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Z tj tty UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN BOOKSTACKS cALDE PE TAC eae ee Tf tae a ie Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2022 with funding from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign https://archive.org/details/coloradoitsgoldsOOfoss _1 a fret eErapiee et § ty), if U T a if A *' Pyne rr a3] } i ey 7) es UL i Ri “ht ‘uy G. { Pas (aes ; : 1& ” } 1y } Ny VJ ¥ en ae : | SR aA cy fh, * shy 7. te: : 1) i 0 Cry me 7 | ay A ue OL Ha Me | iy \ j P@a,t iy, o: J ? b ey ea > a Sa os 7 f Pan by ’ i; } yk: ¥ + ie \ é ‘ \ me sy ; es "en y ny ’ i 1 ga" he, ) an A aii i *\ roe uD b ie 7 a eu ae Gy CP bs , Lowy: i - Cre Al Me arg aa hh a, YS ’ ‘Me : oi yt tN as ee i aa aay Bh Pee, © Uh Wie ioe : f, ‘ 1: Ps eh ‘ \ aN ¥ + ee a ' ia vg i , Tie Z A ye | E ‘ : MN — B= y ——<——_ > YL Missouri. Ilinois. Phil’a and Clark-Gardner. Hawley-Gardner, Mercer County. Alps-Mackie _— La Crosse-Burroughs, é Gilpin-Burroughs. : Opbir-Burroughs, ; ; California, ois KentiGounic Flack. Pyrenees. ae Pease-Kansas, Berryman Kansas, University-Kansas, First Nat’] Burroughs and Kansas. Monmouth and Fagan-Kansas, Hidden Treasure. American Hilae QUARTZ HILL anp NEVADAVILLE. POSEN iS 1% x Ss LEADVILLE. Colorado GOLD AND SILVER MINES, FARMS AND STOCK RANGES, Peet tt Ae P br ASURE RESORTS. Tourist’s Guide TO THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. BY-EFRANK- FOSSETT. New York: C, G. CRAWFORD, PRINTER AND STATIONER, 49 and 51 PARK PLACE, 1879. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1879, . By FRANK FOSSETT, . ae ; In the Clerk’s Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. iu He : A AIT] BF FI e. IBA letlgeds lebyem edad. So 2 HIS volume, as its name implies, is devoted to Colorado. Its con- tents are descriptive, statistical, and historical, and embrace a detailed account of the State’s resources, productions, and progress. For. general convenience it has been divided into four parts. The first of these will answer for a traveler’s guide, and relates to routes of travel, health and pleasure resorts, scenic attractions, and climate. ‘The second part is historical, and the third contains much information concerning the S ~ State at large and the farming and live stock interests. Part fourth is x y S J = SJ xt IN devoted to the mines. As mining is Colorado’s main industry and source of wealth, it receives the space and attention its merits deserve. The statistics in this department are of the most elaborate character, and are as accurate as time, labor, and research could make them. The narrative of gold and silver mining possesses enough of romance and S adventure to interest the general reader, and the descriptions of mines, oN : S - and of mining and milling, together with statements of requisite out- lays from beginning to end, will prove especially serviceable to investors or capitalists. The author has endeavored to furnish a compendium f useful and general information concerning Colorado, and trusts this book will meet the present requirements of the public in that respect. i. ez. PD NS aaNVYS > ee: a ee eg ON 777, ey! et Z ” : “tee bp % sd, CoP LE sig 4 oP a Ae: * aw « J Wes ES 3 i ‘ ~ Sg) t 3280 2 Shy spy 1 ie mal NS los N dg a7 fo Ti MEY Je h a N 4 a ter Least Me % 4 } « & % > a , > USS « S Hts Ms 14, v Uv i. w.! f -it eee y i “seh th hat seat Mer ry) sal ie as eee if . } . i: ents wl e- peep } # fy ~¢ Ro = te fom e Bf ~ SS ; oF o08 za" % % A J vy sues oF “pS eo + a > 4 : z P, ta ; ‘ad ‘ My . . —+—- rears | ffrsS gti | 2 a Se wae, ares e / i ; OMPATISOY WP rpeuy 4 si Soe ya : 63 pati | ky wr ge / H 7192 Ly td $x77 YAd OW 1 | “any 2098 to 4 Ed yoawe) Hr eketY O NO . P) \ a 2 Lo ‘OCVUG'TOD a 0-79 dy] JO | ALVIN —~ a ow N ait Or, a P Poy, ey 9 ord, ——— Pe COP TIT eB Ce NACE IN TS: PART FIRST. PAGE RE are he UE OAGIECR nd city GOES oe we ha kN Led op hea on ee wd oko 1—5 ME ROEM UAE x tanto tee Ma Gs wees Pot ek, Sie csc sa ce tees cee 5-19 Elevations of Towns, Mountain Passes, etc. ..........06 cee eee eee 5-19 Points of Tioveat. eat how. bo reach Geni. 3.6 avesiss sees tt aces 19-33 Referer oe AUC N ALG Ns Siocon ticle tepeee so ac-aessepe tes ceewers® 19-33 UO DG ye fee Pet Tos ik GER coer a dee oes Seas ven tee be vey 33-42 Mn ORUREE MeDis eke et ee anes Ses Sak cocks Souk Ce net oa cee 33-42 Sperm IEE MATULOT. «21's ol odes coe to Oi apc see sone dphee ee cep 35-42 Denver and Rio Grande Pleasure Resorts, and the San Juan....... 42-54 EUSEMREM OLOUTGOUNE CN Serer tee oe tye aig? Pies es oes a nietns «oe 1 . 54-68 Mountain Railway BUG) tage lines ©. ie sve asec we ah esBand evens 54-68 Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway System................6. 68-76 Mmietor ls COMPAROQ MQALWAYS. Oo. . cones scabs anes deeds sce ee eee s 76-82 Serre ar OUILA ALIGN, acc ai ag acetic eek gen tina sles Chaeeee se 76-82 Lo TE USES WS TUTORS Sa 9 SBI Gy es ge a nS ae 76-82 PUREE CEC STURN EON hy Sos aiera kw < ti Roaes te 8 a sole gem oo wars we 82-84 . OS ENTE ei 2c sy a pO Oe ar 82-84 Towns and Cities of Colorado, alphabetically arranged............ 85-102 Climate...... SORE ASS oer AR eae See 102-115 ME MNUR RYE LEOIS Merger h nies! Sens ncn ca eee nye ee OR MLA Wie AAS 40k es 102-115 mearand Cation or the Arikarisas..').sdc.scc ceca Gece puceccccece 112-115 vi CONTENTS. PART SECOND. PAGE PEBROTIOAL Shc thse ws les o vn'e'vé Sans sina Sede ie oe ie 4 nacre oe 117-153 PART THIRD. General Review of Colorado’s Progress, Resources, and Statistics.... 1538-164 EMRE oo ooo sans say sc ETT OP ret Peer 164-175 Stock Growing wn bdiw'wie ® Us vio pete miaie min mtnea ale > ay 3 i Seg ae 75-183 Warming and Stock Growing... oo...) sy. lass co aoc nt eee ...-. 183-197 PART FOURTH. Mining fot the Previous Metals... 3.3 .06)s2¢0s40ne4,.12hs eee 197-206 Weighte ated Valiew.: ou. i... mexchaeces eles s nts be < daeaeeee 206-208 Definitions'of Minmyg Terms... > 20.2260 2s Sy cele san © ns.e> din 5 208-215 Colorado’s Mineral Resources................5--: elvan < stp Se 216-224 Comparative cost of Mining and Milling... .... <.. a. ..ss+ eeneee 216-224 OE A ee Ee eee es Pome 216-224 Milling, Smelting, and the Extraction of Precious Metals—Descrip- fgon of some Colorado Works ..1<< «<< dda o+ 5.455% anaes see 225-245 Colorado’s Mining Product, from the Beginning until 1879.......... 245-258 Mines of Boulder County—Caribou, Gold Hill, Ward, and the Tellr- PHAC TIIBtiCts, . .6. «de sis sini areas eee aig bral eee 253-283 Gilpin County Mines—The Central City Gold Belt, Black Hawk, Cougeie Bill, @60. i; «4.0.0 hn enee rere aes ORE gs ae ete eee 283-355 Clear Creek County Mines—Georgetown silver district, Idaho, POM ptre, C00. F556 x «ss a adv e Hea ORs FAS God 4 0p Penn d ae 355-403 Leadville and’ California Guloh . 2. 0i.s6 0 2S soee bocce ese ew ani pease 404-418 Ledtville Mines, .\ cacy sviitnsns thoes Mar aces + > b+ ud bs eke ee Ree 419-462 Custer County Mines—Silver, Cliff, Rosita, etc. ............00. eee 462-480 Summit County—Ten Mile, Montezuma, and Geneva, and the Placers of tho Blue and Swan, i .sc5 Soca des ake ue pe aaa eee 480-498 CONTENTS. vil PAGE PERRO OU Co. THEMEN ae aia aiee satis was walcmle eee ae Uh ee eee Maes 498 MPOREURCLSTUULU YC '= PMR tia cin fe Wins cs Sale ein, aie i ajsiale hwe tic eae Ne ie we oF 498 Prison, COUNTY sec rs eve sce wes eb PO OS ck Cee ee ee rs 501 Park County—The Mines of Mts. Lincoln, Bross, etc............... 502-508 MRARERCOUTIGY 5 oe Mie he's «ace he vie 5 chile alee ra ee ee ie. 5 ee ee 508 San Juan Region—Rio Grande, Hinsdale, Lake City, etc ............ 5C9 San Juan Region—San Juan, Ouray, and La Plata Counties...... .. 523 + 3° Aare Memes. te | . : \ - ‘ a ; f . *\ Py - J ~ bs é ; Napiesta...... ree es 4,395 sHalstead ’........ 210 1,320 £ he Pueblo... es, 635 4.713 POUEDON hy og views 220 1,410 ; : a . Hutchinson...... 234 1,482 New Mexico Line. Shearling... 35. =. 244 1,494 ‘PRIMI Wee. Geiss 651 6,005 Raymond........ 265 1,679 Raton? Pass: o.0... 666 7,863 Ellinwood ....... 27 1,738 Las Vegas....... 786 6,397 Santa Fe is 30 miles beyond Las Vegas and 7,047 feet above sea level. DENVER & RIO GRANDE RAILWAY. (Western Division of A., T. &S. F.) This line being operated in connection with the A., T. &S. F., and practically a part of the same concern, the distances of leading stations from Kansas City via that road are given here. Elsewhere is a more complete table of the MY & R. G.: Name of Station. Kans tty. Elevation, Name of Station. pul cor Elevation. North from Pueblo. Southwest from Pueblo. * R41 Btn Pueblo... = 685) 4 Bek | Cacharast.2....: 684 5,893 4,713 | -Walsenbur 691 6,134 Colorado Springs. 680 5,985 ee saat z La Veta.. .. 706 6,970 Monument....... 699 6,931 ‘ + 9 , | Veta Pass. . pea 720 9 339 Divide Bak Seleeha 6) eT ee 6 703 ie 186 Al 165 vd 492 Castle Rock...... Ve concent i We ee a oe swage ’ Littleton.....:... 745 5,320 te STG ae eas 75d 5,148 SoU frat. CLBRGIE West from Pueblo. | EDRIOrot e+ o2 to: 721 5,825 BREDOM ss gw cos s+: 675 5,287 * Elevations taken by two different persons, 12 COLORADO STAGE LINES FROM THE ABOVE RAILWAY SYSTEM. In the San Juan Region, Lake City is 116 miles beyond Alamosa ; altitude, 8,550. Silverton, 146 miles; altitude, 9,400. Summit gold mines, 49 miles; altitude, 11,500. In Custer County, Silver Cliff is 30 miles from Canon; altitude, 7,500. Rosita, 32 miles; altitude, 8,500. Leadville, 126 miles from Cafion, altitude, 10,025 feet. RAILWAY CONNECTIONS. Continuing on to the mountains from Denver via the Colorado Cen- tral, an elevation of 8,300 fect is attained at Central, 40 miles from Denver; one of 7,531 fect at Idaho Springs, 373 miles, and 8,452 feet at Georgetown, 534 miles. Or, taking the Denver & South Park, an elevation of 10,139 feet is attained, the highest railroading in the United States, at the Kenosha Divide, about 75 miles from Denver. KANSAS PACIFIC RAILWAY. Names of leading stations, elevations, and distances from Kansas City. The elevation of Leavenworth is 783 feet. Name of Station. Fear ea Elevation. Name of Station. macy Elevation, Kansas City: ... 0.19 4 763 Solomon, cave. « 172 1,193 Armstrong....... 1 773 Selina. 34. s5 eae 185 1,243 Edouardsville.... 13 801 Brookville....... 200 1,366 bamape: ) 2a i 22 799 Fort Harker..... 218 1,600 Lawrence........ 38 845 Ellsworth........ 223 1,556 Perryville........ 51 70 Bunker Hill. .... 252 1,882 NAT TES o aves S «aly 52 871 VIObOTA chess te 279 sre | Grantville ....... 60 895 Hayes ¢.. ae 289 2,099 Jie ee ee 67 O04 ie Bate ee wo eter 302 2,135 Roasville........... 83 951 Senet. we oy dete 364 2,922 eG RAAT YS) «sce as 90 973 PMOTIGRN Sys cdc es 405 3,121 Bellevue......... 97 eg Wallace onus aie 420 3,319 Wamego:........ 104 1,018 Monotony........ 440) 3,792 St. George....... 110 1,018 Cheyenne Wells.. 462 4,295 Manhattan....... 118 1,042 Firat Views... 22s. 472 4,595 Oetionee, sore: iss 129 1,078 Kit Caraon.2 7 oi. 487 4,307 Fort Riley....... 135 1,090 Hug0: ys inure eee 534 «55,068 Junction City.... 138 1,100 Deer Trail....... 583 5,203 DOO As hiss xk 157 1,153 Box, Blader «.i0.% 617 5,430 Abilene........s- 163 1,173 Denversaeisi uss) Coe 5,196 : TOURIST’S GUIDE. 138 COLORADO CENTRAL RAILROAD—MOUNTAIN DIVISION. Miles from Name of Station. ever Meuver: 2 ..... : 2. vee SPOMIBY heetet, aiFe cs 15.8 Forks Clear Creek 29.0 Black Hawk..... 30.8 entrar. o.. fS. 39.6 Idaho Springs.... 37.5 DENVER Name of Station. eater UTS 2 2 ae Platte Cajfion..... 20 South Platte..... 29 Deer Creek . -.:4.... 48 PeOROS Bass, o'@sin: «ss 54 Elevation, Miles from & SOUTH PARK RAILROAD. Elevation. aren 5,487 6,037 7,084 7,880 Name of Station. Wen vee: Elevation. FallRiver’. . 02% 39.3 7,719 MallCity: inca 43.1 7,930 Pi BON Sa a teye aia vee 48.2 8,120 Empire Station... 49.5 8,286 Georgetown...... do. 8,014 Name of Station. Ae ah oe Elevation, RIO ce 2 aa thw 58 8,175 Geneva. / 6. eens 68 8,514 Wrebeterd a2. i155) ~'70 9,120 Kenosha Divide... .... 10,139 JOMersOn .is.. os 80 9,754 The next important point to which this road will be constructed is Fairplay, with an elevation of 9,964 feet. altitude of 9,620 feet. Trout Creek Pass has an UNION PACIFIC & COLORADO CENTRAL RAILROADS, Below are leading stations, elevations, and distances from Omaha on Union Pacific to Cheyenne, and Colorado Central to Denver. Name of Station. Miles from Omaha. Pe AN Gry sdaw iss cee nee WAUEEIOLE Mics os 6.50. : 10 puliOB Ss. x 210 PAKNOFN oo s% «oa: 29 MALICY. 61s sce) = ee BOO Tremont. . AT North Bend...... 62 PCHUYLEL. 8. 2). 3:2 76 Columbus........ 92 Central City...... 132 Grand Island..... 154 Kearney Junction. 195 Stevenson........ 201 Plum Creek...... 231 Brady Island..... 268 McPherson....... 27 North Platte..... 291 PPE SILON’ Ss 5 ens 2 Elevation. 1,008 1,013 1,009 1,187 1,157 1,220 1,296 1,372 1,469 1,887 2143 2.207 2 406 2.683 2.731 2/825 3,012 Miles from Name of Station. Oia Elevation. BigiSprine io. 361 3,360 diulesbury ef... Ot 3,090 PIAHOY wie view. A414 4,108 Pine Bluffs... .... 473 5,061 Cheyenne........ 516 6,075 Colorado Central R. R. Colorado Junction. 522 6,357 Fort Collins...... 564. 4,815 Loveland........ 076 eed Longmont....... 595 2,957 BOUGer. 4 ees. - 605 5,278 HRPMSUOM s) .-- 2 es oe 628 5,979 Golden ..5...6.%. 631 5,728 Devers... ook es 652 5,196 C0. C. R. R.—Mountain Division. Central (oreo seas. 40 8,300 Georgetown,.,.... 534 8,402 14 COLORADO TABLES OF COLORADO ELEVATIONS, TOWNS AND CITIES, MINES, MOUN- TAINS, PASSES, AND LAKES, The reports of Professor Hayden and Lieutenant Wheeler give, among much other valuable information, the average elevations of different portions of Colorado’s area. The greatest elevation of any one point is 14,464 fect, and there are about one hundred peaks of a greater elevation than 14,000 feet. The lowest part of the State is on the eastern or Kansas border, where it varies from 3,047 to 3,500 feet above the sea. There are valleys in the extreme southwest, on the tributaries of the San Juan, that are but little over 4,000 feet. Colorado contains 104,500 square miles. The mean height above the seais 7,000 feet, being much greater than that of any other state or territory. The following table shows the approximate number of square miles of area between various elevations : Elevations. _ ely Between 3,000 and 4,000 feetixs. 209.w c.g sis eee abl eee 9,000 . 4,000 °° 5,000. £5) 50 ee re ae 21,800 ‘4 5000.8 BQO 8s ie ean reenter ines ae cee an 15,000 3 6,000. B5'7,000 AE sda aoe panes ee entat oioeee Ge 10,000 ea T O00 FSB .OD0 ore a oa ie co legen tncs 11,000 “ tt Milken 0 Ut Sain mie Mee ay Man ROW eh Se 14,000 oe 9,000: 8°10, 000 4 co ae oo Pe Sie ae ee 10,000 08 AG, BOR 8 TT OO se oa ad evi geds ee ed tae 6,800 © VT 008 S41 9,000 ee Pe a ee ee ee 5,000 ¢ "12,000- *1°13,000. **° aU Rie see oe ee 1,400 Area above 13,000 feet. a. sau.) eas sys ei rie eee ee 500 TOWNS AND CITIES. Below are the elevations in fect above sea level of important towns and localities of Colorado : PARRSIORA, So vcs. nh 5.4 cae 1,402 { Caribou. i256... 4... ae 9,905 Alma ads, tny tes yet ahha she! ene 10,254 | Central. ... i. . <.:. desea 8,300 maa IBY 2 ok nca ete 6,622 | Colorado Springs.......... 6,023 IME MI 2S ce wed Oa 11,956 | Conejos: . . 2. ..<.. sen cae 7,880 EIABOLTAUG?. Osos Doce 9,753 | Del Norte. J. .....sn0n oie ee PROM LAW so « vstalxiy ices « 7,875 | Denver... 220. ..<. see 5,197 Boma worl oes Set ens 5,586 | El Moro...........ss5 see 5,886 Breckenridge ............. 9,674 | Empire.......... anal aes -.. 8,583 ON Oe Sees eee oe 5,287 | Evang... + .o6 ssa s<00 eee 4,745 TOURIST’S GUIDE. 15 NOLS DAY Soy hs hy oye inn 28 9,964) Lamomont. 0. ces ck eee 4,957 ee Sa VOT Gg once aie, Ws (e-fars ais -« RR LOH SOME UDR oo sd tals avs one 9,065 “oh agit ST ES Ss Se aetea ee EI EPRINTS A im 3 x wldaicmere OR & 6,297 Borg cariand «..., .ij,. 0.5 (jac) | Dentedallis, a> aakdiedirss 5,578 POLE AUDLON .0\< sin ven oer ese 5,027 | Montezuma (9,652). ........ 10,295 Brom yON |, 0... scree a. ts « i; fou) NCOERLANG.., «yo esata aes 8,263 PPPSCOMADOUL). ob sie wee lees 9:500 ): Nevadaville.. ao. 0... be. 8,800 Georgetown 2.25... ee. C0) EAs EAD ramet tile wens ico vty s “ans ol orue 10,704 2 OG 9 eS ee ca SrtGo Oars yea arte ws ANS sai3 7,640 SoD STS 5s REA aie %,687 | Pagosa nprings:, ecie.s vas 7,108 Ta ao ea ae 8,883 | Present Help Mine, on Mt. BEPEIOY Pacey che ome ols «sii a os Ih ee HBCU hgh aN ess cee 14,000 Grenada..... REE ey I: 3,454} Platteville... ..........256. 4,690 Gunnison....... Rip bulo even. « 7, (40) Pueblo, North. <...2.....> 4,713 PURO oro talstoe es ews es 97457 Pueblo; soutl.:. ee. 4,676 Hermesilo eis. oie les a 4,723 | Quartz Hill (about)......... 9,300 Hot Sulphur Springs....... LOOM TLOUTMRVIIG 220: shed oy va os, 0 8,323 PIO WHPOAVEIE \ co .i.. ode vad 3 Oct ROSARIO s she hts as ot ose 8,500 TERRORS DLINGS CO acer es pL OAR URC S So. Gis. cued Stes. 7,723 MAMICSUOWD 05 2 fe. cedae ea izle [alta POUR. yee Bs es oy 10,807 THOU se 8 Soaks 6 One oat 9,862 | Salt Works in South Park . 8,917 PREEUCSYSON, (oie s €.0 dic Soares «0 AOU Fh Si VOYGOR jg<-s5's 006 5 ocho 88 400 Kokomod.(about).....2..... 10,200 | Stevens Mine.............. 11,948 DG as in wont le ok ocace's 4,137 VGerrible. Mines. oc. bots 2. & 9,243 PRE MNLY AL He, Sid die a es ou So00 te Primdad unaaioeees ss. 0 eure 6,032 WR REATS ITE i cs no) ons ble 5 0 3,952 | Uncompahgre Agency...... 6,400 scencvilia( Re Ro), oo... 2 a 88 10,025} White River Agency....... 6,491 Leadville (Hayden)........ 10,247 ELEVATIONS OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS, Below are elevations of most of the prominent peaks of Colorado, with others of less elevations, but noticeable from mines or from being near towns or railways. There are a large number of peaks, especially in the San Juan mountains, yet unnamed, whose elevations exceed 14,000 feet, and some two hundred that run from that height down to 13,000 feet. It is impossible to give in this statement all of the higher peaks elsewhere, or of the multitude that exceed 12,000 feet. As there are several spurs or connecting ranges of mountains, the name of the range appears with the name of peak and elevation. Central Colorado—Front Range. Wipe GVA. 12. dchy 2s 14,330 | Mount Rosalie............. 14,340 MRO 6a sop! eee aeee 14,147 | Chief Mountain........... 11,8383 . Northern Colorado—Main Range. ? Arapahée Peak............ Tae eNOS POAK. 6 6 oT acne eke ie « 13,288 hy ae 3 ae eS 14.541 Gonp’s Peak (2.02.06... 14,271 fem a ealt: sas oi 14,336 | Bald Mountain (Gilpin Co.)..10,322 Mount Guyot............ . 13,565 16 COLORADO Central Colorado—Park Range. Buckskin Mountain........ 14,296 | Quandary Peak............ 14,269 Mount Cameron,...........14,000 | Sheep Mountain........... 12,589 Horseshoe Mountain........13,988 | Silverheels.... ........... 13,897 Monnt. Lincoln. ,....s ses 14,297 Mount Antero............. 14,245 | Ja Plata....;,. $<. 4 50m 14,311 Matt Mbers, sate oe «2 en 14,351 | Massive Mouutaint........ 14,298 Ceeterloy.'. . sees 14, 464 ai W. i fale 13,620 Grflobra, 5 sesh eae 14,008; | Spams: Peake’ yo) a * Highest in Colorado, and highest but one in United States. Southern Colorado, San Juan Region—Main Range and Spurs. Mount Aolus’. >. wee 14,054 | Simpson’s Peak............ 14,055 Blaine’s Peak........ncamenees 13,905 | Mount Sneffels............ 14,158 Engineer Mountain........ 13,076 | Stewart’s Peak............ 14,032 Handie’s'Peaks? 225.2530 ks 14,149 | Uncompahgre Peak*....... 14,235 Pyrinnid 4. gues waitin oe 14,146:| Wetterhom ......../9eaeee 14,069 EXITOS COR Bs hice cain Fo 14,054 | Mount Wilson}.,.......... 14,280 San Linis Peak. 7... 40.9 os 14,100 * Wheeler makes this 14,408 feet. + Wheeler, 14,309. Western Colorado—Hlk Range. Capitol Mountain.......... 13,997 1: Snow Maas) 7-02. 2 cee 13,970 Osatho Pools, cin. aoe oi sion 14, 115 4 “Depa cs x20: 0:4 eee 13,1138 APTOS oes ety ane aie Ce eeee 14,003 Chicago Lakes............. 11,500 | San Cristoval.............. 9,000 Oe ERS 9 oar Parc eee 8,153 | San Luis... ..s6 eee 7,592 ge CR eg ee 10,000 | ‘San Miguel... .. ss ¢saeeenee 9,720 Mary, or Santa Maria...... 9,324 | Twin Lakes,....-.:1ever8e) BIeOE DEDURD Biiapkn sakne sa oe paptynel 'TOURIST’S GUIDE. 1? MOUNTAIN PASSES IN COLORADO. The following gives the names and elevations of the more famous passes over the Rocky mountains and spurs: Arkansas (about)........... TA AG EGaRiBE so. er whw Beets Be 11,500 PuePOMLING. ho i hs Oe wee ss 13, 100i ieaken Works. 5 one Rae alas 12/540 RPMMORTECR ere a coe a ark Seretels et: 349 ION CISRIG. «7s inside oe 11,500 LS) ee ean er ine 11,670 PMarshalliwee. ss. a 10,852 MEGPHOGOPR 6 Coos cbs Gove et 10,032) lomonc bow oo siv 734,226 Uh... 8,945 eee ham oo ces os ss es Le O00 Rakai 2A f Sige es a'e0d 3 Sacks 7,863 SUMAN We sce ie ks See x's See Jal A Se NEMA EE URL teccce on ore evel 12,176 Aeneas di « sie oe 26 hai d.« 9, g00r i Prout: Creek 6200'S. ded as es 9,346 PRA TIAM Ties ois 42 vind ea! cece, «8 12, i Oils DOUINGBEEO NA, Tire. tke she oils ic 10,418 PRYOR CMR Sidi et cle ot oe oe 10,780 Wiebe eee Pcs esau ewevedea eae oe * Now estimated at 10,700. The river canons, or deeply cut ravines that are found in all of the more elevated portions of Colorado, constitute a peculiar and strik- ing feature of the great Rocky Mountain system. In the countless ages of the past the waters of the streams have worn channels deep down into the hearts of the mountains, leaving the perpendicular granite or sandstone standing on either side for hundreds, and in some localities for thousands of feet. Nowhere are the grand and beautiful in Nature more effectually illustrated than in these moun- tain canons. The glories of Boulder, Clear Creek, Cheyenne, and Platte cafions, and the Grand cafion of the Arkansas, all on the east- ern slope of the Continental Divide, have already been noted. The walls of the Colorado, Gunnison, and Uncompahgre rivers, in the western part of the State, are still more massive and wonderful. In many sections they rise without a break or an incline to heights of thousands of feet, and along the Colorado continue in that way with hardly an outlet of any kind for hundreds of miles. The Grand canon of the Gunnison is one of the world’s wonders. Its walls on either side of the stream, and bordering it for miles, are usually not far from 300 feet in width, and are composed of stratified rock. In places these perpendicular sides, rising from the water for distances of from one to three thousand feet, terminate in level summits sur- mounted by a second wall of prodigious height, thus forming a canon within a canon. Through the chasm between these giant for- mations and huge bastions and turrets one above another, dashes the 18 COLORADO river, its surface white with foam. The heights of these perpendic- | ular caion walls, and their elevations with that of the river above sea level at several points, are as follows: Level of the Gunnison at mouth of Mountain creek above sea level, 7,200 feet; of top of wall or plateau on north side, 8,800 fect; height of wall, 1,600 feet; height of wall at point below on east side, 1,900 feet; on west side, 1,800 feet; height of wall in gneiss rock, 900 feet. Some distance below, the cafion wall rises directly from the river, 3,000 feet, of which the 1,800 feet nearest the water is gneiss rock; total elevation of top of wall or plateau above the sea, 9,800 feet. TOURIST’S GUIDE. 19 CHAPTER, TIT. ROUTES OF TRAVEL—POINTS OF INTEREST AND I1OW TO REACH THEM —RAILWAY AND STAGE LINES—FARES, DISTANCES, AND ELEVA- TIONS— DENVER, PUEBLO, COLORADO SPRINGS, BOULDER, CEN- TRAL, GEORGETOWN, LEADVILLE, GOLDEN, CANON, AND THE SAN JUAN. For the benefit of the traveler, tourist, and emigrant this chapter will give a detailed account of the manner in which important points of Colorado can be reached. Persons taking either one of the three through lines from the Missouri river, can be landed in Denver. The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railway connects with that place by means of the Denver & Rio Grande north and south line. The western terminus of the Kansas Pacific is in that city, and the Union Pacific connects at Cheyenne with the Colorado Central. The great gold and silver mining districts of Gilpin and Clear Creek counties are reached by the mountain division of the Colorado Central, which leaves the plains or Denver and Cheyenne division at Golden. Lead- ville and Fairplay are approached for a distance of eighty miles from Denver by the Denver & South Park road. Much of the Leadville travel goes in from Pueblo and Cafon via the Arkansas Valley and Denver & Rio Grande. Silver Cliff and Rosita have the same rail communication but a different route for stage travel. The regular route to the San Juan and Del Norte, Silverton, Lake City, and Ouray is via Pueblo and the Denver & Rio Grande road to Alamosa in San Luis Park, thence by stage to the various points to be reached. The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe lines are in the same latitude, and naturally secure the east and west travel for the San Juan mines. The Denver & Rio Grande is the only. road that ap- proaches these mines, and it is controlled at the present time by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe. The main line of the latter road leaves the Arkansas river valley at La Junta, and thence takes a southwesterly direction to El Moro and Trinidad, and then passes southward of the Raton Mountains into New Mexico. It will soon be completed to Las Vegas. The Arkansas Vallcy division of £0 COLORADO this same road passes westward up the river from La Junta to Pueblo. Here the Denver & Rio Grande line takes the inland travel, includ- ing scores of passengers daily, bound for Leadville via Canon and the southern overland stage. There are threc classes of accommodations for this western travel, viz., first class, second class, and emigrant. Emigrant fare includes the ordinary passenger coaches in use, and all classes ride together on the mountain railways and stage lines. Each full ticket is allowed one hundred pounds of baggage, and each half ticket fifty pounds on the railways, while the allowance on the mountain stage lines is usually fifty pounds. The railways charge at the rate of from ten to fifteen per cent. of first-class fare on every hundred pounds of SHOOTING BEFFAEO, extra baggage, while the stages charge express rates on the same. This can be avoided by shipping extra baggage by freight. First- class meals on the railways are usually seventy-five cents on express trains, and from fifty to seventy-five cents on all others. Sleeping- car or stop-over accommodations are not usually allowed on second or third class tickets, and baggage must be checked to destination. Denver and Pueblo may be regarded as the starting-points for various parts of the mountains, although the former is considered the main base of operations for a trip in almost any direction. Eastern emigrants will find the time required to reach Leadville from Cafion pretty near the same as from Denver on the northern system, The railway construction now going on will alter distances TOURIST’S GUIDE. 21 and time considerably before the summer is over, both for northern and southern routes to Leadville. Colorado Springs is on the D. & R.G. line. All the northern points among the mountain mines, such as Georgetown, Central, and Idaho, must be reached via the Colorado Central from Denver, or, as with Boulder, from Den- ver and Cheyenne. By a glance at the map of Colorado the reader will gain a still better idea of the situation and of the routes of the different railway systems. By this it will be seen that the Colorado Central railway, with its forks and branches, is the main artery of communication between Denver and the Union Pacific and Kansas Pacific, and for most of the farming and coal districts and the moun- tain mining sections of northern Colorado. The Denver & Rio Grande acts in pretty much the same capacity for central and southern Colorado, and has the A., T. & S. F. for its outlet and feeder. This road extends through farming, pastoral, and coal lands, in a north and south direction, east of the base of the mountains, forking at Pueblo for Cafion, and at Cucharas for El Moro, while the main line continues southwesterly over the mountains to Alamosa —the latter place being 250 miles from Denver, while El Moro is 206 miles. The Denver & South Park is building up through the ' Platte and South Park country, and like the other two lines, is bound for Leadville. Since the last section of new road was com- pleted, it has drawn heavily on the business of that locality. How to reach important towns, cities, and resorts will be the next matter considered. Leadville is in the mountains, and quite a long distance inland from the plains. Through tickets can be obtained for that place from all leading railway centres in the East or West—including first class, second class, and emigrant. The last rates fixed from the Missouri river are $41 for first-class tickets, $38.50 for second class, and $34 for emigrant. Leadville can be reached by rail and stage by any one of three routes. From Denver and Pueblo to Canon by rail, thence by stage to Leadville; distance from Denver, 160 miles by rail, and 126 miles by stage; fare $17, and $3.50 for hotels at Cafion and on the road; time, about two days of day travel. Through passengers from the Fast, via the A., T. & S§.F., arrive at Cafon at night, and then have the same two days of stage travel up the Arkansas Valley. This, of course, is their natural route, 22 COLORADO The Denver & South Park railway and stage lines is largely patronized. This railway is building rapidly, with a proportionate decrease of staging. Fare, $17, which will be reduced with reduc- tion of staging in the summer. Time, nearly two days. Meals and lodging at Fairplay and elsewhere, $4. The stage line charges ten cents per pound for all baggage in excess of forty pounds to the passenger. 3 The Colorado Central extends from Denver to Georgetown, 54 miles, connecting with stage to Leadville, 56 miles. Total distance, 110 miles; fare, $10. All of the above roads are building towards Leadville. The A., T. &S. F. will have the grading of their roadbed completed to Leadville by the time they succeed in blasting a way through the Grand Cafion near the lower end of the route. It is asserted that this road will be running railway trains into Leadville in August or September. The other two roads are also building in the same direc- tion as rapidly as possible, so that the amount of staging will soon be greatly reduced. Fairplay and the Park and Summit county mines are reached by the Denver & South Park railway and by stages from the end of track. Where no stages are in operation saddle animals can be obtained. In these counties are noted silver mines, and gold-bearing placers and gulches. A., T. & 8. F. AND D. & R. G. RAILROADS AND CONNECTING STAGE LINES. The famous summer resort of Colorado Springs is situated on the line of the Denver & Rio Grande, 75 miles south of Denver and 45 miles north of Pueblo, and has no other railcommunication. Parties coming west over the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe line can stop — off there on their way to Denver, and it is but three and a half hours’ ride from the latter place. Five miles from Colorado Springs is Manitou, famed for its mineral waters and as a great summer resort for health and pleasure seekers. Near by is some of the most beauti- ful mountain scenery in the country, and over all towers the majestic ‘summit of Pike’s Peak, where is located a United States signal ser- vice station. Trinidad and El Moro, with their coal mines, coke manufactories, and excellent farming and pastoral country, can be reached from the East via the main line of the A., T, & S. F., without coming to TOURIST’S GUIDE. 23 Pueblo. Passengers can also go to El Moro from Denver or Pueblo by the D. & R. G. road, whose southerly terminus is there. The first-named railway passes through both towns and beyond into New Mexico. The Denver & Rio Grande railway is the only one approaching or entering what is termed the San Juan region. From Pueblo this OVER THE SANGRE DE CHRISTO MOUNTAINS VIA THE Db. & BR. G. RAILWAY, 24 COLORADO division of the road runs southwesterly up the Cucharas valley and by the Walsenburg coal mines to the Sangre de Christo range, which it crosses at Veta Pass. Its course is then westward through the great San Luis Park to Alamosa on the Rio Grande, 250 miles south- southwest of Denver. This is the jumping-off place for the south- west, and serves as the distributing point for a wide scope of country. Almost all merchandise and supplies going into the mountains to the west are freighted from this place, and all ore and bullion from the mines, and wool, hides, pelts, and other material from the farms and stock ranges are here started eastward by rail. The Southern Overland Mail and Express of Barlow & Sanderson, bound for Del Norte, Wagon Whecl Gap, and Lake City, and to con- nect with Silverton lines, starts westward from Alamosa on the arri- val of the train from Denver and Pueblo. Railway fare from Den- ver, $28, and from Pueblo, $13. Stage fare from Alamosa to Del Norte, $4;, to Wagon Wheel Gap, $8.65; Antelope Springs, $11.65 ; Lake City, $19—distance, 116 miles. Connection is made with an- other conveyance at Antelope Springs or Junction, 35} miles south- east. of Lake City, for Silverton and neighboring towns. The trip to Ouray is usually made on horseback from either of these places. During the warmer months a conveyance plies between Lake City and Ouray, distance 80 miles by this route. Distance by trail over - the range 30 miles. The Summit, or Little Annie gold mining dis- trict is 25 miles south of Del Norte, and off of the main line noted above; fare, $5. At Wagon Wheel Gap 30 miles west of Del Norte, are hot sulphur mineral springs of a very valuable character, which ‘are beginning to attract people from abroad. South from Alamosa another line of Barlow & Sanderson's coaches leaves daily for Cone- jos and for Santa Fe, N. M., and way stations. If the fare continues as it was not long ago, it is as follows from Denver, and $10 less from Pueblo: Denver to Alamosa, $23; to Del Norte, $27; Lake City, $42; Silverton, $55. Stage tickets are procured at the end of track. Meals at stage stations are 75 cents. Twenty-six hours’ staging between Alamosa and Lake City. One branch of the Denver & Rio Grande railroad extends up the Arkansas valley from Pucblo to Cafion, a distance of 40 miles. Here passengers for Leadville take Barlow & Sanderson’s stages, as mentioned before. Passengers for Silver Cliff leave Caton by way of Megrue & Smith’s stage line, aceite TOURIST’S GUIDE. 25 All of the stage lines extending from the Denver & Rio Grande railway, except one, belong to Barlow & Sanderson’s Southern Over- land Mail and Express. These convey passengers to Leadville, the San Juan country, and New Mexico. Fifty pounds of baggage are allowed to each passenger, but all over that amount is charged ex- press rates. These stage routes are as follows—distance from Cafion in miles and rates of fare given with names of stations ; Leadville Line.—-Stations, distance from Caton in miles, and fare : Copper Gulch, 14 miles, $1.75; Texas Creek, 28 miles, $3.50; Pleasant Valley, 39 miles, $4.90; South Arkansas or Cleora, 60 miles, $7.50; Centreville, 78 miles, $9.75; Lenhardy, 98 miles, $12.25; Granite, 108 miles, $13.50; Leadville, 126 miles, $14, Time from Canon to Leadville, 26 hours, going day and night. On arrival of the stage at Cleora, a conveyance starts southwest- erly for Saguache and Ouray. _ Saguache and Ouray. —Barlow & Sanderson run a regular buck- board or open wagon line from Saguache, in San Luis Park, west- ward over the mountains to Ouray. Connection is made at Saguache with the same company’s conveyance that leaves Cleora on the arrival of the Leadville stage at night. Ninety miles east of Ouray, twenty-one miles east of Lake City, and seventy-one miles west of Saguache is Indian Creek, where the roads from those points intersect. New stage line from Cleora to Ouray, 130 miles. Alamosa and San Juan Line.—Stations, distances in miles, and fare from Alamosa westward: Station No. 1, 103 miles, $2.10; Venables, 214 miles, $4.80; Del Norte, 344 miles, $4; Bunker Hill, 46 miles, $9.20; Riverside, 574 miles, $11.50; Rio Grande, 69 miles, $13.80; Junction, 804 miles, $16.10; Clear Creek, 9134 miles, $18.30; Powder Horn, 1034 miles, $20.70; Lake City, 116 miles, $19. What is called through fare is charged to Del Norte; Wagon Wheel Gap, 644 miles, $8.65; Antelope Springs, 844 miles, $11.65, and Lake City, $19 ; which accounts for less than local rates. ~ Silverton, Howardsyille, and Animas Forks and vicinity are reached in the summer and fall months by conveyance connecting with the above stage line at Junction, and with another conveyance from Lake City. Distance from the latter point to Silverton, 32 miles. _ There is a trail from Silverton to Ouray by way of Cement creek and the Uncompahgre river, distance 23 miles; also a trail to Ouray 2 26 COLORADO via Hensen creek, and over the mountains via Poughkeepsie Fork ; distance 28 miles or more. Lake City to Ouray.—Conveyance plies between these points, fol- lowing water courses, via Indian creek and Cevolla, distance 80 miles. Alamosa and Santa Fe Line.—Distance from Alamosa to Santa Fe, 141 miles, fare $28; Alamosa to Conejos, 30 miles, fare $6. West from Conejos are the famous Pagosa Springs, so valuable that the United States government retains possession of them, and has set apart the locality as a reservation. Distance from Conejos 70 miles, and from Alamosa 100 miles. A railway may some day be constructed from Alamosa west- ward, via Conejos, Pagosa Springs, and Animas river to Silverton, the metropolis of the mines of San Juan county. A good wagon road is already in operation that is open winter and summer. This has no high and difficult mountains to pass, and is much used by Silverton and La Plata freighters. The distances from Alamosa by this road are 30 miles to Conejos, 100 to Pagosa Springs, 180 to Animas City and 223 to Silverton. Catton to Silver Cliff and Rosita.—Megrue & Smith run a daily stage line between Canon and Silver Cliff, connecting with another line to Rosita, 14 miles from Calon, and 18 miles from Rosita. Fare to either point, $4; round trip, $7. A hack also plies between those two towns; fare, $1; distance, 7 miles; from Cafion to Silver Cliff, 30 miles; to Rosita, 82 miles. These are prominent mining towns, and are so beautifully located, with fine valley and mountain scenery, as to be well worthy of a visit from the tourist. COLORADO CENTRAL R. R. The Colorado Central is the only railway leading up through the mountains to the great gold district of Gilpin county, with its flourishing towns, Central, Black Hawk, and Nevadaville, and to the productive silver belt of Clear Creek county, in which Georgetown, Idaho Springs, Lawson, Fall River, Freeland, Silver Plume, and Brownyille are located. The Colorado Central extends from Denver to Golden (the headquarters of the road and the seat of smelting works and various manufactories, where the mountain division branches off to the westward), and then continues northward : TOURIST’S GUIDE, Q7 a through coal and farming districts to Cheyenne; distance to Golden, 16 miles; fare, 80cts.; distance to Cheyenne, 138 miles; fare, $5.00. Twenty-nine miles from Denver and 13 above Golden, North and South Clear Creeks unite, and here the railway forks, one branch taking up one cafion to Central, 13 miles, and the other up another through CLEAR CREEK CANON, C. C. R. R. Idaho and on to Georgetown, 25 miles. Any of these points are less than three hours’ ride from Denver ; fare to Central, $3.10; to Idaho Springs, $2.90; Georgetown, $4.30. Outside of the picturesque scenery en route, these cities are of rare interest, on account of their famous and productive mines and numerous quartz mills and reduc- tion works. They were the main source of Colorado’s bullion pro- duct up to the time of very recent developments at Leadville, and 28 COLORADO are steadily increasing their yield. Black Hawk and Nevadaville adjoin Central, and are located in the same district. The Smith stage line makes tri-weekly trips to Caribou, leaving on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, and returning on alternate days. Sur- rounding and lying between Idaho Springs and Georgetown are many prosperous mining camps; also, such attractive resorts as Chicago Lakes, the highest body of water in North America; Green and Clear Likes, Gray’s and Irwin’s peaks, Argentine pass, and other points of interest, all of which can be visited either by carriage or on horseback by a few hours’ drive or ride. Livery charges in these towns are usually $3.00 per day for saddle horses and $10,00 per day, or less, for two-horse carriages. At Denver and Boulder livery charges are one-third less. Idaho Springs is famous for its mineral waters and as a fashionable summer resort. Here are fine hotels and bath-houses, hot and cold soda springs, fine drives, mines, and mills, and other attractions. Boulder is located on the plains, at the gateway of that portion of the mountains where numerous mining camps are producing largely. It can be reached from Denver or Cheyenne by the Colorado Central railway ; distance from Denver, 49 miles; fare, $3.75. W. & L. Smith’s stage line leaves tri-weekly—on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays—for the silver districts of Caribou and Nederland; fare to the former point, $3.50. From Boulder to Cheyenne are numer- ous flourishing towns, such as Longmont, Loveland, and Fort Collins; fare and distance noted in table. The Colorado Central railway runs morning and evening trains into and out of the mountains and to Boulder and Longmont and way stations, and a morning train to Cheyenne to connect with the Union Pacific. Omnibuses ply between hotels and other points and the railway stations at Denver, Boulder, Cheyenne, Golden, Central, Black Hawk, and Georgetown. The fare on these is usually fifty cents. The towns on the plains division are: Denver, population, 27,000 ; elevation, 5,196 feet. Golden, population, 3,000; elevation, 5,687 feet. Boulder, 3,500; elevation, 5,536. Longmont, 600 inhabitants and 4,957 elevation. Loveland, population, 250; and Fort Collins, 800 inhabitants. Cheyenne is 6,075 feet above the sea, and has nearly 5,000 people. In the mountains are Black Hawk, with 2,000 people and an elevation of 7,775; Central, with 3,500 people and an eleva- TOURIST’S GUIDE. 29 tion of 8,300. With Nevadaville they form a city of 6,500 people. Fares on the Colorado Central were reduced from one-fourth to one- third on the first of June. Fares from Denver to Golden, 80 cents; to Black Hawk, $2.85; to Central, $3.10; to Idaho Springs, $2.90; to Georgetown, $4.30; to Boulder, $1.75. Summer excursion rates much lower. STAGE LINES. Stages connect at Boulder for the mining camps of Caribou, Neder- land, Four-Mile, and hacks with Gold Hill, Ballarat, Jamestown. In the summer months stages connect with the railway at Loveland, to and from the beautiful summer resort of Estes Park, distant a few hours’ drive, where a first-class hotel is located. On certain days conveyances ply between Fort Collins and Greeley. Fare from Denver to Golden is 80 cents; to Boulder, $1.75; Cheyenne, $5. Stages make regular trips from Georgetown, via Empire and Berth- oud Pass, to Hot Sulphur Springs in Middle Park. This is a delight- ful trip and is made in either direction in a single day. TO LEADVILLE, TEN MILE, GUNNISON AND SAN JUAN—NEW RAILROAD, Since this book began to be printed the Leadville division of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railroad has passed beyond Cunon City and the Grand Cafion, and up the Arkansas river to Pleasant _ Valley and towards Clcora. The latter place will be the railway terminus for some weeks to come, and will be a great outfitting point for the San Juan and Gunnison regions, as well as Leadville. It is distant but sixty miles and eight hours’ staging from the latter point up a water grade. KANSAS PACIFIC RAILWAY. The Kansas Pacific railway stations within the limits of Colorado and their distances from Denver are as follows : Denver; Schuyler, 10; Box Elder, 22; Kiowa, 31; Byers, 44; Deer Trail, 56; Agate, 67; Cedar Point, 77; River Bend, 83; Lake, 92; Hugo, 105; Mirage, 115; Aroya,128; Wild Horse, 140; Kit Carson, 152; First View, 167; Cheyenne Wells, 177; Arapahoe, 187; Monotony, 202; Eagle Trail, 210. The distance to Kansas City is 639 miles, DENVER & BOULDER VALLEY R. R. The Denver & Boulder Valley railroad, extending from Denver to the Erie coal mines, thence to Boulder, uses the Denver Pacific 80 COLORADO track as far as Hughes, where it branches off to the westward. Stations and distances from Denver are as follows : Denver Junction, 2 miles; Hughes, 20; Erie, 34; Mitchell’s, 35; Canfield, 36; White Rock Mills, 42; Valmont, 44; C. C. Junction, 46; Boulder, 47. DENVER & SOUTH PARK R. R. AND LEADVILLE STAGES. Denver, South Park & Pacific stations and distances from Den- yer: Denver; West Denver, 1; Bear Creck Junction, 7; Littleton, 11; Archer’s, 17; Platte Cafion, 20; Deane’s, 26; South Platte, 29; Dome Rock, 31; Buffalo Tank, 38; Buffalo, 39; Pine Grove, 42; Deer Creek, 48; Esterbrook Park, 51; Bailey’s, 54; Fairville, 58; Geneva, 68; Webster, 70; Jefferson, 80. The elevation of Webster is 9,120 feet, and of the Kenosha Divide 10,139. One of the main thoroughfares to Leadville is via the Denver & South Park railway and stage lines. This route has been heavily patronized since the last two advances of the railway. From Jan- uary to the present month there was 70 miles of railroading from Denver to Webster, and 70 miles of staging via Fairplay and Weston Pass. Very recently ten miles more of road were completed, with Jefferson as the terminus, giving 80 miles of railroading and 60 of staging. Fare, —. The Mosquito Pass wagon road was to have been completed by June 1st, when the stage companies would trans- fer their lines to that rcute. This would cut off nearly 20 miles of staging, and reduce the fare. In June it is expected that the rail- way will reach Fairplay. Three meals and lodging at Fairplay, on this route, cost $3. The summer will open with 80 miles of rail- roading and over 40 of staging, and there will soon be 20 miles less of staging. The programme of the past winter and spring was as follows: Stages connect at Webster for Fairplay, 30 miles, and Leadville, 70 miles. Fare to Webster, $7; to Leadville, $17. Eating station at Webster; dinner, $1. Stopping over night at Fairplay, $2; station east slope of range, dinner, 75 cents. Quicker time is made to Leadville by the newly established Lead- ville Express train. This connects with all roads running into Denver. Leaving the latter place at 9.30 p. M. the passenger break- fasts in Fairplay and arrives in Leadville that afternoon, The Ten Mile country has communication with Leadville and Georgetown by different stage lines. Distance from Leadville, 17 TOURIST’S GUIDE. 31 to 19 miles; fare, $4 or $7 for the round trip, and has been still higher during the spring. DENVER PACIFIC R. R. Denver Pacifie Railroad.—The Denver Pacific extends from Denver ‘to Cheyenne, 106 miles, fare $7, with Greeley and Evans on the route. The stations and distances from Denver are Denver Junction, 2 miles; Henderson’s Island, 14; Hughes, 20; Fort Lupton, 27; Johnson, 33; Platteville, 35; Evans, 48; Grecley, 52 (fare, $3.75) ; Pierce, 67; Carr, 86; Summit, 96; Cheyenne, 106. The Golden Boulder & Caribou Company has 5} miles of road in operation between Boulder and Marshall, where the Marshall coal mines are situated. DENVER & RIO GRANDE MAIN LINE. Dist. Dist. m Name. Eleva- | Jrure, in Namr. Eleva- | Fare, Miles. eo Miles. tion. WAL) CANON saya 22,02 vroyate 5,143 Hib PAROMs ist boa we 4,986 2 | Machine Shops....| 5,189 17 | North Pueblo... -3:. 4,657 §)| Petersburg .s...... 5,27 120 | South Pueblo...... 4,615 TOs hAtsletOie. sc... 5,820 129 | San Carlos...:..... 4,986 Age Acequias. 2... 5,479 133 | Greenhorn......... 5,045 PAGING Slo acaaesns 4 5,782 140 | Salt’ Creek../...... 5,411 29 | Mill No. 2.... .... 5,985 146) Gramerose.-co.122 5,750 32 | Castle Rock....... 6,173 JEG" |} Huerfano.~. ue... 5,600 SouOOUS ASM ss. ses 6,273 169s Cucharaen. fo... ss 5,893 Son Ginter yf. ote. 6,466 176 | Walsenburg.......| 6,134 Asn) Larkspur... &. 22 > ae \ _ \t y ay ENE ca Ny GARDEN OF THE GODS. On the western rim of the basin of the upper Arkansas are those gems of the Sierras, the Twin Lakes. These beautiful bodies of water are almost mountain locked, being located among the eastern slopes of the great Sawatch Range. Around them are the Twin Peaks, Lake Mountain, La Plata, and Mount Elbert. Leadville is 88 COLORADO TOURIST'’S GUIDE. eighteen miles distant and Granite three miles. Always a favorite resort these lakes are doubly so since the influx of population among the carbonate fields. A good hotel has been erected and sailboats are at the disposal of guests. The pleasure-seeker can here enjoy the highest yachting in the world, while trout are abundant and game of all kinds plentiful. The lower lake is three and a half miles long by two and a half wide, and the upper one is somewhat smaller. The altitude is 9,357 fect. CoLtorapo Sprrncs.—The City of Colorado Springs is beautifully situated on the Denver & Rio Grande Railway, seventy-five miles south of Denver, near the foot of Pike’s Peak, and at the mouth of Ute Pass, through which an excellent wagon road runs to Fairplay, Leadville, Alma, Oro City, and other places in South Park and on the headwaters of the Arkansas river. Its present population (May 1, 1879,) is 5,000, and it is growing with great rapidity. The town site was purchased in 1871, and the first stake driven on the first day of August of that year. Since then the growth of the town has been rapid and its prosperity uninterrupted. During the year 1878 there was about $1,500,000 worth of mer- chandise sold, of which nearly $500,000 was in groceries and produce. It is the centre of a large lumber trade. Upon the ranges in the immediate vicinity of the town are over 200,000 head of sheep and 30,000 head of cattle and horses. Owing to its magnificent climate and its proximity to the cele- brated soda and iron springs at Manitou, five miles distant, Colorado Springs has become one of the most popular resorts in the United States for seekers after pleasure and health. During the year 1878, over 13,000 visitors were registered at its hotels, while nearly as many more were quartered in private boarding-houses, The winters in this locality are usually mild, with but little snow, no rain, and the air is dry and exhilarating. In the summer the nights are always cool and pleasant. The livery establishments are numerous and their charges moderate. There are eight churches, representing all the principal religious denominations, a magnificent public school, attended by nearly five hundred pupils, several private schools, and a flourishing college, with well-endowed professorships. The streets of the town are level, never either dusty or muddy, and are lined with shade trees to the number of over 7,000. Within a few miles of Colorado Springs are to be found many of the finest pieces of scenery “SONINdS OGVUOTOD 40 COLORADO in the Rocky Mountain region. Cheyenne Canon, Manitou, The Garden of the Gods, Glen Eyrie, Monument Park, Ute Pass are all within an hour’s drive, and ‘the summit of Pike’s Peak can be reached with ease, on horseback, in a few hours’ ride. The city has recently supplied itself with abundance of the purest water from Ruxton’s creck, which is conducted in pipes through every street 1 the town. | Manrtrovu.—This delightful resort for health and pleasure seekers is located at the renowned soda and iron springs, eight in number, in a nook in the mountains, at the very foot of Pike’s Peak, and about five miles west of Colorado Springs. The road from the latter place to South Park and Leadville passes immediately through it. Here are five hotels, three of which are quite large, capable of accommodating a thousand guests. In the summer season this resort is thronged with fashionable tourists from all parts of the United States and Europe. Owing to its thorough protection from the winds, it is a favorite winter resort for mvalids. A number of beau- tiful villas have been erected here. Its present population is about 400. iW) Paget i \\ Z Il \ | (Te We SSS mit ates gg i % EN. 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Ay TH NG aN | | wy ent Ne Ve + a 47M My Wi \ AN if) ‘ 1A” Ne a \\ ih - a i ed Sournwht ? ui ? an My | Hi Ui i Vy AN Nhe A") XY \s" HAN \\ \ 1 \" — . NA be ie j, Sindh SY Ss , 10% Saag < c Teh 7 a F = ’ - ~~ =S\Qy | SN \\ \\\ ‘T Se ¥ FZ2I Cobr er ‘ y f ~~ ALL ms BN TING x _—_— he A . 4 . . “S Ny Kl Wily Tae ODivioe SX “will, am PN . Lf e a / tise MT Wasfinoton i aS A / ™ (] ~ AR Va Brenme is yu S > s 4 pre : Po 3 ‘* : Ss } on eh P # > a “ = i WG Mi mya" Mi Austins er Ranciie® TOURIST’S GUIDE, 41 from morning until night. The winter temperature is many degrees higher than in any other locality in Colorado. This is one of the principal railroad centres of the State. The Denver & Rio Grande railway, extending from Denver to the great coal mines of El Moro, and thence, via La Veta, to the gold and sil- ver mines of the southwest, passes through it from north to south, with a branch running west to Canon City, while the Atchison, To- peka & Santa Fe, coming in from the east, up the Arkansas river, gives a direct broad gauge communication with the Mississippi Val- ley. Large smelting works have been located here, and its cheap coal and fine water power, combined with its railroad communica- tion with all parts of the State, will certainly make it an important manufacturing centre in the near future. It is well supplied with water for irrigating purposes from a large lake near the town, the latter being connected by means of an aque- duct with the St. Charles river. Ten thousand shade trees have been planted on each side of the streets in the residence part of the town. South Pueblo is located in the midst of one of the best stock ranges on the continent. To the southeast stretches a vast section of rolling plains that cannot be irrigated, covered with the richest grasses, which afford pasturage for countless herds of cattle, sheep, and horses, requiring no other food and shelter throughout the year than such as they can find on their ranges. Northeasterly another vast and excellent section for grazing rolls on to the Great Divide. PurBio.—This city adjoins South Pueblo on the north, and is a point of considerable importance. This is the county seat of Pueblo county. The court-house and public school building are fine struc- tures, the first costing $50,000 and the other $30,000. There are many large stores, several banks, and two daily newspapers. The place was founded in the winter of 1859-60, and soon absorbed the earlicr settlement of Fontaine. Its growth was slow up to the advent of the railways, but business is now steadily improving and enlarging. With South Pueblo, this constitutes much the largest city in Southern Colorado, 42 COLORADO CHAPTER Y, AMONG THE MAGNIFICENT MOUNTAINS, CANONS, AND PARKS OF SOUTH- ERN COLORADO—WHAT THE TOURIST AND INVALID CAN SEE AND ENJOY— OUTLINES OF DESIRABLE EXCURSIONS— HUNTING, FISH- ING, AND PLEASURE RESORTS. Some of the most widely known summer resorts in Colorado, as well as others of equal attractiveness, though not so generally familiar to the outside world, are easily reached by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railroad and its various connections. At Pueblo, the west- ern terminus of this great highway, the tourist who travels for health or pleasure, or both, finds easy access to Colorado Springs, Canon City, and the San Juan country. Each of these scctions possesses a wealth of enjoyable features that render them well worth the time and money which one must expend in order to give them due consid- eration. As to the former item, the advantages given by steam transvortation have placed the trip within the power of the most hurried tourist. And as to the latter, competition has reduced it to the minimum. The nearest point from Pueblo is Canon City, where one may look upon a rare wealth of natural scenery, draw pleasure and benefit from medicinal springs, and observe the active opcration of some of the leading industries of the State. The place takes its name from the various picturesque canons and gorges that have been cut into the mountains on every side, but more particularly from the Grand Canon of the Arkansas, which is one of the most famous works of nature in any part of the world. The ride from Pueblo to Canon City is of brief duration, but full of pleasure to the lovers of the grand works of nature. The tracks of the Denver & Rio Grande road pass through a section of country than which there is nothing more beautiful in the land. At the terminus of this branch of the road one finds himself in a scrupulously neat little city, much frequented by tourists and invalids, the centre of the greatest coal region in the State, the location of several important mining in- terests, and outfitting headquarters for most of the San Juan coun- TOURIST’S GUIDE. 43 try, as well as of Chalk Creek and California Gulch districts. ‘The rates for accommodation are from $2 to $3 per day; per week, from $8 to $12.50. That grandest of all experiences, a railway excursion through the Grand Caion of the Arkansas, can now be made from Caiion City. Distance, 5 to 10 miles. Livery rates are quite reason- able, to wit: team and single buggy to Grand Caiion, one horse, $5; two horses, $6, this being with or without a driver; Temple Cafion or Curiosity Hill, $2 to $3; Marble Cave, Oil Creek, or Oak Oreck Cahon, same as to Grand Caion. Carriage for four, by the day, $6. ie ie yi ish =~ <= —~S Sara XS fe 5 ill ban 5 Hii YF Zee 2 ee ae Te A fs ee ees =a 2 a, ———S OSE p yy P Cotoney For three or more passengers the tariff to the Grand Cafion is $7 to $8 for the party, and for five or more $1.50 to $2 each.’ The pro- prietors of the hotel, however, furnish transportation to all desirous of visiting the Grand Canon at the uniform rate of $2, no matter what the number of the party. The ride to Grape Creek Canon and return may be made with ease in half a day, and may include a visit to Temple Cafon by the way. _ The road is smooth and hard, and is rapidly traversed by the excel- ‘lent horses provided by the Cafion City livery stables, 44, COLORADO Grape Creek Cafion takes its name from the wonderful profusion of grape-vines which deck its lofty walls. The defile is one of the most beautiful in all the State. Its sides are composed of many col- ored rocks, which rise to an enormous height and are piled in fan- tastic shapes, which hold the spectator spell-bound. Through the bottom of the gorge flows Grape creek, a brawling crystal stream, which lashes the boulders in its bed with secthing fury. In the early autumn, when the thickly clustering grape-vines are heavy with their purple fruit, and when their leaves have been touched by the pencil of gay Jack Frost, the many rich colors displayed in this cafion are well worth traveling thousands of miles to see. At any time the scene presented here is weird and picturesque in the extreme. One enters Temple Canon, which is a kind of side door from the one just mentioned, through a luxuriant grove of trees. Its various fea- tures must be inspected on foot, as there is no roadway. In the midst of this little rift in the rocks Nature has carved a wondrous structure, which is an exact counterpart of what we mortals know as a theatre. Before a broad floor there stands an immense stage, fronted by a proscenium arch, and backed by a ‘‘ flat”? upon which ° is pictured the rugged outlines of some rustic scene. The “flies ” and ‘‘ wings” are also to be discerned, and on either side of the stage are spaces which we may almost imagine were employed as dressing-rooms for the mystic actors who played upon that stage to an audience of the gods. The broad plateau in front of the great stage makes an excellent ‘‘ orchestra,” and one may readily find room for the fancy that the ledges towering hundreds of feet above, may, in some distant age, have been used as galleries for impecunious or low-grade gods who wished to see the play. In Oak Creek Caiion, fifteen miles distant from the city, one may also find food for gratification, and half a day may be spent there both with profit and enjoyment. And upon Curiosity Hill the tourist has an opportunity for research which is likely to fascinate him for an indefinite period. There, scattered over the ground, are all sorts of odd and beautiful little specimens of ribbon moss, linear agate crys- tals and the like. The surface of the hill is one vast field of curios- ities. By blasting, large bodies of the most perfect crystals are obtained, invariably bedded in ribbon agate of the most beautiful colors and shapes, and polishing readily, they form beyond all compar- TOURIST’S GUIDE. 45 ison the loveliest of cabinet attractions. Many very valuable spcci- mens of blood agate have been found upon Curiosity Hill, and for agates of all hucs and forms it is possibly the most satisfactory field for the specimen-secker in southern Colorado, Oil Creck, unlike many other streams in the vicinity, is heavily : “ hh == ill (RIN Aig es ant Ay ( he (i i i Ni(I! , 1 fi fa f he Hie : fs Mi Wai by, nN Hi ! | ( tM is : Hh i . i! Wl if {Alt fi) 5 i fi ‘st Un iu a TEMPLE CANON, 46 COLORADO wooded. It takes its title from the more or less valuable discoveries of petroleum along its banks. Several wells have been sunk at various places, and the result, though not extremely profitable, gives rise to the hope that at some future day coal oil may be found in large quantities near at hand. The waters of Oil Creck are strongly impregnated with petroleum, and in some places the oil floats in thick offensive layers upon the water. Improved methods.of bor- ing are now adopted, and the prospects for the establishment here of a new industry are most promising. Oil Creek Cafion is a deep and resplendent chasm, cut through variegated sandstone. The many- hued walls are wrought into strange forms, many of them strongly suggestive of the various works of man. Fortifications of massive strength, sculptured heads, clear-cut figures—all go to make this locality a great natural art gallery. The pinon trees which crest the towering heights, bear heavy harvests of sweet and nutritious nuts, which are eaten by wandering tribes of Indians with great avidity. Marble Cave, Talbott Hill, and some property from his Satanic Majesty’s household, including his bower, punch-bowl, and arm- chair, all form interesting points to be visited from Cafon City. The coal mines,. situated about a dozen miles to the southward, should not be overlooked by tourists. The veins of: almost bitu- minous coal here found are of marvelous extent and richness. For miles one is permitted to ride through the gloomy shaft of the mine upon a small wooden car, which is also used to freight the coal from its bed to the open air. There are eighty-six side-chambers, or rooms, as the miners know them, in the main entry, fifty-seven in another entry, and in all, four miles of track upon which the coal is carried to the outer world. The veins average five feet two inches, and run three and one-half miles cast and west and ten miles north and south. A hundred miners are at work, and the yield averages four hundred tons per day. The gigantic solid lump of coal, eight feet nine inches long, six feet across, and four feet four inches high, that attracted such great attention at ‘ne Centennial, being beyond all comparison the greatest single piece of coal on exhibition, was taken from this mine. It weighed seven tons, and was cut and brought out of the mine in three days. Canon City coal is unquestionably the finest lignite coal in the world, and is so extensively used throughout the West as to require the running of special trains for coal alone on the Den- TOURIST’S GUIDE. : 47 ver & Rio Grande road, which has its own track to the mines. The supply is beyond all human calculation, for the valley of the Arkansas is one vast coal bed for mile upon mile. The Grand Canton of the Arkansas is at last penetrated by a rail- way. The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Company completed several miles of track from Caton City up through the Royal Gorge early in May, and the first passenger excursion train passed up and down on the 7th day of that month. Far down in the depths, beside the foam- ing waters of the river, steam cars will soon make their daily trips to the mountain metropolis of Leadville. No sunshine ever enters long sections of this massive defile, and but a narrow strip of the heavens is visible from the train. Many prefer the old way of seeing the cafon from above. This trip is made by carriage or on horseback. The drive from the hotel to the Grand Cafion covers thirteen miles over a stretch of country which is almost bewildering in its wealth of startling features. It is possible to ride almost to the very edge of the tremendous cleft through which the foaming Arkansas roars with intense fury. And when one stands upon the brink of that vast precipice and gazes down thousands of fect, he is overcome by awe at the magnitude of Nature’s handiwork. So far beneath asto be almost lost from sight, the river winds its way like a tiny thread of the purest white. Indeed, it is almost impossible to realize that what appears to be but an insignificant rivulet is in reality the mighty Arkansas. Near at hand is the Royal Gorge—the greatest and most impressive chasm on the ‘‘ Eastern Slope.”’ It isin many ways different from the cafion, and excites the greatest enthusiasm among the lovers of grand scenery. At the first point of observation the walls, though frightfully steep, are nevertheless sloping to more or less extent ; here at the Royal Gorge there are sheer precipices, as perpendicular as the tallest house, as straight as if built by line. §o narrow is the gorge that one would think the throwing of a stone from side to side the easiest of accomplishments, yet no living man has ever donc it, or succeeded in throwing any object so that it would fall into the water below. Many tourists are content with the appalling view from the main walls, but others more vcnturesome work their way six hundred to a thousand feet down the ragged edges of a mountain that has parted and actually slid into the chasm. Few dare to look over the edge of the precipice more than once, i rit) | fh ‘ i" mith ) ye | HR bil xe o SPANISH PEAKS AND THE PLAINS FROM VETA PASS, COLORADO TOURIST’S GUIDE. 49 and oné glance suffices for a comprehension of the meaning of the word depth never before even dreamed of, and never afterward for: gotten. The gorge is 2,008 feet sheer depth. ‘The opposite wall towers hundreds of feet above the one on which the tourist stands, and if possible to imagine anything more terrifying than the position on this side, that upon the other would be, were its brink safe to approach. Overhanging crags, black and blasted at their summits or bristling with stark and gnarled pines, reach up into profoundly dizzy heights, while lower down monstrous rocks threaten to topple and carry to destruction any fool-hardy climber who would venture upon them. Among all the thousands who have visited the Grand Canon and the Royal Gorge harm has befallen none, for despite the seeming horror of the situation, the appalling depth and rugged paths, the fascination of the danger gives birth to the greatest cau- tion. The canon, except in the dead of winter, is approachable only from the tep, the walls below being so precipitous and the river such a torrent as to defy all access. While the original railway surveys could be made only when the stream was frozen over, the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Company is succeeding in blasting a road bed from the rocky walls for its Leadville extension. There are, in addition to all these easily accessible places of in- terest, many points in the vicinity which may easily be taken in. Rosita, Poncha Springs, and other places may be visited, the trip occupying from two to four days. These journeys are inexpensive in the extreme, and the tourist may either camp out or put up at the various ranches which are found from time to time on all the roads leading out of Canon City. The streams abound in magnificent specimens of trout, and among the woods and crags of the moun- tains the most enthusiastic hunter can find game in plenty. | A very pleasant journey, which will cover pretty much all the Southern portion of Colorado, may be made as follows, starting from Pueblo: Cross the Sangre de Cristo range, over Veta Pass, on the Denver & Rio Grande Railway; thence by stage to Del Norte; thence up the valley of the Rio Grande through Wagon Wheel Gap es Antelope Park; thence to Silverton, the seat of the great silver district of the San Juan; thence into the Uncompahgre Valley and Park, making ‘the circuit to Ouray; thence to Lake City ; thence via the Los Pinos Agency, crossing the Continental Divide to Saguache ;- thence down 3 50 COLORADO the San Luis Valley over Poncho Pass to South Arkansas; thence to Chalk Creek, Twin Lakes, California Gulch, and the Mount of the Holy Cross, returning via South Park to Fairplay, thence through Ute Pass to Manitou and Colorado Springs. This the main line to be followed; numbcrless side jaunts are permitted, and i i iE > ull een. SAU Gl SCENE AT VETA PASS, D. & R. G. R. R. nearly if not quite the entire tour can be made by stage. The most agreeable manner of making the tour is, however, the commingling of stage, wagon, horscback, and jaunts on foot, as in this way one is entirely independent of time schedules, gauging his rambles only so as to make connection with stage at such points as it is most desir- able, It is not unfrequently the case that horses, mules, and equip- TOURIST’S GUIDE. 51 ment complete are purchased before starting, and at the completion of the trip sold readily for such prices as render the expense very small. Others charter conveyances for indefinite periods, and pay at a speci- fied reduced rate per day. In short, one may make his own choice of preliminarics, and thus fix the cost according to the means at command. TWIN LAKES—THE HIGHEST YACHTING IN THE WORLD, Wagon Wheel Gap is becoming famous for its hot springs, and various other attractive features. It is an exceedingly romantic locality, and the road which leads to it follows along the bank of the river through scenery of the wildest description. The Gap is a sharp cut through walls of solid rock. In this cut the river flows, and there is just room for the stage road beside the stream. From Wagon-Wheel Gap the road leads west up the Rio Grande, the valley narrow and recky of surface to Antelope Park, twenty miles, where it widens out in broad opens, profusely and richly clothed with grass. Here the stage road leaves the river as it turns to the right, 52 COLORADO and passing over a series of picturesque, pine-covered hills, runs into the shadows of a long range of mountains presenting stupendous cliff faces of exceeding ruggedness. They rise vertically to dizzy heights, and are relieved by innumerable columns and strange rock figures that stand out from the wall or crown the summit. In the early summer, while the snow is still melting on the towering peaks, in- numerable streams of water pour down over these cliff-faces, forming beautiful cascades hundreds of feet in depth. Midway of this tre- mendous and magnificent rock scenery, and immediately on the left of the road, is Lake Santa Maria, two miles in length, but quite narrow, and without visible outlet. It is dotted with little rocky islands, and from the farther shore rises a long, sloping, half-wooded mountain ridge. The water is perfectly clear, perfectly smooth, and all indentations in the rocks, every streak of brown upon the majestic mountain sides, every tuft of evergreen that has gained footing, every tree from base to timber line, the peaks, and everything ani- mate or inanimate, are pictured in the cool shadows with undeyviating fidelity. - A few miles from Lake Santa Maria, or Mirror Lake, as it is often termed, is Clear Creek, a fine, large stream wonderfully beautiful in cascades. Here the road turns to the northward to surmount the snowy range, and thence onward the slopes are easy and gentle, the country more park like, and we soon reach a point where Clear Creek plunges down hundreds of feet in one tumultuous leap. Half a dozen miles farther is the pass over the suminit of the Rocky range, the approach to which is not steep or abrupt on either side. The first waters we come upon that flow toward the Pacific are the head streams of the Powderhorn, which unite with the Cebolla, a prom- inent branch of the Gunnison. The streams are skirted by narrow, open valleys, but the road soon climbs up a timbered ridge—a moun- tain spur which diverges to the north—and for nearly twenty miles it winds through the dusky shadows of a dense forest, coming out at last at the summit of Slumgullion Gulch, a precipitous, rocky, and stumpy descent, with the Lake fork of the Gunnison at its mouth, and four miles beyond the largest commercial centre of the San Juan country—Lake City. The site is decidedly romantic, surrounded as is the city by stupendous mountains, now bare and bald, and then finely zoned with prodigious forest growth. The altitude of Lake City is 8,550 feet, and from a mere cluster of cabins in 1875 it has TOURIST’S GUIDE. 53° grown into a thriving, busy centre of from 1,500 to 2,000 population, its mills and reduction works comprising the most extensive system of mining machinery in all the San Juan country. It has churches of almost every denomination, three or four hotels, good schools, several banks, five saw-mills, free reading-room and library, two excellent and energetic newspapers, and other evidences too numerous to mention of substantial and lasting prosperity. Motel rates run from $2 to $3 per day, and from $10 to $12 per week. Returning to Del Norte it is sometimes pleasant to leave the San Juan country by way of the stage route to Cafion City, and to take the cars at that point for Pueblo, Colorado Springs, and the northern resorts. U. S. SIGNAL STATION==SUMMIT OF PIKE’S PEAK 04 COLORADO CHAPTER Vii. INTO THE MOUNTAINS— RAILWAYS AND STAGE LINES IN THE ‘‘ ROCKIES” —-THE BEAUTIES AND ATTRACTIONS OF A ROUND TRIP AMONG THE PARKS, CANONS AND MINING CAMPS—GEORGETOWN, IDAHO, CEN- TRAL, BLACK ITAWK, MIDDLE PARK, AND THE SNOWY RANGE— HOW TO REACIL POINTS OF INTEREST AND WHAT IT COSTS, For many years the stage-driver and freighter haye been steadily receding from an immense scope of country in which their services were once indispensable. The ever-encroaching extensions of the railways and the sharp competition of lower prices are ever and anon crowding them to the newer fields which the prospector and pioneer are continually proving worthy of occupation. The same history is being repeated in central and southern Colorado that the northern settlements have seen enacted; and here, as there, the lips that welcome the advance of the steam motor tender a heartfelt good- bye and God-speed to the friends of other days. Outside of local farming or mining residents, once famous locations like Guy Hill and Virginia Canon live only in the recollections of other days, They are now off the lines of travel and the locomotive wakens the echoes where once sped the driver with his ‘‘six-in-hand.” Let due honor be accorded these gallant knights of the ribbons, who have conducted themselves with equal credit whether in scenes of peril and danger or in the routine every day duties of the road. Although crowded from their former scenes of usefulness, they are yet the autocrats of travel over an empire of park and mountain as matchless for grandeur and beauty as it is boundless in extent. Here the tourist can still be treated to an exhilarating drive from mountain top to cafon depth, or whirled at break-neck speed around the brink of yawning chasms until his love of excitement is fully gratified. Indian bullets no longer greet the driver and his load of human freight, as before the days of plains railways and Pullman sleepers, but there is enough of the sensational about one of these mountain excursions to satisfy the ordinary traveler, In the multitude of inviting localities that await the inspection of TOURIST’S GUIDE. 55 the pleasure-secker, all or half of which it is impossible to visit in a few wecks’ time, or in a single season, it is a difficult matter to make a choice of routes, or to lay out a plan of travel and live up to it. But this region of picturesque novelties and ever-changing beauty is so vast in extent that one can hardiy go amiss in making any one of the plains cities a base of operations, and any part of the mountains BEAVER BROOK, C. Cc, R. R ~ an objective point. The lover of the beautiful will find a world of enjoyment, whether viewing the handiwork of the Great Architect from lofty peak, wooded dell, or sunless cafion. In the variety that is offered one can go from forest of luxuriant splendor to mountains of unutterable barrenness and magnitude, from still lake to roaring cataract, from verdure and cultivation to galleries of nature’s 56 COLORADO strangest fantasies, without the slightest hint of what the next transition may be. On any one of the most traveled routes, or near any of the pleasure resorts or railway termini, it is but a short remoye from the bustling activity of the mining camp or business centre to the solitude and desolation of the mountain top with all its impressiveness. In recalling the attractions of a summer's excursion among the ‘ Rockies,” it must be confessed that each picture has a hundred phases rivaling some other in beauty and interest, and that every exquisitely perfect feature in mountain, lake, or river scenery is somewhere garnered here. So whether we explore the wonders of the Royal Gorge, scale the “snowy range,” or view the rugged walls and towers of Clear Creck, the Platte or Boulder, there is enough in each or all to repay many long miles of travel. All of these places can be reached within four days from New York, and in less time from Chicago or St. Louis. No one coming to Colorado should fail to visit the mountains. Without that the entire excursion would be like the play of Hamlet with Hamlet left out. This can be done from any one of several towns, but best of all from Denver. The railway towns of Boulder, Golden, Colorado Springs, and Cajion are located at or near the en- trances to beautiful mountain gorges, rich with scenery of wooded dell, castled wall, and dashing waterfall. At present the most entertaining trip that can be made, and the quickest and cheapest, is that by way of the Colorado Central railway from Denver to the mining cities of Central, Black Hawk, Idaho, and Georgetown. In this the tourist gets the greatest variety for the least expenditure of money that any single excursion affords that actually enters the mountains any distance. While this cafion may not compare with the Royal Gorge in massive grandeur, the tourist can derive infinite pleasure from the many and varied sights that continually offer themselves en route and at adjacent points on either hand. There is no finer prospect than that offered from Gray’s lofty summit, no more beautiful lakes than those near Georgetown, and nowhere in Colorado are mines so deep or mills so numerous as on the headwaters of Clear creek. There are excellent hotels at all of the towns named, and one of the most noted pleasure resorts, with fine drives and livery turnouts, can be found on this line at Idaho Springs. The railway time between these points and Denyer is but a few. TOURIST’S GUIDE. 57 hours, and the round trip can be made in a single day. The time between the arrival and departure of trains is too short, however, to permit of seeing the many interesting and instructive features of such an excursion, ‘and at least one or two days should be devoted to each locality. The expense of the round trip should not exceed thirty dollars, although the outlay can be increased or diminished YittHo SAA Ss SN Sig Se. te i i a a, YEN SS AN Pra S Hy nee OTe 5 ENCAMOR ._ CLEAR CREEK CANON, C. C, R. Re according to time and number and variety of places visited. A few days enables one to take in some of the grandest scenery on the con- tinent, and to learn muck of the mountains and of mining and mining life. Picturesque Clear Creek Cafion has been portrayed too often to re- quire a detailed description here, and must be seen to be appreciated. 58 COLORADO TOURIST’S GUIDE. A twenty-mile ride up the curves and windings of this rocky defile brings one first to the creck mines and then to the stamp mills of Black Hawk. The business point of Central, by the wagon road, along which portions of these cities are built, is but little over a mile distant, but the difference of nearly five hundred feet in eleva- tion is too much for any railway grade. Consequently, Gregory Gulch could not be followed, but a detour is made along the moun- tains until the requisite clevation is gained for a nearly straight shoot for the destination. Central is twenty-six hundred fect higher than Golden and over three thousand feet above Denver. Still fur- ther up among the hills is Nevadayille. The first sight of these cities of the hills is one not soon forgotten. There is a novelty to the scene that attracts in spite of the general barrenness of the landscape—the forest having long since been con- sumed in furnaces or mines. Thus it is that the numberless prospect holes, dump piles, shafts, cuts, and tunnels that scar the earth’s surface are all the more plainly visible. Streets and houses are wedged in narrow ravines and gulches, and again crowded up their steep inclines. The towns centre where streams and gulches unite ; for there a little more room can be obtained than elsewhere, and room is an important item here. A main thoroughfare, over three miles in length, winds through these granite hills and busy, bustling towns. Down this numerous quartz teams make their way from mine to mill, loaded with precious ore. Far up the giddy slopes on cither side hang cottages and mine buildings, seem- ingly ready to topple one on another. Where business centres are stately blocks of brick and granite, handsome banks, hotels, and warehouses, whose tops hardly reach to the levels of the streets behind. Beside the turbid streams are huge quartz mills, whose ponderous iron stamps never cease to thunder and rattle. These are the bullion producers and the receptacle of the gold-bearing rock that is constantly being blasted and hoisted from the shafts, levels, and tunnels of the honeycombed hill sides. Here one can be inducted into the mysteries of ‘‘ wet crushing and raw amalgama- tion” —of extracting the precious metals from the ore. It is a strange sight to the new comer, these cities built at the tops of the shafts or mouths of the tunnels which lead to nature’s treasure vaults below and on either hand. Down in the depths, hundreds of feet from the light of day, are other cities, less habit- ‘AVAVIIVM IVNINAD CAVUOTIOD “IVYLNAD OL AMVH MOWId WON bh YS SAA oc be tli yee RN | ES TRY Ny! aE a ES a! ay ay ed) A TY THR yea DORA Tin pit « eave ara SORa NN Ree hk ua} Hagin Wy My A ‘e ont ‘aN yt x A if i MH ! iF Phy AIRY K y i) OL aT i mat) ( qe l i 4) AY ; hi i | | 2 ie Mt i! t SO HH ey Sided ukby Say W) Bei ORAL ti Sette \ a ee iV I uy y at ae iby e A ——— Pane DS Z ty I PRD Ee ore ix Z LELI4 tip “Li _~ a SAN ti s AS x BAN : = 7, SGA aes eal is aps NAS ye mir Lee ! sat Hae le aN Lee OR At: NAN Hig HAN UA Ca gene oe oN Wa MK +a Ae i ur saa all wl on NV Hb ) N Myla % ie) Bi\\ at i Wiese H 60 COLORADO able, but equally active. Here, by the dim candle light, scores and hundreds of miners wield the drill, pick, and shovel, delving for the hidden wealth of centuries. Thus do they help to swell the millions that steadily find their way into the channels of commerce. A yisit to these underground workings is a notable event to the tourist or stranger. A trip on the Black Hawk and Central extension of this narrow- gauge railway is full of interest, and sensational in the extreme. The grade is even steeper than in the canon below, and averages something like one hundred and thirty-five fect to the mile. But, as the train keeps on ascending, one is brought more into the sun- light than there, and the prospect becomes far more extensive and exciting. At one place streets are crossed above the level of the house tops, and at another, after circling the mountain sides for two miles, the train makes its appearance hugging the mountain side hundreds of feet above, and almost directly over the town. One can almost look down into the fiery chimneys of the great smelters, while streets rise above, and seemingly bottomless shafts and exca- vations yawn beneath in this thrilling ride among the gold mines. At Central one can step into the banks and look upon the glitter- ing gold retorts fresh from the mills, and ready for export. These big lumps of the yellow metal, varying in value from one hundred to fifteen or sixteen thousand dollars each, and in weight from a few ounces up to a thousand, are continually arriving, as one mill after another makes its ‘‘clean up,” and consequently bank shipments are made almost daily. ‘‘Specimens” of gold and silver-bearing ore, of many colors and varieties, and often strikingly beautiful, are collectable at the mines and purchasable elsewhere. Many . residents of these places have been diligent in gathering mineral collections which they would not part with at almost any figure. Magnificent views of the surrounding country can be obtained from James’ Peak or Bellevue Mountain. Taking the same railway, with its zigzags, curves, and windings, back again to the forks of the creeks, twelve miles below Central, the down train is exchanged for that bound up the main branch of Clear Creek for Idaho Springs and Georgetown ; or if the delightful experience of a mountain drive is preferred, the short cut of six miles to Idaho by way of the Divide and down the famous Virginia canon can be chosen, This was once the old stage route, but the ———E— a | | TOURIST’S GUIDE, 61 railway around the line of the creek supplanted that some time ago. Seated in a carriage behind a first-class livery team, the prospect is well worthy of attention. All along the route are iode and gulch mines, and far away the great range glistens with its mantle of snow and disappears from sight as the rapid run down the cafion begins. Nearly a thousand feet to the mile is the descent made on this steep and rugged slope. : Za VIEW IN CENTRAL. ’ If a township several miles square, surrounding ‘and including Idaho Springs, could be transplanted, with all of its wealth of mountains and dark cafions, whispering pines, bubbling springs, leaping, splashing waterfalls, and heavenly atmosphere, to some central location in the East, it would secure such a population and 62 COLORADO TOURIST’S GUIDE. fashionable assemblage as no seaside resort can boast of. Idaho stands unsurpassed in natural attractions for those seeking health, pleasure, or novelty. The hotels are spacious and good, the hot soda springs highly beneficial, and the bathing facilities first-class. In the overhanging hills are gold and silver mines, and along the bars and creeks gravel and pay dirt are still washed for gold, as in the earlier days of the country. There are mills for crushing or concen- trating ore from the lode veins, and streets of neatly-built cottages, with a mingling of more pretentious structures. The contracted caion up which the railroad makes its way here widens into a beautiful sunny valley, with green sloping hillsides. All the way to Georgetown numerous mines dot the mountains, with here and there a thriving mining camp. A few miles distant are those noted resorts, Chief Mountain and Chicago Lakes, the latter comprising the highest body of still water in North America. Beyond Idaho Springs the silver region proper is entered, and quartz mills are succeeded by concentrating and reduction works and ore-buying and sampling establishments. Inviting as may be the appearance and surroundings of Idaho Springs, those of Georgetown are still more so. Under the shadows vf grand old mountains, the “Silver Queen” reigns prosperous, productive, and progressive. All around are silver veins, whose annual output has been gradually creeping up into the millions. Close at hand are the mills for the extraction of the precious metal, and yet other mills where ores are purchased and shipped to distant smelters. The success that has attended mining makes itself mani- fest in the character and appearance of this fair city. Few western places can boast of as good a class of private residences, of as well- built streets or better patronized marts of trade. As at Central, and most other Colorado towns, the finest and most noticeable building that arrests the attention of the stranger is one deyoted to edu- cational purposes. With Georgetown as a base of operations some of the most charm- ing resorts that the country affords can be reached in rides or drives of a few hours. There are mines and tunnels along the steep moun- tains almost without number, and well worth the climb necessary to reach them. A few miles away are the famous Gray and Irwin Peaks, domes of the continent, rising respectively to heights of 14,341 apd 14.336 feet above sea level. From their summits, reached SSS = ——— —= —— er “SHVdd S,NIMUI =9 S——————————— — bs) =a = — 2 = = =a — We = = = | \ Any wi if ‘il sil ‘i ¢ He Lz =a = yy = r= = = Ps | ANILNOD 4 dO AINO or == = “= == = = = = == eS _ SS = —— Ee = oF = = S BSS sez = SS i) ay a I" — = = SS = SS SS é: TS = = — = > as —S =. = | i] A | AT ANN it | a My All ‘i | a NW i KY F Ie H ‘ll H Ai Hh | EHP TNA ] AH y AN iNT Bay bil { Al if al iH wi Mit Ma Nae | a AN i | i lH ! \ m ; ! iN i mt tl 1 I ! i \ HK, | I \ IN A Piz z es <= Se tt = SS SSS Ye COLORADO by well-worn trails and bridle-paths, views of surpassing grandeur are afforded. Far to the eastward extend the great plains, as level and boundless as the ocean. In all other directions countless peaks and mountain ranges rear their billowy heads like storm-tossed sea waves, while far below the western slopes are the green valleys of the Snake, Blue and Grand and of Middle Park. The range of vision embraces objects one hundred and fifty miles distant in any direction. DEVIL’S GATE, GEORGETOWN. Within two miles of town are Green and Clear lakes, the most beautiful of their kind that even Colorado has to offer. Here one can enjoy boating and fishing at an elevation of ten thousand feet above the sea. The Devil’s Gate and Bridal Veil Fall are but a few minutes’ walk from the Barton House,and are objects of rare interest. TOURIST’S GUIDE. 65 In the neighboring mountains are tunnels driven into the mountains for distances of from a quarter to nearly half a mile, and other mining enterprises whose deeper workings are hundreds of feet below the starting point. Besides mines of great extent and richness, the tourist can view the silver mills, where the product is crushed, roasted, amalgamated, and converted into bright silver bullion! From this same Colorado Central, a ramble up Boulder Canon can be made in a single day from Boulder City. This will prove a rare eae Feat iy A ie sy a ies ee oe MAE ON, NG: Se] IN THE PARK, treat, for it is the most beautiful of ali of the northern canons. If the trip can be lengthened to that extent, Boulder county should be included in the Georgetown and Central excursion. The mountain sections must there be visited by stage or other conveyance, and these: are at the traveler’s disposal at either end of the route. Pleasant summer retreats are afforded at Rollinsville and Fall River, both of which are unsurpassed for general attractiveness, and for hunting and fishing facilities. _ 66 . COLORADO An excursion to that delightful resort, Middle Park, should be by all means sect down on the programme, if time and circumstances permit of it. This can be reached from Georgetown or Empire in a single day, by the regular stages of those localities. While stage and hotel accommodations are excellent, and such modes of travel simple and expeditious, many prefer to adopt the old Colorado style of summering in the wilderness by organizing ‘‘ camping out- fits” and to ‘‘rough it ’’.in a more primitive and perhaps enjoyable manner. The saddle and pack animals, wagons, or materials and supplies for such an expedition, can be obtained at reasonable figures at Denver or the mountain cities of Central and Georgetown. Roads lead from either of the last-named places over mountain passes to the same destination. It is difficult to convey a just idea of the world of beauty pre- sented in this summer paradise of Middle Park. The broad ex- panse of mountain scenery unfolded from the passes of the Sierras or the valleys of the Park, and the rolling prairies and river bottoms, with their luxuriant carpeting of grasses and flowers diversified with groves of pine and aspen, forma picture at once lovely and enchanting. Here is everything that goes to make a mountain ramble enjoyable— cool, invigorating atmosphere, bright skies, unlimited hunting and fishing preserves, health-giving mineral waters, clear lakes, translu- cent streams and sparkling waterfalls; such are the attractions in store for the visitor. Once over the great Divide, whose lowest pas- sage-way is more than two miles above the sea, and one can revel in the unrestricted freedom of mountain life in one of Nature's most favored localities. The mineral waters of Hot Sulphur Springs re- lieve all sorts of maladies, and are fast securing the inyalid’s atten- tion. Distance and the intervening range alone have prevented as great a rush of visitors as at the railway watering-places. The groves and grassy slopes along and between the Frazer, Grand, Blue, and Troublesome abound in different varieties of the feathered species, and in deer, antelope, and elk. All of these and more dangerous game inhabit the timbered slopes of the surrounding mountains, while the streams referred to are alive with speckled beauties of the finny tribe. This variety and quantity is certainly sufficient to satisfy the most exacting disciple of the rod and gun, and the rewards that await his efforts are correspondingly liberal and sat- isfactory. To the pent-up denizens of the great cities nothing can TOURIST’S GUIDE, 67 furnish more rare enjoyment than a summer's jaunt among these far away solitudes of forest and stream beyond the ‘‘ snowy range.” Less remote and difficult of access, but equally beautiful, is the lesser inland valley of Estes Park, reached by a few hours’ staging from the Colorado Central railway towns of Loveland and Long- mont. This lovely and fashionable resort is close to the eastern base of that giant sentinel of the great range, Long’s Peak, whose summit is 14,271 feet above sea level. This park has a first-class hotel and is frequented by large numbers of visitors every summer. EMMA LAKE, ESTES PARK, 68 COLORADO CHAPTER YVIt; THE GREAT KANSAS, COLORADO, AND NEW MEXICO THROUGH LINE— DESCRIPTION OF THE ATCHISON, TOPEKA & SANTA FE RATLWAY— ITS ROUTES, PROGRESS, AND OBJECTIVE POINTS—THE DENVER & ; RIO GRANDE RAILROAD. The construction of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railway over the prairies of Kansas and into the mountains and plateaus of Colorado and New Mexico is transforming an ocean of wilderness into a region of thrift and plenty. It affords a great through line of travel to or towards localities famous for their wealth and productiveness. It conveys multitudes of people to the new El Dorado of Leadville, to the health and pleasure resorts of Colorado, and yet other hundreds into the silver-ribbed mountains of the San Juan. The shrill notes of its locomotives waken the echoes among the hills of New Mexico and rouse the indolent descendants of the Spaniard and Aztec from their lethargic sleep. — The silver and gold veins of Southern Colorado and the traffic of the Mexicos shaped the course of this railway, whose location and objective points would be better understood if ‘‘ Kansas, Colorado & New Mexico” was the title instead of that adopted. But its mission will not be complete with the construction of lines already contracted for. An outlet to and for the Pacific coast and its com- merce is wanted, and the mines of Arizona are a strong incentive to further’. progress. Consequently, the road is to be pushed westward from Santa Fe to unite with the on-coming Southern Pacific or to secure through roads to California and Mexico of its own. Already the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe, and its north, south, and west branches and leased lines, built and building, afford cheap and rapid transit and transportation to an ever-increasing area of immense proportions. What is termed the main line has already crossed the Raton mountains into New Mexico and will reach Las Vegas in July. The Arkansas Valley Division is being constructed from Canon to Leadville as rapidly as possible, and ig TOURIST’S GUIDE. 69 expected to reach the latter point early in the fall, if not sooner. The first-named line secures the traffic of New Mexico and the great southwest, and the latter will have all that one road can handle in the travel and transportation of the carbonate camps and the San Juan silver mines of the lower western slope. The corporation possesses ample means for carrying forward any and all of its con- struction projects, while its management evinces a degreee of enterprise commensurate with the magnitude of its operations. At the present time it is operating about 1,400 miles of railroad, which every week sees extending, and which will soon be increased to from 1,550 to 1,700. Connection is made at the eastern termini, Kansas City and Atchison, with the great routes leading through Missouri to Chicago, New York, St. Louis, and all leading eastern cities. It is the only direct route to New Mexico and San Juan, and is within twenty-six hours of Leadville by connect- ing stages. 7 After the two sections of the main line starting at. the Mis- souri river unite at Topeka (the headquarters of. the company), the road strikes off southwesterly to the fertile valley of -the Arkansas, and follows up that stream on an ascending grade of not far from ten feet per mile to La Junta, Colorado. Here one division continues on up this valley to Pueblo, and the other passes southwesterly into New Mexico. Kansas has recently become the leading wheat-growing State in the Union, and ranks high in the production of other grains and of corn. This road passes through the entire length of this granary of the West, with its lands of unsurpassed fertility. The- country is filling up with farmers all along the line of this road, a large portion of the settlers purchasing lands of this company at merely. nominal figures. In Colorado the road intersects a splendid stock region, where cattle and sheep are. raised at so trifling an outlay as to leave -a wonderful margin of profit to those following the avoca- tion. It crosses the great buffalo ranges of the plains, and for hundreds of miles follows the old Santa Fe trail, the natural highway of traffic adopted by the pioneers and Mexican traders of the last generation. Its travel and traffic is immense, especially into and for Colorado. Pullman palace cars are run’ on all through trains, and there is no better managed or equipped road in the country. The general officials of the company are 70 COLORADO TOURIST’S GUIDE. Thomas Nickerson, president; W. B. Strong, vice-president and gencral manager; George O. Manchester, assistant general manager ; E. Wilder, secretary and treasurer; J. P. Whitchead, auditor; W. F. White, general passenger agent, and J. F. Goddard, general freight agent. W. W. Borst is superintendent of the Denver & Rio Grande division, and T. J. Anderson, general passenger agent. The Colorado and New Mexico division of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railroad passes southwesterly up the valley of the Las Animas river through Trinidad and the Raton Mountains. From a recently published account of this section of the road by Henry Sturgis, the following is condensed : The Raton Mountains reach out from the great Sangre de Christo range ina nearly easterly direction and almost on a line with the boundary of Colorado and New Mexico. Raton Peak, 9,400 feet high and seven miles south of Trinidad, is their culminating point. West of this peak begins Raton Cafon, crooked, savage, and picturesque, rising up to Raton Pass, 7,863 feet above the sea. Directly opposite, and on the southern or New Mexican slope, is Willow Canon, which further down debouches upon the vast pastural plains beyond. The hollow thus scooped out by the finger of nature has long been a great viaduct of travel, the portal of New Mexico and the route of a vast traffic. This natural artery of trade, the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Company has followed, and, after a successful contest with the Denver & Rio Grande Company for possession, had nothing to contend with save the great natural obstacles of the pathway. The distance from Trinidad to the summit of the pass is a little over fifteen miles, and the average rise about 121 feet to the mile. This would not be excessive, even for a broad-gauge road, if it was equally distributed, but it is not. Before reaching the upper portion of the pass the gradient in places is 185 feet to the mile. Then comes the crest of the divide itself. To reach the foot of that hill enormous engineering obstacles had to be surmounted. The hill sides were dug into, rocks blasted away, streams diverted from their channels, rip-rap have been built to protect embankments, three iron bridges have been thrown across the cafion as the road changes from side to side seeking the least difficult path ; and, at last, the locomotive is brought face to face with a steep ascent no ‘MM ‘aS NV ‘L ‘W—OOIXAW MAN OLNI SNIVINOAOW NOLVA AHL DNISSOND woe eT OL T LA UAT A Ad | yy g €Z, | N \ HWY: ! kal; ) ON NY i} Gj i | i NDNA \ i G44 % 1)? MiP AY Y WL, ’ TA YAN HT ANNA VYy j >. nL ae Ny DWM i} \ yl Ne) Yj ) i VY AN HA Y/Y) fief Va \" ») NII NA Wy) Y) 3 y ; ff \" Na Hah }) AVATAR iA AN \ WA My \ ) Wy) Yy uae \\ WW \\Y INN y I} Mi ‘lh y yy) I; YYyyy WTNH We AN AN AN "i Hp S| \ i) Mf |i \8 ! tj. i \\ NNN BN WOMAN: Se qh \ NN i WN Yj Z: | Sy iy X\' \\ \ y\]\ Mf AN ARNT Wy) WW), Ys J Mi SEIN N\A ANT G/N A HM) Gj tj I = hhy g | WW} AW t YG. y % es , i / VAR i A et Ciiim \\' ; ANANSI \K Hy all) i | aad AOR AN DANA NE lh U, | iy \A\eh) H\\ Gy N mM A\\\ AN \ h' NH Ah / S AAA »\\ AN Gj} SS hy l= VAN 1 1 VA AW Mii Mi /) tj: S \ \ AY AT | , G7 | \ AY (My! Yj, \ \ AND Yi (Z tj \N \ \ 1) \ YY) Y | itil K \\ til) y] | tt i | | | } } ee U/: oy 1 A ti Pe COLORADO human machinery can climb. To surmount this two schemes were devised, one temporary and in present use, and the other permanent and to supersede the other. 7 The ineans now employed is called a switch-back. By it the cars leave what will be the direct line and are carried over a steep incline track, running diagonally up the hill; thence reversing their direction they shoot up another incline; then reversing again they climb to the summit, thus zigzagging up the steep they cannot directly scale. Even by this indirect route the enormous grade of 316.8 feet per mile is attained. Circling around the summit of the pass the road descends on the New Mexico side in a similar manner, and reaches the point where the direct line comes out of the tunnel, after having achieved the two thousand fect of what will hereafter be the tunneled distance by going nearly three miles around. To operate this portion of the road, over which trains now pass regularly, engines as comparatively great and powerful are used as the grade is heavy and difficult. These ponderous locomotives weigh from sixty-six to eighty tons each. Through the opening gaps of the Raton Mountains northward and southward broad expanses of level plains and fertile valleys are visible, while to the northwest the Spanish Peaks and the still more distant Pike lend additional beauty to the scene. The permanent line of this road will tunnel this pass or divide and thus overcome the heavier grade referred to. The tunnel is almost completed, and will be 2,011 feet long, 14.5 feet wide and 19 feet high. The cost of hauling through this will be only one-fourth what it is by way of the Switch-back. Grand as was the accomplishment of this company in surmounting: the Raton mountains, a still more stupendous undertaking is being pushed on to completion in the Grand Canon of the Arkansas. Here is a defile of such gigantic proportions and of such seeming impas- sableness, that all projects looking towards the construction of a rail- way there were deemed chimerical and impracticable until the »Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe and the Denver & Rio Grande com- panies began operations last summer. This was before the consoli- dation of the latter road with the former, and as there was room for only one line, and that obtainable only by blasting a passage-way for miles from the sides of the canon, these companies came into conflict one with another. Each company had an armed force on the coveted te co TOURIST’S GUIDE. 7? ee Se locality, and a contest for right of way began in the courts, which is yet hardly ended. After the union of the roads the Atchison com- pany continued work, and expects to have a road-bed in order S — i i ‘| i ‘li ‘ i) fe ; Ny Lasts THE GRAND CANON, 74 COLORADO this summer. Leadville and the mountain mining districts are the objective points of this most difficult of all railway construction enterprises that has ever bcen prosecuted in the United States, For long distances the cafion walls rise almost or quite perpendicularly to heights of from one to two thousand fect above the river that foams and dashes in its narrow bed. There was no room for a rail- way in this narrow gorge, and consequently room had to be obtained by blasting a way in the solid rock. This has been done, and the A., T. & 8S, F. railway will soon be in operation to the upper Arkansas and Leadville. The Denver & Rio Grande railway forms the great north and south connection between the different railway systems and farming, stock and mining sections of Colorado. Through it distant portions of the park and plains region are furnished with rapid transit and are afforded an opportunity to develop their resources. Extensive coal measures are supplied with a market, and some of the great gold and silver bearing belts are brought nearer to the great centres of trade and reduction. It was a grand conception, this idea of connecting with iron bands the outposts of the new and progressive American civilization with the land of the ancient Aztec and of the enervated descendants of his Spanish successors, yet great things have already been accomplished in the way of carrying out the original plans. General VW. J. Palmer and associates, who projected this railway of the great inland plateau and mountain system of the continent, have been steadily extending the road from year to year as means and op- portunity were afforded, until three hundred and twenty-seven miles of track are in operation and a point two hundred and fifty miles southwest of Denver has been attained. The first construction began at Denver not long after the advent of the Kansas Pacific, and seventy-five miles of track were laid south of that city in 1871. A town was then laid out, from which the beautiful city of Colorado Springs has resulted ; and Manitou has been an outgrowth of this same railway enterprise. After a short stop, work was re- newed, and Pueblo was reached in 1872. The next objective point was Canon City, at the base of the mountains, where the Arkansas river debouches on the plains. The development of the excellent coal measures of that; vicinity followed. A year or two later another move southward was made, and the northern base of the Raton Mountains was attained. Here were extensive coal fields, and the town of El Moro sprung into existence. Then came the work of cross- TOURIST’S GUIDE. ri) ing the great Sangre de Christo range, in order to reach the valley of the Rio Grande, and thus have a comparatively level water grade southward through New Mexico. Progress was sometimes slow and occasionally interrupted for lack of capital, but the eastern base of the range was reached in time, and then came the work that, in an engineering point of view, has rarely been equaled in the history of railway building. Onward and upward pressed the construction force until the grade was completed and the iron laid to the summit ; and then began the descent of the western slope. Veta Pass is 9,339 fect above sea level, and this road was the first in the United States to attain such an elevation. No other railway in the world makes an ascent at all comparable to this. In a distance of fourteen and three-tenths miles on the eastern slope, an elevation of 2,369 feet is gained, or an average of 169 feet per mile, the grade for two miles of that distance being 211 feet to the mile. On the upper seven miles of the western slope the average grade is 141 feet per mile, and three of these miles have an average grade of 211 feet per mile. The elevation of the summit of Vcta Pass is very nearly one mile greater than that of Pueblo, and Blanca Peak rises yet another mile into cloud land. With the advent of the railway on the eastern rim of San Luis Park, that magic town of the border, Garland, sprung into existence, only to be put on wheels and moved on to Alamosa as soon as the latter became the terminus. The bank of the Rio Grande was reached in the summer of 1878, and here the extension of the road ceascd. Since last December, the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe company has controlled the Denver & Rio Grande, and operate the same in connection with that line. Connection is made at South Pueblo with the broad and narrow gauge roads, and here freight and passen- gers are transferred from one to the other. : The scenery along the Denver & Rio Grande railway will well repay a trip to Colorado. From Denver to El Moro, a distance of 206 miles, the road runs just cast of and almost directly beneath the Rocky Mountains. The eye can never grow weary of the glorious and ever-changing landscape there presented. In crossing Veta Pass onc is brought in close proximity to some of the loftiest peaks in North America. Among them is Mount Blanca, the highest of all Colorado mountains, whose lofty summit rises 14,464 feet above sea level. This magnificent range divides San Luis Park from the great plains to the eastward. | 76 COLORADO O.BUA PE Re SVeeEas THE NORTHERN COLORADO RAILWAY SYSTEM—-THE COLORADO CEN- TRAL RAILWAY—ITS LOCATION, HISTORY, AND GENERAL BENEFITS —PROGRESS OF RAILROAD BUILDING IN THE ‘‘ ROCKIES ’—OVER THE SNOWY RANGE TO THE NEW LAND OF THE WEST—THE DEN- VER & SOUTH PARK R, R.—THE HIGHEST RAILWAY IN THE UNITED STATES AND THE HIGHEST STAGE LINE IY THE WORLD—ON TO LEADVILLE. The Colorado Central railway has been a very essential co-oper- ator in developing and advancing the wealth and industries of northern Colorado. It affords transportation and traveling facili- ties for some of the best mining and farming sections. The coun- ties of Gilpin, Clear Creck, Boulder, Larimer, Jefferson, and Arapa- hoe are all traversed to a greater or less extent by this road. Until Leadville came to the front, the two first-named districts supplied two-thirds of the State’s gold and silver export. The other counties are equally conspicuous for their wheat and farming products, live stock, or coal and other mines. Rapid transit, accessibility, and cheaper freight and supplies are advantages of this railway system, resulting in additional and enlarged mining, farming, and business operations. A few years ago a tedious and somewhat disagreeable mountain stage trip was necessary to reach the mines of Central or Georgetown, and all machinery and supplies were freighted over steep and difficult roads, and seemingly impassable hills and defiles. Now the traveler is whirfed along the enchanting cafion of Clear Creek in luxurious railway cars, and ore and merchandise reach their destinations speedily and cheaply by way of this iron trail of the ** Rockies.” This mountain division of the road is a marvel of engineering skill and American enterprise, and much of it was constructed under more than ordinary difficulties. There was lack of money, opposition from rival schemes, and a belief that the project of building and operat- ing a road up this wild and rugged cahion was impracticable. The country had men, however, whose sagacity and public spirit led them TOURIST’S GUIDE. ras to conceive, and eventually to carry forward the undertaking to the present satisfactory condition. W. A. H. Loveland and Henry M. Teller, both prominently identified with building up the territory and State, were the leading original promoters, and eventually se- cured the construction of the road. from Denver to Golden, and thence northward to Boulder and westward to Black Hawk. It was an auspicious event when the wild cafions of the ‘‘Rockies” first echoed to the scream of the locomotive, and the mines of Gilpin were afforded rail communication with the world. This was in 1873, and nearly three ycars after the first track-laying began from Denver westward. Since then, President Loveland and associates have extended the road north and west until its mileage has more than doubled, and they are now cngaged on a new project of still greater magnitude. Not content with halting among the gold and silver mines of the eastern slope, a construction force has been set at work to scale the snowy range and carry the line forward to Leadville and the mountains of the far southwest. While this is seemingly a stupendous undertak- ing, the effort is warranted by past achievements of this road. Nothing seems impossible in these days of steam and progress, and so we may look for railway traffic and travel over a still more ele- vated portion of the Rocky mountains even than has yet been sur- mounted. The surveyed route of this extension from Georgetown to Leadville is some fifty-six miles in length, and crosses the Conti- nental Divide twice in that distance. In circling Gray’s Peak, an elevation of becween ten and eleven thousand feet will be- attained, and Tennessee Pass will be crossed at an altitude nearly as great. The objective points are nevertheless sufficiently alluring for almost any effort and outlay, for a short route will thus be opened from Denver and Georgetown to the valleys of Leadville and Ten Mile and of the Eagle, the Snake, and the Blue. The projected and surveyed railway lincs to operate west of and in connection with the Colorado Central, and likely to be con- structed in the ensuing year, are: first, the Gray’s Peak, Snake River, and Leadville, from Georgetown via Silver Plume, Bakcrville, Loveland Pass, Snake River, Ten Mile Creek, Frisco, Kokomo, and Carbonateville to Leadville ; second, the Colorado Westcrn Railroad Company line from Breckenridge down the Blue (crossing the other road) to Hot Sulphur Springs, and across the Middle Park to the 1 78 COLORADO. AT THE MOUTH OF THE LITTLE COLORADO, TOURIST’S GUIDE. 79 Rabbit Ear Range mining district, and over Muddy Pass, and through North Park to the northern boundary of Colorado ; also westward from Hot Sulphur Springs to the White River Indian Agency, thence down the White River valley to the western boundary of Colorado ; also a branch from the main line at the junction of the Snake and Blue rivers, westerly down the valley of the Eagle river, and its new mining district, and down the Grand river to the White River Agency. Each of these railway companies have for incorporators and officials most of the present and past officers and directors of the Colorado Central line, including Messrs. Loveland, Welch, Nichols, Berthoud, Henry, Hummel, Thatcher, and Richman. At the present time, the Colorado Central Company has 186 miles of railway in operation, of which 138 miles are of the standard broad gauge, and located on the plains or near the outlets of the foot hills, and 48 miles are of the narrow gauge of three feet, and extend up among the mountains and mining districts. The former passes through the most extensive, and what is considered the best farming section of the State. The mountain division presents rare attractions to the sight-seer, and is reached after crossing the fertile and culti- vated country between Denver and Golden. Far above the latter point are the headwaters of Clear Creek and the mountain-walled citics of Georgetown, Idaho Springs, Central and Black Hawk. That section of the railway extending around the lofty and precipitous hills overhanging the former place is the most interesting and impres- sive portion of even this remarkable road, but may yet be surpassed by localities on the Leadville extension. In and near these places, gold and silver ores are mined and milled and the bullion forwarded to its distant place of coinage. At intervals is scenery as vrand, majestic, and beautiful as the world can offer. The distance from Golden to Central is twenty miles, and the average ascent per mile of track is considerably over one hundred feet.. There are places where grades of one hundred and fifty and even two hundred and more fect are encountered, but these are only for short intervals. Central is about 2,600 feet higher than Golden, and about 500 fect higher than Black Hawk. The towns along the narrow gauge divisions of the road are Cen- tral, Black Hawk, Idaho Springs, Lawson, Mill City, and George- town. Adjacent to the line of the road are Nevadaville, Freeland, Silver Plume, and Brownville. On the plains or broad gauge are 80 COLORADO Boulder, Longmont, Loveland, and Fort Collins, with Golden at the junction, and Denyer and Cheyenne at cither terminus. Some of the most productive and valuable coal measures of the State are on the line of this road. W. N. Babcock is General Western agent of the northern pooled lines at Denver, consisting of the Union Pacific, Kansas Pacific, and Colorado Central. A. A. Egbert is Superintendent of the last- named road, with headquarters at Golden. The Denver, South Park & Pacific railway crosses the level terri- tory from Denver to Morrison and the South Platte river, the main line following the latter up through the mountains to the mouth of Hall Valley. This road is still in course of construction and is expected to reach Fairplay during the coming season, and Leadville as soon thereafter as practicable. John Evans and other prominent Denver men were the projectors and are the leading stockholders and officials of the enterprise. In 1873, Arapahoe county voted bonds to the amount of $300,000, and in the following year sixteen miles of track were laid between Denver and Morrison, where the old South Park stage road enters the mountains. In 1877 the work of blasting and building a roadway through Platte cahon began. The next summer the road was completed and in operation as far as Bailey’s ranch and soon aftcr to Fairville. The mouth of Hall Valley was reached early in January, 1879, and the station at the end of the track was called Webster. This has since been a place of great activity. The road is finely equipped and well supplied with rolling stock, and is of the narrow gauge of three feet. The scenery in Platte cahon is peculiarly grand and interesting. Gigantic walls of granite line the road and creek at intervals, broken by sloping hills and valleys covered more or less thickly with timber. The mining camps tributary to this road are those of Summit county, Geneva, Hall Val- ley, the placers of South Park, and the extended mineral belt of the Mosquito or Park range, together with so much of Leadvyille’s trade and traffic as is not shipped to the Denver & Rio Grande railway. A good wagon road leads over the mountains to Summit county. The leading officials of the Denver & South Park are John Evans, president; Waltcr Cheeseman, vice-president; C. W. Fisher, gencral superintendent; Charles Whecler, auditor; and A. S. Hughes, gen- eral freight and passenger agent. The number of miles of track in TOURIST’S GUIDE. 81 operation is eighty-eight, of which all but eight are included in the main line. All winter long hundreds of men have been employed, in storm or sunshine, up rugged ravines and steep mountain sides, in cutting out or building up a road-bed for what might be termed this aerial rail- way. From Webster the road, in order to gain the required eleva- tion, makes a detour, first in one direction and then another, and finally, after a zigzag course of many curves and windings, succeeds in gaining the elevation necessary for crossing the great Kenosha di- vide. Once over this, and the descent into South Park cominences. The altitude of Webster is 9,154 feet, and that of the divide referred to is over 10,100. For long distances the track hugs the mountain sides hundreds of feet above the creek almost immediately below it. Above and beneath are forests of lordly pines and cedars, and beyond rises the bald and blackened crest of the great range. Now that this difficult section of the road is in operation, progress in con- struction can be much more rapid, as the country yet to be traversed is much better adapted to a railway grade. Since crossing the Kenosha Divide the Denver & South Park Company has had the proud pre-eminence of operating the most elevated section of railway in the United States, and the highest in the world, with but two exceptions—the Peruvian line over the. Andes and the Gulf and City of Mexico road over the Cordilleras. The Kenosha Divide is surmounted at an elevation of 10,139 feet above sea level, according to the engineers’ survey, and 9,928 feet according to Prof. Hayden’s estimate. Jefferson, the new terminus of the road, on the northerly rim of South Park, has an elevation of 9,730 or of 9,519 feet. Beyond this the connecting stages for Lead- ville cross the Mosquito Pass at an elevation of over 12,000 feet, or _ over two and a quarter miles above sea-level, This is probably the — _ highest stage route in the world, 82 COLORADO CAP DES rane TILE UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD—FACTS AND INFORMATION ABOUT THE GREAT TRANSCONTINENTAL LINE AND ITS COLORADO CON- NECTIONS—THE KANSAS PACIFIC RAILWAY. ‘ The Union Pacific and Kansas Pacific railways are the Eastern connections of the Colorado Central, and of the Denver & South Park roads. While not distinctively a Colorado institution, since but a few miles are included within the borders of the State, yet in view of its being, with the aid of its Colorado Central division, one of the great Rocky Mountain through routes of travel, something concern- ing the Union Pacific will more or less interest the tourist and traveler. The only present rail connection between the East and the Pacific coast is that afforded by the great transcontinental line, 1,927 miles in length, whose divisions are known as the Union and Central Pacific. The main line of the Union Pacific Company extends from Council Bluffs, on the Missouri river, to Ogden, in Utah Territory, a distance of 1,032 miles. But outside of this are a number of branches and feeders, and of roads operated or being constructed by the same great corporation. .These include the Colorado Central, the Utah Northern, and the Utah Southern, and some Nebraska and Kansas roads. The Pacific roads with Eastern connections form, perhaps, the strongest railway combination in existence. The construction of the Union Pacific began late in 1865, and some years after occurred the grandest exploits in the way of rapid rail- way building that the world has ever witnessed. The work was completed on the 10th day of May, 1869, when the track-layers from — the East and West met on the northern border of Great Salt Lake. Since then, crossing the continent has been a matter of a few days only, instead of many months by wagon train, or of several weeks by the overland stage, and more than a million square miles of terri- tory have been afforded steam transit with the Mississippi Valley and the Atlantic seaboard, The results are new settlements, new terri- tories, and new mining districts, and a growth and development as TOURIST’S GUIDE. 83 rapid as it is substantial. The route followed is pretty nearly the forty-first parallel of latitude, deviating slightly to the north or south as occasion demands, and the offshoots on either hand enter or approach the great gold and silver regions of the Sierras, and of either slope thereof. This great overland ocean to ocean route offers peculiar advan- _ tages to the visitor of the “Rockies” and beyond. It is the only line leading to California, Nevada, and Utah, and towards the gold regions of Montana, the Black Hills, and the great Northwest. Through much of its course the scenery is grand in the extreme, while its management and equipments command universal admira- tion. The Union Pacific follows the Platte river valley some four hun- dred miles west of Omaha. It leaves that stream at Julesburg, located just within the limits of Colorado, and then strikes up over the great inland plateau to Cheyenne. Here the Colorado Central diverges to the south, and to Denver, 138 miles distant. That city being the metropolis and the railway centre of Colorado, the traveler can determine, after sojourning a few days there, what portion of the State he desires to visit, provided his plans have not already been matured. This is the point where men congregate on business or pleasure from all of the mining camps, and in fact from all quarters of the State. A few days spent there will enable the stranger to learn enough of the surrounding country to move intelligently and to the best advantage. Further information, such as may be useful on arriving at this point, may be gleaned from the chapters and pages devoted to the Colorado Central and the Denver & South Park rail- ways. Close connection is made with the latter road for Leadville, trains leaving immediately on the arrival of those from the East. The great gold mining city of Central, and the silver metropolis, Georgetown, can both be reached by the mountain division of the Pacific railway system. A grand. combination excursion is offered the public at reduced rates over the Union Pacific and Kansas Pacific railways, with their connecting road, the Colorado Central. Excur- sion tickets good until October 31, 1879, are sold at Omaha, Kansas City, or other Missouri river cities, to Denver for $38 for the round trip, and proportionate rates at all points East. The traveler can pass westward over the Union Pacific, and southward over the Colorado Central, and return via the Kansas Pacific, or vice versa according to =F - 2 COLORADO sion rates to the moana and pleasure resorts well be furnished at reduced rates. vA The Kansas Pacific extends from Kansas City westward up the Kansas and Smoky Hill valleys, and across the plains to Denver, making connection at the latter point with the Denver & South Pa | and Colorado Central. This road is controlled by pretty near t same management as the Union Pacific, and forms part of the great northern pooled railway system. The same rates of travel are afforded on this line as on the northern route, and the accommoda- tions are substantially the same. TOURIST’S GUIDE. 85 CRAP ETE RX. TOWNS AND CITIES OF COLORADO ALPHABETICALLY ARRANGED—FACTS AND FIGURES FOR THE TOURIST. ADELAIDE Crry.—This is in reality a suburb of Leadville, although not included within the corporate limits. The location is along the hillsides, and in a beautiful park two miles above the centre of the latter place. Near by is the Adelaide smelter; also, many mines. Some months ago the population was said to be several hundred, and increasing rapidly. ALAmosa.—Ropulation, 509; elevation, 7,492. Southwestern ter- minus of the Denver & Rio Grande railway. Distances: Del Norte, 40 miles; Lake City, 116; Pueblo, 130; Denver, 250; Santa Fe, 145; and Kansas City, 764. Daily coaches to the San Juan mines and Santa Fe. Large amount of freighting done to and from this place. At Alamosa and the previous railway terminus of Garland, the fol-. lowing was received by wagon train and forwarded East by rail in the year 1878: gold bullion, $15,190; refined silver, $141,396; base bullion, silver and lead, 683% tons, worth $114,150; ore, 121 tons, $30,333. Wool, pelts, and hides, over 500,000 pounds. Merchandise and machinery received from the East by rail and sold or sent west and south by wagon train, 2,250 tons. Sales of merchandise in Alamosa in first six months of the town, up to January 1, 1879, over $600,000. The town was laid out in June, 1878, and the railway reached there and established a station on the 27th of that month. The place contains several large forwarding houses, a school, religious societies, and two weekly newspapers. Alamosa is situated on the westerly bank of the Rio Grande, and almost in the centre of San Luis Park. Looking beyond the treeless plain, the surroundings are remarkably grand and beautiful. No such panoramic view is afforded from any town in Colorado, as regards extent of mountain scenery. The place is entirely encircled with ranges of diversified appearance and vary- ing elevations, with that distance requisite for the finest scenic effect. To the cast is the lofty Sangre de Christo range, with the massive 86 COLORADO Sierra Blanca or White Mountains, not twenty-five miles away, and westward, at an equal distance, the mountains of the San Juan region, with the Summit range, come into view. San Luis Park has its greatest length in a northerly and southerly direction, and the two mountain systems referred to converge in the dim distance, with Poncho Pass as an outlet in one direction and the Rio Grande valley, in northern New Mexico, in the other. Hotel, Perry House. Animas Forxs.—This place is situated in one of the valuable and extensive silver mining districts of San Juan county. Distance from Silverton, 13 miles; population, 300. ANTELOPE Sprinas.—Located in Hinsdale county, about 60 miles west of Del Norte, and nearly 50 east of Silverton, and near the junc- tion of the stage road between those points and that leading to Lake City. It is surrounded by a beautiful park and mountain ranges with the Rio Grande river flowing between. AupiInE.—This is a promising camp and district on Chalk creek, in Chaffee county, some sixty miles south-southwest of Leadville. During the past summer over 200 people had collected there. Some rich and valuable silver veins are being mined. Buou Basry.—Small village in El Paso county, 25 miles north- east of Colorado Springs, and in a good farming and stock country. Buiack Hawk. —This is a busy, bustling city of over 2,000 people, located in the rich gold and silver bearing district of Gilpin county, at the junctions of Gregory and Chase gulches with North Clear creck. The business of the place consists in mining, milling, and shipping ores. Most of the quartz mills of Gilpin county are located here, on account of the water supply. Black Hawk unites with Central in Gregory gulch, forming a continuous city, and is the first place arrived at in entering this great district by rail. The Colorado Central railway passes through and over the city, and on around the hills to Central. Distance from Denver, 36 miles; from Golden, 20; by rail to Georgetown, 32. The place contains many substantial brick blocks and business houses, several churches, a weekly newspaper and a graded school with five teachers, and not far from 280 pupils. Hotel, Teller House at Central. BALLARAT.—A mining town in Boulder county, not far from Long’s Peak and Jamestown. Here is the famous Smuggler mine. Fine summer resorts are afforded all through this section, and in Ward district, Jamestown, and Gold Hill. —————— TOURIST’S GUIDE. 87 _ Bovutper.—County scat of Boulder county, and a well-built city, beautifully located on the plains at the base of the mountains. Here Boulder creek leaves its rocky cafion to water the rich farm lands to the eastward, and several gulches open a roadway to distant mines. The situation is such that this is the natural gateway to the leading / oe iO cla I AES e AN vj i ih i\ Ni THE FIFTEENTH OF AUGUST, mining camps of Boulder county, while a market and trading point is here afforded for the adjacent productive farming districts. The town has been growing rapidly since the development of the Caribou silver mines and of the gold and telluride mincs of Gold Hill, Bal- 88 COLORADO larat, Sunshine, Magnolia, and other districts. Large stores and attractive private residences are seen on every hand. Boulder isa great summer resort, on account of its pleasant surroundings, equable climate, and general attractiveness. At all times of the year its hotels accommodate a very large number of guests, on account of the travel to and from the mines and other business points.. Fine farms, supe- rior stock, and excellent dairies can be seen all along the streams and intermediate country. There are two national banks, six churches, two weekly newspapers, and a graded school, with over 500 pupils and eight teachers. Here is the State University, with some eighty pupils in attendance. Boulder’s location between the farms and mines has brought her two large flour mills, a foundry, Boyd’s smelt- ing works, one of the Boston and Colorado Company’s ore buying and sampling mills, and other producing establishments. There is also an agricultural and industrial society that gives an annual exhibition of mining and farming products. The town is on tlic main line of the Colorado Central and is a terminus of the Denver & Boulder Valley railway. Another road (G. B. & C.) extends out to the productive Marshall coal banks, distant 54 miles. Stage for Caribou leaves on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. The sales of merchandise and other material in Boulder in 1878 exceeded $1,000,000. The popula- tion is not far from 4,000. Elevation 5,536. Distances: from Denver, 454 miles; Golden, 28; Erie, 12; Caribou, 22; Nederland, 18; Gold Hill, 10; Sunshine, 6; Sugar Loaf, 10; Valmont, 4; Ward, 19. Hotels, Brainard, Sale and Boulder. BRECKINRIDGE.—County seat of Summit and business centre of the placer and creek gold diggings on the headwaters of the Blue river. Population during the summer season, 250. There is a prospect of a large increase this year, owing to new mineral discoveries. Elevation 9,674. This place is on the Pacific slope of the main range, and is 95 miles from Denver, 24 from Fairplay, 32 from Leadville, 7 from mouth of Ten Mile or Frisco, 20 from Montezuma, and 40 from Georgetown. Passengers from Denver to this place leave the South Park stages at Hamilton. CaNon Crry.—This is the present terminus of the Arkansas division of the Denver & Rio Grande and of the A., T. & 8. F. railways, and is the county seat of Fremont county. It is located at the point where the Arkansas river leaves the mountains and on an arm of the plains that extends a short distance into the foot hills. There is an ee Ee TOURIST’S GUIDE. 89 excellent farming country from this point down to Pueblo. Fine crops of wheat, corn, and other grains and vegetables are raised, and this is the only locality in Colorado where great success has yet becn attained in raising fruit. The apple and peach orchards at and near Canon are quite productive. Back from the river are fine stock ranges. Just above town are several mineral springs, hot and cold. Canon has peculiar advantages as a health resort, and is fast becom- ing a place of refuge for invalids. Some of the most inviting points for the sight-seer that Colorado affords can be reached in a few hours drive from this place. The royal gorge of the Arkansas, the grandest of all the canons on the eastern slope, can be inspected from above by following a wagon road for thirteen miles, and the tourist will soon have the thrilling pleasure of making the trip along the creek bed by rail. The perpendicular walls of this cafon are nearly 2,000 fect in height. Still nearer town, is the romantic locality known as Temple cafon, and not far distant are the singularly beautiful canons of Grape, Oil, and Oak creeks. Stages leave this city for Leadville every morning, and stages for Silver Cliff and Rosita arrive and de- part daily. Long trains of wagons, loaded with ore and bullion, are almost continually arriving from Leadville, and in lesser numbers from Silver Cliff and vicinity, and return laden with merchandise and supplies. All of this busincss and the grading forces of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railway in the neighboring canon have tended to make matters lively in this growing city during the past year. The travel through the place isimmense, and every hotel is crowded to its utmost capacity. Canon is a well-built place of some 1,200 inhabitants, with bank, newspaper, public schools, and several churches. It is noticeable for the neat and attractive character of its private residences.. Here is the State penitentiary, an imposing structure of granite quarried from the neighboring hills. The elevation of the railroad station above sea level is 5,287 fect. A ’bus line plies between the railway and the business centre and hotels. Cafion is 40 miles from Pueblo, 126 from Leadville, 160 from Denver, 382 from Rosita, and 30 from Silver Cliff. Leading hotel, McClure. CARBONATEVILLE.—This is a new town in the Ten Mile district, near McNulty gulch, and 17 miles from Leadville. Last reports gave it several stores and a bank. Carrpou.—The leading mining town of Boulder county and of 90 COLORADO TOURISTS GUIDE. the Grand Island silver district. It is located in a well timbered region, close up to the ‘‘snowy range,” at an elevation of 9,995 feet above sea level. Population, 350. Distance from Boulder, 22 miles; Nederland, 4; Black Hawk, 19; Central, 20, and Denver, 56. Stages arrive and depart on alternate days for Boulder and Cen- tral, so that the traveler can lay over two nights and a day, and make a circuit between those points. Here are the Caribou, Native Silver, No Name, Boulder County, and other rich mines. CeNTRAL.—The centre of business for the great gold mines that | underlie the hills and gulches of Gilpin county, of which it is the county seat. Adjoining, and just below, is the city of Black Hawk, and above is the town of Nevadaville. The three places have a combined population of 6,500, and contain the deepest and many of the most productive mines in Colorado. More gold has been shipped from here than from all the State beside, and the locality has played a very important part in the history of Colorado. Cen- tral has six churches, a daily newspaper, three banks, an elegant opera house, and a graded school of nearly 400 scholars, with a well- selected library of nearly 2,000 volumes. Beside this, the Catholic academy affords instruction to a large number of children. The Teller House is the finest and largest hotel in the State outside of Denver, and compares with the hostelries of that place. Distance from Denver, 40 miles; Golden, 26; New York, 2,000; George- town by rail, 836; by wagon road, 18 and 20 by different roads. Further particulars of Central will be found elsewhere. CoLtorapo Sprrnes.—County seat of El Paso, located on plateau just cast of Pike’s Peak, and 75 miles from Denver, and 45 from Pueblo. See chapter on ‘‘ Cities of the Plains.” Hotels, Colorado Springs and Crawford, and the National. CoLorapo Crry.—Small village between Colorado Springs and Manitou, and two miles from the former. Population, 100. Daily mail, express and hacks from railway. In the early times was for a very short period designated as the capital of the territory. Drt Nortr.—The capital of Rio Grande county, located on the river of the same name, at the eastern gateway of the San Juan Mountains and mining region. It grew to be a place of importance in 1873-4 on the early opening of the Summit Mountain gold mines and the silver mines further west. “Here is an elegant school build- ing, a bank, weekly newspaper, and many large stores and ware- OO EES ee ee eae. 2 ee vil ae | itl i ii Hh \ a i Ht | | il mau i ML jit i Ne } i ie a a ‘ii, ae ; ith "i vii q . os i) WATER BASIN IN GYPSUM CAN( 92 COLORADO houses. “The location is remarkably fine, the climate pleasant, and the town is substantial and prosperous. Across San Luis Park, which is here forty miles wide, the Sierra Blanca and connecting range presents a grand and majestic appearance. The population of Del Norte is nearly 1,500. Elevation, 7,750. Stages arrive from and depart for Alamosa and the mountains every day. Distance to — Alamosa or the railway, 344 miles; Lake City, 81; Denver, 284}; Pueblo, 1644; Kansas City, 800; Santa Fe, 180. Hotel, Cuenin ITouse. Ex Moro.—This is the terminus of the El Moro division of the Denver & Rio Grande railway, and the seat of the coke manufac- tories. It is situated five miles from Trinidad and not far north of the New Mexican boundary. The town attained its importance as the most southerly Colorado railway terminus, and as the supply point for the New Mexican trade. It has lost much of this advan- tage since the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe came in from the east and built southward toward Las Vegas and Santa Fe. Yet the coal mines and interests of the Southern Colorado Coal and Mining — Company, local business, and the coke ovens will always make it a place of some importance. Heavy coke shipments are made to distant points. The coal of this section makes the best coke in the west, and the business has grown until 75 ovens are now engaged in the work. At El Moro, the immense mercantile and forwarding and commission houses cf Otero, Sellars & Co., Browne & Manzanares, and of Bartels Brothers once handled millions of dollars’ worth of goods annually and carried stocks of immense value. Some of this traffic is now carricd on at more southerly points. Long trains of wagons, loaded with the products of New Mexico and Arizona, were — constantly arriving, and after disembarking their goods would load up their requisite cargocs and depart on their long journeys to the points from whence they came. The north and cast bound freights consisted of wool, pelts, hides, and tallow from the pastoral dis- tricts, and copper and silver bullion from the southern mines, while the south and west bound freights embraced general merchandise, dry goods, and machinery. El Moro has a population of from 300 to 400. Its clevation is 5,825 feet. Distance from Pueblo, 86 miles; Denver, 206. Emprre.—A mining town in Clear Creck county, four miles from Georgetown. The Middle Park stage line passes through this place. — TOURIST’S GUIDE. 93 A few miles west is Berthoud Pass, leading over the “snowy range.” The town is one mile above its railway station. Valuable gold placers and lode veins are worked in the vicinity, and from one to three quartz mills are always at work. Distance:from Denver, 48 miles; Idaho, 11. Population, 250; elevation, 8,583. -Ertre.—This town has been built up by the coal measures among which it is located. Several mines arc worked, and have usually been quite productive. The Denver & Boulder Valley railroad passes through the place. Population, 200. Distance from Denver, 34 miles; Boulder, 12. Location, in the southwestern part of Weld county. Evans.—This was first settled by a colony organization of Saint Louis and vicinity, and is located in the Platte valley, in Weld county. Around it is a productive farming section and good stock ranges, and a large flour mill does a heavy business. Population, 700; elevation, 4,745. Distance from Denver, 48 miles; Greeley, 4, and Cheyenne, 58. The Denver Pacific railway passes through this place. A weekly paper is published there. FarrrLay.—This is located on the banks of the South Platte river in the South Park, and is the county seat of Park county. The place has been of more or less importance for nearly twenty years, and took a fresh growth after the Park Range silver discoveries of 1871-2. The Denver travel to Leadville passes through here by stages and other conveyances, and the hotels are always crowdca. The Bergh House averaged forty arrivals per day last year, and at present it must greatly exceed that number. A large placer mine is operated at Fairplay by Chinese labor. Seven miles west is Alma, and just beyond are the silver mines of Lincoln, Bross, Buckskin, and other mountains. Population, 500; clevation, 9,964. Distance from Denver by stage and rail, 100 miles; Leadville, 40 by Weston Pass, and 21 by Mosquito Pass; Alma, 6; Montgomery, 12; Breck- inridge, 23. Two lines of stages pass here. Forr Couiuins.—This is a flourishing town on the Cache la Poudre _river and Colorado Central railway, and is the county seat of Lari- mer. The State Agricultural College is located here, for which substantial buildings were recently erected. There are two news- papers, and schools and churches; semi-weckly stages to Greeley and La Porte; excellent farming and stock country. Population, 94 COLORADO 1,000. Distances: Cheyenne, 45 miles; La Porte, 4; Denver, 65. Elevation, 4,815. GoLpEN.—County seat of Jefferson, and headquarters of Colorado Central railway. Here are located the shops, car works, and repair shops of the railway company. Also three sets of smelting works (two of them recently completed) and reduction works. These are now in operation. There are two pottery manufactories, fire-brick works, four large coal mines, two flour mills, and a paper mill. Splendid water power is afforded from Clear creek, which leaves the mountains here. A large amount of ground is irrigated from this stream, and a good farming district is the result. This is the junction of the broad and narrow gauge divisions of the Colorado Central, and freight for and from the mountains breaks bulk here. The State School of Mines is located at Golden. The public schools are attended by nearly 350 pupils, and there areseven churches. The Court-house is the best in the State. Distances: Denver, 16 miles; Cheyenne, 122 miles; Boulder, 293}; Central, 234; Georgetown, 274; Beaver Brook, 7. Population, 3,000; elevation, 5,690. On account of its manufacturing interests Golden is sometimes called the Lowell of Colorado. Ycars ago it was temporarily the capital of the terri- tory. Gotp Hiiu.—This is a small mining town on the hill of the same name in Boulder county. Near by are several prominent mines. Owing to the fine view and airy location, this makes a pleasant sum- mer resort. Population, 200. Distance from Boulder, 10 miles, Tri-weckly stage to that city. GREELEY.—This is situated between the Cache la Poudre and South Platte rivers, and near their points of union, and is the county scat of Weld county. It was laid out by a colony organ- ization and settled in 1870. Since then the growth has been steady — and uniform, The town charter provides that no property or land can be leased or sold for liquor selling purposes, and, like Colorado Springs, Greeley is called a temperance town. The public school building is one of the finest in the State. There are several churches, two weekly papers, two banks, two flour mills, and some well-stocked stores. Large zmounts of wheat and other grains and vegetables are raised here, and yast herds of cattle roam over the plain and the valley of the Platte clear down to the Nebraska line. Tri-weekly stages to Fort Collins and La Porte. Distance to Denver by Denver TOURIST’S GUIDE, 95 Pacific railroad, 52 miles; Evans, 4 miles, and Cheyenne, 54 miles. - Population, 2,500; elevation, 4,779 fect. The town is well laid out ana watered from irrigating ditches, and the strects are lined with skade trees. - @EoRGETOWN.—This is the county seat of Clear Creek county and the present southwestern terminus of the Colorado Central. Its appearance and surroundings are superior to those of any other mountain town. Around it are lofty mountains, ribbed with silver veins, which rise abruptly to heights of from twelve hundred to twenty-five hundred fect above the almost level valley in which the town is built. ere are silver reduction works, ore conccn- trating mills, and sampling and ore buying cstablishments, all of which do a large business. The mining operations of the district are very extensive, resulting in an annual export of silver bullion and orc to the value of over two millions per annum, The town has grown rapidly in the last ten years and now claims a population of 5,000. The town possesses an excellent system of water works, an effective fire department, five churches, an opera house and a graded school with some 360 scholars. There are two weekly newspapers, two banks, several hotels, and many busi- ness houses, some of which do a large trade. Three miles above are Silver Plume and Brownyille. Elevation of Georgetown, 8,452 fect. Distance from Denver, 53} miles; from Idaho, 14 miles; Certral, 18 and 20 miles; Black Hawk, by rail, 36 miles; Leadville, by Loveland Pass and Ten Mile, 56 miles; stages to Middle Park—46 miles; Silver Plume, 2 miles; and to Leadville, 56 miles. There are many resorts near Georgetown that are unsurpassed in beauty and gencral attractions. Among them are Gray and Irwin’s Peaks, among the very highest in the range, and from which magnificent views are obtained. Green lake is considered the most beautiful body of water in the State, and is supplicd with boats and well filled with trout and salmon. There are good hotels and fine livery turnouts in Gcorgetown, with pleasant rides and drives above and below towr. Hotel charges, $2.50 to $4 per day, and less by the week. Saddle horses, $3 per day, and double team and carriage, $10 or less. An easy bridle trail leads to the summit of Gray’s Peak, 14 miles from town. GRANITE.—County seat of Chaffee county and formerly of Lake. 96 COLORADO Population, 100. Distances: Twin Lakes, 3 miles; Leadville, 18 miles; Alpine, 42 miles; Cottonwood Hot Springs, 20 miles; Cafion, 108 miles. Hor Sutruur Srprvcs.—Small town in the beautiful section known as Middle Park, and close beside the valuable mineral springs of the same name. This is getting to be more and more a great summer resort, and has been frequented by Colorado pleasure and camping-out parties for many years. There is a good hotel and a line of stages running over Berthoud Pass to Georgetown and Empire. Distance from Gcorgetown 46 miles ; time of stages, one day. Middle Park has no superior for wild game and trout fishing, and the sportsman or angler will find it well worth his while to pass a week there, or in the same belt of country west of the range. Here are Grand lake and the head waters of Grand river. Ipano Sprincs.—This is one of the most beautiful places in the country, and the only mountain town that has yet become a famous health and pleasure resort. This is mainly due to its hot soda springs and delightful surroundings. There are large and commodious hotels, extensive bath-houses, and fine livery turnouts herc, and every summer sces a large influx of visitors from the East. Among the points well worth the attention of the tourist are Chief and Bellevue mountains, and Chicago lakes, said to be the highest body of fresh water in North America. The mineral springs of Idaho are highly ae beneficial to invalids. There are fine drives up and down the nearly level valley of South Clear Creek. Livery charges are from $2.50 to $3 per day for saddle-horses, and $10 for double team with carriage. The larger hotels charge $4 per day, with lower figures for perma- nent rates. Accommodations first-class. Good hunting and fishing in all directions. On the neighboring hills many lode mines are worked, and a quartz mill and two concentrating mills are employed along the creck, Tere are also placer, creck, and bar mines that yield largely in gold. The air is cool and bracing in the summer months, and usually mild and pleasant in winter, and there are many features and sights about the place that recommend it to the tourist. Distance from Denver, 39 miles; fare, $4. Distance to Georgetown, 14 miles; Central, 6 miles; Golden, 22}. Population, 500; cle- vation, 7,512. Jamestown.—A small mining camp with valuable lodes and a) F on! te TOURIST’S GUIDE. 97 mines. It is situated in Boulder county, up among the mountains, twelve miles from Boulder. Near by are valuable mineral springs, Population, 100. Koxomo.—New town in the Ten Mile District, Summit county, Claims a population of fifteen hundred, and 2,000 was the latest figure estimated. This is a beautiful section of country, and is _ proving to be rich in mines. Distance from Leadville, 20 miles ; _ from Georgetown, 36. Kir Carson.—A small town on the Kansas Pacific, and once famous as the end of track on that road. Distance from Kansas City, 487; from Denver, 152. Lake Crry.—This is the county scat of Hinsdale, and its main town. For some time it has been the most populous place in the - §$an Juan country, although Silverton is gaining somewhat at present, This place grew rapidly in 1876-7, following the development of many silver veins. The Crooke Concentrating and Smelting Works, and those of the Ocean Wave Company are located here, and handle large amounts of ore in the summer and fall months. There is also a chlorination and lixiviation mill. Lake City contains a population of 1,500, with the usual newspaper, bank, and collection of business houses. The situation is wild and romantic, beside the Lake Fork of the Gunnison and Hensen creck, and surrounded by lofty moun- tains. Elevation, 8,550 feet. Distance to Alamosa, 116 miles, and daily stages thereto. Stages to Silverton, 32 miles, and to Ouray, 80 miles, in the warmer months. Ouray can be reached on horseback by a ride over the mountains of thirty miles. Denver.is distant 366 miles by Alamosa and 335 miles by Saguache and Canon. LrApvitte.—The capital of Lake county and the metropolis of the carbonate region. The wonderful growth and history of this magic city will be detailed in a later place in this volume. The town is situated on an almost level plain beside California gulch, and four miles from its junction with the Arkansas, but is gradually building up the gulches and hills among the mines. There are a multitude of stores, large and small, with saloons, hotels, restau- rants, and like institutions atevery hand. The townis building with -Inarvelous rapidity, as is evidenced by fourteen or fifteen saw-mills in active operation. There are two great ore buying and shipping firms, with sampling mills, who do an immense business, and others about to begin work. There are also two large smelters in town, and i) 98 COLORADO more above and below, beside many new concerns building. The number of furnaces will soon be very large. The population of the town and suburbs is estimated at from 10,000 to 15,000, and each day sees the number increased by at least 100. Leadville is 10,025 feet above sea level, by the recent railway surveys. By others, 10,200 or more is given. Distance from Denver by stage line to Fairplay and Webster and D. & 8. P. railway, 140 miles. By Mosquito Pass soon to be opened for summer travel, 120 or 121. Distance from Caiion, 126 miles; Granite, 18; Ten Mile, 18; Cottonwood Springs, 38; Alpine or Chalk Creek, 70; Chalk Bluff, 10. Stages leave daily for the ends of track at Canon and Webster, and for Ten Mile. Fare to Webster, $12; to Denver, $17; fare to Cafion, $14; to Ten Mile, $4 to $5. Line of coaches to Georgetown is soon to be opened. Hotels, Clarendon, Tontine, and Grand. LoneamMont.—This is the second town in population in Boulder county, and is situated on the Saint Vrain river, in the midst of a splendid farming district. On the arrival of the Chicago colony at this place the old village of Burlington was united with Longmont. The Colorado Central railway passes through the town, and stages arrive and depart for Estes Park during the summer months. Dis- tance from latter place, 82 miles; from Greeley, 30; Erie, 10; Den- ver, 58. Two trains daily to and from Denver. Population, 1,000. Elevation, 4,957. Lawson.—Mining town at Red Elephant mountain, Clear Creek county, six miles below Georgetown and eight above Idaho Springs. Located on the line of the Colorado Central railway. Population, 400. LA Vera.—Station on the D. & R. G. railway at foot of Veta Pass, on the eastern slope of the mountains. Not far away are the Span- ish Peaks, where silver veins have been opened. Population, 200; elevation, 6,970. LoveLANpD.—A new town on the Colorado Central, in a fine farm- ing section known as the Big and Little Thompson country. Popu- lation, 150, Distances: Denver, 76 miles; Boulder, 27; Longmont, 17; Fort Collins, 14; Cheyenne, 62. Stages to Estes Park, 28 niles distant. Maura.—This place is between three and four miles below Lead- ville, and near the junction of California gulch with the upper YTOURIST’S GUIDE, 99 ’ Arkansas. A‘set of smelting works is in operation there. Popula- tion, 300. MonuMEnt.—In El Paso county, on the line of the D. & R. G. railway. A weekly newspaper is published here. Fine stock country and some farming. Population, 200. Distance to Colorado Springs, 20 miles; to Denver, 55. NEDERLAND.—This place is located on Middle Boulder creek, in Boulder county, four miles below Caribou, and eighteen above Boulder. Herc is located the great Caribou silver mill and a gold quartz mill, several hotels and stores, and a saw-mill. Stages from Central, Caribou, and Boulder pass through the town. Population, 200. Distance from Central, 16 miles; Black Hawk, 15. NEVADAVILLE,—This is a flourishing mining town in the moun- tains, just above and adjoining Central. It is located in Nevada gulch, between Quartz and Gunnell hills. The mines on cither side of it have been extremely productive and have been worked more or less ever since the country was first opened. There are several quartz mills here; also churches, and a public school with 150 pupils. Population, nearly 1,000. Ouray.—Few towns in the world are so beautifully located as Ouray, the county seat of the county of the same name. Grand and majestic scenery, health-giving mineral waters, and some of the best silver mines in the State are some of the attractions. The town is located on the banks of the Uncompahgre river, just above a series of fertile parks. It is situated far down on the western slope, with massive mountains all around it. The perpendicular walls of the stream rise to hundreds, and even thousands of feet. The place has been mainly built up within two years. Population, 700 ; cleyation, 7,640. Distances: by trail to Silverton, 25 miles; Lake City, 80 ; stage to Lake City, 80; to Saguache, 115; Caiion, 215; Denver, via Saguache and Alamosa, 429; via Canon, 335. PLATTEVILLE. — Station on Denver Pacific railway, thirty-five miles north of Denver and seventeen south of Greeley. Good coal and farming lands. Rosrra.—The county seat of Custer county. Beauty of location and surroundings should make this a popular summer resort. The town is built in a lovely valley among the Wet mountains, near the valley of the same name and in full view of the great Sangre de Christo range just beyond. A little above the town are valuable silver 100 COLORADO veins and productive mines, and below are reduction works. The mineral belt continues northward for miles, embracing some of the best mining properties in the country. Stages arrive and depart daily, except Sundays, for Caton and the railway, thirty-two miles away, and every day for Silver Cliff, distant six miles. Population, 1,200; Elevation, 8,500. Distances: Denver, 192; Pueblo, 72. Hotels, Melvin and Grand View. SaguacnE.—County seat of Saguache county. It is located in the northwestern part of San Luis Park, and is the business centre for a fine farming and stock growing district; has a weekly newspaper. Stages to Cafion, Del Norte, Lake City, and Ouray. Population, 400; elevation, 7,723. Distances: Del Norte, 33 miles; Los Pinos Indian Agency, 40; Lake City, 96; Ouray, 115; Caiion, 100; Denver, 220. SILVERTON.—This is a growing and prosperous mining town and the county seat of San Juan county. In the lofty mountains that overhang the beautiful park in which the town is built are number- less mineral veins, some of great size and many extremely rich in silver. Here are Greene & Co.’s smelting works, which have been run- ning successfully for several summers. == = = = = = F z = = = ———— —- = = = == —= —— _S SS > eee = ses SS re == = SS SS ee = == === = = KE 2 t => > % = oe = —- E == = ‘3 . = = = = = SSS SSS => = ea = a : E = 42 SS eee = ——F = —— See = SSS = = a — = aoe = =_— —— — ay ee tS ——— => e == = = SSS = = ———— = > ee == go Se at —— —a Sig ae SS SSS SSS — — Se, ee SE - SSeS = ~= = = SSeS = — = — 2 ea ae == — == = ——S S25 Se ——— SS iiss VS = = == a Ser a = = = es ——— == = == —= Ss = =a = = = = ———— =] : = = = = = = —— = SSS = — ———SS =. ! SSeS == = au = SFE SS ee SSS SSS ———— aaa eg = ZL ee =A ra et SSS SZ ——— SSS ssa Sass aSS== it i! <——— ——— At, YH) A SJ cee = i Sip Me gay, ress eG SSS ie aN Seem Td Thon on ik THE COURSE OF EMPIRE. 122 COLORADO, time prosecuted on all of the streams below the points where they left the hill country. Although gold had bcen found on South Boulder and on South Clear creek and tributarics a little earlier in the season, the grand discovery that gave the first undoubted assurance of value was that of John H. Gregory. This was made on the present site of Central and Black Hawk. When the news reached Denyer and the yalley that gold in plentiful quantities existed not forty miles away, there was a gencral stampede up the various creeks and cafions leading into the mountains. Gregory’s discovery proved to be the outcropping of a great gold-bearing vein. The lode and district took their names from him. The Gregory has yielded more money than any other Colorado fissure. Thousands of men were soon encamped on Clear creek, Gregory gulch, and tribu- tary streams, and rich surface deposits and vertical mineral veins were found in great numbers on every hand. Mining districts were organized, and subsequently subdivided, with local laws of their own framing and adoption. This was necessary, as these settlements were outside of the jurisdiction of any state or territory; and had the case been different, special laws for the pre-emption and government of an exclusively mining country would have been necessary. Between these mountain mining camps and the remainder of the inhabited world was a wilderness of plain on one hand and one of mountain and desert on the other—each as broad and boundless as an ocean. Before the end of May the valleys of the streams that course through the mountains of the country that has since become Clear Creek, Gilpin, and Boulder counties were alive with men. Trees were felled, cabins erected, and sluice boxcs constructed for washing the gold from the gravel and ‘‘ pay dirt.’” Hand rockers were also used and arastras were subsequently operated. For this surface min- ing a plentiful supply of water was required. Most of the more important early discoveries were made by men who had mined in Georgia or in California; many men who had never seen a mine before coming here were afterwards equally fortunate. In the districts of Gilpin county the miners’ laws allowed the discoverer of a lode or vein two hundred feet thereon, while any other person couid possess one hundred feet in length on the vein and no more. This course was adopted in most other sectioas, Such limited amounts of territory operated weil as long as HISTORICAL, 123 work was confined to no great depths below the surface. It divided wealth among a large number of people and kept money circulating freely. As greater depths were reached, the results were less and less satisfactory. When it finally became necessary to use steam machinery it was found that this subdivision of territory was a great drawback to the advancement of the country. Years were required in Gilpin county and vicinity to reach the time when the requisite consolidations of these small properties could be made that permitted profitable deep mining. For placer or gulch mining one hundred feet of ground up or down a stream were allowed, each claim being allowed a width of fifty feet. The results here were similar to those of lode mining as regards extensive operations. As the summer of 1859 advanced the number of people in the above mentioned localities was too great for the opportunities offered, and prospecting parties began to move out in search of other fields. In July one of these passed southward over Mount Rosalia, and for the first time the South Park, radiant and beautiful in its summer garb, greeted the eyes of the gold hunters. Their discoveries on what they called Tarryall creek drew thousands in that direction, and the bustling and prosperous camps of Hamilton and Tarryall yo ~. became great and famous. One hundred and fifty feet in length along the stream was the allowance toa claim there. This so dis- gusted the later arrivals, who were unable to secure their share, that they moved over to the Platte and established a camp, which they named Fairplay, where the ground was allotted so as to permit of a division among a larger number of claimants. Jefferson City, near Georgia Pass, was also a lively town, and one camp after another was established as the presence of golden sands or pay- gravel became manifest. Early in 1859, W. A. H. Loveland and others founded the town of Golden. In Clear Creek county, Idaho was the leading town of the bar and creek mines. In Gilpin there was a cluster of towns adjoin- ing or near one another. These included Black Hawk, Mountain City, Central, Missouri City, and Nevada. Further north there were lively times on the Boulder creeks and along the Saint Vrain and Left Hand creeks and tributaries. Gold Run yielded a hundred thousand dollars that summer. Late in the season gold was dis- covered on the headwaters of the Blue, over in Summit county. This is on the Pacific slope of the Continental Divide. A few small 124 COLORADO. = ee ——= CROSSING THE PLAINS TO-DAY. CROSSING THE PLAINS IN THE OLDEN TIME. 1 r 4 fi | HISTORICAL. 125 and primitive stamp-mills were brought into the Gregory and Gold. Hill diggings late in 1859. As has been said before the gold hunters of ‘‘ fifty-nine ’ were com- posed largely of the very best material the States could furnish. Men of enterprise and energy, these prospectors and explorers belonged to a class distinct in themselves, whose mission was to create what has been termed the mountain and plains empire. How well they and those that came after have accomplished the work the Cen- tennial State attests. With these pioneers came those accompani- ments of civilization, the printing press and free schools. The Rocky Mountain News issued its first number as early as April 23, 1859. Other newspapers in Denver and in the mountains had a varied career in these earlier years, but the only ones that still survive are the News of Denver and the Registcr of Central. Many of the journals of later date have also done good service and reflect credit on the State and her people. In the spring of 1859 the Pike’s Peak Express Company cstablished a stage line between the Missouri River and the Rocky Mountains. The distance of seven hundred miles or more was soon after made in six days and nights, schedule time. This became the property of Ben Holiday in 1862, and afterwards of Wells, Fargo & Co. The main portion of the immigration was effected by means of wagon trains, and ox and mule teams. This mode of transportation, occupying weeks or months, was in striking contrast to the rapid locomotion of the present plains travel, wherein the iron horse and palace-car play so important a part. The traveler of to-day can hardly appreciate the difficulties encount- ered at every step by those who ‘‘pioncer” the way for future generations and ‘‘ rough it” in new and distant mining countries. There were movements in 1859 looking toward the establishment of a territorial and state government. A state constitution was submitted to the people and rejected by a vote of 2,007 against to 649 for. In October, B. D. Williams was chosen to visit Washing- ton to endeavor to secure the organization of a territory to be called Jefferson. County officers were chosen by those acknowledg- ing the authority of the territory of Kansas, and a convention was elected and assembled for a state organization. State and county officers were finally chosen, but nothing eventually came of this provisional government. 126 COLORADO. CHAPTER II. EARLY COLORADO HISTORY—THE PIONEERS OF 1860-63 AND THEIR MOVEMENTS, DISCOVERIES, AND OPERATIONS—GULCH AND PLACER MINING—PRODUCTIVE CHARACTER OF SURFACE DIGGINGS AND GOLD VEINS—THE MINING CAMPS OF THE FRONTIER. In the spring and summer of 1860 mining was continued with redoubled vigor on streams and gold-bearing lodes from the Saint Vrain to the Arkansas. New comers from the East were plentiful, and many new sections were explored, with occasional rich discoy- eries. This season bands of prospectors crossed the Park range and the main crest of the Rocky mountains and began mining in earnest on the headwaters of the Blue and the Arkansas. California gulch was washed for gold and began to yield its millions, and in Summit county, Georgia, Humbug, Galena, and French gulches and Gold Run astonished the country with their wealth. Other exploring parties crossed the Sawatch range, and one venturesome band, led by Colonel Baker, made an unprofitable trip through the San Juan mountains and was ordered away by the Indians of that locality. In Boulder several districts became very productive, noticeably that of Gold Hill. Mining was exceedingly lively in the Gregory and Russell gulch diggings of what is now Gilpin county, especially after the introduction of a reliable water supply by means of the consolidated ditch. Thousands of men were engaged in gulch and lode mining. Sixty quartz mills, mostly of small dimensions, were brought in and set at work. Thirty arastras were also employed, and did good service as long as soft surface dirt was obtainable. Mining affairs were lively on South Clear creek and tributaries, and over in the South Park the gold yield was large and general prosperity pre- vailed. In the spring of 1860 the owners of the Pike’s Peak stage line established what was known as the Pony Express. This served as a daily fast-mail line between the cities of the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, and was of great value to the business men of those sections HISTORICAL. Lay previous to the construction of the overland telegraph lines. The scheme was a marvel of American enterprise. Previous to that time over three weeks were required to convey mails by steamer from New York to San Francisco. This Pony Express made the distance SS A ee ee ee A | } ; = ae ea: See eS ‘THE PONY EXPRESS. between the railway terminus on the Missouri river and the Pacific in eight or nine days. Brave men and first-class stock were required, for Indians and highwaymen were often encountered, and the relay stations were sometimes burned and the stock run off. Almost the entire distance of nearly two thousand miles to be traversed was one 128 COLORADO. vast solitude. No delays were permitted, and the mail-bags were kept on the move during the whole time of these long and lonely trips. Horses were changed at every station and riders at intervals of from fifty to seventy miles. The rapid time made caused the government to send the mails overland, and the overland stage and railway, established one after the other, were the results. The con- struction of the telegraph line to the Pacific in 1862 caused the dis- continuance of the Pony Express. In the summers of 1860-61, there were busy, bustling mining camps on the headwaters of the South Platte, and portions of the South Park were alive with prospectors and miners. These flourished while the placers and gulches were producing largely. As they gave out or failed to pay, the men who had located there abandoned them or moved on to newer diggings of this or other territories. In 1862, rich gold lodes were mined in Buckskin district, and the town of Laurette had a newspaper, theatre, nine quartz mills and, like other camps, numberless saloons, an occasional variety show, and all the gambling-houses that were necessary to make the fortune-hunter contented and happy. In four short summers the population and glory of Tarryall, Montgomery, Laurette, and other camps had de- parted, and few old timers remained to tell the story of the dead cities of the Park. Beginning with the summer of 1869, and continuing for several seasons, California and Georgia gulches were enormously profitable. It is reported that many an oyster can of gold dust and nuggets was filled there in a single day. Diggings near Montgomery yielded an average of a pound of gold per day to the man, and Spring gulch, at Central City, produced largely. Denver grew rapidly in 1860. It was the point of arrival and departure for nearly all who came or left the country, although Canon City was of some importance in this way for the southern routes from the East to the mines. Brick buildings were erected and large business houses were established at the future metropolis. Among the latter were three banks, one of which is said to have charged from ten to twenty-five per cent. interest on loans per month. Clark, Gruber & Co. added a coining and assay depart- ment to their banking-house. The government purchased their establishment in 1862, since when it has been used as a United States assay and refining office. The rates of freight across the plains in HISTORICAL. 129 those days were from ten to twenty cents per pound. This was less than in 1864-5, but from five to ten times present charges. Some hard characters found their way to Denver and the mines at this time, and several murders were committed by them, which induced the citizens to organize a temporary vigilance committee and do a little shooting and hanging on their own account. This had a beneficial effect. The surviving roughs left the country and order prevailed from that time forward. Auraria and Denver were finally united under one municipal government. In the stirring mining camps and ambitious cities of the gold diggings frontier mining life could be studied in all its phases. There were many men of many lands in the rude habitations that lined the hillsides and gulches. Their histories would read like romances. One could never tire of listening to the annals of the ‘*fifty-niners,” and volumes could be filled with narrative and story of their deeds and adventures. These towns of log cabins, tents, and unpretentious frames had much the appearance of a military encampment. Saloons were numerous, theatrical troupes made regular trips from one point to another, religious services were often held in the open air beneath the mountain pines, and bands of music invited the miner to show or gambling-house at almost all hours of the day or night. Paper money was rarely seen, and gold dust was the universal medium of exchange. This was usually carried in buckskin pouches, and the price of an article purchased was weighed in dust on gold scales used in all business houses. Gold as it came from the gulches was usually valued at about eighteen dollars per ounce. The population of Colorado for many years was ever changing, fresh arrivals taking the place of those who returned to the East or moved on to other territories. Placers and gulches are what are termed poor man’s diggings, because little or no money is required to test their value or put them into producing condition. Every man knew what his claim was yielding when night came. As one writer puts it, ‘The expressions of satisfaction or disappointment in those early Col- orado mining times, when the sluice-boxes were cleaned, would challenge the greed of the miser and the disgust of the spendthrift.” Many streams were worked to great disadvantage. Some ground, which should have been operated by long bed rock flumes or hydraulics, was divided among too many owners to secure such im- 180 COLORADO provements, and the miners were in too much of a hurry to get rich and leave the country to think of combining for the slow but eventually sure work necessary for such enterprises. | Consequently abandonment followed sooner or later, and no further work was done until consolidations permitted of mining on a wholesale scale. The amount of gold obtained, however, in the four summers of 1860-63, inclusive, was very large. Good authorities indicate the yield to have been from the crecks, placers, and gulches alone, about as follows, and some give much higher estimates: Boulder county, $400,000; Gilpin, $2,500,000; Clear Creek, $1,700,000; Park, $1,500,000; Summit, $5,000,000; Lake, $4,000,000. This is exclusive of lode mines, which were worked at all seasons of the year, and were immensely producti¥€ in Gilpin and in a less degree in most other leading districts. Congress organized the Territory of Colorado February 26, 1861, embracing the same area as the present State. The first territorial governor, William Gilpin, arrived in Denver, in May, 1861. A census taken at this time showed a population of 25,329, of whom 4,484 were females. H. P. Bennett was elected delegate to Congress in September, being the first Coloradan admitted to a seat in that body. The nine counties previously referred to elected full sets of officers and a legislature was chosen. Soon after the breaking out of the war of the rebellion numbers of men left Colorado to take part in the great contest. The popu-_ lation had been drawn largely from all sections, but the number who went South at this time was small. The first regiment of Colorado infantry, afterwards changed to cavalry, did good service in repelling the Texan invasion of New Mexico in 1862. That same year another regiment was organized, whose ranks were afterwards reinforced by the fraction of a third regiment. This force won no little credit for itself at the time of Price’s invasion of Missouri 1n 1864. Colorado also had a battery, and late in 1864 a three months’ regiment was raised for protection against the Indians of the plains. This did good service in annihilating a large portion of the Cheyenne tribe at Sand creck. In May, 1862, John Evans succeeded William Gilpin as governor, and 8. H. Elbert became territorial secretary in place of L. L. Weld. In the September following H. P. Bennett, conservative, . — eT HS oY. HISTORICAL. 131 was re-elected to Congress, receiving 3,655 votes to 2,312 for William Gilpin, republican, and 2,754 for J. M. Francisco, democrat. In 1862-3 large numbers of miners left the failing gulch and placer diggings and what were then called the refractory lode veins. OLD RANCHO AND TRADING POST ON THE BORDER. Some went to the new camps of Idaho and Montana and others re- turned to the States. The gold product of these times was much larger, however, than in preceding years. The gold-bearing lodes of Gilpin were in many cases paying enormously and gulch mining was still very remunerative. The mines at Empire had just been developed and much gold was obtained by sluicing surface dirt as well as by quartz milling. The gulches of Summit county were generally very productive, and California gulch in Lake county was turning out a round million each summer. Some of the Park county placers had began to fail, but gold lodes were paying largely near Buckskin, Laurette, and Montgomery. 'The same was true of many localities in Boulder county. The territory forming Gilpin county had been divided into many districts and a multitude of veins and claims had been recorded and worked more or less. Most of these veins were within a strip of country extending from Black Hawk to the upper end of Nevada and Russell gulches, embracing a length of but little over three miles. Located there were the lively wide-awake towns of Mountain City, Central, Missouri City, and Nevadaville, forming, with Black Hawk, almost one continuous camp. Here were such lodes as the Bobtail, Fisk, Gregory, Bates, Hunter, Kip and Buell, Winnebago, Casto, Gregory Second, Gunnell, Kansas, Burroughs, Gardner, Mercer 132 COLORADO. County, Kent County, Flack, Forks, American Flag, California, Tllinois, Missouri, Alps, Pewabic, and the Patch diggings on Quartz Hill. . The lodes were mostly divided off into claims one hundred feet long. Discoverers of veins were allowed twice that amount of territory. Further north in this same county were the active mining camps of Wide Awake and of the Perigo and Gold Dirt section, be- side districts of less importance. Very few of the men who came to Colorado knew anything of mining or milling. They had pretty smooth sailing, however, when engaged in such simple work as placer or creek mining, or while the soft surface dirt or decomposed vein matter held out. When a depth of from sixty to one hundred feet was attained on the lodes great difficulty was experienced by most mill men in saving gold enough to permit of any profits. The soft quartz had been succeeded by ore from which the gold could not be so easily extracted; especially by the amateur mill men usually engaged in the business. In many veins the rich top material had been succeeded by poor rock, and in some places the veins pinched up to nothing. Many believed the quartz had disappeared for good, and sold their claims at almost any figures they could get. So in some localities there was a suspension of work or of production for the want of ore, and in others on account of inability to extract the gold. There were other claims, however, that had not been worked deep enough to get below the decomposed mineral, and at all times there were large numbers of - paying mines. HISTORICAL. 133 CHAPTER. LLY. MINING INVESTMENTS IN COLORADO IN 1863-4—-HOW MINES WERE BOUGHT AND STOCKED AT THE EAST IN THE GREENBACK ERA —EASTERN MINING COMPANY OPERATIONS AND THE CAUSES OF THEIR FAILURE. The continued receipts of gold dust and bullion finally created an interest at the East in Colorado mines. The result was that capital- ists began to regard gold-producing properties with favor. The sale of the Casey mine on the Burroughs lode, in Gilpin county, and the organization of the Ophir Mining Company in New York, in - October, 1863, were followed by similar transactions one after another. During the following winter, and in the spring of 1864, there was a wonderful excitement over mining investments and mining stocks. -Mines—good, bad, and indifferent—were bought up in rapid suc- cession. The more productive claims on the Gregory, Bobtail, and Gunnell lodes brought one thousand dollars per foot. The war had inaugurated a speculative era, in which men acquired wealth with a rapidity they had never before dreamed of being able to do. Success in one class of operations caused them to embark in others. The rapid fortunes made in operating mines, and the steady output of gold, led men into this class of investments. So, in the days of gold speculation and fluctuating values, a mining stock board was organized in New York, and mines were purchased and companies organized. These were often stocked at enormous figures and swung on values much higher than they would bear. As time passed on the excitement increased, and so anxious were people to possess a mine or some mining stock that the quantity of properties fell short of the demand. Agents were sent out to Colorado to hunt up and purchase mining claims. It is evident they were not very particular as to the value thereof so long as they could show evidence of a record or transaction of some kind. Yet when a company came to be formed these Eastern manipulators stocked what they paid the miner but a few thousand dollars for at a hundred times the original prices. It mattered little, however, just then, for all stocks would 134 COLORADO. sell, and no one seemed to stop to consider the value of what was behind them. Nearly two hundred companies were organized in various Eastern cities on mining properties of Gilpin, Clear Creek, and Boulder countics. The capital stocks of many of these mounted way up in the millions, and some of them were held for a time at par. It was the age of greenbacks, and as these promises of the government were steadily depreciating it was feared they would eventually be- come nearly worthless. This was one inducement for investing in anything that promised to give gold instead. While the results would have been more or less satisfactory with proper management, they could not but be disastrous when the properties possessed no value. Although Wall street had a brilliant and for the most part an unscrupulous set of operators in mines in those days, and the public was in a venturesome mood, this condition of affairs could not last always. The bottom finally dropped out of the market, and from that time forward people were as much too cautious regarding mines as they had previously been too anxious to obtain anything that went by that name. Meantime very many mining companies had taken steps to work their propertics, or at least get rid of their working capital as specdily or foolishly as possible. The entire history of these com- pany investments and operations, with a few exceptions, could hardly have been worse. In the first place, claims of from sixty to two hundred feet only were usually bought on one vein, andas much more on another or many others, instead of making the entire pur- chase on one vein or lode. Many of these had paid handsomely as long as work was carricd on near the surface, but it is an impossi- bility to successfully work such small claims separately to depths of many hundreds of feet. It took years of depression and abandon- ment before the time arrived when these false steps could be reme- died by consolidation. Poor management, foolish expenditures, or a failure to work the mines, with high prices of labor and supplies, were the other main causes of the failures of the companies, Of course there were some claims that contained nothing of value; but this was not the case with very many of them. This has been proved time and again by Colorado miners, who have leased idle properties of these companies and made fortunes therefrom in one, two, or three years. Instances can be mentioned where some of tee: ae HISTORICAL. 185 these lessees have bought mines with the money they have previously made in leasing them. It needed men to operate them who under- stood mining, just as any line of business needs men at the head who understand it. The man with a process caught a great many of these companies. The stamp mills had been the reliance of the lode miners, and although they lost much of the gold, this was due more to poor equipments, lack of care, and unskillful work than from any fault of that system. With the hope of saving a higher percentage of the gold, many companies took up with the process of some professor or inventor. These process mills required a vast amount of machinery, and cost from five to twenty times what a quartz mill would to-day. When completed some would not save the gold, and all were too expensive to work. They broke up nearly all the companies who meddled with them. The working capital was usually expended in building a mill of some kind, instead of on the claim to see if it had anything that called for a mill. Staffs of heavy-salaried and incompetent officials, dishonesty, and inatten- tion to business, generally wound up these companies, or their money and property, when they were not squandered in the ways above- mentioned. Toadd to the misfortunes of the period, an Indian war broke out on the plains, and this caused freight charges to rise enormously. At this time the amount of machinery that was being transported to Colorado was enormous. It cost more to freight the inside works of a mill across the plains than a mill could be bought, and freighted, and put up for at the present time. As every com- pany was erecting mills, works, and buildings at the same time, the cost of labor and supplies became very great, which the rebellion and Indian war aided to make still higher. The closing down of many companies and properties caused Colorado mining camps to wear a discouraging appearance in 1865-6. Yet some of the lodes were so valuable that they continued to produce largely, and many companies operated them for years, with varying success. The condition of affairs was so different then from what it is now, that it was impossible to expect anything like the results of to-day. Since then successful smelting works for handling the richer ores, improved quartz milling, railways, bringing a reduction in cost of labor and supplies, and the knowledge which experience brings from many years of mining, have all come to aid the miner and render his labor profitable. 136 ' COLORADO. Careful investigation of the subject shows that not far from three and a half millions were paid Colorado men for mines in the first ten years of mining there. Probably as much more was expended for machinery, freights, and in working claims where no great re- turns were obtained. The remainder of the millions that were lost or invested in stock operations went to the eastern manipulators. It stopped in New York and at the East. As affairs were then man- aged, mining stocks proved what most railroad investments do to most stockholders—a losing venture all around. This need not be the case hereafter as regards Colorado mines. Purchasers or com- pany managers should not be in too much of a hurry to build mills, but open the mine first and see if it can supply a mill with ore. They should entrust their mining and milling to experienced miners and mill men, instead of to worthless friends or relatives, and, in fact, conduct matters as they would in any legitimate business. The former are not likely to steal as much, if they were so dis- posed, as the latter would fool away. It requires as much ability and good judgment to operate a large mine as it does a manufactory or mercantile establishment. These facts are worth the attention of all men likely to be connected with mining operations. In the spring of 1864 the plains Indians started out on the war- path, and for a time communication between Colorado and the States was almost stopped. Stages-were often obliged to fight their way through or back to the nearest station, and were occasionally cap- tured and their passengers massacred. Wagon trains encountered the same difficulties. Some of them containing supplies and mining machinery for the newly organized companies were abandoned on the plains. Scattering farm houses and numerous stage stations were burned, their inmates slaughtered, and the stock stolen. Troops were ordered west to protect the routes of travel, and a regi- ment of twelve hundred men was raised in Colorado. These, under command of Col. Chivington, attacked and nearly exterminated a — band of hostile Cheyennes, which had a salutary effect on surviving Indians. The Cheyennes, Arapahoes, and other Indians continued their warfare on the whites in 1865, and renewed it at intervals down to 1870. Two railways had then been constructed across the plains, and the Indian fell back before the iron horse and other accompaniments of civilization. All of the plains tribes were re- moved to the Indian Territory in time. The Utes, of the mountains, HISTORICAL. 13% have been friendly with the whites and hostile to most bands of their own race. By several treaties, dating from 1863 to 1878, they have ceded all of the mountain and park sections of Colorado to the ATTACK ON OVERLAND STAGE, whites, except a tract of country in the western part of the State. For these possessions they have received from the government various sums of money and annual allowances of cattle, supplies, and rations. 13 COLORADO. OWA PEE Tay. THE DISCOV’.RY OF SILVER AND ITS ADDITION TO THE KNOWN WEALTH OF THE COUNTRY—POLITICAL HISTORY—STATE MOVEMENTS OF 1864-7—-MINING OPERATIONS AND GENERAL PROGRESS—FARM- ING, STOCK GROWING, AND COLONIZING—-THE ADVENT OF THE RAILWAY AND RAILROAD BUILDING-—ADVANCES MADE IN REDU- CING ORES AND THE ADVANTAGES OF RAIL COMMUNICATION AND OF IMPROVED MINING, MILLING, AND SMELTING, In the earlier years of Colorado mining, gold was the only metal sought for. No one thought of prospecting for silver. Conse- quently, the main portion of Colorado’s mineral wealth was never dreamed of until more recent times. While many discoveries were made for several years previous, no great silver yield was obtained until 1870 and subsequently. The slow growth of this class of mining was due to a lack of proper ore-reducing facilities and to milling difficulties. Time has remedied these drawbacks, and all of the older districts are now supplied with effective mills, smelters, or amalgamating works. The first discovery of silver lodes in Colorado was made in Summit county. They carried much lead but not a large amount of silver, and, owing to their remote location, were never worked extensively. Late in 1864, float ore was found on McClellan mountain, near Georgetown, which proved to be rich in silver. This caused considerable excitement and some lively pros- pecting in 1865. Valuable discoveries have been made every year since, and flourishing towns and a large production has been the result. For some time gulch and placer mining had been on the decline, and the miners had been leaving for the newly found diggings of Montana and Idaho. The ground that had been easiest to get at or handle had been largely worked out. This was not usually ex- hausted, for much of it has been worked over and over, with fair returns, ever since. But more extensive and systematic operations ‘were required. Vast quantities of pay-dirt and gravel yet invite _— 7 — _ HISTORICAL. 139 the attention of the miner and capitalist, and alluvial mining is once more on the increase. In 1868, politicians began to agitate the State question. A con- vention assembled at Denver, July 11, 1864, and framed a constitu- tion for the proposed State. Congress had previously passed an enabling act. The constitution was rejected by a vote of 5,006 to 4,219. In the following year another constitution, framed by a subsequent convention, presided over by W. A. H. Loveland, was adopted by a vote of 8,025 to 2,870. At the same time negro suffrage was defeated by a vote of 476 ayes to 4,192 nays. On the 14th day of November, 1865, a legislature and state officers were elected. William Gilpin, a republican, was elected governor; G. A. Hinsdale, a democrat, licutenant-governor, and. _ George M. Chilcott, congressman. In 1864, John Evans and Henry M. Teller were named for senators, but the legislature of 1865-6 chose John Evans and Jerome B. Chaffee. Congress passed the necessary enabling act, but President Johnson vetoed it. A year after, the State movement received a quictus, when the necessary two- thirds vote to override the veto failed to be obtained in Congress. A list of territorial and state officials from first to last will be found in the Appendix of this book. Also, the vote polled at most of the territorial and state elections. In 1867, the process-mills having proved a miserable failure, the companies and. miners gencrally returned to the quartz mills, as the only reliance for saving gold at that time. Many mills had been steadily in operation for years, but others resumed work in 1867-8. The result was that the output of gold from Gilpin county was very _ large up to 1870, and many mines would have paid handsomely, in spite of heavy expenses, had they been properly managed. As it was, the companies began to suspend work in 1869, and one after another of them shut down, until in 1873 but one or two were doing anything. As they left the field, however, the men who had been employed by them began to prospect or mine on their own hook. Some of them leased company properties and others left for the new silyer camps of Georgetown and Caribou, and later, for Park county. In the first decade of Colorado mining, the two leading cities were Denver, the territorial capital, and the mining camp composed of Central, Black Hawk, and Nevadaville. Each had two daily news- papers, and three banks, and churches, schools, and other evidences 140 COLORADO. of civilization, such as any live town is expected to possess. Few places of much larger dimensions could boast of as enterprising populations or of as many citizens of superior abilities, accomplish- ments, or whole-souled qualities. There were miners, merchants, operators, and gold hunters, who had seen life in all its phases. Some of them were then on the high road to wealth; others had already lost or won several fortunes. The legal profession was also ably repre- sented, as it has always been, and a class of politicians were coming into prominence, that, with business men, mining, milling, and rail- way operators, have since largely shaped the destinies of the State. It may almost be said, with one exception, that the little city of Central has furnished Colorado’s entire representation in Congress for years. Mr. Chaffee was first sent to Congrcss as a citizen of that place, and Messrs. Teller and Belford reside there, as did Mr. Hill up to about the time of his election to the Senate. Gilpin county justly claims to be the mother of Colorado mining towns and camps. Her miners went forth to help develop new districts all over the mountains, and have exerted a very prominent influence in the direction of affairs wherever they have settled. Notwithstanding the thousands lost to the ‘old reliable bullion centre” by emigration, she contains more permanent residents now than ever before. As the old citizens move away new ones come to take their places in increased numbers. This is the history of all prominent lode mining districts in the Rocky mountains. Denver organized a board of trade in 1867. That fall the Union Pacific reached Cheyenne, just beyond the northern border, bringing Denver within one hundred and ten miles of rail communication. This was a great advantage over being six times as far away, but the following year saw the beginning of work on the Denver Pacific. This was to connect the metropolis of the territory with the Pacific line at Cheyenne. The work was consummated in the summer of 1870. In August of that year the Kansas Pacific reached Denver, making two through lines to the East. The same season the Colorado Central railway was constructed from Denver to Golden, located at one of the main gateways of the mountains. The prosperity and greatness of Denver was then assured, and she grew rapidly from that time forward. Colorado was well represented at the World’s Exposition at Paris in 1867. Alexander Cummings succeeded John Evans as governor of Col- ITISTORICAL, 141 orado in 1865, and was himself superseded in 1867 by A. C. Hunt. In 1869, Gen. Edward McCook became governor. He was followed by Samuel II. Elbert in 1873, but was again appointed in the follow- ing year. Then came the last territorial governor, John H. Routt, who was also state governor. In 1864, A. A. Bradford was elected delegate to Congress; then came George M. Chilcott, and then Brad- ford again. Jerome B. Chaffee was elected for the same position in 1870, and again in 1872. In 1874, Colorado chose a democratic delegate to Congress for the first time, when Thomas M. Patterson received 2,369 majority over H. P. H. Bromwell. This was mainly due to dissensions in the republican party. The amount of creek and gulch mining grew steadily less as years passed on and the most easily accessible pockets and pay streaks were worked out. Yet most of the headwaters of the Blue and Arkan- sas and of Clear and Boulder creeks were still profitable to a limited number of miners, and have been so to this day. Recent operations of a more extensive character are at last bringing them into prominence again. From 1865 to 1870, more or less lode mining was carried on in nearly all of the gold-bearing districts then discovered. Many of them gave out temporarily, and have since been idle to this day. Others have had work resumed upon them within the past few years. Numerous lodes, especially in Clear Creek county, which had been worked for gold in former times and abandoned as unprofit- able, were at length found to carry their main value in silver. As silver had not been looked for, the best part of their product had been lost. After silver mining became general, they were worked quite successfully. So intent were the first settlers in the pursuit of gold that little attention was paid to farming or stock growing for many years. A few parties pursued those avocations successfully, however, for good prices could be obtained in the mining camps. Thousands of dollars were sometimes cleared in a season on a single mountain ranch. It was at first believed that the country was worthless for - agricultural purposes. During the first winter at Denver no hay was obtainable, and the owners of cattle used in freighting turned them out on the prairie, as they supposed, to die. In the spring the animals were all found in good condition near the Platte river, and some thirty miles below Denver. This settled the stock question. After some reverses from dry weather, it was found that irrigation 149 COLORADO, by means of ditches was necessary to assure successful farming, In 1867-69 these industries had become so extensive that agricultural and industrial societies and fairs were inaugurated at Denver and Boulder. In 1870, several colonies were founded in localities INDIAN ENCAMPMENT ON WHITE RIVER, adapted to farming, and peopled by immigrants from the States. The one at Grecley grew and prospered, and has since attained a population of nearly or quite three thousand. The colonies of Long- mont and Evans have also grown steadily. The German immigrants SO ———— ee —— HISTORICAL. 143 of West Mountain Valley were less fortunate, and the organization finally broke up. In 1871 the Denver and Rio Grande Railway was built from Denver southward seventy-five miles, and the town and colony of Colorado Springs was established at the terminus. Soon after the watering- place of Manitou was founded, and has ever since been the most fashionable pleasure resort of the State. The railway was afterwards extended to Pueblo, Cafton, El Moro, and oyer the Sangre de Christo range into San Luis Park. In recent years extensive irrigat- ’ ing ditches have been constructed from and near all the principal streams in Colorado, and farming and stock growing have been ex- tensive and profitable industries. Crops are usually abundant and cattle and sheep thrive remarkably. It came to pass as time went on that Gilpin county was one of the few mining camps where operations were carried on extensively. In fact, it was far ahead of any other district in number of mines and mills, as well as population and product. Most of Colorado’s gold export came from there from 1867 to 1870. But all was not smooth sailing by any means. Great difficulty was encountered in say- ing the golden contents of the ore as the mines grew deeper and deeper. It is asserted that previous to that period the per cent. of the assay saved in most quartz mills ranged from 15 to 40 per cent. only. All outside of that wasswept down the streams and. lost. Somewhat better work was done in 1868 and 1£69. © This condition of affairs could not result otherwise than in dis- aster, especially as high prices of labor, supplies, and material, enor- mous plains and mountain freights, bad management and poor min- ing all combined to exhaust the average product of the mines. Therefore, the establishment and successful operation of the Boston and Colorado Smelting Works, at Black Hawk in 1867-8, by Pro- fessor Hill, came very opportunely, and helped to prevent much loss ana misfortunc that would otherwise have occurred. So many works and processes had failed, that all innovations on the stamp mill method were regarded with a skeptical eye. Yet when Professor Till continued operations steadily year after year, affording a cash market for the assorted or richer parts of the ore, the immense ad- vantage of these smelters began to be appreciated. The main bulk of the ores was too poor to admit of treatment anywhere except by raw amalgamation in the quartz mills, but it 144 COLORADO. was found of great benefit to select the richer mineral and sell to the smelter, on account of the very high per cent. saved. Together the stamp mills and smelting works went on adapting themselves and their methods to the country, each working out their special mission. By handling both grades of ore as it came from the ground they made otherwise impossible mining operations profitable. This smelting company went on enlarging their works until, as railroads were constructed, they became almost as important to many silver districts as they had been to Gilpin county. Other concerns were also erected elsewhere. Still the leading gold district was in a very depressed condition up to 1875. The construction of the Colorado Central Railway up through the mountains to Black Hawk caused several parties to start in to re- open some of the deserted and water-filled company mines. By 1876 the advantages resulting from the operation of the railway became manifest. It was apparently the salvation of the district, for expenses soon fell to such figures that mines, either active or idle, could be handled to advantage. But the grand success that has been brought about in Gilpin county cannot be attributed entirely to the railway and the smelting works, although their assistance has been invaluable. During all the years of failure and disaster, varied with an occasional rich bonanza, the miners and mill men had been be- coming familiar with the mineral veins of the country, and were learning how to mine and mill to advantage. The companies who had continued work so long stopped a little too soon. These Gilpin and Clear Creek miners, after some delay, took up the job where they left off, and have made a success of it. So the change in the character of operations, and their present great extent and general success may be attributed to the railway, the smelting works, im- proved mining and milling, and a class of men with the nerve and energy to wrest victory from disaster. Up to 1872, several silver mills at Georgetown had been run more or less extensively, of which the Stewart works had turned out the most silver. That year, Hall, Martine and Marshall began to pur- chase and ship high grade silver ores to Germany. This gave the miners much more of a competing market than they had previously enjoyed, and was the forerunner of the present advantageous ore- buying and shipping facilities. Discovery after discovery had been made on the lofty mountains around Georgetown, and notwith- Swe ee Se HISTORICAL. 145 standing the heavy cost of transportation and of treatment, the yield of ore and of silver increased wonderfully from 1870 forward. In 1872-8, some enormously rich mines were developed, and the pro- duct of the district for 1874 exceeded for the first time that of the sister county of Gilpin. Meantime several eastern reduction works had established agencies there for the purchase and shipment of ores. In 1868 the Printer Boy and other rich gold discoveries in California Gulch turned attention to Lake county once more, although some inviting pockets of quartz near Granite had paid - largely in previous years. About this time a company of Boston capitalists inaugurated heavy mining and smelting operations in Summit county, west of the snowy range. Other companies also worked silver mines there, but unsuccessfully. The discovery of the Caribou silver lode in Boulder county, late in 1869, caused the founding of a town and flourishing mining camp there in 1870. Many veins were discovered, and the district became quite prominent and productive, and is still so. In 1871 came the excitement over the silver bearing deposits of the Mosquito range in Park county. These drew miners and prospectors from all quarters to the slopes and summits of Lincoln and Bross mountains. Owing to the lateness of the season when the more important developments began, and the severity of the winter, the full tide of prospectors did not set in until the spring and summer of 1872. Fairplay again revived and Alma and one or two other towns were soon after founded. So extensive were the deposits found to be that the smelting works at Black Hawk started a branch establish- ment at Alma. Park county has since been as famous for its silver product as it was for that of gold when the placers were all worked. Owing to the bad manner in which gold mines had been operated, the cessation of work became a necessity in many quarters. The veins had usually been stripped of whatever of value remained in sight, and then work was abandoned. There was no thought of looking out for continuous development of ore reserves ahead, or of permanent operations of a lifetime character. In these later years this is not often the case, but it took time to bring about the change. The building of the Colorado Central from Golden up Clear Creek cation to Black Hawk was the turning-point in mining affairs and general prosperity. That permitted of lower and 7 146 COLORADO, quicker transportation, of cheaper goods and supplies, and of a general reduction of expenses. It made it possible to work mines profitably that were losing concerns before. Several properties resumed work in that and the following year, but so much time was required to put them in order or develop them into pay that no notable advance was made up to 1876. That year the bullion pro- duct was a long way in excess of any former period, and each season — witnesses an improvement. In 1874 much of the business portion of Central was destroyed by fire, entailing a loss of over half a million. It has since been rebuilt. In 1872-3 the mountainous country in southwestern Colorado, to which the term of the San Juan region has been applied, began to attract attention. This was of immense extent, and mostly com- posed of vast chains and spurs of mountains extending far above timber line. Exploring parties had ventured into this section a dozen years before, but no permanent settlements were made beyond the San Luis valley. The discoveries were such that the mountains were alive with prospectors in the summers of 1874-5, and quartz mills and smelters began to be erected. The Summit mountain gold mines attracted much attention, and so did the great silver belts, among which grew up the towns of Silverton, Lake City, and, later, Ouray. Silver-bearing veins came to notice in what was then Fremont county in 1872-3. In the following years they were quite pro- ductive. Still more important discoveries have been made during the past two seasons, showing a remarkable amount of wealth where least expected. For more than a decade subsequent to the early gold discoveries settlers had been moving into the southern part of Colorado from New Mexico. They were mostly of mixed Spanish and Indian blood, but a portion were descendants of Spaniards only. They engaged in pastoral pursuits, raising large herds of sheep. The amouné of their farming was limited and of a primitive character. For years these Mexicans, as they are called, constituted almost the entire population of the southern counties. They have always secured a number of members in the territorial and state legislatures, _ and, as few of them speak or write the English language, interpreters have always been required. Owing to the rapid increase of American and foreign population, their political influence has been steadily waning. =? HISTORICAL, 147 CHA PT ER wV.. COLORADO’S POPULATION AND PROGRESS-—ANOTHER AND SUCCESSFUL ATTEMPT AT STATEHOOD— COLORADO’S~ ADMISSION INTO THE UNION—THE FIRST STATE ELECTION—RAILROAD BUILDING AND GENERAL ADVANCEMENT—NEW AND RICH MINING DISCOVERIES AND MORE SMELTERS—WANTED A MINT OF COINAGE AT’ DENVER —CLOSE OF THE HISTORICAL NARRATIVE. Probably one hundred thousand people had resided in Colorado for longer or shorter periods up to the year 187C. Yet so many left the territory from first to last that the population did not exceed from twenty-five to thirty-five thousand at any one time up to 1868. The census of 1870 showed the number of inhabitants, exclusive of the Indians, to be 39,864. From that time immigration set in steadily from the East, and the railways aided largely to bring this about. Rapid transit by rail was very different from making the long trip across the plains in coaches or in ox or mule trains. It was believed that the population had doubled in four years after the advent of the railway. The generous production of the mines, the harvests of the farmer, and the increase of the stockman had their effect, and eastern people began to move in this direction. No attempt had been made to secure a state government for over six years up to that time, but in the winter of 1874-5 the subject was again agitated. The movement was successful this time in receiving the sanction of both Congress and the President. It was provided that in case a constitution was framed and adopted by the people that Colorado should not become a State before July 4, 1876. A convention was in session in the winter of 1875-6, of which Joseph C. Wilson was president, and the constitution framed was adopted July 1st by a vote of 15,430 to 4,053. On the third day of October state officers were chosen. There were 27,461 votes polled for governor, and the republican ticket was elected by majorities rang- ing from 491 to 1,728, Routt’s majority over Hughes being 838. James B. Belford, republican, became congressman for the short term ending March 4, 1877, and Thomas M. Patterson, democrat, 148 COLORADO. for the two years succeeding. The first State legislature, consisting of 49 representatives and 26 senators, assembled at Denver in Novem- ber, 1876, when the state government was inaugurated. Jerome B. Chaffee and Henry M. Teller, republicans, were elected United States senators. On drawing for terms, the former obtained that expiring March 4, 1879, and the latter that terminating in 1877. The legisla- ture then elected Mr. Teller for the full term of six years from March 4, 1877. For full lists of officials and popular vote of elec- tions see Appendix. Great advances were made in wealth and prosperity in 1876. The older counties were progressing finely and the San Juan region was promising much for the future. An indication of the high opinion abroad of the State’s capacity and resources was the construction of another through line of railway from the Missouri. The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Company completed their road west to Pueblo this year, making Colorado’s third outlet to the East. The last territorial legislature appropriated the sum of ten thousand dollars for the purpose of having Colorado properly represented at the World's Exposition at Philadelphia in 1876, and Governor Routt appointed Messrs. Decatur and Richmond commissioners. The succecding year was still more prosperous. The farmers, who had experienced two bad seasons, were then rewarded with bountiful harvests, which set them on their feet once more, or gave them heavy surpluses. The mines made a larger gain than had been known since the early discoveries and developments. Increased railway and ore reducing facilities were being supplied in various quarters. The Colorado Central Railway was extended into Clear Creek county as far as Georgetown, and north from Longmont, connecting with the Union Pacific at Cheyenne. In the south, the Denver & Rio Grande road was pushed on over the Sangre de Christo mountains to Garland, and afterwards to Alamosa, on the Rio Grande. But rapid as had been the progress, and handsome as had been the gain of previous years—the year 1878 cclipsed them all. This is true regarding financial improvement, as well as increase of population and production. The yield of gold and silver showed a gain of nearly fifty per cent. over the best previous year. The old districts that had been the main reliance in former times, all surpassed their previous records, with one exception, while Lake county came to the front and distanced every one of them. The production of that HISTORICAL. 149 section had been small for several years; but the new carbonate mines of Leadville paid handsomely in 1877. Last year, however, their output surprised almost everyone. Yet, it was but a fraction of what will be recorded hereafter. As during the two preceding years, Colorado maintained her place as one of the few States exten- sively engaged in railway building. The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railway was extended southward over the Raton moun- tains into New Mexico, and a heavy foree of men were kept at work blasting » way through the Grand cafion of the Arkansas for the Leadville extension. This was the season of the railroad war for the possession of that route, in which the above-named company and the Denver & Rio Grande were engaged. The Denver & South Park road, which had been built as far as Morrison, in 1874, had its line completed from Denver up Platte cafion to the mouth of Hall Valley, at the close of 1878, or soon after. Central was also afforded rail communication this year. The second biennial State election occurred October 1, 1878, with three tickets in the ficld. The republican nominees were elected by pluralities ranging from 1,923 to 2,890. The greenback nominee for governor received a tutal vote of 2,783. The republican candidate for governor was Frederick W. Pitkin, and the democratic W. A. Ii. Loveland. For Congress, Thomas M. Patterson was the demo- cratic nominee and James B. Belford, the republican. The total vote polled in Colorado was from 28,876 to 28,900. Sce Appendix. The second legislature assembled January 1, 1879, and the State government was inaugurated January 14th. After an exciting, con- test, Prof. N. P. Hill received the republican caucus nomination, and was elected United States Senator to succeed Mr. Chaffee, for the term of six years, from March 4, 1879. While the mines of Leadville were attracting attention far and wide, and causing a stampede for the land of carbonates all over the country, several valuable districts were developed in other quarters. Not far away great deposits of argentiferous galena were found in Summit county, and during the same fall of 1878 the unexpected discoveries of Silver Cliff drew large numbers of people and started a promising mining camp. The magic cities of these several local- ities are growing rapidly, and are evidentiy the forerunners of more to come among the mountains and valleys of western Colorado. There is seemingly no end to the mineral wealth of these mountains, 150 COLORADO. and each season witnesses the disclosure of some new district rich in gold or silver. The immense extent and value of Leadville’s mines and traffic is attested by the continual blockade of transportation facilities, and by the fact that three different lines of railway are all building in that direction. It is further shown in the growing ore production and the recent and projected addition of a score of smelting furnaces. The capacities of other districts are likewise being duly appreciated. Several extensive smelting establishments have just been completed at Golden, which is so situated as to be a natural receptacle for ores shipped for treatment from Gilpin and Clear Creek counties. The Boston and Colorado Company have erected the finest works in America at Argo, two miles from Denver. It is evident that Colorado will hereafter reduce her own ores and turn out her own bullion to a far greater extent than heretofore. What Colorado and the entire mineral region between the plains of Colorado and Nevada require is a mint of coinage. The govern- ment should establish this at Denver. No other point can compare with it in natural and general advantages for that purpose. It is located midway between British America and Mexico, and is the most central point for Colorado, and for all the gold and silver bearing territories not adjacent to the Pacific coast. It is the metropolis of a mining region whose production equals nearly all others, excepting California and Nevada. It is evident that Colo- rado will soon surpass even those favored localities. A yield of from sixteen to twenty millions this year, and as much more from neighboring territories, whose bullion would be tributary to such an institution, calls loudly for coinage facilities. A product of ninety millions since 1859 is one this State may well be proud of, especially when it appears that work in earnest has but just begun. Montana has commenced shipping ores to Argo, recognizing that as a better market than the East or her own local works. The extensive smelters of Argo, Golden, Pueblo, and Leadville, and the mills of Gilpin and Clear Creek, are doing a combined business of immense proportions. Denver is the centre of a system of railways radiating in all directions. Supplies are as cheap there and expenses as low as in any other place that could be selected. Therefore, the govern- ment may as well do a portion of its coinage there as at any other point, while the producing miner will be vastly benefited if relieved from the heavy expense of bullion shipments to the East. rT HISTORICAL. 151 The United States geological and geographical surveys, conducted under the supervision of Prof. F. V. Hayden, by authority of the national government, have been an important factor in making known the nature and character of the immense region beyond the Missouri river. These have been carried on with the assistance of competent and experienced officials, army officers, civilians, and experts ever since 1869, and a very considerable amount of time and attention has been devoted to Colorado by members and divisions of the survey. The labors and reports of Messrs. Hayden and Wheeler have been of great value to the state and country. In closing this brief narrative of Colorado’s settlement, rapid growth and general progress, it is perhaps needless to speak of the prevailing prosperity or of the inviting opportunities for capital or labor there. The situation is beginning to be comprehended to a greater or less extent at the East as well as West. Something more definite regarding the State and her resources can be obtained by a careful perusal of this volume, whose remaining chapters will be de- voted to descriptive and statistical matter and general information concerning the wonderful land of which so much has been told. A trip to Colorado would be far more effective, and the only way to obtain a true appreciation of her wealth, enterpris?, and general at- tractions. The reader can then see for himself how new regions are explored, the wilderness settled up, and towns and cities built, how energetic and skillful miners go down into the depths for precious ores that the mill-man or the smelter subsequently turn into bullion. On the high plateaus and mountain sides, he will have an oppor- tunity to breathe a purer air than he has been accustomed to, and can witness scenery grander and more beautiful than all the world besides can boast of. But of this, more hereafter. Q///, it) SY MOUNT OF THE HOLY CkOSS, _—— Jedvatel nel Wd (ica bl id ad CHAPTER I. COLORADO—PAST AND PRESENT PROGRESS AND FUTURE PROSPECTS—- GREAT MINERAL WEALTH OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS—MINING, FARMING, AND STOCK GROWING—STATE AND COUNTY STATISTICS, ASSESSED VALUATION, EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES, AND FACTS RE- LATING THERETO—RAILWAYS AND RAILWAY BUILDING. The remarkable advance recently made by Colorado in the devel- opment of mineral resources and the consequent accession of popula- tion and increase in production and wealth, have been among the most noteworthy events in the history of the West. While every industry of the State seemed to receive a fresh impulse some three years ago, it was not until within the past twelve months that this progress was so marked as to excite general notice. What have aided to fix the atten- tion of the whole country and turn the tide of humanity Colorado- ward more than all things beside are the wonderfully productive bonanzas of Leadville, and while they seemingly form the principal magnetic attraction, all parts of this matchless region will be corres- pondingly benefited. Nor should the intrinsic worth of other sec- tions be overlooked in the prominence accorded the carbonate fields, for all through these Colorado mountains an extent and variety of mineral wealth is embedded and is now being explored such as has seldom, if ever, been found elsewhere. The consequence is that capital and labor are both moving in the direction of the legendary star of empire, and gold and silver mining is attracting the world’s attention to a greater extent than for many years. Month after month witnesses an increase in the volume of immigration as each succes- sive disclosure is followed by others still more marvelous. So we 154 COLORADO. see people from all parts of the country, and even from Europe, com- ing to swell the population of this most thrifty of states, while yet other multitudes are contemplating a similar movement. With the ever-occurring discoveries of new mineral veins and belts a steady and often rapid increase in the yield of bullion is recorded in the older districts. So, while the field of operations is continually enlarging by fresh accessions, mines that have been pouring out their hidden treasures for years are being opened for greater things in the hereafter. Rapid as has been the exploration of this wilderness of mountains of late, the present season is likely to eclipse all pre- vious periods in that respect. There seems to be no limit to the wealth awaiting the advent of the miner, and as each new discovery is reported the fact becomes only the more evident that but little of the State has been half prospected, and the remainder almost entirely unexplored. The extraordinary developments that have been and are being made are convincing men from abroad, in common with the most enthusiastic mountaineers, that Colorado’s store of the precious metals exceeds that of any other State. At the same time it is generally conceded that a better field for investment is offered here than else- where, and that the State has a future before it of the most promis- ing character. The supplies of gold, silver, and coal, although but little encroached on up to the present time, are seemingly inexhaust- ible, and lead and copper aid to a considerable degree to swell the value of veins carrying the first mentioned metals. Iron is also found in large quantities and may yet prove the source of an im- portant industry, while the deposits of salt, lime, gypsum, fire-clay and other materials are all proving serviceable. Colorado’s agricultural and pastoral resources are quite extensive, and if the mining and city population becomes too great for home supplies, the bountiful fields of the neighboring State of Kansas are anever-failing resource. As itis, aready cash market in the mines and business marts is afforded to both farmer and stock grower. While the extent of arable land is limited, compared with the State’s total area, it embraces many thousand square miles, and additional tracts are being made available every year by artificial irrigation. The stock growing industry has been increasing in importance until the annual exportation of cattle, sheep, and wool makes a handsome showing. This industry has been remarkably and uniformly profit- STATISTICAL. 155 able, both on the plains and in the parks. For the past two years Colorado has raised as much wheat and five times as much beef as is needed for home consumption. Splendid farming and pastoral lands in western Colorado will in time be peopled by an industrious population. The climate, mineral waters, and scenic attractions of Colorado, which may almost be considered as resources in themselves, have been sufficiently referred to in the first part of this volume. They alone will bring people and money to this section ; for many men of wealth are making this State their place of residence on account of its superior attractions and inducements in those respects. The mines of Colorado have produced, from 1859 up to date, something like eighty-two millions, in round numbers, of which ten and a half millions were the result of last year’s operations. The indications are now good for a yield of nearly twenty millions, and perhaps twenty-five millions, in 1879. The possibilities are so great that it isimpossible to predict with accuracy. The farming products amount to several millions per annum, and the pastoral districts make an equally creditable return. The State auditor gives the assessed valuation of real estate and personal property, according to the returns of 1878, at $43,072, 648. 26. The enormous growth of Leadville, Denver,and some other localities, and the State’s gain in population and property since then indicate an assessed valuation at least one-half larger for the present year. As it was, the actual value of the property assessed last year, together with that which escaped assessment, must have approached $65,000, - 000. The mines, which are the chief source of wealth, are not . assessed nor taxed at all—nor can they be, according to the provisions of the State Constitution, for nearly eight years tocome. Were these counted in the general valuation, the total would possibly run up to hundreds of millions. The assessed valuation of 1878 was divided among various classes of property, of which the principal are given below. Land and improve- HGOrBeRier eta ec se $1,914,339 50 mentet Tew... $9,755,038 17 | Mules, etc.......... 244.050 00 Raiwayeis. 0240. §,013,685 83 1 Cattle; ties sass. 4,928,147 50 Merchandise ....... BED aLOOO, OU | ROB. cui as fcc x apes 1,026,482 25 Capital and manu- Money and credits.. 2,130,650 07 facturers......... 205,099 00 Town and city lots. .11,035,620 75 Household property. 902,062 00 Bank & other shares 730,896 00 156 COLORADO. The counties, thirty-one in number, wsth their county scats, area, estimated population in 1879, assessed valuation in 1878, and vote at the last State election is given in the table below. The area of the newer and a few of the older counties is estimated. Lake county which contains Leadville, and from which Chaffee county was set off last winter, probably has a valuation of over $4,000,000 at the present time, or nearly seven times that given for last year. Denver and its county of Arapahoe have also greatly enhanced the total valuation of property, and so have many other towns and ‘counties. ; ie VALUATION | AREA, POPULATION, | CouNrTY. County SEAT. 1878. Y | Sq're Miles. | 1879. | | Arapahoe ....... Deny OL; sc sak tse bad $11,076,761 00 | = 4,800 31,000 CHES teas - tore fe Las Animas......... 2,279,376 00 9,126 3,000 Boulder 5. x: Bonlderiait. ue 3,097,320 00 | 792 12,000 Chaffee . Granite: fo sths sso de waaeate 1,240 500 Clear Creek..... Georgetown..... ... 1,932,991 31 437 8,000 Conejos Conejos ....... "244°346 00 2,558 6,000 Costilla sete in: Satr-Lulsss).ceree: 819,571 90 1,685 4,000 Guster et: ct casss Rosita. sc. veces ee 500,654 00 1,100 5,000 Douglas... Castle Rock... ..-.:. 951,713 00 833 3,000 Elbert. ¢slu ees Kiowevsccice isc 1,202,052 52 6,030 2,500 PESO ees t as Colorado Springs. . 3,076,395 00 2,628 9,000 Fremont........ Gafion: Fh iaehisn 946,363 00 1,268 4,500 GUL Pill ver cote COULTEl ee ens 1,827,997 00 158 7,500 end... e..02 Hot Sulphur Springs. 63,866 75 4,278 500 Gunnison.. .... CHUTMIBON sac. «ee oie 2,014 00 11,000 1,500 Hinsdale........ hake City .4. 564,396 50 1,528 4,000 Huerfano........ Walsenburg......... 796,038 38 1,584 5,000 Jefferson........ CFOIGON oc ote. wees 1,988,529 00 792 7,500 Tpke ot ok ineuke Leadville: iw e 603,858 92 490 15,000 a DW AUR 8 Poe ees Parrott City :.. .. J... 254,447 00 4,095 1,500 Larimer >.\ae 20% Fort Collins. /20.7! 1,502,830 00 1,825 5,000 Las Animas. 2...) Trinidad 25. 6.150 1,455,230 00 9,072 12,000 IOUTRY bbe ce ae OMEN See cad. ct: tee 220,622 95 2,333 3,000 Lethe ee ees eee Mailrplayin. «:0e% write | 796,239 00 2,222 3,000 1) WUCDLO 2. ane) Senne es 3,069,639 00 2,412 9,000 Rio Grande..... Del Norte? 72% 501,874 00 1,332 3,500 Ts ROR ae dy Hayden «hanes aks 74,661 00 5,000 300 Saguache ....... Saguache............ 637,607 00 3,312 3,000 San Juan....... Silvertonac 3 6. tx 255,358 00 2 8,000 Berm oes) Breckenridge........ 169,360 00 8,289 6,000 VIRIAL ierakos shuaay Greeley sin scieiee oes 2,583,827 00 10,494 7,500 Totals eae $43,055,419 22 | ...... 190,800 At the present rate of increase of population and wealth, the true figures of many parts of the State would far exceed those given above. New towns and mining camps are springing into existence every month, and some of the farming districts and business centres are growing rapidly. The immigration for April must have been STATISTICAL. 157 over ten thousand, and for May, fifteen thousand. The A., T. & S. F. Railway alone brought in 936 people in the last week of May, and there are two other through routes from the East. Be- fore the end of summer the State may have a population of a quarter of a million, and a valuation of one hundred millions, exclusive of mines. With mines included, the valuation would be at least three times that sum. The following-named plains counties are largely engaged in farming and stock growing: Arapahoe, Weld, Larimer, Jefferson, Douglas, El Paso, Fremont, and Las Animas. Those devoted mainly to stock growing are, Elbert, Bent, Pueblo, and Huerfano. Boulder county is about equally divided between the plains and mountains, the former embracing a fine farming district and the latter rich in minerals. There are considcrable farming and stock grow- ing carried on in the mountain county of Custer, and in Saguache, Rio Grande, and La Plata counties in the San Luis Park and San Juan regions. Costilla and Conejos counties are mainly engaged in pastoral pursuits. Of the mountain mining counties considerable stock is raised in Park, Lake, and Grand, and more soon will be in Gunnison, Routt, Summit, and Ouray counties. While farming is pursued to some extent all through the mountains, it is proportion-_ ately small as compared with mining in Gilpin, Clear Creek, Summit, Lake, Hinsdale, San Juan, and Ouray. The growth of Colorado towns and cities is shown by the follow- ing, the census returns of 1870, for towns then in existence being compared with careful estimates of number of inhabitants in 1875, and on June 1, 1879: 1870. 1875. 1879. ELUNE otk tae og WAIST Re ibe ah AT gine Lt’ REV 4,759 17,000 28,000 BRP MAV IG toe Ce ces aha d aba. x cir, ace ee None None 12,000 Central, Black Hawk, and Nevadaville..... 4,401 5,000 6,500 EMeUIG.end South Pueblo, . tag aie xt ane 666 5,000 6,000 RPM OT ACO PLUON Sy, es 5 ich cme ep wigreeiey le None 2,500 5,000 Georgetown........ Pe a: wont ea nee 802 4,000 5,000 TGC OS Set a 0 ra a ae CR 343 2,800 4,000 DREAMS ES ae ee dis gis vite le aes 6 562 2,000 3,500 ERCP Adan SINCE, CAs Shetek oe ON. s aca slo's sole ote 587, 2,000 3,000 Greeley....... ene ia art SCARED, is bards ban’; 480 2,000 2,700 TamasHORGY Aes Sa oe TS. sah eos he None 400 1,500 1870, 1875. 1879. CSAIL a. dw ncn Sts genie 0 el nin diets ies ei El 229 1,000 1,500 BR POUEN OF DG: 335 io: ohm, Binds sta ee aieta as ee eee None 1,200 1,500 Pep Vete CAN. ..c<.s'sin. sing ning a ae Sees cet None None 1,200 BRB Row cine an ao Scie Riche neta era eemeeae None 1,200 1,200 OOOO <). s.0 same a Sea din AE eC kee eee None None 1,500 PIUOTEON sic ats cet eck DeSAN Cate Te None 500 1,000 Brownville and Silver Plume.............. 150 700 1,000 Leadville has grown from nothing to its present size in two years. Denver will expend over a million dollars in new buildings this year. Two mammoth hotels and ten or twelve hundred buildings and residences are in course of construction there. No better evidence of Colorado’s present and prospective capacities and importance can be asked for than in the continuous railway construction that is going on within its borders. Although railway building has almost ceased in nearly every quarter since the financial disasters of 1873, this is one of the few states where it is still vigorously prosecuted. During the past three years the mileage has been nearly doubled, and is still being increased. Various enter- prises are projected, some of new roads and others of extensions of old ones that are likely to add considerably to the rail facilities before the year is out. At the beginning of 1879 there were 1,218.6 miles of railway in operation within the limits of the State, or 174 miles more than a year previous. Of that amount 758.16 miles were of the standard broad gauge, and 460.44 miles of narrow gauge. Of this railroad mileage the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe has 259-miles, the Denver & Rio Grande 327, the Kansas Pacific 195, the Colorado Central 177, the Denver & South Park 75, the Boulder Valley 26, the G. B. & C. 54, Denver Pacific 99, and the Union Pacific 9. Ten miles of track have been laid on the Denver & South Park road, additional to that given above. The assessment of 1879 places the total taxable value of railway property in Colorado at $7,687,457. This heavy increase over the previous year is in accordance with the plan adopted for an advance of general assessments of all classes of property in the State. The consequence will be a much larger showing for the State’s valuation than that noted in the first part of this chapter. It is evident that STATISTICAL, 159 some 250 miles or more of railway will be constructed in Colorado during the ensuing year. Colorado has ever been a liberal supporter of the press. No other section or “community of anything like the same number of inhabi- tants contains as many newspapers. There are fourteen dailies with weekly editions, and forty-four weeklies—a pretty large list for a DENVER HIGH SCHOOL. population of less than two hundred thousand. The superior char- acter of a very large portion of these speaks well for the State and its people. There are four well conducted dailies in Denver, and another recently established, three in Leadville, one in Central, one in Colorado Springs, two in Pueblo, and two in Trinidad. The News and Tribune of Denver are the largest, handsomest, and hest dailies 160 COLORADO. between Saint Louis and San Francisco. ‘The first was founded in 1859, and the latter in 1867. There are many weekly as well as daily papers in the various towns and cities that area credit to their owners and of substantial benefit to the localities where they are published. A full list of Colorado newspapers will be found in the Appendix. Colorado has a public school system in no way behind that of any of the older States. It is modeled after the best established organ- izations elsewhere, with such improvements as have been deemed necessary. The plans and labors of its early originator and champion, Prof. H. M. Hale, have been effectually followed and continued by his successor, the present Superintendent of Public Instruction, Joseph C. Shattuck. The public school law of 1876— since slightly amended —provides for teachers of the very best classes, and for other regulations and requirements of the most systematic character. Owing to the transitory nature of the population, public schools did not re- ceive the attention prior to 1870 which they have since been favored with. Still they were liberally endowed in the few large towns, and some excellent private academies had been established. In 1871 there were 160 public schools in the Territory, and 7,742 persons between the ages of six and twenty-one years, 4,357 of whom were enrolled. There were then 80 school buildings, worth $82,574, and $44,148.95 were paid for teachers. The progress which has since been made can be seen by a glance at the last report cf the Superintendent of Public Instruction. In 1878 Colorado had 26,473 persons between the ages of six and GREELEY PUBLIC SCHOOL. * STATISTICAL. 161 twenty-one years, of whom 16,641 were enrolled in the public schools, beside a larger number attending private schools and acad- emies. There were 249 school edifices valucd at $474,771, the number of teachers employcd was 567, and the total expenditures for the year were $243,850.37. The figures for the present year will be much larger. It must be remembered that much of the population of Colorado is widely scattered, so that means cannot be afforded everywhere for securing free school advantages. But in every town, village, or settled farming or mining district schools are in operation, and every city or town of importance has one or more graded schools, with handsome and costly buildings for the accommodation thereof—for nowhere is money expended with such proportionate liberality on schools or churches as in Colorado. Some of the leading counties made the following showing as regards public schools in 1878 : No. Pupils | Av. Dail No. of Av. Cost Value of Expenditures Counry. Parolied! Ateeatlenen, Teachers. | Pet Month | Buildings, ete. for Year, ‘ per Pupil. Arapahoe....... 3,464 2,160 80 $2 28 $190,085 o7'7, 100 iBOULder So se... 1,957 eae) %8 1 89 41,495 21,593 “Clear Creek..... 945 493 17 2.07 29,450 6,968 HUISP ABO. sc cec 1,056 556 31 3 00 43,500 8,909 CERN N OVS Tey Se ere 954 566 19 2 76 84,150 14,287 Jefferson ....... 961 541 39 2 68 26,195 11,957 Las Animas..... 917 545 27 AS TD Ol ieee 3,826 UCD Ode cc sini sos 758 526 385 3 27 33,280 6,430 AW ClGe sae ss a: 1,118 683 50 38 34 44,182 16,677 The average daily attendance would be larger but for the numer- ous private schools, academies, and seminaries, the scattered popula- tion in many sections, and the yet imperfect school facilities in some of the Mexican districts. Several of the leading towns of the State are now erecting school buildings that will cost from twenty to thirty thousand dollars each, which will add greatly to the total value of school property. By territorial legislative enactments, provision was made for a School of Mines*at Golden, in 1870; for a Deaf Mute Institute at Colorado Springs at a subsequent date; and for a State University at Boulder, and an Agricultural College at Fort Collins in 1874-6. All .of these were aided with appropriations for buildings and for maintenance. ‘The first two of these State institutions have been in 162 ’ " ‘ COLORADO. y i |e) atl et : re aS ‘set STATE UNIVERSITY, BOULDER. STATISTICAL. 163 successful operation for several years. In September, 1877, the State University began its educational work in the elegant buildings pre- pared for it at Boulder, and has since been most successfully conducted. The building for the State Agricultural College at Fort Collins is now ready for occupation. There are private and secta- rian schools, colleges and seminaries in nearly all of the larger towns. In subsequent chapters the farming and pastoral interests will be touched upon, and some facts and figures given relating thereto ; after which considerable space will be devoted to mining—the great industry of the State. Facts, figures and detailed statements will be given concerning mining and milling and the mineral resources of counties and districts. 164 COLORADO, CHA PEE Raat. FARMING ON THE PLAINS AND IN THE MOUNTAINS— WHAT IS DONE BY ARTIFICIAL IRRIGATION—THE FINEST CROPS IN THE WORLD— FACTS AND FIGURES REGARDING THE YIELD OF CEREALS, VEGETABLES, ETC. — SUPERIORITY OF COLORADO WHEAT, BEEF, AND DAIRY PRODUCTS-—LARGE PROFITS IN FARMING. In the rush for gold in the earlier years of Colorado mining but little attention was paid to agriculture. That was considered too slow a method for accumulating wealth. Recent years have shown that it is not so slow as was supposed. A few of the pioneers, and less fortunate gold hunters, who were not disposed to leave the country, began to cultivate the soil. They were incited to do this from the occasionally high price of provisions, and in view of the fact, since everything consumed came from the States, that a scarcity might some time bring with it high prices to the farmer. It was not long until the lands bordering the streams on the plains and the valleys of the mountains were found to be extremely fertile. The lack of a sufficient and regular rainfall acted as a drawback, until the true situation and resources of the region were understood. The disappointments attending early agricultural efforts led to ex- periments in artificial irrigation, so successfully conducted among the Mormon farmers of Utah. Then ditches began to be constructed from the rivers out onto the arid plains. The natural fall of the streams was from seven to one hundred fect per mile. These ditches, by the slight tall of two or four feet per mile, could, in the course of a few miles, be extended far out on to the sloping uplands bordering the stream. From these larger ditches water gates led into smaller or branch ditches, used as required. Thus regular and continuous supplies of water were obtained during all of the warmer months; for when most needed the streams were the fullest of water from the gradual melting of the snows on the mountains. The results of irrigation were so favorable, and the Ok ————————————— FARMING, ] 165 mines afforded such a high-priced ready cash market, that farming was more and more successfully prosecuted with each succeeding year. . While the amount of cultivated land was small during the first decade of the territory, farming had become an important industry in 1867-9 along the streams in Boulder, Larimer, Jefferson, and Arapahoe counties. The scattering farms or ranches of those days produced abundant crops, and each year saw the river bottoms slowly settling up with an industrious and thrifty population. In 1870 a more rapid movement began in the way of peopling the country, and in making what had been termed a desert bloom, blossom, and reward the husbandman. Several colony organiza- tions were perfected in the States to the eastward, and hundreds of families were transported to the various localities selected for the purpose. Near the junction of the Cache la Poudre and the South Platte river the colony of Greeley was founded. That of Evans was established four miles further south, and that of Longmont on the Saint Vrain. These organizations were co-operative as far as the sale of lands, the construction of irrigating canals, and carrying on general improvements were concerned. Outside of that, the lands were owned and cultivated by colony members who had purchased them. Other colonies were also established, among them that of Colorado Springs in 1871. In recent years, settlers have been locating on eee lands all along the valleys of the streams in great numbers, and the advance which this industry has made has been both rapid and gratifying. Farms large and small extend through all available localities, and the latest and most improved machinery and implements of husbandry are in use. Irrigating canals and ditches of great extent and value are constructed every year, and each season sees thousands of acres of land reclaimed and made valuable. The steady increase of population in the mining regions and trade centres more than keeps pace with that of the farming districts, thus insuring a ready de- mand for whatever may be oftered. Severe losses were sustained in several seasons from grasshoppers, but not since 1876. The farmers have paid much attention to these pests and to their habits and movements, and are confident that the crops can hereafter be protected from serious damage. The last two seasons were so favorable for farming that some very 166 COLORADO. extensive land reclaiming enterprises have been carried through, and others of great magnitude are projected. New canals and irrigating ditches have been constructed from a score of streams, and the till- able belts of land are steadily growing wider. Some of these canals are six, ten, and even fifteen feet in width, several feet in depth, and carry a great volume of water for many leagues out on to the up- lands. Reservoirs or lakes are prepared here and there, in order that the water supply may the better be economized, and in the general conduct of affairs the best interests of the farm, the dairy, and of stock are considered. Long experience, intelligent manage- ment, and adaptation to circumstances and locality are causes of the great success of the husbandman in this State. As new ditches are con- structed, and additional areas supplied with water, these lands are purchased or pre-empted and settled on—and so the amount of till- able land is steadily growing larger. Still further gains and ad- vances will be made this year with the completion of several irrigat- ing canals. The cost of constructing the main canals is usually borne by a neighborhood of farmers, and sometimes these enterprises are carried forward and operated by associated individuals, under a company organization. Although this system of irrigation necessitates a trifling expenditure for water rental, or the employment of a small amount of labor, it is believed that the flowing streams give back as much fertilizing material as is lost by cultivation, while the increased production of this method of farming more than makes up for all outlays incurred. It is a well-established fact that heavier and more reliable crops can be obtained by the aid of artificial irrigation, taking one year after another, than where the uncertain natural rainfall is depended on. This is shown in Colorado as well as in other regions. The prosper- ous, well-to-do farmers along the South Platte, the Cache la Poudre, Saint Vrain, Boulder, Ralston, and Clear creeks, the Fountaine, Cucharas, and the Arkansas and Las Animas rivers are all illustrative of the truth of this statement. Rich, waving fields of grain now greet the eye where once were barren, uninhabitable wastes, and vegetables of such prodigious size and in such immense quantities are raised as would astonish those unaccustomed to the results of Colorado soil. Farming has often been enormously remunerative, and few that have followed it steadily have failed to accumulate FARMING. 167 money or property. Many men have well stocked farms of great extent and value, the results of a few years’ industry and effort. Colorado has from thirteen to fifteen thousand square miles of land that can be made available for agriculture, of which something like one-fifth.is now under cultivation. The State Auditor’s report of May, 1878, returned not far from 2,000,000 acres of land as taxable, with an assessed valuation, with improvements, of $9,'755,038.17. This did not by any means include all lands under cultivation, as the assessors of many counties where considerable farming is carried on appear to have failed to make any return, while many localities are not represented by figures that come up to the true condition of affairs. Probably an accurate statement would make the number of acres of land under the above head over 2,500,000, and the valuation $15,000,000. Before the close of the present season these figures will be greatly enlarged. A single irrigating canal, that is to be still further extended, was so far completed in April, 1879, that the water was running therein for a distance of thirty-four miles. This already irrigates that length of territory for a width of from two | to three miles—making over eighty-five square miles, or fifty-five thousand acres of hitherto untillable land available for cultivation. Many other enterprises of similar character are going forward. The State Auditor’s report of 1878 allotted the acreage of the farms of various counties, together with assessed valuation of land and improvements thereon, as appears beneath. These figures are far below the present facts in the case—and assessed valuations are of course lower than the actual value. cresof | Value with = - Acres of | Value with COUNTY. ad Improvements COUNTY. Land. |Improvements Arapahoe......... 119,538 | $1,006,147 || Huerfano......... 15,077 $72,520 BENG Hc oad 68,159 1IA516: |i deerson. 2. .8.. 128,252 801,298 OMUCOT 5 hae dil 5:01 117,688 | 91,223.715 || Larimer... 0.5 2.2% 55,532 419,540 @uster.. 3.2% oe 16,818 143,269 || Las Animas....... 229,210 403,011 MPOUCIASK 5. ora, 2 2le.- 135,277 B06, 575: ||P Parkies. 4. ccc8 cers. 47,046 237,165 BEAMDOT berie once oe Bercue 35,583 CH 2oSr I EUCDIOR Roe vtwase t- 219,718 550,728 Paso? beet oe. 223,757 773,290 || Saguache.......... 136,826 216,118 BTEMON Tsetse esos: 64,924 2812850 lie W Olle cen. < fee teers 140,307 709,920 Gilpinise ee. 2528-5 AD OOS Ri Meee While this statement does not make a very extensive showing, it must be remembered that it is under the actual condition of affairs, 168 COLORADO. and that each season sees large additions thereto. It is given here in order that an idea may be obtained of the proportionate agricul- tural importance of different districts. Owing to the way in which stock and town property is sometimes apparently included, it is difficult to ascertain their relative standing in all cases. While a portion of the stock owned in the State might very appropriately come in under the head of farming, it will be considered under the head of stock growing, since no means are at the disposal of the author to obtain the figures on farm-houses, and on cattle and other animals, as distinguished from those raised especially for marketable purposes. The annual farm products of Colorado are steadily increasing in quantity and value. Correct data of a detailed character have been difficult to gain, and reports from various sources are often conflict- ing. The farmers are not always willing to have the full extent of the wheat crop known, lest prices fall to a lower figure than might otherwise be obtained. Consequently, it is sometimes difficult to get correct estimates. Millers and speculators always figure out a much larger crop than the farmers are willing to acknowledge. The former are the buyers, and work for low prices, while the latter are the sellers, and of course want as much money for their products as it is possible to get. The farming product of 1877 was far ahead of that of any preceding year. The season was aremarkably favorable one, and the acreage of land sown or planted was much greater than ever before. The result was that a large portion of the farmers, who had pre- viously suffered losses from grasshoppers and from other causes, came out with a handsome cash balance in their favor, as did those who had newly embarked in the business. The good fortune at- tending the season of 1877 caused an increase of tilled land in 1878 of at least twenty-five per cent. In some sections the acreage in wheat was one-third greater, and in other fifty or sixty per cent. The harvest was not as bountiful, however, as in the preceding year. While the aggregate may have been somewhat greater for the entire State, the return of grain and some other crops per acre was consid- erably less. In the northern counties this was partly due to frequent rains just before harvest time, causing wheat to ‘‘ rust.” In southern Colorado no such misfortune was reported. The average yield of wheat per acre has been from twenty to FARMING. 169 twenty-five bushels. Possibly twenty-two bushels comes nearer the truth, taking one year with another. This includes the entire State and all localities, and is above that of 1878. There are many farms and belts of land that yield thirty, forty, and occasionally fifty bushels to the acre. This, of course, is far above average returns of the State. Colorado flour is the finest in the world. Quantities of it are shipped to Illinois and other States. Oats, rye, barley and other ccreals do as well proportionately as wheat. Potatoes return all the way from one hundred to five hundred, and rarely seven FARMING ON ‘THE BOULDER, hundred and eight hundred bushels to the acre. The average runs from one to two hundred. Vegetables of nearly all descriptions grow to prodigious size both on mountain and plain. The com- paratively inexpensive system of irrigation constantly replenishes the soil. The water is let into the ditches and onto the land in June, when the streams are full of mineral and vegetable matter borne down from the mountains. The water gocs down into the ground and leaves the mineral and vegetable substances on the 8 170 COLORADO. surface, adding to the soil. The ground continues productive after years of cultivation, because the irrigation brings in new material. Corn does not thrive as well in the northern counties as small grains, owing to the chilly night atmosphere, yet the yield is considerable and steadily getting larger. South of the ‘‘ Divide” it does much better and large crops are raised—sometimes seventy-five or cighty bushels to the acre. Large quantities of hay are cut and cured in the parks and in most of the larger plains and mountain yalleys. The good prices prevailing in the mining camps make this an im- portant article to the farmer and stock owner. For a long time fruit culture in Colorado was deemed impracti- cable. The experiments and experiences of the past few years show that fruit of various kinds can be raised successfully, and in some of the southern counties profitably and extensively. There are thrifty orchards of apple and peach trees at and near Cafion City. North of the Divide much more difficulty has been experienced ; but apple trees are made to grow and bear fruit when protected from the winds by other trees. Several very fair crops of apples have been obtained in Jefferson, Boulder, Larimer and other counties. The dairy has become an interest of no little importance within the past few years. Owing to the nutritious character of Colorado grasses, the milk, butter, and cheese are of unrivaled excellence. Large quantities of these articles are sold in the numerous towns and camps. Several cheese manufactories have recently been established in El Paso, Boulder, and Larimer counties. There and in Arapahoe and Jefferson, more than elsewhere, are remarkably large numbers of superior cattle, many of them of the best blooded stock, and valued at very high figures. Some of the finest cows and bulls of Eastern localities have been purchased and imported by these enterprising farmers of the far-away Colorado border. There are finely-stocked dairy farms in other sections beside the counties enumerated, including Douglas, Fremont, Lake, and Saguache, but those named first take the lead. At the state and county fairs the displays of Durham, Alderney, Hereford, Shorthorns, Jersey, and Swiss cattle, and of stock crossed therewith, are very fine. There is a remarkably large amount of money invested in horse flesh in Colorado, and the average quality of stock is very high in some quarters. The liveries and private stables (especially the latter) of such cities as Denver, Leadville and Colorado Springs are of a very FARMING. 171 high order.. On the farms are large numbers of horses, some of them splendid draft, work, or saddle animals. Good blood is as manifest there as among the fast trotters of the towns. Colorado can make no such showing in amount of farming pro- ducts as the Mississippi valley states, where farming is the main industry; but in the yield per acre, or in quality of wheat and beef cattle, and extent of stock farms, she far surpasses them. With little care or trouble these Colorado uplands and river bottoms turn out nearly or quite double what an equal area gives in Illinois or Towa, and far more than is known in Minnesota or Kansas. While no accurate data of the annual farm production is at hand, the figures given below for the year 1878, while not official, are not far out of the way. They are estimates based upon statements received from farmers and millers : 5 Number Acres i Yield . COUNTY. Wheat. per Aree, Vee Val ue, [ae Oe ee ee ee 8,350 18 150,000 | $150,000 Pierre teres So). stn Oe 16,460 18 200,000 300,000 As Cena etek Mes cos Ma de is ARES 9,333 15 180,000 | 180,000 BRETECESONK Sac tiles doe suse ee ashe 6,818 22 150,000 | 150,000 PATA ALOON vedere irre steele: 5,000" £0 100,090 100,000 PHI BE WIEYG) cin gu conee sak cae 2,000 15 _ 80,000 30,000 ) eo Kes hag Oe rey Total North Divide........ 48,991 18 6 $10,000 $910,0C0 PELCHIOMCH ot iuu. naa ma betee mae 3,200 25 80,090 $80,000 NPS ATITINGS. cs ooccc cee. 25 as 10,000 23 230,000 230,000 Saguache and Conejos....... ; 2,000 25 50,000 50,000 Oper SCCUONS «ic cae:..cuee. Soon 2,500 16 40,000 40,000 Total South of Divide.....| 17,700 22.6 400,000 | $400,000 ROLAOLoUWsOs. sas tees | €6,691 | 19.6 1,310,000 |$1,310,000 Boulder and Larimer, which generally give the largest yield per acre in the State, went far below their usual return last season, and for the first time, perhaps, the southern counties gave a higher average than the northern ones. Las Animas county yielded 50 per cent. more wheat than ever before. The value of the crop is rated at one dollar per bushel, which is the ruling price at this time, but more 172 COLORADO, than the market rates of last fall and winter. A rough estimate of the more important streams figures up as follows: Poudre and Big and Little Thompson, 200,000 bushels; Saint Vrain, etc., 160,000; Boulder creeks, 100,000; South Platte, 200,000; Clear and Ralston creeks, 100,000; Bear, Plum, and Cherry creeks, 60,000; Arkansas river, 120,000; Purgatoire, Apishapa, etc., 230,000; Saguache, Rio Grande, etc., 50,000. Over 300,000 bushels of corn were raised, of which 75,000 bushels grew in Las Animas county and nearly or quite as much more in Fremont. At seventy cents per bushel, the value was $200,000. There were about 250,000 bushels of oats raised, worth $125,000 ; nearly 150,000 bushels of barley, worth $80,000 ; and 50,000 bushels of rye, worth, say $30,000. The potato crop ranged from 400,000 to 500,000 bushels, worth $350,000. There were probably 50,000 tons of hay cut and cured in the valleys of the plains, parks and moun- tains. This varied greatly in price, being far more valuable in the mining camps than on the plains. The total value may be placed at $800,000. Garden produce probably counted up $250,000, and the dairy product of milk, butter, cheese, with eggs, etc., $350,000 more. The total agricultural productions of Colorado for 1878, exclusive of stock, may be summed up, as follows: PV Freat 5s.'. wate s.e ncaa ce aes ee 1,310,000 bush. $1,310,000 ODOT TN op tse oid oie tk een on ree s is 500,000 ‘S 210,000 COSIE SN Mik die & cutie. tetas 250,000 * 125,000 DGG 2:5 aa cess win ee. ta ee 150,000‘ 80,000 1S | OR Ci ee eee. 50,000 ‘* 30,000 OPALORR, fs law's Fein ica eee 450,000 ‘* 350,000 EY eee cee See Deer, ey 50,000 tons 800, 000 SBTCEN PLOUUCS, .. 6... - «wists « «> opm ae 250,000 Butter, cheese and eggs, milk—dairy product....... 350,000 Total .4'. «..s sete eee $3,515,000 Wages of farm hands usually range from $15 to $20 per month, with board, for the entire year or season, or about the same as female domestic servants receive. Laborers hired especially for harvesting receive from two to three dollars per day and board. There is quite a difference in the prices received for farming products, according to FARMING. 173 locality. No country has a better market, and one beauty of this is that it is right at home. Hay is usually from $20 to $30 per ton in the mountain mining camps, and about half thatsum on the farms of the plains and parks. By the cental, or hundred pounds, potatoes ranged during the past year or two from $1.50 to $1.75; corn from $1.50 to $1.75; wheat, $1 to $1.70, or from seventy cents to one dollar per bushel; flour, $2.20 to $3 perhundred; oats, $1.75 to $2.50. Before the railways reached Colorado there were occasional scarcities of articles of food. A single potato crop of a moun- tain farm near Central cleared for its owner $17,000 one year when potatoes did not do well on the plains. Many years ago receipts were often very large, from the sale of crops on such large ranches or estates as those of Col. Craig and others. A leading farmer, near Denver, who, from his penchant for potato culture, has been called the Potato King, usually raises from 40,000 to 60,000 bushels annually from 200 to 300 acres of land, and has received for his crops all the way from $40,000 to $70,000. He plants those varieties that are found to do best, and, as in most parts of the State, many grow to prodigious size. The highest reported yields of any extensive potato crops run from 500 to 800 bushels per acre. These are exceptional cases; but two and three hundred bushels to the acre are common returns. Magnificent crops of the finest quality of wheat ever grown are usually harvested in the fertile and beautiful valleys of the Boulder creeks, and of Ralston, Saint Vrain, Poudre, Clear, Bear, and Sa- guache creeks, and in parts of the Las Animas, and Arkansas and Platte valleys. The profits of a farm in those localities are often qaany thousands of dollars annually. Some farmers have hundreds of acres in wheat, and harvest from 5,000 to 15,000 bushels per annum. From three to six times as much land is usually sown in wheat as in oats or corn. The most approved sowing, planting, and harvesting machinery are used, and steam threshing machines are moved from one place to another, as their services are required. These machines handle from 40,000 to 90,000 bushels each in the more populous districts. In July, 1877, over $75,000 worth of farming machinery was sold in Boulder county alone. Greeley colony has over 35,000 acres of land under ditch, mcst of it in a high state of cultivation. Some fifty or sixty square miles of 174 COLORADO, territory were made available for agriculture by the recent comple- tion of a section of twenty miles of the Larimer and Weld Canal. The total length will be fifty-four miles, and a tract of country thirty-six miles long, and from three to ten miles wide, will be irrigated. The canal starts from the Cache-la-Poudre river, at the Colorado Central Railway crossing, and continues eastward until the Denver Pacific is crossed. te Sa SY WWE, Pea ee 2 mare * heads PE A = PRIS YL AOR eT NEES 2 eae NRRY aS wwe - } pe 5 + . td 9 a aw Seer ey sh a He Ree inp het Dewy an se > i =z —— ‘ 7 SST RATS Riek i r ‘ Way CUah Ea On & A NRO AMEN ASPEN GE, nara ae 2 a 5 = i wt : A i MAP | “ot eucitte WiC” Rai] foo j aioe! F ge ; ‘ y es . : ¢ ; 7 \ : 4077 Ge P Ss . oF the State GP ~ ee pe ae ioe fae nat Pale 2 a marks Butte ‘bea ee et K \ \ : 4 } ‘ ee Vor ah | ry eF SSeS ; 4 rN avr : YY . ~ “KS PACING . f. ¥ t of Bear fiver deh nae | MO Pate 3 ) — ne Mort Ling or yee ae H SAIN? 2/2 P08 CAV atio ae a OLA GEN a we me ae S'S a Ss 4 ps SRirer ts Adak Tp itencin’ ests ore a us avast : ‘ $ 3 a=, ©, . Zi 5 seins oO ; oN : Butt m \. ope ~~ . oO — oo we ee we ee U. , | : ~ : > : | ra ot ; we PN em ae | ! ) s < =) ae : | fe ke DENVER fh A » & fae | 0 af F ab : - Thi ASI me heedt a ci ty i FHV n au - st ad sng “ong ; ; a Re * Sako: 3 EA, “* dB nit ye x ‘ @ co ¢ wee : | E aN “MM idg eS e N A * 4 d SO Net cee ct as Ne eS hel es ee a Mode tae mS He Wirisyss sy CP 3 ° ; : i x if ane 3 a wigs Sees eee a= —- 29 — -=5 | “ee 7a Ab. cAR 2 Sua Lx FipBi, aueeset ; SPGS : 7 1 nae) Tage af VSS We Oa Hone . cecgh ea] AY 4 Bee : = 3 . ENG NS Ce | P iad ia. | fae f F . er wi ‘ Ad p) ; i se Tiers FT. £YON QL. ee) P. TR ee . ee e- ER ere LR re) fa &S@8 ia -Fe (_ pans Gs 38} += == ot Aa aber) ee ee ! re EN, es Jig | | é | | | e YI Pan A men enene 9 ° Ae Ue See tae are om Seale of Miles. : esq a PEER nA Mn aE goss * erat ee Md gay 4 ; re wk x ra A} N-{M A“ Railroads) ; a ON dd). cae ae. wage o SIND AR Kee foads: en en te re ren te eta oP eae ee a eee 3) & “ mee a be TER. —_—_—_— r: certiemmmniinc J 2) qairmemmmmns <1) Le hs aK Fag Ar 2" ee yh evry 5 % Z 7 P fs Y Ss eae deca ; ba ds PEROT emia fae 2s ri Seis foes asia 5 adidnaisecs misc 4 b 3 ? ) : eas EHO RT EL, CHAPTER I. MINING FOR THE PRECIOUS METALS—GROWING IMPORTANCE AND INVITING CHARACTER OF THIS GREAT INDUSTRY — LODE AND PLACER MINING AND THE VARIOUS MODES OF OPERATION—VAL- UES, WEIGHTS, AND MINING TERMS. Gold and silver mining is evidently as old as the first gathering of the human race into nations and the earliest approaches towards civilization. Neither profane history nor tradition refers to an epoch that antedates the use or search of the precious metals. Their discovery, obtainment, and use appear to have exerted a refining influence, and peoples engaged in their production and circulation were proportionately progressive in wealth and power. The significant fact is taught by the history of mining in all coun- tries that weli-defined metalliferous veins are continuous in depth, and that they are productive as long as machinery and appliances of the requisite power can be obtained for moving ore and water. Barren masses of ground may be encountered, but the vein matter is never permanently lost. No true veins have been known to give out for any great length of time, and when work has ceased on once largely productive mines it has almost invariably been brought about by other causes than the complete exhaustion of the lodes. It may have been from inadequate drainage facilities or hoisting machinery, or from caving of ground or unforeseen disasters, but rarely from long-continued poverty of ground. Thus we see mines still profitably operated in Europe that were worked centuries ago, and thousands of feet of depth attained in prosecuting this remuner- ative industry. In the Comstock lode of our own country immense 198 COLORADO. bonanzas of rich ore have been penetrated and made to yield their millions at depths of from a quarter to a half mile below the sur- face, and still the work goes on. An instance of the confidence in which metalliferous veins are held in the old world is shown in the recent completion, after ninety-two years’ continuous labor, of a tunnel over twenty miles in length that had been driven solely for the purpose of draining a mine that had been operated almost from time immemorial. The progress made in recent years in overcoming the difficulties enumerated is as wonderful as the production it has so materially aided to increase. Ina short period of time as great an advance has been made in mining operations as was previously known in centu- ries. This is best exemplified in the mammoth works and production of the great Comstock mines, whose yield has been unparalleled in the world’s history. Since the temporary decline of that great treasure-vault the rapidly developing mineral belt of Colorado has been gradually securing the attention that once centered elsewhere. Vast and varied as are the developed resources of the Rocky Moun- tains, the discoverics that are constantly being made indicate that the beginning only has yet been heard of. Colorado’s metalliferous veins already greatly outnumber those of any other state or territory, and many of them are of surpassing richness. While a rival of what the Comstock was has not been developed to a certainty, it is evident that several Colorado mines will produce more money within the next few years than a like number in any part of the world, while there is a probability of a production almost equal to that of the Comstock bonanzas of 1874-8. Until recently, mining outside of the placers has been mainly con- fined to what are termed true fissure veins of great uniformity and varying size. Immense ore bodies, like those of a few Nevada mines, were not encountered, but more continuous veins and less intervening barren ground were met with. Pacific coast miners say that production cannot be forced up to as large figures in these mines as in a few of the Nevada type, but that lodes of Colorado are more permanent and reliable for continuous work. The best of these fissures may not be able to produce as much for short inter- vals as some of the huge deposits of the western mincs, but they often surpass them ina record of ten or twenty years. The great discoveries of eighteen hundred and seventy-eight have put a new — oe MINES AND MINING. 199 face on the situation, and now Colorado, in addition to the old con- tinuous veins, can boast of huge ore bodies and enormous deposits that will compare with those of any country in size and value. In fact, the world, to-day, cannot show anything superior to the Colo- rado developments that have followed the temporary decline of the Comstock. The growing importance of the mining industry, its immense pro- duction, the rapid accumulation of fortunes, and the well-known ‘prosperity of some mining regions, have created so widespread an interest in gold and silver mines that any information relating thereto is beginning to be eagerly sought after. There has ever been a fascination and romance attending the search of the precious metals, and time intensifies rather than diminishes the feeling. Under the magic influence of golc and silver discoveries a spirit of enterprise has been engendered that has brought about the accom- plishment of results as unexpected as they are grand and wonderful. The wilderness is peopled, states are founded, and almost an empire established where the presence of civilized man was unknown but a few short years ago. Gold mining comes under two heads—lode and placer, and silver mining is included in the first of these. Lode-mining is much the most important interest of the two in Colorado, since the quantity of the precious metals contained in quartz and ore is many times that of the gold of alluvial deposits. When a gold district is dis- covered, the first work is usually done in the placers and gulches, where the work is more simple, and the gold readily obtained. Less money is required than in lode-mining, where quartz mills or a market for ores are demanded. Silver lodes usually require still further time for development and for the procurement of the necessary reduction works. There are an immense number of mctalliferous ledes or veins al- ready discovered in Colorado, and every month witnesses additional discoveries. A large majority of these are silver bearing, accom- panied with copper or lead. The main value of some is in the gold they contain, and others carry allof these metals and iron, as well as other materials. What is sometimes termed a fissure vein, and is con- sidered to be identical with a lode, is abody of gold or silver bear- ing quartz or ore filling a crack or crevice of the foundation rock with which a country or district is underlaid. These veins vary in 200 COLORADO. width from several inches to many feet. Some have been proved to have a length of thousands of feet, and others of several miles horizon- tally. They extend downward into the earth for unknown distances. | The ore bodies contract or close up at intervals, but no well-defined & Kee A LODE OR VEIN, veins are belieyed to have given out entirely. Some of them haye a perpendicular direction, and others are nearly flat or incline heavily. Most of the argentiferous mineral bodies of the Park or Mosquito Range appear in the form of egg-shaped or irregular deposits instead of veins. Some of the Leadville carbonates are claimed to be in the shape of deposits and others are evidently in the form of veins. MINES AND MINING. 201 Alluvial deposits consist of sand, gravel, and dirt, produced by the disintegration of the silicious, granitic, and other igneous and metamorphic rocks, and transported by the agency @f water from the mountains above or around them. These are handlé& by one of the methods known as placer, gulch, creek, or bar mining, but to all of which the term placer is loosely applied. Gold is disseminated through the gravel or pay-dirt and lodges in considerable quantities on the rocky beds of streams. It is washed therefrom by water and secured in pans, flumes and sluice boxes, quicksilver being used to retain it where swift running water is used. No roasting, smelting, or milling is required, as where the gold is firmly embedded in the vein matter of lodes. In operations of great magnitude large sums of money are often expended in bringing the requisite water supply to the desired placer diggings. _ When no water supply exists close at hand, one must be obtained from a distance, in order to work over these surface deposits. This often compels the building of miles of ditches and flumes. Powerful hydraulics are also used for the purpose of driv- ing water with great force into the hill-sides, and tearing them down more rapidly than could otherwise be done. These placers and gulches call for appliances of varying extent and capacity, from those just referred to down to the ordinary sluice-box, the pick and shovel and the still more primitive hand-rocker and pan. Creek mining is carried on along the stream, and on their bed rocks far be- neath the gravel and boulders immediately underlying the water. In gulch mines, a flume composed of sluice-boxes is laid in the ravine or gulch, extending up to the bank or head of the excavations. Hose, hydraulics, or falling water from a flume above are used at this point to wash the bank or hill-sides down into the sluice-boxes. The latter are from one to four feet high and wide, and of uncertain length, and overlap one another. On their bottoms are fastened strips of board for riffles, or round blocks sawed from trunks of trees, and of a thickness of two or three inches. These, with quick- silver placed therein, aid in catching the gold dust and nuggets which the swift running waters sweep along with the dirt, gravel, and boulders. The gold being heavier than the other materials, sooner or later sinks to the bottom before it reaches the end of the sluices. It is always the intention to run the flume on the firm ‘* bed- rock”’ as it is called, which underlies the gravel of the hills and Sy *d109D YOH ONIDINISmONINIW HOTND p= iS —- F = » % : ge Paige ii M4 Se = BAY) = : ist es : ; = SE, z f A fr, = ay = : ——— a ‘ i, -. af H 15 . i _— - << SE = COLORADO—MINES AND MINING. 2038 streams. Some of these flumes are run for hundreds and even thou- sands of fect before bed-rock can be reached, on account of the nearly level character of the ground worked. In other places the fall is so great that bed-rock, even if twenty-five or fifty fect deep, can be reached in a short distance and still retain the requisite incline to the sluice-boxes. Once a day, or as often or seldom as desired, the water is turned off and the gold taken from the sluice-boxes. This is called a ‘‘ clean up.” In bar and creek diggings sluice-boxes are used, and the stream is turned from its natural channel, the boulders or heavier stones re- moved and shafts or pits are sunk until the permanent granite or bed- rock of the country is reached. The gold in such localities is usually found extending up and down the course of the stream in @ narrow streak or strip of ground. Drifts are excavated along this pay streak, and the gravel, dirt, and rock overlying the same are raised to the surface or packed in the drift as an adjoining and parallel one is opened. ‘These drifts are run from six to seven feet high and wide, and are supported by heavy timbers, which keep the gravelly, rocky bed of the stream, often from fifteen to fifty fect thick, from caving in. If no ‘“ pay streak” is found on sinking the shaft, it is prospected for by running drifts as already noted. The water which continually leaks into the mine from above is removed by pumps, sometimes of great capacity. In recent years, placer operations of great extent have been inau- gurated in Summit, Park, Lake, Routt, and Ouray counties, and there are some extensive mines of this character in Clear Creek and Gilpin. These are supplied with hydraulics, great flumes, and other facilities for handling vast amounts of dirt and gravel. The rapid- ity with which the ground is worked permits of large profits where they would not be possible under the old systems so long in use. Lode mining is very differently conducted from placer opera- tions. After the decomposed surface material has been passed, gold is not so easily extracted as from pay-dirt and gravel, and silver ores are usually much more difficult to handle. Hard as are most ores, the enclosing rock is still harder, and the miner’s difficulties do not end with blasting, breaking, and raising the ore to the surface; for then comes the reduction of the ore, and this calls for costly machinery, and for skill and cxperience in conducting the same, 204 COLORADO. and in operating the milling or smelting process in order to secure the desired results. The requisite entrances into the domains of mother earth, for the purpose of breaking and securing the ore, are made by digging and - MK ys 2 SS \S ==> CEN ON Se eee LODE MINING NEAR THE SURFACE—SHAFT AND LEVEL. blasting out perpendicular shafts and horizontal levels or excavations on the vein. To do this, hand or machine drilling and blasting pow- der and high explosives are brought into play. As work progresses solid timbers are required to brace the sides of the mine. These timbers, logs, or stulls extend from wall to wall, and keep them from MINES AND MINING. ; 205 falling in. For fifty or one hundred feet below the surface man power and the windlass are sufficient for hoisting the ore, waste rock, and water. After that horse power is required, which is used with a “whip” or pulley, or more generally by a whim or large drum of timber, around which the rope winds and unwinds as the bucket ascends or descends. This usually answers all purposes down to a depth of two hundred feet or morc, when the steam-engine and accompanying hoisting is used. Sometimes the whim is dispensed with, steam following man power and the windlass. When greater depth is gained and the mine is enlarged there is more ore to handle and the water becomes more troublesome. More powerful hoisting works are then required, and huge pumps are a necessity. As levels are extended and the vein material is broken down, iron tracks are laid, and the ore is conveyed in cars from various parts of the mine to the shaft, where it is placed in buckets and hoisted to the surface. From there it is assorted and taken to the mill or smelter. There are a number of requisites in lode mining, the development and working of mineral veins, and in the treat- ment of ore after it has left the mine, both in stamp mills and re- duction works, that will be more fully explained hereafter. The entire business requires no little ability, care, and skill to insure success, even if the mine is a good one. The operations are much more difficult and intricate than in gulch mining, where the miner can clean up his gold every night instead of waiting for the re- sults of the somewhat tedious processes of shipping, milling, and smelting. In past ages the gold has found its way from lodes on the hill- sides down into the streams or outlying ground, where it has been gradually working its way through the loose gravel onto the hard bed-rock, and that is where the richest streaks are found. The gold is usually as fine as powder, but is often found in coarser particles and in nuggets or lumps of various sizes. It is not free from impur- ities end consequently does not come up to the value of artificially refined gold, which is worth very near $20.67 per ounce. Placer or gulch gold in Colorado is worth from $17 to $18.50 per ounce. Large nuggets of gold have been found in Summit and Gilpin counties. One was found below Black Hawk, some years ago, that, with its attached rock, was much larger than a hen’s egg and sold for $240. 206 COLORADO. Although nuggets or particles of gold are often seen in the quartz, the precious metal is usually disseminated through it so as to be invisible to the naked eye. Beneath the sur- face the ore is so hard as to require the aid of ponderous stamps, driven by water or ma- chine power, to crush it to the requisite fine- ness for washing or raw amalgamation or for roasting and smelt- ing. Even then the stamps do not always pulverize it fine enough to admit of successful raw amalgamation. The most brilliant example of the superior profits attending mining for the precious metals as compared with those obtaincd in other avocations is afforded in the record of the two bonanza mines of the Comstock lode. Those mines cleared more money in four years than any two firms or companics in other lines of business have done in a genera- tion of time since the world began. The most noticeable accu- mulations of wealth in mercantile and manufacturing pursuits cannot compare, in point of time and amount, with the larger fortunes acquired, at various times, in North and South Amcrican mining history. As many names and terms are used in mining regions that are unknown or unfamiliar elsewhere, the following collection of defi- nitions are given; likewise something concerning values, weights, and measurements. All of these should be carefully read and referred to when words used are unintelligible. IN THE MINE, WEIGHTS AND VALUES. A ton of gold or silver contains 29,166.66 ounces. A ton of gold is worth $602,875. A ton of silver, at the standard rate of $1.29,29, would be worth MINES AND MINING. 207 $37,709.57, but at the present price of silver, $1.10 per ounce, it would be worth only $32,083.32. The standard of gold and silver for United States money is 900 parts of pure mctal and 100 parts of alloy in 1,000 parts of coin; that is, a dollar is nine-tenths pure metal. Standard gold is worth $18.60,465 per ounce U. S. gold coin, 21 3-5 carats fine. Standard silver, $1.1636+ per ounce. The term “fineness” ex- presses the quantity or proportion of pure metal in 1,000 parts. The value of an ounce of gold, pure, is $20.67,183, or approxi- mately $20.67; 23.22 grains of pure gold equals $1. The standard gold dollar 25.8 grains troy, and the silver dollar 412.5, and the trade dollar 420.9 grains. Pure silver has 371.25 grains to the dollar; hence the value of one ounce should be $1.29, 29+ instead of the present varying bullion price of $1.10 or $1.15. Had the former been the ruling price, as in bygone years, Colorado’s silver product of 1878 would have had a valuation one million greater than it was. The British standard of coinage is 11 parts of gold to one of alloy, and of silver 37 parts of silver to 30 alloy. Quotations of - the price of silver on the British market is made on that basis, viz.: of 925-1000 fine, while American transactions are made in the pure metal. This accounts for the lower rates per ounce of the former. One pound ‘‘troy” weight equals 822.857 of a pound avoir- dupois; 7,000 troy grains equal one pound avoirdupois; 437.5 troy grains equal an ounce avoirdupois; 175 troy pounds equal 144 pounds avoirdupois ; 175 troy ounces equal 192 ounces avoirdu- pois; one avoirdupois pound equals 1.215,278 pounds troy. One troy pound equals 22.8156 cubic inches of water. One cubic foot equals 7.4805 gallons. One meter equals 39.370,797 inches, English measurement. One decameter equals 32.80899 feet, English measurement. One hectometer equals 328.0899 feet, English measurement. One kilometer equals 3,280.899 feet, English measurement. It is estimated that the gold coin, bars, and bullion, in circula- tion in the world are worth $3,500,000,000; equal to the debt of Great Britain. If this was in one mass it would make a twenty-five foot cube. One cubic foot of gold weighs 1,200 pounds, and is worth not far from $300,000, Silver is about one half as heavy as 208 COLORADO, gold, a cubic foot of silver weighing about 600 pounds, worth about $10,000. There is about the same value of silver in the world as gold, viz.: #3,500,000, 000. DEFINITIONS OF MINING 'TERMS. Adit. A tunnel on a vein or lode—a passage for water under ground. Amalyam. Quicksilver and other metals, usually gold or silver, and sometimes both combined. Arastra, A. Spanish-Mexican ore-reducing machine, consisting of a hard circular platform, upon which the ore is deposited, the crushing being by means of a revolving sweep, to which huge flat stones are attached. Bed Rock. The bed of a metalliferous deposit, commonly applied to the slate underlying auriferous gravel. Blind Lode. One that shows no surface croppings. Bonanza. A Spanish term, signifying in good luck, prosperity; a large and rich ore body. Boulders. Huge rocks, weighing from a few hundred pounds to many tons, that by the force of water have been carried along the river beds until the sharp edges are worn away. Blossom Rock. Float ore, found upon the surface or near where lodes or ledges outcrop, and from which they have become detached. Breasting. Taking ore from the face of a mine, or head of a drift. Bullion. Gold and silver uncoined and unmanufactured. Cage. The elevator used for hoisting and lowering the ore cars, men and materials of a mine. Country Rock. Rock on either side of a lode or ledge, usually bar- ren—the permanent rock, enclosing a vein. Cap Rock. The formation overlaying the pay-dirt or ore. Carboniferous. Containing coal. Chute. An incline or opening from one level to another through which to slide or pass ore. Conglomerate. Pudding stone, composed of gravel and pebbles cemented together. Contact lode. A lode lying between two different kinds of rock, as for example, porphyry and slate. Croppings. Ledge matter lying upon the surface, or the outcrop- pings of a vein, MINES AND MINING. 209 Orosscut. A. drift run at right angles to the ledge, for the purpose of ascertaining its width, and to otherwise prospect it; also an opening or level driven across the ground from one vein to ancther. Cupriferous. Containing copper. Debris. Sediment from hydraulic or other mines; masses of rock and other materials detached from the sides of mountains and piled up below. Denudation. Rocks laid bare by running water or other agencies. Deposit. A body of ore distinct from a ledge; a pocket of gravel or pay dirt. a rll ZS WE a iy 5 \IMIES cy at: Waar, As dll le Uae ARE nig mee Vt Vim + ‘ oon VEINS, WITH SHAFT AND CROSS CUTS AND WINZE. Detritus. A. mass of substances worn from solid bodies by attrition, and reduced to small particles. Development. Work done in opening a mine; such as sinking shafts and running levels. Dead Work. Work of putting a mine in order, and driving shafts and levels in search of ‘‘ pay,” or to open up a mine. 210 COLORADO. Disintegrated. Separated into integrant parts without chemical action. 43 Drifts. Tunnels leading off from the main shaft, or from other tun- nels or levels through and along the vein. Drift Matter. Earth, pebbles, and boulders, that have been drifted by water, and deposited over a country while submerged. Dump. The place where ore is deposited after being taken from the mine; a pile of either ore or waste rock. Face. The extreme end of a tunnel, drift, or excavation, where work is prosecuted. Float Rock. Fragments of a lode that have been floated by water or carried down by other means, and left on or near the surface ; ledges are sometimes found by tracing up the ‘ float.” Flume. Boxing or piping for conveying water. Free Gold. Gold casily separated from the quartz or dirt. Forced Production. When a mine is worked so as to produce a larger product than can be maintained; is done sometimes with large ore reserves. Flux. Any substance employed to promote the fusion of minerals. Fossils. Petrified organic remains. Foot Wall. The lower wall or side of a lode or vein. Gangue. The matrix; quartz is commonly called the gangue rock of gold and silver ores, though it may be of other material. Grizzly. Bars set in a flume in hydraulic mining, to screen out the large stones. Gulch. A ravine. ITanging Wall. The upper wall; the rock or wall resting on the lode or vein. Horse, A mass of wall rock or otlier barren matter, obtruding into an unbearing lode or fissure. Incline. A slanting shaft. Inch of Water. A miner’s inch of water equals a discharge of 95 cubic fect per hour; one cubic foot to 7} gallons; a discharge of 712.5 gallons per hour, about 24 cubic feet per minute; the water that will run out of an opening one inch square, or section under a head of six inches. Jumping a Claim. Taking illegal possession of a mine by force or - otherwise. Lava. Melted rocks and minerals ejected from volcanoes, MINES AND MINING. 211 6 Ledge. Synonymous with lode or vein. Level. Drifts from the main shaft, or from one shaft to another; an excavation run on the lode or vein, or ore body at distances of from fifty to one hundred feet from each other, and high enough for men to work in. Litite Giant. A movable nozzle attached to hydraulic pipes. Locate. To establish the possessory right to a mining claim; the property securcd being designated “claim” or ‘‘ location.” Lode. A longitudinal fissure or chasm filled with ore-bearing matter and having well-defined side walls; lode, lead, vein, and ledge are synonymous; a mineral vein in the country rock. Mine. A mine comprises a certain amount of territory on a lode or vein, together with the makings or developments, which generally consist of shafts, levels, tunnels, or adits, winzes, and stopes; there may be connected with this appliances or machinery on the surface for hoisting the ore and water; there may be several mines on one lode or vein. Mica. A shining mineral of various colors that can be split into thin layers. -Ounce. An ounce of gold, as generally used in this book, means an ounce of stamp mill retort, worth from $14 to $18; pure gold is worth $20.67; an ounce of silver varies in value; is now worth $1.10 or $1.15. | _Petering. The pinching or giving out of an ore-body. Piping. Washing gravel in a hydraulic claim by discharging water upon it through a nozzle. Placer. Alluvial deposits ; earth containing gold dust. Plant. The interior works of a mill; the stamps or crushers, furnaces and pans, vats, tubs, machinery, etc., of an ore reducing establishment. Plateau. A plain or flat surface. Porphyry. A barren ore, stratified reddish, purple, or greenish rock, in which are imbedded crystals. Primary or Primitive Iock. Consists of the various kinds of slate, quartz, serpentine, granite, and gneiss; they are the lowest group of rocks, are irregularly crystallized, and contain a few animal relics. Prospecting. Hunting for mineral lodes or placers. S12 COLORADO. Pan or Panning. Usually to wash the dirt from the free gold with a pan; the pan resembling an ordinany milk-p.n. Pulp. Pulverized ore, generally very fine. Prospector. Searcher for gold and silver deposits or lodes. Reducing. Separating from foreign substances; the reduction of ores consists in extracting from them the metals they contain. Reserves. Ore reserves are the vein material still standing in the mine between the shafts and levels that have been driven in or through the vein. Nee arti es SAS Sess, t Hera AS SS ~ OVERHAND STOPING—IN THE ORE RESERVES, fetort. This is the term applied to the bullion extracted from the amalgam, by placing the latter in a cast-iron retort, expelling the quicksilver by heat; the quicksilver also being saved by condensation. Regulus. The impure metal; melted ore containing all its metallic ingredients. Salting a Mine. The act of introducing rich ores into a mine, or gold dust into a claim, for deceptive purposes. MINES AND MINING. 213 Schist. Clay slate. Secondary Rocks. Those above the primary and below the tertiary ; made up chiefly of sand, clay, and pebbles cemented together, and containing many organic remains; they consist principally of chalk, green sand, clay, limestone, marl, sandstone, etc. Shaft. A vertical or incline excavation for prospecting or working mines. Slag. Scum, dross, the cxcrement of a metal; vitrified cinders; waste from smelters. Slimes. The finest of the crushed ore and gangue from mills. Sluices. Boxes or troughs through which gold-bearing gravel is washed ; also used at the foot of the tables in quartz mills for catching the fine particles of gold. Strata. A flat bed or layer of rock, earth, mineral, etc. Stoping. Breaking ore from a stope or section of ground in a mine; between or above levels. Stopes. Orc stopes are the same as ore breasts, except that the former means the ore overhead or underneath, the latter in front, or on the sides; ore broken under the feet is ‘‘underhand stoping,” broken from above ‘‘ overhand stoping.” Stull. Platform of timbers between levels for strengthening the mine by supporting the walls, and for storing ore and deposit- ing wall rock and waste material upon. Stull timbers. The large timbers placed across the vein or lode from one wall to another, to support the lagging upon which the ore or waste is placed. Strike. A find; a valuable mineral development made in a sudden or unexpected manner. Sulphuret. Combination of sulphur with a metallic, earthy, or alka- line base. Sump or Sumph. A. pit sunk at the bottom of a mine, to collect the water. It may be the bottom of a shaft. Superficial Deposits are composed of such mctals and ores as lie on or near the surface, intermixed with soil, sand, gravel, etc. ; they are also called washings or stream works, these metals and ores being gathered by washing with water; much gold, all platina, and some tin and cinnabar are collected in this manner. Tailings. The auriferous earth that has once been washed and 214 COLORADO, deprived of the greater portion of the gold it contained; this term is also applied to the sulphurets and slimes that escape from the mills. Tertiary Rocks. Those lying above the secondary, and below drift, containing sandstone, clay beds, limestone, green sand, gyp- sum, rock salt, lignite, etc., with animal relics. Tributors. Miners who pay a percentage on the ore or returns they obtain from a mine by sinking, drifting, or stoping. LODE MINING—UNDERKHAND STOPING. Trend. The course of a vein. Upraise, Running a drift upwards, or rising above a shaft or level instead of sinking. Winze. A shaft connecting one drift or level with another, but not reaching to the surface. Wall. Boundary of vein, lode, or ledge, and inclosing the same. In mining parlance, ‘‘ Wall rock,” ‘Trap rock” and *‘ Casing” mean one and the same thing. (as) — co MINES AND MINING. Ch Al? "Paar Lis COLORADO'S MINERAL RESOURCES—THE GREAT ROCKY MOUNTAIN GOLD AND SILVER BELT—ITS INNUMERABLE .VEINS AND VAST PRODUC- TION—AN INVITING FIELD FOR INVESTMENTS—FACTS AND INFOR- MATION FOR CAPITALISTS—MINING NOW AND IN THE OLDEN TIME—COMPARATIVE COST OF MINING AND MILLING—REDUC- TION OF EXPENSES—ABOUT LODES, CLAIMS AND TITLES. The mineral resuurces of Colorado are already known to be enor- mous in quantity, and yet further discoveries are constantly being made. They constitute the main wealth of the State, and are con- tinually growing more productive and remunerative. Gold, silver, lead, copper, and coal are extensively mined. Iron, salt, zinc, mica, and other materials abound, and some of them will yet cut an im- portant figure. Metalliferous veins are encountered in clusters and belts all through the mountains of this vast region. Coal occurs at intervals along the plains, near the base of the foot-hills, and here and there in the mountains and river valleys. A mineral belt, carrying one or both of the precious and some of the baser metals, extends almost. across the entire State, following to some extent the northerly and southerly course of the Rocky Mountains. It also appears in the flanking ranges and outlying foot-hills east and west of the Continental Divide. Each season proves this mineral re- gion to be of greater extent and value than was previously known, and the entire mountain system of Colorado may yet be dotted with mining camps at no great distance one from another. A belt, showing but slight interruptions, has been traced from the North Park and the northern part of Boulder county, south through Gilpin and Clear Creck, thence southwesterly through Summit, Park, Lake, Chaffee, and into Gunnison counties. It approaches the point where the great Sawatch or main range divides into the Sangre de Christo on the southeast and the San Juan Mountains on the south- west. The belt appears at intervals in each of these mountain sys- tems or their outlying spurs and valleys down to the New Mexico — boundary. 216 _ COLORADO. In the San Juan Mountains, which form the Continental Divide in the south, it is rich in silver veins, extending all through the coun- ties of Hinsdale, San Juan, and Ouray. Gold is also found there, as well as in Rio Grande county. The gold and silver bearing deposits of the Sierra Mojada and of the hills and valleys skirting the Sangre de Christo range are fast bringing Custer county into notoriety. IN A SILVER MINE, The Sawatch range extends from the point of union of the more southerly mountain systems northward to the Mount of the Holy Cross and the headwaters of the Arkansas, and is but another name for a portion of the main Rocky Mountain divide. It forms the dividing line between Gunnison county and Chaffee and Lake comntics, and also separates Summit from the latter. Rich mineral discoveries have been and are still being made on both its eastern and western slopes, silver being the predominating metal. East of this and of the upper Arkansas valley is the Park range eC ON ee eee) ee MINES AND MINING. PAL of mountains, separating the latter from South Park, and uniting with the main range at Mount Lincoln. This, with its foot-hills, is enormously productive. On the western slope are the world- renowned carbonate deposits and veins of Leadville, immeasurably rich in silver and lead, and the gold veins and alluvial deposits of California Gulch. On the range itself and its eastern slopes are vast numbers of deposits and veins. Silver predominates there, but. gold, copper and lead are mined. Down in the park are gold placer mines. Northward extends the main range, which, all along its course between Summit and Grand counties on the western slope, and Park, Clear Creek, Gilpin, and Boulder on the east, is more or less rich in silver veins. Its extending foot-hills possess veins and alluvial de- posits rich in gold. The outlying mountain spurs, hills, and gulches are also ribbed with metalliferous veins, some productive of silver and copper, others of silver and lead, and others of gold and silver, with one or both of the baser metals. Close beside each other on this eastern slope are the famous mining districts of Clear ‘Creek and Gilpin. The latter has produced most of Colorado’s gold, and the former gave much the larger part of its silver for years, up to the time when Leadville came to the front. Both coun- ties, however, have gold and silver mines, and so has Boulder, whose telluride veins, carrying the precious metals, are something rarely encountered elsewhere. Westward, over among the mountains and valleys of Summit, Grand, and Routt counties, are numerous argentiferous and galenous veins and gold-producing gulches and placers. Some of these have - been worked for years, and others are of recent discovery, such as those of the Ten Mile range. The great central mineral belt of Colorado has a width of from twenty to forty miles, but often branches off to the right or left and again contracts, so that the breadth is by no means uniform. Con- - tinued discoveries indicate that its extent is by no means ascertained. It is impossible to make anything like a close estimate of the wealth that lies embedded in these mountains, where constant developments show that only the beginning of it has been found. Mining in Colorado in former years and at the present time are two very different undertakings. Ten or fifteen years ago most of = the men engaged in mining or milling were novices in the business, 10 218 COLORADO. and could not work understandingly and to the best advantage: Labor was usually scarce and high priced, and much of it of little value. The country was remote from railways and the base of sup- plies. Warlike Indian tribes often blocked the’ routes of travel and impeded the slow-going mule and ox transportation. It usually cost as much to freight machinery from a railway terminus to the mountain mines as it did to buy it of the manufacturer. Nearly everything consumed was imported from distant states and localities. In some years freight charges alone amounted to what will now pay both purchasing and shipping rates. The methods of extracting the gold from the ore were at one time so imperfect that the greater part of the treasure contained therein could not be saved. Lode veins were originally divided among too many distinct proprietors— the claims being too short to work profitably to great depths with steam machinery in each one of them—and consequently requiring consolidation of many under one management to insure success. A great change has been wrought in recent times by railways and cheap and rapid transportation, by reduced expenditures of labor and supplies, by improved mining and milling, and by economical and systematic management, and a fair priced market for the miners’ ore product. All of the beef, and nearly all the grain and vegetables now required at the mines are raised in the State, thereby greatly cheapening the means of living. Long experience has made prac- tical miners, while a steady influx of skilled workmen has l:ept the labor market fairly supplied. Mill men and smelters, by long ex- perience, have become thoroughly acquainted with the character of the ore and mineral, and can, therefore, handle them to much greater advantage than in former times. In the older districts the consoli- dation of properties has obviated serious difficulties that recent min- ing laws have prevented in the newer ones. ‘The settling down to continuous work and a permanent life-time residence, in place of temporary operations and a mine stripping, abandonment, emigration policy, has also helped matters amazingly. All of these and deep mining and intelligent broad gauge operations are bringing about results such as were never achieved a decade ago. The cost of labor and supplies in 1864-5, as compared with those of to-day in Gilpin county, is shown in the following table. In other districts prices are now the same as in Gilpin where rail facilities are afforded, and a half dollar more per day where they are not. Other articles MINES AND MINING. 219 are slightly dearer. The figures of 1864-5 represent coin values as well as those of 1879. The greenback values paid at the former period were vastly higher. The left hand column represents the charges when the eastern company operations were most numerous and extensive and when the failures and suspensions began. 1864-5. 1879. “AEG 9 ok Se eo $4 00 to $5 00 $2 00 to $2 50 emer matting iat a ses Se AE a er 5 00to 7 00 3 00to 38 50 MPSIDOLCTSY eri oh Hs a) We Sy5. 1's 3 50 to 5 00 2 00 MERCIA AGNS 1. 05 shade Wise. bcs « 9 00 to 12 00 A 50 Other masons and helpers.......... 5 00to 700 -3 50to 4 00 MR GUTLELSY 27h 5/015 .daray- Sls Sie «atc 6 8s 5 00 to 6 00 3 50 to 3 75 Flour, per sack of 100 pounds...... 12 00 to 19 00 2 25 to 2 50 PRT ED OTs NE os 065 452" s « oimpai owe dieeys 40) 00 to 46 00 23 00 to 25 00 PP DOE COT alos ora of! e wield ean, 4 ale scala 50 C0 to 70 00 23 00 to 25 00 URSA aes Sa eo a 6 00 to 9 00 3d 65 OCS al) ee Pie cogs a a 15 00 to 23 00 6 50 Berees, PCr, DOX, tens sak as chants 10 00 to 15 00 6 25 Been her POUNC. 3. 6 ..s aes rch ck, 0d 30 to 45 15 DOR cc hc ete ces aites 6 8oe 1J30to 1 60 48 to 00 PrerireesOu es To ke eclaw se wee hes S0 to 1 30 35.to AO Sheet Copper, per pound .......... 60 to 75 30 to 32 PramenetspOUnG. Af. 0e. sor. Bie. es 18 to 24 4ts to § Sheet Iron, per pound............. 17 to 24 © 4 to 5 Nails, per pound..... th REE RR a sw 16 to 22 5 PNGVOIS CAC, 5%).. Wows ot bese 8h 1 80 to 2 35 110to 1 40 Miao Ber cond Ales uaeh Beta aK 8 00 to 12 00 5 50 Milline Ore; per cord ss; va .vawiaa sacs 30 00 to 50 00 20 00 or less. There were times when the prices of labor and some supplies varied greatly. Wood and timber is dearer in Central City than any- where else in the mountains. In Gold Dirt, near Black Hawk, at Caribou, Ward, Leadville, Ten Mile, and all of the southern and western counties, wood usually sells at from $2.50 to $3.00 a cord. Lumber sells in the same localities at from $30 to $35 per thousand feet. Carpenters and mechanics at Leadville have been getting ten or fifteen per cent. more than the figures given in the table, and lumber has been higher there. This is due to the wonderfully rapid growth of the place. There has never been a time or locality more favorable for indi- vidual or company investments and organizations than this year of 220 COLORADO, 1879, among the mines of Colorado. With a reasonable amount of ready capital to open and push mining development, a harvest is very sure to follow that cannot be blighted by floods, frost, nor insects, nor increased or diminished in value, but one that is sure, substantial and enduring—the pure metal itself. This product in reality represents the basis of all prosperity and wealth. The mineral resources of Colorado of every description have hitherto been imperfectly appreciated, because but slightly devel- oped. Recent discoveries and the results of well-directed labor, aided by superior mechanical and scientific processes, are attracting the attention of sagacious capitalists in this and foreign countries. The present rate of progress, development, and discovery will place Colorado ahead of all other sections in the production of the pre- cious metals before the close of another year. Mining, with the help of moderate capital, is one of the most certain and profitable industries in which men of enterprise can engage. The more thoroughly and systematically mines are worked, and the greater the milling facilities for the reduction of ores, the more satisfactory will be the amount of bullion produced. Colorado is now amply supplied with milling, reducing, and smelting facili- ties in all but the very newly discovered districts. Gilpin, Clear Creck, Boulder, and Park countics and the San Juan region and Leadville have all the works required for the extraction of the pre- cious metals produced at present, and these are located within their borders or in localities not far away. Summit ‘and Gunnison coun- ties have been and are still receiving similar establishments. Good prices are paid for ores, and milling charges are as small as in any other state or territory. This is vastly beneficial to the miner, and quite the reverse of the condition of affairs a few years ago. For the most part mining has been conducted by men of limited means or no means at all when they started in. These mountainecr prospectors and miners have worked out their own salvation, and have made their state rich and famous almost by their own unaided labors, strong hands, and charactcristic energy and enterprise. But little outside capital came in to help them during the fifteen years of the State’s greatest progress. What has been secured is due to the splendid showings and remarkable returns previously made, and which would have been much greater had these western pioneers had the means to begin with to conduct operations, MINES AND MINING. 221 instead of waiting in nearly all cases to make it out of the ground. Capitalists in the older states, where rates of interest are low and speculative enterprises uncertain and more hazardous than mining for gold and silver, can strike the path to certain fortune if they will organize companies controlling ample ready means to develop mines, intrusting the management to honest and efficient business men and practical miners. This done, and the better classes of prop- erty secured, and there would be no such thing as failure, but suc- cess would be inevitable. The day of unsuccessful experiments and losing investments has gone by. Colorado has the mines, and at last her miners and mill men know how to work them and how to reduce the ores. Skilled labor is on the ground, and metallurgists and mineralogists thor- oughly acquainted with their professions and the character of veins and deposits encountered. With their assistance and that of judicious investments, intelligent direction, and proper economy, the capitalist need fear no loss. Careful investigation of the subject shows there has been im- measurably less loss from capital wisely invested in mines, and generally far greater profits than have been realized in any commercial or manufacturing pursuits, or in railway stocks or operations. With the largest mineral belt in the world, unsurpassed rail connections within and without, ample reducing works, a first-class ore market, cheap supplies, and countless veins of a very high average value, the Rocky Mountains certainly afford the true field for future invest- ment, and rare opportunities for success. _ For years after gold mining began in Colorado the laws adopted by the miners and ratified by the Territory and Congress provided that a lode should be 1,400 feet in length, and that the discoverer _ thereof should be entitled to one claim of 100 feet on the vein, and another of 100 feet as a bonus for discovery. Each additional locator could pre-empt but one hundred feet on that vein. It was also provided that this location carried with it twenty-five feet of surface ground on either side of the centre of the vein, if this did not invade neighboring claims previously entered. Afterwards the laws were changed for subsequent locations, so that a discoverer could have 1,400 feet in length on the vein, instead of 200. Later, there was a short period when the discoverer could obtain 3,000 "222 COLORADO, feet. No great number of locations were made under that law, and at length the present law was adopted, allowing a discoverer to pre- empt 1,500 feet on a vein, extensions taken up in the same manner by the same or other parties. In 1874 the Colorado legislature enacted that all locations made thereafter in the Territory should carry with them 150 feet of surface ground on cither side of the centre of the vein (if such claims did not enter on ground already located), except in the four counties of Boulder, Gilpin, Clear Creek, and Park, when seventy-five feet either side of the centre of the vein should be the rule. None of these laws interfere with lodes discovered prior to their adoption. After a government title or United States patent has been issued for a lode the owner can hold it against all comers and claimants, whether he works it steadily or allows it to remain idle forever. It cannot be relocated, nor is there danger of losing ground or terri- tory secured in this way through litigation or opposing claims. Some years ago these titles carried with them the land for twenty-five feet on each side of the centre of the lode and vertically downward. The owner can follow his vein anywhere so that he does not go outside of his cnd lines. At the present time, seventy-five ‘feet on each side of the centre of the vein is allowed in Boulder, Gilpin, Clear Creek, and Park counties, and outside of them 150 feet. There are five United States land offices in Colorado, located at Denver, Central, Pueblo, Del Norte, and Fairplay. Up to April 1, 1879, the Central City office had issued 765 government patents or titles for lodes or mining claims. Of these patents Gilpin County ob- tained 274; Clear Creek, 334; Boulder, 135, and Summit, 22, besides a few issued direct from the General Land office. At the same time there were 372 mineral entries on the Central City office books, likely -to be issued soon. Whole number of mineral applications, 1,480. The average cost of procuring a government patent or title is $125 when the location embraces 1,500 feet by 150, and over $160 when 1,500 feet by 300 are included. The former class embrace 5.16 acres of land and the latter 10.33. The costs include $25 for the Sur- veyor General, $45 for the Surveyor’s patent, $12.50 for certified copies and abstracts, $10 for filing, $18 for publishing, $15 for notary fees, and from $30 to $60 for land. The law contemplates that five hundred dollars’ worth of work shall be done on a vein before application for a title can be made. This is in order that the MINES AND MINING. 993 owner may prove up and ascertain the course and dip of his vein. Some little time is required to apply for and secure title papers— generally several months. In regard to relocating abandoned lodes, section 15 of the Mining Laws says: ‘‘The relocation of abandoned lode claims shall be by HAND DRILLING IN THE MINE, sinking a new discovery shaft, and fixing new boundaries in the same manner as if it were the location of a new claim; or the re- locator may sink the original discovery shaft ten feet deeper than it was at the time of the abandonment, and erect new, or adopt the old boundaries, renewing the posts if removed or destroyed. In 224 COLORADO. either case a new location-stake shall be erected. In any case, whether the whole or part of an abandoned claim is taken, the location certificate may state that the whole or part of the new location is located as abandoned property.” The discoverer or re- locator has sixty days after disclosing the lode before sinking a ten- foot shaft; hence, he should employ that time in ascertaining the exact direction of the strike of his vein, if necessary. Probably not less than one hundred thousand locations have been made from first to last in the various recorders’ offices of Colorado of what purport to be lodes, ledges, claims, or deposits. A large portion of these may not prove valuable enough to work. Others are abandoned or left idle because paying mineral has not been found and others are unworked at present, owing to remoteness from reduction works, ore markets, or for lack of roads and inaccessi- bility. But afew thousand lodes are steadily worked at this time, but the number of active properties is rapidly increasing. Nearly all sections but Gilpin possess the fifteen hundred feet locations. There are over 15,000 in Clear Creek county, embracing fourteen, fifteen, and thirty hundred feet locations. There are thousands of claims recorded in Park, Lake, and Summit counties, and a yast number in the San Juan region. Where the number of lodes and mines is so great as in Colorado it is of course impossible to mention but a small portion even of those that are being worked. The design of this book is not to give a complete list of locations or of mines, but to show in a general way what Colorado possesses, what her people have accomplished and what has been and can be done in the Rocky Mountain region in the way of mining, farming, and making money. The figures and statistics of the state at large and of counties are very extensive and accurate, A few mines in every large district will be described at length, and in some cases their production will be published, There are other properties as valuable as some of these, that want of space, time, and opportunity to gather statistics of prevents the author from noticing at length. The character of the latter class may be judged from what is said of the others. Before the summer is over discoveries may be made as rich and extensive as any previ- ously reported. This mining region is in a state of transition and grows and develops faster than the world is aware of. A mine that is unknown to-day may become famous to-morrow or next year, ee ee a ar ee. MINES AND MINING. 2235 Co HOA, Plato en an METHODS OF EXTRACTING THE VALUABLE METALS FROM THE ORE— THE STAMP MILL, COPPER MATTE, LEAD SMELTING, AND OTHER PROCESSES—DETAILED ACCOUNT OF OPERATIONS—DESCRIPTION OF VARIOUS WORKS, INCLUDING THOSE AT ARGO AND GOLDEN. Several methods or processes for the extraction of the valuable metals from the ore or rock are in use in Colorado. Some ores are found to be best adapted to onc kind of treatment, and others require avery different style of reduction. There is the stamp-mill raw amal- gamation process, for low grade gold ores ; then comes a number of smelting and reduction processes, for rich and for medium grade ores ; copper matte smelting, adapted to all except ores very rich in lead ; smelting with lead riches, and the blast smelter, which is de- voted to silver-lead bearing ores handle a large part of the values of the mining product. There are mills devoted to chlorodizing- roasting and amalgamation; others to chlorination and leaching, and chlorination and lixiviation has been more or less in use. Recently Silver Cliff silver ores are treated by raw amalgamation. The system of wet crushing and raw amalgamation, by means of stamp or quartz mills, is used on the great mass of what are termed free gold ores. A considerable portion of the gold is lost, and most of the silver and copper, but owing to the fact that no roasting or smelting is required, this method, by its cheapness, is the only one adapted to the low grade ores, of which most gold-bearing veins are composed. Nearly nineteen-twentieths of the gold-bearing ores of Gilpin county are handled by this process, and about twelve-twenti- eths of the entire gold product is obtained therefrom. The richer mineral is sold to the smelters. The same process is in use in Boul- der, Clear Creek, and Park counties, and the San Juan region. The cost of treatment, where steam power is used, is from two to three dollars per ton, or from fourteen to twenty dollars per cord, The smaller figures represent the expense where the operator handles his own ore, under the most favorable circumstances. When water 226 COLORADO, powcr can be used, the outlay is still less, Custom mills charge from $2.25 to $3.00 per ton, or from $18 to $20 per cord, varying with the season, mill power used, and character of ore. The stamp mill pro- cess is very imperfect, but has been vastly improved during the past fifteen years, as far as operations in Colorado are concern- ed. At one time only from fifteen to forty per cent. of the gold contained in the ore was saved, while from fifty to seventy per cent., and occasionally more, are saved at the present time. One mill claims a saving of over eighty-five per cent., including returns of buddled tailings. Blankets and pans help to increase the returns. The mill proper consists of a solid frame work, heavy iron stamps and attachments, propelled by steam or water power by means of a horizontal shaft and connections. Mortars, inclined tables, and other accessories go to make up the contents of the establish- ment. The framework is upright, as are also the iron stamps, which are made to rise and fall by means of cams or arms extending from the revolving shaft above. The stamps rise from twelve to eighteen inches and drop on the ore in iron mortars or troughs beneath from twenty-seven to thirty-five times per minute. These mortars are several feet long, and from twelve to fourteen inches high, and nine or ten deep, and rest on solid wooden foundations. They are placed between the upright wooden posts of the frame; the stamps, usually five in number, that rise and fall thereon form what is termed a-battery. The mortars are the receptacles for the ore, which is shoveled or fed into them as fast as it can be advantageously crushed by the stamps, at the same time that a constant stream of water flows TEN STAMP QUARTZ MILL. ae MINES AND MINING. 227 in the same direction. Some mills have but a single battery of five stamps; others have ten or twenty, and there are some that have fifty and seventy-five. | On the side of the mortars where the ore feedng is done, the framework is boarded up some distance, and on the other side are sheet iron screens, through which the pulverized ore and water is forced on to the sloping copper plated inclines or tables below. Quicksilver is fed into the batteries and onto the tables when the mill man deems it necessary. This retains most of the gold on the tables while the pulp or slimes from the batteries are being carried onward by the water to the buddling tanks or stream beyond. The stamps are stopped, the water turned off, and the mortars and the plates of the tables are cleaned once a day, or once in several days, and fhe amalgam, or gold and quicksilver combination, is taken to the retort-room. Here it is skimmed and cleaned and pressed in a cloth so as to get rid of asmuch of the quicksilver as possible; the remainder is retorted and the crude bullion sold at the banks at from fourteen to eighteen dollars per ounce, or shipped in other ways. Gold from different mines variesin fineness and value, the quantity of silver accompanying it having much to do with this, The average fine- ness of Gilpin county bullion or retort gold is 787 parts pure gold, 198 parts pure silver, and 15 parts copper. The bullion obtained is from one-fourth to one-half of the amalgam, but rarely the latter. The quicksilver, after being condensed, is saved for future use. After the pulverized ore leaves the batteries it is usually washed over two sets of inclined tables—the lower ones being covered with blankets. Some mills use pans, modeled after the principle of an arastra. The pulp or slimes, on leaving the mill proper, are gene- rally worked over or concentrated by washing or buddling, when the concentrates are sold to the smelters. This often adds a dollar or two per ton to the total receipts from the ore. Formerly, no effort was made to save anything beyond the tables. About one ton of these tailings can be saved and sold to every ten tons of ore crushed. d The stamps used in these mills weigh from five hundred to seven hundred pounds, are generally ten or twelve fect high, and consist of a stem, head, shoe, and a collar, by means of which the cam raises them. The stem is made of wrought iron, and is from two to three inches in diameter, while the shoes attached to the lower part of the 228 COLOKADO. stem, and which come in contact with the ore, are thicker, and are made of steel or hardened iron. These stamps crush the ore to a pulp or powder, and much of the gold contained therein falls to the bottom of the mortars, and is taken up by the quicksilver placed there. Other portions of the gold are caught on the tables, blankets, and inthe pans. The stamp-mill affords the only method of treating the low grade ores, of which the veins are mainly composed. Some- thing like 140,000 tons are crushed in the Gilpin county mills every year. The smelting works are the destination of the high grade mineral, from which they save nearly all of the gold, silver, and copper. The first quartz mills were brought into Colorado late in 1859. They were primitive affairs, with wooden, unplated tables, and had only from three to six stamps each. Up to this time the surface dirt and soft outcroppings of the veins had been shoveled into and washed insluices, while other material was treated in arastras. Copper plates on tables and cyanide were not used at first, and few of the mill men knew anything about treating ores. It took a decade to bring quartz milling into even passable shape in Colo- rado, and nearly another to get it up to its present partly satis- factory condition. This detailed account of the quartz mill is given because it is the basis of some other processes, and enters into their construction more or less. All ores must be pulverized before the silver and gold is extracted, and this is done either by stamps or by crushers and rolls. One or the other is found in all reducing, smelting, sampling and concentrating works. Smelting with lead riches, is carried on at the works of the Gold- en and Valley companies at Golden, Hunt & Company’s at Orodel- fan, and at some points in the San Juan section. The lead comes out in bars, and the silver and gold in other bars. No copper is saved. Chlorodizing-roasting and amalgamation is carried on at the Cari- bou mill at Nederland, and the Farwell reduction works at George- town, and has been used elsewhere. The ores are first broken in Dodge crushers and Cornish rolls, dried, sampled, and assayed, and then crushed dry by stamps, after which they are roasted in revolving iron cylinders, and then amalgamated in pans. Separation then takes place in the melting-room, and bars containing from $1,500 to $1,800 MINES AND MINING. ; 229 each, and of a fineness of from 800 to 900, are melted ready for ship- ment. The pulverized ores are placed in the cylinders in charges of 3,500 pounds more or less, and the cylinders are then revolved at the rate of one revolution in two minutes. After four hours, from six to eight pounds of salt are introduced for every one hundred pounds of ore. Caribou ores require only from eight to eleven hours of roast- ing, and Georgetown ores from ten to twenty, according to lode. From 2,000 to 2,500 pounds of the roasted ore goes into cach amalga- mating-pan or leaching-tub at one time. In the pans, mullers do the grinding, and after one or two hours from 350 to 400 pounds of quicksilver are added, when the grinding continues from cight to twelve hours longer. The pulp is then thinned by water, and the specific gravity of the quicksilver and of the silver it has attracted causes it to seck the bottom of the pans, when it is drawn off, the pulp or dirt discharged, the amalgam still adhering removed, and the pans made ready for another charge. Retorting and melting into bars closes the proceedings Chlorodizing-roasting and leaching is carried on at Georgetown and elsewhere. Works of this description have been operated at Rosita. The same kind of crushers, stamps, and roasting cylinders or furnaces are used as in the process just described, and the work is the same until the ore has been roasted. It is then placed in large agitating tubs, partially filled with a concentrated solution of hot water and salt kept in motion. This liquor dissolves the chloride of silver, and with the silver in solution is siphoned off and conducted into and through a series of tanks containing upright copper plates setting at intervals one behind and below another. Thesilver pre- cipitates itself on these copper plates, when the brine or liquor is pumped back again into the agitating tubs for use. The blast smelting furnace is used on ores carrying a high per cent of lead. When no roasting is required, as on carbonate ores, the process is rapid and somewhat simple. Skilled labor, attention, and experience are required, however, or disastrous results are likely to ensue. These furnaces are constructed of sheet iron and are usually circular in shape and of much greater height than dia- meter horizontally. Some are of square or oblong shape. They are built so that ore, coke, charcoal, and slag or iron are fed from an upper floor into the body of the furnace, while the lead and ee wet} | a era ye weveste ie ete REVERBERATORY FURNACES FOR ROASTING ORE. ute NES pot A presacmss. 4. an ame, COLORADO—MINES AND MINING. Gor silver bullion and the slag make their way from separate outlets at the base of the furnace and in the story below. The hot liquid, composed of lead and silver or other metal, is ladled out into the molds made for the purpose, and cools into bars called base bullion. The interiors of these iron furnaces are lined with brick made of fire-clay. A reyerberatory furnace is constructed of brick. The various com- partments, hearths, or chambers, in which the fires are kept up and the pulverized ores roasted, are lined with fire-brick. These fur- naces are often forty or sixty fect or more in length, and are divided into connecting hearths. The ore, while being roasted, is moved along from one hearth on to another, by means of long iron shovels, reaching into the furnace. These furnaces are used in the large smelting works, except at Leadville. No Colorado silver ores have been found in large quantities that can be treated by the cheap raw amalgamation process outside of the recent discoveries at Silver Cliff in Custer county. The same is true of ores nearly equally rich in both gold and silver. By that process the free milling gold ores are handled in custom mills at a charge of $2.25 and $3.25 per ton. All other classes of ore have been treated, by some onc of the processes mentioned above, outside of that just . named, and are purchased on the basis of a charge of from $25 to $40 per ton, and an allowance for loss in treatment. Cheaper reduction is effected at Caribou and a few places where the mines have mills of their own, and the Leadville carbonates can be smelted at lower rates now or in the hereafter. As silver ores rich enough for such outlays cannot be found as plentifully as ten dollar gold ores, it will be seen that the drifts, shafts and excavations of a silver mine, although equally expensive, give up less available ore in a given breadth or distance than thos: of agold mine. Consequently it must cost more to mine a ton of silver ore of the requisite richness than one of gold, since better ore must be had for silver reduction than for gold. The surpassing richness of much of the former ore is what sets things even, and often proves wonderfully profitable for atime. In Gilpin it costs from $2 to $5 to get out a ton of gold ore. In Clear Creek it costs from $12 to $40 for aton of silver ore. Years ago it cost one hundred dollars a ton to simply mill silver ore in Georgetown. A little later that sum would pay for mining, COLORADO. 232 Le a / 3 5 = = = — tg Ss EY : ‘AuUO GALSVOU ONIHDIVAT YO SLVA HO SANL ANY NG WN re La v 28 aye muri Lining (it ull , oO se 43 MINES AND MINING. 233 milling, and hauling. At present, these items cost from $50 to $60 per ton, and less where the ore bodies are large. The same work costs more in some districts and less in others. In the San Juan region there are many miners that pay more for shipping their ore to a market—which, in the absence of roads, is mainly done on the backs of pack-animals—than they do for mining or smelting it. Twenty-five dollars a ton for transportation is not an unusual figure there. Mines in northern and central Colorado, along the line of, or in close proximity to railways, avoid heavy shipping charges. The raw amalgamation process for silver ores is somewhat on the same basis as that for free milling gold ores, with pans in place of tables, and can be prosecuted only where the silver has already been chlorodized in the rock by the hand of nature. In the volcanic formation at Silver Cliff such has been the case, and consequently the - above cheap and rapid method is going into use in that district. The process includes dry crushing by the ordinary stamps. The pulver- ized ore then goes into large pans, where water and quicksilver are applied. Here the pulp is kept agitated a requisite time, as in pan amalgamation described in Caribou and Georgetown mills. When thoroughly amalgamated, the charge is drawn and the amalgam re- torted and the silver melted into bars of a fineness of about 900. This system is called by some western men the Washoe process, be- cause used so extensively in that Nevada silver district. In order to save the charge of thirty or forty dollars per ton that must be paid for smelting or roasting, as with other ores and processes, the owners of the Racine Bay and Silver Cliff mines have been treating ores by this cheaper method at the Pennsylvania works at Rosita. Those works include crushers, dry stamps, revolving roasting cylinders, and pans and tubs. For treating Silver Cliff ores, the roasting part of the process is omitted, for nature has already chlorodized them. The result is it costs only from $3 to $5 per ton to handle these ores. A large stamp and pan mill is to be erected at Silver Cliff, and then this method of treatment will handle nearly or quite as much ore as any other, except that of the similar gold quartz mills. | Concentration is a method of separating the valuable portions of low grade ores from the gangue, in order that the miner will have the expense of smelting a smaller number of tons while securing nearly the same total value. There are two systems of concentra- tion, known as dry and wet, Each embrace a great deal of machin- 234 COLORADO—MINES AND MINING. ery. There are crushers, rolls, stamps, screens, jigs, hoppers, tables, elevators, etc., in one or both processes. The Krom, or dry process, is represented in the Clear Creek Company mill at Georgetown and elsewhere, and the Collom and other methods at Black Hawk, Silver Plume, Idaho Springs, and Spanish Bar. The machines known as frue vanners are used in Boulder county, in Salina, Ballarat, Neder- land, and Gold Hill district. By the aboye named mills the crude or low grade ore is dressed and separated, so as to leave only market- able and paying mineral in place of rock too poor to sell to the smelter. In seven years up to the summer of 1878 the adjoining counties of Clear creck and Gilpin gave a combined product of over $23, 200,000 out of Colorado’s total yield of $35,000,000 for that period. Gilpin gave about $12,200,000, nearly all in gold, and Clear Creek $11,000, - 000, nearly all in silver. They will turn out together nearly or quite $5,000,000 in 1879. Clear Creek cafion is their natural outlet, and the mouth of this cafon and beyond has become the smelting depot for their richer ores. Golden and Argo are two of the great ore- reducing centres of the West. The confidence of capitalists in these gold and silver mines is evinced by the great smelting enterprises carried on at the above mentioned points. Some of these smelting works have just been established ; others have been enlarged. During the year three new ore-reducing concerns have been started in Golden. These, together with the works that have long been operating there, extend along the Colorado Central railway and the banks of Clear creek, and the name ‘‘Smelter’s Rew” has been applied to the locality. The Valley Smelting Works were erected at Golden last winter by Gregory Board & Co., who have since been conducting them so suc- cessfully as to necessitate more furnaces. The proprietors of these works for a long time operated those controlled by the Golden Smelting Company, and for the first time made a financial success of them. ‘The process embraces roasting, smelting with lead, and refining. The plant is quite extensive, and includes several roasting, smelting, and refining furnaces. The roasting furnaces are double, each equal to two ordinary ones. Large quantities of ore are received from Leadville, Gilpin, Clear Creek and Boulder countics. From twenty to thirty tons can be handled daily, according to character of ore, Good prices are paid .. om *"NACTO0—-MOW SYALTANWS "SHO AA SuYTAMIG Youerg M Suyyaurg Aaq[e A +310 7H » aN ey 1" MAE ATH sedan eae Sei VARA ARRIETA REPT fe) NUS de eel SIH 0 A ah ice eM SN ) 4 “ SS y ° vt tho ‘ Nea || es ait Ni COM ih ah Al tT | miss | @ | on f a=- Nh PS eggs Mt 5 | = tha ye Eig Wy (I! ij | i dh Atlin is ih BN = = MUTT Pea Qa i pls YING a | Hitita ) 2 a 1 ‘ WW ELEINS SN Hh , | 1 Nin EWP Wn LAN by f | 1} EN BST HAT TTT | (te tfens Es Wes AST UWE [are 3 aera Wy il } eS == Se LET | | ao a SS SW |\i||\/| {|| a wm bs A AAs | in : ZW || ea = jf pe : | NWN i Ul 4h i s U r r \ | | | | } j | | | | | | | i | | | | yy | | i | | } WAH i} | ‘ ‘ nT Ht) } | Wh | . he | | \}] | My I aa | \ | my } ee | | » iii Mh f | | iI; | : i | Hily He \ N | \| { } i i | YS ee | | } ‘tlh Th } | iM \ | {| | | ! | | | ) iF i | H i | H i Haw | 1 j | ti) ay I Nye | ‘ } HI | | i | ) ils es NIN i 4 i} 4 hy i} ites fps Nes Dh ‘ i ‘ at Hf att ESS —_— ——— = == = teens ———— ——_ a = = eee 3: SSSS=: 2: SSSI See ———— —— ee SS re SSE SSS Se Ss = — = aT Tv = a r Te = mit, ly aii i ! = — = Hl TA GNU LINN ; : wy SUL a ee C= a Nees = | ili \ Os NaS | 23 ae as ‘ mq MS EEE : = SSISEELT ==i||Sse— = = = : = == ‘|_ == = = = Ii |= SSS SE: = = “at nn | Ae { " H MM ! | i ‘ Wi! a ||| Sam Na te dlllf 4 De NAR TN ma) Ai = —— 1 PP | at ine MN i i \ | | ‘ | i t} ‘| 1 = 1 \ ) ‘| \ inh WH i il TTI) ety pie 1)/{] AT | | {|| | | | iy i} lean fect idles | PHN Nay it PMD AN L—\\\\Nes |= Wh eon | i, Win || | | 7 |—4--- tl i Wl Wy Uv ING ith) itt wil i EY \\\\'\\ | ! ities! f WAL WT HT Temes HA ie tyitvn : Z A!|\|| Mute! Wey es | | | { \\ | " | iH | —— 77 ——————— a i ort rt al} A ty a =i =— Bean ) it it EH ————— Tl) INN) i ent | | WYMAN ( = h | \ Hy | mut Ty | = sy, | | ‘ | | A Nal SS SS NIN il, AM HHE NW SS li } i 1 Hi} 1 ! (| : \) } in | | Se Sa — see : ae SSS SSS FE SSS == —=St= = Fi z= : Sea == ==. ; = 4 AS =—s= Sees Se _ SS eS ; = Tf Ae <=>, =f 7 | ne: mM i a iN) Hi f 8 Ge g OE ES f NVA SS As = 236 COLORADO. for the gold, silver, and lead contained in ores. For the first three months of 1879 $26,197.48 were paid for ores and tailings from Gilpin county alone. This indicates a bullion yield at these works during the year of over $150,000 from products of one county, and there are other districts that are said to be drawn upon just as heavily. Not long ago America was visited by capitalists, miners, and metallurgists from France. After a general inspection of the western mining regions some of these gentlemen came to the conclusion that Colorado had the brightest and most permanent future before it, and concluded to embark in the smelting business there. Golden was selected as the most feasible point of operations, for that was at the gateway of the mountain districts having the largest amount of ores adapted to the copper matte process. The French Smelting Works were completed in the summer of 1879. They were constructed after the most improved methods which skilled labor and experienced metallurgists could suggest and are a model of their kind in many particulars. The plant embraces a large calcining furnace, with three superincumbent soles forty fect long, two matte furnaces, three special furnaces for the separa- tion of the precious metals, five main stacks, a Blake crusher, a pair of Cornish rolls, ball pulverizer, a forty horse-power steam engine and boiler, and all of the accessories and necessary arrangements for works of this kind. The five separate buildings of these French smelting works are constructed to treat for the present five or six hundred tons of ore monthly. The matte and furnace products of many other works that are sold in this country under difficulties, and which are shipped to the east, or to England, Germany, or anywhere in Europe, with little profit on account of high freight, will be treated as a specialty in this establishment. The French Smelting Works at Golden will realize an important progress in Colorado, because they will also treat the ores and fur- nace products, heretofore possessing a limited demand on account of their impurities and refractory composition (bearing zinc, anti- mony, arsenic, etc.), rendering them of less value to the miners. At the head of this establishment is J, Guillardon, assisted by effi- cient metallurgists and workmen from France. The ores are first crushed, sampled, and assayed. The sulphur in gold-bearing ores is got rid of by kiln or heap roasting in the open air. MINES AND MINING. 237 Piles of ore are underlaid with wood, which is set on fire. The sulphur in the former is thus ignited and continues to burn for a month or two, or until entirely consumed. Silver ores, not containing enough sulphur to maintain combustion without the aid of other substances, are roasted in reverberatory furnaces and then smelted in the same manner as gold ores. When smelting has been carried on long enor zh, the fur- naces are tapped and the moiten lava let out onto asand floor. This contains pits, into which the heavier part of the output naturally gravi- tates. This is called matte, while the worthless part, called slag, flows over the floor and is broken up and carted away asrefuse. The matte is then crushed and roasted in another furnace, in order to expel what sulphur remains and to form a sulphate of silver. It is then put in vats, where hot water dissolves this sulphate. After leaching, the solution runs into wooden vats lined with copper. The latter metal liberates the silver from the solution. The silver thus precipitated is gathered at intervals, washed and pressed into cakes and melted and run into bars. After the silver has been precipitated, the solu- tion passes into other tanks containing scrap iron, which separates the copper from the solution, and the latter fiows on to waste. The separation of gold takes place in this department. The reverberatory furnaces are constructed of brick and iron, are lined with fire-clay brick, and are heated by wood, coke, or coal—the latter being used generally in the furnaces of the plains’ cities. The same kind of furnaces are used in reduction works of other descriptions. The Golden Malachite Company recently began operations under the management of Professor W. T. Sapp. Gold, silver, and cop- per ores are bought and treated, mainly of the grades too poor to stand the expense of smelting. The ores are roasted, and muriatic acid is manufactured from the sulphur contained in them; also blue vitriol and copperas—the coppér is leached out and the residue or matter containing the precious metals is sold to the smelters. The sulphuret ores of Gilpin county are the kind especially desired and sought after for the process used here. One hundred and twenty- five tons have been handled a month from that district, and now that the daily capacity of the works has been increased to fourteen tons, the business will be larger. Much ore has come from the O. K. and National mines, near Central; from fifteen to twenty tons of copper are produced monthly, and the acid chamber turns out from four to six thousand pounds of muriatic acid daily. The prices 238 COLORADO. paid for sulphuret ores containing no lead are: for ores running less than one ounce in gold, six ounces in silver, and not under six per cent. copper, $10 perton and upwards, adding $1 per ton for every additional per cent. of copper, the ore to be delivered on board cars at Black Hawk, viz.: ore running 66-100 of an ounce in gold, 5 ounces in silver and 7 per cent. copper, $10 per ton is paid; ore running same in gold and silver, and 10 per cent. copper, $18 per ton; ores running over one ounce in gold, six ounces in sil- ver, and six per cent. copper, and not exceeding in value over $2 ~ per ton, $20 an ounce in gold, silver at New York quotations, and $2 for every per cent. of copper, less ten per cent. and $20 for treat- ment, delivered on board cars. The first smelting was done at Golden in 1872. After some sus- pension of work, the Golden Smelting Company became owners of and remodeled or enlarged the original concern. The value of gold, silver, and lead, produced in 1876, was reported at over $150,000, and at $275,000 in 1877. This was the product of ores purchased from Gilpin, Clear Creek, Boulder, and from what is now Custer county. A small amount came from Park, in the latter year. The process is smelting with lead. Last year business was much better, and in the summer and fall the capacity was enlarged to eighteen tons daily. The product of the year 1878 was $384,122. From Gilpin county ores was obtained $60,865 worth of gold and $22,936.75 worth of silver. Clear Creck sent $204,403, nearly all silver; Boulder, $48,123 in gold and silver; Park, $14,498 in silver, with a small amount of lead, and the Leadville carbonates turned out $33,896. The latter have since been coming in large quantities. The total product of the works from first to last has exceeded one million. The great buildings in the upper portion of Golden erected for, and for a time operated as, smelting works are now occupied by the Golden ore buying and sampling agency of Messrs. Netter, Matthews & Co. Ores are also bought and shipped from Denver. This firm has dealt largely in ores from all quarters, but especially in those of Clear Creek and Custer counties. The mill of Matthews, Morris & Co., in Georgetown, sampled, purchased and shipped more ore in 1878 than any other engaged in that line of business with possibly one exception. The mill at Golden is supphed with all machinery and appliances for the conduct of a large business. MINES AND MINING. 239 The smelting works at Argo arc the successors of the Boston and Colorado Company’s long established operations in the mountains. Professor N. P. Hill was the founder and has ever been the managing director of that company’s smelting establishments. He began work at Black Hawk, in January, 1868, with one calciner and one smelting furnace. All around him were wrecks of preceding attempts at ore reduction, but, while encountering many difficultics in the earlier years, there has never been an interruption of work, general progress or success. As the ore-supplying mining districts became more numerous and extensive, the furnaces and working forces were increased, and in time a corps of assistants had been secured such as is seldom met with, and whom it would almost be an impossibility to replace. The rare business and executive qualifications of the general man- ager have been ably seconded by those whom he has called to responsible positions, while the State has shown its appreciation of services rendered its main industry by awarding him a seat in the United States Senate. This copper matte method of smelting, old and tried in other lands, has required many adaptations to the numerous and varied ores it has had to deal with, and as now conducted at this establish- ment can be termed the Colorado more appropriately than the Swansea process. When Professor Richard Pearce took charge of the metallurgical department, away back in 1878, the production of the first absolutely pure silver bullion in the West began. Before that the valuable mctals had been sent ffom Black Hawk across the ocean to Swansea, in the form of copper matte, where they were purchased, separated, and refined. Since 1875 the gold has also been parted and refined in Colorado, and by a method of Mr. Pearce’s own invention. In 1873 branch works were started at Alma, among the Park county silver mines, and in 1876 an ore buying agency was estab- lished at Boulder. In 1877-8 the capacity of the Black Hawk works was over fifty tons of ore daily, instead of ten or twelve, as at the beginning. The working force had increased to a hundred men, the annual production of bullion from a coin value of $193,490 in 1868 to one of over two millions, and the average stock of ores on hand represented a value of three quarters of a million. Ores were coming in steadily from almost all parts of the State, and began to 240 COLORADO—MINES AND MINING. arrive from Montana, even, a thousand miles away. But the ques- tion of fuel was becoming a serious one, a more central and gener- ally accessible locality was desirable, and as it was necessary to again enlarge the works it was deemed best to build entirely anew, and near the coal measures and the railway centre of the plains. © A location was selected two miles from Denver, to which the very appropriate name of Argo was applied, after the good ship in which a hero of Grecian mythology is reputed to have set ' sail in search of the golden fleece. The new works were so far completed in December, 1878, that several furnaces were fired up, and soon after all business, except roasting ores on hand, and samp- ling, purchasing and shipping, was discontinued at the old place at Black Hawk. The works at Argo were constructed after the most approved plans which long experience and the necessities and advantages of the situation could suggest. The result is the finest and most extensive gold and silver reducing establishment in the world. This will be enlarged hereafter, but already possesses a nominal capacity for treating 120 tons of ore, or a practical capacity of 100 tons daily from one year’s end to another, with the following enor- mous plant: 30 great kilns for roasting and desulphurizing the ore, and requiring wood for fuel; 10 ore calciners or roasting furnaces; 8 ore smelting furnaces; 8 calcining furnaces in the refining depart- ment; and five melting furnaces; together with engines and other — necessary machinery. ‘Two hundred men are employed, more than a quarter of a million in bullion is turned out monthly, and one hundred tons of Canon and El Moro coal are consumed daily, beside a small quantity of wood. The stock of ores carried on hand excecds $1,000,000 in value. Ore and coal trains pass over side tracks from the adjacent Colorado Central railway into the yard and receptacles prepared for them. In the great ore building, 450 feet long by 120 wide, are scales for weighing loaded and empty cars, steam engines for propelling the ore-crushing and sampling machinery, and ten calciners—each roasting 9,600 pounds of ore every twenty-four hours. Adjoining are thirty roasting kilns, and a smoke-stack 100 feet high, that carries off the sulphurous fumes of both calciners and kilns. The products of all the different furnace buildings are conveyed from one to another in cars over connecting railways. 242 COLORADO. In another building nearly 300 feet long and directly opposite are eight furnaces that smelt 100 tons of roasted ores into five of matte every twenty-four hours, while the refuse remains in what is called slag. After the slag has been skimmed off of the matte, the latter is transferred to another massive building, pulver- ized by crushers and rollers and roasted in the calciners of the refin- ing department—eight in number. A line of vats is the next recep- tacle, into which contin- uous streams of hot “water are conveyed by pipes. This hot water holds the silver in solu- tion, and in a series of tanks below, the silver is precipitated or retained on lines of standing cop- . per plates from which it is removed every weck. The bright, pure flaky metal is secured in im- mense crucibles, and is shoveled into buckets and conveyed to the melting furnaces, five in number. There it is melted into solid bars of an average weight of about 1,700 ounces, valued at $1,900 more or less. The copper and gold are saved separately from the silver, the copper being secured on scrap iron. The gold bricks vary in value from $15,000 to $27,000 each. Cent- rally located is the handsome structure used as the headquarters and offices of managers Hill and Wolcott. All of the buildings are of cut stone, covered with roofs of corru- gated iron, and outside of the works are buildings for the employees and their families. This village has three hundred people, with a school and church, A TON OF PURE SILVER, aad MINES AND MINING. ‘ 243 The production of the works for four years in the various metals, and by counties, was as follows: | 1875. COUNTIES. Gold. Silver. Copper. Total. Gil yin re see ae ones $357,000 - $94,000 $51,000: $502,000 Olear Creek..........5.. 4,000 438: OO0M ies akies sect 442,000 rene Ser clas See ee 41,000 - 618,000 19,000 678,000 ipoulderte eon nee. 113,900 74: OOO ES Seer es 187,000 PEMON Les cchnack ss ou Betsy steve TOGO Re mn foot tere 126,000 — Gold and Silver, San) 12.000 Suarwend eleewhere (olin: 2 = Ante eee ee Ate Pots] ice p moipshs $515,000 $1,350,000 $70,000 | $1,947,000 1876. CAG ea eae $594,000 $132,000 | $78,000 $804,500 Clear Creek .......... 5,400 529,000 | Poi s.2e- 534,400 pare stot as saree stiars - 39,000 458,000 14,000 511,000 BSOUIM ET Fee seicces 86,000 AD 000 ie miaeees 135,000 ETeMION Gas cise eel, Testy e ae 1025 O00 eee eyes 102,000 OUNCTR SOURCES ce naseal) teed le wate le) F hsS eect 11,000 Totalseonnne sacse $724,400 $1,270,000 $92,500 $2,097,000 1877. Gilpin see ess sense $591,509 $137,500 $86,000 $815,000 Clear) Creek... 02 ...-. 6,500 707,000 3,000 716,500 (Parkin enters bouts 38,000 221,500 8,000 268,000 DOUCET He = acinar ae 169,000 O05007 lve ast actos 259,500 | Guster eee wae 14,500 76,500 ae Ee 91,000 | Others Sources. lee Poet WE) gl Setoeners lg OL erase 4,000 Motalsen., Ssouer o- $819,500 $1,233,000 $97,500 $2,154,000 1878. Gilpinigere aos leew sts: $608,500 $181,000 $79,000 $868, 500 Clear Creek....... .. 4,500 559,500 2,000 566,000 IBOUIGET ee cet si a0,a cee oe 178,000 OOOO Wile (Nests 251,000 PUIG iii tvoa os alee cee 16,590 114,000 4,000 134,500 WUSEER Seok at 8 cee a 83,000 52 DO0E ame ordek, 228 135,500 Montana Territory....| —-..-. 254 000 36,000 290,000 Other Sources...... eis 3,500 LO; 000K ets ici 10 13,500 Totalse cece teescs $894,000 $1,244,000 $121,000 $2,259,000 244 COLORADO, The currency value of the company’s bullion product previous to 1879 was as follows: ERS erate ger $270, 886: HASTE RG 4s ONoee ae $1,947,000 TUS Bese ie ee Lee 489, B7SVABT0 foreseen 2,097,000 OST Ore os ee oe 652,390.4 T8T7 ut ee cee 2,154,000 tc EL, Vane toe S46.871') IB7A ey ec ee 2,259,000 Re ONE Depa Mrs Wy Fs ay 999, 954 = POTS gol ok bc sGeeeee 1,210, 670 Total gv (cree $14,568,162 1874 WA) bh gia Ole © ance ene oes 1,638,877 Ra SS SS This company now does its smelting entirely at Argo. It has ore- buying agencies with sampling mills at Boulder, Black Hawk, and Alma, and receives ore from nearly every mining district in Colorado. Now that the capacity is about double what it was at Black Hawk, it is likely that the bullion product will show a proportionate increase. MINES AND MINING, 24.5 CHAPTER IV. COLORADO'S MINING PRODUCT FROM THE EARLY DAYS TO THE PRESENT TIME—A MASS OF STATISTICS—THE YIELD OF GOLD, SILVER, LEAD, AND COPPER—EIGHTY MILLIONS, AND TWENTY MORE COMING IN SEVENTY-NINE—TONS OF GOLD AND SILVER, No definite record was kept of Colorado’s mining product prior to 1868, and the estimates of miners and bullion shippers alone remain to base a statement of the yield of the carlier years on. Neither the mints nor express companies handled anywhere near all of the gold produced in those days. A published statement of Colorado’s output has appeared in print once or twice in recent times, but it is wide of the mark. The amounts given for the early placer mining times are too small, and those for the nine years up to 1872 are too large. The excess from 1863 to 1869 was evidently as much as six millions, and for the three years succecding the latter date at least three millions. The figures given for the latter. period were like those furnished by Colorado men to Professor R. W. Raymond for his annual reports. The yields for both periods were originally computed on a currency basis, when gold rangcd from $1.30 to $2.50, and aftcr the lapse of years were rated as coin values. The express agents of Wells, Fargo & Co. always furnished their figures on a currency basis, and so did all Colorado bankers, smelters, mill men and miners, unless the words ‘‘coin value”? were given. The figures in this book represent coin values unless otherwise stated. The placers and gulches of Lake, Summit, Park, and Gilpin counties yielded largely for several summers, beginning with that of 1860, and when they were on the decline, the lode mines, mainly in Gilpin county, came to the front. These were doing well in 1862, and still better in 1863-4. Lodes and placers gave a varying yield, however, from 1860 to 1865. Besides the above named counties, both classes of mining were prosecuted in Clear Creek and Boulder. The product of the territory dropped to low figures in 1866, and there was no heavy increase from that time until the 246 COLORADO. silver mines began to be extensively worked in 1870. What gain there was should be credited to the revival of lode mining in Gilpin county in 1868-9, and in a less degree to the then new discoveries in Lake. The custom of counting the yield of mill gold in ounces may haye been caused or strengthened by the continual variations between the values of the gold and greenback dollar. Such variations are shown in the price of silver, whose valuation per ounce should be $1.29, instead of $1.10, or $1.18. The reduction in the price of silver bullion has been a source of much loss to silver miners. The silver product of Colorado in 1878 would have had a valuation nearly one million larger, had silver been held at the same rates as prevailed prior to 1876. As has been stated elsewhere, all figures given in this book represent coin values unless otherwise stated. The reduction of numberless items and tables from currency to coin was a job of enormous proportions, but has been perfected. The reader can rest assured that outside of the estimates for the earlier years, the figures of the Colorado gold and silver yield are in the aggregate correct.and reliable. The tables of the produc- tion of the entire State, and of most of the counties for several years past, are the only accurate ones ever published, having been revised from the author’s widely copied newspaper reports and _state- ments. The best attainable information indicates the following yield of Colorado mines down to 1870—all gold, excepting about $330,000 in silver, and perhaps $40,000 in copper. ‘ : ; P r YEAR. CoIN VALUE. YEAR. Corn VALUE. Lae ALP _...| $500,000 HOS tis Sign an: $2,525,000 SO, Rene cei ee face 3,250,000 SOG TD Pe das Sotho 1,575,000 LUO Lect e W ce «ohne hohe 3,250,000 LOOM gad ea dts San betes 1,750,000 Pon eed eee 3,400,000.” SMT LSOR ca vos exo car sag 2,000,706 a 400,000): ae Ue en es re 2 482,375 Ti ee tc 4s! 3,350,000 The following tabulated statement shows Colorado’s production of the four valuable metals and the total yield prior to 1879: 247 MINES AND MINING. "pve, JO SUO} OCT'9] puv ‘teddoo Fo suoy OT T's “AaATIs eand Jo suoj OYJ, ‘pjos oand fo suo} QS ATIVONT 19 S0e‘s62‘e2$ €L 000° rerts #9 &60‘eE9S SF O9L*TIS‘ce 06 SET‘8es‘Or EL P2689 00 000°68 ES S8S'OIs‘L 00 OOF LFE £9 96L°E6 68 LO6‘T6I‘9 60 000‘08 00 000'0% 60 L8EFEPS 00 00009 00 00006 00 gge‘e9e'g 00 929'8s 00 L61‘06 00 000‘820‘F 00 000‘8% 00 000°¢9 00 000062‘ 00 000°e$ 00 000°¢r F& 9F0'6S0'S aie te 00 000‘08 00 000‘029°% Fagg ae 00 00003 00 Ts0‘ese‘2e$ ies 00 000‘0F$ “IVLOL ‘ava'yT ‘aad dOO 18 208°TPE‘9 EB 6L89%L'E 00 26¢‘cTE‘e 00 SI6‘esr‘e ” 00 gz0°960'8 00 000°¢8'% 00 000°ST0‘% 91 OSF' LTE‘ StF 98 F8E‘O6P'S 99 LOL‘SFLS @B STE‘9GL‘S GO GLP TOTS 00 L8F°00'% 00 000°0¢2T. 00 000‘Sez‘T se ees serpy, aa eee sity OE ai er an vias aa ee FE 9F0'620'T 00 000°000°% rie ogee say eS tee | 00 000‘0¢9 09 000‘000'% a Aa heey Ss; | 00 000°0ee$ iat OO 180 Sie 2e8 ok Fee ae = JST 0} SNOTASLY | “MATIC “aTOH ‘ava ‘648 OL GOld LONdGOUd DNINIW SOdVHOTOO Cana wog) 248 COLORADO Mining in the mountains of Colorado dates back nearly twenty years prior to January, 1879. The figures of her bullion yield previous to 1868 are based on estimates of miners, express shippers, and others, as no reliable data has been published. Coin or gold, instead of currency values, are considered. This is done in order that the proper comparisons may readily be made between figures of the present specie payment period and those of the greenback era. Statements of the bullion yield of nearly all western states and territories have heretofore been made on a currency basis. This gives a wrong impression among those who pay little attention to such subjects. The actual difference between coin and currency may have been ten per cent. one year and sixty another. The first half of 1879 may not bring the grand total up to more than $83,000,000, but the last half is very likely to runit up toa round $100,000, 000. From the foregoing it will be seen that in a little over four years, up to 1864, the yield of gold was $13,800,000. This embraced the lively times of placer and gulch mining, and of lode mining by the pioneers and individual miners. From 1864 to 1870, inclusive, a period of seven years, the yield was $16,121,435. This was when the companics organized at the East did most of the mining. During the year 1864 the Colorado miners were selling out and quitting work, and the companies were beginning. In 1868-70 there was a great deal of mining done by Colorado miners, and the silver districts were beginning to produce. Up to 1871 the silver yield was about $1,000,000 and that of copper $80,000. Most of this came out in 1869-70. From that time silver mining made rapid strides, and from the beginning of 1872 has given a larger product than gold mining. The total yield of Colorado from the beginning of 1871 to 1879, a period of eight years, was $45,556,124.57. Nearly all of this was the result of individual work by Colorado miners. Eighteen hun- dred and seventy-eight gave $10,558,116.90 of this amount, and the last three years $23,915,306. The year 1879 may see as large an out- put as the preceding three years, and again may be considerably under twenty millions. Below are comparative statements of the yield of the leading mining counties by years, from 1870 to 1878, inclusive: MINES AND MINING. 249 COLORADO MINING PRODUCT BY COUNTIES— 1870-'71-'72-73. NAMES. 1870. 1871. 1872. 1873. . | Bee 2 ee Galpin eee aa ic 23 $1,552,000 00 | $1,400,000 00 | $1,389,289 00 | $1,240,502 00 Clear Creek. ..3-.... 481,354 08 869,046 34 1,503,291 00 1,204,761 00 MS Be arrest tanec sat ss 125,000 00 100,000 00 133,000 00 230,000 00 aT ete es Sts ah cess 03 60,060 00 100,000 00 250,000 00 459,000 00 Boulders sees sa. 180,000 00 250,000 00 346,540 00 390,000 00 SUMMIT. 5 sees 6 150,000 06 66,600 00 125,000 00 106,600 00 Other Products.... 171,645 92 274,000 00 50,000 00 297,737 00 Total of Colorado..| $2,670,645 92 | $3,059.046 34 | $3,790,000 00 | $4,028,000 00 COLORADO MINING PRODUCT BY COUNTIES, 1874-75-76. CouUNTIES. 1874, 1875. 1876. Glen. CLr6ek Saws Fs. 50 elt se ec see $2 208,947,00 $1,780,054 31 | $1,982,548 28 EINE Dt Rado. Ce CCR OD Coton HE IER TG 1,531,863 00 1,520,677 13 2,105,544 7S PEP LeA ysis ore, cater 08 piole, taeraliee eayaye eae 6 596,392 00 716,258 62 550,044 84 BOWING OTS oa 5 foie col suerioisin ctolelehe ore cee 539,870 00 695,000 00 547,085 20 WORT fet rateie’ fetes fot tc nie yas ise esis 223,503 00 104,258 62 90,200 00 SALI b eee te er eltiaeierasc's Sa = 6 126,108 00 122,413 78 350,000 00 RCLCHMOTIL men eaten a ce tas cece | Payers fee 294,827 58 251,121 06 MCL AM MAME MGCION osep osteo tolk ee Gucncedelsa + 90,517 24 244,663 66 Other sources and unaccounted for 40,620 00 200,380 55 70,000 00 Ota le ay wera sae «2 $5,362,383 00 | $5,434,387 02 | $6,191,907 82 COLORADO. 250 0000098 TI4IOM ‘sao, QOO‘OOT yHoqe svar yonpoad [vod ot, ES E82'9TSL #9 962'66$ 00 OOF LEe$ GOTT ie ee See Sele... (i eee 00 000‘¢E paper” May uae cae ee Sees eee . wane. Wel eRe Mt Meng on Og.0se'eeg = 1 Sie" 00 0094 SREB Se hae eo ce 00 000° GE 6SFOTO 00 00¢°8 00 000‘0T 16 LL9°902°% CO 000°¢ 00 000‘Esr 60 280°802°% F9 960'%8$ 00 000°T$ "STVLOT, “Haddon “aVaT. e8 6L5'9sL'e$ GE SLP'LES 00 000‘0F F€ T80‘SST 00 0868s? 98 GO09‘FES % 696 ‘68F 16 L20°FS6‘T 88 Sca‘TOTs ‘UTATISC . 99 LOL‘SFT'S$ | 826008 oo ooo'str | tt 00 000°S0T oos6 00 000‘0ST. | 008 00 000°96T | 000°% 00 000‘¢e | 0024'S BF BL‘9CE 000‘OF | 00 000‘80I OF 00 oos'as =| easter 10 SBPESBTS | O0O'ET | ‘poqyiodxe ‘C104 i | LO pozBat} | a10 JO SUDO, | LL8T YOOX LONGOUd DNINIW OdGVUOTOO [esrerererees sodInos 19qIO “""ToOTsey uvne UBS OL a Seago ee a a qyurUNng Sie 5) a Simin) eile A ee ‘I949sNO : oe QR MINES AND MINING. ‘peoy FO sto} G86'6 PuB “taddoo Jo su04 026 ¢ ‘TOATIS 1nd Fo suoy FeGT ‘ptos ond Fo suo} Fe AAO OpIWT B YO pauiny opeAo0[oH Fo sourut oy} ‘gLST UT 000008 JNoqe YAO ‘su0} YE9‘DS SEA QLST FO Jonpord [vod oy], 06 9IT'822‘0I$ | 09 000°68$ 82 Fe6‘gE9g 18 LOS‘ TFEe‘9$ 96 P8s‘06r's$ OPUS "7°" *8TBIOL AO TOOTGE se Merete Lae ae ina 00 000°002 eee ae ol ee Ee ea - s1OMOSIE 00 689'Feg Wa 00 000°09 00 680°E8E 09 000°68 Qo0ST «= *" “ WoTSay BNE US OTL 00 F24°06E ee 00 00008 00 000°SeT 09 FLL°COT 00ST Be ee eel Te gTOUINS 00 00c‘ecF ip Stair a. ea i 00 00S‘L9T 00 000'S8% O00" aR Pe ite Neer aa a 00 869°9&h 00 000°9 00 000‘F 00 86F‘8Es 09 008'84 1p Paes ta ca ye 0S SeL°629 heh re oo oe a 0S €@9'ees 00 003‘SFF 00¢'TT a et pa See ote IL 106°088‘% 00 000°6% 00 000°T GL 986'Ses 9€ £93'FL6'T DOO a © [tare eee 88 OL'TISS 00 000°F$ 00 000'86 88 GOL‘EL8'S 00 000°F&T OOU' Ge “| Se Ga eset) Sete a ; 82 Feb 'ErrS TL FL0°T6S S$ 00 9F62TT$ OFL'TS ema a ies ee ae *pojtodxe ‘STV.LOT, ‘udddop ‘dva'yT ‘MATIC “a 10Xy 10 payee} *SHLINDOD) a10 fo SUOT, ‘S181 NOT LOAGOUd YNINIW OGVUO'TOO 252 COLORADO. No definite record of the placers, creeks, and gulches of Colorado was kept when their yield was heaviest. Itis believed that their total yield up to 1879 exceeded $20,500,000 in gold dust. Taking that sum as a correct estimate and the yield of the placers would compare with that of gold lode veins up to 1879, as follows: Nield of gold from lode mining... 3. «2.4. 24.5 .2%, $27,717,450 76 Wield of gold fram placers. 524% «ay «sm aks Bp ede als 20,500,000 00 Total igald.-: . 7s peek a eee cae $48,217,450 76 The yield of placer mining, as compared with that of both gold and silver mining, up to 1879, figured on the same basis, would be as follows : Gold, silver, etc., from lode veins...............6: $55,293,205 61 Gold from placers, as given above........... ...+. 20,500,000 00 Total of silver and gold............. $75, 793,000 00 The yield of the placers up to 1865 is estimated at $13,500,000, and from the beginning of that year to 1879, at $7,000,000. The present placer yield does not by any means form so large a propor- tion of the total as it once did. In 1860 and 1861 it comprised more than half of Colorado’s product, and lately only about five per cent. of it. This kind of mining was at its lowest ebb in 1872, when the production was but little over $200,000. Since then it has increased so as to maintain about the same per cent. of the State’s yield year after year. This gain is due to operations of great extent that have been inaugurated in many counties. It is not impossible that the placer yield of 1879 may reach three quarters of a million. Placer and gulch mining outside of some limited underground work cannot be carried on in Colorado in the winter. The available season for work commences some time in May and continues until late in October or early in November. The more elevated the locality the shorter is the season. This limited time for operations and the delay in starting in anew every spring is one of the causes of Colorado's small placer yield as compared with California, The alluvial or placer deposits are small however compared with those of the latter state. Yet many of them cannot well be exhausted in one or more generations. MINES OF BOULDER COUNTY, 253 GAELS PEGE CR Vee THE MINES OF BOULDER COUNTY—THE GOLD, SILVER, TELLURIDE, AND COAL BELTS—REVIEW OF THE MOUNTAIN MINING DISTRICTS —BRIEF NARRATIVE OF OPERATIONS—THE YIELD OF THE PRECIOUS METALS FROM 1859 To 1879—-DETAILED STATEMENTS OF PRODUCTION—MINES, MILLS, AND SMELTERS. Boulder county embraces a combination of mountain, valley, and plain that reverts in the highest measure to the advantage of its people. Its mineral deposits are of great extent and variety, and its agricultural sections are extremely fertile, and in a high state of culti- vation. Flourishing towns and beautiful farms dot its surface, and ‘mines and mills are profitably operated all over the mountain sections, from the sunny plains at Boulder back to the snow-barren summits of the snowy range. On the plains are extensive coal measures, which will be referred to more in detail in another place. The farming sections have already been described. The mines and the mining industry will be the subject matter of the few succeeding pages. The mineral deposits of Boulder are very extensive, and embrace a wonderful variety. First there are alluvial deposits in creeks and gulches, but these are of limited extent and mainly worked out. The gold and silver lode veins, and the coal measures are the main source of wealth. The former are located on the mountains and the latter on the plains. The lode veins of Boulder county may be classed under three heads—silver, gold, and telluride; the latter carrying both metals. They are generally of the kind referred to as ‘true fissures,” very many of them having well-defined walls and seem- ingly unending depth. They commonly occur either in gneiss or granite rock, or between the two. There are exceptions, however, both regarding formation, regularity, and continuity. There is a 254 COLORADO —MINES OF BOULDER COUNTY. multitude of them, good, bad, and indifferent. Some thousands of locations have been recorded, and the number worked with a profit is large. The alluvial gold deposits of the gulches were operated by the pioneers, and more or less every summer since. Some are abandoned, however. Some large gold-bearing lodes were discovered in 1859-60, and for several years quartz mills were turning out a great deal of bullion. After considerable depth was attained, more diffi- culty was experienced in reducing the ores and extracting the gold than is usual with free gold ores of other counties. This caused companies or individual owners to stop work. Process mills also brought disaster in certain localities. Long before the discovery of silver at Caribou, mining affairs were at a low ebb, although work was never entirely suspended in Ward district. The productive character of the silver mines at Caribou turned attention once more to the entire section, and prospecters, and miners who had not found anything valuable near the Boulder creeks, began to move out over the hills to the northward. While looking for gold and silver bearing veins, they often encountered mineral of a strange and peculiar appearance, which was passed over as worth- less. After a while Professor J. Alden Smith and others began to test this mineral, and found it to be of the telluride species, carrying gold in remarkably large quantities. Tellurium is a metal that has been discovered in very few places, and Colorado miners were as little acquainted therewith as they had been with silver a few years before. Its existence in Colorado was first known in 1873, in the Red Cloud mine on Gold Hill. Ores from this vein could not be made to produce well in the stamp mills, although assays demonstrated the presence of gold in large quantities. After their true character was ascertained, the owners commenced shipping ore to the smelters, Jarge returns were obtained and men began to flock in to the district and to prospect for tellurides. Many discoveries were made in the succeeding two or three years, and the production and rich pay streaks of the Cold Spring, Red Cloud, American, Slide, Keystone, Magnolia, John Jay, Melvina and other veins created more excitement than did the Columbia, Horsfal and Hoosier gold lodes a dozen years before, or the Caribou ye’ finds of more recent times, f a5 pl sy a pieeies\ ee tt AWS hoes} WES 3 dai We 2 256 COLORADO, These mines built up the towns of Sunshine, Salina, Providence, Ballarat and Magnolia, and caused a return of population to Gold Hill and James Creek. While many of these discoveries are no longer worked, some valuable gold veins have been found and operations have been resumed on some of the long idle mines that paid so well in the early days. Between the gold, silver, and telluride belts the mining portion of Boulder county is enabled to show a steady development and a gain in production. Several mines of Boulder county yielded large amounts of gold from 1859 to 1865, inclusive. The Columbia lode, in Ward district, paid largely for atime, especially those parts since known as the Ni Wot and Baxter properties. The Horsfal mine on Gold Hill was also very productive, as was the Hoosier and some others. The yield of gold for the entire county, up to 1870, may be safely set down at $950,000. The gold yield had been decreasing for some time when the Caribou silver mines began to be developed. In four years, 1870-4 inclusive, before the telluride mines began to be generally worked, Caribou district. had probably yielded nearly $700,000 in silver, and all other districts $270,000 in gold. From that time the gold product was much larger. The total yield of Boulder county up to January 1, 1879,was not far from what appears in the following table: Prior to 1870........ $950,000 118725 Aerts eae $536,582 00 1AT07/ 0.2 eee 180, 000T1R 76s: eae 605,000 00 9090: OS ee ae ee 350.0001 18761 sores Lb 547,085 20 Foy PRRs i nagae f S46, G40 LPT eke nas 593,325 85 17a. SS, ene, 890,000/1878; > 7. 5s 679,123 50 Total for twenty years, $5,027,656.05, of which $3,082,931 was gold and about $1,944,000 silver. The present yield indicates a product of $800,000 in 1879. The product of 1875 embraced $266,000 in silver from Caribou district, probably about $70,000 from the few gold lodes and from the gulches, and $269,000 from the telluride veins, whose product was mainly gold. The total product may be set down as $305,000 in gold, and $300,000 in silver. In 1876 the silver product of Caribou was only about $80,000, and of the county possibly $120,000, leaving $427,085.20 as the gold product, mainly from telluride camps. MINES OF BOULDER COUNTY. 257 The mining product of the county for the years 1877 and 1878 was as follows: 187 T 1878. Mm toa Ys $356) 7220495 Golds vee ike 2 of $454,123 50 Sg eo eee PeagOO Se SO POUVER. pce aeigieee D ¥/s 223,000 00 120 oe ee oe 2000s OD peat tees bata ae ps 2,000 00 Guiles Ga: $593,325 35 VOtale eects: $679,123 50 Last year Boyd and other smelters purchased about $25,000 worth of Lake and Clear Creek county ores and Gilpin stamp mill tailings for fluxing purposes. That amount is deducted from the export and output of Boulder, which was actually $704,123.50. The yield of 1877 passed through the following mills, smelters, and avenues: Tons ofOre. Value. Silver bullion—New Jersey, at Caribou.......... 600 $100,000 Gold bullion— Gulch and stamp mill gold....... 3,000 60,000 Gold and silver bullion at Boyd’s smelting works, Reena laa ae ona ee ee a 1,800 150,000 Ores smelted at B. and C. works at Black Hawk. 1,800 248,325 Ores smelted at Golden smelting works ......... 200 20,000 Ores shipped to West Denver works ............ 75 5,000 Other shippers and consumers, and crude ore con- . CEULTAUCKL GOs OL Ol hy Se a ee MOLT 50 10,000 Totalcons, and valueyady: . o> yack vs 8,125 | $593,325 The concentrating mills reduced the bulk of some 3,500 tons of low grade ore down to one-third of that amount, and then sold to the smelters, as appears in the above figures. The gold and silver mining product of 1878 passed through various channels, in amounts as follows: Gold and silver bullion from Boyd, Hunt, etc......... $120,000 00 eager pulliionirom Caribouy iy. feet Loe A AS 130,000 00 Silver bullion from Washington Avenue mill.......... 15,000 00 Mere eUISt ATIC Till FECOItIs > 6 oe. foes ES dE RA 65,000 00 Gold taken out of county outside of banks and express, 25,000 00 Ore sent to Boston and Colorado Works at Black Hawk, 251,000 00 Ore sentto Golden'Smelting O60... eee 48,123 50 Ore sent to Omaha, St. Louis, and elsewhere.......... . 50,000 00 Deduct from above $25,000 due ore of other counties, | 258 COLORADO. The ore product of 1878 was not far from 11,500 tons, of which all but 1,500 were handled in the county. About 1,000 of the first amount were concentrated into less than two or three hundred tons, and then mainly shipped, so that they eventually appear in the second or export figures. The quartz mills treated about 4,000 tons of ore, yielding an average of about $15 per ton. The silver ores exceeded 2,500 tons, and were mostly treated at the Caribou mill, with an average of $66 per ton. Others went to Boulder, Black Hawk, and Golden, and smelted from $80 to $200 per ton, and occasionally $200 to $600 and more. The telluride mines are sup- posed to have yielded nearly 3,500 tons. Most assorted ores gave from $100 to $400. Crude ores, before concentrating, contained only from $15 to $50. The tellurides went to Boulder, Golden, Black Hawk, and Argo. The last two places represent the Boston & Colorado Smelting Company, whose purchases yielded $74,782 in gold and $42,608 in silver in 1876, about $160,952 in gold and $86,190 in silver in 1877, and $178,000 in gold and $73,000 in silver in 1878. _ The mines that appear to take the lead at present are the Caribou, Native Silver, Seven-Thirty and some others at Caribou, the Melvina Slide, and Smuggler in the telluride belt, and the Golden Age gold mine, The Cold Spring, Keystone, Mountain Lion, Last Chance, and some other telluride mines are reported to be producing largely again. Some of the gold lodes of Ward district, such as the Columbia, Yelestial, Utica, Stoughton, and others, are beginning to pay once more. There is more than usual activity in Caribou, Ward, Gold Hill, and Central districts. The last embraces the Left Hand, James Creek, and Ballarat sections. Magnolia is also‘reviving. There has been a steady improvement nearly all over the county for the past twelve months. Many quartz mills, smelting and reduction works, have been in operation in Boulder county since mining began. The varied and novel character of some of the ores, and the refractory nature of others, offered a fruitful field for experiments, and for the trial of various processes, resulting in failure and loss. The old stamp mill methods, melting with lead riches and cupeling, and chlorodizing and amal- gamating are the processes by which the ores are handled at present. The frue vanner concentrating tables had a big run two years ugo, and some twenty or more were in use, but most of them are now idle or discarded. MINES OF BOULDER COUNTY. Other concentrating mills are at work. 259 The smelting and reduction works of Boulder county that are at work are stated below. , Reducing Name, Location. Character or Process. Capacity PLant. Tons Stamping, chlo- | 15 st Pest Caribou Cons. | rodizing roast- pace gas Ne a Company... \ Nederland. ing and amal- r 15 ee and 10 pans, (| gamating...... J : ( Crushers, 10 stamps, 4 Smelting with) | reverberatory a;H. Boyd..... Boulder.... lead and age 8 to 12 and smelting fur- | ing, Sh naces, and cupel furnace. ( Crushers, reverber- Smelting with atory water- Boa B Stet Orodelfan 4 lead and capelat 4to8 jacket and blast = See TD Ore arte hee f furnaces, and cupel furnace. fi Stamping, potet: ] sieretter 2 on ing and ama ers, 3 pans an EGmeroy .....<. Weatds.'.2.: { aoe on, and 5 to8 concentrating l concentration.. tables. . Concentration, Atchison Co. Salina..... smelting, and>| 4to6 j elas ee amalgamation. ‘ (| Cone., ere | ( Me RetaDe os shi | roasting an ers eaching met = i tyes ee leaching with ¢-| 8 to 10 tubs and vats, =) caine lS copper; dry and concentrat- | concentration.. J ing machinery. The raw amalgamation stamp mills, for treating the low grade gold| ores and quartz, havea total crushing capacity of 130 tons daily, but only about half of them are usually at work. They are as follows: Name, | LocaTIon. CHARACTER, ee ed Pomeroy PSEMIMANG os oatecAro.e Golden Age......... Corning Tunnel Hetzer see e eens teeeens First National...... Raw amal..... ee “ce <6 Carew BSP = ie We Ol ere a6 6“ “6 66 6é os 66 ¥. 4 wep ere ee Bee ele 6 We, 4“c6 ee RO a eR aA: oe 66 eee eee 66 ac se 66 “cc 66 “c 6é ata SSE Le ll te eee 1 Oe Oe eeeee ese eeee see ewe CALIBRE, 66 “é ac “ee sé ec ac oeeee 260 COLORADO, Total, 9 mills and 185 stamps. There is also a small quartz mill in Sugar Loaf district. The concentrating mills (mainly for telluride ores) now at work are the Melvina or Everitt mill at Salina, and the Black Cloud mill, near that point and Gola Hill. The Van Fleet mill at the Smuggler mine is also run occasionally. Pomeroy has concentrating tables in his mill at Ward, and the Washington Avenue mill operates the dry concentration process. Boyd, and Hunt Barber & Co. treat gold, silver, and telluride ores. Their bullion is mixed gold and silver, in which the former largely predominates. The Boston & Colorado Smelting Company have a sampling mill and ore-buying agency at Boulder. This handles large quantities of ore, shipping to Argo. There are two idle silver mills in the Caribou district. One of these belongs to the owners of the No Name and Sherman mines. It was operated only in portions of 1875-6. The other was built at Caribou in 1876 and is called the New Jersey mill. This turned out considerably more than one hundred thousand dollars in 1877-8; but has not been at work for ten months. It contains ten stamps, roasting cylinders, vats and tubs for copper leaching. MINES OF BOULDER COUNTY, -261 CHAPTER VI. BOULDER COUNTY MINES—THE SILVER BELT ON THE HEADWATERS OF THE BOULDERS—STORY OF A GREAT SILVER MINE—THE CARIBOU, ITS RECORD, YIELD, AND PRESENT CONDITION—HARD MONEY, AND PLENTY OF IT—THE NATIVE SILVER, SEVEN- THIRTY, NO NAME, IDAHO AND OTHER LODES OF THE CARIBOU DISTRICT. Up to 1870 the forest-clad hills up towards timber-line and the headwaters of the Boulder creeks had seldom been visited. While hunting for deer, Samuel Conger had located a gold lode there away back in 1864, but never did much work onit. Years after he saw some Nevada silver ore, and was struck with its similarity to rock he had stumbled over in his lonely hunting excursions among the pines near Arapahoe Peak. He induced some Gilpin county men to ac- company him on a prospecting trip, and the result was the discovery " of silver. Conger struck the outcroppings of a vein which he called the Poor Man, and William Martin and George Lytle found a lode just above, which they named the Caribou. This was on the last day of summer, 1869. An assay of the ‘‘ blossom rock,’’ made at Central, caused them to return with pick and shovel, and blaze a trail to their new camp. Supplies were furnished by three ranchmen named Mishler, McCam- mon, and Pickel, who were partners in the discoveries. The others carried these winter supplies in on their backs, and over the deep snows. Conger traded his interest in the Caribou in such a way as to become the sole owner of the Poor Man. Before winter came on, one load of ore was sold for good figures to the smelters. Martin and Lytle built a cabin on the spot where the town of Caribou now stands, and kept at work on the mine whenever the weather would permit. The locality was close to the snowy range, and ten thousand feet above sea-level, and storms and snows were of frequent occurrence. When summer came the owners constructed a wagon-road, and began to break ore and team it to Prof. Hill, at Black Hawk, twenty miles distant, 262 COLORADO. Reports of the value and quantity of the ore soon became noised abroad, and a stampede ensued for the new district. Many lodes were found that season, some of which paid handsomely, and a town sprang up in the adjacent valley, which, after the big vein, was called Caribou. Among other mines that sold ore in 1870, were the Idaho, Boulder County, Trojan, No Name, Sherman, Spencer, Sov- ereign People, Poor Man, and Seven-Thirty. The entire tract of country was called Grand Island Mining District. In the fall of 1870, A. D. Breed, of Cincinnati, purchased the western half of the Caribou lode for $50,000, and constructed a road to and began the erection of a mill at what is now called Nederland. Up to January, 1871, the main shaft had reached a depth of 200 - fect, and $70,000 was said to have been obtained from sales of ore. Breed completed his great silver mill late in 1871, and by October 1, 1872, had mined 3,6502 tons of ore. The discoverers also made money on the eastern half of the lode. In the spring of 1873 the Mining Company Nederland was formed in Holland, and purchased the Caribou mine and mill prop- erty at the nominal figure of $3,000,000, although the actual cash payment was but a little more than half that sum. The Holland organization encountered trouble from the start. It is said that Breed stripped the mine of much of its rich ore after the examina- tion and before the property was turned over. Some of the Com- pany agents were of no benefit, and contentions, mismanagement, and debts caused a cessation of work at the close of 1875, and the dis- posal of the mine at sheriff's sale, to Jerome B. Chaffee, in October of the succeeding year. During 1873-’4—5, the mine had yielded largely, and if properly conducted would have paid handsomely. From the date of discovery to the time when the company closed down, the yield was not far from $750,000, of which sum $130,000 came from 1,800 tons of ore in 1874, and $210,703 from 3,819 tons of ore in 1875. Tribute workers are said to have taken out about 25,000 during the spring and summer of 1876. The mine was then 470 feet deep, and over 3,250 square fathoms of ground had been broken or excavated. Since Mr. Chaffee and associates acquired the property, they have recovered the mine from the bad condition in which it had been left, and have steadily pursued the policy of development until the ore reserves are of immense extent, Although the work is almost tl, MINES OF BOULDER COUNTY. 268 entirely confined to sinking and drifting, the product and profits are now rarely equaled. Eben Smith, who has operated important mines nearly a!l over the State, has been the superintendent since the purchase in 1876. The results are a mine and mill in splendid condition and working order, and the beginning of the payment of regular dividends, with no probability of stoppage. Where work has been confined to development without drawing on the ore reserves, the output of a mine does not by any means show what it is capable of doing when production is ‘“ forced.’ Since entering the great ore bodies of the present lower workings, how- ever, the returns have been very creditable. In sinking and drifting $26,449.80 were received for ore sold up to October 1st, 1877, and $83,507,31 for the year succeeding. The actual yield of this ore, for which $109,957.11 was paid, may have exceeded $150,000. The mill was started up in February, 1878. Fora year ten stamps and three cylinders were kept at work, on less than half the force formerly employed. Since-March, the increased production of the mine has caused the mill to be run to its full capacity. The product was 13,034 ounces of silver in November, 17,190 in December, and over 92,000 for the four succeeding months. This silver, not being refined at the mill, is worth about one dollar per ounce. Here is a yield of $122,000 in five months. The mine yielded $27,000 in May, and about $25,000 in June, and the entire monthly expenses are reported at less than $9,000. Total yield of mine to July, 1879, about $1,100,000. The superintendent is confident of being aplet to continue for years ~ to mine fifteen tons of ore per day, or over four hundred per month —the full capacity of the mill—without exhausting or even reducing the reserves, and to pay from ten to fifteen thousand dollars in dividends every month. The average yield of Caribou ore at the mill, just as it came from the mine, has been $66 per ton. Assorted lots of from one to seven tons each, sold at the Boston & Colorado smelting works, gave from 2385 to 666 ounces per ton. Thirty- nine tons sold at near the same dates averaged over 300 ounces. Pieces of ore are found every day that will assay among the thousands. The Caribou pay vein varies in width from two to eight feet. It is remarkable for its great size and comparative uniformity of value one month with another, It pitches toward the north, and is the ‘NOLLDUS TVNIGALIONOT—ANIN HOV S j a a ONAOHD LAO OFHUOM STLYIICN! HIUIG O1108 85 SS ee eee | LIFTS £0 TIVIS aw ‘ RS Aw RON IW Y Ave ww — TINT ATTIVA MOTIB Y\y« WMONN LON NS 4727 WOU! WLINIVN COLORADO—MINES OF BOULDER COUNTY. 265 great mother vein of the hill. The course and direction of this and neighboring veins are such that the Caribou will be found to absorb several of them before much greater depth is attained. In fact several have already merged into this great ore channel, as branches of a tree connect with the parent trunk. Other feeders and blind lodes have been discovered, by means of cross cuts driven north and south, all pitching in the same direction. The result of the union of two or more veins is to increase the quantity and quality of the ore, Late developments go to show that the Caribou vein is richer at great depths than near the surface. The best ore ever mined there was raised within the past few months in solid blocks, ten or twelve inches long and wide. About sixty men are employed in the mine. Most of them are engaged on contract or on tribute work; others receive $2.50 per day for their labor. The cost of drifting or running levels by hand- drilling varies from $12 to $18 per foot, according to hardness of ground and size of vein, and eight dollars is the lowest price ever paid for drifting. Where machine drills are used, the cost is thirty three per cent. less. The main shaft is sunk with the aid of the latter at $40 per foot; with hand-drills the cost was $60. This shaft is five feet wide by fourteen long inside of timbers; has a double hoisting copartment or bucket-ways, and will be 810 fect deep as soon as the present ‘‘lift”? is sunk. A duplex Wood patent air-compressor, capable of running four machine drills, that strike from 500 to 700 blows per minute, is used. In rock of the unusual hardness of that of Caribou Hill the amount of time and money saved by this system of rock-drilling is strikingly apparent. It is claimed that twice as much ground can be broken in a given time by using these machine drills as by hand-drilling. As sinking and drifting are five times as costly in this mine as stoping is, expenses will be vastly reduced when breaking down the ore reserves. Mining costs but ¢9.15 per ton, according to past experience. Ore is hauled to the mill at a contract price of $2 per ton. Milling expenses, including all outlays for labor, fuel, salt, chemicals, etc., as per monthly statements, are only $8 per ton. This makes a total cost of $19.15, or say $20 per ton. It takes a big vein and favorable ore to admit of such small figures. The average yield of the fifteen tons of ore mined and milled daily has been $66. Allowing a return of $60, and the per cent, of profits on 12 266 COLORADO. the gross yield is over sixty-six per cent., or at the rate of $16,000 per month. As the ore has recently been getting richer, the yield will be even better than this. The developments of the Caribou mine comprise seyen shafts one hundred feet apart, with a total of 2,200 feet, and thirteen levels, connecting the main shafts, of a combined length of over 5,000 feet. tunnel 700 feet long intersects the mine from the north at a depth of 300 feet. The main shaft is reported to have reached a depth of 810 feet with a newly started level within ten feet of the bottom. This shows that the mine has been deepened 340 feet in a little over two years. The Caribou main shaft is covered by a structure of great size, containing steam hoisting machinery of the most powerful character. The total length, including both hoisting and engine departments, is 180 feet. The former encloses two shafts, and contains blacksmith and tool shops, air compressors, assorting floor, tramways, cars, office, etc. In the latter, are an eighty-horse power steam-engine, two tubular boilers of one hundred-horse power, operating a hoist- ing gear of four drums of five feet diameter, cach of independent action and capable of storing 3,000 feet of two-inch rope. Steam is also furnished fora new twelve-inch cylinder, four-inch water plunger Knowles pump of double action, located in the mine and draining the same. There are also large buildings and machinery over shafts two and five. The Caribou silver mill is located at Nederland, four miles from the mine, on account of abundant water and fuel facilities. The main building is 165 feet long by 100 wide, and is terraced in five floors for automatic handling of the ore. In the upper end of the mill is the ore room, where are located a Blake crusher of forty tons daily capacity, and three automatic feeders of twenty tons daily capacity. Adjoining and on the next lower floor is the stamp room, with fifteen stamps, weighing seven hundred and fifty pounds each, for pulverizing the ore by dry crushing. Then comes the cylinder room, where four Bruckner cylinders are kept slowly revolying while — the ore within them is being roasted and chlorodized. On the next lower terrace is the pan room, where the roasted ore is placed in pans with water and quicksilver, and kept in motion until amalga- mated. There are ten of these amalgamating pans and four settlers for the same, In the melting room, to which the amalgamated silver “GNVINACAN L¥ "TINY aogrIuvo MINES OF BOULDER COUNTY. E= = Si q 268 - COLORADO. is taken for retorting and melting into bars, are two retorts and a double melting furnace, ten amalgamating pans, and four settlers for the same. In apartments near the furnaces are a hundred horse power engine, and two boilers of one hundred and fifty horse power. In the building there are also elevators, ore hoppers, dry kiln, cooling floor, water and steam pipes and connections. Close by is a finely equipped assay office, a weighing house, office and residence building, stable and other buildings. This mill can handle fifteen tons of Caribou ore every twenty-four hours. The process used is referred to elsewhere. Outside of the mine itself, the mine buildings, machinery, mill and lands are worth $150,000, and originally cost over $200,000. The Caribou Consolidated Mining Company was organized in 1879, with a capital of $1,000,000, in 100,000 shares of $10 each. Its property consists of 1,400 feet on the Caribou lode, patented ground, situated on the northern slope of Caribou Hill. The officers of the company are ex-Governor A. G. Curtin, of Pennsylvania, president; John T. Graham, secretary, and treasurer; Eben Smith, superinten- dent; and A. G. Curtin, James B. Metcalf, H. H. Hollister, P. W. Holmes, and Eben Smith, trustees. The Native Silver lode is considered the western extension of the Caribou. The ore shipments are of unusually high grade and large in quantity. In developing this lode Adin Alexander is said to have taken out nearly $25,000. He sold it to ex-Governor Curtin, J. T. Graham, Senator Cattell, Secretary Robeson, and others of Pennsyl- vania and New Jersey, who organized the Mining Company of New Jersey thereon. A silver mill was then erected at Caribou, and in 1877, not far from $140,000 was obtained for the silver product of the ore mined and milled. The process was chlorodizing-roasting and leaching with copper. After John T. Graham’s retirement from the management in March of that year, eastern men unacquainted with the business, conducted affairs unsuccessfully and work ceased. This was not from lack of ore or from any fault of the mine, In the summer of 1878, Graham started up the mine and mill again, and recently had the shaft of the former carried down to a depth of 360 feet. The mill did not run long, but Joseph Irwin has con- tinued to work the mine on tribute with great success, having taken out some $40,000 altogether, The yield of the mine since discovery MINES OF BOULDER COUNTY. 269 has been about $200,000. There is said to be more ore in sight than ever before. In June, 1879, John T. Graham bought the entire property of the Mining Company of New Jersey, including the Native Silver mine and the New Jersey silver mill. Some idea of the rich character of much of the vein can be had from the fact that the average price received for ore shipped in five consecutive months of 1877-8, was $188. Later than that, on the 12th day of May, twelve tons and 991 pounds brought $2,541,388; six tons and 1,667 pounds yielded -289 ounces of silver per ton, and brought $236,98 per ton; two tons and 387 pounds carried 255 ounces, and brought $206.55 per ton. and three tons and 937 pounds brought $142.88 per ton. The Seven-Thirty is west of the Caribou and was for a long time considered its western extension. The patented location is 3,000 feet in length. When Gilbert Lehmer purchased and took hold of it in January, 1878, the shaft was 136 fect deep. He ordered steam hoisting machinery and soon began a systematic development of the property. The first year’s operations gave a yield of $35,000, over $5,000 coming out of avery small space of ground, and a very large proportion of the receipts of the mine were profits. Within the past three months the sales of ore have also been quite large and more ore is in sight than at any previous time. The working force embraced for a long time twenty-five men and upwards, but has lately been increased to forty. The ore vein has varied in thickness from a knife-blade up to eight feet in width and has yielded from 53-ounces to over 800 ounces of silver per ton, beside poorer mate- rial, From 30 to 35 tons of high grade ore are sold monthly. The ore body appears to take the form of a nearly perpendicular chimney at and east of the main shaft. The latter was 300 fcet deep not _ dng ago, with five levels extending east and one or two west, making altogether nearly 700 feet of drifts. The longest of these was then 302 feet east and west of the shaft, but all of the workings are being extended. There are also several winzes. In former years the pre- vious owners, Moore, Brewer, Hupper, and Burger, took out a consid- erable amount of money, reported to have been between fifteen and twenty thousand dollars. A Knowles’ pump was lately put in the mine, . The Poor Man lode is just below the Caribou, approaching it to 270 . COLORADO. the westward at an acute angle. The workings are intersected by the Caribou tunnel, and the mine approaches a depth of 300 feet, with numerous levels. The vein has been from one to two feet wide in much of its course, with ore yielding from one to three hundred dollars per ton. In 1874-5 one hundred and fifty-two tons of ore sold for $21,504, with a profit of $12,000. The Sherman has a very rich vein, often from six to twelve inches wide. This lode was purchased by the same men who bought the No Name in 1874. There were 300 tons of ore sold in 1876, that averaged $270 per ton. The No Name has a northeasterly and southwesterly direction, and the ore obtained from the mine has come from a point at and below the point of intersection or union with the Caribou. The shaft is 528 feet deep. The original owners, Donald, Shaw, and associates, sold over $50,000 worth of ore in a little over three years, and then disposed of the property to L. M. Bates of New York, for $55,000. Afterwards William Fullerton, A. G. Dun, and M. A. Smith, of the same locality, became owners and still retain possession. The yield in 1874-6, inclusive, is said to have exceeded $60,000. Since then the property has been worked on lease, and the yield is supposed to have been somewhere between forty and fifty thousand dollars. These parties built a chlorination and lixiviation mill on North Boulder creek, in 1875, and operated portions of two years on ores from the No Name and Sherman mines. The No Name has yielded some enormously rich ore, some of it showing native silver in large quantities. The two mines may have produced, from first to last, nearly $250,000. Joseph Irwin, who has for years been conducting some of the leading mining operations of the district, and who has been operating the Native Silver mine, has worked the No Name on lease. The ore was often extremely rich at and below the intersec- tion of the veins. The Idaho yielded $9,000 within a few weeks after its discovery in 1870, and showed a remarkably rich pocket of ore. It had too many proprietors, and interests in it have changed hands until three of the discoverers of the Caribou have come to be the main owners. Mishler, McCammon, and Martin put up a large shaft house with steam hoisting machinery a few years ago, but have not worked the property much of the time. The pay seems to run in pockets, and the mine is troubled with a great deal of water. MINES OF BOULDER COUNTY. QTL On Caribou Hill, above the Caribou, are the Mount Vernon, Grand View, Arizona, Ontario, Spencer, Columbia, and Missouri Valley. Most of these have produced considerable money. The Grand View has a shaft 130 feet deep. The ore comprises high anc low grades, The Spencer has been turning out rich ore, and the Missouri Valley has a good record. Near Caribou are the Silver Point, Brick Pomeroy, Northwestern, Great Western, Centennial, Amanda, Wat- son, Thatcher, and Potosi, the last located in the centre of town. On the same hill as the Idaho is the Monitor. This has been worked to a depth of over 200 feet. A very large body of rather low grade ore was not long since developed, said to be capable of return- ing a good profit. Mill returns of from sixty to one hundred dollars have been obtained, and some far richer ore is met with. The Fourth of July lode is of great size, but its pay material does not seem to be concentrated enough to insure rapid develop- ment. The various owners are confident of success, however, and those of one location have been driving a tunnel to cut the lode at great depth. The lode appears to extend clear over the snowy range. One shaft has just reached a depth of 210 feet. The Boulder County is a large, strong vein, situated nearly mid- way between Caribou and Nederland. It has been worked more or less ever since 1870. Assorted ore has been sold at the rate of many tons per week at good figures, usually yielding from $90 to $120 in silver and nearly $20 in gold. There isa great deal of low grade ore that has been concentrated at Nederland. The Trojan and Sov- ereign People lodes have both yielded rich ore. 272 COLORADO. CHAP TRS Le BOULDER COUNTY MINES—GOLD HILL, CENTRAL, MAGNOLIA, SUGAR LOAF, AND WARD MINING DISTRICTS—THE TELLURIDE BELT— GOLD, SILVER, AND TELLURIUM VEINS—SOME ACCOUNT OF PROM- INENT MINES— THE MELVINA, SMUGGLER, SLIDE, COLD SPRING, COLUMBIA, GOLDEN AGE, KEYSTONE, AND OTHERS. The telluride belt is about twenty miles long and several miles in width, extending from the Smuggler on the north almost to South Boulder creek on the south. Within this belt are numberless tel- luride veins, and some regular gold and silver lodes. Telluride ores have been found in very small seams or pockets in one lode, and in bodies or veins in another, but when large the ore is generally of low grade with occasional rich mineral. Some have continuous veins of high grade ore, and have yielded a great deal of money and profit. Most of them are mainly made up of ore too poor to smelt and too refractory to treat in the cheap stamp mills. Concentration answers as a remedy or great benefit on some lodes and will not answer on others. Smelting is the only mode of extracting the gold andsilver. The telluride mines of the entire belt have yielded some. thing like a million dollars since work first began on them in 1873, 4, 5,6. The ore sold has generally been very rich. Tellurium is a metal of no intrinsic value in itself, but owing to its combination with the precious metals, veins carrying it are often extremely profitable. It gives the mineral in which it shows itself so different an appearance from other gold and silver ore as to be readily distinguishable. American miners had never encountered it before discovering it in Colorado, as it is found in but few places in the world, and Boulder county prospectors had been passing over these veins and their blossom rock for years without dreaming of their value. The crevices of telluride veins are often of good size, but the amount of mineral that pays for mining and smelting is generally small compared with gold or silver veins. As much of very rich a” Ca) = 2 Co MINES OF BOULDER COUNTY. mineral can be found in these classes of lodes as in the tellurides, while the available ore of lower grades is vastly greater. Some of the leading telluride mines show continuous veins several inches wide of extremely rich ore, sometimes widening out to pockets, and bordered by poorer material that is often concentrated into market- able ore, but nearly all of them require as large a force to assort, separate, and ‘‘hand dress” the product as they do underground miners. The rich partof the veins are more likely to be from half an inch to four inches wide than of larger size. The Melvina and Smuggler are two of the lodes that are larger and better than the average. The Cold Spring, Slide, American, Last Chance, John Jay, Red Cloud, Keystone, Victoria, and others have also shown fair sized veins and pockets. There are a larve number of lodes that have yielded by close assorting a few hundred pounds of ore that were worth from less than a dollar up to several dollars per pound, but the trouble is to get a ton of such material at one time from any onemine. Still, it has been done occasionally from some of those named. The combinations of tellurium are many, of which the more important are sylvanite, carrying nearly twice as much gold as silver; petzite, over twice as much silver as gold; calavarite, or tel- luride of gold; altaite, or telluride of lead ; and tetradymite, or tel- luride of bismuth. The native or pure metal is rarely found. The value of the gold in the above greatly exceeds the value of the silver. Lodes of this character often carry several feet of low grade ore that cannot be made available. Gold Hill mining district contains a multitude of lodes and some gulch diggings, and has turned out a great deal of money since 1859. Gold Hill rises far above the surrounding country, and is bordered by Left Hand Creek and Gold Run. On this hill are the Horsfal, Columbus, Red Cloud, Cold Spring, Victoria, Cash, Saint Joe, and Slide veins. The district has probably produced half a million altogether. The Cold Spring isa telluride lode of great value, close by the Red Cloud, and is bordered by a large porphyry dike, in a gneissic for- mation. Its yield in 1874-6, inclusive, was $50,000. It has not been worked steadily but is developed by a shaft over 400 feet deep, and by several levels. The ore reserves contain several times the value of the mine’s past product. The mine is paying and has a fine set of steam hoisting machinery. The vein varies from a few inches to 274 COLORADO. two feet, The assorted ore runs up in the hundreds, and one ton brought several thousands of dollars. It is one of the most valua- ble of the telluride veins. The owner is Truman Whitcomb. In 1873-4 the Red Cloud yielded in much the same manner as the Cold Spring has done, but gave out at a depth of several hundred feet. The Columbus has been worked at times by a large force of men, and so has the Cash and Saint Joe. The Victoria has been opened extensively, has extensive buildings, and has been paying profits. The Horsfal is a free gold vein, which is said to have yielded nearly a quarter of a million in the first few years of mining in Colorado. When a depth of over two hundred feet was attained difficulty arose among the owners, and the ore became more difficult to reduce, and the mine shut down. It was idle for many years up to late in 1878, when work was resumed and development com- menced again. The results are said to be so satisfactory that the mine is likely to be worked steadily from this time forward. The Black Cloud mine has been extensively developed, and is owned by a company of the same name. It carries gold and silver, gray copper, zinc-blende, sulphurets and copper and iron pyrites. A mill was erected last year for handling the ore at Summerville, one mile from Salina. Its concentrating capacity is given at twenty- five tons in twenty-four hours. The lode is worked through a tunnel intersecting the vein one hundred feet deep, below which a shaft is sunk on the vein one hundred feet further. The location of the mine is on a high hill on the opposite side of Gold Run from the Hoosier mine. The Slide lode is located on the north side of Gold Hill, and was discovered by J. G. Pell, in July, 1875. It was afterwards sold to W. A. Campbell and Colonel Seymour. The vein lies between metamorphic gneiss and a dike of porphyry, and has a width of several fect, with several pay streaks and seams of rich ore. It has all the indications of a heavily mineralized fissure. Tellurides of gold and silver, iron and copper pyrites carrying the precious metals, and fine gold are found with a quartz gangue. The lode is exten- sively opened and is intersected by the Corning Tunnel, 950 feet from the mouth of the latter. In the first two years of work, 80 tons of selected ore sold for $28,927, or at the rate of $350 per ton. A large amount of ore containing less than $40 per ton had also MINES OF BOULDER COUNTY. 275 been mined, but is still being found with the richer ores. The yield of 1878 is said to have exceeded that of either preceding year, and the yicld of April, 1879, is reported at over $14,000. The mine has not been operated steadily, owing to connection with another com- pany, but will be hereafter. . The discovery of the Sunshine lode in 1874 was followed by the opening of the Charcoal, Osceola, Grand View, American, White Crow, Sheridan, Nil Desperandum, and others, and the building of the town of Sunshine, six miles from Boulder. The American took the lead and became quite famous. It was purchased by Hiram Hitchcock, of New York, and supcrintended and developed by Pro- fessor J. Alden Smith. A remarkable vein was uncovered, with won- derfully rich streaks of telluride combinations, such as sylvanite, petzite, caiavarite, and also ruby silver and free gold. From twenty- five to thirty men were usually employed—one half of them being required to separate the rich mineral from the poorer ore or ganguc. Many tons of ore were sold monthly, at prices varying from $400 to $600 per ton, and small lots milled at the rate of from four to seven thousand. There were portions of the mine where the vein varied from three to twenty inches in thickness. This included ore carrying from $30 to $60 per ton, as well as the more valuable and marketable varieties. The yield ran into the thousands some months, and few telluride veins have turned out as much money altogether. The best years were from 1874 to 1877. Theshaft is over 400 feet deep and from twelve to eighteen hundred feet of levels have been driven. Sinking is progressing. The Melvina mine is located on Melvina Hill, between Gold Run and Four Mile Creek and Salina. It was discovered by Henry Meyring, who dug a prospect hole and located the lode. In July, 1875, Henry Neikirk received an interest for developing it. It was then not known to be valuable. His first month’s operations resulted in uncovering a telluride vein of surpassing value, when over $8,000 were received for ore sold to the smelters. The pay vein was soft material, and sometimes gave several dollars in gold per pound. The mine kept on producing steadily, and the world has seldom seen such proportionatcly large profits. In February, 1876, ore was sold that brought $15,800, and the expenses were only $800. Only cight men were at work, most of them being owners in the mine. In the monthly shipments the ore has usually 276 COLORADO. been assorted in three lots, and there would usually be a few hun- dred pounds that yielded at the rate of from two to nine dollars per pound, or from $4,000 to $18,000 per ton. In the first fifteen months of work the mine had yielded $84,600 from the labor of eight men, including the proprietors. In that time 151 tons had been sold and the average value was over $560 per ton. While a pretty continuous vein of ore was maintained, the best material came in or was found at depths of 50 feet, 200 feet and the present lower workings, where the width was from six to eight inches. In four months, ending May 1, 1877, there were 60} tons of ore sold for $31,830, of which $24,200 was profit. Up to March the actual yield had been about $100,000 and the profits $65,000. These extremely rich lots of ore were largely obtained by assorting from the entire crevice matter, although there had been parts of the mine where a solid streak six or eight inches wide had been composed entirely of the high grades. Gradually large amounts of ore had accumulated at the mine that would not pay for smelting. As a mill had been established at Salina for concentrating tellurides —that is separating the mineral from the gangue or waste rock—some of the Melvina dump pile was tested. The result was one ton of dressed concentrates containing $270, and another ton containing $430, instead of ten or twelve times as much crude ore, with only fifteen or thirty dollars’ worth of gold in each ton. This led to the leasing of the Everitt concentrating mill, which has lately been purchased by the Melvina owners. Both concentrates and high grade mineral is sold to the Boston & Colorado Smelting Company. Up to May 1st, 1878, the receipts for ore sold exceeded $130,000, and the supposed ultimate yield $155,000. The receipts for the year 1878 were $90,000, indicating a yield of $100,000, and the profits must have been 75 per cent. of the receipts. Last winter twelve men. were at work, breaking and raising about 235 or 250 tons of ore monthly. Most of this was low grade, and ten or twelve tons of it were dressed down into one at the mill. In different por- tions of the mine the high grade pay vein has varied in width from five to ten inches, and the accompanying low grade from fifteen to twenty-five, and from thirty to forty. The total ore receipts of the Melvina for the four years of work ending July, 1879, would prob- ably foot up $230,000, and the actual smelters yield $280,000. The lean ground encounted at times in sinking has given away to good ore, and the mine is especially rich at depths of 420 and 470 feet. ai! MINES OF BOULDER COUNTY. Mid The richness of much of the ore is as remarkable as the large to- tal yield and small working force and outlays required. Henry Neikirk, Henry Meyring, Melvin Bailey, and Marion Kessler have all made fortunes out of this richest of the telluride veins. The Wren lode is considered the extension of the Melvina, and is situated further down the hill towards Salina, where what is proba- bly the same vein is called the Baron. Last month the Wren main shaft was down 240 feet, with levels at depths of 166 and 225 feet, and sinking is continued and drifting pushed on towards the Mel- vina. It is thought the same body of ore that is paying in the latter will soon be fairly entered by the deep shaft of the Wren. Meantime there had been from fifteen to twenty inches of ore suitable for concentrating and a small amount of high grade. The latest reports are to the effect that the shaft has fourteen inches of mineral, averaging $100 per ton, and that Hunt & Barber paid $96 per ton for one lot of this ore. The Baron lode was discovered in 1875, but it is only lately that its true value has been developed. The crevice between walls is five feet wide, containing four veins of mineral or tellurium, cach from one to three inches wide. Four men were at work in May, and received $1,500 for ore sold in drifting eleven feet. Twelve tons of the low grade ore, averaging $30 per ton, concentrates down into one ton of marketable mineral, with a loss of only thirty per cent. Most of the high grade ore sold brings $400 more or less, but small lots contain from $5 to $8 per pound. The owners are CO. C. Eddy, Sr., C. C. Eddy, Jr., F. R. Eddy, and A. R. West. The Great Eastern lode is about two hundred feet southwest of the Melvina, and is opened by a shaft 175 feet deep. It has paid well. Central mining district extends along Left Hand and James Creeks, and adjoins and separates Gold Hill and Ward. It con- tains both free gold and telluride lodes. Near Jamestown the John Jay, Last Chance, and Longfellow are prominent telluride veins. The Summit lode shows a very large crevice. The Mountain Chief is on the divide between the two creeks. At and near Springdale are some productive telluride lodes, such as the Big Blossom, Grand Central, J. Alden Smith, Louis, B. F. Smith, Rip Van Dam, Hecla, Ellen, King William, and Gladiator. These have sometimes been enormously rich. The Bondholder is a profitable free gold lode The Golden Age and Standard free gold mines are in this district, — 278 COLORADO, and further north is the famousSmuggler. At Springdale are seltzer springs, similar to those of Germany, and a fine hotel. The country is well timbered. The Last Chance has produced a great deal of rich telluride ore. One lot of three tons was sold not long ago that brought $980 per ton. Last year two tons sold for $1,267, two and three-fourths tons for $2,337, two tons for $951.15, and four and a quarter tons for $1,749.61. One lot carried $580 in gold and $22 in silver. The John Jay was discovered late in 1875, and has yielded many thou- sands of dollars. An Illinois company that bought property at Jamestown, last fall, has sold ore that yielded $200 per ton. The Golden Age is one of the best mines in the county, and the most successfully operated of those having free gold milling ores. It has been steadily developed for thirty months or more, | and has paid good profits from the surface down to the present depth of between 230 and 300 feet. SY7I700 47707 INYTAYUN ? 8y 0) zy? ‘7 | JIUUNL UELULID O & : Sow 7244 MINES OF GILPIN COUNTY. 287 returns, and in the difference in value per ounce of stamp mill retort. Near Idaho Springs and Trail Run, lodes on the same belt carry nearly as much silver as gold, and some have increased their silver yield as depth was gained. It has been ascertained that the retort gold as it comes from. the mills runs pretty much as follows in fineness: Bates, .746 in gold, .241 silver; Bobtail, .849 to .8664 gold, .128 to.140 silver ; Briggs, .8034 to .816 gold, .172 to .180 silver; Buell, .800 to .860 gold, and .120 to °140silver ; Burroughs, .820 to .8334 gold, .158 to .166 silver; Illinois, .7814 gold, and .211 silver; and Kansas and Kent county about the same. The value of Bates gold retort is $14.80; of Bobtail, $17 to $18; Briggs, $16.30 to $17.00; Buell, $16.70 to $18; Burroughs, $16.50 to $16.90; Illinois, $15.90 ; Kansas, $15 to $16; Kent County, $14.50 to $15; Gold Dirt, Ophir, and Perigo, $17.50 to $18; Dallas, $14 to $14.50. Continued tests show that the average of all the Gilpin county gold mill retort, or bullion handled, contains about 787 parts gold, 198 silver, and 15 copper. What is termed the new silver belt of Gilpin county extends to the north and northwest of Black Hawk, across North Clear Creek and other hills, from York Gulch, Chase Gulch and Wide Awake to the Dory Hill. The first silver discoveries of that locality were made late in May, and in June and July, 1878. Prospecting has continued since, and hundreds of lodes have been located—some of them of proved value. One or two already appear to rank with first-class silver veins of the Georgetown and San Juan districts, Silver lodes were worked with profit in Silver Gulch, near the smelting works of Black Hawk, from nine to eleven years ago, and more recently in Willis Gulch and Virginia Mountain. - Mining in Gilpin county fairly began in the summer of 1860, with the completion of the Consolidated Ditch and the introduction of many stamp mills. Before that, work had been done by sluicing, rocking, and panning, and by means of arastras. In a year or two the more productive gulches had been worked over, the decomposed vein matter in the leading lodes had been exhausted, and the mill, men were at aloss to know how to get gold in paying quantities from’ the solid ore, or ‘‘iron”’ as it was termed. At onetime nearly all of these mills were idle, but afterwards the ore was handled with less difficulty. In1862-8 many rich ‘‘strikes” were made on claims that had shown nothing but barren rock after the surface pockets were 288 COLORADO. (xhausted. The Gregory, Bobtail, Bates, Kansas, Burroughs, Gunnell, Gold Dirt, and Perigo were paying enormously for much of the time up to 1863, when the eastern companies began operations. The gold product continued to be large until 1866, when many companies kad discarded the old stamps, and were spending their money in putting up and testing process mills. On returning to stamp mill crushing in 1867-8, business revived. At this time the district possessed a population such as has rarely been gathered together in so small a compass, and remarkable for enterprise, intelligence, and sterling qualities. Operations were carried on by numerous companies, whether they paid expenses or not, and leasers and owners of mines were making money at in- tervals all over the hills. There was castern money as well as west- ern gold to help matters. A large number of mills and stamps were in operation in 1868, and, inthe summer of 1869, nearly 700 stamps were operated, but not continuously. In November, 1869, when several water mills had closed down, there were still 29 mills and 624 stamps at work. Outside of the companies, the California and U. P. R. lodes, worked by Gilpin miners, were paying largely. The companies on the Gregory, Bobtail, Bates, Hunter, Bur- roughs, and other lodes were suspending operations in 1869-70-71, and their employees began to lease some of the same company prop- erties, and to start up other mines new and old that had been idle. Quartz Hill and Nevadaville were the more active localities in 1870- 71, when nearly all the mines or claims on the Kansas, Burroughs, California, Gardner, Flack, Prize, Suderberg, Jones, Roderick Dhu, Illinois, and some other lodes were in full blast. From 1871 to 1875 the Buell mine was the leading producer of the lower part of the county. In these years large numbers of miners left for the new silver dis- tricts of Georgetown, Caribou, and of Park county, which some of their own number had been discovering. Gilpin county has fur- nished explorers, settlers, and colonists for every new mining camp that has been started, thereby earning the title of ‘the mother of Colorado mining camps.” Those who remained at Central and Neyadaville finally exhausted the pockets and ore bodies of many leased mines, and left them to fill with water, and in bad condi- tion for succeeding operations, as they were poorly timbered, and many of them “in cap,” ls ceili MINES OF GILPIN COUNTY. 289 . The entire district had a dull appearance in 1873-4, but the previous record and known value of the lodes caused several Central men to resume work on their own or leased properties. The success which rewarded their nerve and enterprise caused others to do like- wise. ‘Time and money were required to remove water and sink or drift into new ore bodies, but a few years brought about a great in- crease in production and prosperity. When many of these reopened mines got fairly to producing, in 1876, the county’s gold yield was larger than at any former period. Since then every month sees great: improvement and progress. These results are largely due to the enterprise of such Colorado men as Briggs, Fagan, Sullivan, Buell, Fullerton, Kimber, Mackay, Young, Standley, Thatcher, Holman, and others, whose faith in the mines has been proved to have been well founded. Many old properties are now worked under one management. Some lessees have made enough money to buy the mines of the owners, the companies, or their successors, and others have retired in one, two, or three years, with a fortune. These were the mines that the companies could not make pay. If these company stocks had been made assessable, as in California and Nevada, the mines would probably have been worked steadily, and eventually have paid a profit—where the agents were good for anything. Non-as- sessable stocks permit of the dog-in-the-manger policy—for some stockholders will not advance money when it is needed for ex- ploration, development, or machinery—while sure to come in for their share of the dividends if any money is made. All that is left for those stockholders who are anxious to have work progress, is to pay for it, and take all the chances on loss and only a part of those on gain, or else let the mine lie idle. The latter has been the course generally adopted. In Nevada, men who will not pay their assessments are sold out, to give room for those who will. Had this not been the case the great bonanzas of the Comstock (whose yield and profits for five years were the grandest in the history of mining) would never have been found. The best way for these old companies to do (that are not working their properties) is to sell out for any price, for their claims | are usually too small to work successfully by themselves. The only other sensible move would be to buy up adjoining claims, and so procure territory enough to pay for deep mining. It should be re- 13 290 COLORADO, membered that it takes just as much machinery and steam-power to work 100 or 200 fect of the vein to a depth of 1,000 feet as it would to work 1,000 feet of territory to the same depth. The only old com- panies that have operated since their formation, in 1864, with hardly an interruption, are the Consolidated Bobtail and New York & Colorado ; and the reason is largely due to the fact that they had more than the usual quota of contiguous property on one vein, and have subsequently increased it by purchase. As to the stocks in the old defunct companies, they may be considered utterly worth. less. Any mining company organized in 1864-5 in Gilpin county which is not now at work is never likely to make any money. Stockholders should consider their stock worthless. The permanent and healthy character of the revival in mining in this district is shown by the large number of mines supplied with steam-hoisting works. Steam machinery indicates deep mining, extensive operations, probably extensive production, and, at all events, a high estimation of the value of the property. No heavy mining work can be carried on without steam-power. There are now forty-four different mincs in the district operated in this way. Some of them have engines of from forty to one hundred horse-power each. One engine answers for a long stretch of territory, and for what was once several separate properties. Out of these forty-four mines, the Consolidated Bobtail, the Briggs-Gregory, and the N. Y. & C. Gregory, the Gunnell, and Monmouth-Kansas are each sup, plied with one, or several hoisting engines of great capacity, beside additional oncs for the great pumps with which they are sup- plied. In place of three or four active steam-hoisting works on Quartz Hill, as in most previous years, there are now twenty — most of them put up during the past twenty months on mines that had been idle for years. For twenty years Gilpin county has been the leading gold district of Colorado. In that time it has probably turned out more bullion than any other one gold mining locality in America. So uninter- rupted has been this outflow of the precious metals that the county has justly earned the title so often applied to it, of the “Old Reli. able.’ This production has been going on ever since the arrival of the pioneers in Gregory Gulch, in 1859, and is much larger now than at any former period. There are more valuable lodes in the imme- diate vicinity of Central, Black Hawk, and Nevadaville, than in any ee ee a eee cal MINES OF GILPIN COUNTY. 291 section of equal size in the known world, and there are more mill stamps in operation than anywhere else. Various causes have pre- vented all cf the profitable or valuable mines from being operated at any one time, but the closing of one was usually followed by the reopening or discovery of another. No suspensions are reported of late, but more than a score of mines have lately resumed specic payments, and more are to follow. Parts of or all of every valuable lode (with a few exceptions) are now in active operation, and the time is not distant when every mine on these lodes will be worked separately or with consolidated properties. The unfailing char- acter of so many hundred veins, and their combined and continuous production, long ago caused this, the smallest of Colorado's coun- ties, to be considered the richest district of the State. Below is a statement of Gilpin county’s mining product prior to 1879. The figures for the years previous to 1868, are estimates. From that time they are reliable and are very accurate for the past four years. Any productions or shipments made in or through Gilpin from mines of other counties does not appear in these figures. For several years prior to 1879, the actual bullion and ore shipments exceeded $3,500,000 per annum, but large portions came from out- side ores treated at Black Hawk. Yuar. Coin VALUE. YEAR. Coin VALUE. 110 913) oe cane ic eee ee $250,000 LEGO te citek cae nade eo Mm $1,680,000 OL eects suns, tists levee! sie 900,000 boi aces pominc EO Dea 1,552,000 OC Memes a'siers)¢ tlesiste! « 750,000 TSG eS eacce BWVaisies aoe § 1,400,000 ES gies SN ee 1,200,000 UBUD Yee oh eM pes 1,389,289 Loe Pe Scherer ee Sma ets 1,600,000 ISTB vos ico Seeieeea's 1,840,502 NOUeeiares tap c.cs hed at So 1,800,000 I SGA sare se orotate oceania 1,531,863 NSCS ise Scie alae oars 1,500,000 LST Di oaraies casa sats Getante 1,533,909 (A 750,600 1670 vis ave es 2,105,544 NBG tr ertac cy 9S i aces 1,000,000 HOU G ders ate sieve sials’ore'sheterss 2,208,037 RE: ie acy ae 1,305,000 EGE atk 2,280,871 tae toc 1S (Re eS _. «$28,077,015. Currency value of yield to 1879.,...... 35,000,000, 292 COLORADO. Of this amount very near $27,000,000 was in gold, not far from $690,000 in silver, over 470,000 copper, and a very little lead. It is estimated that more gold has been wasted in milling, and has been washed down the creeks and gulches than has been saved. By October, 1879, the total product of Gilpin will have exceeded $30,000,000. The production of the county in 1868-9 was as follows, coin value : SoURCEs. 1868. . 1869. Mill and Gitich Gold. PS, TERS Lee 50,000 50,000 $1,410,000 $1,797,400 “Deduct for Clear Creek...0..).. .swsweacde ese 105,000 117,000 Total for Gipia si. cme stews ses = via $1,305 ,C00 $1,680,400 The production and sources of reduction and oreo for 1872-34, was as follows: SourcEs. 1872. 1873. «1874, Bialip Milled 22): ke Cee $959,439 CO | $710,996 00 | $1,044,575 89 Boston and Colorado Smelting Works 419,850 00 510,635 00 | 483,928 57 Other sources, exports and works... 10,000 00 118,871 09 | 8,858 54 Total valueiss (Ades: fo ee eae $1,389,289 00 | $1,340,502: CO: | $1,531,863 00 Beg, of ore handled,,..........cs00: 100,009 | 90,000 | 115,000. The average number of stamps at work in 1872 was not far from 430; of 1878, probably 400; of 1874, over 470. There were several mills that did not keep steadily at work. - ee eee ee ee ~ MINES OF GILPIN COUNTY. 293 The county’s product in 1877-8 came through the following sources : 1877, 1877. 1878. 1878. SouRCES, Tons ORE. VALUE. Tons ORE. VALUE. Stamp Mills.....:5.....+.- | 140,000 {$1,289,142 83 | 140,000 | $1,283,569 36 } | PARCOES aE) ince ata h Ules sets 45000, 008 aaa secs 35,000 00 Boston and Colorado ma ae © - ahi Work } 5,000 779,804 76 5,500 868,500 00 Golden Smelter........... 1,200 80,000 00 | 1,500 83,801 75 ee ee athe 14,000 00)... 10,000 00 Ppiaiate se 1: feenes 146,200 | $2,208,087 09 | 147,000 ‘| $2,280,871 11 if The tonnage of mill tailings is not counted above, but the value is. It amounted to from 7,500 to 9,000 tons each year. _ The yield in the various metals for four years was as follows: 1875. 1876. 1877. ~ 1878. CS): ae $1,390,253 90 | $1,878,818 34 | $1,963,485 67 | $1,974,984 36 Silver.......... 97,409 00 151,569 59 161,255 88 | _ £25,936 75 ! Copper......... 44,155 80 70,672 64 82,296 64 79,000 00 7 es 2,100 30 4,484 30 1,000 co 1,000 00 Total........| $1,533,909 00 | $2,105,544 78 | $2,208,037 09 | $2,280,871 11 __ The express shipments of mill and placer gold, which are substan- tially the same thing as the shipments of the three Central banks, have always been considered as an indicator, from month to month, of what the mines of Gilpin county are doing. The amount is almost entirely the product of ores crushed in the stamp mills. From $25,000 to $40,000 only come from the gulches and creeks of Gilpin, and 294 COLORADO. smaller amounts from the same sources and from lode mines in Clear Creek county. The express shipments of 1876 were larger than those of 1878, but the heavy increase of productions by the smelting works and in gold taken away by private parties brought the county's ~ total product for the latter year ahead of any previous time. bank and express shipments of 1875,’6,’8 were as follows: 1875 1876. 1878, SENUATY see oe conines eae: $86,149 56 $104,984 15 $102,154 00 | \ 5 eee eee: 62,817 50 111,411 00 91,494 00 MA Gries fea e svcdn eee 75,526 76 124,305 37 102,544 00 30 9t Pee ok i Gen ee a? 78,219 80 102,902 49 98,800 00 nC ee cane MR Ep Bie 73,359 92 107,194 89 103,194 00 Fs SORONET eee Eten 95,403 25 105,734 50 100,484 80 "hein Agta rey HRD Pe 92,272 80 100,184 03 98,476 56 Auguste (0) .0% meee 102,615 21 118,081 52 120,900 00 September .............. 95,340 81 145,870 91 99,502 00 October wanes sae pas 91,450 86 93,894 47 124,592 00 November i Aga. 0i5 2) 96,818 O1 99,592 54 107,536 00 Decomber ss. .<,. %.. suas os 114,223 67 107,084 65 125,892 00 otal tid toe $1,068,198 15 $1,321,240 52 $1,275,569 36 Gilpin county ores are treated either by the stamp mill or by the smelting process. Most of them contain too little value to stand any other treatment than that of stamp milling. One smelting process saves very nearly all of the gold, silver, and copper, and another nearly all of the gold, silver, and lead, Since the last reduction in smelting charges, gold ores are bought at a price, allowing for a charge of twenty-five dollars per ton, and ten per cent. deduction from the assay for waste, etc. ing one hundred and twenty dollars in gold, thirty dollars in silver, and ten in copper or lead, the miner would receive $110 for his ton of ore, The same ore treated by amalgamation in stamp mills, On ores contain- MINES OF GILPIN COUNTY. 295 would return but $70 or $80, allowing for a saving of sixty or seventy per cent. of the gold and very little of the silver or copper. But most of the ore mined contains but fifteen or twenty dollars of all the metals per ton, and the stamp mills that handle it for two or three dollars per ton comprise the only means of profitably extract- ing the gold. The ore of amine is now divided into separate lots, a few tons of very rich mineral being sent to the smelter, to ten, twenty, or thirty times as much crushed in the stamp mill. By this means as much money is made in gold mining as on smaller but richer silver lodes. The stamp mills crushed about 21,000 cords, or 108,000 tons of ore in 1875, of an average yield of $9.70. The average yield of 1876 was a little over $10, and that of 1878 was $9.12. This decrease was not due to growing poverty of ore but to closer assort- ing, and sending a larger proportion of the rich ores to the smelters. From seventeen to nineteen quartz mills were at work in 1878 with from 550 to 630 stamps. The average number of stamps at work in 1876 was 560, and in 1878 it was about 590; yield nearly $1,300,000. Over a hundred small quartz mills of five, ten, and fifteen stamps each, arrived in Gilpin county in the earlier years of mining. Only a portion of them were ever at work at one time, and on one occa- sion nearly all were idle. Some were worn out long ago, others were sold to the foundries for old iron, a few were moved to other districts, and many went to make additions to the more pretentious mills of later days. Gilpin county quartz or stamp mills, as now conducted, may save sixty or seventy per cent. of the gold contents of ordinary ores, and very little of the silver or copper, or say half of the ore’s total value in the three metals. Better work is done on some quartz and poorer on others. Thorough tests inseveral miils, where only one kind of ore ig treated and that low grade, show a saving of from seventy-five to eighty-seven per cent of the gold. A mill stamp, as run in Colorado, will crush three-fourths of a ton of ore every twenty-four hours, and ten stamps will crush one cord or seven or eight tons in the same time. Several mills have recently resumed work, and others have been enlarged. One new mill has been completed and another is being constructed, beside a concentrating establishment. Early in May, 296 COLORADO. : 1879, nineteen mills and 624 stamps were at work, and in Junc 662 stamps, and later 672. In July twenty-two mills and 735 stamps were at work; names, capacity, and location given below: No. NAMES. ee LOCATION. Town. Stamps 1 | *Randolphs 42.5, neacwse cin 50 North Clear Creek) Black Hawk. 2 1 NGW YOR cccwnahs seb ous oe 50 * . a 24 Kelty, wate wire 88 at “ a 4 | Richman (California)........| 50 | i A e's SivOons, (hobtall S: ) foe, Ba. a. oe 75 | Ah = Je 6 1 Cons,’ Bobtail. ...057..454. h!) BD us “id 3 is fk oe a Pe RN ya ELBE EE 3 ‘50 | Gregory Gulch.... 7 8 | New York and Colorado....| 40 4 a fe 9 | Wain and Reynolds......... 23 North Clear Creek 4 10 | Kimber (Cal.)........0..2... 35 | “ “ “ 11 | Bostwick and Wheeler...... 25 | ch kad 2 12 | Fullerton (Lower)........... 20 a . sf 13 | Fullerton (Upper)....... . a 38 | se se os LE fe ASTON CR eee ce ee 10 | a st 1b. WV DGCIEY 3<. oun ockhaaee bere 25 2s sk ~ 16 | Lewis and Aulsebrook .... 25 Nevada Gulch ...| Nevadaville, 17 | Monmouth-Kansas..........| 60 mt oa a 19 | {Mackay Mills,...........4. a7 | “ “ ea ho WAtermMal endss i. dae yakct 20 Eureka Gulch..... ETAT RCKOL, FALE Sy i Seb dee teu 32 Russell Gulch..... Russell. | 29'| Hendrie and McFarlane... 15 | Gamble Gulch..... : amine term | LORS Avy sidule apie Siees set 735 The Cashier mill will have 50 stamps, including 15 of the old Lake mill, and will begin work in September. This will make 810 active stamps in the county. The New York mill was built in 1879, the Hendrie mill in 1878, and the Tucker mill was rebuilt and MINES OF GILPIN COUNTY. 297 nearly trebled in size last winter. The Kansas and other mills were greatly enlarged within the past few years, and a new Mackay mill is in course of construction. The old Winnebago mill may soon resume work. Among the few idle but serviceable mills are the Buell, of 60 stamps, and the Illinois, of 22. The Fullerton mills resumed work with the reopening of the Gunnell mine. Outside of stamp mills the present ore treating facilities in Gilpin county are no longer extensive. The Boston & Colorado smelting works, that grew at Black Hawk from a single furnace and smelter to mammoth proportions and the leading ore establishment of the State, are used only for sampling and roasting purposes since the building of the great works at Argo. The Humphrey mill con- centrates ores, but has not been at work steadily. The Winnebago concentrator is nearly or quite completed. An example ef the work a custom quartz mill can do is shown in the record of the Randolph. In 1878 it crushed 1,704 cords, or 11,920 tons of ore, which yielded 7,349 ounces of retort gold, worth $16 an ounce, or $117,584 altogether. In the first quarter of 1879 there were 449} cords crushed, yielding 1,9964 ounces, or $31,944, a return of 4.483 ounces to the cord. This was the work of fifty stamps. The Wain twenty-five-stamp mill crushed over 860 cords, with a yield of $58,000. The following Gilpin county mines employ the number of mill stamps following their respective names—cach stamp crushing about three-fourths of a ton every twenty-four hours: Bobtail Cons., 95 stamps; East and West Bobtail, about 30 stamps—total, 125; Cali- fornia (Standley), over 60 stamps; Hidden Treasure California, 60; Gardner lode, 20 stamps—total on one vein, over 140; Fagap- Kansas, 60 stamps; other parts of Kansas, 30—total, 90; Gregory (Briggs), 50; other parts, 45 to 50—total, nearly 100. The Gunnell will soon be supplying 60 or 70 stamps. The Fisk supplies 30 stamps; Kent County, 37. The Flack, Forks, Alps-Mackiec, and Cashier are expected to employ many stamps at an carly day. The reader can judge of the amount of ground excavated among these mines from the fact that all of the prominent lodes have several shafts on them many hundred feet deep, that there are long levels extending therefrom, and that all extensive mincs have vast excavations, caused by the removal of ore and rock, and where the walls are kept braced apart by huge timbers. There are places 298 COLORADO, where this worked-out ground extends (for the few feet in width between the walls of the veins) hundreds of feet vertically and horizontally. There are seven or cight shafts on the Kansas lode over 300 fect deep, two of them about 600, and one 1,000 feet deep. The Burroughs and California-Gardncr are opened in a similar manner, and so are the Gunnell, Gregory, and Bobtail. About fifteen hundred men have usually been employed in and about the mines, mills, and works of Gilpin county, and the result of their labors is a product of over two and a quarter million dollars in bullion per annum. This, if equally divided, would give $1,520 to each person directly engaged in obtaining it; or allowing an expenditure of half a million for machinery, mining and milling supplies, and other outlays, and there would still be $1,166 to each employee, or nearly $300 for each man, woman, and child in the dis- trict. As the operations in many mines for a year or two have been mainly of a preparatory character prior to the heavy production now setting in, the results hereafter are likely to be twenty per cent. better than those given above. The three banks of Central have very nearly three quarters of a million of deposits from the miners of the district, which is a very large sum when the fact is considered that so much is continually expended in opcning mines, in expensive buildings, and machinery, and in permancnt town improvements, beside moneys sent out of the State to friends and relatives. Every year there are nearly or quite one hundred and thirty or forty thou- sand dollars sent away in the shape of money orders through the post office of Central, and nearly or quite as much at Black Hawk and Nevadaville. All of these facts indicate how profitable and enduring the mines of these mountains are. No castern town or county can show average returns to the whole population any where nearly as large as are known in all leading Colorado mining camps. : . MINES OF GILPIN COUNTY. 299 CHAPTER TX: THE GREGORY AND BOBTAIL LODES AND THEIR PRODUCTIVE MINES— MILLIONS OF GOLD AND TONS OF BULLION—THE MILLS, HOISTING WORKS, AND PUMPS OF THE BIG MINES—FIGURES OF COST AND CURRENT EXPENSES AND ANNUAL AND TOTAL YIELD—HOW FOR- TUNES WERE MADE. The Gregory lode stands pre-cminent as the first found and the most productive of Colorado mineral veins. While not yielding as much at present as some of the later discoveries, its total output from first to last still surpasses that of any American lodes except- ing the Comstock and two or three others on the Pacific slope. Its surface outcroppings were first panned and tested for gold by the pioneer prospector John H. Gregory on the 6th day of May, 1859. This discovery proved the existence of gold in these mountains in paying quantities, and at once brought in an army of gold hunters. The surface dirt was exceedingly rich, and large amounts of gold were sluiced therefrom. The vein has always produced larger or smaller quantities of gold whenever worked in the more central por- tions. It has been located and claimed for nearly a mile, including extensions, but the productive and developed portion is embraced in 2,440 contiguous feet of ground. This extends from the summit of Gregory Hill northeasterly across Gregory Gulch into Bates Hill, and embraces what are now known as the Narragansett, Con- solidated Gregory, Briggs, and New York & Colorado properties. The Gregory vein material has maintained a width and con- tinuity far above the average, and has, consequently, yielded immensely, The width between walls has usually been several feet, and sometimes ten or twelve and even twenty. The distribution of the ore is variable, occurring in seams of from a few inches te two or more feet, with intervening bands of poor rock, and sometimes for short distances it has pinched out or given place to vein matter of barren quartz and feldspar. There have been huge bodies of ore, extending for hundreds of feet in length and depth, and very broad 300 COLORADO. in places. The walls are not regular, being sometimes smooth and well defined and again rugged and uneven. The inclosing rock is granitic gneiss, showing much mica in some places and little in others. The retort gold from the Gregory is of higher value than the average of the county, indicating that the proportion of silver is small. Seams and pockets of ore of surpassing richness have occasionally been found in both upper and lower workings, and a large amount of nuggct and wire gold. On the northeastern slope of Gregory Hill is a parallel and branch vein of the Gregory, called the Foot and Simmons, which is evidently the same as that known further east by the name of Briggs. This is separated from the Gregory by a granite wall from a few fect to seventy in width. The lode, like others in the early times, was staked off in claims one hundred feet long. Gregory, the discoverer, secured two of these, which he soon sold to E. W. Henderson and A. Gridley for $21,000. The purchasers cleared $18,000 from the first summer's work, and other men were making money above and below. After atime the surface dirt was exhausted and the owners were discon- certed at the appearance of the solid iron pyrites or barren cap rock. All difficulties were to some extent sooner or later overcome, and some portions of the lode would return to ‘‘pay” as others grew poor and unproductive. Claims or parts of claims changed hands several times between 1859 and 1863. James E. Lyon, Pullman, of palace car fame, Wilkes Defrecs, Joseph E. Bates, E. W. Henderson, John Bruce, Benjamin Smith, D. S. Parmclee, J. 8. and C. H. Briggs, and Lee, Judd & Lee were among those who owned and operated properties ‘there prior to the sales to Eastern men and companies. The last named firm tried to sell their claims for $6,000 in 1862, when they were not paying expenses. They could not find a purchaser and so kept at work. They soon after struck a rich ore body that widened to twenty fect. It yielded over three hundred thousand dollars, two hundred thousand of which was profit, up to April, 1864. Then they put the property into the Black Hawk Mining Company, organ- ized in New York. The five hundred feet adjoining and extending up the hill were bought in June, 1864, for the Consolidated Gregory Company at the rate of one thousand dollars a foot. Other claims sold at lower rates. The Narragansett Company was organized on the adjoining four hundred feet southwesterly. The Briggs Company was organized on the claims immediately west of Gregory Gulch and MINES OF GILPIN COUNTY. 301 the Smith & Parmelee and the New York & Colorado on those northeast of it. The following will show how productive and profitable were the Briggs and Black Hawk claims at one time, notwithstanding it was in the era of high prices and heavy expenses. In 186? the Black Hawk company obtained 12,1932 ounces of gold, worth in currency $279,647.76, from about 12,000 tons of ore, showing an average yield of $23.30 pcr ton, with an outlay of $194,425.63, or at a total average expense of $11.43 per ton, or over double the cost at the present time. Gold was at $1.37. The pump then broke down and the water prevented further mining operations until a new and powerful pump was placed in the shaft. During the year ending July 1, 1869, when the company closed business, the yield was $154,135.76, the outlay $92,381.78, and the profit $61,753.98. In four years and six months previous to 1869 the Black Hawk three hundred feet produced $1,358,149. Infour years and eleven months the Briggs two hundred and forty feet yielded 534,615. During these years gold ranged from $1.33 to $1.50 in currency. The expenses in the Black Hawk property in 1867, in coin value, were $8.17 for mining, $2.48 for milling, and $1.05 for teaming; this makes a total of $11.50, or $10.45 without teaming. In 1869 the cost was $11; it is now $4.50. 7 The Briggs Mine comprises the two hundred and forty feet known as the Briggs claims, and the three hundred feet formerly owned by the Black Hawk Company, and includes the diverging but nearly parallel Gregory and Briggs veins. Over the Briggs claims and shafts is a fine brick mill building, containing powerful hoisting works, pumps, and fifty stamps, with double issue batteries throughout, one-half furnished with automatic ore feeders. Here is the main shaft, 925 fect deep, driven a portion of the way forty feet long and ten wide. From this shaft levels are being driven at inter- vals through the entire 1,040 feet, including the 500 feet of leased ground, called the Consolidated Gregory. The amount of ore in re- sery¢ between these levels ready to be broken down is immense. _ Very little stoping has been done in the lower 450 feet of the Briggs property, and in the lower 600 feet or more of the Con- solidated Gregory. There is ore enough to keep fifty or seventy-five stamps at work for five years without sinking theshaft deeper. The machinery and apph- BLACK : dCRACKE rae Bobtail Mill, BLACK HAWK, Gregory Lode. ee A. ee COLORADO—MINES OF GILPIN COUNTY, 303 ances are first-class, and embrace many improvements not yet intro- duced inmany mines. Among the pumps is one which was put in by the old Black Hawk Company thatis fifteen inchesin diameter. The mine usually makes 140 gallons of water per minute. There are several shafts between five and six hundred feet deep. Both the Briggs and Gregory veins are worked, and are connected here and there by cross-cuts. The Briggs brothers conduct operations at a less cost per ton of ore mined than any other firm or miner in the State. The yield of the mine for the last year or two has ranged from $11,000 to $16,000 monthly, and the profits are said to average over $6,000 per month for the entire year. When the expenses reach $9,000 per month about $5,500 go for labor, $2,300 for supplies, $1,000 for coal, $300 for powder, and $175 for candles. The working force, including both mine and mill, approaches one hundred men. A few men work on tribute—that is, pay a certain royalty or percentage on ore taken out from a piece of ground worked by them. Expenses are very low, the average cost, per ton, of mining being $1.90, of hoisting forty cents, and of milling $1.70, or $4.00 altogether. The hoisting and pumping machinery of the Briggs mine is of the most efficient character, and embraces great engines and boilers of one hundred horse power or less, one of which furnishes power for the fifty-stamp mill. The mines on the Gregory lode yielded $225,934 in 1875, and $222,405 in 1876. The monthly bullion shipments of the Briggs portion of the lode have since increased. Its yield was about $134,000 in cach of the years 1875-6, and $150,000 in 1877. It is reported that the Briggs mine yielded $31,500 in the months of May and June, 1878 combined, with $18,000 profit, and that the yield of August and September together was $34,500. The sales of smelting ore ran from $6,000 to $8,000 per month nearly all of the year, and as the mill ore generally paid expenses, those figures may be supposed to represent the clear profit of the mine. Last year rich pockets and fine gold specimens were found. Three lots sold at one time returned as follows: 100 pounds yielded $32 per pound, or at the rate of $64,000 ; a few hundred pounds sold at the rate of $4,000 and $1,200 respectively. Other small lots gave at the rate of $7,669 per ton, $1,541 and $408; 156 pounds yielded $1,496 and $2,350 worth of gold was panned out of only 92 pounds of ore. 304 COLORADO, Such returns help along the profits, but the thousands of tons of mill ore yielding less than $8 a ton with a profit of $3.50 per ton and the hundreds of tons of ore that the smelter buys for $100 or so per ton are the reliances of the mine. As the mill is directly over the mine, and no hauling is required, nearly or quite all of the crevice matter is fed into the stamps. This and close sorting for the smelter are causes of the low grade of the mill ore. Of the two veins the Gregory averages the larger. The New York & Colorado company own some 1,200 fect on the two veins northeast of the Briggs mine. This company absorbed the Smith & Parmelee company and took in its property. Eight hundred feet of the veins are developed by long levels extending from a shaft that is nearly 800 fect deep and gradually getting deeper. Over this shaft is a building containing a forty-stamp mill and fine hoisting works, propelled by an eighty-horse power engine, which also furnishes power for the Cornish pump. The yield of this mine was $76,310.75 in 1875, with a small margin of profit, and matters have continued in about the same way ever since. The ore is generally of low grade, but there is a great deal of it. The company’s workings extend from Gregory Gulch under Bates Hill. These lower levels can be carried forward as far to the northeast as the veins extend. The following is something like a correct statement of the yield of the entire Gregory lode from its discovery up to July 1, 1879, coin value. The currency value would approach $10,000,000. Some estimates go still higher. Estimated yield by old owners up to June, 1864, coin.......$3,500,000 Bisok Hawk; 1804-60i643.0.55 cies Pan ewe «ee ome ee 936,654 Brigys mine, 1864-69. ..o..0. 2.8 vows eeu erin apis cee ee a 368,700 Briggs mine, including Black Hawk, 1869-79.............. 600,000 Consolidated Gregory, from 1864-79, .............0eee eens 500,000 Smith & Parmelee,: 1864-09. 4.24 iat ei as vere as bee 375,000 New York & Colorado, which now includes Smith & Par- melee; from 1869-79. . 4... ssa ae ee ee = ek eee 450,000 Narragansett, 1804-79... 0. coe cutee ee manne thse se gee 100,000 LOUAL: bok ss 5's ge ee pa nade bet eae Sic ee ee $6,830,354 The Briggs mine, which includes the old Black Hawk mine, and MINES OF GILPIN COUNTY. 305 the adjoining Consolidated Gregory, now worked by the Briggs firm, embrace the 1,040 feet in the central part of the lode. From the best data at hand it would seem that the yield of this 1,040 feet from discovery to July, 1879, was not far from $4,205,000, coin value, or $5,500,000, reckoning the currency values in which the gold was sold. This property is now said to have as much ore above the line of the deepest workings as has already been mined and milled by the upper excavations. The Narragansett Company of New York own 400 feet of the Gregory lode, adjoining the Consolidated Gregory property on the southwest, and their buildings, on claims 11 and 12, are on or near the crest of Gregory Hill. This mine has been operated only at intervals and has never yielded as well as those described above. Last fall some practical miners obtained a two years’ lease and have since been sinking and drifting with fair results. The deep shaft is down over 530 feet. The Bobtail is one of the great lodes of Colorado, ranking next to the Gregory in past production. Its ore has been of a higher grade ‘than that of its great neighbor, but until recently a smaller amount of ground had been worked, owing to unproductiveness near the surface. This is why the aggregate yield has been less than that of the Gregory. Yet the total foots up over $4,500,000. Much pro- duction was prevented by the closing down of the company claims with which the lode was too much subdivided. _ The intersection of the vein by tunnel, the consolidation of differ- ent properties, and the reopening of them by deeper shafts and levels, has enabled the Consolidated Bobtail Company to work to great advantage and profit. From 1875 to the time when the Little Pittsburg mine began to produce so heavily, the Bobtail was the most productive of Colorado mines. It.still continues to increase its product, and now that it has paid off the purchase price of numerous claims, and of a seventy-five stamp mill, beside rebuilding the latter and furnishing the mine with new shafts and splendid machinery, it will undoubtedly pay dividends much more fre- quently than heretofore. The ground along the line of the Bobtail was very rich in surface material or ‘‘float,” and was pre-empted in many separate claims under the name of Field or Bobtail soon after the Gregory discovery. The surface dirt was taken to the creek and sluiced for the gold it con- 306 COLORADO. tained. Much of it was hauled there by a solitary ox, whose caudal appendage had been abbreviated. From this historic animal the lode took its name. Some of the claims changed hands for trifling considerations prior to the spring of 1860. The vein or lode itself was not found until then, many believing the pay dirt previously obtained to be merely a wash deposit. One claim was given away that, long after, sold for $60,000. The vein proved enormously rich, and when it gave out in one place it opened out in another. In 1861- 2-3 there seemed to be no cessation to the golden shower that some of the lucky owners encountered. This carried the workings down to depths of from 60 to 250 feet. Hundreds of dollars per cord were common returns at the stamp mills, where the amalgam gathered so fast on the tables that two ‘‘ clean-ups”’ were made daily. Among the men who figured prominently in the Bobtail in those days were Joseph W. Holman, D. G. Wilson, B. O. Russell, L. D. Crandall, J. F. Fields, W. H. Hurlbut, the Cotton brothers. and John Sensenderfer. Hill and Armstrong and Hale and Patter- son purchased interests in 1862, and made fortunes. Jerome B. Chaffee made his first great strike there. He and Eben Smith leased Sensenderfer’s claim, which was ‘‘in cap.” Early in 1864 they had cleared from that and from the working, purchase, and sale of another claim, over $100,000. Sensenderfer and other claim owners are said to have netted from one to two hundred thousand each in a few years’ time. In 1864 eastern companies purchased most of the best developed parts of the lode, in very small claims, excepting the Bobtail Gold Company. It survived and prospered when the others failed at depths of four or five hundred feet, because it had as many feet of territory on the lode as all of them combined. In the two years end- ing September 1, 1868, the Sensenderfer one hundred and twenty- eight feet, produced $197,155, which was mined and milled at a cost of $77,935, leaving a net profit of $119,220, or of over 60 per cent. Ten dividends of $10,000 cach were paid previous to November, 1867. At that time mining, milling, and other expenses footed up an average expense of $13.50 per ton, coin value, as against $6 at the present time, The Bobtail, Field, and other claims also paid largely. In 1872, when most of these mines were idle, the shaft-houses were - MINES OF GILPIN COUNTY. 307 burned, and the shaft timber work rendered useless and unsafe. The Bobtail tunnel was afterwards driven to intersect the lode and afford drainage and an outlet for the product of the mine. The Fisk lode was penetrated 574 feet, and the Bobtail 1,110 feet from the mouth of the tunnel. This was in 1873. Superintendent A. N. Rogers, who had had charge of affairs from 1864, then induced the company to reopen the mine on a large scale, and to purchase the adjoining company properties and the great Black Hawk Mill. This required time and expense, but the present yield, the thousands of cords of broken ore on hand, and the immense ore reserves in sight show the wisdom of these movements in place of suspending work or operating on a small scale. The Bobtail Company owned 43834 feet on the vein originally, and after many years bought the Sensenderfer, 128 feet, separated therefrom by the Black Hawk Company’s 72 fect, the Brastow, 66% feet, the Teller, 100 feet, and the Sterling, 66% feet. In the course of several years these were all purchased, making 900 feet of territory, less 334 feet owned by J. F. Field, beside the Branch lode and other claims. A large excavation in the solid rock at the head of the tunnel, and 471 feet below the surface of the hill, contains huge engines and boilers for propelling the hoisting machinery and great pumps. 2, pr RS —*_ - S- ZS. vi DUMP PILES OF A GREAT MINE, \\ a My COLORADO—MINES OF GILPIN COUNTY. 317 The Cashicr mine is situated on Mammoth Hill, one fourth of a mile distant from the railway depot at Central City, its easterly boundary terminating in Packard’s Gulch. It was originally located and owned by Joseph W. Holman, by whom the pre- liminary developments were made, and became the property of the present company in March, 1878. Since then the opening of the mine has rapidly progressed under the direction of Mr. Holman as Supcrintendent. The system of development adopted is the result of the best prac- tical workings of the district. This contemplates a production of ore consistent with the location of the mine among the noted properties on the same vein, and in the near vicinity, which will undoubtedly place it foremost among the bullicn producers of Gilpin county. The contour of the ground is exceedingly favorable to economic workings, admitting of tunneling on the vein. A tunnel has been begun in Packard Gulch, and driven forward about 200 feet. This will reach the main shaft, near the centre of the property, 310 feet below the surface, and through it, when completed, the mine will be worked. . The principal part of the development has been made within the past year, and embraces a main shaft, down to a depth of 245 feet, west of present shaft workings, and two others further west, the first of which is down 50 feet and the other 119 feet. The last two are designed for winzes for future level explorations west. East of the main shaft, a surface winze connects the east adit at a depth of 60 feet and a depth of 120 feet below the rim of the main shaft. The adit has been driven west to a point where it connects and in- tersects the cast 100-foot level from the main shaft. This adit, 446 feet in length, will be used for a tramway for all backstoping above a depth of 100 feet from the surface. To facilitate this and carry out the plans inaugurated, cars have been procured, an iron rail- way track has been putin, and the ore is backstoped and trammed through the adit to the surface. The present amount of levels that have been driven cast and west from the deep shaft is as follows: 50-foot east level, 26 feet; 50-foot west level, 60 feet ; 100-foot west level, 134 feet ; cast level (forming a portion of adit driven from the east), 446. The crevice inthe bottom of the main shaft measures 54 feet between walls, and is saved for milling and smelting purposes, The ore thus far treated under stamps has yielded from 84 to 6 318 COLORADO. ; ounces gold percord. There is a large amount on the several dumps that will be treated profitably with a mill near at hand. The yari- ous intersecting (blind) veins, spurs, and feeders of silver veins met with give promise, by their high assays in several instances, of an ad- dition in lower workings of equal or greater value than the Cashier vein itself. The company has delayed the construction of its mill until the mine should be opened to a capacity to supply it continuously, with- out interfering with the progress of the work. Miners can now be set at work in the back stops of the 100-foot level, and the body of ore already in sight in that level will be available before the com- pletion of the mill. A mill site was purchased in Black Hawk, that controls the full water power of North Clear Creek. It is expected that the mill, now being constructed, will be in operation early in September. It is designed to be run both by water and steam, and to embrace the most approved features of the mills in practical operation in the district ; 50 stamps will be first employed, but the buildings and machinery will admit of the addition of stamps as required to the number of 100. Besides the Cashier mine, 1,500 feet on the vein by 150 feet in width, covered by U. 8. Government patent, the company’s property em- braces the North Cashier and the South Cashier, parallel veins on either side, the whole covering an area 1,500 feet in length, by 400 feet in width. | The Empress mine is situated on Mammoth Hill, Gregory mining district, and is about one fourth of a mile distant from the Colorado Central railway depot at Central, and near the Cashier mine. This is evidently on the Fisk vein, which further east has been so produe- tive in gold. Surveys and developments lead directly from one to the other, with the Treasury location intervening. The Empress prop- erty embraces 1,500 fect in length by 150 in breadth, and under ; former workings had been developed by shafts sunk to depths of one hundred and ten, sixty, and twenty-five feet, and 150 feet of levels, and the ore yielded from 4} to 9 ounces under stamps. It was acquired in March, 1879, by the Empress Mining Company, and since then the work of development on an extensive and systematic plan has been pushed forward as rapidly as possible, with a view to a large and continuous production as soon as requisite shafts and levels are opened. The Empress Mining Company of Colorado was ali 7 - om a MINES OF GILPIN COUNTY. 319 organized on a capital of five hundred thousand dollars, in shares of a par value of two dollars, full paid and unassessable. The company headquarters are at 52 Broadway, New York. James Howell, mayor of Brooklyn, is president, and James Schenck secretary and treasurer. The ore has been milling five ounces of gold per cord, and two shafts are being sunk as fast as possible. The last mineral found assays $400. _ The Emperor mine is situated on Mammoth Hill, between the Bob- tail and Fisk veins, and opposit3 the Cashier, supposed extension the former, and the Treasury and Empress of the latter. It was located by Joseph W. Holman, of Central City, and consists of 1,500 feet on the vein by 150 feet in width. The vein is supposed to be the same as the ‘‘ Minnie” and ‘‘Cotton.’’ None other than the preliminary development have as yet been made on this property, The surface dirt has yielded under stamps the average of the sur- rounding propcrtics. The Washington mine, at Central City, Colorado, is situated on Gregory Hill. The property consists of 1,100 feet on the vein by 150 feet in width. The topographical features of the ground admit of tunneling on the vein from Packard’s Gulch, striking some 300 feet below the surface a short distance in. The developments con- sist of several shafts, varying in depth from 10 to 60 feet, and an adit from the gulch driven 60 feet in,and are preliminary to the adoption of a large and systematic plan of operations in the near future. The dirt recently taken out yielded 11} ounces gold to the cord under stamps, and the vein in all the different workings shows the characteristic features of the prominent adjoining and surround- ing mines for the depth attained. ~The Buell mining property embraces five thousand linear feet of yeins, about half of which are covered by government patents.. The Leavitt and its eastern extension, the Vasa, from which the U. P. R. pocket was mined, and the Kip arethe main veins. There are many shafts, and an immense amount of underground work, mainly in the. Leavitt, which has been the leadiny producer. The whole property is. said to have yielded $800,000 currency, or $650,000 coin. The Leavitt was reopened in 1871, at a point beneath Gregory street and gulch, Central City. Ata depth of 50 feet an ore body of soft gangue rock was entered, ten feet wide, of an average value of $10 aton. Subsequent work. continued in ore, the vein widening and 820 COLORADO. closing, but never giving out for long distances. At a depth of 130 feet a rich body of black, decomposed sulphurets was entered, having a width of four feet. Thousands of dollars were obtained at the Black Hawk smelting works for single lots of this ore—there being many tons in each shipment. Several tons were sent across the ocean to Swansea, and brought $300 per ton. ‘The gangue rock, lying beside this in the vein, was worth $80 a cord. In one place there were over four feet of ore, carrying 15 per cent. of copper. The ore body was generally four to ten feet wide, but at a depth of 400 feet widened to 16 feet, averaging $10 under the stamps. Great pockets and seams of smelting ore were found, Unbroken masses of ore, weighing over one thousand pounds each and assaying $200, were occasionally raised. The showing was a remarkable one. From 40 to 100 stamps were employed in crushing the ore, varying in number as the product of one season or year increascd or diminished. A great stone mill, with sixty stamps, and costing $100,000, was erected, and ore and shaft house adjoining. A splendid shaft was sunk 500 feet and over, with double compartments for cages and first-class hoisting machinery. The ore was cheaply mined, but expenses were greater in 1871-35 than now, and so a profit of only $150,000 was made, where a much larger figure could now be secured. In the last eight months of 1872 there were 7,917 tons of ore mined, that returned $105,185, currency value. The cost was $83,443, or $10.43 pet ton, and the profits $21,742. Eleven months of 1873 returned 14,850 tons of ore, and $143,706.86 currency, with a profit of $46,878.86. The total expenses were then reduced to $6.52 per ton. This mine and mill should now be operated at a cost of less than $5 per ton, but has not been extensively worked of late, owing to the low grade of the ore-body in the bottom of the shaft, now 580 feet. deep. The O. K. is the southwesterly extension of the Leavitt or main Buell vein. Work was begun in 1875 by J. W. Hanna, the present superintendent of the O. K. Mining Company. Not long ago the main shaft had attained a depth of 825 fect, through an ore-body averaging 42 inches wide for its entire length, At the same time five levels were driven as follows: At a depth of 50 feet, 50 feet in length west; depth, 115 feet, 185 feet in length west; depth, 225 fect, 175 feet in length west; depth, 285 feet, 95 feet in length west; depth, 225 feet, 110 feet in length east, The levels are all : ; ati i a Se MINES OF GILPIN COUNTY. B21 connected by winzes from the top, affording the best of ventilation in the lower workings of the mine. The average of the mill ore has been three ounces gold per cord. By concentration, from returns, some of the ore averages six and one-quarter ounces. Levels are being driven to open up the ground to the east, and the shaft will soon be sunk 200 fect further. But little stoping has been done. This company is organized on a capital stock of $500,000, in ten dollar shares. It owns 1,500 feet on the O. K. lode; also, the Win- nebago mine and mill, and the Liberty lode. Concentrating works of the Collom wet process are being put up in the Winnebago mill to handle the low grade ores. There is avery large quantity of these in the O. K. mine, which, it is believed, can be advantageously handled in that way. Steam hoisting machinery is employed. The Malachite Company, at Golden, have been buying the common milling ores at seven dollars per ton. These ores carry five or six per cent. of copper, and the smelting mineral carries sixteen to cighteen per cent. When two or three car loads of ore were sent to Golden weekly the common grades brought from $90 to $100. - But little stoping has been done, and there is a great deal of ore in sight. The Gregory Second is considered the extension of the Buell on the northeast, and the Smith, in Chase Gulch, as the extension of the Gregory Second. The latter has been opened to depths of four and five hundred feet, and has yielded largely, and the Smith to a less amount. The Bates is one of the main veins, and, although worked only at intervals, has yielded considerably over half a million. It was dis- covered by John H. Gregory, May 19, 1859, and was the second lode found in the mountains. Its surface dirt was extremely rich, and so was much of the vein. In 1863-4 ten Eastern companies were formed on different parts of the Bates. In those years the Baxter and Union company claims were among the most productive in the mountains, but other properties were very profitable. But little work has been done, however, since 1869-70, except by parties leasing on the Loker company mine on the Chase Gulch slope. The Union was idle mainly on account of a lawsuit concerning a money loan. It yielded $205,000 currency value in sixteen consecutive months of 1866-7, and the ore has never given out. The same vein east of the gulch and on Mammoth Hill is called 822 COLORADO. r the Bates-Hunter. Southwest of Gregory street this is owned by : several Central miners and -has paid largely in places. A movement | is on foot to consolidate this and the Bates lode in one great com- , bination and mine them extensively. Six hundred feet of the Bates | have already been secured, with $100,000 to sink a shaft 1,000 feet 4 deep, run levels, and build a stamp-mill. Still further southwest the German lode gave a yield of 3,900 tons of ore and $146,250 in two years. The Susquehanna company claim is worked to a depth of 310 feet by lessees, and the Kline claim to about the same extent. The Fisk lode has yielded a large amount of money—some say as much as a half million. Two different firms are working several claims each, to depths of over 600 fect, and another property is nearly as deep. All are said to be making money. The vein is small, but rich, and the ground hard. In 1873-4 one of these prop- erties gaye nearly $60,000. The average yield of mill ore was nearly $20, and the expenses nearly $12. The smelting ore was of high grade. Further cast the same vein is called the Sleepy Hollow, owned by M. Rasin, and developed to a depth of 265 fect within the past two years. This property embraces a length of 1,500 feet. Considerable smelting ore is sold, carrying more or less gray copper. The Prize and Suderberg lodes are located onthe upper portion of Gunnell Hill and close to Nevadayille. They approach each other from the west, and the claims where they unite were the scene of a great deal of trouble when the ore bodies of 1870-71 were paying so largely. The courts finally enjoined the Prize company, and after atime the Suderberg men exhausted much of the ground. In two or three years the yield exceeded a quarter of a million coin value, This was one of the richest large bodies of ore ever found in Gilpin county. The amount of high grade smelting ore sold was very great. There was over five feet of milling ore that yielded from six to twelve ounces of gold per cord. The Prize also yielded a large amount before work ceased. Afterwards Richard Mackay took out $75,000 from the Suderberg. These mines are now idle, but may not be much longer. The eastern part of the Prize, called the Com- monwealth property, yielded some $371,000 during the same period. The Jones is situated on a line and nearly west of the Suderberg. The vein is notas large as some, but is of very high grade. The McGonnigal and Phillips properties have maintained a pretty regular - —' he ee A MINES OF GILPIN COUNTY. 323 vein from the surface down 400 feet, and there is ore below the bot- tom of the shaft and lower level. At one time fifty feet only of the Phillips claim netted over $4,000 in a few months’ time and it is said that both properties are doing as well now. The ore has milled all the way from nine to thirty-one ounces. From nine to eighteen ounces per cord have been the returns of the past year. Many tons of smelting ore are sold monthly at from $60 to $90 per ton. The crevice matter is three feet wide, with one foot of rich solid mineral. The Hubertis located near the Jones, and is thought to be on the same yein as the Suderberg. It has been worked to a depth of 400 fect, and was paying a profit at last accounts. Quite a large amount of ore has been taken from this mine. The vein has usually been of good size and carries soine high grade ore and considerable galena. The Eureka is a large vein, is located on the hill of the same name. It has been worked to a depth of over 400 feet and is sup- plied with good buildings and machinery. Its owner, Alexander Taylor, mined large amounts of ore from it in previous years. The crevice has sometimes been ten or twelve feet wide. Among mines on Gunnell Hill are the Saint Louis, Pleasant View, Ashtabula, Whiting, and Butler, and on Casto Hill the Winnebago, Casto, Cincinnati, Comstock, Ellery, and Furnald. The Maryland yielded $30,000 in one summer, : 824 COLORADO. CHAPTER XI. GILPIN COUNTY MINES—QUARTZ HILL AND ITS VEINS OF GOLD—THE KANSAS, CALIFORNIA, GARDNER, AND BURROUGHS——-THE STORY OF THEIR WONDERFUL ORE BODIES AND LARGE PRODUCTION—THE BIG STRIKES OF THE HIDDEN TREASURE, FLACK, AND FORKS— THE KENT COUNTY, ALPS, AND ILLINOIS—GOLDEN DEPOSITS AND FREAKS OF FORTUNE. Quartz Hill is one of the grandest depositories of wealth that the world possesses. Here is a network of mineral veins, spurs, and feeders, and a number of great lodes, such as are rarely seen in any country. Millions in gold have been taken from this hill and there are millions in it yet. The two longest and most reliable of the | great fissures are the Kansas and that known in different portions under the names of Indiana, Hidden Treasure, California, Gardner, etc. These two veins are nearly parallel, but approach one another on the west. The Burroughs is another nearly east and west vein, which approaches and unites with the Kansas from the cast. Above — the California is the lode known under the names of Mercer County . and Flack, another called the Kent County, and still further south the Alps-Mackie and Pyrenncs. South of the Burroughs is the Missouri, and beyond that are the Kinney and the Roderick Dhu and Borton veins (considered as the extensions of the Gardner), and the Illinois and other lodes. Taking a more northerly course is the great Forks lode. This is on the western part of the hill, along with the Mount Desert, American Flag, and others. Further east are the Camp Grove, Sullivan, Ute, Columbia, Lewis, Corydon, Fortune, Fourth of July, and others too numerous to mention. The total yield of the hill from first to last has probably exceeded ten millions coin value, and the future annual production is likely to reach a million and a quarter or a million and a half. The Kansas and the California-Gardner, if worked extensively for a mile in length, as they are likely to be, should yield that amount them- . MINES OF GILPIN COUNTY. 325 selves, and the half dozen other leading veins of the hill ought to produce an equal sum. Ever since the days of the pioneer miners the Kansas has been known as one of the main veins of the county. Few have been as continuous, reliable, or productive, and but three in the State have exceeded it in the yield of the yellow metal. It has been developed for a greater distance than any other in the county. Its castern and western tracings are nearly a mile and three-quarters apart and near either end of Quartz Hill. In one of its shafts mining is car- ried on to a greater depth than anywhere else in Colorado, and possibly anywhere east of Nevada and Idaho. Many individuals and companies own portions of this lode. Too much division has been the cause of the irregular manner in which it has been operated. Notwithstanding intervals when first onc claim and then another were unworked, some two millions in gold have been obtained altogether and the indications are good for an increased annual yield hereafter. This is rendered certain by the increased amount of territory mined, many claims having been re- opened during the past six months. After the stoppage of work by eastern companics the more centrally located claims were worked under lease, and the lessees retired with money on hand. Since then the railway has entered the district, and opportunities for profit have grown better as expenses grew less. The success at- tending the resumption of work on the Fagan or western part of the lode, where several properties have been united in one, has at last caused the twelve hundred feet embraced in several mines further east to be worked again—and all with evident profit. The former has been one of the few great producers of the country ever since the close of 1878. ( One mine after another had been closing down, as their lessees had stripped them of ore, and at the time James C. Fagan took hold of what had been the Kansas Colorado Company property, many had begun to despair of the district’s future. Not so with the lessce and subsequent purchaser of this mince. He believed the gold was there and that a moderate outlay of money and muscle would bring it to the surface. The removal of the water from the mine and the deepening of the shaft one hundred feet proved his opinion to be correct. An outlay of twenty thousand dollars accomplished this and brought the property into paying condition, and subsequent 326 COLORADO—-MINES OF GILPIN. COUNTY. developments have kept it there. This and the entire western portion of the lode that has since been purchased have been worked in the most advantageous manner possible, under the personal supervision of one of the best mine managers in the state. A splendid record has been made and large dividends disbursed, notwithstanding the fact that much of the profit has been required for additional prop- erty and for permanent improvements necessary on greatly enlarged operations. Beginning with three hundred feet in length on the vein, the owners have extended operations vertically and horizontally until a depth of one thousand feet has been attained, and a large portion of a length of two thousand feet has been developed or partially ex- plored. Ore reserves of great extent have always been kept ahead | of present requirements ever since the mine was fairly opened five years ago. Since then about $550,000 worth of gold bullion has been obtained from the thousands of cords of ore milled or smelted, and the mine never looked better than it now docs in the lower _ workings. Had all needed milling, hoisting and pumping appa- ratus been at hand to begin with, and had production been forced to the utmost, the yield could have been much larger. Such was not the condition of affairs, however, and consequently matters necessarily progressed slowly to begin with, and at intervals subse- quently. Yet the profits have been sufficient to procure all of the above requirements, to repay the heavy outlay of putting an idle and water-filled mine in order, to construct a great shaft, discover vast ore — chambers, and to erect buildings and increase the mill’s capacity five- fold, as well as to purchase the original property and many times as _ many feet of adjoining claims. Allof this called for an expenditure ; %j of over $120,000, and yet the profits to the operators, in execss — thercof, have approached $100,000, making over $200,000 of net receipts above ordinary or current expenses. With the present development and showing, all of the above figures may be more than doubled, with no further outlay for permanent improvements, except, perhaps, an addition to the mill’s stamping capacity. Levels from the Monmouth shaft extend along the vein far to the westward, and thus afford an outlet for that portion of the property. Iron tracksare laid in these levels, over which cars convey the ore to the hoisting place. As ground is worked out the rails are removed to newly opened drifts below. On the surface are sub- ; $i NS MQ 4irst High po ae Poy ae CYAWASY S . OO Gr “. ke 8 or Groin ee 8 SS a, ' ~~ 2 oe THE FAGAN AND MONMOUTH-KANSAS MINE—LONGITUDINAL SECTION. a ee —- 7 — - ' =) Pe a Se 828 COLORADO. stantial buildings containing powerful engines and boilers that afford power for the hoisting machinery and great Cornish pump. This pump elevates the water to the surfacc in four alternate lifts of two hundred and fifty feet each. Its connecting rod alone weighs many tons, and far down in the depths is the huge walking-beam attached thereto. The hoisting and drainage machinery will answer every purpose for five hundred fect below present workings. The mine itself is substantially timbered throughout, and is in first-class condition. Levels have been dri- ven from the great shaft at intervals as far east as the property extends, and westward for varying distances. Most of the vein has been worked out toa depth of five hundred and fifty feet below the surface, and for several hundred fect east and west of the shaft, excepting some low grade material. The level 650 feet be- low the surface has been driven west of the shaft over 1,300 feet, and from this a cross cut enters a rich side vein. The 720 level has been driven west nearly 950 feet. The western portion of both of these passes through the same rich ore body that paid so well around the shaft and nearer the surface two or three years ago, and which pitches AND BURROUGHS. MINES OF GILPIN COUNTY. 329 downward as it extends westward. Near the shaft the ground was poor at this depth. The 800 level has reached alength east and west of 700 fect, the 860 of 690 fect, and the 915 is 225 feet long west of the shaft. All of these are being driven through a fine body of ore. At the bottom of the shaft, 1,000 fect below the surface, and the deepest point whcre mining is carricd on in Colorado, the showing is especially good. There appcars to be paying ore cnough in the stopcs and between, beneath and ahead of the five lower drifts to keep the mill employcd for several years without extending the shaft further. Yet it is proposed to continue sinking, in order that an equal amount of ore may continue to be kept ahcad of milling requirements. The vein gradually widens from two feet at the 650 level to four and five fect in the lower workings, and is richer than the average of paying mines in this district. About seventy-five men are usually employcd under ground and over twenty on the sur- face, at the hoisting works and mill. Close by is an excellent quartz mill, into which forty-five tons of ore are dumped from cars every twenty-four hours. 50079 eae 50 42 120° 71% 990 “> BB+" 55048) lee 55“ 46 “130 “* 738 * 8380 BA G00 94 ¢ 60 #50 1404 95 4) 240 1+t 85 95“ 65 58 150“ 76 260“ 86.%* B00. 96 « 70 86 160“ 77. 280 «87. 900 97 “ 7“ 58“ 170 7 * 300 * 88 “ 1,000andover98 * CLEAR CREEK COUNTY. 365 Mathews, Morris & Co. crushed, sampled, bought, and shipped at the Rocky Mountain Mill, in Georgetown, 1,646 tons and 409 pounds of ore, containing 372,024.9 ounces of silver, 58.4 ounces of gold, and 123 tons 1,112.3 pounds of lead. The total value was $430,555.07. The average contents of ore handled was 8 per cent. of lead, and 234 ounces of silver, or $270.82 per ton. F. M. Taylor’s statement of the Clear Creek Company’s business at Georgetown shows that 2,741 tons and 510 pounds of ore were concen- trated and sampled and sent to the reduction works of the com- pany and to other ore buyers of Georgetown, beside 3,934 tons and 901 pounds concentrated or shipped; total tonnage, 6,675 tons 1,411 _ pounds, for which $300,976.67 was paid, making an average of $45 per ton. The average assay was 82 ounces of silver, making a total of 547,407.8 ounces of silver, of a value of $618,570.81. This represents value of both shipments and mill bullion product. The latter alone amounted to $124,966.56. The company paid out for labor $42,013.88, and for fuel $9,647.86. Olmsted & Ballou deal heavily in lead-bearing ores as well as others.. They operate the Washington Mill in Georgetown, which is supplied with the usual sampling and crushing machinery. The Silves Tiume Concentrating Mill handles the lower grade ores. The combined business of both mills for the year was $302,519.32. G. W. Hall & Co. is the oldest ore-buying, sampling, and ship- ping firm in the county. In 1872 General F. J. Marshall and C. A. Martine began to purchase the richer ores of the miners and ship them across the ocean to Germany for treatment. This was the actual beginning of a high-priced competition ore market for the Georgetown mines. Since 1875-6, the firm has shipped to American works only. It has probably handled from first to last over two million dollars’ worth of ore. P. McCann, with mills at Georgetown and Lawson, the latter in operation only seven months, handled 900 tons of ore, yielding $238.995. The ore averaged 235 ounces, or $265.55 per ton. Two hundred tons of ore contained 35 per cent. of lead. The Miles concentrating mill at Idaho Springs is conducted by Harry Montgomery who has ore sampling and shipping works in connection therewith. The products are sent to Golden. The ore reducing works in Clear Creek county that were at work all or parts of 1878 are as follows: "SST Ul poUsTIquasy "BIST UI 10}]B[ OY PUR “LIST UI po *su0} OF ‘Aj1onde ‘E-TL8L d0uIs sesodin ‘smmoy Ua} ur suo} og ‘Ajlowdeg = *eygr ama@ar [i *suo4 og ‘Aploeden § “ZA8T Ul e1y Wor WINQor quasoid Joy posn *S19}[OULS MApfOxX) IOT ‘9/91 ‘sSaudg ouepy ‘Como S Wop suey ‘ouIn{ OATS “OD F noyeg JUN oUIN[ | IOATTS “HOSMB'TT PUB UA0JO *SU0} 0g ‘Apoedey “FST POUSTIQVISY “UMOJO “OL8T pomsHaeseL “UMOSIONH “TW Auvduoy Yoo Ivo SouIp[ing “UMOJODIOIH “OD = eH “MO I “UMOJSIOIH “NoT[Vg ZF poysuyO “TW Uopsaryse AL :QL8I_QI poysi[quIsy “UMOJaTIONH ‘0D ® siL10 SIQeIS9 ISIY OUT, ‘UUBOOW ‘d oon) gong) “a fe ‘SMOTIVL ‘THT Ulejnnop AxI0y : SMOT[OJ SB ov AJUNOD YOoIN IB9[O Jo sifu puv sug Surddiys puv ‘Sur{nq “Surpdures o10 oy, = 7 cogt [tte BujMOm Mag | “*oct coset sduvjs ro II 3 a anh an awe miele + wondurg ‘oye seg ; C931 “Ivo k jo qaved 10}}V'T Ce a ee *sdureys 0 cI A iy VaR Ss eae Se or du, ‘IayOOQIOyIUyY JOT | se eeee "Iva tl jo bere) i\g tee ee reesvene sduryys OT SI ¥9 fan ee Ce es *(aaidurg) Jodo g S LIST Pte 2 ieee ott reas yng |-*** “SOTQuy TIT sduivys cz OT. fetter yeue aes ‘ppoy [ttt ttre cacevecse oyRp] 38 ‘ourgsung s| HIST jercrtere IBook jo DETep i\g j eae oJ *SoTqvy l eS Py tks Oe ap ens es comer ies Cas ey *(oyBp]) SOT m ps a! . ‘soit ‘stlo0i08 ‘stoYsTuy \ = ™ a | : S QJ8I *SYJWOU G Jo F 4SU’T | 4 ‘s3if pS 3 aoe t FG ” ” | “See “(eg ystundg) Luvdmog [rynyy : ° ee ea es , | 7-82" 999 ‘garaga oe ~-ae Pecn * e e A te ae 2 ; o CLST Twos TTY | ; ‘SIC ‘suooros ‘saoysnag | f ” soe (no[[eg ‘\q) ound Iaapig LL81. leet cians 7 ete he > See eS ef | = a4 xe | # JOM i ue ae ‘oD WwW powuayg OpB.lolog CEST > if ems Oe "*-rBod [[ NA 940 ‘srl ‘suao10s ‘saoqsnig Ch Uoryeiyueou0y Arq ae a, ‘ ee: d2ouS JS GEL Eee ple a < S yp a! yas JPA ST PuUCwETG “SOR gar \S° S32) 376 COLORADO. vertical—that is, there is 700 feet of vein to the surface—and this will increase with the progress of the tunnel. It is estimated that there is sufficient ore already explored to supply a concentrating and sampling mill one hundred tons daily for several years. All of the tunnels are being vigorously pushed and it is the purpose of the company to keep their developments far ahead of the mill capacity. A vertical shaft will soon be started westerly from the present work- ings that is designed to cut the lode 1,000 feet below the Freeland tunnel. The vein pitches or inclines, something less than forty- five degrees, and will be reached ‘at varying depths by cross-cuts from the shaft and then drifted on. The three adits are going through one continuous ore-body, from one to five feet wide. They are two hundred feet apart, and the upper or Platt level is 970 feet : long, the Minnie 1,100 feet, and the Freeland 1,280 feet long. This property presentcd a very different appearance and valuation — | afew years ago. The district and the score of mining claims were : abandoned because the gold would not save satisfactorily in the stamp mills—and silver was then unlooked for. John M. Dumont was grad- ually purchasing or relocating these claims while working the Hukill, and after disposing of the latter secured all the remaining territory on which the Freeland had been traced. In connection with E. 8. Platt. and Sheldon Collins, he began to open and explore the vein in the © same admirable manner as on the Hukill. The lodes were similar in size and location, and the same adit system of development was adopted. Rugged mountains barred the way to the outside world, and, as it was no thoroughfare, little was known of the persistent work going on in this out of the way place. The enterprise — was at first somewhat problematical, but the projector’s confidence — and expenditure of thousands of dollars in drifting, timbering, in ~ roads, buildings, and permanent improvements, were certainly justified | when an ever-increasing amount of ore was being developed. An efficient underground foreman kept the long levels solidly timbered, ~ and the value of every fathom of ground could be ascertained from an assayer and smelter at the mine and furnace. Great forests of pine and spruce permitted of desulphurizing the ore by ‘ heap roasting,” at trifling cost. At last, when everything was in readiness, ore ship- ments began at the rate of nearly fifty tons daily. During this year _ or two of operations the working force had increased to more than one hundred miners and a pretty village of over two hundred inhab- ~ ~ Cuil ee CLEAR CREEK COUNTY MINES. ue itants grew about the mine, with church and school, but no disturb- ing element in the form of a saloon. Dumont had practically a little kingdom by himself in this isolated and picturesque valley, for there were no competing mining interests and no work except that of. his own direction. At length the adits were in on the vein from seven to ten hundred fect, thousands of tons of ore had been broken, and in the mountain were the largest explored ore reserves in the county. But concentration works were needed, so that all classes of ore could be made available as they came from the mine. At this juncture the Californians came along, examined the property, and paid a quarter of a million for it. The nature of the vein had already been proved ; and the new owners began to crowd work with all possible dispatch. The result is that the ore-body is found to be so much larger and better near the heart of the mountain that they now consider the property worth three or four times what they paid forit. It has certainly improved wonderfully within the past three months. What the future capacity of the mine may be is difficult to predict, _but the present owners confidently expect to bring it up to two hundred tons per day within the coming year. This may seem an enormous product, but it is difficult for one who has not been there to appreciate the tremendous energy displayed in the mining opera- tions now going forward—an energy and push characteristic of the live mining operators and great mining enterprises of Nevada. The California theory is that the more rapidly a mine is worked the more money is made—and it certainly leaves more time to make money. Accordingly these men do not propose to be any longer removing a given quantity of ore than is absolutely necessary. The Freeland and Hukill are operated by men of means, who have been engaged in similar work among the famous mines of the Pacific slope. If they are successful in this new field they will induce others to come. With the present showing in these mines, it would appear that there could be no such word as fail. Consequently an influx of California capital may be looked for with a considerable degree of certainty. In the same belt is the Mayflower, which is being rapidly de- veloped by a New York company, which employs nearly forty miners -on this and the Lafayette. On the opposite side of the creck, and probably on the same vein as the Mayflower, is the Beauzy, also worked by purchasers from the East. Around the head of Virginia Cafion, and midway between Cen- 378 COLORADO. tral and Idaho Springs, is a group of free milling gold lodes that are well worthy of attention. This is a continuation of the Gilpin gold belt, but the mines are just over the line in Clear Creek county. As a rule these veins are not large, but are unusually rich in gold, with occasional bunches and pockets of ore that pay handsomely. There has been a revival of mining there since the Specie Payment was proved up in 1876-7, and now many men are obtaining snug’ revenues or a large per cent. on moneys and labor invested. A number of mines are regularly paying several hundred dollars monthly, or fifteen per cent. of their rated valuation. The Specie Payment, Champion, Trio, German, Racket, Clarissa, Sunshine, Gold Cloud, and Emerson are the most actively worked. The first nearly supplies the Sunshine twenty-five stamp mill at Idaho, and the’ others are the main feeders of the Tucker thirty-two stamp mill in. Russell Gulch, Gilpin county. The Specie Payment was discovered in 1875, and purchased the following year by parties from Troy, New York. It is said to have paid nearly all of the time since opence, and to look as well as ever, It intersects Bellevue Mountain near its summit, cutting down through it at a pitch or incline of about forty-five degrees. The vein has generally ranged from eighteen to forty inches thick, and. does not bear a close resemblance to most Gilpin gold-bearing ores. | White quartz is obtained occasionally, flecked and spotted with gold. — The stamp mill averages a return of from $80 to $100 per cord, but” returns of twenty and twenty-seven ounces have been made. A mill” of fifteen stamps was built at Idaho Springs in 1877, and enlarged — to twenty-five in 1878. The mine is extensively opened by an adit” or tunnel over 350 feet long, driven on the vein toward the peak of the mountain, with shafts and levels connecting below. The first workings were in the ground above, and most of the ore has been — removed for quite a distance. The mine has been yielding from $25,000 to $27,000 per annum. The Trio mine, near the Champion, was purchased by Frederick G. " Hardy, of New York, in 1878. Previous to that time it had yielded extremely rich ore—some of it containing several hundred dollars — per cord. Owing to the slope of the mountain and the wet charachaaa of the mine a tunnel was driven into the lode from the bed of — Virginia Cafon and then continued on the vein. This required : months of time, and has been rewarded by the development of a rich — CLEAR CREEK COUNTY MINES, 379 body of ore below the old workings, and by the draining of the mine. When a distance of one thousand feet horizontally has been attained the depth below the crest of the mountain will be nearly 700 feet. The Champion was discovered in the spring of 1878, by Edward Williams and others, and was soon after purchased by Thomas I. Richman, the present mayor of Central, and some Chicago parties. It has given some remarkably rich milling ore—from twenty to thirty ounces, or from $300 to $480 per cord. The average mill returns are about seven ounces, $110 a cord, or $16 aton. The ore sold to the smelter brings from $100 to $125 a ton. Two shafts have attained depths of 150 feet or more, and several levels are being carried forward. The vein matter is from one to four feet wide. The mine has paid a handsome profit ever since discovered. Eight men are employed, and 150 to 250 tons of mill ore mined monthly. The German has yielded some $25,000 altogether, and the recent lessees report rich ore and large profits. A handsome vein of smelting ore is visible in the two shafts, varying from four to twenty inches wide, and flanked by ore that mills from $8 to $16 per ton. The Sunshine is another paying property. It has been supplying more or less mill ore for a year. The Clarissa employs some twenty men, and has been supplying from five to fifteen mill stamps. The richer mineral carries considerable silver and copper as well as gold. A strike is reported in the Patton lode down Virginia Cafion, and the Nonpareil and Fairmount, near Idaho, are attracting some attention, The latter is an old mine, and is sending rich quartz to the Sunshine quartz mill. The other supplies smelting ore—and so does the Monarch. Southeasterly from this group of gold lodes is the parallel silver belt referred to before. Here are anumber of mines that are paying all the way from good wages to several hundred dollars per month, according to size of vein and amount of development. The most actively worked lodes are the Tropic, Victor, Santa Fe, Queen, Kangaroo, Metropolitan, Telephone, Argo, and Cincinnati. The Seaton and Victor or flat vein cross one another and have yielded large amounts of silver, especially at the point of junction. More - ore was coming out of that spot at one time than from the whole of —<——_ * this part of the county. The Veto has been extensively developed and quite profitable. The Crystal andthe Franklin lodes have been famous properties. The Cascade lode, which has yielded some rich 380 COLORADO. silver ore, is in Cascade district, near the headwaters of Chicago — Creek, and the Edgar, near Fall River, is quite productive. WI The Tropic mine, located between Idaho Springs and Central City, furnishes an example of silver veins of reliable and profit- — able character. It has been opened but a short time, and vigorous — work has been prosecuted less than a year, yet but very few Clear Creek veins can show as large ore reserves, or as great possibilities — of gross and net products. The lode has been opened for a length of 500 feet, and a depth of 200, and arich vein of ore has been penetrated in every section of the mine. With the exception of one small piece of ground worked out near the surface, the ore reserves extend through this explored ground with no serious break or inter- ruption. rf The Tropic is a remarkably continuous true fissure vein, in granite and spar formation, and has a northeasterly and southwesterly direc- — tion, pitching towards the north. It varies in width from one to — four feet. In this is the ore vein, which shows few lean spots, and earries from four to thirty inches of solid ore wherever entered. — There is some material that requires concentration, but the general run of the ore is from 100 to 200 ounces of silver, $2 to $12 in gold, and from one to seven per cent. of copper. The average selling — price of the ore is about $100 per ton. The average yield of all ground excavated has been $90 a fathom. The mine is advanta-— geously situated, but a mile and a half of down grade teaming, at an outlay of two dollars per ton, being required to reach the railway station at Idaho Springs. Thence to the smelting works railway — transportation is only three dollars a ton. The ground in the mine is soft and easily worked, but requires no timbering in the levels, — and expenses are correspondingly light. sit Enough ore has been sold from the shaft and levels to pay for the cost of driving them; and it takes a good mine to do that. As the | mine is now opened, the cost of mining the reserves will not be more than twenty-five per cent. of the receipts after stoping fairly begins. — The present yield is reported at six or seven thousand dollars’ monthly, but if stopers enough were set at work nearly thirty thousand dollars could probably be taken out in a month’s time. Before the present reserves can be worked out, as much more ground can pe developed ahead of immediate requirements. ; The character of the vein is galena, zinc-blende, gray copper and t CLEAR CREEK COUNTY MINES. 381 iron pyrites. Experts who have recently visited this mine state there are three thousand fathoms of unworked ground above the line of the lower workings, which developments and ore sales very conclu- sively prove to contain about thirty thousand tons of ore, worth from two hundred to three hundred thousand dollars, and that an average yield of $29.75 per foot was obtained in sinking and drifting. The statements above make a very fine showing for this promising mine, which has but recently come to the front, but which is very sure to pay large and frequent dividends hereafter. South Clear Creek and its branches, including Chicago Creek, have been mined for gold every summer since 1859, and have prob- ably yielded three quarters of a million in golddust. Creck mining has been carried on there throughout the year by means of shafts, drifts, aud tunnels, and occasionally by partially diverting the chan- nels of the streams. There is one tunnel over nine hundred feet long extending into the bank and hill-side adjoining the creek, and just above Idaho numerous shafts have been sunk and long drifts ex- tended through auriferous gravel. There are a number of creek and bar mines above and below Idaho that clear from one to several thou- sand dollars every season. There are hydraulic pumps, and other appliances along these streams. The bullion product of the mines near Idaho Springs outside of the Hukill mine was not very large for years prior to 1877. The annual product has recently approached $200,000. The present year is likely to turn out half a million, and 1880 will probably double that amount. That part of Clear Creek county within a radius of. five miles of Idaho Springs may give a greater tonnage of smelting ores during the next year than the Georgetown district, and about half as large a bullion product. 382 COLORADO. | CHAPTER XV. Ay CLEAR CREEK COUNTY MINES—RED ELEPHANT MOUNTAIN AND ITS — SILVER VEINS—THE FAMOUS WHITE, BOULDER NEST, AND FREE AMERICA—COLUMBIAN MOUNTAIN—THE JOE REYNOLDS AND — OTHER VEINS—THE EMPIRE GOLD DISTRICT. se Red Elephant Mountain is six miles northeast of Georgetown and : about eight miles from Idaho Springs. It rises abruptly on the north | side of South Clear Creek Valley. Although the Young America | silver lode was located there long ago, no conception of the hidden — wealth of the mountain was entertained by the old-time Georgetown — miners or travelers. A veteran prospector named D. E. Dulany lived in — that locality, and the presence of rich float ore among the slide and — granite led him to hunt for silver veins long after less persistent | men would have abandoned all hopes of success. He was finally so fortunate as to strike a lode of extraordinary richness, which he called the Free America or Purchase. Reports of mill runs quickly” brought in an army of prospectors from Georgetown and Central. Dulany soon sold to General J. I. Gilbert and W. H. Moore for $25,000, and the latter sold to Joseph Reynolds, of Chicago. Other discoveries were made, the town of Lawson was built, and the next summer the Colorado Central railway was extended from Floyd Hill to Georgetown, passing close by Red Elephant, and within a half mile of its mines. Since then the district has been a very pros+ perous one. be The Free America was paying handsomely in the following spring and summer. When the location was made there had not been work’ enough done to determine the course of the vein, and the conse quence was that only a part of it was secured. The remainder fell’ to the Free America Extension on the east, and the Boulder Nest on the west. The White, an equally important discovery, unites wi the Boulder Nest, or is the same vein. The Free America has five levels from the main shaft, the low one just started being 430 feet below the surface. There is a sm ei CLEAR CREEK COUNTY MINES. 383 vein of solid ore in the lower workings, and there were large pockets and ore-bodies at various places from the surface down. A cross cut driven on the second level for a distance of thirty-six feet encountered no walls. The latest work done showed an increase of ore, indicating as good a body near by as in the upper levels. The yield of the Free America is said to have been $100,000 in 1877, and the receipts for ore sales about $60,000 in 1878. Few mines in the country can show as fine arecord for production and profit as the Boulder Nest in the twenty months since work fairly began upon it. Dubois Tooker, Walter Clark and A. Fellows leased a portion of it for one year, and began work in May,-1877. They did not get their shaft down to ore until some months later. Up to January, 1878, and mainly in three months, the actual smelter’s yield was $116,133, currency value, or nearly $110,000, coin. This came from 7184 tons of ore, averaging $137.50, and 391 tons that averaged 37} ounces of silver per ton—the last sold at concentrating works. In six months ending April 30, 1878, the Tooker leased ground yielded 2,192 tons of ore that sold for $125,151. The average amount received per ton for all ore, high and low grades, was $57.60. The expenses averaged about thirty per ceut. of the receipts. The receipts for the month of December were $35,721, and for March $31,376, and the expenses of the latter month were $9,376. Up to May 1, 1878, the lessees cleared about $72,000. The owners’ royalty was about $27,000. . The actual yield of silver of the Boulder Nest mine for the year 1878 must have exceeded $230,000, for the receipts from sales of ore were $157,000. The receipts from time of discovery to Decem- ber 1, 1878, were $214,376.17, The mine may have yielded $400,000 worth of silver to date. The entire mine averages about 250 ounces of silver per ton for first class, from 100 to 150 for second, and from 30 to 40 ounces for third class. The latter is the most plentiful. So far only the eastern part of the lode has paid. The White lode enters the Boulder Nest location and lode from _ the southeast. It has a breadth between granite walls of from twenty-two to twenty-six feet, with varying seams and bodies of ore, but extensive enough wherever opened to insure a heavy production. Several shafts have been sunk and an adit driven, and what is a 1 384 COLORADO. ; . a especially noticeable is the length of ore vein, as proved by — these explorations in a distance of 1,500 feet. While much very — profitable ground has been developed, but little has been worked — out, thus leaving all the greater possibilities for present produc- tion. Shafts are being sunk and’ connecting levels extended, and an adit 520 feet long has been driven in on the vein, the last 80 feet in rich ore. This gains a great deal of depth as it enters the mountain, and leaves a large amount of stoping ground above. By the time this adit has reached the Boulder Nest location, the breast of it will be hundreds of feet below the surface. Ore is being raised from three shafts, but the westernmost, called the Stevens, shows the best. Eighteen miners are at work there, and the ore vein is from eight to thirty inches thick in shaft, tents and stopes. In two weeks of June the Phillips lease, further east, gave four men 11} tons selling for $3,869 and yielding $6,100—2} tons, containing $2,670. The White was operated but a short time after discovery before litigation set in and work was enjoined. Last fall matters were amicably settled, and mining began again. For some time the monthly yield has been from $8,000 to $13,000, and the profits from $4,000 to $6,000 per month. The total yield has exceeded — $100,000, mainly obtained in the past eight months, and in work — of development. This is a splendid showing for what might be termed a commencement. The recent report of a well known expert estimates the future profits of this mine at ten thousand dollars a month. White ore averages from $80 to $350 per ton. The Free America Extension has yielded very rich ore in the main — shaft sunk, but the owners, Messrs. Weston, Moore and Gilbert, have been so busily engaged in mining near by and in localities all over the county, that development has not been pushed rapidly. In sink-— ing 140 feet and drifting 40 feet, $28,000 were obtained. Two men mined ore in one day that yielded $1,000. Recently Messrs. Moore and Weston have organized the Red Elephant Consolidated Mining Company on. the 3,000 feet of the White, and the 1,500 feet of the Free America Extension—all patented ground. This embraces the larger part of the two main veins of the mountain. The capital stock of the company is a million and a half, in ten dollar shares, and the incorporators are CLEAR CREEK COUNTY MINES. 885 Clark Bell, ex-Senator A. McDonald, John H. Weston, Augustus Healy, William H. Moore, and J. W. Bigelow. The White, Boulder Nest, and Free America have pretty much the same characteristics and grades of ore. The pitch of the veins is northward. The direction of the White is northwesterly and south- easterly, and that of the others—one vein—is north seventy degrees east, magnetic. The inclosing rock is granite. These lodes, including four locations, but only two veins, which unite as above stated, have yielded over $700,000 altogether, of which the Boulder Nest gave probably $400,000. The yield of the Free America and Boulder Nest combined, in seventeen months end- ing March 1, 1879, was $508,980, currency, or an average of 1444 tons of ore and $29,940 monthly. The average cost of mining and getting cach ton of ore on the cars at Lawson is given at $28. The average yield per month of the Free America, for the same seventeen months, is given at 31 tons, averaging 150 ounces of silver per ton. There are some other lodes on Red Elephant, among which the Dexter and Lulu have been producing ore. Some mining had been done on Columbian Mountain, but no great activity was displayed there until late in 1877. This activity resulted from the discovery of rich silver ore among many veins. The snows of wintcr stopped work for a time, but for over a year there has been quite an important mining camp. The more important lodes include the Joe Reynolds, Tom Moore, Hugo, Dictator, Osh- 'kosh, La Crosse, Wall Strect, Terrible, Gen. Gilbert, Nii Desperan- dum, Live Yankee, Native American, Russell, Monarch, Ophir, Baltic, Celtic, and Homestake. Gen. Gilbert and W. H. Moore were among the first in the district after the excitement began, and the Joc Reynolds is owned for 4,500 feet by Reynolds and Gilbert. It is a small but rich vein, and a little more developed than the _ similar Moore and Hugo veins. The Dictator lode is above the Highland Chief and is nearly on the crest of Columbian Moun- tain. It is owned by Colonel W. H. Doe, who was one of the early - owners and operators on the famous Gunnell of Gilpin county, and who, after disposing of his interest there in 1864, resided in Wis- - consin up to 1877. Like other. miners and operators of the early days, who left Colorado with a fortune, he has drifted back again to the State that offers greater opportunities for making money than any other. Fortune still.seems to favor him, for he is said to have 17 386 COLORADO, a very rich vein on this mountain. He began to develop it in 1878, and has been selling ore that yielded various amounts, of which the best was 687 ounces of silver per ton. The Wall Street is an old lode. It yielded nearly $30,000 one year. A lot of ore lately sold from the Glendower lode brought $454 per ton for fourth class, $942 for third class, and at the rate of $1,023 and $2,824 for small quantities of high grades. South and west of Columbian Mountain are Anglo-Saxon and Griffith Mountains, the latter rising directly east of Georgetown and opposite Republican. On Anglo-Saxon Mountain is the lode of the same name that has produced ore yielding at the rate of from one to twenty thousand dollars per ton. It caused a great deal of attention in 1867, and paid something ten years later. Thevein is small. The Saxon Extension, Pickwick, and Summitare yielding very rich mineral, The Magnet and Sequel have shown very rich pockets. The first had yielded $50,000 in eight years to 1875, and a large amount since. Empire is located on the northern branch of South Clear Creek, about two miles above where the stream forks, and was built up by the gold-digging of the adjoining mountains in 1862-3. The out- croppings of the Great Equator, Conqueror, Tenth Legion, Rosecrans, and Silver Mountain lodes were extremely rich and productive, and sluicing and stamp-milling was extensively carried on, until the whole surface of the mountains had been washed over, torn up, and scarred with the operations of the gold-hunters. Judge H. C. Cowles, Russell, Majors & Co., Charles Martin, Dr. Carlton, J. 8. Jones, 8. F. Nuckolls and others, were the leading placer and lode miners of those days. It is said that a million dollars in gold was obtained there in a few years’ time. For the past twelve years the amount of work done has been limited and the yield has been small; the district seems to be on the gain however. The Tenth Legion has produced a great deal of money, but some capital is needed to get it into condition to yield as it once did, and, first of all, the claims should be consolidated. The Knickerbocker Company of — New York owns a small part of the lode and a twenty-stamp mill on the main stream at Empire. For two years David Ball has been making money from his Pioneer free gold lode. He built a sixteen-— stamp mill in 1877, which the mine keeps supplied. He also owns and works a placer, and F.M. Taylor & Co. are operating another with hydraulics, A dozen gold lodes are worked, 30 — : CLEAR CREEK COUNTY MINES. 387 CHAR DER XVI. CLEAR CREEK COUNTY MINES—THE GEORGETOWN SILVER DISTRICT — REPUBLICAN AND DEMOCRAT MOUNTAINS —WHAT HAS BEEN DONE THERE—THE PELICAN-DIVES SILVER BONANZA—A MONSTER LODE AND A MINT OF MONEY—STORY OF A GREAT MINING CONTEST— THE PAY-ROCK, BAXTER, SNOWDRIFT, SILVER PLUME, AND OTHER MINES. Between the two forks of South Clear Creek, and extending south- ward toward Georgetown and westward toward the Continental Divide, is a spur of the latter. The northern portion of this is known under the names of Douglas, Columbia, and Colfax mountains, whose mineral developments are not extensive. Still further south is Democrat Mountain, overlooking the lower part of Georgetown. Here are several lodes and groups of veins, some of them_noticeable for the high percentage of silver they carry. Among the prin- cipal ones worked at present are the W. B. Astor, Fred. Rogers, Junction, Lucky Hesperus, Little Emma, and Polar Star, the latter on asmall scale. It is claimed that the ores of some of these lodes can be treated by raw amalgamation. The entire mountain must have yielded nearly a million in silver. The W. B. Astor lode is situated near the summit of Democrat Mountain. It had been worked to a depth of nearly or quite three hundred fect in 1868. Its production was quite large fora time, but work was afterwards suspended. It is again operated extensively. The total yield is said to have been between sixty and one hundred thousand dollars. There is one tunnel, 860 feet long. The Matilda Fletcher has yielded over ten thousand dollars. Little mining was done on Democrat in the years 1870-72. » In 1874 W. H. Moore sold some properties of this mountain to Nebraska men, and about that time such rich developments were made that a great prospecting excitement ensued. ‘The results were some valuable discoveries, fortunes for a few and good revenues for many. The main vein and point where the ore-body seemed fo centre was the Junction-Galie lode; but the Fred Rogers, uniting 388 COLORADO, with the same, was nearly as productive, and there were numbers of parallel and crossing veins, spurs, and feeders between the granite formation that were exceedingly renumerative. Black sulphuret ore was mined from all of these, yiclding from five to twelve hundred ounces of silver per ton. The Little Emma doubled those figures. There was a nest of veins in the gangue rock where the granite walls were from forty to sixty fect apart. The Lucky Hesperus yielded a great deal of money, and is doing so still. The Rogers has yielded over $200,000, currency value, mainly since 1874, and the entire Junction group of veins something hke $600,000. Water from the snows of this timbered region is very troublesome, and has stopped or impeded work, and caused considerable tunneling. At the main producing point these lodes have been worked to depths of from four to five hundred feet. The Junction is one of the oldest locations on Democrat Mountain, having been discovered in 1867, and application made for patent in 1873. There are two surface locations patented; the Junction, 800 feet, and the Galie, 1,590 feet in length; the Junction patent being wholly west of the discovery, and the Galie, 90 feet west and 1,500 feet east of its discovery shaft. But little work was done on the property prior to 1874, when systematic developments were com- menced. The developments consist of three main openings; lower adit, 1,000 feet long; upper adit, 700 feet long, and the whim shaft, 200 feet deep, that is connected with the upper adit at a point 530 feet from its mouth. The work at present going forward is at the upper adit, where three parties of lessees are at work, and driving the lower tunnel and cross-cutting for — the south wall of the vein. A cross-cut has been driven 35 feet in crevice matter, which is enough to show the lode to be one of the mammoth fissure veins. So far the mine has only been worked for the solid ore veins, and no attention has been given to the large bodies of concentrating ore that are exposed at various points in the mine, which can be made valuable only by the aid of machinery to dress them, but with a concentrating mill conveniently located would be of considerable value. The dump at the upper adit is estimated to contain an aycrage of thirty ounces per ton. Further west are the Silver Cloud and Queen of the West. The latter paid largely at one time, and yielded $60,000 altogether, but is now idle, A tunnel, already several hundred feet long, is being CLEAR CREEK COUNTY MINES. 389 driven for drainage and working purposes for the Silver Cloud ; this lode yielded about $40,000, currency value, in 1876, 7, ’8. The Polar Star mine was for a long time one of the most produc- tive lodes on Democrat Mountain; its total product to date is re- ported at $160,000, currency value. The lode was discovered in 1872, and several thousand feet of shafts and tunnels have been driven. The owners state that 314 tons of ore had an average value of $213.22 per ton, and 200 tons an average of $173.75, and that the yield of 1874 was $25,766; that of 1876 was $23.263, and that of 1877 was $15,000. Only a small part of the property is worked at present. Republican Mountain has probably produced more money than any other around Georgetown. It rises almost perpendicularly from the streets of that city, and likewise from those of Silver Plume, some two miles to the northwest, and extends from Democrat to Sherman mountains. Near its western extremity is the great Pelican-Dives group of lodes, whose aggregate production for seven or eight years mounts up into the millions. The principal lodes worked on this mountain at present are the Pelican, Dives, Dunkirk, Baxter, Pay Rock, Vulcan, Elm City, Silver Cloud, Edward Everett, Morning Star, Red Bird, Lebanon Tunnel Lode Number Five, and several veins intersected by the Diamond Tunnel, and owned by the tunnel company. . On this same mountain are other lodes that have been productive at times, such as the James Guthrie, Ben Hardin, Elijah Hise and White, located by John T. Harris in the days of the first silver excitement, and the Corry City, Loretta, South America, and Cale- donia. Still more noted are the Snowdrift and Silver Plume, that yielded largely five and ten years ago. The Pelican and Dives, until recently the most famous of Colo- rado silver mines, are located on the southern slope, and near the western end of Republican Mountain. Thevein outcroppings are about seven hundred feet above, and in full view of Silver Plume, which dates its birth from the opening of these great ore deposits. The lodes were discovered in 1868, but for two years Streeter and McCunniff did not think the Pelican worth recording. The Dives produced little until 1871. That same year the McCunniff brothers started to do a little work on the Pelican, with no expectation of finding anything very valu- able. They were astonished at the size and richness of the vein that 390 COLORADO. steadily developed with their labor. Nothing like it had previously been encountered in the district, taking the great quantity of ore into consideration, notwithstanding the fact that a Terrible, Equa- tor, and Brown had been developed. In a few short months up to November, 1871, the coin value of the ore sold had amounted to SILVER PLUME AND THE DIVES-PELICAN GROUP OF MINES, $121,172.28. The vein or series of veins were found to be of great size, and no such thing as a wall on one side. Then began the great war and almost endless litigation between the Divesand Pelican. As the yield of both mines grew larger and larger CLEAR CREEK COUNTY MINES. 391 the conflict became something like a battle of giants, in which the services of a small army of fighting men, leasers, and guards were secured, along with nearly all of the leading lawyers of the State, and some from the Pacific Slope. Suits and counter suits, injunctions and counter injunctions, followed each other in rapid succession, and much of the enormous revenues that came out of the mines went to the lawyers or were divided among supernumeraries and _ lessees. The latter, on account of the risks taken, mined only on very liberal terms for themselves. Some of them made fortunes; for the vein was from one to seventeen feet wide, and worth from $40 to $800 a ton. In 1874 the richest spot of ground held by the Dives or Perdue Com- pany was enjoined. Before that the Pelican men had been attaching the ore for a time, until the others evaded attachment by disposing of it on Sundays. This was done for several successive weeks, and on the last Sabbath before the injunction came it is claimed that 65,000 worth of ore went out of the Dives mine. The lessees of the richest piece of ground cleared $42,000 that week. At last the upper part of the great bonanzas had been mainly worked out, the owners had become exhausted with the long and costly struggle, and the lawyers and outsiders having reaped most of the harvest that should have gone into the owners’ pockets, the latter concluded to sign a truce, ‘‘take a breathing spell,” and sus- pend hostilities fora time. But the yicld from that time forward was much smaller than before.. Jacob Sneider, of the Pelican, had been killed by a lessee of a part of the Dives. McMurdy died, one or two of the Pelican owners were involved so as to be unable to escape from financial difficulties, and the result is that some of them have been sold out at sheriff’s sale, and Hamill and others are securing interests _in the property. The owners of both mines have combined in recent years to effect a consolidation and sale. One of the grandest mining operations in the country would be the natural result of the con- summation of sucha project. Even last year, when but a small force of leasers were at work, each mine is said to have yielded $60,000. Concentrations from one mine in one month brought $11,000. More work is going on in the Pelican now than for a year or two past. These mines have been opened by tunnels, shafts, and levels to a depth of from six to seven hundred feet, the Diamond Tunnel intersecting the Dives. The receipts for ore and bullion sold from these two mines for six 392 COLORADO. years up to 1878, is reported as follows, previous and subsequent products not included : PELICAN MINE, Receipts. Expenses. Profits. Jan. 1, 1872, to Jan. 1, 1877.... $902,905 $331,122 $571,783 TOT on eu citics oie Bas tee eee 114,471 34,098 80,373 Total cis Ss Ye.e 4 slay Pelee w ie te aie -$1, 01%, 376 $365, 220. $652,156 DIvEs AND PERDUE Co. Receipts. Expenses. Profits. Jan. 1, 1872, to Jan. 1, 1877.... $676,377 $185, 600 $490,777 IB isn8 ent oe ee os ee 97,500 42,500 55,000 TotalsDivea... ¢54eo2e Woe _ $773,877 _ $228,100 $345,777 Total Pelican and Dives yield)... .i%52../0'... .. $1,791,253 Add to this yield of both mines previous to 1872, and for the past year and a half, estimated at .................+. $170,000 TOtAl TECeIpie WOUNDS soins sp ope ee kien ete eee $1, 961, 208 The probable excess of contents of ore, over what was paid for it, should add $650,000 to the above, making total silver product in eight years.................ceee eens $2,611,253 Of this sum the Pelican probably yielded $1,400,000, and the Dives the remainder. Most of the owners’ share went to pay lawyers, guards, sheriffs, etc. W. A. Hamill is now manager of the Perdue and East Dives. Such is the record of two great silver mines. . The Dunkirk is thought to be the east extension of the Dives. Its shaft is 750 feet east of the Dives discovery shaft. It is owned and was patented by the Herman Silver Mining Company, of which the late John A. Dix was president. Charles H. Morris began work here in 1870, and two years later organized the above-named com- | pany. He has since been its superintendent, and has shown a persistency in developing this property under discouraging circum- stances that is worthy of the reward that reports say he is now meeting with in the lower west workings. The vein was developed with shafts and levels, and steam-hoisting works secured to facilitate operations, but no ore of any amount was found until last spring. At that time a splendid body of ore was met with in the 410 level CLEAR CREEK COUNTY MINES. 393 west of the shaft, which has been milling hundreds of dollars per ton. This is thought to be the extension of the old Dives ore body. It looks as if the seventy thousand dollars expended on the property would soon be regained, and more with it. The Diamond Tunnel was started near the mouth of Cherokee Gulch in 1872. It has since penetrated Republican Mountain about 1,600 feet, crossing some of the best veins of the district. Among these are the Eagle Bird, Baxter, Dives, and others. The Baxter is intersected 660 feet from the mouth of the tunnel, and 365 feet below the surface. The mine is drained, and most of its workings furnished with an ore outlet. Eight hundred feet in, Number Seven vein is cut, and 1,136 feet in the Dives vein is intersected. Several other veins have been passed, and are worked and owned by the com- pany. The revenues from its own and other mines are said to render the enterprise quite profitable. The tunnel is being driven forward steadily. The Pay Rock is one of the leading mines of this mountain, and ranks next to the Pelican and Dives in the amount of silver pro- duced. The mine comprises beside the three regular veins of the Pay Rock lode, the Hopewell lode; all parallel with one another and with the adjacent veins of the Pelican-Dives group; and a cross vein called the Silver Point. The former have the same course as the mountain at this point, nearly east and west. For drainage pur- poses, and to avoid as much of the steep ascent of the mountain as possible, the mine has been opened by a series of intersecting tunnels, driven one after another as new ground was required. These tunnels pass through the veins and gangue of the Pay Rock veins and ternai- nate with the Hopewell. These veins are from twenty to fifty feet apart. The Pay Rock tunnel reaches the Hopewell at a distance of 250 feet, and the Silver Bank tunnel, 86 feet deeper, requires a length of 376 feet to reach the same point. There are still deeper workings than this, and the veins have been operated for depths of several hundred feet below where they outcrop on the surface. A pump and steam hoister are used. Levels extend hundreds of feet east and west, showing continuous veins nearly all of the way. The quantity of ore is variable, expanding and contracting at intervals, but the quality is above the average of the district. The ore mined yields from forty to eight hundred dollars per ton, and large quantities have yielded from two to five hundred. Many miners have made large 394 COLORADO, and small sums of money in sections of the mine leased to them, although a high royalty was often charged. For several years the working force has ranged from forty-five to sixty-five men. Had the mine been opened by a deep tunnel from the valley below, much more rapid progress could have been made in opening it. The Pay Rock was discovered in 1872, and has yielded not far from $400,000, coin value. Its product in 1878 was about $60,000. The owners are T, W. Ellis, P. Ellis, J. A. Fairbanks, and Gray & Noyes. The Baxter is an extremely rich and profitable lode, a short distance below the Dives and above the town of Silver Plume. It is usually worked by from thirty to fifty employees and leasers, and its annual yield has been not far from sixty thousand dollars for several years. The total yield of the mine is estimated at over three hundred thousand dollars. A large part of the ore yields from three to five hundred dollars per ton, and smaller quantities have milled from that up to ten and fifteen hundred dollars, The Elm City is a small but very rich vein, some of the ore selling for over $1,000 a ton. The Snowdrift gave its largest yield in 1870- } 71, when silver to the amount of $96,316.80, currency value, was ob- : tained. The Silver Plume has been a large producer. The Lebanon Tunnel is owned by a company of the same name, _ and has been driven into Republican Mountain some nine hundred feet; the location is between Silver Plume and Georgetown, and the objective point the belt of lodes that includes the Hardin, Guthrie, White, and others. So far, eight lodes have been intersected, sev- eral of which are valuable, and one called Tunnel Lode Number Five has paid steadily for years. The Prentice and Hardin lodes, owned by the same company, have been worked from the surface. Beside the creek, and opposite the mouth of the tunnel, is a concen- trating and sampling mill. The depth that will be attained on many of the lodes of this mountain is from one to two thousand feet; J. G. Pohle is general manager of this enterprise. CLEAR CREEK COUNTY MINES, 395 CraArirh x VIT. CLEAR CREEK COUNTY MINES—-SHERMAN, BROWN, MCCLELLAN, AND LEAVENWORTH MOUNTAINS—THE DUNDERBERG-TERRIBLE GROUP OF MINES—MILLIONS IN SILVER—THE EQUATOR AND COLORADO CENTRAL GROUP—MINING IN CLOUD LAND—THE STEVENS AND BAKER—SOME LONG TUNNELS. Sherman Mountain is immediately west of Republican. In reality this is all one continuous range; in whcih ravines of no great depth serve as boundaries. Cherokee Gulch hes between thé mountains just mentioned, and further west Brown Gulch 1s the dividing line of Sherman and Brown Mountains. All of these elevations are very abrupt and rugged and contain many nearly perpendicular silver- bearing veins whose course is almost parallel with the creek and valley below. But few localities contain as much mineral wealth as Sherman Mountain. Here are a large number of famous veins, of which the Dunderberg, East Terrible, Sub-Treasury, Backbone, Mendota, Cap Wells, Eagle Bird, Mammoth, Glasgow, Corry City, and a few others, are actively worked. Not long ago work was temporarily sus- pended on such noted and once-productive lodes as the Frostburg, Phoenix, Coldstream, Cashier, Silver Cloud, andCascade. The Mam- moth and Glasgow have been worked steadily for many years. The Phoenix and Coldstream lode or lodes are situated on the eastern portion of Sherman Mountain, approaching and underlying Cherokee Gulch. They began to pay in 1871, and htigation and bitter contests, in which one or two men lost their lives, were carried on by the owners of the respective properties for several years. The total yield of both mines must have exceeded $300,000. Mill runs gave from one to sixteen hundred ounces of silver.. The Coldstream was at first called the Maine. It yielded in the first exght months of work $64,100, at a cost of little over $14,000. The ore vein is argentiferous galena, containing more or less gray copper, ruby silver, iron and copper pyrites. 896 COLORADO, Twelve years ago the Burleigh Tunnel enterprise was inaugurated under the auspices of the inventor of the Burleigh drill. The design was to penetrate Sherman Mountain and furnish an ore and drain- age outlet for lodes outcropping one or two thousand feet above, and to explore for blind lodes. Work fairly began in 1868, and has been prosecuted at intervals down to the present year. It isnow the longest tunnel in the State, having been driven forward over 2,300 fect. Several veins have been intersected, including the Rider, I. Phillips, and New Era. The latter yielded ore in paying quantities that carried from 60 to 70 per cent. of lead and a low value in silver. Colonel Ivers Phillips, an old Massachusetts railroad man, is gen- eral manager of this tunnel enterprise. The Dunderberg, East Terrible, Sub-Treasury, Silver Chain, Mul- doon, and Elephant, embracing 7,900 fect of mineral veins, were recently purchased by the Dunderberg Mining Company, organized in New York, with acapital stock of a million and a half im ten dollar shares. The East Terrible is that part of the Terrible lode that was not sold to the English company in 1870. It extends from the main shaft in Brown Gulch, used by both properties, eastward in Sherman Mountain to where the Dunderberg begins. The latter is the same vein further cast, the location including 3,000 feet. The Sub-Treasury, supposed to be on the same vein, is still further east. This has occasionally shown sixty ounce galena ore for a width of two feet. It is said that $300,000 has been paid for East Terrible ore. The first class averaged about $500 a ton, and the second class $150. No work of any importance was done on the Dunderberg until 1877. In December of that year George Tyler and Mr. Antoine, lessees, struck a very rich body of mineral, similar to that of the Terrible. The mine was soon after the most productive and profitable in the mountains, and has paid largely up to the present time. It appears that in a little over four months, to April, 1878, there were sold 474} tons, bringing $112,528.97, at an average price of $237 per ton. Four hundred and fourtcen fathoms were extracted, with a net yield of $297 per fathom, and the average yield of one foot of drift, six feet high, was $49.50. Hayes, Tyler & Co. received $255,000 for ore sold in 1878, and the total receipts from the time this ore-body was discovered to March 1, 1879, a period of a httle over fourteen months, were CLEAR CREEK COUNTY MINES. 397 $308,468. The parties state that the actual cost of mining and getting the ore to market was but twenty-one per cent. of that sum. The Dunderberg has one of the best and richest veins ever opened in the Rocky Mountains. Last year it gave a larger aggregate and proportionate profit than anything in northern Colorado. Some- times rich mineral widens out into pockets two feet broad. Severai adits, shafts, levels, and stopes have been worked, and the lowest points reached are from two hundred and forty to three hundred fect below the surface. The Terrible-Dunderberg fissure pierces the granite nearly verti- cally, with a course east of north and west of south. It has a crevice of from four to six feet, carrying a vein from one to eight inches wide, that averages from two to five hundred ounces of silver per ton. This vein carries argentiferous galena, gray copper, and sulphides of silver, and the gangue that makes up the remainder of the crevice is porphyry and quartz. A vein of this character has been traced pretty continuously for a distance of two thousand feet in Brown and Sherman mountains. Brown Mountain has been one of the leading producers in the county ever since silver mining became prominent. The more prom- inent lodes are the Terrible, Silver Ore, Brown, Chelsea Beach, and others belonging to the Colorado United Mining Company, together with the Duncan, Hercules-Roe-Seven-Thirty, Shiveley, Owasco, Brick Pomeroy, Atlantic, and some others, all actively worked. Previous to September, 1870, the Terrible lode had yielded $270,000, coin value. The product of 1872 was $168,625 from sales of ore, and the actual yield of 1874 was $203,000. Up to the close of 1876 the Silver Ore is said to have yielded $140,000. The latter and the English company property must have yielded a round million from time of discovery up to the close of 1877. The yield of these and of the East Terrible to the present time is estimated at $1,500,- 000. The Colorado United Mining Company have been turning out from one hundred to one hundred and fifty thousand dollars per annum from its Terrible and Hamill and Chaffee group of mines. The underground workings of many of the company lodes are very extensive. Work is progressing in both the Silver Ore and Terrible shafts—-the lower workings of the latter being 650 feet deep, and of the former 500, and 170 fect deeper than the Union Tunnel. This part of the property, called the West Terrible, gives temployment (3) (4) East Terrible and Dunderberg. THE TERRIBLE-DUNDERBERG GROUP OF MINES. (1) (2) Tunnels of Colo. U, M. C. and Terrible Shaft. COLORADO—CLEAR CREEK COUNTY MINES. 399 to ovcr one hundred men. Lessees and employees of the company elsewhere foot up as many more. The Union tunnel is 570 feet long to the Terrible lode, and the Silver Ore tunnel is 900 feet long. At the foot of the mountain are the old Brown Reducing Works, no longer used for smelting, and the concentrating mill, where the low grade ores are rendered available. This mill concentrates about twenty tons of ore daily, that averages about $17 a ton. Twelve tons are concentrated down to one composed of one-third galena, milling at the rate of 250 ounces, and two-thirds zinc-blende, milling at the rate of 125 ounces of silver per ton. The Hercules, Roe, and Seven Thirty lodes, all crossing or nearly parallel veins at a point in Brown Gulch, are owned by a Denver company. They have been traced for long distances into either mountain, and pierced with a cross-cut tunnel and many levels, winzes, and shafts. Work is being prosecuted steadily, and the owners report the property quite profitable. The total yield from the beginning approaches $230,000. ‘There are no less than ten leasing parties in various parts of this great property, and a fair amount of ore is in sight. The receipts for ore sold in May, 1879, were $2,466, and the ore taken out of different places gave the following yields per ton: 318 ounces of silver, 288 ounces, 163 ounces, 175 ounces, and 600 in one place and 300 in two others. The Shiveley lode has produced nearly or quite $60,000. It was purchased by the Equitable Mining Company not long ago. The Duncan, Atlantic, and Pacific are all rich veins. On Hanna Mountain the Silver Cloud and Specie are worked. Kelso Mountain is close beside Irwin’s Peak, and opposite the circling McClellan ridge, with a valley and fork of South Clear Creek intervening. Richard Irwin, John Baker, and Fletcher Kelso prospected here in the summer of 1865, after having left the swarm of silver hunters that had congregated on McClellan moun- tain. They were so fortunate as to find a great vein that paid largely, sold for big figures, nearly broke up a company, and after- wards made money for lessees. The lode took the name of Baker, the mountain on which it was located that of Kelso, and a neighbor- ing peak that has but few equals in height in the country, was named after Irwin. Some other discoveries were made in this sec- tion. In recent years the Brooklyn, since known as the Diamond 400 COLORADO. Joe, has yielded a great deal of rich ore, and is said to be quite remunerative. Eastward from the solitudes of Gray’s Peak extends the long elevated ridge known as McClellan Mountain. The side sloping towards Argentine Pass and Creek is smooth and grass-clad, but that facing Irwin and Kelso is as rugged and perpendicular as it well can be. Amid these granite cliffs of McClellan, far above timber line and nearly 12,000 feet above sea level, is the famous Stevens Mine. The sight of this, perched as it is a thousand feet above the valley in a seemingly inaccessible position, causes the Gray’s Peak tourist to wonder how it was ever discovered and how it is worked. Closer inspection shows a tramway fastened to the mountain side and leading to the cabins and tunnels that appear above. One would think the dauntless prospector who found this lode must: have come over by way of the southern slope, descending from the summit, or else have discovered ‘‘float ore” and “blossom” at the base of the mountain, and thereafter ‘‘lit” upon the vein in some unaccountable manner. The Stevens has been worked pretty steadily for nearly twelve years. Long ago a kind of aerial tramway and ropeway had been built for transportation. In 1877, a substantial tramway was constructed to replace one partially demolished. This is 1,050 feet long, and has a superstructure resting on trestle-work high enough to prevent snow accumulations from blockading the ascending and descending cars. Beside this isa hand-rail and in its bed-timbers are cleats, to enable the miners to ascend and descend. Among the savage rocks at the upper terminus is the mouth of the tunnel and an ore house, with apparatus for operating the ‘‘tram,’’ and for miners’ and storage quarters. From this cars descend with four or five tons of ore on a trip, and return laden with provisions, powder, steel, char- coal, timbers, and lumber. From the ore house down on the edge of the valley wagons convey the ore to Georgetown during the sum- mer months, and sleds are used at other times to Bakerville. The main outlet to the mine is a tunnel which intersects the vein 320 feet from daylight and 500 feet below the mountain side directly overhead. This was driven the entire distance through frozen frosted rock—the same in winter or summer. The Stevens ores carry a moderate amount of silver, and from fifty to seventy per cent. of lead. The quantity of ore and economical CLEAR CREEK COUNTY MINES. 401 plan of operations make up for the remote and unfavorable locality of the mine. The annual yield is estimated at eighty thousand dollars, more or less. On the southerly slope of McClellan are those old discoveries, the Belmont and the International. Both have turned out much silver. GREEN LAKE, NEAR GEORGETOWN—ELEVATION 10,000 FEET, Leavenworth mountain extends eastward and southward from McClellan for a distance of several miles, and breaks off suddenly at the head of the valley of Georgetown. This has been one of the richest and most productive localities around the ‘‘ Silver Queen,” 402 COLORADO. Here is a cluster of celebrated lodes that have added largely to the county’s product, and most of them have made fortunes, or a good deal of ready money, for those connected with them. The Colorado Central, Equator, Kirtley, Ocean Wave, O. K., Argentine, Steamboat, Gilpin, Alpha, Gates, S. J. Tilden, Ni Wott, and some others, are all actively worked and all said to be paying. On the southern slope of this mountain is one of the most important groups of lodes in the State, and below is the village of Silver Dale. Among the early operators here was General F. J. Marshall, who has ever been one of the leading miners and ore shippers of the district. He developed a number of lodes, such as the Compass and Square, Robinson, Reynolds, and others, and started the Marshall and other tunnels, designed to pierce the mountain through to its northerly slope and discover and work the many veins of this belt. The results have been so satisfactory that an immense amount of ore and silver have been produced. The operations of General Marshall and of the Marshall Tunnel Company have led to many important discoveries and to a yield of nearly half a million in bullion. A half dozen lodes are now worked in this combination. The under- ground excavations embrace over 7,000 feet of workings. The Marshall Tunnel is 1,300 feet long, and 9,382 feet above the sea, and the upper tunnels are from 350 feet to 500 feet long. A score of shafts, and cross-cuts have been driven and iong levels extended therefrom, at a cost of $160,000, and nearly half as much more for the extraction of $160,000 worth of ore. This does not include the returns of several lodes worked by the same manager. In 1872 many men were making money by collecting and selling the float ore in the ‘‘slide”’ of Leavenworth Mountain. This led to much prospecting and to W. P. Lynn’s discovery of the famous vein called the Colorado Central. Weaver, Shepard and others secured a lease of this, and all made fortunes in a year ortwo. The ore sometimes milled up in the thousands, and portions of it were so rich in lead and silver that it would not pulverize under the stamps. Marshall, Martine & Hall paid these lessees $68,918.23 for ore in 1873 alone. Up to 1876 the vein had yielded receipts to the amount of $150,000, and had been opened to a depth of 200 feet. About the close of 1876 some leasers, engaged in driving a cross-— cut from some of the interior tunnel properties, discovered one of the richest veins of ore ever developed. This was named the 8. J. CLEAR CREEK COUNTY MINES. 403 Tilden, and yielded $100,000 in 1877, the first year of production. Some of the ore brought from four to six thousand dollars a ton, and the average fora long time was about twelve hundred. ‘The discoverers paid a royalty amounting to one-third of the gross receipts. The vein was less productive in 1878, but is again im- proving. The Equator is a wonderfully large and rich vein, but has not been worked as steadily or extensively as its value warrants. This was the leading producer of Clear Creck county for a time in 1868. Up to 1869 the yield was $68,600. The ore sold at from one to five hundred dollars a ton. The main shaft was carried down some 400 feet, but for reasons best known to its Chicago and Colorado owners, mining was not continued for years after 1870 except by tributors. In 1878 work began on an extensive scale, and one of the best ore bodies ever mined in the country was developed. There was a seam of ruby silver ore several inches thick, that is said to have yielded from one to five thousand dollars per ton, while the main portion of the mineral ran in the hundreds. It is reported that the lessee of this ground took out $40,000 in one month. The Kirtley has been one of the prominent mines of the district ever since its discovery in 1877. Some years ago several Georgetown men began to drive a tunnel in Leavenworth Mountain for purposes of development and discovery. The Gates lode helped to repay the outlay, but it was not until the Kirtley was intersected that the en- terprise became a very remunerative one. The vein has often been four feet wide, but is quite varied as regards value of contents. There are streaks and bunches of very rich ore, larger amounts of low grade material, and considerable gangue. The profits and products are believed to have been large and uniform. What the yield has been only the owners know—possibly a hundred thou- sand, and perhaps a great deal more or less. Ten inches of two and three hundred ounce ore were lately reported. Geneva District is situated high up in the Continental Divide, near the point of union of Clear Creek, Park and Summit counties. As the outlets of the great Revenue, Leviathan, Star and other tunnels and mines are mainly inSummit county, the district will be noticed in a succeeding chapter. 404 COLORADO. CRA PER YS Vali. LEADVILLE—CALIFORNIA GULCH AND ITS EARLY HISTORY—DISCOVERY OF CARBONATES—THE SILVER AND LEAD BONANZAS—THE FOUNDING AND GROWTH OF THE MAGIC CITY—THE ERA OF GOLD AND THE DAYS OF CARBONATES— LUCK IN LEADVILLE— THE DAYS OF ’FORTY-NINE REPEATED IN ’SEVENTY-NINE. Late in the spring of 1860 a band of Gilpin county gold hunters crossed the Park range of mountains and entered a heavily timbered ravine, which they called California Gulch. They panned the sur- face dirt for gold and found it rich beyond expectation. The reports that spread abroad brought in a continuous stream of pros- pectors, and the locality was soon alive with men. The original discoverers secured two hundred feet up and down the stream, and those who came after were allowed one hundred feet, until the gulch was pre-empted for 33,000 feet, or nearly its entire length. There was almost a continuous street bordering the stream, and skirting the bases of the hills, but there were two points that were centres of trade and traffic. One of these was at the place where the hills break away towards the present site of Leadville, and since called Old Oro. A few of the log structures of 1860 are still standing as landmarks of the olden times. The other business point, the Oro of to-day, was two and a half miles further up the gulch. The last has continued to be a place of more or less importance up to the present time, partly on account of the subse- quent discovery of the Printer Boy and other gold veins. Parts of the gulch were fabulously rich, but the water supply was limited. This was used over and over again by each successive claim owner, and by the time it reached the lower part of the district was of the consistency of liquid mud. The sluice-box, ‘‘long tom,’’ and ‘‘rocker” were all used, and ‘although dif- ficulty was experienced in handling the dirt, the returns have seldom been equaled in any country. Some claims yielded over a thou- sand dollars a day, and one firm is said to have taken out one hundred thousand dollars in sixty days. LEADVILLE, 405 Before the summer was over more than five thousand men had assembled there, and the camp was the most productive and pros- perous in the mountains. The usual miners’ laws were in force, and the locality had much the same characteristics of other early mining settlements. There was the usual quota of gambling-houses, dance- houses, and saloons, and when night came many a miner lost the rich earnings of the day among them. Reckless and improvident, but few of the lucky ones saved the money they had made. Some lost it in subsequent investments at the East, and some squandered it in carousals or played it away almost as fast as they took it in. The camp saw its best days in 1861. The working season was quite limited, for the elevation was very great and the location near timber line. The winters were long and lingered far into spring, and little work could be done outside of the summer months and September and a part of October. Every year when the deep snows ‘‘came to stay,’ most of the miners would betake themselves to milder climes, like Denver or the States, returning again with the approach of summer. Gold dust was the universal medium of exchange, and as fast as obtained would be deposited in a buckskin pouch or bag of some kind. In every store or saloon stood a pair of scales for weighing. When a miner bought a sack of flour or a glass of whiskey he handed his dust to the man behind the counter, who weighed out the required amount and handed back the remainder. The gold as it came from the sluices, passed at a valuation of about $18 an ounce. Some claims yielded an ounce or two daily to each man at work, and one pan of dirt, about the size of an ordinary milk pan, yielded five ounces of gold. So matters continued for several years, until the most accessible ground had been worked over and the gold production had greatly declined. During this time the ever-restless spirits, so plentiful in such places, were moving on to newer diggings, and by 1866 almost the entire population had taken its departure. The most reliable data at hand indicates a yield of a million a summer to begin with, and of a total yield of nearly four millions, coin value, up to the close of 1865. Some claim that three millions will cover the output. Production subsequent to 1866 was light; it had dropped to $60,000 in 1869, and to $20,000 in 1876. The amount mentioned for the earlier years was all that conserva- ATA DESO i LAKES. Taw 1 Ha f t 2 ue ROP COLORADO—LEADVILLE. - 407 tive men believed was produced, although some enterprising reporters of the present time are doubling up the original estimates every few months, and in a way that may soon result in a total greater than the entire production of Colorado. The camp was ‘‘ pretty dead,’ as the ‘‘ old-timers ’’ would say, in 1868, when the development of the Printer Boy lode began. This was so remunerative that quite an excitement sprang up, much pros- pecting was done, and several gold veins located. The Printer Boy was the only very profitable mine worked ; this showed an immense body of soft quartz that was very rich in gold. It was not long until a twenty-five-stamp mill was erected, and the Philadelphia company that was operating this and the great mine ought to have made a great deal of money. Up to 1875 the yield had exceeded a quarter of a million from work carried on about half of the time during six years. Previous to these gold lode discoveries in Califor- nia Gulch, some profitable mining of a similar character had been in- augurated some seventeen miles distant, and near Granite; this began in 1866, and continued for two or three years before the sur- face pockets were exhausted so as to cause a suspension of work. In the years succeeding 1871 some attempts at ofc treatment were made at Granite, and a few discoveries were made thirty miles north, near the headwaters of the Tennessee fork of the Arkansas. One of these, called the Homestake, was of great size, and was rich in lead but poor in silver. Its promising character, and the result of ore shipments to the Golden Smelting Works, with the known presence of silver-lead vcins among the hills cast of the Arkansas, led to the building of a smelter near the junction of California Gulch and the Arkansas river. The place was called Malta, and the Malta smelting works fired up and did some business in the fall of 1876, and then remained idle until partly built over a year and a half later. In 1874, W. H. Stevens, a wealthy Michigan and Colorado miner, came over from Park county, in company with A. B. Wood, and began to construct a twelve-mile ditch for the California Gulch placer claims that they had purchased. The plan was to bring in a suffi- cient water supply to permit of hydraulic mining and the cheap handling of the unworked gravel banks that. bordered the stream. The headwaters of the Arkansas were the source of supply, and several summers were required to complete this great enterprise of —_ cist 408 COLORADO—LEADVILLE. the organization known as the Oro Ditch and Fluming Company. The first full season’s work was put in on the placers : in the summer of 1878. Experience proves that, although these Colorado mountains have | been annually overrun by restless hordes of prospectors, who have — brought to light some marvelous revelations, the mineral wealth — that underlies them has been but indefinitely comprehended. — California Gulch had been occupied for a decade and a half, and — had been worked over until millions of gold had been extracted, and yet close by an apparently exhaustless treasury of the valuable — metals had lain embedded, unknown and untouched, until within the | past two or three years. During all the time that gulch mining had been going on in California district, the miners had suffered much inconvenience by reason of the great weight of the boulders they.were obliged to — move over and over in the creck. Nonc of them knew, or stopped _ ——— to investigate, the character of this heavy dirt they were obliged to — handle. Messrs. Stevens and Wood found it to be carbonate of lead, carrying silver, but did not make their discovery known until they were in a fair way to secure government titles to nine claims. — These were taken up lengthways along what they considered the crest or apex of the lodes, and cach comprised 1,500 feet by 300, or _ thereabouts. The territory crossed California Gulch and extended — high up on the hills. The name of the principal locations com- _ mencing at the south were, the Dome, Rock, Stone, Lime, Bull's Eye, and Iron. The ore was first found in place in the Rock claim, where it was over ten fect thick. It was rich in lead; but carried — only a small amount of silver. A Mr. Durham claimed to have — discovered carbonates prior to this, in sinking a shaft on the Oro | La Plata lode. ni For several years Maurice Hayes was conducting an assay office. at Oro, and he and his brother were mining and prospecting exten-— y sively. They made some of the earliest carbonate of lead locate i in the district, and were firm believers in the ultimate development . of good mines outside of those then opened. As to who were the | original discoverers or first locaters of carbonates the writer does - not pretend to decide. . The first strike that was considered exceptionally good was that made by the Gallagher brothers, on the same hill as the Ivon, but — 3344090." Honae AS ao 7 i eit i Hi i : Hy i iL) mM ‘ " iN ii 410 COLORADO, nearer Stray Horse Gulch. But even here they were well-nigh dis- couraged before carbonates rich and plentiful enough were found to insure a profit. This claim was called the Camp Bird, and in the same fall and winter (1876-7) the Adelaide, Pine, and Charleston were ‘‘ staked.” For quite a time previous to 1877 A. R. Meyer had been purchas- ing ores in Park and Lake counties for the St. Louis Smelting and Refining Company with headquarters at Alma. In April of that year the prospective production of the Rock, Camp Bird, and other claims, led him to establish sampling works on the present site of Leadville. A month later the Saint Louis Smelting Company began to erect a smelter, and had a blast furnace in operation in October. To insure an ore supply a contract was made with Stevens and Wood to furnish one thousand tons of ore from the Rock Mine. Before that had been entirely delivered such development had taken place, and so many discoveries had been made, that the only difficulty was in handling what was brought to both sampling and smelting works. The latter were called the Harrison Reduction Works, after the president of the company, Edwin F. Harrison. Late in June, 1877, Charles Mater came up from Granite and started the first building on the original town site of Leadville, and opened out a stock of groceries. Several cabins were completed before Mater began to sell goods. In the meantime splendid mines were beginning to be developed in the neighboring hills, and settlers were slowly drifting in from the older camps of the State. H. A. W. Tabor, who had conducted a small store for many years up the gulch at Oro, brought a stock of goods to Leadville in this same summer of 1877. About this time A. B. Wood sold his interest in the nine claims before mentioned to L. Z. Leiter, of the great Chicago dry goods firm of Field, Leiter & Co., for $40,000. The true value of the Iron lode was then unknown, and the low grade Rock mine was considered the best of the lot. The purchaser would hardly sell for a million to-day. In the fall of 1877, the former claim began to be worked extensively, and proved to be of immense value. The Camp Bird had been counted the best mine, but was then distanced by the Iron, which came to the front, and, more than any other property, gave the district its first great fame. It maintained the lead up to the time of the Fryer Hill developments in the latter half of 1878. LEADVILLE. 411 In the fall of 1877 several hundred men were in the district—most of them prospecting or sinking prospecting shafts, but the amount of mining done was considerable. The ore shipments were steadily increasing in volume, and a vast amount of low grade mineral was mined for which no markct was afforded. It was becoming more and more evident that the mineral wealth of California district was of immense extent. Mines were being developed on every hand, notwithstanding the fact that it was necessary to team ore one bun- dred and twenty miles to the plains, and then send by rail nearly a thousand miles further to Saint Louis, or nearly as far to Omaha. Shipments to the latter place were made by Berdell & Witherill, who had established a sampling mill in the district late in 1877. To meet the growing demands of travel, Spottswood & McClellan extended their Denver and South Park stage lines to Leadville, and several ore transportation and freight lines were established between that point and the railway termini. The best paying mines at that time were the Iron, Camp Bird, Carbonate, and Long and Derry. The population of Leadville increased steadily during that winter and spring, and a weekly newspaper, school, and two churches were established. In March, 1878, the first important transfer of mining property was made. Members of the St. Louis Smelting Company, having became aware of the value and quantity of ore in the Camp Bird claim, through purchases at their smelters, bought that and the adjoining Pine, Keystone, and Charleston claims for $225,000. Those who sold had been poor, hard-working men previous to the time when their mine began to produce so heavily. The fame of the carbonate district had spread far and wide before the summer of 1878, and a tide of immigration was started that has since continued with ever-increasing momentum. Several discoy- eries already made were wonderfully rich and productive, but the developments that have given Leadville its grand pre-eminence over any other section in the world at the present time were those on Fryer Hill. Claims opened that same season were sufficiently explored in the ensuing fall to give pretty extensive indications of their immense extent and value. From that time the future of the district was assured and destiny beckoned in the direction of Leadville. At first the town obtained its increase from older Colorado settle- ments, but more distant sections were drawn upon before the season 412 COLORADO. was over. Each succceding week saw the volume of immigration grow larger and larger, and every evening witnessed the arrival of new comers by stage, by freight teams, on horseback, and on foot. Friends or acquaintances who had not met for years found them- selves together again in the new and fast-growing metropolis of the carbonate belt. There were gold-hunters who had left Colorado years agone for the newer territories; there were men who had been THE BANK OF LEADVILLE. rich and poor by turns, but were still as hopeful and ambitious as when life was new ; there were men of every profession and calling ; and every state and section were drawn upon to help swell the popula- tion of Leadville. Many mines were already paying, and whenever mineral was struck in a new locality men were on hand ready to take it off of the finder’s hands at liberal figures. New streets were built up ina single week and sleeping accommodations were eyer at a premium. ee ae eee ee ee LEADVILLE. 413 This was Leadville before it grew to assume metropolitan propor- tions. Visitors from abroad were at first distrustful of the camp's future, but would, ere long, catch the enthusiasm that pervaded the entire population, and be among the loudest to sound the praises and won- ders of the magic city of Carbonateland. The district’s growth was greatly accelerated, and its fame still further enhanced, by the won- derful developments and production of the Fryer Hill mines in the summer and fall of 1878. These ore deposits were so rich and plentiful and so easily mined that they surpassed anything previously discovered im the State, and, as far as mineral was concerned, in any other state or territory outside of the Comstock bonanzas. Meantime the Iron, Argentine, and other great mines, kept on producing as heavily as ever, and every month saw fresh additions to the many paying mines. Winter came, but brought no cessation of the ever-augmenting caravan headed for the new land of promise. No matter how distant the land or locality, all roads seemed to lead to Leadville. Railways were started im that direction, roads were blocked with long lines of freight and immigrant teams, stage lines trebled their carrying capacity, and yet travel increased faster than accommodations could be afforded. A dozen saw-mills were turning out lumber night and day, and still could not half meet the demands made upon them for building purposes. Men who had made fortunes from working or s-lling their mines turned about and bought up prospecis, or newly developed properties, at what would have seemed fabulous prices in former times. The streets and entire camp has been one whirl of excitement, and each successive month only added to the animation that pervaded all industries and every branch of trade. Men who had never before had a dollar ahead of actuai necessities found themselves rolling in wealth, and the possessors of bank accounts far beyond what they had ever dared to dream of. The reports of prizes drawn by the few and of opportunities afforded the many were the magnetic influences that attracted less fortunate mortals from abroad. The snows and suffering attending a trip over mouz- tain ranges had no terrors to those who had caught the “* Leadville fever~ and feared to lose their chances for a fortune by delay. One hundred a day was the average number of arrivals much of the time from January to June. q 4 414. COLORADO. Mining has not been the only money making business. Fortunes have been made in real estate, and the several successive advances in the values of town lots were sources of heavy gains to many a. property holder and speculator. Building sites that could be pur- chased for $25 in the summer of 1878, were selling for several thou- sands in the succeeding winter, and a single week has seen real estate quadruple in value. Chestnut street has been the business thorough- fare, but Harrison avenue bids fair to take the lead hereafter. Land VIEW IN HARRISON AVENUE, LEADVILLE, is held at from one hundred to over two hundred and fifty dollars per foot of front on these streets. . Every trade and calling proved a source of revenue for a time, and the merchant, lumber man, mechanic or professional man, had all the business they could attend to. One avocation helped another, and all helped the freighter. The transportation to and from the railway termini was something wonderful, even as connected with this wonderful locality. The Colorado Springs freight lines alone LEADVILLE. 415 had two thousand animals engaged in the business, and yet lacked men and mules to such a degree as to be partially blockaded the entire winter and spring. Notwithstanding the fact that at the present time there are more goods and labor than are needed, Leadville con- tinues its unprecedented growth; but while it is the same ‘‘ roaring camp” as before, it is fast assuming the metropolitan airs that its size and the enterprising character of its people entitle it to possess. The church, free school, and press are all well represented, there being several of the former and three daily newspapers. Business houses, large and small, are there by the hundred, and there are nearly a hundred licensed saloons and a dozen gambling-houses in full blast night and day. The result of all this increase of population and. prodigious mining production and profit is to make Leadville the liveliest town the world can show to-day. The activity in building and in all branches of trade due to the above condition of things, and the vast amount of shaft prospecting, added to regular mining operations, all aid in giving work and opportunities to the new comers. The overplus of population that had accumulated before the disappear- ance of the spring snows is much less manifest at the present time, for with the summer, thousands moved out to explore the broad expanse of mountain that awaited the coming of the prospector. The town is a marvel of activity, begotten of circumstances, sur- roundings, and great natural wealth and prosperity. Difficult as it is to make one’s way along the main thoroughfares by day, it is still more so just before and after nightfall. Leadville by lamp-light fairly ‘“‘ booms ” with excitement and life. The miners then drift into town in swarms; a dozen bands are drumming up audiences for the theatres and variety shows, scores of saloons and numerous gambling- houses are in full blast, and the entire scence gives the town and place the appearance of one grand holiday. Many of the places referred to do a tremendous business, for those who make money easy generally spend it quickly, and life in such places tends to prodigality. Thus those who come on business or pleasure, or to stay, are all bent on seeing what there is to see, regardless of expense, and with as little delay as possible. Such a condition of affairs helps to distribute money among all classes and callings. Nearly every business or professional man, clerk, saloon-keeper, mechanic, or mill employee in Leadville is engaged in mining or 416 COLORADO. prospecting. This is usually done by furnishing what is called a grub stake—consisting of supplics, the necessaries of life or wages to men who will sink a shaft, while the backer of the enterprise continues to follow his own calling. In this way a large number of men are afforded employment, and many has been the paying mine or sale of property resulting therefrom. Numerous instances ON TO LEADVILLE—*FREIGHT TRAIN ASCENDING UTE PASS, can be related of men who came to the camp poor, and in a few months retired with a fortune. Others stay to win additional wealth, and have been almost universally successful, for money in this place, combined with experience and good judgment, has worked wonders, LEADVILLE, 417 Leadyille’s population was less than 1,500 in June, 1878, and double that in the succeeding fall. A census taken in January, 1879, showed 5,040 residents, beside half as many more just outside of the town limits. Since then the place has grown beyond all precedent, and the most moderate estimates of the present popula- tion of the carbonate metropolis range from twelve to fifteen thou- sand. Next fall it may be twenty thousand, with half as many more in the surrounding country. Notwithstanding the haste with which the place has been built, there are scores of pretentious frame structures in Leadville, and a - few elegant brick edifices, some completed and others under way, such as the Catholic cathedral and the banks. Among the live daily newspapers the Chronicle has few equals in the West for ability and enterprise. Leadville was badly off for hotels for atime. At length the Grand was built, and then the Clarendon, ranking among the first in the State. The city is supplied with first-class water- works, and will be illuminated with gas within a very few weeks. A street railway is being constructed. ~The Bank of Leadville was established in the fall of 1878, and moved into its present handsome quarters in February; H. A. W. Tabor is president, and George R. Fisher cashier.. The First National Bank was started in the spring of 1878 (when the town was new), as the Lake County Bank; J..W. Zollars, cashier. The Miners’ Exchange Bank was founded in the spring of 1878; George W. Trimble is cashier. The Merchants and Mechanics’ Bank was established in 1879. The amounts of deposits and of exchange bought and sold in these institutions is remarkably large. The Post Office is a wonder in itself, and does a larger local busi- ness than any other between Kansas City and San Francisco. One month ago the daily business was about $1,000 for sales of stamps, 8,000 letters received and 6,000 forwarded, and the average value of money orders forwarded $20,000 a week. The business increases about 40 per cent. each month. Long files of men can be seen at any time for twelve hours of the day awaiting their turn at the four general deliveries. Postmaster A. A. Smith employs thirteen clerks, and the entire force is overworked. The Leadville telegraph office does a correspondingly large business. The climate cannot be called a severe one, and the mortality is not as heavy as reported. Although the population was largely made 418 COLORADO. up of adventurers from all quarters, a good degree of order was maintained, and very little crime prevailed previous to the whole- sale immigration from the East and distant states and territories. As it is, the place is little worse than other cities. Leadville is most favorably located on a nearly level plain, at the western base of the rounded carbonate hills. The country was originally densely timbered, and most of it isso still. On either side distant mountain ranges rise far above timber line. Fifteen miles westward are Massive and Elbert, ~ and beyond are Grizzly, Twin Peaks, Harvard, and Princeton. The views from the Iron or Long and Derry mines are at once lovely and inspiring. Extending along the entire western horizon is the grand- est range of mountains on the continent, and before them is the broad and level valley of the Arkansas. Of the many desirable pleasure resorts Twin Lakes take the lead. These connecting bodies of fresh water at the base of the Sierras are unsurpassed for beauty or attractiveness of surroundings. Sail boats, excellent trout fishing, and good hotels are afforded there, and all at a distance of only seventeen miles from Leadville, over a smooth and level roadway. Apprehensions that Leadville will overstock the world’s silver and lead market are groundless. The increase of silver will hardly make up for the falling off in the Nevada Comstock’s production, and the increase of lead but offset the losses in some other states. If Leadville district should smelt or ship 90,000 tons of ore in 1878, there is no probability of its lead product exceeding 17,000 tons, which, at a valuation of $80 aton, would give a total of $1,360,000. The district’s silver yield may aggregate ten or fifteen millions. The predictions that the Leadville mines will soon be exhausted, and that the prosperity of the camp is short-lived, are made only by those who have not considered all sides of the situation. There is no reason why a body of ore inclining slightly below the horizontal should not be as continuous as a vertical vein. The ease and rapidity with which the ore is mined is so much in favor of the mines, for everyone is desirous of making money in the shortest possible time. Better than all this, continual and rapid enlargement of the ore- producing area by numberless discoveries, make up many times over for any exhaustion of ground in the older locations. Better still are the seemingly endless layers or stratas of ore one below another. So there is no immediate prospect of the decline of Leadville, but, on the contrary, a continual increase in wealth and production. NOTE. US. Locating Manument W213 with which hese Surveys are connected, dears Soath S123 Last, 8707.7 R. distant fram the WE. corner (W?1)of survey W? 236,0r Dome Lode* eference. California. ; @& Patented Clatims. Official Surveys are numbered. } 79W isnot subd: LAKE COU z cnet tirkefod. SCALE OF FEET: Townshig 9Sour | V/s = a - mt we we casermay cas | Va BHR Cefginal Tonmyprat. ‘Wit OFFICIAL SUF | \£ 22% Leadvi//e /mprovement addition. “i Altitada of Leadville 10300%. : Names of Claims are spelled as EDUARD they appear inthe Records, | UL Sut g i} | ; { pe ees oe ia = Jt _J} —— * = e CC LC A CORA LY ET I NOTE. USS. Locating Manument W213 with which these Surveys ere connected, dears Soath 3°23 Last, 8707.7 2. distant fram the N.£. corner (N?// of Survey W? 236,0r Dome Lode* Reference. & Patented Clams. Ofticial Surveys are mumberedt. 7.982790 tanof subdivided. Poe, pte erp bal: subdlvisfor, iy BER Original Torwnplat. == : won lance oadiiieaicain | Altitude of Leadville 103008. Names of Claims are spelled as they appear inthe Records. SCALE OF FEET OF THE MG Coq ADJSOINING Aiming Di stirie LAKE COUNTY, COLORADO, Townshig 9South, Ranges79&BbOWast ee CAREFULLY COMPILED awe DRAWN FROM OFFICIAL SURVEYS & RECORDS, > BY EDUARD ROLLANDET, U.S. Dep. Surveyor. al Maric < ait of thé at PLING) GOS 79 RSS WE! Lae belVecr R&8 — LEADVILLE MINES. 419 CHAPTER XIX. LEADVILLE MINES—THE CARBONATE BELT, ITS FORMATION AND CHARACTERISTICS— GOLD AND SILVER YIELD—RAPID INCREASE IN THE BULLION AND ORE PRODUCT—SMELTING AND SAMPLING WORKS—PROSPECTS AND POSSIBILITIES OF THE DISTRICT. The Arkansas river flows in a southerly direction for some dis- tance from its sources among the lofty Sicrras. The valley that incloses it is bordered by the great Continental Divide on the west, whose peaks for a hundred miles average over 14,000 feet high, and the almost equally elevated Mosquito or Park range on the cast. Both of these mountain systems unite near Mount Lincoln and the head of the easterly fork of the Arkansas. Below the bald and barren crest of the Mosquito range are what might be termed its foot hills, sloping westward to the Arkansas valley. Among these heavily timbered hills is the famous carbonate belt, and through it California, Stray Horse, Evans, and Iowa gulches lead westward down to the main stream. The Mosquito or Park range separates the Arkansas valley from that great natural basin of the ‘‘Rockies ” called South Park. Leadville is on an inclined plain, sloping west and at the base of the carbonate hills, 10,025 or 10,200 feet above the sea. The course of the carbonate zone or belt is north and south, and the general dip of the ore is eastward and from twelve to twenty- five degrees downward from the horizontal; but there are numer- ous faults and displacements, as with the overlying porphyritic trachyte and underlying limestone. Above the porphyry may be more or less “ drift,” and below is the limestone formation, quartz- ites, crystalline schists, and granite, tilting downward one below the other, but occasionally pushed out of place. The direction of the ore deposits is often changed from the ordinary incline to the vertical, or to wave-like depressions and elevations corresponding to those of the limestone. The depressions contain most of the ricker ore when it is in ordinary or thin layers. The underground workings are often like so many irregular steps 420 COLORADO—LEADVILLE MINES. and landings, making the construction of a regular incline finally necessary for large production and advantageous operations in the mines. The limestone forms the foot wall, on which the contact deposits have been made, and the porphyry the hanging wall. In places the porphyry is found under and beside the ore for short distances. The veins or deposits so far opened have varied in thickness from the thinnest kind of a seam to several feet. There are claims that show ten fect of mineral, and a few have ore bodies twenty and thirty feet thick. The quantity of the valuable metals contained varies greatly, and, unlike most other districts, the largest deposits are as likely to be among the richest as any other way. Most of the ore is so soft as to require no blasting—the pick and shovel being sufficient to remove it. It has been said that Leadville district defies all previously devel- oped rules regarding mineral in place or in deposit. Mineral is found by sinking shafts, and not by the outcrop, as in mineral veins elsewhere. The objective point is the contact of the porphyry and limestone, for between those formations the mineral is almost uni- versally encountered, if found at all. Below the porphyry is the iron, which is a sort of cap-rock to the ore, and is called the contact. Below this, if no ore is found, and otherwise beneath the ore, usu- ally occurs the blue limestone, in undulations like a disturbed sea. If no ore is visible at such locations, the miner drifts on the contact to the right or left, or in any direction, with the hope of finding less barren localities beyond. Rich ore bodies have been found by drift- ing when none were manifest at the bottums of shafts. It will be seen that this prospecting for ore by ‘‘ sinking ” is at- tended with a great deal of uncertainty, and this uncertainty not only pertains to the ultimate results, but also to the depth necessary to go before anything definite can be ascertained. In some places the contact has been found at depths of thirty or forty feet, and in others it was more than two hundred feet below the surface. Tt is generally conceded that four distinct stratifications, veins or mineral layers, have been developed in the Leadville carbonate dis- trict; that these stratifications extend in a northerly and southerly — direction, and dip eastward into the mountains at an angle of from fifteen to twenty-five degrees below the horizontal. The ore yields from a few ounces of silver per ton in some locali- = —s H | | | HH | | | | | I SSS ———=== = = = : = = = —= S—J4 ¥ STN rh, / ESS apse SS : SS Ne 24 ie JZ ERT: ea eS SS SN \ : ‘ bas Se ee Oa NN ASS - © wen a : A ag, THE MEYER SAMPLING WORKS AND HARRISON SMELTER, 422 COLORADO, ties to fifty, one hundred, or two hundred in another. Bunches of one and two thousand dollar ore have been found, but they are not extensive. The proportion of lead is almost as variable, ranging all the way from a very few percent. up to seventy. Ore rich in silver is more likely to be rich in lead than the reverse. Many claims have been opened that are too poor to work, and others contain bordering bodies of rich and poor ore. The average contents of the ores handled for many months by the ore buyers and shippers were from ~~ $100 to $170 in silver, and from 20 to 40 per cent. of lead. This was since the Fryer Hill mines began to produce so largely. Their output raised the average value per ton of the total yield of the dis- trict. Butewhile these figures represent the ore shipments, they were far above the yield of ores treated in most of the smelters. In _ some of these five tons of ore usually resulted in one of lead bullion, carrying 250 ounces of silver, indicating that 20 per cent. of the ore was lead, and that it carried 50 ounces of silver per ton before smelting. Ore that contains 100 ounces of silver and 25 per cent. lead would have a silver valuation of about $113, and a lead valua- tion of about $17. This refers to the value of the ultimate bullion product, not to the selling or buying price of.the ore. Much yein matter is left in the mines or on the dumps that is too poor to handle. This carries silver and lead in varying quantities from $50 down to $5 per ton. Some carbonate mines yield gold in small amounts. There are carbonates of lead, with some galena, various oxides of iron and manganese, and small amounts of chloride of silver. There — are what are called ‘‘hard carbonates”? and ‘‘ soft carbonates.” Some of the latter have the appearance of moist sand, or the material that railroad grades are made of. Some are gray and others stained red or black with oxide of iron or manganese. The hard carbonates are of different colors, but generally have a variegated gray appearance. The oxides of iron are rarely as rich as the heavy lead carbonates. Leadville district is noted for qualities always desirable, but seldom found combined, such as rich mineral in enormous quantities, easily and cheaply mined, and capable of being reduced at a small ex- pense. ‘These are the causes of the pre-eminence of some of the leading mines over most others that the world can show. So rapid has been the development and increase of production of the carbonate belt that no idea of the present and future yield can be obtained from that of the past. New strikes are constantly being LEADVILLE MINES. 423 made, and the steadily growing outputs of older mines are often rivaled by those of newer claims. The following shows the past yield of Lake county. Nearly all of this came from this same Cali- fornia district. | Propvuct or LAKE County 1860 ro 1879. Gold, 14 years— Gold, silver and lead— 1860-1873, inclusive... $6,400,000 | 1876................ $85,200 00 1874, gold and silver. . ATOM OMG Cl tots cei var Sta ae a 595,330 00 1875, gold and silver. . SES OO TOTO me eae cele ete 3,152,925 44 LOval eee es e SP eacot Tae $10,451,455 44 The product of 1879 will probably exceed this total of ninetcen years. The figures for the years prior to 1874 are estimated. | The yicld of Lake county in the valuable metals has been $6,856,146 in gold, $3,074,984.44 in silver, and $520,324.78 in lead. These figures include a small production in Lake county, principally in the Granite district. The product of 1877, principally obtained in the last six months of the year, was $414,930 in silver, $76,400 in lead, and $55,000 in gold. Over 3,700 tons of ore were shipped away or smelted at Leadville, and a larger quantity remained on the dumps of the mines. The product of that year came from the following sources : Tons, Silver lead ores shipped away, mainly to St. Louis.. 3,300 $467,500 Silver ores smelted into bullion at Leadville......... 350 17,310 Silver ores smelted or shipped from Alpine district.. 50 5,020 Gold dust from California Guich................... 20,000 Crom eum rout Gan (LOCK, .cy.. os fas signee vices «5 30,000 COME OLEOl SOUECOG: i... 25 c,t5 5 as Sms conc mee sf 5,000 PEAIUGL Le aeht oO ts o'ehe a ae ae otis Want ate st 3,700 $545,388 The product of 1878 was as follows: Value in different metals— Form of shipment— Silvers roe 5 $2,591,054 71 | Bullion............ $686,422 39 Lead. Bae 443,924 73 | Ore shipped...:.... 2,366,503 05 Gold tiie ge Poe 117,946 00 | Gold dust..... eve 100,000560 Totals sc ow, $3,152,925 44 Totahtyr se ce. « $3,152,925 44 The tonnage of ore was 21,746, turning out 5,5492 tons of lead. The amounts of ore handled, and the values of bullion and ore 424 shipped by the various smelters and sampling works, were as fol- COLORADO. lows: BULLION. Tons VALUE ToTAL VALUE OF | VALUE OF NAME OF WORKS. of Ore : OF VALUE OF Treated SILVER, LEAD. Gop. | BULLION. Harrison Reduction Works! 2,166 |$185,984 69 : $72,930 69 |$12,946 $271,860 69 ie Grant Smelter... cee kee 1,600 130,487 50 2. 1L¢0. OD | eereee 156,657 50 | Berdell & Witherell....... 440 113,929 00 25,290 00 139,129 00 Malta Workers. . 3. a 22692 1,200 61,600 00 | 24,500 00 | ...... 86,100 00 PA GIRIG ON ke LR eee citsvee cure 590 14,785 20 12,950 00 5,000 82,735 20 CL as fi e1oe ” AL OLAL Ge ose wh tee 5,906 |$506,785 9 $161,750 60 |$17,946 $686,482 39 ORE SHIPMENTS. Tons | VALUE OF | NAME OF SAMPLING WORKS. of SILVER yaeaee es? TOTAL. Ore CONTENTS. ate two thousand tons. The production of gold dust was $65,000 from California Gulch, and $35,000 from Cash Creck, the Arkansas, and other localities. Of the former the Oro Ditch & Fluming Company took out $31,000, Wells, on the Stevens & Leiter claim, about $12,000; and Thomas Starr and others $21,000. Of the county’s gold product the Lake PAS ec MOVET wcten use cau pile Eddy & James............. | Berdell & Withercll........ Other shipments........... PPODALS co te tee ee 081 | 647,781 70 | 82, 2,778 | 384,461 83 | 4 781 | $1,027,025 39 250 00 64,400 13 210 25,000 00 County Bank (now First National) shipped $59,750. ($125,534 00 | $1,162,559 39 730,081 70 448,861 96 25,000 00 ...| 15,840 0s 084,268 92 |1$282,174 13 | $2,366,503 05 These figures do not incline ore on hand at the aia of fie year. Meyer handled 10,454 tons in the year, Eddy & James had 800 tons in hand on the 31st of December, and the Harrison works one or ‘ LEADVILLE MINES. 425 The Grant Smelter was erected by J. and J. B. Grant, and is situated in the lower portion of the city of Leadville. The first furnace was fired up October 1, 1878, and continued work without interruption. In three months the following excellent run had been made: 1,600 tons of ore treated, giving 370 tons of lead bullion, averaging 325 ounces of silver per ton ; value of product, $156,657.50 ; value of ore on hand over $100,000. The ore handled was generally as rich as the high grade shipping ores. On the first day of January a second furnace was fired up, and the month’s product footed up $132,000. So great were the demands upon the place that two more furnaces were added, one after another, in the spring, since when the output has been correspondingly larger and greater than that of most other works. Unlike many similar establishments, no furnace troubles were met with, or interruptions of any kind. The plant consists of crushers, rolls, four blast furnaces (some thirty-three inches across the tuyerre, and others thirty-nine or forty), and Baker blowers. The four furnaces handle from eighty-five to ninety-five tons of ore daily, and turn out from twenty to thirty tons of lead or base bullion. J. B. Grant has superintended the works from the beginning. Hereafter they will handle the entire Little Pittsburg Company’s ore product, which-will necessitate the addition of four more furnaces. The ores of this district are treated by smelting without roasting, nature having obviated the necessity of the latter. The method is like that long in use in Missouri, Utah, and other lead producing regions, and there is no particular difference in Leadville smelters. The ores are smelted in what are called ‘‘ water-jacket’’ furnaces. These are constructed of iron, generally circular in shape, about six feet in diameter, lined with fire clay internally, and rest on a cement and clay foundation. . . Charges of ore and coke or charcoal are shoveled in from a floor above that where the bullion is discharged—the furnaces being’ up- rights and extending upward through the building, with outlets for fumes and smoke above. ‘The proper mixture of ores and the requisite proportions of fuel are important points to success, and the more refractory the ores the greater is the care necessary to avoid disaster, such as chilling the furnace and other troubles. Weighing the ores is one means of determining their character. Into these furnaces are fed the charges, consisting, as before stated, of 426 COLORADO—LEADVILLE MINES. the proper proportions of ore, coke, charcoal, and slag, the latter the refuse from previous charges. The molten mass separates itself according to its specific gravity—the lead with its silver contents settling in the lead well at one side and near the bottom of the fur- nace, from which the bullion is dipped into iron moulds, where it cools into bars of about 100 pounds weight. Each furnace turns out from 60 to 100 of these bars or from 6,000 to 10,000 pounds daily, each ton of bullion carrying about $400 worth of silver. The water- jacket furnace is prevented from succumbing to the terrible heat by the continual circulation of water between the inner and outer plates that compose it. The directors and sub-directors of such works as these, as well as the ore mixers, hold very responsible places, for ignorance, inatten- tion, or lack of skill, is likely to throw everything out of gear, chill the furnace, and stop operations for an indefinite period. The feeder is obliged to exercise equal care and judgment, and is subject to that great evil of smelting, getting ‘“‘ leaded ” or poisoned by lead fumes. A melter and other employees are required below, where the lead bullion is taken from one outlet and the refuse or iron slag from another. A furnace is run night and day from one month’s end to another; to allow it to cool down would entail a heavy expense in drilling out the mass of iron and slag that would have to be remoyed—and in fact would stop business completely. The fuels used are charcoal and coke, the former bought from the adjoining forests at sixteen cents a bushel, and the latter shipped by rail and wagon train from Trinidad and El Moro, over 200 miles away, and costing from: $28 to $35 a ton. The price was $68 for a time during the freight blockade of last spring, but will drop to reasonable figures on the. advent of the railway. Over sixty men are employed at present at the Grant Smelter, and fuel and labor each cost over $300 daily. Equal quantities of coke and coal are generally used, although the high price of freight last spring excluded coke fora time. To smelt each ton of ore some- thing like forty bushels, or five hundred and sixty pounds of char- coal, worth $6.40, are required, along with about six hundred and sixty pounds of coke, worth $10 or more. In blockade times, coke was from $60 to $70 per ton. These works contain a fifty horse- power engine, two tubular boilers, and the usual crushing and dry- ing apparatus. ; SS SS Ea Seto Le 5 ee ee —— = — —_-== —————_---- = fAeE asa LESS ST CS SS== es ee os ol Y4 ————— SS S ST PEST Ets \ = ATT | | AVA Si Q E y) = —— flilY L3 = = yy Uy; Y, = Yy = = Uy Yj Yy = ayy jy == a Nil NSS Sy S S YX TAT 79 =< \ == | Yy S35 fi =: SPs = “1 NN = \ x | AAT | | i ay i} HH TN NATH ALT | ae WTAE ED OS TANT 4%) if Wh " J Fakes PS" a SEOs || II | ||| serie pet li, Se pti | WAN setis BATT || = 2 UU | ae {ir Lg ‘ Hil as A = = S, be 373 Sam = = SS ES A Eo = = = SS SS = =f-\-== = = 2 = — aaa S| = - z == a uN ———————— 2 i = ee SSNS te THE GRANT SMELTER— LEADVILLE, 428 COLORADO—LEADVILLE MINES. The business of the Grant Smelter, in the first quarter of 1879, with two furnaces at work, was as follows: Monrus. ee | JANUARY. | FEBRUARY.| MARCH. Tons of ore treated...:.: ..0.2%- 1,000 860 1,000 2,86) Tons of Lead bullion........... 291 280 288 859 Average Silver per ton of bul- Hon) OunGes Be ca eee er 343 315 STG se ties Ounces of Silver... . sii... «Jo 99,813 88,200 108,288 206,301 Value of Lead and Silver....... $130,164 80 ($116,620 00 ($139,276 80 $386,061 10 The Harrison Reduction Works were the first in operation at Lead- ville. They fired up for the first time about the first of October, 1877, with one furnace. Another was added in the summer of 1878; also a roasting furnace. In one year, 3,097 tons and 1,139 pounds of ore were treated, turning out 1,479 tons and 169 pounds of lead, 134,895 ounces of silver, and 497 ounces of gold, with a total value of $229,424.25. In the year 1878 the lead bullion pro-. duct was 1,041 tons, that of silver was 164,168 ounces, and that of gold worth $12,946; total value of all metals, $266,460.69. The business for the first four weeks of January, 1879, was the reduction © of 841 tons and 1,100 pounds of ore into 222 tons of lead; value of silver, $75,657.50; value of lead, $17,760; total, $93,417.50. The ores are generally of much higher grades than in 1877-8. Over 1,500 tons of ore were on hand ready for treatment. Beside charcoal, a little over 293 tons of coke were used in smelting 841 tons of ore. A. R. Meyer put up the first sampling and ore buying works in the carbonate district as soon as the season of 1877 opened. The estab- lishment of this mill to a great extent caused the town to be built on | the present site. Since that year the works of A. R. Meyer & Co. have | been enlarged until they are four times their original size. They handle — from fifty to sixty tons of ore daily, and have done an immense business for the past fifteen months-——more than any other one ore shipping concern in the State. Their business in 1877 was not far | from $400,000 worth of ore bought and shipped. In 1878, 10,454 — ’ eS ee a Ee . “ATTIAGVAT *SNNOM ONITIWVS sanvl FF ACA Gulkd Nets SEE AG 1! Hi) (i ne Wie a a Hl We i Nhe aN G{! aM i | \| | | me Ae ai A i i “| fy h le He Chg ase uli a yilliste cater ball === alia) | a Mi i it Pee H He =| 24 Mil AG eis : i) ys —— ———— aM =F oF TAM | : Neill = ee ee ft = ey) “G neem 88H) MH) @aliele’ : i ‘*] "0. I Plt Reet! SS =. | Won ieee ie he Bam ice be aleleies os i i) @ | , 22 tse>: Re ng a 5 ee =o a Se = <= ———, — oo SS -{— yi. MW: 4 i = VEL Ea \. i 5 ISS ai SASS Punna } ———— SSG i “feet == = = SSS : a Ses == =e ny h ( I In nia! \ AN AY y WAN | ) Vee ) ees Ai a a ‘i ap mm ai i | He il i Hh | i: (ene Pi i | iC 1 eA Ml i } : ii | yl | i tty ity nT Hh 4 Mh = 4 The Hil om a |i SSeS ai vA i Hf Nn Wile WR FE = AV ANT i i ! i ii ! ° = : lat ve : 430 COLORADO. tons of ore were sampled and purchased, whose total value was nearly $1,400,000. A portion of this went to the Harrison smelters. The value of that shipped to St. Louis aggregated not far from $1,002, 951.60 in silver, and $135,534 in lead. The purchases and shipments of the first quarter of 1879 were proportionately much larger, and allowing the low average of 100 ounces of silver to each ton of of ore, and 25 per cent. lead, the following total is attained: | 1 : Vatueor | VALuEor | ae Tons OF OBE SILVER. LEAD. | VALUE. | | | JANUATY..002200 22050005) 1,488 5 %%5 $157,630 $25,7 $183,390 Ug es pee, Saeer ae See 2;1605435 237,690 37,800 |. 275,400 Marek, bi. th 2,108 23.95 231,885 36,850 | 268,775 Petals .c.csteasteres 5, 7014 044 | $627,115 $100,450 | $727,565 The works are supplied with steam engines, boilers, ci ushers, rolls, sampling machinery, and all necessary appliances. The average amount of ore on hand must be worth several hundred thousand dollars. Eddy & James completed and started up their sampling works at Leadville on the third day of July, 1878. They did an extensive business from the beginning, and their fine mill was soon crowded to its utmost capacity. Up to December 31, a period of less than six months, they had done the enormous business of sampling and buy- ing and shipping 4,031 tons and 298 pounds of ore, containing a total value of $730,031.70. Of this $647,781.70 was silver and $82,250 lead. They also had over 800 tons of ore on hand. Their shipments were mainly to Mather & Giest’s smelter at Pueblo, the Omaha Smelting Works, and a smaller amount to Golden. In January the business of these works was 1,600 tons of ore sampled, bought, and shipped, containing about $308,400; value of silver, $270,820; of lead, $38,080. The ore handled averaged about 155 ounces of silver per ton, and 34 per cent. of lead. The capacity of the mill is fifty tons daily, and that is the usual amount of ore handled. The plant of machinery comprises a thirty- 4 LEADVILLE MINES. 431 horse-power engine, tubular boiler, Dodge crusher, Cornish rolls, and drying floors, screens, and other necessary apparatus. Gillespie, Ballou & Co. began to ship ores last spring. Names of Works. No. of Stacks. Beat Cree Harrisons3i.2.: tite Segre eee : 2 Ha) Crane Gocei... 3 Spi ice hie Se 7 ep ay eae 4 75 PEN a saae ara Agila MPA Rava 2 39 PGIMIGG: os res Sk eek nip ce WB ear i ipa a ener 1 15 Berdell & Witherell La Plata Co........ 3 73 Crermania.s. sucks. Oe RLS eae oe ae 100 PONTE cha. xy Me Co ittsess Pees eee eer a sks 2 30 Ramen TAR GN Helis Coors 5 gS LekGee sae Matis 2 30 ETT GR Ry oR Bue SO en 2 30 Reitire COIGE 2. os ve vee ues aaa merits : 1 20 400) 291 SDN a aan ghar eee ca: Sere ee «3 445 Total capacity of sampling, mills and smelters, 570 tons daily. A little over five months of 1879 gave the following product— partly ore blockade times. Many discoveries have since been mace. Ores Shipped. Tons Ore. Yield. “A. R. Meyer & Co., January 1 to May 10.... 8,244 $1,092,200 Pariy a ames) 2. eee. es cite ee Real S Cee TOU. 1,000,000 Taualia har pige tite i a ee a Holt 744, $2,092,290 5 | TONS BULLION. Tons ORE. Binios, VALUE. Grant Smelter to May 15........... 5,500 1,280 $694,202 80 Harrison Smelter to May 1......... 2,549 56014 500,000 00 Malta Smelter to May 15.......... 5,510 25 254,090 00 Berdell & Withercll, five months, CAEMMALOC LS Fane Min). eo ethos a's 4,000 1,000 400,009 00 Doth eae nee fre eer a weicrae et 17,559 3,46014, $1,848,292 80 Miners’ wages are usually three dollars a day. Mechanics gener- ally get more, and some laborers less. The contract price for sink- ing and timbering shafts, 4 feet by 7, has usually ranged from five to six dollars per foot.of depth. Where water is plentiful the cost is greater. The character of the ground also makes some difference. 432 COLORADO. CHAPTER XX. LEADVILLE MINES---THE IRON, CARBONATE, AND PENDERY GROUPS— VAST EXTENT OF MINERAL BEDS—THE DISCOVERY OF THE PEN- DERY—THE LEADVILLE, CRESCENT,:- MORNING STAR, -SHAMROCK, WASHBURN, AND OTHER MINES—THE IRON BELT AND THE TRON MINE—ITS IMMENSE RESOURCES AND LARGE PRODUCTION—THE ALPS AND LONG AND DERRY ZONE AND MINES—ON THE EDGE OF TIMBER LINE—TWO MILES ABOVE THE SEA. As a beginning must be made somewhere in the description of the mines of the carbonate belt, it may be as well to start on those nearest Leadville. As it happens, the mines nearest town are the ones in which the latest important discoveries were made. The de- velopments in the Pendery claim are very important, since they show the existence of another ore strata or vein at a lower and more westerly location than was known before, making the fourth belt or zone so far opened. The shaft which revealed this ore body was sunk to a depth of one hundred and ninety feet under very doubtful and discouraging circumstances, and few believed it would result in anything but loss to the owners. The size and value of the vein are rewards suflicient for the nerve and energy displayed in finding it. Further evidence is thus furnished of the vast extent of the partially developed Leadville mining region. Oreis sold in large quantities, worth from $130 to $400 a ton. There is reason to believe this will continue one of the important producers of the camp. The Wash- burn is some 300 feet north of the Pendery mine, and between that and the Crescent, and appears to-carry about the same value, characteristics, and size. This discovery, like its neighbor, was developed by sinking a prospecting shaft for a long distance through the wash and porphyritic formation. Ore was found just after the strike in the Pendery. These developments have caused great activity all along the lower slope of the hill facing Leadville, and near the Harrison Reduction Works, and shafts are being sunk in all directions. The Washburn shaft is 235 feet deep—the last 12 : | LEADVILLE MINES, 433 feet sunk partly through decomposed porphyry and partly in mineral and iron. The quantity of ore increases as drifting pro- gresses. Specimen assays go over 1,000 ounces, and the ore sold is above the general average. The Pendery produces ore containing from 80 to 500 ounces of silver and only 6 per cent. of lead. The Shamrock adjoins n the celebrated Carbonate SGP ER Rass rose ne ACERS IAG Nee REIL mine on the southeast. § Its United States govern- ment patent carries a title to a plot of ground 1,500 by 300 feet. On the E ( — same belt, and but a “S ll = vy YW jj Z short distance away, are Yj; iy the Yankee Doodle, Cres- yy Yj Vj Vy ye fh cent, and Morning Star, “lll si 1) all of which have been very productive. Beneath is the Pendery strata, which depth may reach. The Shamrock was formerly owned by Thomas Wells, an old _ placer miner of California Gulch. He sold one-half of it to the Leadville Company, and subsequently the Shamrock Company organized and purchased the mine, but the Leadville still owns-one- half of the capital stock. Wells had sunk a shaft 100 feet deep, and took out some ore that sold as high as $750 aton. Recently a joint incline or shaft has been driven on the line of the Carbonate and Shamrock claims, and, at latest advices, was passing along a vein two and a half feet thick, from which ore has been sold which brought $238 a ton. A steam-engine and hoisting apparatus have just been set in operation. This discovery not only shows that the Shamrock will make a great mine but also increases the value of the Leadville property, as it indicates that the ore-body continues over 500 feet from the former claim to the main Leadville workings, through previously unexplored ground. Recent explorations north and south show this same zone. of ore to be much more extensive than was at first believed. The last advices say $600 worth of ore was taken out in a single day. The Shamrock Mining Company was incorporated May 7, 1879, under the laws of New York, with headquarters at 57 Broadway. 19 Saas IN THE INCLINE, 434 COLORADO. The capital stock embraces 200,000 shares at ten dollars each, or on a basis of a capitalization of $2,000,000. The trustees are John P. Jones, J. B. Chaffee, 8. B. Elkins, Robert Sewell, E. B. Dorsey, A. W. Gill, and Vanderbilt Allen, with J. 8. Lockwood, secretary. What is now knownasthe Leadville mine was discovered and lo- cated as the Carbonate claim or lode on the 25th day of June, 1877. The first ore was sold in August of that year. The deposit entered by the shaft and levels proved to be wonderfully rich—much more so on the entire ore-body than in other claims previously opened. The owners were Nelson Hallock and Captain A. Cooper, who had been operating a saw-mill in the district. Their mine proved vastly more remunerative than their former business, for up to April, 1878, a period of eight months, they had sold 363 tons of ore at an average price of $131 per ton, or $47,644 altogether. Only seven men had been employed, and it cost them but $7,200 to get this ore out and to market, leaving a profit of $40,444. The actual assay value of this ore was about $210 a ton or $71,466 altogether. From April to July, 1878, 200 tons of ore were sold for $36,704.63, with a total expense of $3,212.55, leaving the still more remarkable profit of $33,492.08. The average price paid per ton was $182.61. The total receipts of the mine for the first eleven months worked were $81,136.08, and the profits $70,723.53—the largest proportionate profit for so long a period that had ever been reported in this country up to that time. These returns do not include a large amount of low grade ore that was not shipped, but which would pay a profit. The actual yield of the mine had been $120,405. The average yield for the first 310 feet of workings was $151 per foot of advance, and for the next 218 feet $218 per foot of advance, Among the sales of ore three tons assayed 662 ounces of silver, and sold for $1,951; another lot sold at the rate of $462.60, and another $261.60. The first-class ores averaged from 275 to over 600 ounces of silver and from 35 to 55 per cent. of lead, and what were sold in the second and third classes carried from 100 to 250 ounces of silver, and from 8 to 25 percent. lead. These figures were taken from the books of Hallock & Cooper. Up to that time the mine had been worked without system, the ore-body having been followed whereyer it dipped, dropped, or inclined. In order to facilitate operations and permit of extensive work, a a LEADVILLE MINES. 435 new incline was started from the surface. This was of large size, of regular course, and contains two tracks. The still newer Carbonate- Shamrock incline 500 feet west shows the same ore-body. In January, 1879, the mine was sold to an association of New York and Colorado men, who organized the Leadville Mining Company, and the property has since been known as'the Leadville mine. The sales of ore up to that time footed up $150,000. The mine has yielded over $300,000 worth of silver and lead to date, the receipts for May being $36,000. Dividends aggregating $20,000 are paid every month or semi-monthly. The stock,is capi- talized at $2,000,000, with a par value of $10 to a share. A. W. Gill is president of the company, Robert Sewall, vice-president, and John S. Lockwood, secretary. The vein is usually from one to five feet thick—occasionally more or less—and may average two fect. There are said to be from seven to nine feet in a ton of ore. The average yield has been much above $100 per ton and $100 per yard, or $940 per fathom, with a cost of $15 per yard, or $150 per fathom, for breaking and hoisting ore, timbering, track-laying, ore-sorting, and all other outlays. It costs $16 per foot of advance on the main incline, and $60 a fathom to drift. The incline has penetrated the hill for hundreds of feet, with many levels leading therefrom north and south. The ore and ground is cut into blocks for stoping by means of drifts, As it was impossible to drive levels and inclines of uniform grade and keep on the ore-body, these are driven at a lower average elevation, and the ore is broken above and dropped down into the cars in the levels. The Little Alice, Prospect, Peora, Joe Wilson, and D. H. Moffat are situated on Carbonate Hill, in the immediate vicinity of the Carbonate, Shamrock, and Little Giant mines. The first two adjoin the Shamrock, and the same contact vein has been found in them. This is about two feet in thickness and averages about 70 ounces of silver to the ton, There is a shaft 103 feet deep on the Peora, and shafts have reached a depth of 40 feet on the D. H. Moffat and Joe Wilson. These claims were lately consolidated in one management, are controlled by one of the strongest companies yet organized, and are considered among the most promising of the Carbonate Hill group. So far but little work has been done on them, but what has been done gives assurance of their great value and of their being COLORADO, 436 SES mae eS SENSE Re eee “ANIW HTUAGCVYAT AHL LEADVILLE MINES. 437 underlaid with the continuation of the adjoining Carbonate and Shamrock bonanza. The new owners are pushing the work of development as fast as possible. When extensively opened there is every probability that this property will be one of the great bullion producers of the district. In this vicinity are the Weldon, Rough and Ready, Bonus, and Coddigan. The Little Giant is above the Carbonate mine. In sinking 190 feet on the Rough and Ready claim several layers of low grade mineral were penetrated. The A‘tna and Gem of the Mountains are located on this same part of the hill. The Crescent mine is next east of the Yankee Doodle and on this hill ranks next to the Carbonate in past production. It was located in 1877, and some time after became the property of the Meyer M. and E. Co. It was yielding very rich ore during the year 1878, when the sales netted $40,000. Considerable time was consumed in sinking a new shaft and in driving a large double track incline and other developments. This incline is over 400 feet long with eight diverging levels, comprising 4,000 linear feet of workings, all - of which greatly facilitate operations. A. R. Meyer is general manager. The working force of the Crescent has ranged from 25 to 50 men. It is said that $100,000 has been taken out this year. The ore is known to extend over a broad area, is generally from one to six feet thick, and returns an average of 125 ounces of silver per ton and from 50 to 60 per cent. of lead. The Catalpa and Evening Star mines are north of the Crescent. The Consolidated Morning Star and Waterloo mines are still fur- ther north of the Leadville mine, and have recently become famous by reason of the size and value of the mineral body developed. The surface area of these claims is 1,500 feet east and west by 502 north and south. Near the western border of the claims the apex or top of the vein material is but five or six feet from the surface. Fur- ther up the hill it took seventy feet of sinking to find it and a level on the vein reaches a point over 160 feet below the surface. The new and main shaft is 250 feet down to the drift and the sump makes it ten feet deeper. Itis one of the best in the country, while the entire mine, under the direction of J. W. Watson, has been opened in the most systematic manner. The shaft is four feet by eight inside the timbers, with platforms of two-inch plank ten fect one above another and ladders between. The last two items cost at the rate of $2 per 438 COLORADO, foot of depth, and sinking and drifting $10 per foot; a total of $4,000 for the entire work. The bottom of the shaft is 650 feet lower than the surface of the upper end of the claim, and levels and cross levels extend easterly to and on the dip of the vein. Streaks of ore had been found in the older workings and some very rich chlorides in small quantities. The ore-body now worked was entered in a depression in the main incline east of the shaft. At first there was ore carrying from 10 to 100 ounces of silver and 51 per cent. lead, with patches of galena carrying 70 per cent. of lead. There was the usual porphyry above the limestone, with some of the latter converted into iron oxide by past action of water, and perhaps other causes—the black iron being poor in silver. As the ore deposit was penetrated to the eastward it increased greatly in value, and several feet of carbonates, mainly of fair grade, were reported as continuing without interruption. This is the condition of the mine at last accounts. Hundreds of tons of rich ore are sold monthly. Steam hoisting machinery was substituted for horse power in the spring, which can hoist forty tons of ore daily. The head of the drift shows saleable sand and hard carbonates nine feet thick. Among the owners is ex-Governor John L. Routt, North of these claims are the Henriette and other locations. The hill next east of Carbonate Hill, and extending from Cali- fornia Gulch northward to near the head of Stray Horse Gulch, con- tains what is often termed the famous Iron mine zone or belt. On the slope rising from the first-named gulch, nearly two miles above Leadville, and a short distance from Oro, are the Lime, Bull’s Eye, Smuggler, and other claims. Not far from the centre, and on the western slope of the hill, is the great Iron mine, and east of it such properties as the Argentine and Adlaide. : The Iron mine has been considered by miners and experts as the typical carbonate deposit, perhaps the most regular in form and continuous in extent of any in the district. There are larger bodies of ore.elsewhere, but none more uniform. It was the first to be systematically opened and developed, and although operations have been seriously interrupted by contests with adjoining claimants, its workings are perhaps more extensive than those of any other mine. The amount of mineral explored and in reserve is very great, and is partly of very high average grade. More than a year ago experts estimated the amount of ore in sight at a valuation of over LEADVILLE MINES. 439 half a million, and the quantity must have been doubled by subse- quent explorations. Some estimates are much higher. - The main entrance and outlet to the mine is a great ‘‘ incline,” which has been driven easterly down into the hill, and as near as possible along the course of the ore-body for a distance of 475 feet. This inclined shaft descends one foot to every three or four feet of advance, is substantially timbered, and is underlaid with a double iron track. Up this track cars convey the ore product from the various levels to daylight and the ore buildings and platforms. Stations are cut at intervals of one hundred feet, from which levels lead north and south. These levels are hundreds of feet in length, and altogether aggregate several thousands of feet. Some of them follow the dip, depressions, and windings of the deposits pretty closely, and all show ore of either high or low grade. One drift passes a hundred feet through carbonates of a gray complexion and largely composed of three hundred ounce mineral. Another follows the pitch of the contact waves for over four hundred feet, crossing other openings diagonally, and others are driven for shorter distances at right angles one with another in opening up ground and great blocks of ore. Above rests the chalky porphyry, jointed in crystalline forms, with no fragments of lime intermixed, as in many other claims, and below is the solid unbroken limestone foot-wall, with a uniform general dip eastward in a series of undulations, slopes, and steps. In one place there is a solid mass of galena and there are streaks and patches of chlorides and of galena scattered in nearly all parts of the mine. The deeply tinged iron is often of low grade, but there are hard carbonates in immense quantities, as well as those of softer character. The average width of the ore is not far from three or four feet, but varies from six inches to ten feet. The yield varies greatly. Large quantities of ore have been sold at from $100 to $300 per ton, but there is much poorer material that is not marketed. The average of high and low grades may be not far from 60 ounces of silver and of high grades alone 130 ounces. The mine began to produce in August, 1877, and up to the suc- ceeding June $70,000 had been cleared. The ore sold is said to have smelted $150,000 worth of silver and lead. Since then the production has not been pushed and has been greatly retarded by - “ 440 _ COLORADO. contests with another mine. The yield in 1878 is believed to have exceeded $200,000, and quite an amount of ore was raised from the locality penetrated by the Williams shaft from the hillside above. It is said that 800 tons of ore have been sold from the mine that averaged 221 ounces of silver and 54 per cent. lead. The working force has generally ranged from 60 to 100 men. The owners of the Iron mine, W. H. Stevens and L. Z. Leiter, have had a long and protracted contest with the owners of the Law claim on the hillside just above them. The Iron location embraces a surface location 1,500 feet along the outcrop or apex of the vein or ledge, by 300 feet wide, up and down the hill. Last fall, a man named Williams went up the hill beyond the Tron side lines and sunk a shaft to strike the contact—which was done at a depth of 200 feet below the surface, and 75 feet west of the end of the Iron incline. He then barricaded the latter at that point, and by force of arms held the interior workings against the Stevens and Leiter miners. During the winter, it is said, a force of old Georgetown miners were engaged to hire to the Williams party as guards, and they turned the barricaded workings back into possession of Stevens. Before and afterwards, the mine was heavily guarded, and internally somewhat resembled a magazine. Meantime the case was up before the courts, the Iron owners claiming they could follow their ore vein wherever it led to, and the other side asserting that there was no vein in the true sense of that term, but only a deposit, which could not be followed beyond side lines. The second trial of this case occurred very recently, and was decided in favor of Stevens and Leiter of the Iron mine.. This will probably stop all trouble, and will enable the property to be worked so as to insure an enormous product. The Smuggler is in one of the best localities on Iron Hill, bearing near the Iron mine. George T. Clark developed a very large body of ere in it, some of which has milled $50 per ton in gold, $10 to $50 in silver, and 70 per cent. in lead. The Belle of Colorado is the next claim east of the Iron. It is owned by Joseph Pierce and H.A.W.Tabor. Ore was found ata depth of 190 feet, and the claim is favorably located for a large production and valuation. The Double Decker isfamous for the production of carbonates carrying a great deal of gold as well as silver and lead. An idea of LEADVILLE MINES, AAL the proportions of the two metals may be had from the fact that several tons of ore averaged $200 in silver and $155 in gold. Another lot went still higher, and from one to two hundred dollars per ton is not an unusual yield. The Agazziz, Dunderberg, and Loveland are all in this vicinity. The Breese Iron mine attracted a great deal of attention a few months ago, Its ore had been purchased by the smelters mainly for the iron it contained—being valuable for fluxing with other ores in smelting. At lastit was found that much of this ore carried con- siderable silver and some gold. After that $22 a ton was paid for it at the mine, instead of $6. One hundred tons can be mined daily, at a cost of fifty cents a ton, and there are from 20 to 30 feet of it on four claims. © The Cleora mine of W. J. McDermith & Co. is near the Iron mine and the Lauwalla, both of which show. immense quantities of ore, The Cleora is 250 feet deep. The Highland Chief and Highland Mary have been consolidated, Here is another bonanza. In one shaft the ore is said to be 14 feet thick, and at another 21 feet thick, carrying from 50 to 200 ounces in silver, from 35 per cent. to 60 per cent. in lead, and containing but very little waste rock mixed in it. The present product is 20 to 40 tons daily. During the past few months these claims have shown themselves to be among the most valuable in the district. The Argentine mine comprises five claims, known as the Camp Bird, Charleston, Keystone, Pine, and Young America. The Camp Bird claim was located by three brothers, Patrick, Charles, and John Gallagher. The surface ground had gradually washed away and left the carbonates outcropping. The Gallagher brothers did not have a very profitable time at first. One and then all of. them were so discouraged with trying to get a living out of their lode that they were about to abandon it altogether when a final improve- ment in the ore was noticeable. In 1877, it began to pay hand- somely, especially after the completion of the Harrison smelter. The brothers squandered their earnings, but finally the mine made money faster than they could spend it. Then they sold to members of the Saint Louis Smelting and Refining Company for $225,000, and one went to Paris, and the others to different parts of America. All seemed bent on getting rid of their money as fast as possible. The mine had yielded nearly $150,000 up to that time, and some 442 COLORADO, $80,000 had been paid for the ore. The workings displayed no skill or system, but had been ‘* gophered”’ in any way to strip the mine of ore in the easiest possible manner, It took Messrs. Loker and Kleinfelter several months to open the mine in a workmanlike manner, but it was finally done. The yield has generally ranged from five to twenty tons of ore daily, selling for from $40 to $80 a ton. Here the system of mining is by a tun- nel connecting the mines, which are on a slope above its mouth. The tunnel runs into the hill, horizontally, 800 feet, and will be continued to 2,000 feet. Much of the vein lies above the tunnel, and the ore is brought from the levels in the vein to shafts at vari- ous distances along the tunnel, and dumped into chutes that conduct it into cars on a tramway in the tunnel. About 3,000 feet of drifts have been opened in the Pine, Camp Bird, and Charleston, The mines are not worked to their full capacity, as the owners, like other mining companies, are waiting for railroad facilities, which will greatly reduce freight charges, not only on ores shipped, but on all the materials used in smelting here. The high-grade ores from the Argentine are sent to the works in St. Louis, and the low grades are smelted in Leadville. The usual position of the silver-bearing ore is undera layer of porphyry rock and above a layer of limestone, but in the Argentine some silver-bearing iron has been found under the limestone, yielding fifty ounces of the precious metal to the ton. The Adlaide mine adjoins the Argentine. It was purchased over a year ago by eastern parties, and is owned by the Argentine Com- pany. In this organization are J. R. Magruder, the general manager, ex-Goyernor Henry D. Cooke, of Washington, and others. Smelting works were erected at the mines, The ore body is large, but of low grade. The average in 1878 was from 9 to 12 ounces in silver per ton of ore, and from 60 to 70 per cent. of lead with some gold. The Small Hopes Mining Company was organized in the spring of 1878 by Denver men, among them J. F. Sanders, George T. Clark, William Parker, C. Bell, and others. The property includes fine contiguous claims in Stray Horse Gulch, called the Robert Emmet, Result, Ranchero, Amanda H. and Forest. A large amount of ore of various grades has been produced. There isa belt of gold-bearing lodes near Oro and the head of California Gulch, of which the Printer Boy has been the most famous and productive. Great activity is displayed in that section LEADVILLE MINES. 443 at present, and many veins are worked that had been idle for years. These veins are located in quartzite, and are nearly vertical. The Printer Boy was discovered in 1868 by Charles Mullen, who eight years after found the Smuggler lode in Boulder county. The Printer Boy began to produce largely in 1869, and soon proved to be wonderfully rich. A Philadelphia company purchased it and erected a twenty-five stamp quartz mill in the gulch at Oro. About $60,000 were taken out in the first year of actual work. There was an immense body of soft quartz that gave a yield of several hundred thousand dollars in the course of a few years, although the property was idle portions of the time. The mine is again worked. The Tiger is one of the main lodes of this section. It is systemat- ically worked by D. Bauman & Co., who are said to derive a good profit therefrom. Among other mines are the Mike, Yellow Jacket, Oro La Plata, Miner’s Hope, Maria and Lower Printer Boy. The Pilot was famous and productive years ago, when it ranked next to the Printer Boy. It is now worked by Joseph Watson, who is opening it with a tunnel. The vein is large and small at various - points, with occasional rich pockets. The Long and Derry mine is on the elevated divide between Iowa and Empire gulches, south of the head of California Gulch, and four miles southeast of Leadville. Its elevation is about 11,000 feet above sea-level, or near timber line. It comprises the Porphyry, J. D. Dana, Faint Hope, and three other claims—forty-five acres of surface ground altogether. Jacob Long and his brother came to California Gulch in 1860, and have been pretty much all over Colorado. For sixteen long years they prospected and mined with unvarying ill-fortune. Of the typical prospecting class, they were often. ragged and generally without money, but ever hopeful and persevering. In September, in company with a Mr. Derry, they made the discovery of the above named locations, which are known as the Long and Derry mine. It was a prize worth toiling years to secure; but they could have had it years before if they had known anything about carbonates. Little work was done until 1877, and shipments could not be made regu- larly at all seasons until a road to Leadville was constructed early in 1878. This cost from six to eight thousand dollars, all obtained from the early profits of the mine. The number of men employed has varied, but has averaged about: 444 COLORADO. eleven. Drifts and shafts to the extent of nearly 2,000 feet have been run in various directions and places. The amount of mineral in gross taken from the mine up to June, 1878, was 738 tons and 116 pounds, yielding 209 tons and 412 pounds of lead, and a total value of silver and lead of $98,840. From these figures it will be seen that the yield of silver per ton has been very nearly $134. There has been no system or skill displayed in mining, and much dead work has been done. These figures of the product of ore and the value of it are taken from the books of the company, and are com- piled from the mill runs made at the several mills where mineral has been sold. On the south, and immediately adjoining the Long and Derry mine, the ‘‘ Himmala” mine has struck a good body of paying mineral of unusual richness. On the north a very small amount of work has developed most favorable indications. There is a large amount of low grade ore on the dump, and plentiful reserves in and near some of the shafts and drifts. The vein contains galena, chlorides and other varieties, and there have been seams of ore assaying from five hundred to two thousand dollars per ton. This is one of the leading mines and was one of the wee prominent ones. On this same hill is the Doris lode, in which a rich ore-body was found in April. The mineral deposit seems to be regular and of a generally uniform character, and mill runs show a yield of from one hundred to four hundred dollars per ton. The ore is much like that of the neighboring Long and Derry. The De Merry mine is located on the south slope of the divide between California and Iowa gulches. The ore is found in bluish lime below the contact, and is rich in lead; but generally runs low ~ in silver. The Ready Cash is above the Long and Derry mine, and is owned by Tucker and Houks. Ore of various grades is sold. The ore has a width of eighteen inches and less—some of it very rich—and carries chlorides and sulphides of silver and native gold. South Evans, six miles east of Leadville, and near the snowy range, is a very prosperous mining camp. Many good mines have been developed there within eight months. Among them, the Alps is very prominent. The Ashtabula shows five feet of seventy-five ounce ore at a depth of sixty-one feet. In the Little Ella the car- LEADVILLE MINES. 445 bonates are thirteen feet thick, and a great deal of ore containing over $135 atonis mined. Among other mines near by are the Little Rische, Forest City, Lulu, Nevada, Adriatic, Ajax, Little Edenburg, North American, Fairview, and Dauntless. The Idaho and Highland Mary mines are very valuable and productive. The Black Prince is one of the best claims, and the Red Warrior has seven feet of ore at adepth of thirty feet below the surface. The Alps is counted as the representative mine of the upper stratification—the most easterly of the four mineral zones or belts of the carbonate region. It is located near the south fork of South Evans Gulch, between Bross and Bald mountains, and above timber line, almost on the slope of the Mosquito range. The Long and Derry mine, further south and just below timber line, is probably on the same belt. The Alps ledge, embracing claims one, two, three, and four, is of mammoth size.: The outcropping is from 20 to 22 feet thick. The ore contains from 15 to 450 ounces of silver to the ton with from 60 to 70 per cent. of lead. The quantity of gray car- bonates is very great. Smith and Miller and George K. Sabin are owners. A large force of men are at work. The Dyer mine is close into the Park range and several miles east of Leadville. It has been worked more or less for two years. In the winter time it can only be approached on snow shoes. It is not a carbonate mine, but appears to be a silver bearing deposit, like those of Mount Bross and Lincoln in the same range. It has yielded much ore, worth from $100 to $1,000. Adlaide City is beautifully located among the hills and in a park near the Adlaide mine and some two miles east of Leadville. It contains a population of over one thousand. There is almost one continuous town, extending along Stray Horse Gulch, between Lead- , ville proper and Adlaide. The Highland Chief is claimed to possess the grandest bonanza - yet developed. This has been recently opened as far as this great body of carbonates is concerned and the indications are good for millions. Below the carbonates of varying values in gold and sil- ver is another layer of ore, carrying gold. Wire and free gold is said to be found there, and there appears to be no end to the wealth of this Highland Chief. The location is several miles east of Lead- ville, in the timber above Adlaide and Park cities. re i a a eel" 4 The cal ol i | i : i i i, HH aR Cy ae i) ‘1 ii ——<$<—<——<—— Ae f i | oe Y bit}; i} ta} —S SS = | ae —— = i coeteneeenens = 4 = z T = == 0 eee = Sen OS — ————————— — Sit SSS SE = a= 2 — —— —— — —=24 = SS 3 — — = =f. ———— == SS = SS silimeiiininttenas == SS = { = ———s tw ———— SA a5. v. FRYER HILL. COLORADO—LEADVILLE MINES. 447 CHAPTER XXI. LEADVILLE MINES—THE CARBONATE.BONANZAS OF FRYER HILL—THE GREAT TREASURE VAULT OF THE TIMES, AND HOW IT WAS DEVEL- OPED—THE LITTLE PITTSBURG AND NEW DISCOVERY—MILLIONS OF SILVER-—THE LITTLE CHIEF, CARBONIFEROUS, DUNCAN, VUL- TURE, AMIE, AND OTHER MINES—THE STRIKE IN THE ROBERT EK. LEE—THE RICHEST SPOT YET DEVELOPED. While the Leadville mining camp was excited over the Iron, Camp Bird, and Carbonate mines, George H. Fryer sunk a shaft on a hill north of Stray Horse Gulch. He found low grade carbonates on the 4th day of April, 1878, and called his claim the New Discovery. This was the beginning of what has since become the best part of the best paying mine in America at the present time. A month later, August Rische and George T. Hook began to sink a shaft on the same hill. They had no money to obtain supplies or tools for a prospecting campaign, and H. A. W. Tabor, one of Leadville’s merchants, furnished them what they needed for a one- third interest in whatever they might discover. It cost about seventeen dollars to outfit the party. _ It happened that the ore strata was unusually near the surface at that point, and so it did not take long to reach it. The first wagon- load of ore proved to be quite valuable, and netted the owners two or three hundred dollars. As Rische and Hook continued their drift from the shaft, the ore body grew larger, until it was several feet thick, and the discoverers were then sure they had ‘‘ struck a fortune.” After each sale of ore a few days’ recreation would be in- dulged in, but a force of men were engaged in June, and work was then pushed more rapidly. The location was called the Little Pittsburg, after Hook’s old home in Pennsylvania, and this was the starting of the prefix ‘Little,’ since so fashionable in carbonate mining nomenclature. At this time the Union claim, further east, had been located and a deep shaft. sunk, and as soon as the news of 448 COLORADO—LEADVILLE MINES. the Little Pittsburg ore sales spread abroad, there was a general rush to this previously almost unknown part of the district. In the latter half of July, 1878, the Little Pittsburg and New Dis- covery were each yielding seventy-five tons of ore per week. That from the former milled from ninety to over two hundred ounces of silver per ton, but Fryer ore did not average much if any over fifty ounces per ton. It was quite profitable at that figure however. The locality was called Fryer Hill in honor of the first discoverer, and by that name will ever be famous as the richest silver depository the world could show in the year 1879, and probably for many years later. During the summer men were sinking shafts on all parts of the hill, and ore was successively found in the Little Chief, Win- nemuck Carboniferous, and Chrysolite claims. _ The Little Pittsburg was paying thousands of dollars per week in August, and in September was the leading producer of the dis- trict. In the latter month Hook accepted the offer of his partners, Tabor and Rische, and received $98,000 down in cash for his one- third interest in the mine. The buyers cleared the purchase money ‘in three weeks thereafter. A shaft was started on a claim, called the Winnemuck, before Rische and Hook came on the hill. They found ore at a depth of only twenty-six feet, and in locating the Little Pittsburg took in the then barren Winnemuck shaft. Before that time Dr. C. F. Bis- sell, A. H. Foss, George W. Trimble and A. V. Hunter had purchased most of the Winnemuck, and subsequently owned all of it. They did not ‘‘strike mineral” until the shaft was 150 feet deep, and then they had from ten to thirty feet of it. Tabor and Rische claimed it, and so matters stood near the end of September, when Bissell and partners went over to the other side of the Little Pittsburg and bought out Borden's half interest in the New Discovery for $40,000. They had cleared that and much more in a few weeks’ work in the Winnemuck. This purchase was a serious flank movement, as the older title of the New Discovery might eventually take in the Little Pittsburg, if the ore strata was decided to be a regular yein. Be- fore the Winnemuck men could secure Fryer’s interest, Senator Jerome B. Chaffee bought it for $50,000. The New Discovery was not then thought to be worth $90,000 so much for its contents as for its position and older title. Before Chaffee left the camp Tabor and Risdhe fearing that the Fa iP THE LITTLE PITTSBURG CONS. MINES. 450 COLORADO—-LEADVILLE MINES. older title of the New Discovery might imperil their claim to the Little Pittsburg, took it off of his hands at $125,000. The mines kept on improving faster than ever, and Chaffee and Moffat, be- coming confident and enthusiastic over the mines and the district, bought Rische’s entire interest for $262,500, and thus became half owners with Tabor in these claims and the Dives. On the 18th day of November these claim owners eS | the Little Pittsburg Consolidated Mining Company. This included the New Discovery, Little Pittsburg, Dives, and Winnemuck, the owners of the latter coming in on a basis of twenty-seven hun- dredths of the entire property and profits. Joseph C. Wilson was then placed in charge of the consolidated mines as general manager and superintendent, and work was inaugurated on a much larger and more systematic scale than previously. Up to this time the receipts for ore sales on the Little Pittsburg aggregated the hand- some total of $375,000, and the actual yield much more—all in a few short months, and before the mine was fairly opened. The New Discovery receipts were less than $100,000. The Winnemuck’s ore sales netted $153,000, with a clear profit to the owners of $112,000, within forty-nine days from the first ore shipment. Several shafts were then sunk on the New Discovery and Little Pittsburg, shaft-houses and hoisting whims were put up, and a huge mine building erected on the last-named claim. It took time to get — the property in satisfactory working condition; after that the pro- duct was heavier than had ever been known in mines east of Nevada. This was largely due to the enormous bonanza penetrated by the new shafts and levels of the New Discovery. The claim that had previously been somewhat in the background, now came to the front and took the lead. The new underground workings penetrated an ore-body of vast extent. This, including the high grade carbonates and low grade iron ore, had a thickness at nearly all points explored by levels of from six to twenty-five feet. Within the past few months, this wonderful bonanza shows a width in places of thirty feet, The uneven limestone foot wall has not been reached in much of the ground and there the ore extends stili deeper. In a long level or cross cut there has been opened this summer a body of gray carbonates that bring $100 per ton, of an average thickness of 15 feet. The Little Pittsburg has shown from 7 to 15 feet of ore and more in nearly all parts of the explored ground. There was much the same “SONINNOM GNNOYOUAAGNN—VZNVNOd ANHAODSIG MAN AHL NI NMOd 452 COLORADO. showing in.the adjoining Winnemuck. In these claims some stoping was done by the former management and owners, but almost insig- nificant as compared with unexplored ground. With such resources to draw upon, it did not take long to clear the Rische purchase. The company developments long ago proved that this was not a limited bunch of ore, but an enormous bonanza with millions in it, The same great deposit was found to extend into the Little Chief, Carboniferous, Chrysolite, and Vulture claims, and more recently far to the eastward in the Duncan, R. E. Lee, and others. What is remarkable is that the New Discovery production and much of that of other claims has come almost entirely from development work, driving levels, etc. Stoping would greatly enlarge the output. When the great ore bodies were being opened last fall and winter, it became evident that horse power was too ‘“‘slow” for even these short shafts of from forty to eighty feet. Accordingly, four steam engines were procured and sct at work in the spring. Levels were driven forward so as to leave great blocks of mineral standing. The enormous size of the ore deposits called for a different style of timbering from that in general use, and the Comstock square set system was adopted for supporting the walls and roofs of the under- ground excavations. These sets consist of upright hewn logs or of sawed timbers from a foot and a half to two feet thick, and from seven to eight fect high, fastened securely by similar but shorter cross timbers above and below, as shown in engravings. In the thicker portions of these great ore deposits, three or four sets of these timbers are required one above the other. The company books show the cost to obtain the first $539,269 of reccipts, beside the low grade ore, was $93,665.25 for mining, hauling, timbering, and assaying, and $14,693.98 for buildings, engines, machinery, horses, tools, and permanent improvements. It is evident that since the advance in market prices paid for ore that ten per cent. of the receipts, or nine dollars a ton, will pay all min- ing, timbering, and hauling expenses. . The tabulated statements compiled from books of the old owners and of the company succeeding them, to April 18, 1879, show the tonnage, receipts, and assay value of ore sold, but not of all pro- duced. There were over 873 tons of ore unsettled for at the smelters, and about 15,000 tons of low grade ore on the mine dumps that will sell for ten or twenty dollars a ton. This brings the actual output LEADVILLE MINES. 453 to July to $3,500,000. The figures for time subsequent to April, 1878, are partly based on previous operations. The map of the little Pittsburg properties shows the amount of ground excavated in the spring. Subsequent work has enlarged these excavations probably one-third. In April, when nearly two million dollars’ worth of silver and lead had been obtained from ore that brought the owners over $1,000,000, only two and one tenth per cent. of the entire area of over twenty acres had been worked out, or exhausted of pay. While it is not expected that all of this property is underlaid with ore, there are no evidences of the bonanza giving out near the present producing shafts. The production of the mines appears as follows: SMELTERS’ From DiscovERY ESTIMATED peers YIELD OF TO NOVEMBER 18, 1878. TONNAGE. Gun Sonn ORE SOLD, * | ESTIMATED. IE YGlos RIGS MESS sa acil os. ~) you doe pe hos 4,000 $375,000 00 | $600,000 00 INCWEDIBCOVORY: cc ege st adeew: sodas: 1,000 60,000 00 100,000 00 WieMROIRGK sow od. l7. etic snd ave 2,000 153,000 00 200,000 00 FTetalea tera: fe 8s sede Sh oie hla & 7,000 $588,000 00 | $900,000 00 ACTUAL From November 18, 1878, Tro APRIL | TONNAGE OF | RECEIPTS TO| YIELD OF , 1876 ORE SOLD. OWNERS. ORE SOLD on ASSAY. Pehle aU LR DUT Mae tea ie 20%: des 3,1095 444 SEUUGAE sent be eee lew WiIsCOVery... lle. eee dec cs. 43134585 Seo ad (a etsy eee LL oe OY ell Sa a a 384,705 TR Go. © ot hoa Motarssi see fee eet (8074179 $484,984 60 | $1,078,586 00 EstimATED From Aprit 18 ro Jury 1, 1879. TonnaGe. | RECEIPTS. ee ont SMELTERS. Consolidated Mines.................. 7,900 $480,748 00 | $1,106,000 00 GranddTotalas, 86-9 0.cke ees. 25,007 $1,553,732 60 | $3,084,586 00 454 COLORADO—LEADVILLE MINES, The actual average contents of the ore sold in five months, to April 18, 1878, as proved by smelting and sample assays, was 111 40-100 ounces of silver per ton, and 22 47-100 per cent. lead. This gives the aggregate yield $1,078,586 that appears in the third column above. ‘The ore continues as valuable as ever, but to be on the safe side, the actual yield after April 18 is rated a little lower, $140 a ton. The average price at which all ore was sold, in five months to April 18, was $62.12. Reduction of expenses, freights and smelting gives better prices now. The company receipts pe ton are now 30 or 40 per cent. more than formerly. The receipts from sales of ore in May were $149,796.39, from less than 2,500 tons of ore. A contract has just been made with the Grant Smelter for treating the entire ore product, by which the company can save $22,500 monthly. The company has paid seven consecutive monthly dividends of $100,000 each, or 50 cents monthly to each share—the last, July 7. It is expected that the monthly dividends will be increased to $150,000 in October and to $200,000 in January. In June, 1879, several mining experts made a thorough examina- tion of these mines. Professor R. W. Raymond estimated that the high grade ores alone would sell to the smelters for $2,000,000. The New Discovery, where opened 300 feet long by 100 wide by levels and cross cuts is allowed 13,000 tons, $1,100,000—9 cubic feet to a ton of ore; in ground more recently explored by a long cross cut, 4,000 tons, $400,000—gray carbonate ore; Little Pitts- burg, $350,000, and Winnemuck, $50,000. Estimated receipts for low grade ore on the dumps, $100,000. This does not include the contents of any unexplored ground. The assay value of the ground opened must approach $4,000,000. It seems as if there was no pos- sibility of the ore-body giving out before many millions have been netted to the company, for fresh ore reserves are constantly being opened. The Little Pittsburg Company employs something like 200 men. Wages are $3 per day, and some hands receive 30 cents an hour. The number of hours that constitute a day vary with different work from eight to twelve hours. There is a foreman to each shaft, and one to each shift or force of workmen; also an assistant mining L. C MAP Showing THE LOCATION, ; 0. OF the Property of the wat C SBR consonant Situated in Lake County, CoLorabo. N cE | ——— 'N ComPRomise / DiscovERY a 2 ssw 279.4'NE /an SHAET.N? A. Ls < # Nn io Ww 1900 5 ° mm A x er CL ; : / CHE . ‘e ATES vz 358 _s = ag pis cover” CLAIM 2 x 5 (1 2 oes Ss e we 1502 = Av eae NEW sun Ne 286 re = ax : O°f 510° 1s00 5 ©.G.CRAWFORD PRINTER PARK Po: NU Fn 456 COLORADO, superintendent. The mines are operated in the most systematic manner. ; A remarkable development is reported in the New Discovery. In a new shaft, sunk near the line of the Vulture and Chrysolite, what appears to be a new and lower strata of ore has just been entered. This pitches downward and eastward in such a way as to indicate an average depth 125 feet greater than the ore body already opened. The new strata is said to be richer even than the one above. Should further work prove this to be what it now appears, it is evident that Fryer Hill mines will possess a double value, with strong probabil- ities of an unlimited future production for the whole Leadville dis- trict—for the whole country may be underlaid with two or more stratifications of ore. The other workings of the mines are said to show a million dollars more than two months ago. In the spring of 1879 the Little Pittsburg Consolidated Mining Company was incorporated in New York, with a capital stock of twenty millions, in two hundred thousand one hundred dollar shares, and much of the stock was readily taken up at twenty-five dollars. The officers of the company include Jerome B. Chaffee, president ; D. H. Moffat, vice-president; George C. Lyman, secretary, and Charles C. Dodge, J. D. Smith, A. J. Dam, J. T. Soutter, C. L. Perkins, Henry Havemeyer, D. S. Draper, I. C. Babcock of New York, Senator W. H. Barnum of Connecticut, H. A. W. Tabor of Denver, James H. Chase of Providence, Chaffee and Moffat, trustees. J. C. Wilson is general manager of the mines. Of those who have been connected with these mines Hook took his money and went to Pennsylvania. Rische lives at Leadville and Denver, spends his money freely, invests in mines, houses and business ventures, helps his friends, is enjoying life to the best of his ability. Mr. Tabor had made money in the grocery business before the Little Pittsburg was discovered. He was then county treasurer, postmaster, and mayor of Leadville. Last fall, after the mine began to pay extensively, he was nominated and elected lieutenant- governor of Colorado. With his income of thousands daily, he is still ready to “‘gohis bottom dollar” on Leadville and San Juan mines. For fifteen years Jerome B. Chaffee has been, more than any other man, the leader and controlling spirit of the republican party of Colorado. He was a legislator from Gilpin county in the earlier territorial days, and was speaker of the house of represen- LEADVILLE MINES. 457 tativesat Denver. In 1865-6, after he had made a fortune on the Bobtail mine, he was chosen United States Senator, but the State was not admitted at that time. He was delegate to Congress from 1871 to 1875, and became United States Senator when Colorado became a State, retiring last March. D. H. Moffat, although much younger, has been equally prominent in financial operations: Since 1865 he has been cashier of the First National Bank of Denver, of which Mr. Chaffee is president, and has been connected with the latter in many mining operations. He is treasurer of three railways leading from Denver, and has held important territorial and state offices. Dr. C. F. Bissell, a prominent citizen of Central long ago, and later of Colorado Springs, now resides in New York. J. C. Wilson re- signed the office of internal revenue collector of Colorado, to take charge of these great mines. He was president of the convention that framed the state constitution. The Little Chief mine is bounded by the Little Pittsburg on the east and the New Discovery and Carboniferous on the west. It is owned by a Chicago company, including J. V. Farwell, G. H. Holt, Wirt Dexter, Mr. Partridge, and others. G. H. Holt is general ~manager, George K. Sabin mining superintendent, and Charles Hill assistant superintendent. When the purchase was made the under- ground workings were in poor condition and unsafe in one locality. The new management, after some outlay and expense, placed the mine in excellent shape, and opened it with several fine shafts, supplied with double cages and cars. Spacious buildings were erected, and three engines, boilers and sets of steam hoisting machinery and a smelter were put up and set at work. The yield last winter, when work was uninterrupted, was twenty tons or more of one hundred dollar ore daily, but the new developments should increase the product two or three-fold. The ore bodies opened last winter were of tremendous proportions, rivaling the best on the hill. There are long drifts driven ten feet wide and twenty-two fect high in ore that brings $100 per ton, and the same pay material extends between or on either side. The yield is said to have been very great since the improvements spoken of above were completed. There was one locality where the ore is nearly or quite 30 feet thick. Work goes on with steam machinery through three shafts, and the profits are said to be very great. From 65 to 90 men have been employed. 20 458 COLORADO. The contact is from 30 to 100 feet below the surface. One shaft has a depth of 115 feet. From shaft number one the vein dips downward in nearly every direction, but mainly to the east and west, a porphyry ‘*horse”’ serving as the base down whose sides the ore body inclines. Here are black sand carbonates averaging $150 a ton, and so soft that nothing but a pick is required to pull them down. The Little Chief claim was located by four hard-working men, Peter Finnerty, Richard and Patrick Dillon, and John Taylor. Soon after Tabor and partners, and Fryer began to take out ore rapidly, these men ‘‘ struck” carbonates, and in a few months had more money than they knew what to do with. They received about $100,000 for ore, and in December last sold to J. V. Farwell and associates of Chicago for $300,000. Since then all but Finnerty have been traveling. He is mining on other Leadville claims. Both of the great Chicago dry goods firms are now interested in Leadville mines. The mines of John Borden, H. A. W. Tabor and Marshall Field extend from the Little Chief northwesterly and westerly down Fryer Hill, and comprise a portion of the bonanza ground already described. These mines were opened in the fall and winter of 1878. When the Little Pittsburg harvest was fairly rolling in, Mr. Tabor began to buy up all the claims around him that could be had at reasonable figures, and where there were probabilities of future pro- duction. There was no outcrop and no blossom-rock to indicate what was beneath the ground, and it required considerable ‘‘ nerve ” and confidence to pay ten, twenty, or fifty thousand dollars at a time for undeveloped and unknown ground. That Tabor’s judg- ment was correct, the subsequent enormous profits of this ground have proved, but few would have made those investments a year ago. The claims referred to are the Carboniferous, Chrysolite, Little Eva,and a part of the Vulture, Colorado Chief and Fairview. Prob- ably Mr. Field has as valuable an interest in these mines as his part- ner in the Chicago dry goods business has in the Iron. The profits since November have been from $20,000 to $40,000 monthly. The Carboniferous was the first developed of these properties. The underground workings of the mine and of the Little Chief open into one another, and the same body of ore, from 22 to 30 feet thick in one locality, is found there. The same square sets of timbers are in use as in adjacent claims. This mine was opened under LEADYILLE MINES, 459 the direction of P. J. Folsom. It was necessary to sink to a depth of 115 feet below the surface in order to reach the limestone forma- tion. There were usually five feet of hard carbonates and the re- mainder of the vein material has been what are called sand carbon- ates. In the first five months of work 2,890 tons of ore were mined, hoisted, and sold. The yield ranged from 35 to 570 ounces of silver perton. Much of the ore sold at $100 per ton, more or less. The Chrysolite adjoins the Carboniferous on the west, is owned by the same firm, and has much the same quantity and quality of ore. The main shaft is over 100 feet deep. The yield of this claim in two or three months, to January 1, was about $50,000. The ore carries over 20 per cent. of lead. Shafts had been sunk but no ore found in the Vulture and adja- cent claims up to late in the fall of 1878. The prospecting had been done on the wrong slope of the hill. D. Bowman, an experienced lead miner of Missouri, believed from the lay of the ground that ore would be found on the northern slope. The first shaft in that locality, at a depth of 47 feet, developed one of the best paying _ ore bodies in the district. Tabor, Borden & Co. soon bought a two- thirds interest in the Vulture. The ore was from 15 to 18 feet thick. Much of it yielded from 80 to 200 ounces of silver per ton, and from 30 to 70 per cent. of lead. At one time nine-tenths of the mineral mined was rich enough to sell to smelters. The mine is said to pay as well as ever. 3 The Triangle was the name given to a small spot of ground of triangular shape adjoining the Vulture and Little Eva, which had been overlooked at first and was not included in the surveys of ad- joining claims. It was from thirty-five to sixty feet long on a side, and included only 2,200 square feet of surface ground. It was underlaid with the same Fryer Hill bonanza. This produced ore that sold for $38,000 in two or three months. During the winter a part interest sold for $16,000. Its total yield is reported at $58,000, and the cost less than $6,000. Its shaft is now used for the profitable Little Eva claim. Not far away was another fragment of unclaimed land, about sixty feet long and from one to six feet wide. This was called the Sliver. Some miners made money by sinking a shaft sixty feet and taking out the ore from the narrow strip of ground. On this same Fryer Hill are the Buckeye, O. K., Pandora, Mul- doon, and Hope claims. 460 COLORADO, The Amie is parallel with and on the eastern side of the Little Pittsburg. The locations were originally surveyed about the same time. Scattering seams of mineral were found at intervals all the way down three shafts, but they were not drifted on, and were not generally large enough to pay. The owners knew their claim was too near rich deposits to.be generally barren, and so another shaft was sunk further north. This struck the desired carbonate layer— — one hundred and forty feet deep—rich enough and extensive enough — to insure fortunes for the owners. The ore was penetrated in June, and in two or three weeks twenty thousand dollars are said tu have ~ been cleared from sales of ore taken out. The ore body is four. feet thick, and the average value very high. Over the mine are ~ shaft houses and engines, boilers, and whims for hoisting. The ‘i Amie was owned and developed by A. P. Hereford and G. K. Harten- ~ stein, lawyers of Leadville, but was recently sold to Senator P. B. _ Plumb, of Kansas, and associates. The Climax mine is on Fryer Hill, east of the Amie, and west of — ; the Duncan. It is owned by Berdell, Witherell, and others, and is _ superintended by Paul S. Ross. This mine is opened by three shafts and many levels. Shaft number one is down two hundred and twenty-two feet, and the bottom isin iron. Shaft number two _ is one hundred and ninety feet deep, and cut an eighteen inch strata — of carbonates one hundred and twenty feet deep, and then passed ~ through layers of porphyry and lime. The third shaft is one hun-_ dred and forty feet deep. Quite a large amount of ore has been. mined, and some of the better classes turned out from $800 to $1,000 a ton. Only portions of the workings have shown pay_ material, but there are undoubtedly large ore bodies not far away. The Duncan is on the eastern portion of Fryer Hill, and, like some of its neighbors, is remarkable for the extent and value of its ore bodies. These were not encountered in large quantities for quite a while, but perseverance finally led the way to fortune. The ore mills from forty to five hundred ounces of silver to the ton. The claim is 1,360 feet long by 300 broad. The depth to the ore-body — of eight feet is one hundred and twelve feet. The Matchless mine is partly between the Duncan, Robert E. Lee, and Union, the same rich body of ore extending into all of these claims. Ata depth of one hundred feet the shaft entered a body of iron running sixty ounces per ton. Valuable sand carbonates were LEADVILLE MINES. 461 found in drifting southeast. A drift following the foot wall of silicate of lime with galena, carrying sixty ounces of silver, finally entered into ore of better average grade. The mineral has lately been rich and plentiful outside of small amounts of chlorides. The strata is similar to that of the Little Pittsburg. 7a Life hp Gi iz Ml Y tf; CLA SIITET SIL YM pbeYioy iS ioe: Vf ll GU YOO! MEE: UWL YI okey i Ly Ree ae SRA es N ‘\ S > a YAN Sk) a NN sy \ wr So SNAN | Hecrrmmerrs if, WOTTON = Oe Tom mae WL ee. 2% p | Ole 5 » or ; ke res |e (amg ey pe i Pig id Pema Gir.* [k' es Geip ee Acdue- : * y al CPTI tar ae oe Sf NOE Sf LY LED pairs Pride See, Sat OM MALI OPA ETI OSTEO Vad MMI EIESIESISOIEE TIMBER SETS IN THE BONANZA MINES. Neh; \ x —_— ha \\ a J 7 Wi) X SS The Robert E. Lee is the latest wonder of this wonderful district. A bonanza of surpassing richness has been discovered there this sum- mer. The oreis from ten to twelve fect thick, and said to yield from $200 to $400 a ton, being the highest average grade of any in the district. This property was claimed by a party of Colorado Springs men, and by Henry and E. O. Wolcott and others. The former 462 ~ COLORADO. obtained possession of the mine and held it by force of arms, and the latter got out an injunction to stop work, and this was the way matters stood early in July, when Jerome B. Chaffee and others stepped in and purchased it for $240,000, all claimants getting por- tions of the money. Trouble among the old owners was all that caused them to dispose of it at that figure, as it is asserted that the purchase-money can be taken out of the mine in a month or two. This is a continuation of the same Little Pittsburg and Duncan ore- body, but it is richer here than elsewhere. The purchasers of the Robert E. Lee are Jerome B. Chaffee, D. H. Moffat, Senator J. P. Jones, of Nevada, Congressman S. B. Elkins, of New Mexico, and Delmonico of New York city. Placer mining is again becoming an important industry in Cali- fornia Gulch. Many years ago the bed of the stream, comprising the richest diggings, was worked in a primitive way. Lack of water prevented the vast amount of outlying ground from being handled. Within a few years water has been brought in from streams miles away by means of ditches and flumes. This water supply permits of the use of hydraulics, which washes down huge quantities of gravel and bank so speedily and cheaply that heavy profits are obtainable from ground carrying but a small amount of gold. The most important enterprise of the kind is that of the Oro Ditch and Fluming Company, managed by W. H. Stevens. The claims are at Leadville, and several Little Giant hydraulics are used. The claims of Thomas Starr and of Stevens and Leiter are worked in the same way. The growing wealth and capacity of the district is shown in the fact that more than a dozen claims were developed ‘‘ into pay” for the first time during the spring months of 1879, while several others that had previously displayed but little mineral have since been pro- ducing regularly. Some of these possess ore bodies of immense size and value. The properties referred to are the Robert E. Lee, Duncan, Joe Bates, Highland Mary, Morning Star, Henrietta, Pen- dery, Washburn, Wild Cat, Shamrock, Little Sliver, California, Great Hope, Silver Wave, Cleora, Baron de Basco, Breese Iron, Highland Chief, Alps, Ashtabula, and Black Prince. It is no won- | der that an enthusiastic news correspondent calls Leadville ‘‘ the marvelous city set in a sea of silver,” CUSTER COUNTY MINES. 463 CHAP TE Rox xX LI, gol igheas CUSTER COUNTY MINES—SILVER CLIFF AND ROSITA—CHLORIDES AND MIXED GOLD AND SILVER ORES—BASSICK’S WONDERFUL FIND— A HILL FULL OF MINERAL—A CLIFF OF SILVER ORES—THE RACINE BOY BONANZA—THE PLATA VERDE, JOHN BULL, DOMINGO, AND IRON MOUNTAIN—THE WORK OF VOLCANIC AGENCIES—THE POCAHONTAS-HUMBOLDT TRUE FISSURE. Custer county extends from the Sangre de Cristo Mountains easterly to the borders of the plains and the foot hills of Fremont county. It was set off from the latter by act of the legislature in 1876. Within its limits are the Wet Mountains and the valley of the same name. The mineral wealth of the district has recently been found to be far more varied, novel, and extensive than was supposed, and the pastoral and farming resources are by no means insignificant. On the north and east is Fremont county, and on the east and south is Huerfano, both excellant farm and stock regions, and both posses- sing coal measures of great extent and superior quality. The three pioneer prospectors and miners were Irwin, Robinson, and Pringle, who discovered the Senator lode in the fall of 1872. They named the settlement Rosita—the Spanish for ‘‘a little rose.” It has since grown to be a pretty town of twelve hundred people, and the centre of a valuable mining district. The location is a beautiful one, surrounded as it is by dome-shaped hills, smooth and erass-clad on the sides facing Wet Mountain valley and the great Sangre de Christo range and covered with pines on the reverse. In 1874 the Pocahontas-Humboldt and other lodes began to pro- duce and have since yielded not far from $600,000 in silver. In 1877 the wonderful Maine or Bassick mine began to turn out its gold and silver ore, and a year later the Silver Cliff excitement sprung up. This arose from the discovery of a veritable bonanza in the way of chloride silver ores, called the Racine Boy, and of other lodes of great importance. The year 1879 opened very favorably for the district. 464 COLORADO. The production of Custer county mines has been as follows, over a million being in silver: 1874, and previously. $40,000 00] 1877................. $354,081 34 BUD Senos akties aes 204; 827 «90-4 4878... 3. os Ss teen eee 452,500 50 ly pee eae 391,121 06 Totals. inka .c eh eees oes oe ee ee $1,392,529 98 The Humboldt lode was discovered in April, 1874. The follow- ing month the Pocahontas and Southeast Leviathan, and Leayen- - worth were located to the northwest of it, and the Virginia on the southeast. Subsequent explorations proved these to be all on one vein of great length and uniformity, and rich in silver. The enclosing formation is trachytic, bordering on the granite of the hills and ridges to the northward. The lode extends across the head of the valley in which. Rosita is built. The Pocahontas and Hum- boldt did not produce largely until 1875-6. During the last year and a half poor ground has been encountered, and the old owners of the former suspended work. The Pocahontas, Powhattan and Pawnee lodes were recently purchased by California men of the Silver Cliff Company who will develop and operate them extensively. The Pocahontas and Humboldt each have 1,385 feet on the vein, the Virginia 1,500, and the Leviathan, Leavenworth and others foot up over 3,500 feet additional, or a mile and a half on one vein. Up to the end of 1877 the Pocahontas mine yielded 2,543 tons of ore, containing $279,353.02, and selling for $167,523.33. Of this 5644 tons averaged 36.8 ounces of silver per ton, and 1,979 averaged 98.7 ounces, or $127.61. It cost $190,375 for buildings, machinery, and to mine, hoist, and open up ground; but a large portion of this was for the first two items, which are good for years to come. The cost of sinking the shaft is given at $20 per foot of depth; of driving levels, $5 to $5.50; adits, $7. When George C. Munson operated the mine in 1878 he drove a level 112 feet, at $5.50 per foot. The Humboldt became the property of the Humboldt Silver Mining Company in October, 1875, 1,900 feet of the vein being included, The vein of paying ore has varied from four inches to four feet in width, The main shaft is 540 feet deep. Three levels have been driven at intervals of 190 feet westward to the Pocahontas ground and eastward nearly or quite the same distance. A cross-cut, starting 400 feet down the shaft, was driven nearly 200 feet at right angles from the vein to explore ground, into which ore-feeders were CUSTER COUNTY MINES. 465 found to branch off in sinking the shaft. This cross-cut passes through a kind of conglomerate cement, with occasional ore seams, and has cost six dollars per foot of advance. The cost of sinking the main shaft five feet by twelve was from eight to thirty dollars per foot. It costs to break rock in the levels, four feet by seven, from four to six dollars per foot. Stoping costs two dollars for every foot of advance six feet high and two feet wide. The hoisting machinery is of the best description, and includes a fifty horse-power engine, The explored ground has been mostly exhausted for a depth of 300 feet. A. Thornton is general superintendent. The Virginia has been owned by a company of the same name since April, 1876. Its main shaft is 355 feet deep and there are 700 feet of levels and 465 square fathoms of stoping. The hoisting and pumping machinery is first-class. The Leviathan has a shaft 171 feet deep and several short levels. The Humboldt and Virginia companies built the Pennsylvania ° reduction works in 1876. They contain 10 stamps for crushing, 2 revolving cylinders for roasting, 6 amalgamating pans, 2 agitators and vats for leaching with copper. Five men are required by day and four by night. Daily capacity 9 to 10 tons of Humboldt ore. R. Neilson Clark, M. E., who has operated the Virginia and other mines, compiled a pamphlet on the Pocahontas-Humboldt vein, from which the following statement of the workings and yield of the four mines to 1878 is taken, with product of that year added. The values are currency, with gold ranging from 115 to 100. a 3 d| 8 g a oi NTs SP RAE TERRACES a | so | Be]. | B & oF | 9 Poa ee aan ae B es ao | 2 Ba a a | F = 52 | 8 a — i > a |Aa|< a | w 5 = 4 |4 Sq. Z ee : Feet. | Feet. | Feet. | Fath. | Tons. outneas 6 dink ph iat i 171 | 190 50 | $4,800 00 | $2,100 00 $86 Pocahontas} 690 | 1,946 | 460 | 2,300 | 2,559 | 328,477 51 | 171,247 91 | $138 | 124 | Humboldt. .| 1,490 | 2,200 3,100 | 2,105 | 275,604 15 | 132,145 06 | 73 | 107 Virginia....| 510} 700} 140| 465) 179] 18,547 85 | 9,82120| 40 | 103 2,861 | 5,086 | 600 | 5,865 | 4,898 | $621,929 51 | $315,314 17 466 COLORADO—CUSTER COUNTY MINES. The vein, with an average trend of north 50° west, conforms to the part of the range in which it occurs. Its hanging wall is re- markably regular and smooth; the foot-wall is less regular, and often swells from the hanging wall. Many insist that the vein is at least twenty-five feet thick; they assume that a parallel streak occurring on the foot-wall side is part of the vein, and that all the rock between is fissure matter. I question the correctness of this view, for in most places both walls of this one pay streak are iden- tical in all respects, except perhaps smoothness and hardness. The gangue is a soft clay, easily mined as a gouge, occurring usually towards the. foot-wall; it is undoubtedly decomposed trachyte, usually showing the characteristic color, etc., of that portion of the wall against which it lies. The pay-streak usually lies against the hanging wall, often separated from it by a clay selvage. It is always accompanied with heavy spar (remarkably free from rhomb- spar), and galena is also found. Generically the ore is a barytic- tetrahedrite; copper and iron pyrites are common, together with stephanite and the like. The more valuable specimens are the antimonial compounds of silver. The vein pitches strongly to the southeast.” . ~The Leavenworth is the westernmost portion of the same vein, and has much the same characteristics as the Pocahontas. The main shaft, 140 feet deep, and levels extending therefrom, yielded 150 tons of ore, that brought $10,000 in fifteen months ending March, 1879. The mine was opening up finely at last accounts. There are several cross veins. One of these yields ore similar to the main vein—or from two to three hundred dollars per ton. The owners are Paul Gerkie & Co. The Pioneer and Chieftain cross the Leavenworth. A number of tunnels have been driven into the hills of Rosita district. The Custer County Tunnel Company has pushed one of these into Robinson Hill over 300 feet. W. A. Offenbacher, Charles Baker, and other Custer county men, are the officers and stockholders of the enterprise. Pockets and bodies of ore yielding from 300 to 400 ounces of silver per ton have often been found on the surface of this hill, which led to the opinion that a great ore-body existed somewhere in the vicinity. Last May a valuable vein was inter- sected by this tunnel. There is said to be three feet of 40-ounce ore, but parts of the vein yield from $100 to $400 a ton. — The Michigan Tunnel Company have driven a prospecting tunnel ss = —_— aa ie Ae Sure SHS ——— ——— THE MAINE OR BASSICK MINE. 468 COLORADO. into Tyndall Hill, adjoining the Bassick Hill, some 400 feet. The Minnesota tunnel has penetrated Robinson Hill over 300 feet. The Benjamin Franklin lode was discovered on a hill near the Bassick in July, 1877, and is owned by Thurman, Prescott, Maxwell & Co., who purchased it early in 1878. In less than a year they sold seventy tons of ore for $9,940. A level is being driven at a depth of 200 feet in the main shaft which isa little deeper. The crevice is large and the ore is found in pockets of from a few hun- dred pounds to ten or fifteen tons. The ore of the first sixty feet was carbonates, below that galena and zinc-blende, and copper pyrites and gray copper have lately been plentiful, with black sul- phurets and some very rich ore. Mill returns from 80 to 175 ounces. Among veins that have paid are the Chieftain, Lucille, Victoria, Polonia, Hector, Tecumseh, Triumph, Twenty-six, Plymouth and others. Forty tons of ore from the Victoria sold in a portion of 1878, yielded 1,680 ounces of silver. Richard Irwin operates the Golden Eagle gold lode in Hardscrabble district. Among those who settled at Rosita while the Pocahontas and Humboldt mines were at the height of their production was Mr. E. ©. Bassick. He had been pretty much all over the world and had once made a fortune in the Australian gold mines, but had subse- — quently lost it. In the summer of 1877 he was engaged in tunnel- ing Tyndall Hill, something over two miles north of Rosita. In passing to and from his work he had often noticed float or blossom — rock of a peculiar appearance scattered along a neighboring hillside. He finally had some of this assayed, and the result caused him to take some of the surface material to the reduction-works. This brought thirty dollars, and as the ground proved more profitable than that of the tunnel, he continued to sink in his new prospect hole, which he called the Maine, after his native state. He soon after sent a lot of eight or ten tons of ore to the mill, and, to his astonish- ment, received over $12,000 therefor. This unexpected good for- tune was all the more acceptable to one who had experienced many and long-continued reverses. From that time forward the immense value of the discovery seemed assured, and subsequent developments have made its wealth more and more apparent. Month after month saw an increase in production, and the owner was raised from poverty to affluence in a very short space of time. CUSTER COUNTY MINES. 469 The character and appearance of the mineral and formation were so different from anything previously known in Colorado that pros- pectors had overlooked or passed by this hill as worthless. It remained for Mr. Bassick to unlock the treasure-vault that has few equals anywhere. From the time of the first sale of ore he kept steadily at the work of development. Near the surface a nest of boulders coated and mixed with chlorodized mineral was en- countered, supposed fo be a huge mineralized chimney nearly per- pendicular in direction. Decom- posed material was found to ex- tend downward about one hundred and fifty feet, with a yield of from one hundred to ever one thousand dollars per ton, and the same boul- der formation. Below, the crevice is less decomposed and oxidized. The great quantity and superior quality of the ore enabled the owner BOULDER AND SHELL, to reap avery respectable fortune monthly.