This is a very onerous tax upon our first
feeble efforts to develop the resources of this remote and
unprotected country.

Very truly yours, C. D. Poston.

To Lieut. Mowry, U. S. A., Washington, D. C.

"We are living without the protection of law or the ameliorations
of society. New Mexico affords us no protection. We have not even
received an order for election. Every one goes armed to the
teeth, and a difficulty is sure to prove fatal. In this state of
affairs it is impossible to hold a convention."