There is little to add to what has already been said of the economic value of the mountains, and this chapter is hardly more than a regrouping of facts scattered through those that precede.

Coal.—Possibly some valuable though restricted deposit was overlooked; but it is safe to say that no thick and continuous bed will be found. The Cretaceous sandstones all contain thin and local beds—enough to mark them as coal-bearing rocks—but there are no seams of value. The best outcrop was seen in the bank of the south branch of Lewis Creek where it crosses the upturned edge of the Blue Gate sandstone. The seam has a thickness of four feet only, and is not well disposed for mining.

But if the Cretaceous coals were well developed it is to be doubted if they would ever be used. They could have no local market. They could not be carried to the east or south on account of the cañons. If taken northward they would have to compete with the coal of Castle Valley, which is more convenient and very abundant. If taken westward to the metal mines of Nevada and Western Utah they would be undersold by the more accessible coals found on the headwaters of the Virgin River and Kanab Creek, and even by those of the Kaiparowits Plateau.

The Gypsum and Building Stones of the region need not be described. They are plentiful in many parts of Utah, and however abundant in this remote place can never be in demand.

Gold, Silver, etc.—Three parties of “prospectors” have at different times made unsuccessful search for metalliferous veins. In the course of my survey I spent more than a month’s time among the crystalline and metamorphic formations of the mountain tops, and although directing my attention constantly to the rocks, did not discover a fissure vein. Combining these negative data with certain theoretic considerations which are set forth in the fourth chapter, I am led to the very confident opinion that the essential conditions for the production of fissure veins have not existed in the Henry Mountains, and hence that there are no valuable deposits of the precious metals. The same theoretic considerations apply to other mountains of the same character, and I venture to predict that gold and silver will not be found in paying quantity in Navajo Mountain, the Sierra la Sal, the Sierra Abajo, the Sierra Carisso, or the Sierra La Lata.

Agricultural Land.—Bowl Creek, both branches of Lewis Creek, and the south branch of Trachyte Creek can readily be led to tracts of land sufficiently level for farming, and each furnishes enough water to irrigate several hundred acres. It is possible that these tracts will prove useful for farming, but they lie a little too high to be assured of a favorable climate. The lowest has an altitude of 6,000, and the highest of 6,800 feet.

Grazing Land.—Above the altitude of 7,500 feet there are many tracts of good grass, available for grazing through the greater part of the year but covered by snow in the winter. Below that level there is a greater area of inferior grass, available through the whole year. By using one portion in summer and the other in winter the mountains could be made to give permanent support to a herd of 3,000 or 4,000 cattle. With such overstocking as is often practiced in Utah they may subsist 10,000 animals for one or two years.

Timber.—The trees worthy to be classed as timber are of three species—fir (Abies Engelmanni), Douglass Spruce (A. Douglasii), and yellow pine (Pinus ponderosa). The pine is the most valuable and the fir the most abundant. The fir grows upon the mountain slopes, above the level of 7,500 feet and forms thick-set forests. The total area which it covers is not far from twenty-five square miles. The spruce mingles with the fir at the lower edges of the forests; and the pine forms a few open groves a little lower down the slopes.

It is to be doubted if the trees will ever be cut. Other timber of the same quality and superior in quantity lies between it and the settlements, and neither railroad nor mine nor town is likely to create a local demand.

Coal, building stone, gypsum, and timber have no value for lack of a market, either present or prospective; gold and silver are not found; and there is little or no land that can be successfully farmed. Only for grazing have the mountains a money value.