Bob Lenon came to Yuma as a first-grader in 1914, only two years after Arizona became the last of the contiguous 48 states to join the union. He remembers vividly the transformation of that primitive land, with dirt roads and tire tracks where Interstate Highways stand today.

Bob grew up listening to tales of his neighbors--old prospectors and miners. Inspired by them, he became a mining engineer and an intrinsic part of the process by which copper, gold, and other metals were extracted from Arizona rock. In his 90 years of residence in Arizona, he has witnessed many changes, and, in fact, he mapped a lot of them!

In this first of two volumes, he describes how his family came from their ancestral home in Scotland to Pennsylvania, Iowa, Nebraska, and finally Arizona. Then, in detail, he recalls the Yuma he knew as a boy--a town of a few thousand souls with many stories to tell. Now he is ready to tell his own.

Bob Lenon came from Nebraska to Yuma, in 1914, just two years after Arizona had become the 48th state. He remembers seeing the Colorado River when it had no highway bridges and traveling on a plank road across dunes where an Interstate Highway now runs.

Because Bob grew up listening to neighbors' tales of gold in the hills, it was natural for him to make mining his life-as a prospector and as a mining engineer. He became an intrinsic part of the process by which copper, gold, and other metals were extracted from Arizona rock. In more than 90 years as an Arizonan, he has witnessed many changes, and, in fact, as a surveyor, he mapped a lot of them!

In this second of two volumes, Bob describes his university years and his work for big mining companies in Bisbee and then as a smalltime entrepreneur in a region where mining had fallen upon hard times. He also recalls his service in World War II, after which, for 50 years, he was a mining consultant and owner of a surveying firm in Patagonia. In addition, he recounts tales told by a few of the historic maps in his vast collection.

Bob Lenon came from Nebraska to Yuma, in 1914, just two years after Arizona had become the 48th state. He remembers seeing the Colorado River when it had no highway bridges and traveling on a plank road across dunes where an Interstate Highway now runs.

Because Bob grew up listening to neighbors' tales of gold in the hills, it was natural for him to make mining his life-as a prospector and as a mining engineer. He became an intrinsic part of the process by which copper, gold, and other metals were extracted from Arizona rock. In more than 90 years as an Arizonan, he has witnessed many changes, and, in fact, as a surveyor, he mapped a lot of them!

In this second of two volumes, Bob describes his university years and his work for big mining companies in Bisbee and then as a smalltime entrepreneur in a region where mining had fallen upon hard times. He also recalls his service in World War II, after which, for 50 years, he was a mining consultant and owner of a surveying firm in Patagonia. In addition, he recounts tales told by a few of the historic maps in his vast collection.

Bob Lenon came to Yuma as a first-grader in 1914, only two years after Arizona became the last of the contiguous 48 states to join the union. He remembers vividly the transformation of that primitive land, with dirt roads and tire tracks where Interstate Highways stand today.

Bob grew up listening to tales of his neighbors--old prospectors and miners. Inspired by them, he became a mining engineer and an intrinsic part of the process by which copper, gold, and other metals were extracted from Arizona rock. In his 90 years of residence in Arizona, he has witnessed many changes, and, in fact, he mapped a lot of them!

In this first of two volumes, he describes how his family came from their ancestral home in Scotland to Pennsylvania, Iowa, Nebraska, and finally Arizona. Then, in detail, he recalls the Yuma he knew as a boy--a town of a few thousand souls with many stories to tell. Now he is ready to tell his own.

Mining in the western United States entered its great era after 1860 through use of the double-jack, black powder, hand steel, Bickford fuse, wire rope, and the steam engine. Those were the years of bonanza strikes: Henry Wickenburg's Vulture Mine in Arizona Territory; the main hard-rock gold strike in the desert Southwest; Ed Schieffelin's discovery of vast silver deposits in Tombstone, Arizona; and the Tonopah-Goldfield strike in Nevada, which netted over one hundred million dollars. Black Powder and Hand Steel describes the miners and the machinery they used. Otis E. Young, Jr., gives an account of the miners, particularly the Cornish and Irish, their origins, character, social life, pleasures, and, most important, their labors. The miner's lot depended on the tools he used, and the author traces the evolution of the miner's most important tools: from hoisting bucket to mine elevator, cold mining to dynamite, ore car to skip, hemp to wire rope, and slow match to Bickford fuse. Young reveals the difficulties of prospecting and mining two of the West's most valuable ores, gold and silver, and gives readers a firsthand look at the challenges of working even the most successful strikes. A companion volume to Young's Western Mining, Black Powder and Hand Steel is written in the same lively style - informative and entertaining for general readers and scholars. It is also well illustrated, with drawings by Buck O'Donnell.