THE INFAMOUS E M M A MINE: A BRITISH INTEREST IN THE LITTLE C O T T O N W O O D DISTRICT, U T A H TERRITORY* BY W .
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TURRENTINE JACKSON**
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the 1860's Utah was known to possess many useful and some precious metals. Coal of fair quality had been found in considerable quantities in various parts of the territory, and both lead and iron had been mined by Mormons living in the southern counties. Less was known about the available precious metals. The leaders of the Mormon community had discouraged the search for gold and silver because they realized an inevitable rush of non-Mormons would follow a successful discovery, thereby undermining the isolation and unity within their religious commonwealth. Moreover, the Mormons were preoccupied in building a permanent, stable economy based upon agriculture and, to a lesser extent, upon manufacturing. 1 The initiative in prospecting therefore was left to United States soldiers. While Colonel Albert S. Johnston's army was stationed at Camp Floyd to the south and west of Salt Lake City, silver deposits were found in Cedar Valley. 2 A few years later, Colonel Patrick E. Connor's men began systematic explorations, discovering several deposits including those *This article is a case study in the author's general investigation of British interests in the Mining Kingdom of western America. The Emma Mine gained international fame between 1871 and 1876, and its story illustrates the problems of foreign investment and the effect of financial promotions upon the mining industry of the American West. **Dr. Jackson is author of Wagon Roads West, an excellent study of federal road survey and construction in the pre-railroad Trans-Mississippi West. He is associate professor of history, University of California, Davis. iHubert Howe Bancroft, History of Utah, 1540-1886 (San Francisco, 1889), 733-42; "Silver Mining in Utah Territory, U. S.," The Mining Journal (London), XXXVIII (March 14, 1868), 187; Statement of William S. Godbe, Sept 2, 1884, MS., Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley. ZDaily Alta California (San Francisco), February 9, 1873.
